20220227 Question and Answer Session

Keyā Rāṇī: Is it offensive to preach to a faithless person even when they think wrong of devotees or our movement? Please kindly enlighten us.

Jayapatākā Swami: My dear Keyā Rāṇī, in the ten offences to the holy name, preaching the glories of the holy name to an offensive person is prohibited. So if a person is willing to hear then it is alright, but if a person he interrupts or doesn’t listen then it is not suitable.

Ananta-līlā Gopāla dāsa: Shall we try to understand all the limbs and technicalities of the scriptures or just read Śrīla Prabhupāda books?

Jayapatākā Swami: By reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, you automatically come to understand the different things in the philosophy. Just like in the purports, Śrīla Prabhupāda is speaking on the Vedānta-sūtra. Similarly, he talks on various topics, so we should not think that just by reading Śrīla Prabhupāda books, we are lacking in some way. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Vinita Gāndharvikā devī dāsī, College Station, Texas, USA: If we are fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness then do we need to be concerned about technical details? We hear and read the chapters, but if we don’t understand everything that we are hearing and reading? Also what should our attitude be like?

Jayapatākā Swami: If the technical details are given by Śrīla Prabhupāda, why shouldn’t we try to understand them? He has given them to dissipate our illusion. So it is part of the experience - reading and getting his instruction is part of the experience. So I am very glad you are reading and participating. If there is something you don’t understand, you can always write to me.

Varsha: How can today’s youth be not addicted to social media?

Jayapatākā Swami: See, just like we are told not to engage in prajalpa. Discussing useless things just to waste our time. So if we are selective about what we read. then naturally we will limit the social media to selective things. And since we only have a certain time as human beings, we don’t want to waste our time. So that is why if people get addicted to social media, then it is just prajalpa or what is it? If it fits in prajalpa then that should be eliminated.

Pūrṇanandinī Mādhavī devī dāsī: In Bhagavad-gītā it says satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ – Kṛṣṇa says always chant. In many lectures we get to hear we should not chant while driving, doing work etc. How should we reconcile this aspect?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, people are talking, when you are doing city driving you should not chant japa. You can chant but you should not count it. But if you are on the highway then you can do it on the counter, you can chant. It depends, if we have to give our attention. In city driving it is like stop go, stop go, red light, green light, it is difficult to give focus. Devotees do japa walks, Śrīla Prabhupāda used to do japa walk. And while walking he would chant. So I think that the advice they are giving is when to chant japa, based on their own opinion. But we can see that while walking Śrīla Prabhupāda would chant. He did not drive so it is hard to say that. But basically, my advice is that disciples can avoid counting japa in city driving, but on the interstate they can chant.

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Today is Vijaya Ekādaśī. On this Ekādaśī Lord Rāma was victorious. So you can read the glories of the Vijaya Ekādaśī. And today we would like to offer our prayers, maybe offer our results of the vrata to the devotees of Ukraine and we also hope that our devotees in Russia are not sucked into this war. We saw that some people in Russia were demonstrating and they were arrested. I had a disciple in Ukraine, he was shot twice. Once in the shoulder and once in the arm but apparently, he is surviving, he has three children and a wife. He lives in some village. He said that they were snipers. Anyway, this Vijaya Ekādaśī, we offer our prayers and hope that if Kṛṣṇa wishes the war quickly resolves. Hare Kṛṣṇa!