SB 2.1.6 – Always Remember Krishna and Never Forget Him

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, “The First Step in God Realization.”

TEXT 6

etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ
sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā
janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām
ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ

TRANSLATION

The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Nārāyaṇa is the transcendental Personality of Godhead beyond the material creation. Everything that is created, sustained, and at the end annihilated is within the compass of the mahat-tattva (material principle) and is known as the material world. The existence of Nārāyaṇa, or the Personality of Godhead, is not within the jurisdiction of this mahat-tattva, and as such the name, form, attributes, etc., of Nārāyaṇa are beyond the jurisdiction of the material world. By the speculation of empiric philosophy, which discerns matter from spirit, or by cultivation of mystic powers, which ultimately helps the performer to reach any planet of the universe or beyond the universe, or by discharge of religious duties, one can achieve the highest perfection, provided one is able to reach the stage of nārāyaṇa-smṛti, or constant remembrance of the Personality of Godhead. This is possible only by the association of a pure devotee, who can give a finishing touch to the transcendental activities of all jñānīs, yogīs or karmīs, in terms of prescribed duties defined in the scriptures. There are many historical instances of the achievement of spiritual perfection, such as that of the Sanakādi Ṛṣis or the nine celebrated Yogendras, who attained perfection only after being situated in the devotional service of the Lord. None of the devotees of the Lord ever deviated from the path of devotional service by taking to other methods as adopted by the jñānīs or yogīs. Everyone is anxious to achieve the highest perfection of his particular activity, and it is indicated herein that such perfection is nārāyaṇa-smṛti, for which everyone must endeavor his best. In other words, life should be molded in such a manner that one is able to progressively remember the Personality of Godhead in every step of life.

TRANSLATION

The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

COMMENT

So, we have come together to remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are so many rules and regulations in the Vedic literature, but they all stand as servants of only one injunction and one prohibition. The positive injunction is that we should always remember Krishna, and the negative prohibition is that we should never forget Krishna. Here, Śukadeva Gosvami explains that the highest perfection of life, the highest achievement for practitioners of jnana, yoga, and karma is to remember Krishna, the Personality of Godhead at the time of death. Now, we have come to the end of the year 1998, and we are about to enter into the new year of 1999. When we come to the end, as stated here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we should remember the Personality of Godhead. We should always remember Him, and we should never forget Him. Therefore, we should mold our lives, so that we can always remember Krishna, and never forget Him.

Devotees who are holy and solely engaged in the service of the Lord have no need to engage in karma, jnana, or yoga, whereas the karmis, jnanis, and yogis can be successful only. . . or smaraṇam, remembering Krishna at the time of death. So, karma, jnana, and yoga cannot be successful without bhakti, because bhakti is very strong and powerful. Whereas bhakti does not need the addition of karma or jnana or yoga, because they are weak. And in fact, if karma, jnana, or yoga is added to bhakti, bhakti becomes weakened. Once, when Srila Prabhupada was in Boston, he was walking down the street and he saw a sign on the wall of a building, ‘unalloyed steel.” So, Srila Prabhupada commented that, “They are advertising unalloyed steel, and we are advertising unalloyed devotional service.”

What is an alloy? Does anyone know what is an alloy?

Devotee: A combination of metals, a combination of [Unintelligible 00:09:05].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes. Alloyed steel is not pure steel. But when inferior metals are mixed with steel, it is called alloyed steel. If someone does not feel he needs pure steel or if he cannot afford to pay for pure steel, then he gets a mixture, alloys. But unalloyed steel means there is no mixing of inferior metals, only pure steel. So, similarly, unalloyed devotional service means no mixing of any inferior processes like karma, jnana, or yoga, but just pure devotional service. So, pure devotional service alone is enough to bring us to the perfection of remembering Krishna at the time of death. And the karmis, jnanis, and yogis, by their respective processes, are also meant to come to the point of remembering Krishna at the time of death, but they can only do so if they get the association of a pure devotee. Because only by the association of a pure devotee can one get the seed of devotional service and ultimately, achieve the perfection of always remembering Krishna and never forgetting Him. So, we have to practice.

Srila Prabhupada has explained that the time of death is like the final examination; whatever we do during the year is tested at the time of examinations in the university. But if we attend the classes, if we do the assigned work, if we study the material, we can expect to pass the final examination and be promoted. So, similarly, if we prepare ourselves for the time of death, we can also be successful in remembering Krishna at the time of death and being promoted to the Kingdom of God, which is the goal of life. So, we have to practice. And the whole program that Srila Prabhupada has given us based on the scriptures and previous acharyas is meant to help us to always remember Krishna and never forget Him, so that even at the time of death, we can think of Krishna. But to think of Krishna we have to become attached to Krishna, because generally, we think of the things that we are most attached to.

One of our godbrothers told a story, that he was driving his car across the railway tracks, and when he got to the railway tracks, the car stalled. So, he was trying to get the car to move, and he was so absorbed in trying to get the car started that he didn’t notice that the train was bearing down on the car. So, then he looked out the window, and there he saw the train was about to collide with the car. He started to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, and then the train collided with the car. And when the train hit the car, he thought just for a moment, What will happen to my wife? What will my wife do? And then he became unconscious.

So, fortunately, he lived to tell the story, but the point is that most likely, at the last moment, we will think of the thing that we are the most attached to. And therefore, we actually have to become attached to Krishna. And the process is there; hearing and chanting about Krishna. But we actually have to want to become attached to Krishna, we cannot maintain other attachments within our hearts and outwardly chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare and inwardly think of other things. Of course, in the beginning, we will have material attachments.

And as our godbrother Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu often mentions, it is not an offense to have material attachments, but it is an offense to maintain material attachments. So, we will have material attachments in the beginning, but we should try to transfer our attachment to Krishna, we should really want to transfer our attachment to Krishna, so that we will naturally think of Him at the time of death rather than our wife or husband or child or whatever. Of course, most of our relationships in Krishna consciousness are with other devotees, and the service of devotees is included in the service of Krishna. But then again, there may be a material side to the relationship and a spiritual side to the relationship.

Like Queen Kunti prayed to Lord Krishna, “O Lord of the Madhu, please sever my ties of affection to my families.” Kunti was related to two families. Her father’s side was in the Yadu dynasty, but then she was married to Pandu, and by marriage, she became related to the Pandavas or Kauravas, and both were devotees. Vasudeva was a great devotee, and Maharaja Yudhisthira and the other Pandavas were also great devotees. So, when Queen Kunti prays that her ties of affection for her family members should be severed, she is referring to the affection, which is based on the body.

We can also relate to each other on the basis of the soul, through the medium of the Supersoul. As individual souls, we are meant to serve the Supreme Soul. And therefore, we can relate to each other on the spiritual platform as souls in service to the Supreme Soul. But here, Kunti perceived that her affection to the two families was based on the body. And therefore, she prayed that her affection should be severed, so that her. . . Flow to Him without any obstruction. So, as far as possible, we should relate to each other on the basis of the soul, having no other interest except to serve the Supreme Soul. And if we have other types of affection or other types of attachment based on the body, then like Queen Kunti, we should pray for such affectionate ties to be severed by the grace of the Lord.

Queen Kunti was with the Pandavas in Hastinapura, offering prayers to Lord Krishna, requesting Lord Krishna to stay for some time longer in Hastinapura. But meanwhile, the other devotees in Dvaraka, they were feeling separation from Lord Krishna, and they wanted Lord Krishna to return to Dvaraka. So, Queen Kunti thought that, “On the one hand, I feel for the Pandavas and I am also with them, so we want Lord Krishna to stay. But on the other hand, Vasudeva and Devaki and the others, they are also my family members, and they also want the association of Lord Krishna.” So, Kunti devi felt that she was torn between two families who were living in distant places, and who both wanted Lord Krishna to be with them, and she was bewildered, she was perplexed by such partiality. And therefore, she prayed that her material attachments for her family members be severed, so that she wouldn’t be perplexed by such partiality on the basis of family relations, and she could devote herself wholly and solely to the service of the Lord without any diversion or deviation.

