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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Love Was In The Air!

Hare Krishna!

After months and months of preparations, the day finally dawned. It was Janmashtami! Again! As always, it was as fresh as ever. The Supreme Lord is unlimited and therefore His every pastime is ever new and evokes ever fresh emotions of love towards Him. What’s more, in the Bhagavad Gita 4.9 the Lord says: janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna. His appearance is so auspicious that just by understanding it one can surpass the unsurpassable ocean of birth and death!

And yet, this Janmashtami was especially special because of the unprecedented amount of consciousness invested into preparing for it by the devotees associated with the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune. The zeal for swiftly bringing up the glorious new temple for Sri Sri Radha Vrindavanchandra fueled on the preparations for this Janmashtami. The fund raising marathon drive that started 3-4 months ago culminated gloriously this day. The celebrations were grand, spanning two locations – the Temple itself and the Alpa Bachat Bhavan nearby – and it was hard not to admire the flawlessly professional execution of all the complex planning that had gone into this Janmashtami’s Maha Mahotsav.

Just to give you a glimpse, consider what kind planning is required to accommodate 25,000 well-wishers, each performing an abhishek of Sri Sri Radha Krishna, over a period of three days? What kind of planning is required to accommodate over 1 lac visitors and make sure that all of them are made to feel most welcome? Consider, that a wall was broken, among other elaborate arrangements, to facilitate simultaneous abhisheks of 25 Radha-Krishna deities. And what about the delicious Prasadam for all these visitors? And spare a thought for the preparations behind the colorful and vibrant cultural programs including dramas, kirtans, lectures etc. in the Alpa Bachat Bhavan.

What’s more, for this Janmashtami, Lord Balaji established Himself in a prominent location in the Temple just besides the main Temple hall to attract more and more souls to His lotus feet. To top it all up, the icing on the cake was that Lalita and Vishakha had arrived for serving the Lord of their hearts on His “Happy Birthday!”. All this, and much much more. Yes, it had to be seen to be believed. Everyone who visited was spellbound by this splendid exhibition of resourcefulness and management by the devotees of the Lord, without doubt the basis of which was their deep love for Him and Srila Prabhupada. Surely, love was in the air!

As always, this Janmashtami also featured a lot of stalls just outside the temple premises, where book distribution, Question-Answer sessions, introduction to chanting, Balaji Prasadam distribution, and many such pleasing activities were taking place. All the devotees were eagerly taking this rare opportunity of serving the Supreme Lord on His appearance day, a day on which He is most merciful! And not to forget, the non-stop kirtans, especially the ones that reached a crescendo at midnight, will be hard to erase from the memories of those who were fortunate enough to be present there on that glorious night.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

What Is "The Higher Taste"?

Dear All,

Just about a couple of hours ago I was in a class by H. G. Sankirtanananda Prabhu. I always love to hear from him. Today he instructed us on the topic of how Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotees are “Vairaagya Pradhaan”, i.e. how in them the quality of renunciation is prominent. The essence of the lecture was that the renunciation of the devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu arises from engagement in positive higher activities of Devotional Service while the renunciation of the Mayavadis arises from frustration. I will not elaborate on this discussion in this article.

But what I want to elaborate on is the short question-answer session that followed the lecture. While explaining the principle of higher engagement, H. G. Sankirtanananda Paabhu mentioned how one will relinquish a low paying job for a high paying one and how a hungry man will relinquish a two-day old dry roti for halwa prepared in pure ghee J. On this point, H. G. Vamandev Prabhu very humbly asked what I thought was a very beautiful question.

He asked (I will paraphrase), “Is this example given in a particular context? Doesn’t taste depend on the modes of nature that a person has acquired? For example, the hog will reject the halwa and accept stool instead.”

