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Hear Babhru das prabhu lecture - New Raman Reti, Florida

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Guruvani

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Yeah--well, it looks as though I got another chance. It's a little embarrassing to have my nervous stammering on the World Wide Web. Wait until KB gives a class somewhere. Then I'll get him back. :P

 

You sounded a lot younger than I expected.

I thought you were an older guy.

 

I guess living good has it's rewards?

 

This is not an insult, but you sounded more like a college student than college professor.

 

I enjoyed the lecture.

 

But, don't expect to ever hear me lecturing in a Hare Krishna temple.

 

You might see me on a street corner on a soap-box but never a Hare Krishna temple.:cool:

 

I preach to the chickens running around the neighborhood here.:eek3:

 

I am a people person for sure, but I can't deal with the formal situation.

 

Nice lecture.......

It won't be long before you are wearing the saffron sheet and walking with three legs.

 

I see you taking sannyasa from T Swami in the next few years.

 

See...... I am a mystic.:D

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You sounded a lot younger than I expected.

I thought you were an older guy.

Actually, I turned 60 a couple of years ago.

 

 

I guess living good has it's rewards?

 

This is not an insult, but you sounded more like a college student than college professor.

 

I enjoyed the lecture.

Thanks; it's nice of you to say so. (All of the above.) I was encouraged that several devotees, including some very well-known members of ISKCON, also said very kind things about the talk.

 

 

But, don't expect to ever hear me lecturing in a Hare Krishna temple.

 

You might see me on a street corner on a soap-box but never a Hare Krishna temple.:cool:

 

I preach to the chickens running around the neighborhood here.:eek3:

Well, I still can't believe I'm here. I don't think either my wife or I feels naturally comfortable in big-temple situations. And this is one big temple!

 

And chickens are cool; they just don't have a very long attention span. (We had a whole bunch of them running around our place in Hawaii.) Moreover, didn't we all grow up preaching on the streets?

 

 

I am a people person for sure, but I can't deal with the formal situation.
I get nervous as anything. Running classes in college (and subbing in middle schools) is hard for shy folks like me. But I did it because I was asked. I saw it as an opportunity to surrender.
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I get nervous as anything. Running classes in college (and subbing in middle schools) is hard for shy folks like me. But I did it because I was asked. I saw it as an opportunity to surrender.

I led a sundara-arati in the temple years ago when nobody else showed-up on time.

I am decent on mrdanga.

 

But, I couldn't do a formal lecture.

Not that I would ever be asked.

I am like the James Dean of bhakti.(rebel without a cause)

 

I haven't been to the temple in over three years.

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I dunno bout giving talks to a bunch of devotees. I remember when I served with babhru, we had plenty of experiance. Sudama Swami led a very nice program where all the devotees would take their turn, giving morning class, even speakiong at sunday feast venues to the public. Good practice when we are in our twenties pays off now that we are old.

 

Like I say sometimes, the young pretty girls still look and smile, but now, instead of "honey", they say "daddy":eek3: :eek3: :eek3:

 

I gave a short address about chanting Harinam at a reggae festival, 1000 deadhead rastas is not a tough crowd, though, everything is "far out" for them. I kept it simple, focusing on the sheer fun of samkirtana. I put the "restrictions" in my back pocket for the day. If ones speaking engagement is followed by INSPIRED chanting, then Srila Prabhupada is pleased, and that is our goal in speaking, eh?

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I dunno bout giving talks to a bunch of devotees. I remember when I served with babhru, we had plenty of experiance. Sudama Swami led a very nice program where all the devotees would take their turn, giving morning class, even speakiong at sunday feast venues to the public. Good practice when we are in our twenties pays off now that we are old.

I accept the opportunity to speak at temples where I am as a chance for more practice. The challenge, it seems to me is to reinforce salutary understanding of our siddhanta and practice, while presenting something stimulating for jaded old-timers, and, at the same time, making it interesting for myself as well.

 

 

I gave a short address about chanting Harinam at a reggae festival, 1000 deadhead rastas is not a tough crowd, though, everything is "far out" for them. I kept it simple, focusing on the sheer fun of samkirtana. I put the "restrictions" in my back pocket for the day. If ones speaking engagement is followed by INSPIRED chanting, then Srila Prabhupada is pleased, and that is our goal in speaking, eh?

I agree. An effective speaker will be aware of his or her audience's adhikara and adjust the presentation accordingly. And inspired chanting is the heart of the whole thing, yeah?

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To me Sudama Swami will always be awesome. A great mentor, and his ideas he passed on have been used all my life. My friends in kona called him Prabhupadas little brother.

 

Anyway, one thing he impressed upon me when he was training us to be effective in speaking is that we speak in order to hear (and on the internet, we write in order to read, a time and space consideration). So, whenever we speak, we are hearing. This is why our own ideas dont have the same value as representing the tattwa of our preceptors. Our own words have great value, because our style in serving krsna is attractive, but when we speak in our own jargon the truth as we have come to actually realize and put into practice, our main student is our own self. This is why Srila Prabhupada, when introducing us to japa meditation, made sure that while we may chant softly, it is important to actually be able to HEAR ourselves chant. Japa is both chanting and hearing.

 

Giving class or even addressing the throngs is an act of yajna, sacrifice. We do it not because we get a thrill out of adulation but because this is our sadhana bhakti practice. We are initiated as gosthianandis, preachers, so even in isolation, we speak (or write). While we speak, we ask for Srila Prabhupada to speak, and we become the microphones, the tools of his mission. Not parrots, never. We must taste the prasadam we distribute, otherwise we are fanatics, speaking of truth we dont believe in. And when we go that route, we are discovered rather easily.

 

If I ever went to a temple, I might say a thing or two, but Id like to sing a tune even more. I got three versions of "hare Haraya Namah" that would be fun to try with a bunch of mad folk, as long as they dont make the ladies go upstairs. Their voices are the key.

 

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

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I think it would be interesting on so many levels if both Babhru and KSB gave a synopsis of the talk. What message was presented? What message was received?

 

My last partner on my job here had been an altar boy. He was the first person in forever that really deserved and received my message - completely nonsectarian, yet the whole thing. He got even more than the internet forums got over the last fifteen years. Now he's somewhere else and the world is empty again.

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gHari, are you suggesting an abstract? Maybe I can do that this weekend. As far as what message was received, that would be interesting to know. A number of devotees (I've lost count, which is a good sign, I guess) have thanked me for the class, and I meant to ask them what they liked about it, specifically. Maybe I can still do that, although it would have been more effective within the first day or two.

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To me the lecture was basic Bhagavad Gita.

To me the tone and tune of the vibration is as important as the message.

 

I liked the vibe and the energy.

 

The message was nothing Earth-shaking or revolutionary.

It was just a good vibe and a very positive energy.

 

I surely have a different impression of Babhru after hearing his voice than I did from his posts on the forum.

 

To me the vibe is as important as the message.

 

The vibe was nice.

 

The message I have heard a thousand times before though mayhe without Michael Jordan as an example of how success comes from commitment and determination.

 

The message was about the importance of determination and commitment if we really want to achieve our dreams.

 

p.s.

I can assure everyone I am nothing like the person they think they know from this forum.

In this forum I am role playing.

A role I certainly don't play in daily life.

 

I never talk to anyone about Krishna.

Not even my kids.

 

This forum is the only sanga I have.:crying2:

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The verse was SB 7.6.26. Here are the translation and purport:

Religion, economic development and sense gratification—these are described in the Vedas as tri-varga, or three ways to salvation. Within these three categories are education and self-realization; ritualistic ceremonies performed according to Vedic injunction; logic; the science of law and order; and the various means of earning one's livelihood. These are the external subject matters of study in the Vedas, and therefore I consider them material. However, I consider surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Viñëu to be transcendental.

