VyasaPuja 2011
Richmond Hill
nama om visnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Srila Prabhupada, on this day so auspicious,
We desire to reflect on what you mean to us.
Without you, where would we be?
In the clutches of maya, most certainly.
We were wandering around clueless,
Pursuing nescience in this age of darkness.
You, Srila Prabhupada, are the only reason,
That we have a chance to get out of maya’s prison.
You took your Guru Maharaja’s instruction,
And followed through with unlimited success and precision.
You worked constantly day and night,
To save us from our plight.
Srimad Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Bhagavad Gita As It Is,
Without deviation or misrepresentation – you gave us all this.
You showed us the path to true happiness,
The path we must pursue in order to achieve success.
What you have accomplished is nothing short of miraculous,
The gift of bhakti-yoga so precious.
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur foretold of an acharya so great,
For you to come in our lifetime, we are so fortunate.
Lord Chaitanya predicted that the holy names would spread in every town and village,
And you came and accomplished that with boldness and courage.
You gave us the genuine treasures,
Certainly worth immensely more than gems, jewels, and material pleasures.
You, Srila Prabhupada, are our saviour,
You exemplified perfect Vaishnava behaviour.
You gave us hundreds of temples worldwide,
Giving us Lord Krishna personified.
You wrote scores and scores of books,
Encompassing everything we need if we’d only look.
You explained everything in thousands of lectures,
Cared for us like a father with your loving gestures.
Your lotus feet travelled around the globe fourteen times,
Opening our hearts and minds to Krishna’s pastimes.
You started the Back to Godhead magazine,
Giving everyone the opportunity to see what life should mean.
You are perfect in every way – you are bonafide,
Your instructions we wish to follow and abide.
You wrote personal letters in the thousands,
Your words more valuable than diamonds.
You accurately answered every doubt and question,
Explaining and answering with purity and perfection.
We humbly wish to follow your request,
Although we are not qualified we want to try our best.
You want to take us back home, back to godhead,
And gave us all the tools to put us in good stead.
Krishna Consciousness has been and will be exposed to generations upon generations,
Your vani continues through your books, lectures, and instructions.
You provided us with the true meaning of life,
Saving us from material misery and strife.
You are our spiritual master,
We bow down at your feet forever.
You are our guru,
We truly are among the lucky few.
Srila Prabhupada, by your divine grace,
We have been given this nectar so great.
Actually, it will take too many words to describe what you mean to us,
We hope this humble attempt will be accepted by you – so gracious.
Thank you for having mercy upon us fallen souls,
Thank you for giving us the highest priorities and goals.
Please allow us to continue to serve you and Srimati Radharani and Krishna,
Please help us continue in the realm of the beat of the ISKCON Mrdanga.
Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Jaya Gurudeva!
Your humble servants Subhavilas Dasa, Ashalata Devi Dasi and all your faithful servants of Sri Sri Radha-Shyamasundara in Richmond Hill Canada.
(written by Minakshi Devi Dasi)
 The author, Minakshi devi dasi is the little girl in pink at Srila Prabhupada's Guru puja in Toronto - 1976.
Of course today is Krishna Janmastami and we want to wish everyone a very happy Janmastami. The presiding deities of ISKCON Toronto are Sri Sri Radha Ksirchor Gopinatha and They are also our first love... Radha Gopinatha are the first deities we served and They reeled us into Krishna bhakti. They are forever gorgeous and today on Jamastami in order to glorify Gopinatha, we are publishing "Gopinatha" by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur.
Every year our family offers a flower dress to Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha at midnight with some hope that They will give us shelter and mercy even though we are undeserving. So with the "Gopintha" we have included pictures of some past dresses.
Happy Janmastami! May it bring you more and more Krishna bhakti.
Sri Sri Radha Ksirchor Gopinatha ki Jaya!
1
gopinath, mama nivedana suno
visayi durjana, sada kama-rata,
kichu nahi mora guna
2
gopinath, amara bharasa tumi
tomara carane, loinu sarana,
tomara kinkora ami
3
gopinath, kemone sodhibe more
na jani bhakati, karme jada-mati,
porechi somsara-ghore
4
gopinath, sakali tomara maya
nahi mama bala, jnana sunirmala,
swadhina nahe e kaya
5
gopinath, niyata carane sthana
mage e pamara, kandiya kandiya
korohe karuni dana
6
gopinath, tumi to' sakali paro
durjane tarite, tomara sakati,
ke ache papira aro
7
gopinath, tumi krpa-parabara
jivera karane, asiya prapance,
lila koile subistara
8
gopinath, ami ki dose dosi
asura sakala, pailo carana,
vinoda thakilo bosi'
1) O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my request. I am a wicked
materialist, always addicted to worldly desires, and no good qualities do I
possess.
2) 0 Gopinatha, You are my only hope, and therefore I have taken shelter at
Your lotus feet. I am now Your eternal servant.
