20220822 Question and Answer Session

The following is an evening Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 22nd, 2022 in Hyderabad, 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: So, the main aspect of this program is question and answer. And I would just like to say that I am very grateful that Śrīla Prabhupāda connected me to this project, and we really see that the devotees have increased. I have been talking to the different TMC leaders and they want to expand the outreach of this temple. I was told that in the evening ārati there are many devotees who come. And I see, it is true!! And the secret of spiritual success is to always stay engaged in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, serving Kṛṣṇa and remembering Kṛṣṇa. Now we are seeing how different programs are expanding in the Hyderabad area. This temple has been renovated and improved and I went to Attapur, there is a new temple there. I went to Medchal, they have been improving the temple. Rampally invited me to come. On Vyāsa-pūjā day I went to Secunderabad. I could not see the final offering here, but they had a huge area. This is a special opportunity to do some sevā for the Deities. I did not see the noon offering but the evening offering in Secundarabad was 108. I never saw so many types of murukku! Last night I went to the temple in Kukatpally. It was very amazing to see the Deities of Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā there. I have been kept busy, but they said I have to give one night to the Hyderabad devotees! So I stayed one extra day to serve you! So if you have any questions, you can ask now. The best way is to write on a piece of paper with a pen and pass that on. But since you may not be ready yet, some can ask questions on the mike and others can write down the questions in the meantime.

Question: How to remove bad habits in the self being in society and how to increase our spiritual consciousness, ever increasing till the end?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, bhakti-yoga is a powerful practice. And if you just say stop something, what do you do? Your mind, your senses do not stop. So we do yukta-vairāgya. Everything we do, we do to please Kṛṣṇa. So just like we have to eat. So instead of eating nonsense, we eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda. We replace what we are doing materially bad habits with positive kṛṣṇa-sevā. People may have the bad habit of illicit sex. But those who want sex they have to be married. And we bring up our children also in devotional service. I met the four sons of one of our TMC members, Sitaram and they are all going to Gurukula.

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Question: What was the advice given by Śrīla Prabhupāda to you that you would like to give us?

Jayapatākā Swami: Well he gave me many advices. But the main thing was that I should always engage in serving Kṛṣṇa. And try to help others to be Kṛṣṇa conscious. He told me to expand the Nāmahaṭṭa and congregational preaching. He told me to distribute, I have to distribute at least ten thousand big books, every month and 100 thousand small books, every month. We were discussing this morning possibility of selling packets of books at discounted price. He told me to travel and preach. So I used to travel five or six times around the world in a year. Now I am not able to do that, you see I am physically challenged. I only travel around the world twice a year. I need help! I need the senior devotees to help travel and preach. Anyway, there are many other questions.

You can see the Jayapatākā Swami App, which you can download on Android or Apple Play where they have listed all the instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me. I pay all the expenses, you don’t have to pay anything!

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Question: Can you please let me know what are the services I can do every day that will please you?

—Mādhavī Śyāmasundarī devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: All the services to the Deities in this temple or any temple of ISKCON will be very pleasing to me. So you can ask the temple leaders what service you can do. Lord Caitanya said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa. Whoever you see, tell them the glories of Kṛṣṇa. That will make me very happy.

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Question: When I cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra on mālā due to some busy schedule of work, in such case how can I complete that gap?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know who your guru is but for my disciples, if they have to, they can use the counting machine. Since I had a stroke in 2008, my right side doesn’t fully cooperate. So I have to chant by my left hand. And Rādhānātha Swami gave me some chanting machine. Now I do more than 16 rounds. But I have to like do exercises in the morning and when I exercise, I also chant and keep track of that. When I walk in the pool, I chant, each step is half a mantra. So I promised Śrīla Prabhupāda I would chant 16 rounds of 108 mantras each. That is 1,728.

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Question: Generally, there is a thought among devotees that kids who are devotees by birth never take Kṛṣṇa consciousness so seriously. What should we do as parents to make our kids as genuine devotees?

—Apūrva Mādhurya Rādhā devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know if that is true. If the parents are serious, usually the children are serious. They did a study in the USA, and the found that parents who were serious, their children were also serious. Then they found that if one parent was serious and one parent was lax, then 50/50. When both parents were lax, sometimes the children became devotees. What do you think? You are a parent, you have a kid and if the parents are serious, the children will not become devotees? Of course, devotional service is voluntary. I have many gṛhastha disciples and their children are usually Kṛṣṇa conscious. But you cannot neglect your child.

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Question: How can I impress Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nitāi and how can I be one of Their favorite servants?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know why you are asking me? Anyway, read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and see what please Gaura-Nitāi! If you do that, certainly you will please Gaura-Nitāi! And onetime Lord Caitanya after taking sannyāsa He came back to Bengal. And He visited the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. He said, “You don’t go out, how do you maintain your family?” Śrīvāsa clapped his hands three times and said, “I use this system.” Lord Caitanya said, “What is that?” “If one day we don’t have enough prasāda to eat, I clap my hands three times. Then I will go to the Ganges and drown myself.” Lord Caitanya said, “Even if Lakṣmī has to go begging door to door, you will never have shortage of prasāda in your house!” Śrīvāsa had the faith that as a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will provide. But he constantly did devotional service. We cannot imitate Śrīvāsa, he was a great devotee.

