SB 1.13.9 – Association Is Most Important

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya 

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Thirteen, “Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home,”

TEXT 9

kayā vṛttyā vartitaṁ vaś
caradbhiḥ kṣiti-maṇḍalam
tīrthāni kṣetra-mukhyāni
sevitānīha bhūtale

TRANSLATION

While traveling on the surface of the earth, how did you maintain your livelihood? At which holy places and pilgrimage sites did you render service?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Vidura went out from the palace to detach himself from household affairs, especially political intrigues. As referred to hereinbefore, he was practically insulted by Duryodhana’s calling him a son of a śūdrāṇī, although it was not out of place to talk loosely in the case of one’s grandmother. Vidura’s mother, although a śūdrāṇī, was the grandmother of Duryodhana, and funny talks are sometimes allowed between grandmother and grandchildren. But because the remark was an actual fact, it was unpalatable talk to Vidura, and it was accepted as a direct insult. He therefore decided to quit his paternal house and prepare for the renounced order of life. This preparatory stage is called vānaprastha-āśrama, or retired life for traveling and visiting the holy places on the surface of the earth. In the holy places of India, like Vṛndāvana, Hardwar, Jagannātha Purī, and Prayāga, there are many great devotees, and there are still free kitchen houses for persons who desire to advance spiritually. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was inquisitive to learn whether Vidura maintained himself by the mercy of the free kitchen houses (chatras).

COMMENT

So the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has been described, vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga. Vairāgya means detachment, vidyā means knowledge, and bhakti-yoga means devotional service. Lord Chaitanya descended on to the earth in order to teach the principles of renunciation and knowledge, and ultimately devotional service. The whole Vedic process is meant to help one to develop detachment. Therefore, there are four ashrams or stages of life. In the three of the four, detachment is specifically cultivated, namely brahmachari ashram, vanaprastha ashram, and sannyasa ashram. Only in one category or in one ashram is association between men and woman allowed, and that is grihastha ashram. Generally, in grihastha ashram, the association between husband and wife is controlled or regulated so that the couple can ultimately develop detachment and enter the stage of vanaprastha ashram. Because their ultimate goal is to go back home back to Godhead to serve Krishna. Or in other word, to develop attachment for Krishna. Bhagavad-gītā explains that whatever one thinks at the time of death, will determine his next birth. If we think of a dog at the time of death, we can take birth as dog. If we think of God at the time of death, we can go to God.

But generally, we will think of the thing at the time of death to which we are most attached. Sometimes, I told the story of our god-brother Vaikunthanath dasa. Vaikunthanath dasa was driving his car and his car stalled on railway track. So he looked at the window and saw in the distance that one train was coming. Still he thought let me get the car to start. He became so absorb in trying to start the car that he did not notice the train was coming very close. Suddenly, he looked out the window and he saw the train was just about to hit the car. Then immediately, he started chanting,

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

He was chanting very loudly and very intensely. Then the train hit the car. And he just thought What about my wife, and he lost the consciousness. Fortunately, he lived to tell the story. But the lesson to be derived from the incident is that even if we know that we should chant the holy name of Krishna at the last moment, but generally we will think of at the last moment whatever we most attached to. If we more attached to our wife, we may think of our wife. If we more attached to Krishna, then we will think of Krishna. So we have to increase our attachment to Krishna so that we become so attached to Krishna that in spite of all the mental and physical disturbances at the time of death, we will think of him, and go back home back to Godhead. Otherwise, we have to take birth again in the material world and suffer again the repetition of birth, disease, old age, and death.

So, we should be intelligent. We should think, cultivating attachment for material things is going to oblige me to take birth and suffer again, why not cultivate the attachment for Krishna, which ultimately liberates me from material bondage. Some classes of transcendentalist, impersonalist understand that attachment to material things causes bondage and sufferings. Actually, every class of transcendentalist understand that material attachment brings material miseries. But one class of transcendentalist who are impersonalist think that solution is to become completely free from all attachment, so they want to stop all attachment. They want to make attachment zero. Desire zero, no thinking, no feeling, no desiring, no acting. They want to make everything zero, void. But we cannot stop desire. We cannot stop thinking, feeling, and acting. As Srila Prabhupada said, we are not stones. We cannot live without attachment. But material attachment is the cause of greatest bondage, the greatest misery. Therefore, the shastra says we have to transfer our attachment from maya to Krishna. From material activity to spiritual activity, from mundane relationship to transcendental relationship. Then we can be liberated in a very practical way. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam contains a very beautiful verse, yat pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā. There the devotee praise that devotees who serve the tips of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord become free from all material desires. Others who are not devotees like jnanis and yogis, they try to become free from material desire but they cannot succeed because desires keep coming like waves, which flow incessantly, and therefore they cannot become free. Therefore, the devotee advises one should engage in the service of Vasudeva, Krishna. Srila Prabhupada raises the question that desires keep coming like waves, just like the waves of river keep coming without stopping. So the waves of desire keep coming.

So how can we become free from material desires? The answer is that the waves of a river flow somewhere. They flow into the ocean, and sometimes at the time of high tide, the waves of the ocean overflood the river. And the waves of the ocean become more prominent than the waves of the river. So when our desire to serve Krishna becomes so strong, when our desire to spread Krishna consciousness becomes so strong, it can overwhelm stagnant material desires. So we cannot artificially stop the waves of desire but we can change the quality of desire they are. We cannot stop desire but we can change the quality of desire. We replace inferior desires with superior desires, we can replace desires for sense gratification with desires for devotional services. We cannot stop the activities of the mind and senses but we can engage the mind and senses in the service of Lord Krishna, then the mind and senses can be controlled. There are processes which try to stop the activities of the senses through meditation or similar other process, but for how long can we stop the activities of the mind and senses? Better to engage the mind and senses in positive activity.

Of course, the system of yoga practice to control the mind and senses is recommended in the scriptures, even in Bhagavad-gītā. But the process is recommended for persons who cannot control their mind and senses. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if a student misbehaves in the classroom, the teacher may ask the student to stand in the corner. You just stand in the corner, you look at the wall, you don’t say anything, you don’t look anywhere, you don’t do anything because the child cannot behave properly. But better than standing in the corner and looking at the wall is sitting, listening to the class, studying, doing the homework, and behaving in a positive, constructive, congenial way. So the yoga system is like standing in the corner and looking at the wall. It is meant for persons who just cannot behave properly. Behave properly means engage in the service of the Lord. So we engage in superior desires, in superior activities. And one way, that one’s desires and activities are engaged in Krishna consciousness is visiting holy places. One of the ways that our desires and our activities can be dovetailed in Krishna consciousness is by visiting holy places. Because people have the desire to see new places, they have desire to see new things. So the desire to travel and see sights can be dovetailed in visiting holy places, to seeing the beautiful forms of the Lord in the temples. But the real benefit in visiting a holy place comes in associating with the saintly persons who reside there. Because by associating with the saintly person, one can hear of the science of Krishna. And one can actually learn how to engage in the service of the Lord twenty-four hours under the guidance of the saintly person. Therefore, Lord Krishna Himself says in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that persons who go to holy places just to take bath and who never take advantage of the association of the saintly persons in the holy place are no better than cows and asses. Even animals can take bath in the sacred rivers or the holy ponds of the holy places. But they cannot take advantage of the merciful instructions of the saintly persons in the holy places.

So Vidura visited the holy places certainly, but Vidura’s main profit came when he met Maitreya Muni and heard the description of the pastimes of the Lord from Maitreya Muni. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada wanted to establish major temples in the holy places of India, so that persons who go to India for spiritual life can come in contact with ISKCON, with the devotees of Srila Prabhupada and get proper guidance. So association is the most important factor in devotional services. And Srila Prabhupada says, man is a social animal. He cannot live without company. So if he does not associate with pure devotees, he is bound to associate with materialistic persons. And by the association of materialistic persons become degraded and entangled in sinful activities. Sinful activities means any activity outside Krishna consciousness. And if he associates with saintly persons, he will become saintly specifically by hearing from pure devotees and rendering service to pure devotees, he can become a pure devotee himself, and thus, become liberated from the bondage of material existence. Therefore, in the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kapila deva tells Devahuti that every learned person knows that attachment to the material is the greatest source of bondage. But the same attachment when applied to self-realized devotees opens the door to liberation.

Therefore, we need the association of pure devotees. And Srila Prabhupada created ISKCON specifically for that purpose—to give people the chance to associate with pure devotees so that they in turn can be trained to become pure devotees themselves. Therefore, ISKCON meant a society of pure devotees. But to become pure devotees, we have to be fully engaged with body, mind, and word in service of the Lord. If we think Well, I serve Krishna 50 percent and I will enjoy for myself 50 percent, then we have remained in material world. But if we think as Srila Prabhupada said, his policy was that “everything for Krishna nothing for myself,” then we always be happy. We will never complain. So this is our mission—everything for Krishna nothing for myself. When we fully engaged in service of the Lord in spreading Krishna consciousness then our mind, our senses, our hearts, our souls will become completely satisfied, because Krishna will be satisfied, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will be satisfied, Srila Prabhupada will be satisfied. When they are satisfied, automatically we will be satisfied.

Recently I was on the festival program in Poland. And in one class, I mentioned one quotation from Caitanya-caritāmṛta. When Srila Prabhupada explains that when the members of the Pancha-tattva see that people are coming and chanting and dancing and taking prasāda and becoming free from material desires, They become exceedingly happy and They smile with great pleasure. Or They actually laugh and dance in ecstasy. So I commented that when people come to our festivals and they chant and dance and take prasāda, the Pancha-tattva is pleased. When the Pancha-tattva is pleased, automatically we are pleased. Well, the festival program in Poland is very blissful because the devotees go on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana for six hours every day. And then in the evening, they have a festival with more chanting and dancing for another four hours.

So chanting and dancing for so many hours every day definitely one will feel very ecstatic. But there is a special added pleasure that comes from the fact that new people are chanting and dancing. And because new people are coming to chant and dance and take prasāda, Lord Chaitanya and the other members of the Pancha-tattva are pleased. Therefore once, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami remarked to me his own idea that chanting Hare Krishna alone is perfect, chanting Hare Krishna with devotees is more perfect, and chanting Hare Krishna with devotees and in public is most perfect. And actually, because the pleasure of the Lord increases when more and more people come and chant, so the pleasure of chanting also increases with more people. Last night we did hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana in Madrid, and we came to one place where hundreds of people literally gathered around and the chanting and dancing became so blissful because so many other people were at least watching and listening.

So coming back to the festival program in Poland, on the last day one devotee came just to the festival to take pictures. And he was feeling that my statement in class was being confirmed. Because he had other service, he didn’t have the opportunity to come out on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and chant and dance so many hours. Why not join in the chanting and dancing on the stage? He was just taking pictures but even he felt a deep sense of transcendental pleasure, not directly because he was chanting and dancing but because of the members of Pancha-tattva were pleased, because Srila Prabhupada was pleased. And because they were pleased even though he was just taking photographs he felt the same ecstasy or at least part of the same ecstasy as the devotees who are directly engaged in singing and dancing.

So, such festival programs especially in certain places like maybe Spain also, is the best way to make new devotees and also to inspire the existing devotees. And when we become fully engaged in such activities then it will  please the Lord so much then naturally we become pleased by the mercy of the Lord, and actually experiencing the higher taste of Krishna consciousness, we lose the taste for inferior material things. And it is also practical. And the festivals are so nice that even the children can participate. Yesterday, some of the young girls were nicely dressed in saris and decorated with gopī dots, and just by being dressed so nicely and decorated so nicely and chanting and dancing and smiling people are attracted. So festivals are a wonderful engagement for children. And different devotees have different talents. Some can play musical instruments, some can perform dramas, some can cook, some can dance nicely, some can draw. Devotees have so many different talents and so many different talents can be engaged in festivals. And if nothing else, we can chant and dance, which is actually our main business. So let us try to apply the good instructions we are receiving from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in our real life. And by actually experiencing the bliss of Krishna consciousness, we will become detached from material things and we will gain faith in the process of Krishna consciousness. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:54:15]

Giriraj Swami: Well there are different stages of pure devotees.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:55:02]

Giriraj Swami: But Srila Prabhupada has said that one who is following the regulative principles and sincerely serving the spiritual master is to be considered pure devotee. And various scriptures like Caitanya-caritāmṛta confirm that pure devotional service begins with sādhana-bhakti and progresses to bhāva-bhakti, and then prema-bhakti. Sādhana-bhakti means devotional service in practice. Bhāva-bhakti means devotional service in ecstasy. And prema-bhakti means pure devotional service in love of Godhead, pure love of Godhead. There can be a lot of politics even in spiritual life. And maybe for whatever reason, people will claim that there is no pure devotee here, you have to go there for pure devotee. But on what basis do they make such statement? How do they know who is a pure devotee? How can they say there is no pure devotees here, there is pure devotee there? How do they know? It is almost like there is pure devotions everywhere except ISKCON. Everyone is a pure devotee except in ISKCON. But how can they judge?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:58:30]

Giriraj Swami: I don’t say that you have to give everything to Krishna. I just said if you give everything to Krishna, you will be happy. If you give 50 percent to Krishna, you will be 50 percent happy. Whatever you can give, you should give. And to that extent, you will be happy. And to whatever extent you try to keep things for yourself to enjoy to, that extent you will suffer.

Devotee: The service now is he came to a certain realization that he would like to explain. [Unintelligible 01:00:50]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Lord Chaitanya asked Haridasa Thakura that, “How can a living entity will be liberated in Kali-yuga?” And he professes his statement by saying, “My dear Haridasa, I am in great anxiety for the conditioned soul, how can be they liberated in Kali-yuga?” And Haridasa Thakura replied, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety. All of the conditioned souls can be liberated by chanting the holy names of God.” Srila Prabhupada comments that this is real service to the Lord. When the Lord feels anxiety for the conditioned souls, the devotee consoles Him and says, do not be in anxiety. The conditioned souls can be liberated by chanting the holy names. And he works to engage the conditioned souls in chanting, to deliver them from bondage of material existence and thus relives the anxiety of the Lord. So when we distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, we distribute instructions on devotional service, which have the potency to liberate the conditioned souls from the bondage of material existence. So you are right; by preaching, by distributing books, we are giving pleasure to the Lord and at the same time relieving the Lord’s anxiety. However big or small our efforts may be.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:05:40]