3) 0 Gopinatha, how will You purify me? I do not know what devotion is, and my
materialistic mind is absorbed in fruitive work. I have fallen into this dark
and perilous worldly existence.
4) 0 Gopinatha, everything here is Your illusory energy. I have no strength or
transcendental knowledge, and this body of mine is not independent and free
from the control of material nature.
5) 0 Gopinatha, this sinner, who is weeping and weeping, begs for an eternal
place at Your divine feet. Please give him Your mercy.
6) 0 Gopinatha, You are able to do anything, and therefore You have the power
to deliver all sinners. Who is there that is more of a sinner than myself?
7) 0 Gopinatha, You are the ocean of mercy. Having come into this phenomenal
world, You expand Your divine pastimes for the sake of the fallen souls.
8) 0 Gopinatha, I am so sinful that although all the demons attained Your lotus
feet, Bhaktivinoda has remained in worldly existence.
part two
1
gopinath, ghucao samsara-jwalaavidya-jatana, aro nahi sahe,
janama-marana-mala
2
gopinath, ami to' kamera dasa
visaya-bhasana, jagiche hrdoye,
phadiche karama phase
3
gopinath, kabe va jagibo ami
kama-rupa ari, dure teyagibo,
hrdoye sphuribe tumi
4
gopinath, ami to' tomara jana
tomare chariya, samsara bhajinu,
bhuliya apana-dhana
5
gopinath, tumi to' sokali jano
apanara jane, dandiya ekhano,
sri-carane deho sthano
6
gopinath, ei ki vicara taba
bimukha dekhiya, charo nija-jane,
na koro' karuna-laba
7
gopinath, ami to murakha ati
kise bhalo hoya, kabhu na bujhinu
tai heno mama gati
8
gopinath, tumi to'pandita-bara
mudhera mangala, tumi anvesibe
e dase na bhavo' para
1) O Gopinatha, please remove the torment of worldly existence. I can no longer
tolerate the pain of ignorance and the repeated succession of births and
deaths.
2) 0 Gopinatha, indeed I am a servant of lust. Worldly desires are awakening in
my heart, and thus the noose of fruitive work is beginning to tighten.
3) 0 Gopinatha, when will I wake up and abandon afar this enemy of lust, end
when will You manifest Yourself in my heart?
4) 0 Gopinatha, I am Your devotee, but having abandoned You and thus having
forgotten my real treasure, I have worshiped this mundane world.
5) O Gopinatha, You know everything. Now, having punished Your servant, please
give him a place at Your lotus feet.
6) 0 Gopinatha, is this Your judgment, that seeing me averse to You, You
abandon Your servant and don't bestow even a particle of mercy upon him?
7) 0 Gopinatha, I am certainly very foolish, and I have never known what is
good for me. Therefore such is my condition.
8) 0 Gopinatha, You are indeed the wisest person. Please look for a way to
bring about auspiciousness for this fool, and please do not consider this
servant as an outsider.
part three1
Gopinath, amara upaya nai
tumi krpa kori', amare loile,
samsare uddhara pai
2
gopinath, porechi mayara phere
dhana, dara, suta, ghireche amare,
kamete rekheche jere
3
gopinath, mana je pagala mora
na mane sasana, sada acetana,
visaye ro'yeche ghora
4
gopinath, hara je menechi ami
aneka jatana, hoilo bifala,
ekhano bharasa tumi
5
gopinath, kemone hoibe gati
prabala indriya, bosi-bhuta mana,
na chare visaya-rati
6
gopinath, hrdoye bosiya mora
manake samiya, laho nija pane,
ghucibe vipada ghora
7
gopinath, anatha dekhiya more
tumi hrsikesa, hrsika damiya,
taro'he samsrti-ghore
8
gopinath, galaya legeche phase
krpa-asi dhori', bandhana chediya,
vinode koroho dasa
1) O Gopinatha, I have no means of success, but if You take me, having bestowed
your mercy upon me, then I will obtain deliverance from this world.
2) 0 Gopinatha, I have fallen into the perils of material illusion. Wealth,
wife, and sons have surrounded me, and lust has wasted me away.
3) 0 Gopinatha, my mind is crazy and does not care for any authority. It is
always senseless and has remained in the dark pit of worldly affairs.
4) 0 Gopinatha, I have accepted my defeat. All of my various endeavors were
useless. Now You are the only hope.
5) 0 Gopinatha, how shall I make any advancement when my mind has come under
the control of the powerful senses and does not abandon its attachment to
materialism?
6) 0 Gopinatha, after sitting down in the core of my heart and subduing my
mind, please wake me to You. In this way the horrible dangers of this world
will disappear.
7) 0 Gopinatha, You are Hrsikesa, the Lord of the senses. Seeing me so
helpless, please control these senses of mine and deliver me from this dark and
perilous worldly existence.
8) 0 Gopinatha, the noose of materialism has become fixed around my neck.
Taking up the sword of Your mercy and cutting this bondage, make this
Bhaktivinoda Your humble servant.
