Lord Krsna’s birth and His transfer to Gokul

Boston
June 8 2010

Who is Vasudev? Is there anyone Vasudev in Washington I mean Boston. Vaasudev is son of Vasudev.Just the meaning of Vaasudev is son of Vasudev.There may be somebody who is Vasudev then his son is Vaasudev. Since sometimes people do have names Vaasudev.

But this Vaasudev is
Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.

Bhagavan Vaasudev Bhagavate into Bhagvan. Not only the son of Vasudev hence He is Vaasudev. But He is also Bhagavate the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has now become the son of Vasudev and Lord got this title as He took birth in the prison house of Kamsa then He can be celebrated as Vaasudev.

Jai Vaasudev
Then there was darsana and dialogue between Vasudev and Vaasudev. Vasudev and Vaasudev had dialogue and prayers and with Devaki. Devaki also offered prayers. In conclusion Devaki also asked is it possible to have only two hands. God appears as four handed then we can hide You. Then it has nothing to do with God He is just a child with only two hands but four hands is difficult idea of hiding this Personality.

The Lord obliged and He became two handed baby. He already had clothes on. First of all smiling it is another exception. When children take birth do they smile. Do they Do you remember what you did mother’s know. First thing child does is cries and there is a good news also when child cries he is alive. He does not even cry forget the smile part of the baby forget the cry part. Babies cry babies cry because they just were in big trouble packed up.

Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,
Punarapi janani jatare sayanam
Iha samsaare khalu dusthare,
Krupayaa pare pahi murare.,

If someone walks out of the doors crying you could imagine what he was what he went through inside where ever he was. Anyway in case of Lord He was smiling. He is not even supposed to take birth.

He has nothing to do with birth. He is Ajanma Unborn. This is His first time He is appearing He likes to have His own He would to He is waiting for Vatsalya Rasa. He becomes a baby He has a mother He has father and otherwise all.
Om Jai Jagdish Hare

All prayers and reverences and all that too much. Every time someone approached Him
So, Lord wants to experience something different So He is appearing as a baby son of Vasudev and Devaki and He is smiling and He has all His clothes in. He already has clothes not that Vasudev and Devaki had to order or go to Loi Bazar. He has His clothes on and ornaments on.

Room is filled with, otherwise dimely lite prison house. Lord appeared even in prior to Lord appearance, there was brilliant light like sunlight not just one sun, koti surya sama prabha, millions of sun’slight. Then Lord had this idea that He should be taken out of there.

Get Me out of here!

Oh. Where would You like to go!
Please bring Me to Gokul!
What?
Who will bring You to Gokul?
Ofcourse you!
But I am shackled
Now just lift Me just see what happens

Thus, Vasudev was willing to bring Lord to Gokul and he just attempted means he lifted. Immediately all bonds all shackles were into pieces. And this is what happens,anyone who accepts Lord with in his life he becomes free from all the bonds not that only Vasudev not that only he exception. Anyone who accepts Lord he will become free from all bonds all these strings attached will

Khat khatkhat
And then he begins walking towards the doors there are many doors to go through. He already has a full plate he has a whole baby he has only two hands they are busy. How is he going to open the doors, unlock the doors but not necessary he does not have to do anything.

He just he wants to bring Lord to Gokul that is that he knows and he is ordered to do so and he is on the job and moving on and as he comes to the door what happens. Automatically lock is unlocked door is opened. How automatically? So, this automatic business is not new thing it existed even 5000 years ago.

First time I went to airport with my luggage and trolley and I came to the door the door was closed on top it said entrance enter here but the door was closed. I parked I was parking my cart at the side to go forward so that I could open I did not have to open the door the door had opened automatically. But then this is old fashioned nothing new it existed we are just imitating, imitation.

So, through many doors Vasudev and Vaasudev. Vasudev is carrying Vaasudev. They are both moving together and of course there are wonderful details, for the guards were fast asleep. There was extra additional security measures were taken. One of these days child eighth child; 1, 2, 3, 6 well they were taken away and killed; what happened to the seventh one was a mystery; mysterious may be miscarriage and that was Balarama and He was transferred from womb to womb; such a technology exists; transplantation of heart to heart and womb to womb transfer the child, something to work on. This already has happened and Balarama birth place becomes Gokul.

So, as the guards were fast asleep and this was Yogamaya of the Lord on the job and the doors are opening and no one there to stop and they come out of the prison and the first person to greet the Lord was Anantsesa . Balarama has come in the form of Sesa to greet the Lord and also be of some practical assistance help service to Krishna.

There is no one else to hold an umbrella on the baby Krishna that was a day walking with Vasudev and right behind or right along goes the Anantasesa, serving His Adi Guru. He serves setting example before everybody. Anantsesa is not just any kind of snake, because of any season; sometimes people say there is a rainy season so lots of snakes come out of their holes, their residences when it is full with water then nowhere to go so they just keep crawling going here, they have no place to go and lots of snakes out so this was not one of those ones. Don’t misunderstand this. This is Lord Sesa in the form of Balarama has appeared.

Vasudev is now carrying Vaasudeva through Mathura Town. What time is it? It is midnight; not exactly midnight; after midnight; some time as dialogue and the prayers and coming to the doors and so from 1 o’clock Vasudev is walking to Mathura. What has happened to the moon? for the moon this time of the night is astami; well, what time is a moonrises on the astami of the Krishna paksha or waning moon?

What time moon rises-at midnight?

Infact two moons appeared that night, one was Krishna Chandra and then the Chandra Chandra; the regular Chandra appeared and because Krishna Chandra is appearing in Chandra vansha and moon dynasty; He wanted to appear same time or may be just few moments after moon has risen so that He could, not before so He is calculating and His appearing at midnight because that is the moon rise time.
There is something very special feature of moonrise that night, the timing is business as usual; every ashtami midnight moon rise time but that night, okay, so, ashtami is eight days after poornima, it is eight days after full moon.

Normally, on the astami night, midnight, half-moon rises but this night full moon appeared only that night because the moon became so happy, so delighted that, “In my dynasty Lord is appearing, in my dynasty, haribol!” He became so jubilant that here a big face. He became full moon that night. So, there was, as a result there was some light as that was helping, that helped Vasudev to go through the town of Mathura.

And it is quiet, complete silence. Even the dogs were sleeping, that’s why it was more quiet. All dogs were meant to sleep as the guards in the prison house and so the dogs were also meant to sleep. If the dogs would not be sleeping, what would they normally do? bark! And then what happens? One person is enough to stop Vasudev, so the dogs were meant to sleep, purposely.

The Lord not by Himself but with the help of the His father Vasudev get out of the Mathura town now on the banks of Jamuna
”Jamuna maiya ki jai”
To go to Gokul , Jamuna is to be crossed. Did some of you go or all of you go, how many of you end up going to Vrndavan, Gokul ? 30% of you. Please go.

So as the Lord was on the banks of jamuna, Vaasudev in his hands. It is as a rainy season Jamuna is all flooded how to cross . But Vasudev is wanting to carry on move on, water seemed to be rising , water level is going higher and higher as he moves forward but he’s also getting deeper into the water that’s one reason but the rivers, the water, the waves of it is going higher also for some other reason . Jamuna wanting to touch, a little touch of the transcendental form of the Lord or just touching the lotus feet or even just the toe nail of the Lord is sufficient, she is trying to touch.

Jamuna is thinking what does that mean Jamuna is thinking, does water think? In your water bottle is water in the bottle is thinking “hey I maybe this person would not drink me It is going my death is coming or be finished l.” Water does not think but this water is person personality or coming from personality.
Jamuna is a person as is Ganga also and Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada and Sindhu and like that so Jamuna is thinking she has immediately recognized who this person is the personality of Godhead as she’s thinking of her future and her is as she would be wife, one of the queens one of the eighth principle queens of this Lord. So she’s thinking I better help out cooperate otherwise at the time of marriage proposal I will be remembered for not very cooperative this is one thought of Jamuna.

Other thought also she’s remembering when this Lord appeared as Sri Rama and then He also wanted to cross Indian ocean to go to Sri Lanka and He wanted cooperation of the ocean god Samudra devta but he was taking little time he was not coming quickly and Rama had become furious He took bow and arrow and as it is a whole ocean there is a big agitation turbulence all the creatures were struggling for their life, get choked up so Jamuna was thinking I better behave if I do not quickly help out or clear the path He may take some action like that He had taken in previous age.

So thinking this she clears the path and Vasudev did not walk on water He could have, Vaasudev wanted him to do so but he is walking in the riverbed and there is water 50 meters this way 50 meters that way that way and he is walking in the middle of the water body to the riverbed gradually on the other side of Jamuna hit the path now he’s on eastern bank of Jamuna and the destination is Gokul which is some distance and Vasudev, it was 2 ‘o clock by now he wants to get there quickly not only get in there he has to also return back and back in his chamber and shackle back and everything normal so he’s trying to hurry! hurry up speed up to go to Gokul but he thinks if I go with this speed I will be there very soon then had to leave his baby there and I will be deprived of his association I better slow down and he was slow down go slow go slow motion because then I will be with this boy longer time he’s trying to buy some time or gain some time by going slower but he would think but if I go slow takes extra time and meantime Kamsa comes to know and he is catching up with me I better run, thinking like this he’s begin running, but no I will be there quickly so fast go quickly , I better slow down so that I could have more association he’s going through this.

“druta vilambita gati”

Sometimes going faster sometimes slows down going through different emotions and then finally he has reached Gokul and soon entered Nanda Bhavan and identifies that chamber those corners where Yashoda same night has given birth to another baby and this baby is to be exchanged with the baby born to Yashoda so it does all that. He takes the daughter that was born to Yashoda and of course there is another story a confidential subject matter that Yashoda has given birth not to one child but two children.

A boy and a girl also, so two boys, a boy from Mathura born boy Devakinandan merges with Yashoda Nandan and end of the day just one boy or middle of the night is one boy and he takes the daughter and with great reluctance, he returns.

Gokul Dham Ki Jaya
So, this way we have Yashodanandan in Vrindavan, in GokulHis name is Krishna.

krishn jinka naam hai,gokuljinka dham hai,
aise shri bhagwan ko,barambar pranam hai

All that we need to know about the Lord, Srila Prabhupada said, this is, all that you would like to know but the Lord is known including His name is known His name is Krishna. God has a name those who are very close to God, they know His name also other call Him God, callHim sir or Mr. Brother called me John they are very close for some know His name. Everyone does not know His address but those who are very close they know His address also.Some know His name address but not everyone knows the telephone number but those who are very close they know the name, address and telephone number. So God has telephone number, it is also available. The telephone number is

Hare Krishna Hara Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram
Ram Ram Hare Hare

When you come to the temple, Gokul Dham and you call that, call becomes local call. This line is very clear. You don’t have to do hello hello. You spend five minutes just doing hello hello forget dialogue part or once you are at dham then line is clear and also a local costs are cheap right.

So that Lord yashoda jinki maiya hai, nandji bapaiya hai, aise shri gopal ko, barambar pranam hai. Maya is powerful maya is also there and that is Ghanshyam Loot-loot Dadhi Makhan Khayo and He has His activities what does God do He’s a thief. God is thief. Go next door and tell the neighbour God is a thief, who will understand. But in fact we are the thieves. Is He a thief, He is the owner sarva-loka-mahe?varam. If He owns everything He butter also so if He takes some butter so that is fault, plus He works for it loot-loot dadhi makhan khayo, gwal-bal sang dhenu charayo, all day long works very hard taking care of the cows. Mother Yashoda say please take shoes please take shoes He doesn’t even wear shoes l can’t take shoes, cow don’t have shoes But they are cows but if you insist then get shoes for all the cows and l’ll take one pair how many cows quite a few 9 lakh cows so how many shoes are required 4 per cow, which Tata company or Bata company provide so Yashoda gave up on shoe part says take umbrella take umbrella, very hot chandan yatra , smearing chandan, take umbrella but get umbrella for the cows. The trouble is the cows have legs but no hand to hold umbrella then you need another 9 lakh people walking next to each cow holding umbrella or them so this way Yashoda should gives up and Krishna continues to walk all day through the forest in the heat and He ditches thrones rocks without shoes without umbrella so for all this Labour that He does if He gets little butter is that too much to ask for so butter is for working hard all day.

