Jayapatākā Swami: No, the point is that, when you are preaching, and depending on Kṛṣṇa, then at that time, you are becoming an instrument in Kṛṣṇa’s hand, so, then you are feeling transcendental happiness.

You are cheating yourself that you are not able to always be instrument.

That’s why preaching is very purifying. Therefore, everyone is recommended to do maximum preaching.

The more that we can feel as an instrument that we can be as an instrument in Kṛṣṇa’s hand, by fully surrendering to Him, that is the perfection.

See even if a moment, you are feeling transcendental happiness, how is that cheating, if you tell someone about that?

Or if you at that moment, you are also inspiring that person.

It is only due to the lack of advancement you are not able to maintain that,

but very soon you will reach as soon as all the type of unwanted desires are cleansed from the heart, then you reach the fixed stage where that happiness, that enthusiasm is unwavering.

That is called niṣṭha.

And then beyond that one would get, has… Although sometimes we get a taste, that devotional service is very nice, then we lose the taste for a little while, then again we get it.

That means we are still in the clearing plane.

We are still clearing out so many offenses.

It may take long years of clearing, that depends on how much we are able to put ourselves in the fire.

But every time we are getting that little taste, that’s also clearing out so much more.

It describes, when the devotee some time is jumping and dancing and clapping (clapping sound) the hands and smiling before Jagannātha, the deity,

that by clapping the hands and smiling, that is like the birds go and eat in the rice field, you clap the hands, they fly off, then all the sins are just flying off, just like birds from the heart.

So, like that so many services gradually, they are reducing the load.

But when our load is completely reduced, then we reach this higher and higher platforms, and then one doesn’t, one simply goes from better to more to better.

Doesn’t go from mediocre to better, It’s always an ecstatic platform.

And even sometimes it become more intense and more intense.

You see, just like when you are riding a 10 speed bicycle, you know bicycle?

You are at 10 speeds.

(Italy has, Italy has the break first.)

And then you go as far as you can go right, then you go to the second, then it seems little harder at first, right, then you drive and ish, you up and third, you are pedaling like this.

So, one reaches a certain level of advancement and then suddenly, he gets a little wind or little boost, he goes up,

you see, then happens is, again shifting gear, and then he thinks, oh!

Then as one goes to other services, he is thinking that, this is little hard, then from there again one pushes up and in this way, one always going higher and higher.

What you think is difficult now, was impossible for you a year ago, and one year from now would you think is difficult, now you won’t think that you could even do it.

And in this way, one is going on.

You see.

Prabhupāda working day and night, at such an advanced age, preaching because he is on the transcendental platform.

So, what we should do, we should pull ourselves by that drive, the eagerness, to always taste that pleasure of doing some sincere service for Kṛṣṇa.

If you see someone enthuse in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, why you are feeling happy, Kṛṣṇa is happy.

Especially in preaching even the, one overcomes so many offenses.

That’s why one gets the special feeling then, ordinary service is not do so much.

Especially in preaching even the, one overcomes so many offenses.

That’s why one gets the special feeling then, ordinary service is not do so much.

Jayapatākā Swami: You see here someone eats non veg.

Non veg is sinful.

You are killing animals, causing them suffering and you are eating their flesh.

Some are doing selfless service to society, they are helping other people, they may be doing some, of course selfless service to society.

But we have to see what the Vedas say.

Whether that service is puṇya or pāpa.

Like someone may do selfless service and make a new abattoir, means a new slaughter house for society.

He thinks I am doing selfless service.

But according to the Vedas, he is also doing pāpa, he is doing sinful activity.

Someone may be doing selfless service of distributing free tea or whisky to all the people, I am not considering those kinds of selfless service.

I am saying like he is feeding the poor, he is making hospital, such service where the people are getting material benefit in a sāttvika sense, that is called puṅya.

So according to Vedas we get two accounts in the material world.

We get a puṅya account and a pāpa account.

And we are putting deposit in both.

Because someone does puṇya, it does not cross out the pāpa.

Some people think that ok, I will do many pious activities and I will do little sin and the pious will cross out the sin.

It doesn’t work that way.

Both you get.

That is why even if you find someone very rich, have a big car, big house, lot of money, but the wife got breast cancer.

But the son ran away with someone and married out of caste and the whole family is suffering.

So many things happen.

Income tax is raiding.

I am feeding the poor, I am giving so much to charity, why I am not –

because both the accounts are there – pāpa and puṇya. If you do pāpa you have to suffer, you do puṇya you have to enjoy. Material activities, you know they are not free, you have to take all the reactions. Usually the puṇya you get first and the pāpa you get later. But there is some mixing going on. Now the other thing is that he is greatly devoted to the Lord. Now that devotion to the Lord, the Lord is beyond the material world. He is saying mām ca avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate, sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhuyāya kalpate. (Bg 14.26) That those who do my bhakti-yoga, their activities are beyond the three guṇas. So if someone does bhakti that can clear out the path. But it is dangerous to tell this to people. Because if you tell to people who are not devoted, they will say, very good, I will pray in the temple, then I will do more pāpa. And then Kṛṣṇa takes that as an offence, you are trying to cheat Me. So He doesn’t save them. That is why we don’t tell people about this glory of the Lord that if you worship the Lord it takes away your sin very much. Of course we have to tell but we try to tell them. They should not think I can do more sin, that they shouldn’t do. What people should do is come and pray and chant the name of Kṛṣṇa and try to avoid sin. They may do some sin but they should try to reduce it, try to avoid it. They should not think that by doing my Kṛṣṇa conscious activity, I can do more sin. Whatever sin I am doing, I have to suffer. But let me chant, let me worship, some day I can get free from this. Then it is ok. So if they are devoted to the Lord, they should try to do what the Lord wants. What is the meaning of I am devoted to the Lord, the Lord is saying don’t do these things. I am devoted to the Lord, what does that mean? Lord, I want to please You. If I am Your servant, I want to do what You want me to do. Like if you have a servant in the house, you tell the servant, clean the floor. He says no, I won’t clean the floor, I want to clean the wall. But I want you to clean the floor first. You can clean the wall later. He says, no, I want to clean the wall and then the floor. How would that servant keep the job? If you have a servant and you tell him, cook me breakfast. And he says no, I want to cook you lunch. I want you to cook me vegetarian and he says no I want to cook you non veg! Then you wont keep such a servant, servant, who is this servant! So if we are already devoted to the Lord, we should do what the Lord wants us to do. And the Lord is telling us don’t do these things. Don’t take intoxication, don’t eat non veg, don’t do gambling and don’t do illicit sex. Don’t go to prostitutes. Don’t leave your good wife or husband, and do extra marital sex. So when we are devoted to the Lord we should do what the Lord wants. We are devoted to the Lord, we come and pray and then we go. That is called hāthī-snāna. Like the elephant is having a bath and coming out and throwing the dirt. So we should not worry what others are doing. Someone says he is vegetarian but he is cheating.

If you do pāpa you have to suffer, you do puṅya you have to enjoy.

Material activities, you know they are not free, you have to take all the reactions.

Usually the puṇya you get first and the pāpa you get later.

But there is some mixing going on.

Now the other thing is that he is greatly devoted to the Lord.

So therefore I can be nonveg and I won’t cheat.

Not much, little bit.

We should avoid everything like that.

Don’t settle for that.

Don’t judge.

It is just like if you want to judge gold, you want to judge it with pure gold.

You don’t judge it with some mixed gold, my gold is better than that gold.

What is that?

That is 10 carat mine is 4 carat.

You judge gold by 24 carat.

This is not a good decision that I am better than that so it is okay.

That person is going to hell no. 5 and you are going no. 4.

So what is the difference?

?

We want to go back to Kṛṣṇa.

So therefore what is the standard paramahaṁsa?

We see what gurudeva, what the pure devotee is doing.

We try to lead our life and follow the Mahājanas.

Mahājana yena gatā sa panthā.

We follow the great souls or Mahājanas, like Prahlāda, Nārada, Śiva, Brahma.

All the devas, Svāyambhuva Manu, all the great souls, we follow in their footsteps.

Not that we are following some ordinary person and we are saying oh that person, he is not so great.

I am not so bad.

This is all mental concoction.

He is not so great, I am not so bad.

So I can live with my sin.

Yamarāja doesn’t pick all these things.

What your neighbor was doing.

What you did he has all the account here.

You did this, this is your karma.

Now you enjoy, now you suffer.

If you see the animatronic works you can see the Yamadūtas and the Viṣṇudutas.

You can decide who you want to be the customer for.

Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting. 

In other words, you are saying we have false ego. 

We think we don’t have any faults. 

But the associates of Lord Caitanya, 

always think, it must be because of some faults they did. 

So, we should follow in their example. 

Don’t blame others,

see yourself first. 

What mistake you made, 

“Not me! It was he!” 

The associates of Lord Caitanya are teaching by their good example, 

because of their good qualities, 

Lord Caitanya’s heart melted. 

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.

Answer: Lord Caitanya, He wrote in His śikṣāṣṭakam in the third verse.

It says, we should offer others respect

and not expect any respect for ourselves.

In this way we can always chant the holy names.

So you said, we are expecting people will deal with us properly.

Will give us proper respect.

And when we won’t get that, we feel false pride.

But Lord Caitanya advised that we should not expect these things.

We would like our devotees, to be like this always, to deal with respect and appreciation.

But if they don’t do that,

that should not be the reason that we don’t do service.

Rather we should do service, even though we don’t get treated the way we like to be treated.

If you take that humble state of mind,

then it is very easy to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa all the time.