SB 10.8.16 – Krishna’s Care for Brahmans and Cows

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya 

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Eight: “Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form Within His Mouth,”

TEXT 16

eṣa vaḥ śreya ādhāsyad
gopa-gokula-nandanaḥ
anena sarva-durgāṇi
yūyam añjas tariṣyatha

TRANSLATION

To increase the transcendental bliss of the cowherd men of Gokula, this child will always act auspiciously for you. And by His grace only, you will surpass all difficulties.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

For the cowherd men and the cows, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme friend. Therefore He is worshiped by the prayer namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca. His pastimes in Gokula, His dhāma, are always favorable to the brāhmaṇas and the cows. His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and the brāhmaṇas. In fact, comfort for the brāhmaṇas is secondary, and comfort for the cows is His first concern. Because of His presence, all people would overcome all difficulties and always be situated in transcendental bliss.

COMMENT

The present verse was spoken by Gargamuni to Nanda Maharaja. Because Krishna was predicted to kill the demonic King Kamsa, and because Kamsa had taken up the policy of killing all the new-born children, born within the last so many days, Nanda Maharaja, the father of Krishna or foster father of Krishna, wanted to keep Krishna’s birth or appearance secret, lest Kamsa and his agents would discover the baby, and take Him to be killed. But, when the opportune moment came, Gargamuni visited Nanda Maharaja, and in the cow shed, he did the astrological reading for the new baby. And he mentioned to Nanda Maharaja so many qualities of Krishna, and so many features of Krishna’s activities in the future. In the previous verse, he mentioned that, “Your son has appeared in different colors in different ages. Sometimes white—shukla, sometimes red—rakta, and sometimes yellow—pita, but in this birth, He is appearing in a blackish color.” In Satya-yuga and Treta-yuga, the Lord in His yuga avatar form, appears in white and red. And in the age at the time of Krishna’s appearance in Dvapara-yuga, He appeared in the blackish color, and so the conclusion is that in Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear in yellowish color. That is also stated later in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam

yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ

Kṛṣṇa means Krishna, and varṇaṁ means category, just like varna and ashram are the different categories. So, He is in the same category as Krishna tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ, but His color is not blackish. And based on the statement of Gargamuni, that a-Krishna, not blackish, really refers to yellowish or golden because white has already appeared, red had already appeared, black had already appeared, so the only color left is yellow or golden. Varṇaṁ also means to describe—varṇaya. So, this incarnation is in the same category as Krishna which means that He is Krishna, because no one else is in the same category as Krishna except Krishna. He is one without a second, no one is equal to Him or greater than Him. So, He is Krishna but He doesn’t have a blackish color a-Krishna, and He is always describing Krishna. 

Now, this concurrence of the word Krishna referring to the person Krishna and the color black is sometimes taken advantage of by demonic interpreters of the Bhagavad-gītā. Srila Prabhupada always used to point out the defect of such interpretations in the strongest language, and the argument is something like that: when Krishna says, “Surrender to me,” in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna does not mean Krishna. Krishna means black, black means dark, dark means unknown, unknown means unknowable, and eventually there is no Krishna, there is no surrender, there is nothing. There is a story in India that a woman sent her husband into the market. I mean, maybe she was a Muslim. Well, whatever. . . She sent her husband into the market to buy a chicken, and she told him to get a chicken with lots of fat. So, he wasn’t experienced, but on his wife’s demand he went in to the marketplace, and he was looking at the various vendors of chickens. And one of them said, “My chickens have the most fat, and their fat is as clear as oil.” So, he thought, Oh well, oil must be better than fat; let me just get oil. So, he went to get oil, and the oil vendor said, “My oil is as clear as water.” He thought, Oh! Water must be better than oil. So, he came home with a bucket of water. So, this is how these word jugglers work. They go from chicken to fat to oil to water, and that was nothing. 

Yes exactly, kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam. So, He appears with His associates, yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ. People with good intelligence will worship this incarnation of Godhead by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña. sumedhasaḥ—su means fine and medhasaḥ means intelligence. As opposed to sumedhasaḥ is alpa-medhasaḥ which means poor intelligence. Those who worship demigods are called in the Bhagavad-gītā alpa-medhasaḥ—less intelligent, but those who worship the incarnation of Krishna as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña are sumedhasaḥ—highly intelligent. 

Once, I was sitting in the car with Srila Prabhupada, and I can’t believe all the questions he tolerated, but he was so gracious and kind. It was only years later that I realized how much he had to tolerate. At the time, I thought, Wow, he has a disciple that has such good questions. And I am the type of person when I I am focused on something, I don’t like to be disturbed. So once, Srila Prabhupada was about to give a lecture in Northern India. The organizers of the program had set up a stage outdoors. It was really, I think, in a street, but the street was closed, and there were hundreds of people, if not thousands, gathered to hear him speak. And he had just finished singing the prayers, or maybe the kirtan. The devotees had just finished the kirtan before Srila Prabhupada was about to speak. And a question came into my mind. There is a famous verse when after Dhruva Maharaja had performed austerities and chanted the mantra that his Guru Maharaja gave him, chanted the holy names, and Lord Vishnu appeared to him, and asked him what benediction he would like. And Dhruva Maharaja replied: svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce that I was. . . that kingdom I wanted was like a piece of broken glass, but now that I have You, I have the most valuable jewel so—svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi – So Lord, I am fully satisfied. I do not want any boon. So, I don’t know, I was thinking about the verse, something, where does that come from? So, right when Srila Prabhupada was about to speak in front of these hundreds or thousands of people, I came up to the vyāsāsana, sort of on my knees, and I went right up to Srila Prabhupada, and I said, “Srila Prabhupada, you know that verse? Where does that come from?” And without hesitating, not the slightest hint of being annoyed, he said, “I think Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya.” And many years later, I found out that is where the verse is from. So, he was right. So, when sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes when devotees approach me, when I don’t want to be disturbed, I think of what I did to Srila Prabhupada and how he responded, and I think I should try to be considerate of the other person. 

So, we are on this point sumedhasaḥ that those who worship the incarnation of Krishna in the age of Kali by performance of saṅkīrtana are the most intelligent. So, I was sitting in the back seat of the car with Srila Prabhupada, I said, because I had heard, read and heard that the disciple is always supposed to feel like a fool before the spiritual master; disciple is a fool before the spiritual master. So, I asked Srila Prabhupada, “If we feel like a fool, how can we preach to others? How can we speak to others? How can we be a teacher to others?” Prabhupada looked at me, he said, “Who says that a devotee is a fool? Devotees are the most intelligent.” And then, he quoted a verse, but it might not have been this one. I think there is another one in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it says that the devotee is always great, something like that. But anyway, yes, Srila Prabhupada didn’t like pretension. He didn’t like pretension. He was very practical. He liked service and devotion. So anyway, a sort of contrary example is the same idea but from the different end of the spectrum. One disciple said to Srila Prabhupada, “Oh Srila Prabhupada, I am the most fallen.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “You are the not the most of anything.” 

So, Hare Krishna. So now, oh yes, so just one thing about saṅkīrtana. The word saṅkīrtana—san means complete, and kirtan means glorification. So, saṅkīrtana means complete glorification of Krishna. And the glorification is complete, when all devotees gather together to glorify Krishna. So, therefore, saṅkīrtana is sometimes translated as the congregational chanting of the holy names, then it is complete. But, it is also complete when Krishna is glorified completely; His name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, His entourage—they are all Krishna. And to glorify Krishna completely means to glorify every aspect of Him—again, His name, form, qualities, past times, and so on. And so, Prabhupada—this is a correct use of the word saṅkīrtana—book distribution, because when we distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books or any book in glorification of Krishna, such as the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that is saṅkīrtana because it is glorification of Krishna. Especially, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is complete glorification of Krishna in all respects. So, that is saṅkīrtana-yajña—chanting the holy names and also glorifying the Lord through spoken words, or through printed words, through book distribution. 

So now, we are here in New Vrindavan, and it seems that the verse we just read. . . Of course, in a general way, it can serve as guidance for all devotees, but in a specific way, it seems to have special significance for the devotees in New Vrindavan dhāma. In fact, there is so much here, I think I will read some of the sentences in the purport and comment on them specifically. “For the cowherd men and the cows, Krishna is the supreme friend.” Well, of course, Krishna is suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, He is the best friend of every living entity, but especially, for the cowherd people and the cows, and basically new Vrindavan is cowherd folks and cows, I mean, in essence—that is New Vrindavan and Krishna is our best friend. He is the best friend of everyone but especially for us. “Therefore, He is worshipped by the prayer namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca—His pastimes in Gokula, His dhāma”—this is a dhāma. Srila Prabhupada said this is a dhāma, this is not different from Vrindavan dhāma. “His pastimes in Gokula, His dhāma, are always favorable to the brahmans and the cows.”

Now, sometimes we might question this principle. Are Krishna’s pastimes always favorable for us? Sometimes, things happen that seem unfavorable, and we wonder why? Sometimes we even blame Krishna. Why did this happen? Why did You let this happen? Why did this happen to me of all people? I am trying to serve You and be a devotee. Why to me? How could You do that to me? But, we see things from a very limited perspective. Krishna sees things from a much broader perspective and a much higher perspective. And Srila Prabhupada, as a realized soul, knows the truth of who Krishna is and the value of what He does. “His pastimes in Gokula, His dhāma, are always favorable to the brahmans and the cows.” So, how do we deal with apparent reversals? How can we actually believe that whatever Krishna does is favorable? And there are many verses in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—one here in the Tenth Canto in the Fourteenth Chapter, Lord Brahma’s prayers to Lord Krishna: tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo.

He says that one who patiently awaits Your mercy, tolerating the painful reactions to his past misdeeds, and engaging in Your service with body, mind, and words, he earns the right to enter the kingdom of God, just like a son has the right to inherit the property of the father. This verse also is very deep, but we won’t be able to discuss it in complete detail. But, the idea is that even devotees suffer the painful effects of one’s past misdeeds. 

Now, what is the meaning of the painful effects of one’s past misdeeds? One meaning is that before we come to Krishna consciousness, we engaged in sinful activities—not only in the present life but in many past lives, and we are liable to suffer the reactions for the past sinful activities. Someone may say, well, in the Bhagavad-gītā,

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Krishna says, “If you surrender to Me, I will protect you from all sinful reactions.” So, the devotee surrenders to Krishna; he should be free from sinful reactions. One answer is that the process is gradual. Srila Prabhupada gives the example that a fan is turning very quickly and when you pull out the plug, there is no more current being fed into the fan, but still, there is some momentum, and it will take time for the turning of the fan to stop. It will gradually slow down, and eventually it will stop. So, in that way, we are freed from sinful reactions, but there is still some momentum. But gradually, if we tolerate the painful reactions and continue in devotional service, the reactions will stop. We will be liberated. 

The other answer given by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura is that devotional. . . Even when we are engaged in devotional service, devotional service performed properly brings happiness. And devotional service performed improperly, or in more explicit terms, performed with offences, brings painful effects. So, the painful effects that the devotee tolerates due to his past mistakes could refer to the painful effects of offenses that he has committed even in the course of performing devotional service. But, in any case, the painful effects are considered by the devotee to be the Lord’s mercy to purify him because we all come into the material world with the desire to enjoy. We come in envy of Krishna with the desire to enjoy independent of Krishna. We want to take the place of Krishna, in effect. And because of being conditioned in the mood of enjoyment for many years or lifetimes, even when we come to devotional service, even though we give up engagement in sinful activities, still, there may be some slight inclination to enjoy the material world that is left, which is left. And but the devotee, more than anything, wants to be able to serve Krishna completely purely, without any contamination of sinful desires, even; without any spirit of enjoyment, only the desire to serve. And it is only when one is free from the enjoying spirit that one can enter the Kingdom of God and serve Krishna directly in the Vrindavan there. 

So, the devotee takes the punishment of the Lord as the Lord’s mercy because by such painful reactions, the devotee lets go of his attachment to the material world and becomes eligible to enter into the spiritual world. And mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk—Srila Prabhupada explains, the previous acharyas explained, it refers to the right of a son to inherit the property of the father. To inherit the property of the father, all the son has to do is remain alive long enough, he just has to remain alive long enough. So similarly, the devotee, all he has to do is to remain alive in Krishna consciousness, and he earns the right to enter the Kingdom of God. And to remain alive in Krishna consciousness basically means to continue to chant the holy name and follow the regulative principles in the association of devotees. That is what it means to remain alive in Krishna consciousness. And if we do that, we earn the right to enter the Kingdom of God which is our heart’s desire. And so, these difficulties that we face along the way which are actually meant to purify us and chasten us and bring us to the point of being qualified to serve Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan are accepted happily by the devotee as the Lord’s purification. So, they are not really sinful reactions in the ordinary sense as ordinary people suffer sinful reactions, but they are the Lord’s personal treatment of the devotee to cure the devotee of any last vestiges of the enjoying spirit, so the devotee has no other desire but to serve the Lord and the other devotees. 

