IS SEEING GOD IMPORTANT?!

 

Of course if one thinks that Bhagavad-gītā and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra are part of the Hindu system and doesn’t want to accept them because of this, he can nonetheless attend the Christian church and sing there. There is no difference between this process and that process; the point is whatever process one follows, he must become God conscious. God is neither Moslem nor Hindu nor Christian—He is God. Nor are we to be considered Hindu, Moslem or Christian. These are bodily designations. We are all pure spirit, part and parcel of the Supreme. God is pavitram, pure, and we are also pure. Somehow or other, however, we have fallen into this material ocean, and as the waves toss, we suffer. Actually we have nothing to do with the tossing waves of material miseries. We must simply pray, “Kṛṣṇa, please pick me up.” As soon as we forget Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of illusion is there, and it at once captures us. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa is most important in order to escape from this ocean. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare is a sound (śabda) that is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. The sound Kṛṣṇa and the original Kṛṣṇa are the same. When we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance, Kṛṣṇa is also dancing with us. Of course we may say, “Well, I do not see Him,” but why do we put so much stress on seeing? Why not hearing? Seeing, tasting, smelling, touching, and hearing are all instruments for experience and knowledge. Why do we put such exclusive stress on seeing? A devotee does not wish to see Kṛṣṇa; he is satisfied by simply hearing of Kṛṣṇa. Seeing may eventually be there, but hearing should not be considered any less important. There are things which we hear but do not see—the wind may be whistling past our ears, and we can hear it, but there is no possibility of seeing the wind. Since hearing is no less an important experience or valid one than seeing, we can hear Kṛṣṇa and realize His presence through sound. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself says, “I am not there in My abode, or in the heart of the meditating yogī but where my pure devotees are singing.” We can feel the presence of Kṛṣṇa as we actually make progress.

Srila Prabhupada in Raja Vidya: Chapter 2

 

RESPONSIBLE PARENTING

Real Freedom

Every parent, without an exception, wants his/her child to be happy and healthy…and successful in life.  What then, is wrong with our generations.  Some say it’s fine the way it is.  Others say it’s wrong but don’t know what to do about it – so they go with the flow.  This is a reflection of irresponsibility and ignorance.  What is the yardstick?  Where does parenting begin and end?  How do you measure a child’s success in life?

First step of successful parenting is to take information from right sources.  From authorities.  It is important to understand the fundamentals of life, the relationships within and the framework to operate.  Knowledge starts with acceptance that we are not the body.  We are residents of this human form of body.  And we are responsible for our own actions and reactions in life.

Keeping this central reality in mind, let’s see how we can…

View original post 500 more words

WHAT KIND OF SUCCESS ARE YOU CHASING? ?

So, “Is the chanting of Hare Krishna the answer to living successfully in today’s world?” Oh, that is the only successful living in this, today’s world. So long people do not understand it, they are still in the darkness. This is the only. Why it is the only? Just see these boys, these girls. I have not imported from India. I came here single-handed with seven dollars. I have got hundreds of students like that. How they have changed, their character, their behavior. I have given them life. Some of them are married. They are living very nicely. They have got children, and they have given up their all bad habits. You see? They are not, I mean to say, eating meat. They have no illicit sex life. They are strictly vegetarian. They are preparing nice foodstuff from vegetable and grains. They do not take part, intoxication. They do not smoke even. Just see practically. If everyone becomes like them, then what is the trouble? If you encourage them to indulge in illicit sex life, to become intoxicants, to gambler and eating everything, without any discrimination, then how you can expect to have very good men in this world? They are mad. So this question, that “Is this chanting of Hare Krishna the answer to living successfully in today’s…?” What do you mean by “successfully living”? Successfully living does not mean that you work hard just like cats and dogs, and eat something and have sex life at night. That is not successful life. That successful life is there even in the cats and dogs and hogs. The hogs are also laboring very hard. The cats and dogs, they are also for their food. And the sex is there. Everything is there. That is not successful life. Real successful life is how to understand his real constitutional position as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. That is successful life. This is not successful life. What is this successful life? I see… I have got so many students. They are well-qualified. But they have got… When they work, they have to work so hard, they go at six o’clock to the working and comes again at six o’clock, all day, tired. They lost all vitality, all sense. Is that successful life, simply for one morsel of food, working so hard? And unless one works so hard, he cannot eat. We have created a civilization that one must earn thousands of dollars, then he can live like a gentleman. Is that successful life? And for earning that thousands of dollars he has to work so hard, just like animal, beast. No. That is not successful life. Successful life is that, that we should make our bodily necessities of life as far as required, not more than that. I want to eat something. God has given sufficient food. You grow. You live anywhere. You grow foodstuff. You grow grains. You grow fruits. You grow vegetables. Keep cows. Take milk. You can live anywhere. You haven’t got to go fifty miles off with a car to attend your office at six o’clock with velocity of hundred miles’ speed. Is that successful life, do you think? So where is successful life? We are proposing successful life.  

Srila Prabhupada lecture, Hawaii, March 23, 1969

MANEUVERING THROUGH CALAMITIES AND DANGERS

vipadah santu tah sasvat
tatra tatra jagad-guro
bhavato darsanam yat syad
apunar bhava-darsanam

“I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.”

Prabhupada: So that is very interesting verse that vipada, calamities, danger, that is very good if such danger and calamities remind me of Krishna. That is very good. Tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. A devotee, how he receives dangerous position? Danger must be there. Danger… Because this place, this material world is full of dangers. These foolish persons, they do not know that. They are trying to avoid the dangers. That is struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is the material business. Atyantika-sukham. Atyantika-sukham. Ultimate happiness. A man is working and thinking: “Let me work now very hard, and let me have some bank balance so when I shall get old, I shall enjoy life without any working.” That is the inner intention of everyone. Nobody wants to work. As soon as he gets some money he wants to retire from work, and to become happy. But that is not possible. You cannot be happy in that way.

Here it is said: apunar bhava-darsanam. The real danger is… She is speaking of apunah.Apunah means… A means not, and punar bhava means repetition of birth and death. The real danger is repetition of birth and death. That has to be stopped. And not this so-called danger. This is all… The material world is full of dangers. Padam padam yad vipadam. Just like if you are on the ocean. If you are on the ocean, you might have very strong ship, very safe ship, but that is not safety. Because you are on the sea, at any time there can be dangers. Perhaps you remember from your country, there was, what is that, Titanic?

Devotee: Titanic.

Prabhupada: Everything was safe, but on the first voyage it was drowned, and all important men of your country, they lost their life. So danger there must be because you are in a dangerous position. This material world itself is dangerous position. So our business is… That danger must be there. Now our business should be how to cross over the sea as soon as possible. So long you are on the sea, you are on the dangerous position, however strong your ship may be. That’s a fact. So you should not be disturbed by the sea waves. Just try to cross over the sea. Go to the other side. That is your business. Similarly, so long we are in this material world, there must be dangerous calamities because this is the place of calamity. So our business is, even within these calamities, dangers, how we develop our Krishna consciousness and, after giving up this body, we go back to home, back go Krishna. That should be our business. We should not be disturbed by the so-called calamities. They are not so-called; they are factual.

So this question was there by Arjuna to Krishna that: “Whatever You are speaking, it is all right. That I am not this body, I am soul. Everyone is not this body. He’s soul. So on the annihilation of this body…on the annihilation of the body the soul will exist. But when I see my son is dying, or my grandfather is dying, I am killing, how can I solace me that my grandfather is not dying, my son is not dying, the… simply it is changing. Because I am accustomed to think like that. So there must be grief. So Krishna replied: “Yes, that’s a fact. So that you must have to tolerate, that’s all. There is no other remedy.” Tams titiksasva bharata.

Krishna never said that these are not facts, what Arjuna explained that: “I know that when my son is dying, my son is changing the body, or my grandfather is dying, changing the body, I know this, but still, because I am affectionate on the skin, so I must suffer.” The Krishna replied: “Yes, the suffering is there. Because you are also on the bodily concept of life. So suffering must be there. So there is no other remedy than to tolerate. There is no other remedy.” Matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah.

Just like in your country it is very chilly in the morning to take bath, a little difficult task. But does it mean that those who are devotees, they will stop taking bath? No. Even it is chilly, cold, one must take bath. The duty must be done. The duty must be done. Even it is little suffering. That is called tapasya. Tapasya means we must prolong or proceed with, with our Krishna consciousness business in spite of all dangerous and calamitous condition of this world. This is called tapasya. Tapasya means voluntarily accepting the difficulties of life. Sometimes tapasya, in the system of tapasya, in hot season, summer, in scorching heat of the sun, still they ignite some fire all around and sit down in the midst and meditate. There are some processes of tapasya like that. In chilly cold one goes into the water up to the neck and meditates. These things are prescribed in tapasya.

But Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu does not give you such prescription. He gives you very nice program: chant, dance and take prasadam. Still we are unwilling. We cannot accept this tapasya. You see. We are so fallen. Su-sukham kartum avyayam. This is a kind oftapasya which is very easy to do and it is very pleasant. Still, we are not agreeable. We shall rot in the street, lie down anywhere and everywhere and still, I shall drink and have sex and lie down. So what can be done? We are giving good facilities. Come here, chant, dance and live very peacefully and take krsna-prasadam. Be happy. But people will not accept. That is called misfortune.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.8.25 — Los Angeles, April 17, 1973

WHAT IS WITHIN YOUR BODY?

tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet
samit–pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma–niṣṭham

“To understand these things properly, one must humbly approach, with firewood in hand, a spiritual master who is learned in the Vedas and firmly devoted to the Absolute Truth.”

[Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.2.12]

To understand spiritual knowledge, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master. Unless one has been trained in geology, one cannot detect gold in stone. Similarly, unless one has been trained by a spiritual master, he cannot understand what is spirit and what is matter. Here it is said, yogais tad–abhijñaḥ. This indicates that one who has connected himself with spiritual knowledge can understand that there is a spiritual soul within the body. However, one who is in an animalistic conception of life and has no spiritual culture cannot understand. As an expert mineralogist or geologist can understand where there is gold and can then invest his money to dig there and chemically separate the gold from the ore, an expert spiritualist can understand where the soul is within matter. One who has not been trained cannot distinguish between gold and stone. Similarly, fools and rascals who have not learned from an expert spiritual master what is soul and what is matter cannot understand the existence of the soul within the body. To understand such knowledge, one must be trained in the mystic yogasystem, or, finally, in the bhakti–yoga system. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyāmām abhijānāti. Unless one takes shelter of the bhakti–yoga process, one cannot understand the existence of the soul within the body.

Srila Prabhupada Purport, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.7.21

‘TILAKA DEVOTEE’ vs. REAL DEVOTEE

Excerpts from Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk Conversation, New Delhi, March 25, 1976

Prabhupada: …..His nature is to become happy. He is happy, happy. Just like our natural position is we are healthy. Nature has made this body. But we create such situation that we become ill, sick. And at that time we see, “Oh, I am…” What is that? “I am infected. I have been contaminated.” Go to the doctor, injection. But the natural life is no disease.

Guru dasa: Yes.

Prabhupada: But you create a situation; therefore become diseased.

Guru dasa: Otherwise it wouldn’t be called “diseased,” because it would be normal to be sick. But disease means…

Prabhupada: Normal life means no sickness.

Guru dasa: Yes.

Prabhupada: And as soon as there is sickness, that means punishment. So if you want to be punished, then violate the hygienic laws. You can see that there is hospital and medical treatment and medicine — for whom?

Pusta Krsna: Sick people.

Prabhupada: No, for the human society. Not for the birds, beasts. But they follow nature’s law. But this rascal violates nature’s law and suffers.

Yadubara: What about for the devotees, Srila Prabhupada? Sometimes they are very sick, have so many…

Prabhupada: Devotees…. To become devotee is not so cheap thing. You don’t think that because you have got a tilaka you have become devotee. Why do you think like that?

Pusta Krsna: Jaya Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: That Bhaktivinoda Thakura, eita eka kalira chela, nake tilaka, galaya mala:(?) “Here is another follower of Kali. He has got tilaka and mala.” Sahaja bhajana kacen mamu, sanga laiya parera wala (?): “He is worshiping, bhajana, taking another’s wife.” Sahaja bhajana kacen mamu, sanga laiya parera wala, ei ta eka kalira chela: “Here is a servant of Kali. Simply he has changed his dress with tilaka and mala.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura says. If you take tilaka and mala and do all nonsense things, then you are not a devotee. You are Kali-chela. To become a devotee is not so easy thing.

Atreya Rsi: Devotee means perfect.

Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Certainly. Devotee means sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. He is above these material laws. That is devotee. Brahma-bhuyaya kalpate. He is in the Brahman stage. That is devotee. If you take…. That means sahajiya. “Because I have got a tilaka and mala, I have become devotee.” This kind of cheating will not do.

Atreya Rsi: And in this modern age, this cheating is very prominent…

Prabhupada: No, no. Modern or old, anyone who is a conditioned soul, he has got cheating propensity, four defects. One of them is the cheating propensity.

