20050806 Ratha-yātrā Talk

The following is the Rath Yatra address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 06, 2005 in Cologne, Germany.

 

I am sorry that I don't speak German, my both Grandparents are German, they were born in Germany and they went to America, and my parents are born in America, so that I thought since my forefathers were German, I should learn German, and I went to High school to learn German, but that was very bad (Devotee laughs.) all I could remember of two years of German was ambuska (devotee laughs) what to say if they say you speak German? ambuska. but everything else I forget (Guru Mahārāja laughs and Devotee laughs), because I never use it, may be here if I stay longer, I use it, because I live in India, I know, Hindi, Bengali, use also all the times.

So today we have Rath Yatra festival and Rath Yatra festival has a lot of chapters dedicated to it in Caitanya Caritāmṛta, because many things are happening around the Rath yatra. The actual Rath Yatra itself is elaborately described how the Deities are bathed in snan yatra, then ill for fifteen days in private worship, how They are taken down on the day of the rath from the temple to the carts, I was there, because I go every year to Rath Yatra in Calcutta, because Prabhupāda gave me personal instruction to develop the Calcutta Rath Yatra, so only the first year 1970, I was able to see the Rath Yatra in Jagannath purī, and after that I was always in Calcutta, so I saw then, I mean it must be same every year.

 

But in that year, it was the same like described in Caitanya caritāmṛta the way they move the deity from  one step to another and I was across the street on top of the Dharmaśālā, so I could hear the pillows breaking and I could see stuffing fly in the air, and when they move Jagananth, there is big feather behind him, big peacock feather , it goes about 5 meter, may be more than 5metres, at least 5metres and they move the feather like just like Jagannath’s walking, is not, they have rope on His feet, rope on  His waist and the pull the waist forward, forward… He is like, his walking, behind his feather moving with him, from  a distance, before you see Jagannath, you see the peacock feather, before Jagannath comes, Balarām and He has a white feather, you see, a big matches white, like big fan, going out behind his and the fan is moving and the fan of Jagannath there is on both sides at least 100 may be 200 cāmara fanners, you know about the cāmara, we have one cāmara whisk  here this white one, this yak tail fan , so they have100s of those on both sides, a big ones,  and they curiously fanning, .. . only in front of them twice big, they have big gong players, they have this big stick, they are hitting the gong, everyone together, bummm bummm bumm,bumm that was 30 years ago, 35 years, it still goes on in my mind (Devotees laugh), 400 people smashing how could they can exactly at the same time for about 2 hours you can hear it for kilometers, bumm, bumm, bumm, bumm, everything is go by the beat, Jagannath’s moving, this is a passion to you, hundreds of thousands of seer people, it was an amazing thing and then the ramp, they have to take up to the  gigantic, sixteen, fourteen, fifteen, to move Balarām up the big ramp, and as they are moving Balarām up, then suddenly, half way like, he is so huge, Balarām is like atleast two meter wide, two meter height, almost two meter wide I don't know how much weight in the spiritual universe, (Devotee laughs) He has around twenty people pushing him and then they couldn't handle.

 

He started slipping, and there was a screaming, yeeeeeh, yeeeeh screaming like went back and back and I saw everybody was kind of frightened that Balarām is going to fall, as He is going back and then some pūjārīs were shouting, someone climbing on the head of others, and someone climbing on the back. Climbing, everyone pushing, He went up shhhh (devotees laugh).

 

Then Subadra devī, she is light, the delicate lady, they just bring it, shhhh( Devotees laugh), then again it took about hour and half or two hours to bring down Jagannath with the big peacock feather and dancing, the year I was there, He went up, but someone else told me one year same thing happened with Jagannath, He also fell down, he actually fell crushed some other pūjārīs under him, He was just lying on the side and then one of the priest took the microphone and said Jagannath, all the devotees are waiting to take you on Rath Yatra, why You are lying down , get up, get up (devotee laughs) then everyone start pushing him and shhhh…He got up,  so, it is quite amazing , then the king of Purī, of course now there is no more kings in India, but he is the descendant of the king.

 

 So they call him, Gajapathi maharaj and he still has some ceremonial role, and he came here to Germany for one of the Rath at the Yatra, I think in Berlin or something, and he, I was told by __ Jagannath deities we have on the side under the little tint,  are those deities were donated by the  king of purī, for the German yatra so those deities are the future deities if they want to worship, installed in the temple in the __  in the, they are hoping everybody will help them to get the German yatra out of this, seems to one of the few financial burden. They have to clear the problem with the Brisbana temple, anybody can help these one or two small hurdles they have to do, they end that chapter.

 

So, that king he sweeps the road, before Jagannath in purī, so they asked him whether he sweeps the road in Berlin, and he said I am sorry that I have a promise that I can only sweep the road in front of Jagannath in Purī, not everywhere, everybody else has to sweep the road.

 

But I am going to Birmingham Rath Yatra tomorrow,  I was in Birmingham Rath yatra now three times with your  blessings I can reach tomorrow for the fourth time, and the last time, Lord Mayor they call them in England and they wear special coat, big hat, they wear this kind of thing around the neck, some very majestic, kind of ribbon, more than ribbon but golden shawl with a big medal on the bottom Lord Mayor, many of the times they follow this tradition, they told him this tradition  that the king what sweep road.

 

Since here we don't have kings and in Birmingham, you are the Mayor, if you can sweep the road, No! No! the Mayor they won't sweep the road, we have got our people to do it, but to follow your tradition I will do it with you, so he started sweeping, we explained that this Jagannath represents Supreme Lord and sweeping  means humbling ourselves before the Lord or before God, everyone is equal, everyone is the servant, everyone is not only a servant, but a very menial servant, so, with that mood he took it up, normally see these kings they sweep for about three minutes, may be five minutes, Jagannath purī three carts, each carts three minutes five minutes, hoping to extend for three minutes, he swept, didn’t stop sweeping! Full 45 minutes, he was sweeping, going on…. most of the rath or half the rath route he was sweeping, he liked it so much (devotees laugh)

 

I was thinking he is so fortunate, he was getting so much purification (GM laughs) so all these things are mentioned in Caitanya Caritāmṛta, and we follow what we can, of course we don’t have hundreds of people beating bongs, or hundreds of people with cāmaras or five-meter height peacock feather as well, we try to do whatever we can, so in our way, may be break one or two coconut, how to break the coconut in purī, because there is sandy road.

 

But in south India they just like that breaking coconut, south India sometimes they break 100 coconuts. bav,,bav,bav,bav,,, (Devotee laughs) some kind of machine gun is going on, (devotee laughs) something, but this sweeping of the road by king Pratāparudra is very natural turning point  in the life of Pratāparudra, because Pratāparudra was at that time the king of Purī and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in Purī and he knew from his pandits that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was some very special personality, some people say he was a special form of the Lord or some, he knew he was someone very special, and he wanted to meet him,  he wanted to talk to him, but Lord Caitanya refused him.

 

In those days a Brāhmaṇa could refuse to see a king, Brāhmaṇas were above the kings, interesting to know how the Vedic varsnasrama worked. Although the king has the power of the Government, you know, but the Brāhmaṇas are representing spiritual power, religious power, he said that I being a sanyasi, if I associate with the worldly people, especially with the materialistic people like a king, because kings are usually after power, money, sense gratification, I may contaminate myself and get influenced, it is a test. Because just like that if you say something like that to a king, he may get angry, what do you think? _ like that, so humble, they were like that, he said all this heavy thing and the king, he was very frustrated. He said everyone in my entire kingdom has the right, the opportunity, the chance to go and see Lord Caitanya, to associate with Lord Caitanya, everyone but me.

 

 I am the one person, who am deprived, if by my being a king, I am not able to see Lord Caitanya which is the only thing I wanted to do in my life, that what is the use of this life, he was getting almost suicidal , he was a strong king, he was a good person, so the Rāmānanda Ray said to Lord Caitanya that he may commit suicide out of frustration, if he cannot see you, I know that you don't want to see him and  no one can change your mind, you are independent but you should do something to save his life at least, so then Lord Caitanya said , ok I will see  his son, so the young prince came, Lord Caitanya gave him one of his chaddars, took his Chaddar and gave it to him and said give this to your father, like that so many things were going on.

 

Lord Caitanya really built up the pressure on Pratāparudra, the way he put him under pressure by not receiving him, sometimes we get mercy in different ways, not always we get mercy sometimes by getting what we want and sometimes by not getting what we want.

 

The desire for Kṛṣṇa was so great that he was almost exploding. I don’t know what the word is, to say that he was so much eager to see Lord Caitanya. So Caitanya Caritāmṛta  says that when Lord Caitanya saw that Pratāparudra was sweeping the road, what to speak of Lord Mayor, who is anyway nowadays Lord mayor is what ? is an elected person, he is like any other citizen, but in those days, even today, Royal people they don't sweep the floor, may be now, but in those days the kings,  they were very  majestic, you know, they didn't do everything that is handed to them, it’s a big thing to sweep the road, Lord Caitanya saw that, he got moved, so this person, the so called king is serving the Lord, and he is serving Jagannath and I am very very pleased with him.

