Sri Radha-Gopinath Temple is here by the mercy of His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada for the purpose of reviving the lost spiritual consciousness within us. Krishna consciousness is the natural state of consciousness for all living beings but it is temporarily covered by forgetfulness of our true identity in relationship with God. That forgetfulness is the power of Mahamaya. Although we can never be separated from Krishna we are separated only by that illusion of forgetfulness. If you are a wealthy man or woman and you are having a dream that you are in poverty you are not actually in poverty but it is as good as if you are because you have forgotten your fortune. So Mahamaya creates like a dream were the eternal soul which is full of knowledge and full of bliss, the soul which is an eternal associate of the Supreme Personality of Godhead has fallen under the spell of this dream were we think we are this body. We are thinking that what is in relation to the body is mine. We identify with the temporary pleasures and pains of this material existence. Material existence is real. It is the energy of the Lord. This body is real. The dream is that we are identifying ourselves as the body.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krishna Himself has come in this age of Kali-yuga for the purpose of waking us from this dream.

jiv jago, jiv jago, gauracanda bole

kota nidra jao maya-pisacira kole

This is His message that, “Wake up sleeping souls. You are sleeping in the lap of Maya. Wake up to your true glory, to your true inheritance as an eternal happy lover of God.”

We are all searching for happiness because it is our nature to be happy; we are all searching for love because it is our nature to love. What is real love? Who is Krishna? The supreme, most attractive Lord of everyone’s heart! Krishna comes to this world again and again to display His pastimes, His beautiful form, His all-merciful personality just to remind us of what is really of value in life, what is real. In this song by Thakur Bhaktivinode, he is giving us the inspiration to understand how to live in this stormy climate of Kali-yuga. Bhaktivinode Thakur identifies that Kali is a doglike personality, but not only that, a menace doglike personality. This is not a joke. This is serious. Have you ever been attacked by a dog that has rabies? I have experience. I was bitten as well and I had to get ten injections in my stomach with big needles. This was in Vrindavan so obviously it was Radharani’s special mercy.

Kali is here compared to a mad menacing and rabid dog. When they bark they create fear and when they bite they cause pain, disease, madness and death. I remember when I was bit by that dog I just thought, “Let it be.” But I went to one temple – Gopijana Valabha and the few babas and sadhus that were there, they saw my leg was bleeding. This was hours and hours after the dog bit me. They said, “What happened?” and I said, “I was bitten by a dog.” They said, “You must get injections.” I said, “No, no why should I get injections. It will go away.” They said, “These dogs have rabies. It doesn’t go away. Rabies will kill you.” I said, “Well very good I will die in Vrindavan.” They said, “No it is not very good because rabies makes you become completely mad. First you go mad, you go crazy then you die and when you are mad it is very, very difficult to remember Krishna. So you should get the injections.” So under order I got injections but I did learn something about what happens when you get bitten by a rabid dog. You become mad and you gradually die. Hare Krishna! So this rabid menacing dog of Kali is biting the whole human population and therefore people have become mad. Srila Prabhupada wrote that simple book ‘Who is Crazy?’ The materialist think that the spiritualists are crazy and the devotees think that the materialists are crazy.

ya nisa sarva-bhutanam (Bg 2.69)

The Gita says that what is night for the materialists is day for the transcendentalists; and what is night for the transcendentalists is day for a materialist.

We are sleeping to egoists’ selfish pursuits and we are awake to devotional service of the Lord and materialistic persons are sleeping to the devotional service of the Lord and very, very awake to their fruitive activities. Madness – when we think we are someone we are not that is madness – to think we are this body, to forget our real spiritual identity and our spiritual heritage is madness. It is crazy. It is not a funny thing to be mad and dying with rabies. It is very serious. Therefore,

paritranaya sadhunam

vinasaya ca duskrtam (Bg 4.8)

Krishna comes to this world again and again because He knows we are in a serious predicament. And in this age of Kali Krishna has to come in a very, very merciful form of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu because we are all suffering under the bite of the menace dog of Kali. People are foaming at the mouth symbolically, struggling for economic development, struggling for sense gratification. Actually people really work hard to enjoy their senses – hard work, they toil and suffer and the old age disease and death, so many frustrations, so many disappointments. And the more we expect something good to happen the more we have to suffer because inevitably we are disappointed in due cause of time. Thai is the condition of Kali.

