19881028 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.23-24

Following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on October 28, 1988 in Tālavana farm, Carrier, Mississippi. The class begins with the reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam Ninth Canto, Chapter Four, Text Twenty-three and Twenty-four.

Jayapataka Swami: (Reads Translation and Purport)

yasya kratuṣu gīrvāṇaiḥ
sadasyā ṛtvijo janāḥ
tulya-rūpāś cānimiṣā
vyadṛśyanta suvāsasaḥ

[SB 9.4.23]

Translation: In the sacrifice arranged by Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, the members of the assembly and the priests [especially hotā, udgātā, brahmā and adhvaryu] were gorgeously dressed, and they all looked exactly like demigods. They eagerly saw to the proper performance of the yajña.

svargo na prārthito yasya
manujair amara-priyaḥ
śṛṇvadbhir upagāyadbhir
uttamaśloka-ceṣṭitam

[SB 9.4.24]

Translation: The citizens of the state of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa were accustomed to chanting and hearing about the glorious activities of the Personality of Godhead. Thus they never aspired to be elevated to the heavenly planets, which are extremely dear even to the demigods. 

Purport: A pure devotee who has been trained in the practice of chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord and His fame, qualities, form, paraphernalia and so on is never interested in elevation to the heavenly planets, even though such places are extremely dear even to the demigods.

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ

“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. The heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same to a devotee.” (Bhāg. 6.17.28) A devotee is always situated in the spiritual world. Therefore he does not desire anything. He is known as akāma, or desireless, because he has nothing to desire except to render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was a most exalted devotee of the Lord, he trained his subjects in such a way that the citizens in his state were not interested in anything material, including even the happiness of the heavenly planets.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation, purport to the text 23 and text 24 of chapter 4, Canto 9 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam in the chapter entitled, “Ambarīṣa Mahārāja Offended by Durvāsā Muni”.

Jayapataka Swami: So this is the description leading up just to, leading up to how Ambarīṣa Mahārāja was offended by Durvāsā Muni. It shows that how because Mahārāja Ambarīṣa was Kṛṣṇa Conscious, his whole kingdom was also Kṛṣṇa Conscious. He engaged all the citizens in chanting and hearing about the glorious activities of the Personality of Godhead. This is basically what Prabhupāda has engaged all of us in doing, this chanting and hearing about the glorious activities of the Personality of Godhead. This is our main business in the Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement.

And by constantly chanting and hearing about the glories of the Lord then naturally one becomes attracted to the Lord. When a devotee has got the independence and free will, and they using this independence and free will, they decide to occupy the mind with thinking about, and listening to, and glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So it is a decision by the devotee. This decision is the most important decision one can make. Everyone needs to make the decision whether or not they want to serve Kṛṣṇa, or whether they want to remain in māyā. So once we have decided to serve Kṛṣṇa using our mind, and engaging in His service, and hearing about Him, glorifying Him, this is the beginning of the auspicious life.

The citizens of Ambarīṣa Mahārāja’s Kingdom, because they only wanted devotional service, we can see that he had a very special kingdom. In fact by hearing the glories of the Lord, they were not interested at all in mystic power, liberation and sense gratification including elevation to the heavenly planets. 

Of course in the present time there are many people in the world who are very eager to have heavenly type comforts, like mystic powers for liberation. The so called new age group, they mainly focused on these things. People like to be elevated to a higher planet communicating with UFOS or something like that. They like to have some mystic powers being able to do miraculous things, or they like to have liberation being able to merge into the brahma-jyoti becoming one with God.  Many people think that they are one with God. These things are very prominent amongst the persons who are little bit in more than just in the modes of ignorance and passion. Because all of these things are mixed with some ignorance and passion, it is not pure goodness.

So in the previous verses, it is mentioned that, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa he was detached from these things, because he was engaged in pure devotional service. Then in this verse states that, not only Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, but the millions of citizens in his country were as a rule disinterested, they were interested in achieving the love of Godhead because they heard the glories about Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is very important, while we preach about Kṛṣṇa consciousness, when we see many people in illusion, sometimes devotees get disheartened, how is it ever going to be possible to have a God conscious country, or a God conscious City, or a God conscious world. They get doubtful.

