20220804 ISKCON Pravartaka Evening Address

The following is an Iskcon pravartaka evening address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 4th, 2022 in Bangladesh.

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: Lord Caitanya said gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. Now, the temple has been established and many gṛhasthas have given their lives to donate that is why it was possible. Along with that various brahmacārīs are serving, and together with the gṛhasthas, they are together serving. In the world ordinary men think they are the body. That their body’s sense gratification is the goal of life. But actually, the pains of this life are birth, death, disease and old age, and the spiritual bliss, that is unlimited, ānander sīmā nay. But if we serve Kṛṣṇa this way, reading Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, worshiping the Lord, then our life is perfected. Now Lord Caitanya said that

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

We want that all of you get the blessings of gaurāṅga-prema. Now, Lord Caitanya predicted that pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma, and that name is being preached. In Bangladesh, there the pastime places of Lord Caitanya and śrīpāṭs which there we are trying to develop.

We are very grateful that donors have donated this land for the temple. We hope that all of you will serve the Lord and experience spiritual bliss. Now, it is not difficult. In Europe, America, Canada, everywhere there is preaching of the Lord’s name. But this is part of gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi. In Bangladesh there are 34 śrīpāṭs. Puṇḍarīka dhāma, Gadādhara Paṇḍita śrīpāṭ, Narottama dāsa śrīpāṭ, many are there. International visitors want to come and see Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu’s śrīpāṭs. Narottama dāsa, he appeared in Kheturi dhāma and he sang – gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi yeba jāne cintāmaṇi.

There was a brāhmaṇa Ajāmila from a good family but he left the brāhmaṇa way of life and got attracted to a prostitute. He had many children, ten. The youngest was Nārāyaṇa. He used to call him, “Nārāyaṇa come here! Nārāyaṇa eat your lunch! Nārāyaṇa let us go for a walk! Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa!” This way of giving names for girls and boys like Lakṣmī, Kṛṣṇa, ajñāta-sukṛtī they are getting. But now we see that names are like Pinky, Mun-mun, etc. But Ajāmila at the time of death, he called out “Nārāyaṇa,” for his son. At the time of death whoever calls Kṛṣṇa or Nārāyaṇa, they go back to Godhead. But even though he was thinking of his child but still the Viṣṇudūtas came and liberated him. Yamadūtas were saying, leave him, we will take him. I saw a drama in Chennai last year. There were three children who were acting. Two were Yamadūtas. And one little girl was Yamarāja. She drew a mustache on her face. The Yamadūtas were complaining, “ISKCON devotees are going out, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they keep at home. They worship and keep Deities or pictures. Whatever they eat they offer to the Lord and eat. We cannot do anything.We cannot take anyone, no use of us. We have to take leave from our work and look for another job.” Would you want to give a job to the Yamadūtas? Raise your hands. Who wants to give them a holiday? That way chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, get Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Mahārāja and read, and this way the Yamadūtas will not come here. We want that you all feel unlimited bliss. Haribol!

There is an adhivāsa song – ānander sīmā nay, ānander sīmā nay, nirānanda dūre jāy! Nirānanda dūre jāy! Haribol! This way you will all experience divine happiness. Hare Kṛṣṇa!