Question: Spiritual master does so much for us, he is so merciful, but my heart is so contaminated. I am stonehearted, I don’t feel anything for him. What should I do to increase my love and devotion to him, dear Mahārāja. Please enlighten me.
Author: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting question.
We don’t want to be a kṛpaṇa – a miser.
You are saying how you understand the guru is doing so much for you!
But you don’t feel grateful!
Is that the way to feel?
If someone saves you from a car accident, should you feel grateful?
If someone is saving you from repeated birth and death, should you feel grateful?
If you don’t feel grateful, definitely you should be crying.
If you are not crying, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, you should cry that you are not crying!
And if you are not crying that you are not crying, then you should crying, that you are not crying for crying!
It goes on like that!
Category: [Anarthās], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Related Questions
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-18
Jayapatākā Swami: In the eighth canto in the story of Gajendra mokṣa
there is a pastime of Gajendra was fighting with a crocodile.
They were in a lake.
So after a long fight, Someone may be stronger in the renounced order.
Gajendra realized that he was losing.
Because he was a land animal,
and he was stronger in the land.
But the crocodile is a water animal,
he is in the water,
so he is more strong in the water.
So then Gajendra remembered some prayers from his previous life
and he prayed to the Lord.
Anyway, the Lord came and saved him.
So both the crocodile and him were there for different reasons.
One of them was Huhu,
the Gandharva king
and the other was Indradyumna,
the king who was cursed
to become the elephant king and the crocodile king.
Śrīla Prabhupāda in the purport he said that just like the crocodile was in his element, the water,
he was stronger.
So like that, we should be in a position where were are strongest.
Someone may be stronger as a gṛhastha,
with regulated sex life.
Someone may be stronger in the renounced order.
But accordingly, where they are stronger they should try to fight māyā,
they should try to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
It is not that one size fits all!
I could not say something like that in India,
they may not understand, but here I can say right, everybody knows.
So I thought I would give you some American slang!
So like that, we should be determined to fight.
We should be determined to practice our Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Maybe the situation may be different for different people.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was giving a lecture in London in 1973
on his Vyāsa-pūjā
and he said how his gurudeva had sent some sannyāsīs
to preach to London
but they failed.
One Lord asked a sannyāsī, “Can you make me a brāhmaṇa?”
He said, “Sure,
you give up illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and meat eating.”
“That is impossible,
that is my life,” he replied.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda said he sent three gṛhasthas couples,
they were successful.
So he was requesting all his gṛhastha followers to be paramahaṁsas.
And he said that Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, was a gṛhastha.
He had produced a son, his gurudeva, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.
So we need many such ācāryas to preach.
Produce children like that - ācāryas.
In India many gṛhasthas they come to me and say we have been married for x years we don’t have children,
give a blessing that I should have a child.
But actually, that is not a good blessing.
Just to have a child.
You want to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious long lived, healthy suputra,
maybe an ācārya!
Śrīla Prabhupāda was giving a lecture like that.
In India I am a lone fighter.
I am trying to establish how ladies could be Kṛṣṇa conscious and so on.
But there is a lot of back pedaling from the Indian leaders.
I am Indian.
Anyway, don’t be discouraged.
Be strong
and fight against māyā.
Help in distributing books, help the previous ācāryas and so on.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Harṣavardana Gaurāṅga dāsa
Date: 2022-08-05
Jayapatākā Swami: We want to take shelter of Nitāi-Gaura.
Also, Lord Kṛṣṇa.
And if we are harassed with memories of our previous mistakes,
we should pray for forgiveness,
and proceed with devotional service.
It is not worth giving attention to these sinful memories.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda always told us we should not try to see Kṛṣṇa but act in such a way that Kṛṣṇa will see us.
It was devastating to lose Śrīla Prabhupāda’s personal association.
But he gave me a lot of different services to perform to him.
So, that kept me busy in serving Śrīla Prabhupāda.
How many of you are disciples of Caitanya Candra Caraṇa dāsa? (Almost all)
How many of you have the Jayapatākā Swami App?
(a few) You can download it.
It is in various languages, and you can choose Russian.
So, there are various programs in the App like offering ārati, like seeing what I do, seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda lectures.
Then you can ask, to put out something about Caitanya Candra Caraṇa dāsa also.
Have you visited any of the holy places around Navadvīpa dhāma?
(Yes, the house of Śrīvāsa Aṅgana.) Śrīvāsa Aṅgana. (Yoga-pīṭha, House of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Jagannātha Mandir, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura samādhi, Viṣṇu-priyā temple, and also TOVP construction site)
Have you seen the TOVP site?
Is there are anyone who is an IT person, we are doing a Museum in the West Wing, we could use help for the Exhibits.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-12-07
If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa,
you surrender to Kṛṣṇa,
Kṛṣṇa says mokṣya,
that He’ll protect you from all the sins.
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
‘Sarva-pāpebhyo’,
all pāpa He’ll protect you from.
There’s no other way to get free from your sin except for taking shelter of the Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Even if you do pious activity that doesn’t get rid of the sin.
Only by serving Kṛṣṇa you’d be get free from all the sin
Questioner: Bhaktin Pūjā
Date: 2022-09-30
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, this material world is like a prison house.
And if you serve Kṛṣṇa, you get out of this prison.
If you serve guru and Kṛṣṇa, you will be free!
Do you think that the jail keeper will let you go so easy?!
She tests you first to see that you are really sincere.
And when you pass the test, she will offer you her obeisances.
Thank you, you can go back to Godhead!
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Emotions / Stress/Anxiety], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
An initiated neophyte has vowed to follow the regulative principles, chant daily 16 rounds and to help you and help Śrīla Prabhupāda in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness all around the world. Say, such a neophyte has broken this vow in an attempt to meet the demands of his competitive world due to his past bad karma, how can such a person be attractive and inspiring to the common man plus come back to the spiritual life and resume to his guru’s pleasure?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: You see that is why taking first initiation
it is described as taking a new birth.
Naturally when you are taking birth as a baby,
a toddler,
you may fall down a few times.
Then gradually you learn to walk.
So at your first initiation
it is expected that
there may be a few mistakes.
And one should pick up and continue to practice,
in this way they can progress.
When one takes the second initiation,
they should be more considered like 9 or 12 years old.
If at that time they are sleeping in the lap of the mother
and passing stool or something,
then something is wrong!
A little baby it is expected.
But not in a 9 or 12-year-old boy!
Category: [Anarthās], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Sādhanā / Regulative Principles], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
An initiated neophyte has vowed to follow the regulative principles, chant daily 16 rounds and to help you and help Śrīla Prabhupāda in spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness all around the world. Say, such a neophyte has broken this vow in an attempt to meet the demands of his competitive world due to his past bad karma, how can such a person be attractive and inspiring to the common man plus come back to the spiritual life and resume to his guru’s pleasure?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: You see that is why taking first initiation
it is described as taking a new birth.
Naturally when you are taking birth as a baby,
a toddler,
you may fall down a few times.
Then gradually you learn to walk.
So at your first initiation
it is expected that
there may be a few mistakes.
And one should pick up and continue to practice,
in this way they can progress.
When one takes the second initiation,
they should be more considered like 9 or 12 years old.
If at that time they are sleeping in the lap of the mother
and passing stool or something,
then something is wrong!
A little baby it is expected.
But not in a 9 or 12-year-old boy!
Category: [Anarthās], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Sādhanā / Regulative Principles], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-05-13
Jayapatākā Swami: You see if you are mood is such that you go back to Godhead,
that means you got some mercy from your guru.
I spent so many weeks giving class so that people could get an idea of my mood.
What do you think?
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma]
As you explained Lord Caitanya enters the heart of his pure devotee and inspires him to preach. If someone is not a pure devotee, will he still be able to preach? Please enlighten dear Guru Mahārāja. If someone is not a pure devotee, will he still be able to preach? Please enlighten dear Guru Mahārāja.
Questioner: Harihara Caitanya dāsa
Date: 2022-12-02
Jayapatākā Swami: You see entering into the heart of a devotee
and being personally there as an āveśa
is different from preaching.
Definitely you can preach.
Lord Caitanya being personally present is a different thing altogether.
The śāstra says
that He appears in the heart of a pure devotee,
if He wants to.
It does not mean that in every devotee this has to happen,
but it happens if the Lord wants in some pure devotee’s heart.
You can preach anyway.
Category: [Anarthās], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Gaurāṇga], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Sādhanā / Preaching], [Śrī Caitanya-līlā / Lord Caitanya]
Questioner: Purabi Das
Date: 2022-09-10
Jayapatākā Swami: We should not be attracted by temporary things.
Temporary things only last for short time, so we should not be distracted by them.
If we are attracted by some temporary things, we should think how to do that in the service of Kṛṣṇa.
In this way, we can naturally develop our love for Kṛṣṇa.
So, developing love for Kṛṣṇa is a gradual process.
And step by step we develop our love for Kṛṣṇa. Just like if we want to have a child, we pray to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child.
We do everything in such a way that Kṛṣṇa will be pleased.
And naturally like we were reading how the king and his queen were praying to Kṛṣṇa and then they got a Kṛṣṇa conscious child, they actually got an avatāra, Ṛṣabhadeva as their child who was the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Anarthās / Sinful activities], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)], [Sādhanā], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-12-13
Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know if there is a system to take others’ faults.
You can donate some of your merits to others.
That is in the Padma Purāṇa
that one lady she was donating some of her merits to a bull
who was being mistreated and who died.
So the ātmā from the bull took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy
and he remembered that he was a bull from his previous life.
Normally people are very greedy to get more merit, and they don’t give it away.
So he was curious how she was giving away her merit.
So he went to see her,
and said, you don’t know me but I know you.
Remember the bull who would be beaten and you gave some merit to the bull?
So I was that bull and now I took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy
and she revealed that she was reading the Bhagavad-gītā regularly.
Therefore, she gave half of her merit to the bull
and the bull took birth as a brāhmaṇa boy
and he started to read the Bhagavad-gītā also
and he went back to Godhead!
Category: [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Mercy]
Can someone who is endeavoring to follow his guru’s instructions sincerely and is making efforts to take his guru’s instructions and his desire as his life and soul, but hasn’t got the chance to take formal initiation, can such a person go back to Godhead and achieve the highest goal of kṛṣṇa-prema in this very life? Can he also achieve his guru’s service eternally?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Since the name of Kṛṣṇa is not different from Kṛṣṇa,
somehow by chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa,
one may also achieve the highest perfection.
But a sure way is if possible, is for you to take initiation from the authorized guru-paramparā,
and then in that way serve Kṛṣṇa.
You see Kṛṣṇa gives you the opportunity to take initiation.
If out of false ego you don’t do it,
then it is not really Kṛṣṇa’s fault.
So if He is giving us some help, we should take it.
During this lockdown period
I am also giving initiation on the internet by zoom.
And other gurus are also doing the same thing.
So if one is qualified, they could take initiation.
Don’t have to wait for the guru to physically come there.
Category: [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma]
Questioner: Mādhavī Śyāmasundarī devī dāsī
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: All the services to the Deities in this temple or any temple of ISKCON will be very pleasing to me.
So you can ask the temple leaders what service you can do.
Lord Caitanya said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa.
Whoever you see, tell them the glories of Kṛṣṇa.
That will make me very happy.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Sādhanā / Technicalities]
Questioner: Mādhavī Śyāmasundarī devī dāsī
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: All the services to the Deities in this temple or any temple of ISKCON will be very pleasing to me.
So you can ask the temple leaders what service you can do.
Lord Caitanya said, yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa.
Whoever you see, tell them the glories of Kṛṣṇa.
That will make me very happy.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Sādhanā / Technicalities]
Despite all adversities, you have always continued to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda without any interruption, and we see sometimes devotees, they get upset on small things. And they leave their services. And that really compromises everybody’s service to Śrīla Prabhupāda. So how can we continue in your mood, that not to leave services when offended and work together? Any instructions, any guidance you can give us about that?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-21
Jayapatākā Swami: Well, as I said,
we owe everything to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
He could have stayed in Vṛndāvana.
He would have easily got liberation.
But he took a great headache,
he came to the USA,
came to Canada,
and he gave us Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So who thinks that they have paid their debt fully?
I don’t think so!
I have to do so much,
still the debts are not paid for.
As long as I have breath in the body,
as long as I have any abilities,
I will try to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.
When I was in Canada
I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda,
whether I should join the USA army,
because my father said he would turn my name.
Then Śrīla Prabhupāda told me
better you join Kṛṣṇa’s army.
So I am still in Kṛṣṇa’s army,
and I haven’t taken retirement yet.
So as a serving officer in Kṛṣṇa’s army,
I have to continue! Ha!
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Cooperation]
Questioner: Shivam
Date: 2022-08-27
Jayapatākā Swami: That is why Śrīla Prabhupāda he would teach us to avoid the ten offences to the holy name.
The first offence is not to offend or blaspheme a devotee.
So it is worse to offend a devotee than being sinful.
So, you should avoid offending a devotee.
At the same time naturally, we want to try to come to the pure platform.
So, before you take initiation, you should be sure you can follow the principles.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-12-06
Jayapatākā Swami: In Kali-yuga normally you get reaction for activities performed.
In other yugas just by thinking about something, you get the reaction.
So Kali-yuga, normally by thinking you do not get a reaction.
If you take second initiation, then you may be more responsible for your mind.
If you think of something bad, then you beg for forgiveness and replace it with some Kṛṣṇa conscious thought.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-07-08
Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Narasiṁhadeva, you see He wants to fulfill your devotional desire.
We are praying for devotional blessings.
Every prayer we make, it should be connected with Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service.
When we pray for our spiritual master’s health, then we say, if it so pleases, if You so desire, my Lord, please make my spiritual master well.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-08
Jayapatākā Swami: No! The point is, say a devotee, tries to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and doesn’t make it; senses take him off; interested into material life again
but whatever time a person spent in doing Kṛṣṇa conscious activity, for that, they get heavenly planet or they get a very good birth in the future.
They don’t lose anything you see.
The sinful reaction doesn’t affect; the sinful life delays your going back to Godhead but doesn’t stop it because that your credit is in like a fixed account.
But what happens is when you do offenses, this is whole different thing.
Offenses are directly...just like you are working for someone, you build up a good credit history and then you steal from him,
then you get fired and that person never wants to see you again, right?
But say that you know, you work for a person, just somehow you go away, you quit, then whatever you do, but with him your relationship, you know, is the same.
This is a little gross kind of material example, it is not fully appropriate.
In a higher sense our relationship with Kṛṣṇa is independent of all the other activities.
But an offense against Him or His devotee directly, you see even He can forgive an offense against Him;
but when you offend His devotee who is just trying in helping people to come to Him that becomes intolerable for Him.
He has a policy that He doesn’t personally forgive anyone for that. If the devotees themselves forgive then He considers a pardon.
So, of all the offenses, the blaspheming of one’s spiritual master who is a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and is considered to be the worst.
So, the Caitanya-caritāmṛta says that, it takes millions of births before one ever gets a chance to have a guru again.
Why Kṛṣṇa will bring you up to a guru if you are going to blaspheme?
If you are so envious, then you get put in an envious species of life.
So, that way, Śrīla Prabhupāda says that it is much better to fall down from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and just fall into sinful or materialistic activities than to become a blasphemer.
You shouldn’t ever resent the guru.
If you couldn’t make it, why resent the guru, it is not his fault,
you couldn’t make it.
You tried, you got as far as you could, or you have that much determination, you lost faith and you lost.
So, why resent the guru? Guru didn’t do any harm to you.
Guru was trying to help you.
You go to a doctor; you have an incurable disease, or you are hooked on to some kind of drug, the doctor tries to help you to break your habit,
but you can’t take the withdrawal pains, so you just go back in and then you continue taking heroin or something until you OD (overdose) and die.
Why blaspheme the doctor?
It is not his fault; you didn’t have the determination or the patience to get out.
He was going to help you through the whole thing, through your shakes and your problems and everything just to bring you up to a point where you could be a healthy person.
Like that kind of a thing.
Jayapatākā Swami: Oh yeah. Lord Caitanya said that,
yadi vaiṣṇava-aparādha uṭhe hātī mātā
That the offense of blaspheming a devotee is called mad elephant offense.
Because one’s spiritual progress is compared to a creeper, a plant.
So, when you blaspheme pure devotees, that mad elephant can go into a garden, uproot the whole plants, tear apart, you can just demolish the garden.
So, the comparison given that all the other things are like weeds; they don’t actually kill the original plant, they just compete with it.
They stunt its growth by taking away the energy, just stays at whatever level it is.
But it is very hard for the weeds all to completely smother out the original plant unless it just completely overcomes the thing.
But the offenses, those are considered like wild elephants which come in and trrrrp (tearing sound), rip out the thing, put it on the ground and stomp on it.
And then even for a while it may seem that the person is spiritually situated;
they pull out a plant, still the leaves stay green for a few days but then they gradually dry and fall off.
The relationship with the guru is never cut even you fall down; it’s not cut just by material activities;
but if you blaspheme the guru, then it is cut off, it’s like disowning.
Disciple disowns his guru by blaspheming.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-08
Jayapatākā Swami: No! The point is, say a devotee, tries to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and doesn’t make it; senses take him off; interested into material life again
but whatever time a person spent in doing Kṛṣṇa conscious activity, for that, they get heavenly planet or they get a very good birth in the future.
They don’t lose anything you see.
The sinful reaction doesn’t affect; the sinful life delays your going back to Godhead but doesn’t stop it because that your credit is in like a fixed account.
But what happens is when you do offenses, this is whole different thing.
Offenses are directly...just like you are working for someone, you build up a good credit history and then you steal from him,
then you get fired and that person never wants to see you again, right?
But say that you know, you work for a person, just somehow you go away, you quit, then whatever you do, but with him your relationship, you know, is the same.
This is a little gross kind of material example, it is not fully appropriate.
In a higher sense our relationship with Kṛṣṇa is independent of all the other activities.
But an offense against Him or His devotee directly, you see even He can forgive an offense against Him;
but when you offend His devotee who is just trying in helping people to come to Him that becomes intolerable for Him.
He has a policy that He doesn’t personally forgive anyone for that. If the devotees themselves forgive then He considers a pardon.
So, of all the offenses, the blaspheming of one’s spiritual master who is a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and is considered to be the worst.
So, the Caitanya-caritāmṛta says that, it takes millions of births before one ever gets a chance to have a guru again.
Why Kṛṣṇa will bring you up to a guru if you are going to blaspheme?
If you are so envious, then you get put in an envious species of life.
So, that way, Śrīla Prabhupāda says that it is much better to fall down from Kṛṣṇa consciousness and just fall into sinful or materialistic activities than to become a blasphemer.
You shouldn’t ever resent the guru.
If you couldn’t make it, why resent the guru, it is not his fault,
you couldn’t make it.
You tried, you got as far as you could, or you have that much determination, you lost faith and you lost.
So, why resent the guru? Guru didn’t do any harm to you.
Guru was trying to help you.
You go to a doctor; you have an incurable disease, or you are hooked on to some kind of drug, the doctor tries to help you to break your habit,
but you can’t take the withdrawal pains, so you just go back in and then you continue taking heroin or something until you OD (overdose) and die.
Why blaspheme the doctor?
It is not his fault; you didn’t have the determination or the patience to get out.
He was going to help you through the whole thing, through your shakes and your problems and everything just to bring you up to a point where you could be a healthy person.
Like that kind of a thing.
Jayapatākā Swami: Oh yeah. Lord Caitanya said that,
yadi vaiṣṇava-aparādha uṭhe hātī mātā
That the offense of blaspheming a devotee is called mad elephant offense.
Because one’s spiritual progress is compared to a creeper, a plant.
So, when you blaspheme pure devotees, that mad elephant can go into a garden, uproot the whole plants, tear apart, you can just demolish the garden.
So, the comparison given that all the other things are like weeds; they don’t actually kill the original plant, they just compete with it.
They stunt its growth by taking away the energy, just stays at whatever level it is.
But it is very hard for the weeds all to completely smother out the original plant unless it just completely overcomes the thing.
But the offenses, those are considered like wild elephants which come in and trrrrp (tearing sound), rip out the thing, put it on the ground and stomp on it.
And then even for a while it may seem that the person is spiritually situated;
they pull out a plant, still the leaves stay green for a few days but then they gradually dry and fall off.
The relationship with the guru is never cut even you fall down; it’s not cut just by material activities;
but if you blaspheme the guru, then it is cut off, it’s like disowning.
Disciple disowns his guru by blaspheming.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-24
Jayapatākā Swami: Prabhupāda said, if a person follows the process of Kṛṣṇa conscious then they can.
If one wants to take birth again in the material world, no.
How free you are from things like offences, may dictate how high you can go in spiritual world.
Whether we get place in Vaikuntha? Whether we get a place in Goloka Vṛndāvana? How I am will able to go?
Or, I mean if a person, I had one person, approached me in India, he was a real strange character.
He said that, “I have been chanting 32 or 20 or 16 rounds for 26 years.
But never gave up eating fish.”
Neutral position that we were discussing today, he reciprocates with the person so perfectly,
that if someone would do something like that because of their offences to chanting, while chanting the holy name,
but they don’t actually make advancement, towards pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
They are getting some benefit from chanting,
but at the same time they are material heart, their material desires aren’t going due to being absorbed in sense gratification like that.
So I advised him that, you should chant the names of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
and by His mercy you may be able to overcome this desire of eating fish.
And sure enough after chanting Lord Caitanya’s names for some period of time, he got some spiritual intelligence, and he could stop eating fish.
Even though for 26 years he was on his weird practice, where although chanting he never tried to avoid breaking that,
you know, stopping breaking that regulative principle.
So if a person, I mean if he is determined, you know, alright, I am going to chant 16 rounds and I am going to follow the four principles,
but if they take things in an attitude that I’m determined not to give up my material attachments,
then that’s anachronism, you know.
From our side it should be not just externals, but it should be internal, that we are trying to follow the process.
We are trying from our part to give up our attachments.
If we have the proper attitude, we are trying to give up our attachments, we are trying to avoid, even if we arenot fully successful.
Prabhupāda said, “There is… That Kṛṣṇa is so merciful, that Lord Caitanya is so merciful,
even though we may not at the point of death have been a hundred percent successful.
We can still get delivered.”
[Aside: How long I should go on ?]
I was in Montreal, and Prabhupāda was giving a lecture, that time we had a vyasāsana for him was very high.
I mean, very, it was like, when we would stand up, we would be facing Prabhupāda eye to eye,
or he would still be even higher than that.
It was a very high vyasāsana, and you have to kind of crawl up, steps going up.
[Aside: It was more like a kind of a culpit.
Culpit or something?
Devotee: Pulpit]
Pulpit, Pulpit.
So he would be up there, he would have a seat there and would even have prasādathere.
On a feast they would bring him a big plate of prasāda, we will all be sitting down,
and he would take Prasad from there and sometimes he would give prasāda out from there.
So one day he was giving his lecture from up there naturally,
and on this point he was just preaching very hard, we have to be a 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious,
we have to try, we have to be 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious, we have to try for that,
we have to become, if we are 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious, then we can get pure love for Kṛṣṇa, then our lives will be completely successful.
He was hammering this point.
The devotees you know thinking, 100%! Their heads gradually started to hanging down and they became very thoughtful,
that 100% was like such an objective that never seem that this ever possible, even you know, to get real close to a 100%.
But Prabhupāda was very emphatic on this point.
The devotees were very thoughtful at that time.
Then Prabhupāda, he ended the class, there was just a heavy silence, there was no question,
he ended the class, said become cent percent Kṛṣṇa conscious.
There was just like a death.
I mean there was a silence so thick you could swim through it.
And Prabhupāda was just sitting there on this, that raised
vyasāsana and said that, even if you are 90% Kṛṣṇa conscious, Kṛṣṇa is so kind that you may still be delivered.
Then he started to get down, and he was about halfway down,
just as he was getting off that vyasāsana, he turned to the devotees, said, “Even 90% you can be delivered.”
He started walking off, then he turned and then his cādara fell off.
I remember that it was such a dramatic, almost like you know what you see in those movies;
Julies Caesar his chaddar just blew like that you know.
“Even 70%”, he took his cādara and threw it over his shoulders, raised his head and walked off…
(laughter)
Śrīla Prabhupāda Ki!
Devotees: Jaya!
Jayapataka Swami: But the purport is that try for the 100%.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Material Sufferings / Death], [Mercy], [Sādhanā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-24
Jayapatākā Swami: Prabhupāda said, if a person follows the process of Kṛṣṇa conscious then they can.
