Srimad Bhagavatam 11.24.22-27 - The most important service to one's guru is serving his instructions -vani seva- and at the same time one should be enthusiastic to serve his physical body, vapu, when the spiritual master is physically present.
They are called to Absolute Avenue to the Marilyn Monroe towers, under construction. Two condominiums architecturally shaped like ladies’ legs, winning awards for design, were a five minute walk from my overnight stay at the home of the Gelda family. After a long extensive chanting session on the previous night I rose to do my early morning trek and by chance passed the 50 storey plus edifices. One person from this expanding city told me that all the condos are sold out before the building is finished.
“Hurray!” I thought. “Another financial conquest has been made by an innovative developer.” A bit off the building and more on the lady. I wondered who shaped who. Did the public shape Marilyn? Or was it vice versa? Did Ms. M.M. shape the world? There is indeed an obsession for sex symbolism and more so sexual over-indulgence.
After the Sunday evening program a woman came to me and introduced herself as a survivor of incest. I chose to not be privy to the gory details but she did share with me good news despite the personal trauma of being a victim of sexual promiscuity. In the morning she expressed she was haunted by the past but after entering into the space of people happily involved in chanting and dancing to the Hare Krishna mantra, she felt relieved.
The society that we live in today does not require sex-in-your-face imagery and all kinds of suggestive innuendos. We need a saner approach into spirituality, to not necessarily alleviate the natural drive but to see sex in a proper perspective which leads to very deep roles of responsibility.
In this city located smack in the middle of Montreal and Toronto I came to see a dear friend Prabhapati. He works for a company that restores old churches. In the seventies we lived together with a group of other monks in the ashram.
When coming together with peers that you haven’t communicated with for some time and when there is a likelihood that communication will be somewhat limited the time spent becomes precious. I lost track of Prabhapati a few years ago. Even his email address was dissolved. Lo and behold a message came from him last summer. I was glad to hear he was alive and well. You can’t be too sure who lives dangerously or not.
We met at Macdonald park were there is an honourific statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister. The quote inscribed at the base reads, “ A British subject I was born. A British subject I will die. “ It sounds like his times were days of mixed fear and courage or just plain dangerous.
Prabhapati and I got “caught up” on things. He remains still very much connected to Krishna and Guru, judging by his words it wasn’t in me to ask him how he fared with his vows to Guru. In some ways it’s not my business and it was not my intent to be judgmental. (Who needs to go mental anyways?)
We relished the “old times” when we were younger and more passionate. Of the two he appeared to me to be the more passive and pensive one. He was the meticulous artist and had done paintings for BBT books.
I guess, down the road, so to speak, people will perceive our age group as pioneers of Krishna Consciousness. After all we did work hard, in fact we worked our butts off. We didn’t mind at all.
Time was short and I was to dash off to the city of Mississauga for an evening chanting session. A warm farewell concluded the exchange
Until next visit…
Trans-Canada Hwy took Gaurachandra and I through the smooth country with red, yellow, orange and green trees to our sides. From above water dropped, enough to put out the flames of hell. More grim was seeing a hunted-down moose, strapped to the back of a truck in front of us. The carcass, a valuable catch for the captor, was no feast for our eyes. We whizzed past that truck.
It was those colours again that reminded me that I’m good where I am. At this time of the year many people travel to Mother India for pilgrimage. After all we should be content where we are because the spirit of bliss should always be within us.
The St.Lawrence River flowed to our right, then to our left as we switched hi-ways via bridges at Quebec City. Nature remained wet right up until we reached the precincts of Montreal.
Gaurachandra and I were listening to Vandanam a recent release by Mahajan from Quebec. It’s easy to dream to bhajan music. I started to contemplate on the fine company with the monks from Halifax.
I was asked to read from the devotional text “Chaitaniya Caritamrta” as part of temple evening service and we came upon a verse, “Sadhu sanga sadhu sanga sarve sastre haya/Lava matra sadhu sange sarva siddhi haya
Translation: There is no greater success then having a fraction of a moment’s association with a great soul.
