20230421 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 21st, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA. 

Question: Sometimes it happens that different people tell me to read different books, this book or that book. Could you please tell me the right order of books that should be read?

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like we have the Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta, Bhakti-Sārvabhauma, so first book is Bhagavad-gītā, Īśopaniṣad, Nectar of Instruction, first part of Nectar of Devotion. And of course, with that some of the small books. Then there are the first six cantos of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And then the second six cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Then the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Question: You always say we should read the books. But I am not able to read the books daily. We have heard them on the app, different audio apps, is that equal? Is that okay?

Jayapatākā Swami: In any way, you can get the knowledge, that is alright. Hearing the audio books is one way. These are the process of śravaṇam and kīrtanam. So reading that is a form of śravaṇam, if you are hearing, that is śravaṇam. For me every night I hear one chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Question: My daughter wanted me to ask you a question. When you discourage devotees from wearing black dress, is there any reason why we should not wear black?

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa wears black on Amāvasyā day. Generally black is in the mode of ignorance, and therefore we don’t usually wear it, but there may be some exceptions. I don’t think on Pūrṇimā day Kṛṣṇa wears black! On Amāvasyā like yesterday, He wore black. Otherwise, they don’t wear black.

Question: Who was Jagadānanda Paṇḍita in kṛṣṇa-līlā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Queen Satyabhāmā.

Question: If someone makes sin but they don’t know they did it, do they still get karma?

Jayapatākā Swami: There was a sage when he was a little boy he was playing with an insect and he took a grass and poked the insect, and the insect was very fearful. So then, later on he was arrested by the king’s men because in his āśrama they said that a thief had taken shelter. So the police in those days they had instant justice. So he was actually sentenced to death. They tied him up on a stick and there were soldiers with spears. They were holding their spears up, and then the king sent a message, don’t kill the sage. He sent a message. The sage he was so powerful, he asked Yamarāja, why did I have to go through this great tribulation? Yamarāja said when you were a little child you caused fear on an insect. He said I did not know anything, I was a kid! This is a foolish punishment. I curse you to become a śūdra. So from this day on the parents have to take the karma of children until the age of 5. So the parents should be careful, not to let the kids play with insects and stuff. So, this is just to show that even if you don’t know something is sinful, you may still have to take the karma. Just like, when we walk on the sidewalk you may crush ants and different insects, that is why it says we should do some form of sacrifice. When you are driving a car, naturally you are going to kill a lot of bugs. So in the Kali-yuga, the sacrifice is chanting the holy name. We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we circumambulate Tulasī Devī, we do all these things.

Question: Sometimes in certain situations, it so happens that without thinking sometimes I react and sometimes in that situation, I realize that I did not want to offend the devotee but somehow, I offend the devotee. So what can I do to I prevent that?

Jayapatākā Swami: First of all, if you find that you have offended a devotee or offended the spiritual master, then you should bow down or something and beg for forgiveness. And in the future, you have to be careful to pray for forgiveness, and avoid this habit.

Tomorrow is Akṣaya-tṛtīyā, and that is a special day for anything you do in devotional service anything you do in charity, you get unlimited results. So, on the special day, you can think ahead what you can do tomorrow.

Sarvajaya Mādhava dāsa: This is a very special opportunity that Guru Mahārāja is with us on this Akṣaya-tṛtīyā day. So together we discussed with some of the devotees and came up with a plan that if we can pledge 1 million dollar to Guru Mahārāja tomorrow, on this auspicious Akṣaya-tṛtīyā day.