Something Forever

- Chapter 3 Part 5/5 -

-->  Part 1    --> Part 2    --> Part 3   --> Part 4



In Every Town And Village


The "Hare Krishna Mantra" continued its triumph unabatedly. The song climbed the charts in Holland, Germany, France and Sweden, reaching the top of the charts in such distant countries like Yugoslavia, South Africa and Australia. The stunned Krishna disciples soon even gave autographs and posed for photographers.

George had his staff booking European appearances for the Radha Krishna Temple Singer's. At open-air concerts, television shows and night clubs. The disciples went on tour, sang with Joe Cocker, performed with the band Deep Purple in Amsterdam and with the Moody Blues in Sheffield. At the Midnight Sun Festival in Stockholm, they were the headliners.

They also appeared at the Hamburg Star Club, where the career of the Beatles once had started. The phrase "Hare Krishna" became a long runner on the radio and on television. It poured out of the speakers of the clubs and restaurants and found its way into newspapers, magazines, cinema films, painting and even in the cabaret performances. Other bands that also liked the Beatles, used the mantra for recordings and concerts.

According to the historian Arthur Marwick, the rock musical Hair was the " key cultural artifact " of the sixties. Shortly after the Beatles' return from India, it premiered on Broadway, and there was also a scene with group singing. The production performed in Shaftesbury Theatre London contained a special bonbon for the theatregoers. At the end of each performance, the ushers opened the doors and led the London Krishna devotees on stage, where they supported the troop with a rousing finale of "Hare Krishna". Sometimes seriously, sometimes in derision, the chant " Hare Krishna " really spread all over the world.

When the Beatles had sung "All You Need Is Love" in 1967 during a live satellite transmission, they came to over five hundred million television viewers, a feat for which execution more than one hundred technicians were necessary.

Now, just two years later, George reached an even larger audience with a hit that he had produced himself, thus fulfilling an ancient Indian prophecy of the sixteenth century.

"One day", as the avatar Krishna Chaitanya had predicted, "the singing of the holy names of God will be heard in every town and every village in this world."

And so it happened.

And how much George admired the Krishna devotees for dedicating their lives to God, he showed by offering himself as a guarantor for the lease of a small building near the British Museum. Once renovated, the building would be their long-awaited Krishna Temple in London.!





Fact, patience leads to freedom and peace with the cause



Patience is a sign of spiritual progress. The patient and steady person knows that new insights are flashing especially during waiting and listening silently. And then it are these inspirations which enable us for the next big step forward, inward and upward, on your journey into ourselves. Similarly, more freedom is not achieved by outside knowledge and work, but by greater wisdom inside. You will reach it in silence - on the road to yourself. Your inner self (param-atma) is source and dispenser of the wisdom that knows no doubt, because it is a certainty. With the acquisition of self-confidence again, at the same time, confidence of God's presence is gained, and the self is experienced.

For what we encounter in everyday life, is what we ourselves did in the case before, what we put into things and circumstances by our thoughts and wishes, desires and actions.

Therefore, more important than the facts are the causes ... And these are situated within ourselves. Because we ourselves are the cause of all the facts in our lives, any change of things must start within ourselves.





(Jai Radha Madhav Krishan Bhajan by Jagjit Singh, YouTube)






Esoteric Questions And Answers

Interesting in this context is the fact that the spiritual master of the Krishna movement, the old sage A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wrote a letter to Mukunda Prabhu on 01/07/1969 , in which he responded to Mukunda's question, which was: "We have seen a grand concert with the Beatles here in London, the Beatles will help us making a nice record with mantra songs, and I think this could become our new field of activity, because with this new pop-oriented mantra rock music we can reach many people. What's interesting in this context, we could make a lot of money by this kind of music, and thus are better able to finance our new temple and our preaching program. And as I'm also a musician, I would love to carry out such a task, and to put this new music program. Now I ask you, Srila Prabhupad, as my spiritual master, for advice, what do you thing about this good plan?"

Bhaktivedanta Swami answered Mukunda Prabhu the following:

"My dear Mukunda Prabhu, I know you're a good musician, and of course you have the tendence for musical entertainment, but at present our main business is to promote the Sankirtan movement. Now go on bringing, the way you are doing now, the Sankirtan party to various places, this will be the most valued service. If you distort our Sankirtan movement by any commercial purposes, it will immediately be spoiled, therefore be very careful in this respect. Your ever wellwisher and friend A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami"

We see the vision of a great pure devotee here. Swami Bhaktivedanta recognizes that if the devotees distort the Kirtan by Rock 'n Roll, it loses its spiritual power, and is just beautiful melodic music then, but no longer the clean, pure sound vibration that the Yuga Avatar, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, introduced 500 years ago, which is suitable to purify the hearts from the dust of illusion of Maya's energy in the Kali Yuga. Kirtan shall help to identify the actual position of the living being and to act accordingly, in order to devote ourselves to God in a loving way.

Another letter of Bhaktivedanta Swami to Tamal Krsna Prabhu shows his appreciation for the sacred Samkirtan. Tamal Krsna Prabhu who was traveling through the U.S. with a group of devotees and was celebrating Kirtan (as the album "The Hare Krishna mantra" with the devotees, produced by George Harrison, became a success everywhere), remembers that Srila Prabhupada was enthusiastic about the idea getting chanting to be known in every city and every village in this pure way. This is Lord Chaitanya's plan, Prabhupad said more than once, and Sriman George Harrison helped us to realize the plan.

Bhaktivedanta Swami wrote the following letter on 10/30/1969 from London to Tamal Krsna Prabhu:

"Dear Tamal Krsna Prabhu, full of pleasure I note that there is interest for the performance of our Sankirtan party at various public places. The same is happening here, and they have invited us to such places as Amsterdam and Germany. If you can also do that now, it is very beautiful. But do not change our principles. The exercise is already happening with the Kirtan. For us, it is not necessary to be an artist. Our primary concern is service for Krishna, not to entertain an audience. We shouldn't address our attention on musical sound improvements too much. People should not assume mistakenly that we are a band. They need to know that we are devotees of Sri Krishna. Our dedicated action and purity should be so strong that, wherever we are chanting the holy names, as Sri Krishna Chaitanya has taught us, a great impression of devotion to Krishna is given immediately. Your ever well-wisher and friend A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami"

Thats our vision, and thats the mission all about, hari nama sankirtana.

We see at which depth of field Swami Bhaktivedanta is acting, on one side he motivates the Beatle-musician George Harrison to give success to the sacred name by help of his music, because he knew about the magnificence of the Beatles, on the other side he urged his students not to leave the pure path of Kirtana. Therefore he shows how a wise master operates and acts correctly in every situation. He knows the Beatles are situated in very different social and artistic circles, and different standards have to be applied in respect of their interest in Krishna consciousness and their ability to help Prabhupad. But he warned his students, as they already have decided on a process of yoga, not to leave the path of pure execution, because the mixing of various duties and tasks never leads to success. It's basically really very simple. The musician writes and plays his music, which is brought to him by God in his heart, this is his true Dharma, to get the expression that he needs by his music, in order to be happy. And the success he has, shows us whether someone is a real musician and this really corresponds to his destination.







(Srila Prabhupada - "The Acharya" part 2/5) with German, English and Spanish subtitles at YouTube)








The Yogi, also the Bhakti Yogi, is not meant for having to do the same like others, only for the sake of success, his way is not the one of the trader, musician, craftsman, or the politician, but rather is the way of the loving, surrendered Bhakta, heading to God. His duties are completely different from those of a musician, for example, the obligations and responsibilities of a Bhakta are determined by the spiritual master and should be followed strictly and carefully. Because the spiritual master is the measure of all things, and as long as he still does't understand to distinguish what is right and what is wrong, he should strictly obey the instructions of his spiritual master.

The guru becomes God for the yoga aspirant, he has full confidence in him, he entrusts himself to him, he follows him, like a child follows the father, unconditionally to the liberating path of yoga. The spiritual master, in turn, shows by his own deep faith in God and in his own guru, that he is qualified to lead students and instruct them properly on the way to the Yogic consciousness - ( not to be confused with Maharishi's yogic flying), so that the student can attain selfconsciousness and God consciousness, as goal and purpose of his life.!




Symbols are telescopes into the invisible world


Many a person is at odds with God, despite knowing better, and asks him to give back his health, his fortune and his lost loved ones. I say, the one who is thinking that way, is sadly lacking insight, because he is deficient in self-knowledge. If it is missing than because he doesn't go inside with his questions and expresses and his confidence in divine guidance. But If he did that, however, he would experience how all hard ships are turning, all suffering dissolves, and how he becomes aware of the meaning and the good in everything.!

That's the way it goes, all along the watchtower, from Langobardian heathers to the willows and sweet mellows of Friar Park, on with us on the Harigeorgesonpath, your guide through the night.






... IN GEORGE WE TRUST ...



Sir Franky Crisp says...Unconscious of God, we are wasting our time even while meditating and praying.
(Sir Franky Crisp)



(*) Quotations in short excerpts:

  • Joshua M.Green (Yogeshvara Prabhu), Here Comes The Sun, Hannibal 2006
  • Geoffrey Guliano, Dark Horse
  • Bill Harry, The G.H. Encyclopedia





* End of Chapter 3 *
* ... continued with ... Chapter 4*

OM

Copyright © A. H. Manusya




harifan


-->  Part 1    --> Part 2    --> Part 3   --> Part 4