As devotees around the world gear up for the auspicious occasion of Sri Krishna Janmastami we are all busy with service and inviting friends and family to attend festivities on Monday.
On Monday night there will be throngs of devotees, congregants, friends and well-wishers to see Lord Krishna playing His flute and looking magnificent in new dresses, flowers and in some centres like Toronto with the midnight flower dress. The atmosphere will be dripping with kirtan and ecstasy.
But today I would like to make a humble request for the day after Janmastami. The way I see it Krishna came on Janmastami and in 1896 the day after Janmastami Krishna brought us the most pure devotee to bring Krishna to the entire world. Without Srila Prabhupada's mercy we would not be standing in these temples, taking darshan of Krishna and enjoying this bliss. So the day after Janmastami is Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja and my humble request is to fill his temples with new comers and old comers. First, second and third generation devotees regardless of affiliation or status should all come forth in front of Srila Prabhupada united in gratefulness.
On many occasions I have been invited to attend vyasa puja celebrations for Godbrothers (disciples of Srila Prabhupada) and I honor these occasions and share some of my memories or association with them. I do so to honor the fact that they are pushing on Srila Prabhupada's movement. On occasion, I have noticed some of these events perhaps better attended then Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja. Perhaps this is due to Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja being at noon and not the evening or some being exhausted from Janmastami celebrations. But can't we make the extra endeavor for Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja?
Srila Prabhupada is not only the founder-acarya of ISKCON but the deliverer of devotees through his books, instructions and vani. Srila Prabhupada is the uniting factor as the spiritual father or grandfather no matter if you are an IDS, GKG, RNS, BMS, JPS, BKG, ABC or XYZ, Srila Prabhupada is the common factor. I am certain that all of my Godbrothers will agree. So it is my humble request, even if it is with some material difficulty, I beg you to come forth in front of Srila Prabhupada on Tuesday as we collectively glorify and worship our Founder-acarya and saviour who presented us with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's message and has given us the Krishna Consciousness movement. FILL THE TEMPLES FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA!
A fallen and worthless servant of Srila Prabhupada,
Subhavilasa das
(yes, this is a repeat post, but when something is as important as this perhaps a repeat post is a good idea...)
As devotees around the world gear up for the auspicious occasion of Sri Krishna Janmastami we are all busy with service and inviting friends and family to attend festivities on Monday.
On Monday night there will be throngs of devotees, congregants, friends and well-wishers to see Lord Krishna playing His flute and looking magnificent in new dresses, flowers and in some centres like Toronto with the midnight flower dress. The atmosphere will be dripping with kirtan and ecstasy.
But today I would like to make a humble request for the day after Janmastami. The way I see it Krishna came on Janmastami and in 1896 the day after Janmastami Krishna brought us the most pure devotee to bring Krishna to the entire world. Without Srila Prabhupada's mercy we would not be standing in these temples, taking darshan of Krishna and enjoying this bliss. So the day after Janmastami is Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja and my humble request is to fill his temples with new comers and old comers. First, second and third generation devotees regardless of affiliation or status should all come forth in front of Srila Prabhupada united in gratefulness.
On many occasions I have been invited to attend vyasa puja celebrations for Godbrothers (disciples of Srila Prabhupada) and I honor these occasions and share some of my memories or association with them. I do so to honor the fact that they are pushing on Srila Prabhupada's movement. On occasion, I have noticed some of these events perhaps better attended then Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja. Perhaps this is due to Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja being at noon and not the evening or some being exhausted from Janmastami celebrations. But can't we make the extra endeavor for Srila Prabhupada's vyasa-puja?
Srila Prabhupada is not only the founder-acarya of ISKCON but the deliverer of devotees through his books, instructions and vani. Srila Prabhupada is the uniting factor as the spiritual father or grandfather no matter if you are an IDS, GKG, RNS, BMS, JPS, BKG, ABC or XYZ, Srila Prabhupada is the common factor. I am certain that all of my Godbrothers will agree. So it is my humble request, even if it is with some material difficulty, I beg you to come forth in front of Srila Prabhupada on Tuesday as we collectively glorify and worship our Founder-acarya and saviour who presented us with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's message and has given us the Krishna Consciousness movement. FILL THE TEMPLES FOR SRILA PRABHUPADA!
A fallen and worthless servant of Srila Prabhupada,
Subhavilasa das
Over the weekend, the 2nd month of caturmasya known as bhadra began which means fasting from yogurt.
We are a bit tardy on the posts again but have a good excuse...we were distributing Srila Prabhupada's books for practically the entire weekend. So Balarama's nectar posts are yet to come...
The purpose of caturmasya is to decease our sense enjoyment and in turn increase our devotional service to Krishna. As Srila Prabhupada states in Caitanya Caritamrta, “The real purpose behind the vow taken during these four months is to minimize the quantity of sense gratification...”
Srila Prabupada also states. "“Chaturmasya should be observed by all sections of the population,” he wrote. “It does not matter whether one is a grihasta or a sannyasi. The observance is obligatory for all ashramas.”
