20140306 NMP Day 02 04 Surabhī Kuñja International Party

NMP Day 02 04 Surabhī Kuñja International Party

Type Of Talk:

Parikrama

Event:

Navadvipa Parikrama

Location:

Navadvipa

West Bengal

Date:

Thursday, March 6, 2014Arrival Address Visit to South America New Orleans

Type Of Talk:

Arrival Address

Date:

Friday, October 26, 1984

Collection:

Enlightenment 2

Audio player:

 

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim yat-kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

 

It describes in the Caitanya bhagavata and Caitanya Caritamrta, that Lord Caitanya’s devotees, His associates appeared in different places in order to deliver the people of those places. So Vasudeva Dutta, Mukunda Dutta and Pundarika Vidyanidhi, they appeared in the area of Chattagrama, which is the far far eastern part of Bengal, bordering Burma, famous Cox’s Bazaar one of longest beaches in the world. Part of Bangladesh, India, way down on the right, that’s Chittagong, bordering Burma, where east meets west in a sense. The further west you go the more materialistic you become, so coming around over the back China that’s considered far West by the Vedic, they are the most materialistic, more than (laughs), they don’t believe in God.

 

Any way, that in different countries, different places, it describes different associates appeared, so Vasudeva Dutta he appeared in that place. And then he later went to Navadvipa and there of course he joined the movement of Lord Caitanya. Vasudeva Dutta was actually very wealthy. He was a landlord, he was like a lord, like a Earl or Duke but he was not expert in spending. Sometimes these Lord’s they have money but they don’t know how to handle it, so, he was misspending, he just spent all the money. So Lord Caitanya put Sivananda Sena in charge of the money for him. Its mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrta.

 

So when Sivananda Sena would take all the devotees down to Jagannath Puri, a lot of those expenses were met by Vasudeva Dutta but the cashier was Sivananda Sena. Sometimes we put a treasurer who is tight with the spending of money. So that way some safety valve (?). So but Vasudeva Dutta he was actually very great kirtana singer also. He would sing kirtana and there are actually some kirtana's composed by Vasudeva Dutta, although Vasudeva Ghosh is more famous. But there are some Padyavalli kirtana’s by Vasudeva Dutta on Caitanya pastimes and Krishna pastimes. The system is they would sing the whole pastimes of Lord Caitanya in a kind of a, you know, that's considered a ballad or would consider that in terms of Western folk music styles. But it’s a combination of songs which describe the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, Lord Krishna and delink one song to the next. They give a little dialogue in between which is kind of extempore and then they to go on to thenext ? next song. Like say, they are describing Lord Caitanya’s pastimes. There is one song which describes His going in sankirtana, there’s another song which describes Him delivering Jagai Madhai or something, one little song after another, so that person, each one takes maybe five or ten or fifteen minutes. Then the person explaining the pastime he would first, before the audience, before the other devotees would explain the song and then he would go off into that song. And the song itself carries much more emotion than just telling about it, you sing about it, deep within, you express a lot more emotions. Even today there are Padyavalli kirtana’s, called lila kirtana singers. Krishna kirtana can also do this and they can go on for six hours singing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, or Lord Krishna.

 

Like one pastime, nauka vilasa, Krishna went out in the Yamuna river in a boat with His devotees or the Krishna and Sudama, different pastimes. They would go on for six hours singing. People would reach at 9’o clock at night and they will stay the whole night and 3 in the morning it will be over, just at mangala arati time they go back home. So it is safer that way for them because in the middle of the night you know normally all religious programs more women are there. So its like 60% women or something. So then if it breaks at midnight its not safe to walk home in midnight. So they just have to go through the whole night, they walk home in the morning. (chukcles)

 

But Vasudeva Dutta actually also contributed songs to the sampradaya and Bhakti Charu Swami he has compiled an unabridged song book. Unfortunately that’s in Bengali but he collected every song that he could find and he put it in one book. Its like this thick. so I don’t know I guess I could easily translate it, transliterate it. In there are some songs by Vasudeva Dutta as well. Of course we know him, he is a constant associate of Lord Caitanya’s, one of the very close associates and we know him of course for the time when he prayed to Lord Caitanya, being overwhelmed with compassion he is thinking that he was feeling a little ecstasy, he was feeling of course love for Krishna, he was always feeling, he was thinking that somehow by the mercy of Lord Caitanya we are getting this transcendental ecstasy or love for Krishna but all these people they are deprived. They don’t have it. So why don’t I take all of their sinful reactions and let them all be freed from this karma, then they can all get love for Krishna and they can go and I’ll just suffer for them. Its better one suffer than so many. He didn’t have any consideration of his own suffering. He was just thinking that let everyone experience this love for Krishna. Of course Lord Caitanya was deeply moved by his sincere, he knew what it meant, he was sincerely willing to take on that burden and Lord Caitanya of course said that how can the Lord give His pure devotee all the suffering to take. By your desire the people are already liberated, simply by your desire.

