The Vibrant Hare Krishna Non-movement

BY: GADI DAS - 24.7 2016

"I got blisters on my fingers!" ……. in 1971. Blisters, and blood dripped down our fingers…. Once again the kartals smashed them… blood speckled mrdanga. These were the daily injuries, and we would not have it any other way. Someone has a roll of duct tape… wrap them up… continue…

Hari Nam Sankirtana in the streets used to be like that. I was there, those were my bloody fingers, and the speckled mrdanga was around Vishnujnana's neck. Injuries while executing the sacrifice of the age… small price to pay for love of God one may say… BTGs was our literature of perfection… thousands and thousands… distributed in dhotis, humbly requesting a small donation. A lot were given free to one and all. "What the hell are those people doing?" referring to the kirtan and "what's with the duct tape?" It was easy to get people's attention when you are possessed of Caitanya Shakti… all the jivas wanted in… wanted to know… "what is this?" Invariably we would bring one or two youngsters back to the temple. Some stayed, some left… that was the way of Harinam Sankirtana.

Perhaps we were in NY on Wall Street, with a blustery wind throwing our dhotis and saris (just yellow cloth) around with perfect artistry. "Dear sir, we are here to tell you that all your Wall Street dreams are a total illusion"… "you should give this all up and just serve Krishna." We took no prisoners… just shot them dead. Like our founding father, we spoke like him… we were owned by him, we were his slaves… slave life is not bad, when Krishna is the slave owner…

Then he was gone… we contracted. That is, we retreated in the wrong way… and lost faith. along come the Indians to save the day… and so it goes….

Contrast the above with the present. Everything polished up, all the pretty girls in colors swaying in synch… choreographed Nam Sankirtana… how beautiful. You can find this at least once every 50 years or so… OK, a Rath or two… or maybe one or two lonely brahmacaries with nothing to do. A little chanting… a stop at the convenience store… half hour or so… or maybe a weekly designated site… With perhaps 800 devotees around, maybe 10 will show up… sing on the corner for an hour… and straggle home…

A retreat… oh, now I can charge up… but the chanting is all about what I can get out of it. I work a job, need a break… I'm burned out… need to go to a retreat… I need to recharge, I , I , I… I'm just miserable… And all the burnouts run thousands of miles, spend thousands of dollars, to go to a flashy kirtan mela… sadhu sanga, this and that fancy something or other name… polished… or just po-lished… and return home just to get burned out again. Sound familiar? Just so I can chant for me….

Harinam is indeed for us, but our chanting must release our intentions of love for the Supreme Lord of Vrindavan. When we sing for His pleasure only, He distributes that pleasure to the conditioned souls, through us and then back to us. It is all in the motivation of our chanting.

No passion… no commitment… no strength… just duty. Must do it, it's my duty… But how many even consider it their duty? A tiny handful…

Harinam Sankirtana is the only medicine to cure the miseries of this world… but our commitment is pathetic. That level of commitment will not even cure a headache… or our own unhappiness.

It takes faith, people… sradhavan jan he…. sradhavan jan he…. oh people of faith please take up this offering from Lord Nityananda. He has opened a small business in the market place, and is pleading with the conditioned souls to please purchase. The only price is one's faith… and when He sees a tear in the corner of one's eye when chanting Gauranga, He becomes mad with compassion. Then He gives the ability to understand Radha and Krishna…. Wow….!

Is there is any hope for us to restore faith in the Holy Name of Krishna like we had in earlier days? Of course there is, but someone's got to start, perhaps here in the Valley… We are trying… and trying hard. If you like a challenge, we have plenty of them… But one challenge we do not have is politics… and nitpickety critical mindedness… we are easy on that, but serious and hard on the chanting. It must be with full commitment and faith… that nothing… I repeat… nothing is real except the Name of Krishna… and nothing is a worthwhile goal except Krishna prema…… And chant like that! Every day, every day , every day… with increased desire.

How's that for a finish….?

Your servant because of His mercy… Gadidas… always on call… 

Essence drinking is legal… commeth the "Essence Drinker", fearlessly digging deep for the full core truths of our sampradaya….