Now I was really keen on hearing the answer J I thought this was a very important question. And then H. G. Sankirtananand Prabhu answered as follows (in essence). I’ll paraphrase. “In the example, the dry roti or the low paying job is compared to any enjoyment that is material, be it in any of the three modes. The halwa or the high paying job is compared to the enjoyment in the pure goodness”. Ofcourse, he elaborated further on how some people wont even take to the higher engagement because they are so much engrossed in their sense enjoyment that they ignore the promise of an even higher taste. That’s why, he said, sometimes very strong preaching is required to such people to bring them out of the illusion of sense gratificatory enjoyment.

I was thrilled to hear the answer. H. G. Samkirtanananda Prabhu’s answers are always very very clear. And he answers more than what is just asked. He elaborates on the subject matter from all possible perspectives.

I got a few realizations from this short question-answer session:

1. Even though I had heard this Bhagavad Gita verse “param drishtva nivartante …” so many times and quoted it myself so many times to so many people, after this discussion my understanding of what is meant by “higher taste” suddenly became clear. That the higher taste refers particularly to the taste for devotional service was made crystal clear in my mind.

2. I also realized the wonderful benefit of being around when two wonderful devotees are discussing the glories and pastimes and instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna! This also has made the meaning of the following Bhagavatam verse much clearer in my mind. Paraphrase : “Whenever there is a discussion about the Supreme Lord, three kinds of people are benefited. The enquirer, the answerer, and the other listeners” In this case I was in the third category J

3. I also realized that for preaching one really needs a deep study and understanding of the scriptures. Further, while giving examples, one has to always be very clear about what philosophical truth is being explained via the example. Also, I remember hearing from H. G. Vamsi Vadan Prabhu that one must not stretch the example (i.e. try to bring out other philosophical points from it) beyond its intended purpose.

Thus, I had a fully satisfying Morning Class yet again J Thanks a zillion to H. G. RadheShyam Prabhu for caring for all of us so much. As long as we follow his lotus feet, we can be assured of a steady journey in our spiritual life.

Yours in the service of Krishna,

Abhijit.

Scientific Preaching

Dear All,

I had the great fortune of being with H.G. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu (August 01, 2007) when he was instructing us on the topic of “Scientific Preaching”. Here is a write-up on the main points from that lecture.

A kanishta adhikari is one who sees God only in the temple. But a madhyama adhikari sees the relationship with Krishna as omnidirectional, i.e. every activity he can see as connected to Krishna. Without such knowledge, materialistic people are engaged in what is called “ugra-karma”. Bhagavad Gita 16.8-9 describes “ugra karma”. Its characteristics are that it is (i) at best unbeneficial, and (ii) at worst destructive. Moreover, in the modern society, such work is considered progressive.

Srila Prabhupada used to say that we want to change the way people think!

….

Why Preach Scientifically?

[1] As an expression of love for Krishna. To counter blasphemy.

How we react to atheistic scientific theories also affects our own spiritual progress! We can see how Srila Prabhupada openly challenged atheistic scientific theories. Why? Because if one really has bhakti, he will naturally want to strongly challenge the atheistic theories.

In this connection Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada used to say that those who criticize the devotees for criticizing the blasphemers are themselves on the kanishta platform.

[2] To counter the strong intellectual hostility against God

In today’s world, spirituality is either downplayed or totally denied. Srila Prabhupada found that the main reason for this was the Darwin’s Theory of evolution. By preaching scientifically, we want to create a favorable situation for preaching Krishna Consciousness. Once Darwinism is defeated, Krishna Consciousness will really flourish!

Srila Prabhupada was not interested in preaching only to disillusioned hippies or peasants who do not know anything about the materialistic way of life. On the contrary, he was interested in preaching to those who strongly propagated the materialistic way of life!

[3] To remove the misconceptions from people’s minds about the existence of soul and God.

The misconceptions about the existence of the soul and God ultimately lead to the situation described in Bhagavad Gita verse 16.8. It creates atheists who say that the world is unreal, without a Supreme controller God, has come by chance, and has only one purpose – sex enjoyment. The atheistic philosophy thus leads to the understanding that sense gratification is the goal of life.

….

