20191012 Question and Answer Session

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Tomorrow starts the Dāmodara month for those who observe the Pūrṇimā start. So in the month of Dāmodara, we naturally get minimum 100 times the benefit for every service to Kṛṣṇa. So we should think how we can offer maximum service to Kṛṣṇa and in the month of Dāmodara, especially, it is said that we should offer lamps to Lord Dāmodara. And we want the devotees to get the contacts of the new people who are offering lamps. So that later we can follow them up and engage them in Kṛṣṇa conscious activities. So tonight, we had a meeting with the local South Indian GBC members. So it is a bit late now. So I will just have some questions and answers for 15 minutes. Anyone has a question, you can send it either on Facebook chat or if you are here, you can ask me.

Question: How to control envious nature of other devotees?

Jayapatākā Swami: Envious means you harm others for doing better than you. Everything can be dovetailed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Anger, lust, greed, the only thing that cannot be dovetailed is the enviousness. So we should completely give up enviousness. We don’t want to be envious against Kṛṣṇa or any of His devotees. We want to be completely respectful and submissive to Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Haribol!

Question: As Dāmodara month is approaching, from authorities’ side we are encouraged to go out and hold public programs but many of the times we don’t get permission to do so by the local authorities there, the society people or whoever. So can you give us some tips, how do we approach them and how do we get them to do some Dāmodara month outreach programs?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t understand, first you said you are encouraged to do such programs and then you say, (what society?), you are saying there are no other places to go? Sometimes in the mall, they let you set up a table, if you talk to the owner. Sometimes in the society, if you are invited by a family, then you can go and do a program in their house. Haribol!

Question: Dāmodara ārati, in the morning time, if we do it, is it okay? Or is there any difference in result if you do in the morning instead of evening?

Jayapatākā Swami: I never heard that there was a difference. In Māyāpur, we mainly have Dāmodara ārati in the evening. But here in Tirupati because all day long, people are visiting the temple, I think they should have a dīpa to be offered all day long. And similarly, in other temples in India, depending on when the people come, they can have such programs. There is no hard and fast rule that you offer at this time or that time, rather it says that offering to Viṣṇu brings in this result. It doesn’t say, particular time of the day. We usually chant, like in Māyāpur, after the sandhya-ārati, they chant the special prayer to Lord Dāmodara. They turn off the lights and see all the lamps offered. Namāīśvaram sat-cit-ānanda rūpam… Very beautiful song! So chanting that is recommended. But even if people come during the day, they can offer lamp.

Question: How to control our mind during chanting time and also during daytime?

Jayapatākā Swami: That is an interesting question. What is the difference between daytime and when you chant? Must be when you chant it is not daytime? Well, if you get to chant out loud and hear the chanting, then you can bring your mind back to the chanting. You can watch either the Deities or the pictures of the Lord and then chant focusing your mind on the chanting. At other times, you should be doing service for the Lord. And even if you are doing ordinary work or studies, you think that this is for Kṛṣṇa. In this way, you can always keep your mind on Kṛṣṇa and never leave Him. Haribol!

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: How to get āsakti on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s book reading?

Jayapatākā Swami: By reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books! You naturally become attached to the subject matter. I was thinking how wonderful Prahlāda Mahārāja is. And how the Lord came to protect him and even though his father was trying to kill him, he could not harm Prahlāda. So in different pastimes of the Lord, His pure devotees are mentioned in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. And naturally, your attachment to the Lord increases more and more, as you see how much He is wonderful! His nature, His quality, everything is super wonderful!! In the material world we have to serve crazy bosses! And instead we can serve the Lord and be His eternal servitor. As such we have to serve, so why not serve the Lord? So that is the great gift of Caitanya Mahāprabhu – by practicing bhakti-yoga, we can serve the Lord! Haribol!

Question: What is the difference between jīvātmā and Paramātmā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Jīvātmā is the individual soul and the jīvātmā is aware of his body but not others’ bodies. But the Supersoul is present in everybody, with every jīvātmā. So He knows what is going on with everyone. He is the Lord and He has unlimited potencies and unlimited knowledge, and He is waiting for you to turn to Him and leave this attempt to enjoy the dull, separated material energy. Haribol!

So thank you all.