20080504 Evening Lecture

Following is an evening lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 4^th, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan.

Dhyāyato that was Dhyān that time people would meditate for thousands of years, very long life. Everything was mechanic, everything was very peaceful. So they could meditate for a long time. Tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ. Tretā-yuga life  reduced one tenth and then was fire homas or sacrifices. People will get self-realization by doing fire sacrifice. Sometimes it said that the ṛṣis they were do a fire yajñá and Nārāyaṇa Himself would appear out from the fire  riding on Gāruḍa and give blessings to everyone. So, all the people present could see, but they required some very…In Treta-yuga, that was the yuga dhārma and the ṛṣis were also very special. That time Rāmacandra also came and the ṛṣis were doing yajñás and the demons were disturbing the ṛṣis, so Lord Rāma protected the ṛṣis. Then in Dvāpara-yuga kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ in the Kali, in the Tretā …excuse me…in the Dvāpara-yuga the temple worship was recommended. That some ancient temples from the time of Dvāpara-yuga also the Lord was personally present. So, people were getting blessings through this temple worship, they were worshiped the deities with all the ornaments if somebody old deities, they are just like Lord Jagannātha, each of these deities they have some different roles. In Jagannātha Purī the deities are always eating, in Thiruvananthapuram, Trivandrum, Padmanabha He is always resting, He is sleeping. In Vṛndāvana Lord is always child as a youth, child having childhood pastime, in Badrinath He is Nārā Nārāyaṇa ṛṣi. He is always meditating, in Māyāpur He is always as a devotee, so like these different temples they have different moods. But in Kali-yuga, we see some of the temples run down, not well taking care of, people have a difficulty focusing, they go for a just a few seconds to see the deity and they are not able to focus their mind for very long. kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt. In Kali-yuga the process is Hāri kīrtana, kīrtana means the chanting, like you are all doing chanting, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This is the…even when we do the temple worship, we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, different bhajans, worship kīrtanas. In Kali-yuga this process is recommended sacrifice for the age. In fact, in the twelfth canto, tenth canto twelfth chapter there Śukadeva Gosvāmī telling so many defects of the Kali-yuga, this is the age of irreligion, of hypocrisy, of different problems. They call out doṣa-nidhe rājann this is the age of ocean of defects. How many defects I can face you know he said many many verses of problems kalosho… kalosha… kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ but it has one good quality. You know, what that good quality is? Yes? kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya You can chant Kṛṣṇa’s name, it is easy process to singing not so difficult to sing, dance kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ You can liberated from the contamination of materialistic life paraṁ vrajet and you can go to supreme abode at the end of life. Even little children can participate. They like music, they like singing, clapping their hands, dancing. [not clear 00:06:47] There is one good quality there is ocean of defects in Kali-yuga one good quality asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ one good quality doesn’t two or five or hundred, it’s only one. Just chant Kṛṣṇa’s name. If someone in Kali-yuga not chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name, then they are just in the ocean of problems, other processes may be valid, but they are not so powerful. Just like we have some very heavy disease and someone gives you a placebo usually like an aspirin or something,  it may give some pain relief but doesn’t cure anything, the cure is there in such a… you see powerful sweet method is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. And it works not only works for everybody whether you are Indian or Japanese or Russian whatever like I am a Westerner – anybody who chants His name they can immediately start to feel changes in their consciousness, in the… Some are great ṛṣis they focus on the bad part of Kali-yuga, but some they are focusing on the good part, it take long time meditating on, only a few great ṛṣis can do this yajñá perfectly, but not everyone could invoke the presence of Nārāyaṇa. A temple worship – not everyone can do temple worship only the brāhmaṇas - the purohits, others can come and see. So not so wide only available for everyone. By chanting everyone can do that, young, old bhakti-marg [Śrī-Hari Bol - Śrī can also chant everyone can chant].  