 

So we see that compassion in the transcendental personality of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who went to each of the continents around the world to push on the movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu because of which now in every continent there are so many Krishna conscious centers preaching Krishna consciousness all over the world.

 

So just like Srila Prabhupada just by his visit to South America, he visited Caracas, now Caracas has a very nice ISKCON temple with many devotees. And just be his touching South America the whole continent has got such a mercy by his touching Russia and Africa and Australia, everywhere. He gave them so much mercy.

 

So when I left here on the was it 2nd of October to Miami, Chayadeva was very kind he sent his vahana, his ratham, his chariot to pick me up at the airport with his personal driver and he, well I got someone to take care of the ticketing and all those things. We had the opportunity to associate and discuss Krishna conscious topics. My flight was 1.30 in the morning and so normally he takes rest early but we continued talking until more or less until I had to leave for my flight. Then got on the flight to Guayaquil Ecuador at 1.30 in the morning and reached there at 5.30 or 6 in the morning. Guayaquil, Ecuador is called Ecuador because its on the equator. The equator runs right through the middle of the country. Guayaquil is right on the Pacific ocean. Its very tropical of course. There we have a nice house, very close to the house of the President of the country, President Layon. Its only one block from his house, it’s a very distinguished area, has a swimming pool in the temple, big banyan tree, mosaic floors, its very, backyard is very enclosed. So they give cooking classes, vegetarian cooking and very aristocratic people come and learn how to cook. I met someone in the airplane who said she was, she was a middle aged lady, very well dressed. She said she was studying vegetarian cooking at our cultural institute some nights of the week.

 

So there was a long line of people but one immigration officer called me over and stamped me over and said go through. So there in Guayaquil there was, two times I visited Ecuador, so the second time was more for public programs. So this time was more for meeting with the devotees and smaller programs with the Friends of Krishna there. So I spent two days in Guayaquil. Then the third day we had appointment with the First Lady of the country, the wife of the President. So we flew to Quito the capital which is few miles from the equator but its 9000 feet elevation. We went to the palace of the President. Unfortunately, we got the pass, we went upstairs but half hour before the President, there was some kind of crisis, a flood or something, I forget what it, was he flew off in his helicopter with his First Lady. So its beyond the, I mean nothing could be done but then the representative, the chief of staff of the First Lady met us and she was very favorable. She took prasadam, took the books, so we had some little, we needed some help, for some thing with the society. So she immediately took me over to see the first secretary to the President, who also took some books, asked me to autograph the book for him. And he said that there would be no problem. He phoned up the Prime Minister, and he went over to the Prime Minister’s office and saw the first secretary of the Prime Minister and took care whatever he had to do there, some official thing was there.

 

So in Quito they have just obtained a new preaching center which is a two storey building where they are going to have a restaurant and a yoga center and it is just half a block from the main street in the city, the main, the main street. And so then I had to, the next day we had programs in the temple in Quito. Next morning at 9’o clock I flew to Lima, Peru which is further south. So Lima, Peru is again on the ocean. It’s a city of about 6 million people, five or six million people. Dasaratha dasa from Michigan accompanied me. He was pretty amazed by the experience. So there in Lima, they have, they had a temple which was right between the Presidents house and the Parliament. But they had overgrown that temple, so the landlord wanted to take back some of it. So had a restaurant and a temple. So they gave back the temple and they made the restaurant into, kept the restaurant plus made a smaller temple with a room that was attached to the restaurant. And now they have moved the main temple to the ocean side, half, one block from the ocean. So from the building you can just overlook the ocean and its in a very, of course one block from the ocean, its a very high cultured area of the town. So right now in Lima they have the old temple and restaurant, they have a cultural center with another restaurant in another suburb of Lima very fashionable part of town, and then they have the main temple which is right by the overlooking the beach. The beach is down, its kind of up on a cliff, but the whole city is high up. Then there is another smaller temple near and a smaller restaurant near that main temple and then one hour outside of Lima up a little higher in the mountain, I mean about 3000 feet elevation there is another preaching center. They are going to make another restaurant there. So in that one city right now there are four temples and four restaurants in one city.

