[EDITOR'S NOTE: The title for this article was suggested by our Spiritual Master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]
Hawaii: The Pleasure Fair was a program for young people, held in the Waikiki Shell (a huge park and amphitheatre) on June 20 and 21, 12 noon till 12 midnight, which drew over 12,000 youth both days. There were musical performances, arts and crafts displays, distribution of young peoples’ publications, etc.
Goursundar, Balabhadra, Turyadas, and Frankie went in early on Thursday, June 19th, the day before the Fair opened, in order to construct our booth. They got a donation of small planks, which they nailed together to build a simple shed roof frame which they covered with canvas. The walls were made of bamboo screens. The next day they again came early and decorated the booth with altar, cloths, banners, etc. It was undoubtedly the nicest booth in the whole Fair. We got an electrical extension so that we could play the tape recorder and also use it as an amplifier in our kirtans there. We had a dozen friendly musicians for whom we got free passes to play with us on stage.
On the first day of the Pleasure Fair, we were supposed to open up the whole event at 12 noon with kirtan, but due to the Fair’s opening later than scheduled, we went on stage at 2:30. It was a really beautiful kirtan performance. Goursundar played rhythm guitar, Turyadas bass and Turya’s nice friend, John, played lead guitar, with drums, cymbals, flutes, sitar—and several giant amplifiers. We could be heard for blocks around! It was a beautiful band! People very much appreciated it, and many boys and girls sang along with us. The shell is like an outdoor acoustical amphitheatre. The stage has a huge concrete shell-shaped backing, which, along with the giant amplifiers, sends out sound clearly a great distance—so Hare Krishna was vibrating throughout the Fairgrounds, as well as in the outlying park where thousands could hear. So the first on-stage performance of the Hare Krishna Temple band was a huge success.
Then after kirtan, we opened our booth, where Lord Jagannath stood on a silk-covered altar bearing flowers of all sweet sorts. We offered and distributed noon prasadam to all passers-by, and we held kirtan off and on all day, talked with people, played kirtan and lecture tapes, Govinda album, and distributed coconut luddu prasadam. Many hundreds of youth passed, stopped, and gazed at the merciful Lord Jagannath. Toward evening many people came and stood in a circle by our booth chanting. We had aratrik announced on stage through the amplifiers, so everyone heard that at 8:00 a beautiful ceremony as is performed each evening in the ancient temples of India, aratrik, would be performed at the Hare Krishna Temple booth. Many came to see the beautiful ceremony, and Lord Jagannath seemed very pleased with all the people standing and clapping.
Hawaii: The Pleasure Fair was a program for young people, held in the Waikiki Shell (a huge park and amphitheatre) on June 20 and 21, 12 noon till 12 midnight, which drew over 12,000 youth both days. There were musical performances, arts and crafts displays, distribution of young peoples’ publications, etc.
Goursundar, Balabhadra, Turyadas, and Frankie went in early on Thursday, June 19th, the day before the Fair opened, in order to construct our booth. They got a donation of small planks, which they nailed together to build a simple shed roof frame which they covered with canvas. The walls were made of bamboo screens. The next day they again came early and decorated the booth with altar, cloths, banners, etc. It was undoubtedly the nicest booth in the whole Fair. We got an electrical extension so that we could play the tape recorder and also use it as an amplifier in our kirtans there. We had a dozen friendly musicians for whom we got free passes to play with us on stage.
On the first day of the Pleasure Fair, we were supposed to open up the whole event at 12 noon with kirtan, but due to the Fair’s opening later than scheduled, we went on stage at 2:30. It was a really beautiful kirtan performance. Goursundar played rhythm guitar, Turyadas bass and Turya’s nice friend, John, played lead guitar, with drums, cymbals, flutes, sitar—and several giant amplifiers. We could be heard for blocks around! It was a beautiful band! People very much appreciated it, and many boys and girls sang along with us. The shell is like an outdoor acoustical amphitheatre. The stage has a huge concrete shell-shaped backing, which, along with the giant amplifiers, sends out sound clearly a great distance—so Hare Krishna was vibrating throughout the Fairgrounds, as well as in the outlying park where thousands could hear. So the first on-stage performance of the Hare Krishna Temple band was a huge success.
Then after kirtan, we opened our booth, where Lord Jagannath stood on a silk-covered altar bearing flowers of all sweet sorts. We offered and distributed noon prasadam to all passers-by, and we held kirtan off and on all day, talked with people, played kirtan and lecture tapes, Govinda album, and distributed coconut luddu prasadam. Many hundreds of youth passed, stopped, and gazed at the merciful Lord Jagannath. Toward evening many people came and stood in a circle by our booth chanting. We had aratrik announced on stage through the amplifiers, so everyone heard that at 8:00 a beautiful ceremony as is performed each evening in the ancient temples of India, aratrik, would be performed at the Hare Krishna Temple booth. Many came to see the beautiful ceremony, and Lord Jagannath seemed very pleased with all the people standing and clapping.
One young man, known widely as Sai, came by our booth and bowed to make offering of fruit to the Lord. He chanted with us, and invited us over to his yoga tent to chant Hare Krishna. So at 9:00 we had a Hare Krishna parade over the hill. But up on the hill, where thousands of youth were roaming, the parade stopped and we were playing instruments and singing, and within minutes, a huge crowd of several hundred was jumping up and down, arms upstretched, dancing and chanting Hare Krishna joyously. This glimpse of Lord Chaitanya’s Mercy brought tears to the eyes of the devotees. This went on until we were asked to move on, because it was such loud singing that it was drowning out the group performing down on the stage, despite their amplifiers! So we had a big parade—chanting Hare Krishna—across the Fairgrounds. We tried to get to Sai’s booth, but the cops stopped us for some reason, so we all went back to the Hare Krishna Temple booth! (Lord Jagannath was happy to receive so many chanters.) We had a beautiful kirtan at our little outdoor temple. Sai later came to our Sunday Love Feast, and chanted with us, took prasad, and invited us to his ashram to hold a big Samkirtan party in the future.
Goursundar, Balabhadra, and Turyadas remained overnight at the Fairgrounds with Lord Jagannath, and Sudama, Jadurany, Jayasri and myself all came home about 2 a.m. to rest for Saturday’s 12 hour engagement there.
When we arrived back at the Fairgrounds on Saturday noon, we learned that Jesse (the boy who promoted the Fair) wanted to have a parade all the way down the Waikiki beach to advertise his Pleasure Fair. So we took up the idea, and began immediately to build a Jagannath Car (Vamandev did it in less than an hour!) and covered it with silks, and flower garlands, so that within an hour we had a very beautiful carry-car for Jagannath—to be borne on the shoulders of Balabhadra and Turyadas. We led the parade. About a hundred followed the cart out the Fair gates and down the side walk-Jagannath was going to the beach! We walked along the beach, chanting, playing mridanga and kartals, and hundreds of people saw the Lord’s parade. Some joined, some chanted, some only clapped, and many did nothing but watch the procession in wonder. We went down the full length of Waikiki beach and returned to the sidewalk of Kalakaua, the busiest street in Honolulu, all singing loudly Harer Nama. Many, many more saw in awe the Lord’s Pleasure Ride. We went through the International Marketplace, where hundreds heard the echo of the chanting—and, as we were told later, a radio microphone in the International Marketplace was lowered and the echo of our kirtan went over the air to hundreds more! Back on Kalakaua a number of “hippies” joined us, dancing and chanting down the sidewalk. On approaching the Shell fairgrounds, we invited them all to our Temple booth, where they joined us for aratrik and kirtan. We offered some apple juice (donated by Jesse) and distributed it to all the people in the parade. It was all very beautiful-everything perfectly timed, due to Lord Jagannath’s Mercy.
When we arrived back at the Fairgrounds on Saturday noon, we learned that Jesse (the boy who promoted the Fair) wanted to have a parade all the way down the Waikiki beach to advertise his Pleasure Fair. So we took up the idea, and began immediately to build a Jagannath Car (Vamandev did it in less than an hour!) and covered it with silks, and flower garlands, so that within an hour we had a very beautiful carry-car for Jagannath—to be borne on the shoulders of Balabhadra and Turyadas. We led the parade. About a hundred followed the cart out the Fair gates and down the side walk-Jagannath was going to the beach! We walked along the beach, chanting, playing mridanga and kartals, and hundreds of people saw the Lord’s parade. Some joined, some chanted, some only clapped, and many did nothing but watch the procession in wonder. We went down the full length of Waikiki beach and returned to the sidewalk of Kalakaua, the busiest street in Honolulu, all singing loudly Harer Nama. Many, many more saw in awe the Lord’s Pleasure Ride. We went through the International Marketplace, where hundreds heard the echo of the chanting—and, as we were told later, a radio microphone in the International Marketplace was lowered and the echo of our kirtan went over the air to hundreds more! Back on Kalakaua a number of “hippies” joined us, dancing and chanting down the sidewalk. On approaching the Shell fairgrounds, we invited them all to our Temple booth, where they joined us for aratrik and kirtan. We offered some apple juice (donated by Jesse) and distributed it to all the people in the parade. It was all very beautiful-everything perfectly timed, due to Lord Jagannath’s Mercy.
At our booth we chanted and played recordings all day, and hundreds of people came throughout the course of the evening. There was a constant turnover of young people. We would take turns leading kirtan, with the help of the recorder as amplifier, and many joined us, asked questions, read our literature, etc.
Toward evening, I was crossing the hill and, passing an enclosed tent, I peeked in to see an altar with a man’s picture, flowers, candles, etc., and learned that it was a booth glorifying a prominent “incarnation” of God. A young man inside was giving an informal talk to a dozen or so persons, so I stopped in to see what he was saying. He was speaking of love of God, and how this could be achieved by a process of elevation through sense gratification, yogic powers, etc. At the highest point, he said, we understand that we are God.
I was astonished to hear these things, so I questioned him. “What scriptures do you follow?”
He said, “His own writings.”
“Who is this man you are worshiping?”
He said, “He is an avatar of God, he is Rama and he is Krishna.”
The so-called incarnation he was speaking of actually has none of the qualifications of God, and I was becoming angry that such an ordinary mortal was being passed off as the Supreme Lord. I began to speak loudly so that all could hear: “You have no scripture, you have no disciplic succession, you are blindly following the teachings of this rascal! What proof do you have that this man is God? Has he shown you any evidence? Krishna lifted Goverdhan Hill as a Child when He appeared on this planet, but this man has not done any wonderful thing. Rather, I see by his picture that he is old and wrinkled and ugly, ready for death to take him; and yet you so foolishly believe that he is God. In the Vedas, the avatars’ appearances are fully described along with the birthplace and philosophy of each avatar. There is no mention of this rascal! You say that he is the last avatar of this age, but the Vedic authorities say that Kalki will come in 427,000 years. You fail to mention Lord Chaitanya, who appeared 486 years ago, and propagated the Samkirtan movement all over India, who drenched the universe in love of Godhead. His mission, His golden color—everything—was described by Vyasadeva, the compiler of all the Vedas, 5,000 years ago. But instead of accepting the authorized incarnation of Lord Chaitanya, you believe the word of an ordinary man who tells you, ‘I am God, and you can become God too,’ without even asking for scriptural evidence or proof of his lordship. This is very unfortunate.
Toward evening, I was crossing the hill and, passing an enclosed tent, I peeked in to see an altar with a man’s picture, flowers, candles, etc., and learned that it was a booth glorifying a prominent “incarnation” of God. A young man inside was giving an informal talk to a dozen or so persons, so I stopped in to see what he was saying. He was speaking of love of God, and how this could be achieved by a process of elevation through sense gratification, yogic powers, etc. At the highest point, he said, we understand that we are God.
I was astonished to hear these things, so I questioned him. “What scriptures do you follow?”
He said, “His own writings.”
“Who is this man you are worshiping?”
He said, “He is an avatar of God, he is Rama and he is Krishna.”
The so-called incarnation he was speaking of actually has none of the qualifications of God, and I was becoming angry that such an ordinary mortal was being passed off as the Supreme Lord. I began to speak loudly so that all could hear: “You have no scripture, you have no disciplic succession, you are blindly following the teachings of this rascal! What proof do you have that this man is God? Has he shown you any evidence? Krishna lifted Goverdhan Hill as a Child when He appeared on this planet, but this man has not done any wonderful thing. Rather, I see by his picture that he is old and wrinkled and ugly, ready for death to take him; and yet you so foolishly believe that he is God. In the Vedas, the avatars’ appearances are fully described along with the birthplace and philosophy of each avatar. There is no mention of this rascal! You say that he is the last avatar of this age, but the Vedic authorities say that Kalki will come in 427,000 years. You fail to mention Lord Chaitanya, who appeared 486 years ago, and propagated the Samkirtan movement all over India, who drenched the universe in love of Godhead. His mission, His golden color—everything—was described by Vyasadeva, the compiler of all the Vedas, 5,000 years ago. But instead of accepting the authorized incarnation of Lord Chaitanya, you believe the word of an ordinary man who tells you, ‘I am God, and you can become God too,’ without even asking for scriptural evidence or proof of his lordship. This is very unfortunate.
“In the last half-century, so many of these cheaters have come to this country from India to mislead the people, proclaiming, ‘I am God,’ and holding in their hand a cigarette or a wine bottle. What kind of foolishness is this? We are all suffering in this material world, kicked this way and that like dogs, and yet you say you are God? You can never become God! You are conditioned, controlled by God. God is supreme, you are minute. Qualitatively you are one with God, you have in your pure spiritual state godly qualities, but you can never become quantitatively as great as God. We are simultaneously one and different—qualitatively one but quantitatively different—like the gold ring and the gold mine. The quality is the same, but one is far more vast. Krishna states it plainly in The Bhagavad Gita: ‘My dear Arjuna, all these living entities are My parts and parcels.’ But instead of accepting Krishna’s words as they are, you are listening to some fool who will only mislead you. He can never give you any proof of his lordship. Krishna showed His Universal Form. He said to Arjuna, ‘You just surrender unto Me!’ But rather than do that simple thing, you choose to follow the imperfect speculations of some so-called swami, and consequently you are being completely misled.”
The young man was very astonished to hear that we could never become God. He tried to argue, but was defeated on every point. Appearing like a fool before so many people, the boy was very upset and tried to compromise and stop the argument. He said, “All right, I will come down to your booth and we can discuss it further,” and he called in one senior student to talk with me.
The young man was very astonished to hear that we could never become God. He tried to argue, but was defeated on every point. Appearing like a fool before so many people, the boy was very upset and tried to compromise and stop the argument. He said, “All right, I will come down to your booth and we can discuss it further,” and he called in one senior student to talk with me.
A girl in the crowd was upset because I wasn’t “emanating love.” I told her, “How can I emanate love? This rascal is misleading so many people, and I am feeling compassion for them on account of their innocence. If the boy next to you was trying to kill you, should I not say something to stop him? Or do you think I should stand quietly, emanating love, and watch him murder you?”
She insisted, “I am everywhere, I am everything,” but I showed her that this was not possible. “You are finite, and are confined to your body. You cannot experience the pains and pleasures of my body, nor at any time in the future will such awareness come to pass. Why don’t you take Krishna’s teaching in Bhagavad Gita?”
She said, “Krishna was one man only, and there are many others to listen to. It doesn’t matter which way you do it; it’s all the same thing.”
I showed her the flaws in her thinking. In every Veda Krishna is established as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; never is He said to be just an ordinary person; this is stated plainly in The Bhagavad Gita and confirmed by Vedic authorities. But the girl was unable to abandon her misconceptions about the identity of God.
The senior student arrived on the scene, holding a cigarette. So I questioned him: “You claim to be God, but I see that you are serving Maya: does that mean Maya is greater than God?”
He said, “It doesn’t matter what I do, I can do anything, smoke 25 packs a day. That doesn’t change anything. It’s love that matters.”
I said, “You cannot share your love between God and Maya. If you really love God there will be some symptoms, and I see only symptoms of service to Maya.” I led him to our booth, and he began to tell me how he had been searching for God over nine years, and was still perplexed. “I’ve been studying for over nine years with so many different mental speculators, and I’m tired of intellectual games; I don’t want to argue.”
I told him, “O.K. You’ve tried these rascals for nine years, now you try Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” and I put on a kirtan tape. He sat and listened to it, and the younger student also came down the hill and joined him.
He asked me if there was any kind of literature about our movement. I showed him The Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Back to Godhead; he wanted to buy a Gita but had little money, so he bought a Godhead. He admitted, “This way may prove better,” and said that he would like to learn more about Krishna consciousness.
Suddenly, a man came to our booth and began arguing that it is possible for something to generate from nothing (there was no necessity of a God or Creator), so Goursundar challenged him and told him that something can never originate from nothing. He offered evidence: we have no experience of something which has been spontaneously generated from nothing. Sometimes, in India, a scorpion is found in a bag of rice, and the less intelligent people think that the rice has produced the scorpion; but those who are intelligent can understand that actually the scorpion must have come from an egg laid by a mother scorpion. Similarly, some people may think that life has been spontaneously generated from matter, but those who are intelligent know that all life is the creation of God. The man was unable to defeat these arguments, and he became so angry that he struck Goursundar on the chin.
Goursundar was bleeding, and we were scheduled to appear on stage again. It took fifteen minutes to bandage Goursundar’s chin, and then we appeared on stage chanting Hare Krishna as the grand finale of the Fair. There were thousands of young people in the audience who appreciated our amplified kirtan. Afterward, we took Goursundar to the hospital, where he had to have ten stitches in his chin.
Having received bona fide spiritual knowledge from our Spiritual Master, it is our responsibility to spread this knowledge, even though there may be some inconvenience or even some danger of bodily harm. At least, because I have a girl’s body, when I shout and defeat the impersonalists, they may become very angry but they never hit me.
Not only did we have the opportunity of defeating the impersonalists and atheists who take pleasure in misleading innocent people, but thousands of people were able to enjoy the actual spiritual bliss of chanting Hare Krishna—Supreme Pleasure at the Pleasure Fair.
She insisted, “I am everywhere, I am everything,” but I showed her that this was not possible. “You are finite, and are confined to your body. You cannot experience the pains and pleasures of my body, nor at any time in the future will such awareness come to pass. Why don’t you take Krishna’s teaching in Bhagavad Gita?”
She said, “Krishna was one man only, and there are many others to listen to. It doesn’t matter which way you do it; it’s all the same thing.”
I showed her the flaws in her thinking. In every Veda Krishna is established as the Supreme Personality of Godhead; never is He said to be just an ordinary person; this is stated plainly in The Bhagavad Gita and confirmed by Vedic authorities. But the girl was unable to abandon her misconceptions about the identity of God.
The senior student arrived on the scene, holding a cigarette. So I questioned him: “You claim to be God, but I see that you are serving Maya: does that mean Maya is greater than God?”
He said, “It doesn’t matter what I do, I can do anything, smoke 25 packs a day. That doesn’t change anything. It’s love that matters.”
I said, “You cannot share your love between God and Maya. If you really love God there will be some symptoms, and I see only symptoms of service to Maya.” I led him to our booth, and he began to tell me how he had been searching for God over nine years, and was still perplexed. “I’ve been studying for over nine years with so many different mental speculators, and I’m tired of intellectual games; I don’t want to argue.”
I told him, “O.K. You’ve tried these rascals for nine years, now you try Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” and I put on a kirtan tape. He sat and listened to it, and the younger student also came down the hill and joined him.
He asked me if there was any kind of literature about our movement. I showed him The Bhagavad Gita As It Is and Back to Godhead; he wanted to buy a Gita but had little money, so he bought a Godhead. He admitted, “This way may prove better,” and said that he would like to learn more about Krishna consciousness.
Suddenly, a man came to our booth and began arguing that it is possible for something to generate from nothing (there was no necessity of a God or Creator), so Goursundar challenged him and told him that something can never originate from nothing. He offered evidence: we have no experience of something which has been spontaneously generated from nothing. Sometimes, in India, a scorpion is found in a bag of rice, and the less intelligent people think that the rice has produced the scorpion; but those who are intelligent can understand that actually the scorpion must have come from an egg laid by a mother scorpion. Similarly, some people may think that life has been spontaneously generated from matter, but those who are intelligent know that all life is the creation of God. The man was unable to defeat these arguments, and he became so angry that he struck Goursundar on the chin.
Goursundar was bleeding, and we were scheduled to appear on stage again. It took fifteen minutes to bandage Goursundar’s chin, and then we appeared on stage chanting Hare Krishna as the grand finale of the Fair. There were thousands of young people in the audience who appreciated our amplified kirtan. Afterward, we took Goursundar to the hospital, where he had to have ten stitches in his chin.
Having received bona fide spiritual knowledge from our Spiritual Master, it is our responsibility to spread this knowledge, even though there may be some inconvenience or even some danger of bodily harm. At least, because I have a girl’s body, when I shout and defeat the impersonalists, they may become very angry but they never hit me.
Not only did we have the opportunity of defeating the impersonalists and atheists who take pleasure in misleading innocent people, but thousands of people were able to enjoy the actual spiritual bliss of chanting Hare Krishna—Supreme Pleasure at the Pleasure Fair.