19950911 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.20

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 11th, 1995 in Heildelberg, Germany. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.20.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Oṁ namo bhagavata vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavata vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavata 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 īśvaram

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.20

yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmād 
yasmai yathā yad uta yas tv aparaḥ paro vā 
bhāvaḥ karoti vikaroti pṛthak svabhāvaḥ 
sañcoditas tad akhilaṁ bhavataḥ svarūpam

Translation: My dear Lord, everyone in this material world is under the modes of material nature, being influenced by goodness, passion and ignorance. Everyone from the greatest personality, Lord Brahmā, down to the small ant—works under the influence of these modes.Therefore everyone in this material world is influenced by Your energy.

The cause for which they work, the place where they work, the time when they work, the matter due to which they work, the goal of life they have considered final, and the process for obtaining this goal all are nothing but manifestations of Your energy. Indeed, since the energy and energetic are identical, all of them are but manifestations of You. 

Purport: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Whether one thinks himself protected by his parents, by the government, by some place or by some other cause, everything is due to the various potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything that is done, whether in the higher, middle or lower planetary systems, is due to the supervision or control of the Supreme Lord. It is therefore said, karmaṇā-daiva-netreṇa jantur dehopapattaye (ŚB 3.31.1).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul within the core of everyone’s heart, gives inspirations for action according to one’s mentality. All of these mentalities are merely facilities given by Kṛṣṇa to the person acting.

Bhagavad-gītā therefore says, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: (Bg.15.15) everyone works according to the inspiration given by the Supersoul. 

Jaya Śrī Śrī Gaura Nitāi kī jaya! 

Because everyone has a different goal of life, everyone acts differently, as guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The words yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmāt indicate that all activities, whatever they may be, are but different features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All of them are created by the living entity and fulfilled by the mercy of the Lord. Although all such activities are nondifferent from the Lord, the Lord nonetheless directs, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: (Bg. 18.66) “Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me.” When we accept this direction from the Lord, we can actually become happy.

As long as we work according to our material senses we are in material life, but as soon as we act according to the real, transcendental direction of the Lord, our position is spiritual.

The activities of bhakti, devotional service, are directly under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Nārada Pañcarātra states:

sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ
tat-paratvena nirmalam 
hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-
sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate
(Cc. Madhya 19.170)

When one gives up materially designated positions and works directly under the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one’s spiritual life is revived.

This is described as svarūpena avasthiti, being situated in one’s original constitutional position.

This is the real description of mukti, or liberation from material bondage.

Oṁ tat sat!

Thus ends Bhaktivedānta Swami translation and purport to the seventh canto, ninth chapter, twentieth verse in the matter of "Prahlāda Pacifies the Lord with Prayers". 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam grantha-rāja kī! Jaya! 

Jayapatākā Swami: So here Prahlāda is offering prayers to Lord Narasiṁhadeva. He is offering prayers which are in themselves, each one is a thesis in transcendental knowledge. His prayers are so authoritative.They are so inspired by the Lord Himself. Each one of them is a form of spiritual evidence, spiritual pramāṇa, revealing great esoteric truth about the Supreme Personality of Godhead in relationship with the Lord, the nature of the material manifestation. Prahlāda was only five years old by material calculations, kaumāra. But he is blessed by Narasiṁhadeva, so all…he is a bona-fide disciple coming in the Brahmā-sampradāya; he is in the same disciplic succession that we are coming in.

But his guru is Nārada Muni, his spiritual master Nārada is the second guru. We are coming down in the disciplic succession of 34, 33 level, taking shelter of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. The transcendental knowledge is preserved through the disciplic succession.

This verse gives us of an interesting perspective on the material nature.

First Prahlāda mentions that the whole world is under the three modes – goodness, passion and ignorance. We have heard that many times, It’s important to understand how so long as one is within the three…material consciousness one is bound to get toasted by the three modes.

If you are on the ocean then the waves as well as the wind, they all have their effect. So the three modes creating the environment in this material world and everyone in the material nature are under these modes, right from Brahmā down to the ant. Ant means smaller that doesn’t mean that one smaller than ants are… they are just, there are many smaller micro-organisms, they are also under the three modes. So Prahlāda is establishing a case that everyone in the material world is influenced by the Lord’s energy. [You see] Someone may say, so, since everybody is working under the energy of the Lord, then what is the question of being Kṛṣṇa conscious.

We are already working under the energy of the Lord. [You see] this is the separated energy of the Lord – vibhinnāṁsa, vibhinna-śakti. The bahiraṅgā-śakti, although an expansion of a non-different aspect of the Lord. But those activities which are under His separated energy or under His external energy rather, they are not considered direct, but they are considered indirectly connected.

