19950913 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.21

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharaj on Sep 13^th in 1995, Zurich, Switzerland. The class begins with the reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam First Canto, chapter 8, verse 21.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swāmī: (Leads the Verse twice and Translation with devotees repeat) (Reads Purport)

kṛṣṇāya vāsudevāya

devakī-nandanāya ca

nanda-gopa-kumārāya

govindāya namo namaḥ

 

Translation by His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupād.

Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisance’s unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devakī, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of Vṛndāvana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.

Purport by His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupād.

The Lord, being thus unapproachable by any material assets, out of unbounded and causeless mercy descends to the earth as He is in order to show His special mercy upon His unalloyed devotees and to diminish the upsurges of the demoniac persons. Queen Kuntī specifically adores the incarnation or descent of Lord Kṛṣṇa above all other incarnations because in this particular incarnation He is more approachable. In the Rāma incarnation He remained a king’s son from His very childhood, but in the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, although He was the son of a king, He at once left the shelter of His real father and mother (King Vasudeva and Queen Devakī) just after His appearance and went to the lap of Yaśodāmāyī to play the part of an ordinary cowherd boy in the blessed Vrajabhūmi, which is very sanctified because of His childhood pastimes. Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is more merciful than Lord Rāma. He was undoubtedly very kind to Kuntī’s brother Vasudeva and the family. Had He not become the son of Vasudeva and Devakī, Queen Kuntī could not claim Him to be her nephew and thus address Kṛṣṇa in parental affection. But Nanda and Yaśodā are more fortunate because they could relish the Lord’s childhood pastimes, which are more attractive than all other pastimes. There is no parallel to His childhood pastimes as exhibited at Vrajabhūmi, which are replicas of His eternal affairs in the original Kṛṣṇaloka, described as the cintāmaṇi-dhāma in the Brahma-saṁhitā. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descended Himself at Vrajabhūmi with all His transcendental entourage and paraphernalia. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore confirmed that no one is as fortunate as the residents of Vrajabhūmi, and specifically the cowherd boys, who dedicated their everything for the satisfaction of the Lord. His pastimes with Nanda and Yaśodā and His pastimes with the cowherd men and especially with the cowherd boys and the cows have caused Him to be known as Govinda. Lord Kṛṣṇa as Govinda is more inclined to the brāhmaṇas and the cows, indicating thereby that human prosperity depends more on these two items, namely brahminical culture and cow protection. Lord Kṛṣṇa is never satisfied where these are lacking.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Thus, end the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport to Text 21-chapter 8 canto 1. Thus, ends the Bhaktivedanta Swami translation and purport of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.21.

Spoken in this 509th year of Sri Caitanya mahaprabhu’s appearance on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the matter of the prayers of queen Kuntī.

Kuntī devi has written such a beautiful poetry not written but spoken spontaneously beautiful verses. Prabhupad explains, how why she mentions both vāsudev and vasudev and devaki because she is a sister of vasudev and in this way she can endear Kṛṣṇa due to her family relationship or a parental affection as an aunt.

At the same time, she is glorifying Kṛṣṇa as the cowherd boy of Vṛndāvan by the same time she is also offering him obeseciences ‘namo namaha.’

Because she knows that although He has appeared apparently, I mean like externally He is appeared as her nephew, He is none other than a supreme lord, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and these are all his pastimes. Kṛṣṇa relates with His different devotees according to how they approach Him. He is expert, the most expert and He performs everything most appropriately. He is a perfect nephew, brother, son, friend, lover, husband, master and every relationship He is the ideal, perfect. He doesn't have any personal incompleteness. He doesn't actually need the worship which devotees give Him, because He is lacking or something. He is ātmārāma, He is self-satisfied, always complete

oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ

pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate

At the same time, He acts as if He is dependent on His devotees. And He relates in that manner, He is so kind that He comes as a deity form and He acts the…. as if he is depend up on service of His devotees allowing us to cook, bathe, cook for, bathe, dress, worship, glorifying, take care of the Lord is a kind of a dress rehearsal for serving the Lord in the spiritual world. Performing intimate services for the Lord in the spiritual world has its significance if that devotee has developed love for Kṛṣṇa then all these services and all these association is a most pleasing to the heart of the devotee overwhelms the heart of the devotee in transcendental bliss.

Jai Jagannath Baladev Subadra ki .. Jai.

Jai Śrī Śrī Gaura Nitāi ki .. Jai..

Lord Caitanya mahāprabhu, He always wanted to go to Vrindāvan. He love Vrindāvan. He love the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Vrindāvan.

When He went to perform pindi at Gaya for His father, His father had deceased. He was still a teenager, so he went over to perform these final rights.

This is Ceremony that a son or daughter can perform for their deceased parents, forefathers sending them prasādam, offer prasādam to viṣṇu and then through mantras it is send to the forefathers.

This is like a, if you know that somebody is in hospital then you send, now in the west you can send flowers just by phoning up you can send different things. Even, they have telegrams that they go and sing, like singing telegram, happy birthday to you, or whatever they say.. Please get well, in the future they may have Hare Kṛṣṇa telegrams.

