Dear Lord Krishna, You are in this tired body, but You can refresh it. Think how Prabhupada went on and on, pushing himself and feeling rejuvenated in Krishna consciousness. Pray to Him to visit you with “Emergen-C,” pickup in body and mind. You can do it in extra chanting and reading. Take the time to absorb His presence and be with Him.
******
So much praise for the purifying power of chanting. I must not be doing it right or I would feel it more. I would feel more immediate enthusiasm and pleasure in chanting sixteen rounds. I do some extra in the afternoon, but it is too uneventful; I cannot surrender to the quality. But it’s good to do it anyway, even if you are somewhat indifferent. This is the advice of the acaryas and scriptures. Keep on chanting. Keep on hearing. Don’t divert yourself.
******
I’m feeling sunk down, far away from Krishna today because I did not do much today. I chanted extra rounds in the afternoon, and that was a nice, quiet way to communicate with Radha and Krishna without wasting my time. But I have to be very patient. The rain was falling, driving sideways this morning, and we did not go out. I feel as if tears of lack of devotion are falling down for me today also.
******
Lord Krishna is the Supreme Person, and we are all His scattered sparks, eternally persons like Him in quality but infinitesimal in size. We can never be Krishna or enjoyers of the material world. Our enjoyment is in serving Him. This begins by hearing about Him from a pure devotee and chanting His holy names. Krishna likes me to talk of Him favorably, using the eloquent words of the scriptures and my own words, based on the scriptural conclusions. He wants me to sincerely express my love and appreciation for Him. To express it and demonstrate it.
******
I will try to chant extra rounds this afternoon and hear them in my mind. Have faith in the scriptural statements that chanting Hare Krishna constantly is the greatest act of devotion. Do it despite your low taste.
******
I stand face to face with Krishna. I bow down to His lotus feet. Nama (Krishna) and nami (His name) are identical. Each bead chanted on is bowing to Krishna and Radha. Even when you don’t do it perfectly in the offenseless stage, it counts in your favor.
******
we’re living in this body
you and me
(body and soul).
When your time is up
it will be hard to chant the names
so do it while you can
while you’re calm and at your ease.
******
My headache has already gone away. There is one new good change in my schedule that I want to announce as soon as possible in hopes of making it a firm commitment. The last two days I chanted on my beads for an hour and a half after writing my free write. I don’t count the rounds but just the time, from 5:00 P.M. until 6:30 P.M., my snack time. It has been easy to chant, and the beads just roll off my fingers effortlessly. My mind wanders, but I don’t berate it but gently go on chanting. This is the kind of thing I would want to do if I went to Vrndavana, so it makes my present bhajana kutir more Vrndavana-like.
******
From Bhajana Rahasya, by Bhaktivinoda Thakura (from the Mukunda Mala 37): “This frail body, which is made of five elements and connected by hundreds of joints, is certainly to decline. Consequently the body will be burnt to ashes or will become food for worms and transformed into excrement. O foolish and wicked mind, you have decorated such a disgusting body with the senses’ attachments. The elixir of Sri Krsna nama is the only powerful medicine to cure this disease of material existence. You should constantly drink it by incessantly chanting Krishna’s name.”
******
The morning was cold and windy, and a full moon was out. We needed all our layers of clothes and then some, and face masks, too. The wind was shaking the park bench back and forth. We greeted the old lady walker. Baladeva asked if I felt too cold. I said I was good enough for three laps. The seagulls swooped down and squawked as they fought for their bread prey as it bounced off the windy parking lot. At the end, I patted him on the back and thanked him for another splendid japa walk. Lewes Beach is our holy terrain.
pp. 58-61
It begins with rising early for mangala-arati. You have to. It may seem difficult at first. Because mangala-arati occurs very early in the morning, one may prefer to sleep; but this is one of the simple austerities we must perform in this age when most of the austerities performed in previous ages are no longer possible. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given lenient directions for spiritual life in this age, but candidates for Krsna consciousness must be determined to follow whatever He and His representative have asked us to do. Compared to the austerities of previous yogis and devotees, our austerities are insignificant. But if we neglect our simple, required duties, then we cannot be successful in the most important mission of our human life.
In the KRSNA book Srila Prabhupada describes how the young students in the gurukula practice the austerity of rising early at the bidding of the spiritual master. When a bell is sounded in the temple, they immediately rise, “and after finishing their morning duties, they sit down to study the Vedas or chant Vedic mantras.” Early rising and obedience to the guru are a basic regulative duty. This is described in The Nectar of Devotion.
One has to follow these different regulative principles by the order of the spiritual master or on the strength of authoritative scriptures, and there can be no question of refusal. . . . For example, a person engaged in devotional service may be ordered to rise early in the morning and offer arati, which is a form of Deity worship. In the beginning, by the order of his spiritual master, one rises early in the morning and offers arati, but then he develops real attachment. —Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu pp. 21-22
By practicing the regulative principles, a devotee will awaken his original, natural love of Krsna. The love is already there in one’s heart, but it is the gift of the regulative practice that that love manifests. Bhakti-yoga is a science, and the devotee must proceed step by step to reach the higher stages. By practicing the regulative principles, we lose our desire for sinful habits; this leads us to firm conviction and then to the stages just prior to spontaneous love of God. Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas were fully aware of this scientific nature of bhakti-yoga; therefore, they did not recommend any compromise in a daily program that begins with early rising and mangala-arati. If Srila Prabhupada had compromised on some important points of regulative practice, he might have made or retained more followers, but that was not his interest. He was interested in creating first-class persons, genuine devotees of Krsna, because only the devotee can actually attain love of God and distribute it to others. Even if there is only one pure devotee in the world, Srila Prabhupada used to say, he can do great good for others. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada instructed his temple managers to maintain the morning program as a prime responsibility.
Everything is done in conformity to a regular standard. For example, all the temple members, without exception must rise by 4:00 AM and attend mangala arati. Everyone living in the temple must agree to the standard by proper understanding of the philosophy of tapasya. We cannot expect our guests to follow all our principles, but whoever lives in the temple must follow.
—Letter, January 12, 1974 to Mukunda dasa
When Haridasa Thakura was old and was no longer able to chant his daily quota of 300,000 holy names, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to visit him and asked, “Can you ascertain what your disease is?” Haridasa Thakura replied, “My disease is that I cannot complete my rounds.” (Cc. Antya 11.23) Srila Prabhupada comments:
“If one cannot complete the fixed number of rounds he is assigned he should be considered to be in a diseased condition of spiritual life . . . In our Krsna consciousness movement we have fixed sixteen rounds as the minimum so that Westerners will not feel burdened.”
Chanting sixteen rounds is the most basic and important of all the instructions of the spiritual master. To neglect this order is like committing spiritual suicide. At the time of initiation, a devotee promises to chant sixteen rounds daily and to follow the regula¬tions. And in reciprocation, Lord Krsna, acting through the spiritual master, relieves the new devotee of all his karmic reactions. The obligation for the disciple to keep his promise is a grave one, and often Srila Prabhupada would remind his temple managers of this, especially when Prabhupada was granting initiations.
All initiated devotees must chant at least 16 rounds daily, without fail. Now that they are initiated there is no question of not doing their rounds. In court when a person swears to tell the truth he can be punished by perjury if he does not take it seriously and tells a lie, so those who will promise before the deity to follow the rules and regulations of initiated disciples will be punished if they fail to do so.
—Letter, March 24, 1974 to Dayananda dasa
pp. 188-91
“To be free from embarrassment, impediment, or superfluity; CLEAR, EXTRICATE.”
I guess that makes it a verb. It means you extricate yourself from an embarrassing situation.
Spiritual life is difficult because even when we think we have pleased our spiritual master or are doing our duty, we could be wrong. We cannot be glibly confident. Rather, we always have to strive with fear and trembling, perhaps feeling some con¬fidence, but always thinking about our activities down to our roots and being prepared to admit we took a wrong turn. We could be very wrong. Our confidence isn’t in our own abilities, but in our spiritual master’s love and willingness to correct and guide us back to the right path.
That doesn’t make life any easier. What if he speaks in a way that we can’t hear? What if he speaks through his other disciples? We may not take the correction from just any Joe or disgruntled person. Who can tell us now when and how we are displeasing Prabhupada? Is it that anyone who says he is representing Prabhupada can instruct us in the nature of Prabhupada’s pleasure? Will we submit to such a person?
It has to be carefully decided and examined. It appears in some sense that we can’t advance more than the group level. In the case of the zonal acarya system, for example, we were suffering from group blindness. I certainly couldn’t get beyond the group, especially that group of elite GBC men who were empowered by Srila Prabhupada.
Adjective. “To soften; softening; soothing.”
As a noun, it means, “something that has a softening or soothing effect; especially, an emollient preparation or medicine applied to surface tissues of the body.”
Perhaps a mosquito bite was itching and burning and we soothed it with baking powder and water. Perhaps a sensitive area was irritated by shaving and we soothed it with aloe vera gel. Our nerves are so raw that even a slight disturbance to the surface tissues disturbs the entire body. What an awkward situation the conditioned soul is in. Kamadinam kati na katidha palita durnidesas: “I become the servant of my senses, but they don’t give me pleasure. Ultimately, they never leave me in peace.” Krsna consciousness is the only emollient that can soothe the burning sensation of material life, where our sense demands—tongue, belly, and genitals—never give us a moment’s peace.
Krsna consciousness does more than soothe us, however. We don’t only need to be pacified, but also to feel the freedom of serving Krsna for His pleasure. We don’t want our senses to be calmed by either fulfilling their demands or distracting them from what they want; we want positive engagement for the senses. We want to soothe Krsna’s transcendental senses, although Krsna is never disturbed. When Krsna is fatigued in the forest, the cowherd boys massage His feet. That is real pleasure. Since Krsna satisfies His desires through the devotees, we want to be among the devotees.
Even in this world, however, we want to soften and smooth the blows of material life. Women often have the touch to soothe life’s harshness with gentle words. When a householder comes home after a day at work, he wants gentle and sweet words to greet him. Perhaps he had an abrasive exchange with someone at work and had to suffer through people’s competitive spirits. Then there were the austerities of catching the bus or driving through rush-hour traffic. All day long his senses have been bombarded. By the time he comes home, his heart is sore. His wife should be kind. If she isn’t, then he becomes even more unhappy.
After the scorching heat of the day, the moon’s rays are cooling. We need to soothe tension or we will become hard, irritated, and nervous. Ultimately, we need the emollient of love of God. As our eyes are burning in this material world, we hanker for the ointment of love of God and the enlivenment of all our senses in Krsna’s service.
pp. 6-12
It’s almost a cliché to say that Mayapur isn’t as intense as Vrindavan. I think it’s me who likes the intensity and receptivity. And that’s a cliché also.
Maybe when you are away from here you can remember early mornings, the big room in TKG’s suite darkened, with a light projecting into it from a next-door room. The large portrait of Nityananda, and then beside it Lord Caitanya painted by Mayapur artists. I chant back and forth between my newly-returned Prabhupada murti. Waiting for something to happen? Knowing it won’t happen? Pondering about “it,” what kind of breakthrough do I expect? What is lacking? Being in India is the same as being anywhere else? Where am I anyway, in mental space?
A devotee here gave me this verse printed on a card like a placemark:
“I praise Sri Mayapur, where a dabbler who walks down many paths at once, a fool, one who has rejected proper religious duty, an independent person who will not follow the rules of the scriptures, a person who has not the slightest scent of the touch of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and those who live here only out of lust and greed, all attain the Supreme destination” (Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati, Sri Navadvipa-sataka, text 39).
Canakya’s ethics, a squashed many-footed
bug centipede insists–words go out
on parikrama bring your beads
and don’t look at girls. Don’t find fault,
don’t complain, don’t look at clouds
as white stuff only.
I will make sense like an orderly
boy. Now stop and think it over.
Lord Caitanya’s everywhere and it’s up
to us to see Him in the dhama.
Sats will tell us he is gonna die.
Let’s see how he measures up to that
in his free-write.
We’re going to Lord Caitanya’s birthplace.
Write, he said, bring a notepad and write
down what you notice. I’ll have
to say, “Cramped binoculars have
jammed into my gut. I lust. I can’t
pray. I completely spaced out. Lord
Caitanya, where are You? I do
like these devotees, guys and gals
from America,” for example.
It’s uncanny how He brought
us here.
Srivasangam, Advaita bhavan, we’ll have
breakfast there. It used to be a village
and they lived
next to each other, Jagannatha Misra, Srivasa,
Gadadhara…we’re going there. You don’t have
to be barefoot. Just appreciate.
Gape and agape.
Bring water, clear pure Bisleri or
from deep well of Mayapur. Don’t drink out
there. Chipped rice and potato and sweet will be
served. Don’t eat too much. Goose and gander.
I got nothin’ to lose? No, I got plenty at
stake. So, believe! Don’t be a mushroom thinkin’
because in private I write like this therefore
I am better. Or because I don’t watch
Bharat Natyam dances I’m better or just
because who I am, I am better.
My eyes! I can’t
block ‘em out. Just ask them to be
kinder. Do unto others…
Walk on tar road. Walk to Yoga-pitha.
You can go back to Godhead, he said,
the spiritual sky – from here. Pshaw,
I thought, how does know that?
You see what I mean? Lord Nrsimha can
tear out those bad thoughts.
pp. 118-20
Another day at Gita-nagari. Gray, not very cold. Noon. I just prayed to the Lord and didn’t have the courage to pray for a “dark night of the soul” purgation under His hand. If that comes, I wish io accept it. I pray to accept it. However, I did pray that I can become purified and to increase my desire for reading PrabhupAda’s books.
There is no conflict or contradiction between the fact that we hear about Krsna in the scriptures in many different ways and that we also want to address Him personally as an individual spirit soul under His Lordship. Rather, what we hear from the scriptures convinces us about the Lord’s existence and His greatness. That helps us to know we are speaking individually to the same Lord who is described in the transcendental literature. To begin a genuine prayer, though (and I consider myself as hardly even begun), it takes a very clear attitude, a mind not cluttered by lots of other voices. Then you can come to the core of whatever sincerity you have. So, for this, a certain way of life is good: a quiet life perhaps, or a life, even if stressful, in which you deliberately take time out to pray with concentration. Think of Krsna and talk to Krsna. It takes some effort of communication.
Hare Krsna. It’s sixty degrees, patches of sun, the leaves really almost leathery-looking. Different shades of brown only, brown and tan. You can hardly see any green and I don’t see any yellow at all, and no red. Everything is brown, whereas just very recently the colors were there. Just see how everything changes, and the trees are all simply wood except for a few trees here and there that are retaining some leaves. Gun shots echoing on this Friday afternoon where the deer are being slaughtered. Our land is a refuge for the deer with some “No Hunting” signs up. It is also a refuge for devotees, and I am taking refuge in the hill with only the trees to hear me chanting and walking.
As far as prayer is concerned, it is going on in a mild kind of way. I am very thankful for the peace and quiet in which to pray. I know all kinds of complete changes are no doubt ready to be made by the Lord upon me. I am just an insignificant living entity, but I pray that the Lord will help me to become a better devotee. I am specifically speaking here about prayer to encourage myself to continue it. Yes, I will.
I cannot expect such ideal situations as this. This peace is the kind of thing one remembers, rather, when he is in the hectic situation. At Gita-nagari I can find peaceful solitude at least for half an hour just by walking out the door. This is the greatest wealth. At the same time, I am daily able to see Radha-Damodara and give lectures, etc. So when I am in more hectic surroundings, I can remember this peaceful forest, and my thinking about Krsna and praying to Krsna.
Even here, though, my prayer has been thinning out, diminishing. I haven’t been concentrating as much; I tend to think within myself, without turning to the Lord and Prabhupada. All I can say is I do desire to keep it up, and when I stray from it I feel sorry, and I just come back and do it again and try not to feel too much guilt. My Lord, I am happy to be in Your protection and Your care, just as I hope I will be happy when You may handle me more roughly, because You are my Lord unconditionally.
We are told to chant constantly. So we can at least try to chant constantly one day every two weeks. Alas, the chanting is usually just trying to get all the rounds done. Where is the bhakti, where is the actual desire to chant? It’s there within, a little spark of hope, and so we chant with that hope against hope and pray to the Lord, “Please let us chant nicely. Let us chant in our own voice and not just because we have to, but because of desire to associate with Krsna in the holy name. Let us be free of this fallen, disobedient nature.”
pp. 183-85
I am writing to You in humility. I am humble before You. You are so great, and I am so small, I am naturally humbled before You, and this is right and just. I should never think I am equal beside You. You inspire me to bow before You and feel my littleness compared to You. I cannot even approach You directly but through Your representative, such as my spiritual master and Your compassionate consort, Srimati Radharani. I need someone to appeal to You on my behalf.
Yet I have also taken to the practice of writing to You directly, because You invite this. In Bhagavad-gita, You say, “Worship Me, bow down to Me, offer your homage to Me . . . ,” which indicates a direct approach. If we maintain humility, we can speak to You directly, but I am tiny. Lord Caitanya, speaking as a devotee, aspires to be a particle of dust at Your lotus feet. Lord Brahma aspires to be born as a blade of grass in Your abode, Goloka Vrndavana. Your intimate friend in Dvaraka, Sri Uddhava, also prays to be born in Vraja as a blade of grass, so that Your intimate devotees, the gopis, might step on him while passing. The greatness of devotees is shown in their humbleness in approaching You.
Sometimes the devotees express their humility by saying they wish to be a devotee of Your devotee of Your devotee, a thousand times removed. They express their humility in not daring to ask to serve You directly but to be removed as far as possible by serving one of Your servants.
But again, I dare to express myself to You directly in writing. You are my Lord, and You protect me. So I speak to You directly, asking mercy, forgiveness, intimacy, and so on. You allow me intimate connection by allowing me to utter Your holy names, which are as good as Your personal form. Lord Caitanya says, “One should chant the holy name in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street . . . In such a state of mind, one can chant the holy names of the Lord constantly.” Trnad api sunicena. Humbleness is the crest jewel of the devotee. If one approaches You in Your holy names with great humility, then one can be with you constantly in chanting.
You allow us to approach You directly in Your Deity form. We may touch You and feed You and bathe You and dress You and put You to bed in Your arca-vigraha form, but it must be done in great humility.
In humility, we consider ourselves fallen and lowly, and we beg You to pick us up. “Can the cat look at the king?” We are like your little pet animals, and we dare to gaze upon You in our meditation.
Of course, in Vraja, some of Your intimate devotees, like Your parents, cowherd friends, and gopi lovers, dispense with the formalities of humility and deal with You as an equal, out of familiar affection. You like this better than the formal approach to You in humility. It gives You more pleasure. But this intimacy cannot be assumed. It is the prerogative of the intimate associates of Radha and Krsna.
For those of us still practicing vaidhi bhahti, we must maintain our humility and yet do so with great affection. Humbleness and love are not contradictory. I ask You to teach me humility in chanting the holy names (“One should chant the holy names in a humble state of mind. . . “), but to do so with an intimacy born of love for You, Oh munificent Lord. Let me maintain my humbleness in devotion. You are the greatest, and I am the smallest, yet we have a bond of love. I wish to honor You with all my heart. I wish to approach You in Your supremacy over all human beings and know that I have a tiny corner in Your compassion. You have an individual compassion just for me. You are all great, and Your name “Krsna” is the greatest name. Allow me to utter it constantly by virtue of my humility unto the maha-mantra and Your compassion in giving it to us, who are so much in need of Your mercy.
pp. 193-95
On his morning walk, Srila Prabhupada said the comet which is in the sky now is a bad sign. He was asked if it is a symptom of catastrophe or whether it was bringing disaster. He said it was bringing catastrophe, just as if a policeman were to come among us searching for someone. He said it is a sign of great catastrophe. He said in 1914 when he saw a small comet, World War I followed. He said it is a planet like others, with living entities on it. When told it had a tail emitting gas, he asked, “Who is supplying the gas?” When told that the scientists are excited about the comet because they think it is made of primordial substance and will give us a clue to the origin of the universe, he said there is an Indian saying, “A goat will eat anything and a madman will say anything.”
Srila Prabhupada was talking of utilization of time. Never do anything without thinking, “Am I eating this for Krsna? Am I speaking for Krsna?” This is so precious. On the morning walk, he said the park is built simply to waste time. One devotee pointed out that leisure time is a problem and the government is trying to figure out what people could do. Srila Prabhupada said that our task is to engage the people’s time in Krsna consciousness.
Sometimes we are trees, sometimes serpents, sometimes demigods. Krsna is so kind He is giving us variety. As we get disgusted with the old body, we are given a new, youthful body.
Sex life is the only enjoyment in the material world. Many times, he has spoken how sex attraction is very, very strong and only by Krsna’s grace is one able to conquer over it.
In the car I asked him, “Can we go back to Godhead in this life?”
“Yes, why not?”
“Because you have to be free of material desires.”
“Krsna consciousness means no more desires.”
“But if someone asked me if he could go back to Godhead in one life and I said yes, and then he asked me if I am going back . . . ”
“No, it is not a question of whether I go or you go, but if anyone takes to this he will go back to Godhead. Krsna says. Of course, if we are preaching, it is not that we are exporting them by consignment back to Godhead and we are not going. It is expected that the preacher is going also. Just like with our books, we are selling them but not reading. Our students are very expert at selling but not at reading. That is not good. They should read the books also.”
“You say life is a dream.”
“Yes,” he said, “at night what you have dreamt is gone in the day.” And at night, your day’s activities (I am married, in my house) are forgotten while you dream. They are both dreams—you are just a visitor to both. The day dream seems more real because it is of longer duration.
The highest vision is that everything is animate. Even in the atom, the soul is there. Govinda is there and where He is, He is not alone. Everything is there. Even in a shoe, in the makeup of the atoms, He is there. It is not dead. In my body there are lots of living entities, but I am predominant because I have the most developed consciousness. I am most fortunate to have the human form of life. Although it is a dream, in this body we are able to come awake. The Vedas are addressing, uttisthaya, “Wake up, wake up. Now you have the opportunity of the human form of life.”
Chanting Hare Krsna is reality. We are in the process. If you know Krsna, you know everything.
Srila Prabhupada praised Bali Mardan because one boy said he was brought to Krsna consciousness by him. He said, “If you can convert one person to Krsna consciousness, that is the quickest way to gain Krsna’s recognition.”
A boy questioned whether in ISKCON devotees become too concerned with position and prestige. Srila Prabhupada said those who criticize leave and try to gain the prestige for themselves rather than give prestige to the spiritual master. Everyone wants to be the chief person.
But we have to be obedient and not independent. Do not leave the shelter of the spiritual master. He criticized those who leave the spiritual master when there is some discrepancy in their sense gratification.
On another night in the midst of bank dealings, he said that to deal with such apparently material affairs puzzled his brain. But if he gave it up, then that would not be good either, since it was for pushing on Krsna consciousness.
pp. 193-95
The surf is rolling.
Listen to the waves, listen to the waves
to the permanent waves,
to the joshing joshers, the avoidance of nonsense and sinful bad words. We have been made clean in mind, thoughts and deeds by our spiritual master. In obedience to him I cut out bad words from my writing, although I leave in a little so that you know I’m still a human – as if that will help you.
Free write like the hawk harassed by crows. We walked through the narrow dirt streets. Rama-raya said, ”People are friendly here.” Baladeva said this particular walk was through a neighborhood near the Gaudiya temples, so the kids were the offspring of devotees. I saw a group on the beach mocking us, though. Did the others see it? Rancid piles of fish, two small dogs eating from their borders. The fishermen don’t stop them, so why should I worry?
Don’t worry about trying to reform others, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, Providence will take care of reform. Here is a quote by him which sums up what I am trying to do:
”The world stands in no need of any reformer. The world has a very competent Person for guiding its minutest happenings. The person who finds that there is scope for reform of the world himself stands in need of reform. The world goes on in its own perfect way. No person can deflect it but the breadth of a hair from the course chalked out for it by Providence. When we perceive any change being actually affected in the course of events of this world by the agent of any particular individual, we also know very well that the agent possesses no real power at any stage. The agent finds himself driven forward by a force belonging to a different category from himself.
“The course of the world does not require to be changed by the activity of any person. What is necessary is to change our outlook to this very world. This was done for the contemporary generation by the mercy of Sri Caitanya. It could be known only to the recipients of His mercy…
“The scriptures declare that it is only necessary to listen with an open mind to the name of Krsna from the lips of a bona fide devotee. As soon as Krishna enters a listening ear, He clears up the vision of the listener so that he no longer has an ambition of ever acting the part of a reformer of any person because he finds that no one is left without the very highest guidance. It is therefore his own reform, by the grace of God, whose Supreme necessity and nature he is increasingly able to realize by the eternally continuing mercy of the Supreme Lord.”
This quote by Bhaktivinoda Thakura does not go against the preaching spirit. He himself was a great preacher. But his point is that we need to chant the names of Krishna and then we can become instruments to bring about change by the mercy of the Supreme.
The karmis are driven to try to make change. Only Krishna can change things. But Krishna like to give credit to His devotees as He did with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. It is actually who is bringing about the change for good, but He likes to give credit to the devotees.
I’d like to do more things than is possible for me to do today on this last day in Jagannatha Puri. Here is a partial list:
“Make a complete end of fire, enemies and disease. Otherwise, they will go on increasing.”
On one morning walk on Venice Beach, California, a disciple remarked to Srila Prabhupada, “The ocean waves are much bigger this morning.”
Srila Prabhupada replied,
“Bigger or smaller, it is always dangerous. Canakya Pandita has given this example: fire, debt and disease—never think of them as big or small. They are always dangerous. If you take a loan from somewhere, interest is compounded, and one day it will become so big, it will be unmanageable by you. Similarly, fire may be at first a spark, but gradually it will so increase, oh, blazing fire. Disease also. Now there is a little pain, but if it increases, it becomes tuber-culosis. Therefore he has said: never neglect these things, fire . . . they are always dangerous.”‘
This aphorism seems so obvious, but the human tendency is to disregard danger when it first appears in a small form. Smokers think that the spark left by their cigarette butt will go out by itself. At the onset of yet another cold, they think there is no need to go to a doctor. Srila Prabhupada also mentions debt as something that must be immediately remedied. Almost everyone is in debt and making little endeavor to get out of debt quickly. Someone may humor an enemy only to regret his lenience later. Therefore, Canakya advises us to take care of these three things immediately before the problem becomes unmanageable.
Although Canakya’s saying refers to worldly problems, it can be applied to Krsna conscious practices. If an initiated devotee neglects to chant his sixteen rounds of japa one day, he may not take it too seriously. Similarly, a devotee may casually offend a devotee without realizing the havoc such talk could have on his spiritual life. Or, a man and woman may flirt with each other without realizing the seeds of desire that are being planted in the heart. Each of these occasions is as dangerous as fire, debt, and disease. A devotee may also not realize that his real enemies are within himself in the form of anger, greed, and lust, and he may humor these enemies rather than rooting them out.
Not chanting sixteen rounds every day without fail may gradually, even imperceptibly, become our working principle. After all, we have so much other service to do. Before we know it, we could be neglecting the main vow of our initiation. What started out as a jest at another devotee’s expense may turn into the mad elephant of vaisnava-aparadha. As for flirtation between man and woman, Mayadevi will certainly notice our proclivity and provide us with more and more opportunities to become attracted to the opposite sex. Then we will fall down and have to suffer the consequences. Humoring the six enemies—which are situated in the uncontrolled mind and senses—when they first appear, and not conquering them by engaging them in devotional service, will lead to disaster. Some of those who have fallen . . . speak in terms that confirm Canakya’s sloka: “In the beginning, it was a small deviation. I didn’t take it seriously.”
Devotees sometimes rather naively think that by not taking care of these deviations, they are taking a risk for Krsna. I say “naively” because any fire left to kindle will flare up. We shouldn’t think that just because we are practicing Krsna consciousness, we can ignore subtle deviation in the name of preaching or other forms of service.
For example, a devotee may slacken in his sadhana over a period of time to increase his other services. This happens especially during the Prabhupada marathon. In itself, this may not be a deviation; it depends on the heart of the devotee. Regardless, a devotee should not think that he can continue to neglect his sadhana in the name of giving his time and energy to preaching Krsna consciousness.
Prabhupada also seemed to have two different attitudes about physical disease. On the one hand, he encouraged devotees to find ways to cure their diseases, and on the other, he said devotees could risk their health in order to preach Krsna consciousness. Someone could become fanatical about his or her health—watching the body for any slight indication of change, and basing all activities around that analysis. Caring for health is not usually foremost in a devotee’s mind, but neither should health be neglected. We don’t have to think that as soon as we accept one path, the other path has to be rejected. If a devotee is going to risk his health to preach, it shouldn’t be done in imitation of the great souls who lived only on a little buttermilk every other day. The risk should be calculated.
To Śrīla Prabhupāda, who encouraged his devotees (including me) To write articles and books about Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
I wrote him personally and asked if it was alright for his disciples to write books, Since he, our spiritual master, was already doing that. He wrote back and said that it was certainly alright For us to produce books.
I have a personal story to tell. It is a about a time (January–July 1974) I spent as a personal servant and secretary of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda, founder-äcärya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Although I have written extensively about Çréla Prabhupäda, I’ve hesitated to give this account, for fear it would expose me as a poor disciple. But now I’m going ahead, confident that the truth will purify both my readers and myself.
First published by The Gītā-nāgarī Press/GN Press in serialized form in the magazine Among Friends between 1996 and 2001, Best Use of a Bad Bargain is collected here for the first time in this new edition. This volume also contains essays written by Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami for the occasional periodical, Hope This Meets You in Good Health, between 1994 and 2002, published by the ISKCON Health and Welfare Ministry.
This book has two purposes: to arouse our transcendental feelings of separation from a great personality, Śrīla Prabhupāda, and to encourage all sincere seekers of the Absolute Truth to go forward like an army under the banner of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
A single volume collection of the Nimai novels.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was in the disciplic succession from the Brahmā-Mādhva-Gauḍīya sampradāya, the Vaiṣṇavas who advocate pure devotion to God and who understand Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He always described himself as simply a messenger who carried the paramparā teachings of his spiritual master and Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept this or it’s worse than useless.
You have given me spiritual life
and so my time is yours.
You want me to be happy in Krishna consciousness
You want me to spread Krishna consciousness,
This collection of Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami’s writings is comprised of essays that were originally published in Back to Godhead magazine between 1966 and 1978, and compiled in 1979 by Gita Nagari Press as the volume A Handbook for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
This second volume of Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami’s Back to Godhead essays encompasses the last 11 years of his 20-year tenure as Editor-in-Chief of Back to Godhead magazine. The essays in this book consist mostly of SDG’s ‘Notes from the Editor’ column, which was typically featured towards the end of each issue starting in 1978 and running until Mahārāja retired from his duties as editor in 1989.
This collection of Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s writings is comprised of essays that were originally published in Back to Godhead magazine between 1991 and 2002, picking up where Volume 2 leaves off. The volume is supplemented by essays about devotional service from issues of Satsvarupa dasa Goswami’s magazine, Among Friends, published in the 1990s.
“This is a different kind of book, written in my old age, observing Kṛṣṇa consciousness and assessing myself. I believe it fits under the category of ‘Literature in pursuance of the Vedic version.’ It is autobiography, from a Western-raised man, who has been transformed into a devotee of Kṛṣṇa by Śrīla Prabhupāda.”
The Best I Could DoI want to study this evolution of my art, my writing. I want to see what changed from the book In Search of the Grand Metaphor to the next book, The Last Days of the Year.
a Hare Krishna ManIt’s world enlightenment day
And devotees are giving out books
By milk of kindness, read one page
And your life can become perfect.
Calling Out to Srila Prabhupada: Poems and PrayersO Prabhupāda, whose purports are wonderfully clear, having been gathered from what was taught by the previous ācāryas and made all new; O Prabhupāda, who is always sober to expose the material illusion and blissful in knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, may we carefully read your Bhaktivedanta purports.
I use free-writing in my devotional service as part of my sādhana. It is a way for me to enter those realms of myself where only honesty matters; free-writing enables me to reach deeper levels of realization by my repeated attempt to “tell the truth quickly.” Free-writing takes me past polished prose. It takes me past literary effect. It takes me past the need to present something and allows me to just get down and say it. From the viewpoint of a writer, this dropping of all pretense is desirable.
Geaglum Free WriteThis edition of Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami’s 1996 timed book, Geaglum Free Write Diary, is published as part of a legacy project to restore Satsvarūpa Mahārāja’s writings to ‘in print’ status and make them globally available for current and future readers.