20220519 Evening Adhivāsa Address in New Town

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 19th, 2022 in Kolkata, India. The talk is given at the Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi Grand Installation ceremony at Iskcon New Town on day 1, an evening session.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees! Gaura-Nitāi have come here to New Town Kolkata! You heard from His Holiness Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami, how Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma have come in the form of Gaura Nitāi. Why are the names of the Lord being chanted? Being Bengali you don’t know kabaḍḍi (game)? When they play kabaḍḍi if we have to chant the name Kṛṣṣṣṇa then lot of air goes out. Allah if we say also lot of air escapes from the mouth. So I thought what is the name of the Lord we could chant when not much air would escape. Then I found the name Gopati! Kabaḍḍi and Gopati – there is not much difference in chanting the two names. His name (gesturing to Gopati Kṛṣṇa dāsa, Guru Mahārāja’s servant) is Gopati! Kṛṣṇa is the original Gopati, protector of the cows, and this one here is Gopati dāsa.

Anyway, today you witnessed the beginning of the installation of the Deities. Today’s ceremony was ‘netronmilana’ meaning the lotus eyes of the Deities were opened. With the chanting of mantras, and offering of ghee, kohl, the eyes were opened. There is a pūjārī from Mumbai who has come, Sevatulya Prabhu. There are a lot of ceremonies done on this occasion. I have seen that this pūjārī was at the ISKCON Patna Deity installation ceremony for a week, for the installation of Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Gaura, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Bāṅkebihāri Lalitā Viśākhā, Śrī Śrī Sītā-Rāma Lakṣmaṇa Hanumān Deities. Today lots of ceremonies are performed on the adhivāsa day. Tomorrow is the abhiṣeka ceremony and the ‘prāṇa-pratiṣṭha’ ceremony. Guru Bṛhaspati has taught the procedure for the ceremony of ‘praṇa-pratiṣṭha’. This way, some say these are idols. But these are not idols, they are the ‘arcā-avatāra’ of the Lord. We cannot see the Lord, we don’t have eyes qualified for that. But for us to worship the Lord, He comes in the form of arcā-vigraha in front of us. And therefore, if we worship these arcā-vigrahas, we will get immense mercy. In Vṛndāvana, there are the Deities of Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma, Nitāi-Gaura, Rādhā-Śyāmasundara arcā-vigrahas. In Māyāpur we have Prahlāda Narasiṁhadeva, Pañca-tattva: śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu nityānanda, śrī advaita gadādhara śrīvasādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. Can all the Prabhus here do Hari-dhvani? Haribol! Ladies can do ulu-dhvani! The devotees of the heavenly planets also do this divine ulu-dhvani.

Now Kali-yuga is going on. But Kṛṣṇa told all the places of pilgrimages that in Kali-yuga, the first ten thousand years will be very auspicious, and all the people will become kṛṣṇa-bhaktas, devotees. Haribol! Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He came in Kali-yuga after 4500 years had passed. But A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda came 5000 years after the advent of Kali-yuga. I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda that why did Lord Caitanya not spread the saṅkīrtana movement all over the world? Śrīla Prabhupāda said, probably, He left it for me to do! Haribol! At 70 years of age, he travelled around the world 14 times and also established 108 temples all over the world. Srila Prabhupada Ki! Jay! Now ISKCON has above 800 temples. And thousands of Nāmahaṭṭas and Bhakti-vṛkṣas.

There are very learned people like Ph.Ds., etc, thinking they are the body. People consider themselves to be Bengalis, Indian, Americans, Australians. But actually, we are not the body. The Bhagavad-gītā teaches us that we are eternal souls. The body dies but the ātmā does not die. The body is like a cloth we wear and change from time to time. But if we read the Bhagavad-gītā properly then we will understand that we are not the body, we are the soul. His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami has a book stall here and any of you who want can buy the Bhagavad-gītā and because Gaura-Nitāi are coming here we have Caitanya-caritāmṛta sets as well. We read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and understood that there is a beautiful link between the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Anyway, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta and other books – all of you should read them. If you don’t read them then maybe you will not be on the spiritual path. We desire that everyone gets darśana of Lord Caitanya. Gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. Ādi Śaṅkarācārya said that if one is not a sannyāsī one cannot attain liberation. But Lord Caitanya says that be he a renunciant or a householder all can get liberation through bhakti-yoga. Haribol! Now, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs want impersonal liberation but the followers of Lord Caitanya – the renunciants, householders, want to be liberated and participate in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Haribol! The Lord’s pastimes of the Lord in Vṛndāvana, Mathurā are amazing!

The Lord comes in one day of one kalpa of Lord Brahma. Once in 1000 catur-yugas. And after Lord Kṛṣṇa comes in Dvāpara-yuga, Lord Caitanya sometimes comes in Kali-yuga. You have seen that the cow had come before the ‘netronmilana’ ceremony. All of you should follow in the path of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

In Chennai I had seen a drama performed by girls and boys of some Bhakti-vṛkṣa groups. One girl was acting as Yamarāja and two other children were Yamadūtas. They were complaining that, “We see that in homes they have Deities and do worship, kīrtana, chanting and ate prasāda. They also have Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta. How can we take them to hell? We are not able to do anything! We need another job for us we feel.”

In Kolkata, there was a family, the lady, children all had taken initiation. But the husband did not want to take initiation. But the husband was diagnosed with fourth stage of cancer. He was lying down on the bed. He saw two men came out of the wall. They were tall dark hairied, big fang like teeth and had leather belts. Looked like Yamadūtas. The husband shouted, “No, no, no, no! I will not go!” Then the two men disappeared into the wall. The husband called his wife and said, “I will wear the neck beads, I will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! I will read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.” We have been trying for so many years to change him but just in a few minutes the Yamadūtas were successful. This way, the husband also became a devotee.

Tomorrow there will be prāṇa-pratiṣṭha of Gaura Nitāi Deities. The pūjārīs, ācāryas, are trying to successfully perform the ceremony. But you are also needed in this program. Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda are Bhakta-vatsala. If all of you can humbly request, that please Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, please come, we wish to serve you! If we request this way from the heart, then the Lord will come. And you will get the opportunity to serve Them. Nitāi and Gaura love that you dance and chant!

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare,
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

We desire that all the devotees, initiated, non-initiated, women, men, all of you from the bottom of your hearts, pray to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, requesting them to come. How many of you want Their Lordships to come? Haribol! Today you have done well. Tomorrow, also we hope we will do well. Prayers are required that Nitāi Gaura will come here. And after They come, you will get the opportunity to serve them. In this material world there is lot of suffering – birth, death, disease and old age. But Vaikuṇṭha, there is no suffering. No death, no birth, no disease no old age. We desire that we serve the Lord and go back to Vaikuṇṭha dhāma. Haribol! Anyway, Sevatulya Prabhu has made this beautiful arrangement. Now the Deities have gone for śayana, resting, on adhivāsa day. Tomorrow the Deities will come and there will be abhiṣeka. Hope all of you will come and participate in the ceremony. I convey my best wishes to all of you and end my talk.

Śrī Śrīmad Jayapatākā Swami Gurumahārāja ki! Jaya !