20200103 50th Sannyāsa Anniversay Festival Day 1

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 3, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpāṁ tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī-caitanya-īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: So today we are observing the adhivāsa for the kīrtana-yajña and the ceremonies which are going to follow. Adhivāsa means that we get ourselves ready to be absorbed in the ceremony. The ceremony is the Kīrtana-melā and various other programs. So kīrtana was done by Lord Caitanya and this was described by Vāsudeva Ghoṣa in his kīrtana. He described how he did the adhivāsa, the day before and especially on the adhivāsa he recounted how Advaita Gosāi, He worshipped the śālagrāma-śilā with Gaṅgā water and tulasī mañjarīs. He chanted loudly the holy names. He prayed for Lord Kṛṣṇa to come down and give out His mercy of love for Godhead to the fallen souls. Advaita Gosāi, as the avatāra of Mahā-Viṣṇu, He could give liberation. He is very powerful. But to give love of Kṛṣṇa, only Kṛṣṇa can do that. Normally Kṛṣṇa Himself, He gives to those who surrender to Him, but Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa’s most merciful avatāra. He gave out His mercy without considering who was qualified and who was unqualified. He gave His mercy out freely and there are different things.

Like the disappearance day, Govinda Dvādaśī, of Mādhavendra Purī, Lord Caitanya was at the house of Advaita Gosāi in Śāntipura, and He had made a big festival for the disappearance of His spiritual master. The description is amazing! He created such a feast that did not count in kilos or pounds, they counted in godowns! He had so many godowns of food, godowns of yogurt, godowns of sweetmeats, godowns of banana leaves and so on. Lord Caitanya said that this is not possible for any human being to make such an elaborate arrangement for a feast. And all the devotees, some were doing Bhāgavatam class, some were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, some were cooking like, Śacīmātā, Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī, everyone was engaged. Some were bathing the feet of the visitors, some were giving out garlands and sandalwood pulp. The mood of service was so, so, prominent that Lord Caitanya said, whoever takes prasāda here on this tithi, they will get Govinda-prema-bhakti.

So Santi Sakha Goswami the previous sevaite, he told me, where else did Lord Caitanya say that we could get kṛṣṇa-bhakti, govinda-bhakti, by eating! So please, ISKCON should take over this festival and he showed me some letters that Śrīla Prabhupāda had written to him, that if he was able to obtain land in Māyāpura, he would make his world Head Quarters in Śāntipura. So that is another secret. Lord Caitanya said, that if someone chants the name of Lord Nityānanda, they purchase Him and He gives them love for Kṛṣṇa! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA! NITYĀNANDA, GAURĀṄGA! NITYĀNANDA! GAURĀṄGA! NITYĀNANDA!

Who needs repetition? If you need repetition, no problem. Raise your hand if you need repetition. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda took me a couple of times to Pānihāṭi-dhāma, north of Calcutta, between Calcutta and Māyāpur. There the original banyan tree is that Lord Nityānanda sat under, is still there. And Śrīla Prabhupāda he said, if possible, we should build a temple on stilts so that people can still go to the banyan tree. On the second floor we have a Gaura-Nitāi temple. He said we should have boat ride from Calcutta to Māyāpur and stop on the way in Pānihāṭi and give people a Pānihāṭi breakfast of chipped rice, yogurt and fruits! He had many plans for Pānihāṭi.

In the Caitanya-bhāgavata it says that Lord Caitanya resides in five places eternally. One of those places is Pānihāṭi-dhāma. So Śrīla Prabhupāda gave this place the name New Pānihāṭi. So New Pānihāṭi-dhāma, this place has a very significant cultural heritage.

Now, in the adhivāsa-kīrtana there are two lines I like very much. It is at the end of the kīrtana, I don’t know if they sing it here. I taught devotees in South America. I said it has got three words, and the first word is ānanda. Everybody knows ānanda, it is a very common word, means bliss, ecstasy, happiness. Sīmā, sīmā not everybody knows. Sīmā means limit, frontier border like Atlanta has a big airport, I think the biggest in the USA now. They have a border, but chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, there is no border, of the bliss, no limit to the bliss. Ānandera sīmā nāi, nāi means no. Ānandera sīmā nāi! Ānandera sīmā nāi! You speak good Bengali? No limit to the bliss of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! Ānandera sīmā nāi. Ānandera sīmā nāi! Ānander sīmā nāi! Ānander sīmāi nāi! Ānander sīmā nāi! Ānander sīmā nāi! Ānander sīmā nāi!

There is one other line. Nirānanda dūre jāy. Nirānanda is opposite of ānanda. Opposite of happiness is unhappiness. It goes dūre – far away. Dūre jāy – Goes far away! Anyone want to be unhappy, don’t be here! Only if you want to be happy, be here! There will be unlimited happiness, unhappiness will go far away! That is what the Harināma-kīrtana does! Nirānanda dūre jāy! Nirānanda dūre jāy! Nirānanda dūre jāy! Ānandera sīmā nāi! Ānandera sīmā nāi! Ānandera sīmā nāi! Nirānanda dūre jāya! Nirānanda dūre jāya!

You are very good! I was teaching some English to the South Americans! They speak Spanish. So I taught them some English. We wear a tie on our neck. What if we tie it on our knee? It would become “knee-tie” “Ni-tāi” Ni-tāi, that way I taught them some English!! And then my knee, my-knee, my-knee, Nimāi! Nimāi! Nimāi! Comes out like Nimāi! Like that I gave some English lessons! My-knee! Nimāi, Nimāi, Nimāi, Nimāi!

One doctor, he taught, he is a neurologist and he said that chanting the holy name of Gaurāṅga helps to cure patients from addiction. So that is what he said that if you chant Go-run-go, Gaurāṅgo, Gaurāṅgo, Gaurāṅgo. Go-run-go! Gaurāṅgo! So in this way you can kick your addiction, if you are addicted to cigarettes or anything. But of course, you get addicted to chanting! Nitāi Gauuuurāṅga! Because there is no limit to the bliss. Ānander sīmā nāi.

So Vāsudeva Ghoṣa, he was explaining the kīrtana done by Lord Caitanya, they would do it from sunrise to sunrise. We cannot do that here because our neighbors would object if 2am in the morning or 3am in the morning we did kīrtana. I think they do it here 10am to 10pm I don’t know the exact time. But we have to end at a certain time. But there, they would do kīrtana all night until the next morning. And then they would take the Deity of Nitāi-Gaura around the village, and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Take the Deity around and they would come back and they would throw a yogurt pot, they would call this, dadhi-bhaṅgana – breaking the yogurt pot. They would break it and spill the yogurt on each other. Then they would go back. So that would be the system. They would chant nonstop.

Now they have 24-hour kīrtana, 48 hours, 72 hours and it is a tradition called nāma-yajña. So we will not get so much time. But we will chant morning to night at least, about 12 hours and in this way by chanting the holy names we create a vibration which purifies the atmosphere, purifies the neighborhood, purifies the country, purifies the world and purifies our heart. So I am very happy to be here when you are having this kīrtana-yajña. I heard that Dallas and Alachua – in Alachua I went to one kīrtana-yajña. And I see that in various parts of the world and USA there have been Kīrtana-melās. So this is very auspicious, and I am happy to be here for this Kīrtana-melā.

In the various śāstras, it says in the Age of Kali, the special sacrifice that we can perform is Harināma-saṅkīrtana.

golokera prema-dhana, harināma-saṅkīrtana!
golokera prema-dhana, harināma-saṅkīrtana!

So from Goloka Vṛndāvana in the spiritual world comes this mahā-mantra.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

And by chanting this mantra we can taste the love of Kṛṣṇa. People talk of love in this world. But actually, how to awaken love? That miracle happens by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! So, this chanting is not material. It is something transcendental – cinmaya. It is spiritual and by chanting, by hearing, by participating in this chanting, we get special blessings of Lord Caitanya. We get purified.

So, this is a very auspicious thing that we are having these nāma-yajñas, nāma sacrifices, Kīrtana-melās, in different parts of the country. And this is purifying the world. So are there any questions? Any questions?

Question: Can you explain the pastime of your going to Pānihāṭi and distributing prasāda there?

Jayapatākā Swami: Can I share my experience? Yes I can! Next question? They told me I have 15 pastimes. To share my pastime, it will take more than 15 minutes! Then I will share that at the Pānihāṭi festival. Hopefully this year I will be able to attend!

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja. Can you explain about building a two-storey building in Pānihāṭi, I did not understand why?

Jayapatākā Swami: So that the people could go to the banyan tree. We would have our temple elevate above so that people could freely go to the banyan tree and then they could come to our temple also. Is that clear? Why? Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to have a temple on columns that would raise it above, ten feet above. So that people could have access to the banyan tree. At the same time, sanctify the place, have the temple there. To show that this is a very important, spiritual place, we have the temple.

Question: Is that banyan tree right on the bank of the Ganges?

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes, right on the Gaṅgā.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, In Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is mentioned that Caitanya-bhāgavata is the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So what is the necessity of reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya He gave three orders – bala-kṛṣṇa, bhaja kṛṣṇa, kara-kṛṣṇa-śikṣā. So, one has to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, one has to serve Kṛṣṇa and third is read the teachings of Kṛṣṇa. So Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is spoken about Kṛṣṇa. So devotees of Lord Caitanya are simultaneously caitanya-bhaktas and kṛṣṇa-bhaktas and they get position in kṛṣṇa-līlā and caitanya-līlā at the same time. So it is important for us to also read and study the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam because of all the Purāṇas, of all the Vedas, that is the essence. And that is why. But Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that the pastimes of Lord Caitanya is very esoteric understanding of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. So Bhakti-vedānta degree, and the Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, the Bhakti-vedānta is the last six cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So that is very essential. Beyond that Bhakti-Sārvabhauma is caitanya-līlās, caitanya-śikṣā and understanding the different paths of bhakti. So caitanya-līlā has got some special meaning. So we want to read both the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. I am trying to combine the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, in all the different books that tell about Lord Caitanya’s pastimes, and we got up to about or we just started the saṅkīrtana movement and He delivered Jagāi and Mādhāi. But the Caitanya-caritāmṛta goes deeply into the philosophy and Caitanya-bhāgavata tells us about His early life. Caitanya-caritāmṛta tells us about His later life and Caitanya-maṅgala here and there, Prema-vivarta, here and there. We are trying to combine all the different books to help the devotees have a more complete understanding of the caitanya-līlā. We should definitely read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I require that people read at least up to the third canto to get second initiation. Actually, we should try to read the entire twelve cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam several times. To get first initiation from Śrīla Prabhupāda, I had to, Śrīla Prabhupāda required that I read Bhagavad-gītā ten times. I still have the Bhagavad-gītā with one, two three, four, five (cross). One, two, three, four, five (cross). After I read ten times, I came for initiation. But here people want initiation, they don’t even read the Gītā one time and they say, please, I did not have time the past twelve years, but now I will read it! I promise. Give me initiation. Lord Caitanya told us to study the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Gītā is one teaching, Bhāgavatam is another. So everyone should study Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and then about Caitanya Mahāprabhu, you want to read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and other books of Lord Caitanya. Any more questions?

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Question: Is it good to have a greed is saying, yes I follow Kṛṣṇa consciousness in front of non-devotee or who does not follow Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Jayapatākā Swami: Greed? What does greed have to do with it?

Devotee: Because sometimes they kid us that you follow Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you are from ISKCON, you do not go to restaurants.

Jayapatākā Swami: Pride you mean. Yes, I follow bhakti-yoga, I follow Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You can say. Some immigration official asked me, “Are you still existing? You are still around?” I used to see you doing kīrtana in the streets. I don’t see you anymore. Are you still existing?” Apparently in that city, they don’t do much Harināma. So people actually, they appreciate it.

One girl, she saw the devotees chanting. She was living with her parents, and they said straight away, no, don’t go there. But then later she became a devotee and she could never forget her whole life this chanting, how happy the people looked.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, please accept my respectful obeisances.

Jayapatākā Swami: Accepted.

Devotee: What devotional services we can perform to attract Lord Nityānanda’s mercy? Apart from preaching maybe!

Jayapatākā Swami: Very important. You have answered your own question! We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa then naturally Lord Nityānanda, He is very pleased with us. Actually, Nityānanda He has such a mercy that Jagāi and Mādhāi – what did they do to get His mercy? They were doing nonsense, they were drunkards, they were criminals, He still gave them mercy. They hit Him on the head, caused Him to bleed! He said, “Just because you caused Me to bleed, does that mean I will not give you love of Godhead?!” How can you avoid the mercy of Lord Nityānanda?! You must be trying very hard to avoid His mercy! He is really giving His mercy! We should simply beg. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura prayed,

hā hā prabhu nityānanda, premānanda sukhī
kṛpā kara kāṇa kara āmi baḍa duḥkhī

Lord Nityānanda giving His mercy is always blissful. I am very sad because I don’t have Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Please have Your mercy on me! Nitāi Gaura! Nitāi Gaura! Nitāi Gaura! So if you can do something to help spread the Caitanya movement, certainly Lord Nityānanda will be pleased. But His mercy is very freely given. We should beg for it, we should do whatever we can to serve Him. Hare Kṛṣṇa!