My fortune is that I had not just one great soul’s association but for the last eleven days, I had the company of eight of them.
Steve Sutherland host to Information Morning, on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio, interviewed me at their studio. He was highlighting “The Walking Monk” side of me, although questions were there about our culture. “Bhagavad-Gita” was mentioned, “Krishna” as well, along with George Harrison and my encounters with a grizzly bear on the road. It was a good feeling reaching out through the air waves again.
I met Neil on King's Road. He was staggering on the sidewalk. He had a few too many. He was curious.
“Are you a monk?”
“Yes, I am.”
Then he started talking and addressing me as “Father.” He was telling me about his life, which in many ways was rather successful. His parents are professionals. He has money, youthfulness, and good looks. Good karma, I would say. He felt bad about the too many drinks. He asked me to bless him over and over again, and to pray for him and for an ill uncle in the hospital. He confessed that he hadn't been to church in about four years. It was as if he was in the confessional and he was telling me his sins. He went on expressing himself heartfully, and sometimes with colourful words. At some point of the incoherent words I told him I was going to pray for him.
“Could you?” he said excitedly.
I hope I'll meet Neil again someday.
It was our final engagement together with the monks from Halifax. We chanted and spoke to a group of people at the Geeta Bhavan in Fredericton. That went well and as in all our stops, my driver, Gaurachandra, sold books at this gathering – books by our guru , Srila Prabhupada.
A family, relocated here from Los Angeles, took us in for our final overnight stay before exiting for central Canada. We reviewed our pilgrimage together and concluded that it was a very enriching one.
These questions will help you discover new options, opportunities, possibilities and advantages in various areas your life: 1. What are the options for achieving this goal? 2. What else is possible? 3. Who else can help you? 4. What are the opportunities available? 5. How can this be made possible? 6. What will enable you to achieve this? 7. What are the hidden opportunities here? 8. What other resources are available? 9. What strengths and talents can you use? 10. How can impossible become possible?
Bold people ask themselves bold questions. They like to challenge themselves. If you consider yourself to be bold, you may ask yourself these bold questions: 1. What do I really want in life? 2. What is the price I need to pay to achieve it? 3. Am I ready to pay that price? 4. What do I need to stop doing? 5. What do I need to start doing? 6. What excuses I am making for not moving forward in my life? 7. What am I afraid of? 8. What is it in me that is holding me back? 9. What kind of person I need to become in order to achieve what I want? 10. What skills I need to have in order to achieve my goals?
Eating nobody will refuse. So by eating he is being favored by Krsna. This is the process. You understand Bengali? Krsna bado doyamoy, He's very merciful. Koribare jihva jay. We are accustomed to eat, go to the restaurant, go to the hotel, go to here and there, at home and so on. Simply eating, eating. So this is jihva lampata, prostitution of the tongue. Just like a woman prostitute is not satisfied with one man, similarly, our tongue is like a prostitute -- it is not satisfied with simple foods. There are prostitution of three things: prostitution of the tongue, prostitution of the belly and prostitution of the genital. Three kinds of: jihva-udara-upastha-vegam, straight line. So to stop this prostitution is to control the tongue. The tongue prostitution means he wants to eat varieties of foodstuff. Krsna is so merciful, 'All right, you eat varieties of prasadam.' Then tongue prostitution is controlled and naturally the belly and the genital controlled. Krsna bado doyamoy koribare jihva jay. To own victory over the tongue, He has given varieties. ... Therefore all nice things should be offered to Krsna and then take prasadam. They will be benefited. If you do not give tongue Krsna prasadam, then the tongue will dictate, 'Why not go to the restaurant?' So this is the process. Give everyone nice prasadam. His tongue will be conquered and he'll be conquered. He'll be able to conquer over the prostitution of the senses, and then he'll become a devotee.
