20220715 Question and Answer Session

Harihara Caitanya dāsa: As you explained Lord Caitanya enters the heart of his pure devotee and inspires him to preach. If someone is not a pure devotee, will he still be able to preach? Please enlighten dear Guru Mahārāja. If someone is not a pure devotee, will he still be able to preach? Please enlighten dear Guru Mahārāja. 

Jayapatākā Swami: You see entering into the heart of a devotee and being personally there as an āveśa is different from preaching. Definitely you can preach. Lord Caitanya being personally present is a different thing altogether. The śāstra says that He appears in the heart of a pure devotee, if He wants to. It does not mean that in every devotee this has to happen, but it happens if the Lord wants in some pure devotee’s heart. You can preach anyway. 

Question: How to understand that we are facing our own karma or it is Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement in our life. Is it true that when we start doing bhakti our karma diminishes and we act according to Kṛṣṇa’s will and arrangement. But for that we have to be a pure devotee even a sādhaka’s karma diminishes completely when they start bhakti. Then again why we face difficulties? 

Jayapatākā Swami: You see if you are 25% surrendered then Kṛṣṇa protects you 25%, if you are 50% then 50%. If you are 100% then He will fully protect you. Like Prahlāda Mahārāja he was fully protected by the Lord. But maybe we want some material sense gratification, and we also want to do some service. So finally, Kṛṣṇa will protect us some and māyā will control the other. We should think that we are suffering much less than we should be by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

Satyamedha Gaurāṅga dāsa: As Lord Caitanya entered the body of Nakula Brahmacārī can we see the same thing happening in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s pastime since Śrīla Prabhupāda was carrying Kṛṣṇa in his heart (āveśa)?

Jayapatākā Swami: Many people think that Śrīla Prabhupāda was manifesting in his heart. But he did not say that as Nakula Brahmacārī did. But it seemed that by his participating in Ratha-yātrās and some other festivals that people were very much inspired and in one Ratha-yātrā after the Ratha-yātrā he went to the car and turned to the driver and said, “Did you see how beautifully Nitāi-Gaura were dancing in the crowd?” The driver, of course he did not see Nitāi-Gaura, he said Jaya Śrīla Prabhupāda! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! 

Akshas Sukhla [Ujjain, India]: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wants to deliver all the fallen souls through His representatives. What attempt can we make from our side to get delivered? 

Jayapatākā Swami: By reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, by getting the degrees, that would be very pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda and be very fixed up in your Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy. 

Ānandavihārī Kṛṣṇa dāsa: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Daṇḍavat-praṇāma! Should I go for second initiation? Could we go back to Godhead with first initiation by following the regulative principles and by chanting and by getting your mercy or second initiation is necessary? Haribol!

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda said that one doesn’t have to have second initiation. But no harm in having it. Then you can do some confidential service to guru and the Deities. But you go back to Godhead even after the first initiation.

Kṛṣṇasevinī Rādhā devī dāsī: How can I develop unwavering faith and love in you and Kṛṣṇa in my heart? 

Jayapatākā Swami: The whole practice of bhakti-yoga is to develop our love for guru and Kṛṣṇa. It is not a different process. Same process delivers us and we should perform devotional service and naturally if you help the spiritual master then Kṛṣṇa will be very pleased. 

Question: Can we do sevā if a close family member dies or is born? 

Jayapatākā Swami: You see in Guruvayūr the head priest or Nambhūthirī is not told if his close relative has passed away. So he is not affected. The questions is: if you are affected, if you are lamenting, then it is not good to go before the Deities. If you are not affected, then the aśauca period is considered to be less. I mean like for the brāhmaṇas something like 11 days and śudras 30 days or something. Vaiṣṇavas are considered to be detached, considered to be on the brahmanical platform. That you can see your consciousness, how you feel. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you very much !