20240204 Evening Address | Question-and-Answer session

The following is an evening address with a Question and Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 4th, 2024 at Juhu, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: Thank you for coming today. Lord Kṛṣṇa said in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa that 5000 years after the Kali-yuga begins, there would be a ten-thousand-year Golden Age where Kṛṣṇa consciousness would be at its maximum. Lord Caitanya came 4,550 years ago. He predicted He would send His senāpati-bhakta and he would spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. That was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. So now it is exactly 5000 years and so Śrīla Prabhupāda, he fulfilled that prediction. And he asked us to go head and build grand temples. Lord Nityānanda said there will be a temple, His quote was: eka adbhuta mandira haibe prakāśa, gaurangera sevā haibe vikāśa. How many of you are married? And how many are initiated? How many are His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami’s disciples? His Holiness Rādhānātha Swami’s disciples? My disciples? And how many are aspiring to be disciples in the future? So, devotional service is a kind of science. And in the Nectar of Devotion, the process is explained. The first one does is devotional service by regulative principles. It means they follow some rules. You are advanced devotees. Most of you, I asked if you chant 16 rounds and most said, they did! Young people, they have lots of energy. I am an old man and so I have many desires to do things.When I was young, I could do that but now I cannot do that. Then I went around the world five or six times a year, but now they don’t allow me. They say I am too old to travel! When Śrīla Prabhupāda came and gave us Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he was 70 years old. For 12 years he went around the world 14 times. And he established 108 temples. So he did so much sevā at a very advanced age. So I always feel eternally indebted to him.

And Śrīla Prabhupāda told many things to me. One thing he told me, he was giving me the Kingdom of God, I should develop it. I should preach unlimitedly and many other things. So I asked the Deity of Sītā Rāma Lakṣmaṇa Hanumān for Their mercy to see Kṛṣṇa consciousness spread everywhere. The pūjārī brought two flowers. Somehow, I got one. But one fell-down and my secretary got it. I realized that I got the blessing, but I may not see the full result until you all do the work. Because the second flower fell-down, they did not give me. The second flower I assume was you.

Lord Caitanya told everyone He met yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa (Cc. Madhya 7.128) He wanted everyone to spread the name of Kṛṣṇa. I find so much nectar in the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Gaurāṅga. But people say that I have started chanting but find it very difficult. He, reading very hard. He (repeater, Rādhā-Ramaṇa Sevaka dāsa) misunderstood what I said, it was reading. Eating no problem. How many of you like eating? Sometime, we have to engage people in eating. And somehow engage them in devotional service.

The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, the Nectar of Devotion, it says first to do regulated bhakti. Gradually, it becomes a habit, and some sevā it may become like automatic. Automatic, but still regulated devotional service. Some time it becomes you want to do it, spontaneous! That is called rāgānuga-bhakti. We want all of you to develop this rāgānuga-bhakti. And then gradually it grows step by step, anartha-nivṛtti, niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti, bhāva and after bhāva, prema. So, devotees like Bharata Mahārāja, he went up to the level of bhāva, but he became attached to a deer calf. He started to give it his affection to a deer calf. When he died the deer was licking his face. So he thought who will take care of my deer? And next birth he took birth as a deer. You have all been born as human beings. When someone gets birth as a human, naturally the male is attached to the female and female attached to the male. The scientists have said that this happens because of some hormones. But bhakti-yoga means that we want to gradually attached to Kṛṣṇa and His avatāras. That happens gradually when we do sevā, by hearing His glories, we do kīrtana and praise Him. So it starts as a bit mechanical. Someone told me that his chanting was mechanical. He said my chanting is mechanical. You see once we develop a taste,it is no longer mechanical. First rule when they say they don’t have a taste, but when we actually, start to do devotional service, our attachment for Kṛṣṇa awakens. The Pañca Pāṇḍavas were having to fight. Are you ready? In the council what were they talking? Bhīṣma was there, the Pañca Pāṇḍavas were there. They were discussing we have defeated our enemies. Yudhiṣṭhira is now the emperor of the world, but we have lost the association of Kṛṣṇa! How can we get Kṛṣṇa back? What can we do? What do we say? No one is there to save us, when we have enemies. Now we do not have enemies. So how do we get the association of Kṛṣṇa? So this was the discussion in the middle of the war. They had kṛṣṇa-prema, they loved Kṛṣṇa and they were in sakhya-rasa.

Lord Caitanya, He saw that the whole world they were missing out on kṛṣṇa-prema. So He came down to give out kṛṣṇa-prema freely. It is amazing how many places He visited! Today I was told by Śyāma Rasika dāsa that when Lord Caitanya came to Maharashtra, He went to Kolhapur, Pāṇḍarapura, Nāsika. So we have to put His lotus foot prints there. That the people remember that Lord Caitanya came here. In your hearts Lord Caitanya may be there. But how many people are there in Mumbai who do not know Lord Caitanya! Is there anyone here who do not know? So that is why you have to take the initiative, somehow or another by hit or by trick, you should tell them about Lord Caitanya. And people know who is the cricket player, who is the Bollywood star, who is the politician, who is the rich men, but people don’t know Lord Caitanya. Even people who come to the temple, they don’t know! So Rādhā Rāsabihārī, Sītā Rāma Lakṣmaṇa Hanumān they go, but they don’t necessarily go to Gaura-Nitāi. So our job, somehow or another, tell them about Kṛṣṇa, about Lord Caitanya. I mean Lord Rāma is also an avatāra of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Anything about any of the avatāras is also appreciation of Kṛṣṇa. How the people felt so happy seeing Lord Rāma, the same way that blessing of Lord Caitanya to be spread in the whole universe is very easy! Haribol! Gaurāṅga!

