SB 2.4.18

Giriraj Swami: 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Four,

TEXT 18

kirāta-hūṇāndhra-pulinda-pulkaśā

ābhīra-śumbhā yavanāḥ khasādayaḥ

ye ‘nye ca pāpā yad-apāśrayāśrayāḥ

śudhyanti tasmai prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ

TRANSLATION

Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

COMMENT

The first page of the purport describes the different names listed. And to save time, I will not read the full description of each. But they are all mentioned in different sections of the Mahābhārata, and with reference to the Mahābhārata and other historical accounts, Srila Prabhupada has indicated what geographical region this name refers to, or what race the region refers to.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Kirāta: A province of old Bhārata-varṣa mentioned in the Bhīṣma-parva of Mahābhārata. Generally the Kirātas are known as the aboriginal tribes of India, and in modern days the Santal Parganas in Bihar and Chota Nagpur might comprise the old province named Kirāta.

Hūṇa: The area of East Germany and part of Russia is known as the province of the Hūṇas. Accordingly, sometimes a kind of hill tribe is known as the Hūṇas.

Āndhra: A province in southern India mentioned in the Bhīṣma-parva of Mahābhārata. It is still extant under the same name.

Pulinda: It is mentioned in the Mahābhārata (Ādi-parva 174.38), viz., the inhabitants of the province of the name Pulinda. This country was conquered by Bhīmasena and Sahadeva. The Greeks are known as Pulindas, and it is mentioned in the Vana-parva of Mahābhārata that the non-Vedic race of this part of the world would rule over the world. This Pulinda province was also one of the provinces of Bhārata, and the inhabitants were classified amongst the kṣatriya kings. But later on, due to their giving up the brahminical culture, they were mentioned as mlecchas (just as those who are not followers of the Islamic culture are called kafirs and those who are not followers of the Christian culture are called heathens).

Ābhīra: This name also appears in the Mahābhārata, both in the Sabhā-parva and Bhīṣma-parva. It is mentioned that this province was situated on the River Sarasvatī in Sind. The modern Sind province formerly extended on the other side of the Arabian Sea, and all the inhabitants of that province were known as the Ābhīras. They were under the domination of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, and according to the statements of Mārkaṇḍeya the mlecchas of this part of the world would also rule over Bhārata. Later on this proved to be true, as in the case of the Pulindas. On behalf of the Pulindas, Alexander the Great conquered India, and on behalf of the Ābhīras, Muhammad Ghori conquered India. These Ābhīras were also formerly kṣatriyas within the brahminical culture, but they gave up the connection. The kṣatriyas who were afraid of Paraśurāma and had hidden themselves in the Caucasian hilly regions later on became known as the Ābhīras, and the place they inhabited was known as Ābhīradeśa.

Śumbhas or Kaṅkas: The inhabitants of the Kaṅka province of old Bhārata, mentioned in the Mahābhārata.

Yavanas: Yavana was the name of one of the sons of Mahārāja Yayāti who was given the part of the world known as Turkey to rule. Therefore the Turks are Yavanas due to being descendants of Mahārāja Yavana. The Yavanas were therefore kṣatriyas, and later on, by giving up the brahminical culture, they became mleccha-yavanas. Descriptions of the Yavanas are in the Mahābhārata (Ādi-parva 85.34). Another prince, called Turvasu, was also known as Yavana, and his country was conquered by Sahadeva, one of the Pāṇḍavas. The western Yavana joined with Duryodhana in the Battle of Kurukṣetra under the pressure of Karṇa. It was also foretold that these Yavanas also would conquer India, and it proved to be true.

Khasa: The inhabitants of the Khasadeśa are mentioned in the Mahābhārata (Droṇa-parva). Those who have a stunted growth of hair on the upper lip are generally called Khasas. As such, the Khasa are the Mongolians, the Chinese and others who are so designated.

