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| April 2008 : : email: janananda@yahoo.com |
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Dear Prabhus,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to
Srila Prabhupada.
“Preaching is the essence” Srila Prabhupada certainly
emphasized the great need for preaching. Sometimes we
tend to limit preaching to some evangelical form of
proselatising. However although Prabhupada put a lot
of emphasis on book distribution he certainly did not
limit it. Raising one’s family in Krishna
consciousness for instance is also preaching.
Establishing Krishna conscious farms. Talking to
others about Krishna or topics related. Distributing
prasadam. Inviting people to the Temple or one’s
Krishna conscious home. . Giving donations for the
mission. Assisting with practical services. Preaching
through the internet or other communication channels.
Showing a good example of behaviour. The list goes on.
Whatever encourages others to be more inclined towards
Krishna consciousness. Sharing the Krishna conscious
gifts we have we others in whatever way we can.
Preachers are meant to see this and encourage the
devotees to find outlets to preach.
Although my main emphasis is on harinama sankirtan we
would like to encourage everyone to do their best to
give Krishna to others. Wishing you all the best and
happy preaching.
ON THE ROAD
In late February and early March we spent 12 blissful
days in Sridham Mayapura with thousands of devotees
from around the world.
The problem with traveling is we want to stay
everywhere we go because everywhere is such a
wonderful place for preaching. Mayapura is the
pinnacle. Here is an excerpt of our sankirtan diary
from this years’ experience:
A DAY OF NAGAR SANKIRTAN IN MAYAPURA DHAM
3.15 pm A hot and sunny afternoon – March 1st .
As the colourful chanting party slowly makes it’s away
along the lanes of Mayapura Chandrodaya the pace picks
up. Devotees join in. Past the fruit bar, the general
store. Waves and smiles. The devotees eagerly awaiting
the arrival of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai at the Brahmacari
ashram. As Nitai Gauranga are made comfortable on the
cart the kirtan rises to a crescendo, the devotees
dance, chant at the top of their voices, laugh and
smile. Devotees passing by are enthralled. Many jump
in for a dip in the nectarean ocean of sankirtan.
Rasaraja prabhu of scientific fame joins in. We move
on dancing and chanting, this is the life and soul of
our movement. Mayapura is the centre of our movement.
The two are meant for each other. Mayapura is for
kirtan. Past Prabhupada’s Samadhi. Crowds gather. Here
comes Radhanatha Maharaja, Sesa and Janmastami
prabhus. On the way to the GBC meeting. Don’t forget
what Prabhupada said in 1976 about kirtan – this is
our real business. Alright just for a few minutes.
Maharaja leads kirtan, Sesa and Janmastami dance.
Forget all your worries. Chant and be Happy.
Hands up everyone – chant Hare Krishna! The crowds of
Bengali pilgrims spontaneously respond.
On to the Grhastha (family) quarters. Dancing,
dancing. Here he comes - Bhakta Sankirtan the kirtan
dog. He jumps in with us. More like a slide in. Round
in circles – come on doggy. One devotee grabs his
front paws to dance with him. That was a bit too much
even for doggy. He keels over on his back, paws in the
air, frothing at the mouth and seemingly exhibiting
ecstatic symptoms. Wow!
Here comes Advaita Acarya prabhu– come here boy let’s
dance. He sure does and seems to forget everything
else. Ah here he is another madman for Nama sankirtan.
Kavicandra Maharaja. Convinced this is the real
business even as a busy GBC he always makes time for
harinama sankirtan.
The kirtan thunders on and on beneath the conch
building with the GBC meeting on the top. Devotees and
public spinning, circling, dancing ecstatically.
Sivarama Maharaja stops and watches from a distance.
Later I apologize to Sivarama Maharaja if our kirtan
in any way disturbed the GBC meeting.
“Well if it did we may as well close shop.” He
replies. The GBC shop that is. Anuttama prabhu
comments that some of us still have to do so many
things until we realize that kirtan is all in all. “In
all the 14 worlds there is nothing but the holy
name…….”.“Intelligent persons in this age of kali
worship the Lord by the performance of congregational
chanting …………….”
This is the life – why do we do anything else? This is
the solution to all problems. Actually one realizes
there aren’t any in the first place. Just illusion.
Nama sankirtan clears away all the illusions, gives us
the solutions. We never want to stop. Let us quit this
body on Nagar Sankirtan.
Let the Nagara Sankirtan go on and on forever.
Harinama Sankirtan ki jaya!
GAURA PURNIMA IN PHILIPPINES
March 2008.
Leaving the Holy Dhama of Sridham Mayapura
we (Janakaraja prabhu and myself) fly to Manila.
Arriving in a cut price airport way out of the city,
10 devotees are there to greet us in their temple
truck. They drive us off into the mountains north of
Manila to the hill resort of Baguio. Way back in the
early 70’s Bhurijana prabhu was preaching here. It’s
chilly and hilly. The small centre is just a tin hut.
