20200119 Sunday Feast Address

mukam karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim
yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam
paramananda madhavam sri caitanya isvaram

So I wish a Happy Pongal to all of you! Usually we have a Ratha-yatra at Pongal time, but this year we are postponing it, on the request of the Puri Mahantas and Maharaja. So we are very happy to see so many devotees here in the Sunday love feast. It is important that as human beings we understand the real purpose of life. The purpose of life is to be completely conscious of Lord Krsna. And to think always about Krsna, to hear His glories, to chant His Holy Names, to render service to Him, to offer our obeisances and prayers to Him, to offer our puja, to consider ourselves as His servants, and consider him as a friend, and to surrender everything unto Him.

When I was in America, I was told a joke by a nurse. The joke was as follows: A man asked the doctor, how long do I have to live? The doctor said, 9. 9 what? 9 years, 9 months, 9 days? The doctor said, 8,7,6,5,… Nālu (Guru Maharaja said 4 in Tamil). So, but actually it brought to home that the westernised people don’t know even if they have nine days or nine weeks, what to do with that time. Pariksit Maharaja had seven days, he was cursed by a brahmana boy to die. So he called all the great pandits and great sages and yogis present at the side of the Yamuna. So he said, I have seven days, what do you recommend I do to achieve perfection? The astanga-yogis, they thought, seven days, not enough! Hatha yoga, maybe one or two asanas, not enough! Jnana-yogis, not enough to study all the sastras and have jnana! So everyone failed, seven days, we cannot guarantee perfection! Then Sukadeva Gosvami came and the question was delivered to him, I have seven days, what can I do to achieve perfection? Seven days – a long time! I can give you perfection in one moment! By bhakti-yoga one can achieve perfection immediately. So Sankaracarya said, that to achieve moksa, you have to be a sannyasi. But Lord Caitanya said, whether you are a vairagi or a grhastha, you can achieve perfection through bhakti-yoga. I don’t think there are too many sannyasis here. Except Bhanu Maharaja and myself I think. Anyone else! But don’t worry, you are going to achieve perfection.

Lord Brahma, he is our original guru. We are in the Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya sampradāya. And Lord Brahma, he stole the calves and the cowherd boys from Krsna. He hid them in a cave and put them to sleep, and he left. But then after a while he thought, maybe He is the original Personality of Godhead. So let me go back and see. Then he went back, he saw Krsna had all the cowherd boys manifested with Him. Because what He did – He had expanded Himself into all the cowherd boys. Since He did not want to cause the parents of the cowherd boys any anxiety. Children are very dear to the parents. And if all the cowherd boys disappeared, their parents would be in great anxiety. So Krsna, He expanded Himself into each of the cowherd boys. So the parents could not realize that their original boys were stolen by Lord Brahma. But they had Krsna in a special affection and that they felt for their own children, because they were actually Krsna. So Lord Balarama figured out something was unusual. And Krsna explained to Him that Brahma had stolen the boys, so I expanded Myself into all the boys’ forms. Brahma came back, he was confused. I stole the boys, how are they here? No they are in the cave. Are they here or there? Here or there? He was bewildered. Mini-mini-pūchi – his mystic powers was like a mini-mini-pūchi compared to Krsna’s! (Mini-mini-pūchi – in Tamil is a very small glowing insect). So then you see Brahma, he became very humbled by Lord Krsna. So he heard that Krsna will appear in Kali-yuga as a devotee, as Gauranga. So he went to Navadvip dham, to see Lord Gauranga. And ask Him for blessing. So he began to chant the name of Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! Gauranga! The Lord Gauranga appeared to Lord Brahma. He was beautiful, golden color. His eyes were like lotus petals, little flowers, and reached back almost to His ears. His hands went down to His knees. Ajānulambita. And so He asked Lord Brahma, "Why have you called Me?" So Brahma said, "I am already in my dvitiya-pradha, second half of my life." Brahma lives hundred years. So a pradha is half, that means fifty years over. I heard this pastime before. Made me wonder what is the age of Lord Brahma? Since it is the second half of his life. 59 years? 70 years? 88? How old is Lord Brahma? We know that he is more than fifty! Who knows? The exact age of Lord Brahma? Don’t raise your hands all at once! Who knows? You are speculating. He is only thinking of the cricket game today. 

