19811215 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.34

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on December 15, 1981 in Bombay, India. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto 1, Chapter 15, Text 34. This class was recorded on the disappearance day of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Mahārāja.

Translation with repetition

Translation: The supreme unborn, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to relinquish their bodies, and thus He relieved the burden of the world. This action was like picking out a thorn with a thorn, though both are the same to the controller.

Purport by His Divine Grace, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura suggests that the ṛṣis like Śaunaka and others who were hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Sūta Gosvāmī at Naimiṣāraṇya were not happy to hear about the Yadus’ dying in the madness of intoxication. To give them relief from this mental agony, Sūta Gosvāmī assured them that the Lord caused the members of the Yadu dynasty to relinquish their bodies by which they had to take away the burden of the world. The Lord and His eternal associates appeared on earth to help the administrative demigods in eradicating the burden of the world. He therefore called for some of the confidential demigods to appear in the Yadu family and serve Him in His great mission. After the mission was fulfilled, the demigods, by the will of the Lord, relinquished their corporeal bodies by fighting amongst themselves in the madness of intoxication. The demigods are accustomed to drinking the soma-rasa beverage, and therefore the drinking of wine and intoxication are not unknown to them. Sometimes they were put into trouble for indulging in intoxication. Once the sons of Kuvera fell in the wrath of Nārada for being intoxicated, but afterwards they regained their original forms by the grace of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. We shall find this story in the Tenth Canto. For the Supreme Lord, both the asuras and the demigods are equal, but the demigods are obedient to the Lord, whereas the asuras are not. Therefore, the example of picking out a thorn by another thorn is quite befitting. One thorn, which causes pinpricks on the leg of the Lord, is certainly disturbing to the Lord, and the other thorn, which takes out the disturbing elements, certainly gives service to the Lord. So although every living being is a part and parcel of the Lord, still one who is a pinprick to the Lord is called an asura, and one who is a voluntary servitor of the Lord is called a devatā, or demigod. In the material world the devatās and asuras are always contending, and the devatās are always saved from the hands of the asuras by the Lord. Both of them are under the control of the Lord. The world is full of two kinds of living beings, and the Lord’s mission is always to protect the devatās and destroy the asuras, whenever there is such a need in the world, and to do good to both of them.

Thus, end the Purport of Text 34, Chapter 15, Canto 1 by His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

Jayapatākā Swami: Today on the auspicious occasion of the disappearance festival of His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī, this śloka from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam successfully illuminates us to how the coming and going of great devotees is all under the control of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself. That no one should lament for the disappearance of a great Vaiṣṇava on any kind of material score that, “Now they are finished, or they are dead, or something like that.” A Vaiṣṇava never dies.

Rather the Lord has some other task for them, or the present period of their pastime has reached a climax and the Lord has desired to call them back; therefore, for the Lord’s own purpose and His own sweet will, He winds up the visible activities of a devotee in this world. That is not a source of misery. Actually, that is a source of rejoicing because that is another example of the perfection of devotional service, that by performing devotional service,at the end of life, one again regains his eternal position in the association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That is just a sign of victory. However, for those devotees who are yet remaining in this world, it is still a matter of regret because they are not getting the association of such great souls, and being bereft of such association or having… like… unfortunate souls like ourselves never have had the or haven’t had the association, having missed that opportunity, that is a source of separation, or a source of uh, unfulfillment to uh… to us, who are left here in this material world without getting such association and being deprived to such association of pure Vaiṣṇavas, by whose glance, by whose remembrance and by whose darśana, by whose mercy one is given pure devotional service, and is immediately transferred to the transcendental plane.

So, Bha… Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktivedanta Swami, he would uh, tell us that there is no reason for lamenting on the disappearance day. Disappearance, appearance, they are all the same for the Vaiṣṇava. Coming from the spiritual, coming into the world to distribute the glory of the Lord or leaving from the world to return back to the shelter of the Lord, everything is glorious. Still, disappearance brings with it the separation that, now we are no longer having the association of that great Vaiṣṇava. Except by his remembrance and by his glorification, but in a physical sense we are not able to perceive his presence, therefore that is something which leaves us empty. That is technically known as viraha.