The above-mentioned historical names are different nations of the world. Even those who are constantly engaged in sinful acts are all corrigible to the standard of perfect human beings if they take shelter of the devotees of the Lord. Jesus Christ and Muhammad, two powerful devotees of the Lord, have done tremendous service on behalf of the Lord on the surface of the globe. And from the version of Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī it appears that instead of running a godless civilization in the present context of the world situation, if the leadership of world affairs is entrusted to the devotees of the Lord, for which a worldwide organization under the name and style of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has already been started, then by the grace of the Almighty Lord there can be a thorough change of heart in human beings all over the world because the devotees of the Lord are able authorities to effect such a change by purifying the dust-worn minds of the people in general. The politicians of the world may remain in their respective positions because the pure devotees of the Lord are not interested in political leadership or diplomatic implications. The devotees are interested only in seeing that the people in general are not misguided by political propaganda and seeing that the valuable life of a human being is not spoiled in following a type of civilization which is ultimately doomed. If the politicians, therefore, would be guided by the good counsel of the devotees, then certainly there would be a great change in the world situation by the purifying propaganda of the devotees, as shown by Lord Caitanya. As Śukadeva Gosvāmī began his prayer by discussing the word yat-kīrtanam, so also Lord Caitanya recommended that simply by glorifying the Lord’s holy name, a tremendous change of heart can take place by which the complete misunderstanding between the human nations created by politicians can at once be extinguished. And after the extinction of the fire of misunderstanding, other profits will follow. The destination is to go back home, back to Godhead, as we have several times discussed in these pages.

According to the cult of devotion, generally known as the Vaiṣṇava cult, there is no bar against anyone’s advancing in the matter of God realization. A Vaiṣṇava is powerful enough to turn into a Vaiṣṇava even the Kirāta, etc., as above mentioned. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.32) it is said by the Lord that there is no bar to becoming a devotee of the Lord (even for those who are lowborn), and by becoming a devotee everyone is eligible to return home, back to Godhead. The only qualification is that one takes shelter of a pure devotee of the Lord who has thorough knowledge in the transcendental science of Kṛṣṇa (Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam). Anyone from any part of the world who becomes well conversant in the science of Kṛṣṇa becomes a pure devotee and a spiritual master for the general mass of people and may reclaim them by purification of heart. Though a person be even the most sinful man, he can at once be purified by systematic contact with a pure Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava, therefore, can accept a bona fide disciple from any part of the world without any consideration of caste and creed and promote him by regulative principles to the status of a pure Vaiṣṇava, who is transcendental to brahminical culture. The system of caste, or varṇāśrama-dharma, is no longer regular even amongst the so-called followers of the system. Nor is it now possible to reestablish the institutional function in the present context of social, political, and economic revolution. Without any reference to the particular custom of a country, one can be accepted to the Vaiṣṇava cult spiritually, and there is no hindrance in the transcendental process. So by the order of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the cult of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or the Bhagavad-gītā can be preached all over the world, reclaiming all persons willing to accept the transcendental cult. Such cultural propaganda by the devotees will certainly be accepted by all persons who are reasonable and inquisitive, without any particular bias for the custom of the country. A Vaiṣṇava never accepts another Vaiṣṇava on the basis of birthright, just as he never thinks of the Deity of the Lord in a temple as an idolor statue. And to remove all doubts in this connection, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī has invoked the blessings of the Lord, who is all-powerful (prabhaviṣṇave namaḥ). As the all-powerful Lord accepts the humble service of His devotee in devotional activities of the arcana, His form as the worshipable Deity in the temple, similarly the body of a pure Vaiṣṇava changes transcendentally at once when he gives himself up to the service of the Lord and is trained by a qualified Vaiṣṇava. The injunction of Vaiṣṇava regulation in this connection runs as follows: arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ śrī-viṣṇor nāmni śabda-sāmānya-buddhiḥ, etc. “One should not consider the Deity of the Lord as worshiped in the temple to be an idol, nor should one consider the authorized spiritual master an ordinary man. Nor should one consider a pure Vaiṣṇava to belong to a particular caste, etc.” (Padma Purāṇa)

The conclusion is that the Lord, being all-powerful, can, under any and every circumstance, accept anyone from any part of the world, either personally or through His bona fide manifestation as the spiritual master. Lord Caitanya accepted many devotees from communities other than the varṇāśramites, and He Himself declared, to teach us, that He does not belong to any caste or social order of life, but that He is the eternal servant of the servant of the Lord who maintains the damsels of Vṛndāvana (Lord Kṛṣṇa). That is the way of self-realization.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So, this verse and purport are extremely significant for the Krishna consciousness movement, which means for all of you because you are somehow associated with the Krishna consciousness movement now. And it is the foundation on which Srila Prabhupada, following the order of Sri Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his own spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, propagated the Krishna consciousness movement all over the world.

