20230513 Question and Answer Session

Hare Krishna! ?

Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda mentioned in his books we are not the body we are the soul. You also mentioned today in the class. But how can I feel that I am not the body, I am the soul? Always I see man, woman, black, white, American, Indian, so I don’t feel I am the soul, I feel I am the body. Kindly enlighten.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Śrīla Prabhupāda arrived in Melbourne Australia. The newspaper journalists met him at the airport, they told him, “You are from India, a poor country. You have come to Australia, we are a rich country. What have you come to take from us?” Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I haven’t come to take anything from you. I have come to save you for a cats and dogs life. So, you mean, we are cats and dogs? What is the difference? Cat eats anything on the street, you eat in some hotel restaurant. You eat with a spoon, fork, and knife. A cat or dog sleeps anywhere. You may sleep on a bed. A cat, dog can have sex anywhere. You may have sex in your house. Cat and dog defend themselves with their fangs, with their paws. You may use machine guns, missiles.” Yesterday I saw the news, there was a crazy who shot 8 people in the mall at Dallas, and he was shot by the police and 9 people died, What for?

Anyway, Śrīla Prabhupāda said is a human being just a sophisticated animal? The human being is meant to realize Kṛṣṇa. And realize that we are not the body. You may drive your car, you can take care of the car. You are the body, you can take care of it. But there is a much higher happiness. You feed petrol or diesel to your car, now there are electric cars, you plug them in. Somehow, you cannot plug it into your body to drink gasoline. You have to eat food that is appropriate. Just like that, if you realize that you are a spiritual soul then we can have a higher happiness.

Actually, the happiness we get from the body is not very lasting. It is a superficial thing. Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying to his disciples in London in 1973 he said, I want all my gṛhastha followers to become paramahaṁsas. To realize the difference between the living force and the body. The swan, they will separate the milk and water mixture and drink the milk. And leave the water. Like that if we realize that we are not the body, and take out the essential thing, the spiritual thing.

As I said, my guru, he was the son of an ācārya. So, he said I want all my gṛhastha followers should also have ācāryas as their children. So today we had an ācārya making ceremony, we are going to have many ācāryas. We have to realize that we are more than the body, we are the spirit soul. Bodily experience is there but we realize there is something beyond this. So maybe, why did Śrīla Prabhupāda repeat so often, we are not the body, we are not the body, we are not the body, because in spite of that we are still thinking I am the body!

Our body has senses. The senses need a certain amount of gratification. The senses never satisfy you. They just tell you we need some gratification. I need some food, I need this, I need that. Just like the song of the rock and roll group who sing – I can’t get no satisfaction - there is no satisfaction. Satisfaction comes from a spiritual experience. Just try to think about it you, can realize that you are not the body.

I realized, just like in 1972 or ‘73, I had very high fever, I was suffering so much pain. Then I listened to Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures from the Nectar of Devotion from Vṛndāvana. I felt so much happiness. Bodily I was suffering, but I felt happiness. I realized I am not the body! It is not very difficult. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Any other question?

Question: I am the greatest fool I could not grow spiritually without you holding my hand. I see so much of similarity between you and the Himalaya mountains - the people are trekking they are humbled. Seeing you, you are exactly like that anyone comes under your shelter, they become humble. They find solace and feel the bliss. My question is you mentioned about the gopīs and Rādhārāṇī talking to the trees. Is there any spiritual significance to that?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, Kṛṣṇa knows the language of the trees. I think, the point is that the gopīs are so mad after not seeing Kṛṣṇa that even they are asking the trees. So this shows separation of Kṛṣṇa they can have such a strong desire.

So, are you feeling separation from Kṛṣṇa?

Devotee: I am trying to serve Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So you can feel separation because you do not see Kṛṣṇa.

Devotee: But we see in the Deity form.

Jayapatākā Swami: That helps.

Like this Lord Caitanya when He saw Lord Jagannātha He saw Him as Vrajendranandana Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja. There is so much happiness, so much ecstasy in serving Kṛṣṇa, even you talk to trees! You have to really be up there to talk to the trees, right? He is not crazy but He is mad after Kṛṣṇa. If we can get a drop of that madness for Kṛṣṇa, then we would have unlimited happiness. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was saying, I wish had millions of mouths and millions of ears to chant and hear Hare Kṛṣṇa!

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