20181024 Evening Talk

Nama Om…

Mukham karoti…

So today for the Purnima observers it is the first day of Damodar. Today we can offer lamps to Radha Madhav if we have not already done so. Offering a lamp in this month of Damodar brings unlimited good fortune. So the GBC midterm was completed before the Damodar month, so the devotees who want to do the Vraja Mandal parikrama can do so. There is no conflict with the GBC meeting. The first four days of the Navadvip parikrama there is some conflict with the annual GBC meetings, we are trying to work that out. So I was supposed to go to the hospital today, I suggested to the doctor that he interview me by skype, I did not hear the reply but I did not go because we were supposed to be there before noon and it was not possible as now they have moved to the far extreme of the city on the other side. People are trying to enjoy their senses but the senses are not only a source of enjoyment, they are also the source of suffering and pain. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna describes this material world as dukhaalayam ashaashvatam, a place of suffering and temporariness. So we all are hankering for the eternal life. We want to be happy and we want to have more and more devotees. So this is possible by developing our spiritual consciousness using bhakti yoga. I was thinking that in the TOVP one of the exhibits, we could have sparks coming from the Brahman or coming from Krishna. So those sparks are individual living forces or jivas. At first they are surrounded by ahankara or false ego, that gives the first coating on their body. Then comes intelligence and the mind. These are the three subtle elements and then covered by our gross elements, one is a man, one is a woman. So the elements are ether, air, fire, water and earth. These are also the layers of existence in which the universe is kept. The individual soul thinks that he is a combination of the material elements. Many people say we only live once but Bhagavad Gita tells us how the soul never dies. We take birth, we die, then we go to the next body with our subtle body and take birth again and life after life like this it goes on and on. The happiness in the material world is very small, very meagre and the happiness in the spiritual unlimited state is unlimited. There is a song for the adhivaas of Bengali kirtans, there are two stanzas. Anander seema noi (2). That there is no limit to the happiness one experiences by chanting Hare Krishna, serving Krishna, dancing for Krishna. The second stanza is about the distancing of the suffering in the material world. Nirananda dure jai (2) That suffering goes far away. So it is very common in India that people say that I am suffering in the samsara so much. The wife thinks that oh I am helping my husband to build his samsara, building this material world. But ultimately husband and wife are suffering. So in the Vedas Narayana tells us that He is very pleased if someone takes to the grihastha ashram. Bhakti Vinod Thakur says talking to your wife, touching her is all auspicious if it increases your sadhana bhakti. So we want everyone to increase their devotional service while they are performing their ashrama duties and grihasthas have many subsidiary duties like caring for the in laws, like feeding the guests, raising children and also spreading Krishna consciousness and engaging in devotional service, chanting japa, offering the food to Krishna, making offering to your house deities. So we can promote these things in this month of Damodar and in this way we can become closer and closer to Krishna’s lotus feet. 

So we always say that we would like to keep some time for questions and answers but I usually talk too long. So today if there are any questions I will take.

Question: Hare Krishna guru maharaj, please accept our humble obeisances. How should we engage in service whether it is according to our capacity and nature or just accept any service that comes to us as mercy of the Lord. Because many times we may not be the best in things which we are not qualified. So how should we decide? Raasapriya Gopika dd, Sri Mayapur.

Guru maharaj: If you think that in any area you have a doubt you should ask how to execute, of course they have made some new corporations as well. So sometimes Prabhupad would give us a tip on how to execute a particular service. Prabhupad was saying that His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami’s bus party was creating such a disturbance in the USA. So then Tamal Krishna Maharaj exclaimed, what should I do? Go to China or something? Prabhupad replied, Krishna has spoken through you. Yes, you should go to China. China was the last place on earth he was considering going! But he got that order to go to China. So he surrendered and he went. And now we have so many devotees there. So sometimes opportunities come in strange ways.

Question: Hare Krishna guru maharaj when a devotee sees dreams of material enjoyment even after leaving material exchanges, how should we understand this? Bhakta Piyush Sehgal, JPS sheltered Vrndavan.

Guru maharaj: Well it could be a test. I remember after I had left everything I was sleeping in the Montreal temple, and in a dream there was table in the restaurant and across was a friend and two girls. I was looking around and I thought I don’t want this. I stood up and started screaming GOVINDA GOVINDA and I woke up everyone in the ashram, they came running, what is wrong? What is wrong? So taking shelter of the holy name worked for me. I never had such dreams again.

Question: All glories to Guru maharaj, I have a question that how can we maintain consistency in bhakti since there are days when we are in full devotional service to the Lord and also days when even japa is not completed. Dr. Hemangi Garg, JPS sheltered, Delhi

Guru maharaj: This is called in the ladder of bhakti as anartha nivritti that some days we are very enthusiastic and some days we are very down. So this happens in the beginning stages of bhakti. It is about the third step up. On one hand you can say you are gaining strength, you are advancing but you want to preserve and keep on chanting despite a lack of enthusiasm.  So then you can cross over this anartha nivritti stage and reach the nishtha stage where you are fixed up. So this anartha nivritti could be due to some material attachment. Like someone is attached to getting appreciation and there is sometimes they don’t get it and then they feel depressed. In the third verse of the Shikshashtam it says one should be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. So Prabhupad explained how one steps on the grass and when they walk off how the grass stands up again. How the tree stands in the cold, rain, snow, heat, how you cut a piece of twig and use it brush your teeth. Prabhupad would use a neem twig to brush his teeth. I was thinking today Ravana had 10 heads so how did he brush his teeth? Ha! Ha! So like this when one gets off the mental platform, they become fixed up in devotional service. So that is why if you miss some rounds in japa you make it up in subsequent days. This way you stay determined and you keep moving forward. Hare Krishna!

Question: How and why are the nine processes of devotional service connected with the nine islands of Navadvip? Your servant Punya Sri Balai dd, Mayapur.

Guru maharaj: Radharani made the Navadvip dham and She connected each island with a process of devotional service. That highlights to us the importance of practices of devotional service. As we do the Navadvip parikrama we remember the different practices and as far as possible we execute them. Like in Simantadwip we hear the Srimad Bhagavatam. I Godrumdwip we chant Hare Krishna. There, there is a place called Hari Hara Kshetra. Lord Hari and Lord Hara, Shiva are worshipped together. So it says that when people die in that place Lord Shiva comes and shouts in the ear of the devotee GAURANGA. So then they go back to Krishnaloka. Some villagers live there and so in due course of time they leave their body and Lord Shiva helps them by chanting Gauranga in their ear. There is a story that says that how Lord Shiva was embarrassed that how He was defeated by Mohini murti and so He sat down there and began chanting meditating, why did this happen? Lord Vishnu came and said there is nothing to be sad about because after all you are not different from me. So Me defeating You doesn’t really matter. Lord Shiva was chanting His japa on rudraksha with Parvati and Lord Vishnu was there with Lakshmi. The deity is still visible. 

Question: Hare Krishna guru maharaj, please tell us how to deal with negative people around which sometimes tend to cause distractions from practicing bhakti yoga? Your servant, Mandira from Canada.

Guru maharaj:  The negative people, it is really their problem. WE have Krishna, and we have our positive beliefs. As far as negative, it is their problem. The best things is if you are strong enough convince them not to be negative, and if you are not strong enough then ignore them. Even in higher levels, even in GBC there were some devotees who were negative and in due course they get straightened out. So we have to stay fixed up and not be affected by these negative people. Haribol!