20200427 Zoom Session with Europe Devotees

The following is an address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 27th,2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. The address was given to the Europe Devotees via zoom

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

So, anyway, I think you all know about the corona virus. So I may not speak about that. If you have any questions, you can ask at the end. What we want is that devotional service or bhakti yoga means that we do sevā. And that sevā is a very wonderful exchange between the Lord and His devotees. So, that gives us what is known as spiritual happiness. And at the end of life, one can go back to Kṛṣṇa! Most people in the material world are completely addicted to happiness to the senses. They don’t know of any higher happiness. The problem is at the time of this pandemic, they are in anxiety and fear, they don’t know what to do. There is a limit to what doctors and scientists can do So at this time it is a good opportunity to develop our Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to chant, to read the books and to do the outreach, encourage other people, to chant the holy names. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is especially meant to destroy all the miseries of Kali-yuga. If someone doesn’t want to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa, tell them to chant some name of God which is mentioned in the scripture. But the best of all names is the name of Hari. And especially, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If one wants to chant Śrī Nṛsiṁha, Jaya Jaya 21 times, then in the Hari Bhakti Vilāsa it is quoted as solution for material suffering and disease. So actually the name of the Lord and the Lord are non-different. So when we chant the name of Kṛṣṇa, we are getting the association of Kṛṣṇa. So I hope that you all associate with Kṛṣṇa in this pandemic period. And thus you can taste the spiritual bliss! Haridāsa Ṭhākura we were reading today, every day at 6 o clock Indian time we have class, Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, that he has no qualification, because he cannot remember Kṛṣṇa. But he was asking Lord Caitanya, please have mercy on him and deliver him. So if Haridāsa Ṭhākura says that he cannot remember Kṛṣṇa, that means he is teaching us how humble we should be! Because it is obvious, he is chanting 300 thousand names of Kṛṣṇa a day, that he is remembering Kṛṣṇa much better than we can! But he presents himself as a very fallen soul. That we should be so humble to also present ourselves as a very lowly soul, who needs the mercy of Lord Caitanya. So this is a great time to read the prayers of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. He was being beaten in 22 market places. The Lord came to kill the executioners, but he was praying, please forgive them Lord, they don’t know what they are doing. And so, the Lord, He couldn’t kill them, but He took the beating on His own back. So, this Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was born in a non-hindu family which is not unique. In Europe and America, we are all born in non-hindu family, most of us. So he was a yavana but we may be mlecchas from birth! But by Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy, we have the opportunity to practice bhakti-yoga! And to achieve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, in this life time. That is the great mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Prabhu Nityānanda. So, I am very happy to visit you and see you. I have heard that many of you have not seen me for some time. In 2008, I had a stroke, and then I had kidney and liver failure, I was on dialysis, then I had a liver and kidney transplant, now I am taking immunosuppressant drugs, so that my body does not reject the kidney and liver. So it makes me highly susceptible to the corona virus. So anyway, I am in isolation but I specially want to encourage all the devotees. Dr. Audārya Dhāma Dāsa from Russia, he said he cured about 60 patients from the corona virus, from Italy, Switzerland and various countries, Russia. So, if you have some near or dear one who is suffering, you can contact Dr. Audārya Dhāma Dāsa or we have a doctor here in Māyāpur who is testing his treatment, Dr. Binoy Gauracandra Dāsa. So, like this we are trying to help the devotees, materially and spiritually. I am very glad that I can meet some of my disciples, I have not seen for a long time.

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jai!