We had our last harinama for the year on Friday night: it was a total blast!
We even had an unusual detour through a shoe shop where our saffron brahmacharis acquired some interesting accessories!
Here's the link to the 2 hours and half harinama, in 5 videos.
"...Anyone who has understood that the associates of Lord Caitanya are eternally liberated souls immediately becomes eligible to enter into the abode of Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja in Vrndavana, in his next birth..."
(Gaurangera duti-pada by Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura) May Sri Gauranga and His eternal associate make us elligible to behold Their darsana birth after birth.
Today's brekky: Bircher muesli (oats soaked overnight with lemon juice and grated apple) topped with vanilla yogurt, home-poached apricots, fresh bananas, puffed amaranth, fresh mango, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, dried melon, and candied sultanas.
1971 November 27: "Slow but sure, that is our motto - class, not mass. Anything without substance will not last, so just demonstrate sincerely that we have got solid ground beneath us, not that we have only some sentiment, that's all."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1971 November 27: "The residents of Vrindaban are simply astounded to see our party chanting with great jubilation through the city streets. The Mayor and others are proclaiming I have done something wonderful, that Vrindaban is now world famous due to my preaching. So they are all very much appreciating their hometown Swami."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
1968 November 27: "You may sit down with your family for Christmas Day meal and take fruits and milk which they offer. But rather than taking the foods they have prepared, prepare and offer your own prasadam for Lord Krishna, and offer the same to Lord Jesus."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1970 November 27: "Checks should be drawn by two signatures and one of the signatures must be mine. Please send a list of the Members you have made and how the collection is dispersed: 50% for Temple Construction and 50% for Book Fund."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1970 November 27: "Your title is actually Tridandi Swami or Tridandi Bhiksu, which is the first stage of sannyasa life. Tridandi Goswami is for one in the fourth stage of sannyasa life which is paramahamsa stage."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1975 November 27: "Standing orders by the head of the Mormon church is very encouraging. Practically speaking, there is no religion in the world today. The only true religion is Bhagavata Dharma, that is the original religion of human society."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
1975 November 27: "The whole world is in darkness, so we are bringing light in the shape of Srimad Bhagavatam. Every time I see a new publication it gives me so much enthusiasm that my life is increased by 100 years."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
4:35 A.M. Poem for November 26 When that saintly Muslim person tried to establish the impersonal Brahman conception on the basis of the Koran, Caitanya Mahaprabhu refuted his argument. Finally the person became stunned and could not speak. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “The Koran certainly establishes impersonalism but at the end it refutes it and establishes [...] Poem for November 26 is a post from: EVERY DAY
From Srila Prabhupada Samadhi Diary “Prabhupada’s Room 10:35 A.M. “The letter on your desk is to Hamsaduta, January 1972. He’s working nicely in Germany with Krishnadasa. You ask why after so many years, nothing has been done to present your books in the European languages. “Translators are there, all facilities of first class printing machines [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY
 This video, offered by MonaVie University, teaches the power of questions. Positive questions influence your health, finances, relationships, and overall happiness in life. They fill you with optimism, confidence, and help to bring about success.
Please note the following modifications to our Temple programs: Mangal arati - 4:30 Gurupuja - 6:45 Greetings - 7:00 Class - 7:10 Breakfast - 8:15
Maha Prasadam ready for distribution Please join us to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's prophecy by spreading these precious Krishna Consciousness literatures. 
Woke up at 6:15 had dreams of family was sureal. Chanted 1728 maha mantras I did that walking around the fountain in the light rain in singing style. I quite enjoyed the singing style compared with the speaking non rhythmic style. Though it might not be called japa. the principle is to chant with devotion. how you chant is a detail. Any way then we went to have breakfast which was one of my fav things some kinda fine grain with spices veges such as capsicum and tomato with a red tomato sauce made by the devotees and served hot. There was only a tiny plate left so I had a tall mound of that which made it take longer to cool down. Also some hot drink which was so good and potent as prasad that it reassured me in my resolution to practice this yoga path. Then we greeted Bhakti Sar Prabhu (Bhakti SAR’s name means the essence of Bhakti or devotional love and Prabhu is a title we call eachother that means master and the title we always give to oyrself is Das which means the servant because that’s who we are and every one is our master similtanously. That’s why we can get along living in the same room, and co exist in a volunteer institution . As HH Devamrita swami put it in a lecture called “devotee association requires humility”: “There’s no financial incentives here it’s a voluntary effort the glue is just our common goal to please Krishna” - (words to that effect)
How does thAt translate to seeing ourselves as master and our comrades as master? can’t we just ignore each other and get on with our service relationship with Krishna ? No Krishna is named Bhakta vatsala which means he loves his devotees very much. (as u would if some devoted thier life to serving you) so he considers mistreatment and impersonalism towards his dear most devotees as like sticking pins into his feet! Therefore we don’t just avoid offenses for krishnas sake we naturally love the devotees because Krishna loves them so how could we not treat them with care, attention, we learn from rupa goswami that there’s different ways to treat each devotee from the junior to the similar to the senior. One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one should offer humble obeisances to the devotee who has undergone spiritual initiation [dīkṣā] and is engaged in worshiping the Deity, and one should associate with and faithfully serve that Pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others. So we observe that, not just as edikit but as a matter of Bhakti. Narotama Das thakur a great saint says “we can’t become completely liberated from material contamination without sincerely serving a Krsna Bhakta”
Just like if some one didn’t like your beloved pet dog and kicked it every time he came over you wouldn’t want to keep him as your best friend.
Krsna even says ” he who thinks himself my devotee is not my devotee sis not so but he who thinks himself a devotee of my devotee Is my devotee. There fore we have such a harmonious society where everyone is more than grass (grass stands back up when stood on) more tolerant than a tree (trees have to tolerate) and were inviting all to come and live like this iether in or outside the temple and enjoy life. A life of everlasting bliss and realisation. We greeted Bhakti Sar Prabhu who just got back from India today with drumming and chanting, hugging and bowing it was a very pleasing experience I think. Then we had lunch with yash, chanted japa with him in the temple then went on door to door for an hour and a half together it was his first time so he just carried the books and watched and invited ppl to the temple for the. Sunday feast. Then I read in the temple then went with gopa to urban yoga which was having the weekly kirtan music night so I mced for that: it was nice swarupa led wonderful kirtan chanting which was actually melting my stone heart, gopa Prabhu gave a talk on fear he is a very sincere devotee. I read dowm stairs during his talk. I read the cc what an amazing literature capable of making one cry, aspire for and attain the highest mellows of the devotional relationship with Krishna because it’s all about the pastimes of krsna in his avatar as a devotee and his devotees 500 hrs ago pioneering the kirtan music style .. The dharma for the age. I was in bliss. Then I went upstairs to introduce the next part of the evening which was chanting and dancing the dharma for the age!! That went overtime which is always good, everyone was dancing I should of taken photos!! Any way then had dinner cake was good. The rest I didn’t taste cos I was talking and listening to Izaak my long lost friend from 2006 school days . he is very enthusiastic to learn the ways of krsna Bhakti. A glorious desire. He he’s triumphantly abandoned Ill habits like smoking, illicit sex(resulting in a breakup) and other things to but most importantly he has taken up the chanting, hearing bhagavad Gita and hanging with devotees of krsna. He’s very happy which makes me so happy. Then we caught tram home and there’s a party going on across the lane so johnny and I thought let’s give them some prasad or blessed food so we went straight to gregs room where all the prasad is served from, where acquired a bucket of halava (semolina pudding and Greg even showed us this letter he’d receive from our nor hours politely informing us of this rowdy event of a guy called johnny’s 21st birthday so he has been rotting here for 21 whole years - pretty good effort I think that deserves some halava prasad. If he can have such enthusiasm and commitment for material life he could defs apply that to spiritual life and actually taste the nectar he’s so anxious for. So we grabbed 100 cups and 2 scoopers and went over there I remembered when I done door to door on this street and one old man said “I like u people your calm and considerate”
So we saw two people dressed in black standing on either side of the door so I said hey we bought something for johnny so the let us in telling us to sign the birthday card on the way I’m which we did . I wrote in graff font “hare krsna man from muchu” Bhakta Johnny wrote the mantrA like the fanatic he Is (fanatic as in fired up Bhakta) johnny Is one of my biggest inspirations in kc. He is a new devotee (in this life but i think hes a pure devotee who has taken birth here to continue serving the movement. He Is always smiling, always engaged in selfless and very humble service . Always chanting always submissive so blissfuly smiling and laughing.. I can not find a single fault in him. Just thinking about him gives me an emotional desire to be like him. I talk with harinam about him all the time we love glorifying him. Hes only 19 and he’s quite austere having cold showers taking little test on a thin mat strict with his practice, has sweet dealings with all devotees, because he does books on the street so many ppl who come in contact with him fall in love with him. One such person came to me and said “I’m looking for the Johnny ” “I want to be like Johnny” with a big smile. When ever he meets a person he says ” can you say hare Krishna” with his funny phillipenes accent and most blissful smile. When I meet some one who has met johnny they say his name with this smile like they love johnny. So we signed the card. They where doing speeches one guy said about this birthday boy johnny that while they where surfing he would be trying to chat up girls in bikinis” haha then we asked some one where the parents where we went to the father who’s name was John(anyway) I said ” hey how’s it going were from the temple we heard it was your sons birthday so we made some pudding. he volunteered to announce the appearance of the pudding and organise fir it to be served to all the guests. He was appreciative. So we left and went to bed.
