Have trouble sleeping ?

I tried to stop this guy who was moving very slowly, almost in a daze. As he stopped he told me he had spoken to me about 1-1.5 years ago. I could not remember it so I honestly told him I am sorry I can’t remember but did you get a book from me. He had got a perfection of yoga and turns out he had browsed it. I tried to give him another book but he refused outright saying he had no money and time to read. I thought I should stop here but instead I asked him why he didn’t have time. He said he had a lot going on but I probed further. Finally he told me his mind is very disturbed and he cant sleep in the night. He had now been prescribed valium and was trying to depend on it for sleeping but it wasn’t helping. Just a few hours ago I was reading about people’s helpless dependence on pills in SB 7.13. 2 “Greedy capitalists accumulate wealth under so many miserable conditions, the result being that because they collect money by questionable means, their minds are always agitated. Thus they are unable to sleep at night, and they have to take pills for mental tranquillity to invite sleep. And sometimes even the pills are a failure. Consequently the result of having accumulated money by so much labor is certainly not happiness, but only distress. What is the value of acquiring a comfortable position if one's mind is always disturbed?”Not knowing what else to do I told him I have a mantra that will help you sleep and its chemical free and will save you a lot of money from valium. He was so interested at the thought of something that can make him sleep so I started teaching him the maha-mantra. I asked him to repeat after me but he said he wanted it written, so I showed the mantra in the intro to Bhagavad gita. I asked him to keep the book and chant the maha mantra 108 times daily and he would sleep in peace. He took the book for a small donation and said he would try.

Glories of sankirtan movement

kali-kalera dharma—Krishna-nama-sankirtana
krishna-shakti vina nahe taara pravartana
TRANSLATION
“The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krishna. Unless empowered by Krishna, one cannot propagate the sankirtana movement.
Antya Lila 7.11

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the sankirtana movement. Therefore Krishna consciousness preachers should give more stress to the sankirtana movement, especially by distributing transcendental literature more and more. This helps the sankirtana movement.
SB 7.1.4.39

1978.11.24 Houston, US, SB 1.1.4 Lecture by HH Tamala Krishna Maharaj

The process for purification in this age is given very very clearly. As I said yesterday (11.5.32),
krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam
sangopangastra-parshadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah
Akrishna means non-blackish. In this kaliyuga Krishna will come in a non-blackish form. Krishna...yajnaih sankirtana-prayair, yajanti hi su-medhasah. Sankirtan, this is the yagya the sacrifice which is recommended for this age. Everyone who wants to remain connected with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu must participate in the sankirtan process. This will keep you enlivened. Sankirtan means preaching the glories of the lord will bring out the nicest of the qualities in the individual. Your mercy, your patience, your compassion, your determination, all of these qualities will be evoked by the performance of sankirtan yagya. In previous ages there were other sacrifices but in this age it will not work. You cannot simply sit down and meditate, it will not work. You cannot perform simply opulent temple worship as it will not get the best out of you. As it is said here one has to be pushed to the level of inconvenience. That suffering that austerity is spiritual happiness. As you minimise the comfort and maximise the material inconvenience automatically spiritual benefits will come out. Therefore sages and saintly persons always undergo austerity. The beginning is tapasya voluntary austerity. So sankirtan or spreading KC through transcendental book distribution, prashadam distribution and the holy name distribution, these methods are part of this sacrifice which is recommended in this age.

Money matters and management SB 7.13.32

As far as our Kåñëa consciousness movement is concerned, we are getting money naturally, by the grace of God, by selling our literature. This literature is not sold for our sense gratification; to spread the Krishna consciousness movement we need so many things, and Krishna is therefore supplying us the requisite money to advance this mission. The mission of Kåñëa is to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world, and for this purpose we naturally must have sufficient money. Therefore, according to the advice of Srila Rüpa Gosvämi Prabhupäda, we should not give up attachment to money that can spread the Krishna consciousness movement...Money that can help in spreading the Krishna consciousness movement is not a part of the material world, and we should not give it up, thinking that it is material...Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Kåñëa consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krishna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement.

