SB 2.4.1 – In the Fire of Devotional Service

Giriraj Swami: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Two, Chapter Four – “The Process of Creation,”

TEXT 1

sūta uvāca
vaiyāsaker iti vacas
tattva-niścayam ātmanaḥ
upadhārya matiṁ kṛṣṇe
auttareyaḥ satīṁ vyadhāt

TRANSLATION

Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the son of Uttarā, after hearing the speeches of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which were all about the truth of the self, applied his concentration faithfully upon Lord Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The word satīm is very significant. This means “existing” and “chaste.” And both imports are perfectly applicable in the case of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The whole Vedic adventure is to draw one’s attention entirely unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa without any diversion, as instructed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15). Fortunately Mahārāja Parīkṣit had already been attracted to the Lord from the very beginning of his body, in the womb of his mother. In the womb of his mother he was struck by the brahmāstra atomic bomb released by Aśvatthāmā, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from being burnt by the fiery weapon, and since then the King continuously concentrated his mind upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, which made him perfectly chaste in devotional service. So by natural sequence he was a chaste devotee of the Lord, and when he further heard from Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī that one should worship the Lord only and no one else, even though full of all desires or desireless, his natural affection for Kṛṣṇa was strengthened. We have already discussed these topics.

To become a pure devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, two things are very much essential, namely having a chance to be born in the family of a devotee and having the blessings of a bona fide spiritual master. By the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Parīkṣit Mahārāja had both opportunities. He was born in a family of such devotees as the Pāṇḍavas, and just to continue the dynasty of the Pāṇḍavas and show them special favor, the Lord specifically saved Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who later on, by the arrangement of the Lord, was cursed by the boy of a brāhmaṇa and was able to get the association of such a spiritual master as Śukadeva Gosvāmī. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that a fortunate person, by the mercy of the spiritual master and Lord Kṛṣṇa, achieves the path of devotional service. This was perfectly applicable in the case of Mahārāja Parīkṣit. By way of being born in a family of devotees, he automatically came in touch with Kṛṣṇa, and after being so contacted he constantly remembered Him. Consequently Lord Kṛṣṇa gave the King a further chance for development in devotional service by introducing him to Śukadeva Gosvāmī, a stalwart devotee of the Lord with perfect knowledge in self-realization. And by hearing from a bona fide spiritual master, he was perfectly able to concentrate his chaste mind further upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, as a matter of course.

Giriraj Swami: Principle of devotional service is to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. Or in other words, to be Krishna conscious. And here, the words matiṁ kṛṣṇe indicate Krishna consciousness, always thinking of Krishna. Maharaja Parīkṣit was the son of Uttara, who was a great devotee of Lord Krishna, and when he was in the womb of mother Uttara, Aśvatthāmā released the brahmāstra weapon—atomic bomb which was aimed at Maharaja Parīkṣit within the womb, because Maharaja Parīkṣit was the only heir to the throne of the Pandavas after the Pandavas, and Aśvatthāmā wanted to finish of dynasty of Pandu. So, Uttara, feeling herself completely helpless to protect her child in her womb, prayed to Lord Krishna to save him. And Lord Krishna entered the womb. Of course, the Lord is all-pervading, He is always everywhere but still the Lord entered the womb and formed a shield to protect Maharaja Parīkṣit, and thus he was saved.

Although Parīkṣit Maharaja was just an embryo, he always remembered that the Lord had entered the womb to protect him, and thereafter he was always searching for the Lord, always inquiring about the Lord, as indicated by his very name—Parīkṣit. So from the very beginning he was fixed in thoughts of Krishna. Later, by the will of providence or by the will of the Lord, he was cursed by the brahman boy, Shringi, to die within seven days. And he accepted the curse as the mercy of Krishna. And actually, it was the will of Krishna that he should finish up his activities in the world and go back home, back to Godhead as soon as possible. So actually, it was the mercy of Lord Krishna that the king was cursed. So he went to the banks of the Ganges to hear about Krishna. He was the perfect example of perseverance. He wasn’t disturbed by the curse of the brahman but rather he was completely equipoised. He accepted the curse as Krishna’s mercy and went to the bank of mother Ganges to further fix his mind on Krishna. And by the arrangement of Krishna Śukadeva Gosvami appeared there to speak the topics of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from Śukadeva Gosvami, Maharaja Parīkṣit became even more encouraged in Krishna consciousness, in fixing his mind on the lotus feet of Krishna up to the last moment.

So Maharaja Parīkṣit is the example for us all that we should somehow or other fix the mind on the lotus feet of the Lord and not deviate our mind to any other subject at any time. Sometimes when people are in distress they pray to the Lord and remember Him, but when the crisis is over, they forget. Sometimes even devotees, we are not so serious in Krishna consciousness but when there is some crisis and we realize we have no one else to help us except Krishna, then we very seriously chant the holy name of Krishna and pray. But when the crisis is over, we think, Well, things aren’t so bad after all. It wasn’t such a big thing, and we start to make plans to enjoy again. Well, sometimes we are chanting in a regular way and following, and some crisis comes. And the first thing we do when the crisis comes, we set aside the bead bag because we think that we have to deal with the crisis. We don’t think that the beads are going to help us. We put the beads aside and we think that by our own intelligence, our own resources, our own efforts, we will be able to solve our problem. Sometimes there is a health crisis or a financial crisis, sometimes people even lose faith because they think, Oh, I am such a good devotee, I have done everything that a devotee should do, I have surrendered fully to Lord Krishna and now look at me now- this has happened, that has happened. So they think, What was the use of all this chanting? I chanted so much and what did Krishna ever do for me? Look at my position now. How is the chanting’s helping? I have been chanting for so many years and look at me now. What’s the use of chanting?” So we think we have to make our own arrangements to protect ourselves or improve our position.

Even Srila Prabhupada expressed the idea that he was tested by Krishna. He said that in the beginning Krishna tested him by taking everything away, that is one test. And in the end Krishna tested him by giving him everything. So both are tests. If Krishna takes something away from us it is a test. Are we going to be after Krishna or be after the thing that Krishna has taken from us? And if Krishna gives us something it is also a test, are we going to be after Krishna or are we going to be after enjoying the thing that Krishna gave us; not to enjoy but to use in service or else just to reject if it has no useful service? So Srila Prabhupada passed the test. Maharaja Parīkṣit obviously passed the same type of test. He was king and he had all opulences, all facilities to enjoy and control but he always remained chaste and faithful. He thought that whatever opulence he has, whatever facility he has, it is just meant to help his service to Krishna. And then when he was cursed by the brahman boy and he understood that now Krishna was calling him, then he left everything. In fact, it is described in the next verse.

TEXT 2

Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as a result of his wholehearted attraction for Lord Kṛṣṇa, was able to give up all deep-rooted affection for his personal body, his wife, his children, his palace, his animals like horses and elephants, his treasury house, his friends and relatives, and his undisputed kingdom.

Giriraj Swami: So he was ready to leave everything for the sake of the Lord. When we read the list we can understand, yes, it is very hard to give up attachment for the body but for the wife, the children, house, friends, and relatives, but animals? Who could be attached to animals? But the other day, one very old friend of ours, friend of Srila Prabhupada, a friend of ISKCON, he happened to meet me here. And for years he has been telling me that he is going to give up all his other preoccupations and join Krishna consciousness. So this has been going on for about twenty years, and now his hair is completely gray, and he came and he said, “Very soon I am going to give up everything. I am very close.” And he said that Srila Prabhupada had actually asked him to join about thirty years ago or thirty-five years ago and even then he was making excuses. And Srila Prabhupada gave the example that if you go to the ocean to take bath and you see that although the waves in the ocean are so high today, and you go back and you think, Well, I will come later and take bath when the waves aren’t so high, that is not the way to take bath in the ocean. You have to be determined that, “I have to take bath. Maybe the waves are high or maybe they are not high but I have to take bath.” So anyway, Prabhupada was inviting him but he was always turning back. So now his sons are grown up. All of his responsibilities are complete, except one. He owns two circuses, so he said that he would like to join but he is very concerned about his animals, who will take care of his animals because there are lions, tigers, elephants. He said, “I am ready to join but who will take care of my animals? I can’t just leave my animals.”

So we have so many attachments. And when we see the other person’s attachment we think, Oh how silly! But what about our attachments? We take our attachments very seriously. So Maharaja Parīkṣit, he is the perfect example that he never forgot Krishna. Krishna gave him every facility to be the emperor of the world. He never forgot Krishna, he never used the facility for sense gratification—only for Krishna’s service. And when the time came, “Okay, now leave everything. Just fix your mind on me and come back home, back to Godhead,” he left everything. And Srila Prabhupada was the same, exactly the same. That is why Srila Prabhupada said that, “First Krishna tested me by taking everything away and then Krishna tested me by giving me everything.” But Srila Prabhupada always remained chaste, faithful to Krishna. So here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada mentions two prerequisites for success in devotional service. One is birth in the family of devotees and one is the association of a bonafide spiritual master. So just as Uttara prayed to Lord Krishna to come and protect Parīkṣit when he was in the womb, and thus Parīkṣit got the chance to associate with Krishna. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada was also born in a family of devotees, and his father always used to pray to the saintly persons who used to visit that, “Please make my son a devotee of Srimati Radharani.” So from the very beginning Srila Prabhupada had the opportunity to come in contact with Krishna consciousness, and later the same consciousness was strengthened by association with His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. And when Srila Prabhupada wrote the dedication to Kṛṣṇa book he wrote:

“Dedicated to Gour Mohan De, my father. He gave me Radha-Krishna Vigraha to worship, he gave me mridanga to play, he gave me Ratha-yatra to celebrate, he gave me the ideas that were later solidified by association with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura—with my spiritual master, the eternal father.”

So the impetus which great devotees get early in life from their devotee parents, is later solidified or carried forward or accelerated by association with a bona fide spiritual master. Because here Srila Prabhupada mentions that Śukadeva Gosvami had instructed Maharaja Parīkṣit that whether one has material desires or not, still he should serve Krishna. You may recognize the verse from the chapter we just completed,

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaṁ param

That, akāmaḥ whether one is free from the desire; sarva-kāmo—whether one is full of all sorts of material desires; mokṣa-kāma—whether one desires liberation; one who is broad-minded or liberal should by all means engage in devotional service to Lord Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada comments on the word tīvreṇa; tīvreṇa means, one meaning is like a ray of sunlight, that a ray of sunlight if it is not adulterated is very strong, it is very powerful. So we should engage in devotional service with great force or intensity; then whether we desire material enjoyment or we desire liberation or we don’t desire anything, we will achieve the supreme perfection of love for Krishna by the practice of devotional service. But if we mix our spiritual activities with material activities and material plans then we won’t be able to become purified so quickly and become free from desires for material enjoyment or liberation. The Nectar of Devotion quotes one verse, that the process of devotional service is so strong that it has the power to burn up all sinful reactions. And sinful reactions include sinful desires. Sinful desires are part of the process of sinful reactions. But again, the effect of our service will depend on the intensity. Yes, if our service is chanting, hearing, and all other items; if our service is really blazing like a fire, then it will burn up all sinful reactions very quickly. But if our service is not blazing, it is just a little flame wavering, then it is not going to have so much strength to burn up sinful reactions. It will have some effect but not very quickly.

And here, Srila Prabhupada told the story of the rich man and the yogi or the king and the yogi. That the rich man met one yogi. So he asked the yogi, “What can you do?” It was in northern India and it was very cold in the winter. So the yogi said that, “I can submerge myself in water up to the neck in the river and spend the whole night there.” So the king was impressed but skeptical. So he said, “Well, okay.” So the yogi spent the night in the water. He didn’t flinch. So, he came to the king for the reward. So the king, either he didn’t want to pay or he wasn’t able to pay at the time but anyway he wanted some excuse not to pay. So he said, “Okay, let me come to the river and see where you spent the night.” So he came to the river and he saw in the distance, on a hill there was a house and on the top of the house was an ākāśa-dīpa, like a little flame that people put out on the roof as an offering to the sky or whatever. So the king said, “You said that you spent the night in the river but I see that in the distance there is a flame. So you are taking heat from the flame, you cheated. So I am not going to give you the reward.” So what to do?

So the king had a very intelligent minister. So later, the king had an important appointment and he was waiting for his minister or his secretary to come with him. But his secretary was not ready. So the king became anxious, “Where is my secretary? We have to go.” So, still the secretary didn’t come. So finally the king sent a messenger and the secretary said that I am just cooking my prasāda and after I finish my prasāda I will come. So the king was waiting, waiting, waiting, still the secretary didn’t come. Eventually, he went himself and there he saw, in the secretary’s room that there was a fire for cooking and above the fire were three long poles bound together at the top, and at the top was a pot of rice just under the ceiling. So the king said, “What is this? How do you expect to cook your food when the flame is way down here and the pot is way up there?” So the secretary, the minister said, “If you expect the yogi to get heat from a little lamp, miles away in the distance, why can’t I cook like this?” So then the king understood what his minister was saying and he rewarded the yogi.

But why did Srila Prabhupada tell the story? Srila Prabhupada told the story to illustrate the point. Actually I will  just give a little background. There were some devotees in Australia, New Zealand, who had the philosophy that you can just chant Hare Krishna, you don’t have to follow any of the rules and regulations. You can just chant Hare Krishna. So Srila Prabhupada was saying that yes, you can just chant Hare Krishna and get some result, but the result will not be very fast. And then he told the story of cooking. The fire is way down here and the food is way up there. So you can say you are cooking but it is not going to cook very quickly. If you are serious about cooking you put the pot in the fire. So similarly, Srila Prabhupada was saying that if you are serious about chanting, if you are serious about becoming Krishna conscious you will put yourself in the fire of devotional service and you will follow all the rules and regulations and you will be seriously engaged without any diversion. That is chanting and that will make us Krishna conscious quickly. So, tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena, we should engage in devotional service with intensity. That means without mixing some bhakti-yoga, some karma-yoga, some jnana-yoga, some this some that, some welfare activities, some artificial austerities; No, pure devotional service. And that will bring quick results. So we should be very chaste and faithful to Krishna.

Prahlada Maharaja gives the example about the senses that a man comes home at night and he has so many co-wives, and each one is pulling, “Come to my room! Come to my room! Come with me. Be with me.” So he is being harassed and pulled in all directions, and what can the poor guy do? He said, similarly, the conditioned soul, he is being pulled by all the senses. The eyes are pulling him, here, look at this. The ears are pulling him, here, listen to this. And the tongue is pulling him, here, taste this. And the poor guy is completely harassed. He is being pulled in all different directions at the same time. So we should not be like a person with so many co-wives pulling us in different directions. We should just have one object of interest, and that is Krishna. And we should be completely faithful and chaste to Krishna and not divert our attention anywhere else. So, of course, it is a great facility to be born in a family of devotees like Maharaja Parīkṣit or Srila Prabhupada. But the mercy of the spiritual master is so strong and the potency of Krishna consciousness is so strong that even if we don’t have the good fortune of taking birth in a devotee family, we don’t have the wonderful opportunity of associating with Krishna from the very beginning, still we can become Krishna conscious, again by the mercy of the spiritual master, by strict adherence to the instructions of the spiritual master. And there are so many examples in the Vedic scriptures, as well of persons who are not born in devotee families or persons who are born in sinful families who by the mercy of the spiritual master became pure devotees.