 

FOUR HOMES OF SIN

The principles of religion do not stand on some dogmas or manmade formulas, but they stand on four primary regulative observances, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. The mass of people must be taught to practice these principles from childhood. Austerity means to accept voluntarily things which may not be very comfortable for the body but are conducive for spiritual realization, for example, fasting. Fasting twice or four times a month is a sort of austerity which may be voluntarily accepted for spiritual realization only, and not for any other purposes, political or otherwise. Fastings which are meant not for self-realization but for some other purposes are condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (17.5-6). Similarly, cleanliness is necessary both for the mind and for the body. Simply bodily cleanliness may help to some extent, but cleanliness of the mind is necessary, and it is effected by glorifying the Supreme Lord. No one can cleanse the accumulated mental dust without glorifying the Supreme Lord. A godless civilization cannot cleanse the mind because it has no idea of God, and for this simple reason people under such a civilization cannot have good qualifications, however they may be materially equipped. We have to see things by their resultant action. The resultant action of human civilization in the age of Kali is dissatisfaction, so everyone is anxious to get peace of mind. This peace of mind was complete in the Satya age because of the existence of the above-mentioned attributes of the human beings. Gradually these attributes have diminished in the Tretā–yuga to three fourths, in the Dvāpara to half, and in this age of Kali to one fourth, which is also gradually diminishing on account of prevailing untruthfulness. By pride, either artificial or real, the resultant action of austerity is spoiled; by too much affection for female association, cleanliness is spoiled; by too much addiction to intoxication, mercy is spoiled; and by too much lying propaganda, truthfulness is spoiled. The revival of bhāgavata–dharma can save human civilization from falling prey to evils of all description.

“The personality of Kali is he who deliberately commits all kinds of sinful acts which are forbidden in the revealed scriptures. This age of Kali will certainly be full of all activities of Kali, but this does not mean that the leaders of society, the executive heads, the learned and intelligent men, or above all the devotees of the Lord should sit down tightly and become callous to the reactions of the age of Kali. In the rainy season certainly there will be profuse rainfalls, but that does not mean that men should not take means to protect themselves from the rains. It is the duty of the executive heads of state and others to take all necessary actions against the activities of Kali or the persons influenced by the age of Kali; and Mahārāja Parīkṣit is the ideal executive head of the state, for at once he was ready to kill the personality of Kali with his sharp sword. The administrators should not simply pass resolutions for anticorruptional steps, but they must be ready with sharp swords to kill the persons creating corruptions from the angle of vision of the recognized śāstras. The administrators cannot prevent corrupt activities by allowing wine shops. They must at once close all shops of intoxicating drugs and wine and force punishment even by death for those who indulge in habits of intoxication of all description.

The principles of religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness, as we have already discussed, may be followed by the follower of any faith. There is no need to turn from Hindu to Mohammedan to Christian or some other faith and thus become a renegade and not follow the principles of religion. The Bhāgavatam religion urges following the principles of religion. The principles of religion are not the dogmas or regulative principles of a certain faith. Such regulative principles may be different in terms of the time and place concerned. One has to see whether the aims of religion have been achieved. Sticking to the dogmas and formulas without attaining the real principles is not good. A secular state may be impartial to any particular type of faith, but the state cannot be indifferent to the principles of religion as above-mentioned.

Mahārāja Parīkṣit thus gave Kali permission to live in a place where there is gold, because wherever there is gold there are all the above-mentioned four things, and over and above them there is enmity also. So the personality of Kali became gold-standardized. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, gold encourages falsity, intoxication, prostitution, envy and enmity. Even a gold-standard exchange and currency is bad. Gold-standard currency is based on falsehood because the currency is not on a par with the reserved gold. The basic principle is falsity because currency notes are issued in value beyond that of the actual reserved gold. This artificial inflation of currency by the authorities encourages prostitution of the state economy. The price of commodities becomes artificially inflated because of bad money, or artificial currency notes. Bad money drives away good money. Instead of paper currency, actual gold coins should be used for exchange, and this will stop prostitution of gold. Gold ornaments for women may be allowed by control, not by quality, but by quantity. This will discourage lust, envy and enmity. When there is actual gold currency in the form of coins, the influence of gold in producing falsity, prostitution, etc., will automatically cease. There will be no need of an anticorruption ministry for another term of prostitution and falsity of purpose.

SRILA PRABHUPADA PURPORTS, SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM, CANTO 1, CHAPTER 17.

(Read the full chapter for more awe-inspiring analysis)

“TELL ME WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE…”

Many times we have heard the importance of good association.   Why is it so important?  One of the many important reasons is for the quality of our japa meditation.  Chanting 16 rounds attentively is the most important activity in the life of a practicing devotee.  And the sustenance of the attention depends on who we are associating with.  This is because each person we meet leaves an impression on our sponge like sub conscious mind.  These impressions get drawn at different times by our conscious mind.  If the impressions are good, it helps in our spiritual progress; if not, we will slowly lose the tender leaves of the bhakti creeper carefully planted and nurtured by Guru.

