There’s No Other Way

By Sarvapama dasa ACBSP

In the Brhan Naradiya Purana it says three times for emphasis that in Kali Yuga there is no other way to liberation than chanting the holy name. Chanting Hare Krishna is the Yuga Dharma. Now I know from first hand experience that there are no limitations or obstacles for Hari Nama. Now, no matter where I am, I go on Hari Nama as much as possible. In big cities this is incredibly fun. Without discrimination, At random and without letup, I go to one person after another and say, “Hare Krishna”. Depending on where I am, I’m met with anything from befuddled bemusement to outright animosity to now and then even immediate and joyful compliance with my request. Typically I say Hare Krishna and someone looks back questioningly and then I can say, “It’s my job. I have to get everyone in Minneapolis to say Hare Krishna”. Or New York, Honolulu, Miami, LA; wherever I happen to be, I find that then most people are willing to say Hare Krishna. Then I ask them if they know what it means. Usually they admit they don’t. Then the fun begins. I say, “Do you know what that means? Do you know what that means that you can say Hare Krishna perfectly without even knowing what it means?” Before they can respond I tell them that it’s really good because the fact that they can say Hare Krishna without even knowing what it means shows that they know how to live from their heart. No one ever argues with that. In fact most people really like hearing it. Then I tell them that God is in their heart, He’s directing their steps and so they don’t have to worry. It’s the secret to happiness. Then I ask them, “People that know you, like friends and family, do they think you’re a pretty happy person?” They always say, “Yes.” My response is a quick and definite, “Well they’re right about that.” This is always a really good time to put a big book in their hand. They’re very likely to want it and may even read it.

Prabhupada built this movement on Hari Nama. It’s our most recognizable living, breathing, walking, singing trademark and logo. It’s also a clear and powerful demonstration of faith that can’t help but touch everyone’s heart. When Srila Prabhupada had us going out on Hari Nama five or six hours a day, five or six days a week, there was also, quite naturally, a bhakta program. New men could immediately be engaged in that very valuable service and there was no question of anyone sneaking off into some dark corner for a snooze. We brought in so many new members and a good portion of them then became book distributors. On the strength of simply following Prabhupada’s orders without any hesitation or question, thousands of people became devotees and millions of books went out. The minute Srila Prabhupada left the planet, everything came to a screeching halt. Srila Prabhupada said ISKCON was his body. Present symptoms indicate that it my not be well. Discarding it is not an option. People that give it up or leave it may experience something like a brief moment of ecstasy and relief but over the long haul they are guaranteed to lament. Killing the body is not an option. I have to help it recover all good health or die trying. The bitter medicine is Hari Nama. Actually it is sweeter than anything but due to fear and fatigue many people have become jaundiced and therefore they are not able to experience the nectar of the name anymore. Srila Prabhupada made a very accurate prediction about people’s response to the chanting of the holy name by a Sankirtan party. He said first members of the public would laugh when they saw a group of people with shaved heads, pony tails and dresses out chanting. Prabhupada said there would be three stages. At the second stage he predicted that when people came to know that we were challenging their life-styles by condemning the eating of meat, illicit sex, intoxication and gambling, they would hate us and even want to kill us. I have no doubt from my experiences now that we have reached the third and final stage though. Prabhupada predicted that once we’d been around long enough, people would begin to love us. I can definitely vouch for that. Other devotees have also described how almost without exception anyone who goes out on Hari Nama, chanting Hare Krishna in public, can expect to have a good number of people come up and say, “Hey, where have you guys been anyway?”

This happened to me in a very dramatic and conclusive way in Honolulu, Hawaii a few months ago. For the last few years I’ve only worn a dhoti and I shave up every day. I was boarding a bus downtown and the bus driver said those magic words. He said, “Hare Krishna. Hey, where have you guys been anyway?” before I even had a chance to say anything. I sat down right behind him and he started asking one question after another. He was smiling and friendly and honestly interested. It was such a great conversation that before I knew it we’d sailed right by my stop. I called out, “Hey we missed my stop.” He immediately responded. “That’s all right. Don’t worry. We go up into the neighborhood, circle around and come right back by here. So I settled in for the ride and we headed on up the hill. There weren’t any other passengers and he reached a point to stop and recheck his schedule. He stopped the bus, turned off the engine swiveled to me and said, “OK, I want to know everything.” To the best of my ability, I gave him a full history of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and he seemed happily fascinated with everything I had to say. So I decided to share a very recent experience that I’d had down in the tourist section on Waikiki. I told him how I’d been out in front of Baskin Robins with my set of kartalas chanting and how a man in an apron and striped shirt came out and dumped a double handful of change into my outstretched palms. He went back into the Baskin Robins and I started chanting again. Then I thought, “What was that all about?” and out of curiousity I followed him into the store, saw his nametag on his shirt and said, “Buddy, what was that all about?” In the conversation that followed he explained how when he and the other shop keepers and store owners on the Waikiki strip see us in shaved heads and sikhas and robes chanting, they love it; but when they see us sneaking around tricking people into giving donations for any number of trumped up causes, they really detest it. At this point the bus driver smilingly interrupted my story and said, “You know what? I want to give you money too.” He pulled out his wallet, gathered together six dollars and pushed them into my hand. I was on my way back to the temple but I still had a couple of big Bhagavad-gitas in my bag and so without a pause I dropped one into his outstretched hands and we were two really happy fellows out there feeling the bliss of Hari Nama Sankirtan and book distribution. The two really can go hand in hand. I’m convinced that is Prabhupada’s desire and the happiness I experience from this activity makes my life extremely worthwhile.

Sarvopama dasa ACBSP
11:45 PM Rm# 87 Brahmachari Ashrama, Krishna Balarama Mandir, Vrindavana, India Tues. April 24, 2007