Although the Lord manifested the material world He doesn’t directly involve Himself with the activities of the material nature. Unless somebody is actually surrendered to the Lord,

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ 
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam 
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ 
yena mām upayānti te
[Bg 10.10]

If someone is always engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, then the Lord is giving the intelligence, how to come. But someone has different goal in life, which is mentioned here that different people have got different goals. Therefore, they work in different ways. We can understand from this verse how important it is to fix our goal on the right place. 

The cause for which they work, the place where they work, the time when they work, the matter due to which they work, the goal of life they have considered final, and the process for obtaining this goal—all are nothing but manifestations of Your energy. 

Even though, everything is a manifestation of Lord’s energy, if the goal that someone has taken is final. Like some people, their final goal might be, “I want to be a world-famous musician!” Any musician is really into it, they want to make it. After three years you see him, they are working in a surrogate, and in the nightclubs, I’m not going to break, I am going to big, performer with a big actor with a big one, and I get a break. And their final goal in life is you know, they want to break, I want to have a big movie, you know big music break. Someone they want to play on Broadway, or for someone that’s to a marathon gold medalist, like the Olympics are coming up next year. There’re some people that they are working out every day, doing their pushups and their running and everything. And for them the final goal on their life, I mean, they are not really thinking necessarily too far, right now they’re just focused ‘Gold Medal’. At least a silver or bronze something, some medal… gold medal on the other place. 

It happened to be in Thailand after the last Olympics and small countries they don’t get so many medals, in fact some don’t get any. And Thailand... I had one person got a medal, bronze medal for boxing. When he got came back, they got you know massive reception, flowers and timber takes from the buildings, going through the whole city in the open car, and honking the horns. And people were like “Hero is welcomed!” He got the bronze medal. Probably if you’re in Russia, or America, and Germany, they get so many medals, you know, no body, may be, you get to shake the hands with politicians or something. 

There he was hero’s welcome, even though, he was third place and just came. In a paper in India, as they didn’t get any medals in Olympic now. But one of the ladies, who was the national champion in a particular sport they play called Kabadḍi. I don’t know, in the West we don’t know this sport. It is a nice sport Prabhupāda said in gurukula to play and they could chant the holy name. I don’t go into the description of the game. It’s a team game. You have to chant something, you have to chant kabadḍi, kabaḍḍi, kabadḍi, kabadḍi, and you have to tackle the opponents like that. So this particular lady, she was in the national champion team for five years, they had a big front page and the article, there she was selling sabjīs in Bihar somewhere 33 years old, now she’s already, she is no longer in the team anymore and look at she was a national champion, she was a big hero, she was getting so many perks and things and now she doesn’t have enough food to eat. She is sitting in the sun from six in the morning to eight, nine O’clock in the night selling vegetables [you know] in a market, which is like one of the poorest occupations, you can get even in India and I don’t know may be in other places, not so bad. But… So they were lamenting, “Look at where is the justice? Here’s the national champ. And you know, she doesn’t even have food to eat. So the people, they set different goals. Once they get the goal, then they have to like revel, normal. Because as long as we set goals which aren’t our ultimate goal; once you get it, then you have to see, you are the mountain, where will I go from here? I have to get back down. That is much hard to get down, once in up. Once they get to some particular goal, that is somebody’s great performance that they get name and fame and still they are not happy; they get so frustrated to commit suicide. They don’t where to go from there. Because they don’t have any idea what is their real goal of life, so you get these people setting some temporary goal and they are gone there…So, here the Super soul, He is committed to helping people to get their goals to their limit of their karma. But they say all these worthless goals; the goals which are after achieving again you are still in trouble. You still have to eat, you still have to go on do something. So, Prahlāda, his understand, how the Lord is working…What is Prabhupāda explaining here, ultimately all these duties, all these goals, none of them… if it’s not actually His service, then it is all waste of… it is ultimately not the real thing that we working for. Maybe as an intermediate, not as a final. Somebody take something as an occupation; within their occupation they want to achieve success, alright! But they take that as their final goal. See, then they are really diluted. Thus all the devotees, they may do so many activities, those devotees who are working, they do so many activities, but in their mind and understand that none of these are the ultimate goal, even I achieve it or don’t achieve it that doesn’t mean that that is the perfection of life or the failure of life. Because, the ultimate perfection of life is to achieve pure devotion for Kṛṣṇa.

