20080424 Śmṛti Vyāsa-pūjā

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Mahārāja on April 24^th, 2008 in Sebrang Jaya, Malaysia. The talk was given on a Vyāsa Pūja Smriti.

GuruMahārāja:

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam

paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ

śrī caitanya iśvaram

We had the Gaura Purnima festival. Right after the Gaura Purnima, I went to Bangladesh with hundred and twenty devotees from twenty five, thirty countries and  we were there for twenty days. Every night, big programs and came back to Māyāpur, they had Vyāsa Pūja. I was doing the ārati for the deities. And we had in the Indian continental community meetings, regional Governing Body Committee meetings. So for about two months since then non-stop. Then last night, I caught the flight at midnight and flew here. So I have not recuperated yet. Forgive me. I was listening but [2:10 not clear] I don’t.  This is very moving, exchange of the devotees are expressing their realisations and appreciations. We do this every year in Vyāsa Pūja. But there is no – once I was told by some GBC member – there is no rule against glorifying the guru. Initiating guru. It can be done anytime. But we must do it in the Vyāsa Pūja. we can do at other times. I have been coming to Malaysia since about 1984 or before that?

Devotee: Before that. 82

GuruMahārāja: 82? 1982 and that time there was a crisis here. I spent twenty one days in Malaysia. [Haribol!] A record! And it was over the year we started the Kuala Lumpur temple, may be, afterwards there was something.  Not too many places. [4:07 not clear] Over the years, ISKCON Malaysia has grown. I don’t know how many devotees we have now in Malaysia. [laughter]

Devotee: Uncountable.

GuruMahārāja: We should figure out the accounts. Now we are doing a program called śraddha kutir that Bhakti Vinoda Thakura advised to do bhakti homes. The homes of people who are vegetarian, chanting Hare Krsna, devotees, recognise them as bhakti homes or śraddha kutirs – the houses of faith. Very nice to see how many houses are being [5:03 not clear]This human form of life is very valuable durlabha mānava-janama - rare human life because by this human life we can get sat-sanga, we can also crossover the ocean of birth and death. Prabhupāda was encouraging that people should serve Krsna, should serve God. But instead, they are serving so many other things. That, a human form of life, we got it after going through 8,400,000 species of life. It is an opportunity, it is an open door to go back to Kṛṣṇa. How many would like to go back to Kṛṣṇa in this life-time? Back to Godhead? [Haribol!] Back to the spiritual world?

Few months ago, I was in Hong Kong, talking with one wealthy businessman, he told me that, “You know, I don’t want to go back to Godhead. [laughter] What will I do there? Sit all day long chanting japa? I like it here.” So Krsna said that there are different kinds of people that don’t get His mercy. Mūḍhās - foolish like the ass, māyayāpahrita jnāna – people who have knowledge, but it is stolen by the material energy. Then there is the asuras - the atheists. Which one is the fourth one? Māyayāpahrta jnāna, mūḍha, asura. [Somebody from the audience prompts narādhama] Yeah, lowest of mankind, narādhama. Thank you. Narādhama. So, but his wife said, “I want to go back.” Sometimes women are more intelligent. More spiritual, more religious. But taking birth again and again and again,

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva

guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

We are wandering around birth after birth and finally by Krsna’s mercy we get a spiritual master. Through the spiritual master we get the seed of bhakti. When we water that seed of bhakti, it grows and grows till it penetrates the fourteen planetary systems, penetrates the material limits, goes to the brahma jyoti, the spiritual light, goes to the spiritual planet - to the highest planet  of Goloka Vrndāvana and the plant wraps around Rādha and Krsna’s lotus feet. Then the plant produces fruits and flowers. The flowers are ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa and the fruit is pure Kṛṣṇa prema. So that by Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy we know that actualy in the spiritual world we are not sitting somewhere just doing japa, although japa can be very very blissful also. But there you are engaging in pastimes with Kṛṣṇa. In  Vrndāvana with cowherd boys, in Mathura with Ugrasena and others, and in Dvāraka, in Navdvīpa. So the pastimes are so beautiful. So we wanted to develop a taste to have our pastimes with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The spiritual master is coming as a representative. We are not so tuned in yet to Kṛṣṇa, we can serve His devotee. We offer our service to Kṛṣṇa through the guru and guru parampara. So I pray that whenever they offer me any kind of appreciation, that it should be received by Kṛṣṇa, I am offering it all to Him. But if I have any good qualities by the blessing of my spiritual master, Bhakti Vedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda. When someone is praising, it is said the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Because you are beautiful, you are seeing something good in someone as insignificant as me. That is how I feel. You all are very beautiful people. That is why you are seeing good in someone insignificant like me.