I have been searching for pure asafetida for some time now, without the addition of rice flour or wheat flour. More specifically, I was looking for asafetida that can be used on the grain-fasting day of ekadasi. I was told to search for fariri hing. I went to google: no I didn't want a ferrari hinge, I wanted fariri hing! No luck there. 
Well, one thing led to another and finally I found a distributor for the stuff in the Sydney suburb of Blacktown and purchased a few jars - some for me and some for my friends. Buckwheat flour is the 'carrier' for the pure hing (asafetida) - and this stuff is strong! The closest I have ever come to the real hing aroma. You only need a pinch. 
While I was at the warehouse - Hari Australia - the proprietor named Devraj (adorned with vaisnava tilak) explained to me that fariri referred to fasting in Gujarati culture - specifically on the holy grain-free days of ekadasi. It seems the more common word is 'farali' - faral means fast - and I guess it all boils down to different dialects and regional languages. In a nutshell, if you do an internet search, you won't find fariri, but you will find farali. Are you still keeping up? 
Anyway, while there I also found another product that I hadn't been able to track down. The item in question was samo - a Gujarati favourite on ekadasi fasting days that approximates the use and mouthfeel of rice without breaking the fast. Also known as samo seeds, samo rice, moraiyo, varyache tandul, and bhagar in various Indian regional languages, it can be used for rice-like dishes, khichari, creamy milk puddings and anything that normally would use rice. 
That's it above, close up and larger than life-size - a bit smaller than sago - in fact pretty much the same size as millet. There's loads of recipes on the internet, but I thought I'd ask my readers if anyone has a favourite samo recipe. Anyone?
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Belgium, 2011) Lecture – BG.15.3-4
 Anyone who is below the platform of the love of God is kind of living a ghostly existence…..a reduced existence. An existence of being a shadow of one’s true self. When we come to the material world then gradually we become covered over, and the finer, deeper spiritual sentence of selfless love is disappearing! And all that we display in this world is the dim reflection of the original spiritual love, and here the love is very selfish:
“What am I getting in this relationship of love?” Whereas in the spiritual world we are seeing complete selflessness, and we see complete dedication for the welfare of other! We see that all the devotees are just giving everything, and sacrificing everything for the pleasure of Krishna! So the spiritual world has many wonderful qualities and therefore is very attractive! 
One thing that I always remember is that my Guru Maharaja always reminds us that as devotees we are never short of things to do, there is always something, sharing Love of Krishna, Japa or reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, there should not be a time when we say “we have nothing to do” Traveling back to Wales from the Manor after a few days of blissful service I have a very small window of time from leaving the early morning transfers to starting work, this time due to a crash it simply meant that there was some two and a half hours delay; but remembering my Guru Maharaja advice I finished my Japa, did some for fun and then went on-line to catch up with the classes I’ve missed from ISKCON Melbourne; a quiet time sat in the car going no-where apart from taking calls from work working out when I could get to my clients. However reflecting on the situation and remembering the time spent with HH Mahavishnu Swami I am reminded that in some ways I’m missing something as it wasn’t that long ago that such opportunities when presented would mean time to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books and the joy it gave devotees of my small efforts when stuck in traffic on the UK roads (especially one year when I distributed books during major flooding and didn’t leave my car). In some ways I’ve become timid in my desire to even do the basics. Yes the school preaching is going well, and some how despite my lack of competence the schools have invited me back, and some new schools have asked if I can visit, so I will be running around fitting them in between work, service at the Manor and the need to keep my reading up to speed. But I’ve held back, although repeatedly being asked to start a small centre in one of the small valley communities and getting very sound advice from one of our leading Srila Prabhupada disciples I lack to confidence in my own skills to present and run things or the deep realizations to surrender and leave things to Krishna. Indeed my school material was a collaboration with help and advice from HH Mahavishnu Swami and Yugala, which has been adapted slightly for the varying age group the needs of the reception class is much different to secondary; and the packing up of my deities who come on each visit and the making of flower garlands always makes the visit. Being reminded of how HH Mahavishnu Swami analyzed his day, did he make the most of it, did he take full opportunity to reach everyone he met even in a small way and could things be improved? I’ve thus been asking myself the same questions and finding that there is some way to go to improve and develop, nut also have had a deep realization of my own limitations, and whilst listening to Srila Prabhupada’s taped talks we see his advice and also ability to see individuals strengths but also limitations and bringing the best out of them to develop strong service which is balanced. So I pray that may be one day this wretched fool will rely not on self but Sri Guru, Krishna and the devotees and my vision for my home town comes one day to pass.
One way to get more benefit from hearing Srila Prabhupada's lectures is to have the lecture's transcript open while hearing. This is easily done on this website, where you already have the transcripts and the audio link on the same page: http://www.prabhupadavani.org Links to lectures' audio and transcripts are on the left-hand side. Having the transcript handy while hearing will enable us to copy and save every statement that we find inspiring and relevant for us. Once we save these valuable quotes, here are some ways how we can use them: 1. Share them with others in writing or by talking 2. Write down how you can apply them - and do it 3. Write down your understanding of the statements 4. Discuss them with others 5. Think of them often 6. Save them in a special, accessible file for quick reference 7. Put them on index cards and carry with you to read them several times a day 8. Print them and put them in a visible place There may be other ways. These are a few to start with. By doing this, the quality of our sravanam (hearing) will improve and the impact of hearing from a pure devotee on our happiness and advancement will be much greater.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Belgium, 2011) Lecture – BG.15.3-4  Krishna is extremely beautiful. It is a kind of beauty that reflects this purity. Generally speaking, beauty suggests purity. Even in the story of Putana who was a witch. Putana disguised herself as an extremely beautiful….almost like a goddess, and she just could do anything! She was so beautiful that everyone said:
“Oh, she must be a great personality!” So even in this world, we associate beauty with a noble character. Of course, we see that Dasaratha got a little bit disillusioned with his beautiful Kaikeyi. Although she was beautiful on the outside, but she showed some envy in her character, that he was not expecting and it broke his heart. So in the material world beauty is not always representing purity! But in the spiritual world it does, and therefore the beauty of the spiritual world is of another nature. So when we see Krishna’s whole appearance, it is extremely beautiful and at the same time it is reflecting His noble character. It’s different then the cold beauty of some sort of professional blonde who is being paid for endless photos and posing with different smiles and it looks like, she’s seen it all, done it all, and heard it all and knows it all…..and lost her innocence. So in Krishna there is innocence and there is purity, because there is no hidden agenda in Krishna’s character. Krishna is a pure well wisher of all living beings, and His only interest is the wellbeing of all! 
I was in Kensington market trying to reach out to people and I saw a man with two very little 7 year old (approximately) girls. I spoke to him and showed him the perfection of yoga and a picture of Srila Prabhupada and he really appreciated it. I requested a donation and he readily parted with some change. Then to know him better I tried to speak with his daughters and told him - I was their age when I got my first book. To my greatest surprise he replied "I was their age when I got that book (pointing to the chant and be happy in my hands". I was extremely surprised and asked him details of how he got. He had it and had read it and today 30 years later he was picking is second Srila Prabhupada book. Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam
THE FOLLOWING IS PART SEVEN : A QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ON LORD KRISHNA’S PASTIMES IN VRINDAVANA GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CHARU SWAMI. Transcription : Her Grace Archana Dasi Editing : Her Grace Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi Audio-reference : click here HHBCS: Yes he was killing his own children. Please start again. Q: When [...]
Some people say that the Vedas were written by man and therefore why should we follow them.
Yes, they are written by a man. But he's not a man like us. He's a liberated soul.
There are different kinds of men. So don't think all men are like you.
There are two kinds of men: conditioned and liberated.
The Vedas were compiled by a liberated soul - Srila Vyasadeva.
"Everyone of you should be thoroughly convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra to protect you in all circumstances and chant accordingly at all times without offense. Then advancement will be swift and you will gradually come to see everything clearly so that you may act for the pleasure of the Lord without uncertainty. When one is spontaneously engaged in this way, always in the service of the Lord and anxious to avoid all mundane activities, he is actually experiencing the taste of bliss in Krsna consciousness."
Letter to Damodara
January 10, 1971
Today in the Japa Room I used a quote that I have used many times - it talks about the power of protection and how we should be convinced....you may also notice "and chant accordingly at all times without offense" - this is important.
For us to become convinced of the power of the Hare Krsna mantra, we need to make a big effort to avoid offenses, beginning with inattention. Inattention is the root cause of the other offenses, if we can overcome this offense, it will easier to overcome the others.
