"I am writing to you seeking guidance. I just read your latest article on your website, and devotees are also discussing it on Facebook. It really made me think deeply. Honestly I feel discouraged, and my mind is afflicted by doubts. Especially for a person in my situation, staying in place where there is a lack of serious, purpose built and purpose driven men's ashrams'.

"So my question is, is it necessary for me being in saffron? Knowing well that there's no support and constant motivation for us brahmacharis in [country withheld]. Your article made me realise that I would actually do good as an upstanding bachelor or grihasta than always being frustrated by the lack of critical elements of 'leadership, camaraderie, facility, and training'. Oh Gurudev, I am in total darkness, falling at your lotus feet and praying to you for guidance."

What can I say. Experience has firmly convinced me that men in the brahmachari ashram should undergo only one category of pressure, with two subdivisions. Totally nothing from the outside. All the urging should emanate from within the candidate--first, to get in and, second, to stay in. This policy, followed by progressive ashrams in the world, reverses the social practices in earlier, beta versions of ISKCON.

An updated ISKCON, version 2.0, would approach ashram choice this way: a man contemplating entering monastic training has to solidly convince the saffron leaders that he is making a decision founded upon complete awareness of both what brahmachari life entails and what it will do for his future. Where I am involved, I generally give a prospective candidate a long look, intoning slowly, "Are you sure you know what you are getting into? Are you prepared for at least a few years' lifestyle of just humble, selfless bhakti--serving, chanting, reading, and kirtan, in a communal setting of simple living? Is this (the sweet nectar) your strong desire?" Of course, a genuine brahmachari ashram radiates attractiveness--its pristine atmosphere sells itself, to those inclined.

Once a man joins the saffron set, then no automatic, revolving enrollments. The ashram leaders and mentors should conduct annual or bi-annual reviews, in which everyone's file is lovingly up for reflection and review. The ashram staff is duty- and love-bound to ensure that no one over-estimates his capacity, straining to be someone he is not, in a placement that no longer works for his balanced development in bhakti.

Needless to say, a monk apprenticeship is not every man's cup of herb tea. Though sincerely considering it, individuals in some circumstances would best choose another bhakti lifestyle. No bar to becoming Krishna conscious, some of these situations entail:

1. those with unresolvable health or mental issues.
2. those extremely introverted or lacking basic social skills for living communally.
3. those with gender orientations that would lead to incongruity in a close-knit all-male environ.
4. those whose primary motivation is "give me anything other than the working world--even the ashram is better than getting a job."

Recently, somewhere in the ISKCON world, in the southern hemisphere, a monk apprentice suddenly, without a word, departed the ashram for full material life, and then astonished his comrades by launching an Internet campaign of, shall we say, creative writing, depicting his brahmachari years as emotionally coerced suffering. Later he revealed to a lady devotee that prior to his devotee years, his gender inclinations had been elastic. Commonplace today, gender variables are no barrier to a bhakti practice, at home. An ashram, however, is a special niche. The brahmachari comrades of this former monk apprentice, still deeply valuing this person, were saddened more by the unnecessary stress and pain their friend had inflicted upon himself, than by the glaring lack of disclosure and interpersonal honesty. Hiding and bottling up such significant psycho-physical tendencies for some years popped the cork in such a regrettable and immature manner.

Social statistics reveal the social realities in the West: ferocious, delirious, frantic, and deranged. Now India wants in, on a fast track to human disaster. Srila Prabhupada appropriately sums up the status quo (Bhag 1.1.10):

". . . so many sinful acts are being carried on that the people in general have neither peace of mind nor health of body. The student (brahmachari) communities are no longer being maintained, and householders do not observe the rules and regulations of the grihastha-ashram. In the Kali-yuga the whole atmosphere is surcharged with faithlessness. Men are no longer interested in spiritual values. Material sense gratification is now the standard of civilization. For the maintenance of such material civilizations, man has formed complex nations and communities, and there is a constant strain of hot and cold wars between these different groups. It has become very difficult, therefore, to raise the spiritual standard due to the present distorted values of human society. The sages of Naimisaranya are anxious to disentangle all fallen souls, and here they are seeking the remedy from Srila Suta Goswami."

Constructing a model for a genuine human society is a monumental task. Following the path of our spiritual predecessors, we seek their mercy and strength.

Knowledge and the distribution of knowledge is the hallmark of a man properly situated in the ashram. Needless to say, in ISKCON version 2.0, appropriating the monk manpower for a fund-rasing concentration is taboo, . The brahmachari ashram gives the man a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for substantial immersion in the sacred texts, their assimilation, and their distribution. "Love to read Srila Prabhupada's books, and love to distribute them, one way or another" is the motto. Striving to communicate effectively the timeless message of bhakti-yoga, according to the current world context, taxes the brain of the savvy and compassionate brahmachari. Especially outreach work at universities, so demanding of patience and determination, expands both the material and spiritual skill-set of the monk apprentice.

Bhakti is "the kitchen religion." Moreover, often it is said: "Just as women like to talk, men like to eat." The ashram serves as probably the only place these days where a Western male practitioner of bhakti can acquire sensational cooking abilities that will, regardless of his future choices, aid him lifelong. The tongue is the most powerful sense, and certainly--both in the ashram and out--tasty prasad rocks and rules. Lovingly prepared "monk food," saturated with bhakti, captures the sensory world of the cultivated.

Why keep the brahmacharis locked up, cloistered? For cultivating everyone except single ladies, a genuine monk apprentice is a strikingly impressive person--a gallant yet humble hero, as he circulates among guests and contacts who appreciate spiritual culture and integrity. Although the Western world has long discarded it--and the new India, lamentably, is racing to catch up--fundamental integrity is a prerequisite for a good and just human society. Brahmacharis and their abode should radiate this spiritual jewel.

"Who me--marry a former brahmachari?" Whether in the material or the ISKCON society, ladies know it's so hard these days to find a good man. Pulverized and vulgarized by today's hedonistic overload, men have lost their backbone, their stamina, their reliability. Indeed, racking up the hits in the girl-getting game, stripped of sober intelligence and fortitude, men have lost their very self. Lady devotees, please meditate upon Prabhupada's statement that the brahmachari ashram is the best training for both those renunciant candidates who remain lifelong as well as for those who choose to graduate. "Especially meant for training both the attached and the detached," the genuine program of monk apprenticeship generates an important and socially attractive by-product. It benefits Vaishnavis as a lucrative wellspring of future marriage candidates--that is, for the discriminating lady who has on her mind steady progress back to Godhead.

Obviously, outside of India, statistics show that a significant number of brahmacharis will eventually choose to marry. Lucky is the lady who gets a man who has practiced sense control, even at least for some years. A solid assurance that a potential husband will be Krishna conscious in the future is the time he has spent as an authentic, progressive brahmachari in the past. Realistically speaking, even if after marriage such a man dips in his practice, generally after some time, he'll eventually re-stabilize himself, remembering the sweet taste for bhakti knowledge and its practice, so heartily experienced during his apprenticeship days. Difficult it is, no doubt, to revive something never acquired.

The entire ISKCON devotional community can feel pride in a real brahmachari ashram. Householders, the vast majority in ISKCON, want to see monk apprentices who are industrious, competent, hard-working, morally upright, and psychologically wholesome. No one benefits from the negative: lazy, goal-less, irresponsible men, who seem to loiter in the ashram just to escape getting on with their life. "I don't want to get married now, and I don't want to work, so I think I'll be a brahmachari . . . ." That rationale won't get a man far, in a genuine ashram. Actually, that mindset should never even enter the ashram, from the onset. More on this later, in Part 3.

"The main purpose of ashrama-dharma is to awaken knowledge and detachment. The brahmachari asrama is the training ground for the prospective candidates. In this ashrama it is instructed that this material world is not actually the home of the living being. The conditioned souls under material bondage are prisoners of matter, and therefore self-realization is the ultimate aim of life. The whole system of ashrama-dharma is a means to detachment. One who fails to assimilate this spirit of detachment is allowed to enter into family life with the same spirit of detachment. Therefore, one who attains detachment may at once adopt the fourth order, namely, renounced, and thus live on charity only, not to accumulate wealth, but just to keep body and soul together for ultimate realization. Household life is for one who is attached, and the vanaprastha and sannyasa orders of life are for those who are detached from material life. The brahmachari-asrama is especially meant for training both the attached and detached." (S. bhag. 1:9:26)

In Part 2 we'll get back to that last statement, about the best training for all men, but for now let's think about the Wild West, where civilization would be a good idea. Is brahmachari life possible, outside of India? Is a concentrated program for men's walking the talk that the material world is not our home feasible in this century? Looking at the number of real brahmachari ashrams in Western ISKCON, one certainly has grounds for doubts. I'm not speaking of temples where a young man happens along who gets it in his head to "move in" or "join up," and then immediately he's clad in saffron, assigned a spot somewhere in the building, where he can fend for himself--until he becomes frustrated and leaves, to the wider congregation, or to marry, or to go away entirely.

For example, in all of the USA and Canada, where ISKCON has been established from its beginning in the sixties, now you can easily count the number of serious, dedicated brahmachari operations on just one hand. Down-under, where the distances are huge and the population small, you'd find two. Indeed, outside of India, brahmacharis in ISKCON have made it onto the list of endangered species. The social environment of the West during the past decades didn't help. Consider the intense careerism and the drive for money--that is, before the Great Recession hit--and the tsunami of wanton sensuality, especially the destructive lifestyles of the party, club, and drug scene so essential to contemporary urban life. Combine these woes with the reality that most ISKCON temples in the West have been unable to offer genuine brahmachari training for quite some time, and you can see the result at Sunday gatherings: a speck of saffron at best, amidst a sea of white kurtas, multi-colored saris, and conventional western attire.

Let us recall the original purpose of the classic Vedic social and occupational system. Revisiting the same Bhagavatam purport, we may note: "to accelerate transcendental qualities of the individual person so that he may gradually realize his spiritual identity and thus act accordingly to get free from material bondage, or conditional life." Brahmachari life is a highly focused career-calling, an accelerated intensive for attaining freedom from material existence. Unimpeded by the normal material priorities, pursuits, and ambitions, it offers a substantial swim in the endless ocean of selfless devotional service. Chop out of life that aim, to escape material bondage and climb aboard the spiritual plane, and I agree--entering brahmachari life makes no sense. Hence, to many Western eyes, it is incomprehensible. Last week in New Zealand a media controversy arose about a popular mega-church. At the top of the news articles, the prime controversies were paraded: a pastor pushy about getting money and who--God forbid--arranged, among his congregation, meetings for only men . . .

Sometimes even our own ISKCON devotees have difficulty grasping the contemporary importance of brahmachari life. That's understandable, I think, owing to the lack of serious, "purpose built and purpose driven" men's ashrams. Honestly, I do believe it better men live a lifestyle in the wider congregation, as an upstanding bachelor or householder, than they enter into a pseudo brahmachari situation, where--minus the critical elements of leadership, camaraderie, facility, and training--only the dye in the cloth is there to give support.

One month after that ceremony of cap and gown, I discovered Srila Prabhupada’s books, and after pouring over them four hours a day, through six continuous months, in December I made my first visit to the New York temple. I became a fulltime resident there in March of ’73.

What did Mother Yale, as its flock call the institution, mean to me? I remember the rooms of conservative, straight-laced students, their walls draped with huge school banners that said,” For God, For Country, For Yale.” I never hung out with those types.

The social activists and the fancy-free were my crowd. To me, then, Yale was four years of frustration in my search for the highest knowledge, and depressing disappointment with mundane political and economic solutions to the world’s problems.

It also meant the lifestyle of a Kali-yuga student. Upon coming to Krishna consciousness, I so regretted the deep and vile ignorance of my previous years that I never wanted to see the distinctive architecture of the Yale campus again.

Now, thirty seven years later, devotees are asking me to go there, to tactfully present Lord Chaitanya’s mercy. They don’t know that to do so, I have to confront a vast lagoon of deeply buried emotional intensity: “My wasted life--why did I willfully forget Krishna and toil uselessly in material existence!”

Since beginning my bhakti endeavor, I’ve always blamed Mother Yale for the regretful nondevotee years spent on her lap and for all the illusions fed me. She certainly can obscure real knowledge and drown her nescient children in pools of sophisticated decadence. On the other hand, I do now agree that her tabernacles and citadels have the potential for truly higher education, leading to significant individual and societal transformation.

The night of the outreach program, the Manhattan devotees gleefully drove me around the campus. “Maharaja, do you remember? What dormitory did you live in? How has the campus changed?”

Yes, Mother is guilty as charged, but that night, as I reconnected, for Krishna’s service, I fully faced up to my own foul play: I had sought to enjoy and control, voluntarily embracing the endless network of maya.

Let the next chapter begin: the King of all knowledge and confidential wisdom marries Mum. Or at least they can date.

• [369 MB] 4th of April - New York 1st Avenue Center - Hankering and Lamenting have their Place in Krishna consciousness
• [340 MB] 8th of April - Washington D.C. - Prisoner of Love
• [442 MB] 9th of April - Caitanya Caritamrita Adi-Lila 10.85 - How could anyone make-up false accusations against devotees? (with Radhanatha Swami)

(audio-only versions of these talks are also available in the "Lectures" section of this website)

The center they've maintained all this time is a large house, with a temple area, kitchen, public bathroom, and lounge on the ground floor. Upstairs, in a few small rooms, is where Pyari Mohan and his wife live, and where they have raised two children in Krishna consciousness. The daughter now has her own family and abode; the son is away at university. Simultaneously, grandfather Pyari and grandmother Jiva keep rolling on, with their selfless outreach service.

"We never took any money from temple donations for our maintenance," Pyari informed me. His wife and he were book distributors before marriage and continued that service after they became householders. When it became apparent that the proceeds from book distribution would not be enough to support a budding family, from out of the blue manifested another source of income. As a child Pyari was always interested in magic. Thinking to learn some tricks for his little daughter's birthday celebration, he sought out a magic shop. Emerging loaded with items, he wondered what had come over him--he had spent over $100.

After the birthday party, Pyari continued to develop his skills, gradually reached the level of a professional magician. "Say the magic word 'Radhe-Govinda'," he cues spellbound audiences at schools, private functions, and homes for the elderly. In the backyard behind the center, he keeps a dove and a rabbit, to aid his repertoire of tricks. His financial advice for grhastas wanting a missionary focus: "Stick to it, live simply. Krishna mysteriously arranges for your basic maintenance."

Jiva is a devastating cook--famous throughout ISKCON. Pyari humbly claims that people come to their center only because of her kitchen prowess. Praising her low-maintenance profile (and thanking Krishna for it), he told me how for their wedding anniversary he chivalrously drove her to Walmart (an American discount mega-store, equivalent down-under to Warehouse or Target)) and told her to pick out whatever she desired. Reciprocating with this gallant gesture, she replied that she wasn't interested in acquiring anything.

All glories to such a saintly and inspiring family.

• Video 1 [23 MB]
• Video 2 [16 MB]
• Video 3 [28 MB]
• Video 4 [33 MB]
• Video 5 [176 MB]
• Video 6 [192 MB]
• Video 7 [50 MB]
• Video 8 [235 MB]
• Video 9 [355 MB]
• Video 10 [200 MB]

This unexpected consideration touched my heart while at the same time unsealed a flood of piercing memories, from dire and dangerous Iron Curtain days. In the summer of 1978 , way out on a limb, seeking Prabhupada's mercy, another devotee and I made our first foray into Soviet shackled Bulgaria. Freshly arrived in Europe a few months earlier, I was on a determined personal quest to catch Prabhupada's attention, eight months after his departure from this world. At that time, the ISKCON temple near Frankfurt, Germany, was the base for clandestine communist country preaching. The handful of devotees in that special program would disappear from the temple for weeks at a time, our itinerary kept secret--for our own safety and for the protection of the fledgling devotees in those imprisoned countries.

Pressed to arrive in Europe from Los Angeles before summer, I had schemed how to obtain my driver's license though I was still struggling at the wheel. Especially, learning on a manual gear shift put me in fits. Automatic transmissions, though common in the USA, were rare in Europe back then, so for Krishna's service I had to persevere. Because I had never driven before, my Godbrother Yadubhara das, ISKCON's famous film-maker, kindly gave me a few crash driving lessons. But the date for my departure loomed before my driving abilities had sufficiently bloomed. To quickly dispose of the road test, I had a great idea: Yadubhara would drive me to the test center, and we would follow behind the cars of people undergoing the test. Upon my repeatedly observing the test routine, I would then just practice and master only the route and maneuvers the road test specifically entailed. It worked--I got my license and flew overseas. Of course, though officially certified, my actual driving abilities were primitive, especially for changing gears. Yet, the communist bloc preaching, demanding massive long-distance driving, couldn't wait.

The ISKCON leader at the time, Harikesa Swami, resolved the dilemma. He took me out in his car on the autobahn--no speed limits--put me in the driver seat, and told me to go for it. As Mercedes and BMWs thundered by at 200 km (125 miles) per hour, I quickly got over my road fear. Gear shifting, however, still eluded me. Though not crucial on the autobahn, it was completely necessary on ordinary roads. Never mind--the time for a mission to Bulgaria was upon us. A 24-hour drive from Germany to Bulgaria would surely cure my ailing manual shifting. Off we went, my Godbrother Rama Sraddha--who couldn't drive at all--at my side, and yours truly at the wheel.

Noisily grinding the gear box all the 24 hours to Sofia, Bulgaria, I then lurched our car 7 more hours through the country to a secret program arranged at some unknown contact's house at Varna, on the Black Sea. There we celebrated Janmastami and Prabhupada's Vyasa Puja, aided by a translator, surrounded by 15 total strangers, all eager for something beyond the bleak life in Soviet Bulgaria. After two days the mini-festival ended, and the group dispersed. Fed by an informant at the gathering, the KGB roared into action, grilling all who had attended. Ram Sraddha and I had departed only hours before the raid. Regardless of the brutal Soviet regime, though, Krishna's nectarean poison was already at work. One of the people I had spoken to and instructed later emerged as Radhavallabha das, a fearless, empowered leader and organizer on behalf of Lord Chaitanya.

To be precise, there were already three or four Bulgarian devotees in Sofia, far inland to the west, but they were quite timid about preaching and just mixed bhakti into their private family lives, rarely venturing outside their tiny closed circle. Anyone knowing the ferocity of the Bulgarian KGB could hardly blame them. Radhavallabha's divine, bold service, however, decisively broke open the dam that had blocked the floodwaters of love of God there. Bulgarian devotees now refer to him as the original devotee, because it was he who first came out of the closet, to actually launch the active Krishna consciousness mission in that nation. He was certainly the original leader.

Radhavallabha turned out to be too good and effective at his precious devotional service. The KGB took note and let him know about it. Still he fearlessly pushed on, throughout Bulgaria. The Russian KGB, as you may have read in Salted Bread, were more subtle than their Bulgarian brethren. The Russian secret police would snatch devotees and then, after a mock trial, dispatch them to forced labor camps in Siberia, for gradually destroying their body and mind. The Bulgarians lacked such patience and finesse.

One day Radhavallabha was walking alongside a road, when out of nowhere appeared a speeding car. Veering off the road, it rammed him, and raced away--a trademark KGB killing.

Those were the days. We thought they'd never end.

I offer my most respectful obeisances to the departed bhakti hero Radhavallabha das, who, as a daring servant of Lord Chaitanya, is surely situated in the spiritual world.

Krishna in the Gita certifies the status of the devotee dedicated to spreading His glories: "Pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear."

But there is also the other side; therefore I never recommend that unseasoned devotees travel around India alone. One emerging devotee, after seeking my advice about her first trip to India, decided not to heed my admonitions about inexperienced women traveling alone there. Rather than going straight to her destination, she took a side trip to Vrindavan--her girlfriends had exhorted her, "You have to go there, to get the mercy."

Blissfully she floated into Vrindavan, where immediately she received the mercy: a marriage proposal--just what her heart had been aching for. Seeing her for the first time, the local wooer sought to wrap the deal up straightaway. He escorted her to Radha Kund, to the house of an astrologer, "mentioned in a tour-guide book of the holy places," she explained. He was a very serious sadhu, the young lady adjudged. "Oh how compatible! Your planets all complement his, and by your union all material and spiritual success will flow," the astrologer exclaimed. Her lonely heart soared to the heavens. He then described to her how the most auspicious time for this perfect match to be consummated was coming in just . . . two months. Her intelligence taken aback, but her heart chakra open, she replied that Devamrita Swami instructs devotees to gradually approach marriage, in a structured and explorative way. "Don't worry about that--I'll write to him and explain everything," the astrologer assured. She then emailed me: "I think your recommended approach to marriage is totally correct, but for some reason, I believe this astrologer. After all, he looked to me very knowledgeable--in fact, when we arrived, he was reading a Prabhupada book." Her verdict: "Astrology is part of the Vedas, and a bona fide science; I could arrange a letter from the astrologer, attesting to his qualifications."

My initial travel advice unheeded, I had scant desire to be the party spoiler--you know, the mean swami who pulls the brake on the Amorous Express, speeding on a one-way track to the guaranteed gingerbread house in the magical forest. I felt I had done my best, disseminating though the mentor system the axiom: "Marry in haste, repent at leisure." Nevertheless, with the understanding and sympathy that comes with age and experience, after some time I briefly wrote, : "I have been hesitating to reply, because the situation is not one I would like to enter into, and you are quite naive about India, astrologers, and astrology. So you have to proceed at your own risk. I know you are eager for a husband--that is natural for a lady your age, so I hope your plans work for you. Always remain in Krishna consciousness, whatever you do. That is the best that I can say." Fortunately, the cloudburst of romance had faded, even before my email arrived, and the sun of better discretion was higher in the sky--to her credit. She thanked me for my caring.

Hearing the story, Kesava Bharati Maharaja, an old India hand, living at Govardhan for fifteen years, chuckled, "For a few hundred rupees, anyone around here can keep an astrologer on retainer, for saying whatever necessary, whenever needed. Every shop in Vrindavan displays a Prabhupada picture prominently, to flatter ISKCON devotees. Just walk in, and immediately the shop-owner will start doing puja to the picture."

Seeking to keep healthy circulation, I asked the devotees at the ashram if they could recommend any masseurs in the town. Laughingly, they told me the first and last time they tried that was with one of my Godbrothers, eight years ago. The hands of the hired masseur, however, kept gravitating toward the groin area, despite the client's loud protests. Abruptly the senior Vaishnava ended the session. Later the ashram devotees heard that some upright locals in the town had chastised the masseur for this incident with the foreign devotee. Defending his occupation, he had innocently replied: "But many swamis from our area like when I do that."

Perhaps we have forgotten too quickly Srila Prabhupada's revelations about the varying types of characters inhabiting the holy places in India. He was especially careful about his ISKCON devotees wandering freestyle around Vrindavan, knowing their naivete and spiritual susceptibility to anyone who looks like a sadhu and speaks krsna-lila. For my serious disciples, I always instruct that they go to India with an experienced guide; otherwise better not to go at all.

What's a swami holiday here like? Dedication to ever fresher chanting, reading, and associating with Godbrothers are the main events. "The days are cooling down now," His Holiness Kesava Bharati Maharaja informs me. Sure, I silently reply--the temperature is 37 degrees C (98.6 F).

I don't care about the heat. O Sri Govardhana, the best servitor of Krishna, I look forward to my days at your foot. Casting aside bodily cares in the all-spiritual atmosphere, this lowly devotee will seek the shelter of the holy name. Tomorrow is Ekadasi--I can't wait to get my tongue and fingers in action. Best to clear out my email and finish settling in today. Tomorrow will be a feast of japa beads and divine sound. What a miracle Srila Prabhupada has performed--transporting en masse the lowest of humanity from Kali-yuga to Vrindavan's forests.

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Thank you very much.
Your servants,
Candidasa dasa and Visnumaya devi dasi

"Spiritual Economics" - lecture given by Devamrita Swami, to 150 professors, MBA students, and government officials at the main auditorium of the Rotman School of Business and Management, the University of Toronto, May 29, 2007. (click here read more)

The Rotman School has set out to redesign business education for the 21st century and become one of the world's top-tier business schools. Located in the heart of Toronto -- North America's third-largest financial centre and one of the world's most culturally-diverse cities -- the School is developing an innovative curriculum built around Integrative ThinkingTM and Business DesignTM. These are just some of the reasons why Bruce Nussbaum recently wrote in BusinessWeek Online, "Managers who want to 'get' the new innovation paradigm should check out [Rotman's] MBA and exec-ed programs"; Simon London wrote in the Financial Times, "A handful of enlightened business school deans – such as Robert Joss at Stanford, Dipak Jain at Kellogg and Roger Martin at the Rotman School – are starting to preach the gospel of integrated thinking, cross-disciplinary studies and learning-by-doing”; and The Wall Street Journal called the Rotman School a "hidden gem." The Rotman vision for 21st-century business education is built around Integrative Thinking. The current model of business education -- which divides business into a number of functional areas -- has changed little since its introduction in the early 20th century. Although this model provided global leadership for nearly a century, its inherent flaws are becoming increasingly problematic as the modern economy takes shape. One of the weaknesses of the traditional approach is that business problems rarely lie within the boundaries of individual functional areas, and cannot be resolved using the narrow models developed within functional boundaries. Today's business problems sprawl messily across the functions -- and across models -- creating a need for managers who can attend simultaneously to a vast array of interconnected variables and deal effectively with enigmatic choices. In short, modern leadership necessitates Integrative Thinking. That's why our curriculum is constantly evolving, with the introduction of new courses, content, and approaches. In short, the Rotman School is developing a new way to think. We invite you to be a part of it.

Video courtesy of Krishna Lounge, San Diego.

[ download ] Govardhana-puja
[ download ] Srila Prabhupada disappearance day
[ download ] Ecstatic pre-sankritan marathon lecture

at Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir:
[ download ] The utmost necessity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in our lives & Mahaprabhu's pastimes at the house of Advaita Acarya

at Urban Yoga Melbourne:
[ download ] Wake up to your real identity
[ download ] Seeking the highest pleasure

[ download ] Any Benediction You Want!
[ download ] Real Relatinoships vs. The Itch
[ download ] Dealing with the Samsara Bija
[ download ] Urban Community Meeting
[ download ] Real Horror (sf)
[ download ] Past Scars

[ download ] Cricket Consciousness
[ download ] Observe the Flow of Time

[ download ] Disgusted by material sense enjoyment
[ download ] Non-violence
[ download ] Bhakti Yoga Context

[ download ] Spirit of Food
[ download ] Spirituality at Work: more choice equals less happiness
[ download ] Spiritual Economics

Understanding God [ download ]
Advaita Acarya's Appearance Day [ download ]
Understanding Yoga [ download ]
Dealing with Mass Consensual Trance [ download ]
Drugs vs. Real Pleasure (Sunday Feast) [ download ]
Evaluating Different Religions [ download ]

Bali Maharaja's Promise and Science [ download ]
Material Delusion vs. the Vedic Process [ download ]
Introduction to the Matsya Avatar [ download ]
Initiation: Indranatha das, Gurutama das, Prema Yogi das, Campak Gaur devi dasi [ download ]

Bali Maharaja's tolerance [ download ]

In the Bhagavad-gita (6.17), Lord Krishna advises: “He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation, and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” Amidst the first rays of the morning, I knew exactly what leisure activity would satisfy my heart and mind. Next to me, radiant with beauty, waited Pure Delight. Within easy reach, all 18 volumes sat on a shelf--Srimad-Bhagavatam. Soon I would have this unexcelled spiritual text back in my arms.

I showered, exercised, and chanted my 16 rounds of the mahamantra. Then gently I took in my hands the Bhagavatam Tenth Canto volume one. Affectionately cradling it and turning the pages, I knew life doesn’t get any better than this. Now nothing can do me any harm. My eyes hungrily devoured all the type--both the Sanskrit and English; my tongue and lips happily enunciated the sounds of every word; my parched mind determinedly drowned in the verses and Bhaktivedanta purports. I begged Lord Krishna, may the glorious Srimad-Bhagavatam saturate and elevate my abysmal consciousness.

“Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.” (Narada Pancaratna, quoted in Cc. Madhya 19.170)

How wonderful a companion is the cream of Vedic literature--how sweet it is! And Srimad-bhagavatam is a the perfect low-maintenance partner. You simply pay a few hundred dollars for the set, and it’s yours for life, never to say goodbye. Not only is the thrill permanent, but also, with each passing year and reading, the delicious taste intensifies. Sometimes when you’re a bit in illusion, the Bhagavatam does seem to tell you things you don’t like to hear. But in saner moments, you know it’s true.

My trip of devotional service around the world began on the plane from Australia, Friday, May 18. After arriving in Los Angeles eighteen hours later, on the same calendar day, I gave class Saturday morning, and hosted a gathering that night. Sunday morning I gave class again and sat with HH Gopal Krishna Goswami for an initiation ceremony. At noon I gave Gaura Prema das and his wife Nitai Prema dasi the gayatri mantra. They said they were eager to serve the Deities--not just to have the brahmin label, so I agreed to the temple’s request for their second initiation. Then I drove down the highway two hours to San Diego for the Sunday evening program. After an overnight at the abode of Sikhi Mahiti das and the morning program, I returned to Los Angeles. Unlike last year’s trip to San Diego, this time no cars crashed into us.

The Los Angeles temple community was now packed with senior Vaishnavas, flying in for the annual Bhaktivedanta Book Trust management meeting. Meanwhile all day long, a steady stream of disciples, aspiring disciples, and well-wishers kept me busy in Krishna’s service. Finally, I caught up with the temple president Svavas Prabhu at his office, for a review of my disciples in Los Angeles. As always, there was good news and bad news. Yes, the jiva soul, part of the Supreme Soul, has its independence, to use or misuse. From the behavior/misbehavior analysis we moved on to outreach strategies. Svavas Prabhu expressed his desire to personally cultivate and develop young Americans, in a setting specifically for them--of course, that was music to my ears. The senior ISKCON leaders in North America are such wonderful personalities, but if they don’t “wade into the water”--immerse themselves in contact with the people--then what will be the future of ISKCON there?

On Tuesday morning, May 22, I retreated an hour and a half up the road to Giriraja Swami’s house, near Santa Barbara. He took one look at my weary bodily machine and called for his disciple who was a professional masseuse and acupuncturist. My visit to Maharaja’s place allowed me about thirty hours to unwind, before returning to Los Angeles Wednesday night. Giriraja Swami and I chatted about vital Krishna conscious topics, especially about the preeminent role of Srila Prabhupada’s books. Since he was a retired Governing Body Commissioner of South Africa, I sought his advice on management there, now that I had been requested to do that service.
When you’re young and green, often you think you know almost everything--you’re going to reinvent the wheel and turn the world upside down. Maturity tempers that brashness with the wisdom that others may actually know something valuable. Nevertheless, as my Godbrother HH Sivarama Swami relayed to me, “We may think that now, with all our decades of experience, we can direct younger devotees so they’ll avoid repeating ISKCON mistakes of the past, but actually not all of them will listen cent percent--even our own disciples . . . ” To at least some degree, some of them will have to repeat at least some elements of the past. In other words, despite our attempts to counsel, a significant number of the juniors will feel compelled to do things “all their way” and get burned. The senior leaders won’t be able to completely eradicate that syndrome, but at least they can conscientiously work to minimize it--without dampening the youthful enthusiasm that is so important for powering the future.

For two days straight, I accompanied Giriraja Swami on his almost daily ritual of walks on the beach. As the tide of the Pacific Ocean moved in, he chanted and I did my pranayama breathing: out with the Los Angeles smog, in with the fresh sea breezes--just as the doctor in Puri, India, had instructed me. Right before my departure, arrived HH Indradyumna Swami, “the hardest working man in Krishna-festival business.” Flying directly from Eastern Europe, he sought a much-deserved rest at Giriraja Swami’s abode. I was unashamedly envious--he had scheduled thirty precious days of recuperation there.

For an hour we talked the “sannyasa talk.” An esteemed Godsister, Urmila Mataji, traveling to an airport in Italy with HH Bhakti Tirtha and me, quipped that as soon as householder devotees meet, they talk about their children, and whenever sannyasis meet, their first topic is traveling. So yes, Indradyumna Swami and I talked about traveling--in relation to preaching and health. We both noted that as the years go by, the body takes longer to recover from intercontinental jaunts.

Regretfully I had to tear myself away--I was supposed to give class the next morning in Los Angeles. But before I could get out the door, Indradyumna Maharaja embarrassed me, pointing out I had not written for my website since September of last year--eight months ago. “Your fans, like me, are wondering what’s going on.” Red-faced that Godbrothers were bothering to read what I wrote, I promised I would get back into it.

The final day of my visits to Los Angeles is always the most intense. I gave Bhagavatam class again on Thursday morn, chanted, danced, breakfasted with the senior leaders, and conversed privately with some of them about pressing ISKCON or BBT matters. Throughout that day were more discussions with devotees--last-minute personal meetings always seem to manifest out of nowhere, the closer is departure time. Friday, at 5 am, I left for the airport.

I had sought a midday flight, so I could finish my rounds before traveling. Remember, I do publicly instruct that devotees should mold their life around attentive chanting--shouldn’t I walk my talk? But this day was the first of a big holiday weekend in the USA; therefore I had no choice in flights. Even at 5 am, travelers crammed the airport. In a quiet corner before boarding the flight, though physically exhausted, I managed to chant a few rounds. Five hours later I would disembark, into a packed schedule of university speaking engagements--my first visit to Canada in fifteen years.

(to be continued)

Sanga in Separation: Mahaprabhu's Supreme Puri Lessons - Class One [ download 7.5MB ]

Sanga in Separation: Mahaprabhu's Supreme Puri Lessons - Class Two [ download 7.01MB ]

Sanga in Separation: Mahaprabhu's Supreme Puri Lessons - Class Three [ download 7.18MB ]

The Vyasa Puja homages are online for viewing here.

I had planned for five straight days of service to the Melbourne devotees, who are so wisely led by the empowered team of Aniruddha Prabhu and his wife Acintya Rupa Mataji. But a special management meeting in Sydney interrupted the calm and recuperative pace I sought to maintain. On July 25 I had to fly to Sydney and back, the same day. Then the next day, near midnight, the intercontinental penances began: a nine-hour night flight to Bangkok, a three-hour gap to chant my rounds, followed by another nine hours in the air to Moscow. In the morning, I gave a class at the Moscow brahmachari heaven, and after the relishing the association of the forty fortunate saffron souls, I left for St. Petersburg, my main place of seva in Russia.

The revival in St. Petersburg—formerly ISKCON’s biggest yatra in Europe—is still underway. After major setbacks in 1998, slowly the giant is awakening. Such is life in the material world, even for a spiritual movement. Krishna Himself explains that even His own message becomes lost, due to the corrosive influence of time in the world of maya; therefore he has to periodically speak the Gita again, to revive the correct understanding. The important point is that He always does act, to resuscitate the bhakti movement. Deterioration is never left to run its own course in the material world.

Five days in Russia’s cultural and intellectual capital and then my schedule exiled me to Siberia.

This itinerary would entail a 1.5 hour flight to Moscow, where because Russian airlines don’t transfer luggage or passengers yet, I would have to claim my bags and check-in with it again, even though the connecting flight was the same airline. As expected, the scarce seats in the terminal were all occupied, so I propped myself against a wall and chanted Hare Krishna, before check-in was finally announced for my 3.5 hour flight to Omsk, on the western edge of Siberia.

Arriving in Omsk the same Thursday was the Russian-born sannyasi HH Bhakti-vijnana Maharaja. Together we conducted a weekend festival culminating in an initiation ceremony. On Monday we went our separate ways: he, westward, for his headquarters at the brahmachari heaven in Moscow, and I, eastward, deeper into Siberia.

My flight to Irkutsk, the main city of East Siberia was a typical Russian killer. Let me share the ordeal with you, to arouse your sympathy. After a spiritually enlivening but physically exhausting weekend festival, my “workday” ended at 11pm Sunday night. I managed a few hours of sleep, before rising at 2am to catch a 4:20am plane. Because it’s coming from a far-off city, I know the plane is probably late. But, you see, that foreknowledge makes little difference in Russia, because there you have to report at the airport on-time anyway—there’s no phone number to call to inquire in advance if a flight is delayed.

Five hours later, the torturous flight, late as expected, deposited me in the midst of that gigantic tract of land world-famous for exile and isolation. Few of you would understand the vastness of Russia, and fewer still, the size of Siberia.

The entire nation of Russia comprises 11 time zones. The largest country in the world, Russia spans two continents, Europe and Asia. Twice the area of the United States or China, Russia occupies an area of 17,075,200 sq km (6,592,800 sq mi). That’s more than one-ninth of the world’s total land area.

I tell you this not only so you can appreciate the grueling long-distance traveling Russia requires, but also so you can ponder the colossal management challenges that Russia thrusts upon ISKCON leaders. How can the GBCs there coordinate the far-flung temples of such a universe? How will the Russian temple presidents and regional leaders ever unite into one national council? As the current chairman of the GBCs there, I can’t escape these pressing concerns.

From the Arctic down to Turkey and the Muslim nations bordering Iran and Afghanisthan, Russia measures, north to south, more than 4,000 km (2,400 mi). East to west the nation spans almost 10,000 km (6,200 mi)--almost half the circumference of the earth.

Within that seemingly endless expanse is Siberia, a region 488,500 sq km (188,610 sq mi). That means just Siberia alone is bigger than the world’s second largest nation, Canada.

In mundane history, throughout the 20th Century, Siberia was notorious as the involuntary destination for political dissidents, “enemies of the state.” During the 1930s and 1940s, the Soviet regime dispatched millions of men and women to forced labor camps and prisons in Siberia. Poor working conditions and the region’s extreme climate finished off many. Though the massive numbers sent to these camps declined after Stalin’s death, the practice of forcibly exiling political foes to Siberia continued until the collapse of the communist system, less than twenty years ago.

In spiritual history, however, Siberia now shines, as a powerful sun in Lord Caitanya’s sky. Other than the mighty acaryas in our Gaudiya Vaishnava line, how many sadhus in India could have ever foreseen that in such a remote, isolated, and harsh environ of the world, approximately 2,500 devotees would thrive?

Mahaprabhu boldly declared, prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama, sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama: “In every town and city of the world, My name and mission will spread.” But Siberia? The region famous for year-round frozen tundra, forced-labour camps, and horrid environmental destruction?

Truthfully, for a devotee of Krishna, to be sent to Siberia is now a bhakti benediction. Consequently, there I was, seeking the service of the Siberian devotees and the association of my brother swamis, at the now annual East Siberia Festival of the Holy Name. At a basic and rustic rented site outside the city of Irkutsk, seven hundred devotees, from the east sub-region of Siberia had gathered for five days. HH Prabhavisnu Swami and HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami and I sought to both inspire them and become inspired by them.

And there my health returned full force. To counteract the car accident of April, when I was in Puri, India, in late June, I took therapeutic lessons in self-healing from a reknowned doctor. He has me doing basic pranayama and other exercise every morning. At the East Siberia festival, I surprised myself, leading 1.5- and 2-hour kirtans, singing and dancing nonstop.

Get it while you can! Use the temporary health of this temporary body to chant and dance in ecstasy. In this way, you attain the supreme eternal, even while within this temporary world.

"‘Simply by chanting the holy name of Krsna one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord." (Cc. Adi 7.73)

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/139 2006-08-02T11:27:36-06:00 2006-08-19T17:59:13-06:00 das

Like a commando team, our group of devotees, in the predawn darkness, drove off in a van for a special, sacred mission. Our secret target: the lotus feet of Sri Jagannatha, Sri Baladeva, and Sri Subhadra. It’s the Day After—the wee hours of the morning following Rathayatra. The carts and the Deities are now parked outside the Gundica Temple. Later this day the Deities will come down and enter their temporary home at Gundica.

We’ve been tipped off that the senior pandas (caste-brahmana priests), recuperating from the Rath parade, will rise late this morning. Little do they know that while the casteism cats are away, Prabhupada’s mice will play.

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Like a commando team, our group of devotees, in the predawn darkness, drove off in a van for a special, sacred mission. Our secret target: the lotus feet of Sri Jagannatha, Sri Baladeva, and Sri Subhadra. It’s the Day After—the wee hours of the morning following Rathayatra. The carts and the Deities are now parked outside the Gundica Temple. Later this day the Deities will come down and enter their temporary home at Gundica.

We’ve been tipped off that the senior pandas (caste-brahmana priests), recuperating from the Rath parade, will rise late this morning. Little do they know that while the casteism cats are away, Prabhupada’s mice will play.

<!--break-->Ridiculous it is that foreign devotees are barred entry into the Jagannatha Temple. Is Jagannatha Lord of the universe or Lord of whomever the security guards think resembles a Hindu—whatever that is? Millions of Indian tourists and pilgrims funnel through the gate—no guard will ever know if they are cow-killers, dog-eaters, atheists, or murderers. Simply the people have to “look Indian.”

Most male visitors to the temple do not wear traditional devotional attire. Clad in Western-style shirts and slacks, with cigarettes in the back pocket, they move freely within the temple. Foreigners, whether devotees or not, are completely banned. But even if an Indian devotee enters, if he happens to be dressed neatly in dhoti and kurta and wearing neckbeads, japa bag, and fresh tilak, the guards will threatingly challenge: “ISKCON?”

The distorted folk notion is that Jagannatha is for Hindu-born worshippers, and that therefore even Indian members of ISKCON should be shunned, because they’ve helped disseminate throughout India and the world the illusion that Jagannatha is Lord of all, and anyone has the right to see Him.

Although the time is 4am, already 100 Indian pilgrims surround each cart, seeking a close-up experience. One hundred is better than the hundreds of thousands we knew would amass later. Our small party includes HH Radhanatha Swami, HH Sacinandana Swami, HH Chandramauli Swami, the twin Mayapura pujaris, Jananivasa Prabhu and Pankajangrahi Prabhu. From below we watch a few foreign ISKCON devotees, along with the Indian pilgrims, climb the carts. Their white bodies gleaming in the moonlight amidst the swarm of brown and black, if they managed to successfully clamber all the way up onto the main platform, they immediately ran into their next obstacle: the security guards and the pandas. By flashing 1000-rupee bills and thrusting them into the eager hands, the foreign ISKCON devotees suddenly morphed into official Hindus.

Like many temples in Orissa, the Jagannatha Mandira is under government management. That means all salaries for the temple servitors are controlled. Jagannatha’s priests are said to earn officially no more than 100 rupees per month—the equivalent of about $2 USD. Government regulations forbid the priests to hold another job—if they try they can be fired on the spot. Now, at the break of day, while the stodgy senior pandas sleep, the more liberal juniors rake it in—1000 rupees per white head, and step right up for your darshan. Nevertheless, these enterprising younger pandas didn’t allow the foreign devotees to intimately approach the Deity.

Our party had an inside connection: a young panda who appreciated Srila Prabhupada’s bringing Lord Jagannatha and Rathayatra all over the world. Dividing us into two groups, he first escorted Radhanatha Swami, Chandramauli Swami, and me to the back of Jagannatha’s cart. How, just three months after a debilitating car accident, I managed to climb up the world’s largest Rath carts is still a mystery to me. Determined like an Olympic gymnast pursuing a gold medal, I stretched my legs from one beam of wood high up to the next, and then with my arms hoisted myself up, level after level. Finally, we all attained the main platform of Jagannath’s cart. Led by our panda agent, we squirmed our way through the crowd of Indian pilgims desperate to see Lord Jagannatha. “ISKCON?” a security guard challenged. Not answering, we pressed forward to the front of the cart, to the Deity’s throne.

Now we were directly in front of Lord Jagannatha, less than an arm’s length before us. I focused upon the Caitanya-caritamrita’s description of Lord Caitanya’s seeing Lord Jagannatha. God Himself, as His own devotee, teaches us the supreme method for taking darshan of the Lord.

“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very thirsty to see the Lord, and His eyes became like two bumblebees drinking the honey from the lotuslike eyes of Lord Jagannatha, who is Krsna Himself.

“The eyes of Lord Jagannatha conquered the beauty of blossoming lotus flowers, and His neck was as lustrous as a mirror made of sapphires.

“The chin of the Lord, tinged with buff color, conquered the beauty of the bandhuli flower. This increased the beauty of His mild smiling, which was like lustrous waves of nectar.

“The luster of His beautiful face increased at every moment, and the eyes of hundreds and thousands of devotees drank its honey like bumblebees.

“As their eyes began to drink the nectarean honey of His lotus face, their thirst increased. Thus their eyes did not leave Him.” (Madhya 12.211 to 215)

Ignoring the priests outstretched hands for money, I lowered my body, lunged forward, and pressed my head directly at Lord Jagannatha’s lotus feet. With all the sincerity I could muster in my tiny heart, I begged Him: “Please help me to please Srila Prabhupada.”

His Divine Grace so eloquently explains my modus operandi in a Seventh-Canto purport:

“This human form of body is a most valuable boat, and the spiritual master is the captain, guru-karnadharam, to guide the boat in plying across the ocean of nescience. The instruction of Krsna is a favorable breeze. One must use all these facilities to cross over the ocean of nescience. Since the spiritual master is the captain, one must serve the spiritual master very sincerely so that by his mercy one will be able to get the mercy of the Supreme Lord.

“ . . . The spiritual master is certainly very merciful to his disciples, and consequently by satisfying him a devotee gets strength from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore says, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija: [Cc. Madhya 19.151] one must first please the spiritual master, and then one automatically pleases Krsna and gets the strength with which to cross the ocean of nescience. If one seriously desires to return home, back to Godhead, one must therefore become strong enough by pleasing the spiritual master, for thus one gets the weapon with which to conquer the enemy, and one also gets the grace of Krsna. Simply getting the weapon of jnana is insufficient. One must sharpen the weapon by serving the spiritual master and adhering to his instructions. Then the candidate will get the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (SB 7.15.45)

At the carts of Sri Baladeva and Sri Subhadra, we three swamis, led by our panda insider, repeated the transcendental gymnastic process up to the main platform. Thrusting my head down at the lotus feet of Sri Subhadra, I gently prayed for access to the Lord’s internal potency. On the last cart, submitting my lowly head at the lotus feet of Sri Baladeva, I cried out in desperation, “Please give me spiritual strength--on my own I’m so weak and feeble!”

Again let us hear Srila Prabhupada explain, in the same purport, why I made this prayer:

“Significant in this verse are the words jnanasim acyuta-balah. Jnanasim, the sword of knowledge, is given by Krsna, and when one serves the guru and Krsna in order to hold the sword of Krsna's instructions, Balarama gives one strength. Balarama is Nityananda. Vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei, balarama ha-ila nitai. This bala--Balarama--comes with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and both of Them are so merciful that in this age of Kali one may very easily take shelter of Their lotus feet. They come especially to deliver the fallen souls of this age. Papi tapi yata chila, hari-name uddharila. Their weapon is sankirtana, hari-nama. Thus one should accept the sword of knowledge from Krsna and be strong with the mercy of Balarama. We are therefore worshiping Krsna-Balarama in Vrndavana. In the Mundaka Upanisad (3.2.4) it is said:

nayam atma bala-hinena labhyo

na ca pramadat tapaso vapy alingat

etair upayair yatate yas tu vidvams

tasyaisa atma visate brahma-dhama

“One cannot attain the goal of life without the mercy of Balarama. Sri Narottama dasa Thakura therefore says, nitaiyera karuna habe, vraje radha-krsna pabe: when one receives the mercy of Balarama, Nityananda, one can attain the lotus feet of Radha and Krsna very easily.

se sambandha nahi yara, brtha janma gela tara,

vidya-kule hi karibe tara

“If one has no connection with Nitai, Balarama, then even though one is a very learned scholar or jnani or has taken birth in a very respectable family, these assets will not help him. We must therefore conquer the enemies of Krsna consciousness with the strength received from Balarama.” (SB 7.15.46)

An afterthought: Nothing is lacking in the Jagannatha Deites installed at our ISKCON temples. There, anyone of any body-type can have darshan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without security guards chasing you out because “you don’t look ‘Hindu’.” During Prabhupada’s ISKCON years with us, although he inaugurated Rathayatras all over the world, he refused to enter the Jaganatha Temple in Puri, because his foreign disciples were not allowed to have darshan. Why then did my Godbrothers and I apparently endeavor so mightily to see Sri Jagannatha in Puri?

Please understand that our real reason for visiting Puri was not to craftily circumvent the pandas’ foolish caste restrictions but to lead an ISKCON pilgrimage to all the holy spots associated with gaura-lila and to witness the original Rathayatra. Coincidentally, though, on the Day After, a special chance to intimately approach Lord Jagannatha had arisen—a window of opportunity, on the only day of the year when Sri Jagannatha is publicly accessible outside. So then why not take advantage--why not go for it? As Prabhupada once explained, devotees are the greatest opportunists. We happened to be in the right place at the right time, so we took advantage. Spiritual adventure, for pleasing Krishna’s senses, is also a part of the bhakti experience.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/138 2006-07-31T03:19:41-06:00 2006-07-31T03:19:41-06:00 ekendra

The Blazing Fear of Seperation from Lord Caitanya [ download ]

Given: Sri Jagannatha Puri Dham	On: 30-Jun-2006	In: English	Length: 42 mins
Uploaded: 31-Jul-2006
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			4.85 megabytes

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The Simha Guru (With HH Radhanatha Swami and HG Jananivas Prabhu) [ download ]

Given: Sri Jagannatha Puri Dham	On: 28-Jun-2006	In: English	Length: 77 mins
Uploaded: 31-Jul-2006
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			8.79 megabytes

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The Blazing Fear of Seperation from Lord Caitanya [ download ]

Given: Sri Jagannatha Puri Dham	On: 30-Jun-2006	In: English	Length: 42 mins
Uploaded: 31-Jul-2006
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			4.85 megabytes

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The Simha Guru (With HH Radhanatha Swami and HG Jananivas Prabhu) [ download ]

Given: Sri Jagannatha Puri Dham	On: 28-Jun-2006	In: English	Length: 77 mins
Uploaded: 31-Jul-2006
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			8.79 megabytes

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Krishna's Potencies [ download ]

Given: Melbourne, Australia	On: 24-Jul-2006	In: English	Length: 49 mins
Uploaded: 27-Jul-2006	Sastra: SB 10.32.10
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			5.61 megabytes

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You Cannot Materially Judge Devotional Service [ download ]

Given: Melbourne, Australia	On: 26-Jul-2006	In: English	Length: 41 mins
Uploaded: 27-Jul-2006	Sastra: SB 10.32.14
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			4.73 megabytes

 

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/137 2006-07-24T17:34:55-06:00 2006-07-24T17:34:55-06:00 ekendra

Given: Melbourne, Australia	On: 07-Jul-2006	In: English	Length: 60 mins
Uploaded: 25-Jul-2006	Sastra: SB 10.31.1
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			6.88 megabytes

 

[download]

 

 

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Given: Melbourne, Australia	On: 07-Jul-2006	In: English	Length: 60 mins
Uploaded: 25-Jul-2006	Sastra: SB 10.31.1
mp3 - mono - cbr - 16 kbps 11025 Hz			6.88 megabytes

 

[download]

 

 

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/136 2006-07-17T02:50:23-06:00 2006-08-19T17:55:18-06:00 das

Materially we’re in Puri, a small city of 125,000, near Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, on the central east coast of India. Spiritually, however, we’re in Sri Purushottama-kshetra, also known as Niladri or Nilacala—the famous home of Lord Jagannatha and His mandira. It’s Rathayatra day. Our small party had special passes allowing our presence in the special cordoned area where the Rath carts waited for the Deities to arrive from the Jagannath Temple nearby.
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Materially we’re in Puri, a small city of 125,000, near Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, on the central east coast of India. Spiritually, however, we’re in Sri Purushottama-kshetra, also known as Niladri or Nilacala—the famous home of Lord Jagannatha and His mandira. It’s Rathayatra day. Our small party had special passes allowing our presence in the special cordoned area where the Rath carts waited for the Deities to arrive from the Jagannath Temple nearby.
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Their Holinesses Radhanatha Swami, Indradyumna Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Bhakti Charu Swami, as well as Pankajangahi Prabhu, Jananivas Prabhu, and I were eager for a close-up. When Sri Jagannath, Sri Baladeva, and Srimati Subhadra would emerge and mount their chariots, we wanted to be right at their lotus feet. But, as thousands of people watched from the rooftops and streets, the Orissan police were determined to deny us this spiritual delight. We could withstand broiling in the 38-degree tropical sun, but the police’s verbal and physical assaults drove us away. We finally retreated to seats in buildings overlooking the carts.

“Foreigners and Indians aligned with them still aren’t appreciated in Puri by the powers-that-be,” my young assistant Krishnagraja das, a Mayapur gurukula graduate, explained to me. He reasoned that the antipathy stemmed back to the British colonizers’ looting the Jagannath temple of the Deities’ jewels and dispatching the booty to London.

True, a few hundred years ago, British propaganda had wickedly smeared the Jagannath Temple and its worshipable Lord. Attacking Sri Jagannath as "a frightful visage painted black, with a distended mouth of bloody horror," the British Crown distributed their bigotry in publications throughout the world. You can just imagine how Rathayatra sent them even more into a tizzy. Shocked by the annual grand procession of “the horrible, bloodthirsty idol,” the British, from the sacred name Jagannath, then coined the term "juggernaut." Now a normal word in the English language, the Random House Unabridged Dictionary reveals the deep misunderstanding and prejudice sustained from India’s colonial past into the 21st century.

Juggernaut:

1. any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team.

2. anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice.

3. Also called Jagannath. an idol of Krishna, at Puri in Orissa, India, annually drawn on an enormous cart under whose wheels devotees are said to have thrown themselves to be crushed.

Don’t, however, blame all the ignorance and malpractice on the British. Who now controls many of India’s most venerable and majestic temples? The Indian government. Millions of pious pilgrims still flock to the oldest and largest temples, depositing en total huge sums of money for the worship of the Deity. The state governments then misspend the Deity’s divine funds as they like, for mundane projects and political pockets.

Safe from the Orissan police surrounding the carts, Bhakti Charu Swami and I watched the transcendental pageantry of Rathayatra from a roof directly overlooking Sri Baladeva’s cart. We humbly gazed to our heart’s content as the pandas (caste brahmins who serve the Deities) bore Sri Baladeva, then Srimati Subhadra, and finally Sri Jagannath from the temple to their thrones on their chariots. We saw the King of Orissa enact the ritual of sweeping the floor of the carts, and we also watched the elderly acarya, the sannyasi head, of the local Shankaracarya lineage, surrounded by an official police honour guard, board each cart to perform ceremonies to the Deities.

Yes, the irony has to be tolerated. The modern followers of Lord Caitanya, the greatest devotee of Lord Jagannath, are denied close access to the Deities. HH Indradyuma Swami, who has enacted ecstatic Rathayatras in many cities of the world, is punched in the face, trying to see Sri Jagannathadeva. Meanwhile a staunch lifelong Mayavadi impersonalist is given carte blanche—the royal carpet straight up the carts to the Deities’ thrones.

Lord Caitanya has declared that because the Mayavadi impersonalists misrepresent Vedic knowledge, they are the greatest offenders to the Supreme Lord. Quoting the Gita (16.9), Srila Prabhupada points out to us: “Life in demoniac species awaits the Mayavadi philosophers after death because they are envious of Krishna.” (Cc. Adi 7.130)

We want to subordinate ourselves to the Lord; the Mayavadi leader, however, actually thinks he is Sri Jagannath! His concocted notion is that by his worshipping the Lord, he worships himself, because all is one, and any apparent individuality—whether of the Lord or us—is maya, an illusion to be overcome by austere spiritual practices and Vedantic study. Beaming with imaginary self-satisfaction that by his seeing the Deity, he has just seen himself, the elderly swami, amidst his reverent police escort, finally leaves the scene. Then amidst roars from hundreds of thousands of onlookers, finally, one after the other, the chariots of Sri Jagannath, Sri Baladeva, and Srimati Subhadra begin to roll. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/135 2006-07-01T06:38:20-06:00 2006-08-19T17:56:37-06:00 das

My first visit to Jagannath Puri in thirty years, this pilgrimage was about insuring my responsibilities to ISKCON, as a leader, and to my disciples and other dependants, as their guide. Bhakti-yoga means practice what you preach. Setting the path, the method, Lord Caitanya said, “I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall teach devotional service by practicing it Myself.” (Cc Adi 3.20)
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My first visit to Jagannath Puri in thirty years, this pilgrimage was about insuring my responsibilities to ISKCON, as a leader, and to my disciples and other dependants, as their guide. Bhakti-yoga means practice what you preach. Setting the path, the method, Lord Caitanya said, “I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall teach devotional service by practicing it Myself.” (Cc Adi 3.20)
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If I’m exhorting others to hear the holy name, I have to demonstrate that I, myself, am constantly seeking to intensify my japa absorption. Devotees rightfully expect their spiritual leaders to generate a spiritual taste, for the benefit of all.

At Srila Haridas Thakura’s residence, known as Siddha Bakul, lived also Santana Goswami, when he visited Puri. And here Rupa Goswami recited his stunningly elegant verses for the pleasure of Lord Caitanya and His devotees. Just one of those gems:

"I do not know how much nectar the two syllables ‘Krs-na' have produced. When the holy name of Krsna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert." (Cc. Antya 1.99)

Every day Mahaprabhu would visit Siddha Bakul, to enliven His intimate devotees there and to bring Haridas Thakura prasada from the Jagannatha temple. Reading the descriptions in Caitanya-caritamrita of such personal interactions between the Lord and His associates, we plunge into a bottomless ocean of nectar. I’ve often said that a devotee can develop all good devotional qualities just by studying the patterns of Vaishnava interactions in Caitanya-caritamrita.

Chanting with me at Siddha Bakul is my Godbrother HH Radhanatha Swami. His disciples, gathered there from Mumbai and throughout the world, observe his concentration and try to follow accordingly. Also coming to Puri for ISKCON’s presence at the mother of all Rathayatra festivals are my Godbrothers Their Holinesses Indradyumna Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Candramauli Swami, and Bhakti Caru Swami. The twin-brother veteran pujaris of Mayapur, Jananivasa Prabhu and Pankajangrahi Prabhu have also come. Can you imagine you and your twin doing the same devotional service, at the same place, for now more than thirty years?

In presenting this list of illustrious souls, allow me to express my heart’s desire. You see, I solemnly feel that to Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON and to my disciples, I owe the right of their having a leader who constantly seeks the association of his fellows. Over the decades, ISKCON, as a spiritual organization, has grown from infancy to teenage years to adult life. Many lessons have accumulated, which only a fool would ignore. In the past, some places have seen the rise of talented and apparently powerful leaders, who isolated themselves and became their own world. Simply surrounding themselves with young devotees, they never opened themselves up to peer review and senior inspiration. Gradually their island-consciousness transformed into material consciousness and offenses. Then down the drain they went. In spite of a few mighty years of achievement, they became skeletons in the ISKCON closet.

Therefore, please understand that besides my visiting younger devotees around the world, to care for them, a main reason for my traveling is to associate with my Godbrothers—together we inspire one another to greater heights in Prabhupada’s service. I strongly believe that I owe my disciples and all of ISKCON an example of relishing sanga. In that way younger devotees can see how a leader should behave, because soon some of them will be ISKCON’s future guides.

A purport of Nectar of Instruction (4) tells us: “In Bhagavad-gita(2.62) it is stated, sangat sanjayate kaman: one's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps.” Because you mean so much to me, I must constantly seek to give you the best: a leader who swims and dives in the ocean of association with his fellows. Yes, the disciple’s duty and joy is to praise his or her spiritual master and render service. But your love, in turn, places a weighty responsibility upon me—to keep my bhakti tools sharp through ongoing sadhu-sanga, the camaraderie of Srila Prabhupada’s saints. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/133 2006-06-12T00:08:13-06:00 2006-06-12T03:30:58-06:00 das

The young man with melancholy eyes listened curiously as I explained the Krishna conscious lifestyle. “A swami, a monk, eh?” he pondered aloud. Then a grizzled, worn-out hippy in his forties shrieked derisively: “Man, that’s bogus spirituality! Any true guru knows that the more sex you have, the more you’re liberated!” Infected, the younger man, no longer reflective, erupted with the fervor of an evangelist at the peak of his sermon. Eyes ablaze, he proclaimed, “I’ve had true ecstasy through sensuality!” Groaning, I sank into my chair.

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The young man with melancholy eyes listened curiously as I explained the Krishna conscious lifestyle. “A swami, a monk, eh?” he pondered aloud. Then a grizzled, worn-out hippy in his forties shrieked derisively: “Man, that’s bogus spirituality! Any true guru knows that the more sex you have, the more you’re liberated!” Infected, the younger man, no longer reflective, erupted with the fervor of an evangelist at the peak of his sermon. Eyes ablaze, he proclaimed, “I’ve had true ecstasy through sensuality!” Groaning, I sank into my chair. <!--break-->

That was Christmas, 1993, in Coromandel, New Zealand. Candrashekar Swami and I had sought to get out of the city for the some hearing and chanting about Krishna. Stopping for a few days at an economical retreat centre in a natural, mountain setting, we naturally conversed with whomever else was staying there. One morning, a young girl almost bumped into me at a doorway. Mouth and eyes wide open, she finally exclaimed a simple but momentous “Oh!” Later I found out she had immediately run to her boyfriend, alerting him: “I just met the most extraordinary person!” That same day the boyfriend, with the sad eyes, chatted with me at an outdoor table. Unfortunately the burnt-out remnant from hippy days was also there, counteracting my preaching by inviting the melancholy chap to his commune in Australia.

A few months later the boyfriend, his girl, and their two-year-old baby sought me out in Auckland at the Loft, the first of its type of preaching centre. Though the building’s exterior had no traditional Hare Krishna markings, somehow the girl, right before she entered within, had a funny feeling. “Oh no!” she told her boyfriend. “I think it’s a Hare Krishna place . . . Let’s get out of here--fast!” Still they managed to walk through the door. They had come to ask me, “the wise holy man,” whether they should indeed journey to Australia to stay at the frazzled hippy’s zoo. Throughout our discussion, their baby screamed her head off—a nonstop daily event, the parents told me. Suddenly I did something totally uncharacteristic. Amazing myself, I picked up the child, held her, and asked her to stop crying. Immediately the child became peaceful. Her parents stared in disbelief--shocked by the immediate calm.

Whenever the trio would visit our preaching centre, the same ritual would repeat itself: screaming child turns placid when consoled by the swami. Gradually each of the parents began to reveal their mind. “John and I have been together since I was fifteen,” the twenty-year-old girlfriend, Amee, told me. ‘We’re good friends, but now I want to do something different, on my own. I want to go clubbing!” Patiently I explained that they had a child and a responsibility to her, and that they should try to revive their relationship on the spiritual platform, through bhakti-yoga. The boyfriend, twenty-eight, confessed he didn’t have a clue what to do with himself, his girlfriend, or their child. The baby was conceived while they were roaming India. Observing the innocent-looking babies in the villages there, the girlfriend, then nineteen, decided, on the spot, to have her own cute package. “We have no idea of the purpose in life,” the boyfriend explained to me, “but we concluded that the child we’d conceive would show us the way . . .”