And in Gokula, so many demons came. We think, Oh! Why they were with Krishna? They had it made? Well, in a sense, they did, but still, so many demons came. I mean terrible demons, really big demons, but they never blamed Krishna, that the demons were coming. They just came but they took shelter of Krishna. And by taking shelter of Krishna, they had no cause for fear of the demons, or even if they were afraid, Krishna saved them. Anyway. . . when the forest fire came, so many pastimes involving demons and calamities. . . So, the devotees never blamed Krishna or anyone for the demons or the calamities, but they took shelter of Krishna and felt safe under His protection, and that is the opportunity available for each and every one of us now, for each and every one of us, at each and every moment. We have that same facility.

His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and the brahmans. Well, in a liberal definition, we would all qualify as brahmans because we are devotees of sorts. We are devotees and devotees are more than brahmans. Being a brahman is already included in being a devotee. In any case, Srila Prabhupada generally saw us as brahmans; at least, he gave us the chance to be brahmans. There was one incident when Srila Prabhupada was giving a lecture in Detroit, and one of the children started to make noise, unlike these very well-behaved children in the temple room here right now. So, one of the small children began to make noise. So, the mother, naturally, not wanting the child to disturb Srila Prabhupada’s talk, she sort of reprimanded the child. Then, Prabhupada said in the microphone that in the Vedic culture, children are not to be punished. So then, the mother’s husband began to chastise his wife, “Why did you chastise the child?” Then, Prabhupada said in the microphone that in the Vedic culture, women are not to be punished. So then, the temple commander came in and began to chastise the husband “Why did you chastise your wife?” And then, Prabhupada said in the microphone that in the Vedic culture, brahmans are not to be punished. And then, Srila Prabhupada said, “Our society is composed only of brahmans, women, and children. So, no one can ever be punished.” But, that is on a certain level. But, it is true, it is true. So, His first business is to give all comfort to the cows and brahmans. In fact, comfort for the brahmans is secondary, and comfort for the cows is His first concern. Now, this is a startling statement. Because of our false egos, we think we should be first. I mean, we are brahmans. The whole society depends on the brahmans. But here, Srila Prabhupada says that the comfort of the cows is primary. 

Now, to consider the comfort of the cows to be even more important than our own comfort requires some spiritual understanding, requires some spiritual understanding, because again we come with many years, if not lifetimes, of conditioning, of thinking we are the enjoyers, we are the proprietors, or the controllers, and the tendency to exploit others. There was a conversation in which Srila Prabhupada mentioned quite a prominent person in India. He, I don’t know, he wanted to take sannyasa, but he couldn’t really do it. Or, I don’t know, he tried, but he couldn’t really do it, but then eventually after his wife died, he did take sannyasa. So, one of the disciples mentioned, “Oh, it is like because it was good for him, seems like it was good for him that his wife died.” Srila Prabhupada became so upset when he heard that. He became so upset, and he said that, Vaishnavas wish well for everyone. To think, Oh let this person die so that it will be good for me, he said that is demonic. Vaishnavas wish well for everyone. 

So anyway, how can we believe that it is more important for the cows to be comfortable than us? That is more important in Krishna’s mind or heart. Well, we have to understand the principle of bhakti. In fact, for every conceivable reason, we should understand the principle of bhakti because we are here for bhakti. Of course, there are many definitions.

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

The essence of bhakti is to please Krishna. Now, one time, one of the leaders from the Hyderabad farm project came to meet Srila Prabhupada. And he was really grappling with the problem of the cows that if we just let the cows reproduce, there will be so many cows, and only so many of them will be giving milk, and the majority of them will just require maintenance, but they won’t produce any income. And Srila Prabhupada explained that in bhakti our only endeavor is to please Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says kṛṣi-go-rakṣya—go-rakṣya to protect the cows. We protect the cows to please Krishna, and we have faith that if Krishna is pleased, everything else will follow. It is not our ambition to become big capitalists and own cows, so that we can get milk and make yogurt and butter and ghee and cheese, and sell the dairy products and make money and become rich. That is not bhakti. Bhakti means to please Krishna. Krishna wants us to protect the cows—kṛṣi-go-rakṣya. And if our only interest is Krishna’s pleasure, in the process, we might become rich or we might become poor, but that is not our concern. Our concern is to please Krishna, and Krishna wants us to protect cows. So, that is the principle of bhakti. And that is the principle of our lives. That is the guiding principle of our lives. 

And yes, now, there may be different opinions about how to please Krishna. That also happens, and it really did happen on the Hyderabad farm. Somehow, Srila Prabhupada put three very strong-willed leaders on the Hyderabad farm. And each one had a different idea of what was best, and each one was convinced that his idea was right. Now, what to do? Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate. He said again and again—he wanted us to cooperate. He wanted us to spread the movement cooperatively, not that one person is the only leader and everyone else follows, but by joint effort, that is also saṅkīrtana. It is said in shastra, kalo sango shakti that in Kali-yuga, there is strength in association, so the combined effort, the cooperative effort. . . So, what did Srila Prabhupada tell them? He said, “You three, you fight like cats and dogs, and then when you all agree, you go ahead.” Hare Krishna. Just fight like cats and dogs, no problem, just fight like cats and dogs, and then when you all agree, you go ahead. Now, this is also an instructive statement. Of course, there could be other lessons to be derived from it, but one lesson is that even if we have differences of opinion and quarrel amongst ourselves, we should still stick together, and try to keep Prabhupada in the center, keep Krishna in the center, and try to come to what would please them. And then, go ahead; not like hold grudges because someone had a different opinion. But, of course, we should also try to be civilized in our interactions, if we can be. Of course, we can be. But, even if we feel someone was a little rough with us, but still we should take it, they are trying to serve Krishna, I am also trying to serve Krishna, we are here for the same reason, and tolerate it. Anyways, it is not always easy but it is really necessary because we need each other; we need each other; we can’t do it alone. Anyway. . . 

So yes, unity and variety—this is a very important principle—unity and variety. Srila Prabhupada said, “The materialists, they have variety but no unity. Everyone is just fighting for their own benefit, and so there is variety but there is no unity. And as a reaction, the impersonalists want unity but without variety—all shanti shanti, all one. But, as Vaishnavas, we want unity and variety. There is variety because we are all individual souls, but there is unity because we have a common goal which is Krishna, Krishna’s pleasure.” And Srila Prabhupada even said that should be the mission of the GBC—to create unity and diversity. Hare Krishna. 

In fact, comfort for the brahmans is secondary, and comfort for the cows is His first concern. Of course, cows can feel comfortable with relatively less facility. It doesn’t mean that they should sleep on mattresses, and we should sleep on hay, but we should seek to their comfort. We should see to their comfort because it will please Krishna, and that is why we are here—to please Krishna. 

Because of His presence. . . This is the last part of Gargamuni’s prediction—presenting it in the purport, “Because of His presence, all people would overcome all difficulties and always be situated in transcendental bliss.” So, just by the presence of Krishna, we will overcome all difficulties and beyond that, be situated in transcendental bliss. So, we just have to keep the presence of Krishna, to invoke the presence of Krishna, feel the presence of Krishna. And He is already present. He is here—Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra, Sri Jagannatha Baladeva Subhadra. He is already present as the Deity. He is present as the holy name, but of course, to really experience His presence, we should chant offenselessly, ultimately purely. He is present as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He is present in the hearts of the devotees. He is present, but we have to feel His presence, and He does say, nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe yogināṁ vā hṛdaye ca. Although, He is in Vaikuntha, and although He is present in the hearts of the yogis, but still He says, I do not reside in Vaikuntha, and I do not reside in the hearts of the yogis, but I reside wherever My devotees chant My glories. So, by chanting the glories of Krishna, His name, form, qualities, pastimes, saṅkīrtana, in other words, we invoke the presence of Krishna. And what is the result of Krishna’s presence? We overcome all difficulties. We have so many difficulties, so many difficulties. And we can’t overcome them on our own. We can only overcome them if Krishna helps us. And beyond just overcoming the difficulties, we feel transcendental bliss, experiencing Krishna’s mercy and loving association. So, in short, by Krishna consciousness, by being conscious of Krishna, we get everything. And that is also the principle of bhakti—just by being conscious of Krishna, one gets everything. So, that should be our effort—to be conscious of Krishna by experiencing His presence in terms of His name, form, the Deity, qualities, and pastimes which are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in other books, and by working for His pleasure. Both will invoke His presence, and both will bring all auspiciousness. 

Of course, we do have to work. We have to do our duty, we have to do our duties. Some of you might know the history of the Juhu temple, but at one stage, we had a small temple; it was more than… it was a shed in a way, but it was more than a shed. And there was a big conspiracy. And so, the owner of the land and one of the local politicians and the police and the municipality, they all sort of formed a click. There is money being prayed paid as bribes, and so they came to attack the temple. It happened here, too, many years ago. But anyway, that seemed like the worst reversal, that seemed like the worst reversal. Srila Prabhupada always saw the bright side. He said, “It is a message from Krishna that we have to involve more people, just the few devotees from America can. . . we can’t do it all. We have to involve more people.” He said, “We should have a meeting of the life members, and tell them what happened, and ask them to come forward and help us.” It often happened like that—what seemed to be the darkest moment at the time was a turning point that led to some very positive development and growth. So, the real thing is to, yes, invoke Krishna’s presence, feel Krishna’s presence, keep Krishna as the center. So many times Srila Prabhupada said, “Don’t try to be successful by your material formulas, just follow the standard process. Don’t speculate; don’t concoct.” 

Coming back to Juhu, I did mention this in the japa retreat, but still one evening, Srila Prabhupada was sitting on the terrace of one of the tenement buildings, and his disciple Haridasa Prabhu, a Bengali devotee, one of the first devotees to join in Bombay. Talking about reversals becoming positive. Haridasa was a professional thief, and he was in prison, and in prison, he got a back to Godhead. And just by seeing Srila Prabhupada’s picture in Back to Godhead, he decided, I want to serve him. When I get out of prison, I want to serve him. So finally, the time came. He served his sentence, and he was released. He didn’t have any money. Although he did have his tools for breaking into people’s houses and safes, he came with his little tool box, and he walked. I don’t know how he made it all the way from the prison which I am not sure where somewhere in Central Bombay all the way to Juhu. He said, “I want to surrender to becoming a devotee.” So, he (Prabhupada) told him to throw his tools in the ocean like Mrgari. He said, “Okay, break your bows and arrows.” 

So anyway, this Haridasa was fanning Srila Prabhupada, and at seven o’clock which was time for ārati, Srila Prabhupada asked Haridasa if he heard the kirtan coming from the temple. And Haridasa said, “No.” Prabhupada said, “You don’t hear the sounds of the kirtan coming from the temple?” Haridasa does strain to hear and said, “No, I don’t.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “That is exactly the point. There is no kirtan in the temple. There should be. Where is everyone?” And Haridasa replied, “Well, they must be out collecting. They haven’t come back from the city yet.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “That was not my idea that the devotees should go out day and night collecting money. They should leave the city at Five o’clock and come back, and take bath and chant and dance in front of the deities.” And then, Srila Prabhupada asked, “Do you know why we were successful and not Mr. Nair? Mr. Nair was much more powerful than we were. Why were we successful?” And then, Srila Prabhupada went over the different points that Mr. Nair was very wealthy, and we had no money. Mr. Nair was very influential. He owned one of the three English daily newspapers in Bombay; we had no influence. Mr. Nair had many friends in high places; he had been the Sheriff of Bombay; and we hardly knew anyone, but still, we were successful and not him. So why?” And then, Srila Prabhupada answered, “Because we were working for Krishna, we were working for the pleasure of Krishna and by the mercy of Krishna, we were successful, not by our own strength or power or resources.” So, we shouldn’t think that we will be successful by going out day and night and collecting funds, but we will be successful by pleasing Krishna and getting Krishna’s mercy. So, we should come back and chant and dance in front of the deities—that will please the Deities, and by Their pleasure and mercy, we will be successful. So, that is again the principle of bhakti to please Krishna and depend on Him. And at the same time, we do our duty, we do our duty. 

Once Srila Prabhupada said that in the temple, if there are forty people. Of course, we just said that we are all brahmans which is true in a higher sense. He said, “If there are forty devotees, ten should be brahmans, ten should be Kshatriyas, ten should be vaishyas, and ten should be Shudras, and one should tell all the forty what to do.” And he said, “And then, if the hooligans come to attack, it is not like that we just all sit there Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, but immediately ten Kshatriyas should rush out with sticks.” That is Indian style of kshatriya in those days. Ten Kshatriyas should rush out with sticks to defend the deities of the temple. So, we have different duties, and we do our duties. It is not that we don’t do our duties, we must do our duties to please Krishna, but at the same time, we engage in the direct process of hearing and chanting about Krishna. And even when we do our duties, the goal should be to please Krishna saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam. The test of our success in the performance of our duties is whether Krishna is satisfied. So, if we do that, chant and hear about Krishna, and remember Krishna directly, and at the same time, do our duties for Krishna’s pleasure, we will be successful. Krishna will be pleased, and by Krishna’s grace, we will be successful. Successful means not that we will be rich necessarily, sorry. It could be but not necessarily. But, we will be successful in that we have succeeded in pleasing Krishna which is our goal. And whatever our condition is in the material world, we will gain the right to enter the Kingdom of God. And of course, the reason we want to go there is just to serve Krishna with love, but incidentally, we will be in a more opulent position there than anyone in the material world could ever be. 

Once, Srila Prabhupada came to Bombay from, I believe, Hong Kong, and in Hong Kong, the devotees arranged a press conference for Srila Prabhupada at the airport. And they arranged a Rolls Royce car to take him. Oh no no, I think the press conference was on the penthouse of some hotel, fancy hotel that they had rented and they brought Srila Prabhupada in a Rolls Royce. So, one of the newspaper reporters challenged Srila Prabhupada that, “You are supposed to be a spiritual person, and you are riding in a Rolls Royce. Why did you ride in a Rolls Royce?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Well actually, in the spiritual world cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu, in the spiritual world, everything is made of spiritual gems which are far more valuable than any gem of the material world, even more valuable than diamonds. And the trees are wish-fulfilling desire trees, and the cows are wish-fulfilling desire cows that give oceans of nectar like milk.” And then, he said, “Even if they had brought me in a solid gold Rolls Royce, it would not have been good enough, but because the Rolls Royce was the best they could offer, so I accepted it.” So, Srila Prabhupada told that story when he got to Juhu, and then he said, “What else can you say to such people?” 

So here, rich or poor, I mean, that is up to Krishna, that is up to Krishna. But, by serving Krishna, just by staying alive in Krishna consciousness and tolerating all the difficulties, we will earn the right to enter the Kingdom of God, and then, whatever difficulty you experience along the way will seem most insignificant, or they will be seen as the Lord’s mercy to purify us and bring us to the point of being eligible to enter the Kingdom of God. And on the highest level of pure devotion, one doesn’t even want to go back home, back to Godhead, but one just wants to please Krishna wherever Krishna wants, in whatever way Krishna wants, api yu artha darshana. For pure devotee, heaven or hell or liberation are the same. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Because the devotee doesn’t live in heaven or hell or anywhere, but he lives in Krishna.” So, that is our goal, and that is possible. Srila Prabhupada has given us the process, and because I have to take to it, stick together, with Srila Prabhupada and Krishna at the center. Follow all the instructions that Srila Prabhupada gave us, and because of his presence, all people will overcome all difficulties, and always be situated in transcendental bliss. Hare Krishna. Any questions or comments?

Devotee: Do you believe that there are ever irreconcilable differences between devotees?

Giriraj Swami: This is very good question—do I believe that there are ever irreconcilable differences between devotees? Well, there have been occasions when Srila Prabhupada did tell a disciple that if you don’t get along with your God brothers, you can work apart from your God brothers. But, the main thing is to follow the instructions of the spiritual master. I think it is a general principle that we need association, but it may happen that in a particular situation, two individual devotees just don’t get along, and at a certain stage, I guess, one would have to evaluate whether the effort to stay together is justified, or whether it might be or might not be more practical for them to work in their own separate areas, if that could be. I mean, Prabhupada tells you to fight like cats and dogs, and then when you agree, then that is the order of the spiritual master, which is what you do, but Prabhupada didn’t always give that instruction. Sometimes… In fact, once it happened in Calcutta, there was conflict among the leaders, and Prabhupada wrote a letter, “Too many cooks spoiled the broth.” And he said he sent some of the leaders from Calcutta to Delhi—there was nothing in Delhi. He sent some of the leaders to Delhi saying that too many cooks spoil the broth. So, it was practical – time, place, and circumstance. All right, oh yes, oh yes sir, what is your good name?

Devotee: Madhava Ghosh

Giriraj Swami: Madhava Ghosh, the famous Madhava Ghosh. Hare Krishna, Madhava Ghosh Prabhu.

Madhava Ghosh: [Unintelligible 01:21:34]

Giriraj Swami: So, that is your comment. Madhava Ghosh Prabhu says that.. 

Madhava Ghosh: [Unintelligible 01:21:45]

Giriraj Swami: Oh! Hare Krishna. Well, the way to reconcile the practice and the theory is to have our own cows, and take good care of them, and offer the deities milk from our own cows. Now, if that is not possible, I would say the second choice would be to find a farmer. We even had this in Boston. We had someone who had cows, I don’t know, an hour away from the city. And we knew he took care of the cows nicely, and we would get fresh milk from there. But, if it comes down to a choice between offering Krishna milk that come from cows that are going to be self-slaughtered and not offering Krishna milk, what would you suggest?