The spirit however is far from tin. The local devotees
are full of life and the place is unique – it’s
something like a Philipino equivalent of the hippie
era. People come to the shed – even respectable people
– to hear about Krishna consciousness. Harinama in the
park sees incredible participation from the public
many of them young and open. Great potential – lot’s
of youngsters really into it.
We drive back to the capital – Manila.
Daily programmes. Philippinos love Harinama and
prasadam. They go several times a week to local
prisons and do just that.
Upcoming Schedule
April 22nd – fly to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
April 29th Fly to London
May 5-6th Brighton
May 7th – Swindon
May 8th Nottingham
May 9th Leicester
May 10th Birmingham
May 11th Manchester
May 12th York
May 13th Newcastle
May 20th Fly to France
June 4th London
June 6th New York Rathayatra
June 14th New York
June 15th Boston
June 18th London
June 22nd London Rathayatra
June 23rd Holland and Belgium
Schedule after this not yet fixed
Will be in Europe till around the 29th July
July 30th Malaysia
July 31st Philippines
August 14th Malaysia
August 18th Australia New Zealand and Fiji
September 30th Malaysia
NO MORE HELL IN THE CELL
In Makati prison (one of the main areas of Manila)
the warders invited us to go cell to cell dancing and
chanting with the prisoners. This is unbelievable –
hundreds of prisoners leaping in the air, spinning in
circles, roaring the holy names and filling their
bellies with Krishna prasadam. I can’t imagine this
anywhere else in the western world.
Prisoners comment. “We’ve been here for years and it’s
real depressing. This is the happiest moment we’ve had
since we’ve been here. Please come back again soon.”
A prison in a prison. Lord Nityananda certainly
showered his mercy on these fortunate souls. Haridas
Thakura blessed the prisoners my you stay as you are
now – Krsna conscious in the prison.
Even if these prisoners return to their old ways upon
release they will never be the same again. The
impressions of the Harinama will remain forever on
their consciousness and take them to a great future
path Back to Godhead.
The devotees here also have a farm near the city on a
beautiful rural area which they hope to develop into a
community project in the future. In the Philippines
the Bhakti Vrksa programme (cell preaching in people
homes) has proven a great success. Practically
wherever the seeds of Bhakti are sown in this country
plants sprout up and bear fruit of devotees.
SISTER MOON (St Francis would call the moon sister)
For several months a monk from the Franciscan order
had been visiting the temple in Manila. One day he
brought many of his fellow brethren and sisters. I
think the pictures speak for themselves. Krishna
consciousness should be the unifying process for all
and it certainly seemed to work for them.
The following is an excerpt a dialogue with Srila
Prabhupada about St Francis of Assisi the founder of
the Franciscan order.
Madhudvisa: St. Francis, the founder of this
particular order which we have been invited to speak
to, found God in the material world. And he used to
address the aspects of the material world as "brother"
and "sister." "Brother tree," "sister water," like
that. What is your view upon this?
Prabhupäda: This is real God consciousness. This is
real God consciousness, yes, not that "I am God
conscious, and I kill the animals." That is not God
conscious. To accept the trees, plants, lower animals,
insignificant ants even, as brothers...
A spiritually advanced devotee of the Lord, he sees
the trees or the animals or the stone or the anything
he sees—he sees that it is the energy of God.
VRNDAVANA
Next we go to Vrndavana for 4 purifying weeks in Srila
Prabhupada’s home (as he called it).
Parikramas to Govardhan, Raval (Radharani’s
birthplace) Radha Kund, Gokul and many other places.
Lot’s of harinama and nectarean katha from Mahanidhi
Maharaja.
Harinama in Vrndavana – there is nowhere like it –
except Mayapura
It’s 5.30pm outside Prabhupada’s Samadhi. Harer nama
harer nama, harer nama eva kevalam…… there is no other
way – only the chanting of the holy names. …….. Come
let’s go. Dive into the ocean of nectar.
Circumambulate the Temple. As we weave our way out of
the Temple gate –Nitai Gauranga Nitai Gauranga. How
can anyone not feel unbelievable elation seeing all
the blissful smiles on the peoples faces. Their hands
raised - Haribol. Old sadhus with ecstatic deep
glaring eyes connect with us and join in. Young kids
dance and dance. The drum beats deeply the devotees
dance high. The holy names have arisen to carry us all
Back to Godhead. We feel we are already there. Down
the road to Vrndavana town, stopping with groups of
pilgrims paying dandavats, cows lovingly give us their
darshan . Bankabehari bazaar – crowds of pilgrims,
cows everywhere, rickshaws, dogs, hogs, asses camels,
bikes and motorbikes. Carts. No cars fortunately - it
is too crowded. Great for Harinama and the
reciprocation is always amazing. Harinama depends on
the mercy of the Holy name – we just have to tune into
it. If we are tuned in the public will tune in too. It
is not mechanical – this is the highest worship. Down
to the temple of Radha Bankabihari and the kirtan
comes to an ever increasing crescendo. Many gather
around – they love this opportunity to chant with us.