If one wants to take birth again in the material world, no.
How free you are from things like offences, may dictate how high you can go in spiritual world.
Whether we get place in Vaikuntha? Whether we get a place in Goloka Vṛndāvana? How I am will able to go?
Or, I mean if a person, I had one person, approached me in India, he was a real strange character.
He said that, “I have been chanting 32 or 20 or 16 rounds for 26 years.
But never gave up eating fish.”
Neutral position that we were discussing today, he reciprocates with the person so perfectly,
that if someone would do something like that because of their offences to chanting, while chanting the holy name,
but they don’t actually make advancement, towards pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
They are getting some benefit from chanting,
but at the same time they are material heart, their material desires aren’t going due to being absorbed in sense gratification like that.
So I advised him that, you should chant the names of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
and by His mercy you may be able to overcome this desire of eating fish.
And sure enough after chanting Lord Caitanya’s names for some period of time, he got some spiritual intelligence, and he could stop eating fish.
Even though for 26 years he was on his weird practice, where although chanting he never tried to avoid breaking that,
you know, stopping breaking that regulative principle.
So if a person, I mean if he is determined, you know, alright, I am going to chant 16 rounds and I am going to follow the four principles,
but if they take things in an attitude that I’m determined not to give up my material attachments,
then that’s anachronism, you know.
From our side it should be not just externals, but it should be internal, that we are trying to follow the process.
We are trying from our part to give up our attachments.
If we have the proper attitude, we are trying to give up our attachments, we are trying to avoid, even if we arenot fully successful.
Prabhupāda said, “There is… That Kṛṣṇa is so merciful, that Lord Caitanya is so merciful,
even though we may not at the point of death have been a hundred percent successful.
We can still get delivered.”
[Aside: How long I should go on ?]
I was in Montreal, and Prabhupāda was giving a lecture, that time we had a vyasāsana for him was very high.
I mean, very, it was like, when we would stand up, we would be facing Prabhupāda eye to eye,
or he would still be even higher than that.
It was a very high vyasāsana, and you have to kind of crawl up, steps going up.
[Aside: It was more like a kind of a culpit.
Culpit or something?
Devotee: Pulpit]
Pulpit, Pulpit.
So he would be up there, he would have a seat there and would even have prasādathere.
On a feast they would bring him a big plate of prasāda, we will all be sitting down,
and he would take Prasad from there and sometimes he would give prasāda out from there.
So one day he was giving his lecture from up there naturally,
and on this point he was just preaching very hard, we have to be a 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious,
we have to try, we have to be 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious, we have to try for that,
we have to become, if we are 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious, then we can get pure love for Kṛṣṇa, then our lives will be completely successful.
He was hammering this point.
The devotees you know thinking, 100%! Their heads gradually started to hanging down and they became very thoughtful,
that 100% was like such an objective that never seem that this ever possible, even you know, to get real close to a 100%.
But Prabhupāda was very emphatic on this point.
The devotees were very thoughtful at that time.
Then Prabhupāda, he ended the class, there was just a heavy silence, there was no question,
he ended the class, said become cent percent Kṛṣṇa conscious.
There was just like a death.
I mean there was a silence so thick you could swim through it.
And Prabhupāda was just sitting there on this, that raised
vyasāsana and said that, even if you are 90% Kṛṣṇa conscious, Kṛṣṇa is so kind that you may still be delivered.
Then he started to get down, and he was about halfway down,
just as he was getting off that vyasāsana, he turned to the devotees, said, “Even 90% you can be delivered.”
He started walking off, then he turned and then his cādara fell off.
I remember that it was such a dramatic, almost like you know what you see in those movies;
Julies Caesar his chaddar just blew like that you know.
“Even 70%”, he took his cādara and threw it over his shoulders, raised his head and walked off…
(laughter)
Śrīla Prabhupāda Ki!
Devotees: Jaya!
Jayapataka Swami: But the purport is that try for the 100%.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Material Sufferings / Death], [Mercy], [Sādhanā]
Questioner: Atula Kṛṣṇa dāsa
Date: 2023-04-13
Jayapatākā Swami: I used to travel 5 or 6 times around the world every year.
I have lifetime-gold-membership in United Airways.
British Airways I have Emerald membership, it is like Gold.
I don’t have to fly, I get every year automatically.
But this was initially Śrīla Prabhupāda said as a sannyāsī, I should travel.
But now I spend more time in Māyāpur.
Śrīla Prabhupāda told me also remain in Māyāpur and do your activities through your assistants.
So, at different times, he told me different things.
So, I think I did my travelling enough.
Now I spend more time in Māyāpur, India.
I only travel once or twice around the year every year!
But that way, I think I used to travel to all the countries, South Africa, Poland, Nigeria, Ghana, etc.
Bhakti Tīrtha Swami had asked me to go to West Africa sometimes.
I went two or three times.
So like that. During the pandemic I stayed all the time in Māyāpur.
That is the thing, I am trying to carry out Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-23
Jayapatākā Swami: Normally, a Vaiṣṇava is not supposed to leave remnants.
But a guru may leave some remnants for disciples.
But there is no hard and fast rule regarding mahā-prasāda.
Śrīla Prabhupāda gave a Gulab jamun to Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami.
He kept it on his plate and he was looking at it.
He was very proud and was thinking that I have got Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Gulab jamun wow! Wow! Gulab jamun! Wow!
Someone reached over and ate it!
He said, you took my Gulab jamun!
And Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami was very angry.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, he said, actually there are no rules when it comes to mahā-prasāda.
And even if you take from my plate, what can I do?
But please let me finish!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Prasāda and Bhoga], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-10-28
Jayapatākā Swami: Someone asked me what I have that has been given by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
In Māyāpur, we want to have a special exhibition where all things that belong to Śrīla Prabhupāda will be displayed.
One day, Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me a ring,
but it is not there now.
So, I said, Śrīla Prabhupāda, what he has given me is mercy!
Now how can we keep that in the exhibition!
If you get guru and Gaurāṅga’s mercy, definitely you will be enthusiastic.
Here Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi understood his mistake when Lord Jagannātha and Lord Balarāma enacted Their punishment pastime. But I commit many offences, and sometimes I cannot even understand my offences. So in such circumstances how am I to ask for forgiveness from you and from Lord Kṛṣṇa so that you may completely forgive me?
Questioner: Bhāgyaśrī devī dāsī
Date: 2023-07-10
Jayapatākā Swami: We should pray to Kṛṣṇa that
I have committed many offences, knowingly or unknowingly,
please forgive me.
Questioner: Madhusmita Indulekhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-01-05
Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting question.
I always think how much mercy I received from Śrīla Prabhupāda,
and if I hadn’t received his mercy, where would I be today?
So Madhusmita Indulekhā devī dāsī,
I don’t know if you received any mercy from your spiritual master.
But whether you think your situation today is better than what it would have been if you had not been Kṛṣṇa conscious and met
your spiritual master.
What situation you would be then?
I had a nightmare
two nights ago.
Suddenly, I thought I was the body.
It was so horrible!
So horrible!
To be deprived from the association of devotees.
To be deprived from the association of Kṛṣṇa!
I never, never, never, want to be in such a situation!
One of the most worst dreams I have ever had.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-03-15
Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, one way is to ask him! Ha! Ha!
Otherwise by observing him
and hearing his instructions,
you can know what he wants.
And every guru may be different because we are all persons, we may have differences.
But we are united in serving Kṛṣṇa
and serving Śrīla Prabhupāda.
So like that we want all the devotees to be united
in serving guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-03-15
Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, one way is to ask him! Ha! Ha!
Otherwise by observing him
and hearing his instructions,
you can know what he wants.
And every guru may be different because we are all persons, we may have differences.
But we are united in serving Kṛṣṇa
and serving Śrīla Prabhupāda.
So like that we want all the devotees to be united
in serving guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-08
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Śrīla Prabhupāda, when I was 19, told me practice brahmacarya till you are 25.
And then with your guru make your decision.
So between 25 to 30 you can decide which way to go.
One way of helping the mind, you say, okay, I will not go into the sense attraction till later.
Postpone it
and then you can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness with your full concentration.
Also by staying busy in devotional service.
There is no time for the sense attractions.
Naturally, the living being is thinking, feeling, willing and doing.
So, we should be so fixed in Kṛṣṇa’s service
that we are always thinking about Kṛṣṇa.
We try that when we are 25 to 30.
And then we can decide which way we will be stronger.
As a gṛhastha or as a brahmacārī.
Questioner: Siddhāntamaṇi Prabhupāda dāsa
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: If one is initiated and breaks the principles,
they are guilty of one of the offences to the holy name
disrespecting the order of the spiritual master.
So there is no higher atonement than devotional service.
So in that case one should repent for their misdeed
and then again take up the practice of devotional service,
as sincerely as possible, and gradually they can regain their status.
But, of course they have ceased their progress for some time, but they can start again
and there is no other way recommended by the śāstras.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Emotions / Enthusiasm]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-08-16
Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya says, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam.
By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa we clean our consciousness.
So by chanting you should chant and clean your consciousness.
Questioner: Kṛṣṇasevinī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-12-02
Jayapatākā Swami: The whole practice of bhakti-yoga is to develop our love for guru and Kṛṣṇa.
It is not a different process.
Same process delivers us
and we should perform devotional service
and naturally if you help the spiritual master
then Kṛṣṇa will be very pleased.
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)]
Questioner: Kṛṣṇasevinī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-12-02
Jayapatākā Swami: The whole practice of bhakti-yoga is to develop our love for guru and Kṛṣṇa.
It is not a different process.
Same process delivers us
and we should perform devotional service
and naturally if you help the spiritual master
then Kṛṣṇa will be very pleased.
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-04-27
Jayapatākā Swami: Try!
Why cannot you read the books?
Why cannot you preach?
One lady, she brought seven women to take shelter.
Anybody can preach.
Questioner: Sukamala Nityānanda dāsa [Bangladesh]
Date: 2022-09-10
Jayapatākā Swami: I just said that
we should pray to Kṛṣṇa
that whatever we do, we do service in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way.
Firstly, you have to get married,
and then the two should pray that you have Kṛṣṇa conscious children.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-10
Jayapatākā Swami: That question has been asked to me many times.
And there are like 15 questions that you could ask yourself.
But basically, you pray to Kṛṣṇa, you pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda
to reveal, who you should take shelter of.
And whose preaching you feel more connected with Śrīla Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa.
Maybe he is your spiritual master.
Sometimes you feel connected to several people’s preaching,
then you can take more than one as your śikṣā-guru,
as the instructing spiritual master.
Since there is no limit to how many instructing spiritual masters we can have.
And then the one we feel most connected with, we take him as the dīkṣā-guru.
I have an application, the Jayapatākā Swami App.
Maybe I can try to answer the questions.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-03-15
Jayapatākā Swami: The disciple, if they follow the guru correctly, then naturally he will be pleased.
If they are chanting their 16 rounds, following the regulative principles, if they are preaching,
so naturally the guru will be pleased.
If one has a doubt you can ask the guru.
But generally guru will be happy is following the orders of the guru.
But we should not commit any vaiṣṇava-aparādha,
that is very dangerous.
Questioner: Vijaya Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: While the guru is present,
you shouldn’t feel any doubt.
You can always ask the guru
if your idea is correct or not.
I asked Prabhupāda several times about different things like this
and somethings he said, they are sent by Kṛṣṇa,
somethings not.
To be sure, that is why we have a guru,
because we cannot connect directly with Kṛṣṇa in our conditioned state.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Emotions / Confusion], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-23
Jayapatākā Swami: Mercy.
Of course, if someone gives you something for which they are not obliged to do that, that’s called mercy.
If you make a business deal with some merchant that, “I’ll work for you, and you pay me thousand rupees per month.”
and he pays you thousand rupees,
and that is the market rate for that job, then this is not a question of mercy, its fair market.
But
if he doesn’t need any employee, and neither he has anybody, he says, “Alright, you stay here and I will give you some money”,
then you can say, “Well he is being merciful.”
That means that it is some kindness.
That he is doing something for which he is not actually necessary to be done.
He is doing it because of some sentiment, or some kindness on his part to help another.
In Kṛṣṇa’s case you see He gives His mercy.
That means that He is not obliged to do so.
See, there’s nothing we can do, there’s nothing that we can do to actually get from Him some particular benediction whereby we are obliged to do that.
That’s why even sometimes if the Lord gives a devotee a material benediction they’ll say, “That’s not merciful.”
Some pure devotee might out of his deep love He may also even criticize that to give a devotee
who is serving to give him some material thing this is not mercy, because that material thing is not so valuable.
That if they can get pure bhakti, that is real mercy, like that.
But these are internal type of sentiments.
Basically, mercy means they are giving something more than what they need to give,
out of their own kindness, out of their own very broad heart they are giving.
Just like the Vāsudeva Datta, he prayed that,
“All living entities in the universe let them be delivered to Kṛṣṇa, let me take their karma.”
They know not that those living entities did anything for Vāsudeva Datta.
Why is he taking? “Let me take their karma.”
Everybody is hungry to get rid of karma.
He is saying, “Give me their karma.
Let them go back to Kṛṣṇa.”
Because that was his mercy.
That was his very kind mood that he thought that, “Somehow I tasted the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s sevā, Kṛṣṇa’s service,
and these people they are all bahir-mukha.
They are just absorbed in material suffering and enjoyment, missing out their real happiness.
So, once I already experience even for a second the happiness of Kṛṣṇa, now my life is already you see fulfilled.
Why should I one person just be happy and everyone suffer?
Better let me suffer and them all go back to Kṛṣṇa.
Let me take their karma and let them go back.
Then I can just suffer.
For one person, if I suffer, what’s the harm, I am insignificant, if so many can be saved?”
This type of mentality, this sacrifice wanting to help others is the nature of a devotee.
There is no cause for that.
You see.
They will be called fools.
Many time, if a person becomes a devotee and starts to preach and distribute books to… to do devotional service
their family members will come and say, “What are you doing with your youth?
You could be enjoying.
You could be having good times.
You could be just enjoying in the world in so many ways.
What are you doing?
You are giving up all this fun, you see.
You could be going to cinemas, and you could be may be dancing, or you could be like this doing so many things.”
They try to, they think that, “really you are, you are missing the good time of your life.”
Like Govinda dāsa prayed,
bhajahū re mana, śrī-nanda-nandana
abhaya-caraṇāravinda re
ei dhana yauvana, putra parijana,
ithe ki āche paratīti re
ei dhana yauvana, putra parijana,
ithe ki āche paratīti re
kamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamala
kamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamala
(ei ache ei nai… jīvana ṭalamala)
bhajahū hari-pada nīti re.
bhajahū hari-pada nīti re.
That, what this ei dhana - this wealth, ei dhana yauvana - so called youth, putras - children, parijana- relatives?
ithe ki āche paratīti re - what is the eternal spiritual value of all these things?
kamala-dala-jala, jīvana ṭalamala - life is just flickering like a drop of water on a lotus leaf.
In one second everything is just topsy-turvy.
In one second, everything can be destroyed.
So better that we give our mind and our thoughts and our actions
and words in the service of Hari, service of Kṛṣṇa.
Bhajahū hari-pada nīti re - this should be our daily activity.
This, let us only take this as our goal, just to serve His lotus feet.
Then we are fearless.
Then we can have the perfection of life.
Otherwise what is the value of these things?
So devotee has got opposite opinion.
Kṛṣṇa also may give the devotee family, may give the devotee fame, may give the devotee material things.
But devotee takes this as inconsequential.
This Kṛṣṇa gives it, “Alright, He gives”, if He doesn’t give it, Kṛṣṇa, they are not worried about that.
That it may come, that’s according to our previous karmas we may get something or not.
You see.
But the devotee already figured it out that this thing is not essential.
It I get it, it’s also Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.
He’ll live with it and use that.
But real objective should be how somehow or other get the shelter of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
Because once you get that shelter, then you never lose that.
The material things, they may come, they may go.
Sometimes one may get very good mate.
Then suddenly accident there, and one is made as a widow or widower.
Nobody can say.
So many difficulties, someone may get a very nice child.
But even at an early age sometimes children are dying.
Then they are feeling very bad.
Like King Citraketu got a son, then the son died untimely.
He was very frustrated.
So material happiness means material suffering.
We can’t avoid one, because always a limit is there, always end is there.
So the devotee they become detached.
If suffering or happiness comes, we’ll tolerate.
The real thing that I want is to get the shelter of Kṛṣṇa.
Because that is the real happiness and that never ends.
Material happiness and material suffering that we have to tolerate.
Even you have entered devotional service, that doesn’t mean you won’t get material happiness.
Rather Kṛṣṇa says, “There is no loss.
Whatever happiness you are going to get you are still going to get that.
Only you may be relieved from some suffering.”
So even the devotee they also afraid that, “I don’t want that happiness also.
You promis,e or also help whatever happiness I was going to get, whatever good karma I have I am going to get,
but even that good karma, if it stands in the way of my devotional service, I don’t care for it,
you see.
If it can be used in my devotional service, alright.
I don’t mind.
But if it is going to be a stumbling block, then I also don’t want even my good karma.”
So the materialist they can’t understand, they don’t see that the devotee actually doesn’t lose any happiness.
They get the full happiness.
But they also, they are not deriving satisfaction from that material happiness.
The devotee derives the satisfaction from the pure devotional service.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Depends on what gives you faith.
I mean, some people have faith by reading the scripture,
since it tells us that the holy name is Absolute and non-different from Kṛṣṇa.
Some people have faith by realization.
If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you may become peaceful and ecstatic.
And that may increase your faith.
Some people commit offences to the holy name.
So they don’t get the full result of chanting.
And you should tell them to be very careful to follow the order of the spiritual master.
I think the third offence to the holy name is to disobey the order of the spiritual master.
We must have a spiritual master and follow his instructions.
There is no question but to accept the spiritual master.
So Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had everyone in the temple chant 64 rounds.
Those who went for book distribution and preaching, they should chant 16 rounds.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda said that for the Western rounds it would be difficult to chant 64 rounds.
So he had them chant 16 and preach.
So by following Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions, one can advance.
Link: 20221023 Evening Darśana
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Depends on what gives you faith.
I mean, some people have faith by reading the scripture,
since it tells us that the holy name is Absolute and non-different from Kṛṣṇa.
Some people have faith by realization.
If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you may become peaceful and ecstatic.
And that may increase your faith.
Some people commit offences to the holy name.
So they don’t get the full result of chanting.
And you should tell them to be very careful to follow the order of the spiritual master.
I think the third offence to the holy name is to disobey the order of the spiritual master.
We must have a spiritual master and follow his instructions.
There is no question but to accept the spiritual master.
So Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura had everyone in the temple chant 64 rounds.
Those who went for book distribution and preaching, they should chant 16 rounds.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda said that for the Western rounds it would be difficult to chant 64 rounds.
So he had them chant 16 and preach.
So by following Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions, one can advance.
Link: 20221023 Evening Darśana
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: One of the qualifications of the uttama-adhikārī
is that he cannot be understood.
It may not be completely possible for you to understand the mood of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
But in principle you can understand a little bit about his mood
by reading his books.
And those books are available in Spanish,
I see that you are in Bogota, Colombia.
You can read the books and feel and see how Śrīla Prabhupāda
is so much attached to Kṛṣṇa and Lord Gaurāṅga!
Then you can start to be very grateful for all the help he has given to you.
Then naturally, you can advance.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: One of the qualifications of the uttama-adhikārī
is that he cannot be understood.
It may not be completely possible for you to understand the mood of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
But in principle you can understand a little bit about his mood
by reading his books.
And those books are available in Spanish,
I see that you are in Bogota, Colombia.
You can read the books and feel and see how Śrīla Prabhupāda
is so much attached to Kṛṣṇa and Lord Gaurāṅga!
Then you can start to be very grateful for all the help he has given to you.
Then naturally, you can advance.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
How did Śrīla Prabhupāda instill a very strong sambandha-jñāna in you and his other disciples? We see a strong sense of identity which Śrīla Prabhupāda had with Kṛṣṇa. What was so different in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s preaching that is so rare to come across nowadays. How you all feel such a strong sense of belonging to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to Kṛṣṇa?
Questioner: Rādhe Śyāma Dāsa
Date: 2022-08-24
Jayapatākā Swami: As I said, I was looking what is the purpose of life
and a visiting professor from Harvard
had told, about the life of Lord Buddha.
And that inspired me, he told, about reincarnation and so many things.
Being in the West, we had no access to.
I don’t know how much Indian students have.
But it lit a spark in me, to find a guru, to find a teacher.
Of course, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that in my previous life I was a devotee.
Maybe there are some people who were devotees in their previous life, I don’t know,
and some people may be coming new.
So one has to be ready for different kinds of situations.
Now when I came to the temple nobody had any time for me.
They were all busy.
And then I was sent to Jayānanda Prabhu.
He was building a ratha cart.
He asked me if I knew how to hold a nail.
I held it.
Then he got it into the wood, and I took my hand away.
He said, very good!
Because that is the whole trick, how you hold the nail!
You should leave space so that you don’t get your thumb smashed.
And he said, “Do you know how to hit a nail?”
“Sure”
I said, because my uncle had a wood shop in his basement.
And then I hammered some nails,
and he said, “Okay!”, I passed the preliminary exam
and then he engaged me in service.
That service was something I liked to do, it was nice.
So, I think that is the trick for the youth. Whether it is prasāda distribution or something but engage them in something.
And with doing service, they hear from more senior devotees
and that way they get purified.
I was engaged in a lot of different services.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-10-14
Jayapatākā Swami: Story of Ramāyāṇa?
You know how when Marīci came and the golden you know, multicolor rainbow deer and then Ram went to on the request of Sītā to catch it.
And put Sītā under the protection of Lakṣmaṇa but then there was a whole heavy situation developed,
that Marīci made the voice of Ram come out.
So Sītā said you go and protect Ram.
He said Ram doesn’t need protection, nobody can get near him.
She was very concerned, so then Lakṣman made a circle.
He said, don’t leave this mystic protective circle, can’t enter in.
So Rāvaṇa came dressed as a sādhū, he tried to enter in.
She went in to get some food and he went in [Guru Mahārāja and devotees laughing] and “I can’t get through”.
So, then she said come on in because he was an enemy so couldn’t enter.
So, he said, no no I cannot go there, I am very tired you just come out here.
So, because he was dressed as a saint, as a sannyāsī or like some kind of a sādhū,
so, she was Sītā was always serving devotees.
So, in this way he cheated her.
And of course, the real Sītā-devī didn’t come out, but the plain Māyā-Sītā came out.
But this mystical circle,
you can use in many definitions but one of the things you can is like that she was protected but shouldn't leave it.
Like that this is a mystic circle --
you follow the orders of the guru and māyā cannot get you
but when we deviate, when we neglect instructions of the spiritual master,
when we offend a Vaiṣṇava, we do make offenses to the Holy name.
We have to do things which (doesn’t) take us out of that protective circle.
Otherwise, we're protected.
Māyā is waiting there, she's waiting at the doorstep.
But devotees, how they can be Kṛṣṇa conscious, it's not an ordinary thing.
To be Kṛṣṇa conscious you have to have the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa.
So only the devotee, it says the devotee can never fall down.
We've heard that so many times.
What does that mean?
Because Kṛṣṇa protects the devotee.
Then how do devotees fall down?
Because they stop acting like devotees for some time.
So, because of you know, virtually not acting as a devotee, then they fall down.
That's why says you have to cling to the lotus feet of Gaura-Nitāi.
We have to stay within that protective shelter.
Facing difficulty, what is the use?
One time one devotee was like in anxiety and Prabhupāda said “Why are you in anxiety?
Your guru is present on this planet, you can ask him questions, you can get your doubts taken”.
Having guru means that all your problems will be solved, if you have a bona fide guru.
(audio not clear) we can submit to our spiritual, what do you advise?
What is your instruction?
We carry that out.
So, we're protected.
But when we don't consult with the spiritual master, we don't consult with the Vaiṣṇavas, we don't follow the scripture, we go out of that protective circle, in whatever form she wants to take.
Māyā is there waiting.
That's why we say Kṛṣṇa is like the sun.
Where there's Kṛṣṇa, there's no māyā.
So, we have to always look to Kṛṣṇa.
You look away from Kṛṣṇa, you look away from the sun, what do you find behind you?
Your shadow.
Māyā is like the shadow, she's right behind you, you don't have to look for her.
You look away from Kṛṣṇa, she'll be there.
So, then what's the purport?
When should we look away from Kṛṣṇa?
So, we have to keep our focus to Kṛṣṇa, mukha...
kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha
ataeva māyā tāre deya saṁsāra-duḥkha
(Cc. Madhya 20.117)
That, you know that verse?
Kṛṣṇa, when we turn our face. Bahirmukha, bahirmukha literally means turn your face away or turn it to the outside.
And what it actually is this can be translated to by turning your face to sense gratification.
Devotional service is the attitude --
I do everything to the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa, reject what's unfavorable to Kṛṣṇa.
So, when we turn our face away from the service attitude, and instead we look to enjoy bhoga whimsically desire to have bhoga to have sense gratification.
Then what happens?
We get samsāra ādi duḥkha.
Then we suffer material suffering.
All the suffering, I'm suffering so much.
All this suffering is because we desire sense gratification.
If we just keep our face to Kṛṣṇa, if we just desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, there's no suffering.
Suffering begins when we desire.
The moment we desire to enjoy something, there's suffering.
Lamentation, hankering and enxiety, fear.
There's another verse like that.
[Not Clear - 01:08:09]
kṛṣṇa bhuliya jīva bhoga vāñchā kare
pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
pāśate māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare
You turn your face away from Kṛṣṇa, very similar verse.
Very like parallel.
You turn your face away from Kṛṣṇa, desiring sense gratification, māyā nikaṭastha ache,
māyā comes right up to you.
japaṭīya dhare and just like your football tackles.
She's got you.
Māyā, you can also think in Australian Football system you know.
Lot of tackling is there, right?
You can just imagine they got a whole team all around just waiting one wrong move and they can jump forward.
As long as you're moving forward, eyes on Kṛṣṇa, they can't do a thing.
As soon as you look around for sense gratification, suddenly you're in the middle of the scrum.
For those who know rugby.
Māyā, she’s there but you say how we can be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
That's why it's said, be like a little child, simply depending on your parents, simply depending on Guru and Kṛṣṇa, simply you know I'm so weak, I don't have any ability to be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
I'm not a big paṇḍita, I'm not a big devotee, I'm just a very insignificant fallen soul.
I can only be Kṛṣṇa conscious by really following the mercy of Lord Caitanya, of His pure representative in disciplic succession.
And this way, I have to be very because that is the secret of success.
That's how you can become successful.
If you think I'm a big paṇḍita, I can do this, a little that.
I'm a great devotee, it doesn't matter.
I'm an old devotee.
It's alright, if I go little māyā I won't be affected, haha!
[Devotees: laughing]
Don't kid yourself.
Māyā is more strong than you are.
Inspite remaining always in the humble position.
Why great ācāryas have praying?
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu doyā koro more
tomā binā ke doyālu jagat-saḿsāre
patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra
mo sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra
You won't find anyone more sinful than me.
pāpī -- Nobody more sinful than I am.
Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, the purest devotee, he's saying I'm more sinful than all the conditioned souls.
Bhakta this one, or Bhaktin that one or whoever it may be.
But they're saying I'm the most sinful, more sinful than anybody.
This is this position he's taking, therefore you're the most merciful, you're the deliverer of all the fallen souls.
I'm the most fallen soul therefore I should get delivered first.
If we think that my humble attitude, that dependence on the mercy of guru and Gaurāṅga, then māyā may be ready to get you.
She's not getting the chance.
Tough luck.
You want to give her a chance she'll take it.
Don't give her a chance.
This is how devotees feel.
Be humble.
Know that I need their mercy all the time.
Why great ācāryas are praying like that?
They're not praying "I'm an old devotee, I'm an ācārya, I don't have to strictly follow, I don't have to. I can go over a bit".
You don't hear Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura say, you only hear some 7-year-old or 10- or 12-year devotee in ISKCON say, I'm an old devotee.
Where we are coming from, in this age of Kali.
Hardly anybody was a Vaiṣṇava.
Everybody was coming from Māyāvada or smārta or at the best.
Prabhupāda grabbed up the people.
You know, some people they're claiming to be born in Vaiṣṇava family.
We know that Prabhupāda grabbed them up from Māyāvada.
That doesn't matter.
Once you become in pure devotional service that's what counts.
It says that this, what a person was before he's in pure devotional service that's not proper logic.
It says that once my mother was naked -- logic.
She was once a little girl she was naked but she's not naked anymore.
Now she's a mother, she's a respectable lady.
So, what a person was before and what they are now, that doesn't have any immediate bearing.
Prabhupāda said that if you're born of devotee parents then that's a good sign.
The point is that right now we have to deal with the present, we should be fixed in our devotional service, we should keep that humble attitude.
Lord Caitanya, he gave a promise to Advaita, two things.
Then Advaita said, "One thing is anybody who thinks they're ready, spiritually advanced, who thinks he's a advanced devotee, don't give him your mercy.
Anyone who is very proud of their position of some birth, or some any kind of material position, you don't give them your mercy.
Those who are hopeless, who are spiritually, they are the most needy, they need your mercy more than anyone.
Those who are normally the hard cases, the tough nuts, the ones that will never have a hope, let them get your mercy, priority basis.
Karuṇāvatāra, for all those who would never get a chance in other yugas.
Questioner: Puja
Date: 2022-10-14
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, in the material world, people, they are competing with others in a race,
thinking I will be the first.
But in service to Kṛṣṇa, it is not that we are competing with others.
Rather, Kṛṣṇa is more pleased if they help others.
We shouldn’t be thinking that by somehow by impeding others,
or somehow if someone else excels,
somehow that is detrimental to us - it is not the case.
Everyone has a personal relationship with Kṛṣṇa,
rather the envy of others is a great impediment
- you will never be the number one!
When I said to Śrīla Prabhupāda, I am the most fallen,
he said you are not the most anything!
So that should be our mood.
There will always be some devotee who is better than us,
but we should not envy that person.
Rather we should associate and try to improve our own service.
Link: 20200909 Although Being in a Predicament, the Barber Receives a Boon of Residence in Goloka (Part 2)
Category: [Anarthās], [Emotions / Envy], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Vaiṣṇava-qualities]
Questioner: Ānandinī Sītā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-29
Although we have to associate with non-devotees we should not intimately associate with them.
And if we try to give them the holy name, try to give them Bhagavad-gītā, that will be very effective.
We don’t take their association; we give them our association.
Vidura did not go to Dhṛtarāṣṭra to get his satsaṅga.
He went to give his satsaṅga
We should when we meet non-devotees we should think how to bring the person closer to Kṛṣṇa.
Not to engage in prajalpa with them.
Thank you Ānandini Sītā for your question.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Material World], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)]
Questioner: Nandagopīpriyā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: There is no reason not to reveal your mind to guru.
If you have had some trouble with one of the principles, you could get some advice from your spiritual master.
But if you have recovered, then all the better to tell him that you had difficulty but now you have come back to the strict standard.
And sometimes one is started to difficulty with a principle, but it is not as serious as they think.
It is better to reveal to the spiritual master.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Aparādha (Offenses)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-04-27
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.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Nandapriyā Premā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: The false ego is [inaudible word] identify our self as the body.
If someone tells us, “Oh, you are ugly!”
We are affected
that is false ego.
If someone tells, “Oh, you are beautiful!”
and we are affected—that is false ego.
So people can say different things,
but we don’t take it so serious.
Because we know that, it is temporary.
And we want to realize our real ego which is as a servitor of Kṛṣṇa.
So false ego is a very subtle thing that ties us to this material world.
So Kṛṣṇa, He gives certain instructions to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gītā;
so that he can overcome the false ego,
and by dovetailing our ego in the service of Kṛṣṇa,
that is a positive situation
for instance, Arjuna was a father,
he was a householder, he was a prince,
he was a general, in charge of the army.
So Kṛṣṇa did not tell him that you should give up everything and be a sannyāsī,
rather He said, you should carry out your duties as what you are;
but you should do so as an offering to Me.
So Lord Caitanya also said, “gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko”
Whether you are gṛhastha or a mendicant,
you should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa
loudly and stay fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Category: [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Vaiṣṇava-qualities], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Emotions / Pride], [Anarthās]
Questioner: Balavān Śrīnivāsa dāsa
Date: 2022-07-27
You see, asking for blessings for a spiritual goal is not a problem.
That is not something separate from Kṛṣṇa’s service.
If you ask for something material like good health, good husband, then we say to the Lord, if it so pleases You.
But actually, for spiritual blessing, that is alright.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: All the vices can be dovetailed in Kṛṣṇa’s service except envy.
So we can be angry when Kṛṣṇa is offended,
when the devotee is offended.
But if someone, in some disturbing situation,
hampering their sense gratification,
they should not get angry.
If they get angry it is a vice, a mistake and sinful.
Like that we could angry for the right reason,
otherwise we should be tolerant.
Questioner: Ritvik, ISKCON Baroda
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: If the guru is able to help you if you feel that Śrīla Prabhupāda is talking to you through the guru and you are able to cross over māyā,
then that is the right guru for you.
So you also get help from various śikṣā-gurus and Vaiṣṇavas.
I have fifteen questions you should ask yourself,
to help you understand if it is the right guru.
Questioner: Ritvik, ISKCON Baroda
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: If the guru is able to help you if you feel that Śrīla Prabhupāda is talking to you through the guru and you are able to cross over māyā,
then that is the right guru for you.
So you also get help from various śikṣā-gurus and Vaiṣṇavas.
I have fifteen questions you should ask yourself,
to help you understand if it is the right guru.
Questioner: Keya Rāṇī
Date: 2022-09-16
Jayapatākā Swami: They are skipping over your question because it is not particularly from the verse.
Anyway we should do both together.
We should help ourselves
while we depend on Kṛṣṇa,
not that we just sit and say Kṛṣṇa will do everything.
We do the best we can and we depend on Kṛṣṇa.
There is a story where there is a flood.
And they came by the house and said that,
"Get in!
There is a flood."
He said, "No, No! I am depending on Kṛṣṇa."
Then the water rose
up to the roof.
And he was on the roof.
Boat came and said, "Get on!"
He said, "No on I am depending on God",
and the boat left.
And then helicopter come,
ere grab the rope!"
and he said "No. I am depending on God.",
and he got drowned.
Then he went back to Godhead.
He asked God, "Why did you not save me?"
He said "I sent you a car, a boat, a helicopter
you did not take anything.
So what do you expect?"
So naturally we have to take the mercy of Kṛṣṇa
that may come in any way.
Questioner: Keśava Kṛpā Sindhu dāsa
Date: 2022-09-27
Jayapatākā Swami: I know that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
what he told me to do.
So trying to execute his instructions,
I have to make various decisions.
But I always keep in my mind, pleasing Śrīla Prabhupāda.
So, this has always served me well.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said that in one case,
I did what he would have done.
I don’t know
if everything I do is pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
But I am trying to do that.
And I know that that itself is pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
But we may make some mistakes on the way.
But then we can also correct. that.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner:
Date: 2023-02-25
Jayapatākā Swami: When the sun appears darkness goes.
There is a saying in śāstra,
kṛṣṇa—sūrya-sama, māyā haya andhakāra
yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra
(Cc. Madhya 22.31)
That is why we always recommend chanting.
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Where did the bad thoughts go?
Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy!
No negative thoughts!
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Link: 20221014 Evening Address
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-12-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Nice question!
Because we should do service to please guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Now certain things the guru has said, he would like to be done.
Just like I told Nāma-niṣṭhā
that I would like a temple to be constructed.
So doing that sevā, constructing a temple,
he knows that it is pleasing to the guru.
Right?
Nāma-niṣṭhā dāsa: Actually, I went to meet Guru Mahārāja and this was in Tirupati.
And he was being very kind to me.
He told me, “Construct a temple.”
So I said, “Please put your hand and order.”
That was the time he put his hand on my head and ordered,
“Make a beautiful temple with all the facilities.”
At that moment we were only three devotees and no money!
And I remember next detail he told me, on June 5th Pānihāṭi 2020 that what are you doing?
That was an online visit.
We hardly had any devotees and I said, “There was nothing to do because everything is closed.”
“Why don’t you do like Chennai, Guru Mahārāja”, said. “6,000 devotees attended their course online.”
So I thought Sumitra Kṛṣṇa dāsa did 6,000, Nāma-niṣṭhā will do 10,000!
And I tried, within four days, 10,000 people registered.
And we don’t even know where the money came from, we don’t even know, in fact all the devotees Guru Mahārāja initiated yesterday,
all came from online and it is unbelievable.
Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-06-10
How to develop favourable devotional attitude?
we should accept everything for devotional service and give up everything which is unfavourable.
If we really understand what is our self interest?
What is helping us?
And we understand serving Kṛṣṇa and serving his devotees are our own self interest and then we know what is the favourable for that we accept the favourable things and we avoid the unfavourable automatically we can.
Start to get lined up.
Now what is very important is to develop that is by associating with the devotees already have their attitude.
Not that every devotees is equally developed in his favourable attitude such those who are especially ball pointless those who are in bitter mood they may be advancing but in a slow track.
Those who are seeing good qualities in others enthusiastic cheerful and they don’t hold any grudges on anyone they are in mode of fast track.
So we look for devotees that we can relate with a better situation we are and associating with them and in this way we can progress by the good association and this leads to the next question which is sādhu-saṅga which is one of most if not the most important limbs of devotional principles is offensive be six certain devotee association to avoid others,
So we select the associating just associating of any devotees so we can read the questions super souls.
Lord Caitanya said that there are three kinds of devotees those who are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa but they are not following the principles we can help them otherwise we don’t associate with them very intimately but those who are initiated and following very strictly we can accept them in a very we can respect them and offer respect to them and associate with them.
And those who are very advanced who are fully fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness who are in the level of guru we can take shelter from them.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that we can seek out association with the likely minded devotees.
Of course hopefully the like minded should be a good mind but its all right we may be more intimate with some than the others.
Absolutely yes.
Specially keep crying for Kṛṣṇa.
So in one sentence nothing wrong.
And people surely benefit something by hearing them.
But usually for the initiated devotees prefer to hear singing by someone more spiritually developed.
These are especially songs sung by attracting the new people by music aspect but not spiritual aspect.
In public programs we use these more but for personal purification it is recommended to hear Prabhupāda and some other pure devotee chanting.
But its nothing wrong but that is the guideline.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā]
Questioner: Anonymous
Date: 2022-07-25
Jayapatākā Swami: How does he give special mercy?
So many ways.
Preaches to the devotees.
Explains to them devotional service.
Prays to Kṛṣṇa...
that the devotee.. may be accepted into devotional service.
If a devotee is accepted into devotional service,
that’s special mercy!
And special mercy goes on in so many different ways.
Here, the word… why it’s said, “Special mercy”,
can’t… if you want… I mean since… you know… split hairs about the whole thing.
That special mercy, what is the special mercy?
Means that even the person is not..
following rules and regulations and so many things, wasn’t, you know,
living in the āśrama for… and...
so many things.
He was just uh, he was a king of demons, but he was the grandson of Prahlāda,
so he even in spite of not being otherwise so qualified in terms of..
you know, just, sādhana-bhakti,
still, by some special mercy, that means by the well-wishes of Prahlāda Mahārāja,
just by his wish, just by his favorable...
desire, that alone was enough to lay the groundwork,
so Bali Mahārāja could develop this spontaneous love for Vāmanadeva.
It’s not that the mercy of the spiritual master has to be in a visible way.
That just by his favorable wishes, by his favorable desires,
a person can advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
But...
when a person starts to advance,
then one should naturally become more and more responsible,
to repay that special mercy.
One takes that whatever advancement one has achieved is due...
to the mercy of the spiritual master,
in response to one’s desire.
In.. most cases.
And then when there was no desire, then you know it was special mercy.
I had no desire to be a devotee.
Somehow, I came..
to...
deliver the milk,
and the devotees kept giving me cookies..
and.. I can see that by their special mercy, I became a devotee.
That… someone may actually come here, looking for Kṛṣṇa,
cause there’s some.. problem that person has, or he wants to know about something,
or is looking for God,
you see.
Comes here, starts to practice.
So, that you can say that’s ordinary mercy.
And if somebody comes and is just completely,
not the slightest desire at all for spiritual life,
you know, visibly there,
still the devotee goes out of his way to just engage that person,
giving some prasādam or some… whatever.
So, that’s a special mercy.
It’s not that the person really did anything to deserve it... or even desires it much.
So it's just a devotee, out of his own, “Let me help this person.”
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-21
Hṛdayānanda Dāsa Goswami: Yes, (laughing)
if he is actually bonafide.
If he is actually bonafide.
You understand?
If someone is not a bonafide spiritual master, someone is only pretending to be a spiritual master,
then how can the relationship be eternal?
So therefore, the disciple has to know the real symptoms.
Just like for example, in the case I was just mentioning, there were some symptoms which were very unusual, that were not the normal symptoms.
So, some of the people in in England they were not, of course the young devotees they didn't know,
but they were not very strict and serious and seeing that the same standard was kept.
Do you understand?
In other words, just like we are… we are always preaching, that is the duty of our disciple to see, to select a bonafide spiritual master.
So, the point is that anyone who joins this movement sincerely will get Kṛṣṇa and will get a bonafide spiritual master.
And the symptom that is getting one that is he will get Kṛṣṇa.
If you are getting a bonafide spiritual master, then you are getting the proper instruction.
Any guru in ISKCON who is presenting Prabhupāda as he is, or presenting the standard program, he is a bonafide guru.
Just like if I tell my disciples, "Read these books."
So, I am giving them the right knowledge, you understand?
Now, if someone is actually a bonafide spiritual master, then that relationship is eternal.
So it’s not that, it’s not that, because one particular person had some difficulty therefore I will become doubtful.
This is also a foolish idea.
Just like in the Gauḍīya Maṭha, all of them deviated except Prabhupāda.
I mean fifty of them or something like that, there were 100 or something, I don’t know how many... do you understand?
And every last one of them, every single one of them, deviated from Bhaktisiddhānta's order.
And out of the movement of hundreds and thousands of people, Prabhupāda was the only one who actually
carried it out exactly as Bhaktisiddhānta wanted, do you understand?
So, it’s not that when we heard about Gauḍīya Maṭha, we begin to doubt our spiritual master.
No, we become more proud of our spiritual master.
So, it’s just like my parents always used to tell me, "You should be glad that your parents don’t drink or smoke…
or… tell me that, some parents beat their children, some parents do this, some parents do that.”
So, in that way Kṛṣṇa has given these historical examples. Kṛṣṇa has given these examples,
so you should be happy if you have a guru who doesn’t drink or smoke. (Laughter)
Yes, actually, we accept that Śrīla Prabhupāda among his godbrothers…
not that all they fell down to sinful activities,
but they deviated from the preaching mission and Prabhupāda told us that, none of them actually really captured the purport completely.
So, it's in the līlāmṛta, all.
Prabhupāda's frustration trying to work with them.
So, does that make us doubt Śrīla Prabhupāda? No, it makes us glorify him more.
That if others have failed, that means it must be very difficult.
Because someone has not… could not do it, that means it must be a very difficult thing.
It must be... So, therefore, it made us more attached to our spiritual master.
So, Prabhupāda said, "If you see, if you try to see the guru without Kṛṣṇa then that’s bad.
If you try to see Kṛṣṇa without the guru, that is also bad.
If we see guru as the representative of Kṛṣṇa,
then we will never be deviated.”
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-21
Hṛdayānanda Dāsa Goswami: Yes, (laughing)
if he is actually bonafide.
If he is actually bonafide.
You understand?
If someone is not a bonafide spiritual master, someone is only pretending to be a spiritual master,
then how can the relationship be eternal?
So therefore, the disciple has to know the real symptoms.
Just like for example, in the case I was just mentioning, there were some symptoms which were very unusual, that were not the normal symptoms.
So, some of the people in in England they were not, of course the young devotees they didn't know,
but they were not very strict and serious and seeing that the same standard was kept.
Do you understand?
In other words, just like we are… we are always preaching, that is the duty of our disciple to see, to select a bonafide spiritual master.
So, the point is that anyone who joins this movement sincerely will get Kṛṣṇa and will get a bonafide spiritual master.
And the symptom that is getting one that is he will get Kṛṣṇa.
If you are getting a bonafide spiritual master, then you are getting the proper instruction.
Any guru in ISKCON who is presenting Prabhupāda as he is, or presenting the standard program, he is a bonafide guru.
Just like if I tell my disciples, "Read these books."
So, I am giving them the right knowledge, you understand?
Now, if someone is actually a bonafide spiritual master, then that relationship is eternal.
So it’s not that, it’s not that, because one particular person had some difficulty therefore I will become doubtful.
This is also a foolish idea.
Just like in the Gauḍīya Maṭha, all of them deviated except Prabhupāda.
I mean fifty of them or something like that, there were 100 or something, I don’t know how many... do you understand?
And every last one of them, every single one of them, deviated from Bhaktisiddhānta's order.
And out of the movement of hundreds and thousands of people, Prabhupāda was the only one who actually
carried it out exactly as Bhaktisiddhānta wanted, do you understand?
So, it’s not that when we heard about Gauḍīya Maṭha, we begin to doubt our spiritual master.
No, we become more proud of our spiritual master.
So, it’s just like my parents always used to tell me, "You should be glad that your parents don’t drink or smoke…
or… tell me that, some parents beat their children, some parents do this, some parents do that.”
So, in that way Kṛṣṇa has given these historical examples. Kṛṣṇa has given these examples,
so you should be happy if you have a guru who doesn’t drink or smoke. (Laughter)
Yes, actually, we accept that Śrīla Prabhupāda among his godbrothers…
not that all they fell down to sinful activities,
but they deviated from the preaching mission and Prabhupāda told us that, none of them actually really captured the purport completely.
So, it's in the līlāmṛta, all.
Prabhupāda's frustration trying to work with them.
So, does that make us doubt Śrīla Prabhupāda? No, it makes us glorify him more.
That if others have failed, that means it must be very difficult.
Because someone has not… could not do it, that means it must be a very difficult thing.
It must be... So, therefore, it made us more attached to our spiritual master.
So, Prabhupāda said, "If you see, if you try to see the guru without Kṛṣṇa then that’s bad.
If you try to see Kṛṣṇa without the guru, that is also bad.
If we see guru as the representative of Kṛṣṇa,
then we will never be deviated.”
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Depends what you are thinking!
Generally, I would chant in front of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mūrti.
And I would chant the mantra but I would also be seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Everything connected with Kṛṣṇa is also Kṛṣṇa.
It is not really Kṛṣṇa, but it is not different from Kṛṣṇa.
When we clean the temple, the temple is connected with Kṛṣṇa, therefore we clean our heart.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, in any part of the temple Kṛṣṇa is there.
So guru is connected to Kṛṣṇa
and if you see guru while chanting you will be connected to Kṛṣṇa.
Link: 20221023 Evening Darśana
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Depends what you are thinking!
Generally, I would chant in front of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mūrti.
And I would chant the mantra but I would also be seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Everything connected with Kṛṣṇa is also Kṛṣṇa.
It is not really Kṛṣṇa, but it is not different from Kṛṣṇa.
When we clean the temple, the temple is connected with Kṛṣṇa, therefore we clean our heart.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, in any part of the temple Kṛṣṇa is there.
So guru is connected to Kṛṣṇa
and if you see guru while chanting you will be connected to Kṛṣṇa.
Link: 20221023 Evening Darśana
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-17
In this regard, Śrīla Prabhupāda was quoting Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
that the disciple should take the order of the spiritual master as their life and soul.
If you are not able
to follow the instruction of your spiritual master,
then you can ask him
what to do in that case.
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-17
In this regard, Śrīla Prabhupāda was quoting Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
that the disciple should take the order of the spiritual master as their life and soul.
If you are not able
to follow the instruction of your spiritual master,
then you can ask him
what to do in that case.
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-02
Jayapatākā Swami: Just like we say we are not the body.
We also say we are not the mind.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that we should beat the mind in the morning with shoes 108 times.
In the evening beat with a broomstick 108 times.
Who is the boss here, mind or you?
You are the eternal spirit soul and you are the real person.
Not the mind.
We have to tell the mind, who is the boss!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence], [Sādhanā]
Questioner: Hari Hara Kṛṣṇa Caitanya dāsa
Date: 2022-07-30
Jayapatākā Swami: An ISKCON guru is naturally pleased if you are satisfying the desires of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Śrīla Prabhupāda wants to satisfy his guru’s desires, his guru wants to satisfy his guru’s, like that
it goes up to Lord Brahmā, and he wants to satisfy Lord Kṛṣṇa.
So in that way, we try to please guru and Kṛṣṇa.
And that will be the success of our spiritual life.
But maybe the spiritual master gives some specific instruction, which are applicable for us.
