20250117 Question and Answer Session

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Question: In which state we will see this world as Vaikuṇṭha?

Jayapatākā Swami: When you have prema. That is easy. When there is presence of prema-bhakti even the mundane world appears as Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual world!

Question: Can someone attain prema or prema is only bestowed by the Lord?

Jayapatākā Swami: Prema is of two kinds, those who practice sādhana-bhakti, gradually they rise to the rati or bhāva stage. And so then if one is practicing devotional service, he rises to the prema stage. If someone is not performing sadhana-bhakti but they show signs of prema, and they get it quite fast, then that is called prasādottha-prema, prema received as prasāda, by the mercy of the Lord. Like Lord Caitanya, Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s son-in-law Amogha, was a criticizer. He criticized Lord Caitanya and he got cholera. When Lord Caitanya heard that, He went over to Amogha’s house and heard that Amogha was on his death bed. So He went and put His hand on the heart of Amogha. And He said, “How have you let these dirty things come into your heart? Envy, jealousy, fault finding. A brāhmaṇa’s heart is supposed to be pure. Get up and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” Then Amogha rose out of his bed and started chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, displaying ecstatic symptoms. So, that was like, even though he was an offender, Lord Caitanya gave His mercy. So then Sarvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya asked, “Why did You save him? He was an offender.” Lord Caitanya said, “You see, because you are dear to Me. Even a dog in your family, I will have mercy on that!”

Kṛṣṇe matir astu! Haribol!