SB 1.7.6 – The Causeless Mercy of the Lord

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto One, Chapter Seven,

TEXT 6

anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād
bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
lokasyājānato vidvāṁś
cakre sātvata-saṁhitām

TRANSLATION

The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada 

Śrīla Vyāsadeva saw the all-perfect Personality of Godhead. This statement suggests that the complete unit of the Personality of Godhead includes His parts and parcels also. He saw, therefore, His different energies, namely the internal energy, the marginal energy and the external energy. He also saw His different plenary portions and parts of the plenary portions, namely His different incarnations also, and he specifically observed the unwanted miseries of the conditioned souls, who are bewildered by the external energy. And at last he saw the remedial measure for the conditioned souls, namely the process of devotional service. It is a great transcendental science and begins with the process of hearing and chanting the name, fame, glory, etc., of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Revival of the dormant affection or love of Godhead does not depend on the mechanical system of hearing and chanting, but it solely and wholly depends on the causeless mercy of the Lord. When the Lord is fully satisfied with the sincere efforts of the devotee, He may endow him with His loving transcendental service. But even with the prescribed forms of hearing and chanting, there is at once mitigation of the superfluous and unwanted miseries of material existence. Such mitigation of material affection does not wait for development of transcendental knowledge. Rather, knowledge is dependent on devotional service for the ultimate realization of the Supreme Truth.

COMMENT

anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād
bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje
lokasyājānato vidvāṁś
cakre sātvata-saṁhitām

So, these very important verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describe what Srila Vyasadeva saw in his trance of pure devotion. Because the present verse relates to the previous verses, I will just read them.

TEXT 4

bhakti-yogena manasi
samyak praṇihite ‘male
apaśyat puruṣaṁ pūrṇaṁ
māyāṁ ca tad-apāśrayām

Thus he fixed his mind, perfectly engaging it by linking it in devotional service [bhakti-yoga] without any tinge of materialism, and thus he saw the Absolute Personality of Godhead along with His external energy, which was under full control.

TEXT 5

yayā sammohito jīva
ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam
paro ‘pi manute ‘narthaṁ
tat-kṛtaṁ cābhipadyate

Due to this external energy, the living entity, although transcendental to the three modes of material nature, thinks of himself as a material product and thus undergoes the reactions of material miseries.

COMMENT

So, Srila Vyasadeva, in his trance of pure devotion, saw the Absolute Truth or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And as Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, seeing the Absolute Truth or seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead implies seeing the plenary portions of the Lord, and the parts of the plenary portions of the Lord, as well as the living entities who are the marginal potency of the Lord.

What is the meaning of marginal potency? We are of marginal potency, but what is the meaning of marginal potency? Srila Prabhupada explains that the marginal energy may sometimes be part of the spiritual nature or sometimes in the material nature. Therefore, he is marginal. Just like the seashore: sometimes the seashore is covered by water, and then it becomes part of the ocean. But sometimes the ocean recedes, and then it becomes part of the land. So, it is marginal; sometimes it is part of the ocean, and sometimes it is part of the land.

So, we are very minute, and therefore we may sometimes be part of the spiritual world, or sometimes we may be part of the material world. But when we are in the material world, we suffer, and that is described in the previous verse—yayā sammohito jīva  ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam, that when the living entity becomes bewildered by the external energy, he considers himself to be a product of material nature. In other words, he thinks that he is the body, and therefore he accepts so many bodily designations: I am man, I am woman, I am rich, I am poor, I am Indian, I am American, so many designations. And on the basis of the designations, he renders service in the bodily concept of life and thus becomes subjected to the threefold miseries of material existence.

So, all of us, I have, have experience of the miseries of material existence, especially birth, death, old age, and disease. We don’t want such miseries, but we are forced to suffer them. Now, persons who are like animals accept the miseries without protest. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said that the development of one’s consciousness can be measured by how much one protests the miseries of material existence. Just like animals are forced to suffer so much, but they hardly protest. And the plants are even more covered than the animals; they don’t protest at all. Trees suffer so many miseries, but they never protest because they are completely covered. Animals are less covered, so if you try to punish an animal, he will protest to some extent.

