19871021 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.5.22

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharaja on October 21st, 1987 in New Talavan, Carriere, Mississippi, USA. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 8th Canto, chapter 5, text 22.

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

he kṛṣṇa karuṇā-sindho dīna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeśa gopikā-kānta rādhā-kānta namo 'stu te

tapta-kāñcana-gaurāńgi rādhe vṛndāvaneśvari
vṛṣabhānu-sute devī praṇamāmi hari-priye

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

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

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

nārāyaṇaṁ namaskṛtya
naraṁ caiva narottamam
devīṁ sarasvatīṁ vyāsaṁ
tato jayam udīrayet

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya iśvaram

Jayapatākā Swami: (recites SB sloka, synonyms and translation with repetition)

na yasya vadhyo na ca rakṣaṇīyo
nopekṣaṇīyā daraṇīya- pakṣaḥ
tathāpi sarga- sthiti- saṁyam ārthaṁ
dhatte rajaḥ- sattva- tamāṁsi kāle

na — not; yasya — by whom (the Lord); vadhyaḥ — anyone is to be killed; na — nor; ca — also; rakṣaṇīyaḥ — anyone is to be protected; na — nor; upekṣaṇīya — to be neglected; ādaraṇīya — to be worshiped; pakṣaḥ — part; tathāpi — still; sarga — creation; sthiti — maintenance; saṁyama — and annihilation; artham — for the sake of; dhatte — He accepts; rajaḥ — sattva tamāṁsi — and ignorance; kāle — in due course of time.

Translation: For the Supreme Personality of Godhead there is no one to be killed, no one to be protected, no one to be neglected and no one to be worshiped. Nonetheless, for the sake of creation, maintenance and annihilation according to time, He accepts different forms as incarnations either in the mode of goodness, the mode of passion or the mode of ignorance.

Purport: This verse explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is equal to everyone. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29):

samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” Although the Lord is impartial, He gives special attention to His devotees. Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.8):

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.” The Lord has nothing to do with anyone’s protection or destruction, but for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world He apparently has to act either in goodness, in passion or in darkness. Actually, however, He is unaffected by these three modes of material nature. He is the Supreme Lord of everyone. As a king sometimes punishes or rewards someone to maintain law and order, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although having nothing to do with the activities of this material world, sometimes appears as various incarnations according to the time, place and object.

Jayapatākā Swami: Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport of text 22, chapter 5, canto 8 in the matter of the ‘Demigods appeal to the Lord’.

We discussed how the Lord is impartial, how He answers the prayers of both the householder and the thief. Here this is elaborated on, because no one is actually an enemy to the Lord. No one is an object of worship for the Lord. Here we find that in the Vedas sometimes Kṛṣṇa protected Arjuna. And sometimes even Kṛṣṇa worshipped or Rama worshipped Siva. So all of these appear to be apparent contradictions. How to understand it?

The point is that, everyone has certain duties - just like a parent needs to, has the duty to protect the children or a husband to protect the wife or the wife to serve the husband or the children to listen to the parents. Everyone has got certain responsibilities. If they don’t do that actually they get deprived of the auspicious nature of the life they were expecting.

Further Kṛṣṇa, Since He is everything and He has everything, He has nothing to attain. It’s not like He needs something. He is not in any kind of need. He is atmarama, fully self-satisfied. Still Kṛṣṇa acts sometimes as if He was obliged, sometimes He just acts totally independent. This is the nature. He doesn’t actually owe anything.

Kṛṣṇa is very personal. He will reciprocate with someone according to how they reciprocate with Him. Someone serves Him over a long period of time very sincerely, then Kṛṣṇa can recognise this devotee is very easily. In other words, why does the Lord give special attention to His devotees if He is impartial to everyone? The devotees are always anxious for his special attention. They are praying for that constantly. So, He offers to everyone they can all get the same facility, but since the devotees are the only one who take it, they are very fortunate. So that’s why they are so called pastimes for the Lord. He is totally independent and what He is doing is not because of any kind of obligation. He is simply doing it out of His own sweet will, just to demonstrate some of His transcendental qualities to the world. Just like Lord Caitanya, He is totally independent. He had a beautiful wife, a loving mother. When He snap His finger 200,000 people would come running. Whole Navadwip is under His control. He had everything that someone could want. But He decided to go out and preach all over India. He wanted that people will not try to deplore Him. So He decided to take sannyas. Now, He knew His mother would not give permission, He knew His wife would never allow. So in the middle of the night, one day He only told five people He’s going to do this. In the middle of the night, He left. This drama of Lord Caitanya leaving His home has been covered by many dramatic writers, many writers. Many production showed that, the extreme separation of Lord Caitanya’s intimate devotees - His mother, wife felt when He left.

We went to a play with Śrīla Prabhupāda in Calcutta, which has been playing for like 13 years. It’s called ‘Sri Caitanya’. They invited Prabhupāda to come, give free tickets for your company. They were very good troupe. Only problem was because they have been playing it for 13 years, Lord Nityānanda started looking little old, the same player. But dramatically they are very, very effective. It was a dance drama, and the side of the stage, they had the singers and the speakers. The actors would not actually speak; they moved their mouth as if they are speaking, but someone on the side would speak into the microphone. They had a unique technique. So you would think that they were speaking, but actually you would see if you look at the side, someone else was speaking. You can hardly see them, you have to strain, you can see on the side that they are there. But it didn’t interrupt the flow actually.

Nityānanda was very beautifully, had nupurs and was dancing. I remember that when Lord Caitanya left and mother Saci realised that He was gone. Then she ran out calling ‘Where is Nimai?, Where is Nimai ? Actually this time when the flood, the one village which always gets the worst flood is called ‘Ni-doya’ which is short for ‘ Nirdoya’, doya means mercy - doyamoy, doya koro prabhu; and ‘nir’ means ‘no’ like nirahankar, niradaya - no mercy, no mercy. When mother Saci went out into the night calling ‘Nimai, Nimai’, then she was like mad in separation. She went, she got to that village and she called out to the village; it was like 2 in the morning or something 1 in the morning, “ Where is my Nimai ? Tell me, Tell me ! Where is Nimai ??” And they say the village didn’t answer, it was silent, everyone was asleep. So then she, she like cursed ‘ You are Nirdoya, you have no mercy, no mercy ! You don’t tell me where my Nimai is’. That’s as far as she got, then she collapsed crying. I don’t know whether since giving that name, the name is known as Nirdoya. Whenever it get flooded, it gets the worst. I think mother Saci never forgave them.

In that play, first Lord Caitanya went to Katwa, took sannyas and then He was going up to Vrindavan. But Nityānanda was very merciful to mother Saci, to the devotees of Vrindavan. He told some cowherd boys that were there, that if Lord Caitanya ask you where is Vrindavan, you show the wrong way. “You say, this way, say that’s the way, -point to the south”. So Lord Caitanya came in His ecstasy going to Vrindavan, going with complete ecstasy. So He wasn’t very conscious about external details, in complete ecstasy and love for Kṛṣṇa. So He asked which way to Vrindavan, they all said. So then He started down the wrong way. When Nityānanda saw He’s headed in the right direction, He jumps in the river and it’s about 12, by the road to Nabadwip it’s 45 km and from Nabadwip to Shantipur is another 40 kilometres, so that’s 85, that’s about 50 miles by the road. But the Ganges is very curvy, so may be double that, so may be 75-100 miles, Nityānanda prabhu floated. He just floated in the Ganges [GM and devotees laugh], that’s how He went down to Shantipur.

[Aside: Actually, I was thinking one time to insist when they had the annual, the year sports, they have every year of youth, I thought to have a marathon swimming following Nityānanda’s route, I know many like to do it].

So, when Lord Nityānanda, He arrived at Shantipur and He told Advaita to get ready. Lord Caitanya is headed this way, He’s already taken Sannyas. Send someone quickly to Nabadwip and get mother Saci and other devotees. So mother Saci was brought, Srivas Thakur and all the devotees of Nabadwip, they came down. Lord Caitanya in the meantime, He is headed off to Vrindavan, but He is headed in a wrong way. So as He is going down the river, they see Lord Caitanya, so then Nityānanda and Advaita. They head off in a row boat, across the Ganges. Lord Caitanya is chanting ‘Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa’ and He is dancing, heading down the side of the river. Then He sees, “Who is this? How did Advaita and Nityānanda end up in Vrindavan?” [laughs] Then He came to His external senses and says “ O wait a bit ! I was tricked ! “ Then Nityānanda said, “ Please get on board. Before you go off, all the devotees -they, have Your mercy on them. Otherwise, they will all, they will all die. “

Somewhere in that play, when the messenger went to tell mother Saci, that Lord Caitanya has taken sannyas, He is in Shantipur, you should go to see Him. Mother Saci was just still like, in the play she was like there in the stage, down in complete separation, like in a stunned state. All of a sudden, the messenger came and said “Lord Caitanya has taken sannyas, He is waiting for you in Shantipur”. Then it was like, in some kind of madness over loved, she said, “Ami Jau Na !- I will not go!. Ami Jau naa !... Ami Jau naa, I will not go, I will not go ! “ Then like that again she came to her senses and “Ami Jaun...Ami Jaun, I will go ! Ami Jaun ! Ami Jaun” (laughs) is very, whatever those lines, it was very poetic. When she went, everyone clapped (clapping sound).

So Prabhupāda liked that drama troupe very much. He said that, invited them, ‘Please come, we will take you all over the world to perform this Caitanya Lila. We like people to know about Caitanya Lila’. Since he had the boys sit on the side, he could even introduce an explanation. He said only one condition ''During the trip, you have to be pure total vegetarian”. Well, you all know, whether they are obvious- [laughs]. They couldn’t give up. Even touring all over the world which was their big desire, they couldn’t give up. They couldn’t promise to be vegetarians for that time. So they lost the chance.

Well, in real pastime, mother Saci went to Shantipur and there Lord Caitanya. Of course when she saw Lord Caitanya without His hair and rod, it was a big shock for her. She wanted, you know, mothers want to see their children always materially very comfortable to think of. A child having, going through some great austerity being a monk was a big shock for mother Saci. So many times, in the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement, the parents write, ‘Alright! I will send you a donation, I will send you some money, but as long as you don’t use it to the temple, only for your body. [Devotees laugh] You have to spend it on yourself’. So many times, they say like that.

So it’s a long standing tradition. Mother Saci, she was of course upset. So Lord Caitanya, He expressed really amazing sentiments for His mother. He said that, went touched her feet, paid obeisances, “Actually you have given me this body. This body belongs to you”. Saying so indirectly - “You gave me this body, at the same time, now I have taken these vows, dedicated myself to serving Kṛṣṇa, I cannot turn back. Whatever you order I will do since this body belongs to you”. Then it was a big dilemma for mother Saci - “What to do?” So she knew that since He took the vows, if He broke His vows it would be a destruction for His spiritual life. So she couldn’t, it was too late, she couldn’t say to do that. At the same time, she could hardly live without Lord Caitanya. She didn’t know what to do. Then she requested Lord Caitanya, “Instead of staying in Vrindavan which is too far, please stay in Jagannatha Puri, which is always devotees are coming, going from Jagannath Puri, we will get some information. In this way, hearing some news from You, we can, we can survive”. So then Lord Caitanya on the request of mother Saci -she made, He just agreed to go to Jagannath Puri instead.

Actually Lord Caitanya doesn’t owe anything to anyone. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t owe anything. Kṛṣṇa is simultaneously the most renounced. At the same time, out of His causeless mercy He can do anything. So pastime displays different qualities of the Lord. If He wants to leave, He will leave. At the same time, that shows His supreme renunciation, that He is totally detached. At the same time, if He wants to give mercy to His devotees, He can also do that. Actually it’s not that He has any obligation. He does it out of His sweet will. If He doesn’t want to do something, He doesn’t do it.

One time Lord Caitanya was leaving Jagannath Puri to go to Vrindavan and Gadadhara Pandit, Gadadhar Prabhu who was one of the Panca tattva, was took a vow of not leaving Jagannath Puri. Which is an area about 68 miles in circumference. It’s called Sri Ksetra, the land of Lakshmi. It’s called Sriksetra because that area was simply built up by Lakshmi conch shells. The whole land is actually like, filled with polarised conch shells, considered sacred abode. People who reside there are seen by the demigods to have four hands. So Gadadhar Prabhu was a Ksetra sannyasi. He wouldn’t leave the dham. Lord Caitanya when He was accompanied up to the border of the dham, but he is feeling such separation that he asked Lord Caitanya, ‘Just take me with You’. “But see, you are breaking your vow”. “So, whatever, I cannot bear to be without Your association”. So then, like, he stepped, you know, one foot over the border. Lord Caitanya said,“No. Don’t break your vow”. Lord Caitanya backed up, He stayed just for sometime. Then again Lord Caitanya started going. This time Lord Caitanya wouldn’t let him come. So Gadadhara felt such separation seeing Lord Caitanya leave. I think there was a river, there was a boat that he just fainted on the side of the river, on the side of the boundary. Lord Caitanya (didn’t) looked back, and He just went on. So if He wants to He can be detached and if He wants to He can act as if He is attached. That’s His independence. Although He doesn’t owe anything to anyone, but because of the love of His devotees. Sometimes He allows Himself to be controlled by their love. Otherwise no one can control Kṛṣṇa, no one can control the Supreme Lord. But only, as we read in every morning in Damodarastakam, He can only be controlled by pure love which is free from awe and reverence, which is completely spontaneous. Even that control is not, that is His own -that’s not normal attachment, that is His own sweet will. The devotee loves Him, so He reciprocates.

When Kṛṣṇa was leaving Hastinapur and going back to Dwaraka, Kunti devi offered Him many prayers. Those prayers of queen Kunti have been put in a nice book with Prabhupāda’s purports. I remember Prabhupāda is giving a lecture on that. He mentioned how there are so many nice prayers, Kṛṣṇa stopped, listened to those prayers, accepted and smiled and He went on. Even though she begged Him ‘Please don’t go’, still He went on. Then as He went a little bit, then there was Yudhistira. And Yudhistira, he saw Kṛṣṇa and he just, like embraced Kṛṣṇa, holding Kṛṣṇa. And when he just thought Kṛṣṇa is leaving Yudhistira just choked up. He couldn’t speak, tears were coming from his eyes, there’s shaking in his body, complete ecstasy, love for Kṛṣṇa, feeling intense separation on the thought Kṛṣṇa is leaving. Then he just requested, ‘Please stay for a few more days’. Because of his such an intense love, Kṛṣṇa is ‘Alright!’, He didn’t go for few days.

Although Kṛṣṇa is ‘Ajita’ - He is unconquerable, but He is conquered only by the pure love of His devotees. This is the reason we say that Kṛṣṇa gives His causeless mercy. He is not required to give any mercy, it’s not that we are doing or anyone can do something which is actually a fair exchange for the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.

For instance, if you work so many hours a day, according to American law, you should get a minimum wage, they declare a minimum wage. If they pay you less than that, may be you have some recourse to claim minimum wage for some, if you are working in some material employment. So there’s a certain value to someone’s work. But if one does devotional service, he is doing some work, may be on the material exchange, it would have some value. But in exchange to that, Kṛṣṇa not only eradicating unlimited sinful reactions, not only He is giving unlimited shelter, liberation. All these are like side benefits which are in themselves even immensely valuable, incalculably valuable. But He is giving that pure love, in exchange for just some service. May be not even very efficient service, may be not even very valuable service. Even if it’s very valuable, but whatever value it has if you compare to what Kṛṣṇa is giving there is no comparison.

Like someone is doing a job and someone pays you by giving you a million dollar diamond which is a gift. You can’t say that I earned it. What’s a million dollar diamond compared to what Kṛṣṇa is giving? So, therefore Kṛṣṇa’s mercy is causeless mercy. He is giving it out of His own kindness, out of His own mercy. So the devotee, they go through the (e)motions, they make the effort to demonstrate to Kṛṣṇa their sincerity. It’s not so much that the exact quantity of service that we perform as much as the desire and the effort we are putting into it. Someone may be doing ‘x’ amount of service, but may not be actually trying as hard as they could. They may have a greater capacity, just like Hanuman was able to lift up mountain tops and throw them into the ocean. But Lord Ram considered the little squirrel throwing, it was squirrel or spider, throwing specks of dust, working up to his capacity. So the devotee never thinks ‘O my score is bigger than other person’s score, therefore now I’ve got it made’. They always just think that whatever I am doing I should try to increase it. I should try to please Kṛṣṇa more. Because the actual thing which pleases Kṛṣṇa is our desire and our sincere effort to serve Him.

Even if the devotee is in rocky waters, rough waters, whatever sometimes having difficulty with the mind, that does not mean that person is disqualified from Lord Caitanya’s mercy. The test is whether that person remains determined and keeps on trying. How many times a little child falls down in the attempt to learn how to walk? I think if you kept track, you would have to fill up volumes of books. So many times in the first two years of their life, when they try to walk, they “Phoom” - they fall on their behind suddenly. Then they get back up and keep on trying. Then again “kaphoom”. Of course nature patch them a little bit. [Devotees laugh]. It does not seem to hurt them so much, although occasionally they cry. But they go on trying.

Accepting millions of births in the material universe who knows what level each person is on. May be some people are relatively children in the spiritual lives, some may be more advanced. Ultimately Kṛṣṇa is the judge. But He sees, He is known as ‘Bhava Grahi Janardana’, He sees the mood of the devotee. If the devotee sincerely tries, keeps on slogging even with difficulties. Of course Kṛṣṇa is more pleased when the devotee is able to cross over the difficulties. Sometimes we have to learn - due to our own offenses or due to our own previous bad activities, whatever, we have to learn sometimes to surrender to practical tests. If we cross over the test, then no problem, after that it is smoother sailing. May be some have already crossed over the test. By some special mercy they are elevated over that stage. But Kṛṣṇa is seeing our sincerity, how we react if maya knocks us down - do we become bitter to Kṛṣṇa, do we become bitter at the Guru, do we become self-pitiful or do we actually become shameful, filled with shame and remorse and repentance.

So for devotional service, if we make a mistake, the only prayaschitta - the only purification or atonement is to feel sincere repentance and then to engage completely and sincerely in devotional service. This is practical. How hard we actually struggle when maya attacks, how carefully we take the precautions? Sometimes there are certain guidelines, certain things we can to do to help, we take those remedial measures and we go on. The point is that we try to refine our mood of devotion, we try to increase our enthusiasm and determination, being patient even though may be we don’t always get the immediate results we hope for. Ultimately it’s up to Kṛṣṇa, it’s His causeless mercy. We pray for that special mercy, because Nityānanda if He just gives us a drop of His mercy we can just cross over all the hurdles. It’s not that He owes it to us, He gives it. It is His kindness, it’s His mercy.