So, as I travel around the world, I go from one festival to the next, that’s my main service, mainly travelling around and meeting with devotees and counselling them and attending different festivals. There is…ISKCON is grown over the years, only Prabhupāda established in ‘66, so that is forty-two years – not very long, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement was 522 year appeared, and He is the one who popularise this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. There are many different people who…many groups chant Hare Kṛṣṇa because it’s not our mantra its mantra given in the Vedas, in the Upanishad, in the Puranas so… I met one person, he came to me and he said he is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-six years so I… but he said I am not feeling any happy, not feeling any bliss. I said are you a follower of Caitanya Mahāprabhu? He said “no” I got Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra from some other sampradaya.  So, then I advise him that you should chant pañca-tattva mantra before chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, then by Lord Caitanya’s mercy you will get some spiritual bliss. I don’t know that. So, I noted down for him, give it to him. You all know a mantra, pañca-tattva mantra,     

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

[Devotees repeated]

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda

śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

[Devotees repeated]

He thanks me alright; I try, let’s see what happens. Then after about three months, I came back to that place and this person came running to me and he grabbed my feet. So, what are you doing? and he is crying. He said “what mantra you gave me? What mantra you gave me? Now ever since I chant that when I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa I am feeling so much bliss, tears are coming in my eyes, my hairs are standing on end, I am feeling so much bliss, thank you for this wonderful mantra.” I said it is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy not my mercy. So, we want to see many experiences like this. Prabhupāda said the pañca-tattva mantra thousand times more powerful than Hare Kṛṣṇa. So, then someone ask why don’t we just chant that. No but to get affect when you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa [laughs]. Because Lord Caitanya order to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.  So, it’s like charging up you turbocharge, it gets charged up - when you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, then you can experience. How many of you chant japa? To show the chant japa. This is you like in between you come together and today is Sunday, special Sunday program and here we chant some kīrtana together, kīrtana when many chant together that has some special power. But in between you can keep chanting every day, by chanting the japa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. You chant japa. You can do in seven minutes seven and half minutes above maximum a hundred and eight mantras. So, hundred and eight mantras time sixteen names time sixteen rounds it one thousand seven hundred twenty-eight mantras or twenty-five thousand names of Kṛṣṇa. So, that’s considered that’s in a year if you chant in a year you calculate twenty-five thousand a day in one year you become a crorepati [laughs]. In India they have a show called kon banoga crorepati some television show, who is going to become a ten millionaire. So, if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, sixteen rounds per year per day per year that is one crore. If you do, somebody can do sixteen into eight then it’s a fifty five million or do four 2.5 million so hands up. Recurring deposit scheme, banks are different schemes fixed deposit, recurring deposit, so you are depositing every day. Even if you do two rounds a day that takes fifteen minutes that 1.25 million at least a millionaire. So, doing something every day this is the yuga dhārma, this is the one good quality, this can not only change your karmas, can awaken your spiritual knowledge. So, to miss out all this, it is not that just like some personal opinion that I tell you this are all verses from the Vedas Kali santaran Upanishad tells the full sixteen mantras Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Iti shodaskam namnam. So, these sixteen names, sixteen spiritual names Kali-kalmash nashanam destroys all the bad qualities of Kali-yuga, it is the ocean of the defects, people tend to deal with each other very sharply, being untruthful, even sometimes there is misunderstanding arguments between father and son, husband and wife so many different…all this different… normally very close relationship some time they get strain. So, all this kalmasha all these contaminations of Kali yuga Kali-kalmasha nashanam, nashanam means to destroy Kali-kalmasha nashanam,  natah paratarp ayah there is no better alternative upāyaḥ means option means no better means parata better sarva-vedesu drsyate all look fine in all the Vedas. You won’t find a better system, better process, better means upāyaḥ. Some people ask why not everyone was not doing it? Why they are not doing it? They ask us in a lecture, well, you can’t blame us. At least we are telling everyone. They don’t do it, what can we say? That’s our question. When such a special mercy given by the Lord that in Kali-yuga we can get His full mercy by taking shelter of His holy name, why anyone is not doing it because they don’t know, nobody told them, we don’t want to be guilty, we know we should tell, somebody has to tell, you can try because it works for you, you can tell, it’s