20201224 Zoom Session with Anantapur devotees

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

Jayapatākā Swami: I am very happy to be visiting Anantapur. I was told that since this is very close to Bengaluru, I will be able to visit frequently. But somehow, that has not been true. I think I only came once or twice. I always wanted to come but somehow it was stated that I should not go. In 2008 October, I had a stroke and then I had a kidney and liver transplant. I had skin cancer. And there was the pandemic. So somehow or other I could not visit Anantapur. But Anantapur is very dear to me. And I am very glad that I could virtually visit by zoom today.

On the eve before the Gītā Jayantī day, the Mokṣada Ekādaśī, I am very glad, hope that everybody will be celebrating the Ekādaśī tomorrow when Kṛṣṇa spoke the Bhagavad-gītā. Here in Māyāpur, we are celebrating the Gītā Jayantī, thousands of devotees have come. I hope they all stay healthy. We know that the pandemic is not over yet. But the devotees don’t seem to mind much.

But any way we are seeing that Lord Caitanya, He was very kind to the devotees. He told the gṛhasthas they should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa long with their wives, families. And it is important that the gṛhasthas follow the Kṛṣṇa in the center policy. Have the pictures or Deities in the house. And lead life with Kṛṣṇa in the center. Kṛṣṇa is very kind, He says that He is sex life, not against the religious principles. So I am happy to see many children and I hope you are bringing them up to be nice devotees. They should become very attached to Kṛṣṇa.

I don’t know if Lord Caitanya went to Anantapur. I know that He went to Tirupati, He went to Hubli. Did He go to Anantapur? I don’t know. But by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, we can get the mercy of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The Lord is known as Triyuga. Because He comes in His līlā-avatāra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara yugas. But He comes also in the Kali-yuga as the Yuga-avatāra. But He comes as a covered avatāra. He doesn’t proclaim Himself to be God. Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, They declared themselves, They were the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya is very merciful. He would stay in the houses of gṛhasthas as a sannyāsī. He would stay one day in each house. So like that, for six years, He stayed in one house every night. Except He stayed in Śrīrangam for the rainy season. So like this Lord Caitanya was giving out His mercy. And He was requesting all the people to tell everybody the message of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Here in Māyāpur, the Ganges is flowing. We can bathe in the Ganges every day. But the Ganges is far away from Anantapur. But Ganges is pure, as it touched the foot of Lord Viṣṇu. The Bhagavad-gītā was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa. So there is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s lotus foot and lotus mouth. So you can bathe in the water of the Bhagavad-gītā and read it every day. Lord Caitanya requested people to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, worship Kṛṣṇa and read the teachings of Kṛṣṇa. So, Kṛṣṇa’s teaching Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is spoken about Kṛṣṇa. So, even Anantapur can bathe in the water of the Bhagavad-gītā every day! And in this temple, which is reminiscent of Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa, so it is said Kṛṣṇa is the charioteer of Pārtha. So He is Pārtha-sārathi.

So like that our human life is actually very short. But in this life if we are able to awaken our dormant love for Kṛṣṇa, then our life will become a success. People generally think that if they serve the senses, their senses are satisfied, then that is the success of life. But actually, the senses are never satisfied. The Romans would eat, feast, and then take a feather and put it down their throat and vomit the food and eat again! They wanted to enjoy again and again! The stomach will only hold this much food, so empty it out and eat again! This is the fruit of the Western culture. Eat, drink and be merry! But the same senses, they give us some pleasure, as also suffering. The ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika, ādhibhautika kleśa. So actually, unlimited happiness is there by serving Kṛṣṇa. And that is the great gift of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That He wanted everyone to have spiritual bliss. Normally, that was not easily available. Saṅkarācārya was saying that to give nirākara-mokṣa, one has to be a sannyāsī. But Lord Caitanya taught gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. Whether you are a gṛhastha or a vairāgī, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy. So, I think that you are also experiencing some happiness in serving the Deities. You have a big gośālā, a big congregation. So Śrīla Prabhupāda said that if even one percent become devotees, they can change the whole world. Thank you for your nice offering of prasāda. Like this, making a nice offering for Lord Kṛṣṇa, that is the process of bhakti-yoga. Yukta-vairāgya. Use whatever you have in the service of Kṛṣṇa. You don’t have to artificially renounce. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and use your house, use your abilities to serve Kṛṣṇa. Bring up your children to be Kṛṣṇa conscious.

And again I wish you a happy Gītā Jayantī to all! And a happy Ekādaśī. Here in Māyāpur it is winter. Sometimes 9 degrees, sometimes 15 degrees. It seems to be much warmer in Anantapur. Here everybody wears a sweater or a cādar or something in the night. Anyway, Hare Kṛṣṇa!