So can you imagine, someone with unlimited wealth, everyone he saw he gives crores of rupees. Lord Caitanya was like that but He had something worth more than money! He had the unlimited wealth of the spiritual world of kṛṣṇa-prema! And everyone He met He gave it to them. It is said when the Chand Kazi broke His saṅkīrtana party mṛdaṅga, He said, we will amass a grand protest. No one can stop the saṅkīrtana movement. So He created four different parties who went to different parts of Navadvīpa. Each party had lakhs and lakhs of people. Lord Caitanya was in the fourth party, and He came behind. And He was chanting, He was dancing, tears were flowing from His eyes, Nitāi and Gadādhara were by His side because sometimes He would faint, and they would have to catch Him. Some nāstikas were at the side and laughing seeing the devotees dancing. But when they saw Lord Caitanya laughing and dancing, crying, they themselves fainted! And they got up and started to chant and dance! But as Lord Caitanya was chanting, the sound of His kīrtana parties reached Svargaloka. Lord Indra and Lord Vāyudeva, they came down to see what was happening. They saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa Himself as Lord Caitanya was chanting and dancing. And they fainted! They lost their consciousness. Imagine, the Lord of everybody, He comes down and chants and dances! The Lord of Śiva, Gaṇeśa, Kārttika, He comes down, He chants, dances, gives out love of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Indra and Lord Vāyudeva, they fainted, it was too much! When they came back to consciousness, they transformed their figure into human figures and joined the kīrtana party! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!

So we want to see Lord Caitanya’s glories told to all the people. Lord Kṛṣṇa instructed in Bhagavad-gītā that we should tell the people that they are not the body. Kṛṣṇa is not asking to Arjuna that he does something different. But do what is natural, whatever his duty is, as a warrior, a kṣatriya, he should do that for Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, whatever is your duty is, whatever is natural, you do it for Kṛṣṇa. And you should do it gradually, eventually you will have a taste. Ruci, āsakti, bhāva, everything but it may take 20 to 30 years. Husband and wife, they should both be devotees. And they should do their family life also to please Kṛṣṇa. Actually, when we cook, we cook thinking I will offer this to Kṛṣṇa. We offer that to Kṛṣṇa and the whole family eats kṛṣṇa-prasāda. Everything we do, bhakti-yoga means we completely change our orientation. That you are doing everything to please Kṛṣṇa. You are cooking, cook for Kṛṣṇa, if you are eating, eat for Kṛṣṇa. And if you are making children make children for Kṛṣṇa. Everything you do, you do that for Kṛṣṇa. At the end of that we don’t have to take birth again.

You have any questions?

Question (very young devotee): My mind keeps wandering here and there, doesn’t concentrate on chanting? What should I do?

Jayapatākā Swami: Are you Go-dāsa or Mohana-dāsa. You listen to your mind? Tell your mind, shut up! chant!

Question: In the material world we feel possessive and jealous. In Goloka does anyone feel possessive or jealous if Kṛṣṇa reciprocates more with some devotees and less with someone? Does Kṛṣṇa appreciate if we are possessive about Him?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see being in the spiritual world they feel very attached to Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa is unlimited! When He would take lunch with His friends, every friend was thinking, Kṛṣṇa is looking at me. When He was dancing with the gopīs, He expanded Himself into as many gopīs, that each gopī has one Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa had 16,108 queens. He multiplied Himself into 16,108 Kṛṣṇas and one Kṛṣṇa went into each queen’s palace. Why should you feel jealous? Kṛṣṇa is unlimited. He means to satisfy each devotee.

Question: For the last many years I have been practicing, preaching and teaching Bhagavad-gītā to so many people but internally I feel my conviction has weakened and I am not able to practice properly. Wanted to ask how to deal with this situation?

Jayapatākā Swami: Associate with devotees who have conviction. You see, since devotional service is a gradual process, some people naturally would be at different stages. So some devotees are at a very advanced stage. A devotee of the Lord (Akrūra), when he saw the footprints of Kṛṣṇa he left his chariot and paid his obeisances to the footprints. Like that, some devotees are very fixed up. Try to associate with them.

Question: How do we deepen our bond with you as a disciple?

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes in the year, write to me a report of your preaching, and write to me if you are facing problem. But naturally if you preach, if you help me to fulfill my orders from Śrīla Prabhupāda, your connection will be closer.

This year after Gaura Pūrṇimā, we go on our yearly Safari. This year we are going to Vṛndāvana dhāma. We are going to establish the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya in the various places that He visited. And we seek help from devotees, from His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami. And anyone else who would like to help and sponsor a place set of the lotus footprints or otherwise you want to help please talk to Śyāma Rasika dāsa. And we are going… Of course Vṛndāvana anyone can go, otherwise to go on the Safari, you can talk to Marīci dāsa. I put the lotus footprints of Lord Caitanya in Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa. Also the lotus footprints in the place, where Lord Caitanya had taken initiation, in Gayā and many places. But this year, we desire to establish Lord Caitanya’s footprints in Vṛndāvana.

Oh! Time is up for today!

Śrīla Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja Ki ! Jaya! Śrīla Prabhupāda Ki! Jaya!