Srila Prabhupada lectures at the City Hall, Oct 12 1975.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada), lectured at the grand City Hall (above), a national heritage site, on Sunday October 12 1975. Below is an extract from the book- Destination South Africa, by Riddha dasa that describes his visit to Pietermaritzburg.
“At 2.30 p.m. Srila Prabhupada was due to lecture at Pietermaritzburg City Hall. During an hour-long journey by road to Pietermaritzburg, Prabhupada passed a number of large white buildings several hundred yards from the roadside. They were being used by a farmer to raise chickens for slaughter.
Srila Prabhupada said, surprisingly, “Why do they bother? Why don’t they just take some liquid and cover it with some kind of shell and make a chicken? But,” he continued, “they cannot do that.” He spoke about this for perhaps fifteen minutes, relishing the concept that life comes from the soul. Life cannot be fabricated by mixing chemicals. He was making statements about the necessity of the presence of the soul in the existence of even a chicken embryo. He repeated his challenge, saying, “What is the difficulty? You take some liquid and then cover it with some firm shell-like thing, and then make a chicken. But these fools and rascals cannot do this.”
In this way, even in the course of an uneventful drive, Pusta Krsna Swami could see how Srila Prabhupada was critically studying his surroundings and finding preaching opportunities.
Srila Prabhupada’s South African tour had been publicised in the Natal Witness newspaper on Saturday, October 11th 1975. It carried a notification of the city hall programme in Pietermaritzburg with the heading “Swami to Give Lecture in City.”
Word soon got around, and the deputy principal and staff of a local high school were encouraged to attend by the principal. At the programme, the film The World of Hare Krishna and Prabhupada’s lecture had a lasting effect on many of the several hundred Hindus who attended. For them this was the opportunity of a lifetime and the seeds of devotion were planted. Many people obtained books, such as Bhagavad-gita As It Is, which would nurture their spiritual being. This was no ordinary meeting.
As a result of this interaction, years later the deputy principal became a full-time devotee, now known as Lokabandhu dasa. Srila Prabhupada enjoyed his tour in South Africa so much he told Pusta kKsna Swami that if the programmes were to continue in this way he was prepared to stay on, indefinitely.”
Please visit our Activities link and join in these joyful programs.
Activities for your spiritual nourishment!
Programs
Spiritual Outreach.
Our regular programs include worship, spiritual discourses, cultural & devotional items (dance, drama, chanting, and singing) and a free vegetarian feast. 
Please join us at any of these venues below. We appreciate your participation, attendance is free and all are welcome.
Weekly Programs:
Day: Tuesday
Time: 17h30 – 19h00
Venue: 5 Roseveare Road, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg.
Contact: Vaishnav Pran das Contact: (Email)
Day: Wednesday
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Venue: Clifton Road, Athlone, Pietermaritzburg.
Contact: Alkananda Cell: 072 026 0086
Day: Thursday
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Venue: 584 Greytown Road, Raisethorpe, Pietermaritzburg. (SDA House, next to Shell Garage)
Contact: Madhukanta Phone: 033 387 4583
Day: Friday
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Venue: Deccan Road Primary School, Deccan Road, Pietermaritzburg.
Contact: Sunil Singh Phone: 033 397 1923
Day: Friday
Time: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Venue: Sri Kalki Nevas, 168 Paradise Road, Orient Heights, Pietermaritzburg.
Contact: Baladev Phone: 033 391 0842
Day: Sunday
Time: 7:00am – 9:00am
Venue: 584 Greytown Road, Raisethorpe, Pietermaritzburg. (SDA House, next to Shell Garage)
Contact: Madhukanta Phone: 033 387 4583
Bhakti Yoga Society:
Day: Wednesday
Time: 1 – 2pm
Venue: Margaret Kirwoord Room, University of KZN, Pietermaritzburg Campus.
Please go to: www.bys.org.za/pmb
Hare Krishna Food for Life:
Free vegetarian meals are distributed to the public – schools, hospitals, townships, city centre, etc. Please see Food_for_life link on the left for more information.
Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture:
Study the scriptures systematically. All courses are led by learned and senior teachers with in-depth knowledge, experience, realization and solid practical application of ancient Vedic scriptures. Courses progress from certificate level to post-graduate (PhD) level.
Courses are also available via correspondence. Please contact us or email BCEC@pamho.net for more info.
Please see contact_us link above to keep in touch with us.
On Chanting Hare Krishna.
Chanting Hare Krishna.
The transcendental vibration established by the chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, is the sublime method for reviving our transcendental consciousness As living spiritual souls, we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now living, is called Maya, or illusion. Maya means that which is not. And what is this illusion? The illusion is that we are all trying to be lords of material nature, while actually we are under the grip of her stringent laws. When a servant artificially tries to imitate the all-powerful master, it is called illusion. We are trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in her complexities. Therefore, although we are engaged in a hard struggle to conquer nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory struggle against material nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal Krishna consciousness.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare is the transcendental process for reviving this original pure consciousness. By chanting this transcendental vibration, we can cleanse away all misgivings within our hearts. The basic principle of all such misgivings is the false consciousness that I am the lord of all I survey.
Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This consciousness is the original natural energy of the living entity. When we hear the transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of meditation is recommended for this age. By practical experience also, one can perceive that by chanting this maha-mantra, or the Great Chanting for Deliverance, one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy coming through from the spiritual stratum. In the material concept of life we are busy in the matter of sense gratification as if we were in the lower animal stage. A little elevated from this status of sense gratification, one is engaged in mental speculation for the purpose of getting out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status, when one is intelligent enough, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes—within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understanding, surpassing the stages of sense, mind and intelligence, he is then on the transcendental plane. This chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is enacted from the spiritual platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness—namely sensual, mental and intellectual. There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation nor any intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It is automatic, from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in vibrating this transcendental sound without any previous qualification. In a more advanced stage, of course, one is not expected to commit offenses on grounds of spiritual understanding.
In the beginning, there may not be the presence of all transcendental ecstasies, which are eight in number. These are: (1) Being stopped as though dumb, (2) perspiration, (3) standing up of hairs on the body, (4) dislocation of voice, (5) trembling, (6) fading of the body, (7) crying in ecstasy, and (8) trance. But there is no doubt that chanting for a while takes one immediately to the spiritual platform, and one shows the first symptom of this in the urge to dance along with the chanting of the mantra. We have seen this practically. Even a child can take part in the chanting and dancing. Of course, for one who is too entangled in material life, it takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such a materially engrossed man is raised to the spiritual platform very quickly. When it is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved. As far as possible, chanting from the lips of nondevotees should be avoided. Milk touched by the lips of a serpent has poisonous effects.
The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna and Rama mean the supreme pleasure, and Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare (Hah-ray) in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord.
The material energy, called Maya, is also one of the multi-energies of the Lord. And we the living entities are also the energy, marginal energy, of the Lord. The living entities are described as superior to material energy. When the superior energy is in contact with the inferior energy, an incompatible situation arises; but when the superior marginal energy is in contact with the superior energy, called Hara, it is established in its happy, normal condition.
These three words, namely Hara, Krishna and Rama, are the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chanting is a spiritual call for the Lord and His energy, to give protection to the conditioned soul. This chanting is exactly like the genuine cry of a child for its mother’s presence. Mother Hara helps the devotee achieve the Lord Father’s grace, and the Lord reveals Himself to the devotee who chants this mantra sincerely.
No other means of spiritual realization is as effective in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy as the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
Author: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
ISKCON in Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital city of the scenic and diverse KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, it is situated approximately 80 kilometres north-west of the coastal Durban City.
His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder spiritual master (Acharya), visited the city of Pietermaritzburg in 1975 and since then the Krishna Consciousness society has been established as an important spiritual, educatiional and humanitarian institution.
Regular spiritual discourses, cultural presentations and general humanitarian outreach is well received by the city’s diverse community.
Feel free to contact us to learn more about the philosophy and culture. Please browse the links above and especially the Contact_Us link for questions, comments, suggestions and details about our activities.