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Question: How to be fixed in spiritual level of devotion within this material world and how to develop spiritual greed?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see that is why we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! That changes our consciousness. And then we see how this material world is a temporary place of suffering. Lord Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad-gītā about this material world, it is – duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. So we should engage ourselves in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Doesn’t matter where we are, material world or spiritual world, we do the same activities, engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service. And I told the story about the Yamadūtas, we want to give them a vacation. But if we want to give them service, they are ready to do it. Also, Lord Caitanya revealed how by doing devotional service we get transcendental bliss. Animals have āhāra, nidrā, bhaya, maithuna. Human beings have the same plus devotional service. So, the secret is to engage in devotional service. Not to be an animal. The modern world is just to make animal life more comfortable. Why do the human beings have better, easier life than animals? Because they have extra time to do devotional service.

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Question: What were your thoughts when you saw Śrīla Prabhupāda for the first time?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, I heard about Śrīla Prabhupāda first. And I heard great things! Then I went to Montreal to see Śrīla Prabhupāda. At that time, I could see auras around people. When I saw Śrīla Prabhupāda his aura filled up the whole room, yellow! So what was the first thing I thought when I saw Śrīla Prabhupāda – WOW! And he said, “Who is that?” Pointing to me. I was shaved up and there were not so many devotees there. Garga Muni who was there from San Francisco, he said, he is a bhakta. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Bring him for lunch tomorrow!”

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Question: How do we do sevā in the right consciousness, not in the mode of passion or ignorance?

Jayapatākā Swami: Pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda, pray to your guru and do your sevā correctly. Passion means lust. To do it to get some material benefit. Ignorance means crazy, lazy. Anger – I will show you that I am the best devotee! I will kill you by my bhakti! And some crazy thing! So avoid passion and ignorance, and what is left is goodness. So we do devotional service – hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate – to please the senses of Kṛṣṇa, not for ourselves.

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Question: Spiritual master does so much for us, he is so merciful, but my heart is so contaminated. I am stonehearted, I don’t feel anything for him. What should I do to increase my love and devotion to him, dear Mahārāja. Please enlighten me.

Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting question. We don’t want to be a kṛpaṇa – a miser. You are saying how you understand the guru is doing so much for you! But you don’t feel grateful! Is that the way to feel? If someone saves you from a car accident, should you feel grateful? If someone is saving you from repeated birth and death, should you feel grateful? If you don’t feel grateful, definitely you should be crying. If you are not crying, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, you should cry that you are not crying! And if you are not crying that you are not crying, then you should crying, that you are not crying for crying! It goes on like that!

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Question: How to manage bhakti and family relationships at the same time, when they are not devotees?

Jayapatākā Swami: Very critical, but you have to think how I can make them devotees. I met a devotee she was an actress. She knew the Bhagavad-gītā cover to cover! But she went to her husband and said, “You are very great, you are very intelligent, please help me! I cannot understand this verse. Can you help me?” He read it and that is how he got purified! It says one daughter-in-law or one devotee in the family can liberate the whole family.

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Question: After taking initiation from you, whom can we consider as our śikṣā-guru? Can we consider a devotee from whom we are getting regular guidance and training as our śikṣā-guru?

—Amiyalīlā Gaura dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Now there are two levels of śikṣā-gurus One level is anyone who gives you some appropriate instruction. Another one is someone you see on a similar level like the dīkṣā-guru and you accept what is said by the śikṣā-guru as something you have to follow. My disciples to accept someone on the second level, need my permission. In Bangladesh people were claiming to be – I am śikṣā-guru! One lady came and said, “My husband hit me. What should I do?” That person said, “You should commit suicide.” I would never say that. So, Bangladesh they decided, no more śikṣā-gurus, they would all be counsellors, unless the guru authorizes them. There were people misusing the title śikṣā-guru.

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Question: What to do when we know we are falling in bhakti but not able to save ourselves?

Jayapatākā Swami: Take initiation! We don’t believe that we deliver ourselves. We believe that our guru and Kṛṣṇa delivers us! And we simply try to carry out Their instructions. If you think you are not able to deliver yourself, that is natural, we should not think we can deliver ourselves. You are saying it is right to say – I can deliver myself, I don’t need anyone! Is that right?

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Question: I want to improve my spiritual and devotional service. I am not able to attend maṅgala-ārati sometimes – is it an offence?

Jayapatākā Swami: It depends for what reason you are not able to attend. You are up late, preaching, you are sick or just lazy? If you are just doing out of laziness, it is not proper.

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Question: What do you want your disciples to avoid?

Jayapatākā Swami: That we have them promise to avoid breaking the four principles at the time of initiation. They should avoid not chanting 16 rounds. They should avoid the ten offences to the Holy Name.

Alright!

I am very happy to see all of you!