Srila Prabhupada also points out the simplicity of observing Catusmasya. “This is not very difficult,” he wrote. “In the month of Sravana one should not eat spinach, in the month of Bhadra one should not eat yogurt, and in the month of Asvina one should not drink milk..."
So we pray that you have a devotional month...
A short article glorifying Srila Prabhupada in the Economic Times. The reporters comment on the last line struck a cord...
All glories to Srila Prabhupada! And keep on practicing Krishna Consciousness sincerely...  Thy will be Done!
By Vithal C Nadkarni, ET Bureau
In 1965, when Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement, made his now historic journey to the West on the steamer Jaladhuta, all he had with him was a crate of Srimad-Bhagavatams, a pair of hand cymbals and seven dollars.
He suffered from severe bouts of seasickness and cardiac trouble when the ship went through heavy storms for two consecutive nights. At age 69, Prabhupada knew these could prove fatal. But on the third night, he dreamt that the Blue Lord Himself was rowing the ship to America, urging him on, and offering him all protection.
The next day, the storms and palpitations subsided. When the ship docked in New York City, he wondered how he would make westerners understand the message of Krishna Consciousness. So he wrote a letter to the Lord from his cabin.
"...I'm very unfortunate, unqualified, and most fallen, Therefore, I am seeking Your benediction so I can convince them, for I am powerless to do so on my own." The rest, as they say, is history.
In the next 12 years, from his arrival in New York until his final days in 1977, Srila Prabhupada was to circle the globe 14 times on lecture tours that took him to six continents.
He founded the religious colony of New Vrindavan in West Virginia, and he watched his movement grow to a confederation of more than 108 temples, various institutes and farm communities and he also found time to write more than 80 books!
His message was seemingly simple: "Don't fight with adversity. Just practice Krishna Consciousness sincerely; all discords will disappear by themselves."
The above picture from Nama Yagna 2011 with Gauranga spreading His merciful arms over the Toronto skyline pretty much tells the story in the Greater Toronto area this weekend!
For the next 48 hours pretty much morning, afternoon, night or even in the middle of Saturday night you can enjoy Krishna Conscious nectar in the form of kirtan, association, discourse or prasadam. No need to sleep or cook (except for your deities) but a change of clothes every 12 hours or so is reccomended :-)
So for example you can hit ISKCON Scarborough this evening and enjoy a program with HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja or you can head to ISKCON Toronto to help the youth clean and prepare for a busy festival weekend.
Tomorrow morning you can hit ISKCON Toronto for morning class with HH Gopal Krishna Goswami, followed by an initiation ceremony and special abishek and feast.
At around the same time the 24 hour Nama Yagna 2011 kirtan starts in Etobicoke with at least 24 kirtaniyas from accross North America, Europe, India and beyond. There is non-stop kirtan and prasadam and in service to Srila Prabhupada our family will be doing ISKCON book distribution at this event.
Speaking of book distribution, there is multiple efforts going on this weekend to get Srila PRabhupada's mercy in the hands of the masses which includes street sankirtan and ISKCON Brampton setting up a book stall at Panorama India.
In the evening, with Lord Balarama's mercy you can go south, north, east or west and partake in celebrations. All three GTA (Greater Toronto Area) ISKCON temples will celebrate Lord Balarama's Appearance day as well as Nama Yagna 2011!
Not enough? Well the harinama goes all night long and into Sunday morning!
And just when you thought you were done the branch temples in Scarborough and Brampton will be gearing up with their Sunday afternoon programs.
Of course mixed into all of this is home programs, an exclusive Friday evening program for yoga enthusiasts at Bhakti Lounge/Uban Edge Yoga and more....
And then Sunday evening ends off with a bang! ISKCON Toronto has a Sunday feast with a special discourse by HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja who will be leaving us again early next week. And then Nama Yagna 2011 holds a special Bhajan Shandhya complete with non-stop prasadam from 6pm to well into the night. So as ISKCON Toronto's program winds down this program is heating up. Last time this bhajan shandiya was breath taking and at one point everyone was dancing in ecstasy.
So the question is...what are you doing this weekend?
Toronto is the place to be as Krishna Consciousness blankets the city with the mercy of Lord Balarama.We offer Lord Balarama our pranamas again and again for so much mercy...namas te halagraha
namas te musalayudha
namas te revati-kanta
namas te bhakta-vatsala
namas te dharani-dhara
namas te balanam srestha
pralambare namas te 'stu
ehi mam krsna-purvajaMore information on these events can be found at:ISKCON Scarborough: http://iskconscarborough.blogspot.com/ISKCON Brampton: http://iskconbrampton.blogspot.com/ISKCON Toronto: http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.com/Ashtaprahar Nama Yagna 2011: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189180961142107
Mahaprabu taught about Krishna and His Vrindavan pastimes through Srila Rupa Goswami.
In Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila Chapter 19, verse 1 it states "Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahmā with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly the same way, the Lord, being anxious to revive the Vrndāvana pastimes of Lord Krsna, impregnated the heart of Rūpa Gosvāmī with spiritual potency. By this potency, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī could revive the activities of Krsna in Vrndāvana, activities almost lost to memory. In this way, He spread Krsna consciousness throughout the world.
In the purport Caitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila 5,203 it states "Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is described as the bhakti-rasācārya, or one who knows the essence of devotional service. His famous book Bhakti-rasāmrta-sindhu is the science of devotional service, and by reading this book one can understand the meaning of devotional service."
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had given four instructions to Rupa Goswami. To find the lost holy places in the dham; establish daity service; to publish scriptures on pure devotional service, and to preach the love of the holy name. Rupa Goswami carried out every one of these instructions Lord Chaitanya to perfection. For those that have seen or heard my presentation series on Braj/Vrindavan dham, you will recall the nectar of how Srila Rupa Goswami found Govindaji and established His worship which continues to this day.
From these 4 instructions Srila Rupa Goswami also conclusively gave us the 64 qualities of Krishna! So in this way we can see the extraordinary glories of Srila Rupa Goswami.
Our grand-guru (or great-grand guru for many), Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur writes, "With bunches of straw between my teeth, I pray repeatedly that I may take birth again and again as a particle of dust at the lotus feet of Srila Rupa Goswami."
Sri Narottama Das Thakur has written the following song describing Sri Rupa Goswami which is translated as follows. Sri Rupa Manjari’s feet are my only possession. They are my religious practice, my worship. They are my wealth, they are my ornament, the life of my life.
They are my treasure house of sacred rapture, they are the fulfilment of my deepest wishes, they are my prescribed duty. They are my religious vow; they are my austerities, my meditation and my mantra. They are my religious obligation.
One day, fate will smile upon me and I will be perfected in a position of service to her. I will see that form which is an ocean of sweetness, which will cause the moon lotus of my heart to bloom night and day.
The snake of separation from you spits a venom which burns my body. I have long suffered in this life. O my lord! Please be merciful and give me the shade of your lotus feet. Narottama has taken shelter of you. With such exalted Vaishnavas writing these glories of Srila Rupa Goswami, what more can an unqualified neophyte like myself write to glorify Srila Rupa Goswami.
Jaya Srila Rupa Goswami!
There is an anomaly in the middle of all the pulsating beats, sizzling woks, and careening car horns of the East Village of Manhattan. Within a humble brownstone building at First Avenue and First Street is a monastery, with simple, humble monks attempting to focus their entire being on connecting with God. The anomaly goes further: these monks are not of any known Western tradition, but instead they carry forward in the line of bhakti-yoga, the devotional expression of the monotheistic schools of the Hindu/Vedic tradition.
Many questions then arise: how do they translate and share the teachings of their tradition in the middle of a cultural mix that is, by varying degrees, wholly at odds with their choice of lifestyle? What do they do in their daily lives? How do they maintain their vows of celibacy in this midst of one of the most sexually charged environments in the world? What does it mean to be a Hindu/Vedic monk in a world that has largely left such expressions of spirituality and religion behind?
I am one of those monks. For the past two years, I have been living in the Bhaktivedanta Ashram (monastery) here in the East Village of Manhattan, and I hope to share with you in this piece some of the depth and inspiration of this life and how this tradition is thriving today in the most unusual of environments. I will share both my personal realization and experience in coming to this lifestyle, and also some of the essential theological aspects of the bhakti tradition. In this combination of the personal and singular with the universal, a sense of the vitality and joy found in our search for truth and God here in our ashram may resonate with your own search, and I pray this may inspire you to look deeper into the commitment for the spiritual in your own heart.
A Personal Path
Generally what I wanted to be when I grew up, as a young kid blooming just outside of Detroit, Michigan, depended on what local sports team was currently winning and grabbing my excited attention. I can also remember wanting to be an astronaut, fascinated as I was by the immense mystery of the final frontier of space, and the colorful mysteries of the paranormal. I had a particular quirk as well when I was young: I loved to get up in front of the local evening newscast and pretend I was the weatherman. My mom was so tickled by this that she actually called up the local news station and had them come to do the weather forecast from my own living room, where I got to read the weekly forecast live on the air in front of thousands and thousands of Detroiters. Talk about a dream come true!
With Detroit being a bastion of Catholic worship and community throughout the 20th century, both of my parents came from very strong and very traditional Catholic upbringings. From the very beginning of my life, spiritual ritual and worship was a large part of my existence, from my original baptism as a baby boy, all the way to the weekly catechism classes I would attend following my regular secular schooling. All of this created within me a sense of a very personal God, one who I could relate to, talk to, and befriend.
I can recall one lesson of my church school days which instilled in me the idea that Jesus was everywhere and with us at all times. This idea struck my young mind as something wonderful and even quite logical. Of course God and His closest associates would be able to know who I was, where I was, and what I was feeling, and that these feelings and prayers would find no hindrance in being communicated to Him in a very simple, direct, and innocent way.