your parents, it’s your friend, it’s your relatives, it’s your neighbour,  your work colleagues. I just gave a seminar at Manipal in Karnataka in Udupi. It is famous university town in India on dealing with stress, all the negative defects, it’s one of the products of Kali-yuga - stress. So, some devotees research that the modern psychology study how to relieve stress and found the meditation is the best. In all the type of meditations the mantra meditation seems to produce the best results of stress relief. So, even if the people only do it for relieving their stress [is more room may some squeeze this way] it’s not that only in Kali-yuga the holy name is powerful, holy name is powerful in every yuga. Like in Satya-yuga there was Ajāmila…you heard of Ajāmila? He was a brāhmaṇa, who…he was married and a family, but somehow, he got entangle with a prostitute. So,  long story wasn’t a sudden thing it was a gradual thing but eventually he left his wife, left his society, since he was like an outcast he became  a robber, a thief to maintain their children with his partner, his  a prostitute friend and it happen though, somehow he called his younger son Nārāyaṇa, may be because he was a formally in a brāhmaṇa society, he called Nārāyaṇa. So, sometime the youngest child very favourite of the parents so, he always call his son come here, Nārāyaṇa come here, Nārāyaṇa seat here, Nārāyaṇa let's go for walk, Nārāyaṇa just seat down have prasāda, Nārāyaṇa, whole day he is calling Nārāyaṇa, Nārāyaṇa. But he just calling his son not that he is doing any spiritual purposeful meditation, but somehow his son is Nārāyaṇa, called name Nārāyaṇa, so he kept calling him. So, when he suddenly… he was dying, he wanted to see his son, so he calls out Nārāyaṇa and he die. The last thing he called Nārāyaṇa, that’s Narayan ante smriti remember Nārāyaṇa end of your life and get saved. So, the Yamadūtas came to take him to hell he was cheated on his wife abandon children, was a robber, he was adulterous so many different things.  So, they thought we have a good program for him in hell, [laughs] special rehabilitation program [laughs]. But the Viṣṇudūtas came and said “No you can’t take him, because he chanted Nārāyaṇa, so he got purified two are arguing. The messengers of Yamarāja were giving their claim he should come with us because he is sinner, and the Viṣṇudūtas said how many sins you can commit - but if you chant the name of Kṛṣṇa they all gets wiped out. He wasn’t doing… some people they wanted to cheat okay I do all the sin, I just chant, but you can’t cheat Kṛṣṇa like that. You should try not to do all, in this case, he just calls his son, he was doing it innocently, he wasn’t trying to cheat Kṛṣṇa. He was a sinner, and he was somehow calling Nārāyaṇa’s name without any alternative motive, so as a result, he was given a second chance, He realize he give up sinful activity went to Badrinath start chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa different mantras there got saved went back to Godhead. In the Treta-yuga how did the Hanumān build the bridge? What did he do? Rāma nam, where he put the Rāma nam? [Devotee; on the stone] On the stone, since Rām…since Viṣṇu heavier than the heaviest, lighter than the lightest all the stone became light were floating. Now there is the big controversy about that in India. What’s known comes down with that. Last year they don’t… they wanted to break that bridge. Last year we went to south India in the safari and the boatman said sir I can take you out to the bridge it is only four feet deep it’s like a road you can just go and walk on that after thousands  of years gave hundred rupees to show they’ll take you out and you can walk on the bridge. So, Treta yuga the Rāma nam was working [Hari Bol], then in Dvāpara-yuga, Draupadī was being attacked by Duḥśāsana who wanted to disgrace her in public disrobe her something civilise family, how they can think to do such a thing to abuse the modesty of highest lady, nobody can save her since nobody was…everyone was somehow compromised with Duryodhana. Then she called Kṛṣṇa Keśava, Kṛṣṇa Keśava by calling out Kṛṣṇa’s name she was protected, and Kṛṣṇa gave her saree unlimited sarees like so couldn’t pull out more and more sarees can come in. So, all the yugas there is the examples where the name is very powerful, but in Kali-yuga everything else become little weaker, but the holy name is still powerful. We take shelter of the holy name.  have a rented centre now we have different devotees, have facilities some join Kṛṣṇa Chandra’s apartment building community facility will get together weekends, every day or hour or you can do at least in the weekend, you can sing Hare Kṛṣṇa together you can hear Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and go take some prasāda discuss. In between you can chant in your house, do ārati Maṅgalārati in morning, in the future when we going to have a bigger temple more space more facilities. We gather in the temple to gather together probably somebody have to go to work by you call metro subway. What  they call here subway? You can chant in the train also, you chant while you are walking, I chant when I am flying, in this way when you walk to work or transit to work or drive to work, however we get to work we can also sing Hare Kṛṣṇa or in your house you can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Why not take advantage. Kṛṣṇa giving us special benediction. Now it’s the month of Vaiśākha which in the Purāṇas it states that like the month of Dāmodara, month of Vaiśākha is a hundred times the potency. If you have devotees visiting your house and you chant, give charity, different any kind of spiritual activity, then you get a hundred times benefit. In the Padma purāṇa there is history of - one brāhmaṇa gṛhastha he tried to have children but somehow he couldn’t have children and then he wanted money, he try to work different way somehow he was not very rich he was very poor.  So, he suggest to his wife I go out and do a job in some foreign land, he come to Japan I don’t know, since in the purāṇas may there was no Japan wasn’t known-[not clear 00:28:30] She said we don’t have any children and don’t have any money but if you go out I won’t have husband either I will be alone, so I don’t think this is a very good idea, you see, you do it for me I will be happy at least I have a husband. She said anyway why you are so upset about getting a child you know there is no guarantee that the child will be good. There are five different kinds of children mention in the Vedas there is a  asuric, there is a rina, there is a shatru, there is… some time you get a child because of bad karma, so the child causes lot of trouble for them, sometimes because enemy wants get back to you so they become your child and they cause you more suffering. Then there is also that because of death, say that you die and  you still have a debt to someone and your children didn’t pay back, nobody pay it back then it becomes your child to get back from you what you earn, so this kind of child love is demanding from the parents not giving - demanding, so this kind of children not good, lot of problems for parents. Then there is a suputra, suputri someone who is very religious very good does shraddha for the parents after they die, serve the parents in their old age, serve devotees, so that child is good child. Then the fifth kind of child is udasin, they are not against the family, they are not for the family and they just very much detached so that also not very good it not as bad as other first three but not helping. So, it’s not guaranteed that you will get a suputra but get any other kinds of children, so but the wife told, just be whatever you  be happy. So, then he said no I want to… I still want a child very much attached. So, why don’t you go and talk to Vaśiṣṭha ṛṣi he happens to visiting nearby, he is a great ṛṣi he knows three kal knows three times, he can tell him why you are not getting children, why you don’t have money. So, he went to see. Vaśiṣṭha muni and ask Vaśiṣṭha muni - Why? What’s the problem? Why are we not having children? Why we don’t have any money? Well, in your previous life you are rich businessman in a śūdra background, but you didn’t use your money to serve your family or to serve society, you like to accumulate money and you buried it. Never you told your wife; where you buried the money, you are just in to making money. You didn’t take care of your family you didn’t take care of your children so when you died nobody know  where the money was so even though you are a rich guy crorepati.  You didn’t use your money for the family, so they were suffering like anything what’s the use of being married some rich guy he is a miser no one.  So, because of that, you don’t have any children and don’t have any money. It's your life your karma. Then he said “oh! that makes sense, I misuse my previous life the opportunities I have. But  how did I get born in brāhmaṇa family, how did I get such a good wife, she is so intelligent, she gave me advise to speak to you, she is very wonderful lady, how did I get her.” Then Vaśiṣṭha muni meditated “Well I don’t see anything that good in your life except one thing in the month of Vaiśākha for three days some devotee guided you in the last three days of Vaiśākha you did some spiritual… in the month of Vaiśākha you did some spiritual things, because of that you born in a brāhmaṇa family and you got a good wife.” So, now what is the solution, how can I change my life now?  Now the seven days left in Vaiśākha. So, do something spiritual in these seven days and maybe you can change your whole portfolio of bad karma. So, he went back and he did some spiritual activities, and serve the vaiṣṇavas and then after that he somehow became wealthy , and he got children and he became a devotee and he went back to Godhead and then there is life. So, now it’s Vaiśākha also until the Purṇimā 19^th in India I don’t know here may be different day, could be different could be the same day, 19^th of May 18^th is Caturdaśī Nṛsiṁha-Caturdaśī, so Purṇimā is 19^th so what is day 5^th, 4^th? Fourth, so you got fifteen days must be the… more or less like Amavasya — more or less. So, try to wrap-up this special bonus month, it is many good credits you get hundred-time bonus.  