20221015 Evening Address

The following is an evening address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 15th, 2022 Hyderebad, India.

Jayapatākā Swami: First time I attended virtually the prāṇa-pratiṣṭha.

Second time I came when it was the Janmāṣṭamī festival and now it is the third time.

I am transiting from Tirupati to Mumbai.

Tirupati, we had a nice, ecstatic Dāmodara month offering.

And here also we are participating in the Dāmodara month.

So, the Dāmodara month is very special.

The devas had some emergency and they prayed to Lord Viṣṇu.

But these are the four months of the rainy season.

So the devas they decided to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa in order to wake up the Lord.

He was, Lord Viṣṇu was so happy, seeing all the devas chanting.

He said in this month, on this tithi, whoever does devotional service they get hundred times the benefit.

The month was Kārtika Dāmodara month.

And the tithi is Ekādaśī.

So we observe the Dāmodara month by offering lamps, doing other sevas.

This month should be vegetarian, if they are not.

Since we are already vegetarian, in this month we do not take urad-dal.

This is a big austerity especially in South India.

Because idli, dosa, vada, they all contain urad-dal!

So my cook, he prepares these using mung dal and a touch of Eno salt. 

In one of the lectures that Śrīla Prabhupāda was giving after his Vyāsa-pūjā, he expressed that how his gurudeva had sent hiss sannyāsī to England but they were not so successful.

Śrīla Prabhupāda sent three couples and they were very successful.

So he expressed that he would like all his gṛhastha followers to become paramahaṁsas.

Haribol! So those who are gṛhasthas they have a big goal to achieve!

Normally we expect brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs to be paramahaṁsas.

Śrīla Prabhupāda expected also his gṛhasthas to be paramahaṁsas.

So, I am amazed to see such a large group of devotees today!

Chanting so enthusiastically!

Doing some service is not very difficult, but we have to be very sincere.

Krsna is in our heart.

He sees what you think, what you want, what you desire.

Everything you desire should somehow be connected to Krsna.

That is the meaning of paramahaṁsa.

If they want children, they pray that they can have Kṛṣṇa conscious children.

Just like the donors they built this temple as an offering to Krsna.

So if want to make money we should also use it for Kṛṣṇa.

Just a little adjustment, and use everything as an offering to Kṛṣṇa, yukta-vairāgya.

So, normally in English, they say, how are you?

In Telugu, bāgunnāra? In Bengali, they say how is your body?

Is it the same in Telugu? No.

Because we have the internal soul and we have this body.

Body is sometimes healthy, sometimes sick.

Ātmā is eternal, always existing.

But the body is sometimes good, sometimes bad.

How is your body?

We want all of you to think we are the eternal spirit soul.

We are the servant of Kṛṣṇa.

Jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya-kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ (Cc. Madhya 20.108)

I have to have my dinner before I go. So I will end my talk here.

Hare Kṛṣṇa! 

Kṛṣṇe matir astu! May all of you be blessed and attracted to Kṛṣṇa!