Now, in doing so, Srila Prabhupada faced much opposition from, in one sense you could say, conservative or orthodox sections in India, although from another point of view, you can simply say ignorant people who helped the idea that one can become a brahman or a sannyasi only if one is born as an Indian or as a brahman. And from the beginning of his efforts, Srila Prabhupada faced such challenges. When Srila Prabhupada returned to India, to Bombay with some of his disciples from America and Europe, you could say he took the city of Bombay by storm. The people of Bombay were stunned, they could not believe that Americans and Europeans had adopted the dress of Vaishnavas, wearing tilak and neck beads and śikhā, and men wearing dhotis and kurtas and the women wearing sarees. And for many of them, it was a very emotional experience. You could see tears welling up in their eyes, they were just so happy. But in the midst of that, there were people attached to misconceptions, or we might dare to say attached to exerting an artificial dominance over others by virtue of their births in higher castes, who objected to what Srila Prabhupada was doing.

Very early upon our arrival in Bombay, there was a flurry of newspaper articles, major newspaper articles about Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. And there was one very extensive article in The Times of India, and in response to the article, somebody wrote a very long letter objecting to Prabhupada’s disciples from America and Europe being called brahmans. And he cited the example of one of Prabhupada’s devotees named Gopal who was a construction worker. And so, the person who wrote the letter to the editor said, “Someone who is a construction worker is considered a sudra. How can you say that this person named Gopal is a brahman?” So, Srila Prabhupada wanted me to reply to the letter, but he gave me the idea of what to say. And he said that, “The fact that someone is not born a brahman does not mean he cannot become a brahman.” And then there were so many scriptural references. And he said, “And besides that, in America, people believe in the dignity of work, they don’t have that prejudice against a construction worker, but they believe in the dignity of work, and it is not considered to be a lesser occupation.” Now, Srila Prabhupada always wanted us to reply to news articles. In fact, I thought of it recently in relation to the entry of government officials into the hidden vaults of the Padmanabha temple in South India in which the government found in one vault valuables in worth to twenty billion dollars. And of course, that has created a lot of agitation and controversy, which we need not discuss in detail now. But certainly, many people have different ideas about how the money should be used.

There was a much milder report in the newspaper during Srila Prabhupada’s presence about how the Tirupati temple, which receives huge amounts of donations every day and is under government control and supervision, had loaned so many crores of rupees or millions of dollars to encourage the creation of some businesses, and one of them was a television manufacturing industry, and other businesses. And Srila Prabhupada said that we should write a letter saying that, “That money belongs to Balaji, Krishna, and it should be used for Balaji’s purposes. And Balaji, Krishna, comes into the material world to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā. He comes personally and speaks the Bhagavad-gītā. So, that money, which is Balaji’s money, should be used for Balaji’s purposes, to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is.” So, Prabhupada didn’t want us to let anything go. If there was something wrong, he wanted us to protest. But coming more to the point here, what the verse is saying and what Srila Prabhupada is saying in the purport is that if anyone, from any country of the world, from any race, from any ethnic background, takes shelter of a pure devotee such as Srila Prabhupada, he can be raised or she can be raised also to the standard of a pure devotee. And that pure devotee can do the same work of reclaiming fallen souls from different countries of the world and elevating them to the standard of pure Vaishnava. And there is no impediment to the transcendental process.

