Temporary Sentiment

Dear Readers, New devotees often come to my husband and me, asking us to coach them on how to deal with their parents who sometimes have prejudices against ISKCON or against the idea of their child or children becoming members of the Hare Krishna Movement. The following is a letter written by my husband to a devotee who is having trouble convincing his parents that by engaging in Krsna consciousness, their son is doing a good thing. The recipient's name has been edited out to protect his privacy.

Dear Prabhu,

Pranams. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krishna.

I was told, very confidentially, by my wife Phalini devi, that your parents aren't happy about you being involved with ISKCON, or something to that effect. Please know that I will not mention anything to anyone else about your present situation. I am writing only to share with you some very meaningful statements by our Founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada in his books and lectures and also some strong words of wisdom from our parama gurus Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Krishna willing, hopefully some of these transcendental statements will benefit you mightily in your journey back to home, Back to Godhead. 

The paragraph below spoken by Srila Prabhupada is from the book The Quest For Enlightenment:

"So Krishna is canvassing, 'Surrender unto Me.' Those who are fortunate will accept this offer of Krishna's. And when we actually love Krishna, that is called priti. We love our beloved - our child or husband or wife - but that is not real love. That is a temporary sentiment. Actual love is possible only with Krishna. Once you love Krishna, that love cannot be broken at any time. Therefore, somehow or other we have to engage ourselves in loving Krishna. That is the success of life. Thank you very much."

Prabhu, as you know we have all had many, many countless lifetimes here in the material world chasing after sense gratification, but that has amounted only to "chewing the chewed." Maya simply cheats us over and over again by suggesting that "don't worry, this next plan I have for you will give you complete satisfaction" although, as we all know, of course, it doesn't. Maya sukhaya means "temporary pleasure." That is all any of us get from Maya, simply a little flickering happiness.

So Srila Prabhupada is pointing out that the temporary sentiment for family members is illusory, or you can say also "flickering." After all, how long can our relationship with our parents, or brothers and sisters, or aunties and uncles last? The answer is only for a few years, with a maximum of forty, or fifty, or sixty, maybe seventy years, then finished. All of our family members will be separated by cruel death. Who can deny? And this goes on lifetime, after lifetime, after lifetime, and is known as samsara. And we all forget our previous family members as soon as we leave our body, don't we? No one can remember the names of our previous family members, because all of them have been forgotten at death. Death means forgetfulness. 

So, Prabhu, please consider this: you had parents in your previous life that you likely had affection for and you have now forgotten them. Any reasonable person will understand that our current parents will also be forgotten at the time of our death. I trust that's clear. Therefore Srila Prabhupada describes the affection we have for our family members as a temporary sentiment, not real love. Real love is for Krishna, and that pure love is eternal. 

Here, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura quotes from SB 10.47.61: 

"The gopis of Vrndavana have given up the association of their husbands, sons, and other family members, who are very difficult to give up, and they have forsaken the path of chastity to take shelter of Mukunda, Krishna, which one should search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me be fortunate enough to become one of the bushes, creepers, or herbs in Vrndavana, for the gopis trample them and bless them with the dust of their lotus feet." 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura then states:

"The lotus feet of Mukunda are searched after by the personified Vedas and are the ultimate goal of Vedanta. Who is qualified to serve His lotus feet? Only those who have strength to give up the path of chastity and the association of their relatives, and who are not interested to give up dependence on Krishna by depending on their temporary relatives, are eligible to serve the lotus feet of Munkunda."

Prabhu, there are unlimited statements similar to the ones above indicating that Krishna is the central point of all existence. No one is greater than or equal to Krishna. Being His parts and parcels, we are designed to love and serve Him, although the choice is ours to make. 

Here is the final paragraph I will share with you at this time, which comes from the Krishna Book, Chapter 35, The Gopis' Feelings of Separation: 

"In Vrndavana, everyone and everything is attracted by Krishna, including the trees, the plants, the water, and animals like the deer and cows. That is the perfect description of Krishna's all attractiveness. The example of the gopis is very instructive to persons who are trying to be absorbed in Krishna consciousness. One can very easily associate with Krishna simply by remembering His transcendental pastimes. Everyone has a tendency to love someone. That Krishna should be the object of love is the central point of Krishna consciousness. By constantly chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and remembering the transcendental pastimes of Krishna, one can be fully in Krishna consciousness and thus make his life sublime and fruitful."

