20200205 Question and Answer Session

Lecture Code- 20200205

Lecture Type / occasion- Question & Answer Session

Place- Sridham Mayapur            

Date- 5th February 2020

Transcribed by- Jayaraseshwari DD

Transcribed on- 5th February 2020

1st Level Proofer- Bhavatarini Radhika DD              

1st Level Proofed on- 6th February 2020

Editorial Changes (non voice): Usha

Date: 5-Jan-2021

Status: Completed

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Source:

https://www.facebook.com/JayapatakaSwami/videos/553362521931943/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=e

Title:

20200205 Jayapatākā Swami Guru Maharaj, Question and Answer Session, Śrī Māyāpur Dham, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

paramānanda-mādhavam

Śrī Caitanya Īśvaram

Suswagatam!  The father and mother of Preethi have come to Mayapur dham for the first time!  Haribol!

Today I had meetings from morning till night, here in this room. Till 9.15 pm. If you wish, I could answer some questions you may have. Today is a special day, Vijaya Ekādaśī. In the heavenly planets, the apsarās were very attracted to the son of another heavenly denizen, the chief musician of Lord Indra. Because the apsarā danced improperly with the musician, Indra cursed them.  He took it as an offence and cursed them to become pisachas. It was so cold, freezing, they tried to stay under a tree they hugged each other to keep warm.  They did not eat anything, just feeling very cold. All day long and all night they did not eat anything.  It was so cold. They did not know that it was Vijaya Ekādaśī. Accidentally they followed the Vijaya Ekādaśī. Then they came back to the heavenly planet and paid obeisance’s to Lord Indra.

Lord Indra said, you came back so fast after my curse? They said that we worshipped Lord Hari and by that worship we regained our position. He said, if you have worshipped the Lord, Hari   Kṛṣṇa, you are also worship able for me. In this way by observing this Ekādaśī, one can go back to the spiritual world and one can be free from all kinds of sins. So, it is a very auspicious day.

Tomorrow is Varāha Dvādaśī and then day after is Nityānanda Trayodaśī. Today is Vijaya Ekādaśī.

Are there any questions?

 Devotee: Dear Guru maharaj, (Guru maharaj said: Yes!) one of the Lord’s opulence is to be equally distributed to all living entities. (Guru maharaj said: yes!) And He created a fair punishment system when punishment should fit to the crimes. On the other hand, how can there be a punishment seemingly disproportionate like for one who killed a cow, he is forced to suffer reactions of getting killed as many hairs as that on the cow’s body. How do we understand this? Acintya Nitāi das.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami:  You see, an animal, killing an animal is one thing but killing a cow is a completely different thing. The cow is meant for the upliftment of the human society, and the cow in its next birth will take birth as a brāhmaṇa. A tiger or lion will take birth as a kṣatriya, and a monkey will take birth as a śūdra or a man in ignorance. So, if you kill a cow, who doesn’t harm anyone, who produces the milk which is liquid religiosity. It is a great kind of a punishment. So, we should be very careful not to kill cows.

 Devotee: Guru maharaj, how to develop preaching mentality? I have a great desire for book distribution. (Guru maharaj exclaimed: Jai!) but there is my fear and ego which works. Like if someone rejects to take or throw bad words at me, dear guru maharaj, what is the solution for this? Your servant Sudevī Jayashree

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: The Bhagavad-gītā tells us we should avoid fear, anger, and it is fear of rejection. We offer this jewel to people and if they are fortunate, they will accept, but if they reject, it is not our problem, it is their problem. We should be very tolerant and very humble and we don’t expect everyone to accept. So, this great sage, he went to a house begging. And the householder told the wife, give him ashes from the choolah. They thought that ashes have no value, he can’t eat it, cannot sell it. But the sage thought if they give me ashes, they at least will go through some effort to take out the ashes from the choolah and give it to him.

He said, don’t just talk about it, give me the ashes, because he wanted to benefit them. So, although they were rejecting him in a sense, saying give him ashes, useless thing! And he said don’t talk about it, give me the ashes, in this way you will be benefitted. So at least something they gave.

Some gṛhasthas are very miserly and some are very gracious. The Vedas tell us that the gṛhastha should call outside his house, is anyone hungry?

And if someone is hungry, then they give them prasādam.  Lord Caitanya as a grihasta, He would invite 10 or 20 sannyāsīs and poor people to His house and He would feed them with His own hands, prasādam. This is the gṛhastha dharma. His Mother Śacī would say, we do not have enough food in the house to feed so many people. He said Kṛṣṇa will provide. So just before cooking, someone would come by and give food, give grains, vegetables, that there was always enough to cook for the guests.

Devotee: We understand from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam that the gyanis merge into the impersonal brahman but they fall down. The Impersonal brahman I understand is spread over the entire creation – material world as well as spiritual world. My question is, do the gyanis merge into the impersonal brahman within the material creation or in the impersonal brahman on the other side of the Virajā river. If on the other side of the Virajā river one would tend to think they should not fall down. Could you please clarify this doubt of mine and explain the correct understanding? Your servant, Prema Gaurasundar das.

 Guru maharaj: Is Prema Gaurasundar here?

You see, we are by nature active. We like to do some activity. But the impersonal brahman merging in that impersonal effulgence of the Lord is inactive then. So, then we may stay there, millions of kalpas or long time but eventually we would like to act. Since we don’t know about spiritual action, then our activity becomes material. You see the bhakti yogis they act in the service of Kṛṣṇa. They do different services to Kṛṣṇa in the form of Varāhadeva or Rāmacandra or Kṛṣṇa and the bhakti yogis, they don’t accept to merge in the impersonal effulgence. So, the question is that if someone merges in the effulgence, they come out, if they are used to the material activity then they will naturally fall down into the material world. If they know spiritual activity, then they might go to the spiritual world, but usually they don’t know that because they think the Lord is impersonal. So, when they become active again, they become active in a material sense. Haribol!

 You have prasādam for them?

 So, when Varāhadeva, He killed Hiraṇyākṣa, the brother of Hiraṇyakaśipu, He kicked and His hind foot touched the earth. And that touched Navadvip dham in Koladvip! Haribol! And therefore, one of the names of Varāhadeva is Kola.

So Koladvip is the island that Varāhadeva touched. So Varāhadeva is very dear to the Navadvip nivasis. Across the river is Koladvip. Sometimes Koladvip is known as Kulia pat. Known as Aparadh banjan Kulia pat. The place of being forgiven for offences. So, when we go to Navadvip dham to Navadvip city, we go to the island of Koladvip and then we remember the Kulia dham, how different offences of devotees got forgiven for their offences. Like Devānanda Pandit and others. So, Navadvip dham is a special place where one can get the mercy of love of Kṛṣṇa and also get forgiven for different offences. So, which part of the impersonal brahman one is in, I don’t particularly know? It just says that if we are in the impersonal brahman, then because we don’t know about devotional service, if we become active again, we generally fall in the material world. There may be some exception but generally we fall in the material world.

 So, we have some laddoos made from coconut to give you! They are giving it out at the doorway. So, thank you all! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare,

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare!

Gaurāṅga!

Gaurāṅga!

Gaurāṅga!

Gaurāṅga!

Nityānanda!

Nityānanda!

Gaurāṅga!

Gaurāṅga!

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi

 05 February 2020

Proof reading –Level 1 by Bhavatarini radhika devi dasi

06 February 2020