Every evening before I would go to sleep, I would pray to God in a very casual and innocent way, asking for such simple requests such as the hope that the cute girl I liked at school would move in with her family to the house next to mine. Looking back at this now, of course I see a exuberant innocence and perhaps a lack of deep theological perspective, but there was always a sense of love, a free, open, and natural love that I faithfully assumed was my natural relationship with God. That faith I have carried with me in my heart and which now, as a monk, I am trying to cultivate and make more real in my life today.
But even as I was expressing these youthful devotions, the idea of a priestly life never entered my mind. A generational shift had already taken place, as the pious Detroit my grandfather once knew, one in which the church community included plenty of association and retreats with priests, Franciscan monks, and nuns, had changed into something beaten down and withered by the harsh economic and social realities of the once-booming “Motor City.”
This faltering of the “American Dream” became prominent in my consciousness as I began my study at the University of Michigan. I began to see that the story of the society I was raised in, and the secular values I had been raised to believe in with great faith, were based on a series of illusions, falsities, and cruelties, going back to the genocidal razing of the Native Americans as European settlers entered into the “New World.” All of this knowledge compelled within me to looker for a deeper and more actual sense of the truth, which took me into arenas from activist to psychedelic, eventually taking me back to where I had started as a child, to the presence of God.
With my worldview broadened by experiences and intuition, I began to look towards the wisdom traditions of the East to help me define the deeper reality that I felt was hovering so close to my grasp. Stories and documentaries of great yogis from the Buddhist and Hindu traditions dazzled my seeker’s sense of the extra-ordinary and desire for direct experience beyond the realm of intoxication and magic spells. I began to call out within me the desire to find a process of meditation, to be linked to up to a natural method of understanding the Divine within me, and while God may not have answered my prayers of having my cute potential girlfriend move in next door when I was a kid, He answered my call for a deeper practice in a way that would change my life in the most profound way.
A Connection with Krishna
While walking one day on the University of Michigan campus, I met a young man named Jim who offered me a flyer for a mantra meditation program. When I attended the program and talked further with Jim, he told me was a monk. All I knew of monks up to that point were the powerful, mythical, and otherworldly figures I had encountered in my study of the Eastern traditions (as well as dedicated Saturday-night viewings of classic martial arts films). To meet this unassuming, humble gentleman and to see in his personality that this lifestyle was still a living and breathing vitality drew me further into the theology and practice of bhakti-yoga.
Jim and his fellow monk associate Prentiss informed and revealed to me that the tradition of bhakti-yoga, a yoga of heart-felt and living devotion to God, or Krishna, the all-attractive Divine Supreme Person, was and is a central and essential part of one of the oldest and strongest spiritual traditions known to antiquity, the Vedic tradition. This tradition was brought to the West in 1965 by A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a renounced scholar, author, and priest of the bhakti tradition who had been compelled by his own teacher, or guru, to bring these teachings to the West. Swami Prabhupada’s calling and mission expanded from his humble beginnings in New York City in the late 1960s to become a worldwide movement under the auspices of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which now has temples and spiritual centers from Africa to Australia and most everywhere in between.
All of this spiritual culture and history piqued my interest, and the heartfelt and inspirational discussions we shared, along with the excellent vegetarian dinners, helped me to find a new sense of belonging that I had struggled to find in the over-competitive and over-charged social atmospheres of this major university. Above all, the practice of mantra meditation that Jim and Prentiss shared struck me quite deeply on the experiential level This began to fulfill my desire for a direct and profound spiritual experience, leading me onto the road to the monastic life I lead today. Before I continue with my personal story, let me share a little of the theological base behind this mantra meditation and its importance and vitality as a spiritual practice specifically meant and designed to be of great benefit for us in our fractured and chaotic contemporary age.
The Chanting of The Holy Name (Maha-Mantra)
At the heart of the practice of bhakti-yoga is the system of mantra meditation, which enables the practitioner to connect directly to the presence and reality of God by sound vibration. Mantra meditation is offered to the spiritualist of today as the most essential and practical way of connecting to God. In the bhakti tradition, this chanting of the holy names of God is known as the maha-mantra. The term mantra means to deliver or liberate the mind from materially based conditioning that impede clarity of self-realization for spiritual advancement, and the term maha means “great” or “supreme.”
The maha-mantra consists of the three most prominent names of God as known and worshiped in the bhakti line: Hare (the feminine aspect of God), Krishna (the masculine aspect of God ), and Rama (the internal pleasure potency of God). Together these three names make up the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna/Hare Krishna/Krishna Krishna/Hare Hare/Hare Rama/Hare Rama/Rama Rama/Hare Hare.