We should all be very cautious not to allow material family members who are inimical to Krishna consciousness to divert us from our activities in devotional service. It is always better for us to bring our material family members into Krishna consciousness rather than allowing them to bring us back into the service of Maya. We are all on the verge of returning back home, Back to Godhead, therefore we cannot afford to lose the great opportunity we have. 

Our Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura so beautifully wrote in his poem "O Vaisnava Soul! the following last four lines:

So push thy onward march, O soul,

Against an evil deed, 

That stands with soldiers Hate and Lust--

A hero be, indeed. 

Maintain thy post in spirit world

As firmly as you can,

Let never matter push thee down--

O stand, heroic man.

O Saragrahi Vaisnava soul,

Thou art an angel fair;

Lead, lead me on to Vrindaban

And spirit's power declare. 

There rest my soul from matter free

Upon my Lover's arms--

Eternal peace and spirit's love

Are all my chanting charms.

param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,

Haripada dasa

P.S. "The association of children, wife, relatives and friends is just like the brief meeting of travelers. With each change of body, one is separated from all such associates, just as one loses the objects one possesses in a dream when the dream is over." (SB 11.17.53, Lord Krsna instructs Uddhava)

Six Trains in Nine Days

On the afternoon of January 20, 2016 we left the quaint little Udupi train station with its lovely greenery and clean sidewalks and headed up to Mumbai. Traveling by train in India is our favorite mode of transportation. Even long train rides are pleasant, because we almost always take super-fast trains that have comfy beds and ready bathroom facilities, plus we meet interesting people and we even sometimes do kirtan on the trains.

We arrived in Mumbai at the CSTM Station near Chowpatty Temple early in the morning on January 21st. Our friend Shubhananda Hari Prabhu met us, helped us load our luggage and accompanied us in a taxi to the temple. It was my husband's second time to see the Chowpatty Temple, and my first time. We were escorted by a humble, soft-spoken devotee to a simple yet comfortable room where we parked our luggage and showered. After cleaning up, we went to the famously beautiful temple room to take darshan of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath and participate in Srila Prabhupada's Guru-puja. My husband was asked to lead the kirtan. After the morning program, we chanted some rounds, met several devotees, honored Krsna prasadam, then returned to the temple room to lead more kirtan. We then rested a bit, and took care of answering some emails. Later, we went back to the temple room for a third kirtan. Kirtan is our life and soul and mission, so we were happy to be blessed with three opportunities to chant the holy names of the Lord before the Deities there at Chowpatty.

Shubhananda Hari had left us during the morning, but met up with us again later in the day to help us get to the train station. We departed Mumbai that evening, grateful for our friend's association, for the comfortable accommodations at the temple and for the chance to see Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath and meet the wonderful devotees of Chowpatty Temple.

We had an easy train ride to Veraval, where we arrived the morning of January 22, 2016. Veraval is the closest train station to Somnath. The Somnath Temple located in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat is considered to be the first of the twelve main Jyotirlinga Shiva temples in India. We were picked up at the station by Kanupriya Prabhu and arrived at the festival site happy to be surrounded by familiar smiling faces and a lively impromptu kirtan. After being garlanded, we were led to our roomy ground-floor quarters in the building right next to the pandal. We were glad to be there to participate in Bhakti Vikasa Swami's Vyasa-puja celebration and Sravanam-Kirtanam Camp. Maharaja holds these camps several times a year in different places on different continents. He calls them "sravanam-kirtanam" camps because he emphasizes not only kirtan, as in kirtan-melas, but also hearing from sadhus and shastras. He says that both are essential, so he combines both in a power-packed weekend of hearing and chanting.

Three days of informative classes interspersed with lively kirtans filled our hearts with refreshing, renewed faith in and taste for the holy names of Krsna. Although everyone loves the classes and the kirtans, whenever there is an initiation ceremony at one of Bhakti-Vikasa Swami's sravanam-kirtanam camps, it is always the event that is most looked forward to by all the devotees. This particular camp was held in honor of Maharaja's Vyasa-puja celebration, so the initiation ceremony was the crowning event of the Somnath camp. There were more than a hundred devotees accepting diksha on that momentous day, and because Maharaja speaks to every initiate personally as they come up to accept their japa beads and recite their vows, the progress of the hours can seem slow. But everyone feels the excitement of the most important day of every initiate's life, and the time passes joyfully. Upon the announcement of each new spiritual name, the atmosphere is filled with cheers, chants, the beating of drums and clanging of kartals.

We concluded our stay in Somnath with confidential talks among devotees, exchanges of email addresses, and promises to keep in touch with friends, both new and old. We left Somnath and drove to Veraval where we caught a midnight train on January 24th heading to the popular holy tirtha of Lord Sri Dvarakadhisa, Sri Dvaraka-dhama. We arrived at Krsna's famous "island city" around 7:00 a.m. on the 25th. Some dear friends of ours, the Sharma family, met us at the train station. We had booked rooms at a hotel that was so near to the station that we actually decided to walk from the railway station to the hotel!

We were eager to take showers and find a place to abate our hunger. It turned out that because the Sharmas had frequented Dvaraka many times, they knew just where to eat, and had already made reservations. It was a pure vegetarian restaurant run by strict brahmanas who did not use any onions or garlic in their cooking. We were amazed and pleased to hear this news, and after praying to Lord Dvarakadhisa to accept their cooking and remove any impurities that might have entered the food, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal, which was served with great care and conscientiousness by alert, polite waiters.

After enjoying a lovely meal, we proceeded toward the holy island temple on what's known as Bet-Dwarka, which we approached by boat. Although pilgrims crowded onto the boat, which was large enough to accommodate at least forty people, everyone was courteous and careful not to endanger each other as they climbed down the steps and carefully stepped from the pier onto the deck of the boat.

During the pleasant ride from the coast to Bet Dwarka, the pilgrims on the boat sang songs glorifying Lord Sri Krsna, the King of Dvaraka. We arrived safely on the shore and disembarked without a mishap. We made our way down the long pier to Dvaraka Palace, one of the four most holy tirthas in all of India and considered to be the most important place to visit on the west coast, the other three being Bhadrinath in the north, Jagannatha Puri on the east coast, and Ramesvaram in the south. My husband and I had already visited the other three tirthas, so we were eager to complete our vow to visit the fourth, Sri Dvaraka-dhama. After finding places to hide our shoes, we got in line at the gate of the temple. The queue moved slowly but steadily through the corridors of the old-world stone temple. After several minutes, we were blessed to have the darshan of Lord Sri Dvarakadhisa. He was beautifully decorated with jewelry and flower garlands, and His lotus feet were strewn with Tulasi leaves and flower petals. Although our time in the presence of the Lord was brief, we felt deeply satisfied to have had the opportunity to offer prayers to His Lordship in person. After leaving the shrine of Dvarakadhisa Himself, we were escorted to a room where we were invited to sit down for what appeared to be a historical narration. After several long minutes of not knowing what the "historian" was saying, we noticed that people started to fidget and reach for their purses. It turned out that he was not really a well-meaning educator, but rather a huckster with his hand out to get money from innocent pilgrims. We stood up and walked out, feeling disgusted that such people are allowed to operate within the walls of holy temples in holy dhamas. Urged on by guards, we walked outside and toured the outer walls of the famous old building. The presence of the Lord is felt throughout the expansive Dvaraka Palace, and one is reminded of the wonderful histories noted in the Srimad-Bhagavatam of Krsna's pastimes with His queens, His children, and His devotees who all lived there five-thousand years ago. There is something soul-stirring about ancient stone temples--they speak to the core of the heart, the eternal soul within.

After Bet-Dwarka, we retraced our steps down the long pier and again boarded the boat, this time joining in with the singers of traditional songs. The boat-ride back to the mainland was joyful and filled with music and laughter. After the boat moored on the other side, we climbed back onto the dock, helping each other by grabbing hands and pulling each other out of the boat safely. We climbed up the steps to the pier and found our way to our hotel to relax for the rest of the evening.

On the 26th, we left Dvaraka for Ahmedabad. The train was packed with devotees who had attended the Sravanam-Kirtanam Camp in Somnath. By popular demand, kirtan was requested on the train. We gathered together in one bogie and rocked the car with mrdanga, kartals and loud voices crying out the holy names in powerful unison. Every photo taken turned out blurry because of the rocking train and the dancing, swaying devotees. Then, the devotees asked my husband to also give class. So he spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam about the temporality of the material body and the eternality of the soul, about our duty as followers of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be merciful to all souls.

When we returned to our bogie, our cabin neighbors also requested a kirtan. So we again unpacked the harmonium and kartals and proceeded to chant the sweet holy names of the Lord with them. They were satisfied that we fulfilled their request and we were satisfied to share the chanting of Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare with seven or eight new people who had had only minimal exposure to Krsna consciousness up to that point.

By the time we reached Ahmedabad, we were all so fired up that we spontaneously struck up a kirtan on the platform after stepping off the train! The kirtan was so ecstatic that everyone in the group danced and jumped like madmen while chanting with all our hearts. Kirtan is the nectar for which the soul is always anxious.

Quite a few of the devotees who had participated in the kirtans on the train and on the platform had to jump back on that same train because they were proceeding on to Surat. So we quickly concluded the kirtan, exchanged email addresses and phone numbers, and then saw them off as the train began to lumber on from its parked position.

We had some time before our train would depart Ahmedabad, so we took a taxi to the Ahmedabad ISKCON Temple to have darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Govindji and chant Their holy names in kirtan in the beautiful temple room there. A few devotees joined us and we felt blessed to have the opportunity to see yet another of Srila Prabhupada's hundreds of worldwide ISKCON temples.

We caught our next train in Ahmedabad at about 10:00 p.m. on January 27th and headed down to Mumbai. We crashed on our berths and eight hours later, we arrived at Borivali Station near the Mira Road Temple at 6:00 a.m. on the morning of January 28th. By the grace of the big-hearted devotees there, we were given a comfortable, clean room in the guest house where we rested, took bath, met with devotees and caught up on emails. The temple, temple room and Deities are all stunningly gorgeous and inspiring to see. Whenever we visit Mira Road, we always open up our harmonium and do kirtan in the temple room, as that is our favorite way to glorify and serve the Lord.

At 10:30 p.m. on January 28, 2016, we caught our train at Thane Station and immediately made our beds, as everyone else in the bogie was asleep, or trying to sleep. We quickly drifted off into deep slumber, as our train smoothly flowed down the tracks toward Udupi. This was the sixth train we had ridden in nine days, and for us, that was a record.

Okay, friends, it took me a year to get this story written. The next story will have to be about a more recent trip so I don't have to dig up such old notes!

Gita-Jayanti Realization

Today is Gita-jayanti, the day Lord Sri Krsna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna. Today I thought about Krsna and Arjuna more than usual. I realized suddenly while thinking about Krsna and Arjuna that Bhrgu Muni is not the only person who touched the Lord with his foot. When the sounds of the battle of Kurukshetra got too loud, Arjuna couldn't shout loud enough for Krsna to hear his commands, so he had to touch Krsna with his foot to indicate which way to turn the chariot. 

Don't Jump the Gun

Sometimes people are curious about their spiritual origins, or, their original spiritual identity. Some get rather carried away with this curiosity and are led away from the strict bhakti path and into the association of so-called devotees who are also eager to learn their siddha-svarupa without undergoing the necessary purification of heart that is gradually facilitated by Guru and Krsna within the heart of a sincere disciple. This purification takes place naturally, in due course of time, as the disciple renders service to the Guru and hears from him submissively, engaging under his direction in the service of the Lord. His Holiness Bhakti-Charu Swami has recounted in his book Ocean of Mercy an incident in which a disciple of Srila Prabhupada wanted to "jump the gun" and learn from his spiritual master about his eternal, spiritual identity before he was actually ready.

Kalyana Dasa's siddha-svarupa

Kalyana Dasa, a second-initiated Bengali devotee who lived outside the temple and worked as an insurance agent and school teacher, came to Mayapur to see Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada asked him about his spiritual life and also inquired about his wife and children. It was a sweet, warm exchange. Then Kalyana asked, "Srila Prabhupada, what is my siddha-svarupa?" What, he wanted to know, was his spiritual identity.

This idea, to learn one's spiritual identity at the time of initiation, was a sahajiya, or deviant, practice, and Srila Prabhupada's mood changed immediately. He became extremely angry, and with his voice roaring and his lips quivering, he repeated, "You rascal. Your siddha-svarupa...You rascal. Your siddha-svarupa..." Finally, when he had cooled down but with his voice still raised, he told Kalyana, "Don't worry about your siddha-svarupa. When you become qualified, I will personally come and reveal it to you."

I was surprised by Srila Prabhupada's vehement reply, but I could also see two things clearly. The first was that as devotees we did not have to worry about our spiritual identity; we simply had to be engaged in devotional service. The rest would happen automatically, and our spiritual identity would be revealed by the mercy of guru and Krsna. The second was that Prabhupada would always be there for us. He would take us back to Godhead; it was just a matter of our becoming qualified.

Kalyana was very apologetic and begged Srila Prabhupada's forgiveness. After a moment, Prabhupada regained his natural serene and merciful mood and explained to Kalyana that when both the guru and disciple were qualified, the guru might reveal the disciple's spiritual identity. If, however; either tried to proceed improperly, it could not only create chaos but also destroy the spiritual life of both.

Told by Bhakti Charu Swami in "Ocean of Mercy" (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2016), pp 111-112.

Taken by me from BVKS Sanga.

Pure Devotees

"Pure devotees do not aspire for any concession, and out of spontaneous love try to engage themselves in devotional service twenty-four hours each day, three hundred and sixty five days every year, without any stoppage." ~Srila Prabhupada, Letter to HH Jayapataka Swami, 30th January, 1969

Radhastami, Mysore

Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva, Mysore, Karnataka

The Radhastami Festival this year was in Mysore, Karnataka. Of course, there were a lot of Radhastami Festivals celebrated all over the world, but for us, the most significant celebration was at His Grace Radha-Krsnacandra Prabhu's house in Mysore, because that's the one we attended.

After a comfortable train trip from Udupi, we arrived at the Mysore Railway Station on the morning of September 9th, the actual day of the festival. Radha-Krsnacandra Prabhu (affectionately known among close friends as RKC Prabhu) picked us up, packed our copious luggage into his car and drove us to his home. (Now you might wonder why we had a lot of luggage if we were just spending the weekend in Mysore. But Mysore was just our first stop on a long tour up to Mira Road Temple for the Kirtan-Mela, then over to Udaipur to visit Madan Govind and Daivi Radha along with all the other enthusiastic devotees of Udaipur yatra, then down to Belgaum for an intense week of home programs. Thus, the large quantity of baggage.)

Srimati Divya-shakthi Mataji, Radha-Krsnacandra Prabhu's good wife, and several other devotees were engaged in making preparations and decorations for Radhastami. The main room of the house where we usually enter was filled with mountains of ferns, African daisies and roses, so we had to bypass that room and enter through another door.

Radha-Krsnacandra Prabhu led us to the guest room. After we bathed and sorted our things, we went downstairs to break our half-day fast (Srimati Radharani is famous for Her soft-heartedness. She doesn't want Her devotees to have to fast all day long, so on Her special day, we only fast until noon). Divya Mataji had cooked and offered to Radha and Krsna with love and devotion a delicious palak-paneer subji, and served it with hot buttery chapatis. She apologized for the simplicity of the meal, but we raved about it. My husband and I love simple prasadam, and Divya's lunch was "just what the doctor had ordered."

The festivities were to start in the evening, so we spent the daytime preparing for our talk about Srimati Radharani, and catching up on laundry, japa, emails and rest.

The evening program started with lively kirtan interspersed with nectarean talks about the miraculous appearance of Srimati Radharani from a lotus flower and the appearance of Her famous mystical bathing ghat, Radha-kunda. The temple room, which is a large, handsome room tastefully decorated with original paintings of Krsna's pastimes and inspirational scriptural quotes from various scriptures, was packed with enthusiastic, happy devotees.

The Deities of Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva were brightly polished so that Their Lordships shone with a brilliant effulgence. They were dressed in flower outfits which had been lovingly crafted by the expert hands of Mother Divya-Shakthi (her husband told us she had stayed up all night stitching Their clothes!). Their Lordships' elegant flower dresses were studded with tiny red roses and pure white jasmine buds, so closely crowded together that they left not a square centimeter of room for the underlying cloth to be seen. Even though red roses and white jasmines were the predominant flowers used, the overall effect was multi-colored, because along with the red roses and white jasmines were occasional miniature yellow mums, purple lobelia and pink bachelor's buttons. Adding to the multi-colored scheme was Krsna's turban, which was a rich wrap of variously colored silky twists studded with tiny white flowers and sporting a lovely peacock feather slightly tilted to one side. Their Lordships' pearl-and-ruby necklaces complemented the dresses perfectly, and the altar itself was an explosion of color with a custom-crafted criss-cross wire frame mandap richly adorned with lush green ferns and studded with miniature red and yellow roses. The little mandap perfectly surrounded the Deities like a little forest house built by Srimati Vrnda devi herself.

Not to be overlooked, the most eye-catchingly unique feature of Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva's alankar was a stunning crescent-moon-shaped cradle on which Their Lordships gracefully stood. The crescent moon was bordered by miniature white Christmas lights (or since we're in India, I guess you could call them Diwali lights) and draped with translucent white silk cloth that gave it the appearance of being surrounded by misty, filmy clouds. It appeared that Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva were taking an evening ride in a brilliant moon-shaped boat floating on a river of milk.

After Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva were offered a sumptuous feast lovingly cooked by His Grace Radha-Krsnacandra (who, like Bhimasena himself, has a reputation for cooking big feasts!) and assisted by several capable helpers, arati was performed while a heart-meltingly soft kirtan was led by His Grace Haripada Prabhu.

The glorious evening concluded with a mouth-watering feast of Krsna prasadam served upstairs on the terrace. Devotees honored prasadam up to their necks, which, according to many accounts in the Caitanya-caritamrta, is actually bona fide on feast days!

I can't remember what time we finally hit the sack, but it was late. We found out the next morning that several devotees had stayed up even later cleaning up after the festival and the feast. Srimati Radharani especially notices devotees who "go the extra mile" in their service to the Lord and His devotees, e.g., staying up late sewing, decorating, cooking, cleaning, etc. She tells Lord Govindadeva about them, and asks Him to bestow upon them some special mercy.

All glories to Sri Sri Radha-Govindadeva! All glories to Srimati Radharani's glorious appearance day! All glories to the devotees of Their Lordships, who serve Them with such love and devotion, making unbelievable personal sacrifices to give pleasure to the Lord and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani.

Haripada dasa's Vyasa-puja Offering, 2016

Thank you Srila Prabhupada

For bravely crossing the sea

And saving an insignificant 

Bewildered soul like me

You came West to enlighten 

Awaken and liberate

All the fallen souls

From a most unfortunate fate

I shudder just to think 

Of the foolish things I would do

If I had not somehow or other

Been blessed by meeting you

Thank you Srila Prabhupada

For your strong faith in the Lord

Your kirtans in the park

Brought many souls aboard 

Who could have ever guessed

That so many would come

And bow down at your feet

Such an incredible sum

Many thousands surrendered

Giving it all that we had

Serving constantly in bliss

And seldom ever sad

Thank you Srila Prabhbupada

For distributing prasad

And helping us all to understand

That Lord Krishna is God

One of your many blessings

Namely your transcendental books

Mercifully opened our eyes

Showing us how the Supreme Lord looks

You taught us that everything

Belongs entirely to the Lord

It's all His property

We have no need to hoard

Thank you Srila Prabhupada

For the Lord's holy name

We now no longer want any

Profit, adoration, or fame

From Goloka, the yuga dharma

Of chanting Lord Krishna's names 

Has mercifully descended

Filling our hearts with prema

By introducing Mahaprabhu

The golden avatar

You've blessed each and every one of us 

With freedom from samsara

Thank you Srila Prabhupada

For inspiring us all

To give Krishna to others

That's your clarion call

Somehow or other we met you

A Saktyavesa avatar

Now we're slowly understanding

How fortunate we are

There's only one thing left to mention

On your Vyasa Puja day

We commit to serving your mission 

         
               Each and every day

param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam

Your grateful disciple,

Haripada dasa 

Udupi, Karnataka, South India