But in the human form of life, one can protest completely: “No, I don’t want to suffer anymore. I have had enough, and I don’t want to suffer anymore.” That is human life. But how to become free from suffering? That is explained here: Bhakti-yoga, anarthopaśamaṁ sākṣād, bhakti-yogam adhokṣaje. anartha We are all troubled by anarthas. Artha means that which is essential, and anartha means the opposite, that which is not required or not wanted. So, the basic principle of anartha is the material body. We actually don’t need the material body; rather, the material body just creates so many miseries. But yayā sammohito jīva ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakam the living entity, bewildered by the material modes of nature, thinks that he is the body and therefore he suffers so many miseries because he is attached to the body. But when we realize that we are not the body, that we are part and parcel of Krishna, and our real relationship is with the Lord and not with the material energy, then we can engage in the linking process of devotional service. “That I am not part and parcel of the material world; I am part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. So, my real relationship is with Him, not with the body or the extensions of the body.”

Then one will think, “How to revive my relationship with Him?” And then he can engage in the linking process of devotional service. The linking process of devotional service confirms that we are not the body but that we are the soul. We are the eternal servants of the Lord. Just like here, we see such nice deity worship. So, by deity worship, we confirm that we are not the body; we are the soul, and we are rendering service to the Supreme Soul. And thus, gradually, we become elevated out of the material consciousness that forces us to suffer the material miseries. But the mass of people do not know this. The mass of people think that they are the body, and they are madly pursuing sense gratification. They think, “I am the body, and everyone wants to be happy, so they think that if I please the senses of the body, I will be pleasing myself.” But actually, the body is not the self, and therefore they can never be satisfied by sense gratification.

Once Srila Prabhupada, not once, many times, told the story of the bird in the cage, and sometimes devotees also perform dramas about the bird in the cage. So, one person had a bird, and he kept the bird in the cage, and he was very preoccupied with the cage. It was a very beautiful cage, so he always used to polish the bars of the cage. He used to decorate the cage with nice flowers, and he used to, light incense and do so many things to create a nice atmosphere. But he forgot to feed the bird. He was so absorbed in polishing the cage and decorating the cage; he forgot to feed the bird. And the poor bird ultimately died.

So, what is the significance of the story? The body is like a cage, and we, foolish conditioned souls, become so absorbed in polishing the bars of the cage or decorating the body, pampering the body, we forget the soul, which is the real person in the body. And because we don’t feed the soul, the soul dies. Of course, the soul does not die in one sense because Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre the soul is not killed when the body is killed. The soul is eternal, but spiritually it becomes dead because it is not fed spiritually food. And what is spiritual food? Spiritual food is Krishna, Krishna consciousness. Ultimately, Krishna, who so kindly appears in Kali-yuga in the form of hari-nāma. So if we want to feed the bird in the cage, or if we want to feed the real person who’s engaged within the material body, we have to chant

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

and hear the topics of Krishna. Remember the topics of Krishna, somehow or other be engaged in the service of Krishna, and that feeds us spiritually. That will nourish us. And therefore, the first items in devotional service are śravaṇam, kīrtanam, Vishnu smaraṇam, hearing about Krishna. Just like just by sitting here and listening, you are engaging in devotional service. You are hearing, and then after hearing, when you repeat what you have heard, that is chanting. You hear the holy name of Krishna and you repeat it; that is kīrtanam. You hear the transcendental science of Krishna and you repeat it; that is kīrtanam. And after hearing and then repeating, you are bound to remember Krishna, and that is smaraṇam. These are the beginning processes of devotional service, and they can lift us up out of the material quagmire and fix us at the lotus feet of Krishna. But Srila Prabhupada makes a very important point here: Revival of the dormant affection or love of Godhead does not depend on the mechanical system of hearing and chanting, but it solely and wholly depends on the causeless mercy of the Lord. When the Lord is fully satisfied with the sincere efforts of the devotee, He may endow him with His transcendental loving service.

