20250118 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: If we can even see the material world as the spiritual world, non-different from Vaikuṇṭha, why would be motivated to attain the Lord’s abode? Is there any difference therefore between being in prema, in this world or in the spiritual world?

Jayapatākā Swami: That is why the devotees, they want to be engaged in service. If they are engaged in devotional service, then they have love of Kṛṣṇa, it doesn’t really matter where you are. You go to that universe where Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Caitanya is having Their pastimes. I go round Pañca-tattva, on the corner there is a picture of Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, Lord Advaita, surrounded by so many devotees! It is wonderful! So, if Śrīla Prabhupāda is in the spiritual world, we would like to be with him. But if he is doing some service, in a preaching mission in some other planet, then being there would be no different. You see some people are fixed on liberation. So there is impersonal liberation, Vaikuṇṭha liberation and then there is Kṛṣṇaloka liberation. So some devotees are happy to worship Lakṣmī Nārāyaṇa, some devotees want to worship Kṛṣṇa. Either in Dvārakā, Mathurā or Vraja. And some devotees even if Kṛṣṇa sometimes comes down to some planet in the material world, they don’t mind that. They would be happy to be with Kṛṣṇa wherever He is. Haribol!

Question: Is it necessary to go to Kumbha-melā for devotees who live in Śrīdhāma Māyāpur?

Jayapatākā Swami: Like, His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami and his team they go to Kumbha-melā to preach. Many people want to get some form of liberation, and it is very quick there. So we get all these Māyāvādīs, yogīs, pilgrims other people. They are expecting around 400 million visitors. They ran out of books! It is very hard to get more books in the Kumbha-melā. So one day they had to be without books. Then they figured out how to get more books. So as I said this morning their goal is to distribute 700 thousand books. I took a bath there in the Kumbha-melā. But if you are there, you have to avoid the Nāga Bābās, if they are there, you go the other way. They carry some kind of weapon, and they go and take bath. We were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, they started to smile and dance. So it is a good preaching availability. People, those who go to Kumbha-melā generally are pious people. They may take impersonal liberation, I don’t know what they want. And so we have the opportunity to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and purify.

Mr. Adani who is a multi-billionaire, he agreed whatever prasāda ISKCON gives out, he will give the money. So the devotees announced they would give unlimited prasāda! Unlimited! Come and take it. We hope we could get that kind of support in Māyāpur! In Kumbha-melā there 400 thousand pilgrims and devotees are going there for prasāda distribution, book distribution and kīrtanas. Our Prime Minister was glorifying Śrīla Prabhupāda, saying that he went to every corner of the world. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!

Kṛṣṇe matir astu! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda!