20220802 Śrī Māyāpur International School (SMIS) Opening Day talk

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 2nd, 2022 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. 

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: I offer my obeisances to Śrīla Prabhupāda, Nitāi-Gaura. I am very glad to be present on this first day of SMIS school and I thank Her Grace Racitāmbara Prabhu for inviting me. So, Lord Caitanya, He was known as Nimāi Paṇḍita and He was called Nimāi, in His childhood. His elder brother Viśvarūpa took sannyāsa and then His father said, no studying, because he was afraid that if Nimāi studied He would be a sannyāsī too! But Nimāi wanted to study! Just like all you children, you want to study, right? So, Lord Caitanya, He did various things. But since His father would not allow Him to study, He would go to some gṛhasthas’ home at night and two of them they would put on like a bag and play out like a bull, snorting and making bull like sounds, He would trample the garden. Those days, people used to have an outhouse. To pass nature’s call, they would go outside the house, to the outside latrine. So Lord Caitanya would lock the door from outside and the gṛhasthas would wake up in the middle of the night and they would shout: “Hey, don’t lock, I have to go quick, help, help me! Don’t lock the door!Help me!”

So, like this, Nimāi, when He was restricted from going to school, He did various naughty things. Like in those days, ladies did not wash pots. They cooked in clay pots and when they finished cooking, they threw them away in a pile. People think that 500 years ago they were primitive, but ask any lady, how would you like disposable pots? It is a very advanced program! So Nimāi, He would sit on the pile of pots. And as a result, His mother Śacī came out and said: “You are a brāhmaṇa boy, what are You doing in that dirty place? Aśuci place!”.

Nimāi said: “I don’t have any education, I am not allowed to go to school. What do I know about śuci or aśuci?”

So then, this was Nimāi. His mother said come with me and took Him to the Ganges. Then Jagannātha Miśra, His father came and all the brāhmaṇa men they complained to him: “Your son, He wants to study. Our children want to play. Your son wants to study. Why do you restrict Him?”

So then, Jagannātha Miśra, he said like “Well, you are all my well-wishers. Since you want me to let Nimāi go to school, alright I will do it!”

So that is the culture that Nimāi had, He wanted to go to school. And your parents are so kind, they are bringing you to school. And the teachers, Ramaṇīpati dāsa and others they are teaching you. So in this way, you can get the blessings of Nimāi! Use this education to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are very happy that due to Her Grace Racitāmbara devī dāsī’s involvement in the school it has expanded almost four times! In fact, she is approaching the Co-Directors, that they need more space! More classrooms! Of course, we have some very big place in the Master Plan for the school. So some Master Plan of the school should be made.

I am very happy to be here today, I have to do some therapies, but I wanted to be here for this occasion. Tomorrow I am leaving for Bangladesh. So we are trying to spread Lord Caitanya’s message and we are very grateful that the students are attending school and they are taught Bhakti-śāstrī in their academics. And some gṛhastha couples told me they are Bachelors of Theology. Anyway, part of our community purpose is education. Since that was Nimāi’s special purpose. And as Braja Vilāsa Prabhu mentioned there are different kinds of education. But ultimately, we want everybody to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Living in Māyāpur, all the devotional service you do, you get a thousand times the benefit. Someone told me that those who stay within three miles of the Ganges, get a hundred thousand! I don’t think we are three miles!

All glories to you and all glories to the Śrī Māyāpur International School! Vraja Vilāsa Prabhu thanked the parents, students, teachers, Ramaṇīpati dāsa, Racitāmbara devī dāsī, I think he more or less covered everybody.