Modes of Nature – The Plight and the Extrication

(When Krishna and His friends were threatened by a forest fire, Krishna swallowed the fire.)

December 30, 2007

Dear All,

Yesterday, I was transferred back in time to the days when I was very much entangled and harassed by the modes of nature. The eternity of the soul’s existence can be easily divided into two types of phases of existence – the ones in which the soul is not Krishna Conscious, and the ones in which it is. The former is an existence full of plight and the latter is the existence leading to the extrication from such plight and to the eventual establishment of the self beyond the dualities associated with the modes of nature into the realm of the eternal and blissful existence of the Kingdom of God. Before coming to Krishna Consciousness, making such an analysis would not have been possible. In that state of ignorance, all attempts at rationalizing the observations around are baffled by that unrelenting foe known as the Duality of material existence. This duality is characterized essentially by the personal definitions of the favorable and the unfavorable, and by the dissension caused between different individuals because of conflicting definitions of the same.

We were talking yesterday about different kinds of music – Indian Classical, Western Classical, Jazz, Rock, Metal, and so on… Three of us were there and initially I too was trying to establish by likes and dislikes as the “correct” ones. And inevitably, there was some disagreement amongst us. Since one always wants to be “correct”, a disagreement of this kind suddenly gives rise to at least a slight discomfort in the heart. And as soon as that happened I fearfully realized that I had been gullible and had been sucked into the world of duality once again by the stealthy forces of Maya -- that illusion-causing potency of the Lord which keeps everyone bound to this material world! After this, I lost interest in the discussion and while physically present there I was intellectually trying to get to the essence of what Krishna wants to teach me using this particular situation.

That feeling of discomfort immediately reminded me of the same feeling I used to get before coming to Krishna Consciousness. I remember how I cherished my likes and dislikes and maintained that I was the wisest of all by having those particular ones. That how liking Indian Classical music is better than liking Hard Rock. How tennis was a better sport than cricket. How the sporting heroes I loved were better than their sporting rivals. How the political views I harbored (though I was never really into politics ever) are better than those opposing them. Fortunately, I never cared too much about too many worldly things but of the few I did care for, I was quite strong about it. And of course, those were the ones that gave me most misery.

What is that misery? When one harbors strong likes and dislikes in this world of duality, inevitably one encounters opposing forces in the form of opposing ideologies, fans of other sports stars, patrons of another genre of music, readers of another kinds of books, and so on. In the face of such opposition, one tries to somehow establish within ones mind that what one is doing is the best. Such a mental adjustment is flimsy and once agitated it takes a long time for the mind to again get settled into a calm state. Unfortunately, the time it takes is so long that the probability of having a calm mind for a considerable duration of time is quite low, almost nil. All this eventually leads to the classic heinous philosophical conclusion that is the root cause of all sorts of nonsense that prevails in the modern world – “You do what you like, I do what I like. There is no absolute right and no absolute wrong.” This way everyone can freely do whatever one likes to do without worrying about what others think about it and more particularly, whether it is right or wrong.

This conclusion never ever satisfied my heart. But nevertheless, I had no other option but to accept it in the absence of a better answer. Given all the evidence around me, and without any understanding of the transcendental, this conclusion was all that I had. I even wrote a mail to one of my highly intelligent acquaintances that I accept that “Everything is Relative. There is nothing Absolute”. I was never happy about this philosophical conclusion… but I had no other option.

Truth alone satisfies the heart. If one is not satisfied with the Truth then it means either that what one thinks as Truth is not the Truth or that it is the Truth but that one is not harmonizing oneself with it. If harmonizing oneself with the Truth doesn’t satisfy the heart, then how will anything else for any considerable duration of time? Can building ones life on a flimsy foundation of untruth ever lead to prolonged satisfaction of the heart? Won’t one be harassed by unsuspected harsh surprises if one does not understand what is Truth and what not?