Madhava Ghosh: [Unintelligible 01:23:07]

Giriraj Swami: Well, you’ve embedded quite a few thoughts in your statement. I would agree with you that we should work towards self-sufficiency. There is no doubt that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to do that. And I think it is just one of the programs that we haven’t done it expertly enough or intelligently enough. And therefore, there were some failures, and so then people sort of get the idea, Oh, it is not practical. We can’t do it. Or they give up the goal. So, I agree we should always keep in mind all of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, and especially the instruction to develop farm communities, and to live off—live from nature, and the land and the cows. I agree it is right here in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—this is the life in Gokula. I agree with that. But, so much is time, place, and circumstance. I mean, I am just, I don’t know… It is like we have so many battles to fight, and where do you begin and where do you end? I couldn’t say in an absolute sense that every temple should be thinking of moving in the direction of keeping cows so that they don’t have to buy milk from dairies that end up killing cows. I don’t know. 

It is like when Mother Yasoda was feeding baby Krishna with her breast milk, and then the milk on the fire began to boil over, and she set baby Krishna aside to tend to the milk on the fire, and baby Krishna became angry. He wasn’t satisfied, and then He broke the pots of butter and yogurt and stole it. So, in the purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that everything in the household of Mother Yasoda was meant for Krishna’s service. And her tending to the milk on the fire was also meant for Krishna’s service. And sometimes, in the course of Krishna’s service, one has to set aside one service and take up another service. And then, Srila Prabhupada said, “The intelligence what to do first and what to do next comes from Krishna.” And he quoted,

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

So, I would say definitely that developing self-sufficiency, varnashrama community—that should be the first priority for some devotees, but I don’t think we could say in an absolute sense that it should be the first priority for all devotees. And for those devotees that, they might just have to buy milk in the store, and offer it to the deities. Yes, Kamalavati Mataji?

Kamalavati Mataji: Isn’t it better that the cows that their milk, even if they are not in the farms, it helps them because they are offering their milk to Krishna, so it is actually saving them spiritually.

Giriraj Swami: You are right. That is a very good point. That is a very good point—the cows whose milk is offered to Krishna get the benefit for the service. 

Kamalavati Mataji: …got together and kicked him out. And Prabhupada had heard of this, and sent a telegram immediately and said, “Tejas stays, everyone else can go.”

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I agree.

Kamalavati Mataji: But, you were saying when more people in the temple, and one is the head…

Giriraj Swami: Like you were saying, he was very sincere, very steadfast, very intelligent. I know once Srila Prabhupada was in Juhu, struggling to get the land and then get the permission to build, and then build the temple, but at this stage, he was, I think just struggling to get the permission to build, get the land to get the permission to build. And Tejas had arranged a pandal program for Srila Prabhupada in Delhi. And Srila Prabhupada would often consult the disciples about what he should do? I think part of it he was training us, but I think he also saw Krishna’s will manifest through the discussion with the devotees. So, in this case, the question was should he go to Delhi or not, for the pandal because the work in Bombay was much more pressing, and it seemed much more important. And in the end, Srila Prabhupada said he would go. And the reason he gave was that if he didn’t go, Tejas would feel discouraged. That was really the reason he went. So yes, what is your name? 

Devotee: Hari Bhakta dasa.

Giriraj Swami: Hari Bhakta dasa. Wonderful. 

Hari Bhakta dasa: You mentioned about the Hyderabad farm. Do we still have it? 

Giriraj Swami: Do we still have the Hyderabad farm? I am not sure, it did become quite a complicated affair. It happened like that. When they gave.. anyway, I don’t wish to discuss the history, but we just have to do our best, follow the regulated principles, do our duty, and depend on Krishna. Srila Prabhupada did give the example of Jatayu, the bird devotee. When Ravana was kidnapping Sita, Jatayu tried to fight with Ravana, and save Sita, but because Ravana was so powerful and also Jatayu was quite old, Ravana was successful, but still Jatayu, spiritually, was successful because he had given his life for the service of Lord Rama. And when Lord Rama came and found Jatayu, He… Yes, He honored him and worshiped him and performed the funeral ceremony like a son does for the father. So, Srila Prabhupada told the story to illustrate the fact that externally we may not be successful in every case. Sometimes, the materials are too powerful. But, if we do our best to please Krishna, Krishna will be satisfied. And that is our success. So, it may be… Maybe the Badruka brothers were so powerful materially; maybe, they took the land back or a good part of the land but that is history but as far as bhakti, if we do our best to please Krishna, Krishna we will be satisfied even if others are not. And that is our motto. All right, we will end now. Although there is no end, but we will end now. Yes, just in that mood of dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ, sometimes, one has to set aside one service, and take up another service. So, we will do that, but I will stay for a few more minutes if anyone really wants to ask me a question or discuss a spiritual topic based on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Hare Krishna. Grantharaj Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya. New Vrindavan dhāma ki jaya.

Devotees: His Grace Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya.