19970208 Radio Krishna Loka Question & Answers Part-01

Lecture Code: 19970208
Radio Kṛṣṇa loka Question & Answer Session By
His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja
In Moscow, Russia

 

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca

  sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam

sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devam

sri-radha-Kṛṣṇa-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

 

(translator RJ:) Introduces His Holiness Jayapataka Swami in Russian

(devotee:) Speaks in Russia

(translator RJ:) She’s offering you obeisances

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Thank you very much, Hare Kṛṣṇa! Spasiba

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) She (inaudible 03:02)about  half a year. And finally she received the (inaudible 03:12) about half year. So she saw you when she first came to the temple and you know that day she saw you and she was amazed and she wanted to ask you, is it an offense and want to understand is it an offense to offer obeisances to spiritual master and to give him donations but to do it subtle is any? What are these wording expression, expression in words? That’s her question.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: One can offer respect to God and His representative mentally through words as well as through the body, through acts.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: According to the time and circumstances different ways of offering respect are appropriate.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Usually for one’s spiritual master one offers obeisances by bowing down.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But there may be some circumstances on the street or in the airports or something where it’s not appropriate.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then offers, one offers respects with folded hands and offers verbal obeisances.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So everything has to be seen according to the circumstances.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I like to take this opportunity to offer my respectful obeisances to my beloved spiritual master His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: As certainly any respect offered to the vaishnava, vaishnava never takes any offense for a failure to offer respect.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But when we offer respect we get glorified, we get the mercy.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Any other question?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gita, whatever you eat, just do it on My behalf, am I wording, am I expressing this so properly? Cause it’s in Bhagavad Gita, this idea? ‘Whatever you eat you can do it on My behalf’

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Lord Kṛṣṇa says that whatever we, yat karoṣi yad dadāsi, whatever we do, whatever we give in charity should be done as an offering to Him.

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) But there is also, wrote meaning whatever you eat.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Everything we eat we should offer to Kṛṣṇa.

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) But it implies as we can eat whatever food we want to.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: No! Earlier in the Bhagavad Gita it explains that whatever is offered to Kṛṣṇa, to God, that we take is a remnant of the sacrifice or sacrament.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And by offering to Kṛṣṇa all the Karma, all the reactions are destroyed.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But Kṛṣṇa says offer Me patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ, offer Me a fruit a flower, a leaf or water.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Kṛṣṇa, when we accepts food in the mode of goodness

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Food which is juicy, fresh, which is healthy.

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) He knows all these scenes but I can’t understand, but Lord Kṛṣṇa He thinks, He emphasises here that whatever you eat you should do it on My behalf. He doesn’t specify either water or meat or other things, He does says whatever you eat. But on the other hand we know that the representative of Lord Kṛṣṇa on the earth, Lord Jesus Christ used to offer most wine and fish to the Lord. And in other religions there are also similar just as this and we can find so called non sattvik foods are in other religions being used. By seeing so I mean that Kṛṣṇa didn’t say you work about vegetarianism in His Bhagavad Gita.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: No He does say specifically.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: See the point is when Kṛṣṇa says that whatever you eat or whatever you do, you should do as an offering to Me. That means you should do it in the way that Kṛṣṇa asks it to be done.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That Kṛṣṇa gives specific diet which He can accept as a sacrament.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And there is a detailed scriptures that tell this process how to cook and offer to Kṛṣṇa.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: No you can, someone can be a devotee of Kṛṣṇa even if they’re not a vegetarian.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But to be a Kṛṣṇaterian or eat food that you offer to Kṛṣṇa that is where one is having a karma free diet.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: To understand the scriptures that’s why we need a spiritual master.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If you just take one verse out of context you get one meaning. But the spiritual master, the guru, he sees all of the scriptures and he can give the proper analysis how to apply it.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Just like in the vedas it says that if we touch the excrement of an animal we should take a bath because it’s impure.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But in another place in the vedas it says that cow dung which is also excrement of the cow is pure. And if you touch it, it does not contaminate.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So the guru, he knows how to adjust all these apparently contradictory instructions.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Recently now, modern scientists have studied cow dung and found that it is antiseptic by nature.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So in the same way although Kṛṣṇa says ‘everything you should do, you should do as an offering to Me’ that doesn’t mean that we can do anything we want and that will be then offering to Kṛṣṇa.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We have to do the things in the way that Kṛṣṇa will appreciate it.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And may be that Jesus, Lord Jesus or other great saints were in a difficult situation where there was not fresh fruit or vegetables to eat.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But now in the modern world we have advanced transportation and there’s no need of not eating sattvik food because fruits, vegetables is available almost in all parts of the civilized worlds.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Some scholars, they don’t agree with certain translations of the bible and they say that the word which is been translated as meat in the bible actually simply means food, but that’s the way that they translated it.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And then the early saints in the christian religion were also vegetarian.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But it’s up to one’s own individual choice what diet they want, they just have to take the karma for what they eat.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But if we eat food that’s offered to Kṛṣṇa then there’s no karma and that will also help us spiritually.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That’s the way to eat on behalf of Kṛṣṇa. 