 

And in the rest of Peru there is a temple in Cusco which is big tourist place, that's the ancient capital of Inca civilization. They all go there to see Machu Picchu. On top of the mountain they have irrigation and quite a developed city which is thousands of years old. So there we have one of the most famous restaurant, we have the best restaurant in the city of Cusco its been featured in international restaurant magazines as well as in Newsweek, the Cusco restaurant. Every tourist that goes has to take a meal at Govinda’s because we make a special bread that is good for trekking up to this Machu, you have to walk up you know, that type of thing, they go walking up the mountains to see these ruins, some deities of Hanuman.

 

So there is another temple and restaurant in Arequipa, another city. There is another temple a farm we have in the Amazon jungles. I think i showed pictures of that before. Then there is another temple in another mountain, this is, all these countries they are all ocean, flat, Andes mountains, other side of the Andes there is Amazon. So anyway there are about six more temples in Peru. So when I went to Lima they had the reception and then we had the new temple there, so like inauguration ceremony and there was everyday about three hundred people filling up the temple and we had a initiation ceremony and a wedding one night. So in the wedding we added a few extra rituals which are performed in the sanskara dipika. The sapta padi, the seven steps, where the wife takes seven steps to the, I believe it’s the north east and other similar programs like that.

 

So then I went for two days to the city of Truquito, which is in the northern part of Peru. They have a new temple there and they just had a rath yatra there, with a, there was a parade in the city. Three hundred thousand people watched the parade and our rath yatra was like a part of the parade like in the ? type in that. The ? mood but our parade type. We participated. So there was some very good preaching, they had Jagannath, so I put Jagannath on the altar, so they were worshiping. And for two days we had a program there in the temple and we started the program the namahatta program having people sign to chant 108 rounds. So many young people, many young and old both, there are about 150 people actually became very involved with that temple from that visit. It’s the capital of a civilization that dates back before the Incas. Forget the name of the, there's ruins there also, right on the ocean side, northern Peru.

 

So after two day program there in Triquito, flew back to Lima and just transited on, caught the flight to La Paz, Bolivia. To La Paz, the devotees all came to the airport, a lot of them and met us and some of the devotee’s parent’s are very highly placed in the Government. So they had arranged the VIP lounge, the diplomatic lounge that they use for President’s, Ambassador's and other people coming. So I didn’t have to go through the normal immigration and customs. I just went to the VIP lounge, they call the vip lounge. While they did all the clearing of the baggages and things, when the car was ready then they had three policemen motorcycles, like we take Jagannath here escort lead, let the pilot car to the temple going through all the stop lights and everything. So there we had a three day program in La Paz. On Sunday the television came to the temple and they, for four hours they were shooting every angle, this initiation ceremony and there was a big there was a drama, there was a feast, television like they got into, close ups of the children, the people eating. They said it was very nice, I didn’t stay to see the show but they took a lot of shots. So that was a very nice program, they did a very nice drama. Couple of devotees will be coming I think tomorrow from Bolivia to serve here in the temple for some time.

 

Then there was another program. The day after that we had a program in the ? the Japanese club, was a cultural auditorium which is managed by the Japanese community of La Paz which they had rented and that was about three four hundred seats, so it was completely filled with people. So there I continued in this program of having people. At the end of the lecture I showed the rath yatra of Calcutta. I requested people to give a little time everyday for chanting Hare Krishna. So about 50-60 people, maybe there was about 150-200 people there, anyway about half the people agree to chant everyday and they lined up, we were signing forms and books until about 10’o clock at night. Program started at 5 or 6.

 

So then the next day I flew off to Santiago Chile, there they had all the devotees, in so La Paz is 14500 feet above sea level. It’s the highest airport in the world. Its called El Alto. Its on a huge plateau where there is this big lake and the city of La Paz is kind of like in a crater, its like a moon crater or something. You go down from the airport a 1000 meters further down. Its 4500 meters up. So from there we went down to Santiago, Chile, which is there, in Santiago its spring time now. So Dasaratha he was amazed because Santiago was all very modern skyscrapers, modern highways, modern cars all Toyota, Porsche, Citron. You said this is third world, looks just like America or Europe or something. So they had about 50 devotees in the airport doing a big kirtana. All the people were amazed you know to see the kirtana.

 

Then we went from there into the temple and in Santiago Chile I was there 5 days. The first day was a program at the temple. The next day they had a program at the Radio Portalis which is a series of radio stations that goes to the whole country of Chile and to Argentina and neighboring countries. It’s a very powerful radio station. So we did a, they did a special interview with me there on that radio station. And the day after that, cause Tuesday I arrived, Wednesday, then the day after Thursday there was another program. Then went to the radio, another radio station which is three big powerful radio stations. This was the Nivisima? Novissima and they interviewed me for about a half an hour then opened it up for calls. And they had about 10 lines, every line was busy and people were asking questions like what is karma, what is reincarnation, why is it that, very kind of philosophical questions, what do the Hare Krishna is all about, what Krishna consciousness is. So the announcer over the air he said, I am actually now by associating with these devotees I am becoming, and now I am going to be a vegetarian and I know this may be a little frivolous saying this over the air you know. Thousands of people were listening. He said I want to ask you maestro spiritual, that could I have a spiritual name? (laughs) a Sanskrit name? So somebody told me that once some radio television announcer asked Tamal Krishna Goswami for a Sanskrit name. So he gave the name Mudha Godasa. (laughter) But you see in South America they always ask what is your name. So if I did something like that then later on it wouldn’t be very good. (laughs) Mudha means ass and godasa means servant of the senses, foolish like an ass. So he was very inspired, he said I am going to give this spot, one hour every week on Thursday night from 10.30 to 11.30 every week. So then his name came, so I said wow, since you are helping to spread the message of Hari, of Krishna you could have the name Harivani, one who is giving the message of Hari like that on the spot but (Laugter)

 

The next night then we had the yoga center in the downtown of Santiago, our temple is you know like in the suburb and that’s called the yoga center, (?) that was packed with people. Lot of older people go to the yoga center, many people 50, 60 year old people, some people had been studying hypnotism. Somebody rents the yoga center for one hour in the afternoon for three days a week, and he teachs hypnotism. So they stayed for that evening program (?) but many of them agreed to chant and it was a very nice gathering of people. It was about 10 of those people. A little unusual because we didn’t really know what to expect. They weren’t part of the yoga center.

 

Then Saturday they had a, we had a big harinama in the center of downtown Santiago, like the main streets of Santiago. Like an x so they closed off those streets they call that the (?) those are ? only for walking, you cant, no cars go there, in fact they didn’t raise it, put tiles and everything. It was packed with people. and in the center of the city is known as Plaza de Armas, the old Spanish center parts, on one side there were the Government Houses and churches and the big park in the center and then right next to that is this hall. Sidewalks, streets with all fancy shops. So they actually bring the Prabhupada deity on a palanquin and they bring small Gaurnitai deities on another portable vyasa, simhasana, on a palanquin. And you know devotees with camara’s and the deities and that’s you know about 100 devotees. And that’s the procession they go up and down in the streets there and you get, everywhere you stop you get two three hundred people easily, just you know. In the beginning they have the deities, mataji’s on one one side and men on the other, they are doing kirtana and the President, I mean Samya dasa the President, he is very famous kirtana leader, he is very enthusiastic. He is the, his kirtana was the time when the dog started dancing and paid dandavat and he gives a very nice talk, you know, in between you stop kirtana and you talk to the people. They give out books, sweets and things.

 

So they told the people, here the spiritual master has come from India and you can get your books now if you buy, they don’t, they sell the books you can get it autographed. So many people bought the books, they lined up on the street, and I was giving autographs. (speaks in Spanish) Chant Hare Krishna and by Happy and other things. So that was a very nice harinama through Santiago.

 

Then I got to go back to the temple and in the temple there was the TODAY magazine, which is the biggest magazine of Chile and they took a two hour interview. Very very good questions, I mean questions about varnasrama and different things. I think that I don’t know I haven’t seen the article when they printed but it was a very in depth interview. Then we go off to the airport at 10.30 at night was the flight to, as usual just go there at 10.10, you know, already the flights closed. Somehow or another got on the airplane and got off to Lima. So we arrived in Lima at 1 in the morning and went to the temple and there all the devotees they had a reception. We had a class that evening until 2.30 in the morning after the reception and everything and then the next morning I had to leave at 6 in the morning. we did just Damodar puja in the morning and at 6 in the morning I had to leave again back to Ecuador.

 

So this time in Ecuador they had arranged a big festival in Guayaquil and they had a television there and another initiation ceremony and then for the first time they wanted to have a program in a city called Cuenca which is the third city of Ecuador, its about a city of maybe quarter of a million. Ecuador is not such a, eight million people in Ecuador. So Guayaquil is about a million and Quito is maybe three quarters of a million, this is maybe half a million, four hundred thousand or two hundred fifty thousand. But this city recently there was a saint Mcgill, the Pope recognized him as a saint. Hundred years ago there was a devotee Lord Jesus there has been recognized as a saint.

 

There’s many yoga groups there, we have maybe 100 people chanting, or I heard there are maybe 20 people chanting japa or something there from before. So they wanted to have a program. So my whole schedule had changed by two days, just another detail, actually I come early. So they had already rented the hall for two days later. So when they tried to change it, it was booked for the earlier dates, the big auditorium of the city. The only time they could get was 4’o clock in the afternoon which was normally not a very good time for this type of meeting, evening is much better for people.

 

But they had no choice so they arranged for 4 in the afternoon. But the hall was completely packed with people. And after my lecture I asked for questions and one person said that, this are the type of questions they ask, is Krishna who spoke, what is the difference between the blue Krishna who tends the cows in Vrindavana and the Krishna that spoke the Bhagavad Gita. That was the first question that someone asked me. (?) (laughs) they had read our books I mean it’s a pretty amazing question. Then another person question he asked was that, just like they were asking very very kind of esoteric questions. One person asked that is it that we have to first of all undergo the hatha yoga, suffering and the austerities first and then from there we come up to bhakti yoga. That was another question. Actually you know questions which were very serious questions about practice. So at the end of that we asked for people who wanted to chant Hare Krishna every day. We were literally mobbed, I put ? in Spanish, the sacred order of Lord Caitanya. And so many people came up that I had to take them in batches of four and show them how to chant but was literally mobbed with ? and they wanted to get the form signed and everything.

 

Then the meanwhile it was booked for 7o’clock at night so by that time the other group wanted to come. So in the end I had to move outside into the hallway and have the people all line up and then introduce them into following the order of Lord Caitanya. I went back to the hotel because they don’t have a center yet. Now they are going to open a center in Cuenca. So they had rented a hotel room which is just by the side of a lake called La Laguna. And there we had about 50 people in this one small hotel room. So we started to chant kirtana and one of the devotees came and said that we are in the far end of the hotel, there is nobody around. So we just had a full big kirtana. Everyone was dancing for one hour in the hotel room. until finally the manager about 11’oclock he came by and (makes knocking sound) (laughter), there were flowers all over the floor, everyone was. It got very hot, the windows were all, just this one little room at least 50 people in there, maybe 60 chanting in kirtana. All the college, they were all the best people of the town most they were all in there chanting Hare Krishna with us.

 

Earlier that day, well they had advertised in the newspaper that the Jayapataka Swami, guru from India is arriving. people can, there were about 20 people waiting for me in the hotel for interview. So I did the interviews first before the program. One lady whose son ran away, she wanted some, just different kinds of things like that. So we said the only solution is to chant Hare Krishna. Different things were there. Some person previously had some Sikh guru and didn’t really find much satisfaction from that understanding and looking for something more and he had read Prabhupada’s books and different people like that who actually were interested in Krishna consciousness so. Then after that program then again the next morning there were people who came there. So interviewed them and then I had to catch a flight.

 

Now Cuancas is famous for one thing, it has one thing more than any other city in the world. It has the most incident of airplane crashes of any other city in the world. Its particular way that its designed that regularly planes crash there. So the only planes they allow to go there now is tge government has the air force propeller plane which they have leased to the airline. And so you have to go in this army jet, army propeller plane through the mountains down back to Guayaquil. (laughs)

 

So back to Guayaquil. And then caught another flight to Bogata and then from there Bogota caught another flight to Medellin. In Medellinn we have our ISKCON temple, many devotees, they have right in the heart of the city, that's Tridandipada's zone now, I gave it back to him but I help him there. Like I encourage the devotees when i go there. And they have a very nice center in the heart of the city. So there were about 200 people in the temple. Its right on the, right within half a block from the main square of the city. So it’s a city of about 3 million, Medellin Columbia. So I did a one day program there. Spent overnight in their farm which is a 45 minute drive up in a hill overlooking the city. Then today, yesterday then from Medellinn I flew to Cali, Columbia, another city we have a nice ISKCON temple with Nitai Gaura deities. Both the temples have Nitai Gaura actually. There they had about 35 devotees. So but there is no translator, nobody knew English. So they brought a friend of Krishna to translate last night but he was not so good but somehow or another we made do. But this morning there was no translator so I in my broken Spanish I got to give my first Spanish lecture. I was thinking that well in two three years maybe I will give a Spanish lecture. Anyway even though its not very perfect somehow or another I had to do something so. They said I wasn’t so bad.

 

So then this morning I flew to Bogata, then here to Miami to, that’s since October 2nd to today, some of the highlights. So it seems that there is a, in the meantime they say they have got a new farm now in Bolivia. It’s a beautiful farm ten hectares, that is about 25 acres farm in a new restaurant in the city of Santacruz which is near Brazil. And seems to be a lot of things developing down there. So now they are getting geared up for their summer marathon, the Christmas marathon. So a few devotees said you want to come up here to New Orleans of United States immigration lets them, then you have some more. They will be able to associate with all of you. You can see how by Prabhupada’s going to South America, he started the ball rolling and I don’t know what Central America or Mexico are like I haven’t been there. I went to Mexico twice. I never went to Central America or the Caribbean. The South America is much more, these are countries which have been countries since the 1800’s, and its very traditional, they have their own kind of. The devotees there have been very steady. There is a very low turnover of devotees up to now by Krishna’s mercy. And now in Peru there is about 200 devotees. For instance in Bolivia maybe 50, somewhere close to a hundred in Chile, including people living outside that are chanting. So its actually lot of devotees there. Of course I heard Brazil is doing very well but I have only been to Brazil once that was many years ago.

 

But now where there was no center, now there must be total South America continent if you include everything there must be 40 -50 temples total including Brazil and Gurupada zone and Tridandipada zone. Prabhupada set the seed then Acaryadeva established the temples, then he or other devotees, its going on.

 

Any questions? Yes?

 

Devotee: (inaudible).

 

That’s one good point. When I was in Ecuador at that program in Cuenca they sold 200 pocket Bhagavad Gita’s there that night and one of the boys had done 300 small books in one day in, somewhere in Ecuador. The main books that they have, they have hard back, I mean they have the Bhagavatam’s up to the second canto, Nectar of Devotion, Krishna book and the Bhagavad Gita. In small books they have the Sri Isopanisad, Life comes from Life, and they have a series of kind of really simple books ‘Stories from the Bhagavatam’. You might have seen those, stories of Mrgrari the hunter, the story of Ajamila, they have a series like that, four five different. And now they have also ‘Search for Liberation’, George Harrison and John Lennon, they have that one. Well not sure exactly but under Acaryadeva, Radhakrishna Swami they have a Spanish BBT, I think they have ? they have their crew in Los Angeles that has been doing it. Recently I think Spain translated one or they edited one or something like that. Its been translated but they have a whole big computer and everything in Los Angeles under the Spanish BBT under Radhakrishna Swami. Of course working under Acaraydeva. I mean thats the big thing they are ? for, ? they don’t have any Caitanya Caritamrtas, they don’t have the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, the rest of the Bhagavatam’s. I am setting up some BBT printing or I would like to set up if I get the blessing to at least, because the economy we cant import books from America anymore. Its not possible in many of these countries. They don’t allow importation. Huh? Couldn’t hear it? Sorry!

 

The governments currency collapsed. They don’t allow the importation, they don’t allow the money to go out. President Bolivia when I first went there it was 25 pesos for the dollar, now its 15000 Pesos for the dollar in two and a half years. Inside the country you might call it something economic crisis. Whoever had money in dollars is very rich and whoever had money in Pesos has got Pesos, doesn’t have any money. (laughter)

 

Our devotees had 5000 dollars to give to the Spanish BBT and they delayed for one week and in one week it was worth 2000 dollars cause they had it in Pesos, they delayed. Very nice devotees but in terms of external things economy. Internally you can collect food and they made a new business there they have this cart and in Brazil they make a special kind of like a pakora which is filled with a caramel and they have a machine that squirts it out, they are called churritos or something like that. Its like you make a batter, they have a machine and it kind of like pastry, French pastry things that squeezes out. It comes out but its about an inch thick and it comes out and it goes, fries right there on the spot in the ghee and then its about so long and they crimp the one end, so its closed and leave one end open so after its nicely golden brown they take it out, they squeeze ? this kind of like caramel like when you cook condensed milk, boil it what it turns like , and they sell those for 16 cents each, like hot cakes. And people just lining up only we have a monopoly in Santacruz, no one ever did it before. It’s the most popular thing. Churritos, I think, I forget, its like churritos or something like that. I may not have it right, churrito? Yeah. Very good. They made some special ones for me with strawberries inside, very good. People have them ? or something. Here in America they are fantastic. No they may sell for a buck, for a dollar, 16 cents down there is a lot. One day, good day of sankirtana, you collect dollar and a half, 25000 pesos. (laughs) that’s how the devotees they pay the rent. So that’s why to sell paraphernalia down there is crazy. One devotee collects to pay the rent, everyone else just distribute books cause getting money for moneys sake is nice you know, whole day make a dollar whats the use but you can get the costs of the books from the people. its better to distribute books, just have one or two devotees to collect in some country that has currency or hard cash to pay for the rent. They can maintain their, from book distribution they can pay for their prasadam. Prasada not so much. You can buy Brazil nuts for a dollar for a kilo, other things are. In America its 8 dollars a kilo, 8 dollars a pound for Brazil nuts, dollar a kilo there. Fruits vegetables very expensive.

 

Yes?

 

Devotee: (inaudible).

 

The traditional way they have a, there’s two, the traditional way they have been doing it is they go on these little buses, they have bus stops, everybody travels by bus and they get in the, they go on the bus and they say, “excuse me! Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a student,” and then they give a thing and say “today we are offering you,” and they give their little talk you know and then they have like 3 minutes before their bus is filled they have already given drivers incense stick and they can wait 3 minutes and they cant wait any longer. They have 3 minutes to give their talk, that they are students, they are giving out Vedic books there and then they hand out books to everybody in the bus and now they say now this book is only so many pesos, you get the book today and then the person in the front of the bus takes one book, you know buys the book, shows the money and then everybody. Some people they sell 13 books in one bus, some 5, some 20, depending how expert they are. Then in the next bus, next, the whole day. (speaks in Spanish) She can probably, Lalita Sakhi can probably give you the whole line.

 

Then other kind of sankirtana they do is paintings, now just developed, paintings of, mainly the Hindu paintings, some modern paintings. Some people do incense on the street, in the buses also, give out incense. I was chanting, go for japa walk, sometimes people walk up to me and say inciensos? Inciensos? What are those sticks? I am sorry I don’t have those (laughter) the devotees are famous for incense, books and.

 

Yes?

 

Devotee: (inaudible).

 

Only in harinama. Not when they go in buses. Everybody knows. Its not so, its not because you see this whole thing in the buses is completely illegal. Just like in the friendship with the bus driver they have to give him prasada, they have to, but technically speaking the owners of the buses they want the bus to be moving all the time. So that little period of time that they wait, they don’t want to be like conspicuous that they are out there. It not very heavy. They told me its like you have to, you know there is a period where you just like just about full there’s only one or two seats left, you know, just waiting to take off, that’s the time you have to go because then you have your maximum audience. And they also have devotees who just do right on the street. Sometimes they sell Indian clothes, the mataji’s, for Lakshmi collection. They get Indian clothes, its very popular.

 

Devotee: (inaudible).

 

In Chile there’s 150 or 200 families and there’s some free ports in Chile. In the whole of Peru there’s about 20 families, most of them came to see me when I was in Peru. I think there is only one or two Indian families in Ecuador. I don’t think there is any Indian family in Bolivia.

 

Devotee: (inaudible).

 

There’s some Chinese people there but I don't know much about them. Some of them came to the temple, there are some chinese type of people there. All right its time to get ready to.

 

Devotee: (inaudible). Sri Acaryapada ki jaya!

 

Transcriber: Suvilasi Madhavi dd Date: 17 April 2015

 

Tags: Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Vasudeva Dutta, Ecuador, Peru, Prabhupada, Caitanya,

Collection:

Inspiration series - 2014

Audio player:

 

140306 - NMP Day 02 - Surabhi Kunja International Party This is Gaura dhama. You have to say Gauranga. That’s better. Today, the Russian Group went to Navadvipa. a And we told them that we have spies there to see which group is more togetherorganized, which group dances more, which group chants loudly, they all said jai! I told them international group is ready to take the challenge. Gauranga!!! So let’s see tomorrow. So you heard lots of pastimes. Are you filled up with pastimes? Can you still consume more?

 

Actually, when Ramananda Ray and Lord Caitanya were discussing in Rajahmundry and Lord Caitanya kept asking Ramananda Ray what is transcendental and he kept giving different alternatives. But Lord Caitanya said all what is next higher sokept rejecting them. But finally when Ramananda Raaya finally said, "hHearing the glories and pastimes of the Lord from pure devotees,. Tthen Lord Caitanya said, “y"Yes, that’s right. tThat’s transcendental.”. So the desire to hear about the Lord that increases in Navadvip dhama. aAnd by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, one can participate in those pastimes. Like in the Krsna book, it says Krsna visited the King Bahulasva and simultaneously He visited a poor Brahmana Srutadeva and both received by Krsna and the sages up to their capacity. So Bahulasva gave a royal reception, he gave a chappan bhog, but Srutadeva gave dal, rice, chapatti. So when he was serving out Krsna he was so happy. Then he started dancing. Dancing with joy. Bahulasva he was feeling so much bliss he gave the water, sprinkled water on the head of his queen, kids, ministers. So we read about one example like that.

 

Lord Caitanya He travelled West India, South India, North India, East India for more than six years. And every day he used to find a new place. They would receive Him with pada puja and offer Him meals so you calculate— about six or seven years— how many houses He stayed in, and you get thousands. So Lord Caitanya he gives special mercy, how many of you will like to have Lord Caitanya in your house? So this was the great mercy of Lord Caitanya. So to be part of His eternal pastimes that everything is possible with Lord Caitanya. He is so merciful. He is the combined form of Radha and Krsna. So here, in this place, Lord Nityananda established His Namahatta and He preached from here all over Bengal. And here His associates were established Namahattaing in different places. But after He and Gauranga left, we heard that Namahatta disappeared and it was re-established by HDGHis Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakura. so he established in this place. And the present sevaites we got this place from histhe family members of the present servitors.

 

When I was travelling around West Bengal, I saw some Namahatta ashramas. I saw two established by Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. aAnd Prabhupada told me to develop the congregation. And then Bhakti Caru Swami he gave me a book., Thethat was, President of that magazine was Srila Prabhupada. In that there was Godruma Kalpatavi of five chapters of about the Namahatta. So I took it as Prabhupada’s blessing and we restarted the Namahatta in Iskcon. and it is Bengali. Bhakti Vriksha is a kind of urban Namahatta. So Namahatta is engaged the house holders and the congregation in practically preaching Krsna Consciousness. I have a great hope in the Grhastas inof Iskcon. They will be able to achieve wonderful results in preaching and that is already happening. So there areis some places of Lord Caitanya’s pastime, some places ancient, from the puranic time period.view period l Like last night, we stayed in Harihara kshetra and that is also mentioned in some puranas. Like this, this verifies because it is five hundred years old but even today Namahatta is going on. So, we hope that when you go along this Navadvip parikrama, with every step, you go deeper and deeper into the esoteric understandingg. And when you hear from the elevated speakers and keep in mind Krsna all the time.

 

You go from here to Godruma dvipa;. HERE tTomorrow you enter Madhya dvip, island of remembering Krsna. And then you cross the river and enter into Koladvip. So tomorrow you will visit two dvips. The day after that one touches two dvips and the day after that you touch Ritudvip, Jahnudvip, Modadrumadvip, Rudradvip four islands. That’s the way we have our camp arranged. In future we may get more places and we have to revamp the system.

 

This is the opportunity also when you all in parikrama to do some devotee care, to help devotees. If someone is limping, help them over to the ambulance. Whatever that is a word of kindness goes a long way. And try to be closer to the mood of Lord Caitanya. Today I heard you went to Suvarna vihar, there Lord Caitanya have appeared even after His disappearance. So Kheturi, Suvarna vihar these are special mercy. We look forward for that day we can all see Lord Caitanya, Srila Prabhupad, previous Acharyas all dancing in ecstasy. This is all possible by Lord Caitanya’s desire. He can do anything, whatever He wants. So He is the independent Lord. And what we don’t want is to be in His bad books. Like He had told to Mukunda datta not to listen to the Mayavadis and then Mukunda Datta thought this instruction is not so important and he kept doing it. One day Lord Caitanya said “I don’t want to see the face of Mukunda datta here” and Nityananda nobody could change the Lord’s mind. When He decides, it is His decision. He is totally independent. So Mukunda was going crazy. He was fasting, rolling on the ground and one day the secretary of Lord Caitanya he approached. Nothing I can do, Lord Caitanya said I cannot see him. He said when can I see Him, when can I see Him and the secretary of Lord Caitanya He asked Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya said tell him after ten million births. Mukunda Datta really got a terrible sentence, ten million births. But when he heard that he can never see Lord Caitanya and when he heard that he can see after ten million births so that means he can see Him again one day so he started dancing. And he was chanting Haribol! Lord Caitanya said “who is making noise outside”? He was told it is Mukunda Datta. “Why I just told that he can see me after ten million births”? Yes because he thought he will never see you again. But when he heard he will see after ten million births he is rejoicing. Then Lord Caitanya said “alright bring him”.

 

So while on parikrama please try to get close as possible to Lord Caitanya, fixing in your heart. No one can your better friend. He came down just to deliver all of you giving the Harinam. Haribol!