SB 2.7.17 – A Devotee is Always Vigilant, Vamana-dvadasi

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Today is a very auspicious day. It is Vāmana-dvādaśī, the Appearance Day of the Lord in the form of Vamanadeva, and it is also the Appearance Day of Srila Jiva Gosvami, one of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, direct disciples of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Today we shall read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven, “Scheduled Incarnations,” Text Seventeen

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 17

jyāyān guṇair avarajo ‘py aditeḥ sutānāṁ

lokān vicakrama imān yad athādhiyajñaḥ

kṣmāṁ vāmanena jagṛhe tripada-cchalena

yācñām ṛte pathi caran prabhubhir na cālyaḥ

TRANSLATION

The Lord, although transcendental to all material modes, still surpassed all the qualities of the sons of Aditi, known as the Ādityas. The Lord appeared as the youngest son of Aditi. And because He surpassed all the planets of the universe, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the pretense of asking for a measurement of three footsteps of land, He took away all the lands of Bali Mahārāja. He asked simply because without begging, no authority can take one’s rightful possession.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The history of Bali Mahārāja and his charity to Vāmanadeva is described in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bali Mahārāja conquered all the planets of the universe by rightful possession. A king can conquer other kings by strength, and such possession is considered to be rightful. So Bali Mahārāja possessed all the lands of the universe, and he happened to be charitably disposed toward the brāhmaṇas. The Lord therefore pretended to be a beggar brāhmaṇa, and He asked Bali Mahārāja for a measurement of three footsteps of land. The Lord, as the proprietor of everything, could take from Bali Mahārāja all the land he possessed, but he did not do so because Bali Mahārāja possessed all those lands by king’s rights. When Bali Mahārāja was asked by Lord Vāmana for such small charity, Bali Mahārāja’s spiritual master, namely Śukrācārya, objected to this proposal because he knew that Vāmanadeva was Viṣṇu Himself, pretending to be a beggar. Bali Mahārāja did not agree to abide by the order of his spiritual master when he understood that the beggar was Viṣṇu Himself, and he at once agreed to give Him in charity the land requested. By this agreement Lord Vāmana covered all the lands of the universe with His first two steps and then asked Bali Mahārāja where to place the third step. Bali Mahārāja was very glad to receive the Lord’s remaining step upon his head, and thus Bali Mahārāja, instead of losing everything he possessed, was blessed by the Lord’s becoming his constant companion and doorman. So, by giving everything to the cause of the Lord, one does not lose anything, but he gains everything that he could never otherwise expect.

COMMENT

So, the story of Bali Maharaja and Vamanadeva is described in several chapters of the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the history contains many important lessons for us. Within the short time allotted to us, we cannot discuss every detail of the pastime, but we shall discuss some of the important features. Within the universe, there are two great families or dynasties; the Ādityas and the Daityas. The Ādityas are godly sons of Kashyapa and Aditi, and the Daityas are envious of God and the devotees. And the two clans are always fighting for supremacy in the universe. But generally, the demigods being protected by Lord Vishnu are successful. But because Bali Maharaja was very charitably inclined to brahmans, he received the blessings of the brahmans, and because the demigods had unfortunately offended their spiritual master, they were bereft of his mercy. And in that situation, the Daityas were able to conquer the universe, Bali Maharaja was able to conquer the universe.

So, although such was the case, Lord Vishnu appeared to reinstate the demigods as the rulers of the universe. And although he could have done so by force because he is the proprietor of everything and he is all-powerful, but because Bali Maharaja was the rightful owner of the planets because he had won them in battle, so he did not take the lands by force. But understanding Bali Maharaja’s charitable nature, he appeared in a form that would be just appropriate to inspire Bali Maharaja to voluntarily give charity to him, and he asked only for three steps of land. Now, the word in the verse is pretension, chalena, by pretention. Pretension is a dignified word. It has a subtle difference as well, but it is a dignified word for cheating. Vamanadeva pretended to ask for three steps of land, and he was just a very small fellow, so his steps were very small. And Bali Maharaja was very attracted to Vamanadeva’s beauty, he was enchanted by Vamanadeva’s beauty. And he said, “Although you appear to possess so many good qualities, you do not seem to be very intelligent. Because I am the proprietor of the whole universe, practically, I could give you a whole planet and more, and you are asking for only three steps of land.” But Vamana replied, “If I cannot be satisfied with three steps of land, I could not be satisfied even by a whole planet.”

