20210904 Addressing JSSS Worldwide Online Retreat

The following is an Address given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaja via Zoom on September 4th, 2021 in Sri Dhama Mayapur, India. The Address was given at the JSSS world wide virtua retreat day 1

Jagannatha Kirtananda dasa, Host: How are you guru maharaja?

Jayapatākā Swami: Physically or spiritually? I am still suffering a bit of a cellulitis in my right leg. Otherwise, I seem to be alright.

Jagannatha Kirtananda dāsa: You are somebody that inspires us all. missing You have shown that caring in spite of so many physical issues. missing You are inspiring us all but what would you like to see from your disciples regarding caring?

Jayapatākā Swami: I am very grateful to the JSSS program, they are reaching out disciple to disciple, and that is also very important. I am trying to reach out as Saci Janani devi dasi mentioned, with the JPS Care. So that is my initiative to care for disciples, but the JSSS is a program where disciples help other disciples, and also they may also share some experience they may have had and that helps to inspire people. There are a few categories that are missing in Saci Janani’s presentation that there are also siksa disciples. They may be disciples of other gurus, but they look to me as a siksa guru. As you know we can have more than one siksa guru, so whoever accepts me as their siksa guru I want to take care of them, and also those who asked me to take care of them as they help me to fulfill Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions. They may not be disciples, or aspiring or siksa as such, but they would like to help or they want my help. So in that regard, they also need to be taken care of. So now we see that in Kashadesha a number of disciples of other gurus who have accepted me as siska guru or in New Dvaraka or other places. So like that around the world, there are siksa disciples. But basically like, at 5.30 pm I gave a program to the Gauda Saraswata Brahmana Community and I had 13 initiated disciples there out of hundreds of people. One asked me that they had taken initiation in 2002, but they are still suffering material problems. So it seems that he had expectation that if he takes initiation, there will be no more material problem. But I told him that it is not the case. Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that this world is dukkhalayam asasvatam. So we think that although we are suffering some material pangs, it should have been much worse but Krsna had reduced it. So I gave an example, that today after several days I went to the pool to do some exercise. But I was feeling pain in my leg due to that cellulitis. Then I was thinking how in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta 7th chapter of the Adi lila, how Lord Caitanya and His associates, the Panca-tattva, They said that when the whole world was flowed with Krsna consciousness, They became parama ulhasa, they became paramanandi or became like ecstatic. And I was thinking how nice it would be to please the Panca-tattva like that! I could not help but laugh, I was feeling so much happiness just thinking about Them being happy. But at the same time my leg was hurting. So I had the realization that this material suffering is not connected with your spiritual bliss. I am not the body, I am not the mind, I was enjoying happiness on the spiritual platform and suffering on the physical platform.

I was telling how people can be saved from the Yamadutas. In Chennai I thank Gaurangi devi for presenting how it is important it is for the children and youth In Chennai they had a day of the bhakti vrksa groups to offer different offerings to Śrīla Prabhupāda. One of them was a skit. And there ware two yamadutas So two yamadutas were complaining to Yamaraja. That they wanted to take people to hell, but they are chanting Hare Krsna, we cannot take them. The other one said, even in their house they put their temples, they have Jagannatha, they have Krsna. The other one said, even in their house they put their temples, they have Jagannatha, they have Krsna. We cannot take them. What are we going to do? We have to seek another job! Ha! It was so nice, that drama! Ha ha! So that is how the kids were performing the skits. So we want to help people to escape the yamadutas. Go back home back to Godhead. So, the JSSS can help me, if anyone helps me, I would like to send out a message to the disciples on the database, especially on Janamastami, and the upcoming Radhastami, but we don’t have up to date data. Most of the emails bounce back. So if you can help as Saci Janani dev dasi said, we need to update the contacts. So, different people are helping in that. But the JSSS can also help in that. Thank you very much.How is your wife’s health?

Jagannatha Kirtananda dāsa:  Final question Guru Mahārāja: Here health is good guru maharaja and we will send you an email of her progress. In the UK we had one member who was actually thinking of committing suicide. But he was caught in time. It is really sad to hear this when it happens, so number 1 online is feeling like this, what should they do? And secondly, us as disciples, how can we help them?

Jayapatākā Swami: First thing they should do is, don’t do it. Don’t commit suicide. The first initiated will become ghost and second initiated will become brahma raksasa. So don’t do it. Sometimes I see emails that I want to commit suicide and for some reason my secretaries don’t show me them right away. I don’t know what they should do. They can send it to me, to JPS Care, to the local JSSS, and if they are feeling some great emotional problem or in some need, that way we should see how we could help them. If they flag their subject as urgent, and I am getting some letters, they don’t particularly say suicide but they do say they are having some problems. Maybe they have husband and wife problem. So we have people, we have devotees who have volunteered to help in this regard. And I have some psychologists who have volunteered to do counseling if needed. So different ways we can try to help them. But if these thoughts are coming in the mind it is actually very dangerous. Maybe some subtle entity wants company and requesting, do it do it! No gain. In the same place, you stay as a ghost for the same time as you stay in the body, but you will have no senses. You have your mind. That is the whole problem.

Jayapatākā Swami: Thank you very much. I should thank Bhakti Purusottama Swami, Revati Raman prabhu and Rambaru mataji. I heard Rambaru mataji is in Chaplin, in Virginia USA. Chaplin I think, it is providing different spiritual and emotional care for many people. I am very grateful also to the JSSS program, if they share Śrīla Prabhupāda lila, that will also be nice. Maybe especially around his Vyasa puja, it would be nice to say something on Śrīla Prabhupāda. Recently some of the – I was invited to come to the European JSSS program. If I am invited to come to any place, I will try to go there, otherwise I will try to send some video clip if it is an odd time.