So yes, hearing and chanting are the beginning of devotional service, and we must hear and chant. But hearing and chanting alone is not sufficient to develop transcendental love for the Supreme Lord. One depends on the causeless mercy of the Lord. So how do we get the Lord’s mercy? As Srila Prabhupada explained in the purport, when the Lord is pleased by the sincere efforts of the devotee, then the Lord will bestow His loving service upon the devotee, unto the devotee, ata sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih that the Lord as mentioned here as adhokṣaja bhakti yoga adhokṣaja, unto adhokṣaja who is transcendental. So, we cannot approach the Lord, who is transcendental, with material senses. We chant the holy name, and the holy name is Krishna, but are we actually in touch with Krishna?

In one sense we are, but in another sense, we are not because our senses are not purified, and we cannot approach Krishna with impure senses. So, we have to purify our senses, and the process for purifying the senses is bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga means ultimately doing anything and everything for the pleasure of the Lord. So, the Lord Himself comes with a specific mission, and that is to reclaim the fallen souls. And if someone helps the Lord in His mission, then the Lord becomes pleased, and He reveals Himself to the devotee, and He blesses the devotee with transcendental loving service.

So yes, we have to chant and hear, no doubt. But we also have to serve the Lord and please the Lord. And nothing pleases the Lord as much as preaching His glories or spreading His mission. So, if we help in the spread of Krishna consciousness, then the Lord will be pleased, and He will bless us with pure devotional service. Otherwise, simply mechanically chanting and hearing, even if we chant one lakh names daily, but if we don’t, please the Lord with our loving service, if we don’t, please the Lord by spreading His mission of mercy, we will not get pure devotional service. So therefore, Srila Prabhupada says, the revival of the dormant affection or love of Godhead does not depend on the mechanical system of hearing and chanting, but it solely and wholly depends on the causeless mercy of the Lord. When the Lord is fully satisfied with the sincere efforts of the devotee, He may endow Him with His loving transcendental service. But even within the prescribed forms of hearing and chanting, there is at once mitigation of the superfluous and unwanted miseries of material existence. Even if we haven’t come to the stage where we can fully surrender to the mission of the Lord, but we have some interest in Krishna consciousness and we are beginning the process of hearing and chanting about the Lord, even then, we can immediately feel relief from the miseries of material existence.

Just like probably everyone in the room here during satsaṅga feels relief from the material miseries. Sometimes we become so absorbed in Krishna consciousness, are so happy in Krishna consciousness, we forget the miseries of material existence. We forget our bodies, forget our families, forget our hankerings, forget our lamentations. So that is the beginning, and the process is so powerful that even in the beginning, one feels relief from the material miseries. But if we actually want to achieve the goal of human life, if we actually want to achieve the culmination of devotional service, then we must surrender to the mission of the Lord and work to the best of our ability to spread the mission of the Lord. Then when He is pleased with us for our sincere efforts, He will bless us with pure devotional service, and our lives will become perfect. Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments?

Devotee1 : In the previous verse, Vyasadeva saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead [Unintelligible 00:28:20]

Giriraj Swami: Krishna Nath Prabhu said what did Vyasadeva actually see in His transept of pure devotion.

So, he saw the Lord and His internal potency as well as His external potency, which was fully under control. Materialistic persons know only material nature. They think that everything is matter, and they try to control material nature. Some years ago, there was a great drought in India, and people wanted to control material nature. They wanted to make rainfall, but they could not succeed. Sometimes they send airplanes in the sky to seed the clouds and try to extract water from the clouds, and maybe a little rain may come, and maybe it won’t. But basically, we cannot control material nature. Rather, we are under the control of material nature.

Then anyway, the people, the drought, I think, was in Andhra Pradesh and other places. So, the people decided to perform a sacrifice to please the Lord with the idea that if the Lord was pleased, there would be rain. So, it just so happened that I visited the Tirupati temple on the day of the sacrifice. And we always enjoyed very good relations with the managers of the temple. So, they invited us up to the sacrificial fire, and they gave us all respect and honor. By the end of the sacrifice, there was rain. Of course, before that, I mean some years before that, there was another big drought. And without all the elaborate arrangements for the sacrifice done at the Tirupati temple, we had the Hare Krishna festival in downtown Hyderabad. And immediately after the festival, there was a great downpour of rain. And Srila Prabhupada commented that by saṅkīrtana yagna, the drought ended and rain came.