The bhakti practitioner chants the maha-mantra daily on beads (japa) or musically in a congregation (kirtan), and this chanting forms the essential foundation of their spiritual practice. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the bhakti saint of sixteenth-century India, inaugurated this chanting of the maha-mantra amongst his followers, with the intention of spreading it to every town and village in the world. In his Siksastaka, or series of eight verses he wrote to establish the essential mood for the practice ofbhakti, he states that the chanting of the maha-mantra cleanses the heart of the dust of illusion and material conditioning that has accumulated over the course of our life and previous lives. The chanter of the maha-mantra understands that without this internal cleansing process, any attempt to focus one’s consciousness on God will remain clouded and frustrated.
The different names of God abound across the spectrum of religious and spiritual expression and tradition. When one approaches these names in a mood of humility one is able to take great advantage of the direct connection being offered by God, and the door opens to the highest spiritual understanding. The names of God are not different from the original form and substance of God. By chanting these names, one comes into direct contact with the actual reality of God, and this contact bears the fruit of realization and revelation that propels the aspirant forward on the spiritual path. The bhakti tradition, through its foundations in antiquity and contemporary practice, offers one of the clearest and most accessible paths to this kind of direct connection with God through the chanting of His holy names.
A Different Path
Looking back on the moods of my life, I can see that I was never wired to follow the paths of life considered to be normal and accepted. Some of this has to do with undeveloped personality and character traits, but a lot of it has to do with the sense of a deeper calling. In the association of my two new bhakti monk friends Jim and Prentiss, I began to study more about the bhakti tradition, diving deeper into the practice of mantra meditation and the study of the classic Eastern text at the heart of the bhakti faith, the Bhagavad-Gita.
Through Swami Prabhupada’s translation of the Gita I began to grasp the immensity but also the immediacy of this tradition, and most importantly, I began to understand a deep and thorough theological foundation to the questioning and truth-seeking I had been undertaking now for some years prior. Oddly and sweetly enough, I discovered in the words and personage of Krishna the loving, knowing, and befriending God that had been the object of my childhood affections.
I continued to spend a lot of time with Jim and Prentiss as my college career wound on, including spending time with them on retreats to the Detroit ISKCON temple where they lived, as well as one of the more prominent ISKCON cultural centers in West Virginia, where I got a first-hand taste and experience of monastic life in the bhaktitradition. Prentiss even moved to the University of Michigan campus to open a cultural center, and the personal time he spent with me training me in the art of chanting the maha-mantra, as well as his warm and intelligent friendship, were invaluable touchstones to my spiritual development.
Upon my graduation from the University of Michigan, with a degree from the film school, I found myself at the familiar crossroads of the post-graduate. It became clear enough to me that I didn’t want to follow some of the paths of my fellow film-school friends, as they schlepped West to the hallowed hills of Hollywood to fetch coffee 24/7 for over-indulged television producers. I dabbled a bit in the business of producing radio, doing freeform musical shows for local public and internet stations, but career opportunities never seemed to match up with my strange sense of idealism and ambition. Increasingly I felt like I was floating around and treading water, certainly not a unique circumstance for someone of my age at that time, but I had within me a spiritual wealth, from my time with Jim and Prentiss and their fellow monks, that began to grab my attention more and more.
The questions of my search still lingered: What is real? What is truth? How can I have access to this truth? This was now combined with a fervent search to become responsible for myself as I entered into my adult life, to find a meaning and a calling. I continued to chant and study the Bhagavad-Gita, but my association with devotees of the bhakti tradition had become limited, as Jim and Prentiss had moved away from Michigan and on to other stages in their lives. Still, what they had given me remained the deepest part of my life and of my being, and I could not forget it, and by 2006, two years after I had graduated from school, the shelter of the bhakti tradition, and particularly the monastic life within, loomed into the front of my mind as the best course to find the meaning and happiness that I was seeking.
Chris Fici is a writer/teacher/monk of the bhakti-yoga tradition. He has been practicing at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in New York City since 2009. After receiving a degree in film/video studies at the University of Michigan, Chris began his exploration and study of the bhakti tradition. He currently teaches classes on the culture and art of vegetarian cooking, as well as the living philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, at New York University.
The following article is from The Higher Taste site and provides a very nice commentary and perspective on a movie who's imagery and content did much disservice to the Hare Krishna movement but through time, purity and perseverance this has been erased and although a recent new movie release shared a song with similar lyrics and a repetition of "Hare Krishna Hare Rama", it did not present the same innuendo as the earlier version.
It speaks highly of the position Srila Prabhupada and the Hare Krishna movement has attained not only in India but also in the hearts and minds of people of Indian descent around the world.
Please see the article below (graphics have been added...) Most of the readers will guess the content of this article by its title only! Of course, it’s a very famous movie song in India….As many of us will recall that back in early 1970s’, When Srila Prabhupada first returned to India with his American and European Disciples, Dev Anand produced and directed the movie “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” that showed images of our Srila Prabhupada and few other ISKCON devotees chanting and dancing. This movie also had the said famous song ‘Dum Maro Dum’ which had references to the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. In this article, we will see that how far we have come in these 40 years?