So, as we approach the new year, we should make our new year’s resolution to always remember Krishna and never forget Him, at least as far as possible, so that at the end of life, at the end of the present body, we can remember the Lord at the time of death, and attained to our eternal existence in transcendental loving service to Sri Krishna. Elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gītā, it is said that by the rising and setting of the sun, the duration of life of everyone is shortened, except for the devotees engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. So, with the rising and setting of the sun, everyone’s duration of life is shortened. According to our destiny, we have a certain number of days to live, certain number of years to live, a certain number of breaths to breathe. And every moment that passes, we are coming closer to death.

Therefore, Srila Prabhupada said that when someone says that, “I am twenty years old,” he should really say, “I am twenty years dead. I have been allotted a certain number of years, and twenty of the years are dead. So, now I am twenty years dead, next year I will be twenty years dead.” Because we are drawing closer to death. And death may come at any time, it is not that we have to be old in order for death to come, death can come even to the young. But whatever it is, we are coming closer to death. Still, the Bhāgavatam says that by the rising and setting of the sun, the duration of life of everyone is shortened, except for the devotees of the Lord who are engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. Why? Because by hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, they are coming closer to their eternal life. They are not coming closer to death; they are coming closer to their eternal life. And therefore, they are not afraid of death, devotees are not afraid of death.

Srila Prabhupada told a story of a sadhu who gave different blessings to different types of persons. So, the first was a prince, Rajaputra. So, the prince came to the sadhu, and the sadhu blessed him that, “You should not die. Because of your past pious activities, you’ve taken birth in a royal family. But because of your present sinful activities, you will have to suffer in the next life. So, I bless you that you should not die.” Next came a butcher, and the sadhu gave him the blessing that, “You should not live, and you should not die. You should not live because your present life is so horrible, slaughtering innocent animals, stained with blood. But you should not die also because in the next life, you will have to suffer the sinful reactions for all the animals you killed. So, you should not live, you should not die.”

Then came a very strict brahmachari, Muniputra. So, the sadhu blessed him that, “You should die immediately.” [laughter] “Because you are doing so many severe penances and austerities. So, as soon as you leave the present body, you will enjoy the result in the next life. So, I bless you that you should die immediately, you should not have to endure more austerity, but you should immediately get the result of the austerities in the next life.” And the devotee, last came the devotee, and the sadhu blessed him, “You may live, or you may die, it does not make any difference because in the present life you are serving Krishna and you are happy in Krishna consciousness, and in the next life you will serve Krishna and be happy in Krishna consciousness. So, you may live, or you may die, it does not make any difference.”

So, that is the stage of devotee, the stage of Krishna consciousness, which we are trying to achieve. So, we should resolve to try to practice Krishna consciousness more sincerely, more seriously, more strictly, so that we can get the desire to chant in the next life. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: Maharaja, I listened, there was jnana and karma and yoga.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: I was a little confused because I thought they were all types of yoga?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Well, yoga means literally to link or connect with God. And as you have rightly stated, there are different types of yoga, or different methods of yoga; karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. So, when we say yoga without mentioning karma-yoga or jnana-yoga or bhakti-yoga, we either mean yoga in a general sense, or if it is included in a list of specific types of yoga, as we did today and Srila Prabhupada did in the purport, then we take yoga to mean ashtanga-yoga or mystic yoga, meditation, mystic yoga.

Devotee: You were discussing a little bit about relationships of devotees, and how service to devotees relate to service to Krishna. And many times, we experience how we want to serve Krishna, but then, within our interaction with devotees, many times there is enmity, rivalry. And then, it seems like it is very difficult to remember Krishna in the association of devotees. So, how does a devotee just. . . How do they cultivate their consciousness just so that these different things like rivalry, enmity don’t interfere the remembrance of Krishna?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada instructed that all problems in the relationships among the devotees can be solved if each devotee thinks of himself as the servant of the other devotees, as the servant of the other servants of guru and Krishna. So, we have to understand the value of service to devotees, and of course, the harm that comes when we offend devotees, as you mentioned, we can’t even think of Krishna. So, there are so many statements in the scriptures about the value of service to devotees. Lord Shiva tells Parvati, 

ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ

viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param

tasmāt parataraṁ devi

tadīyānāṁ samarcanam

“Of all types of worship, the worship of Vishnu is the highest. Even higher than the worship of Vishnu is the worship of Vishnu’s devotees.” And Lord Krishna also says, “Those who claim to be My devotees are not actually My devotees. But those who are the devotees of My devotees, they are actually My devotees.”

So, the highest perfection is to serve the devotees and worship the devotees. And we are meant to cultivate the mood of service to the devotees. Lord Chaitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, but He came as a devotee, and He showed us not just how to worship Krishna and serve Krishna, but also how to worship and serve Krishna’s devotees. When the devotees would come from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri, Lord Chaitanya would personally receive them, He would worship them, He would honor them, He would arrange accommodations for them, He would arrange prasāda for them, sometimes He would personally serve prasāda, He would firstly offer them flower garlands and sandalwood.

And there are different levels of service. Because devotees, of course, they are the soul, they also have their minds and they also have their bodies. So, when we serve the devotees, we serve their bodies. Like Lord Chaitanya, He arranged for the accommodations for the devotees, for the food for the devotees, He served their minds by speaking very sweetly and affectionately to them, and He served their souls by chanting the holy names, glories of Krishna. So, we should understand how important is the service of devotees. Every year, the residents of Kulinagram would come to Jagannatha Puri for Ratha-yatra, and they would ask Lord Chaitanya what is their duty. And every year, Lord Chaitanya would tell them that, “Your duty is to chant the holy names of Krishna, and serve the devotees of Krishna.” So, we have to understand the philosophy and preach it and practice it. There would be no question of enmity among the devotees. In the material world, everyone wants to be the master, so there is enmity, there is competition. But in the spiritual world, everyone wants to be the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant. And therefore, there is only love, there is no enmity.

So, Srila Prabhupada said, “Our temples are Vaikuntha, they are meant to be Vaikuntha, because in Vaikuntha everyone is engaged in the service of the Lord, everyone is friendly with everyone else for the service of the Lord.” So, if we maintain the Vaikuntha attitude, then the temple is Vaikuntha. But if we maintain the mundane attitude, then we won’t experience the Vaikuntha atmosphere. Like Srila Prabhupada said, “The Vaikuntha mood is that we see that, “Oh, such and such devotee is having difficulty, let me help him.” That is the Vaikuntha mood. And the materialistic mood is, “Oh, such and such devotee is in maya, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.” So, if we live in the Vaikuntha mood, then we are in Vaikuntha. But if we live in the materialistic mood, not of serving the devotees but of thinking ill of devotees, then we won’t be able to experience the Vaikuntha atmosphere.

And when we create the Vaikuntha atmosphere, people will receive it, and they will want to join and be with us. If they come to the temple and see materialistic attitudes, materialistic behavior, then they will think, What is the difference? Why should I come here? We have to learn to serve the devotees, we have to understand the importance and the value and the great benefit of serving devotees. In whatever position we are in, we should execute our duties in the mood of service to the devotees. Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: Any story from Bombay?

Giriraj Swami: Any story from Bombay? Well, I have a story from Mayapur. [laughter] One devotee went to Srila Prabhupada and complained about the management, and Srila Prabhupada must have listened with great attention and sympathy, and maybe he said something, “Well, if you think you can do it better, why don’t you do it?” Somehow, the devotee came out of the room and he announced that, “Srila Prabhupada said I should become the temple commander.” [laughter] He began to boss all the devotees, began to command all the devotees, and the devotees became disturbed. So then, they informed Srila Prabhupada about what was happening, and Srila Prabhupada called the devotee back, and he told him that, “First, you become the servant of all the devotees. Then you become the temple commander.”

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:38:24]

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Any other [Unintelligible 00:38:28]?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I have one from Vrindavan. [laughter] When Srila Prabhupada and the devotees were planning the altars for the new temple, Srila Prabhupada said that his deity should be made in this pose, because he said that the spiritual master is the servant of everyone. Of course, in the end, they had kartals, which is also equally good. But at first, Srila Prabhupada said he wanted this pose, of the servant.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:39:35] [laughter] [Unintelligible 00:39:47]

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Prabhupada was not limited to India. [Unintelligible 00:39:59], you tell us.

Devotee: You think from where?

Giriraj Swami: Wherever Srila Prabhupada was.

Devotee: Well, he wants a Bombay story, that is good. I remember being in Bombay. When I first got there, it was at the Cross Maidan festival. You were the temple commander, as I remember. [Unintelligible 00:40:21]. At that time, I was just a child. Prabhupada said, “Please send three brahmacharis to India.” So, we got on the plane. He was there when we got off, it was one hundred [Unintelligible 00:40:33]. So, we got to Bombay though, Srila Prabhupada got there. And I think [Unintelligible 00:40:46] got to be initiated there.

And then, after that, the war started. I remember doing the ārati, and I was in such anxiety because I am doing the ārati, I saw the women, the tracer bullets were going in the air and sirens and things. And I was in such anxiety about this. And the next day, I went into Prabhupada’s room, and I usually put the water on Prabhupada’s head, then give Prabhupada a flower, [Unintelligible 00:41:12], it wasn’t a good feeling to see all that going on, and I felt this anxiety. I gave Prabhupada the flower and I started to leave. Prabhupada stopped and the people looked at me and he said, “So, everything is all right?” Just like that, everything changed. I felt just lifted, just away like that, and I said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada, everything is all right.” And Prabhupada had that concern too.

I remember we went on this walk around the field and it was amazing, we walked, we got to the field and we were walking around the hanging gardens, that is where it was, and these impersonal Islamists stopped to talk to us and Prabhupada was speaking with them. He said, “Would you like to come to our ashram?” And they said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada, if you want to go, we will go.” And Prabhupada said, “Not like that.” He said, “Well, if we all want to go, we will go. If not, just ask one person,” He is a little old, and we suppose, “Why not?” So, we went there, and I remember, it was when I just gotten there from France. And Srila Prabhupada [Unintelligible 00:42:15] and he was preaching to them about Krishna and they were curious about the spiritual master, the whole movement. He was just trying to, sitting on the floor, influencing them on Krishna consciousness. And then he turned to me and [Unintelligible 00:42:30] and said, “You just came from France, didn’t you?” And it was just so matter of fact, looking in my eyes, I could see that love and that concern, and I said, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada, I did.”

I miss those times, it almost feels like [Unintelligible 00:42:46] the time and go back, and there we are, in the hanging gardens, across [Unintelligible 00:42:50]. And Prabhupada would always fix things, and it was just a couple words and it was. . . I remember we were in Nairobi, these two Indian girls would come to there and there was some problem about them, and they would come to the temple because they had a problem with their family, and there was a problem with this. So, we called Srila Prabhupada in Amsterdam, and he said, “Yes, I have already written a letter with the answer to that.” “Answer? That is interesting because it hadn’t happened yet and you had already written a letter advising what to do.” There were so many interesting things where that would come up, that Srila Prabhupada always had the answer, sometimes even before the question was asked. Or just by his carrying the problem itself, just like that, everything was okay, even though there was a war going on. It is not a comfortable feeling to see tracer bullets and bombs.

Devotee: Where was that?

Devotee: That was the Indian and Pakistan war in 1971 in Bangladesh.

Giriraj Swami: Vaikunthanath Prabhu, can you tell us some story?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:44:13]

Giriraj Swami: Well, at the Bombay pandal, as you said, I was the temple commander of the pandal program. So, behind the stage, there were rooms made of cloth partitions and bamboo poles. And usually, Srila Prabhupada would come just in time for the program on the stage, but one day, he came early. And there was one room behind the stage designated for Srila Prabhupada, but when Srila Prabhupada came, the room was not in order. The sofas weren’t aligned properly, maybe there was some cups and plates on the table. And, I immediately started to rush around to make everything properly and I apologized to Srila Prabhupada, “I am sorry that we didn’t have the room ready for you.” And then, Srila Prabhupada said, “How much can one person do?”

And then he said that he had one teacher at Scottish Church College who said that the Indians are not fit for independence because. . . Anyway, then he came to the point that it is better to control six asses than to work like an ass yourself. [laughter] So, he wasn’t suggesting that I should try to do more work myself, but I should try to engage others in service. [laughter] But to engage others in service is also service.

His Holiness Radhanath Swami first met the devotees at the same pandal at Cross Maidan, and he said the first service he ever got was there. Because I was also in charge of the book table, and we used to have BTGs. So, sometimes the Indians would take them and walk away. So, we consulted some of the local people what to do, so they said, “You have to put a hole in the corner of the magazine and then put a string through it and tie the string to the table. And then, they can look at the magazine without taking the magazines with them.” [laughter]

So, at the time, His Holiness Radhanath Swami was a Saivite. He was a sadhu, but he was a Saivite. And anyway, somehow, I invited him to do the service, and he did it—the service. Along with the initiations was a marriage between Vegavan and Padmavati. Vegavan was from Sweden, and Padmavati was from Australia. So, at the marriage ceremony, which was performed in the pandal in front of more than ten thousand people, Srila Prabhupada introduced them, and he declared, “This is the real United Nations,” and everyone in the audience cheered and clapped.

Devotee: That is my initiation day too.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. I have the picture, beautiful picture of all of you, so nicely clean shaved.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:49:25]

Giriraj Swami: [Unintelligible 00:49:32]

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:49:34]

Giriraj Swami: Later became [Unintelligible 00:49:37].

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:49:37]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. They looked like angels. I mean, they are angels. [laughter] They really look like angels. One of my favorite pictures, they are beautiful.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:49:50] [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: I could try to get one for you from the archives. The one I have is in Bombay; it is part of the display. Otherwise, I can give you the one that is there when I come back.

Devotee: When you come to Bombay.

Giriraj Swami: Or when I come to California. That reminds me of another story from Mayapur. Srila Prabhupada had just taken prasāda, and he heard some shouting coming from the next room. So, he asked Harisauuri, who was his servant, “What is the matter?” So, Harisauri went into the next room and came back, then told Srila Prabhupada, “Your two secretaries are fighting.” So, Srila Prabhupada said, “Call them in.” So, Srila Prabhupada asked, “What is the matter?” So, the junior one said that, “I wanted to distribute your remnants to all the devotees, but the senior one said he was sick, and he couldn’t eat the regular prasāda, so he wanted all the remnants.” [laughter] So, that was the fight. [laughter] So then, Srila Prabhupada actually said that, “He can’t eat the regular prasāda, he is sick. You should have given him the remnants.”

And it is not enough just to serve the spiritual master, but you should serve the other servants of the spiritual master. And then he spoke about humility, that in Bengal, a sadhu will come to a village, and all the villagers will come out and touch his feet and invite him to their places and offer to serve him. And they will think that he is a saintly person, “If I serve him and please him, Krishna will be pleased, and I will make advancement.” But the sadhu is thinking, “Why are they all coming to serve me? I am just an ordinary living entity.” And by the humility in every one of them, they all make wonderful advancements by thinking that by serving the devotee, Krishna would be pleased, and they will make advancement, and him thinking, “I am not a devotee. Why are they trying to serve me?” So, that should be our mood.

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to address each other as Prabhu. Prabhu means master. So, if the other person. . . What are we? We are servants. But we should actually feel it. Srila Prabhupada said, “Not that we say, ‘Oh, Prabhu, bring me my shoes.’” [laughter] “It is not the meaning of Prabhu.” This is part of our culture, which we have to develop.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, if we are all supposed to be serving each other, then how does someone lead?

Giriraj Swami: The leader is also a servant. What is the meaning of leader?

Devotee: Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, he is also a servant. He is serving his spiritual master, and he is engaging us in service to his spiritual master, to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as a service to us. He is engaging us, he is training us, he is educating us. It is also a service. Just like the parents educate the children, but it is a service to the children. They may give the children services to do around the house, later on they might give the children services to do at the place of work, but it is part of the training of the child. It is not that the parents are exploiting the child for some personal benefit, but they are training the child so that he will become mature and strong, have good qualities.

Devotee: So, discipline would also be a type of service?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Srila Prabhupada used to quote one Canakya Sloka, that sons and disciples should never be flattered, they should be chastised. If you flatter them, they will become spoiled. If you chastise them, they become good. So, that is also service. I mean, it may need to be done, and if it is done, it should be done in the mood of service.

Devotee: In the early Bombay days, Prabhupada, we would encourage some people, and he would have to personally take. . . Some of the boys were asking me about Mr. Nair, but there are things like with Mr. Nair how he dealt with that or other people like some of the early people like [Unintelligible 00:56:18], some of the early people can give us some stories about Mr. Nair. Some people were there early. And that came later of course, he first was going to give that property. Remember [Unintelligible 00:56:31] met him. He said that this man wants to donate his property. And then, somewhere along the line, it didn’t come out that way.

