namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

We are planning what we hope will be our biggest event thus far at Staford this Saturday.

On a not very important side note, I designed the poster myself, it was my first foray into the world of graphic design since I was 13 years old and the only programs I had to work with were microsoft publisher and paint but in the end I thought it came out pretty well.

I hope the program lives up to the poster.

This weekend I am in Sydney, and Sunday is Janmastami.

His Holiness Janananda Goswami is in town, and the word is that he is leading harinam in the city on Saturday, starting at Govindas at 11 am.

Call the temple on 3379-5455 to confirm this.

Haribol!

Summer days - seasons and mellows change

Diary of a spiritual journey 21
August 21st, 2008

Sometimes it is stated that Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are still going on today and that we ourselves are part of these pastimes. Well I certainly felt like that during this (European) summer’s  Ratha Yatras and other festival.  In Berlin Bhakti Marg Swami made his intricate, professional, dancing movements  and  everyone tried to follow him with Sacinandana Swami enthusiastically taking the lead. Parama Gati Maharaja was running form left to right in front of Lord  Jagannatha’s cart with an enormous smile beaming on his face the brahmacari were running after him. Maharaja was everywhere starting up a circle of dancing devotees holding hands, swinging around  arm hooked in arm with Jayapataka Maharaja flying. The kirtana swept everyone up, we forgot ourselves. The onlookers on the sidewalk stared at us. Where in the world is there such a sight? Sacinandana Maharaja swirled and all the dancers jumped higher, the drums increased in crescendo, at one point everyone was as if electrified with the energy of the kirtana. Lord Jagannatha is amazing he eats fifty two times a day, there is no limit to how much service He can bring out of  His devotee! Now the season is changing the summer is coming to an end Janmastami is approaching.  Soon we will go to Vrndavana for Kartika. Then for me the last two months of the year will be more introspective, rising early, chanting the Holy Name in the Holy Dhama, and meditating on the Caitanya Caritamrta.

Today the journey goes on by train, plane, car from Germany to Spain for la Fiesta, the big Janmastami party. Then back to a German island with a few brahmacaris for some days, for peaceful japa, katha and meditation. In September will be again South Africa for a month, I am bound to  go drawn by all the wonderful devotees. Thus I travel from one place to the next, places change, faces change, seasons change and mellows change and along we remain in the transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya’s movement which day by day touches more and more people around globe.

Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 20

Ali Asalim Air Base, Kuwait

Edited by Partha-sarathi Dasa

 I am sitting in Kuwait at the moment, having finished fifeteen months in combat, the time I have here is a very slow pace. The operational tempo I am use to is slowing down, making more time in my life for devotional activities. We arrived at 0400 hrs and in processed. Afterwards I wanted to stay awake for the long flight. But there was a problem our plane was broken down in the States.  Oh well, I thought let me go and walk around. As I walked around, I found a nice place to sit in read indoors. It was very quiet which meant I can just sit and read and not be bothered.  As I sat and read I noticed some Japanese soldiers enter and start  looking around. I thought well, let me talk with them, see what they need help with. I asked one and said can I help you find something. He said, yes, I am looking for God in broken english. That statement really blew my mind away, because the jiva is always looking for God in this material world. But by Maya’s potency we forget about the search.  After a minute his friend said, he is looking for the chapel. Well, sit and maybe I can help you, so he sat with all his friends. One said he could translate for me because the other cannot really understand english to well. So I took out of my assault pack some small books on chanting for them. The man asked me what these books were about. I said, well your friend is searching for God, the best way to find God is by calling out His name with all your heart. To never for a minute forget Him and to render all service in your lifetime to His lotus feet. The soldier asked, so what do these books have to do with all it? These books are windows to the spiritual world. They will show you the most sublime prayer for this age, the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha mantra, which will cleanse the heart of all impurities and by chanting the Lord’s name you are receiving direct association with Him.  As he translated to the others, I saw their faces light up. One boy spoke some japanese and the man said, “He wants to know if you can teach us this prayer.” Of course, so we went through word by word until they felt comfortable chanting on their own. Clapping my hands I starting chanting a simple melody, and they were into it.  As we were chanting a japanese man came in and started screaming, from the tone of his voice, I could tell he was in charge and the men quickly got there stuff. The one man who was translating asked me if they could keep these books. Yes please do I replied. He tried to give some money and I refused. I asked him to promise me that when he gets back to Japan, that he will go and visit one of our temples. He agreed and ran out the door with a smile.

Stay away from the Hare Krishna’s

 The day before we left we had a small BBQ of senior leaders in my unit. Kicking and screaming I attended. While there I sat in the corner and stayed to myself. My first sergeant approached me with some others, I quickly realized it was the general. I jumped up and saluted and stood there. My first sergeant introduced me and explained to him what my job is. He was smiling and said some words of encouragement. Then my first sergeant relayed a story to him about how he always tells his kids when they travel to always stay away from the Hare Krishna’s.  He then said funny that now one of my sergeants in his  command is a Hare Krsna. The general seemed surprised, said oh, how do you feel about Hare Krishna’s now. He said, well they are still a little weird, but I feel that they put so much effort into everything they do. The general turned to me and laughed. He started to walk away I asked him to remain for one minute. I quickly ran as fast I could to the smart box located where the lunch was being held and grabbed a Bhagavad-Gita.  When I returned the general wasn’t standing there, but I saw him about to get into a vehicle. I pushed into the front of the crowd and handed him the book, to which he said thanks SGT, I know it will be good reading.

 For fifteen months I have been sharing my story with others. This journal has been a way for me to deal with the harsh realties of my service. This journal has taught me many things, one being the wonderful loving exchanges between devotees, both old and new. By the Lord’s mercy this journal has given me the opportunity to receive the association of many senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada and many other wonderful devotees from all over the world. Below is a letter from Antony Prabhu. In no way did I post it to brag or boast.  But I feel the love that Antony has shown me during my tour here, is a reason why I made it through, why I was given so many opportunities to preach. 

Partha-sarathi prabhu,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Brother, I must thank you. In fact, my family thanks you for being such a

true and inspiring devotee. There are not enough words in this language to

properly convey the sum of what is felt and received through your

generosity, kindness, energy and humility.

Last night as I was at my workstation, I managed to get a call off to home.

I was talking with my wife, Shyamala, for several minutes when one of my

Sgts came in carrying a box. Since he saw me on the phone, he didn’t say

anything, he just stood there hovering over my desk holding this box. It

didn’t fully register that the box was for me or he needed a place to put

it. He finally raised his eyebrows as a silent question, “Are you going to

get this?” I told him to set it down and that’s when I saw the label. I told

Shyamala that I just received a package and that I thought it was from you.

As I got close to the box, I caught a faint and distinct scent. “This smells

like a temple”, I said. Carefully I cut the tape and slowly opened the

package. The scent grew stronger and my wife asked me what was in it.

“Looking at the customs form, I think it’s cloth and books.”

I sifted through the balled up *Stars and Stripes *(the universal packing

material) and then I see Krsna’s glowing eyes looking at me. I think I said

“Oh my God!” Slowly I unveiled this treasure chest of books, magazines,

pictures, and scriptures. I was still holding onto the phone. Shyamala

finally told me to tell her what was in it, so I began like I was cataloging

a great find: The Golden Palace, Back To Godhead magazine, Rathayatra DVD,

Oil, Offering plate, Vaisnava Songbook, etc. I took pictures and immediately

emailed them back home.

I could feel the eyes of my Marines behind me as I’m sure they thought the

box was full of hand sanitizer or eye drops that I normally pass out to

them. Instead I put the Bhagavad-Gita on my desk and scanned the contents of

the box further. Shyamala was excited as well. On several occasions we talk

about getting recitations of the scriptures, one to further assist her in

Bhakti-sastri class and for me to able to listen while being far from any

temple. To receive these items really just fueled the fire of our desire to

serve. I look forward to sharing them to the fullest.

The timing of the arrival of the package couldn’t have been better. We again

have gone through a long week of attacks, incidents and accidents. Yesterday

morning, we held a memorial service at the chapel for two Marines that

passed last week. A few days ago, another one was killed and another service

will be held in the coming days. Three of four other attacks recently have

wounded more and of course, the ever present danger-prone man/woman in

uniform continues to rack up broken fingers in vehicle doors or cuts on

wire. And as you well know, the Black Flag Season of August continues to

punish with 115+ days/nights.

I share this not to lament but to rejoice. I rejoice in the fact that

despite all the variables and additives that make life and service

difficult, it only takes one, one person, one act, one gesture, to remind

you of what is really important in this world. I thank you for being that

person. I thank you on behalf of every devotee, every soldier, every woman

and man that was directly or indirectly touched or inspired by your work and

service. You are a great disciple of HH Kadamba Kanana Swami and I thank him

for being merciful and an excellent teacher to you as well.

