20201218 Question and Answers

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

Anubhav Paul: How to neglect or ignore the evil chatter of the mind?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, it is very important that we replace the chatter of the mind with the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa or the reading of Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. Somehow engage the mind in devotional service of the Lord.

Jayarāseśvarī dāsī: It was mentioned today that the sannyāsī Sarasvatī will be very attached to music, by the mercy of goddess Sarasvatī. Does our parama-guru-ācārya, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda very good in singing?

Jayapatākā Swami: He was very learned. Sarasvatī is the goddess of culture and learning. I don’t know how he was in singing but he was very, very, very learned. And even his English books were written in such a way that his English is of such a high nature that you have to sometimes refer to the dictionary. So in that sense, certainly he was Sarasvatī. Also he discovered some planets, in various ways he was very expert in learning.

Vajayantī Lalitā devī dāsī and Ānandamayī Kalāvatī devī dāsī: In one of the previous chapters we heard that prasāda is so auspicious that even if it falls from a dog’s mouth, it can be taken. But when any relatives come to our home, who are not practicing bhakti-yoga, they leave prasāda on their plates. Can it be taken too?

Jayapatākā Swami: See, that prasāda which was glorified was specifically about Jagannātha mahā-prasāda. That His mahā-prasāda is very special. Even if it falls from a dog’s mouth one should take. Whether other prasāda is elevated, hard for me to say. Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that if you take the remnants of prasāda from someone who is more elevated than you, then that is spiritually beneficial. But if we get sick from prasāda from a lower personality, that is not auspicious. So this was specifically about Jagannātha prasāda that we should take. I don’t know if the other prasāda fits in the same category. But certainly, we respect it. And it depends a lot on your faith.

Raṁya Subhāṅgada devī dāsī: I most chant my 16 rounds in the early morning and sometimes chant extra rounds on the clicker during the day, while feeding the children and sometimes while cooking if possible. Guru Mahārāja will that be considered as nāma aparādhā? As I am not attentive. Please guide me.

Jayapatākā Swami: That you have to judge yourself. If you are able to concentrate it is not nāma aparādhā. Even nāma aparādhā is better than no chanting, according to the śāśtra. Because normally like someone driving in the city, they have to stop and go repeatedly, then we don’t count that in our daily japa. If they are driving on the freeway or motorway or something, then for the most part they can concentrate. If someone takes a morning walk and they more or less concentrate on their chanting, that is alright. Our previous ācārya used to chant while walking.