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.

Bygone Times

November 04, 2007.

It is Sunday evening in the middle of the Diwali Vacation. I have just returned from a nearby Botanical Garden, a typical family park where Sunday evenings are full of small children just freely enjoying themselves on the various play toys while the elders just sit around and relax. Some children were sliding down slides, some were swinging on swings, and some were just running around behind each other. The air was full of shouts and screams punctuating the general background of the loud murmuring sound made up of the various voices. The dust raised by all the playing kids permeated the air all around along with its typical fragrance.

The whole scene took me back to my childhood days which I have spent just like a lot of other children born in middle class families in India. I have grown up playing a lot of cricket and a lot of other sports. And typically, in school days, evening time is the play time! Lot of evenings I have spent playing my heart out and then later sitting around with buddies chatting away long into the night. It was one of our favorite pastimes. And therefore, the dusty fragrance of the evening and its feel are very much synonymous to those childhood memories of mine. In the garden today those memories were evoked just a little bit. But what really struck me was the unbridled fun the small kids were having.

Alas! Time waits for no one and its only a matter of time that these days whiz past us. Suddenly, one day some sights and sounds and smells evoke the memories of those bygone days and we start wishing that we were little kids again. Why? We long to experience once again that stress free life in which we are not entangled in the mesh of responsibilities that is so typical of adult life. When we are kids, we go to the park and just play to our heart’s content because we are not anxious about anything. We are totally dependent on our parents for everything, with full innocent faith that they will provide whatever is required for our well being. But as soon as we grow up we are expected to “stand on our own feet”. Now, we are expected to not be dependent on others, but others depend on us in one way or the other. That’s one way of saying that we are put into some kind of responsible position in which we are accountable to someone or the other for whatever we do. We are no longer free to do whatever we want and leave the rest to our parents. Our freedom is lost! So we yearn once again to become a kid who is fully dependent on the mercy of his parents and who has full innocent faith in their benevolence.

Well, what all I have written above is not really something new. One will find such a stream of thoughts in a lot of mundane literature which does talk a lot of times in a very nostalgic way about the passing away of good times. I have read a lot, and “bygone times” is quite a recurring theme in most popular literature. And in most of them one thing is common in one form or another – sorrow that that which was once, now is no more. While reading a lot, I observed that most of the very successful popular literature, prose or poetry, is based on some past or present sorrow. I reasoned that this was because sorrow is the strongest emotion felt by human beings, more acute that any kind of joy could evoke. This reasoning though sounded correct, was also a bit depressing. To figure out that the sorrows of life are more of a reality than the joys is not a pleasant discovery. But it must be true, otherwise why has the world not produced at least one compelling literature that is all about ever expanding joy? I know of great tragedies (in literature) but I don’t know of any great good fortune stories. I was really curious to find at least one literature that is based not on sorrow but on joy.

Lord Krishna has stamped this material world in the Bhagavad Gita as a temporary place full of misery. Indeed, one of the reasons of the misery in this material is its temporary nature. That which is dear to us will inevitably be separated from us sooner or later. Everyone is either lamenting for what he has lost or is fearful of losing what he currently possesses. The knowledge of the temporal nature of everything material in itself is not sufficient to give anyone happiness though. This knowledge alone can only depress one further and produce a negative outlook towards life in the knower. It is indeed better sometimes to have no knowledge instead of partial. Since most people only know this partial truth and do not know the solution to this problem, they tend to totally ignore the problem and try to cover it up by a lot of temporary pleasures pretending to be happy. Or they make mental adjustments and try to become indifferent to this partial truth which they consider as the ultimate. All this generally leads to the hedonistic self-destructive tendencies that are quite common in the modern man. This then is the plight of those bereft of the knowledge of the Supreme Absolute Truth – the eternal, all knowing, ever blissful Personality of Godhead - Lord Sri Krishna!

The other part of the knowledge that this material world is a place of a temporal nature is that there exists a place which is eternal and where the effect of time is conspicuous only by its absence. There the little baby Krishna never grows old and always immerses His mother Yashoda in an ocean of transcendental ecstatic maternal love. There the cowherd boy friends of Krishna never stop playing with Krishna in the forests and plains of Vrindavan. There everything is ever fresh and new. There is no question of becoming nostalgic about bygone good times because there time never goes by! Not only that, there everyone is a soul surrendered unto Krishna and is totally dependent on the mercy of Krishna without any pretensions about ones own position as the dependent. This then is similar to a small child’s total dependence on the benevolence of his parents and thus all the souls in the spiritual world experience unlimited freedom as explained earlier in this article. Of course, in the higher mellows of devotional service, this dependence on Krishna is covered up by Krishna’s mystical YogaMaya potency so that Krishna can enjoy beautiful intimate relationships with His surrendered devotees thus giving them and Himself immense joy. But this forgetfulness of dependence on Krishna is different from the forgetfulness of the pretentious souls of the material world. Having this complete knowledge does not depress one in this material world but inspires one to transcend the limitations of material existence and attain the spiritual world.