 

So, by serving Jagannath, Lord Caitanya, in a humble way, in a very menial way, Lord Caitanya decided, I want to give him my mercy. How many of you would like Lord Caitanya to decide, I want to give my mercy to this, I want to give my mercy to you (Devotee laughs) if he decides, he is definitely going to give, who is going to make him give? if he decides to give him the mercy, who is going to stop him?

 

So  much, but that mercy started flowing, no sooner that the king do the inaugural ceremony, he went up to the top of his palace and he was watching, watching Lord Caitanya dance and there was seven sankirtan parties, and Lord Caitanya, He danced in the seven parties simultaneously in seven forms, nowadays people are watching this, you know, this, video camera, what do you call?? but in those days, there was huge crowd, only one who is above the crowd  was the king, the king servant they see only one Lord Caitanya, but king Pratāparudra, could see seven, Sarvabhuma bhattarcharya was with the king as the head pandit. He could also see all the seven. When the king told him that I can see seven Lord Caitanya, he said you are very fortunate, that means Lord Caitanya has blessed you, so everything has changed for him, just by doing that service.

 

So Prabhupāda explained that by our doing service for the Lord, everything can change for us too. Little service will go a long way, there was some new devotees in 1960s in the New York city. Prabhupāda told them you should bow down, they challenged WHY? Why bow down?

 

Prabhupāda of course could have told so many things, Supreme Lord so, but then Prabhupāda replied in a unique way. He said you bow down, then you will understand why you should bow down (GM and Devotee laughs)

 

So, the devotee, whatever aspiring devotee, bowed down and then felt different. Like the four kumāras, they bow down to Viṣṇu. By bowing down, they could smell the Tulsi offered to His lotus feet and they completely, they had change of heart and they had ecstatic hairs standing on end, tears on their eyes, so many things happen because they bowed down before the Lord, sometimes actions speaks louder than the words, if you do something for the Lord with our bodies, that has a very big effect.

 

So, Keshav, how long should I go? (as long as…there is no time limit) They must be very hungry or they have already ate?  (Some discussion going on) So the time they eat, the time you serve out, you need some service, who volunteers to help to serve out prasādam and the time for sevā.

 

So, under the description of how Lord Caitanya is chanting kīrtan and how He was dancing, there was whole thing between between Lord Caitanya and Jagannath is that Lord Caitanya is not in the mood although he is in man's  masculine form but his mood is, because he said he takes the mood of Rādhārāṇī, his mood is in the mood of Rādhārāṇī the lover of Kṛṣṇa, the consort of Kṛṣṇa so, sometimes Lord Caitanya just like in that mood just wants to see if Lord Jagannath is remembering him or not, sometimes lover wants to know , does the person who loves me remember me , loves me or not so many ready loving subtle things very esoteric things,  __ thing, this is going on, some devotee fall back in the crowd out of sight from Jagannath then Jagannath will stop.

No one can pull the rath. Then Lord Caitanya will come forward, then Jagannath come forward, so many games going on between them, so many different things, one time Jagannath he just stopped moving, nobody can move him, they brought elephant, elephants can’t pull him, elephants, screaming and pulling nothing happened and then Lord Caitanya told put down the ropes and then he went behind the rath cart and  just put his head, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and he pushed shshshshshsh, the ratha goes forward, miracle, so all these things are described in Caitanya Caritāmṛta.. Many things, so many more things how Nityānanda is coming and how he is going, then what happens about may be two thirds of the route, how many want to go ten minutes more? Then two thirds of the route the place called vibra āsana, where the Brāhmaṇas live, and their Lord Jagannath stopped and they offered prasādam to him.

 

They offer Bhoga then it becomes prasādam, there is a process _ they, offer and what they do is everybody has an offering, all the gṛhastha bring the offerings so, there are thousands of offerings, so they put a clean cloth down, put the plate of offering on top of that, then in each direction, the pūjārīs make an offering like they have the system, it takes may be sometimes they put down the offering.

 

Meanwhile, Lord Caitanya dancing the whole way, He went and took some rest on a big stone slab in a garden and all His associates were taking rest under a tree, because they are really doing kīrtan heavily, and so everybody was resting out and the king had been advised at that time when Lord Caitanya rest , you go, dressed not in any royal dress but just in your ordinary white dress, dhotī, chaddar, you go with tilak and you take permission of devotees and you  massage the feet of Lord Caitanya , just like , so he went there and nobody knows what the king looks like anyway close up, they didn't have  close up TV in those days , you know always he used to have always helmet and turban and so many royal things. So mostly no one knows how he looks like, just so mostly don’t know what he looks like, just like ordinary person with just the chaddar.

 

So he disguised himself as a Vaiṣṇava, he asked can I massage the feet , one or two groups he asked and  he goes and starts massaging the leg of Lord Caitanya and he was actually starts singing ślokas , he is actually a good devotee, he really memorized the whole tenth canto verses sung by the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa and he started singing these verses  and he is saying a very particular verse which Lord Caitanya loves so much, that Kṛṣṇa, Deenadayalu, so merciful the Lord of Mathurā, but someone who gives your mercy in the form of telling your glories and your qualities they are, what’s the word you called buridah they are big giver of mercy, not ordinary benefactor, big benefactor, super  giver and  (Guru Maharaj blowing his nose heavily) when he sang that verse, Lord Caitanya said, shut up, just shut  up…I don't know who you are , but you have given me such a mercy, such a gift of this wonderful verses, that I feel indebted to you , that I want to give you something, I want to but I have nothing I am poor mendicant, I am a sanyasis, I don’t have anything the _ of nothing, all I can give you is just one embrace, just a big hug, just as the king was hugged by Lord Caitanya, love of godhead flowing into him like a kind of tsunami, shh…..

 

Lord Caitanya hugged him and gave him so much mercy, I don't know who you are, __ So that in seeing the king, He is not breaking his previous promise because he doesn’t know whether someone walking in the street or touch his feet is a king or not. So somehow, Pratāparudra maharaj, he got so much mercy on this Rath Yatra, but sometimes, the devotees don’t even know that! So many things are going on like that in Rath Yatras, so many different things with different devotees, it’s quite amazing, that’s very amazing, that’s why so much on the Madhya līlā, 2 books are dedicated to the Rath Yatra pastime, Jagannath Purī pastimes many reason, you all are part of that līlā, these līlā go on every time in the Rath Yatra.

 

These emotions, these memories they come to me, I think I was late, right, they didn’t have any coconuts.  I don't think so, I have deprived from mercy today but we do ārati, together with Sacinanda maharaj, do ārati, offered dhūpa, dīpa, so, all these things are happening in Rath Yatra, direct singing, dancing, feasting, cultural program at the end, but underneath there is lot of very spiritual esoteric things was also there.

 

One mathaji I saw she was with a new, śobhā sister I don’t know, I saw one mathaji she was sweeping the road for over an hour. How much of cleansing is going on in the heart, there is lot of mercy flowing on in Rath Yatra, lot of opportunities, pull the cart, to dance, to chant, to sweep, to serve, to different devotees, even serving prasādam, there is a big līlā about Jagannath prasādam, I don’t have time now to say that, Jagannath, he came one of the reasons He came was because all His prasādam was offered to Durgā in the form of Vimala Devī.

 

Because once she got deprived of prasādam. Since she was deprived, she said ok, how come, as the absolute truth in wood and he will get all my prasādam?

 

So, this Jagannath Purī if anybody refuse prasādam, hufff. they lose faith, it is like very offensive, refuse prasādam they have so many rules for prasādam, prasādam for them is very sacred,  so one of the pots of , I mean one time Lord Caitanya, he  went right into Pratāparudra, not pratāparudra, the sārvabhauma's bedroom right after mangla ārati at 4 in the morning , so like 5 in the morning, he goes right into the room  and Sārvabhauma  was still sleeping, may be had a late night or something, so Lord Caitanya with the  group of associates they walked into his bedroom and then he said, he was surprised, Gaurāṅga, what brings you here early in the morning? Oh, we missed you at the mangla ārati, so we thought, maybe you are sick or something, we wanted to check.

 

Lord Caitanya told, Look, I have some mahaprasad cashew (Guru Mahārāja sneeze... devotee laughs), cashew, mahaprasad cashew, offered to Lord Jagannath mahaprasad, (Guru maharaj sneezes, devotee laughs), anybody else sneeze, Lord Caitanya.   (Guru Mahārāja about to sneeze, devotee laughs) he handed the cashews to Sarvabhama, a few, they are all watching, so Sarvabhuma, he put the cashew immediately into the mouth and eats it, what are you doing?

 

You have broken your brahmnical rules, of eating something without brushing your teeth first (Devotee laughs)

 

As a brāhmaṇa you won't eat without cleaning your teeth, you just ate these cashews without cleaning your teeth, then Sārvabhauma, he quotes a verse which I don't remember, but he quoted a verse, he is a great pandit, I am not a great pandit, but he quoted a verse it says, whenever you get Jagannath prasad you must immediately respect it, so, he said this is not an ordinary food, it’s a Prasad, if Prasad comes, I have to respect it, even if I don't brush my teeth, because prasad is Kṛṣṇa.

