20200302 Question and Answer Session

20200302 JAYAPATAKA SWAMI GURU MAHARAJ, QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION, SRI MAYAPUR DHAM, INDIA

Mukham karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim

Yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam

Paramananda Madhavam Sri Caitanya Isvaram

Mayapur Candra means the Moon of Mayapur or Lord Caitanya. And, Udaya means to rise. So the Rising Moon of Lord Caitanya! The Caitanya Caritamrta  states that Lord Caitanya rises from the east and goes to the west. Just like the moon that rises in the east and sets in the west. So, this mandir is the mandir where Lord Caitanya rises up. Haribol! Gauuuuuuranga!

Question: Dear guru maharaj, PAMRO (Guru maharaj said: Accepted), AGTSP! Guru maharaj said: Glories! Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur and you also said that by liberating in the Navadvip Mandal parikrama, you liberate the whole world. Could you explain how this is possible? For 30 years Navadvip Mandal Parikrama has been performed by the Iskcon devotees, but it seems like only the  material world is getting worse! If more devotees participated, would that help purify the world more? Does camping throughout the parikrama intensify the potency of this yagna? Your fallen servant Yugala Lila devi dasi.

Guru maharaj: Yes! You asked simple questions. If more people attended the parikrama, will that help? Yes! If they stay out in the holy dham, will that help? Yes! You see, just like the sages did sacrifice in Naimisaranya, which is considered the hub of the universe. By that, the whole universe gets better! So, although we see that the material world has got various problems, you see also people are generally more concerned about the ecology, they are more in the mode of goodness in one sense, at the least the younger people. They are concerned about the future of our planet. Whether this is due to observance of the Navadvip parikrama, our previous acaryas have said that by observing this Navadvip parikrama, we can influence the whole universe. Now, because this is a holy dham, so everything that done here, happens  here, affects the whole universe. By observing the Navadvip parikrama, gradually the people are benefitted spiritually, and we are seeing how the movement is gradually growing and growing! So certainly the Navadvip parikrama is not herding anything. Maybe it is the cause! Hard to pin it down! But our previous acaryas say that this affects the whole world favorably! We know that at present there is an emergency, kind of a special threat of the COVID-19 or Corona virus, that the stock market has lost something like trillions of dollars and the  people are worried. So this is a good opportunity to preach to the people, how they should be satvic. It is interesting that some south Indian saint had predicted some thousand years ago, that people would eat creatures that would have some kind of poison and that they would get some kind of breathing problem, and then they would die. So the symptom of this corona virus is respiratory problems. And some people die! So, this is a good opportunity to get people to become vegetarian! Ha! Instead of eating creatures! And then at this time, to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa. PAMRO. Guru maharaj, I desire to serve Jagannath deity at home, What do you think, I will be able to do? Cittaharini Radhika devi dasi, Bangladesh.

Guru maharaj: Cittaharini Radhika devi dasi wants to worship Jagannath deity! What do I think about that? Write to me what worship you want to do and who will do the worship? How many people in your family are following the principles? They should write down what worship they will do? How many aratis? How many change of clothes? When they will change the cloth,  all these things.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj: Ravindra Malya, I want to ask how to engage my daughter into spiritual life, Kṛṣṇa consciousness as I am afraid she will lose interest. We, as parents, are trying our best. We need your guidance in parenting our kids in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Guru maharaj: How old is your daughter? 16. So we have different programs for different youths, different age groups. So, if she can be involved in one of those programs, then it may be more interesting for her. At 16 she needs some devotee peer association as well. I don’t know where you are situated? Avataridesh. So, it has been a while since I visited there. I know in Damodardesh and Shyamadesh they have youth groups. I don’t know if Avataridesh also they have such youth groups? If they do, she might be involved in that. They do some dramas and different things.

Question: Dear guru maharaj, PAMRO. (Guru maharaj: Accepted) We understand that Navadvip is non-different from Vrndavana (Guru maharaj: Yes!). We know of pastimes in Vrndavana like manifesting Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda. (Guru maharaj: Yes! ) How do we understand its manifestation in Navadvip dham? Your servant, Sucaru Padma devi dasi, New Remuna Dham.

Guru maharaj: You see, when Radharani created the Navadvip dham, Kṛṣṇa accepted the Navadvip dham and said that it was non-different from Vrndavana. So He blessed that all the holy places would be present here. So, that is why different holy places are manifest in the Navadvip dham. Something that happened, automatically, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa! Haribol!

Question: Dear guru maharaj, (guru maharaj said: yes!) PAMRO, (Guru maharaj said: Accepted) AGTSP! (Guru maharaj: Jai!) Couple of days back it was mentioned that Ramauncarya’s servant told his wife that everything a disciple has belongs to his or her guru. In our parampara, Srila Prabhupada gives the example of Rupa Goswami, 50% to be given to guru and Kṛṣṇa, to be followed by Iskcon devotees. My question is, is there any sastric injunction in this regard, or the standard differs from parampara to parampara? Your insignificant servant, Prema Gaurasundara das.

Guru maharaj: We accept that - when I stepped on a nail and got foot infection, Srila Prabhupada wrote me a letter, and said, you have given your body to Kṛṣṇa, at the time of initiation. So you should take care of it. So, although we think that everything we have  is the property of guru and Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa gives us back the property to take care of it on His behalf! So, this is a sastric injunction, so it doesn’t vary between one sampradaya and another.

Question: Dear guru maharaj: PAMRO, (Guru maharaj said: Accepted) A lady who is new to Kṛṣṇa consciousness called Iskcon Kolkata to book a room at the guest house. But she was told no single lady could stay in an Iskcon guest house! She asked how to understand this, when devotee women are to be protected and sheltered. She also asked me why they don’t have the same rules for men? If they were to restrict any sinful activity, why only restrict women? It gives the impression that there is a lot of discrimination. Sarva Sakti devi dasi.

Guru maharaj: I don’t know the rule in the Mayapur guest house. He told me that  the same rule is there for men and women. No single person can stay. We can ask the guest house why they have  this rule. Apparently they must have faced some trouble!

We can chant for Mahalaxmi who is the grand daughter of Nihari from Brazil. She is a 12 years  old and she is in kind of a coma. She has anemia. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.

It is a government rule that single people cannot stay, men or women, in guest houses throughout West Bengal. Because sometimes people come alone to some of these places, pilgrim places, and commit suicide. Apparently we had two people who did that and so, therefore, you come in a group. Or come with a friend.

Last question.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear guru maharaj: PAMRO. When we see our guru or other senior disciples of Srila Prabhupada, what should be our mood when we talk to them? Can we seek blessings from the senior devotees for our preaching, or should we earn that blessing from our guru and other devotees? Your insignificant daughter, Madhusmita devi dasi.

Guru maharaj: You can ask for blessings. Lord Caitanya would give His blessings by saying: Krsner Matir astu! May you be Kṛṣṇa conscious. For those who are  already in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to stay  Kṛṣṇa conscious, Krsne matir rahu!

Krsne matir astu! Krsne matir rahu!

If you have any books to sign, please give them fast! I am fading fast!

Question: Lalitangi Radha dd: PAMRO. We understand from your classes how Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu promoted Harinam sankirtan, Kali yuga dharma. During initiation, we promise to do japa, that stressed the importance of japa and we are doing daily. But we don’t do kirtan everyday.Is japa also a form of kirtan? Also a yuga dharma? How performing japa can connect to kirtan?

Guru maharaj: Connect to kirtan. Japa is also a type of kirtan. And to do sankirtan, you need a large group of people. But to chant japa, we just need ourselves! So, we say, is to chant 16 rounds of japa. 16 rounds of japa takes maximum 2 hours. And if you are experienced maybe you can do in an hour and a half. So, it gives us the 22 or 22 ½ hours to also do Harinam!

Chinese devotees online: Varsana Lila, Sucitra devi dasi, Caru Madhavi devi dasi, Olivia, Bhaktin Gau Yun! Madhavi Priya devi dasi, Hari Priya, Shyamala devi dasi, Kṛṣṇa Dharma, Caitya guru dd, Tungabadra, dd, Lila Gopi dd, (Guru maharaj waved to all of them!) Wy Wy Gurudev they said! Prahlad Bhakta das.

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi

 02 March 2020

Proof reading Level 1 by Bhavatariniradhika devi dasi

02  March 2020

https://www.facebook.com/JayapatakaSwami/videos/200599027710474/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=e