That is why everyone in the world has got all these different kind of goals – whether it’s business or maybe someone to go… I was flying over and I didn’t put on the earphones, I knew it was too ridiculous thing.It is a movie something or Muriel’s Marriage (Wedding), and some girl, I don’t know… 

but I don’t know, you can’t avoid…it is kind of glace up to see what the plot is and figure it out, doesn’t take time, it is not so deep. [laughter]

Her goal in life was, she wants to get married by hooks or crooks, but finally, but the whole things are big failure. I got to know all the details, but you can tell it is a big failure. It wasn’t that she really wanted, but she got it. So this is a problem.We may have so many intermediate goals. Those aren’t so crucial because we are bound to have it. As Śrīla Prabhupāda says, as a matter of course, we have to take precautions for our protection. Ultimately, our only protection is Kṛṣṇa. A mother and father, they take precautions, they have to protect their child, get the medicine, get the doctor, but ultimately nobody can guarantee that they can save their child; in spite of the best doctors, in spite of the best precautions. Doesn’t mean you don’t take them but doesn’t mean that you depended on them absolutely. The difference is that transcendental knowledge means, you know that ultimately you have to depend on Kṛṣṇa. And this is what people lack today.This is what sarva-dharmān parityajya means, we really depend on Kṛṣṇa. So something… and we do it practically that is our primary project. That doesn’t mean like a fanatical, we only depend on Kṛṣṇa, we don’t use medicine, or we don’t see a doctor. You know that if it is going to work; it work, because Kṛṣṇa allows it to work. We get to a doctor.It is really the right doctor that can cure that, it is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. And if we don’t get cured means, we know that Kṛṣṇa allow, once us takes us back. So this is a big difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee and a normal religious person. As we get so many religious people, “Why does God allow these things to happen?” And then they would ask the priest, and he says, “I don’t know it is a mystery! I don’t know! Unspeakable, unfathomable ways of God!” Here in the Bhāgavatam it is laid out exactly why Kṛṣṇa works the way He does. It is so unfortunate that there’s not a developed interfaith [you know] environment yet, where the people from different religions could take advantage of this wisdom, understand Vedas… We respect all scriptures, we find truth in all the scriptures. The Vedas are giving us the wisdom, which otherwise inaccessible. So they could get so much information. They are speculating, beating their heads against the wall, “Why this had happened?” It is explained why! Why, how Kṛṣṇa works and how He is relating. Because people have assigned different goals in life. It is some people’s goal is the freedom of Bosnia from Serbs; and other from Serbs to get their own country and someone else with in Bosnia, or separate from Bosnia – everyone got their different goals. So Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “Why you blame God?” Look, at you get someone, who is a householder his goal is I don’t get robbed by the thieves and he is praying God, “Save me that I don’t get robbed!” Then you got a robber, and his goal is how I can rob a householder and he is praying, “God! Please allow me to rob this person and not get caught! I have a poor family.I have no way to eat; I have no other way to live. I can’t get a job. So You help me that I can rob this person and not get caught!” Whose side God turn. I mean, it is a very difficult situation. So of course, because of the one person is theoretically an honest person, so Prabhupāda explains, Kṛṣṇa will give some help. Little advantage to that, may be some warnings, some indications; but if they are really spaced out, [you know] unconscious of Lord, then they are going to get erupt. Just like a tiger depending on God to get food and a deer is depending on God are only eaten by the tiger. The tiger eat deer.Then how do you, so who gets the break? So then the Lord give some little rodent, a guinea pig type of… rodent is goes with the tiger. The tiger is there… Well, we do our preaching in Sundarban and they tell us the tiger stories. You can sit up for hours if you want to spend the time hearing about the tigers. I want to tell you, afterwards okay, I heard enough, I think about Kṛṣṇa that is enough. So right there, “Oh! Did you hear that tiger?” Waaahhh! In the jungle, in the next 15 mins, so you kind of open for tiger stories, until you get over dosed;

“Thank you for the information!”

But they say how they walk, you can’t hear anything, they walk so softly, in spite of being so big, they are really big 500 kilos plus sometimes. Two and half meters even a length. So the tail is long. So they are very big cat. They walk without making any sound. The fisherman, when they go in the… people when they go in the jungle, they go little, little cannels; the tiger is smart, “these guys are making cannels, only one way you can go, that way or this way, he is going this way, so they go up to the river.” They have intelligence how to catch their prey. And they wait, their stripes with all these bushes, they all look like their stripes everywhere. So you look everywhere, you can see tiger in every bush.You don’t know, you can’t see tiger, they get crunch up, they become very small. When the boatman comes by. He is looking up, looking...Where is he looking, they are looking for honeybees. They go into a jungle they get honey. They look for the hive, where the bees are going…they are not looking, but the tiger is looking on them. Then they jump then they get elongated, then they get so long with one hit, immediately break the neck of a person. All in one second.They don’t even hear, just a little chhhuk. So they tell all these stories, you listen, “Would you like to go to Sundarban?” 

