Why we are not fanning cāmara and peacock feather while doing tulasī-ārati? | Questions and answers

All the time we go to the temple we have the personal experience of seeing Gaura Nitāi in front of us, and the Deity form of the Lord is non-different from the Lord. So how do we develop the same kind of feelings that the dacoits had when they met Lord Nityānanda?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2023-09-05

Jayapatākā Swami: You see the dacoits when they first saw Lord Nityānanda,

They were facing different difficulties previously.

Now, actually I did not take my dinner yet.

I was seeing in Mumbai, everybody was crowding around Rādhā-Rāsabihārī and Sītā-Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Hanumān,

not so many people around Nitāi-Gaura.

Actually, it is by the mercy of Nitāi-Gaura that we get the mercy of Rādhā-Rāsabihārī or Rādhā-Kālacandajī.

That thing we should realize that Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, They are giving us this special mercy.

And Śrīla Prabhupāda in 1973 in London, was giving a lecture on his Vyāsa-pūjā,

and he said that he wanted all his gṛhastha followers to be parāmahaṁsas.

His gurudeva was the son of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.

All the gṛhasthas, they should do the garbhādāna-saṁskāra, they should pray to the Deities and they should make ācāryas as their sons.

Śrīla Prabhupāda he said that his gṛhastha followers, did things that even his gurudeva sent sannyāsīs, they could not do it.

There was a British Lord, he asked a sannyāsī preacher, could you make me a brāhmaṇa?

Oh yes!

Just give up eating meat, eggs, intoxication, wine, illicit sex, gambling.

You can become a brāhmaṇa.

Impossible that Lord said.

Now we have so many youths, so many devotees who have taken up Kṛṣṇa consciousness,

so many gṛhasthas.

That should be the way to get the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda and become really saturated with kṛṣṇa-prema.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said, you take one step toward Lord Kṛṣṇa and He takes ten steps towards us.

Why don’t you want Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda’s mercy?

They want to give you!

Haribol!

How many of you have my Jayapatākā Swami App?

How many don’t have it?

I am paying for it, it is yours for free!

Both on Android and Apple.

So how many of you have mobile phones?

Right now go on Google Play store and look up for the Jayapatākā Swami App.

Link: 20230410 Question and Answer Session

Category: [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

As a gṛhastha, is it always mandatory to wear Vaiṣṇava dress in our home? Of course, maṅgala-ārati, guru-ārati, gaura-ārati, are performed in Vaiṣṇava attired. Is it okay to offer bhoga in karmī clothes while at home?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2024-05-13

Jayapatākā Swami: I mean if the husband or someone has to go out working,

then they may wear their working clothes and bow down to the Lord.

There should be some reason.

Vaiṣṇava clothes are more relaxing.

But everyone may have some particular situation.

So, accordingly they may dress.

Link: 20240212 Evening Address | Question-and-Answer session

Category: [Sādhanā / Technicalities], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings / Etiquette / Sadācāra], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

Can we purchase sweets made by the non-Kṛṣṇa-conscious and offer them to the Lord?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2022-09-23

Jayapatākā Swami: In our major temples in Vṛndāvana and Māyāpur, in Bombay

we don’t purchase any store-bought fruits uh these where store-bought sweets.

In the smaller temples sometime, they purchase.

Of course, purchasing is that has got some other implications.

Purchasing is sometime allowed.

but that would be considered to be not as perfect as if we could make the things ourselves,

because, they are not having any pure standard.

We don’t know what type of, actually technically speaking store-bought things which are made outside by non-devotees,

they are not… even in the West, we don’t also offer fruit juice.

We make the juice ourselves,

because whether that people are washing their hands after they are going in bathroom,

or something like that, or what they’re doing, you don’t know, what standard they have.

There are many rules, you see.

If you go to the bathroom, you have to take an entire shower.

The same cloth you shouldn’t use, if you are going to cook for the Deity.

If people are negligent of this, they will get worse than sinful reactions.

They will get offensive reactions from Kṛṣṇa.

Their devotion will be stuck up.

And for preaching sometime, you can pray to Kṛṣṇa that for preaching sometimes, we have to just do these things,

and there is no alternative.

But normally one should be very careful.

It’s an opportunity to get the blessing; it’s an opportunity at the same time if you are not careful to also get punished.

So, we should be very careful when we do these things to do it properly.

Link: 19840720 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.10.7

Category: [Day-to-day Life / Food], [Prasāda and Bhoga], [Sādhanā / Technicalities], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

Did Caitanya Mahāprabhu ever agree on deity worship done by women?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2022-08-25

His mother did deity worship in her house, Mother Saci, to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

His mother did worship in the house and offered prasāda.

In the big formal temples, generally male pujārīs are there,

but sometimes if they fall sick their wife may also come in, somehow they have to keep their worship going.

Link: 19850307 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.27.10 - Gaura Purnima

Category: [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship) / Home Deity Worship], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship) / Temple Deity Worship], [Women]

I have a question about offering of ārati and the articles of worship.

Questioner: Nirguṇa Dāsa

Date: 2022-08-02

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, the incense is pretty obvious, offering scent.

Lamp - you are greeting.

This ārati means greeting.

This is the way you greet a person; you offer lights to him, very aesthetically pleasing, lighting up the person, it is a form of greeting.

Similarly, the conch shell, there is some significance, I don’t know.

I have heard something, I can’t remember all of them, just off hand.

The water in the conch shell, these are different auspicious, auspicious offerings which are very pleasing to Kṛṣṇa,

but there are so many different significances you know.

Some of them are just purely practical like the incense, or the Cāmara, or fanning an incense or even the cloth, you are wiping the Lord,

something to wipe Him, wipe His face, offer water, then after that you offer the… you are offering water you know, then you offering the wipe.

But it has you know this type practical significance, and it also has so many esoteric meanings.

Offering flowers, these are different offerings.

You can offer five items, sixteen items, sixty-four items, different items are being offered with devotion.

So that’s a form of greeting the Lord and by witnessing these things also it’s very purifying.

Even today in India, say like when I come to some places, then a lot of time there is a kīrtana party meets me

and then the people there take a… they take a tray with a ārati lights on it, then they offer like this.

They offer the lamp, and on it they have piles of rice sometimes and then different offerings.

And these are Vedic uh, traditions for receiving someone, you see.

But it’s very uh, auspicious and it’s very beautiful, at the same time.

So, like this uh we… I sent a newsletter.

I am writing a book on uh, the revised Arcana-paddhati in a book on… handbook for these different types of spiritual practices.

So I said that, “Anyone has any question, if they write, I will research you know, and include that in the book.”

It’s there, it’s there in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, I read it what the water and the conch shell,

it’s I think water of the seven seas are there and all the holy rivers, different thing.

Each has some significance but uh, normally we don’t think about those, you know, every day we are meditating on mantras and chanting doing our service.

But if you want to know this, then we can consider not keeping the book two volumes,

whatever… it’s just people ask the questions, if enough people want to know a particular thing

and if it’s simple enough to explain it then we can put that in a book itself,

so that it can be there for people on the future.

But the basic attitude when you are offering should be, you know, more… rather thinking about what the individual thing is,

the actual idea is that you are greeting the Lord, you are receiving Him,

and so in that type of, this is just giving an opportunity to receive right?

Just like when you meet… when you see people meet at the airport, right?

We were landed in the Nashville, it was Christmas Eve.

So many people are coming in and they are laughing and hugging each other and, “Oh!” They were so happy to see their relatives and everyone, you know.

Then some people it was just like you know, a handshake, and other people, they were just you know laughing

and hugging and everything, then after that it was all, you know, after a few seconds it died down.

Some people, they went on and on, and it was going on in the hallways, they were going to get their baggage.

But usually, by the time everyone got down to the baggage collection there was already kind of work you know… petered out.

But you know for five minutes, some… two seconds and you know, ten minutes,

you know they kept a lot of you know, enthusiasm, then gradually you know, that type of…

So here, you know, we can keep that enthusiasm for 45 minutes with the Lord doing ārati.

This is… So many things that Kṛṣṇa has given us the procedure, where we can go on expressing our joy to be able to greet the Lord, and to receive Him,

and meditate on His transcendental form, that lotus feet is a vehicle for our receiving for meditation, for serving.

So, that’s the principle trying, we meditate chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and receiving the Lord.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Link: 19821226 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.23

Category: [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship) / Temple Deity Worship], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship) / Home Deity Worship], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

In today’s Kali-yuga can we have such a close relationship with the Deities?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2023-09-05

Jayapatākā Swami: This was 500 years ago, it was still Kali-yuga.

Kali-yuga is going on for 5000 years.

And this happened 500 years ago.

And I am asking every temple to keep a book where they tell the type of miracles that the Deities performed.

Actually, I don’t know if I told here but in San Diego, the Deity Subhadrā was burnt out.

And then they investigated, and they found that the pūjārī was breaking the principles.

And Rukmiṇī Dvārakādīśa have many, many miracles.

It is quite possible to have such relationship.

In Māyāpur we have the ancient Jagannātha Baladeva Subhadrā Deities.

One blind man he could not go to Jagannātha Purī,

nobody wanted to take a blind man walking to Purī.