So, actually Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he was as… he was a great revolutionary in the spiritual science. He was… of course, from his very birth, he was especially a nitya-siddha devotee that was sent. An actual ray of Viṣṇu sent by Kṛṣṇa to answer the prayer of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and his pure Vaiṣṇavī wife. They had prayed that Viṣṇu would send a ray, or a pure empowered nitya-siddha devotee into their family to carry out the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in its pure form. So, especially in those days, and the people were rather learned, at the same time, after Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had more or less re-establish Vaiṣṇava philosophy and way of life into a status of respectability and uh, still within the Vaiṣṇava community, there were many anomalies.

One of the principle anomalies was that people were outwardly putting on different type of shows of being very renounced, or of being very Kṛṣṇa conscious, yet at the same time, because of subtle mistakes in the attitude, they were actually completely missing the point, and they were becoming mislead by sahajiyā or Māyāvādī philosophy, as the case may be.

They were becoming overwhelmed by different types of weeds or agacchas that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu revealed in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Sanātana uh rather Rūpa Gosvāmī śikṣā. So, one of the very beautiful poems that Śrīla Prabhupāda often referred to, which was written by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura is that “duṣṭa mana! tumi kiśera Vaiṣṇava?” That “Materialistic mind, what type of devotee are you?” It is very… It is not very long. It is about nineteen verses, but…

Jaya Śrī Śrī Rāsabihārijī, kī,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: This poem can in one sense give us an insight into some of the special moods of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. So, I had already completed a translation and the commentary of this which is being edited right now, but I don’t have the copy, so I just have to more or less, pick out some high points and just, in a spontaneous way, translate it.

duṣṭa mana! tumi kisera vaiṣṇava?
pratiṣṭhāra tare, nirjanera ghare 
tava ‘ari nāma" kevala ‘kaitava"

(Verse 1 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

So, he is addressing that, “Oh you materialistic mind! What type of devotee are you? You are actually being overwhelmed by the desire for nirjana… for your own fame and prestige, pratiṣṭhā - your own position, your own prominence in the society of Vaiṣṇavas and your own position. Therefore, you are going away from the society of devotees. You are going into some type of an independent or solitary room or place. You are making your own independent program and actually your so-called uh, saṅkīrtana preaching, or your so-called independent program is simply cheating because of your actual inner desire simply for your own position and not based on pure devotion.”

jaḍera pratiṣṭhā, śukarer viṣṭhā 
jāna nā ki tāhā ‘māyāra vaibhava 
kanaka-kāminī, divasa-yāminī 
bhāviyā ki kāja, anitya se saba

(Verse 2 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

That, “Any type of prominence which is visible in this material world, to desire that is like desiring to eat the stool of pigs. Don’t you know that anything visible in this material world that we can desire, that is simply an expansion of materialistic illusory energy? Wealth and uh, women, for day and night meditating on these things, what is the use? Everything is temporary.”

tomāra kanaka, bhogera janaka 
kanakera dvāre sevaha ‘mādhava

(Verse 3 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

So, “If you have some wealth, so that wealth should not be used for sense gratification, but simply used in the service of Mādhava.”

kaminīra kāma, nahe tava dhāma 
tāhāra--mālika kevala ‘yādava

(Verse 3 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

“If you have any type of desire for sense gratification, or for beautiful women, then actually, you should know that all those desires should simply be rather transferred and engaged in the service of Yādava. They should be simply given to Yādava, to Kṛṣṇa. He is the only reservoir of pure love, pure lusty desires.”

pratiṣṭhā-taru, jaḍa-māyā-maru 
nā pela ‘rāvaṇa" yujhiyā ‘rāghava 
vaiṣṇavai pratiṣṭhā, tāte kara niṣṭhā 
tāhā nā bhajile labhibe raurava

(Verse 4 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

“If you become under the desire for any type of materialistic position, then that is simply the cause of material death. Because Rāvaṇa, Rāvaṇa, he desired like that. But he didn’t achieve that goal. Instead, he was simply killed by Rāmacandra, ki”

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: To desire to be a Vaiṣṇava, the servant of the servant of the devotees, that is real position. That is real achievement. For that, you should be very steady. If you don’t worship the devotees and try to be the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa, then for all type of show of devotion, all you will get is Raurava, or one of the hellish existences, the Raurava hell.

So, here, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has taken us to different… because different people have different, different motivations. Basic thing is that material position. So, Mahāprabhu, He described material position as three things: na janaṁ, na dhanaṁ, na janaṁ, na sundarīṁ — Desire for wealth, desire for followers and desire for beautiful women and sense gratification. These are the three main pratiṣṭhā, motivations. So, for any of these three things, one may desire to perform some type of nirjana-bhajana.

Nirjana-bhajana means that doesn’t only mean going and imitating Haridāsa Ṭhākura and chanting three lakhs a day, but in the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one person cannot do saṅkīrtana. It requires a joint effort of so many people. Just like Śrīla Prabhupāda said that, “One person can’t do kīrtana. You need a khol, karatāla, everything.” Like that, ISKCON movement is a joint movement of so many people. It is a combined effort. One person cannot make the worldwide preaching. He has to make so many devotees, then from there only it can go on. Then it is possible.

So, either one goes solitarily and does his japa like Harināma… or like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, or one in any way or form leaves that mainstream of the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu a nd goes off on some independent mood for the inner desire not of actually pleasing the spiritual master, not because it is necessary to expand the service, but actually because he feels pinched in some way, not enough followers, not enough position in terms of followers, or sense gratification, women or whatever, or in terms of monetarily independence. We see every, every time some gṛhasthas, they are going outside because, “I don’t get enough money in the temple. It’s not out…” but even they have a room and everything they want, they go out and get a car. They get a tv set, this that. Sometimes you find that they get… That’s dhanam.

Or, sometimes people leave. They want to have some illicit sex, so they leave the movement. Sometimes people, they leave the movement because they have some desire to have some followers. They go and set up some independent āśrama or independent movement, but they have to keep the show of being a Vaiṣṇava, otherwise, it becomes very degrading. People will simply criticize. So, some of them, they just leave, and they don’t care. Other people, they keep on the show of being a Vaiṣṇava, but inside, they’ve got other desires which are agitating their mind.

This thing, duṣṭa mind, materialistic mind is being agitated by these things. Bhaktisiddhānta is praying that, “Mind don’t be agitated by these things. Don’t be affected. These are very dangerous enemies. The real thing to simply desire is be the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the Vaiṣṇavas. Nothing else. That is the only position you want, mind. Don’t desire anything else. Don’t be misled by any other desire. Be always on the watch out because if you serve any other desire than that pure desire to be the devotee of the devotee of the devotee of the Lord, it will simply lead you to hell. Even if you put on a show of being a Vaiṣṇava, it doesn’t make any difference. You’ll be led to hell.”

So, then Bhaktisiddhānta goes on to say:

harijana-dveṣa, pratiṣṭhāśa-kleśa,
kara kena tabe tāhāra gaurava?
vaiṣṇavera pāche, pratiṣṭhāśa āche,
tā'te kabhu nahe ‘anitya-vaibhava"

(Verse 5 Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

So, then, this is the next stage. He is saying, harijana-dveṣa, to become envious of the devotees of Kṛṣṇa. This is one of the miserable results of having desire for pratiṣṭhā, for position, kanaka-kāminī jana, followers, wealth and sense gratification: Any one or all. “Why do you glorify, why do you glorify this envious quality against the Vaiṣṇavas? Why do you think that that is anything glorifiable? kara kena tabe tāhāra gaurava. You should know that behind the Vaiṣṇavas, there is a real position, a real desire for pratiṣṭhā which is bona fide, and in that, there is no, there is no type of materialistic tinge. In other words, a pure devotee does desire to have Kṛṣṇa’s mercy established all over the world. And for that, he is willing to do whatever it takes.”

Just like Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he accepted the Vyāsa-pūjā on a raised seat with flowers and so many things which was not always done by everyone. And he said that, “This is actually that humility. Because I have to accept as a Vaiṣṇava, as a guru on behalf of Vyāsadeva.” But that is a different thing. A pure devotee is actually desiring to expand the glories of the Lord. He may sometime accept certain things in the service of the Lord or may sometimes do something.

But actually, as Prabhupāda said, "bhāva-grāhī janārdana". Janārdana - He takes the inner mood of the devotees.” If that pure mood for preaching is actually the motivation, it may appear, “Oh, that he is desiring some type of materialistic thing, some type of a prominence, this or that.” But actually the only desire of a pure Vaiṣṇava is to expand the glories of the Lord. In consequently or inconsequently along the way, sometimes it may come that some glorification or some type of thing is there, some paraphernalia whatever, but that desire for preaching… just like people would criticize Bhaktisiddhānta for taking car, for taking elephant, “What is this? Why doesn’t he walk?” They criticize. No, but he wanted to show that everything can be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

You don’t have to walk when you are carrying Kṛṣṇa’s message. That can be carried on a very royal way because the message of Kṛṣṇa is the most divine and sacred and pure thing that can ever come to this world. So, the difference is very subtle. The difference is that the devotee never leaves. The pure devotee is always trying to bring in the Vaiṣṇavas. Always trying to push forward the movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Never attempt to remain separate, or to divide, or to have some type of independent action. Always would desire for increasing the goṣṭhi, the community of devotees, and increasing the cooperation in every respect, increasing the saṅkīrtana mood, you see.

Externally, appearing to be the… maybe that he is going to preaching, this or that or at least, but someone who is going nirjana, that means solitarily, not with the mainstream, either in a group of independent people, or even as a total… the point is that actually separate from that stream coming down from the previous ācāryas. What is their actual desire? What is the example shown by the previous ācāryas? What is their mood?

When someone, due to some other subtle desire for position, goes off from that, then what happens is he says harijana-dveṣa. First thing is to give himself an excuse, he starts to criticize the real devotees, those who are preaching without any type of particular motivation more than trying to serve their spiritual master. First thing is that… those people who go solitary, they’ll criticize, “Oh, why they’re doing this? Why they’re doing that?” That is always there.

Because if you don’t criticize someone else’s position, when you’re in the wrong position, then how can you establish your own position? So, they become envious of the other devotees and they immediately start picking up faults. They don’t see that what is the effort being given, what is the dedication, what is the actual any good work being done. All they do is pick out some little fault. That’s called harijana-dveṣa, becoming envious of the Vaiṣṇavas. This is the result of their subtle desire for one’s own personal uh, prominence, one own’s personal position.

And that, not only that, but Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī says that, this enviousness of Vaiṣṇava that he says to his mind, “Why you are thinking that’s something to be proud of? That you’re able to pick out faults in the pure devotees, that’s nothing to be proud of. Actually, a pure devotee does have so many types of position, pratiṣṭhā, so many desire for… but that desire for the position in a pure devotee is a different creation. His desire is simply for the expansion of the glories of the Lord. You should understand the subtle difference.” He is trying to instruct his mind.

So,

se hari-sambandha, śūnya-māyāgandha
tāhā kabhu naya ‘jaḍera kaitava"
pratiṣṭhā-canḍālī, nirjanatā-jāli,
ubhaye jāniha māyika raurava

(Verse 6, Vaiṣṇava Ke?)

So, each verse, he is trying to show the two sides. On one side, to be in relation with Kṛṣṇa, that is free from all type of scent of māyā contamination. That never has any materialistic cheating propensity in it. On the other hand, the subtle desire for materialistic prominence, position is like a canḍālī, like a witch which drags us down into the net of desire for nirjanatā, for independence. Independence of that association and of the devotees… and that association with devotees means that always we will have to adjust our behavior in tune with the society of the Vaiṣṇavas.

