20201106 Zoom Session with Balarāmadeśa Devotees

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

I am very glad to visit Balarāmadeśa in this sacred month of Dāmodara. Out of the twelve months, this Kārtika month or Dāmodara month is most dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa. And this is a special blessings that anything performed in this month reach multiple benefits. Some śāstra says hundred time, some says thousand times; so, it means that if you buy a car like 25,000$ will cost you 1% of that 250$. Brand New! Like that, so little bhakti goes long way. That’s for the initiated devotees is not an issue because, they are regular customers; they get all the benefits. But this is especially, to attract new people.

So, they were having class for forty devotees in Chennai, then they did the “Bhagavad-gītā Made Easy” they got 9,000 registration. I asked them, “What was your secret?” They said, they did various things. They asked forty people to send out to their Whatsapp contacts; your office friends, your contacts, your neighbors in apartment block, put in a facebook, some people joined different groups, different facebook pages, just to get new contacts there. Then they gave the posters to all the new contacts, from that they got 9,000 registrations. From forty, went to 9,000 – so during this Dāmodara month, it is a special blessing to get the people to do some devotional service. And, so people who participate in this Dāmodara month offering the lamp, they actually feel good.

Normally people are very much conditioned, and they think that they are body. But body, bodily senses are sometimes happy, and some time they are distressed, so with this Pandemic distress is more. Even we got one doctor who was cured of the Covid-19. But still he had health issues, he was depressed, even though, he may be cured of the disease, but the after-effects is still going on. But he was happy to hear from the devotees, chant Pañca-tattva mantra, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So it is very important that the devotees practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and give this to others.

I was thinking this morning how all my disciples, they should also advance further in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. After taking first and second initiation they should still go on studying Prabhupāda books. They read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, get the Bhakti-vaibhava and Bhaktivedānta degree. Also read Caitanya-caritāmṛta get the Bhakti-sārvabauma degree. Like this, they should perfect their life. By serving Kṛṣṇa, we can actually transcend this material world. Just like the sun raises in the east and sets in the west. Some aborigines thought the sun would born in the east and died in the west. But they don’t know that sun doesn’t die; we see or not see it. Sun is always there, where we see it or not.  Similarly, Bhagavān sometime He comes in this universe, sometimes He goes. Never that He doesn’t exists. He can come and go at His own will. If we understand this,

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
[Bg 4.9]

If we understand this truth, about Kṛṣṇa’s appearance and activities. When we leave the body we reach Kṛṣṇa. We don’t take birth again. So this is the real perfection of life.

While you are working in the Balarāmadeśa, you can also achieve the highest form of self-realization. And Lord Caitanya said that, gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. And Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, whose disappearance was yesterday, he said that whoever is gṛhastha or vanaprastha, if they chant, “Hā Gaurāṅga!” I want their association. So we want devotees to awaken their dormant love for Kṛṣṇa.

In this līlā of Dāmodara, we see that Kṛṣṇa is always Bhagavān. Even when He is a baby, He is still Bhagavān. He pulled-down the two Arjuna trees and the sons of Kuvera were liberated. So, Navakuvera and Maṇigrīva, they were liberated by Lord Kṛṣṇa. But His mother saw Him as young child. Kṛṣṇa likes to be treated as inferior by loving parents, friends, or lovers. So, actually Kṛṣṇa is Ajita, He can never be conquered. No matter how many ropes Yaśodā brought, it was always two fingers too short. (No matter how many new ropes she brought.) It was always too short. Kṛṣṇa, He saw, His mother was trying so hard, she was perspiring and how she had a pure devotion. Although, there is some material illusion there. But He started to consider that He showed by love He can be conquered. So that is what we would hope that all the disciples, men and women in Balarāmadeśa will awaken their dormant love Kṛṣṇa and thus get His eternal association. Even those who are not my disciples, all devotees should achieve this perfection.

So, I am very happy to be here. And I understand that you are all doing lots of transcendental service. We hope that, that you will be able to increase more and more. On the 1^st of November we had inauguration of the Malaysian Dāmodara month. And they were able to achieve 6,528 logins. They set a new record for Malaysia. I don’t know what is your record in Balarāmadeśa? But, with the help of other devotees you can definitely try to beat it. Anyway, I am very pleased to be here, and you can ask few questions and we go on.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja! Please accept my respectful obeisances at your lotus feet. Guru Mahārāja just a small clarification, because day before yesterday you mentioned that when remember the Deities of the Lord that we are not suppose to do that when we are not clean for example, early morning, or bedtime, so is it proper for us to think about the Lord in the (form) of temple Deities, when we are contaminated. I just want request you to clarify that.

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t remember saying that thing. And anyway, there is no hard and fast rules in chanting the holy name. And once a little boy was carrying the bucket for Lord Caitanya going to śaucālayam. He asked Lord Caitanya, “Why You were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?” He said, “It is not a clean place!” Then the boy said, “What if You die in the bathroom? You have to chant all the time.” Then Lord Caitanya said, “You are now My guru.”  So, from that day he was known as “Gopāla Guru”. When we go to temple, we don’t want to go (aśuci) before the Deity, because the Deity is a Kṛṣṇa-avatāra. But remembering the Lord, we can remember Him at any time.