SPD03-02 Happiness on Second Avenue

[8:23 minutes]

[00:04] [Reed Colins:] I'm Reed Colins.

[00:07] Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare.

[00:12] A hypnotic rhythmic chant of sixteen words has replaced LSD and other drugs for some in New York's East Village.

[00:20] On Second Avenue and First Street is a storefront in which a Hindu swami has set up shop.

[00:26] There, his American disciples are learning about Krsna consciousness.

[04:12] [Hayagriva:] And in nature we have all of the beautiful things and ugly things. We have duality.

[04:20] But the chant is to get us out of nature and into Krsna's superior..., superior universe, which is the spiritual universe.

[04:29] And this is what the chant is really intended to do, is to take you off into eternity.

[04:35] I started chanting in July. I was taking... I was still taking LSD at the time, but he was against LSD. He said...

[04:45] I told him, "What do you think of my taking LSD for my spiritual realization, expanded consciousness?"

[04:51] I was interested in staying high forever, as it were,

[04:57] maintaining an awareness of the universe that was flowing through me and passed me at every second of my life.

[05:05] He said, "Oh," he said, "that's not necessary." He said, "Your spiritual life is already here."

[05:09] He said, "You don't need to take anything for your spiritual life."

[05:12] And I knew he was right, and he had that exalted state of consciousness. I sensed it.

[05:17] And I knew he didn't take anything.

[05:19] And I knew that I wanted this state of consciousness, and he could teach it to me.

[05:25] [Kirtanananda:] Krsna consciousness is nothing but the moment-to-moment realization that nothing is yours-

[05:32] neither anything you use in this world or your body or even your mind.

[05:39] Krsna is our divine father, the one Lord. It doesn't make any difference what you call Him:

[05:44] Allah, Muhammad, or Buddha, or Jehovah, Christ. There's only one.

[05:53] Krsna is our father. All things are His. And we have happiness, true happiness, when we use all things for Him.

[06:04] [Brahmananda:] I practice my Krsna consciousness by chanting when I work and on my way to work.

[06:10] And this is what we ask all good people, to try chanting. Try it when you wake up in the morning.

[06:15] Try it on your way to work on the subway. I know I chant every day on the way to work in the subway.

[06:20] Other people are kicking and shoving, I'm chanting, and I enjoy my subway ride.

[kirtana in temple room]

[07:39] [Brahmananda:] And now we're going to go uptown to St Marks Place to do our kirtana

[07:43] and spread joy and peace to the people of New York.

[07:46] We invite all our friends to join us. Hare Krsna.