Talk at Krishna Kirtan’s—Part 01

Giriraj Swami: And then, he came up with the proposal that I come to India because there is going to be a meeting of the bureaus which is like the board of directors of the legal society in India. There were eighteen members and what we needed to do was we needed twelve votes. We needed two-thirds and without me they had eleven and I would be the twelfth. So that was a very special period. It was a good time. There was a lot of chanting and reading and a very wonderful atmosphere with lots of love and support. And then, of course that didn’t kept me there forever, and so, my family, my previous life my family, they bought a place in Santa Barbara and sooner after, Krishna Kirtan and Kandarpa Mataji also moved to Santa Barbara, rented a house and Krishna Kirtan transferred to City College in Santa Barbara and then to UCSB, and even then they were very supportive and helpful. I would always keep [Unintelligible 2:29–2:35] and some set of clothes and sweaters and things at their house. So sometimes, I would walk and then I would come to their house and shower and change and Mother Kandarpa would cook. So, it is like having an expansion of our ashram in Carpinteria in Downtown Santa Barbara. And then, Krishna Kirtan, well first he got his Bachelor’s Degree and he attended the graduation ceremony and then he went on to get his Masters. And in the meantime, they were looking for a place to buy, but the prices in Santa Barbara are exorbitant. I mean, they are high, in Southern California in general, especially near the coast and, he high prices kept spreading. Earlier Carpinteria was a little less expensive but that became practically as expensive as Santa Barbara and it was spreading to Ventura but fortunately, they were able to find this place and I guess there were a lot of people bidding and making applications. Somehow, they got it and Krishna Kirtan got a good job in Los Angeles.

So now, we have come to this stage where they are living in this beautiful huge house in a nice neighborhood. And they are still close, even though, at every stage they made sacrifices. First, to let me into their house and I was there for so many months. Yes, it is nice for two or three days, but . . . So, that was the first one. Then they sort of sacrificed, left Orange county and went to Santa Barbara and rented house and he continued with his studies and he also had a job there. And then, even now, although he has to travel so far to work to Downtown Los Angeles but still, to be close to us he is making the sacrifice and going all that distance to work and come back. So, they have been very good friends and devotees. And also, in the midst of all of this they had Radhika, who is also a very sweet devotee, Princess Radhika. She is to be holding court upstairs and I think her good qualities are also a reflection of all the love and good training she has gotten at home. So, it has been a wonderful journey to come to this point and I am sure it is just the beginning of many more wonderful experiences and services and realizations in Krishna consciousness. And on top of it all is a special blessing or confirmation, His Holiness [Unintelligible 7:57–7:58] who has come here now for the second time. He came the first time I ever visited and now he is here for the official housewarming ceremony. So, we will ask His Holiness to share a few words, jokes or whatever. Hare Krishna

Maharaja: I like it when everybody comes close otherwise I feel like something is missing. Come on a little closer. I don’t bite. Oh that is good I am really hungry that is just the right time. Some people don’t like me but they like the wall more than me. Lately, I start my lectures by how was your week? How is it going? Was it a bad week?

Devotee: Too much studying.

Maharaja: Too much studying?

Devotee: Yes

Maharaja: Really?

Devotee: Yes.

Maharaja: Midterm tests or something? How did you do?

Devotee: I don’t know

Maharaja: Was it tough? Difficult? There is no stress. How old are you? 

Devotee: I am twelve.

Maharaja: Not in life, twelve years old stressed out. Feel lost sometimes?

Devotee: What?

Maharaja: Feel a little lost?

