19860913 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.61

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 13 in 1986 in Sridham Māyāpur, India. The class begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4th canto, chapter 29 text 61.

Source Link: https://archives.jayapatakaswami.com/courses/304945/lectures/4958932

Jayapatākā Swami: The questions, question was asked to Nārada that he has evolved....[01:06 Not clear] how is it possible that we are suffering and enjoying the actions of our this body and the previous body. That body is already dead, so how is there a connection between one body and the next. So in answer to that this is explained that that body is finished but that subtle mind continues. It is the connection to the subtle mind with the subtle body which is actually giving us the suffering and enjoyment. After that gross body is lost the subtle body continues. Today in this verse we understand that the subtle body is the most important.

Real liberation is to be liberated from the mind, intelligence and false ego. When mind is controlled, the Bhagavad-gītā says, the mind is our best friend and the uncontrolled mind is our worst enemy. Actually this physical control of the body is very superficial. Someone may be performing devotional service sweeping the floor, doing the service in a humble way superficially, but if their mind is always thinking about sense gratification, thinking about material relations, thinking about so many material things, then actually they are not purifying their consciousness. Therefore while we do all of our service whether it is cooking or whatever we may be doing we should chant

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

This chanting process is the most perfected means for awakening our Krsna consciousness. The whole purpose is to purify the mind. So someone may ask "How is that big big devotees who are doing so much physical service for Krsna how is it that they fall down??" The answer is that they obviously have been surrendering on the physical platform but not on the mental platform. It is most important to surrender in the mental platform. Of course if you are so called surrendered on the mental platform but physically you are engaging in illicit activities, that is also bogus. How can you be surrendered on the physical ah..on the mental platform if you are habitually breaking regulative principles in a willing and knowing manner? Obviously when one is surrendered on the most subtle platform, the gross platform automatically follows. Very hard to see if someone is physically performing everything whether on a subtle platform they are also performing. Only Krsna can know that. But in due course of time if they are not surrendering on mind then they also fall down.

This is the thing we have to not simply be satisfied with being only strict in our superficial sādhana. We have to cleanse the mind and purify it from all kinds of envy, hatred and such such material emotions which are not dovetailed in Krsna consciousness. We have to purify the mind from material desires and material thoughts and engage the mind in pure Krsna consciousness. In this way the mind can become purified and then we actually won the battle. Until we are liberated from the mind our journey back to home back to godhead is not finished. Until we completely purify the mind to make it Sat-cit-ānanda.

Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu - He was very merciful; He knows all this situations that for conditioned souls in Kali-yuga it is very difficult to practice lot of physical austerities. So He went right to the root giving a very simple process of devotional service where there is actually no excessive discomfort or pain. Simple living, high thinking. But this high thinking is the most important. We have to elevate the mind. Unless we elevate the mind we again have to take birth in the material world. If we actually have the high thinking, high thinking means to think about Krsna, to think about Krsna’s devotees and His teachings. Thus our consciousness is really high and then we can go back to home back to Godhead. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is so merciful that He engaged everyone in the saṅkīrtan process no matter who they were, no matter what was their background. In fact He sent His followers door to door to awaken them, to ask them to take up this chanting process to purify their consciousness.

Just like there was one time in the Srivas Angan, Srivas invited one brahmacari to come and watch. Well, one brahmacari asked Srivas, if he could see the saṅkīrtan of Lord caitanya. So then Srivas agreed and this brahmacari, he hid in the house of Srivas and he was watching the saṅkīrtan. Lord Caitanya came and started the kirtan. He stopped the kirtan and said " I am not feeling any ecstasy, I am not feeling any ecstasy at all, what is that, who is, who is responsible?". So all of the devotees they looked to each other, who is responsible? Most were looking to themselves. It was very...ashamed thinking maybe they were the cause of some offense. So then Lord Caitanya, "Who is responsible?". Then Srivas , he really rushed before his sasuri, she had hidden in the basket and that caused the disturbance to Lord Caitanya. So then he said “Well, O Lord Caitanya! There is one brahmacari here. He is very strict. He only eats leaves from the forest and doesn't eat anything else. Only eats leaves. He is very strict”. So then Lord Caitanya said "Where is that brahmacari??" He brought him out and Lord Caitanya started to chastise him. “You are not qualified to be here in the saṅkīrtan. What do you think simply by doing dry austerity that you can reach Krsna, by torturing your body ? You are not qualified to be here. It is only for devotees those who have given their mind, their soul everything to the service of Krsna. Not for those who are simply doing dry austerity on a superficial platform. Get out. You are not qualified to be here.” And he was taken out and pushed to be thrown out of the door. [Guru Mahārāja made a push gesture and said Haribol]

So then the kirtan started and then everyone was feeling very ecstasy without that dry vairagi brahmacari inside that temple, angan of Srivas. So that brahmacari outside, he was thinking that “ How unqualified I am. How unqualified I am that actually all my life I am doing all this dry austerity, I never surrendered to Krsna in my mind. I never surrendered to Krsna. I am thinking I am very qualified, very great from all my austerities. Actually I never surrendered to Krsna.” He said, ”But still I don't know I am totally unqualified somehow I was so fortunate even for few minutes I could see the saṅkīrtan of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” And then he started to cry just feeling that how Lord Caitanya was so merciful to allow him to come and see the saṅkīrtan although he was so totally unqualified. Then suddenly inside Lord Caitanya stopped the saṅkīrtan and said “ You bring in that brahmacari. Now he is qualified to come in.” The actual qualification to be in the saṅkīrtan movement of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not to be strict.. not to very torturing the body but some kind of austerities on that sense, but to be very careful to do everything for the pleasure of Krsna to purify not only the body but to purify the mind. When the mind is purified body will automatically be purified. Those so called vaiṣṇavas who are eating fish and so many things saying their mind is purified, how it is possible. If the mind is purified, their body will also be purified. This is very clear in this verse. When the mind is purified the senses will also be purified. Not that, but even then superficially one may appear purified like that brahmacari but if he hasn't surrendered his mind he is still not considered to be a liberated soul. He is not in Sat-cit-ānanda vigraha form yet, he is still conditioned.

So we should work to become liberated from this subtle body. We should work to become totally surrendered to Krsna not only physically but mentally as well then we can go back to home back to Godhead, not otherwise. Hare Krsna.