1967 September 27: "Guru and Krishna are two parallel lines on which the spiritual express runs very smoothly. By the Grace of Guru one gets Krishna and by the Grace of Krishna one gets a bona fide Guru. Therefore Krishna consciousness means staunch faith both in bona fide Guru and Krishna. One minus the other is no good for the devotee." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
1968 September 27: "It is so encouraging to learn that Varaha Murti has got permission from his Hiranyaksa-father. So Krishna has given you all a good chance for developing Hollywood, and I hope in the near future all artists will take to Krishna Consciousness movement, and Hollywood shall become holy place." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1971 September 27: "So far your visions are concerned, that is all right but better you give your attention for hearing more. That is essential. Don't speculate in the mind; simply hear. That is the process." Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1973 September 27: "I am so glad to learn you have again ordered for so many of my books. Although in the beginning we had no such opportunity, still I brought some books from India, and that was the foundation stone of our Krsna consciousness movement. So I want all our centers should give very much importance in the matter of book distribution." Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1974 September 27: "I thank you very much for your prayers for my health. By your prayers and by the grace of Lord Nrsimhadeva I am recovered. So let us now go on with the spreading of this sublime cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu all over the world." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1974 September 27: "Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar will give us 25 bighas at Mathura Gochar Bhumi as gift. So immediately go and see the land, and if suitable then immediately take it. Do not be disturbed that it is a little far away from our temple. If we can manage this land nicely, they can give more." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1974 September 27: "Re: your question by cable, "What should Laksmi hold in her four hands?" With her two hands Laksmi holds lotus flower in one hand and offers blessings with the other hand. I have never seen Laksmi with four hands, so I do not know what she is holding. Also I do not think it ncecessary to reply this matter by cable." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1975 September 27: "I am in due receipt of your letter with Greek pamphlet. This preaching work is very pleasing to me. Go on with your translation work, and Krishna will surely bless you. Thank you very much." Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
‘Even improper chanting of the holy name yields beneficial results.
“[Sukadeva Gosvami to King Pariksit]: Even if he be distressed or degraded, any person who chants the holy name of the Lord, having heard it from a bona fide spiritual master is immediately purified. Even if he chants the Lord’s name jokingly or by chance, he and anyone who hears him are free from all sins.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.25.11)
“[The Vishnudutas to the Yamadutas]: One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly to indicate something else, jokingly for musical entertainment or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.14)
As long as the name is not chanted to facilitate sinning, it will deliver a person from material bondage, even if chanted improperly. If it is done to facilitate sinning it will not be fruitful soon. The holy name is so powerful that it must act but when one chants with offenses its actions will be delayed. Even when the name is chanted unconsciously or by force of circumstances it can help one obtain freedom from the hurdle of birth and death. In the case of Ajamila, the sinful man chanted unintentionally but he became free from the punishment of the Yamadutas. The Vishnudutas heard his chanting of the name Narayana, even though it was intended for Ajamila’s son, and they came to defend him from the Yamadutas. The example is given that if one takes a potent medicine he will feel its effects, regardless of whether he takes it knowingly or unknowingly. Prabhupada quotes Dr Stillson Judah, a learned scholar, who witnessed that the devotees of the Hare Krishna movement changed from being hippies addicted to drugs into pure Vaisnavas who were servants of Krishna and humanity. They were hippies and did not know the Hare Krishna mantra, but because they began chanting it they became free from sinful activities such as illicit sex, intoxication, meat eating and gambling. Even if one remembers or catches his mind to the holy name, even if vibrated in separate words, it will have effect. A Moslem who chanted the word “haram,” which in his language means abominable, got the benefit of chanting Hare because the holy name was contained in the word “haram.” It was as if he was chanting Rama.
