Kanta went looking for missing teacher Juliet Tam

Life’s journey is simple yet it has been described as difficult and complicated. However, there is a need to live a fulfilling and productive life. The words of a full fledge Hare Krishna devotee, Shri Kanta Dass, 46, of Jerningham Junction, Cunupia. Dass who was formally Karan Gayadeen, termed himself the servant of God. It was in 1985 that he made a decision to surrender his life to God and as a result he began a spiritual journey that is in service to Bhagvan Krishna. Dass is an employee of the Ministry of Health for the past 25 years. Speaking from his home, he told People that it was out of curiosity that he visited the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1983. “It was around this time that a young lady named Juliet Tam went missing. There were reports that she was hiding out in the Hare Krishna temple in Edinburgh.

I went as in disguise, as a someone who was interested in devotion to see whether Tam was indeed staying in the temple. I did not find Tam but I found someone who changes my entire life, Shrila Prabhupada,” he said. He explained that Prabhupada was the founder of ISKCON and there was a life-size murti (stone image) of him on the altar in the temple. “I was taken back by the fact the devotees were actually worshiping the image of Prabhupada. I thought to myself that this individual must be someone great. Then I started reading about Prabhupada and without knowing it I was building a relationship with a someone whom I never saw in my entire life,” he spoke about his encounter with spirituality.

Dass grew up in a Hindu home and he knew of the teachings of Lord Krishna. But the way in which Shrila wrote about the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is Krishna, really woke him up to a new light. He knew that the teachings of Prabhupada was the philosophy he had been searching for all his life. Since becoming an initiated devotee of the temple, Dass has turned his life around 100 percent. He now serves Lord Krishna in everything he does. “Life is now more meaningful because we all serving each other in some way. Therefore, we are serving God’s children. Many people do service so that they can gain personal benefits and other serve because they consider it their duty to God. Service should be done for God at all times in everything one does. If anyone would consider this simple philosophy then life becomes easy,” he said. He continued to say that cleaning ones home and preparing food should be done for God. When this food is offered to any person it would be of such a high standard that the person can only do one thing and that is really appreciate what is being offered. Dass related the teaching of ISKCON saying that while many may say that idol worship is wrong, there is philosophy behind the worship of idols in Hinduism and in the Hare Krishna. “The mind of a human being is built in such a way that it can be easily wavered by what is happening around. And in order to keep focus one must look at the gurus (spiritual teachers) and teachers who mastered the art of mind control in order to control one’s own mind.

The guru renounces the world in order to preach the word of God. His life is an instrument of God. And in this regard the guru should be worshipped as the highest connection with God. Through him one can get the teachings to reach God,” he said. Dass further explained that his guru Shrila Prabhupada, is the last in a succession of gurus from India who was chosen by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to preach the message of the Srimad Bhagvatam (Hindu text) to the western world. Prabhupada was 70 years old when he made the journey to the USA. He set about chanting on the streets and during the period 1965 to 1977 he initiated thousands of devotees and established 108 temples, with magnificent estates across six continents. He was able to write and translate from Hindi into the English language, 51 volumes of books. Dass noted that if this is not the work of God himself then he would not know what is. “The Shrimad Bhagvatam has the answer to life’s most complicated questions. Who is God? Where is God? How can one realise God? The average man spends his entire life accumulating wealth so that he can have all the luxury, but he is still unhappy. While there is a need to find comfort for the body, the soul yearns for much more and Prabhupada had the method to gain the ultimate happiness,” he said.               

In TT there are three temples operating in Debe, Chaguanas and in Arouca. Devotees have been following the original teaching of Shrila Praphupada on a daily basis. Like Dass, devotees rise at 4 am and set about to do their rituals before attempting the chores for the day. They decorate their forehead with a long mark that leads from the nose to the top of the head. This mark is sacred since it helps the eyes to become focused. They are seen carrying around a bag with beads. This is called the “japa mala.” This is composed of 108 wooden beads that are used to chant the name of Krishna throughout the day. The devotees do 108 chants of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, 16 times for the day.  Dass explains the meaning of the chant: “Oh God, the all attractive, all pleasing one, please indulge me in your service.” Dass is married to Nandimuki Devi Dasa who is a devotee and they have three children who are also devotees. All members of the family are strict vegetarians.