19970207 Bhagavad-gītā 17.7

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami Mahārāja on February 07^th, 1997, in Moscow, Russia. The class begins with the reading from Bhagavad-gītā 17^th Chapter Verse 7.  

āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-
sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā
āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ

Even the food each person prefers is of three kinds, according to the three modes of material nature. The same is true of sacrifices, austerities and charity. Now hear of the distinctions between them.  Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.  

Jayapatākā Swami: So chapter seventeenth of Bhagavad-gītā describes about the different modes of nature, according to how one eats, how one acts, one accumulates different modes of nature.  Generally, one is conditioned with the particular mode and they stick to that.  But then that can also be changed If one has a good association.  Then it can be changed for the good.  If one has a bad association then it can go down. Ajāmila, he was born in a brahminical family and he had very good childhood. He was worshipping, helping his, worshipping his deity, gathering flowers for his father.  But then he had some bad association with a woman of bad character. And then gradually he fell down from his platform of mode of goodness to one in the mode of ignorance.  Generally it’s easier to degrade it seems than to go up.  But by the influence of devotional service then one can rise above these lower modes. And come to the platform of pure goodness.  So, and Lord Śiva he was explaining Pārvati the glories of the Bhagavad Gītā.  And she wanted to know what was the glories of the first chapter.  So he explained history.  There was a family that was a brahminical, very much in the mode of goodness. And they had a son. But the sun didn’t pay much attention to the good culture of the parents. And he had got so many bad habits. He went to the mode of goodness. And he was getting intoxicated and doing so many sinful things. Getting all the bad karma. So he thought he was gonna live forever. And he went to, one day he was waiting in an orchid for his girlfriend to come and they’re going to enjoy in the orchid. Orchid is many trees like apple trees or fruit orchids.  There he was sitting under the tree thinking about his girlfriend.  A nice spring day, evening. The wind is carrying the scent of the flowers. What a wonderful time for love. Ah! (laughing) he was bit by a snake.  Oh no! It’s a cobra (laughing). And he had a help! Help!. Ah! Ah! Ah! And he was dead (laughing). (laughing) (clapping) so much with the spring night (laughing). And the yamadutas came flying air to get this one.  They wrapped their ropes around his subtle body, ripped him from the body. You’re coming with us, you sinful man we’re going to take you to the, be punished. They dragged him down to Yamaloka. And Yamarāja heard so, all the bad things he was doing.  You are in a good family and you misuse your life. So they took him away for some special rehabilitation program.  Hot and cold running water, all kinds of things too hot and too cold. Anyway let’s not go in to all those things they did to him.  Anyway, they brought him back after the program and it was time for his next birth. He said because you’re born in a good family but you acted just like lower than an animal. But you are good family so I’m gonna give you an animal birth, but a good animal. You can become a bull.  So then he was born as a bull in a poor man’s house. He didn’t need so many bulls.  So at a young age he was castrated.  He was made into a bullock.  Bullock, ox. Then he was sold in the market and one layman purchased the bullock. And he was riding around on the back of the ox without a, all his goods belongings he was taking from one place to the next.  So there he had from a very good birth mode of goodness family and now he is struggling as an ox and carrying some layman on his back.  Such is the law of karma, we get the body that is most suited to our consciousness.  Human body is for those who are inclined to spiritual development. So he became very skinny because layman didn’t feed him properly.  And there was one day it was very hot beating in the sun with no water.  And his head just started to spin, water!. And then he got like sun stroke. Start foaming into mouth.  Start spinning around and around and around and around. And you know as he was acting so crazy then all the people came around what’s happening? Cause people like to see crazy things you know.  And, then he fell on the ground there’s a bullock he’s shaking and he’s completely you know gone mad because of no water and the hot sun. There was one pious lady in the crowd. She she felt great pity seeing this animal suffering. And she was working for the king. So highly placed person in the government. So she prayed that whatever good karma I have, let half of that be given to this bull, bullock. The bullock died. Yamadutas again dragged him out. Took him over to Yamarāja. Because it was an ordinary animal birth it was bare just because of his misbehaving as a human being. And Chitragupta the accountant was saying, he has to suffer a lot more he’s not paid it all off yet.  But Yamarāja he saw that note of that someone has given you half the good karma, one lady, so because of that you can enjoy the good karma first.  But once your good karma is over if you haven’t improved yourself we’ll be waiting for you.  So I’m letting you be born now in a family of a brāhmaṇa again, I hope this time you make good use of it.  So then he was born as a brāhmaṇa and this time he could remember his previous life.  As a young man he went to find the lady who gave him the good karma. How she has so much good karma to give away. She must be doing something right. So then he found the lady. And offered her respects and she said who are you?. So you remember the bullock that 14 years ago died?  Ya I remember some crazy bullock, I gave it half my good karma too. Well I’m the bullock! I’m the ātmā from the bullock and because of your gift I could take birth in a brahmanical family. I wanted to thank you and I wanted to find out how is it you have so much good karma? I was a very sinful person and for me to be able to get delivered you must have a lot of good karma. So it’s all thanks to my parents? Your parents? Habu Gayo was same in the portugese right! Habu Gayo (laughing). Yes, my Papa Gayo (laughing) chants the first chapter Bhagavad Gītā. (laughing) and the parents start to chant dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre. And the whole first chapter Bhagavad Gītā. So because I listen everyday to the Bhagavad Gītā so this is giving me so much blessing. So how did you get a parent that chants the Bhagavad Gītā?. I bought it in the market. And I, let me ask the parent if he knows his previous life. So then the parent did happen to know. So actually he was cursed to become a papa gayo (laughing). Then previously he was king or something I forget what happened and he had made some, he did some bad karma so he got, born as papa gayo (laughing). And then what happened was when he was born his mother and father died and he was picked up by some sages in the forest, little baby papa gayo (laughing). So he use to, they use to always chant the first chapter Bhagavad Gītā. And that’s how he learned it. So he was chanting the first chapter Gītā everyday. And one thief saw him chanting and thought wow! well this is valuable bird I could get a price in the city. So he stole a bird and sold that and she got it.  So they all decided that they should just chant the first chapter Bhagavad Gītā. And they crossed over the ocean of birth and death.  Actually even chanting one chapter of Bhagavad Gītā is very successful, it’s very easy to crossover this material world. Gītā is transcendental, so when we associate with the transcendental vibration that lifts up our, purifies our modes and makes it transcendental. So in this way we want everyone to chant Bhagavad Gītā and to chant Śrīmad Bhagavatam and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

