SB 1.1.9 – Read Srimad Bhagavatam and Discuss

Giriraj Swami: Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto One, Chapter One, “Questions by the Sages.”

TEXT 9

tatra tatrāñjasāyuṣman
bhavatā yad viniścitam
puṁsām ekāntataḥ śreyas
tan naḥ śaṁsitum arhasi

TRANSLATION

Please, therefore, being blessed with many years, explain to us, in an easily understandable way, what you have ascertained to be the absolute and ultimate good for the people in general.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In Bhagavad-gītā, worship of the ācārya is recommended. The ācāryas and gosvāmīs are always absorbed in thought of the well-being of the general public, especially their spiritual well-being. Spiritual well-being is automatically followed by material well-being. The ācāryas therefore give directions in spiritual well-being for people in general. Foreseeing the incompetencies of the people in this Age of Kali, or the iron age of quarrel, the sages requested that Sūta Gosvāmī give a summary of all revealed scriptures because the people of this age are condemned in every respect. The sages, therefore, inquired of the absolute good, which is the ultimate good for the people. The condemned state of affairs of the people of this age is described as follows.

COMMENT

So here, the sages ask Suta Gosvami about the ultimate good for the people in general. They use the word śreyas, which means ultimate good. Srila Prabhupada explains there are two words in Sanskrit: śreyas, which means ultimate good, and preyas, which means immediate gratification. So, we should be interested in śreyas. The difference between śreyas and preyas can be understood in relation to children. Children generally like to play. They are interested in immediate happiness. They don’t like to go to school. But the parents understand the importance of education, and they force the children to go to school because education is for their ultimate benefit. If they are well educated, they can be successful later in life. Whereas if they just play, although they may enjoy themselves for some time, later in life they will suffer. And therefore, the parents send the children to school to be educated. Spiritually, the people in general are like children. They just want to play, play making money, play becoming big leaders, play becoming big heroes, and enjoy sense gratification. But they are just like children who are playing for some immediate happiness but who later will have to suffer because, although the people can enjoy for some time, even then, whatever enjoyment they get is mixed with misery to different degrees. But in the end, they will suffer because they have misused the human form of life.

Srila Prabhupada tells a story of a sadhu who gave different blessings to different persons. First, a prince approached the sadhu, and the sadhu gave him the blessing that “You should not die.” Because he is a prince, rāja-putra, and he is enjoying all sorts of sense gratification. But in the course of such enjoyment, he is committing so many sinful activities for which he will have to suffer in the next life. Therefore, the sadhu gave him the blessing that “You should not die,” because as soon as you die, you will be punished for your sinful activities. Then, came a butcher, and the sadhu gave the blessing to the butcher that “You should not live, and you should not die.” Your present life is horrible, killing so many innocent creatures, and your next life will also be horrible because you will have to suffer the reactions for all of the murder of the animals that you have committed. Actually, the scriptures explain that not only is the butcher liable to be punished, but all of the persons involved in the process are also responsible and punishable. So, the person who raises the animal for slaughter, the person who kills the animal, the person who transports the flesh, the person who sells the meat, the person who buys it, the person who cooks it, the person who eats it, all are held responsible for the killing of the animal. Just like, even in human law, if there is a conspiracy to murder a person, everyone involved in the conspiracy is responsible, not just the person who physically kills the victim, but everyone who was involved in the conspiracy is held responsible and is punishable. So similarly, everyone engaged in the process of eating meat is held responsible.

Once, one of the editors of the magazine Back to Godhead wanted to publish an article showing the horrors of slaughterhouses, and Srila Prabhupada objected to the proposal on two grounds. First, he said that the pages of the magazine would become contaminated by the sight of the animals being slaughtered, just like we wouldn’t publish illicit sex because the picture itself would pollute the magazine or the readers of the magazine. So similarly, to publish a picture of an animal being slaughtered is also contaminating. The other reason Srila Prabhupada objected to the proposed article was that he didn’t want the butchers to be singled out. He didn’t want the butchers to feel that they were being accused. And Srila Prabhupada mentioned all the people who are involved in the sin of animal slaughter, including the people who eat the flesh, and practically everyone is involved in eating meat, so they are all responsible. So why pick on the butchers? Everyone is involved in the sin.