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Spasiba

 

(devotee:) Question

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: 

(aside:) What’s your name?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Where is Volga, where you’re calling from?

 

(devotee:) From Moscow

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Spasibo

 

(devotee:) His Holiness, May I ask a question in english language?

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And we translate in the Russian.

 

(devotee:) Speaks in Russian

(translator RJ:) So she is asking your permission to ask the question in english

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Whatever way.

 

(devotee:) Thank you! You mentioned it in the morning after the Bhagavatam class to begin call and ask today in a live show questions from the Bhagavatam after, from the Bhagavatam lecture. And you said in the Bhagavatam class examples of the pure devotees of the Lord as Advaita Acarya and Sridhama and you said that. So if devotees do, if somebody was committing offence towards them they even didn’t see it as an offence. And as far as they can see in life of other devotees, if somebody commits an offense towards us then we notice this offence and even sometimes we get offended. So I wanted to ask you, does it means that if we will advance in devotional service that we will become free from sins that somebody commits offence towards us. So please explain this, thank you

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Thank you! Spasiba!

 

(devotee:) Hare Kṛṣṇa

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa! So Srila Prabhupada had explained the, what is the proper attitude a devotee should have.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That we should follow the verse of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the Siksastakam prayers.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: These are sanskrit verses

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Which give us the proper attitude.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So Lord Caitanya said

tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā

amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ 

That we should be more humble than a blade of grass.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: A blade of grass, if we step on it, it bends over.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But that doesn’t mean it’s weak

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: After sometime and again it stands up.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That means it’s flexible

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But it doesn’t have false ego.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Lord Caitanya said we should be tolerant like a tree.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The trees are standing here in Moscow in the winter with snow

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: He says give respect to others.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Whatever they deserve it, give them sincere respect.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: amāninā, and don’t desire respect for oneself.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In this way kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, one can always chant the holy names.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: By having this attitude.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So if I consider myself more humble than a blade of grass, more insignificant than a blade of grass.

 

(translator RJ:) You mean we have to consider ourselves 

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If I consider, how can I be offended?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Prabhupada gave an example that if someone dives deep in the ocean of transcendental nectar.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then they are always experiencing this spiritual ecstasy of love for Kṛṣṇa.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If they go deep in that ocean then when the fisherman catch their nets, don’t catch the deep water fish.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But the fish that are up on the surface trying to enjoy

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Playing in the ways of maya

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: They can be caught by the nets of the fishermen.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So the devotees who want to achieve perfection of God consciousness, they need to going to be deep diving fish.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And if we are thinking how to respect others and not desiring respect for ourself and it’s not so easy to get offended.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Because we are expecting that someone will respect us. When we don’t get it we feel offended.

 

(translator RJ:) You mean, if we do not pay respect to others and we are expecting respect to our, of ourselves

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And we don’t get it then we feel offended.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But if you think that, why should I get respected, Who am I?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Any good quality I have is simply the mercy of my guru.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Without the mercy of spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa I’m very insignificant.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That was the attitude of these great vaishnavas you mentioned: Haridas Thakur, Advaita Acharya.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If somebody offended them they thought that this is something I deserve because I’ve done so many wrong things in my life.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Just like also in the Bhagavatam it mentions how Lord Jesus, he tolerated the crucifixion and prayed even for those who were torturing him.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Volga, alright thank you Volga!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) He’s greeting our respectable Indian guest, he wants to. How often have you been meeting Dalai Lama and the Pope in non official circumstances. And what is your experience of associating with them because here in Russia we don’t have any clue about them and we are already dazzled by them in newspapers. So it is the question.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Well! I was at several important functions where both I was a guest speaker along with the Dalai Lama.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: When, first time was in 1978 in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, India.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then also in 1986 at the World Congress for the Synthesis of Science and Religion in Bombay by the Bhaktivedanta Institute, the Dalai Lama was the chief guest.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In between there were many functions where we happened to meet each other.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I found him a very friendly person.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Very sympathetic to the idea of synthesising science and religion.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Initially he was, I was sad to hear to all that for, sometimes he was a vegetarian but then sometimes he found it difficult to remain a vegetarian.

 

(translator RJ:) You mean he said this?

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Ya he told he was finding difficulty.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But these are mainly, kind of formal exchanges at functions.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That’s all about I can say at this point, he is certainly a friend of our movement and

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Well because I’m in India I don’t get so much opportunity to see the Pope.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: My disciple presented the Pope with the Bhagavad Gita when he, Pope was visiting south India.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And when he saw the Bhagavad Gita he explains.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Oh Kṛṣṇa!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Kṛṣṇa is great!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And in India he was very respectful to everyone.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In Italy I heard that when the Pope call for a special accuminical gathering in sees the, at the ashram or the monastery of San Francis that the representatives of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement were also there at that prayer meeting.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Srila Prabhupada appreciated his principle sanding for on the right to life of the embryos and he stand against abortion.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Because according to the vedas the soul or the living force enters at the time of conception.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So any termination of pregnancy after conception would be actually depriving someone of his life.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Prabhupada has requested many cardinals and that according to the Bible it says ‘Thou shall not kill’.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So killing can also indicate animals.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And he requested that it would be better if they were vegetarian.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Unfortunately the Pope’s diet does not represent a vegetarian diet.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We would hope that sometime in the future we would have a vegetarian Pope.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Spasiba, Hare Kṛṣṇa!

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) Would you mind telling something about Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaj?

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami:

(aside:) What would you like to know?

 

(translator RJ:) He doesn’t know

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I gave, he is preaching in India he has, either distributes spiritual literature.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: He is a very strict sannyasi.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I have the good fortune of having given his sannyas as his sannyas guru.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And he writes some books to guide people in their spiritual life.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In a nutshell this is something about Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaj.

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) One of the friend ask for the following question. She said she is participating in the movement for five years but now she wants to ask this big dictataful question concerning a worm. Srila Prabhupada in the ‘Life Comes From Life’ book very briefly answer this question. I cannot understand. When the worm is cut off (inaudible 32:00) it seems that the dead matter continues to live, this is the question. How is this possible in this world?

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: When you cut the tail of a snake. 

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then it continues to move.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And usually until next night.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It says that the soul of the snakes stays in that

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And because the snake is such a inauspicious birth

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And to die in the day time is auspicious. To leave your body in the day time is auspicious

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Therefore the tail is wiggling until the night that after the night comes the soul leaves when it’s inauspicious.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now there are different kinds of living entities mentioned in the Sankhya Yoga part of the Bhagavatam.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Some of them even come from perspiration

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Some come from eggs

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Some come from a womb

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Some come from seeds

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So when the environment is suitable for life

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: then by higher arrangement living force can immediately be provided.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: For him, in beings to the proper environment for life it requires the sperm and the ovum to combine.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: At that time a living force or sour or atma can be given.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Sometimes even though the sperm is there, ovum is there and still there’s no conception.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Because there also has to be a soul available, suitable to be born as a child in that family.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The, out of 8,400,000 different species mentioned in the vedas, only 400,000 are humans.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So there is less availability of human candidates.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now, when you get down to the level of worm there’s lot of souls who can qualify to be a worm.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: To create the environment suitable for a worm to live can also happen just by cutting a worm in two.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And thus the living force can be provided for the new half.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) Please accept my humble obeisances. 