New Vrndavana Parikrama
20th August 2019
West Virginia

Yes okay you remembered being on the banks of Radha Kunda, Radha Kunda ki jai! Some Radha Kunda water has also been put into this Radha Kunda (shouts of Haribol). This makes the Kunda non-different and so this New Vrndavana Radha Kunda is non-different from Vrndavana Radha Kunda.

On the banks of Radha Kunda there is a temple of Radha Gopinath in Vrndavana and at least three temples, Radha Madana Mohan, Radha Govinda and Radha Gopinath are in Vrndavana and these are the three temples in Radha Kunda. Kamavan is also where these three temples are over there. So because of the threat of the Muslims they were taking the deities for the sake of protection from place to place.

So from Vrndavana to Radha Kunda the deities were there for some time and from there they were bought to Kamavan and from there they were brought to Jaipur and along with the three deities there was also Vrinda Devi. Vrinda Devi ki jai! Although the devotees managed to bring the deities of Radha Madana Mohan, Radha Govinda and Radha Gopinath to Rajasthan in Jaipur, Karauli was where Radha Madan Mohan were taken, but they could not get Vrinda Devi to leave Vrndavan.

So the original deity of Vrinda Devi remained in Kamavan, Vrndavana and she did not leave. So Bahulastami is as Maharaja mentioned a few times, the occurrence on the night of Radha Kunda appearance. Right at midnight was meant to be a dance night and so they (the Gopi’s) assembled at nine thirty PM every night.

One of the astakaliya Lila, one kal or ratri, night begins around ten thirty PM and goes on around three thirty AM. This is the extended period and so the kal during the day and then ratri night, the periods become longer and this longer time span is reserved for Radharani and the Gopis and Krishna in Madhurya Lila.

So that night is meant to be the rasa dance night and there is a rasa dance night every night in Vrndavana. So they come together for the purpose of the rasa dance but that already happened the night before and also this night also. So finally the construction, the digging of Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda appears to happen in one night, the same night and not even in one night but half of the night.

So Shyamkunda was filled first and then right at midnight the waters from Shyamkunda overflowed by the arrangement of Sri Krishna and entered Radha Kunda. So in this way that night of Bahulastami also became the appearance night of Radhakunda. This Bahulastami is in the first fortnight, Krishna paksha in the month of Kartik.

So there is Krishna paksha and the next one is sukla paksha because paksha is a fortnight and many of you have heard this term, Krishna paksa and sukla paksha. The first astami is Bahulastami and the next astami during Kartik is Gopastami. These two astami’s of Kartik are very famous, the first one is Bahulastami.

This is on the appearance night of Radha Kunda and as Maharaja mentioned, I was reminded that one year, in 1972 I was in Vrndavana because Prabhupada was also in Vrndavana that year. Srila Prabhupada was in the Radha Damodara temple and we were there to spend an entire month of Kartik.

So on Bahulastami day Srila Prabhupada conducted an initiation ceremony and it was taking place in the courtyard of Radha Damodar temple and Prabhupada was at the front on the Vyasasana and we were sitting at his feet in between Rupa Goswami’s samadhi on one side and Rupa Goswami’s Bhajan Kutir on the other side.

We were sitting under a Tamala tree as there is one Tamala tree that is also there and so we were sitting. So that is when I was also fortunate to be initiated on that day (shouts of Haribol). I was Raghunath before and so Prabhupada said ‘your name will be Lokanath.’ So there is some Bahulastami connection.

Look at the watch, what is the time? Okay12.35. So Maharaja did mention that everyday at noon time Krishna would say ‘I will meet you.’ And so everyday that meeting takes place around noon time. This is the Madhyana pastime and so for several hours the lord performs his pastimes in Radha Kunda or around Radha Kunda.

So we are in the right place at the right time. Radha and Krishna and the Gopi’s have come to Radha Kunda. Before coming to Radha Kunda the Gopi’s had gone to Kusum Sarovar. Kusum means flowers so on the bank of this Kusum Sarovar the Gopi’s pick up flowers and so one day the Gopi’s and Radharani were plucking flowers. Someone has gone into trance (laughter) and he is visualizing.

I hope he is but it cannot be as nectarean as Maharaja’s descriptions. So Krishna knows and he knew that day that the Gopi’s and Radharani were going to be coming to pick flowers and so Krishna played a little funny pastime. He had already climbed onto a tree and so he climbed onto one branch of the tree.

Because of Krishna being on top of the branch the branch was lowered and as the Gopi’s and Radharani were coming, they came to that branch and began to say ‘hey, this branch is hanging very low so it will be easy to pick the flowers. We won’t have to stretch to reach the flowers, it will be so easy.’

Radharani had held a branch with one hand and she was picking flowers with the other hand and as she was busy and had tightly held the branch, Krishna quickly came back down and as a result the branch went up and ‘help help help!’ Radharani shouted and everyone laughed as you all just did and Krishna enjoyed.

And so they would pick flowers and make garlands and a variety of garlands they would make for Krishna and one of them is called Vaijayanti Mala. There are flowers of five different kinds and five different colours. It is also mentioned which flowers and which colours are used and that makes the Vaijayanti Mala. It is also very long and reaching the Lord’s- hanging down to His knees.

And Krishna also wears these garlands in three different ways, one which is the normal way where it is hanging down his chest around the neck. The other way is in the hair also. Garlands around his hair as hair decorations and the third way is across his chests, imagine it’s a garland. It’s convenient for him to play his flute because it’s not in the way. I haven’t seen this but this is how it is described by someone who sees Krishna all the time and how He wears His garlands.

And who is that amongst many? Rupa Goswami is one such person because he is Rupa Manjari. He came down and gave all these descriptions and all this information which he has compiled in Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, the nectar of devotion we find so many details. So then the Gopi’s and Radharani come over to Radha Kunda and it’s a great reunion between the divine couple Radha and Krishna, Kishore Kishori and Radha Madhava, Nanda Nandan and Vrushabhanu Nandini.

Nauka vihar we had last night, well we didn’t have but we were watching Radha Krishna in the lake, did you see? That was just a glimpse and so there are various Nauka (boats) across the river. Jala keli is the water sport pastimes on the banks of Radha Kunda and there are eight differences kunjas, forest gardens which are maintained by Vrinda Devi.

Vrinda Devi is the temple commander and you could see that she is the only one here but she has one hundred thousand parrots and they are the messengers, bringing a little information technology in Goloka (laughter). And she has these little information gatherers, message deliverers, these parrots.

So the eight kunjas belong to the eight asta sakhis, Sudevi and Rangadevi and Lalita and Vishakha, Tungavidya, Chitralekha, Champakalata and like that. I wanted to say it in order, in the way they stand in Mayapur with Radha Madhava, the asta sakhi’s, four in either side. So they have Kunja’s named after them and so besides pastimes in Radha Kunda itself, there are pastimes on the banks of Radha Kunda in these kunja’s.

And each kunja has a very unique setting with unique birds also and unique scenery and different seasons. This is as per the wishes of Sri Krishna and as he would like to play pastimes. So if he wants to play in spring season he goes into a particular kunja that has spring time. And next door kunja has rainy season and in this way there are six seasons.

There are eight kunjas and there are different seasons which Krishna enjoys. They have jhulan yatra’s and jhulan yatra is coming up in few days, oh has it started? So Tuesday it started. So jhulan yatra’s take place in those kunja’s. In some kunja’s when there is a swing festival all the scenery and the trees and leaves, they have a bluish hue, a bluish complexion.

Everything is blue so when Radha and Krishna are busy when they are together performing their pastimes, Radharani’s mother in law comes looking for her. ‘Where is that couple? I am going to catch them red handed today!. So the swing festival is on and then she- what is her name? Jatila yes, and one is Kutila. Jatila and Kutila (laughter). Kutil (crooked) nature and Jatil (complex) understanding.

So Jatila comes and she is seeing from a distance. Because the clothes of Krishna are yellow and in that kunja everything is also yellow, all the leaves and all the flowers. Everything is yellow and so Krishna is on the swing with His yellow garments and from the distance she is seeing and thinking ‘oh it’s only Radharani alone in there.’

Krishna is there but because of the whole arrangement the whole background is yellow and his clothes are yellow so He is merged with the yellow backdrop. So she thinks ‘they have not met together today, my daughter in law is a good girl and she never messes with that Krishna.’ Then sometimes Krishna is there but as soon as they get a clue that Jatila is on her way to them, it looks like it is her coming, so what Krishna does is He disappears.

He leaves the scene and then Jatila enters and she is looking around and then Radharani also says, ‘hey what brings you here? What are you here for? I did not meet Krishna today.’ But then Jatila is smelling, inhaling. ‘Aaahh you say you did not meet Him and He wasn’t here?!’ So what was that? It was Krishna’s fragrance because the form of His body is so fragrant.

Krishna has left but the fragrance hasn’t left. The fragrance is still behind and in that way she detects ‘yes, yes certainly He was here.’ And she chastised Radha for such unions and meetings. So there’s no place like Radha Kunda in the entire creation. Of course in the mundane world there is no Radha Kunda and in the spiritual sky also there is no place like Radha Kunda. This is the topmost.

parakiya bhave jaha brajete pracar

Vrndavan is known for parakiya bhava and those parakiya bhava pastimes or those Madhurya Lila pastimes. Radha Kunda is super saturated with these Madhurya Lila pastimes and that is the most condensed Rasa, juice, nectar of all the rasas.

Of course Vrndavan has only three predominating rasas, mellows which are sakhya rasa, vatsalya rasa and madhurya rasa. Amongst these rasa’s madhurya rasa is the topmost, the most condensed. So Radha Kunda is the seat of madhurya rasa which is a thick, thick rasa, a condensed rasa at Radha Kunda. The most confidential place in the whole world is Radha Kunda.

Radha Kunda ki jai!

Only Chaitanya Mahaprabhu could discover this place. He left the discovery of other places to other Goswami’s and Narayana Bhatta Goswami discovered some more places that were forgotten or covered over but Radha Kunda was the most confidential. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gets the credit, or he took that upon himself to discover Radha Kunda.

It’s the most hidden otherwise and as he toured Vrndavana, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu discovered Radha Kunda himself and the inaugural bathing, or the inauguration of bathing in Radhakund, was done by Mahaprabhu personally. He was the first one to bathe in that Radha Kunda. The six goswami’s gradually arrived and several of them spent so much time there.

Raghunath das Goswami was in Jagannatha Puri before. After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s departure he decided to go to Vrindavan. He could not bear separation from Mahaprabhu and he thought ‘I will go to Vrndavan and climb up Govardhan hill and kill myself! I cannot stand this separation!’ But then upon his arrival in Vrindavan, Sanatan Goswami and other Goswami’s dissuaded him and so he gave up this idea of committing suicide.