I woke up about 1:15 A.M. this morning and began my chanting. I chanted straight through and by 3:30 had finished sixteen rounds. My chanting concentrated on the accumulation of the rounds and I did not think much of other subject matters. I focused on Prabhupada’s adage “Just hear” and kept my consciousness condensed in that way. I was able to behold my murtis of Radha-Govinda and that was helpful. But I did not think deeply on the pastimes of Radha and Krishna and use the mantra as a yugala-mantra. I am fixed at the stage of chanting and hearing Nama Prabhu and depending on the fact that the names are not different than the form.
Even if you chant
improperly, you get the
benefit of Harinama,
and your sins are
destroyed. It acts like
a medicine which cures
even if taken without
knowledge of how it works.
I chanted my mantras
with an audible whisper
and did not stop or
interrupt them. One
followed another
without ceasing. Although
I did not meditate on the
ecstasy of Radha-Krishna’s
pastimes, I called on Them,
knowingly or unknowingly
and so entered Their
sacred precincts.
I chanted “Hare”
and “Krishna” and prayed
for the service of
attentive japa.
His servant seems to know
almost everything about him.
Sometimes they speak when no one else is around.
Prabhupada told of his previous life
according to an astrologer—he
was a doctor who never committed sin…
But his servant will be the first to admit
although Prabhupada shared very openly,
treating his disciples like intimate friends,
as if he liked nothing better than their company,
even though they are neophytes—
yet Prabhupada lives alone with Krishna
and his Guru Maharaja.
The first day he arrived in Mayapur in 1976
after the garlands
and talk in his room, and they left him,
Hari Sauri saw through the window
Prabhupada sitting upright, quiet
but sometimes speaking something
for forty-five minutes suspended.
Mostly he was with us but even then
the depth and drive of his preaching
couldn’t be grasped. He pushed
for the Lord, was gentle,
was pure and wrote at least a little bit every day.
When a disciple went to preach
on his behalf, he became very pleased
and said “This is life, preaching.
All others are dead.”
Srila Prabhupada, I have read all the books about you
and your books too. I am reading them again,
searching for you in my own acts.
What more?
Give up my selfishness
cry to you for help.
In Samsara prayers
I see you in every verse,
and you shine back to me
from your picture.
1. A portrait of this man with his eating habits his reaction to criticism, his understanding of the Vedic philosophy, his bodily ills. It is a small world, a small man, sent by cable TV and printed in books for those who are interested.
I turned at random to Srimad-Bhagavatam,First Canto, chapter 11, verse 38: “This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead: He is not affected by the qualities of the material nature, even though He is in conflict with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities.”
This is the nature of the Divinity. He is transcendental and beyond the range of material affection. Actually, when He descends He is in contact with the material qualities but He is above their actions. He is known as Yogesvara or the master of the mystic power, the all-powerful. Even His learned devotees are not affected by the influence of the material modes. The maha-bhagavatas or first grade devotees, although moving among the people, are not contaminated by insult or honor. Some of them are engaged in worldly dealings, yet they are unaffected. Unless they are neutral to the modes they cannot be considered to be in transcendence. So the Lord and the devotees are both in transcendence.
Even if a devotee is sometimes found to have fallen from his position the Lord declares in Bhagavad-gita 9.30, that they are nevertheless to be accepted as fully transcendental because of their being fully situated in devotional service. Prabhupada writes in his purport, “The Lord protects him always because of his rendering service unto Him and the fallen conditions are to be considered accidental and temporary. They will vanish in no time.
Pretty much recovered from the strenuous day at the Philly Ratha Yatra. Saci’s whole family is going to attend Dhanurdhara Swami’s Vyasa-puja celebration. I hope they have a good time. I don’t see how the children will like to hear a long philosophical lecture, but they’ll like the feast. Lila-avatara distributed two cartons of my Japa Transformations at the Ratha-yatra. Baladeva is trying to send a carton of the books to the japa retreat that is taking place in Philadelphia. As we drove home from Philadelphia there was a lopsided harvest moon, orange colored. The weather was warm. We passed finally through the nearby, run-down town of Hudson and many people were out roaming the streets in the dark. It was a little scary. I rode in the back of the van and didn’t think of Krishna. I was mostly blank, tired and impatient as we had to stop for red lights and drive only forty miles per hour. I received invitation to go to Queens, New York and Baltimore but I wouldn’t want to repeat the long drive. Besides, just going for a lecture is not the same as sitting in a chair and talking one-to-one to people all afternoon. I asked them their name, where they live and what they did. It was preaching but relaxing. I am an old ISKCON icon with a recently published book. I don’t think so very much of the writing sessions I am doing now, but when Narayana reads them he says they are worthy.
All of Prabhupada’s books are digitized (I don’t know exactly what that means) but any library can get them and stock them. Old-style books are going out of style. The great bookstore chain Barnes & Noble is being bought by another company because they can’t keep up with the sales of e-books. But Visakha says she likes to read old-style books. I will try to read some more of Bhaktivinoda Thakura today to cultivate my inner life. Inner life means you chant and hear about Krishna, especially His madhurya-lila but all of the Srimad-Bhagavatam is good.
"Okay professor," I said during break in my Bioethics class. "We're discussing the philosophy of animal rights, sure, but it has to have practical implications. This subject demands that you take a stance." I paused a moment, then challenged, "So what's yours?"
Professor Butchard laughed dryly. "Actually, I find it one of my failings in life to not be a vegetarian,"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. It's just not practical. And I like meat." Then he added, "But I've decreased how much I eat."
Respect, I thought.
When class convened again, I raised my hand and declared, "Look, all the arguments that it's okay to eat animals could be defeated in like, 20 seconds." I gave example after example of my own life. "So ultimately, the only reason anyone still eats meat is because it tastes good, and you've been eating it your whole life."
Even the most adamant students against vegetarianism remained quiet after my speech. Even Jake.
The following class, a snag in the logic of the philosopher who was arguing for animal rights caught my attention. After class was dismissed, I approached the professor. I systematically countered the logic of the philosopher while my professor nodded and prompted me on.
It was weird to argue for the devil.
At the conclusion, the professor only nodded in agreement, and then said, "Hm, e-mail me with more ideas,"
I turned to leave. Jake was sitting there, waiting to speak to the professor. He grinned and raised his hand. A little baffled, I high-fived him. He declared, "That was awesome,"
"Oh whatever!" I laughed and scaled the auditorium stairs. "Of course I'm still a vegetarian."
Then I remembered how Lord Chaitanya as Nimai Pandit used to debate with the most esteemed scholars in all of India - and he would demolish the logic of each and every one. He would argue for one side, then defeat it, then argue again, then defeat it... And in the end, it was to show the world that logic was pretty much word jugglery. Pretty much pointless.
The only logic that works is spiritual logic.
I'm not a vegetarian for health, economic, social, or convenience reasons. I'm a vegetarian because hey, God is compassionate and likes vegetarian food, and I can offer it to Him.
Can't beat that.
"The lover knows much more about absolute good and universal beauty than any logician or theologian, unless the latter, too, be lovers in disguise." - George Santayana
On October 1, the Palace of Gold will be featured at the Thirty-seventh Annual Communal Studies Association Conference in New Harmony, IN. The theme of the conference is “The Architecture of Community.” Tapahpunja dasa, one of the devotees who helped construct the Palace of Gold, will discuss the role the Palace has played in New Vrindaban over the past two decades.
The Communal Studies Association is a multi-disciplinary academic association dedicated to the study of intentional communities. “An intentional community is a group of people who have a common ideal or philosophy about what a better world would look like, and they come together to their ideals into day-to-day practice,” explained Professor Bob Rosenthal, Chair of the School of Philosophy at Hanover College, an elite private four-year liberal arts college in Indiana. Rosenthal has been teaching a course on intentional communities since 1976, and has been bringing his students to New Vrindaban since 1981.
