CONTENTS:
- DARSHAN WITH GURU MAHARAJA
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. DARSHAN WITH GURU MAHARAJA
In my last meeting I have made this point, the world situation is becoming so critical. Leave aside Syria and Iraq even countries like France, Belgium, the terrorist attacks. One suicide bomber killed so many people and you can see that the governments of those countries are not able to deal with those problems. It is actually comical what they are doing. When that thing happened in France, Paris they posted the army in front of the schools. Now for how many days can the army be posted in front of the schools? One week or two weeks, so silly to do that rather try to deal with the problem. That actually shows that they do not know how to deal with the situation. How do you figure out where, how and when a guy are going to blow himself up with 30 people around? This is just the beginning; I tell you the world situation is going to get worst.
At a time like that I remember when Japan was supposed to bomb Calcutta in 1944 because Calcutta was a big base of the British so the threat was there that Japan was going to bomb so everybody was running away of the city. Even Prabhupada’s God brother who was staying with him was going so when he was leaving, he asked Prabhupada where he was going to go and Prabhupada said, “I will go out on Harinaam and if I chant the holy name then maybe Krishna will protect and even if I die being bombed, I would die chanting the holy name”. Prabhupada said, “I will go out on Harinaam and if I chant the holy name then maybe Krishna will protect and even if I die being bombed, I would die chanting the holy name”. Prabhupada did go out on Harinaam, he went out with his servant about three or four of them and as he went out the crowd began to grow, more and more people started to join.
Japan decided for some unknown reason not to bomb Calcutta. To others the reason maybe unknown but to us it’s very clear because Prabhupada chanted the holy name. So, when there is crisis all around what are we going to do? Are you going to hide in some bunker? No, you just go out with mrdanga and kartalas and chant the holy name. There will be a time when everyone will recognize why we are doing what we are doing, going out on Harinaam, they will recognize the value. So, let’s consider that we are now just practicing to face that situation. Devotee, “Maharaja Can I share a story quickly, a devotee from the manor was sharing some years back talking about having faith in the holy name. She said there was this girl very beautifully dressed western girl who came into the temple and was just crying an eager to speak with devotees, after they calmed her down, she shared her story.
She said she was not a devotee but would hear the devotees on Harinaam Hare Krishna. One day she was at a pub and a gentleman offered her a ride home but drove in the opposite direction and she realized what was going to happen. She said she was not a religious person or anything but these words Hare Krishna just started coming out of her mouth and when she started chanted the Lord’s name something switched in him, he apologized and dropped her back home. This is testament what you are saying Maharaja, it was a very inspiring story for me to hear, the holy name is so powerful.”
Guru Maharaja: Thank you for sharing that beautiful story, there are so many stories like anecdotes. Once one girl, one of our God sisters in America she was distributing books and she was in a quieter area and one man just came charging after her, at first, she didn’t know what to do and then she started to say the Nrsinghadev prayers and that man just went away. Another happening in Germany, Hamburg, and devotees used to go out at night and they were doing the kirtan and all of a sudden, they saw a huge person rushing towards them obviously trying to attack them and you can well imagine their condition. Some devotees were thinking was using the kartalas as a weapon and swing it but the leader of the group said don’t do that, let’s chant Nrsingha prayers. As they started to chant the Nrsingha prayers that person’s body just went down and fell to the ground, the paramedics came and said he had a massive heart attack but the devotees knew what happened. So that’s the thing there is no way of knowing how Krishna will manifest before the devotees. At least we should be fully convinced and take shelter in chanting the holy name of the Lord.
Devotee asks question but it’s unclear.
Guru Maharaja: Maybe I should ask you that question, yeah why not? One thing of course maybe those devotees don’t feel very safe being on a farm because the situation here is not safe. Another thing from my experience I can tell you, I was involved in two countries before Belgium and France and both places had large pieces of land. France in New Mayapur we had close to 2000 acres of land and Belgium we had close to 1000 acres of land. I tried to motivate them for farming and they tried also and really got into farming but they could not last, they could not continue because the amount that it was costing to grow was much higher than what it would cost to buy. They had to maintain their families with the farm but it was not possible, it was too expensive.
Devotee: …gurukula, we are preaching a Wits for education in the mode of goodness….
Guru Maharaja: Do you really want me to answer those, well I will tell you that, first of all look at this room how many are ready to accept such projects? Most of them have families, they are situated with their jobs and they can’t quit their jobs and the amount of money they have to put there and the life there, people have become used to, practically everyone has become so accustomed to that comfortable and convenient lifestyle, going into the farm means to give up that. I will give you an example, I am involved in Seattle, that’s my zone and Seattle is where Microsoft, Oracle and Boeing are and there is quite a few Indians those who are with Microsoft and Boeing and they became involved with us. One very idealistic person who had a very high position in Microsoft quit his job, started his own business and became even more successful and because of Prabhupada’s teachings our kind of inspiration, he bought a farm and moved into the farm with his family members wife and two children.
He stayed there for about two years but they could not keep up to that because of the hardship, although it’s practically in the city, farm means away from the city like on the edge of the city. Previously they were living in a house with five bedrooms and they moved into the farmhouse, it’s quite a change so that is the problem. Maybe 50 years back that kind of situation would have been a comfortable situation but that is not the case today and people become conditioned very quickly. He was coming from a village; his family was doing farming but of course he was a very bright boy. Although in his childhood he grew up in a farm but he could not continue in the farm and of course he would tell me when his family came to know he got into a farm and he has cows then they used to write to him, why did you go to America? You could have done it here.
Devotee: Maharaja there are also so many different communities in ISKCON that are efficient in this way of living perhaps there is a way that we could learn from their successes, like Radhanath Swami has the eco village, Mother Yamuna set up Saranagati and I got the privilege of meeting some of these people that are living there.
Guru Maharaja: Have you been to the eco village?
Devotee: No, I have not but heard that they won so many awards.
Guru Maharaja: The thing that I wanted to tell you is that they spent in more than millions of dollars in the eco village so it’s not an eco-village, its five stars. If you can do a fancy kind of situation then yes, it’s wonderful but that’s another story. Saranagati I have not been there but I heard they are self-sufficient but who wants to go there because Vancouver is just a few hours’ drive but how many devotees would like to go?
Devotee: The devotees who live there told me that its either the way you are as a person and you want to live there and have that quality of life or not. The core teams had that same desire and many other people came and left but as long as their foundation is there to keep it together, once the generation changes.
Guru Maharaja: That is another aspect that devotees will do whatever their leader wants them to do. It’s true not that eco village devotees are living there because of comfortable arrangements but because of their love for Radhanath Maharaja, they would do that even if the condition was very basic. We are running into another direction, leaders like Sivarama Maharaja are doing great in Hungary, it’s a beautiful situation; they are there because of Sivarama Maharaja. Eco village is because Radhanath Maharaja wants that.
Devotee: The situation is different in South Africa we have so much of land and a storage of power all we need to do is create the solar power and contribute back to the government and they pay us, these are just ideologies.
Guru Maharaja: Again, it goes back to leadership. Leader gets behind certain ideology, a leader has to have a vision not that anybody’s vision would work. A leader who is able to motivate his followers his vision is going to work. Now the question is who will take the lead? That’s an idea why not develop solar power this is such a valid proposal. Saudi Arabia are now spending billions of dollars to generate solar power because they realized that the oil power is not going to last too long so solar power is the future so that is why they are preparing for themselves. If the government is already giving the help, then why not? You know a few of you get together and do something.
Devotee: Guru Maharaja, in Germany they keeping the cows and they use the farms for solar and they put back into the grid and the government pays them more money than average. There are many devotees we just have to connect with each other.
Guru Maharaja: I have a flight at night; I just came in after a long flight so I will take a little rest. I have to leave at 7.30pm Thank you very much. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
At a time like that I remember when Japan was supposed to bomb Calcutta in 1944 because Calcutta was a big base of the British so the threat was there that Japan was going to bomb so everybody was running away of the city. Even Prabhupada’s God brother who was staying with him was going so when he was leaving, he asked Prabhupada where he was going to go and Prabhupada said, “I will go out on Harinaam and if I chant the holy name then maybe Krishna will protect and even if I die being bombed, I would die chanting the holy name”. Prabhupada did go out on Harinaam, he went out with his servant about three or four of them and as he went out the crowd began to grow, more and more people started to join. Japan decided for some unknown reason not to bomb Calcutta. To others the reason maybe unknown but to us it’s very clear because Prabhupada chanted the holy name
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- So, when there is crisis all around what are we going to do? Are you going to hide in some bunker? No, you just go out with mrdanga and kartalas and chant the holy name; and
- At least we should be fully convinced and take shelter in chanting the holy name of the Lord.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on darshan given by HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja at Harinaamananda prabhu’s house in Lenasia, South Africa on 20 March 2017)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)