The young family of three soon became regular guests at the Loft. They couldn’t get the taste of prasada out of their mind. During one visit, the girl announced that she was pregnant again. ‘Well, I guess that takes care of your future,” I told her. “You guys definitely are obligated to stay together.” Hare Krishna association and spiritual food is powerful, but Kali-yuga doesn’t release its inmates so easily. One night our dynamic duo decided to give the disco clubs one more try—though by that time Amee was five months pregnant. "How boring!” they reported the next day. “All the time there, we kept thinking we’d be happier at the Hare Krishna place.” John, deciding his life was going nowhere fast, asked to live for a few weeks with “the monks.” He wanted to find his true calling and purpose. His girlfriend, however, wasn’t sure what she wanted. But anyway she gave him her blessing, “to do his thing, whatever it is.” With independent iron-resolve she bade him off, saying, “If you want to be a monk, go right ahead. I’ve got my own life to live.” Never one to take no for an answer, I decided to visit the girl.

Fulfilling an ambition, she had moved to Waiheke Island, a forty-minute ferry trip off the coast. Several devotees accompanied me to her scenic beachfront hideaway. During the overnight visit, Amee, in true Kiwi-female style, though seven months pregnant, kept her chin up--and her guard up too. For our departure the next evening, she agreed to accompany us as far as the ferry. On the wharf we bade farewell. Suddenly Amee threw away her defenses and broke down in tears: “I’m the one who was first interested in Krishna consciousness—not John. Why does HE get all the attention!” Sensing a rare, glorious break in the dense fog of Kali, I immediately instructed her to start chanting seriously the mahamantra and we would give her all assistance. Soon both John and Amee began practicing full Krishna consciousness together. The expected second child, however, was becoming a problem—he was three weeks overdue. Anxious, Amee consulted a natural therapist, who instructed her to meditate deeply on the child in the womb and ask what he needed to come out. Doing so, Amee said she clearly heard the child communicate: “If you promise to help me be Krishna conscious, I’ll come out of your womb.” Amee said she readily agreed, and a few days later out he came. His name: Sukadeva.

As for the baby girl, Sian (pronounced shawn), then almost three years old, one day, without any prompting, she announced to her startled parents: “My name is not Sian; my name is Varshan!” Upon the whole family’s becoming firmly established in Krishna consciousness, in 1995, I duly made a normal request. “John and Amee, you have been living together since Amee was sixteen. If you’re serious about spiritual life, you should get legally married. In Krishna consciousness, we follow proper behavioral guidelines.” They both accepted, and Amee informed her parents of their decision. Respectable middle-class people, both school teachers and property investors, her parents heard out the proposal. “Are you really sure?” the mother grilled Amee. “Don’t feel you have to rush into anything. Are you really sure he’s the one for you?” Amee, now with budding spiritual intelligence, was momentarily surprised by her mother’s concerns. She reminded her, “Mum, isn’t it a bit late for such hesitation? After all, you know we’ve been living together, even at your house, for seven years, since I was sixteen, and now we have two kids . . . “

Truly “living happily ever after” (visate tad anantara), the couple have been happily married and serving in Prabhupada’s ISKCON. The man, now 41, is Jhulan-yatra das; the lady, now 33, is Rasayatra dasi.

They are my rejuvenation team, as I seek to recover from my serious whiplash injury of April, 2006. Renting a house in Cairns, on the tropical northeast coast of Australia, they’ve begged me to rest for a while, and I have admitted that would be best. Though no external wounds are visible, nevertheless a neck injury is very serious. Any expert hangman will tell you that his rope actually doesn’t kill the prisoner by strangulation. A properly tied noose abruptly snaps the neck so that instantly all blood connection from the spinal column to the brain is cut off. Strangulation is an aftereffect. Please know that for twelve days, I am resting, reading, and chanting. Because of two-month’s worth of pre-booked flights, previously I could not take such a break, right after my accident. But now, the first real chance I’ve had, I am doing the necessary, and my condition has markedly improved.

Yes, for Krishna’s service, I’m “saving my own neck.”

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/132 2006-06-07T04:54:18-06:00 2006-06-07T05:00:27-06:00 ekendra

Today we've uploaded a very enlivening kirtana and class given in April 2006 for Lord Ramacandra's Appearance celebration in Los Angeles. You can download them here.

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Today we've uploaded a very enlivening kirtana and class given in April 2006 for Lord Ramacandra's Appearance celebration in Los Angeles. You can download them here.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/131 2006-06-05T03:52:33-06:00 2006-06-05T03:52:33-06:00 das

The Soho temple in central London roared in the heat of its annual Narasimhadeva book marathon. Flying in from Moscow, I immediately plunged into Lord Caitanya’s ocean of ecstasy and sacrifice. The Sunday feast programme was jammed, and so were the morning and evening classes and kirtans. What a location, what an urban-outreach delight! Almost right outside the door pass millions of tourists and Britons daily. The nearby theater district beckons with premier plays. But what mundane drama can compare to Lord Narasimha’s pastime: the ultimate horror movie.

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The Soho temple in central London roared in the heat of its annual Narasimhadeva book marathon. Flying in from Moscow, I immediately plunged into Lord Caitanya’s ocean of ecstasy and sacrifice. The Sunday feast programme was jammed, and so were the morning and evening classes and kirtans. What a location, what an urban-outreach delight! Almost right outside the door pass millions of tourists and Britons daily. The nearby theater district beckons with premier plays. But what mundane drama can compare to Lord Narasimha’s pastime: the ultimate horror movie.
The Supreme Lord as half-man, half-lion incarnation bewilders nondevotees and puzzles even devotees lacking sufficient knowledge and experience. Such strength He has, such ferocity—indeed such terror! Meditating on his picture, we see the garland of intestines, the drops of blood on His mane. The mightiest demon, Hiranyakasipu, sprawled across the Lord’s lap, is now lifeless. His abdomen ripped apart, you could certainly say he’s been gutted. What a fright!
Fear, like all emotions, does play a role in bhakti-yoga. Let’s hear Prahlada Maharaja instruct us in the perfect way to panic:
“My Lord, who are never conquered by anyone, I am certainly not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue, Your eyes bright like the sun or Your frowning eyebrows. I do not fear Your sharp, pinching teeth, Your garland of intestines, Your mane soaked with blood, or Your high, wedgelike ears. Nor do I fear Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee to distant places, or Your nails, which are meant to kill Your enemies.” (SB 7.9.15)
What then to fear—if not the supreme shock of Lord Narahari’s sudden, apparently bloodthirsty appearance? Prahlad Maharaja teaches us that the truly intelligent person shudders at the thought of closely associating with materialists. Their illicit desires to control and enjoy material nature contaminate the consciousness of a soul seeking the solace of Krishna’s devotional service—the spiritual world. By dreading nondevotional influence upon our life, we positively use the fear emotion in Krishna consciousness, as Prahlada further explains:
“O most powerful, insurmountable Lord, who are kind to the fallen souls, I have been put into the association of demons as a result of my activities, and therefore I am very much afraid of my condition of life within this material world. When will that moment come when You will call me to the shelter of Your lotus feet, which are the ultimate goal for liberation from conditional life?” (SB 7.9.16)
The Supreme Lord Narasimhadeva is truly a paradox. Although terrifying to the nondevotees, He is the essence of kindness to His dear devotee Prahlada. Although only a small boy, Prahlada knows that the Lord has appeared preeminently because of affection. The Lord’s terminating the greatest terrorist of the universe, Hiranyakasipu, was secondary—subordinate to love for His devotee.
“When Lord Narasimhadeva saw the small boy Prahlada Maharaja prostrated at the soles of His lotus feet, He became most ecstatic in affection toward His devotee. Raising Prahlada, the Lord placed His lotus hand upon the boy's head because His hand is always ready to create fearlessness in all of His devotees.” (SB 7.9.5)
Concluding my stay in London, I prepared to depart for Los Angeles, a twelve-hour flight away. My domicile had been the transcendental “Patel hotel” in South London. Often, when visiting London, I stay with this family of wonderful Vaishnavas. They love to open up their home to wandering preachers and to lavish them with hospitality—especially topmost prasada. Vikash and his wife Shital--known to all devotees in Melbourne, Australia from their stay there--are the chief caretakers, even though they both work fulltime jobs. Vikash’s brother Nishil had just finished med school and begun his hospital career. Little did I know that he would be the first person ever, in my almost thirty years of international traveling, to alter my travel plans . . . .
Rising early the morning of May 2, I was ready for the austerity of the intercontinental flight. I did notice my head felt like a stone boulder, and my feet like I was walking on balloons. Vikash immediately alerted his younger brother, who respectfully yet sternly entered the scene. Meanwhile I kept chanting my mantra: “It’s okay, I feel good . . . I feel good . . . I feel good, and I’m ready to fly away.” Nishil, wielding an electronic blood–pressure measuring device, made his test. Raising his eyebrows high, he announced the results: “Way over the top—you can’t go anywhere today!”
“Oh come on, it’s not that bad,” I countered. “I think while sleeping last night I twisted my neck--hence no proper circulation to the head.” Coolly and clinically surveying me, Doctor Nishil seemed unimpressed by my own diagnosis. “We’ll see what a cardiologist I know says—I’ll call him at 7am. I still don’t think you’re fit to get on the plane, but we’ll see what happens in the next two hours.”
Astonished, I told him no one has ever impeded my departure, in almost three decades. Moreover, I had an annual national meeting to attend in New Zealand—I had to be on my way. While waiting for the cardiologist to awaken, I somehow manipulated my neck muscles by nodding my head from side to side in the classic Indian gesture of mild assent. Immediately the blockage cleared, my heavy head lightened, and as I reclined on the bed while chanting, Nishil measured my blood pressure several times and noted its gradual descent from the alarming peak.
Just then the cardiologist telephoned and gave his verdict: no flying today—it could be dangerous. If all is well, tomorrow is alright, he declared. Prevailed upon by medical authorities from both the devotional and nondevotional side, I resigned myself to my fate. While reading and chanting that day and taking things slow, I realized it was the first day in three weeks, through four countries, that I had no preaching programmes, no medical appointments, and no devotee counseling sessions. Sometimes you have to rest for Krishna. This body is His, not mine.
Twenty-four hours later, rested, though with flickering bodily balance, I managed to wobble my way through the huge maze of London Heathrow airport to board the long flight to Los Angeles. Upon arrival, during the three-hour gap before my connecting flight to Las Vegas, devotees from Los Angeles treated me to an airport feast, expertly prepared by Jhulan-yatra dasi.
At a quiet spot outside the terminal, they set up a table, complete with table-cloth, incense, and flower vases. Turning my back on the crowds, I dined exquisitely on tofu-pizza and salad prasada. Later, inside the terminal, the cook’s husband, Snana-yatra das, an empowered veteran chiropractor, gently adjusted my neck and spine, and taught me exercises so that I could gradually heal myself. Now in much better shape, due to the devotee’s transcendental loving service, I successfully caught my connecting flight to Las Vegas.
Just see--even only a few hours of Vaishnava care, in the midst of an international airport, can make all the difference. The love of the devotees can turn hell into heaven. Yes, in Las Vegas I would stay put for three days, at the house of Surapala das and Krishna-mayi dasi. Then I would transit Los Angeles airport again, for another twelve-hour flight to New Zealand.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/130 2006-05-18T16:12:02-06:00 2006-05-18T17:25:13-06:00 das

Breaking out from medical confinement, I flew from St. Petersburg, Russia, up to the Artic Circle. The devotee-doctors, after four intense days of medical dramas, had agreed to my traveling—with an escort. My goal in devotional service: to help revive Krishna consciousness in Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk, twin northerly cities on the White Sea, flowing from the Artic Ocean. Upon my arrival, however, the devotees told me that the government’s current version of the KGB, enforcing antiquated Soviet-era policies, had barred my entry to one of the cities. Severodvinsk is a military industrial city still closed to all foreigners, unless they gain special consent. The talk of the town there: the Russian navy was building a submarine and aircraft carrier for India at the port, and if a foreigner paid one thousand dollars, a worker would steal both ships for him.

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Breaking out from medical confinement, I flew from St. Petersburg, Russia, up to the Artic Circle. The devotee-doctors, after four intense days of medical dramas, had agreed to my traveling—with an escort. My goal in devotional service: to help revive Krishna consciousness in Arkhangelsk and Severodvinsk, twin northerly cities on the White Sea, flowing from the Artic Ocean. Upon my arrival, however, the devotees told me that the government’s current version of the KGB, enforcing antiquated Soviet-era policies, had barred my entry to one of the cities. Severodvinsk is a military industrial city still closed to all foreigners, unless they gain special consent. The talk of the town there: the Russian navy was building a submarine and aircraft carrier for India at the port, and if a foreigner paid one thousand dollars, a worker would steal both ships for him.
While in St. Petersburg, I had been giving classes every day, throughout the health crisis. During kirtans, a squadron of devotee doctors kept me under surveillance, forbidding me to dance energetically. Especially jumping was banned. Honoring their restrictions, I subdued myself by leading while sitting in a chair. Now, far north on the Artic Circle, I was free from my benign bodyguards. Before leaving St. Petersburg, I thanked the devotee-doctors for their loving care. Amusing them, I read from a popular tourist guidebook about the ordinary Russian hospital system: “Shortages of medical supplies, unavailability of medical equipment, wards like a basement warehouse, nurses who ignore you until bribed . . . .” Foreigners requiring urgent attention, the book warned, should seek out the special private clinics set up to relieve them from anxiety--and their dollars, euros, and pounds too. Otherwise, “Get on a plane and fly out to neighboring Finland.” Suspecting exaggeration, due to foreign snobbery or prejudice, I asked the devotee-doctors for their own appraisal. After all, working in the hospitals, they should know. Smilingly gently, they informed me, “Your guidebook is understating; for the ordinary person, the reality is worse.” With the right connections in Russia, however, anything is possible, they explained. When you know what buttons to push, instantly, a genie pops out of the bottle and another dimension of Russia manifests—the best high tech and facilities of the West are at your fingertips. These devotee-doctors of St. Petersburg, wielding their insider influence, had on-the-spot arranged for me a majestic level of medical care and convenience that I would have never received so quickly and easily in Western Europe, the USA, or downunder, in Australia and New Zealand. And much of the examination and treatment they administered at home. Despite the crisis, I never spent a night in a hospital, public or private. All glories to the St. Petersburg medical Vaishnavas.
ISKCON in the polar region of Russia, after an initial boom when the iron curtain fell, had declined in the past decade. The reasons were understandable: these northernmost cities were so remote and . . . ice cold! Now the surviving devotees there were ready for a revival, spurred on by the dedicated regional secretary for northwest Russia, Vanamali Kaviraja das. A former maritime officer from Murmansk, the world’s most northerly city, Vanamali Kaviraja das is both spiritually and materially equipped for the polar region. He’s a wonderful devotee, with a supportive devotional wife, and he thinks nothing of extreme cold and the endless months without sun. Due to the last-minute KGB barrier, the devotees from Severodvinsk traveled thirty kilometers each day to attend our programmes he arranged in nearby Arkhangelsk. Quite a few devotees promised to revive their spiritual practices. “At last a senior Vaishnava has come to our world—the first time in a decade.” [photo view outside my window in Arkhangelsk: a typical Russian polar city vista]
Three days later I departed the Far North. Accompanied by my medical escort and translator, Prema Vardhana das, I flew south to Moscow, to visit “brahmachari heaven.” In a large new custom-built house on the edge of Moscow, forty brahamcharis lived, fraternized, worshipped, studied, and sankirtaned. What a paradise for the serious monastic student of bhakti-yoga. As the Bhagavatam states:
“The main purpose of ashrama-dharma is to awaken knowledge and detachment. The brahmachari ashrama is the training ground for the prospective candidates. In this ashrama it is instructed that this material world is not actually the home of the living being. The conditioned souls under material bondage are prisoners of matter, and therefore self-realization is the ultimate aim of life. The whole system of ashrama-dharma is a means to detachment. One who fails to assimilate this spirit of detachment is allowed to enter into family life with the same spirit of detachment. Therefore, one who attains detachment may at once adopt the fourth order, namely, renounced, and thus live on charity only, not to accumulate wealth, but just to keep body and soul together for ultimate realization. Household life is for one who is attached, and the vanaprastha and sannyasa orders of life are for those who are detached from material life. The brahmachari ashrama is especially meant for training both the attached and detached. (SB 1.9.26)
Here in this purport, Srila Prabhupada alleviates two popular current misconceptions. One, that grihastha life is a free-for-all, devoid of any restraint and regulation. He explains that the genuine householder is trained to “enter into family life with the same spirit of detachment.” Obviously the style of how that spirit is expressed will differ from the brahmachari’s style. Nevertheless, in its own venerable and celebrated way, the spirit is there, in family life where Krishna and devotional service is the centre. The other misconception is that the brahmachari ashram is only for those young men sure of lifelong celibacy. Prabhupada explains, “The brahmachari ashrama is the training ground for the prospective candidates. . . . The brahmachari ashrama is especially meant for training both the attached and detached.” As happens, after some time a prospective candidate for the sublime simplicity of renunciation may feel the need to enter married life, to work through an attachment in a venerable, certified way. The training he received as a brahmachari is the best preparation to see him through his new status.
Of course, our ISKCON society must indeed provide suitable training and facilities for brahmacharis. Otherwise the whole notion of brahmacharya becomes a farce. Actually, I have seen that brahmachari life in-name-only can be detrimental to the individual’s development. Irresponsibility and laziness are the result. And the householders, observing such externalism and superficiality, lose respect for brahmacarya and become cynical—what to speak of feeling no desire to offer charity: “Why should we support such a sorry plight?”
Single women also need proper facilities, care and guidance, while they are living in an ashram. In this way they can perform powerful and valuable service during their pre-marriage years. And it does happen that a small few will seek to remain single.
Admiring the brahmachari heaven in Moscow, you would wonder, “Who provided such a world-class, state-of-the-art facility? Where did the money come from? Look to the Moscow householders for your answer. Generous grihasthas, who understood and applied dharma, funded the project. The Vedic system asks that householders demonstrate charity and support for the monastics--brahmacharis and sannyasis—who demonstrate renunciation and missionary spirit. Both sectors, the family persons and the renounced persons, work together harmoniously for spiritually uplifting society.
My deep desire is that such ideal cooperation manifests in other parts of the world. In this way, both the householders and renunciants will thrive and the whole world will benefit.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/129 2006-05-09T23:03:44-06:00 2006-05-09T23:05:54-06:00 das

Listening to Prabhupada’s bhajans, I watched the synthetic drugs drip into my vein through a tube in my arm. During this two-hour daily intravenous treatment [photos], I reflected upon the austerity of accepting disciples and its weighty effects. The facts: Srila Prabhupada rescued me from the disaster of Kali-yuga. Let the whole world know that I’m simply made of his mercy. Longing to reciprocate, I’m pushing on to make his mission and Goloka my home.

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Listening to Prabhupada’s bhajans, I watched the synthetic drugs drip into my vein through a tube in my arm. During this two-hour daily intravenous treatment [photos], I reflected upon the austerity of accepting disciples and its weighty effects. The facts: Srila Prabhupada rescued me from the disaster of Kali-yuga. Let the whole world know that I’m simply made of his mercy. Longing to reciprocate, I’m pushing on to make his mission and Goloka my home. As a humble service to our disciplic succession and ISKCON society, I’ve taken responsibility for others, that they also may journey to life’s ultimate goal. In other words, I’ve got to have the spiritual dynamics to forge ahead not only for myself, but also for the entire ISKCON society I’m serving, and, of course, for my spiritual dependents as well. Make no mistake about it: initiating devotees is not like ambling in a forest, savoring the fresh air, and gazing at the blue sky. In case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you that your spiritual preceptor doesn’t bask in flowers, obeisances, and praise—he gets hit with some other things too. The disciples, though often unconsciously, hurl stones like negligence, impersonalism, ingratitude, and offenses. Even worse, your guru gets a dose of your sinful reactions. As recorded in a Fourth Canto purport: “Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore stated that the spiritual master who plays the part of Krsna's representative has to consume all the sinful reactions of his disciple. Sometimes a spiritual master takes the risk of being overwhelmed by the sinful reactions of the disciples and undergoes a sort of tribulation due to their acceptance.” (S. bhag. 4.21.31) Yes, ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you that accepting disciples is not a piece of cake. There are real occupational hazards, as Srila Prabhupada explains throughout his lectures and books. For example: “Krsna is so powerful that He can immediately take up all the sins of others and immediately make them right. But when a living entity plays the part on behalf of Krsna, he also takes the responsibility for the sinful activities of his devotees. Therefore to become a guru is not an easy task. You see? He has to take all the poisons and absorb them. So sometimes-because he is not Krsna-sometimes there is some trouble. " (Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers, chapter 6) “Sometimes the spiritual master, after accepting a disciple, must take charge of that disciple's past sinful activities and, being overloaded, must sometimes suffer-if not fully, then partially-for the sinful acts of the disciple.” (S. bhag. 9.9.5 purport) What’s more, troubles can attack not only the guru’s physical body but also his subtle body. Just like physical pain, nightmarish dreams are a disturbance that your spiritual master must tolerate. ISKCON’s founder-acarya describes this austerity: “A devotee sometimes accepts a sinful person as his disciple, and to counteract the sinful reactions he accepts from the disciple, he has to see a bad dream. Nonetheless, the spiritual master is so kind that in spite of having bad dreams due to the sinful disciple, he accepts this troublesome business for the deliverance of the victims of Kali-yuga.” (S. bhag. 8.4.15 purport) Why would anyone want to volunteer for such peril? Why not just mind your own business, look to your own spiritual progress, and in this way deftly trek back to Godhead--unburdened by others’ hang-ups and woes? After all, doesn’t the scripture warn about accepting many disciples? Indeed, who’d want to undergo the reactions from just one—what to speak of hundreds or thousands? "Don't make many disciples," Srila Prabhupada intoned. Then he presented the other side of the initiation paradox: “But we do it because we are preaching. Never mind--let us suffer. Still we shall accept them.” (PQPA 6) In Caitanya caritamrita, he explains: “According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, a preacher has to accept many disciples to expand the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” “Accepting an unlimited number of devotees or disciples is very risky for one who is not a preacher. This is risky because when a spiritual master accepts a disciple, he naturally accepts the disciple's sinful activities and their reactions. Unless he is very powerful, he cannot assimilate all the sinful reactions of his disciples. Thus if he is not powerful, he has to suffer the consequences, for one is forbidden to accept many disciples.” (Madhya 22.118) What saves the guru is preaching. Both his preaching and that of his disciples. Otherwise, without our constant striving to expand Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan movement, why accept disciples—just for flickering, imaginary fame, comfort, and prestige? The shastra warns initiators that unless they and their followers actively preach, reactions from disciples can become a tsunami. “But for preaching work we have to accept many disciples--for expanding preaching--even if we suffer. That's a fact. The spiritual master has to take the responsibility for all the sinful activities of his disciples. Therefore to make many disciples is a risky job unless one is able to assimilate all the sins . . . .” (PQPA6) The power to assimilate the sinful reactions derives from diligent, selfless dedication to Lord Caitanya’s global mission—pure devotional service as a servant of the servant. Accepting the missionary order of his own guru as his life and soul, the guru resolves the initiation paradox. “The poor spiritual master is kind and merciful enough to accept a disciple and partially suffer for that disciple's sinful activities, but Krishna, being merciful to His servant, neutralizes the reactions of sinful deeds for the servant who engages in preaching His glories. Even mother Ganges feared the sinful reactions of the people in general and was anxious about how she would counteract the burden of these sins.” (S. bhag. 9.9.5) Our saving Grace is when, as gurus and disciples, we all preach and distribute the name, fame, qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then Krishna will rescue us all—guru and disciple alike. “After initiation, therefore, a disciple should be extremely careful not to commit again any sinful act that might cause difficulties for himself and the spiritual master. Before the Deity, before the fire, before the spiritual master and before the Vaisnavas, the honest disciple promises to refrain from all sinful activity. Therefore he must not again commit sinful acts and thus create a troublesome situation.” (S. bhag. 8.4.15 purport) Declare it boldly to the world: An honest disciple is no ordinary person. Such meritorious souls, who cherish their initiation vows, are the actual active ingredients that push forward the entire Krishna consciousness movement. Year after year, decade after decade, such men and women of character and integrity hold tight to their promise—and see the result. “We should be very much cautious: ‘For my sinful actions my spiritual master will suffer, so I'll not commit even a pinch of sinful activities.’ That is the duty of the disciple. After initiation, all sinful reaction is finished. Now if he again commits sinful activities, his spiritual master has to suffer. A disciple should be sympathetic and consider this: ‘For my sinful activities, my spiritual master will suffer’." (PQPA 6)

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/128 2006-05-04T08:41:35-06:00 2006-05-04T08:41:35-06:00 das

Strapped onto a narrow metal bed, a metal guard snapped over my face to prevent my head from rising, I lay within the womb of the huge MRI scanning machine. Before the nurse pushed the button that automatically wheels me inside and shuts the door, she had equipped me with noise-reducing earmuffs. Once entombed inside, I understood why. The MRI creature blasts its prisoner with a bizarre sequence of pulsating and buzzing electronic sounds.

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Strapped onto a narrow metal bed, a metal guard snapped over my face to prevent my head from rising, I lay within the womb of the huge MRI scanning machine. Before the nurse pushed the button that automatically wheels me inside and shuts the door, she had equipped me with noise-reducing earmuffs. Once entombed inside, I understood why. The MRI creature blasts its prisoner with a bizarre sequence of pulsating and buzzing electronic sounds.
Nothing else to do in these circumstances except think of Krishna and His service. Later I found out that as I lay within the MRI, meanwhile, across the ISKCON world, news of my condition was spreading. Concerned disciples contacted Candidas in England: “How can it be true—the bad news? Someone said he’s in a pre-stroke condition. Weren’t you just with him so recently, traveling with him in Germany? We read your blog about your trip with him and saw the nice photos you posted. He’s fine, right?”
Via Skype, e-mail, and the phone, Candidas heartily assured the inquirers, “No worries, prabhus. My father, Dina Sarana Mataji, and I put him on the plane from Frankfurt to Helsinki, Finland, a few days ago. No need for anxiety and exaggerations--he’s quite ok and has recovered from the car accident. Believe me. I was just with him only four days ago. All is well.”
Here lies a classic lesson in the true nature of life in the material world. Try we may to blot out the reality, nevertheless, precariousness, sudden twists, and unexpected disasters, seemingly out of the blue, are the norm for this temporary realm. The Tenth Canto of the Bhagavatam (14:58) says padam padam yad vipadam na tesam: “Unlike Vaikuntha, the spiritual world, this material world is a place of danger at every step.”
Yes, during this short time—only a few steps ago--since Candidas saw me, a serious medical situation had beset me. As Govinda dasa Kaviraja writes in his song Bhajahu Re Mana Sri Nanda-nandana: “This life is tottering like a drop of water on a lotus petal; therefore you should always serve and worship the divine feet of Lord Hari.”
Not only in the drama of our individual life, but even on the grand stage of international events, the unexpected routinely strikes. Consider, for example the rapid breakup of the former Soviet Union. Afterwards, even the CIA—with all its state-of-the-art surveillance and information processing--admitted it was caught completely off guard. Its spymasters had not the slightest premonition their archrival would become old history so suddenly. One day also, the USA will be no more.
And I remember my dear departed Godbrother His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami. One day he was energetically preparing for a huge world tour; the next day he discovered he had terminal cancer and six months to live. In conversations before his glorious departure from material vision, he himself impressed this vivid lesson of sudden reversal upon me.
“Life is what happens while were busy making plans.” That’s a maxim we all need to remember. Of course, if our plans are for serving Krishna, then what is the loss when upheavals and surprises tackle us? The so-called victories belong to Krishna and the so-called defeats do too. In His service there is simply gain, regardless of the circumstances. Focusing upon this absolute reality, Lord Krishna instructed Arjuna:
“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krsna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” (Bg. 8:7)
In a previous purport of the Gita (2.38), Srila Prabhupada explains: “Lord Krsna now directly says that Arjuna should fight for the sake of fighting because He desires the battle. There is no consideration of happiness or distress, profit or gain, victory or defeat in the activities of Krsna consciousness. That everything should be performed for the sake of Krsna is transcendental consciousness; so there is no reaction to material activities. He who acts for his own sense gratification, either in goodness or in passion, is subject to the reaction, good or bad. But he who has completely surrendered himself in the activities of Krsna consciousness is no longer obliged to anyone, nor is he a debtor to anyone, as one is in the ordinary course of activities.”
Nations rise and fall; bodies take birth and die. One day soon our present bodies will no longer exist. Maybe my MRI tests will show no major problem—this time. But what about the future? For sure, one day there’ll be no cure, for you or me.
Therefore Govinda dasa Kaviraja ends his famous song with a personal plea: “It is the desire and great longing of Govinda Dasa to engage himself in the nine processes of bhakti, namely hearing the glories of Lord Hari and chanting those glories, constantly remembering Him and offering prayers to Him, serving the Lord's lotus feet, serving the Supreme Lord as a servant, worshiping Him with flowers and incense and so forth, serving Him as a friend, and completely offering the Lord one's very self.”

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/126 2006-04-28T09:54:33-06:00 2006-04-28T09:57:26-06:00 das

Traveling by car to San Diego, on Sri Ramacandra’s appearance day, I relaxed in the front passenger seat, resting from my intense schedule at New Dvaraka, and the twelve-hour flight from New Zealand, four days before. While fully stopped at a red light, I heard the screeching of tires behind us and then—BOOM! I flew out of my seat forward to the windshield, crying out “Krishna!”

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Traveling by car to San Diego, on Sri Ramacandra’s appearance day, I relaxed in the front passenger seat, resting from my intense schedule at New Dvaraka, and the twelve-hour flight from New Zealand, four days before. While fully stopped at a red light, I heard the screeching of tires behind us and then—BOOM! I flew out of my seat forward to the windshield, crying out “Krishna!”
A big SUV (four-wheel-drive monster car) had crashed head on into the back of our small car. Its inattentive driver had not seen until too late all the cars stopped ahead of him at the red light. With Harideva at the wheel and Carana Renu and Mukunda in the back seat, we were driving from the Los Angeles temple to the evening celebration in San Diego, two hours down the highway. The devotees there had begged me to visit, and I was honoured to comply, especially since gracing that temple are my esteemed Godbrothers Badrinarayan and Dravida prabhus. Always eager to savor the association of saintly persons, I looked forward to Badrinarayan Prabhu’s world-famous wit and ISKCON insight, as well as Dravida Prabhu’s memories of when we both came to Krishna’s lotus feet in New York, early 1973.
Upon the crash hurling me forward, the seat belt, preventing my hitting the windshield, slammed me back just as abruptly. Somehow, our car incurred only slight damage, although the SUV had hit us so hard that you could read the numbers of its front license plate embedded deeply into the back rubber-bumper of our car. We continued on our way to San Diego for a night of kirtan and rama-katha. Back in Los Angeles, the next morning, the muscular soreness hit. The morning after, at mangal aratik, while I offered my obeisances to the Deities, Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadisha, in farewell, Svavas Prabhu, the veteran temple president, warned me, “Be careful; hidden problems from such a crash can arise later.”
That same morning I flew from the west coast across the USA and the Atlantic to Manchester, England. There, still stiff and sore, I sought out a doctor, because I knew that Harideva’s insurance company in the USA would want to see a doctor’s report. “Whiplash injury” was the routine diagnosis. “Oh well,” I thought, “at least I’ll get some money for Krishna’s service out of all this.” After two days in Manchester at Candidas’s flat, next stop was Wales; two days later, Germany.
In Frankfurt, Candidas’s father, Frank-Peter Seidenberg, was eager to use his Easter holidays to drive me around the eastern side of Germany in a brand new Mercedes he had acquired just for the purpose. Ahh . . . a flickering taste of comfort in the wilderness . . . . Candidas and the Germany regional leader, my Godsister Dina Sarana dasi also came. Appropriately entitled by me twenty years ago as Kaiserin, German for “empress,” Dina Sarana, the Kaiserin (the feminine form of Kaiser), though a householder lady in her late fifties, had dedicated her full energies to the revival of ISKCON Germany. Her powerful selfless efforts and bold, decisive leadership had inspired even senior ISKCON sannyasis to take note, in utter respect and admiration.
To garner your sympathy, let me recap for you the nonglamorous austerities of sannyasi traveling: a twelve-hour flight from New Zealand to Los Angeles and then, four days later, a two-hour drive back and forth to San Diego, complete with an auto crash. Two days later, a five-hour flight from Los Angeles to Chicago; a layover of four hours before connecting to an eight-hour flight to Manchester, England; two days later, a four-hour drive to Cardiff, Wales; then a one-hour drive after a programme to Swansea, Wales; a day or so of programmes there and then a four-hour drive to the London Heathrow airport to get a two-hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
The next morning, after the late-night arrival in Frankfurt, I made a quick visit to a physiotherapist, for a massage, as the doctor in England had advised. Immediately after, our party drove through Easter weekend traffic six hours to Weimar, a university city, to start our tour of ISKCON preaching centres in East Germany. A programme there straightaway upon arrival, and then the next morning, we drove four hours to Berlin, arriving in time for their Saturday evening feast programme. A Bhagavatam class the next morning, and then we were on our way three hours to Leipzig for their Sunday evening feast. At 4am Monday morning, we left to drive five hours back to Frankfurt, so I could catch a two-hour flight to Helsinki, Finland. As soon as I arrived at the Helsinki temple, I did a three-hour programme. The next day in Helsinki were two programmes, but I did get time to swim in between. And since saunas are to Finland as saris and dhotis are to India, a few brahmacaris and I fraternized in that way. Seven o’clock the following morning meant boarding the six-hour train across the border to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Now here begins the intense medical dramas. Visiting me at the flat where I stay in St. Petersburg, Srivas Pandit, a devotee doctor specializing in muscle and bone affairs, noticed I was getting dizzy. By the next day I was completely sluggish, as if I had been punched silly by a heavyweight boxer. Little did I know that, anticipating trouble, Srivas Pandit had already consulted other devotee doctors, and a neurologist was on the way.
‘What’s the big deal,” I told the neurologist. “I gave class for two hours this morning.” His response: “Can you please close your eyes and touch your nose with both forefingers?” Twice I tried and missed, only connecting to my mouth instead. When he asked me to try two more times, I had the great idea to feel for my nose by using my forefingers to sense the heat from the air my nostrils exhaled. I landed on target, but the neurologist told me I had cheated, so I still failed the test. He banged my limbs with his hammer and noted that the right side of my body was more sensitive than the left. He waved a small light in front of my eyes and I became dizzy following it. After a few more tests, he made his pronouncement.
“You are in a serious condition that precedes a stroke. Blood circulation to the brain has been impeded by the whiplash neck injury.” Immediately the alarm went out through the devotee medical community, and a squadron of Vaisnava and Vaisnavi doctors, waiting for the outcome, descended upon my abode.
“You can’t travel now; you have to get a brain scan; you’re in bad shape, etc., etc.,” they told me. Like a sense gratifier who reasons that since he feels fine at the moment, all is ok for the future, and there’ll be no karmic reactions, I calmly responded, “I don’t know what all the fuss is about; I’m just a little dizzy, that’s all.”
Meanwhile my aspiring-disciple doctor Julia, conspiring and coordinating from behind the scenes, shrewdly stayed out of my firing range. “You may think you’re all right now,” the devotee doctors declared authoritatively, “but if you don’t do what we say, you’ll be in a hospital bed!”
A Russian hospital! Better to lay my body down on the floor in the middle of a train station! All the horror tales I had read in tourist guidebooks poured through my mind. The ordinary Russian hospital system was notorious.
I felt cornered and pinned down. I had to surrender to these medical authorities, some of them even my own disciples. After all, what did I know about neurology? Should I just speculate defiantly or accept their dictation? I felt like a newcomer to Krishna consciousness upon his or her first grappling with the concept of paramapara knowledge and spiritual authority. Should I resist or surrender?
The devotional medical destiny took its course. I had to submit to IV, intravenous medicine—the drip. The plan was to administer drugs in this way, to thin my blood and ward off any impending stroke. Julia and another devotee doctor, Natalia, came to where I stayed. Laden with all the necessary equipment and drugs, they thus spared me a trip to a hospital.
“Which arm do you want the IV tube in, the right or the left?” Julia asked. “What kind of choice is that,” I retorted to my spiritual student. “It’s like the illusory manifestation of independence in conditioned life--to choose type A maya or type B, both of which lead to suffering.” She intelligently answered, “Hmmm, if you choose the left arm, you can chant japa with your right.” I congratulated her: “Well said. This is yukta-vairagya, using all material situations for the service of the Lord; rather than merely pronouncing them illusory and useless.”
Two hours daily, I had to submit to the drip. Before and after, I was shuttled around the city for neck x-rays, arranged by Yamuna devi, and an MRI scan at a medical research centre, where they wheel your whole body inside a huge machine and you lay there, as if in a cocoon, for a half hour, for a picture of the brain. Also, the devotee doctors piled upon me a mountain of prescription pills to take thrice daily. “Synthetic drugs,” I moaned. “I haven’t taken them in over twenty-five years! I’ve only taken natural herbs.” My protests were ignored. My health situation was dangerous, on the edge. What would come next, I didn’t know. I had to surrender.
(To be continued)

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/125 2006-04-28T05:48:41-06:00 2006-04-28T09:58:17-06:00 das

I still remember the exact moment earlier this year. On February 26, my tenure as international chairman of ISKCON’s governing body came to an end. Three years of my life had passed in my humble attempt to serve the entire ISKCON society, as an executive officer. The culmination was my chairing the annual GBC meetings in Mayapur, for eleven days.

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I still remember the exact moment earlier this year. On February 26, my tenure as international chairman of ISKCON’s governing body came to an end. Three years of my life had passed in my humble attempt to serve the entire ISKCON society, as an executive officer. The culmination was my chairing the annual GBC meetings in Mayapur, for eleven days.
When the final session ended, 1:50pm on February 26, my stint for doing this notoriously difficult and intense service was over. Afterwards many Godbrothers patted me on the back, consoling, “Congratulations--you made it through, you survived the chairmanship! Now it’s over—you must be glad.”
Perhaps surprisingly, during the days after, what washed over me were actually not feelings of relief: “I’m so glad its finished . . . . Now back to normal life.” Instead I was delighted to detect a luxurious aftermath of sweet reciprocation from the Deities and Srila Prabhupada—the kind of reciprocation that inspires sincere devotees worldwide to increase their sacrifice for Krishna’s pleasure, Srila Prabhupada’s mission.
I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to serve the ISKCON society as chairman. To all my serious disciples and wellwishers, I heartily recommend this topmost yoga: selfless missionary service to Prabhupada’s institution, according to your capacity and ashram, through thick and thin.
No, the world of ISKCON responsibility is not easy; the going can get tough. Nevertheless, let me proclaim it boldly: nothing in this world can compare to the cloudburst of satisfaction from the Lord and the spiritual master that graciously rains down upon devotees who voluntarily accept responsibility in the worldwide service of Mahaprabhu. That divine shower is the inestimable payoff for our accepting what, to ordinary vision, can appears a thankless and arduous task—staffing Prabhupada’s movement.
Having completed my tenure as chairman, I have more time to share with you all through this blog, so now you can expect to hear more regularly from me.
Next: “California Car Crashes and a Medical Crisis in Russia.”

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/121 2006-04-10T22:40:23-06:00 2006-04-10T22:41:28-06:00 ekendra

3 new classes from last week (April 2006) are available in the audio section.

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3 new classes from last week (April 2006) are available in the audio section.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/119 2006-03-17T20:31:36-07:00 2006-04-09T04:21:46-06:00 ekendra

Date:      March 1, 2006
Verse:     Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.27
Mp3:   --- download ---
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na yatra ?oko na jar? na mr?tyur
n?rtir na codvega r?te kuta?cit
yac cit tato 'dah? kr?pay?nidam?-vid?m?
duranta-duh?kha-prabhav?nudar?an?t

TRANSLATION: In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and therefore there are no anxieties, save that sometimes, due to consciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of the process of devotional service, who are subjected to unsurpassable miseries in the material world.

PURPORT: Foolish men of materialistic temperament do not take advantage of successive authorized knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is authorized and is acquired not by experiment but by authentic statements of the Vedic literatures explained by bona fide authorities. Simply by becoming an academic scholar one cannot understand the Vedic statements; one has to approach the real authority who has received the Vedic knowledge by disciplic succession, as clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2). Lord Krsna affirmed that the system of knowledge as explained in the Bhagavad-gita was explained to the sun-god, and the knowledge descended by disciplic succession from the sun-god to his son Manu, and from Manu to King Iksvaku (the forefather of Lord Ramacandra), and thus the system of knowledge was explained down the line of great sages, one after another. But in due course of time the authorized succession was broken, and therefore, just to reestablish the true spirit of the knowledge, the Lord again explained the same knowledge to Arjuna, who was a bona fide candidate for understanding due to his being a pure devotee of the Lord. Bhagavad-gita, as it was understood by Arjuna, is also explained (Bg. 10.12-13), but there are many foolish men who do not follow in the footsteps of Arjuna in understanding the spirit of Bhagavad-gita. They create instead their own interpretations, which are as foolish as they themselves, and thereby only help to put a stumbling block on the path of real understanding, misdirecting the innocent followers who are less intelligent, or the sudras.

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Date:      March 1, 2006
Verse:     Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.27
Mp3:   --- download ---
____________________________________

na yatra ?oko na jar? na mr?tyur
n?rtir na codvega r?te kuta?cit
yac cit tato 'dah? kr?pay?nidam?-vid?m?
duranta-duh?kha-prabhav?nudar?an?t

TRANSLATION: In that planet of Satyaloka, there is neither bereavement, nor old age nor death. There is no pain of any kind, and therefore there are no anxieties, save that sometimes, due to consciousness, there is a feeling of compassion for those unaware of the process of devotional service, who are subjected to unsurpassable miseries in the material world.

PURPORT: Foolish men of materialistic temperament do not take advantage of successive authorized knowledge. The Vedic knowledge is authorized and is acquired not by experiment but by authentic statements of the Vedic literatures explained by bona fide authorities. Simply by becoming an academic scholar one cannot understand the Vedic statements; one has to approach the real authority who has received the Vedic knowledge by disciplic succession, as clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gita (4.2). Lord Krsna affirmed that the system of knowledge as explained in the Bhagavad-gita was explained to the sun-god, and the knowledge descended by disciplic succession from the sun-god to his son Manu, and from Manu to King Iksvaku (the forefather of Lord Ramacandra), and thus the system of knowledge was explained down the line of great sages, one after another. But in due course of time the authorized succession was broken, and therefore, just to reestablish the true spirit of the knowledge, the Lord again explained the same knowledge to Arjuna, who was a bona fide candidate for understanding due to his being a pure devotee of the Lord. Bhagavad-gita, as it was understood by Arjuna, is also explained (Bg. 10.12-13), but there are many foolish men who do not follow in the footsteps of Arjuna in understanding the spirit of Bhagavad-gita. They create instead their own interpretations, which are as foolish as they themselves, and thereby only help to put a stumbling block on the path of real understanding, misdirecting the innocent followers who are less intelligent, or the sudras.

It is said that one should become a brahmana before one can understand the Vedic statements, and this stricture is as important as the stricture that no one shall become a lawyer who has not qualified himself as a graduate.

Such a stricture is not an impediment in the path of progress for anyone and everyone, but it is necessary for an unqualified understanding of a particular science. Vedic knowledge is misinterpreted by those who are not qualified brahmanas. A qualified brahmana is one who has undergone strict training under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.

The Vedic wisdom guides us to understanding our relation with the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna and to acting accordingly in order to achieve the desired result of returning home, back to Godhead. But materialistic men do not understand this. They want to make a plan to become happy in a place where there is no happiness. For false happiness they try to reach other planets, either by Vedic rituals or by spacecraft, but they should know for certain that any amount of materialistic adjustment for becoming happy in a place which is meant for distress cannot benefit the misguided man because, after all, the whole universe with all its paraphernalia will come to an end after a certain period. Then all plans of materialistic happiness will automatically come to an end. The intelligent person therefore makes a plan to return home, back to Godhead. Such an intelligent person surpasses all the pangs of material existence, like birth, death, disease and old age. He is actually happy because he has no anxieties of material existence, but as a compassionate sympathizer he feels unhappiness for the suffering materialistic men, and thus he occasionally comes before the materialistic men to teach them the necessity of going back to Godhead. All the bona fide acaryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth.

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(Can someone turn off that fan behind me? Otherwise I'll start coughing)

Om ajnana, etc.)

You are in the section of the Bhagavatam in which Sri Sukadeva Goswami is describing the gradual path back to Godhead. There are two ways, the direct path and the indirect or gradual path. Sukadeva Goswami has heard this from Brahma. He is going to say later in this chapter that what Lord Krsna told Brahma, I am telling you. Brahma had this knowledge impregnated in his heart, tene brahma hrdaya adi-kavaye. He is the adi-kavi, the original scholar of the universe and the Lord taught him personally Vedic knowledge in his heart. But still, Sukadeva Goswami is going reveal, Brahma studied the Vedic knowledge three times just to set an example for everyone that "I am studying, I am concentrating my intelligence on this intelligence. You should also do the same. Even though I as Brahma have had this knowledge enlightened within in my heart by the Supreme Lord, still I am  studying."

Sukadeva Goswami is saying "I am presenting you that same information."

What are you going to do about this information? Do you really accept there is a Satyaloka, a topmost planet of the universe where there are no gross bodies, the living entities exist in subtle bodies and the only anxiety they feel is because of compassion for those suffering on the lower planets? What do your imperfect senses tell you? What does your mind tell you? How can you really accept this? The Bhagavatam is apparently full of so many statements that challenge your mundane understanding and sense perception.

Why blame it all on the Bhagavatam? What does Krsna say in Bhagavad-gita?

imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam vivasvan manave praha

I spoke this knowledge to the chief living entity who lives in the fire on the planet of fire, the sun planet, the president of the sun planet, I spoke this knowledge. So right then and there you have the chance to reject Bhagavad-gita. I wonder how many of you think about all of these things Krsna is saying. First you have to cope with Bhagavad-gita and then to get the wonderful opportunity in life to cope with Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Now you're hearing information that your senses have no ordinary cognition of. What to do? Earlier we heard explained that for any kind of knowledge, material or spiritual, you have to rely on authority. Therefore, the quality of your life will be defined by the quality of authorities from whom you accept knowledge. So you have to compare. You have to compare the behaviour and consciousness of someone like Sukadeva Goswami with the behaviour and consciousness of mundane authorities of today. Even in this ordinary world you'll find so many things that will challenge your understanding.

I was recently speaking in New Dwaraka, Los Angeles, in January. There I was explaining to the devotees that. . . New Dwaraka community is full of many Srila Prabhupada disciples. They are very mature, experienced in the world.

Yet I told them something that I didn't realize would astonish them. I explained how I was speaking in Cape Town, South Africa at the University of Cape Town. Cape Town is a very balmy place. It's a big tourist destination now in South Africa, palm trees, pleasant breezes, beautiful views of the mountains and the ocean and the beaches simultaneously. All the residents there are very laid-back and content to varying degrees. So there I was speaking at this university. Nowadays universities in South Africa have all types of bodies. There were some, along with the Europeans, South Africans of European descent, there were some African Africans [laughs] from the neighboring country of Botswana. So they were from wealthy families, very intelligent, very refined in behavior, very cultured, and they began to ask about Krsna consciousness, so I invited them, "After our gathering is over here at the university, please come to our centre nearby and we'll discuss more." So they did that. They came by later that day.

Before they came, I decided, let me do a little geographical research. What is Botswana? What is life like there? It is just north of South Africa, I believe, neighbouring country, one and a half million people. So I researched on the Internet. What did I find? The average life expectancy is thirty-two years. So when these students came over, I told them, "Excuse me, you've got to take this opportunity very seriously because, how old are you right now? Twenty? Twenty-one? Because according to statistics, you can expect to live ten more years. [laughter]

Some of you are laughing but they very gravely accepted, "We know this is true. The national average of lifespan in our country is thirty-one years, thirty-two years. Women get one more year." If you look at the official statistics for life spans throughout the world, on top is Japan, Singapore, eighty-three years. The USA is seventy-seven, and way down in the one hundred and ninety-first place on the list is Botswana. Way down at the bottom. So the students, they accepted this, "Yes, we know, we understand." They accepted this as a basic fact of life.

So when I spoke this in Los Angeles, the devotees were shocked. Scores of them came up to me after class, "How can this be true? This is impossible!" because the verse we were discussing in class was about extraordinary life spans on different planets, the lifespan of Brahma, all which is inconceivable to our ears, but that's just material knowledge.

But devotees in sunny Southern California, bordering Hollywood, they were shocked. They said, "How can this be true?" Actually, younger devotees were more emphatic, "How can I accept this there's a place on this planet where people only live to the age of thirty-one as their national average? How can this be so?" Their senses rejected it. They had such a difficult time believing. I had to show them, here are the statistics. Then their minds were pacified to some degree. Their minds accepted it. I showed them some mundane authority, "Oh, OK, Maharaja." So there you have an example of an ordinary fact of this world, and "Americans" were astonished.

How do you know what is myth? How do you know what is not myth? How do you know who to believe? How do you know who not to believe? Here you are learning about Satyaloka, the planet of Brahma. The sastra described that even if you go to the planet of Brahmaloka, if you aren't a demigod or you haven't taken fully to process of bhakti, you'll fall down to the lower planets lower than Brahmaloka. If you're a demigod who has finished his tenure as Indra or whatever, then you'll go to Brahmaloka. And at the end of Brahma's life, he goes back to Godhead if he's a devotee. In this particular universe Brahma is a devotee. Then you'll go back with him, but if you're not with that group, even though you're on Brahmaloka or Satyaloka, you'll go down again after you expend all your pious activities. This information is given by Rupa Goswami in Laghu Bhagavatamrta. So this all unverifiable by all your present senses, so who are you going to believe?

I'll give you an example which may either help you or confuse you. Now whether or not you are concerned with did anyone go to the moon or did they not, who knows it could be just ISKCON mythology, it could be just one of those "Prabhupada says", but in any case, without going into that, let me give you the authorized statement of the sixth man who says he walked on the moon. He says, I'm not. [laughter] He says, Number Six, Edgar Mitchell. Now, do you believe it? He says it. Almost all the world believes. He's the authority. He's an astronaut. In the USA, to be an astronaut, you are a deva, you are at the peak of physical prowess, intellectual prowess, you are the mahajana of the nation, [laugher] so this is who we are going to hear from now.

He says, "I was there, I was on the moon." He believes that. What is his educational background? I'll tell you later after I tell you what else he says. You see, this is how you get into trouble trying to accept mundane knowledge. If you're going to accept, as most of the world does, that he walked on the moon, then you also should accept the rest of the things he says. He says, "I know for a fact there are aliens, there are UFOs. I have seen the governmental evidence. I know the government is covering up. There are private industries which used to be under the government control, which are developing technology which they reverse engineered from recovered UFOs.

All this is going on. I know it for a fact. I've seen the documents. Due to my military clearance, due to my stature as an astronaut, I was allowed to understand these things. Many government officials are tired of the cover-up, but they're afraid if the news gets out the people will panic. If the news gets out there are entities on other planets, the people will have breakdowns, and therefore, the government is doing them a favor, according to its perception, by keeping everything hidden."

So now what are you going to do? Are you going to say, "We accept you walked on the moon because you said it, but we don't accept this stuff about aliens UFOs because, well, not many people accept that, but everyone accepts what you say about walking on the moon." So what do you do? Do you accept everything he said, nothing he said, one or the other? What is your mind's predilection? Which path does your mind choose? Now let us hear about the stunning, erudite materialistic qualifications of this astronaut mahajana.
PhD from MIT, the supreme destination for scientific research. PhD in aeronautics, astronautics, plus two other honorary PhD degrees, decorated with the finest military medals, ?,  the Presidential Medal of Freedom and assorted other Navy awards, Army awards. Yet, this is what he said? Now what are you going to do?

If you Edgar Mitchell is sure he walked on the moon, everyone will nod their heads, even many or some of our devotees. "Prabhupada ki jai", but I still think we did it. [laughter] But what about the other thing he says? This is the pitfall of dealing with material authorities. All his words were published overseas in Europe, but very little in the USA. The news media blacked him out. Then meanwhile you have the former Head of  Defense Ministry in the UK and you have generals and the National Chief of Police in France saying we know the USA is covering and we are going to use the EU to pressure the US to stop repressing information about this? So who do you believe?

Now let's hear about Satyaloka. Why should your mind reject this, just because it is beyond the range of your immediate verification? We are hearing From Sukadeva Goswami. When you understand the character and lineage of Sukadeva Goswami, then you'll trust him. And that lineage is so important. I wonder how many of us truly understand the nature of disciplic succession and how knowledge comes down. Krsna Himself stresses this in Bhagavad-gita:

evam parampara-praptam imam rajaraayo viduh

Viduh - how did they understand it? They understood it, the rajarsis, saintly kings, understood this knowledge through disciplic succession. There is a process for how to learn things. There is a process for how to understand. And if you want to understand Bhagavad-gita, you have to accept that particular process.

Right in the beginning of Caitanya Caritamrta, the most exquisite Vaisnava literature, Srila Prabhupada writes in the first purport and even in the first verse that anyone who doesn't accept the process of disciplic succession cannot understand anything that is going to come in the pages of Caitanya Caritamrta, impossible to understand. They may be the greatest scholar, they may be the greatest academic, but unless they have taken shelter of the parampara, they can't understand.

Now how does that sit with you? Does it seem just like some Hindu taboo, oh, you have to be lined up with a certain party, you have to be affiliated with a certain line and teachers and then you can understand? That's not very contemporary is it? The contemporary mentality is, you can understand whatever you want. Go to the bookstore, get a book. Go online do some research. You'll understand everything. All the understandings are available to everyone. You don't need to purify yourself. You don't need to have a qualified teacher. You yourself are enough. It's amazing how - no it's not amazing - it's typical in Kali-yuga how this attitude can affect even our own devotees. That is why it is so important to absorb yourself in a concentrated study of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

For example, here in Mayapur, you have the Bhakti-sastri programme. I've heard from so many devotees who have studied Bhakti-sastri here in the holy atmosphere of the dham that their lives were transformed by three or four months of daily full time study of Srila Prabhupada books. They said it just turned their whole life around. Why? Your life will become transformed when one way or another when you deeply accept the principles, these sacred principles of sastra, Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam. You have to think about these things and allow your head and your heart to be challenged. That is how you experience spiritual growth. Srila Prabhupada was expert at doing that on his morning walks. He would challenge your conceptions, he would challenge your assumptions, and then he would insert the real knowledge that Lord Krsna gives.

Once we tame our ferocious mundane minds, then we can taste the sweetness of Srimad-Bhagavatam. And tasting the sweetness of Srimad-Bhagavatam means tasting the sweetness of knowledge about Krsna - krsna-tattva, knowledge about Krsna's pastimes; just like Sukadeva Goswami is giving you a tour of the universe. Lord Krsna also gives His tour. Other saintly persons, beside Sukadeva Goswami, they give their tour.

In the Seventh Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Prahlada Maharaja and his confidential associates go on a tour of the universe. What are they looking for? What is their form of sight-seeing? They are looking for the loka-tattva, the truth about various types of person who live in the world, particularly the truth about those advancing in Krsna consciousness. This is Prahlada Maharaja's idea of sight-seeing. He gathers his friends and says, "Let's go tour the universe and see the different types of sadhus, the different types of Krsna conscious persons."

They did that, and they came upon the python man, who's performing ajagara-vrtti. He has taken the vow to just lay in one spot like a python and just accept to eat whatever comes his way. So Prahlada saw, this man, he's a sadhu, he's a great devotee of the Lord, yet he's fat. How can you become fat just lying in one place? Prahlada began to question him so eloquently, so precisely that the python man felt the words of Prahlada Maharaja to be like a shower of nectar, he didn't feel challenged.

If someone asked you, "Excuse me, why are you so fat," [laughter] you would feel a bit offended, probably, but the python man was captivated by Prahlada's presentation that "I can see for sure that you are an extraordinarily realized devotee, at the same time, don't mind me saying, but you're fat. Can you kindly explain this?"

And indeed, the python man did. He gave Prahlada Maharaja his history that "I have seen the way this world works. I have seen what happens when people believe in material happiness." Just like Prabhupada ends the purport here by saying "All the bona fide acaryas preach this truth of returning home, back to Godhead, and warn men not to make a false plan for happiness in a place where happiness is only a myth." Now what do you say about that? You are living in a world where happiness is only a myth? Do you really believe that? This is all myth, this information you're getting. You're challenged, do I believe that material happiness is only a myth.

While Prahlada was touring the universe, the python man told him, "That is a fact. I have seen it all. I have seen people do everything to pursue material happiness and simply suffer through anxiety so much that they can't sleep at night. I have seen it all. I have seen man and woman come together to enjoy the so-called happiness of sex life and all they get is trouble. I have seen all that. I've seen the distress that comes from material enjoyment. Therefore, my conclusion is just not to participate in karmic activities. I'll just lay here and accept whatever comes my way."

In other words the python man is teaching us that material happiness is a myth and the spiritual reality and Krsna consciousness is factual. So that experience, that knowledge you are getting by the grace of Prahlada Maharaja because he was taking a tour of the universe and authentically presenting to you what he saw, what he heard by way of the python man.

Lord Krsna also gives His tours. In Vrindavan, eleven days after the Govardhan-lila, Dvadasi, Nanda Maharaja wanted to take bath in Yamuna River in order to complete his vow, but there was some technical point about whether it was the right time to take bath in Yamuna River or not, technical point about when Dvadasi actually ended, when the night actually ended on Dvadasi. So anyway, Nanda Maharaja and his friends, the elder cowherd men, the gopas, they went to the Yamuna River. As Nanda Maharaja was bathing, he was taken away, as you know, by the servant of Varuna. Immediately the gopas cry out, "Krsna! Rama!"

Krsna is sleeping on a bed of flowers the acaryas say. Immediately Krsna came because Krsna is always nearby; it is not a question of physical distance. He is inseparable from His Vrajavasi devotees. So the Lord asked, "Which part of the water did My father disappear in?" The cowherd men pointed. Krsna entered the water and in that way went to the watery kingdom of Varuna.

As soon as He arrived at Varuna's kingdom, Varuna offered so many wonderful prayers and greetings: "Now my life is successful. I have taken thousand of bodies, but at last, my body is successful by seeing You. there is so much wealth in my watery kingdom, but now I have finally attained the real jewel, I am seeing You. My Lord, You are the ocean of forgiveness, and I am the ocean of offence. If You desire, You may punish me. Here is Your father."

Krsna can see that Varuna is worshiping Nanda Maharaja. Nanada Maharaja is seated on a jewelled throne, according to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. And who is Nanda Maharaja worshipping? He is just thinking of his son, Krsna.

The Lord takes Nanda Maharaja and they return to Vrindavan. Naturally, what is the first thing Nanda Maharaja does? He beings to tell all his his gopas, his cowherd friends, "I can't believe it! What I saw! Varuna is worshipping my son, Krsna! And all of Varuna's servants, they're worshiping my son, Krsna!"

Then it's time for Brijbasi philosophical speculation. The cowherd men begin to consider, "Youu told us before that your son is like Narayana, now we can see that He is Narayana." Sometimes by the arrangmmetn of Yogamaya, the residents of Vrindavan can understand that Krsna is God, but the amazing thing is that this understanding that Krsna is God, in the hearts of Vrindavan, does not in the slightest way disrupt their rasa. They had no problem maintaining their particular rasa with Krsna. It wasn't disturbed in the slightest.

Whereas Vasudeva, after Krsna killed Kamsa, when Vasudeva saw Krsna and Balarama approaching him, treating him as father, he could not reciprocate. "You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You're not really my sons."

Similarly Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita, after he saw Krsna's universal form, he begged forgiveness, "I treated you so casually, lying on the same bed, eating with you, acting in a relaxed way with you."

But in Vrindavan, even though at that particular moment, the Vrajavasis, the older men, are thinking Krsna is God, they are undisturbed in their spontaneous affection for the Lord. Then they decided, "Let's do some interesting explorations. If, and we now know it's true, your son is God," and the acaryas explain, they added some village familiarity to it all, "If your son is God - and don't forget we're related to your son, we're related to your wife, we're related to you, it's all one big family - since your son is God, he should show us what our destination will be in the next life."

In the Krsna book Srila Prabhupada explains that Krsna was very eager to impart information about the spiritual world. the Lord is like that for everyone, not simply his intimate devotees, but for the conditioned souls, He wants to teach them there is something beyond this miserable place, material world where happiness is only a myth, a place that is planned for misery. So Krsna eagerly wanted to show them. He asked them, "OK, what do you want to see?"

They all had different ideas. Some said, "I want to see liberation." Others said, "I want to see Vaikuntha."

Krsna said, "Very well, come with Me." They went to a particular lake and there the Lord submerged them all in the water and as they submerged themselves in the water, they could experience Brahman, Brahman realization, sayujya-mukti. Now generally, if you've gone into sayujya-mukti, oneness with the Lord, how do you come out of that into bhakti, but because Krsna was doing this, they were able to experience sayujya-mukti and then rise up because of Krsna's orchestrating the whole scene.

Next step on the tour, next place on this scenic tour of various transcendental locations, the Lord showed them Vaikuntha. He gave them a complete vision of the Vaikuntha planets. Then within showing them the Vaikuntha planets, the Lord showed them Goloka Vrindavan. What were the comments of the cowherd men? "This final place you're showing us, it's just like our place! It feels the same, it tastes the same!"

In this way Krsna showed them there is no difference between Goloka Vrindavan and Bhauma Vrindavan. The Lord showed them the superiority of Vrindavan, its prema, compared to merging into Brahman, compared to Vaikuntha.

Krsna also gives His tours. Sukadeva Goswami gives his tours. Prahlada Maharaja gives his tours. Later at the end of the Tenth Canto, the Lord shows Arjuna Mahavisnu-loka. You know how Arjuna promised to save the son, the new born child of a particular brahmana couple and he failed. So Arjuna had vowed, "If I can't save your newborn baby, I'll enter into fire."

So time for the birth of the child came, Arjuna protected the situation all around with arrows and mantras. Still, the child disappeared and Arjuna's arrows disappeared, too. The brahmana ridiculed him right in front of Krsna, "If Aniruddha, Pradyumna, so forth couldn't protect my son, how could you?" Then he hit Arjuna with the ultimate insult for a ksatriya: "You're a eunuch!"

Arjuna had taken the vow, "I'll enter the fire unless I can save your son," so Arjuna searched the whole universe even up to Satyaloka and he didn't find the child. So he prepared to enter into fire, and then Krsna stopped him, "Come with Me." They got on Krsna chariot with His Vaikuntha horses and they went through the coverings of the universe, they went through impersonal Brahman, they went all the way to Mahavisnu-loka.

As they approached Mahavisnu lying upon the body of Sesanaga, Krsna and Arjuna offered obeisances. Mahavisnu did not return the obeisances because Mahavisnu was acting in his way to preserve the sanctity of the nara-lila, the human-like pastimes of Krsna. So the acaryas say that Mahavisnu conspired with Krsna, "Let's bewilder Arjuna and at the end we'll all reveal everything." So Mahavisnu said to Arjuna and Krsna, "You are my parts."

You see this chapter began with an inquiry, who is superior, Brahma, Visnu, or Siva, and Brghu Muni made his test which established that Visnu is superior. Now Sukadeva Goswami is describing this pastime of Arjuna and Krsna visiting Mahavisnu to show that Krsna is superior to Visnu. At first Mahavisnu says, "You're my parts, I've always wanted to see you." Krsna offers His reverence to Mahavisnu. Mahavisnu gives the child of the brahmana and they take him back to Dvarka.