So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes with the antidote. He comes with the injection, the medicinal serum for the rabies like disease caused by the bite of the dog of Kali. And what is that medicine? The chanting of the holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This disease is so deep that it is not that we just take it for ten days. We have to take it every day but the difference between the injection and the holy name is that the holy name is so pleasing.

enechi ausadhi maya nasibaro lagi'

hari-nama-maha-mantra lao tumi magi' (Song sung by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura.)

I have brought the medicine that will cure your essential illnesses of ignorance. What is that medicine Lord Caitanya declares, harinam sankirtan, kevala ananda-kanda. It is simply joyful. We like to sing, we like to dance. Just make Krishna’s pleasure and Krishna’s name the object, the medium and our life becomes purified and perfect.

vrajendra-nandana yei, saci-suta haila sei, balarama haila nitai

Lord Krishna the son of king of Braj has appeared as the son of Sacidevi and Sri Balaramji has appeared as Sri Nityananda Prabhu. This is the supreme good news in this age of Kali.

kaler dosa-nidhe rajann

asti hy eko mahan gunah

kirtanad eva krsnasya

mukta-sangah param vrajet (SB 12.3.51)

Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, so many problems. When we see horrible violence, when we see the adhyatmika, adhidaivika and adhibautika, droughts, earthquakes, wars, crime, mental illness, disease, it is not a surprise. It is the season for all of these things. Just like now it is the monsoon. Are you shocked when it rains in the month of August here in Bombay? You expect it even if it causes some inconvenience you prepare for it. You fix your roof very nicely so it doesn’t get in; you keep an umbrella on hand. You prepare, it is no surprise! It is the season of quarrel and hypocrisy; it is the season of irreligion, it is the season of greed, anger, lust, pride, envy and illusion. That is what Kali-yuga means. It is the season were this rabid menacing dog of Kali is king. He is sitting on the throne of the world and he is ruling. But in this age of Kali there is this one benediction that Krishna has descended in His beautiful golden form to give the medicine to everyone and anyone who will simply accept it – the chanting of the holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, the association of His devotees, the hearing of Srimad Bhagavatam.

nasta-prayesv abhadresu

nityam bhagavata-sevaya

bhagavaty uttama-sloke

bhaktir bhavati naisthiki (SB 1.2.18)

The Bhagavatam has the potency to clean the heart, to establish pure devotional service once again.

srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah

punya-sravana-kirtanah (SB 1.2.17)

These limbs of bhakti, hearing Bhagavatam, worshipping the Deity, chanting the holy names, worshipping Tulasi, going on pilgrimage to the holy places and associating with devotees are so powerful that they can counteract the effects of Kali. Therefore according to Srimad Bhagavatam the great rsis they honor and worship Kali-yuga as the best of all ages because the supreme perfection of love of God is given so easily in this age.

harer nama harer nama

harer namaiva kevalam

kalau nasty eva nasty eva

nasty eva gatir anyatha (CCAdi 17.21)

In the age of Kali the only medicine that can bring about supreme liberation is the name of Hari. The Lord has distributed it. He declared Himself to be a fruit vendor with the fruits of prema-bhakti. He said that one fruit would completely satisfy whoever eats it for the rest of eternity. What fruit that is! Even if you get the best ripe mango from Varanasi it might satisfy you to some extent but it doesn’t satisfy your troubled mind or your aching heart. It just satisfies your senses and then it is gone. Then you want another one but this fruit, the fruit of krsna-prema, one fruit is so sweet it completely satisfies all the hearts desires for all of eternity. Just taste this fruit. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was canvassing and Lord Nityananda Prabhu was dispatched to beg people to accept this fruit of love of God even if they didn’t want it He would pursue them.

Jagai and Madhai did not want the fruit of love of God. They wanted alcoholic intoxicating beverages, they wanted illicit sex and they wanted to eat meat and blood of animals that is what they wanted! When Nityananda Prabhu invited them to take the holy name to take the fruit of love of God they attacked to kill Him. This is Lord Balarama Himself, the all-powerful Supreme Lord. He could have burnt to ashes these two dacoits by His glance but instead He once again pleaded with them to take this fruit of love of God. The only price is just your faith, your faith that Krishna is non different than His name. After some days Jagai and Madhai were dancing in ecstatic love in kirtan with tears flowing from their eyes in the association of devotees completely repentant of all their sins chanting the holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Rupa Goswami prayed,

namo maha-vadanyaya

krsna-prema-pradaya te

krsnaya krsna-caitanya-

namne gaura-tvise namah (CC Madhya 19.53)

It is very difficult to give up this bodily conception of life. We read Srimad Bhagavad-gita and we understand,

na jayate mriyate va kadacin (Bg 2.20)

That the soul is immortal, it is beyond birth and death, we are not this body. The three modes of material nature are influencing us so strongly since time immemorial that we can’t give up this bodily conception despite so much intellectual understanding because of habit. We discussed this subject of habit last night. We want to develop good habits. Prahlad Maharaj told his friends,

kaumara acaret prajno (SB 7.6.1)

That from the very beginning of childhood the parents should start teaching their children good habits by association. Srila Prabhupada praised the kindness of his father, Gour Mohan De. When he was just a very small child his father gave him Deities of Radha Govinda to worship. Srila Prabhupada explained, “They were my play Deities.” Because a little boy doesn’t know worship he knows to play. So Prabhupada was playing with the Deities but that impression, seeing his fathers devotion to the Deity, seeing his father every morning with his mother performing mangal arati, making offerings, it made a deep impression in his heart. He said later on after he met his spiritual master the same play Deities became his worshipable Deities in life because that impression, that habit to think of Krishna, to want to please Krishna, to want to be with Krishna was there but today people are so much habituated to thinking by acquisition and enjoyment we will be happy but actually by service, by loving service we can be happy. Some how or the other like the fly caught in the web of a spider we are caught in this web of illusion, Mayadevi and it is very difficult to get out. Therefore Rupa Goswami explains how Lord Caitanya is the most munificent and merciful of all incarnations because He is giving love of Krishna freely. Krishna has taught in Bhagavad-gita what is the goal of life.

sarva-dharman parityajya

mam ekam saranam vraja (Bg 18.66)

To surrender to Him, “Abandon all varieties of religion and surrender to Me. Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, offer your homage unto Me, you will come to Me without fail.” This is what Krishna taught. But in Krishna’s Vrindavan lila only the most intimate purified souls who absolutely surrendered in previous lives were allowed to participate in His lila along with His eternal associates but Lord Caitanya is Krishna who has come again to open the doors of Vrindavan and invite everyone and anyone to come.

In Navadwip Sacimata, the mother of Lord Caitanya approached her darling son on morning, Nimai, “Nimai I am very confused. Last night I had a dream. I want to enquire from You what is the meaning of this dream.” “Oh mother please tell Me what was your dream?” She said, “At the very end of the night I dreamt that Yourself and Nityananda were in the form of two five-year-old boys playing in the house and fighting with one another. Then You both entered into the temple of the Deity. Nityananda came out with the Deity of Krishna in His hands and You came out with the Deity of Balarama. Krishna and Balarama began to speak. ‘Who are You, What are You doing, You cheaters, You imposters. Get out of here. Don’t You know this is Our temple, this is our house, this is Our yogurt, butter and ghee.’ Then I heard Nityananda speak. Krishna Balarama said, ‘If We tie You up and kick You out of this place, nobody will blame us at all.’ Then Nityananda Prabhu replied, ‘The time is gone for You two brothers. You are no longer cowherd boys, You have now appeared as brahmanas. All this plundering of yogurt and butter and ghee will no longer be. Now if You don’t get out of this place and accept My Lord as Your master then You will perish. There is no longer any place for this stealing of butter, yogurt and ghee.’ Balarama and Krishna said, ‘You imposters! We will tie You up, we will punish You.” Then Balarama explained, ‘My Krishna has ordered me that if you don’t obey You will be punished.’ And Nityananda Prabhu replied, ‘I have no fear for Your Krishna because My Lord and master is Visvambara Gauranga.’ ” Sacimata explained, “Then Krishna and Balarama were taking the yogurt and sweetmeats and sandesh directly from Lord Caitanya’s hands and Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda were stealing from Their hands and They were fighting. They were not only taking from Their hands, They were taking out of each others mouths and putting it in Their own mouths. Then Lord Nityananda Prabhu cried out, “Sacimata, Sacimata, My Mother, My mother please feed me I am hungry. Can You explain to me the meaning of this dream?”

Lord Caitanya said, “This is a very wonderful dream. It has answered a question that has been in My heart. Now I can understand that Our Deities, the Supreme Lord has actually appeared in Our house as the Deity and that when I make the offerings and I come to get the plate and there is even less than half left I understand that the Deities are eating it. Previously I was thinking that your daughter in-law was responsible.” The Goddess of Fortune, Laxmidevi she was actually listening from the other room and smiling as the Lord was accusing Her of stealing the bhoga.

Then Lord Caitanya said, “I will bring Nityananda for you to cook for.” Sacimata became very happy. She went in the kitchen and started gathering ingredients and making preparations. Lord Caitanya went to Srivas Thakur’s house were Nityananda Prabhu was residing. He said, “Please come Sacimata is cooking for You but please do not misbehave.” Nityananda Prabhu said, “I never misbehave. Only madmen misbehave. You only think I misbehave because you think I am like You.” In this way They were laughing and joking. They came to the home. They sat down. Gadadhara Pandit and other friends were present and Sacimata made a very, very wonderful feast in her pure motherly love. There were three courses. She first brought in the first course. Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda sat there eating it. She went back into the kitchen to bring other preparations but when she came back she saw that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda had transformed. They were both five-year-old children. One had a dark complexion like the monsoon rain cloud. The other had a brilliant white complexion. Each of Them had four arms holding a conch shell, a lotus flower, a disk and a club. One of Them had Kaustubha-mani, peacock feather adorning His head and that beautiful dark form. She saw her daughter-in-law sitting upon His chest. When Sacimata saw this and then the vision disappeared. In ecstatic love she just gasped and fell to the ground. Her entire sari was soaked with her tears of love. Lord Caitanya quickly got up, washed His hands and with His own hands lifted His mother and said, “Please tell Me what happened.” Sacidevi without saying a word entered into her private room and wept in ecstatic love. Meanwhile Isana, her servant, he picked up all the plates and all the prasad that was dropped on the floor by Saci and personally ate the remnants that she dropped on the floor. No one can ever calculate the good fortune of Isana who was Sacimata’s personal servant. He would witness these exhibitions of loving pastimes every moment of every day. It is said that anyone who hears this pastime will be free of all sins. That is the power of the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda.

Krishna has come in a beautiful golden complexion to give us the highest revelations of spiritual life in the lowest age of Kali-yuga. There are so many problems and according to the holy scriptures and we can witness it, things keep getting worse in Kali-yuga unless we counteract it with self realization. So many problems! Even if wars, terrorism, earthquakes, droughts, floods, incurable diseases, aids, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hepatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, so many sufferings and so much conflict, divorce, brother and brothers can’t even get along, hatred between races, between religions, very difficult season. The United States of America which Srila Prabhupada dearly loved because he considered that thousand of American people actually came forward to help him spread Krishna consciousness all over the world. He went there alone with nothing and the disciples that came forward gave their lives and souls, renounced all luxuries and opulences to help him. Incredible! In Prabhupada last days he actually was crying and thanking America and all the American people for all that they have done to help him in his mission. He chose to go to America because it is the most influential country in the world. People whether they love America or hate America they follow America! That is the season of contemporary condition of the world.

Let us just analyze some of the things that go on in America from the point of view of karma. According to the Bible, ‘As you sow, so shall you reap.’ ‘For every action there is an equal corresponding reaction.’ It is the law of nature. The Vedas explain the law of karma as the invincible laws of God. You cannot escape the reactions of what you do unless you surrender to God.

sarva-dharman parityajya

mam ekam saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo

moksayisyami ma sucah (Bg 18.66)

If you surrender to Krishna He will relieve you personally of sinful reactions. There is no fear. Otherwise we have to accept our karmic reactions individually and collectively. We wonder why there is so many problems, so much suffering, so much violence, so much disease, so much unhappiness etc. Of course everyone according to their particular position in society should be working very hard to try to create a peaceful climate were people can pursue happiness but we must also be aware that if massive sinful activities are going on there is going to be reaction. In the year 2002 in the United States alone 35, 7 million cows and bulls were slaughtered. Recently we were in Nasik for Kumbhamela. In Nasik there is a mountain, Brahma-giri, which is the place, were the Godavari River first comes to this world. Actually the rsis and the devas really wanted the river Ganga to come down to the earth in that place but it is not an easy thing. Only a very, very elevated person can attract the Ganga to come down. There was only one person who could do it and that was Gauttama Rsi whose ashram was on top of that mountain. Gauttama Rsi would perform his bhakti and his meditation and he was self-sufficient. He would just go out and plant some seeds in the morning and by the afternoon there was a full crop. He would use it to sustain his body and for his yajnas. That was his power. So one of the devas took the form of a cow, very mischievous cow, came in and ate the whole crop. Gauttama Rsi had nothing to eat and nothing for his yajna. The next day he again saw the cow so he just picked up a piece of grass. He just wanted to very gently chase the cow away. He just said, “Go, go, go.” He threw the grass at the cow. The grass hit the cow and the cow died. It was a conspiracy; he just committed the mortal sin of killing a cow. This is horrible. He understood he had to atone for this ghastly offence of killing a cow. So he was told that the only way possible that you could be purified of this sin of killing cow is that you have to bathe in the Ganges, but the problem was that the Ganges didn’t flow on earth. So he performed tapasya and prayer in devotion and actually brought Ganga to that place were she took the name Godavari and flows purifying all the land. It was on the banks of Godavari that Sri Caitanya and Sri Ramananda Raya discussed the most confidential topics of spiritual truths, which culminate in the ecstatic love of Sri Radha for Krishna.

We can get an understanding from this story what a serious offence it is to kill a cow, what drastic karmic reactions would come. Here is just one nation – 35.7 million cows and bulls killed in just one year. Do you want to know something? The largest exporter of that commodity in the world is India! We can expect reactions to that. In fact they are unavoidable.

In America in 2002, 1.5 million innocent little baby calves, 100.3 million hogs and 3.9 million sheep were killed. The average American as per statistics in one year eats 235 pounds of meat. With every little bit of suffering of each animal there is karma that must come back. The United States fought six major wars. The first war was the revolutionary war. They did not have Mahatama Gandhi to do peaceful revolutions to get free of the British. Americans are not like that. They just declare war, declaration of independence. In the Revolutionary War 4 435 American soldiers died. That was a major loss. Then there was the Civil War, which had the largest casualties than of any war in America. The Civil War was the America was ideologically cut in half over various economic issues and the issue of slavery. The president of the north Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery considering it a cruel, inhuman and against the constitution of America. The people of the southern state were growing their cotton and they needed the slaves otherwise they couldn’t do their work so there were millions of slaves that they imported from Africa. So the president of the United States declared, “We are one country. No more slavery!” There were also economic considerations that were going on. So the southern half of America declared independence from the northern half and there was a war. Americans fighting Americans! Sometimes in a family one brother lives in the north and the other lives in the south and there are many stories were they actually met each other on the battlefield and either kill or be killed. It was a horrible war. Families in the north and south became enemies because of this political ideological conflict.

Then there was World War 1 – 116 708 soldiers were killed. Then what they call the war that ends all wars World War 2 – 407 316 American soldiers were killed but it didn’t end all wars because a few years later there was a Korean War were 25 604 soldiers were killed. Then there was the Vietnam War which lasted years, and years and years, tore the country apart 58 168 soldiers were officially killed.

In all the wars in the history of America there was one million one hundred and six thousand six hundred and twenty eight soldiers killed. Is that tragedy? Yes but let us see it from another perspective of an even greater tragedy. Since 1973 that means 30 years 40 million babies were killed through abortion in America alone. 4 000 deaths a day for the last 30 years in the United States of America! Through abortion, forty times the amount of deaths in all the wars in their history. It doesn’t really matter which side you are on politically, your ideologies and pro-choice or pro-life whatever you decide the karma is exactly the same. It is the laws of nature. Abortion is such a low thing that previous to the age of Kali even the most horrible demons would not consider it.

We were discussing on Janmastami about Kamsa. Kamsa was a wicked person. He was sending Putana to kill babies and she killed thousands of them. He would personally kill Devaki’s babies as soon as they came out of the womb but he would not perform an abortion. Why he waited for them to come out, he could have killed them within because that is below the dignity of Kamsa. Hare Krishna! Today it has become socially acceptable. Not only socially acceptable but leaders in society promote it. In some countries they will even given you benedictions and special gifts and prizes if you do it in the name of family planning or in the name of population control but it doesn’t matter what name you use or what political party you belong to and what your opinion is. The reality is that karma is the same. It is murder and there must be horrible reaction. What to speak of all the illicit sex and all the intoxication and all the gambling and all the cheating which is not only legal but socially acceptable and popular! There must be reaction! So with all these things going on it is not a surprise that crazy people are doing crazy things.

Just like Srila Prabhupada, he told us that, if you leave the kitchen in a mess then you are actually sending an invitation to the cockroaches to come. If you leave any place a mess you are sending an invitation to the rats and the cockroaches to please come be your guests. Rats and cockroaches simply do not like clean places. There is nothing for them to do. They like dirty filthy places. They like places of neglect were proper godly cleanliness is taking place. In those dirty places, in that environment they not only thrive but they multiply. So our society if it is an environment were we are neglecting moral principles, if it is an environment filled with the filth of all kinds of immoral, irreligious activities as we are speaking of – killing innocent animals, killing innocent children. Neither the animal nor the child has any possibility of defending itself. These millions of people killed in wars they had weapons, they were preparing to fight, they were defending themselves in competition and killed but these 40 million and these tens of millions innocent children of God, they had no choice, they had no hope, they had no defense. In such an environment the cockroaches of demoniac mentality of greed and envy, anger and pride, of terrorists, of dictators, criminals, dacoits they thrive, they multiply and the flourish. So Srila Prabhupada quoting from Bhagavad-gita explains what is the peace formula. On the external superficial level we have to have good law enforcement, we have to have good security. It is necessary but to actually go to the root cause of the disease Bhagavad-gita declares,

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam

sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam

jnatva mam santim rcchati (Bg 5.29)

If you want peace individually and collectively accept that Krishna is the supreme object and enjoyer of everything, all sacrifices, that Krishna is the proprietor of everything that exists and everything should be used according to his will and that Krishna is the best well wishing friend. We will find our shelter, we will find our relief, we will find our hope in His mercy. When we apply this principle s individually and collectively we can actually experience eternal true peace and that is what Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to the world to give us.

yada yada hi dharmasya

glanir bhavati bharata (Bg 4.7)

The Supreme Absolute Truth, Krishna appears in many incarnations again and again to annihilate the miscreants, to reestablish the principles of religion and to protect his devotees but in the age of Kali he comes when things are worse, when things that were unthinkable in previous ages, when things only Hiranyakasipu and Ravana would do are being done by respectable people in society – intoxication, eating meat, illicit sex – these are things that only demons would do but now common man do these. Human beings are all essentially good but due to association they fall under these feverish habits. This is the wonderful opportunity we all have to play our part in this world with sincere compassion and concern for everyone, people are suffering a lot, to teach people how to live in harmony with the laws of God.

When Srila Prabhupada went to the West and said no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling and no meat-eating people were shocked. The reason he did not compromise is because he loved them. He had sincere, pure unmotivated love for them. He wanted to help them. He wanted to save them. Let us clean the environment then the cockroaches will starve, they won’t be attracted to come. They won’t be able to procreate because they have no strength. Haribol! So let us live as good examples, living pure moral lives in the spirit of servitude, not wanting to exploit, control or enjoy others but with the desire to serve every living being. Bhaktivinode Thakur in one beautiful song explains the essence of all religion is to show compassion to the suffering souls. That is the essence of religion – to show compassion. That is the most direct means by which Krishna will be pleased by our efforts if we are living as compassionate servants to every living being. What is the greatest compassion we can offer in our lives individually and together? To give an example it is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy; if we could live true without hypocrisy it will have tremendous power to affect peoples lives. By giving Srila Prabhupada’s books, which teaches people how to live in harmony with God, to have wonderful temples, were people could come and be inspired to transform their lives. In other words to help Lord Caitanya distribute these nectarine fruits of love of God to the spiritually starving people of this world. That is the greatest compassion you can do.

Srila Prabhupada, our beloved Guru Maharaj how unprecedented was his willingness to be an instrument of that compassion in this world. He traveled around the planet between thirteen or fourteen times just distributing to everyone and anyone these fruits of love of God. How did he distribute? The way Lord Caitanya did. You can accept the fruit of love of God by wholeheartedly accepting the nectar of the holy name. Haridas Thakur explained to an assembly of scholars that the result of chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra is our innate ecstatic love of God is awakened. Our compassionate nature is fully developed, our love for every living being becomes our nature; our habit is to glorify God and to serve others. Even liberation, mukti is an insignificant by product of the chanting of Hare Krishna. The real goal is Krishna prema. Haridas Thakur was willing to be beaten in 22 market places gladly to give compassion to the fallen souls by inducing them to chant the holy names - Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Srila Prabhupada underwent heart attacks, paralysis, strokes, poverty and so many other difficulties happily to be an instrument of Lord Caitanya’s compassion because he had complete faith that if anyone sincerely and earnestly chants the name they will become purified, they will become peaceful and they can spread peace, loves and joy in the world. We can all according to our capacity play our part in this wonderful mission of mercy.

Thank you very much.

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!

Srila Prabhupada would sometimes actually cry when he would see people enjoying sinful activities. They are happy eating abominable things, drinking abominable things, holding beautiful bodies. They are happy and Prabhupada is crying. What tastes like nectar in the beginning will taste like poison in the end. Please, please take the name of Krishna, become pure, become happy. Prabhupada’s simple instruction – chants Hare Krishna and be happy. Everyone wants to be happy and everybody according to the modes of nature and the influences of the association that they are victimized by, they are all doing what they are doing with the hope of becoming happy. Whether they are Hitlers or Stalins, they are looking for happiness and the karma of people actually gives strength to people with demoniac, gives strength and facility to people with demoniac propensities. So let us transcend and help others transcend ignorance with the light of knowledge.

golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana,

This is the ultimate knowledge that the name of Krishna has descended from Goloka-Vrindavan. Let us chant and make the world happy.

Thank you very much. Now let us chant very loudly. The name of Krishna when it is chanted by sincere devotees has a very deep profound inconceivable purifying effect wherever that sound vibration touches.

(Kirtan commences.)