19821015 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.19

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on October 15, 1982 at Murāri Sevaka farm, in Mulberry, Tennessee. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 2, Chapter 3, Verse 19.

śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ
saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
na yat-karṇa-pathopeto
jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
(ŚB 2.3.19)

Translation by His Divine Grace, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Svāmī Prabhupāda of Text 19, Chapter 3, Canto 2, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.

Purport by Prabhupāda: The general mass of people, unless they are trained systematically for a higher standard of life in spiritual values, are no better than animals, and in this verse they have particularly been put on the level of dogs, hogs, camels and asses. Modern university education practically prepares one to acquire a doggish mentality with which to accept the service of a greater master. After finishing a so-called education, the so-called educated persons move like dogs from door to door with applications for some service, and mostly they are driven away, informed of no vacancy. As dogs are negligible animals and serve the master faithfully for bits of bread, a man serves a master faithfully without sufficient rewards.

Persons who have no discrimination in the matter of foodstuff and who eat all sorts of rubbish are compared to hogs. Hogs are very much attached to eating stools. So stool is a kind of foodstuff for a particular type of animal. And even stones are eatables for a particular type of animal or bird. But the human being is not meant for eating everything and anything; he is meant to eat grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar, etc. Animal food is not meant for the human being. For chewing solid food, the human being has a particular type of teeth meant for cutting fruits and vegetables. The human being is endowed with two canine teeth as a concession for persons who will eat animal food at any cost. It is known to everyone that one man’s food is another man’s poison. Human beings are expected to accept the remnants of food offered to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord accepts foodstuff from the categories of leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. (Bg. 9.26). As prescribed by Vedic scriptures, no animal food is offered to the Lord. Therefore, a human being is meant to eat a particular type of food. He should not imitate the animals to derive so-called vitamin values. Therefore, a person who has no discrimination in regard to eating is compared to a hog.

Jayapatākā Swami [Read part of the purport and explains]: The Camel, then he wrote... Here we’ve already discussed dogs and hog-like human beings.

Actually, in the Vedic culture, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, you see… even a brāhmaṇa, he may accept the occupation of a king, or of a businessman, but they’ll never accept the job as a salaried person, which is that of a śūdra, you see.

Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great brāhmaṇa. He was offered the position as Prime Minister by the king, and uh, he agreed to accept that position with a condition that he wouldn’t accept any salary. He wouldn’t live in the king’s palace. Or he wanted a separate outside of the king’s palace. He wouldn’t accept any salary because he didn’t want to become… when you accept salary, then you have to do what your boss says. Just like a dog. Look at all the people in Customs and Immigration. Just because of getting salary, they have to mistreat people. Put them through such a hard time. You want to go and see any president of any corporation, you have to go through watchmen, secretaries, so many people who are just there to tell you, “no.”. Rough, “No. You can’t see him.” (laughter)

So, this uh, dog-like mentality, however, is being promoted in the Western culture. Not only Western, but the well whole Western, whether Capitalist, or Communist. Everyone is forced to simply work faithfully for insufficient rewards. At least in the Western countries, the idea that well you can give up your job and try to get another job, where you get more pay. Offer some allurement that, “Well, maybe there’s hope to get sufficient reward.”

You see, while in the Communist country, you just get a completely insufficient amount, but you have to work just, anyway. There, there is no one in who is a… this whole Vedic system is a, very much only… is very much stifled. Only the Communist party members have got any real freedom, otherwise anybody has to just serve, faithfully the established situation.

So, here even in America, still there are traders and businessmen. There’s a lot of vaiśyas, but all the intellectuals and military, they’re all become simply the paid people of the uh, government, which is all supported by taxes, controlled by various lobbies. So, in this way, big intellectuals they are going to school, but then they’re just actually spending their whole time developing greater types of, you know, products for comer… for consumer distribution, everything. So, it’s actually… there’s no question of free thought, or actual human uh, characteristics being developed. They’re actually just, uh, like faithful dogs.

They’re just uh, serving their master, faithfully, for money, but their glorified and given some name and fame and, like this, recognition. But, actually, that type of real independent ability to do welfare work for the people, to do real search of the truth, is hardly given to most of the people. Just maybe a very few, actually get that type of independence. And Prabhupāda has sufficiently discussed about the hogs. We don’t have to really go into it much more. Regarding the camel, he says:

Purport continues: The camel is a kind of animal that takes pleasure in eating thorns. A person who wants to enjoy family life or the worldly life of so-called enjoyment is compared to the camel. Materialistic life is full of thorns, and so one should live only by the prescribed method of Vedic regulations just to make the best use of a bad bargain. Life in the material world is maintained by sucking one’s own blood. The central point of attraction for material enjoyment is sex life. To enjoy sex life is to suck one’s own blood, and there is not much more to be explained in this connection. The camel also sucks its own blood while chewing thorny twigs. The thorns the camel eats cut the tongue of the camel, and so blood begins to flow within the camel’s mouth. The thorns, mixed with fresh blood, create a taste for the foolish camel, and so he enjoys the thorn-eating business with false pleasure.

Jayapatākā Swami [Read part of the purport and explains]: This you can see this in India. Actually, that they eat, they go to the thorn tree, and they eat. They’re so stupid that they think that thorns are sweet tasting. You see, because when they chew the thorn, they taste some sweet taste. They don’t realize that the sweet taste is their blood. If someone gives you an apple, then you eat it then you… very sweet taste. So, it’s like that. They don’t see what’s, you know, happening in their mouth. They’re so stupid, they don’t realize that their tongue is being cut up. Must not be very sensitive. (devotees laugh) So when they chew on the thorns, and then they taste the blood mixed with the thorn, they think, “Oh, this is a very sweet preparation. (laugh) I wonder why no one else is eating it.” (Devotees laughing) “They left it all for me.” (laughing continues)

So, Prabhupāda is saying:

Purport continues: Similarly, the great business magnates, industrialists who work very hard to earn money by different ways and questionable means, eat the thorny results of their actions mixed with their own blood. Therefore, the Bhāgavatam has situated these diseased fellows along with the camels.

The ass is an animal who is celebrated as the greatest fool, even amongst the animals. The ass works very hard and carries burdens of the maximum weight without making profit for itself. The ass is generally engaged by the washer man, whose social position is not very respectable. And the special qualification of the ass is that it is very much accustomed to being kicked by the opposite sex. When the ass begs for sexual intercourse, he is kicked by the fair sex, yet he still follows the female for such sexual pleasure. A henpecked man is compared, therefore, to the ass. The general mass of people works very hard, especially in the Age of Kali. In this age the human being is actually engaged in the work of an ass, carrying heavy burdens and driving ṭhelā and rickshaws.

Jayapatākā Swami [Read part of the purport and explains]: You know ṭhelā? In India, this is… you know bullock has the cart. So, in Calcutta, I have seen they have bullock cart, without the bull. Instead, the men are pulling. It’s a small. And sometimes they load on it half a ton, one ton of uh, steel or something, and you see them pulling. There is two people in the front, and one person in the back. Just like the bullock, they’re pulling. And, uh, you see them coming down the road, and all of a sudden like some big bus or something comes the o… this way, and so then, they try to stop, but you’ve got a one ton, you know, they don’t weigh that much. So, then they have one-ton momentum going, there, and they’re trying to stop, and you see them straining, and the sweat is going. They’re trying to stop but (devotees laughing) just, you know, not to run into this bus. It’s uh, I mean, you can just how… why… human beings are working just like asses. All because they get… they get, you know, pretty good pay. Because uh, instead of carrying uh, in some uh, little miniature truck, say you just wanted to move something in the city that it’s not a big enough load for a whole truck,or a truck may cost 50 rupees, so they’ll pull it for 12 rupees or 20 rupees, so that way they can do two loads. In a day, they’ll make 70, 80, about a dollar a day. A lot of money, you know, and they’re pulling rickshaw. The average life of a rickshaw puller in India is something like 35 years old. But just for the money, they’re doing it. They make more money than if they were in the village.

Purport continues: The so-called advancement of human civilization has engaged a human being in the work of an ass. The laborers in great factories and workshops are also engaged in such burdensome work, and after working hard during the day, the poor laborer has to be again kicked by the fair sex, not only for sex enjoyment but also for so many household affairs.

