20201121 Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.4.9

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

Om namo bhagavate vāsudevaya!
Om namo bhagavate vāsudevaya!
Om namo bhagavate vāsudevaya!

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.4.9

abhimanyu-sutaṁ sūta
prāhur bhāgavatottamam
tasya janma mahāścaryaṁ
karmāṇi ca gṛṇīhi naḥ

Translation: It is said that Mahārāja Parīkṣit is a great first-class devotee of the Lord and that his birth and activities are all wonderful. Please tell us about him.

Purport: The birth of Mahārāja Parīkṣit is wonderful because in the womb of his mother he was protected by the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His activities are also wonderful because he chastised Kali, who was attempting to kill a cow. To kill cows means to end human civilization. He wanted to protect the cow from being killed by the great representative of sin. His death is also wonderful because he got previous notice of his death, which is wonderful for any mortal being, and thus he prepared himself for passing away by sitting down on the bank of the Ganges and hearing the transcendental activities of the Lord. During all the days he heard Bhāgavatam, he did not take food or drink, nor did he sleep a moment. So everything about him is wonderful, and his activities are worth hearing attentively. The desire is expressed herein to hear about him in detail.

Guru Mahārāja’s explanation: So the sages in Naimiṣāraṇya, they wanted to hear about Parīkṣit Mahārāja. Because he was a first-class devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He was a very special devotee. Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the purport, gave some of the unique features of Parīkṣit Mahārāja. He was the grandson of Subhadrā and Arjuna. And his father and mother were also great kṣatriyas, great devotees. As Śrīla Prabhupāda said, while in the womb of his mother, Kṛṣṇa appeared to him, and saved him from the brahmāśtra of Aśvathama.

As the emperor of the world, he did not let Kali enter. He protected the bull and the cow. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that if the bull and cow are killed or destroyed, then the human civilization will also be destroyed. We see that in the present society, there is cow slaughter and therefore the civilization is being destroyed. We see that during this pandemic time, because of the mistreatment of the cows, animals, human beings are suffering. And Prabhupāda was also saying how he fasted until death and heard the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

So, in our ISKCON society we have many gṛhasthas. Actually, I would say the vast majority of devotees are gṛhasthas. And they ask they would like to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. That only the gṛhastha-āśrama could do. Since there is no child born from the brahmacārī or sannyāsī. So, we see that Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and his wife, they prayed to Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā, for a Kṛṣṇa conscious child; as a result, he had Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. We heard how A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, his parents were also devotees. Actually, I went to the house in Calcutta and saw the Rādhā Govinda Deities. That day there was a ceremony of transferring the service of a particular family who were serving to another member of the family who was going to take the service, to a different part of the same family. Like that, we see that their having a Kṛṣṇa conscious child is not an accident.

When the king would try to have, since the child would be the next king, we know that he would pray, and the brāhmaṇas would be chanting Vedic mantras and there would be prayers, and this was a ceremony. They would perform the garbhādāna saṁskāra. I had a friend, a neighbor when I was a child, and he told me that his mother told him, “You were an accident! I didn’t want you! You happened by accident!” So, we wonder what is being taught about varṇa-śaṅkara. So this boy, he was very depressed when his mother told him, “You were an accident, I did not want you.” So having a Kṛṣṇa conscious child is a very wonderful thing.

In the Vedas, they discuss about dvija-bandhus. If the brāhmaṇa, the twice born, dvija does not perform the garbhādāna saṁskāra then his child maybe a friend of the twice born or dvija-bandhu. He or she is less intelligent or less qualified. Prabhupāda wanted that our devotees should have Kṛṣṇa conscious children. According to the Sat-kriyā-saṁskāra-dīpika there is a saṁskāra called garbhādāna saṁskāra. I don’t know how many devotees are practicing that. But this is very important. Also, they pray to the Deities, and Prabhupāda recommended chanting extra rounds. So, having a Kṛṣṇa conscious child is a very important thing. And at the same time the environment wherein he or she will grow up is also very, very important. So the husband, wife they should treat the child nice, they should treat each other very nice. Having this kind of environment is very, very important. Some people ask me for a blessing to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. It is nice that they approach their guru for blessing. But also praying to the Deities. Also choosing some auspicious day. But scriptures says that we should not have garbhādāna saṁskāra on Ekādaśī, on Aṣṭamī, on Pūrṇimā, Amāvasyā, or any other holy days; on fasting days. So, like that there is some prescriptions for the garbhādāna-saṁskāra. So being a gṛhastha is also a very big responsibility. And they should bring up the child in a Kṛṣṇa conscious environment.

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, he wanted to know how, what were the astrological predictions for Parīkṣit Mahārāja. He was very happy that all the marvelous, good qualities were present in this child. So this aspect of the gṛhastha life is very important. So we know also that some of the qualities of Parīkṣit Mahārāja are very special. He came to know that he was going to die within seven days. So he prepared within these seven days. And he asked all the ṛṣis and the sādhus how one can achieve success in seven days. There were jñāna-yogīs, aṣṭāṅga-yogīs, various yogīs were there. Jñāna-yogīs, they don’t consider seven days enough time to read and understand the scriptures. And the aṣṭāṅga-yogīs, they told, seven days, it is hard to learn even one or two āsanas. This way everyone said that, “It would not be possible in seven days.” So then Śukadeva Gosvāmī came. He said, “Seven days, in one minute I can give you perfection!” If there is devotion for Kṛṣṇa, then you can get immediate deliverance. We don’t know how long we have to live. Some a documentary I saw; a soldier he went five or six times to the Middle East. And in the Middle East, it was a war setting and fight with the terrorists. It was heavy danger. He came back to his home and died in a car accident. So, no one knows when they will leave. But Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he knew he had seven days; we don’t know. We could die in one minute, or ten years, we don’t know. We can see how important it is to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, by being a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.

The last five days of the month of Kārtika is coming as Bhīṣma-Pañcaka. From Ekādaśī to the full moon day. It says that even if one is a drunkard or an alcoholic, if he was a very great sinner, if somehow he can follow the Bhīṣma-Pañcaka, then so much merit he will achieve, that no one can explain it except Viṣṇu. And he goes back to the spiritual world. So, actually, that is why this Bhīṣma-Pañcaka is so glorious. But it is especially for the gṛhasthas. I think brahmacārīs also can do, there is no problem. But they are anyway following a more pure lifestyle. One in gṛhastha āśrama can be a gṛhastha or a gṛhamedī. And most people, they don’t follow actually the gṛhastha āśrama. That is why we want that everyone to follow the gṛhastha āśrama in a proper, strict way, if they are gṛhasthas. So, Parīkṣit Mahārāja, his life is very glorious. We need some more Kṛṣṇa conscious children like this. So if the gṛhasthas can have this type of children, that would be very glorious.

The world today is suffering because we don’t have any Kṛṣṇa conscious leadership. So, this entire Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Prabhupāda underwent great hardships, and has translated it. And Parīkṣit Mahārāja he dedicated his life in hearing this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So we request all the devotees to read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and study it.

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Question: Gurudeva, sometimes question arises that Mahārāja Parīkṣit being such a great devotee, why did he put the dead snake around the neck of the great sage? What should we understand from this act of Parīkṣit Mahārāja? Keya Rāṇī

Jayapatākā Swami: We can understand that the Lord put him into some illusion, so that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam could be spoken. But the sage, he didn’t consider it as a serious offence. Certainly it is not worth cursing the emperor to death. If someone does this in the present society, how that person should be punished? Certainly not death sentence. Maybe some punishment for disrespect. But the emperor, was feeling he was being disrespected.  And we take that as Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement. Like when Arjuna, he expressed his reluctance to fight, and then we consider that he was put into some illusion by Kṛṣṇa so that Kṛṣṇa could speak the Bhagavad-gītā. Normally Parīkṣit Mahārāja would never do this kind of mistake.

Question: Dear Guru Mahārāja! Please accept my respectful obeisances. Being a gṛhastha how can we understand that we are actually gṛhastha or gṛhamedī?  And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is already described how one should follow the gṛhastha life, what happens if we don’t act according to the scriptures and go on satisfying our lusty desires? – Saṅgītamayī Gopī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we read in the pastime of Lord Caitanya, when Lord Caitanya was in Vṛndāvana, one grihastha approached Him, and he said, I am a very, very fallen gṛhastha. Like that he had the mercy from Lord Caitanya. So Śrīla Prabhupāda said, as gṛhasthas we should try to keep our goal higher. But as you said, we are not maybe able to achieve that right away. But we try. And that is why we also - the śāstra gives us different vratas, different systems that we can follow. Like the Bhīṣma-Pañcaka is optional. There are many things which are optional. If you think you need some more purification, you can do these optional vratas. So brahmacārīs may consider, these are not for me, I don’t have any problem. But they can also preach to the gṛhasthas. If they do, no harm. I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, what should we do in the Dāmodara month? He said, this is especially for the new customers. Like, a store has a sale. To attract new customers. But you are a regular customer. All the months, all the days, whether there is a sale or not, you are a regular customer. So this way, Śrīla Prabhupāda answered me.

Question: in Bengali. Guru Mahārāja, there are many initiated prabhus and mātājīs and their families in gṛhastha āśrama, but their children even though they are connected to Kṛṣṇa conscious families, they do not follow the devotional lifestyle. They eat outside food and are oblivious to Kṛṣṇa conscious life. If children act this way will that affect the lifestyle of the Kṛṣṇa conscious parents? Kindly elaborate on this.

Jayapatākā Swami: One time, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said, that he would indulge in sex life, if he knew that every time, he was guaranteed to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. That is why every time the child will be a pure devotee, that is not guaranteed. That is why we try. From the beginning, we want a Kṛṣṇa conscious potential child. We pray to the Deities, we get the blessings of guru, we do the garbhādāna saṁskāra. Then also, we have to bring up the child with love and affection. It is not an accident that they become a devotee. They may get some special association of a pure devotee, and the parents naturally feel that they are very successful, if their child becomes a devotee.  There is no śāstra that says that if a child is not a devotee, then somehow it affects the parents. But the first five years, if the child commits any sinful acts, the parents have to take the responsibility. This was a curse given by a ṛṣi to Yamarāja, so that this would be done in the universe. Because when he was a little child, Yamarāja poked an insect with a grass.

Question: We are living in a society where there is no Kṛṣṇa conscious environment. So how can we comment behavior in another persona and give a gift of spiritual environment in our daughter? – Śrīnivāsa dāsa, Ratnāvalī devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we are trying to create this Kṛṣṇa conscious environment in Māyāpur. And in different parts of the world, they do different things to give the young devotees in a Kṛṣṇa conscious environment. In the CDM, Congregational Development Ministry, has a program, especially for children. If you would like to be part of this initiative, please contact the CDM.

Question: When one’s material life is too problematic; how should we take it as Kṛṣṇa’s special mercy or settlement of karma?

Your spiritual daughter,
Rādhikā Premabhakti devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes. We take it as Kṛṣṇa’s mercy because He doesn’t let anything happen without His permission. Nothing. For devotees, they see that their karma is settled at a reduced rate. Actually, this material world is always problematic. This material world is duḥkhālaya. This is already stated by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā. So if you think that this material world is problematic, that should be an inspiration for you to go back to the spiritual world. Why do you want to stay in the material world, life after life? Don’t you see that this material world is problematic, and you should try to be Kṛṣṇa conscious? You have such a nice name. Rādhikā Premabhakti. I want that Prema-bhakti of Rādhikā. So we see that this material world is a horrible place, but we try to make the best use of a bad bargain. It is very important that both husband and wife are devotees, and they try to become very dear to Kṛṣṇa.

Gopati Kṛṣṇa dāsa: Thank you very much.  Hare Kṛṣṇa! I am sorry we went a little late. Now the Māyāpur devotees can leave and I will visit the other devotees and temples. His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami wanted to say something?

His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami: Guru Mahārāja, daṇḍavat praṇāmas. We are organizing Bhīṣma-Pañcaka in Gītā Bhavān, Māyāpur. Those who are staying in Māyāpur, they, for the past few years are doing this. But from different parts of the world devotees are asking questions. How to observe the Bhīṣma-Pañcaka? How to do the Dvādaśī parāṇa, etc. So Guru Mahārāja, can you please enlighten us with a few word on this? Also asking blessings from you that we are able to observe the Bhīṣma-Pañcaka successfully.

Jayapatākā Swami: We understand this is a five-day-vrata. And if we take a saṅkalpa that we are following the Bhīṣma-Pañcaka, then as far as I understand, that naturally, it is alright to break it on the full moon day. But devotees are always worried about the Dvādaśī. We heard from His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami, that if you do the complete fast on the Ekādaśī, then you can break your fast, taking fruits or roots, whatever. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he appeared, his Vyāsa-pūjā is on the day after Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī. So he said, that we can break the Janmāṣṭamī fast, but with one grain of rice. So if someone is worried about the Dvādaśī-Ekādaśī-vrata, if they take one grain of rice, saying that this is for the vrata of Ekādaśī, then that is one way. Otherwise, if they do the saṅkalpa for five days, they break their fast on Pūrṇimā. Devotees eat my head, what will happen on Dvādaśī? What is going to happen on Dvādaśī? What is going to happen on Dvādaśī?!! So they can take one grain of rice.

Also, in this Dāmodara month, we hope you will send your scores in. How many have offered lamps? And you know, what are the Dāmodara-pūjā scores. Many devotees don’t send, in or they send late. Send it to the CDM.