My curiosity about a literature based on ever increasing joy found its fruition when I came across the Srimad Bhagavatam. This is one great literature which speaks about the glorious qualities and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His unalloyed devotees. This literature was compiled on the basis of complete knowledge and quite fittingly is thus full of ever increasing transcendental joy. Thus, ignorance is only temporary bliss, partial knowledge is quite dangerous, and complete knowledge is complete eternal bliss.

Thus, this glorious movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada is providing me all that I always sought. My quest for the sublime has ended in my most fortunate discovery of His Divine Grace. Well, the quest might have ended but the journey has just begun. I have to go a long long way yet to attain the ultimate goal of life – Love of God, Krishna Prem!

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Perception Depends On Consciousness

Hare Krishna!

Dear All,

Perception depends on consciousness. More elaborately, how much subtlety one perceives depends on how elevated that person’s consciousness is. Or, what one perceives and what not depends on the nature of the consciousness of that person. This is one of the many principles a practicing devotee knows subconsciously. However, what is required is to bring these principles more to the forefront by contemplating on them rather than just let them float somewhere in vast ocean of the subconscious. In this article, I will give form to my own contemplation on this principle and try to present how it promises to help me a lot both as a practicing devotee and as a preacher.

I read this principle recently in a diary of a devotee which he had written while in Vrindavan. He wrote something to the effect that he could perceive the sublimity of Sri Sri Radha Kunda better after he had chanted a few rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra because the chanting had raised his consciousness to a higher level. He remarked, “Perception depends on consciousness”.

However, one more event happened that led me into a contemplative mood and thus eventually led to this article. I was preaching to a person and he was very agitated about the cleanliness rule that one should take a bath after clearing the bowels. For devotees its quite a common sense practice. But that person was contending why the emphasis on a bath when any decently hygienic person would anyway wash his hands and legs after the activity. Why the insistence on the bath? This is quite illogical, unscientific, and bordering on fanaticism. That’s what he thought.

As a lover of philosophy and as a seeker of the Absolute Truth, I rarely think too much about the day-to-day practices we are instructed to practice as part of our devotional life. I am generally more prepared to answer deeper philosophical questions than the question “Why should I take a bath after evacuating? Isn’t washing hands and legs with soap enough?” However, I have subsequently realized that this is also a philosophical question, if not a very deep one!

Taking a bath, especially with cold water, cleanses the mind to a large extent. That’s why it is recommended that after any activity that pollutes the mind, one must take a bath. This obviously does not obviate taking a bath after physically sullying activities. After a nap, the mind is full of dreamy thoughts. Similarly, after evacuating, the mind and senses are prone to be polluted by unwelcome sights and sounds and smells. Those impressions won’t go away by washing the hands and legs by soap. But they will definitely go away after a cold water bath. This then answers that person’s question.

This thought process and the earlier thoughts about perception and consciousness combined together and gave me food for thought and contemplation that eventually led to some nice realizations. This also illustrates one very important aspect of our devotional life. That both things are equally important if one wants to realize the truths of the scriptures. One, read scriptures a lot. Two, preach by telling others what you read. The dynamics that ensue will definitely lead the contemplative to realizations.

So, how does perception depend on consciousness? Some examples will easily illustrate this point. Consider a person who is sleeping soundly at 2 am in the night. Will he perceive too many things happening around him? No, because his consciousness at that point is very much covered by the influence of the mode of ignorance, or in simpler words, by sleep. But when that person awakes, he will definitely perceive more things. This clearly illustrates how a covered consciousness allows only a very little perception. This is quite a gross, although appropriate, example but it sets the scene for the examples to come.

Not only is there difference in the consciousness of a sleeping person and that of a person who is awake, but also in the consciousness of two persons who are both awake. Suppose a family is going from one place to another in a car. The driver will definitely be more aware of what is happening on the road in front of him than the others. The driver will perceive more minute changes in the motion of the vehicles around him than will the others. Thus, in this sense, the driver is more conscious than the others. The others’ consciousness is covered by the sense of security that the driver will take care of the driving and that they need not worry about it.

Here is another example from day-to-day life. I was on the terrace of my office enjoying the beautiful Indian winter whether when I saw a person smoking. How will he perceive the crisp freshness of the air? He is surrounded by the smoke emanating from his own mouth! Even his senses are covered.

