19801002 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.16.23

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 2, 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The class begins with the reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 1 Chapter 16 Text 23.

Translation: O mother earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, incarnated Himself as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa just to unload your heavy burden. All His activities here are transcendental, and they cement the path of liberation. You are now bereft of His presence. You are probably now thinking of those activities and feeling sorry in their absence.

Purport: The activities of the Lord include liberation, but they are more relishable than the pleasure derived from nirvāṇa, or liberation. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the word used here is nirvāṇa-vilambitāni, “that which minimizes the value of liberation.” To attain nirvāṇa, liberation, one has to undergo a severe type of tapasya, austerity, but the Lord is so merciful that He incarnates to diminish the burden of the earth. Simply by remembering such activities, one can defy the pleasure derived from nirvāṇa and reach the transcendental abode of the Lord to associate with Him, eternally engaged in His blissful loving service.

Thus, end the purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda!

Translation: O mother earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, incarnated Himself as Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa just to unload your heavy burden. All His activities here are transcendental, and they cement the path of liberation. You are now bereft of His presence. You are probably now thinking of those activities and feeling sorry in their absence.

Jayapatākā Swami: The Personality of religiosity is asking mother earth, “Why she is lamenting?” Now he is asking whether it is due to separation of the Lord.

When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya, “What is the greatest suffering that anyone can suffer in this world?” Rāmānanda Rāya said, “The suffering of a pure devotee for another pure devotee or the separation of a pure devotee is the greatest suffering.” That is the greatest, most intense separation.

So, mother earth is actually a great devotee, pṛthvī. And she was very fortunate to always have Lord Kṛṣṇa lotus foot dust on her body. Others were sometimes separated from Kṛṣṇa, and sometimes they were united with Kṛṣṇa. But the whole duration of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, mother earth was having His lotus feet touching her. So, you can imagine the extensive separation she must have been feeling when Lord Kṛṣṇa left.

The devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it can hardly be described the situation that they were in once Caitanya Mahāprabhu left this world. Knowing that when the Lord leaves, the intense separation one feels, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he requested Lord Caitanya that he wanted to leave first. Therefore, on his request, the wonderful pastime of the disappearance of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and his samādhi after bathing in the ocean and subsequent kīrtanas and feasts were celebrated. Haridāsa Ṭhākura could understand that it would be a very difficult time to be present after the Lord had left.

When Śrīnivāsa Ācārya visited the devotees in Jagannātha Purī, he was amazed to see that they were still living. For instance, Gadādhara Prabhu was deep in separation of the Lord, he could hardly sleep or eat. There was hardly anything he could do except for cry every time he thought of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

When Śrīnivāsa went to see Īśvarī (the great… elevate) Viṣṇupriyā, the consort of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who from the age of 16 had to tolerate His separation and continued to stay on this earth even after He left. She had become so thin. Her body had become covered with dust. She wasn’t taking care of Her clothes. Her hair had become untidy. She was… There was no difference to Her between day and night. She was simply chanting the names of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. She was simply engaged in offering Him worship. Yet to see Her, those who were greatly fortunate enough, She was so effulgent. One could understand She was completely transcendentally situated.

This is a very difficult thing for someone who is on the gross material platform to understand. But, actually these great souls, their position in this intense worship of Lord Caitanya or Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes transcendental, is transcendental. And they are not bound by the ordinary rules and regulations. This is a very much exceptional situation. At that point, they are no longer able to preach. They are simply engaged in the worship of the Lord.

So, the Personality of religiosity is asking mother earth that these may be, in other words, the symptoms that she is experiencing may actually just be the symptoms of separation for the Lord. He would ask different things: “This is because of the irreligious kings?” This is because of the irreligious activities of the people? Why you are lamenting?” Now he is asking, “Must be because Kṛṣṇa has left?!”

It is natural that when the spiritual master or when the Supreme Personality of Godhead leave, that the disciple or the devotee will cry. It is natural that they will feel separation because there is a relationship of love. This is an intense relationship. So, there it is quite natural that these things happen. So, the Personality of religiosity is very expert, astute in understanding the different facets of religiosity. So, he is inquiring, finally if this may not be the symptom that she is experiencing. And soon she will reveal her mind.

