20211205 Zoom Address to Live to Give

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

Jayapatākā Swami: Vaiśeṣika Prabhu, how are you?

Vaiśeṣika Prabhu: Mahārāja we have a new life, seeing you and we welcome you. We are surging towards smashing the goal we have set of 2.2 million Bhagavad-gītās internationally. We concur all of us, the only way that is possible is by getting your blessing, so we welcome you here. And how am I? I am ecstatic to see you and I thank you very much for your association.

Jayapatākā Swami: All my blessings! Kṛṣṇe matir astu! We were announcing 2 million 500 thousand but now we understand that it is 2 million 200 thousand, we do hope that you can smash that record. I have a virtual book table up. Some people are having one Bhagavad-gītā every day up to the Mokṣada Ekādaśī. Some are giving for their birthday, as many, say they are 60 years old, they are giving 60 Bhagavad-gītās. So like that today I heard 350 Bhagavad-gītās donated. Yesterday 560. Every day it is a certain amount. But I am going to tell all the gurus how they can have a virtual book table. We distribute books to the Gauḍīya Maṭha, to the universities, college libraries, to the tribals, to the municipal libraries, to the schools and so on. And sometimes we give sets where the Bhagavad-gītā is given free, but they end up buying five other books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. That way the BBT gets some income and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s literatures get out.

Tonight, I was reading about the different things we can do as part of our devotional service in Lord Caitanya’s teachings to Sanātana Gosvāmī. That we should do everything that is pleasing to Kṛṣṇa and we should always remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him. So by distributing the books, we remember these books are about Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus we are forced to remember. And Śrīla Prabhupāda I remember seeing him, when he would see the books stacked up on his desk, tears would come in his eyes. He was saying that how my Guru Mahārāja will be so pleased. I was thinking that the grand disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda are very fortunate and Śrīla Prabhupāda always told us that our grandfather guru, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura would be more merciful. So as disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda we have to be disciplined by Śrīla Prabhupāda. But as grand disciples, you get more of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy and he will give you sweets, his mercy, and blessings. Especial if you distribute his books, he would be very happy that you are distributing his books.

Actually, people in the world, they are suffering so much. They think they are the body. They don’t know that they are eternal soul. They don’t know how they have an eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By giving these books, they get transcendental knowledge. I was also reading what Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we don’t have to read too many books. The Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So he was asking everyone to read the books and also distribute the books. So I am trying to get everybody in my zone and anywhere I can to also read the books and take the Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta degrees. Also, to distribute the books. I remember how a person met a saṅkīrtana devotee in New Orleans and said, “I don’t want books because this the worst day in my life, the worst day!”

The book distributor asked, “Why is it the worst day? This book is especially for people who are having the worst day in their life!”

He said, “Why did I go to school, why did I get married! Why did I work! I did everything for my mother! and she died today.”

The devotees said, “No, she is not dead she is alive, see here in the Bhagavad-gītā it says, the person never dies.”

He said, “Oh really! can I have that book?”

The devotee said, “Okay. Can I give 20 dollars?”

The devotee said, “Alright!”

So we make people very happy, they are always happy to get Śrīla Prabhupāda books and people are suffering for no reason because of their ignorance. But Śrīla Prabhupāda was grateful to all the devotees who gave their sincere endeavor to distribute the books. The strength to do this service is given by Kṛṣṇa, to increase it. So every year we are increasing. Even we have the new variant OṀ-icron. So we are forcing people to chant ‘Oṁ’ - Oṁ-icron. Somehow if we can get people to read the Bhagavad-gītā then they can be fearless.

