The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on June 25, 1987 in Sydney Australia. The class begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Chapter nineteen, Text 16.

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ tato jayam udīrayet

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.19.16

punaś ca bhūyād bhagavaty anante
ratiḥ prasaṅgaś ca tad-āśrayeṣu
mahatsu yāṁ yām upayāmi sṛṣṭiṁ
maitry astu sarvatra namo dvijebhyaḥ

punaḥ — again; ca — and; bhūyāt — let it be; bhagavati — unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; anante — who has unlimited potency; ratiḥ — attracting; prasaṅgaḥ — association; ca — also; tat — His; āśrayeṣu — with those who are His devotees; mahatsu — within the material creation; yām yām — wherever; upayāmi — I may take; sṛṣṭim — my birth; maitrī — friendly relation; astu — let it be; sarvatra — everywhere; namaḥ — my obeisances; dvijebhyaḥ — unto the brāhmaṇas

Translation: Jaya… Again, offering obeisances unto all you brāhmaṇas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Kṛṣṇa, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings.

Purport: That a devotee of the Lord is the only perfect living being is explained herein by Mahārāja Parīkṣit. A devotee of the Lord is no one’s enemy, although there may be many enemies of a devotee. A devotee of the Lord does not like to associate with non-devotees, although he has no enmity with them. He desires association with the devotees of the Lord. This is perfectly natural because birds of the same feather mix together. And the most important function of a devotee is to have complete attachment for Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the father of all living beings. As a good son of the father behaves in a friendly way with all his other brothers, so also the devotee of the Lord, being a good son of the supreme father, Lord Kṛṣṇa, sees all other living beings in relation with the supreme father. He tries to bring back the upstart sons of the father to a saner stage and to get them to accept the supreme fatherhood of God. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was certainly going back to Godhead, but even if he were not to go back, he prayed for a pattern of life which is the most perfect way in the material world. A pure devotee does not desire the company of a personality as great as Brahmā, but he prefers the association of a petty living being, provided he is a devotee of the Lord.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Swami purport to Canto one, Chapter Nineteenth, text sixteen.

Translation: Again, offering obeisances unto all you brähmanas, I pray that if I should again take my birth in the material world I will have complete attachment to the unlimited Lord Krsña, association with His devotees and friendly relations with all living beings.

Jayapatākā Swami: From this verse, and in previous verses, we can clearly understand how Parīkṣit Mahārāja is a pure devotee of the Lord. Although he is preparing himself for leaving the planet for being Kṛṣṇa Conscious, going back to Godhead. At the same time, he is praying that if it is a desire of Kṛṣṇa, that if he be born in material world. He may be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, he may remain attached to Kṛṣṇa. He may have the association of his devotees. All these are symptoms of a devotee. Even though he has been cursed unreasonably. He played a bad joke on a sage, Śamīka Muni and his son took it as a great offense and cursed him to die. Hardly a suitable punishment for someone who has simply done some harmless, yet almost funny type of action because he felt offended by the sages. Negligence of our, ignoring him. The sage, he didn't take it very seriously at all. But His son, Śṛṅgī I believe, he took it very seriously and he cursed Parīkṣit Mahārāja.

Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he could become envious against that son. Why is Kṛṣṇa causing this to me? Why is this? There are so many emotions could be there which normally people demonstrate when they feel that they have been unjustly punished. But instead what does he pray? He prays that somehow I was attached to family life. I probably would not have easily got out of it. But now, the Lord in order to save me appeared before me in such a way that only out of fear, I will detach myself from the world. He said, “Please take me as completely surrendered soul and may Mother Ganges also accept me in that way. I simply want to remain as a devotee of the Lord under any circumstances, even if I am born again in the material world allow me to be a devotee.”

All these are very transcendental qualities. Does not any symptom of bitterness or envy or hate within his character. He is rather showing all the good qualities of a great Vaiṣṇava. Certainly Kṛṣṇa is not going to abandon him and let him leave his body without preparing him to go back home back to Godhead. And of course Śukadeva Gosvāmī appears just at the right time at this point, when all the brahmānas are there and nobody can come up with the consensus what is the best thing for him to do. It would be adequate even to say why has the Lord forsaken me. He could have become hopeless but instead he just was determined. “I will sit here, fasting until death. Just tell me” and then, at that time Śukadeva Gosvāmī appears and gives him the spiritual message of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which we are able to now benefit from.

