I must admit, though, that even with fewer ISKCON devotees here, I haven’t found it easy to discipline myself to the rigors of increased chanting and hourslong studying and learning verses. The mind is a muscle; if we don’t use it in particular ways, it can atrophy. Then we have to gradually build up its strength so that we can sit and hear comfortably for long periods of time. Only after days of practice have I again developed a taste for hearing Srimad-Bhågavatam and Caitanya-caritåm®ta. Now each morning I wake up looking forward to absorbing myself in the nectar of these two beautiful scriptures and I wonder how I have managed to go on for so long over this past year without absorbing myself in them. I know I have been busy with other service, but I pray that when I leave Vrindavana in mid-December, I will continue to find time in my schedule to study for one or two hours a day. I would at least like to follow Cånakya Pa∫∂ita’s advice to all aspiring transcendentalists: “Let not a single day pass without your learning a verse, a half a verse, a fourth of it, or even one letter of it; nor without attending to charity, study, and other pious activity.” (Nîti-såstra, Chapter 2, verse 13)

Late in the afternoons I try to visit one or two tîrthas for additional inspiration. As a result, I now have a fairly good idea where many of Vraja’s sacred spots are located. By tagging along with my godbrother Dînabandu Prabhu, who has been taking devotees on pilgrimage for years, I’m also gradually learning about the pastimes connected with each place. It is important to become familiar with Vrindavana’s holy tîrthas, because we seek to enter this abode when we leave our mortal bodies. If we do not know, constantly remember, and most importantly, develop attachment for Krishna’s Vrindavana pastimes, what will inspire us to ascend to Vraja at the time of death?

Krishna reveals some of the secrets of the spiritual sky in Bhagavad-gîtå:

na tad bhåsayate süryo

na ΩaΩåõko na påvaka˙

yad gatvå na nivartante

tad dhåma paramaµ mama

“That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)

In his purport to this verse, Prabhupåda states, “One should be captivated by this information. He should desire to transfer himself to that eternal world and extricate himself from this false reflection of reality. For one who is too much attached to this material world, it is very difficult to cut that attachment, but if he takes to Krishna consciousness there is a chance of gradually becoming detached.”

When several devotees from the Polish festival tour, including Varanåyaka, Jayatåm, Nandinî, Rådhå-sakhî-v®ndå, and Rasamayî arrived in Vrindavana, I requested Dîna-bandhu to escort us on several parikramas. He took us first to BadarikåΩrama, which is located in a remote corner of Vrindavana close to the Rajasthan border. Of course, the original BadarikåΩrama is high in the Himalayas, but Dîna-bandhu explained that by Krishna’s mercy, all the holy places in India are simultaneously located in Vraja. For this reason, we need not visit any holy tîrtha outside Vrindavana. I was amazed, though, when after traveling by van for three hours we ar-rived at Vrindavana’s BadarikåΩrama and found that it was hilly and forested, a contrast to Vrindavana’s usual flat, arid landscape.

At BadarikåΩrama we visited a temple on a large hill, at the base of which sat a small village. It took us more than forty-five minutes to climb the steep steps to the temple, and we arrived exhausted. Still, we were pleasantly surprised to find ancient Rådhå-Krishna Deities there being cared for by an elderly püjårî. A ten-year-old boy sat peacefully by his side. Wearing only a loincloth around his waist, the boy, to my amazement, was reading to the püjårî from scripture.

Dîna-bandhu asked the sådhu where he was from. The holy man replied, “You should not ask a sådhu where he is from but where he is going—what is his final destination. Our birth is insignificant, but our death may be glorious. It is for this reason that I am spending my last days in Vrindavana.”

His words impressed me. But what impressed me more was the boy by his side. I had noticed a number of boys in the village running through the streets and causing mischief. I saw one angry shopkeeper chase them away. By contrast, this boy appeared well-behaved, clean, and respectful toward the old püjårî. When the sådhu asked him to do something, he performed the task obediently and cheerfully, then returned to his place. It reminded me of the days of yore when boys lived in their spiritual master’s åΩrama, studying Ωåstra and rendering service in humility. It is rare to find such ex-amples today, even in Vrindavana, where television and cricket are fast be-coming the focus of many young people’s attention.

