20220711 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on July 11th, 2022 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

Question: We should surrender the body mind and words, but my mind is very uncontrolled. It is very painful that something which I don’t want to remember or think of, again and keeps popping up in my mind which may be offensive thought. Please kindly tell me what should I do?

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has recommended that when one wakes up in the morning you should beat their mind with shoes 100 times.

And before we go to bed beat your mind 108 times with a broom stick.

In this way, you are not the mind, your mind should cooperate with you.

You have to tell the mind who is the boss.

Instead of the mind bossing you around, you tell the mind what to do.

If you don’t want to think about that pray to Kṛṣṇa He will help and pray that you want to think about Kṛṣṇa.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Question: How to deal with older devotees who are moody and ultimately cause fear in new people or community instead of motivation to serve?

Jayapatākā Swami: Good question.

So it is important if they are senior devotees talk to them privately.

Speak to them how you tried to enthuse these new people but if the older devotees express their doubts to the younger devotees that creates a bad taste.

Explain to him how his negative comments are influencing the younger people badly.

If it is not comments, he only has a bad mood, then talk to me, I can help him, I don’t have a bad mood.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Question: Kuntī devī prayed to have calamities so that she always remembered Kṛṣṇa. Is this an ideal way to keep our mind on Kṛṣṇa instead of meditating on our problems?

Jayapatākā Swami: Write to me what you think your problem is.

Kuntī Devī, whenever the Pāṇḍavas and Kuntī Devī had problems, Kṛṣṇa came and saved them.

So whenever they had problems Kṛṣṇa came so she said she wanted to have problems all the time so that Kṛṣṇa will come all the time.

If you are sincere, then Kṛṣṇa will come to us.

When you have problems then you can remember how Kuntī Devī was saved by Kṛṣṇa.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

She is one of our senior Vaiṣṇavīs (Phāneśvarī Lakṣmī devī dāsī).

Alright, blessings to all!

Hope that I will soon be restored to my healthy position.

Very nice to see all the devotees.

Those who have turned their videos on.