But then these Deities, They manifested

and so although the Deities were on a termite hill,

what do the termites eat? Wood.

What is Lord Jagannātha made of? Wood.

But they did not eat Jagannātha.

And there are many, many miracles of these Deities.

I personally, like there were 25 owners of the land.

So I got everybody to sign except two members.

I told the pūjārī once we take over the Deities’ worship, we cannot stop.

When the two people sign, then we would start.

He did not tell me, he had already started.

And then he stopped,

being afraid that it would displease me.

I had said, once we start we cannot stop.

We opened up the door of the temple where the Deities were.

The Deities were gone.

They were walking over the field,

They said, “We are starving, We will go and take prasāda with Rādhā Mādhava

and take the bhoga there.”

Then I found out that the service was started and stopped.

After some time, one pūjārī, he was riding on a bicycle back to the Rādhā Mādhava temple,

on the road there was a man lying down.

He just drove-by and the man jumped up and scared him. Ah!

You scared me!

Then, he was lying on the ground, he thought what mistake did I do to Lord Jagannātha?

He went back,

he found out, instead of sugar in the caraṇāmṛta, he had put salt!

You cannot mess around with Lord Jagannātha in Rājāpur!

Link: 20230412 Question and Answer Session

Category: [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

There are many activities in spiritual life such as chanting, reading, deity service, Vaiṣṇava-seva and so on. Which one is to be given more importance ?

Questioner: Harihara Kṛṣṇa Caitanya dāsa

Date: 2022-09-08

Link: 20211003 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.11.28

Category: [Sādhanā], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Reading / Śāstra], [Vaiṣṇava Dealings], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

We have so many varieties of devotional service, like chanting, reading Śrīla Prabhupāda, Deity worship and visiting holy dhāmas. Sometimes we see that when we are more attracted to one method the other methods are getting less importance and we are not able to do them. So whether more reading or more of chanting, or more of Deity worship or more of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books reading, which one is more important?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2023-08-16

Jayapatākā Swami: In every yuga, there is a particular, which is most important.

In Kali-yuga, śravaṇam kīrtanam is most important.

Reading books is one form of śravaṇam.

There are nine practices of devotional service

and by practicing any one then also it is possible to be delivered.

But in Kali-yuga it is especially recommended that we chant and hear.

But we should chant, hear remember,

pay obeisances, offer prayers

and do the arcanam,

and do pāda-sevanam, do some service,

considering oneself as the servant of the Lord,

considering the Lord as one’s friend

and offering everything to the Lord,

ātma-nivedenam.

These are the nine practices of devotional service.

Link: 20230322 Question and Answer Session

Category: [Emotions / Confusion], [Sādhanā], [Sādhanā / Chanting (Japa)], [Sādhanā / Reading / Śāstra], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

You have mentioned that Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī and Balarāma cannot be on the same altar. What is the reason for that?

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2023-09-05

Jayapatākā Swami: You see the custom in India is that the elder brother, the wife, should not be present where the elder brother is present.

And since Balarāma is the elder brother of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa and His consort should not be along with Balarāma.

Kṛṣṇa could be with Balarāma but not with the consort.

The consort should not be.

That is why in the same temple, in the Ṭoṭā Gopīnātha you have Rādhā and Ṭoṭā Gopīnātha.

We have also Revatī and Balarāma but in a different altar.

Link: 20230411 Question and Answer Session

Category: [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

You said there are different rasas we serve. When we do devotional service, we call them pitā-mātā, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Is that ok? When serving the Deities at home.

Questioner: Devotee

Date: 2023-09-06

Jayapataka Swami: Who taught you this?

Is it given in any śāstra?

To consider Kṛṣṇa like our father, probably would be in śānta-rasa.

Because we are just appreciating Kṛṣṇa .

But actually to serve Kṛṣṇa, that is dāsya-rasa.

So, there we see Kṛṣṇa as our Master.

In sakhya-rasa we see Kṛṣṇa as our friend

and in paternal rasa we see Kṛṣṇa as our child.

In mādhurya-rasa we see Kṛṣṇa as our lover or husband.

So to consider Kṛṣṇa like father, is like śānta-rasa.

There is a song where it says Kṛṣṇa is everything to us.

In that way it is alright.

But that song was Kṛṣṇa-mātā, Kṛṣṇa-pitā Kṛṣṇa-dhana-prāṇa,

He is our life and soul.

So He is everything.

Any other question?

Link: 20230510 Question And Answer Session

Category: [Vigraha Āradhana (Deity Worship)]

Question: Why we are not fanning cāmara and peacock feather while doing tulasī-ārati?

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