The Truth is that everyone in this material world has acquired a certain combination of the modes of nature based on their activities and desires from their past lives. Everything in this material world, including likes and dislikes, depends on the modes of nature acquired. So its not surprising that different people think different things to be right. The Truth also is that there exists a Supreme Person Krishna (God) who is the source of everything, from whom everything emanates, whose existence depends on nothing else, and on whom everything else depends. He is the supreme cause of all causes and is inexhaustible and unlimited. Krishna is thus the Supreme Absolute Truth. The Truth is also that we are all souls, eternal parts of that Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna and can be happy only if we base our existence on this knowledge. Unless one builds ones life on the foundation of this Truth, one is bound to be unhappy. Not only that, the ignorance of this knowledge of Truth gives room for other partial truths or even blatant untruths to take birth from imaginative brains and become known as truths. And this in turn gives rise to the popular ignorant conclusion that “You do your thing, I will do my thing.”

But, your thing and my thing can not be fundamentally different because you and I have the same fundamental identity (in Truth) as a part of the Supreme Lord Krishna. And thus your thing and my thing should be fundamentally same – to serve Krishna. This is the Absolute Law. Whatever be your material likes and dislikes, mould them in such a way so as to please Krishna! Then, despite your likings being different from mine on a material relative platform, they will be the same on the spiritual absolute platform. Both of us will like to serve Krishna but perhaps according to our different ways. Such is the unifying nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth Lord Krishna! Under Him all contradictions are resolved and hence all philosophical questions answered while completely satisfying the heart.

In fact, by working on such a spiritual platform, ones activities will cease being material. They will be transcendental to the modes of nature because by working only for the pleasure of Krishna, one can cut the strong ropes of the modes of material nature that bind one to this material world. Thus, one who is in the plight of being bound by these ropes can be extricated by using all his activities in the service of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. Thus he will gradually transcend the modes of nature and eventually achieve that supreme abode of the Lord in which there are not contradictions and everything is perfect and where once gone, no one returns back to this miserable existence of duality in this material world.

The ISKCON movement of Srila Prabhupada is facilitating such dovetailing of all resources in Krishna’s service all over the world and is thus doing the world the greatest welfare. Let us all join hands and help spread this movement all over the world like wild fire and please Srila Prabhupada and Lord Sri Krishna!

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra, Pune, December 2007

For more snaps, visit : http://picasaweb.google.com/toleyabhijit/RathaYatraDec2007

(above : Their Lordships Jagannath-Baladev-Subhadra on Their Chariot!)

The Jagannath Ratha Yatra

December 16, 2007.

Pune, India.

Dear All,

The mercy of Srila Prabhupada manifests in multifarious ways, but not many are more magnanimous than the Ratha Yatra. That rare opportunity of pulling the chariot carrying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the Universe, the Supremely Merciful – Lord Jagannath – was earlier restricted only to the few millions who visited the eternal land of the Purushottam Kshetra Jagannath Puri. That same eternal pastime of the Supreme Lord is now enacted in 500 cities around the world.

For the layman this might be just another piece of information in this world of information technology about just another exotic carnival procession. For the more informed and appreciative, this might be a source of amazement especially in the light of the fact that such Ratha Yatras are now held in all major cities of the world like San Francisco, New York, London, etc. in many important streets of those illustrious cities. A few might also know that the heads of states of many of these countries openly express their appreciation for this event in their respective countries. But only the spiritually well versed will truly appreciate the significance of this development in the modern history of mankind. That rare opportunity is no longer available only to a few millions, but to the whole of human race.

Just how important is this contribution of Srila Prabhupada can be seen from a simple fact that surprisingly, there are many people even in India who read in the newspapers about the Jagannath Ratha Yatra every year and yet they do not know who is Jagannath or even how does He look! So ignorant has the general mass become about God that they don’t even know much about one of His most important lilas. But this situation is gradually changing. Once again the light of knowledge of and devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is illuminating the darkeness of this age. All due to the efforts of one divine resplendent personality – His Divine Grace Srila Abhay Charanarvinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

(above : Advertizing the Sudarshan Yajnya to be conducted for Sri Sri Radha VrindavanChandra Temple Project (NVCC))


This year again the Ratha Yatra was enacted in Pune, India on December 16, 2007 from 2pm to 7pm. It was conducted by the devotees associated with the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune. A single rath (chariot) carried all three of them – Lord Jagannath, His elder brother Lord Baladev, and Their sister Subhadra. Enthusiastic devotees had assembled there from the very beginning. Everyone was eager to pull this rath which was spiritualized by these divine passengers! Finally, amongst loud chanting of “Haribol”s, the Lord started His journey! To where?