“No! No!” “Okay, we will take you by a boat it is all safe you know!” So there is this little rodent here, toward the deer is there, and the tiger hiding by the water. And this little rodent comes out, ching, ching, ching, ching! Making a sound. Hopefully it came out, when the fisherman was there too. If he is too much you know birds and the bees are there, too much looking at the bees and you know everything and doesn’t hear the sound, what hope... If the deer can run, what fisherman can do? You know the story about the young carpenter and the tiger? Forget?!? There was a young carpenter, he was going into the jungle with his saw and implements and an old carpenter walking by and said, “Where are you going?”

“I am going into the jungle!” “What for?” “I am going to get a wood. I need to build some furniture and sell it and maintain my family. I cannot afford to buy wood from the market. I will get free from the forest.” “Where is your gun? Tigers are there, it is dangerous! You have to go with some weapons! Otherwise, you know, you may get eaten. You go back and get the gun.” And he went, he had his gun over the shoulder and went. The young carpenter, “What does this old guy know, I got my saw, if the tiger comes, I will just saw of a branch from a tree. And I start swinging the branch around my head and I drive away the tiger.” Good Idea? What do you think? So he goes in and he gather and gather so much wood and everything…and you know… 

Jaya Śrī Śrī Gaura Nitāi! Nitāi Gaura Premānande!

Hari, haribol!

Jaya Gaura Nitāi!

So, across the clearing there was a little baby tiger, only like four years old, only like two meters long, just a baby know. Running over. And then the carpenter sees and he takes out his saw and he is trying to chop the…chopping, chopping, and sawing, and sawing the branch. But before he finish sawing, the tiger leaps…Booooom! It is all over

He never thought, [you know] well the tiger is attacking, it is not all the time you will sit there and sawing the branches, you have to act fast, you only get few seconds… what a second, may be a moment. So when the news came to the village that, “the young carpenter got killed by the tiger!” Another tiger story so everyone was very sad. Few days later one devotee came to the village and he started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and started everyone to chant, setup a little Nāmahaṭṭa over there, got everyone to listen Bhāgavatam class, Gītā class and then. And next morning everyone got up little late, [you know] due to late program. But the sādhu, the devotee already got up early taking his bath and was gone. Where did he go? He went inside the jungle.“The jungle means, the young carpenter just got killed, we better go and protect the devotee!” They all went with their guns following his footsteps, you know we have to protect this devotee. The tigers are there, he doesn’t know. Nobody could warn him in time. So they all went with their guns and everything, they went deep in the forest. Before they could hear, they could hear tigers, wild animals cries. They could also hear some sound of music. What is going on? Then they head, jing, jing, jing kīrtana, see this devotee chanting. And they moved aside the branches, there they see, he is chanting and there tigers and deer, they are all doing kīrtana with him.Haribol!

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa 
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare 
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma 
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

They are amazed. Tiger, bear, deer, everyone they are all chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and dancing and they looked at their guns, “Why do we need guns for? He trained them all! He trained all these wild animals! No need guns. He doesn’t need any guns.” If he have that power. So do you understand the story? This story was told by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Each personality there, main personalities there representing different philosophical perspectives.So who is the young carpenter that goes in and he is prepared to save himself by sawing the branch?

Devotee: Materialist.

Jayapatākā Swami: Not exactly. Who is the materialist? Since you said! Anyone else, who are the materialist, who are the karma-kāṇḍis? Which of those are the actors are karma-kāṇḍis? We will take reverse.

Devotee: The old carpenter!!??

Jayapatākā Swami: [inaudible]

Jayapatākā Swami: [inaudible]

Devotee: One wants the honey!

Jayapatākā Swami: But he is not part of the story. That was another.That was another. That I was just giving you the background. The story begins from the carpenter. I got cut of here.

Devotee: It works again.

Jayapatākā Swami: Who is the carpenter…Who is the one looking for the fruitive results?

Anyone know?

Devotee: The carpenter.

Jayapatākā Swami: Not the carpenter. He is [inaudible word] karma-kāṇḍa.

Devotee: Those who carried their guns?

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes! The one’s who carry their guns. Like that karmīs want, they make all these protections right, like the medicines and this right; they are the one who. They want this thing, we have… my house, they have the car, they have big position in society, I get the name, I get the fame, I want to get the big bank balance, all these things, it will all protect me. These are the… if they get all those things together to a certain degree, they have some security. But now without fear, but they have gun, why? Because they are afraid. Material life means fear.  

You try the best you can, set up all the defenses; in spite of the what you 100% guarantee that…

Devotee: Death!

Jayapatākā Swami: Death, and rebirth that you can’t avoid that. Śrīla Harikeśa Mahārāja, he always…I likes that point, guarantees in life. So the materialist, they try protect themselves with their weapons. Who is the young guy got eaten, what philosophy is that?

Devotee: Innocent.

Jayapatākā Swami: Innocent.

Actually, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says, it is like a mystic yogī, they think that they can conquer the material energy by their own efforts, at least the materialist are taking the help of the weapon, so they get some certain degree of success. Eventually they might get caught the tiger anyway. But the mystic yogī, he is going and he is just depending on his own effort. But all of the sudden the senses may reach out and grab him. Just like Viśvamitra was meditating up came Menakā, the Apsarā and he was distracted from his meditation and Śakuntalā was born. So simply by the mystic yoga process, it is not enough to control the senses, when it get out of control. So who is the hardest one probably…little suspicious, who is the devotee went in and chanted?

Devotees: Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya! Pure devotee is pure devotee. [laughter] That devotee is Lord Caitanya, who is of course incarnation of pure devotee and He is the pure devotee. Lord Caitanya got all the animals to dance in Jhārikhaṇḍa. Generally, we are not able to do that. Prabhupāda said, at least if we get the human beings to chant then we will consider the success. [laughter] Lord Caitanya could get the animals to chant. It is not that everyone can do on the jungle to get the tigers to join the kīrtana; that requires some special personality. But here the idea is a pure devotee, he could get them to chant. What is the… who do the tigers represent?

Devotees: Material energy Sense?!

Jayapatākā Swami: The tigers are representing material desires. The material desires come and attack us. So the karmīs, they protect themselves, they have material desires they set themselves in such away that, “Alright! I can. I have a beautiful wife. Somehow or other, I can stay with one wife.” But even then it is not always easy… you with all the guns, and all the setup, sometime they don’t. Sometime they get involve in sinful activities. Now more or less, they don’t even try. These are karmīs they are trying to follow some morality. So they accept themselves up with enough sense gratification that theoretically they should be happy. But still there is dangerous situation, they are not guaranteed success. But to some degree they can maintain.So how is that…see what these tigers are material desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, mada, mātsarya, moha –anger, greed, lust, illusion, intoxication, envy all these vices and all the desires that are connected to those vices, they were controlled by the pure devotee. So they are no longer dangerous for him. Bhakti is the only way we can be saved from these material desires, from the material contamination. Not by karma, not by jñāna, not by yoga. Karma means, [you know] regulated…Karmīs actually great elevated people compared to the normal [inaudible word] materialistic people.

Karmī means, who tries to follow the scriptural rules and regulations. There are very few karmīs, most people in today are vikarmīs. They are doing illicit activity, sinful activity. But if you find someone, trying to follow his religious honest, labor and all it is very rare.There are still, a standard of society, the people expect the leader should be like that. Even if they are not. There is recently a big thing, I don’t know much, but in the headlines it shows that some big Senator in America was found guilty of having improper, made a relation and advances with over an eighteen women. And so many accusation of trying to get money for himself by getting a job for his ex-wife from some of the people he would pass legislation to help them. Everyone said, “This is horrible! This is terrible! He must resign, we cannot allow this.” Of course, everybody knows that politicians do these things, he just got caught. You know, very hard to imagine a politician, who is not doing something like this sometime. Although, officially, everyone has to say, “This is horrible!” Now thinking, “Oh! I hope, I won’t be caught!I hope that they won’t find skeleton and microns!” But officially, they all have to say, “Yes! This is very bad!” So most people, they are not following, may be some people might be following or try to follow the proper way, those are called karmīs.

When they don’t follow all of them, they are vikarmīs. But the devotees, he controls all these things, because he offers everything to Kṛṣṇa. Even if he has a desires… What desires are in harmony with Lord Kṛṣṇa… He wants to be a musician, that’s alright, then do music to glorify Kṛṣṇa, use your musical ability so that Kṛṣṇa’s glories will be expanded. If any fame comes from that alright that is Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Anyway, one will only get, ultimately what we are going to get. But the thing is to keep the final goal to be Kṛṣṇa conscious and don’t do anything, which will compromise your final goal. Anything, which is neutral, or which is also essential or anything which is conducive to reaching them the final goal, then we can do that. Anything which is obstruction then you should avoid it. Anukulyena… prātikūlyasya varjanam ānukūlyasya grahaṇaṁ take what is favorable, reject what is unfavorable, this is the principle of bhakti. So someone is an artist, then they can use their… they can paint pictures of Kṛṣṇa or they do art, and with the money that they gain from that they use it for Kṛṣṇa’s service. Somehow, they use their ability to serve Kṛṣṇa. Then in this way, it is not an obstacle. This is like Kholaveca Śrīdhara. Here is a sincere devotee, he is growing his bananas and with his income 50% he uses to worship the mother Ganges. So the neighbors would tell him, “Look here, why you spend 50% of your income to worship the Ganges?” “This is my dharma. My guru ordered me to worship the Ganges. This is my service.”“Okay! Look, you are a poor man, why don’t you just one year stop worshipping Ganges, and build up your capital, buy more land, get more bananas, few papayas, and few other things and you know, increase your capital, and then after you get lot of money, you can do a big pūjā. You can also have you know, nice clothes and things like that.” “Because I am working hard, I am working my honest labor. If the Lord wanted me to be rich, then I will be rich. If I stop worshipping and following the orders of my guru, then what is the guarantee that after one year, just a little more, just a little more… I may never start again.” So he kept his principles so fixed, he was such an exemplary devotee. His principle, “I am going to give 50% of my income to Mother Ganges, no matter what.” That was his principle. “Look at, you got whole in your dhoti.” “I got clothes on, don’t I? I am not naked. What is the problem?

