20200715 Zoom Session with Kolkata Youths

Lecture Code: 20200715

Occasion: Addressing Youth of Kolkata, via zoom

Date: 15-Jul-2020

Place: Sridham Māyāpur

Transcribed By: Jayarasehswari dd

Transcribed On: 23-Jul-2020

1st Level Proofer: Bhavataarini radhika dd

1st Level Proofed on: 24-Jul-2020

Editorial Changes (non voice): Usha

Date: 25-Jan-2020

 Status: Completed

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2723263334570479

Title:

20200715 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharaj Addressing Youth Of Kolkata, Via Zoom.

 Audio started abruptly

 Vīrabhadra Sundara…in the movement to receive Lord Caitanya’s mercy. Now it is up to you guru maharaj.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Can you hear me?

Can I be heard now?

I am very happy to be addressing the boys and I am glad you are all taking personal responsibility to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! Most of you chant 16 rounds a day. This is very good!

That is 10 million names of Kṛṣṇa a year! You see, one devotee approached Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

She asked, is it better to chant mentally because that is more subtle. But HaridasaThakura said no, it is a hundred times more beneficial to chant out loud, since other living entities, other human beings, other insects, plants, they are all benefitted. So that gets rid of your offences, and makes your chanting more powerful. So, this idea of loud chanting can be also thought to be preaching.

So, by preaching, by disseminating the message of Bhagavad-gītā or by encouraging others to chant, you also get multiple benefits. Because, by your spreading the chanting, spreading the process of bhakti yoga, you will get a hundred times more benefit. Like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda used to say, some people would follow him wherever he went. But he doesn’t consider them to be his real, important followers. That those who take some responsibility and stay somewhere, he considered them more valuable. So, rather than just following a spiritual master, to actually help him to execute some service, to take some responsibility, is more valuable. And that would give you some special mercy. Many of our Lord Caitanya’s devotees, took some responsibilities, therefore they got some special mercy from Lord Caitanya. And, in serving Śrīla Prabhupāda, he would appreciate when someone took responsibility. After I was initiated, two weeks, I was made a temple president! Ha! I wrote to Śrīla Prabhupāda, I was only 19 years old, I didn’t feel qualified. SrilaPrabhupada chastised me! DON’T BE BODY CONSCIOUS! YOU ARE NOT THE BODY! YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!

 Alright! He was very loving and very caring.

One time I stepped on a nail and my foot got infected. Somehow Śrīla Prabhupāda heard. He wrote me, take care of your body, you have given it for the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, you should take care of it. So, he was very caring. And although I felt very insignificant, he had given me this special mercy. So, at that time, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to make many temples. So, I went to Toronto and started a temple there. Then I went to Chicago and helped to start a temple there. Then Śrīla Prabhupāda sent me to India. I was the first president in Calcutta. And then Śrīla Prabhupāda sent me to Māyāpur after a year or two.

And I have been in Māyāpur ever since. But taking some responsibility for the spiritual master, that naturally helps you to use your energy and mind in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Now what is the use of going to college, if you don’t go there to learn something to use in Kṛṣṇa’s service?

You go to the university and learn something, to use that in Kṛṣṇa’s service. At least you can earn some money, and use the money to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Now Jīva Goswami, he thought I don’t want to go to my guru empty handed. So, he went to the university first and he became qualified. He studied Sanskrit so that he could read the different Vedas. And he wrote the Sat Sandarbas. So, like that you are all intelligent boys, you are part of the VOICE. So, you can use your intelligence, use your abilities to serve Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was saying, he wanted to give something that would involve the people, involve his devotees, to the utmost. So that is why he developed the Māyāpur project. And here we have the TOVP, with the West wing, we are trying to show that the Vedas are good science, not an ordinary temple, it is something much more. Then developing the Master Plan, the theme parks, various aspects. The idea is to use all the abilities of the person in Kṛṣṇa’s service. You want to use mind, intelligence, you want to use mind, body and words. (man, kaya, vākya).