A gift from Vancouver

I met two amazing people near Bay and Bloor. He looked at the Bhagavad gita and said 'Yes, I have been to the Krishna temple' I was thrilled and introduced myself and asked him what took him there. He said he was looking for meditation and deeper truths. As he already had the Gita, I offered him Isopanishad which he appreciated. I gave his friend a perfection of yoga and she too leaned over and started to look at Iso- I showed them how the mantras are sung and he just offered me a donation without my asking. She started now inquiring about transcendental meditation and told me how she was practicing it in Iran years ago and lost touch. I offered her the Bhagavad gita and told her this is book on transcendental meditation. She was inquiring re Maharishi yogi repeatedly but as soon as I opened Bhagavad gita, it opened at the chapter of 'transcendental knowledge' and she took to it. She requested me to walk with her to the bank so she can give laxmi. While she was withdrawing money I got a few minutes to talk with the guy and he immediately confided that a few years ago in BC Vancouver, on a cold night he had met a sankirtan devotee who was distributing books and gave him a Gita. At that time he thought either this guy is crazy or the book means a lot to him, so I should take it. At that time he didn't have much laxmi but he did read the Gita and came to our temple. I told him how we look for peace and its so hard to get. Next he confided that his girlfriend just broke up with him two weeks ago and it was due to stress. He started asking how he can help her and we discussed it. Ultimately when both of them had got their books I showed them how to chant Gauranga.
That one meeting with a sankirtan devotee had got them here today-lets hope their wanderings are over and they can come and study Gita with us.

22nd Monthly Sankirtan Festival - Setting the Mood

Our 22nd Monthly Sankirtan Festival which falls on March 26th, will be celebrated as Gaura Purnima Special. In the mood of Sri Chaitanya, we will all head out on the streets sharing the love and happiness that fills our lives through kirtan, books and prasad.

There is service for everyone - help before, during or after the sankirtan festival in whichever way you like. Our goal this month is to have a team of 108 devotees hitting the streets. Will you help us?

In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead. The flood of love of Godhead swelled in all directions, and thus young men, old men, women and children were all immersed in that inundation. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will inundate the entire world and drown everyone, whether one be a gentleman, a rogue or even lame, invalid or blind. CC Adi 7.23-26

See you soon! Please email toronto.sankirtan@gmail.com for more information.

Schedule:-
4:30am Mangal Arti, Japa
7:45am Bhagavatam Class
9:15-10:00 am Building the Mood - Training & Goals
11:00am-2:00pm Street Sankirtan
2:00pm Maha-Harinama
2:30pm Lunch Prasad at the temple

How can YOU help?

1. Prepare Prasadam for distribution: From the comforts of your home prepare dry non-perishable prasad for distribution. Our goal is to distribute 5,000 pieces of prasad.
2. Package Prasadam for distribution: Friday 25th March 2011, 6:30-8:30pm
3. Stamp and pack books for distribution: Friday 25th March 2011, 6:30 PM - 8:30pm
4. Help with Logistics/Transportation: Saturday 26th March
5. Prepare Prasadam for Sankirtan team: Saturday 26th March 6:00-10:00am
6. Participate in Harinam - sing along, lead kirtan, play an instrument, hand out cookies or distribute books: Saturday 26th March; 11:00-3:00pm



Please dress WARMER than you think you'll need to (it's still cold - bring gloves and caps along).

Three truths for a preacher

Prahlāda Mahārāja ultimately instructed his class friends, the sons of the demons, to accept the process of devotional service by preaching the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone. Preaching is the best service to the Lord. The Lord will immediately be extremely satisfied with one who engages in this service of preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (18.69). Na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ: "There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear." If one sincerely tries his best to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness by preaching the glories of the Lord and His supremacy, even if he is imperfectly educated, he becomes the dearmost servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is bhakti. As one performs this service for humanity, without discrimination between friends and enemies, the Lord becomes satisfied, and the mission of one's life is fulfilled. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised everyone to become a guru-devotee and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness (yāre dekha, tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]). That is the easiest way to realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By such preaching, the preacher becomes satisfied, and those to whom he preaches are also satisfied. This is the process of bringing peace and tranquillity to the entire world.

bhoktāraḿ yajña-tapasāḿ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaḿ sarva-bhūtānāḿ

jñātvā māḿ śāntim ṛcchati

[Bg. 5.29]

One is expected to understand these three formulas of knowledge concerning the Supreme Lord — that He is the supreme enjoyer, that He is the proprietor of everything, and that He is the best well-wisher and friend of everyone. A preacher should personally understand these truths and preach them to everyone.

Srimad Bhagvatam, Srila Prabhupada purport to 7.6.24