20211219 The World Gītā Day Address

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

Jayapatākā Swami: I am very honored to be here with all of you, to be speaking on the importance of the Bhagavad-gītā and the books in general. Actually, Lord Caitanya, He gave three instructions. Bolo-kṛṣṇa, bhaja-kṛṣṇa, karo-kṛṣṇa-śīkṣā. So, this third instruction – karo-kṛṣṇa-śikṣā, Śrīla Prabhupāda explained Bhagavad-gītā is Kṛṣṇa-śikṣā because it was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Also, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is spoken about Kṛṣṇa. So it is also Kṛṣṇa-śikṣā. But especially, I saw Bhagavad-gītā on the desk of Śrīla Prabhupāda in the 1970s. I told, “Oh, you are reading Bhagavad-gītā Śrīla Prabhupāda, isn’t this a beginning book?” He said, “You must study Bhagavad-gītā to preach.” So, as you heard from Mahāmana Prabhu, prāṇa āche yāra, sei hetu pracāra. That we have to preach, if we have life. So, if we want to preach, we have to read Bhagavad-gītā.

Actually, when I took the first initiation, Śrīla Prabhupāda said I had to read the Bhagavad-gītā ten times. So I still have that Gītā, 1,2,3,4 cross, 1,2,3,4 cross, ten times! After reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Bhagavad-gītā I was giving a course in the Loyola University. I was also giving a course in McGill University in Montreal. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda explained the Bhagavad-gītā so nicely that one could give a college or university course. So this Bhagavad-gītā is very important. Actually, it is the foundation of our whole spiritual life! It tells us all the basics we need to know. But unfortunately, the people today, don’t even know these basics. And they think that they are the body. Bhagavad-gītā clearly explains we are not the body, we are the spirit soul. We are the higher energy of the Lord. The material energy is the lower energy. So, people need the Bhagavad-gītā just to survive in this world. People are suffering like anything because they don’t know the basic facts of life. They don’t know the science that is presented in the Bhagavad-gītā.

Why Śrīla Prabhupāda presented Bhagavad-gītā As It Is? Because there were hundreds and hundreds of Bhagavad-gītā commentaries, but everyone puts their own speculation. He couldn’t recommend any Bhagavad-gītā out of hundreds. He said, when we did not have the Bhagavad-gītā, he would say, well, maybe Gītā Press, it is not fully alright, but actually Bhagavad-gītā Śrīla Prabhupāda gave is so lucid and so easy to understand. Everyone should be studying the Bhagavad-gītā. Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that people should have the Bhakti-śāstrī to take the second initiation. And we know that Bhakti-śāstrī is mainly Bhagavad-gītā. Some other books, but mainly Bhagavad-gītā. So, the Bhagavad-gītā is something that everyone should study to be a preacher.

And we are very glad that the Indian sub-continent and India as a country has pledged more than 20 lakh Bhagavad-gītās. This is actually wonderful. Our worldwide goal announced by Vaiśeṣika Prabhu is 2.2 million. Of that, over 2 million was pledged by India. Not all the temples have sent in their pledged yet. So we can see that India is doing a very wonderful job and we are reading every morning the quotes on book distribution and Śrīla Prabhupāda is glorifying the Bhagavad-gītā, how by reading the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, a person can actually get all perfection.

I remember that someone was walking across a road carrying a stack of Bhagavad-gītās. And that person did not watch the traffic. And the person was hit by a car and killed. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that because the devotee was carrying Bhagavad-gītā, he got liberated. So, what to speak of reading, actually Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to read the Bhagavad-gītā, not that we should just distribute it to other people, we should read it, we should know it. And he did not want that, when asked, “What does the book have?” And the devotees said, “I don’t read it, I don’t know!” He did not want that. He wanted the devotees to read the Bhagavad-gītā, to know the subject matter, and to believe in it. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that I should read Bhagavad-gītā ten times to get initiation, I require that at least they should read twice to get initiated. Anyway, this is the World Gītā day! All Glories to the Bhagavad-gītā! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda who has given us the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s words. Hare Kṛṣṇa!