Here are some important excerpts from the books of Srila Prabhupada on the criticality of right association for a devotee

Some people who are inclined to hear about the soul may be attending lectures, in good association, but sometimes, owing to ignorance, they are misguided by acceptance of the Supersoul and the atomic soul as one without distinction of magnitude. It is very difficult to find a man who perfectly understands the position of the soul, the Supersoul, the atomic soul, their respective functions, relationships and all other major and minor details. And it is still more difficult to find a man who has actually derived full benefit from knowledge of the soul, and who is able to describe the position of the soul in different aspects. But if, somehow or other, one is able to understand the subject matter of the soul, then one’s life is successful. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 2.29 : PURPORT

When Haridāsa Ṭhākur was a young devotee of the Lord, he was similarly allured by the incarnation of Māyā Devī, but Haridāsa easily passed the test because of his unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa. As illustrated in the above-mentioned verse of Śrī Yāmunācārya, a sincere devotee of the Lord shuns all material sense enjoyment due to his higher taste for spiritual enjoyment in the association of the Lord. That is the secret of success. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 2.62 PURPORT

When these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service and are completely purified by the association of a pure devotee, they also become pure devotees. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 7.16 : PURPORT

So by association with pure devotees, the inquisitive, the distressed, the seeker after material amelioration and the man in knowledge all become themselves pure. But in the preparatory stage, the man who is in full knowledge of the Supreme Lord and is at the same time executing devotional service is very dear to the Lord. He who is situated in pure knowledge of the transcendence of the Supreme Personality of God is so protected in devotional service that material contaminations cannot touch him. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 7.17 : PURPORT

Through association of devotees, one is placed in devotional service, and by this service Kṛṣṇa’s activities, form, pastimes, name, etc., become clear, and all misgivings are dispelled. Then once doubts are removed, the study of the Gītā becomes extremely pleasurable, and one develops a taste and feeling for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the advanced stage, one falls completely in love with Kṛṣṇa, and that is the beginning of the highest perfectional stage of life which prepares the devotee’s transferral to Kṛṣṇa’s abode in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the devotee enters into eternal happiness. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 8.28 : PURPORT

“The messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are full of potencies, and these potencies can be realized if topics regarding the Supreme Godhead are discussed amongst devotees. This cannot be achieved by the association of mental speculators or academic scholars, for it is realized knowledge. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 9.1 PURPORT

if anyone wants to execute unalloyed devotional service, he must be freed from all kinds of material contamination. He must be freed from the association of persons who are addicted to fruitive activities and mental speculation. When, freed from such unwanted association and from the contamination of material desires, one favorably cultivates knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, that is called pure devotional service. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 11.55 PURPORT

Through good association, one develops attachment for pure devotional service and thereby accepts a bona fide spiritual master and from him begins to hear and chant and observe the regulative principles of devotional service with faith, attachment and devotion and thus becomes engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord. BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS 12.20 PURPORT

the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. The remedy is the association of the Bhāgavatas. There are two types of Bhāgavatas, namely the book Bhāgavata and the devotee Bhāgavata. Both the Bhāgavatas are competent remedies, and both of them or either of them can be good enough to eliminate the obstacles.  SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 1.2.18 PURPORT

A devotee of the Lord automatically becomes uninterested in the enchantment of material existence because he is rasa-graha, or one who has tasted the sweetness of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 1.5.19 PURPORT

KIRTAN STYLE IN SRILA PRABHUPADA’S ISKCON TEMPLES

By Rsi Kumar Dasa

Srila Prabhupada was always opposed to SPECULATIVE KIRTANA STYLES.  Srila Prabhupada’s personal style of simple chanting in a pure and melodious fashion did not change when he was in India.  Historically speaking, it can be traced that in the late 60’s and early 70’s however Western devotees coming to India had no place to stay but in some Gaudiya Math temples. In some of these temples, all different kinds of mantras were chanted without restriction.  Although these mantras did not seem improper, Srila Prabhupada did not want us to use them in our temple kirtans.