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Please accept my best wishes!

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) He wants to ask that due to the presence of the false ego in the conditioned soul he is considering himself and others something that they are not. We are far from those we pretend tobe. So what is the real and is it possible to get rid of the false ego once and forever?

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Thank you, Spasiba! Very nice question.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: In the Bhagavad Gita it explains that we have a gross body of five elements.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Which are categorised as earth, water, fire, air and ether.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And there is a subtle body

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Which is beyond the gross body

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Which is a combination of three elements

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The mind

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The intelligence

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And the false ego

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: or ahankar

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now beyond that there is a living force.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Which is a self.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The living force is a part of that.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Spiritual part of that

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We are the living force

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But somehow we have fallen from the Grace and we have come into the material world.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And in order to function in material worlds the living force has to identify with the material bodies.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The element that allows us to identify with the material mind, intelligence and the gross body is the false ego.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But one spiritually advances

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And identifies one self as the living force in the body

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then if somebody tells ‘well! Your body is like this or your body is like that’, it doesn’t really affect so much.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If somebody is very attached to their car and someone says, ‘well I don’t like your car’ then maybe they get offended.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But if someone is a little bit detached

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: from his car, then if somebody says ‘well I don’t like the color of your car!’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So what!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: (laughing) It’s not such a big deal!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It’s only my car

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I change the color off and on

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I change my car off and on

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Ya! Sometime I buy a new car

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So if somebody says ‘oh! You have beautiful body’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Why get all intoxicated by that, what is this body beauty, what is the value of a beautiful body in any case?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It’s all temporary

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If someone says, ‘oh! Your body is ugly’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So what is that?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I’m not my body!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So in this way when somebody has self realization

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then the praise and the criticism of the body is not very important.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Or if somebody says ‘well I don’t like your clothes’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Well, so what! It’s not such a big thing.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So like this we need to, by self realization by higher spiritual knowledge we can raise above the influence of false ego.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now how we get to really go there, just we have to identify who I actually am?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Thus we have to understand that I am the true living force

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And that living force is a minute particle, spiritual particle of God or Kṛṣṇa.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: When we have this understanding then we can be peaceful.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Inspite of so many circumstances we may, our body may encounter.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That’s why Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad Gita He tells Arjuna, ‘become a yogi!’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: ‘be a yogi’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: A yogi means someone who’s connected with God.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Who’s connected with the spiritual reality.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: When we have that connection then we can be detached.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So we need to develop a higher taste

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: ‘paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate’ the higher taste we get by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And leading a spiritual life.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

The maha mantra helps us to see things from the spiritual point of view and get deep inner peace

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Spasiba!

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) Please accept my obeisances

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Say my best wishes

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) She is going to ask two short questions which concerns your lecture today this morning. We have a tendency to criticize other devotees, we misbehave or ill nature. Is there any criteria that allows us, enables us to distinguish between the constructive criticism and the destructive for aparadhas. The first question is like this. And do we have any reactions or any results whatever they might be for our constructive criticism of others misbehaviour others ill nature in for service, this is first question.

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: 

(aside:) Oh then already is two in one. That’s two questions or one?

 

(devotee:) Question

(translator RJ:) She’s going to ask the second question as well, If you like you can.. How can we neutralize our offences if it is not possible to beg forgiveness from that person directly. For example if he is absent of, or when he is not available at all. This is second question

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami:

(aside:) And who is this from?

 

(translator RJ:) From Moscow

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Alright, very nice questions!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Someone who is sincerely concerned about the spiritual life.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So the first question is about criticism

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The scriptures say we can make constructive criticisms and there will be no offence.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: What is a constructive criticism?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now say that somebody is having a problem

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: You want to help them

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: You’re concerned that they maybe in difficulty spiritually if it’s not corrected.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: you wanna bring into that attention

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now when you talk to someone in a discreet manner. 