Hare Kṛṣṇa..., Hare Kṛṣṇa..., but of course, these are all expressing their sentiments and sentiment goes to the people. But practically how much can anyone do when someone is sick, but an encouragement is definitely appreciated by people. It is a dear person[1]  purpose to life reason to live and so on.

But this is something real, a person leaves their body and then they go to, who knows where they go? who can say?

Maybe they can go to a good place, maybe they are in hellish place.

Somebody sends them the packet of Kṛṣṇa prasādam for the benefit of taking that Kṛṣṇa prasad, that is definitely going to help them even if they are in the heavenly planets, it can extend their stay, if they are in a hellish planet it can get them out.

So, the word in hindi and bengali for sanskrit for a son is “putra”, “pu” means hell and “tra” means to deliver. Like mantra, putra, a person who can deliver one from hell is a putra and daughter, who can deliver one from hell is a putri. Right! (we have the indian mataji here? Is she here? She is doing some service.)

So, to be a good son or daughter means we should try to liberate our parents. And that can be done while we are alive, preaching to them, sending them prasādam and things, by being Kṛṣṇa consciousness, if we are Kṛṣṇa conscious, 14 generations, parents, grandparents, and children, grandchildren and so on, they can be delivered. I heard recently that even goes into previous birth so I haven't seen that explicitly written but someone explains that it's there somewhere in sastra. So, it’s a very great welfare that someone can do, a child can do for their forefathers to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.

So, Lord Caitanya, being the best son, He went to perform this ceremony for His father, and one of the most sacred places to do that, is at gaya. where there was a demon called gayasur who was defeated by Vishnu.

And Vishnu put his lotus feet on his chest and the footprints and the demon became petrified, stonified, and the footprints of Vishnu are still there, since so many yugas.

There was some kind of a deal that the demon will surrender, he would stop fighting or stop creating whatever disturbance that the Lord would put His feet on his chest and he would be worshipped there. And he said, as long as everyday someone worships His lotus footprints then I will remain lying down this is a gigantic demon so it’s a, on the top of the mountain kind of a long mountain like a shape of a human.

The demon lying down avallon on the top there is a temple and then you see that this is a footprint of the Lord. But if any one day nobody comes for the whole day to worship lotus feet, those lotus feet then the demon is free from his bondage and can get up and cause havoc again. So far, there is many people go every day. We don't know what happens later in kaliyuga! He may come up.

Anyway, Lord Caitanya, He went there.

On the way He stopped at the place called Kānāi Nāṭaśālā, where there is lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

How many of you have been to Kānāi Nāṭaśālā?

This is a very beautiful temple is at the border of gaura mandala bumi. It used to be in the state of bengal, until 47 years ago, when bengal traded it off to bihar state for an exchange for another district from bihar.

But at the time of Lord Caitanya it was part of bengal. At that one point it was the capital of bengal known as rajmahal, it's four kilometers from Kānāi Nāṭaśālā. But from time immemorial this Kānāi Nāṭaśālā was sacred town, holy place, there was a hill there by the side of the Ganges, and on the hill Lord Kṛṣṇa, He has pastimes, and when Lord Caitanya went there he could see Rādhā  and Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa came and embraced Him and He was overwhelmed in ecstasy, and there is a lotus feet of Lord Sri Sri Rādhā  and Kṛṣṇa there.

Śrīla  Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati thakur, he established the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya there. Because he visited that holy place 3 times. To Gaya, coming back from Gaya, and once on the way to vṛndāvan, which he went up to there and came back. It's only 30 kilometers from the place of rāma keli, where Rūpa and Sanātana lived and where anupam lived and its recorded that Jiva goswami was probably born there.

So, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy this Kānāi Nāṭaśālā temple has been given over to ISKCON.

Nitāi Gaura premanande... Hari Hari bol!!!

And this about 30 or 40 hectares of land and the whole hill which is right on the side of the Ganges, that hill goes right into the Ganges, the Ganges comes right after the hill. And all around the Ganges at that point is about 6 to 8 kilometers wide because there is a dam about 20 kilometers down so that become very wide there, no much current, blue and very deep. I don’t know how deep more than 10 meters deep may be 20, I don't know how deep is so deep.

Of course, right by the side of the hill there is a rocks going in, so some devotees go in to dive in by the side, some beaches sand and we can go in.

So, this is the place now devotees can go for Japas and bathings. It's a beautiful place, top of the hill. All the 3 sides are of all Ganges. It's a very peaceful place on the hill.

Lord Caitanya was there one of the unique place of Gaura mandala bumi. That’s been worshipped by some very renounced Vaishnavas, who just live in a copen and doing their worship there but the guru of that place he didn't have faith that his disciples could manage it and he had some, I don't know how he heard about ISKCON, He says that Kṛṣṇa revealed this in his heart that, he should give it to us.

So, he came and searched us out, we never searched him out. He searched us out and he asked us if we would take over that place. He is very old now, 90 plus. So just 6 months ago after Gaura purnima that was signed over. Of course, the property belongs to the deity, but we are the official managers and trustees for the deity.

So, Lord Caitanya went to that holy place and He went to patna, He went to many holy places and He finally got to gaya. When He got to gaya, He met Iswara Puri Maharaj.

And Iswara Puri was well known to His father and have gone stayed there at house of jagganath mishra.