I hope you week of Japa was rewarding and you could feel the Lord's spiritual energy in your chanting.
The new book about George Harrison (click the image to enlarge): 
The world saw George Harrison as a reclusive rock star, the lead guitarist of the most famous band of all time. Yet George viewed himself as a "closet Yogi," an insignificant bit of Krishna on a karmic journey. His personal goal was—through daily meditation, chanting, and elevated consciousness—to end his earthly stay by reuniting with God.
Though he rejected the Catholicism of his youth, Harrison was subject to mystical experiences as a child. Then, one night in April 1965, he was transformed by an unexpected and electrifying trip on LSD.
His discovery, in the very same month, of Indian music, led him off on a quest to learn more about that country's rich culture, philosophy, and religion. Under the guidance of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Swami Prabhupada, and the writings of Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, he became a devout Hindu. He left a creative record of his transformation in such works as "Within You without You," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "My Sweet Lord," and "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)."
Working Class Mystic recounts the spiritual odyssey of "the quiet Beatle," from the exhilarating days in the "Fab Four" to the trailblazing Concert for Bangladesh, life as a disciple of Swami Prabhupada, his renaissance as a Traveling Wilbury, and his idyllic life as a gardener on his estate in the English countryside.
Through it all George retained a down-to-earth personality, never swayed by his success, always in touch with his working-class roots. Click on the link to read an excerpt from the book that describes George with Krishna devotees: http://www.garytillery.com/mystic-excerpt.html
I had a flight to catch to Harrisburg next morning and had not even started to pack my bag - but its marathon time so I had to try at least for a few minutes. I practically ran from my home and while i was running towards the closest major intersection I stopped to talk to a girl who had just stepped outside a sushi restaurant. I asked her if she had heard of yoga and she responded immediately saying " I have spoken with you before". I was not sure how this would turn out now but I asked her to remind me of our last meeting. She described how we met outside Starbucks and she got a book from me. I asked her if she had read the book and she explained that she had loved the perfection of yoga and wanted to come visit us, but she had lost our card. So I handed her a Chant and be happy and requested her to come visit us. She gave me some more donation and took the book promising to read it. We were discussing the rare chance of us running in like this and I knew for sure that this was no random event.
 The Srimad Bhagavatam (2.1.12) declares that how long we live is of little importance when compared to for what we live. Everyone lives for love, be it love for survival, money, sense pleasure, fame, sports, family, society, nation or whatever. No matter how fervently we love any of these objects, they connect with superficial and ephemeral aspects of our lives: be it our senses’ cravings, our mind’s hankerings, our intellect’s appetites or our ego’s demands. The only object that connects with our deepest essence – our souls – is God, Krishna, for it is with him alone that we have an intrinsic and eternal relationship. As long as we live for anything other than that innate relationship, our lives have no lasting significance, no matter how long our lifespan. But if we live to pursue or achieve an eternal relationship with God, our lives yield an everlasting result, no matter how short our lifespan.
From Asahiart’s Blog
Filed under: Cows and Environment        
[The Won-Durr Boiz diary series is based on four ex-gurukuli brothers (surname: Durr) coming together for the first time to share Krsna consciousness with the outside world. Madhavendra Puri (the author and middle elder) has been waiting in Radhadesh (Belgium) for his brothers to arrive. Nitai Canda (the eldest) and Rupa Gosvami (the youngest) arrive first, and Bhisma Deva (the middle younger) is scheduled to come half way through. Their adventure takes them through Belgium, Germany and Poland, for rathayatras, festival tours and kirtana events. These diaries aim to bring inspiration and joy to the readers, and hopefully encourage others to entangle themselves in Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtana movement – whether for the spiritual benefits or simply for the fun.] 
[You cannot stop which cannot be stopped!] Diary for the 19th Diary for the 20th – 21st Poland (26) . Poland (27) Read original post: [http://madhat.me] Subscribe: [http://maddmonk.wordpress.com/subscribe] 
 And an anonymous Hungarian asks how Satya-yuga will now come upon us.
“Tonight HH Ramai Swami delivered an incredible Kirtan at Sydney Temple. We were all carried away in the blissful atmosphere of his chanting and our responding.
Ramai Swami will be giving the Sunday morning Srimad Bhagavatam class at Sydney Temple at 7:45am. Maharaj will also give the Sunday evening class at 6pm and he will give another Kirtan at 7:30 pm. Please come and join Maharaja for all the programs at the temple tomorrow. Don’t miss it” From Ramai Swami at ISKCON Sydney, Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha 26.11.11, posted by Antony Brennan on 11/26/2011 (80 items)
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From Chaitanya charitamrita CC Ādi 17.115: One day the Lord sat down in the corridor of a Viṣṇu temple and began calling very loudly, “Bring some honey! Bring some honey!”
CC Ādi 17.116: Nityānanda Prabhu Gosāñi, understanding the ecstatic mood of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, brought a pot of Ganges water as a token and put it before Him.
CC Ādi 17.117: After drinking the water, Lord Caitanya became so ecstatic that He began to dance. Thus everyone saw the pastime of attracting the river Yamunā.
CC Ādi 17.118: When the Lord, in His ecstasy of Baladeva, was moving as if intoxicated by the beverage, Advaita Ācārya, the chief of the ācāryas [ācārya śekhara], saw Him in the form of Balarāma.
CC Ādi 17.119: Vanamālī Ācārya saw a golden plow in the hand of Balarāma, and the devotees all assembled together and danced, overwhelmed by ecstasy.
CC Ādi 17.120: In this way they danced continuously for twelve hours, and in the evening they all took a bath in the Ganges and then returned to their homes.
CC Ādi 17.121: The Lord ordered all the citizens of Navadvīpa to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and in each and every home they began performing saṅkīrtana regularly.
CC Ādi 17.122: [All the devotees sang this popular song along with the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.] “Haraye namaḥ, kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ/ gopāla govinda rāma śrī-madhusūdana.”
CC Ādi 17.123: When the saṅkīrtana movement thus started, no one in Navadvīpa could hear any sound other than the words “Hari! Hari!” and the beating of the mṛdaṅga and clashing of hand bells.
CC Ādi 17.124: Hearing the resounding vibration of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the local Muslims, greatly angry, submitted a complaint to the Kazi.
CC Ādi 17.125: Chand Kazi angrily came to one home in the evening, and when he saw kīrtana going on, he broke a mṛdaṅga and spoke as follows.
CC Ādi 17.126: “For so long you did not follow the regulative principles of the Hindu religion, but now you are following them with great enthusiasm. May I know by whose strength you are doing so?
CC Ādi 17.127: “No one should perform saṅkīrtana on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home.
CC Ādi 17.128: “The next time I see someone performing such saṅkīrtana, I shall certainly chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Muslim.”
CC Ādi 17.129: After saying this, the Kazi returned home, and the devotees, greatly shocked that they were forbidden to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, submitted their grief to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Ādi 17.130: Lord Caitanya ordered, “Go perform saṅkīrtana! Today I shall kill all the Muslims!”
CC Ādi 17.131: Returning home, all the citizens began performing saṅkīrtana, but because of the order of the Kazi, they were not carefree but always full of anxiety.
CC Ādi 17.132: Understanding the anxiety within the people’s minds, the Lord called them together and spoke to them as follows.
CC Ādi 17.133: “In the evening I shall perform saṅkīrtana in each and every town. Therefore you should all decorate the city in the evening.
CC Ādi 17.134: “In the evening, burn torchlights in every home. I shall give protection to everyone. Let us see what kind of Kazi comes to stop our kīrtana.”
CC Ādi 17.135: In the evening Lord Gaurasundara went out and formed three parties to perform kīrtana.
CC Ādi 17.136: In the front party danced Ṭhākura Haridāsa, and in the middle party danced Advaita Ācārya with great jubilation.
CC Ādi 17.137: Lord Gaurasundara Himself danced in the rear party, and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu moved with Lord Caitanya’s dancing.
CC Ādi 17.138: By the grace of the Lord, Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has elaborately described this incident in his Caitanya-maṅgala [now Caitanya-bhāgavata].
CC Ādi 17.139: Performing kīrtana in this way, circumambulating through every nook and corner of the city, they finally reached the door of the Kazi.
CC Ādi 17.140: Murmuring in anger and making a roaring sound, the people, under the protection of Lord Caitanya, became mad through such indulgence.
CC Ādi 17.141: The loud sound of the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra certainly made the Kazi very much afraid, and he hid himself within his room. Hearing the people thus protesting, murmuring in great anger, the Kazi would not come out of his home.
CC Ādi 17.142: Naturally some of the people who were very much agitated began to retaliate the Kazi’s actions by wrecking his house and flower garden. Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has elaborately described this incident.
CC Ādi 17.143: Thereafter, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reached the Kazi’s house, He sat down by the doorway and sent some respectable persons to call for the Kazi.
CC Ādi 17.144: When the Kazi came, his head bowed down, the Lord gave him proper respect and a seat.
CC Ādi 17.145: In a friendly way, the Lord said, “Sir, I have come to your house as your guest, but upon seeing Me you hid yourself in your room. What kind of etiquette is this?”
