20211225 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.38

Following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on December 25th 2021 in Śrī Māyāpur Dhāma, India. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Canto 1, Chapter 13, verse 38

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Ōm namō bhagavatē vāsudēvāya!

That was the Nārāyaṇa month, having observed the disappearance day of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. And so now today is Saturday we are reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Nārada Muni has arrived at the assembly of Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and everybody has stood up and greeted him very respectfully. They offered him obeisances and they worshiped him. This was the proper Vaiṣṇava etiquette.

We have seen this, when Śrīla Prabhupāda would arrive, we would stand up and offer obeisances and we would worship him. His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami, when he was serving Śrīla Prabhupāda, every time he entered the room, he would offer his obeisances. The other secretaries would have paid obeisances just at the beginning and not pay other times. But Bhakti Cāru Swami would offer obeisances every single time. So he was very respectful towards Śrīla Prabhupāda.

And one time, we would keep night watch and try to protect, so that no one would be able to enter into Śrīla Prabhupāda’s room. And in that time, I think Śadadanya Prabhu was keeping watch. So he told, “Someone was there! Someone was there!” And he was looking everywhere he felt like someone was watching him. And he was looking with a torch everywhere if anyone was there. And then he saw under the staircase and there was Śrīla Prabhupāda! Immediately he offered his obeisances to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Śrīla Prabhupāda stood up and said, “I was just checking on you!” He was checking whether the night guard was doing his duty right or not. So I was down in the personal service of Śrīla Prabhupāda, when I entered the room I would offer Śrīla Prabhupāda obeisances.

So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, he stood up, offered his praṇāmas to Nārada Muni. Not only he, all his brothers, everyone, they offered their respect to Nārada Muni. Because Nārada Muni had no other business, his only service was to go to everyone and sing the glories of the Lord.

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa says that one who preaches the confidential glories of Me to other devotees, there is no one who is dearer to Me than that person. In this way, to convert the nondevotees to devotees, such devotees are most dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa. So in this month of December, Gītā Jayantī month, those devotees who are distributing the transcendental knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā, those devotees are the most dear to Kṛṣṇa. In the Western world because it is Christmas therefore everybody is in a charitable mood. So taking this opportunity we distribute the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā as a special service. People are ignorant of the glories of the Supreme Person. So if they hear the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa then naturally their bhakti gets awakened. So, the followers of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they do this service.

There are two kinds of devotees, one wants his own salvation — bhajanānadīs, and the other one want to help others and they are called goṣṭhyānandīs. There are two kinds of devotees, one wants his own salvation bhajanānadīs, and the other one want to help others and they are called goṣṭhyānandīs. Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was a goṣṭhyānandī. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was a goṣṭhyānandī. Like that, he could have stayed in Vṛndāvana for his own salvation, but he went around the world preaching. So, he knew that the people were suffering due to their ignorance. And if he was able to do anything, he gave all the credit to his guru and Lord Caitanya. This is the mood of a devotee, to give the credit to Kṛṣṇa. The devotee considers himself an instrument in the hands of Kṛṣṇa. He does not take any pride and does not take credit for anything. This way, the greatest service is to completely engage in the service of the Lord. We have to think how the people we are preaching to, how will they accept Kṛṣṇa. In that way, we are always trying to bring the people closer to Kṛṣṇa.

Generally, the masses they think to gratify their senses is the goal of their life and they don’t have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Actually, Nārada Muni, he would always go and glorify the Lord. Like this, if our life is dedicated to awaken, the people to Lord Kṛṣṇa, that is our perfection. Lord Caitanya descended from the spiritual world just to give the people in Kali-yuga His mercy. And He has come to popularize the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. This way, service to Kṛṣṇa becomes popular to everyone for this purpose He has descended. This is Lord Caitanya’s unlimited mercy. Every avatāra has a particular mood. Narasiṁhadeva had an angry mood. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu came with the mood of mercy. The people in Kali-yuga require mercy.

So, now we are having the worldwide pandemic and this Omicron variant. So that is creating fear in the people. I was requesting our leaders that they should use this opportunity to try to encourage everyone to chant the name of God. So in this material world we are suffering the three-fold miseries. If we don’t have the consciousness of Kṛṣṇa. But if we remain Kṛṣṇa conscious and worship Kṛṣṇa then we don’t have to undergo these threefold miseries. So in this material world we have a choice. We can either choose to be Kṛṣṇa conscious or to be māyā conscious. So we want all the devotees to be as Kṛṣṇa conscious as possible. This is the special aim of this human form of life. So, we should take this opportunity to follow Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Now, Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja he was visited by Nārada Muni, and he was feeling very blessed. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he is coming in the disciplic succession of Nārada Muni and he went all over the world, to Australia, America, Europe, etc. In this way he was bringing the mercy of Nārada Muni to everyone. And Śrīla Prabhupāda said we should be strong and try to serve Kṛṣṇa to fight against māyā. So, like that, the elephant and the crocodile were having a fight in the water. But since Gajendra was a land animal and the crocodile was a water animal, the crocodile was gaining strength and Gajendra was losing strength.