This kind of scientific preaching is not non-devotional. H. H. Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaj defines a preacher as one who removes the obstacles between the conditioned soul and Krishna. One such great obstacle is the doubts created in the mind by modern science. We have to prove that science does not point in the direction of atheism.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

The Bhakta Pralhad School (BPS) Parents' Orientation Program

Saturday, July 28, 2007.

Dear All,

Bhakta Pralhad School (BPS), which is run by devotees associated with the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune, had arranged a Seminar cum Orientation Program in the evening of the 28^th of July, 2007, for the parents of the little kids who attend this weekly school. It was held in the community hall of the housing society in which H. G. Srinivas Prabhu and his good wife Anna Mataji stay with their two kids. The program was very well attended. Such BPS programs are a great source of encouragement and inspiration for other congregation devotees to express their love for Srila Prabhupada and his mission in various ways.

Just before the start of the program, the parents were busy in dressing up all the excited kids in their various costumes. Yes, there were stage performances to give! The program started with a very sweet and enchanting kirtan led by Piyush Singh Prabhu. This was followed by a short introduction by H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu, who is a very senior and much respected devotee of the Pune congregation.

H. G. Jai Narsimha Prabhu

By this time the kids were really bubbling with excitement. Without further ado, the first stage performance started! The main characters in the skit included Krishna (ofcourse!), His parents Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda Mai, Radharani, Arjuna, and a few Gopas. The theme was that a devotee was singing a song of glorification for her beloved Lord Sri Krishna and the various stanzas were being enacted by the other characters. The song was sung very sweetly by Dipali Mataji. The skit drew a very appreciative applause from all the parents present.

The next event was even sweeter because it was performed by 5 year olds! They recited two verses from the Bhagavad Gita, with meaning. And this really drew a thundering applause from all present. After that there was a slightly larger skit. Its main characters were Narada Muni, a brahmana, and a cobbler. The theme was how the cobbler, though not as learned in the scriptures as the brahmana, had unflinching faith in the omnipotence of the Supreme Lord, and was therefore more dear to the Lord.

The third skit

After these performances by the kids, the kids were sent out to play in the adjoining garden :-) The kids just cant sit and listen to parents’ orientation seminars :-) The actual seminar that followed was conducted by another senior and respected congregation devotee – H. G. Sachi Tanuj Prahbu. He is also the father of one of the kids who performed in one of the skits.

H. G. Sachi Tanuj Prabhu

The seminar started with a small interactive exercise. All the parents were given a clay ball with which they were asked to make something in one minute. After this exercise was completed, all the parents were asked what they had made and what were they thinking while making it. All the parents had made very innocent things like modak (most popular), a water stand for the birds to come and sip water, a penguin, and so on. And the thoughts that went behind creating them were also very simple and innocent, like “let me make a modak to offer to Lord Krishna”, “let the birds come and sip water from this”, or “I made the penguin just like that…”

The point of this exercise was to demonstrate how all the adults still remember the things they used to do in their childhood. How none of them was feeling very grumpy about doing such a playful exercise. How no one just crushed the clay balls to vent his/her anger on it. The question that was posed then was “What will your kids make 25 years from now in a similar exercise?” What impressions are they going to carry with them for the rest of their life? Are these impressions going to be such innocent ones or nasty ones like those involving violence, boredom, sadness, and so on? Are we giving our kids a really happy childhood? Are our kids really happy watching TV all day while we are ourselves busy doing our own things?

These questions surely captured the attention of the parents. They were now listening attentively. The seminar continued on the theme. “What is it that parents want their children to have?” A good education, peaceful life, good values, and so on. Saci Tanuj Prabhu was expertly putting forward the thoughts so that all present could identify with them. He was also making sure that the seminar was lively and not monotonous.

Prasadam was arranged after the seminar. Overall, it was a nice evening out for the kids and the parents and there were quite a lot of things for the parents to take back home with them. It is wonderful how Lord Chaitanya’s mercy is flowing through all sections of the society. With initiatives like the Bhakta Pralhad School it wont be too far away that Gauranga’s holy names will be chanted in all towns and villages on the face of the earth!

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.