20210801 Bhadra Pūrṇima Special Campaign Inaugural Speech

The following is a Bhadra Purnima special campaign inaugural speach given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja via zoom on August 1st, 2021 in Sri Dhama Mayapur, 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

Jayapataka Swami: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya!

On the occasion of the Bhadra Pūrṇimā we are inaugurating the special program. I request all the devotees to keep social distancing - all the devotees to keep social distancing The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam distribution on Bhadra Pūrṇimā is a very special occasion. And on that day, if we receive the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or give it out, Lord Kṛṣṇa is especially pleased. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said, that if on Bhadra Pūrṇimā day the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is donated, he will go to Goloka Vṛndāvana. So Devānanda Paṇḍita was a professional reciter of the Bhāgavatam. But he offended Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and he did not get the mercy of Lord Caitanya. But when he got the association of Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, he got the bhakti unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then Devānanda Paṇḍita asked Caitanya Mahāprabhu how should we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the very special śāstra, scripture. But we should explain Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in such a way that bhakti is prominent. No inauspiciousness can enter any home where Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is kept. I the Kali yuga we should specially keep Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in every house. Every day in that house Lord Hari with 13 principle demigods, comes. Wherever Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is there, all the sacred places, rivers, Gaṅgā, Jāmuna, the mountains appear there. And also charity, yajña are present there. This way, everyone should keep the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their home.

We are promoting before this Bhadra Pūrṇimā, so that everyone can have Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their homes. There are many references in various scriptures like the Skanda Purāṇa about the glories of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. What is the use of collecting hundreds and thousands of other scriptures if you have the Bhāgavatam? Whoever does not have Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their homes, Yamarāja will take care of them. If somebody is a Vaiṣṇava and he does not have a Bhāgavatam, then he is lower than a caṇḍāla or a sinful person. Even if we have to give up everything to buy a Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is no match for it. If somebody has Bhāgavatam in their house, they will get good health, long life, etc. You see Bhāgavatam is in front of you. So after seeing the Bhāgavatam, everyone should pay their obeisances. So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is why to spread the auspiciousness for everyone, we want to promote and distribute Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to get Bhāgavatam, and to donate Bhāgavatam. In scriptures it is mentioned that even if somebody reads even one śloka, it will work. I saw in Assam that they have kept the Bhāgavatam in an āsana of brass and they were worshiping it.

Anyway, from now you can start planning how to distribute Bhāgavatam to your friends, relatives, etc. Now during this time of pandemic, we distribute Bhāgavatam over the phone. Whatever it is, it is very important and necessary to distribute Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Now we heard the glorification of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from His Holiness Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami, His Holiness Gaurāṅga Prema Swami Mahārāja, His Grace Braja Vila dāsa prabhu. This world is vacant, but if Bhāgavatam is there it purifies everything. Anyway, it is already late, I will not speak much. But His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami said that we have pledged to distribute 4000 B sets till Bhadra Pūrṇimā. All of us will pray that we meet our target. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! Śrīla Prabhupāda took great difficulty. Śrīla Prabhupāda was translating the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the dead of the night. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami translated the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in Bengali. This way, all these devotees have done special yajña and written the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Anyway, our duty is that we hear the Bhāgavatam, read Bhāgavatam, and try that this Bhāgavatam reaches every home.Hare Kṛṣṇa!