So, Srila Prabhupada had that mission when he came to America, then from America went to England and Germany, and eventually, countries and continents all over the world. And he would quote a maxim from Chanakya Pandit who was a learned brahman who, among many other achievements, has compiled many aphorisms or maxims, niti-shastra, moral instructions, Srila Prabhupada often says moral instructions. And one of the instructions is eka chandra, that means one moon, tamohanti, removes the darkness more than any number of stars, little stars twinkling in the sky. So, Srila Prabhupada said that he was not after making many disciples or cheap disciples, but he wanted one moon who could light up the darkness of the age of Kali, of the present age, and light up the hearts of people. So, that was a big question, whether Srila Prabhupada would find any such moon or create any such moon. And there was also a question if he did find such a moon or create such a moon, whether we would even recognize it because our vision is very covered, we don’t know what is what. In a sense, we don’t even know who we are. And so, how can we know who others are? How can we recognize the position of others? It is very difficult. And there are verses, vaiṣṇavera kriyā mudrā, that it is very difficult to understand the mind and activities of a Vaishnava. And so, we have to be careful in dealing with Vaishnavas because we may misunderstand them or wrongly judge them. So this was a question.

And in one talk, Srila Prabhupada said, “This is our mission, to create one moon. But Krishna is so kind that he has sent so many moon-like young men and women.” And he said, “Many moons.” So, that was very encouraging. But one could say that, “Well, they were not really moons, but Prabhupada was calling them moons in the hope or expectation that one day, they would become moons.” That could be true, but then, just a little before Srila Prabhupada himself left, one of his disciples named Jayananda Prabhu who was one of the early devotees in San Francisco, left his body. Jayananda Prabhu was a real selfless servant, he really got his hands dirty. He would do any service, and he was so humble, he felt grateful for any service. Sometimes it may happen that a devotee has some service to cook or to do some deity worship or to distribute prasāda, and then the devotee will say, “Sorry, I can’t make it,” for some reason, and, “Oh no, now we have to find someone else.” But when that would happen, Jayananda Prabhu would say, “Great news Prabhus! So and so can’t cut the vegetables! More service for us! Haribol!” And he really meant it; he was just so eager for any opportunity to serve.

And at the end, it turned out to be the end, he got leukemia and he was looking for alternative cures, and he found a treatment called “Latreal”, which has not been accepted in the United States. We won’t go into the politics of the medical establishment and their attitude towards alternative cures, but let us just say that that treatment was not legal in America, but it was legal in Mexico, and there were Latreal clinics in Mexico that offered that treatment. So, Jayananda Prabhu went down there. I heard this all from Gunagrahi dasa Gosvami. So, Jayananda Prabhu went down there and he started to take the treatment, and it was working, he was getting better. Not only that, he was giving regular classes on the Bhagavad-gītā to the other patients and visitors.

So, when Gunagrahi Maharaja went back to visit him and he asked him how he was doing, he said, “Great, it is like paradise down here. I am taking the treatment and I am getting better, and I get to preach from morning to night. It is fantastic.” So then, Gunagrahi Maharaja left for a while. He had his own service, then he came back to visit, and Jayananda Prabhu’s mood had changed. He said, “Maharaja, help me pack my bags, I am getting out of here.” And Gunagrahi Maharaja said, “Well, what happened? Last time you were so happy. Isn’t the treatment working?” He said, “Yes, the treatment is working, but they won’t let me preach anymore. And what is the use of staying here if I can’t preach? I am packing my bags; we are out of here.” [laughter] So, Maharaja eventually drove him to Los Angeles where, there was a nice community of devotees, senior devotees, and eventually, the disease took its course and Jayananda Prabhu had to give up that diseased body.

And when Srila Prabhupada was given the news, he analyzed the situation in a general sense, that if he was completely free from material desire, he would have gone back home, back to Godhead, but if he still had some vestiges of material desire, he would take birth on a heavenly planet and enjoy the facilities there and then, after further purification, go back to Godhead. But then he said that, all things considered and hearing how Jayananda Prabhu said that ‘this body is useless. If I can’t preach, what is the use of staying in this body?’ And how he would engage in chanting, surrounded by chanting, at the end, he basically said that he probably went back home, back to Godhead. And then he said that every year, we should honor Jayananda Prabhu’s disappearance with a festival, just like we have a festival for other departed acharyas. And it is also a rule, that we will always keep Jayananda Prabhu’s photograph on the Ratha-yatra cart.

So, then it seemed that Srila Prabhupada had created, by Krishna’s grace, a movement. Yes, Srila Prabhupada, everything he did was full of significance, and certainly, his saying that we should observe Jayananda Prabhu’s disappearance day like we do the disappearance days of other past acharyas was significant. So, that was back during Srila Prabhupada’s presence. Jayananda Prabhu wasn’t that old but he was older than most of us when he joined. And now, as time is passing, more and more of Prabhupada’s disciples are leaving their bodies, disciples and grand disciples.

So, I will just read something about this metaphor of the moon. Of course, there is that famous Chanakya sloka that I mentioned. This is from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta is the most authorized biography of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is considered practically the best book by all of the Gosvamis. So, within the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there is a description, there is another metaphor of the Chaitanya tree. And the Chaitanya tree, actually, the trunk of the tree or the root of the tree is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu itself, and He is also the gardener that tends to the tree. And then the tree has its trunk and limbs and branches and so on, and those are all of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotees. And in his description of the tree, the author, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, says that he cannot distinguish between greater and lesser or higher and lower, but he is just glorifying all of the Vaishnavas. And in the description of the tree, in one purport, Srila Prabhupada says that ISKCON is also a branch of the Chaitanya tree.

So, at the beginning of the Thirteenth Chapter of the Ādi-līlā, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami mentions some of the prominent devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

CC Ādi 12.2

jaya jaya mahāprabhu śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya

jaya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita dhanya

TRANSLATION

All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Śrī Advaita Prabhu! All of Them are glorious.

TEXT 3

I offer my respectful obeisances to the all-glorious Advaita Prabhu, who forms the second branch of the eternal Caitanya tree, and to His followers, who form His subbranches.

TEXT 5

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also the gardener, and as He poured the water of His mercy on the tree, all the branches and subbranches grew, day after day.

CC Ādi 13.4

All glories to Svarūpa Dāmodara and Murāri Gupta! All these brilliant moons have together dissipated the darkness of this material world.

TEXT 5

All glories to the moons who are devotees of the principal moon, Lord Caitanyacandra! Their bright moonshine illuminates the entire universe.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this verse we find the moon described as candra-gaṇa, which is plural in number. This indicates that there are many moons.

COMMENT

Then there is some astrological or astronomical discussion about moons.

PURPORT (continued)

The sun has the ability to shine powerfully, and the moons reflect the sunshine and therefore look brilliant. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta Kṛṣṇa is described to be like the sun.

Giriraj Swami: Does anyone know the verse in which Krishna’s compared to the sun? Yes?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:50:46]

Giriraj Swami: Very good. Now we know why you are the temple president. [laughter] We know there are many other reasons, but now we have further confirmation.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta Kṛṣṇa is described to be like the sun. The supreme powerful is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and His devotees are also bright and illuminating because they reflect the supreme sun. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22.31) states:

kṛṣṇa — sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra

yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikārī

“Kṛṣṇa is bright like the sun. As soon as the sun appears, there is no question of darkness or nescience.” Similarly, the present verse also describes that by the illumination of all the moons, brightened by the reflection of the Kṛṣṇa sun, or by the grace of all the devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the entire world will be illuminated, despite the darkness of Kali-yuga.

COMMENT

This purport is basically saying the same thing as the other purport that we just read, but just in different language, different terms.

PURPORT (continued)

Only the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu can dissipate the darkness of Kali-yuga, the ignorance of the population of this age. No one else can do so. Therefore we wish that all the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement [that means you all] may reflect the supreme sun and thus dissipate the darkness of the entire world.

Giriraj Swami: Who’s the supreme sun? Krishna, Kalachandji; kala means black and chand means moon. It seems contradictory or paradoxical but Krishna can be black, but also like a moon, effulgent like a moon. In other words, he wants all the devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement to become moons, who reflect the light of the supreme sun and thus dissipate the darkness of the entire world, the ignorance of the people in Kali-yuga. Hare Krishna.

So, Maharaja, would you like to add anything?

Maharaja: I just received a copy of “Many Moons” today. I am very happy to receive it. “Many Moons” is being described on the cover as the reflections on departed Vaishnavas. So, in our tradition we celebrate both appearance and disappearance day of the Vaishnavas and “Many Moons” is another ornament in the Krishna consciousness movement given to us by HH Giriraj Swami Maharaja. I think that everyone is anxious to get their copy, but I know that Maharaja worked very hard on this book to produce it. I remember when we were book distributors Prabhupada would say, “When I finish a book I feel like I have conquered the world.” So, I am sure Maharaja is feeling very happy. I know when he finished the book, he wrote a little note to me and said, “I have finished.” I wrote him back a congratulations note. Without any other ado, we will get the book signing going on. Hare Krishna.

Nityananda Prabhu: Thank you, Maharaja. I actually wanted to just repeat some of the words of some great devotees who have read this book, who know this book. The book discusses Prabhupada’s followers and a realization struck me as you were speaking. But before I give my puny realization, I would like to recount something that Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami spoke. He said, “The great souls described in these pages are bright full moons of Srila Prabhupada, Sri Caitanya and Sri Krishna’s mercy. Their lives are living instructions, their activities chandrikas – cooling illuminating moon beams of Vaishnava sharing, teaching and realization. They all in their own special and unique beautiful ways were instruments of Vaishnava love, charity, faith, hope and determination. Each assisted in easing the tribulations of many embodies souls, thus they all performed the sacred mission requested by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and we are confident that the benediction moons of Srila Prabhupada, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krishna have bestowed their love and grace upon them. He goes on to say that he personally feels bereft of such mercy. Of course, is very humble. He has the mercy in full. But for us it is good to hear this because this is our personal situation. He says, “Therefore I approach these Vaishnavas who have it in their grasp…”

Giriraj Swami: I appreciate what you said. Actually, there are more than nine, we just began with these nine but there are many more. And I hope others will write about them. If I get a chance, I would like to write, especially about Yamuna devi, I would like to write about her. But yes, these are nine who I knew and who had affected me personally. So yes, these are the nine. First is Jayananda Prabhu, then Gaura Govinda Swami. In the order in which they left. Tamal Krishna Goswami, Sridhra Swami, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami, and then three grand disciples; Mother Archa Vigraha, Abhiram Thakura who spent his last years in Chowpatty but he was originally from Pakistan, and Mother Kirtida. And there are also contributions by devotees who are very close to these devotees.

In fact, Gunagarhi Maharaja approached me that he had heard about the book and he never got a chance to speak about Jayananda Prabhu when he left, he was never interviewed about Jayananda Prabhu so he offered to be interviewed, and he spoke very nicely. And for Tamal Krishna Goswami, there is contribution by His Holiness Rtadhvaja Swami and Bhakta Karl. And for Mother Kirtida, there is a discussion with Rasakendra Prabhu, and Guru-bhakti Mataji and another one with Sarvabhauma Prabhu. And there are some very funny stories, especially about His Holiness Sridhar Swami who had the nickname the Jolly Swami. And there is a piece by his servant Mayapur dasa who served him very intimately and that is humorous. . .What can I say? “Like father like fun.” Sridhra Swami enjoyed a good laugh and Mayapur dasa also enjoyed a good laugh. You might also by reading this contribution.

All right, are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, Dharma Prabhu.

Devotee: Thank you for the wonderful, wonderful lecture. This amazing verse that you were reading, it was incredible, so much in there. But I wanted to ask what inspired you to do this particular project? What specifically inspired you do this particular book?

Giriraj Swami: I had thought about it, but it was really here in 2006, when I came for Srila Gurudeva’s Vyasa-puja that I felt it very strongly from him, “You must write this book and set aside all other projects and get this book out.” And as you might recall, I think we all recall, that it was just days after we inaugurated Srila Gurudeva’s samadhi here in 2005, that His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami left. And so, I knew that his disappearance day was coming up, and his disciple Advaita Acharya was also here then, but there was no arrangement. And I felt, No, there should be, we should remember him. And that is something that His Holiness Indradyumna Swami always says, that we have to remember these Vaishnavas, we have to speak about these Vaishnavas, otherwise, we will forget them. In India, there are so many samadhis being revived mainly because of Prabhupada’s disciples, but so many samadhis of great Vaishnavas mentioned in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta just lying in disrepair, neglected, overgrown because people haven’t been remembering, haven’t been glorifying them. So, people forget. So, he always has said that. And then, on Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s disappearance day. . . So, that was the beginning. And then, since then, I have felt it coming from Gurudeva consistently. And of course, I wanted the mercy of these great Vaishnavas. It certainly brought me closer to all of them and purified me. And one of the best parts was interviewing the devotees who were so close to them, especially who cared for them when they were sick in the last year. Yes, it was very rewarding, very rewarding. And, it is the same idea, that where there is light, there is no darkness. So, there is unfortunately, Kali-yuga, the atmosphere is filled with criticism and fault-finding and fabricated stories, even against Vaishnavas.

So, instead of speaking against the darkness, I thought, glorify the devotees. That automatically would replace the criticism. And I felt that this shows that by following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and serving his mission, anyone can reach a very exalted state of consciousness. Of course, you have to follow with intensity, but each of these devotees is unique, like BB Govinda Swami said, each is unique, but what they have in common is they all gave themselves fully to Srila Prabhupada’s service with great intensity, and they were all basically selfless servants. And I felt this will give faith. It is not just a theory that if you follow this, you can become Krishna conscious, but here are examples of people like us. Yes, Prabhupada was different, he was from a different era. He overlapped with us but he was from a different era, from Bengal, from a Vaishnava family. And then that question is there, “Well, what about us?” Many of us are yavanas, “What about us?” So, this shows that anyone from any community, any caste can. But just by following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions and serving his mission wholeheartedly, one can reach an exalted destination. So, I felt it would ultimately increase faith in Srila Prabhupada.

And when I spent time with His Holiness Sivarama Swami at the Hungarian farm for the first time, he expressed a similar sentiment, that Prabhupada has given so many instructions, but even his own followers have doubts about the efficacy of following the instructions because they don’t see examples. So, he wanted to show, “Yes, we can have a self-sufficient farm community, it is possible. We can have a real gurukula, it is possible.” And that sort of external projects, and then internally, he wanted to show that by following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions internally, one can become advanced in Krishna consciousness. And that was my mood here too, that these are examples of people, even people we knew. People whose backgrounds might be more similar to ours, and they became highly advanced in Krishna consciousness just by following the same process that Srila Prabhupada gave all of us to follow. And it really shows that it really doesn’t matter what your personal characteristics are, what really matters is that you give yourself fully to Srila Prabhupada and his instructions and his mission.

Sridhar Swami, the first time he met devotees, he had long hair and as it is, he was quite a husky, well-built fellow. And so, he first met the devotees in Berkeley. They were chanting, and there was a devotee with a book table with books and posters. And he came up, sort of swaggered up, “Who is that?” There was a picture of Krishna. So, the devotee manning the book table said, “That is God.” And Sridhar Swami said, “That is God?” “Yes, that is God.” [laughter] And Sridhar Swami said, “What would you do if I took that picture of God and tore it up?” And the devotee said, “I think I would have to kill you.” [laughter] And Sridhar Swami was very impressed and he thought, Yes, I like these people. [laughter] I can fit in here, [laughter] and he became a devotee.

Any other questions or comments? Yes, Caitanya Candra Prabhu?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:17:25]

Giriraj Swami: Yes!

Devotee: Just after that, I was reading the Seventh Canto of the appearance of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, and one of the beautiful statements in there about Prahlada Maharaja is how his activities, and he is saying [Unintelligible 01:17:52] activities, by hearing of our activities, the pure devotee’s activities and the Lord’s activities, that one’s heart becomes purified from the results of the activities [Unintelligible 01:18:04]. So, I really appreciate that you presented just a little bit some wonderful pastimes of the devotees and activities [Unintelligible 01:18:18].

Giriraj Swami: Jaya! It is true. All right. So yes, it was just the timing, the book was basically finished when we heard about Aindra Prabhu. There was one page, we managed to fit it one page, a note about him. But that purport you quoted is a verse, verse and purport, are perfect, that by hearing of the glories of the Lord and the glories of the devotee, one’s heart becomes purified. It is very fit.