20221114 Addressing Devotees in Bhubaneswar

The following is an address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 14th, 2022 in Bhubaneswar,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 know a little Odia

but I am more practiced to speaking in Bengali.

I will speak in Bengali, and he will repeat.

I was not told there was this program.

I saw all of you and am very happy.

I was able to do worship to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Yesterday I had gone to a Hindi program.

and Haladhara Mahārāja was giving class.

He said that all of you should study all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.

I have only one request.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books were translated by His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami.

And His Holiness Gaura Govinda Swami had translated them into Odia.

We are very grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda and His Holiness Gaura Govinda Mahārāja.

I have toured around various places in Odisha.

When the big temple was not there in Bhubaneswar then there was the bhajana-kuṭīra of Śrīla Prabhupāda and I and His Holiness Gaura Govinda Mahārāja were there.

And there were so many insects, mosquitos that we could hardly sit there!

Now there is a beautiful temple, guest house and āśrama.

Now I am very fortunate that I got the association of His Holiness Gaura Govinda Mahārāja.

Śrīla Prabhupāda had given me in 1977 the status of GBC for West Bengal and Orissa.

This way, I have been toured around Odisha a bit.

Now, Lord Caitanya had many pastimes in Utkala-deśa.

And the devotees here are very much loved by Lord Caitanya.

This way, now our special responsibility is to see how to spread the teachings of Lord Caitanya all over the world.

When Lord Caitanya was touring South India, He gave the instruction that

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya hañā tāra’ ei deśa.

That all the people in Utkala-deśa are followers of Lord Caitanya is what we have to try and see.

Lord Caitanya, the way He was so merciful, we have never heard of any other incarnation of the Lord being so.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he said a praṇāma-mantra for Lord Caitanya –

namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ
(Cc. Madhya 19.53) 

Mahā-vadanyāya means most merciful.

He liberated everyone without seeing caste or creed.

He started His tour from Utkala-deśa and whoever He saw on the way He would embrace them.

Having been embraced by Him, they all got kṛṣṇa-bhakti.

This way, now ordinarily no one is embraced and given prema-bhakti.

This way, Lord Caitanya came and Śrīla Prabhupāda taught us about Him and we are therefore followers of Lord Caitanya.

Lord Caitanya said:

kibā vipra kibā nyāsī śūdra kene naya,
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ’guru’ haya
(Cc. Madhya 8.128) 

Lord Caitanya wanted that all of us should learn His teachings.

This way, teachings of Kṛṣṇa are there in Bhagavad-gītā spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself and about Him is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

We know that Lord Caitanya is an incarnation of Lord Krsna and we should study the Caitanya-caritāmṛta and distribute that knowledge as well. 

Now, we had installed the lotus foot prints in Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa in Govardhana, Vṛndāvana.

Actually, Vṛndāvana was hidden, and Lord Caitanya came and discovered the pastime places.

He went to a paddy field and there was a small pond where He had bath there.

The villagers were wondering why a sannyāsī is taking bath in this pond.

He said then that these are Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa! Haribol!

Some places were discovered by Lord Caitanya and then He gave the responsibility to His associates to do that.

Now His Holiness Lokanātha Swami has been doing a month’s parikramā in Vraja.

And in one month Lord Caitanya discovered the pastime places and then many of His associates found many places.

His Holiness Lokanātha Swami said that one month’s parikramā done in vraja-bhūmi is equivalent to one day’s parikramā along with His Holiness Bhakti Puruṣottama Swami. 

Anyway, I have come to Jagannātha Purī where Lord Caitanya was here.

You are all doing japa, doing service to Lord Kṛṣṇa and I am very grateful to you for that.

I hope that you will study all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.

Śrīla Prabhupāda he instructed me that I should have 50,000 disciples.

But I have many gṛhastha disciples who come and say, please bless us we don’t have children.

Every husband and wife want a child.

I am a guru that I should have many preachers and gurus who will preach.

You all study the books, I will not give just like that you have to qualify.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said that to get Harināma initiation we had to read the Bhagavad-gītā ten times.

But I tell my disciples only read two times.

Still they say, we don’t have time, will read later.

Those who want to take second initiation, they should take the Bhakti-śāstrī degree.

Many say we are illiterate, we cannot do Bhakti-śāstrī.

One doctor said he was illiterate.

But he is a doctor, how can a doctor be illiterate?

He said that he had studied medicine but not spirituality.

He also said that he was spiritually illiterate.

But that is no excuse, one must gain spiritual knowledge.

If he could understand medicine, he can definitely understand the Gītā.

Now someone may say they are not really well-read.

But then... who all have smartphones here? Raise your hands.

The phones have an audio recorder.

One can listen to the Gītā or the Bhāgavatam on the phone.

We already have a Bhagavad-gītā (as it is) audiobook in English.

If need be, we can produce one in Oriya.

So if one cannot read, one can still listen.

Give an oral examination.

All that matters is that they must gain the knowledge.

Lord Caitanya considers the human form of life extremely important.

Especially if one has taken birth in Bhārata-varṣa.

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya janma yāra
janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra
(Cc. Ādi 9.41)

Mahāprabhu wants everybody who is born as a human in Bhārata-varṣa to fulfil the purpose of their existence.

Having done that, they must help others do the same.

Earlier this morning I was listening to a lecture by Śrīla Prabhupāda.

He told that in the Gītā (18.66) Lord Kṛṣṇa said,

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

He assures that once you surrender unto Him, He shall make you happy.

But we do not want to do that.

We want to keep acting rebellious.

Even in a million lifetimes, one cannot obtain happiness from a material body.

All material happiness is insignificant. But if we serve the Lord and chant his names, we experience real bliss.

Nobody wants to die, but a material body must meet it's end. Then another body must be accepted.

Nobody wants disease. But diseases are inevitable.

Recently we had the Covid pandemic, which rendered everybody helpless. We lost many near and dear ones.

There are many hospitals but the diseases keep recurring.

Hospital ki... jaya! *laughter*

And people keep falling sick.

Though unwilling, one must also accept old-age.

This way, there is a vicious cycle birth, death, old-age and disease.

I want all of you to return back to Godhead.

HARI BOL! *unified chant*

*ulu-dhvani*

Do not remain in this abode of birth, death, old-age and disease

Do not go back alone either, take along all of your relatives, friends, co-workers...

*hari-dhvani* *ulu-dhvani*

...your children, parents, grandparents... everyone!

There was a family in Kolkata, where the wife and children were initiated devotees but the husband was not.

One day the husband was diagnosed with cancer.

He was at home lying down, his body full of pain.

Suddenly he saw some ferocious looking beings, almost human-like, appear from the wall.

They had scary features.

They had ropes in their hands. They looked at him angrily and then laughed in an evil manner.

Afraid, the husband started screaming, "No! No!!

I don't want to go! I don't want to go!"

Mu jibi na! *laughter* Hari bol!

After a while, they faded back into the walls.

Then the husband immediately requested his wife, "Please get me tulasī beads!

Also a chanting bag!

Read the Gītā for me!

Just a glimpse of the Yamadūtas was enough to make him a bhakta!

Please do not wait for the Yamadūtas.

Instruct all your near and dear ones to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.

HARI BOL!

Anyway, I am really pleased to see you all.

Hope that all of you are engaged either in

temple, Nāmahaṭṭa, Deity or any other service.

Serve Kṛṣṇa and you will experience bliss.

The material world is not a place of happiness.

You have performed such nice kīrtana and have taken darśana of Prabhupāda also. This is extremely satisfying to me.

Hari bol!