Invidious

Yesterday, I went to San Francisco to see the illustrious Bhakti SF. And as it turned out, it's the new center, and this was the first time I've been there to the new place. It's only several blocks from where I joined the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement way back when, which was 52 years ago in San Francisco. And it was nostalgic for me, especially because when I got there at the center, there were these beautiful, effulgent devotees standing outside the center that looked like good old-fashioned Hare Kṛṣṇas, and they were chanting with so much enthusiasm. It reminded me of the first time I drove up to the Hare Kṛṣṇa temple on Valencia Street, which turns out to be 455 Valencia. I just remember the contrast of seeing the temple for the first time—it said "Radha Kṛṣṇa Temple" on the outside—and the sidewalk was painted with lotus flowers on it, and I saw devotees with their saffron robes on and so forth, and I said, "Get me in there." I felt the same thing yesterday when I pulled up at Bhakti SF.

Devotees were so enthusiastic and so innocent and just drinking the holy name. And then I observed the people of San Francisco who are noticeably downtrodden. I mean, even those who are not passed out on the sidewalk (and there are quite a few of them), they seemed a little bit beleaguered and beaten up. And then when I heard The Holy Name, I felt, "Yeah, the sun has come up," and I'm resonating with what you said about how important it is to take out the holy name, even if we seem to be not comparable to the big corporations. They're wantonly building all over the Bay Area. They build these huge buildings, and they can barely fill them up, and then they have so much going on with research and so forth. But where does it all end? It doesn't end in a place where anybody really feels satisfied. But simple Hare Kṛṣṇa, simple hearing the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra, just read Kṛṣṇa's book, have a little hot milk, take rest, wake up, worship Tulasī Devī, chant your rounds, and associate with devotees as much as possible. Try to be a kind friend to all living beings by opening your house so other people can come in. You don't have to be a big hero. You can be a small, private hero. Control your senses, follow four regulative principles, and from this process, which Caitanya Mahāprabhu shows is the authorized way ,by following the śāstra, and He approved of this method, we can have festivals, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and go back home, back to Godhead.

(excerpt from the talk 'The Price of Admission Into Bhakti' , 06 Apr 2025, ISV)

49:41 https://youtu.be/RAIOavWzpR8?t=2980 (link with timestamp)