At first Arjuna is thinking, "I have seen Mahavisnu, the cause of all causes. I have seen the source of everything. By Krsna's grace, I've seen the root of it all." Then he begins to wonder, "Wait a minute, although Krsna is offering respects to Mahavisnu and Mahavisnu didn't return the obeisances, although Mahavisnu says that we are all his parts, why did he say he always wanted to see Krsna, he always wanted that opportunity? Something's not right here."

Then Arjuna began to mediate on that actual situation: "Obviously this whole incident came about because Krsna is superior to Mahavisnu. The only way Mahavisnu can have the darsana of my beloved Lord Krsna was to take this brahmana child, and in that way, he could get to see Krsna." Krsna and His holy dham Dvaraka are so powerful that Mahavisnu couldn't even come to Dvaraka to see Krsna without Krsna's permission. This is the supremacy, the super-excellence of Krsna. And Krsna's devotees are so extraordinary that Mahavisnu could not send a servant of his to take the brahmana's boy because Krsna devotees, his brahmanas, are so dear to him. All this unfolded just so Mahavisnu could see Krsna, who is superior to him.

Then Arjuna presented his conclusions to Krsna and Krsna said, "Yes, that is so. And actually I did not go to see Mahavisnu simply to get the son of the brhamana back. It was not necessary for Me to go to do that. I went to see Mahavisnu with you to save you, My dear devotee, from entering into fire."

So in this way, Krsna establishes the supremacy of svayam bhagavan and also the supremacy of His devotee in relation to Him.

These are various tours of the universe available to you in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. First you rid your mind of materialisstic conceptions implanted so deeply by materialistic authorities and then you can become saturated with the pure spiritual conceptions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta. You will hear Lord Caitanya talk about Krsna's opulences to Sanatana Goswami and have His mind absorbed in the aisvarya-sagara, the ocean of opulence. And then you'll see Lord Caitanya become overcome by the sweetness, the madhuryamrta, the nectarean sweetness of Krsna's intimate characteristics. He'll explain about Krsna's body, Krsna's face, Krsna's smile.

And finally, Lord Caitanya will conclude saying, "Wait a minute, Sanatana, I didn't plan on speaking about Krsna's sweetness, I was simply going to explain to you about the opulence, but Krsna wanted to shower his mercy upon you and make you aware of His intimate characteristics. Therefore, regardless of my plan, I spoke to you all these things. Even though you can see I am a madman, you have gotten that mercy for Krsna. You have heard about Krsna's sweetness." All this information is there for you. Don't be afraid that it will take at least a lifetime to relish just one drop. That is your wealth as a devotee of the Lord in parampara.

Lord Caitanya said even the aisvarya-sagara, He can't explain the length and breadth, just one drop is beyond your comprehension. And just one drop of the ocean of sweetness can drown the three worlds. So this is the information you have for absorbing your whole life. Because it is coming from parampara, you will get realization simply if you are patient and determined in devotional service.

I'll ask if you have any questions. Yes?

Question: Thank you, Maharaja. I wondered what happened with this knowledge in sampradaya that came from the sun god, Krsna gave to Vivasvan.

Maharaja: What happened to that knowledge?

Question: Yes, and also what happened to that knowledge and also what happened to the knowledge that Arjuna got. Did another sampradaya arise? What about the four sampradayas from Lord Brahma, and . . . , were they not there at that time?

Maharaja: Krsna says:

sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa

Because of the time factor, the purport, the real purport of Bhagavad-gita was lost. That doesn't mean the book was lost, it doesn't mean the Sanskrit was lost, it doesn't mean the text was lost, whether oral or written down.

It means the clear purport was lost because of the effects of time. You see in Bhagavad-gita, Krsna doesn't cover up, He lets you know, "There are problems in this material world. Even the meaning of Bhagavad-gita can be lost and I come to speak it again." Sometimes even in a spiritual organization, because it's operating in the material world, there are problems. We're not utopians, Srila Prabhupada once said, we are realistic about the nature of this world. And Krsna explains that in Bhagavad-gita:
kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa, because of time, the way things work in this world, the original purport of the Gita was lost, but I come to speak it again.

Other questions? Yes.

Question: Hare Krsna. Thank you for the very nice lecture. Maharaja, I was wondering if you could help me to understand in the beginning of the purport it says that Satyaloka is actually a place where there is no misery and there is no falldown. there is also a quote in the beginning of the Fifth Canto that says that in Satyaloka there is no birth, no old age, no disease, no death. There is also another quote in the Ninth Canto. Now, the question is this, on the other hand, you have Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita who says that a-brahma-bhuvanal. . . , says that from the highest planet of Lord Brahma down to the lowest, they are all places of misery and suffereing and where old age, disease, birth and death are succeeding. I was wondering if you can reconcile this apparent contradiction.

Maharaja: There is no gross bodily existence, so there is no gross bodily birth, old age, death, or disease, but there is falldown, according to Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his commentary to Laghu Bhagavatamrta. Those who go to Satyaloka they're not retired demigods, they're not pure devotees, they will, when their pious activities are expended, they will fall down to the lower planets. You'll hear more information tomorrow about the bodily type of Satyaloka, the nature of the subtle body. Then you'll also hear how to go beyond Satyaloka, because this is Sukadeva Goswami's presentation of the gradual path, how to go beyond Satyaloka to the spiritual world. On that gradual path, Mahavisnu-loka is an intermediate stop. So you'll hear more about that in the coming days. But yes, you can fall down even from the highest planet, if you're not fixed up in bhakti. If you're fixed up in bhakti, you'll go back to Godhead with Lord Brahma. And the descriptions of Satyaloka are not in reference to a gross material body and gross material birth and death and old age.

Anything else?

Question: Another question about this falldown process, they say that pious activities are all being exhausted and the jiva falls down, comes to the Earth and comes in to the grain, which is eaten by a human being and comes into the semen and all that. So I wonder sometimes that the semen count in an average human being is one hundred and fifty million, which four individuals semen count taken would produce the entire world's population in the space of ten days. So this is something that I cannot make sense of. Please help me with this.

Maharaja: I could not catch all of it.

Question: He's saying that the average semen count, in other words, the average male has so many sperms, all of which have souls and he's thinking they're all coming down from higher planets and get eaten through grains and absorbed into the body. So he's having trouble understanding.

Maharaja: Human form of life is a junction. You can attain human form of life by coming down or coming up. And once you get the human body you can go down or you can go up. So it's not simply that you get a human body by coming down, you can also get a human body by coming up, but we can talk more about this later because I can sense you want to get into the details.

Thank you very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. [applause]

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/118 2006-02-28T22:59:54-07:00 2006-04-09T04:22:04-06:00 ekendra

Here are some pictures of HH Devamrita Swami from the underground Poland days behind the communist Iron Curtain:

 

 

(just click on a picture above to view a bigger version) 

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Here are some pictures of HH Devamrita Swami from the underground Poland days behind the communist Iron Curtain:

 

 

(just click on a picture above to view a bigger version) 

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<!--[if supportFields]> SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1<![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><![endif]-->WHEN TECHNOLOGY BLINDS and FAILS

Lecture at I.I.T., India Institute of Technology, Mumbai, February 27, 2001. First editing by Stephanie Croft; final editing by Devamrita Swami.

Greetings. As always, it’s a pleasure to speak here, at India’s peak of scientific learning and research. Tonight we will discuss a controversial subject: “Technology--Helpful or Hurtful?” The verdict? All depends on our consciousness. The ancient spiritual texts of India tell us that a person’s internal state translates into external action. How someone uses things, for better or worse, is the outer manifestation of a particular inner reality. For example, according to the type of consciousness, a surgeon’s knife in someone’s hand can either heal a man or murder him.

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<!--[if supportFields]> SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1<![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><![endif]-->WHEN TECHNOLOGY BLINDS and FAILS

Lecture at I.I.T., India Institute of Technology, Mumbai, February 27, 2001. First editing by Stephanie Croft; final editing by Devamrita Swami.

Greetings. As always, it’s a pleasure to speak here, at India’s peak of scientific learning and research. Tonight we will discuss a controversial subject: “Technology--Helpful or Hurtful?” The verdict? All depends on our consciousness. The ancient spiritual texts of India tell us that a person’s internal state translates into external action. How someone uses things, for better or worse, is the outer manifestation of a particular inner reality. For example, according to the type of consciousness, a surgeon’s knife in someone’s hand can either heal a man or murder him.

In this way, to understand humanity’s relationship with technology, we should ask: “What is the quality of consciousness with which we use technology?” Our criterion for judgement is the level of consciousness, rather than the technology in and of itself.

Let me invite you, however, to look at the question of good or bad technology in an even more subtle way. You see, by our observing the prevalence of a certain kind of technology, we can deduce the proliferation of a certain type of consciousness. My charge is that the consciousness that predominates throughout the world today is a perversion, a malignant strain that preoccupies itself with permutations and adaptations of matter rather than with pure consciousness itself.

I do realize that my introduction of tonight’s subject has led us straight into troubled waters. Why? Immediately I am discussing consciousness. What relation does consciousness have to science, as we know it today? We will deal with this soon. Meanwhile I would like you to bear in mind one verse from Bhagavad-Gita (2.17):

avin??i tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam ida? tatam
vin??am avyayasy?sya
na ka?cit kartum arhati

“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.”

Here Lord Krishna is speaking about consciousness as the energy of the soul. Krishna is explaining that this energy of consciousness, which pervades the body, cannot be destroyed. In other words Lord Krishna is letting you know that the symptom of the soul’s presence is consciousness. Of course, according to the limited constraints that current science has imposed, you may counter, “Well, the soul is strictly a religious entity. There is no empirical proof for it; no technological device has detected it. The idea of the soul sounds sweet, but the notion doesn’t make it in today’s high-tech world of hard data.”

Now we collide head-on with the main complaint of spiritual scientists. What most disturbs spiritually-based  thinkers is not technology itself, butthe severe limitations of current technology—in other words, the matter-bound  focus, a fanatical vision that recognizes only a narrow spectrum of reality. Such a crippled attempt at technology ignores the most basic essential of our existence: our own consciousness.

What I am getting at is that the future of humanity depends on the relationship between genuine spiritual science and technology. No doubt, many of you may say, “If you’re talking about religion, well, that is your own personal affair. Any truly educated person knows that spirituality relies upon uniquely personal testimonies of experience, which can never be tested; whereas scientific research is verifiable by everyone--therefore we call it universal.”

India is fast becoming known as a world power in scientific research, but the standard is still the USA. Please contemplate some well-known statistics that reveal a spiritual versus material conflict deep within science as practiced in the USA.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)  <!--[endif]-->Between 70-90% of Americans believe in a personal God.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2)  <!--[endif]-->40% of the scientists in America say that they believe in a personal God.

Has any scientific evidence—as conventionally conceived—ever pointed to a personal God? But obviously many scientists identify with this conclusion, although their academic discipline provides no conventionally acceptable evidence for such a belief. From the above statistics we may understand thata wide gulf now exists between what educated people actually believe and the knowledge they have accumulated. This gap, unless bridged, will generate increasing tension, both individually and socially.

 

The Missing Link: Consciousness

According to the standard of Western science, the ancient information about consciousness found in Vedic texts such as Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam cannot be considered “real knowledge.” Why not? Because it is “religious.” Meanwhile, materialistic scientists base their own view of consciousness on hidden metaphysical principles, which always lurk beneath their scientific inquiry. This fact is very important to bear in mind. Most current scientific views on consciousness rest upon hidden metaphysical principles, which underlie almost all conventional scientific inquiry.

You may be surprised to know that in our morning classes at our Krishna temple in Chowpatty (a district of Mumbai), we discuss these points. As dedicated spiritual researchers, we wrestle with these vital issues.  ThroughBhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, we can clearly see their resolution. There is no need to fear that if you practice Krishna consciousness, “you’ll lose your head in the clouds.” Indeed, the mature spiritual practitioner focuses upon the most crucial issues that deeply affect everyone.

I ask you, what can be more crucial and profound than your own consciousness? Only by your consciousness are you aware of studies in science, religion, politics, economics, psychology, and so forth. Now please tell me: what evidence does science give you for your own consciousness? Will you be brave enough to say it loud? “Nothing!”

There is absolutely no technological device that can directly detect either the presence or the absence of consciousness.  Even more embarrassing, scientists don’t know what to measure, what to speak of developing a machine to carry out the measuring. Put another way, there is absolutely no scientific evidence for the existence of consciousness. Does this monumental void expose a problem with consciousness? No, it reveals a huge problem with science as known today. Yes, our technology may be awesome in a certain way; however, it is pitifully insufficient in the most important way.

 

How do we know we have consciousness? The only one kind of direct evidence, although nonscientific according to today’s empirical standards, is an individual’s first-person account of his or her own consciousness. Each individual here at I.I.T. can say, “I feel I am conscious.” Moreover, each student here can talk with other students, and they can say, “Yes, I also feel I have the subjective experience of consciousness.” The fact that scientifically we can come up with no other evidence means that there is a huge hole in our knowledge about the most important substance.

Please meditate upon this quotation from the International Dictionary of Psychology: “Consciousness is a fascinating but illusive phenomenon. It is impossible to specify what it is, what it does or why it evolved. Nothing worth reading has ever been written about it.”

Just see! According to this pre-eminent compendium, nothing significant has ever been stated about the most vital and obvious thing about you—your consciousness. Thus, at our Chowpatty temple, should all ourbrahmacharis (monastic trainees) who have graduated from I.I.T. and other top scientific institutes in India now immediately discard their Bhagavad-Gitas? In other words, because persons exclusively subservient to Western material knowledge happen to know little about consciousness, therefore everyone should conclude that there is nothing to be said about it?

The problem worsens. The modern failure to understand consciousness has set off an unconscious rush to depersonalise the world--as if the world exists independent of anyone’s consciousness. Because moderns know little about consciousness, the world is treated as if it has no relation to anyone’s perceptual mechanism–-their consciousness. This built-in limitation to the present version of science and technology has restricted the growth of Western knowledge.The bottom line is that current science does not even have a proper theoretical framework by which to conduct experimental research into consciousness.

 

Techno-Pride and Passion

Technology has no doubt enthralled the world with well-publicized progress in explaining and manipulating the external and physical world. This fever to interact analytically with matter has overpowered any sympathy for ancient knowledge that explores the inner reality of consciousness. Owing to the modern lack of knowledge about consciousness, scientists mightily over-endeavour in their pursuit of the quantifiable world of matter.The apparent success produces a cocky hubris, which blinds their eyes to the value of ancient research into consciousness. In this way so many people think that the ancient Vedic knowledge is just “Hindu granny wisdom” from the old days. Actually, what Lord Krishna teaches inBhagavad-Gita is universally relevant to all living entities: “That which pervades your body is indestructible. No one can destroy the spirit soul.” (B. gita 2:17)

Let’s go back to some basic facts:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->Science does not know how or why consciousness originates.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->Science cannot detect consciousness in the body at any stage.

Sometimes there are debates as to whether the human foetus is conscious. Such debates about consciousness in the womb are as unproductive as debates about consciousness in a full-grown adult. Can you detect consciousness in the adult? No. Conventional science lacks the means for doing that. So why scratch your head about whether there is consciousness is in the foetus? First, humbly admit you can’t even detect consciousness in the adult.

Should we want to know whether consciousness surpasses death? Many scientists will mock any acceptance of an afterlife. No evidence whatsoever, they say, shows that consciousness survives death. Thus they divert you from the fact that no ordinary evidence proves consciousness is present at any stage of a living body. So let’s be honest and face the truth: whether the body is alive or dead, foetus or full-grown, there are no material scientific means for detecting consciousness.

Certainly a society becomes problematic when its most erudite brains focus exclusively on manipulating the physical world. Meanwhile these very same scientific crusaders, these super-adepts of physicalism, are an unknown entity to themselves. Just see: the brightest persons, the leading lights, are life-long dedicated to altering the physical world; yet these people themselves are mysteries to themselves. An unknown is trying to understand the known. A bit illogical, isn’t it?

Okay, why did you all come here tonight? Please give me a precise scientific understanding, according to the current parameters of Western knowledge. Why are you here?

A student answers: “The topic appealed to me.”

Really? The prevailing scientific doctrine is that your so-called free choice to come here was the result of an ongoing subjective illusion. This mirage made you feel that you exercised “free will” to attend our discussion. While the neurochemistry in your brain interacted with the external physical environment in a particular way, concurrently these chemicals in your brain generated a lie that there is such a thing as free will and free choice. Therefore you are here tonight. Supposedly the brain is just interacting with stimulations from the physical environment, and somehow or other, amidst that purely material interaction, an illusion is generated that you are conscious and have free will.

As the French molecular biologist and Nobel laureate Jacques Monod said: “The ancient covenant is in pieces: Man at last knows that he is alone in the unfeeling immensity of the universe, out of which he has emerged only by chance. Neither his destiny nor his duty has been written down.” Although this is the predominant scientific explanation, I am sure that ninety percent of you here feel very uncomfortable with it.

For icing on the cake, please cherish the words of the late and great Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA structure: “You, your joys and sorrows, your memories and ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are, in fact, no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve-cells. As Lewis Carroll’s Alice might have phrased it: ‘You’re nothing but a pack of neurons’.”                          

Successful Failure

There is no doubt that technology has made great strides in understanding some things about this world. For example, certainly we know much about many biological processes of the body. According to biochemistry—as understood through reductionism--the body is a collection of atomic particles. (Quantum physics will take the material analysis to another dimension altogether.) Although we may understand something about the gross physical operation of our body, science has no way to explain how our consciousness operates.

Everyone knows that internal medicine focuses upon the organs inside the body, but why doesn’t anyone admit that if you really want to research the internal, you have to deal with consciousness? Where is the scientific explanation of consciousness? It is the greatest mystery—a vacuum so daunting, we decided to ignore it.

I’m sure it’s not too much for you to admit that the fundamental principles of scientific materialism have allowed us to grasp only a certain range of natural phenomena. In other words,these fundamental principles of scientific materialism are not universally valid . The proof is that scientific materialism cannot explain consciousness, the most important thing about us. The verifiable result of this inability? Now our brightest brains bless us with a technology for controlling the physical world, but no one can control his or her own mind.

“Let’s control nature. . . . Let’s manipulate matter.”

“But can you control your own mind; can you manage your own consciousness?”

“Oh, don’t be childish—live in the real world . . . .”

This is the problem. So, once again I say the fault rests not so much with the technology but with the consciousness that uses the technology. Since no one knows the basis of consciousness, therefore whatever technology humanity produces brilliantly misses the goal of life. Because we insist on such a narrow focus for science, we render as obscure a wide range of subjective experiences—namely, our own consciousness.  This dogmatic adherence to materialistic principles of science and technology has crippled scientific research and impoverished our understanding of nature as a living whole.

What we are suggesting tonight is not that we abandon technology; rather, that we expand technology so we can understand ourselves. To achieve this necessary development, enlargement, normalization, we should consider systems of scientific inquiry other than what Western culture has devised. Since consciousness has proven to be so inscrutable by Western scientific methods, perhaps we should be humble, admitting, “Western knowledge-systems would benefit by coupling with ancient Vedic systems of inquiry.”

The Western modes of scientific process certainly have been successful, in a limited way. But the mode of scientific investigation inBhagavad-gita, for example, is also successful, in its own way. Therefore, maybe we should at least try both of them, and then we can see which is more productive, in what area. Adopting an alternative approach becomes especially important when we admit that our current technology has done nothing to increase the internal happiness of human beings--despite success in raising the gross national product.

State-Specific Knowledge

The Vedic texts, such as Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam, present studies of consciousness in highly advanced souls. But the Western scientific mindset discards these investigations. Why? Because the ordinary scientist cannot walk into a laboratory and readily experience such elevated states of consciousness. True, only sensitized spiritual adepts, steeped in Vedic process, can enter within Vedic research.  But does that barrier to entry automatically mean Vedic investigations into consciousness cannot stand as verifiable “universal knowledge”?

Shall we forget that physicists say it takes eight to ten years just to train a recruit to comprehend fundamental reality according to the chimera of quantum mechanics? Not only does the initiate have to accept that the world buzzes with components that are intrinsically unobservable, but as you students here know, also the inductee has to hold to waves and particles that have no single objective reality until an attempt is made to measure for them.

The ancient Vedic system of knowledge takes firsthand experience of consciousness seriously. The contemporary bias, however, requires quantifiable data that any certified reductionist or empiricist can verify. We may find that just this very stricture, in of itself, traps our learned folk in a certain kind of cocoon that prevents them from accessing higher knowledge. You see, contrary to the viewpoint of Western empiricism, the Vedic point of view is thatknowledge is state specific.

We discuss this point also, at our temple in Chowpatty. Allow me to explain that I am teaching you Bhagavata-dharma, the knowledge that Lord Krishna gives, but I am seeking to do so by using much of your vocabulary, your concepts. Actually, all the themes I’m presenting are coming straight from Bhagavad-Gita.

Krishna says, “I am not manifest to everyone—by My own arrangement. According to your state of consciousness, I reveal Myself.” This loud hint, given by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita (7:25), lets us know that perception depends on the person. The qualification of the observer determines what the observer can see--so much so that Lord Krishna says, “If I don’t like your consciousness, you are not going to be able to see Me.”

Knowledge is state specific. Please reflect on this point. According to your state of consciousness, you will be able to understand some things, while other things will remain unknown to you. Therefore, the Vedic system prescribes that if you want to increase the scope of your understanding, you must first refine and purify your own consciousness.

Obviously this principle has not much to do with Western knowledge-processes. “Why drag my personal life into the laboratory?” many contemporary scientists would protest. “I may smoke, drink, and indulge in random sexual connections--that is my own personal affair. But have no doubt--when I walk into the laboratory, I’m ready for work. Suddenly from me will emanate objective, dispassionate analysis.”

The Vedic scientists know that according to your lifestyle, your research is already moulded. Yes, “different strokes for different folks,” but kindly note that different lifestyles produce different levels of consciousness. The spiritual scientist knows that if you want to expand your parameters of knowledge and experience, then you must raise your consciousness. Those of you studying physics should immediately click on this Vedic fundamental because you know that quantum mechanics struggles with the inescapable role of the observer. Embarrassingly, what that observer is, no one can exactly say. But at least quantum physics does acknowledge that the observer plays a crucial role in what is observed.

Now you might concede, “Look, it could be true what you are saying. There could be a spiritual reality, the soul, the Supreme Soul, and so forth, but how many of us can access this reality? Must we all undergo a few years of training in spiritual yoga?” Krishna consciousness,bhakti-yoga, does require some preparation. The ingrained thinking processes need an overhaul, if the student wants to perceive spiritual phenomenon.

The ancient texts say that if you want to understand Brahman, the supreme spiritual reality, then you have to be Brahman, a brahmana. But what does it mean to be a brahmana? Is one considered a brahmana by birth? Absolutely not! Nowhere in Bhagavad-gita does Krishna say you become a brahmana by birth. No, you must have the qualities. Suppose, I informed you, “My father is a professor at your institution, I.I.T.; therefore you don’t have to worry about my own standard. Because he is my father, you can accept me as qualified also.” Should you expect that automatically, by heredity, the son is an expert in the father’s field of research?Bhagavad-gita says guna and karma: we must see your qualities and activities. Then we can judge whether you are a brahmana or not.

To understand the spiritual reality, we must have a spiritual lifestyle. Then we can adequately participate in scientific discussions of consciousness. As long as you remain trapped in materialistic paradigms, only a narrow band of reality will reveal itself to you. When you are a materialist, it is very easy to focus exclusively on matter, because your tunnel vision, of course, acknowledges only material objects, material bodies. When you become purified from material contamination and detached from matter, however, the spiritual reality awaits you. At the beginning of your spiritual studies, that’s all Krishna asks that you do: just detach yourself from matter, take up some spiritual processes of purification, and indeed your spiritual cognition will expand.

India and the American Dream

You may wonder, what role can Krishna consciousness, this ancient science of India, bhakti-yoga, play in relation to science? Sometimes it is said that religion should clarify the values of life and the personal goal of life whereas science will give genuine knowledge of reality. But this formula, this division of labour, proves itself deluding, because naturallywhat you accept as your reality will determine your goals and your values. If you see reality as just matter, naturally you will be inspired to presume only materialist values and materialistic goals. But if your version of reality sees matterand spirit (consciousness being the indicator of a spiritual energy) then your values and goals can become spiritual.

What path is India traversing right now? What I see here is that many university students are struggling to maintain the religious values of their forefathers, while their intelligence drowns in a materialistic view of reality. Mnay of you here know that this contradiction rattles your inner psyche. Gradually, your accepting a physicalist, matter-bound view of reality will overpower any traditional humanizing values. Then you will go on a rampage and just deem everything as material.

Have you talked intimately with persons who go abroad to the USA and raise their children. As technologists, the parents duly accept a materialistic view of reality while they habitually cling to simple religious values their forefathers taught them back in India. The children, however, raised abroad, want the American fast lane: “Full-on, head-on, let’s get in on.” Growing up there, saturated from the beginning by the materialistic view of reality plus a sensualist lifestyle, they reject even the rudimentary morality of their parents, and race to become first-class hedonists.

What about this escape route: “The sacred world is the domain of religion, while the natural world is the domain of science—especially of technology. Leave religion to sort out the sacred world--whatever that is; meanwhile, science will discover the reality.”

The standard spiritual text of India, the Bhagavad-gita, rejects this ploy. You see, Lord Krishna claims both the material and spiritual domains. Aham sarvasya prabhavo: “I am the origin of everything material and spiritual. Everything emanates from Me.” Iti mattva bhajante mam: “What will happen when you know this? You’ll become buddha, wise, and bhava samanvitah, you’ll radiate with transcendental ecstasy.” (B. gita 10:8) All that erudition and success is yours, just by your knowing that Krishna is the source of everything material and spiritual.

Therefore, the spiritual scientists, the practitioners of Krishna Consciousness, are not agreeable that you push Krishna out of this material world. True, this material world is very insignificant when compared to spiritual world; nevertheless, it emanates from Krishna. Let’s connect the material energy to its source. That is real, comprehensive science.

Materialistic science, seeking to control nature, depersonalises so-called objective phenomena as if such phenomena exists in the mind’s eye independent of any significant subjective colouring. Thus, according to this standard belief, in effect the whole world becomes liberated from personhood and the scourge of subjectivity. Based on this illusion, matter-bound scientists feel secure to dismiss transcendentalists and their teachings. After all, unlike science, they believe, such spiritual knowledge bases itself on only subjective experience.

We have all heard reports, for example, that hundreds of people somewhere observed a statue of the Virgin Mary with tears in her eyes. Whether the reports were true or false, isn’t is true that hard-core physicalists would already have made up their mind in advance: “These sightings are just intense subjective visions conjured up by persons so fervently dedicated to their religion that they actually can see a tear in the statue’s eyes. Just witness the deluding power of devotional subjectivity!” Then the boast would quickly follow: “Pure science never does anything like that—it is dispassionate, free of both bias and subjectivity.” This is the stereotypical way conventional science approaches spiritual experiences and knowledge.

The tragedy is that the conventional scientific elite have rushed to depersonalise the world, because they know little about consciousness. Moreover, they take mighty pride in the now standard matter-bound systems for acquiring knowledge, when actually they lack complete knowledge about the very medium by which awareness comes to us. Isn’t it so that if you don’t understand the very thing that permits your awareness of the natural world, then also you really don’t understand whatever in the natural world you are experiencing.

Krishna-consciousness practitioners do not run from this dilemma. Daily we grapple with it, in our bhakti laboratory of personal transformation. At our next meeting, I will discuss with you the hidden metaphysical principles underlying the current scientific system of enquiry. I’ll introduce you to the monsters lurking at the bottom of the pond: items of faith such as monism, closure, reductionism, and physicalism. Tonight I’ll only briefly touch upon them.

Monism: There is only one substance in the universe. Say it loud and proud—it’s matter, pure and simple.

Reductionism: At its most basic level, that one exclusive substance comprises only particles of matter.

Closure: The cosmos is only a system of physical things, which interact with each other because of only physical causes. There is absolutely no room in reality for any non-physical causal influence.

Physicalism: Everything is matter as physically known. There has never been or will be anything more. Our conscious experience is purely a physical affair—one day in the future, the proof will surely appear.

Although these quasi-religious principles underlie scientific enquiry, rarely do universities exhume them and air them in public. Meanwhile, how quick we are to criticise spiritualists: “Ah, your beliefs are entertaining indeed, but of course, they rest on so many unproven principles, assumptions.” But so does our current science!

A Drop of Humility, Please

The honest researcher will at least make a comparison between the two metaphysical systems—ancient and contemporary. Wouldn’t you agree that even an attempt by the ancients to research consciousness is at least better than the modern approach of almost no attempt at all? The speakers inBhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam experience different levels of consciousness and openly discuss them. Therefore, yes, we should compliment the Krishna-conscious persons, both past and present--at least they’re trying to cope with the foremost riddle, consciousness.

Otherwise, we can worship at the feet of persons like the late Nobel laureate Francis Crick, of DNA fame. Before his recent demise, he switched to the field of consciousness research, seeing it as the unexplored frontier. But before he began his research, he had already declared, a priori: “There is no doubt whatsoever that consciousness is an emergent principle from a physical brain.”

Now please note that because he was Francis Crick, his words become almost sacred. But what about, let’s say, Gauranga Das. Suppose this leading Krishna-conscious practitioner and teacher in Mumbai publicly announces, “There is no doubt that consciousness is the energy of the soul.” Surely many of his former comrades and professors at I.I.T. will respond, “The poor boy, formerly one of us, did have a future as a great scientist, but lamentably he has now become bewildered by unscientific subjective sentiments.”

You see the bias? Francis Crick can expound his religion and be worshipped. But if we say what Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita--that consciousness is the symptom of the soul and is indestructible, then: “Oh, spare us from this Hindu village folklore!”

I am sorry to say that this arrogance has been an unfortunate by-product of technological advancement. In our greed to proliferate technologically, we have obscured any help that the ancient knowledge of India might give us, for illuminating the greatest mystery of human existence. Again, we don’t propose that society throws out science and technology. We simply say thatthe current processes of research need help from other methods of scientific enquiry, which derive from a different world view.

Practitioners of Krishna consciousness study literature about individual transformation and then apply the principles in their own lives. One can observe how the consciousness changes through this process. We note how our transformation matches up with the classic ancient accounts of consciousness transformation.

What you see depends on your particular state of consciousness. In Bhagavad-gita (7:25), Lord Krishna boldly declares:

n?ha? prak??a? sarvasya
yoga-m?y?-sam?v?ta?
m??ho 'ya? n?bhij?n?ti
loko m?m ajam avyayam

 “If I do not approve of your behaviour, you cannot see Me. I am not manifest to everyone. You cannot depersonalise Me or deconstruct Me. If your internal state of subjectivity does not match My standards, I am not going to let you observe Me. I have a curtain of maya (illusion) that will blind you.”

 

The Career Path to Freedom

Tonight I would like to urge you all to seriously consider the ancient system of spiritual scientific enquiry known as bhakti-yoga.  Practitioners of Krishna consciousness daily tackle the deepest questions and illuminate the darkest mysteries. Such spirited investigation and analysis accompanies the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. “What is the ideal state of knowledge? How do I explain reality? How do I explain myself?” We think about these things. We experience them. With both our intellect and heart, we are dedicated to the maximum pursuit of spiritual experience. I must say it is indeed quite pleasurable dealing with the real world—thebhakti world.

According to the current scientific myth, there is nothing but matter; everything is physical. I know that some of you are completely lost in the dream that only matter exists, nothing else. To you, I ask, “If everything is matter, then why should anything matter to you?” Just let things happen; simply let the chemicals take their course. For example, no one here should protest if I take a student in this room and threw him out the window. After all, that student is just a conglomeration of matter, nothing more—right? The student matter will merge with the pavement matter down below—what’s the problem? Of course, you won’t accept this reasoning, because intuitively—although not scientifically--you know something else exists. Now, what is this “something else”? We must take the time to research, understand, and experience that “something else.”

A Krishna-conscious life is an exciting, fascinating career. Refining the consciousness so that we become free of material influence is a wonderful thing. To be able to control the mind and senses, to become immune to the demands of consumerism—this is the beginning of real freedom. Throughbhakti-yoga, you become liberated from lust, anger and greed. Otherwise, as long as passions blind us, then we cannot perceive properly.

I am sure you’ve all had the experience of misplacing something while worries occupy your mind. Then, when you searched your room thoroughly, because you were still mentally preoccupied with anxiety, you could not see the missing thing—even though it was right before your eyes. Everyone has experienced this waste of valuable time. Similarly, when the passions of consumerism and sensuality invade our mind, we can’t see the indicators of spiritual reality--for example, consciousness--despite their standing under our nose.

The sublime state of Krishna consciousness is more than worthy of your effort. Here is a career goal that will take the best you have. As stated inBhagavad-gita (6:22):

 
yatroparamate citta?
niruddha? yoga-sevay?
yatra caiv?tman?tm?na?
pa?yann ?tmani tu?yati

sukham ?tyantika? yat tad
buddhi-gr?hyam at?ndriyam
vetti yatra na caiv?ya?
sthita? calati tattvata?

ya? labdhv? c?para? l?bha?
manyate n?dhika? tata?
yasmin sthito na du?khena
guru??pi vic?lyate

ta? vidy?d du?kha-sa?yoga-
viyoga? yoga-sa?jñitam

“In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.”

Even at the beginning of your ascent to this purified state of existence, you can start to understand what is reality. I know that some of you won’t be able to rest until you delve into the mysteries of spiritual science--we are happy for that. Others of you will say, “Yes, yes, what Swami is saying is probably true; nevertheless, I have to live my life. We live in a practical world, and so my sails are already set on that course.” But I ask you, how practical is a world that does not understand itself, a world that cannot understand the very medium by which it perceives everything? That is very impractical!

How can I become qualified to research the spiritual reality? What is the lifestyle of an advanced transcendentalist? Who is qualified to see this world as consisting of matter, spirit ,and the controller of both? If you can master this kind of scientific inquiry, then indeed you will have something worthwhile to pass on to your children.

Questions and Answers

Q:   In the lecture you spoke of the materialistic paradigm that sees everything as a manipulation of matter and you also commented about our attempts to control nature although we can’t control our own mind. But how do we understand mind to be matter? We generally think matter to be what we can perceive. We can’t, however, perceive the existence of mind--as an object of perception. Is the mind the same as consciousness or is it different?

A: Krishna clearly explains the mind in Bhagavad-gita. It is subtle matter, and consciousness uses it as a device, or tool. Although the mind exists, you cannot perceive it through your gross senses. Aren’t there so many things you cannot perceive through the gross senses? No scientist has ever seen an electron, but because you have seen its tracks, you hypothesise, telling the world electrons exist.

You have not seen the mind, yet there is an academic  discipline called psychology. Similarly you have not seen the soul, yet there is a nonmaterial discipline calledbhakti-yoga . In mundane scientific circles it is now popular to posit that because certain changes to the chemicals in your brain induce a change in your mental state, therefore there is nothing more to the mind and consciousness than neurochemistry. This speculation has jumped far from what little is known to the vast unknown. Obviously some relation exists between your neural chemical condition and your mental state, but then to say that mental states are completely understood in terms of neural chemistry is a huge leap of faith. Perhaps, along with the electrochemical activity in the brain, there are also non-physical influences operating. Please think about this.

Q:   A young man from India, especially a student at a prestigious institution, is sometimes caught in the crossfire between these two statements: “a non-believer will not accept any proof, and a believer does not need any proof.” This paradox especially arises in discussions about spirituality or God. Moreover, many students do not consider themselves a non-believer, but they are not yet ready to become a believer. So sometimes the question comes: "Do you Krishna-conscious teachers offer me something that can satisfy me, without my running the risk of being branded immediately as a believer?"

A: Yes indeed, our warehouse has just what you need. I can easily address this need because it reminds me of me in my university days. I did not want to accept anything because it was someone’s belief. I wanted spiritual experience.Bhagavad-gita (9:2) says:

r?ja-vidy? r?ja-guhya?
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyak??vagama? dharmya?
su-sukha? kartum avyayam

In this verse, Krishna, the Supreme Absolute Truth explains that the knowledge He gives is the king of all knowledge, the most confidential information, and the perfection of religion. Moreover, through purified senses, this knowledge gives direct perception of the spiritual reality, and the process for applying it is joyful.

Anyone can take up the process and principles of Krishna consciousness and soon see how their consciousness transforms. I wholeheartedly recommend you approachbhakti-yoga in this practical, tested way--not simply the way of traditional acceptance. Some can simply say, “Oh, this sounds like what my grandmother talked about, so I will accept it—officially.” I know that perhaps a few may want to do that, but countless more cannot. For the contemporary shrewd student, we happily provide the tools that allow you to access Krishna consciousness in an open-minded way? It’s exciting!

 

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Walking the groves, hills, and valleys in the intimate surroundings of Krishna’s dearest devotee, I contemplated the wearisome burden of pride. Conditioned life imposes this deadweight pack on our back--what a burden of stone.

Mules of samsara, piled high with self-esteem and self-worth, we trudge from birth to death, back and forth, repeating the same bleak journey endlessly.

Dangled before our nose is the rotting carrot of appreciation, recognition and adoration. “Can’t you see my abilities, don’t you know my uniqueness, won’t you praise me--and not others? Come on, just talk about me--let’s hear it for me!”

The mind broadcasts to our consciousness the conclusions manufactured by the false ego: “I am good; I am expert; in fact, I’m awesome, in my own way. Just chatter about my glories, and I’ll be so happy.” How oppressive is this filthy load.

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Walking the groves, hills, and valleys in the intimate surroundings of Krishna’s dearest devotee, I contemplated the wearisome burden of pride. Conditioned life imposes this deadweight pack on our back--what a burden of stone.

Mules of samsara, piled high with self-esteem and self-worth, we trudge from birth to death, back and forth, repeating the same bleak journey endlessly.

Dangled before our nose is the rotting carrot of appreciation, recognition and adoration. “Can’t you see my abilities, don’t you know my uniqueness, won’t you praise me--and not others? Come on, just talk about me--let’s hear it for me!”

The mind broadcasts to our consciousness the conclusions manufactured by the false ego: “I am good; I am expert; in fact, I’m awesome, in my own way. Just chatter about my glories, and I’ll be so happy.” How oppressive is this filthy load.

While I trod barefoot in the holy dhama, spiritual pridelessness revealed its alluring charms to me. How ambrosial and free!  “This is pure delight,” my soul sighed. “O what a life!”

As I rose and sank, moving up one holy hill and down another, I knew I was beyond heaven. The fragrance of spiritual selflessness pervaded the air. Heaven is for pious sense gratifiers; Varshana is for the servants of the servants of the servants.

Standing on a crest, overlooking Sri Radha’s world, this lowly soul detected what his heart longs for.

tapta-k?ñcana-gaur??gi r?dhe v?nd?vane?vari
v??abh?nu-sute devi pra?am?mi hari-priye

 

“I offer my respects to Radharani, whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krsna.”

O daughter of Vrishabanu, please recommend me to Your Krishna. Bless me with the real freedom of unmotivated service at the lotus feet.

Caitanya-caritamrita is my perennial shelter and solace. Srila Prabhupada, observing the mentality of contemporary enthusiasts of Vrindavan-dhama, lucidly instructs his followers in what is possible and pragmatic, for this day and age of Kali: 

“Although it is very difficult to enter into the Radha-Krsna pastimes, most of the devotees of Vrndavana are attracted to the radha-krsna-lila. However, since Nitai-Gauracandra are direct incarnations of Balarama and Krsna, we can be directly in touch with Lord Balarama and Lord Krsna through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. Those who are highly elevated in Krsna consciousness can enter into the pastimes of Radha-Krsna through the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is said, sri-krsna-caitanya radha-krsna nahe anya: "Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a combination of Radha and Krsna." (Madhya 16.281)

Those words, to the wise and mature, are sufficient.

One footstep after another, though most undeserving, this creature , deep in thought, traversed the sacred ground of Varshana. I meditated upon Lord Caitanya’s own report of his first meeting with Rupa and Sanatana. He described them as great devotees and suitable candidates for Krishna’s mercy. The Lord observed that although they were amply endowed with vidya, bhakti, buddhi, and bala—education, devotion, intelligence, and strength—they thought themselves inferior to straw in the street.

"Indeed, the humility of these two brothers could even melt stone. Because I was very pleased with their behavior, I told them, ‘Although you are both very much exalted, you consider yourselves inferior, and because of this, Krsna will very soon deliver you. (Madhya 16.263–264)

This is the self-conception that attracts the attention of Lord Caitanya or Lord Krishna, Prabhupada comments in the purport. After years of devotional striving, this mentality beckons the servitor. Have no doubt—it’s more than worth the tears shed and the litres bled along the bhakti path. Continuing with precious career counseling for his ISKCON movement, the founder-acarya explains that a devotee with this type of self-worth is eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

 

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The brain chemistry of attachment—this is the scientific explanation for love as commonly known. The latest research shows that when romantic passion strikes you, certain areas of the brain surge with an increased blood flow. Scanning the brains of people who have just fallen madly in love, scientists have concluded that love is all about electro-chemicals, hardwired into our brains by evolution.

It is not an emotion, they say; it is a powerful biological drive like hunger or thirst. Well, as I flew from Johannesburg to Durban, South Africa, I decided to do some research of my own. Turning to the engaged couple traveling with me, I read them the cutting-edge scientific list of love symptoms. “What about it?” I innocently inquired. “Elation, mood swings, sleeplessness, and obsession. . . . Do you two feel this way . . .?”

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The brain chemistry of attachment—this is the scientific explanation for love as commonly known. The latest research shows that when romantic passion strikes you, certain areas of the brain surge with an increased blood flow. Scanning the brains of people who have just fallen madly in love, scientists have concluded that love is all about electro-chemicals, hardwired into our brains by evolution.

It is not an emotion, they say; it is a powerful biological drive like hunger or thirst. Well, as I flew from Johannesburg to Durban, South Africa, I decided to do some research of my own. Turning to the engaged couple traveling with me, I read them the cutting-edge scientific list of love symptoms. “What about it?” I innocently inquired. “Elation, mood swings, sleeplessness, and obsession. . . . Do you two feel this way . . .?”

Never one to turn the other cheek, Guru Vani dasi immediately responded, “We’re not that type of couple, Guru Maharaja . . . .”  The future husband, Bhumna Krishna das, gave a look of apparent agreement.

The secret of love finally revealed? It’s all in the biochemistry, right? A prominent American professor of psychology begs us to swallow it: “Learn some of the most important lessons anyone can achieve: how and why we—and other living things—love.”

Sorry, no chemical love for me. . . . I’d rather read Caitanya-caritamrita. I urge you to focus attentively whenever the author of Caitanya-caritamrita reminds us that the exquisite nectar of divine love he pours into our head and heart is quite unfathomable—far beyond the reach of material comprehension.

Consider, for example, Lord Caitanya’s efforts to leave Jagannatha Puri and visit Vrindavan. When, despite the loving impediments put in His way, Mahaprabhu finally left, a devastation of separation hit His intimate associates.

Gadadhara Pandit, desperately seeking to accompany Lord Caitanya, broke two solemn vows. Not only did he abandon his declaration of lifetime service to the Gopinatha Deity, but he also tossed away his ksetra-sannyasa, a form of spiritual retirement that forbids its adherent to ever go outside the holy place where he resides.

As Gadadhara Pandit walked along with Mahaprabhu, the Lord requested him to return to the holy dhama, Jagannatha Puri, to maintain his vow of residency. Gadadhara’s response: “Wherever You are staying is Jagannatha Puri. Let my so-called ksetra-sannyasa go to hell.” Then, upon the Lord’s reminding him of his service to Gopinatha, Gadadhara countered, “One renders service to Gopinatha a million times simply by seeing Your lotus feet.”

Lord Caitanya, pointing out that if Gadadhara abandoned his vows, the fault would directly fall upon His head, implored him, “You stay in Jagannatha Puri and serve the Deity—that will please Me.” Gadadhara had an answer for that too: “Don’t worry. All the blame is on me. You see, I will not actually directly accompany You—in this way You’ll not be implicated. I’ll travel separately. We’ll just happen to wind up at the same destination . . . “

This artificial separation continued for some distance, but then Lord Caitanya, relenting, summoned Gadadhara Pandit to His traveling party. Kaviraja Goswami explains:

“No one can understand the loving intimacy between Gadadhara Pandit and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Gadadhara Pandit gave up his vow and service to Gopinatha just as one gives up a piece of straw.” (Cc. Madhya, 16: 137)

In the commentary Prabhupada elaborates: “This kind of loving affection can be understood only by very confidential devotees. Ordinarily, no one can understand its purport.” Lord Caitanya, in His heart, was pleased by Gadhadhara’s attachment. At the same time, He obviously felt responsibility for upholding dharma, lest whimsical devotees imitate Gadadhara’s behavior. Finally therefore, catching Gadadhara’s hand, and exhibiting the nonmaterial, pure anger of nonmaterial, pure love, the Lord firmly declared that enough is enough:

"Your wanting to go with Me is simply a desire for sense gratification. In this way, you are breaking two religious principles, and because of this I am very unhappy.

"If you want My happiness, please return to Nilacala. You will simply condemn Me if you say any more about this matter." (Cc. Madhya 16.140-141)

Then Lord Caitanya climbed onto a boat to cross a river. Gadadhara immediately fell to the ground unconscious. As the boat departed, the Lord called out to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya that he take Gadadhara back with him to Jagganatha Puri. "Get up!” the Bhattacarya told Gadadhara Pandita. “Such are the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

The Lord is simultaneously controlled by His devotees’ love and free from any dependency. These two co-existing dynamics make for infinitely all-attractive pastimes.

Is real love, spiritual love, so easy to understand? Just think: when was the last time your beloved partner, child, spouse, or friend walked out the door for a journey, and you immediately crashed to the floor. How long did you lay there unconscious, stunned by the sudden onslaught of separation?

Therefore, is it really inappropriate to dare suggest that no real love exists on the material plane? Tell the scientists they can keep their neuro-chemical origin of love. We’ll exult in the pure rasa of Caitanya-caritamrita--emanating not from a laboratory but directly from the spiritual world.

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]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/90 2005-10-11T03:45:12-06:00 2005-10-11T03:45:12-06:00 das

I departed Russia on Oct. 5, after a weeklong festival on the Black Sea with 3000 devotees and after a few days of GBC meetings. By car I traveled three hours from Anapa to Krasnodar, and then by overnight train into Ukraine, arriving in Donetsk at 7 am. I know many who read this have no idea where these cities are. If you want to trace my travels, go to an atlas site on the Internet and look at the southwestern corner of Russia and the eastern side of Ukraine, above the Sea of Azov. My itinerary in Ukraine was Donetsk, then by car two hours to Luhansk plus nearby Alchevsk, and then back to Donetsk for flying to the capital city, Kiev.

In Luhansk I spoke about Lord Brahma’s description of life on the Vaikuntha planets (S. Bhag 3:15). The logic for your peacefully accepting this information is quite simple and clear: to understand a far-off place and its culture, you must consult an authority who knows. Just like above—most of you don’t know about those cities in Russia and Ukraine I mentioned. But if you consult your encyclopedia and atlas, then you will attain some understanding.

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I departed Russia on Oct. 5, after a weeklong festival on the Black Sea with 3000 devotees and after a few days of GBC meetings. By car I traveled three hours from Anapa to Krasnodar, and then by overnight train into Ukraine, arriving in Donetsk at 7 am. I know many who read this have no idea where these cities are. If you want to trace my travels, go to an atlas site on the Internet and look at the southwestern corner of Russia and the eastern side of Ukraine, above the Sea of Azov. My itinerary in Ukraine was Donetsk, then by car two hours to Luhansk plus nearby Alchevsk, and then back to Donetsk for flying to the capital city, Kiev.

In Luhansk I spoke about Lord Brahma’s description of life on the Vaikuntha planets (S. Bhag 3:15). The logic for your peacefully accepting this information is quite simple and clear: to understand a far-off place and its culture, you must consult an authority who knows. Just like above—most of you don’t know about those cities in Russia and Ukraine I mentioned. But if you consult your encyclopedia and atlas, then you will attain some understanding.

Relishing Lord Brahma’s guided tour of the spiritual world and Srila Prabhupada’s explication of it, I particularly let seven verses fascinate my mind.

In those Vaikuntha planets there are many forests which are very auspicious. In those forests the trees are desire trees, and in all seasons they are filled with flowers and fruits because everything in the Vaikuntha planets is spiritual and personal.

Where is the formlessness of which the impersonalists fantasize? In Vaikuntha everything is someone, and everyone has a form, personality, and devotional service. Even the impersonal Brahman is there—in a form. Material nature does not order the functions of nature in Vaikuntha; everyone functions in a direct relationship with the Lord. Therefore, for the Lord’s pleasure, the trees bear fruits and flowers year around. Indeed, the acarya’s explain that on the topmost Vaikuntha planet, Krishnaloka, when the cows eat the grass, then immediately the grass grows back even more lushly. And when Krishna, also named Madhava, enters the forest, then the already inconceivably beautiful forest redoubles its springtime attractiveness, especially since the spring season is also known as Madhava.

In the Vaikuntha planets the inhabitants fly in their airplanes, accompanied by their wives and consorts, and eternally sing of the character and activities of the Lord, which are always devoid of all inauspicious qualities. While singing the glories of the Lord, they deride even the presence of the blossoming madhavi flowers, which are fragrant and laden with honey.

The breezes in Vaikuntha are overwhelmingly fragrant, yet the inhabitants there choose to ignore the naturally perfumed air so they can concentrate their attention on the Lord’s service. In this way they show their pure devotional status. Those who always grant first priority to the Lord’s pleasure have the right to reside in Vaikuntha. Selfish sense gratification fades away in the presence of an opportunity to glorify the Lord. In Vaikuntha that opportunity is eternally ever-increasingly present. While they Vaikuntha devotees chant the Lord’s glories, they don’t want the intoxicatingly sweet breezes disturbing their focus.

When the king of bees hums in a high pitch, singing the glories of the Lord, there is a temporary lull in the noise of the pigeon, the cuckoo, the crane, the cakravaka, the swan, the parrot, the partridge and the peacock. Such transcendental birds stop their own singing simply to hear the glories of the Lord.

Note the inherent smooth-flowing cooperation among the Vaikuntha residents. Whether bird, bee, peacock, or a humanlike resident, all are devotees conscious of how the Lord will best enjoy. Unlike beginners in spiritual life who fight over who can perform a particular service for the Lord and the guru, the Vaikuntha-ites immediately, intuitively know how to coordinate their various devotional efforts. Therefore when the bees hum the Lord’s glories, the birds and peacocks defer.

Although flowering plants like the mandara, kunda, kurabaka, utpala, campaka, arna, punnaga, nagakesara, bakula, lily and parijata are full of transcendental fragrance, they are still conscious of the austerities performed by tulasi, for tulasi is given special preference by the Lord, who garlands Himself with tulasi leaves.

Welcome to a world free from envy. What a relief! Indeed, envy--the most dangerous terrorist attack--is the defining principle of material existence. First we envy the Lord, and then our envy fans out to everyone else too. In maya’s kingdom, the sociological basis is “Let me enjoy, while you suffer.” We become miserable when someone outshines us, and even plot to minimize that person. In Vaikuntha, however, envy is astonishingly absent. Every devotee, no matter what form and service, joyfully exalts the merit of other devotees. Therefore, the flowers of Vaikuntha, though divinely fragrant, recognize the special stature of tulasi, the Lord’s favourite.

The inhabitants of Vaikuntha travel in their airplanes made of lapis lazuli, emerald and gold. Although crowded by their consorts, who have large hips and beautiful smiling faces, they cannot be stimulated to passion by their mirth and beautiful charms.

“Impossible! Something better than sex? I can’t believe it!” Materialists know of no higher thrill. Just for the sake of that itching sensation, they will slave night and day—even fight the whole world. Self-imprisoned by their own bodily conception of life, they see no question more relevant for long-range planning than, “Is there sex after death?” Such lifelong miserly indulgers should merrily note that material nature will certainly again grant them their licentious outlet, birth after birth—but probably not in a human body. In Vaikuntha, however, there is no sex. Prabhupada explains that although the couples do enjoy each other’s company, they are so absorbed in bhakti-yoga that the beautiful spiritual bodies of the opposite gender cannot captivate their attention. Because the spiritual atmosphere is surcharged with Krishna consciousness, so-called sex pleasure has no standing.

The ladies in the Vaikuntha planets are as beautiful as the goddess of fortune herself. Such transcendentally beautiful ladies, their hands playing with lotuses and their leg bangles tinkling, are sometimes seen sweeping the marble walls, which are bedecked at intervals with golden borders, in order to receive the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Why sweep and dust the palaces in Vaikuntha? No dirt exists there. Yet the eagerness to attract the mercy of the Lord abounds; for that reason only, the Vaikuntha ladies lovingly clean the marble walls of the palaces. At the top of the spiritual world, in Goloka Vrindavan, Mother Yasoda thinks that because her son Krishna has been playing all day, His body, decorated with the dust of Vraj, needs a bath. Moreover, after such energetic sporting with his fellow gopas, she thinks He surely must be famished. Of course, no material dirt or fatigue exists in Vaikuntha. Yet, out of maternal love, Yasoda-mayi is eager to care for Krishna, and Lord Krishna even surrenders to her maternal protection.

Always compassionate, Lord Brahma, the head of our succession of discipleship, expresses profound dismay at the self-created problems of those imagining they have higher priorities in life than hearing about the spiritual world.

It is very much regrettable that unfortunate people do not discuss the description of the Vaikuntha planets but engage in topics which are unworthy to hear and which bewilder one's intelligence. Those who give up the topics of Vaikuntha and take to talk of the material world are thrown into the darkest region of ignorance.

Brahma’s compassion descends through the chain of masters and students down to us. Consequently, rather than remaining aloof from the problems of the tiny speck known as Earth, the devotees work hard to spread awareness of the unlimited spiritual world. Let us always cherish that responsibility, and discharge it as best we can, according to our ashram capacity.

What is an obvious, telltale symptom of the material disease plaguing the world? The crazed denizens of this globe love to expend their short lifespans in talking about everything except what they should discuss.

Economics, yes!

Politics, yes!

Sports, yes!

Sex and the City, yes!

The spiritual world, Vaikuntha?

Don’t bother us with such antiquated religious mythology . . . !

Be practical--we have no time!

 

In Ukraine, on October 9, devotes drove me the short distance from Luhansk to Alchevsk. Although only a small city of about 100,000, Alchevsk has a nice, small ISKCON temple. Sixty devotees had gathered there to embarrass me . . . they had found out the date of my Vyasa Puja. Later you will find out the significance of my telling you all the details of this visit to Alchevsk.

Forming lines from the car on the street around to the back of the building and inside, chanting and dancing in kirtan, they showered flowers upon my lowly self. The temple room was festively decorated with balloons, flowers, and a big banner hanging from the ceiling saying “We love you, Maharaja.” They did guru-puja, I spoke, we had kirtan, and then they all came forward with gifts. As each one presented a gift, I reciprocated with prasada, in the form of fruit. Please note that the average salary in Ukraine is the equivalent of only one-hundred US dollars per month. I will never forget seeing all these devotees give donations equaling five, ten, and even twenty US dollars. My heart was profoundly imprinted.

Next, a huge cake was placed in front of me, with my name written on it. For the next half-hour I distributed big chunks of this delicious cake to all the devotees, as they exuberantly crowded around the vyasasana. Then they staged a three-act play, accompanied by song and dance. A written translation of the script was placed in my hand so I could follow the plot.

After a kirtan, I departed—awed by the Ukraine ISKCON bhakti. And now for the shocking fact: of the sixty joyous devotees who staged such a tearfully ecstatic celebration in that small city . . . only one  . . . was my initiated disciple . . . ! Just see the depths of spiritual wealth and Vaisnava mutual love possible in Srila Prabhupada’s movement!

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Today, on the disappearance day of Haridas Thakur, I took the early morning train from Helsinki, Finland, to St. Petersburg, Russia. Traveling with me for four months are Bhumna Krishna das and Guru Vani dd, both of New Zealand. Four of the past five years, Bhumna Krishna has accompanied me on a global journey. After this trip, he and Guru vani will marry and put down roots in Auckland. Apparently mature and realistic about their future together, both are in their thirties and seem to be minus the rosy eyes of false expectation that plague so many marriages of younger devotees, especially those in their early twenties.

The six-hour train trip allowed me some quiet time to catch up on that never-ending modern chore: e-mail. As soon as our train pulled into the station, the joyous Russian devotees--with famous bhakti hospitality and personalism—jumped aboard to greet us and grab the luggage.

At the evening programme I spoke about the glories of Haridas Thakura, specifically his disappearance pastime. This lila exemplifies how Lord Caitanya tenderly cares for His devotees and it inspires us to reach out and support devotees spiritually.

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Today, on the disappearance day of Haridas Thakur, I took the early morning train from Helsinki, Finland, to St. Petersburg, Russia. Traveling with me for four months are Bhumna Krishna das and Guru Vani dd, both of New Zealand. Four of the past five years, Bhumna Krishna has accompanied me on a global journey. After this trip, he and Guru vani will marry and put down roots in Auckland. Apparently mature and realistic about their future together, both are in their thirties and seem to be minus the rosy eyes of false expectation that plague so many marriages of younger devotees, especially those in their early twenties.

The six-hour train trip allowed me some quiet time to catch up on that never-ending modern chore: e-mail. As soon as our train pulled into the station, the joyous Russian devotees--with famous bhakti hospitality and personalism—jumped aboard to greet us and grab the luggage.

At the evening programme I spoke about the glories of Haridas Thakura, specifically his disappearance pastime. This lila exemplifies how Lord Caitanya tenderly cares for His devotees and it inspires us to reach out and support devotees spiritually.

 “From the incident of Haridasa Thakura's passing away and the great care Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took in commemorating it, one can understand just how affectionate He is toward His devotees. Although He is the topmost of all sannyasis, He fully satisfied the desire of Haridasa Thakura.” (Antya 11.102)

All day I meditated deeply on the humility of Haridas Thakura. When will that day be mine I can catch just a ray of his Vaishnava character. I cherish what he told Mahaprabhu, when the Lord mildly protested the Thakura’s request to depart this world:

"My Lord, there are many respectable personalities, millions of devotees, who are fit to sit on my head. They are all helpful in Your pastimes.

“My Lord, if an insignificant insect like me dies, what is the loss? If an ant dies, where is the loss to the material world?” Antya 11.41-42

Although Haridasa Thakura truly saw himself in this way, Lord Caitanya, personally performing his funeral ceremony, danced with the body of the departed Thakura on his lap, bathed the body in the sea, and covered the body with sand.

I beg at the feet of all Vaishnavas that even a drop of such humility can be genuinely mine.

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May 15 evening: Time to depart New Zealand for points overseas. The house of Jhulan-yatra and Rasayatra, twenty minutes from the Auckland airport, offers its usual convenience of bhakti warmth, and preaching-spirit ambience. Those two devotees, plus Mantramala and Dayavira, form the farewell party at the airport. As always, their devotion makes it hard for me to board the escalator up to the passport control and fade out of their sight.

May 15 morning : Twelve hours of flying time later and it is still May 15, except now the place is Los Angeles. The usual enthusiastic Los Angeles greeting party -- including Harideva, Sastra-krit, Snana-yatra, Mahalaxmi, Sukha-rupa, Maha-yogaa, Chandru Shahani and family, and others -- takes me to New Dvaraka. The ISKCON urban temple community of New Dvaraka is like a home for me because even though I began my Krishna conscious practice in the New York temple, early in 1973, during those years on the New York temple roster, I was almost always away on traveling sankirtan, doing book distribution throughout the USA. But after a health breakdown in 1975 — just in time to join the BBT for Prabhupada’s famous Caitanya-caritamrita publishing marathon — I spent three solid years at the Los Angeles temple.

In stark contrast to the previous days of traveling sankirtan, after joining the BBT in Los Angeles, I rarely ventured outside the immediate neighbourhood of New Dvaraka. Prabhupada’s book production kept us so busy that in my three years of living there, I saw almost nothing of the city of Los Angeles other than the block of Watseka avenue containing the temple, the BBT building, and the devotee residences.

New Dvaraka, considered by Prabhupada during his presence to be ISKCON’s North American headquarters, is blessed with the residence of many senior devotees, who have been there serving the Deities, Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadesha, even since my days there in the seventies. Amazing how it is in Krishna consciousness that you can fly into a foreign cities all over the world and meet persons you have known for more than thirty years.

Immediately upon arrival, Snana-yatra, an expert masseuse and bone doctor, works me over to rid the body of airline fatigue. Then it’s time for prasada, as usual at Snana-yatra’s house, where his wife, Jhulan yatra dd, holds forth in the kitchen. After an evening gathering of devotees, a morning Bhagavatam class, and another evening gathering, I head to the airport again for an overnight flight to Detroit, in the Midwest USA, to visit my relatives. In case you’re interested in the gory details, I left Los Angeles just before midnight, and arrived in Detroit around 10am. My mother, who hasn’t seen me for a year and a half wraps me in a tight embrace and then I go to a motel room she has graciously arranged nearby her house. That will be my base for two nights, as various kin arrive to greet me — the only swami, I can assure you, in their vast and close-knit dynasty.

Next, a devotee from Columbus, Ohio arrives to drive me 3.5 hours south to the centre there. My visit of a few days was especially pleasurable because of the presence of my old friend HH Candramali Swami. In early 1973 on the subway in New York, we met each other, both of us on our way from our karmic homes to the Sunday feast programme at the temple. Candramauli Maharaja is an ocean of humility and soft-spoken kindness.

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May 15 evening: Time to depart New Zealand for points overseas. The house of Jhulan-yatra and Rasayatra, twenty minutes from the Auckland airport, offers its usual convenience of bhakti warmth, and preaching-spirit ambience. Those two devotees, plus Mantramala and Dayavira, form the farewell party at the airport. As always, their devotion makes it hard for me to board the escalator up to the passport control and fade out of their sight.

May 15 morning : Twelve hours of flying time later and it is still May 15, except now the place is Los Angeles. The usual enthusiastic Los Angeles greeting party -- including Harideva, Sastra-krit, Snana-yatra, Mahalaxmi, Sukha-rupa, Maha-yogaa, Chandru Shahani and family, and others -- takes me to New Dvaraka. The ISKCON urban temple community of New Dvaraka is like a home for me because even though I began my Krishna conscious practice in the New York temple, early in 1973, during those years on the New York temple roster, I was almost always away on traveling sankirtan, doing book distribution throughout the USA. But after a health breakdown in 1975 — just in time to join the BBT for Prabhupada’s famous Caitanya-caritamrita publishing marathon — I spent three solid years at the Los Angeles temple.

In stark contrast to the previous days of traveling sankirtan, after joining the BBT in Los Angeles, I rarely ventured outside the immediate neighbourhood of New Dvaraka. Prabhupada’s book production kept us so busy that in my three years of living there, I saw almost nothing of the city of Los Angeles other than the block of Watseka avenue containing the temple, the BBT building, and the devotee residences.

New Dvaraka, considered by Prabhupada during his presence to be ISKCON’s North American headquarters, is blessed with the residence of many senior devotees, who have been there serving the Deities, Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadesha, even since my days there in the seventies. Amazing how it is in Krishna consciousness that you can fly into a foreign cities all over the world and meet persons you have known for more than thirty years.