Devotee: Not really

Maharaja: We ask like this and whenever I give Sunday feast, we want to see how everybody is doing. And one point that came up last week was in Houston, it was Bhagavad-gītā was spoken some five thousand years ago, and how does it fit in five thousand years later? What is the word, ‘relevant’? Is it relevant? Is it up to date? And then, as we were going, chanting Jai Radha-Madhava and singing, the introduction of this page into that book at the same time the size of the kirtan, they came up to this verse which is one of my favorites. It is an old saṅkīrtana verse. And so, [Unintelligible 12:30–12:38] like to read the verse and purport. It is towards the end that Krishna is kind of wrapping things up rather than the end of his discussions with Arjuna and he says [Unintelligible 12:49–12:59], “If you become conscious of Me, you will consider all the obstacles, you will pass over all the obstacles the conditioned life by My grace. Therefore, we do not work in such consciousness but actually in false ego, not hearing me, you will be lost.

Prabhupada’s purport:

“A person in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not unduly anxious about executing the duties of his existence. The foolish cannot understand this great freedom from all anxiety. For one who acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes the most intimate friend. He always looks after His friend’s comfort, and He gives Himself to His friend, who is so devotedly engaged working twenty-four hours a day to please the Lord. Therefore, no one should be carried away by the false ego of the bodily concept of life. One should not falsely think himself independent of the laws of material nature or free to act. He is already under strict material laws. But as soon as he acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is liberated, free from the material perplexities. One should note very carefully that one who is not active in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is losing himself in the material whirlpool, in the ocean of birth and death. No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, but a person who acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is free to act because everything is prompted by Kṛṣṇa from within and confirmed by the spiritual master.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So this, I saw, was very relevant, obstacles of life. Anybody experienced any obstacles last week? We had good times. When I said that in Houston, the whole crowd went ‘Hmmm.’ Then, you could feel this sigh of relief that finally someone’s concerned about the fact that you have some difficulties. I could feel the sigh of relief coming from the crowd. I said, “Did anybody feel lost dealing with those obstacles?” “Hmm” especially [Unintelligible 15:22–15:27] the announcer. And he looked at me and says, [Unintelligible 15:28–15:43]. I said, “You have to be honest with mw now.” We were talking together. So all these people raised their hands and he laughed and said, “Maharaja I have to raise both hands and feet after last week. Such a difficult week.”

So, we wonder how to overcome the difficulties in material existence. In this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes that – ‘But as soon as he acts in Krishna consciousness, he is liberated free from material perplexity.’ In the second chapter of this book, Srila Prabhupada writes that material nature is made in such a way that there are perplexities in every step. Every step, you don’t know what to do, and that is what is being described here. Srila Prabhupada says, “No conditioned soul actually knows what is to be done and what is not to be done. We have no idea what to do.” 

So, Krishna says, “If you become conscious of Him, then you can cross over the obstacles of material life.” Srila Prabhupada, these difficulties or these, what does he call birth, death, old age and disease?

Giriraj Swami: [Unintelligible 16:44–16:47] factors.

Maharaja: Yes. This birth, death, old age, and disease, these are the real troubles of life. It is not that—she loves me; she loves me not. I mean, you have all these different things. It is not [Unintelligible 17:00–17:03]. The real problem is, as Srila Prabhupada writes in the introduction to the Bhagavad-gītā, that our existence now is in the atmosphere of non-existence. Since, they were not meant to be threatened by non-existence. This material nature is made that way where [Unintelligible 17:23–17:27] that which is material is temporary and that which is spiritual is eternal. And so, when we try to focus on the material energy, and being described here, it does not work if it is consciousness, but actually false ego, not hearing me. ‘The act of false ego, not hearing me’ is very connected. In the third chapter, Srila Prabhupada writes something very nice. I will just show you that the material nature, when we enter into material nature, we become conditioned by material sense gratification. The body, we identify with the body. Bodily senses [Unintelligible 18:24–18:36] So, without the bodily senses we are like a blob; no eyes, no ears no nose, we are like a blob. So the body means the senses and so, the senses survey material objects and they bring in the information to the mind and then the mind takes it. Prabhupada says, it is next sent down to the intelligence department. He wrote it like departments. He actually said department, actually it is discussed right here. He says that when we hear about sense objects, the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all the ideas for sense gratification. As a result, the mind and senses become repositories of lust. Next the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lusty propensities.