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura our previous spiritual master when he prayed:

mānasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor
arpilū tuyā pade, nanda-kiśor!

One of the verses in that song he states that, “bahir-mukha brahmā janme nahi āśa” I don't have any desire to be born even as a Lord Brahmā. Even if you want me to be born in the material world, for the biggest birth in the material world is to be a Brahmā. But I don't want to be born as a Brahmā, with the Brahmā who is a bahir-mukha, who is materialistic or who is not a devotee. “kīṭa-janma hau” even if I can take birth as an insect, as a worm, who is your devotee, this I will prefer. This is what I request. Let me reborn even as a worm, who is your devotee. Prabhupāda explained this purport one time that basically if he is born a worm in the stomach of a devotee. You see, basically this is what he is requesting that at least that time, that way you can get little mahā-prasāda. The devotee should be taking prasāda whereas bahir-mukha Brahmā he won't even get mahā-prasāda.

So, actually the devotee of the Lord is only perfect living being. With all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa are also present in a devotee. You take the life of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, He is spreading the holy name chanting everywhere. He was arrested by the some Nawab and they asked him that why you are chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa being born in a Mohammedan family. So then he explained that, "Because so many people are being converted from Mohammedan to Hindu and other religion. Since there is only one God and as this name of Kṛṣṇa, I get some special energy from chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa. what is the harm?” So many other people are chanting so many names, if I like this name and chant what is the problem? Then his Mulla, his Ayatollah started to chastise and said, “No, if he is allowed to do this, so many may follow. This will be very bad for our sectarian religious interest. Actually, this person is harāmi, a great offender. He must put him in jail.” So they imprisoned Haridāsa Ṭhākura. So in the prison he is chanting.

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

And other prisoners they started getting angry on him, why you are so happy here? You are imprisoned. It is not the place to be happy, singing and everything. You are supposed to be suffering inside the prison. We are not free, we can't go out. Then he said, “What? you feel that you are imprisoned you are very fortunate because you feel that you are a prisoner. The people outside they are in illusion they think they are free. They are not free. They are bound by their material senses, by their material desires. They are forced to act according to the dictation of the modes of nature.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains, someone thinks, he is free to smoke, free to drink alcohol. Actually he exercises his freedom to become a slave to those habits. Once he is surrendered to those habits he cannot stop easily. So he surrendered his freedom to serve those particular habits. Where is the question of freedom? He has given up his freedom. So, the devotee does not remain subservient to any nonessential habit. You cannot live without eating otherwise we cannot avoid eating. But we only eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda. We eat food offered to Kṛṣṇa. We don't eat other things. We don't remain slave to any unnecessary. We need to sleep so we sleep to rest, so we can do more service for Kṛṣṇa. But these other unnecessary habits, these are avoided, because they make us artificially subservient to the senses instead of being servant to Kṛṣṇa.

So Haridāsa Ṭhākura was preaching to the people in the prison that, “You are very fortunate because here you can realise that in the material world we are all prisoners.” This is Durgā. Durgā… dur means difficult and gā means prison. This is a difficult prison to get out off. So now knowing that you are actually prisoner better to chant:

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

In this way you can actually achieve your real liberation from material bondage. In this way you can actually achieve the highest perfection of life. So in this way induced all the prisoners to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa and the whole prison house was chanting.

Actually, in 1977 when Māyāpur was attacked one day, when the communist government took over in west Bengal, in the beginning. Now they are more favourable, but at that time they misunderstood that possibly we are connected with the America or something and they seem to induce some of the persons from the Muslim religion to become insided against us. They promised that if you drive them out of their temple then we will give it to you as a big animal hospital and Mohammedan school. So in this way they attacked the temple trying to drive us out. When the religious came to attack the temple behind them the ladies and the children from the village were following with baskets and bulls have bags in order to loot the temple. In other words, It was going to be a loot. So after the man with the sticks and the swords, they were following after with bags. Eye witnesses were there. That was recorded in the court records. So it wasn't the innocent thing. There was actually pre-planned thing to drive out the devotees and completely loot the whole place. Every tape recorder, watch, this that whatever you can get the hands on. they were going with their big baskets on their head in order to come back loaded, like supermarket or something. [laughter].

So of course, they didn't expected that one may the devotees, they didn't expected the devotees to respond the way they did. The devotees are of Kṛṣṇa from all over the world are not in the mood of just allowing people to drive them out of the temples or harm the deities. So under that circumstance when they were starting to, they caught the headmaster of gurukula and were beating him, probably he would have died. So then order was given to fire on the attackers with the short guns. Otherwise the devotees never personally want to cause any harm to anybody. But in self-defence one has to do the needful. So it was just a birdshot, nobody got killed or anything but they got lots of [inaudible] on their backside. And they ran off. So there was a big thing in the paper in small heads. So somehow or another the devotees were all arrested and there was about 17 devotees. 11 or 17, I forgot, in the jail including Bhavānanda Prabhu and Subhāg and so many different. Subhāg Swami and so many different devotees were in there. and we were.., I was with Prabhupāda in Vṛndāvana and he immediately sent me back and we couldn't, you know there was like a whole set up. So we couldn't immediately get them out of the jail. We were going mad trying to going here and there. we got that we could bring prasāda to them. Every day we cooked a big feast and gave, then they would give inside to the jailer and other prisoners. They were very popular. “Every day prasāda distribution”. Came out in the paper, they were having a big kīrtana every day. And it came in the paper that, "Kṛṣṇa - jail - Hare Kṛṣṇa kīrtana daily going on." And it was so.., daily they were doing kīrtana, taking prasāda. We were outside trying to get them out going like you know going mad thinking how to get them out.

But there are certain cell where they have the known as the naxalite. They are like the radical Marxist, Lenin type of revolutionary. They believe the only way the peace is over through the government by terrorism and so on. So they have them under highest security, chained to the wall you know the ancient system, and they wouldn't let them out. At the same time as other prisoners they heard they never let them out at all. Because they were afraid, they will escape. May be only if they got sick they let them out for an hour a day. So like the devotees they would be chanting all the day, “Lāl salām, Lāl salām jindābād!!” you know Red salute, Red salute victory will come ta ta ta. Just you know, all day the slogans. When they see the devotees walk by their prison chamber, then they say, “Red salute - Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Jindābād”. Everyone there were chanting. Somehow empowered by Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

So like that Haridāsa Ṭhākura, when he was the first pioneer in prison preaching. Actually, now in some places the devotees they become Chaplins for prisons. They are many good people I mean, that due to some bad karma in previous life they get implicated in some kind of crime but they are not such hard core bad people. In fact, quite a few, I know one or two even senior devotees they sitting in the prison getting Prabhupāda books read about they totally changed their life and became devotees and very good people. May be they are arrested for possession of drugs or something they are not like necessarily violent people. And as a result they become devotees. So now many places around the world they actually have Chaplins in the prisons who are devotees they go and give books to put books in the library. They give counselling and in this way sometime you can get some young people or different people that they are stuck there and really not-good people, but souls. They change the ways and they come out and become devoted. So because they have nothing else to do there, so it's good for them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. I mean, they can play Ping-Pong and things but it's better to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and read the Bhagavad-gītā. So, we represent we are actually you know.

I was visiting in New Orleans and we have devotee who registered like that with the prison. He goes around and gives counselling for people. Well at this time Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was not there as a counselee, he was one of the prisoners. But he started preaching. He got everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So then the news came back to Nawab that everybody is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in the prison house. So then the Mulla, nawab was not so bad. But the Mulla the Ayatolla the priest of the king Mohammedan priest he started “No, he is going to spoil everything. we got to take care of this person.” So they brought Haridāsa Ṭhākura before the Nawab and he said that “Listen! Unless you give up this chanting we are not going to spare your life. You have to stop chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and simply chant the names of Allah and other names of God. We won’t allow you to chant the name of Hare Kṛṣṇa”. Then Haridāsa Ṭhākura said that, “If you take my body and you cut it into little, little pieces, so long there is one piece left it is going to chant,

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare."

So then the Nawab said, “Punish him! Punish him! Punish him!” So the king said, “All right, you are to be beaten in 22 market places Bāis-bazaar” by caram [inaudible]. Normally if 2-3 whippings like the back will be laced they’ll die immediately. Twenty two marketplaces that means nothing will be left, there will be shreds.