Devotees know the story. The Vrajavasis (residents of Sri Vrindavan Dham) were burning in separation from the Lord of their hearts. Their Lord was now in the holy land of Kurukshetra. So, they all went to Kurukshetra and when their eyes finally fell upon the Lord, they wanted to drink His unmatched beauty with their eyes. They couldn’t bear any longer their Lord being away from them. So they put their Lords Krishna and Balaram and Their sister Subhadra in a huge chariot they had built. And then they started pulling that chariot to Vrindavan. Oh, what love! Who can fathom the love that exists between Krishna and His supreme devotees, the Vrajavasis? Oh, just by meditating on this pastime, the heart of a sincere soul is overwhelmed by love of God. That same Lord Jagannath so much loves to be pulled by His devotees into their hearts that every year He comes out of His temple in Jagannath Puri just to give His devotees a chance to once again pull Him into their hearts! He is ready to come… into the hearts of those who lovingly welcome Him. He is not holding back! He is not discriminating! He is giving Himself to whoever wants Him! Oh, what mercy!

(above : The Lord of the Universe Jagannath parades through the streets of Pune!)

Dearest Srila Prabhupada has pulled His beloved Lord Jagannath to 500 cities all over the world. So far. Now Lord Jagannath is even more freely distributing His mercy. And so it happened in Pune. The Ratha was pulled by devotees along the following path : Sangam Chowk, Yashwant Rao Chauvhan Natyagruh, Karve Putala, Karve Road, Karishma Chowk, Nal Stop, and finally to Gandhi Lawns. Devotees were enthusiastically inviting the onlookers to participate in this pastime by pulling the rath. Fortunate people were accepting the invitation… and how unfortunate were those who didn’t? The Lord of the Goloka, that most celebrated of Kings, that unrivalled proprietor of all that be, for the sake of His children, was parading through the dense polluted air of the Karve Road. He was giving His majestic Darshan to all… with arms extended as if inviting everyone to take shelter of His warm and loving embrace.

The yatra culminated at the Gandhi Lawns where the Lord received a rousing welcome from His devotees! There, the assembled devotees were addressed to by H. G. Bala Govinda Prabhu. First of all he led a sweet recitation of the Sri Jagannathashtakam. In his lecture he covered the historical significance of the Ratha Yatra and its significance to all of us today, that of pulling the ratha with the mood of pulling Lord Jagannath into our hearts. Then he explained the philosophy of ISKCON in simple words and also mentioned how ISKCON does two kinds of activities – internal and external. Internal (or hidden) activities are those that deal with the purification of the soul through the study of Vedic scriptures, chanting of the holy name, and other devotional activities. External activities are those like the “Food for Life” free food program, and others. After that he briefly mentioned about the upcoming new Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra ISKCON temple in Kondhwa. He explained how the temple will be like a university (by conducting courses based on the Vedic scriptures), a hospital (by helping people get rid of the material disease of forgetfulness of the Lord), and a house (in which everyone can take shelter of their original father’s home). He ended the lecture by a kind request to all present to help in some way or the other to build this temple for the Lord. The evening ended with sweet kirtans and of course dinner prasadam.

Surely the Jagannath Ratha Yatra will bestow all auspiciousness on the city of Pune and especially on those who were fortunate enough to be part of it that day. Jai Jagannath! Jai Srila Prabhupada!

(above : Jagannath! Baladeva! Subhadra!)

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Drive Out This Sinister Darkness!

Dear All,

What is better? A hundred years of abject poverty? Living on the streets or in the slums, being kicked around by the affluent, cheated off the basic necessities of life due to the greedy mentality of the others, getting no medical attention, with family members dying of hunger or cold, with no assurance of the next meal, a life full of darkness, hopelessness, and despair… Or, a life with all the basic bodily necessities fulfilled, a little bit left over for some modest luxury, kids going to school, nothing grand but a nice social acceptance, nothing enviable but a little self esteem, a life of dignity and with at least a little something to look forward to.