 

Then Lord Caitanya was very happy I was testing you (devotee laughs) I see that your devotion for prasādam is so great that you are willing to sacrifice some external rule for prasad, then he gave out his cashews to the other devotees and ask them how does it taste?

 

Take this prasādam they were all eating. Very nice, very nice good, very good, how you say good, say good, (Devotee laughs) say good...why this, this is a nut, why this is so special. How many times you in your life you had a nut to eat, what is a big deal? Why this nut is so good, (So good) because Kṛṣṇa ate them, and the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's lotus mouth, His lotus lips is mixed with this nut so we take this nut, it is special, very good, super good!

 

And so everybody, every līlā of Lod Caitanya was so much nectar, so all these things were happening in Jagannath purī , one of the thing, of course probably if you took prasad, if you didn't , or if you are hungry take little, of course if you are not hungry take a little because we are have to _ out, some extra prasad left, we have to finish it off, take a sacrifice, (Devotee laughs) they say when you are in the holy dham and when you are doing sacrifice of Rath Yatra, that normally if you overeat it is called athayahara over eating  it is an offence, like Navadwip māhātmya certain holy places its says that , there is no such offence of overeating , now today being Rath Yatra day, there is no such offence, you can eat up to the neck (devotee laughs)

 

Having said that Sacinandan maharaj has come, so, like the Rath yatra, Sacinnandan maharaj ki jai. (devotee says Jai)

Now when I heard that Sacinnanda maharaj will be present at the rath yata I thought now I am really blessed, I get to see and it is very blissful association, he has a natural attraction for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and dancing, so it is very nice, he is a natural preacher, Prabhupāda says  preaching is the essence, is the Essence, so we are trying to request all our devotees, I mean we know before the devotee used to live in temple but now, few bramacaris live in the temple and few gṛhastha live in the temple ,but not so many, but there is no such rules and that you have to be a temple resident to be a preacher, there was no such things even if  temple resident even at the time of Lord Caitanya, there were no such temple asrams. Everybody lived in homes, there is one or two asram for renounced people, but 90% or 98% almost everybody of Lord Caitanya followers were gṛhasthas.

 

But there were all preaching, they do their job, Murāri gupta was a doctor he was seeing all his patients, and in the evening he will go out and preach even he would preach to his patients, so we are trying to encourage that our devotees should give some time in their week in their day for preaching. That’s why we created programs like Bhakti saṅga, Bhakti vṛkṣa, Namahatta, then we have the temples and also support the temple financially, and otherwise, so that they can preach, because before the temple had big group of devotees that were living in the temple collecting and maintaining. Now in order to come to this temple, Gaura Nitāi or any other temple, they have to come to temple, like in Germany and others, most of the devotees are congregation, it depends on the help of congregation, otherwise how the temple will pay their taxes, electricity bill and the bhoga bills.

 

In India there is a custom, nobody will visit the temple, I don't know whether donation boxes are here, they won’t visit the temple without giving money ... (devotee laugh) there is a big one (everyone laughs), __behind, the people will come in here and then give fruits, grains, milk, so many things then also they give money, but you can get cheque and get income, I don 't know here income tax, in India income tax relief something, in America you get relief, you gave so much money they will take off your tax  like that here also, you need not put on boxes , they doing  use box, write a cheque, but how we can do some sevā. We should do some preaching also, to the temple or directly from the house or so recently we are reading Bhaktivinod Thakur newsletter about Namahatta, Godruma kalapataru where he is saying, everyone should be the employee of the market place of the holy name. Everyone should become an employee of Lord Nityānanda, give about 20 different types of jobs and the main job is Salesman, we always need salesmen, but we also need people like stockiest, shopkeepers.

 

Namahatta leaders is like shop keepers and Bhaktivinod thakur said I am the sweeper, that’s my job, I sweep the market place, the sweeper keeps the market place clean from apa sampradāya thoughts, all the kind of deviation he keep it the clean from that, other things is that sweeper gets the bit and pieces of news and receipts and he can go what is going on from the garbage, so he said I get the news.

 

Like that Bhakti Vinod Thakur was very intelligent, he used this analogy. He said, one of his job was to become a barber.

 

So in India, the caste system barbers are considered kind of low caste, because they cut people’s hair, they are not so clean, there are like one of the śūdras, compared to Brahamanas  very clean, I am clean job, how in namahtta someone’s spiritual organization how someone will doing the type of , what is the definition of a barber, he said this Namahatta is totally transcendental, there is no job which is material, every job is transcendental , barber is most the exalted devotee, Barber work is seeing somebody doing good in devotional service, they are active, there were chanting, they were following everything but then like somebody who may be for a man, if they are not doing very well, my be they get hair grow, become like unkept, little dirty and hair off, so you take him to a barber and (tiktiktitk) shave them up., nice good haircut and they look like a gentleman, so barber is someone who takes a devotee who are not doing so well in their  spiritual life, uplift them and purifies them and puts them and brings them again to fixed up devotee, so that can only be done by very special devotee.

 

So, we need all kinds of employee whether a barber or salesman. There is a job for everyone, that's what Bhaktivinod Thakur's point. Everybody has something that they can do. So, if he can't sell the goods, selling the goods means preaching the glories of holy name, you could become a broker. You take people that you know who are interested in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness or spiritual life or self-realization and bring them to advanced souls, who have got the goods.

 

Whether it is a Namahatta leader or Sacinanda Mahārāja, someone who has the explanation, so just by bringing them you, become an employee of Namahatta market just like you have in sales, especially in India you got the people  even here in the west, there was somebody coming who handed me some newspaper so then like promoting their newspaper you can read this newspaper, they are giving, so some kind of sales broker, not selling anything promotion, but sales broker actually bringing two people you get 4% commission if you are a sales broker in India he get some percentage, dealers, so you get some proceeds of mercy if you bring someone, so people they brought their friends to the Rath yatras, anyway, please take up some service in the namahtta service and Kṛṣṇa's service, possibilities and make your life sublime  and we thank all the devotees.

 

Who did this service today?

 

They who are want to do more service?

 

Today we have services, because I know that in Rath Yatra, may be in Government permission in the west is not so easy like even big cities in India they have to get 20 different  permission, permission for mic, permission for vehicle, permission for route, permission from the police, from the traffic police, from the municipal  you have to, there is so much hectic, sometimes, don't give permission, we have to go to the high court  and make that court case, why they are not giving us permission, this is our constitutional right as a citizen to pull Jagannath on the streets,  then they afraid if they get such orders from court, then they will become powerless, then they give permission, don't go to the court, so you just have to fight sometimes, if you have a communist government, they don’t help, so I don't know, here you have a communist government, you have Kṛṣṇa conscious government , We are very happy to see you all putting up the rath yatra. this is the second one, and I hope you are going to do it every year now, (yes, for sure) ... (Guru Maharaj Says Jai) tell me in advance so I can come.

 

Thank you very much Hare Kṛṣṇa (Jai)

 

Any questions?

 

Sacinandan Mahārāja: Mahārāja thank you very much for encouraging everyone in Bhakti Vṛkṣa or Namahatta under these situations, I would like to ask you for some advice in relation to devotees who stay jobs in their lives and how to help them?

 

How to advise them?

 

In India, there is culture, spiritual culture, in the west, there is very unsupported it seems , _ culture, looking at them depressive stories in the west go to the cinema, interesting stores, and all sorts of _ find themselves in cinemas and books they seems, look down, because someone  rules  and regulations and they are many other example there need for the human being, something like entertainment and which is  meant to be given by, a culture devotees, very difficult for the devotee having rock and roll, so much to _ , because _ they __, unique culture, so I am now making my question with which we will stop now, is it possible for people how can people just stay enlivened for preaching , when they find they have needs,  cultural needs which are _, issues, I think you are optimist, and you know this issue, __ there is not support , you say in India, also going down, at least  some decency and respect some temple going, you know something.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Well, first of all, I would like to say that, I agree, that it is difficult in the west and they lack support, but having said that, it is not that lot of support in India either, that all the relatives in India goes by religious one. They say, they complain, when the youngsters are preaching or doing anything why you are doing this when you are young? you should enjoy life. You should do this when you become old, _when you become old you should do. (Devotee laughs)  people old already __ usually no energy left, so the, then the young people in India they are more imitating the west by which the west people are already fed up, they are looking little bit, where is alternative, if this is not making me happy, but  in India they think, we are not going to be happy if we follow the western way, look at in the movie it proves it, everybody is happy in the  movie right, you know, whatever some have they have this dream if they come to that’s why many of the  Indian comes to west and they see _ big pay cheque for working , that is not _ people are still suffering  with three modes of material nature, three klesas, sometimes we got better chance to make Indian devotee in the west, than in India.

 

Since in India they think I want to go to west first, then become a devotee, so very nice devotees were made in the middle east or in the west, they get good association.

 

So it is also difficult, you can't say in movies people are more addicted to movie in India, in India Bollywood is bigger than Hollywood  so it’s not that anywhere in the world is easy , may be in the villages in India little bit more chance, in the villages, but in the cities, kali yuga is very strong (Guru Mahārāja Laughs)and you have to battle out there also, only thing they have is the attraction for religion, they have ceremonial customs that  when they see someone in their home, their hospitality, it’s all the energy, it’s not like just that easy, some, pretty tough.

 

I went to one devotee’s house, was in the Middle East and they are senior preachers in the Bhakti vṛkṣa group program, we were there may be circle leaders in charge of 12 groups, something like that may be higher than that, then I have a video, on a DVD of some preaching that I did in India, they said they would like to see.  Just to see the preaching and they were looking in  for DVD player in the TV, Guru Mahārāja you know, we have a DVD player, we have a  video, we have a TV, but we have been so busy preaching, for the past two three years that we never used it and where is the connecting wires are, how to plug in everything, take us to few hours to figure it out may be, I saw that the TV set  with dust, everything was very clean but TV was very dusty and I thought  this is the sign, this is the sign, of having a taste for preaching.

 

So that  sometime we forget the real taste is not going to movies or watching,, that’s why I when you are really stuck on Aeroplan, said stuck on aero plane watch a movie, what we going to do, but actually the real taste, when you got the opportunity to go out and tell people about Kṛṣṇa, and some have the Namahatta preaching like gṛhasthas, they take care of families, and they take care of sometimes husband and wife work separately, so one day the wife stays at home and husband goes out does the preaching next day the husband stays home, the wife goes out, some wife like to cook rather for the guest, there is different ways to work as a team , and I have one couple the husband is mahā cakra pathi, in charge of twenty five , thirty groups and the wife is chakra senapathi, she is in charge of 12 groups, they have  so much taste for preaching that they no longer attached by cinema, TV.

 

All these desires we have because we have not developed the taste for the real essence, preaching is the essence, what is more, watch a movie about someone dying, we __ people are dying every minutes, they are dying, birth, death, old age disease, is going on because we are not helping them, we can save them from repetition of birth and death, not once, but millions of time can be saved, you are like saving a person million times over, you save them from death, save them even the Doctor says you are going to die anyway sooner or later, die again and again and again and again, borning and dying, borning and dying _ save them, reincarnation, reincarnating for few hours forever, so how much, we are in the actual field,  we are in the cutting edge, what I was doing in Māyāpur flood relief, why watch TV for adventure, cobra, snakes, grab onto the tree  when the flood water takes us pushed , we grabbed under the tree the tree is filled with red ants, hhahahahahahahah,, we did movies for, we are living it, real adventure right there you know, why _ I saw a group of Germans, troop going in a Siberia, I was there for preaching and they go for white water rafting, in the different rivers, because they want real adventure.

 

If you want real adventure in life preach. Preach, go out, you are helping people were real life problems, real life, this is exciting. and one day one house wife came to me and told me that mahārāja I live very far from the nearest temple , we only have one car for our family and I have three four kids I can't go to the temple , often, by the public bus to take two three changes it is very difficult , so only for Janmāṣṭamī or Rādhāṣṭamī few big days we go to the temple, but you made a Namahatta next to my house, one walk away so, I got to go there, hear the classes, and now I am chanting 16 rounds in my house, I go to the program I hear Gītā, I hear Bhāgavatam, chanting,  now my whole life is changing, whole life has a meaning.

 

I wanted to thank you so much for doing this because if you didn’t do this, I would have just been home with all the kids, not just drowning in the material nature, _ TV that is a _ just you know, like in a desert if you get one drop, you still survive, you want a full nectar, she was getting the nectar  _you are in the right track, you’ve got to help people, you got to give them an opportunity, for those you have already awakened  to this and know that this is a nectar you  may _ al l this desire, that is really distracting you, the real desire  is to awake him, to save people, to give the nectar of Kṛṣṇa, that's if you can get in every temple or every community, one or two devotees who have already awakened, then the other people will see, wow, they are so happy, they are so enthusiastic, like, their enthusiasm catches us, everybody is like maintenance is going on.

 

Just like when you are chanting four rounds in the morning, for me, I have a practice I chant eight rounds before I go for morning walk, just like first four rounds you are chanting like Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa this like _ after five, six and seven everyone get better and better and better, but the first four is  just walking up from the slumber, just like, ununununununnnnnnnn, by the time you know 14, 15 you are like shshshhshshshhs .. you all bugging up, I think some people just do two rounds, mahārāja I finished two rounds.

I said thank you very much, I think you are missing out what I do just warm up 3, 4, they just that's warm up and turn off, (devotee laughs), so they are missing out the nectar they are missing out, how much happiness is there in chanting 16 rounds, I have, I can do that, but if you don't do that if you stressed out, so much material nature, 16 is so wonderful, to do that, that's gives us the energy to go on, so I tried , so whenever they do, I considered like they are doing something, two rounds  a day is 1.25 billion in a year, so __ if you are missing out on the taste,  so I  think that the real solution to this problem is to have more people actually going out and preaching, more tough.

 

 Prabhupāda, says  whoever is tougher would bring people to Kṛṣṇa you get more credit, just like balances out, just you say, if you go and preach in Muslim country to the Muslims then you will get 1000 times more credit because it’s so difficult,  it's tough place to preach, it's more difficult here that's why, I don't argue on that point, because I don't have any first-hand information to compare England vs. Britain, I mean vs. Germany vs. New Zealand , exactly where the toughest, like this is the toughest you are going to get more mercy, just like when people in gulf what they called it, __ handicapped, you get the handicapped, you get more credit wherever it's more difficult, wherever , more credit, but to give something , trying to bring people to Kṛṣṇa, that's where the nectar is!

 

When you see  somebody you gave a book to,  give prasādam to, you took trouble to, they are happy, they are happy chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and they will say you saved my life, you are my vartma pradarsaka guru of whatever even I feel so good, because they see, how could have sit watch movies, how can I have waste my time in stupid ways, when I had a chance to do something to help people, people that I love, nice people to get out of birth and death, just our humble offering , fanatic, (Guru Mahārāja laughs).

 

When we preach, you have to be very patient and you have to help people that you know, to get out all those obstacles step by step make it easy and encourage them, you know, don't discourage people.

 

Like Prabhupāda say just to save one person you may have to still, you have to give 200 liters of blood, our body it's only 10, 12 liters, 8 liter of something like, but how we can spend 200, that means it must be spiritual blood, because you don't have so much material blood, that you go out of your way to help people, there is a story like somebody they were being preached to, they they actually joined the group and they got frightened, if we do this then our whole life will be changed, we won't be like a regular normal people that are going to cinema, become like this always chanting chanting and serving, so, they changed their address and moved out and they hid and they didn't , they didn't even, you know forward a mail or anything, but  some have somebody went to the post office and found them, they made a mistake, forward the mail, where they were moved to, they formed a Namahatta group in that area, this is these people are they were nice people and don't know why they are not coming, then they went and knocking of the door (tak tak tak tak), hello, Hare Kṛṣṇa, (Devotee laugh), Oh NO, ok Kṛṣṇa we have to surrender, we can’t' escape (Guru Mahārāja Laughs) and they got fired up and joined together, because some devotee took the trouble just to be kind _ we missed you, please come, if they don’t want to come, we can't force them, but it is the love that makes all the difference, love and care, and that only you can give __ , care, sacrifice, Kṛṣṇa sees you trying so much... giving is actually what you get, that's why you receive more , pūjārī who offers the prasādam, if he has devotion, bigger taste when you eat the prasādam, but this is topic for many people, many preachers, here, they could share their experiences their own, we have to be very patient, encouraging, you see some people who have not developed a taste for preaching, _ love of _ just have to be very encouraging, not finger pointing, Oh, you went a movie, _  you are chanting two rounds very rounds, 1.25 billion, if you chant 4 rounds, 2.5 billion, encourage them step by step, may be once they get up , to the higher level, they will _ totally, initially lot of encouragement , so we _ I had a car accident on the way, I was in hospital , nobody phoned up, Christian came to the bed, we want to pray for you, in the name of Lord, nobody from the Namahatta group called ,nobody cares, so to be personal, to be caring , oh prabhu, you didn’t come what happened ?

 

I had an accident, and I am in hospital, oh really, will send you some prasādam, go down, see them, so we actually care about the people, we are not doing like machine job like robot (iichi, ichi, ichi), we actually love them, care about them, we want them to go back to godhead, that’s our service, if that the people feel that, they actually wants to give their life, but cares about each other, everybody helps each other, everybody really wants to see the good for you , in this way , in the material world where can you find an association like that, here everybody wants to rip you out and get what they can get out of you, chewing slip you out so we need people.

 

Prabhupāda said we need Brāhmaṇa, not in the sense you know like Brahmin threads, doing yajñas, but in the sense working for the welfare of others, parohita, to care about the interest of other people, and that's what missing in this world, who is the purohita? who cares for other people?

 

Few are social workers, but most of them doing as a job but someone really care and they know how to help people, anyway time for everybody's prasādam?

 

No, I have to take a purohita. Four devotees have to eat. what you think anybody has a taste about the preaching, _ like to share, some why you like to preach, I shared few of mine, I shared already. I want to hear someone else...