20221013 Evening Address

The following is an evening address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 13th, 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!

Kṛtagyatalu, thank you!

By the mercy of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Bālājī, we are allowed to engage in devotional service.

Actually, His wife poured the water, he massaged the feet.

He sprinkled the water on his head, his queen’s head, his ministers’ heads, children’s heads.

He gave a big feast with golden implements.

He prayed to the Lord please stay some days.

Simultaneously, Kṛṣṇa went to this poor brāhmaṇa’s house.

He did not have anything.

So he offered some kind of, He had a simple pot and he bathed Kṛṣṇa’s and the ṛṣis’ lotus feet. The wife poured the water and he massaged the feet.

He did not have opulent prasāda but simple prasāda, his wife cooked, he offered to Kṛṣṇa and the ṛṣis, dal rice.

He was so happy that Kṛṣṇa had come to his house.

He started dancing in ecstasy. Haribol!

So although he was a very poor man, he had no opulent things, but he had his bhakti, devotion.

So like this, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10th canto, it explains Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

How He accepted the royal reception, how He accepted the poor brāhmaṇa’s reception.

He asked the ṛṣis afterwards, who gave the better reception?

Both gave the reception to their capacity.

The king he gave a royal reception and gave opulent gifts to the guests.

The poor brāhmaṇa, he did not have any possessions, he gave a lotus flower to each of them.

So, his mood, his demonstrations were also very impressive.

So, like this, Kṛṣṇa He reciprocates with every devotee.

If a king just gave some water and rose or something, up to the capacity each one worshiped.

Like that, Lord Caitanya came, and He accepted the worship of everybody.

He was described in the Mahābhārata as a sannyāsī.

And so, He gave the instruction to everyone how India was a special place and how people should use their human life. 

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

(Cc. Ādi 9.41) 

Make your life perfect by studying Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the literary avatāra of the Lord.

So, by reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, you can associate with the Lord.

The Māyāpur Institute offered me an honorary Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta degree.

But I did not take it, I wanted to take the test!

So I finished the 5th canto.

I got A, A+ in all the cantos!

I will finish the 6th canto and I will get the Bhakti-vaibhava degree!

I don’t have to, I am very busy also.

But if I don’t do it, I don’t know if others will do it.

I asked ten devotees, how many cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they have read.

And 8 of the 10 read the minimum to get the second initiation.

I required they read 3rd canto, so they read the 3rd and stopped.

One read the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

And one read up to the 8th canto and he is still reading.

Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote these books so that all the men and women following him would read them.

Now it is translated into different languages including Telugu, Tamil, all languages in India.

And also, all languages of Europe.

Actually, the BBT is publishing many books in different languages of the world.

Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted that his books should be available in all the languages of the world.

We want all you devotees in Kannada and Telugu to read Śrīla Prabhupāda books.

Actually, his books have the essence of Kṛṣṇa’s līlās.

Just like of course there are many other books like Rāmāyaṇa and those books are now being translated. 

And we go up to the Tirumala. We see how the lady who Rāvaṇa tried to molest, Vedavatī, she cursed Rāvaṇa that if he ever forced any lady to have sex then he would die.

She became Padmāvatī.

And Lord Viṣṇu promised that in Kali-yuga He would marry Her.

So She played the part of Chāyā-Sītā.

The real Sītā was kept in the custody of Agnideva.

And Vedavatī was being tortured by Rāvaṇa.

So, Lakṣmī, Sītā requested Rāma, please marry Vedavatī.

She suffered so much for Me.

But He said, I took a vow, eka-patnī-vrata.

So I will not marry Her in this līlā, I will marry Her in Kali-yuga.

So here He married, Bālājī married Padmāvatī.

And then Lakṣmī came and said, “What are You doing? You are marrying someone else.” Then He explained, “This is Vedavatī!” “Ah, okay!” she said. 

So, Kṛṣṇa, Bālājī’s different pastimes are very nectarean and you can get the blessing to be part of His pastimes.

Just like Rāma, He did not need all these monkeys.

He could have killed Rāvaṇa any time.

But He gave a chance to all the monkey warriors to serve Him.

Like that in different pastimes of the Lord He lets His devotees participate.

That is the real goal of life.

Be accepted as Kṛṣṇa’s associate and participate in His līlās.

So, if you read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other sacred Vedic literatures that tell, about the Lord’s līlās and pastimes, that is the special blessing, you get to participate with the Lord.

Normally, in this world, you don’t get such opportunity for jñāna and vairāgya.

But the vairāgya you have to do in other ages like meditating, some monotonous reason.

But you don’t have to do such things, just don’t take intoxication, don’t drink wine, don’t, stay loyal to your wife, do not have illicit sex, do not take meat, fish, egg and no gambling.

These are not very difficult to observe.

But one should do these and avoid the sinful reactions. 

In the 5th canto it describes Yamarāja’s hells.

How one does sinful acts and how one gets punished.

So, one should avoid sinful activities.

Main sins in the Kali-yuga are the four I mentioned.

Of course, in India they have the special sin, 420! Ha! Ha! Cheating!

And there is a special hell call Raurava where they go if they cheat.

Anyway, we avoid all these bad karmas.

We try to serve Kṛṣṇa in a very positive way.

Especially chanting the holy name. 

Lord Caitanya came down to make popular the chanting of the holy name.

I mean, like some of the British people go to Florida for vacation.

Some come to India.

If you ask someone how was your vacation?

Oh, I feasted, I sung, I danced!

Oh, you had a good time!

This is our self-realization!

We feast on kṛṣṇa-prasāda, we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and dance –

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

There is a song by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, he glorified Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. 

parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi-gauracandra 
saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda

The process of self-realization is singing the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. Feast!

How many of you like kṛṣṇa-prasāda?

Bālājī’s laḍḍus!

Rādhā Govinda’s laḍḍus!

How about the jalebīs!

So this is our tapasyā! We eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

We don’t eat meat, fish, egg.

We don’t eat onion garlic.

So like this we try to lead our life in a spiritual way.

Are there are any questions?

I heard our ladies they sew for the Deities, they make flower garlands.

All glories!

So I had a meeting that is why I am a little late.

Now after the pandemic we have so many meetings on Zoom!

Wednesday GBC meeting, today the property meeting.

So, every day there are different meetings!

I tell them that in Tirupati, no meetings!

But some meetings I cannot avoid.

I am very happy to see all the devotees here.

So tomorrow morning I think we have other programs. 

Question: Why we should avoid onion and garlic?

Jayapatākā Swami: Apparently onion and garlic came out of the carcass of the dead cow.

The spiritual reason is that it is like we get the karma of killing a cow.

Materially it is more in the mode of passion.

Some medicines are made, I don’t know about that.

That is the basic reason. 

They still say some sannyāsī told us to stop onion and garlic in the Annadāna Complex in Tirumala! I told them it is that you should do what Lord Bālājī likes.

They are still following that. 

Revatī Ramaṇa dāsa: They are trying to remove onion garlic from all over Tirumala.

Jayapatākā Swami: Wow!