20230312 Safari Arrival Address

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: I am used more to speak Bengali but my Hindi is not so good. I will try to speak in Hindi, and please forgive me if I make mistakes. As many avatāras are there, one is better than the other. Like when Lord Rāmacandra came, He reigned and took very good care of his citizens. Lord Narasiṁhadeva came and His was that of anger. He was angry because His pure devotee was ill-treated by his father. This way, all the avatāras of the Lord have a certain mood. Like Nitāi Gaura. Nitāi! Gaura! Their mood, bhāva, is to give mercy. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Lord Nityānanda that our avatāra was to give mercy. All these people who are foolish, lowborn, sinful or distressed – foolish people think that they are the body. But our real constitutional position is that we are the soul, and we are eternal servants of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That is why Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to go to Vṛndāvana through Jhārikhaṇḍa. You will see a drama after my talk, how when Lord Caitanya entered the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest, the animals also started chanting Harināma. You will see how with Lord Caitanya’s mercy, the tigers, all the animals started chanting the names of Lord Hari. But at least, human beings should do Harināma. Haribol! Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu distributed prema-bhakti. He did not see who is qualified or who are not qualified. He gave everyone prema-bhakti. Generally, if you see it is very difficult to get prema-bhakti. Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, they desire prema-bhakti but it is rare even for them to get prema-bhakti. But Lord Nitāi Gaura gave prema-bhakti to all. Haribol!

How many of you want to be happy? Please raise your hands. The best happiness is that which we get by the bliss of love of Godhead. Love of Godhead is like a tsunami. Our senses, our heart, our soul, all become very happy. Everyone can experience this prema-bhakti with the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. As I told you earlier, every avatāra has a mood. In Kali-yuga, Lord Caitanya has descended in as prema-avatāra to distribute love of Godhead. It is my desire that if everyone tries to pursue devotional service then they can also experience this love of Godhead. That is why we have a center in Dhanbad. As of now we have one center but as there are so many devotees in Dhanbad, maybe there can be two centers now. And there is land we have got in two places. That is why you will soon have a temple here. I hope that you will all contribute to the construction of the temple and follow the path of devotion.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Chanting the name of Lord Hari is the yuga-dharma of Kali-yuga. In Satya-yuga was meditation, Tretā-yuga was sacrifice, Dvāpara-yuga temple worship and Kali-yuga chanting of the Harināma. Lord Caitanya taught is ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12] – chanting the name of the Lord, our consciousness becomes pure. That is why when the heart becomes pure, then we are happy. This happiness we get from sense gratification, there is a beginning and end to it. Sometimes we get happiness and sometimes distress. There is sickness, old age and death. Then again, we take birth again and again. But Lord Kṛṣṇa said in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):

janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna

That those who know about My appearance and activities are divine, then they will not take another birth again. We can go back to Godhead. We will not come back to this material world. Above this material world there is a spiritual sky. That is Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Above that is Kṛṣṇaloka. This material universe is one fourth of the existence and the three fourths which is the spiritual world. There, there is no birth, death, old age and disease. My desire is that all of you get out of this birth, death, old age and disease and go back to Godhead. Haribol! Generally, it is difficult to go back to God. But Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, with Their mercy, it has become very easy. In the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa there was the prediction that in Kali-yuga after 5000 years Lord Kṛṣṇa would come and then in this Kali-yuga there will be a ten thousand golden age. Now, the 5000 years in Kali-yuga are over. Now the time for the Golden Age. In this 10,000 year Golden Age, everyone will become devotees of Lord Hari.

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma
[CB Antya-khaṇḍa 4.126]

The above was said by Lord Caitanya. That everywhere on earth His names would be sung. Haribol! Śrīla Prabhupāda established 108 temples in India and the rest of the world. It is 50 years now since Śrīla Prabhupāda left and now there are about 800 to 900 temples in India and the rest of the world. So everyone in the villages, towns, cities have to put in lot of effort. That is why I request you to yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa (Cc. Madhya 7.128) Whoever you see preach to them Lord Kṛṣṇa’s teachings. Haribol!

This human birth is the way in which we can go back to God, but this human birth is very rare. That is why we should not waste this human form of birth. We have to try to see that in this birth we go back to Godhead. Haribol!

This is the first time I have come to Dhanbad and participating in a program. I have been to Ranchi and Jamshedpur earlier. I am the Mahanta, the Head of the Kānāi-Nāṭaśālā temple, which is on the bank of the Ganges. When Lord Caitanya went to Kānāi-Nāṭaśālā and came back, He returned through the Jharikhanda forest.

One time, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Gayā and took initiation there. And manifested prema-bhakti. In Navadvīpa He had His childhood pastimes. But His manifestation of love Godhead, He manifested in Bihar, Jhārikhaṇḍa. My desire is that all of you get the mercy of Lord Caitanya and experience the bliss of love of Godhead. Haribol!