Visnumaya waxes lyrical

Here is an email sent by HG Janananda prabhu after his travels in New Zealand.

Dear devotees
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
This is the 40th year since Prabhupada incorporated ISKCON and the 500th year since Lord Caitanya began His active sankirtan movement. We’ve just celebrated the glorious appearance day of Nityananda prabhu. Lord Nityananda together with the other member of the Pancatattva inundated the world with sankirtan prema

In a song of Locan das, Nitäi Guna Mani Ämära, the mercy of Lord Nityananda is described as follows: ‘My Lord Nityänanda, the jewel of all virtues, my Lord
Nityänanda, the jewel of all virtues, has brought the flood of ecstatic love of God that has drowned the entire world.

Bringing this overwhelming deluge of prema when He returned to Bengal from Jagannätha Puri on Lord Caitanya’s order, Nitäi has inundated the assembly of devotees. The fallen nondevotees did not drown, however, but remained floating on that ecstatic ocean.

Lord Nityänanda freely offered this exalted prema, which is difficult for Lord Brahmä to attain, even to the fallen and wretched souls who did not desire it.
The ocean of mercy had formerly been sealed tight, but Nitäi cut a channel in its boundary to allow the great flooding waves of nectarean prema to splash from house to house. Locana däsa says, “Whoever has not worshiped my Nitäi or taken advantage of this excellent opportunity offered by Him knowingly commits suicide.”

The mercy of Lord Nityananda still showers – we justneed to get in the shower and we will be cleaned byHis grace. The shower – the spreading of the Holy names. It’s going on but I’m sure we would all like to see it happen a bit quicker. In New Zealand something very exceptional is taking place (as it is everywhere in various ways). New Zealand is a small country with only 4 million people –and plenty of sheep. The public are nice and generally favourable to Hare Krishna. Since about 1987 very few local devotees were joining. However HH Devamrita Maharaja introduced the good old Hare Krishna movement here – a simple programme of good sadhana, lots of studying of Prabhupada’s books and book distribution, with friendly yet somewhat informal gatherings for the public in what they call LOFT centres. They add a touch of yoga to the menu to cater for the needs of the day. There they create a kind of relaxed atmosphere. It’s not in the environment of a Temple, so that newcomers feel more at home. The results have been astonishing – within the last 6 or so years at least 60 dedicated devotees have joined in New Zealand alone. Just last week we were fortunate to attend a retreat programme deep in the heartland of New Zealand, with Maharaja. Many of his disciples as well as other devotees came along. About 100
devotees in all. It was a wonderful experience – chanting, dancing, and feasting for hours. 60 devotees on Harinam sankirtan in the local town – which is pretty small- really shook the place. There were power point presentation of Atma Yoga, preaching inUkraine and Loft preaching. Enlivening classes with plenty of time to relax and talk to devotees. The mood of the devotees was simply wonderful – so much a family spirit of brotherhood and cooperation. A mood of serving others. A mood of love and trust. More such gatherings could do a lot to establish a strong foundation in our movement and the strength to push forward with the sankirtan mission. Wellington is a small city with a big heart. The Loft there, run predominantly by a group of super enthusiastic matajis, is really booming. The Sunday feast must rate as one of the best in the world for its warm mood, attendance enthusiasm, bhajanas and kirtans, content, and prasadam. The devotees are ultra friendly and receptive. Lofts are also found in Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Christchurch. Maharaja seems to have hit on a method of approach which attracts young westerners to Krishna consiounsess.

Christchurch – another small city with a unique situation – a large active congregation of western devotees who hold regular programmes in devotee homes. The temple devotees run the restaurant, the loft, a café and health store in the heart of town. The Deity worship is covered by the congregation and devotees in the temple. The people really like the Hares. Auckland – a large newly built temple on 90 acres of land stands majestically over the fields and rolling hills. Three ste of Deities all installed by Srila Prabhupada. Here the Hare Krishna primary school has about 80 students. As the government fully pays for it’s running, there are restrictions on the syllabus such as we have to teach the kids daily Bhagavad-Gita etc., otherwise the Govt. will not support us. . The Indian congregation grows steadily but surely. The loft in Auckland together with a dynamic brahmacari book distribution force reaches out to the westerners.

Everywhere in NZ the people love the Harinama. There is no limit to the potential Harinama is so enlivening.

SB 2.1.1] “My dear king, this question is all-auspicious for all the people of the world.” If you simply enquire about Krsna or hear about Krsna, even though we do not understand, but that vibration of Krsna… Just like we are chanting “Hare Krsna,” we may not understand what is meaning of Hare Krsna, but still, because it is transcendental sound, it is auspicious. Wherever you chant Hare Krsna, they may hear or they may not hear, it is auspicious for them. So we are sending our men for street sankirtana. It doesn’t matter whether people are eager to hear it or not, but it is auspicious. It will create an atmosphere which is very, very congenial to the human society. That should be our principle. Not that because we are chanting, nobody is taking care, we shall not be disappointed. Our, this sankirtana movement is so nice that simply by chanting, the vibration will create an auspicious atmosphere, Now you can practically see, those who are old members… So I began in this New York in that storefront simply by chanting. So I did not bribe you American boys and girls to come after me. This is the only asset was chanting. That in Tompkinson square park, this Brahmänanda Swami he first came to dance in my chant. (laughter) He and Acyutänanda, that was the first dancing of our Krsna conscious movement. (laughter) Yes. And I had no mrdangas. That was a, what is that?
Devotee: (indistinct) drum.
Prabhupäda: Drum, little drum. So I was chanting Hare Krsna for from two to five, three hours, and so many boys and girls were coming and joining, and there was first photograph in the Times, New York Times, they appreciated, and people also appreciated. So this chanting, the beginning was only chanting. There was no, nothing more. At that time there was no program of prasäda distribution. That, later on it came. So we should always be confident that this chanting is not a vibration of this material world. This is not vibration of material world. Narottama däsa Thäkura says, golokera prema-dhana hari-näma-sankirtana. It is imported from the spiritual world. It is completely spiritual. Otherwise how it is possible? Sometimes the so-called yogis, they say that chanting… In Bombay there is a so-called rascal, he says, “The chanting of Hare Krsna mantra and chanting of Coca-cola is the same.” He is such a rascal. He does not know that this is not a vibration of this material world. But one who has no knowledge, they think that “What is the meaning of this chant, ‘Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna’?” But they can practically see that we can go on chanting day and night, still we shall not become tired, but any other material name you take, after chanting three times you will feel tired. That is the proof. You can go on chanting day and night, you will never feel tired. So these people, poor people, they have (no) brain to understand. Anyway, the chanting is so auspicious, Caitanya Mahäprabhu has given His benediction, ceto-darpana-märjanam bhava-mahä-dävägni-nirvarpanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. We are suffering in this material world because we are not cleansed of our understanding or of our heart. The heart is not cleansed. So this chanting will help us to cleanse the heart.

Your servant
Janananda das