The Simple Temple

It's not the building or the marble which makes a temple. It is the chanting of the holy name by the devotees which makes a temple. Management means to manage in a way so that hearing and chanting can go on properly. That is the essence. Prabhupada said the Vaikuntha atmosphere is where every devotee thinks that everyone else is better than me. Everyone is the master, I am the servant. Give people Krishna consciousness and when there are enough people, as a necessity arises, then automatically things will manifest.

If the devotees are satisfied, then automatically in the future the project will come to an end. This temple are the devotees. That is the life and soul of our temple. What I like about the devotees is the mood, the atmosphere, where all the devotees are so loving, inspiring. The association among devotees, it is so very welcoming, it's so very pleasing, I feel like, you know, I am at home. The unity which is there between the devotees and the relationship between the devotees here, you feel like they are one family.

Anyone who comes here, even if he comes for the first time, he just is taken in as a family member. If you please the devotees, you please Krishna. This is our basic understanding. The best thing I like about this temple, is that it's a very, very warm place, it welcomes all newcomers with open arms. I can't even notice me. And anybody who comes to this temple is straight away transformed because of the Harinam, constant Harinam that is going on here.

Of course, the deities are very beautiful, all devotees are very wonderful, but it is the spirit of the service which is attracting to the heart. It is the spirit of the service which is attracting to the heart. It is trying, really, to put themselves last, and all other devotees first. And really trying to create an atmosphere where I am the servant, you are Prabhu. Then the society will flourish with Krishna consciousness. Then the society will flourish with Krishna consciousness. Then the society will flourish with Krishna consciousness.

Then by Kunttā, there is no other way except to promote this consciousness in the hearts of the devotees. Let's put that up totally. Because you are not representing anyone but yourself. You say your beliefs, and then say that you spent time with them, and you learned a lot. Yeah. Tell us about your beliefs, I should ask him a question. So what do you believe, Ajay? What do I believe? Seeing things in a spiritual perspective, is seeing things as fundamentally as possible.

I think religion is a personal thing and you develop a personal religion within you. The fact that you exist in itself seems simple proof that there is a creator. So coming to this place was another big step in understanding a spiritual perspective from another culture that might have a lot of answers to the questions I have. So I was very happy to get to India and do this story that was made for me. It's definitely a different world. So I lived with these guys for a month and really absorbed their lifestyle and the way they understood things.

One of the most prominent things which I found in this beautiful temple here is how wonderfully the devotees here are being trained up to respect each other as a Vaishnavas. The most important thing in the land is how to serve Krishna through the devotees. To serve the devotees. That is the most important thing we have learned. If devotees feel protected, if they have faith in their leadership, if they have intimate relationships with their peers, they'll be satisfied. Tell me about the deeper meaning behind what you're doing.

Actually, I'm not so exalted. I'm doing it for Radha and Krishna. But I know that if I do this, it's for my purification. I will purify my consciousness slowly and slowly. Cleaning the temple or cleaning Ditu room means cleaning of the heart. So if we clean the temple of Krishna, then our heart will be clean. So in that consciousness, I'm trying to serve Krishna, Radha and Krishna. It's an action. See, people who are in action, take that. See some kids. Can you tell me what you're doing? Maha cleaning is going on.

And this done by Brahmacharis exclusively. 5.30 we have the Mangal Aarti. From 4.30 to 5, is temple cleaning. And every Brahmachari in the temple, including the temple president, is in the schedule once a week. Everyone in the temple must do it. Sweep the floor. You do it. And that inspires. I started this community with the idea that Brahmacharis and householders staying in the way that they are surround from each other. Maharaj has trained us in such a way that there is very mellow relationships between Brahmacharis and Grhasthas.

We found that it's so very, very important to create a family. To create a family environment in which every single devotee really feels loved and appreciated. I personally told the leaders that if anybody is found to give a gender-based class, making derogatory remarks about women or about householder life, he should not be allowed to stay in the ashram. Association is intensely powerful.

I think association works at such a subconscious level that just being around spiritual people, you naturally rise, you naturally live, communicate, and you naturally respond at a higher level. At the beginning it was difficult. The Brahmacharis would feel that the Grhasthas are in maya, and the Grhasthas would see the Brahmacharis as kind of bums, puffed up. That was the situation. Later one Grhastha Godfather revealed to me that in one meeting Maharaj told him that it's my fault and give me some time and I will try to rectify the situation.

When he would meet the Brahmacharis, he would glorify the Grhasthas. He would say that, see these people, in spite of the fact that they are working, still they are contributing to the mission. Then he told the householders in their meetings that unless you respect the renounced order of life, especially the sannyasis and the Brahmacharis, you won't be able to make any progress. So basically what developed was mutual respect for each other. Then there was a very sweet, nice relationship.

In the temple here, I like the relationship that devotees have amongst each other. Actually we've been hearing philosophy, philosophy seems dry, it's not able to be applied like that. Here we are taught how to apply the philosophy, and be together lovingly. He always tells us, to remember this verse of Lord Chaitanya, One should be more humble than a blade of grass, more taller than a tree, ready to offer all respect to others and expect none in return. In this way we can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

It didn't happen in a day or two. Humble beginning, it was a small room of eight feet by eight feet. We had a simple temple, and whatever money we had we would use it, and whatever we didn't have, we just lived very simple. Because we wanted to somehow or other put all our energies in changing people's hearts. Prabhupada it seems in 1971 had told Shyam Sundar Prabhu just when they were at Chopati, that we must have a preaching center right here. And it seems that it was his desire which was getting fulfilled by Krishna's mercy.

But it wasn't the typical temple, it wasn't planned. This was actually, later on realized that this was actually a temple that started from just a few men in one room. Through dedication, through preaching, they expanded and they kind of pervaded throughout this whole complex. It's a kind of conglomeration of different buildings. They connected this other building with that building, with a bridge, and they connected this other building, this other part of this other complex with some stairs.

Kind of a network of bridges and stairs trying to make this temple actually whole. It reminded me of Chutes and Ladders, that game. Is it Chutes and Ladders here? Now there's hundreds of people running through in and out. The building itself is almost 100 years old. Since I have come here in 1987, to this day, I don't remember a single day when there was no repair or renovation or construction going on. It's an endless process. By now, we have replaced almost every bit of the whole building. There's very little left of the original in it.

This reminds me of a joke you must have heard about these Laurel and Hardy. Hardy was wearing a suit. It was mostly dark, but in a corner there was a small blue patch. Laurel asked him, Hardy, how come you put a blue patch on it? He said, That's not a patch. That is the original suit. That is all that is left of the original suit. The rest is all patches. The same with our temple. From temple side, we go down the stairs and we enter Cyber Hell. Cyber Hell is a whole other world that's existing. I don't know.

Somehow or other, cohabitating with nothing. How are you? How are you? Are you Indian? Yeah. There's a lot of excitement in here. There's a lot of Indian youth are completely into the whole fad of of Western life. And they're really ignoring the culture. What are you doing? Actually, I'm doing a making a video about the temple here. So, going to the temple, right? Right now, Western society and Western lifestyle is pervading India. Is it alright if I just get a shot of you guys here? It's a competition with your mind.

You're trying to be as close to your soul as possible. But you're kind of stuck with this consciousness that has been affected by your surroundings and by society. School can do that. Chat, media, fashion, the things you wear. You choose them, but from some other drive, some other impulse. What is this? Since you're here, I thought maybe you'd speak about being near the temple. I don't know anything about the temple. You don't know anything about the temple. What do most people do here? Just emailing, chatting. That's it. I'm not. I'm here.

I see all these links for strange sites. Oh. I'm busy here. Come on, yeah. So you've never been to any of the programs at the temple? You know, take part in one? Never. Well, I'm thinking to take part on Janmashtami. Yes. Coming very near, right? Sunday, no? Where? Are you going to take part there? I'm not sure. So you're competing with all those distractions and all those influences. So basically what you need to do is really zone away from those. Minutes before the Kamshal is blown, everyone should be in the temple.

And anyone who is even a few seconds late has to write down during Japa time 108 Maha Mantras. The leaders also do it. If they are late, they also do it. And they see that it's important. It was amazing to see this dynamic of discipline and the dedication that people have to really live by truth and to really live under the awareness that God's conscious of you. 108 Maha Mantras. The association is so sweet. The devotees are so wonderful.

It's a great joy to get up together, come into the temple, pay your places, sign in that, yes, I'm here on time for Mangalarti and then everyone coming together and chanting. When devotees come together to chant the holy name, there's a very, very deep experience of Krishna consciousness. Right now the standard, it's unimaginable, even I couldn't imagine that all of us chant within the temple hall. No one goes out. And whoever goes out has a specific service and he goes out. And we sit in circles from 5.45 to 7.15.

Power, all the beauty, all the mercy, and all the sweetness of the supreme truth is contained within the sound of the name. That name cleanses our heart, purifies our mind and awakens the natural love within us. Gyan Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga falls down and the devotees are in devotional service. It may be Gyan Yoga which may not be the best form of yoga, but you can see... But yoga? Yes. So fortunate for the people, the people of India that I never became a regular practicing doctor. I rather became a devotee. I would be a killer, killer doctor.

So I never did any regular practice in that sense. Other than the period of internship. Just for one or two months, I did something. So that is a requirement for joining the temple. You should have some work experience. Initially like, anyone comes, most welcome. It goes like that. And it did go on for some time. One fellow just walked away with 17,000 rupees. After staying for one and a half months. We didn't ask his background. Just saying that, you know, he has come. Many instances.

The unique situation about this temple is that the brahmacharis are not involved in fundraising at all. If you are not supposed to earn a single cent or a single paisa, then what reason can you give that you don't want to study? And that's not the question. That question is, why should you think that you are being This is Baladev Prabhu, and he's a great scholar, as you can see, even though he's sick, he's been immersed in Srimad Bhagavatam all day long. Really speaking, devotees are so easy to please, what do they need?

The Brahmacharis have been living so simply, they never ask anything. Generally, they're so austere with our lifestyle, they take on so much of the ushers. It's such an austere condition, and they're so very happy. From day one, our policy is that anyone who comes to the temple should never be approached for making a donation. People ask us, is there any membership? We say yes, membership is becoming serious. We would rather preach to him, we would tell him about chanting the holy name, we would give him a book, but never ask for a donation.

The first time when I came here, it was something extraordinary. I feel like home, very much. Many people do get put off, they feel that as soon as they come, we only see the dollar signs. It's not actually the right perception, but it is a perception. So we have studiously avoided that. Maintenance of the temple and fundraising is done by the congregation devotees, the householders. There is nowhere I've been that I've had this kind of feeling, which I am feeling here.

I believe that the greatest fundraising is to make people really feel in their hearts that the temple is their home. It's the place where they meet their expanded spiritual family. They want their temple to flourish. And therefore, not only funds, but they'll give their lives. That type of preaching has a great future. They want to play in Krishna Consciousness, in their family, to bring about stability. Take the roles of famous leaders, women leaders, like from our scriptures, like Kunti Mataji, Draupadi Mataji, Randhari Mataji.

Their chastity and how they lived their lives. Because there is so much of propaganda for women in this modern environment, where they are sort of forced to lead unhealthy lives. And unless she knows what is expected of her, what is Vedic culture, she will not be able to fulfill that goal. There is bound to be some friction. So we teach them to have loving relationship with each other. We all love to call our best friends, but we have to enhance our relationship with everybody.

We teach them to learn to tolerate one another's weaknesses, to live in very great harmonious feelings. And to work as a group together. Is he here? Please come forward. They have now decided to enter the Sarshram and help each other in dedicating their lives to the mission of Srila Prabhupada. We request all the Vaishnavas here to kindly pray to Sri Sri Radha Gopinath by loudly chanting Hare Krishna Useful way to react. If somebody joins as a Brahmachari, naturally the congregation loses a member. And it is the Ashram's gain.

And if he leaves the Ashram, then he should not leave Krishna Consciousness. It should be the congregation's gain. So either one of the parties should gain. There should be no loss to anyone. I feel that my husband is soon going to become a devotee and we will both be Krishna Conscious and we will have Krishna Conscious children. And influence the whole world to become Krishna Conscious. I am learning how to be a nice devotee. How to practice Krishna Conscious nicely. I have learnt how to love here.

I joined when I was a student and I was in great trouble. But as soon as I joined Krishna Consciousness, as soon as I made friends here in this temple, I have become very very happy. How do you see your future in spiritual life? Extremely bright and fantastic. Wonderful. At Radha Gopinath Temple, we are really striving to create whatever programs, projects possible. So that each and every devotee, whoever they may be, will feel cared for, appreciated and spiritually inspired.

One of the main impressions I got when I came back was the shallow depth that there is in our daily communication. And that we fail to remind each other about the deeper things in life. All of us, even we need some attention, some kind of appreciation. In a large, growing congregation, sometimes people just feel lost. There is no one to talk to, there is no one to, you know, relate to. Generally there is a tendency to preach and the moment he comes, all right, he is one of us, now preach to each other. But he is neglected.

He is already a devoted one. So here, it's just like you go to your house and the mother and the father is there to welcome you. So the moment you see a countenance, the moment you see a counselor, you feel you are sort of, you are the shelter of some senior. Within this counselor board, there are certain specific committees. For example, there is one committee about health. There is one committee which will try and find a job if some devotee has some financial problems.

If some devotee has some problem about accommodation, about his living quarters. They want to surrender. You ask them to collect funds. You ask them to distribute books. You ask them to worship the deities. And they are enlivened to do so. But if there is not that family spirit, if there is not that faith, then it's very difficult to manage a temple. Dedicating yourself towards a spiritual life, there is a lot of things you go through mentally, of course. And so there is a system there. That is there to counsel you through your problems.

A devotee will not be able to pursue spiritual life until he is mentally stable, he is physically very comfortable, and emotionally also he is very strong. Maharaj said one thing. He said, unless and until you are a good listener, you cannot be a counselor. Because people want to pour out their heart. Many of them have problems, not just spiritual problems, whether they change their job, they get married, they have problems in their family, marital problems. All these are there and whom do they turn to?

The relation between the counselor and the counselee is not restricted to the meetings. It's more than the meeting. In lectures we hear so much philosophy, but they are practically guiding us how to use this philosophy in our practical lives. So initially we were about maybe five or six counselors. And today we are 35 counselors. You need someone who can guide you and who can assess you, how your spiritual life is progressing. In college it was very difficult. Because I was newly introduced at that time for Krishna Consciousness.

But now the young college girls, we are better able to guide them. Maharaj has been stressing very much that why is he pulling counselors? Why is playing a very, very crucial stabilizing force? The system itself has evolved. It has gradually evolved according to the needs of the time. The representation of the brahmacharis is by the presidents who are there. And all the members of the congregation are represented through them. They are the counselors.

So the counselor keeps track of all his counselees, guides them, nourishes them, cares for them. And this creates like a small family in a bigger family. There was a board made of temple presidents. So you have someone, you know, equal to relate to. Otherwise everyone is going like this, you know. And you are feeling hollow inside. There are five presidents who take turns by rotation. And for a specified period of time, one of them is the executive president. So this kind of a rotation helps. You can just watch.

Some relaxing, relaxation time for you also. Are you born? I got you guys. Not that you are completely off. But the light is not on you completely. You can just... off the stage and be yourself a little. When devotees learn to have very, very healthy Krishna conscious relationships with one another based on the spirit of servitude, it creates a culture of real love and trust. We need to change our landscape. We need to improve the quality of life.

Rhythm signifies many things, universally and even personally, with your heart, with your breathing. Rhythm of waves and cycles of wind. There is so much rhythm in life that this falls into that rhythmic beauty that a community develops a rhythm. You can see that. I actually pulled back and just stood and saw everybody doing their own thing but at the same time connected with each other. And so daily life becomes beautiful. Who really am I? People talk about God. Who is God? I'm on a spiritual journey and I don't want to get lost, basically.

What is real religion? What is the real meaning and purpose of my life in this world? What is the meaning of the world, the universe? I feel that there is a beauty in life because it's manifested from God. I believe there is a God here and that our very existence is a miracle. When I was about 19 years old, I decided I have to search for the truth. We got on an airplane, a very, very inexpensive flight to Europe. While traveling Europe, I was going to various churches, cathedrals, synagogues.

We would go on the road and hitchhike and whoever picked us up, they would say, where are you going? And we would say, where are you going? And wherever they said they were going, we felt that that's where God wants us to go. I've asked myself a lot of questions and I realized that's the first step right there, asking yourself a question and searching and you'll find answers that will reveal more and more things. From Greece, I went to Turkey, then went through Iran, then through Afghanistan, then Pakistan, and after many months came to India.

During my travels, I lived with yogis, sometimes in caves, Tibetan Buddhists, in Bodh Gaya, the birthplace of Buddha. I lived with Zen Buddhists and Burmese Buddhists and learned meditations. I also lived with worshipers of Lord Shiva, of the Hindu faith. And they very affectionately revealed their inner hearts to me and tried to give me as much as they could. And I gratefully received it. He's about to rock some bhajans right now. Now that I have surrendered all that I possess, I'm to you about to speak.

After speaking or after listening to him, he is definitely a master of spirit. What brings me to discovering truth is some of the deep sorrows I have in my heart. So there's this fright that sometimes drives you to find answers of what's wrong. And that's when you either close down or you search. You get that strength and you go for answers. Rather than just be happy in your everyday life with a small short-term enjoyment that keeps your mind so busy that you never address what's most personal to you, what's most important to you.

I want to understand my existence and make sense of this world because if there is a path to God, I want to get on that. Please do. The Grand Medical Colleges in the world of India. Many devotees. We ourselves, we came from colleges. We were preached in colleges. We knew how potent this form of preaching was. In 91-92, Devan Prabhu really started systematic college preaching in medical colleges and also IIT, Indian Institute of Technology. From there we got so many devotees, Radhesham, Gauranga Prabhu, Paramahansa Prabhu, all these devotees.

So we concentrated on the professional colleges, medicine, engineering. The focus of our preaching is to create an awareness amongst the doctors that apart from creating the body, they also must not neglect that there is a soul within this body. No intoxication including tea and coffee. No. No. This is not possible. Where in Bhagavad Gita Krishna says, show me. Which verse? Which shloka? I want to see that shloka. Tea. Not tea. Not coffee.

And hence they are able to offer better quality service to their patients because they understand that every patient who comes to them is actually a son of God, a partner parcel of Krishna. Strong Sangha. So our emphasis is on developing loving relations amongst each other on the basis of Krishna consciousness. In this way we have a very wonderful group of students who are taking great strength in each other's association. As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes turns firewood to ashes. I'm amazed how many young people come in.

That was one thing. I was amazed how much youth are inquiring about God. Home programs are the most interesting there because there you see community become family. The family have made their home a temple. These people treat each other like brothers and sisters. We should try to make our home into a sacred place. Krishna or God is the proprietor of everything that exists. The proprietor of my body, the proprietor of my family, the proprietor of my home. And to acknowledge that by offering our home to God.

Now you are getting, you are doing something good and getting good. Maybe in this lifetime you may not be able to enjoy that good. So take birth again in your next life to enjoy the pending good which you did. Yes. Yes. Good question. Do pious activities and impious activities nullify each other, balance each other? That means I might go and drink a glass of beer and come back here and chant the Hare Krishna mantra. And wonderful, you know. The holy name purifies. So I am also purified. No, you are not purified.

The real knowledge means to see something in relationship to everything. Then that knowledge is complete knowledge. That is what is in the Prabhupada. It was as transcendental. Our enthusiasm means to follow the four regular principles very strictly in our life. If you have this strong sadhana and if you keep yourself very strong, then what will happen is that it will inspire your spiritual master to fight. It gives more inspiration. But if you become a little bit lax, then what happens? That power is not there.

So everything is a collective effort. I was 19 but I looked about 15. Living like a sadhu with matted hair and sadhu robes with a begging pot. While I was traveling, I happened to come through Bombay. And there, while walking down the street, I saw a big sign saying Hare Krishna. There was a big, big tent. In the evening, 30,000 people approximately came into that tent. And then the spiritual master of this religious movement came to the stage. So for two weeks, I would come to all of his lectures and hear him very carefully. His name was A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Lord Krishna is supreme cause of all causes. His loving care for them, personal relationship with them, I would say has played the major role in developing this project. Everybody had so much control, so much focus, so much perfection. I realized these guys are warriors. They're fighting against material desires. They're fighting against illusion. The faith came from seeing the dedication and purity of the leader.

Srila Prabhupada taught us that the ultimate goal of life is to understand our relationship with the personality of Godhead. And to revive this love of God is the ultimate fulfillment of all the heart's desires. His depth of knowledge, his compassion, his realization, convinced my heart. I came to the conclusion that this saintly person is the embodiment of the essence of all of the spiritual principles that I have learned through all the teachers, through all the paths throughout the world.

It's so wonderful that any discussion that is done when leaders are talking about developing spiritual community, that inevitably this community is mentioned. So I also come as a thief to come to steal some of the energy here, some of the potency. Take some and I'll run away and distribute it someplace. If the principles are emphasized anywhere, wonderful results. I strongly believe that. In the long run at least all the devotees are, you know, remain Krishna conscious. That's the essence.

More than the things being done, we want the devotees to stay for the rest of their life as a devotee. Continue to remain a devotee. That is the real thing. Side by side, we preach. If the community gets that kind of support and vision, they surely will respond. That's what their main need is. So if that need is catered to, you can see even more, even better results. Any other things? What I have to say in conclusion, somehow I'm very fortunate that Krishna and Prabhupada have accepted me.

I pray to Krishna that I remain in Krishna consciousness by His mercy and continue to serve the devotees. So our goal in Krishna consciousness preaching is to somehow or other deal with every devotee in such a way that as far as possible we can assure that they will remain in Srila Prabhupada's movement for the rest of their lives with faith, trust, and a very great enthusiasm to hear and chant the glories of the Lord. If we try for that, Krishna can empower us and He will empower us because it's what Prabhupada wants. Thank you.

It felt like a different world.