One example that comes to mind is Mrgrari the hunter. Mrgrari the hunter was not only himself a hunter and very cruel but he was born the son of a hunter, that is how he became a hunter. But still by the mercy of Narada and by strict adherence to the instructions of Narada he became a pure devotee. So birth is not everything by any means. It can be a facility but it is not everything. In fact, I don’t like to mention it but it is there, Srila Prabhupada had one son who was not at all inclined to Krishna consciousness. In fact, he was more inclined to make trouble. So once, Mathura Mohan De, he met our godbrother, Yasomati Nandan Prabhu. He was very intelligent, even Srila Prabhupada said he was extremely intelligent. But he used his intelligence in a crooked way, in a perverse way. So anyway, he happened to meet Yasomati Nandan Prabhu and they recognized each other somehow. And he said to Yasomati Nandan Prabhu that, he said about himself that, “I am like Hiraṇyakaśipu.” Hiraṇyakaśipu’s father was Kasyapa Muni. He said, “My father was a great sage just like Kasyapa Muni but I had become a big demon.” And then he said, “And you all are like Prahlada Maharaja. Your fathers were great demons but you have become wonderful devotees.”

So birth is not everything. And if one is fortunate to get the mercy of the spiritual master and have the intelligence to strictly follow him, faithfully serve him, then no matter what background he comes from he can be elevated by the mercy of the spiritual master to the highest position of devotional service. So whatever our background may be, Srila Prabhupada, by his mercy has given us all the opportunity to engage in devotional service. So if we follow the process given to us by Srila Prabhupada and serve the Vaishnavas, serve the representatives of Srila Prabhupada, we can achieve the highest perfection.

Hare Krishna.

Is there any questions or comments?

Devotee: The Sixth Chapter of the Gītā explains that if one is not able to attain perfection in the sādhana-bhakti, he might take birth in a family of devotees. So does it necessarily mean that one who has taken birth in family of devotees they have had devotional service background in their previous births? If that is so then how they don’t continue in spite of getting birth in devotional family?

Giriraj Swami: Well, generally, the good fortune of taking birth in a devotee family comes to one who has engaged in devotional service in the past life. But we always have minute independence and we may be placed in a wonderful situation for devotional service, but if we misuse our minute independence, we won’t take proper advantage. So Srila Prabhupada, he always emphasized the minute free will of the living entity, that whatever situation one is in he can use it for Krishna’s service or for sense gratification. And it happens. And sometimes, when one is born into opulence especially, he can forget Krishna. The opulence is a facility because the person doesn’t have to worry about material necessities. He is free to engage in devotional service. He doesn’t have to worry about roṭī, kapṛā, makān. But he can misuse the opportunity for sense gratification. And sometimes it happens.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example of Manigriva and Nalakuvara. They were the sons of Kuvera, and very rich and opulent. But they became intoxicated with their opulence and became offenders and then they were cursed to take birth as trees. Of course, later they were saved by the mercy of Krishna. And so that is the thing that being born in an aristocratic family is a wonderful opportunity to make spiritual progress because one doesn’t have to worry about getting material needs fulfilled. But again, one can forget about Krishna, just go for material enjoyment. But it is a good chance that even if someone appears to be born in a devotee family and later falls down, the early impression of Krishna consciousness may stay with him and come back later. Like Ajamila was born in a good family of devotees, brahmans, and he himself was trained to be a good devotee brahman. But later by bad association he fell down, and he spent years and years and years engaging in sinful activities for material gratification. But in the end, he chanted the holy name of Narayana and, it is not just that chanting the holy name of Narayana in itself saved him; the chanting of the holy name of Narayana reminded him of his original consciousness from his younger days, and that saved him. So even if temporarily someone from a family of devotees goes astray, he may come back. There is every chance that he may come back.

In fact, Srila Prabhupada compared the Vedic culture in India to Ajamila, that the Vedic culture in India had fallen down, but by chanting the holy name Ajamila was reinstated in his original position of Krishna consciousness. So similarly, if the people of India chant the holy name they can also be reinstated in their original position of Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: Maharaja, can you explain birth in a Vaishnava family for you to be in Krishna consciousness. Or even meeting a perfect spiritual master may not be a good reason for one to be in Krishna consciousness right up to the end of his life. Does that ultimately mean that it is a Lord’s causeless mercy by which a person comes into Krishna consciousness and remains in Krishna consciousness till he leaves this particular body? And if this is not the situation then to what extent should preaching be done to a person to attract him to Krishna consciousness because ultimately it could be a Lord’s causeless mercy which he requires in order to come into Krishna consciousness and your preaching can only maybe attract him but may not retain him in Krishna consciousness. So my question is to what extent can we preach to a person, up to what point can we preach to a person and say, “Okay, there is no point doing any more preaching to him, it is all the Lord’s causeless mercy?”

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada emphasized the minute independence of the living entity. Certainly, the Lord wants to give mercy to everyone but some people take it and some people don’t. So whether you take it or not depends on you. Otherwise, the Lord is always merciful to everyone. And because you do have free will, preaching is very necessary, preaching is very important to convince you what is the proper way to use the free will. It is like one Indian gentleman in Boston; I think it was the first public lecture I ever heard Srila Prabhupada give outside of the temple. So one Indian gentleman asked the question, he quoted the verse,

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham

That everyone follows My path in all respect. So he is trying to say that everyone is following Krishna somehow or other. And therefore, what is the use of preaching? And Srila Prabhupada said that if what you said is true then why should Krishna have spoken the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna? If everything just depends on Krishna’s will or Krishna’s mercy or Krishna’s plan, then why did Krishna speak Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna? Because Arjuna had minute independence, and Krishna wanted Arjuna to use his minute independence to follow Krishna’s instructions. So we have to preach, we have to present Krishna’s instructions, we have to try to convince people to follow Krishna’s instructions for their own benefit, and that is preaching. Otherwise, “Oh, it is Krishna. Krishna is doing everything. I am doing nothing. Krishna’s doing everything. I am not responsible.”

I don’t know how bonafide it is, but Acyutananda Swami used to tell a story that one man, he had done many good things but he also killed a cow. So, at the time of death the agents of Yamaraja came to punish him. So he said that, “I am doing nothing, Krishna is doing everything. Why are you punishing me?” Krishna is doing everything; we are just the instruments. So, Yamaraja was also a devotee, he is mahājana and he wanted to help the person, enlighten the person. So he let the person live, he didn’t take him from his body, he let the person live. And after some time Yamaraja himself came in disguise and he said to the person that, “Oh, this is a very nice garden here, who made the garden?” “I did.” “Oh! Very good. Very good. And this is a very nice road here, who made the road?” “I did.” “Oh! Very good. And this is a very nice well that someone made here, who made the well?” “I did.” “Oh! Very good. Very good.” So on and on, then finally, “And who killed the cow?” “I did.” When it is time to take the credit, we are the doers so we should get the credit, but when it is time to take the blame Krishna is the doer, we are not responsible. But actually we are responsible. We have minute independence and we are responsible. And Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā, nādatte kasyachit pāpaṁ, that He is not responsible for the pious actions and sinful actions of the living entities. They are responsible. So, preaching is essential to make people understand their responsibility and convince them to act in the best way.

Devotee: Maharaja, to what extent should we preach? At what point should we come to a conclusion that whether you are speaking to this person?

Giriraj Swami: Well, of course, in a broader sense preaching means to engage people in devotional service. So I think we should always try to engage them in devotional service. But there may be a point at which we should stop arguing. There was one conversation between Srila Prabhupada and Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s wife. And she just was not getting the point at all and it was becoming quite apparent that the whole conversation was wasting everyone’s time. So finally, Srila Prabhupada said, “Give her prasāda.” So, okay maybe we can’t argue. Give them prasāda, that will also help.

