Week 3

During the week since your last programme, 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 in the following week, there is nothing to be disheartened about. It takes
time for people, even favourable people to make a commitment to be regular in their
attendance week after week.

As they enter, you can make them feel more secure by virtue of the familiarity due to the
last visits and enquire as to 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 Krishna 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
programme, at least for the sake of not to be thought of as tardy.

Ice breaker: 15 minutes

After you have introduced any new visitor, 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.

Kirtan: 15 minutes

Continue as in the previous weeks by distributing the sheet containing the pranama
mantras and the Hare Krishna mantra as well as the glorifications at the end of the
kirtana.
Have a sweet but simple kirtan for 15 minutes, so that they all feel comfortable to
participate and learn the tune. It is very important that they understand and 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 to some of the other
programmes which have a longer duration. If the Kirtan time is extended then you will
not have sufficient time for the other sessions that are equally important and necessary for
them.
Japa…. 15 minutes
First read out the following passage from:
 The Nectar of the Holy Name

Lord Sri Krishna personally came as Lord Chaitanya in order to distribute the process of
chanting—the easiest means, in this age, to the highest perfection of life:
Out of many thousands of persons who are in self-knowledge as to what and who they
are, only one or two may be actually liberated. And out of many thousands who are
liberated, only one or two may understand what and who Krishna is. So understanding
Krishna is not such an easy job.

Thus in this age of Kali, an age characterized by ignorance and chaos, liberation is out of
the reach of practically everyone. One has to go through the whole ordeal of becoming
civilized, then religious, and then one has to perform charities and sacrifices and come to
the platform of knowledge, then to the stage of liberation, and finally, after liberation, to
the understanding of what Krishna is.... Practically speaking, this process is not very easy
in this age of Kali. In Srimad Bhagavatam, a description is given of the people of this
age. Their duration of life is said to be very short, they tend to be phlegmatic and slow
and to sleep a great deal, and when they're not sleeping, they are busy earning money. At
the most they only have two hours a day for spiritual activities, so what is the hope for
spiritual understanding? It is also stated that even if one is anxious to make spiritual
progress, there are many pseudo-spiritual societies to take advantage of him. People are
also characterized in this age as being unfortunate. They have a great deal of difficulty
meeting the primary demands of life—eating, defending, mating, and sleeping—
necessities which are met even by the animals. Even if people are meeting these
necessities in this age, they are always anxious about war, either defending themselves
from aggressors or having to go to war themselves. In addition to this, there are always
disturbing diseases and economic problems in Kali-yuga. Therefore Lord Sri Krishna
considered that in this age it is impossible for people to come to the perfection stage of
liberation by following the prescribed rules and regulations.

Thus out of His causeless mercy, Sri Krishna came as Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and
distributed the means to the highest perfection of life and spiritual ecstasy by the chanting
of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This process of chanting is most practical and it does not depend
on whether one is liberated or not or whether one's condition is conducive to spiritual life
or not—whoever takes to this process becomes immediately purified. Therefore it is
called pavitram (pure). Furthermore, for one who takes to this Krishna Consciousness
process, the seeds of latent reactions to his sinful actions are all nullified. Just as a fire
turns whatever we put into it to ashes, this process turns to ashes all the sinful reactions of
our past lives.

Raja-vidya: The King of Knowledge

Chant loudly together one mala on the beads after chanting the Pancatattva 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 programme.

Spiritual Edification - 45 minutes

Discussion: 45 minutes

Please read out the passage below 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 getting a clearer understanding of
the subject matter and in giving relevant replies.

The application question ideally has to be answered by everyone. This will give you a
good idea about how well each one has understood the philosophy, how serious they are
about spiritual life and any practical problems or obstacles that they may be facing.

Nevertheless in the first few weeks, some of them may be too shy to open up especially
during the application session, as it is quite personal, and so you can just gently
encourage them to answer it without applying too much pressure. As the weeks go by
they will get the enthusiasm to participate.
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.
In the end you should sum up all the points and add more points that you have prepared.

Passage for Discussion

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, i.e. 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 Krishna 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 Krishna 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) Explain how the soul transmigrates 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:

The Lord descended as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to deliver the entire

world:

Advaita Acharya was always absorbed in the thoughts of how to deliver the fallen souls
of the entire world. "The entire world is full of nondevotees," He thought. "How will they
be delivered?" Determined to deliver all the fallen souls, Advaita Acharya decided to
cause Krishna to descend.

With this vow, He began to offer Ganges water and tulasi leaves to worship the Lord.
Similarly, Haridasa Thakura chanted in his cave on the bank of the Ganges with the
intention to cause Krishna's descent. Because of the devotional service of these two
persons; Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu descended as an incarnation. Thus, He
preached the holy name of the Lord and ecstatic love of Krishna to deliver the entire
world.

Cc Antya 3.223-226

Explain to the members the purpose of the Krsna Conscious 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 give a brief account of how this movement has
spread all over the world.

You can read and prepare from the Prabhupada lilamrita. 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 distribute 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 in order to fulfill his
Spiritual Master’s desire and instructions.

3) How the movement has spread all over the world 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 honouring of
prasadam will give them great spiritual credit, destroy sins and give them faith and love for
Krishna.

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:

Names Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Remarks

A S A S A S A S A S

EFFORTS
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Total
1 No. of Mails
2 No. of Telephone Calls
3 No. of Home Visits
4 No. of Service Donors
5 No. of Money Donors
Abbreviations: A= Attendance, S= Siksha level