20200823 Zoom Participation in 52nd Jaladuta Festival

The following is a Zoom Participation in 52nd Jaladuta Festival with His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 23rd,2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: Since my voice is a bit down, I will have repetition so that it will be easier for the translator. I am overwhelmed to see the site that Śrīla Prabhupāda visited in Kochi. Also, that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Malayalam was inaugurated five years ago in this place. Kṛṣṇa said that after He left He would come in two avatāras. So that was the book Bhāgavata and the person Bhāgavata. So the person Bhāgavata was Abhayacaraṇa Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, and the book Bhāgavata was the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which were both put together in Kochi. Also, the book Bhāgavata was delivered to Śrīla Prabhupāda here, to take to the USA. We know in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it says that on the Bhādra Pūrṇimā which is coming up on the 2nd of September, if one offers a Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam then they go back to Goloka. It will be nice if every library in Kerala has a set of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When I was a child, I was looking in the library but I could never find what I was looking for. If the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was in the library, I could have become a devotee much earlier! It took me 19 years to find Śrīla Prabhupāda!

This is a very auspicious festival. This should be attended by representatives from all over the world. Now since the world is more using virtual visits, you could have different representatives from around the world attending this program. I did not know about this, I was told tonight I will be visiting Kerala. But seeing how important a program this is, everyone should be attending. This is a historical place. You see how special Kerala is in the history of ISKCON! I remember Kerala for the wonderful prasāda! Puṭṭu and black pepper pickles and banana chips and aviyal, special bananas. But now I understand that since Śrīla Prabhupāda put his lotus feet here, this is a very special place!

Lord Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, He was telling His mother Śacī that she had been His mother birth after birth for many appearances. She was Pṛśnigarbha, She was Aditi the mother of Vāmanadeva, who will be visiting Kerala for Onam. She was Devahūti, mother of Kapila Muni, she was Kauśalyā the mother of Rāmacandra, she was Devakī the mother of Kṛṣṇa and she was Śacī the mother of Lord Caitanya. So, He was telling her how He had to take sannyāsa and she should not be in anxiety. That she would never be separated from Him.

Lord Caitanya, He also walked through Kerala. He walked up to Mangaluru and Uḍupī through Kerala. So, Kerala is a very special place. And we are very happy we have so many devotees in Kerala. We heard how Kerala was reclaimed from the sea by Paraśurāma. And how the devotees celebrate the coming of Bali Mahārāja and Vāmanadeva,all the Keralites.

So like this, wherever Lord Caitanya went, He chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa and requested the people to chant. Lord Caitanya said after He left, He would come again in two avatāras. He stayed for three days at the Ananta Padmanābha Svāmī temple and He was ecstatic when He went to the temple of Janārdana. He chanted and danced in ecstasy for two days in the temple of Janārdana. We established the lotus footprint of Lord Caitanya in Ananta Padmanābha Svāmī temple. We should also establish the lotus footprints in Janardāna temple. By the Payasvinī river there is a temple called Śaṅkara Nārāyaṇa. He visited the Śṛṅgerī Maṭha, the place of Śaṅkarācārya. He visited the Matsya-tīrtha by the Tuṅgabhadra river. Like that there are many sacred places He visited in Kerala.

Lord Caitanya said He would come in two avatāras after His departure. One is that He would come as the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Since there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His name so the nāma is also an avatāra. He told mother Śacī she would also be His mother as the holy name. How is that possible? He said she will be the tongue, the tongue makes it possible for the holy name to be vibrated. Then the second avatāra is as the Deity. As a Deity He said Śacīmātā would be His mother. “How is that possible?” He said, as the mother of the Deity, she will be the earth. All the marble, metal or whatever the Deity is made comes from the earth. So the earth will be mother Śacī. So we see how Lord Caitanya comes as His Deity form.

So the devotees can chant the holy name and also worship the Deity. Anyway, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is in Sanskrit which is like the mother language. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that in 1898 there was a plague epidemic in Calcutta. Hundreds and thousands of people were dying. And that time Śrīla Prabhupāda was only two years old. He could only see up to the people’s knees! But some Bābājī got everyone to chant - not only the Hindus, the Christians, the Muslims, the Parsis - all were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! And the plague left Calcutta! Śrīla Prabhupāda said we don’t recommend our followers to do that, because we don’t like to use the name for anything material. It was used like that and it is a historical fact that the plague was defeated.

Anyway, this is a very historical moment that here the book Bhāgavata and the person Bhāgavata had come! That means like Kṛṣṇa has also come! Thank you for giving me the darśana of that place! All glories to Kochi! All glories to Kerala! All glories to all the attendees! So thank you for this opportunity to address you.

I hope that everyone is taking up the process of bhakti-yoga. There are nine process of bhakti-yoga. In the Age of Kali, the first two, śravaṇam and kīrtanam are the most important. We also have a Jayapatākā Swami App. It is available both in Android and iPhone. So I will publish in the message section this event. If you download it, you can see! Did you have the video of the Nambūdripāda? Thank you! Virtually we could have people from all parts of the world attend. Now put this in the GBC Conference, you should tell them that they all should attend if they have any devotion for Śrīla Prabhupāda!

? Haribol!