I asked the püjårî about him, and to my surprise learned that he lived with the old man. When I asked the boy what he did there, he replied, “I help the båbå worship the Lord.”

“What about your parents? Have they given you permission to live up here?”

At that he looked to the sky, indicating that his parents had left this world.

“What about school?”

Surprised, he exclaimed, “I’m serving Båbå and Krishna!” as if to say, “What better education could I receive?”

I was to going to counter that a material education is useful, if not essential, for a devotee living in this world, but then thought better of it. Considering the boy’s circumstances and his admirable qualities, I thought of this verse from the Upanißads:

yasya deve parå bhaktir

yathå deve tathå gurau

tasyaite kathitå hy arthå˙

prakåΩante åtmana˙

“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.” (ÛvetåΩvatara Upanißad 6.23)

We held kîrtana for the Deities’ pleasure for over an hour. Then, as we all prepared to leave, I excused myself from our group and went to find the boy. I discovered him in a little hut, preparing the Deity’s offering and singing melodious prayers. Wanting to express my appreciation, I held out one hundred rupees, saying, “For you! For you!” He smiled slightly and shook his head, indicating that he wasn’t interested. Still, I insisted he take the lakshmî, and continued to wave it in front of him. He wasn’t tempted. He simply carried on with his service. I realized that I had misjudged him; he was more advanced than I had thought. His simple life of service to the sådhu and the Lord was more satisfying to him than anything money could buy.

This was the second time I had received a spiritual lesson through a child. Why not? Srila Prabhupåda once explained that in Vrindavana, not even the animals are ordinary souls. Every soul in Vrindavana is a devotee. The animals are devotees who committed offenses in the dhåma in a previous life. They have taken such low births in order to free themselves from their sinful reactions before returning to Vrindavana in the spiritual sky. The incident with this boy left me resolved to be more careful in my dealings with the Brijbasis. I have much to learn from his dedication to his spiritual preceptor and the satisfaction he feels in living the simple, renounced life of an aspiring devotee.

“We offer our respectful obeisances to those who reject thornless kingdoms and beautiful women, who think material happiness most bitter, and who renounce education, noble birth, wealth, and fame, and who go to Vrindavana never to leave.

“To the supremely fortunate, pious, and affectionate persons who live in Vrindavana, which is more blissful than Lord Vishnu’s abode, and who, worshiping Rådhå and Krishna with prayers and gifts, make Them deeply indebted to them, we offer our respectful obeisances.” (Vrindavana-mahimåm®ta, Ûataka 1, texts 76–77)

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O brother! When you close your eyes in death, where will your loving wife, children, brothers, and relatives be? Where will your good qual-ities be? Where will your fame be? Where will your pride, wealth, educa-tion, control over others, powers, and opulence be? O learned and intelli-gent friend! Why do you not renounce these things and run to Vrndavana?”

(Vrndavana-mahimåm®ta, Ûataka 1, text 81)

I have been deluged by e-mails, phone calls, and faxes warning, advis-ing, and even pleading with me not to go to India. The devotees are afraid of possible terrorist attacks and the developing tensions between India and Pakistan. Many of their arguments are logical, but yesterday morning I came across a relevant purport in the Bhågavatam. Reading Prabhupåda’s clear advice convinced me to go.

Sometimes the members of the Krishna Consciousness Society are afraid of the impending danger of world war and ask what would happen to them if a war should occur. In all kinds of danger, they should be confident of their protection by the Viß∫udütas or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gîtå (kaunteya pratijånîhi na me bhakta˙ pra∫aΩyati). Material dan-ger is not meant for devotees. This is also confirmed in Srimad-Bhågavatam. Padaµ padaµ yad vipadåm na teßåm: in this materi-al world there are dangers at every step, but they are not meant for devotees who have fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord. The pure devotees of Lord Viß∫u may rest assured of the Lord’s protection, and as long as they are in this material world they should fully engage in devotional service by preaching the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahåprabhu and Lord Krishna, namely the Hare Krishna movement of Krishna consciousness.

