famous devotees

[Haridham]

hey guys, I sometimes see tags at the bottom of your posts like "Chant hare krsna and your life will be sublime"

 

amongst other things, how do i add that.

 

Hare Krsna.

[gHari]

Devotees:<blockquote>George Harrison, Hayley Mills</blockquote>

 

Chanting Mahamantra:<blockquote>Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Chrissie Hind, Boy George, Lady Madonna, </blockquote>

 

Eating Prasadam:<blockquote>Anthony Hopkins, girl from Matrix, Atma knows a bunch (see movie threads in WORLD REVIEW section)</blockquote>

 

I would like to suggest that the people who try to ridicule devotees are the ones who think of Krsna consciousness as a cult, who see only the externals; perhaps because their experience of it is itself only external. It's much more than a haircut or dress or healthy living habits. We shouldn't get too proud of the 4 regs (even the monkey is a vegetarian who doesn't watch TV, snort marijuana or buy lotto tickets).

 

We see Krsna assume positions of the impersonalist Buddha and the poison gobbling Siva, each for a specific purpose. If George supported many groups at death then these groups will be remembering him, just as the Buddhists remember Sri Krsna in His incarnation as the Buddha.

 

gHari

 

P.S. Haridham, the stuff at the bottom of each post is called a signature and is specified by editing your personal information section found by clicking "MY HOME" at the top of this page.

[Haridham]

Hey Thank you for telling me about the signature.

 

I will think of one and put it up there or down there.

 

Hare Krsna

Haridham

[stonehearted]

Peter Sellers was supposed to have beena regular attendee at the temple in LA and very enthusiastic in kirtan.

[Priitaa]

"Chanting Mahamantra:

Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Chrissie Hind, Boy George, Lady Madonna, "

 

Tom Petty? Tell me more. (I know he was a friend of George's and wonder if George had any significant influence over him.)

 

Madona is Jewish now. Dylan is Christian.

 

Also, oh her name slips my mind but I know it! Anyway, she was the little girl in the movie ET, now an adult. About a year or two ago, she went to the LA temple and danced in kirtana. I think also went to the gift shop. Can't believe I forget her name, but someone here will know it.

 

Next, how about those who 'still' are into the MahaMantra. That is, its nice to read of those who gave it a shot, but many of them are no longer interested. So who is still interested, who lost interest, and what new celebs can help spread the holy name now?

[Haridham]

Stevie wonder liked the Mahamantra.

[stonehearted]

Drew Barrymore.

 

Dylan has been Christian a couple of times. I knew a devotee, Pavanadeva das, who spent considerable energy preaching to and chanting with Dylan in '73 & '74.

[Guest guest]

 

what new celebs can help spread the holy name now?

 

 

Srila Prabhupada was the best celebrity of them all.

 

[Govindaram]

huh?

 

Happy 1000 posts Govind

 

may u live 2 posts more nectar!

 

LOL /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

Ps i hope this is my last post

i don't seem to contribute much.

 

Neophyte over.

[Priitaa]

And GovindaRam,

 

Why can't celebs help spread the Holy Name? Otherwise, why did Prabhupada bother with them? His interest in them was only to push on the chanting of Hare Krishna. He was very pleased with George H because he spread the holy name to so many. It is not limited to him. Anyone can become a devotee, even a celebrity. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[theist]

George Harrison put out the maha-mantra as a single and it was #1 in England for a while and popular here in the US as well.

 

Just after my short attempt at temple life I walked into a donut shop. The line was long and I wandered over to the juke box. There it was. The Hare Krsna mantra. I dropped in my dime and the Harinama was on.

 

Hard to measure how many millions of people heard the devotees chanting Hare Krsna just from that one single. George working under Prabhupada's inspiration played a huge part in spreading the name to so many towns and villages.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Mukunda Maharaja and Shyamasundara were with George Harrison the days before and during his passing. George asked specially for them to be with him at the moment of death. No propaganda, fact.

[Priitaa]

 

Mukunda Maharaja and Shyamasundara were with George Harrison the days before and during his passing. George asked specially for them to be with him at the moment of death. No propaganda, fact.

 

 

Sorry, this is not fact. Tho they were with him during the last days, but not the last moments. I read on an unbiased web site that at the time of death, there were no devotees with him. But really, why should it matter? Are we promoting ISKCON or Krishna.

[theist]

That is the test right? When an intruder broke into his home and George confronted the guy, the intruder put a knife into George's chest. George chanted Hare Krsna, or called out to Krsna in some way.

[Priitaa]

Yes Thiest, I agree, this is the test. When we are faced with death that we must able to chant Hare Krishna.

 

It would be nice to have devotees around us when we are about to die, but no one knows if that will happen. What if we have a heart attack, or a sudden intruder as George did, or are walking in the woods in the middle of nowhere? So this too is the test, that even if alone, we can chant at the time of death. Tho I hope am not alone and tested in this way, as that is a scary thought!

 

Anyway, here is some info that George did not have devotees with him at the final moment, tho please note, I agree he asked for them to come there and to be with him the final days.

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=15923

 

"According to sources close to Harrison, press reports that Hare Krishnas were present at his deathbed, that his ashes were spread on India's Ganges River and that he left $30 million to the Krishnas were all false."

 

There also was a Times of India link with this info on it, but I could not open the page.

[gHari]

I'm really not sure about 'the close' family witness report from the Rolling Stone. This came out at the time:<blockquote>Sunday Mirror

 

WITH INCENSE AND CHANTING FILLING THE AIR HE SAID 'HARE KRISHNA' AND SLIPPED AWAY

TWO HOLY MEN FLEW FROM LONDON 'TO EASE GEORGE'S PATH INTO THE NEXT LIFE'

 

GEORGE Harrison's spiritual guru yesterday told of the Beatle's final moments.

 

His Hindu mentor Ravi Shankar, 81, joined George's wife Olivia and son Dhani to comfort the dying musician as his life ebbed away at a friend's Los Angeles home .

 

George also arranged for Hare Krishna devotee Shyamasundar Das to travel from London and another devotee, Mukunda Goswami. to fly from New Zealand to ease his path "into reincarnation".

 

"He looked so peaceful - surrounded by love. He was a brave, beautiful soul, full of love, childlike humour and a deep spirituality," said Ravi.

 

George, 58, spent his dying moments repeating the mantra "Hare Krishna", telling his friends it helped him "see God".

 

He chose his favourite pictures of Hindu gods Krishna and Rama to be positioned around his bed .

 

Incense and candles were burned as the robed Krishna devotees chanted and prayed over him. After his death, sacred leaves were placed in his mouth, he was garlanded with orange-coloured flowers and sprinkled with holy water.

 

His shawl-wrapped body was later covered with holy oils and earth and cremated.

 

His ashes may now be taken to India and scattered in the River Yamuna at the birthplace of Krishna north of Delhi

 

Cancer-stricken George had already said tearful goodbyes to fellow Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in New York in the weeks before his death.

 

As he lay dying he surrounded himself with Krishna friends.

 

Sitar legend Ravi, who introduced the Beatles to Eastern spiritualism in 1967, was summoned to George's bedside at the vast white-walled home of security expert Gavin de Becker last Wednesday.

 

There Ravi, his wife Sukanya, and daughter Anoushka joined Olivia and Dhani. Anoushka wept as the man she called "Uncle George" lapsed in and out of consciousness.

 

Ravi said: "He was a friend, disciple and son to me. It was my sitar and Indian music which connected me to George in the beginning. But very soon our relationship went beyond that."

 

Shyamasundar Das and Mukunda Goswami said prayers and chanted the Hare Krishna mantra, which George made famous through his music.

 

They burned incense and George, despite his pain, joined in the chants of "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."

 

He had made the same words famous around the world in his song "My Sweet Lord."

 

Garlands were placed around the Beatle's neck and a "Tilak" mark, made from clay, was placed on his forehead.

 

Devotees hope the dying person will be soothed by the mantra and be sent into reincarnation with the words ringing in his ears.

 

After George died Mukunda and Shyamasundar performed "prasadam" on his body - laying garlands around his neck, sprinkling holy water on him and placing leaves from a holy tree in his mouth. The devotees wrapped him in a shawl with Sanskrit lettering and put oils on his body to aid cremation.

 

George first met Hare Krishna devotees in London in 1969 and he remained in close touch with friends from the movement - whom he regarded as his "other family" - until his final moments on Thursday afternoon. He had called upon a third devotee, Dhananjya, to be at his bedside, but he did not arrive in time.

 

Shyamasundar, an American, was one of George's closest spiritual advisers. He and Mukunda helped introduce the Beatle to Hinduism. They turned up at the Beatles' Apple HQ in London and George asked them: "Where have you been? I've been trying to meet Hare Krishna people for a couple of years."

 

The shaven-headed devotees sat in on George's recording sessions and later met Paul, Ringo and John Lennon.

 

Mukunda said yesterday: "George's relationship with the Hare Krishnas was deep and long- abiding. He left his body to the sounds of the Hare Krishna mantra."

 

The Beatle was a firm believer in reincarnation and told Mukunda he was certain John Lennon was in "a good place". In a joint statement yesterday, Shyamasundar and Mukunda said: "George Harrison has probably done more than any single popular cultural figure to spread spiritual consciousness around the world.""

 

Both men are expected to attend a special memorial service at the Los Angeles Hare Krishna temple later today.

 

George paid for the printing of the movement's Krishna book in 1970, and wrote the foreword to it. He also donated a mansion in Hertfordshire to the movement in 1973 for a token 5p. UK Hare Krishna spokeswoman Varsana Bevi Dafi said last night: "George was a deeply spiritual person who moulded his life around his beliefs.

 

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have our place in Hertfordshire. Thousands of people have benefited from it and it is all credit to George Harrison.

 

"`He had been in our prayers because he had been ill for some time but his death still comes as a shock".

 

The Beatle developed an interest in India after meeting Ravi. He told the master musician he wanted to learn to play the sitar and studied the instrument in India for six weeks. On Ravi's advice, he cut his hair and grew a moustache.

 

During his stay in India, he visited Kashmir and and met Ravi's musical disciples.

 

George once reflected: "I always felt at home with Krishna - it was already a part of me. I think it's something that's been with me from my previous birth."

 

A memorial service will be held at the Hertfordshire mansion in the next few weeks.

 

It is believed the Beatle, who had a £120million fortune, may have decided to bequeath his mansion home in Oxfordshire to the Krishna movement. He is thought to have held discussions with devotees about giving them his Friar Park home, near Henley.

 

-GEORGE'S first wife Patti Boyd yesterday wept as she told how she learned of his death when she switched on the radio.

 

Patti, 54, who left George for his friend Eric Clapton, was distraught because she had not managed to say her own personal goodbye.

 

"I heard the same way as everyone else," she said. "How do you think I feel? Just awful. I had tried to get through to him on the phone but I couldn't. No one realised just how ill he was. I am so, so shocked. I can't even think straight at the moment."

 

Patti, who lives in Guildford, Surrey, fell for the quiet Beatle when she appeared as an extra in the film A Hard Day's Night.

 

Her later marriage to Clapton also failed. But she managed to remain friends with both of her ex-husbands and George's new wife Olivia. She had remained in regular touch with George since his cancer was first diagnosed.

</blockquote>

Of course, this article does not specifically say that the devotees were there at the moment George left. Apparently Ravi's daughter corrected other rumours making the world know that George's parting words were "Hare Krsna".

[gHari]

These are Real Audio files of Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami, Krsna's devotee. [Courtesy http://ChantAndBeHappy.com ]

 

<center><TABLE border=5 cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" width="80%"><td bgcolor=yellow width="50%" valign=top>

<CENTER><h3><font color="blue">Listen Directly</H3></font>GITA LECTURE (Part 1)

 

<a href=http://chantandbehappy.com/bin/misc_lectures/991025-gkg-lecture-Part2.ram>GITA LECTURE (Part 2)</A>

 

<a href=http://chantandbehappy.com/bin/misc_lectures/991025-gkg-lecture-Part3.ram>GITA LECTURE (Part 3)</A>

 

</td><td bgcolor=yellow width="50%" valign=top>

<CENTER><h3><font color="blue">Download To Disk</H3></font>GITA LECTURE (Part 1)

 

<a href=http://canoeparts.ca/KINGDOM/GKG/991025-gkg-lecture-Part2.rm>GITA LECTURE (Part 2)</A>

 

<a href=http://canoeparts.ca/KINGDOM/GKG/991025-gkg-lecture-Part3.rm>GITA LECTURE (Part 3)</A>

 

</td></table></center>

 

 

<a href=http://chantandbehappy.com/realplayer/realplayer.exe>Free Real Audio player</A> is available here if your computer doesn't have one yet.

 

gHari

P.S. If any devotees in Madagascar have internet computers, this would be a nice way for them to meet Gopal Krishna and Krsna consciousness.

60882-temp.txt

[gHari]

That Boy George song mentioned earlier is on http://www.RadioKrishna.com as well as some other interesting ones including Sting with Krishna das, and two nice Harrison compilations that include both old and new Sweet Lords and most of his religiously oriented tunes:<blockquote>

<a href=http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/music-english/Various%20Artists/RKC%20Live%20Stream%20-%20Boy%20George%20-%20Hare%20Krishna.mp3>Boy George - Hare Krishna</A> (4 Minutes)

 

<a href=http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/music-english/Various%20Artists/RKC%20Live%20Stream%20-%20Sting%20%26%20Krishna%20Das%20-%20Mountain%20Hare%20Krishna.mp3>Sting and Krishna Das</A> (5 min)

 

<a href=http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/new%20music/George%20Harrison/RKC%20Live%20Stream%20-%20George%20Harrison%20-%20Collection%20%28Part%2001%29.mp3>George Harrison compilation (Original Sweet Lord)</A> (30 min)

 

<a href=http://www.radiokrishna.com/rkc_archive_new/new%20music/George%20Harrison/RKC%20Live%20Stream%20-%20George%20Harrison%20-%20Collection%20%28Part%2002%29.mp3>George Harrison compilation (2000 Sweet Lord)</A> (30 min)

</blockquote>

 

Click to play or right click and "Save Target As" to save to disk.

 

gHari

[Priitaa]

Sorry gH, but what you posted is exactly what they are saing are false reports. After all, what they said here is also wrong:

 

"Devotees hope the dying person will be soothed by the mantra and be sent into reincarnation with the words ringing in his ears."

 

Actualy, what we hope is that the dying person does NOT have to reincarnate!

 

Thou just these two parts, and the fact that he left us a large sum of money, are false reports. The rest are true!

 

Please understand I mean no offnese.

 

My previous link is not the only source of info that he did not have devotees around him at the 'moment' of leaving. It was also in Times of India, as well as certain Iskcon devotees know its true but don't want to burst anyone's bubble by coming forward. I have been sworn to secrecy so I tell no more, and its why I posted the nonbiased links instead. We dont like it, heck, I dont like it, but George did not have devotees at his side the 'minute' he left his body. But they were with him the last days, and really all that matters is that he succeeded in going back Home.

 

I suspect we feel bad beause we want Prabhupada to get the credit and here's how I look at that. George died using Prabhupada's method to die, no other guru's method like SRF or Maharishi's, but Prabhuapda's. He focused on chating Hare Krishna and nothing else. And he still made sure to have his body wrapped in a HariNama chaddar, had neckbeads, tulasi leaf, and so on. These are all things he learned from his guru Srila Prabhupada. So while we may feel a little bad ISKCON did not get the credit, we can remind ourselves that in this way, Prabhupada did, cuz Prabhuapda was the only one whose method of dying George trusted fully, and used.

[Govindaram]

Hare Krishna

 

1001 post!

 

The only person that can spread KC is a pure devotee,

celebs are like the little ants of the Guru,

marching around..being blessed they can do good.

 

Jaya Gurudeva! Jaya Prabhupada!

[stonehearted]

Yes, but the point is that those celebs have been blessed by the association of devotees.

 

1000 posts in less than five months! If we didn't like you so well, we might tell you to go get a job!

[Priitaa]

 

Yes, but the point is that those celebs have been blessed by the association of devotees.

 

 

Oh yes, but I was referring to George, that he made it btg anyway. He had the blessings of Prabhupada. Yet I do understand what you mean, which may be why he asked the devotees to come there the last 3 days.

[Priitaa]

 

The only person that can spread KC is a pure devotee,

celebs are like the little ants of the Guru,

marching around..being blessed they can do good.

 

 

Where do you get this from? Prabhupada never spoke that way about them. I am wondering if maybe its because you are viewing celebrities not making any changes in their life. I dont know. What I do know is that Prabhupada was happy when these 'ants' could become purified and next had much power, due to connections and celebrity status, to spread the holy names around. Do you not believe George H. did it? He changed his life, even if he still had weaknesses he kept trying under much more difficult circumstances then most of us will ever have, and yet remembered to chant Hare Krishna when attacked, and later when leaving his body; which in turn guarantees one to return to Krishna. So it's best not to criticize him. However, if he can do it, any celeb can, its all a matter of desire. We should not look down on anyone, not even celebs.

 

Everyone (or everyone who is a follower of Srila Prabhupada) recieves their empowerment from the pure devotee Srila Prabhupada. That is who is helping them spread the MahaMantra. Not that they do it from their own power, no. They have no power and we have no power either. It is Prabhupada's power that saves us, even the most fallen as Lord Caitanya has said, can be saved.

[Priitaa]

Babru: Yes, but the point is that those celebs have been blessed by the association of devotees.

 

Priitaa:Oh yes, but I was referring to George, that he made it btg anyway. He had the blessings of Prabhupada. Yet I do understand what you mean, which may be why he asked the devotees to come there the last 3 days.

============

 

Oops! I thought you were speaking in reference to what I posted, but I now think you were responding to Govindaram and not me. Sorry. (If I am mistaken, let me know.)

[Govindaram]

HK

 

I reffered to celebs as ants, giving them a higher status!

 

I am a worm in stool.

 

Least i try to be hahhahahaha.