The answer is quite obvious, isn’t it. A life of dignity is undoubtedly better than a life of despair. Then why not help those whose lives are in despair and help them lead a life of dignity. Nothing stupendous, but at least better than hellish. Lets therefore do some social work! So they say…

Now consider another even simpler question. Which is better? A miserable hellish life of a hundred years followed by an eternity of unbridled pure bliss. Or, a hundred years of a life of dignity followed by another hundred years of a life with no guarantee of any lasting happiness and a certainty of many miseries followed by another hundred years of a life with no guarantee of happiness and a certainty of many miseries … and so on for eternity.

Again, the answer is obvious. A hundred years of hellish life is not too much of a price to pay for an eternity of sublime unlimitedly blissful life. So then, why do pro social work people pose the same following question again and again – Why are you talking about spirituality if they don’t even have food to eat and clothes of wear and a roof to sleep under? As if these were the more basic needs of the self than is spirituality. No! The most basic need of the self is spirituality. Because self means spirit and not body! Then why do they ask this question? Out of ignorance. Ignorance. Ignorance of the Truth.

The person who helps the soul but not the body is clearly better than the one who helps the body and not the soul. That is quite clear from the above discussion. So this is the principle. Now coming to practicality. And this doesn’t mean diluting the principle as many end up doing under this pretext. Practicality should refer to the day-to-day hands on process that will take one progressively closer to attaining the principle in actuality.

They ask – how can an empty stomach take to spirituality? A spiritually advanced person can surely do without much food because he has gone so much away from the bodily concept of his identity, but surely a spiritually bankrupt hungry person can never think that spirituality is more important than food. Agreed. But then, we are not advocating that one must not feed the hungry, but that it is not enough at all, if you see the bigger picture. Don’t they see that we are also aware of this question and we also understand this point? But just because of that we do not throw spirituality out of the window! Do they think that those who are propagating Krishna Consciousness are so dumb that they cannot understand this simpe point which even the most foolish person can understand?

So what is our program? Give everyone eternal blissful life and not just a hundred years of mediocre life with an uncertain eternity not taken into consideration. How? Educate everybody indiscriminately, and especially the leaders of the society – present as well as the potential future ones – about the Truth. And thus, by empowering them with the strength of knowledge mobilize the influential to influence others in a way such that everyone gets an eternal blissful life after their present more or less miserable life of a hundred years. Is it very difficult to understand that if the influential are illuminated by and convinced about the spiritual Truth, they will do more real social welfare work than those who are working towards the same goal (of social welfare) but in the darkness of ignorance? Can action in ignorance ever produce the same results consistently that are produced by action in knowledge? Is there any doubt as to which results will be more favorable?

And therefore, we have to preach. Preach! Preach! And drive away this deadly sinister darkness of ignorance by the torchlight of divine knowledge, the knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Hare Krishna World!

Dear All,

H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu, a disciple of H. H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj, is a priest who conducts the various samskaras like weddings in a purely Vaishnava way. Apart from that, as a service to Srila Prabhupada, he also is involved in a lot of printing activities. Some of you might be aware of the small books that have recently come out which are based on lectures by H. H. Radhanath Swami. Those books have been published by H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu. In addition to that he keeps publishing papers etc. Many senior devotees like H. H. Lokanath Swami and H. G. Radheshyam Prabhu very much appreciate his work.

Recently, he has started the publication of a fortnightly newspaper called the Hare Krishna World. The issues will contain news from all over the ISKCON world. Its yearly subscription charge is Rs. 70 only. It is my sincere request to you all that if possible kindly subscribe to this newspaper. Not only that, please popularize this newspaper by asking your aquaintances to subscribe for it too.

Anyone who is interested in subscribing for this newspaper may please mail me at toleyabhijit [at] yahoo [dot] com with the subject line "Hare Krishna World Subscription". I will then co-ordinate with H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu and let you know the relevant details.

Thanks a lot.

Yours in the service of Krishna,

Abhijit.

The Ecstatic Goa Yatra!

(above : A scene from Goa)

December 07, 2007.

Hare Krishna!

Goa Yatra? Goa and Yatra are two words that don’t go together. Not unless there are devotees of the Lord involved! Yes, a couple of days ago I returned from my most ecstatic Goa trip yet. I will describe the whole trip in some detail in the following words (and still some details might get left out), but let me first mention the names of two outstanding personalities who have won my heart many times over. H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu who has very kindly accepted me as his counselee, and H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu who had very kindly come to be the priest for the wedding ceremony. In the course of my narration below, I will extol the glories of these two glorious soldiers of Srila Prabhupada’s army. An ecstatic trek up the hill through lush green vegetation and menacing large spiders, and an invigorating wedding ceremony are all part of the narrative below. Read on!

Wedding ceremony? Yes! The wedding ceremony of our dear Shubham Prabhu!Shubham Prabhu had very humbly invited many Vaishnavas to his wedding. Looking at his humility and simplicity everyone was very eager to honor his invitation by attending the wedding. Even those who could not come had sent their sincere wishes to Shubham Prabhu. So, what started off as a trip to Goa for attending a Vaishnava’s wedding, ended up being a two-day yatra beautified no end by the most blissful wedding ceremony of Shubham Prabhu in the presence of quite a few exalted Vaishnavas.

We boarded the bus to Goa at around 1730 on Dec 02. Along with us on the bus were a few unfortunate hippy-like people most probably associated with some bogus organization. When the bus stopped at night at some eating place, we all got down to honor some Prasadam. I saw these hippies that time again and was wondering just how great Prabhupada is. Without him so many hippies like the one I was seeing would have gone to the worst kind of hell and would never have come close to salvation. I was really feeling quite disgusted at the sight off these unfortunate ladies who were smoking. But this is not where this story ends! When I entered the bus again, I was almost shocked to see that these ladies were holding Srila Prabhupada’s books! “Beyond Birth and Death” and two others. H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu had handed them those books. They were saying “we will keep just one”, but Jai Narsimha Prabhu told them “you can keep them all without paying for them”. I remember mentioning to Amol Katkar Prabhu how I was condemning these hippies, but Jai Narsimha Prabhu didn’t condemn them but instead showered on them his compassion by giving them the books. Time bombs! Later I was talking to Jai Narsimha Prabhu about this and he said “Ya, they are from Czechoslovakia… who knows next time they might come across H. H. Indradyumna Maharaj somewhere in Europe and might remember these books and might become devotees…”

H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu is a massive book distributor. Wherever he goes, he carries books with him to distribute. He looks upon every situation as one in which to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. How glorious! More of his glories are yet to come. Hold your breath and read on!

In the bus Amol Prabhu and I had very nice discussion on the Bhagavad Gita verse ‘karmany eva adhikarste…’. We also sang a few Vaishnav songs before falling asleep. It was a sleeper bus. We alighted from the bus at around 0730 the next day in Madgaon. Shubham Prabhu and his dad had come to receive us! That was really very kind of them. They had also arranged a Qualis (a big 4-wheeler) for us to move around in Goa. And boy, didn’t we really use it well! The Qualis took us to the Ramanath Temple. It’s a beautiful Vaishnav temple. The deities are Sri Sri Laxmi Narayan and Sri Ramanath (Lord Siva). The wedding was to be held in the same temple the next day and our living arrangements had also been made in that temple. Very nice arrangements too.

(above : Ramanath Temple)

(above : The pond in the Laxmi Narasimha Temple)

At 1030, we all were ready for the day and after eating something, we boarded the Qualis. Then we went to three beautiful Vishnu Temples. First we went to the Sri Sri Laxmi Narsimha Temple in Velling (?). We spent quite some time there. We sang Narsimha Prayers. It’s a very beautiful temple. We also got the opportunity to witness the dressing up of Their Lordships. In the temple is a fresh water kunda (pond) which creates a very serene atmosphere. The water is crystal clear and comes from a natural spring through a “gomukh” (the opening is shaped like a cow’s mouth). Next we visited the Mahalasa Devi Temple in Mardol. Mahalasa is the Mohini Murti incarnation of Vishnu who had come during the Sagar Manthan (the great churning of the ocean) to bewilder the demons and retain the nectar with the demigods). Then we visited a very beautiful Balaji Temple which is situated in a very picturesque setting surrounded by beautiful green trees all around. After a long time I saw beautiful butterflies flying from one flower to another in the bright sunshine. I painfully realized how bereft we are as city dwellers from this enchanting beauty of Mother Nature. How lifeless are our surroundings in the city. How much away from reality are we who have created such big cities just to fulfill the animalistic necessities of our lives which are already freely available in nature. Oh, how grateful we must be to His Divine Grace for giving us the opportunity to transcend all this and go back home, back to Godhead where everything is infinitely more beautiful than we can ever imagine even in our wildest dreams. Jai Srila Prabhupada!

Our next destination was the ISKCON center in Goa! There, the associated devotees welcomed us very warmly. We were feeling right at home as soon we were amongst them. I have recently traveled a lot and in whichever part of the world I go, as soon as I am amongst devotees, I feel as if I have known them for years. This gives us a glimpse into spiritual relationships. They are ever fresh and all blissful. In the ISKCON center we met a brahmachari from Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple (Chowpatty, Mumbai, India) named H. G. Madhavendra Puri Prabhu. Madhavendra Puri Prabhu (disciple of HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj) had come to Goa to conduct a lot of preaching sessions all over Goa. He will start visiting Goa more often now and its only a matter of time before Goa become highly Krishna Conscious!

We also met Brijesh Prabhu in the ISKCON center. He was very excited about the new temple land that ISKCON Goa has recently acquired. Some land owner has donated 8 acres of land free of cost. This is surely an auspicious omen and indicates that the Lord has mercifully glanced over Goa now. This land and the presence of Chowpatty devotees… I have no doubts in my mind about the bright future of the land of Goa.

We had an absolutely delicious lunch Prasadam feast there, served on banana leaves. Whats more, Brijesh Prabhu was so kind and enthusiastic that he took us to the new land! It was an experience of a lifetime! The land is in the middle of the town and yet seems to be in a faraway place. Our car took us to the base of a hill and the rest of the way we had to hike up quite steep hill. The whole climb was through a beautiful plantation with lush green tall trees. The whether was very nice too, bright and sunny and not too hot. Quite ideal for hiking. On the way we encountered nice streams of clear running water that produced that sweet and intoxicating sound. We also encountered large and menacing looking (3 inch diameter) spiders with their large (around 2 meter diameter) webs spread out. It was quite a hair raising sight let me tell you.

(above : A big spider!)

When we finally reached the top we were greeted by the beautiful sight of the ISKCON land spread in front of our eyes. Lot of it was covered by golden grass glistening and waving in the breeze. Immediately vague sights of the future temple rose in my mind and I felt ecstatic. The land right now is untouched by human hand and thus looks quite charming. Presently, there is only a bamboo frame of a kutir (a hut like structure) on the land. Gradually things will start coming up there.

(above : The bamboo framework of a kutir on the new ISKCON Goa land)

(above : H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu -- ever fresh and energetic!)

After coming down from the land, Amol Prabhu and I went to BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. Amol Prabhu had to meet a relative there. We had to catch two buses to reach there and we had no idea how we were going to come back. Public transportation is not as good in Goa as in other states. While we had gone there, the other devotees went to the Kolwa beach to satisfy the kids that were with us. Even on the bus I met some boys who had studied in Pune and one of them had even attended ISKCON Pune’s programs. In BITS, we met a boy who is doing his graduation in Physics and is very much interested in Quantum Mechanics. Amol Prabhu talked with him there about papers on Quantum physics by Rasaraj Prabhu (who is both a highly respected scientist and a disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, and therefore presents the Vedic perspective in highly intellectual forums like amongst Nobel laureates) and about the Bhagavatam and about the descending way of gaining knowledge. At around 1930 we got a call from Jai Narsimha Prabhu and to our great joy he told us that they will soon come there to pick us up! Krishna’s arrangement! That’s the first thing that came to our mind :-)

The Qualis then took us to the house of H. G. Baladev Anand Prabhu. He is a very senior devotee and is also a lawyer. At his house we met quite a few sweet Goan devotees and it really was a heart warming experience. We had an ecstatic kirtan there and an equally ecstatic dinner Prasadam feast! We reached back to the Ramnath temple at around 2230.

