20160704 Addressing Devotees

20160702_Katmandu_Nepal

Mukam karoti vacalam 

Pangum langhyate girim 

Yat kripa tamaham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

Paramananda madhavan

Sri Chaitanya ishvaram

Hari Om Tat Sat

(Gurumaharaj speaks Nepali)

Haribol (by everybody)

I am very happy to be here. I see so many devotees here in the Katmandu temples. This is certainly what Srila Prabhupada wants to see. (Haribol by everyone). Looks like very soon we will have a bigger temple (Haribol by everyone)

There are two kinds of devotees. The bhajanandi’s- they like to worship the Lord to go back to Godhead, and there is the gosthanandis- they like to worship the Lord but they want take as many devotees as possible with them. ((Haribol by everyone)

Bhakta Prahlada, he was such a devotee, he talked to his school mates when he was five years old. He told them to chant Hare Krishna. They said, “now we are children, we should play, we will chant later.” Prahlad said, “well, that way the first 20 years you will be playing around, then you will be grihasthas and next 30-40years it’s impossible, then you will be too old and tired, retired life. So then half of your life you will spend sleeping, eating. So in that way you calculate no time, so you should give some time everyday in chanting and you got all the …8.52-8.56… to chant. The sons of Sukracharya saw the children chanting the names of Visnu. They informed to Hiranyakashipu that they are chanting the names of your enemy. So then Hiranyakashipu said, “Oh! Some vaisnava must have stuck in, surround the school with soldiers. If any vaisnava comes inside shoot at sight, dead. (applause and laughter)

Little did he know that the visnava was inside. His own son.  So Prabhupada was a gosthananadi, he took such risk. In fact later when his father calmed down, then he tried to kill Prahlada. …10.50-10.55 child molestation… He tried to kill his own son in every possible way. He delivered him poison, dropping in the pit of poisonous snakes, telling his soldiers to kill him, but everyone went ahead, Prahlad went turned into a blue lotus, he was covered by blue lotuses which were all transformed weapons.

Finally Hiranyakashipu, he decided that he would kill his own son with his own hands. So let your God come and save you now, he would say, “I am bhagavan, I am the most powerful, no one dare to challenge me, you are talking about some other supreme power than I will kill you, let your supreme power come here… ha, ha, ha, ha” (laughter) He would shout so loud that it covered the whole universe. Even Hiranyakashipu was afraid, “Where is the sound coming from?” 

Then Narasimha came out from the column, looking for the demon. Who dare threaten his devotee. God he has such a dramatic sense. Here was the most powerful demon who had conquered over the whole universe but he was never happy, he wanted everyone to be under his power. But his son told him that, “Your power comes from the same place as my power. Real power comes from bhagavan”, 

That he couldn’t accept. So  you know the pastime how he fought with Narasimhadev and how Narsimhadev bifurcated him. 

Some days ago I was also thinking how there was a person, he was the greatest military power in the universe, he had conquered Indra and all the devas. He had conquered all the demons, he was supreme powerful military power, Ravana. He was challenged by two princes with a army of monkeys, what can monkeys do against the most powerful military mind of the whole universe but they defeated Ravana. (applause), because he was under the control of lust. He stole Sita, wife of Ram.

Because Krishna came as Ram, Balaram came as Laxman and Hanuman and all the monkeys were different personalities. Hanuman is Ram’s parshad and different devas came as monkeys. Ram offered, “Give me back Sita, we will let you live in peace.”, but he could not let her go. His Bibhisana told him, “There are so many woman, let her go.” 

“You are with the enemy. Go to Ram. You are not my brother anymore, you are with my enemy, with Ram, so go with Ram, fight with Ram.

So Bibhisana went. Laxman said, “How can trust him, he may be a spy.”

“I promise that if I am telling a lie, I will be a king in Kali yuga.”

“Ok, he is telling the truth.” (laughter) They 20.00-20.04 know what the kings of Kali Yuga are. 

So how Krishna has such dramatic sense, how he was fighting the supreme military power off …20.40-42… how Laxman was hit by Indrajit, son of Ravana and how he sent Hanuman to get the sanjivini. Where is that mountain? Nepal. On the way he was stopped by a sadhu, “have some fruits, relax, nice fruits.” Monkeys like fruits, he ate the fruits, he said, “well, why don’t you stay here, relax?” 

“No, No I have to go to you know Laxman, he is injured as a yuddha, healing herb.”

“See my lake, at least take a bath in the lake and then..”

So he said, “Ok. I will take a bath.”

And he entered the lake, there was  big crocodile, ha ha ha…. , he grabbed on Hanuman. Hanuman fought him, fought and defeated the crocodile. 