So, we don’t really have to try to control material nature as the demons try to control material nature and fail. We just have to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And because material nature is fully under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can order the material nature to give rain or to withhold rain. He can order the material nature to produce foods or to withhold the supply. So therefore, it is mentioned that material nature is under the full control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not under our control. Rather, we are under her control. Therefore, yayā sammohito jīva, we are bewildered by material nature, and therefore we consider ourselves to be products of material nature.

So, Srila Vyasadeva, he saw everything. He saw everything. He saw the living entities, the Supreme Lord, the internal energy. External energy, the miseries of material existence, and the process for mitigating the miseries, which is bhakti-yoga. But exactly what he saw, we cannot know. But when we attain the same consciousness, then we can know. But this is the most important point: that the material nature is under the control of the Supreme Lord. We are being punished by the material nature. The material nature is personified as Durga, and Durga always rides on her lion carrier, and she carries her trident, triśūla. She pierces the demons or conditioned souls with which she pierces the demons or conditioned souls. And the three prongs of the trident represent the threefold miseries of material nature. So, we are always being pierced by the miseries of material existence. We cannot escape. Durga devi is so powerful; we cannot fight against her. We cannot overpower her. No.

But she is a servant of Krishna, the most obedient servant of Krishna. So, if Krishna orders Her, “You release this rascal; he has become a devotee now,” then she will release him. Otherwise, we cannot escape. And then Krishna states the same principle in Bhagavad-gītā: daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, that the material nature, which consists of the three modes, is very difficult to overcome — duratyayā almost impossible to overcome; mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, but one who surrenders to Krishna, he can easily cross over material nature. So, as Srila Prabhupada said, we cannot fight maya directly because maya is too powerful. But we can fight maya indirectly by surrendering to Krishna. And if we surrender to Krishna, Krishna will order maya to release us, and thus we will be free. And again, Srila Prabhupada said, if we are troubled by maya, if we are harassed by maya, we should chant very loudly.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Some devotees ask the question that if we chant loudly, people may become disturbed. But Srila Prabhupada said, “No, they won’t become disturbed. And even if they do, don’t mind.” Because one devotee was saying that he would go out preaching—at the time we were making life members—so the devotee said, “We go out preaching, and sometimes our minds get a little disturbed, a little distracted. So, what should we do?” Srila Prabhupada said, “You should chant Hare Krishna loudly.” And then he said, “But we are walking on the street, we are going up and down the lifts, and people may look at us.” So, Srila Prabhupada said, “Let them look.” Yes,

Devotee 2: Maharaja you said that animals cannot protest. The trees also, but there are some human beings which are like animals. Then how he can understand that, those they look like human being but their tendencies are like animals. So, what is the solution for them?

Giriraj Swami: We just spent the last half-hour explaining what the solution is: bhakti-yoga. It is true, as you have said, that their bodies are of humans, but their consciousness is of animals. That is true. “Human” doesn’t mean having two hands and two legs and standing around erect and having opposable thumbs.

Devotee 2: “They don’t listen at all. They are not interested in either listening or enchanting.”

Giriraj Swami: Then you should shout in their ears and make them listen.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Devotee 3: [Unintelligible 00:38:43]

Giriraj Swami: Well. Someone asked the same question to Srila Prabhupada: that if everyone becomes Krishna conscious, who will look after the world? So, Srila Prabhupada said, “The question was like asking, if everyone becomes rich, who will be the driver?” Yes, everyone can’t become rich. So similarly, everyone can’t become Krishna conscious. Srila Prabhupada’s response was, “The danger is not that too many people will become Krishna conscious. The danger is that not enough people will become Krishna conscious.”

Devotee 3: [Unintelligible 00:39:35]

Giriraj Swami: Because if Srila Prabhupada didn’t come and preach none of us would be Krishna conscious. The whole world would be completely demonic and hellish. So, we are just struggling to have enough devotees. “You think we have enough devotees?” “You think that the world has enough devotees?” No. The world has too many demons and not enough devotees. So, there is a terrible imbalance right now. So, we are making propaganda to try to increase the number of devotees and decrease the number of demons. So, there can be a better balance.

In the state, not everyone can be honest. Definitely not. Everyone can be honest. There will always be criminals. There will always be prisons. There will always be prisoners. But we want as many as possible to be good citizens and as few as possible to be prisoners, both for the sake of the state as well as for the sake of the criminals because the criminals suffer in prison. So, we want as many people to become Krishna conscious as possible, so that people don’t suffer. But it is true, not everyone can become—they can, but they won’t. Not everyone will become Krishna conscious. But becoming Krishna conscious doesn’t necessarily mean living as a brahmachari or sannyasi. One can also be a grihastha. It is not that being Krishna conscious means that everyone must be a teacher of spiritual knowledge. I mean, everyone will be a teacher of spiritual knowledge to some extent, but there will also be administrators who are Krishna conscious. There will also be farmers who are Krishna conscious. There will also be laborers who are Krishna conscious. And the work of the world will go on. But the work which is essential—artha, the work which is essential: producing food grains, protecting the cows, and producing milk, not maintaining slaughterhouses and breweries, and manufacturing; so many unwanted and unnecessary items. But the basic necessities will be provided, and different people, according to their natures, will work in the system, in the society. But they can all be Krishna conscious and do whatever work they are doing for Krishna, in Krishna consciousness.

Devotee 4: What exactly does the word “plenary portion” mean? Lord Krishna is supposed to have sixty-four transcendental qualities. So, is it that the plenary portions have less of these qualities, or they have the same qualities but in lesser quantity? And are the plenary portions equivalent to God? Are they equivalent to servants of God?

Giriraj Swami: Dr. Johnny asks, “What is the meaning of plenary portion?”

Well, plenary means full. So, the plenary portion means a full portion of the Supreme Lord. They have all the qualities of the Lord in full. Now, it is true that Srila Rupa Gosvami has analyzed that Lord Krishna has some qualities which even Lord Narayana does not have. But those relate to Krishna’s beauty, Krishna’s pastimes, and so on, in the spiritual world. But as far as the other sixty qualities, Lord Narayana has them to the same extent as Lord Krishna. So, for us in the material world, there is no difference between the potency of Lord Narayana and the potency of Lord Krishna. They are equal.

The living entities can have up to fifty of the sixty-four qualities, but in a minute quantity. Not in—not to the same extent as God. So, as Srila Prabhupada said, “You can become godly, but you cannot become God.” And Lord Shiva, he is more than the living entities, but he is less than Lord Vishnu. So, he has up to fifty-five qualities.

Devotee 4: The word “full portion” is still a little bit of a contradiction. How can it be full and still be a portion?

Giriraj Swami: Well Brahma, he says that the phrase “plenary portion” seems to be contradictory because how can the portion be full? Well, spiritually, it can be full. Materially, if you have something and you take a portion of it, the portion will be less than the original quantity. But spiritually,

pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate

That you can take an equal portion from Krishna, and Krishna will remain full, and the portion will also be full. This is transcendental mathematics Srila Prabhupada said This is transcendental mathematics. In the spiritual world, one plus one equals one, and one minus one equals one. Brahma-saṁhitā gives an example that if you have one candle, from the first candle, you can light a second candle; from the second candle, you can light a third candle; from the third candle, you can light a fourth candle, and they all have the same candle power. But still, there is one original candle, which is Krishna. And Krishna expands as Balarama, and so on.

Devotee 5: How can we be convinced to follow the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga?

Giriraj Swami: How can we be convinced to follow the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga? 

Well, we begin by hearing. By hearing, we can be convinced. Hearing kṛṣṇa-kathā, śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ, puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ that by hearing talks of Krishna, we are engaging in pious activities. And the Lord, who is situated within the heart of the devotee, cleanses the desire for material enjoyment from within the heart. We have so many dirty things in the heart, and for us to clean out the dirty things is almost impossible. But if we become eager to hear the messages of Godhead, then the Lord Himself, who’s situated within the heart as the best friend of the devotee, He will Himself take up the work and cleanse the dirty things from within the heart. Suhṛt satām is the well-wishing friend of the truthful devotees. So, Srila Prabhupada has explained the word satām. satām, he translated as truthful devotees. Sat means truth, and sad also means devotees because devotees are in connection with the Absolute Truth. So, Srila Prabhupada explained truthful devotee as one who has no other business except Krishna consciousness. If we have some other business besides Krishna consciousness, we are not really truthful. We are showing that we are devotees, but we are not really truthful because secretly we have some other business besides devotional service.

So, when we have some other business besides devotional service, Krishna doesn’t reciprocate in the same way as He does when we are truthful devotees and we have no other business besides devotional service. And here also, the same word comes sāttvataḥ in relation with the Supreme Truth, and devotees are also called sāttvata. They are in relation with the Supreme Truth. So, we should be truthful. We should not be duplicitous. We should have only one interest, which is devotional service. And when we have only one interest, and we hear the messages of Krishna with the desire how to improve in devotional service, how to increase in devotional service, then Krishna, from within the heart, helps, and He cleanses the desire for material enjoyment from within the heart, and He gives us the strength and intelligence to follow the process.

The other way is to associate with devotees. And by associating with devotees who are following the regulator principles of devotional service, if you also follow the regulated principles of devotional service, and begin to experience the higher taste, then you will continue by the mercy of the association of the devotees. But the association of devotees ultimately means hearing from the devotees. So, we come back to the same point: hearing. Bhagavad-gītā says we have to control the lower self with the higher self. The mind is higher than the senses, and the intelligence is higher than the mind. So, you have to control the mind and the senses with the intelligence. That means the intelligence has to be stronger than the mind and the senses. And Srila Prabhupada said the process for making the intelligence stronger is hearing. So again, we come back to hearing. 

Devotee 6: [Unintelligible 00:51:44]

Giriraj Swami: He can take prasāda, prasāda prayers are the perfect answer.

mahā-prasāde govinde nāma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave
sv-alpa-puṇyavatāṁ rājan viśvāso naiva jāyate

On the absolute platform mahā-prasāda Govinda the holy name mahā-prasāde govinde nāma-brahmaṇi vaiṣṇave pure devotees and brahmans they are all same. So if one cannot do anything else he can take prasāda and by taking prasāda he can be purified and he can become Krishna conscious. So, we have something for everybody. But you, who have ears you should hear about Krishna, you should use your ears to hear about Krishna, you should use your tongue to chant the holy name of Krishna and take Krishna prasādam, and you will be successful. It is not that one needs some material qualification to engage in devotional service. Whatever capacity one has, he should use in the service of the Lord.

So, if someone is illiterate, he can’t read, he still can be Krishna conscious. He can just chant Hare Krishna and hear from saintly persons. But if one has the ability to read, he should use the ability to read the Vedic scriptures compiled by Vyasadeva, like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, you don’t have to develop some capacity which you don’t have. Whatever capacity you have, you simply use in the service of the Lord. Yes,

Devotee 7: Maharaja, we had one devotee who was deaf and dumb, and not only did he become Krishna conscious, but then he started speaking with sign languages to the other different terms. And the person who was teaching him the sign languages, he taught him Krishna consciousness, and he is one of our topmost preachers today.

Giriraj Swami: Haribol

Devotee8: [Unintelligible 00:54:28] There are many people who come to Krishna consciousness with many allegories, like intellectual urge, augmented urge, or physical characters, like that. And one may, of course, feel some kind of satisfaction by performing those in service. How does one discriminate between the satisfaction that arises from Krishna’s satisfaction and the satisfaction that arises from one’s own material urge?

Giriraj Swami: He says that one may come to Krishna consciousness with some personal desires. One may want, one may have desires for the intellect, for the mind, for the senses, and he may try to satisfy them in Krishna consciousness. So, how can we distinguish between the satisfaction of the intellect, mind, and senses which arise from?

Devotee 8: Another one satisfaction arises from Krishna consciousness

Giriraj Swami: Yes, how can, But the thing is that in Krishna consciousness, Krishna is the center. So, as long as Krishna is the center, then whatever satisfaction we get arises from Krishna’s satisfaction. Once, our godbrother Gurudasa Prabhu asked Srila Prabhupada that he enjoys playing the kartals in the kirtan. So, isn’t that a sense gratification? And Srila Prabhupada replied that sense gratification is there, it is either spiritual or material. But playing the kartals in the kirtan is spiritual. So, that is the beauty of Krishna consciousness. But there is nice song, there is nice dance, there is nice music, there is nice food. But with Krishna as the center, and the satisfaction we get in the process of devotional service is spiritual. We don’t have to be, we don’t have to feel ashamed that we are taking pleasure in the activities of devotional service because the pleasure is spiritual because Krishna is the center.

