20211106 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.12.23

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 6th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.12.23.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!

So we see that for a long time, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja wants to know about the future king. Last week, I think they were still consulting the astrologers. Even now, he is inquiring. So, he was very concerned that how Parīkṣit Mahārāja would be, what qualities he would have and whether he would be able to keep up the honor of the dynasty. All the examples given, they are all transcendental and very valuable. The example that he was having the equanimity like Lord Brahmā or Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, as munificent as Lord Śiva and maintain his subjects like Lord Nārāyaṇa maintains the universe. These are very nice examples.

So today is the disappearance of Vāsu Ghoṣa. He was a very special devotee. The three brothers, they were all pure devotees of Lord Caitanya. Govinda Ghoṣa, Mādhava Ghoṣa and Vāsu Ghoṣa. So, Vāsu Ghoṣa wrote the song, if Lord Caitanya wasn’t there what would be there. And that inspired me to write a song yadi prabhupāda na hoito tabe ki hoito - if there was no Prabhupāda what would there be. So Vāsu Ghoṣa he dug a samādhi pit in front of the Deity. And he climbed in and told his disciples, cover me alive with the dirt. The Deity was speaking and said, “You have given your body to Me, you cannot commit suicide!” So how perfect he was that the Deity spoke to him! But how much he was feeling separation when Lord Caitanya left. Anyway, today is his disappearance day and we are offering him our respectful obeisances.

So we see how important the future qualities of the child were for Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja. Like that, our gṛhasthas having children is a major aspect of their gṛhastha life. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī of the six Gosvāmīs he wrote the Sat-krīya-sāra-dīpikā. In that book, is included the garbhādāna-saṁskāra. How important it is. One of the six Gosvāmīs was a bābājī, a paramahaṁsa, he wrote this in his book. So Śrīla Prabhupāda also said that gṛhasthas should chant extra rounds, and pray to the Deities. Having relations takes only short time. But how one’s consciousness is that produces the child. So, we can see it is very important. Few minutes’ relationship but the child is for lifetime. So, just as Yudhiṣṭhira wanted to know how will the child turn out, that way, our gṛhasthas we should also be a little thoughtful that the child will be Kṛṣṇa conscious long lived, healthy son or daughter. 

Yesterday was the special Govardhana-pūjā. Govardhana-pūjā is a very special festival. And many things happened on this Govardhana-pūjā. I mean, I remember that it was Govardhana-pūjā day, after the prasāda was distributed Śrīla Prabhupāda heard some noise and he wanted to know what happened. Then there was only the Lotus building here and he went on the verandah of the Lotus building and he was looking to see where the noise was coming from. There was a big pile of banana leaves where people’s remnants were thrown. Usually people eat all the prasāda, but some people did not eat it. There were some village children who were eating the remnants. But dogs also wanted to eat it. The dogs because of hunger were also howling and barking. The boys were using their village sticks to keep away the dogs. On the one hand they were keeping and fighting with the dogs away with the stick and the other hand, they were eating the remnants of the people. Śrīla Prabhupāda saw this scene and started crying, “How hungry they must be! How hungry! Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Father. And in the presence of the father, the children do not go unfed.” So Śrīla Prabhupāda said that, “Anyone in a 10-mile radius of our temple should not go hungry. Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Father, everyone should be fed.” From that day, we started two days a week, giving free food to everyone who came. Without any distinction of caste, creed or one’s birth this prasāda was distributed to everyone. And we are still doing that. So that happened on the Govardhana-pūjā day.

Another thing I remember that happened in Vṛndāvana in 1977. Govardhana-pūjā was going to happen in a day or two. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, let me go by bullock cart around the Govardhana. But the Kavirāja, the physician attending to Śrīla Prabhupāda said that if this was done then Śrīla Prabhupāda would not survive. Śrīla Prabhupāda said I am a preacher, better let me die preaching. And some of the devotees were ready to take Śrīla Prabhupāda on the parikramā. And we were feeling that Śrīla Prabhupāda as he was getting better, he should not take this extreme step. So, some disciples they were crying and telling Śrīla Prabhupāda, please don’t go! Others were ready to take Śrīla Prabhupāda on the parikramā of Govardhana. So, then Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī, his Godbrother was there. Śrīla Prabhupāda said to him, “Just see how much my disciples love me!” This also happened just before the Govardhana-pūjā.

I was watching the Govardhana-pūjā yesterday in many different temples. And there were not only temples but I also visited many gṛhastha homes where Govardhana was held. Of course, this was a virtual visit. So we were seeing how different people, they were preparing different beautiful Govardhana hill. And in Vishakhapatnam they had made a Kṛṣṇa out of cow dung. And He was holding up the Govardhana hill. And many gṛhasthas they participated by offering bhoga there. Some places they had 56 bhoga offerings, some places they had 108, some places more than thousand!

Māyāpur dhāma had a huge Annakūṭa. I did not see any Annakūṭa as big as Māyāpur dhāma. But everybody was participating, some made whole Vṛndāvana, whole Govardhana. On one side Govardhana Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa and on the other side Mānasī Gaṅgā. Some people put the monkeys and cows. I was thinking that in some places they did drama showing the Kṛṣṇa-līlā. This way, they have exhibited many aspects of devotional service. Some places kīrtana, drama and their glories. With smaraṇam they were doing Kṛṣṇa-līlā in Govardhana. With pāda-sevanam and arcanam they were worshiping the Deity of Govardhana. They circumambulated the Govardhana and offered their obeisances, vandanam. In this way, I saw that many devotees were participating in the Govardhana-pūjā. Some places like Vṛndāvana it was very elaborate, some places very simple. But everywhere many congregational devotees were also participating. So we are very happy that all the devotees are participating in such a way. Bangladesh, Malaysia, Australia, we saw many devotees also participating in this Govardhana-pūjā. Because of working day some observed in the evening and some in the morning. Some made a rice mountain, some made halva mountain. Halvākūṭa! Anyway, we see that for people, devotional service is so ecstatic. So, like that, material world we have the past, present and future. But we don’t have that in the spiritual world. Nitya-vartamana, eternally present. No one gets old, no one gets disease, no one dies. This way, like the Govardhana pūjā if we are completely immersed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engaged in service, then at the end of our life we will go back to Godhead.

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja wanted to know what the child would be like. So, in the same way, we should try to train our children to be as happy in Kṛṣṇa consciousness as much as possible. Some want children but they don’t get. They should then try to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others. Others, the gṛhasthas they don’t want children but they get. And they don’t take proper care of their children. That is why those children are called as varṇa-saṅkara. Any way as devotees we should take care of our children’s future, as Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja wanted to know about his grandson. It takes a village to bring up a child, someone wrote a book. So, we all want to participate in helping the children to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.