Immediately upon arrival, Snana-yatra, an expert masseuse and bone doctor, works me over to rid the body of airline fatigue. Then it’s time for prasada, as usual at Snana-yatra’s house, where his wife, Jhulan yatra dd, holds forth in the kitchen. After an evening gathering of devotees, a morning Bhagavatam class, and another evening gathering, I head to the airport again for an overnight flight to Detroit, in the Midwest USA, to visit my relatives. In case you’re interested in the gory details, I left Los Angeles just before midnight, and arrived in Detroit around 10am. My mother, who hasn’t seen me for a year and a half wraps me in a tight embrace and then I go to a motel room she has graciously arranged nearby her house. That will be my base for two nights, as various kin arrive to greet me — the only swami, I can assure you, in their vast and close-knit dynasty.

Next, a devotee from Columbus, Ohio arrives to drive me 3.5 hours south to the centre there. My visit of a few days was especially pleasurable because of the presence of my old friend HH Candramali Swami. In early 1973 on the subway in New York, we met each other, both of us on our way from our karmic homes to the Sunday feast programme at the temple. Candramauli Maharaja is an ocean of humility and soft-spoken kindness.

 

After a few days in Columbus, we drove three hours east to New Vrindavan, in West Virginia, for a quick overnight stop for celebrating Lord Nrsimhadeva’s appearance day. At 4am the next morning, devotees drove me the three hours back to Columbus, to the airport, to fly all the way down to the Texas-Mexican border, where HH Guru Prasada Swami was waiting for me.

Certainly one of the unsung ISKON heroes, he has been on a leave of absence from his GBC duties for almost a year, fighting a health battle with eyesight problems. After sufficient months of rest, he is now ready for action again, a humble selfless general in one of the most difficult, perennially topsy-turvy GBC zones in the world: Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. From his father, he had inherited a house on the US side of the border with Mexico, and there, using it as his base, he was recuperating. He took me to his childhood haunt, Padre Island, just off the eastern Texas coast, in the Gulf of Mexico.

For a few days, I collapsed with exhaustion in the sun, the sea, Caitanya Caritamrita, and his blissful association. I finally got to abandon some intercontinental jet-lag and exhaustion. While there, HH Bhakti-tirtha Maharaja called me, for a last intimate and profound lengthy talk. I hung on to every word, as both he and I knew that he wasn’t long for this world. Without a doubt he was bound for either krsna-lila or prabhupada-lila. The subjects of the discussion are mostly confidential.

From Texas I returned to Los Angeles, in time for the annual Prabhupada Festival. The city of Los Angeles closed off Watseka avenue, so that the festivities could spill out of the temple into the street. New Dvaraka ISKCON was also hosting a meeting for the Sri Mayapur Project Development Committee; therefore many ISKCON senior leaders were in town.

As chairman of the GBC, I had obligations to be at both events, so I juggled my time between the two. My Godbrother Badrinarayan Prabhu, up from San Diego for the festival and meeting, shared the guest quarters with me. An ISKCON organizational genius, he never ceases to astonish me with his boundless love for Prabhupada’s movement and his ardent desire for its success.

The Sri Mayapur Project Development Committee was grappling with a mega issue: how long to go on struggling with the infamously intractable communist government of West Bengal, which for decades had impeded Mayapur’s development.  Should the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium be built elsewhere, in a more favourable part of India?

When the weekend of festivities and meetings ended, Chadru Shahani and his wife became Gaura Prema and Nitai Prema, as their son Shaun, in his late teens, observed. Sastra-krit, who had so lovingly cultivated them, beamed with pride in Krishna, as I handed them their beads.

The following morning I left Los Angeles for Europe -- twelve hours in the air to Manchester, UK, to Candidas’s flat. After two days there of e-mail catchup, international phone calls over the Internet, and desperately needed exercise, Candidas and I boarded a plane for Frankfurt, Germany. I had been requested by my veteran Godsister Dina Sharana to help revive ISKCON Germany, which had gone through a major crisis at the end of the nineties. Dina Sharana and her husband Cakravarti were close associates of mine from many years ago. Now she had taken on the responsibility of trying to organize the German devotees for rebuilding their yatra.

 

_{(see all German tour photos)}

A powerful and managerial woman, wife, and mother of now adult children, Dina Sharana had received from me many years ago the nickname Kaiseren, the German title for “Empress.” With Candidas and her, I traveled to Weisbaden, Cologne, Abentheur  (New Goloka-dhama) and Heidelberg, seeking to play my part to get ISKCON Germany rolling again. Part of my message: Young Germans, while touring New Zealand, are coming to Krishna consciousness at our Loft preaching centres there; why should devotees in Germany think their people won’t do so in Germany—if we can give the people the right circumstances and favorable situations?

 

  

I explained the motto of our outreach centres in New Zealand and parts of Australia: “We make it easy! We make it easy to come to Krishna consciousness, to grow naturally and healthily in Krishna consciousness, and to distribute Krishna consciousness to others.”

My last night in Germany, I did something rare for me -- I stayed up until past midnight talking. But my guest was my Godbrother HH Sacinandana Swami, whom I had known since I first came to Germany in 1978, and whom I infrequently see. We discussed preaching, ISKCON, Godbrother relationships, and spontaneous bhakti.

After Germany, the next stop was Wales. Led by the jolly, mature, and wonderfully devotional Tarkanatha das, the Wales yatra is always a joy to behold. Most of the cream churned by the brief but potent Kiwi expedition in Manchester eventually wound up in Wales. These prime bhakti candidates from Manchester are proof positive that non-Hindus in England are ripe for Krishna consciousness, despite the pessimism older British devotees often harbour.

ISKCON in Wales and in New Zealand have a mutually enlivening relationship for coping with the itch to travel overseas felt by many young people interested in devotional service. The Wales yatra sends to the New Zealand preaching centres young people on the verge of entering bhakti but who are obsessed with the travel bug. In turn, the Kiwi centres direct to Wales the UK people who have become interested in Krishna consciousness while touring Kiwiloka. Currently, Bhakta Simon -- a forty-four year old former corporate lawyer and yacht captain for multi-millionaires -— successfully transitioned from the Auckland Loft centre back to the UK, where he is blissfully serving in the Wales ashram.

In Swansea, Wales, I stay at the house of Dharma-setu das and Karana-karana dd, a sparkling first-class grhastha couple and a great tribute to their spiritual master, HH Sivarama Maharaja. The Wales yatra has a restaurant-preaching centre in Swansea and at the time of my visit in mid-June was putting the final touches on a new urban outreach centre in the main city, Cardiff. Called “The Soul Centre,” the project is inspired by the Loft preaching centre and style developed in New Zealand. More on that, after I visit Wales again in September, when the new centre is open.  

June 13: Two days in Finland and then a month in Russia. (more later) By the way, any day now I am going to change “On the Way to Krishna” into a blog format. Hare Krishna.
 

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/37 2005-08-15T17:37:54-06:00 2005-09-30T20:59:54-06:00 das

_{(Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, March 9, 2005; later edited and embellished)}

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.12-13

ity ukto dharma-r?jena
sarvam? tat samavarn?ayat
yath?nubh?tam? krama?o
vin? yadu-kula-ks?ayam

 nanv apriyam? durvis?aham?
nr?n??m? svayam upasthitam
n?vedayat sakarun?o
duh?khit?n dras?t?um aks?amah?

 

TRANSLATION

 

Thus being questioned by Maharaja Yudhisthira, Mahatma Vidura gradually described everything he had personally experienced, except news of the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. (12)  Compassionate Mahatma Vidura could not stand to see the Pandavas distressed at any time. Therefore he did not disclose this unpalatable and unbearable incident because calamities come of their own accord. (13)

 

PURPORT

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_{(Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, March 9, 2005; later edited and embellished)}

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.13.12-13

ity ukto dharma-r?jena
sarvam? tat samavarn?ayat
yath?nubh?tam? krama?o
vin? yadu-kula-ks?ayam

 nanv apriyam? durvis?aham?
nr?n??m? svayam upasthitam
n?vedayat sakarun?o
duh?khit?n dras?t?um aks?amah?

 

TRANSLATION

 

Thus being questioned by Maharaja Yudhisthira, Mahatma Vidura gradually described everything he had personally experienced, except news of the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. (12)  Compassionate Mahatma Vidura could not stand to see the Pandavas distressed at any time. Therefore he did not disclose this unpalatable and unbearable incident because calamities come of their own accord. (13)

 

PURPORT

According to Niti-sastra (civic laws) one should not speak an unpalatable truth to cause distress to others. Distress comes upon us in its own way by the laws of nature, so one should not aggravate it by propaganda. For a compassionate soul like Vidura, especially in his dealings with the beloved Pandavas, it was almost impossible to disclose an unpalatable piece of news like the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. Therefore he purposely refrained from it. 

LECTURE

Persons lacking the vision to perceive what is reality in this world have great difficulty understanding why there is no need for them to endeavor for happiness. Someone who understands the real world knows that just as distress comes of its own accord, similarly happiness will enter your life in the same way. Therefore Narada Muni instructs in this same First Canto, tasyaiva hetoh prayateta kovido. If you're actually a kavi, a wise learned person, then you understand a salient fact of material existence: there is no point in expending huge amounts of energy to attain anything available from the lowest planet in the universe to the highest planet. Now why is that? Because by the force of time your happiness is going to come exactly as you should get it--just as by that same force of time your distress arrives. All is in accord with your just desserts, your reactions from past implication in the cycle of samsara.

For someone infused with rajo-guna, the mode of passion, this point is difficult to grasp, especially in the current climate of the world. Today all progress and advancement is measured in terms of economic development.

Not just your individual might, but also the might of your ethnic group, your nation, your planet is all measured in terms of economic prowess. To have economic development you must push forward passionately. You must accomplish, achieve, acquire, and the burden is all on your shoulders. Work, buy, consume, die. Do this with great intelligence, expert ability, mighty effort, and then you will be happy. Right? This is the dream that envelopes the world today.

Actually, every few years or so, some scholars do a global analysis of who are the happy people, according to the material standards that mundaners have determined. And their report, called the World Values Survey, year after year spells out that the so-called happiest countries in the world are generally the poorest nations. Some time ago the number one happy country in the world, when calculated from various angles, was Bangladesh, before the floods. So-called wealthy places like the USA, England, and Germany constantly rank much farther down. This year I think number one is Nigeria, followed by Mexico and the Philippines. Just see! The very facts--as determined by these so-called experts, through their own mundane analyses--lampoon their own basic materialistic premise: to be happy you and your nation—indeed the whole world--must have the best, that is, most passionate economic and political systems. Otherwise you will not achieve all the happiness you deserve--you will be woefully deprived.

The message of Srimad Bhagavatam clearly disposes of the materialistic happiness business. Use your common sense, the sages tell us. No one prays for distress yet it comes; similarly you should understand that your happiness will come automatically in the same way. In other words, regarding material happiness, you cannot attain one drop more than what you are destined. Nor can you get one drop less of distress than you are destined.

Of course, ordinary people will criticize that this sacred principle of simple living is fatalistic. They will object that anyone holding to this axiom will simply be a vagrant, idling and loitering all day, while the whole world gallantly marches by with mighty technological progress and hearty sense gratification.

Srila Prabhupada countered this foolish paranoia by asserting: No! Just because you understand that happiness and distress come into your life automatically does not mean you just sit, sleep, and do nothing. No! The whole point of Narada Muni's provocation, he explained, is that you must use your precious human form of life, with its scarce and valuable time, to become Krsna conscious--your bhakti is not predetermined. By practicing bhakti-yoga, you are actually the most efficient, the most industrious, in managing your time, because you are not struggling for things you would have gotten automatically anyway. You are endeavoring for spiritual awakening through pleasing Krishna's senses. About that, there is nothing preordained.

A main subject in this particular chapter of the Bhagavatam is Mahatma Vidura. He has been through some intensely entangling and painful situations. In other words, from the material point of view, you could certainly say he was a victim--unjustly persecuted in a dramatic way. Circumstances were thrust upon him that were extremely pungent.

Vidura’s older brother is Dhritasrastra; Vidura is attached to him. But we are going to see the true, uplifting nature of that bond. Vidura’s attachment is always for the good of Dhritarastra, even though Dhritasrastra is partial to his nonsense son Duryodhana. Because of Vidura’s constructive attachment to his blind brother, he was always trying to warn him, "Don't let your son overpower you; he is going to destroy everything, including you."

Amidst circumstances that seem completely against his happiness and wellbeing, Vidura abandoned the royal palace, to go on pilgrimage. Actually Duryodhana tossed him out: "Get this son of a cheap woman out of here! Why do we have to listen to him?" These words, the Bhagavatam describes, pierced Vidura's heart. You see, even though one is a devotee, that doesn't mean your heart cannot be wounded. Vidura, however, took advantage of his injured heart to increase his Krsna consciousness. He left the palace to go on pilgrimage. In effect, he took up vanaprastha and in this way transformed a circumstance that seemed extremely unfavorable into fuel for powering his spiritual advancement. Vidura had been living in palatial majesty, because Dhritasrastra took such good care of him. Yet, still he immediately quit that place, taking his cue from Duryodhana’s sharp words. This incidence shows the combined activity of yogamaya and mahamaya. For Duryodhana, the dynamics of life are all mahamaya, the illusory energy, causing him to insult such a great soul. For Vidura, the dynamics of his life are the Lord's internal potency, yogamaya. Therefore, responding to Duryodhana’s attack, he decided, "Let me increase my Krishna consciousness." So he left.

Now he has returned to Hastinapura again, and the Pandavas are overwhelmed with a happiness unimaginable by anyone with material senses. We may wonder: “How can anyone be so stunned with bliss just by seeing just one person? After all, Vidura is not the Supreme Personality of Godhead." But this joy is the nature of relationships between Vaisnavas. Because Krishna's service is in the center, something extraordinarily and inconceivably powerful manifests itself between devotees.

Kaviraja Goswami, in Caitanya Caritamrita, describes that love of Krsna is like a pool of ecstasy, into which the Lord and devotee dive together. So there is always something unlimitedly powerful transpiring between devotees, because service to Krsna is in the center. Therefore when you read about the Pandavas’ reception of Vidura, upon his return from pilgrimage, you are reading about something that has no material comparison. The shastra describes that the five Pandavas, Kunti, and all the members of the palace felt like their life was returning to their body. They were crying tears of ecstasy just to see Vidura again.

Through devotional service to the Lord we become so close that sometimes we don't understand that intimacy. Indeed often we become familiar with one other--not remembering the enormous power packed into devotee relationships because of the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently sometimes we can joust, elbow, and sometimes even flatten one another. We can always, however, meditate on this section of the Bhagavatam, and see Vidura’s return and the Pandavas’ immeasurable happiness. They are not sentimentalists—please note that so many of them are warriors. Yet they feel like the life has returned to their bodies. And then we hear the very sensitive and personal greeting Yudhisthira Maharaja gave to Vidura. Yudhisthira is Dharmaraja, expert in how to do everything according to the best religious principles. Let’s study his modus operandi.

First, he stirs the pot of memories. Remembrance is very important in everyone’s life. Even materialists love to cherish memories. They love to remind one other of the good moments, the flickering happiness that-- like a shooting star in the sky--appeared in their life at some point and then disappeared. Everyone likes to gather with family and old friends and reminisce: “Do you remember when things were really humming . . . .”
Walking down memory lane is part of being a human being. So Yudhisthira, expert in personal relationships, especially personal relationships with devotees, immediately touches Vidura’s heart with the power of reminiscence: "Do you remember how you protected us?"

Yudhisthira is teaching us how to deal with devotees. You can see in every devotee that there has been some sacrifice for Krishna’s service. If you can point that out--"Do you remember when you served Krishna in such and such a way?"--then that devotee's heart becomes encouraged and often melted. Even better, that devotee becomes encouraged to do more for Krishna. Here Yudhisthira is demonstrating how to do this: "Do you remember you were partial to us. Your partiality was like the wings of a bird; you protected us. Do you remember?"

Of course, it's not that Vidura ignored the wellbeing of the malicious Duryodhana and company. Vidura was also, in a sense, partial to them, by his giving Duryodhana good instruction: "Don't act like a miscreant--you are going to ruin yourself and destroy your whole family." That instruction is also showing favor. But when Vidura could see that Duryodhana was not accepting his counsel and that he continued on his course of doing everything possible to disturb the Pandavas and even kill them, then Vidura showed his partiality to the Pandavas, as you know, by warning them of danger.

After Yudhisthira stirs the pot of memories, then he inquires about the well-being of Vidura: "I know you have been on pilgrimage, so please tell me how you maintained yourself; how did you keep body and soul together.” In other words, that essential Vaisnava inquiry: “How was the prasada?" Here Yudhisthira is teaching us that we should consider all aspects of a devotee's life, because a devotee is the rarest thing in the material world. Today in materialistic society so much anxiety is invested into preserving rare species of plant and animal life. But the rarest thing in this world is a devotee. How much more effort should be made to preserve devotees and recognize that the exclusiveness of devotional service makes anyone who approaches bhakti the rarest of persons.

Next, Yudhisthira Maharaja delivers his famous declaration: tirthi kurvanti tirthani. "Persons like you are the holy places personified. In other words, you don't really need to tour holy places, because wherever you travel is a holy place. You yourself are a tirtha."

It is interesting to note that Vidura is wandering as a homeless mendicant, whereas Yudhisthira and the Pandavas live in opulence, in their palace. Yet they all are, generally speaking, on an equal level of spiritual advancement. In other words, the important criterion is not so much that one has left home and the other remains at home. In Krishna consciousness, the determining factor is the level of intensity—how thoroughly the senses engage in the service of the Lord. This intensity standard is a very important point to grasp.

Nevertheless, Yudhisthira is thinking, "You, Vidura, you are going to bring us life, you are going to enlighten us". Yudhisthira is krsna-devata, he is rapt in the attention on Krishna's lotus feet. Still he speaks like this—such humility and selflessness. Then, naturally, Yudhisthira asks Vidura about Krishna and the devotees in Dvaraka. But, you see, the Dvaraka news is very delicate; therefore Vidura has to handle Yudhisthira’s inquiry very tactfully.

The moral we can take from Vidura’s discretion here is that even in our dealings with devotees, we have to use our intelligence and be tastefully tactfull, sensitive. We just can't “freestyle”--we can’t just do and say whatever we like. After all, we are dealing with Krishna's most dear objects--devotees.

Best we pray to the Lord: "I don't have the ability to deal with devotees without Your giving me intelligence. Left on my own, I will just cause so many disturbances—even offences. Therefore I am begging You, my dear Lord, please give me the spiritual intelligence how to interact with Your devotees. What’s the best thing to say at a particular moment, what's the best thing to do?"

Because Vidura was rapt in attention on Krishna's lotus feet, krsna-devata, he was expert in Vaishnava interactions. He knew it was better not to disclose the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. He knew it was not the right time or place—it was not the best thing to do for Krishna at that moment. The traumatic news of the mausala-lila, the disappearance of the Lord and the Yadus, will come of its own accord. In this way, the Bhagavatam describes Vidura as compassionate. His empathy and tenderness manifested in his dealings with people in general and especially in his close personal relationships with other devotees.

Nevertheless, one may question, "What could be more major in a discussion than news of Lord Krsna in Dvaraka? How could Vidura avoid this?" His discretionary omission stemmed from compassion. With his devotional sensitivity, he understood that, “These devotees, the Pandavas, are so wholly attached to Krsna that I can not bear to disclose the disappearance lila right now. The tsunami-like news will come of its own accord, and then we'll deal with it at that time."

We can learn so much from Vidura about how to become sensitive and appropriate in our interactions. Please note that Vidura is not sentimental. Why has he returned to the palace at Hastinapur? He is there just to deliver Dhritarastra. That is his main purpose. As far as Vidura is concerned, the Pandavas and company are already saved--they are krsna-devata. But what about this Dhritarastra?

Here lies the true nature of Vidura's attachment for his older brother. Once again he is going to try, once again he is going to pinpoint a crucial mistake: "Here we go again--you are still blind about life. You made a mistake before the battle of Kurukshetra and now, after the battle, after you’ve lost one-hundred sons, after you’ve lost everything, once again you are making a major mistake. And here I am your younger brother, Vidura, once again alerting you."

You might think: "What's the problem? Dhritarastra has been utterly defeated, his power and prestige wiped out. So having lost everything, he's now living with the Pandavas; they’re generously taking care of him. Hey, good deal! No worries! You know . . . you've got to ‘get over’ in life however you can — take what you can get and run with it. Surely everyone knows that the point of living is to try to be comfy and secure as possible—wherever, however, whatever way. Right?"

This is contemporary philosophical thinking at its best. In other words, so what! Yes, Dhritarastra did do everything he could to kill Yudhisthira and family. But now Yudhisthira is giving Vidura a good deal--so why not take it? Why all the unnecessary moralism, that traditional Vedic stuff? We all know if there is comfort--and especially if there is money--you take it. Why does the past matter? Just take it. Enjoy while you can.

Vidura, however, doesn't accept this materialistic expediency of sense gratification, which is presently exalted to the status of a world religion. Vidura is going to shake and wake Dhritarastra: "How can you live like this? Already ninety percent of your life is wasted; now you want to squander your last precious years, living like a dog in the house of those whom you did everything to kill? In fact, they even killed your one-hundred sons; yet here you are, just lounging in their home, living the high, opulent life--waiting for death. Please get out! Leave immediately and commence your spiritual dedication."

Yudhisthira, of course, didn't think anything wrong with Dhritarastra and his wife’s staying in his palace. As a soft-hearted Vaisnava king, Yudhisthira was thinking, "I have caused Dhritarastra and his wife Gandhari so many offences. I have killed their one-hundred sons.The very least I can do is to take care of them in their last years." Yudhisthira, although no naïve sentimentalist, completely overlooked the past history: how Dhritarastra and cronies put the Pandavas through hell. Vengeance doesn't register with Yudhisthira.

Every morning after rising, magnanimous Yudhisthira walks thoughout his palace, greeting all the residents and checking on their welfare. When he discovers that Dhritarastra and his wife have secretly departed, along with Vidura, his heart is devasted. He lashes out at himself: “I have erred grievously! I have failed to provide proper hospitality to Dhritarastra and now he has left so suddenly! How wretched I am to be so ungrateful for all the loving care Dhritarastra has bestowed upon us Pandavas!” Then Narada Muni arrives and relieves the situation by preaching bhagavat-dharma: “Yudhisthira, nothing can be done nor needs to be done. No need to lament. Dhritarastra has gone off to the forest for beginning his spiritual advancement."

From this section of the Bhagavatam, devotees can learn how to receive other devotees and be sensitive to their needs and feelings. Indeed, this particular transcendental history inspires me to beg the Supreme Lord for the intelligence how to swim in the ocean of devotee sanga. Don't try to do it, relate to devotees, by your material abilities and judgement — you’ll be baffled.

Often in our Krishna consciousness society, this will happen. That is, we will try to interact with Vaisnavas based on our material prowess, our material intelligence. "I got you figured out, prabhu. I know where you are at. I have been in the temple, in ISKCON, with you for five, ten, twenty, thirty years. I can read you like a book. Before you even do something, I know what you are going to want, and I'll block it."

Actually, the spiritual truth is that the longer you’ve been around a particular devotee, the more it is an opportunity to pray to Krsna: "I need help on how to see the exalted glories of this devotee, how to interact with this devotee for Your pleasure, my Lord. How I can be of service to this devotee?" One actually has to beg. And when Krishna hears that prayer, He will equip us with increased intelligence for sanga. He will increase our abilities for swimming in the ocean of devotee sanga. Even if our interaction involves a devotee we have been around for thirty years, and we think we know that devotee inside out, Krishna will show us newer and fresher angles, perspectives. Taking inspiration from Yudhisthira and Vidura, we can aspire to enter that mentality, that delightful consciousness of sporting, splashing, and diving ever more expertly in association, devotee association.

About Vidura, we have heard how the Pandavas, led by King Yudhisthira, received him, upon his return from pilgrimage. They let him bathe, they fed him sumptuously, let him rest, and then they asked him questions. This methodology is an art, for making the person feel at ease so that the good feelings can flow. And in the case of a sagacious Vaishnava guest, such a reception makes for the knowledge, the divya jnana, to flow. Yudhisthira knows how to do this with the Supreme Personality of Godhead also. Yudhisthira is expert not only with devotees but also with the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Therefore he wanted to perfom the Rajasuya-yajna, to stage a grand reception for Bhagavan.

In the Tenth Canto, Yudhisthira presents a proposition to Lord Krsna: "We Pandavas have nothing to ask from You, because we have Your personal association, we have Your two lotus feet. But I want to benefit others." Therefore, the Rajasuya-yajna.

How can this yajna benefit others? Yudhisthira's idea was, "I will dramatically demonstrate that by worshipping You, O Lord, everyone will be happy and prosper. I want to make this striking presentation an unforgettable lesson."

Here we see the thinking of a genuine government leader. Yudhisthira used all the opulence of his kingdom to establish Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This strategy is very important for us today, because you will find that throughout the world now people know so many stray tidbits and shades that have originated from the core of Vedic knowledge. They causally chat about reincarnation, vegetarianism, the subtle or astral body, out-of-body experiences, attachment, negating desire, the nonself—this, that, and the other so-called mystical, spiritual things. They are much more familiar with these splintered concepts than when the Krishna consciousness movement first started. In the late sixties and throughout the seventies, we had the unique monopoly on anything to do with reincarnation, vegetarianism, metaphysical exotica—in short, anything not gross and corporal Western dogma. Everyone knew that you go to the Hare Krishnas for knowledge beyond the body, because they were by far the major player for these kinds of nonWestern spiritual matters. Under Prabhupada’s guidance, ISKCON had cornered the nonWestern spiritual marketplace.

But now, look around. In the Western countries, we don't enjoy that kind of alternative spirituality monopoly anymore. There are many teachers, speakers, and writers who can give their interpretations on astro this and psychic that, subtle this and quasi-spiritual that . . .  on and on it goes.

For example, reincarnation is no longer exotic. The pop notion of it is commomplace. Formerly, back in the seventies, the argument would be given, "Why should we follow the Krsna conscious rules? You have only one life, so enjoy all you can, however you can, because when death comes, that’s it—finished, the end."

Now I hear people say, "Yes there is reincarnation and you will get another body. But you don't know what that next body will be—it could be anything. Therefore while you have the present human body, you might as well enjoy now, for sure, anyway possible." Thus we see that the conclusion is still the same: enjoy your senses--whether someone knows something about reincarnation or not.

My point is that without understanding Krishna, what is the use of all the quasi-spirituality, with its amputated and corrupted limbs of Vedic knowledge? The greatest need, the core need today is for knowledge of Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Let us look at the example of Yudhisthira. Out of love, he had this desire: "I want to establish Krishna. I want the whole world to see the difference between the bhaktas and those who are not bhaktas. I want to make it plain for everyone. I even want to demonstrate to the demigods what is their proper place. So Krishna listened to his plan and responded, "Yes, this is a very good idea; this strategy will enhance your fame, the fame of your dynasty."

The Lord is always thinking about His devotees. Therefore He did not respond, "Yes, this would be good for Me," but "This would be good for you." In this way Yudhisthira executed his plans for the Rajasuya-yajna. After the slaying and liberation of Jarasandha, when Yudhisthira heard the account of how the Lord aided Bhima’s victory, Yudhisthira was stunned in ecstasy: “O my Lord, how superexcellent He is!”

After hearing the glories of the Lord, he began his yajna. As you know, there was a big interruption in that yajna, because Sisupala was there, and he was very disturbed. We don't have time for fully discussing the rest of the Rajasuya pastime now. Today we are trying to explore the mood of how to receive and interact with devotees. Our behavior with devotees reveals much about our behavior with the Supreme Lord.

All true devotees are expert at reception. What about the Vraja-gopis? In the Vrindavana forest, in the autumn season, in the middle of the night, under the full moon, Krishna suddenly disappeared from His most dearly beloveds. These most precious devotees, after searching the forest for Him, gathered in one spot and cried their hearts out. Based on pure love, they talk among themselves impulsively and played the best music, with perfect rhythm and melody.

Suddenly Krsna appeared again. They gave Him an unforgettable, heart-enthralling prema reception. Spreading their shawls on the bank of the Yamuna River, they made a sitting place for Him. Their shawls were scented with the perfume and kumkuma powder from their spiritual bodies. The Yamuna River had also contributed to the reception by piling up soft sand on its bank. The shawls were laid on top of that sand, and then Lord Krishna sat there. Sukadeva Goswami points out, "Look at this, that Lord who is acquired in the heart of a yogi with such great difficulty—now He's seated so easily outside the heart, on the shawls of these simple cowherd women. How glorious is this!"

Once again, this is the art of spiritual reception. Even though some of these most intimate devotees were a little angry at Krishna, still they made such a gorgeous reception. The cool breezes of the night forest were blowing; the bees were humming. Everything was arranged perfectly—by the devotee elements of the forest and by the devotee gopis--for this topmost darshan of the Supreme Lord. And Krishna, of course, reciprocated perfectly—that’s the most important reason why He is God.  He expanded Himself to sit on so many shawls, so that every gopi had a face-to-face personal contact. This is sensitivity at its best.

Krishna's yogamaya energy inspired Him "Let everyone of these dearest devotees have Me sitting on their shawl." So Krishna did that. In this way we can see how to be sensitive, how to arrange a proper setting for receiving a devotee as well as the Supreme Lord, and how to be responsive, to reciprocate. These loving exchanges are the real joy in life.

Question: We hear that a devotee’s astrology and the lines on the hand change, the karma changes, just by our clapping before the Deities. Is it also so that through our performance of devotional service, our allotment, our quota, of happiness also changes, by devotional service?

Devamrita Swami: Actually, a true devotee is not interested in his or her happiness or distress. A full-fledged devotee is simply interested in Krishna's pleasure. So whether a devotee's happiness or distress seems to increase or decrease, he is not paying so much attention to that. The devotee focuses upon Krishna's pleasure.

Now Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur, about the lila of Kubja, Trivakra, points out that if, in the process of your simply worrying about Krishna's pleasure, you become happy, that's not a fault. So don't feel bad if you're happy in Krsna consciousness (laughter).  It's OK. If while you’re simply focused upon "How can I please Krishna’s senses," you become happy, it's permissible—don’t worry!  You see, the warning given by Sukadeva Goswami is "Don't be like Kubja, who wanted to use the Lord to satisfy her own senses. Don't do like that." This warning from Sukadeva Goswami is especially for those devotees who are attached to Krishna in intimate relationships: "Don't do as Kubja did."

Kaviraja Goswami, in Caitanya-caritamrita, tells us that the paradoxical nature of the relationship between Krishna and the gopis is that although the gopis never desired their own pleasure, Krishna forced it upon them. These topics, of course, are very high. They are there in Prabhupada's books, but they require deep thought and a lifetime of service.

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February, 2005

The holy appearance day of Sri Advaita Acarya found me in an especially reflective and evaluative time. From the end of December until the end of January, I had dashed around the world in 33 days. Why? I assure you there is nothing glamorous in such an intense route. Traversing so many time zones and climates so quickly is quite physically demanding. Despite the austerity, though, for Krishna’s service it’s cheaper to fly that way. Most nonintercontinental flyers are surprised to learn that in most cases global airlines tickets cost less money than normal international fares involving more than one destination. Most people, however, lack the lifestyle and stamina that allows their saving money by flying around the world.

I left New Zealand the evening of December 29 and after 12 hours in the air, arrived in Los Angeles the morning of the same calendar day. From Los Angeles, I hopped a short flight to Las Vegas, to see Surapala das and Krishnamayi devi dasi at their home preaching centre. Then onward, twelve hours traveling time, to Santiago, Chile.

 

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February, 2005

The holy appearance day of Sri Advaita Acarya found me in an especially reflective and evaluative time. From the end of December until the end of January, I had dashed around the world in 33 days. Why? I assure you there is nothing glamorous in such an intense route. Traversing so many time zones and climates so quickly is quite physically demanding. Despite the austerity, though, for Krishna’s service it’s cheaper to fly that way. Most nonintercontinental flyers are surprised to learn that in most cases global airlines tickets cost less money than normal international fares involving more than one destination. Most people, however, lack the lifestyle and stamina that allows their saving money by flying around the world.

I left New Zealand the evening of December 29 and after 12 hours in the air, arrived in Los Angeles the morning of the same calendar day. From Los Angeles, I hopped a short flight to Las Vegas, to see Surapala das and Krishnamayi devi dasi at their home preaching centre. Then onward, twelve hours traveling time, to Santiago, Chile.

 

Next was Buenos Aires, Argentina—only a two-hour flight away. I delighted in the association of my Godbrothers HH Gunagrahi Goswami, whose main base is Buenos Aires, and HH Bhakti Bhusana Swami, who travels all over South and Central America.

 

A five-hour flight brought me from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru, for a quick two-day visit. That stay was quick enough to see disciples there and to avoid unnecessary entanglement in the perennial Latin American style coups that plague the ISKCON management there (I am no longer directly involved in organizational affairs in South America). Then a five-hour flight to Miami, to change planes for the eight-hour transatlantic trip to England. My destination was Manchester, where my disciple Candidas is working on his PhD in Internet technology and preaching to the students.

After a three-day stay with him, and catching up on rest, exercise, and communications, I flew nine hours from London to Mumbai, India. My ultimate reason for circling the globe was to visit all the places where I had obligations and then, on the same ticket, be able to stop in India for the celebrated festival in Pune. Here,  for eighteen years, my dear Godbrother HH Radhanatha Swami has held an annual festival for his disciples and friends. To help Maharaja serve his 1000 disciples gathered there for massive chanting, dancing, and krishna-katha sessions were HH Niranjana Swami and HH Jayadvaita Swami. Also attending were other senior disciples of Prabhupada: HG Yadubara Prabhu, HG Gaura-sakti Prabhu, HG Makhanlal Prabhu, and HG Laximoni Mataji. Brief cameo appearances came from HH Bhakti Caru Swami and HH Lokanatha Swami.

The entire festival was an unforgettable masterpiece of organization and Vaisnava loving exchanges. And I must reveal that my patient assistants, Bhakta Ashwini, a Melbourne devotee visiting his family in India, and Buddhimanta das, down from Delhi, both took splendid care of me throughout the gala event.

After the Pune festival, I returned to Mumbai, for a routine medical checkup at the Bhaktivedanta Hospital. For three hours, doctors and nurses probed, tested, x-rayed, scanned and analyzed. I kept telling myself, “This is so inconvenient—having persons probe you, stick needles into you, take blood from you. And just think — dying and death are coming soon! How will you tolerate that? And yet you used to think that this body and world are meant for pleasure?”

After five days in India, I departed Mumbai for Melbourne, Australia — twenty-four hours of traveling time, via Hong Kong.  Melbourne meant the association of Aniruddha Prabhu and his wife Acinyta Rupa devi dasi. Because they are wise in bhakti and selflessly dedicated to the upbringing and guidance of serious devotees, I gladly place my disciples under their watchful eye and thank Srila Prabhupada profusely for their invaluable contribution to his movement for nearly twenty-five years.

Next came ISKCON Brisbane, home for several decades of the mirthful and competent couple Tirtharaja Prabhu and Taraka devi dasi. The surprise of the entire Australian leg of my trip was the new Brisbane “Loft-style” urban preaching centre. Pushed on by the original Loft Queen of the primordial Loft days in New Zealand, Param Satya devi dasi, and her creative husband Sitapati das, a veteran of the Wellington Loft, the centre had a choice location, attractive ambience, and enlivening guests. Though the centre had begun only recently and modestly, the potential looms hugely. Also, setting an exemplary householder standard, Sitapati das and Param Satya have opened their home for new candidates in Krishna consciousness to reside there and gradually find their feet, in a supportive, nurturing atmosphere.

 

When my stint in Brisbane ended, I concluded my round-the-world itinerary in Christchurch, New Zealand.

On February 15, we celebrated Advaita Acarya’s appearance day in Auckland, New Zealand. Sri Advaita is that Supreme Personality of Godhead who directly brought about the descent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Up until the time of Mahaprabhu’s lila, Navadvipa had become a chakra of everything externally Vedic. Elaborate rituals of karmic elevation (fruitive activities for material prosperity) and massive doses of metaphysical speculation flooded the area. Countless teachers and students of nyaya, Vedic logic and debate, pervaded Navadvipa. The people spent huge sums of money on extravagant marriages — not only for their daughters, but even for their pets. All night “shakti vigils” for worshipping Durga, the goddess of the material energy, were commonplace. Indeed, Navadvipa, before Mahaprabhu’s advent, had everything Vedic except the goal of the Vedas — Krishna. As the Lord explains in the Gita:

Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this. Bg 2.42-43

The masses ridiculed the krsna-kirtans of the Vaisnavas. The few Vaisnavas present then in Navadvipa found the scene hellish. They suffered grievously to see such a psuedo-Vedic degraded atmosphere. With a heavy heart, Sri Advaita Acarya personally implored Lord Caitanya to descend. Technically, Sri Advaita is an intimate limb of Mahavisnu. After Lord Mahavisnu glances over the material energy from afar, Sri Advaita infuses the material elements with His spiritual potency. Only then can the chain reaction of material interaction begin.

Please try to understand the true position of Sri Advaita. By our understanding the Panca-tattva and appealing for their mercy, only then can we, in the darkness of Kali-yuga, understand Lord Krishna. Otherwise, as I told the assembled devotees, I would agree with anyone who says that although Krishna consciousness is indeed wonderful, it is frustratingly impossible to follow strictly in today’s world. Hence, I beg you all--please immerse yourselves in trying to understand the Panca-tattva. Always plead for their mercy. Then Krishna consciousness becomes easy  —the impossible becomes possible.

?di 6.4 - Lord Advaita ?c?rya is the incarnation of Mah?- Vi??u, whose main function is to create the cosmic world through the actions of m?y?.
?di 6.5 - Because He is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Lord, He is called Advaita, and because He propagates the cult of devotion, He is called ?c?rya. He is the Lord and the incarnation of the Lord's devotee. Therefore I take shelter of Him.
?di 6.6 - ?r? Advaita ?c?rya is indeed directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. His glory is beyond the conception of ordinary living beings.
?di 6.17 - Lord Vi??u, in His efficient aspect, glances over the material energy, and ?r? Advaita, as the material cause, creates the material world.
?di 6.19 - The Lord infuses the material ingredients with His own creative potency. Then, by the power of the Lord, creation takes place.
?di 6.20 - In the form of Advaita He infuses the material ingredients with creative energy. Therefore, Advaita is the original cause of creation.
?di 6.21 - ?r? Advaita ?c?rya is the creator of millions and millions of universes, and by His expansions [as Garbhodaka??y? Vi??u] He maintains each and every universe.
?di 6.27 - As He had formerly created all the universes, now He descended to introduce the path of bhakti.
?di 6.28 - He delivered all living beings by offering the gift of k???a- bhakti. He explained the Bhagavad- g?t? and ?r?mad- Bh?gavatam in the light of devotional service.
?di 6.29 - Since He has no other occupation than to teach devotional service, His name is Advaita ?c?rya.
?di 6.30 - He is the spiritual master of all devotees and is the most revered personality in the world. By a combination of these two names, His name is Advaita ?c?rya.

During our celebrating Advaita Acarya’s appearance, I explained to the book distributors and cultivators gathered at the Auckland Loft that the Acarya first surveyed the spiritual devastation in Navadvipa at that time. For devotees aspiring to preach, teach, and distribute Krishna consciousness, it is most important that they intelligently appraise their surrounding circumstances and seek to respond appropriately. But a true disciple does not want to analyze the world from a standpoint independent of the directives of the founder-acarya. Indeed, we want to examine the world, to size it up for preaching, by peering out at it from between the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada’s mandates and desires.   

Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami recorded that Sri Advaita Prabhu concluded his strategic scan of the environment by noting:

Everyone was engaged in material enjoyment, whether sinfully or virtuously. No one was interested in the transcendental service of the Lord, which can give total relief from the repetition of birth and death. Adi 3.97

My dear devotees, always remember that material existence is a disease — in Sanskrit, bhava-roga, the disease of becoming and unbecoming, as we toss and drown in the bhava-sindhu, the ocean of maya. Such a disease requires immediate and constant medical attention. Isn’t it so that if doctors  diagnosed you with a malignant tumor, you would dedicate your full time and energy to attempt recovery? But, tell me, what disease is more deadly and terminal than material contamination, accurately labeled bhava-roga by Lord Advaita?

?di 3.98 - Seeing the activities of the world, the ?c?rya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people's benefit.

Here is the essence of Srila Prabhupada’s service to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur and the guru-parampara. Here is the inner state we aspire for, as humble servants; here lies the true inner fulfillment we long for. Sri Advaita is demonstrating for us how, through Vaisnava missionary dedication, the perfection of spiritual vision and emotional attainment can be ours. Let us all come together and beg Him for true compassion and the ability to act for the upliftment of the illusion-crazed denizens of this world.

?di 3.99 - [Advaita ?c?rya thought:] "If ?r? K???a were to appear as an incarnation, He Himself could preach devotion by His personal example.
?di 3.100 - "In this Age of Kali there is no religion other than the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, but how in this age will the Lord appear as an incarnation?
?di 3.101 - "I shall worship K???a in a purified state of mind. I shall constantly petition Him in humbleness.
?di 3.102 - "My name, 'Advaita,' will be fitting if I am able to induce K???a to inaugurate the movement of the chanting of the holy name."
?di 3.109 - He appealed to ?r? K???a with loud calls and thus made it possible for K???a to appear.
?di 3.110 - Therefore the principal reason for ?r? Caitanya's descent is this appeal by Advaita ?c?rya. The Lord, the protector of religion, appears by the desire of His devotee.

As we all know, His plaintive cries pierced the covering of the material cosmos and reached the spiritual realm. The bhakti of his loud calls, combined with offerings of tulasi leaves and Ganges water, convinced Sri Krishna Himself to come and distribute love of Himself. What we may not know is that Lord Advaita also had the power to send Lord Sri Krishna away. During Mahaprabhu’s last years in Jagannatha Puri, Sri Advaita sent Him a mysterious message via Jagadananda Pandit, who had noted the contents and laughed deliciously. Coded in the form of an sonnet, the message said:

"Please inform Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is acting like a madman, that everyone here has become mad like Him. Inform Him also that in the marketplace rice is no longer in demand.

"Further tell Him that those now mad in ecstatic love are no longer interested in the material world. Also tell Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one who has also become a madman in ecstatic love [Advaita Prabhu] has spoken these words." Antya 19.21-22

Lord Caitanya reacted with a smile and then silence. Mission accomplished; time to depart from the ordinary vision of the world. Eventually he commented to the astonished devotees and the saddened Svarupa Damodar: “Advaita Acarya brings the Deity to this world for worship, and then when that worship is complete, He sends the Deity somewhere else.”

Following in the footsteps of Sri Adwaita Acarya, always seeking His mercy, let us, with longing hearts beg for Lord Caitanya’s mercy to appear in our lives, so that we can become worthy instruments for accomplishing Srila Prabhupada’s desires. That is my fervent desire. Please make it yours.

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December, 2004

After leaving Sri Govardhana Hill at the end of November, my next destination was Melbourne, Australia. I flew from Delhi to Mumbai, from Mumbai to Sydney, and finally Sydney to Melbourne. On the road to and from airports, in the air and inside airports, while driving, flying, and changing planes, about 24 hours of my life passed.

_{Guests at New Nandagram}

My final destination was New Nandagram, a small ISKCON farm outside Melbourne, where Nityananda Priya das and his assisting devotees had arranged a weekend retreat for about fifty Indian young men. Nityananda-priya gathers his select group by sorting through the Indian guests who throng the weekend temple programmes in Melbourne. His specific target: not the older family types, who settled in their ways and habits, generously support the temple, but the university students from India who are studying in Australia,  as well as the young, single Indian professionals who have recently graduated and entered the Australian job market.

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December, 2004

After leaving Sri Govardhana Hill at the end of November, my next destination was Melbourne, Australia. I flew from Delhi to Mumbai, from Mumbai to Sydney, and finally Sydney to Melbourne. On the road to and from airports, in the air and inside airports, while driving, flying, and changing planes, about 24 hours of my life passed.

_{Guests at New Nandagram}

My final destination was New Nandagram, a small ISKCON farm outside Melbourne, where Nityananda Priya das and his assisting devotees had arranged a weekend retreat for about fifty Indian young men. Nityananda-priya gathers his select group by sorting through the Indian guests who throng the weekend temple programmes in Melbourne. His specific target: not the older family types, who settled in their ways and habits, generously support the temple, but the university students from India who are studying in Australia,  as well as the young, single Indian professionals who have recently graduated and entered the Australian job market.

 
^{Nityananda-priya das and family}

Inviting these candidates every Saturday evening to his flat nearby the temple, he gives them his own version of a “Loft programme”—personal cultivation especially geared to their needs. Twice a year, he arranges a rural retreat for them. Young Indian students and recent graduates have no vehicles, so Nityananda Priya rents a bus to transport them from the city. At the farm, they receive a weekend programme focused upon their specific mentality and concerns. Theirs is a world different not only from the Australians’, but also from the world of older Indians.  By social tradition, these young men are in India, but by education they are in the West--they have a foot in both worlds.

Through energetic preaching experience, Nityananda-priya had tapped into the mind of these fortunate souls. Indeed, materially he was one of them—an Indian who came to study computer technology in Australia, and then became serious about his Krishna consciousness. Before our weekend seminars began, he handed me a cogent list of issues young-adult overseas Indians felt needed resolution if they were to practice bhakti-yoga:

   1. Where is the Vedic culture you talk so much about—isn’t it long gone, if indeed it ever existed? And what’s so bad about contemporary Indian culture?
   2. In fact, what’s so bad about India in any aspect today? It’s right up there with the major economic powerhouses of the world
   3. Why isn’t it enough just to do some religious ritual for a few minutes a day—puja to someone, anyone—and then get on with a full schedule of life’s real practicalities and duties?
   4. Won’t a focus on spiritual life reduce our spirit of competitiveness and our power of concentration at the work place? This is our greatest fear—too much bhakti may ruin our career and ambitions.

Over the two days, we grappled with these themes, in four intense sessions of several hours each. By the time the end came, on Sunday evening, the special, purpose-designed environment had done its charm: encouraging and stimulating these normally very cautious guests to put all their cards on the table—to reveal their mind and heart, in comfort and security. Wave after wave rose up to respectfully challenge with their doubts and misgivings—only to sit back down in warm satisfaction, heartily humbled by bhagavata-dharma. After an emotional farewell, we all returned to the city.

My visit to Melbourne was the first ever in ten years without the president Aniruddha das and his wife Acintya-Rupa there. They were in Vrindavan, soaking up the nectar of the holy dhama. Meanwhile, the younger generation, headed by the temple manager, Gopal Guru das, performed an admirable job keeping the ship afloat while the captain was on leave.

Next, back to New Zealand, for the annual Prabhupada book distribution marathon--the real Christmas spirit. Upon the rebirth of the Auckland urban preaching centre, the Loft, tiny New Zealand (population 3.8 million) had broken into the top ten countries of the world for book distribution—posting an amazing 912% percent increase over last year. I spent a week each in Auckland and Wellington, going onto the streets to inspect the troops in Lord Caitanya’s army of divine love. Though physically exhausted from so much international travelling, by my seeing the sacrifice of these devotees, I became enlivened and indebted. (see photos of some of the Wellington stalwarts) Then with all the New Zealand sankirtaners and supporters, we closed out the month of December with a six-day celebration in Christchurch.

 

December 29 found me on an intercontinental flight, bound northeast over the Pacific to Los Angeles, twelve hours away. New Dvaraka, the Los Angeles temple, had just completed its most successful Christmas book marathon in 15 years. In the top ten for the marathon, making me feel like I had some value for Srila Prabhupada, were my disciples Prema Sankirtan, Sastra-krit, and Dvarakesh.

 

The latter two are rarities in the transcendental world of sankirtan—South Indians who had taken up the sacrifice of airport and street book-distribution in North America. Indeed, just seven months out of a village in South India, Dvarakesh das blew everyone’s mind by winning the marathon. In this way, he vividly honoured this instruction from Lord Caitanya and its commentary by ISKCON’s founder-acarya:

TRANSLATION

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bharata-varsa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.”

PURPORT

Human life is especially meant for God realization, as stated in the Vedanta-sutra: athato brahma jijnasa. Anyone who takes birth in the land of India (Bharata-varsa) has the special privilege of being able to take advantage of the instruction and guidance of the Vedic civilization. He automatically receives the basic principles of spiritual life, for 99.9% of the Indian people, even simple village farmers and others who are neither educated nor sophisticated, believe in the transmigration of the soul, believe in past and future lives, believe in God, and naturally want to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative.

These ideas are the natural inheritance of a person born in India. . . . Although the present leaders of India are influencing the people not to believe in God, not to believe in a next life and not to believe in a distinction between pious and impious life, and although they are teaching them how to drink wine, eat meat and become supposedly civilized, people are nevertheless afraid of the four activities of sinful life -- namely illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling -- and whenever there is a religious festival, they gather together by the thousands. We have actual experience of this. . . .

Even when imitation incarnations of Godhead speak, people gather in the thousands, for everyone who is born in the land of India has a natural spiritual inclination and is taught the basic principles of spiritual life; they merely need to be a little more educated in the Vedic principles. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says here, janma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara: if an Indian is educated in the Vedic principles, he is able to perform the most beneficial welfare activity for the entire world.

Therefore it is now the duty of the leading men of India to consider the importance of this movement and train many Indians to go outside of India to preach this cult. People will accept it, there will be cooperation among the Indian people and among the other people of the world, and the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will then be fulfilled. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will then be glorified all over the world, and people will naturally be happy, peaceful and prosperous, not only in this life but also in the next, for as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, anyone who understands Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, will very easily get salvation, or freedom from the repetition of birth and death, and go back home, back to Godhead. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore requests every Indian to become a preacher of His cult to save the world from disastrous confusion. (Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi 9.41)

 My dear Godbrother Brighupati Prabhu, an amazing thirty-year veteran of book distribution, now in his fifties, finished second instead of his usual first. “I guess I have to get used these young guys defeating me,” he mused. Brighupati and I were travelling sankirtan partners back in the early seventies. I replied without hesitation, “Their score is your score, because you trained them and set the example for them.”

Upon my arrival in Los Angeles after a total of seventeen hours travel-time from Christchurch, Snana-yatra das had immediately worked me over with a thorough massage. Therefore the next day I managed to pull the body together for a two-hour trip down the road to the San Diego temple, for the evening celebration of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s disappearance day. After chanting and dancing in the company of My Godbrother Dravida Prabhu, a fellow member of the famous New York temple in 1973-75 and a fixture as senior editor in the BBT English department, I lectured about Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s enormous contribution. Then, before leaving to drive straight back to Los Angeles, I spoke at length with my Godbrother Badrinarayan Prabhu, a phenomenal ISKCON internationalist, who I think loves Prabhupada’s movement more than his own life.

I spent a few more days in Los Angeles, giving classes and meeting with devotees throughout the day and night, and then I went for an overnight break to the house of HH Giriraja Maharaja, two hours away in Santa Barabara. Recovering there from his heart problems, after decades of crucial service to the ISKCON institution in Mumbai, Giriraja Maharaja now devotes himself to writing, as per an instruction Srila Prabhupada gave him thirty years ago. I affectionately call his place “The Outreach Centre for Struggling Vaisnavas,” since quite a few of my sannyasi-Godbrothers, weary from intense travelling, avail themselves of Giriraja Maharaja’s splendid hospitality and spiritual camaraderie.

_{HH Giriraja Maharaja makes me happy}

After delighting in his association, I returned for two more busy days in Los Angeles, and then departed for preaching in Las Vegas and on to South America.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/34 2005-08-15T16:45:56-06:00 2005-09-19T16:53:56-06:00 das

 

 Fatigue in Krishna’s service is not automatically a bad thing. When you feel you may have given your all and all, for the pleasure of guru and Krishna, and then your body says “That’s it--no more, for now,” there’s no need to panic. Especially sometimes the mind also becomes exhausted, handling so many details and contingencies necessary for devotional duties, over an extended period of time. Generally most devotees can deal with physical exhaustion—they just rest. Of course, there are always a few kamikazes who persist in burning the candle at both ends, month after month—without realizing the realities of rendering spiritual service with a material body. But when body fatigue combines with mental tiredness, sometimes devotees become bewildered. “Oh, what’s happening to me! Both my body and mind feel so drained. Maybe something is wrong about doing devotional service—maybe it’s better to just believe in Krishna and leave it at that . . . .”
 
Certainly those who’ve worked in the material world are no strangers to physical and mental fatigue. They know such is part and parcel of the workday routine—you endure the pyschological and physical grind to get the pay check. I have noticed, though, that mainly in the wealthier countries, young devotees who come to an ashram without having ever worked a steady job can have a rosy conception of exertion in devotion. Often they are quick to “throw in the towel” for the day, the week, or even months and years.

They reason: “I got tired a few times, doing devotional service. That must be bad. Better I just live my little type of spiritual lifestyle on my own, so I’ll be content.” I remind them that although they never experienced the wear and tear from working a steady job, many of them did demolish themselves by all-night partying, intoxication binges, and lust marathons. “But that’s different—although it was wrong, at least it was for me . . . . Devotional service is for someone else, though--you know, that unknown blue boy, whom we hope exists, but we’re not sure yet. As for me, at least I’m sure I exist; and sense gratification, while not everything it’s made out to be, is certainly something real . . . that you can get your mind and hands on at suitable times. . . .”

First, allow me to say that what a privilege it is to be exhausted after legitimate engagement in bhakti-yoga. To have given Krishna what belongs to Krishna—how perfectly balanced and wholesome.  Through the linking process of devotional service, we are merely returning to the Lord what he has supplied: our energies—even our very selves. Krishna is the self of our self. How sweet it is, that taste of spiritualized fatigue in Krishna’s service. Please analyze and see how that spiritual flavour is completely distinct from the depressing taste of fried material-tiredness. Meditate upon who you served and why, and your heart will be satisfied. Krishna is there in your heart. He will dictate: “You have served Me vigorously. Thank you for being your natural self.” So when after a legitimate bhakti endeavour, you feel tired and weary, don’t fret. Simply heartily thank Krishna for the chance you had to serve Him with sacrifice, and then do the necessary to rejuvenate yourself—ready and eager for another chance.

Work for Krishna, and rest for Krishna. Whatever you do, never hold a grudge against Krishna and His service: “It’s because of Him—and His seva—that I am like this . . . .” Such a mentality is detrimental to our spiritual future.

True, there are always a few of the type that thinks bhakti-yoga means to perpetually run your body and mind into the ground: “I’m gonna crucify myself for Krishna.” They work, work, work—yes, for Krishna—but they neglect maintaining themselves. Just as nothing is gained by our shirking ways to sacrifice for Krishna, similarly nothing is gained by our imitating a neophyte conception of Raghunatha das Goswami. Actually, the greatest paramahamsa of modern times, Srila Prabhupada, was completely regulated in all his activities—even in spite of constant travelling and managing, at an advanced age. Until we at least near the paramahamsa platform, it’s best we adhere to these principles in the Gita:

]]>

 

 Fatigue in Krishna’s service is not automatically a bad thing. When you feel you may have given your all and all, for the pleasure of guru and Krishna, and then your body says “That’s it--no more, for now,” there’s no need to panic. Especially sometimes the mind also becomes exhausted, handling so many details and contingencies necessary for devotional duties, over an extended period of time. Generally most devotees can deal with physical exhaustion—they just rest. Of course, there are always a few kamikazes who persist in burning the candle at both ends, month after month—without realizing the realities of rendering spiritual service with a material body. But when body fatigue combines with mental tiredness, sometimes devotees become bewildered. “Oh, what’s happening to me! Both my body and mind feel so drained. Maybe something is wrong about doing devotional service—maybe it’s better to just believe in Krishna and leave it at that . . . .”
 
Certainly those who’ve worked in the material world are no strangers to physical and mental fatigue. They know such is part and parcel of the workday routine—you endure the pyschological and physical grind to get the pay check. I have noticed, though, that mainly in the wealthier countries, young devotees who come to an ashram without having ever worked a steady job can have a rosy conception of exertion in devotion. Often they are quick to “throw in the towel” for the day, the week, or even months and years.

They reason: “I got tired a few times, doing devotional service. That must be bad. Better I just live my little type of spiritual lifestyle on my own, so I’ll be content.” I remind them that although they never experienced the wear and tear from working a steady job, many of them did demolish themselves by all-night partying, intoxication binges, and lust marathons. “But that’s different—although it was wrong, at least it was for me . . . . Devotional service is for someone else, though--you know, that unknown blue boy, whom we hope exists, but we’re not sure yet. As for me, at least I’m sure I exist; and sense gratification, while not everything it’s made out to be, is certainly something real . . . that you can get your mind and hands on at suitable times. . . .”

First, allow me to say that what a privilege it is to be exhausted after legitimate engagement in bhakti-yoga. To have given Krishna what belongs to Krishna—how perfectly balanced and wholesome.  Through the linking process of devotional service, we are merely returning to the Lord what he has supplied: our energies—even our very selves. Krishna is the self of our self. How sweet it is, that taste of spiritualized fatigue in Krishna’s service. Please analyze and see how that spiritual flavour is completely distinct from the depressing taste of fried material-tiredness. Meditate upon who you served and why, and your heart will be satisfied. Krishna is there in your heart. He will dictate: “You have served Me vigorously. Thank you for being your natural self.” So when after a legitimate bhakti endeavour, you feel tired and weary, don’t fret. Simply heartily thank Krishna for the chance you had to serve Him with sacrifice, and then do the necessary to rejuvenate yourself—ready and eager for another chance.

Work for Krishna, and rest for Krishna. Whatever you do, never hold a grudge against Krishna and His service: “It’s because of Him—and His seva—that I am like this . . . .” Such a mentality is detrimental to our spiritual future.

True, there are always a few of the type that thinks bhakti-yoga means to perpetually run your body and mind into the ground: “I’m gonna crucify myself for Krishna.” They work, work, work—yes, for Krishna—but they neglect maintaining themselves. Just as nothing is gained by our shirking ways to sacrifice for Krishna, similarly nothing is gained by our imitating a neophyte conception of Raghunatha das Goswami. Actually, the greatest paramahamsa of modern times, Srila Prabhupada, was completely regulated in all his activities—even in spite of constant travelling and managing, at an advanced age. Until we at least near the paramahamsa platform, it’s best we adhere to these principles in the Gita:

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yogi, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough (Bg 6.16)

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system. (Bg 6.17)

Even worse than our whimsically and irresponsibly running our bodies down in the name of bhakti is when we fail to nourish ourselves spiritually, through adequate hearing and chanting of the Lord’s glories. Unfortunately, this syndrome is a not uncommon occurrence for those who come to ISKCON with material managemental skills. Often they become the organizational workaholics—for a while. They manage, manage, manage, organize, organize, organize, and then one day--realizing they have lost their taste for bhakti--they then fade out and disappear.

TRANSLATION

Men become strong and stout by eating sufficient grains, but the devotee who simply eats ordinary grains but does not taste the transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krsna gradually becomes weak and falls down from the transcendental position. However, if one drinks but a drop of the nectar of Krsna's pastimes, his body and mind begin to bloom, and he begins to laugh, sing and dance.

PURPORT

All the devotees connected with the Krsna consciousness movement must read all the books that have been translated (the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita and others); otherwise, after some time, they will simply eat, sleep and fall down from their position. Thus they will miss the opportunity to attain an eternal, blissful life of transcendental pleasure. (Madhya 25.278)

Proper bhakti means working, eating, resting, dancing, chanting, reading, fraternizing—all for Krishna. We must learn this art through guidance. Otherwise, it is true that executing devotional service in the material world is difficult and confusing. Lord Krishna knows that; therefore in the Gita He mandates that the bhakti process requires personal supervision.

Bhakti-yoga is a science in that if you follow the process properly, sooner or later you will attract Krishna’s attention. The Lord is not forced to respond—He is always independent--but still He is attracted by the sweetness of devotion. But if we stubbornly cling to our own conceptions of how to serve Krishna and we fail, then whose fault is it? Those who simply work hard for Krishna without working hard also in the hearing and chanting department, gradually forget why they are working and for whom they are working. After some time, they lose the ability to discriminate between material and spiritual seva, and then bewildered, leave the association of devotees to apply their talents and drive wholly in the material world for pursuing reciprocation through material success.

I want to tell you that in November I arrived at Govardhana Hill, the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, feeling like the fuel gauge of energy was below empty. After five months of intense travelling on five continents, the body and mind were completely exhausted. I staggered up the stairs to my room, overlooking Sri Giriraja. There, on the roof, the presiding devotee of the ashram, HH Kesava Bharati Maharaja was waiting for me. He outstretched his arms, I collapsed into them, and he soothingly intoned, “Welcome home.”

Now was the time for me to spiritually recharge, by extra chanting and reading. Also now was the time for me to catch up on my editing work of Laghu-bhagavatamrta. And certainly the daily sanga of my dedicated Godbrothers enlivened me. Besides Kesava Bharati das Goswami, also HH Jayadvaita Swami, HH Dhanurdhara Swami, and His Grace Gopiparanadhana Prabhu were there. Later, HH Radhanatha Swami came for an overnight.

On the last day of Kartikka, Jayadvaita Swami sponsored a feast and served it himself to all the devotees. Before the prasada, he garlanded his Godbrothers and put sandalwood paste on their forehead. At the end of the feast, he gave each Godbrother a card with a personal note of appreciation and a gift inside. To me, his acquaintance since 1973, he wrote, “Thank you for being an enthusiastic and joyful friend for many years in Prabhupada’s service.” I told him that I was envious of this exemplary Vaisnava activity he had done, and would be sure to imitate it somewhere in the future.

I ventured away from the Govardhana Ashram only once in the ten days there. An hour-drive away, at Vrinda-kunda, ISKCON has a small temple, so on a lila festival day, off I went. My Godsister Her Grace Daivi Sakti Prabhu has taken charge of managing that place, amidst her amazingly busy affairs at the Krishna Balarama mandira and in Delhi.  As many of you know, she was the first devotee I ever talked with, thirty-two years ago. At that first meeting, in a bus terminal, she deftly relieved me of thousands of dollars. Hence, as usual, I asked her for the money back, now that I could use it for Krishna and not maya. She mirthfully replied that she was waiting a few months for my becoming chairman of the GBC, and then she would take advantage and ask for big money from the GBC budget.

More importantly, I wanted to thank her for taking care of my female disciples when they visit Vrindavan. She arranges their housing, their pilgimages, and most significantly, their engagement in dhama-seva, devotional service while in the Vraja. Many ISKCON leaders have realized that to allow spiritually young devotees to roam around Vrindavan freelance, without trusty senior guidance, is a recipe for their confusion and bewilderment. Especially for lady devotees, Daivi Sakti Prabhu, as some female disciples told me, provides the confirmation that it is possible for a lady to last fully immersed in bhakti activities for over thirty years now.

Also at the Vrinda-kunda festival were my Godbrothers HH Subhaga Maharaja, merry as always, and His Grace Dina Bandhu Prabhu, who despite a wound on his leg was his typical blissful self (see photos of these devotees and the Vrinda-kunda temple).

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/33 2005-08-15T16:40:32-06:00 2006-04-09T12:39:39-06:00 das

October 2004

The Cape Town weekend retreat was a great idea to refocus the entire devotional community.  Expertly organized by the grhastha couple Dhruva das and Parijata dasi, we all headed down the coast two hours, where a modest seaside resort became the yatra’s rented headquarters.  Fifty devotees attended for three days of Krishna Conscious camaraderie. More devotees came just for the day, Saturday or Sunday.

 

A great way to escape the city, the retreat also enabled devotees to share with each other in a relaxed atmosphere. Besides the mainstays of kirtan, prasada, and seminars, there were also recreational activities designed to bring devotees together. Communal sessions were held in the meeting hall, while the beachlands facilitated contemplative wanderings and japa walks.

My seminars addressed the need to apply Krishna Consciousness in our daily life with a cool head and sincere heart. Also, Saturday was the disappearance day of Raghunatha das Goswami, Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, and Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, so I spoke of them and their extraordinary contributions.  

In other seminar sessions, I directly addressed the problems and needs of the devotional community. On a whiteboard I listed the assets or advantages of the Cape Town yatra, and then the liabilities or negatives.

The advantages included an outstanding location, a spacious building, impressive achievements in previous years, and a supportive congregation willing to pay off an outstanding debt. Although these working grhastas were certainly not responsible for this debt of approx 90,000 USD, nevertheless without bitterness they banded together to tackle it. I told them I hadn’t seen such a noble, positive attitude anywhere else in the world. Often, when financial problems somehow arise, the congregation becomes cynical: “Why throw good money after bad money; no matter who's in charge, the financial problems will remain.” But the Cape Town grhasthas responded with admirable tolerance and devotion. I was deeply impressed.

Liabilities especially had arisen in the outreach programmes — all sagging as compared to recent golden years. The previous temple president was quite talented and industrious, and he had expertly attracted many competent persons. But after his transferral to important service in the USA, the book distribution plummeted, and the once booming student clubs at the universities were declining in membership.  Moreover, ISKCON Cape Town’s financial bread and butter programme — university prasada catering — was ailing. In reaction to the present leadership vacuum, several key devotees were set to head overseas. And last but not least, there was no proper arrangement for receiving and cultivating guests.

I pointed out that Cape Town ISKCON had an identity crisis: did they have a temple or preaching centre? A temple has as its main focus gorgeous Deity worship. Certainly a successful temple reaches out to its city with vigorous preaching; yet if the Deity worship is substandard, the temple has failed in a core purpose. A preaching centre, however, completely focuses on dynamic outreach and cultivation — Deity worship may not even be there at all. I recommended that the devotees decide exactly what was Cape Town.

Finally I pointed out that the devotees living in the building should not see it primarily as their home -- where they were automatically entitled to live, if they so desired. Rather, they should mainly see the building as a reception and cultivation centre for guests. That means for the proper servicing of these guests, some staff or hosts resided in the building. Devotees should have the attitude that they are living in the building for the sake of the guests.

After ventilating all the key issues, I left the ball in their lap. Later, devotees said that if any one of the local devotees had brought up any one of these points, a grand battle would have erupted. Some weeks after the retreat, I received a nice letter from a devotee who had attended: “All the devotees greatly appreciate the way Maharaja made us really think about what it is that we are doing. So that we don't just do it for the sake of doing it, or because that's what we are told to do, but that we try to understand the reality of devotional practice and how to apply it practically in our lives. This has always been a great challenge for me, and I still feel that I need to develop this way of thinking.”

--

Besides Cape Town (see photos) and Durban, while I was in South Africa, I also visited Lenasia and Pretoria — both adjoining Johannesburg. The Lenasia temple is in the former Indian-only sector of apartheid days. True to its locale, its congregation is almost completely Indian. Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, has a very active preaching center in the embassy and educational section of the city. (see photos) The enthusiastic congregation of both Indians and Africans is led by Syamasundara das, a householder who by day is the corporate division head of Daimler-Chrysler in South Africa (the auto-industry conglomerate of Chrysler and Mercedes Benz). A selfless, humble yet dynamic devotee, Syamasundara is a model householder and ISKCON leader, who is seeking to reach all South Africans with the message of Lord Caitanya.

]]>

October 2004

The Cape Town weekend retreat was a great idea to refocus the entire devotional community.  Expertly organized by the grhastha couple Dhruva das and Parijata dasi, we all headed down the coast two hours, where a modest seaside resort became the yatra’s rented headquarters.  Fifty devotees attended for three days of Krishna Conscious camaraderie. More devotees came just for the day, Saturday or Sunday.

 

A great way to escape the city, the retreat also enabled devotees to share with each other in a relaxed atmosphere. Besides the mainstays of kirtan, prasada, and seminars, there were also recreational activities designed to bring devotees together. Communal sessions were held in the meeting hall, while the beachlands facilitated contemplative wanderings and japa walks.

My seminars addressed the need to apply Krishna Consciousness in our daily life with a cool head and sincere heart. Also, Saturday was the disappearance day of Raghunatha das Goswami, Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, and Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, so I spoke of them and their extraordinary contributions.  

In other seminar sessions, I directly addressed the problems and needs of the devotional community. On a whiteboard I listed the assets or advantages of the Cape Town yatra, and then the liabilities or negatives.

The advantages included an outstanding location, a spacious building, impressive achievements in previous years, and a supportive congregation willing to pay off an outstanding debt. Although these working grhastas were certainly not responsible for this debt of approx 90,000 USD, nevertheless without bitterness they banded together to tackle it. I told them I hadn’t seen such a noble, positive attitude anywhere else in the world. Often, when financial problems somehow arise, the congregation becomes cynical: “Why throw good money after bad money; no matter who's in charge, the financial problems will remain.” But the Cape Town grhasthas responded with admirable tolerance and devotion. I was deeply impressed.

Liabilities especially had arisen in the outreach programmes — all sagging as compared to recent golden years. The previous temple president was quite talented and industrious, and he had expertly attracted many competent persons. But after his transferral to important service in the USA, the book distribution plummeted, and the once booming student clubs at the universities were declining in membership.  Moreover, ISKCON Cape Town’s financial bread and butter programme — university prasada catering — was ailing. In reaction to the present leadership vacuum, several key devotees were set to head overseas. And last but not least, there was no proper arrangement for receiving and cultivating guests.

I pointed out that Cape Town ISKCON had an identity crisis: did they have a temple or preaching centre? A temple has as its main focus gorgeous Deity worship. Certainly a successful temple reaches out to its city with vigorous preaching; yet if the Deity worship is substandard, the temple has failed in a core purpose. A preaching centre, however, completely focuses on dynamic outreach and cultivation — Deity worship may not even be there at all. I recommended that the devotees decide exactly what was Cape Town.

Finally I pointed out that the devotees living in the building should not see it primarily as their home -- where they were automatically entitled to live, if they so desired. Rather, they should mainly see the building as a reception and cultivation centre for guests. That means for the proper servicing of these guests, some staff or hosts resided in the building. Devotees should have the attitude that they are living in the building for the sake of the guests.

After ventilating all the key issues, I left the ball in their lap. Later, devotees said that if any one of the local devotees had brought up any one of these points, a grand battle would have erupted. Some weeks after the retreat, I received a nice letter from a devotee who had attended: “All the devotees greatly appreciate the way Maharaja made us really think about what it is that we are doing. So that we don't just do it for the sake of doing it, or because that's what we are told to do, but that we try to understand the reality of devotional practice and how to apply it practically in our lives. This has always been a great challenge for me, and I still feel that I need to develop this way of thinking.”

--

Besides Cape Town (see photos) and Durban, while I was in South Africa, I also visited Lenasia and Pretoria — both adjoining Johannesburg. The Lenasia temple is in the former Indian-only sector of apartheid days. True to its locale, its congregation is almost completely Indian. Pretoria, the capital of South Africa, has a very active preaching center in the embassy and educational section of the city. (see photos) The enthusiastic congregation of both Indians and Africans is led by Syamasundara das, a householder who by day is the corporate division head of Daimler-Chrysler in South Africa (the auto-industry conglomerate of Chrysler and Mercedes Benz). A selfless, humble yet dynamic devotee, Syamasundara is a model householder and ISKCON leader, who is seeking to reach all South Africans with the message of Lord Caitanya.

Before departing the Johannesburg Airport, down-under bound, I stopped off at a devotee’s preaching centre and home in the formerly notorious Soweto ghetto. (See photos) During apartheid days, Soweto was the largest African “township”--as the old regime called such forced concentration areas. By law then, each Soweto house had to have an adjoining corridor on its side wide enough for a military tank to squeeze through, so that in case of any African uprisings, the army could not only control the streets but also get in between the houses, to root out rebels. Nowadays those corridors alongside the houses have gardens or garages in their place. After lunch prasada at Mahaprabhu’s house, Bhakta Carlos and I left Soweto for the Jo-berg airport and the 20 hours or so traveling time to Christchurch, New Zealand.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/32 2005-08-15T16:13:34-06:00 2005-09-19T16:52:34-06:00 das

During my stay in Durban, the leaders scheduled the official opening of their local adaptation of the Loft. I named their urban outreach and cultivation centre “Club Krishna.” The gala opening night was packed with devotees plus some guests. I unveiled a plaque on the hallway wall, commemorating the event.

The main preaching focus in Durban, at the magnificent Radha Radhanatha temple, has been the vigorous cultivation of the Indian population. Despite that laudable success, some leaders there were noting that efforts had to be made to reach the African population. After all, apartheid had ended a decade or so ago, ISKCON was allowed to preach to everyone, and now an African middle class was emerging. Forward thinking leaders did not want their temple to become a small Indian island, isolated from the main reality of South Africa — the vast African majority.

The classic example of island preaching still remains England, where the fabulously prosperous preaching to the fortunate Indians who inundate Bhaktivedanta Manor has not dented the British population. Indians form only two percent of England’s total population — the other ninety-eight percent rarely interacts with ISKCON, on anything even minimally resembling a regular basis.

Indians, especially above thirty years of age, like a traditional temple. They are at home in the cultural world of Vaisnavas. For the nonIndians, however, the temple is an exotic world to enter—unfamiliar and mysterious, though the attractiveness of Krishna cannot be denied. Just like the British, Africans were not going to feel comfortable when lost in a throng of Indian devotees and congregation at temple functions. They need their own space, their own scene, geared toward their “chilling out,” so that the outreach staff can gradually acclimatize them to bhakti-yoga.

The Loft idea had already been tried in Johannesburg by a dedicated urban preacher Tirtharaja das. He wrote me four years ago that it was the only thing that had worked, in his struggle to reach university students there, and he requested me to visit South Africa. I gently replied, “Thank you for your appreciation. As for me ever visiting South Africa, I cannot see when that could happen.” In other words, he shouldn’t hold his breath . . . .

Now, a few years later, here I am, regularly visiting South Africa — it just shows you who is really in control . . . . For Durban’s Club Krishna, the sponsors — dynamic Indian grhasthas -- rented an upper floor of a centre-city building, located near several universities and technical schools mainly attended by Africans. The designated preaching target was the up and coming educated Africans—the future leaders of the country. For the poor Africans, ISKCON had for years been providing “Food for Life.” But how to preach to the Africans and cultivate them, rather than just feed the poor ones?

Hence, Club Krishna. Please note that unlike people in many western countries, the Africans have no hang-ups and biases flooding their mind, upon their hearing the all-blissful name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

For my next programme, after the opening event, I asked the devotee in charge of Club Krishna, Govinda Charan, to gather for me a batch of guests, not devotees, so I could roll up my sleeves and get to work. Somehow a misunderstanding crept in, and when action-night arrived, the place was full of devotees, an altar was profusely decorated with flowers, and lamps were ready, for our singing the Damodarastaka prayers.

I scanned the crowd of bright-faced devotees and noted about twenty curious guests scattered among them. The devotees expected an official lecture and then the Damodarastaka prayers. Improvising on the spot, after a short sit-down kirtan, I led an introductory discussion, concentrating fully on the guests scattered among all the assembled devotees. Of course I knew that the devotees didn’t need to hear an introductory, interactive discussion, but I had my job to do and I went to work at it--shutting out of my mind the throng of blessed devotees and focusing upon the unblessed, the guests strewn among them. After all, the temple is for the devotees; Club Krishna is for the new people.

Next we did a long “stay high forever” kirtan. During the chanting, I noticed that while the devotees happily sang and danced as they surrounded me, the mostly African guests were way in the back, pressed against the wall and staring wide-eyed and shyly. Quickly I told Govinda Charan to bring all the guests into the centre of the kirtan. It took the Africans all but a few seconds to come to life at the centre of a dance party. Then it was an ecstatic scene: Africans, whites, and Indians abandoned their designations and were all exuberantly dancing together.This is real harmony, genuine multiculturalism — on the spiritual platform, with Lord Caitanya. Everyone has an equal right to take Krishna’s name and dance wholeheartedly.

When the kirtan ended, I saw the devotees eyeing the tray of lamps — they rightfully wanted to execute their Kartikka vow. Simultaneously the guests had just loosened up, owing to the discussion and kirtan meant specifically for them. What to do? Quickly I told the devotees to start singing the Damodarastaka prayers — while all the guests and I disappeared into another room. Our twenty guests were mainly educated Africans, with a few white South Africans, and even two young travellers from Germany. Seated on couches and chairs instead of the floor in the other room, we had a great one-hour discussion, in which everyone opened up. We concluded the night with sumptuous prasada and then I was on my way.

Riding back to the Durban temple, I told the devotees that I was quite surprised by the educated calibre of the African guests — it put to rest any lingering myths that the Africans in South Africa were not ready or intelligent enough for Krishna consciousness.

Actually the only slows among the guests were the two travellers from Germany. Deadened by the typical German youth scene — that is, intoxication and illicit sex as a regulative principle since the early teens — these two travellers could only offer the dullest New Age responses to our probing, during the interactive discussions: “Yah, it is . . . because, you know, it is . . . and yah, you just be with it . . . .” But at prasada time, their German industriousness showed its true power.

]]>

During my stay in Durban, the leaders scheduled the official opening of their local adaptation of the Loft. I named their urban outreach and cultivation centre “Club Krishna.” The gala opening night was packed with devotees plus some guests. I unveiled a plaque on the hallway wall, commemorating the event.

The main preaching focus in Durban, at the magnificent Radha Radhanatha temple, has been the vigorous cultivation of the Indian population. Despite that laudable success, some leaders there were noting that efforts had to be made to reach the African population. After all, apartheid had ended a decade or so ago, ISKCON was allowed to preach to everyone, and now an African middle class was emerging. Forward thinking leaders did not want their temple to become a small Indian island, isolated from the main reality of South Africa — the vast African majority.

The classic example of island preaching still remains England, where the fabulously prosperous preaching to the fortunate Indians who inundate Bhaktivedanta Manor has not dented the British population. Indians form only two percent of England’s total population — the other ninety-eight percent rarely interacts with ISKCON, on anything even minimally resembling a regular basis.

Indians, especially above thirty years of age, like a traditional temple. They are at home in the cultural world of Vaisnavas. For the nonIndians, however, the temple is an exotic world to enter—unfamiliar and mysterious, though the attractiveness of Krishna cannot be denied. Just like the British, Africans were not going to feel comfortable when lost in a throng of Indian devotees and congregation at temple functions. They need their own space, their own scene, geared toward their “chilling out,” so that the outreach staff can gradually acclimatize them to bhakti-yoga.

The Loft idea had already been tried in Johannesburg by a dedicated urban preacher Tirtharaja das. He wrote me four years ago that it was the only thing that had worked, in his struggle to reach university students there, and he requested me to visit South Africa. I gently replied, “Thank you for your appreciation. As for me ever visiting South Africa, I cannot see when that could happen.” In other words, he shouldn’t hold his breath . . . .

Now, a few years later, here I am, regularly visiting South Africa — it just shows you who is really in control . . . . For Durban’s Club Krishna, the sponsors — dynamic Indian grhasthas -- rented an upper floor of a centre-city building, located near several universities and technical schools mainly attended by Africans. The designated preaching target was the up and coming educated Africans—the future leaders of the country. For the poor Africans, ISKCON had for years been providing “Food for Life.” But how to preach to the Africans and cultivate them, rather than just feed the poor ones?

Hence, Club Krishna. Please note that unlike people in many western countries, the Africans have no hang-ups and biases flooding their mind, upon their hearing the all-blissful name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

For my next programme, after the opening event, I asked the devotee in charge of Club Krishna, Govinda Charan, to gather for me a batch of guests, not devotees, so I could roll up my sleeves and get to work. Somehow a misunderstanding crept in, and when action-night arrived, the place was full of devotees, an altar was profusely decorated with flowers, and lamps were ready, for our singing the Damodarastaka prayers.

I scanned the crowd of bright-faced devotees and noted about twenty curious guests scattered among them. The devotees expected an official lecture and then the Damodarastaka prayers. Improvising on the spot, after a short sit-down kirtan, I led an introductory discussion, concentrating fully on the guests scattered among all the assembled devotees. Of course I knew that the devotees didn’t need to hear an introductory, interactive discussion, but I had my job to do and I went to work at it--shutting out of my mind the throng of blessed devotees and focusing upon the unblessed, the guests strewn among them. After all, the temple is for the devotees; Club Krishna is for the new people.

Next we did a long “stay high forever” kirtan. During the chanting, I noticed that while the devotees happily sang and danced as they surrounded me, the mostly African guests were way in the back, pressed against the wall and staring wide-eyed and shyly. Quickly I told Govinda Charan to bring all the guests into the centre of the kirtan. It took the Africans all but a few seconds to come to life at the centre of a dance party. Then it was an ecstatic scene: Africans, whites, and Indians abandoned their designations and were all exuberantly dancing together.This is real harmony, genuine multiculturalism — on the spiritual platform, with Lord Caitanya. Everyone has an equal right to take Krishna’s name and dance wholeheartedly.

When the kirtan ended, I saw the devotees eyeing the tray of lamps — they rightfully wanted to execute their Kartikka vow. Simultaneously the guests had just loosened up, owing to the discussion and kirtan meant specifically for them. What to do? Quickly I told the devotees to start singing the Damodarastaka prayers — while all the guests and I disappeared into another room. Our twenty guests were mainly educated Africans, with a few white South Africans, and even two young travellers from Germany. Seated on couches and chairs instead of the floor in the other room, we had a great one-hour discussion, in which everyone opened up. We concluded the night with sumptuous prasada and then I was on my way.

Riding back to the Durban temple, I told the devotees that I was quite surprised by the educated calibre of the African guests — it put to rest any lingering myths that the Africans in South Africa were not ready or intelligent enough for Krishna consciousness.

Actually the only slows among the guests were the two travellers from Germany. Deadened by the typical German youth scene — that is, intoxication and illicit sex as a regulative principle since the early teens — these two travellers could only offer the dullest New Age responses to our probing, during the interactive discussions: “Yah, it is . . . because, you know, it is . . . and yah, you just be with it . . . .” But at prasada time, their German industriousness showed its true power.

O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed. (SB 1.1.10)

ISKCON in South Africa has a unique window of opportunity. The African population, fresh from the prison of apartheid, is about twenty years behind the degradation that has obliterated youth and young adults in other parts of the world like the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The young Africans are certainly not innocent about Kali-yuga vices; it is just that they have had only a smattering of experience—they have not yet over-dosed. Therefore they still have a sense of vitality, modesty, respect, and openness. Put more concisely, their brains and hearts still work. But this window of preaching opportunity will certainly close soon, probably after five years. The deluge of American movies, TV, and rap music will make up for all the time lost under apartheid.

Who is there, desiring deliverance from the vices of the age of quarrel, who is not willing to hear the virtuous glories of the Lord? (SB 1.1.16)

Knowing well that the age of Kali has already begun, we are assembled here in this holy place to hear at great length the transcendental message of Godhead and in this way perform sacrifice. (SB 1.1.21)

More pictures here.

 

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/31 2005-08-15T16:05:37-06:00 2005-09-19T16:52:37-06:00 das

Therefore this Krsna consciousness movement is just like falling of rain from the cloud. Yes. The cloud means a process which collects water from the sea and distributes all over the surface. And the same water again glides down through the river unto the sea. Similarly, this movement means taking mercy from the ocean of mercy of Krsna and distribute it all over the world, so that again the merciful water goes down to the sea.

- (Srila Prabhupada Lecture , Tokyo, April 29, 1972)

Back in Cape Town, after the weekend in Durban, I was to be the object of a first for the temple. I was visiting Cape Town for only the second time. Yet two of my aspiring disciples there, discovering on the Net that my return date from Durban was also the official date for my Vyasa Puja, decided to take advantage. They asked if they could have a ceremony, and I agreed because their request was parampara — proper and appropriate according to disciplic succession. Besides the then two aspirants at Cape Town, I had Bhakta Carlos with me, so I imagined a small, intimate ceremony among the four of us.

Upon my arrival, however, the elder devotees at the temple informed me that this would be the first live Vyasa Puja ever celebrated in Cape Town, and that anyway the whole temple community had happily geared up for the event, to be held in the temple room for all to participate. By evening time, the temple room was filled with Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual family, many devotees made offerings, and there were some tears.

]]>

Therefore this Krsna consciousness movement is just like falling of rain from the cloud. Yes. The cloud means a process which collects water from the sea and distributes all over the surface. And the same water again glides down through the river unto the sea. Similarly, this movement means taking mercy from the ocean of mercy of Krsna and distribute it all over the world, so that again the merciful water goes down to the sea.

- (Srila Prabhupada Lecture , Tokyo, April 29, 1972)

Back in Cape Town, after the weekend in Durban, I was to be the object of a first for the temple. I was visiting Cape Town for only the second time. Yet two of my aspiring disciples there, discovering on the Net that my return date from Durban was also the official date for my Vyasa Puja, decided to take advantage. They asked if they could have a ceremony, and I agreed because their request was parampara — proper and appropriate according to disciplic succession. Besides the then two aspirants at Cape Town, I had Bhakta Carlos with me, so I imagined a small, intimate ceremony among the four of us.

Upon my arrival, however, the elder devotees at the temple informed me that this would be the first live Vyasa Puja ever celebrated in Cape Town, and that anyway the whole temple community had happily geared up for the event, to be held in the temple room for all to participate. By evening time, the temple room was filled with Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual family, many devotees made offerings, and there were some tears.

The spiritual master, bona fide spiritual, means he has to receive the power from authority. Otherwise it is useless. No. It is not that one can become spiritual master overnight. He has to take the power from his spiritual master. Therefore it is called praptasya. Praptasya means one who has obtained, one who has got the merciful blessings of his spiritual master.

We should always remember that the spiritual master is in the disciplic succession. The original spiritual master is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He blesses his next disciple, just like Brahma. Brahma blesses his next disciple, just like Narada. Narada blesses his next disciple, just like Vyasa. Vyasa blesses his next disciple, Madhvacarya. Similarly, the blessing is coming. Just like royal succession -- the throne is inherited by disciplic or hereditary succession -- similarly, this power from the Supreme Personality of Godhead one has to receive.

Yes, I certainly have no mercy of my own. For me, my own Vyasa-puja is a powerful time to remember that I am only a humble instrument, a serving agent — nothing more, nothing less. Nevertheless, it is a fact that to function as an instrument-servant of Lord Krishna and Srila Prabhupada is no ordinary, small thing.

Nobody can preach, nobody can become a spiritual master, without obtaining power from the right source. Therefore the very word stated here is praptasya. Praptasya means "one who has obtained." Praptasya kalyana. What he has obtained? Kalyana. Kalyana means auspicity. He has received something which is auspicious for all the human kind. Praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Here is another example. Gunarnava. Arnava means ocean, and guna means spiritual qualities.

It is very nice poetry. There is nice rhetoric and metaphor. The example is blazing fire: it is to be extinguished with the cloud. And wherefrom the cloud comes? Similarly, wherefrom the spiritual master receives the mercy? The cloud receives his potency from the ocean. Therefore the spiritual master also receives his power from the ocean of spiritual quality, that is, from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya. Such a spiritual master one has to accept, and vande guroh sri-caranaravindam, and one has to offer his respectful obeisances to such authorized spiritual master.

- (Purport to Sri-Sri-Gurv-astakam, Los Angeles, January 2, 1969)

 My Godbrother Partha Sarathi Prabhu lovingly got on my case about not giving my disciples Down Under a chance to have a live Vyasa Puja. I explained that the lunar date for my Vyasa Puja always fell during October, when I had to be overseas, especially because of the huge annual Russian festival of 4000 devotees. He then advocated that I do as some devotees, such as HH Niranjana Maharaja and HH Indradyumna Maharaja. They arrange the date around what fits, rather than stick to the lunar calendar. For example HH Niranjana Swami’s lunar appearance day is in December, when he is always at Govardhana Hill for a month. Therefore the Ukraine yatra celebrates his day two to four months later—at a time convenient for all. I told Partha Sarathi Prabhu, I would deeply consider his points. Certainly I am thankful for his association and that of all my spiritual friends and cohorts. From the sanga comes the love and enlivenment to carry forward the torch of the parampara.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/30 2005-08-15T15:58:28-06:00 2005-09-19T16:47:28-06:00 das

Durban, with a population of 1.2 million, is in the historic Zululand area, on the southeast coast of South Africa.  Home to the famous Zulu tribe, the region is also a chakra for the majority of Indians in South Africa. Known among visiting devotees as “the Indian city,” Durban is the site of ISKCON’s stunning Radha-Radhanath temple complex, completed with great sacrifice in 1985, to fulfil Srila Prabhupada’s specific desire (Click here for pictures)

In Durban I filmed an interview with a national television programme. Its interviewers are young, and their goal is to present South African youth as multicultural—free from the racial divisions of the past. The young TV hosts--fresh Indian, “coloured,” and African recruits in the broadcasting industry— obviously are intent to enhance their own careers, but also they bubble over with visionary idealism, as they seek to spread the gospel of multiculturalism as the dharma for the new South Africa. They look to me as a prime specimen for their purposes: brown-skinned native New Yorker turned world traveller and teacher of Indian religion. Of course, I know that whether based upon the old racist dogmas or the new trendy multicultural hopes, the bodily concept of life will fail. But I do note the interviewers’ enthusiasm and contagious optimism. In their early twenties, they have an upbeat nature that is materially attractive.
 
Saturday night marks the start of Kartikka. Hundreds of congregational members arrive at the Radha Radhanatha temple, to celebrate the beginning of the auspicious month. My Godbrother His Grace Partha Sarathi Prabhu and I do the temple programme together. We both know that devotees become enlivened when they see senior Vaisnava leaders interacting together in love and friendship, for Prabhupada’s pleasure. ]]>

Durban, with a population of 1.2 million, is in the historic Zululand area, on the southeast coast of South Africa.  Home to the famous Zulu tribe, the region is also a chakra for the majority of Indians in South Africa. Known among visiting devotees as “the Indian city,” Durban is the site of ISKCON’s stunning Radha-Radhanath temple complex, completed with great sacrifice in 1985, to fulfil Srila Prabhupada’s specific desire (Click here for pictures)

In Durban I filmed an interview with a national television programme. Its interviewers are young, and their goal is to present South African youth as multicultural—free from the racial divisions of the past. The young TV hosts--fresh Indian, “coloured,” and African recruits in the broadcasting industry— obviously are intent to enhance their own careers, but also they bubble over with visionary idealism, as they seek to spread the gospel of multiculturalism as the dharma for the new South Africa. They look to me as a prime specimen for their purposes: brown-skinned native New Yorker turned world traveller and teacher of Indian religion. Of course, I know that whether based upon the old racist dogmas or the new trendy multicultural hopes, the bodily concept of life will fail. But I do note the interviewers’ enthusiasm and contagious optimism. In their early twenties, they have an upbeat nature that is materially attractive.
 
Saturday night marks the start of Kartikka. Hundreds of congregational members arrive at the Radha Radhanatha temple, to celebrate the beginning of the auspicious month. My Godbrother His Grace Partha Sarathi Prabhu and I do the temple programme together. We both know that devotees become enlivened when they see senior Vaisnava leaders interacting together in love and friendship, for Prabhupada’s pleasure.

Partha Sarathi Prabhu has been in South Africa since the beginning, in the early seventies. He has been a main pioneering force there—starting his preaching by holding tent gatherings throughout the country, during the strict apartheid days when ISKCON could legally approach only Indians.

He spoke a memorial to a founding congregational member who had suddenly passed away, and I spoke on the Damodarastaka prayers. I reminded devotees that the ultimate goal of the Kartikka vow, the urjja-vrata, is not to accumulate material benedictions, but to please Urjjesvari, the queen of the urjja activities, Srimati Radharani.

On Sunday I happily attended the Vyasa-puja ceremony for Partha Sarathi Prabhu, held at another temple in the nearby city of Phoenix. Hundreds of devotees from all over South Africa had gathered there. (Click here for pictures)

At first, not wanting to embarrass my Godbrother with my presence at his glorification, I was afraid to attend. I wanted that he feel free to reciprocate with his disciples. Then, with the help of his disciple Sukumari dd, we arranged a time when I could unobtrusively enter—or so I thought.

As soon as I arrived in the midst of this gala gathering, Partha Sarathi Prabhu got off from the vyasasana and met me in the middle of the throng. He garlanded me and put sandalwood paste on my forehead. Then he invited me to lead guru-puja for Srila Prabhupada, and after that he sat me down on a vyasasana next to his. Needless to say, it turned out that I was the one embarrassed, by his wonderful Vaisnava reception, even at his own Vyasa-puja.

I addressed the hundreds of assembled devotees for almost an hour, citing the need for emotional gratitude in our dealings with any devotee that has helped our Krishna consciousness, at any time, and especially our spiritual master. I publicly thanked Srila Prabhupada for his leaving behind such a qualified devotee as Partha Sarathi Prabhu, and I beseeched the devotees not to take his association for granted, becoming familiar because he spent so much of his time in South Africa. I asked: “What platform of bhakti is His Grace Partha Sarathi on?” I answered my own question: “He is a real disciple. That is no ordinary thing. To actually be a disciple is a most confidential level in bhakti.”

guru-mukha-padma-vakya, cittete koriya aikya,
ar na koriho mane asa
sri-guru-carane rati, ei se uttama-gati,
je prasade pure sarva asa

My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfils all desires. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/29 2005-08-15T15:55:46-06:00 2005-09-19T16:47:46-06:00 das

Cape Town, at the very bottom of the African continent, reminds me somewhat of New Zealand. Stunning mountain and coastal scenery surround the city, and Auckland weather is here too—four seasons in one day. Moreover, the people are different from the rest of South Africa—noticeably more aloof, discerning, and reserved--just like every good Kiwi.

Clearing passport control, as we filed past the customs officer, Bhakta Carlos and I could already hear the mridangas thundering outside the sliding doors. A few seconds later we were enveloped by a throng of devotees and the Hare Krsna mantra.

Riding to the temple, I meditated upon my own insignificance contrasted to the enormous task at hand—resurrecting Cape Town ISKCON. The yatra had been through tough times, leading to a  scene sadly typical of too many of our urban temples: scarce man- and woman-power, a radically underused building,  sankirtan and cultivation way down (since “the golden days”), no decisive leadership, financial debts, little vision, and the disputes that such a difficult situation automatically breeds.
 
During my first visit, in April, I had tried to give them a vision of a sure way forward—dynamic urban outreach. The temple building is in a prime location, adjacent to the centre of the city and major universities and technical schools. It’s a huge, stately mansion with twenty rooms. Though on the brink of becoming run down, the temple building is still a gem, and crucial renovation has begun. The metro (commuter train) stops right next door. Dedicated urban missionaries would smack their lips in delight: “What a dreamboat of devotional service back to Godhead! How many more can I take with me!”

My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet. (SB 7.9.44) ]]>

Cape Town, at the very bottom of the African continent, reminds me somewhat of New Zealand. Stunning mountain and coastal scenery surround the city, and Auckland weather is here too—four seasons in one day. Moreover, the people are different from the rest of South Africa—noticeably more aloof, discerning, and reserved--just like every good Kiwi.

Clearing passport control, as we filed past the customs officer, Bhakta Carlos and I could already hear the mridangas thundering outside the sliding doors. A few seconds later we were enveloped by a throng of devotees and the Hare Krsna mantra.

Riding to the temple, I meditated upon my own insignificance contrasted to the enormous task at hand—resurrecting Cape Town ISKCON. The yatra had been through tough times, leading to a  scene sadly typical of too many of our urban temples: scarce man- and woman-power, a radically underused building,  sankirtan and cultivation way down (since “the golden days”), no decisive leadership, financial debts, little vision, and the disputes that such a difficult situation automatically breeds.
 
During my first visit, in April, I had tried to give them a vision of a sure way forward—dynamic urban outreach. The temple building is in a prime location, adjacent to the centre of the city and major universities and technical schools. It’s a huge, stately mansion with twenty rooms. Though on the brink of becoming run down, the temple building is still a gem, and crucial renovation has begun. The metro (commuter train) stops right next door. Dedicated urban missionaries would smack their lips in delight: “What a dreamboat of devotional service back to Godhead! How many more can I take with me!”

My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet. (SB 7.9.44)

Preaching is a self-transformative activity. By reaching out with Krishna to others, you put yourself on the line. In this way, the distribution of Mahapabhu’s mercy also transforms the distributor. In the above verse, Prahlad Maharaja reveals the emotional dynamics of a determined servant of the Lord. How does a compassionate devotee feel, and what makes his or her heart tick? Sri Prahlad shows the way, to our real inner fulfillment. Srila Prabhupada’s purport explains how compassionate devotees see this world and their place in it:

 . . . his interest is in the busiest part of the world, where he teaches people Krsna consciousness. The Krsna consciousness movement was started for this purpose. . . . every member of the Krsna consciousness movement is interested in going door to door to try to convince people about the teachings of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, the teachings of Lord Caitanya. That is the purpose of the Hare Krsna movement. The members of the Krsna consciousness movement must be fully convinced that without Krsna one cannot be happy. (SB 7.9.44 purport)


Since my previous visit to Cape Town, the in-house bickering had somewhat subsided. Now the usual sequence manifested. I have noticed over the decades that once the fire of devotee feuding finally cools down, the drama doesn’t end there. Devotee relationships are left in ashes. Although their dealings are no longer volatile, the devotees--weary of the battles--see now only the burnt-out hulk of their house, their community. Therefore enter the overseas travel bug: “Oh, we’ll be back in a year or two.” In other words, devotee-fueding time turns into devotee-leaving time. Even though the storm has passed, its aftermath is a doubtful, deflated, and lethargic atmosphere.

Knowing that this is how temple psychology usually unfolds, I certainly do not discourage any who want to leave. Such is life—they’ve “done their time”; they’ve managed to survive a difficult period, and now they need some distance, some space, to sort themselves out, to regenerate. From much experience I know that the real solution is to restock the pond with new fish, and make sure the newcomers don’t lose their inspiration. In meditating upon the remaining crew members and loyal congregation, the best tactic is to identify any potential energizers, galvanizers—movers and shakers—who might be inspired to get some action going, if only they are granted a vision to inspire them and the means to push ahead. Once the temple becomes enthusiastic again, then some of those who took an overseas break will voluntarily return, to experience the excitingly vibrant atmosphere that outreach preaching produces.

I am only to spend overnight in Cape Town. Austerity beckons. Although I just arrived on a twelve-hour night flight, I have to catch a two-hour flight to Durban the next day, because of a schedule change. You see, the Cape Town temple wants me back the next weekend for a big retreat programme with their congregation, so I agreed to trade that weekend in Durban for the present one.

For a map of South Africa, to see where are Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg:

http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/za.htm

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/28 2005-08-15T15:54:51-06:00 2005-09-19T16:47:51-06:00 das

As the arrivals buses transported the passengers and us from the plane, hawk-eyed devotees in the terminal--eyes pressed to the windows--quickly scanned each bus speeding by, detected in one of them a brief flash of saffron, and burst into jubilant celebration. “Your family sure has good eyesight,” a passenger commented.

Amazing it is that a devotee in Prabhupada’s family can go anywhere in the world and feel at home. I could sense the other people on the bus thinking, “How nice to have bodily relations who greet your arrival so splendidly.” Little did they know that I had no material relations in South Africa, and that I had only met devotees there six months ago--when I first visited in April, 2004. Yet, through the service of Lord Krishna and his dear devotee Srila Prabhupada, an ISKCON devotee has a welcoming home almost everywhere.

Regardless of material designations of family and nationality, all devotees of Lord Krishna are part of the same dynasty. Sometimes in India, where comprehension of what is a family stills prevails, people ask ISKCON devotees, “What gotra are you from?” Gotra refers to a family line descended way back in time from a major Vedic rishi—celebrated grihastha sages such as Gautama or Kasyapa. Any devotee can truthfully answer acyuta-gotra, meaning “Now I belong to Lord Acyuta—not my material family.”

As Srila Prabhupada writes: Different gotras, or family designations, are distinctions in terms of the material body, but when one comes to Krishna consciousness he immediately becomes one of the Acyuta-gotra, or descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus becomes transcendental to all considerations of caste, creed, color and nationality. (S.bhag. 1.7.16 lecture, Sept. 14, 1976)

We know that people today rarely understand this concept of a spiritual family, as a nontheoretical reality. But now even the bodily notion of family may become extinct. Who is my mother, who is my father? Before landing in Cape Town, I read a message on my laptop from Carana Renu dd (those friends of hers wanting to see her October wedding photos, courtesy of Candidas das: ]]>

As the arrivals buses transported the passengers and us from the plane, hawk-eyed devotees in the terminal--eyes pressed to the windows--quickly scanned each bus speeding by, detected in one of them a brief flash of saffron, and burst into jubilant celebration. “Your family sure has good eyesight,” a passenger commented.

Amazing it is that a devotee in Prabhupada’s family can go anywhere in the world and feel at home. I could sense the other people on the bus thinking, “How nice to have bodily relations who greet your arrival so splendidly.” Little did they know that I had no material relations in South Africa, and that I had only met devotees there six months ago--when I first visited in April, 2004. Yet, through the service of Lord Krishna and his dear devotee Srila Prabhupada, an ISKCON devotee has a welcoming home almost everywhere.

Regardless of material designations of family and nationality, all devotees of Lord Krishna are part of the same dynasty. Sometimes in India, where comprehension of what is a family stills prevails, people ask ISKCON devotees, “What gotra are you from?” Gotra refers to a family line descended way back in time from a major Vedic rishi—celebrated grihastha sages such as Gautama or Kasyapa. Any devotee can truthfully answer acyuta-gotra, meaning “Now I belong to Lord Acyuta—not my material family.”

As Srila Prabhupada writes: Different gotras, or family designations, are distinctions in terms of the material body, but when one comes to Krishna consciousness he immediately becomes one of the Acyuta-gotra, or descendants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus becomes transcendental to all considerations of caste, creed, color and nationality. (S.bhag. 1.7.16 lecture, Sept. 14, 1976)

We know that people today rarely understand this concept of a spiritual family, as a nontheoretical reality. But now even the bodily notion of family may become extinct. Who is my mother, who is my father? Before landing in Cape Town, I read a message on my laptop from Carana Renu dd (those friends of hers wanting to see her October wedding photos, courtesy of Candidas das:

http://www.deltaflow.com/gold/displayimage.php?album=1&amp;pos=28

From the NewScientist.com news service, she sent me the article: “Scientists seek to create 'three-parent' babies.” The idea is to cobble together a human embryo from three genetic parents instead of two. The procedure, banned in the US, was first carried out in 2003 by a Sino-American team in China. Those scientists scored a pregnancy, but not a live birth.

Naturally, on religious or moral grounds, some people are squirming about the idea of creating children with three parents. Others have denounced it as the first steps to the genetic engineering of human beings. What should the child say—“I think this one is my mother where my egg derived, I never met my fertilising father, and the other lady involved . . . well . . . she was part of the assembly line too . . . .”

The scientific procedure means fertilising a woman's egg by in-vitro fertilisation, outside her body, and then transplanting the fertilised nucleus to another woman’s egg, which has had its nucleus removed. For those interested in the details, any child born following fabrication of such an embryo would have cells containing a nucleus with genes from both parents, and mitochondria from a woman other than the mother.

If the researchers can finally engineer a live birth, it appears that now we will have the karmic reaction for parenting maya children spread over three persons instead of two. As Lord Rishabhadeva warns in the Fifth Canto, don’t become a father or mother [or procreative collaborator] unless you can save your dependant [laboratory production] from the cycle of repeated birth and death. Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport: First the father, spiritual master or husband must be able to release the dependent from repeated birth and death. If he cannot do this, he plunges himself into the ocean of reproachment for his unlawful activities. Everyone should be very responsible and take charge of his dependents just as a spiritual master takes charge of his disciple or a father takes charge of his son. All these responsibilities cannot be discharged honestly unless one can save the dependent from repeated birth and death. (SB 5.5.18) ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/27 2005-08-15T15:53:55-06:00 2005-09-19T16:47:55-06:00 das

Tirtharaja das wowed the Vaisnava leaders with his expertise in property legalities and economic affairs. Besides his managemental contribution, I also pressed him into service repeatedly as a priest for fire sacrifices.
 
This itinerary took us from New Zealand to Los Angeles. From New Dvaraka, we went to Las Vegas, where Surapala and his wife Minesi gave us several happy days. Minesi [now Krishna-mayi] a veritable goddess of the kitchen, kept the Vaisnavas enthusisastic with her usual sublime prasada. Surapala put together an attractive preaching engagement with several sincere bhakti candidates and he also made our stay worry-free through his timely, practical arrangements.

Next, while Tirtharaj and Taraka visited Dallas, I dropped in on Giriraj Maharaj for two days in Santa Barbara, and then our trio reassembled in the Dallas airport to fly to South America. We spent time in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil. On the farm outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, we blissfully caught up with Param Gati Maharaj, a river of Vaisnava qualities. Upon our departure from Brazil, we were shocked to run into my Godsister Malati Mataji at the airport. She was temporarily stranded there, while changing planes on her way from Miami to Paraguay. In addition to her missing her connecting flight, she discovered she had no visa for Paraguay. American Airlines gave her a hotel room, and we armed her with some prasada. About the visa, though, of course we couldn’t help. (Paraguay, a wonderfully corrupt country, let her in without one.) ]]>

Tirtharaja das wowed the Vaisnava leaders with his expertise in property legalities and economic affairs. Besides his managemental contribution, I also pressed him into service repeatedly as a priest for fire sacrifices.
 
This itinerary took us from New Zealand to Los Angeles. From New Dvaraka, we went to Las Vegas, where Surapala and his wife Minesi gave us several happy days. Minesi [now Krishna-mayi] a veritable goddess of the kitchen, kept the Vaisnavas enthusisastic with her usual sublime prasada. Surapala put together an attractive preaching engagement with several sincere bhakti candidates and he also made our stay worry-free through his timely, practical arrangements.

Next, while Tirtharaj and Taraka visited Dallas, I dropped in on Giriraj Maharaj for two days in Santa Barbara, and then our trio reassembled in the Dallas airport to fly to South America. We spent time in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil. On the farm outside Sao Paulo, Brazil, we blissfully caught up with Param Gati Maharaj, a river of Vaisnava qualities. Upon our departure from Brazil, we were shocked to run into my Godsister Malati Mataji at the airport. She was temporarily stranded there, while changing planes on her way from Miami to Paraguay. In addition to her missing her connecting flight, she discovered she had no visa for Paraguay. American Airlines gave her a hotel room, and we armed her with some prasada. About the visa, though, of course we couldn’t help. (Paraguay, a wonderfully corrupt country, let her in without one.)

To get to our next destination, London, we changed planes in Dallas. We had enough time between flights to visit the Dallas temple to shower and take prasada. As I stood outside the temple, a genie magically appeared—HH Gunagrahi Maharaja, the driving force of Argentina. He is in the USA to supervise twenty sankirtan devotees from Argentina and Chile. Prabhupada said a devotee is one who knows how to profit for Krsna in any circumstance—so-called good times or bad. Economic collapse within Argentina means that hard currency from abroad will go far. Therefore, to raise money for a new temple in Buenos Aires, Gunagrahi Maharaja has his team distributing Spanish books in North America. Also, since previously he had spent some years in Dallas, the headquarters of the departed HH Tamal Krsna Maharaja, he is helping to give solace to the devotees there. <!--nextpage-->

While in Brazil, the first week in January 2003, we had been sweating in 33 degree (C) midsummer weather; now, two days later we were in midwinter Europe, plunging from minus four (C) in London to minus 25 in St. Petersburg. Who else besides Hare Krishnas do such acrobatics as just another day in the life?

After a frigid weekend in St. Pete, we flew to Cologne, Germany for two days. I knew that Tirtharaja’s mother is German and that he had studied German at the university in Brisbane. So at the Cologne temple, Bhakti-bhusana Maharaj and I pushed him to give Bhagavatam class in German. He emerged from the temple room mentally exhausted but euphoric. Next we flew back to London for an overnight at Soho temple. The following morning, leaving the midwinter of Europe behind, we departed for India.

We arrived at ISKCON Juhu in Mumbai (Bombay) on January 19, just in time for the last day of the silver anniversary jubilee, celebrating twenty-five years of the Juhu project. Sridhar Maharaja led a host of Juhu veterans, gathered from around the world, in reminiscing about the early Juhu days of severe austerity and intimate association with Prabhupada.

The following morning all the visiting aging bodies like mine visited the Bhaktivedanta Hospital for checkups. Staffed mainly by devotees, the three-hundred bed hospital processed complete medical examinations for about twenty senior Vaisnavas in three hours. Since many of the doctor-devotees knew me personally since their beginnings in Krsna consciousness, they confided in me that most of the older devotees who come there expect an elaborate cure, yet much of their problems are due to simple lack of exercise and proper diet. “They’ll readily accept surgery or other complex medical remedies, but to get them to exercise daily and eat a healthy diet  . . .” The doctor-devotees urged me to keep swimming regularly and to encourage the other swamis to do the same.

Rejoining Tirtharaja and Taraka, our trio transferred from the Juhu temple to the Chowpatty temple. Prabhupada had said there should be many temples in Mumbai. The Juhu and Chowpatty temples certainly have different moods and approaches to preaching, yet both are successful at what they seek to achieve. That Sunday at Chowpatty temple featured the gala Sri Krsna Puspa Abhishek, a truly mind-blowing Deity festival from the spiritual world.

While the devotees chanted, two pujaris stood behind Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha, and bathed Them in hundreds of kilos of flower petals. The mountain of flower petals, in layers of different colours, rose from the altar floor up to the Deities’ faces. Repeatedly other pujaris in front of Their Lordships would clear the petals away from Their lotus faces, as bucketfuls of petals continued to pour upon Them, and 1500 enraptured devotees, gazing at the stunning sight, sweetly sang the mahamantra. <!--nextpage-->

A few days later, I gave a special programme called the Bliss Fest. Periodically the Chowpatty temple invites young men between the ages of sixteen and thirty to a special mass gathering devised just for them. No devotees—whether congregation or ashram—over thirty years are allowed to attend. Six-hundred guests showed up to hear my addressing contemporary themes about Krishna consciousness and modern living. We concluded by launching into a wild kirtan and then prasada.

The next day I did my usual university programme at IIT—India Institute of Technology. I was astounded to hear from our congregation there, at this most select school in India, that 80% of the students used their high-speed Internet connections for viewing pornography. Moreover, I was told, most of these cream-of-the-crop students get drunk on weekends.

“What is the future of India?” I asked a news reporter who came to interview me the next day. “The best of its youth are indulging in such degradation.” Later that week the front page of a nationwide daily newspaper, “The Indian Express” spread the word: “Swami from New Zealand exposes porno and drinking habits of students at IIT.” I explained that without the higher, spiritual pleasure of Krishna consciousness, India’s educated youth would be of no help to the nation.

A month later, on my way to the Mayapur meetings and festival, I returned to Chowpatty again, for another all-men’s Bliss Festival, more news-media interviews, and more university preaching. Again six-hundred young men showed up, to hear about “Frustrated Love.” Again the news reporters appeared, this time with TV camaras too. Wading through the throngs of guests, the journalists and cameras moved from person to person asking: “Are you frustrated in love?”

Upon my return Down Under from India, I stopped in Melbourne for more university events arranged by Bhakti Nitin and his crew. In a posh auditorium at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, this time 400 students attended the first day, and then, in a smaller room, 200 the second day. Finally came a follow-up programme at the temple for those more interested.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/26 2005-08-15T15:53:04-06:00 2005-09-19T16:48:04-06:00 das

Unlike last year, the water supply was no problem, for the 1500 devotees attending. Unexpected cold and a rain storm forced some changes in the schedule, but the festival proceeded smoothly. Generally, I prepare one seminar theme per summer festival season. Hence, once again, I presented “Opulence Meets Sweetness.” Adrian and I left a day early because we had to reach the ISKCON farm in Hungary in time for Radhastami. Flying from Odessa back west to Vienna and then east to Budapest, after a three hour drive, we reached New Vraja-dhama.

No doubt this rural community is the best in ISKCON. How happy it was to see a farm project succeeding. Many devotees have concluded that Prabhupada’s plan for farm projects is a mission impossible. I say take a trip to New Vraja-dhama and see how bhakti ruralism combined with strong spiritual standards can produce wonders. The buildings and fields are tidy and well-kept. Adrian gaped at the several large greenhouses—which actually functioned efficiently. Best of all, the temple interior was an artistic masterpiece, all for the pleasure of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Syamasundar.

The householders live in simple, attractive homes clustered near the temple. They can own their own house, but not the land. The availability of minimal electricity keeps life uncluttered. Each house receives enough electricity to power a few lights and a cassette player. “Scant electricity means automatically no influence from TV,” the leader HH Sivarama Swami explained to me. Buses of 20,000 tourists a year visit New Vraja-dhama, to see the temple, to explore the simple-living eco community, and to dine at the restaurant. ]]>

Unlike last year, the water supply was no problem, for the 1500 devotees attending. Unexpected cold and a rain storm forced some changes in the schedule, but the festival proceeded smoothly. Generally, I prepare one seminar theme per summer festival season. Hence, once again, I presented “Opulence Meets Sweetness.” Adrian and I left a day early because we had to reach the ISKCON farm in Hungary in time for Radhastami. Flying from Odessa back west to Vienna and then east to Budapest, after a three hour drive, we reached New Vraja-dhama.

No doubt this rural community is the best in ISKCON. How happy it was to see a farm project succeeding. Many devotees have concluded that Prabhupada’s plan for farm projects is a mission impossible. I say take a trip to New Vraja-dhama and see how bhakti ruralism combined with strong spiritual standards can produce wonders. The buildings and fields are tidy and well-kept. Adrian gaped at the several large greenhouses—which actually functioned efficiently. Best of all, the temple interior was an artistic masterpiece, all for the pleasure of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Syamasundar.

The householders live in simple, attractive homes clustered near the temple. They can own their own house, but not the land. The availability of minimal electricity keeps life uncluttered. Each house receives enough electricity to power a few lights and a cassette player. “Scant electricity means automatically no influence from TV,” the leader HH Sivarama Swami explained to me. Buses of 20,000 tourists a year visit New Vraja-dhama, to see the temple, to explore the simple-living eco community, and to dine at the restaurant.

While it seems so many of our rural and suburban communities allow practically anyone who can say “Hare Krishna” and rise before noon to reside there, the Hungary project has strict standards—the standards that were more prevalent in days of yore. Householders have to attend the morning programme sufficiently. No divorce is tolerated. The tourist trade provides income opportunities for a humble devotional lifestyle.

Radhastami was a transcendental blast. We danced in kirtan four hours in the morning and then four hours at night. Besides Sivarama Swami, there was also B.B. Govinda Swami and B.V. Purna Swami, as well as Kesava Bharati Prabhu. Early the next morning all these mahatmas departed for B.B. Govinda Maharaja’s first festival at his project in Kazakhstan (check your map—it’s between the Caspian Sea and Mongolia, and a few countries above Afghanistan). Why didn’t I go? I had intended, but then a few months before, the Hungarian devotees had begged that I do a road tour of Hungary—once again, my first since my underground days seventeen years ago. Halls were rented in major cities and the media was contacted. The hope was that just as the Hungarian media had eagerly responded to Drutakrama’s “Forbidden Archaeology” tour, so too they would give press coverage to the author of “Searching for Vedic India.” <!--nextpage-->

The first one-night stand was Szeged, south near the Yugoslav border. The last time I was here, in 1981, I had to jump out the back window of a house to escape the police storming in the front door. Hiding prone in an adjacent cornfield, with my nose pressed to the earth, I looked up periodically to observe the police interrogating the Hungarian and Polish devotees gathered at the house for a secret festival. When the police departed, I crawled out of the cornfield into the back of a waiting car, and lay on the floor as the devotee-driver gunned the engine and sped me out of the district. Twenty-one years later I was back legally and Krsna consciousness was legal. The devotees, however, had to remind me that there was no need to look over my shoulder constantly as we walked through the city. We had a nice programme in a rented large conference room and then we drove four hours north to Eger. Two hundred students filled a university auditorium to hear. Next, we drove three hours southwest to Kecskemet.

The venue was a huge public auditorium, equipped with lighting and sound technology. Three hundred people paid an entrance fee for a full programme of music, drama, lecture, and prasada. With each city, the hunger of the media coverage had been increasing. Newspaper reporters and TV news crews appeared at every engagement.

The expert Hungarian preaching and communications devotees had quickly realized that more than the theme of “Lost Ancient India,” the media was ablaze about another angle: “Fugitive Krsna underground leader returns for his first visit to a free Hungary.” As Prabhupada said, devotees are the greatest opportunists; so immediately we changed our approach. By the time I reached the capital, Budapest, the last city of the tour, I was stoking the press for Krsna like a pro--or should I say like my Godbrothers Mukunda Maharaja and Bhakti-Tirtha Maharaja, who are renowned for their media mesmerizing. I told the reporters the truth that during the communist years, I could only go outside in Budapest at night, because of danger from the police. Immediately headlines proclaimed: “At last he can see Budapest in the day!” One creative news photographer managed to digitally manipulate a picture of my sitting cross-legged chanting japa into a Buddhalike pose.

We did a large programme in Budapest, met the local Budapest media, and prepared to leave the country. At the last minute, however, the devotees excitedly informed me of a preaching breakthrough:  national TV had picked up on all the commotion in the media of the cities we had visited. The next morning I went on air nationwide, interviewed by a primetime newscaster. The show went well, the devotees relished all the favourable coverage, and I thought my job in Hungary was done. But then another national TV network called, impressed by my performance on its rival, so for the second time in two days I was beamed throughout the country.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/25 2005-08-15T15:52:31-06:00 2005-09-19T16:48:31-06:00 das

Bhakta Nitin and his team had arranged a preaching engagement at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Traditionally university preaching events outside India draw few participants. Students in the West are more degraded than ever, and often the devotees do not put much effort into the campuses. Australia was no exception.

Consequently, I thought I would just honour the efforts of the devotees by agreeing to the usual sparsely attended university programme. My theme they advertised: “Stress Management and Contemporary Life.”  At best, I expected to see a small audience of pious, well-bred Indian students politely waiting for a sannyasi to remind them of dharma.

Arriving at the university, I floated inside, my feet felt thirty centimeters above the ground. No, I wasn’t a deva arriving from a higher planet—I was just jet-lagged to the maximum. Then, upon entering the auditorium, my metabolism jolted into overdrive. Seated expectantly were two-hundred people. What’s more, eighty percent were that rarest of species at university programmes: native Australians.

After a short kirtan, I presented the problem of stress on three levels: superficial, profound, and esoteric. The superficial approach to stress calls for popular measures such as deep breathing, a walk in the country, and a reduction in working hours. The profound approach recognizes bodily identification as the source of all anxiety. This is the verdict Prahlad Maharaj delivered to Hiranyakasipu: “My dear father, O best of the demons, anyone who thinks the body to be the self must always suffer stress and anxiety.” Finally, for those who cared to look even deeper, I explained that stress is an automatic reaction instilled in our mind by material nature when we misuse time. The lifespan of the human being is meant for self-discovery. If we instead invest our allotted time into money-making and sensuality, then the laws of nature punish us now and later. The immediate reaction is a stressed mind; the future reaction is loss of the human form of life—descent into the animal species. ]]>

Bhakta Nitin and his team had arranged a preaching engagement at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Traditionally university preaching events outside India draw few participants. Students in the West are more degraded than ever, and often the devotees do not put much effort into the campuses. Australia was no exception.

Consequently, I thought I would just honour the efforts of the devotees by agreeing to the usual sparsely attended university programme. My theme they advertised: “Stress Management and Contemporary Life.”  At best, I expected to see a small audience of pious, well-bred Indian students politely waiting for a sannyasi to remind them of dharma.

Arriving at the university, I floated inside, my feet felt thirty centimeters above the ground. No, I wasn’t a deva arriving from a higher planet—I was just jet-lagged to the maximum. Then, upon entering the auditorium, my metabolism jolted into overdrive. Seated expectantly were two-hundred people. What’s more, eighty percent were that rarest of species at university programmes: native Australians.

After a short kirtan, I presented the problem of stress on three levels: superficial, profound, and esoteric. The superficial approach to stress calls for popular measures such as deep breathing, a walk in the country, and a reduction in working hours. The profound approach recognizes bodily identification as the source of all anxiety. This is the verdict Prahlad Maharaj delivered to Hiranyakasipu: “My dear father, O best of the demons, anyone who thinks the body to be the self must always suffer stress and anxiety.” Finally, for those who cared to look even deeper, I explained that stress is an automatic reaction instilled in our mind by material nature when we misuse time. The lifespan of the human being is meant for self-discovery. If we instead invest our allotted time into money-making and sensuality, then the laws of nature punish us now and later. The immediate reaction is a stressed mind; the future reaction is loss of the human form of life—descent into the animal species.

After my lecture, some students surrounded me, wanting to dialogue. “Time is what you make of it,” one lady student bantered. “Don’t be negative toward time; just live within every moment, however, whatever. Let it come to you, and you flow in it . . .” The Indian members of Melbourne ISKCON drew closer, eager to hear the debate, their gleeful dark eyes flashing--and their digital video cameras recording. The lady student and her friends continued to hit me with their sublime doctrine of flowing with the flow and letting life live. Finally, I singled out the most philosophical of the bunch and asked her, “Please, kindly tell me what is the goal of life.” Startled, she looked at me as if I had asked the most foolhardy question. “The goal of life?” she retorted incredulously, as if only an imbecile would ask such a question. She paused to gather her intellectual energies; the Indian devotees pushed their video cameras closer. Then, throwing back her red hair, stabbing the air with her finger, she triumphantly declared, “The goal of life is . . . to eat pizza!” Her supporters wildly cheered her erudition, I rolled my eyes in sad amazement, and our Indian video devotees gloated with satisfaction. Like wildlife photographers successfully filming rare beasts of the night, they had captured live the unbelievable Western student-madness, for the entertainment of their family and friends.

Later, Bhakta Nitin told me something even more memorable. On the feedback forms provided at the end of the programme, seventy-five percent of the crowd had volunteered their personal phone numbers and affirmed they wanted invitations to future programmes. Obviously, some of the students in Australia are ready to hear.

Next stop was New Zealand, and then on the day after Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja--three weeks after my departure from Europe--I departed Wellington, New Zealand to head north and west. Now I had a traveling assistant. Adrian, experienced from his maiden voyage around the world last year, had saved enough money from his business to have another go at the globe. We popped into the Melbourne temple for seven hours, in between flights; then upon reaching London, spent two days at the Manor, followed by an overnight in Vienna, Austria, finally arriving at Odessa, the site of the annual ISKCON Ukraine festival. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/24 2005-08-15T15:50:47-06:00 2005-09-19T16:49:47-06:00 das

Upon my arrival at the festival site in southwestern Poland, my driver innocently drove me behind a building where the touring devotees stayed. Suddenly I was in the midst of what I can describe only as a Vaisnava version of  a “Welcome Back, War Hero” reception. In the parking area, over two-hundred devotees had amassed, exuberantly chanting. Indradyumna Maharaja and Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja, like a military honour guard, escorted my astonished self through the ranks of assembled devotees to the rented hall. Inside came two hours of puja, gifts, reminisces, and kirtan. Finally, near 11pm, stunned and embarrassed, I took rest, emotionally in shreds. ]]>

Upon my arrival at the festival site in southwestern Poland, my driver innocently drove me behind a building where the touring devotees stayed. Suddenly I was in the midst of what I can describe only as a Vaisnava version of  a “Welcome Back, War Hero” reception. In the parking area, over two-hundred devotees had amassed, exuberantly chanting. Indradyumna Maharaja and Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja, like a military honour guard, escorted my astonished self through the ranks of assembled devotees to the rented hall. Inside came two hours of puja, gifts, reminisces, and kirtan. Finally, near 11pm, stunned and embarrassed, I took rest, emotionally in shreds.

After touring all my former haunts in Poland, I traveled by car to Lithuania for the annual Baltic countries ISKCON festival. Formerly forced into the Soviet Union, these small countries—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—were now independent. Hundreds of devotees gathered at a simple summer-resort complex rented for the occasion. For the senior devotees working on the Russian side of the world, this festival provided a chance to get together. Niranjana Swami, Bhakti Caitanya Swami and Prabhavisnu Swami attended, as well as Purnacandra and Tejyas prabhus. HH Jayapataka and Bhakti Vikasa Maharajas made quick visits.

Most of us gave seminars. I presented “Opulence Meets Sweetness: Three Encounters in Pure Love of God.” With the devotees, I wanted to explore the aisvarya-lila of Vaikuntha interacting with the intimate nectar of Vraj. From Caitanya-caritamrita, the Bhagavatam, and the Krishna book, I presented three examples: 1. Lord Caitanya and Vyenkatta Bhatta’s dialogue about Laxmi-devi trying to join the rasa-lila; 2. Svarupa Damodar’s loving debate with Srivasa Pandit about the sweet wealth of the Vraja-vasis versus Laxmi-devi’s royal opulence; and the residents of Vrindavana meeting the Dvaraka-vasis with Krsna at Kuruksetra during the solar eclipse.

When I gave Bhagavatam class, I highlighted this verse the gopis spoke to Krishna at Kuruksetra. Beckoning Him from His princely opulence back to the simple rural village of spontaneous love, they said, "Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs." (Madhya 1.82).

When proffering this plea, the gopis were thinking: "Dear Lord, if Your lotus feet again come to our home in Vrndavana, our desires will be fulfilled." Srila Prabhupada, following in the footsteps of his spiritual master, gives us this wonderful purport (Madhya 1.83):

“In his Anubhasya, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments, ‘The gopis are purely engaged in the service of the Lord without motive. They are not captivated by the opulence of Krsna, nor by the understanding that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ Naturally the gopis were inclined to love Krsna, for He was an attractive young boy of Vrndavana village. Being village girls, they were not very much attracted to the field of Kuruksetra, where Krsna was present with elephants, horses and royal dress. Indeed, they did not very much appreciate Krsna in that atmosphere.

“Krsna was not attracted by the opulence or personal beauty of the gopis but by their pure devotional service. Similarly, the gopis were attracted to Krsna as a cowherd boy, not in sophisticated guise. Lord Krsna is inconceivably powerful. To understand Him, great yogis and saintly persons give up all material engagements and meditate upon Him. Similarly, those who are overly attracted to material enjoyment, to enhancement of material opulence, to family maintenance or to liberation from the entanglements of this material world take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But such activities and motivations are unknown to the gopis; they are not at all expert in executing such auspicious activities.

“Already transcendentally enlightened, they simply engage their purified senses in the service of the Lord in the remote village of Vrndavana. The gopis are not interested in dry speculation, in the arts, in music, or other conditions of material life. They are bereft of all understanding of material enjoyment and renunciation. Their only desire is to see Krsna return and enjoy spiritual, transcendental pastimes with them. The gopis want Him simply to stay in Vrndavana so that they can render service unto Him, for His pleasure. There is not even a tinge of personal sense gratification.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

Sri Sri Gaur-Nitai ki jai!

Jai Jai Sri Radhe Syama. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/23 2005-08-15T15:36:49-06:00 2005-09-19T16:49:49-06:00 das

Gazing out the car window, as we drove from the airport to the temple, I caught myself staring intently at the inhabitants. Suddenly I realized I was witnessing the whitest people I had ever seen. You see, when the Vaisnavas of Murmansk met my flight, I did not notice their physical skin tone, because devotees have a spiritual effulgence.  But now, upon observing the ordinary life in Murmansk, I noted sidewalks and plazas full of walking bed sheets.

Tickled by my surprise at the laundry whiteness of the people, the devotees in our car told me a joke. Once, a man from Murmansk flew far south to the bottom of Russia, to Sochi--Russia’s holiday beach resort on the sunny coast of the Black Sea. As the man lay on the beach, the other Russians noted his unique bleached complexion. One politely inquired: ]]>

Gazing out the car window, as we drove from the airport to the temple, I caught myself staring intently at the inhabitants. Suddenly I realized I was witnessing the whitest people I had ever seen. You see, when the Vaisnavas of Murmansk met my flight, I did not notice their physical skin tone, because devotees have a spiritual effulgence.  But now, upon observing the ordinary life in Murmansk, I noted sidewalks and plazas full of walking bed sheets.

Tickled by my surprise at the laundry whiteness of the people, the devotees in our car told me a joke. Once, a man from Murmansk flew far south to the bottom of Russia, to Sochi--Russia’s holiday beach resort on the sunny coast of the Black Sea. As the man lay on the beach, the other Russians noted his unique bleached complexion. One politely inquired:

“Excuse me sir, why are you so extremely pale?”

“Well, I’m from Murmansk.”

“Oh, but there must be at least a little sun up there. Doesn’t your city have summer?”

“Yes, but I missed it--I was working that day.”

Murmansk is an important ice-free harbour for Russia. Although so far north, the Gulf Stream from the North Atlantic keeps a shipping lane to the port open year-round. The warm currents brought the Russian Navy, and the Russian Navy brought its nuclear fleet. Consequently, living in Murmansk means cohabiting with defunct nuclear-powered ships, mothballed in the harbour. Although rumours abound in the outside world, the local devotees say that concerns about the aging reactors leaking radioactivity are all exaggerated. “Just see,” they point to a huge digital Geiger counter erected in the center of the city. “Relax; everything is safe.”
 
Donated by neighbouring Finland, the counter features an alarm that sirens when the radioactivity level goes over the top. In this way, I guess, a Kali-yuga version of peace and security comforts the city. Most importantly, of course, the giant gauge gives the anxious Finns advance warning about what the winds may blow across the border--since Russia is notorious for not containing its environmental hazards.

“Everything is cozy?” I responded warily to the devotees’ assurances. “Hmmmm. I’ve been all over the world many times, and I have seen many cities with big clocks in the city centre. But this is the first one I’ve seen with a giant Geiger counter!”

Presiding over the Murmansk temple is Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, the northernmost Deities on the planet. I can’t vouch for the radioactivity protection in Murmansk, but I’ll pin my life’s hopes on Gaura-Nityananda any day.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/22 2005-08-15T15:35:53-06:00 2005-09-19T16:49:53-06:00 das

Visiting Germany meant seeing my old friend HH Bhakti-bhusana Maharaja in Cologne and attending the European sankirtan festival at Abentheuer. Once again, I was seeing a land I frequented ages ago, for the first time in many years. German ISKCON has been through much trauma in the past five years, but now seems on its way up again. Bhakti-bhusana Maharaja and I reminisced that we had both seen Germany hit with a major setback in the seventies, and the future then looked grim. But the material nature of Germans is to never give up. For example, smashed in World War I, they were back with WWII. Devastated in WWII, they rebounded with economic triumph. When this German trait of determination flows on the spiritual plane, in devotional service, it becomes even more intense. The devotees bounced back mightily in the seventies, and surely, almost thirty years later, they will do it again. ]]>

Visiting Germany meant seeing my old friend HH Bhakti-bhusana Maharaja in Cologne and attending the European sankirtan festival at Abentheuer. Once again, I was seeing a land I frequented ages ago, for the first time in many years. German ISKCON has been through much trauma in the past five years, but now seems on its way up again. Bhakti-bhusana Maharaja and I reminisced that we had both seen Germany hit with a major setback in the seventies, and the future then looked grim. But the material nature of Germans is to never give up. For example, smashed in World War I, they were back with WWII. Devastated in WWII, they rebounded with economic triumph. When this German trait of determination flows on the spiritual plane, in devotional service, it becomes even more intense. The devotees bounced back mightily in the seventies, and surely, almost thirty years later, they will do it again.

The European Sankirtan festival assembled all the BBT trustees plus sankirtan devotees from at least seven countries, and also five sannyasis. The German leaders Bhakti-bhusana Swami, Sacinandana Swami, and Prithu Prabhu were there, as well as my old friends in the BBT, Jayadwaita Swami, Svavas, Brahma Muhurta and Naresvara. Also Kavicandra Swami and Jayapataka Swami made short appearances.

To the delight of everyone’s tongue, a mate from Down Under, Kurma Prabhu, catered the event.  Admitting that health was not a priority for the menu, Kurma drowned the assembled devotees in luscious delights. His grand finale was a lavish lasagna, made with opulent gourmet cheese specially imported from Italy for the occasion. Looking at the lasagna as Kurma served us, Svavas Prabhu and I both wondered, “Usually lasagna combines the colours of tomato-red with dark yellow layers of cooked cheese. Why are these cheese-layers gleaming white?” Leaning over the counter, Kurma whispered into my ear, “I threw in a triple dose of fresh cream.” Grateful for the warning, I made sure not to have more than a small piece. Needless to say, the younger devotees—and a few older ones too--devoured the super lasagna until they neared collapse. <!--nextpage-->

During the three days of the festival, senior devotees gave Bhagavatam class together as a pair. Some of us also gave sankirtan talks. I surprised the audience, gathered from five countries, by speaking on “the Emotions of Sankirtan.” Most had expected a steady diet of standard sankirtan pep talks. But I chose to address the theme of book distribution and heart satisfaction, since I knew that this issue was a major unspoken concern. A silent fear had spread throughout Europe that if someone attempts to surrender to sankirtan, they may ignore their heart and thus later have problems--due to unfulfilled emotions. Consequently I felt moved to explain what pumps in the sankirtan heart and how sankirtan, when done properly, balances the individual and immerses the devotee in the nectar of personal reciprocation.

My partner for Bhagavatam class was my old associate from the early days in New York and Los Angeles, Jayadwaita Swami. The system at the festival was that both would take turns speaking on the verse and answering questions. During my lecture, I began to relate Lord Caitanya’s mercy at Ramakeli upon Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis. Then, while thinking what I could present to the devotees as a contemporary example of Mahaprabhu’s inconceivable grace, suddenly a reality right under my nose hit me.

Here I was giving class seated next to Jayadwaita Swami. Thirty years ago, as a student lost in maya, I had seen him on television presenting Krsna consciousness. My reaction, as I listened to him and three other devotees: “These people are fools! They have missed the goal of life.” Now, three decades later, here I was, amazingly, in the sannyasa order of life, sharing the vyasasana, miraculously, with the very same person! Shoulder to shoulder, I was giving the sacred Bhagavatam class with one of the very devotees I, as a nondevotee, had ridiculed. Such an astounding twist of events surely is proof of Lord Caitanya’s supreme mystic flood of mercy.

<em>"O most munificent incarnation! You are Krsna Himself appearing as Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krsna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

"We offer our respectful obeisances unto that merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead who has converted all three worlds, which were maddened by ignorance, and saved them from their diseased condition by making them mad with the nectar from the treasure-house of love of God. Let us take full shelter of that Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna Caitanya, whose activities are wonderful." (Caitanya caritamrita, Madhya 19. 53 and 54)</em>

Before leaving Abentheurer, I got together privately with my old friend HH Sacinandana Swami. We hadn’t seen each other for many years. In the early seventies, as a young German boy of fifteen years, he had taken shelter of Prabhupada. Now he was a spiritual father, giving shelter to many children, on behalf of Prabhupada.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/21 2005-08-15T15:33:59-06:00 2005-09-19T16:49:59-06:00 das

Said to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, St. Petersburg was also the former pride of Russian ISKCON. Ashrams and a congregation had combined to about 1000 devotees strong--the biggest bhakti yatra in Europe. Visiting international devotees, enlivened by the huge rented temple building with its massive temple room, flocked there. But then came the leadership crash of 1998, and the sudden loss of the temple. The yatra descended into bleak and trying times. Since then, a few swamis would visit and quickly depart. Understandably, the emotional impact from the sudden reversal was more than many travelling leaders wanted to bear, for more than a few days. And also, now there was no temple where the devotees could all gather for worship. Consequently St. Petersburg ISKCON faded from the map of ISKCON hot-spots. ]]>

Said to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, St. Petersburg was also the former pride of Russian ISKCON. Ashrams and a congregation had combined to about 1000 devotees strong--the biggest bhakti yatra in Europe. Visiting international devotees, enlivened by the huge rented temple building with its massive temple room, flocked there. But then came the leadership crash of 1998, and the sudden loss of the temple. The yatra descended into bleak and trying times. Since then, a few swamis would visit and quickly depart. Understandably, the emotional impact from the sudden reversal was more than many travelling leaders wanted to bear, for more than a few days. And also, now there was no temple where the devotees could all gather for worship. Consequently St. Petersburg ISKCON faded from the map of ISKCON hot-spots.

You could say, I guess, that “fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” or else that our accepting challenges in devotional service builds dependency on Krsna and attracts Prabhupada’s special mercy. Take your pick, but now here I was. The Russian sannyasi Bhakti Vijnana Maharaj had explained to me that Moscow was Russia’s business city, where most of the nation’s cash circulated, while St. Petersburg was the undisputed cultural and intellectual capital. Driving past the world-renowned lavish palaces and grand cathedrals dating back to the time of the czars at the beginning of the previous century, even an architectural nonenthusiast as me could appreciate their temporary material glories.

Struggle and hardship were nothing new in St. Petersburg. The tenacious devotees there certainly reflected the sacrificial, never-give-up spirit that has marked their city since its beginning. In 1703 the tsar Peter the Great, ignoring the cold, damp, and swampy nature of the site, decided to relocate the Russian capital from Moscow to there. Much of the soil was so soft that workers had to lay huge wooden planks as foundations to prevent buildings from sinking. During the first years of construction, hunger and cold killed 100,000 peasant-workers. They died of malaria or scurvy, worsened by the cold. Many of the weak and dying were picked off by marauding wolves. In this way, St. Petersburg aptly became known as "the city laid on bones."

In the first part of the 20th Century, the sufferings from World War I, the Communist Revolution, and the resulting Civil War drove out many of St. Petersburg's inhabitants. Between 1916 and 1920, more than two thirds of the city’s population fled to the countryside.

During World War II, Hitler ordered his troops to wipe St. Petersburg—renamed by the communists as Leningrad--off the face of the earth. The German army blockaded the city--cutting all water, food, and fuel supplies. Meanwhile, incessant air attacks and artillery pounded the 3 million residents. The attackers cared not whether the people either starved or froze to death. The residents endured this horrific siege for almost two and a half years. Finally the blockade was broken--but only after the bombardment destroyed 10,000 buildings, and disease, starvation, and bombs killed a million civilians.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/20 2005-08-15T15:33:24-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:24-06:00 das

Residing at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, emboldened by the divine warmth and protection of the Krishna Hill, I construct a private japa laboratory in my mind. Now is my chance to break new ground in chanting habits and insights—breakthroughs that can sustain me throughout the year. I want to experiment.

A disciple should know that his or her japa is an intimate service to the guru. Let our chanting invoke the presence of the guru-parampara. Our japa should be offered as music to their ears.

Usually I chant by considering all sixteen rounds and more as one unit. Seeking to forge past any mental or physical distractions, I normally complete all the rounds by quickly moving from one to the next—no gaps in between, no reconsideration. Then, upon finishing the entire set of rounds, I look back and evaluate my devotional offering.

This year at Govardhana, instead of chanting all my rounds as one unit before “coming up for air,” I’ll approach the japa session one round at a time. Rather than envisioning all the rounds as one set, I’ll try focusing upon each round as an individual offering to my spiritual master. In this way I hope to practice forming each round as solid building block in the overall construction of my offering. ]]>

Residing at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, emboldened by the divine warmth and protection of the Krishna Hill, I construct a private japa laboratory in my mind. Now is my chance to break new ground in chanting habits and insights—breakthroughs that can sustain me throughout the year. I want to experiment.

A disciple should know that his or her japa is an intimate service to the guru. Let our chanting invoke the presence of the guru-parampara. Our japa should be offered as music to their ears.

Usually I chant by considering all sixteen rounds and more as one unit. Seeking to forge past any mental or physical distractions, I normally complete all the rounds by quickly moving from one to the next—no gaps in between, no reconsideration. Then, upon finishing the entire set of rounds, I look back and evaluate my devotional offering.

This year at Govardhana, instead of chanting all my rounds as one unit before “coming up for air,” I’ll approach the japa session one round at a time. Rather than envisioning all the rounds as one set, I’ll try focusing upon each round as an individual offering to my spiritual master. In this way I hope to practice forming each round as solid building block in the overall construction of my offering.

In between each round, I’ll seek to gather strength from the Panca-tattva. Momentarily pausing to evaluate the quality of the previous round, I’ll simultaneously pray to muster more mental and heart concentration for the next round. During the round, my goal will be simply that the Holy Name pour from the heart and mind into the ear.  

Gopal Guru das and Nalakuvara das, accompanying me on their first visit to India, seem to quickly settle in to the sweet tranquility at the ashram. Although everything is new for them, they kindly refrain from burdening me with questions as well as urges to wander in the dhama. They seem content to develop their own routine of hearing and chanting. I am grateful for their allowing me the space and quietude for recharging my batteries.

Since our Gaudiya Vaisnava new year begins on Gaur Purnima, I have about a week left to meditate on the past year and then to formulate a vision for improvement in the coming one.

Before coming to Vrindavan, I had gone to Mayapur, for the annual GBC meetings. As the taxi from Calcutta airport bore me back home to Sri Mayapur Dhama, my heart sighed wearily: “No more intense traveling; I’ll drastically cut back this coming year. What am I trying to prove with such austerities, and who do I think I am?”

The material energy had lashed me with a reversal the month before. For my visit to Perth ISKCON, in Western Australia, I stayed with Ekendra das and Seva Kunja devi dasi, at their small house in the quiet, peaceful neighborhood surrounding the temple. One morning, while Ekendra and I chanted our japa nearby at the temple, Seva Kunja went home to cook breakfast. Leaving the front door open behind her, as was the habit, she went to her kitchen to prepare the prasada. The time was full daylight, 6:30am. The day was a national holiday, Australia Day. All the neighbors were home.

As she prepared the prasada in her kitchen, thieves boldly tiptoed into the house, entered my room, removed all my valuables, and drove off. Catching a glimpse of one of them as they exited, she then ran to the temple to alert her husband. While chanting japa, I glanced at her alarmed face as she spoke to Ekendra and I knew what had happened. The peace of my morning japa was shattered. <!--nextpage-->

We returned to the house and took stock of the damage. My laptop, state-of-the art MP3 player, three-band mobile phone, and digital camera were gone. The thieves had also taken my personal documents and all the cash that temples had given me to cover my ticket expenses during the past trip around the globe. We called the police; they came, took their routine report, and left us with the obvious conclusion: don’t expect anything. Everyone knows that only rarely do the police manage to apprehend burglars or recover stolen goods. Generally, the perpetrators and the stolen goods immediately disappear into the darkness of the underworld.

Three hours after the theft, Ekendra and I were working the phone, calling the consulate and other offices, to replace my identifications. Thinking to myself, I lamented, “I can live without all those lost items except my laptop and MP3 player, because they are the heart of my hearing and chanting system when I travel.” Between the two devices I transfer all of Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, conversations, bhajans, kirtans, and much of his books read aloud by Amala Bhakta and Dravida prabhus. In this way, while packed in airplanes for 13 hour intercontinental flights--surrounded by gross materialists and Kali-yuga sights, sounds and smells—I plug my noise reduction earphones into my MP3 player, select some nectar, and enter my own private Vaikuntha world.

The past trip I had been relishing a recording of Teachings of Lord Caitanya. I marveled at how Srila Prabhupada had fit such sublime, profound philosophy into such a compact and tasty summary. Now all was gone. I felt like someone marooned in the Artic wilderness. Alone and unprotected from the fierce cold and winds of maya, I didn’t have a chance. What would become of my consciousness in the airports and airplanes without my hearing and chanting life-support system?

At that very moment, the phone rang. It was the police. “We’ve your laptop and your other electronic devices. Come in and identify them.” Astounded, we drove to a nearby police station. Proudly the police told us of their unexpected success: “A lucky break combined with solid police skills.” What happened was that in another part of the city, the police began routinely following a car full of celebrating yet suspicious looking persons. Suddenly the car took off, with the police in pursuit. “Immediately we knew something or someone was in that car that shouldn’t have been there,” the young officer explained. After a chase for a mile, the car of suspects abruptly pulled to the roadside. All the occupants jumped out and fled.

The police, running after them, singled out the girls--tackling them and throwing them to the ground. The tactic paid off.  (Australian police do not pull out their guns unless violence is imminent.) The men, although faster runners, upon seeing their girlfriends caught, ended their flight. They returned to the police car, to surrender, and accompany their sweethearts to prison. In the back of the stolen car, the police found my stolen goods. Only one person had eluded their net, successfully fleeing on foot with my documents and the money.

Happy I was to have my hearing and chanting system so miraculously returned. Later I discovered that replacing the passport and other vital documents was a mentally exhausting ordeal that I never expected. My precious time for the next few weeks was totally consumed by countless phone calls and visits to inefficient bureaucracies and tardy courier services. Hence, by the time I landed in India in February, I was completely weary of anything to do with traveling. “That’s it; No more!” I groaned to myself. “This coming year I’ll just stay in one place most of the time, and read.”

As the taxi drove into the campus of ISKCON’s world headquarters at Mayapur, I half-expected what happened. Mystically, immediately, the accumulated travel fatigue of the past twelve months began to fade. Within 24 hours, it was gone--along with my idea to slow down to a more leisurely pace. Evidently, Lord Caitanya had other plans.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/19 2005-08-15T15:31:27-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:27-06:00 das

Mumbai, January 23, 2003

The room is pregnant with anticipation as 20-somethings, 500 of them, sit with chins cupped in their palms. They're waiting for Prerna - the festival of joy - to begin. Hoping to eschew all things base - wine, women and song, these young men are attending a 'A Vedic Perspective on Stress and Anxiety', a lecture by Swami Devamrita at ISKCON, Chowpatty. The de-stressing experience includes wild dancing to the Kirtan.

''I don't run after all those illusions any more - girls, intoxication, movies, MTV - things that can never give us the kind of happiness that Krishna Consciousness can,'' believes Mihir Thakar (22), a graduate from Hinduja College, dressed not in saffron but in a smart white and blue striped shirt. ''We are not expected to be sanyasis. When you get a taste for higher things, you can give up everything base,'' he explains, his fingers rolling a mala.

Just before addressing them, the New Zealand-based Swami Devamrita, a graduate in Economics from Yale University put things in perspective. ''Can we give up all desire? Certainly not! We are only asking them to channel that desire into higher things.'' ]]>

Mumbai, January 23, 2003

The room is pregnant with anticipation as 20-somethings, 500 of them, sit with chins cupped in their palms. They're waiting for Prerna - the festival of joy - to begin. Hoping to eschew all things base - wine, women and song, these young men are attending a 'A Vedic Perspective on Stress and Anxiety', a lecture by Swami Devamrita at ISKCON, Chowpatty. The de-stressing experience includes wild dancing to the Kirtan.

''I don't run after all those illusions any more - girls, intoxication, movies, MTV - things that can never give us the kind of happiness that Krishna Consciousness can,'' believes Mihir Thakar (22), a graduate from Hinduja College, dressed not in saffron but in a smart white and blue striped shirt. ''We are not expected to be sanyasis. When you get a taste for higher things, you can give up everything base,'' he explains, his fingers rolling a mala.

Just before addressing them, the New Zealand-based Swami Devamrita, a graduate in Economics from Yale University put things in perspective. ''Can we give up all desire? Certainly not! We are only asking them to channel that desire into higher things.''

He adds: ''Do you know that one-fourth of all high school students in the US consider suicide; that in the last 40 years, there has been a 1,000 per cent increase in childhood depression? Or that in England more children are conceived outside wedlock? Do we want India to go that way?''

Only on Tuesday night, he remembers lecturing at IIT-Powai campus. ''I'm targeting different young groups but the content remains ''counter stress by giving up the materialism," he reveals. When after the lecture, the students told him that at least 80 per cent of students are into drinking and almost all are into watching pornography on the Net, he told them, ''This makes you incapable of making a meaningful contribution to society. Bhakti yoga teaches lifestyle management to achieve goals better without stressful experiences.''

Back to ISKCON. Just three months into Krishna Consciousness, and Abhijit Aklijkar (25), a doctor, speaks like a pro, ''If a doctor's consciousness changes to please Krishna, the evils of medical practice will be reduced.'' Dinabandu Das, a 28-year-old MD in Psychiatry, can hardly wait to hear the swami speak. ''I've left all my 'material' friends, but my activities remain the same - we eat out here, chat with friends, go out on picnics (read yatras).''

As the swami speaks, of giving up identifying with the body, they listen in rapt attention and the place resounds to applause.

Interspersing his words with verses in clipped anglicised Sanskrit, the Swami declares, ''Those who call this 'escapism' can go back into the house which is on fire (with stress and anxiety). We don't want to go in and get burnt.'' Half an hour of dancing to 'Hare Rama, Hare Krishna' totally de-stressed, they walk smiling towards the prasad counters.
]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/18 2005-08-15T15:29:37-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:37-06:00 das

1st December 2002

Well after getting to bed late (11.30pm) - packing bags, we again got up at 3.15am to wait for our taxi that was to take us to the airport for our 5am flight to Sydney.

Anantara Prabhu kindly gave us a lift to the airport in his Black & White taxi. We made it just in time but then spaced out and went to the wrong gate. By the time we got on the plane they were just closing up the doors. An uneventful flight from Brisbane to Sydney took us 1 hr and 10 minutes. The weather down here is much colder than in Brisbane so those jumpers meant for the European winter had to come out a little early.

 

Monday 2nd December 2002

Well we are packing again and off to the airport shortly for the flight to Auckland. Looking forward to seeing our old friend Radhikatma Prabhu who is one of the CO-directors of the Auckland project.
The day was reasonably non-eventful, besides the maha breakfast of curd slabs and rice and salad by Radhik which took us just over 6 hours to digest.

 

Tuesday 3rd December 2002

After 11 hours on the Qantas flight and 2 1/2 hours into the Immigration queue we finally stepped into what is proclaimed as "the greatest country in the world". Judging by the queues most Americans are overseas managing other countries rather than their own... ]]>

1st December 2002

Well after getting to bed late (11.30pm) - packing bags, we again got up at 3.15am to wait for our taxi that was to take us to the airport for our 5am flight to Sydney.

Anantara Prabhu kindly gave us a lift to the airport in his Black & White taxi. We made it just in time but then spaced out and went to the wrong gate. By the time we got on the plane they were just closing up the doors. An uneventful flight from Brisbane to Sydney took us 1 hr and 10 minutes. The weather down here is much colder than in Brisbane so those jumpers meant for the European winter had to come out a little early.

 

Monday 2nd December 2002

Well we are packing again and off to the airport shortly for the flight to Auckland. Looking forward to seeing our old friend Radhikatma Prabhu who is one of the CO-directors of the Auckland project.
The day was reasonably non-eventful, besides the maha breakfast of curd slabs and rice and salad by Radhik which took us just over 6 hours to digest.

 

Tuesday 3rd December 2002

After 11 hours on the Qantas flight and 2 1/2 hours into the Immigration queue we finally stepped into what is proclaimed as "the greatest country in the world". Judging by the queues most Americans are overseas managing other countries rather than their own...

On arriving at the temple we met Sri Prahlad, the local Aussie representative keeping an eye on the locals.

OK so here you can what we came all the way to America to see. Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadisha, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Sri Sri Jaganath-Baladeva and Subhadra and Srila Prabhupada. Here are some inside shots of the temple room 1 2 3 After a long flight there are tends to be a tendency to be a bit spaced out as we can Taraka here in action

We have two nice hosts who are kindly letting us squat in their living room. Both are disciples of Devamrita Swami. Mukta Carita Prabhu and his good wife Dana Carita Mataji

 

Wednesday 4th December 2002

Spend the day getting acclimatized to Los Angeles temple which is expertly managed by His Grace Svavas Prabhu. Here are some of the local resident devotees fired up for book distribution as well as local street patrol. Just around the corner is the icon of American lifestyle and "civilization".
With the help of Harideva Prabhu we checked out the local scene and even managed to make a short excursion out into shopping land and get some paper for a cover for one of Taraka's new book projects. The morning Bhagavatam lecture was given by HH Devamrta Swami. He spoke in a very animated way both entertaining and instructing the audience in the science of Krishna consciousness. Also present was HH Prahladananda Swami who is soon to grace the shores of Australia.

 
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Thursday 5th December 2002

A short trip to Laguna Beach Temple of Sri Sri Panca Tattva with an intended visit to San Diego turned into an all day adventure with Tukarama Prabhu and family and the devotees at their temple right off the main street in Laguna Beach. Great pizzas followed by organic salad and, yes!, organic ice cream. Here is a shot of what it was like returning home on the 405 freeway and the local drivers.

Friday 6th December 2002

Today we had two highlights starting with an early morning trip to the Getty Museum. Some shots of the buildings and gardens. For anyone who has an interest in art, this was definitely a trip worth making as we saw some of the classical paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from antiquity usually only viewed in art books. By the way here is a photo of the new vyasasana for the guest speakers in Brisbane ... or was that a bed for the listeners?

The way to the museum was via cable car and had some views of Los Angeles.

Then we drove for two hours at breakneck speed through to the edge of the desert to spent the afternoon with Gaura Shakti Prabhu and family. We were told to expect cactus subji but were treated to an Italian feast! After dinner we got to see his wedding video and his cute young baby Amara Keli even agreed to pose with me.

 

Saturday 7th December 2002

This morning we had the fortune to meet many senior devotees including Bhakti-tirtha Maharaja., Romapada Swami, Rambhadra Prabhu, Anuttama Prabhu, Badrinarayan Prabhu, and Malati Mataji.

A great class by Romapada Maharaja on qualifying for residency in Vaikuntha and a general discussion on how Srila Prabhupada described that our temples are the spiritual world, not material, and how individuals can make their homes Vaikuntha by placing Krishna in the centre.

Today there was also a program in honour of the appearance day of HH Radhanath Maharaja and a big feast was to be served at the temple. Due to having catch the next flight at 2pm we missed it only to find that when we got to the airport, we were unable to board due to the efficiency of American Airlines staff in processing us at check in. 5 Hours later we rescheduled and in between finally got some time to update this web page. Here are some more photos of the deities 1 2 3 in LA as well as of Dana Charita Mataji, Hanuman Prabhu and Harideva Prabhu.<!--nextpage-->


Sunday 8th December 2002

Las Vegas - Well we made it to the big smoke as they say in Australia. Bright lights, stretch limousines and yes, DEVOTEES!

Nestled here in the heart of the kingdom of Maya, Surapala and Mineshi Prabhus have established nice centre for the cultivation of Krishna consciousness for those weary of embracing all that Nevada has to offer. Their suburban house serves as a regular centre every Sunday and approx. 20 guests attend. Devamrita Maharaja gave a great talk on life style and applying Krishna consciousness. Taraka dasi is seen her caring for one of the younger guests.

 

Monday 9th December 2002

An early start this morning took us out to the suburbs for a bus ride to Boulder City Airport for a 70 minutes plane ride to see the Grand Canyon. You can see the photos of the day here. We returned around 1.30pm and then had lunch at the temple. The rest of the day we spent driving around Las Vegas checking out Maya's kingdom, getting luggage repaired. It is very interesting to observe how despite so much material facility in America, the people in general are more disturbed than ever before. Especially in Las Vegas there are many fabulous buildings, big highways, and so much entertainment yet people all look miserable. Here are a couple 1 2 of short movies of driving around Las Vegas. We are so grateful to Srila Prabhupada for coming to the West to spread Krishna consciousness. Otherwise who knows where we would now be.

 

Tuesday 10th December 200

Another early morning start to the airport for a 7.40am departure to Dallas. Since September 9, 2001, security is very tight at the US airports and it takes at least 45 minutes to get through the security clearances. Arriving late is not a good idea. Our shoes have some steel parts in the soles for stiffness, so rather than setting off the metal detectors we along with at least 50% of the passengers take our shoes off before going through the security clearance. Also each airport seems to have their metal detector sensors set to different degrees of sensitivity so you just never know when you will be stopped next.

Arriving at the airport we are met by Nityananda Prabhu, who originally hails from Lautoka in Fiji. He is the Temple President and greets us warmly despite the 10 degrees chill. Nityananda Prabhu stayed in Brisbane during 1992 - 93 and still remembers Brisbane well.

We are nicely accommodated at the "Ponderossa" of Radha Vinod Prabhu and his wife Indranilamani mataji who is one of America's top book distributors. They have built a nice house opposite the temple of Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji who are the presiding deities, and in the back of their property they have 5 units that serve as accommodation for visiting devotees.

Lunch is at the temple restaurant which is managed by my dear friend, Durasaya Prabhu. He is a stalwart Krishna conscious devotee who also spent many years in the Hong Kong Temple in the 1980's.

Next door to us is a devotee from South America, who is also a GBC deputy and and senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada. He is currently visiting Dallas whilst on a preaching tour around America.

 
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Wednesday 11th December 2002

This morning we were invited for breakfast to the house Radhavinod and Indranilamani Prabhus, our hosts. They have two daughters both of whom take a keen interest in being devotees and attend the local devotee gurukula. Children are educated via a correspondence course that is used by many traveling families within and outside of the US.

We spent the rest of the day visiting devotees and sharing remembrances of HH Tamal Krishna Maharaja, the emotional experience of which is difficult to put down in words. In the evening Radhavinod Prabhu asked me to put my Guru Maharaja to rest in the temporary tent that has been erected and will later serve as his puspa (flower) samadhi.

 

Thursday 12th December 2002

Today we were invited for lunch at the house of Raskiendra and Padaduli Prabhus. Mataji has over the years perfected her cooking skills under the the direction of Tamal Krishna Maharaja, and the meal was just like nectar. Their house is special as this was the place in which Mother Kirtida spent her final months and one can immediately feel that a great devotee has had their residence here. Their altar is decorated with the deity of Haridasa Thakur (carved from the siddha bakula tree in Puri), the Govardhan Sila that Kirtida kept on her head when she left her body, and a Dwaraka and Nrsingha Sila all under the care of HH Rtadvaja Swami. A very potent line up indeed.

After lunch we toured the quarters of my spiritual master, Srila Tamal Krishna Gosvami, and viewed his place of study and the other parts of his living quarters. On his shelf we even discovered a card that Taraka had given him years ago with some remnants of Ramanujacarya's cloth. For us it was a very moving visit.

At 2pm we had to go to the airport to catch the 5pm flight to Lima, Peru which was to be our next destination. At the airport we again meet up with Devamrta Maharaja, who had been visiting HH Giriraj Maharaja, for several days whilst we were in Dallas.

The 7 hour flight was uneventful, although due to being a full flight there was no extra space for luggage or even a place to stretch.<!--nextpage-->

 

Friday 13th December 2002

We arrived at Lima at 1 AM today to a greeting by many nice devotees from Peru who had come to the airport to meet Maharaja. Baggage collection and Immigration formalities were very quick and we then sped through the night for about one hour to the outer suburbs of Lima (population around 15 million!). On our arrival this morning we have been accommodated at the house of Kanu Pandit Prabhu, one of the stalwart devotees of the Peruvian yatra since 1980.

Originally from Antilles on the Riviera in France, he was on a boat journey sailing around the world. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro on the last leg of his journey, and liked the place so much he gave up being part of the crew and toured around South America as a backpacker until meeting the devotees and joining the temple full-time. He now has a family, one boy and one girl in their teens, and is the spiritual pillar of the community. He has built a house and guest quarters next door to the temple gurukula (which is called "Escuela BhAKTIVEDANTA"), where he now hosts visiting sannyasis and guests.

We had a traditional Peruvian lunch today and spent the rest of the day recovering from the all night flight. In the afternoon we visited the beautiful temple the devotees opened here in 1990. Nowadays the economy of Peru has become very depressed so that it has become very difficult for devotees to eak out a living. Many have moved on to the greener pastures of Alachua leaving a few dedicated souls behind to maintain what was built in the glory days of the Peruvian yatra.

 

Saturday 14th December 2002

Mangal aratik was reasonably well attended and we beheld the forms of Sri-Sri Gaura Nitai, Radha Madana Bihari, and Sita Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman. Devamrta Swami gave a powerful class discussing 'real human society'. The lecture was from SB 1/12/14 about the birth of Pariksit Maharaja. Devamrta Swami said it is not the number of people on the planet, but the quality and that if humans knew the laws of nature they could easily obtain the necessities of life. When sacrifice is performed mother nature cooperates with the human beings. Then the qualification of parents/teachers was discussed focussing on the responsibility one chooses to undertake being in family life in Krishna Consciousness, related to Pariksit Maharaja's qualified parents and dynasty. Huge amounts of charity was distributed at the birth of this saintly king, and Devamrta Swami continued to enlighten the audience with analysis of the ability of persons who were conversant with Vedic knowledge to please the Lord and the laws of nature, thus living a sinless and goal centered life.

Being a holiday today we were treated today to the sounds of crowds cheering at the local soccer stadium for the military which in Peru is the real temple of worship.<!--nextpage-->
Sunday 15th December 2002

Ekadasi here in Peru today.

Taraka assisted Astha Sakhi dd in dressing Sri Sri Gaura Nitai this am. The devotees here are very artistic, decorating the Deities very nicely.

Devamrta Maharaja's class continued on with the history of Maharaja Pariksit's advent, reinforcing the idea that devotees need to not only 'believe in God' but development of spiritual intelligence is required. Even if it is only a small number of devotees who become wise, it is essential that some take up this challenge to become spiritual leaders of our society.

Monday 16th December 2002

A day of eating and sleeping and reading and e-mail catch up. In the evening we ventured out to the local markets and made a wise investment in a bottle of insect repellent, something we should have done days before.

 

Tuesday 17th December 2002

An early morning ride to the airport in Lima via the backstreets (the Prabhu was trying to save 10 cents by not paying the highway toll!) and the inevitable tussle with the check in counter staff, saw us make the hour long flight to Cuzco via TANS airlines. The plane had definitely seen better days as it took nearly one hour after the scheduled departure of the flight till we actually took off the ground. Some "maintenance" work was required to make sure the plane would make it!
In the seat next to me there were a couple of young guys from Harare in Zimbabwe who were going to do a 5 day trek along the Inca Trail culminating in arriving at Machu Picchu. After some light conversation one of them informed me he owned a company that he owned a clothing company called "Diesel" that exports all over the world. Only later did I realize how big a brand name it is. In Australian terms his company must be at least the size of someone like Billabong. I got his name but spaced out getting further details.
Arrive in Cuzco - We were met at the airport by the local Temple President HG Raghuvaram Prabhu. This Prabhu was formally a city council administrator and we soon realized that he is indeed a very organized person.
The devotees have a street level Govindas Restaurant that so far has served us the most satisfying and tasty prasadam to date. Located right on the Main Square of Cuzco, which is the number one tourist destination South America, it caters for the endless stream of backpackers seeking the truth about what really happened according to the book "Chariots of the Gods".
After lunch one of the local devotees, Yogesvari Mataji, who also doubles a catholic teacher and nun, decided to immediately show us all the holy places around town. Little did she realize that we lowlanders were not use to heavy exercises at an altitude of 3300m meters (10000 ft). No wonder Devamrita Swami had not decided to join us on this part of the tour, having himself experienced the light headiness and total exhaustion that takes place in such high altitudes.
His Holiness Prabhavisnu Swami had just visited here several weeks before us and the devotees were still talking of his visit, and like him we spent the rest of the first day in Cuzco flat on our backs trying to understand the size of the truck that had just run over us.

 
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Wednesday 18th December 2002

The early morning departure saw a tourist bus collect us at 6.15Am from the temple. From there we were shuttled onto the train that would take us higher into the mountains to the world famous archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Winding through countless canyons and gorges we were treated to some spectacular views of the Andes mountains. By the side of the railway tracks a winding river, sometimes filled with rapids and at other times calm and smooth accompanied us for the last hour of the 4 and half hour journey.
Arriving at the little hillside train station for the final 30 minute bus ride to the site allowed us uninterrupted views that were simply breathtaking. If you can just hang in there till we get to Dallas then you will also see the photos that we took.
Once arriving at Machu Picchu our tour guide proceeded to spout for nonsensical claims of how the natives had constructed intricately carved buildings with stones weighing more than 100 tons that you cannot even slide a credit card in between. All supposedly build within a 120 year span of time, it is hard to not marvel at the sheer engineering feat that accomplished such an amazing township so high up in the mountains. From Machu Picchu one has a sheer view down to the river 3000ft below and across all the hills and valleys. The views were simply breathtaking.
The tour goes for 5 hrs but after 1pm the weather changed and we became inundated with rain. Experiencing the township in the downpour took on another perspective as we headed back to our buses for shelter, preferring the comfort of modern amenities to those of antiquity.
In the township which is very much reminiscent of the scene in Katmandu, the devotees have a restaurant called Govindas (what else!) and there we were treated to a wonderful hot bowl of soup before rushing back to the train station for the evening train back to Cuzco.
Arriving back in Cuzco after 9pm we were so happy to see the face of Raghuvaram Prabhu, who took us straight to the restaurant for hot prasadam and then back to the temple for a deep nights sleep.

 

Thursday 19th December 2002

Arrived back in Lima after the trip to Machu Picchu. After a long drive we arrived at the devotee restaurant, 'Govinda', situated in the prestigious suburb of Miraflores. Peru does have some extraordinary wealth and this is were it is on show.
We were served a wonderful meal, especially the desert, which was a pie made from caramel and fruit. Should try and get this recipe I suppose.
This city is one of the ugliest that we have seen. The hills are just grey and along the beach the council dumps the garbage of the city. It is indeed polluted. Some way South there are a few waves for surfing, and a generally uninviting pebbly beach. It seems Australians are quite spoiled due to having such a beautiful country.
Later we return to Chosica to retire for the evening.

 

Friday 20th December 2002
Maharaja stayed in Miraflores last night, so Kanu Pandit Prabhu insisted today that Taraka give Srimad Bhagavatam class...Maharaja had promised she would do so during the visit.
The intention for the day was to go early to Lima downtown, but it ended up being late, due to the need to replace the battery in Kanu Pandit's car. We came up with an expression to cover all delays. The Spanish word for tomorrow is 'manyana', so everytime things are late, we just say...'manyana'...it happens a bit.
So we arrived in Miraflores late today and the traffic was like Manilla or maybe Bangkok. What normally took ten minutes took us over 35 minutes. Needless to say there were a few 'manyanas' uttered.
Initiation at Wilson centre in Lima.
The setting up of the pit for the yajna was delayed, of course, although it was very beautiful and nicely done. (Pictures coming..) Maharaja initiated three devotees this evening. Two were long time devotees and one was a newcomer to Krishna consciousness. There was a fantastic evening kirtana with great enthusiasm from the participants and many guests attended this evening's proceedings. Maharaja gave a lecture about the meaning of guru disciple relationship and presided over the yajna with the help of Tirtharaj and an exgurukuli from Mayapur. After hearing the vows of the devotees Devamrta Swami gave them their names. The newly published, "Escape Perfecto", the Spanish version of Maharaja's book, was available for the first time this evening. Some visitors and devotees were eager to obtain a copy and get Maharaja's signature.

 
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Santiago, Chile

 

Saturday 21st December 2002
Another morning in a new place. Last night we stayed at a devotees' place, 'Cassa Rosa' or red house. It is a very large house which has been made into a guest house where students from all over the world stay when they do some traveling or study in Lima. The mataji, Graciela, was a wonderful host and provided Maharaja with a room and ourselves with a room too. Inside are paintings of Krishna and Lord Caitanya and the guests aren't permitted to cook meat there. Devotees also rent rooms to live there as it is very close to the downtown Meraflores centre.
Maharaja had a management meeting this morning, so I made an exploration to a Laundromat and supermarket to test my life skills. I managed to buy some stamps, withdraw money and pay for some water without too much trouble and no Spanish. Luckily there was a lady in the queue who spoke perfect English (and liked my sari too). Tirtharaja stayed at the Red House to attend to his business.
Next we went on an Alpacca expedition to the shops to buy a few warm things for Europe...and a couple of presents. Maharaja is very personal and likes to make loving exchanges with close friends by giving presents when he travels, so the Prabhus tried on different Alpacca jumpers for size. The variety and colours of the merchandise is amazing and the Peruvian people are very talented with handcrafts.
Lunch...then the evening program at Meraflores centre...(just wait for the photos). Maharaja gave an elementary class for the newcomers and for reinforcement for the other devotees. The kirtana was a 'stay high forever' kirtana. Everyone was dancing and chanting ecstatically, I thought we were in Mayapur during a festival, and time seemed to stop still...Prasada was served and another late night.

 

 

Sunday 22 December 2002
Late night - early morning...leaving Lima to Santiago. Five hour flight, but a two hour time difference...something to adjust to.
The reception for Maharaja was very sweet. Devotees are enthusiasm in this inner city temple. Many new devotees and a great mood of book distribution prevails here. The bhaktas are all in the marathon fever which goes until December 31st.
Sri Sri Gaura Nitai are the presiding Deities along with Prahlada Nrisimha and Giriraj Govardhan and a large Nrsimha Sila. Powerful Lords protect the sankirtana devotees.

Santiago looks like Europe, at least in the city area. It is hard to think this country is just next door to Lima, the contrast is so great. There are trees, grass and people seem to like to grow flowers around their neighbourhood. The weather is exceptionally delightful. Early morning and evening cool, but sunny, very warm days. No humidity and clear skies...beautiful.

The Sunday Feast was well attended by both devotees and guests. The kirtanas are well appreciated here in South America. Latinos love to dance and sing. We stayed in the brahmacari and brahmacarini ashrams respectively... austere to say the least but the devotees are so warm and enthusiastic it doesn't seem to matter so much.

 
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Monday 23 December 2002
Disappearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura.
Tirtharaja gave class this morning on the glories of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. The devotees went out early for book distribution and came back for lunch around 2:30pm. Lunch is served under a manqué like a simple restaurant to University students who proliferate the area. There are many institutes and Universities where the temple is situated. Maharaja told Taraka to give the evening class..

 

Tuesday 24 December 2002
The temple is a breeding grounds for new devotees. The temple president, Adi Keshava and his wife, Indranila dd, both go out on sankirtana as do most of the devotees in the ashrams. Today Taraka decided to go out on book distribution as a small contribution for Prabhupada's marathon. Ill equipped with the local language, Spanish, the devotees made a small mantra card for her to try and communicate with the people on the street. To her surprise in a couple of hours she distributed three hard bound Bhagavad Gitas, a set of Krishna Books, a Higher Taste in English and a couple of small books. It seems the people of Chile are very receptive to Srila Prabhupada's books. One Chilean girl was home from Australia visiting her family and she came up to the devotees and asked for some books. Amazed, Syamakunda (the 16 y/o son of Prabhpada disciples) said, "she has to be a devotee...she came up to me and asked for a book." It was all round an ecstatic day. In the evening Maharaja gave class to a very attentive audience. In the evenings many people came to hear the special guest speaker.

 

Wednesday 25 December 2002
Christmas Day. Church bells ringing, sounded a bit like an instrumental Hare Krishna tune...wild imagination. Maharaja gave class about the qualities of Pariksit Maharaja and how due to his devotion not only did spiritual things go well, but mother nature co-operated with the residents of the earth. He spoke of the process of purification being a lifelong commitment, a spiritual career... which was a good reflection for devotees. At the evening program many guests and devotees came and Maharaja lead an amazing kirtan. Devotees were exhausted after their ecstatic dancing. The class was also very powerful as Maharaja concentrated on the process of chanting, asking the audience members if they had considered starting to chant Hare Krishna. He shared with us his first attempts to chant, and had us all laughing. The strategy Maharaja used was to encourage the newcomers to take seriously this important nay, essential aspect of spiritual life. He asked for members of the audience to put their hands up if they were at this point of chanting on beads. One lady volunteered and the whole class was directed mainly towards her, as she was asked what were the motivations for beginning to chant, and what were the obstacles. Maharaja answered these very specifically and I am sure she may have put her hand up, but there were others in the audience too shy to do so... therefore the class was beneficial for many...After the lengthy class/discussion/q&amp;a Pizza prasadam was served to all. Another late night...

 

Thursday 26 December 2002
Santiago to Guayaquil.
Another five hour flight. Loose two hours and arrive in a humid 32 degree summer day. Immediately upon arriving, Guru Mangala Prabhu, the temple president arranged dhobs to be bought... Mayapur Memories. It is mango season here too, and right across the road from the temple are street vendors with the most succulent mangoes on display. A country of agricultural bounty says Devamrta Swami. In all his travels he said he has never tasted such good produce. Even though half of the population is below the poverty level, people are happy because they can eat well without much money. A true opulence.
Local currency is the US dollar, which makes things easy.
The temple is situated in downtown Guayaquil across from a Square, which people seem to congregate in. There is plenty of traffic outside (and noise) and a ground floor restaurant makes good use of passersby as their clientele. A well-stocked gift shop is on the ground floor as well. The building occupied by the devotees has at least four floors (haven't completely checked it out yet) and we are fortunate to stay in a devotee couple's apartment just one flight above the temple room level.
That is all for now, but we will keep updated for the next few days.

 

Friday 27 December 2002

A day of eating and sleeping and acclimatizing to the Ecuadorian weather. As the name says it is in that zone of the world where there are two weather patterns besides always hot. Hot and raining (and humid)<!--nextpage-->



Saturday 28 December 2002

Today after morning program the devotees decided to take Maharaja to the beach for a swim. Sitting like sardines in the back up the pick utility we did not realize the ride was going to be more like a rodeo ride which was to last for over 90 minutes.
Arriving at the beach was the next experience. Little do we readies in Australia that what we take for granted as a beach is actually paradise everywhere else in the world.
The beach sand was white but littered with many items as a result of a lack of cleaners. There is no such thing as lifeguards or swimming between the flags. Mind you there are no waves but there is a constant onshore wind that allows the hapless beachgoer to feel like he is being subjected to sand blasting.
That having been said the swim was fantastic with water temperature being very close to body temperature and an hour spent in the water was later rewarded with the bodily effulgence of a bright red lobster. Luckily I had packed a large container of Pawpaw ointment which saved us from too much torment.
The ride back saw us oscillate between sleep, pain and bumped heads on Ecuadors super highways that are as flat as a Ayers Rock.
The night was spent listening to Salzer Music piped directly through the windows from the local vendors until the early hours of the morning interspersed only with the shrill tones of the alarm clock vendor demonstrating his wares.

Sunday 29 December 2002

Woke up this morning feeling more like a lobster than even last night. Finished typing the remainder of the missing reports from Machu Picchu and Cuzco. This evening is the Sunday Feast. We are awaiting to see what happens then.

Monday 30 December 2002

Today we leave to fly back to Santiago but before going, Maharaja asks me to give Srimad Bhagavatam. Then he tells me that he will also be doing an initiation yajna for which I am to be the priest.
The yajna is around 10 am and there is one Mataji to be initiated. She has been chanting for over 4 years whilst studying at University despite a medical condition which severely hampers her but has not dampened her spirits.
After lunch we head straight for the airport and arrive after a 5 hour flight and a two hour time change arrive at Santiago airport around 10.45pm. Many devotees have come to the airport to meet Devamrta Maharaja Take rest past midnight .....

2002
Tuesday 31 December 2002

Today is a late start and we wake up wondering if someone got the number of the bus that ran over us, we feel so wiped out.
Today is also the last day of the Xmas Book Marathon and many devotees are out early to see if they can get those scores up just that little bit more.
In the evening the local temple President, His Grace Adi Keshava Prabhu has a presentation ceremony in which he gives gifts and prizes to each and every devotee who has gone out, as well as to all the devotees who helped make the Marathon a success. A total of 42 devotees !!!, went out on book distribution. The top distributor is a brahmacari who receives an airticket to the Mayapaur festival as his reward. In South America that is very big thing, given the state of the local economy and the fact that a ticket is around US$2000.
In the evening the devotees go out on harinam and join in the local mood of New Year celebrations. The Fiesta rages outside and inside the temple grounds with lights out way past midnight.

Wednesday 1 January 2003

A New Years' resolution to get up early is delayed due to a late start because of getting to bed late ..... Anyway what to do. After the morning program the brahmacaries decide to all head off to the pool and some R and R.
It turns out that have to wait to borrow a car to get there as the temple has no vehicle. Finally by 1PM they are ready to roll. Turns out the car seats only 3 people, but this is not to dampen their spirits as 10 of them squeeze in anyway and head off for a well deserved day of fun in the sun.
In the afternoon 4 Hindu gentlemen show up for darshan and after some getting to know each other, we get the local rundown. Seems most Indian people in Santiago are of Sindhi heritage and are all doing some form of trading in Chile.
Taraka reads each one of their hands and soon convinces them that they are excellent candidates for taking up chanting Hare Krsna. In appreciation they offer to take us for a city tour in their car and after 8 days in Santiago we finally get to seem what actually goes on around town. Interestingly enough the city is very European and there are several very grand buildings, as well as the usual blend of modern office buildings.
Most people are of European stock, and the atmosphere is very similar to any larger European city. There is of course a stark contrast in the social fabric, as the division between have and have nots is very large. As in most of South America there is practically no middle class, as people either struggle to simply survive, or they are incredibly wealthy and don't mind showing it.
We return to the temple for another exciting program of Krsna consciousness courtesy of Devamrta Maharaja who reminds the large audience of the pinpricks of material existence and how Krsna consciousness holds the solution if they care to investigate it.
An early night is most welcome.

 
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Thursday 2 January 2003

After the morning program Devamrta Swami announces that at lunchtime he will be awarding initiation to two of the local devotees. Taraka busies herself helping the devotees with the construction of the yajna-sthal, the fire pit, while I head back to my room to see if I can find all the necessary mantras as I will be the priest for the ceremony.
At 1PM Maharaja comes and gives a short talk on the significance of initiation and then introduces the devotees who are to be initiated. Bhaktin Luna and her husband have both got university degrees in film making and today she receives initiation and receives the name Jai Sri Radhe dd. Bhakta Christobal becomes Premi Krsna Das and both are satisfied with their new careers in Krsna consciousness. A feast is served for the devotees, while we head of for prasadam to a small restaurant in the city one grhasta couple maintains as their livelihood.
The prasadam is typical South American with many of the dishes having been prepared by the wife of the Temple President from Ecuador who is rated the finest cook in the devotee community in South America.
After the program Adi Keshava Prabhu the local Temple President and I go to visit our new Indian friends at their offices. They receive maha-prasadam and are very happy to again see us. They offer us some nice gifts which we will donate to the temple priest in the the worship of the deities.
Later in the evening Maharaja leads and ecstatic kirtan for over an hour. Then in the Bhagavad-gita class he explains to the devotees the importance of developing good consciousness. He also explains how it is so important the cook in the temple be the most Krsna conscious person. The cook's consciousness enters the food and therefore whoever eats that food also becomes influenced by that consciousness.

 

Friday 3 January 2003

An early start this morning sees us leaving the temple at 6.30 AM to catch our 3 1/2 hr flight to Sao Paulo in Brazil. Flying out over the city of Santiago we cross the Andes mountains for nearly 20 minutes and enjoy some breathtaking views of the snow peaked mountains.
Sao Paulo - the worlds most populated city with between 16 to 20 million people depending on where you draw the city boundaries. As far as the eye stretches we see a mixture of houses, ghettos and fabulous houses. Brazil is a classic South American country in which their is no middle class. The rich and the poor; and never the twain shall meet.
At the airport we are met by several nice devotees who ferry us in two small cars to the temple situated approx. 1 hour from the airport. Their we are shown to our quarters and served a lunch of rice, beans, and salad. High energy food which results in us being in samadhi for several hours. On awakening we see the skies have changed and it is pouring rain. We are in the monsoon season in Brazil and the humidity and heat again force us to acclimatize to our new surroundings.
Maharaja is asked to give an evening Bhagavad Gita class. Tomorrow we are going to be heading west for 2 hrs to go to the beach, harinam and for a program at another town. Stay tuned!

 
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Saturday 4 January 2003

This morning Maharaja gave class to our Portuguese speaking audience. The tones and the language are to me quite different to that of Spanish, and the translator has an animated way of also adding import to what is being said.
After a light breakfast we head into the city for a lunch at a devotee owned restaurant called, Govindas (what else!)
The restaurant is situated in the heart of the financial district and is extremely popular so getting there early is imperative if we want to get a seat. The prasadam is fantastic and we are fully satisfied.
This afternoon we have scheduled a visit to the beaches of Brazil. Santos the beach town is a 2 hour ride on the highway and and I can honestly say I have never seen so many people on the beaches as here. The beaches literally go for miles and miles and there must be in the hundreds of thousands of people with their families enjoying the fantastic weather.
Sao Paulo is situated at a height of about 3000ft so the weather is totally different on the coast. Here the rich have their holiday homes 6 months of the year after which it becomes like a ghost town. The devotees maintain a temple and restaurant here and in the evening we attend a nama-hatta program. Devamrta Swami leads a great kirtana and then delivers his unique brand of introspective lecture culminating in an explanation of Krsna conscious lifestyle management.
Many people have been before but they are all challenged to look further than their comfort zone, and to seriously consider if they could not be doing more for their Krishna consciousness development.
The ride home is uneventful except for a slight detour (1 hour) as the driver gets a little lost on the myriad of highway exits out of town. We finally reach the temple in Sao Paulo around 11.30pm and manage to sleep like babies.

 

Sunday 5 January 2003

The morning sees us off to a late start. After breakfast we are met by Purusatraya Swami who is visiting from his farming project. You can see their web site at http://www.goura.com.br
There Maharaja has developed an Eco Project that is being funded in part by the Italian government as well as a dried banana business. We all tried the goods and agreed they were heavenly.
In the afternoon Maharaja gives the Sunday Feast lecture to a boisterous Brazilian crowd of devotees, fringies and sense enjoyers only found in Brazil.

 
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Monday 6 January 2003

Today we head off in the morning for Nova Gokula, the equivalent of Australia's New Govardhana farm. Situated nearly half way between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo it is a peaceful oasis comprised of around 100 devotees who live in their own houses situated all over the 250 acre property. Nestled inside a huge valley with steep slopes on 3 sides it is very beautiful and serene. A creek with certified mineral water flows through the property and on our arrival we are housed in a wonderful guest house not unlike a Spanish country home, complete with rustic furniture and decorations.
The local temple is a custom construction housing the deities of Gaura Nitai, Radha Gokulanda and Sita Rama and Laksman with Hanuman as their assistant. There is also puspa samadhi building for Srila Prabhupada.
Several days ago during a violent storm a large tree fell on the roof of the building devotees are containing the damage with temporary tarpaulins. Later in the day we head into the local town of Pindamohanga for some Internet access.
We sleep well that night...

 

Tuesday 7 January 2003

The mornings Srimad Bhagavatam class is given by Devamrita Swami. Unfortunately due to not being able to navigate our way to the temple till morning light we miss out on the morning program and get to the temple in time to greet the deities. Devotees and outsiders are busy repairing the broken roof, and later they fell another nearby tree to prevent any further possible damage.
For lunch we are invited to the house of Paramgati Swami where we are treated to some fine South American dishes.
In the afternoon we head to the airport for our 10 1/2 hour night flight to Dallas. As we traveled to the airport in several vehicles, we arrived first. While waiting we meet up with Malati Mataji who is in transit to Paraguay where she is to stay for a few days of preaching at the invitation of the local devotees. After exchanging prasadam with each other we head for the plane, which is full in every class. Only later to we learn that American Airlines was offering passengers US$800 to take the next flight!

 

Wednesday 8 January 2003

Arriving into Dallas this morning we spend approx. 1 hour waiting for devotees to collect us from the airport. It seems some miscommunication has led the devotees to forgot our arrival.
Arriving at Dallas temple we are nicely accommodated in the apartments of Radhavinod Prabhu. He graciously has made a nice breakfast which is sweetened with the surprise arrival of HH Gunagrahi Maharaja who has just arrived from Buenos Aires.
Lunch at Kalachandji's restaurant is sufficient to keep us going for a few more hours and soon we are off to the airport again for another full flight this time to London.

 
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Thursday 9 January 2003

We arrive at Gatwick airport in the morning to be greeted by the winter. Fortunately the warmth of the devotees once we clear customs is sufficient to allow us to thaw out and enjoy their association. Devamrta Swami is met by the president of our London Soho Street Temple, Mahadyuti Prabhu who has journeyed out to the airport this morning to have an impromptu meeting regarding some important managerial issues.
Then Bhakta Mark takes us to Bhaktivedanta Manor where we are greeted by Gauri Prabhu the Temple President. Our rooms are comfortable and we relax, only to find that local devotees are queuing up to see Devamrta Swami. Maharaja spends the day in meetings with devotees and later is greeted by HH Sivarama Swami.
We take rest early trying to catch up on last nights lost sleep.

 

Friday 10 January 2003

We had an early morning start today to catch the flight from Heathrow to St.Petersburg. At the airport I realized that I had Taraka's ticket and passport on me so in bewilderment I gave it to the check-in lady who promised to post it back to the Manor for me. Unfortunately I gave her an incomplete address so I am really hoping the Post Office figures this one out.
The flight departure was delayed for some time due to bad weather. Once in the air we crossed Europe on our 3 1/2 hour flight to finally land at St.Petersburg with the outside temperature showing -27 C. The airport was covered in snow and it seemed like we were going to be stepping out into cold like all the other arrivals. However the plane pulled up at a terminal and we took the aerobridge. Heating is absent in the terminal and the check for passport control and customs was hell. Once inside the baggage claim area, devotees managed things for us retrieving our baggage and shuttling us into the waiting car.
We are staying at the apartment of Tungavidya Mataji and her kids, and we are situated on the 6th floor overlooking the snow covered suburbs. Inside things are very warm and we manage to get a good nights sleep.

 

Saturday 11 January 2003

We woke up in the morning to be greeted by HH Bhakti-Vijnana Maharaja Maharaja has also been staying here but he only returned back late last night from an evening program and did not want to wake us up.
Devamrta Swami gave class at the temple this morning. The temple is actually more of a centre the devotees share with congregational devotees who have a a large building they are converting into a high-class Vegetarian restaurant.
Maharaja's class this morning was about the personal pastimes of Krishna and his friends in Vrindavan and was meant to make the point of how personal Krsna consciousness is, and how Krsna sets the prime example of being personal with all his friends.
Class went from 8AM till 11Am followed by a darshan, meaning that by the time we returned to the apartment it was nearly time for lunch.
We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing with Bhakti Vijnana Maharaja being scheduled to do the evening program, after which he left by train for a 6 hour ride back to Moscow.

 
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Sunday 12 January 2003

The morning program today was held at the temple which adjacent to a restaurant that devotees have opened as a business. Right now the temple is only a large hall in which the deities are accommodated. The restaurant is geared towards a high class clientele and whilst it does not seem to be a problem having the temple situated across the corridor the devotees running the restaurant have some apprehensions. There is an uneasy truce at present.
In the evening a hall program brings out around 300 guests and devotees for a great kirtan and class. Since the demise of HKS the temple has been scattered and it is only just now that some of those devotees affected are starting to return to the fold. The program concludes with prasadam and a book signing session with Maharaja selling around 60 books to eager devotees and guests alike.

 

Monday 13 January 2003

This morning we left St.Petersburg for Helsinki Temple. Arriving around lunchtime the local brahmacari Temple President brought us up to speed with the local affairs. It seems the government are in the process of deciding as to whether other non-mainstream religions, such as ISKCON, could be entitled to a share of the monthly church tax all companies and individuals are required to pay. The TP is hopeful of something.
The temple is situated in the centre of Helsinki, which is a very beautiful city. Although the city is covered in snow it is quite a pleasant atmosphere. The downside of being in the city is that the rents are very high and therefore space is at a minimum. Maharaja and I share a small room for the evening.
The evening arati sees Maharaja leading kirtan for well over an hour to accompaniment of 14 brahmacaries. Helsinki is the biggest book distributing temple in Scandinavia and it is not hard to see why. Maharaja gives the a glowing round of praise and compared Helsinki to a previous backwater that has come of age.
We take rest around 10pm and share some mutual "chain-saw massacre" as both of our nostrils seem to be quite blocked.<!--nextpage-->

Tuesday 14 January 2003

This morning we left Helsinki for Dusseldorf were we met by the devotees and taken to Cologne Temple. The german Autobahns are an experience in themselves as we zoom along at over 100 miles per hour for the 40 minute ride.
Cologne temple is a large building and everything is perfect. Germany produces people of a precise nature and the temple is no exception. Mind you the lunch prasadam does turn up two and a half hour late, but when it does it is very tasty.
Devotees here are also struggling with the post HKS syndrome, and the local TP, Keshava Prabhu has been in the job just 6 months. A disciple of HH Bhakti Busana Maharaja he has managed to turn the tide somewhat although the imminent threat of devotees wanting to sell the temple to pay debts is hanging over his head.
In the afternoon we rest up and in the evening Maharaja gives a very entertaining discourse geared towards the local crowd of guests and devotees. I take rest in the roof of the temple....

 

Wednesday 15 January 2003

Today Maharaja decided it was my turn to give class. Sure no problem only issue being he wants me to speak in German. Although I can speak and read german I am somewhat rusty I plead, but no avail. In front of the devotees and Bhakti Bhusama Maharaja I sit through 45 minutes of mental anguish trying to get a grasp of devotee jargon vocabulary in german. The devotees in Cologne are very sweet and help me through what turns out to be quite a lively class with questions and answers. Again tonight Maharaja asks?, no way is my response.
In the evening Keshava Prabhu takes me for a brief tour of the town and we pay a visit the the famous Cologne "Dom". The Dom is the largest church in Europe built out over a 350 year period. It is said that pigs blood was mixed in with the cement holding together the bricks, and whilst it is a truly humunges structure it looks like something out of Star Wars. I am really glad there is Krsna consciousness to take shelter of, even if the buildings don't match up.

 

Thursday 16 January 2003

Left from Cologne airport and flew to London were we stayed at Soho Street Temple. The day was kind of uneventful as I spent the majority of the day on the net catching up on emails.
The evening program by Devamrta Maharaja was well attended and Maharaja had a very lively discussion with a young Jamaican interested in spiritual life albeit Buddhism. Carefully and gently he convinced him practically how chanting was by far superior to a voidist meditation and lifestyle. Accepting defeat the boy agreed to start chanting regularly.

 
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Friday 17 January 2003

We left Soho Street Temple in London at 6am and spent the whole day in the air enroute to Mumbai.

 

Saturday 18 January 2003

Well we arrived into Mumbai in the wee hours of the morning and finally took rest at 3AM. Mumbai temple is celebrating their 25th anniversary since opening and Sridhar Maharaja had invited many old devotees who had been instrumental in the early days of the temple. It felt like being with the movie stars seeing devotees like Brahmananda and his brother Gargamuni, Guru dasa, Syamasundara,to name a few all recalling their experiences in the early days of ISKCON. Bombay temple really turned on the hospitality and we were lucky to catch the tail end of it.

 

Sunday 19 January 2003

Chowpatty ecstasy!
This temple seems to have descended directly from the spiritual world. There are so many devotees here for tonight's puspa abhisek, that close circuit television screens have had to have been installed through the temple grounds which are not much bigger than Brisbane temple to allow the more than 3000 devotees and guests the opportunity to view this amazing event.
Every year on this full moon night the deities are bathed in flowers especially imported from Vrindavan due to their superior scent. The temple room was packed and during the ceremony were serenaded with kirtans led by Niranjana Maharaja, Radhanath Maharaja and one mataji who sang like Yamuna dasi. The aratik was led by Guru Krpa Prabhu accompanied by Nara Narayan on his ukulele. The roof was lifting off the temple from the tremendous kirtan. Meanwhile on the ground floor of he temple (the temple room is on the first floor) a huge feast was served out. We had the privilege of sitting with Brahmananda Prabhu who told nonstop stories of Prabhupada till nearly midnight. What an unforgettable day!

 

Monday 20 January 2003

A day of recuperation after yesterdays events.

 

Tuesday 21 January 2003

Today we drove to a town outside Mumbai that houses the IIT Campus. Conceived of by Nehru as being a place to educate the elite of Indias high achievers, the campus has also had numerous graduates who have become initiated devotees and who are now actively preaching to their campus friends.
Maharaja holds an evening class well attended by around 45 students who all enthusiastically participate and ask many questions. We end up saying the night.

 

Wednesday 22 January 2003

This morning for the Srimad Bhagavatam class over half of the students decided to return for a second dose of Maharajas witty and intelligent discourses. As always they were not disappointed. It seems that many of them chant 16 rounds and are very nice. From here on completing their studies they will be snapped up and taken to America where IIT graduates are in big demand. We hope that they can remember to keep their Krsna consciousness in these locations.



Thursday 23 January 2003

We finally part our ways in Bangkok with Maharaja heading to Perth and myself going on to Hong Kong for a few days and returning to Brisbane on Sunday. What a great trip it has been. Taraka has stayed in India and I will meet up again with here in mid Feb. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/17 2005-08-15T15:26:39-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:39-06:00 das

I certainly appreciated his efforts to spare me from suffering the reactions from accepting inadequately prepared disciples, who would later easily discard their vows. Remember what Prabhupada said, on his bed of departure? His body shriveled to nothing between skin and bones, he told a Godbrother paying a final visit, “Do you see my condition? This is why the sastra forbids the accepting of many disciples.”

I know it is inevitable that some initiates will not survive—just look at the rate of failure Prabhupada had to endure, just to get a batch of dedicated followers who would survive the onslaught of time. Not wanting to vainly imitate Prabhupada’s extraordinary empowerment, my little self is eager to do everything possible to minimize the losses. Then, having taken all precautions, I can safely say that the outcome is up to Lord Krishna and how his minute jivas use or misuse their independence. Prabhupada, during his stay with us, blamed the temple presidents for recommending too many unqualified candidates for initiation. Therefore I was happy that Svavas Prabhu was doing his job to protect my worthless self. ]]>

I certainly appreciated his efforts to spare me from suffering the reactions from accepting inadequately prepared disciples, who would later easily discard their vows. Remember what Prabhupada said, on his bed of departure? His body shriveled to nothing between skin and bones, he told a Godbrother paying a final visit, “Do you see my condition? This is why the sastra forbids the accepting of many disciples.”

I know it is inevitable that some initiates will not survive—just look at the rate of failure Prabhupada had to endure, just to get a batch of dedicated followers who would survive the onslaught of time. Not wanting to vainly imitate Prabhupada’s extraordinary empowerment, my little self is eager to do everything possible to minimize the losses. Then, having taken all precautions, I can safely say that the outcome is up to Lord Krishna and how his minute jivas use or misuse their independence. Prabhupada, during his stay with us, blamed the temple presidents for recommending too many unqualified candidates for initiation. Therefore I was happy that Svavas Prabhu was doing his job to protect my worthless self.

The Los Angeles management had decided to make the initiation ceremony a gala event. Scheduled during the evening Sunday feast programme, it was to be the biggest initiation yajna held in over fifteen years. Among the new initiates were three devotees who had been staunch servitors for quite a few years. The local GBC granted them the special permission necessary for receiving doubles: first and second initiation at the same time.

Bhakta Luke was one of the trio, But although he had been the number-one book distributor in North America and number two in the world, unfortunately on his return trip to L.A. from visiting India, his sankirtan surrender didn’t get him through immigration,. A foreigner, poor Luke had been misinformed about his visa requirements to get back into the States and thus, denied entry into the USA, he missed the ceremony.

Sunday evening, April 14, the spacious Los Angeles ISKCON temple room was standing room only. Svavas Prabhu and his temple commander positioned themselves like transcendental lions at each side of  the vyasasana where I sat. Badrinarayan, the local GBC, stationed himself behind Prabhupada’s vyasasana. From this vantage point, he said, he loved to watch the facial expressions of the initiates when they received their names and beads. The stars of the show were Their Lordships Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakadesa, gazing down upon us all from their superbly decorated altar. In front of Them, around the sacrificial fire, sat the initiation candidates. The rest of the floor as well as the balcony above were jammed with hundreds of festive onlookers.

The New Dvaraka crowd was in a boisterous, jolly mood. As each one of the initiates rose, one by one, to approach the vyasasana, the Los Angeles Vaisnavas cheered and whistled, as if heroes from the celebrated L.A. pro basketball team were entering the sports arena. Buoyed by the fired-up audience, I decided to throw some spices into the joyous mood. As each initiate came forward, I described the glorious histories about how each candidate had come to Krishna consciousness. Relishing these special adventures of Lord Caitanya’s mercy, the assembled devotees roared with glee. (If you’re curious, the audio of the L.A. April initiation lecture and ceremony can be found at www.devaswami.net.)

Three hours later the ecstatic yajna party was over. After a few more days, South America was next on the itinerary. Chile: the Santiago temple was surging forward after many bleak years. Peru: a few expatriate New Zealand devotees were determined to blaze a new trail. Sitapati, his wife Param Satya, and Vraja-dhama were “the right stuff”—sacrificial pioneers in an urban jungle.<!--nextpage-->

Back up to L.A. for a few days and then Down Under again (that’s how the cheaper tickets are routed). A few days in New Zealand, a few days at the annual Australian management meeting, a few days in Brisbane, and then away to Russia to meet a self-imposed June 1 deadline. You see I’ve found that sometimes unless I impose a firm deadline on myself to be somewhere, so many other potential obligations perennially pop up, in the fast-paced world of ISKCON today.

In Russia, St. Petersburg was waiting—the second biggest city in the country. Formerly the biggest yatra in Europe, with about one-thousand devotees, St. Pete ISKCON had seen hard times due to major problems in spiritual leadership a few years ago. I’m certainly no Superman, but upon the request of the Russian ISKCON leaders, I agreed to spend time there to try for a turnaround.

I wanted to fly to Europe by going westward, via Singapore—moving with the sun. Flying in that direction decreases the jet lag. But a situation in Mexico demanded that I fly against the sun: transpacific, eastward through the USA, and then transatlantic.

Leaving from New Zealand to Los Angeles again, I paused for two days in Santa Barbara, California, where my Godbrother Giriraja Maharaja was recuperating from serious health problems at a private location. We passed the hours in blissful Vaisnava sanga and discussed many important topics, such as relationships with other Gaudiya Vaisnava lines and how Prabhupada’s line is special and has to remain distinct. Without a doubt, and with all respect for other Vaisnava sadhus, it is now more highly evident than ever that no one understood Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur as fully as Srila Prabhupada.

Of course, as everyone knows, that unique fullness of Prabhupada’s resonance with the previous acarya certainly does not mean that Prabhupada’s disciples are automatically great. Still, the transcendental fact is that we have the most extraordinary inheritance, and we should guard it carefully. Srila Prabhupada consciously laboured to establish a special branch of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tree and therefore, without demeaning others, our job is to preserve that special heritage—and special mercy.

From California, at the end of May, I flew to Mexico. My Godbrother Guru Prasada Swami was the cause of this abnormal return to North America, en route to Europe. My roommate during the Mayapur festival 2002, he asked me for a “once-in-a-lifetime” favour.” That is, I should upend my entire spring (northern hemisphere) schedule and join him at a special festival in Mexico City for maintaining the stability of the Mexican yatra . . . all that in spite of my June 1 deadline for Russia . . . .

My Godbrother Gunagrahi Goswami also flew in to Mexico, to assist in the efforts. After two days of the weeklong stay, my physical strength was down fifty percent. Mexico City is the most polluted city in the world. And my Doc Daniel in New Zealand had warned me that car fumes and I don’t get along. But Guru Prasada Swami’s association is always a pleasure—what to speak of the added presence of the mighty force in Argentina, Gunagrahi Maharaja. So I survived.

Mexico is a world of its own. As a traditional Mexican aphorism says: “Cursed Mexico--too far from God and too close to the USA.” Mexicans generally have a resentful but dependent relationship on the States. Certainly they have been exploited by the Spaniards, the North Americans--and themselves. Their economy almost wholly integrated with the USA’s, Mexico basically is America’s fifty-second state (Canada is probably fifty-one). Simultaneously, while clamouring for both jobs in the USA and American investment in their country, many Mexicans emotionally scorn the Yankee domination and their own subservient status.

Mexico cuisine is famous for tortillas, tamales, and enchiladas. Mexico ISKCON is world famous for “the eternal revolution.” Notorious for a chronic inability to accept any leadership—whether foreign or homegrown—every two years or so, since the yatra’s establishment in the early seventies the devotees ritually seek to overturn any local manager. Somehow Guru Prasada Swami, in his capacity as GBC coordinator, has lasted--devotionally floating above the whole fray with his agility and his humility. Gunagrahi Maharaja’s and my conclusion: “To survive so long in Mexico, he must be empowered by Krishna!”


Actually, it is Guru Prasada Maharaja’s deep bhakti compassion for the peoples south of the U.S. border that attracts me to visit--though my heavy schedule can’t handle it and Mexico City’s pollution knocks me out. A soldier in the U.S Army at the start of the seventies, he served in Panama and thus learned his Spanish. Finishing his army stint he toured Central America by bus, every town and village, until one day in 1974, he popped into the fledgling ISCON centre in Costa Rica. There he left karmic life behind. Through the years, he has always amazed me with his deep devotional feelings for the suffering peoples of Mexico and Central America. Without that intense emotional commitment and identification--the same that I saw in Niranjana Maharaja for Ukraine--I don’t see how a devotee borne in prosperous countries can last in such difficult places.

Departing Mexico City after a week, I flew across the Caribbean and the Atlantic, to London. Usually each trip to London I alternate between the Bhaktivedanta Manor, outside the city, and the Soho temple, in the most hectic part of the centre. This time I did both, ending with a yajna at Soho. Among others, Bhakta Luke, in hot intercontinental pursuit, finally caught up with his double initiation and became Khela-tirtha.<!--nextpage-->

Moscow was the next—I made the deadline. Arriving the night of May 31, I promptly collapsed. It was expected. Everyone there had already agreed three weeks before: “He’s not really here until the night of June 1--Let him crash and recover.” My dear Godbrother Niranjana Swami was waiting at the airport. A few days later came the quiet genius Bhakti Vijnana Maharaja. A few more days and my Godbrother Bhakti Caru Maharaja also arrived. Sometimes he decides to cook lunch (a traditional Vedic way to stay healthy—cook your own). Noting that I was eager to escape Niranjana Maharaja’s salt-free diet, Bhakti Caru Maharaja invited Bhakti Vijnana Maharaja and me to share the prasada he would prepare. Needless to say, his native Bengali lunches were sky-high in bhakti and spiritual tastes—an unforgettable experience.

Leaving Bhakti Caru Maharaja to plan his “Abhay Caran” film series—the episode about Prabhupada in Moscow—the other three swamis flew to the south of Russia. Our destination was Sochi, on the Black Sea, for a weeklong meeting of the Russian National Council. About thirty temple presidents attended--from everywhere in this huge country except the farthest eastern and northern regions. Many of them had traveled two and three days by train for this tri-annual gathering.

Why a whole week, you might wonder, especially since they assemble three times a year. Remember the ISKCON managemental system of Ukraine, described in On the Way to Krishna #2? “Once a month, all the temple presidents come together for one whole week, to associate, study, and give seminars to each other on sastra. In this way, by the design of regional secretary Acyuta-priya das, the presidents amply intermingle with each other for more than just the necessary hardcore management discussions.”

Although geographically Ukraine is the second biggest country in Europe, still devotee-leaders can, with determination, uphold a standard of monthly meetings. Russia, however, mocks even North American and Australian standards of “a big country.” More than twice the size of Brazil, Russia’s 17-million-plus square kilometers (6.5 million square miles) renders monthly meetings of presidents impossible.

Several years ago, GBC member Bhakti Vijnana Maharaja started with a disparate, motley bunch of disunited temple presidents from all over this huge land mass. The mood at their meetings then was “Come on, let’s get to right to the nuts and bolts, the nitty gritty, and then be gone--back to our posts.”

But the Maharaja would not hear it. He was determined that the leaders spend ample time together: dancing in kirtan, discussing sastra, and purposefully hanging out. He reasoned that without time and effort for developing Krishna-based fraternalism, interpersonal trust, and heartfelt relationships, Russia as a yatra would not truly progress.

Devoid of such internal, personal growth together, as a team, then leaders isolated in their far-flung regions would also become isolated in spirit. Lacking the inner satisfaction that allows a leader to last, they would eventually drop their service. Or, if somehow they did survive, they would develop into mini-czars—“devotional despots,” callous to the sensitivities of those they led and of their fellow leaders also.<!--nextpage-->

The June gathering in Sochi was a testament to the Russian sannyasi’s years of hard work. In this assembly of leaders—all now accustomed to thriving in one another’s presence—I witnessed amazing group dynamics. The first four days of the meeting consisted of long kirtans, several sastra seminars, and various group activities and discussions designed to foster camaraderie. I presented a daily leadership seminar on the Third Canto chapter “Brahma’s Prayers for Creative Energy.”

First of all, I pointed out Brahma’s situation at the beginning of his new day. Alone he sat on top of the lotus flower, depressed. The Bhagavatam describes the scene: fierce winds blew the tottering lotus flower; the waters of devastation surrounded Brahma on all sides. Moreover, Brahma was afraid that in discharging his duties, he would become puffed up with false prestige and also materially affected by the circumstances of his service. Therefore, taking a proactive managemental stance, Brahma offered his supplications to the Lord. He begged for the divine introspection to create, as he had done in previous days of his life, and he particularly requested the mercy to avoid any deviation from the parampara.

“The Lord saw that Brahma was very anxious about the planning and construction of the different planetary systems and was depressed upon seeing the devastating water. He could understand the intention of Brahma, and thus He spoke in deep, thoughtful words, removing all the illusion that had arisen.” (S. bhag. 3:9:27-28)

The task at hand—reinstalling the planetary systems, with the appropriate destinations for every type of karmic worker—emotionally overwhelmed Brahma. In the purport, Prabhupada demonstrates how a devotee always appreciates another devotee’s austerities in serving Krishna, no matter how big or small that servitor seems: “Lord Brahma had to accommodate different places and situations for the requisite bodies of the conditioned souls. The task was meant only for Brahma, and no one in the universe can even understand how difficult it was. But by the grace of the Lord, Brahma was able to execute the tremendous task so perfectly that everyone is amazed to see the workmanship of the vidhata, or the regulator.”<!--nextpage-->

For Krishna’s pleasure, Brahma was to execute a service with a level of difficulty incomprehensible to every one else in the universe. How’s that for feeling “no one understands what I have to go through in my service”? In speaking to the leaders, I compared Brahma’s situation, alone on the lotus flower, to that of a typical temple president—alone on the top, often geographically isolated also. Surrounding him are the waters of managemental chaos, and the winds of mental fluctuations in the devotees’ minds are always blowing.

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead then said: O Brahma, O depth of Vedic wisdom, be neither depressed nor anxious about the execution of creation. What you are begging from Me has already been granted before.” (S. bhag. 3:9:29)

Prabhupada then gives sacred, precious encouragement to all devotees who have accepted responsibility in pushing on his mission: “Any person authorized by either the Lord or by His bona fide representative is already blessed, as is the work entrusted to him.” And also, “The mercy the Lord bestows upon a particular person engaged in executing the responsible work entrusted unto him is beyond imagination.”

Yet, I explained, we must remember that this prepackaged mercy from the Lord entails some diligence from our side. You see, as always, everything in bhakti-yoga is eternally a two-way street. Hence, along with the unfathomable blessings that are already loaded into the responsibilities, come some loving stipulations.

Because devotional service is the perfect art of loving reciprocation, we need further elucidation--lest we just bask in the glow of our holy positions and offices. Prabhupada kindly elaborates, expanding the science of devotional service specifically in regards to devotees’ accepting tasks and challenges on behalf of guru and Krishna:

 “Of course, the person entrusted with such a responsibility should always be aware of his incapability and must always look for the mercy of the Lord for the successful execution of his duty. One should not be puffed up because he is entrusted with certain executive work. Fortunate is he who is so entrusted, and if he is always fixed in the sense of being subordinate to the will of the Supreme, he is sure to come out successful in the discharge of his work. . . . Anyone who takes pride in doing responsible work but does not give credit to the Supreme Lord is certainly falsely proud and cannot execute anything nicely.” (S.bhag. 3:9:29 purport)

A prime example of the wondrous combo of pre-empowerment and appropriate attitude is Arjuna. In the Gita, before the fighting started, the Lord told him that the battle was already won. That meant the military service awarded to Arjuna had been divinely prearranged to succeed. Still, Arjuna, when he fought, was always conscious that he was just a subordinate, dependant instrument in the hands of Krishna.

Concluding my four-day leadership seminar, I explained that besides a humble attitude in assuming responsibility, the intensity of our endeavour is also important. Yes, the Lord’s mercy delivered to the servitors who take up responsible posts is unfathomable. Still, as Prabhupada writes, “His mercy is received due to our penance and perseverance in executing devotional service.” In other words, in the realm of bhakti-yoga, not only is it important what you do, but also how you do it. Real love is demonstrated in sacrifice, determination, and commitment—the sustained day-to-day drive to satisfy the objectives of the founder-acarya.

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Riding in a taxi from the New Delhi airport, accompanied by Rufus (now Ramdas), I passed by Nandagram, the place of Nanda Maharaja, and Varshana, the place of Srimati Radharani, and then we reached our final destination: the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, at the foot of Govardhan Hill.

<strong>O Govardhana, O King of mountains,

O hill whose nectarian name—the best of Sri Hari’s servants—

flows from the mouth of Sri Radha,

O hill that the Vedas declare to be the Tilak marking of Vraja, ]]>

Riding in a taxi from the New Delhi airport, accompanied by Rufus (now Ramdas), I passed by Nandagram, the place of Nanda Maharaja, and Varshana, the place of Srimati Radharani, and then we reached our final destination: the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, at the foot of Govardhan Hill.

<strong>O Govardhana, O King of mountains,

O hill whose nectarian name—the best of Sri Hari’s servants—

flows from the mouth of Sri Radha,

O hill that the Vedas declare to be the Tilak marking of Vraja,

please grant me a residence near to you.

(Raghunatha das Gosvami)</strong>

Many sannyasis and senior grhastha men opt to stay here instead of the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in the town of Vrndavan because the ashram at Govardhana is quiet, and contemplative—perfect for deep study and absorbed chanting. From the roof of the ashram you get the nonstop curtain-less darshan of the Lord in His form of Govardhana Hill.

Just a fifteen minute walk down the road is the ancient village of Aniyor, where Nanda Maharaj and the cowherd men conducted the first Govardhana-puja ceremony. There Krishna assumed the huge form of Govardhana Hill and ate all the offerings. Another  five minutes brings you to Govinda Kunda, the place where Indra came to apologize to Krishna for his attacking Vrndavan with storms. Then, as you can read in the Krishna Book, Indra arranged for Krishna to be bathed by milk from a surabhi cow and water from the Ganges, and the liquids combined to form the lake of Govinda Kunda.  At the edge of the kunda is the bhajana-kutir, place of solitary worship, of Madhavendra Puri, the param guru of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is also the guru of Adwaita Acarya and Nityananda Prabhu. Nearby Madhavendra Puri’s kutir is the exact spot where he discovered the famous Gopal Deity, as described in the Caitanya-caritamrita, and also the site of Sri Gopal’s first temple.

My Godbrother Kesava Bharati Prabhu leads the ashram at Govardhana, while working on the BBT team producing the Brhad-bhagavatamrita by Sanatan Gosvami. I spent the first night discussing with him. My brothers Drutakarma and Dhananjaya, staying at the Krishna-Balaram Mandira, dropped by for a visit. I asked Dhananjaya to repeat what I knew he had heard from Prabhupada about how his Hare Krishna movement would survive. Prabhupada told him this worst case scenario: even if all the GBCs, temple presidents, and pujaris go away into maya, his books are everywhere. Consequently some sincere soul will read them and know exactly how to start the Hare Krishna movement again. Prabhupada explained that he wanted his disciples to strive to get the divine reward for assisting him, but then he declared that even if his disciples fail him, someone else will certainly arise in the future--just by reading his books--and get the credit.

The next morning I saw that my Godbrothers Partha Sarathi and Purnacandra also were staying at the ashram. Two days later, I had happily settled into my usual Vrndavan routine of sixty-four rounds a day. But quantity is far from everything, and Bhaktivinode Thakura’s song haunted me. Keno hare krsna nam, hari bole, mano pran kande na: “Oh, why does my heart not weep from chanting the holy names Hare Krishna?”

Throughout the day, while gazing from the roof of the ashram upon Govardhan Hill, I attempt to beg the Lord, in His form as Giriraj, to please allow me to give pleasure to Srila Prabhupada.

Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Kåñëa and Balaräma, along with Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Kåñëa and Balaräma, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant. (S.Bhag. 10.21.18)

O Govardhan, just as you supply Krishna, Balaram, and Their friends with all necessities, please supply me with the ability to please Srila Prabhupada. Downstairs in my room I read the first volume of Adi-lila, Caitanya-caritamrita, and I meditated on the pictures of the holy places in the guidebooks to Vrndavan and Govardhan produced by Rajashekar das, who has lived in India, especially Braja, since 1975.<!--nextpage-->

After a few days, I made an overnight visit to the ISKCON Krishna Balaram Mandir area, a half hour drive away, in the town of Vrndavan, to give Bhagavatam class. As I walked through the courtyard of the huge MVT residential area to find Virabahu Prabhu (my Godbrother with whom I share GBC duties in South America), suddenly a familiar sight calls out to me. It’s my Godsister Daiva-shakti Mataji, the first devotee I ever allowed to converse with me. Before meeting her, I would only buy Prabhupada’s books through bookshops and the BBT mailorder, because although I loved the books, I wanted nothing to do with the strange Hare Krishna people.

In 1972, one evening in New York City, upon my return home from work, I saw a letter to me from BBT Mail-order.  It announced the long-awaited advent of the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. My lust for this new Prabhupada publication burned me without relief. I had to get one of those new Bhagavatams immediately—I couldn’t wait for mail order.

In desperation, I decided to risk approaching a devotee face to face. Jumping on the subway, I went to a spot where I was sure devotees would be distributing their wares—Port Authority, a huge bus terminal in New York City. I saw Daiva shakti, in a yellow sari, standing placidly amidst thousands of commuters racing for their buses. I walked past her two times to see if she would say something to me, and then I worked up enough nerve to approach her. My first words: “Do you have Srimad-Bhagavatam?” She didn’t, and I already had all the other books she carried. I tried to escape, but it was too late. The trap door closed on me. On that very first encounter, despite my most vehement and impious protests, she dragged me to my father’s house where my checkbook was stored, and pulled a few thousand US dollars donation out of me. Then she got me to start going to the New York temple. The next year she went to India, where she has lived in Vrndavan, since 1974.

Now, thirty years since that first encounter in the bus terminal, I certainly knew better than to try and argue with her. Today her idea was that she wanted to bring me and whatever other devotees would come along to see a project she was helping to develop at Vrinda Kunda. “OK, arrange it however you want, whatever you want,” I immediately surrendered, to save time.

I returned to the ashram at Govardhana, and the next morning at 7:30am, a taxi pulls up and we take off for Vrnda Kunda—Daiva Shakti in the front seat and Bhaktisiddhanta Swami and Ramdas and I in the back. Vrnda-Kunda, donated to ISKCON by a Vrndavan babaji before his disappearance, is a very intimate holy place. The gopi Vrnda-devi guards one of the four entrances into the Lord’s confidential lilas, and here she, together with Paurnamasi, daily make the plans for Sri Krishna and Sri Radha’s meetings. Adjacent to Vrnda Kunda is Gupta (hidden) Kunda, an extremely confidential spot in radha-krsna lila.

Though certainly a lowly soul, I would have to admit that I could feel something of the extraordinary potency pervading the place, as it tugged at the spiritual heart. ISKCON Vrndavan has almost finished a beautiful small temple for Vrnda-devi there, overlooking her pond. Upon completion, her murti will be installed.

My ten days in Vrndavan were the prelude to two weeks in Lord Caitanya’s capital city, Sri Mayapur dhama. Two weeks of GBC meetings would await me there—a tough but necessary austerity for Prabhupada’s service. Therefore I also begged Sri Govardhan for the increased ability to chant, dance, honor prasada, and discuss with the assembled devotees. “Let me taste their bhakti,” I prayed. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/15 2005-08-15T15:09:47-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:47-06:00 das

From Madrid my party of three transited London for the third time in two months. This visit would be our longest--three days. Should I say that it was starting to feel like home? For the first time in almost twenty years, I stayed at Bhaktivedanta Manor, outside of London. Gauridas Pandit, the new temple manager (now president), put me to work for an evening and morning program, and then Adrian, Dave (now Dayavira), and I went back into the city--the Soho Street. temple—for classes and then a big harinama along the famed Oxford Street.

Upon my departing the U.K., the real test of traveling survival would have only begun. In August, at the big festival in Ukraine, the Russian leaders had prevailed upon me to attend their annual festival on the Black Sea, in October. But my round-the-world ticket and my physical strength hadn’t been routed for this. The cheapest way to scramble and cope with this unexpected twist in the road was that I continue on my itinerary through Asia to Australia, and then, on a separate roundtrip ticket, do a U-turn. That is, fly all the way back to Europe from Australia--and then return. Yes, I want you to know about all the strains and penances, because this trip was going to be grueling! ]]>

From Madrid my party of three transited London for the third time in two months. This visit would be our longest--three days. Should I say that it was starting to feel like home? For the first time in almost twenty years, I stayed at Bhaktivedanta Manor, outside of London. Gauridas Pandit, the new temple manager (now president), put me to work for an evening and morning program, and then Adrian, Dave (now Dayavira), and I went back into the city--the Soho Street. temple—for classes and then a big harinama along the famed Oxford Street.

Upon my departing the U.K., the real test of traveling survival would have only begun. In August, at the big festival in Ukraine, the Russian leaders had prevailed upon me to attend their annual festival on the Black Sea, in October. But my round-the-world ticket and my physical strength hadn’t been routed for this. The cheapest way to scramble and cope with this unexpected twist in the road was that I continue on my itinerary through Asia to Australia, and then, on a separate roundtrip ticket, do a U-turn. That is, fly all the way back to Europe from Australia--and then return. Yes, I want you to know about all the strains and penances, because this trip was going to be grueling!

From London, my party of three flew across Europe and Asia, thirteen hours to Singapore. There we attempted to rest. We had flown the opposite direction of the sun, through so many time zones. Consequently, our scrambled senses were almost unable to tell whether it was day or night. For the soul, however, there is no birth or death—or world clock. I thought of an appropriate version of Krishna’s divine words in the Gita:

O son of Srila Prabhupada, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of time zones when flying around the world. Happiness and distress, as well as jet lag, arise from sense perception, O swami, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.<!--nextpage-->

The next evening we headed to Bali for a few days. Indeed Bali was both preaching and a break.  I’ll tell you more about the tropical fruits and climate and the warm ocean some other time (I promise). Every evening we gathered with the Balinese devotees for programmes of kirtan and krsna-katha. Originally I was to have gone from Bali to Australia to New Zealand, where the global ticket ended. But to attend the annual festival in Russia . . . I was making a U-turn back into Europe, before reaching the end of the road in New Zealand, the last stop before the South Pole.

What’s even more outlandish was that my Godbrother Guru Prasada Swami was pushing me that after this sudden trip to Russia and my finally arriving in New Zealand, I should immediately take off again and fly across the Pacific to give a seminar at the annual festival in Mexico.  I think you all would agree that this time I had to say no.

Already physically depleted from 3 months of intense flying, I knew Bali was my only hope to rejuvenate for devotional service in Perth and then the marathon journey back to Europe for an intense festival.  To coax the bodily machine back to life, I knew I had to swim every day—whether I felt like it or not. Meanwhile, Dave and Adrian hadn’t recovered from their severe penances performed while repairing the temple building in Spain. In Bali they got a well-deserved rest for Krishna’s service. (Otherwise, I feared they would jump ship, thinking life with the swami is all slave labor and no spiritual relaxation!)

We departed Bali on a very convenient flight to Australia. Sure . . . sure . . . don’t you believe it. Qantas had only one flight—it left at midnight and arrived in Perth at 3:30am. For me, visits to Perth mean preaching, friendly devotees, and nectarine association with my dear Godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu. This particular visit also meant my last chance to try and physically revive for the trip to Russia. So I took on the mentality of an athlete preparing for a race. Although I dislike public pools, I forced myself into the chlorine every day—to train for the festival demands.

Early the morning of October 1, four days after arrival, I chanted all my rounds and at 6am departed for the airport. Dave and Adrian would remain in Perth for two weeks, working on the Rath cart until I returned. My first leg of the journey was a short five-hour flight to Singapore (again). Then I had a seven-hour gap before boarding the next flight. Because the weather in Perth had daily fluctuated between warm and cool, I was fighting off a cold. Anxious to get rid of it before reaching chilly Russia, I headed for the airport’s sauna. Next I fed the body and delighted the soul with gorgeous krsna-prasada made by the Perth devotees Sharlene (now Seva-kunja) and Donna. After the never-ending chore of catching up on e-mail and then forcing myself to exercise, it was time to board yet another plane.

Because my trip to Russia was impromptu, the only reasonably fare in Perth that Ekendra could get for me was a combination of Qantas to Singapore and then Aeroflot, the former state-owned airlines of the former USSR. In the past, Aeroflot was sort of world famous for customer disservice. Back in August, at the Ukraine festival, when I consulted Prabhavisnu Swami about this airlines, he commented in his charmingly wry way, “I try to avoid them.” Niranjana Maharaj, however, exclaimed, “What’s wrong with Areoflot? I fly them all the time.”

Two months later he withdrew his divine blessings. Niranjana Maharaj was flying on a tight schedule from Ukraine to India via Moscow. When he arrived in Moscow to transfer, he found out that Aeroflot, without any prior notification whatsoever, had cancelled his flight to India. They explained to him that they had kindly reserved a seat for him on another flight--a week later.

My Aeroflot voyage, from Singapore to Moscow, was a fourteen-hour night- flight austerity, made even wearier by the hassle of a two-hour stopover in Bangkok. In the middle of a steamy Thai night, we had to deplane on the tarmac and amass inside a dreary transit terminal. Then we were herded out to the tarmac again, to reboard.  At 8am the next day, I stepped out into the 8 degree C weather of Moscow. The endless summer of Bali and the cool spring of Perth were now history. No time for complaining--the body had to adapt on the spot, for Krishna’s service. Well . . . maybe the body didn’t adjust immediately . . . but the soul was eager  . . . .

The temple president of Moscow, Syama das, drove me through the outskirts of the city from the international airport to the domestic one. We parked outside the terminal, and then it was time for prasada—in the car. The Lord’s remnants were waiting on the back seat, and I honored them on the front seat.

Just before boarding the flight, I bumped into a surprise: Lokanatha Swami, Hari Sauri, and Purnacandra. Then we all flew to the city of Anaha, far south on the Black Sea. Finally, an hour and a half drive after landing, the first half of my transcontinental U-turn ended. From the time I had walked out of the temple door Down Under, in Perth, Australia, until the time I opened my suitcase in my small room on the Black Sea, north of Turkey, would you believe thirty-six continuous hours of travel had passed?

This Russian festival, situated in a seaside resort town, was almost double the size of its Ukrainian version. Encompassing a huge auditorium, dining hall, kitchen, and many guest houses, the site facilitated 2,200 Russian devotees. Some of them traveled several days by train from Siberia and even beyond. Vladivostok on the Pacific coast of Russia was the farthest point of origin.

Not only was this six-day fest jammed with devotees, but it was also overflowed with sannyasis. Besides Lokanatha Swami, who flew with me on the plane, there was Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Jayapataka Swami, Prabhavishnu Swami, Bhakti Vijnana Swami, Bhakti Vikash Swami, and Niranjana Swami. Also Sivarama Swami and Indradyumna Swami came for two days.

The daily program started with mangal-aratik and japa. Following the Deity greeting was a Prabhupada guru-puja that turned into an hour and a half kirtan—every day. Then came a full day of seminars. Just as in Ukraine, I gave “Vrindavan through Uddhava’s Eyes.” The day ended with a massive sundar aratik and evening program going late into the night. Hare Krishna! I was so glad I had exercised in Bali and Perth to get in shape for this Olympics!<!--nextpage-->

The first morning of the festival, we all woke up to no electricity. Hence no water, until late. The town government had decided to cut back on power consumption, so without warning anyone . . . Anyway, it didn’t happen again.

One night after sundar aratik the festival manager announced to all the devotees shocking news. Remember, only three weeks had elapsed since the infamous World Trade Center attack. Now we heard that a Russian airliner en route from Israel had just crashed nearby, into the Black Sea, killing all ninety persons on board. Terrorism was definitely suspected.

The impending US invasion of Afghanistan was expected to begin any day. Were the Muslim terrorists also trying to dare Russia to take action against them ?  Devotees were advised to have all their identification papers in order, since many police were expected in the area.

Some days later, we found out that the Russians were accusing the Ukrainian military of mistakenly downing the plane, during a military exercise. The Ukrainians were said to have been test-firing a surface-to-air missile. The official response from the Ukrainians:  “Our government doesn’t know anything about the crash, but we will agree with whatever the Russian investigation reveals.” Bhakti Vijnana Maharaj, the Russian sannyasi, provided me with the cultural translation: the Ukrainian government was admitting its guilt.

Wherever a sannyasi travels, he usually is the only senior Vaisnava present. So he has to give all the classes and rarely gets to hear other Vaisnava elders speak. But here, with so many VIPs present in one place, I made a special effort to go hear from others—the best way, I find, to maintain humility and to glean new insights. The Ukraine festival, by Niranjana Maharaja’s arrangement, had more opportunity for the senior Vaisnavas to associate with each other than this festival had. But still I made as best effort as I could to catch up with my brothers—despite such a packed schedule. Eventually I succeeded in attending Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s mass interactive workshop and a seminar by Sivarama Swami. Lunch prasada was the only other time some of us could intimately associate. Hari Sauri Prabhu and Bhakti-Tirtha Swami and I had good times together at lunch.

When the six-day festival finished, Niranjana Maharaj and I flew to Moscow. After three days there, I left for five days in St. Petersburg, with Bhakti Caitanya Swami and Bhakti Vijnana Maharaj. In Russia, Moscow is the governmental and money capital and St. Petersburg is the cultural and intellectual capital. For those of you who don’t know the geography, St. Petersburg is almost on the same latitude as Stockholm, Sweden, and Helsinki, Finland. This was my first time that I had been this far north in the world since I left Scandinavia in 1986. What menial service would Krishna have in store for me here?

  ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/14 2005-08-15T15:07:54-06:00 2005-09-19T16:55:54-06:00 das

A special delivery of sumptuous prasada quickly disappeared into the right places, and then rest was upon us. Although we were exhausted, the next morning would be frantic: chanting, phone calls, Internet, and an early flight to Spain. Some devotees think the travelling life is glamorous?

The next day, sitting at the departure gate for the flight to Madrid, I anxiously stared at my watch. Where were Dave and Adrian? After changing money, they were supposed to meet me at the gate. And what about the two ladies who were also going to Spain, to visit the farm there? The British Airways attendant prepared to close the flight--no more passengers accepted.

“Final boarding call,” she announced over the speaker. To a co-worker at the desk, she wondered aloud: “We’re missing four passengers.” Reluctantly I headed for the ramp and the plane, not knowing where or how I would see these devotees again. Then taking one last look behind me, I scanned the long corridor of the terminal. There they were. Far away, calmly ambling toward the gate, my men and the ladies blissfully chatted--unaware that they were missing the flight. ]]>

A special delivery of sumptuous prasada quickly disappeared into the right places, and then rest was upon us. Although we were exhausted, the next morning would be frantic: chanting, phone calls, Internet, and an early flight to Spain. Some devotees think the travelling life is glamorous?

The next day, sitting at the departure gate for the flight to Madrid, I anxiously stared at my watch. Where were Dave and Adrian? After changing money, they were supposed to meet me at the gate. And what about the two ladies who were also going to Spain, to visit the farm there? The British Airways attendant prepared to close the flight--no more passengers accepted.

“Final boarding call,” she announced over the speaker. To a co-worker at the desk, she wondered aloud: “We’re missing four passengers.” Reluctantly I headed for the ramp and the plane, not knowing where or how I would see these devotees again. Then taking one last look behind me, I scanned the long corridor of the terminal. There they were. Far away, calmly ambling toward the gate, my men and the ladies blissfully chatted--unaware that they were missing the flight.

“They’re coming,” I implored the airlines woman, as she closed the entrance to the boarding area. “There they are.” Finally, Adrian, Dave, Cassie, and Rhiannon sweetly and reverently filed in--oblivious to the impending doom.

Dave was first, and his early warning system immediately detected that a cruise missile had been dispatched. Next up, Adrian saw the missile in mid-air. But as the ladies walked by, I quickly adjusted, not wanting to ruffle their tender devotional dispositions with anything that could be misconstrued as wrath. “Hare Krishna,” I chanted to them, innocently, placidly.

Once Cassie and Rhiannon were safely out of range, I locked onto Dave and Adrian: “What happened? You almost missed the plane! Didn’t I clearly explain that your boarding pass says the gate closes at 9 o’clock and so we have to be there a half hour before?”

Startled, Adrian admitted, “I thought that the boarding pass merely suggested the time when you should gather at the gate." Cassie and Rhiannon, now watching from nearby, began to stare. They intuitively sensed the vague possibility of a nuclear blast somewhere in the vicinity. I quickly changed the subject, as we all boarded the plane.

If we were mundane holiday-makers, we would have rejoiced. Although only September 4, England’s version of a summer had already ended. Climate consciousness was not our meditation, but we had traded cool, overcast and rainy London for sunny, warm, and dry Madrid.

New Vraja Mandala was our destination. A rural castle and estate located in a tourist area ninety minutes outside of Madrid, this ISKCON project had seen more than its share of controversy.

Radha-Krishna Deities were there, buildings and farmland were there, but the Spain devotees were embattled and divided. Over the past fifteen years, they had seen more than their share of fiascoes.  Their spiritual leaders had disappointed them, and the wider world of ISKCON seemed to have forgotten them. Finally the few surviving devotees in Spain fought with each other over what to do about New Vraja Mandala.

Some said sell it--the valley was too cold in the winter, the buildings were aged, and the farmland was not fertile. Others said keep it--the Deities were there, the location had enormous preaching potential, and farm projects were the future of ISKCON.

Kadamba Kanana Swami had parachuted in for an emergency rescue. The multi-lingual Maharaj, renowned for his fortitude and resourcefulness, had vowed to save the project. His trusty assistant there is Samba das, the now-grown son of devotee parents. Samba das is a tribute to the new generation of devotees raised in Krishna consciousness. Spiritually focused, dedicated, and managementally talented, Samba, combined with his good wife and playful child, highlight the best of what Krishna consciousness can offer the world.<!--nextpage-->

As planned, my travelling assistants, Dave and Adrian, set to work. Expert craftsmen, they enthusiastically embraced a heavy devotional task--rehabilitating the stone and tiles of the temple building. A few skeptical old-timers would occasionally peer at the scene. Doubtful and amused, they made no attempt to hide their mind: "Someone is spending energy trying to do something HERE?" But the two New Zealanders, paying no heed to cynicism, plunged into bhakti-yoga, renovating the Deities' building in the hot sun.

In the evening, after sundara-aratika, I gave class from Nectar of Devotion. Aware that a few estranged and bitter devotees from the area would attend, I chose the chapter “Character of One in Ecstatic Love.” In this way, extolling the glories of bhava-bhakti, I would avoid any contentious issues and everyone would bathe in the nectar.

Rupa Goswami next describes the characteristics of a person who has actually developed his ecstatic love for Krishna. The characteristics are as follows:
<em>
(1) He is always anxious to utilize his time in the devotional service of the Lord. He does not like to be idle. He wants service always, twenty-four hours a day, without deviation.

(2) He is always reserved and perseverant.

(3) He is always detached from all material attraction.

(4) He does not long for any material respect in return for his activities.

(5) He is always certain that Krishna will bestow His mercy upon him.

(6) He is always very eager to serve the Lord faithfully.

(7) He is very much attached to the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

(8) He is always eager to describe the transcendental qualities of the Lord.

(9) He is very pleased to live in a place where the Lord’s pastimes are performed, e.g., Mathura, Vrndavana or Dvaraka.</em>

In the commentary on number four, “Detachment,” we receive the vivid example of Maharaj Bharata, who abandoned all kinds of attachments “as though they were untouchable stools.” Prabhupada explained that mature devotees can remain undisturbed even in the presence of allurements, but he emphasized that less advanced devotees must endeavor to keep themselves aloof from enticing situations.<!--nextpage-->

Boom! The confrontation exploded. “I’m sick of the way devotees criticize the nondevotees and refuse to associate closely with them . . . The Vedas say we can take gold even from a filthy place . . . So we can learn much by associating with nondevotees . . . Devotees have done bad things . . . so who are we to think we are better and that we shouldn’t mingle with the nondevotees . . .”

Three souls from the New Vraja Mandala spiritual outskirts took turns putting me in my place. With passion and vehemence, they fired away, demanding that all preaching about the dangerous effects of association with nondevotees be stopped. Devotees should first get their own behavior together.

I tried to genuinely respond to their repeated interruptions by acknowledging that the devotees in Spain had indeed seen many problems and had truly been let down. At the same time, though, the process Prabhupada gave us works, and so we have to push on. If we do so, I gently told them, Krishna will bless us with His mercy, and we will become Krishna conscious.

But the three were relentless in their attack. Next they began to blast away at the sanctity of sadhana and the regulative principles. “Just because some one is following strictly doesn’t mean he or she is better . . . Nondevotees have their own standards, and often we find that nondevotees are more appreciative and caring.”

I admitted that sometimes devotees treat each other badly, and that we all need to improve. Nevertheless bhakti-yoga is superexcellent, I explained, and any one who takes it up properly is most fortunate--the best among humans.

I scanned my audience again, to insure that I was focused upon their needs.  Present in the temple room were a few staunch older devotees of Spain, such as my translator, Mahalaxmi dasi.  Despite all upheavals, they had remained faithful to their spiritual vows. Looking into their eyes, I could see their yearning for encouragement and support. They wanted a class that would allow them to glow inside--a celebration of their continuous effort to make the right choices in spiritual life.

I also gazed out at the young devotees from New Zealand and the U.K. who accompanied me. They fit in well with the young devotees from Germany and other places, gathered by Kadamba Kanana Swami. These shiny new faces were absolutely right to eagerly embrace all the standards of bhakti. Without compromising their precious enthusiasm, how could I respond to the genuine hurts and glaring faults of the wayward, wane older devotees.

I was caught in that proverbial space between a rock and a hard place. In a jam, I presented the sastra. One of Lord Caitanya’s householder devotees asked Him about real Vaisnavism and the proper standard of a Vaisnava. As Prabhupada relays the incident in Nectar of Instruction, "Mahaprabhu immediately replied, asat-sanga-tyaga, ei vaisnava-acara: ‘Characteristically, a Vaisnava is one who gives up the association of worldly people, or nondevotees.’" Nectar of Instruction lists association of nondevotees in the lists of both the six positives and the six negatives: we fall down by associating with nondevotees and we succeed in bhakti by avoiding nondevotee association

In the Caitanya Caritamrta, the supreme teacher of bhakti, Lord Caitanya, instructed: <em>"It is better to accept the miseries of being encaged within bars and surrounded by burning flames than to associate with those bereft of Krishna consciousness. Such association is a very great hardship." (Cc., Madhya 22: 91)</em>

Quoting Lord Kapiladeva, Mahaprabhu also said: <em>“By association with worldly people, one becomes devoid of truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, gravity, spiritual intelligence, shyness, austerity, fame, forgiveness, control of the mind, control of the senses, fortune and all opportunities." (Cc., Madhya 22:88)</em>

As a subordinate point, I did seek to caution that these verses are not an excuse for fanaticism and pride: “Let’s see how much we can deride the nondevotees--we devotees are automatically so great.” I acknowledged the potential for misuse of these verses to justify rude dealings, immaturity, and insensitivity. But the standard had to be told and followed. And I had to humbly uphold the banner.

Then came a breakthrough. One of the three combatants sighed and relented: “Well I guess I’ll just have to go one chanting and hope against hope that one day I'll be able to be Krishna conscious.”

“Just see!” I exclaimed. “You have just brought us to the very next characteristic of ecstatic love!” Seizing this Krishna-sent opportunity to change the scene, I immediately started reading aloud symptom number five, asa-bandha. The ecstatic devotee--while strictly following--hopes against hope that one day he or she will attain the lotus feet of the Lord.

<em>In this connection, one prayer by Rupa Goswami is sufficient to exemplify this hopefulness. He says, "I have no love for Krishna, nor for the causes of developing love of Krishna -- namely, hearing and chanting. And the process of bhakti-yoga, by which one is always thinking of Krishna and fixing His lotus feet in the heart, is also lacking in me. As far as philosophical knowledge or pious works are concerned, I don't see any opportunity for me to execute such activities. But above all, I am not even born of a nice family. Therefore I must simply pray to You, Gopijana-vallabha [Krishna, maintainer and beloved of the gopis]. I simply wish and hope that some way or other I may be able to approach Your lotus feet, and this hope is giving me pain, because I think myself quite incompetent to approach that transcendental goal of life."</em>

Class ended on this upbeat note. Later, I heard that one of the newer devotees from Germany had been so moved by his witnessing the bhakti standard upheld despite such duress, that he went to his room and shed tears of joy. (Germany has had its problems too).<!--nextpage-->

In my younger days of preaching--maybe fifteen or twenty years ago--upon hearing of this devotee’s reaction, I would have considered the day a complete success. But maturity moves us to broaden our compassion. Feeling for the sufferings of the older devotees who had fallen amidst difficult times, I sought them out, inviting them individually for a chat.

Since these devotees spoke only Spanish, my Godbrother, the GBC there, Jagat Caksus Prabhu, pretended to arrange for a translator. He had caught on to my game--he knew I speak “lazy Spanish.” That is, when there is any chance of a translator, I immediately indulge, and speak English. But if the circumstances force me, and no translator can be found, then suddenly Spanish flows out of my mouth.

For an hour each I chatted in Spanish with some of these devotees. I could see that they really appreciated care and attention. Finally, at the end, they would admit that their problems stemmed from their abandoning their sadhana. And I would beg them to pick up their sadhana again, in spite of the problems in Spain.

One of the attacking devotees who could not catch up with me, sent me a letter, pushing the same points--but now politely. I replied:

 
<blockquote>Dear xxx devi dasi,

 

. . . Thank you for such a humble, well-considered, and beneficial letter.

There was much food for thought for me, much valuable feedback, contained in it. . . . My deep regret is that we did not get a chance to talk, outside of the class.

You see,  a formal class has its limitations in terms of interaction and scope.

One has to read aloud the sastra and present its purport.

But less formal settings, personal discussions, offer better opportunity for interchange, for tossing things to and fro'.

I had such a rewarding personal chat with xxx das.

I also repeatedly asked for the chance to benefit from personally hearing others, also. I hope next time we can meet and talk, as you make very thoughtful and good points that I myself can personally benefit from.

By the way, in that class I was a bit surprised by the reaction to a basic Nectar of Devotion point about no intimate association with nondevotees.

 . . . Many times during the classes there I mentioned that devotees in Spain have a right to feel disappointed and let down. Many times I said that devotees have to improve their relations between themselves.

Still, isn't it true that we have to push on according to the basic standard of Upadesamrita and Nectar of Devotion?

Nevertheless, I can appreciate your feelings because I also have been through intense disappointments and pressures. So once again allow me to express my deep regret at the lack of an opportunity and better format for hearing from you personally.

That can only be my loss. . . .

I hope you are chanting, dancing, and taking prasada with delight in bhakti-yoga.

yours in Prabhupada's service,
Devamrita Swami</blockquote>

I wanted to see the local area, so the BBT secretary in Spain, Hanuman das, took me for a tour. We drove through a quaint Spanish village, shuttered and quiet at 2pm--siesta time.   Then, leaving his van, we walked to the edge of a cliff, and peered down at the valleys surrounding the town. Everywhere I saw beautiful, neatly terraced gardens, abundant with produce. “Now what will be your reply,” Hanuman asked, “when some devotees tell you that it is too difficult to grow food at New Vraja Mandal?”

Always a fan of history, I asked Hanuman about the Spanish Civil War. While we gazed out over the valleys of vegetables, he told me that seventy years ago this horrible event had ripped apart the entire nation. The passions of right- and left-wing political disputes had exploded into a civil war of terror, tearing apart personal relationships. Neighbours, friends, and even members of the same family turned upon each other violently, bewitched by their political creeds.

The war was an outcome of a deep rift in the life and politics of Spain. Blood gushed in 1936 when the military, supported by conservative and centrist elements in the country, revolted against the leftist government. Aligned with the military--the Nationalist side--were most Roman Catholics, most landowners, and many businessmen. They attacked the Republican side: the majority of Spain's urban workers, agricultural laborers, and members of the educated middle class.

As normal in such crises, extremism played a significant role. At the far right of the Nationalists were the fascists; at the far left of the Repubublicans were the militant anarchists. Between these two extremes ranged a spectrum of everything from monarchism and conservatism on through to liberalism and socialism.

Upon the outbreak of violence, The Nationalists and Republicans quickly split their country into two armed camps and sought to wipe each other out. Any suspected supporters residing on the wrong side of the fence were imprisoned and often terminated. In this way, besides the clash of armies on the battlefield, the Spanish people also inflicted upon themselves executions, murders, and assassinations.

The internal butchering also attracted foreign aid--according to political preference. Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, keen on sponsoring a potential dictatorship, sent troops, tanks, and planes to aid the Nationalists. The Soviet Union, hoping for a socialist revolution, invested in the Republicans. Foreign liberal and socialist idealists, from Europe and even the United States, travelled to Spain to volunteer in the fight and die.

Only rough estimates exist for the number of persons slaughtered in the Spanish Civil War. The victorious Nationalists calculated one million dead, including not only battlefield casualties but also carnage from bombardment, execution, and assassination. The latest scholarly estimates have been closer to 500,000 or less. This approximation, of course, does not include all those dead from malnutrition, starvation, and war-engendered disease.

Hanuman das said several older members of his family died in this manmade disaster. “What do the people say now about this civil war,” I asked him. “They say things are different today," he wryly intoned. "They claim they have learned their lesson and such a thing will never happen again . . . ”<!--nextpage-->

After a few days at New Vraja Mandala, leaving Dave and Adrian behind to complete their monumental task, I took the train south from Madrid to Malaga, Spain's fabled Mediterranean resort. Europeans flock here just to bathe in the sun and sea, but my purpose was different. But yes, I did go for a few swims.

Perhaps half of the surviving Spanish devotees had wanted to sell the New Vraja Mandal farm and move the Radha Krishna Deities to this seaside city. On land next to the small Malaga temple, they hoped to construct a large Vedic temple. New Vraja Mandala was cold in the winter, whereas Malaga was always warm, and the beach, inviting. The Governing Body, however, was not persuaded by the plan. Few GBCs were willing to risk moving Radha Krishna Deities away from Their farm in the capital city area down south to the unknown. Moreover, Kadamba Kanana Maharaj had pledged to lead a revival at the farm.

The Malaga temple, though small and quiet, was tidy. The president and his wife lived in the building, and ten families in the city would visit from time to time. A main argument for moving the Radha Krishna Deities there centered upon the shortage of pujaris. Whereas no families could tolerate the winter at New Vraja Mandala, Malaga was said to offer a ready supply of Deity servitors. Unfortunately, it quickly became evident that few of the Malaga families completed their rounds. So how could they properly serve the Deities?

One day most of the families from the area descended on the temple for an impromptu meeting with me. Many of them wanted a plan for rotating the temple president every so often. This adaptation, some hoped, would enliven the devotee community. I took pains to explain that I was only a visitor and had not come there to delve into managemental issues. I did, however, gently offer one spiritual suggestion: The first plan of action should be the rotating of the japa beads.

After three days in Malaga, another high-speed train ride brought me back to the capital city. As soon as I disembarked, the devotees of Madrid broke the extraordinary news: The twin towers in New York City were no more. September 11 was upon us, and the material world would never be the same.

After the program that night at the Madrid preaching centre, sleep was impossible. All the neighbours--shocked and intrigued by the American disaster--stayed up until 4am, glued to their loud TVs.

Certainly an American would find great difficulty resonating with the response of many Spaniards to the massive crime. While abhorring the horrible loss of life, many Madrid folk reproached me: "The Americans are arrogant . . . They think they rule the world . . . Are they God's gift to the world or maybe God Himself? . . ." I explained that we are not the body but spirit soul. But also, just to quiet them, I found it convenient to point out that I was a citizen of New Zealand.

A young lady in her twenties particularly stood out in my mind. Amidst guests at a preaching program, she confessed to me that when the news first hit her she was happy: "The Americans deserve it--they have done such political harm in the world." Now she felt guilty for such feelings and wondered if God would forgive her. I could see the other guests wondering how I would respond. I decided not to disappoint them.

I asked the girl: "Do you listen to Madonna?"

"Of course, I have many of her CDs," she replied.

"Did you buy them?"

"Certainly."

'Then you are supporting, with cash, American-produced madness."

"Why?"

"Because Madonna usually sings trash and then sends it around the globe for people like you to purchase."

"But I like her music."

"OK, tell me, aren't her songs pornographic?"

Well . . . maybe not all of them. . . .

"Just see! You are both a victim and a supporter of America's cultural degradation and its effect on the world."

Besides the guests, older devotees also confided to me their weariness of America's global ego. I myself, short on sleep, was weary of CNN Espana—America’s Spanish-language version of CNN--blasting through the walls all night.

Next stop for me: Barcelona, the rival city to Madrid. The ISKCON scene there was small and interesting. A flight there, and two days later, a flight back to Madrid. Then an overnight at the farm, where I rejoined Dave and Adrian again. The two New Zealand men had ascended into the New Vraja Mandal Hall of Fame. They had completed their monumental mission of tilework, to the delight of Samba, the administrator, and Kadamba Kanana Maharaj, the new spark plug of Spain.

The next morning, early, we would leave the farm for the airport, to fly to the U.K. again. That night a talented Deity cook from Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, arrived. The devotees, chanting her culinary fame, kindly awarded me a satchel full of maha-prasada prepared by her. But I don't generally eat at night, so I entrusted the stash to Adrian. We would  investigate the contents the next morning at the airport.

Departing the farm before breakfast, we beat the rush hour traffic into Madrid. Once situated in the airlines lounge, I contemplated the world-famous maha-prasada with relish. A verse spoken by Uddhava to the Lord revolved in my mind: <em>Simply by decorating ourselves with the garlands, fragrant oils, clothes and ornaments that You have already enjoyed, and by eating the remnants of Your meals, we, Your servants, will indeed conquer Your illusory energy. (SB 11.6.46)</em>

Now for the moment of truth. Turning to Adrian, I blissfully announced, "OK, testing time is here. We'll see if that supercook is true to her reputation." Adrian moaned. Suddenly I realised that he had been unusually quiet during our drive to the airport. What was wrong? Staring at the floor, Adrain revealed that as soon as we had driven away from the farm, he realised  . . . he had left the bag.

"You forgot the maha!" I feigned a nervous breakdown. "I can't believe it--this is worse than a terrorist attack. Forget your luggage, forget your passport, but no one, I mean no one, ever forgets the maha!"

Detaching my mind from the Lord's missing remnants, I boarded our flight. Two days in London and then we were off on a marathon night flight all the way across Europe and Asia to Singapore.

]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/12 2005-08-15T15:06:02-06:00 2005-09-19T16:56:02-06:00 das

Desde el tiempo de la recién sucedida desaparición de Prabhupada hasta el final de los ochentas Europa había sido mi casa. Pero por los pasados 16 años yo he ido a todos lados excepto a Europa. Por supuesto que un Sannyasi no tiene una casa real. Así que ahora cuando alguien me pregunta dónde vivo solo respondo “en el avión”. Aún, algunos lugares se han transformado en un foco de predica, para el servicio a Krishna. Europa era esto para mí.

Yo dejé Norte América en Marzo de 1978, cinco meses después de que Srila Prabhupada dejo este mundo. En el año de su lección final, previamente había sido oficialmente el director de su producción de libros en Los Ángeles, un servicio que había hecho de una manera no oficial por algún tiempo. Tenía como proyecto desde hace 2 años él volverme un maestro en todos los aspectos de la impresión de sus libros, debido a que sabía que el jefe de producción en el Bhaktivedanta Book Trust tenía conexión directa con Su Divina Gracia y que este recibiría más atención personal de Él. Conseguir su asociación física era mi meta suprema. Esta conquista me llevo al avance en conciencia de Krishna, día tras día, mes tras mes. ]]>

Desde el tiempo de la recién sucedida desaparición de Prabhupada hasta el final de los ochentas Europa había sido mi casa. Pero por los pasados 16 años yo he ido a todos lados excepto a Europa. Por supuesto que un Sannyasi no tiene una casa real. Así que ahora cuando alguien me pregunta dónde vivo solo respondo “en el avión”. Aún, algunos lugares se han transformado en un foco de predica, para el servicio a Krishna. Europa era esto para mí.

Yo dejé Norte América en Marzo de 1978, cinco meses después de que Srila Prabhupada dejo este mundo. En el año de su lección final, previamente había sido oficialmente el director de su producción de libros en Los Ángeles, un servicio que había hecho de una manera no oficial por algún tiempo. Tenía como proyecto desde hace 2 años él volverme un maestro en todos los aspectos de la impresión de sus libros, debido a que sabía que el jefe de producción en el Bhaktivedanta Book Trust tenía conexión directa con Su Divina Gracia y que este recibiría más atención personal de Él. Conseguir su asociación física era mi meta suprema. Esta conquista me llevo al avance en conciencia de Krishna, día tras día, mes tras mes.

Srila Prabhupada amaba los libros, así que me determiné a amar sus libros. Yo era físicamente débil para hacer su querida distribución. Por lo tanto la producción de libros debía ser mi autopista para llegar a los pies de Srila Prabhupada.

Al comienzo de 1977 la realidad practica de repente surgió sobre Ramesvara Swami, el administrador del BBT en Los Ángeles en aquellos días. Él realizo que el entonces jefe de producción había desaparecido hacía varios meses. Una situación intolerable que la producción de libros de Srila Prabhupada no tuviese un encargado seguramente invocaría la cólera trascendental de su Divina Gracia. Así el administrador resuelto  a  tapar los huecos, antes de que las autoridades competentes pudiesen reportar la insuficiencia a Prabhupada  dejando así, caer las sanciones meritorias.

Repasando a los devotos del BBT para encontrar al siguiente jefe, Ramesvuara repentinamente realizó que yo había estado haciendo el trabajo por algún tiempo de manera no oficial. Yo nunca olvidare esa mirada en sus ojos, y esa pregunta. “Cómo fue que usted aprendió todas estas cosas ( acerca del proceso entero de los libro)? Así que murmuré intentando responder humildemente. En mi mente estaba el pensamiento, “ Que no sabes yo haría cualquier cosa para conseguir el sanga de los pies de loto de Srila Prabhupada.

Recibido el nombramiento oficial a través de 1977 yo estaba en cielo para los devotos. Ya que Srila Prabhupada había comenzado el décimo canto del Srimad Bhagavatam y todos los manuscritos venían directamente a mí. Yo estaría recibiendo su darshan intimo durante su traducción del Bhagavatam y más allá. Qué vida!, Él traduciría y repartiría estos significados Goloka Bhaktivedanta, y yo habría de dar todas las energías de mi vida para producir sus libros. Solo esto podría calmar la devastación en mi corazón debido al retiro forzado del Sankirtan. Anteriormente yo estaba seguro que yo podría distribuir libros por el resto de mi vida y de esta manera llegar a la Suprema personalidad de Dios. De pronto un problema de salud termino con mi carrera de distribuidor de libros. Pero ahora, una nueva bendición! Yo era el encargado de la producción de libros de Prabhupada.

Usted pudiese juzgar que tantas de mis actividades fueron simplemente vanidad, y cuantas fueron realmente servicio devocional, yo solo puedo asegurar que estaba desesperado por conseguir la asociación personal de Srila Prabhupada.

Recuerde que antes del famoso e inconcebible maratón de la producción del Sri Caitanya-Caritamrita en 1975, un disgusto trascendental había sucedido ya que Srila Prabhupada había advertido a sus discípulos si estos no traducían claramente las reservas de sus manuscritos, produciendo una cantidad imposible en  2 meses, entonces, después del Milagro que en verdad sucedió, él escribió que gracias al esfuerzo realizado por  todos los devotos que participaban en el BBT, que eventualmente ellos irían de vuelta a la Suprema personalidad de Dios.

“ Ustedes han tomado tan seriamente, que estoy seguro que mi Gúru  Maharajá esta complacido con ustedes debido a que el deseo esto. Así pues gracias a su esfuerzo todos ustedes irán con la Suprema personalidad de Dios.”

“ permítanme antes que nada terminar el Srimad Bhagavatam eventualmente traduciremos otros. Así que deseo agradecerles a todos ustedes su cooperación, debido a su cooperación,  esto ha sido posible. Que yo pueda traducir los primeros tres volúmenes, para imprimir estos pase sobre muchos apuros, pero por la cooperación de ustedes chicos y chicas norteamericanos esto ha sido posible.”

Así que,  quien pudiera culparme por tomar esta conducta de poseso, como un niño hambriento de Calcuta el cual busca en las calles las sobras de los alimentos. ¡Más misericordia!.<!--nextpage-->

En noviembre de 1977 en una postal de India recibí  el manuscrito del famoso capitulo 13 del décimo canto, dictado por Prabhupada bajo condiciones medicas asombrosas. Sentado en mi oficina en el BBT, leyendo sus palabras las cuales aún no habían sido editadas, repentinamente lagrimas efusivamente salían de mis ojos y mi corazón. Mi cabeza se hundió en el escritorio debido a la pena que sentía. De alguna manera, mientras avanzaba en la lectura yo percibía que este era el final-el ultimo capitulo. Que no habría más significados de Bhaktivedanta Swami. Tres días después Prabhupada dejo el cuerpo.

Cinco meses después, Marzo de 1978 me encontraba siendo un brahmacarie de veintisiete años, cuando abandone la cálida y contaminada ciudad de los Ángeles, rumbo al festival de Mayapur buscando aún más retos.

La partida de Prabhupada de este mundo, termino con mi búsqueda de la asociación física con él a través de producir sus libros. Ahora que había que hacer? Un años antes de su partida, Prabhupada había escrito a los devotos del templo de los Ángeles. Yo recuerdo el día en qué la carta llego. Escuchándola fuertemente en el cuarto del templo después de Mangala Aratik. Yo saborearía cada palabra.

“Mis queridos hijos é hijas si ustedes se sienten en deuda conmigo, entonces ustedes deben predicar vigorosamente como yo. Esa es la manera adecuada de retribuirme. Por supuesto nadie puede pagar al maestro espiritual, pero el maestro espiritual estará más complacido por esta actitud de su discípulo, en el Bhagavad-gita se afirma vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana [Bg. 2.41], “aquellos que están en este camino están resueltos a un propósito, y su visión es una.” Nuestra única preocupación es la de ser mejorados a través del servicio espiritual y al complacer al maestro espiritual. Aquellos que no están resueltos a ser mejorados a través de ese camino, están llenos con muchas líneas de acciones ( Eka significa “uno” y Bahu significa “varios”).

El océano de la misericordia real es Krsna, y es el deber del maestro espiritual invitar al discípulo a este océano, para así ser feliz. El deber del maestro espiritual es el de guiar a su discípulo a este camino. Yo estoy haciendo mi mejor esfuerzo y si tu te esmeras en seguirlo seguramente te beneficiaras.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura cantó: “Krsna sei tomara, Krsna dite para, tomara sakati ache. Ami ta'kangala, krsna krsna boli, dhai tava pache pache.”

“Sri Krishna es tuyo y tu tienes el poder de darlo a conocer a quien tú quieras. Yo soy pobre y desgraciado y actúo bajo el influjo del Gritar Krishna Krishna!”

“ Krishna es ilimitado, nadie puede atraparlo, pero si alguien tan solo sigue el parampara, él acepta ser capturado. Todos le temen a Krishna, pero Krishna le teme a madre Yasoda. Esa es la particularidad de la misericordia de Krishna”.

Esta carta monumental se transformo, en el faro que ilumino mi futuro después que la presencia física de Prabhupada pasó. Fue en el trayecto Los Ángeles-India, que tuve que parar en Londres. Fue ahí, en el Bhaktivedanta Manor, que mi  futuro en Europa central y oriental repentinamente tomo forma. Yo había escuchado que Prabhupada dijo que aquel que predicará en los países comunistas recibiría el polvo especial de sus Pies de Loto. Eso fue todo lo que yo tenía que escuchar, para seguir como soldado de Krishna lleno de Fervor, fe  y,  culpas.

Desde mis días como editor y copiador del Bhagavatam, yo remarcaba el significado del sexto canto, “La batalla entre los Semidioses y los Vrtrasuras” la llamada para los discípulos con el clarín a la integridad espiritual y el compromiso progresivo.

Si uno es avanzado en el conocimiento, este debe estar preparado para sacrificar algo por una mejor causa. En estos tiempos el mundo entero esta en una posición muy peligrosa, bajo el hechizo de una civilización sin Dios. El Movimiento para la conciencia de Krishna necesita muchas personas exaltadas y cultas que sacrifiquen sus propias vidas a la propagación de la conciencia de Dios a todo el mundo. Así pues nosotros invitamos a unirse al movimiento de conciencia de Krishna, a todos los hombres y todas las mujeres inteligentes que estén dispuestos a sacrificar sus vidas enteras para la gran causa de reestablecer la conciencia de Dios en la sociedad.<!--nextpage-->

De vuelta en Londres, Julio 2001, veintitrés años después, estando frente a sus divinas señorías, Sri Sri Radha London Isvara, humillado y apenado por tantos intentos de predicas así como viajes de predica a cada continente, este insignificante sirviente se preguntaba que es lo que Krishna habría preparado para mi futuro?.

El templo de Soho es una pequeña construcción en el centro de Londres, el cual probablemente este ubicado en las mas transitadas calles para los turistas del mundo, la plusvalía del lugar es tan alta que tan solo algunos devotos pueden contemplar vivir cerca de el templo, en la planta baja esta un restaurante de ISKCON, en los pisos de arriba esta el Templo y los Ashramas. El espacio es tan limitado, y el ruido nocturno producido por los clubes nocturnos hace el dormir una tarea complicada. Pero a pesar de las obvias austeridades e inconvenientes, el potencial de predica en dicho lugar es ilimitado.

El tomar Prasada con el presidente del templo era un verdadero placer, mi hermano espiritual, el inigualable Mahadyuti Prabhu, un norteamericano expatriado. Adikarta Prabhu, un veterano Inglés y hermano espiritual que ahora vive en carolina del norte en Los Estados Unidos de América, también compartieron de esta merienda. Nosotros recordábamos de los días que habíamos vivido, y analizábamos los problemas sociológicos que enfrenta ISKCON en la actualidad. Akrura Das, un devoto originario de Sarajevo, en la Ex republica Socialista de Yugoslavia, había llegado tarde para merendar con nosotros. Me recordaba de uno de mis viajes a Yugoslavia en los Ochentas, él clamaba que yo había salvado a los devotos de ahí de una crisis espiritual, diecisiete años después él me agradecía por esto y me pedía consejos acerca de lo que acontecía.

En la Clase del Bhagavad Gita en el templo de Soho, esa tarde muchas caras familiares brillaban. Bhaktin Cassie estaba ahí, también Nick. Yo los había conocido en Sydney Australia. Cassie ahora esta encargada de confeccionar los vestidos de las Deidades. Ella me recordó que tan solo cuatro meses atrás me escribio que si yo  visitaría algún día Londres, a lo cual le había contestado que era casi imposible, no me imaginaba visitando Europa una ves más, y que ella me alcanzaría en los Ángeles. Ahora me había encontrado que mi itinerario me había forzado a hacer un transito en Londres  de tres veces en un mes. Su pócima mágica?. Ella me respondio: “Le Oré al Señor Balarama” agregué “ como podrás ver no soy yo el que controla”.

Bhaktin Rhiannon estaba ahí, ella es quien me encontré por primera ves en Christchurch, Nueva Zelanda. Rhiannon esta acabando su Doctorado, relativamente en un corto tiempo, mientras tanto también predicaba en la universidad, y algunas veces tomaba un vuelo a Los Ángeles para distribuir los libros de Prabhupada en el aeropuerto. Errol estaba ahí  habiendo sido reubicado de Wellington, Nueva Zelanda,  a Londres, para obtener un mejor Rango en  Air New Zeland. (aunque ahora Air N.Z. este en bancarrota.)

Durante mi canto “Jaya Radha Madhava”  mi hermana espiritual mayor, Malati  Mataji, entraba  con un sequito de devotas del Bhaktivedanta Manor. Después de la clase Malati Mataji y yo conversamos en el restaurant, acerca de Deidades, Shilas, y sus pasatiempos.  Seguido a eso tome un descanso para poder terminar mis Rondas antes de una salida en la madrugada del día siguiente. Como podrán observar, tan pronto como llegué a Londres después de un vuelo de cuatro horas desde Perú, una para de cuatro horas más en el templo de Miami, y de un vuelo nocturno de ocho horas a Londres, tuve una salida repentina al Harinama Sankirtana. Yo pensé que no habría una mejor manera para des entumecerse que bailar y brincar en el centro de Londres con Adi-karta prabhu y los devotos de Soho. De tal manera que, esa noche el cuerpo necesitaba un buen descanso, ya que si se descansa significa que habremos de cantar más atentamente Japa al día siguiente.

A las 7:30 am esquivando una lluvia de Flores de Malati Matajie y sus asistentes, me dirigí al taxi a la estación Victoria y de ahí un tren al aeropuerto de Gatwick. Mi Ronda al mundo con mi equipo de Viaje de Adrian y de David permitieron que Cassie y Rhiannon condujeran el camino. Me quejé en el fondo, pero mis acompañantes, acudieron rápidamente a la destreza de Cassie y a los buenos esquemas de Rhiannon. Tengo que admitir que llegamos a tiempo para la revisión, con la conveniencia máxima, y todas las comodidades para criaturas.

Próxima parada: Kiev, Ucrania, en la Ex  USSR.

Un Agradecimiento especial a todos aquellos que gracias a sus donaciones hicieron que mi viaje a partes difíciles y pobres del mundo fuesen posibles. Si te gustaría ayudar un poco por favor contacta a Bhaktin Monika, e-mail:

Traducción por bhakta jaime Nueva nilacala Mandhira. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/13 2005-08-15T15:06:02-06:00 2005-09-19T16:56:02-06:00 das

Less traveled readers take note: often the more complicated the arrival formalities into a country are, the more corrupt the place is—as if all the red tape can mask the shady dealings and salvage the national pride.

The past and present of the tract of land known as the Ukraine is a tale of both bad karma and superb bhakti. Horrendous wars and persecutions have mangled the past. Now, under the guise of democracy, organized crime controls the material present. Amidst the combat wreckage of yesterday and the governmental corruption of today, Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement stands tall, spiritually strong. Prabhupada’s ISKCON is healthy and dynamic here. ]]>

Less traveled readers take note: often the more complicated the arrival formalities into a country are, the more corrupt the place is—as if all the red tape can mask the shady dealings and salvage the national pride.

The past and present of the tract of land known as the Ukraine is a tale of both bad karma and superb bhakti. Horrendous wars and persecutions have mangled the past. Now, under the guise of democracy, organized crime controls the material present. Amidst the combat wreckage of yesterday and the governmental corruption of today, Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement stands tall, spiritually strong. Prabhupada’s ISKCON is healthy and dynamic here.

About  65 million spirit souls occupy human bodies in Ukraine. The main city Kiev holds about 2 million of them. Would I see the people free from the brutal chains of the East’s Marxism/atheism, now only to suffer the toxic fumes of  the West’s consumerism and pop culture? Choose your poison, but at least the free-market/democratic style of maya in the West usually allows us to preach—that is, while it’s hedonism gradually destroys the inner fiber of the people.

Riding through the city, from the international to the domestic airport, we bounced over an endless stream of potholes. Observing the surroundings, I could immediately understand that the flood of Western glamor and glitter--engulfing other former communist countries--had definitely passed Ukraine by. Grey, shoddy, and disheveled, Kiev still looks like a typical East-bloc city, though the communist empire had collapsed more than a decade ago.

The Ukrainian devotees driving us, however, were as shiny and sweet as a rasgulla fresh off the Lord’s plate. Because I had to board a domestic flight to Odessa that same evening and I hadn’t eaten all day, the devotees brought lunch prasada for us to honor, somewhere along the way.

Searching amidst the drab streets and broken roads for a scenic spot for lunch, we finally just pulled over alongside the main route to the airport. I guess time was running out. On a ragged spot of  weeds and grass, at a safe distance from the all-pervading roadside trash, we eagerly honored the Lord’s mercy. Never mind the dilapidated trucks and buses, with ancient engines roaring a few feet away from our meal.  And we ignored the smell of thick black diesel smoke that hung over our picnic site. This late lunch was our first taste of Ukrainian bhakti—and it was triumphant.

Studying the happy, uncomplicated Ukrainian devotees as they affectionately served us their transcendental delights, I wondered: What it’s like to have the karma of trying to survive in the space between a bulldozer and an iron wall?

Try the modern history of Ukraine. With Germany to the west,  just past Poland, and Russia immediately to the east, Ukraine has been alternately dissected or razed—actually even for many centuries before. In other words, the Ukrainian national identity and the laws of action/reaction have not fared well together.

Presently the country is the second largest on the European continent—only Russia is bigger in size. But prior to 1991, the nation of Ukraine was a phantom. In the early part of the twentieth century, Ukrainian territory had been pounced upon by the Poles-Lithuanians, the Austrian-Hungarians, and the Russian czars—alternately or simultaneously. In the aftermath of World War I and the upheavals that followed, Ukrainian territories disappeared into four nations: Romania, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and, of course, the USSR.

Lenin’s Bolshevik armies had forced their portion of the kill into the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The most dramatic changes took place in this Soviet share of the Ukraine region. Remember Prabhupada’s famous maxim: You can’t eat nuts and bolts?”  Stalin thought it was possible. Although at that time, the Ukrainian area was renowned for its agricultural wealth, Stalin launched a greedy five-year plan for breakneck industrialization. By 1938, industrial output had quadrupled, the number of workers tripled, and the urban population shot up from 19 to 34 percent of the total. Indeed Ukraine had undergone an extreme industrial transformation—ready to be devastated by World War II.

<em>“One should know, however, that all the necessities of life that the human society requires are supplied by the demigod agents of the Lord. No one can manufacture anything.  .  .  . If we forget the purpose of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence, which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of thieves can never be happy, because they have no aim in life. The gross materialist thieves have no ultimate goal of life. They are simply directed to sense gratification; nor do they have knowledge of how to perform yajnas.” (Bg. 3:12 purport)</em><!--nextpage-->

The social cost of the fanatical industrialization was paid by the peasantry. In the Ukrainian area, the harvests were bounteous; the peasants, famous for their feisty vaisya spirit. But the Soviets were fond of seizing private lands, merging the peasants’ holdings into huge state farms, and then forcing the peasants to labor on them as mere hired hands--with no say in how to nurture the land.

At first, the Ukrainian farmers held tightly to their productive private ways. Srila Prabhupada, in criticizing Marxism,  quoted a Bengali proverb to portray the irrepressible independence of the vaisya class: “When there is profit for me, sand can turn into gold. When there is no profit for me, the sand remains sand.” Indeed, the high productivity of the Ukrainian private farmers provided scant evidence that the communist myth of collectivization bore any semblance to practical reality--especially when the bounteous Ukrainian harvests were contrasted with the dismal yields from state farms elsewhere in the USSR.

Stalin, described by Prabhupada, as one of the two greatest demons of the twentieth century, knew just what to do. As Lord Krishna says in the Gita: <em>“Following such conclusions [godlessness], the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.” (Bg. 16:9)</em>

Though Ukraine was famous as “the breadbasket of Russia,” Stalin’s regime waged war upon its own belly. The peasants, collectivized against their will, resisted by slaughtering the herds prematurely and destroying farm machinery. The communists, of course, retaliated. They imposed impossible grain delivery quotas and then they confiscated the harvests--leaving the peasants with nothing.

Somehow the regime didn’t ponder the consequences of fighting with its own food suppliers. Lord Krishna’s economic plan in the Gita says, “All living entities exist on food grains.” But the communists had another idea. They plunged Ukraine into famine. Between 1932-33, more than five million Ukrainians died of hunger--a completely man-made catastrophe, unprecedented in peacetime. Hunger also killed 3 million in areas of Russia itself. The USSR would starve, but at least its sacred doctrine was intact.

By 1935, the communists had grabbed ninety percent of all the farmland in their side of Ukrainian territory. One hundred thousand families were stripped from their land, arrested en mass, and deported to the inhospitable areas of the Arctic and elsewhere. Settlers from Russia were brought in to repopulate the devastated countryside. In this way the traditional Ukrainian village was essentially wiped out.

When World War II started, Germany and the USSR conspired to snatch all the Ukrainian territories from the other European powers. The Soviets gobbled up the lion’s share. Then Germany--suddenly turning on its own partner in crime--invaded Russia.

The Soviets, while beating a hasty retreat eastward from their portion of Ukraine, scorched the earth. To deny the Germans any benefit from Ukraine, the Russians dismantled and removed industrial plants, blew up buildings, destroyed crops and food reserves, and flooded mines. Almost four million people were evacuated eastward, deep into Russia, for the duration of the war.

Hitler’s hordes, upon arrival, quickly assumed control of the entire Ukraine area. Most Ukrainians eagerly embraced the Germans, thinking Hitler would permanently keep out the hated Polish and Russian overlords and finally establish Ukraine’s beloved independence.

<em>Prahlada Maharaja prayed to Lord Narasimha: “O great one, O Supreme Lord, because of combination with pleasing and displeasing circumstances and because of separation from them, one is placed in a most regrettable position, within heavenly or hellish planets, as if burning in a fire of lamentation. Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves. Therefore I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service.” (S. bhag. 7:9:17)</em><!--nextpage-->

Contrary to Ukrainian hopes, the Nazis, as a remedy, were worse than the Soviet misery. Hitler, no lover of Slavic peoples,  had no intentions to grant the Ukrainians a nation. Out of the frying pan into the fire. The Nazis’ racial policies slated the Jews for death and non-Jewish Ukrainians for menial servitude. Over a half million Jews were killed and 2.5 million Ukrainians were exported to Germany for slave labor.

Then the Russians began to beat back the Nazi advances into Russia, and the Germans began a slow and brutal retreat westward back to Germany. Just as the Russians had destroyed everything on their way out of Ukraine, to the east, so the Germans destroyed whatever was left upon their exit, to the west. Such was the materialistic fate of Ukraine. Evidently, the sun would truly shine in this part of the world only upon the dawn of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement.

Ukraine's devastation during World War II was staggering. Some five to seven million people perished. Ten million were homeless. More than 700 cities and towns and 28,000 villages were destroyed. Only 20 percent of the industrial enterprises and 15 percent of agricultural equipment and machinery remained intact, and little of the transportation network was operable. The six years of war incinerated 40 percent of Ukraine's national wealth. Certainly, when lust, anger, and greed team up with the laws of karma, then life in this world is horrible.

With the Germans finally out of the way, stubborn Ukrainian nationalist fighters hoped for a breath of fresh air—their own nation at last. Battling the impending Soviet reemergence, they finally abandoned their futile struggle for sovereignty in 1950. For the next forty years, the united Ukrainian regions toiled dutifully within the USSR, until the Iron Curtain collapsed in 1990. Then, with the Russian bear on its back, once again Ukrainians rallied for the nectar of immortality-- the taste of mundane liberty.

<em>The Bhagavatam (10.84.13) pinpoints the futile material identifications that perpetually torment conditioned souls.  Yasyätma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke: “I am this body—this bag of material elements. Sva-dhih kalaträdisu: “My people, my children, my family, my society.” Bhauma ijya-dhih: “And the land is sacred where my blood relations have grown up. I shall die for this land—my country. I shall sacrifice everything for nationalism.”</em>

At the present moment in eternal time, Ukrainian aspirations for political sovereignty have met with more success. But their economy is in shambles. Devotees told me that although ex-members of the USSR such as Russia and Belarus are certainly economically troubled, still residents of those countries consider Ukraine to be even poorer. Americans, however, can be happy the people have democracy. Yes, Yankees, they can vote—for one Ukrainian Mafia puppet or another, in a mobster-rigged election.

Four hours after I landed in Kiev, I was on our way south to Odessa. (Dave and Adrian would follow, by overnight bus.) Bouncing in a small, beat-up propeller plane—the official domestic flight to a major city—I was happy that in my first four hours in the country we only had to pay bribes just twice. The first time, on the way to the airport, a traffic cop hit up our devotee driver “for speeding.” No ticket, no receipt, of course. Just hand over some cash.

The second, at the wooden bench they called the check-in counter,   the airlines lady commanded that I could take my small carry-on bag with me only by paying “a small supplement.” Dave and Adrian changed money to handle the bribe, as the local devotees apologized profusely: “Our country is poor; the people have to get money.”

When the plane landed in Odessa, the checked baggage was waiting--not in the terminal, as you would expect, but underneath the plane. You were expected to haul all your checked luggage plus your carry-ons yourself—all the way across the tarmac to the “arrivals terminal”—a fence behind which people watched for their arriving friends and kin. Apparently customer service was not a factor in the airlines industry here. But somehow this frail body--wearied after almost two days of continuos flying from South America--rose to the challenge. Lugging all the luggage across the airfield, I reached the fence and the devotees.

With a devotional chorus of Hari bol, they eagerly grabbed my bags and escorted me to the car. Once inside, I immediately collapsed. Contemplating the garlands they had placed on me, I remembered the famous verse from the Hari-bhakti Sudhodaya (3:11). Yes indeed, this was truly a decoration for a dead body.

<em>“The purport is that sometimes when a friend or relative dies, especially among lower class men, the dead body is decorated. Dressed and ornamented, the body is taken in procession. That sort of decoration of the dead body has no actual value because the life force is already gone. Similarly, any aristocracy, any social prestige or any advancement of material civilization without Krishna consciousness is as good as the decoration of a dead body.” (S. bhag 4.7.36, purport)</em><!--nextpage-->

The corpse resurrected the next morning, at a devotee’s house. A blissfull sight greeted my waking eyes: BB Govinda and Bhakti Caitanya Swamis lay peacefully at rest in the same room. After a jubilant day of Vaisnava merriment, we went to another devotee’s house for an ad hoc meeting of the Russian GBC. Prabhavisnu, Niranjana, and Bhakti Vijnana Maharajas greeted us in the backyard. My notion was that I was there just for the party, the sadhu-sanga, as a casual guest. But by the time the meeting ended, another idea seemed to have sort of spontaneously manifested.

The next day, the annual Ukrainian ISKCON Festival by the Black Sea would begin. I took rest early. With so many great kirtan stalwarts attending, I was determined to be well rested and ready for the main events—chanting and dancing. Also I figured that the Ukrainian devotees didn’t pay $800 USD for my airfare just for a dead body to attract sympathy at the festival.

The site of the six-day jamboree was a kind of health resort—Ukrainian standard--overlooking the sea. You’ve heard of five-star hotels? I’d rate this place generously at no stars and worse. But over 1200 excited devotees—mostly from Ukraine, and a few from neighboring Belarus and Russia—eagerly piled through the front gate. They were ready to party—six intense days of sravanam kirtanam visnu.

<em>“The spiritually powerful message of Godhead can be properly discussed only in a society of devotees, and it is greatly pleasing to hear in that association. If one hears from devotees, the way of transcendental experience quickly opens, and gradually one attains firm faith that in due course develops into attraction and devotion.” (Cc. Madhya 23.16)</em>
 
Hearing and chanting in private certainly has its time, place, and function in our daily spiritual diet. But the sastra explains that the taste, the rasa, of krsna-katha intensifies durng sankirtan: the congegational glorification of the Lord. Besides the standard morning program, this festival was jammed with opportunities for deepening our attachment for the Lord. Beginning at 10 am, seminars ran concurrently all day, with a long break for lunch.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami gave “The Demons in Vraja-lila”; Prahladananda Swami presented topics from the Nectar of Devotion; Prabhavisnu Swami discussed Caitanya-caritamrita; Sruti-kirti Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s personal servant for several years, delivered his memoirs to standing-room-only crowds. Niranjana Swami taught based on Prabhupada’s letters in the Prabhupada-Siksamrita. Bhakti Vijnana Swami, the only Russian sannyasi, always drew big numbers. Needless to say, unlike all the other speakers, he did not require a translator. Bhakti Vikasa and BB Govinda Maharajas also held forth.

I presented “Vrindavan Through Uddhava’s Eyes: A presentation of Vrindavan's sights, sounds, smells, inhabitants, and krishna-lilas as seen and remembered by Lord Krishna's dear friend and advisor, Sri Uddhava.”

The 1200 guests, like eager shoppers at a large mall, went from seminar to seminar, sampling the variegated transcendental wares to their full delight.

A strange quirk of karma: At the start of my seminar, I asked devotees if they had Caitanya-caritamrita in their own language. I already knew that the Russian BBT had not made it past the Adi-lila. The devotees proudly told me that their Ukrainian BBT, to surpass the Russian division, had already printed the entire sastra in one volume. I was quite impressed. But a few days later I was surprised to discover that very few devotees had read the book. Then the karmic truth came out. Although Ukrainians spoke Ukrainian, they had to make a special effort to read it.

Their old friends, the Soviet overlords, hoping to consolidate their grip on Ukraine and wipe out the fierce nationalism, had forced all schools and universities to teach in only the Russian language. For almost forty years, Russian was the official language of Ukraine, while the people in informal situations--outside of school and official business--spoke Ukrainian.  But all books, newspapers, and magazines were forcibly published in only Russian. Therefore, gradually the Ukrainians, though they could speak Ukrainian, gradually lost the ready ability to read their own language.

Upon the end of the Soviets, the now independent Ukraine is seeking to revive the native tongue. Turning the nationalistic tables, the Ukrainian government has ousted the Russian language from the public schools and required that all education be done in only Ukrainian. The hope is that the next generation of adults will forget Russian and only both speak and read Ukrainian. Round and round we go, on Samsara, the karmic merry go round.

I reminded the devotees that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati had predicted a time when Westerners will learn Bengali just to relish the exquisite literary style of Caitanya-caritamrita. So I made my own little prophesy: the time will come when Ukrainian devotees will learn how to read their own language, just so they can drink the nectar of Caitanya-caritamrita. How perverse are the workings of maya in this topsy turvy world.

<em>“So Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that you become a subordinate of Krishna. Ärädhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayah. If you want to worship, worship Krishna. And next He says, tad-dhämam vrndävanam. If you want to worship somebody, then love Krishna or worship Krishna--or His place Vrndävana.

Everyone wants to love some place, some country. That is nationalism. Somebody says, “I love this American land.” Somebody says, “I love this Chinese land.” Somebody says, “I love the Russian land.” So everyone wants to love some land. Bhauma ijya-dhih. People are naturally inclined to love some material land. Generally, where he is born he tries to love that place. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that “Because you are inclined to love some person, you love Krishna. Because you want to love some land, you love Vrndavana.” Aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhäma vrndävanam.” (Prabhupada lecture, slightly edited. Seattle, September 30, 1968)</em><!--nextpage-->

After evening artik, devotees had a choice between bhajans led by Bada Hari Prabhu or a multi-media slide show on the holy dhamas, by Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja. I opted for Bada Hari’s treasure chest of Vaisnava songs, since he was an old acquaintance, from my Los Angeles days in the seventies. I hadn’t seen him since then. Bada Hari knows seemingly countless songs, and several tunes for each of them. Night after night for at least two hours after artik, and often more, Niranjana Maharaj played mrdanga, Bada Hari played harmonium and sang, and I chanted along vigorously and then danced with abandon whenever the wonderful bhajans would spontaneously transform into mahamantra kirtans.

In Slavic countries, unlike the often excessively rationalist West, sentiments are considered serious business—a profound essence of life. Ukraine certainly was no exception. Bada Hari’s Vaisnava bhajans would play on the Ukrainian devotee’s heart strings, and when the worship reached its peak, you could see their swollen hearts rise up from their chest to the head. As the ecstasy energy climbed past the level of their mouth and nose, then their eyeballs would start to glisten and enlarge. Finally, upon reaching the brahma-randra, the very top of the skull, their joyous hearts would soar out, to the spiritual world.

<em>“The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead.” (S. bhag 1:2:8 purport)</em>

No one at the festival seemed to have minded that the first three days were without running water. The central pump at the resort broke down, so 1,200 devotees carried water in buckets to their rooms, for showering and washing and cleaning. After seven days of this intense bhakti festival, I hit the road with Niranjana Maharaj, the local GBC, and Acutya-priya das, the regional secretary of Ukraine, to visit temples and preaching centers.

By car we traveled south eight hours from Odessa to the Crimean peninsula, sticking out into the Black Sea, above Turkey, and then back, eight hours to Odessa, and then north eight hours to Kiev. The roads were horrible, but relishing one another’s Vaisnava association, we were completely satisfied.

Everywhere in Ukraine the devotees spirits were buoyant. I could see that because they had senior leaders who labored to care for them personally, and to train them, and who were vigilant to protect the spontaneous preaching spirit from the complexities of institutional politics and money-making, the old-fashioned idealism of Krishna conscious was alive, well, and attracting huge numbers. Then, because of constant personal training and development, the quality was satisfying. I recalled a forecast given to me by Prabhavisnu Swami back in Australia: “Niranjana Maharaj is an ideal GBC, who works hard to take care of the devotees.”

The Ukrainian devotees were enthusiastic, genuine, and eager to sacrifice. Just to witness their humble yet gorgeous bhakti easily made all the austerities of traveling worthwhile. According to the European, American, or Australian standard, Ukraine is an economically downcast country, brimming with material inconveniences. Remember the Cherenyobl nuclear disaster of ? It was here. Yet the devotees were, on the whole, vibrant and keen, armed with the unabashed charisma and camaraderie that makes Krishna consciousness so attractive—both to newcomers and oldtimers.

Of course if I scratched deeper, I could see scattered cases of the usual individual problems that plague temples in this yuga—sense control, marital relations, etc.  But most importantly I could observe that when the leaders work hard to instill, maintain and protect a culture of strong preaching and amicable devotee relations, then Lord Caitanya’s mercy can overflow—easily minimizing any isolated individual failings.

Not incidentally, the Ukraine yatra’s style of book distribution combined with cultivation leads the Russian side of the world in numbers of books distributed. Books—what a relief!--are still the basis there. Indeed, once a month, all the temple presidents come together for one whole week, to associate, study, and give seminars to each other on sastra. In this way, by the design of regional secretary Acyuta-priya das, the presidents amply intermingle with each other for more than just the necessary hardcore management discussions.<!--nextpage-->

Bada Hari Prabhu, a householder and father, added the grhastha perspective to the visitors’ insights. He was amazed to observe how the children and even the teenagers were well-behaved and devotional. He raises two children in Alachua, Florida, and was shocked at the difference. His conclusion? Devoid of the opportunities for high-tech sense grat and economic hallucination that overwhelm devotee kids in America, the Ukrainian devotee kids, in their materially unappealing circumstances, actually had a much better chance at becoming Krishna conscious. Then I myself was shocked to learn that often the devotees’ children, when they are old enough, actually join the brahmacari or ladies ashram. Yes, that still goes on!

In a country of 65 million people, you have a yatra of 2,500 active devotees that is rapidly expanding. Just the 400 active devotees who form the temple community in the city of Kiev are greater than the numbers of active devotees in entire major geographical regions of the vast USA—Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, etc.

What is the use of material comfort and ease if everyone languishes in maya? The Ukrainian lesson shows how dynamic bhakti can triumph in any circumstance.

Remember Chernobyl, the worst nuclear accident in history? You guessed right--it happened in Ukraine. Yet, even amidst such a karmic disaster area, I could see that good ISKCON leadership, a clear spiritual vision, loving care of the devotees, and dedication to Prabhupada’s objectives can take you back to Godhead. Isn’t that our goal?

Let’s follow Prabhupada’s path, as he has given it to us from Bhaktisiddhanta, Bhaktivinode, and the Six Gosvamis. Then, through our attempts for pure devotion, even in this terrified world—America, Ukraine, England or Australia—we can associate with Krishna .

<em>'There are different kinds of love or worship in the world. The beginning is “O God, give us our daily bread.” This is beginning. When we are taught to love God, we are instructed that “You go to temple, go to church, and pray to God for your necessities, for your grievances.” That is the beginning. But that is not pure love. Pure love, perfection of pure love, can be found amongst the gopés. That is the example.

How? How did they love Krishna? Krishna was a cowherd boy, and with His friends, other cowherd’s boys, He used to go with His cows to the pasturing ground the whole day. That was the system. Because people at that time were satisfied with land and cows--that’s all. That is the solution to all economic problems. The people were not industrial, they were not servant of anyone. Simply they got production from the land and milk from the cows--the whole food problem was solved.

So Krishna would go to the pasturing ground, and the gopis would stay at home. . . . But although Krishna was miles away in the pasturing ground, the gopis were at home thinking, “Oh, Krishna’s feet are so soft. Now He’s walking on the rough ground. The particles of stones are pricking His soles.  So He must be feeling some pain.” In this way thinking, they used to cry. Just see. Krishna is miles away, and the gopis are simply thinking of what He is feeling: “Krishna may be feeling like that.” This is love.

This is love. They are not asking Krishna, “My dear Krishna, what You have brought me from Your pasturing ground? What is in Your pocket for me? Let me see.” No. They were simply thinking of Krishna, how Krishna will be satisfied. They used to dress themselves and go before Krishna with nice dresses:  “Oh, He’ll be happy to see us.” . . . The relationship between Krishna and the gopis was so intimate and so unalloyed that Krishna Himself admitted, “My dear gopis, it is not in My power to repay you for your loving affairs.” Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Yet He became bankrupt, that “My dear gopis, it is not possible for Me to repay the debts that you have created by loving Me.” So this is the highest perfection of love. Ramya kacid upasana vrajavadhu.' (Seattle lecture continued.)</em> ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/11 2005-08-15T15:05:06-06:00 2005-09-19T16:56:06-06:00 das

From the time just after Prabhupada’s disappearance until the late eighties,  Europe had been my home. But for the past 16 years I had gone everywhere except Europe. Of course, a sannyasi has no real home. Nowadays, when anyone asks me where I live I reply, “on the airplane.” Still, some places become a preaching focus, for Krishna’s service. Europe was this for me.

I left North America in March, 1978, five months after Srila Prabhupada’s passing from this world. Early in the year of his final lesson, I had officially become the head of his book production in Los Angeles—a service I had unofficially been doing for some time. I had schemed for 2 years to master on my own all aspects of his book production, because I knew the BBT production chief had a direct line to His Divine Grace and would receive much personal attention from him. Attaining his physical association was my supreme goal. This quest drove me onwards in Krishna consciousness, day after day, month after month. ]]>

From the time just after Prabhupada’s disappearance until the late eighties,  Europe had been my home. But for the past 16 years I had gone everywhere except Europe. Of course, a sannyasi has no real home. Nowadays, when anyone asks me where I live I reply, “on the airplane.” Still, some places become a preaching focus, for Krishna’s service. Europe was this for me.

I left North America in March, 1978, five months after Srila Prabhupada’s passing from this world. Early in the year of his final lesson, I had officially become the head of his book production in Los Angeles—a service I had unofficially been doing for some time. I had schemed for 2 years to master on my own all aspects of his book production, because I knew the BBT production chief had a direct line to His Divine Grace and would receive much personal attention from him. Attaining his physical association was my supreme goal. This quest drove me onwards in Krishna consciousness, day after day, month after month.

Prabhupada loved books, so I was determined to love his books. I was too physically weak to do his dear book distribution anymore. Hence, book production was to be my expressway--to a spot on the floor at Prabhupada’s feet.

In early 1977 the practical reality suddenly dawned upon Ramesvara Swami, the BBT trustee in Los Angeles at that time. He realized the former production manager had faded many months ago. An intolerable situation of Prabhupada’s book production with no manager at the helm would surely invoke the divine wrath of His Divine Grace. Thus the trustee scrambled to plug the hole before competing leaders could report the inadequacy to Prabhupada and the chastisements would rain down.

Reviewing the BBT devotees to find the next chief, Ramesvara suddenly realized that I had been unofficially doing the job for quite some time. I’ll never forget the startled look on his face--and his question. “How did you learn all these things [about the entire book production process]?” I mumbled some attempt at a humble answer. In my mind, though, I was thinking, “Don’t you know I’ll doing anything to attain the sanga of Prabhupada’s lotus feet?

Upon official recognition, throughout 1977 I was in devotee heaven. Prabhupada had started the Tenth Canto and all the manuscripts were coming straight to me! I would be in place to receive his intimate darshan for the duration of his translating the entire Bhagavatam and beyond. What a life! He will translate and pour out those Goloka Bhaktivedanta purports, and I will give all my life’s energies for producing his books. Only this boon could soothe a heart devastated by forced retirement from sankirtan. Previously I had been sure that if I could distribute books for the rest of my life I would easily go back to Godhead. Then ill health finished my daily distribution career. But now, a new benediction! I was Prabhupada’s man for book production!

You can judge for yourself how much of my zeal may have been vanity and how much, real devotion. I just knew that I was desperate to achieve Prabhupada’s personal association.

Remember that before the famous inconceivable Caitanya-caritamrita book production marathon in 1975, a transcendentally displeased Prabhupada had threatened even more thunderbolts upon his disciples if they did not clear the backlog of his translations by producing a materially impossible amount of books in 2 months. Then, after The Miracle actually happened, he wrote all of us at the BBT that because of this special effort all the participants would go back to Godhead.

“You have taken seriously this work and I know that my Guru Maharaj is pleased with you because he wanted this. So by this your endeavor you will all go back home back to Godhead.

“Let me first of all finish Srimad-Bhagavatam, then we can take up others. So I wish to also thank you for your cooperation. Because of your cooperation, therefore it has been possible. For me to publish alone the first three volumes, I had to take so much trouble, but by the cooperation of you American boys and girls now this has become possible.”

So who could blame me for my being so possessed and driven, like a hungry Calcutta orphan scouring the streets for scraps of food.  More mercy!

<!--nextpage-->In November 1977 I received in the post from India the manuscript of the famous Chapter 13 of the Tenth Canto, dictated by Prabhupada in the most extraordinary medical circumstances.  Sitting in my office at the BBT, reading his unedited words, suddenly tears gushed from my eyes and heart. My head sank to the desk in utter grief. Somehow, as I read the words, I sensed that this was the end—the last chapter. There would be no more Bhaktivedanta purports. Three days later Srila Prabhupada disappeared.

Five months later, March 1978 found me, a twenty-seven year-old brahmacari, leaving warm and smoggy Los Angeles behind, bound for the Mayapur festival, looking for a new challenge somewhere.

Prabhupada’s departure from this world terminated my quest to associate with him physically through producing his books. Now what to do? The year before his departure, Prabhupada had written this beautiful letter to the members of the Los Angeles temple. I remember the day the letter arrived. Hearing it read aloud in the temple room after mangal aratik, I had savored every word.

“My Dear Sons and Daughters,

If you feel at all indebted to me then you should preach vigorously like me. That is the proper way to repay me. Of course, no one can repay the debt to the spiritual master, but the spiritual master is very much pleased by such an attitude by the disciple. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said: vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana [Bg. 2.41], ``Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one.'' Our only business is to be fixed up in devotional service by pleasing the spiritual master. Those who are not fixed up they have various lines of action. (eka means ``one'' and bahu means ``many'').

“The real ocean of mercy is Krsna and it is the duty of the spiritual master to tell his disciple to come to the ocean and be happy. The spiritual master's duty is to lead the disciple to this ocean. I am trying my best and if you try to follow surely you will benefit.

Bhaktivinode Thakura has sung, ``Krsna sei tomara, Krsna dite para, tomara sakati ache. Ami ta'kangala, krsna krsna boli, dhai tava pache pache.'' ``Krsna is yours and you have the power to give Him to anyone you wish. I am poor and wretched and running behind you shouting Krsna, Krsna!''

“Krsna is unlimited, no one can catch Him, but if someone follows the parampara, He agrees to be captured. Everyone is afraid of Krsna, but Krsna is afraid of Mother Yasoda. That is Krsna's special mercy.”

This monumental letter became my beacon for lighting the way in a future without Prabhupada’s physical presence. En route from Los Angeles to India, I had to stopover in London. It was there, at Bhaktivedanta Manor, that my future in Central and East Europe suddenly took shape. I was told that Prabhupada had said anyone who preaches in the communist countries would get the special dust of his lotus feet. That was all I needed to hear. Onward Krishna’s soldiers—full of faith, fervor, and faults.

From my copy-editing days of the Bhagavatam, I had marked a purport from the Sixth Canto, “The Battle Between the Demigods and Vrträsura” as a disciple’s clarion call to spiritual integrity and progressive commitment.

“If one is advanced in knowledge, he must always be prepared to sacrifice anything for a better cause. At the present moment the entire world is in a dangerous position under the spell of a godless civilization. The Krsna consciousness movement needs many exalted, learned persons who will sacrifice their lives to revive God consciousness throughout the world. We therefore invite all men and women advanced in knowledge to join the Krsna consciousness movement and sacrifice their lives for the great cause of reviving the God consciousness of human society.”

Now, in London again, July 2001, twenty –three years later, standing before Prabhupada’s beloved Sri Sri Radha London Isvara, humbled and honed by preaching trials and travails on every continent, this tiny servant wondered what future Krishna would bring.

<!--nextpage-->The Soho temple is a small building in central London, at probably the busiest international tourist crossroads in the world. Real estate prices are so high in this area that few devotees can even contemplate living near the temple. On the ground floor is an ISKCON restaurant and on the floors above are the temple room and ashrams. The space is cramped, and the noise at night from the nearby nightclubs makes sleeping difficult. But amidst the obvious austerities and inconveniences, the preaching potential at such a choice location is unlimited.

Lunch prasada was a delightful affair with the temple president, my Godbrother, the inimitable Mahadyuti Prabhu, an American ex-patriate. Adi-karta Prabhu, a veteran British Godbrother now living in North Carolina, in the USA, also graced the meal. We reminisced about the days long gone and analyzed the pressing sociological issues confronting ISKCON today. Akrura das, a devotee originally from Zagreb, in the former communist Yugloslavia, arrived late for lunch. Reminding me of my trips to Yugoslavia in the eighties, he claimed I saved the devotees there from a spiritual crisis then. Seventeen years later he wanted to thank me for this and also get some advice about something current.

In the Gita class at the Soho centre that evening shone many familiar faces. Bhaktin Cassie was there, and Nick also. I had met them in Sydney, Australia. Cassie is now in charge of sewing for the Deities. She reminded me that just four months ago she wrote asking if I would ever visit London. I had answered that it was highly unlikely, that I can’t imagine coming to Europe, and that she should try to catch me in Los Angeles. Now I find that my itinerary has forced me to transit London 3 times in one month. Her secret potion? She revealed, “I prayed to Lord Balaram.” I replied, “So I guess you can see that I’m not the one in control.”

Bhaktin Rhiannon was there, whom I had first encountered in Christchurch, New Zealand. Rhiannon is finishing her PhD in general relativity while also doing university preaching and sometimes flying off to Los Angeles to distribute Prabhupada’s books at the airport. Errol was there, having relocated from Wellington, New Zealand to London, to move up in the ranks of Air New Zealand. (But Air NZ is now on the rocks.)

Amidst my singing “Jaya Radha Madhava,” in walks my senior Godsister Malati Mataji, with an entourage of ladies from Bhaktivedanta Manor. After class, Malati Mataji and I talked in the restaurant about Deities, shilas, and Their pastimes. Then I took rest so I could chant all my rounds before an early departure the next morning. You see, as soon as I arrived in London--after a 4 hour flight from Peru, a 4 hour stopover in Miami at the temple, and then an 8 hour overnight flight to London--I had immediately run out on Harinama sankirtan. I thought there would be no better way to shake off jet lag than to chant and jump in the centre of London with Adi-karta Prabhu and the Soho devotees. Hence, that night the body did deserve some rest—especially if rest meant more attentive japa in the morning.

At 7:30 am, dodging a shower of flower petals from Malati Prabhu and her assistants, I headed out the door to the taxi for Victoria Station and then a train to Gatwick Airport. My round-the-world traveling crew of Adrian and Dave let Cassie and Rhiannon lead the way. I quietly fussed in the background, but my guys caved in quickly to Cassie’s skillful determination and Rhiannon’s gentle schemes. I have to admit we did arrive at the check-in counter with maximum convenience and all the creature comforts.

Next stop: Kiev, Ukraine, in the former USSR.

A special note of thanks to all those whose donations make my travelling to difficult and poor parts of the world possible. If you care to help a bit, please contact Bhaktin Monika, e-mail:

monikar@optimedia.co.nz ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/10 2005-08-15T15:03:59-06:00 2005-09-19T16:56:59-06:00 das

by HH Devamrita Maharaja

In quite a few major Western countries, thumbing through spiritual literature is now trendy and fashionable. More than ever before, the past few years have seen so many so-called spiritual books top the best seller lists. From all-knowing Deepak Chopra, to paradisal near-death experiences, to the bible of global enlightenment, "The Celestine Prophecy", the undiscriminating reader can swallow it all, assured that he is "on the path," no matter what he does. New Age polluted notions are almost main stream today, in many areas of the world. An essential part of the pseudo-spiritual scene is the phenomenon known as networking. The more you hobnob with others, the more spiritual you become, because, they say, "We all are the Truth."

This fad makes a great environment for engaging westerners in congregational book distribution. In this present climate of "grassroots spirituality," it is very socially acceptable to circulate your favourite "metaphysical literature" among your friends, acquaintances, and casual contacts. In fact, not only is it normal, but it is stylish too. Therefore I have noticed that many congregational candidates don't feel at all shy or self-conscious about disseminating Prabhupada's books. I have found that as soon as they begin to become steadily attracted to Krishna consciousness, they will readily engage in book circulation, especially if they have been introduced to Krishna consciousness through the books and have been regularly taught how to take shelter of the books. ]]>

by HH Devamrita Maharaja

In quite a few major Western countries, thumbing through spiritual literature is now trendy and fashionable. More than ever before, the past few years have seen so many so-called spiritual books top the best seller lists. From all-knowing Deepak Chopra, to paradisal near-death experiences, to the bible of global enlightenment, "The Celestine Prophecy", the undiscriminating reader can swallow it all, assured that he is "on the path," no matter what he does. New Age polluted notions are almost main stream today, in many areas of the world. An essential part of the pseudo-spiritual scene is the phenomenon known as networking. The more you hobnob with others, the more spiritual you become, because, they say, "We all are the Truth."

This fad makes a great environment for engaging westerners in congregational book distribution. In this present climate of "grassroots spirituality," it is very socially acceptable to circulate your favourite "metaphysical literature" among your friends, acquaintances, and casual contacts. In fact, not only is it normal, but it is stylish too. Therefore I have noticed that many congregational candidates don't feel at all shy or self-conscious about disseminating Prabhupada's books. I have found that as soon as they begin to become steadily attracted to Krishna consciousness, they will readily engage in book circulation, especially if they have been introduced to Krishna consciousness through the books and have been regularly taught how to take shelter of the books.

In some parts of Australia and New Zealand, congregational membership has been made synonymous with support of book propagation. The Sydney temple, for example, aims to enlist new members from both Indian and Western population by having them sign a pledge to donate monthly a certain amount of money for the temple's central purpose: not weddings and ritualistic pujas, but sastra distribution. The member can choose whether to receive the books and distribute them himself, or to have the temple utilize the funds for its own distribution tactics. In this way each member is directly hooked up to the most important activity and can feel the transcendental satisfaction of participating in the heart of ISKCON.

This connection is not just an accounting arrangement - it depends on preaching. The members must be able to perceive that they are also sankirtan devotees. One reason that makes this consciousness accessible is the attitude of the full-time sankirtan devotees based at the temple. They naturally want to help enthuse a congregation that allies itself directly for the same almighty goal.

Auckland uses the devise of modish cafe/seminar scenerio called "The Loft". It's pitched at Westerners, offering them Krishna conscious nightlife. A few completely westernised Indians also like the atmosphere - casual, non-threatening, but certainly devotionally motivating. The staff are actually sankirtan devotees during the day who adopt a different strategy at night.

Drop in anytime, spirituality never tasted so good! Rub shoulders with full-time Krishna conscious practitioners in a secure, non-missionary way. Through group discussions plumb the mysteries of the ancient Vedic texts, free from the pressures of dogma (whatever you think that means). Gradually you'll want to sign up and become a member of the club. Then you find out the open secret. Club membership means direct participation in the noblest mission: world enlightenment, just what all the best-selling "spiritual books" talk about.

But we propagate Prabhupada's authorized texts, not the bogus stuff so commonly available. In other words, club membership doesn't just mean access to the tastiest meals and the most amicable yet profound seminars and camaraderie. It means you directly share in the most cherished activity of the universe: helping to circulate those pure books that you've grown so attached to, after dropping by the club night after night.

Lord Caitanya distributes the taste of love of Krishna even though the recipients initially don't know Krishna. Therefore new acquaintances of ISKCON can immediately begin to circulate books even though they don't know much more than their attraction for the literature. It will take work to build up a congregational book-culture, with all the required social values, impetuses, and dynamics, but the transcendental pay-off is enormous.

Since books are the basis, why not try to seamlessly integrate book distribution with all other activities of ISKCON, just as a top-notch software suite like Microsoft Office seamlessly integrates all its component programs?

In any case, trial experiments clearly reveal a very significant pattern: the earlier in their contact with ISKCON new people begin to involve themselves in circulation Prabhupada's books, the better-for the development of their own future and Lord Caitanya's Golden Age. Our new congregational devotees, active with society, family, and friends, from the very beginning of their spiritual life can network on Prabhupada's behalf, with book in hand.

Perhaps world enlightenment is that close.

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We place our trust in healers of the body, but we lack faith in true healers of the soul. by HH Devamrita Swami - from Back to Godhead : March / April 1999 In his book Perfect Escape, Devamrita Swami comments on the teachings of the saint Jada Bharata to King Rahugana, found in the Fifth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Having heard from Jada Bharata, King Rahugana is now speaking. "Because of the material conceptions that have shackled my mind, I declare myself diseased. My body, made of matter, is full of dirty things, and my vision is polluted by pride. Your words of nectar are the right medicine for me, like vaccine for one bitten by a snake. Like cooling water, your instructions relieve one from the scorching fever of material attachment."<!--nextpage--> Have you ever known anyone afflicted with a terminal disease like cancer? Of course, in one sense everyone is a terminal case, as the death of the body is common to all. Nevertheless, we all want to live a full life span. Longevity is our expected privilege as members of the developed world. Just think what happens when an educated person of sufficient financial means receives a medical diagnosis that the end is near. ]]>

We place our trust in healers of the body, but we lack faith in true healers of the soul. by HH Devamrita Swami - from Back to Godhead : March / April 1999 In his book Perfect Escape, Devamrita Swami comments on the teachings of the saint Jada Bharata to King Rahugana, found in the Fifth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Having heard from Jada Bharata, King Rahugana is now speaking. "Because of the material conceptions that have shackled my mind, I declare myself diseased. My body, made of matter, is full of dirty things, and my vision is polluted by pride. Your words of nectar are the right medicine for me, like vaccine for one bitten by a snake. Like cooling water, your instructions relieve one from the scorching fever of material attachment."<!--nextpage--> Have you ever known anyone afflicted with a terminal disease like cancer? Of course, in one sense everyone is a terminal case, as the death of the body is common to all. Nevertheless, we all want to live a full life span. Longevity is our expected privilege as members of the developed world. Just think what happens when an educated person of sufficient financial means receives a medical diagnosis that the end is near. Once the initial shock wears off, the person at once begins a desperate search for a brilliant doctor. We are all trained to believe that the frontiers of science will continuously offer new prospects for miraculous cures. A wealthy patient eagerly researches even the most remote leads. Consider, for example, the famous American basketball player Magic Johnson. When he learned he was HIV positive, he at once deployed his millions to seek out the premier AIDS specialists in America. No possibilities were left unexplored. Suppose you have bone cancer. Fortunately, friends in the alternative medical scene tell you of a doctor who has astonishing success reversing deterioration in patients who surrender to his or her radical prescriptions. Just visualize what your attitude would be upon arriving at the treatment center: "Doctor, I've heard all about your special therapy and its extraordinary possibilities. Conventional doctors have given me no chance to live, but I'll do anything you say to save my life. Your reputation is famous throughout all the journals of alternative healing. Please treat me. At least put me on the waiting list. I promise I'll follow your every instruction completely-no matter how much I have to change my living habits." Bernie S. Siegal, alternative doctor and author, has sold millions of books recommending attitudinal healing. "Hope is therapeutic, " he says. Although statistics show that a person with x number of terminal symptoms will die in y number of months, he tells of special possibilities. You could be among the exceptional cases - if you change your mentality. He advocates love, laughter, and doing what you like to do. Especially you should "live life to the max." Then you may qualify yourself for a complete remission, or at least a partial mitigation. People naturally flock to him for personal care. Seigal says he wouldn't describe himself as a consummate optimist. Early in his medical career, he saw that although he was trained to help people life, everyone in fact dies. So he feels that if he can spread some happiness amidst the anguish of life, he has made a significant contribution. "I'm a realist," he said in a radio interview. " I know there's pain and trouble ahead, but I choose joy. That's a choice we all have to make or we're not going to be grateful for life or be happy." Judging by sales of Siegal's book, people appreciate his efforts. Like other alternative-medicine authors - Deepak Chopra, Larry Dossey, Andrew Weil - Seigal firmly insists on a reciprocal relationship of love and trust between the doctor and patient. The doctor must resonate with the patient's inner nature, so that the patient can arouse the dormant inner strengths crucial for the healing process. The Western world easily accepts devotion to Seigal and his methodology. We cherish a doctor reputed for postponing disease and death. For a transcendentalist, however, the public's attitude differs. Society has hardly any idea how to encourage a genuine spiritual teacher. We don't understand the dynamics of the relationship between a bona fide spiritual guide and a student. Nor do we understand the goal of that relationship. Take for example Joseph Campbell, the famous populariser of mythology. Commenting on Westerner's seeking spiritual guides, the late scholar said: "I think that is bad news. I really do think you can take clues from teachers; I know you can. But, you see, the traditional Oriental idea is that the student should submit absolutely to the teacher. The guru actually assumes responsibility for the student's moral life, and that is total giving. I don't think that's quite proper for a Western person. One of the big spiritual truths for the West is that each of us is a unique creature, and consequently has a unique path." Yes, each of us is an individual. Krsna, in the Bhagavad-gita, confirms the eternal individuality of both the minute living entity and Himself, the Complete Whole: "Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be." (BG 2.12) Yet when living entities forget their relationship with the supreme source, they all suffer a common disease. Everywhere you'll find the same plague: misidentification with the body and mind, concurrent with an intense struggle to live an illusory life separate from Krishna, the Complete Whole. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.18) warns that no one should become a spiritual teacher who cannot rescue a student from the cycle of repeated birth, disease, old age, and death. In fact, the text cautions that one should not even become a parent or a spouse if one cannot accomplish this most important task. Therefore, all Krsna conscious literature advises that one not accept the tutelage of a spiritual guide without investigation whether he can indeed supply all the spiritual necessities. But when you find a doctor who can actually heal the tumour of material existence, why not humble yourself in love and trust? Doctors like Bernie Siegal aspire only to ease the pain in an admittedly tough and trouble-filled world. Certainly we do need to keep our bodies in the best possible health, and for talented medical help we should be grateful. But we should remember that even the most acclaimed doctors can offer only stop-gap measures in a temporary, precarious existence. For their critical aid in pursuing the ignorance that feels like bliss, we adore them. We desperately seek their guidance like drowning men battling for air. No arguments, just, "Doc, I know you can help me where all others have failed. Whatever you advise, I'll do without arguments." Actually, everyone is a terminal case - the death rate is 100 percent. Yet fed by scholarly and popular misunderstandings, we fail to value real therapy, real medicine, and to take advantage of Krishna consciousness. "Physician, heal thyself." Why merely take part in so-called joy in the sorrows of the world? Why not learn to rise above illusion and teach others to do the same? The Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.5.4) says: "When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore I think it not befitting an intelligent person to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another." Here we find a clear invitation to real welfare work: teaching others to avoid material existence altogether. That is the greatest gift. Rather than offering only temporary help, why not get to the root of the entire problem? Cure the bodily conception of life and alienation from the all-attractive reservoir of pleasure. King Rahugana next tells Jada Bharata: "Whatever doubts I have regarding spiritual life I will ask you about. Although you have imparted to me mystic knowledge for my enlightenment, your meaning appears too difficult for my grasp. Please repeat your instructions in a simplified way so that I can digest them. I do have a very inquisitive mind, and I certainly desire a clear understanding." The sage has adequately explained to the king a basic lesson in spiritual knowledge. A sincere student, however, does have the right to humbly petition the spiritual director for clarification. Krsna consciousness is the most profound art and science, and as such it requires guidance through a heartfelt intimate bond between teacher and student. Contrary to foolish fears, the relationship does not resemble a dictatorship. For instance, Krishna is the Complete Whole and therefore the original guru. Yet after speaking eighteen chapters of the most wonderful knowledge to Arjuna, Krsna clearly indicated that Arjuna still had his options: "Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully and do what you wish to do." (Bhagavad-gita 18.63) Krsna lucidly delineates the results of all possible choices. Yet even the Supreme infinite, the original teacher, does not interfere with the tiny independence of the minute, finite living entity. Those giving knowledge and guidance on behalf of Krsna also do not wring submission and agreement out of potential students. Krsna consciousness is a voluntary affair of devotional love and service. The best way for a newcomer to approach it is through careful deliberation. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/4 2005-08-15T05:56:33-06:00 2005-09-19T16:27:33-06:00 das

Bolder minds are keen to discover the hidden acheivements of the ancients. This curiosity will transform the way we see ourselves and the universe. Were some ancient civilizations much more advanced than what we allow? Particularly, India’s Vedic texts challenge our pride and conceptions. The sages of India’s lost past delighted in knowledge of the nonmaterial. But they testify that they also knew how to produce material benefits without industry. Dare we consider that the subcontinent of India, thousands of years ago, was the center of the greatest spiritual wisdom and mystical technology that the Earth has seen? The India of remote antiquity may surface as the greatest find in the new millennium. Searching for Vedic India reviews the latest research from both mainstream and independent sources. Most importantly, it unfolds the ancient answers to the modern riddles of consciousness, reincarnation, extraterrestrial contact, and spiritual dimensions beyond the laws of time and space. Deep in lost history, did high civilizations and advanced knowledge thrive? The ancient Vedic literatures of India describe a worldwide civilization that flourished at a time when modern historians insist that humans like us existed simply as hunter-gatherers. This Vedic civilization, centered in India, employed technologies based on a scientific understanding of the physical elements and forces we know today, as well as more subtle conscious elements. Devamrita Swami, who has spent a lifetime in his own search for Vedic India, takes us on a journey of intellectual discovery through the history of the remarkable Vedic civilization and its knowledge, locked in the ancient literatures of India. His wit and wisdom combine to make our search for Vedic India not only illuminating but entertaining. He tells us not only the truths of Vedic India, but how they are again coming to be. ]]>

Bolder minds are keen to discover the hidden acheivements of the ancients. This curiosity will transform the way we see ourselves and the universe. Were some ancient civilizations much more advanced than what we allow? Particularly, India’s Vedic texts challenge our pride and conceptions. The sages of India’s lost past delighted in knowledge of the nonmaterial. But they testify that they also knew how to produce material benefits without industry. Dare we consider that the subcontinent of India, thousands of years ago, was the center of the greatest spiritual wisdom and mystical technology that the Earth has seen? The India of remote antiquity may surface as the greatest find in the new millennium. Searching for Vedic India reviews the latest research from both mainstream and independent sources. Most importantly, it unfolds the ancient answers to the modern riddles of consciousness, reincarnation, extraterrestrial contact, and spiritual dimensions beyond the laws of time and space. Deep in lost history, did high civilizations and advanced knowledge thrive? The ancient Vedic literatures of India describe a worldwide civilization that flourished at a time when modern historians insist that humans like us existed simply as hunter-gatherers. This Vedic civilization, centered in India, employed technologies based on a scientific understanding of the physical elements and forces we know today, as well as more subtle conscious elements. Devamrita Swami, who has spent a lifetime in his own search for Vedic India, takes us on a journey of intellectual discovery through the history of the remarkable Vedic civilization and its knowledge, locked in the ancient literatures of India. His wit and wisdom combine to make our search for Vedic India not only illuminating but entertaining. He tells us not only the truths of Vedic India, but how they are again coming to be. Searching for Vedic India thus takes us not only into the past, but into the future.

---

Devamrita Swami is an author and researcher specializing in the history and knowledge of ancient India. Born in New York City, he began his immersion in India upon graduating from Yale University in 1972. Visiting India annually for almost three decades, he is an ordained sannyasi, or monk, of India’s Vaishnava spiritual tradition. He is now based in Australia, from where he travels to every continent. His previous book, Perfect Escape, is a contemporary commentary on a section of the spiritual text Shrimad-Bhagavatam. ]]> http://www.devaswami.com/node/3 2005-08-15T05:52:47-06:00 2005-09-19T16:27:47-06:00 das

Timeless wisdom from the Vedas with modern commentary based on the teachings of one of India's greatest spiritual leaders.

The advanced consciousness of human beings is for understanding the deepest mysteries of existence. What is life? What is its origin? Why does it exist? Yet most people today don't even have any practical understanding of the difference between spirit and matter. Spiritual knowledge is vague and inconclusive. Although fashionable peddlers of popular spirituality claim we are spiritual beings, there is a huge gulf between chic notions of the spiritual self and clear-cut knowledge about it. Centuries ago, the truth was imparted during a chance encounter between a wandering sage, Jada Bharata, and a powerful ruler, Maharaja Rahugana. In the course of a spirited discussion, Jada Bharata expertly and lovingly transported Rahugana out of the desert of false prestige, and unscrupulous action. To this day, anyone who acts according to the knowledge he imparted, will prosper in full understanding and spiritual satisfaction. Jada Bharata's timeless wisdom is a blueprint for the perfect escape from material bondage through knowledge of the Supreme Ultimate Truth.

Biography

Devamrita Swami was born 16 October 1950 in New York City. At the age of thirteen, he received a scholarship to prep school in the mountains of New Hampshire, where he studied until, at seventeen, he received a scholarship to Yale University. In 1972, Devamrita Swami graduated from Yale University. At this time he came in contact with the books of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He discovered that the knowledge presented in these books was the beginning of his real education.

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Timeless wisdom from the Vedas with modern commentary based on the teachings of one of India's greatest spiritual leaders.

The advanced consciousness of human beings is for understanding the deepest mysteries of existence. What is life? What is its origin? Why does it exist? Yet most people today don't even have any practical understanding of the difference between spirit and matter. Spiritual knowledge is vague and inconclusive. Although fashionable peddlers of popular spirituality claim we are spiritual beings, there is a huge gulf between chic notions of the spiritual self and clear-cut knowledge about it. Centuries ago, the truth was imparted during a chance encounter between a wandering sage, Jada Bharata, and a powerful ruler, Maharaja Rahugana. In the course of a spirited discussion, Jada Bharata expertly and lovingly transported Rahugana out of the desert of false prestige, and unscrupulous action. To this day, anyone who acts according to the knowledge he imparted, will prosper in full understanding and spiritual satisfaction. Jada Bharata's timeless wisdom is a blueprint for the perfect escape from material bondage through knowledge of the Supreme Ultimate Truth.

Biography

Devamrita Swami was born 16 October 1950 in New York City. At the age of thirteen, he received a scholarship to prep school in the mountains of New Hampshire, where he studied until, at seventeen, he received a scholarship to Yale University. In 1972, Devamrita Swami graduated from Yale University. At this time he came in contact with the books of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He discovered that the knowledge presented in these books was the beginning of his real education. His attraction to this transcendental information was immediate - and the effect profound. Devamrita Swami decided to abandon a corporate career in order to concentrate fully on his spiritual development. Devamrita Swami bacame an initiated student of Srila Prabhupada in 1974, and in 1982 he accepted the renounced order of life. For the past twenty-four years the author has travelled worldwide, presenting the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Currently he is based in Australia and New Zealand, and frequently travels to India and the Orient.

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