It appears that it was not in the plan that we should meet in this country,

but this country will never be the same. Here, in Mosul, Fallujah, Baghdad,

there are devotees of Sri Krsna. And even if this message does not get to

the local populace, the vibration of chanting the Holy Name will continue to

seep into the soil and flow down the Euphrates and flow down the Tigris and

as you and Bhakta Andrew point out, back to the Ganges. So wherever you find

yourself, this continent, the next or another, please know that you have a

friend, devotee and a family that is here for you and that is ever thankful

for the fires of Krsna Consciousness you helped start or added good fuel to

so that they would grow stronger and brighter.

Before I concluded my phone call with Shyamala, she asked me to read

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.80-81. Sudama returns home to find after visiting Krsna

and Rukmini that a wealth unknown to the demigods awaits him. You Partha,

have delivered a spiritual wealth and I pray that Srila Prabhupada continue

to guide us in the proper use of it.

Take care and stay safe Warrior, and we will do the same.

In your service

Hare Krsna

Antony

Sadhana:

Japa: sixteen strong rounds is the goal. We must make the effort no matter the circumstance, the purity of the Holy Name will give us strength in any situation

Seva: Their Lordships have brought me along on such a ride.  When I first started worshipping Sri Salagram Sila, HH Bhaktisiddhanta Swami said to me, be prepared for the ride of your life. And it has been a ride. The Lord has became such an important part of my preaching and Their presence has won over so many hearts.

Reading: Nectar of Instruction: I am trying to absorb myself in this Book. Each page is spiritual food for the soul.

Sankritan: BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!!!

BG: 5

Small  books: 15

We are on our way “home”, but we ask the devotees to pray that we can back this life to our true home, and that Srila Prabhupada blesses our preaching and allows us to assist him in bringing as many souls back to his lotus feet as possible.

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,

Partha-sarathi Dasa

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama

Rama, Hare Hare

Hare Krsna!
   So last night I finally got another copy of the Bhagavad-Gita, shortly
thereafter I had tower guard, so I decided to read a bit while in the tower.  I
pulled the BG out of my assault pack, opened it up and began to read, when my
buddy PFC Rivard asked me what I was reading.  I explained that the
Bhagavad-Gita is a song that was song by Sri Krsna to Arjuna, before the battle
between the Pandava’s and Kuru’s.  He very simply replied, “Huh?”
   So I explained a bit further and asked, “Would you like me to read a bit to
you?”
   ”Yes, please.”  He replied.
   So, I began thumbing through to find a good start.  Why not the beginning,
I thought to myself.  I went to the preface and began reading aloud, pausing
occasionally to explain.  We ended up reading the entire preface, introduction
and 1st chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita including all Sanskrit readings, during
the 4 hour guard shift.
   Today during our shift, one of PFC Rivard’s friends came up to the tower to
talk and hang out for a bit.  Rivard mentioned to him that we had been reading
the Bhagavad-Gita and he also became instantly interested.  He asked me to give
a lesson from the BG.
   A bit nervously I thought “What text would be most suitable for the
situation at hand?”
   I opened the Bhagavad-Gita and looked at the bottom of page 346:

                         Bhagavad-Gita, Chapter 7, Text 18
               Udara sarva evaite    jnani tv atmaiva me matam
             asthitahsa hi yuktatma    mam evanuttamam gatim

   All of these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he
   who is situated in knowledge of me I consider to be just like My
   own self.  Being engaged in My transcendental service, he is sure to 
   attain Me, the highest and most perfect goal.

   I read this scripture with the purport for the 2 young Soldiers, while they
listened and stared very attentively.  After explaining the purport, I went
back to the Introduction and explained the 5 ways a person can be a Devotee,
especially focusing on how anyone can be a passive Devotee.  They smiled in
amazement and I believe that they both gained something out of it.  
   Krishna works in incredible ways.  The first 2 services in Sadr City were
completely spontaneous.  Chapter 7, Text 8, was the best possible scripture I
could have opened the BG to.  I didn’t even think about choosing a different
Text to read.
   After my shift, I went to the chow hall and ran into the Chaplain.  I asked
him if I could use the Chapel for an hour a week for BG classes and Krsna
Concious services.  He agreed happily.
   Sadr City is about to be glowing in Krsna consciousness.
   I hope that all is well with you, brother.  Please, please, please keep
Battlefield Bhajan’s up.  I think that it is a good outreach and outlet.  Thank
you for all that you have done in the service of Srila Prabhupada.
                                                                         YS,
Andrew

O Protector of Devotees, whose beautiful lotus feet are an impenetrable fortress, I am not afraid when I take shelter in Your shadow. When destructive things land around me, it is You that provides the greatest protection.