So, this demonstrates the principle of greed. That if one is greedy, he can never be satisfied no matter how much he possesses. Even if he possesses the whole planet, he won’t be satisfied. And Srila Prabhupada said especially for brahmacharis, all they require is some service, a little prasāda, and three steps of land, means a place to lie down at night, a brahmachari is satisfied. And Vamana was playing the part of a brahmachari, a brahman who was a brahmachari. So, Bali agreed, but Śukrācārya, the spiritual master of the demons, by his mystic powers, could understand that Vamanadeva was not a little brahmachari like he appeared to be, but he was actually Lord Vishnu, and that ultimately, he would take everything away from Bali Maharaja. So, he told him, “Do not give him what you have agreed to give.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes that when Bali Maharaja received this instruction from his spiritual master, he paused, he hesitated. Because the injunction is that one must obey the orders of the spiritual master. In fact, it is one of the offenses against the holy name, guror avajñā, to disobey the orders of the spiritual master. So, to disobey the orders of the spiritual master is a grievous offense. And therefore, Bali Maharaja hesitated, but finally, he considered that the ultimate goal of life is to surrender everything to Vishnu, and that the spiritual master is really meant to instruct the disciple to surrender everything to the service of Vishnu. And therefore, he rejected his spiritual master and kept his promise to give three steps of land to Vamanadeva.

So, Vamanadeva expanded Himself into a gigantic form, and with two steps, he covered the entire universe. Then, he said to Bali Maharaja, “You are a cheater. You promised Me three steps, but you have given Me only two steps, and you have nothing left to give Me. So, you cheated Me.” And Vamanadeva ordered Bali Maharaja to be arrested, and he was bound by ropes, the snake Vasuki, and treated just like a criminal. Bali Maharaja replied, “Actually, you have called me a cheater, but I am not a cheater. I am going to give you your third step. You kindly put your lotus foot on my head.” And thus, Bali Maharaja surrendered himself to the Lord. And this is called ātmā-nivadanaṁ, self-surrender. In the nine processes of devotional service, the last one is ātmā-nivadanaṁ. And ātmā-nivadanaṁ is exemplified by Bali Maharaja’s surrender to Vamanadeva. And as the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham. “As one surrenders to Me, I reciprocate accordingly.” So, because Bali Maharaja gave everything to the Lord, the Lord gave everything to Bali Maharaja. Because Bali Maharaja gave himself to the Lord, the Lord gave Himself to Bali Maharaja and became His doorman and constant companion. In the end, He gave Bali Maharaja his own planet, and He became the gatekeeper of Bali Maharaja. And it is mentioned that when Rāvaṇa, the great demon Rāvaṇa, was terrorizing the universe, he came to the planet of Bali Maharaja, but he couldn’t do anything because Lord Vishnu was Bali’s gatekeeper. And He gave Rāvaṇa a kick with His lotus foot that sent Rāvaṇa all the way across the universe. So, Bali Maharaja was most fortunate.

Now, the Fifth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states guror nasciat, that no one should become a guru, no one should become a father, no one should become a mother, no one should become a husband, and no one should become a superior relative unless he or she can deliver his or her dependence from the repetition of birth and death. Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse to me. At the time, we had just gotten the Juhu land, and Srila Prabhupada was living in a chātāi hut in Juhu, which belonged to the Patel family, very pious, wealthy family who had a very simple building by Juhu beach for use on holidays or for guests. I was in the room, and another devotee named Mahamsa was in the room. Mahamsa also came from quite a good family, Parsi family, Bombay, a wealthy family. And Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse, and he gave the example of Bali Maharaja, that it is the duty of the disciple to obey the order of the guru. But Bali Maharaja disobeyed the order of his guru, but that was not a fault because his guru was not a real guru because his guru was not instructing him in a way as to deliver him from the repetition of birth and death.

