Questions And Answers: Material World / Demigods

Is Maheśa dhāma a part of the spiritual world or material world?
Questioner: Jayarāseśvarī devī dāsī
Date: 2022-08-27
Jayapatākā Swami: It is on the border.
Category: [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Spiritual World / Dhāma], [Material World], [Material World / Demigods]
Lord Brahmā came to Māyāpur and prayed to Lord Gaurāṇga. In Brahmaloka, when Brahmājī came, then there was nobody there? How did the universe go on?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-02
Jayapataka Swami: He only came for a minute!
Not even a minute!
Category: [Kṛṣṇa (Godhead) / Pastimes], [Material World / Demigods], [Śrī Caitanya-līlā / Lord Caitanya]
The demigods, being Kṛṣṇa’s representatives, help the Vaiṣṇavas progress in kṛṣṇa-bhakti. But here (in Dhruva-līlā) we see them creating many obstacles. How can we reconcile this?
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]
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]
We are in the hare Kṛṣṇa movement practicing if it is anything wrong to worship the devas to attend any festival conducted for the devas.
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.
Lord Kṛṣṇa He has said that He is the higher of all living entities and so he is the higher of the devas and he is the one who fixes people’s faith on different devas.
When a person fully takes shelter of Kṛṣṇa then they need to see Kṛṣṇa in everything including the devas.
If they can see devas then there is no problem but the Kṛṣṇa the devas they got confused about how that two relate with each other then its obstacle.
So that’s why the devotees should understand that the devas are all great devotees of God.
His expansion in the Vedas what we call it as sahasra śīrṣāḥ puruṣaḥ What that mantra called?
In the puruṣa śūkta how all the devas are different parts of the body of the lord in the Viśvarūpa also mentions that so that devas are the arms representing so we understand that the devas are the devotees of the lord and we offer them respect as devotees then that is no problem.
If we go to the devas and asks If we go to the devas and asks the devas a blessing to be a better devotee of Kṛṣṇa then there is no problem.
But if we go to the devas and asks the same thing that the devas asking from Kṛṣṇa then Kṛṣṇa asks who do you really take shelter me or him?
If you want to take from him then all right no need to take from me.
But the devas they can give us the ticket back to Kṛṣṇa they can help us in many ways.
I was just reading this morning in Bhāgavatam when Kṛṣṇa had disappeared from Dvāraka when he was looking for the Śyāmantaka jewel all the residents of Dvāraka went to durgā and they prayed to durga please bring Kṛṣṇa back to us we want Kṛṣṇa back.
So out of love for Kṛṣṇa they prayed to the divine mother to bring Kṛṣṇa back.
So in someways that devotees of Kṛṣṇa ven prayed like that the gopīs prayed to Kātyāyinī to Pārvatī her name is Katyāyinī to get Kṛṣṇa as her husband so such things are all right for devotees.
Everytime I go to deva temple I always pray to deva for blessing to be Kṛṣṇa consciousness and to spread the saṅkīrtana movement of Lord Caitanya because I know that because this is what they all want.
If we read in the Purāṇas
 
the devas are fighting with the demons you know how much they want us to spread us this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
That’s really what they want?
When a person dies the soul leaves the body three or ones if we pick this one we can lack again.
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.
Category: [Material World / Demigods], [Sādhanā / Philosophical questions]
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