BG 9.14 – Cheating God or Cheating Ourselves

Giriraj Swami: Reading from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is Chapter Nine, “Most Confidential Knowledge.”

TEXT 14

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

TRANSLATION

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The mahātmā cannot be manufactured by rubber-stamping an ordinary man. His symptoms are described here: a mahātmā is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. He has no other business. He is always engaged in the glorification of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, satataṁ means always; satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ means always chanting the glories of Sri Krishna, that means he has no other business except to glorify Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

In other words, he is not an impersonalist. When the question of glorification is there, one has to glorify the Supreme Lord, praising His holy name, His eternal form, His transcendental qualities and His uncommon pastimes. One has to glorify all these things; therefore a mahātmā is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ, one must always engage in glorification of Sri Krishna. But what to glorify? Srila Prabhupada mentioned we must glorify the holy name. We must glorify the beautiful form. We must glorify the transcendental qualities. And we must glorify the uncommon pastimes. So technically, these different types of glorifications are described by different terms in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. And nāma-kīrtana, glorification of holy name; rūpa-kīrtana glorification of the transcendental beauty; guṇa-kīrtana, glorification of the transcendental qualities; and līlā-kīrtana, or glorification of the wonderful pastimes.

So, Srila Prabhupada has built into the program for the devotees in ISKCON all of the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā and Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, all of the main instructions. So, in our daily program, we have nāma- saṅkīrtana, we have rūpa-kīrtana, we have guṇa-kīrtana, and we have līlā-kīrtana. When we open the curtains in the morning to greet the deities, we sing from Brahma-saṁhitā, glorification of Lord Krishna’s form, glorification of Krishna’s qualities. So, you simply have to follow the program of Krishna consciousness as given by Srila Prabhupada, who has included the essence of the teachings of the previous acharyas and the Vedic scriptures. And if we just follow the process has he has presented it to us, we will get the full benefit in which the supreme perfection.

PURPORT (continued)

One has to glorify all these things; therefore a mahātmā is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who is attached to the impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord, the brahma-jyotir, is not described as mahātmā in the Bhagavad-gītā. He is described in a different way in the next verse. The mahātmā is always engaged in different activities of devotional service, as described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, hearing and chanting about Viṣṇu, not a demigod or human being. That is devotion.

COMMENT

So, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also gives the same prescription. śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ We hear, we chant, we remember. Who? Vishnu. And Vishnu is the original Krishna. It is not about the demigod in other words, that is devotion.

PURPORT (continued)

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ and smaraṇam, remembering Him. Such a mahātmā has firm determination to achieve at the ultimate end the association of the Supreme Lord in any one of the five transcendental rasas.

COMMENT

So, as spirit souls, we are all part and parcel of Krishna, and we all have an eternal relationship with Him. According to Sri Ramanujacharya, as quoted by Srila Prabhupada, eternal means without beginning and without end. So, our relationship with Krishna is without beginning and without end, but we have forgotten it. We are like persons who are sleeping and dreaming. We have our relationship with Krishna, but we have forgotten it. And therefore, the whole process of Krishna consciousness is to revive our eternal relationship with Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

To achieve that success, he engages all activities – mental, bodily, and vocal, everything – in the service of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That is called full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So, it is not that we should continuously serve Krishna, we should continuously serve Krishna, but it is not that we should continuously serve Krishna with only part of our faculties, but we should serve Krishna with whatever we have, whatever we can. And that includes our mind, our words, and our senses. We should use them in the service of Krishna. And then, automatically, our mind, our speech, and our senses will be controlled.

PURPORT (continued)

In devotional service there are certain activities which are called determined, such as fasting on certain days, like the eleventh day of the moon, Ekādaśī, and on the appearance day of the Lord.

COMMENT

For example, one of the avatars of the Dasavatara, ten incarnations of Krishna, is Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, and in the next week, we will be celebrating His appearance day. So, here in the verse, the word dṛḍha-vratāḥ means determined. So, we must be determined to become Krishna conscious at any cost. So, even if we have to fast on certain days, we are determined that we must get the association of Krishna. Now, similarly, if we have to fast on the appearance of some incarnation, we have to be determined. We can’t give in, “I am so thirsty, I am so tired.” And we should be convinced that such determined activities are for our benefit. In other words, we should not cheat, but we should be convinced of the values.

When some devotees were walking with Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada asked, “Why devotees do not follow properly?” So, some disciples replied that we have to train them very nicely, and some disciples replied we have to supervise them very carefully. But Srila Prabhupada replied that even if you give them the best education and supervise them very closely, still they can always cheat if they want. They can always cheat by the process of drinking water underwater on a fast day. And on complete fast days, one should not even drink water. Someone may make a show of doing a fast, but he may cheat by the process of drinking water underwater on a fast day. It is generally in India, on auspicious days, people go to this river, or to the sea, or to the lake, to take a bath. So, while submerging oneself in these sacred waters, one may plunge his head under the water and drink some water, and he will be back to see no one. So, he is cheating by the method of drinking water underwater on a fast day. But actually, he is not cheating anyone except himself. He is the one who is losing. He is the one who is losing the chance to make spiritual advancement by being determined and fasting.

So, we have to be convinced that the highest perfection of life is to revive our eternal relationship with Krishna. And to revive our eternal relationship with Krishna, we must follow the regulative principles. Once Srila Prabhupada had a professor at Scottish Teachers College in Calcutta. He was a Scotsman, and he said to Srila Prabhupada that, “You believe in the law of karma?” “Yes.” So, the teacher said that when someone does something, and he has to be rewarded for his good deed, or he has to be punished for his bad act, there must be a witness. But where is the witness? Srila Prabhupada replied that at the time, he could not answer. But later on, in the course of studying Bhagavad-gītā, he came across the answer that the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity, and He is witnessing all the activities of the living entities. So, there is a witness. God Himself is the witness. Even if you close the doors, close the windows, close the curtains, God is there. He is in your hearts. You cannot hide from Him. You cannot cheat Him. So, we should know that we cannot cheat Krishna. In fact, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante, if we try to cheat Krishna, we will be the ones who are cheated, not Krishna.

There was once a, well he claimed to be fourteen years old Balyogeshwar, otherwise known as guru Maharaja ji. So, guru Maharaja ji, he was one of many from India who came to America. And once one newspaper reporter asked Srila Prabhupada, “Do you believe that guru Maharaja ji is God?” Because many impersonalists come from India to America, and they believe that they are God, and they teach that you can also become God. Well, they are not devotees, they are impersonalists. So, the newspaper reporter asked Srila Prabhupada, “Do you accept Guru Maharaja ji as God?” And Srila Prabhupada replied that first we must consider, is he God or is he dog? Then Srila Prabhupada said that he is cheating the people. But when finally, he meets God, he will see that God is an even bigger cheater than he is, and God will take everything away from him.”

This came in Time magazine, we were in India, and the press conference was in Hong Kong. And Time magazine was in India, even then. And some devotee, maybe some life member or some person, he had gone to meet, showed him the magazine, gave him the magazine. So, he brought it to the ashram, and we saw in the People section of Time magazine, and the heading was “There is Trouble in Nirvana.” And he tells how the reporter told that Prabhupada did not accept guru Maharaja as God. So sometimes later, guru Maharaja had big function in Houston Astrodome, and our devotees also went to distribute books. So, the followers of guru Maharaja ji kept trying to get the devotees to go. They wanted to throw the devotees out; they didn’t want the devotees to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books there. But the devotees, maybe they disappeared for a few minutes, but then they would reappear. So ultimately, guru Maharaja ji’s followers filed a court case against the ISKCON devotee.

So, in the course of the proceedings, the judge, he was convinced that we were innocent. He acquitted us of all charges, but in the course of the discussion, he concluded that guru Maharaja ji was actually guilty of various malpractices. So, there was another case put against which guru Maharaja ji which guru Maharaja ji lost. Then some time passed, guru Maharaja ji got married to his secretary. And it was quite something. And guru Maharaja ji’s mother in India was very upset that guru Maharaja ji married his secretary without even consulting her or informing her. So, she had another son. Guru Maharaja ji was his name here, but in India, he was known as Balyogeshwar. And the mother had actually founded the mission. So, she was so upset with Balyogeshwar that she announced that she rejects him, that he is no longer God. And now her other son Bal Bhagwan, he is being instated as a God. And there is a big color photo on the front page of The Illustrated Weekly of India, a huge article showing what a farce it was. So, the point I am making is that one who tries to cheat Krishna, he cannot cheat Krishna. But when he actually comes in contact with Krishna, he will be cheated by Krishna. And his Prabhupada predicted Krishna took everything away from him, even his own mother rejected him. So, we should not try to cheat God. If we try to cheat God, we are only cheating ourselves.

[audio cut 00:32:03]

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:32:04]

Giriraj Swami: Well, catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ, four types of persons approach Krishna: those who are in need of money, those who are in distress, those who are curious, and those who are actually seeking after the Absolute Truth. So, they are all considered pious; they are all considered magnanimous because they have approached the Lord. But still, out of the three, Lord Krishna says the one who is seeking the Absolute Truth is the best. Because the one who is seeking the Absolute Truth has no material motive, whereas the others have some material motives. But because they have approached the Lord, when they get the association of pure devotees, they may themselves give up their material desires and become pure devotees. And then they can go back home, back to Godhead. As far as whether the Lord will fulfill the person’s material desire or not, that depends on the Lord, what He thinks is best for the person. The Lord, He will consider first whether the benediction be good for the person or not. Demigods are not so considerate; they may give benedictions which are not actually beneficial for the person. After Nṛsiṁhadeva came and killed Hiraṇyakaśipu Hiraṇyakṣa, the Lord chastised Lord Brahma, “But why you gave such benediction? You should not give such benediction.”

So, the demigods are not so considerate. If someone does some tapasya, someone does some yajña, they may give, but it may not be good for the person or for the people in general. But Krishna is very considerate; He deals with each person very personally and individually, and He does whatever is best for the person. And He may fulfill the person’s material demand, or He may not. But in the beginning, He may, so that the people become attached to Him. And then when they become attached to Him, He may gradually elevate them to the position where they are purified of their material demands. Dhruva Maharaja approached the Lord for a kingdom, but when he actually saw the Lord, he didn’t ask for the kingdom because he was so satisfied with the Lord, he thought, What is the use of some kingdom? So, when the Lord asked him to accept some benediction, he refused. And the Lord asked, “Well, what about your kingdom? You came to the forest for getting your kingdom.” And Dhruva Maharaja replied “svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce,” that, “Yes, I was looking for a kingdom, but that kingdom was like pieces of broken glass. Now I have got You, who is like the most precious jewels, diamonds. So, I am millions of times satisfied; I have no more desire; I have nothing to ask of You.”

So that is the position of Krishna consciousness. When one comes to Krishna consciousness, he is fully satisfied; he has no more material demand. So that is the satisfaction we want. As long as we have demand, it means we are not yet satisfied. When we come to Krishna consciousness, we have no more demand; svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce “Now I am fully satisfied; I have nothing more to ask.” So that should be our goal. And even if we come to the Lord with some material demand, the Lord is so kind and considerate and merciful that He will deal with the devotee in such a way that He gives the person Krishna consciousness. When the person actually becomes Krishna conscious, then he is fully satisfied; he doesn’t want anything else.

[Kirtan]

Giriraj Swami: Now Lord Krishna is actually more pleased when we worship His devotee than when we worship Him directly. So, Tulasi-devi is one of the dear most devotee of Lord Krishna, and she has come in our midst. So, one of the pujaris will be offering the ārati, and by chanting and dancing very enthusiastically, Tulasi-devi will be pleased, and Sri Krishna will also be pleased. So, it is a sign of the highest respect to circumambulate the worshipable personality. So, we will chant, and dance in a circle around Tulasi-devi. 

[Chanting and dancing]

Giriraj Swami: Reading from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is Chapter Three,

TEXT 10

saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā
purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam
eṣa vo ‘stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk

TRANSLATION

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home – back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation, 

COMMENT

So, people may wonder why did God create the material world? Why have we come into the material world, and why is there so much suffering here? So, Srila Prabhupada answers on the basis of Vedic knowledge that the material world is created for the benefit of the conditioned souls so that they can live happily and fulfill their desires and gradually become purified and ultimately achieve liberation. We come into the material world and suffer because we have forgotten our eternal relationship with God or Krishna. So, if we revive our eternal relationship with Krishna, we will be delivered from the material world. So, the material creation is the chance offered to the living entities to purify themselves and get liberation from material bondage.

Some people challenge with, “What is wrong with material life? I am happy.” But what is material life? Material life is the repetition of birth, disease, old age, and death. So if you ask anyone, “Do you like disease?” “No, I don’t like disease.” “Do you like old age?” “No, I don’t want to become old.” “Do you like death?” “No, I don’t want to die.” But material existence means disease, old age, and death, and then again, rebirth. So, someone may say he is happy in material existence, but actually, he is not. An intelligent person will try to utilize the human form of life to get out of the material miseries. There are eight million four hundred thousand species of life, and the living entity, or the spirit souls, transmigrates from one body to another, one body to another, until finally, he comes to the human form of life. The human form of life is very rare; it is very difficult to achieve, but at the same time, it is very valuable. And therefore, once we have come to the human form of life, we should be very careful to use it for the best purpose: to become self-realized or God-conscious.

So, the human body is compared to a ship which can carry us across the ocean of birth and death, and the spiritual master is compared to the captain of the ship. He can guide us how to across the ocean, and the instructions of the Vedas are compared to the favorable winds that help propel the boat across the ocean. So, we have come to the human form of life, which is most valuable. It is the boat that can carry us across the ocean of birth and death. And in the human form of life, we can get the association of devotees; we can get the shelter of a spiritual master, which is so important for guiding the boat across the ocean. And in the human form of life, we can study the Vedic literatures under the guidance of the spiritual master, and then the Vedic knowledge acts as a wind which will propel the boat across the ocean of material existence. The human form of life is very rare. We should not misuse it or abuse it. We should not misuse it in sense gratification. Rather, we should use it in the right way for self-realization.

PURPORT (continued)

as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The Lord says that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said: patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaram. Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.

COMMENT

So, the verse implies the word Prajapati. Praja means anyone who takes birth, and “pati” means the Lord. So, Prajapati means the Lord of all creatures, and the Lord of all creatures is God; Vishnu or Krishna. Krishna is the original form of Godhead and Vishnu is Krishna, when he comes in this material world to create the material universe and maintain the material creation.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also (2.4.20) Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as pati in so many ways:

COMMENT

What does “pati” mean? Lord or protector or maintainer. So, Srila Prabhupada is explaining the same word pati which is used here in Bhagavad-gītā also appears in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And that is how we understand the Vedic literature, and that is how Srila Prabhupada explains the Vedic knowledge with reference to other scriptures. Pati appears in Bhagavad-gītā, the same word appears in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the word pati refers to Krishna or Vishnu, so we understand that the word pati refers to Vishnu or Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

śriyaḥ patir yajña-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ

The prajā-pati is Lord Viṣṇu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety, and after finishing the present material body they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the conditioned soul.

COMMENT

So, sacrifice is so beneficial. It is beneficial for us in the present life because by sacrifice, we can get all the necessities of life in abundance, without anxiety, and by sacrifice, we can achieve liberation from the repetition of birth and death. By sacrifice, we can ultimately achieve the spiritual kingdom of God. So, sacrifice is beneficial in every respect. “The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas, sacrifices for the satisfaction of Vishnu.” Everyone in the material world has to sacrifice. Without sacrifice, one cannot live. So, the mother sacrifices for the sake of the children, the husbands sacrifice for the sake of the family, public leaders sacrifice for the sake of the people. Everyone has to sacrifice. But by such sacrifice, people are not happy. The mother sacrifices for the child, but the child doesn’t turn out right, and the child actually causes so much pain to the parent. The president sacrifices for the citizens, but the citizens become disgusted with the president and throw him out of office. So, we sacrifice for others; we have to sacrifice. We are meant for sacrifice. But when we sacrifice in the material concept of life for the sake of our family, our community, our nation, we are not satisfied, and the people for whom we are sacrificing also are not satisfied. But if we sacrifice for Vishnu or Krishna, Krishna will be satisfied, and we will also be satisfied. We cannot live without sacrifice.

PURPORT (continued)

By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects.

COMMENT

As Srila Prabhupada used to say you can become godly but you cannot become God. There is an impersonal school of thought which falsely believes that one can become God. But to become God implies that at present, one is not God. So, how can ‘not God’ become God? There are two categories: one is God, and one is not God. And we are not God, and Krishna, who is the real God, is always God. He doesn’t have to become God by performing yoga or meditation. He is God at all times and in all circumstances. So, we can become godly, not God, but we can become godly.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Age of Kali, the saṅkīrtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age.

COMMENT

So, there are four ages according to the Vedic literatures, Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, Kali-yuga, and each age has a specific method of self-realization or God-realization, which is especially suitable for the particular age. So, in Satya-yuga, the recommended process was meditation. In Treta-yuga, the recommended process was Vedic sacrifices. The priests would ignite a fire by the use of mantra, not even by rubbing pieces of wood together, but by mantras that would ignite the fire. If the priest was not powerful enough to ignite the fire by mantra, he was not qualified to perform the sacrifice. And throughout the sacrifice, the priest has to chant many mantras. And if he mispronounces even one syllable, the whole sacrifice is spoiled. Not only does one fail to get the benefit of the sacrifice if the priest mispronounces the mantra, but the sacrifice could actually have a malefic effect. If even one syllable in one mantra is mispronounced. So you cannot perform Vedic sacrifice in the modern age. The next age after Treta-yuga is Dvapara-yuga, and in Dvapara-yuga, the recommended method is temple worship. And the process of temple worship is also very elaborate and very difficult for us in the present age. So then, what is the recommended process for us in the modern age?

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy names of Hare Krishna. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the modern age of Kali. So “no other way, no other way, no other way” is repeated three times to indicate not by meditation, not by Vedic sacrifice, not by temple worship, but only by the chanting of the holy name. And harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma is repeated three times to emphasize: you must chant, you must chant, you must chant.

There was once a cartoon, a magazine, and maybe in the New Yorker, an old man and an old lady were sitting on a park bench, and the old lady was telling the old man: “Chant, Chant, Chant.” And the old man was replying: “Can’t, Can’t, Can’t “. So, harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma chant, chant, chant. And only someone who is very unfortunate will reply: “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” The purport of the cartoon is that with the same effort that he made to say “can’t, can’t, can’t,” he could have just chanted. But some people are so stubborn in the wrong way that they refuse to chant for no good reason, they just refuse to chant. But Vedic literatures also say: “Chant, chant, chant.” And any intelligent person will agree. Now, along with the recommended process for each age, which is called yoga-dharma, the process for the age, there is a specific incarnation of Godhead who descends to propagate the specific process. It is called yugāvatāra. So the yugāvatāra for the Kali-yuga, for the modern age is Sri Krishna Chaitanya.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Age of Kali, the saṅkīrtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. Saṅkīrtana-yajña and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together. Lord Kṛṣṇa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the saṅkīrtana-yajña:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.”

COMMENT

So, a few minutes ago, I said an intelligent person will agree to chant, and I wasn’t just making it up, but it is here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that intelligent persons will worship the Lord in the age of Kali by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña, sacrifice of chanting the holy names, which is the only sacrifice we can really do in the present age.

PURPORT (continued)

Other yajñas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this Age of Kali, but the saṅkīrtana-yajña is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā also (9.14).

COMMENT

Bhagavad-gītā says satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ that one should always chant the holy name and Lord Chaitanya also says kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ One should always chant the holy name. So, there is no difference between the instructions of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā and the instructions of Lord Chaitanya. Even Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself who come in modern age of Kali to propagate the saṅkīrtana-yajña. Lord Chaitanya did not appear in the same form as Krishna. Krishna appeared as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and although Lord Chaitanya is the same Krishna, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He appeared as a devotee to show us how to be a devotee. Just like the teacher will write on the blackboard “A, B, C.” It is not that the teacher is practicing writing ABCs, but the teacher is showing the students how to write. So similarly, Krishna Himself came and acted like a devotee. Not that He had to worship Krishna, He Himself is Krishna, but He showed, He acted as a devotee to show us how to act as devotee and worship Krishna. And the main process that He taught and showed was the chanting of Hare Krishna. Chanting is very easy, it is very beneficial, it doesn’t cost anything. It is not fattening, it doesn’t have cholesterol, there is no tax on it, it is not against the law. So, there is really no loss in any case when one chants, and the gain is very great. So that is why we ask everyone to chant.

So, do any of you have any questions? Yes.

Devotee: It is on a related topic. It has to do with sacrifice. I was reading the Bhāgavatam a while back, and it said that, part of the reason that we are not allowed to do sacrifices in Treta-yuga, they were doing fire sacrifices, and I guess also horse sacrifices. If the brahmans, after they sacrificed the animal, they said they were able to rejuvenate the animal. Does that mean that after they killed it, they brought it back to life?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, the priests in Treta-yuga were very qualified, very powerful. There are many types of Vedic sacrifices, but one is called the horse sacrifice, aśvamedha-yajña. In the horse sacrifice, the horse enters the flame, but the horse does not actually die. He actually gets a new body, so he is rejuvenated. He enters with an old body, and he emerges with a new body. Now, if the horse enters the fire and dies in the fire, it is a terrible sin, murdering the horse, killing an animal. And if the priest was not really qualified to do the sacrifice, and he still tried to do the sacrifice, and as a result, the horse died in the fire, it would be a terrible thing. [Unintelligible 00:33:07]

Devotee: You said that in sacrifice, if there is a single syllable that is mispronounced, not only would the mantra not work properly, but it even has a negative impact the positive ones and I guess then, later in Treta-yuga, mantra weapon that you use also. And I remember reading that somewhere. Similar error that if you mispronounced the mantra [Unintelligible 00:33:45] I know there is a lot of mantras that we use today [Unintelligible 00:33:53]

Giriraj Swami: No. In the maha-mantra or in other mantras that we sing, verses from the scriptures, are also mantras, like what we just chanted, that is also mantra. They do not have any negative effects, even if you mispronounce them. In fact, a Sanskrit verse that says that if a sincere devotee mispronounces the Sanskrit mantra or word, Krishna will appreciate the spirit of the prayer, he won’t consider the fact that the prayer was mispronounced. Srila Prabhupada gave one example that we sing one prayer, vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam, I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master. So, Srila Prabhupada detected that sometimes the disciples would mispronounce the word guroḥ as gaura which means cow. So, according to the meaning of the way the syllables were pronounced, the disciples were saying, “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my cow.” But Srila Prabhupada quoted the Sanskrit verse that says that even if one does not pronounce the words properly, Krishna will take the spirit of it, and He won’t consider the mispronunciation, and one will get the benefit.

Devotee: A moment ago you said there is no other way which is similar to Christianity that there is no other way besides going through Christ. So, how do we account for understanding that Krishna consciousness is all-inclusive, not [unintelligible 00:36:37]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, the Christians say, some of them, I guess— that there is no other way except Jesus Christ. But the Gaudiyas say there is no other way except chanting the holy names of the Lord. But one can chant, “Jesus, Jesus.” We don’t say that you have to chant only “Krishna, Krishna.” and you can’t do just Jesus. You can chant any bona fide name of God found in any bona fide scripture of the world. And in fact, to distinguish that one name of God is good and another name of God is bad is an offense. All of the names of the Lord are absolute, and all of the names of the Lord are the same. And therefore, we encourage everyone to chant the holy names of God. And if you are a Christian and chant “Jesus, Jesus,” Muslims can chant “Allah, Allah” we don’t distinguish in any sectarian way. But we say that in the modern age, other processes are not practical. So, chant the holy name as it is found in the scripture you follow. And if you are not chanting any other names, you can chant Hare Krishna. We don’t say only “Hare Krishna,” but we offer Hare Krishna.

Devotee: I am a little confused about the role of Jesus Christ from a Vedic perspective. If the name of Jesus is a bona fide name of God, that would seem to imply that He is an avatar. If He is an avatar, He would have been mentioned in the Vedas as an avatar, but I am not familiar with that particular prophecy in the Vedas.

Giriraj Swami: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that the incarnations of God are more numerous than the waves in the ocean. We cannot count the waves in the ocean; we can’t name them all. So similarly, the incarnations of God keep coming like the waves in the ocean, and not all the incarnations are mentioned by name.

Devotee: Well, I thought that Prabhupada says that a lot of the yogis in India who claim to be avatars, you could tell immediately they weren’t because they weren’t mentioned in the Vedas, or am I mistaken?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, because the way they present themselves is that, they are Krishna, and they are Rama. There are different categories of avatars also, and Jesus Christ is accepted as śaktyāveśa-avatāra. That means a living entity who is empowered by God for some special purpose.

Devotee: That would be like Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: No, Srila Prabhupada never presented himself as śaktyāveśa-avatāra, but some people do say that he is śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Then there are statements which do indicate the appearance of Srila Prabhupada. But we don’t want avatar to become cheap, and there is so many bogus persons who falsely claim to be avatar. So, Srila Prabhupada never said He was an avatar, and if anyone would have said he would definitely have denied that. That doesn’t really help us or anyone. But Jesus Christ is accepted as śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Avatāra means literally one who descends, so someone who descends from the spiritual world into the material world is avatar. So sometimes the Lord Himself directly descends, or sometimes He sends His son. [audio cut]

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:41:30]

Giriraj Swami: So, you are free. You can chant Krishna, Krishna. You chant Allah, Allah. You chant Jesus, Jesus. Yes.

Devotee: Is that mentioned in scriptures why chanting of God’s names will have same effect?

Giriraj Swami: Well, God is absolute. So, on the absolute platform, the name of the thing and the thing are the same. In the material world, the name of the thing and the thing are different. For example, if I am thirsty, I can chant water, water, water, water. So, just chanting water, water will not quench my thirst because the word water and the substance water are different. But in the spiritual world, or the absolute world, if you chant Krishna, Krishna, Hare Krishna. Then, Krishna is personally present, dancing on my tongue. So, by chanting Krishna, Krishna, I am actually associating with Krishna and because Krishna is all pure, by associating with Krishna, I also become purified. Because Krishna is all blissful, by associating with Krishna, I also become blissful. So, there is no greater benefit than associating with Krishna, with God.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:44:05]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada has rendered a translation of Hare Krishna. ‘O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in your service.’ Because when you pray to someone or call someone’s name, the person will respond and ask, “What do you want?” So, if the Lord asks, “What do you want?” What will we say? “I want to pass my exam, I want to get a good job, I want to get a new car?” No, you say, “I only want Your service,” because by serving Krishna, we can realize happiness, millions and trillions of times greater, even than merging into impersonal spiritual life. So what to speak of anything of the material world, which is meant for those who are meant to die.

Devotee: The Hare in maha-mantra, does that refer to Radharani, energy, internal potency?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. It does refer to Radharani. She is the energy of the Lord and Krishna is the Lord. So when we chant Hare Krishna, we are addressing the Lord and the energy of the Lord, and thus everything is included because everything is either the Lord or the energy of the Lord. Nothing exists which is not either the Lord or the energy of the Lord.

Devotee: I don’t really understand internal or external potency.

Giriraj Swami: The internal potency is spiritual, and the external potency is material. So, we are praying to the spiritual energy to take us out of the material energy and engage us in the service of Krishna.

Devotee: Maharaja [Unintelligible 00:48:15], sometimes people think they are making sacrifices for God, but they don’t want to think that way. And so, in other places, that explains that under the guidance of the spiritual master, you will know if you are actually performing your service. But there may be so many details that the spiritual master isn’t giving. So, is there some other information on how to be sure that the work you are doing is actually being done for God?

Giriraj Swami: So, the method of sacrifices explained in the scriptures. We can’t make up our own method of sacrifice, and the main method is to chant holy name. But everything we do should be done as a sacrifice for Krishna. And how do we know how to sacrifice for Krishna properly? That we learn from sadhu, shastra, and guru, from the spiritual master, from the scriptures, and from the saintly persons. And as Bhavananda Prabhu said that “The Lord in the heart can also enlighten us.” So, even if the Lord in our heart enlightens us, we should still confirm what we think that Lord has put in our heart with sadhu, shastra, and guru.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:50:25]

Giriraj Swami: According to Bhagavad-gītā whatever one thinks at the time of death, that will determine our next life. So, if we think of God at the time of death, we will go back home, back to Godhead. So, in order to remember God at the time of death, we have to begin to remember God now. Death is compared to the final examination, and, someone attends the classes, does the assigned reading, does the assigned homework, and prepares, then we expect that he will pass the course. But if someone doesn’t go to class, doesn’t do the reading, doesn’t do the homework, doesn’t prepare, he may fail. So, the final exam for us is the time of death. Will we be able to remember God at the time of death and the preparation to remember God at the time of death is to chant now. And when we would chant the name of God, then naturally we remember God. So that is the process. And practice makes perfect. But in the material world also, if someone achieves some special result, even without attending the university, he can be given an honorary degree, like Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He was given an honorary degree, Dr. Mandela. But such persons are very rare. And if we think, well, I don’t need to go to the university, I will just become a great man like Nelson Mandela, and then I will get an honorary degree. Nelson Mandela is the exceptional case. The usual case is you enroll, take the courses, prepare for the exams, and pass.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:54:20]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. What enables us to return to the spiritual world is the combination of our efforts and God’s mercy. Because God does not want that we just sit around and do nothing except pray, “Please be merciful, please be merciful.” He wants us to serve Him because it is in our interest to serve Him. And what will we do in the spiritual world? Serve Him. So, if we don’t want to serve Him, why even go to the spiritual world? Many will just stay here. So, the other example is that suppose someone is in high school, but he is doing the level of work of someone in college. Then he can be promoted to college. Or say someone is in the eleventh grade, he is doing the work of the twelfth graders, he will be promoted to the twelfth grade. So, we are in the material world, but if we are doing the work of someone in the spiritual world, which is serving Krishna, then we will be promoted to the spiritual world.

Devotee: If someone doesn’t have much capacity to serve, but they have a desire, and so they make the attempt, then in that case, even a little service [Unintelligible 00:56:25]

Giriraj Swami: As long as one serves to his full capacity, he is perfect. Someone may have ten dollars, someone may have hundred dollars, someone may have thousand dollars, and someone may have a million dollars. But, if you give whatever you have to God, you have given everything. God doesn’t see how much you have given; He sees how much you are holding back. If all you have is a hundred dollars and you give it all to God, God will see you have given everything. And if you have a million dollars and you give ten thousand dollars, then God will see you are holding back nine hundred and ninety thousand dollars. Okay, well, that is good, what about the rest?

Devotee: In regards Maharaja to a question or comment about some followers of Lord Jesus may say, “Well, the Eastern philosophies, we find fault in that because they say we have to become perfect; we just have to accept Jesus. Similarly, there may be some who say, “Well, we have just taken initiation from the Srila Prabhupada, we are guaranteed to go back to Godhead” I would humbly suggest that just like you said, it is a combination of our effort and our desire, and God’s mercy that we reach perfection. So, I would suggest that those followers of Jesus probably are in the minority and not the correct followers of Jesus, who say, “Just by accepting Jesus, we are guaranteed to reach perfection.” But the actual truth is, by accepting Lord Jesus’s teachings and putting into practice His teaching, they can develop His character and His love of Godhead and His compassion, etc. etc. Similarly, by His Holiness so expertly explained, by accepting the instructions of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya and putting them into practice, we can also attain.

Giriraj Swami: Exactly.

Devotee: Actually, I agree with what he said; basically both are saying the same thing. Is that? [unintelligible 00:59:05]

Giriraj Swami: The proper understanding is the same in Krishna consciousness as in Christianity. But a Christian could have the wrong idea, and someone who is supposedly a follower of Krishna consciousness could also have the wrong idea. But the right idea is the same in both.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:59:45]

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are two ways in which we can use our knowledge in the service of the Lord, because ultimately everything comes from God, and if you pursue anything to the ultimate, you will come to that. So, one way to use your knowledge is to establish the supremacy of God. The other way is that we have some knowledge which we are going to use to earn money, and we can use the money in the service of the Lord. So, either way.

There was a mathematician who became a devotee, actually. And he wrote books establishing the existence of God. He wrote one monograph, a demonstration from information theory that life cannot arise from matter because almost all the modern scientific theories are godless. So, the theory of chance combination and evolution are Godless, whereas the fact is, as we read today, that the Lord created the universe and populated it with living entities, and He gave them sacrifices to perform. And He told them if you perform the sacrifices, you will be happy, and in the end, you will be liberated. And ultimately, everything comes to faith. As the mathematician said, ultimately, everything depends on faith. And the difference is that we have faith in God, and they have faith in chance. So, in the monograph, he explains that according to information theory, the probability of even one DNA molecule being formed by chance is like one in trillions; so remote. You could almost say there is no chance, but you could always say, “Well, okay, maybe it is one in ten trillion, but still, there is a chance.” So, they are putting their faith in that chance, and we are putting our faith in God. But that chance is one out of trillions, and that is just one DNA molecule, what to speak of a complex organism like a mosquito, what to speak of the human being.

So that is an example of how by his knowledge as a mathematician, he could write a book to establish atheistic conclusions. But if one is not able to do that, if he just has a job as a professor, say, then he can give some of his salary for Krishna consciousness. He can somehow or other, encourage the students to come to God. [Unintelligible 00:01:14] And another answer could be, if you are the best student and people know that you are Krishna conscious, then because you are the best student, they will be impressed with Krishna. “Oh, she is Krishna conscious and she is number one in the class. Krishna Consciousness must be pretty good.”

Hare Krishna.