Just like His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda,
he gave certain service to his devotees,
based on their abilities sand potentials.
So in this way the spiritual master may give you some particular service.
Or maybe a general service.
Generally, we try to serve our Temple President or our spiritual authorities.
But sometimes, we may receive some specific instruction from the spiritual master.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Satyabhāmā Sādhvī devī dasī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: Very glorious question.
We want to always remember guru and Kṛṣṇa.
So if we do everything as an offering to guru and Kṛṣṇa,
then we will be constantly thinking of Guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Like, if you buy a gift for your loved one,
now you may be thinking what does that person like?
And you pick up some gift,
so it maybe that you are thinking about the gift,
but you are thinking in the context what does this person like?
So therefore, you are always thinking about the person.
Even though technically you may not always thinking about him, but all your action is offered to him.
So therefore, your thought process is centered around the person you love.
So if you love Kṛṣṇa, if you love the guru,
it is very easy to think always about guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Satyabhāmā Sādhvī devī dasī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: Very glorious question.
We want to always remember guru and Kṛṣṇa.
So if we do everything as an offering to guru and Kṛṣṇa,
then we will be constantly thinking of Guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Like, if you buy a gift for your loved one,
now you may be thinking what does that person like?
And you pick up some gift,
so it maybe that you are thinking about the gift,
but you are thinking in the context what does this person like?
So therefore, you are always thinking about the person.
Even though technically you may not always thinking about him, but all your action is offered to him.
So therefore, your thought process is centered around the person you love.
So if you love Kṛṣṇa, if you love the guru,
it is very easy to think always about guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Nikhil Raj, Bhopal
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: We have some very serious devotees in Māyāpur.
You can ask the residents of Māyāpur and they will confirm. One is Jananivāsa Prabhu.
Whenever he would come and talk Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
but if the discussion became a bit different,
he would leave.
You turn around he is gone.
As long as you are Kṛṣṇa conscious he will be there.
Loose talk and he is gone.
Also, some people they are able to change the topic.
If someone is talking loose talk,
they know how to change the topic.
And bring them around to serious talk.
Then if people are very addicted to loose talk they won’t like to stay around you.
Question: How to remain enthusiastic despite challenges we face in serving Kṛṣṇa?
—Bhakta dāsa, ISKCON Baroda
Jayapatākā Swami: You see there will always be some tests.
Māyā will test you, are you really sincere?
You want to serve Kṛṣṇa or you are just playing around.
So many devotees here.
I give class every day, more or less every day.
Wherever you are, Bhopal, Vadodara, you can watch the class,
either by Facebook or Zoom.
Question: How to overcome the enjoyment mentality?
Jayapatākā Swami: We maintain our enthusiasm
when we have a taste for spiritual life.
Like in different stages of devotional service like bhajana-kriyā, anartha-nivṛtti, niṣṭhā, ruci,
ruci means taste.
You have a taste, you want to do more and more service.
And one time, in Montreal, mother and father came to see the son. Put their arm around him talked to him nicely.
But when they got to the doorway, they grabbed him and told him to go home.
Then he held on the door
and they were pulling his feet and Śrīla Prabhupāda when he heard he said he is attached.
After ruci comes āsakti, attachment.
You have to be attached to resist your parents like that.
So anyway, by devotional service we gradually get taste, we get attached
and in this way we desire to render devotional service more and more.
♦ ♦ ♦
I was discussing with a devotee today.
He told me that for every sevā or preaching project we are engaged in we must have a vision for that.
Guru Mahārāja, my question is..
Question: if I am serving under the authority, can I have a vision for the project?
What if our authority has different ways or visions?
—Amṛteśa Gaura dāsa, Bhubaneswar
Jayapatākā Swami: You see it may be different it may be the same.
If you have a vision that you want to serve Kṛṣṇa,
you want to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement,
maybe some individual differences.
But if your reason is Kṛṣṇa conscious then it doesn’t matter.
♦ ♦ ♦
So thank you for asking so many questions
Category: [Anarthās], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Vaiṣṇava-qualities]
Questioner: Premeśvarī Śrī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-09-21
Separation from guru and Kṛṣṇa is something that we encounter
and Kṛṣṇa.
So Lord Caitanya said that we can get a closer devotion
by feeling separation.
So if we feel separation that is to the body of the guru,
if we feel separation that is to the instructions of the guru
and just try to follow his instructions.
By following his instructions, we can advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Serving the guru personally is vapu-sevā
and serving his instructions is vāṇī-sevā.
So vāṇī-sevā is more important.
Category: [Emotions / Sorrow], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Premeśvarī Śrī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-09-21
Separation from guru and Kṛṣṇa is something that we encounter
and Kṛṣṇa.
So Lord Caitanya said that we can get a closer devotion
by feeling separation.
So if we feel separation that is to the body of the guru,
if we feel separation that is to the instructions of the guru
and just try to follow his instructions.
By following his instructions, we can advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Serving the guru personally is vapu-sevā
and serving his instructions is vāṇī-sevā.
So vāṇī-sevā is more important.
Category: [Emotions / Sorrow], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Ati Sundara Jagannātha dāsa
Date: 2023-12-19
Jayapatākā Swami: When it is some puja time, say Dīpāvalī or something,
you buy something for your sister, your mother, your loved ones.
So while you are buying that you are thinking what does this person like? What should I get?
Like that, the act of shopping
becomes an act of love.
And so in the same way when you want to do something for the spiritual master,
you think like that, what will be pleasing? What can be used?
And that way, it is an act of love for your spiritual master.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Ati Sundara Jagannātha dāsa
Date: 2023-12-19
Jayapatākā Swami: When it is some puja time, say Dīpāvalī or something,
you buy something for your sister, your mother, your loved ones.
So while you are buying that you are thinking what does this person like? What should I get?
Like that, the act of shopping
becomes an act of love.
And so in the same way when you want to do something for the spiritual master,
you think like that, what will be pleasing? What can be used?
And that way, it is an act of love for your spiritual master.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Śaraṇāgati Gaura dāsa
Date: 2023-01-27
Jayapatākā Swami: You have a nice name, śaraṇāgati, means surrender.
Just apply your name!
Lord Caitanya said in the third verse of the Śikṣāṣṭakam which they chant here every morning –
tṛṇād api sunīcena taror api sahiṣṇunā amāninā mānadena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ.
Be more humble than a blade of grass.
Śrīla Prabhupāda described – you step on grass, it bends over, it is humble.
When you walk away from the grass, the grass comes back up.
So, in that way, we should be humble and at the same time be resilient.
Go upright in due course of time.
Be more tolerant than a tree.
A tree stands there in a rain, in heat, in a wind and people cut branches from the tree and make toothbrushes.
One devotee, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, he wanted a neem tree.
There was a neem tree outside his window.
He hung out of the window to get a neem branch.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, don’t do that!
He said, don’t worry Prabhupāda, I did that many times!
Maybe, but don’t do in front of me, Śrīla Prabhupāda said.
Śrīla Prabhupāda was afraid for the devotee, maybe he will fall!
That way a tree is very tolerant, so we should be tolerant and we should offer respect to others
but not expect any appreciation or respect for ourselves.
In that way we can always chant the Holy Name.
So śaraṇāgati is the actual mood we should have surrender
and whether our authority treats us very nice with a smile, or he treats us harsh,
we are not doing it for the authority.
As such, we are doing it to please Kṛṣṇa.
And if the authority gives us a service we can do, we should appreciate it, thank you for giving me the service!
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses) / Vaiṣṇava-aparādha], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra]
Questioner: Bhaktin Ambika
Date: 2022-08-04
Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally when you are serving guru and Kṛṣṇa,
then you will be connected to guru and Kṛṣṇa
and you can feel that.
So, we try if we can either serve the guru directly
or by following his instructions.
And that way we can feel connected.
Questioner: Bhaktin Ambika
Date: 2022-08-04
Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally when you are serving guru and Kṛṣṇa,
then you will be connected to guru and Kṛṣṇa
and you can feel that.
So, we try if we can either serve the guru directly
or by following his instructions.
And that way we can feel connected.
Questioner: Antīmā devī dāsī.
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: You see we should have the vision of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura,
seeing the difference from material relationship,
and the spiritual reality.
If we have this knowledge,
naturally we can transcend the suffering and troubles of the material world.
But since we are conditioned, and we lament over things which should not be lamented for,
therefore, say one family member dies,
different varṇas have different times or periods, when we are not supposed to go to the temple.
I think brāhmaṇas have 11 days and śūdras 30 days.
So, the more one has spiritual knowledge,
they may be able to recover.
Now I heard that the head priest of the Guruvāyur temple,
if someone dies in his family,
they wouldn’t tell him.
Because if they told him,
he would have to stop worship for so many days.
So, while he is in the six months as head priest.
He would not hear about any misfortune in his family.
Fixing your mind on guru and Kṛṣṇa, is a matter of spiritual wisdom.
Category: [Emotions / Stress/Anxiety], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-06
Jayapatākā Swami: We could remember Lord Nityānanda,
He was hit in the head by Mādhāi
with a clay pot.
He was caused to bleed,
and He said, “Just because you caused Me to bleed, does that mean I will not give you love of Godhead?”
So, we take everything, ultimately, if someone is doing something to us, we are thinking,
we take it that it is our karma.
That the person is acting as an instrument for our karma.
We don’t take that person responsible.
That they don’t know what they are doing.
So in different ways we remember how the bull and cow were beaten by the personality of Kali
but they did not hold the personality of Kali responsible.
And Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, he was Ajātaśatru,
he did not look at anyone as his enemy.
He was a well-wisher to everyone.
So, even his enemies found that it was better
to be a friend, to follow him because he was a well-wisher to everyone.
Questioner: Sivaprasad (Sheltered)
Date: 2022-09-10
Jayapatākā Swami: Sambandha, abhideya and prayojana are the three things to be remembered.
If we are engaged in abhideya in devotional service, then naturally our relationship with guru and Kṛṣṇa is strong.
If we are not engaged in devotional service, then there is somewhat distance.
So the solution for that is to engage in devotional service.
Questioner: Sivaprasad (Sheltered)
Date: 2022-09-10
Jayapatākā Swami: Sambandha, abhideya and prayojana are the three things to be remembered.
If we are engaged in abhideya in devotional service, then naturally our relationship with guru and Kṛṣṇa is strong.
If we are not engaged in devotional service, then there is somewhat distance.
So the solution for that is to engage in devotional service.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-04-27
Jayapatākā Swami: As I mentioned, bhakti-yoga is a science.
And it is step by step.
Śravaṇam, kīrtanam, We should hear and then have sādhu-saṅga.
Then bhajana-kriyā.
With bhajana-kriyā comes initiation.
The next stage is anartha-nivṛtti,
getting rid of the bad habits.
So that comes after initiation, that you start working on removing the bad habits.
Then we become fixed, and we have good habits in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and that is called niṣṭhā.
Then we have a taste,
then we get attached to that taste, āsakti.
Then we get bhāva, ecstatic devotional service.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Akshaj, Bhopal
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: Usually, bhajana-kriyā stage is the time we take initiation.
Then after that with the guidance of the guru, we get anartha-nivṛitti.
We may hear from the guru or we may have śikṣā-gurus
who help us to overcome these anarthas.
One book I translated Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s book, Vaiṣṇava Ke?
He prayed to his mind, what kind of Vaiṣṇava are you? By doing solitary bhajana you seek name and fame.
That book, it is a small book. You read that to find out how to control and train the mind.
Also, there is another bhajana by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya
and that helps one to control the mind.
Anarthas are in the mind.
Anartha-nivṛtti means mind is purified.
Questioner: Darsh
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: Māyā is stronger than we are
but Kṛṣṇa is stronger than māyā.
If we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa we can cross over māyā.
That is why we try to engage ourselves in Kṛṣṇa’s service.
So there is a competition.
Māyā tests us,
but if we are successful in following Kṛṣṇa,
then māyā will offer her praṇāmas to us.
But if we succumb to her tests,
then we will remain in the material world.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-10
Jayapatākā Swami: This question was asked by Arjuna to Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā.
And Kṛṣṇa said that we should take our sword of knowledge and cut the knot of ignorance.
If you read the teachings of Kṛṣṇa,
Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
and if you regularly chant the holy name,
then naturally you can understand more
and your faith will increase.
But it is also important to have good association.
You associate with people who are Kṛṣṇa conscious
and avoid association with people who are very negative and critical.
One should know the philosophy,
one should know how to help people,
then you can meet with more people and help them.
But if you have a bad association in the beginning then it can be very disruptive.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: We maintain our enthusiasm
when we have a taste for spiritual life.
Like in different stages of devotional service like bhajana-kriyā, anartha-nivṛtti, niṣṭhā, ruci,
ruci means taste.
You have a taste, you want to do more and more service.
And one time, in Montreal, mother and father came to see the son. Put their arm around him talked to him nicely.
But when they got to the doorway, they grabbed him and told him to go home.
Then he held on the door
and they were pulling his feet and Śrīla Prabhupāda when he heard he said he is attached.
After ruci comes āsakti, attachment.
You have to be attached to resist your parents like that.
So anyway, by devotional service we gradually get taste, we get attached
and in this way we desire to render devotional service more and more.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-10
Jayapatākā Swami: The abhideya is devotional practice of devotional service.
And
so thinking of practicing devotional service is one thing.
But if you are thinking something against devotional service,
that is aparādhā.
To atone an aparādhā there is no higher atonement than devotional service.
Questioner: —Susevinī Guru Gaurāṅga devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa is in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, or Paramātmā,
the Christians know as the Holy Ghost.
So, one is actually talking through the Paramātmā in the heart of the living entity and to the Spirit Soul.
So with the help of the Paramātmā we want to help the jīva to get out his illusion.
The word preaching has kind of a negative connotation.
The word in Sanskrit or Bengali is pracāra,
pracāra means to glorify the Lord and the process of His devotional service.
It means how to encourage someone to take up devotional service.
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda Ṭhākura said that there is no scarcity in the material world,
only scarcity is devotional service.
Everywhere you see this scarcity.
People work so hard to win some athletic competition,
they work so hard to get some academic degree,
they work very hard to get a raise.
But actually even if a little effort they give to serve Kṛṣṇa,
they would actually be able to perfect their lives.
Who remembers the one athletic event five years ago?
And some people leave and some people break their bones and die,
but if we render some devotional service we never lose the result,
it stays with us life after life.
But all the things we achieve in this material world, the material things we achieve this life we leave behind us.
Say we earn millions of dollars;
we cannot take one paisa to the next birth or one cent.
But any devotional service you do,it stays to your credit.
If you have enough credit, you leave this material world
and go back to the spiritual world where you can serve the Lord constantly,
where there is no birth, death, old age or disease. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Preaching], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Bhakta dāsa, ISKCON Baroda
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: You see there will always be some tests.
Māyā will test you, are you really sincere?
You want to serve Kṛṣṇa or you are just playing around.
So many devotees here.
I give class every day, more or less every day.
Wherever you are, Bhopal, Vadodara, you can watch the class,
either by Facebook or Zoom.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, bhakti-yoga is a powerful practice.
And if you just say stop something, what do you do? Your mind, your senses do not stop.
So we do yukta-vairāgya.
Everything we do, we do to please Kṛṣṇa.
So just like we have to eat. So instead of eating nonsense, we eat kṛṣṇa-prasāda.
We replace what we are doing materially bad habits with positive kṛṣṇa-sevā.
People may have the bad habit of illicit sex.
But those who want sex they have to be married.
And we bring up our children also in devotional service.
Questioner:
Date: 2023-02-25
Jayapatākā Swami: Think of positive thoughts!
Just like we see the Deities of Rādhā Govinda Aṣṭa Sakhi, Lord Gaurāṅga, we think of Them.
Link: 20221014 Evening Address
Questioner: Kiśorī Yoginī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-05
Jayapatākā Swami: There is no higher atonement than Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So if one makes a mistake,
then the best remedial method is serving Kṛṣṇa.
So, if you make mistakes,
then you should be more diligent actually, at serving.
The point is that, one should not make sense gratification as the goal of our life.
When we have senses, there will be some sense of pleasure and some suffering.
So Kṛṣṇa explains that, you regulate the activities.
Just like you take prasādam,
just like we have married life,
try to produce Kṛṣṇa conscious children.
Different activities are regulated.
But the goal is not sense gratification,
the goal is to please Kṛṣṇa.
This world unfortunately is beginning, middle and end is all sense gratification.
They don’t understand anything about Kṛṣṇa in most cases.
Even if they are God conscious, they pray to God to give them some material gratification.
But we should rather want to serve the Lord.
Well, it is expected that you will make some mistakes.
That is why we should be more careful,
after making mistakes,
to practice more sincerely.
Just like a child learning how to walk.
Naturally they will fall down a few times,
but eventually they learn to walk, run, everything.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Thank you!
Questioner: Harihara Caitanya dāsa
Date: 2022-08-01
Jayapataka Swami: It could be a very good habit,
if you use it on yourself.
You find all the good qualities of others, and all the bad qualities in yourself.
Don’t be like a fly, who sits on the sores.
So we follow the third instruction of Lord Caitanya in His Śikṣāṣṭakam.
We should give respect to others, and not expect any respect for ourselves.
Questioner: Rasapriya Gopikā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: Well there are two parts to your question.
One, how do I know if my service is pleasing to guru?
If we are doing something which he has asked us to do,
then it is usually pleasing to him.
If we are doing something which is for our authorities requested us to do
and it doesn’t go in contradiction with anything that guru told us;
and that something that is completely against our nature,
then usually it is very pleasing.
If it is something that is against our nature;
but it is something that is urgently needed;
and sometimes by fulfilling that one gets some special mercy from the guru.
What was the second part?
If our services are not pleasing does it affect our taste in chanting?
If you do not carry out the order of your guru,
then that is the third offence to the holy name
and naturally that will be something that hampers our tastes.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Gaurāṇga], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Rasapriya Gopikā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: Well there are two parts to your question.
One, how do I know if my service is pleasing to guru?
If we are doing something which he has asked us to do,
then it is usually pleasing to him.
If we are doing something which is for our authorities requested us to do
and it doesn’t go in contradiction with anything that guru told us;
and that something that is completely against our nature,
then usually it is very pleasing.
If it is something that is against our nature;
but it is something that is urgently needed;
and sometimes by fulfilling that one gets some special mercy from the guru.
What was the second part?
If our services are not pleasing does it affect our taste in chanting?
If you do not carry out the order of your guru,
then that is the third offence to the holy name
and naturally that will be something that hampers our tastes.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Gaurāṇga], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Jayacaran
Date: 2023-12-19
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, my experience was even before the first time!
His secretary gave me a set of beads.
So I went out in the park and I was chanting.
I chanted about 26 rounds, nonstop!
And I was feeling so much ecstasy,
I had never felt anything like this before.
At that time, I was in San Francisco
and Śrīla Prabhupāda was in Montreal.
I came back to the temple
and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s secretary was waiting for me.
He asked me do you have the beads?
I said, “Yes, of course.”
He said, “I was not supposed to give those to you,
those were Śrīla Prabhupāda’s beads!”
So I gave him back.
Other beads were not quite the same!
So, even before I met Śrīla Prabhupāda for the first time, I had an introduction.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-02
Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, it is good to feel like that.
Rādhārāṇī feels She is not doing enough, as much as She could.
But we think that She is 100% best,
but She is thinking what more I should do?
That is the Kṛṣṇa conscious attitude.
Not that, oh! I am doing everything I can.
Then we won’t try to do more.
If we cannot think of how to increase, you could also always ask what more can I do?
Or if you have some idea, then you can suggest, can I do this, will this be pleasing?
We always should be eager to do something more for Kṛṣṇa.
Parents, your children ever come up and say, mom dad, can I do some service for you? Ha!
You think, what do they want from me! Ha!
But actually if they don’t want anything that would be super!
If you think what more you could do and you want permission, then suggest that.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-05-13
Jayapatākā Swami: I am trying to convince many of my senior disciples to take up the service of dīkṣā-guru.
And when I do that, then except in some cases I may stop giving initiation except for those who have taken shelter.
So people who have taken shelter I will give them.
Those who took initiation, they have already taken.
As of now, I have not yet stopped.
Still, sometime I may stop.
So, better chant 16 rounds and take shelter.
Category: [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was watching some video of his departure,
and all the devotees, most of the devotees were feeling you know, very separated.
One devotee came in front of the camera and started chanting, clapping, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, he is not very advanced.
It is natural that you feel separation from the guru, naturally devotees felt separation when Śrīla Prabhupāda left.
Śrīla Prabhupāda appreciated
that that kind of intense feeling is a sign of spiritual advancement
and there are emotions that devotees feel.
And some circumstances are suitable for chanting, dancing in happiness.
But when the spiritual master is departing,
most of the devotees are feeling heavy hearted.
If some devotes smiling, laughing, Haribol!
Śrīla Prabhupāda he did not appreciate that.
So they were not really conscious what was happening.
Not conscious of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
In the same way, to see Kṛṣṇa, multiply that, and there is nothing you can explain,
that words will not do justice.
If we hear what Lord Caitanya was experiencing, to whatever extent that touches our heart,
that by this feeling, by this meditation on Lord Caitanya’s ecstasy at that time,
we get the shelter of Kṛṣṇa.
So, someone was saying that the greatest separation in the world is to be separated from a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
I am in association of devotees for the past eight years. Just like any other devotee I could admire all positive aspects of other devotees. While at one point of time there is a fall in the graph when only the negatives of other bhaktas are only visible. I think many other devotees feel the same way as well. Guru Mahārāja, how to overcome this mentality of fault finding. Is there any particular reason why such thoughts are appearing in my mind?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-08
Jayapatākā Swami: Someone asked this kind of a question to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda said that the temples are hospitals –
spiritual hospitals.
When you go to the hospital you see sick people.
It is natural.
That is what hospitals are for.
Some are doctors, they treat the sick people
and there are nurses who help the patients.
They are not as qualified as the doctors, but they serve the patients.
So like that, devotees will have some defects
until they are perfect.
But we see the good qualities in others,
see all the good qualities, all the things that they are doing for Kṛṣṇa
and see the defects in ourselves.
So don’t be like a fly
which always goes to the cut wounds and stool.
See the good qualities.
We try to see where we can improve.
It is not a competition like in the material world.
Not by putting others down, we will go up.
They tell me in the corporate world someone is an operations manager, someone is a quality control manager,
someone is the marketing manager.
So one manager tries to screw up another manager
so that he can be promoted to general manager.
So this thing is there in the material world.
Not like that in the spiritual life.
Kṛṣṇa rather sees how you cooperate with others.
How you help others.
Not how you fault find in others.
One of the qualities of the devotees is nirmatsarāṇām,
freedom from envy and fault finding.
So, everything we can dovetail,
except that one thing,
that thing we have to renounce.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-04-27
Jayapatākā Swami: Many people ask this question.
This is one thing that every disciple, every devotee has to choose.
After some time, I will stop initiating.
But at the present time I am still taking.
But who you will choose, is truly up to you.
Who you think Kṛṣṇa is speaking thru to you.
And many gurus, they can be your śikṣā-gurus.
You have to choose one as your dīkṣā-guru.
So, dīkṣā-guru has the responsibility to take care of your karma.
And you can pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda, you can pray to the Deities,
to reveal to you who your guru is.
Questioner: Kinjal Lohia
Date: 2022-08-04
Jayapatākā Swami: Follow the third verse of the Śikṣāṣṭaka -
offer respect to all others
and don’t expect any respect for yourself.
Seems like you are not offering respect to other Vaiṣṇavas.
And this is something that we should do.
And when we neglect that, naturally we have to suffer.
So we should appreciate what other Vaiṣṇavas are doing.
And that is the secret of success.
Questioner: Phaneśvarī Lakṣmī devī dāsī, San Diego
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: You can take from any pure devotee.
Because if you take that of a guest or someone and you get sick that is not very auspicious.
But even if we get sick taking from some pure devotee that is glorified.
So, the prasāda or mahā-prasāda can be taken from someone, even if he is not your dīkṣā-guru.
Thank you Phaneśvarī Lakṣmī devī dāsī.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Prasāda and Bhoga]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-12-05
Jayapatākā Swami: May be good fortune, I don’t know.
One of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s servants gave me a set of beads to chant on.
I was practicing yoga before that.
So I sat in the ardha-padmāsana and started meditating and chanting
and I chanted six hours nonstop.
I was chanting 32 rounds or something.
And I was feeling so much ecstasy,
I never felt that in the yoga practice.
So I was convinced that Kṛṣṇa consciousness works.
The secretary was waiting for me to come back.
He asked, “Do you still have those beads?”
I said, “Yes!” “Those are Śrīla Prabhupāda’s beads” he said!
But he said he was not supposed to give that to anyone, but I did not know it at that time.
So he took the beads back from me.
Next day was not quite the same!
But I had a glimpse!
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes]
Questioner: Soundarya Rādhikā devī dāsī, New Rājāpur Dhāma, Bengaluru
Date: 2022-10-04
Jayapatākā Swami: You seem to have realized that when you don’t follow
the advice of the senior devotees,
you get attacked by māyā.
So that should convince you
that to avoid being attacked by māyā,
follow the more advanced devotees’ advice.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Śikṣā-guru], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Soundarya Rādhikā devī dāsī, New Rājāpur Dhāma, Bengaluru
Date: 2022-10-04
Jayapatākā Swami: You seem to have realized that when you don’t follow
the advice of the senior devotees,
you get attacked by māyā.
So that should convince you
that to avoid being attacked by māyā,
follow the more advanced devotees’ advice.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Śikṣā-guru], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-02
Jayapatākā Swami: It is just causeless mercy!
We see that Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, he offered prayers to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda.
So, that is the devotional process called vandanam.
Offering prayers, obeisances.
So, by desiring, praying for, by Their mercy, it can be achieved.
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes]
Questioner: Milan, ISKCON Youth Forum, Baroda
Date: 2022-10-15
Jayapatākā Swami: You see Lord Caitanya, He taught that you can achieve perfection whether you are a vairāgī or a householder.
So, if you are a householder you should try to keep Kṛṣṇa in the center.
I saw one drama from the Chennai youths.
One girl and one boy were playing Yamadūtas and one lady, girl was playing Yamarāja.
She painted her mustache as Yamarāja.
The Yamadūtas they were complaining. Yamarāja! What do we do? These Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees have deities in the houses, they chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, they read Bhagavad-gītā, what do we do?
We cannot take them to hell!
Maybe need a way to find another chākrī, another job!
So it was very interesting to see the Yamadūtas complaining.
Actually, one family in Kolkata, the mother, children, were all initiated.
Everyone but the father.
He was dead against.
But then he was diagnosed with cancer.
He was in bed ,
and he saw two hairy people with leather ropes, walk through the wall.
He said, “No, no, no, no! No, no!”
Somehow they left.
He called his wife, “I want the neck bead.
I want the Bhagavad-gītā, I want the japa-mālā.”
What we were trying so long, the Yamadūtas in few minutes they changed him.
So he became very Kṛṣṇa conscious after that.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Karma / Desires], [Material World], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Dīpadātri Gaurāṅgī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-04
So, anyway, we would like to see everybody
chant Hare Kṛṣṇa
and engage in devotional service.
Lord Nityānanda is the original guru.
So the spiritual master
is naturally in connection with Lord Nityānanda.
So it is not so difficult to get guru-kṛpā
and if one tries to get guru-kṛpā,
by preaching, by giving Kṛṣṇa
to the conditioned souls,
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā 18th chapter
that those who preach
this message of Mine,
they are the dearest to Me.
So naturally,
we get the kṛpā.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Dīpadātri Gaurāṅgī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-04
So, anyway, we would like to see everybody
chant Hare Kṛṣṇa
and engage in devotional service.
Lord Nityānanda is the original guru.
So the spiritual master
is naturally in connection with Lord Nityānanda.
So it is not so difficult to get guru-kṛpā
and if one tries to get guru-kṛpā,
by preaching, by giving Kṛṣṇa
to the conditioned souls,
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā 18th chapter
that those who preach
this message of Mine,
they are the dearest to Me.
So naturally,
we get the kṛpā.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Dīpadātri Gaurāṅgī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-04
So, anyway, we would like to see everybody
chant Hare Kṛṣṇa
and engage in devotional service.
Lord Nityānanda is the original guru.
So the spiritual master
is naturally in connection with Lord Nityānanda.
So it is not so difficult to get guru-kṛpā
and if one tries to get guru-kṛpā,
by preaching, by giving Kṛṣṇa
to the conditioned souls,
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā 18th chapter
that those who preach
this message of Mine,
they are the dearest to Me.
So naturally,
we get the kṛpā.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-14
Jayapatākā Swami: Some people, they have some inclination to someone.
If one cannot understand, they can take them as their śikṣā-guru
and amongst the śikṣā-gurus they can decide who will be their dīkṣā-guru.
Otherwise, I have 15 questions and one can ask themselves and thus choose who is their dīkṣā-guru.
So if you have the Jayapatākā Swami App I can send those questions out.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-05
Jayapatākā Swami: It is said that if you hear with faith if you hear and not be agitated,
then you can cure the lust in your heart.
If you speculate lusty things when you hear, then you are not hearing with faith.
Category: [Anarthās], [Emotions / Lust], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Sādhanā / Regulative Principles]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-12-06
Jayapatākā Swami: We hope that you are not poisoned.
You should hear from a pure devotee and read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and take the mistaken thoughts from your mind.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-12-22
Jayapatākā Swami: Especially meeting with a married woman in a private place,
that was prohibited by Lord Caitanya.
Sometimes I will be in a room, and there would be a man and woman and the man walks out!
Then I would ask the lady to go out or tell the man not leave or I would go out myself.
Sometimes a vairāgī says they just want to experiment.
You see, checking or experimenting should be done before you become a vairāgī!
If you are a gṛhastha, do all the experimenting with your wife.
If you take the vairāgī path, then at least you should follow the vows of renunciant life, at least for a sannyāsī.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-07-07
Jayapatākā Swami: Nothing can disturb your Kṛṣṇa consciousness
if you don’t let it.
And we may get free from all our sinful actions.
But then if we again commit more,
then that is a new situation.
So not only should we get freed from the previous ones,
but we should also avoid making new sinful reactions.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-18
Jayapatākā Swami: You see the spiritual maser is supposed to be very dear to Lord Nityānanda.
And he gives Lord Nityānanda’s mercy.
By Lord Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy
we get the mercy of Rādhārāṇī.
And Rādhārāṇī is very hard to approach.
But Nitāi-Gaura, They are more easy to approach.
The spiritual master is easier.
Now śrī śrīla and śrīmān.
Śrī, is the goddess of fortune,
we put śrī in front of someone’s name it means someone is very auspicious.
Śrīman is usually used for someone junior,
who is very - sometimes Śrīla Prabhupāda would address with śrīman in the name.
I don’t know the actual dictionary meaning, I am not a Sanskrit scholar.
Just, I have seen it used,
and śrīla is apparently used for someone who is like a guru or a very elevated devotee.
Sometimes the guru is called an ācārya like Śrīla Prabhupāda, He is śrī-śrīmad,
His Divine Grace.
You can ask a Sansrkit scholar, and they can give more of the meaning.
But actually, that is how I see it has been used.
Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you very much!
He is saying I should say something about the Dallas congregation and temple.
I think the congregation is very nice!
We saw the devotees at the Ratha-yātrā yesterday, I was very impressed
by their enthusiasm!
Something I did not understand, what DIY mean?
Someone told me oh, it is Do It Yourself!
Anyway, very nice to see the devotees.
I know Bengali if someone wants to speak in Bengali,
I know a little Hindi and I can speak in Hindi with you.
I have been living in India since 1970
and I joined in 1968.
I saw every temple in ISKCON in 1968,
all three!
San Francisco, New York, and Montreal.
After that there are so many temples.
So now it is not possible to see all the temple.
Of course, I have seen quite a few.
I have been given a lifetime Gold by United Star Alliance
and American and from British Airways, lifetime Emerald.
So I visited all the temples around.
But I was thinking I have not seen all of them.There are about 800 or a thousand now,
it not so easy.
But I thought we should call all the temples which were started by by Śrīla Prabhupāda, he did 108, we should call them as śrīpāṭs.
Like Dallas, should be śrīpāṭ Dallas.
These Deities were worshiped by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
They are very special.
This temple was established by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
There may be about a thousand now and in the future, there may be tens of thousands of temples
but there were 108 established by Śrīla Prabhupāda
and this is one of them.
We would like all the devotees to stay as part of Kṛṣṇa consciousness
and take advantage of the mercy of Rādhā-Kālacāndajī and Nitāi-Gaura and Jagannātha Baladeva Subhadrā.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī]
Questioner: Supriyā Jāhnavā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-09-22
Jayapatākā Swami: It shows that Lord Caitanya is more merciful than Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Although He is Kṛṣṇa, but He has Rādhārāṇī’s heart,
so He is more merciful.
One who is not initiated,
He also said, He does not accept their offence.
So, if you are initiated,
it is a two-edged sword.
If you follow strictly, you get the Lord’s mercy,
if you don’t follow,
then He may take offence.
Category: [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Emotions / Confusion], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)], [Mercy], [Śrī Caitanya-līlā / Lord Caitanya]
In the past classes you had said that one should not make sense gratification as the ultimate goal of life. While following this particular principle, sometimes when we face fluctuation and are swayed away by māyā, and because of our unlimited desires, we get engaged in any kind of sense gratification. How should we avoid and control ourselves not being swayed away by māyā and get determined in the service of guru and Kṛṣṇa? Please enlighten me
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: While we have senses in the material world,
so naturally the senses need a certain amount of satisfaction.
That depends on each individual.
But that should not be the ultimate goal.
In the material world
we see that people, they make as their goal that their senses should be happy.
But the senses are a source of happiness and a source of suffering.
So, although there may be some happiness
and some suffering,
we should tolerate that,
but we should make our ultimate goal to serve Kṛṣṇa.
So, certain very simple things we should avoid.
Like eating meat, fish, onion, garlic,
like gambling,
like taking intoxication
and having out of marriage illicit sex.
If you are a married person
it is natural there will be some material pleasure.
But there will also be some suffering.
Just like to conceive a child there is some happiness
but to have a child is also pain –
labor pain.
So, that should not be our ultimate goal.
You may have certain desires,
but the ultimate desire should be to serve and love Lord Kṛṣṇa.
In the third canto when Brahmājī becomes very pleased with Kardama Muni’s service, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in the purport that the disciple should get the instructions from the master and execute it word by word. I understand that in terms of sādhana chanting, reading, following regulative principles, that needs to be done. So how much devotees should have their own initiative in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because we may or may not have the association of the spiritual master?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-08-16
Jayapatākā Swami: How many people here have the Jayapatākā Swami App?
How many read it regularly?
I put up daily things on the Jayapatākā Swami App.
And that way you can have your association with me as closely as you associate with your mobile phone.
I see people talking on their mobile phones often.
They can see the App rather.
I don’t know.
Also, someone told me that I should ask Śrīla Prabhupāda a question.
I should glorify Śrīla Prabhupāda,
humble myself
and ask a question and blessings.
So I was doing that every day.
And then it became like a ritual.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are all merciful,
Śrīla Prabhupāda, I am very fallen.
I want to serve you eternally,
life after life.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, he said one day, why do you want to make me come back?
I thought I was saying the right thing.
Then I said, I want to serve you even life after life.
If I don’t make it back to Godhead then I want to serve you here.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-12-09
How did I become?!
How did I become?
Well,
material desires are always there,
they are coming in the mind.
I don’t allow any time to address those.
I keep busy.
Who can say that they have no desire comes?
Desires may come in the mind.
So we go back to Kṛṣṇa and we have the material body desire may come,
but that desire we dovetail it in Kṛṣṇa’s service so we reject it.
Even Prabhupāda one time someone said,
"I have no lust,
Srila Prabhupāda,
I have no material desire." So,
Prabhupāda said,
"really!
what’s wrong with you!
(devotees laugh) I have material lust but I have no time to address that.
I have no time for that.
I am too busy in Kṛṣṇa’s service." You see,
the point is that it's already,
nobody can say that in the material world,
even if they were desireless,
they shouldn’t say that.
Because that would give,
even if someone was a nitya-siddha,
they have no desire,
which is very unlikely to find such souls in this world.
But even if that were the case,
they should,
supposed to take the role as a conditioned soul to teach by example others.
Even if one has some desire comes in the mind,
the desire is either dovetailed,
seen if that can be used for any Kṛṣṇa conscious purpose.
If it is totally material,
then it’s rejected with appropriate disgust,
according to the nature of that particular thought.
We stay so occupied in Kṛṣṇa’s service that there is no chance for Māyā to come in.
That is the secret.
Category: [Emotions / Lust], [Emotions / Greed], [Anarthās], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Sādhanā], [Material World / Kali yuga]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-26
Jayapatākā Swami: Well, those who want the kingdom of God without God are better than impersonalists,
because, you see, the impersonalists, they don’t even want the kingdom of God without God.
The people who want the kingdom of God without God are the materialists.
They want the material world, and they want to enjoy it, but they don’t want God, you see.
Even the demigods, I mean, they respect Kṛṣṇa, you see.
But this like two sides of the coin; in one hand you have the materialists who want to
have the material world and enjoy it without God. They want to usurp in a way.
They want to be able to enjoy as the controller.
So those are coming, some as demigods who are still favorable to God,
and some are demons who are completely offensive to God.
But the Māyāvādīs, the impersonalists, they are completely offensive.
And in a way, they want to themselves by...they think that they are God, you see.
To say even without God indicates more of the demigods, because they...
By saying without God, we are indicating that there is God.
But the impersonalists, they don’t actually accept that there is any Supreme God; they’re saying that
everything is impersonal. That being impersonal, therefore, the concept of a Supreme
Person doesn’t come in at all. That every individual soul is a supreme as any other soul.
And that any form is illusion, so including the form of God.
So therefore, they are great offenders, Lord Caitanya said māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī (Cc Madhya 17.129).
They are offenders of Kṛṣṇa.
The demons that Kṛṣṇa kills, they get that. Some get even more than that.
But at least they get merging. So being killed by Kṛṣṇa, if you get to merge
and get impersonal realization, then what is so great about that,
you see. Even the demons get it. That means that these impersonalists are on the same level as demons.
So therefore, Lord Caitanya, He warned us, “Don’t listen to them.”
Because if you understand their viewpoint,
then that can destroy your actual appreciation of Kṛṣṇa because they are offensive.
And if we hear offenses against Kṛṣṇa, then that takes away our devotional assets.
So therefore, we should always avoid hearing the offenses of Kṛṣṇa, and their preaching is offensive.
Their way of preaching is to offend Kṛṣṇa.
Sahajiyāism is more dangerous than impersonalism for devotees.
It’s harder to recognize the difference between sahajiyāism and real devotion.
Impersonalism is pretty cut and dry, I mean, they just, you know, they don’t believe it. All
quality and personality is very cut and dry, the line is very sharp.
But in sahajiyāism where they seem to have a quality of a devotee,
but actually, there are some subtle offenses to real devotees;
they think that they are already an associate of God even though they haven’t achieved that position.
And thus, they are speaking as an associate or as an authority,
when actually, they are, because they are offenders of real devotees
and they are not presenting the thing as it is. Therefore, they miss the whole,
they are not able to actually go back to Godhead from that platform,
and they are guilty of other type of offenses; do rasābhasa and vaiṣṇava-aparādhas.
It’s actually what it is. Sahajiyāism is that you try to enjoy Kṛṣṇa.
Bhakti means that you surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and He enjoys you; He enjoys your service.
You offer the service, and that service
is enjoyed by Kṛṣṇa, and you feel the transcendental bliss from within.
But sahajiyā means that, that person wants to enjoy Kṛṣṇa’s.
He wants to enjoy the ecstasy with Kṛṣṇa. He wants to… So, because it is not a service mood,
it’s an enjoyment.
Questioner: Vraja Kīrtana dāsa
Date: 2022-10-14
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva. And someone came and talked to him. He looked away; he was listening to the devotee. And the guru said, “You no need to hear?” So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them. So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on. Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was sitting in the class of his Gurudeva.
And someone came and talked to him.
He looked away; he was listening to the devotee.
And the guru said, “You no need to hear?”
So, he thought that as a great blessing, because the guru noticed them.
So definitely we want to give our full concentration while class is going on.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Link: 20200909 Although Being in a Predicament, the Barber Receives a Boon of Residence in Goloka (Part 2)
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Sādhanā], [Sādhanā / Reading / Śāstra], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Kaivalya Sundarī devī dāsī
Date: 2023-12-11
Jayapatākā Swami: They are all Absolute,
at least the first four.
They can have unlimited personal relationship
but whether one is qualified,
we want to be the servant of the servant of the Lord,
not to be directly in the service of the Lord.
So, by being the servant of the servant. of the servant of the Lord,
we get to serve the Lord!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-06-15
Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes.
Sometimes the guru comes back to liberate the disciples
So the disciple may have a relationship from the previous life.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Rasasindhu Śacīsuta dāsa:
Date: 2022-08-05
Jayapataka Swami: As far as benefit of taking initiation directly or virtually,
if you feel initiated you feel connected to the guru, that is what counts.
Śrīla Prabhupāda had initiated many devotees by letter.
And now sometimes due to the pandemic we have initiations virtually.
So, if the spiritual master is accepting you, you are accepting him, then what is the difference?
Link: 20220221 Īśvara Purī Instructs His Disciple Nimāi Paṇḍita to Chant and Preach Kṛṣṇa-Nāma, Part 1
Category: [Day-to-day Life / Technology], [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Rasasindhu Śacīsuta dāsa:
Date: 2022-08-05
Jayapataka Swami: As far as benefit of taking initiation directly or virtually,
if you feel initiated you feel connected to the guru, that is what counts.
Śrīla Prabhupāda had initiated many devotees by letter.
And now sometimes due to the pandemic we have initiations virtually.
So, if the spiritual master is accepting you, you are accepting him, then what is the difference?
Link: 20220221 Īśvara Purī Instructs His Disciple Nimāi Paṇḍita to Chant and Preach Kṛṣṇa-Nāma, Part 1
Category: [Day-to-day Life / Technology], [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Anon
Date: 2022-08-02
Jayapatākā Swami: The guru takes responsibility for their karma.
And depending upon how the disciple surrenders then that karma is either taken away directly by Kṛṣṇa withdrawing it,
or by giving the disciple some tokens, to help the disciple to come to the proper frame of mind, which will allow all the karma to be removed.
The total responsibility is taken away by the spiritual master, and therefore the karma is not given to the disciple at face value.
But some momentum from the previous uh… from the previous activities is there, some desires are there.
And also, even after taking initiation sometimes devotees, they are also performing sinful activities against their oath, so for various reasons the person is put into difficulty.
One time, Srila Prabhupāda cut his finger, and one drop of blood came out.
He said that, “I should have had my head cut off, but instead Kṛṣṇa has just given me this token, just to remind me and I was released from such a big sinful reaction.”
So, once we surrender to the spiritual master then we’re under the care of Kṛṣṇa; once we take initiation.
But then we have to also practically practice devotional service and then more and more for relieve from all these reactions.
Just after initiation, we come into what is called the clearing stage where all these reactions are cleared away.
It is not that just immediately everything is gone, unless we can immediately completely fix our mind, every thought word and deed completely, without any material attachment,
we can completely absorb ourselves in the service of guru, then we are completely free.
But just after initiation, it is not that people suddenly forget their parents and forget their everything material.
They may get a different, may become more detached, they may become, still there may be some slight attachments there.
So how to get free from those?
Whatever attachments we have those are linked with reactions.
As detached as we become that is as free as we become from the reactions.
These two things are told today.
The 3 modes are there and their reactions, these are linked.
As we have attachments within the 3 modes of nature those attachments are linked with reactions.
As we get rid of the reactions of fruitive activities, we get rid of these attachments also.
Just like a person is very attached to getting a $1,000,000.
Once they get $1,000,000 they are not so attached any more, then either they want $2,000,000 or they want something else.
Just like in Hong Kong, in Japan, people they get very attached to material things.
They want to get a brand-new tape recorder.
They get the tape recorder.
After a while they get tired of the it, they just throw.
A perfectly good tape recorder, they throw it away in the garbage.
Just fed up, that’s the mood they are in.
They just throw it away.
You can find good tape recorders lying in the garbage, you see.
When you get the thing, that means that now your desire is fulfilled.
That is one way of getting your material fruitive action is you get what you want.
That’s one, that’s called the reaction for pious activities.
That also makes you detached, in some cases.
You get tired of it, you want something else.
And another way of getting rid of attachment is by suffering.
When that thing you want causes some pain you become detached.
So, both these reactions, pain as well as pleasure the devotee becomes detached to.
Because now, both of them simply cause material attachment.
They want spiritual ecstasy, spiritual bliss.
So, already the plug has been pulled out, you are not creating any more karmas, you’ve been freed.
And Kṛṣṇa promises that, “According to how you surrender that is how you will be rewarded.”
So, already you are free from any direct reaction of karma.
If any karma is given it means that you still have some attachments, and this is to help you become more and more advanced.
And you are only getting a small token of what you deserve.
Category: [Material Sufferings], [Karma], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Dīkṣā (Initiation)]
Just like the dacoits had many troubles like falling in the ditch, and getting bitten by insects, I also have many troubles. So many troubles come but the only feeling I have is to seek out some protection. There is no feeling of love or no feeling of that kind of shelter that you said we should seek out for? What to do?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-05
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, this material world, there is a verse in the Purāṇas, it says padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ (ŚB. 10.14.58),
there is danger at every step.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa describes the material world as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (Bg. 8.15).
But we are so foolish that we want somehow very nice arrangement in the material world.
So we take birth after birth after birth after birth after birth after birth after birth.
Chewing the chewed.
And if we can only realize how much happiness there is by directly engaging in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
But we are so foolish, it says that Lord Caitanya came to deliver the foolish, the mūrkhas.
We think somehow, we can make some arrangement, and the material world will be a very nice place.
But it is not possible.
If we can engage ourselves in the service of Kṛṣṇa,
then we can taste the real happiness
that we are actually hankering for.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Material Sufferings], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-18
Jayapatākā Swami: There is a poem by Śrīla Narottama dasa Ṭhākura,
where he sings śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu dayā kara more – You have come down to deliver the fallen, Patita-pāvana, there is no one more fallen than me. Please have Your mercy on me!
Then he prays to Lord Nityānanda, hā hā prabhu nityānanda, premānanda sukhī: You are always filled with spiritual bliss of love of Kṛṣṇa,
please have mercy on me I very sad, duḥkhī.
You have Nitāi-Gaura here! You pray to them,
that I need mercy,
I am fallen,
I need your mercy more than anyone!
Category: [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Mercy]
Questioner: Karuṇāpati Keśava dāsa
Date: 2022-09-22
Category: [Anarthās], [Emotions / Hypocrisy], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra]
Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a very blissful process. But some resentment owing to some bad interactions we had with devotees occupy so much of the mind that absorption and focus in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because difficult, and again and again same thoughts come when we see those devotees. How to overcome all this and absorb in service to our guru?
Questioner: Hemāṅga Haladhara dāsa
Date: 2022-08-05
Jayapatākā Swami: This is the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.
Not that you should be focused on bad experiences.
That would distract your Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Some bad behavior we may be committed that we would not like to do such bad behavior with others,
but other than that
we really don’t want to be focused on bad experiences,
other than thinking how to avoid such activities.
We see that Lord Nityānanda, He was merciful.
Even though He was hit on the head with a wine bottle,
He did not feel any anger or jealousy to that person.
He wanted to give mercy to that person.
So like that, everybody in the material world,
has some defect
and we try to avoid committing mistakes
having defects
in our spiritual life.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses) / Vaiṣṇava-aparādha], [Emotions / Envy], [Emotions / Sorrow], [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Cooperation]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: Is that in the verse today?
Questions should be especially on the verses today.
If anyone has any doubt or question on the verses today, otherwise it will just open up to anything.
You have a question on the verse? I chastised you! Ha! Ha!
So I answered your question.
Ha! Ha! How do you feel? Ha! Ha!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: Is that in the verse today?
Questions should be especially on the verses today.
If anyone has any doubt or question on the verses today, otherwise it will just open up to anything.
You have a question on the verse? I chastised you! Ha! Ha!
So I answered your question.
Ha! Ha! How do you feel? Ha! Ha!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-25
Questioner: Tattvavit Nimāi das
Date: 2022-10-12
Jayapatākā Swami: A devotee can stay very calm in an undisturbed situation.
Kaṁsa was very calm and serene, driving the chariot of his sister on her wedding.
Then this voice came from the sky, your sister’s eight son will kill you.
Immediately he became disturbed, he grabbed his sister by the hair and wanted to kill her.
So, we should not be like Kaṁsa.
There will be some disturbing situations.
These are tests.
If we are like Kaṁsa, we will get disturbed.
If we are devotees, we control ourselves, like Vasudeva.
He tried to convince Kaṁsa, that it is not good to kill your sister on her wedding day.
It is said, you should take decisions when you have a cool head.
So that was a very disturbing situation, his wife is being killed!
But he tried to pacify Kaṁsa.
So like that we should try to control ourselves, if we are agitated.
Everything is calm, no trouble to be calm.
The test is when things get disturbed.
At that time if we can control our emotions and think very deeply,
and do things that are most pleasing to guru and Kṛṣṇa.
And pass the test.
Haribol!
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses) / Vaiṣṇava-aparādha], [Emotions / Anger], [Emotions / Envy], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-02
Jayapatākā Swami: What would you preach if you don’t read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
You know, we don’t say that by reading, you do not do any preaching.
But if you don’t read, what do you preach?
Would you speculate something?
It is important to read at least in the beginning.
Śrīla Prabhupāda told me that to get first initiation, I had to read the Bhagavad-gītā ten times.
Then I had these lines marked, one, two, three, four, strike. One, two, three, four, strike.
I read ten times and got my first initiation.
But by reading Bhagavad-gītā ten times I had so much knowledge of the Gītā that I was giving accredited courses in the university.
Although I was a college drop out!
And in the McGill University I gave a course but there was no credit.
So then, Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us a test, I got Bhakti-śāstrī.
Recently I want to encourage my disciples, my followers, devotees in general
to read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books.
Then the Māyāpur Institute offered me the honorary degrees,
because I had read the books so many times.
But I thought if I get honorary degree,
then that would not encourage the devotees to read.
I said, no, I will take the test.
And now I have finished the 5th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I got one more canto to go to get my Bhakti-vaibhava.
After that I will go for the Bhakti-vedānta.
Then I am very glad that I am doing that.
It is nice that if you are reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and are getting tested then you read it more carefully.
But it doesn’t mean I don’t preach.
In fact preaching is going on.
Link: 20221024 Evening Darśana
One of the devotees I know who is your disciple has fallen down. Parents of that devotee are constantly lamenting and in great grief their child has almost stopped practicing devotional service and left home and started living alone and started doing bad saṅga. My question is that if any devotee falls down from devotional service, should we lament for the devotee? Is it okay for the parents to lament excessively?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally a parent should want to make a son or daughter Kṛṣṇa conscious.
And when the son or daughter is well-situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
naturally the parent is relieved.
And if a child is in māyā,
then naturally the parent should be preoccupied.
Not to the extent that they give up their own practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
But encourage the son to come back or be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
One of the key questions I have is about forgiveness. Maharāja spoke about how Rukmī’s hair was cut and Balarāma almost chastised Kṛṣṇa that this is not how you cut people’s hair. That brings us to the point of forgiveness - how can we build on this quality because it is so important right now to have this mood of forgiveness, because it actually impacts our service.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-21
Jayapatākā Swami: It is interesting
that two days ago was the Putradā Ekādaśī.
So some people want children,
they observe Putradā Ekādaśī.
But in the glories of this Ekādaśī,
it is said that for the
renounced people or people who don’t want children,
they observe this Ekādaśī
to get the child of forgiveness,
because forgiveness is a quality that Vaiṣṇavas need.
We were reading today how,
some foolish student
was criticizing Lord Caitanya
when He was in the mood of a gopī,
a Vraja-vāsī, He was chanting the name, Gopī, gopī!
The foolish student came and told Lord Caitanya, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, why are You chanting gopī, gopī?
They did not understand that Lord Caitanya, at that moment, He was in a different mood.
He was in the mood of Rādhārāṇī,
or some gopī-bhāva.
And they did not understand that.
And they were thinking ill against Him.
They wanted to attack Him, or to take some retribution.
So then Lord Caitanya was thinking,
I came to deliver the most fallen,
but if these people they offend Me,
they don’t pay their obeisances to Me,
they will be deprived of the mercy!
So like that He was thinking how can I get these people to offer their respect to Me, and thus take up bhakti-yoga.
So He had the mood of forgiveness.
So it is very important, that we also adopt this mood.
And somehow, that thing we should practice regularly.
We don’t take the offences of anyone,
as something directly to them.
So we take it that,
we have some karma which is because of something,
we caused suffering for someone else.
And therefore, we are getting the reaction.
Somehow we take it indirectly,
and do not take that persona as responsible, and we forgive them.
And then we go on.
Just like Lord Jesus,
He was crucified, He was innocent,
but He prayed,
please forgive them, they know not what they do.
Similarly, Haridāsa Ṭhākura,
he was beaten in 22 marketplaces.
Normally one would die after 2 or 3,
but he was surviving even after 22 marketplaces.
Because he prayed to Kṛṣṇa,
please forgive these executioners,
they don’t know what they do.
The executioners were very frustrated.
He asked them, why are you so unhappy?
They said, because you are alive.
Because you are alive, the king will punish us.
So he said, if I die, will you be happy?
They said, Oh! So happy! So happy! Please die!
So then he lay down and went into nirvikalpa-samādhi.
Then they thought he was dead.
Then they told the king, ok, he is dead.
So how these great souls,
they have forgiveness.
Like Lord Jesus was saying,
one who is sinless throw the first stone.
So naturally, we all have committed various offences.
So rather than wishing ill on anyone,
we rather forgive them.
That is the special qualify of a Vaiṣṇava,
that quality Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa, They had.
Category: [Mercy], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Vaiṣṇava-qualities]
Parīkṣit Mahārāja was able to fully concentrate on each and every word of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam being his last seven days and so able to remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death. But being in gṛhastha-āśrama even after reading every day, still we have material thoughts like what will happen to our family and close ones if we leave this world. Please suggest Guru Mahārāja how we can act in this situation?
Questioner: Ānandinī Sītā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-12-22
Jayapatākā Swami: Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he was a gṛhastha.
He had children, he had a kingdom.
But when he heard that he was going to die in seven days, he gave up everything.
So, actually what can you do anyway for your children, for your pet dog cat?
Some people in the last minute, they are thinking, oh my dog, who will take care of my dog? Who will give him food?
Then they may birth as a dog in his next life.
When we leave we leave everything to Kṛṣṇa.
And at the last minute what can we do in any case?
All these things should be given in your will.
When you leave your body you only think about the Lord.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-25
You
try do that and by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
always praying to the spiritual master, previous ācāryas, Kṛṣṇa,
to be able to do that, that is the principal desire in one’s life,
well by their mercy the impossible can be possible.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-25
You
try do that and by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
always praying to the spiritual master, previous ācāryas, Kṛṣṇa,
to be able to do that, that is the principal desire in one’s life,
well by their mercy the impossible can be possible.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-02
Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya is Lord Kṛṣṇa.
So naturally, I was asked by one paṇḍita in Purī,
we hear that devotees of Lord Caitanya have devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
So where are you situated? Lord Caitanya or Lord Kṛṣṇa?
Jayapatākā Swami: You see devotees of Lord Caitanya simultaneously are in Śvetadvīpa and Goloka.
So that is a special facility of being a devotee of Lord Caitanya.
Like Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, he was simultaneously Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and also Satyabhāmā in Dvārakā.
Sanātana Gosvāmī is a mañjarī and at the same time he is Sanātana Gosvāmī.
Rādhā Kṛṣṇa and the aṣṭa-sakhis,
Rūpa Gosvāmī is the 9th sakhi.
So, he is simultaneously in caitanya-līlā and kṛṣṇa-līlā.
Gadādhara Prabhu is Rādhārāṇī.
So in caitanya-līlā he is Gadādhara and in kṛṣṇa-līlā he is Rādhārāṇī.
So there is no loss in being devoted to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
and we understand that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa in the mood of being His devotee.
Actually, we cannot be God.
But if we are a devotee of the Lord, Vaiṣṇava or Vaiṣṇavī, that is actually a wonderful position.
So that is being demonstrated by Lord Caitanya and His followers.
Regarding the dust of the lotus feet of the pure devotee, often we are encouraged to touch the feet of the pure devotee, especially our Gurudeva’s, but then we see that when Guru Mahārāja goes to public places it is not encouraged to let other people touch the lotus feet of Guru Mahārāja, so could you give a bit of an insight into why this distinction is there? Or should we also should be careful?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: When someone touches your feet, they give their karma to you.
And we see that - Śrīla Prabhupāda, actually once the home minister of Bengal, who is in charge of the Police and things,
he went and put his head on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s lotus feet,
Brahmānanda wanted to punch him!
Śrīla Prabhupāda stopped him, said it is their culture.
Would have been a big mess to punch the Home Minister!
There are different circumstances.
And we see that some people, they want to touch the feet of the guru.
Śrīla Prabhupāda, when they would touch the feet, he would touch them on the head,
like giving them back the karma ha!
but also they were taking the blessing.
Sometimes the way devotees they prohibit people may be too much.
You have to see the situation.
I saw that in South India and different places, the ladies would pour the water and the husband would touch the lotus feet,
that ladies should not touch a sannyāsīs,
but they are allowed to pour the water.
That was the system that was apparently practiced when Lord Caitanya visited South India.
That the wife would pour the water and the husband would massage it.
So it is very late now.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-12-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Why not?
Śrīla Prabhupāda said the mercy of Lord Caitanya has no limit!
We cannot put a limit on it.
So it is possible to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya like Jagāi Mādhāi got.
But somehow they got it even though they didn’t ask for it.
But if you ask for it and if you want it, why won’t the Lord give you?
So, the next generation, I often feel that the kind of affection and loyalty and dedication like a sold-out-servant as all of you are, I feel that is greatly lacking in the next generation, Mahārāja. So, we feel in our generation many people, they get initiated officially and after that they do not feel such a great commitment to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission and in expanding the movement the way. I am sure that your expanding the movement has happened because you are strongly rooted in Śrīla Prabhupāda. So how can the grand disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda have such feelings for him and a sense of belonging with him and thereby a sense of love and dedication for his mission?
Questioner: Rādhe Śyāma Dāsa
Date: 2023-12-05
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!
You see Śrīla Prabhupāda, he gave us the science of bhakti-yoga.
So everyone should read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, attend the Śrīla Prabhupāda daily guru-pūjā.
I mean, what does it take for people to be committed to Śrīla Prabhupāda?
When I first came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we did not have many books.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda said we could read Professor Sanyal’s Teachings of Lord Caitanya
and there was a section on Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
He said that whenever he would think of anything else, he would chant louder.
So I was a new bhakta
and I had so many thoughts.
So I would end up chanting louder and louder!
All the devotees, they went to Śrīla Prabhupāda and said, “This Bhakta Jay, he shouts so loudly while chanting
and we cannot concentrate!”
Śrīla Prabhupāda called me
and he asked me, “Why you chant so loud?”
I told him,
he said, “Hmmm, that is not bad,
but you are disturbing all the other devotees.
So I give you permission to chant in the park.”
That was the pre joggers’ period, now we have many joggers.
I saw birds, and squirrels.
They all heard the holy name when I was shouting!
Anyway, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy devotional service is so nice
that we start experiencing some bliss
and I don’t think that is a big secret.
Anyone who does Kṛṣṇa consciousness sincerely,
they can also experience bliss!
I have seen some new people
coming and they are very blissful and very happy.
We should be you know, grateful
that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us such a nice process
that works.
It is not a theory or just a faith, it works!
If you do it then you will not regret
it and then you feel grateful
that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us such a wonderful thing.
If he hadn’t come, he hadn’t preached, where would we be today!
I wrote a song yadi prabhupāda nā haita, tabe kī haita.
If there was no Śrīla Prabhupāda, what would there be today?
It is something terrifying,
to think back,
what I was
and what I am today,
what bliss I am experiencing by following Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions.
I think everybody should realize
that what they have
is all due to ultimately Śrīla Prabhupāda starting this movement.
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)]
So, the next generation, I often feel that the kind of affection and loyalty and dedication like a sold-out-servant as all of you are, I feel that is greatly lacking in the next generation, Mahārāja. So, we feel in our generation many people, they get initiated officially and after that they do not feel such a great commitment to Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mission and in expanding the movement the way. I am sure that your expanding the movement has happened because you are strongly rooted in Śrīla Prabhupāda. So how can the grand disciples of Śrīla Prabhupāda have such feelings for him and a sense of belonging with him and thereby a sense of love and dedication for his mission?
Questioner: Rādhe Śyāma Dāsa
Date: 2023-12-05
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!
You see Śrīla Prabhupāda, he gave us the science of bhakti-yoga.
So everyone should read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, attend the Śrīla Prabhupāda daily guru-pūjā.
I mean, what does it take for people to be committed to Śrīla Prabhupāda?
When I first came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we did not have many books.
So Śrīla Prabhupāda said we could read Professor Sanyal’s Teachings of Lord Caitanya
and there was a section on Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
He said that whenever he would think of anything else, he would chant louder.
So I was a new bhakta
and I had so many thoughts.
So I would end up chanting louder and louder!
All the devotees, they went to Śrīla Prabhupāda and said, “This Bhakta Jay, he shouts so loudly while chanting
and we cannot concentrate!”
Śrīla Prabhupāda called me
and he asked me, “Why you chant so loud?”
I told him,
he said, “Hmmm, that is not bad,
but you are disturbing all the other devotees.
So I give you permission to chant in the park.”
That was the pre joggers’ period, now we have many joggers.
I saw birds, and squirrels.
They all heard the holy name when I was shouting!
Anyway, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy devotional service is so nice
that we start experiencing some bliss
and I don’t think that is a big secret.
Anyone who does Kṛṣṇa consciousness sincerely,
they can also experience bliss!
I have seen some new people
coming and they are very blissful and very happy.
We should be you know, grateful
that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us such a nice process
that works.
It is not a theory or just a faith, it works!
If you do it then you will not regret
it and then you feel grateful
that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us such a wonderful thing.
If he hadn’t come, he hadn’t preached, where would we be today!
I wrote a song yadi prabhupāda nā haita, tabe kī haita.
If there was no Śrīla Prabhupāda, what would there be today?
It is something terrifying,
to think back,
what I was
and what I am today,
what bliss I am experiencing by following Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions.
I think everybody should realize
that what they have
is all due to ultimately Śrīla Prabhupāda starting this movement.
Category: [Emotions / Faith], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)]
Questioner: Kackuly Rāṇī
Date: 2022-08-27
Jayapatākā Swami: You just stick to the Vedas.
Show them what the Bhagavad-gītā says
and then if the bābā has said something different,
we cannot deal with that.
We say we follow the Vedas.
So then, that way some people they want to follow some false avatāras.
In Rajahmundry there was a person and he claimed to be an avatāra of Kalki.
Then they showed how in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Kalki avatāra comes at the end of Kali.
And Kali has only just started.
There are 4,27,000 years to go.
Isn’t it not a little off time?
He said I may not be Kalki, but I am an avatāra!
So there are many people like this they are bogus.
And gradually you have to just stick to the Vedas.
We are basically followers of the Vedas.
If someone preaches something against the Vedas,
what can we do?
We can show them that what they are saying is against the Vedas.
Therefore, the sincere people will follow us.
There was one guru in Bengal, he was a sahajiyā.
He said that the devotee, he or she I forgot, was coming to the Nāmahaṭṭa.
And they learnt that Vaiṣṇavas take kṛṣṇa-prasāda.
So she gave the vegetarian food to the kula-guru.
He said, “What is this? What is this?
I am your guru.
I should be given opulent food.
These vegetables are cheap.
Fish, meat are expensive.
Give me the dāmi food! I don’t want this cheap food.”
Then she realized that this guru was bogus.
So, that way we have to stick to the Vedas and gradually we convince people.
Some people may choose a bābā because they want to eat fish or meat or something.
What can we do?
Then we try to present how eating prasāda is better
and by eating meat we get the bad karma.
And become a cat or
dog
or tiger.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Apasampradāya], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Emotions / Hypocrisy]
Questioner: Mitravindā Mamatāmayī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-04
Jayapatākā Swami: If it is really connected with Kṛṣṇa
then it is not prajalpa.
But if it has nothing to do with Kṛṣṇa or service,
then it is prajalpa.
Questioner: Bhagavān Dāmodara Kṛṣṇa dāsa
Date: 2022-09-08
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Day-to-day Life / Children], [Day-to-day Life / Parents], [Emotions / Confusion]
Śrīla Gurumahārāja! We understand that this is a mercy movement, and we also talk about that people are unqualified and they progress with the help of mercy. At the same time, we have certain standards for initiation and there are other standards. So sometimes devotees say that if a devotee is not able to meet the standards, no problem, by the mercy of the spiritual master, he will come to the standard. So sometimes, he should be allowed for initiation. So, how do we strike the balance between meeting the standards at the same time of course, mercy is required.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-08-16
Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya was telling Lord Nityānanda
in Jagannātha Purī
that We have come down to this material world
and We had promised We would deliver four kinds of people
who are normally not delivered.
He said the mūrkhas,
the nīcas,
the patītas
and the duḥkhitas.
So the foolish who think they are the body,
people who are born in low birth,
Kali-yuga everyone is considered like a śūdra
or even lower.
And then patīta, the fallen,
like one English gentleman requested a sannyāsī that, “I want to be a brāhmaṇa”.
“Yes, we can make you a brāhmaṇa”, the sannyāsī said.
“What do I have to do?”,the gentleman asked.
The sannyāsī said, “Just give up eating meat, fish and egg,
taking intoxication,
gambling
and illicit sex.
Do these four things and you can become a brāhmaṇa.”
“It is impossible,” the gentleman said.
“That is my life!”
So, people in the West they are by nature, patīta.
The Indians they want to follow the Westerners,
so they are also becoming patīta.
As a result, they naturally feel sad.
Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam (Bg. 8.15) – Kṛṣṇa described this material world as a place of suffering.
But it is temporary.
Suffering is temporary, enjoyment is temporary,
everything is temporary.
That is why people in this world are very sad.
Trying to be happy but that produces sadness.
These four kinds of people Lord Caitanya said He came down to deliver.
We find that even like Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura he was a kṣatriya, he was a crown prince, he abdicated his throne
and he took up pure devotional service.
He said, “I am very fallen, I am very patīta,
please have Your mercy on me.”
Actually, he was not fallen,
but he presented himself like that to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya.
So, we humbly present ourselves as fallen, anyway we are fallen but anyway,
we find that Lord Caitanya’s devotees, they presented themselves in a very humble way.
So if you have someone who is fallen, he can pray to Nitāi Gaura for Their mercy.
Proof that they have this mercy, is to give up these four things.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-21
Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the instructions are work-in-progress.
I am trying to fulfill them.
I don’t say that I fulfilled all of them.
Maybe some of them,
to some extent.
But Śrīla Prabhupāda took so much sacrifice, took so much trouble
to bring Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the West.
So we owe Śrīla Prabhupāda, unlimitedly.
So whatever he asked me to do,
or instructed me to do,
I am trying to do that.
I don’t say that I have done it,
but I am trying to do it.
Seven days before his departure,
he established the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust,
and he made me the lifetime chairman.
That meant that my lifetime service
was to see the fulfillment of this Trust objective.
So it is basically to develop Navadvip dhāma,
develop Gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi,
and also to unite the Saraswat disciplic family.
So we have established the Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Association,
and many Gauḍīya members are members of this organization.
Some people, they keep separate.
But we are trying to work on it.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the BSCT,
he had established two of his god brothers
and 5 ISKCON devotes.
So now the god brother are no longer there,
so we are having the disciples of those god brothers.
So like that there are many different services.
We would like to see the completion of the TOVP.
I have a minor role, maybe.
Ambarīśa Prabhu is doing the major thing.
I am overseeing the Western wing,
which is the planetarium and exhibitions.
So we are trying to do what Śrīla Prabhupāda desired. [paragraph
It is very interesting to be serving Śrīla Prabhupāda.
I hope that the generations that follow will continue this service.
Bhakti Cāru Swami, he wanted that his followers would
also serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.
In fact, he saw the whole ISKCON family as one.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-07-07
Jayapatākā Swami: First we should read all the translations and purports of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
They are what inspires me.
And what I know, is simply by the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Questioner: Rasapriya Gopikā devī dāsī, Māyāpur.
Date: 2022-10-05
Jayapatākā Swami: The devas, the demigods are sakāma devotees.
They have some material desires.
Because they are afraid that
Dhruva would take over their posts,
therefore they gave him different obstacles –
in one way they were testing him.
So if you don’t want a position in the heavenly planets,
you have to declare that to them.
Give them kṛṣṇa-prasādam.
They should not cause you trouble.
Because Dhruva was performing austerities for position,
they were afraid that he would take their position.
Category: [Anarthās], [Emotions / Confusion], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Material World / Demigods]
Questioner: Subāhu Śacī Sūta dāsa
Date: 2022-08-29
Jayapatākā Swami: The type of tests that Haridāsa Ṭhākura had to go through, we usually don’t have to face such tests.
He was beaten in 22-marketplaces.
There was a prostitute tried to make him fall down.
I heard that Durgā devī even she came to test him.
We don’t have to face such gigantic tests.
If we pray to Kṛṣṇa to help us, Kṛṣṇa usually helps us.
We get very minor tests and even those we fail.
But we can get over these tests if we have the sincere desire.
If we depend on Kṛṣṇa, then we will overcome all the tests.
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Bad association], [Anarthās / Māyā], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)]
The youth are seen to be indulging in various undesirable activities and thus are not capable of appreciating the Kṛṣṇa conscious philosophy. However, when using bridge-level preaching tactics (such as anger/stress management etc.), there is a feeling that the teachings of paramparā may be compromised. How then do we strike the balance ?
Questioner: IYF
Date: 2022-08-24
Jayapatākā Swami: I mean somehow, there was a presentation how to be happy.
That was very interesting because
I was not happy.
I had sense gratification
but it wasn’t satisfying.
So somehow if we want to tell those people that
by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness
they can become happy.
The bridging programs can somehow bring them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness
then that would be ideal.
If anger management can include some aspect of Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
some practices that they could do.
Some ways they can control their anger
by dovetailing it.
So bridge is to take us over the bridge to the other side of the river.
That means, take us to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So at the end of the bridge there should be something Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Although the attraction is okay, anger management for instance,
we learn that we can practice, we can control anger through bhakti-yoga.
So the bridge program actually does that, it bridges us to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
At least to some extent.
Like you are saying people have many lusty desires and bad habits,
I saw today on the Tv
that in some states 3 or 5 states in the USA,
they do a referendum and made marijuana smoking for recreation legal.
It was previously legal for medicinal use.
But now it is legal for recreation in some states.
So, all kinds of bad habits people have –
not only drinking, smoking,
illicit sex.
Actually, we know that none of these things give one satisfaction.
But we cannot directly attack these things.
Rather, we try to present the positive thing of chanting, meditation,
and then when they are more ready,
when they ask appropriate questions,
we may reveal that bad habits should be controlled.
That is a gradual process.
That is what Śrīla Prabhupāda said that it takes buckets of blood,
not easy to make a devotee.
Do you think only people now are addicted to bad habits?
Ha! I think before I was 12-I had already broken all the regulative principles!!
Category: [Anarthās], [Anarthās / Sinful activities], [Sādhanā / Preaching], [Sādhanā / Technicalities], [Youth]
There are different incarnations with different purposes. Can we worship all the incarnations just like in the material world, they world Lakṣmī devī to get opulence, to get riches. Sarasvatī to get material knowledge, like that are there any incarnations we can worship to destroy our anarthas, like kāma, krodha, lobha etc.?
Questioner: Iśvara Viśvambhara Dāsa
Date: 2022-08-01
Jayapataka Swami: You see we should not worship Lakṣmī for getting material riches.
If we worship Kṛṣṇa, then He has millions of Lakṣmīs with Him.
And Sarasvatī we should worship to get divine knowledge, knowledge of Kṛṣṇa.
Keśava Kāśmīrī was a Digvijayī-paṇḍita.
He had victory all over the world.
He was victorious over all the scholars.
But he got so much mercy from Nimāi Paṇḍita.
He got defeated by Nimāi Paṇḍita.
He prayed to Sarasvatī that, “I was defeated by a young kid! How did you allow that?”
Sarasvatī said, “He is my husband.
I cannot help you therefore.”
Then he went to Lord Caitanya and surrendered.
And then he became a pure Vaiṣṇava.
He became an ācārya in the Nimbārka sampradāya.
Your question, by what avatāra worship will our anarthas be destroyed?
If we surrender to Lord Caitanya, then we can get rid of all the anarthas.
If we need Lord Caitanya’s mercy, we first need to get the mercy of Lord Nityānanda.
Nitāi Gaura! Nityānanda Prabhu is Ādi-guru. Original guru.
Category: [Anarthās], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Kṛṣṇa's Incarnations], [Material World], [Material World / Demigods], [Emotions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya told Lord Nityānanda that We have descended to deliver four kinds of people
who normally don’t get delivered –
one of those was those who are suffering.
You can preach to them how Lord Caitanya has come to take them all back to Godhead.
To give them ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, which will end their suffering.
Category: [Material Sufferings], [Mercy]
Questioner: Pūjā
Date: 2022-08-01
Jayapataka Swami: Regarding Jainism,
there is mentioned a bit in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
The first Tīrthāṅkara is Ṛṣabhadeva.
And He is an avatāra of Kṛṣṇa.
But the modern Jains have become atheists.
And they follow like Buddhism.
If you encourage them to read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, what was the original teaching of Ṛṣabhadeva,
they can be benefitted.
They all accept that Ṛṣabhadeva was the first Tīrthāṇkara.
But they don’t know much about Him.
He was a theistic.
He was Himself Bhagavān!
He was the father of Bhārata.
This country is named as Bhārata-varṣa.
And He was the son of Ṛṣabhadeva.
So they should study about Ṛṣabhadeva.
To become a devotee means to have gone through all purification process such as knowledge of all the Vedas and such. But have to becoming a devotee means still one has a same suffering and problems as non-devotee. Even after taking of devotional service one still has the propensity to be envious and causing anxiety to others. There is nothing wrong in the process of devotional life why does devotees come under māyā’s attack?m
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-06-10
How to develop favourable devotional attitude?
we should accept everything for devotional service and give up everything which is unfavourable.
If we really understand what is our self interest?
What is helping us?
And we understand serving Kṛṣṇa and serving his devotees are our own self interest and then we know what is the favourable for that we accept the favourable things and we avoid the unfavourable automatically we can.
Start to get lined up.
Now what is very important is to develop that is by associating with the devotees already have their attitude.
Not that every devotees is equally developed in his favourable attitude such those who are especially ball pointless those who are in bitter mood they may be advancing but in a slow track.
Those who are seeing good qualities in others enthusiastic cheerful and they don’t hold any grudges on anyone they are in mode of fast track.
So we look for devotees that we can relate with a better situation we are and associating with them and in this way we can progress by the good association and this leads to the next question which is sādhu-saṅga which is one of most if not the most important limbs of devotional principles is offensive be six certain devotee association to avoid others,
So we select the associating just associating of any devotees so we can read the questions super souls.
Lord Caitanya said that there are three kinds of devotees those who are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa but they are not following the principles we can help them otherwise we don’t associate with them very intimately but those who are initiated and following very strictly we can accept them in a very we can respect them and offer respect to them and associate with them.
And those who are very advanced who are fully fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness who are in the level of guru we can take shelter from them.
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that we can seek out association with the likely minded devotees.
Of course hopefully the like minded should be a good mind but its all right we may be more intimate with some than the others.
Question:
But have to becoming a devotee means still one has a same suffering and problems as non-devotee.
Even after taking of devotional service one still has the propensity to be envious and causing anxiety to others.
There is nothing wrong in the process of devotional life why does devotees come under māyā’s attack?
Answer:
There are so many process of purification.
You come to bhakti means this is the supreme process there is no other process after this.
And there is no need of doing any lower processes but still we have to learn how to do bhakti-yoga to do properly.
As we do bhakti-yoga we will find many dirt will come in our hearts.
It’s a cleaning process,
if we clean the house dust comes out.
We have to be very careful to move the dirt.
We have to be learned to be tolerant.
We have to learn to be humble.
These are part of the devotional process.
Now side by side by chanting and performing the activities we have to also do cleaning.
We have to be always analyzing and seeing wherever we have defects and systematically try to move that.
Then in this material world time is immemorial.
Millions of millions of birth even after few days,
months,
weeks or years of devotional service its not likely some of the contaminations are still there in our hearts.
But if we absorb ourselves fully in devotional service and we take the shelter of the spiritual master properly then we can burn out these accumulated contaminations very quickly.
So the reason why the process of devotional service is to get different attacks the contamination is there as I mentioned in the class we are getting devotional service very easy from Lord Caitanya we are making mmediately they are close on us.
They will take away the curve.
We have to make a proper we have to be patient we are not fully qualified for devotional service we are getting it on a special concession like the government sometimes give the poor people the low cost housing.
They don’t get afford to get a house but they can buy it by low credit just to get the people out of the slums.
So Lord Caitanya want us to get out from this horrible material world.
He is giving us a special credit plan.
Because we are not fully qualified we have to work it becoming qualified.
You are coming to this process very quickly.
But if we stick to it within a short period of time we can get rid out of this bad qualities and we become properly situated.
So we need the patience and determination and the conviction.
We need the associate properly with devotees.
We need to avoid the different kind of negative activities and we have to be very open hearted and straight forward.
These are the six things that Rūpa Gosvāmi recommends us and help us
to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
So in one sentence nothing wrong.
And people surely benefit something by hearing them.
But usually for the initiated devotees prefer to hear singing by someone more spiritually developed.
These are especially songs sung by attracting the new people by music aspect but not spiritual aspect.
In public programs we use these more but for personal purification it is recommended to hear Prabhupāda and some other pure devotee chanting.
But its nothing wrong but that is the guideline.
In Kali-yuga for different this is very funny the four varṇāśramas.
So four āśramas we don’t.
I understand its meaning.
Question is addressing the āśramas.
It’s a mistake to go through the varṇas.
So the āśramas it depends also so some people just go through marriage the only āśrama they have to go through.
For spiritual life someone joins the movement he is a gṛhastha we don’t say he has to go to brahmacārī.
But later on the gṛhasthas are good to taken vānaprastha husband and wife together.
It is not essential that people must take sannyāsa.
If they are initiated wife and husband prepare themselves for this also.
This all voluntarily.
One doesn’t have to go through different āśramas but its something that one has to consult with one’s own guru.
What is best for each individual?
To which āśrama that one should go through?
Some brahmacārīs go straight to sannyāsa and some brahmacārīs to gṛhastha and vānaprastha.
So this all different scenarios.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-25
Jayapatākā Swami: The spiritual master has to accept your karma
and Lord Caitanya’s mercy is such that past karma can be mitigated.
And how He wants to do that is up to Him.
But after you have taken initiation, if you are again breaking the principles or do illicit activities,
then you are responsible for that.
Guru is also responsible.
So one should cease to do any sinful activities after taking initiation.
And if one suffers, we take it that Kṛṣṇa is directly giving mercy,
so that we can directly experience how the material world is a place of suffering.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-18
Jayapatākā Swami: I mean, at the time of initiation, we usually have someone give a class on the ten offences to the holy name
That is very important.
The other offences he does not consider so much and He usually forgives someone.
There was this Cāpāla Gopāla he had put lot of things, blood and things outside the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.
So, he got leprosy.
And at that time he was staying outside the city of Navadvīpa.
Lord Caitanya with His kīrtana party happened to go there.
He fell at Lord Caitanya’s feet and said, “Please have mercy on me!”
He said, “No you cannot have any mercy.
I will not give any mercy, you have offended My devotee.”
So the devotees went to Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and said, “You have to forgive this Cāpāla Gopāla.
Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura said, “How can I be offended?I am lower than the stool!
I am lowest of the low.”
They said, “Listen Śrīvāsa, you want someone to suffer because of you?”
“No, no, no, no!
No one should suffer because of me.”
“Whether you think you are a devotee or not, you have to forgive Cāpāla Gopāla.
Otherwise, his destiny is very bad.”
“Alright, then I will do that.”
So then Śrīvāsa went
and then Cāpāla Gopāla pleaded, “Please forgive me for my offences.”
Then Śrīvāsa said, “Yes, I forgive you.”
As soon as he said, Lord Caitanya appeared out of nowhere
and He embraced Cāpāla Gopāla. Haribol! Haribol!
So we have to be careful
of offending devotees.
But Lord Caitanya is very merciful. If we get forgiven by the devotee, He will forgive you.
He told Mother Śacī that since she had offended Advaita Gosāñī she will not get love of Godhead.
Devotees, were like, “Mother Śacī, she is Your mother, how she cannot love of Kṛṣṇa?”
Lord Caitanya said, “When My brother took sannyāsa she said, maybe because of Advaita Ācārya’s preaching.
So, in this way she had offended Him.”
So He took Mother Śacī over to Advaita Ācārya and Advaita Ācārya asked, “What are all these devotees here about?”
“Śacīmātā has offended You and You have to forgive her.”
“She cannot offend Me, she is a very good devotee!” He started glorifying Śacīmātā
and He became so ecstatic glorifying Śacīmātā
that He fainted.
Lord Caitanya told Śacīmātā, “He is never going to forgive you.
He did not think that you can offend Him.
You take the dust from His lotus feet
and that way you will be forgiven.”
So Śacīmātā took the dust
from Advaita Ācārya’s lotus feet
and put it on her head
and she was forgiven!
And after that she got love of Godhead!
Any other question.
Category: [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Mercy]
We are very fortunate that we have your darśana and it is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy we are seeing you, the direct representative of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I want to know how much strength you get from your spiritual master. You are struggling so hard and serving the paramparā. How do you gather so much enthusiasm and strength to serve even in this condition?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-06-03
Jayapatākā Swami: I have seen how Śrīla Prabhupāda expanded the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us the teachings of Lord Caitanya.
And Śrīla Prabhupāda desired that
we should distribute the teachings of Lord Caitanya.
Lord Caitanya wanted that His teachings should be followed.
Śrīla Prabhupāda had visited Māyāpur,
he wanted that Lord Caitanya’s teachings be expanded.
Many people did not know Lord Caitanya.
Lord Caitanya lived in Bengal.
He was in the place of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.
Lord Caitanya lived in different places.
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
Questioner: Rasapriyā Gopīkā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: We don’t think we are worthy of the Lord’s mercy,
that’s why it’s causeless mercy.
We don’t see ourselves as the cause.
Rather we have no such qualities,
and the Lord, if He gives us His mercy,
that is His blessing.
One disciple at the Kumbha-melā asked Śrīla Prabhupāda,
you said that one gets devotional service,
if they have done all these spiritual practices.
But in my life when I look back, I don’t see any such qualifications,
how did I get devotional service?
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I made your good fortune for you”.
Questioner: Rasapriyā Gopīkā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: We don’t think we are worthy of the Lord’s mercy,
that’s why it’s causeless mercy.
We don’t see ourselves as the cause.
Rather we have no such qualities,
and the Lord, if He gives us His mercy,
that is His blessing.
One disciple at the Kumbha-melā asked Śrīla Prabhupāda,
you said that one gets devotional service,
if they have done all these spiritual practices.
But in my life when I look back, I don’t see any such qualifications,
how did I get devotional service?
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I made your good fortune for you”.
We see so many amazing orators in ISKCON, doing preaching service. Everyone wants mercy. And Lord Caitanya can give us mercy easily if we preach. So I also want the mercy but I see that my voice is not empowered. So could you please tell that how can we preach so that it penetrates the hearts of people?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-02
Jayapatākā Swami: Acintya Caitanya dāsa here was telling me
how when he visited Kethuri-grāma
and heard how Lord Caitanya left love for Godhead in the Padmā river for Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura,
and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura bathed in the Padmā, he came out changed.
But then he said Lord Caitanya had left His ecstasy in the Padmā river.
But Śrīla Prabhupāda said that his books are his personal ecstasies,
so if you read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books,
we can get love for Kṛṣṇa.
And naturally if you read Śrīla Prabhupāda books and then you just be sincere to repeat what you have heard in your own words -
I pray for the mercy of guru, Lord Caitanya and Lord Kṛṣṇa before giving every class
and by Their mercy I give what I give.
But these two things - reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and praying for Their mercy,
that is what I know.
Don’t be self-conscious.
Think of Kṛṣṇa,
and try to say Kṛṣṇa’s message.
Kṛṣṇa ordered everybody yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṇa upadeśa - that is the secret.
One time in this Kārtika month, we had a function in the town hall in South America, Ecuador, in Cuenca.
There one civil contractor, he was a labor contractor (from Delhi?), he was not very educated.
But he spoke, he was so sincere.
Everybody was moved! Everybody there they were Christians, and they came and offered candles to Yaśoda and Kṛṣṇa.
Haribol!
If you are sincere, that is what changes peoples’ hearts!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-16
Jayapatākā Swami: See, if you read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
it tells you how the material world is a kind of a jungle
and the pleasure here is temporary.
So we should side by side render devotional service.
I was thinking how in this age of Kali it is recommended that most people should get married
and how will they be Kṛṣṇa conscious.
We see that people normally are very much attached to their material desires.
But we realize that these material desires, these material things are all temporary,
and if they render devotional service, it is not temporary.
So devotees need to render devotional service and material life won’t be so much important for us.
Since it is illusory or temporary,
we want to do all our activities in such a way that Kṛṣṇa is pleased.
I was thinking how when one has children, we try to bring up the children to be devotees,
and all our activities we try to do in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way.
Say we like to eat,
we offer the bhoga to Kṛṣṇa
and we take the prasāda.
That is a different thing than just eating for our enjoyment.
And we have Deities in our house,
we do worship of the Deities,
we read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly
and then we understand what the difference is between temporary happiness and real happiness.
We want devotees to actually achieve this happiness.
Maybe temporarily the temporary happiness is considered important
but gradually one develops higher taste.
Just like Lord Caitanya, He would chant and dance,
sometimes in great ecstasy He would cry,
His hairs stood on ends
various symptoms of love of Kṛṣṇa would manifest.
So we want all the devotees to experience that love of Kṛṣṇa,
it may take some time
but then naturally the material desires diminish.
Category: [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions], [Material Sufferings], [Karma / Desires], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Emotions / Enthusiasm]
Questioner: Bhagyasri
Date: 2022-11-28
Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has recommended
that when one wakes up in the morning
you should beat their mind with shoes 100 times.
And before we go to bed beat your mind 108 times with a broom stick.
In this way, you are not the mind, your mind should cooperate with you.
You have to tell the mind who is the boss.
Instead of the mind bossing you around, you tell the mind what to do.
If you don’t want to think about that pray to Kṛṣṇa He will help
and pray that you want to think about Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-08-31
Jayapatākā Swami: So that is devotional service in sattva-guṇa.
They are going to temple, they are doing some devotional service, may be their standard…
There is nine type of devotional service is subdivided, then again subdivided, then again 81 divisions in each guṇa,
and in the three guṇas.
So, that simply the solution is to preach pure devotional service.
Sometimes because Lord Caitanya’s movement,
He is able to purify even the most fallen people,
that those people who are very much in the mode of goodness, they think, “Well,
this movement of Lord Caitanya is only for the mlecchas, for the fallen people,
for the different type of out castes or whatever,
but for us we follow strictly the conservative varṇāśrama program,
Hinduism, this and that, whatever.”
But the point is that Lord Caitanya’s ocean of nectar is ever expanding
and as an ocean overcomes its boundaries
by the preaching of the devotees,
and we have to be able to show the good example and to present to them
that this is not meant simply for a particular class of people, but it is meant for all classes,
whether their background is sattva-guṇa or whether it is tamo-guṇa or whatever it may be,
it is for everyone.
This is the universal process of this Kali-yuga.
And those who are intelligent, they will accept,
and those who are not intelligent even they don’t accept.
You see, those who are intelligent they accept, and they swim in that ocean of nectar when it floods,
and the others they may not be able to swim but they are swept away anyway, and they are forced to float on the top of it,
because there is no more dry land to stand on,
everywhere there is simply the nectar of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement.
In this way by organizing big festivals, by organizing preaching in various way everywhere,
those people, they will not be able to avoid to chant.
So, Lord Caitanya, He said, “Be humble,
beg the people, beg them, go door to door, beg them to take up the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa,
the worship of Kṛṣṇa, the study of Kṛṣṇa’s sacred teachings, Gītā and Bhāgavata.”
He said, “Beg the people.”
Personally, Lord Nityānanda and Haridāsa Ṭhākura, They went door to door begging.
This preaching movement is pure nectar, going and simply begging from the people.
A person is very proud and if you go and you beg from him one thing,
you please chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, how can he refuse
that, “No, I won’t chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
Is there anyone? How can he refuse if he is proud of being religious,
if we present it in the right way?
But that ability, that is only possible if we get the mercy of our, you see,
the spiritual masters, of Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda,
then if we somehow or another we get Their blessing, we go on trying,
surely some day we will be able to get so many people.
In South India, we were asking the people to take up the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa,
and they are very, they’re strict, but even the high brāhmaṇa class as well as even some Muslims
and other people, they all came forward to pledge that, “They will chant everyday 108 times Hare Kṛṣṇa,
because this is the yuga-dharma.
And they are going to follow the principles of Caitanya Mahāprabhu as far as possible.”
And in one meeting, in Madras alone, 3000 people were signed up.
I went to Delhi.
Lokanātha Swami said, “I don’t think you can do it in Delhi, it is very difficult.”
So, we printed up in one day 100 sheets and then in the middle of the Rāmānandī meeting,
I made an appeal at the end that, “This is the yuga-dharma,
which of you will chant 108 times a day to carry on the torchlight of knowledge of Caitanya Mahāprabhu
for purification in this Kali-yuga?”
And out of the assembly of about 1500 people,
500 people stood up, “We will daily chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we will follow the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
They came up to sign the form.
That Rāmānandī guru, he flipped out, or he completely became wild, took the microphone from me,
said it will cause a disturbance, this that, and gave it to some this Rāmāyaṇa singer
who started immediately singing Tulasī dāsa Rāmāyaṇa, “Rāma-nāma”.
In spite of that people jumped over the stage and signed up and said, “Give me a form. We want to…”
Even one of the Rāmānandī sādhus, he came and said, “I’ll also chant.”
Devotees: Haribol!
Jayapatākā Swami: The point is that this process if we beg the people to chant,
so many people will come forward.
Then all we have to do is, see that after we, they agree to chant, that we
keep some contact and see that they go on chanting.
Anyway, whatever it means, if somehow or another through book distribution, through our appeals…
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he wrote to his disciples.
We found some old letters which are collected, and he wrote a letter to a disciple,
how they can preserve the Māyāpur preaching.
He said that first thing is to establish printing press,
then to distribute, print and distribute books.
And the third thing he said is, go on preaching in Nāmahaṭṭa.
Nāmahaṭṭa means that to get every person to practice, not simply that only full-time devotees practice,
every single person has to be encouraged to practice in their own house, in their own community, you see.
That Prabhupāda said also in the third canto of the Bhāgavatam that, “There is no reason
why every family in every society, in every country of the world
cannot chant Hare Kṛṣṇa in their house every day.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda… This is what Śrīla Prabhupāda kept repeating to us the varṇāśrama preaching.
Varṇāśrama preaching.
We always said, just the devotees said, “No the public, the public, the public.”
Varṇāśrama preaching that is the modern, that is the way Prabhupāda described
it as not different from what Bhaktivinoda said, Nāmahaṭṭa.
It means getting the people to practice.
What is varṇāśrama? Accepting Kṛṣṇa.
If you don’t accept Kṛṣṇa there is no question of varṇāśrama.
So, it is the same program.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: That we have them promise to avoid breaking the four principles at the time of initiation.
They should avoid not chanting 16 rounds.
They should avoid the ten offences to the Holy Name.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-23
So dīkṣā means…
Once they surrender to Kṛṣṇa and say, “Kṛṣṇa my life is Yours.
I want to serve You eternally.”
The way that one does that is through Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotee.
One has to surrender to a devotee of Kṛṣṇa as a spiritual master,
and accept initiation, and serve that spiritual master following his instruction as being the absolute representative of Kṛṣṇa.
So, initiation we give normally after a devotee is in the temple for six months.
A devotee can cook, means he can prepare the thing like cutting vegetables, rolling the chapāti, or making the batter and things like that.
But actually, fire work the putting the thing on the fire, and the final action that should be done by people who are initiated,
when you are offering it to the Deities.
Because this is the [pañca-tantrika] pañcarātrika ruling is there that the someone who is initiated they are able to serve Kṛṣṇa.
They are… there Kṛṣṇa says, “I accept someone who is initiated on My same spiritual level.”
We can’t approach Kṛṣṇa.
We are born human being.
Human being means that’s a material position.
Kṛṣṇa is not human.
He is on transcendental platform.
When we accept dīkṣā that means we accept a new birth, dvijatva.
Second birth means that mother is śāstra, and father is guru.
You see.
Then Kṛṣṇa accepts us that now you are on a spiritual platform.
That time we accept that we are not the body, we are the soul.
Body is only our vehicle, and we are serving in this way.
So all these thing are many implications for dīkṣā.
Dīkṣā also means to become a śiṣya.
Śiṣya means to follow the discipline of the guru.
Category: [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-23
So dīkṣā means…
Once they surrender to Kṛṣṇa and say, “Kṛṣṇa my life is Yours.
I want to serve You eternally.”
The way that one does that is through Kṛṣṇa’s pure devotee.
One has to surrender to a devotee of Kṛṣṇa as a spiritual master,
and accept initiation, and serve that spiritual master following his instruction as being the absolute representative of Kṛṣṇa.
So, initiation we give normally after a devotee is in the temple for six months.
A devotee can cook, means he can prepare the thing like cutting vegetables, rolling the chapāti, or making the batter and things like that.
But actually, fire work the putting the thing on the fire, and the final action that should be done by people who are initiated,
when you are offering it to the Deities.
Because this is the [pañca-tantrika] pañcarātrika ruling is there that the someone who is initiated they are able to serve Kṛṣṇa.
They are… there Kṛṣṇa says, “I accept someone who is initiated on My same spiritual level.”
We can’t approach Kṛṣṇa.
We are born human being.
Human being means that’s a material position.
Kṛṣṇa is not human.
He is on transcendental platform.
When we accept dīkṣā that means we accept a new birth, dvijatva.
Second birth means that mother is śāstra, and father is guru.
You see.
Then Kṛṣṇa accepts us that now you are on a spiritual platform.
That time we accept that we are not the body, we are the soul.
Body is only our vehicle, and we are serving in this way.
So all these thing are many implications for dīkṣā.
Dīkṣā also means to become a śiṣya.
Śiṣya means to follow the discipline of the guru.
Category: [Dīkṣā (Initiation)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Golokapriya Gaurāṅgī devī dāsī
Date: 2023-07-07
Jayapatākā Swami: Since the guru is a pure devotee, always thinking of his guru and Kṛṣṇa,
therefore by thinking of the spiritual master,
one can also achieve Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Material Sufferings / Death], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Kackulī Rāṇī
Date: 2022-09-21
Jayapatākā Swami: It depends on how bad he is
and if he is slightly offensive or fully offensive.
We don’t want liberation by the impersonal method,
and that is something we reject.
I don’t know what type of liberation that person gets.
So the guru is giving instructions to help us
so that we can achieve the spiritual perfection
and we should appreciate what the spiritual master tells us.
Questioner: Kackulī Rāṇī
Date: 2022-09-21
Jayapatākā Swami: It depends on how bad he is
and if he is slightly offensive or fully offensive.
We don’t want liberation by the impersonal method,
and that is something we reject.
I don’t know what type of liberation that person gets.
So the guru is giving instructions to help us
so that we can achieve the spiritual perfection
and we should appreciate what the spiritual master tells us.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-22
Jayapatākā Swami: What is real compassion?
You know, the mercy given out
which actually regenerates the relationship with Kṛṣṇa,
that is really the highest compassion.
Because we read how different Purāṇas,
someone does some particular sacrifice
(isn’t tomorrow Ekādaśī?)
Pāpamocani Ekādaśī.
So by observing Ekādaśī, by doing some penance,
one may get freed of all the sinful reactions.
So, if someone they worship some devas,
they go to svarga
but for a devotee
svarga is like a ghoḍa-dīm – horse’s egg.
Horse doesn’t produce egg!!
So a kind of an ākāśa-puṣpa,
a flower in the sky
that one is in the heavenly planet for some years
and then one comes down.
So that is not kind of permanent benediction.
So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
tells us about the permanent relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
And that allows us to have an eternal life.
And what pleases me the most?
I am most pleased
when devotees develop pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
Haribol!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-22
Jayapatākā Swami: What is real compassion?
You know, the mercy given out
which actually regenerates the relationship with Kṛṣṇa,
that is really the highest compassion.
Because we read how different Purāṇas,
someone does some particular sacrifice
(isn’t tomorrow Ekādaśī?)
Pāpamocani Ekādaśī.
So by observing Ekādaśī, by doing some penance,
one may get freed of all the sinful reactions.
So, if someone they worship some devas,
they go to svarga
but for a devotee
svarga is like a ghoḍa-dīm – horse’s egg.
Horse doesn’t produce egg!!
So a kind of an ākāśa-puṣpa,
a flower in the sky
that one is in the heavenly planet for some years
and then one comes down.
So that is not kind of permanent benediction.
So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
tells us about the permanent relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
And that allows us to have an eternal life.
And what pleases me the most?
I am most pleased
when devotees develop pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
Haribol!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-22
Jayapatākā Swami: What is real compassion?
You know, the mercy given out
which actually regenerates the relationship with Kṛṣṇa,
that is really the highest compassion.
Because we read how different Purāṇas,
someone does some particular sacrifice
(isn’t tomorrow Ekādaśī?)
Pāpamocani Ekādaśī.
So by observing Ekādaśī, by doing some penance,
one may get freed of all the sinful reactions.
So, if someone they worship some devas,
they go to svarga
but for a devotee
svarga is like a ghoḍa-dīm – horse’s egg.
Horse doesn’t produce egg!!
So a kind of an ākāśa-puṣpa,
a flower in the sky
that one is in the heavenly planet for some years
and then one comes down.
So that is not kind of permanent benediction.
So the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
tells us about the permanent relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
And that allows us to have an eternal life.
And what pleases me the most?
I am most pleased
when devotees develop pure love for Kṛṣṇa.
Haribol!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Mercy]
Questioner: Pūja mātājī
Date: 2022-07-30
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, material separation is due to identifying with the body.
Say we have a body, it came from a mother or father.
But from the same father and mother came brothers and sisters.
Like that, if we feel separation due to some bodily relationship,
that is something material.
Because in every birth we have different mother and father, different brother and sister,
sometimes we would be born in a lady’s body, sometime in a man’s body,
and we also may be born in some other species.
Indra was once offensive to his guru.
The guru cursed him be a pig,
and then he was in this planet as a pig.
He had many wives, many piglets, and he was lying in his mud.
The guru came to take him back,
but he did not want to go.
He was feeling separation from the piggy wives and piglets.
Then the guru gave him the memory of who he was.
He was thinking, ah! how I am in this horrible place?
So that is material separation.
And spiritual separation is where we are connected with the Lord,
it is a spiritual heart to heart, spirit to spirit relationship.
And naturally we feel a kind of separation to guru or Vaiṣṇavas,
that is something transcendental,
and they are not based on the body.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Gaurāṇga], [Material Sufferings / Death]
Questioner: Vinoda Kṛṣṇa and Nandapriya Padmā
Date: 2022-09-16
Jayapatākā Swami: Obviously you can only reveal your mind to very close devotees.
And so we would hope that you don’t have any offensive thoughts.
But in the case of Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi,
his doubt,
we are going to hear what the result of that is.
So if you have doubt on the Lord or His devotee,
it may be dangerous.
He would say that
to Svarūpa Dāmodara
and then Svarūpa Dāmodara would correct him.
So if you are in a position, if someone reveals their mind to you,
and they have some doubt,
then you have to answer their doubt.’
Category: [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Anarthās]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-07-08
Jayapatākā Swami: We pray that the Lord, if it pleases you, help this devotee to regain his health,
and that devotee, the person can do devotional service.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Lalitāṅgī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-04
Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we offer daily guru-pūjā
and on the Vyāsa-pūjā we offer the puṣpāñjali three times.
That way we pray that we may be forgiven for any knowing or unknowing offences.
Category: [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Technicalities]
Questioner: Lalitāṅgī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-10-04
Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we offer daily guru-pūjā
and on the Vyāsa-pūjā we offer the puṣpāñjali three times.
That way we pray that we may be forgiven for any knowing or unknowing offences.
Category: [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā / Technicalities]
Questioner: Guṇagrāhi Gaurāṅga dāsa
Date: 2023-01-27
Jayapatākā Swami: We may commit mistakes, but we should beg for forgiveness,
and we should continue to do our devotional service, being more and more careful.
If we realize we did a mistake, we can ask for forgiveness.
I saw that even in one of the prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the devotee says,
I have committed innumerable offences, please forgive me and engage me in Your service.
I surrender to Your lotus feet!
So, there are offences we commit knowingly or unknowingly,
but we should be humble, try to correct any mistakes we make and continue to render devotional service.
Haribol!
Questioner: Akshay, Vadodara
Date: 2022-10-15
I feel very grateful for all that Śrīla Prabhupāda did for me
and so to repay him I try to preach.
And in 2008 I had a stroke.
And the right side of my body is not paralyzed fully but paresis, partially paralyzed.
And the left side of my face.
But the teachings of Lord Caitanya are very blissful.
It says that normal people if they eat grains and milk, you get strong,
but for devotees even if you have one drop of nectar
then you feel so much energy.
Lord Caitanya gives this nectar.
We hope that your visit to Māyāpur was very nice.
This is known as audārya-dhāma,
the merciful dhāma.
Vṛndāvana is mādhurya-dhāma, very sweet.
Jagannātha Purī and Dvārakā are aiśvarya-dhāmas,
very opulent.
This is the place to have mercy
and Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa but He is in the mood of devotee, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
So that is why it is the special mercy we get
and we want to serve Lord Caitanya and Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-03-15
Jayapatākā Swami: What pleases me the most? Pleasing Śrīla Prabhupāda! Ha! Ha!
He asked me to distribute books,
expand the congregation,
to expand Kṛṣṇa consciousness pracāra unlimitedly,
to develop Māyāpur Dhām,
to unite the Saraswat family,
to develop Navadvīpa-dhāma,
to develop Gaura Maṇḍala Bhūmī,
and many other things.
So you can do any of these things,
which one will you do?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally, we should serve the spiritual master as the representative of his guru, the guru-paramparā and Kṛṣṇa.
So, in this way Kṛṣṇa is watching
and how we satisfy our spiritual master
that Kṛṣṇa sees.
He blesses accordingly.
Now how to develop proper attitude.
It happens naturally as we progress in our spiritual life.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-07-08
Jayapatākā Swami: Whatever, we should always pray to the Lord for devotional service.
Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote letters, he always ended the letter, hope this meets you in good health.
So, in good health it will help to serve the Lord.
But these mundane people want good health, so that they can enjoy life.
They want good health to have indriya-tṛpti. Sense gratification.
But devotees they want good health to serve the Lord.
So, we should pray like that.
But we should always engage ourselves in Kṛṣṇa’s sevā.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Nitāi Līleśvara dāsa
Date: 2022-08-04
Jayapatākā Swami: I hear different emails every day
and I have certain corresponding secretaries.
Like Rādhāramaṇa Sevaka dāsa and others.
So you write to me and don’t get a reply in a week,
then you could write a WhatsApp message to my corresponding secretary
that why you are not getting a reply.
And usually, you will get a reply.
But at least you will be told why you are not getting a reply.
And right now, we also have the Jayapatākā Swami Disciples’ e-Care
and you can write to them also.
So I am trying to make myself available
and I don’t know who is the śikṣā-guru you have faith in.
You can ask or suggest a śikṣā-guru
and get some authorization.
Otherwise, try to contact me as I mentioned.
Category: [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Association (Sādhu-saṅga)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Śikṣā-guru], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Emotions / Confusion]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Śrīla Prabhupāda called me to LA,
at that time I was in Toronto,
and he told me that he would send me to India
as soon as Acyutānanda had his own place.
I went and opened up the Chicago temple,
along with Bhagavān dāsa.
Then I was called up and Śrīla Prabhupāda told me to go to India.
I flew to London
and then I went to India.
I arrived in Calcutta,
but Acyutānanda did not have his own place.
So for some time, we were staying in the Gauḍīya Maṭha.
And then we found our own place.
Śrīla Prabhupāda flew in from Japan
and he went to that place in South Calcutta.
After a while Śrīla Prabhupāda said he had given sannyāsa to nine devotees in LA.
He asked Acyutānanda and myself, if we wanted to take sannyāsa.
At that time, I thought it was a very glorious thing!
I still think
but I see it is very difficult to be a sannyāsī in the West.
I was fortunate that I was in India!
Where it was not so difficult.
Anyway on Rādhāṣṭamī day Śrīla Prabhupāda gave Acyutānanda and myself sannyāsa.
He said Acyutānanda was the 10th sannyāsī and I was the 11th.
Now I think I am the oldest sannyāsī still alive.
Basically, that is what happened.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-01-20
Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, I heard about Śrīla Prabhupāda first.
And I heard great things!
Then I went to Montreal to see Śrīla Prabhupāda.
At that time, I could see auras around people.
When I saw Śrīla Prabhupāda his aura filled up the whole room, yellow!
So what was the first thing I thought when I saw Śrīla Prabhupāda – WOW!
And he said, “Who is that?” Pointing to me.
I was shaved up and there were not so many devotees there.
Garga Muni who was there from San Francisco, he said, he is a bhakta.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Bring him for lunch tomorrow!”
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes]
Questioner: Anon
Date: 2022-08-02
Jayapatākā Swami: Pulling out the weeds?
Well, just like for instance uh, the first weed is described as niṣiddhācāra - unauthorized behavior.
Say that a person uh, is habituated to uh, eating meat,
but chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, friend of Kṛṣṇa coming, but you know still he eats meat.
So, then the person gradually stops eating meat, that is pulling the weed out, say, in the beginning stage.
But then say something that might even attack an older person that’s in devotional service - kuṭīnāṭī or lābha, pratiṣṭhā, pūjā.
Kuṭīnāṭī means diplomatic behavior.
Just like say a neophyte devotee, not very strong, he is trying to practice devotional service, he is practicing.
But somehow, he got mislead… miss… you know, like waylaid.
Went out, did something wrong, maybe went out, got drunk or something, you know.
Just fall.
Say, met some old friends.
They said, “Come on!” Next thing you know, had a beer can in his hand, whatever; and so, got in trouble.
So, then I met a devotee like that.
That is not a devotee, initiated, but just like a bhakta type person.
And then he had something like that happen.
Then he got picked up for drunken driving.
Very… He was come by and he was apologizing.
He was going to really try to be Kṛṣṇa conscious again.
So, the thing was that if a person… say that a person does something like that,
and some senior person is there to help him, some spiritually advanced person, and then if tries to like lie about it, hide the truth,
so or… that’s one form of kuṭīnāṭī, being devious you know.
Well, if the person was just straight forward, “Yeah, I had this problem, can you help me?”
Then he gets some good advice, and that gives him some more inspiration, some more strength to just stay on the path, you see.
So that lack of being straightforward of you know, confiding in uh, people who are actually there to help you spiritually, that’s one form of kuṭīnāṭī.
There are many others.
Like different have diplomatic behavior.
So if one, one gives up that behavior
and then takes the uh, you know, straight forward path, takes the consequences whatever it may be, you see,
there is no consequences like that in devotional service, no one is going to uh,
put anyone unnecessarily on the spot, rather one is compassionate, trying to help someone if they are having difficulties.
So, that’s how you pull the weed.
It’s just that, when you, you have to isolate, you have to recognize,
“This is the defect, this is a mistake, this is a wrong thing.”
And then you… then you work at uh, not doing it anymore.
That’s how you pull it.
That’s the meaning of pulling it.
Just like you know, some people they show you, “Look at my garden.
Look at my lawn.
It’s so beautiful; everything is green, right?” Before… If I look at the lawn, I’ll think it’s great.
But then if some you know, horticulturist comes, he says, “Well that’s crabgrass, that’s too… this is you know, this is uh, hog… hog… hog grass,
and this is not you know you supposed to have all you know Kentucky blue or something.
You got all this other garbage grass in there.”
You see.
For an ordinary, layman, it’s all grass, you know, who cares?
But you know, if you really get into it, it’s all some kind of grass that are ultimately weeds that don’t help the…
They are going to take over the whole thing and make it very scrubby looking.
But it looks the same, it looks similar, you see.
So, all you do, you pull it out, take it out.
So, you have to isolate it first, what is the weed and what is the real plant?
Weed means it looks like a real plant.
It is not… It is a plant also.
It looks similar.
It is not you know necessarily a lot different, it might be a lot different or might even be similar, it’s a plant anyway.
So, some of the things are just a slight difference, some of them are really different.
Just like an oak tree and a piece of grass, same type of living entity: plant, you see, vegetation.
But it’s not that completely different, may be in the beginning stages it looks similar,
when it’s just like a 3 inches ha… high, but in the end, you know, it becomes completely different.
So how you pull it out in terms of practicality, just you guys stopping doing that particularly,
or at least trying to stop.
First you isolate what it is, then you work at pulling it out.
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-17
That is our connection with our spiritual master,
to serve him
and carry out his instructions,
the vāṇī-sevā.
It is definitely very difficult
but there is nothing else we can do.
We have to keep our connection with the spiritual master,
by carrying out his instructions, his vāṇī,
and this way we will be connected with our spiritual master.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-09-17
That is our connection with our spiritual master,
to serve him
and carry out his instructions,
the vāṇī-sevā.
It is definitely very difficult
but there is nothing else we can do.
We have to keep our connection with the spiritual master,
by carrying out his instructions, his vāṇī,
and this way we will be connected with our spiritual master.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Guru (Spiritual Master)]
Questioner: Rādhikā Premabhakti devī dāsī
Date: 2022-09-02
So, we take it as Kṛṣṇa’s mercy because He doesn’t let anything happen without His permission.
Nothing!
For devotees, they see that their karma is settled at a reduced rate.
Actually, this material world is always problematic.
This material world is duḥkhālaya.
This is already stated by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā.
If you think that this material world is problematic,
that should be an inspiration for you to go back to the spiritual world.
Why do you want to stay in the material world, life after life?
Why don’t you see that this material world is problematic?
And you should try to be Kṛṣṇa conscious?
You have such a nice name.
Rādhikā Premabhakti!
I want that prema-bhakti of Rādhikā!
So we see that this material world is a horrible place, but we try to make best use of a bad bargain.
That is why it is very important that husband and wife, both are devotees.
And they try to become very dear to Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Day-to-day Life], [Karma], [Material Sufferings], [Mercy], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-19
Jayapatākā Swami: Yes!
Next question! Ha! Ha!
You will gradually develop this by doing devotional service.
Or you could get special mercy.
Sādhana-siddhi or kṛpa-siddhi.
I don’t know, when I read these pastimes,
and hear about the devotees crying, rolling on the ground,
I feel also like crying!
So maybe this is something that has increased over the years.
So I think you should keep trying and eventually it will be very easy for you
to be feel, to be affected by the emotions of the devotees.
Questioner: Anonymous
Date: 2022-07-25
J
ayapatākā Swami: Well, it’s not said about Lord Caitanya, but ordinarily Kṛṣṇa doesn’t give special mercy,
so much, you don’t find.
It’s very rare.
How many, you can count.
Kubjā got special mercy.
Bali Mahārāja got special mercy.
The gopīs got special mercy.
Some of the queens in Dvārakā, they got special mercy.
But...
out of so many millions of living entities.. getting that special mercy is rare.
Generally, special mercy is given directly by the Lord, or by His representative,
so they also very rare.
Out of millions and millions of people, you’ll find only one is a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
So if they are the only ones giving out special mercy, then isn’t that quite rare?
In any case, special mercy is very valuable.
It is priceless commodity.
So one should always be hankering, Prabhupāda advised us,
for the special mercy of guru and Gaurāṅga.
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-12-04
Jayapatākā Swami: Because we want the Lord to forgive us for the offences we are doing.
So therefore we want to forgive others
do to others as you would have done to you.
Category: [Mercy]
Questioner: Keśava Gaura dāsa
Date: 2022-01-05
Jayapatākā Swami: I only see the good qualities in other.
I don’t see whether they have this hatred to others,
but if they do
even, we should forget that.
Anyway, someone may be performing śravaṇam and kīrtanam with offenses,
and the result will be very limited.
So, we should be try to perform offenseless chanting.
That is why at the time of taking initiation, we discuss the ten offences.
But periodically, we should remind ourselves to remember to avoid these offences.
Category: [Anarthās]
Questioner: Annu Prasad
Date: 2022-10-15
In Kali-yuga, one doesn’t get a reaction
for mentally creating some offence.
You have to do that practically.
Since the mind is not very easily controlled in the Kali-yuga,
it may think many weird things.
So Gadādhara Prabhu,
He was thinking that Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhī
was a materialistic,
later He realized that he was a pure devotee.
So therefore, He accepted him as His guru,
because the guru always forgives his disciples’ offences.
So, if someone offends a guru mentally,
and later surrenders and becomes the guru’s disciple,
that is authorized in the process, example set by Gadādhara Prabhu.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Material World / Kali yuga], [Material World / Mind / Intelligence]
Yesterday we saw while you were reading the Caitanya-caritāmṛta you were experiencing extreme such separation even while reading, from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord Kṛṣṇa. We could tell from just what was going on. In addition to that you were experiencing extreme physical pain and today in the medical meeting you mentioned that you are missing Gaura, Kṛṣṇa and that you are also missing Śrīla Prabhupāda. How are you able to handle such seeming diametric feelings, all at once?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-10-25
Jayapatākā Swami: Just like when the lady climbed on Lord Caitanya’s shoulder holding the Garuḍa-stambha,
then Lord Caitanya said that Lord Jagannātha has not blessed Me with such eagerness.
So, He was praying that this lady would give Him blessing
so He would have so much eagerness to see the Lord.
I don’t have so much intense separation,
that I am surviving
is due to my lack of intense love for Kṛṣṇa.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
I will try to take lunch early and come for my evening class earlier
so that everybody can take rest early!
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-10
Jayapatākā Swami: You see having a material body includes having disease and old age.
And I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda once, should we desire to live for a long time?
He said why do you want to live old age
because old age means lot of trouble.
I have many disciples.
So I have to take their karma.
So, although the doctors said that I had zero chance of survival,
I am still here!
And unfortunately, not every disciple follows all the rules that they vow to follow.
So, I have the opportunity to serve my spiritual master,
I am very happy with that.
And since the stroke and since the other diseases,
I also have a liver and a kidney transplant,
I got cancer
although that was cured.
So I am still in the war.
I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, “What I should do.
My father wanted to turn me down to the Vietnam war draft.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Better than serving the American army, serve in Kṛṣṇa’s Army!”
And I came to India, he told me to be an Indian citizen.
So I have been an Indian citizen since 1978.
So that is going on.
So we all have to die,
eventually that happens to everybody.
I want to take as many people as possible back to the spiritual world!
Haribol!
I need your help!
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-06-15
Jayapatākā Swami: When you are in devotional service then naturally you will be attached to the guru.
With the mercy of guru we get kṛṣṇa-prema.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-06-15
Jayapatākā Swami: When you are in devotional service then naturally you will be attached to the guru.
With the mercy of guru we get kṛṣṇa-prema.
Category: [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-20
Jayapatākā Swami: This is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s mercy that I am living in Māyāpur dhāma.
And I had a lot of service to Kṛṣṇa.
I engrossed myself totally in that service.
I had no time to think of Māyā.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said, I am giving you the spiritual world, now develop it.
That is why I had a lot of service.
If we have service, then that helps.
Most of the people will become gṛhasthas.
You have to be in one place
then with family, children, you have to give them association.
But Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me sannyāsa at a young age. He told me that being a sannyāsī I have to travel.
I was in Māyāpur and then I toured the world.
Some years I travelled around the world 5 or 6 times in one year.
This way the British Airways and United Airways gave me Life Gold card.
So I can go by plane.
But this is for Kṛṣṇa’s service.
As I had so much service, there was no time for Māyā for me.
Those who work and stay in a place, they should get married to a devotee girl.
Those who stay as a brahmacārī in the temple and do there then they can stay that way.
It depends on their service.
And their nature.
Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me so much service that I have no time for anything else.
How will I accomplish these services that is my worry.
Śrīla Prabhupāda had told me that I should distribute 10,000 Mahā-big books and 100,000 small books every month.
Now I have to see how many books were distributed in all my zones.
Śrīla Prabhupāda said that the Sārasvata family should be united.
And develop the Navadvīpa dhāma parikramā, he said.
And develop the Gaura-maṇḍala Bhūmi he said.
Lots of service.Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me so much service that I don’t have time for anything else.
Category: [Emotions / Enthusiasm], [Gauḍīya History / Śrīla Prabhupāda], [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Varṇāśrama / Sannyāsī]
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-01
Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, we have to desire to be there.
We also have to do favorable devotional service.
The two things together, I mean it is Kṛṣṇa’s causeless mercy
that there is nothing we can do that will deserve that.
But if we desire and engage in devotional service then Kṛṣṇa, if He pleases will give His mercy.
Sometimes Śrīla Prabhupāda said that Rādhārāṇī would say to Kṛṣṇa, this is a very nice devotee.
If Rādhārāṇī indicates that Kṛṣṇa should give His mercy,
then He will do it.
So that is why we say it is causeless mercy.
There is nothing we can do that actually we would deserve it.
We try and if Kṛṣṇa gives us the causeless mercy, we can have it.
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Gaurāṇga], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma]
Questioner: Neha
Date: 2022-12-06
Jayapatākā Swami: Normally we visit the holy dhāma just for a few days.
That time we are very careful not to commit any offence.
And if we stay longer for some parikramā or something,
then we try to hear from the devotees.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
You talked about the four regulative principles. During initiation we vow to follow these regulative principles. My question is after initiation if a disciple breaks any one of these regulative principles, what is the method of atonement and please tell the way out so that one does not make the same mistake again.
Questioner: Saṅkīrtana Priya Nitāi dāsa
Date: 2022-12-06
Jayapatākā Swami: We should beg for forgiveness from guru and Kṛṣṇa.
Then we should perform devotional service directly.
There is no higher atonement than bhakti-yoga.
Category: [Anarthās], [Aparādha (Offenses)], [Sādhanā / Regulative Principles], [Sādhanā / Technicalities]
You were saying how all these great devotees of the Lord are helping Lord Nityānanda and Lord Caitanya in preaching. So do you have any general answer to devotees who ask you like, Guru Mahārāja, I don’t know, you have not given me any instruction, please tell me an instruction. Is there a general answer that you would give to devotees, if they don’t have any specific service given?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-09-05
Jayapatākā Swami: You see, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda he gave me many instructions. I mean, at least 30 things to do, at least. And maybe more. And what I have done in my Jayapatākā Swami App, I have listed all of those. And of course, some of those things are instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave to everybody, and some things he gave specifically to me, or to a few others. I asked any disciples, śikṣā disciples, well-wishers if they can you help me to fulfill these instructions. And you may help in one or help in five or many more.
So I gave all these instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me and requested the people to help me.
So, I give them a free will to choose from any of those instructions.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
Category: [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Dīkṣā-guru], [Guru (Spiritual Master) / Guru Disciple Relationship], [Sādhanā], [Sādhanā / Sevā]
- Anarthās
- - Apasampradāya
- - Bad association
- - Māyā
- - Māyāvāda / Impersonalism
- - Sinful activities
- Aparādha (Offenses)
- - Nāma-aparādha
- - Vaiṣṇava-aparādha
- Day-to-day Life
- - Children
- - Education
- - Food
- - Health
- - Married life
- - Parents
- - Relatives
- - Technology
- - Workplace
- Devotee Care
- Dīkṣā (Initiation)
- Emotions
- - Anger
- - Confusion
- - Enthusiasm
- - Envy
- - Faith
- - Fault-finding
- - Greed
- - Happiness
- - Humility
- - Hypocrisy
- - Lust
- - Pride
- - Sloth
- - Sorrow
- - Stress/Anxiety
- Festivals
- - Sāka-Festival
- Gauḍīya History
- - Gauḍīya maṭḥa
- - ISKCON
- - Śrīla Prabhupāda
- Guru (Spiritual Master)
- - Dīkṣā-guru
- - Guru Disciple Relationship
- - Guru-paramparā
- - Śikṣā-guru
- Holy Rivers
- - Gaṅgā
- Jayapatākā Swami
- Karma
- - Desires
- Kṛṣṇa (Godhead)
- - Gaurāṇga
- - Kṛṣṇa's Incarnations
- - Pastimes
- - Spiritual World / Dhāma
- - Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
- Material Sufferings
- - Death
- Material World
- - Demigods
- - Demons
- - Guṇas / Modes
- - Kali yuga
- - Mind / Intelligence
- Mercy
- Other philosophies
- - Christianity
- - Islam
- - Jainism
- - Western Science / Western Philosophy
- Prasāda and Bhoga
- - Onion and Garlic
- Sādhanā
- - Book distribution
- - Chanting (Japa)
- - Diet
- - Maṅgala-ārati
- - Philosophical questions
- - Preaching
- - Reading / Śāstra
- - Regulative Principles
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