Devotee: Maharaja, ideally, we should put our faith only in the spiritual master and people who are Krishna conscious, but when one has a family and one has to work he also has to put or maybe we think that we have to put our faith in, let’s say, our boss or other people who we are interacting with. And actually, they can never be doing things in the best interest of myself because they are not Krishna conscious but one has to put faith in others also, and so many times we suffer. So how does one balance this paradox?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we should put our faith in Krishna. But Krishna is not limited to the temple, Krishna is in everyone’s heart and He can even inspire non-devotees to say something or do something with our interest in mind. So, many times it happens. And I think that as we really do develop faith in Krishna and we really do surrender to Krishna, that more and more Krishna will act through others to help us, even people who are not considered devotees. And again, if we do things like give them prasāda they can be more easily inspired to do what Krishna wants.

There was one man who came to Durban during the height of apartheid in South Africa. And we were in a terrible condition then. So many devotees had been staying in the country illegally without proper visas and the government was so heavy and so nasty. The devotees wanted to build the temple and they were just afraid to approach the government. They thought if the government found out about them the government would ask them to leave. So they stayed as long as they could on their own visas and eventually, they got caught. And so, a very high official from the government came, maybe an Africana gentleman, and he saw the temple construction, and they are like really staunch Christians, they really don’t want any other religion in South Africa except Dutch reform church or whatever it is. So, he was so negative, he was so nasty, the devotees were completely hopeless that they are going to have to leave the country and the construction is going to be stopped. But anyway, they gave him some prasāda to take with him. So he had come maybe from Pretoria. And so on the flight, he opened the box of prasāda, and it just so happened that the airplane circumambulated the temple in the sky. And as the airplane was circumambulating the temple he was taking the prasāda and somehow without any reason something within his heart just told him that he must regularize the devotees’ visas and allow the construction to continue.

So, Krishna is there. And if it is important enough for Krishna, He can inspire the person from within the heart. And especially, if we do things like give people prasāda, they get purified, and it makes them easier to follow Krishna’s dictation from within. So, it is like yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham. I don’t know if you saw the drama that the devotees performed in Pune, but ultimately Krishna provides, and we should have that faith. But it doesn’t mean that we stick wherever we are and never leave because Krishna is there, it may be that some association is not favorable for Krishna consciousness, and we should accept whatever is favorable and reject whatever is unfavorable. At a certain stage Srila Prabhupada left his family because his wife was not favorable. And in the Bhagavad-gītā also, in the purport Srila Prabhupada says that the best way to make the family happy is to be Krishna conscious where the family members can gather together every morning and evening and chant the holy names, discuss books like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, worship the deity, and take kṛṣṇa-prasāda. So he said, “If family life is molded in such a way to be Krishna conscious, then there is no need to leave the family.” But ultimately Srila Prabhupada says, “If family life is not favorable then we should be prepared to leave it and we should be prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause of Krishna consciousness.” So that doesn’t mean that the couple have [Break in audio 01:00:56] consciousness and moving. We should make every effort to follow the Vedic principles, stay together as families, do our duties as husbands, fathers, mothers, wives, and so on. But at a certain stage when one is at the stage of vanaprastha, at the age of vanaprastha, if it is not conducive then one is free to leave. The children are grown up; they will look after the wife. One is free to leave.

Devotee: In the class you were telling us about a friend of Prabhupada, he said that I want to join, but for the last thirty-five years he was not joining. And he said the problem was the animals. So what actually he has to do? They are his domestic animals and there is no one to take care of them, so he just let them die and go to the temple, or he can chant Hare Krishna while taking care of the animals?

Giriraj Swami: Well, Krishna gives intelligence according to our desire. So if we really desire to serve Him, Krishna will give us the intelligence. Sometimes we may be in the most impossible situation but if we really are sincere and depend on Krishna, Krishna will show us the way out. But if we are really attached then Krishna will give us the intelligence to make excuses to stay where we are. But it may be that someone really can’t change his situation, so then the best thing is to use the situation in Krishna’s service. Like when we opened the Juhu temple, he gave two of his elephants for the procession. So, okay stay with your elephants but use them in Krishna’s service. That is the other alternative.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol!