Transcendental Samadhi

It is an opportunity for us to experience what samadhi is. Being absorbed in one activity, that activity being absorbed in giving Krishna to others and feel fortunate making them Krishna conscious. The difficulties that come along with that, the challenges we face in terms of weather, in terms of people's receptivity, in terms of officials perhaps not wanting us to be distributing on the street or shopping centre or wherever and what to seak about the obstacles that our mind poses. This is all what is required to become these things -to overcome these and become a real Vaishnav, to enter into Samadhis. Bhajanandis have to overcome all of these challenges in some other form, we face them in this way and when we practice doing so we become practiced in meditating on Krishna, being absorbed in Krishna. Srila Prabhuapda describes first class devotee in terms of someone who is always thinking in terms of spreading KC,someone who is absorbed in Krishna's pastimes and name. Purity of heart that is required for both is same, only difference is one is enjoying Krishna consciousness and other is giving Krishna consciousness. And this mood of giving Krishna consciousness is the mood of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu... Prabhupada marathon is a wonderful opportunity for us to be absorbed in what prabhupada calls transcendental samadhi in 10th canto. HH Sivarama SwamiNectar of Book Distribution

Fearless - Bhayam dvitiya aniveshita

Submitted by Mangal Arti dd

I met this nice Russian lady, perhaps middle aged. She didn't seem the yoga kinds but surely looked distressed. I showed her a Perfection of Yoga (POY) and explained about yoga, meditation and how it helps with relaxation. Sensing some stress, I asked her if she was stressed in life. While giving donation for the book she explained how her son was killing her. I asked her if he was a teenager and she explained he was just caught smoking marijuana, and that he lied about going to school but really was just taking marijuana. She was very distressed and was fearful of what he would do next.

I opened the Bhagavad gita and showed her what Krishna says about material world being a place of fear. And she immediately acknowledged saying yes she feels afraid all the time. She is afraid her ex-husband will loose his job and she wont get child support, Or she will loose her job or worse even she will loose her son - No relief.

Having appreciated the philosophy she left with a book. I realized how amongst millions of other things, we are thankful to Srila Prabhupada for granting us fearlessness through his books in this world. All fear is due to 'bhayam dvitya aniveshita' and through the lamp of knowledge Srila prabhuapda destroys it.

SB 11.2.37 : Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord. When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord.

Purport : According to Srila Sridhara Svami the objection may be raised that since fear is caused by ignorance, it can be dispelled by knowledge and there is no need to worship the Supreme Lord. The living entity falsely identifies with his material body, family, society and so on, and he simply has to give up this false identification.

SB 1.11.3 : Out of the four problems of material existence, namely the food problem, the shelter problem, the fear problem and the mating problem, the fear problem gives us more trouble than the others. We are always fearful due to our ignorance of the next problem. The whole material existence is full of problems, and thus the fear problem is always prominent. This is due to our association with the illusory energy of the Lord, known as mäyä or external energy, yet all fear is vanished as soon as there is the sound of the Lord, represented by His holy name, as it was sounded by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu in the following sixteen words:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare HareHare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare

We can take advantage of these sounds and be free from all threatening problems of material existence.

Why not just be there?

This last MSF (Monthly Sankirtan Festival) was a little magical. I met several people who by themselves just wanted the books...I did not have to go much beyond, "Hi, are you interested in yoga", and they would just get attracted to these windows of the spiritual world!

I remember one such girl I met, she very eagerly took several books with her and gave a more than kind donation. Afterwards I wrote back to her, and her reply completely convinced me of how we just need to be there! So many people around the world are searching for Krishna...and Krishna will arrange for them to come in contact with Him. If we're standing on the way, we may get the credit...so why not just be there!

Hi Shyama! Yes I've been looking at them. I especially like the The Perfection of Yoga book. I think I may have to read it a couple times to make sure I understand the message properly though. Thank you very much for introducing me to them. I also checked out the Urban Edge Yoga website. I think I may sign up for a meditation class soon. It's funny. The night before I met you I was telling my boyfriend that I wanted to learn more about yoga. I was feeling pretty frustrated with, you know, life, goals and decisions...and I felt like I needed to do something to help me shake off the self-destructive negative moods I sometimes get in. And then the next day, there you guys are. When I told him that I met you he smiled and told me that our minds are powerful and I should be mindful of what I focus my thoughts on because I may attract it to me. lol. In this case, I am very happy to meet you and hope to see you again soon.

Krishna tracks, attracts and connects

Submitted by - Mangal Arti dd

I had a few minutes before the session at Urban Edge Yoga started and i stepped downstairs. I was trying to talk to this guy on a bike when a girl passing by asked me about our centre and said she was searching us on the internet. I told her to hold on for a few seconds and she actually waited. She was with a very kind looking man and somehow or other they waited. They were almost leaving when I caught a minute to talk to them - turns out the girl Heather was going to our temple in Miami coconut grove and used to take prasad there and even Warren was going to temple in Venice beach California. I invited them both upstairs to Urban Edge Yoga. Very kindly they agreed, I showed them the Bhagavad gita and as they were leaving I requested them a few minutes to make an offering..they sat on the couch. I started to talk to them and they told me their stories how they were both addicts and joined the AA group ... both were recovering addicts. She was born in LA and grew up in Toronto and went back to Miami where she met devotees. He was born in Toronto and moved to LA where he lived close to venice beach and ate at the temple sometimes and liked the Krishnas. They didnt have the Bhagavad gita but they had seen Srila Prabhupada's picture. She was an actress in TV commercials and then just walked away from everything due to her addictions. They took the Bhagavad Gita and said they will come back. He was very interested in Gita and she was in cooking. They took the dessert cup as they left and i was just wondering it happened - this amazing couple crossing countries to meet Krishnas, the night before they were searching on internet for us ...i was cooking upstairs and came down for few minutes and they stopped at the very minute - Krishna really attracts!

The "Unknown" Connection

Submitted by Mangal-arti dd

As I was coming out of the subway I saw this girl walk into the subway and she clearly caught my attention but I had just finished speaking with someone else and did not have a chance to take out any books or cards. My hands were empty, I regretted in my heart but she registered. I had to run from Bedford to St george and only had a few minutes…I stopped around the corner when I saw a man with his baby and he bought a small Bhagavad Gita, which was probably another 2-3 minute conversation. After this, I continued my sprint to St George. While running, something from within the heart made me stop and turn around. Much to my surprise I saw the same girl who had caught my eye near the subway and she was outside the subway that too near me. I knew Krishna had sent her back and I didn’t even bother with the formalities – I just looked at her and said " hey I just saw you a few minutes back entering the subway and I really wanted to give you a card but it was in my bag and now you are here". She actually took out her headphones and smiled to talk. I just handed her the Bhagavad gita – and before I could say anything about yoga and meditation – she said with great surprise – "wow Bhagavad gita". I was so surprised – I told her ‘don’t tell me you were looking for this as that would just be too much’. She said she had just done a course on religion at UofT where they mentioned the Bhagavad gita and she thought it was interesting and wanted it. I told her how I wanted to give it to her but we missed each other a few minutes back so this is divine intervention. I showed her some mantras, purport and Srila Prabhupada and told her to get it for a donation. She didn’t have money as she just bought a text book. I requested her to look into her wallet and give whatever she had. Somehow she listened and pulled out some laxmi to her own surprise. I asked her to come for Bhagavad GIta discussions and that we have dinner after. She asked me if it was vegan and I told her our centre was vegan and I was just totally taken aback by now because she was also looking for vegan people. We exchanged emails and as I was leaving she told me how she forgot something and had to come out of the subway in this direction as if we were just pulled towards each other by someone. I told her my real estate friend was waiting and I had to run and as I was running she called out – please email me.

We actually don’t sell these books, we just have the great honour of being in association of these books for a few minutes. It is our life’s greatest gift to be in association of guru parmapara

The International Connection - Mercy from Down Under

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti dd

I was just stepping out of subway and was nervous to distribute fliers or books at the station. Somehow as I mustered the courage to approach this guy expecting him to say no - he looked at the Perfection of Yoga and to my sheer surprise said, ah Yes, I have read this book. Expecting an answer like Eaton Centre or something, I asked him where he received this book. I was in for another surprise as he revealed he found it in Australia - I told him I also found my copies of the book in Australia when I was living in Melbourne. I asked him where in Australia, hesitating a little bit, he tried to avoid the details. Then he said ah it was a hotel in Alice Springs where someone had kept it on a table and I took it, and he liked what he read. I showed him the Bhagavad gita and even though he looked attentively he said he was from Ottawa just visiting here and could not take it with him. I told him I dont feel right as i had to give him something.

I then showed him a Chant and be happy. He stopped and looked and I told him about Beatles. He said he would read it and also said his brother likes the beatles and would read it too. I asked him if he could give me some donation for the book and he gave me some laxmi for the book and left. In my heart I was thanking the devotee who left Perfection of yoga at Alice springs outback restuaraunt.

Cab Again...

I was having a not so pleasant day, and certainly was not enthused enough to attempt Sankirtan. As I hailed a cab on the way to Urban Edge Yoga, the cab driver greeted me with such a warm hello and started to speak. He asked me where I was going, I told him I was going to Urban Edge Yoga. He said yoga was not for him...he practices some rigourous excercises. The conversation went on and he told me how he liked reading about history - that was my cue. I asked him if he had read the bhagavad gita. He said he had heard about it, and would certainly like to read about it as well. As we turned towards UEY, I asked him if he could wait he certainly did, while my very kind husband ran up to the centre to fetch a hardbound Bhagavad Gita. Although Francesco (the driver) did not have enough money, he very eagerly gave me off all my cab-fare and grabbed several UEY cards for his customers as well....

So today was another start - cab sankirtan multiplies...Perhaps somewhere, Francesco is sharing something about Bhagavad Gita or UEY with one of his customers...

Param Vijayate Sri Krsna Sankirtanam

A meeting with Sunny on a windy day...

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti dd

It was an extremely windy day. At Yonge-Finch, there are always a lot of extremely shady men who often come up with unpleasant words.  The combination of strong winds and crazy people petrified me even though I know that we are always protected by Sri guru and gauranga. So I decided to move closer to some crowds but how much of a crowd can one find on such a windy day. As I stood scared but trying to smile, this young, clean looking guy stopped without me asking him to stop, this scared me even further. He asked me if I was stopping people to sell something. I told him I was a yoga teacher and asked him if he knew anything about it. He said he had been doing yoga for a year; trying to stay still in the blowing wind, I handed him the Bhagavad Gita

I opened the book and started showing him the mantras and he said 'don't open the book it will get spoiled. I believe you and I will take it. How much is it?'.  I told him it was a donation. To avoid the wind he offered to go to the side and talk-whatever was left of me, got further scared, but we stepped aside and  he just gave me the laxmi and was ready to go. But then I stopped him and said hey I have a mantra for you. I told him try saying Gauranga. He didn't say it but asked what it meant. I told him it means 'Be happy'. He said 'Be happy'. I said yes, just try it. He then went away and I got back to my insignificant sankirtan efforts.

Suddenly I saw him come back and all my fear signals went off. I decided to turn around and hide, started to walk away. He saw me and called out, I pretended to be pre-occupied with my phone. Finally, he screamed GAURANGA and then again GAURANGA, now I had to stop.

He had unknowingly actually started the process of Bhakti Yoga. Later he came to me and asked me some questions but by now my fear was dead. He had called out to the Supreme Lord - he must have been a devotee from some life. Such is the power and mercy of the holy name
.
This episode reminded me of the account of Gajendra. Vaisesika prabhu had explained that Gajendra did not remember that he was Indradyumna or a bhakta. After 1000 years of battle with the crocodile when he realised he was going to lose and die, he still did not remember Krishna. But he remembered the Bhakti Yoga process he had followed in the past life and started reciting the prayers from his past life, not knowing who he was calling to. But the lord accepted the prayers and came right away to deliver his devotee.

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. SB 8.3.1

Nectarean Travels

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti Devi Dasi

I was on my flight to Richmond, Virginia early today. Generally going through US customs and security is my most dreaded experience as they treat you like criminals. Today there was an exceptionally huge crowd at security checkpoint (like Christmas day) and they were randomly sending people to full body frisk or another line. I got sent to the other line and had prasad and japa bag in an open hand bag. As my hand bag came out the security lady (Punjabi lady who had immigrated here) saw the japa beads and just started to ask me questions. She said are you Punjabi and I said I am not but my best friend is Punjabi. She then asked me about the japa beads and i explained they were tulasi beads. She saw the Krishna pendent on my neck and said ‘Ah, krishna pendent, so beautiful’…as soon as she appreciated Gopinath she opened a flood gate of appreciation. After a few initial questions she said ‘ I could see you from a distance and had made out you are a very spiritual person’..I was staring at her in bewilderment. Then she said you don’t go now, you stay here and please talk to me your flight is at 8 AM and there is 1 hour so I wont return your boarding pass you talk to me’. I was in utter disbelief – there were so many people waiting and she was on duty just talking to me about God. I realized her courage and sincerity and my emptiness. She spent the next many minutes sharing with me her life and the related problems, I didn’t know what to say. Feeling the need to help, I asked her to chant a mantra - Gauranga…she asked me what it meant and I said it meant ‘be happy’…its golden faced beautiful lord. I also gave her my email and she asked for my phone number. I left with a feeling of gratitude as I got a chance to speak about Krishna even without any effort but I also felt regret as I didn’t tell her the Maha mantra.

Afterwards I was on the terminal waiting for my flight and as always relishing the experience by narrating it to Shyama on the phone – and I was just relaying to her how I regretted not getting the chance to introduce her to Hare Krishna mantra. And that very moment my phone rang to my greatest shock it was that lady Rajkamal or Rosy who was the security officer on duty, she just called to understand what Gauranga meant ?....Now Krishna was giving me a chance, responding to every prayer and now I had to tell her who was Gauranga – so there I am at the airport talking to security personnel explaining Gauranga means Golden faced beautiful Lord. Krishna is blue, Radha rani is golden but when he remembers her he becomes golden and then we call him Gauranga…I told her when you chant Gauranga you are remembering Radha and Krishna. But she was just insistent – she didn’t want to stop here – she asked me is there something more to the mantra – is there an OM around it. I told her well if you want the full mantra – then its Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare , hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare. So she said ok I know Hare Krishna. Then the discussion dynamics fully changed, she shared with me her tough life and how she cries everyday in front of her altar at home. She expressed her gratitude at having met someone who reminded her of God, she doesn’t talk to everyone like this…she was just pouring her heart out. I told her to try and chant and come to temple. I hope she does. I offered to get her a japa bag and she said she wanted a red or yellow one.

Krishna book – The heart of India

I met this lady and she was just passing by but somehow stopped when she heard about the monk. We got talking and I showed her the Bhagavad-Gita and she just turned her head around saying it was too much. Remembering Vaisesika prabhu, I thought lets show her the 'Perfection of Yoga' and she took it and gave me some laxmi for it. I thought I should keep trying. So I asked her more questions and found out that she had recently gone to India and spent 6 months studying Buddhism. So we talked a bit about Monks and Buddhism, while I was contemplating my next steps. Then I thought of trying an old tip by Vaisesika prabhu, and I said– hey you know what You want! - a book about India – here take the Krishna book. And she just took it. I showed her pictures, told her these were very easy narrations to read and had beautiful pictures (that she liked) and told her that it would give her the heart of India. I showed her the addresses of bhakti yoga centers at the back of Krishna book and she liked that for her future travels to India. She left with the Krishna book and happily gave her email to stay in touch.
- Mangal Aarti Devi Dasi