So, in this way, if you are fully engaged, there is no chance for māyā. I can see lots of questions coming in. The more we are absorbed in Kṛṣṇa’s service, we are better, more Kṛṣṇa conscious. If we are just going through the thing mechanically, and thinking of other things, that is not so useful. So, what we find in the Nectar of Devotion, is that we should engage our mind, words and body, so that we take up the service a bit more spontaneously. And that leads to one coming to the ecstatic level. So, to do things where you actually use your mind, and think how can I do things better?

How can I speak better?

How can I work better?

In this way, we take some responsibility that absorbs us. So, ok I spoke for 20 minutes. Also, we become very attached to Kṛṣṇa, by engaging in His service. Actually, I pray for all the sheltered, aspiring, śikṣā and initiated disciples. And recently I have been praying for the disciples of Bhakti Cāru Swami. And he took so much responsibility by serving Śrīla Prabhupāda. When he was asked by Śrīla Prabhupāda to translate his books from English to Bengali, so that is a great responsibility. And he did it very diligently. So therefore, he was a very special soul. He was appreciated by Śrīla Prabhupāda very much. So, we should try to do something, Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that rather than trying to see Kṛṣṇa, we should try to be seen by Kṛṣṇa. So, if you are doing some service for Kṛṣṇa, He will appreciate and will never forget.

So, tomorrow is a special Ekādaśī, when it says we should offer ghee lamp, or sesame seed oil lamp, to Tulasī devī and to Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way we get special mercy. So little things, little services to Kṛṣṇa, may go a long way!

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

So, I saw that there are many questions, I should maybe answer some of those questions.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj: PAMHO. I was so attached to His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Maharaj. After the disappearance of maharaj I am feeling lonely and helpless. I am not getting the taste by performing devotional activities. Kindly help me to get rid of this problem. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya asked Rāmānanda Rāya, what is the greatest suffering? And he said the separation of a vaiṣṇava is the greatest suffering. It is natural to feel some separation when a vaiṣṇava leaves.

Bhakti Cāru Swami was my dear friend and god brother. I have been associated with him for about 45 years and I also feel very lonely! But I am surrounded by devotees and that is why having some responsibilities, is very useful! Keeps one fixed up! So, I am thinking now, how can I help Bhakti Cāru Swami’s disciples. As Bhakti Cāru Swami said, ISKCON is one family. Naturally, if the father leaves in a joint family, the uncles, the elder brothers they are there to help. So, like that we want to see that everyone is fully protected and engaged. Bhakti Cāru Swami wanted everyone to keep Śrīla Prabhupāda in the center and engage in devotional service. There are many questions.

 Devotee: Guru maharaj, PAMHO. I am unmarried and practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes I am feeling if I remain a brahmacārī my whole life it is better, but sometimes, I feel I should remain a gṛhastha it is better. Gṛhastha life has so many rules and regulations. If I am not able to follow then I will not be able to go back to Godhead. So, I am confused, guru maharaj. Please answer. Your servant, Sumeet.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Sumeet, I don’t know how old you are? I was told when I joined at the age of 19, by the wife of the temple president, that if I didn’t get married, I could not go back to Godhead! Ha!

So, I went to Śrīla Prabhupāda, because at 19 I wasn’t thinking about marriage!! He told me wait till you are 25, then you consult with your guru and he will help you decide. So for some time, we should spend with brahmacārī as a brahmacārī, and then when we reach 25 to 30, then we consult with the guru, what should we do. But normally if one is doubtful whether one should be a gṛhastha or a brahmacārī, that is not very good. To be a brahmacārī, one needs to be very determined.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj: PAMHO. I feel myself unqualified, conditioned and most fallen soul. Guru maharaj, I feel myself connected with His Holiness TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami maharaj. I have tried many times to focus, but I feel more connected with His Holiness TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami maharaj. In reciprocation, I am getting some service in his legacy. His Holiness TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami maharaj is not physically present in this world. I am unable to accept mentally, other than TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami maharaj, but devotees say that I have to take initiation. I am struggling for years with this problem. Guru maharaj, kindly help me in this situation.

Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj!

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: It is nice that you are attached to His Holiness TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami. He was a very advanced devotee and very dear to Śrīla Prabhupāda. Some people had the vision when he left, he was taken to Śrīla Prabhupāda. He can definitely be your śikṣā guru. That was the situation when Rāmānujācārya wanted to take initiation from Yāmunācārya. But just when he reached Śrīraṅgam, Yāmunācārya had left. But his whole life he tried to serve the orders of Yāmunācārya. But he took initiation from another vaiṣṇava, because that was the system. So, if you are inspired by TamalKṛṣṇa Goswami maharaj, you can accept initiation from someone who appreciates him, and carry out some of his instructions. That should be the way for you to go forward.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj. PAMHO. I am working in an IT company and I stay in Garia, VOICE and assist His Grace Mahadhama Vṛndāvana prabhu in preaching to college students. But sometimes due to heavy workload from office, I really get tired and my enthusiasm comes down. So how can I maintain my enthusiasm at good level so that I can do good sādhana and also preach effectively, and also maintain a good balance? Your servant, Akshay Keshvadkar.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: I heard that IT jobs are sometimes like ‘sweat boxes’. They keep you very busy. And that way, you get tired. So, I can appreciate that. Sometimes you feel tired. If you can learn how to take, what they call, short snaps, and that helps you to gain strength. Otherwise, you know, you have to somehow make a time management scheme, how much rest you need, how much you have to use for your work, and how much for your sādhana, how much for helping with the preaching to college students. So, you can talk about this to Mahadhama Vṛndāvana das and make a schedule that works for you. In this way, you can proceed forward.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj. Dandavatpranam.

Can I ask a question?

 Do you love all your disciples equally? Or it depends on rendering service?

I mean, if someone renders more service then he will become more dear to you, with compared to another devotee, who does little service? Your servant, Amit.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Do you love all your disciples equally? I never analyze. I love all my disciples, whether equal or not – if someone is doing a lot of service, then naturally they get more reciprocation. And maybe in that way maybe we get more noticed. Like the bird feeding their little chicks. Like the baby birds, who cries the loudest, gets the worm! Ha! So, like that, it is not that you love one more than the other, but maybe one by rendering service, he interacts with the guru, more.

Just like this Gopathi is coming and repeating every night. Naturally, he becomes very dear! Ha! But that doesn’t mean that I love him more than the other disciples! But because he is doing service, naturally, some relationship is there.

 Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa dear guru maharaj! (Guru maharaj: HARE KṚṢṆA!) Daṇḍavat prāṇam. In the current lockdown situation, what should be our standard of sādhana, as we are not getting the association like VOICE?

Please guide us. Your servant, Guṇagrahi Gaurāṅga das.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Guṇagrahi Gaurāṅga das! GunagrahiGauranga das! I visit many devotees by Zoom and actually I see their house, sometimes I see their deities, their offerings. So, normally even if I visit a place, I don’t go to so many gṛhasthas’ houses, or so many āśramas. So, in one sense the internet allows me to visit many people that I normally would not visit. And many of our devotees, are using the internet, they are able to do lots of preaching. In Mangaluru, Namanista das brahmacārī, he had started a special course of Bhagavad-gītā and 11,000 people signed up. And he has already done it three times! Each time, 11,000! And he found that if he wants to give one time class, he would need Webinar from Zoom, that would cost him like 1000 dollars. So, what he did was that he divided the 11,000 into seven different languages and had 25 devotees teach them. In the first series, he spent the morning teaching the 25 devotees what to say. Then, second batch, they already knew. They didn’t have to have his coaching. So, using this, he got a free from Microsoft Meet, 275 members each! He got 25 sets of Microsoft Meet. So, like that, I heard some other gṛhasthas are teaching 5000, 500 whatever. So, it is a great opportunity for brahmacārīs, for gṛhasthas, everyone to preach. Now during this pandemic, people are more interested in spiritual life. Since Kolkata is considered in the red zone, so this is a good opportunity to present various classes in Bengali, Hindi, English, whatever languages you know you can present – Oriya, Assamese.

 Devotee: PAMHO gurudev. Sometimes when I help to solve miscommunication between two devotees, sometimes I am judged wrongly by both of them. And then I think, even after being dependent on you, and the Lord, and after trying sohard, why this happened? Next onwards I will not even try. What should I do in this dilemma? Your unqualified servant, Tanmoy.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami:: It is not easy to solve a dispute between two devotees. Sometimes, there is a misunderstanding. So generally, this kind of solving of a miscommunication needs some very senior devotee who can patiently resolve the situation, or mediate the problem. Now, you say that you are judged wrongly. Why is that? You should analyze. Something you are not doing right. Anyway, you can apologize if they think wrongly. But we don’t want to be discouraged.

Lord Caitanya said we should offer respect to others, and not expect any respect for ourselves. I don’t know why they are thinking wrong of you. That is something you can analyze, but it any case you are not doing it for being praised or any kind of applause. You are doing it as a humble service. So, in that way you can present. At least it seems that you made both people united against you! Ha! So, one way or another, you created unity in diversity! Ha!

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj! Daṇḍavat prāṇam. When Kṛṣṇa gives someone opportunity to associate with pure devotees, what is qualification?

How can I also get your association, gurudev?

Your servant, Divakar.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Divakar, it is not there is some specific qualification. The qualification is desire. If you desire to have association of me or anyone, that itself is a qualification. Immediately, I am thinking, oh, I should see that person! That person wants to see me! So, I can associate with you. So just the desire itself, if we desire to serve Kṛṣṇa or His devotee, that itself is a qualification. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Who is the person? Let us visit Divakar after. Divakar’s video is turned off. If you want association, you have to turn on your video! You are in a green room, turquoise. Haribol! See you desired, you got!

 Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj. Daṇḍavat prāṇam. My question is, how to move from lusty desire and thoughts that took a very harsh reaction on my mind?

Aspiring to be your servant. Amit (on behalf of another devotee)

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: How to move from lusty desire and thoughts that took a very harsh reaction on my mind? You see, lusty desires and thoughts, naturally create a very harsh reaction on the mind.

Just like we have a fire yagna, if we put ghee on the fire, for a second it goes down, then the flame comes up more! In the same way, lusty desire, we got to satisfy them and later on it burns up more! So that is the nature of material reactions. So, one way we regulate those material desires, we try to engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service. In this way, by engaging our mind, body and thoughts in Kṛṣṇa’s service, we are able to taste the nectar at every step. So, in this way, we purify our desires.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa, is it good to make prayers to God? What should be an ideal prayer? Can we share our problems, feelings and other deeds with the deities?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: The best prayer to the Lord is chanting His holy names. We don’t want to bother the Lord with different mundane prayers. He knows what we need. We don’t have to ask Him. He will give us what we need. It is dangerous to desire material things, because He may also give that! Since we desire that. Anyway, the best prayer is say Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa! Oh, energy of Kṛṣṇa, oh Lord, please engage me in Your service. We can also make prayers to the Lord, how we see the great ācāryas made their prayers. We should see what they prayed and then we should pray accordingly.

 Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj, daṇḍavat prāṇam. If we commit vaiṣṇava offence, then we have to beg forgivance from the concerned vaiṣṇava. But in the case of Devānanda Paṇḍita, he offended Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and he pleased Vakreswara Paṇḍita. How can we understand it?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know if you remember the pastime. Actually, Lord Caitanya criticized Devānanda Paṇḍita publicly. He was very offended. But Vakreswara Paṇḍita preached to him and told him that He was Kṛṣṇa Himself. Then he got forgiven by Lord Caitanya. He had to apologize to Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita. When he did this, then he was accepted by Lord Caitanya. I don’t see any contradiction there. He had to beg for forgivance from Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. That was because he was preached to by Vakreswara Paṇḍita.

Devotee: Choṭa Haridāsa was rejected by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, on the pretext of prakritisambasana. If Mahāprabhu does not accept him then what is our hope as we may mentally have done strisambasana many times, even though he was repentant and many vaiṣṇavas told Mahāprabhu to accept him, but he was not accepted by the Lord?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Lord Caitanya said that one should be sincere. Since Choṭa Haridāsa was in the renounced order, then he should not be approaching a lady with the wrong mentality. To make him an example, Lord Caitanya rejected him. In the Kali yuga, one gets the reaction of an offence by actually doing it. Not by thinking about it. In previous yugas, just by thinking about it, we got the reactions. In Kali yuga if you think of doing something good, you will get the reaction. But if you think of something bad, which you don’t do, then you don’t get the reaction. So, there are two aspects – one was Choṭa Haridāsa was playing as a saffron cloth vairāgī, and he went and personally talked to a lady with a wrong mentality. So that is why he was rejected by Lord Caitanya.

So, we have hope. We should not talk to a lady with a wrong mentality when wearing saffron. If he was a gṛhastha, it would have been a different thing.

Devotee: How to increase determination in bhakti? I targeted to finish Bhagavad-gītā before Janamastami, but as things stand now, I don’t think I will be able to complete it.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: One thing is, don’t make targets that are too difficult to achieve. We try to read the whole Kṛṣṇa book during the Janamastami. Sometimes we do it, sometimes not. Depends. So, we should anyway, if we don’t finish by Janamastami, then finish it as soon as you can, after. At least you tried, that is glorious!

To get first initiation, Śrīla Prabhupāda told me to read Bhagavad-gītā ten times! So, I still have that Gītā, with the 1,2,3,4, zoom! 1,2,3,4 zoom. When I finished ten times reading it, I went to Śrīla Prabhupāda for initiation. I ask the candidates for initiation to read the Gītā twice! Ha! But sometimes they don’t do it! It requires some determination. So naturally, if you want to achieve bhakti, then you get more determination. When you want to please Kṛṣṇa, then naturally you get determined. But don’t make any vow that you cannot keep. Like we have a target, Śrīla Prabhupāda told us to double the book distribution. But sometimes we double it, sometimes more, sometimes less. But we have a target. So that is different than a vow. Naturally, we should have targets. That you have target, that is called good practice. It is said, if you don’t measure what you do, you are not going to increase.

Devotee: What is more important in bhakti – our determination or the Lord’s mercy? Sometimes while training juniors in devotional life we find that they do not seem to be taking Kṛṣṇa consciousness as their own responsibility even after pushing for years together, for most basic aspects like chanting 16 rounds, etc. What to do in this regard?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: There are two questions. In question three he asked two questions – what is more important in bhakti – our determination or the Lord’s mercy? Now it is an interesting question. By being very determined, the Lord gives us more mercy! By the Lord’s mercy, we get more determination! Ha! So, it is hard to say what is more important! Because we see that by the Lord or guru’s mercy, we get determination. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda was giving a class at the Kumba Mela. And he told how if one comes to bhakti yoga, after he crosses over all kinds of yagnas and pious activities etc. So, one of the western disciples asked a question, I look back at my life, I don’t see any pious activities, no yagnas, nothing that you mention, so how is that I got bhakti yoga? And Śrīla Prabhupāda replied, I have made your good fortune for you!!

Haribol!

So, what is more important? Ha! Ha!

 Now, second part of the question, so when we preach to someone, training juniors, we find that they do not seem to be taking Kṛṣṇa consciousness as their own responsibility even after pushing for years together, what to do in this regard? Interesting question. What should we do?

You should see what other devotees do, if they are successful in having their juniors take up responsibilities to chant 16 rounds and do devotional service – what is their secret? So, we want to always learn how should I improve. Sometimes the preacher prays to Kṛṣṇa, please bless this person, so that they will take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously. Just pushing the person may not be sufficient. It is said, you can take a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.

So, in the same way, how to actually inspire a person to take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness and some like Bhakti Cāru Swami, when he would meet some devotee, he would deal with him in such a way that they immediately became inspired to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So, Lord Caitanya said that there are three kinds of devotees – the neophyte devotees, then there are the medium devotees and then the devotees, just by seeing them, one becomes inspired. So, we should try to serve the devotees that inspire others to become devotees. We should be friends with the middle devotees and we should have mercy on the neophytes.

Guru maharaj then visited some homes.