CC Ādi 17.146: The Kazi replied, “You have come to my house in a very angry mood. To pacify You, I did not come before You immediately but kept myself hidden.
CC Ādi 17.147: “Now that You have become pacified, I have come to You. It is my good fortune to receive a guest like Your Honor.
CC Ādi 17.148: “In our village relationship, Nīlāmbara Cakravartī Ṭhākura was my uncle. Such a relationship is stronger than a bodily relationship.
CC Ādi 17.149: “Nīlāmbara Cakravartī is Your maternal grandfather, and by this relationship You are thus my nephew.
CC Ādi 17.150: “When a nephew is very angry, his maternal uncle is tolerant, and when the maternal uncle commits an offense, the nephew does not take it very seriously.”
CC Ādi 17.151: In this way the Kazi and the Lord talked with each other with various indications, but no outsider could understand the inner meaning of their conversation.
CC Ādi 17.152: The Lord said, “My dear uncle, I have come to your home just to ask you some questions.”“Yes,” the Kazi replied, “You are welcome. Just tell me what is in Your mind.”
CC Ādi 17.153: The Lord said, “You drink cows’ milk; therefore the cow is your mother. And the bull produces grains for your maintenance; therefore he is your father.
CC Ādi 17.154: “Since the bull and cow are your father and mother, how can you kill and eat them? What kind of religious principle is this? On what strength are you so daring that you commit such sinful activities?”
CC Ādi 17.155: The Kazi replied, “As You have Your scriptures called the Vedas and Purāṇas, we have our scripture, known as the holy Koran.
CC Ādi 17.156: “According to the Koran, there are two ways of advancement — through increasing the propensity to enjoy, and through decreasing the propensity to enjoy. On the path of decreasing attachment [nivṛtti-mārga], the killing of animals is prohibited.
CC Ādi 17.157: “On the path of material activities, there is regulation for killing cows. If such killing is done under the guidance of scripture, there is no sin.”
CC Ādi 17.158: As a learned scholar, the Kazi challenged Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “In Your Vedic scriptures there is an injunction for killing a cow. On the strength of this injunction, great sages performed sacrifices involving cow-killing.”
CC Ādi 17.159: Refuting the Kazi’s statement, the Lord immediately replied, “The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging in cow-killing.
CC Ādi 17.160: “In the Vedas and Purāṇas there are injunctions declaring that if one can revive a living being, one can kill it for experimental purposes.
CC Ādi 17.161: “Therefore the great sages sometimes killed old cows, and by chanting Vedic hymns they brought them back to life for perfection.
CC Ādi 17.162: “The killing and rejuvenation of such old and invalid cows was not truly killing but an act of great benefit.
CC Ādi 17.163: “Formerly there were powerful brāhmaṇas who could make such experiments using Vedic hymns, but now, because of the Kali-yuga, brāhmaṇas are not so powerful. Therefore the killing of cows and bulls for rejuvenation is forbidden.
CC Ādi 17.164: “‘In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.’
CC Ādi 17.165: “Since you Muslims cannot bring killed cows back to life, you are responsible for killing them. Therefore you are going to hell; there is no way for your deliverance.
CC Ādi 17.166: “Cow-killers are condemned to rot in hellish life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of the cow.
CC Ādi 17.167: “There are many mistakes and illusions in your scriptures. Their compilers, not knowing the essence of knowledge, gave orders that were against reason and argument.”
CC Ādi 17.168: After hearing these statements by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Kazi, his arguments stunned, could not put forward any more words. Thus, after due consideration, the Kazi accepted defeat and spoke as follows.
CC Ādi 17.169: “My dear Nimāi Paṇḍita, what You have said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently, and they are certainly not logical and philosophical.
CC Ādi 17.170: “I know that our scriptures are full of imagination and mistaken ideas, yet because I am a Muslim I accept them for the sake of my community, despite their insufficient support.
CC Ādi 17.171: “The reasoning and arguments in the scriptures of the meat-eaters are not very sound,” the Kazi concluded. Upon hearing this statement, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled and inquired from him as follows.
CC Ādi 17.172: “My dear maternal uncle, I wish to ask you another question. Please tell Me the truth. Do not try to cheat Me with tricks.
CC Ādi 17.173: “In your city there is always congregational chanting of the holy name. A tumultuous uproar of music, singing and dancing is always going on.
CC Ādi 17.174: “As a Muslim magistrate, you have the right to oppose the performance of Hindu ceremonies, but now you do not forbid them. I cannot understand the reason why.”
CC Ādi 17.175: The Kazi said, “Everyone calls You Gaurahari. Please let me address You by that name.
CC Ādi 17.176: “Kindly listen, O Gaurahari! If You come to a private place, I shall then explain the reason.”
CC Ādi 17.177: The Lord replied, “All these men are My confidential associates. You may speak frankly. There is no reason to be afraid of them.”
CC Ādi 17.178-179: The Kazi said, “When I went to the Hindu’s house, broke the drum and forbade the performance of congregational chanting, in my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion, roaring very loudly, His body like a human being’s and His face like a lion’s.
CC Ādi 17.180: “While I was asleep, the lion jumped on my chest, laughing fiercely and gnashing His teeth.
CC Ādi 17.181: “Placing its nails on my chest, the lion said in a grave voice, ‘I shall immediately bifurcate your chest as you broke the mṛdaṅga drum!
CC Ādi 17.182: “‘You have forbidden the performance of My congregational chanting. Therefore I must destroy you!’ Being very much afraid of Him, I closed my eyes and trembled.
CC Ādi 17.183: “Seeing me so afraid, the lion said, ‘I have defeated you just to teach you a lesson, but I must be merciful to you.
CC Ādi 17.184: “‘On that day you did not create a very great disturbance. Therefore I have excused you and not taken your life.
CC Ādi 17.185: “‘But if you perform such activities again, I shall not be tolerant. At that time I shall kill you, your entire family and all the meat-eaters.’
CC Ādi 17.186: “After saying this, the lion left, but I was very much afraid of Him. Just see the marks of His nails on my heart!”
CC Ādi 17.187: After this description, the Kazi showed his chest. Having heard him and seen the marks, all the people there accepted the wonderful incident.
CC Ādi 17.188: The Kazi continued, “I did not speak to anyone about this incident, but on that very day one of my orderlies came to see me.
CC Ādi 17.189: “After coming to me, the orderly said, ‘When I went to stop the congregational chanting, suddenly flames struck my face.
CC Ādi 17.190: “‘My beard was burned, and there were blisters on my cheeks.’ Every orderly who went gave the same description.
CC Ādi 17.191: “After seeing this, I was very much afraid. I asked them not to stop the congregational chanting but to go sit down at home.
CC Ādi 17.192: “Then all the meat-eaters, hearing that there would be unrestricted congregational chanting in the city, came to submit a petition.
CC Ādi 17.193: “‘The religion of the Hindus has increased unlimitedly. There are always vibrations of “Hari! Hari!” We do not hear anything but this.’
CC Ādi 17.194: “One meat-eater said, ‘The Hindus say, “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa,” and they laugh, cry, dance, chant and fall on the ground, smearing their bodies with dirt.
CC Ādi 17.195: “‘Vibrating “Hari, Hari,” the Hindus make a tumultuous sound. If the king [pātasāha] hears it, certainly he will punish you.’
CC Ādi 17.196: “I then inquired from these yavanas, ‘I know that these Hindus by nature chant “Hari, Hari.”
CC Ādi 17.197: “‘The Hindus chant the name Hari because that is the name of their God. But you are Muslim meat-eaters. Why do you chant the name of the Hindus’ God?’
CC Ādi 17.198: “The meat-eater replied, ‘Sometimes I joke with the Hindus. Some of them are called Kṛṣṇadāsa, and some are called Rāmadāsa.
CC Ādi 17.199: “‘Some of them are called Haridāsa. They always chant “Hari, Hari,” and thus I thought they would steal the riches from someone’s house.
CC Ādi 17.200: “‘Since that time, my tongue also always vibrates the sound “Hari, Hari.” I have no desire to say it, but still my tongue says it. I do not know what to do.’
CC Ādi 17.201-202: “Another meat-eater said, ‘Sir, please hear me. Since the day I joked with some Hindus in this way, my tongue chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa hymn and cannot give it up. I do not know what mystic hymns and herbal potions these Hindus know.’
CC Ādi 17.203: “After hearing all this, I sent all the mlecchas back to their homes. Five or seven nonbelieving Hindus then approached me.
CC Ādi 17.204: “Coming to me, the Hindus complained, ‘Nimāi Paṇḍita has broken the Hindu religious principles. He has introduced the saṅkīrtana system, which we never heard from any scripture.
CC Ādi 17.205: “‘When we keep a night-long vigil to observe religious performances for the worship of Maṅgalacaṇḍī and Viṣahari, playing on musical instruments, dancing and chanting are certainly fitting customs.
CC Ādi 17.206: “‘Nimāi Paṇḍita was previously a very good boy, but since He has returned from Gayā He conducts Himself differently.
CC Ādi 17.207: “‘Now He loudly sings all kinds of songs, claps, and plays drums and hand cymbals, making a tumultuous sound that deafens our ears.
CC Ādi 17.208: “‘We do not know what He eats that makes Him become mad, dancing, singing, sometimes laughing, crying, falling down, jumping up and rolling on the ground.
CC Ādi 17.209: “‘He has made all the people practically mad by always performing congregational chanting. At night we cannot get any sleep; we are always kept awake.
CC Ādi 17.210: “‘Now He has given up His own name Nimāi and introduced Himself by the name Gaurahari. He has spoiled the Hindu religious principles and introduced the irreligion of nonbelievers.
CC Ādi 17.211: “‘Now the lower classes are chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra again and again. For this sinful activity, the entire city of Navadvīpa will become deserted.
CC Ādi 17.212: “‘According to Hindu scripture, God’s name is the most powerful hymn. If everyone hears the chanting of the name, the potency of the hymn will be lost.
CC Ādi 17.213: “‘Sir, you are the ruler of this town. Whether Hindu or Muslim, everyone is under your protection. Therefore please call Nimāi Paṇḍita and make Him leave the town.’
CC Ādi 17.214: “After hearing their complaints, in sweet words I told them, ‘Please go back home. I shall certainly prohibit Nimāi Paṇḍita from continuing His Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.’
CC Ādi 17.215: “I know that Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme God of the Hindus, and I think that You are the same Nārāyaṇa. This I feel within my mind.”
CC Ādi 17.216: After hearing the Kazi speak so nicely, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched him and smilingly spoke as follows.
CC Ādi 17.217: “The chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa from your mouth has performed a wonder — it has nullified the reactions of all your sinful activities. Now you have become supremely pure.
CC Ādi 17.218: “Because you have chanted three holy names of the Lord — Hari, Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa — you are undoubtedly the most fortunate and pious.”
CC Ādi 17.219: After the Kazi heard this, tears flowed down from his eyes. He immediately touched the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke the following sweet words.
CC Ādi 17.220: “Only by Your mercy have my bad intentions vanished. Kindly favor me so that my devotion may always be fixed upon You.”
CC Ādi 17.221: The Lord said, “I wish to beg you for one favor in charity. You must pledge that this saṅkīrtana movement will not be checked, at least in the district of Nadia.”
CC Ādi 17.222: The Kazi said, “To as many descendants as take birth in my dynasty in the future, I give this grave admonition: No one should check the saṅkīrtana movement.”
CC Ādi 17.223: Hearing this, the Lord got up, chanting “Hari! Hari!” Following Him, all the other Vaiṣṇavas also got up, chanting the vibration of the holy name.
CC Ādi 17.224: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went back to perform kīrtana, and the Kazi, his mind jubilant, went with Him.
CC Ādi 17.225: The Lord asked the Kazi to go back home. Then the son of mother Śacī came back to His own home, dancing and dancing.
CC Ādi 17.226: This is the incident concerning the Kazi and the Lord’s mercy upon him. Anyone who hears this is also freed from all offenses.
The Deities offer us an absolutely stunning darsana today depicting the lotus flowers floating on the very still and deep Yamuna.
It is described in the Kalindy-agamana-varnana how the lotus flowers that grow in her waters are the eyes with which she gazes at Lord Krsna. Yamuna Devi, please give us those transcendental eyes with which we can gaze at Lord Krsna.
I was distributing at Pierce College in Los Angeles. It was slow — very
slow. Hardly any books were going out. It’s been quite some time since
I’ve been able to go on book distribution (health problems), so it was
nice to be out on the front lines again. But this was not what I
expected. So I decided to save my energy for the next day. As I was
leaving, a student came to me and asked, “What are these books about?” I
explained to him, “These books help us understand higher spiritual
values in life and how to live peacefully in a world filled with so much
stress.” “Really! Wow, I’m into this. Tell me more about them.” I showed him a number of books, and afterward he ended up taking a stack
and giving a nice donation. I was quite surprised, because I hadn’t even
approached him: he came to me, or should I say Krsna stepped in to
encourage me. I thought, “All right, Krsna, that was pretty special.
I’ll stay.” Book distribution is sooo sweet, but it also has it’s bitter
side — so it’s a little like chutney, which is so sweet you don’t want
to stop eating it but so spicey hot you hesitate to eat it. And now we are entering the sweetest time of the year: December, which
means the Prabhupada Marathon. Happy are the book distributors to whom
such marathons come unsought, opening for them the doors to the
spiritual world. Many temples have already started their marathon. I just received a
letter from Bali, Indonesia, saying they’ve been on it for some time
now. For some it’s the November/December Prabhupada Marathon. It’s at times like this that we get the special mercy of Lord Caitanya.
The Caitanya-caritamrta says, “The Krsna consciousness movement will
inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a
gentleman, a rogue, or even lame, invalid, or blind… . In
distributing love of Godhead, Lord Caitanya and His associates did not
consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such
distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions.
Wherever they got the opportunity, [they] distributed love of Godhead.” Now somehow we members of the Krsna consciousness movement have
inherited this great compassionate mission of Lord Caitanya. There is so
much darkness in the world. Most people don’t even know the ABCs of
spiritual life — that we are not the material body but spirit souls who
are eternal servants of Krsna. For most people, book distribution is the
only chance they’ll get to learn about the soul and the Supreme Soul. So
let’s put some extra effort into this marathon to help them get real
knowledge and thus enter onto the path of real happiness. This is the
mission of the Krsna consciousness movement: /sarve sukhino bhavantu,
/to make everyone genuinely happy. Devotees are naturally compassionate,
so if we really want to help others, let’s try to help as many souls as
we can to hear about Krsna. Your servant,
Vijaya das
We were in New Plymouth City, New Zealand, distributing Srila
Prabhupada’s books. It was the same day hundreds of Christians inundated
the whole city after a convention and sausage sizzle in a nearby
community park. Groups of them had gathered on most street corners,
doing their Christian-style harinam by clapping and singing about Jesus.
They were lively and inspired. If they had just added “Gauranga!” to the
hymns they were singing, it would have been perfect. So I stopped this guy in his mid twenties. Brad was his name. We had a
good relationship right from the get-go. He was looking at the two books
I had handed him and was very interested. As we spoke, a
charismatic-evangelist-type Christian fellow and his two followers
approached from the side and started preaching it up to Brad and
denigrating what I was doing. The evangelist was saying all the typical
Christian things, like “Jesus is the only way” and “They [we] are
satanic.” Evangelistji was going on and on. I didn’t say anything to
spur him on and was apologetic to Brad for his having to stand through
all of this. He was ok with it and held on to the books despite
evangelistji pointing at them and saying everything he could think of
against them. Then the preacher tried to catch us out on our philosophy by saying that
the Hare Krsnas preach against killing animals, especially cows, and
that part of adhering to our philosophy is to avoid wearing any kind of
leather or using any animal product whatever, etc., etc. Then, as though
he had rehearsed this, he asked me what kind of belt I was wearing. I
said, “Are you sure you want me to answer that question?” “Yes!” he exclaimed. Now was the moment everyone was waiting for. All eyes were on me,
including Brad’s. He’d witnessed the whole one-sided exchange. Again I
asked, “Are you sure?” Growing impatient, preacherji came over and lifted up my shirt, and to
everyone’s surprise I was wearing as a belt … a strip of cotton
cloth ripped from an old dhoti! Saffron-colored, of course. Preacherji was dumbfounded. His two followers looked at him as though to
say, “How embarrassing: the Hare Krsnas win again.” Then Brad, happy the Hares walk their talk, his faith strengthened by
the experience, said out loud so all could hear, “I would like to
purchase the books. How much would you like for them?” Srila Prabhupada’s victorious book distribution ki jaya! ys
Kela Tirtha das
A few days ago I was distributing books in Dundas Square, Toronto, when
I stopped a young man from Germany who was on vacation. I showed him a
copy of “Beyond Birth and Death” and said a little something to pique
his interest. In the middle my talk an elderly man distributing free
copies of the Koran walked over from the corner and tried to hand him
some books on Islam. Here’s what ensued: The Muslim representative encouraged the German to take his books,
saying “You should research all religions.” I didn’t get angry at this
intrusion but tried to sympathize with the older man, recognizing that
he had a genuine desire to share his spiritual and cultural values for
the benefit of others. This is purifying for any heart, I thought. Then came the reply from the German: “No, thanks, I’m fine with this one
[Prabhupada’s book].” As for me, rather than becoming proud of having
won the bout of the books, I felt compassion for the Muslim and tried to
minimize the feelings of rejection and dejection he must have felt. I
prayed for a swift end to his negative feelings. After the German boy
gave me ten euros and walked away, I turned away from the elderly man,
trying not to give him the impression I was reveling in his defeat. I
had a few moments to reflect on how often I’d tried to go out on a limb
to present Krishna consciousness to someone, only to receive a big blow
to my false ego in return. Just then a boy named Joseph walked up to me. He introduced himself as
someone who’d once visited our Toronto temple. He was eager to purchase
a few books. I was curious about how fascinating the flow of
interactions on book distribution can sometimes be. As he was explaining
his interest, he revealed his true intention. He had come as an
ambassador from the Muslim man. Joseph told me that the man had asked
him to approach me to ask what we were all about. I decided the best
thing would be to go over myself and present the Bhagavad-gita to the
elderly gentleman personally. I wanted to make him my friend. He took a
“Bhagavad-Gita As It Is” on Joseph’s donation, and I walked away with
some books on Islam. It was a cultural exchange and a successful
real-time interfaith dialogue. your servant,
Mangal-aarti dd
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 7, No. 18
By Krishna-kripa das
(September 2011, part two)
United Kingdom, Philadelphia, New York
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on November 25, 2011)
Where I Went and What I Did
After leaving the Ukraine festival in mid-September, I did a nama-hatta program in Crawley, England, attended the Ratha-yatra in Cardiff, Wales, and celebrated the end of World Holy Name Week doing harinama in London. Then I went to Philadelphia for the Ratha-yatra. The next day, I went to Queens for a twelve-hour kirtana, and the following day, we went chanting at Adi Purusa Prabhu's Food for Life in the morning, at Union Square during the day, and at Occupy Wall Street in the evening, returning to the next day for five days of harinama in Philadelphia.
Cardiff Ratha-yatra
I came back from Ukraine a week earlier than usual in hopes of attending the Prabhupada festival in Boston, but I could not find a cheap flight. Thus I took advantage of my unexpected stay in the UK to attend a nama-hatta in Crawley and the Cardiff Ratha-yatra. I had never heard of Crawley until this year when a devotee who liked my Bhakti Sastri class at Soho told me he was from there. Later, the week after the London Ratha-yatra, I went to the Crawley Ratha-yatra. Jai Nitai Prabhu also invited me to help out with the nama-hattas southeast of London like Crawley. Furthermore I heard Gatwick Airport, the destination of my Ukraine flight, was nearby so the devotees could pick me up. So it all worked out very well. Thirty or forty people came for the event, and there was good participation during the kirtana.
The next day was Ratha-yatra in Cardiff, as I learned from the UK Ratha-yatra web site, and I took the train there. It was a bit pricey but the Crawley devotees donations covered it. I was excited because Wales is a new country for me. Having arrived at the train station halfway through the Ratha-yatra, I was worried I would not find it, but I passed a man who had just seen it, and he directed me. I was so happy to be with my UK festival friends, like Maha-Vishnu Swami, Parasurama Prabhu and Giridhari Prabhus who I had chanted with at places like Stonehenge and at the Crawley and Scandinavian Ratha-yatras. I also saw several friends from the Polish tour. Gaura Hari, who led kirtana, and Gopal Kumar Prabhus were there from England, and Gundica Prabhu, who is now living in Wales, with his wife, Ganga Seva dd, who got a lot of people dancing at the stage show after the Ratha-yatra. Both Ratha-yatra and stage show were very lively as you can see from the video. I recall one couple I invited to the festival came and stayed till almost the end, dancing in the kirtana as well. One friend of the devotees got ready to leave twice during the kirtana, but then got back into singing and dancing again, not being able to pull herself away from the ecstasy!
World Holy Name Week
I always spend part of World Holy Name Week at the Ukraine festival, where we do three hours of kirtana each night. The challenge is to have good congregational chanting programs for the other days. World Holy Name Week is not really a week, but eleven days, this year September 10–20. The Ukraine festival covered September 10–14, and Cardiff Ratha-yatra was on September 17. That left September 18, 19, and 20. By Krishna’s grace I was in London, where I can almost always find devotees to chant with. Not only that, but Maha-Vishnu Swami, who is enthusiasm personified when it comes to harinamawas visiting London. Because of such good fortune, we had eight harinamas in those three days: Sunday after breakfast and after the Sunday feast, and Monday and Tuesday after breakfast, at 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and 6:00 p.m. in the evening. The following video depicts some of the transcendental happiness of it all:
While in London, I got to hear some very lively Guru Puja kirtanas by Maha-Vishnu Swami, as you can see in the video: 
Philadelphia Ratha-yatra
Hare Krishna devotees observed Ratha-yatra on September 24, 2011, in Philadelphia. This year the Panca-Tattva deities who live above Govinda's Vegetarian Restaurant on South Street rode in their own chariot. Janananda Goswami, seen dancing blissfully, visited from the UK. Philly Ratha-yatra has some uncommon features like the bag pipe band, the drummers, the devotees dressed as incarnations of the Lord, demigods, and famous devotees. Also may kids pulled small carts in the parade.
At the festival in the park in front of the art musuem after the parade, there are lots of activities. There is a stage show, akirtana tent, face painting, instruction in chanting Hare Krishna on beads, and hatha-yoga. I see my younger devotee friends playing different important and useful roles. Navina Shyama Prabhu was the stage show MC, and one of my gurukula science students, Purusharta Prabhu’s son, Devananda, was in charge of the sound booth. Ganga Varuni taught yoga, and Jaya Sita dd did face painting. The prasadam is always tasty and well organized, with lots of help from the mostly Indian congregation. The Philly art museums happened to give students free admission on that day, so extra students were nearby to participant in our festival. I talked to several young people happily eating prasadam and willing to hear about our vegetarian restaurant and temple programs in Philadelphia. That is my second year in a row at the Philly Ratha-yatra, and I hope I can keep coming.
Philadelphia Harinamas
Three afternoons I chanted at Rittenhouse Square with a Hare Krishna friend. On Tuesday, September 27, Steven James came out with me. One sweet young lady photographer called Gaby who has a blog called “The Square People,” talked with us and included pictures she took in her blog: http://thesquarepeople.blogspot.com/2011/09/krishna-kripa-das-steven-september-27.html 
She wrote of her experience, “As I entered the square from the Walnut and 18th Street entrance, I was greeted by the soothing sounds of music and chanting. After catching up with some square regulars, I returned to meet Krishna-kripa Das (right) and Steven (left). They are Hare Krishnas and follow a spiritual practice based on traditional Hindu scriptures. As I develop an understanding of my own spirituality, I have found practices of the Hare Krishna, such as meditation and yoga, extremely worthwhile. While it’s not for everyone, I think the emphasis on connectivity, recognition of personal and worldly beauty, and peace is universally important.”
On Wednesday, September 28, Bhagavatananda Prabhu, who is very friendly and outgoing, came out with me. He encouraged one man, Gabe, to try chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, reading it from the Philly temple invitation, and he encouraged Bret, who likes kirtana, to play the karatalas with us. Bret surprised us by supplying his own karatalas. Bret’s friend took this video:
 Every second Friday evening, Ganga Varuni and a friend arrange a harinama at Rittenhouse Square. Gandharvika dd made a sweet for distribution, and we had temple invitations and books, about twenty books being distributed.
One Saturday, we had harinama at U. Penn. The devotees liked the experience and became eager to do more harinamas.Later on, they decided to chant at Occupy Philly. Near the beginning of the occupation devotees chanted for seven hours. In the month of October, going out twice a week, and distributing spiritual books and food, the devotees distributed about five hundred books and one thousand plates of spiritual food.
Insights from Lectures Srila Prabhupada:
Because I was sponsored by a private individual and not an organization the officials did not want to approve my going to America. I took it to a superior, and when I entered his office, he immediately said, “Don't worry, Swamiji, I have approved you.”
When I entered America, the immigration wanted to know how long I would stay. I had a one-month sponsorship, and figured under the circumstances I could stay at most at two months. Each time I extended my visa, I paid ten dollars. After a year, they would not extend it any more, so I engaged a lawyer, who helped get me permanent residency.
In July 1967, I was feeling very bad due to heart stroke, I thought, “Let me return to Vrindavana and die there.” But I returned to America in December 1967.
Q: Why did Srila Prabhupada book his return ticket for a two-month stay? A [by Maha-Vishnu Swami]: Srila Prabhupada did not come thinking he would definitely be successful in starting a worldwide movement. Srila Prabhupada wasn't thinking, “I am an empowered incarnation.” He was humbly thinking that by Krishna's grace something could happen.
Maha-Vishnu Swami [London]:
The Vedic conception of God is He is that from whom everything has emanated, or in other words, the cause of all causes.
We give the scientists credit. They are intelligent because that are looking for the ultimate cause, up to a point, up to the Big Bang. Sometimes there is a big bang and many people are killed. The police are not satisfied simply to say there was a big bang and to leave it at that. They investigate the cause of the bang. Who or what was behind it?
We have an asuric [demonic] mentality—to enjoy at another's expense. Because we all have come here with this mentality, there can never really be peace in the material world.
Q: Krishna as Bhagavan, He who possesses all opulence, has done things like lift Govardhan Hill, marry 16,000 wives and possess 16,000 places. How can we help people to understand how this is possible? A: Even ordinary people can do amazing things. There is one tower in Dubai 1,200 feet high, and there is one French man who climbed up the tower by his finger nails. How is it hard to understand that the person who is maintaining all the planets in orbit can lift up an insignificant hill 13 miles across?
Kripamoya Prabhu [London at the Soho Sunday Feast]:
As a new devotee in the 1970s, periodically we would be stopped by the police for chanting and dancing on the streets of London. Sometimes we were even locked up until we promised we would never, ever chant and dance on the streets of London again. This year I was impressed that all the policemen at the Cardiff Ratha-yatra were wearing garlands of flowers and smiling as they guided us through the streets. Times are changing.
During the Ratha-yatra, a lady came up to me, and said, “I am a yoga teacher, and I saw your chariot, and everyone singing and dancing, so happily. I wanted what you had, so I started to sing your song. I felt if I did not have a care in the world. And I started to cry. And I am not a sentimental person. I never cry, but cried for ten minutes. I just thought I should tell you.”
Whenever there is a revolution for change, there is often a song that goes along with it. We would like to think our that song, the Hare Krishna mantra, will be a song for change.
The words of the Hare Krishna mantra will give you a taste of eternity. We can taste eternity because we are eternal. As a Christian I learn that if I believed in Christ, I would attain eternality, but as a Hare Krishna I learned that I was already eternal. We just have to become qualified to experience our eternality.
The word “eternal” comes from a Greek word that means forever existing in the future, and also forever existing in the past.
Spiritual life means I will make a determined effort to never push the snooze button and return to the sleeping condition of material life.
When you see a car, if you like cars you will notice the car, otherwise you notice the person. The needs of car and the driver are different. If you give the driver petrol to drink, he will not like it. Similar if you put creamy doughnuts in the gas tank, the car will not like it. Unfortunately, we do not know the food for the soul, so we simply look for food for the mind and body. The sound of kirtana, devotional chanting, is food for the soul.
Decades ago I went into a temple and they told me to experiment with chanting the mantra. I did, and I am still experimenting. If it stops working tomorrow, I am out the door. No temple president can convince me to stay. But so far I like it.
One devotee prays to the Lord, I see you dragging me back to you by a rope you have attached to my toe, but I am foolishly flapping my arms to get away. Please excuse my flapping, for I really do want to come back to you.
It is said Lord Nrsimha is looking with love from one eye at Prahlada Maharaja and looking with anger from the other eye at Hiranyakasipu. Sridhara Swami in his 13th century commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam says that Lord Nrsimha is like a lioness who feds her cubs with affection at one moment and then fights an intruder to protect them at another, and then returns to feeding her cubs with affection.
Struggle is there to give up something for something greater, but by doing that we become peaceful.
Whenever there is seeking after God, there is song. When there are new realizations, they are expressed in song. And saints use songs to share spiritual truths with the general public.
To an extent when we give up the temporary, we can taste the eternal.
Mantra is a protective sound formula, protecting us from being materially absorbed.
We must know God as real, as friendly, as within and without, as the controller, as the ultimate destination, and as the greatest friend.
Lord Caitanya encouraged, “Come out of your places of worship and come into the streets and sing.”
Sometimes Bhaktivinoda Thakura would write songs of pure devotion to God and sign them, the anonymous Sufi, so people would sing them.
According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “You are standing on the threshold of bhakti if you can just do the six items of surrender.”
In all problems, we must open our umbrella and take shelter of Krishna's mercy.
Akrura Prabhu [London]:
Krishna is the supreme enjoyer but He noticed Radha was enjoying serving Him more than He was enjoying being served. Thus he descended as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to taste the feelings of Srimati Radharani.
I can see at Gitanagari, Bhakti Tirtha Swami trained his disciples to be very caring.
Attaining unconditional love for Krishna and all living entities seems to be the more difficult thing.
My mother never asked anything of me. She never asked me to finish high school, which I did not do, nor to do time in the army, which I was obliged to do, but did not, nor to get just get a job, which I did not do.
One lady was cheated by her husband in such a bad way she spent 7 years in jail. When she got out, she got cancer. Finding no hope for cure, she saw a karma diagnostic man who said, “You have cancer because you did not forgive your husband.” So she seriously forgave her husband, and she is still alive.
I have found many devotees who are stuck because they have not forgiven someone.
Instead of blaming people, if we take responsibility, we will become free.
Commenting on the tat te 'nukampam verse, Srila Prabhupada says we get much less than we deserve. How much less? Once he says if you are to be fined millions of dollars, the judge will fine you ten cents.
In one sense it is arrogant to forgive, because we should not have blamed them in the first place. It is just our karma we were getting.
One lady lamented, “My husband left me!” I explained that it could have been your karma that he killed you, but it was reduced. Then she was relieved.
Q: What about people who they are not on that level to forgive as your recommended? A: They still have to do it. It is the truth. You have to encourage them to try. They will be feel better.
Q: How can remember to forgive? A: Sometimes we are doing everything right, but we are not happy. It could be you have not forgiven someone. I will remind you every month to make sure you have forgiven everyone.
If you do not forgive, you will have to be born again in the material world.
Comment by Jai Nitai Prabhu: Another point is that one who harms us has done us a favor, because we had it coming due to our karma.
One of our duties as preachers is to set people free by telling the people truth about their situation, regardless of their religion because ultimately it is the same truth.
Bhutabhavana Prabhu [London]:
We may have lust, greed, and anger in our heart, but that does not have to be the motive for our devotional service. We can still execute devotional service simply to please guru and Krishna.
A trick of maya is to make us too conscious of our anarthas [impurities], and thus become discouraged by them.
The more we feel we are OK, the more we are not.
Too much money and too many followers are not the cause of falldown but too little Krishna consciousness.
Tattva-sandarbha [Translation by Gopiparanadhana Prabhu]:
Srila Jiva Gosvami throughout his life was famous for being completely honest. He was a lifelong celibate, and even as a child he was renounced in his habits. It is said that he never spoke anything, even in his dreams, that could not be verified to be true. (28.2, commentary)
To explain the difference between the internal and external energies of the Supreme, Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana offers an analogy: the internal energy is like an emperor’s favorite queen, the external energy like a menial maidservant who always stays outside his quarters. (31.3, commentary)
“One female goat gives birth to many offspring like herself, with bodies colored red, white, and black. One male goat lies with her and enjoys her, while another shows no interest in enjoying her, for he feels satiated.” (Svetasvatara Upanishad4.5) This Upanisadic text involves a play on the word aja (female, aja), which means both “goat” and “eternal being.” The eternal female (material nature) replicates her three modes—goodness (white), passion (red), and ignorance (black)—in the bodies of all life forms. One eternal male, the fallen jiva, tries to enjoy nature, while the other eternal male, the self-satisfied Supreme Lord, shows no interest in her. (34, commentary).
It is unreasonable to propose that the one pure spiritual entity, Brahman, has the power to maintain maya and is full of perfect knowledge and yet becomes an object of the influence of maya and is overcome by ignorance. Therefore we can understand that the jiva and God are different. And from the fact that the jiva and God display different identities and capabilities, we can deduce that they are in fact two separate entities. (35) The contrary idea—that the Supreme is one without qualities and that all names and forms are unreal—has always been popular among those who want the kingdom of God without God. But one can hold to such an idea only by denying the clear dictates of logic, experience, and common sense. (35, commentary)
The delusion of the jiva only increases when He presumes himself identical with the Supreme. We can hardly expect a poor beggar in prison to free himself simply by imagining “I am the king.” (38, commentary)
As long as a single person is faithfully practicing and working to spread the sublime instructions of Srimad-Bhagavatam, hope still exists for peace and happiness. (47.2, commentary)
It is said that once, as Vyasadeva was dictating various verses to his disciple Jaimini, when Vyasadeva came to one verse from the Ninth Canto of the Bhagavatam (9.9.17) Jaimini hesitated to write it down.
matra svasra duhitra va naviviktasano bhavet balavan indriya-gramo vidvamsam api kar?ati
“One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one’s own mother, sister, or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge he may be attracted by sex.” Jaimini apologized, but he could not agree that a self-realized sage might become agitated by the mere physical presence of a woman. Srila Vyasa simply smiled and by his mystic power suddenly turned himself into a young woman. Jaimini, attracted against his will, found himself trying to embrace the woman, who just as suddenly turned herself back into the not-very-attractive old sage Vyasadeva. (48)
“Seekers of truth disagree among one another only until they acquire a taste for hearing about and discussing the all-attractive qualities of Lord Hari. Scholars who dispute the nature of the Absolute Truth do so because they are not self-satisfied. Dissatisfied and confused, they can hardly enlighten anyone else. As long as adherents of various religions are ready to condemn and even kill one another, they have obviously not yet attained the stage of self-satisfaction.” (49, commentary)
“Vaishnava acaryas, in their commentaries to Srimad-Bhagavatam, explain that no material body is produced until some conditioned soul wants to possess it. Even the subtle aggregates of the material elements are not created by maya until particular demigods are each willing to accept one of them as his own body.” (57.3, commentary)
And scripture is commonly known as sastra because it is seen, in particular cases, to engage in overruling. Elsewhere [than in Vacaspati’s statement] we see that both inference and scriptural evidence refute the sensory perception that the sun globe or some other celestial body is very small, because from observation one has learned that far-away things appear like that and also because this understanding is established from the scriptures. (Sarva-samvadini [Jiva Goswami’s commentary on his own Tattva-sandharbha] 30) According to Srila Kavi-karnapura, one of the great poets among the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and author of the textbook Alankara-kaustubha, rasa is the soul of poetry, dhvani (vyanjana) [suggestion] its life air, words and their meaning its body, and the ornaments of sound and meaning (sabdalankaras and arthalankaras) the decorations of the body. (Sarva-samvadini 50)
Revealed scripture is always independent of the dictates of speculative reasoning. If speculation were ever allowed to overrule the sabda-prama?a of scripture, the authority of scripture would be undermined. Logic must yield the right of way to sastra, not the other way around. (Sarva-samvadini 53, commentary)
Yajna Purusa Prabhu [New York City]:
Niranjana Swami said, “Bada Hari Prabhu is my bhajana guru.”