“New Vrindaban, which was founded in 1968, is one of the longest-lasting intentional communities in North America,” observed Rosenthal. “So many communities were started in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but they no longer exist. New Vrindaban is still here.”
New Vrindaban’s longevity has earned the community the respect of the academics who study it. Although the Communal Studies Association Conference is predominated by professors, this is the fourth time in the past 15 years that a resident of New Vrindaban will be making a presentation.
The community’s reputation within the academic circle is paying off in other ways, as well. New Vrindaban’s Tapahpunja has been invited to visit Hanover College following the Communal Studies Association Conference. His presentation on the link between human health and the health of the Earth will be part of the college’s Capstone Program, a campus-wide lecture series.
New Vrindaban Community is located south of Moundsville – Wheeling, off Route 250. For more information, contact (304) 843-1600 or visit www.newvrindaban.com.
Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:
We feel grateful to Her Grace Abhaya Mudra Dasi for making the astrological calculations about respectively David Hoey and Ratnavali Prabhus life. Sincere thanks also to His Grace Patita Pavana Prabhu in Mithuna Twiins Astrological Services (dkrishna108@yahoo.com) for creating this amazing article and allowing us to publish it on this website. Let us glance at [...]
This year we had the largest and "crazyest" Harinam tour so far. Such a venture in this area no one has even tried to do and we also thought at the beginning that we started „to bite too much of a cake“, but somehow we all managed with Krishnas grace ...
To train the leaders on the importance and urgency of establishing varnasrama dharma, both within our own ISKCON society as well as within society at large, forms an important part of Srila Prabhupada’s mission
I like the colour orange. Its warm, friendly, and cheerful. Orange makes me happy.
But you probably knew I was going to say that didn’t you? Orange comes as a standard wardrobe choice for devotees of Krishna – at least the young ones – and it is a bit of a head-turner when a group of kirtaneers is moving down your local high street.
Its been over 28 years since I last wore orange robes (or ‘saffron’ as we tend to call them) but I think if a religious order was going to pick a happy colour to uplift their congregation then orange is definitely the best choice.
The word ‘orange’ started its life as the ancient Sanskrit naranga. Arabic traders brought the juicy, colourful naranga fruits to Spain in the 9th century but they called them naranja. The first record of the fruit in England is in the 14th century and we called them by the same name. Somewhere in history asking for ‘a naranj’ became ‘an aranj’ since they are linguistically identical, and aranj became spelled as orange.
My garden is ablaze with orange at the moment as bright marigolds and calendulas continue to burst out, offering themselves up for the home altar.
“For years and years and years, at least 21 years, I’ve personally been here trying to somehow or other bring it to the attention of the lay devotees… Nama Sankirtana will come back, I guarantee it, with the co-operation of a few good people who are willing to step forward in their various localities all over the world and help to generate that faith, that consciousness in the Holy Name. So please help, wherever you may go and do the real thing, to actually implement the Yuga Dharma.” – HG Aindra Prabhu.
Please join us to bring back the holy names to every town and village
Kulimela Australia will be held at the beautiful Hare Krishna farm community of New Govardhana in northern New South Wales, surrounded by picturesque countryside and scenic mountains. Located on the East Coast of Australia, it lies between the sunny Gold Coast and chilled out new-age Byron Bay, two of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations.
The event will be held from the 27th of December 2010 – 9th January 2011 and will be split into two distinct parts. The first week will be a jetlag recovery week with sight-seeing, organised tours, sports, exploring, adventures, and getting to know each other activities.
The second week sees the start of the formal Kulimela festival with a schedule of workshops, seminars, bhajans and Harinam, Japa walks, old-school games, Aussie sports and arts and entertainment.
The Kulimela will have four key areas of focus
Arts and Entertainment
Health and Medicinal
Spiritual and Community Development
Business and Management
We are looking for participants to conduct workshops and seminars, organise travel, accomodation, transport and artists to perform music, drama, and dance.
By Mohana das
By Parasurama Dasa
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