See, we are making the West Wing of the TOVP, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. I am the Chairman of the West Wing. So, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to present that all the Puranas are good science. They are not mythology, they are science, they are facts. So Lord Brahma, he comes out from the lotus, he comes out twice from the lotus. See all of us, we have a mother and father. But Lord Brahma, he only has a father. He was born on the lotus. From Garbodakasayi Visnu. So at the second half of his life, his age is 50 years old, and then he went back into the Garbodakasayi Visnu. And then he comes back on the lotus. Then he recreates the whole universe. Satya loka down, choddho bhuvana - 14 lokas. So the scientists called this, some called Big Bang, some called it a Big Rebound! Srila Prabhupada would always ask, they said Big Bang, who sets the Bang off? So Lord Brahma, he creates the universe, he is the one that sets the bang off. What day of Brahma is this? This day of Brahma is called the Padma kalpa. Because on this day of Brahma, he comes out on the lotus again. That means that he is 50 years and one day old! So exact is our Vedic science! Every day of Brahma is a 1000 catur yugas. And there are 14 Manus in each day of Brahma. 71 catur yugas are one Manu’s life. So we are presenting the science of the cosmology, as presented in the Vedas. We thank you for your help to build the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. We hope everybody keeps up with their pledges. Myself and my zone, my disciples, whatever they give to the TOVP, 50% goes to the West Wing. Anyway, so Lord Brahma, he asked Lord Caitanya, Gauranga, that I want to be freed from this tendency to commit offence. I want to have pure love for Krsna, Krsna Prema! I want to be Your associate. Please give me these boons! Lord Gauranga said, Thathasthaha! SO BE IT! You will be born in a non-Hindu family, that will teach you humility. And every day, you will chant 300,000 names of Krsna. That will awaken your dormant love for Krsna! And you will be My associate and you will be the Namacarya, and your name will be Haridas! Haribol! So Haridas is Brahma Haridas! Haribol! So, chanting 300,000 names, what he chants in one day, we chant in the whole year, or maybe what he chants in one month, we chant in the whole year! We chant 16 rounds a day, that is one crore a year. He would chant about one crore names every month! So we are very grateful for the devotees who chant 16 rounds a day! But even if you cannot chant 16 rounds, you could chant something, that will be good. 8 rounds a day is 5 million a year. 4 rounds a day is 2.5 million a year. And 2 rounds a day, is 1.25 million. 2 rounds, it only takes 15 minutes. Everybody should chant something every day! If you want to take initiation, then it is 16 rounds. It takes less than two hours. How many are chanting 16 rounds a day? You see, so many!! Nanri! (Thank you). We want you to go back home, back to Godhead! Human life is not meant to take birth, after birth, after birth. We want, human life – means we can go back! 

You see, we are in the seventh loka of the universe. There are six above us and seven below. In swarga loka they have very peaceful enjoyment. Sometimes they forget to worship Krsna, they are too happy! But here, we have always some problem! We also have some happiness! So we will get reminded that in our present state it is not so bad, that we cannot tolerate it. But in Patala loka there is so much suffering. No one can think of doing any service to Krsna! Aaaah! Aaaah! Ooooow! So what do you want? Patala-loka? Svarga-loka? Or go back home to Godhead? You are in a good place! People say, why so much trouble? If it is too nice, you want to stay here! But little problem is good. So please chant the holy names of Krsna, and before you chant Hare Krsna, chant the names of the Panca Tattva.

sri krsna-caitanya prabhu nityananda
sri advaita gadadhara srivas-adi gaura-bhakta-vrnda!

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna,
Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama,
Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

I had one family, the wife, the children, all were initiated. But the husband was against it. Then he was diagnosed with cancer. He was down in bed, fourth stage. The doctors said, no hope! So he was lying on the bed. Through the wall came two or three hairy people with fangs and leather ropes. He said, no, no, no, no, Not me! Not me! NO! NO NO! ILLAI ILLAI! They went away! He told his wife, I want neck beads, japa mala! I want to read the Gita, please give me! Our whole life we were preaching, but we couldn’t do what the Yamadutas did in two seconds! So he chanted Hare Krsna. But don’t let the Yamadutas come for you! Chant the holy names! Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare! Gauranga! Gauranga! Nitai Gauranga! Nitai Gauranga!  Haribol! Jaya Jagannatha Jaya Jaya Jagannatha Jaya Baladeva Jaya Subadra! Jaya Radha Krsna Radha Krsna Radhe! Jaya Prabhupada Jaya Prabhupada Prabhupada, Jaya Prabhupada! Nanri!! (Guru maharaj did ecstatic kirtan for almost five minutes!! It was wonderful!!) 

Devotees then too aspiring and shelter from Guru Maharaja.