SB 4.7.45

Giriraj Swami:

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Four, Chapter Seven: “Sacrifice Performed by Dakṣa.”

TEXT 45

brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ
tvaṁ kratus tvaṁ havis tvaṁ hutāśaḥ svayaṁ
tvaṁ hi mantraḥ samid-darbha-pātrāṇi ca
tvaṁ sadasyartvijo dampatī devatā
agnihotraṁ svadhā soma ājyaṁ paśuḥ

TRANSLATION

The brāhmaṇas said: Dear Lord, You are sacrifice personified. You are the offering of clarified butter, You are the fire, You are the chanting of Vedic hymns by which the sacrifice is conducted, You are the fuel, You are the flame, You are the kuśa grass, and You are the sacrificial pots. You are the priests who perform the yajña, You are the demigods headed by Indra, and You are the sacrificial animal. Everything that is sacrificed is You or Your energy.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this statement Lord Viṣṇu’s all-pervasiveness is partially explained. It is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that as a fire situated in one place emanates its heat and illumination everywhere, so whatever we see within the material or spiritual worlds is nothing but a manifestation of different energies emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brāhmaṇas’ statement is that Lord Viṣṇu is everything — the fire, the offering, the clarified butter, the utensils, the place of sacrifice and the kuśa. He is everything. It is confirmed herein that the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña in this age is as good as all other yajñas in all other ages. If one performs saṅkīrtana-yajña by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, there is no need to arrange elaborate paraphernalia for the prescribed sacrificial ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. In the chant of the holy names, Hare and Kṛṣṇa, Hare means the energy of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the viṣṇu-tattva. Combined together they are everything. In this age, persons are harassed by the influence of Kali-yuga and cannot arrange for all the requisite paraphernalia for performing sacrifice as recommended in the Vedas. But if one simply chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, it is to be understood that he is performing all kinds of yajña because there is nothing within our vision except Hare (the energy of Kṛṣṇa) and Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His energies. Thus, since everything is a manifestation of His energy, it is to be understood that everything is Kṛṣṇa. One simply has to accept everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he is a liberated person. One should not misunderstand that because everything is Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa has no personal identity. Kṛṣṇa is so full that in spite of keeping Himself separate from everything by His energy, He is everything. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, Ninth Chapter He is spread throughout the creation as everything, but still He is not everything. The philosophy recommended by Lord Caitanya is that He is simultaneously one and different.

COMMENT

To give some background, Dakṣa had arranged to perform a Vedic sacrifice and in the course of the sacrificial performance there was some disagreement between Dakṣa and his son in law Shiva. The conflict escalated and eventually each side, Dakṣa and brahmans on the one side and Lord Shiva and his followers on the other, began cursing and counter-cursing each other and the whole sacrifice was disrupted. The place of sacrifice became a scene of devastation. Then after Lord Shiva and his followers left the place, Dakṣa resumed the sacrifice. Lord Vishnu was personally present and different members of the assembly offered prayers in glorification and appreciation of Lord Vishnu and also to pacify Him or appease Him after the disruption caused by the conflict. Of course Lord Vishnu is neutral, He is never disturbed and this incident calls to mind the conflict that took place in the presence of Srila Prabhupada. The story is told by Sruti Kirti Prabhu, one of the earliest devotees to come to Srila Prabhupada to join ISCKON was Bhakti Jan. Bhakti Jan was a quite tall fellow, pretty thin, but although he was one of the early devotees and very loyal to Srila Prabhupada, he never came to any position of leadership or administration in ISKCON. So one year, Bhakti Jan came to Mayapur at the time of Gaura-purnima festival and the GBC meetings. And he approached Sruti Kirti Prabhu, who was Srila Prabhupada’s servant and told him he wanted to sit in GBC meeting. He said he didn’t really trust these people and he wanted to hear for himself what they discussed.

So Sruti Kirti Prabhu thought this might not be so easy. The way the meetings were conducted then is, sometimes the GBC members would meet apart from Prabhupada but a lot of time they would just meet and discuss in Srila Prabhupada’s room because he is trying to train them how to meet and discuss and just analyze and come to proper conclusions. And the rule was that before the meeting would begin, Sruti Kirti Prabhu would come in with a tray of sweets, and he would give a sweet to all the GBC members. So, Sruti Kirti Prabhu had the idea, Well look you can bring in the tray of sweets and distribute them to the GBC members and after you have distributed the sweets, you can just sit down in the corner and see what happens.

