20181101 Evening Darśana Question and Answer Session

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

So, the Dāmodara-vrata is still going on. And many devotees are participating in involving new people in worshipping Dāmodara. I heard that in one city there was a stadium, which was rented for Dāmodara-pūjā and they had various ceremonies programs that started at 4.30 in the afternoon and went till the night. Because the Government didn’t want the people to use flames in the stadium, because there was risk of fire. So, they each had a flashlight or torch which had an imitation flame at the end. And thousands of devotees were offering their flashlights light-flames to Dāmodara. That was very interesting. Prabhupāda was saying that utility is the principle. We can always give the excuse that we cannot offer light to Dāmodara because the Government doesn’t allow. But here the devotees, they used the modern technology to offer a lamp to Dāmodara and also follow the Government’s restrictions on flames. So, like that we can think how to reach every town and village in the world to get people involved in serving Lord Dāmodara. 

We believe that there is only one God, but He has unlimited forms, unlimited pastimes. So, whom different religions are worshipping as God, we are worshipping as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And how Kṛṣṇa manifests His unlimited abilities is displayed by His pastimes. He knows every language. Even He can speak the language of the animals and other entities. Someone once asked me, “Does Kṛṣṇa know Tamil?” I said, “Sure! He knows every language.” “Ah, Kṛṣṇa knows Tamil! Haribol!” Not only Tamil, Russian, German, every language. So, we have this wonderful Lord and He reciprocates with His devotees. 

In each of His avatāras He has a particular personality, nature. So śāstra tells us that we should approach the Lord according to His nature. When the Lord comes as Narasiṁhadeva, He wants to protect His devotees and He is very angry. When He comes as Paraśurāma, He cannot tolerate the insolence of the kṣatriyas and He destroyed them repeatedly. Like this every avatāra has a nature. When Kṛṣṇa came, He came as the Original Personality. When He came as Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He displayed unlimited mercy. So, He would mingle with the devotees. So, the Lord as Lord Caitanya was most accessible and so it is a great benediction to have His association. 

In His earlier pastimes people never realized who He was. They just thought He was an exceptional boy, a great paṇḍita. When people were listening to the class of Advaita Gosāñi, when He [Advaita] made an illuminating point they said, “Haribol! Haribol!” And Lord Caitanya as a child, He came running in and He also said, “What did you want?” He said, “Didn’t you call Me?” “No!” “Okay!” Then He went running out. Actually, people couldn’t realize that He is Hari. 

So, He was walking on the side of the Ganges and the Ganges was trying to keep touch His lotus feet. So, she would rise up a little touch His lotus feet, then He would come to the shore, then she comes down. There was a brāhmaṇa saying his Gāyatrī in the water and he saw the water go up and down, up and down and he was wondering what is happening. Then he saw that there was this golden colored boy. And the Ganges personified, she came out and offered her obeisances to Lord Caitanya. And the brāhmaṇa saw this while he was chanting his Gāyatrī mantra. So, he came running out and saw the object of his worship mother Ganges offering her obeisances to Lord Caitanya. And then she went back into the water and merged. So, the brāhmaṇa asked Lord Caitanya, “Who are you? The Ganges would be only offering You respect if You were Lord Viṣṇu.” So then Lord Caitanya revealed to the brāhmaṇa who He was. But He told the brāhmaṇa, “You don’t tell anyone as long as I am in this planet who I am. Otherwise, I have to remove you from this planet. You can stay and watch My pastimes, but you cannot tell anyone who I am.” So, such was the nature of Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. So, He was having His different pastimes with different devotees. 

One day He had an argument with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, who is the reincarnation of Satyabhāmā. So, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, He stayed by the Ganges whole day and he was still crying. And he stayed the whole night. So, Lord Caitanya with Gadādhara Prabhu, He came out looking, “Jagadānanda! Jagadānanda!” And then He spotted Jagadānanda by the side of the Ganges. And Jagadānanda saying that, He was the Lord, “Why You are coming in the middle of the night? There are some hard stones on the Ganges side, Your tender feet may get injured.” Lord Caitanya said, “Because you are not sleeping, I also could not sleep. Please come home with Me.” So Jagadānanda, he took the help from Gadadhara and rose up and accompanied by two of them back to the house of Jagannātha Miśra and Śacīmātā. Lord Caitanya told him that, “Sometimes that we are friends sometimes we have disagreements, we have arguments. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree. But no doubt when we disagree at the end our love for each other increases.” So, then they reached the house of mother Śacī and Lord Caitanya, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita entered in and they had some puffies to Jagadānanda. And then Jagannātha Miśra gave rice soaked in sweet milk to eat for Jagadānanda Paṇḍita. So, he ate that and then he went to sleep. And then before sunrise Jagannātha Miśra woke them up and said, “Now you have to get ready! You have to go to school.” So, like this, Lord Caitanya had so many pastimes with His associates. This is such a great opportunity, you will get to associate with the Lord in such an intimate and close way. 

Every year we go to the Suvarṇa Sena āśrama, the place that was discovered by Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. We heard how the King Suvarṇa Sena on the instruction of Nārada muni began to chant the name of Gaurāṅga. GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! So, he was chanting every day and one day the Lord appeared to him. He was overwhelmed by the Lord’s presence, His mercy, His beauty, and he paid his obeisances. But when he got up the Lord was gone. He tried to invoke the Lord again by chanting His holy names. GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA, GAURĀṄGA!!! But the Lord, He did not reappear, but He spoke to him that you will come and be one of My associates in Kali-yuga when I manifest My pastimes. You will be known as Buddhimanta Khān and you will arrange for My marriage and many other pastimes. 

So, we were reading how in the marriage of Viṣṇupriyā Buddhimanta Khān said that, he would cover all the expenses. But Sañjaya Mukunda and others said, “What about us? We want to also like to arrange.” He said, “I am not going to arrange a simple brahminical marriage, His marriage will be like a prince.” So, he arranged a procession that went through Navadvīpa town. In the beginning were tax collectors [22:37] as he was chief tax collector and there were guards who armed with rifles, then there were, I forget the order but there were brāhmaṇas chanting mantra, there were clowns, kids who were dancing like crazy, bands and music. Inconceivable this procession went for a kilometre, and the people were overwhelmed to see how Nimāi Pandit was getting married. So how all these different pastimes are connected are also adhbhut, wonderful. Lord Caitanya had also predicted that His name would be chanted in every town and village throughout the planet. So His pastimes are still going on. Prabhupad opened a new chapter and he asked us to finish the work he had begun. He said he has made the structure of the buildings but we had to finish the walls and furnishings. So Prabhupad has given us this connection with Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is the best, the crown jewel of all the avatars. He gave out love of Kṛṣṇa to everyone with considering whether someone is qualified or not and he empowered Lord Nityānanda to continue in the areas where He left. So all glories to Lord Caitanya and all glories to Lord Nityānanda. Haribol! Are there any questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa gurudev. Pamho, Satyabhāmā Sādhvī devī dāsī from Ajmer.  What is the significance of the order of the numbers 4,2,3,7 we offer lamps to Lord Damodar while offering lamps in the deep daan?

Guru maharaj: Really? There are different traditions. Sometimes you offer seven times around, sometimes you meditate on the different parts of the Lord. I don’t know where your reference comes from. If you know the shaastra where it comes from then it should tell you what the significance is.   Some people meditate on the lotus feet, the waist, the neck, the head but some people offer seven times going from the feet to the head and then back to the feet because Prabhupad said that everything done in a circle is perfect. The details are not very important. If one offers a lamp to the Lord seven times round that is the important aspect. If you divide the seven parts to the different parts of the body, those are the details, I don’t think they are important. You can see where it is recommended, who recommends it. Hare Kṛṣṇa!