So, the sadhu blesses the butcher that “You should not live, and you should not die.” Your present life is horrible, being engaged in killing innocent creatures, and your future life will also be very painful because you will have to suffer the reaction for taking the lives of so many innocent creatures. Then, muni-putra, brahmachari, living under strict vows and performing severe austerities. So, the sadhu gave him the blessing that “You should not live,” because as long as you are alive, you will have to suffer so many austerities. But as soon as you die, you will get the reward for all of the austerities that you perform. So, you should not live. And the devotee was given the blessing that “You may live, or you may die.” It doesn’t matter because in the present life, you are serving Krishna, and you are experiencing spiritual bliss. And in the next life, you will serve Krishna and experience spiritual bliss. So, you may live or you may die; both are the same because you are Krishna conscious. You will be happy in any position.

So ordinary people are like the prince or the butcher. They just want to make money and enjoy life, and they don’t realize the reactions they will have to suffer in the next life. So, they are like children. Children also just want to play and enjoy, and they don’t realize how they will have to suffer later in life if they do not become educated. So, the sages are like the parents of human society, and they are concerned about the well-being of the children. They know that they have to be educated, that the people have to be educated. But what education? That is the question. There are so many scriptures, so many sages, so many opinions, so many recommendations. So, the sages asked Suta Gosvami, “What is the essence of all scriptures that will bring real benefit to the human society?” And Suta Gosvami welcomed the questions of the sages because they related to the ultimate benefit of the living beings and ultimately, they related to the Absolute Truth, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. So, he welcomed the questions, and he gave the answer with complete authority. And in essence, he said that the ultimate good for all people is to engage in the devotional service of Lord Krishna. And the essence of all scriptures is devotional service to Lord Krishna. And the essence of all scriptures is given in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And Srila Prabhupada, in turn, has translated Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other scriptures to give the essence, which is devotional service unto the Lord, Sri Krishna.

Then again, there are many processes of devotional service, and what is the best process, or the most practical? And here too, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the answer. And the answer is, the chanting of the holy names of the Lord is the essence of all scriptures, and it is the best method of devotional service. Lord Chaitanya, who is accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna Himself, understood the essence of all scriptures. He understood the essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and thus he propagated the saṅkīrtana movement, or the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, and he quoted one verse in particular:

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

“One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Lord Hari. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the modern age of Kali.”

So, following Lord Chaitanya, Srila Prabhupada propagated the chanting of the holy names of the Lord everywhere throughout the whole world, and people took to the chanting and experienced transcendental happiness. So, we chant the holy name. Although the process is simple, as Srila Prabhupada says, the determination to follow the process is not so simple. In the beginning, we may chant and dance and feel great ecstasy, but after some time, we may not feel that ecstasy. But sometimes we find that the ecstasy has decreased, or we may become so distracted that we are not even aware of the fact that we are not able to relish hearing and chanting and dancing as we did before. And what is the cause? The cause, as stated in the scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is offenses. Because we commit offenses, we cannot get the full benefit of the holy name. The holy name is Krishna Himself, and if we offend Krishna, Krishna will withdraw His mercy or withdraw His potency. And even though we go through the mechanics of mouthing the words to the mantra, we don’t get the benefit in full. And sometimes we don’t even bother mouthing the words. We lose interest. We take more interest in other things; we become more preoccupied with other affairs.

So, the Bhāgavatam explains that if one chants the holy name but one’s heart does not melt in ecstasy, the cause is offenses, and especially offenses against devotees. The Lord takes offenses against devotees more seriously than He takes offenses against Himself. The example is given that a person walking barefoot in the sun feels the scorching heat more on his feet than on his head. Similarly, the Lord feels more pain when the devotees, who have taken shelter at His lotus feet, are blasphemed or offended, than He feels pain when He is directly blasphemed to His face. And therefore, the Lord withdraws His mercy from the offenders, especially the offenders against His devotees. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that the mercy of the holy name recedes at the first offense against the Lord’s devotees. And therefore, even though we chant, if we commit offenses, we do not really relish the chanting. And either we chant mechanically while our mind dwells on other subjects, or our mind carries us to other affairs, and we just don’t even bother to chant. We know we should, but we just don’t bother because we are preoccupied with other things. And when we become preoccupied with the faults of others, especially the faults of devotees, we will not be able to relish the holy name. We will not be able to make very much spiritual progress.

So, everything is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. From the very preliminary question, “What is the ultimate good for the living being?” We come to the answer: devotional service. And which service? The chanting of the holy names of the Lord. And how to chant? We must chant without offense. Then we can achieve the ultimate success in human life. Otherwise, we will be condemned to take birth again in the miserable world and to suffer. So, the process of knowledge begins with humility, amānitvam adambhitvam. One must be humble and free from pride in order to get transcendental knowledge. And the other requirement is Acharya Upasana: one must approach the acharyas for transcendental knowledge. Srila Prabhupada explains that Vedic culture, or Vedic civilization, is guided by the acharyas: Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya, Nimbarkacharya, Vishnu Swami, and of course, more recently, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The whole Vedic civilization is guided by the acharyas, and if we cannot take advantage of the instructions of the acharyas, we cannot really get transcendental knowledge. Just by reading books independently, one may not come to the right conclusion. Even though Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is so clear, Bhagavad-gītā also is so clear, but without the guidance of the acharyas, we may not come to the right conclusion.

And therefore, acharya Upasana: one must worship the acharya because the process of transcendental knowledge is not the same as the process of ordinary knowledge. In ordinary knowledge, we may read a book and get knowledge, but one cannot get transcendental knowledge just by reading a book without service. And again, how is the service rendered? Or to whom is the service rendered? Ultimately, the service is rendered to Krishna, but how? Acharya Upasana: we serve Krishna by following the instructions of the acharya, or in other words, by rendering service to the acharya and by offering worship to the acharya. Then one can get transcendental knowledge. And we see the whole process here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The sages, in their own way, worship Suta Gosvami, and he is pleased to reply to their questions. But before he speaks, he offers prayers to his spiritual master, to Śukadeva Gosvami, and this is the process of paramparā. I receive knowledge from my spiritual master, who in turn received knowledge from his spiritual master, who in turn received his knowledge from his spiritual master, and thus the knowledge is received through disciplic succession.

And again, the Bhāgavatam explains that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge, and it is passed down like a ripe fruit from the top of the tree to the ground. And what is the process? The boys climb, and the one at the top picks the fruit, say the mango, and he hands it to the boy on the next branch. He hands it to the boy on the next branch. He hands it to the boy on the next branch, and ultimately, he hands it to the boy on the ground, and it reaches intact, in the exact same perfect condition it existed at the top of the tree. So, the person at the top of the tree is the Lord, Lord Narayana or Lord Krishna, and He imparts the Vedic knowledge to, say, in the case of the Brahma Madhava Gaudiya Sampradāya, He will pass on the knowledge to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma will pass on the knowledge to Narada and others. Narada will pass on the knowledge to Vyasa, and Vyasa will also pass on the knowledge to Śukadeva Gosvami and others. And thus, the ripened fruit from the tree of Vedic knowledge, which is full of juice or rasa, will be handed down to the devotees in subsequent generations.

