20230420 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 20th, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA. 

Question: I was wondering how we develop the same guru-niṣṭhā that Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura had for Lord Nityānanda?

Jayapatākā Swami: It is just causeless mercy! We see that Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, he offered prayers to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. So, that is the devotional process called vandanam. Offering prayers, obeisances. So, by desiring, praying for, by Their mercy, it can be achieved.

(A devotee, Savyasācī Kṛṣṇa dāsa departed untimely in a Kolkata hospital due to cardiac arrest.  Left his body in a very auspicious manner. Condolences to his wife Nitya Taraṅginī devī dāsī and his son Ananta. The son is 14 years old and just took initiation on Nityānanda Trayodaśī. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare! None of us know how long we have to be in this body. At any time, we could leave the body. So we should plan like that, always to be Kṛṣṇa conscious.)

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Question: We always talk about serving the senior devotees. How should we, as Mātājīs, serve the senior devotees besides serving prasāda?

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like, I request my disciples to read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and get their degrees such as Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta. So, there is one devotee in her 20s, she already has her Bhakti-vedānta degree. We haven’t given much attention to that. We find that there are many doctors, politicians, lawyers of the female gender. It would be nice to have devotees who actually know the scriptures and can properly explain it. People like to hear from Mātājīs and children. Normally, they don’t speak philosophical things. But if they do, people like it! That is one thing that can be done. I mean, I have been invited to go to Tucson, Arizona and Phoenix also. Both those temples have females as Temple Presidents. So in some countries of the world, not every country, there are no limitations like that. In the 9th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is the Apsarā, Urvaśī, she criticizes a bit how ladies are not reliable. But in the purport Śrīla Prabhupāda said this is for the materialistic ladies. Anyone who is Kṛṣṇa conscious, man or woman, they are all equal. So, I mean, I don’t see such a limitation. We saw that in the Dallas Ratha-yātrā, ladies were doing many services.

Comment: A comment more than a question. Wanted to let you know that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda Mahāprabhu in Melbourne Mahāprabhu Mandira, we have been serving Them for the last 45 to 50 years, and we have a mātājī to bathe them and serve them on a daily basis with your mercy Guru Mahārāja, your causeless mercy, I can say that I had the opportunity to bathe the Deities which Śrīla Prabhupāda, actually bathed them initially, the first time when they were installed. I just wanted to thank you – nama ācaryapādāya nitāi-kṛpā-pradāyine gaura-kathā-dhāma-dāya nagara-grāma-tāriṇe!

Jayapatākā Swami: In Bengal, east or west, whenever an associate of Lord Caitanya had established some Deity worship in a temple, after that that place is called a śrīpāṭ. In south India there are different places which Rāmanujācārya or some Ālvārs have established called Divya-deśas. They say, that anyone who visits all these Divya-deśa temples will go back to Vaikuṇṭha. I was thinking that we have 108 temples; that Śrīla Prabhupāda personally worshiped the Deities, established the temple should be given some special recognition, if nothing else, they should be called śrīpāṭs, - Śrīpāṭ Melbourne, Śrīpāṭ Dallas, Śrīpāṭ Detroit, Śrīpāṭ Los Angeles, Śrīpāṭ London, Śrīpāṭ Montreal and of course Śrīpāṭ Māyāpur dhāma!

Question: How can we keep ourselves unaffected by the non-devotees people around us especially at school?

Jayapatākā Swami: Preach to them, don’t let them preach to you! Think how you can help them on the path to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thank you for – you remember Prahlāda Mahārāja, he was in a school with all demon children, but he preached to them and he got them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. They said we are kids, we want to play, we don’t want to chant. He said, you spend half your life sleeping, playing,