20152801 Śrīla Prabhupāda Kathā

Lecture Code- 20152801

Topic- Srila Prabhupad Katha   

Place- ISKCON Delhi   

Date- 28th January 2015     

Transcribed by- Siddha Hari Das

Transcribed on- 7th March 2020

Click HERE to listen to lecture

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28 January 2015 - Delhi

Today we are having class on Srila Prabhupada’s pastimes. Yesterday, I went for the Sankirtan awards. They said that 2700 congregational members participated. In many years in the past, the Delhi temple has become victorious in the December Prabhupada Marathon. However, for this year they announced that Mayapur was number one for the year. I distributed some books for Delhi also. Next year being the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, it should be a very intensive seva for Srila Prabhupada. He said that if you want to please me distribute my books. So Delhi ISKCON already declared that in 2016 the whole year would be a marathon. What they will do next year, we are not sure. But Prabhupada he departed from INDIA in the year 1965, so we are having celebration in calcutta, the day Srila Prabhupada entered the Jaladuta. He went along the Indian eastern coast and stopped at Columbus, went around cape comorin stopped at Kochi, from Kochi to mediterrenean and then to Atlantic ocean. Finally he reached Boston and then New York. For these two years , we will have a lot of celebrations. You should enquire from local temples what days they are having celebrations and how you can participate. How you can do some service for Srila Prabhupada. Any questions?

Mahavaraha Prabhu reads a letter written by Srila Prabhupada:

Letter to: Jayapataka

—

Bombay

27 November, 1970

70-11-27

Calcutta

My Dear Jayapataka Maharaja,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your kind letter dated November 22nd, 1970. I am so glad to learn that you are collecting funds for building.

I quite approve your proposal that if the money is used for establishing Bombay center, the donors will not be encouraged. In that case you can open an account with the Central Bank of India in the name of ISKCON. The Society is going to be registered here and the arrangement is done. We have already an account here with the Central Bank H.Q. and the number is 3/953. The way we open our account is that we have passed resolution and submitted it to the bank. The enclosed copy can be adjusted by you for Calcutta. Our account here in Bombay is with the Head Office and the Calcutta branch can inquire from them.

So the account should be opened and checks should be drawn out by two signatures. One of the signatures must be mine and the other names should also be registered: Jayapataka Swami, Acyutananda Swami and Madhudvisa Swami (Founder and Acarya, President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.) These four names should be registered.

Please send a list of the Members you have already made and how the collection is dispersed. Are the funds divided into 50% for the Temple Construction and 50% for the Book Fund? And a separate contribution for the Hamilton House.

If you want to take four men to raise the funds for purchasing the Hamilton House, I have no objection. We agree with Mr. Poddar that four men raising Rs. 25,000 each will be very nice. Side by side, you can try for the Alipore house just in front of the Judge's Court. Either the Alipore or the Hamilton house may be taken for our Calcutta branch.

If you are unable to open an account in Calcutta, then the collection money may be transferred to our bank here and I will keep separate account for it.

Shyam Madhusudan prabhu: Srila Prabhupada is talking about opening an account and using the funds to buy Alipore house.

HH JPS: I told last night what happened with the Hamilton house. Srila Prabhupada was very fixed that in Calcutta we should have some appropriate land. At that time, the land was sold in Kattas. So we were trying to obtain land. So Prabhupada always wanted the land should be exclusive and easy to reach. He wanted the accounts to have two signatures. In this case for the building, he wanted to be compulsory. He must sign plus one another. I think that in Hamilton street, there was a large central bank - one of the tallest buildings in calcutta. So we opened a bank account there. 50% should go for books. Actually you buy books and you sell them. And the money from the sale of the books will be used for other things like temple maintenance or so. In this way, books would be sole and temple will be maintained. In the end, we get land at 3 Albert rd, which was previously a british house and Srila Prabhupada was satisfied with that.

Mahavaraha Prabhu: Regarding Jhajaria's proposal for uniting the Bhu Lok diksa Mandir with our ISKCON, there is no question of such amalgamation. So we do not go on with such ideas. But don't make him enemy; just try to avoid any intimate connection.

So far the Magh Mela is concerned, I have received word that our application has been received, but I do not know about any land being set aside for us. If you have got such information, please send me the copy.

Your title is actually Tridandi Swami or Tridandi Bhiksu, which is the first stage of sannyasa life. Tridandi Goswami is for one in the fourth stage of sannyasa life which is paramahamsa stage.

Hope this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

One is the Jhajaria’s proposal, second is Magh Mela and third is Sannyasa.

HH JPS: Srila Prabhupada didn’t want us to associate with those people who are not following the four regulative principles. In this diksa mandir, it was not Gaudiya sampradaya and there were other problems. So he wanted to avoid it. At the same time, he didn’t want to make enemy with Mr. Jhajaria. His request was to deal in a very careful way, in a diplomatic way.

Every 6 year, there is a big mela called Kumbh mela or ardh kumbh mela. So that was happening in February of 1971. It was a whole competition to get the best site for the camp. So 71 was the Ardh Kumbh mela and 21 million people were supposed to attend as compared to the Purna Kumbh mela which 31 million people would attend. Since then we have asked the Vrindavan temple because they are in the same state of Uttar Pradesh to book a place and every year they have a Magh mela. Every 6 year they have an Ardh Kumbh mela. Every 12 years they have Kumbh mela. So next one was Ardh kumbh mela. We got some professional decorators to rent us tents and facilities to set up the camp site. I remember that our initial tent site was near to a giant Hanuman and this Hanuman was beneath the ground and people would go down and would have a darshan of Him. He was lying down. So now we are much closer to the confluence. So this first year, we were on the edge. So we had some devotees accompany the decorators who would rent us the camps.

There were different titles for Sannyasa. I know that some were called Tridandi Goswami, some were Tridandi Bhiksu and some were Tridandi Swami. So Srila Prabhupada clarified that Tridandi Swami or Tridandi Bhiksu is for the first stage of Sannyasa and as one grows more responsible and when one is Guru and has disciples, then he can use the title Tridandi Goswami. So here Srila Prabhupada clarified that I should use Tridandi swami.

I went Saturday to Punjabi Bagh and Sunday to Dwarka and yesterday to the Sant Nagar temple for the Sankirtan Book distribution marathon awards and today, I am a little tired. Any questions:

Audience: I heard another version of swami and goswami in ISKCON. Usually those who take Sannyas without marrying are called swami and those who enter Sannyasa ashrama after grhastha ashram are called Goswami. Is that another version?

HH JPS: In their actual Sannyas name, like I am Jayapataka Swami and Tamal Krishna was Tamal Krishna Goswami but these are additional titles. I can be Jayapataka Swami - that won’t change. But it may be Tridandi Goswami if I am taking disciples. Tridandi Goswami Jayapataka swami. Or someone who is just starting out as Goswami - Tridandi Bhiksu but after some time headings may change but the name doesn’t change. So Srila Prabhupada kept it simple either swami or goswami. Otherwise there are 108 Vaishnava sannyas names. Om Vishnupada Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaj. His sannyasa name is Madhava. For the Mayavadis, they have 10 sannyas names - Sarasvati, Puri, Tirtha. So whatever Sannyasa name you get that doesn’t change but the headings may change - Tridandi swami, Tridandi Bhikshu, Tridandi goswami.

Kuch Prashan hai? Hai? Hai? Boliye?

Write it down and one night we will have those questions. Now we are having questions on the topics discussed.

Shyam Madhusudana prabhu reads the names of devotees watching online.

HH JPS: Blessings to online listeners. All right come and get your prasadam.