O Lord, I was both lost and fallen in the dust. But through Your mercy and kindness I have regained consciousness and I am now returning back to You.

O Quencher of thirst, O cool and gentle breeze that casts away the fierce winds of the desert. I sing Your Holy Names and fight for the freedom to serve you.

Although I am far from home, I am never outside the reach of Your loving arms and my enemies are never outside the range of Your arrows.

Although I am in a distant and foreign land, there is no place that is unfamiliar to You. You, who does not need a scope to survey the landscape, knows the place of every hill, valley and rock pile.

O Lord of the Heavens and Earth, to whom a thunderclap is barely a whisper, a raging inferno is barely a dying ember, I pray for the strength to serve in Your command and execute Your orders.

O He who makes a lotus blossom deadly to demons, You are The Greatest of Companions in battle. You do not tire, You do not trip. You do not lose your direction. Your aim is always exact. You do not retreat. You do not spread Your formation too thin. You do not get homesick.

When thick smoke engulfs the battlefield, You do not choke.

When heavy dust shrouds the landscape, Your Lotus Eyes do not sting.

O Lord, Your transcendental conch shell is the greatest of war horns. You are so full of compassion that You uplift your enemies as well as your devotees.

O Lord, my feet are blistered twice over. My knees creak with every step. The fibers of my hamstrings are tightened and pulling. My back and shoulders are bent and chaffed from the pack I carry. My hands are calloused and losing feeling from the tight grip I keep on my weapon. My arms ache, my lips are chapped and dry riverbeds of sweat leave salt trails down my face. Dust cakes my eyelashes and brows. My helmet-strap cuts into my chin. I taste gritty sand when I swallow.

I smile.

Because even though my voice is hoarse I have not stopped chanting Your Holy Names.

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Whether great devotee or direct incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no denying the potency of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. More than 500 years after his appearance in Bengal, India, his instruction to loudly chant the Holy Names of the Lord is being carried out around the world.

Param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam!

“The dharma preached by Caitanya Mahaprabhu is universal and not exclusive … The principle of kirtan as the future church of the world invites all classes of men, without distinction of caste or clan, to the highest cultivation of the spirit. This church, it appears, will spread worldwide and replace all sectarian churches, which exclude outsiders from the precincts of the mosque, church, or temple.”

- Bhaktivinode Thakura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts, pages 68-69

Phanisvara prabhu points me to this excellent page maintained by VEDA.

OBJECTION: Madhva has said in his commentary to the Kathopanisad that there are nine types of offense to Lord Visnu, such as ascribing divinity to an ordinary mortal. You are guilty of this because you claim that Caitanya is an incarnation of God. The result of this is that you will go to the darkest regions of hell.

REFUTATION: There are many evidences to prove the divinity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. First we will present those statements of sastra which are from sruti, and then those from the Puranas and other Vedic literatures....

- Sri Caitanya and His Divinity

Here's a chance for you to examine the underpinnings of your faith, or not.

Here's the question:

There was this great spiritual personality who preached widely about love of God. He inspired many people to reawaken their dormant love of God, and explained that we are all servants of God. He always presented himself as a servant of God, and denied it whenever anyone claimed that he himself was God.

Later on, however, a follower who had never met him personally wrote a book about him that became a major lens through which he was viewed and interpreted by people in general. A doctrine developed that deified him, and people began to worship him as God Himself, although he himself always denied that while present, and never taught or instructed that he should be worshiped in that way.

Who am talking about? Did you guess Jesus Christ?

I'm talking about Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The pattern of deification of Caitanya Mahaprabhu closely resembles the deification of Jesus Christ.

Think about all the philosophy and historical analysis that you have to deconstruct the deification of Jesus Christ. Now apply that same critical view to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. What happens?

Krishna tells us to worship Him as the Supreme. He says "I am the source of all material and spiritual worlds".

Caitanya Mahaprabhu says: "I know no-one but Krishna as my Lord."

So where does the idea that Caitanya Mahaprabhu is God come from?

I know that Krishna das Kaviraja claims it in Caitanya-caritamrita, and in there he also has Rupa and Sanatana Goswami's proclaim it.

However, do we find Rupa Goswami proclaiming this prior to this in his own voice, in one of his books, for example?

So I am thinking about Rupa Goswami. Krishna das Kaviraja claims that Rupa Goswami accepts Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the Godhead Himself. Is this true? And if so, what is the source of Rupa Goswami's conviction? I am going back to study the writings of Rupa Goswami in more detail to detect this.

This was the discussion between Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya and Gopinath Acarya. According to Caitanya-caritamrita, Sarvabhauma accepted Caitanya as a great devotee, but Gopinath insisted that he was the Godhead Himself.

Of course we have this whole philosophical argument or position that incarnations must be scheduled and foretold in scripture, which is why Hare Krishna's don't accept as God either Jesus (who they accept as a saktyavesa-avatara or empowered son of God) or Sai Baba (who they regard as a fraud).

Gopinath Acarya makes a weak argument around this, which essentially just establishes that the Gaudiya Vaisnavas are willing to put this idea aside when it suits them. Twisted and stretched interpretations of standard scriptures fail to convince Sarvabhauma, who points out that the Lord is known as "Tri Yuga", one who appears in three yugas. That precludes His appearance in this Kali Yuga.

How that meshes with the prediction of the Kalki-avatara I'm not sure...

Gopinath Acarya ends with: "Because you don't accept it, it is to be understood that you don't have His mercy".

Essentially this says that the very tenuous and indirect sastra-pramana ("what it really means is...") is secondary and post-facto to understanding Mahaprabhu as God. Gopinath Acarya is saying that it is his direct personal experience of Mahaprabhu that has convinced him that Mahaprabhu is the Godhead, and his scriptural arguments are an attempt to reconnect this direct mystical experience with an established exoteric tradition.

In Bhagavad-gita Krishna says that direct perception by realization is the perfection of religion (pratyaksavagamam dharmyam).

Whether this was actually going on (people proclaiming him as God in this way around him) while Mahaprabhu was present or became a later doctrinal development is not clear. The stories in the Caitanya-caritamrita are either selected or developed (or both) to support the doctrines of the author.

Even in the Caitanya-caritamrita it is recorded that Mahaprabhu would deny it and cover his ears if someone tried to proclaim Him as the Godhead.

Is he the Godhead or just a great devotee - a saktyavesa avatara?

Does it make a difference? Generally we are happy for people to understand Jesus as God, as long as they follow his instructions. Mahaprabhu's instructions are definitely beneficial for all people (and they don't include worshiping him as God).

Thinking deeply about that statement of Gopinath Acarya, that by the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu one can understand that he is God, I am thinking now:

Suspended disbelief is no longer sufficient for me. Accepting an official doctrine, taking someone else's word, riding on someone's realization is not enough. I want to know for myself.

So now I am daily praying a prayer written by the great devotee Narottama das Thakura: "sri krishna caitanya prabhu, doya koro more"

"Sri Krishna Caitanya, please give me your mercy."

So if you made it this far, here's your chance: examine the underpinnings of your faith, and preach! Can you say something to help me out here?

I'm 21 days into the Bikram 30 day challenge.

Friday I'm flying down to Sydney. There I'll do a class with Darren Ma, two time Australian Yoga Champion, and then on Saturday I'm spending the day with Bikram Choudhary himself.

Sunday morning I'll go to mangalarati at the Sydney temple, then fly back to Brisbane at mid day to attend the evening festival here. My band is playing at 8 pm. I'll try to get a video for y'all.

The yoga is going good. I've modified my diet a lot over the past year since I last did it, and the difference is huge.Yoga Body Naturals is a yoga nutrition product that I discovered through an ad on facebook. I haven't tried it myself, but my observation of the effect of the radical dietary restructure I've done over the past year on my yoga bears out his premise that diet affects your flexibility.

I did a stint of body building about 15 years ago, and I've struggled with flexibility in my shoulders ever since. Now I'm really working into that.

Anyway, that's the news on the yoga. At work I'm recruiting three people to build out the team of writers. I have a new ad that I'll have HR run - I'll post a link to it later.

At Atma, I've been going over in my lunch hour and doing cleaning there, listening to Alvin Toffler's "Revolutionary Wealth" on the new 16GB iPod Touch I got from a work colleague.

The iPod Touch is great in that it boots up and plays within seconds. I don't have any spare time. I don't have time to wait for some slow player to boot up. When I have five minutes I can listen to something on the Touch.

I also have an eeePC. It has a 5 hour battery life. Currently I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 with the Netbook Remix on it. I have a lot of things to do, but little time at the moment. If I don't respond to your email don't take it personally.

With the Bikram challenge on and changing my role from writer to manager at work I'm at full capacity. It's good because I am developing my capability.

I have been thinking a lot of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Rupa Goswami. I'll make another post about that.

This is an amazing clip available on youtube about association, well edited and put together, it’s a must to be checked out

This is a compilation of video clip from ISKCON Brighton taken during the Sunday feast.

As always I hope you all enjoy these simple clips.

Diary of a Traveling Preacher - Volume 9, Chapter 11 - August 1 - 3, 2008

By Indradyumna Swami

As always, we arrived in Kostrzyn a week before the Woodstock Festival. When I went to look at the enormous field where the event would take place, I was surprised to see that the main stage had already been set up. Hours later our boys arrived and began putting up our large village, including a 60-meter tent and our trademark 3,600-liter, one-ton cooking pot.

It would take five days to assemble the half-acre village. As soon as the boys had put up the big prasadam tent, another group unloaded two tons each of rice, sugar, oil, butter, semolina, and dhal. Nearby they offloaded six thousand liters of oil and 120 thousand papadams.

“It’s going to be a huge yajna,” I thought.

A young couple passed by wearing backpacks. “Early birds,” I said with a wink to Amritananda das.

On the boy’s backpack was scribbled, “Punk’s Not Dead.” He sported a Mohawk haircut dyed blue, yellow, and green. The girl’s hair was purple, and she wore a T-shirt with huge letters saying, “Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll.”

“That’s not the message the organizers are sending out this year,” said Amritananda, “Woodstock has moved on.”

It was true. This year Jurek Owsiak, the inspiration behind Woodstock and the main organizer of the event, had decided to put up two large circus tents on the grounds. He had invited a number of renowned personalities to speak to the young people about achieving positive goals.

Included in the list were Professor Leszek Balcerowicz, an economist who had served as Poland’s finance minister for a number of years; Wieslaw Ochman, a well-known opera singer; and Kamil Durczok, a respected anchor from Polish network news.

We had followed suit and decided to make cultural exchange the focus of Krishna’s Village of Peace this year. We decreased the number of devotee rock bands to play on our own stage and were scheduling devotees to speak about spiritual science, Ayurvedic medicine, devotional yoga, and solutions to environmental problems.

When the Indian Ambassador to Poland, His Excellency Chandra Mohan Bhandari, heard about the new direction Woodstock was taking, he asked if we could arrange a meeting with him and Jurek. At the meeting the ambassador, eager to promote India’s culture among the youth of Poland, suggested that this year’s festival emphasize the theme of Indian culture.

The ambassador offered to help by bringing several prominent entertainers and Ayurvedic physicians along with displays of Indian handicraft to the festival. Jurek agreed and suggested a title, Mala Indie, or Little India. The ambassador decided to spend the entire three days of Woodstock participating in the Village of Peace, and we booked a hotel room for him and his family.

Woodstock was being billed as Europe’s largest open-air music event with 52 rock bands plus Warsaw’s Philharmonic Orchestra to add a touch of culture. The Woodstock field soon filled to capacity with an ocean of tents and more than 300 thousand young people.

The day before Woodstock began, we opened the Village of Peace. As always, kids flooded onto our site, eager for everything we had to offer. A large tent erected especially for kirtan was packed as Bhakti Bringa Govinda Maharaja charmed the audience with his kirtans and got hundreds to chant and dance along with him into the wee hours. The tons of foodstuffs we had stockpiled soon turned into thousands of plates of delicious prasadam, much appreciated by the crowds. As always, Krishna’s Village of Peace became the place to eat.

The next day, the Woodstock Festival officially opened. Our large Ratha-yatra chariot began moving along the main thoroughfare of the festival, accompanied by hundreds of devotees and tumultuous chanting of the holy names.

At the same time, Jurek held a media conference near the main stage. His theme of using Woodstock to enlighten the kids about the higher values of life struck a chord with the media. Representatives of every prominent television station, radio station, and newspaper came, and they were intrigued by the presence of the Indian Ambassador and the iconic Professor Balcerowicz, who is credited with having established a robust economy in the
1990’s after decades of communism.

After an hour of questions and answers, Jurek glorified us during his closing words: “I have been trying to impress upon all of you for years that the Hare Krishna Movement is not a cult but an ancient spiritual tradition with much to offer Polish society. The presence of the Indian Ambassador in their village this year obviously confirms this. Please acknowledge this in your reports.”

At the opening ceremony on the main stage before a crowd of 150 thousand kids, Jurek invited everyone to enjoy the music and attend the numerous seminars in the circus tents. While touching on the theme of Little India, he called the ambassador and me to the front of the stage. The crowd cheered, and we waved back.

That evening our Ratha-yatra parade was featured on Poland’s main television news channel. The whole country saw the Lord’s smiling face and His enthusiastic devotees loudly chanting His holy names.

The next day, as the kids poured into our village to take prasadam, visit our tents and exhibits, and join in our kirtans and seminars, I took out our second Ratha-yatra parade. The huge cart rumbled down the road, towering high over people’s heads on the crowded street, and many joined us in pulling on the ropes. Not long after we began, a large group of Christians came from the opposite direction, pulling a large boat made of cloth on a float displaying the words “Noah’s Ark.” They were also singing and dancing, and some kids left us to join them pulling the float.

“They were singing last year,” a devotee said, “but they’ve added the boat, an idea they got from us.”

I noted a touch of pride in his voice. “That’s true,” I said, “but we can learn from them as well. They’ve been successfully preaching in this country for almost 15 hundred years. We arrived only 30 years ago and are struggling to maintain a few small temples.”

When we returned to our village several hours later, we saw long lines of people waiting to get prasadam. On our stage Nandini was translating the ambassador’s lecture about self-realization to a crowd of 400. I went in to listen and was pleasantly surprised to hear that his philosophy was in line with our understanding of Bhagavad-gita. “The goal of life is not material enjoyment,” he concluded, “but bhakti, or the awakening of our love for God, Sri Krishna Bhagavan.” Respecting his position as the ambassador, many people listened attentively.

When I walked over to the book tent, it was so packed I could barely walk in. “I just sold several books to an interesting person,” said Radha Caran das. “He came with a long list of titles, but somehow I could sense he wasn’t so interested, and when I asked why he was buying so many books, he said, ‘They’re not for me. They’re for my cousin. He’s a priest in a local village. He’s interested in your understanding of God, but he’s afraid to come here and buy the books himself.’ ”

Then I headed to the astrology tent, where Prahlad Nrsimha das was concluding a seminar. Several hundred kids were listening carefully. When he finished he came over to speak to me.

“You see the gentleman over there?” he said, pointing to a man reading Bhagavad-gita. “He’s come for the past two days and has been asking many interesting questions. But he always sits in front, off to the side. I noticed he never turns around to look at the rest of the audience. I asked him why. He blushed and said he’s the local priest. He’s fascinated by our philosophy and wants to learn more. He’s been coming in normal clothes and keeping a low profile so his congregation won’t notice.”

As I left the tent I remembered a passage from the writings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur:

“The dharma preached by Caitanya Mahaprabhu is universal and not exclusive … The principle of kirtan as the future church of the world invites all classes of men, without distinction of caste or clan, to the highest cultivation of the spirit. This church, it appears, will spread worldwide and replace all sectarian churches, which exclude outsiders from the precincts of the mosque, church, or temple.”

[Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: His Life and Precepts, pages 68-69]

At the questions-and-answers tent I was surprised to see the ambassador and Nandini. He was answering questions about karma, reincarnation, and vegetarianism. “Not your typical modern-day statesman,” I said to Amritananda.

Passing by our stage, I saw Bhakti Marg Swami encouraging the devotees he had trained for his drama about Bhagavad-gita. After the play the kids gave him and the other devotees a big round of applause.

That night in our kirtan tent, BB Govinda Maharaja and I kept more than 100 kids chanting Hare Krishna and dancing until 2:00 am. When we finished, many of them hurried to the food tent, where devotees were still distributing prasadam. Rasikendra das, the devotee in charge of cooking, was smiling. “We’ll easily surpass 120 thousand plates this year,” he told me.

On the final day of Woodstock, all 500 of our devotees rose as early as possible to begin their duties. By noon I was taking the Ratha-yatra cart through the site for one last parade. Many kids joined our ranks and chanted alongside us, and the ambassador also joined us for an hour, pulling on the ropes and chanting along with everyone else. After the parade many kids came back and sat in our clean field, taking shelter from the loud music on the main stage some distance away.

As I walked around our site, I noticed a few priests in their black robes preaching to some kids eating prasadam. A devotee came up to me. “Maharaja,” he said, “should we ask the priests to leave?”

“Why?” I said. “They’re not saying anything different from us. If they criticize us, you can politely ask them to leave, but otherwise they are welcome.”

I also noticed many families from local towns. During the first few years of Woodstock the local people stayed away from the festival out of fear, but because it had now taken a cultural direction they seemed to feel more comfortable. I smiled seeing many of them wearing Woodstock T-shirts they’d purchased in stands around the site. Some even had their hair temporarily dyed different colors to match the mood.

As I sat watching thousands of people wander through our village, a girl wearing a sari and tilaka came up to me and offered obeisances.

“Hare Krishna,” she said. “My name is Ania. I’m 13 years old.”

“Hare Krishna,” I said. “Did you come with the devotees on one of the buses from Ukraine or Croatia?”

“No,” she said. “I live here in Kostrzyn. I’ve been coming to Krishna’s Village of Peace every year since I was nine years old. I wait all year for you to come. Throughout the year I read your books and chant Hare Krishna. My Mom encourages me. She’s Catholic, but she says you are worshiping the same God and I can become a Hare Krishna if I want.”

“That’s very nice,” I said.

She paused for a moment. “Actually,” she said, “I came to ask you a special question.”

“Feel free to ask anything you like,” I said.

She hesitated. “Would you please be my spiritual master and accept me as your disciple?” she said. “In the books it says many times that a devotee should learn about Krishna from a spiritual master.”

“But there’s a whole process …,” I began and then stopped. “How do you know me?”

Her face lit up. “I listen to your lectures every time you are here,” she said. “And I sing Hare Krishna with you well into the night throughout Woodstock. I know you very well.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Please,” she continued. “I’m lost in this world. I want to go back to Krishna.”

“Well, first you have to …,” I started to say but again stopped.

“I’ve been praying to God every day for an entire year that you would accept me as your disciple,” she said. “Even on Sundays in church. And I follow all the rules.”

I nodded. “Yes,” I said. “I’ll happily accept you as an aspiring disciple.”

That night at the final kirtan on our stage, with the ambassador present, BB Govinda Maharaja led what I considered one of the best kirtans of his life. All the young people who had become attracted to Krishna consciousness during Woodstock danced with us for hours. At one point I looked into the huge crowd and saw Ania standing with palms joined, tears streaming down her face as she chanted along with us.

We continued chanting long after the music on Woodstock’s main stage had finished. Late that night, as the kids finally started to go to sleep, all one could hear across the huge field was the chanting of Krishna’s holy names.

When we finally finished the kirtan, I sat for a moment watching as everyone slowly left our village. “I wish it could be like this all the time,” I thought, “so many hundreds of thousands of people getting so much mercy.”

As I walked back to my van with a group of devotees, a woman reporter came up to me. “I know you’re very tired,” she said, “but may I ask you one or two questions?”

“Of course,” I said.

“I’ve been watching all of you since the first day,” she said. “You’re working so hard. But why do you do all of this? It’s such a big operation - so many tents, so many programs, and so much food. And most of it’s free. You can’t be making much money.”

I smiled. “We just want to share our good fortune with others,” I said.

She hesitated before copying that into her notebook. “But there must be other reasons,” she said.

I looked back at the field where the great yajna had taken place. “Actually,” I said, “there is another reason.”

I paused, waiting for the right words to come. “We’re hoping to attract the attention of the Lord,” I said, “praying that one day we can serve Him again in the spiritual world.”

“You mean, like angels?” she said.

“Something like angels,” I said. The devotees smiled.

jaya subha lila mrta rasa lila maya bhavad ali parijana palim anugananayam aham apiyayam iti bhava pasa vrta matir asam api racayeyam phalatu mameyam natha

“O all-auspicious Krishna! May You be victorious! You perform all kinds of sweet pastimes. Let my name also be there when You count Sri Radha’s associates. This is my prayer. Although I am covered by material consciousness I can still aspire for this. O Lord, may my prayer be fulfilled.”

[Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur: Sri Nikunja Keli Virudavali, verse 67]

Indradyumna.swami@pamho.net www. traveling-preacher. com Audio lectures: www. narottam. com