Then he stayed for forty one years on the banks of Radha Kunda where on the there is a Radha Gopinath temple and in a part of the courtyard of Radha Gopinath temple is the Samadhi of Raghunath das Goswami. So Sanatan Goswami also stayed there and Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami stayed on the banks of Radha Kunda and he compiled Chaitanya Charitamrita which took place on the banks of Radha Kunda Shyama Kunda.

I just remembered that after Prabhupada’s departure, of course Maharaja did mention how Prabhupada wanted to, he was talking about going to Govardhan. He did not say Radha Kunda as such but Govardhan, ‘I want to go to Govardhan.’ Then he wanted to travel to Govardhan by bullock cart and Srila Prabhupada had trained me about bullock cart travelling and preaching.

So when I came to Vrindavan in ’77 in the month of, I think November, maybe just one week before his departure he wanted to travel to Govardhan. That meant that he also wanted to go to Radha Kunda, Govardhan Radha Kunda and by bullock cart. So we had made all the preparations and the next day we were going to depart and the Ox cart had come and was parked in front of Krishna Balaram temple.

But during the night some more considerations and discussions took place and the pilgrimage to Govardhan never happened. Then soon Prabhupada had left and so we considered this going to Govardhan as Prabhupada’s last will. This was Prabhupada’s last will, one of the very last will of Prabhupada, going to Govardhan.

So finally Prabhupada, on the 14th of November ’77 he was no more and then his followers arrived in Vrindavan in big numbers and then we decided to bring Prabhupada, Prabhupada’s Murti to Govardhan. So we all arrived at Radha Kunda first with a small brass Murti of Srila Prabhupada. We were carrying that in a palanquin and so before we started our Parikrama of Govardhan with Srila Prabhupada, we bathed Srila Prabhupada’s Murti in Radha Kunda.

Bathing in Radha Kunda is glorified by Rupa Goswami and Prabhupada. The glories of Radha Kunda and the glories of bathing in Radha Kunda and so we bathed Srila Prabhupada’s Murti in Radha Kunda. And we dressed him up and placed him on the palanquin and we did Parikrama of Govardhan hill.

So Prabhupada gave us everything, he gave us Radha Krishna, he gave us Radha Kunda Shyam Kunda, he gave us Govardhan and then he wanted to give this to the western world also and so he gave to the western world. He gave Vrndavan to the western world, ‘let there be new Vrndavan.’

So Prabhupada personally came here and sat under a tree, in ’72 Prabhupada had come and there was not much development, very little in ’72. So Prabhupada conducted Bhagavad Dharma discourses. There is a famous photograph of Prabhupada sitting under a tree and there’s a little desk in front of him with some devotee disciples here in new Vrndavan.

So one of the twelve forests is Bahulavan and so there is also a Bahulavan here and Madhuvan, so all the twelve forests are here. So he wanted seven temples and why seven temples? Because in Vrndavan there are seven famous temples. Otherwise he said that in Vrndavan there are five thousand temples but amongst those seven are most important because of their Gaudiya connection and because of our Gaudiya acaryas.

There is Rupa Goswami’s temple, Radha Govinda temple and Sanatan Goswami’s Madan Mohan temple and Jiva Goswami’s Radha Damodar temple. Then Lokanath Goswami’s Radha Vinod and there’s another name. Yes, Gokulananda, so seven famous temples which are famous in Vrindavan. So Prabhupada had acquired five thousand acres of land here.

Just to hear this in India – these are amazing reports of New Vrndavan. I think now we have two thousand? But still we have, some was sold or lost or whatever but still we have two thousand acres of land here. Prabhupada’s land or New Vrndavan land.

So as time passes by this Krishna consciousness movement will spread to more towns and more villages with more congregation and new Vrndavan has a big bright future. For the next ten thousand years the glories of new Vrndavan are going to spread far and wide. There will be pilgrims coming from all over the United states and North America and South America.

So Prabhupada made it a little easier because going to Vrndavan is not easy and not free. So you could come to new Vrndavan and be benefitted and so Vrndavan has the six Goswami’s of Vrndavan and so this New Vrndavan has Varsana Maharaja like the Goswami’s and so in New Vrndavan one Goswami.

So many they come and go and in the past there were more and there will be again more in the future but Maharaja has – others have come and gone and will come back again but Maharaja is steadily here and he is going to stay here forever.

And Maharaja has written this beautiful book called appreciating new Vrindavan Dham. Her beauty and glory, message and grace by Varsana Swami Maharaja. So the books are right here and I haven’t even seen myself, I would like to. It’s filled with beautiful deity pictures and all the deities are here.

Yes so to bring this book to your home is like bringing new Vrindavan to your home. You could carry new Vrindavan with you and we haven’t got so many copies so you could rush to the table and grab your copy. Wow, phew it is beautiful! The packaging and the contents are amazing. So you are a true Goswami!

So the whole history and culture and nature, everything is here and Maharaja has poured his heart into this book. Okay, so if you buy then Maharaja can sign the book, you have to pay for it though (laughter). Okay so all get up and take the book and when all the books are sold we will proceed (laughter).

Okay so there is also prasad, right behind that cabin there you will also get prasad and snacks. Okay Gopinath is here, oh this is you? All grown up now and so is Govinda also in there? There is Gopinath temple.

Disappearance of Srila Isvara Puri
2009
Mayapur

je anilo prem dhan karuna prachura
hena prabhu kothagelaacarya thakur.

This is song of Narottam Dasa Thakur. Everyone has departed one by one and Narottam Dasa Thakur is the last one to be around, feeling separation from all those devotees. I wish I could meet that vaisnava and have association of that vaisnava what about that vaisnava living there left including Srila Isvara Puri.

je anilo premadhana karuna prachura

So those acaryas they brought the prema dhana and they had come to deliver love of Godhead, so where is the love of Godhead and where they have gone? They all have gone, amongst those acaryas who brought the love of Godhead and distributed profusely amongst them was Srila Isvara Puri.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared,

anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam

After long long time Lord appeared and He delivered something anarpita something that He had not delivered before now He is delivering. Karunaya, out of His own causeless mercy kalau, in this age of Kali He is distributing. What is He distributing? What did He distribute? Unnat ujjaval rasam, unnat the topmost brilliant rasa effulgence, effulgent rasa juice, mellow of madhurya rasa. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has delivered. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is known for this kind of deliverance. But before He delivered this love of Godhead He received the love of Godhead from His spiritual master.
Madhavendra Puri and Srila Isvara Puri getting their love of Godhead, that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu who invests love of Godhead in their heart and when he manifest there He goes and grabs gets it from their hearts. Madhavendra Puri was that exalted very very special vaisnava appeared in Madhava sampradaya. From that the branching of the Brahma sampradaya and then that become Brahma Madhava Gaudiya sampradaya. That Madhavendra Puri was full of love of Godhead,

ayi dina dayadra natha he
mathura natha kadavalokyase
hrdayam tvad aloka kataram
dayita bhramyati kim karoty aham

Translation:”0 compassionate Lord of the poor and humble! 0 Lord of Mathura! When shall I see You again? Without seeing You, My heart has become very much afflicted. Oh My beloved, I am overwhelmed. What shall I do now?” (Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya 4.197)
He would chant prayers like this,

That was the mood of Madhavendra Puri.

he radhe vraj devikech lalite he nanda sunokutaha

As was the mood of six goswamis. But prior to six goswamis, MadhavendraPuri first one to get this mood. Srila Isvara Puri was very dear disciple of Madhavendra Puri. Isvara Puri, also had opportunity to serve Madhavendra Puri during his last days when Madhavendra Puri was very old, not able to move or take care of himself, his body.

Srila Isvara Puri took keen interest in serving his spiritual master he also had the spirit and mood of his spiritual master in this mood he would also chant the glories of Krsna and while chanting he would serve his guru maharaja Madhavendra Puri. He would even clean the stool and urine of the spiritual master in great ecstasy while an other disciple Ramchandra Puri was a different kind. When he would see his spiritual master calling out for Krsna,

O Krsna he din dayardra natha he Mathura nath

This disciple would come, stop, stop it, stop it. He would not appreciate or understand the devotion, the mood of his spiritual master. Why are you crying? Why are you calling out like this? What did you do? While Srila Isvara Puri was blessed as he understood the mood and would also serve with all service mood. So this is Srila Isvara Puri.

One time not revealing who he was, he comes to Advaitacarya’s house. Advaitacarya recognized effulgent vaisnava Srila Isvara Puri. So the great assembly of vaisnavas they are chanting singing and it was Mukunda who begin singing radha krsna prana mora. I don’t know what song he was singing, song like that and it was Srila Isvara Puri started trembling as he was listening to the song sung by Mukunda, all the emotions revived and it was visible in the personality of Srila Isvara Puri. They could read all the emotions of ecstasy in personality visible. The body trembling and tears sliding down his cheeks, sometimes stunned, sometimes laughing, sometimes rolling on the ground.

So that was Srila Isvara Puri. He would not introduce himself. He would just hidingly enter into the assembly of vaisnavas and if there was some singing of song of Radha Krsna he would immediately try to conceal his ecstasy but his ecstasy would leak out. And then they would, “Oh, that’s Srila Isvara Puri. We have heard about him. That’s Srila Isvara Puri.” Like that he was known for his highest devotion, transcendental devotion for Radha and Krsna, all the humility not introducing himself but everyone soon came to know that is Srila Isvara Puri, o that is him.

One day Srila Isvara Puri was now in Navadvipa, Nimai Pandit came and they crossed each others . Nimai Pandit immediately offered his obeisances Srila Isvara Puri noticed “O, who are you?” Nimai introduced himself. “Would you like to come to my home”? Nimai brings Srila Isvara Puri to his home yogapitha. Saci mata cooks nice meal for Srila Isvara Puri he relishes the prasada cooked by Sachi mata and they begin talking about Krsna. They went on talking and talking who knows how long they talked. Those days Srila Isvara Puri was staying at home of Gopinatha acarya and Caitanya Mahaprabhu would often go to Gopinatha acaryas house and spent time with Srila Isvara Puri and always the topic was Krsna. Every time they talk about Krsna, kirtaniya sadahari.

macicitta mad-gata-prana bodhayantahparasparam
kathayantas ca mam nityamtusyanti ca ramanti ca [BG 10.9]

So they were totally absorbed in talking about Krsna, tusyanti ca ramanti ca. Srila Isvara Puri had compiled a book called Sri Krsna Lilamrita and Srila Isvara Puri wanted Nimai because he was a pandit very big scholar. ”Take this book. I would like you to write a review. Please find some flaws or faults. I am sure there are many in my compilation”. Nimai did go through the book, no fault or he would not want to found the fault. And the literature compiled by Krsna, and krsna krsna krsna krsna krsna krsna krsna everywhere, may be some grammatical mistakes. Srila Isvara Puri said, “Please, please tell me one fault”. But Nimai never found one fault in Srila Isvara Puri’s writings and Srila Isvara Puri continued on his pilgrimage and Nimai continued to stay in Navadvipa.

And with observation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa even to hear a word like bhakti yoga was very rare thing. karma kanda jnana kanda all those brahma all those things Durga puja, Kali all those things were very much.

CaitanyaMahaprabhu wanted to give something and thinking, “where could I get this madhurya rasa or bhakti yoga rasa? And he is making, he is planning that lila, made all arrangements, no one in the world knows what is on the mind of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and what is he going to do and where he would go and to whom he is going to meet. So he is planning, I want to go to Gaya.

So he expressed, I would like to go to Gaya, I would like to see Gaya.

Caitanya Mahaprabhua was Nimai pandit, he was a teacher, he has lots of followers. He took them with him and he started his journey towards Gaya. He took permission from Sachimata, “Could I go mata? Could I go?” “Tathastu.Please go,Nimai.”