In the eight canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a fight between Gajendra, the king of the elephants and the king of the crocodiles, they challenge in the river. The crocodile grabbed the leg of the elephant king. They were fighting for a long time. The crocodiles have a very strong grip and because the crocodile was in the water and he is a animal of the water he had a slight advantage and since the elephant was an animal of the land and he was in the land he was in a slight disadvantage.

So the elephant realized that gradually he was losing. He remembered a prayer from his previous life as a human and he started to offer the prayer to Visnu, and in the purport of the verse, Prabhuapada tells the men that they should see where they are stronger, are they stronger as a grihastha or stronger as a vairagi? They should be in the ashram where they can strongest fight against maya. Most people are stronger as a grishastha if they have a Krishna conscious wife but some people may be stronger as a vairagi. So one should chose the ashram where one is stronger to fight against maya and Lord Caitanya and the achrayas have sung, “grihe thako vane thako sada hari bole dako, grihe thako vane thako sada hari bole dako” That means, grihe thako means be a grihastha ashram, bane thako means be a vairagi, bahmachari, vanaprasthan or sanyas but you… everyone should chant Hare Krishna.

Then Hanuman came out of the lake. Then he saw that the sadhu was now dressed as a soldier of Ravana, he was a rakshasha and tried to cheat Hanuman, but Hanuman said, “I don’t care for you Ravan, for me you are like a dog.”

Then he went to get the herb, sanjivani herb. There was a whole mountain of herbs. So which one? Couldn’t tell. What if he made a wrong mistake with the wrong one? So he took the whole mountain. There is a saying in Bengali, “boro boro Bandar boro boro pet, lanka laphite matha koro hate, big big monkey big big belly, jumping lanka melancholy.” (laughter)

And lazza, so Hanuman he carried the whole mountain. Maybe that’s why there is was valley here in Katmandu (laughter) Who knows. 

When NItai was a child he would play these drams, Krishna lila, visnu avatar lika, Ram Lila. So he was playing Laxmina and he was unconscious because the boy playing Indrajit shot him with a arrow. Just then his mother Lunch, said, “It’s time for lunch, come for prasadam.”, but Nitai didn’t get up because he was hit by the arrow of Indrajit, he was playing Laxman. Mother saw, no breathing, no son alive. Called Nitai’s father Harai Ozha and he came, he was, “OH no! what happened, call doctor, call doctor, doctor, doctor! Call Senapati s Prabhupada das Thakur” 

Then the doctor said, “I don’t know!”

Then Harai Ozha asked the boys, “What were you doing before he fell unconscious?”

“We were playing Ram Lila and he was playing Laxman and he was hit by the arrow of Indrajit.”

“what …34.50-34.53… next?”

Then they didn’t remember that they didn’t told him that, “If I go unconscious you will lament but know that as soon as Hanuman bings the healing herb- sanjivani herb, I will come conscious”

Then father said, “Ok, Hanuman”, where is Hanuman, “go quick , bring some herb.” 

He came back, “Ok here is the herb.” 

 …33.42-33.46… Ram has to …… out the sanjivani, ….. nose, quick………Nitai came up. 

Hari bol

Hari bol (everyone)

How these boys do this lila so exactly? 

Nitai He said, “These are my pastimes, I know …..”

They thought, “he is just a child” …36.50-52…

Little did he know that Nitai is Balaram. Like this Ram, Laxman and the monkeys, they defeated Ravan. Impossible odds but Krishna, he was asked by the mother earth to reduce the military weight on earth, the burden. 

So Krishna without lifting a weapon just acting as Partha Sarathi, chariot driver of Arjuna. Arjuna and Pandavas had seven ashauwiini sena. Duryodhana had eleven akshauwini, grandfather Bhisma as the general, Dronacharyas as the guru of Arjuna and the Pandavas and hundred brothers all maharathis. He was sure he will be victorious. 

Yudhisthir came, bowed down to Bhisma and he said, “let us …39.15-39.18…blessings at the fight.” Bhisma said, “If you hadn’t done this I would have definitely defeated you.”, and Arjuna asked him, “How do we defeat you?”, and he was such a sadhu he told him one week point, “I won’t fight against any woman or anyone who has a man with a womans name.” That’s how Arjuna put Shikdadi before him. Sikandi is normally a ladies name and she was a lady who wanted to marry Bhisma but he had taken a vow that he wouldn’t marry. So he turned it down. So somehow she became a man and she was very angry with Bhisma and as a man he shot him and Arjuna shot him, Bhisma he wouldn’t fight against him. 

Any way there are so many in Kuruksetra war, it also shows how Krishna he has such a dramatic sense. Just by material calculations it was impossible for the Pandavas to win but they won. Similarly Lord Caitanya predicted, “every town and village of the world everyone will be chanting His holy name.”…. Haribol (everyone), that may impossible. 