So, this intelligence is the next door neighbor of the spirit soul and when this intelligence becomes infected by desire which comes from the mind and senses, then we begin to identify ourselves as matter and that is called false ego. When that false ego, that false identification and material body is there, what happens is that we think that our source of happiness is derived from engaging the sentences in sense gratification. So, we repeatedly engage ourselves, as spirit soul in this body, in acts of sense satisfaction and as we do that Srila Prabhupada here says, spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying material senses, mistaking that could be the true happiness. So this addiction is very deep-rooted. I was in Alachua. I was giving a class and I was saying just like they have their AA - Alcoholic Anonymous and their NA - Narcotics Anonymous, we should start our SGA- Sense Gratifiers Anonymous, in which we are all members. Then we should come together every morning and say, “Hi, my name is Maharaja. I am an addict.” And we have our club meetings and we give ourselves support and stuff like that. But this desire for sense gratification is very deeply rooted. And the point I was going to make is that to control this loss, I can’t remember exactly what I was saying, but what I was getting to was, the Bhagavad-gītā describes that in the very beginning, you need to curb these desires for sense gratification and regulate the senses and enslave the destroyer of knowledge and self-realization. And this is a very nice sentence that Srila Prabhupada writes and I will read it to you. “The Lord advises Arjuna to regulate the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the great sinful enemy—lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization and specifically knowledge of the self.” I find it very beautiful. In other words, what happens when we engage in sense gratification is that urge, that natural propensity of the living entity, the loving propensity towards God, that urge for self-realization is destroyed and specifically to understand that I am the spirit soul, part and parcel of Krishna. So, when we act through false ego, this is how this part came in because this false ego, it happens when the intelligence becomes polluted by the mind and senses which are engaged in sense gratification. We get this false ego and false identifying ourselves as this material body because we do not hear from Krishna.

This morning I was listening to Prabhupada’s lecture and he was literally, and it was amazing because the verse was saying - Please drop my chariot into the front of the battle so I can see who is willing to fight this battle. Then, Prabhupada just goes on in this lecture that was just, amazing. He didn’t talk too much about being on the battlefield. He started preaching Krishna consciousness. And because the previous verse is described where Krishna is asked by Arjuna. Arjuna asked him to drive the chariot and he is addressed there as Acyuta-infallible. Prabhupada means that Krishna is addressed as a truth by Arjuna because even though Arjuna is telling him to drive the chariot, Krishna is not an inferior. He is still Acyuta. He is, you know the word Acyuta, infallible. We are cyutā that we are fallible and Krishna is Acyuta. So, even though he is becoming the charioteer, he is still Acyuta. He is not less than that. And Prabhupada just says, “Krishna is here. Krishna is with us. Why don’t you take it?” He was just saying, “Why do you have to keep looking? Here is Krishna.” And when I was hearing that tape, I was remembering when I went to my Chiropractor the other day. They had the same Chiropractor for fifteen years and I hadn’t seen him in nine years because when I go to [Unintelligible 24:15- 24:20] it was all jammed up, so I said, “I am going to Dr. John” So recently, he has become a Christian, but he used to believe in reincarnation. He still does, he just doesn’t want to say it. He said that, “Well, I have to consider because if there is reincarnation, then I might not be serious enough to get out because I have another chance.” He said, “Therefore, I don’t think they can be that way anymore. I think you have to just get it done right now.” And I said we think the same way. We don’t use it as an excuse because we don’t want to go about [Unintelligible 24:52].

So, anyway he was saying that when he was talking to one of his friends, his friends asked him, “Who is Jesus?” and he said, “Jesus is God.” And then, his friend said, “Why don’t you act on that knowledge?” And I was thinking, “Well, if I think Krishna is God, then why am I not acting on that knowledge?” Because it reminds me of this, not hearing. We are meant to hear the instructions and be guided by the instructions of Krishna at every moment. This is one point I bring up quite often amongst devotees a lot, especially amongst people who have to go to work every day. It is funny, one time I was at Chaitanya and Draupadi in Houston. I was taking lunch at their house. So, the lunch went on, started at about another quarter to twelve and went on to about one thirty [Unintelligible 25:54]. This is my work. Coming to somebody’s house to take lunch is a sannyasi’s business so I am going to take my breaks.

So, if we accept Krishna as God, then we need to act upon that, what is it that Krishna expects from us? What is it that Krishna wants from us? He wants us to cross over the obstacles of material life. He is there for us. I was explaining to the devotees in Gainesville, Krishna has done His job. We wanted to enjoy separately from Krishna. So Krishna says, “Okay, join the material world.” If we want to remember Krishna, He gives us so much facility. We have the deities. We have the scriptures. We have the holy name. We have prasādam. We have kirtan. There is so many things that Krishna has given us so that we can remember Him, so many opportunities. Krishna facilitated us so wonderfully. Now, it is arguable but if we don’t hear, if we become obstinate, in other words, stubborn, I am not going to do it. Why? Just because I am not going to do it, causes unwillingness to surrender. I remember one of my friends. He was always this. He said, [Unintelligible 27:28–27:44] I don’t have a reason, I just don’t feel like it.

So, in this verse, not acting through a false ego, not hearing Krishna, acting through false ego, not hearing Krishna, acting through false ego, you become lost in the material world. There is one wonderful purport where Srila Prabhupada writes that the living entity- due to his desire to avoid Krishna since time immemorial, is quite a unique statement, therefore the embodied soul by his immemorial desire to avoid Krishna, causes his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal, blissful, and cognizant due to the littleness of his existence, he forgets his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped in nescience. In other words, we misuse that. So here, a Krishna conscious person, it is described that he is not duly anxious. He is not foolish. He understands what is to be done and what is not to be done and when he acts in Krishna consciousness, he is free. He is liberated and Prabhupada said, “We should note very carefully.” I notice this one other time in the eighth chapter, Prabhupada writes - “We should note very carefully, how one should leave his body.” I think it is eight, six. We should note very carefully and Prabhupada says, “We should note very carefully. We should take advantage of that. He said, “One who is not active in Krishna consciousness is losing himself in the whirlpool of material existence.” So, we have this Krishna consciousness, which means action cultivation, and we read in Nectar of Instruction, we understand by Rupa Gosvami says we have to cultivate devotional service which means an active principle. We have to actively put things forward.

So, as I was saying, when I was talking to my friends and they say- Maharaja, I can’t, when I am working, I can’t remember Krishna. I can’t think, it is so much.” And I tell him - We can’t not think - It is a double negative and that is what is good. We can’t not think of Krishna. As devotees of Krishna, we always think of Krishna. Try not to think of Krishna. Just try not to think of Krishna. There was that one guru. He gave that instruction to his disciple - Don’t chant this word and then that was all I could think of. [Unintelligible 30:07–30:18] But I say, it is very difficult for devotees who have been around for even a few weeks to not think of Krishna when he sees something. We don’t see things through the same vision we saw prior to becoming involved in spiritual life. We used to see the material voters as the place of sense gratification and we were bewildered. Now, we see the material world, we still may have the same desire, the lingering desire due to the addiction may still be hanging on, but at least, we know what it is. At least we are informed now what it is and now it is just a matter of acting out according to the direction of Krishna. We are free to act now according to the direction of Krishna. it is prompted from Krishna. Krishna has given us this idea of how to live our life. It is confirmed by the spiritual master. So, it is very difficult.

One time, I always give this example. I will end it with this example. It is in San Francisco. Prabhupada is walking in Stowe Park and it is 1968, I think. You had to go into a time machine and realize what it was like in America in 1968, it was a time of cosmic consciousness. So, Prabhupada was asked the question [Unintelligible 31:45–31:48] So, he said “What is the vision of a pure devotee? How does he see things? Is he seeing Krishna and the cowherd boys and the gopis? Is he seeing almost like a kaleidoscope of super souls within every atom? What is the vision of a pure devotee?” Prabhupada says, “No, no. It is not like that.” He just stopped it right there, and he said, “Just like if you see my watch,” - if I can take off my watch and you see my watch sitting here, what do you see?”

Devotee: Time

Maharaja: No, what do you see? What is it? It is a watch. Whose is watch is it? Oh, so what did you see? My watch. You don’t just see a watch, you see my watch. Why? Because you know it is mine. So, in the same way the devotee knows that Krishna is the owner and controller of everything and therefore, when he sees material nature, he doesn’t just see it as an object but he sees the owner along with the object. If I leave my glasses here and I walk out the door, you will come up and say, “Maharaja, you forgot your glasses.” You don’t just see a pair of glasses. You see the owner behind the glasses. Now, they are not just a pair of glasses. They are from [Unintelligible 33:05–33:10] But you see the person behind them. So, Prabhupada said, “We see Krishna within everything because we know that everything is owned and controlled by Krishna and therefore, we don’t forget Krishna. The devotee does not forgive Krishna because he realizes that everything is here for the service of Krishna, not for his sense gratification.” And therefore, when we walk through the material world, our addiction may say, “Use it for this. Use it for that.” But our intelligence says, “No, it is Krishna’s.” Just like if I come into your house, and I start taking things, that is not right. You may invite me into your home, but if you even say - my house is yours- and that is not what you are saying. I start taking things and putting them in my car and drive away, you are going to think- Well, not quite like that, Maharaja. And it is okay for me to use the facility that is given to me in this house but it is not mine. I realize it has a proprietor.

So, in the same way the whole house in the material is owned by Krishna and we see Krishna as the owner. And therefore, we are very careful to take care of everything on Krishna’s behalf and use it in His service and that is what this house is. That is the point I wanted to make. It took a long time but I wanted to get to that point. You get to this point but now the house is Krishna’s house. When you walk into the house, we see the owner is sitting here, relaxed all day long and the servants are working very busily all day long, paying for everything, cleaning everything, cooking doing everything, and Krishna is playing with his brother, dancing, giving shelter of Giriraj, playing with the cowherd boys, dancing as Lords [Unintelligible 34:58–35:09] This makes the house Krishna conscious, that is what the house is for.

I remember one time, Jayadvaita Maharaja went in Pennsylvania. One Indian man built a monster of a house. This was the entrance to the house, monster of a house, and Jayadvaita Maharaja went in and said, “The house which is not dedicated to the service of the Supreme Lord is like a snakehole,” venomous snake enters. And he said, “But not in this house.” Because in that house, you walk into the entrance and then you walk into the main room and there is a full-size Radha- Krishna deity worship going on in the living room. He said here, Krishna is the proprietor and that binds the family together. We have purpose. We have to have a reason.

And then, I was riding from Vrindavan to Delhi one time, with one of my boys, he was about seventeen years old, sixteen- seventeen years old. We will really end with this one. And he said that, we were driving, they are going to pick up his parents at the airport and he said, “Maharaja, without Krishna, things just aren’t very interesting. Why would I go to school, just to get a job, just to get a house, just to get old and just to die? Why would I do that? Why? It sounds really boring.” He said, “This sounds like a waste of time but you can have a home and you can do it for Krishna. You have that nature, we have this material body. It has needs and we give those things to Krishna.”

So, right here Maharaja is so wonderfully appreciating our host and hostess and hostess, the little one. I had to find one more. The result, you can see the result. So, let’s stop then. Thank you very much for inviting me. We hope your house is very blessed with unlimited Krishna consciousness and spiritual joy and no maya. [Unintelligible 37:51–37:59]

Hare Krishna

Now, we take prasāda?

Devotee: We would be glad if you take. . .

Maharaja: We have to do it very quickly because I don’t want to miss mu flight.