Similarly, consider that you are going to write an exam and in your hurry you trip over and fall. It hurts. But you don’t have any time to worry about it right now. You go in the exam hall, write the exam, and come out after 3 hours. And then it really starts to hurt! Why? Because now your mind is no longer engrossed in the exam. It has just realized that you are hurt and only then does it really start hurting. Quite a practical example of how perception (of the pain in this case) depends on consciousness (which was immersed in the exam in this example).

So, we have now established that our senses and consciousness can be covered by different gross or subtle coverings which determine the degree of our perceptiveness in various circumstances. We can also understand that not only can the consciousness be of different degrees (like sleeping versus waking), it can also be of aspects of reality (pain versus exam). As devotees, our choices are quite clear. We have to become more and more conscious of the Absolute Reality Krishna. This will automatically adjust all other combinations to their optimal levels.

Thus, as practicing devotees, we need to constantly endeavor to develop our consciousness in such a way that we ultimately perceive Krishna everywhere. That will definitely be the stage of total perfection, total Krishna Consciousness. The Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna is also known as Adhokshaja – one who is beyond sense perception! Therefore, it is clear that we need to raise our consciousness beyond the mundane sphere into the transcendental. This requires constant endeavor on our part and ultimately the mercy of Krishna that comes through His pure devotees.

As a preacher too it is important to remember this principle of perception and consciousness. One has to preach according to the level of consciousness of the audience. How bathing clears the mind off dreamy or unwelcome impressions cannot be perceived by a person who is totally on the gross bodily platform and who isn’t even aware of his own mind. First, we should try to raise the consciousness of the audience and then on that raised platform give the appropriate instructions. In fact, giving a higher instruction to a person of lower consciousness can quite often be counter productive. The listener might start considering the preacher as illogical, unscientific, and fanatic.

Apart from what all I have written above about perception and consciousness, I have also realized quite a few general principles from this recent contemplation of mine. Here is a brief summary. Read scripture and preach it. This will generate a lot of food for thought. Contemplate on it. This will lead to a lot of realizations. And most importantly, don’t forget to discuss the realizations with senior devotees. For those who rejoice in the knowledge of the Absolute Truth, this is the magic formula for success!

Hare Krishna!

Your in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

The Diary of a Travelling Abhijit -- USA : October 02-15, 2007.

0648, October 03, 2007
Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando, Florida

Background Music : Narration of Sri Brahma Samhita (with translations) by H. G. Dravida Prabhu.

This is the first time since I left office (Pune), that I have got some time to write. I left Pune office at 1600 in a taxi (Innova) and reached the Mumbai International Airport at around 2030. Along the way I heard lectures by H. G. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu. At the airport, I read “Salted Bread” by H. G. Sarvabhavana Prabhu. More about this book some other day.

It is my first time to the US, or for that matter, to any other foreign country. I love to travel and a few years ago I was madly fascinated about foreign travel. I used to gorge on travel documentaries on TV channels like The National Geographic and the Discovery. I used to long for traveling all over the world... so much so that it hurt. Such is the evil of material desire. To become mad for something external which one knows without doubt that even if achieved, is going to last for only an insignificant fraction of the time spent in obtaining it. On the contrary, spiritual desire itself is its fulfillment! Immediately. Because the process and goal of the spiritual path are both the same –- always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna. All visible manifest activities in devotional service are a side effect of this essential principle -- always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna.

I was quite relaxed all the way through. Even at the airports, where the documents are checked a lot of times by the airport authorities. Generally, such checks evoke a feeling of nervousness similar to the one that one experiences before an academic examination. Its as if I have just traveled from Pune to Mumbai or Delhi, not thousands of miles away from India. Well, that’s how it should be ideally, and I am glad it is so with me. But still, I must say, that I am quite impressed. Not by myself, but by this glorious unparalleled Krishna Consciousness movement started by none other that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Gauranga and distributed indiscriminately by His purest servant and lover Srila A. C. BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada.

I reached Orlando after changing my flight at New York city. At the John F. Kennedy International Airport (NYC), I had time enough to chant quite a few rounds. Rest of them I completed on the flight. At Orlando airport, I found that my luggage had gone to Atlanta and was coming from there in the next flight. So we waited at the Orlando airport for an hour or so. I used this good opportunity to take quite a few snaps. I must say that it’s an impressive airport. After a 30 minute cab ride (with a very talkative and informative cab driver), we reached the Royal Pacific Resort at the heart of the Universal Studios. I had come to attend a 3 day technical conference.

The hotel is quite beautiful. The construction is old style and more like a castle than an ultra modern super structure. I’ll let the snaps do the talking about that. 1900 to 2100 we were supposed to be at a ballroom where the various exhibits were setup and food was laid out. If one can call it food.

I was greeted by a strong un-ignorable aroma (stench) of some eatables. When I went close, I saw a roasted pig lying on the table. Also heard someone mention beef. All this quite put me off. After hanging around for a few minutes I returned to my room and caught up on my sleep. I woke up today at 0415 and after a bath started chanting at 0437. After finishing chanting at around 0630, I started writing this diary.

Abhijit
0730, October 03, 2007

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0558, October 05, 2007
Royal Pacific Resort, Orlando, Florida

After I wrote my last diary entry (on October 03), I went to the conference area and executed my various professional duties. These included visiting the various “innovation exhibits” and attending the various lecture sessions. I think this conference was very helpful to me professionally and perhaps to most others who attended. My vision of what my company does has expanded. Also, I now have a much better feel of what innovation is. In fact, that’s not surprising because innovation is one such thing that is understood more and more with experience. It has surely motivated me to actively start looking out for innovative ideas myself. Apart from that, the sessions by the leaders of the company like the CEO and heads of the various business units have given me a feel of how important it is for all of us to be innovating continuously and always executing efficiently to keep our company in a strong position in our business market. All this was a reminder to me once again that I am part of an important strategic operation that is running the company and battling against the various forces that naturally oppose our progress in the highly competitive environment of modern international business of which I am a small part of.

As is quite obvious, such conferences are full of the mode of passion. And mixed to a large extent with the mode of ignorance. I find that in this technical conference, it is accepted as a matter of fact that enjoyment means liquor. And perhaps meat eating is considered like breathing air. No second thoughts. The last two days I hardly found anything that I could eat. Both these days I had bread crumps, half a bun, salad, some sauce, cheese, and butter for lunch. Even in that I am not sure whether I have eaten what I am not supposed to. Rest of the “food” was quite unmentionable. Thanks to my mom who had sent with me a lot of home made snacks -- chiwda, gul poli (jaggery roti), laddu (sweet balls). Apart from this H. G. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu had given me some cookies too! With all this support, I am doing quite fine here in this land of illusion and delusion. And I am beginning to understand what it means to eat just 3 slices of salted bread every day for 730 days in a prison where rats weighing 5 kg are hosts rather than guests. My most humble obeisances to the Russian devotees who took unimaginable pains so that Lord Chaitanya’s mission could flourish all over the world. How dear will they be to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? And what can be a more successful life than that? (For more, read “Salted Bread” by H. G. Sarvabhavana Prabhu).

Its very easy to get carried away with the rest when in such a hostile (to Krishna Consciousness) environment. Everyone (most) is eating meat and drinking as if that’s the most natural thing to do. Apart from this mode of ignorance, the mode of passion is the norm throughout. This is a very high profile technical conference. A lot of the best talent from the company is here. Plus yesterday there was a keynote lecture by a co-founder of one of the most successful and in-the-news company now-a-days. The day before yesterday we heard from our CEO. All these people are very attractive materially. They have achieved what young technologists dream of. Technical accomplishments, fame, wealth, respect. And they still have the motivation for doing more. All this and the general setting -- the 5 star hotel, the swimming pools, the grand halls, the stylish presentations, the engineers turning up in shorts, the awards and recognitions, the bright lights, the energetic music, and so on… -- totally makes one forget the goal of life.

This trip to the US and especially to this high profile conference has opened my eyes to Prabhupada’s instruction of “Chant 16 rounds and follow 4 regulative principles”. If it were not for these regulations, I would not have been able to remain very Krishna Conscious for long. The 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare are the life force of a practicing devotee. This is what keeps one rooted to where one belongs. This is what reminds us of the goal of life. This is what immunizes us from the forces of Maya. And to the extent we take shelter of these nectarean Holy Names, to that extent we will be safe. Otherwise, it just takes one uncontrolled sense to carry us away on a journey of no return. Just imagine, in this conference, just how easy it is for one to just pick up a piece of meat and taste it? How easy it is to just take a sip of wine? How easy it is to switch on the TV behind the closed door of the hotel room and indulge in unbridled sense gratification? No one will no the difference and no one will really care and most probably one will get encouragement for doing all this! In such a dangerous place, one can easily plant in oneself the seed of sense gratification which looks quite harmless in the beginning but will quite soon grow into a wild creeper that entangles one in the inescapable web of uncontrolled desires for sense gratification.

This is the last day of the conference and thankfully soon I will return to a more conservative lifestyle. I’ll still be in the US for another 8-9 days but surely it wont be in such an extravagant setting. Moreover, the coming days hold a lot of promise. I will be meeting devotees! Let me tell you that that is a really happy feeling. I am also very eager to go to a temple and take darshan of my dear Lord Krishna. I really am looking forward to that.

Just to conclude this diary entry, I must say that events in the last week or so have given me a lot of food for thought. Just before coming to the US, I had attended a team building workshop which I found quite wonderful. And then this conference which was also quite good professionally. It wont be uncommon that I would have to attend such events as I keep growing in my professional career. I have to now learn how to handle the bombardment of the mode of passion from such events. How to take away from these only that that will help me professionally and yet will also enhance me spiritually, or at least wont hurt me spiritually. This looks like quite a tough problem. But I am sure I will find someone to discuss this with. ISKCON has no dearth of devotees who are doing great materially and yet are quite untouched by it as is evident by their spiritual exploits.

Hare Krishna!

Abhijit.
0715, October 05, 2007.

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0942, October 06, 2007
Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia

I am sitting in a noisy terminal of this massive (and the world’s busiest) Atlanta airport. All the noise is coming from that most annoying one-eyed modern guru – the television. And whats more, its blaring out its most useless and distracting shows – the news. In the last one hour or so I have heard about a sportsperson owning up some illegal activity which might cost the athlete some Olympic gold medals, about a 15 year old girl attempting to escape the police pleading (screaming) innocence all the while, about a bill that is being considered in the parliament whether to pass or not, about how better to avoid junk email, about whether a particular insurance company was right in not paying the insurance money to some of its customers who had had an auto accident… I wanted to chant my remaining 5 rounds here but its just not possible with this most irritating TV show blaring. I will chant on my next flight to San Francisco that will take off at 1110. The good news is that I have just put on loud music on my ears – kirtans! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!

But the last 24 hours have been great! I checked out from the Royal Pacific Resort and checked my yahoo mail the first time after leaving Pune. After that I waited in the hotel’s lobby for H. G. Balaramacharya Prabhu. There was a period of crisis in between when I lost his phone number and thus was only depending on Krishna’s mercy for the both of us to meet without much confusion. As it so happened, I was standing out of the hotel when Balaramacharya Prabhu came and somehow recognized me. We had never met before. Perhaps he saw that I was the only lost looking guy around and guessed that this would be Abhijit :-) Or perhaps Krishna told him from within his heart. With devotees one never knows. Anyways, while waiting for him, I was immersed in reading the book “Salted Bread”… all my mental acrobatics about “how to balance material life and spiritual life?” came to an end. I cannot explain how reading the book caused this to happen… but it did happen.

(I just stopped listening to the kirtans because I don’t want to miss the boarding announcement…)

I was very happy to be with a devotee. We didn’t know each other before this meeting but as it always happens amongst devotees, it felt as if we were old friends.

(started playing the “Festival of India” video. just couldn’t bear the news!)

Balaramacharya Prabhu took me to his house where he stays with two others. One of them is an ISKCON devotee – Ram Prabhu - and the other one also accepts Krishna to be the Supreme though he is not associated with ISKCON. Well, not yet :-) Balaramacharya Prabhu’s association might change all that. I had a bath and guess what? A hot steaming dinner Prasadam was getting cooked! After offering it to the Lord, both of us honoured it. And it really was nectar. It really was.

Can things get better? Devotee association in Orlando, Florida? Well, as a matter of fact, it can. How about a visit to H. H. Trivikrama Swami Maharaj? Yes! Balaramacharya Prabhu took me to the house where Maharaj stays presently. I offered obeisances and he asked me whether I have any question and if not whats the use of coming to a Sanyasi. :-) Well, then I did ask him about the question that was on top of my mind a few hours ago. How to handle the bombardment of the mode of passion. He answered that one can do our work sincerely without getting feverish about it. And always remember this one line – we are eternal but this material world and material body is temporary. He said a few other things too but I wont go into the details here.

I was really feeling very peaceful and relaxed as soon as I was with Balaramacharya Prabhu. It was as if I was back in home territory where it is very normal to be Krishna Conscious. After coming back to the house I slept. Got up today at around 0350. After having a bath we all went again to where Maharaj stays. We attended the Mangal Arati and then left for the Orlando airport. Balaramacharya Prabhu and Ram Prabhu were really rally nice to me and they quite expertly tolerated me. Humble obeisances to them.

(Will continue later.. perhaps in the flight. 1030)

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0637, October 07, 2007
Oakwood Mountain view, California

The sky has just started to light up. I have completed my 16 rounds and am ready for the day. It promises to be a wonderful Sunday since I am going to meet H. G. Jai Nitai Prabhu. He has kindly offered to take me to the Berkeley temple and also give me a tour of San Francisco.

I just want to mention one point. Devotees practicing in the US are very special. The culture here (or the lack of it) is not at all conducive to the mode of goodness. For some reason women here in general like to roam around in shorts (very short shorts) and in general like to flaunt their bodies. Even if they are not very attractive. I am quite perplexed about this. Men here cover more of their bodies than women do. This is my general observation. So far I have stayed in a 5 star hotel and most of the rest of the time on international airports. Perhaps that’s why I have had such observations. Let see what I observe in the next week where I will be leading a more normal life of going to office everyday. Apart from this, the food here is also so much in the mode of ignorance. I took some peanuts on the aeroplane and its ingredients mentioned “onion and garlic powder”. I have started looking at the ingredients of packaged drinking water too! One never knows what they will put in that.

The locality around Oakwood is quite charming. Havent explored it yet but this is my first impression. The whether is also very nice and a little bit chilly. I enjoy this kind of whether.

That’s it for now. More later.

Abhijit.
0653.

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1925, October 09, 2007
Oakwood Mountain view, California

Last Sunday was a very special day. I left my Oakwood apartment around 0730 and walked to the Mountain View Caltrain Railway Station which is about a 10 minute walk. Then I managed to buy a one-way ticket to San Francisco from the vending machine. I inserted in it a $20 bill and got the ticket and the $14.25 change. I had never bought a ticket from a machine before :-). Here was another instance of how faith is required in almost all day-to-day activities. If I had not put faith in the vending machine, I would never have got a ticket.

I boarded the 0819 train. It was quite a comfortable ride. After 1 hour and 14 minutes, at around 0930, I was in San Francisco. I then called H. G. Jai Nitai Prabhu. He came in around 15 minutes. I spent the whole day with him till 2045 in the evening.

Jai Nitai Prabhu is a disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. He is a cab driver. He has a deep understanding of philosophy and his knowledge about spiritual subject matters is extensive. He is a joy to be with. He is soft spoken and grave and light hearted and very wise. He reads a lot and has a deep sense of gratitude towards his spiritual master. He is a Vaishnava. Jai Nitai Prabhu had been working all night the previous night and still he came. He is now-a-days working 6 days-and-nights (with rest in between ofcourse) a week with only Sunday night off. He has to handle the bad association of the typical cab drivers and other similar people he has to interact with. And yet, just like a lotus that grows in the dirt and that remains dry even if there are drops of water on it, Jai Nitai Prabhu is a lotus who is living in the spiritually bankrupt big American city of San Francisco and who is quite untouched by the bad association of the other practitioners of his vocation. What a sweet and touching setting.

Jai Nitai Prabhu offered me a ride through the city of San Francisco. We went to the Golden Gate Bridge and I took a lot of snaps from different vantage points. We saw the very famous Lombard Street and also a monument called the Palace of Fine Arts. We also visited a garage for some errand he had and also visited the place where Jai Nitai Prabhu parks his cab every day after work and then takes his own car to his house in Concorde (if I remember the name right).

We also had lunch together. In a veg restaurant! The restaurant is run be a Chinese (I think) owner who is a disciple of a female guru who has apparently done tapasya in the Himalayas. Their philosophy is close to Buddhism. But at least they seem to believe in vegetarianism. We ate “Tomato Fish” and “Eggplant Curry”. The first dish is actually made of veg ingredients packaged in the shape of a fish and wrapped around in a sea-weed to give it the fish flavour. Jai Nitai Prabhu likes this dish very much though I am not mad after the “fishy” flavour. But I especially enjoyed the eggplant (brinjal) curry that I ate with rice. All the while we were there I could see two ladies on another table. One of them was quite elderly and was wearing a Saree.

The Saree did catch my attention a couple of times. And then suddenly Jai Nitai Prabhu realized that these two were devotees whom he had met earlier! We went over and said Hare Krishna! The elderly lady was… hold your breath… the one who has been taking care of cleaning Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi in Vrindavan for the last quite some years – Her Grace Parvati Devi Dasi Mataji! She is ofcourse a disciple of Srila Prabhupada! It was such a privilege to talk to her. The other Mataji was also no less. She was Her Grace Nirakula Mataji, the wife of His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu – an accomplished book distributor and a Prabhupada man! Both Prabhupada disciples ofcourse. She invited me to the San Jose temple on Wednesday. Vaisesika Prabhu is currently temple president of the San Jose temple. Ofcourse I will try to go.

We also went to the Berkely ISKCON temple – New Jagannath Puri. It is not too big but it is a very beautiful temple. It has got the deities of Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, Sri Sri Jagannath Baladev Subhadra (carved by His Grace Shyamsunder Prabhu), and Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda. We attended the Bhagavad Gita lecture there and then left the temple at around 2015. We reached the San Francisco Caltrain station at around 2045. I said goodbye (Hare Krishna) to Jai Nitai Prabhu and then boarded the 2100 train back to Mountain View. It was around 2240 by the time I reached Oakwood. I was a bit sad that the Berkeley temple doesn’t seem to have a big congregation and also there are not too many Brahmacharis living there. Even preaching activities like Harinaam, college preaching etc. are not going on very strongly. Because there are no Brahmacharis. I really want that everyone realizes the value of Krishna Consciousness and all ISKCON temples should be teeming with enthusiastic devotees all the time. They say that the Los Angeles temple has lot of Brahmacharis.