(above : Heart warming meeting with devotees in H. G. Baladev Anand Prabhu's home)

The next day was December 04. The wedding day! We got up early and chanted our rounds in the main temple hall. One can feel strong spiritual vibrations in that temple and they were strengthened by the early morning time. When I was on my 16th round, we saw H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu! He had just arrived from Sawantawadi (a small town around 55 km from Goa). When Shubham Prabhu had gone to invite Jai Narsimha Prabhu to his wedding, Jai Narsimha Prabhu had suggested that Shubham Prabhu should request Vishnulok Prabhu to be the priest for his wedding. And after a little hesitation, Shubham Prabhu accepted this. And let me tell you, it might turn out to be the most important decision in his life! To have ones wedding conducted by a Vaishnava is not an ordinary thing. Thus, here is one more reason why Shubham Prabhu would be so grateful towards H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu.

(above : LtoR : H. G. Amol Katkar Prabhu, H. G. Vishnalok Prabhu, H. G. Adbhuta Krishna Prabhu)

H. G. Vishnulok Prabhu (resident of Belgaum) is a disciple of H. H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj. He had come with H. G. Adbhuta Krishna Prabhu (resident of Sawantawadi), a disciple of H. H. Lokanath Swami Maharaj. Vishnulok Prabhu’s occupation is to be a Brahmin priest. That’s all he does as an occupation and makes a modest living out of it. Not only that, he also does a lot of printing work for ISKCON (fyi : he doesn’t own a press). Recently he has started printing a fortnightly newspaper named “Hare Krishna World”! Its yearly subscription fee is Rs. 70. The issues will contain news from all over the ISKCON world. I request the reader to kindly subscribe to this newspaper and help spread the glories of Lord Chaitanya’s mission all over the world. For any enquiries regarding this, please mail me at (toleyabhijit [at] yahoo [dot] com). Vishnulok Prabhu lives on a farm in Belgaum and travels all over India to conduct samskaras like weddings in a purely Vaishnava fashion. Earlier he used to do karma-kanda ceremonies but since he has come into Krishna Consciousness, he has stopped all that and now only does purely Vaishnava ceremonies. He is very busy with all the printing work and his other appointments. Let us all help him in whatever way we can to spread the mission Lord Gauranga.

(above : The first issue of the fortnightly newspaper - Hare Krishna World!)

(above : The Yajnya)

As soon as Vishnulok Prabhu entered the wedding scene, he was the center of all attraction. He quietly and expertly and without any fuss set up the yajnya. When he started speaking in the mike, everyone’s attention was riveted to what he was saying… especially after he once explicitly requested everybody to maintain shanti (peace). During the course of the ceremony, he recited the Brahma Samhita, some verses from the Bhagavatam, some verses from Sri Chaitanya Shikshashtakam, and so on. During the intervals in which he was not reciting anything, he asked us devotees to do kirtans! After the end of the ceremony we received appreciation from a lot of guests. I was very happy that the magic of Krishna Consciousness once again enchanted everyone present. I was happy that somehow or other I was part of the show and in an insignificant way helped propagate Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

(above : H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu managed to sell almost all of these books!)

After the ceremony, lunch was served. And there Jai Narsimha Prabhu set up a table with Srila Prabhupada’s books! Vishnulok Prabhu also setup a table with the books he had brought. By this time we had won over the hearts of so many guests that the book stalls were not at all out of place. In fact, most of the books got sold! H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu ki Jai! Srila Prabhupada Transcendental Book Distribution ki Jai!

Before ending this narrative let me also mention that Jai Narsimha Prabhu only eats fruits and boiled vegetables and other such things most of the year! And even with this diet, he is the most energetic of all, young or old. It is quite amazing. Also, he does so much himself that when I am around him I feel inspired and energized to do something for Srila Prabhupada! I am very glad that he has kindly accepted me as one of his counselees. Later while coming back, he sold two more Prabhupada books to one of the co-passengers in the bus :-)

As I lied down in the bus (sleeper bus) alongside Srinivas Prabhu, I reflected on the beautiful experience we had in the previous two days. We started glorifying H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada, Lord Chaitanya! We felt so grateful that we were part of the most special movement ever. And ultimately we agreed that all what we were saying, was but the glorification of His Divine Grace Srila Abhay Charanarvinda BhaktiVedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada!

All Glories All Glories All Glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada!

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.