But here we can see that, simply by the people being accustomed to glorifying the Lord, this is, people just regularly hear the message of the personality of the Godhead that is enough to turn their mind towards Kṛṣṇa, rather than towards the liberation, mystic power, and sense gratification. In other words, if there is a massive chanting, or there is a massive program of having everyone hear the message of the Lord, people can become simply attracted to serving the Lord. This is objective of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to expose everyone to the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa, to the chanting of the His holy name,

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

(Devotees Repeat)

So of course, Lord Caitanya He was very merciful, He wanted to liberate all the conditioned souls. This was His special mission. When Lord Caitanya was a small child, He was went out to play in front of His house with the other little boys, just He maybe  2 to 3 years old and they were all playing around, having little games together, and then a group of little dogs, puppy dogs, 3-4 puppy dogs, they walked up. Little baby ones. So Lord Caitanya is a baby, He said, “look at, how cute!” He went over and grabbed one picked it up. And the other puppy dogs ran away. So He bought the little puppy dog back to the others and said, “look at” and played. And then they said, “now all want to go home”. And they all left, they all retired. So Lord Caitanya put a little rope around neck of the dog, the puppy, and walked back to His house. Then He tied the puppy dog outside on one side and went in the house.

Mother Śacī would just at that time going to the Ganges, to take a bath with a servant. She said, “Alright, you are here now, don't leave the house, and I am just coming right back from the Ganges.” And she left. So Lord Caitanya got the whole house by Himself. So then He bought the puppy dog inside the house, in the courtyard, and He was playing. Then mother Śacī after comes back from bathing and sees you know, Lord Caitanya little baby Caitanya with the puppy, and she, “Aaaahh! What are you doing with the dirty dog? You are a brāhmaṇa boy, and You are not supposed to play with puppy dog. Puppy dogs are dirty.” So Lord Caitanya would say, “No! This is very nice dog.” Actually Lord Caitanya is pure, He cannot be contaminated by anything. Actually Supreme Lord can touch any animal, any human being, and never be affected. But it is true for brāhmaṇa boys, they shouldn't play around with dogs and cats and things, because they are dirty. So naturally mother Śacī was saying things in that vision. She didn't know baby Caitanya was actually Kṛṣṇa Himself. So she said, “No! No! You should get rid of that dog. Take it out immediately.” So Lord Caitanya said, “No! My dog. He can do what he likes. If he likes to go he can go, if he wants to stay he can stay. I don’t mind. It is up to him.”

“Anyway, You take him outside and tie him outside, dog should be outside the house.” And so then Lord Caitanya took His puppy dog and tied outside on a column of the house. Then He went back to mother Śacī and said, “I want to take a bath.” And she said, “Yes, You should immediately take a bath. You are all dirty now from touching the dog.” So she rubbed scented oils on His body and said, “Now You go to the Ganges, take a bath, and come back.” So then He went off to the Ganges with the other boys, they all were taking a bath, and they were all just splashing like anything, like a little elephant. Elephants in the water they take water in their nose and they issuh... (squirt sound) they can squirt it.

Lord Caitanya He was just splashing everyone, and they were splashing Him all other boys. And other brāhmaṇas and they are just trying to chant their Gayatri or something with so much splashing, what’s going on here. Like this Lord Caitanya was playing with little children His own age.

Meanwhile at the house mother Śacī was thinking, “I got to get rid of this dog (laughter in the background), what to do with this dog.” Then the mother of the dog comes by and so she releases the dog and sends off the puppy with the mother, and they ran off. A little neighborhood boy saw this happened, ran and told Lord Caitanya, “Your mother let go off the dog, the dog is running away.” “What my pet, my puppy!” And He jumped out of the water and ran back to His house. He went to where He tied that dog. And the rope was there without the dog. Little baby Caitanya started crying, “My puppy dog (in a crying voice) (laughter in the background) What did you do with My puppy dog?” Mother Śacī ran out, “What’s happening? What’s happening?” “You took My puppy dog.” (laughter in the background)

“I don’t know anything about it. Once You went, Your friends they are always stealing things, the other boys they are so naughty.” “My puppy dog.” (laughter in the background) Lord Caitanya was crying. So mother Śacī, “It’s alright. I will go tomorrow and find the puppy dog, and bring it back. Alright don’t cry anymore, it’s alright, Your little so beautiful golden face doesn’t look good to have all these tears on it. I will bring back Your puppy dog, don’t worry.”

So then after being touched by Lord Caitanya this puppy dog started developing ecstatic symptoms. (laughter in the background) And people were watching this puppy dog and suddenly it is barking, and then jumping on the hind leg “Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Rādhā Kṛṣṇa” (laughter in the background). “What kind of puppy dog is that? I have never heard a dog sing and chant, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, (laughter) jumping rolling in the ground, what’s gone wrong with this puppy dog? Someone did it something or what happened?” Everyone was amazed, what happened to this puppy dog? No one could connect the two things together. They were just like something amazing, people were coming and watching a talking dog that chants Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa in complete ecstasy rolling around. Finally the dog just jumped in ecstasy just falls down, and left his body. People watching couldn’t believe. The whole crowd turned around.

All of a sudden from the sky comes like a brilliant object, like a falling star or something isshh... People are back up, what’s going on. (laughter) isshh... Out from that dog’s body, little puppy’s body comes a spirit soul, and goes in seated actually a little miniature airplane, puṣpaka-vimāna. (laughter) He goes inside in his spiritual body isshh... The demigods are watching, what’s going? Seeing this you know the puṣpaka-vimāna with the soul in a dog’s body, now it is a liberated little soul. They knew where it came from. They couldn’t believe it; it’s going right by back to the spiritual world – back to Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhū ki jai! (Devotees: Jai)

All the great ācāryas they pray just to be picked up by Lord Caitanya just like the little dog was picked up. Like the dog they can be blessed by Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya delivered even the dog so what to speak in the age of kali, we have got so much attributes like dogs and cats and things. There is hope for us, by Lord Caitanya’s mercy, just if He gives us one little pat on the head that’s enough to give us the love of Kṛṣṇa.

Lord Caitanya in little His pastimes as a little child, He wouldn't reveal to the people actually who He was expect rarely. He would do these pastimes which no one else could do. Later on people could connected to the devotees why would this dog chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and why do this you know like dog so, you know, how this happened, they start investigating and then eventually they could figure out putting different symptoms together. There few devotees could figure out who lord Caitanya really was. Generally no one could understand.

So this way, although in the Western world people tend to just be like dog starts looking for sense gratification. In the Western world, we always tend to just look for sense gratification. So people like to be with dogs. They have a natural affinity to be with dogs. But in the Vedic culture, the dog stayed outside their house, didn't come in the house. They eat all kinds of the things generally. In India especially they eat anything and everything, and they are not so clean.

Lord Caitanya, He is transcendental; if He picks up dog hog as a baby, He plays just like a little baby sometimes plays with a dog or cat or bunny whatever before they grow old enough to know how to stay clean. Once older they won’t do that. But Lord Caitanya, say like a, just like a little child, but actually He was showing that He was Supreme Lord, His mercy is for everyone. His mercy even for a little puppy dog, then we can also hope for His mercy. Lord Caitanya is so kind, we pray that He gives His mercy glance.

In time of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa they could chant the holy name, they could chant the glories of the Lord, they could do that. And that's what made all the people God conscious, Krsna conscious. So that they wanted to go back to Godhead, back to Goloka Vṛndāvana, back to the spiritual world. But still they had the capacity to do big fire sacrifices with all of these very qualified brāhmaṇas. Hotās means brāhmaṇas very experts in doing the fire sacrifice. Udgātā - I believe those who can establish the fire sacrifice, doing a sacrifice is easier than actually setting the whole thing up and installing the fires and everything. But more than that is the Brahma he is the one who is in charge of the entire sacrifice, this is higher position. He knows everything from top to bottom. But higher than him is other brāhmaṇa - Adhvaryu which is the one like the referee, I believe, who sees that everything is right.

So they had all these qualified brāhmaṇas, not only that they are so qualified that they look like demigods, their effulgence, they didn't blink their eyes, and they are completely... They could do the sacrifices fire sacrifices, fire sacrifices and other things in those days. But still they were chanting the glories of the name, they were chanting the glories of the Lord. And so all though that they had all these big fabulous fire sacrifices that people in general they enjoyed the sacrifices, but they didn't desire to get the fruitive results from it.  They didn’t desire to get mystic powers, they didn't even desire to get liberation. They are already in love with Kṛṣṇa. They wanted to become devotees of Krsna, to be devoted and go back to the spiritual world to serve Krsna eternally.

So in this age of Kali, you see it is not so possible for us to do such elaborate fire sacrifice. We can do something, but don't be as glorious as Mahārāja Ambarīṣa could do at that time where they use all gold utensils, they had everything all you know very valuable things in unlimited quantities. We can do something just a representative for nothing.  Kali-yuga is difficult to do such big sacrifices like they were doing. We just do for some ceremony, just to keep alive the Vedic culture. So even in the time of Satya-yuga they had chanting the holy name, they had fire sacrifice. It's not that they didn't exist in other time. And it was the holy name that kept everyone more Kṛṣṇa conscious. But at that time they could do meditation, they could do sacrifices in these other ages. They had the capacity to do it properly. In the age of Kali, we also have fire sacrifice, we also have meditation, but it is not possible to do meditation properly, or even to do the sacrifice or the fire sacrifices without chanting the holy names. The brāhmaṇas won't say the mantras exactly correct. So therefore, while we chant the mantras and do the fire sacrifice, we always have devotees chanting Hare Krsna.

Because by chanting the Holy Names just corrects any mistake that’s made. So, in this age the Holy Name is the more important. The other precise back to the only practice that can be properly done in the age of Kali by Lord Caitanya’s mercy is to chant the glories of the Lord, His name, His paraphernalia, His pastimes. If we engage in that then our life is perfect.

While other ages they had alternatives, we really don’t have an alternative. Unless someone is already chanting doing the other processes don’t have much benefit. If you are chanting you can do the other processes also as a devotional service. So, the chanting is the main thing, and in the other ages many kings were they didn’t chant the glories of the Lord, so people became more interested in these other things, mystic power, elevation. But in the time of Ambarīṣa Mahārāja everyone was engaged in hearing the glories of the Lord and therefore they didn’t have desire for these things. We should be careful about associating with people who are simply desirous for material elevation, being very good materially or mystic power. Actually, this is a kind of spiritual disease. And when someone falls into it, it is very difficult to realize it.

But actually, it is a type of spiritual disease and the purification is to hear the glories of the Lord, to hear the glories of the Lord’s devotees. If we regularly hear this, by not attending Bhāgavatam class, by not hearing having private in the family by discussing the Bhāgavatam, by not having enough Kṛṣṇa Kathā, and instead by having association with materialistic discussions, either subtle things like this mystic powers and all that or gross things just the material world, then the mind becomes brought down and starts to by bad association to desire these weeds come out again and this smothers the devotional creeper. So the cure, the insect pesticide, or the herbicide to spray to bring down these weeds is to hear constantly the glories of the Lord as much as possible. That should build the vibration in the house, fill the mind as much as possible, regularly attending the Bhāgavatam class, to hear the glories of the Lord and His devotees.

If one once sees how Ambarīṣa Mahārāja, a great king, a great devotee, even his whole kingdom didn’t have any desire for these things because of hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. Then why should someone be distracted by all of those things? We need the association of hearing about Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees. Without that association then māyā’s association can gradually start to tint our vision. So instead of seeing things in the pure transcendental way, we see things through colored glasses. So before someone goes totally blind the devotees tries to help them hearing the glories of the Lord. Actually the whole process is hearing.

So the demons, they want us to hear criticisms of the Vaisnavas, bad information of the Vaisnavas. So that by hearing all these things then we lose our determination to serve Kṛṣṇa and they’ll be quite happy about it. They like to give all the notice of people who have left the Kṛṣṇa Conscious. They say something like for them interesting discussion. But actually, what should be our attitude when all this occurs. We know that mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ - we should follow in the footsteps of the great acāryas.

So Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmi he never liked to hear the news about some devotee having a fall-down or having spiritual difficulty. In fact even if it was true, he didn’t like to hear about it. What is the use? Unless someone is in a position to try to help someone or preach to someone beyond that simply hearing about someone having a difficulty doesn’t help anyone. Doesn’t help that person, doesn’t help the person hearing about what difficulties devotees are having, he would walk away. That means even during the time of Lord Caitanya there were people had difficulties, otherwise they wouldn’t have brought out that whenever Raghunātha Dāsa heard someone criticizing a Vaisnava or even telling truthful story about some Vaisnava in difficulty, he would walk away and go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa doing his devotional service in Rādhā Kuṇḍa, Govardhana.

So that indicates that even in the time of Lord Caitanya there were devotees who had difficulties. There were devotees who may have fallen down, otherwise why were they talking about it? But the devotees are really fixed up unless they were of course not that we should be blinded if there is someone is in difficulty and is in some position of responsibility what we should try to help that person or try to do the necessary so others are not affected by it, that’s an administrative or a responsible thing. So it is not like a topic like approved topic of Vaisnavas. Let’s discuss about all the Vaisnavas who have fallen down in the past 10 years, all the things that have happened. That’s what the demons like to do. So then they convince themselves that see, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not good. Actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a cure.

Kṛṣṇa consciousness is basically a war against māyā. To control the senses, to engage them in Kṛṣṇa’s service, to not be loose in activities, this is basically a war against māyā. So māyā attacks, so in the war, sometimes there are casualties. Actually, the fact that someone tried to fight against māyā, that’s glorious. There are so many people in the material world, they don’t try. They’re just surrendered to māyā. They don’t know better. They’re just either, they just surrendered to māyā, or they are, just in illusion, they don’t know anything. So the devotees are trying to wake up conditioned souls, sometimes they get affected, and they fall into difficulty. That’s unfortunate, but to whatever extent, they have tried to serve Kṛṣṇa, they don’t lose that, they’ll be, again be able to take up where they left off in the future life, Kṛṣṇa promises this in the Bhagavad-gītā. Actually they are more glorious. It says that if one, a person has done devotional service, even if he had difficulty or left the devotional service, he is in a much better position than someone who’s never done any devotional service. What is the use of someone if they never know about Kṛṣṇa. They are never thinking about going to the spiritual world. They don’t have any information known.

Recently in South America, there was a, there was a devotee. He was actually disciple of Prabhupāda.  But after, he, he gradually left the movement. And due to bad association he developed bad habits and everything, and so he became, like a, he was musician, and he wanted to become a famous rock and roll singer. And so he started to sing rock and roll and things and he developed, he was friendly to the devotees, and he would, he would try to make his songs a little philosophical. I don’t say Kṛṣṇa conscious, but philosophical. Preaching about dharma, and things like that, he tried to present some Kṛṣṇa conscious related philosophy in his song. But at the same time, he wasn’t following strictly, he was totally in māyā, as far as his personal habits, he wasn’t following the regulative principles, or anything. So, sometimes the devotees are asking that how is it that someone who is doing so much, you know,  sinful activity, and still nothing happened, seems happy and all that. But actually he was saying, even to the devotees, he was feeling very miserable. But now he was like, spiritually weakened, he didn’t have the determination to again take up those Kṛṣṇa conscious life. Once you leave Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā takes away lot of that determination.

So then, he was somehow messing around with someone, doing messing around, doing some bad activity, I don’t know what he was doing exactly, I mean, that he was doing something wrong, and he had some argument with some other materialistic people, and they stabbed him 11 times with a knife about a block, he used to live a block away from the temple. And so, then he realized he is going to die, because they stabbed him in the lung, in the neck everywhere. And then he, he realized, “I am going to die, I have made so many mistakes, and why did I leave Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and why did I do all this māyā?” And he started, trying to run to the temple, he felt, “let me at least die in the temple”. And he fell down like a, half a block away from the temple and full of blood. And then, someone said that, “Somebody is talking about Kṛṣṇa. He is lying on the street dying.” So then the devotees recognized that he was once a devotee and they ran with a garland, put around his neck. And put a tulasī in his mouth. And got an ambulance and took him to hospital. And on the way to the hospital, he died. But he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

So even though, they fall so much māyā and everything, he, you know, still because, he was a devotee one time, he never forgot Kṛṣṇa. He knew that, actually, what he was doing, in his heart, he wasn’t, but he just like, he just got like, caught by māyā. So when he finally was faced with his karmas, we have to take the karmas for what we do. It’s not that once you are a devotee, you go out, and you do all nonsense, you don’t get the karma. You get the karma for whatever you do, when you are not a devotee. If you are serving Kṛṣṇa sincerely, then there is no karma. But if you leave Kṛṣṇa service and you do sinful activity, you get karma. He was messing around, and he got his karma. But then he realized that, I got and given what I deserve, but let me at least (pause) why did I do this, why didn’t I leave Kṛṣṇa, why did I come? Then he wanted to die in the temple, he wanted to again be Kṛṣṇa conscious, but that time it’s like the last minute, you know.

He was never offensive to devotees in the recent years. He was in māyā. For his direct trivialities so he has got his karma.  But he is better off.  At least one time he was a devotee.  In the last time he was thinking about Krsna.  If he doesn’t go back to Krsna, surely Krsna will give him an opportunity to be a devotee again.  His last desire was to be in the temple and be with Krsna like modern Ajāmila story.

This material world is an ugly place. Anything can happen anytime. There is no guarantee about what's going to happen from one minute to the next. If we start playing around with illusory energy, we think we are in control but actually we simply put ourselves in her hand, and we are under her control and under the control of our karma.  So it is better to always stay under the shelter of Krsna, inconceivably better. If you are under the control under the protection of Krsna, then you are protected from all the sides and we can easily go back to Krsna.  There is no doubt about it. 

That person might have been very fortunate somehow or the other to live a block away from the temple.  Even he was in māyā he thought let me go to the temple. It was somehow his good fortune.  We shouldn’t want to live even an inch away from Krsna.  We should want to live under Krsna’s lotus feet. That’s the only safe place. And even if someone is a devotee and they had difficulty and they leave or whatever, they are better off, at least one time they thought how to be Krsna conscious, how to serve Krsna.  That one they will never lose. Maybe sometime in future eventually Krsna will bring them back in this lifetime or the next, because they won’t forget Krsna.  There is special nectar of serving Krsna.

The material world is very flashy, attractive, distracting for the mind, but it’s not the real happiness we are seeking.  We are seeking to be Krsna conscious.  We are seeking our happiness with Krsna.  That is the actual ecstasy or happiness that we are seeking.

So there is two types of intelligence.  One is that you have to experience everything yourself, and the other is you learn by hearing.  Like sometimes, they paint the building and it says wet paint.  So someone just by seeing and hearing wet paint, they don’t touch. But the other, “I am going go to touch. I know wet paint.”  “Oh!!" (laughing).

Prabhupāda gave an example. It’s raining outside and someone says raining. Foolish people go outside and stand in the rain, “Oh yes it is raining. I am all wet". But someone intelligent says, “Everyone else is getting wet. I won’t go in the rain”. So the more intelligent people, why will they go and get entangled in māyā? Just like people are... with their walking in the swarm in the woods and in the quicksand... Getting in the quicksand, the more you move you just get deeper and deeper in it. Only thing to do in quicksand is hold still and call for help, and someone throws a rope and pulls you out. If you try to move out, you just go in deeper and deeper. That somebody gets in the quicksand who is stupid?  Not get into the walking in the same quicksand, the saver.  Then there are 2 people.  Someone stays on the hard ground and throws the rope. Similarly when someone is in Krsna consciousness, they don’t go out into the material world and material activity.  Then they know that I will get stuck in the quicksand.  They are more intelligent.  That means stay in Krsna consciousness and try to help people out of the quicksand, but not to get stuck in it myself. If we think I can go in quicksand, I won’t get stuck, that’s illusion.  When we go in quicksand, we are going get up to our neck and we going to get right into it.

Māyā is very powerful, more powerful.  We leave Krsna’s shelter then māyā will capture. There is no doubt about it.  If we stay in Krsna’s shelter we are safe. It is like the children protected by the elders. If they are always under the protection of the elders, there is no difficulty. If they start walking alone in the, in the New Orleans anything could happen. Someone could kidnap the child, someone could beat up the child, anything as they are helpless. Other people are mature.  They want to do something to our child what can, who is going to do anything.  The child can’t defend himself. So like that we can’t defend ourselves against māyā except by taking shelter of Krsna and Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. That’s the only way we can defend ourselves.

If we think I will defend māyā by my superior intelligence, just by somehow trying to avoid getting entangled, that’s illusion.  Māyā will entangle us. Unless we do strict, very strictly chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa rounds, following the regulative principles, engaging in devotional service, being dedicated and offering the fruits of our work to Krsna, taking only what we need for simple living for ourselves, and at least only taking 50%. If we have more income than we need, we can take 50% and give 50 to Krsna. That 50% we should use it nicely. So that Kṛṣṇa is pleased by our activity.

Like Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, he had more money, it’s said here, he has unlimited treasury. How many of us would like to have an unlimited treasury? What would you do if you had an unlimited treasury? Would we do like Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and do nice big festivals for Krsna, and big feast, and build nice temples, or would we take the money and just mis-spend it for sense gratification? We should follow Mahārāja Ambarīṣa's example. He had unlimited treasury.  But he wasn’t attached and used his treasury for sense gratification.

He would say, let me use it for spreading Krsna consciousness and the people. Then they maintained alright. People are hungry in this place maybe, or there’s a little desert area, I would put on a big festival and give everyone a big feast of krsna-prasādam, engage everyone in preparing the grand festival.  It was like Krsna conscious vision of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. So all the people, they were not, they actually became very detached from material world. They were there working in the material world, but what was their desire, to go back to Krsna. That is the perfection.

Let the people go back to Godhead one time. Let’s clean out the universe of all the souls that are stuck up here. Let everyone go back, starting devotional service to Krsna. This is the special mission of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, deliver all the fallen souls, give everyone Love of Godhead.  Because the devotees are more merciful because they try to go and wake up the fallen souls. That’s why they are so dear to Lord Krsna.

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

(Devotees Repeat)

Brāhmaṇa, by accepting the brahminical initiation, it’s a very big responsibility, it’s not necessary to accept brahminical initiation to go back to Godhead.  You can go back to Godhead, without being a brāhmaṇa, just by being a devotee.  But if you are accepting a brāhmaṇa, of course there are certain advantages, like you can worship the Deity, you can perform pañcarātrika and Vedic ceremonies.

But by being a brāhmaṇa, then you are supposed, then categorically you are supposed to know what is the purpose of life. You are supposed to know between right and wrong. We can’t play like a little child who doesn’t know right and wrong. Just like it says, if a brāhmaṇa is killed, then it’s like a very great sin. We chant in the morning, around the tulasī, that by worshipping tulasī we can get freed even from the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa. It is because it’s such a greatest sin. If someone is a brāhmaṇa, why is it a great sin that you kill him, because they are spiritually very knowledgeable, responsible, they are connected with Krsna, they are in the mode of goodness, they are working for the welfare of others.

But the some of the brāhmaṇa when they act like a śūdra, if they act like a sinful person, then that considered to be more of a conscious sin. If you make a very conscious premeditated sin, just like in a, in the law firm, all the laws have come in the society originally, most of the criminal laws came from the codes of Manu. In the codes of Manu, if you make a premeditated murder, that’s considered more sinful than you initiate passionately because someone insulted, and you killed someone, or you fight with someone, technically different.

So we have a similar law, even today, handed back from Manu if someone knowingly knows the difference right and wrong. If a little child may not know something, but when they get a little bigger and they know, then naturally they are considered more at fault. They’re considered punishable, because they know the difference between right and wrong, a little baby doesn’t know anything. They come and touch the mouth, and touch the book, doesn’t know anything, so you don’t spank the baby for that, you just take the book direct from the baby, and then wait for the baby grows, and then gradually teach. Once a little child what what to touch, what not to touch, like that. A little like 2 months baby doesn’t know anything.

When you are brāhmaṇa, you are supposed to know, you have to take more reaction. If I warn people, when they take brāhmaṇa, that means you have to be more responsible. The right of serving the Deity also brings with it a responsibility to serve properly. Someone serving the Deity, but then if they offend the Deity, actually that’s a very risky situation. So the brāhmaṇas are... We don’t just give people, that’s why, why don’t we give everyone brāhmaṇa initiation. If you just gave somebody off the street brāhmaṇa initiation, they go on the Deity room and they make a mess of things, and they offend the Deity, then how is it going to help that person? That person by committing so many offenses will be harmed.

So until someone has enough conscious to know that the Deity is not a stone, the Deity is actually Kṛṣṇa, and they have to deal with the Deity just as they have to deal with Kṛṣṇa, very respectfully, and properly according to the systems given in Vedas. Unless they have that maturity and consciousness some people say that, "I am a brāhmaṇa, I am a brāhmaṇa!" But they don't even you know how to keep clean yet. They don't even realize that it's not just a status symbol, it's a responsibility. So that person they are responsible for what they do. 

As far as the thing about the spiritual master, in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it says if one rejects his guru, that by rejecting a bonafide guru, one cannot get another bonafide guru for millions of births. So I described some of the processess of how in India the bogus gurus trick people to give up their bonafide guru by saying that, "I know more than your guru, I know something your guru doesn't know." Or whatever, and they try and trap the disciples in to having doubts in their guru, "Oh my guru doesn't know something, maybe this one knows more." So they get them implicated in doubting the guru, and then from the position of doubtfulness, they they are more vulnerable to their attack and they try to then preach to them and steal them from the bonafide guru. This is a tactics that they use.

So therefore, we have to protect ourselves from just hearing idle criticisms, or being in a position of doubt. We have to know that anyway, if someone rejects a bonafide guru, how's he going to go back to Godhead? He's definitely not going to go back to Godhead anyway. You only go back to Godhead by the mercy of the guru. If you reject your guru you're not going back to Godhead. That is not the process of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

But anyway, it says that, “you won't get another bonafide guru for millions of births.” But you get one after a million births. When Nitāi Dāsa rejected Srila Prabhupāda in Vṛndāvana for some bogus sahajīya guru who told him he was a peacock or something in Vṛndāvana or whatever, he got bewildered, so he said, "Oh, this is a higher process, this guru immediately told me my eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa." I think now Nitāi Dāsa is somewhere in the material world, and is no longer in Vṛndāvana.

But they like... someone come up and they cheat the people, “I can say you are such and such a gopī. You see, but your guru can't tell because...” I mean, they're not at that level yet that they developed their eternal form. They're just you know coming out of the Markandeya Ṛṣī or something, but they're so puffed up with their little Sanskrit knowledge, someone come up and tell them something, they get all bewildered. 

That's why it's very dangerous to go and listen to other people, there is a lot of people out there whose main objective is just try to bewilder you, and get you to support their particular thing. So one has to analyze everything people say very pessimistically, very carefully according to sādhu, śāstra and guru. Not just accept what people say at the face value. 

If we're kaṇiṣṭha-adhikārī and someone says something nonsense, we get bewildered and think, "That's not a bad idea", and later on think about it, or we get doubts, "maybe it's not right, or maybe it is right." They never know for sure. But then a stronger devotee, a madhyama adhikāri, or uttama adhikāri smashes them and teaches them, "This is not the right thing", then for a while they tell you, it's not right. But then again by bad association, they fall in to illusion. But the solution there is they have to keep strong association and become a madhyama adhikari. But if we get into little bad association it's very offensive or if we get bewildered and we actually reject our guru, so then how we going to get back to Godhead? 

The point is that once we accept the guru you're not supposed to reject him, unless he is bogus. If he is bogus it's alright. If your guru starts preaching against Kṛṣṇa or goes completely mad, alright, then you can reject if he's no longer guru. Guru means representative of Kṛṣṇa. But if someone is representing Kṛṣṇa, you can't reject him, just because, you know, it's a very serious thing. But how many, people are not bothering when they join Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if they fall in māyā they're not normally they don't reject their guru. Even that kid, he never rejected Prabhupāda as his guru, he just was in māyā. He just stopped trying to control his senses and let Māyā control him. That's a different situation.

Even a person like that, they'll come back again, even in the next life they'll get another chance. But to actually become offensive to Kṛṣṇa or to the guru, and you reject your guru that's a very special category. That's like the greatest type of sin, or an offence a person can do. So hopefully, therefore we tell people, "Don't take guru if you think you're going to reject him later on".

That’s not. Even then eventually Kṛṣṇa says that... Prabhupāda was, this thing happened to Nitai das. He said, “He won’t get another guru for hundred thousand births. You won’t get another bonafide guru.”  Everyone was shocked and said, “hundred thousand births Prabhupāda?!”  He said, “No I am giving him a special mercy. He is supposed to wait over a million. I have reduced the term to hundred thousand.” 

Anyway we have iṣṭha-goṣṭhīs.  We have all times where people can ask questions, where people can like... We have open door they can come and discuss things with the senior devotees. We have questions, doubts and even suggestions on how to improve something. There is ample facility for different category people can express themselves. You can write letters to the GBC, if they want to propose something. The point of criticism should always be constructive. You can write your verdict by writing. So many nice things to discuss.  There are so many nice Kṛṣṇa conscious pastimes to discuss. To the extent that we need to protect ourselves from repeating the errors of someone else, we discuss sometimes someone’s defect. We should avoid, how māyā is so strong. We should be very careful and avoid repeating. To that extent sometimes you might get fun. But someone relishes that enjoying hearing about oh, this one or that one.     Every minute we don’t hear about Kṛṣṇa or something that is helping us to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, when we hear that they are going to hamper our faith. That’s even more dangerous. These things need to be discussed carefully.     

Sometimes we discuss, Prabhupāda discussed about Gauḍīya maṭha, how their ācārya fell down. He showed how he fell down because he didn’t have GBC, because he didn’t follow Bhakti Siddhānta, because he was careless. So therefore we have to be very careful to follow the previous ācāryas, to work together under GBC, to not be careless, to be careful.   That way sometimes we may explain how this thing happened.        

Just like Caitanya-caritāmṛta says about Junior Haridas.  Not that we should follow Junior Haridas, we should be cautioned. Lord Caitanya is very merciful but you cannot be hypocrite, when you expect mercy of Lord Caitanya. We should sincerely want the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Not that I will take the mercy of Lord Caitanya and then I will do all nonsense. Lord Caitanya is giving a special facility, anyone can get His mercy. But the point is that after getting His mercy we supposed to be careful and not again go back into the offensive activity.

They say in America, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Getting mercy from the Lord and then you going turning around and using it against the Lord, then the Lord is obviously is going to cut you off for sometime from His mercy because you misusing it. Like a government, if you give policeman a license to carry gun and he goes around shooting people, they are going to take him off the police force. They are going to put him in jail even though he was a policeman.  Because someone was a devotee doesn’t mean they can take Krsna’s energy and they can use it against Kṛṣṇa or against...  The point is being a devotee not only they can very easily go back to Godhead, they can help so many other people. The more you become responsible, you have to be careful not to get entangled.

This is very extreme.  I mean how many people fit in the caliber?  This is a very extreme case. I think out of thousands and thousands of Prabhupāda’s disciples, guru’s disciples, initiated devotees, even if many of them had difficulties and were not fully in the temples, not, only a very few percent actually became offensive to Srila Prabhupāda.  Those who actually become offensive to their guru they are in that, they are categorical people that are going to get delayed, not that they won’t ever get back, but they will be delayed.

You knew someone; the guru is kind of help find help the devotee in every way, takes responsibility of devotee for no reason, without reason.  For no reason, if they become offensive to guru, they start getting envious. Anyway they are not qualified to go back to Godhead.  They can adapt everything but envy. But if someone never came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness they may never ever, they may even go back to animal kingdom.  It’s going to take millions of births to get to human being.  Who knows what’s going to happen. Even if they take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness even if they have offended the guru, after millions of births they come again to get another guru. To get bonafide guru one has to take ten million births. By our calculation that’s a bit long time. I won’t like to wait that. I won’t like to wait even a minute. But by Brahmā's calculation there is at least a hope for them. Obviously this is something we should avoid. Anyone who is bit eager, bit conscious, they would avoid rejecting a bonafide guru whimsically. 

Most people who take initiation one thing they have to know, therefore we have to be little careful before we take initiation.  You take initiation.  Now this time we have a system, when we can reject a guru, so we are free from responsibility of that offense. You know, even the GBC decides on this being such a serious issue. We can’t expect to do anything and everything and still get back. Something are there we have to watch out.

They are conscious but they are not able to distinguish from themselves from any other brahma-jyoti. They are experiencing some bliss, some peace, but they misidentify with themselves as a part of the effulgence. They forget their individual identity, and so they come out of the brahma-jyoti. It is not natural for them. Sooner or later we want to act again. So we either act in material life or in spiritual.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!