20200719 Zoom Session with Sikkum and Bhutan Devotees

Lecture Code: 20200719

Occasion: Addressing Gangtok Devotees, Via Zoom

Date: 19-Jul-2020

Place: Sridham Mayapur

Transcribed By: Jayaraseshwari DD

Transcribed On: 19-Jul-2020

1st Level Proofer: Bhavatarini Radhika DD

1st Level Proofed on: 21-Jul-2020

Editorial Changes (non voice): Usha

Date: 25-Jan-2020

 Status: Completed

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=911452366000149

Title:

20200719 Jayapatākā Swami Guru Maharaj, Addressing Gangktok, Sikkim Devotees, Via Zoom.

 His Grace Madhavakanta coordinated the program and Dr. Ācāryaratna das translated in Nepali language

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Thank you. Nice to see all the devotees. Thank you for bringing me to Gangtok.

(Guru maharaj spoke in Nepali language: How are you all doing? What are your names.)

I will say the prayer to Śrīla Prabhupāda now.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

paramānanda-mādhavam

Śrī Caitanya Īśvaram

hariḥoṁ tat sat

I am very happy to be here with you in Gangtok. We heard so many good things about Sikkim. I know about Nepal since that is the place of Janaka maharaj and Buddha was born. But I heard that the people of Gangtok are very spiritually oriented. I went there once. But at that time there was no center. And since then, we have been very happy that Madhavakanta prabhu has established a center there. And I have seen pictures how he has been doing Harinām saṅkīrtana. We are reading about a drama that Lord Caitanya performed in the house of Candraśekhara. It was a six-hour drama. Two praharas. All night.

And Lord Caitanya played different roles – as Rādhārāṇī, as Rukmiṇī, as MahāLakṣmī, as Mahā Māyā Adyasakti. He was giving out love for Kṛṣṇa freely. I don’t know exactly when, but in the latter part of the drama, Lord Nityānanda was playing the part of an old lady in Vṛndāvana, and the ecstasy of love of Kṛṣṇa was so great that Lord Nityānanda while acting, he fainted! Ha! Ha!

Everybody, all the actors were fainting in love of Kṛṣṇa!! All the audience became overwhelmed in love of Kṛṣṇa. Some were hugging around the neck of others, crying, some were touching the lotus feet of the vaiṣṇava’s, some were so overwhelmed, they were rolling on the ground, they could not take it anymore, so much love of Kṛṣṇa! Everyone was so mad in love of Kṛṣṇa! Haribol!

What a drama! Ha! Ha!

Actually, we have all seen dramas, but never like this. The actors, the audience, everyone became mad in love of Kṛṣṇa. Ha! Ha! That was the special mercy of Lord Caitanya, that He would give out love of Kṛṣṇa to everyone. His associates were very great devotees. So those people that were allowed to see the drama were all His very close associates. But when the CandKazi broke the mṛdaṅgas and prohibited the saṅkīrtana, Lord Caitanya organized a massive civil disobedience protest. That the CandKazi cannot prohibit the worship of Kṛṣṇa. That kīrtana was going on for day of Brahmā. And the residents from the Swargaloka, Indra and others, they came down. When they saw Lord Caitanya dancing and chanting, giving out love to everyone, they fainted. When they came back to consciousness, they took human forms and they joined the saṅkīrtana. The atheists, the nonbelievers, the pāṣaṇḍīs, who were watching the kīrtana, they became overwhelmed and they started dancing, they started crying in ecstasy. Everybody was swept away by the ocean waves of love of Kṛṣṇa. Just like Kṛṣṇa created miracles in the Kurukshetra war, Arjuna with one arrow could defeat aakhsahani army – millions of soldiers.

So, Lord Caitanya, He did not have weapons of violence. With only one Haribol, He could make thousands of millions of people Kṛṣṇa conscious. HARIBOL! So, Lord Caitanya could get the animals in Jarikanda jungle chanting and dancing. The tigers, the deer, were kissing each other. All was peaceful. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, Lord Caitanya could do, we may not be able to do. But at least we get the human beings to chant and dance.

 So, people in Sikkim should not be deprived of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. They should also get the unlimited spiritual bliss of love for Kṛṣṇa. There are no words to explain the happiness of chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa.

RupaGoswami was saying the two syllables Kṛṣṇa gives unlimited happiness. So, we are very hopeful that you all get the mercy of Lord Caitanya. So, this process is called bhakti yoga. Because we worship the Lord using our devotion. Lord Caitanya gave three instructions – bolo Kṛṣṇa, bhajo Kṛṣṇa, koro Kṛṣṇa śikṣā. It is not very difficult. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, do devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and study Bhagavad-gītā and SrimadBhagavatam, the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

So, thank you very much for giving me the Sikkimeseprasadam. I had momos when I was in Kathmandu. I am having them again in Gangtok. I like all of the natural things. Thank you for the cake! So, I pray that Kṛṣṇa will bless all of you! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Krsner matir astu. I want to give some time for questions. We are not the body but we should take care of the body. Because in the body is the spirit soul. And when the body becomes uninhabitable, the soul leaves the body. Normally, we take another birth. And you are very fortunate that you have a birth in Vedic culture. Now where you take the next birth, who can say?

But if you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you will go back to Kṛṣṇa. So, we are seeing in the world now there is the corona virus pandemic. Sometimes cyclones, some places have floods, wars. Because we are breaking the laws of God, the laws of nature, therefore we are suffering. So, we should chant the holy names of Kṛṣṇa and go back to Kṛṣṇa. This world is not a safe place to stay. Padampadamyatvipadam. There is danger at every step. Thank you all very much for practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, before we visit the houses.

Are there any questions?

 A devotee BikramSharma from Bhutan said that he was reading the Bhagavad-gītā as It Is and Beginner’s Guide to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He was very interested in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Very nice, thank you. Madhavakanta, now AtulKṛṣṇa das is authorizing temple presidents to teach Bhakti Śāstrī online. He said they don’t have to go through the regular course of these 3-4 months, they just have to give an exam and they will be entitled to teach Bhakti Śāstrī. So, you can take benefit of that. They will charge for that – one dollar for the certificate and 5 dollars, 350 rupees.

Devotee: NimLhamu Sherpa, my English is not very good. Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj. Thank you very much for blessing us with your presence. I can fell energy and feel blessed to be in the presence of your grace. I have been associated with ISKCON Gangtok for a while and from last June 2019, june10th I started chanting 16 rounds a day. Now I have been chanting 16 rounds every day. My question is, many times as we progress, I have been chanting for a while, but I am not able to, when I am chanting, I feel great connection with the Supreme Lord but I am from a Buddhist family and have our own family deity we pray to. I have a small altar in my room and I try to connect. However, I don’t get the same power. But I feel with the blessings of all the guru mahārājas I will grow in bhakti. It has been my problem since the beginning. I have not been able to connect with rūpa or with the deity.

So, guru maharaj if you can bless me and also suggest me what I can do, I shall be grateful guru maharaj.

 Guru maharaj: You chant the PañcaTattva mantra first? Śrī KṛṣṇaCaitanyaPrabhuNityanada (yes) before every round? (Not before every round. only starting of chanting) Try to chant this mantra before every round you do. Actually, the Lord’s deity form is not as beautiful as the Lord Himself. The Lord is unlimitedly beautiful. So, we have a deity form that we worship but it is something we can see we can worship, but the Lord is much better. But He accepts the worship we do to the deity. The deity is called as arcā avatar. But in the temple, we have the installed deities, and in the house many devotees have uninstalled deities or practice deities. And they practice it. You can pray to the Lord that He reveal Himself to you. And by regular reading of the descriptions in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, you will get closer to the Lord. If anyone has any question, you can also write to me. If Madhavakanta cannot answer, then you can write to me also.

Thank you very much!