The last two days were quite eventless. I went to office in the morning, worked a bit, and came back to Oakwood. On Monday I went to lunch with a colleague here to an Indian restaurant where I got aloo-gobi (without onion and garlic) and chapattis. The office is a 20-minute brisk walk away from Oakwood. The whether here has been quite gorgeous these last few days and it really enhanced the pleasure of my San Francisco trip.

Mountain View is a suburb and is quite a laid back place. There is no hustle bustle of city life here. That one can find in San Francisco. So, I was pleasantly surprised with the surroundings. They are quite charming. Only thing missing is Krishna Consciousness. And therefore, its not such a nice place after all :-)

Hare Krishna!
Abhijit.
(Final touches on October 10, 2007, 0815-0839)

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1635, October 13, 2007
Symantec Office, Mountain View, California

Well, if last Sunday was special, today was no less so. I tend to get so much mercy from above that I am ashamed of myself that I am not advancing in devotional service at all despite the mercy. I better rectify the situation and not let go by this wonderful opportunity of going back to the spiritual world. Anyways… Before going into today’s details let me just quickly recap what I did the last few days.

Wednesday, we went on a team lunch here to an Italian restaurant. I managed to find a pizza that had just the right ingredients. One of the other good things about this trip, among the many others, was that now everyone in my Mountain View team knows that I am seriously following ISKCON. I think that’s good preaching for starters. Soon I hope H. G. Vaisesika Prabhu (president of the San Jose Temple) and his army will march into Mountain View and conquer this particular stronghold of Maya. They are making big plans already!

On Thursday, I went for dinner at a colleague’s place. And guess what, we talked a lot about Krishna Consciousness! He is married and with a kid and believes that he is a ‘paapi’ or a sinner because he drinks and eats meat and so on. He was very receptive to what I was telling him and even when I tried to change the subject, he persevered with more questions on Krishna Consciousness and my involvement with it. He did express his desire to someday lead a purer life. I suggested that he can as well start tomorrow! 5 minutes of Hare Krishna chanting every day. I don’t think he will start so soon but hopefully Prabhupada has planted a seed of devotional service in his heart making me the instrument.

On Friday evening, i.e. yesterday evening, I went to meet my elder cousin brother in San Carlos. He is a big shot in the Software industry and is very good at what he does. He is a nice guy, in the colloquial usage of the phrase. I like to spend time with people who are good at what they do because that way I can learn a lot from them about how to achieve my goals efficiently. Most of the techniques and thought processes they apply can be easily applied in our lives and can be directed towards attaining our spiritual goals. Just before coming to the US I had asked His Grace Chaitanya Charan Prabhu about whether we should learn some things from the materialists or not. He replied that we definitely can. In fact, a lot of times materialists are more serious about achieving their material goals than devotees are in achieving their spiritual ones. So, we can learn from the materialists their organization skills and so on. Anyways… My cousin brother stays with his wife, mother, and two kids. They are very rich. They have been staying in the US for a long time. They eat meat and drink wine quite often. They are considered inside our family circles as very high class people.

Later that night, at around 2245, I boarded a caltrain to Lawrence. I reached Lawrence at around 2315 where a couple of devotees had come to pick me up. One of them, Vipul Sutrave Prabhu, I know from Pune. The other, Gourav Malhotra Prabhu, also lives near where Vipul Prabhu stays, and he was kind enough to bring his car to pick me up. As soon as I met him I apologized for bothering him at that odd hour of the night. But just as a true Vaishnava, he was very tolerant and forgiving. That night I slept at his place.

The next day started at 0450 for me when Gourav Prabhu woke me up. After we were done with our bathing, at around 0520 we started Mangal Arati! Gourav Prabhu stays alone and does Mangal Arati everyday at around the same time. Need I say more? I found him to be very mature and rooted very deeply in Krishna Consciousness. I consider it my great good fortune that I now know him. He is aspiring to get initiated by His Holiness Romapada Swami and is also in regular touch with His Grace KrishnaSmaran Prabhu. For those who know H. G. KrishnaSmaran Prabhu, this much introduction of Gourav Prabhu will be enough :-) I will write more about H. G. KrishnaSmaran Prabhu some other day. One thing I can say is that the seriousness about Sadhana that I perceived in the life of Gourav Prabhu is most probably due to his association with His Grace KrishnaSmaran Prabhu. I have a very very high regard for H. G. KrishnaSmaran Prabhu. What to speak of me, great stalwarts like His Grace RadheShyam Prabhu also has tremendous respect for H. G. KrishnaSmaran Prabhu. In fact they are good friends of each other.

