20230217 Kalinagar Hare Kṛṣṇa Festival 2023

The following is a talk given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on february 17th,2023 in Midnapore, India. The talk was given at the Kalinagar Hare Kṛṣṇa Festival.

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 will speak in Bengali but someone will repeat what I say because half my face is paralyzed. I am coming to Kalinagar for the first time. It is quite a distance from Māyāpur. But the devotees are very enthusiastic here, that is why I agreed to come here. I hear that my dear guru-brother His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami had visited here many times. That is why I mediated to come here. A few months ago, I was in Medinipur in Haldia. There, there was Deity installation, and I did not know this place was very close to Haldia. Anyway, in West Bengal among all the districts that are there the districts of East and West Medinipur have the maximum advancement of Nāmahaṭṭas. Haribol! Here Lord Caitanya had come many times. From here He went to Pānihāṭi dhāma. He went from south 24 Parganas through Medinipur. Everyone told Him to keep quiet, but Lord Caitanya did not listen to them and He loudly chanted Haribol! Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Because there were lots of robbers and dacoits in the river but because He was chanting the names of the Lord, nothing happened. Anyway, Lord Caitanya wherever He went He preached the Harināma. He said that all the time He resides in Pānihāṭi dhāma. From here, He went through the side of the Ganges to Pānihāṭi dhāma. The Bhagavad-gītā says, among many thousands of people, one wants to spiritually advance. And of thousands of such people, one person gets liberation. And among them to find a Kṛṣṇa devotee is very rare. Because Kṛṣṇa only gave kṛṣṇa-prema to those who surrendered to Him. But Lord Caitanya, He did not think of all this. Who is qualified, who is not. Without thinking of this, He gave kṛṣṇa-prema to all. Haribol! So by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and doing kīrtana, one can easily understand the Lord. That is why the most merciful Deities are Gaura-Nitāi!

parama karuṇa, pahuṅ dui jana, nitāi-gauracandra
saba avatāra-, sāra-śiromaṇi, kevala ānanda-kāṇḍa

Lord Caitanya’s instruction is to do kīrtana of the holy names of Kṛṣṇa and with that dance and after that accept and distribute kṛṣṇa-prasāda.

Today is Vijaya Ekādaśī and those who observe Ekādaśī achieve success. This way, hearing the glories of this Ekādaśī also gives one more benefit than performing an aśvamedha-yajña. To do an aśvamedha-yajña is a difficult procedure. That is prohibited in Kali-yuga. Because the horse to be killed and brought back to life is not possible. Such capable brāhmaṇas who are expert in these yajñas are not available in this age. But just hearing the glories of Ekādaśī, we get the same benefit. Those who observe Ekādaśī, they get even more benefits. Many people don’t understand and do not observe Ekādaśī. That is why they are bereft of all these blessings. We desire that all the devotees get the blessings. Haribol! It is not very difficult. The husband and wife, gṛhasthas, if they chant Kṛṣṇa’s names, think about Kṛṣṇa, they will be successful. The Śaṅkarācārya had said that without being a sannyāsī, one cannot get mukti. But we heard that Lord Caitanya said: gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko.

In South India, in Chennai, I saw a drama performed by children from a Bhakti-vṛkṣa group. The children were about 10 to 12 years old. Two of them were Yamadūtas and one was Yamarāja. Yamarāja was a girl and she had a mustache stuck. The Yamadūtas were complaining “These ISKCON gṛhasthas what are they doing? The ladies cook bhoga and offer to the Lord and then the family accepts mahā-prasāda. The husband and wife along with the children, they chant Harināma. They have Deities in their homes. They have Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta and read these scriptures all the time. If all the gṛhasthas are like this then who will we arrest and bring to hell? We will not be able to bring anyone.” Yamarāja said that “Actually, the mission of ISKCON is to make the people devotees of Kṛṣṇa. If all become devotees like this, then you can take a holiday.” Now there are two options for you – do you sympathize with the Yamadūtas? Or do you want to give them a vacation? Who of you want to give the Yamadūtas a job? Raise your hands. Who wants to give the Yamadūtas a vacation? Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

We all want the mercy of Lord Caitanya. Rāmānanda Rāya, according to varnāśrama was a śūdra. But he was an expert in kṛṣṇa-rasa-tattva. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent a brāhmaṇa, Pradyumna Miśra, to Rāmānanda Rāya to understand kṛṣṇa-rasa, the mellows of kṛṣṇa-prema. This Pradyumna Miśra said that Rāmānanda Rāya knows the bhakti-tattva, and I have not heard anything like this from anyone else. Lord Caitanya wanted that kṛṣṇa-bhakti-tattva was superior to varnāśrama. Lord Caitanya gave a teaching:

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

This way, Lord Caitanya wanted that all be kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, have knowledge of Kṛṣṇa. That is why I ask everyone to read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In Russia, we hear that 500 devotees are studying for Bhakti-śāstrī degree. Bhakti-śāstrī has study of Bhagavad-gītā, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, and Īśopaniṣad. 200 devotees are studying for Bhakti-vaibhava – this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, first six cantos. And then 50 devotees are studying for Bhakti-vedānta degree. This way, international devotees are studying Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and getting degrees. I want that our Bengali devotees should also study and get degrees. Haribol! Śrīla Prabhupāda had said that those who want second initiation, they have to get the Bhakti-śāstrī degree. And those want to become sannyāsīs, they should study Bhakti-vaibhava. Those who want to be guru, should study Bhakti-vedānta and Bhakti-Sārvabhauma. This way, we all have the right to study all these scriptures and get the degrees. Many tell me that I don’t know to read, I am not able to study. In this age, of mobile phone or tape recorder, you can hear them. His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Mahārāja, with great difficulty, he translated the English scriptures to Bengali. And now do you read the Bengali scriptures? I desire that all the devotees read the books. Those who cannot study, listen. This way everyone has the right to become expert in bhāgavata-tattva, the truth of the Bhāgavata. Haribol! Lord Caitanya said, bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra [paragraph] janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra (Cc. Ādi 9.41)

Now, I have gone all around the world many times, five or six times a year. Now it is much less. Once or two times a year because I am sick.

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

We want to have many gurus. One person came and said, “I want to become a guru.” But for that one has to wait, read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā.It is not easy to become a guru. If they read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, then they can become a guru said Lord Caitanya. It was His instruction, His desire.

He said, pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi-grāma sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma [CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126]. Anyway Śrīla Prabhupāda had translated the Caitanya-caritāmṛta into English and my godbrother His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami translated into Bengali. But Caitanya-bhāgavata, Caitanya-maṅgala, there are many scriptures which are not available in English. I translated them and now am on the last Antya-līlā pastimes of Lord Caitanya. So that everyone knows the caitanya-līlā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Rādhā Kṛṣṇa, combined.

śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya rādhā kṛṣṇa nahi anya,
balarāma hoila nitāi

Now Rukmiṇī Devī was telling Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā, “You know everything, What Lord Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, what Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, You know whatever is happening in the unlimited universes. But, one thing You do not know. Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, You do not know!” Kṛṣṇa said, “I don’t know?” Kṛṣṇa had never heard this before that there is something that He did not know. He asked her, “What is that?” Rukmiṇī Devī said, “You don’t know how much Your devotees love You, how much affection they have for you, You do not know. Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, You do not know.” Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān said, “Okay, in Kali-yuga, I will appear as a devotee! I will appear as a devotee! I will appear as a devotee!” Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

In the 11th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a śloka,

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ
(ŚB 11.5.32)

Kṛṣṇa will come in Kali-yuga but He will not have the color of Kṛṣṇa, He will come as a devotee, He will come with His associates and weapons. And He will establish the saṅkīrtana-yajña. Those who are intelligent, they will follow Him. This way, you will not find such an easy path. We think generally that we get happiness by sense gratification. But we get some happiness and distress as well. Maybe sickness, which gives pain to the body. When we grow old there are problems in the body. But now with the senses, there is both happiness and distress. But kṛṣṇa-prema, only gives us bliss, no distress. When there is separation from Kṛṣṇa, that is not really distress but that is real bliss.

We should all have the greed to get kṛṣṇa-prema. This is very much needed. Now through Lord Caitanya it is possible to get kṛṣṇa-prema. In Śāntipur, the disappearance day of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was celebrated by Śrī Advaita Ācārya. Lord Caitanya was very happy seeing this. He said: “On this tithi, at this place, whoever accepts prasāda, they will get govinda-bhakti”. Śānti Sakha Goswami who was a sevaite earlier, he told me, you please take up this sevā. Have you ever heard anywhere that just by partaking prasāda, one gets kṛṣṇa-bhakti, govinda-bhakti? Haribol! For his pleasure we are continuing the sevā.

So there are so many opportunities that we can easily get kṛṣṇa-prema, kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Haribol!

Tomorrow I will give class in the morning and night.