Even that anyone from America, Europe, Australia, China, Russia, Africa, that they would all chant Hare Krishna, anyone would chant, anyone, that is something inconceivable but now thousands and millions of people are chanting. 

So in the Brahma Baivarta Puran it is predicted, Krishna said in Dwaraka that he would send someone after 5000 years, from the beginning of Kaliyuga and he would spread the holy name in Krishna consciousness all over the world. In the Caitanya Mangal, the Lord Caitaya in Golok Vrindavan, he said he will go and preach in the continent of India, but if there is any people who have escaped his mercy, after 500 years he would send a senapati bhakti, he will come and spread the holy name and bhakti yoga all over the world.

Bhakti Vinod said, in 1800, that someone will come very soon, easily go from one continent, easily. At 1800 there was no airplanes, no telephones, the way of travel was by boat, sail boat of some steam boats. It was not easy to go from one continent to another. So someone will easily go and that they will help those people in France, Germany, England, America chanting, it seem like mythology. How can it be?

Then when Prabhupada, his guru Om Visnupada Bhaktisiddhantha Saraswati Prabhupada Thakur, he told at one Nabadwip parikrama in the early 1900’s, he said that soon one of my disciples will go to West, and they will bring devotees from the Wes. 

Prussia, when Germany and Russia were together, France, England and America, they will come and participate in the Nabadwip Parikrama, I will not see that in my life but it will happen, it will happen. (Haribol) (everyone).

Since about 10-15 years now, he had mass …49.45… of the Indian in the… now we have 10,000 people from various countries, from various parts. 

So Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur, he not only told Prabhupada in a letter that you preach in the West. If you please Lord Caitanya, you get special blessings. “Everyone who helps you will also get the mercy.” 

Who want’s to help Prabhuapada?

Hari bol

Hari bol (everyone)

Hari bol

Hari bol (everyone)

Hari bol

Hari bol (everyone)

So I was thinking that Balarama, who was the source of all the avatars, he came down to assist Lord Caitanya. He came as Lord Nityananda but he always see himself as a servitor Krishna. Although he is Bhagavan, he is Bhagavan in a serving mood. 

In Jagannath lila, he is Jagannath and Baladev. Jagannath is Krishna and Baladev, Balaram. So think if Narasimhadev came to your door will you be very afraid?

Nityananda, he was going door to door, knocking on each door, humbly begging to people, “You please chant Hare Krishna and live a holy life.”

What mercy! Bhagavan himself going door to door beginning. What we did to have the Lord to chant. The Lord himself is coming door to door, what mercy, what mercy! Parama karuna pahu dui jana Nitai Gaura Chandra., sava avatar sara siromai kevala ananda kanda.” Amongst all the avatars they are considered the crown jewel, that they are begging everybody to take up the holy name. Their process is simply blissful- singing, dancing, hearing nice stories of the pastimes of the Lord and feasting. 

So today is our weekly feast, I don’t want to delay you. Just please chant Hare Krishna. 

I talked to one person. I said, “Oh, what preaching are you doing?” He said, “I am a grishtha, I don’t preach.”

“What do you do?”

“I distribute books.” (laughter)

“That’s preaching.”

I told last time. One lady came to me. She said, “Gurudev, please forgive me.”

“I haven’t made many devotees this year.”

I said, “How many did you make?”

“Only 76.” (laughter)

I said, “What was your goal?”

“108” (laugther)

So everyone whether a man or a woman, follow the instructions of Lord Caitanya, “jare dekho tare kaho Krishna upadasa”, tell the instructions of Lord Krishna from Gita, By chanting the Hare Krishna there is no limit to the spiritual bliss.  

Rupa Goswami said, “In the two syllables Krishna and Ram there is unlimited spiritual happiness.”, and there is song that is sung in the adhivas or some big festival, two lines are, “anander sima nai, ananda sima nai, ananda sima nai, there is no limit, no boundary to the spiritual bliss by this bhakti yoga, the other line is Nirananda Dura Jai, Nirananda Dura Jai, Nirananda Dura Jai, unhappiness goes far away. So hope you all have the unlimited spiritual happiness and all the sadness in your life will go away.

This material world, we are in bhumandal. Sometimes material happiness, sometimes material sadness but by chanting, the happiness we get from serving Krishna is unlimited but the sadness goes far away.

Since my stroke I have physical challenges. If I stop to think about it I would be unhappy but since I don’t stop to think about it, I just try to spread the holy name I don’t feel unhappy, I feel happy. 

Hari Bol

Hari Bol (everyone)

Hare Krishna.