So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s categorization of the common man without any spiritual enlightenment into the society of dogs, hogs, camels and asses is not at all an exaggeration. The leaders of such ignorant masses of people may feel very proud of being adored by such a number of dogs and hogs, but that is not very flattering.

Jayapatākā Swami [Read part of the purport and explains]: I once saw, in my previous life, some movie. I forget what the movies was, but I remember that one man was driving, and he looked, and it was a traffic jam, and everyone he saw in the traffic jam, all turned into sheep, and goats. And they were sitting in their car, you know, I don’t know it was some comedy or something, but it was supposed to show like everybody was just like an animal or something. It showed you know all dogs, sheep, everyone, all the people turned into animals, waiting in this traffic jam. I guess it’s like the rat race.

Devotee: Yeah.

Jayapatākā Swami: You can see here, the imagery. There the leaders are speaking. I saw yesterday in the paper, it showed, there was some elephant and one ass were embracing each other, shaking hands. These are the symbols of the political. So, they’re already you see (devotees laughing) preparing their, for their next bodies. (devotees laughing) So, the leaders, when they’re speaking, then you can just see that all the people, you know, transform into asses, dogs, hogs, camels, applauding them, woof woof. (laughter)

Lady devotee: When we used to do the football games, you know, we used to distribute the football games, like in Georgia, they call themselves Bulldogs, and everyone, all Georgia fans go around, and they “rauf” like do… you know, make noises like dogs, then they’ll say, you know, we used to run up and pin something on them, and say “Are you a dirty dog?”

“Yeah, I’m a real dirty dog!” you know. And then, there was the Razorbacks, the Hogs, the Cardinals (devotees laughing), and then you’d say, “Are you a Hog?”

“Yeah!”, you know? They’d completely identify with… or they’re a Gator or they’re a, you know, a Tiger, or… They’re crazy…

Jayapatākā Swami: If they die in that consciousness… What birth will they get in their next life, Steve, if they die, thinking that they’re a dog? 

Steve: A dog he shall be, huh?

Jayapatākā Swami: So…

Purport Continues: The Bhāgavatam openly declares that although a person may be a great leader of such dogs and hogs disguised as men, if he has no taste for being enlightened in the science of Kṛṣṇa, such a leader is also an animal and nothing more. He may be designated as a powerful, strong animal, or a big animal, but in the estimation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he is never given a place in the category of man, on account of his atheistic temperament. Or in other words, such godless leaders of dogs and hog like men are bigger animals with the qualities of animals in greater proportion.

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like right now there is a court case going on, in Florida, Palm Beach, Pulitzer divorce case, and uh, Pulitzer, I believe, I don’t know if he has something to do with the Pulitzer Prize. I think it’s the same family. I don’t know if it’s he, or the same family. He’s a big, famous person. So, what’s… what the whole case is there, who’s going to get the custody. It’s a divorce case. Who’s going to get the custody of the children? So, in the case, each one is accusing the other, how, “this one is taking cocaine, and the other one’s a lesbian, and this one’s a homosexual, and how this one, uh, the wife apparently went to bed with 12 different people from the butcher, to the baker to the… to the chauffeur, to the… you know, had all these… then they had some video things of how she was so degraded, then she’s coming around and saying how he is so degraded.

Devotee: They should take them away from both of them.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yeah. (laughter) So, this is like the high society. So, here, it’s saying that in this… without having any God-consciousness, these so-called big, strong, influential people, what it comes out is actually, they’re just stronger, powerfuller, more, more, more animalistic than even the ordinary people who are looking up to… they’re in the... all the magazines, other the big people, society is emulating them, is imitating them, their standard of enjoyment, they want to follow, and uh, they are lower than the lowest. They’re… They’re more sinful than even ordinary people, uh, in the, in the material world, who may be working like asses, or like camels. But these people are… they’re just, you know, mahā-paśu, great animals. So, this is the kind of situation that this world… the so-called leaders, if you go into their private lives, they actually, are morally uh, bankrupt, spiritually bankrupt people in almost 99% of the cases.

From my experience in the college, I came there and wanted to… It just came also out in the paper, now a big problem is that all of the professors in the college are regularly having sexual relationships with their students, and this is creating psychological problem, because the students are looking up to their teachers, hypothetically, and instead, now teachers are… they’re coming for some tutoring or some… this, that, and instead, they find it’s easier to get good grades, is just to uh, have relationship with the teacher, and of all… of all… of all varieties and forms, so the thing is that uh, all these so-called cherish-able institutions in society, they’re just gradually, completely decaying.

When we were in Florida, seeing these different displays. They showed history, and they showed how Rome was in a big… big success. They were doing so many economic developments. Then they showed, “And then Rome, because of hedonistic tendencies, because of enjoying too much, it crumbled.” But, somehow, in the whole exhibit no… the idea that people should limit their enjoyment, or anything… even though they showed that, but in the modern-day world, where is the slightest bit of caution to people? I haven’t seen any symptom, the slightest bit of caution, even of moral, or ca… apart from like now that Reagan, the president said he is going to do a 200 million dollar drive to stop drugs by having, you know, but there is no program for training the people to have a higher taste, or to… to.. to understand they… a real purpose of life, whereby they wouldn’t want to take drugs.

They said, “We’re not going after the pushers. We’re not going after the users. We want to break the organized crime. We want to break the big rings.” But the people, they want these things, because they’re spiritually bankrupt. Just arresting the promotors of organized crime and that, of course, how much of uh, the money they’re spending to catch these people, what’s going to actually happen is another thing. Usually, these things are just political ploys, but the actual thing is what… what’s being done for the actual people?

The fact is, is that there is 80-billion-dollar business known by the government in drugs, in North… in America, alone. 80-billion-dollars, that’s probably…

Devotee: A fraction.

Jayapatākā Swami: …just a fraction of what the real total is. A known 80 million black market, apart from whatever’s… and that’s probably more than most of the, uh, nations in the world have as their Gross National Product. But, then, what is being done to actually educate the people not to take drugs? You have Pulitzer, and all big, big people. They’re all taking drugs. Everyone is doing these things. Big uh, members of Senate, of Congress, you see in the paper, come out that they’re uh, taking cocaine, or something before they go to give a big le…

Devotee: I just heard on the radio, just happened up here in the town, the Church of Christ, the pastor got arrested for uh, dealing marijuana. (laughing) This guy is like 45 years old, or something.

Devotee: Well, out here, in Lynchberg the.. I think he’s the football coach was.. fired because he was gambling with the players.

Jayapatākā Swami: Gambling, in what way?

Reply: Card games for money, you know

Jayapatākā Swami: (clears throat) So, of course, this is the duty of the king, or of a ruler, on one hand an administrator he is supposed to see that the black market is stopped. But in the Vedic society that’s why they would be supporting brahminical preachers who would actually be educating people on what is the proper moral standard, on what is the proper spiritual uh, goal of life, so that people themselves would not be so inclined to uh, do all these things. And now, as you say, the so-called Christian priests who are technically, possibly supposed to be fulfilling that obligation here, but uh, they’re as much a party to it as anyone else. Maybe some of them are slightly better than the general mass, but in general…

The uh, task is a very huge task and it requires perfect examples. That’s why the bhāgavatas, or pure devotees who actually can lead pure spiritual life and can show the people what is the proper standard for leading human life. They are essential in human society. People will say that, “Well, you are parasites on society.” So, actually then, if the brāhmaṇas are parasites on society, then what are all these… law enforcement people? They’re spending 200 million dollars to pay the salary of people who are supposed to go underground and… and break into these drug smuggling rings. They can spend 200 million dollars for that, but how many people have Kṛṣṇa consciousness received the support, and people became Kṛṣṇa conscious more and more, gradually giving up all these types of bad habits. Think how many millions and billions of dollars they’re going to save. So, actually we’re doing the greatest service for society, and we’re not even charging them 200 million dollars for it. But, if they want to give us, we will use it also... (devotees laughing) In fact, we might as well write to Regan that he should give half of it to us for stopping drug, we will distribute a lot of prasādam, do big festivals, get everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. They don’t have to use any drugs anymore. Right, Steve?

