20110829 Question and Answer Session

20110829 H.H.Jayapatākā Swāmi Mahārāja gives a Q & A session in Māyāpur.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ langhayate girim

yat kripa tamaham vande

Srigurum dina tarinam

paramānanda mādhavaṁ

śrī Caitanya Iswaram

Hari Oṁ tatasat

Whatever I speak, Sujetendriya will translate, and whatever I say in English, he will also translate into Bengali.

So, Arjuna asked Kṛṣṇa to be his guru. And, before he was the friend of Kṛṣṇa, but he wanted that Kṛṣṇa would speak to him as a guru. And he... but Kṛṣṇa here in this verse is saying, “Take a guru. And by following a self-realized guru, by surrendering to him, by asking him questions, by serving him, he will reveal the truth to to you. So, Kṛṣṇa here, He is advising that Arjuna should have a spiritual guru. So, this advice is for all of us.

We all need a spiritual guru. So, that's why I was very fortunate that I had Prabhupāda as my Sat guru. But according to Jīva Goswami one may also have a bhyabharika guru. That's someone who acts like a guru, but he doesn't actually have transcendental knowledge. So, like this, everyone

needs to have a spiritual guru.

Today is the appearance day of His Holiness Gaura Govinda Swāmi. He was such a spiritual guru. He translated Prabhupāda's books even to Oriya, and he was a bit heavy in his preaching. But guru means heavy. So, he was heavy, but he was merciful, and I saw his temple, his Deities, and there I learned how he developed this temple gradually. Also he stayed in a grass hut. Once he build a marble temple for Lord Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda said to build a temple for Nitāi Gaura and to also Kṛṣṇa and Balarām. Also there is Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrā. So, this are the three Deities. And then he build also a temple to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. He was very kind to me. He left his body here in Māyāpur. He was talking about Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and that time he read something, was very ecstatic, and he stopped breathing. No one would expect that he was going to leave. But he left very much thinking about Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, I just mentioned a little bit about him, but there is so much which could be said. I was very fortunate that Prabhupāda asked me to help him, and I was helping him all the way through, and I had his association.

Now, this verse is very important because it also tells us how we should approach a guru. We should ask questions. We should also do service, we should surrender. Praṇipātena, paripraśnena sevayā, upedekshyanti - we should also follow his instructions. So, also Prabhupāda... he had told us, “The secret of success is to please the previous spiritual masters.” So, his divine grace Śrīla Prabhupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāntha

Saraswati Goswāmi Prabhupāda Ṭhākura, he wanted that his books should be distributed. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda also took this up, and he was very grateful because boys and girls... who also helped him distribute books. Also Prabhupāda wanted to develop the Dhām of Māyāpur. So, he was very grateful for the help to develop the Dhām, and he expresses sometimes. So, like this we are trying to fulfil the desire of the previous acharya and Śrīla Prabhupāda. So, every ashram also has its duty. Like the Brahmachari ashram is considered as free ashram because we don't have to think anything about big grihastha responsibilities. They can concentrate on serving Kṛṣṇa and Guru. Now the grihasthās - they have a lot of responsibilities; the husband for the wife and children, the wife for the husband and the children. In this way there are so many responsibilities.

So, do you have that book?

Read on July 30th.

Sujentendriya Prabhu: (reading)

Fire worship is more important than Deity worship

If you cannot spend time with your child, then stop the duty of pūjārī. This children are given to us by Kṛṣṇa. They are Vaiṣṇavas and you must be very careful with them. This are not ordinary children. They are Vaikuṇṭha children and we are very fortunate that we can give them chance to advance further in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is very great responsibility. Do not neglect it  or be confused.

Letter to Arundhatī, July 30, 1972.

Gurumaharājā:

So, I read this this morning. I was very moved. We as brahmachāris, sanyasis, we don't have this responsibility, but those who took grihastha ashram, they need to take this raising of children very seriously. The children should not feel neglected because of Kṛṣṇa. They should know that

Kṛṣṇa has sent this children, and we have our duty and śraddhā to Kṛṣṇa to give our love and affection, and also hope that, and try to train them to be a devotee. This is a great... as Prabhupāda said… is a great opportunity. Now, like I was saying, each ashram has its speciality. If you don't want children, if we don't want to train the children to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, then don't get married. Then you remain brahmachari. But if you get married this are ...24.13-15...Kṛṣṇa will send you a child. It is your duty to be a good example to train that child to be a nice devotee. And as Prabhupāda said, “This is a great opportunity. We should not lose our grihasthās. They should not think, "Kids are māyā." They are reason for being a grihastha.” Now, if we can't have a child, that is another thing, that Kṛṣṇa didn't send you, or they get some alternatives. Anyway, like that, every ashram has got some special responsibilities and special activities. So, but, whether you are a grihastha or you are a brahmachari or a vānaprastha or a sanyasi - everybody should have a sadguru, and by creating this spiritual guru... he will guide you. But some people went to Prabhupāda, and they came with their marriage problem, and although Prabhupāda...he was a grihastha earlier, he said, "Now I am a sanyasi. I should not have to deal with this." My senior disciples - grihasthās, they should give you counselling. So, there is a limit how much we can know as a sanyasi, and I will be very happy... anyway, I hope that you all take some responsibilities to help others. If you are a senior devotee, help those who are juniors. Now the senior brahmacharis can help in certain aspects, and those who are senior grihastha devotee, they can help in different other ways. In this way it is everybody's responsibility to help the spiritual master.

So, I usually give some time for questions and answers. So, are there are any questions?

Sujetendriya Prabhu: There are seven questions. Two are from the internet.

Question: My dear spiritual father, Gurumaharaj, please accept my heartfelt obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to Prabhupāda, all glories to you.

Gurumaharāja, we are all taught that the essence of Bhagavad-gītā is sarva dharmān paritajya. But in the purport of the verse 11.55, mat karma krit, Śrīla Prabhupāda says, “This verse is the essence of the Bhagavad-gītā.”

Your lowly servant, Ramyā Vṛnadavana devī dāsī

Gurumahārāja: Is that this verse we are reading today? Questions are for this verse. If we open up other verses it will be confusing to the audience.

Then we have to have a separate time for those questions.

Question: In the past few days I haven't been able to chant properly and relish Harinām. How can I get the taste back?

Gurumahārāja: Start chanting. If you start chanting for a few days, then that will give your taste back. If you chant sixteen rounds that is very nice. If you cannot do that how much can you chant? eight mālā, twelve mālā? Do how much you can do do that, and fix a standard. And if you do less that the standard that you have made, then keep record how many rounds you could not make up, and you fill up those rounds.

Question: (Praneshwari Laxmī Devī Dāsī, from San Diego, U.S.A.)

Gurumahārāja, PAMHO. Sometimes we feel great separation from our guru and we cannot see our guru. How can we deal with this and how can we maintain our steadfastness in our devotion. Please Gurumahārāja, bless us that our Bhaktivṛksha group flourish, and please bless us so that we can stay strong in our devotion.

Gurumahārāja: Let’s all give our blessing to Praneshwari Laxmī Devī Dāsī and her bhakti vṛksha group by saying three times,

Haribol..........................(repeated by everyone)

Haribol..........................(repeated by everyone)

Haribol..........................(repeated by everyone)

Haribol..........................(repeated by everyone)

Śrīla Prabhupāda said that when one thinks of the guru, he will think of that devotee. Now, I have been thinking of you for a few days, that how you are doing, and I haven't heard from you. So, you are thinking of me and I am thinking of you.

Haribol.........................................(repeated by everyone.)

Question: a. While I am taking prasādam, if my consciousness is polluted and I am thinking of mundane things, then what will be the result?

b. After six months are over we can take up any service like Namhatta preaching, sankirtan preaching or school preaching. I would like to know from you which service would be the most beneficial or most assisting to my spiritual advancement.

Your humble servant,

New Devotee, Biplab Das

Gurumahārāja: He has two questions?

He has to pay for the extra. (laughter)

I forgot the question.

(Sujendriya Prabhu repeats the question in bengali)

Well, still,  if you eat prasādam you will be getting the benefit of eating the prasādam. If you are thinking of Kṛṣṇa and are thinking of the devotional attitude, by your eating prasādam, then it will have more effect on your heart. Therefore, in this way we should always try to think of Kṛṣṇa when we are taking Kṛṣṇa prasad. But if you cannot, even then you will get the benefit of eating Kṛṣṇa prasādam. What to say which service you will get. All services are very good - sankirtan, namhatta, school preaching, all are nice, but the person has to see what he is qualified for and good at.

Today I heard that most of the new devotees go on sankirtan, and that is the very good training for them. But sometimes they also go to some other departments. So, later on I can tell you what is the best service for you seeing your particular quality.

Question: Gurumahārāja, what is the result of committing suicide? Sanātan Gopal Das

Gurumahārāja: The result of committing suicide is that as long as you would have lived, for that period of time we have to remain as a ghost.

But if that person is brāhmaṇa, then he becomes a brahma-raksasha because the brāhmaṇa is supposed to know that one is not supposed to commit suicide. To destroy the body is the right of Lord Kṛṣṇa. We have no right. Keep this completely out of your mind.

Question: Dear Gurumahārāja, I go through strong and weak period in sādhana. A few months I wake up early and chant, and then a few months I struggle to chant early. Any advice?

Gurumahārāja: You didn't tell why you are having difficulty waking up early in the morning. I heard... someone asked Prabhupāda, “How do we get up early?”

Prabhupāda said, “Don't take heavy meal at night. Take some light meal.” So, Prabhupāda, he would usually take muri at night. Otherwise, it also depends how early... how much sleep you need, and accordingly you take rest early. This are practical advice. I don’t know why some days you are able to do and some days you are facing difficulties. But this is one of the anarthas. It is called the thick and thin, “garo and patla”, that sometimes we are very enthusiastic and sometimes we are very weak. So, by thinking of guru and by following this verse today you will get more steady. So, you can meanwhile regulate in your spiritual life.

End of transcription.