20220221 Īśvara Purī Instructs His Disciple Nimāi Paṇḍita to Chant and Preach Kṛṣṇa-Nāma, Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 21st, 2022 in Chennai, India.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Īśvara Purī Instructs His Disciple Nimāi Paṇḍita to Chant
and Preach Kṛṣṇa-Nāma, Part 1

Under the section: How All the Residents of Vārāṇasī Became Vaiṣṇavas

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.91

śiṣyera prati gurura karttavyopadeśa :—

bhāla haila, pāile tumi parama-puruṣārtha
tomāra premete āmi hailāṅ kṛtārtha

Translation: “It is very good, my dear child, that You have attained the supreme goal of life by developing love of Godhead. Thus You have pleased me very much, and I am very much obliged to You.

Purport: According to the revealed scriptures, if a spiritual master can convert even one soul into a perfectly pure devotee, his mission in life is fulfilled. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura always used to say, “Even at the expense of all the properties, temples and maṭhas that I have, if I could convert even one person into a pure devotee, my mission would be fulfilled.” It is very difficult, however, to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, what to speak of developing love of Godhead. Therefore if by the grace of Lord Caitanya and the spiritual master a disciple attains the standard of pure devotional service, the spiritual master is very happy. The spiritual master is not actually happy if the disciple brings him money, but when he sees that a disciple is following the regulative principles and advancing in spiritual life, he is very glad and feels obliged to such an advanced disciple.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, here Lord Caitanya is telling us what the real goal of life should be, we should try to awaken our dormant love for Kṛṣṇa and if one is able to do that, the spiritual master is very glad. That is the most important thing. So we should try to practice devotional service, how we heard a great paṇḍita met Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in Vṛndāvana and he asked, “how I can understand the scriptures?” So Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that he was a bit busy, he could go and help the pūjārī clean the utensils. So he went and did that and he then came back to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and said, "Thank you, I have now realized the secret." Today is appearance day of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.92

nāca, gāo, bhakta-saṅge kara saṅkīrtana 
kṛṣṇa-nāma upadeśi’ tāra’ sarva-jana

Translation: “My dear child, continue dancing, chanting and performing saṅkīrtana in association with devotees. Furthermore, go out and preach the value of chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma, for by this process You will be able to deliver all fallen souls.’

Purport: It is another ambition of the spiritual master to see his disciples not only chant, dance and follow the regulative principles but also preach the saṅkīrtana movement to others in order to deliver them, for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is based on the principle that one should become as perfect as possible in devotional service oneself and also preach the cult for others’ benefit. There are two classes of unalloyed devotees — namely, goṣṭhy-ānandīs and bhajanānandīs. Bhajanānandī refers to one who is satisfied to cultivate devotional service for himself, and goṣṭhy-ānandī is one who is not satisfied simply to become perfect himself but wants to see others also take advantage of the holy name of the Lord and advance in spiritual life. The outstanding example is Prahlāda Mahārāja.

When he was offered a benediction by Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, Prahlāda Mahārāja said:

“My dear Lord, I have no problems and want no benediction from You because I am quite satisfied to chant Your holy name. This is sufficient for me because whenever I chant I immediately merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. I only lament to see others bereft of Your love. They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification, with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of māyā.” (Bhāg. 7.9.43)

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains in his Anubhāṣya, “A person who has attracted the attention of the spiritual master by his sincere service likes to dance and chant with similarly developed Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees. The spiritual master authorizes such a devotee to deliver fallen souls in all parts of the world. Those who are not advanced prefer to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra in a solitary place.” Such activities constitute, in the language of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, a type of cheating process in the sense that they imitate the activities of exalted personalities like Haridāsa Ṭhākura. One should not attempt to imitate such exalted devotees. Rather, everyone should endeavor to preach the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in all parts of the world and thus become successful in spiritual life. One who is not very expert in preaching may chant in a secluded place, avoiding bad association, but for one who is actually advanced, preaching and meeting people who are not engaged in devotional service are not disadvantages. A devotee gives the nondevotees his association but is not affected by their misbehavior. Thus by the activities of a pure devotee even those who are bereft of love of Godhead get a chance to become devotees of the Lord one day.