So there were twelve GBC members. Prabhupada created the GBC with twelve members and it just so happened that at that time, there was a sanyasi from Hawaii there and of course there was the GBC for Hawaii, and there was Bhakti Jan and Srila Prabhupada. So he distributed the sweets and then he went and sat down in the corner, this big six foot three devotee. And while this was going on, the GBC for Hawaii and the sanyasi from Hawaii were having an argument, right in front of Srila Prabhupada. And the argument escalated and each one started calling the other names. The GBC said, “You are a fool, you don’t understand anything,” and the sanyasi said. “You are an idiot; you have no idea what you are talking about.” And it kept getting more intense and they started using expletives, and it was really building up. And meanwhile Bhakti Jan is sitting in the corner witnessing it right in front of Srila Prabhupada. And then Srila Prabhupada motioned to Bhakti Jan to come over and sit near him. And Prabhupada said to Bhakti Jan, “Remember the first temple in New York, 26 Second Avenue?” “Yes.” “Do you know how much they rent charging for that apartment now? “And Bhakti Jan said, ”No.” ”Prabhupada said, “They are charging $62 a month.“ And then he said. “Twenty-six, Sixty-two.” And he kept like repeating this numeric coincidence Twenty-six and Sixty-two. He was just enjoying, relishing this coincidence and just saying to Bhakti Jan, “You were one of the first to come and been with us all along, just very light talk. And meanwhile, these two leaders are carrying on with their argument and calling each other names and shouting at each other. And Prabhupada was just completely detached from it. He was just using the time to have a friendly talk with his disciple Bhakti Jan.

So here I am just imagining that, Lord Vishnu was in a similar position, just seeing these people cursing each other and counter cursing each other and just neutral and one party left, and he remained. And another party begin to offer him prayers. Now this prayer, by the brahmans is significant: “You are the offering of clarified butter. You are the fire. You are the chanting of the Vedic hymns. You are the members of the assembly. You are the demigods. You are the sacrificial animal.” And Srila Prabhupada said this statement partially explains Lord Vishnu’s all-pervasiveness. The proper conclusion or the perfect conclusion is the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, “that the Supreme Lord is simultaneously inconceivably one with and different from His energies.” So in the verse here, the emphasis is on the oneness of the Lord and His energies although, it is obvious that the Lord has His own separate identity because He is present before the members of the assembly and they are offering the prayers to Him personally.

So both are true. He has his own individual discrete identity, but He has also expanded through His energies. And as stated in the Vishnu-Purana, “just as fire is localized in one place but the energy of the fire is all pervading the heat and light.” Similarly, the Supreme Lord is localized in one place, but His energies, spiritual energies and material energies, are spread everywhere. And then Srila Prabhupada says that this statement confirms the maha-mantra because the maha-mantra consists of the words Hare and Krishna. Hare is the energy of the Lord and Krishna is the Lord, and everything is either the Lord or the energy of the Lord. So the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is complete; as complete, as this elaborate assemblage of fire, ghee, kusa grass, pots, utensils, priests, demigods, and the sacrificial animal. Everything that is manifest in that elaborate sacrifice is contained in the two words, Hare and Krishna. But because we are in Kali-yuga and have to struggle just to keep the body and soul together just to maintain the family, Srila Prabhupada used to quote the saying that, it is as hard to maintain a family as it is to maintain an empire.

And that is the situation in Kali-yuga. People have to struggle so much just to exist. They don’t have the time or energy or resources to perform these big elaborate Vedic sacrifices. But they can get the same result by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña just by chanting,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

To perform saṅkīrtana-yajña, one needs only his tongue and his ears. He can chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and hear it. And it is also stated in shastra that what one could achieve in Satya-yuga by meditation, what one could achieve in Treta-yuga by performance of elaborate sacrifices, what one could achieve in Dvapara-yuga by elaborate deity worship, one can achieve in Kali-yuga, just by hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana.

Now kirtan, means to glorify, and the prefix ‘san’ means complete. Complete glorification can be understood in two ways, one is congregational chanting of the holy name and glories of the Lord. It is complete because many people participate in it not just one person. And saṅkīrtana can also mean glorification of the Lord’s holy name, forms, qualities, pastimes, paraphernalia, and entourage; that is complete. And in that sense, speaking about Krishna or hearing from Krishna, kṛṣṇa-kathā, that is also included in saṅkīrtana. Words spoken by Krishna are found in the Bhagavad-gītā, and words spoken about Krishna are found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, speaking from Srila Prabhupada’s books, hearing from Srila Prabhupada’s books, is also part of saṅkīrtana. And Srila Prabhupada was very concerned that his disciples, and people in general read his books. Of course, much of what we know of Srila Prabhupada comes from his interactions with devotees and with the public, but Srila Prabhupada also had time alone in between his interactions with disciples and others. And in his time alone he would often read his books. He would sit and read his own books.