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, who is especially blessed by mother Sarasvatī, the goddess of learning, has instructed us that, nirvāṇa-vilambitāni means that which puts nirvāṇa or liberation to shame - far transcends it. People are trying very hard to get out of the cycle of birth and death to get salvation. And, as a result of that, some people succeed. But Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura is saying that, that success is insignificant compared to someone who gets pure devotional service for Kṛṣṇa. Because simply by remembering the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, they are so powerful, they are so wonderful that one transcends by far the pleasure of impersonal liberation.

There is an example that, if you take all the happiness that a human being can have, that human being, the standard of perfect happiness of a human being, and if you give that numeral one, take that as a standard on this earth, the maximum. Of course, the Vedic intelligence is completely transparent. Of course, different people may have different ideas as to what is maximum happiness. But actually, the maximum happiness a person can have is the happiness of someone situated in the mode of goodness.

Today their conception of happiness contaminated by the modes of passion and ignorance, may give them a spurt of happiness. But then it throws them into anxiety, fear, lamentation, and misery. So that kind of happiness is not considered very significant. But if one takes that, whatever the maximum happiness one can have on this planet in one’s life is one, then from there,we can start to begin to understand the relative happiness in this universe. And there is a scale that, from here one goes to the Gandharvaloka then his happiness increases, and he becomes ten times happier.

If he goes to the... I forget the exact. It is like Cāraṇas, Kinnara, Siddha - each time one goes, it goes up to a hundred then a thousand, and ten thousand, and one hundred thousand. Finally, when one gets up to Indraloka, it’s hundreds of thousands of times more happiness than what one experiences here. And when one comes up to Brahmaloka, then again, it is thousands of times more happiness.

And then, it is compared that the happiness of nirvāṇa or liberation compared to the happiness of Brahmaloka, the happiness of Brahmaloka is not even a drop compared to the ocean. That is how deep the transcendental happiness of liberation. And then it goes on and compares that liberation. If you compare that with the happiness experienced by pure devotee appreciating the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, that whole ocean of liberation is just like the impression of water, impression of a calf’s hoof, that quantity of water compared to the whole ocean - the transcendental bliss of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

People on this earth are struggling for insignificant (15.04) of happiness. When with the same effort, with even a fraction of sincerity, one can easily transcend all the expectations, trillions and billions of unlimited numbers of times by rendering pure devotional service. Actually, everyone is being cheated.

In South India, many people, they know that their happiness is much higher. I met a devotee of sorts, and he told me that, “I am not interested in the happiness of this world. I know that the women in this world they are oh! smelly and bad. I want to go to the heavenly planets and enjoy the Apsarās.” (laughter) “You crazy?”

In South India, we meet people, they were completely karma-kāṇḍa. They want to... They know this world is terrible. So, he said that “Although I am thinking that if I could be born in America, that may also be alright. Because there that is like heavenly planet.” (laughter) They have funny ideas, some people.

Well, you people are here, born in the heavenly planets in the minds of many Indian. So, you can understand that if this is comparatively supposed to be the heavenly planet, it is still hellish. Of course, heavenly planets and something much different. But it is like that in the material world. It doesn’t matter what standard one is living at, when it is material, he thinks that it is miserable, comparatively.

He doesn’t think it is miserable necessarily, but he feels that it is not so much greater. Because just like the ant is living two three days, but in that two three days he is actually living a hundred years of his life. Mosquito is living maybe an hour a day; it is living a hundred years not they having…

There come, Prabhupāda explained having a complete life – birth, growing, reproduction, dwindling, dying - everything is happening. The family life or whatever they have is happening rapid, three years or one year, whatever their span is, everything happens in that time. Their tempo is increased.

So similarly, as one goes to higher planetary systems, their life span may be hundreds and hundreds of years. Their happiness may be more, but they don’t appreciate it to that extent because everything is relatively adjusted, everything is relatively adjusted the full benefit. But actually, transcendental happiness that doesn’t have any limit. That doesn’t have any… One is transcending the obvious material relativities and taken to the absolute platform.