Many of the earlier devotees didn’t even know the meaning of the song. Eventually, they somehow found out what it really meant: “With every puff that I take, Hare Krishna Hare Rama.” Unfortunately, the movie and song’s depiction of drugs and illicit activities misled the general public to think that Hare Krishna devotees indulge in such things. Still, Srila Prabhupada had such strong faith in the holy names that he once commented, “People will forget ‘Dum Maro Dum’ and just remember ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Rama’.”
Movie starts impressively with the pictures of London Rath-Yatra, devotees dancing and chanting and Srila Prabhupada but then after few moments, the scene changes to a group of fictional hippies, with young people shamelessly taking drugs, it shows hippies gathered together in a celebration of debauchery, drinking alcohol and passing around a pipe filled with ganja, from which they share puffs. Some embrace lustily, while others simply lie on the ground in a drugged stupor. And all the while, the song plays their anthem: dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham, bolo subah sham, Hare Krishna Hare Rama – “Take another puff, let your sorrows fade away, and morning & evening chant Hare Krishna, and Hare Rama.”
In a single statement, it was a bad attempt to prove that Srila Prabhupada was degrading the sacred Indian culture by giving it to hippies who were misusing it, chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama and smoking, drinking and indulging in free sex and everything else. That was a blow. This misinformation damaged the reputation of young ISKCON movement in India and caused undeserved pain to our devotees, members, well-wishers and friends.
Hare Rama Hare Krishna seems to portray the west as a source of problems for Indians. This pessimistic outlook reflects the perception, held by many Indians at the time, that the west was a threat to the culture and traditions of the east. Many dismissed non-Indian devotees as sentimental faddists; some of them raised objections on their caste; while others argued that they are not “real” Hindus. Still others accused that these innocent devotees were actually CIA agents. They started pointing to the film and imply that these white-skinned devotees were actually drug-taking hippies as shown in the film.
In short, all these critics used to dismiss the Hare Krishna Movement or its devotees and friends by saying three simple words – “Dum Maro Dum”
Srila Prabhupada, however, tackled the challenge in his own way from a spiritual perspective; Prabhupada didn’t make a distinction between east and west. To him, all living beings were all children of Krishna, and all equal candidates for Krishna’s mercy. And so, at an age when most people would consider retirement, he left India and set sail for America. He didn’t travel there for his own enjoyment or because he was enamoured by the opulence of the west; he went in order to share the spiritual treasures of India with the rest of the world. He went to give, not to take.
He often quoted the allegory of a blind man and a lame man. Individually, each was limited by his disability. But when they worked together so that the lame man climbed atop the shoulders of the blind man, they could both move forward. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada explained, India had spiritual insights to offer the world but was hampered by a lack of material resources. The west, on the other hand, had strong infrastructure and resources but was suffering from lack of a clear spiritual vision. If the two can work together, he suggested, the whole world could be spiritually uplifted and benefited.
That was 40 years ago. It took years for the people of India to understand that sincere followers of ISKCON strictly refrain from smoking, drinking, gambling and illicit behaviours. As we mark 40th anniversary of this historic film, there is yet another film, titled Dum Maro Dum after the popular song, hope to win over the new generation of fans with its remixed version of the famous song with A-listed celebrities dancing…Now what? If we fast forward 40 years from the historic release of Hare Rama Hare Krishna, how far we have come?
In these 40 years, some things, of course, remain the same. “Dum Maro Dum” is still a popular song, and – for better or worse – may remain so for many years to come. But, many things changed also in these 40 years.
Today, ISKCON have also completed its 40 years in India. The Times of India recently wrote for Srila Prabhupada as, “India’s greatest spiritual & philosophical ambassador to the world.” Hundreds of critics praised Srila Prabhupada’s writings. ISKCON has its centre in almost all the big cities and towns of the nation with thousands of full time devotees and millions of congregational devotees. Today, hardly anyone sees the foreigner devotees with surprise or even suspect.
Far from being viewed with suspicion or ridicule, today ISKCON is one of the most respected, honoured and dynamic spiritual organizations active in India. In places like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Tirupati, Vrindavan, Ujjain, Vishakapatnam, Mayapur, and many other cities, ISKCON has built huge cultural centres that celebrate and promote India’s spiritual heritage and teach people how to apply Vedic wisdom in the modern age. Today, ISKCON’s BBT is the largest publishing house in the world to distribute the Vedic knowledge in number of books printed and distributed. ISKCON also runs the world’s largest Vegetarian food relief program. ISKCON’s Indian temples are leading the way in working to eradicate hunger and poverty – especially through innovative midday meals programs. For Instance, ISKCON’s temple at Delhi alone distributes more than 4, 00,000 plates of food everyday to the school students in the city and nearby areas.
In other words, the Hare Krishna Movement does live up to the song partially. For sure it is helping in wiping the suffering off from people (“mit jaye gum..”). Srila Prabhupada predicted that a day will come when the people of the world will realise the importance of this movement in saving the world from the biggest danger and improving the living conditions of masses.
Hare Krishna…!!
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