I have little holes, so what?”“You got a hole in your roof of your house!” “This is a trop of a climate, a little sunlight we get sometime in the morning, what is your problem?” “Arey! You are a fool, you don’t know. You just don’t use anything. You are a fool.” Kholaveca Śrīdhara, this is… if the Lord, you know… I am working harder, if the Lords wants to give me a break, I get one. But I am not going to give up my devotional service.” Every day he brings his bananas and sit in the market and who will come to buy bananas from him? Lord Caitanya as Nimāi, small boy, He come and say, “Alright! How much are these bananas?” “So, why You ask how much? I am always going to charge You only the market rate. Don’t even have to ask.” “No! No! No! You always want more from Me. I am a poor brāhmaṇa. You can tell me what is the actual price?” “Actual price, alright, eight conch shells!” “Eight conch shells?!!!!! Come on, rip off!!! I am poorly… charging double you know!!!” “Look, if You are thinking… You can check in the market. Am I charging more than in the market rate. You don’t get less than ten conch shells, anywhere.”They are ten little, not conch shells, it is kauḍi – little shells. [paragraph]

“Ten shell! No! You are cheating Me, You are charging!” Then He pick up the bananas and give him four little shells. “What You are giving… bring back here.” “What, you are accusing Me for taking this? Are you accusing a brāhmaṇa of theft? You wanted it back?” “No! No! Take it! Take it!” Every day was whole you know, the thing going on, real rasa, you know, 50 you know, the whole rasa going on.” Then people say that, “Why you take from the young brāhmaṇa!” “I don’t know. I really like taking by… anything… I did you know… it doesn’t…” “You are so poor. Look, He doesn’t give the right price!” People get on his case. But in his heart something happened, whenever he saw Nimāi, his heart would melt, but he still you know, because Nimāi getting into it, He get into a [inaudible words] he just actually loves Nimāi.

So here who knows who Kholaveca Śrīdhara is, what great devotee he is? So to come and have these pastimes, so when Lord Caitanya manifested His Mahāprakāśa pastime. When Advaita offered tulasī on His lotus feet and said, “You are the Supreme Lord.” And Lord Caitanya was at that moment in this ecstasy of Kṛṣṇa. His original form as the Supreme Lord. Only once or twice was He revealed that and for 22 hours, for 21 hours Lord Advaita, He was doing ārati. So at that time Lord Caitanya, He called different… He called Murāri Gupta, He said, “You are My pure devotee!” And just waved, and Murāri Gupta looked then he saw, he was Hanumān. And he looked up and Lord Caitanya was no longer there, there was Lord Rāmacandra and Sītā, and it was like so overwhelming; he sees himself as Hanumān and he faints. The devotees put Ganges water on him and bring back, kīrtana is going on and looks… there he is Murāri Gupta, and there Lord Caitanya. Like one after another, He bring different devotees and He reveal… even the Ganges personified came and so many things were happening. So then He said, “You bring Kholaveca Śrīdhara.” The devotees went, there Kholaveca out there in his banana patch, he (you know) working and looks up and there is 4-5 devotees and they are completely in ecstasy— just coming from the kīrtana, they just have God realization—and “What you all want?” “Lord Caitanya wants you, Nimāi, Gaurāṅga wants you.” “What!” “He is calling you have to come now.” “Gaurāṅga! Me!” He fainted, Kholaveca, he is so humble. Now, Gaurāṅga is a big leader of the saṅkīrtana, he just still selling bananas Gaurāṅga doesn’t have time to come to the market anymore. So he still loves Gaurāṅga. Gaurāṅga wants to see him, he is overwhelming, he fainted, he couldn’t take it. He had so much admiration for Gaurāṅga, so much reverence. So what to do? They picked him up and take him, carry him over there. They put him down in front of Gaurāṅga, and kīrtanas going on. Kholaveca Śrīdhara wakes up and he sees Gaurāṅga… Gaurāṅga at that moment, He giving… so much effulgence. You can’t see anything. You can only see Gaurāṅga and the devotees; the whole world disappears, they only see the spiritual world, spiritual effulgence. And he bows down to Lord Gaurāṅga, prostrate himself, offers his obeisances. Gaurāṅga said, “You have served me faithfully all these years, you have served your guru’s order. So now I want to give you a gift, a boon. You can have anything you want. So tell me what is that you want?” No! No! I don’t want anything!” “I’ll give you a kingdom, you can have that instead of taking care of these bananas, you can be a king, you can have an entire kingdom.” “No! No! I don’t want to be a king. I don’t want this.” “Tell me what is it you want?” “I don’t want a kingdom.” “I will give you mystic power. Pooof, you can produce anything… Aṣṭa-siddhi—aṣṭa, aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti… everything you can have all the mystic powers. You accept.” “No! No! Mahāprabhu! I don’t want any mystic powers!” “What do you want? You have to…” He is in the Lord mood, He always want to give some benediction. He has His duty, this is His role to give some blessing. Whoever… Kṛṣṇa ever appears before you, He offers you benediction. And you have to say what you want. Sometime people, that is why… some people doesn’t realize… “Oh!” They can ask anything, they should know what is the Supreme thing to get. Most people, take everything you want, you want a new car, you might ask for something,you can get that just by going down and get a job, you can get a car. If Viṣṇu can give you anything, what is the thing to get. “Alright, I will give you, what is even rare for the devas to get, rare for the demigods to get. I will give you liberation. You can merge in the jyoti.” “No! No! I don’t want to merge in the jyoti.”[laughter] “So what is it you want, tell Me? What is it you want? You must take from Me, one boon!” Then Kholaveca Śrīdhara, he says, “Alright, my Lord. If something I have to ask you, then what I want is that, every one of Your incarnations, in all Your avatāras. If I could simply provide the vegetable and banana leaves. [laughter] If I can simply always see that smiling face of that young brāhmaṇa boy Nimāi. This is the thing that, I want most of all. If You think I am not qualified to serve You in Your incarnations, then at least give me a blessings that I can be born in a family of a devotee and I can always engage in Your devotional service.” The kīrtana is going on, ārati is going on. Lord Caitanya said, “I am going to give you, Kholaveca Śrīdhara, this supreme benediction; I am going to give that Brahmā, Śiva, they all want. I am going to give you… I am giving you pure kṛṣṇa-prema. I give you… Immediately Kholaveca Śrīdhara, he achieves everything… he achieves complete love for Godhead. When the devotees heard, “This simple, he is a simple [inaudible], rustic person, he doesn’t have any sophistication; but he has his sincere devotion, but the Lord given him the highest benediction of pure love!” They became mad, everyone became…

Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Nitāi Gaura-premānande! Hari Haribol!

People started rolling on the ground, pulling their hair out “Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! What mercy!” Kholaveca, as soon as he got the benediction from the Lord. He became, you know overwhelmed in ecstatic symptoms, he was also rolling in ecstasy in front of the Lord, offering his obeisances. So, here is a simple person, no PhD, no master’s degree, no bachelor, probably he didn’t got to high school, nothing right. But, he had a bona fide guru and he knew that the goal of life was to have pure devotion for the Lord. He has fixed up his final goal. He had every opportunity in his life— fame, power, mystic power, liberation, everything— was offered to him. But he knew, what’s the final goal of life, ultimate goal, ultimate achievement is, he just stuck to it; he didn’t bite all bates that were given to him. A fish, just bite the first worm that comes may get got. It has to wait, the worm was attached to a hook, when it is crawling in the ground level,so they get got. He didn’t get got from all traps, even the Lord Himself set him up, he didn’t bite, he didn’t take any of the traps. So he got highest benediction. Māyā is going to test everyone of you, “You want fame? You want power?” Even sometimes you may get taken to svarga-loka, “Here you go live in a heavenly environment!” “This is not so bad! Alright, here you go, you said, here is the room, here is your…”All kinds of options to be provided by the devas, by the mystic material energy, even by Kṛṣṇa. Right? Even when the gopīs went to Kṛṣṇa, then He said, “What you are doing here in the middle of the night, go back home.” The gopīs they didn’t go. When He told the same thing to wives of the brāhmaṇas, “No! You shouldn’t be here, go back, and serve your husbands.” They… He convinced them. Even Kṛṣṇa, He throws curve balls right? Even Kṛṣṇa, sometimes He just to test a devotee, “I will give you a place in Vaikuṇṭha, I will give you a place in brahma-jyoti, I will give you this and that. The devotee has to be really clear, everyone is going to offer you anything except for pure devotion, pure love of Kṛṣṇa. Don’t take anything short of that, don’t sell out. If you keep your final goal, I want pure love for Kṛṣṇa. You will get it by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. That is why Viṣṇu says that, “My devotees, even if I offer them a place to live on my planet, or get a form like me, they won’t take it. If it doesn’t include My devotional service.” Sometimes, one should come to Goloka with Me, “Do I get some service for You there? Is (that) I just want a ticket to Goloka, just to hang out on the outskirts? I want to able to serve You. If there is a service to do then I will go anywhere the Lord wants, but if there is no service, I don’t want, I will serve You from anywhere. Without Your service, I don’t want to exist.” That is why Kṛṣṇa saying “Give up! Sarva-dharmān parityajya! 

Give up all other duties.” Keep your duty fixed, I want to serve Kṛṣṇa. And if you have that as your final goal like Prahlāda is fixed. They will leave you right to Kṛṣṇa.There is nowhere else you can go, where you will be satisfied.So eventually Kṛṣṇa is there to fulfill, help the devotees, help everyone fulfill the desire.If we fix our desire to be with Kṛṣṇa serving Him, to serve Kṛṣṇa; is our fulfilment. Of course, in order to do that we need help from Vaiṣṇavas, we need help from bona fide guru, we have to follow the śāstra. This is we have to fix what is our final goal. This is what is missing, this is why Kṛṣṇa consciousness is special. Because you look at all the religions, you look at all the processes, and nobody knows what is the final goal! They all fix up in some much lower level, “Be good!” “God give us our daily bread!” Whatever they fix up in some goal materially being happy and devoted, there is some karma-miśra-bhakti, jñāna-miśra-bhakti,some mix is there, even amongst the religious people. Lord Caitanya is telling us devotional, pure devotional service for Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, to Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, pure love of Godhead, that is the final ultimate goal of life, we should fix our target on that. Anything which is not an obstruction in the path, to help us in our path, we should take it. If something which is simply going to take us away from achieving that goal, we should reject it. We make few wrong turns on the way, then we have to… you know sometimes the airplane get blown off the course, they have to realign their radar from the new location, and again they have to go towards their destination. Sometime we may make mistakes, we may get blown off course. “I made a mistake, I blew it. I should never have done that. Okay. But now realign my target on my steering, whatever, and hit back on course, back to pure devotion. Even though, there may be few missteps along the way. If we keep our focus, right, and be careful not to make the same mistake; and take the help of guru and Vaiṣṇavas, and śāstra, by Krishna’s mercy will achieve it.

Nitāi Gaura Sītānātha Premānande!

Hari Haribol!

Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!

Any question? Yes!

Question: We heard about Gaurāṅga-nāgarīs, they have relationship with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not authorized.My question is what is authorized process in relationship with Lord Caitanya can develop, because His instructions [inaudible].

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, we always approach the Lord in a mood of a servitude, servitorship, trying to assist Him.We are dāsānudāsa – servant, of the servant of the Lord. And then from there once you enter into that… at this point where the servitorship, if someone enters into the pastimes of the Lord,if one is, I mean with Kṛṣṇa then there is conjugal relationship, with Lord Caitanya, few people are his parents and elders in the village, some people might be His friends and something classmates in the school. Just like Lord Nityānanda, He had His cowherd boyfriends, they came as His associates. But those who are all, once they already reinstated, or within the pastime from this position. We approach the Lord in dāsya and if try to speculate and do other things, it is very precarious, very dangerous. You should approach in dāsya and then the Lord will elevate us according to relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Then we will be properly fixed. But even someone as in conjugal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, with Lord Caitanya, they still assisting Him in His pastimes in spreading the Harināma, because Lord Himself is in the mood of a devotee.

Question: Kholaveca Śrīdhara, who was he in Kṛṣṇa-līlā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Apparently, he also went to the of Yaśodā, he had a similar pastime.He went there and provided vegetables and things free to Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja. So he has… sometimes devotees have this kind of mini sevās, like there is one devotee who would always go…I am not sure, maybe I am merging the two pastimes.One who come and offered the food and the brāhmaṇa,  and then Lord Caitanya used to come and take,

He did the same thing in Kṛṣṇa-līlā, and the little Kṛṣṇa came and eat the offering, and he would get upset and then Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself… that was, he does it every time. It is like regular… Kholaveca Śrīdhara, I have to look it up, I am sorry. I am not 100% sure.I shouldn’t…

Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā says where all these personalities are in. There are many players on the pastimes, not everyone get mentioned. In Kṛṣṇa-līlā, they may come back in Caitanya-līlā. And then may be more in a prime role, more visible role. 

Yes! Mātājī!

Devotee: This Mahā-prakāśa pastime, is it mentioned in Caitanya-caritāmṛta?

Jayapatākā Swami: It’s refer to there It is mentioned in detail in Caitanya-Bhāgavata. It is refer to verse. It is mentioned in the purports also.

Thank you!

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Devotee: Śrīla Jayapatākā Swami Ācāryapāda kī jaya!

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometime take the audiences video?