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: To bring to the attention or problem that you see they might be facing.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That’s constructive!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But now, say someone is having a problem.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: and you maybe also having problems

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So when you hear someone else’s a problem makes you feel good.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: You see I’m not the only one with problems.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then you tell everybody else about the person’s problem

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: That way I feel little better because my problems don’t look so bad then.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So then if someone goes telling everybody ‘oh! This person has a problem!’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It doesn’t help the person

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Rather person may feel demoralized, people are talking against me.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: It doesn’t help other people to hear about

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We should hear about Kṛṣṇa, not others peoples problems

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But now there’s certain etiquette about how to offer such a criticism

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: This depends on our relationship with the person.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Just like if a parent has a problem, usually the children can’t just go up and criticise the parent, it will create problems, another problem! (laughing) If a parent has a problem and the child can’t just go to the parent and criticize

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami:  So there is a question of whether the devotee who’s having the problem is the senior devotee, an equal devotee or a junior devotee to you.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now if it’s a equal devotee then you can talk to that devotee as a peer and express your concern.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If it’s a junior devotee then you could express your concern in a protective way.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: offering advice

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But sometimes we may not be sure about the motive of that person. Ya the motive

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: There is a history of one great acharya Ramanuja

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And he had godbrother called Govinda Das

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Everybody was criticising Govinda Das

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: They said, he use to lay on the beg of his guru.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But the scriptures say that the disciple shouldn’t lay on the bed of the spiritual master or use his shoes or use his seat.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So Ramanuja wanted to see whether these stories weren’t true

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So he went to see what did Govinda Das do when he made the bed of his guru.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Govinda Das had the daily service to make the bed of the guru.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So Ramanuja saw Govinda Das make the bed very carefully

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then just for a second he was shocked to see Govinda Das laid on top of the bed of his guru!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then he went off!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: He straightened the bed out again!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So Ramanuja asked, why is it you lied on the bed of the guru?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Don’t you know that if you do that you may have to go to hell?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Govinda Das said, yes I know that!

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But I’ve been given the service to make the bed of my guru

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: How will I know if the bed is soft, properly made and soft enough for the guru?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If I don’t try it out

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If I have to go to hell to see that the comfort of my guru, I‘m prepared to do that

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But I want to see that the guru is at proper facility

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then Ramanuja could understand that this Govinda Das is not an ordinary devotee.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: He is even so concerned for the pleasure of his guru that he’s willing to risk hell

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So sometimes asking a question, don’t you know this is wrong? Why are you doing like that? It’s better than saying you’re doing wrong

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then you give the person opportunity to explain themself maybe they have another outlet or another detail that you never thought of.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Now it’s a more difficult matter if we see something that we don’t think is correct, but the devotee is someone very much more senior to us.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Even a disciple might see the guru do something that they can’t understand why?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Then what to be done?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So the scripture says

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: The guru is there to dispel the doubts of the disciple

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So if the disciple approaches the guru humbly

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: What to speak of any other senior devotee?

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: And express it to the guru I have this doubt

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: I understood that this thing shouldn’t be done but then I saw, so this created doubt in my mind. I need you to kindly explain to me what is the proper way I should understand this? Because I'm very neophyte I don’t know everything.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So we’re not asking question in a challenging way

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: We’re asking in a respectful way

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: So then for asking a question one can’t be held as offensive, for asking a question that’s not an offence.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: But if we were to jump ahead and rather accuse to guru ‘you did something wrong!’ then we are overstepping our position because he is our teacher, why should, we should not teach him.

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Sometimes you might even catch the, some senior devotee may admit ‘actually you’re correct, I should not have done that’

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: Even if the person gets angry

 

(translator RJ:) Russian translation

 

His Holiness Jayapataka Swami: If you ask a question, it’s not an offence.

 

[Break]

 

Transcribed By: Bhagyavati Subhadra Devi Dasi

Transcribed On: 10 Jul, 2020

 

Proof Reading By: Amrita Padma Devi Dasi

On 13/10/2020