“With regard to your question about Bengali style kirtana and mrdanga playing, one or two styles is best. To introduce more styles is not good. It will become an encumbrance. Who is that Krsna das Babaji who is teaching? If we introduce so much emphasis on style of kirtan, then simply imitation will go on. Devotional emotion is the main thing. If we give stress to instrument and style then attention will be diverted to the style. That will be spiritual loss.” (Letter to Satsvarupa Goswami, — New Vrndavana 30 June, 1976)

However this form of kirtan filtered into our movement very quickly since it was new and exciting and therefore rapidly accepted by the kirtan leaders. Variety is the spice of life. This variety however, did not actually please Srila Prabhupada. Now one may say: “Okay, I accept that Srila Prabhupada wrote about exclusive Hare Krsna kirtana which he desired his followers to sing. And I accept that Srila Prabhupada himself always lead kirtans by chanting the maha mantra and never used the other types of chants often used by Bengali devotees. But did he ever get personally involved in correcting improper chanting?”

CHANTING MELODIES:  Srila Prabhupada was very strict in the melody sung during the mangala-aratika. He wanted the morning melody and nothing else. Before the opening of the Vrndavana Krsna Balarama temple in 1975, one morning Srila Prabhupada called his secretary into his room and complained about the singing. The devotee who led mangala aratrika kirtan had chanted melodies other than the morning melody. Srila Prabhupada said that he did not like the singing in the morning. He stated that the morning melody must be sung throughout the mangala-aratika and no other melody should be sung. He then demonstrated how the singing should be done by singing the first verse of the ‘Samsara davanala’.  Srila Prabhupada was very insistent that the singing should be done in that way only. He then told his secretary to lead the mangala aratrika kirtans in the morning as a way to establish the standards within the temple.

CHANTING “JAYA RADHE…?” The morning after receiving that instruction, Srila Prabhupada’s secretary led the mangala aratrika kirtan in Srila Prabhupada’s room duplicating the melodious style which he had been shown the day before. Srila Prabhupada was pleased and seemed to enjoy the kirtan but unfortunately in the end, the secretary fell victim to speculation and sang a couple of “jaya radhe’s”. The Secretary writes in his account – “Srila Prabhupada looked at me with eyes blazing like fire… Voice choked and gagging, I ended the kirtan immediately without further formalites, never again to make the same mistake.”  Srila Prabhupada never ended kirtans with various extra mantras, especially not “jaya radhe,” so why should I?”  Srila Prabhupada didn’t want his followers to chant Jaya Radhe.  He explained that Sukadeva Gosvami did not feel himself qualified to chant the name of Radha in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and therefore only indicated her name with the word “aradhana” while describing the topmost gopi friend of Krsna.

CHANTING JAYA GURUDEVA…? Srila Prabhupada objected to the chanting of “Jaya Gurudeva” since he considered it to be a direct insertion into our movement from the sahajiya sampradayas in Bengal who always say things like “Jaya Gurudeva,” without referring to any particular guru. Srila Prabhupada criticized this as impersonal and did not want it chanted by his disciples. “Who is the guru?” he would challenge. Srila Prabhupada also did not appreciate the extended chanting of Jaya Prabhupada at the expense of chanting the Hare Krsna maha mantra.

CHANTING JAYA PRABHUPADA…?  Once when we were coming from a tour of the Gurukula Srila Prabhupada heard the devotees chanting Jaya Prabhupada over and over. He said he didn’t like the devotees chanting Prabhupada over and over and he told us to tell them to chant Hare Krsna. Once or a few times is ok but not more than that.

CHANTING ‘JAPA, BOLO, BHAJA’ HARE KRSNA…? In July of 1976, Srila Prabhupada was in New Mayapur in France.  A raging kirtan was going on somewhere below his room. Srila Prabhupada was verbally dictating responses to letters he had received while his secretary sat before him writing the words down. Srila Prabhupada was very disturbed by something he heard. “Do you hear that?” he asked the secretary. “What is that, Srila Prabhupada?” replied the secretary. “Listen to what he is saying.” “I cannot hear anything special. What is wrong?” “He is chanting something before the Hare Krsna mantra. Go and stop this immediately.” The secretary immediately ran downstairs, danda in hand, and started pushing aside the crowds of ecstatic chanters to get at the leader of the kirtan. He could still not hear exactly what was being chanted, and neither could he imagine how Srila Prabhupada could hear it, but with full faith he plunged through the crowd expecting to soon be close enough to know who was leading the kirtan and what it was that he was saying before the Hare Krsna mantra. When he was about two meters away from the leader he saw that it was Prthu Putra Swami leading the kirtana and then he finally heard that Prthu Putra Swami was faintly saying “bhaja” before each Hare Krsna mantra. With this confirmation, the secretary demanded, in the name of Srila Prabhupada, that he not chant that before the mantra and that he never do it again. This caused a bit of a pause in the kirtan while everyone tried to understand what was going on, but before too long the secretary was again going back upstairs and the kirtan was being chanted correctly. Srila Prabhupada asked for a report of what happened and was satisfied that the mistake had been corrected. One should never chant anything before the mahamantra including “japa”, “bolo”, or “bhaja”.