Sometimes when Nimāi was a small child he remembered He saw Iswara Puri and He decided now that his father has left the world year ago. He had come to perform this right and it was time for Him to surrender to Kṛṣṇa and take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness fully.

So, He begged Iswara Puri to accept him as a disciple and give him initiation. So, without a bonafide spiritual master one cannot go back to Kṛṣṇa, one cannot achieve Kṛṣṇa and serve Kṛṣṇa properly. So please give me the holy names.

When He begged Iswara puri I never get over this ocean of birth and death unless I have your shelter.

So Iswara puri initiated Him in Gaya and Lord Caitanya began to chant,

“Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

Then he was once chanting over to the temple of Vishnupad, the lotus feet of Vishnu where He engaged the priest to perform this worship and the system is you offer prasādam, boga to Vishnu lotus feet and then you give a name of your gothra.

Gothra is a family tradition that is followed by the Hindus by the Vedic followers that originally different brāhmaṇas and different families they came from different prajāpatis, and that they know it's amazing that you know prajāpatis mean one name came that you know the praja, the children was a millions of years ago, since that time from father to son in India people handed down that this is the tradition we are in.

One thing when they are born, they are told you are from a Kaśyapa muni gothra or Bharadvāja muni gotra or such and such rishi such and such prajāpati.

Nowhere it is written it is been handed down like that, so when they are born they know that I am this gothra.

So, they mention that, what is their gothra what is the name of their father, therefore for whomever they are doing their puja. So, they mention such and such gothra and then the name they do the mantras then it goes automatically by spiritual way it is sent to their account.

Here I mean this is well known in switzerland about accounts right!?

This is a Swasti zurich is the banking capital. Everyone knows they has this secret accounts you can use just the number account. If you put the wrong number then nothing is there, when you look, right!? And if you lose your number then goodbye. I saw a cartoon once a man was like a bum on the street with a can, and he had a sign it said, I lost my swiss bank account number, forgot, (GM laughs..) so now he is begging.

So, in this material world everything is perverted reflection right after also there is spiritual bank account and so you can send that message that gives to the spiritual bank account. So Anyway, Lord Caitanya was doing all these things.

But actually, he was really interested in seeing the lotus feet of Vishnu so beautiful all the markings, the conch shell marking, and the elephant goat, lightning and the lotus flower different markings that are there. He was amazed that when Seeing the lotus feet of vishnuHhe didn't feel so much love even when they offered the boga, then they had him doing abhishek, He was pouring milk and yogurt and honey and different panchamritas, when he is doing abhishek suddenly his heart filled with love of Kṛṣṇa and became overwhelmed in the love of Kṛṣṇa and He started chant and dance

(GM chants mahamantra with devotees following)

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare ….

And He was chanting and dancing in ecstasy all of the priests never seen anyone chanting and dancing …

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare ….

They are all watching what's going on watching them jumping and dancing and He is feeling so much separation, then He see there was looking at Him and He finishes the worship and again he starts chant when the worship He chants runs out of the temple, Vrindāvan Bihari lal Bagavan Sri Kṛṣṇa ki...

(Devotees says) jay ,

And He was just chanting Vrindāvan Bihari lal.. Vrindāvan, Vrindāvan.., Nanda kumara. You know, the Nanda gopa kumaraya different thing then he is running off to Vrindāvan. He said, I am going to Vrindāvan now to see a land of Kṛṣṇa to see Kṛṣṇa and Vrindāvan. And He runs out towards Vrindāvan.

Then there is akash vani, a voice from the air, “Don't go to Vrindāvan now, now it's not the time to go to Vrindāvan! Now is the time to go back to Navadeep to mother Sachi and start the Sankirtan movement. You must go to Vrindāvan later.”

So, Lord Caitanya is already running up to the Vrindāvan right away, where would have been the sankirtan movement? He had external purpose of his pastimes which is to start the Sankirtan movement and internal which was to relish his own Vrindāvan past times.

We can see how much Lord Caitanya was attracted to his Vrindāvan past times, wanted to go right away, didn't wanted to wait.

Just like Kuntī devi here she is respecting Kṛṣṇa in one sense as her nephew and but then she is appreciating his Vrindāvan past times, Lord Caitanya he wanted to go directly.

But when He got the message from the sky reminding Him that, He had to perform a sankirtan yagna. He went back.

Like that many devotees they may be inclined to go right to Vrindāvan and simply stay in the holy dham or simply to be absorbed in the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Vrindāvan, but just like Lord Caitanya He also was inclined like that, we have to follow His footsteps He went back and He did sankirtan.

He went back and He performed the sankirtan yagna, and if He hadn't done that where would we have been right!? We get the mercy because of Lord Caitanya sankirtan sacrifice which is spreading the message.

So although may be many devotees who are very eager to go deeper and deeper into the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa but we have to also be merciful on all the other conditioned souls, they say there is 5 billion human beings on this planet, I have not counted myself but I take you know, their words for it, that something like that, but out of this 5 billion how many are take Kṛṣṇa conscious so far, how many are able to taste the nectar of Kṛṣṇa conscious about Kṛṣṇa Bhakti and how many are still suffering under the influence of the time, the gunas and the karmas. Obviously, there is a vast vast majority of people who have not been able to get this mercy yet.