Referring again to Sruti Kirti Prabhu’s account, once Sruti Kirti Prabhu went into Prabhupada’s room and Srila Prabhupada was reading the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Sruti Kirti Prabhu offered obeisances and Sruti Kirti Prabhu could see that he was in a deep emotion from his expression, his eyes, and the tone of his voice. And Srila Prabhupada said, ”If you read just this one book the Bhagavad-gītā, you can become Krishna conscious. Then another time about a year later, Sruti Kirti Prabhu went into Srila Prabhupada’s room, and Prabhupada was reading the Kṛṣṇa book. Sruti Kirti Prabhu offered his obeisances, Srila Prabhupada looked up in the same way and said, ”if you read just this one book, you can be Krishna conscious. “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even this entire book, if you just read part of this book you can become Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even part of the book, if you read just one chapter you can be Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even one chapter, if you read just one page you can be Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even one page, if you read just one paragraph you can be Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even one paragraph, if you read just one sentence you can become Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even one sentence, but if you read just part of one sentence you can be Krishna conscious.” “Yes Srila Prabhupada.” “Not even part of one sentence, if you read just one word you can be Krishna conscious.” And then Srila Prabhupada said, “Because this book is Krishna, every word in this book is Krishna.” And by reading the Bhagavad-gītā, reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, reading the Kṛṣṇa book, we are associating with Krishna, and we can be Krishna conscious. It is just like chanting the maha-mantra. We are in the association of Krishna; Krishna and Krishna’s energy. It is complete everything is there.

Another time Srila Prabhupada said, ”I read my books. Does any other author read his books? No. They write the book, they publish it, they sell it, and then they go on to the next one. No other author reads his own books. I am the only one. And the reason I read my own books is because they are actually not my words, they are Krishna’s words. I am actually reading Krishna’s words therefore I read them again and again.” So this is also part of saṅkīrtana-yajña, reading the books and distributing them. We should do both as Prabhupada said, the books are not just meant for distributing, they are also meant for reading.” And as Prabhupada said, his purports are his personal ecstasies. As we mentioned last night, we would be sleeping at night, but Prabhupada would be awake translating and writing his Bhaktivedanta purports. Prasāda is also Krishna and distribution of prasāda is also part of the saṅkīrtana-yajña, offering food with devotion and distributing the remnants.

It is the same principle on the absolute platform. In one sense, on the absolute platform, there is no difference between the energy of the Lord, and the Lord but even more so, when something is offered to Krishna as in sacrifice that is the idea. When something is offered to Krishna, brahmārpaṇam, everything comes to the same brahman platform. So prasāda is Krishna, it is not ordinary food. And prasāda distributions is an important part of saṅkīrtana-yajña. Once we were with Srila Prabhupada in Amritsar, in the state of Punjab, in India. Srila Prabhupada had been invited there by the organizers of the Vedant Sammelan and vedant in India usually means impersonal and sammelan means gathering, assembly. And all the other speakers were Mayavadis. But people were not attracted to the Mayavadis, they were attracted to Srila Prabhupada and the devotees doing hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. And Srila Prabhupada said, ”They know that I disagree with them, but they invited me anyway because our saṅkīrtana attracts people and without us people wouldn’t come.”

The same thing happened in other places. Of course, later when we were more established Prabhupada didn’t go to these programs organized by Mayavadis, but in the beginning when we were not established, he went anywhere so that people could know who we are, what our message is, what we have to offer. So it came to this stage, that we would perform at a certain time in the program in the evening, and the rest of the time the Mayavadis would speak. And people would understand, when our time was coming and they would avoid the Mayavadis and just came come when it was time for Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. And the organizers, they wanted the people to hear the real knowledge, the real Vedanta philosophy. So sometimes they would do that; they would have us at the beginning so people would come early or they would have us at the end, so the people who came early thinking, we might be first would have to listen to all the Mayavadis, so that they could be there for the end when we would speak and do kirtan.

So Srila Prabhupada was explaining this, and the ashram had all these Mayavadi slogans on boards, tatvamasi—you are that; all the Mayavadi slogans. And Prabhupada was explaining what they meant really and also how they took them. Tatvamasi, they take it like you are that, meaning you the living entity the jīvātmā are that, the Paramātmā, the Supreme. But the real understanding is You, Vishnu, are that supreme, not you, Bhakti Jo, are that supreme. And ahaṁ brahmāsmi, I am brahman yes, I am spirit but it doesn’t mean I am the supreme spirit. During that period Srila Prabhupada said, “I am Indian, that doesn’t mean I am the Prime Minister. Yes, I am Indian and Indira Gandhi is Indian, but I am Indian doesn’t mean I am Indira Gandhi, doesn’t mean I am the Prime Minister.” So Prabhupada was explaining it to us. We were new in India and then Malati came into the room. Prabhupada had his little deities, Radha-Krishna deities, that he would travel with and Malati dasi came in the room with the offering, fruit offering, and after the offering, she gave the plate to Srila Prabhupada or offered the plate to Srila Prabhupada and he told her to distribute. And Prabhupada was holding his little piece of fruit and he said, about the Mayavadis, that they will speculate for lifetimes and never come to any conclusion but we will reach Krishna just by eating. And then he popped this little piece of mahā-prasāda in his mouth.

So that is that is the absolute nature of Krishna consciousness. By one word, you can be Krishna conscious, by one morsel of mahā-prasāda, you can be Krishna conscious. Because it is all Krishna, the name of Krishna, the words of Krishna, the words about Krishna, food offered to Krishna, it is all Krishna. By association with Krishna, we become Krishnaites, we become Krishna conscious, we become fit to serve Krishna. To enter into fire, you have to become fire, so to serve Krishna the Supreme Brahman, we have to come to the brahman platform and that is achieved through the saṅkīrtana movement. The form of Krishna, is also Krishna but the form of Krishna is mentioned specifically in the next verse. So we will discuss that tomorrow. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments.

Devotee: Yes Prajapati Dakṣa was offensive to Lord Shiva but what was Lord Shiva’s fault in in a conflict, there must be some fault on both sides.

Giriraj Swami: Yes Chaitanya dasa is asking, that yes Prajapati Dakṣa was offensive to Lord Shiva but what was Lord Shiva’s fault? In a conflict there must be some fault on both sides.

Actually Lord Shiva was not at fault. Prajapati Dakṣa was in the bodily concept of life—I am the body and everything in relation to the body is mine. So he was like that. He thought, I am Prajapati Dakṣa, I am a brahman, I am progenitor and Sati is my daughter. Shiva is my son-in-law; he should offer me respects. But Lord Shiva, he was in a state of deep meditation on the Lord in the heart, and therefore there was really no need for him to offer respects to Dakṣa, because by offering respects to the Lord within the heart, he was automatically offering respects to the Lord in the heart of Dakṣa. And when we offer respects to living entities, we are actually offering respect to the Lord within the hearts of the living entities. So Lord Shiva was actually faultless but when Dakṣa and his followers began to insult Lord Shiva, his disciples or his followers got offended, which is not wrong for them.

Lord Shiva did not take offense, but his followers took offense and it is there in the shastra, if someone blasphemes Vishnu or a Vaishnava, one should just not hear it, but one should either try to defeat the other person by reason an argument, or one should cut the person’s tongue out and kill oneself, or one should leave the place. One shouldn’t just listen to blasphemy because listening to blasphemy, itself is an offense, it counts as an offense. When Haridasa Thakura was being beaten in the twenty-two marketplaces. He felt that he was getting the reactions to his offense of hearing blasphemy. He had no choice. He was summoned by the Mohammedan rulers, and he was forced to hear what they had to say, but still because he heard it, he felt that he had committed an offense and therefore being beaten in the twenty-two marketplaces was the reaction to his offense. So hearing an offense is also an offense. One must protest or go away. So Lord Shiva’s followers did that; they protested and it escalated and then they went away. But sometimes it is better to tolerate and leave; it depends on the situation. But anyway it did escalate, but in the whole thing Lord Shiva himself personally was not at fault.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: So are you suggesting that Lord Shiva was at fault?

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, he was angry. I haven’t read this, but my sense is that he felt that the whole situation was so polluted by offenses that, what was the use of that? Making a show of a yajña to please Vishnu. How would Vishnu be pleased? Again, it is a little bit of an extrapolation, but it once happened in Chicago during the December marathon, that the competition became so intense, right within the Chicago temple, that the relationships became disrupted. And in the end Srila Prabhupada wrote them a letter saying that if the devotees cannot distribute books without disrupting their relationships with each other, then they should not distribute books. They should just sit down in the temple and perform Hare Krishna kirtan.

Now, saṅkīrtana-yajña is the best. We all know how much Srila Prabhupada wanted his books to be distributed because they are Krishna. And he knew that if people read his books or read even one word from his books, they would become Krishna conscious. But when he saw the disruption in the relationships, he said then don’t do this saṅkīrtana-yajña, this book distribution. Just sit and peacefully chant Hare Krishna in the temple. So I think that was Lord Shiva’s mood that, “What is the use of this show of making a yajña, when the mentality is so low?” Because in the end, this is another point, in the end. Dakṣa realized that he had committed an offense and he thanked Lord Shiva for punishing him. He said that in the punishment of Lord Shiva, that punishment was actually a benediction from Lord Shiva. Because if he hadn’t been given the punishment by Lord Shiva, he would have glided down to hell because of his offensive behavior. But out of his kindness Lord Shiva had punished him, and has saved him from going to hell. And so he offered his respectful obeisances to Lord Shiva.

So again on the absolute platform the curse of a Vaishnava and the blessing of Vaishnava are the same. Just like Nala Kubera and Manigriva; they were sporting naked with women in the celestial lake. And when Narada Muni came, the spiritual master of the demigods, the women at least had some shame and they covered themselves but Manigriva and Nala Kubera who were the sons of Kubera and were intoxicated with false prestige, they didn’t even cover themselves. They didn’t show any respect to Narada. So Narada cursed them to take birth as trees, because trees also like to stand naked. But that curse was a blessing because they took birth as trees in the courtyard of Nanda and Yasoda, and ultimately they were delivered by Krishna. So Prabhupada makes the point there and in other places, that on the absolute platform the blessings of the Vaishnava, and the curse of Vaishnava are the same for the curse is actually a blessing. So in the end Dakṣa came to understand that Lord Shiva had acted as his well-wisher in punishing him, because by his punishment, he was saved from the full reaction of his offenses. He was saved from gliding down to hell. Sometimes it happens that a Vaishnava does something for our benefit that we don’t appreciate at the time. We appreciate it only later. Any other questions or comments.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Jannat Maharaja says in the beginning Lord Shiva wasn’t angry he was equipoised, which that is what I was referring to initially, but after his wife Sati left her body, then he became angry. That is true Very good.

Devotee: Can you advise me [Unintelligible].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, the husband speaks now. Lord Shiva advised Sati not to go back to her father’s place because he knew that his father-in-law would insult him. And not only that, he wouldn’t welcome Sati because of her connection with Lord Shiva so he said, “You are going there, you are thinking you will be happy. It is your father’s house and there is a big yajña, you are getting all dressed up and it will be a big social event, but it is not going to be what you think it will be. Don’t go because you will be offended and you won’t be able to bear it.” But she went anyway. And what Lord Shiva predicted would happen did take place. And that point, that it is an offense to hear an offense, to hear blasphemy, she could not tolerate hearing the blasphemy of Lord Shiva and she gave up her body. She considered her body was condemned by her relationship with Dakṣa. Her body had come from him and he was an offender, so she didn’t want to have that body. Whenever she would think of her body, she would be reminded of him who was such an offender. So she wanted to give up the body she had received from him. And She did; by her yogic power, she consumed that body in fire, in flames.

Devotee: [Unintelligible].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is true too. She hoped that she could rectify his wrong mentality. That was also there plus just that social aspect of going to her father’s house; being part of the event. That is true too. Very good. I am in an assembly of learned scholars who are all devotees. Yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible].

Giriraj Swami: Well, conditioned souls do make mistakes. It is a qualification of the conditioned souls to make mistakes even though they are elevated in knowledge and culture but they are conditioned. And they can be overcome by the modes of nature; by anger, by passion. But they are devotees, and Lord Vishnu gives protection to His devotees. They may be fighting but he is neutral, and he ultimately protects them and rectifies them. kṣhipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā, that within the heart He excuses them of their abomination and very quickly they become righteous. So in the end it did become rectified; kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśhyati, His devotees are never vanquished. There may be some temporary disruption, but in the end, if they are sincere and continue in their devotional service to the Lord, the Lord will rectify them from within the heart and they will continue in their progressive march back home, back to Godhead.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good point. Sakiniti Senior

Prabhu has made that even in the higher realms there is disagreement and disruption and conflict, then how can we expect that on the earth planet in Kali-yuga, even in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, that there won’t be any conflict? That is true. Srila Prabhupada wrote that we should not expect any utopia. Atreya Rishi Prabhu had written Srila Prabhupada a letter, because there were some disagreements between the devotees in the temple in New York. And the Atreya Rishi was saying that they are being impersonal and that is why they are fighting with each other. And Prabhupada said, “No, they are fighting with each other because they are individuals.”