Devotee 9: Maharaja I would like to ask the Radhe Shyam question on more concrete terms, that how do we come to the stage of Krishna consciousness where we are offering bhoga to Krishna, what Krishna likes to eat, and not leave what we like to eat, and then take prasādam.

Giriraj Swami: He want to ask Radhe Shyam Prabhu

Devotee 9: No, I want to ask you in more concrete terms question with example. He likes to cook what he wants to eat, and then offer to Kirshna.

Giriraj Swami: Dr. Jonny says that how do we come to the stage where, instead of offering Krishna the type of food that we want to eat, we offer Krishna the type of food that Krishna wants to eat?

Well, Krishna does not want to eat food. Krishna wants your love and devotion. And, whatever you prepare, if you prepare with love and devotion for Krishna, Krishna will accept it. Srila Prabhupada told the story of Duryodhana, that he invited Krishna for a royal banquet, but because he had no love for Krishna, Krishna did not go. But rather, Krishna preferred to go to the house of Vidura, who was a very poor man. And when Krishna visited, Vidura and his wife were so overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Krishna. All they had in the house was bananas, but they were so overwhelmed with ecstatic love that they were peeling the bananas and offering Krishna the skin and throwing the fruit. And Krishna was eating the skins, and He was appreciating that, “Oh, this is such nectar. I have never had such nectar.”

So, Krishna doesn’t enjoy anything material, but He takes pleasure in the love with which the offering is made. So, of course, there are some things that Krishna doesn’t like; meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic. Those things we can’t offer. But Srila Prabhupada said that, anything made of ingredients that are acceptable to Krishna, if food is prepared with love and devotion and offered with love and devotion, Krishna will accept it. It is not that we can offer only makhan. Of course, Krishna likes makhan, but even if we offer pizza with love and devotion, Krishna will accept it. 

Devotee 10: [Unintelligible 01:00:30]

Giriraj Swami: This is a very important point. He says, at what point does a person fully fix himself in devotional service? He says that when he is with the devotees, he is able to link himself with Krishna through the process of devotional service, it is all right. But when he leaves the association of devotees, again, he wavers. So, at what point does one actually become fixed?

Well, there are progressive stages, and as one progresses in devotional service, he becomes more fixed. That is true, but at the same time, we shouldn’t think that when we become more advanced in devotional service, we won’t need the association of devotees. Because Lord Chaitanya says that by the association of devotees, one awakens dormant love for Krishna. And even after one has awakened dormant love for Krishna, still, the association of devotees is most essential. So, we should not say that, “Oh, now I am weak; I need the association of devotees, but when I become strong, I won’t need the association.” The nature of devotees is that they want the association of devotees. The six Gosvamis were on the highest platform of devotional service, but they were always associating together, chanting, and dancing, and speaking and listening. That is the life of devotees.

And we see so often when devotees are offered a benediction, what is the benediction that they ask? They ask to hear the glories of the Lord from the lips of pure devotees. Srila Bhaktivinoda prayed that he doesn’t mind taking birth again as long as he can have the association of devotees. But he doesn’t want to take birth as Lord Brahma without devotion to Krishna. But if he takes birth as an ant in the house of a devotee, he will be very happy. So, it is true that as we advance in devotional service, we will become more steady, we’ll become more fixed. But not that now I am fixed in devotional service, so I don’t need the association of devotees. We should always desire the association of pure devotees. And our goal also is not to become Krishna conscious alone. We want to help others to become Krishna conscious also. And if we work together in a concerted way to spread Krishna consciousness, then we will be more effective in preaching Krishna consciousness, and Krishna will be more pleased.

So, devotee means one who wants to please Krishna only. So, if Krishna is more pleased by a combined effort to preach Krishna consciousness, then we should preach Krishna consciousness in the association of other devotees for the pleasure of Krishna. We always want the association. Yes, exactly. As one advances in devotional sweetness, he more and more wants the association of pure devotees, and he more and more wants to avoid intimate association with non-devotees. And that is the sign that he is becoming fixed, exactly.

Okay, thank you very much. Hare Krishna