So we want to utilise this human form of life to develop a higher taste for spiritual life. Mostly people are using the valuable human life, spending their time in so many hobbies and diversions or watching the television [10:59 not clear] Even the devotees who are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and next hour they are playing with remote control cars. When I was seventeen years old, they had remote control cars. Now they are still twenty thirty years old and they are playing. So like this, one time Prabhupāda was walking in Los Angeles by the golf course. And then he said, ”What is this?”

 “It is a golf course, Prabhupāda.”

“What is golf?”

“Golf you see, they have a white ball and then they take a stick with some metal at the end of it and they hit the ball, by the time they hit the ball to go inside of a hole, a couple of hundred meters away and like this.”

And then Prabhupāda said, “They can do anything to waste the valuable human form of life. Waste their valuable time.” [ mild laughter] Because people don’t understand what is the priority of life. So we have the sat-sanga. We have this good association to remind us about the transcendental purpose to life. And actually Kṛṣṇa consciousness is blissfully performed like in Bhagavad gīta it is said, su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam. It is imperishable. This

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ

pavitram idam uttamam

su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam. Su sukhaṁ. sukh means what? You know? Anyone knows what sukhaṁ means? Happiness. And su sukhaṁ? Super happiness. Prabhupāda translated as super happiness. How many would like to be super happy? That is what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is - how to be super happy. Happiest person I have ever met in my life is His Divine Grace A.C.Bhakti Vedānta Swāmi Prabhupāda. [Haribol!!] Sometimes you may see his picture looks like really grave. But if you are with - next to him you see his eyes are filled with tears of love. It's not a light happiness. It is not  something like the other happinesses, just like the waves on the ocean or something- surface. His happiness is deep like a tsunami – going right down to the bottom of the ocean. One time he was describing in Gorakhpur how Lord Caitanya met Sanātana Gosvāmi and how they embraced – he took him up – Sanātana and He gave him a hug. And then Sanātana Gosvāmi was crying. Lord Caitanya  was crying. Prabhupāda said this is almost like - something like when the gopis and Kṛṣṇa will be together. That’s a profound meaning. Both are crying in ecstasy. Then Prabhupāda got choked up, he couldn’t  speak. He was stunned. Motionless. Tears of love were pouring down his cheeks. [14:36 not clear] he couldn’t  speak. Couldn’t move. These are not tears of sadness, these are tears of ecstasy. Prabhupāda, after sometime, he could speak a few words, he said “Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Then everybody started to chant. So then Prabhupāda didn't  try to hide his emotions. Sometimes it became revealed – everybody could see.

Very grateful for all the devotees that are helping me here to develop this temple in Sebrang Jaya, temples around Taiping. Congratulations for giving the [15:33 not clear].and other places – Sungei Siput. They also have land [15:46 not clear] everyone will have to be united for a couple of years to build the temple here. They told me the plans upstairs for a beautiful temple, optimum check, Gaura Nitāi  deities, Rādha Krsna, [16:07 not clear] and discussing many want to have Sīta Rāma Lakśman Hanumān. If you have any ideas, you can suggest to them. Already plans of [16:24 not clear] the number of Chinese bhakti vrikśa groups. Chitra Līla? Līla Chitra. Līla Chitra is working also in this regard. We want as many people as possible should get the mercy. That should all experience transcendental bliss. So like this human form of life is valuable. What you want to achieve with your life? We work hard, we go to school, we get some education. We are going to a job, get married, have some children. Children grow up, they get married, we get old, we get sick, we die. Take birth again. Is that all? [17:19 not clear] you develop your real understanding of who you are. To get the rāja-guhyaṁ and the su-sukhaṁ. We want to have all the devotees achieve this perfection. Side by side Lord Caitanya followers taught,

grihe thāko, vane thāko, sadā ‘hari’ bole’ dāko

Whether you are grhastha or whether you are in the renounced order, everyone should chant

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

So Lord Caitanya, He taught how this process is very blissfully performed. We hope everyone here in Malaysia, is a very happy place actually. But there is more happiness, we get  absolute happiness when we are Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So please everyone work together cooperatively and do something wonderful for the glory of Kṛṣṇa.

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

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swāmi Guru Mahārāja ki…jai!!

Transcribed y Sudhamayi Chitra dd

Completed on 06/Jan/2021

Proofread By : Aparna Mj(Prana Sakhi Mj/SurabhiKunj Kudlu Gate Bhakthi Sadan/Bangalore) 12-Jan-2021