20230318 Evening Safari Program 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: [Audio break] 500 years ago, sannyāsīs were well respected. When He took sannyāsa, He met with His Mother Śacī in Sāntipur. Śacīmātā told Lord Caitanya that He can visit Vṛndāvana, but He should please keep His base in Jagannātha Purī. Lord Caitanya is a hidden incarnation of the Lord. One of the Lord’s names is Triyuga. Because the Lord incarnated in the Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Dvāpara-yuga, one of His names is Triyuga. Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested His Viśvarūpa in the battle of Kurukṣetra, and at a very young age, He had lifted the Govardhana Hill on His little finger. That is why one of His names is Giridhārī. In Tretā-yuga He came as Lord Rāmacandra. Lord Rāmacandra killed Rāvaṇa.

In every yuga He takes different incarnations. In the Kali-yuga, many people claim that they are God. One man in Rajahmundry, a place in India, he said he was Kalki avatāra. In the scriptures it is said that the Kalki avatāra would come at the end of the Kali-yuga. Now only 5000 years have passed of the Kali-yuga and this Kali-yuga is 432,000 years. This person was asked, “Have you not come a bit early?” He said, “I may not be Kalki avatāra but I am an avatāra!” This way there are a lot of bogus avatāras, they say they are avatāras but actually they are 420s, meaning cheaters.

Lord Caitanya had been predicted in the scriptures that Lord Kṛṣṇa will come in Kali-yuga as a devotee and will establish the saṅkīrtana-yajña. But Lord Caitanya never ever said He was God. But Lord Caitanya is the Real God. But He never said He was God - just once He had said. Advaita Gosāñī had prayed for of Lord Kṛṣṇa to descend and He came and told Advaita Ācārya that He had come because of His prayer. Lord Caitanya wanted to liberate all the people, foolish, lowborn, fallen or distressed. Generally, these people cannot be liberated - only brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas are liberated. But in this Kali-yuga Lord Caitanya wanted to liberate all the living entities. The youth here should unite and preach so that everyone takes up Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Śaṅkarācārya said that in Kali-yuga for liberation one will have to take sannyāsa, but Lord Caitanya said, gṛhe thāko vane thāko, sadā hari bole ḍāko. Every man, immaterial whether he is a gṛhastha or a sannyāsī, everyone can get kṛṣṇa-prema.

Navadvīpa dhāma has nine islands. Every island has different pastimes. The first island is Sīmantadvīpa. Each island is associated with one of nine devotional practices. Śravaṇam, kīrtanam – Sīmantadvīpa, Godrumadvīpa. Lord Mahādeva was dancing in Kailāsa, chanting, “Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” Lord Śiva when he dances, then it is like time of dissolution. But when Lord Śiva was dancing it was not the time of dissolution. Durgā devī was touring the universe and she was wondering why her husband was dancing as there were earthquakes, and then there would be floods, tsunamis.

She came to Kailāsa and said, “Svāmī! Svāmī! Svāmī!”

Mahādeva was chanting, “Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!”

Durgā devī said, “Svāmī! Svāmī!”

Mahādeva Śiva stopped dancing. He said that, “I was in bliss, why did you break that bliss?”

Durgā devī said, “I was worried that if you dance the tāṇḍava then the whole creation will be destroyed.” Mahadeva whose name is Āśutoṣa, meaning he is easily satisfied.

He said, “Okay.”

Pārvatī asked Mahādeva, “What kīrtana were you chanting Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Who is Gaurāṅga?”

Mahādeva said that, “Gaurāṅga comes in Kali-yuga and awards kṛṣṇa-prema to all.”

Then Pārvatī asked Lord Śiva, “Can I also get His daraśana?”

He said, “He is permanently present in Navadvīpa. If you go there you can get Lord Caitanya’s darśana.”

Then Pārvatī devī came to Navadvīpa. She was chanting the name and kīrtana of Lord, “Gaurāṅga. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” Lord Caitanya, Gaurāṅgadeva, appeared before her.

Lord Caitanya asked her, “Why were you chanting My names?”

Pārvatī devī said, “I heard that You are distributing kṛṣṇa-prema to all. Can I also get kṛṣṇa-prema?”

Lord Caitanya said that, “You are My ardha-śakti, My part potential, in one way there is no difference between you and Rādhārāṇī. I bless you that you will be non-different from Rādhārāṇī.”

Pārvatī devī took the dust from Lord Caitanya lotus feet and applied on her forehead where ladies apply sindhūra. That is called sīmanta. So Pārvatī devī applied the dust of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet, and so that place called Sīmantadvīpa. And Pārvatī devī’s name is Sīmantinī. Pārvatī is the protectress of Navadvīpa dhāma. To enter Navadvīpa dhāma we need the blessings of Sīmantinī Devī. Another name of her is Prauḍa Māyā. Mahādeva’s name is Vṛddha Śiva who protects the dhāma. So that is why Śiva and Pārvatī have their pastimes in the dhāma. Pārvatī devī and Mahādeva also want to have kṛṣṇa-prema. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s prema can easily be got by all of you. Premānanda! Gaurāṅga!

Generally, people think that we get happiness from sense gratification. But from sense gratification we get both happiness and distress. If we are healthy, we are happy but when we are sick; we are sad. In Kali-yuga there are many hospitals. You see that most of the hospitals are full. When the COVID pandemic was there for nearly two years everything was closed. Now, things have started getting normal. So this year we have resumed the Safari with so many devotees.

So this material world has both happiness and distress. But in the spiritual world there is bliss, happiness. I desire that all of you get kṛṣṇa-prema and you stay in the bliss of kṛṣṇa-prema. The primary teaching is that we are not this body. We are the body. The body is perishable, but the soul is eternal. In the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad it is said: Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. Nitya is one. Nityānām means many. Who is that one? Supreme Personality of Godhead is one and we are many. The Lord is the consciousness, cetanaś cetanānām. Cetanānām means many. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is a person and eternal.

In the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa says, Vivaśvān was given the Bhagavad-gītā knowledge, I was there, you were there, and many others were there, but I remember you forgot. In Kali-yuga there is one opportunity to get the mercy of the Lord. That mercy is His Holy Name. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī said, that I wish I had lakhs and lakhs of mouths, and crores of ears so that I can chant the holy names and hear His holy names.

Many people try to find happiness in various ways – some do intoxication and other things to get happy. But drinking leads to cirrhosis of the liver. Smoking causes cancer, damage to the lungs. But chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa there is no inconvenience, no danger. The Safari devotees have come from many different countries, and they are chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa because they are getting bliss chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa. All of you can also chant the names of Kṛṣṇa and get happiness. Haribol!

Today initiation took place. Initiation means that for the rest of their lives they will chant the name of Kṛṣṇa and by doing this they will get kṛṣṇa-prema. You will see how Lord Caitanya by His mercy, made even the animals in Jhārikhaṇḍa forest with Hs mercy. We are not Lord Caitanya, but we can at least if we get the human beings to chant the holy names, then we can consider our lives successful. Haribol! Now the Safari devotees will do kīrtana with all of you.