20221012 Evening Address

The following is an evening address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on october 12th, 2022 in Tirupati, 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 am very happy to be here in Tirupati.

Happy to have the darśana of Rādhā Govinda Aṣṭa-sakhi, to have the darśana of Lord Caitanya, Garuḍa, and Śrīla Prabhupāda.

So, by Bālājī’s mercy this temple is propagating Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa describes the process of bhakti-yoga.

He described other yogas but Arjuna, he liked bhakti-yoga.

Bhakti-yoga is considered the most elevated yoga process.

And by bhakti-yoga one can directly go back to Vaikuṇṭha or Kṛṣṇaloka.

So, other processes of yoga lead one to lesser destinations.

Aṣṭāṅga-yoga leads one to the realization of Paramātmā.

Jñāna-yoga they realize the impersonal Brahman.

But by bhakti-yoga you can realize Lord Nārāyaṇa and Lord Kṛṣṇa and Their different pastimes. 

How many of you are gṛhasthas? Śrīla Prabhupāda in a lecture in London, he said he wanted all his gṛhastha followers should become paramahaṁsas.

What to speak of the brahmacārīs?!

So the secret is to always think of Kṛṣṇa and never forget Kṛṣṇa.

That is why we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. 

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda 

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Generally, people want dharma, artha, kāma, mokṣa – they are interested to get money and money to get sense gratification, kāma.

Kṛṣṇa explains that even if one reaches the highest planet of Brahmaloka, Satyaloka, one has to come down eventually.

And then being a human being going from birth to birth is not our actual goal.

Our real goal is to go back to the spiritual world.

Tirupati is known as Vaikuṇṭha on Earth!

And Rādhā Govinda Aṣṭa-sakhi, They are actually enjoying vraja-līlā.

So, if we go to Vaikuṇṭha there we worship the Lord in awe and reverence.

If we go to Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana, we worship the Lord as a friend, a parent or as a lover.

So, we want to develop our relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

In material life we think we are the body.

But actually, we are the spirit soul.

We are the consciousness in the body.

We are the spirit soul, ātmā, and we have a body.

So, when this body is over, dies, we go to a new body.

So depending on what our desires are, what our karma is, we get the next body.

But if we practice devotional service then we go back to the spiritual world.

There, there is no death, no birth, no old age, no disease.

This material world Kṛṣṇa describes as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg 8.15].

This is a place of suffering, a temporary place.

So, we cannot take anything with us.

But whatever we do for Kṛṣṇa, that we take with us.

If we understand Kṛṣṇa’s birth, His activities, are divya, spiritual, then we don’t take birth again.

And I am very happy that in Tirupati, ISKCON is distributing lots of books.

Helping people to be Kṛṣṇa conscious is most pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. 

Lord Caitanya spent six years travelling around South India and all over India.

In the sacred books of Lord Caitanya, it says He visited Tirumala.

We saw many people walking to Tirumala.

Lord Caitanya also walked.

And it says also He visited Kālahasti.

I saw there was a lotus footprint in Tirumala, I don’t know if it is being cared for.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he wanted 108 lotus feet of Lord Caitanya placed in the different holy places He visited.

But he could only do about eight.

So there is some opportunity for us to do some more!

Haribol!

People are asking why Lord Caitanya is not so famous?

That is our fault.

We should make Him famous!

He travelled here in Andhra Pradesh, and He actually did something in South India which He did not do in Navadvīpa.

When He saw people on the road, He would embrace them and give them love for Kṛṣṇa! Haribol! He did not do this in Navadvīpa.

But He did in South India.

Special place!

How many of you would like to be hugged by Lord Caitanya?

So He gave out mercy very freely. 

You see, Kṛṣṇa was in the house of Satyabhāmā.

He told Rukmiṇī that He would be visiting her.

Sometimes He would be in all the 16,108 queens’ houses at the same time.

This time He went from Satyabhāmā’s palace to Rukmiṇī’s palace.

And the children came, He smelt their hair and all those beautiful things.

Rukmiṇī took Him into the private quarters and was bathing His lotus feet.

And she started crying!

Kṛṣṇa was amazed, “Why are you crying? I have just come!

Some servant did not listen to you or someone is arguing with you? Why are you crying?” And then Rukmiṇī said to Kṛṣṇa, “You know what Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka.

You know what Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa.

You know everything what is going on in the Ananta-koṭi brahmāṇḍas.

But there is one thing You do not know, I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, but You don’t know!” Kṛṣṇa was amazed! “How is that there is something that I don’t know something! What is that?” “You don’t know how much we devotees love You and what way we love You!” And then Lord Kṛṣṇa said, “I will come as a devotee, I will come as a devotee, I will come as a devotee in Kali-yuga!” Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa with the heart and color of Rādhārāṇī.

So Lord Caitanya He gave out this mercy of love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

Very freely, Kṛṣṇa did not give out so easily.

If you want Kṛṣṇa, you have to fully surrender.

But Lord Caitanya He gave love if you simply chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

And He went in every house in South India, and He had one message.

In Andhra Pradesh, He gave the message first.

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya hañā tāra’ ei deśa
(Cc. Madhya 7.128)

So a simple thing.

To tell people Kṛṣṇa’s message.

man-manā bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru
mām evaiṣyasi satyaṁ te
pratijāne priyo ‘si me
(Bg. 18.65)

Be Kṛṣṇa’s devotee, worship Kṛṣṇa, chant His holy names, serve Him.

In the Bhagavad-gītā He said:

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
(Bg. 18.66)

Give up other duties and simply surrender to Me.

I will protect you from all sinful karma.

I will take you back with Me.

That is Kṛṣṇa’s message. 

Lord Caitanya requested everyone please tell Kṛṣṇa’s message.

Then He would stay in different houses, in different villages every night.

And He would give the same order everywhere.

Actually, I went to Narasaraopet, I said Lord Kṛṣṇa came here, Lord Caitanya also came here! They did not know! Right?

So, we should put one lotus footprint of Lord Caitanya in Narasaraopet.

In Maṅgalagiri, there is a lotus footprint.

From Maṅgalagiri, He went to Ahovalam, different places.

So like this Lord Caitanya walked from village to village.

And everywhere He went, He gave out His mercy. 

I was thinking what more I should say tonight. Many thousands and thousands of people visit Tirupati Tirumala.

So naturally, we want them to take books, we want them to hear about bhakti-yoga.

If you meet people, they pray to Bālājī that they want this, they want that, material things.

But the greatest gift is to have Bālājī Himself, have Kṛṣṇa!

Be a friend of Bālājī, be a friend of Kṛṣṇa.

To be able to serve the Lord, but we are thinking by the Lord’s mercy if I can get rich, I can get many comforts.

In this way, we miss out on the greatest gift, which is the Lord’s service! Like Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he said how much bliss there is in the two syllables ‘kṛṣ’ ‘ṇa’, cannot even explain it!

So Lord Caitanya He was revealing to us how the greatest thing we can achieve in our life is the service of the Lord.

To having loving service, there is nothing like that!

Here I came in and saw the Hanumān deity.

What does Hanumān have? He has the service of Lord Rāma!

He did not care for anything else, He had the service of Lord Rāma!

Actually, that is the greatest thing.

Now we have the Kārtika month and this month we get a 100 times benefit.

Any service you offer to the Lord.

So at least we offer a lamp.

But there is no limit.

And Lord Caitanya revealed that actually being born in India, it is a very special place, because here we easily achieve service to the Lord.

And by serving the Lord, we can go back to Kṛṣṇa.

He will give us His eternal service.

In the material world, this is a place of death, of suffering.

Maybe there is a little happiness but the real happiness we are looking for is the spiritual happiness of serving Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So anyway, I would like to say some more but they are reminding me that I have a meeting tonight and I also have to take my dinner.

I will be here for three days, three nights.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!