Actually to think that there will be no fighting is impersonal. And then then he made that point that the impersonalists are frustrated with variegatedness. So they want to make everything one. They want unity without variety. And the materialists they want to enjoy the varieties of material existence, but there is no unity. They are always competing with each other and fighting for the resources of material nature. So the Mayavadis want unity without variety, and the materialists they have variety without unity. But as Vaishnavas, we have unity in variety. There is variety because there is spiritual individuality, but there is unity, because the common goal is Krishna; to serve Krishna and please Krishna. So it is like this philosophy, acintya-bhedābheda-tattva.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Jannat Maharaja makes a beautiful point. I will just repeat it. That when Krishna called the gopīs for the rasa dance, there was some rivalry or competitiveness and pride. And therefore Krishna left the arena of the rasa dance, and in separation all the gopīs in different groups, they came together, united in feelings of separation from Krishna. And after looking everywhere in the Vrindavan forest for Krishna, they could not find Him. So they decided, “Let us go back to the banks of the Yamuna, where we had originally gathered, and we will sing together, our feelings for Krishna, our prayer to Krishna.” And that is the Gopī-gīta. And that is saṅkīrtana. What the gopīs did was saṅkīrtana. They gathered together and chanted the holy names and glories of Krishna with great feeling. And when all the gopīs were united Krishna, and were also pouring out their hearts to Him, Krishna felt that His purpose had been achieved and He came back to them. That is correct. Yes, that was saṅkīrtana; by saṅkīrtana-yajña we can attract Krishna.

On the point of coming back to Srila Prabhupada’s letter, of course, this is such a beautiful point to end on. But another point that Srila Prabhupada made in his letter to Atreya Rishi is that there will be faults everywhere. It is on the point of utopia we cannot expect to find utopia anywhere. There will be faults everywhere. And the impersonalists, as soon as they find some fault, they want to reject it. There is some fault, “I reject this; let me just merge and become one with Brahman.” And Srila Prabhupada said that even in the spiritual world there are faults from a certain point of view. Because when Krishna played on His flute to call the gopīs, they were so overcome with ecstatic eagerness, that some of the gopīs put their top cloth on their bottoms and their bottom cloth on their tops and they just tried to apply their mascara, and other makeup, and they put it in all the wrong places. And then they rushed out to meet Krishna.

So Srila Prabhupada said, from a certain point of view that is a fault. They didn’t dress properly, they didn’t apply their makeup properly, but it was for Krishna. And because it was for Krishna, it is not a fault. And he said sometimes even Krishna, He will be so bewildered by thinking of Radharani, that He will try to milk a bull instead of a cow. So Srila Prabhupada said that is also a fault. So he said even if we see false in devotees but because whatever they are doing is for Krishna, it is not really a fault. And then he was saying that the devotees are the best of people. They are greater than kings, all of them. So we should be like the bumblebees that are always looking for the nectar, and not like the flies, they are always looking for sores and dirty things. So the nectar is, this is my little explanation, the nectar is that they are serving Krishna. They are trying to serve a Krishna. Hare Krishna

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Jannat Maharaja is unlocking more of the confidential secrets of Krishna consciousness. I appreciate it. He is more open than I am sometimes. I thought of it but I didn’t say it. It is not just that, yes it is true, we offer the food to Krishna. Krishna accepts it on the absolute platform, it is Krishna. But beyond that, Krishna eats the food, and that food becomes mixed with the nectar of Krishna’s lips. We would say saliva, but in the case of Krishna it is nectar. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was relishing mahā-prasāda of Lord Jagannatha in Puri, he was glorifying the extraordinary taste of the prasāda, that although it is made of the same ingredients as any food, but there is something different about it, which is extraordinary. And that is that it is mixed with the nectar of Krishna’s lips, ādā-amrita.

So, now we have come to that auspicious time, in which we can break the Ekādaśī fast. And so Jannat Maharaja is suggesting, that in the mood of gopīs, we should rush to taste the nectar of Krishna’s lips, in the mahā-prasāda.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol.

Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!