Many people in this month who are not traditionally vegetarian they become vegetarian at least for this month of Vaiśākha and sometimes in Kārtika it’s a very good… Kārtika also get hundred times. Kārtika is more some spiritual oriented and this is more good karma and spiritual both. In fact, we know our congregational preaching ministry is promoting Dāmodara festival to go around in the houses of different people who invite us and do short fifteen, twenty-minute Dāmodara pūjā. In Malaysia they are really doing this in a big way, you can have somebody come here give a seminar from Malaysia how to do it, they went out from thirty-one per day [not clear 00:36:08] and last year they did three thousand eight hundred something and over seventy thousand people offer lamps to Lord Dāmodara. Because they have researched the purāṇas, how your whole forefather and so many people deliver by anybody who offer a lamp to Lord Dāmodara, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Dāmodara in the month of Kārtika. For Vaiśākha is chant…it’s a general just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, dance before the deities, do abhiṣeka, bath in a holy rivers, do some vrata like be vegetarian if you not already and eat Kṛṣṇa prasāda this kind of more general things but by in this additional one in the month of Dāmodara which is to offer ārati to Lord Dāmodara. So, they do a program all the different nāmahaṭṭas and all the different bhakti vṛkṣa groups that they have in Kuala Lumpur and the neighbouring area, federal districts; they go in the housing areas and they perform this… they give pictures of Dāmodara, they put on there… Dāmodara and Yaśoda — they put on their altar — they give them the pictures away. People do ārati, take a group photo with their family, take some prasāda. So, each nāmahaṭṭa.  Then neighbours also, they said “What’s happening here they said ‘Wow! blessings for their family, for their dynasty, I want the blessings too! Come and do with me!”  So that way spiritual blessings spreading out. That would be successful here in Tokyo, some people are like to get blessings in their house in the month of Dāmodara. Then keep the contacts they write down the name and address and phone number and everything so then they invite into the temple, so they put on the mailing list. So, that way many people become devotees from the Dāmodara outreach. Srikanth was telling there is fifteen thousand Indians might be a few Japanese want mercy most people like mercy, comes good karma that mercy, sukṛti  So this like…This month devotees don’t know much about this the ISKCON devotees but Vaiśākha month something very similar if you devotion this month also get very similar, just we have to promote it, that’s be my next thing after that I have to do some research but… So, like that there is different bonus. Once I wrote to Prabhupāda what can we do as a sannyāsī, what can I do for the month of Dāmodara. And he said – Well, this is a…you already doing 24/7 doing, you are doing every day, all day spiritual activity attending the temple so for you… you are the regular customer this special months and special days or special bonus or blessings to get for someone who fully doing every day so they get whether sale or not they going to get benefit. This is like a shop they put you know 70% discount, 50% discount everybody must go, some people were not regular customers they get attracted ‘wow’ there is something I can get cheap there. But when I walk by the store and see  some extra by 70% maybe something [laughs] I get a good deal. So, here you are giving… this is a hundred percent, hundred percent, ninety nine percent discount. There is a nice car for hundred thousand dollar you will get it for hundred dollars - no thousand dollars. Still pay for the gas though, besides that it’s a very big discount, very big mercy. So, this time encourage everyone take the mercy and give it out. And now the special month this time 8^th of May we are having the boat festival, Chandan yatra in Māyāpur they told me, I am going back for Nṛsiṁha-caturdaśī. You have any oil here from Nṛsiṁha-caturdaśī? Mahavarah – any oil? [not clear 00:41:10 to 00:41:13] How many like…we bath every year Nṛsiṁha dev and Āyurvedic essential oils, then there is caritāmṛta oil, would anyone like some of that?  Give that then I can give out, very nice smell. That’s my humble advice everybody chant Hare Kṛṣṇa be happy. Prabhupāda once was asked how we can repay you; you give us so much. He said I want you to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa be happy and make others happy. Most people like… some people have this idea that anything religious is for one year old. Just like wait until about ten minutes before you die and then become very religious [laughs] because they think that you know sense gratification makes you happy and religious means all kinds of difficulty, but this particular religious or spiritual activity is very blissful, you see, as you tour around you can see whether…see the  people are chanting and dancing and participating in the festival whether they look happy or worried austere tapasyā, penance, austerities were they look blissful you just check it out you tell me at the end of the show. Yogeśvara – he has [not clear 00:42:52] still chant Hare Kṛṣṇa it feels great bliss got the switch in the mood of travelling [laughs]. One of the famous airlines that flies America to Japan — they go travelling around. 