Vipul Prabhu soon arrived and after the Narsimha Pranam and Tulasi Arati (yes!) we chanted our rounds. At around 0730 we left for the San Jose ISKCON temple. Sri Sri Radha MadanMohan! It’s a small temple but boy, it is alive and well! From the moment I entered to this moment I am feeling its strong spiritual vibes. When we entered, Brahma Samhita recitation was going on. We also read a long purport of one of the verses of the Brahma Samhita by His Divine Grace Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Srila Prabhupada. We recited a Vaishnav Song by Srila BhaktiVinod Thakur. Then we recited select Bhagavatam verses before the Bhagavatam class.

H. G. Vaisesika Prabhu, a Prabhupada man and the current temple president, gave the class. On verse 1.8.28. His Grace AmoghaLila Prabhu was also there. He is also a very senior Prabhupada disciple. It was a beautiful class. Short and sweet. Then we had Guru Puja! And then we had an ecstatic kirtans! And Dancing! It was feeling like heaven! Ooops! Sorry! Like Goloka! :-) In fact, all throughtout the time I was in the morning program, I was feeling out of this world. Vaisesika Prabhu’s voice is very nectarean. His singing is sweet. He is just too good!

After that? Prasadam! While honouring the delicious Prasadam, I talked with H. G. AmoghaLila Prabhu. He told me (in some context) that our endeavheors should be targeted towards eventually making people read Prabhupada’s book. I thought that was quite a striking point. Later he revealed some quite fascinating aspects of his life. I told him that I am very glad to have met the great heroes in Prabhupada’s army that I had only heard of so far in India. These devotees are so exalted that one cannot even imagine how much they have served, and are serving, Srila Prabhupada. But they are so humble. One particular Brahmachari was visiting the temple today and he seemed quite laid back and not so much in the foreground. But then I found out that he lives in a van full of books (for around 6 years now) and goes around the country distributing Prabhupada’s books! Recently he had been to Los Angeles where he distributed around 2000 books. Today he was going to go to Stanford and Berkeley Universities. I was very much fascinated by this glorious devotee. His name is H. G. Parameswar Prabhu and he is a disciple of H H Radhanath Swami.

I talked to him for quite some time before we left the temple. I have also taken his email id and will surely keep in touch with him. I cannot tell you how much I get touched by devotees who undertake such glorious services for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. I told him that this is what I would really like to do in my life – go out and spread the movement all over the world. I told him that I am similarly touched by H H Indradyumna Swami Maharaj who also is a traveling preacher. I realized that the greatness and depth of person is known only when he speaks. I was feeling so blissful just to be with Parameswar Prabhu. He told me that he doesn’t think there is any other way that he would like to spend his time. Distributing books is the best preaching. That’s why Vaisesika Prabhu has so much potency. Because he has been a leading book distributor. I could have gone on talking with him for hours and hours and not got bored. In fact I am sure that had I a few days more in the US, I would definitely have spent a lot of my time with him traveling in the van and distributing books. He has invited me to join him and I am eagerly looking forward to that opportunity. Krishna willing, I will also someday be able to become a traveling preacher.

I also got the opportunity to talk a bit with H. G. Vaisesika Prabhu. It was mainly about some errands I had been assigned by devotees of the Pune temple. We also talked a little with H. G. AmoghaLila Prabhu. Apart from that, I took email ids of a few other devotees who come to the temple there. I will surely keep in touch with them. Then we returned back to where Gourav Prabhu stays and after a little time he took me to the Lawrence station from where I boarded the train to Mountain View.

In the train, one girl who was my one year junior in IIT Bombay recognized me, and then we talked a bit. She stays with her husband in Mountain View. Anyways, it was just a 5 minute meeting. Just like the ones described in the Bhagavatam. People come together for some time and then go on their own separate ways soon thereafter, never to meet again. After that I walked to my office and here I am, writing this diary entry. I couldn’t have asked for a more successful US trip. I met so many devotees, young and old, that I am now feeling a bit dizzy. I pray that these connections that I have made in the last few days help me remember the glorious lineage that I am fortunate to belong to and thus propel me forward in devotional serive so that I can also really feel part of this glorious family that is sincerely serving Srila Prabhupada.

Only yesterday I read H. H. Indradyumna Swami Maharaj’s Vyasa Puja offering to Srila Prabhupada and there he mentions in all humility, addressing Prabhupada, that the qualification of “your servant” doesn’t come easily. Similarly, if I have to become a real servant of Srila Prabhupada, I better pull up my socks and delve deeper into the mood of serving him. More and more. Deeper and deeper. Gradually losing all consideration of my own body, mind, and intelligence, and ultimately making them one with the will of my divine master – Srila Prabhupada.

1828
Abhijit.

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