Steve: Exactly.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol!

Devotees: (Laughing) Hari Bol!

Devotee: Something which Prabhupāda said about it, drugs were… they asked him… I guess this was in New York. Someone would ask him… Rather, he was talking about it. You don’t actually do drugs. You can stay… stay high forever. I don’t remember if he said it, or if one of… one of the early de…

Jayapatākā Swami: They used to hand out things like that, “Stay High Forever.” Of course, almost we tend to try to avoid those things nowadays, because we know that it’s actually an understatement. But, that’s the actual thing that by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, one will always be blissful. So, all these artificial crutches and artificial type of uh, chemical uh, systems are not at all necessary. But who is going to… who is going to… where is the person, the leaders, down to the ordinary people… if everyone is practically like a polished animal, then how can they expect to actually uplift the society?

There has to be a core of pure spiritually minded people and by their influence, then actually, a type of spiritual revolution which changes this whole direction of misguided society, Godless society is created. That’s the purpose of this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, as mentioned in the Bhāgavatam itself is to create spiritual revolution in society where the people give up all bad habits, at least the intelligent people.

Now, there’s such a big unemployment problem in the world. So, people, they feel very sad that they don’t have any employment, that they can’t be just like a dog working for their master. They’re very sad. And everybody is supposed to work, just like that. Rather, now they should be trained how to be as brāhmaṇas, and people should understand that if people actually live simple life, practice spiritual life, that its better than the people who are just sitting in their home all day playing cards and watching TV, and taking… taking uh… what do you call it?... welfare checks. That actually, the unemployment problem would be solved if a good percentage of people were engaged in spiritual life.

Nowadays, uh if you want to become a minister in one of these Christian churches, you get about $30,000 a year salary. I a Roman Catholic big parish, you get about a 30,000 and the minimum wage is in the 20s, car, tv, your own house. If you’re Catholic, you have to be celibate. But then if you’re a protestant, then you can also be married. So, it’s a big… it’s a big paying salary. And you only have to do… work for 8 ho… you only have to work for about 3 hours a week, on Sundays.

Devotee: 52 days a year.

Jayapatākā Swami: Huh? (chuckling) 52 days a year. Well, then they got a few other holidays they get. So, the point is that the devotees, they’re not taking any big salaries, but actually they’re working for uplifting people. This should be recognized as a very important service. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Questions? Yes?

Lady Devotee: Can we hear the rest of the story you started in New Orleans about the um, first book distribution party? You said you’d continue it at the next darśana… (devotees laughing)

Jayapatākā Swami: Where did I end?

Devotee: When the books got stolen. Books got stolen. That’s where you stopped.

Jayapatākā Swami: You never heard that before.

Devotee: I remember hearing a story, up to there, but I don’t remember how it… how it ended.

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, the first part is that the deity Govindaji told Śrīnivāsa Ācārya to take the books of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava writers in Vṛndāvana, the six Gosvāmīs, so then uh, all the… then they uh, just to tell… just to brief things… so then Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Śyāmānanda Paṇḍita were given armed guards and the books and they were sent off by all the six Gosvāmīs uh, they were left the Jīva Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, Lokanātha and others… or Bhūgarbha and others… Dvija Haridāsa so many… whoever was there in their time, they all saw them off.

They went to the east, and then what happened was there was this one king called Vīramvīrvikram Mahādeva Shah, something like that. And he was in… the king of Viṣṇupur, and he had an astrologer who used to tell him when any very valuable treasure was coming along the highway, through his kingdom. And he had a special band of CIA, Green Beret, Black Beret, whatever, who would dress up like thieves, go out and then rob, bring the things to the king. Then, when people came, he said, I will try to catch the thieves, but actually, he was the bigger thief. (devotees laugh)

So, uh, his astrologer told him that there is a very very valuable treasure being carried just by a few people. It’s not very well guarded, and it’s the most priceless, priceless jewel, according to the calculations, most valuable thing. So, then the king became very excited, and he called his crew and told them, “Go out. There is a big box. You bring it.” Very good astrology.