Sitting on the pathways – old saintly ladies begging
for a few rupees. They fall down and prostrate
themselves before the kirtan party. Ecstatic to be a
part of it, their devotional hearts shine out to us
and enlighten us to even more absorption in the holy
names.
There is not doubt this is the unifying programme –the
yuga dharma. Harinama crosses all boundaries and takes
us off the bodily platform. It is hard to put in words
the satisfaction from Harinama sankirtan in Vrndavana.
Some devotees say why you do this in Vrndavana?
Everyone is already chanting – but are they and could
they chant more. This is the nectar we are always
anxious for. We need this experience and purification
to give us the enthusiasm and confidence to go
everywhere to spread the holy names.
THE GLORIES OF THE DEVOTEES
AN OLD FRIEND BHRGUPATI PRABHU
Bhrigupati Dasa has spent thirty of his thirty-four
years in ISKCON selling Srila Prabhupada’s works. He’s
distributed 200,000 books, collected over $500,000,
and has been the top distributor in North America four
times. At the 2005 Gaura Purnima Festival in Mayapur,
he was awarded the Global Excellence Award for book
distribution.
So what set Bhrigupati Dasa on his long and
illustrious spiritual career? It began in 1973, the
way most Krishna conscious journeys do—with one of
Prabhupada’s books. On his way back home to the Bronx,
New York, one evening, Bhrigupati was intercepted in
the subway station by a devotee brandishing Teachings
of Lord Caitanya. From the moment he opened it, he
felt so inspired that he read the book without
pause—throughout his train ride, while walking to his
house, while sitting propped up in bed—until he
finally finished it at 2 a.m. the next morning.
The next day, determined to lay his hands on one of
those “Srimad-Bhagavatams” mentioned in the book,
Bhrigupati gathered his life savings of thirty-three
dollars and returned to the subway station. Sure
enough, another devotee approached him, handed him a
rose and asked for a donation. In one swift motion,
Bhrigupati took the rose, handed over the thirty-three
bucks, and asked, “How many Srimad-Bhagavatams could
you give me for this?” When the devotee had finished
staring in shock, he handed Bhrigupati three books and
invited him to the Sunday Feast.
“I started off in a chanting party, occasionally
handing out Back to Godhead magazines and small books
to bystanders,” Bhrigupati says. “It wasn’t long
before I had realized that I was distributing more
than chanting, and moved on to full-time book
distribution.”
Through the years of service that followed and the
challenges that came with them—such as tackling
different cultures and worldviews in Australia and
England—Bhrigupati simply stuck with it, feeling
Krishna working with him and helping him along the
way. He advises new book distributors to do the same.
“I meditate on the Bhagavad-gita, as if I’m Arjuna and
Krishna is talking to me,” he says. “It’s a personal
reciprocation with Krishna, and it constantly yields
miracles, without fail.”
One difficult day, for example, Bhrigupati approached
a young woman who said that she wanted a book but
didn’t have any money on her, so he’d have to wait
until her boyfriend arrived. “I was skeptical,” he
says. “I thought the boyfriend might never turn up,
and if he did, he’d probably just refuse the book.”
But minutes later, a brand new Rolls Royce pulled up,
and out stepped a smartly dressed Indian gentleman.
Taking a Bhagavad-gita immediately, he asked
Bhrigupati if he’d been to India. When he replied,
“I’ve been to all the holy places,” the man said, “So
you’re a member of ISKCON then?” and pressed a
crumpled piece of paper into Brighupati’s hand. “When
he’d gone, I didn’t dare open my hand yet. Instead, I
kept trying to distribute books, and despite how badly
the day had gone before, managed to sell two more
Bhagavad-gitas to two other couples for twenty dollars
each,” Bhrigupati says. “Then I finally opened my
hand. There was a one-hundred-dollar bill in it.”
Bhrigupati sees book distribution as a blessing and
doubts he’ll ever stop. Today, he and his wife
Chandravali travel across the US in a motorhome
distributing books at schools and music
festivals—some, such as Banaroo, south of Nashville,
Tennessee, are attended by over 100,000 young people
every year.
Bhrigupati is a firm supporter of traditional book
distribution but also of new innovative methods like
Vaisesika Prabhu’s Smart Table program. He hopes they
will help more devotees realize how simple and
blissful distributing books really is. “We could have
another dozen or two full-time distributors in
America, and we wouldn’t be stepping on each other’s
toes,” he says. “ The opportunity is unlimited.”
Bhrgu prabhu is an old friend of mine and one of the
most enthusiastic humble and steady devotees in
ISKCON. He told me he wants to dedicate at least 50
years to straight book distribution – He is on 35
now. We pray he makes it and more and encourages
others to do likewise.
Happy preaching.
Your servant
Janananda Gosvami
| April 2008 : : email: janananda@yahoo.com |