Even like Caitanya Mahāprabhu showed so many times. He gave way to the desire of different devotees when He realized the actual situation and what people would think. So that type of being with the devotees is a very purifying thing. It always forces one to be very humble. So, when one is under the clutches of that witch of materialistic desire for position, that is just like a… that it takes one into this net of then wanting to separate from those devotees, be free from that limitation. Won’t have to bother with what other people think. Just start to criticize them, “Oh they’re… this defect, that defect. Go out from them and now I’m free. I can do what I like.” Then we are under the clutches of that witch, that canḍālī, pratiṣṭhā-canḍālī, and then we are caught up in the net of uh, this uh, materialistic desire.

And so, he said, both of these things, you see, to have this uh, desire and to go apart from the devotees, you should know, both of them are complete māyā, hellish existence. Nothing else.

kīrtana chāḍiba - That, “I’ll give up kīrtana.”

pratiṣṭhā mākhiba - “I’ll anoint myself with the desire for personal importance.”

ki kāja ḍhuḍiyā tādṛśa gaurava - “What, in this work… what in this type of situation, what is there to be proud of?”

Mādhavendra Purī, bhava-ghare curi, nā karila kabhu sadāi jānaba

Mādhavendra Purī, when he was… you know all the story of… sākṣī… not sākṣī, but Remuṇā. Kṣīra-corā-gopīnātha. That when Gopīnātha stole the kṣīra from Mādhavendra Purī and then He gave it to Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī, he became afraid that, “Now I’ll become very popular.” So, he ran off that people will start to say that for me He stolen the kṣīra.

“Then they’ll all come to me. I don’t want this type of false pride.”

He was… He ran off. And he was always completely on the transcendental loving attitude. In fact, it’s said that of all the people in the world, that only Rādhārāṇī, all the people, anywhere, only Rādhārāṇī has mahā-bhāva. In addition to her, Lord Caitanya had mahā-bhāva, and Mādhavendra Purī. No one else.

So, if someone tries to imitate Mādhavendra Purī saying, “Well, I don’t want to be very popular, this or that. I don’t want to be with the devotees for this or that reason.” and he goes off trying to show some even higher exalted renunciation, so that uh… that Bhaktisiddhānta is criticizing. bhava-ghare curi means that is just like an external show. It’s not that any of the people that do this are on the level of Mādhavendra Purī.

Mādhavendra Purī was a different personality, so he was avoiding all type of this, fame and distinction and running off from that to show… not to show humility to others, but because he just didn’t want to be… He was in the complete nitya-siddha platform, and he didn’t want the people to come up and… by him… the… and he just had a high… he just a completely other creation. You can’t even compare that with anything that we have any experience of. So, that is the basic point that we should know that uh, if Mādhavendra Purī stayed away from the devotees in that type of a mood, that is a completely different creation. That has nothing to do with anything we could experience, and we shouldn’t try to imitate.

So, then he went and goes on to say:

tomāra pratiṣṭhā,—‘śukarer viṣṭhā",

Mind, your desire for importance, this is simply the stool of the, of the swine.

tāra-saha sama kabhu nā mānaba - “It’s not even equal to uh, normal human standard.”

matsaratā-vaśe tumi jadarase majeche-chāḍiyā kīrtana-sauṣṭhava - “Being under the control of matsaratā. matsaratā means envy. You become under the sway of enviousness of the Vaiṣṇavas, therefore under this materialistic mellow, this materialistic, this uh, emotion, you have thought that you were enjoying, actually giving up the eternal nectar of the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the real rasa, which is a, which is achievable there amongst the devotees.”

tāi duṣṭa mana, ‘nirjana bhajana," pracāricha chale ‘kuyogī-vaibhava" - “So in this way, you naughty mind, in the name of solitary worship, you have… you have made a great propaganda, a great cheating propaganda, actually under the effect of a false Vaiṣṇava or under the effect of a false yogī.”

In other words, when a person goes off in this solitary way, leaving the actual association of devotees, the saṅkīrtana movement and goes off and shows, “Now I’m like a Mādhavendra Purī and now I am very qualified on my own. I don’t need anything else. Everyone else is māyā. All the other devotees are in māyā. I am actually, I have my three people with me, whatever, we are actually right. Everyone is bogus.” And they do a propaganda also.

Very clearly says, pracāricha. They also do propaganda. “We are right. You’re all wrong. They’re all wrong.” This is the standard thing. This is written 100 years ago, eighty years ago. This is the standard thing for people that fall into māyā that are on the Vaiṣṇava path. This is already predicted. This is the way that those weeds of devotion that come up, the weeds that affect the devotion, this is the way they take our mind away and cheat us.

Therefore, he is repeatedly saying his mind is simply on the mental platform. All one has to do is give up every last trace of enjoying attitude, surrender unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and the Vaiṣṇava, to spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas and just jump into the saṅkīrtana movement and preach. And immediately, you see, he tastes transcendental nectar.

So, the second half of verse nine is - prabhu sanātane, parama yatane, śikṣā dila yāhā, cinta sei saba - He says that, “Remember the teachings that Sanātana, that to Sanātana so carefully Lord Caitanya has given. And meditate on those teachings very carefully.”

sei du'ti kathā, bhula' nā sarvathā uccaiī svare kara ‘hari nāma-rava" - “Remember those two instructions. Don’t forget at any time. Chant loudly hari nāma and remain engaged in that harināma-saṅkīrtana.”

‘phalgu" āra ‘yukta", ‘baddha" āra ‘mukta," kabhu nā bhaviha, ekākāra saba - “Never think that one who is alone or one ātmā or yukta… one who is uh, alone… a soul and one who is actually engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, one who is a conditioned soul, or one who is a liberated soul are the same. Never think that it is all the same.” That the individual soul… Basically, the teachings that Sanātana Gosvāmī was given was to water the plant and to pull out the weeds. To watch out for your offences and watch out for the āgāchās. These are the teachings that Lord Caitanya gave.

So, loudly to chant. Bhaktisiddhānta already told us what the loudest chanting – uccaḥ-svare-kīrtana - loud chanting, he said the loudest chanting of all was the bṛhat-mṛdaṅga, that is the book distribution. Loud chanting means preaching. Loud chanting means that one person, he can do a loud uccaiḥ-svare-kīrtana very effectively, as you can do when you are 100 people. Similarly, the idea of saṅkīrtana means what? San means complete. Kīrtana means glorification. That activity which is going to most completely glorify Kṛṣṇa amongst the people.

We built… Prabhupāda desired to build this Bombay temple was to give the complete glorification of Kṛṣṇa to the Bombay people. Similarly, the desire for other different projects, for the book distribution, whether the Māyāpur project, or what… or for whatever… or for different programs that he came up, just like he desired to preach all around India, do festivals, all these different… what is… the whole idea is saṅkīrtana. More completely glorifying Kṛṣṇa, expanding more and more that, that glory. (Bell rings in background)

So Bhaktisiddhānta goes on. It’s a beautiful, beautiful poem here where he takes one… here, there is not time, but it goes to… now he goes into how the mind sometimes gets misled by a type of sahajiyā-bhāva, sometimes it is misled by a type of false renunciation, sometimes gets misled by type of desire for liberation, sometimes gets uh, mislead by uh, a type of false renunciation, they called it phalgu-vairāgī.

He calls himself, kahe nije ‘tyāgī', se nā pāre kabhu haite vaiṣṇava." And he described this phalgu-vairāgī. There is a very famous saying of Bhaktisiddhānta. In Gaya there is a river. That river has got no water. It is called the Phalgu River. I’ve personally seen. There is no water, just sand.

Now, apparently Sītā Devī, according to some accounts, she cursed that river for some activity that he did or didn’t do. And therefore, cursed him that he could no longer have any water. So, and all the people go there and pass stool and everything and burn the dead bodies on top. But then gave a blessing that, because Sītā Devī is very kind, according to the, I don’t know that this is the actual account. But they say that She gave Her blessing anyway that you dig a few feet and you find water.

Whatever the actual history of the fact is, the, that’s what the local panḍitas and all say, there. But the fact is that the Phalgu River, there is no water visible, but if you dig one hand, one and a half feet, two feet down, you get as much water as you want, and everyone is going there, digging in the sand, a few feet down, the water pours up and they are taking their bath. They are taking the water, going and doing the pūjā at the Viṣṇupāda temple, doing the… That same water was used by Lord Caitanya for doing piṇḍī for Jagannātha Miśra and by everyone that goes there. But if you look, you don’t see any water. You just dig a few feet, and there is water.

So that Bhaktisiddhānta was using that example that outside they are showing some type of renounced uh, you know, high, exalted type of uh, reason for actually leaving the saṅkīrtana movement, or whatever. But actually, if you just dig a little bit, then just like the Phalgu river, you find water, underneath there is so many desires for janam, dhanam, sundarīm, whatever that are actually the inner secret, the inner actual essence. It is just outwardly it looks like, “Oh, he is very tyāgī.”

So, this type of example is very vivid. So, then, the actual whole mood here is summed up in the last three verses that which shows his own, real desire.

rādhā dāsye rai', chāḍi ‘bhoga-ahi," ‘pratiṣṭhāśa" nahe ‘kīrtana-gaurava" – “That I want to simply stay as the servant of the servant of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī. That I want to just give up all type of desire for any type of enjoying or enjoyment mood” And that, that type of desire for position has nothing to do with the actual glories of, of expand of kīrtana. That I want to simply remain, I want to simply give my mind.”

‘rādhā-nityajana", tāhā chāḍi' mana kena vā nirjana-bhajana-kaitava - “I want to simply give my mind to the lotus feet of the eternal associates and devotees of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī. Why should I give my mind up into that cheating of some type of solitary attempt for worshipping Kṛṣṇa?”

vrajavāsigaṇa, pracāraka-dhana - “The real wealth of the vrajavāsigaṇa, of the pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa means vrajavāsis. pracāraka-dhana - The real wealth is preaching. pracāraka-dhana.”

pratiṣṭhā-bhikṣuka tā'rā nahe ‘śaba" - “They are not beggars to get any type of personal aggrandizement. They want the glories of the Lord to be established everywhere.”

prāṇa ache tāṅra, sehetu pracāra - “Because they’ve got life, because they’ve got compassion, because they’ve got real spiritual essence, therefore, they have the desire to spread the glories of the Lord. Therefore, they are preaching everywhere.”

pratiṣṭhāśā hīna -’kṛṣṇagāthā" saba - “They’re completely free from any desire for personal aggrandizement. They are simply tied to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.”

So here, he is giving us the idea that to actually, he wants to all be vraja-vāsīs. We all want to be residents of Kṛṣṇa’s holy dhāma and be His pure devotees. There is no other desire for us devotees. So, he is giving us that assurance, Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, that simply preaching that is the real wealth.

“You go on glorifying Kṛṣṇa, glorifying Kṛṣṇa, glorifying Kṛṣṇa without any inhibition, without any feeling of guilt, or without any feeling or any that by glorifying Kṛṣṇa somehow, this in a, in a grand way, that anything there is touched with māyā?! No. It has nothing to do with māyā. You go on glorifying Kṛṣṇa. That is the real wealth.”

The only reason why someone gives his whole life energy, everything for glorifying Kṛṣṇa, it is not because he has got some desire for material importance. The real preaching mood is only coming in those people who’ve actually got the spiritual essence, who got that prāṇa.

So, in the end, he says that,

śrīdayitadāsa, kīrtanate āśa, kara uccaiḥ svare ‘harināma-rava" – “That Śrī-dayita-dāsa, Bhaktisiddhānta dasa, Bhaktisiddhānta the servant of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī is simply having that desire to engage in the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and to always remain amongst the loud chanting of the Harināma.”

kīrtana-prabhāve, smaraṇa svabhāve, se kāle bhajana-nirjana sambhava - “There, under the effect of that kīrtana, that glorification of the Lord, there automatically comes that nature of remembering the Lord, and there, at that time, amongst the huge pr… amongst the uh, widespread broadcasting of the glories to the Lord, that saṅkīrtana with so many devotees, at that time automatically, that natural remembrance of the Lord comes and at that moment, it is possible to actually achieve the intimate realization of Kṛṣṇa, the real nirjana-bhajana, the real solitary worship, where the individual soul is completely surrendered and completely realized in pure kṛṣṇa-prema of the eternal goal of our life, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa — at that time.

In other words, he is giving us that assurance that, “Actually if anyone wants to achieve real understanding of rādhā-kṛṣṇa-prema, what is the pure love of the vraja-vāsīs, of the gopīs, what is the pure love, the highest love that is existing in Goloka Vṛndāvana, you won’t get that by leaving the saṅkīrtana movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, or doing any type of solitary attempt which is not necessary for actually expanding the preaching. But actually, by simply engaging in the glorification of the Lord, engaging in that saṅkīrtana, even you’re with so many devotees, even you are in such a united effort, but actually in that complete dedicated mood, at that time, internally that solitary intimate relationship with Kṛṣṇa is established, known as confidential bhakti, anurudha bha… anurāga-bhakti.”

So, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was actually revolutionary that he took the humble position, took sannyāsa. “I am taking sannyāsa because I’m a very, I’m not a Vaiṣṇava. I’m only trying to be servant of the Vaiṣṇava.”

Because so many people were saying, “Vaiṣṇavas should never be a sannyāsī. Vaiṣṇava is so exalted.” But he could see that in the name of Vaiṣṇavism, they have all these desires. He said, “No no. I’m not a Vaiṣṇava yet. I’m taking sannyāsa. Because sannyāsa is varṇāśrama. We are beneath Vaiṣṇava. We are simply trying to glorify the Lord as the humble fourth order of life, not as an exalted Vaiṣṇava, we have not reach that.” That’s his humility. That wasn’t a desire for establishing some kind of new type of importance. Actually, it was his humility for preaching.

So, in every day and age, there are different type of māyās that come, but the basic essence is to preach the glories of the Lord, put ourselves in the fire and then avoid all type of the mental independence that comes and tries to take us away from that pure path. Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda, he personally showed the pure example of that through his whole life. And he established Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, simply trying to maintain the mood of his spiritual master.

In so many ways, for most of his life up till 70, up till about 60 years, he was always simply working with his godbrothers in every respect, but and even up to the very end, he was always calling them over and asking that, “Please come and have a united effort.” But he was very sad that his Godbrothers would not make that united effort, and that is the only reason. Because Prabhupāda kept up that constant saṅkīrtana mood of trying to bring everyone into the saṅkīrtana, trying to make the united effort, trying to maintain the pure mood of his spiritual master, that he was always empowered by the Lord.

He had actually understood the essence of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s teachings, so he has personally established his ISKCON society under his own guidance and under his own hand and he has organized it and set it up exactly to his own desire so that we can carry on that same mood that is being handed down in the disciplic succession.

So that great responsibility now is upon all of us, to try to maintain that original and true preaching spirit and know that by that means you will get the favor of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Not that by putting on some type of false show, or this or that, but by keeping into this preaching spirit of glorifying Kṛṣṇa, of bringing the people who are fallen in this material world to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa,and glorifying Kṛṣṇa everywhere. That is a very simple and sublime process given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, explained by Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, and put into practical effect by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and our beloved spiritual master and Founder-Ācārya Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda.

Jaya, Śrī Śrī paramahaṁsa parivrajakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda kī…

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya, Śrī Śrī paramahaṁsa parivrajakācārya aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda kī…

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Jaya samaveta bhakta-vṛnda kī…

Devotees: Jaya!