20200903 Question and Answer Session on Zoom

The following is a Zoom Question and Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 3rd, 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!

Haribol! Some questions?

Question: How can we serve as a full-time in a temple if the temple is not carrying your mood of preaching and they are absorbed in the management of the temple and not encouraging preaching?

Jayapatākā Swami: As far as I know, all the temples in Bengaluru are into preaching. They seem to be expanding the preaching in various ways. I don’t know particularly, maybe some temple need particular devotees to do particular service. But frees other devotees to do a lot of preaching. I don’t know if you talked to your local president. Ask how you could at least some time be engage in preaching.

Question: One of the devotees I know who is your disciple has fallen down. Parents of that devotee are constantly lamenting and in great grief their child has almost stopped practicing devotional service and left home and started living alone and started doing bad saṅga. My question is that if any devotee falls down from devotional service, should we lament for the devotee? Is it okay for the parents to lament excessively?

Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally a parent should want to make a son or daughter Kṛṣṇa conscious. And when the son or daughter is well-situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, naturally the parent is relieved. And if a child is in māyā, then naturally the parent should be preoccupied. Not to the extent that they give up their own practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But encourage the son to come back or be Kṛṣṇa conscious.

Question: Sometimes I feel so low that I am not up to the mark. It is so overwhelming that I cannot remain enthusiastic anymore. And to endeavor to render better service. How do I deal with this conspiracy of the mind?

Jayapatākā Swami: If we think I am very qualified to do devotional service, if we are very proud, that is not according to the instructions of Lord Caitanya. You should be humble, very tolerant, offer respect to others and don’t expect respect for one’s self. I don’t understand if you say, I feel I am not qualified, so therefore I lose my enthusiasm. We see great devotees like Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, they pray to Lord Gaurāṅga that Your avatāra is to deliver the most fallen. There is no one more fallen than me. If you are feeling yourself very unqualified, very fallen, then there is more chance you will get the mercy of Lord Caitanya, since He is the deliverer of the most fallen. But you should not lose your enthusiasm since Lord Caitanya has come to deliver the most fallen. Therefore, you have a good qualification. Haribol!

Question: I learnt from your class that Lord Caitanya took sannyāsa at the age of 24. You have taken sannyāsa at the age of 21. What inspired you to take sannyāsa at the age of 21 which is such a young age?

Jayapatākā Swami: I was a brahmacārī since the age of 19 and then when I was 21 Śrīla Prabhupāda asked me if I wanted to take sannyāsa. Since he was offering me, I thought it was a great opportunity. So I accept the chance. Maybe I was innocent at the time, but somehow or another by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy I have been able to maintain my vows and increase the preaching in various ways. So I very glad that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me this blessing.

Question: In the past classes you had said that one should not make sense gratification as the ultimate goal of life. While following this particular principle, sometimes when we face fluctuation and are swayed away by māyā, and because of our unlimited desires, we get engaged in any kind of sense gratification. How should we avoid and control ourselves not being swayed away by māyā and get determined in the service of guru and Kṛṣṇa? Please enlighten me.

Jayapatākā Swami: While we have senses in the material world, so naturally the senses need a certain amount of satisfaction. That depends on each individual. But that should not be the ultimate goal. In the material world we see that people, they make as their goal that their senses should be happy. But the senses are a source of happiness and a source of suffering. So, although there may be some happiness and some suffering, we should tolerate that, but we should make our ultimate goal to serve Kṛṣṇa. So, certain very simple things we should avoid. Like eating meat, fish, onion, garlic, like gambling, like taking intoxication and having out of marriage illicit sex. If you are a married person it is natural there will be some material pleasure. But there will also be some suffering. Just like to conceive a child there is some happiness but to have a child is also pain – labor pain. So, that should not be our ultimate goal. You may have certain desires, but the ultimate desire should be to serve and love Lord Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa! 

Question: What should be our mood while serving you, my dear spiritual master? How should we develop feeling of gratitude and humility?

Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally, we should serve the spiritual master as the representative of his guru, the guru-paramparā and Kṛṣṇa. So, in this way Kṛṣṇa is watching and how we satisfy our spiritual master that Kṛṣṇa sees. He blesses accordingly. Now how to develop proper attitude. It happens naturally as we progress in our spiritual life. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you for your question.

Question: An initiated neophyte has vowed to follow the regulative principles, chant daily 16 rounds and to help you and help Śrīla Prabhupāda in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness all around the world. Say, such a neophyte has broken this vow in an attempt to meet the demands of his competitive world due to his past bad karma, how can such a person be attractive and inspiring to the common man plus come back to the spiritual life and resume to his guru’s pleasure?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see that is why taking first initiation it is described as taking a new birth. Naturally when you are taking birth as a baby, a toddler, you may fall down a few times. Then gradually you learn to walk. So at your first initiation it is expected that there may be a few mistakes. And one should pick up and continue to practice, in this way they can progress. When one takes the second initiation, they should be more considered like 9 or 12 years old. If at that time they are sleeping in the lap of the mother and passing stool or something, then something is wrong! A little baby it is expected. But not in a 9 or 12-year-old boy!

Question: What is the benefit of the atheists of Navadvīpa from having the darśana of Lord Gaurāṅga for 24 years and sometimes hearing Lord Caitanya’s chanting. Did they also feel some separation from Lord Gaurāṅga when He left?

Jayapatākā Swami: Maybe some did. But the ones mentioned in today’s class, they didn’t. They were laughing and were happy that the Lord has left, they don’t have to see Him anymore. We know that even Kaṁsa was an atheist. But he was always thinking about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will come to kill me. One day his two wives came one dressed in white garment and one in black garment. Then Kaṁsa said, “Oh no! Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, They are coming to kill me!” His minister said, “No, no, they are your wives!” “Oh!” So if are an atheist and always thinking about Kṛṣṇa, then that is useful. But if you are just occasionally thinking negatively about Kṛṣṇa then you are a candidate for going to Pātalaloka. A free ticket, one way!

Question: Why we are not fanning cāmara and peacock feather while doing tulasī-ārati?

Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting question. We tend to offer a very short and limited ārati with incense, lamp and flower. I don’t know whether there is any particular instruction against, we generally offer this very simplified ārati to Tulasī. In Vṛndā-kuṇḍa the Deity of Vrnda Devī, Tulasī, I wonder whether they offer more elaborate pūjā there. Does anyone know? In Vṛndā-kuṇḍa for Vṛndā Devī they offer cāmara and all that. So, it is just for that the tulasī plant they offer a very minimal pūjā. Just like for Lord Narasiṁhadeva we don’t offer all the articles.

Question: How do we remain calm in provoking situation and not react? I usually try not to get affected by what someone is saying, but end up reacting or saying something and that I regret later.

Jayapatākā Swami: All the vices can be dovetailed in Kṛṣṇa’s service except envy. So we can be angry when Kṛṣṇa is offended, when the devotee is offended. But if someone, in some disturbing situation, hampering their sense gratification, they should not get angry. If they get angry it is a vice, a mistake and sinful. Like that we could angry for the right reason, otherwise we should be tolerant. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: Sometimes we want to help someone but do not for various reasons. But we know that they require help. So how could we could not help and in the same time to help them too?

Jayapatākā Swami: There are many reasons why we may not be able to help someone. Just like a father, he doesn’t like to hear instructions from his daughter. For various circumstances the relationship may be such that we cannot really instruct a person who is senior to you or who thinks he or she is senior. So, in such a situation, you have to help the person using some tactic. Either by asking question, like I look to you, you are a very advanced person, you are very senior. But I have a question. I see that sometime, you go behind the bathroom and smoke a cigarette. Is it something I should do as well? So you can ask – of course this is a ridiculous example - but you can ask. Maybe you cannot help the person then you think who can and arrange that that person does what he or she can to help the person. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: How can I develop greed, laulyam for rāgānuga-bhakti?

Jayapatākā Swami: The whole purpose of bhakti-yoga is to develop our intense desire, laulyam to serve Kṛṣṇa. So that is something that should be increasing as we go on. And it is not a separate endeavor. If we become attached to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, if we become attached to Lord Caitanya, naturally we want to associate with Them. We were reading in this līlā of Lord Caitanya and His leaving Navadvīpa, how the devotees are lamenting in separation. They are holding their heads, they are crying, they are rolling on the ground, like wild people. Someone finally tells them, you are very fortunate that you have a personal relationship with Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and He cares about you. So you should control yourselves and follow His instructions. So someone gave them such instructions. So like that, we see how they developed so much deep attachment for Lord Caitanya. We want also to develop that attachment. Lord Caitanya taught that in this Age of Kali, the way we can worship the Lord is to feel His separation. And that vipralmbha-bhāva is not difficult considering it is Kali-yuga! Ha! We actually beg from the Lord and we are separated from the Lord! Maybe Gopati is not, but I am!

Question: How can we understand the mood of Śrīla Prabhupāda to improve our relationship with him and in the same way with you?

Jayapatākā Swami: One of the qualifications of the uttama-adhikārī is that he cannot be understood. It may not be completely possible for you to understand the mood of Śrīla Prabhupāda. But in principle you can understand a little bit about his mood by reading his books. And those books are available in Spanish, I see that you are in Bogota, Colombia. You can read the books and feel and see how Śrīla Prabhupāda is so much attached to Kṛṣṇa and Lord Gaurāṅga! Then you can start to be very grateful for all the help he has given to you. Then naturally, you can advance.

A lot of questions I cannot really speak too long.

Question: As a part of the preaching session few new devotees had questions about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu being Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. We had shown them the scriptural references from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Garuḍa Purāṇa, etc. But they were not fully convinced. Please could you enlighten us the different ways we can try to make them understand this?

Jayapatākā Swami: If the person accepts the Vedic literatures as evidence, then they could be convinced, after lots of Vedic evidence. But say, one does not really accept the Vedas, then just encourage them to chant. There are lots of evidences in the Vedas and scriptures in the world that tell us that we should chant the names of God. When they feel the spiritual bliss of chanting the holy name, or if they feel some peace then they may be more convinced. You see, in the first canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it mentions that if someone engages in devotional service, then the causeless knowledge and detachment comes. So somehow get the people to engage in some service. Like maybe they are doing it as a social work, like giving out prasāda to the hungry, to the homeless, somehow or another they do some service which they like to do. Have them do something they like to do. Then, by doing that, they get causeless knowledge and detachment. Maybe we know we can wake someone who is asleep, but if they are awake pretending they are asleep, you cannot wake them up. Because they are already awake. So you may give the knowledge that the Vedas say this, but if the person doesn’t want to hear, then it may not be so useful. I had one person in Assam, he would meditate in his closet. He was a believer that he was God. And in the Bhagavad-gītā in the 14th chapter, last verse it says very clearly that the Lord is the basis of the impersonal Brahman. But he could not accept. But then he liked to do service. So we engaged him in service. After a few years, he said you know I am beginning to understand devotional service. So think of trying to convince someone, if they have a short circuit in their brain, they cannot understand, then just engage them to do some service.

Question: While hearing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, the separation mood, emotional feelings of His pure devotees, I am feeling very insignificant and useless. Can these feelings be developed by some process or the mood can be developed only by the causeless mercy of guru and Gaurāṅga?

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes! Next question! Ha! Ha! You will gradually develop this by doing devotional service. Or you could get special mercy. Sādhana-siddhi or kṛpa-siddhi. I don’t know, when I read these pastimes, and hear about the devotees crying, rolling on the ground, I feel also like crying! So maybe this is something that has increased over the years. So I think you should keep trying and eventually it will be very easy for you to be feel, to be affected by the emotions of the devotees.

Question: How do we maintain relations with non-devotees, especially while at work? How do we inspire them to come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Jayapatākā Swami: We are friendly with the non-devotees. We are kind to them. But we don’t want to – part of exchanging love is to open your mind and hear the mind. We don’t really want to open our mind to hearing the non-devotees because their particular point may be negative towards Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If they are aspiring to be a devotee, then you can take the trouble to listen. But if they don’t want to be a devotee, then hearing their details maybe somewhat polluting our mind. We are friendly, we are cordial, but we don’t get into like a very intimate association. That, I think is quite alright in the office place. They don’t expect you to be very personal.

Question: Some devotees are taking the association of devotees and start to do chanting and enjoying the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But when their relatives or parents say something negative about ISKCON immediately they leave without informing. It is painful for me how I missed the soul to serve. How to understand the situation? How to overcome and guide them? Please guide me.

Jayapatākā Swami: Part of preaching is to help the people to tolerate the different obstacles. They may encounter obstacles from their relatives, or internet, somehow, I don’t know, some ṛtvik sites they say I murdered a devotee! I don’t know who that is! I don’t even kill a fly, what to talk about killing a devotee! So, who knows what people say, what they see? So we have to be ready to answer any questions that come up or prepare the people to endure any kind of obstacles. There was one devotee who was kidnapped by the deprogrammers. Exactly a few days before she was kidnapped I called her and encouraged her. Just generally. When she was kidnapped, they tore the Bhagavad-gītā up, they jumped up on the Bhagavad-gītā and did all kinds of offensive things. But she remembered that I was kind to her and she went through some difficult times and she escaped from that place and came back to the devotees. So, we don’t know at least if we do our part, be positive, give them good association and if someone turns away, the fact that we are there to help, that we ask them what happened, you used to come? Like that try to find out what are the things they heard. Like that we try to help them. Not easy to make a devotee. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, it takes buckets of blood! Kṛṣṇe matir astu blessings!

Question: Can someone who is endeavoring to follow his guru’s instructions sincerely and is making efforts to take his guru’s instructions and his desire as his life and soul, but hasn’t got the chance to take formal initiation, can such a person go back to Godhead and achieve the highest goal of kṛṣṇa-prema in this very life? Can he also achieve his guru’s service eternally?

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the name of Kṛṣṇa is not different from Kṛṣṇa, somehow by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa, one may also achieve the highest perfection. But a sure way is if possible, is for you to take initiation from the authorized guru-paramparā, and then in that way serve Kṛṣṇa. You see Kṛṣṇa gives you the opportunity to take initiation. If out of false ego you don’t do it, then it is not really Kṛṣṇa’s fault. So if He is giving us some help, we should take it. During this lockdown period I am also giving initiation on the internet by zoom. And other gurus are also doing the same thing. So if one is qualified, they could take initiation. Don’t have to wait for the guru to physically come there.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!