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

So by chanting the holy names then this uncovers this dust of the modes from our consciousness. So according to the mode we have we tend to look at the world from that outlook. Just like if someone had yellow glasses or red glasses or blue glasses then they would see that everything tinted according to the color. So we tend to see things according to the modes we’ve accumulated. Just like a pig when it sees excrement it thinks this is the best food. If you offer it halavā (laughing), horrible!. When I was in Kṛṣṇanagar near Māyāpur one of my friends was, one Brother Jacob of the Don Basco school.  Brother Jacob who was part of the Roman Catholic Brother. And he was an expert of animal husbandry. Animal health, animal care. So he was telling me how the pig is much cleaner than the cow. So the cow it just passes right where it standing, doesn’t even think about it.  But the pig always leaves his house, goes outside and then passes stool outside, didn’t come back to the house, (laughing) very keeps away from it’s own stool. So it’s the cleanest of all the animals (laughing). I said but it lives in the mud and it eats stool, other’s stool. (laughing) That was not important to him. So any way different animals, the animals of course they, they also have their different modes. Like a crow goes for the garbage pond but the swan goes for the beautiful ponds. So some people when they smell like some smelly rotten dried fish or something they think, oh what a wonderful thing, um!. And someone in the mode of goodness, what a horrible smell! What is that? (laughing) So this just conditioning, it’s just external.  Now with proper association and spiritual upliftment a person can leave the mode of ignorance and come to the higher mode. From the mode of goodness it’s easier to come to the transcendental platform.  So that’s why everything you can analyze the person’s conditioning how they, according to the three modes of nature.  So for the Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee who’s on the transcendental platform, they just see all these as different coverings of the pure soul.  And they say how we can purify this person and gradually bring him up to the purest platform.  I have a disciple from Guyana. He’s originally from Indian origin but he was born in Guyana in northeast part of South America.  So he was skill technician. So he got a job in canada. And he became canadian citizen. And he took on the canadian habits. More often he was going and getting, he’s drinking in different bars. He was very far from any, he forgot all about his Indian culture.  He was very much in the mode of ignorance and passion. So he came out of one tavern and there he saw one Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee distributing books. This before I met him, this is all before he was a devotee, this just background. He’s telling his history. So then that devotee requested, my dear sir please take the Bhagavad Gītā. No no my grandfather had Bhagavad Gītā I don’t want (laughing). He didn’t take the Bhagavad Gītā, just went on. Went in to another tavern. Drank some more rum. Then he came out again after some time. So happened the same saṅkīrtana devotee was distributing books by that tavern. Just he said my dear sir you’re a very important gentle man. You know I’m just begging you, just take this Bhagavad Gītā whatever you like you give me. Sir just see, I’m an immigrant in this country and a Canadian is begging for me. (laughing) Alright!. He took the Bhagavad Gītā. Rode home. Forgot about it. Then after some weeks or months. Saw Bhagavad Gītā As It Is, how do I get this?. Oh ya ya that one devotee, one night. So he has turned it (laughing), oh! As all surrender unto me I reward them accordingly everyone follows my path and always lacks. Hmm. Hmm, I never read this like before. (laughing) when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance o son of Kuru darkness, inertia, madness and illusion are manifested. Yes I have, I have really understood that. (laughing) then there is the greatest living personality, the Supersoul imperishable Lord Himself. So like that he was reading Bhagavad Gītā and he got moved like anything. This is very profounding, never understood the Bhagavad Gītā! Oh, look at here in the back, at Canada, well look at here, in my city there is a temple let me go and, let’s go and look at that. He went to the Toronto temple and it was Nityānanda’s appearance day.  Temple was packed with devotees, thousand people. Everyone was chanting in great ecstasy. Saṅkīrtana yajna ki! Jai! How one book distributor has saved the conditioned soul.  So by the association with the transcendental literature, by chanting, by devotees a person can change their modes and come to the platform of pure goodness.  Some people it takes more time and some people they go very quickly. So we see people we know that this just the external covering that’s it. Whatever the modes they’re showing this just shows what conditioning they have. Underneath all that is the eternal purest spirit soul.  So we should take advantage of the human form of life. And get purified from all the lower modes. And enjoy the pure happiness that comes from the soul itself.  What is the need of again and again going through so many repeated births and deaths. When in this lifetime we can achieve the perfection.

Question: Why it appears that to be great difficulty to advance?

Jayapatākā Swami: Appears like that in Kaliyuga because there’s more of bad association than good association. When there’s mode of ignorance everywhere then and that the nature of material existence just, material nature is ignorance.  If we come into a proper spiritual association then very quickly we can get purified.  So we have to increase, so the devotees are those who can go and give this kind of transcendental association.  Which can gradually uplift people.  

Question: What result the conditioned soul gets by honoring Kṛṣṇa-prasādam?

Jayapatākā Swami: It’s possible to get delivered just by Kṛṣṇa-prasādam.  Of course, after one took Kṛṣṇa-prasādam again if they’re doing bad karmas then they accumulate. Even an animal if they take prasādam they can get elevated to human birth or higher. (laughing) Why would you wanna do such a, why would you wanna do such a naughty, nasty thing to somebody else.  (laughing) So many gave away half the good karmas, so I like to give away my bad karmas (laughing). (laughing) But why would the person want to accept it from you? (laughing). Indra he did that, he had bad karma and he wanted to give it away but nobody would take it. (laughing). Say that one time women didn’t have, they didn’t have menstruation but at the same time when they were pregnant they couldn’t have sexual relationship.  So Indra made a trade, I’ll give you some of my bad karma and in exchange you can have sexual relation when you’re pregnant. But the bad karma would take the form of having menstruation.  So if you wanna give away bad karma then you have to be very to make a trade. And since what do we have that we can give somebody? Actually, probably a rich man he could sell off his bad karma. Ya if may be some atheist, I don’t believe in karma, sure give me million bucks I’ll take all your bad karma (laughing).

Question: In the Vedas scriptures it is mentioned that somebody shared his good credits past credits, can it be done? Can we also share our good credit with somebody, pious credits?.

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, for the devotees everything we do we wanna do as a service for Kṛṣṇa.  And we don’t want to accumulate good karma, we don’t need, if we get bad karma and we don’t even want to accumulate good karma. Because good karma means staying in the material world longer to enjoy it. Just like if you had the choice, it you’re in a prison and I gave you a whole nice room in the prison with your own television and everything. Then you had the free ticket to go out. No no, stay in a little longer, we’ll give as much ice cream you can eat. (laughing) So just stay in the prison or go out?

That we can do, that of course a devotee can bless another person. Prabhupāda said that devotees have power to pray to Kṛṣṇa and say Kṛṣṇa please bless this person that this person can be a devotee that this person can become a purified and Kṛṣṇa listens to His devotees.  Sometimes there was a saṅkīrtana party going out and Prabhupāda asked all the sanyasis present, everyone please bless this saṅkīrtana party they went to distribute books in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and it’s very dangerous there.  But you bless and that they can be successful because Kṛṣṇa will listen to your blessings.  And we heard how Prabhupāda he was giving his blessing that within twenty years from 1971, so within twenty years that people in the Soviet Union they’ll be freed from this and they’d be able to freely practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness.  So this is blessing worked. But whether people take advantage, that’s the point. When we distribute books or if we to tell other people we can pray to Kṛṣṇa please bless this person.  