—Bhåg. 6.3.18, purport

On October 8 I flew from Warsaw to New Delhi with Sri Prahlåda and his wife, Rukmi∫î-prîyå dåsî. After a brief stopover in Vienna, we were the first passengers to reboard the airplane. It was a full flight, so I settled into my seat and watched the other passengers board, curious to see who might sit beside me for the nine-hour journey. I noticed one woman, who appeared extremely nervous, coming down the aisle. Upon seeing me, she seemed to calm herself, and then appeared relieved when she discovered that her seat was next to mine. We exchanged a few pleasantries, but other-wise did not speak during the flight.

Nine hours later as we landed in Delhi and were preparing to deplane, the woman asked, “Can I share something with you?”

“Of course.”

“I have a phobia about flying, which has increased due to the recent ter-rorist attacks in America. I was anxious as I boarded the flight, but when I saw you, a monk, I prayed to God, ‘Please, Lord, let me sit near him and everything will be all right.’ And it was! Thank you for being my guardian angel.”

Surprised, I managed only a “You’re welcome” as we joined the flow of passengers leaving the plane.

As we were walking down the stairs to Immigration and Customs, a man and his wife stopped me and also thanked me. Amused, I asked, “For what?”

“For being on that flight,” the man said, and they walked on. Again I saw how nervous people had become due to the terrorist attacks, and how ready they were to appreciate the shelter spiritual life offers.

It was well after midnight by the time we cleared customs. As soon as we were through, we left for Vrndavana in a Tata Sumo van. I knew we had at least two hours to go before arriving in the dhåma, but I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. I found myself counting the minutes until our arrival.

We pulled in at 4:00 a.m. Even at that hour Vrndavana bustles with ac-tivity. Unlike Westerners, most Brijbasis are up before sunrise either on their way to one of the seven thousand temples or simply to begin the day’s work. As we stepped out of the van, the sweet smell of night-blooming jasmine enlivened my senses, and I could hear the sound of ringing bells. Only the humidity was unpleasant. I was drenched in perspiration within mo-ments.

But I am not complaining. I have been to India many times and am familiar with the heat and cold, the simple food, the crowded streets, the occasional loss of electricity, and how difficult it can be sometimes to get water. These austerities afford little opportunity for sense gratification and ultimately serve to make us callous toward material existence. Among other things, visiting a holy place allows us to perform austerity and decrease our bodily demands. Krishna says clearly in Bhagavad-gîtå (18.67):

idaµ te nåtapaskåya

nåbhaktåya kadåcana

na cåΩuΩrüßave våcyaµ

na ca måµ yo ’bhyasüyati

“This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is en-vious of Me.”

Of course, the rewards of visiting as wonderfully auspicious a place as Vrndavana far outweigh the austerities we have to perform while we are there! The benefits of devotional service performed in the land of V®ndå-vana are magnified one thousand times. And Vrndavana is so beautiful. Srila Prabhupåda describes Vrndavana’s beauty in his Krishna book. One brief pas-sage in particular has, for me, always captured the essence of this transcen-dental land: “Vrndavana is such a nice place. Flowers are always blooming, and there are even various kinds of decorated deer. Birds are chirping, pea-cocks are crowing and dancing, and bees are humming. The cuckoos there sing nicely in five kinds of tunes.”

After settling in, I visited the Krishna-Balaram Mandir and Srila Prab-hupåda’s samådhi, then took a long walk through Vrndavana. I felt carefree and happy as I visited the various temples. This was the moment I had been anticipating for so long. I often thought of Vrndavana during the Polish festival tour and had mentally visited a number of holy places. Such medi-tation relieves me from the pressure of the constant opposition we face in Poland and provides divine inspiration. Now walking the streets of Vraja, I realized that while it helps to meditate on Vrndavana from a distance, reg-ularly taking darΩana of the holy sites is what gives me the strength to go on in devotional service year after year.

On this, my first day, I wanted to make it a point to visit the five per-sonalities that bestow the greatest mercy upon aspiring devotees in the holy dhåma: GopîΩvara-mahådeva (Lord Ûiva),V®ndådevî, Yogamåyå, the Ya-munå River, and Govardhana Hill. I prayed to each of them that my stay in Vrndavana would be transcendentally fruitful.

I also met many old friends as I walked, including temple püjårîs, shop-keepers, sådhus, and rickshaw wallas. What impressed me most in these en-counters is that in each case, we simply talked about Krishna consciousness. The püjårîs told me of the outfits the Lord had worn during the recent hot season, the shopkeepers talked about the festivals they had observed, the sådhus spoke of the Lord himself, and the rickshaw wallas—well, they bar-gained for higher prices. All of it was music to my ears. Nowhere did I hear about terrorism, which is all that’s being discussed everywhere else in the world. Although the threat of evil is real, because of advancements in infor-mation technology, the world is now able to focus on a single event in hu-man history. Like all world events large or small, however, the war on ter-rorism will come and go no matter how many people are aware of it. In the meantime, we are losing valuable time. We should be using that time to in-quire about eternal, spiritual matters.

We have to take mundane news in small doses if we don’t want to be-come preoccupied with it and become uncertain and afraid. Devotees should give more time to Ωåstra than to the newspaper. Srila Prabhupåda was clear on this point: “Caitanya Mahåprabhu has advised, gråma-kathå nå Ωunibe, bhåla nå khåibe nå bhåla nå paribe—don’t indulge in gråmya-kathå [village talk]. Therefore we always advise, ‘Don’t read newspaper. Don’t read any other book,’ because it is full of gråmya-kathå. Avoid it as far as possible. There is no need. What is the news of a gråmya-kathånewspaper?

The same thing repeated. ‘Here there is flood, where there is train disas-ter, where there is accident, where one politician is giving speech, another politician is giving speech.’ This externally very attractive news—we should avoid it completely. We shall simply talk of Krishna. That is the safest meth-od.” (Lecture, September 1, 1975)

The beauty of Vrndavana is that the “village talk” is mostly about Krishna. Of course, if we remain determined to hear news of the outside world even while in Vraja, we can tune into the BBC on the radio. There are also plenty of newspapers available in Vrndavana.

But Srila Prabhupåda explains that meeting saintly persons in the dhåma is the purpose of pilgrimage; the saintly persons living in the dhåma are as important as the dhåma itself. We shouldn’t waste our time discussing mundane news with them. During my first few days in V®ndå-vana, I was fortunate to meet a number of Krishna conscious persons in un-expected ways. For example, while performing Govardhana parikrama with a small group of devotees, I visited the Dauji temple, which is not far from Govinda-ku∫∂a. As our party entered the temple, an eleven-year-old girl encouraged us to come forward to see the Deity. After offering our obei-sances, we sat before the Deity, marveling at His transcendental form. No-ticing that the girl was carefully observing us, I spoke to her through my disciple, Dauji Krishna dåsî.

I asked, “Do you live here?”

Looking fondly at the Deity she replied, “Yes, my father is the priest here and I help him worship the Deity before I go to school. Every morning I bathe the Lord, then serve Him prasådam.”

I was impressed. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I will do whatever Dauji desires. We are not independent—we cannot do anything without His sanction.”

Amazed that such a young girl had so much devotion for the Deity, I continued, “Do you want to live in this village all your life?”

“Yes, of course. I never want to leave Vrndavana. This is where Krishna and Balaråma play.”

By this time, I was not only impressed but embarrassed. This girl was displaying so much natural affection for the Deity and the spiritual land of  Vraja that it seemed disproportionate. After all, although I have been prac-ticing Krishna consciousness for thirty-one years, I still struggle to muster sincere sentiment for the Lord. This young girl’s love for Krishna seemed spontaneous and natural.

“Would you like to visit America?” I blurted.

“Why would I want to go to America? If it were so nice there, why have you spent so much money to come to Vrndavana?” Then answer-ing her own question she said, “Because Dauji is here, and He’s the most attractive person.”

I wondered, “Who is this little girl?” Then I remembered Jesus Christ’s words: “And a little child shall lead them.” This girl won my heart completely by her response. Recognizing her as a real devotee, I asked her if she needed anything for her service.

“I’d like a book from which I can learn English so that when foreigners come I can tell them everything about Krishna.”

“Is that all you want?” I asked.

Instead of replying, she simply raised her gaze to Dauji. I thought, “Of course she doesn’t want anything more. She has everything here. She has Krishna. I hope in my short stay in Vrndavana that I can obtain just a little of the devotion she has for the Lord.”

As she continued to look at the Deity, we quietly offered our obeisances and left. The hair on my body was standing on end. That little Brijbasi girl was no ordinary soul. Does it matter that she has never heard of the world’s woes? “I pray that I may engage in the service of the moving and nonmov-ing residents of Vrndavana. What are Brahmå and the other demigods in comparison to them? The residents of Vrndavana are more glorious. They are very dear to Vraja’s king. Their forms are eternal, spiritual, and full of nectar. Their glories are limitless. They are the roots that sprout into the bliss of the Upanißads.”

“Don’t do anything! Don’t say anything! Forget everything you’ve seen! Remember the fair and dark couple that pains Kåmadeva, flee the common people, and go to transcendental Vrndavana!” (Vrndavana-mahimåm®ta, Ûataka 1, texts 61 and 32)

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To allay her fears I said, “It’s okay, you can tell me the problem. After all, we’ll be sitting next to one another for the next twelve hours.”

Leaning over, she whispered softly, “Two Arabs tried to hijack the British Airways flight I was on from Nairobi to London yesterday. They came aboard just before we left, pulled out guns, and threatened to kill us. Several men wrestled them to the ground. Minutes later the police arrived and took them away. The cabin crew on this flight asked me not to mention the incident to anyone, but I’m terrified!”

I told the woman that this world is a dangerous place, but if we are conscious of God and pray for His shelter, He will protect us. Seeing me fingering my japa beads she asked, “Is that what you’re doing there?”

“Yes,” I replied. “I’m chanting God’s names.” She asked if she could listen.

“Of course.” I began to chant louder. She gradually calmed, and by the time the flight took off, she had become peaceful.

An hour later she turned to me and said, “Your prayers are powerful. Can you teach them to me?” I then taught her the words to the mahå-mantra, which she carefully noted on a piece of paper.

As our flight was landing in San Diego, California twelve hours later, I watched as she took the paper from her purse and softly chanted the mahå-mantra to herself. Observing her newfound faith in Krishna’s holy name re-minded me of my own experiences when I first began to chant Hare Krishna thirty-two years ago. Although I knew little or nothing about the holy name’s glories, chanting quickly awakened in me a keen interest in spiritu-al life. My awakening has sometimes reminded me of Nårada Muni’s amazing experience recorded in Srimad-Bhågavatam, where he became interested in Krishna consciousness after only one bite of prasådam received from merciful devotees.

ucchi߆a-lepån anumodito dvijai˙

sak®t sma bhuõje tad-apåsta-kilbißa˙

evaµ prav®ttasya viΩuddha-cetasas

tad-dharma evåtma-ruci˙ prajåyate

“Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me.” (Bhåg. 1.5.25)

Seeing the distraught woman’s faith in the holy name increased my own desire to chant and to continue to seek new realizations in service to the holy name.

My son Gaura-Ωakti met me at the San Diego airport and drove me to his home to rest. His wife had recently given birth to a baby girl, whom they had named Amara-kelî. One evening Gaura and I were reminiscing about his own growing up. He expressed his disappointment that he had been born too late to have met Srila Prabhupåda. He was pleasantly sur-prised when I told him that he had in fact received Srila Prabhupåda’s mer-cy through a personal exchange they had had when he was barely twelve months old.

During the summer of 1974, Srila Prabhupåda was visiting the New Måyåpur community in France. One afternoon I was walking around the Chateau, carrying Gaura on my shoulders. I didn’t notice it at first, but Sri-la Prabhupåda was watching us from his window. When Gaura saw Prabhu-påda, he waved his arms and kicked his legs, eagerly calling the only word he knew: “Prabhupåda! Prabhupåda! Prabhupåda!” Seeing his enthusiasm, Prabhupåda’s eyes widened and he waved at Gaura, causing the boy to be-come so excited that he almost fell off my shoulders.

Prabhupåda referred to the incident that night while talking to the de-votees. “Today one young boy become so excited when he saw me that it was as if we were old friends!”

After a few day’s rest in San Diego, Gaura drove me north to the La-guna Beach temple, where I planned to stay for a few days. On the way, we stopped at a roadside stall next to a farm to buy fruits and vegetables. As Gaura was choosing the items, I noticed the woman who owned the farm watching me as I paced back and forth, chanting japa. Gaura took his time, and in the end brought a large supply of vegetables up to the cash register. The woman totaled his purchase. It came to $120. As Gaura reached for his wallet, the woman said, “Take it for free. These fruits and vegetables are a gift for the man you’re with.”

Surprised, Gaura told her, “That’s my father!”

“I’ve been watching him. The world needs more people like him.”

I was embarrassed by her remarks, which caused a number of other shoppers to look at me. I realized that the recent events in New York had made Americans more God conscious and respectful of spiritual val-ues. In the few days I had been in the United States, a number of people had approached me, asking me to explain why such terrible things had happened. I usually receive such philosophical inquiries only when I am visiting world trouble spots such as Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, or the Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union. Suddenly Americans are inquiring about the temporary and miserable nature of this world and searching for positive alternatives.

I wonder if their interest can last? Material nature easily covers what-ever minute spiritual knowledge we glean. The scriptures call this ΩmaΩåna vairågya, the detachment we feel when we attend funerals. Such detach-ment tends to disappear as soon as we leave the crematorium and again take up our activities.

It’s unfortunate that it often takes tragedy to awaken us to our existential purpose. People tend to be more pious when they are distressed. Haridåsa Êhåkura once explained this while sharing a prison cell with cri-minals. Knowing a saint’s ability to bestow mercy, several criminals approached Haridåsa Êhåkura and asked, “O great sådhu, please give us the blessing that we may quickly be released from this miserable place!”

Haridåsa Êhåkura replied, “My blessings are that you remain in this prison cell for many years to come.”

The prisoners were shocked. “Dear sådhu, what kind of blessing is that?”

Haridåsa Êhåkura replied, “I have given you this blessing because you are usually disrespectful to saintly persons. Being in such a miserable con-dition now has humbled you and made you respectful to sådhus. Now you have a good opportunity to attain spiritual emancipation. Better, then, that you remain in this miserable condition for as long as possible.”

In Laguna Beach I had the opportunity to thank Tukaråma Prabhu, the temple president, for all the help he gave the Polish tour over the past year. He organized our fundraising drive in the United States last spring, and the money he collected gave us the opportunity to hold the festivals for a full five months.

In Laguna Beach, the Lord also instructed me in an unusual way. One evening as I sat in my room, I overheard the brahmacårîs in the next room comparing the classes of several sannyåsîs who had recently visited. When my name was mentioned, there was a brief pause, and then one brahmacårî said, “I like his classes, but he’s not very erudite.” The boy’s words pierced my heart, but I managed to swallow my pride and admit that had I put as much time into studying Prabhupåda’s books as I had into preaching, the boy might have been able to speak differently. How do we find the balance between bhajana and preaching? The boy’s words deepened my resolve to focus on hearing and chanting when I went to Vrindavana.

Just after this incident, Tukaråma entered my room and asked me to give the Sunday feast lecture. I hesitated, still stung by the brahmacårî’s words, and then agreed. By the time I went downstairs to lecture, the tem-ple room was packed with both devotees and guests. Preaching to nondevo-tees comes easily to me—I’ve been doing it for most of my devotional life— so feeling relaxed and confident I presented the basic Krishna conscious phi-losophy, quoted verses, and told simple stories to illustrate my points.

Afterwards, Tukaråma told me that it was the best Sunday feast lecture he had ever attended. His words eased the pain of my not being “erudite.” This back-to-back condemnation and praise reminded me of Srila Prabh-upåda’s advice to the gurukula teachers in Dallas: a good teacher knows the art of reprimand and encouragement. If a child makes a mistake, the teach-er should first reprimand him, then quickly smother him with love and at-tention. On this occasion Krishna scolded me for neglecting my study, then quickly embraced me through Tukaråma’s kind words.

From Laguna Beach I traveled north to the home of my dear godbroth-er, Giriråja Mahåråja, who is still recovering from the major heart surgery he underwent about two years ago. Mahåråja is one of my closest friends, and I look to him for inspiration. I am especially inspired by his deep love for Srila Prabhupåda. I also admire his unique ability to draw from memo-ry personal stories about Prabhupåda to illustrate the philosophical points he makes while preaching. GiriråjaSwami merits the most prestigious title any ISKCON devotee can achieve: he is a “Prabhupåda man.”

On October 1 I flew to London and caught a connecting flight to Mos-cow. The next morning, I flew with my disciple Jananivåsa to Dinamorsk in southern Russia to attend a festival for devotees. During the flight we were seated next to a Russian army officer. He had recently returned from fighting guerrillas in Chechnya. The officer observed us in silence for some time, and then exclaimed, “I am sorry that I killed so many men in the war.” A discussion ensued, during which Jananivåsa explained the law of karma and how suffering is caused by our past impious deeds. With me coaching, he told how we can become free from karma by engaging in devotional ser-vice to God. The officer listened carefully, and at the end of Jananivåsa’s discourse, thanked us for the knowledge he had received.

Dinamorsk is a resort town on the Black Sea coast. The festival there had attracted three thousand devotees and twelve sannyåsîs. I was so jet-lagged, though, that I missed much association and a number of seminars. Still, I made it a point to spend time with the children who had come to the festival to see me. Every morning, thirty of us walked along the beach as I told them stories of my travels and listened to the problems they are expe-riencing as they grow up. Helping ISKCON’s children and inspiring them in their Krishna consciousness is another thing I like to do, perhaps because I saw what a lasting effect Srila Prabhupåda’s mercy had on my own son when he was young.

But during the relaxing days in Dinamorsk, I found myself thinking more and more about my upcoming Vrindavana pilgrimage. I know I will soon have to meet the challenge of self-discipline as I sit and study for hours a day. I have already decided to reduce my eating and sleeping while I’m there so I can spend a maximum amount of time hearing and chanting. I also plan to decrease my social life. This comes easily for some devotees, but such an austere lifestyle may prove challenging for someone like me. I’m accustomed to always being on the move, surrounded by people. I pray I will succeed. I have a vision of giving class to the young brahmacårîs at the Laguna Beach temple, Sanskrit verses flowing easily off my tongue as I elab-orate on Prabhupåda’s purports. I am using numerous analogies and citing commentaries by the previous åcåryas. All of this will be the fruit of months of disciplined study, time well spent in the holy abode of Vrindavana, wa-tered by the critique of an unknowing boy. The moment of change is at hand, because I leave for the sacred dhåma in twenty-four hours.

“If people criticize me, what is that? If I become the poorest of the poor, barely able to eke out a living for my family, what is that? If all calamities befall me, what is that? If I do not serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, what is that? I will patiently remain in Sri Vrindavana. My great-est desire will be fulfilled.

“Dressed in a kaupîna and kanthå, living by eating fruit fallen from the trees, not speaking useless words, not passing time in useless deeds, aban-doning all pride, going to each house to beg a little alms, and following those for whom Sri Rådhikå is their entire life, I will live in Vrindavana.” (Sri Vrindavana-mahimåm®ta, Ûataka 1, texts 64–65)

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