CHANTING “GAURA NITYANANDA BOL…?  One morning in the winter of 1975, after the temple was opened, Ananda prabhu was leading the kirtan. Ananda prabhu was a Godbrother of Srila Prabhupada who had been living in our temple for many years, humbly engaged in serving the devotees with great love and devotion. He was the personal cook of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and was extremely expert in preparing emergency medicinal herbs when the need arose (as when Saurabh das was bitten by a scorpion but was saved by Ananda prabhu’s timely herb application). He was also an enthusiastic kirtan leader. Srila Prabhupada was in his room as usual during the mangala aratika kirtan and his secretary was in the room next to him waiting for some order or command. The kirtan was loud and the speakers, combined with the reverberation of the hall, projected the sound into Srila Prabhupada’s room with great ease. He called his secretary into his room. The secretary already knew what was going to happen since he was trained by him the previous year about standards for kirtan.  Ananda Prabhu was chanting “gaur nityananda bol” etc.  Srila Prabhupada told the secretary to go to the temple room and stop Ananda from singing the kirtan. The secretary was shocked. This was the first time that he ever had to stop one of Srila Prabhupada’s own Godbrothers from singing a kirtan. But he dutifully marched off to the temple room to fulfill the order. Afraid of making an offense or being crude t,he secretary did not feel good about the matter yet he managed to mutter out some words to the effect that Srila Prabhupada didn’t want this mantra in the temple and that would he please chant Hare Krsna instead. Srila Prabhupada was extremely determined that the kirtan standard be maintained and not changed by the introduction of “other” mantras which were commonly heard in other temples and maths. ISKCON’s most famous kirtan leader also liked to chant “gaura nityananda bol.” Although very few devotees know this, Srila Prabhupada said that he did not like those kirtans and that that devotee ruined kirtan.

CHANTING “GAURA GAURA GAURA…?  As far as standards go, Srila Prabhupada’s instructions could not have been more specific. During one of Srila Prabhupada’s stays in Vrndavana he was attending the evening kirtans and classes led by his disciples due to his being sickly and unable to speak. One night Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, Bharadvaja dasa, chose to sing a song which he said he got from a book by Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The song was a variation on the mantra “krsna krsna, krsna krsna, krsna krsna, krsna he,” but instead of the name “Krsna”, the name “Gaura” was chanted. The mantra went, “gaura gaura, gaura gaura, gaura gaura, gaura he”.  Srila Prabhupada disliked this extremely, so much so that the next morning he called the president of the temple into his room and wanted an explanation of why Bharadvaja was chanting like that. The devotee could not give a proper explanation at that moment. Srila Prabhupada said that he never wanted to hear that again in the temple and that the temple president should never allow such kinds of “speculation” in kirtan. He then went on to specifically describe how kirtan should be done.

A. For mangala aratika: the samsara-dava prayer, then Sri Krsna Caitanya (panca tattva maha mantra), then Hare Krsna mahamantra, nothing else.

B. For the guru-puja: the “guru-prayer” (that’s what he called it) Sri Krsna Caitanya (panca tattva maha mantra), then Hare Krsna mahamantra, nothing else.

C. For evening aratika: the gaura aratika song, Sri Krsna Caitanya (panca tattva maha mantra), and Hare Krsna mahamantra, nothing else.

D. For all aratikas this basic pattern should be followed. The chanting of Sri Krsna Caitanya (panca tattva maha mantra) should only be for three times, not more.

E. No one should sing a bhajana unless all the devotees know what the song means.

F. No one should sing songs in Vrindavan temple that are in languages which the people do not understand. Yasomati-nandana may be sung since the people understand that. In regards to “D” above, Srila Prabhupada specifically placed this restriction on the chanting after one incident with Isana prabhu in Vrindavan. In July of 1974, when Srila Prabhupada first moved into his new quarters, kirtans were being conducted in his room in the afternoon and then he would give class. On one of the first days, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Isana Prabhu, who at that time was doing what was to be later known as FATE doll exhibition, led a kirtan. He was simply repeating the Sri Krsna Caitanya mantra over and over again, perhaps for 15 times, when Srila Prabhupada demanded that he stop and chant Hare Krsna. It was after this that Srila Prabhupada became quite strict on the number of times the mantra was sung.

