Srila Prabhupada on Seeing

From a lecture on SB 2.1.1-5, given in Boston, on the 22 December 1969:

Eyes means introspection. Therefore Vedic culture says, eyes... Sastra-caksus: "You should see through sastra. Don't try to see by these eyes." These are, what is the value of this eye? They are conditioned in so many ways. You don't believe the eyes. See through the sastra, through the spiritual master, through the sastra. Try to see through this. That is perfect seeing.

Today: the Worst Way of Serving Prasadam

Actually the method doesn't even deserve the verb 'serving'.

The "system" is: someone brings breakfast prasadam (generally the morning maha plus something cooked in larger quantity and a drink) to the prasadam hall in plastic buckets of different sizes (often without enough spoons for serving); then people come and make their plates. No one is serving. Often there are no plates, cups or spoons for the guests. There is no way of assuring that those who come a little later will get everything (Today, for instance, one of the first devotees to arrive took three of the dozen or so puris; if the first four people to arrive do as he did, the next 10-12 people won't get any puri...).

On top of that the devotees eat and walk away, without bothering to clean the place where they took prasadam and often leaving painfully obvious signs of subji and other remnants smudged around where the plate was.

Although also unacceptable, a better way would be that one or two devotees stand behind the containers and serve the devotees, who stand on line with their plate. This is also a sub-cultured system, but unfortunately it has been adopted even in Sridham Mayapur (where people are supposedly meant to learn Gaudiya Vaisnava culture) during the last Gaura Purnima Festival.

"The" system is that devotees sit in rows on the floor--chairs and tables could be provided for those who have trouble sitting cross-legged--and then the preparations are served, again and again, till everyone is satisfied. No need of getting up; no need of asking for any particular item (it will come around). At the end one server ask each individual if he needs anything.

In this way the devotees have daily the chance to serve each other, honoring the commandment of Srila Rupa Goswami. Expert servers gauge the amount of prasadam and the quantity they will be able to dispense to avoid that someone remains without some preparation.

The consciousness and the techniques of serving affects the culture, the mood, the spiritual advancement and the digestion of the participants. Investing in doing it right assures a pleasant, productive and Krishna conscious experience. It's worth the effort.

The Holy Mystery of the Flying Socks

You have probably seen it: the mangala arati is over and the Tulasi puja is about to start; from the devotees in attendance one reaches the mat on which he will stand and then removes the socks, spectacularly flinging them to the nearest wall--possibly ten meters away--from which they bounce and come to rest as crumpled balls.

Having witnessed this cherished liturgy for a number of years and in a number of places, I ask myself?

Is this ritual of removing the socks necessary (independently if they are thrown or not)?

Who introduced or promoted it?

What's wrong with the devotees' socks at 5:00 am? Already dirty?

If they are attempting to maintain a brahminical standard of puja attire, which mandates the removal of all sewn clothing, why they keep the t-shirts, kurtas, sweaters, jackets and so on?

Is it an offense to offer puja to Tulasi Devi wearing socks? If yes, in which scriptural text or commentary is it mentioned?

To me the tradition appears as superfluous, in a similar league with "the cat in the basket" and "the Kumbha-mela excrement shrine."

PS - I remain completely open to be convinced that is necessary to remove the socks, if someone explains it to me with sastric evidence or/and common sense.

A Very Nice Janmastami

Mexico City, 24 August 2008, Sri Sri Radha-Madan-Gopal Temple

The days started early, by waking up spontaneously (if you don't include the Vayasaki bhajan CD playing loudly in the nearby temple room) at 3:15 am. It always helps to chant a few rounds before mangala-arati...

Mangala-arati was the most attended I ever saw here: young and senior devotees alike filled up the temple. For the occasion we sang Vibhavari Sesa instead of the customary Guruvastaka prayers.

After Tulasi puja I went for a japa-walk with my wife, Sri Radha Govinda Dasi, to the nearby Chapultepec garden, where Srila Prabhupada used to walk.

Later I gave a one hour internet lecture to a devotee community in the Middle East. I based the speech on a class Srila Prabhupada gave forty years ago, on 16 August 1968 in Montreal, on Janmastami. Srila Prabhupada elaborated on the janma karma ca me divyam verse (Bg 4.9), where Krishna says that whoever understand the divine nature of his appearance and activities won't take birth again in this material world. I hope the audience enjoyed the talk as much as I enjoyed giving it.

Then I spoke for a couple of hours with Aravinda Prabhu. He leads the work of the BBT in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, by planning, producing and directly distributing books. He is also involved with the Mexican National Council and the Mexico City temple administration. He came to Mexico City from Cueramaro, some four hours North of here, where, in a rural setting, he organized and is teaching a residential, full-immersion Bhakti-sastri course. This two-month educational retreat constitutes a first for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The course includes the participation of guest professors HH Dhanvantari Swami (from Brazil) and of HH Guru Prasad Swami (Mexico's GBC). Aravinda invited me to teach the whole Sri Isopanisad next month, and I gladly accepted.

Later on I was doing a little introductory research on the Isa or Isavasya Upanisad in the internet and I came across some interesting academic references (including the surprising: "Isavasya Upanisad - The Doctrine of the Immanence of Jesus" with commentary by aProf. M.M. Ninan, who believes that Hinduism came from Christianity).

At 4:30 pm I gave a lecture in the temple. The local administration had entitled the speech: "The Mysticism of Chanting the Holy Names." It was intended to be an introduction to chanting, but seeing many devotees in the audience and being Janmastami, I concentrated on describing Janmastami--connecting the lila with the chanting when I could.

As usual, the main challenge connected with the fasting was weakness, rather than hunger. The legs started to feel wobbly after 6:00 pm, but the spirit was emboldened by the exciting reggae and ska performance of a local devotee group.

The program went on more or less smoothly. The main hitch was failing for about a hour to connect by skype with His Holiness Hridayananda Maharaja for a live lecture. Finally the connection was established and we all heard and saw this highly scholarly and humorous luminary.

The prasada (ekadasi style) deserves mention: somehow the devotees managed to produce in sufficient quality a kind of delicious preparation that involves cabbage leaves stuffed with nuts and other ingredients, apparently a labor-intensive recipe.

It was my first Janmastami in Sri Sri Radha-Madan-Gopal temple, but a regular told me that it was one of the best ever.

The Sad State of Affairs of ISKCON Mexico

I have been invited to become the GBC here I have been in the country for the last three months. This is an exploratory tour--I have not yet committed to take up the service. I have been traveling and getting to know the devotees. I have been to Tijuana, Mexico City, Leon, Guadalajara, Saltillo and Monterrey.

The situation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, after nearly 38 years of preaching, is disconcerting.

ISKCON Mexico hasn't managed to produce even one initiating spiritual master. By comparison Italy, a smaller country and a yatra started around the same time, has produced four gurus (OK, two of them faced personal problems and relinquished the duty, but two are still active).

Srila Prabhupada visited Mexico twice, the maximum number of visits to any Spanish-speaking country.

In the thirty years after Srila Prabhupada's departure we have not managed to secure even one new property or temple in the name of ISKCON. The only premises legally in control of the Society are those of the temple that Srila Prabhupada visited.

Legally the devotees have secured the status of an "A.R." (Asociacion Religiosa), or a Religious Society recognized by the government, but the Board of Directors hardly meets and includes people who have been inactive for so long that the official secretary doesn't even remember their names.

The ad hoc National Council isn't faring much better: largely apathetic and fuzzily defined (some people are members in name only), they hardly even meet with a quorum. Two members have recently been suspended for adultery.

I could go on and on describing different anomalies, past scandals, existing tensions and individual and collective struggles, but I categorically refuse to adduce the intrinsic nature of Mexicans as the reason. In fact I must report that Mexico appears as one of the best places on the planet for spreading Krishna consciousness. Expert book distributors who traveled throughout Latin America consider Mexico as the best place to sell Srila Prabhupada books, and some of them travel transferred here from distant countries to take advantage of the local receptivity. People are friendly and naturally respectful, open and inquisitive. The Sunday program in the capital is always packed with people from all age groups. And I could go on and on describing the marvelous opportunities offered by this country of almost 110 million people.

There are signs of life and growth; for instance in Mexico City there are already 14 active Nama-hatta youth groups and this indicates that the potential for development and success is great.

Brooms and Other Cleaning Utensils in Srila Prabhupada's Room

In the temple where I am at the moment there is Srila Prabhupada's room. Actually Srila Prabhupada visited twice this temple, and therefore his room is "really" his room. There is also a Deity sitting in the room (in the "holding the translation microphone" mudra), and in front of the deity sit, day and night, brooms and other cleaning utensils.

Question: If Srila Prabhupada were present in a more recognizable fashion (in other words, physically present), would the devotees keep the cleaning utensils in the same room, visible 24 hours by Srila Prabhupada?

Answer: No way!

Therefore it seems:

1. that the perception of Srila Prabhupada's presence is vastly diminished.

2. that the administration of the temple is vastly neglectful of such "details."

3. that a deep rejuvination of conscience is badly needed to avoid such oversights.

Back to Basics... I Mean, Forward to Basics

Competing brands of Gaudiya-vaisnavism at times claim that Srila Prabhupada only gave the basics, and that ISKCON people need to take shelter in their representatives to accede to higher dimensions of bhakti.

I beg to disagree. Besides the insulting and indefensible remark that ISKCON’s Founder-Acarya didn’t provide his followers with enough directions to achieve whatever is there to achieve, I would propose that ISKCON—or at least a good percentage of its members—need to go in the different direction. My observation is that devotees would tremendously benefit by absorbing themselves in the narrations of Mahabharata and Ramayana, thus imbibing the fundamental ethical values presented therein.

This morning the Bhagavatam verse we discussed included: “Ajamila could understand the religious principles that act under the three modes of material nature. These principles are mentioned in the three Vedas. He could also understand the transcendental religious principles, which are above the modes of material nature and which concern the relationship between the living being and the Supreme Personality of Godhead” (SB 6.2.24-25).

This made me reflect that without the “ordinary” religious parameters underpinning one’s personal existence it is very difficult—also for devotees—to maintain a modicum of advancement in devotional life.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (18.5): “Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.”

Without a basic sense of sacrifice (that which renders sacred) we risk a functional disconnection from Lord Caitanya’s spirit and mission. Without regular participation in sankirtana-yajna (in its various forms, from book distribution to harinam) our enthusiasm and ongoing purification might simply dry up.

Charity is in many cases conspicous by its absence. Regular giving is often neglected. The many instructions of Srila Prabhupada on the subject are ignored and disregarded. As a result some of our grihastha develop a niggardly mentality—unsuitable for aspiring great souls—centered on a fear-based conception of life. Another consequence is that devotees gets burdened with accumulated karma (“by worship and charity offered to the brahmanas, material possessions are purified” SB 10.5.4). Laxness in the realm of charity brings poverty in the spiritual society, engendering a constant sense—factual and psychological—of indigence.

Austerities without devotional service might harden the heart, but devotional service without austerity might extinguish itself through sensual proclivities. Avoiding the austerity of raising early in the morning, for instance, makes serious japa higly improbable. And the breaking of the regulative principle brings spiritual dissipation and physical, mental and intellectual depletion.

We could talk much more but I guess you get the idea: for the movement (and its members) to make real progress, we need to re-discover (and in some cases to discover for the first time) the values and behaviors of the pious, civilized, regulated, productive and dutiful human beings.

Immature forays into the kunjas of Vraja are way down the list of priorities.