20050821 - Talk

20050821 Talk given by  His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Mahārāja in Zurich, Switzerland

21/AUG/2005

https://soundcloud.com/jayapatakaswami/21aug2005-zurich?in=jayapatakaswami/sets/enlightenment-10

Talk given by

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Mahārāja

in Zurich, Switzerland

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayaptāka Swāmi Mahārāja on August 21st 2005 in Zurich, Switzerland.

It looks like the feelings in the material world but, it is something special, something far higher, cannot exactly compare with anything in the material world. So, as we get purified by chanting, by serving, then we can also start to feel loving feelings for the Supreme Lord. When we get initiated then we are also able to reciprocate more fully with Kṛṣṇa’s loving feelings. So in this way, the loving exchanges between the Supreme Soul and us - the individual soul -  it is the highest perfection for us. So that is what we want to try to elevate all of you to that highest level where you are feeling love for Kṛṣṇa and you are able to exchange loving feelings with Kṛṣṇain the spiritual realm.  It is very confidential subject matter. But this state can be reached by this process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So I am very happy to see all of you again. I know that your program ends earlier, so you spend all your extra time just to be here, so I appreciate it very much. This January I went to Sri Lanka to help with the relief work for that tsunami. Indradyumna Mahārāja, he was there and our local, Mahākānta prabhu, they are working all the time, I just went there to help them make some planning. And I will be going to Sri Lanka very soon and when I get– I am not - exactly - don’t have the date yet. Pretty soon I will be going there again. Earlier this year I was in Coimbatore, where they have  [4:50 not clear] temple. They have about ten acres of land and in future they want to build a big project there. Then, I was in Chennai and there they are already constructing a temple – bigger  - fairly large temple. And that temple they are constructing now – in the future they want to do another bigger temple, but for now this will serve for the next - so many years. Later, this will become prasādam hall and then we have bigger temple here. The temple at Chennai is in the Mamallapuram road, near the Golden Beach. In January, I went to Madurai, we have a temple there and we opened up a new temple at Tirunelveli. Then I will be spending Janmāśṭami in Malaysia. Because – sometimes I go  to Malaysia for Janmāśṭami, sometimes in India. I go different places during Janmāśṭami because in Māyāpur, Janmāśṭami is not the biggest festival. This time in the country is rainy season – not many people go - may be only five thousand people. [Laughter]

But in Tirupati, they get 200,000 people for Janmāśṭami, they told me. I haven’t seen. Even in Malaysia which doesn’t have such a big population like India, they get about six, seven thousand people and then they do two three things. You can explain what they do in some of the temples Youth programs in the home.

[Mahāvarāha prabhu sharing in Tamil]

One time, we were in South India, we wear just a chaddar, we don’t wear shirt – like when we do pūja or something. We just wear the chaddar without a shirt. I was dressed like that from doing pūja – from the abhiśekh. One of the Sultan’s son, he is the prince of Malaysia, he came to see me. He is a Muslim, actually. But somehow he came, he wasn’t invited. He didn’t want to be in public. So, upstairs we gave him some prasādam [9:31 not clear] He was surprised when he saw me with a  - you know, dressed for pūja. Because when they do Haj, they also don’t wear shirt. I didn’t know that. So he saw, ‘You are dressed just like for Haj.’ They go without shirt. So I was going without shirt like that – with chaddar.

So like that we are trying to spread this message of Bhagavad Gīta, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam all over the world. We had here just a big ratha yātra , may be – I don’t know how many thousands of people are there in Italy. Then I went for a ratha yātra  in Moscow. There was also over thousand people. And in Birmingham, UK, Lester, UK, I was at their ratha yātra. London is like 30,000 people but I wasn’t there for that. But I was for the Birmingham – it is small, second city. During the London time I was in India for ratha yātra. In Calcutta we have 200,0000 people. Then Birmingham, the Mayor, the English Mayor, he was sweeping the road before Jagannātha. So, we told him this is the custom in India that the king - the top citizen should sweep the road, so you are the first citizen of Birmingham, you get to sweep the road. The moment the Mayor doesn’t have to sweep the road, we have other employees to do that. But they have respect for our culture out there. He was sweeping the road. So, I have been seeing all over Europe people very enthusiastic. I heard you had ratha yātra here. What day? You didn’t invite me. [mild laughter] For ratha yātra? Oh! I will give you a special – emergency email then. [laughter]. You are late. But I heard it rained here also for ratha yātra. Sometimes it rains, no?

Ending is like āśīrvād – blessing. So anybody has a question?

Question: I have a question. It is like, there is sort of negative publicity going on in the whole world, not about Krsna, about concept of religion of life, just to say like – I saw recent TV interviews like if you are not Islam, your  like [14.27 not clear] otherwise only people who respect Allah is God. And what – how do I convince my children saying, living in this type of the world, because I am not living in India anymore and I am in a different type of environment but I want to make them understand that Kṛṣṇa is something different and He is the Supreme Lord. Till now I am satisfied with my progress with my children. Ok, first one is just four years and second is one year. But I cannot say whether this satisfaction will go on till fifteen, twenty years because we live in a different world – I live in a different world where we stick with our religion, our practice, our people, our temples. But where I live at present, there is no temple. Here temple is 400 km away.

Guruahārāja: Where is that?

Devotee: I live south of Frankfurt. Ok, that is called Heidelberg, I live in Woodsford and to take everyone out there..

GuruMahārāja: Where’s that? Weilberg. This couple, live south.

Devotee: Ok, she is nearby.

GuruMahārāja: Then they have satsang, so you can get together, later. [laughter]

Devotee: But how far as a father, seeing my son, seeing just a short thirty minutes program with so much of faith, so much of, you know, it is arrogant, you know, they say, if you are not complying with our religion,  then you are not a human being and it is true. Because it was in BBC last week, and ok, they are radical. I understand.

GuruMahārāja: And you are showing what the radical is saying just to show off out there.

Devotee: But because my children will not understand this, because they come from a different world. And may be the other…

GuruMahārāja: Yeah, you want to translate that?

[Translation happens]

GuruMahārāja: Very important question, because now you are all living in the West here, and here in the West, for many people religion is a bad word.  Because religion is being misused - for hatred, for clinical purposes, for different reasons. So, some of the youth are against religion. Not everyone. So, you talked about a religion that is preaching hate. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His presentation of religion is presenting love. That is why Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s presentation is most appropriate for this modern age. We don’t need hate, we need love. So, He was only five hundred years ago, that time Islam was already in the world. He met with Islamic leaders and peers and He talked with them. And in the Caitanya Caritāmrita you can see what he spoke with His -  one of them was prince of - Emperor from Betali, one was guru, imam and what he basically said is that there is only one God. It is not up in the spiritual world,  He is Allah, Kṛṣṇa. There is only one. He  has different names. So in Arabic, He is called Allah. In Sanskrit we may call Kṛṣṇa or Rāma or Perumāl – in Tamil we say Perumāl, right? Īśvara. So in different languages He has different names. What is the problem is that, today, the modern religion, sometimes, there were very restrictive and barrier. They don’t understand what is the real philosophy of God.  So our presentation is different type of presentation. We respect all the religions because all religions are giving the same person, where we understand that there is only one God and He has many names, that purpose of life is to love Him. And we can present to our children with some pride, that we have a very open, loving solution to this problem. Also that in the vedas, it is presented as - religion which is not just a dogma or faith, but it is very scientific. Just like in the Bhagavad Gīta, it says that ātma is in the heart. And through the bloodstream the consciousness is going throughout the body. So if you cut off the blood from any part of your body, what happens? You lose your consciousness. It is very scientific. Prabhupāda gives the example that – Gīta says,

kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā

tathā dehāntara-prāptir

dhīras tatra na muhyati

BG 2.13

You grow from the childhood, to the youth, to the old age, when the body dies, we take a new birth. Now is that only for Hindus? Muslims are not going through childhood to youth to old age? Christians or Jews or - everybody is going through. This Bhagavad Gīta was spoken about five thousand years ago. Before all these other religions came. These are the original teachings. This point of view we wanted to create a unity amongst all the theistic people. If people understand we are the soul, we are not the body, the soul is part of the Supreme Soul, we can have a universal peace.  But because people are seeing it from a very sectarian point of view and they are preaching hatred and - this is what is causing trouble in the world. So we are trying to lift people to a higher level of vision. So if you have that understanding, I think you can also give that to your children to be proud, to be part of that kind of universal vision.

Ignoring God won’t be a solution. Because He is the reality. We can’t ignore Him. But to see beyond sectarianism, what is the real vision we should have. Because very young people are very attracted and that is why so many young people are coming in the West to Kṛṣṇa consciousness – because if you present it in the proper way, then they appreciate it. It is important to have a program like a Sunday school type, for this type of program for the children where they get some spiritual orientation. When they are younger you get more influence over the children, when they are in their teen ages, then all the friends - influence decreases and the friends’ influence increases. That is why it is also going to be important in the future when these children grow up, to have youth programs. In many countries, we have what we call the Pāṇḍava Sena. It started in the UK, when one of them they closed the temple and all the youth marched on Westminster, that Parliament – 30,000 people marched and blocked the road and everything. So that was all youth - they were very active. They were called the Pāṇḍava Sena. Sena means like the soldiers.

So now in Malaysia, in different – in South India, in South Africa and all over the world, now they have branches of the Pāṇḍava Sena to keep the youth active - cultural programs, dramas. What the Pāṇḍava Sena is doing in Malaysia?

Mahā Varāha Prabhu: Once in a year, we used to have a mini convention for the youth. And then also, they have a special class for the youth.

GuruMahārāja: Say in both, English and Tamil. (Laughter)

Mahā Varāha Prabhu: And we also, every week we have a special class for the youth. Also, we have econference, means, we will sign up for news conference, we will get newsletters, and what was going on in the temple. So I can always keep in touch, I can also get special news for Pāṇḍava Sena. So these are regular things going on in Malaysia. We also encourage dramas, harinam, book distribution, food for life. We organise – once in a year we organise free food for life in one of the main Hindu temple, famous Hindu temple in Malaysia called Batu Caves. I think some of you have heard about that. Over 60,000 gather for study seminar in this and - ISKCON is the only organisation which gives food for life for this function and this function is solely organised by Pāṇḍava Sena.

GuruMahārāja: Ok. So that is the whole? So at 4 o’clock will be the English lecture. I’ll freshen up little bit and next, I am going to share a few things with you. You all can come again for little more time for giving me [30:13 not clear] chance to do it. I will be available for talking to devotees also. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Mahārāja ki…Jaya!

Transcribed by Sudhamayi Chitra dd

Completed on 23/Nov/2020

Proofread by :Srivani Mataji

11/Dec/2020