20240228 Question and Answer Session

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Question: I want to serve the Lord, when I don’t get services and others get it and they go for service without telling me, I feel hurt. Maybe it is jealousy in my heart because I also want to do the service, but I am so unfortunate that I cannot do anything. How do I serve the Lord with a pure heart?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course you can always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, no one can take that away from you. If you want to do service, we can arrange. We can tell you whom to contact. If for some reason, I don’t see why you cannot serve. But if for some reason you cannot, you can always chant and hear. You can also read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and get your degrees. You have Bhakti-Sārvabhauma??!

Question: How we don’t ask Kṛṣṇa for anything when some devotees are going through immense miseries?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, each one is an individual. It is hard for me to answer without knowing the specifics. In some cases, Kṛṣṇa puts one in difficulties, as His special mercy so that the person can realize how these material situations are not real love. People may be rich, have so many friends, but then Kṛṣṇa takes away their money and all their friends leave, so they are fair weather friends, if you have money, they will be your friends, if you have no money, they are not your friends. So depending on the situation Kṛṣṇa may put you in different tests. Actually, these are opportunities for us to love Kṛṣṇa. He is actually, our real friend. Whether you are rich, poor whatever you are He is always there. Whether healthy or sick, He is there! If you read His pastimes how He is so nice, He relates with each devotee very personally!

Question: There are times in Ministry (life) when suddenly nothing pleases us that previously brought joy and fulfilment. How to live these moments?

Jayapatākā Swami: What is this question? How to live these moments? Sometimes we are enjoying some material situation. Like someone is our friend or something material. But that is a perverted reflection, Kṛṣṇa is our real friend. Our relationship is with Kṛṣṇa, He is there. But maybe we had some mundane friendship and then that left us, we became impoverished, or we lost interest. I don’t know. Kṛṣṇa is so amazing, even if you feel that Kṛṣṇa left me and you are thinking about Kṛṣṇa, that is also ecstatic! Like in the 8^th verse of the Śikṣāṣṭaka, Lord Caitanya says, even if You embrace Me or step on Me, You are still My Lord, that is real love. Not like you give me money you are my Lord. Give me a ticket for the Bollywood cinema, I love you, that is not love. In this material world we really don’t have love. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

The Help Desk devotees – in the Help Desk, they have some drinks like lemon juice, for babies they have milk, if you need any help, they are there to help you 24x7. The more we do sevā like this, naturally our love for Kṛṣṇa will grow! Thank you very much! Haribol!

Kṛṣṇe matir astu!

I thought he was saying Health Service. I thought should, I have some doctors from all over the world who give advice and help me. Are there doctors here? But I was wrong, he was saying Help Desk. Both help and health. So if you like to do some help you can talk to Pāñcajanya dāsa.