But since Gajendra was a land animal and the crocodile was a water animal, the crocodile was gaining strength and Gajendra was losing strength.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we should be strong in the fight against māyā. And one should be situated in such a positon which is favorable and feels strong for him. Someone may be stronger as a vairāgī, brahmacārī, sannyāsī. And someone may feel stronger as a gṛhastha. So one should be in that position where they feel stronger. But we should continue our fight against māyā. Māyā tries to make us forget Kṛṣṇa. And we want everyone to remember Kṛṣṇa. That is why we distribute books. That is why we preach. This way, we see that everyone becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious. And then by serving Kṛṣṇa, get the higher taste. Then we can enjoy the taste all the time. But by doing sense gratification we always remain in some anxiety and helplessness.

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī—sakali ‘aśānta’
kṛṣṇa-bhakta—niṣkāma, ataeva ‘śānta’
[Cc Madhya 19.149]

One who is hankering after enjoyment, liberation and perfection, they are all restless but only the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, because they have no other desire than Kṛṣṇa’s desire, they are peaceful and satisfied.

Just as Nārada Muni was dedicated to spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness we hope that all the devotees will be dedicated to spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we are declaring war against māyā. And therefore, we should continue the fight against māyā. And in this fight against māyā if we forget Kṛṣṇa, then we will lose and if we remember Kṛṣṇa then we will win against the fight with māyā.

Just as Nārada Muni was dedicated to spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness we hope that all the devotees will be dedicated to spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we are declaring war against māyā. And therefore, we should continue the fight against māyā. And in this fight against māyā if we forget Kṛṣṇa, then we will lose and if we remember Kṛṣṇa then we will win against the fight with māyā.

And in this fight against māyā if we forget Kṛṣṇa, then we will lose and if we remember Kṛṣṇa then we will win against the fight with māyā.

So like this we want everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy. And read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s transcendental literature and be happy. Śrīla Prabhupāda hearing the books scores, seeing the books being printed, he would cry in ecstasy. We should be so much inspired to distribute his books. He called that as bṛhad-kīrtana. In that way we would chant and preach that everyone can come into this environment. So, we are very blessed, Nārada Muni came as Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and so many devotees, they helped Lord Caitanya to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. So, we are very blessed, Nārada Muni came as Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and so many devotees, they helped Lord Caitanya to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. Lord Caitanya predicted that His message would go to every town and village. So we need all the devotees to help Lord Caitanya so He be satisfied. He will be happy that people become Kṛṣṇa conscious. So, like that if you can deliver one person then your mission will be successful. Those who are gṛhasthas, if their children become devotees, then that means that it is the success of their life.

So, we see how Nārada Muni he travels all over the universe, how Śrīla Prabhupāda travelled all over the world. How all the devotees, if they can preach to their local town or village, that will be helpful. We don’t ask Kṛṣṇa for any material thing. But, the materialistic people, they expect so many things from Kṛṣṇa. That is chanting with offence. But better they chant with offences rather than not chant at all. So, if we somehow get the people to chant in this day and age, maybe they will chant because of the pandemic, I don’t know. But they must chant, the Lord’s name. Dhruva Mahārāja had many material desires but as soon as he had darśana of the Lord, all his material desires vanished. So like that somehow if we can get people to chant they can develop their natural devotion. Anyway, it is already after-nine. Any questions.

As you mentioned about His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami that he would always pay obeisances to Śrīla Prabhupāda whenever he met Śrīla Prabupāda. It is very exemplary and inspiring. Guru Mahārāja, sometimes the very tendency of our mind that we associate with the devotees for services due to frequent meetings, we sometimes do not pay our obeisances and respects, sometimes due to circumstances also like in front of the Deities, we don’t pay obeisances to them. How to deal with this?

Before Lord Kṛṣṇa’s deity we offer our obeisances to the Deity. And so the guru is happy to see that we are offering praṇāma to Kṛṣṇa. But if we see the guru other place, then we offer our obeisances. Sannyāsīs, first time we see them, we offer our obeisances. Guru, every time we see, we offer our obeisances. But for those who are serving personally guru or Deity, they may offer once and then after that they may not offer. It is because they have to go into the room of the guru many times every day. His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami he would offer obeisances every time.