And Mahaprabh started his journey towards Gaya. He was on the half way, on the way to Gaya and He developed fever.“I have fever, I have fever.”“Yes, yes what is the cure? What could be done? I have tried many many things but nothing has worked out.”There is similar pastime where Krsna had headache.What could be done? What could be done? “Oh only one thing: the dust on my devotees feet.” Narada muni going everywhere, trying to find, to get the dust. So Mahaprabhu, He had fever, “oh how could you be cure?” He said,

Only one thing water that has washed the feet of Brahmana. Water washed from his feet is the cure. Hard to find finally they have managed to getting some brahman’s, exalted brahman’s feet’s water.

And immediately he was, He is free from fever
Gaya is also known for it’s a place of pilgrimage for the followers of Buddha It is also famous there is pilgrimage for the Hindus there are lotus feet of Visnu there is Visnupada footprints of Visnu there and CaitanyaMahaprabhuis very very eager to go see the lotus feet footprints of the Lord

Even Kasinatha, that is Siva he holds his feet in his heart, those lotus feetthey are the life and soul of the Laxmi. And those lotus feet had touched the head of Bali Maharaja. Those who see those lotus feet of Visnu here they are very very fortunate. These are the glories of the footprints of the Lord in Gaya. From those lotus feet Bhagorathi Ganga emanates. In fact, as CaitanyaMahaprabhu arrived he was hearing the glories of the lotus feet from the brahmanas of Gaya. And Caitanya Mahprabhu with great rapt attention was listening to the glories of the lotus feet, footprints of the Lord. Asrudhara, he was full of tears. His lotus eyes,padmnayane from His lotus eyes the tears were gliding down.
And finally, when Sri Krsna Caitanya, saw the footprints of Lord, his body started trembling. And Ganga was flowingand Ganga bahe, earlier it said tears were gliding, now not tears Ganga was flowing out of eyes lotus eyes of the Lord.

At this place daivayoge, by arrangement of providence, supreme will, Srila Isvara Puri arrived there. Of course it is Lord’s own will. He is one. He is svayam Bhagavan, sarvakaran karanam and vaikuntha nayaka. So He has arranged his meeting, his own meeting with Srila Isvara Puri, daivayoga here nothing to do with the arrangement.

When He saw Srila Isvara Puri, Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately offered His obeisances. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he is taking shelter of Srila Isvara Puri, begging, “Please accept me, please make me free from all the bonds, from all the attachments.” CaitanyaMahaprabhu has come here after the departure of his father Jagganatha Misra. He has come to fulfill some obligation, oblations pindadana. He thinks, “I am entangled to the family, I want freedom, you could make me free, Srila Isvara Puri, please accept me.” Then Srila Isvara Puri kindly accepted CaitanyaMahaprabhu, Caitanya, Nimai Pandita and given him mantra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately begin chanting the mantra and very soon all the feelings are there, mantrasiddhi, perfection of the chanting of the mantra and he has gone mad. He is rolling on the ground and crying and laughing and he had not experienced anything like this before. He goes back to His spiritual master Srila Isvara Puri and He is enquiring, My dear spiritual master,

kiba mantra dila gosai kibatara bala
japite japite mantra karila pagal
What kind of mantra you have given to me?
kiba mantra dila gosa ikiba tara bala

There is so much power, so much bala in this mantra. From the time you gave this mantra to me, I immediately started chanting. See what has happened to me. I have gone pagal. I become pagala baba. What kind of mantra is this? Is something wrong with me? What is the power of mantra! Is this right thing what is happening to me? And Isvara Puri, “Well done disciple! Well done! Congratulation!!You have attained the perfection.” Saying he embraced his disciple.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Srila Isvara Puri’s birthplace which is between here and Kolakata not on the main road but interior. Caitanya Mahaprabhu took the dust of that place on His head and He also ate the dust of his Guru maharaja’s birthplace and He also took some dust with him which he kept eating everyday as his foodstuff. When devotees came to know what Caitanya Mahaprabhu had done that became a tradition. Whenever devotees would go to Isvara Puri’s birthplace, they would take dust from the same place where Caitanya Mahaprabhu had taken the dust. More devotees coming and more devotees coming and more devotees coming, became a big hole there, a big pond which is now known as a Caitanya Doba.

When Srila Isvara Puri was no more on this day he departed, prior to his departure he instructed Govinda and Kasisvara to go to Jagannatha puri and serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So Kasisvara he went on pilgrimage and later on he arrives in Jagannatha puri but Govinda, he go straight to Jagannatha puri, “I have been instructed, I have been instructed to serve you, please accept me, please accept my services.”And that’s how Govinda became the servant of Gauranga, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Jagannatha puri when Govinda had introduced himself,“ o, I am a disciple of Srila Isvara Puri and I am asked to serve you,” Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya also was there. Sarvabhauma Bhattcarya knew the background of Govind. Govind was born in sudra family and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya said, “O, how come Srila Isvara Puri, your spiritual master accepted disciple from low class background? He was himself a brahmin, not allowed according to smriti sastra, acceptance of disciples of lower classes.

Govind was sudra. How did your spiritual master accepted him as a disciple?”And Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My spiritual master, he glorified My spiritual master saksaddha ritvena samasta sastraira. My spiritual master as good as God. He is not bound by any rules and regulations of smriti sastra. Don’t you know that Lord accepted the food at Vidura’s home? With great relish he ate the peels of banana thinking that was food stuff to eat. Do you not know who Vidura was? Vidura was born also as sudra sudrani’s son. Lord took great pleasure associating with him and eating food at his plate. There is nothing wrong my spiritual master accepting Govinda who earlier belong to sudra family. So like this Caitanya Mahaprabhu always glorified his spiritual master. And this was the spiritual master, Srila Isvara Puri. From him Caitanya Mahaprabhu is showing by his example received or acceptance of spiritual master is essential. This is taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu and from Srila Isvara Puri receiving all prem dhana.

je anilo prem dhana koruna pracura
hena prabhu kothagelaacarya thakur

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu gets this prema dhana received this prema dhana from Srila Isvara Puri. Its Srila Isvara Puri’s disappearance day today just keep remembering his glories.

Isvara Puri tirobhava tithi mahamahotasav ki jay!!
Caitanya Mahaprabhuki jay!!
Nitai Gaur premanande Hari Haribol!!!

Europe Visit Realization
ISKCON Noida
26th June 2018

Sri Sri Radha Govinda dev ki jai
Srila Prabhupada ki jai

Whenever Srila Prabhupada would return back to India from overseas he would stay a lot of the time in Bombay and in those days I was a brahmacari there. I would have the good fortune to be in the association of Srila Prabhupada and we would go to the airport to see him leave for Hawaii.

Hari Hari, Gauranga. Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

Whenever Prabhupada would leave to go overseas we would also go to the airport to see him off and then we would eagerly wait for his return. Then we would then go back to the airport to receive him. I heard that you all also came yesterday to the airport, I didn’t see this but that much I heard. Sometimes back then the flight information would be wrong and so we wouldn’t go to receive Prabhupada and he would have to come by himself by taxi to Hare Krishna land.

This happened a few times. So in 1965 Prabhupada was alone and now how many members are there in Iskcon? When I saw at London ratha yatra there were 15,000 devotees. Prabhupada in 1966 started the first ratha yatra and then after a few years in London, I don’t know, there may have been another one before this in maybe Montreal or another city in America and then there was the London ratha yatra.

1969 was the first London ratha yatra and the day before yesterday Landon had it’s fiftieth ratha yatra (shouts of Haribol). So London ratha yatra was the last part of my yatra, my trip.

Jagannatha ratha yatra mahotsava ki jai!

So Jagannatha stays with Radha Londonisvara who are the first deities in Iskcon. He is the Lord, the Isvara of London, just like in Paris the deities are Radha Parisisvara.

So Prabhupada gave these names to the deities and so Radha Londonisvara are in the city of London and in Bhaktivedanta Manor – have you heard of this name? There are deities of Radha Gokulananda. George Harrison, have you heard his name? Prabhupada used to say Harrison and so they used to ask ‘Prabhupada you have not given him a name?’ So Prabhupada used to say that he already had a spiritual name ‘Hari’s son.’

So Bhaktivedanta Manor is a special, important dham in England and it is a great place of pilgrimage where Iskcon has seventy acres of property. Did you hear that or not? Seventy acres in London where Radha Gokulananda are very big landLords with seventy acres of land. There big, big festivals take place and there is a Haveli project which they have begun.

There will be a multipurpose hall and this that, and just like there are many auditoriums here, they didn’t have one and so they are now making that in a big Haveli. The Prime Minister of England went there last year and there was bhumi puja, a ground breaking ceremony. So a Haveli is being made for the Lord. So the biggest Janmastami in Europe is celebrated at Bhaktivedanta Manor and many years ago, more than ten years have passed, I attended one Janmastami over there.

There were seventy thousand visitors there on Janmashtami and you may say that ‘we have three million over here in India’ but you are all in India, bharat. In England seventy thousand visitors is a big thing. So after Janmastami celebrations the volunteers who overlooked the arrangements of the festival, for them there was a program to thank them and to glorify their service.

I was invited and Radhanath Swami was also there and we thought there would be a few people there but there were eight hundred people who were Janmastami festival coordinators of so many departments. So there were eight hundred organisers and staff for Janmastami festival, Sri Krishna Chaitanya!

So in this way this movement is spreading in Europe and all over the world just like a forest fire. So when we go on yatra just like I had gone, we experience just where and how this movement is spreading. Before going to England I went to Hungary, have you heard of Hungary? Where Sivaram Maharaja has a farm project and it is a big place. The project of the farm is being made on around two to three hundred acres of land.

When I went there this year, they were celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Iskcon there. Radha Shyamsundara are beautiful deities there and the name of the place is new Vraja Dham – ki jai! So I was called there for Vraja Parikrama and Sivaram Swami has made a replica of Radha Kunda, Shyam Kunda, Vishram ghat, Nandagram and so many places like this there.

There is also a river flowing through and they have called this the Yamuna river and so on the banks of the river Yamuna are all the seventy full-time devotees in which the grhasta’s are included because there is a varnasrama community there. Even in the village close by to the temple there are devotees living there, so including all these vaisnavas, some two hundred and fifty to three hundred devotees are involved in this project over there.

There is a big goshala in a beautiful setting and it is not just a hut-like structure but rather the goshala is like a palace in the service of the cows. There are also so many artists there who paint beautiful paintings and our temple here is like a mosque in comparison. The variety that is there in this world, Muslims do not believe in that wonderful variegatedness.

But over there the temple devotees, the artists had painted in such a way that wherever you look, there were paintings and it was beautiful. There were Krishna lila paintings and Chaitanya lila ones, and you may have seen some of these paintings in Sivaram Maharaja’s books, have you see Maharaja’s books?

Sivaram Maharaja has written many books, he is a big writer. Na paraye ‘ham is one and he has written many other books and in those books there are many paintings because there is a big arts and painting department there in the Hungary temple. So everywhere there are paintings, all so beautiful. There are other painters who paint the face of Lord Krishna or the Gopi’s or some other personality but they do not know how to do it properly.

They paint a Chinese nose or something similar and they just whimsically make it up. The features are not like the Indian paintings that good artists in India are able to paint. Even so, nowadays the artists in India cannot paint as well as what I saw in Hungary, the most wonderful painters. They also get bus loads of visitors to see the temple grounds and we are talking about local people here.

There are no Indians in Hungary, if there are then there are a very few so the visitors who come are local Hungarians or else devotees who have come on yatra to New Vraj Dham. You are going to Kuruksetra on yatra and they go to Vraj Dham yatra. I saw when I was there that there are many bus loads of visitors coming everyday.

They show them the whole place and take them to have darshan and see the paintings. I also saw that they would put the visitors on a bullock cart and show them the whole farm there. They have a bullock cart where twenty people can sit together and then in the bullock cart they give a guided tour of Vraj Dham or Krishna valley, as it is called. It is organic farming and are you listening? That means no chemicals and no chemical fertilisers.

Our Iskcon devotees, our god brothers and sisters and my god nephews and nieces you could say, they are understanding that chemical fertilisers have a soil which is spoilt. Nowadays in India the prime minister keeps speaking about the ‘health of the soil.’ So we have spoilt the earth by using chemical fertilisers and in doing so, we also intake these fertilisers. Whatever grains and fruits and vegetables there are, they all have these chemicals in them.

This is the outcome of most of the illnesses and so the devotees in Hungary have taken serious note of this matter and they have organic farming in which they use cow dung as the compost. This is what is used in the farming over there. So all Iskcon centres which have a farm will in the future, at least for the coming ten thousand years, they will continue to preach Krishna consciousness in this way.

So Krishna consciousness and the temples are not there for just a visit, in the sense that they will disappear or be renovated into something else after a while. No, these places are being made where the roots are going deeper and so they will have to stay, they will stay. So this kind of solid foundation is being made for Krishna consciousness. By going there one can see and experience the deepness of Krishna bhakti, Lord Krishna’s personal beauty and strength.

So before going to Hungary I was in Germany where there are many projects in the major cities mainly but also in small places all over the country. One of these is ‘Goloka Dham’ where Sacinandana Swami Maharaja has a base there. There is also a forest there where a river flows through and on the banks of this river is where the arrangements are being made for this Goloka Dham.

Radha Madana Mohan are the worship-able deities there and they are very beautiful. They capture the mind (mohan) and so this place is known for it’s deity worship and I also once worshiped the deities there. In other places too I have done this and also here I have done alter service. So then Kirtan took place because also Sacinandana Maharaja has Kirtan Melas over there quite often.

So all the devotees from all over Europe gathered there for kirtan mela and in this way kirtan mela mahotsava began and many singers and Kirtan leaders from Russia and here and there and from India all reached there for this occasion on Kirtan Mela Mahotsava. Just like you all arranged over here kirtan mahotsava half and hour ago. So these kirtans are spreading everywhere and in this way Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction is becoming true.

They say that seeing is believing, so our faith is strengthened when we see something. So when we go on yatra we get to see that Kirtan is spreading everywhere and so we can imagine how

Prithivi te ache joto nagar adi gram
sarvatra prachar hoibe mora naam (Chaitanya bhagavata, Antya 4.126)

Translation

All over the world, as many towns and villages are there, this Krsna consciousness movement should be preached.

So this Goloka is in the middle of nowhere and there are no towns or cities. Nagar adi gram, no? So these Hare Krishna people have initiated this farm project not in any town or city, but in the middle of these in villages or remote places and there Harinam preaching is happening. When I was in Hungary I met some padayatris and in Europe, Croatia is one of the places where padayatra takes place.

England is another place as is Czech Republic and Hungary. In these countries every year they go on padayatra for two weeks or a month. Just like you all devotees go from here to Vrndavan on yatra they do the same and as you know, padayatra is a wonderful way of performing Harinama. So twenty years ago we went from Glasgow to Moscow through these European countries.

Do you know where Glasgow is, who knows general knowledge? Yes in Scotland very good. Near England there is another small country, Scotland wherein there is a city called Glasgow. And so where is Moscow? Yes, in Russia. So for five years the devotees were walking from Glasgow to Moscow and yes, it took them five years to reach.

So they were continuing forward in each day and month of these five years. We visited many countries, twenty or thirty as there are many countries in Europe. We were walking so this was not an air yatra. Once I remember we were performing padayatra in India and I read one sign which said ‘air yatra of the four places of pilgrimage.’

So we Indians have become spoilt and we are imitating the westerners even in this sort of thing with four dham air yatra. So in padayatra we were walking and chanting at every step from Glasgow to Moscow. Harinama preaching has reached far away places and remote villages.

What to speak of India which is the mother of all padayatras, but the Iskcon padayatris have performed all together two hundred and fifty thousand kilometres of padayatra. Two hundred and fifty thousand kilometres. Somewhere or another some devotees are performing padayatra. There is ratha yatra and padayatra and in Germany there was kirtan mela.

So before forty years there was a thousand year old building which Iskcon bought. It is one of the famous buildings or monuments of Belgium and they made that monument Radha Gopinath temple. Over there they run the Bhaktivedanta college which you must have heard of as it is world famous.

There is a guest house there as well and they hold seminars frequently and when I visited, the devotees from Birmingham and London were there also and I gave seminars for them there for two days. There was katha and kirtan and there was kirtan lila, kirtan with lilas where katha was what they wanted to hear with kirtan in between and in this way we had special kirtans.

There is a goshala there as well and I had a disciple’s meeting there and there was also a disciple’s meeting in London. Then in Goloka Dham there was a disciple’s meeting and in Holland when I went there were disciple gatherings. I was meeting my disciples wherever they were and I was going and in Radhadesh there was again a disciple’s gathering.

You may have heard the name of Hridaya Chaitanya Prabhu, he is the in-charge of that project and he has been in Radhadesh for around forty years. He is also giving his time and work to Mayapur at the moment and he is GBC and travels to France and other places although his base remains in Radhadesh. I met Anuttama when there was an AGM, annual general meeting.

The trustees had come, Yadunandan Maharaja and many other were there and in this way many such meetings and gatherings take place over there. So when I was there we had one ratha yatra which was near Amsterdam. So it wasn’t in Amsterdam but near Amsterdam and it went through the market place with a small cart.

We had kirtan and I became a driver of Jagannatha’s cart. Actually I was assisting the driver and the mayor of the town was the chief guest and he had come with his wife, the lady mayor. So they very much liked the festival and the procession and they were saying very favourable things about Iskcon. Ratha yatra mahotsava ki jai!

And so like this I also went to Czech Republic where two countries were divided from the original Czechoslovakia, one is Slovakia and the other Czech Republic, so two countries. In both these countries our Iskcon has a project and one city is Prague which is a famous city just like Rome and Paris.

So Prague is also very popular and famous and people come to see this city from all over. We also went as they took me to see but we went along with kirtan and there were thousands of tourists from all over Europe and so we had nagar kirtan in Prague as we took the kirtan party there. There were around a hundred devotees with mrdangas and kartals.

At some places we stopped to preach and make people aware of who we were and what Hare Krishna is and they were also distributing books. So like this for the first time they saw the Hare Krishna’s and heard Hare Krishna and they must have gotten some ideas and they must have had thoughts. In this way they slowly come and become affiliated with Hare Krishna, they come in contact with Iskcon.

I wanted to know, in London when they had their fiftieth ratha yatra I was wondering if there was anyone present there who may have been at the first London ratha yatra. So I was searching for some people who may have been there at the first ratha yatra and who were present at the fiftieth ratha yatra.

So I wasn’t asking everyone but I asked a few people and one of them told me that ‘I did not attend the first ratha yatra but I saw the whole event on television at home.’ He said that when he saw it he was thinking in his mind that ‘I wish that I can one day see and join such a procession.’

A few years later he became a devotee in Iskcon and he became the temple president of Bhaktivedanta Manor (shouts of Haribol). So we can see how it can begin. He just saw this on television and he had a thought and he was attracted so that was the beginning, the Lord stole his mind, chita chor. So then we had another kirtan in a quite famous place in Czech Republic, it’s called ‘down town.’

Do you understand ‘down town?’ It’s a business area where business happens, like in a central place in the city. So every Saturday there is kirtan there and since I have been going on overseas yatra, it has been happening. Also for your information, this yatra I have just come back from is the fortieth anniversary of my overseas travels (shouts of Haribol).

In 1978 I went overseas to New York for the first time, my temple president had taken me, Giriraj Prabhu. So that was in 1978 and now it is 2018 and so it is the fortieth anniversary of my overseas yatra. So since I have been going, just like in London every Saturday I definitely go to the harinam kirtan. They have also in London, a down town kirtan in Piccadilly Circus which is the special area over there.

When I was there Saturday approached and we went out for kirtan in London and they had a very nice sound system with a band playing along with us with other instruments as well. So the Soho Street temple of Sri Sri Radha Londonisvara is where the kirtan starts. Downstairs they have a Govinda’s restaurant that used to be called ‘healthy wealthy and wise.’

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Have you heard this? Those who go to sleep early and then wake up early, what will happen to them? They will become healthy, wealthy and wise. So there is a Govinda’s restaurant there and that is where the kirtan starts and then it returns and finishes at the same place outside the restaurant.

There are three hundred customers coming daily to Govinda’s restaurant and they have a thali option as well. So there is a farm community and goshala at the Czech Republic temple which means they do farming and the production of wheat is then milled. There is a grinding mill and after grinding the devotees sell that wheat in five kilogram packets.

We sometimes see beehives hanging from the trees and so over there is tons of honey from these hives that they fill into jars and then they sell that. It’s the real thing, natural and all pure and organic honey. In Prague there are two Govinda’s restaurants and by the farm there is one restaurant as well. I saw that it is always overcrowded, this Govinda’s restaurant.

And one of those restaurants does home delivery and in this way they provide a healthy and hearty meal to people who cannot come for some reason to the restaurant. So this revolution of Krishna consciousness is spreading and will continue to do so. In 1965 this movement started with one personality, Srila Prabhupada and now there are innumerable devotees on this earth.

They are all our family members, gaudiya vaishnavas who follow the regulative principles of no meat eating, no fish and eggs and no illicit sex and chanting of Hare Krishna. They read Srila Prabhupada’s books and they also distribute these books. I also met the brahmacari’s of Bhaktivedanta Manor and there are thirty of them there and many of them are book distributors.

Gaura prem anande hari haribol
Srila Prabhupada ki jai

Padayatra glories –Part 1
19 June 2016, Salem
Tamil Nadu.

How many devotees are from padayatra here? We could welcome all padayatra devotees. They are the guests here today and you are the hosts. So the host has to welcome the guest. So we have Salem devotees, congregation devotees from Salem, raise your hands. Oh, it’s a good gathering.
Salem devotees ki jay!

Salem temple devotees also here? I see some brahmacharis. Okay, about ten, very good. Rest of you must be from this village. There is also another, some 5 kms there is a congregation, what is the name of that village? How many are from there you can ask. Not Mecheri, outside. Okay, quite a good number. How many are from this village, small town or village? Okay, there are some. Anyone from vaikuntha? Only one. We all are originally from Vaikuntha. How many of you would like to return to Vaikuntha? Everyone, almost everyone. Once more, he is taking photographs of those who want to go to Vaikuntha. We will send this photograph to the Lord. Let the Lord know so many are interested.

We are very very happy to be with you this evening. Infact, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, they had come to this village a few days ago and they are here. So we all are here because of them or because they are here. Have you taken darsana of Gaura Nitai? We call them Nitai Gaura sundar. There on the chariot, it’s a mobile temple. Moving temple. And Gaura Nitai are travelling everyday to newer and newer towns and villages.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jay!
Nityananda Prabhu ki jay!

So they are very kind. First of all they came down to this material existence. Some 500 years ago, the Lord appeared, sambhavami yuge yuge [Bg 4.8] as we hear from Bhagavad Gita.

keho bole purabete ravana badhila
goloker vaibhava lila prakasa korila
[Vasudev Ghosh’s bhajan “Jaya Jagannatha Sacira-nandana”, text 3]

Translation:
“Some wise souls say that in ancient times He killed Ravana. Some say in Gokola He enjoys glorious pastimes.”

Lord Rama appeared in treta yuga and he killed Ravana, among so many other things he did. Then in dvapar yuga, Lord Krsna appeared and he manifested lilas. Goloka lila manifested in Gokul, Vrindavan, 5000 yeras ago. Then comes the Kaliyuga, the present, the current yuga.

sri-radhar bhave ebe gora avatar
hare krishna nam gaura korila pracar”
[Vasudev Ghosh’s bhajan “Jaya Jagannatha Sacira-nandana text 4]

Translation:
“To taste the ecstasy that Radha feels in Her love for Him, He has now incarnated here in the form of Lord Gaura. As Lord Gaura He preaches the chanting of the holy names of the Hare Krsna mantra.”

Then that Lord who had appeared, He always appears in every age. He had appeared as Rama in Treta yuga, he had appeared as Sri Krishna in Dvapar yuga, He appeared as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Kaliyuga. So when He appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says sri-radhar bhave ebe gora avatar. He appeared in the mood of or with the emotions of Radharani. Gaura avtar, and He became also idanim krishnatam gatah. Krishna appears as a Ghanashyama but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared as Gauranga. Shyamsundar appeared as Gaurasundar. So that is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and also Nityananda Prabhu is here. “Hare Krishna nama Gaura karila prachar” and then Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu propagated chanting of Hare Krsna mahaamantra. Like sambhavami yuge yuge [Bg 4.8], why does Lord appear in every age?

“paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge” [Bg 4.8]

Translation:
“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.”

Dharma-samsthapanarthaya, to establish the religion of that age. So this Kaliyuga’s dharma is harinamA sankirtan.
Every time Kali Yuga comes, Harinam Sankirtan is the dharma, probably you’re surprised what is this every time Kali Yuga comes, we don’t hear this, we don’t know what is this every time? How many times is that Kali Yuga comes and gone, probably that could be a question. Have you heard about Brahma, Brahma Visnu Mahesh? In Brahma’s one day, Kali yuga comes thousand times, you know so Dvapara Yuga thousand times, Tetra Yuga thousand times, Satya Yuga thousand times and this is just one day of Brahma.

In fact, just 12 hours of Brahma and another thousand cycles. So, every time Kali yuga comes,

harer nama harer nama harer namaeva kevalam
kalounasty evanasty eva gatiranja ta

The people of this age of Kali are every time reminded, now we are reminding you, you are also reminding others. Caitanya Mahaprabhu reminded and established this Hare Krishna Mantra in this age of Kali. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in Navadvipa Bengal, 500 years ago, Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa.

So, He is full of six opulences: Renunciation (vairagya) is one of them, so in that sense we could say He renounced everything. And He started propagation of this chanting of Hare Krishna mahamantra. Lord Krishna was chanting and dancing, chanting this,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama
RamaRama Hare Hare,

Krishna who danced with the gopis in Vrndavan in the banks of Yamuna, now He was dancing with this devotees everywhere.
sundara lala sachirdulala nachata sri harikirtana me

This whole song says, Sundar lal is the same to who was Nanda Dulal now became Sundar Lal, Sachi Dulal, Krishna Caitanya, His name is now Krishna Caitanya, Krishnaya Krishna Caitanya namne, Krishna, now His name is Krishna Caitanya and is dancing in kirtana.

nachata sri harikirtana me
thatai thatai bhajela kol
gana gana tahe janjerarol

The devotees would play the mrdangas and Caitanya Mahaprabhu dancing,

Preme dala dala sunaranga carane nupurabhaje
Gauranga Mahaprabhu with His golden complexions Lord and His long arms,
ajanulambhita bhujou kana kava dato sankirtaneika pitarou,

His long arms and His blooming lotus eyes reaching His ears (karuna parijantam) His broad forehead, was a huge bodied personality, deep naval, raised nose, deep voice, deep intelligence also, long arms, golden form and ankle bells tied around His ankles and immerse of hundreds and thousands of devotees He would dance, as you know Krishna dancing with gopis, you know how many gopis? Crowds of gopis, crowds of gopis, millions of gopis would assemble and dance with Krishna or Krishna dancing with them, the same Krishna is dancing with the devotees in Kirtan and He was propagating chanting of the Holy name which is the best thing to be had in this world or in 14 planet systems, so the Lord travelled all over India, all over south India, He had come to Bangalore, many places.

You know Srirangam? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Srirangam.
Hari Bol!!!

And He had come during the rainy season and stayed there for four months. He was performing kirtan everyday there. In fact, there is a house Vyenkata Bhatta was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s host and Mahaprabhu stayed with Vyenkata Bhatta for four months. When you go to Srirangam next time you could visit that Vyenkata Bhatta residence where Mahaprabhu stayed for four months. They also have the footprints of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet installed in front of Srirangam mandir. So like that, I think that is the closest point to this village or to Sailam, Srirangam was the closest. God walked the earth, God was here, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was here .Well he is here also in the form of deity but he was here.
You could take photographs of him. Any photograph, any video, that time there were no videos. But he could read Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in Chaitanya Charitamrita. He could read Chaitanya Bhagavata, Chaitanya mangal, Chaitanya Charit. There are so many scriptures. Reading those pastimes is like looking at the video.

‘Shastra chakshusha’ – Seeing through the eyes of the scriptures.

By reading those pastimes by hearing those pastimes you could paint a picture of how Caitanya Mahaprabhu looked like. And what did he do and where he went? You could know everything about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is also called the ‘shruti praman’. we understand by hearing. Lord has a form, lord has a name, lord has qualities, and lord performs pastimes. Just this mantra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is being made known to the world by this Hare Krishna movement.

Srila Prabhupada ki jay!!
Srila Prabhupada the founder acarya of this international society for Krishna consciousness. He is revealing Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the whole world. People used to only maybe hear about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the past, something something. And whatever they were hearing was not always perfect, concoctions. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the supreme personality of godhead, that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is being presented by this Hare Krishna movement.

Srila Prabhupada, he translated Chaitanya Charitamrita in English and now you could also read that in Kannada, and Marathi,and Chinese, and Japanese, and Dutch and Czechoslovakian and so many languages. And now you could see Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to your village.
Hari Bol!!

I am here, look at me, this is how I look like, raise your hands, say Hari bol.
‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Caitanya Mahaprabhu is here and his mantra, God gave the mantra to the world.

‘Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum’- He is the original guru.

And he inaugurated this Hare Krishna chanting and propagation of Hare Krishna chanting, he is the inaugurator. So that mantra is now being chanted everywhere. Mantra that was given by God. The best mantra, the appropriate mantra, the right mantra for this age of Kali.

And it’s now going all over the world. This mantra is a global mantra not just a local mantra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he did not appear for the benefit of Indians only. God doesn’t think Indian are his people and American are some other people and Japanese Pakistanis are some foreigners.
Why would God think like this?

So Gods Mantra is for everybody on this planet. Every Human Being on this Planet. And Lord, he wanted to see the world united under the banner of this one Mantra “Hare Krishna Mahamantra”. Those to chant Hare Krishna, they forget “I’m Indian, I’m Japanese, I’m American, I’m…”, we forget.
Srila Prabhupadji used to say, I heard from him so many times, during public functions that “This devotee is from America, this is from Japan, This is from India, This is from Sri Lanka”, but we all chant Hare Krishna, we don’t fight. Yeah one time the Russia and America, the two superpowers battling, fighting. But devotee from Russia or devotee from America, they don’t fight. Pakistan and Hindustan fighting, but if there’s Hare Krishnas devotee, they don’t fight.

All this thought, low class thought, that this are outsiders, this are my people, this are other people, this is low class thinking. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that this “Hare Krishna Mahamantra” chanting will go everywhere, every town, every village of this World. And this is what the International Society for Krishna Conciousness had been doing for past 50 years. A propogation of chanting of Hare Krishna.

Hari Hari Krishna ||
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki Jay !!!

So this is the Solution to all the problems, chanting Hare Krishna !! As soon as you chant Hare Krishna, you get connected with Lord. So we would like you to chant. This is on behalf of sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, we like to appeal to you all that you please take to this chanting of Hare Krishna Maha-mantra seriously. There are so many difficulties in this world, so many problems. Yes or No? The Solution is chanting Hare Krishna. Then you’ll become Good. Then we become Good People, we become better people, better Human Beings.

Hari Hari !!
Like the Jaghai and Madhai, at sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhus time there were Jagai and Madhai. They were very mad people, very sinful, the troublemakers, there were drunkards, meat eaters, Gamblers, but, luckily or by the grace of the Lord, they came in contact with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and they accepted chanting of Hare Krishna Mahamantra. And as they started chanting Hare Krishna, they became Gentlemen, they became very refined Human Beings, very simple Hearted People, pure hearted, very kind, friendly, helpful, like that.

Sage Valmiki you know, right? What kind of robber he was before he met Narad Muni.But then Naradmuni had nothing. The robbers Is trying to take something, but Narada only had vina with him. And Narad Muni gave him Ram Mantra saying you chant “RAM RAM RAM”.

And because he was so sinful, he couldn’t even chant “RAM”, but he was chanting “MARAMARAMARA”. He became pure heart and his consciousness, he became Pure. He became God realized, he became Ram realized. He had never seen RAM. But he started seeing past times of Sri Ram. Not just Ram, but his acting, moving, doing this, that. And then he would look at Ram in his meditation, and he would write about Ram. Write past times of Ram. He would look at Ram because he has chanted RAM, Sri Ram appeared before him. And he was looking at Ram, seeing, realizing and compiling Ramayan.
The Mrigari (one who kills animals) was a hunter. That Mrigari, the hunter, you know, there’s a mrigari, an enemy of the animals, a hunter. Again, Narada Muni encountered him also and he was not willing to stop killing animals. But finally he agreed, “Okay. Okay. And what should I do?” “Chant Hare Krsna”, he was told and when he started chanting Hare Krsna, his consciousness changed, his thoughts changed, his attitude changed. Then after a long time, he had been chanting and practicing, Narada Muni came again. Then, you know, he should’ve ran to reach his Guru-Maharaj and offer him dandavats, but he was taking extra time. He was bowing down, going this way, jigs-jack, a lot of things he was doing, he was not going fast, straight. So finally, when he reached Guru-Maharaj, Narada Muni said, “hey! what happened, this is not proper. When you heard or saw me, you should have run and come quickly, but you’re just going this way or that way, bowing down, clearing something. What is this? This is not proper.”
So, this mrighari, one time the hunter, the killer of birds and animals, who would kill them mercilessly and when they were being killed, he would enjoy, he would be having a festival, he would dance. But you know, this time, this mrigari, said,” I’m very sorry guru maharaj, I could’ve come running for sure, but in this process I could have killed hundreds and thousands of ants, they were all over. I did not want to hurt them, I was clearing the path, I was removing them, putting them on the side.”

When guru maharaj, Narada muni heard this, he gave a deep embrace to his disciple, Mrighari, “well done, well done.“ The point is this is, this is what happens when you chant hare krishna, You become a different kind of person, you become a good person, a friendly person, you develop 26 qualities of vaisnava as they say. Of course you don’t become God by chanting hare Krishna but you become godly. You develop qualities of God in you, good quality, the best qualities, spiritual qualities. So, this is the need of the hour.

We need good people, we want kind people, we want magnanimous people, we want friendly people, we want all these kinds of people or neighbors or family members or citizens or fellow human beings. So we have seen Ramayana time this happened and 500 years ago Jagai Madai happened and then mrigari sometime in the past that happened, that’s nice, that’s fine. But, is it happening now? What do you think? Those who are chanting Hare Krishna or who have experience of hare krishna or devotees or the movement? Are people improving? Becoming gentle? Are the danavas becoming manavas? You understand danava and manava? I think they should know danavas and manavas? What do you have to say?

Here is Akhildhar prabhu all the way from America, New York. We have someone from New York here. Narak? Prabhupada started preaching from New York or narak. The devotees as they chant hare Krishna, they study Bhagvat Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrit, honor Krishna prashad, they become different people, different kind of citizen. They don’t kill, they are only vegetarians. No more muttonam chikanam. They’re happy with patram, palam and pushpam. No drinking, no smoking. Big, big problems are by drinking and smoking, it’s a huge problem. Big problem. What are you getting? If you chant hare Krishna, you don’t care for this drinking, smoking, you could kick and throw that away and the devotees always think,

sarve sukhina bhavantu,
sarvani bhadrani pashyantu

Let everyone be happy, let everyone be free from all difficulties, diseases, let them all live auspicious mangalmay life. So all padayatris, padayatra devotees have been, they are travelling for past 40 years they are on the road travelling and going from village to village. This is the 40th anniversary. And they have, there’s a record they have just found, we did some calculations and padayatris have walked 250 thousand kilometers in India and around the world, 250 thousand kilometers. Haribol. And these are Padayatra India, this is our 6th round around India. Pradakshina of Bharatvarsha. Like you do pradakshina one temple, the Padayatra is doing entire continent. Going with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s deities, chanting everywhere Hare Krishna Mahamantra, distributing Bhagavad Gita, other scriptures and interacting with people like we are doing tonight. Every night there is, all day, but in the evening also they gather, they go into the village doing. We do shobha yatra, nagar sankirtan. And evening we have aarti, kirtan, talk, movie, we show. Yes!

We could have shown, we have that movie? We have? We can show? We have one movie also. New ISKCON movie. That can be shown. Hare Krishna.

Once again thank you for coming, some of you have travelled some long distances. Thankyou for coming all the way, 100’s of kilometers you have travelled. So understand this Hare Krishna Movement. Our Guru Maharaj used to appeal, “Please understand this movement, very spiritual movement, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Movement”. And join this movement, follow the teachings of this movement, and propagate teachings of this movement. This is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s, Krishna’s movement, God’s movement, God’s organisation. Non-political, non-sectarian and what not. Our only motivation is, that we all take to Krishna Conscious, we surrender unto Krishna.

mam ekam saranam-vraja

I am not god, you are not god, we all are servants of God. Prabhupada used to say this. So Krishna prem is being propagated, distributed in the form of this Holy name. This is not a Karma-kanda dharma or jnana-kand dharma. This is not karma kanda, jnana kanda dharma that goes on.

“bhukti-mukti-siddhi-k?m?–sakali ‘a??nta’”

This is a prem dharma, devotional service dharma. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu propagated or distributed. So we are all souls. And soul is servant of Krishna, devotee of Krishna. In the world we have forgotten all this. So this Hare Krishna Movement on behalf of the lord is reminding everyone all over the world, who we are. Anyway there is so much to say. And it can’t be said in one sitting, one evening. But we also have said, kind of everything in nutshell. Ya main thing is chanting Hare Krishna Mahamantra. So all our new guests first time in contact with Hare Krishna Movement, you also.

We don’t want anything else. We want only Krishna and you also need Krishna. This is the only way to be happy. Without Krishna forget it, there’s no happiness. In the world there is only Krishna and Maya, two things. Third thing is us, the soul, tathasta shakti, we are third party. You should understand Krishna, understand Maya also and take a pick. You choose yourself. You choose, Krishna or Maya. maya had been already giving kicks.

“ Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,
Punarapi janani jatare sayanam
Iha samsaare khalu dusthare,
Krupayaa pare pahi murare.”

Translation:
Again and again one is born,
And again and again one dies,
And again and again one sleeps in the mother’s womb,
Help me to cross,
This limitless sea of life,
Which is uncrossable, my Lord.

I’m sure we had enough kicks of maya, birth death this that, are you not tired? Or you want to try more? So Maya or Krishna. How many of you would go for Krishna? Vote for Krishna. Vote for Krishna.

“krishna-surya sama;maya haya andhakara
yahan krishna tahan nahi mayara adhikara”

Translation:
“Krishna is compared to sunshine and maya is compared to darkness. Whatever there is sunshine, there can not be darkness. As soon as one takes to Krishna consciousness, the darkness of illusion will immediately vanish.” [C.C Madhya 22.31]

Book -Padayatra Worldwide, on the road with Lord Chaitanya
When I look back to those days of padayatra it seems that the Lord had been guiding and protecting us throughout. We have seen those days when we didn’t have our own bullock cart and no funds, just meagre facilities. However, this did not deter us, nor dampen our spirit. Till Bullock Cart Padayatra was the most effective medium through which we could connect with hundreds and thousands of people and engage them in Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada always said “Depend on Krishna”, not on outside help, that is what has kept us going till this day. During Srila Prabhupada’s 100th birth Anniversary Centennial Celebrations, his followers organized padayatra in over 100 countries, walking a monumental 2,50,000 km. More than half of that was covered by Padayatra India alone. When we walk on padayatra it is not the kind of a business as usual walk. Padayatra is something where your heart and soul walks towards its ultimate destination, Krishna Prem!

Padayatra Worldwide, on the road with Lord Chaitanya is not only a book, it is the history of our organization’s development and insights of how it has emerged as a leading preaching strategy. It gives you the power for seeking your inner journey home.

Temple of Vedic planetarium Mayapur
7 May 2017

Hare Krishna Dear devotees and Jaya Srila Prabhupada, Jaya TOVP ki jaya!
Well I’m here standing before you to make an announcement. TOVP is planning to, well they are doing advanced planning for next year’s Mayapur Festival and as you know how TOVP works. They had installed chakra on the top of the monument one year ago, and they opened last year the pujari floors and next year 2021 there’s a plan of installing Srila Prabhupada murti. And as Prabhupada said, “Mayapur is my place of worship”, so a murti that is worshipable will be carved by the original artist Locan Prabhu in America and have Prabhupada sitting in his asan in TOVP. What is GBC doing and what are you all doing to complete the TOVP? TOVP is committed and determined to open the temple in 2022 Mayapur Festival Time.

So, next year on 25th of February there is Nityananda Trayodasi, three days festivities are planned, beginning with Nityananda Trayodasi. TOVP is like Lord Nityananda’s dream project, He predicted and he would like to see that it’s completed of course. Next day 26th will be the official opening of Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja’s samadhi. Sri Srimad Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja was a great supporter of TOVP, so his samadhi opening will be on 26th. And then on 27th the installation ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s murti in TOVP at the final destination where Srila Prabhupada is supposed to be.

The next year 2021 is the 125th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance. There is a very important landmark or event, eventful year. So TOVP is installing Srila Prabhupada’s murti during that year, this is very appropriate. There will be a Maha maha abhishek. Abhishek meaning different kalashes, copper kalash, silver kalash, golden kalash, platinum kalash. And this is where you come into the picture, would you like you to sponsor these different kalashes? Be there to perform abhishek of Srila Prabhupada’s murti. If you cannot be present it can be done on your behalf on that day. We had done this some 24 or 25 years ago. During 1996, I remember how I could forget, I was a centennial minister and we did abhishek, of course that year Srila Prabhupada abhisek was conducted in all the temples around the world with sahasra tirth jal. The idea was also to raise funds, so we did that, this is 1996 story and lots of funds were raised.

Because of this pandemic situation, construction has been kind of slowed or even stopped, so we need some urgent need of funds to get started and that we also have a very short time before the opening of the TOVP. So, we appeal to you all that please step forward and book your kalash. This is 27th february 2021 and the mood is going to be from now on in fact “Prabhupada is coming, Prabhupada is coming”. And in order to accomplish this we need you, we need help, help, serve, serve. So, this is a service opportunity and I’m confident you will go for it.

TOVP ki Jaya!
Nityananda Prabhu ki Jaya!
Srila Bhakti Caru Maharaja ki jaya!

Krishna consciousness is meant to spread all over the planet.
Vilnius
24th April 2016

hare krsna hare krsna, krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama, rama rama hare hare.

In the country of a population of only three million people in this country, there are so many devotees here in a country of not many people.

manushyanam sahasreshu kashchid yatati siddhaye (BG 7.3)

Translation

Amongst thousands of persons, hardly one strives for perfection

Krishna says in the Bhagavad gita that one out of a thousand would be interested in Him. They will endeavor for some spiritual perfection. So you are those rare, one out of a thousand thousands who are present here. So that Krishna conscious time has come for you or in your place. I was just thinking that fifty years ago it was just the one Srila Prabhupada in New York.

During kirtan there was no big hall like this with hundreds in the audience and the microphone system and the guitar also and the deities. None of this was there and it started with one person on the footpath. You understand footpath? I mean I am sitting on a big cushion here and there was someone to invite me and offering me a seat but in New York no-one was offering Prabhupada. And with one pair of kartals he would do kirtan.

hare krsna hare krsna,
krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama
rama rama hare hare

So that was fifty years ago and there was but one person, the founder acarya of the international society of Krishna consciousness. There was but just one temple in New York where Prabhupada gave the name ‘International society’ to this society. This is a local society in one of the states, New York which is one state in America.

So he was thinking that in the future this society is going to be international society for Krishna consciousness. Even one day in Lithuania, Krishna’s name will be chanted. Srila Prabhupada had that confidence; he had full faith in the prediction of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who predicted

prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama

Translation

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.” (Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.126)

‘My name will be chanted in every town and every village of this planet.’ So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared and then He disappeared after the forty eight years that He was on this planet. God was on this planet, Haribol! God is not some light or some concept but he is a personality, solid, spiritual, eternal.

He had a name, and you could put the name and the face together and that is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And His activities and His associates and His abode and we all, His parts and parcels. It doesn’t matter where you are from or where I am from, it doesn’t really matter. So the Lord said

mamaivamso jiva loke
jiva bhutah sanatanah (B G 15.7)

Translation
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts.

‘All the living entities are my parts and parcels.’ Okay fine you are born in Lithuania now, but fifty years ago you were not Lithuanians and in the next life what would be your nationality? This keeps changing all the time. There is not much dust here but it’s like dust particles which keep floating, coming in and going out.

Sometimes the window is open and you see some dust particles just moving around and going in and coming out. Like that all of us living entities are moving round and round and down. Two thousand years ago Christianity existed since two, three thousand years only. But what about before that?

It was Vedic culture, Krishna consciousness that pervaded the planet. Christianity is two, three’s thousand years and Islam is fourteen hundred years, Sikhism is five hundred years and like that. Before that there was just one family all over the planet, Bharat Varsha. And that’s why there is a concept, a thought in Vedic literature that says

ayam nijah paroveti ganana laghu chetasam
udaracharita vasudhaiva vutumbakam

(Sanskrit subhashita)

Those who think ‘oh, these people are my people but these are some outsiders, some others’ those who think like this are counted as laghu chetasam.

Their chetana, their thoughts are narrow. Small minded think like this. Narrow minded people think in terms of ‘ours and theirs and my country and their country. Those who are kind hearted think in terms of the whole world being one family

Those who are udaracharita, who have chetana or broad minded consciousness, they are big hearted. So if the Lord is in the heart then the heart becomes big hearted. They think that everybody on this planet is part of my family. So these are all man-made countries and also they divide. This country, that country and this religion, that religion, but the soul is transcendental to all these designations and boundaries and divisions and fragmentations.

So, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

He is the Lord, He is the Lord. Jesus is the son of the Lord and a good son of the Lord. A good son, a very good son but how could god have only one son and how could we limit god? How many sons do you have, you sir?

One, two? Okay. So this gentleman could have two children, is there someone with three or four children here? Yes so here we are, here they go, so many of them. Someone has half a dozen? So human beings have two, three or four. In India to have or in Mauritius to have one dozen children is not a big thing (laughter).

We know even Bhakti Vinod Thakur had a close to a dozen children. So how could god have just one son? God must have unlimited sons and we can see that we are all sons and daughters of the Lord. Maybe we were all bad sons but now it is the time to become good sons and good daughters of the Lord.

And the Lord is Lord, He is everybody’s Lord like the sun is everybody’s sun, it’s the same sun in the sky. It doesn’t become Lithuanian sun and ‘oh no it’s the Japanese sun and oh no now it’s the Russian sun or now it is the American sun.’ The sun is sun of all of us and this is a common thing that everyone understands that the Lord is but one for all of us, one god.

One only difference is that the Vedic literature or Krishna consciousness or sanatan dharma or Bhagavad dharma has so much detailed information about god. Srila Prabhupada used to say that we even know the phone number of god. What is that number, he would say

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So if you are in difficulty don’t call the police but call out for mercy and chant the holy names of the Lord and He will respond. So Krishna consciousness is something that’s meant to spread and spread till it reaches every town and every village of this planet. How will this happen?

Some impossible thoughts like that may come, but if this much could happen, if someone was told in India or even here in your country say even fifty years ago, that in 2016 in the month of April on the 24th in this hall there is going to be a house full and all of them would be waiting to have the holy name, who could have believed this fifty years ago? Who could even have believed that?

What is this Hare Krishna? Fifty years ago nobody would have believed such a thing, this is impossible. So if this much is possible then the rest of whatever is also possible. So many in the last fifty years- this is the fiftieth year of the ISKCON golden jubilee celebration of Iskcon which is at the moment celebrating just like a victory celebration.

Param vijayate sri Krishna sankirtan, this is the victory. In ’66 we had one temple and now in 2016 we have seven hundred temples (shouts of Haribol)! There are now a countless number of followers, chanters of the holy name. Many now study the Bhagavad Gita and millions of copies of Bhagavad Gita have been distributed in the last fifty years.

I was in Czech Republic where the population is ten million but you would be amazed to hear that the devotees there have distributed two million copies of Srila Prabhupada’s books. In a population of ten million, two million books have been distributed in just the last twenty years or so. So in another twenty years or in another fifty years or in another hundred years you can imagine how it is going to spread.

There was also a report in a magazine called news week, the cover story that said ‘the fastest growing religion in the former Soviet Union is the Hare Krishna religion.’ Haribol! They also said, I don’t know where they got that number from but they said that there were seven hundred thousand followers of Hare Krishna in the former Soviet Union.

So spreading of Krishna consciousness and spreading of the holy name all over the world is just a vision of the Lord, a plan of the Lord and a prediction of the Lord. There is no power on the earth that can stop this from happening and it doesn’t matter how super that power may be. Super duper, they say ‘super duper’ power and so it doesn’t matter how much it is.

If the Lord wants this to happen then this must happen and we are seeing it happen. There are so many good results and the Hare Krishna’s are good people, good human beings. They are well behaved and very pious and they love their neighbours. Just like the bible says ‘love thy neighbour as thy self and thou shall not kill’ the bible says.

We are the ones following that and so our devotee, he was asked that question in India ‘why did you give up your religion? You were Christian and now you have become a Hare Krishna, Hindu.’ He said ‘no no no I have not become a Hindu! I have become a better Christian. Before this I had heard that thou shall not kill but I was killing or someone else was killing for me.

Turkey on thanks giving, but I don’t do that anymore. Our bible says ‘love thy Lord with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy strength. And now I know the Lord and I am loving the Lord and serving the Lord with all my heart and all my strength. So I was Christian in name only but now I have become a better Christian.’

In the Quran you will find ninety nine names of god, Allah. So their rosary, so their japa beads has ninety nine beads to chant the names of Allah. Hallelujah, no? So this Hallelujah has made their name be hallowed or glorified, so like that. So all religions talk of chanting the holy names of the Lord. Allah Akbar, you have heard this?

In the mosque they pray five times a day and they say ‘Allah Akbar, god is great.’ Allah means god who is great. So that is fine that the Lord is great. Prabhupada said that ‘yes they say that god is great but how is he great? What makes him great? They cannot say so much.’ A Muslim also means one who is surrendered unto god and if that is the understanding then we are Muslims also as we are surrendered unto God.

Hari Hari
Nitai Gaura Prem Anande Hari Haribol.

Life time achievement award
Pune
10 February 2020

Prabhupada used to say, ‘Even Hippies have become Happies. Once, those who were Hippies, became HAPPIES.’ So, there is much to say. Talks related to Lord Ananta are Ananta, unlimited.

Thanks to all for your presence and for accepting me as one of you and for this honor and award etc. In fact this is the honor of the Lord or the honor of India. Or this honor is of our, we can say Bharat-ratna (the jewel of India), Bhakti Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, he was the gem. He understood India, the wealth of India. Therefore Prabhupada used to, ‘I haven’t come here in your country to take something.’ So far whoever came, the politicians, scientists, etc, they came to take something. ‘Give to us, give to us!’

Therefore our country at one time, now gradually the situation or their thinking or acceptance is changing. But, they used to ask me also, ‘From where you have come?’ ‘Oh! India!’ ‘Oh! That beggar’s country? You came from that beggar’s country?’ Such is the publicity, image, because whenever we went, we went to take something. Give us loan, give us computer, and this and that. ‘That beggar’s country?’ But Prabhupada used to say, ‘I have not come here to take anything. I have come to GIVE you. Take this wealth of our country.’ He, the Bharat-ratna Bhaktivedant Srila Prabhupada, understood the glories of this country, the real wealth of this country.

It is very necessary, technological point of view, the west countries are advanced. Prabhupada used to say, ‘But they are blind. Indians are having eyes, little eyesight, but they are lame.’ Prabhupada used to talk about ‘Andha-pangu-nyaya’, the logic of blind and lame. One is blind and another one is lame. They both want to go to one place, so what they can do? One who is lame can sit on the shoulder (of the blind). This lame man will show the way and the blind will walk. In this way they both could help each other. Technology, science and this and that of the West and the culture and religion of the East, or India, combination of these two, friendship of these two, they could help each other. And they should do so.

Bharata bhumite manunya-janma haila yara
janma sarthaka kari’ kara para-upakara [Cc. Adi 9.41]

Si Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘if we have taken birth in India and want to make our life successful, then what we have to do? Kari’ kara para-upakara, do para upakara, do well to others. Don’t only take but also give. So, that which we have with us to give, give Krsna, give Bhagavad Gita.
Here also we have our ISKCON’s temple. We have thousand temples all over the world. It is here in Puna also. Today only discussion was going on. Our Puna temple, in the month of December, that month in which comes appearance day of Bhagavad Gita, that month in which Lord gave the instructions of Bhagavad Gita,

dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre

In that month our temple devotees as well as congregation devotees, many of them are present here, all together they distributed 3,14,000 Bhagavad Gitas in one month. This is the score of one temple. Of course, this year ISKCON Pune is number one in the world. We have inter-temple competition. In this competition, through all over the world, in book distribution, our ISKCON Puna temple won. Here, Radhesyama Prabhu is the temple president. He is M Tech and what not. He is highly educated youth.

Our international society for Krsna consciousness is doing the work of character development of the highly educated youths. Quality of the person, qualified person is required. There is no need of reducing the quantity. It is the misconception that we will become more prosperous, everyone will get more food and home and more clothes and roads and more water if the quantity will be less. This is misconception. Un till we are selfish, till then, if we will keep reducing the quantity more and more and when by the end there be only two persons left on the earth, then also what they both will say? Two is too many. How many should be there? Only one, and that one is me. This aham, selfishness, is the enemy.

So the character development work, developing qualities, this work is being done by the International Society for Krsna Consciousness. And their news, news of their work and news of truth, news of Gita, Bhagavat, Prabhupada Ghat which is established in Pandharpur, or there are goshalas and Harinama Sankirtana is going on and this and that, so many news. Our great grandfather, Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur, used to say, ‘there are so many spiritual news that we can publish newspapers at every minute.’ There are so many good news; the best news!

So, let all of us together serve the Lord, let us serve the souls of the Lord; not only service to the bodies of the living entities, not the senses but the souls. Then that soul will become happy, will become happy, will become devotee and then ultimately by attaining the Lord, amhi jato amuchya hava, I am going back to Godhead, this will also take place. And then after reaching there, deva deyila visava, we will live peacefully. So our home is like this, where the Lord lives and we are His children, Vithu maza lekurwala.

So, we are trying to do such kind of guidance and preaching; let us do this work together, work of dharma, religion, establishment of religion. When there will be establishment of religion then,

dharmo raksati raksitah (Manu Smrti)

If the religion is saved then only that religion will save us. Otherwise the world is facing very difficult situations and they have no solutions. There is solution, solution is Gita; solution is in Bhagavatam. You have no solution, actors and politicians of now a day they have no clue. God knows, His devotees know. They are scientists. One who understands Bhagavad Gita is scientist in real sense. Gita Bhagavatam is sastra, idam sastram. Not only chemistry is sastra, and not only bhugol (Geology) and khagol (cosmology), but it is a big gol, zero. There should be one. And in front of ‘one’ when one zero comes then it becomes ten and with two zeros it becomes hundred. But if there is no ‘one’ then these zeros together will become a BIG ZERO. Then how come we are hero, Zero!

So, this is the honor of all of you, honor of all living beings, it is the part of Lord’s glorifications. Otherwise everything is opulence of Maya. How can the living being be saved from the clutches of Maya? This is the question. And there are answers to this question. So the International Society for Krsna Consciousness is letting everyone know all these answers to all over the world,

sarvatra pracar hoibe mora nama

Lord caitanya said, ‘My Holy Name will be heard in every town and village of the world.’) [CB Antya-khanda 4.126]
Okay thank you. Let one time say everyone together, raise your hands and say loudly,

‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare’!

How Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fulfilled Prabhupadas desire

The Lord’s senapati-bhakta Srila Prabhupada blessed us by saying: This preaching on Padayatra is a very noble attempt and if you sincerely preach, Krishna will give you intelligence.

In 1976 we were travelling with German buses, which had to leave the country and Srila Prabhupada conceived a novel mode of transportation, travelling with the bullock cart.

Srila Prabhupada inaugurated the Bullock Cart Sankirtana Padayatra in Vrndavan and then by the grace of Guru and Gauranga we had an easy journey from Vrndavan to Mayapur planet.

Srila Prabhupada in his last days in Vrndavan expressed a desire to undertake a bullock cart pilgrimage and asked me to organize this travelling with the bullock cart to Govardhan as an experiment. However, this was cancelled due to Prabhupada’s failing health.
Prabhupada next proposed travelling with the buses and he asked me again to take the leadership role here. As we were in the middle of organizing the pilgrimage with the buses, suddenly Prabhupada departed.
For the next six years Prabhupada’s desire remained unfulfilled.

The 500th Anniversary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us a chance to take Srila Prabhupada and Gaur Nitai on pilgrimage from Dwarka to Mayapur.

This Caitanya Mahaprabhu 5th centennial Padayatra lasted for 18 months and Iskcon padayatris walked for 8000 Km through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and finally reaching Mayapur in West Bengal.