Just like Lord Caitanya He went back and He delayed His going to Vrindāvan for maybe 10 years. At least 10 years or more, 10 or 15 years quite a Vrindāvan was very natural thing at that time. You have to walk 1500 kilometers and there were no proper roads and there was no, and wasn’t safe, to the you have to go medieval kind of situation many different kings, and bandits and so going to Vrindāvan, a major journey which might take almost a year. And devotees,they din’t know when Lord Caitanya will come back?

So, He postponed His journey to do the Sankirtan yagna but He was always thinking about Vrindāvan.

In Nectar of devotion, it explains that one of the six, living in the mathura is one of the regulative principles recommended and in a you could, it’s also one of the 5 most important practices of devotional service.

But in the explanation, it's described that we can live we should identify ourself as a resident of holy dham. We are residents of the holy dham but we are serving in different parts of the world.

Just like citizens of the dham, but residents of different country, the action belong in the spiritual world with Kṛṣṇa and the holy dham is like the embassy in this world of that spiritual world to see representation the extension the same past times Kṛṣṇa performs in the spiritual world some of them are presented here in the material world in the holy dham.

Prabhupad described it as prototypes of his eternal affairs and the original Kṛṣṇa loka described as a chintamani dham in the Brahmā samitha.

A person he go into the Dham now it is kali yuga Rajasthan desert has entered in to Vrindāvan, influence of the desert so all the garden and the beautiful trees and things that were there before are not so clearly so lushisely visible now as they were 5000 years ago. Bengal is still and Navadeep dham is still very lushies and Lord Caitanya’s dham which is a gupta Vrindāvan, a hidden Vrindāvan, not different from Vrindāvan one can still experience that gardens to some extent and the beautiful arrangements but with our skin eyes, these eyes are skin eyes right, we can only see certain things, with these eyes we are not able to see the spiritual reality, we don't see Kṛṣṇa’s Sacidananda rupa. We don't see the Sacidananda form of the holy dham.

So, Lord is very kind He appears before us as a deity form, which we can see and we can serve. And sometimes the Lord comes in a visible form in the world for every one can see Him with their skin eyes, with their flesh eyes, although they may not see Him in the same way as a liberated soul can see Him, they see some kind of reflection some presentation of the Lord. When they achieve the full liberation, they can see the Lord even in a more complete and spiritually and they can see the Lord in a with spiritual eyes, spiritual senses are got more ability to see Kṛṣṇa, that's what senses are for, seeing Kṛṣṇa seeing the transcendental energy, this material eyes is to see the material energies.

So, the Lord He comes down in order to attract us back to his original pastimes. why are we just staying here in a material world arriving because we want to be here, we don't know better, we don't know this anything better, and we think this is what life is supposed to be and we are just caught up in it.

So how we can get out?

 If we don't desire to leave? And how if we desire to leave? We don't know that there is some place better!

So, the easiest way of if you, how are we able to go to Kṛṣṇa if we are not attracted to Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.

So Kṛṣṇa manifest his pastimes in this world so we can be attracted to Him and we can re-establish our forgotten relationship and go back to Him. But to that people who are in māyā, when they hear about Kṛṣṇa they are not feeling attraction but when they go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and they get mercy of Kṛṣṇa, then they are able to experience what is the sweet nectar in serving Kṛṣṇa.

So that's what Lord Caitanya mahāprabhu’s mercy, there are people who are completely hopelessly fallen in illusion they are always identifying with their bodies, they are influence by the modes of ignorance and passion they are attracted to material sense gratification, their mind is uncontrolled and always going to places we shouldn't go and thinking things which are not auspicious or beneficial or appropriate. So, in this kind of condition what is the hope in kali yuga for such a person, persons.

So, Lord Caitanya has come to give them hope to give them his mercy, to give them a process which is so powerful that if they just try to follow the process of chanting the holy names,

“Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,”

then they can in spite of so many problem and obstacles hey can achieve Kṛṣṇa, they can get over these obstacles.

So prabhupāda  was so merciful he was in Vrindāvan he was a vrajavasi for so many years in the holy temple of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Damodar samadai, Rādhā  Damodar temple. He left Vrindāvan and came to the hellish west, came here to Switzerland, isn't it?

Came to so many different countries all over the world and brought with him Vrindāvan, he could have stayed in Vrindāvan and relished all the past times of Kṛṣṇa and serve Kṛṣṇa and he could have went back to Godhead without much difficulty.

But he was so merciful he took all the troubles to come and bring us all Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following footsteps of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, carrying orders of Caitanya Mahaprabhu on his head.

So Śrīla Prabhpad was so advanced he could relish Vṛndāvan, but he also left and preached but for those who are not so fortunate to really be able to concentrate and relish Vṛndāvan, then for them, what other hope is there but to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Even for those who can relish they preach, and for those who can't relish they need to serve and help in spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement so they can free from the anarthas and offenses and be able to appreciate the pastimes of Rādhā  and Kṛṣṇa.

Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Yasodha, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Vṛndāvan. The more we engage in the sankirtan movement, and avoid offenses to the Vaishnavas and avoid the weeds of the devotional creeper, and offenses to the Holy name or the taste for Kṛṣṇa consciousness should increased, and the more I taste for Kṛṣṇa consciousness increase, the more attraction to maya decreased. If our attraction for Kṛṣṇa is not increasing then something wrong that means that some of our energy is going to the weeds or that we are committing offenses or that we are not following properly or we are not chanting defenselessly.

So, we have to be good gardeners and take care of our devotional creeper and water it properly. When we are careless then maya enters in.

Kuntī devi is a very unique personality as we have mentioned yesterday, she had this ability to call devas, she was given a blessing by some rishi that, she could call anyone she wanted with a particular mantra, right so, she used the mantra and called the sun god and sun god appeared. But she didn't realize that you call one of the devas that they have some idea and they wanted to have a relation with her. And because she was so advanced the person she was also just like a heavenly being although she was a human and she says I am not married, how can I have any relation how can this be allowed and so why you call me anyway I will not disturb your virginity so she bared  and the first child was karna but because she was born out of red lock, she dont know what to do, so she put him in a floating ulcer in river.

And that's a big drama in Mahābhārata because Karṇa was a favorite by Duryodhana and Kuntī didn’t own up to Karṇa’s position until very late in the whole pastimes in the final Kurukshetra war.

Anyway, but this is interesting how human beings have descended in this case directly they were descending from different residents of higher planets, and how originally the humans can trace back I mean, at least in india you can they know that I came from this Rishi but those rishis are not necessarily residents of this planet, they residing in other planets.

The human beings were actually brought here to this area through Manu. As mentioned in Bhagavad-gita, Ikṣvāku was the first human king.

The Manu doesn't also live on this planet, but he is from another higher planet. We don't actually, that's why the evolutionists, you know there might be some kind of averagnist, or something here.

But actually, they are civilized humans, they don't even come from this planet. So they may not find them here, their bones or whatever at a certain point, we don't come from here. Which is something they, some people think about but it is actually recorded in a Vedic history.

Originally, we all come from Brahmā  and different creatures also don’t they are all planted in here different planets different ecosystem are created in different planets for different species of life, and there are other creatures who fit with in category of humans which means they have ability human basically means who can understand the God.

Those who are not humans who cannot understand God they are in the category of animals and birds and so on.

So the special feature of human being is we can understand Kṛṣṇa we can understand God. But in a modern society people are acting just like polished animals, in the sense that they are not trying to understand God. And they are absorbed in the senses and they are suffering so many karmas.

So, the Vedic rituals are meant to gradually bring people to God consciousness. So at least even in a mundane society children would have some attachment for their parents, in the past it was like that. Maybe now it is not so much. But It was like that, so the children would do these ceremonies for their forefathers. At least once in a life they have to go and worship Vishnu. Whenever they take the body to be burnt in India, you always hear them chanting, Hari Bol... Bolo Hari.. Hari Bol.. Bolo Hari… When you hear these kind of  Hari Bol... Bolo Hari.. Hari Bol.. Bolo Hari…you know they are taking a dead body they don't say bolo Shiva, or Bolo Durga they say, Bolo Hari… Hari Bol.. and they go with the body.

Because they know at the end of life only Hari, only Vishnu can protect you, and they wanted to be also protected. They are carrying dead body, they don't want all these pooks and everything to get down and hang around the dead body, so they are chanting.

In some parts of India they say, ‘Ram Nam Satya Hai, Ram Nam Satya Hai’ some parts they say, ‘Bolo Hari.’ They always say the names of Vishnu.

So, we need to remember Kṛṣṇa but why wait to the very end of life?

Kuntī Devi, she is offering prayers to Kṛṣṇa face to face she is so great. She is so elevated personality. We should understand our actual heritage is also to become elevated, we have fallen from the grace, we have fallen into the pit.

Now we have civilized society, people at least superficially civilized, people are well behaved superficially, kindliness and truthfulness are virtues people still accept.

People appreciate, they don't appreciate austerity so much, but they expected in the athletics and in politicians to some degree. And mercy is being appreciated more and more now. People need however to really go beyond just the religious principles which are pillars to bring us closer to God and actually understand God realization. And that is what these verses are telling us about Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa is a person, He appeared in this world, He had different pastimes and if we relate with Kṛṣṇa as a person, then we get attached to Him and bring us to Him. But how do people know that?

We can’t even go out to the people and just tell them Kṛṣṇa is a person, they don’t even know what you are talking about. Then we had to take them to so many different levels, depending on what their material consciousness is at, to finally bring them just to the point that Kuntī devi is already here, appreciating Kṛṣṇa face to face and his pastimes.

You may have to tell people about karmas and UFOs and this or that so many things to get them to start to think that if there is something more than what is touching their fingertips and their tongues and their eyes and so on. And get them to understand that there is higher reality and then we have a higher purpose to our life more than just eating and sleeping and producing some byproducts and then getting old and dying and somehow trying to keep the body this bag of skin and bones alive for a few years longer. People are so much trying to live for a few years longer that even some people are now becoming vegetarian because of health reasons, but they don't realize that they can live forever spiritually, if they could just elevate their consciousness.

So that's where all of you devotees and all of you who are practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, have got this special mercy of Lord Caitanya to be Kṛṣṇa conscious and to achieve this and at the same Lord Caitanya also ordered that everyone should give it to others. So, we fulfill these orders of Lord Caitanya, then we can be very successful, we can be totally successful in our lives.

So, there are people, always they want shortcut, you know, they are trying to eat gaur from your elbow, you know that example. You know that example right!? You don't regularly eat gaur from your elbow? You are not eating off your elbow?

Sometimes. There was once a poor man in India and he had no money but he wanted to eat some gaur, guar is a type of molasses which is still got a lot of sugar in it. It's a very sweet molasses, it's kind of raw cooked down sugarcane juice, you had gaur? You have here?

They gave me some Gaur yesterday with sesame, beautiful sweet. Thank you whoever made that, very nice. And so this poor man, he went out to the shopkeeper and said, ‘can I have some of the gaur?’ He said, sure! It would be, you know, one rupee! ‘No, but I don't have any money.’ You want gaur? Give me money. No money - No gaur! This is a, in the material world usually you know, you don't get too many handouts.

Sometime you can get it, sometime not. But the rule is, they say in Bengali also, “Fellow quri macho tail”[2]  Put your money - take your, then you can rub your oil, means you can put your money and then buy your thing.

So he was desperate, I have to get some gaur, somehow I have no money, what to do? I really want to taste some gaur. So, he saw one shop had a big barrel, big barrel of gaur filled up to the top, kind of liquid gaur. You can get 2 kinds in India you can get the hard kind and you get the liquidy kind. So, he made a plan I will just go over and I will lean in a barrel as if thinking that there was some solid thing, I get gaur on my elbow and go and eat it. So he went over and ahh… hh.. Hh.. Hu...hu. Hooo.. hoo.. hooo... (GuruMaharaj was mimicking) look at this, oh! what a mess?

Oh, it's all gaur on my elbow, sorry, why you can't put a sign or something how anybody supposed to know, looks just like a solid thing you know. And then he went off to the forest ‘ha ha ha ha…! Now I have my gaur’, you know mean time most of it fallen off, but little bit was there.

So, then he is trying to get it, He couldn't get, there all the guar was going, he is trying he couldn't get the elbow gaur. But I don't know I think you are more textures, maybe some of you can get from the elbow you can try it. ha ha ha (Guru maharaj laughs).

So, you understand that story?

What is that inner meaning?

Funny little stories right, each of them have got deep meanings, that you try to go about the things in the wrong way and speculate in a, what that guy could have done is, may be look it at I really want some gaur I clean your shop for you, I do some work for you, I do something for you then give me a little gaur, right there, he could have somehow done something and got the gaur. Instead he decided I just steal it, But I will make it do it in a deceitful way I won’t make it look like I am stealing then I get arrested I just do this, joking way. But in the end what he got he just got the sticky elbow. He couldn't eat or enjoy the gaur.

So that’s like that there is a way if you want to get Kṛṣṇa you can get Him. You have to pay the price. Price is not so much.

By Lord Caitanya’s mercy you just have to chant

“Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,”

read the Srimad Bhagavatam, be Kṛṣṇa conscious, eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam, it is not so difficult to do.

Of course, and then give out this mercy as best you can to others. We need to re-establish this brahminical consciousness, brahminical culture in the world, expecting simple living and high thinking. Now people appreciate they think it's a complicated living, right and passionate thinking. I don't know what, this is the things being glorified even just not simple thinking and missing the whole point. They are missing the purpose of life and they are wasting their valuable human lives.

So Prabhupad, he could see that he said, “the world is on fire.” People when they find the material world, they really suffer I mean, they enjoy for a while but then that enjoyment leads to suffering, it's just like two sides of the coin. Right!?

Someone has just like nowadays so many divorces there, people get married and then they want to be happy but then they get divorced and then they get really fried and they get frustrated.

So, if people do things for the wrong reasons then they, it forces them to suffer if they do things for Kṛṣṇa consciousness reasons very careful about it, we can avoid suffering. Although in this material world there is always some sufferings no matter what you do. But then again, we can be fully Kṛṣṇa conscious then we can avoid that, because our consciousness will be above it.

Kuntī Devi she had problems but Kṛṣṇa always came and save them. So even the problems were helpful for them to get more mercy from Kṛṣṇa.

Kuntī was a widow. She had no one to help her in caring for her 5 children, her 3 children and 2 of her husband's children from another wife and she was bringing all of them up. So that was a very big responsibility.

So, in this way we because she was totally helpless and Kṛṣṇa always gave her mercy, so like this we become totally helpless in Kṛṣṇa depending on Kṛṣṇa ’s mercy always and we can get his mercy.

So, thank you very much.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Any Question:

Yes mataji.

That's just the weakness of the mind that we think that we cannot change or that we cannot deal with this anarthas. It's like an excuse, we take the easy way out, we want to steal the gaur. It's similar, if we find ourselves in that situation then we should thats why we have a Guru. That's why we have to take shelter of a bonafide guru. And we had to take the medicine from him.

We say this is the weakness or this is the maya that I am facing and then have him help us in how we can deal with that. But we have to always endeavour, virus. If we think that well, I am too much attached so no use in trying, then naturally maya will take over. That's the start to desire to surrender to maya but rather we should think, ok I have attachments, how to get over them and we have to be prepared to do some austerities especially the more we allow the weeds to grow the harder, the more painful it is when you pull then out because they are growing in our hearts, you are pulling things out of our heart causes a bit of pain.

Like you pulling a tooth. Even the tooth is rotten, but still you don't like to pull teeth it is there in the jaw. what to speak of something growing in the heart, if you can weather out the weeds by not watering them you don't have to water weeds you can just give drip occasion right to the bhakti-latā not give to the weeds, then the weeds will dry up but Lord

Caitanya also said, “we have to pull out the weeds” that means, we have to recognize that this is killing me, this is harming me, that is a illusion that I am thinking that this will make me happy.

You think, I cannot change. I want this, why, because we are in a illusion we think this will make me happy, but if we had the intelligence we would understand that this will not make me happy therefore why am i attached to it.

So then because we are in a illusion if we don’t pull out the weeds then what happens, the weeds grows until the weed takes over and then the weed causes us so much suffering that then we become totally frustrated and then at that state we pull out the weed but meanwhile we left our so much devotional service and we had to suffer so much and finally the conclusion is that, this is causing me suffering and we get rid of it and then we come back.

So why go through all that? When one is small, we can still pull it out. It's only gonna get bigger, the more you delay the bigger it is! Unless you wanna go the whole, the weed takes over and then we don't know how many lives it takes to come back.

So, we shouldn't fall into this maya where we think well, actually I am not really Kṛṣṇa conscious and I am really in maya, these are all just a maya talking in a ear kali. We are eternal souls, we are meant to be Kṛṣṇa conscious and if we have a disease it's not a, I am really meant to be diseased, this is really what I it's my nature to always to be sick. No! our nature is to be healthy and happy.

The reason we are in this problem is because we are diseased and why we accepted guru is because he is a doctor, he is supposed to guide us and all these senior devotees they are also like interns and nurses and other types of doctors that are helping us.

Now if we decide I don't want to take any cure, I just want to enjoy the disease. That's, what can anybody do?

But that's the thing that the mind tricks us. We have to really know what the cure is, and not surrender to the disease. may be that the cure would be not exactly the same thing that we are doing may be some changes we have to make. So that's where we need sometimes, the expert guidance.

And then the idea is the Guru may say try this and then we try it, we are not able to do then we go back. It’s ok we try this, just like sometimes you go to the doctors try this and then he make a series of cure first you go this stage and then that stage, well we shouldn't give up the fight, we shouldn't say no, I just don't want to be Kṛṣṇa conscious or that's the worst thing.

Yes!

[someone asking question] [Not Audible]

What's the difference?

[Not Audible]

No, but even if, even just taking your, I never thought of this before ..ah.. But even if that were the case that you had to get devotional service, anyone who gets devotional service where do they go?

At the end of their life they will get liberation in the spiritual sky in the spiritual body anyway.

So that way it doesn't make any difference. But we understand I mean some people get liberation also in the Brahmajyoti. Or some people get liberation in different ways. Some may get liberation to the different planet depending on their particular situation. But they get liberated from birth and death. If they get devotional service, devotional service is liberation and that would lead one to having his spiritual body also. So that's not that wouldn't be a problem. But it doesn't specially mention that just get liberated.

I mean, if they got devotional service that would be much better than if they got only the Brahmajyoti.

So, someone who gets devotional service will be specially blessed. There are 5 types of liberation, there are Sayujya, Salokya, Sarupya, Samipya and Sarsti. So, liberation mean this 5 type and then supreme liberation is prema, it's beyond liberation. So at least they get one of these five, how they get their details of it that's up to Kṛṣṇa.

We should work very hard to get Kṛṣṇa how to please Kṛṣṇa and be his pure devotee and then Kṛṣṇa will worry about the rest for him there is no problem. For Him to take someone out of the material world, no problema (in Spanish). It's on his hands.

Another Doubt.

[Devotee speaking, not audible]

Pardon.

[Devotee speaking, Not audible]

Envious, yes.

[Devotee speaking, Not audible]

Certain this verse? (laughing)... ahh… We should avoid enviousness, we shouldn't, that's the everything can be used in Kṛṣṇa’s service, anger, greed. Be greedy to make so many nice devotees for Kṛṣṇa. right?

you can be angry on somebody is trying to hurt Kṛṣṇa devotees so one would take action on that and protect the devotee or the temple.

But envy meaning to wanting the wishing ill on someone else let them be brought down so I can be brought up. This is a only in, this is a material thing, only in the sense of, only it can be used if someone is very inimical to Kṛṣṇa and he want to bring the person down for, out of like defense kind of situation, is it applicable!?

Otherwise in devotional service to be envious against another devotee is a sure destruction. You want to remain in a material world for some more time, this is a good way just become envious.

Why should we envious?

What will we gain by someone else coming down?

In the material world everybody is trying to fight for the position. It's just like sometimes in India you find that you have this, the old system is in the country people dig a hole and then they go and they pass the morning calls and experiment everything goes there and then the hole fills up with the stools.

So, in Māyāpur before we had bathrooms and we had everything we made a little bamboo hut and made such an arrangement and there was a shoot and Prabhupāda  even was using that, I remember one time I looked opened the lid and saw that area which was filled with stools.

But you couldn't see the stools because on top if it there was all white maggots, these white kind of worms, and they are crawling and you saw that these worms are heading like a who can be king of the mountain, it’s a mountain of worms and one is trying to climb on top of the other and then that pushes one down and one is up for a second on the top but next moment someone else climb on him push down and another is on top.

So the material world is like that, worms trying to crawl on the stool and who can be on the top so for one minute someone is on the top but then again after a second they come down and you get pushed back in the stool. I am sorry for the graphic example.

[audience laughing]

But for the devotees, all these types of trying to push oneself up and push someone down they know this is all the hard struggle of worms in the stool. And they give up such endeavor. And if they see that coming in their mind rather, they go to someone and apologize and try to serve that person. Because by serving someone you can get rid of enviousness.

And that's why, will you find even Rādhārani says that I am willing to serve even my competitor if that will make Kṛṣṇa happy.

I don't mind I want to do what will please Kṛṣṇa so I want to do the thing which will make Kṛṣṇa happy.

So, this is the nature of the spiritual life if we try to rather, we know that we are not going to get up by pushing somebody down. That’s doesn’t work that way in the spiritual world everyone goes up by pleasing Kṛṣṇa and who can please Kṛṣṇa more they go up faster. Rather if you can help someone to go up by you pushing someone else up, Kṛṣṇa will bring you up. That person you automatically, so in here instead of like in the material world everyone is trying to pull down and get up a little bit and here the spiritual, we are trying to push everyone up. If we can help others to go up, we also go up.

The Guru is trying to bring up his disciples and disciple is trying to act properly and not pull down the Guru to contribute some service for the Guru. And devotees are trying to help other devotees.

You see, there is no limit of Kṛṣṇa ’s mercy you don't have to fight for it like that rather you can show more good qualities of helping other Vaiṣṇavas and serving the more Kṛṣṇa will give you the mercy. But in material world because of this only limited thing, so people fight for that right?

Maybe there is one person who is available for marriage, so then everybody is you know all eligible people they are thinking about how to get that person and they become envious of each other and so on. Or because there is limited money so they are trying to, how to get money and someone has more money then they become envious.

So, like, there are so many things are in the material world that people are going after, because of this limit and become envious but we have to come above that. But in spiritual life ultimately, we only going to get what kishna is going to give it to us. And we have to try to do things in the way that Kṛṣṇa approves that.

We shouldn’t compromise our principles for something material. Because in the end if we lose Kṛṣṇa’s grace, just like Prabhupad quotes “what is the use of gaining the whole world if you lose your eternal soul” we don't wanna which I think Jesus had said. we don't want to sacrifice our Kṛṣṇa consciousness for something mundane, with in the realm of Kṛṣṇa conscious activities whichever is approved we should act in that way and avoid being envious but the mind sure we are here because we are envious that's why we are here ultimately envious of Kṛṣṇa, now we have to work around that. That’s why we want to serve the Vaiṣṇavas we want to serve Kṛṣṇa we want to serve even every living entity. We don't want to cause any harm any more to any living entities. That's why Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee become very dear to Kṛṣṇa. When you act in an exemplary way then Kṛṣṇa he becomes pleased with you that, this person is so much fallen birth, fallen situation but they are trying so hard to serve me.

So then Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda become mercifully incline, prabhupāda become merciful, Guru become merciful. Even if we have these tendencies that's what I discussed yesterday you can reveal it to the deity that I have such a base mind it is thinking of all these things.

I mean the mind being born in a Kali yuga or Yavana or mlecha birth, I don't know what the Brahmana or Brahma Bandus think minds are like but I know that the mind at least the one I inherited you know, I am just waiting for it to dissolve away as fast as possible. you have told that by the devotional service the mind subtle body will dissolve away. I just can't wait for that to happen, because this material mind thinks of so many horrible things that we only wanted to think of Krsna.

But it comes up with so many stupid thoughts that we have to smash the mind even Bakthi Siddanta Saraswati Thakur, Om vishnupad he said that, “the mind is so much troublesome that you have to take a pair of shoes and in the morning you smash your mind 100 times with the shoes and tell it to surrender and give up all these envy and false ego and simply surrender to Krsna lotus feet and then you take a broom in the night and smash your mind again 100 time with the broom and just surrender and give up all these nonsense and take the shelter of lotus feet of Krsna and give up your false ego and enviousness.”

This mind is too much just goes on and on and we have to deal with it, we have to know that unless we deal with the mind it's gonna be our worst enemy and we contain the mind, then it can be somewhat our friend but you can't ever trust this friend. you just have to keep it as a very highly tightly controlled friend.

Someone you know is like a alcoholic anonymous, you can't let this friend get close to anything that will be detrimental, that kind of a friend code - uncode, the mind could be, until the mind totally dissolves in you get a full spiritually Kṛṣṇa conscious mind then you have no more problem, you don't have to worry about envy anymore.

But somehow here is we are dealing with this cripple mind that we inherited from the material whirlpool you had to deal with it by simply bringing it back to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa again and again and again and smashing it. You had to identify with your intelligence not with your mind. And this is what's difficult for some people in certain kinds of bodies but we all have that difficulty and we all have to endeavor to do so. That's the only hope.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Thank you. So today I am going on towards Italy. Thank you all for your kindness and association.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

 

 

 

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