Question: There is such opinion among the devotees when somebody is eating prasādam and somebody else is asking give me this preparation I didn’t get enough and somebody else is telling him you don’t take from him but the Vaiṣṇava gets his bad karma but how is that is? In this features there is nothing about this talk and get and know the person’s karma through his food? It is just like that the man develops the qualities of one with whom he associates, so is like that?

Jayapatākā Swami: One can get from food externally you can get disease from another person according to medical science if that person has some disease.  And we heard that food does transmit karma.  And therefore there’s for the devotees there is some strict rules of what to eat and what not to eat and food to eat from.  You’re right in saying that if you buy food then the consciousness of the person that made the food does transfer but no karma because you’re paying money for it.  But if you give some, if you are given food that means to some extent you also take the karma.  And depending on what kind of food that’s how much karma got transferred.  Water is the least karma.  Fruit is the next place. And then fried grains next after that.  And the worst is boiled grains like rice.  That’s why Lord Caitanya He would only take food cooked by either Vaiṣṇavas or brāhmaṇas.  And he didn’t want to take food by people who are not following pure standards.  Now some devotee takes the food from the plate of the guru. So it’s that even if we get sick it’s still auspicious because it’s guru’s prasādam.  But then the guru has to take some of the karmas of the people that ate from his plate.  So usually the food from the guru is only given to disciples who is anyway already responsible for it.  Although, there was one devotee called Kālidāsa. And he was a collector. He loved to collect remnants from Vaiṣṇavas.  Just like we have the stamp collectors, now coin collectors he would somehow another begging, borrowing, stealing anyway he could he would get some remnant from each of the senior Vaiṣṇavas in the world.  So he had great faith in the power of taking remnant from a Vaiṣṇava's prasādam that it can help to develop one’s spiritual desires.  But some Vaiṣṇavas are very careful not to that any remnant left.  There was, he invited one very famous Vaiṣṇava to his house and he was serving him. But the person after taking his meal he put water on the plate and was drinking even all the remnant off you know. not anything left it’s clean (laughing).  So Kālidāsa was getting you know, how I’m gonna get some remnants? He’s not leaving anything.  So there told his wife let’s cut up one, cut up a mango and serve him the mango with the seed.  He can’t eat the seed. (laughing) So then the Vaiṣṇava ate the mango but then after sucking on the seed the seed was still there.  He was eating on a banana leaf. So please leave you’re plate we’re gonna clean up for you. (clapping) Mahāprasāda! (laughing). But that Vaiṣṇava, no I’ll throw my own plate (laughing).  So that Vaiṣṇava was, went deep in the forest looking so where he can throw the plate so the remnant won’t go to anyone.  (laughing) But Kālidāsa was crawling in the crawling in the bushes (laughing) like a warrior (laughing). So that Vaiṣṇava didn’t see ayway sh! He threw his leaf plate.  Then he went back. And Kālidāsa he went and got it! (laughing). Mahāprasādam! Remnant mango seed!. Sh! (laughing) Ah! (laughing) So Lord Caitanya He heard about the great faith that Kālidāsa had for Vaiṣṇavas remnants and he gave very big blessing to Kālidāsa.  So there is a saying that the dust from the Vaiṣṇava foot, the water that washes the feet and the remnants of the prasādam are very powerful for getting some Kṛṣṇa conscious blessings.  One time Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Mahārāja was taking prasādam with many devotees big feast and Prabhupāda was sitting right in the front.  And Prabhupāda gave him a big gulab jamun.  Very nice sweet. And then Tamāla Kṛṣṇa he put it on his plate, who is lucky you know.  Sh! (laughing) It’s Prabhupāda’s mahāprasāda! (laughing) Gulab jamun!.  Gulab jamun! (laughing) Mahāprasāda! (laughing). The devotee next to him just couldn’t control himself. (laughing) (clapping) He stole my gulab jamun! (laughing) Mahāprasāda!. (laughing) Prabhupāda he stole it, he stole it! (laughing). Of course when it comes to mahā-prasādam there’s no hard and fast rules (laughing).  But please at least let me finish my meal you know (laughing).  So like that there’s so many different pastimes you do at prasāda. So prasāda transfers things just a science note that.  But, so we can also transfer spiritual blessings or could transfer karmas, there is a spiritual science about that.  You see, but prasādam from the deity of course there’s no karma that’s all above, spiritual.  But when we take take prasāda we shouldn't say I don’t want this! I don’t want that! You know we should take the mercy with respect.  And we should never criticize prasādam because it’s accepted by Kṛṣṇa so. Hare Kṛṣṇa!. So see you tomorrow at Bhāgavatam class.

Haribol! (clapping)

Jayapatākā Mahārāja ki! Jai!