So as long as one is desiring heavenly planets or another birth or any kind of situation, even if he attains that, they never be satisfied. The person who is thinking that “If I can only be born in America, I will be happy,” because of propaganda. But actually, we see the American people, they are more unhappy. Because in spite of having so many things, they are completely frustrated because they still not satisfied. They have and the have nots. Those who have, they are frustrated, and those who don’t have are frustrated.

Prabhupāda gave the story about the Delhi laḍḍu and the Lucknow laḍḍu. That there is a sweet shop in Lucknow, where they serve very wonderful-sweet-balls. And they advertise that these sweet balls are so wonderful that anyone who hasn’t had it, he can understand his life is wasted. And if you haven’t tasted this laḍḍu then that means that your life, you can just take it for granted that you have not really lived. Therefore, your life is useless, you see, 90% wasted. But if you take that sweet, even you take it, as soon as you had one, it was so good you want another one. And you cannot rest till you get another one. You see, then you feel very frustrated by not having.

So, in this way, Śrīla Prabhupāda explained that in either case whether you tasted your life is wasted. Once you’ve tasted it, still wasted because you still not satisfied. We can’t live without getting it again and again. So, over this sweet, if one doesn’t take it, he doesn’t spend any money, doesn’t waste any time, doesn’t go to the store. Alright, so he may be feeling some anxiety that “I haven’t tried it, I haven’t tasted it.” But the person who has tasted it, he is still in anxiety, but he had to pledge the money, I have to go down there, he is still frustrated. So, it’s better not to waste any money. So, material enjoyment is like that.

We may have so many conceptions, “What is happiness?” But when we get that, it is not what we wanted. In this way, as soon as we desire material things, we are controlled by the illusory energy.

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni 
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ 
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā 
kartāham iti manyate
(Bg 3.27)

And as soon as we desire Kṛṣṇa’s service, then we are under the protection of the divine nature of Subhadrā-devī. So, we can choose who we want to control us, because we are going to be controlled by material desires or by spiritual desires. Lord Caitanya is saying,

jiv jago, jiv jago, gauracanda bole 
kota nidra jao māyā-pisacira kole

How long will you remain sleeping on the lap of the witch māyā? How long do you want to be kicked? Kicked and kicked again? So why do we cling to the feet of māyā when she is only kicking us?

So, we should simply take shelter. “āmi binā bandhu āra ke āche tomāra - Who is your friend? Who is your true friend except for Me?” This is what Lord Caitanya’s statement. He has come here. He has given us the auṣadhi, the great medicine, Harināma. Because by chanting Harināma, one instantly gets a drop of the nectar of transcendental life. And if we continue to chant, one day we will experience the ocean of transcendental happiness. Even that one drop is worth more than all the material happiness in the world put together, far far more. Because everything in the material world is so relative, is so mixed with misery that it never satisfy. Even one drop of Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities, appreciation, fully satisfies the soul. Therefore we…

First para of Śikṣāṣṭakam tells us that simply by chanting and hearing the ocean of transcendental happiness, our transcendental knowledge, everything is realized. So, we should see that who we want to serve, because servant we are – jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya-kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’: (Cc Madhya 20.108) - we are eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. And everyone that we meet, they are also the servant of Kṛṣṇa. But some people recognize that and some people have forgotten; some people are in ignorance.

We go out to distribute books. We go out to discuss with people to remind them that, “They are the servant of Kṛṣṇa, that they are now serving māyā, and that service is killing them.” By serving māyā one must die, and one must again be born. And by serving Kṛṣṇa one never after dying needs to be born again. So, serving Kṛṣṇa gives life while serving māyā means death. So therefore, the devotees are considered to be the most compassionate of all people. Because what they are giving, that gift has got no comparison anywhere in this universe.

People are sleeping in illusion. And when a devotee wakes that person up - begins his spiritual life that means that everything is about to change; everything has already changed. Just like Nārada Muni, he prayed that simply by taking the mahā-prasāda of the Bhaktivedāntas, his ability to understand spiritual life, his attachment for spiritual life and his taste for chanting the holy name - everything became manifest.

Prabhupāda describes it, “It works like a favorable - in a good sense - slow poison.” We take chanting, we take prasādam, gradually it transforms our material desires and puts us on the transcendental platform. We become attached to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

When the King Vīrahamvīra Mahārāja stole the books from Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Śrīnivāsa was feeling such separation. He fell down; he was smashing his head. You could imagine, he was given all the books by the residents of Vṛndāvana, “Take these books to distribute them.” And on the way, they are all stolen! The Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the Ṣaṭ-sandarbhas, Vidagdha-mādhava, Lalita-mādhava - all the books of the Gosvāmīs that they spent years and years writing by hand, filled with the nectar of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s and Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes, they are all stolen.

Narottama Ṭhākura, Śyāmānanda Paṇḍita who are with him, they didn’t want to show their face again to anyone. They thought, “Let’s just jump in the agni-kuṇḍa in the ocean of fire and finish it. How can you again see those Vaiṣṇavas? They had entrusted you with these books, you know. Everyone gone. Finished!”

But somehow or other, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya got message that if he goes to the... one king, Vīrhamvīra Mahārāja, Viṣṇupura in the forest, he may be able to find these books. So, he comforted the other two and had them go back to preaching, and that he would soon inform them. He was confident that only Kṛṣṇa could have done such a thing. That he must find these books again.

And so then, finally reaching the palace of Mahārāja Vīrhamvīra, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya got the opportunity to give a class on the Bhāgavatam. And, by hearing the Bhāgavatam, the Vīrhamvīra was convinced about the exalted position of Śrīnivāsa, and he surrendered at his lotus feet.

Actually, the scriptures describe that by simply having those books in his palace, simply by seeing those books, his whole life was transformed. He became purified. No sooner he see those books, they were so powerful that his heart became pure and he immediately started to feel that “I have committed a great offence. These books are belonging to some great Vaiṣṇava, and I have taken them.” Because he actually arranged to have these books stolen, the same Vīrhamvīra Mahārāja, by a special green bright team of armed robbers. But as soon as he saw those books, his heart was melted.

So just by having the transcendental literatures, people are benefiting so much. They cannot even imagine. And the karma-kāṇḍa śāstras of the Bhāgavata-māhātmya gives so many, just by, without even reading, just by, by seeing Bhāgavatams or by... all the different wonderful reactions one can get. Then, if one actually reads the Bhāgavatam, he actually understands just the smallest portion, he reaches all perfection. And actually, one thing leads to the next. So, these transcendental literatures they are so important.

People come to us. They have read the books. They want to engage in service. If we can engage them in chanting, if we can engage them in further service, we know that because of association with these literatures, their devotional life has been begun, and now we can further encourage them. It’s possible that in this very life, they can completely finish off all their material attachments. They can completely become attached to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

In my tour of South America, we were discussing this point - now the devotees in different places, whenever they go on saṅkīrtana and they meet a favorable person, they get him to sign his name - become a friend of Kṛṣṇa. In other places, they call it folk, folk of, friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa and different things. But there, it is “amigo de Kṛṣṇa - Spanish - Friend of Kṛṣṇa.” And then, they have people that cultivate those people.

And I know Ādi Keśava Mahārāja in his zone, in the North East, he has told me that some of the people they have cultivated in that way, forming them together in groups, have actually already turned into full-fledged temples and preaching centers over a period of two, three years.

Just by seeing that the seeds have already been planted, when we meet them again on saṅkīrtana, or when they come by to the temple, that they are further cultivated, that they are further watered. Because these transcendental literatures, they are like transcendental time bombs that are working constantly. Radiation effect. So, when people again come by little more purified, then we step up the purification: “Oh! Now you should chant. Now you should offer your prasāda. Now you should worship.”

The mail order department in Los Angeles, they get so many letters from people: “Oh! I have read your book. It is wonderful.” And they write back, and many people are worshipping Deities in their home, may be right here in Chicago. They don’t even reveal their names of all the people that they are writing to. No one asks half the time. But… So many people just by getting the books, their lives are transformed.

In Los Angeles, there were hundreds of people that attended the Ratha-yātrā with bead bags that no one ever saw before. Don’t know who they were. Don’t know where they came from. Where they got the beads? So, people buy beads, and they chant, and automatically a person becomes attached to Kṛṣṇa.

So Rūpa Gosvāmī says, “Yena kena prakāreṇa” that by any means if one gets one attracted to Kṛṣṇa. You see. Then when one is attracted, then you can introduce more and more rules and regulations to avoid all the offences, to quickly wind up all the impediments of pure devotional service.

So, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya... Of course, he was a great liberated soul. And you can imagine the joy when finally, he regained those transcendental literatures! And not only that he regained the literatures, but he also initiated that king, Vīrhamvīra Mahārāja, into Vaiṣṇava cult, into Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, disciplic succession. His wife, the queen, begged for initiation. She got initiation. She also begged that she could go and see Narottama Ṭhākura; she had heard so much about him. And the king personally helped to publish those books by hand and distribute.

So, everything happened simply by trying to carry out the instructions of the higher authorities. There may be setbacks, may be difficulties. We have to avoid all offenses against Vaiṣṇavas. When we offend a Vaiṣṇava, Kṛṣṇa, He can tolerate some offense. He can forgive someone for offending Him, but He can’t forgive someone who offends a Vaiṣṇava, you see.

Durvāsā Muni offended Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. He went all the way to Viṣṇu-loka. He said, “No I’m sorry. I can’t help you. You have to go back to My devotee and request his forgiveness. If My devotee forgives you, then your slate is clean. But I cannot forgive you. You offended My devotee.” And again, Durvāsā had to go all the way back, fall down at Mahārāja Ambarīṣa’s feet and said, “Even the most fallen dog-eaters, the untouchables - those people they are chanting the names of Lord Hari how their life is transformed. What to speak of someone who is constantly worshipping.”

He was realizing what is the potency of someone who is rendering devotional service. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa appeared to be, you know, a king. He was doing his worship every day. He was washing the temple floor; he didn’t look like a great powerful yogī. He came in there with his power and said, “Seek him!” And sent his demon after Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. The whole demon was destroyed by Sudarśana cakra, and he has been chased all over the universe by Sudarśana cakra, because devotees won’t put on. They don’t know even their own power because they are protected by divine energy.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “We should be very careful not to offend other Vaiṣṇavas.” Even a little, big, medium, is very hard to see, you see, relatively where a Vaiṣṇava is situated. Someone who is serving the spiritual master, who is serving Kṛṣṇa, he is a Vaiṣṇava and to offend a Vaiṣṇava is very bad. It should be completely avoided.

Great souls sees the good qualities even where it seems maximum only bad qualities, he sees, “Oh, here is a good quality.” I remember in Māyāpur, Śrīla Prabhupāda commented that the spiritual master, of course, he said his duty is to find the faults in the disciple and rectify them. But he never rejects a disciple who wants to serve.

The spiritual master always sees the service rendered by the disciple. Even disciple makes countless mistakes, if that service desire is still there, he adjusts. But when there is no service desire, of course, then only the relationship can be cut. Only if one blasphemes the spiritual master, loses faith in the spiritual master, then he is finished. That soul is highly unfortunate.

So, we should avoid all kinds of offences against Vaiṣṇavas, you see. It is very painful to Kṛṣṇa, very painful to the other Vaiṣṇavas, and very harmful to our spiritual life. If somebody wants to find faults, he can always find faults. They found faults in the moon, “Oh, the moon has got a parked face.” They find faults in Kṛṣṇa. And if someone wants to find good qualities, in a devotee you will find many good qualities. Even if there is a bad quality, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy bad qualities are destroyed.

So now is a very difficult time, because our spiritual master and Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda has transferred his pastimes to some other place in his visible form. But his pastimes are still going on, and his movement is still spreading. So, we have to all work cooperatively together that his desires are actually achieved. He said that “Only half my work is finished. You must finish the other half.” But in the twelve years’ time the quantity of achievement is inconceivable. If we could even just maintain what he, the standard, the level of intensity that he had achieved, which we have not been able to do.

Three years ago, book distribution in America was much bigger than it is now. Different preaching. Of course, in other areas it is expanding. But this can only happen if everyone cooperates together, if everyone surrenders. Taking Lord Caitanya’s idea as the prime idea and when māyā’s idea coming up, casting it aside. This choice is always before us – māyā’s idea and Kṛṣṇa’s idea.

And if we are too much in association with materialistic people, we will choose māyā’s idea; we will neglect the order of our spiritual master. Even māyā addresses the idea up to pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, sometimes. But it goes against the order of our spiritual master, so actually it is not the proper thing. So, we have to stick very rigidly to the guru, sādhu, śāstra – the scriptures, the spiritual master and the sādhu - the great devotees’ instructions and guide our lives by them.

We keep the links strong with the divine, transcendental Lord by the surrendering process. People in the whole world are suffering so much. They have no idea, what they are working for? Where they are heading? And we wonder, how we can give them? How we can change the course of the world? It doesn’t... All it takes is just one slight glimpse. Where they are at? How they are actually aimlessly going. And what the slightest glimpse, slightest association, “What is the aim?” Immediately everything is changed.

It is just like a person running down the street, you say, “Listen, where you are going? He says, “I am going to catch the bus.”

“The bus is the other way!”

“Oh!”

Completely turns around.

It doesn’t take, you know, like a whole, you know, band and a… just he gets the idea that “Oh! I am going in the wrong way.” He turns around and starts running the other way. All we have to do is just give the people the glimpse - “Hey, where you’re going? That’s not the right way. This way.” Phwiith! and go back to Godhead!

Doesn’t take a lot. It just takes little bit, just if catch their ear, just put a little doubt in their mind, “Hey, I don’t think you are going the right way.” then, they think about it, then...and “What is the right way?”

“This is the right way?” “Oh!”

A person is just probably exactly going to the restaurant. In Bangladesh, one man was going to the restaurant. That was the best restaurant in town - very sweet meat. He picked up his soup. And in his soup, he found a finger, a human finger! “ Knife cut through!” He put it in his handkerchief and went and showed it to the police, after vomiting outside in a nice Mohammedan shop. Police surrounded the shop and then raided it, dug in the back. There were hundreds of cadavers, and corpses, and bones, skull.

This is a famous shop for first quality meat. But they had been, to save their cost, they had been kidnapping people from the street because they weigh about 10-15 kilos of meat on them. Each kilo, they cost a dollar, a kilo. So, you get 10 dollars for a body. You can imagine, you know. Hundreds of bodies make few hundred dollars. That is the value of the human life to them.

So, you know… It doesn’t take much. If a person just realizes that his material happiness that he’s enjoying, is eating himself. He is actually eating himself. He is tasting his own blood. If he can just understand that, immediately a person, he is not going to eat in that place, he’s not cannibal. So, it doesn’t...

First of all, people… You have to catch their ear. They have to listen to what we are saying. And if they just hear a little bit, everything changes. Just a little prasāda, just a little association with the transcendental literature - everything changes. They get unknot from the course that they are on. Gradually they come around or quickly, depending on their fortune.

So, mother earth, she is of course a great pure devotee, and she’s completely absorbed in transcendental anxiety. So, the Personality of religiosity is asking her, “Why you’re suffering?” May be now he is seated on the head. Are you suffering because of separation of Lord Kṛṣṇa?

A devotee’s suffering is not suffering. It is transcendental bliss. If a devotee is suffering, means he is feeling separation of Kṛṣṇa. It is no material suffering in that sense. So, in future verses we will find out more.

Thank you very much. Are there any question? (Break)

This is more of a common-sense question. It’s like Rūpa Gosvāmī’s atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca. That we don’t want to overeat. So, where is the standard of how much one should eat? The scripture doesn’t say that one should eat 1.274 pounds per man, you know, or 27% of the body weight, you know, for lunch and 15% for breakfast and it doesn’t give any… It says one shouldn’t eat more, one shouldn’t eat less.

And Śrīla Prabhupāda said that… The actual thing is that as much as one can work, he should eat. If you eat a lot, then you should work more, you see. If you eat as much as... If you work as much as you are eating, then there is, then there is no difficulty. If you have a better tape recorder, but you are actually using it to record Kṛṣṇa discourses and that is being reproduced and utilized, then it is worth it; than if you just have an expensive tape recorder but is not really utilized, then it is over-endeavor.

Or if, you know...The whole thing is depending on the total time, place and circumstance in every respect. It is not that there is a cut and dry. What’s a good tape recorder for Chicago, in South America they would consider it to be extreme luxury, inconceivable, ridiculous kind of thing. Because there the economy is much less advanced. And in India, a person would bloop over that tape recorder, if he is a weak devotee, just to get it; it is so luxurious. So, in different places there is different situations.

Therefore, one has to have a spiritual master. One has to have senior sādhus or Vaiṣṇavas. That if one has doubt, he confirms that, “Is this necessary? I am thinking that this is nascence for my service.” Then they, the spiritual master or the sādhus, they say, “Yes.” So reasonable. And if we’re very fixed that “I will be independent, that I will do... I will just make my own standard.” then we are responsible. If we do too much, if we are wasteful, then Kṛṣṇa will hold us responsible. But if we take the advice of senior Vaiṣṇavas, then we are not responsible, you see. We are following the higher authorities; we are following the Vaiṣṇavas. So why should we take an unnecessary risk?

Therefore, we always consult with Vaiṣṇavas on anything, where there is any doubt. Even there may not be any doubt but in our mind so much. But we may also consult, just to be sure, just to show a proper procedure. And if we are very rigid to do everything independently, then we are responsible. And there, if we misuse the funds that Kṛṣṇa gives us there’ll be… If we overeat, over-accumulate, then Kṛṣṇa will hold us responsible. Prabhupāda would say, “Why should we take unnecessary risk? What is the need?”

If everybody in the temple has, you know... What is this cost? 2000$ Nakamichi to be, you know, then the temple probably would not be able to offer any flowers to Kṛṣṇa. Maybe one temple needs one good recorder, and then everyone else makes copies. So, I mean things have… That’s why there is temple presidents and why there is regional secretaries, GBCs and senior devotees - trying to create a balance. But it’s a common-sense question.

One shouldn’t take more than necessary. And if Kṛṣṇa is provided this, no offence in taking what is necessary. Whatever one takes material facility, if that facility is used for Kṛṣṇa, then it elevates one. But if it is not used for Kṛṣṇa, then it becomes a burden. So, there is no harm in having material facilities. Except that if one is not able to use all those facilities, then it simply becomes a burden. It becomes impediment.

Everything we take material, we should engage it. That is why for a brahmacārī, Prabhupāda said, “His life is very perfect.” He doesn’t have to worry about so many things. He has his cloth. He has his place, whether... his sleeping gear and where he wants to sleep, and he does his service. Mind is clear. No difficulty. And now you want to add into that a tape recorder and a watch. Those shouldn’t be too over-riding burden.

Of course, when one enters married life, he has got so many things to worry about, you see. But if everything is kept Kṛṣṇa conscious, then he can overcome all these things. The brahmacārī life is a very free life. So, the system is that whatever you have, that should be engaged. So, it is easy if you don’t have so many things to engage. That makes it simple. And if you have more things, then you have to engage them; otherwise, you become entangled. Any other questions?

Devotee: so that promise that people would do it in same way…

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, the goal of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to develop our friendship with Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master. One needs the association of Vaiṣṇavas. Because we’re born in the material world, our tendency is to always see the faults in others, and to always see the difficulties in a situation. But actually, the difficulties in situations... Prabhupāda said that “Failure is the stepping stone to success.” That...

There is a verse in the Vedas says,

“candana candana punarapi jana,  
candanam candava kañcana kañcana  
punarapi puni, kañcanam kañca varṇam” 

that the more that one burns the gold, the more lustrous it becomes. The more that one rubs the sandalwood, the more the scent comes out. And the more one beats the sugarcane, the more that the sweet juice comes out. So, all these, you know, grinding and beating, and burning, these are all like violent activities. I mean they are very violent activities. Yet when applied to sandalwood, sugarcane, and gold, they actually produce something wonderful, you see. So, material life, we are always looking for something very free from all type of disturbances. But actually, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, obstacles can produce a refinement of our devotional service if we actually learn to depend on Kṛṣṇa.