Devamrita Swami told me that I should go the Ukraine festival because it is my guru’s festival and because it is the best festival in ISKCON.
Niranjana Swami was visiting a close friend of his who had opened up many centers in Europe. The two of them were visiting a married couple and the man asked Niranjana Swami's friend to tell a Prabhupada story. The story he told goes like this: “The devotees used to bring many people to see Srila Prabhupada because he would visit the centers with the more preaching opportunities. One devotee brought one important man to see Prabhupada. Prabhupada asked if the man had any questions. The man said no. The devotee was heartbroken. Prabhupada repeated, “You have no questions?” The man again replied, “No.” So Prabhupada got the harmonium and chanted 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 minutes. The man was drawn in by the sweetness of the kirtana and was obviously moved. Prabhupada said, “This is what we do,” and asked the devotees to give the man some sweets.”
Adi Purusa Prabhu [New York City]:
In the past teachers received money by the inspiration of those who heard from them, but now they charge money. Without dedicating our activities to the service of the Lord, we will be degraded.
There is not need to fear failure in devotional service because it is not an external thing. If we can simply please Krishna we are successful.
We see in our prasadam distribution, people passing by see what we are doing and they help, by setting up tables, giving donations, etc.
My experience is speaking to hundreds of people a day for decades is that most people are willing to give in charity.
In the course of distributing books, we would talk to everyone without discrimination. We would not consider these people are too rowdy, these people are too well dressed, these people are too much clustered together, etc.
Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu [New York City]:
Because the poison of Kaliya was so severe the birds flying over poisoned water would fall down dead. Not only that but the trees on the banks of the river had died. Because the water, air, and land were all poisoned you could say it was the greatest ecological disaster of its time.
Before jumping in the water, Krishna adjusted his clothing. This is practical as you know if you have ever gone swimming and had your swimming trunks come off in the water.
Balarama was just enjoying the Kaliya pastime because He knew Krishna was in no danger.
The residents of Vrindavan were almost on the point of death seeing Krishna entangled in the coils of Kaliya. One might ask, “Why did Krishna let it come to that point?” Krishna wanted to bring the attention of His devotees completely on Himself.
Kaliya according to Bhaktivinoda Thakura represents envy and anger.
Not only does envy mean that we want what someone else has, but we also do not want them to have it.
Kaliya is not ordinary because he was allowed to embrace Krishna for two hours in his coils.
If you encounter someone that you envy, you should thank Krishna because that brings out the envy which would not otherwise not be brought out.
Because of the prayers of his wives, Kaliya was saved by Krishna.
The body is the greatest impediment to realize we are not our body. But at the time of death, it is easier to see the futility of bodily enjoyment.
I was talking to an administrator at Columbia University who asked if I was a Hare Krishna. She said she was too, or at least she was involved in the movement years ago, during Srila Prabhupada's time. She was telling me that for the last four hours of her mother's life she read Bhagavad-gita to her. When she had to take a break from reading to use the bathroom, her mother would moan, indicating she wanted her to continue reading.
Q [by Rama Raya]: Kapila talks about not viewing death with horror. How can we practically do this? A: We are so conditioned by considering the body the cause of our pleasure for so long it maybe not be possible not to view death with horror. But we can count on Krishna and His devotees to make it easier for us to remember the Lord at the time of death and attain perfection.
Haryasva Prabhu [Philadelphia]:
Grace is to situate yourself where you can receive the causeless mercy of the Lord. Bhurijana Prabhu says knowing Krishna’s opulences increases our devotion because we we feel fortunate to have an intimate relationship with such an amazingly qualified person. Knowing Krishna’s opulence helps our devotional service by increasing our faith.
I think of Bhagavad-gita as illustrating, through the examples of Krishna and Arjuna, the ideal spiritual-disciple relationship. Spiritual life looks to some like a cop out for people who are materially unsuccessful when in reality is an awakening of knowledge that there is a more important goal of life.
It is refreshing to note the change from material to spiritual life is mostly merely a change in consciousness.
Everyone talks about the kingdom of God, but nobody is ready to die to go.
Religion is to bring you to point of genuine spirituality.
The lower self goes down when we pump up the higher self.
I had a lot of spiritual aspirations in my youth, but when puberty set in, religiosity went out the back door. I was so bad I could not describe to my brother how bad I was. He took me to the temple. The kirtana was so lively I took off my coat and tie and got into the dancing. My realization was that, “This is better than the club, and I didn't take anything [any intoxication].”
-----
punah punah piyaiya haya mahamatta nace, kande, hase, gaya, yaiche mada-matta
“Sri Panca-tattva themselves danced again and again and thus made it easier to drink nectarean love of Godhead. They danced, cried, laughed and chanted like madmen, and in this way they distributed love of Godhead” (Cc. Adi 7.22).
ISKCON London, RKDG’s 42nd Anniversary of Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara Drama 2011 (Full Drama Video)
1966 November 26: "I wish to train up the American youths in devotional service and entrust them with Radha Krishna temples in this part of the world and I expect full cooperation of all devotees of Krishna in India for this mighty progress."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966
1969 November 26: "Your work is very, very nicely done, save and except some typographical mistakes. And the transliteration is also very nice. Maintain this standard and that will be quite sufficient for my satisfaction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1970 November 26: "Performing Kirtana and conducting classes at universities is very important. They have innumerable university departments of knowledge but no department for understanding the science of Krishna. We must introduce such a department."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1972 November 26: "Always remember to chant Hare Krishna. As darkness cannot stand before the light, so maya cannot remain in the presence of Krishna. When Hare Krishna mantra is vibrating on your tongue, there is no question of maya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1972 November 26: "This attitude of changing this, changing that, that if by adjustment, by changing, I may create the perfect combination and everything will be all right - this is not at all good attitude."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1972 November 26: "You have been leader for long time, you are the pioneer there, so why you should be whimsically discharged? Why they have misunderstood these things? We are devotees, not politicians. So this plotting must be stopped."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1973 November 26: "Regarding your community committee, if sometimes devotees should like to come together and chant and discuss, I have no objection. But we should not take such committees too seriously. In the ultimate capacity our chanting is the only thing that will save us."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1974 November 26: "Our movement is being accepted. They are saying that Swamiji is doing nice things. It is all Krishna's grace. So it is up to you Europeans and Americans to push our movement all over the world and if you do - one day you will be the leaders of the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
]]]]]]] A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Saturday 26 November 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. For Transcendental Association Connect With Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference: http://groups.google.com/group/sda_students Help Popularize Our Message By Liking Today's Thought on Facebook: Today's Thought: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA There is a saying, When the going gets tough, the tough get going. This is especially relevant in Krishna consciousness. This material world is a tough place, an abode full of suffering of three types: suffering of the body and mind, suffering caused by other living entities, and suffering caused by natural disasters. Srila Prabhupada explains that the great devotee Vidura was addressed as a hero because no one is stronger in self-control than a devotee of the Lord. From this we can understand the toughness of a fixed up devotee of the Lord. Such tough devotees are not deterred from Krishna consciousness by devastating situations. Rather they become even stronger and more resolute in their Krishna consciousness when they face tough situations. So this a good lesson for us. When the going gets tough, when should get tough for determinedly fighting the battle with the material energy. We should never become cowards and give up the fight. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Difference Between Krishna and Vishnu Please explain me how Krishna and Vishnu are different? Sini Answer: God at Home and God at the Office Vishnu or Vishnu-tattva is the category of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in all of His multifarious forms such as Krishna, Rama, Nrsimha, Vamana, Mahavishnu, etc. This is differentiated from the category known as Jiva-tattva, which is the category we are in as the Lord's separated parts and parcels. Therefore Krishna is the original Vishnu and the other forms of God as His expansions. When God is at home engaged in dealings with His intimate family members He is Krishna. And when He is engaged in managing universal cosmic affairs, He is Vishnu. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed: http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought Thought for the Day on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ultimate.Self.Realization Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address: {contact_address
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