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is a long story, but Sadajiwatlal had a chain of sweet shops. He had fourteen sweet shops in Bombay. And Srila Prabhupada gave him the nickname “The sweetball king.” [laughter] Yes, so he would be referring to him as the Sweetball king. And he was very devoted to the cause of Hinduism, and he was very pleased that Srila Prabhupada was spreading Krishna consciousness throughout Bombay. But one little incident comes to mind. Actually, I mentioned it to one godbrother the other day because we were discussing how the pure devotee appears to take birth in a particular place, at a particular time, in a particular climate. So once, Sadajiwatlal said to Srila Prabhupada that, “You pronounced Sanskrit with a Bengali accent.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Well what do you expect? I am Bengali.” [laughter]

This shows you Srila Prabhupada’s magnanimity. Mr. Sethi was a builder in contract, and he was a great devotee of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada always wanted him to join, and somehow Mr. Sethi never did. So, when Srila Prabhupada’s quarters were finally finished on the fifth floor of the tower, facing the sea, the floors were all marble, there was carved wood, chandeliers, beautiful furniture. Srila Prabhupada invited Mr. Sethi to see the new quarters. He said, “See what they have done for me; white marble and chandeliers and carved wood, furniture, desks, chairs.” And then Srila Prabhupada said, “So, I always wanted you to join. You said you couldn’t join because you couldn’t take the austerity. So, now you stay here, and I will stay somewhere else.” [laughter] Mr. Sethi said, “Oh no, I can’t stay here.” “Yes, you stay here. I am a sannyasi, I can stay anywhere. You stay here.” [laughter]

Devotee: There was another Mr. Sethi in [Unintelligible 00:59:59] also. That one, the construction one lived in [Unintelligible 01:00:03]?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, at first, he lived in [Unintelligible 01:00:07], and then he actually built a bungalow in the Juhu scheme, he moved to the Juhu scheme.

Devotee: I think we went to his house before the Juhu was up, right?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. He used to have the devotees come up for hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana.

Devotee: Oh, that was it. But the other one is the [Unintelligible 01:00:22]. His wife won some worldwide vegetarian cooking contest. Did you go to that one with Prabhupada when he went to the house and he said that, “Look how much they have eaten. Because we are the International Society for Eating Consciousness. I must take them home and they will want to eat again.” [laughter] Were you at that one?

Giriraj Swami: No, but I heard about it.

Devotee: There is some planting vegetables at that one [Unintelligible 01:00:54]. I still remember. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: That is eating consciousness. You are proving Srila Prabhupada’s statement. But it is prasāda.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:01:10]

Giriraj Swami: It is Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:01:12]

Giriraj Swami: Now, I am going to tell another story, which is very nice story. And then, I will tell you Mr. Sethi’s realization from it. First work that Srila Prabhupada gave Mr. Sethi was to build a floor because we didn’t have permission to build the temple yet, but we got permission to build an additional floor on the top of the apartments that were already there, which were already occupied by the tenants, and we couldn’t get them out according to Indian law. So, when the first ashram was ready, Mr. Sethi brought Srila Prabhupada upstairs, and Srila Prabhupada appreciated the work and he said that every morning, everything should be lifted off the floors, we should wash the floors with wet cloth. He gave some instructions about how to live in the ashram. And then he told Mr. Sethi that, “Just as you are building these rooms here for my disciples, Krishna is building your rooms for you in Vaikuntha.”

So, I met Mr. Sethi just about two months ago, and he told the same story. And what he was really saying with great feeling and emotion was that how much Srila Prabhupada was a devotee of his devotees. He said that other gurus would say, “Serve me,” or even, “Serve Krishna,” but Srila Prabhupada was saying, “Serve my devotees.” And he was saying that other gurus would say, “If you serve Krishna, you will go to Vaikuntha.” But they might even say, “If you serve me, you will go to Vaikuntha.” But Srila Prabhupada was saying, “If you serve my devotees, you will go to Vaikuntha.” He was saying how much love Srila Prabhupada had for his devotees, and how much faith he had in the service of the devotees.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Gaura premānande Haribol!

Devotee: Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!