20230526 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 26th, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Any questions?

Question: Can you please explain again the significance of the verse of the lips? It is a bit confusing to me the analogy put down by the lips - the material the spiritual connotation. Please forgive my lack of understanding.

Jayapatākā Swami: There is nothing material about Kṛṣṇa’s lips. We have lips, they are material. Kṛṣṇa’s lips are transcendental. We take prasāda and that is considered remnants. And when Kṛṣṇa takes food, it is said to be māha-prasāda. If a Vaiṣṇava takes prasāda then that becomes māha-māha-prasāda. So, everybody can experience the nectar by taking prasāda, and you don’t have to be in the mādhurya-rasa. But the gopīs, they like to taste the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips, directly. So, the material world is a perverted reflection. But actually, the real purpose is to understand the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, His lips, His glance, and when He plays on the flute and that people. So, sometimes He uses the lips to play on the flute, sometimes to eat prasāda, sometimes to chew betel nuts. Everything He does with His lips becomes nectar. And there is a that verse explains that in the heavenly planets they also have a nectar. But the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips are much above the heavenly nectar. It is said in the verse we read today, even great devas, great demigods, they cannot easily get the prasāda. There was a pastime where for 12 years, Nārada Muni worshiped Lakṣmī devī. And then She said I am pleased with you, what do you want? He said I don’t want anything but the prasāda remnants from Lord Nārāyaṇa’s plate. She said, but He told Me not to give that to anyone. So there is nothing else I want. So Lord Nārāyaṇa, He saw that Lakṣmī was in anxiety. In Vaikuṇṭha nobody usually is in anxiety. He asked why are You anxious? She told Him. He said, well, just give it to him when I am not watching. So, then She gave some māha-prasāda to Nārada Muni and he was so ecstatic, he was flying all over the universe, brighter than millions and millions of suns. Somehow, he went to Kailāsa and Lord Śiva, asked him, “What happened to you? Why are you so effulgent, so blissful?” He explained how he got prasāda from Lakṣmī Devī. Lord Śiva said, “I thought you were My friend. You did not save any prasāda for me?” Nārada Muni was embarrassed and he looked down. He saw in one finger nail a little speck of prasāda. “Oh, there is a speck here!” Lord Śiva said, the famous words “kaṇikā-mātra-dau” a little bit, kaṇikā, a speck. These are famous words. You are not from India, we are from India, so we know! He took that little prasāda and he went, wow! Shoo! so ecstatic. I will end it here. Any other questions?

Devotee: We wanted to hear what happened – the continuation of what happened, Guru Mahārāja.

Jayapatākā Swami: You want to hear what Pārvatī asked Lord Śiva. Lord Śiva was dancing so ecstatically that the whole universe started to shake that there were earthquakes. Pārvatī realized that it was not time for the māha-pralaya, final destruction. So she went to Kailāsa to see what Lord Śiva was doing. Pārvatī came back to Kailāsa. She saw her husband dancing ecstatically. She said Mahādeva, “Svāmī!” He said, “Oh, you interrupted my ecstasy, why did you do that?” She said, “Well, the whole universe was shaking with your wild dancing. I saw that in Pātalaloka there were earthquakes, but it wasn’t yet time for devastation. So I came up as I am the mother of the universe, and I care about the universe. Please forgive me for committing any offence.” Lord Śiva is known as Āśutoṣa and he forgave her. She asked, “What made you so ecstatic. He told how Nārada Muni got the prasāda,” he got a kaṇikā, speck. Then she said, “So, I am your better half, ardhāṅganī,” she said, “You said all these many things about me, is this just a show? Did you save some for me?” He said, “No!” “Why didn’t you save any for me?” Then he replied, “I don’t think you are qualified.” “I AM NOT QUALIFIED?! I am the sister of Kṛṣṇa, I have a Deity, I am Vaiṣṇavī, Bhagavatī, why cannot I get kṛṣṇa-prasāda? People get, even the dogs, everyone get kṛṣṇa-prasāda, this is the worst thing, to not have prasāda of Kṛṣṇa!” So there was a big argument, I mean some marriage problem between Lord Śiva and Pārvatī. It was very serious! There was nothing that Lord Śiva could say to pacify Pārvatī. Then Lord Viṣṇu came and Lord Viṣṇu told Pārvatī, He pulled her aside and said, “I will come as Lord Jagannātha, dāru-brahma, wooden Absolute Truth and all My prasāda will be first offered to you and in that way He pacified her.” So, all the prasāda of Lord Jagannātha is offered to Vimalā Devī. There is a Deity in Jagannātha Purī of Pārvatī as Vimalā Devī. And the prasāda of Lord Jagannātha is offered first to Vimalā Devī. Lord Śiva, His temple is in Bhubaneswar. Is that what you wanted to know?