SATURDAY NIGHT HARINAM (London) 11-05-2013

httpv://youtu.be/m1caM4_Wc70
video: Sundara arti at Soho Street temple

By Bhajahari Das

May 15, 2013, London — The conditioned souls have to start the process of chanting at some point. In the beginning it may NOT be fruitful, as explained in the beautiful quote by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami at the end of this note. When the conditioned soul takes up the chanting of the Names – it is perceived as a material sound vibration. Later, when the spiritual ear has been pierced by the Holy Names, a flood of prema pours forth. Then the Name’s beautiful form, qualities, associates and pastimes are revealed.

The inspired devotees who have dedicated their lives to chanting the Holy Names in public, are performing a most wonderful service for the suffering humanity. Thousands upon thousands of living entities are to be found wondering aimlessly in London’s West End every Saturday Night, searching for that eternal happiness which is perpetually evading them.

George Harrison wrote in the introduction to Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Book:

“Everyone is looking for KRSNA. Some don’t realise that they are, but they are.”

Whether they are tourists, or locals, they are freely spending their hard earned money trying so desperately to catch hold of, and enjoy, that evasive ‘will of the wisp’, just as a thirsty man begins to run towards the Oasis that has appeared as a mirage before him in the desert.

Sometimes, to the neophyte devotee, it seems a little difficult to understand that this congregational singing of the Holy Names Hare, Krsna and Rama, and dancing in the streets, this VERY public demonstration of our faith in the words of Lord Chaitanya and our Srila Prabhupada, is actually the PRIME Benediction for humanity at large. But this fact is clearly understood by the more mature devotees as was demonstrated a few days ago on last Saturday Night’s Harinam.

It rained and rained almost all of the night. At one stage in Leicester Square, the heavens opened for a while and there was a down pour. Those distributing booklets dived for cover to prevent them getting damaged. But the chanting party (about 50 devotees) just carried on as though nothing had happened. It reminded me of something George had told Sripati prabhu once when he went to visit him. He said that what most convinced him about Krsna Consciousness, was that on his way to the Apple Studios in London’s West End, he would very often see the devotees chanting and dancing enthusiastically, no matter what the weather. Raining, snowing, sleeting or blazing sunshine. Last Saturday, the public were amazed to see the Harinam Party coming at them on such a rainy night, and as usual, despite the nasty weather, some of them even joined in with the chanting and dancing.

For many years I was sadly somewhat lost to the understanding of the importance of Samkirtan. So many things got in the way and bewildered me. About 8 months ago, I was tricked into going back out again. It was the best trick ever played on me. We are all members of the Samkirtan Party. If we just come together for one day a week and perform this Yagna, this sacrifice, everything will become wonderful.

Of course, we can all only go at our own speed and nobody can push us or force us to be engaged in devotional service. We have to WANT to go forward in our spiritual quest, in the search for the Absolute. Please, please come and join the fun.

George concludes in his “Words from Apple”,

“By serving God through each and every thought, word and deed, and by chanting of His Holy Names, the devotee quickly develops God consciousness. By chanting

Hare Krsna Hare Nam Krsna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

One inevitably arrives at KRSNA Consciousness.
(The proof of the pudding is in the eating)

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE.

Chanting is undoubtedly the solution – and street chanting is the BEST solution – for both the chanter and the hearer.Seeing the devotees so happily engaged in Harinam Samkirtan does something irreversible for the non initiated. It sows the seed that will eventually fructify into Krsna Consciousness – even if it takes many births.

Let there be all victory to the chanting of the Holy Names.

“The name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are not two separate things, but one. When the sound of the Holy Name passes through the lips, the conditioned sense of hearing and consciousness start to process the sound as though it were a material sound and that is the way it is indeed perceived. As a result, only the external ear hears it. The other senses and the mind, which is the collector of sensory experience, are envious of the ear, which they consider to be an equal partner. The result is that such chanting does not result in the cleansing of contaminants or anarthas. We do not even have the capacity to know intellectually that the Name and the Lord of the Name are one. But just as one of the Vedic sacraments for the young child is to have the ear pierced, when our spiritual ear has been pierced by the Holy Name, the other senses give up their enviousness of the sense of hearing. They no longer quibble with the ear, which alone can perceive the transcendental sound. Then the flood of prema pours forth from all of the spiritual senses and cleans away the contamination of opposition and enviousness. With that, the Lord of the Name’s beautiful form, qualities, associates and pastimes are revealed in the Name Itself and are experienced by the chanter as something quite distinct from his previous experiences within the material world. The kinds of worries and distractions of the mind typical of the conditioned living being cannot remain.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur.

Nobody took any video footage this week – but here is a short film of Sundara Arti at Sri Sri Radha Londoniswara’s Soho Street Temple

All glories to Srila Prabhupada
ys Bhajahari das