So, it may… Oops! The Māyāpur Navadvīpa parikrama and Gaura Purnima abhiṣeka, go in safari that’s in South India Srirangam, Singapore use existing temple to have a meetings and Vyāsa pūjā in Māyāpur where I was respected as a representative of the parampara. [aside: It is a bit fast]. Oops! What happened? Ujjain way back, went to South Africa for the Durban Ratha yātrā. This is the Chatsworth temple. Ratha yātrā is at the seashore. This is a… I don’t know you have seen this temple made out of stainless steel on the outside, with beautiful pictures inside with a mirror golden mirror glass. After South I went West Africa this is Singhania they like dancing went to the Manor I am going from here actually to Manor for special retreat and last year  I went to Middle East place called Mathuradesh give code names to different cities as we may not be able to  legally do the things we are doing there, but we are doing there, just like little oasis in the desert where they have a little farm, some spiritual congregational can use. Went to Seoul... [not clear 00:45:20 -00:45:25] Indian devotees there built this temple and Bhakti Tirtha Mahārāja disciple was a Korean. So he went back to help the programmes. Sri Lanka we have a[n] orphanage, Māyāpur meetings about the big temple, Nṛsiṁha-caturdaśī bathing with panchamrita [aside: can you slow this down little bit it should be like five seconds or two seconds]. Balaramdesh communities. [aside: just… okay we will go]. New Orleans have farm in Talavan thirteen hundred acres. Miami. Mexico City Ratha yātrā, special program in Argentina, Atlanta we were cooking and making the Chida dhahi festival, flat rice yogurt, I do this personally six hours, whole system. We had a retreat at new Vṛndāvana this is a palace of God this is Ratha yātrā in New York city in fifth avenue Manhattan taking the deities down to Washington square park, this was the youth group. Sao paulo Brazil for wedding for some disciples, Chilli Santiago in Chilli, Auckland New Zealand, Sydney, New Zealand… I mean Australia. Bombay — this is another couple – married. This is another place in the Middle East codenamed Damodardesh. Like to see a big congregation like we have there…here in Tokyo, this hall has no windows, soundproof. And the retreat in Serbia. Serbia is heavy place lot of war criminals there. Sometimes, some devotees when they do Harinam they get attacked by fanatic orthodox, some devotees get stabbed, so for these devotees’… their practice it’s a major austerity. I went for the first time to Bulgaria, nice devotees Sofia, Bulgaria. I went to the Czech republic festival, Slovakia also many people came from Austria to Czech, it’s not the right spelling anyway, this is the samādhi temple of Bhakti Tirtha Svāmī at Gita Nagari in America, I went there for inauguration 7^th of July last year it shows leave his body in Gita Nagari because this was tirtha established by Prabhupāda. GBC for Tripura, I went to Tripura and Johor Bahru next to Singapore and Malaysia, somehow Malaysia they allow them to do Ratha yātrā they don’t let them do how harināma so because they may offend sentiment of the Muslim majority there but every temples allow to do Ratha yātrā. This is the Ratha yātrā festival in Bangkok, Thai devotees are dancing, Thai, Nepali, this girl is the daughter of the Cambodian princess. Kolkata Ratha yātrā, ladies sing kīrtana at the Subhadra Ratha, I go each Rath, this is Subhadra Ratha. Māyāpur and the Gaṅgā [not clear 00:50:10] even on the Gaṅgā. Haripur near Ranaghat they do big Ratha yātrā, in Kolkata they have nine-day festival, for the return we go to Dhaka, three Raths over fifty thousand people. And after the Ratha yātrā I went to Lithuania end of July for the spiritual retreat this by north east of European union, this is a Bhaktivedanta Manor, Bhāgavatam class, Birmingham ISKCON second largest city of UK, ISKCON Zurich in Switzerland back to Mathuradesh this are expatriates they are working in the middle east [not clear 00:51:06] Ratha yātrā Barcelona, Spain nice temple, Stockholm Hare Kṛṣṇa centre, Berlin Ratha yātrā, Indradyumna Mahārāja singing, Copenhagen at the house of devotee saying farewell to a devotee who was going to Lokanath Mahārāja’s temple place call Vitthal. This is end of Ratha yātrā in Birmingham. End or beginning. As the city hall the Mayor and the city hall donates two thousand pounds every year for the Ratha yātrā, four thousand dollars. Shyamdesh another the place in middle east Delhi program with the youth class - congregation youth are doing austerities they look happy. Special Ayurvedic treatment in Trivandrum. ISKCON Bangalore congregation has a temple of Jagannātha temple. I am the co-GBC in Bangkok with Kavichandra Mahārāja. Jhulan. Adelaide, Australia, South Australia program, it was a Christian monastery they have purchased it from the seminary from the nuns, it’s about twenty rooms, twenty bedrooms [not clear 00:52:45 – 00:52:54] by the great Australian reef. Barrier reef. There they have restaurant this is… they don’t have temple this is just one gṛhastha inviting people over [not clear 00:52:00 – 00:53:07] gṛhastha’s make a big difference in the local area. La Paz initiation ceremony. Sydney Janmāṣṭamī festival, Atlanta Janmāṣṭamī I attended the festival for Janmāṣṭamī which was the day earlier in Sydney and then I flew to Atlanta gaining one day with the crossing international day line and attended Janmāṣṭamī in Atlanta. There fifteen thousand people in Sydney, about two thousand, two three thousand in Atlanta this program in Washington D C, Went to Rome Italy and that ISKCON Rome, Ratha yātrā in Milano. Milano in [not clear 00:54:00] New Vṛndāvana, and back to India Surat program and then to Māyāpur for Rrādhāṣṭamī. This is the Rrādhāṣṭamī, I am always in Māyāpur for Rrādhāṣṭamī festival, about ten thousand people. As Rādhārāṇī is the creator of Navadvīpa dhāma, we observe Rrādhāṣṭamī in a big way, sahasradhara giving a shower to the deities. Vienna, Austria for a program, Warsaw, Poland, Wroclaw Poland — second largest city. Russian festival in Penica[not clear 00:54:50] this is a special yajñá to bless all the donors for the Moscow temple. The temple inside [not clear 00:55:02] are major donors, they have two hectares of land in Moscow. This is Cologne Germany Rath yātrā. Went to the Chinese festival days… holidays in Hongkong, Chinese and Indian devotees dancing together. Program in Mauritius then Johannesburg, Indonesia, South Africa, New York, Brooklyn, New York, down South America Santiago this is ‘Retreat of October’. Brazil in a place call Natal in north east, then Ratha yātrā in Rio de Janeiro on a beach  Ipanema, famous beach call Copacabana and Ipanema, Asunción Paraguay South America, Buenos Aires temple Cochabamba some professional musician offering the prayers music teacher [inaudible 00:56:28] bhajans to musical sport. La Paz Bolivia is the highest city in the world four thousand five hundred meters… Then procession Ratha yātrā procession behind the tiger breaking dance[not clear 00:56:43 – 00:56:48]. Peru we have an Indian Architectural temple Sītā Rāma, Arequipa second city. We have program in Manta, Ecuador  mayors, municipals. Cuenca is in the mountains of Ecuador, we have a farm there on the side of two rivers, it is a special congregational development seminar in Cali, Colombia for over hundred devotees. Another Ratha yātrā in Mexico this time city of Guadalajara. Phoenix, Arizona… Arizona they have a very popular restaurant in [not clear 00:57:41]. Sacramento, one gṛhastha couple doing program. This is the inter faith program episcopal church in Hongkong united different religions, so they ask us to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa as invocation and other religions participated. Prabha Vishnu Svāmī program ISKCON Dhaka temple. Prabhupāda disappearance day in Māyāpur everyone offering lamps to Prabhupāda and garlands Ambarish prabhu great grandson of Henry Ford. Invented an automobile. We went on a parikrama to Mamagachhi birthplace of Vṛndāvana das Thakur Vyas dev of Caitanya līlā, this is a yatra with a Radhanath Svāmī and others, Indradyumna Mahārāja, Bhakti Bhringa Mahārāja so I accompanied their yatra. Special program at Vizag, Visakhapatnam.  Anybody here from Andhra? [not clear 00:59:04] Big crowd. We had Jagannātha Purī four thousand five hundred devotees came for the Jagannātha Purī parikrama, three days, seven days in holy places and had a classes on Jagannātha Purī, then the fourth day…third day we did parikrama eighteen kilometres. Went to the Ratha yātrā in Lagos, West Africa. I was asked by Bhakti Tirtha Mahārāja to go to West Africa, so, I went there a few times. This is a Hindu temple where they let us [not clear 00:59:44] Ratha yātrā there. This is nāmahaṭṭa in Bengal Berhampur, Murshidabad district. This is an organisation of Bhaktivedanta academy, where they teach deity worship, three-month course how to do deity worship training. Went to Guwahati, Assam for Ratha yātrā thirteen different tribal groups the Boro, the [sarania] the Dimasa so many groups I don’t remember all the names. Went Australia for a visit, back to Kuala Lumpur for the inauguration of the Dāmodara pūjā, morning japa walk. Ratha yātrā [not clear] went to see a devotee who got injured in a car accident. Please drive carefully. This is a special program with ambassadors from Venezuela, from Ecuador and in Kuala Lumpur. Ratha yātrā inauguration of the new temple in Klang — the big port city of Malaysia. That’s Nrsimha Mahārāja – he is a minister he [not clear 00:61:06] the rope before Jagannātha gave him the blessing. In door Ratha yātrā in the Middle East they can’t have outdoor Ratha yātrā because of the religious sentiment of the Middle East, but they do inside the hall of the temple. One time the men take the deities around and the ladies and the kids, men. Have you seen indoor Ratha yātrā before? Avataridesh another Middle East. [not clear 00:61:40] national temple [not clear 00:61:42 – 00:61:48]large Ratha yātrā in Penang three Ratha it’s called little India the names called the purls of the  orient, Taiping, Singapore again Singapore and I went to [not clear 00:62:04 - 00:62:08] in Singapore I got this [not clear 00:62:10] devotees came and taking care of me I was in the hospital, after that live the Hospital I went to Melbourne so that keep my leg elivated [not clear 00:62:23]  for fifteen days. This is the temple room in Melbourne, Sydney, Bangkok. Ratha yātrā in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, anybody here from Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore, have a special program in Kannur Karla well reception at Calicut airport local Keralite. We had a nāmahaṭṭa festival in a place called [not clear 00:62:55] near Siliguri went on to Mangalore for program, Chennai Ratha yātrā [not clear 00:63:06] Chennai Ratha yātrā ki. [not clear 00:63: 12] Ratha yātrā program in Karnataka. My dear friend Radhanath Svāmī. Program in [not clear 00:63:20] Back to Damodardesh. Special winter program in Moscow, minus ten degree inside only have this… big temple being built, they [are] renting this place for Jagannātha. Kṛṣṇa Kathadesh, Zagreb – Sachinandan Mahārāja, [not clear 00:63:46] my disciple also has a restaurant there. Washington DC, they have Sītā Rāma some congregation. ISKCON Montreal is a church not a temple Miami, Eucadour South America, Alhachuha in Florida distribute one thousand to one thousand six hundred plates sixty, since the seventies. Students paid three dollars and pay if they like a weeks’ coupon otherwise four dollars - it is the most popular program in the campus. [not clear 00:64:28] gṛhastha’s housewarming. Murari sevak on farm community in Tennessee, New Talavan before the [not clear 00:64:40] it’s a thirteen-hundred-acre farm, many different families. New Talavana Gaura Nitai ki.  Rādhā Rādhā kanta New Orleans ki. [devotee: Jay] This is the New Orleans Ratha yātrā Ratha yātrā procession [not clear 00:65:00]  people raising their  hands [not clear 00:65:05]  holy name chant Hare Kṛṣṇa [not clear 00:65:07] beads and souvenir any one wants to get they get [not clear 00:65:19 – 00:65:24] Los Angeles [not clear 00:65:35]  in Hawaii. It’s one gṛhastha there… that’s a house and we hold the program [not clear 00:65:46] in Hawaii so… Honolulu, Pañca-tattva. Tokyo. What happened? [laughs] You are there? There is [not clear 00:66:00] Yes, one month or two month I did that tour and come back inauguration of the temple. This is in a [not clear 00:66:24 – 00:66:27] new temple deities they shifted to new temple, do abhiṣeka. Bangalore Ratha yātrā. Anyone from Karnataka? Do we have prasāda feast after this? It’s almost we are in February now. Bhakti Purushottama Svāmī, did he come some time? This is inauguration at new temple in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. This is driest district in Andhra Pradesh it rained during the installation. Jagannātha… Radha Parthasarathi this temple is in the shape of a… Bhakti Vikas Mahārāja, Lokanath Mahārāja this is the shape of Ratha yātrā. One disciple of mine has opened up biscuit factory its serve as a contractor for Britannia biscuits. That’s… biscuit factory. So, they asked me to go and do some puja [ not clear 00:67:46] All in the day… all in the day light. This is a one-year anniversary of installation of the new temple Tirupati and did a big abhi…pushpa abhiṣeka – installation of the Dhvaja stambha, Garuda stambha. That’s the stambha. That’s a stambha – Garuda stambha. and they are bathing the… abhiṣeka, pushpa abhiṣeka. Māyāpur deity procession. Rādhā Mādhava ki [devotee: jai] Rādhā Mādhava ki [devotee: jai] Rādhā Mādhava ki [devotee: jai] Rādhā Mādhava ashta sakhi vṛnda ki [devotee: jai]

This was my mother and… passed away and I went there to perform some final rites. Chanting the holy names on her body. Normally as a sannyāsī I wouldn’t do this since it was my purvashram but since I have no other relative and she was a devotee; Prabhupāda said she was a devotee, so, I… no other relative who was a devotee so I did. Sprinkle [not clear 00:69:21] Gaṅgā water, put the garlands on the deities. That was my short version of my year. Lights! The remote control was donated by the devotees in Tokyo in February.

Any questions?

Devotee: [Inaudible]

Last year 6 times around the world. [audience clap]. This year probably four times.