20130305 Talk at the Bhakti-śāstrī Certificate Ceremony

Om agyana…

Since half of my face is paralyzed, maybe you need repetition to understand me? I heard that but those who need repetition please raise your hands. Raise your left hand! Ha! Do the Garuda mudra! You teach them. The person before me said a lot, I was thinking the same. How nice it would be in the dham where we would have the nice association of all these devotees, reading Prabhupad books and that is what he said. Once Prabhupad told me to stay in the dham. I liked the dham. I liked the Indian people, am I doing something wrong? My guru ordered me to do something and it was not by force, I liked being in the dham. I asked Srila Prabhupad I liked staying in the dham, is it right? He said, whether you like it or not you have to do it. And you are lucky, if the guru asks you to do something and you like to do it. So we started out here, five devotees and now we have 3000 or something. Somewhere along the line, Prabhupad wanted that his students should study his books. He said that he wrote the books so the devotees would read the books. Those who seek initiation from me, I ask them to read Bhagavad Gita twice and many, many tell me I didn’t complete it but I will do it, give me diksha and I will do it! I am very happy that you all of you have studied Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhav and you have read the Bhagavad Gita intensely. Prabhupad before he gave me initiation, told me to read Bhagavad Gita ten times! I had that Gita for a long time, I don’t know if I still have it. 1, 2, 3, 4 cross, 1,2, 3, 4, cross, ten times! How important it is to read the books of Prabhupad and study them and understand them cannot be underestimated. We are very grateful that Mayapur Institute has fulfilled this request of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad to help the devotees read these books, study them. During the VTE course, we asked Shyamasunder, VTE, teachers training, they should know what it was. It is very intense, not just learn it but immediately apply it. Dramas and workshops and music and so many creative ways. So in this way it is fun. People complain it is not easy, if you don’t use it you will lose it. In Mayapur Institute you have to use it the same day. So I think that what you learn will stay with you a long time

I was this morning remembering how in the Tenth Canto, Parikshit maharaj referred to Lord Krishna as My unlimited Lord, and I was thinking, everything Krishna does is unlimited. I mean, when He wants to pick up the earth, He takes the form of Lord Boar. He starts as a microcosmic boar and slowly gets bigger and bigger and bigger till He became so big that He could lift the earth on His tusks. You can imagine how big that Boar was. Every avatar showed some unlimited pastime. Nrsimhadev, He was so angry at the raakshas who attacked His devotee that even death personified is scared to death of Nrsimhadev! Mrtyum Mrtyum Namaamyaham. And Krishna, He is the Original Personality. Everything about Krishna – sweet, He is the most sweet; when Krishna wants to show mercy as Lord Caitanya is unlimitedly merciful. So living in the dham of Mayapur is having a personal relationship with Lord Caitanya. Haribol! Therefore, you are all very special souls because you have spent so long in Mayapur, at least a few months. And I hope you will all continue on Bhakti Vaibhav. Every devotee should have Bhakti Vaibhav or Bhakti Vedanta degrees or the equivalent. So now we need to have a syllabus to train up the GBCs. In the future this program that Srila Prabhupad started will be the natural requirement for all the devotees. Prabhupad at one point he said, HG Ravindraswarup das Adhikari in Calcutta to find out about those colleges having post graduate studies of the Calcutta University. So Prabhupad wanted that here also there should be an university and that devotees would get degrees. So this Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhav, Bhakti Vedanta, Bhakti Sarva Bhauma, these are good foundations which help in the future and those who study will get some official degree. In any case, in the Bhagavad Gita it says we can worship Krishna by offering Him various things, one of the things is our intelligence by reading about Him and thinking about Him. So all these aspects of the Lord are very useful.

 I want to thank all of you for being here, taking up this challenge of studying Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhav. All glories to your service! Haribol!