20220708 ISKCON Habibpur Ratha Yātrā Address

The following is a Ratha Yatra pandal address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 8th, 2022 at ISKCON Habibpur, West Bengal, India.

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! I used to go to Śrīpāṭ Śāntipur many times to take the dust there.

Then Śānti Sakhā Goswami was doing service, Praśānta Goswami’s father.

He used to call me younger brother, so that way I am Praśānta Goswami’s uncle.

Anyway, he has written many letters.

My gurudeva Śrīla Prabhupāda, he has written many letters which Śrīla Prabhupāda showed me.

He said that if we don’t get land in Māyāpur then we will make Śāntipur as the World Headquarters for ISKCON.

With Lord Gaurāṅga’s mercy we go some land in Māyāpur.

But Śāntipur will always be our worshipable place.

And Śrīla Prahupāda said that we should install Pañca-tattva there.

Now that is why we have Pañca-tattva – 

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Śānti Sakhā Goswami told me that Lord Caitanya used to come there on Govinda Dvādaśī.

Govinda Dvādaśī falls just before Gaura Pūrṇimā.

And it was the Mādhavendra Purī Festival.

Advaita Gosāñi had got initiation from Mādhavendra Purī.

Advaita Gosāñi was praying to Lord Kṛṣṇa requesting Him to come to this world, and offering tulasī leaves, and Gaṅgā water on śālagrāma-śilā, with great austerities and sacrifice. He was chanting loudly the harināma.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said a few times, that I have come for the sake of Advaita Gosāñi.

So the Govinda Dvādaśī Festival, Śānti Sakhā Goswami had showed me from the Caitanya-bhāgavata where it was written that on this tithi, on this day, whoever has prasāda there, they will get Govinda-prema.

He said that where else is it written that only by eating prasāda, we can get kṛṣṇa-bhakti? He said that he was following another sampradāya, why don’t you do the festival?

After that, from ISKCON, we come to Śāntipur to distribute Govinda Dvādaśī prasāda.

Maybe about 40 to 50 thousand people come here.

We are making all these efforts because Advaita Gosāñi is an incarnation of Mahā-Viṣṇu and Sadāśiva, the scriptures say.

So if we get His blessings, then definitely we will get the blessings of Lord Caitanya.

I did not know that his son Praśānta Goswami and his son would grace the occasion today, and I am very grateful to them for that.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

I have been told that there are 19 devotees have come here from Ranaghata area to take initiation.

And they have taken vows not to take non-veg, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling, and will follow these all through their lives.

And chant 16 rounds of Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra every day.

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

108 times makes one round. That way 16 rounds.

Before this chanting of the mantra, if we chant the Pañca-tattva mantra then there will be no offence during chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

But we have to try and see that we do not commit any vaiṣṇava-aparādhā.

And my disciples also vow to help me in fulfilling the instructions of Śrīla Prabhupāda. 

The purpose of human life is to serve the Lord, to worship the Lord so we can go back to Godhead.

This material world there are many miseries.

Because human beings say, they want happiness.

Who all want to be happy?

Raise your hands.

But how can we be happy, that many don’t know.

People think that the more sense gratification we do, the more happy we will be.

But some poor people with great difficulty earn Rs. 3,000 to 5,000 and that is not enough, they are in difficulty.

They pray to Lord Jagannātha and say, Lord Jagannātha, this is our sad plight, please give us mercy that we get a job which pays Rs. 10,000.

But even with 10,000 rupees, he is not happy.

They cannot buy a motorcycle with that.

Then they want Rs. 50,000.

But with this they cannot buy a car.

They say then need many lakhs.

Like this, again and again, they pray to Lord Jagannātha.

But their desires never end.

Because we are not this body.

We have a body, but we are eternal spiritual souls.

And we are part of the Lord.

The Lord is infinite, and we are infinitesimal.

But the quality is same, but the quantity is different from the Lord.

If we know about the Lord and worship and do service Him, then we can achieve the Lord and perfect our lives.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says,

janma karma ca me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
(Bg. 4.9) 

And if we only know that the Lord does not take birth like us, where He wishes He comes, the way He wants, he appears.

He appears as Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva.

When He comes as Varāhadeva, then He achoooo… (sneeze).

He appears from the nostril of Lord Brahmā as a small boar, and immediately expanded into a huge boar.

The way the boar snorts, He snorted and became the size of a cat, then a dog, then an elephant and then even bigger, so big that He could hold this whole universe on His snout.

At that time Bhārata-varṣa had fallen into the Garbhodaka ocean by the atrocities of Hiraṇyākṣa.

Varāhadeva lifted the universes from under the ocean.

He is one of the incarnations of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

He appeared as a tiny thing then assumed such a might form that could hold the universe.

Lord Narasiṁhadeva came from a pillar.

Wherever He pleases, He comes from there.

He came to Mathurā and appeared as the son of Vasudeva and Devakī, and He appeared with the four handed form with His crown and other paraphernalia.

He said that, “Earlier you had wanted to have Me as your son and had performed sacrifices for that. Three times I had promised I would come as your son and so I have come now. You had asked for a son like Me, but there is no one else like Me, so I have come as your son.” Then Devakī said affectionately that, “Please take the form of a small infant.

Because Kaṁsa will come to kill You.” Kṛṣṇa said, “Okay!

I will take the form of a baby, but Vasudeva should take me to Gokula and there Yaśodā has given birth to a girl baby.

You don’t know why you have taken birth in this family and what family you will be born in your next life.

But the demigods and the care givers of this universe decide what birth you will take now.

But Kṛṣṇa is not like that.

His appearance is divine.

When He wants He comes.

He told the demigods to take birth in the family of the Vṛṣnis.

This way Kṛṣṇa knows which family He is going to appear in.

His pastimes, His karma are all divine.

Satya is Dhruva Rāṇī, one of the queens of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes there is competition.

Satya’s father said that there are seven bulls, and whoever can control all the seven bulls at the same time, he would give his daughter in marriage to him.

Many kṣatriyas came and some of them broke their hands, some their legs, but no one was successful.

But Kṛṣṇa took seven of His forms and each of His forms controlled one bull.

Haribol!

Jaya Jagannātha Swami kī jaya!

nīlācala candra āmāra prabhu jagannātha jaya jagannātha jaya jagannātha!
sundaracala candra āmāra prabhu jagannātha jaya jagannātha jaya jagannātha! 

Nīlācala is Dvārakā.

Sundaracala is Vṛndāvana.

Lord Jagannātha goes to Sundaracala, Guṇḍicā, and here this place is now Vṛndāvana!

You are all Vraja-vāsīs now!

Here Lord Jagannātha will stay for nine days, then He returns.

There is a special thing.

In Habibpur temple there is the Deity of Rādhā Kṛṣṇa.

That means here is Vṛndāvana and there also Vṛndāvana.

Ulṭa-ratha the way we do, Vṛndāvana to Vṛndāvana! In Jagannātha Purī Vṛndāvana to Dvaraka, back. 

Anyway, Kṛṣṇa’s karma and His birth are all divine, those who understand this, they will never have to come again to this material world and they can go back to Godhead.

What is the difficulty?

It doesn’t enter the heads of ordinary people that going back to Kṛṣṇaloka is very difficult.

But Kṛṣṇa says that if one knows the divine nature of His birth and karma, they will go back to Kṛṣṇaloka and will not come back to this material world.

Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!

I hope those who are taking initiation, they will understand this that the birth and karma of Kṛṣṇa are divine.

I was told that we have the dīkṣā ceremony in the temple but I said we will have on the stage because if you understand that the birth and karma of Kṛṣṇa are divine, you will not have another birth in this material world.

Haribol!

In Chennai, there are many Bhakti-vṛkṣas and Nāmahaṭṭas groups.

Some small children there performed a drama.

In that drama, two children were playing the part of Yamadūtas.

And they were complaining to Yamarāja.

The part of Yamarāja was played by a small girl, who had a mustache on her face.

The Yamadūtas said, “These Kṛṣṇa, ISKCON devotees, they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and do kīrtana!” And another Yamadūta said, “Not only that, in their homes they have Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and they study them.” Another said, “The wife cooks and then offers the food to the Lord.

This way, if they do this way, we cannot take them, we cannot take them to hell.

We will be without a job if this way everyone serves the Lord.

We will have to find another job, this job will not work!” I hope that you give the Yamadūtas a holiday.

That in every house you keep Kṛṣṇa in the center and do service.

Husband and wife together chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, do kīrtana, read the books and this way the children grow up in this situation and this way the Yamadūtas will have to take a holiday.

If you want to give the Yamadūtas a job, then do not chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

Do not read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Do not worship Jagannātha, Nitāi-Gaura Deities at home.

If you do all these things the Yamadūtas will not come. But if you want the Yamadūtas to come, do not do these things.

I think that none of you want the Yamadūtas should come.

That is why you will all chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa name.

I stay in Navadvīpa.

Navadvīpa has nine islands.

The first island is Sīmantadvīpa.

There are nine islands and each of the islands stands for each limb of the nine practices of devotional service.

Sīmantadvīpa is the limb of śravaṇa.

Sīmantadvīpa, how did it get its name?

One day Mahādeva, in Kailāsa was dancing ecstatically and chanting Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

Pārvatī, Durgā Devī said said, “Svāmī, Master, what are you chanting?” But when Pārvatī said this, “Mahādeva stopped his kīrtana but he was feeling sad.” He said that, “I was so ecstatic chanting the name of Gaurāṅga, you stopped that!

Who is Gaurāṅga?

What is Gaurāṅga?” He said, “Gaurāṅga is the most merciful incarnation of Kṛṣṇa.

He gives everyone freely kṛṣṇa-prema.” Gaurāṅga!

Pārvatī asked, “Where will I find Him?” He said, “He is in Navadvīpa.

He has both visible and invisible pastimes.

But now His invisible pastimes are going on, but if you call Him, He may come.” So Durgā Devī, she came down to Navadvīpa-dhāma and started doing kīrtana – Gaurāṅga!

Gaurāṅga!
Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!
Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!
Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!
Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!
Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

This way, Gaurāṅga appeared.

He asked, “Why are you calling Me?

What do you want? Then Durgā Devī, Pārvatī said, “I heard that You distribute kṛṣṇa-prema. Can I not get it? I desire to get kṛṣṇa-prema.” Then she took the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and put it on her forehead.

The ladies on the head between the hair, the parting is called sīmanta where Lakṣmī is there.

Because Durgā Devī took the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and put it on her sīmanta, that is why that island is called Sīmantadvīpa.

Lord Caitanya said that you are one of My potencies, My internal potencies.

That way, you are non-different from Rādhārāṇī.

Here you will be non-different from Rādhārāṇī and you will get kṛṣṇa-prema.

The devotees of Durgā Devī ask for good house, good wife, good son, wealth, etc.

But Durgā Devī, what does she pray for? The things that the devotees ask her are lowly, she gives them that. But what does she ask for? Kṛṣṇa-prema! Haribol!

She wanted, similarly you can also get that.

With Lord Caitanya’s mercy, Lord Nityānanda’s mercy, Lord Advaita’s mercy, you can get Rādhārāṇī’s mercy!

Haribol! Anyway, now I will return to Māyāpur after the initiation ceremony.