So, they came and surrounded the camp of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Narottama, and waited, and when they all went asleep that night, the guards who were up, they also dozed off. So just came in and right off the, right off the carriage, they stole the big box of all the manuscripts, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the only single, one manuscript. They’re being taken to be copied in Navadvīpa. The originals, they stole them.

And, they had a big lock on it, so they took it to the king. The king rewarded all of them with 200 gold coins. He sent them off, then he took it, had it taken in his back room, then he had them, his assistants in the treasury break off the lock, and he opened it up. (devotees laughing)

There’s no jewels! Instead, he saw they’re all manuscripts. He said, “What is this?!”, and then, he looked at the manuscripts and he found… See the Caitanya-caritāmṛta had been put on the bottom, but automatically, somehow it had come up on top. And he was looking, and he couldn’t, he said, “These are all sacred scriptures. They’re quoting from the Vedas, and things.” And so, uh, he then became very afraid that, “Now my sinful reactions have caught up to me.”

He was stealing gold and things from people, but he was giving in charity, brāhmaṇas and trying to neutralize it, but here he could realize that, “This was only the property of some great saint, some great Vaiṣṇavas, so that they have stolen, that I have stolen… this is the property of some great scholar, some Vedas. Now all… now I’m going to be guilty of a great offense. All my pious activities are finished. Everything is now going to be finished. I’m going to be severely punished for this great offense.”

And he couldn’t also understand what these books were saying. It was very deep. So, he had some of his scholars trying to read him. They were giving all cockeyed understandings. So, then he locked everything up, and sent a special message to find who was the owner of these books.

In the meantime, the morning came. Śrīnivāsa, Narottama and everyone, when they woke up, they saw that the books were gone. They had been empowered by all these great devotees, by the deity, then the books were gone. They were completely shattered. I mean, every… they couldn’t be… they were fainting and pulling their hair out, and beating their head against the trees, and crying and they were completely mad. How would they ever be able to even exist? How they could, what was the… they just knew that uh, once this news came back to the residents in Vṛndāvana, this is going to be a crushing blow. The original and only manuscripts, the whole life work of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, everyone, all of them were gone.

So, then, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, he said that, “Well, whatever Kṛṣṇa does, it must have some purpose. I can’t imagine that these are going to be totally lost. I’ll find them. You both go on to your preaching area, and as soon as I find them, there’s no use of all three of us staying here. I’ll find… try to… I won’t rest until I find… you go on.” So, then, they went on after he insisted, then he was searching in all the different towns and villages, asking. He couldn’t find any clue. Somebody said to go see the king.

“You go see the king Vīramvikrama Mahādeva Shah.” So, then, he went to the court of the Bhaunapur Raja. And when he came in there, he found that they were speaking on Bhāgavatam, but they were giving some Māyāvādī type of interpretation. It wasn’t the proper interpretation, so then he objected that, “This is not, this is not the proper explanation.” And, in those days, you just don’t challenge the king’s head paṇḍita, like that unless you’re very sure about what you’re doing because otherwise, you can find yourself one head lighter. (laughter)

Devotee: Lightheaded?

Jayapatākā Swami: That’s ultimate type of lightheadedness, to be headless. So, then, the king uh, he said, “Alright, so then you explain it. You so… you… you’re so sure of yourself, so you explain it.” So, then he started to explain, and he gave such a wonderful explanation, that everybody was charmed.

Then the king had an idea that, “Maybe this is the person who belongs to the books.” Or, “The books belong to…” So, he took him to the back, and he said that, “You tell me your purpose. Who are you? What have you come here for?” The king asked him.

Then, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya explained how that in every age, the Lord is coming down as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in the Kali-yuga, he comes in the covered form, and that same Supreme Lord has come as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is known as Nimāi Paṇḍita in Navadvīpa, and He was accompanied by great souls, by so many great souls, like Nityānanda Prabhu, and others.

Then, he explained the whole mission of Lord Caitanya, and how Lord Caitanya had delivered the uh, prime minister of the Hussain Shah, of which this king was actually a subordinate king, so naturally this king was under Sanātana and Rūpa Gosvāmī, although he was a king, he may have got the 21 gun salute, but as the prime ministers of the emperor, they actually had much more power than he did, because they had the whole emperor’s army and everything under them.

So, then he explained how Rūpa and Sanātana had left, and the king, he’d always thought that Rūpa and Santana were nuts for having left their position. He could never understand why they went off to join Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but now, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya was personally explaining how this was happening. How, they and so many other uh, great souls had taken shelter in Vṛndāvana, and how there, Lord Caitanya had never written any literature, but He had instructed them, and they had written all these transcendental literatures for giving the highest spiritual welfare for all of the people. And that he had been entrusted with all of these literatures to bring them from Vṛndāvana to Navadvīpa, to have them copied in Bengal by the scholars there, and he was accompanied by the prince of Kheturi, who had also become a mendicant. Narottama was actually a prince. He was heir to the throne, but he abdicated.

[Aside: abdicated the throne or abjugated? Abdicated? Devotee: Abdicated.]

Jayapatākā Swami: Abdicated, and uh, instead became just a uh… like a sannyāsī, a preacher. So then, he explained all this and the wonderful qualities of Narottama and others, and how they came, were carrying the books, and how then, they were stolen and now he’s… has no other purpose in life but to regain these books.

Then, when the king heard all this, then, he knew this is the person. “Actually, I’m the one who has stolen these books. I have sent my robbers and…”

So, this king would regularly hear the Bhāgavatam, but he was hearing the Bhāgavatam, and he was still having all these material attachments, because he never had pure devotees reading the Bhāgavatam, it wasn’t having the same effect. Somehow, by hearing the Bhāgavatam, even though it was not from pure devotees, and even though he was so attached to material things, because he was hearing Bhāgavatam regularly, somehow, he got this special mercy to have association with a great ācārya like Śrīnivāsa Ācārya. So, he admitted everything, and he was very afraid of the reaction he would get and he prayed that somehow or another, he should be forgiven.

So, as soon as Śrīnivāsa heard this, he said, “Well, can I see the books? Take me there. Let me see.” Then, he was taken there, and then they opened up the box, and then he saw the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it was unusually on the top, and the king explained how it just… well, that was just the way he found it. He didn’t mess around with it. So, then, uh, the king actually asked Śrīnivāsa, he said he became very attached to… he asked Śrīnivāsa to, please explain these books to him. He was very interested in understanding them. So, then, Śrīnivāsa started to explain some of the books. So, then… in brief.

So, the king requested that, “You become my royal guru. You become the guru of the whole kingdom. I will get all these literatures copied. I’ll see that they’re disseminated. I’ll do everything for you. You please be my guru. You stay here, and you initiate me.”

But, Śrīnivāsa said, “I won’t initiate you yet. You have to prove yourself.” First of all, he got him to copy some of the books, and then he said, “I want to send.” He sent immediately a message to Narottama and to Śyāmānanda that everything is alright, because they’re very much concerned about this, and one messenger to Vṛndāvana, because by now the word had already reached Vṛndāvana. They were almost just like ready to die, thinking that the books had been lost.

So, then in the meantime the queen of the king had overheard some of these things, and he became… she… she fell at the feet of Śrīnivāsa and also requested him to give her initiation, and that he would… she was also very attracted to wanting to see Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, having heard so many things about him. So, said… he said he would arrange to bring.

So, then while these books were being copied, then Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, he went to see Narahari Sarakāra. And Narahari Sarakāra told him that he should get married. That he shouldn’t stay as a… and he should take that assignment as the king of the guru… whatever, the guru of the king, get married, cause he… as a gṛhastha… a sannyāsī in those days could never accept a royal positon like that, as you know from Caitanya’s dealings with Mahāraja Pratāparudra, and others. So, then, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya got married, then he took the position as the king’s guru and he came back and saw the king was chanting, was doing everything, so he gave him first initiation. Much later, he also gave second initiation.

So, in this way, then uh, the books were copied, and from there, they were disseminated to all the devotees. And still the āśrama of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in Viṣṇupur is there. That name… that king was given the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya dāsa.

Lady devotee: So, did he leave sannyāsa to get married?

Jayapatākā Swami: He wasn’t a sannyāsī.

Lady devotee: He wasn’t a sannyāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: He went as a youn… he went as a young man.

Lady devotee: As a mendicant.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yeah, he was like a brahmacāri. He was looking for his guru. He went all over India, then finally when he got to Vṛndāvana, he found Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. Jīva Gosvāmī found him and brought him and in a dream, Rūpa and Sanātana told him that he should take init… told Jīva Gosvāmī and Gopāla Bhaṭṭa… Jīva that he should bring him to Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, and Gopāla Bhaṭṭa that he should accept him as a disciple. So, then he was initiated by Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and he studied the Bhāgavatam under Jīva Gosvāmī. But, he hadn’t taken sannyāsa. He was just. He was very young at that point. I mean, he hadn’t… younger man. Say roughly in his 20s. Late teens, 20s.

And he left just in his teens, he left to go to Jagannātha Purī to find Lord Caitanya, but I don’t know, it must have taken him a few years to actually get up to Vṛndāvana because he kept going back and forth between Purī and Navadvīpa, twice he went… to get all the way… walk to Vṛndāvana is a pretty good walk… thousand miles? (devotees laughing)

Devotee: Seven months?

Jayapatākā Swami: They don’t travel in the rainy season. How long it takes to walk from Māyāpur to Vṛndāvana?

Indian Man: I don’t know that nowadays. I just have a motorcycle.

Jayapatākā Swami: From Māyāpur to Purī?

Indian Man: I don’t know. By train it takes 10 hours. (all laughing)

Jayapatākā Swami: You are spoiled. (all laughing) Modern sādhu. In that way, the first book distribution happened. So, what time is class tomorrow morning?

Devotee: Uh, we usually have class during about 6:00, but its flexible.

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, that’s pretty good because we actually have to leave about 8, right? 11:00’s… 11:15… 10:59 is their flight.

Devotee: Yeah.

Jayapatākā Swami: Right.

Devotee: Yeah, so we have to leave 2 hours ahead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, that means 8:30, so 8:00.

Devotee: That would be 9:30, this time.

Devotee (2): Yeah, it’ll only be two hours.

Devotee: The plane leaves, 10:30.

Devotee (2): 10… 10… It leaves uh, or 10:58.

Devotee: It’s about 11:00, that’s 12:00 our time.

Devotee (2): Yeah, so, save you about 2 ½ hours. Plenty of time: About 9:30.

Devotee: 9:30, Mahāraja.

Jayapatākā Swami: Right now, it’s 9:00, Nashville Time, so we’re actually an hour ahead.

Devotee: Yeah.

Jayapatākā Swami: In other words, we leave here at 9:00, it’s 10… or 8:00, Nashville Time.

Devotee (2): That’ll be 2 hours.

Devotee: 9:30, that’ll give us 2 ½ hours.

Jayapatākā Swami: I’ll tell you it’s like you know… like, they board it 20 minutes before the flight takes off. You can’t… There’s no law against being there 20 minutes ahead of time (devotees laughing). Because I’m always late anyways… So it’s best to shoot for the…

Devotee: So say uh, 9:00

Jayapatākā Swami: If we shoot for 9:00 we’ll see that it’ll be close to 9:30 anyway (all laugh)

Indian man: Indian timetable.

Jayapatākā Swami: huh?

Indian man: It’s Indian timetable. Just now coming…

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like this morning I was supposed to leave at 10:00. The flight was at 10:30. We’re supposed to leave at 9… uh thirty, uh, 9:15. Instead we left at quarter to 10.

Devotee: phew…

Jayapatākā Swami: Half-hour to the airport. Half-hour, 40 minutes. Somehow, we got there at 18 minutes (devotees laughing).

Devotee: Alliance…

Jayapatākā Swami: So, a little kīrtana, we’ll give out some of this prasādam. Bhaktivindoda Ṭhākura, I heard he used to go, before the train took off, 5 hours ahead of time, and just sit there, so he wouldn’t have to go through that whole anxiety, whether you’re going to miss the train.

Devotee: Prabhupāda, he liked to be there, one hour? See, some (indistinct)… one time they were late. He really got agitated.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes. Artificial, unnecessary kind of anxiety us.