So, everything is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And therefore, one of Srila Prabhupada’s last instructions to us before he left was, “Read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily, as much as possible, and discuss.” The Bhāgavatam is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge, and it was compiled by Vyasadeva in his maturity. Srila Prabhupada said, “Each and every word is transcendental.” He said, “The more you discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the more the subject matter will become clarified.” So, this should be our activity as devotees: discussing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And as Srila Prabhupada has promised, as guaranteed, the more we discuss the matter, the more the matter will become clarified. There is no need to speculate, to fight. Just read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Again, before Srila Prabhupada left, one of his godbrothers, or disciples of one of his godbrothers, requested that, “Swamiji please tell your disciples that they should work without personal ambition.” And Srila Prabhupada, lying on his bed in Vrindavan, summoned his disciples to come close, and he said, “Don’t fight. I have given direction in my books.” So, we should follow, especially now, Srila Prabhupada’s final instructions: “Don’t fight. I have given direction in my books. Read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily, as much as possible, and discuss. The more you discuss, the more the matter will become clarified.”

Hare Krishna.

Grantharaja Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Are there any questions or comments? Yes, Maharaja?

Devotee: Hare Krishna. [Unintelligible 00:30:42]

Giriraj Swami: I hope everyone understood the question. No? I will try to extract the essence of the question, that we are meant to receive the knowledge of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam through disciplic succession. So, after the disappearance of Srila Prabhupada how do we receive the knowledge?

Well, In the course of the phrasing question, His Holiness Amiya Vilasa Swami Maharaja said that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura gave the knowledge to one person, Srila Prabhupada. I don’t know if he gave the knowledge to one person. He gave it to anyone and everyone who is ready to accept it and I don’t think Srila Prabhupada himself would say that he is the only one that received the knowledge from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. In the course of the question, he said that Srila Prabhupada gave the knowledge to anyone and everyone, which is true. So that means that we can get the knowledge that Srila Prabhupada gave from anyone who has taken the knowledge from Srila Prabhupada and preserved it and presents it as he received it from Srila Prabhupada. Someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “Who will be the next leader after you leave?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Anyone can become the leader. You also can become the leader. But you have to follow the previous leadership. Anyone who follows the previous leadership, he can become the leader. So, you can also become the leader.” Anyone, everyone can become the leader if he follows the previous leadership. So, there is no exclusivity that there is only one person, or eleven, or twenty-two, or anyone. Anyone who follows the previous leader, he can become a leader. Is that all right?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, maximum how many times an offense [Unintelligible 00:34:39]

Giriraj Swami: What is the maximum number of times the Lord will forgive an offense?

Well, it does depend on what the offense is. How many times do you want to offend the Lord? Our idea should be not to offend the Lord even once. But if by chance we offend Him once, and we sincerely repent and try not to offend the Lord again, then He will forgive us. Second time, He can forgive us. Third time, He can forgive us. But after three times, He might get fed up. This is what Srila Prabhupada said: once, twice, three times; but more than three times, we may be going too far. Ultimately, we can always surrender to the Lord, but in the meantime, we may be punished severely. But after being punished severely for a long enough time, and repenting sufficiently, we can again approach the Lord.

Devotee: Shishupal offended the Lord one hundred times, and the Lord forgave him even though Shishupal did not repent. [Unintelligible 00:36:34]

Giriraj Swami: Very good question. Maharaja said that Shishupal offended the Lord one hundred times, and the Lord forgave him even though Shishupal did not repent. Because some devotee intervened on Shishupal’s behalf. So, if we offend the Lord, can some devotee intervene and pray to the Lord?

The answer is yes. But if we offend a devotee, then the Lord will not forgive us, because the Lord has promised to give protection to His devotees. And if He did not punish offenders against His devotees, then how would He give protection to His devotees? So, he has to punish the offenders. And that is the only way that, the devotees will be protected. He wants to save the offenders from committing further offenses against His devotees.

Devotee: Haribol. [Unintelligible 00:38:34] 

Giriraj Swami: Vamanadeva is saying that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura wanted to preach the message throughout the world, the Western world. But if you keep going far enough west, you come back. So, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was expert in astronomy and astrology, and therefore he knew what knowledge would be appropriate for what audience. And he gave that knowledge to Srila Prabhupada to take to the Western world. And Srila Prabhupada took the knowledge to the Western world. But actually, the knowledge was coming from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his predecessors. And Srila Prabhupada was just the instrument, or the mouthpiece, for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. But the knowledge was actually coming from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. That is what he said. So, you are asking, is it correct or not? This was his comment.

Devotee: An important element I got from the verse Maharaja was that the devotees make the teachings easily understandable for the people in general. In other words, communication is very, very important. Sometimes we see speakers are very eloquent and charismatic, etc., but there is no real substance to what they teach. And even if there was, most of the people are just dazzled by their performance and don’t even understand what they are hearing. So, now it turns out you mentioned a few times that just reading books is not in itself enough. That one has to, of course, follow the instructions in the books and approach the person and receive the instruction. So, it seems that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and of course Caitanya-caritāmṛta and other literatures, are very deep and, of course, they are very long also. A lot of times, we have been discussing this; people, temples, or even devotees will read the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Then, they go to Second Canto and reread the First Canto, then go to the Third Canto, then reread the First Canto. In other words, what I am saying is that to go through Twelve Cantos and keep the whole picture in mind, is very difficult. So, my question is what is the relationship, or what is the relative importance, between preachers who have imbibed the teachings of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who travel and deal personally with people, and make sure that they communicate with them, that the people understand, and just book distribution without, that kind of follow-up; the relative importance of the two.

Giriraj Swami: Very good question. Maharaja is saying that even though one may get the book, he may not be able to understand it or apply it. And therefore, he needs the help of a devotee or devotees to be able to understand the book properly and apply the principles appropriately. So, how important is the association of the devotee compared to just the act of giving the book?

Well, both are important. Definitely, both are important. But when one gets the book, he will read that you should associate with devotees, and he will want the association of devotees. And yes, I think the association of devotees is important. I remember one conversation where Srila Prabhupada was saying that many institutions publish books, but why do people worship us? They worship us because of the ideal life of Krishna consciousness. He said very few people will actually become devotees just by reading the books. But when they come and associate with the devotees and see the ideal life of Krishna consciousness, then they can be inspired to become devotees. So, I think both are important.

Devotee: For example, you were quoting from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but not exactly quoting. You were paraphrasing different parts and things that Srila Prabhupada said, and you didn’t open the book and read the Sanskrit every time and go directly through it. It was basically the teaching from the paramparā to all of us. So, in terms of just Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in general, would discuss philosophy with a small number of people. He distributed the holy name and distributed prasādam for the general mass of people. Is there a change in that strategy now, that we want everybody to have the books and read them and understand them? In other words, my observation is, even within our own institution, what to speak outside of it, people really don’t flourish, even if they get the books, until they get a good example of someone who is following it and reciprocate with them on a fairly often basis. So, I am just trying to see if my observations are correct?

Giriraj Swami: I agree with your observation. I have the same experience that devotees need association and good examples to be inspired to practice properly. And if they have the knowledge in the books, but if they are left on their own, they tend to become weak, become diverted in different ways; they need the association. That is why Srila Prabhupada traveled all over the world, even though he wrote the books and disciples had the books. But he traveled all over the world to inspire them and keep them on the right path.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, I have a question. [Unintelligible 00:52:20] Even after so many years of service and leadership, they fell away. So, what is more important, reading and understanding Prabhupada’s books or living in the temple. [Unintelligible 00:53:38]

Giriraj Swami: I wasn’t aware that we were discussing living in the temple. You are discussing reading books and associating with devotees. One can read the books and associate with devotees, even if he doesn’t live in the temple. And someone can live in the temple and not read the books and not take advantage of the association. So, I thought we were saying that one should read the books and, along with reading the books, associate with devotees whether he is in the temple or outside the temple. Is that all right?

Devotee: Maharaja, I have another question. In spite of living in association for many years, why do people sometimes [Unintelligible 00:53:47]

Giriraj Swami: I think different people may have different opinions. Are you asking for my opinion, or are you expressing your opinion, or both?

Devotee: Yes, I am asking for your opinion.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I remember when I first heard the news about one of the leaders who left here, and I was quite shocked. And I phoned His Holiness Radhanath Swami and asked him if he had heard, and he had heard, and he was also shocked. And later in the same day, or at least the next day, we met and discussed. And he felt that the reason that the person had left was because he didn’t have loving relationships with his godbrothers. And he saw a pattern among senior devotees who left, that they did not have loving relationships with their godbrothers. And what he said seemed to fit the history. We say they didn’t really understand the philosophy. I don’t know exactly on what level we are speaking because they read the books, they gave classes on the books, they wrote books about the books, or they had their lectures about the books collected and edited and made into books. But in spite of having knowledge, or at least theoretical knowledge, they didn’t have the reciprocation with other devotees to satisfy the heart. And therefore, they went. They looked for satisfaction in other ways.

And I personally believe that if there are loving relationships among the devotees, they won’t want to leave, senior, junior, or young or old, even if they don’t have so much knowledge from the books. And even if they do have knowledge from the books, unless their intelligence is very strong, and most people are not that philosophically directed in practical life that even if they have the knowledge in the books, but if they don’t have loving reciprocation with the devotees, they will leave the association of devotees. And then they will probably, may not be able to follow the principles so strictly, at least for some time. So, if we take a practical example of Srila Prabhupada, after he left, many devotees left. We can’t say that they understood the philosophy better when Prabhupada was here, although he could answer their questions, but they were attracted by Srila Prabhupada personally. And in the absence of Srila Prabhupada’s personal presence, they felt some lack, and then they left. And they looked for whatever they were lacking elsewhere.

So, I believe if we can embody and at least reflect Srila Prabhupada’s love and concern for his devotees, and really for all living entities, but first of all for his devotees, that would probably be the most powerful factor in keeping devotees in the movement. And recently, I attended the Ratha-yatra in Los Angeles, and the day after the Ratha-yatra, I had a talk with several of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples who were not so actively engaged with the movement. And they were discussing the fact that so many devotees, initiated disciples of Srila Prabhupada, were outside the movement and why, and especially what would bring them back. And one of the devotees said that it would be very easy to get them back. That really all they want is a little affection and encouragement. He said they actually want to come back; they just are waiting for a little affection and encouragement, and they will come. So, I believe practically that maybe the most important factor in most cases. And that is our challenge. It is our duty; it should be our desire to at least reflect some of Srila Prabhupada’s love and care, and make the devotees want to feel that they can get that love and care in the society and want to be associated with it. And I think that is probably why most people leave, who came in all sincerity.

Professor Tom Hopkins said in the movie, that he saw the devotees and he saw they were so enthusiastic, he couldn’t believe how enthusiastic they were. But then when he asked them some of the basic questions about the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, they couldn’t answer. And he was perplexed, on the one hand, such tremendous enthusiasm and devotion, and on the other hand, so little knowledge of what they were actually doing. And he said when he met Srila Prabhupada, he understood why. Because of Srila Prabhupada, they were inspired to work with a tremendous degree of enthusiasm and dedication, even without having so much knowledge about what they were actually doing. So, I don’t at all mean to minimize the importance of the books. Srila Prabhupada toiled day in and day out, to write the books and publish them and distribute them. And he wanted us to read them and distribute them. But he also wanted us to live them. He wanted us to embody the qualities of devotees mentioned in the books. And as he said, what really makes devotees is not the books, but it is seeing the ideal life that the books talk about in reality. And we may need to balance, well, there is so many things to balance, but one thing we may have to balance is the emphasis on distributing books with an emphasis on, living the ideal life mentioned in the book. So that when people come to the society, they feel, “This is ideal life,” not that, “Well, the philosophy is very good, but where is the practice?” Some people may come and say the temple is like the spiritual world, but some people might come and say, “What is the difference between the temple and the material world? You see the same things in the temple.” And then they will leave. It is not a question of the philosophy; it is a question of the practice. So, considering time, place, and circumstance, I would say that reflecting Srila Prabhupada’s love and care and concern, and developing loving relationships among the devotees, is a very great need.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol.