Sadhu Sanga

by bhakta Jerry

Bhaktas Paul & Jerry

There is a nine-fold process to obtaining prema—pure love of God. The first step we take in this process is sraddha, or faith. In anything we do we must first place our faith in the process and the people who propagate that process. If a student wants to become a scientist he places his faith in the teachings of his instructors with hopes that one day he will be able to replicate their experiments and have first hand knowledge of science. Similarly, religious people place their faith in the process of religion expecting to obtain a tangible result. In either case, the practitioner is not aware of the experience and understanding he will eventually have by following a particular process, but he makes a decision to follow the prescribed path to obtain the end result.

As the Bible teaches us, faith without works is dead. This means we have to take more steps after placing our faith in the process. The second step on the road to prema is sadhu sanga, or association (sanga) of devotees (sadhus). The association of devotees is necessary because in their association we are saturated in an environment that focuses on Krishna consciousness. Krishna consciousness is not a theory we learn by reading a book. It is a way of life that we practice in the association of devotees. We make advancement when we associate with devotees, specifically devotees more senior than us, because they show the example of how to live this philosophy.

Many inmates come to the first step of Krishna consciousness. Everyone surrenders their faith to some degree and the more we surrender the more Krishna reciprocates. To make further advancement we must move onto the second step, which is association. There are many limitations inmates encounter when trying to associate. Of course, we can associate with letters and we have Srila Prabhupada’s association through his books, but there is something magical about seeing a devotee. I can personally attest to this because after about three years of practicing Krishna consciousness in prison I was blessed with a special spiritual visit from my “spiritual parents,” Sri Manta Prabhu and Cookie.

When I heard a Srila Prabhupada disciple chant, “Hare Krishna” with such firm conviction it made me realize that the maha-mantra is transcendental and not just a group of mundane words. After reading Srila Prabhupada’s books for several years I finally heard the proper pronunciation of ksatriya and Nrsimha. I smelled incense that was offered to the deities and I saw the clothes devotees wear. Becoming part of this culture, even for only a short few hour visit, drastically increased my faith in Krishna consciousness. This is the effect that sadhu sanga has on sraddha; it deepens our faith allowing us to go further into the spiritual world.

There is a devotee in an Indiana state prison I corresponded with for a while. His name is Nhakta Paul Kimmel and his letters demonstrate a great amount of sincerity and perseverance to practice Krishna consciousness. With the short distance between Chicago and Pendleton, IN (about 3 hours by car), and with Bhakta Paul’s faith firmly placed in this process, I thought some sanga would be a wonderful opportunity for both of us to grow in Krishna consciousness.

I left Chicago on a Friday afternoon. There were many stumbling blocks on the way to Pendleton, including me accidentally throwing away the directions at a rest area. I also neglected to account for the time change and I ran into rush hour traffic north of Indianapolis. A few times my mind told me, “Turn around. You are only going to have a few minutes to visit with him because it is too late.” I told the mind to shut up and finally made it to the prison around 6:30.

It has been a few years since I left the Walls Unit in Huntsville, Texas. Before walking out of there I vowed to myself never to return to this place, at least as an inmate. Walking through a prison as a visitor is a lot different than being driven into the prison on a bus shackled to some person you do not even know. The same heavy energy was present. It is like the karma is floating in the air like a piece of cake waiting to be cut.

After being checked in I anxiously reached the visiting room and was given my seat. I must give it to the state of Indiana—the visitation room was very nice. It was decorated with carpeting and everyone had contact visits. No one was talking over those phones looking at each other through glass. A few minutes later, big 6’8” Bhakta Paul came barreling in.

Immediately, Bhakta Paul started informing me of some of his struggles he faces, such as having his vegetarian diet card pulled. I thought to myself that I could tell Paul about all my problems as well. I am broke right now and the fiancé thinks I’m a bum who needs a better job. There’s my drug addicted brother who is neglecting his children. Then there is summer school which is enough to drive someone insane. We all have our problems, but the reason devotees come together is to engage in Krishna katha (topics about Krishna).

After the complaints of material life finished we kept the conversion focused on Krishna. Bhakta Paul was so enthusiastic to hear how to pronounce some of those words we all read but have no idea if we pronounce them properly. He was filled with questions about the different incarnations of Krishna and the role each one plays. As I did my best to answer these questions, I realized that I was just reciting either what I read in a Srila Prabhupada book or what I heard from other devotees, usually in Srimad Bhagavatam class. Even if I did read something in a Srila Prabhupada book, the only reason I would be able to remember it is because a more advanced devotee pointed it out and explained it to me.

The purpose of sadhu sanga became very clear to me. We recite what we hear and we pass it onto the next devotee. Bhakta Paul’s questions were answered to the best of my ability, and at the same time my faith in this process grew even stronger. For me to tell someone about bhakti yoga, and to say it with conviction, means that I have to follow the process and have faith in it myself. When I saw Bhakta Paul with the same questions I had many years ago and was now able to answer them, I realized that it is only by the association and mercy of devotees that we are able to make advancement.

Bhakta Paul told me a lot about his checkered past. Most people might think he was a bad person, but I have done everything that he has done. I was just as much a rascal as he was but started following the process Srila Prabhuapda gave us, so I have given up a lot of my bad habits and made a little spiritual advancement.

I felt Bhakta Paul was giving me his rap sheet so I could pass judgment on him and make sure he was a fit candidate for devotional service. But instead of a bad person, I saw a beautiful soul that is part and parcel of Krishna and who is trying his best, amidst very difficult circumstances, to practice this purifying and enlightening process of Krishna consciousness. I was able to see Paul for the devotee that he is and not for some rascal he use to be.

Krishna consciousness is not dependant on your past.  It is dependant on your sincere endeavor to serve guru and Lord Krishna. We have all been locked up in this material world for a long time, longer than we can ever imagine. We have committed endless amounts of sin, but when we come to Krishna consciousness; our past does not matter anymore. What matters is that we use this human form of life to develop our relationship with Krishna and with His devotees.

I left the prison and immediately called Chandrasekar Prabhu in Denver to express my joy. I was high, higher than any drug ever got me, and I still have not come down. The nice thing about spiritual pleasure is that it only grows bigger and more intense. I drove home in this intoxicated state, attentively listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures.

I want to thank Bhakta Paul for asking me to come and see him. I never even thought how inspiring it would be for me, but it has deepened my faith in this process. The next step is taking shelter of a spiritual master and, after realizing the beauty and the potency of sadhu sanga, I am committing myself to follow the rules and regulations more strictly with hopes that one day I will be able to take initiation. This process works and doing something as simple as visiting a devotee in prison has empirically demonstrated to me that I have placed my faith in the right people and the right process.