When I came here I heard that Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Mahārāja spoke before me and he was saying how one should be part of the worldwide team. Actually, Lord Caitanya’s movement is for every town and village and naturally Lord Caitanya will be very pleased, Lord Nityānanda will be very please, Advaita Gosāñi will be very pleased, and all the Pañca-tattva, by distributing Bhagavad-gītā and by distributing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Anyway, we had the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam before - Bhādra Pūrṇimā, now we are having the Gītā marathon, Gītā Jayantī is Mokṣada Ekādaśī. So somehow Kṛṣṇa spoke Bhagavad-gītā on Ekādaśī, that is a very wonderful thing. Ekādaśī is like a very special day and on the Ekādaśī he also spoke the Bhagavad-gītā. So I hope that all the devotees can get the fire of preaching and help the people to become fearless.

So many millions of people are suffering. The Word Health Organization said that the trauma of this COVID corona virus pandemic is worse than the second world war. So we were always told that there would be a world war and after that the preaching would be very good. Now we are already facing something more than a world war! So this is an opportunity to preach, to give people Śrīla Prabhupāda books, and help them become fearless, help them to go back to Godhead. So this is a great mercy. We saw how Prahlāda Mahārāja, at the age of five he was preaching to the sons of demons. He was a goṣṭhyānandī. He had already received the instructions from Nārada Muni when he was in the womb of his mother. We cannot spend so much time but if we can give a book by Śrīla Prabhupāda, they will read the book and get hours and hours and hours and days of preaching.

I was hearing from, we distributed one Bhagavad-gītā to someone, he read it and left it in his house and his cousin read it, his brother read it and like that the whole family became devotee from Bhagavad-gītā, from one Gītā! The whole family became devotees! Haribol! Haribol! We don’t know these books are like time bombs! Where they will go, whose hand they will come on. I heard from one book distributor from southern California, they distributed a book to one man, and then another car drove up and shot him, he was apparently a drug dealer and other competing drug dealer shot him, but he was holding the book, he had just bought it. So like that he got the blessing. Otherwise, he would have remained a sinful person. But the book is an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, and when he got the book; he was shot dead. Anyway, these books are pure mercy.

I wish I could go, I am wheelchair bound but I set my virtual table and am trying to distribute books that away. But when I was young I used to go out and distribute books. I see the heart coming up from Vaiśeṣika Prabhu. Did I speak too long?

Vaiśeṣika Prabhu: No, no, that was just appreciation Mahārāja! Thank you Mahārāja! We are deeply touched. We are just sitting under a cascade of nectar coming from your lotus mouth. We thank you so much. May we show you a few maps? We will just zip around the world and give you an idea that there is engagement in every continent except Antarctica, we need somebody there.

Jayapatākā Swami: I will tell Chile that they should go there. We will see a whole bunch of penguins reading Bhagavad-gītā!

I see that South India is still missing. Will tell Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata in Māyāpur. Bhakti Vinoda Swami is the chairman of South Indian DC. I will ask him why we don’t see deep South, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh.

I don’t see Italy or Spain yet.

I don’t see the Eastern and Western except Ghana – Nigeria, Kenya? Bhakti Dhīra Dāmodara Swami, he is in Nigeria. Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami is the GBC of Kenya. There have 8,000 pledges from Kenya.

Malaysia just pledged 5000, thank you very much Malaysia. My repeater is from Malaysia!

We don’t see Brazil.

Canada also there?

Good work!

Vaiśeṣika Prabhu: If you can utter a blessing Mahārāja that we can smash the 2.2 million goal we have set this year.

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇe matir astu!

Vaiśeṣika Prabhu: Thank you very much Mahārāja! We are very deeply grateful for your appearance here today and we will take heart in your words and continue to fill in the map and circle back to show you more gaps filled.

Jayapatākā Swami: I will tell South India and Brazil to participate.

Vaiśeṣika Prabhu: If there is anything for Antarctica, we are also interested.

Jayapatākā Swami: I heard that they did Harināma there. In Antarctica. And I heard that in the southern tip of Chile they wear sunglasses even for the cows, because there is hole in the ozone layer, so if you don’t cover your eyes, you will go blind. But I don’t know if there are some bases in Antarctica, probably we can give them some books.