On March 12, 2014, H.D. Goswami began a three-week lecture tour across the U.S.
The following is a log of his travels, including personal letters.
MARCH 12, 2014- SANTA MONICA, CA
Wonderful news. I left Santa Monica today and drove for several hours with my senior disciple Jaya Govinda Dasa. We stopped at an ISKCON preaching center and I gave a lecture at a major university. The topic was “Science and Religion: Friends or Enemies?”
Over 100 students and professors came and the response was extraordinary. The unusually intelligent and sincere audience kept asking questions until the school began turning off the lights in the building. So my career as a traveling preacher has resumed in a most ecstatic way. In fact, having recovered my health, I am beginning to travel and preach again exactly 40 years after I began my GBC career at Prabhupada’s order in March 1974.
The devotees, the students- everyone here is extraordinary. I truly believe that Krishna will save the Western world. Every day we bow to Prabhupada, glorifying him as pascatya-desa-tarine, the “Savior of the Western lands.” We must defend Prabhupada’s honor by making these words come true.
Glorifying Krishna and explaining His message is our life. This is real life, real happiness. Thank you all for your support.
MARCH 15, 2014- GREEN RIVER, UT & GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO
My senior disciple Jaya Govinda Dasa and I drove today through the Rocky Mountains from Utah to Colorado. We then took a long walk along the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs. We were discussing how to spread Krishna consciousness and the need for all of Prabhupada’s faithful servants to work together in harmony.
Tomorrow we will drive through high mountains to Denver to visit a very intelligent, talented Vaishnavi, Janavi, who wishes to be my disciple. This very sincere devotee suffers from poor health, and so I will visit her. A devotee couple that I know for many years, Abhaya and Nidra have kindly and enthusiastically agreed to prepare our lunch.
After that, we will drive about one hour north of Denver to Longmont where we will be staying with a devotee couple, Gopinatha Dasa and Ananda DD, who have kindly arranged a series of programs. I will spend Gaura Purnima in Longmont. Krishna has arranged for me to celebrate this most special day in a peaceful, intimate setting where we can meditate joyfully on the apparence of the Lord in this world. My Brazilian disciple Sri Sita Prestha will fly into Denver to participate in our celebration. She works for an international airline and so is able to do this.
When Prabhupada was here, he used to say during the Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapura that this was the best time of year to make our preaching plans for the coming Caitanya year. Just as people make “New Year’s resolutions,” so we should begin each new Caitanya year by deeply meditating on how we can best serve the Lord in the coming months. I have done this every year since I first heard about it from Prabhupada. We depend on Krishna in the heart to guide us in our decisions.
Now that I am back “on the road,” I am thinking constantly of our mission. Spreading the glorious sankritana movement of Gaura-Nitai is a higher taste that destroys all lower tastes.
We will continue driving east until we arrive in Potomac (Washington, D.C.) where I will meet with the GBC chairman, Anuttama Prabhu, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, and other senior devotees.
After that, we will drive to North Carolina. Thank you all for reading these words. I pray that Lord Krishna bless us to work together with more and more purity and potency for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada, the Lord’s pure devotee.
MARCH 15, 2014- LONGMONT, CO
While walking along the river today, I realized clearly that Prabhupada is the gold standard for all preachers. I admire greatly that Prabhupada purely and powerfully told the truth to everyone he met.
Only a pure soul like Prabhupada could always speak the truth without offending or displeasing others. If we have any pride, any desire to be admired and liked by others, then we cannot speak boldly like Prabhupada. The more we serve without selfish desire, the more we can be open and honest with everyone, say what we know is most important, and yet not disturb others. We must give up all attachment to, and need for, approval by others. Then we can follow Prabhupada’s perfect example and tell everyone the truth in a way that is best for each person.
So I want to follow my spiritual father, I want to keep his perfect example always in my mind.
MARCH 16, 2014 (GAURA PURNIMA)- LONGMONT, CO
I wish each and every one of you a glorious Gaura Purnima celebration. I am in Longmont, Colorada with a group of very kind devotees.
Earlier today (Saturday), I initiated an excellent devotee, Sri Janavi. She and her husband, Abhaya Dasa, want to help edit the English texts of Krishna West.
Lord Caitanya is Krishna Himself, appearing with Radharani in a most merciful form. Krishna states in Bhagavad-gita that He reciprocates with everyone. So let us love Krishna more and more on this special day and surely Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai will empower us more and more to spread Their mission.
Let us take Mahaprabhu as everything, let us join His personal sankirtana movement. The Lord is all powerful and He will empower us unlimitedly if we surrender to Him.
MARCH 17, 2014- LAS VEGAS, NV
Yesterday, I stayed in Longmont, Colorado for Gaura Purnima, in the home of an excellent grhastha couple, Gopinatha and Ananda, along with their intelligent son Badri. My assistant, Jaya Govinda, and Sri Sita Prestha from Brasil were also present.
We did kirtana and spoke for hours about Lord Caitanya, and how He came to save this world. Even Mahaprabhu’s internal motive, to experience Radharani’s love, is intimately connected to His preaching mission. When Krishna came 5000 years ago, He killed a very large number of Asuras. But the souls of Kali Yuga are so self-destructive that it would be redundant and sad for the Lord to kill them.
Therefore Krishna came in the mood of the most compassionate of all souls: Radharani. In this mood, Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in full in Kali-yuga, and did not kill a single miscreant. There is practically no violence in Caitanya-lila, for the Lord acts in the mood of most merciful Radharani.
Every moment of our human life is a precious opportunity to remember Gauranga and reveal Him to others. Today again, we spoke for hours about expanding the Lord’s mission. I am also answering many letters.
Next Monday, March 24th, I will fly from Kansas City to Washington, D.C., and on March 25-26th, I will meet with senior ISKCON leaders. Anuttama Prabhu, the GBC Chairman, has kindly invited me to participate in a formal Vaishnava-Christian dialogue that he has hosted for many years, on March 28-29th.
My enthusiasm continues to grow. Today while chanting japa, Krishna helped me to understand more clearly than ever the need to establish a model program of Krishna West in the Chapel Hill area. Rather than travel widely now, I see that my duty is to do all I can to establish a powerful program in at least one important region of the United States. Krishna has blessed us there with many excellent devotees and we are eager to do all we can to preach develop our program.
We are trying to secure a large house near the university so that all of you can visit us. Let us all pray again and again that Lord Krishna accept and empower us as the servants of His pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada, so that we can see the world transformed in Krishna consciousness.
MARCH 21, 2014- WICHITA, KS
Two nights ago, we had an ecstatic program in the Rocky Mountains and Krishna blessed us with many sublime realizations. Yesterday I drove with Jaya Govinda for four hours and we stopped to rest in a small town- Colby, Kansas. In one hour, I will speak at an important Unitarian Church in Wichita, Kansas. My topic: Bhakti-yoga as the basis of social equality and justice.
I am writing this from my hotel room overlooking the Arkansas River. My best wishes to all!
MARCH 26, 2014- WASHINGTON, D.C.
Today I met with the GBC Chairman Anuttama Prabhu, and Ravindra-swarupa Prabhu. We had an excellent meeting among old friends. We all agreed on the need to promote unity in ISKCON in a balanced way.
Before arriving here in Potomac yesterday, I had many excellent programs in Kansas in a yoga school, and in the main university of the state. I plan to be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Sunday, as that will be our base in the USA.
Krishna is keeping me very busy. All is well!
APRIL 1, 2014- CHAPEL HILL, NC
I am sorry for not sending you news for several days. Here is a summary. My meeting in Potomac with the GBC chairman and other senior devotees went very well, and we made significant progress toward mutual understanding.
I gave a Bhagavatam class in Potomac last Friday, and in the evening, I accompanied my old friends, Anuttama and Rukmini Prabhus, to a performance by their son, Gauravani, at a Washington, D.C. yoga school. I have known Gauravani since he was a child, and he was always talented and enthusiastic. He has matured into an extremely talented artist and performer for Krishna and he presents Krishna consciousness in a very potent, attractive way.
After seeing his performance, I drove south for an hour with Jaya Govinda Dasa and we slept in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The next day, Saturday, we drove to ISKCON New Goloka, North Carolina and saw the beautiful Deities, Radha-Golokananda. I have been preaching here every day and the community is very supportive and enthusiastic about Krishna West. I am staying in the beautiful home of my Godbrother and Godsister, Vamana Prabhu and Sangita Prabhu. Sangita is the founder of the ISKCON hospice program.
In fifteen minutes, I will begin a program with the local devotees. With the help of several devotees, I have been actively searching for a suitable house to begin our Krishna West center in Chapel Hill. This is a beautiful area, and Chapel Hill is an unusually nice city. It features one of the best universities in the country with a classic, historic university campus. The residents here are highly educated and the city is very advanced in environmental consciousness and policies. The sun often shines and the people are friendly. We are eager to begin our work here. Many good, intelligent devotees live here and they are anxious to send their friends and acquaintances to our program. I owe a special debt to Bir Krishna Goswami, the GBC for this area, who has so kindly and generously welcomed me and my program.
Thank you all for your support.
APRIL 4, 2014- HILLSBOROUGH, NC & RALEIGH, VA
Yesterday we had an excellent program in the city library of Hillsborough, North Carolina, near ISKCON New Goloka. The devotees here are very enthusiastic about Krishna West and eager to help. Tonight we have a program near Raleigh, the state capital.
We hope to have a permanent center soon so that we can begin our main preaching programs. This region of the United States has many intelligent, friendly, open-minded people. Krishna brought us here for His own purpose. The local devotees, and many others, are feeling the power of Krishna’s plan.
I am constantly praying to Krishna to send us more people and facility so that we can spread His glories throughout this region and throughout the world. The intense desire to spread Krishna’s glories easily burns up our material desires.