“BHAJA” OR “JAYA” SRI KRSNA CAITANYA? In the middle of 1977, ISKCON devotees noticed a sudden change in the way the panca tattva maha mantra was to be chanted. Up to that point, all of the kirtans Srila Prabhupada had led, both in person and on recordings displayed the song as: bhaja sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda Every devotee sang this song in this way in every kirtan. However, in May of 1977 Srila Prabhupada became very displeased with the kirtans of the group in the asrama next to Krsna Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana.  There kirtans were taking place with the following speculated mantra, “(bhaja) nitai gaura radhe syama (japa) Hare Krsna Hare Ram.” Srila Prabhupada then requested the devotees to stop chanting the word “bhaja” before our Panca-tattva maha mantra since the word actually is not part of the mantra. There is no word which prefaces the mantra which specifically reads “sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda.” This mantra can be read in either Bengali or Sanskrit letters on the walls of every temple in Vrindavan or Bengal as it is one of the two essential mantras for Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Then Prabhupada thought about using some mantra from the Caitanya-caritamrta which he considered might go, “jaya sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda, jayadvaita gadadhara srivasadi gaura bhakta vrinda.” His Divine Grace had his servants and sanskritists look it up to see if they could find it. After a thorough search they realized that there was no mantra like that and that the closest mantra was “jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda” which was not what Prabhupada wanted. Nevertheless, in order to definitively distinguish ISKCON from the other chanters across the road, Srila Prabhupada insisted on the change from the using the word “bhaja” to “jaya” preceding the mantra. Tamal Krsna Goswami also noted the change in his diary. At 3:00 p.m. Srila Prabhupada signed his will and had Upendra, Gopinatha, and myself witness it. During the kirtana, Prabhupada twice instructed Yasodanandana Maharaja not to sing “bhaja” before “Sri Krsna Caitanya.” Was it because of the bogus groups who chant this word first? Prabhupada said to chant “Jaya Sri Krsna Caitanya.” (TKG Diary: May 23, 1977 Vrndavana) “You can say ‘Sri Krsna Caitanya’ or ‘Jaya Sri Krsna Caitanya,’ but never ‘bhaja.’ You just glorify these five personalities and They will take care of everything.” (Srila Prabhupada speaking: TKG Diary: May 29, 1977 Vrndavana)
Question here is: To Follow Srila Prabhupada or Not or shall we say Half way?  We can say “times have changed…after all this is all glorification” ok – so the million dollar question – How much shall I follow ?

EAGERNESS TO CHANT

By Bhaktin Bharathi

Chanting and Hearing anywhere, in any circumstance will surely help us.

Many of us have challenges on how to complete our 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra japa amidst our busy schedules. We may be professional women –  working full time or part time – or even house wives taking care of all household affairs.  Still, the onus of making for time for Krishna is completely on us.  It is really amazing when I hear from few devotees about how they are eager and totally enthusiastic to complete their rounds. Here is one such awe inspiring experiences of a devotee friend of mine:

About a year back or so, some of us devotees got together and were raising funds for the Jagannath ratha yatra.  IN the course of this service, we happened to visit a doctor who we knew for a while through common friends.  He is usually very busy always – with so many patients flocking to his clinic.  We somehow managed to get an appointment and reached his clinic.  When we peeked in, we were all in for a pleasant surprise – we could hear Srila Prabhupada’s voice in the corner of room singing the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. We were so thrilled to hear the vibrations of the Holy Names in a clinic where many patients visit!

We walked up to the doc and spoke excitedly, telling him that he is doing great service to Lord Krishna and the patients will be very much benefited by just hearing Hare Krishna Mantra especially in Srila Prabhupada’s own voice. For that he replied that whether his patients get benefited or not, he, for sure, was getting benefited.  And he showed us the counter that he had wrapped around his finger to use to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra with Srila Prabhupada everyday, while attending to his patients.  He said he was completing his 16 rounds everyday and that he keeps chanting whenever patients are not there – which is very rare considering his clinic is always packed.  Yet he found time to finish his rounds was a stunning revelation to us

We were amazed and very inspired.  We made a resolution that even though our schedules turn out to be busy/hectic, we will make sure to find time for Krishna, chant and remember Him through out day.  Even if we are busy with l hectic work schedule, chanting and remembering Lord Krishna is very important part of our lives.

Jai Srila Prabhupada!