PURPORT

These instructions of Prahläda Mahäräja stress the transcendental position of devotional service. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gétä (14.26):

mäà ca yo 'vyabhicäreëa

bhakti-yogena sevate

sa guëän samatétyaitän

brahma-bhüyäya kalpate

"One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman." One who fully engages in the devotional service of the Lord is immediately raised to the transcendental position, which is the brahma-bhüta stage [sB 4.30.20]. Any education or activity not on the brahma-bhüta platform, the platform of self-realization, is considered to be material, and Prahläda Mahäräja says that anything material cannot be the Absolute Truth, for the Absolute Truth is on the spiritual platform. This is also confirmed by Lord Kåñëa in Bhagavad-gétä (2.45), where He says, traiguëya-viñayä vedä nistraiguëyo bhavärjuna: "The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them." To act on the material platform, even if one's activities are sanctioned by the Vedas, is not the ultimate goal of life. The ultimate goal of life is to stay on the spiritual platform, fully surrendered to the parama-puruña, the supreme person. This is the object of the human mission. In summary, the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and injunctions are not to be discounted; they are means of being promoted to the spiritual platform. But if one does not come to the spiritual platform, the Vedic ceremonies are simply a waste of time. This is confirmed in Çrémad-Bhägavatam (1.2.8):

dharmaù svanuñöhitaù puàsäà

viñvaksena-kathäsu yaù

notpädayed yadi ratià

çrama eva hi kevalam

"Duties [dharma] executed by men, regardless of occupation, are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Supreme Lord." If one very strictly performs the various duties of religion but does not ultimately come to the platform of surrendering to the Supreme Lord, his methods of attaining salvation or elevation are simply a waste of time and energy.

I took a clue from the verse and decided to talk a little about çaraëägaté. That’s the last word in the Gétä, and that’s where the Bhägavatam picks up, beginning with the second verse. This verse is the vastu-nirdeña sloka, which tells what the book is about, which is pure devotional service, completely rejecting any concept of duty or religion with any mix of material motivation. Essentially, I took this instruction from Prahlada as an opportunity to talk a little about the six-fold process of seeking the Lord’s shelter, which has been on my mind more and more over the last few years. From what I understand, bhakti and çaranagaté are not static, but progressive and dynamic.

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What message was presented? What message was received?

 

This was surely also an important point for Srila Prabhupada, how to make people remember what's being said in class - even the very next day, things were sometimes already forgotten. HG Sriman Janaka Rishi prabhu ( http://jeevjago.blogspot.com/ ) took up the task to present essential philosophy in such a way to make us remember for a longer period of time.

These are the slokas of Bhagavad-gita As It Is being explained:

 

BG 2.62: While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

 

BG 2.63: From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc5EeNn4T6U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjeevjago%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F

 

 

 

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Written, Directed,

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MMVII

 

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"People won't remember what you said to them for very long but they'll always remember how you made them feel."

 

The above statement knocked me over the first time I heard it.

 

The presentation is just as important as the message.

 

 

 

To me the lecture was basic Bhagavad Gita.

To me the tone and tune of the vibration is as important as the message.

 

I liked the vibe and the energy.

 

The message was nothing Earth-shaking or revolutionary.

It was just a good vibe and a very positive energy.

 

I surely have a different impression of Babhru after hearing his voice than I did from his posts on the forum.

 

To me the vibe is as important as the message.

 

The vibe was nice.

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"People won't remember what you said to them for very long but they'll always remember how you made them feel."

 

The above statement knocked me over the first time I heard it.

 

The presentation is just as important as the message.

 

Myself, I am not interested in being popular or being liked.

I just speak it the way I see it.

Most usually a lot of people disagree with me.

I don't have a problem with that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

At the risk of calling any more attention to myself, I want to make a correction to something I think I said in the class. When discussing Krishna das Kaviraja's comments about kaitava dharma as he explains the second verse, I think I said that it was the vastu nirdesa sloka. Actually, as Kaviraja Goswami says, the first two verses (vande gurun isa bhaktan, and vande sri krishna chaitanya nityananda suhoditau) constitute the namaskara part of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita's mangalacarana, which invokes the book's Deity. The vastu nirdesa (theis) is the verse beginning yad advaitam brahmopanisadi. The asirvada (blessing)verse is the fourth verse: anarpita-carim cirat karunayavatirnah kalau. . . .

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