In this connection Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura advises that one discuss the verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam beginning naitat samācarej jātu manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ (10.33.30), and the following verse in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.255):

One should not imitate the activities of great personalities. One should be detached from material enjoyment and should accept everything in connection with Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda had said, books are the basis and preaching is the essence, and he was encouraging all his followers to preach, and by preaching, the saṅkīrtana movement would spread all over the world . Because Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura x Because Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had told His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to preach in countries that speak English, and because he did this, so we got a hope. Śrīla Prabhupāda went all around the world and established 108 temples. So, today we are remembering Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, how he encouraged Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to preach all over the world. He met Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in Ulṭa-ḍaṅga Junction, one hundred years ago, so that celebration we are observing today.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Īśvara Purī Instructs His Disciple Nimāi Paṇḍita to Chant and Preach Kṛṣṇa-Nāma, Part 1

Question: Hare Krishna Gurumaharaja! How do we reciprocate with devotees who prefer to have a bhajanānandī lifestyle within ISKCON?

Jayapataka Swami: We naturally want to associate with goṣṭhyānandīs. We like to associate with devotees who would make more devotees. Bhajanāndīs like to chant by themselves, so there is not much to reciprocate.

Question: How should we deal with favoritism in the material world. If it affects our spiritual life too then it happens among devotees. Guru Mahārāja how to see this? Akhilabandhu Gopāla dāsa Indore, India

Jayapataka Swami: I don’t really understand how favoritism can affect. Apparently if someone gets some favoritism, still Kṛṣṇa will analyze us as per our situation, and so, that way we don’t have to worry. But Kṛṣṇa is seeing all you do in His service and so if someone gets favoritism how that could be good or not good. It could be good in the sense if someone gets some facility to do devotional service. It could be bad in the sense that he gets facilities without much effort. So, that way he is deprived of certain mercy from Lord Nitāi-Gaura. So I wouldn’t worry about it. You just try to please Nitāi-Gaura, please the Deities and naturally someone may give you facilities. You can approach the leaders saying you want more service. Usually, people who approach like that, they get more service. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave the example that in a nest, the baby bird that chirps the loudest gets the worm.

Question: Is there really any difference between taking the divine initiation from our Śrīla Gurudeva directly or virtually? Please kindly forgive for any of my improper service to you. Rasasindhu Śacīsuta dāsa:

Jayapataka Swami: As far as benefit of taking initiation directly or virtually, if you feel initiated you feel connected to the guru, that is what counts. Śrīla Prabhupāda had initiated many devotees by letter. And now sometimes due to the pandemic we have initiations virtually. So, if the spiritual master is accepting you, you are accepting him, then what is the difference?

Question: When Śrīla Prabhupāda was instructed by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura to preach in the western world in 1922 why did Śrīla Prabhupāda take so many years to fulfill the order of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura? Sumitra Kṛṣṇa dāsa

Jayapataka Swami: Interesting question. We know that Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was a gṛhastha. He mentioned that in Allahabad he had a house, and it had a special room for visiting preachers. So, he facilitated many Gauḍīya Maṭha preachers. And he said that he wanted to marry a particular, good-looking girl. But his father told him to marry another lady who, in his estimation, was not as beautiful. In one sense he said, that by the mercy of my father it was easier for me to take sannyāsa. Anyway, he was a gṛhastha and had many children, he had responsibilities. Then, he took vānaprastha and finally took sannyāsa. So, in that way, he was able to go to the west and preach. Everybody is different and today we have many devotees who are gṛhasthas but they are doing full devotional service. But maybe at that time, one had to be a sannyāsī to be able to travel freely around the world. Secondly, Śrīla Prabhupāda never forgot the instruction he received in 1922, and he then went to the West, he came to America in 1965.

Thank you very much!

Hare Kṛṣṇa!