So then, they took Haridāsa Ṭhākura and they tied them up. People couldn't believe that, how is that they are punishing this innocent devotee, what for chanting the holy name of God. So the public they become very angry against the Government for this action but they were helpless to do anything. So they started to whip Haridāsa Ṭhākura. So he was praying, he was feeling great pain and praying that Kṛṣṇa please forgive them for their activities. Actually, I deserve this because I have committed so many offenses in my life. I have committed so many sinful reactions. So many sinful activities I deserve this. This is simply your mercy so please forgive them. So then even though he was whipped he was praying for them. Such an exalted devotee such a perfect person. They go on like that beating him in every market place. So after that somehow miraculously Haridāsa Ṭhākura stopped feeling any pain. and They whipping, whipping they took him to all the marketplaces whipping like anything. Finally they finished he is still alive, unhurt. They can't believe it, the two guards, they were sitting there you know holding their hand on their head you know. He asked “What's the matter?” “The matter.., you are still alive that’s the problem.” “What's wrong with that?” He said, “Because you are still alive we are going to be killed! After beating you in 22 marketplaces you are supposed to be dead. Because we couldn't kill you the king is going to torture us. Now, we are going to be finished.” So Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “I don't want to cause you any inconvenience. I would die that would be better for you?” "Oh That would be very good for us." So he said, “Alright if I die.” "Yes please die!" So Haridāsa Ṭhākura laid down. Actually he went into deep samādhi. So he stopped his breathing, stopped his pulse everything and just went into trance. He is dead!! he is dead!! you know they just overjoyed, he’s dead. They run over to the king to the Nawab and tell him "Yes, we have done our job. He is dead!”

"I want to see him personally."

So The king, the Nawab went down there and he felt no pulse, he is dead. Then the king said alright now bury him. The Mulla he said, "No! no he should not be buried. Burring is for highest Muslims. This person is an offender. He is the hiren. He is the harāmi. Then we should burn him."

The Nawab said, "No, He should not be burnt, he should not be buried. He should be cast in the river. Let the birds and dogs eat his flesh let all world know his suffering for his great offense, giving up his religion." It’s really heavy, is it! So then Nawab said, "Alright throw him in the river." So then two guys came to pick him up. They tried to move they couldn't move it. No matter how hard they tried to pull they couldn't move even a buzz. So he said bring some stronger guys. So he brought some other big wrestlers, big body builder eeeeeeee!!! Haridāsa Ṭhākura didn't move an inch. So he is getting really what is wrong? Actually because he was meditating upon Kṛṣṇa he had assumed the mass, the weight of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa being present in his heart. He, Kṛṣṇa can be as heavy as an universe and as light as a feather. So Kṛṣṇa with His own sweet will manifested himself as heavy as an universe. So no matter what they couldn't move, not even a millimetre. Finally they brought in elephants. Elephants are pulling aeeeeeee. Ropes snapping. So all of a sudden Kṛṣṇa made Himself very light. They said, "Lift him up, lift him up, threw him in the river." He is floating on the water. Wind was blowing him to the other side. As he got in the Ganges water that awaken him up out of the samādhi.

Then he started to swim, swim over to the other side jumping on the bank...

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

And Nawab, he couldn’t believe it. Get me a boat. He talked to the priest he said what you have done this is some great Fakir this some great, some great mendicant. He is not an an ordinary person he is peer and he madly got into the boat, he said take me to the other side. And he went running after Haridāsa Ṭhākura fell down at the lotus feet of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and said, "Please forgive me, please forgive me, for my offences. I could not recognise you are a some great saint you have got so much power." Haridāsa Ṭhākura, then meanwhile behind the king, the Nawab was running, he said with his beard and everything "Please forgive us, he was also pleading for forgiveness!" Then Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, "There’s only way out I’ll forgive you is, if you give order that no one will implead anyone from chanting the harināma saṅkīrtana,

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

There will be no more religious persecution, in your kingdom.” He said, "Yes, yes! I give my order no one will impede the harināma-saṅkīrtana anymore." So then he forgave them.

Like this Haridāsa Ṭhākura, of course now only we see supremely powerful but he had all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa, of a great devotee, even though he was being whipped, even though. Of course later when this happen even some of this thing happened during Lord Caitanya childhood, even before his appearance. Haridāsa Ṭhakura was older than Lord Caitanya. So when Lord Caitanya started manifesting His saṅkīrtana movement when in the house of Śrīvāsa. They had the kīrtanas, the one kīrtana Lord Caitanya, He started to reveal himself to the devotees, the big 21 hour kīrtana performed by Advaita Ācārya. At that time, He would reveal to each devotee what was their eternal relationship with Him. He revealed to Murāri Gupta, because Murāri Gupta was a devotee who would day and night tried to worship Kṛṣṇa but couldn't, he kept thinking of Rāma. He revealed to him you know who you are.., and suddenly Murāri Gupta looked at himself and he was Hanumān! He looked up no more Lord Caitanya was standing there instead there was Rāmacandra, Rāmacandra was, Lord Caitanya had become Rāmacandra and Murāri Gupta had become Hanumān, and Murāri Gupta he fainted. It was just too much for him. Then when he became conscious again Lord Caitanya was there, Nityānanda was standing, like, the whole kīrtana was continuing like this there was so many pastimes during that 21 hours festival.

So, at that time He called Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Lord Caitanya called Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and He said, “You remember that time when you were being beaten in 22 marketplaces. You see, I could not tolerate that how My devotee was being beaten. I was coming down with my Sudarśana cakra from the spiritual world. But just as I was about to cut off the heads of those two torturers... You pleaded for their, you pleaded for their deliverance. So then how could I kill them? But how could I tolerate?” Lord Caitanya said, “No one could tolerate that you would be beaten. So I have taken the beating on my own back.” Lord Caitanya turn around His back was scratched by scars from the whips of the tortures. Haridāsa Ṭhākura saw that he fainted that Kṛṣṇa had taken that pain for his devotee. Like this Caitanya Mahāprabhu reciprocates with devotees like a competition. Devotees doesn't ask anything from Kṛṣṇa rather simply the opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa, but then Kṛṣṇa, He is being served by, He wants to reciprocate and then He wants to serve the devotee. This way there is a type of competition, the devotee trying to serve Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa trying to serve the devotee.

Actually after Prabhupāda requested me to excavate the holy places of Bengal, wherever Lord Caitanya's pastimes are. Actually, last year we were able to complete new temple at the āśrama of Vāsudeva Datta, Nitāi Gaura Deity. And like this, different places sometime we go and we try to locate lost holy places and then constructs some repairs and different... whatever needed at that particular place.

So I was requested by some senior Vaiṣṇavas, to see what could be done at the birthplace of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja since Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja was the writer of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which is the most important literature for the devotees of Lord Caitanya the most authentic authoritative. So I went out in our Māyāpur jeep, many years ago to find the birthplace of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja which was very much off the [inaudible] beaten track. So I got up to the place Lord Caitanya is taking sannyāsa in Katwa and there I asked the head pūjārī who was known to me Nandalālā Goswami coming in the line of Gadādhara sampradāya. So I requested him if he could kindly give an assistant or someone to guide me, coz after that road ended. It was after that there was dirt road and going to the villages and forests and things to find the actual place and any other important place is nearby there. So that time it was about 12 noon. So he said, “Alright I’ll give you someone but you should stay and take prasāda.” I said, “listen we have to go and find and after that get back to Māyāpur so many you know. Its not.., I’ve to do Kṛṣṇa’s work. Kṛṣṇa’s work comes before personal consideration.” Then he said, “You are doing Kṛṣṇa’s work but as the pūjārī I’m representing Kṛṣṇa and so Kṛṣṇa, He wants to serve his devotee. So I’m saying that unless you accept Kṛṣṇa’s prasāda, I’m not giving you anyone to guide you. (laughter)

He said like that, so they get some nice spinaches and different things you know sabji. Anyway we took some kṛṣṇa-prasāda then there was over there. It is commonly known, this is like Kṛṣṇa’s competition. Devotees are trying to serve Kṛṣṇa, He is thinking how to deliver these fallen souls. How to get them engage them in Kṛṣṇa’s service? How to get them into saṅkīrtana, how to give them one of the transcendental literature of Śrīla Prabhupāda, so that they can be dwell in Kṛṣṇa and he also helps the devotee bringing in different souls who are ready to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Even sometime some demons create some obstacles, somehow Kṛṣṇa also helps the devotee in different ways. We don’t see how Kṛṣṇa is helping but He is there, He is appreciating the mood of the devotee. One of the names of Kṛṣṇa is Bhāvagrāhi Janārdana, the Lord who accept the mood of devotion of the devotee. So Kṛṣṇa, He appreciates when a devotee takes on that attitude of service, the desire to serve especially Kṛṣṇa appreciates. If someone wants to serve the devotee of Kṛṣṇa by serving Śrīla Prabhupāda by being the servant of the servant of servant of the Kṛṣṇa that is more pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. Then He is more grateful that Oh! They are serving my devotee he is so dear to me and this way Prabhupāda said we should be fixed even to be the servant of servant hundred times moved. “gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ.”

So in this way Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he takes everything as that happened as Kṛṣṇa’s mercy and always determined simply wants to be fixed in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. And so Kṛṣṇa is reciprocating with him, giving him Śukadeva Gosvāmī as his instructor and revealing to him the secret of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So now we all grateful to Parīkṣit Mahārāja for his devotional attitude by which this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was revealed so that we can also get the mercy of knowing about the science of Kṛṣṇa. So we can also follow in the footsteps, we can pray to Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he may also bless us, Śukadeva Gosvāmī may bless us, that if we are to take birth in material world, then we may do so in association with devotees. Devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we can remain, we can have attachment for Lord Caitanya, Lord Śrī Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa. If we are again to be born in the material world, that’s how we request, one has to serve anywhere devotees ready to go, but the desire is to always be a devotee, that is the basic aspiration that a devotee has. Therefore, even Lord Caitanya just as He pray that doesn’t want wealth “na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ,” doesn’t want followers, doesn’t want to enjoy beautiful women. He simply wants to serve Kṛṣṇa “janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi” even birth after birth, let me simply serve you in pure devotional service. So that mood, the Lord Caitanya has put in His Śikṣāṣṭakam is being here exemplified by Parīkṣit Mahārāja.

Parīkṣit Mahārāja kī...

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda kī...

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam kī...

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Gaura premānande...

Devotees: Hari bol!

Time to questions, Questions.

[Devotee’s voice inaudible] after Krsna... Kṛṣṇa appears once... Kṛṣṇa... Lord Caitanya appears only after Kṛṣṇa appears...

Once in a universe and there are millions of universe unlimited ananta koṭi... unlimited millions of universe, He is present right now in some universe. He is going... each time He is... He is present in one universe... When He comes so that everyone get delivered.

[Devotee’s voice not audible]

Jayapatākā Swami: What do you considering a millennium? My understanding is He only comes after Kṛṣṇa appears. Kṛṣṇa comes once in a day of Brahmā. 8 million 3 million 4 millions 3 hundred thousand years 1 thousand catur-yuga cycles is a day of Brahmā. Once in that Kṛṣṇa comes. After Kṛṣṇa comes Lord Caitanya comes, this is my understanding. You are 501 years after Caitanya Mahāprabhu came. This opportunity is going to come to again after 4 million 2 hundred and 2 hundred and 90 thousands 2 hundred 90 thousand 99 thousand and 500 years... 499 years from now you will get this opportunity again.

Devotee: 499 (laughter)

Jayapatākā Swami: Say roughly... 4 millions 3 hundred thousand years from now, you may take 500 to get the opportunity.

Time the thousand, 4 billion 3 hundred million years… So that’s why it is very important also that we know Kṛṣṇa promises in the Gītā that, if you don't make it back to Godhead, then devotee gets birth in a heavenly planets where they can live for thousands of years enjoy all types of sense gratification. So also that’s why the devotees are very careful to pray that, “I want only the birth as a devotee”, otherwise if he get birth not as a devotee, he go upto the heavenly planets, unless some preaching is there. One time Bhaktisiddhānta was telling his followers he was taking to them on morning walk. He started to look up to the moon and said, ‘We must now! Now is the time to go preaching in the moon, the people there, they are becoming too materialistic becoming bahir-mukha. Now there is a need for Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement to go there.”

So of course the great ācāryas, they are planning different program in other planets as well. But devotee very concerned simply to be a devotee. Because if you take birth in the heavenly planets, remains as some kind of minor demigod or something. And you enjoy, then after that by the time your life is over, then movement of Lord Caitanya will transfer to another universe. And the heavenly planets, Kali-yuga go fast, here they go slow. So the point is not to miss this opportunity. Now is the opportunity, where you can get like clearance house. everything must go, discount price. (laughter)

Now with very little effort you can go back to home back to Godhead, you can get pure love for Kṛṣṇa by following Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement. Māyā is trying to trick us and trying to distract us in various ways. we have to be very careful, knowing how powerful māyā is. We should be afraid of māyā that māyā is so powerful that she can bewilder anyone if you are little careless. So we have to be very very, Prabhupāda says, “We should cling, we should just cling to the lotus feet of Nitāi Gaura, we should just be holding on for dear life, to Their lotus feet. So they have come now, this is the greatest opportunity for us. In every Kali-yuga, in every yuga there is some avatāra who gives liberation, who gives different paths of religion, but to actually get love for Kṛṣṇa there is no greater opportunity than now, when Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's movement is here present in this world. This is the greatest opportunity and to miss this opportunity, what greater misfortune could be then that!? Yes!

Devotee speaking: (Not audible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Devotional activities, devotional movement. Saṅkīrtana movement will predominate. In the material world we can never expect 100% everyone is going to be a pure devotee. But at different times certain situations may predominate. Even in Dvārakā, there was different things going on but at that time the predominant, everyone was devoted to Kṛṣṇa. So even in Kali-yuga there can be a time when the vast majority of people they all become practitioners of the saṅkīrtana movement. When the saṅkīrtana movement can be the predominate spiritual culture in the world at that time. At which time, that makes everyone a peaceful, makes natural things very harmonious creates a whole new environment in the world. In any case, if Lord Caitanya's movement is present that gives opportunity for people in the Kali-yuga to take shelter of Lord Caitanya's movement and go back to their original position.

Yes!!

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, Chand Kazi had ordered his descendants not to impede Lord Caitanya's movement. So his son, even till this day - descendant after you know 13 - 14 generation still comes to our functions sometimes and lectures although he is a Mohammedan but he is favourable so the last living descendant of Chand Kazi is there and he is still devoted to Lord Caitanya. Although outwardly he is by religion, because one doesn't have to change the religion, to be devoted to Lord Caitanya. One can be even remain in the same religion or one can take Vedic culture as religion. This thing is difficult for people to understand that you can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and still, if you want to keep some attachment for some other regional type of religion, you can do that. That’s not, there is no bar for that but that. Last descendant of Chand Kazi is still favourable but these other, so many other Mohammedans they are. Since British rule, no more Chand Kazi or rein or Mughal rules stop 200 years ago, so after that the descendants of Chand Kazi no longer remain in power. The whole thing was reorganized with British magistrates and you know there is fugal system in Bengal changed a quite deal in some places. They kept the fugal system and some places they didn't because the capital was in Kolkata for sometime. In Bengal the fugal system was by and large changed. There was only capital in one or two places in Bengal that was also just mainly for show, basically they, the Britishers are running everything.

So as far although his personal descendants are favourable but the general Mohammedans they didn't make any such plans. And we have a good relationship with Mohammedans now. There was just they were like excited and incited to do these things and after the whole thing was over they came and they also apologized. And said, “Actually you know we made a mistake, you are always been helping us and giving us jobs and things like that but somehow we got bewildered by lust and greed.” So now we, now we have good relations with villagers again. They were always there, but they were somehow exploited. Simple people little but, got little bit greedy and basically now we have good relationship in the villages, no problem. But in the Bengal we have to always keep your eyes open on villages politics. So was the potential infla.., inflammatory situation. But at the present time, we started feeding the people and the villages of Māyāpur giving them a bulgur wheat feeding. This was going on even under one narisha was there. Feeding in Māyapur. So that the relationship in ours much better. In fact, I asked one Mohammedan that, “You take prasāda?” He said, “Yes!” So the fact is you are Mohammedan - no bar for taking... I mean, for us we feel very happy but you don't feel any, is it quite alright for you take prasāda? He said, “Food is food! And your food is very good.” (laughter)

But actually some of them are actually hidden devotees of Lord Caitanya. It’s just that, due to social pressure they are not able to show it all the time. One time, big Mohammedan preachers they were noting this, and so they were coming and they had a big black blackboard like this and they wanted to make sure that the Māyāpur Muslims are not going too far over. So then he said that, “You have to be faithful to Allah.” So then in Allah you know they write in Arabic backwards you know so whole thing is with dots and everything. So he put he said, he put on the blackboard the name he put first, he put stars, he put all kind of dots, he said, “This is the sky, right?" All the stars in the sky are permanently heavens, Then he attached, drew the lines between the dots and somehow it came off in Arabic, as Allah they said, “Allah-o-akbar.” You know the everyone cheered. See Allah is everywhere. Then he took a picture of Lord Caitanya, stick the figure. This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu then he turned fingers sideways raised one arm, raised the leg put a line here put a dot there, you know then it came out Allah also then he said, “allah-o-akabar” even Caitanya is... So even when they preach to the Mohammedans they have to include Caitanya little bit. (laughter)

High philosophy you know.

Devotee: (inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: We got up to the Ajay river. There is no bridge there was no fairy boat. There was just a wooden boat and beyond that, there will be about 18 miles to go. So there will be too much to walk and so we made a deal with a boat to put our Jeep on top of the boat. Which is a kind of real precarious thing and we have to, we have to like, one side we can hold the Jeep up because I mean hold the Jeep from tilting so the Jeep wouldn't fall off. Somehow we got over to the other side and they never knew about that in Māyāpur, otherwise they would never allow a Jeep again! (laughter). But we got over to the other side and then were driving and we got to this one village. And there they said, “This is the birthplace of Uddhāraṇa Datta samādhi of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura.” So, we never knew where his samādhi was because it was not written in Caitanya-caritāmṛta anywhere. We know his birthplace because Prabhupāda is a descendant from the family of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, Suvarṇa Vanika family. So, we never knew where his samādhi was. This samādhi is in certain village about two miles before reaching the birthplace of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. So then, we started walking in the village just to get some, to see where the Ganges was, just to get whirrings. Because we heard that the Ganges nearby so as we were walking through the little market place then we started hearing people say, "ISKCON, ISKCON, ISKCON”. There was pretty far away from you know ISKCON is the you know just like a kind of especially ten years ago, just like esoteric name and only some of them really had direct contact whatever say ISKCON, even Hare Kṛṣṇa was the word commonly known, but ISKCON that was. So then all of sudden like 10 people all surrounded and they said that 4 years ago your boat party came here then they pulled out some old Gitār-gān and different book. And they said, “They came here distribute books to us and they promised us they will build the temple here and we remember he was from ISKCON. So we still have your land here waiting for you when will you come and build the temple?” (laughter) So we said how the boat had gone and no road even here to just go through the fields practically there. And the boat had reached there always remember... there was always a talk, “When ISKCON will come back? And build a temple here for us so we can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa”.

So then that was very satisfying how now we are fixing up the boat in New Orleans... Just donated one sonar depth finder. So there boastfully outfit there is sonar in it, so that we can know how the depth of river then suddenly sand dune would come and we get stuck. I remember one time, I went and found all the devotees on boat stuck on sand dune trying to push it off. It took about 6 hours to get it off so now we have our depth finder. Anyway, we went on and finally we got to the birthplace of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. Here there was a lotus footprint of Lord Nityānanda, little temple with lotus feet of Nityānanda and the temple of, there was a temple too of Rādhā-Madana-Mohana I believe, Deities and the temple was all cracked with big cracks on the wall. Then we talked to the devotees there, the family there who was overseeing the temple and then we made some programmes we fixed the wall. We had a letter we send people go back and they repaired the temple and put a plate there describing the place. There is lot more work that can be done in the future many of these places could also be helped if they are managed by ISKCON. Or that’s up to the local people but their family was wanted to continue doing everything there. So we repaired the things and preserved for other people to go and visit and in the future more could be done. Right now there is a hall for kīrtana has been built and then repaired temple so it doesn't break or fall down. Then from there we started heading back, they also showed us another place on the way back, the temple of Gaṅgā Mayī Gosvāminī. You know her? You don't know Gaṅgā Mayī Gosvāminī? You know her you don't know Gaṅgā Mayī Gosvāminī? She is the daughter of Lord Nityānanda, she married Śrī Mādhavācārya. So her, they have little temple there where they had lived very nearby there on the side of the Ganges, and there was a temple there, and the temple was broken down. All there was left was a mound of earth where the temple was, and the people and the villagers taken the bricks. So I assigned a caretaker who was always there. Then I told the priest and villagers you shouldn’t take the bricks. And then we build some sign there so that place is preserved. Otherwise hardly anything left to... So, we found three places what we searching for and two other āśrama of Gaṅgā Mayī Gosvāmī and Śrī Mādhavācārya. Both of branches of Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda's tree. Gaṅgā Devī, she was actually the Ganges took birth as the daughter of Lord Nityānanda personified. So she also had her āśrama right next to the Ganges, which is befitting. And then the samādhi of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. So that day was a big find. Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Jaya! Jayapatākā Mahārāja kī... Jaya!