Week 3

During the week since your last program, you should have kept in touch with your visitors just to
enthuse them to come again the following week. But if some of them do not come again the succeeding
week, there is nothing to be disheartened about. It takes time for people, even favorable people to make
a commitment to be regular in their attendance week after week.

As they enter, you can make them feel more secure in the familiarity of the last visits, by enquiring how
they have been doing in the week gone by… about their work, family, etc… not too probing or over
familiar, but just expressing your concern and well wishes for them.

Make sure that they relax in their seats. Let there be some nice Krsna conscious literature, pictures or
objects in the surrounding, for them to browse through.
When it is time to start, go straight ahead. People, when they see that you are very keen about keeping
time, they will follow suit, if not for the interest they have in the program, at least to not be thought of as
being tardy.

Satsanga: 15 minutes
After you have introduced any new visitor that may have come, you ask them this question: “If you
could spend the rest of your life doing exactly whatever you like, what would you do?”
Don’t pass judgments on what people say, but encourage and be appreciative of everybody’s
participation. Remember that this is not a session meant for imparting knowledge to them, though that
can also happen naturally, but the primary motive is to make people open up and relax, and get to know
one another.

Kirtana: 15 minutes
Continue as in the previous weeks by distributing the sheet containing the pranama mantras and the Hare
Krsna mantra as well as the glorifications at the end of the kirtana.
Have a sweet but simple kirtana for 15 minutes, that they all feel comfortable to participate and learn the
tune. It is very important that they understand that should concentrate on the vibrations of the Mantra,
rather than the music. If they request for a longer period of Kirtana, you can always ask them to come
some of the other programs which have a longer duration. Otherwise, if the Kirtana time is extended you
will not have sufficient time for the other sessions, which are equally important and necessary for them.
Japa…. 15 minutes
Read out first, the following passage from:

Sri Namamrta - The Nectar of the Holy Name (Page 8)

Because Kali Yuga is such a degraded and miserable age, Lord Caitanya advises everyone simply to chant
Hare Krsna:

According to Vedic conception, there must be men in society who are factually brahmanas
Capable of expounding the real truth. If everyone becomes a sudra, the Absolute Truth cannot be understood. It is
said that at the present moment in Kali-yuga everyone is a Sudra (kalau sudra –sambhavah), and it is very
difficult in this age to find qualified brahmanas, for they are very rare. There is practically not a single qualified
brahmana in this age.
Prayenalpayusah sabhya
kalav asmin yuge janah
mandah sumanda – matayo
manda bhagya hy upadrutah
“O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided,
unlucky and, above all. Always disturbed.”

(S.B. 1.1.10) The people in this age are very short- lived and slow in understanding spiritual life. Actually human
life is meant for understanding spiritual values, but because everyone in this age is a sudra, no one is interested.
People have forgotten life’s real purpose. The word manda means both slow and bad, and everyone in this age is
either bad or slow or a combination of both. People are unfortunate and are disturbed by so many things.
According to Srimad Bhagavatam, there will eventually be no rain and consequently a scarcity of food. The
governments will also levy very heavy taxes.

The characteristics of this age predicted by the Srimad Bhagavatam are already being experienced to some degree.
Sine Kali yuga is a very miserable age, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krsna Himself, advises everyone simply to
chant Hare Krsna.

Harer nama harer nama

Harer namaiva kevalam
Kalau nasty eva nasty eva
Nasty eva gatir anyata

In this age of Kali there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative for spiritual progress than
the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.” (Brhan naradiya purana).

This process is not Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s invention, but advised by the sastras, the puranas. The process for
this Kali Yuga is very simple. One need only chant the Hare Krsna maha mantra.

Teachings of Lord Kapila, the son of Devahuti

Chant loudly together one mala on the beads after chanting the Pancha tattva mantra 3 times.
At the end of chanting, you could ask them how they felt, during and after the process of chanting. If
they show some signs of appreciation, you can ask them if they would like to try it at home. If they
volunteer to do so, then you can sell them some beads to chant on. You could also request them to bring
the beads along for the next program.

Spiritual Edification - 45 minutes

Please read out the passage and start asking the questions. (Do not explain it to them.) Let the people
assembled find out the answers from the passage themselves. Please engage everyone in answering, you
can ask two, three people to add to the same answer. Move from one person to the next and give them
sufficient time to think. You could ask leading questions for them to go deeper and clearer in
understanding the subject matter and in giving relevant replies.

The application question has to be answered by everyone.

This is the most important part of the discussion, and so you must provide sufficient time of at least 15
to 20 minutes for it.
You should at last sum up all the points and give more points that you have.
SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION
From “The Science of Self Realization”
BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA -Pg 25)
Krishna consciousness is not a question of belief, it is a science.
The first step is to know the difference between a living body and a dead body. What is the difference?
The difference is that when someone dies, the spirit soul, or the living force, leaves the body. And
therefore the body is called “dead.” So there are two things: one is this body; and the other, the living
force within the body.

One must first understand that he is a soul, or something other than this body.
For example, as a child grows, he becomes a boy, the boy becomes a young man, the young man
becomes an adult, and the adult becomes an old man. Throughout all this time, although his body is
changing from a child to an old man, he still feels himself to be the same person, with the same
identity. The body is changing, but the occupier of the body, the soul is remaining the same.

So when your body is finished, annihilated, you are not finished. You get another body, just as you may
change your coat and shirt. If you come to see me tomorrow wearing a different shirt and a different
coat, does that mean that you are a different person?
No. Similarly, each time you die, you change your bodies, but you, the spirit soul within the body
remain the same. This point has to be understood. Then one can make further progress in the science of
Krsna consciousness.

The spirit soul is invisible to our material eyes. It is atomic in size. After the destruction of the gross
body, which is made up of the senses, blood, bone, fat, and so forth, the subtle body of mind,
intelligence and ego goes on working. So at the time of death, this subtle body carries the small spirit
soul to another gross body.

The process is just like air carrying fragrance. Nobody can see where this rose fragrance is coming
from, but we know that it is being carried by air. You cannot see how, but it is being done. Similarly,
the process of transmigration of the soul is very subtle. According to the condition of the mind at the
time of death, the minute spirit soul enters into the womb of a particular mother through the semen of a
father, and then the soul develops a particular type of body given by the mother. It may be a human
being; it may be a cat, a dog, or anything.

You are eternal. According to your work, you are simply changing bodies. Therefore, you should want
to know how to stop this business, how you can remain in your original, spiritual body. This is Krsna
consciousness.

Discovery:

1) What is the difference between a living body and a dead body?

Understanding:
1) Explain with an example, how we can understand that we keep changing our bodies, but we are the
eternal soul.
2) How does the soul transmigrate from one body to the next, at death?
3) Why do we get different types of bodies?
4) When can we stop changing our bodies?
Application:
1) Do you feel relieved to know that you are an eternal soul? Share your impressions.
Preaching session: 15 minutes 

Please read out first the passage given below:

From Preaching is the Essence

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada – Page 11
Lord Caitanya orders that the devotee should preach
A devotee must carry out the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “yare
dekha, tare kaha “Krsna”- upadesha”.

Every devotee, therefore should spread Krsna consciousness by preaching, asking whomever he meets to accept
the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Lord says, Sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just
surrender unto Me”. This is the order of the Lord, who speaks as the supreme emperor. Everyone should be
induced to accept this order, for this is victory (dig- vijaya). And it is the duty of the soldier, the devotee, to
impress upon everyone this philosophy of life.

Bhag 9.11.25

Explain to the members the purpose of the Krsna consciousness movement. How Srila Prabhupada
took the austerity of preaching both in his house- holder life as well as at the ripe old age of 70 to give
this spiritual knowledge to everyone. Also a brief account of how this movement has spread all over the
world.

You can read the Prabhupada lilamrita chapters ---------& ____________. Cover the following points: 1)
Srila Prabhupada was a busy householder with responsibilities of maintaining his family. Yet his
obligation to his spiritual master to preach the message of Krishna consciousness to others made him
publish the “Back to Godhead” magazine single handedly and also distributes it to all the people on the
streets.

2) He renounced his family life in his fifties just to prepare himself to go to the west. At the advanced
age of 70, renouncing his peaceful life in Vrindavana, he set sail in a cargo ship with no support or
money to the USA to give the message to the whole world to fulfill his spiritual master’s desire and
instructions.

3) How the movement has spread all over the since then with sincere disciples and followers helping
him in his mission. There were 108 temples when Srila Prabhupada left this planet and now it is still
growing. We have more than 400 temples, farms and restaurants all over the world, with millions of
followers of ISKCON all over the world.

4) By this congregational preaching, it is bound to bring the good fortune to more and more people.

Prasadam: 20 minutes
You can explain to them how the food you are serving them is not ordinary. It has been prepared with
great care and offered to the Lord while thinking about Him. Also how this honoring of prasadam will
give them great spiritual credit… destroy sins and give them faith and love for Krsna.

This will help them appreciate the value of prasadam and respect it.

Take great care in serving them the prasadam with attention, and also in having a light hearted
conversation with them while you are doing so.

They are learning everything from you. So you have to set a very good example as well, besides
making them feel comfortable with you.

Immediately after the members have left the program, kindly fill in the following report:

Please enter the details about your members attending this week:

No: Members Attendance Current Siksa status Remarks