Then, he gave the example of Prahlada Maharaja, that it is the duty of the son to defend the father if the father is attacked. But when Lord Nṛsiṁha attacked Prahlada’s father Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada did not try to defend his father, but rather, he glorified Nṛsiṁhadeva for killing his father. So, was that a fault? No, because Hiranyakasipu was not a real father because he was not instructing his son in such a way as to deliver him from the cycle of birth and death. And then, he gave the example of Kaikeyi, who was the mother of Bharata. She instructed Bharata to sit on the throne of Ayodhyā when Lord Ramacandra was sent into exile, but Bharata refused. Was that a fault? No because she was not acting as a real mother, because she was not instructing him in a way that was favorable for devotional service. One can be delivered from the repetition of birth and death, only if one engages in devotional service, pure devotional service. And then, Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the wives of the brahmans. Krishna and Balarama and the cowherd boys begged charity. First from the brahmans, the brahmans refused. Then, they begged from the wives of the brahmans, and the brahmans forbade their wives to go to Krishna and Balarama, but their wives disobeyed them. It is the duty of the wife to follow the order of the husband, but was it a fault? No, because their husbands were not acting as real husbands. So, at the end, Srila Prabhupada said to Mahamsa and me, “You have left your parents, but it is not a fault because they are not acting as real parents.” Perhaps not due to any fault of theirs, perhaps just out of ignorance, but still, they were not acting as real parents.

I recently heard a lecture by His Holiness Radhanath Swami, in which he was describing the story of Dhruva Maharaja. When Dhruva Maharaja left home and went into the forest and eventually, realized God, and his father understood that his son had become a great devotee, his father was overjoyed. At the same time, his father was very remorseful because of his offense against his son, Dhruva. But he was jubilant that his son had become a great devotee who had surrendered everything to Krishna. And His Holiness Radhanath Swami commented that this is the mood of a real parent. A real parent wants to see the child become a great devotee, wants to see the child give everything for the service of the Lord. And he was challenging his audience, “You want your children to be pious, you want them to be good, you don’t want them to be sinful, you want them to be dutiful. But if your child, who you have been grooming to become a successful person in the material world, were to tell you, ‘I have decided to give everything to Krishna and give my life to Krishna,’ how many of you would be happy?” So, there is a big difference between mundane piety and pure devotion. So, Srila Prabhupada was encouraging us, “You did the right thing, he did the right thing.” And he gave those examples quoting Sridhar Swami’s commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Now, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself very beautifully explains that the guru should train the disciple in such a way that the Lord will give Himself to the disciple, which means, as we discussed, that the disciple must give himself fully to the service of the Lord, which is accomplished through the medium of the spiritual master. And I will read this verse. It follows a very famous verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that I hope you know, and I will read that verse first. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Chapter Three, “Liberation from the Illusory Energy,”

TEXT 21

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta

jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam

śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ

brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam

TRANSLATION

Any person who seriously desires real happiness. . .

COMMENT

Do you desire real happiness? Yes, everyone desires real happiness.

TRANSLATION

Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.

COMMENT

Then, the next verse.

TEXT 22

tatra bhāgavatān dharmān

śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ

amāyayānuvṛttyā yais

tuṣyed ātmātma-do hariḥ

TRANSLATION

Accepting the bona fide spiritual master as one’s life and soul and worshipable deity, the disciple should learn from him the process of pure devotional service. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, the soul of all souls, is inclined to give Himself to His pure devotees. Therefore, the disciple should learn from the spiritual master to serve the Lord without duplicity and in such a faithful and favorable way that the Supreme Lord, being satisfied, will offer Himself to the faithful disciple.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī the Lord’s tendency to give Himself to His pure devotee is demonstrated in the case of Bali Mahārāja, who sacrificed his universal kingdom for the pleasure of Lord Vāmanadeva. Lord Vāmana was so pleased by the selfless surrender of Bali Mahārāja that the Lord became the doorman in the palace of Bali, who was reinstalled as a great leader in the universe.

COMMENT

Now, because it is Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Appearance Day and he is quoted next in the purport, I will read the next two paragraphs, which quote Srila Jiva Gosvami.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī comments that the spiritual master is to be considered the ātmā, or the very life, of the disciple, since real life begins when one is initiated by a bona fide spiritual master. Although one may experience many seemingly wonderful or important events in a dream, one’s real life begins when he wakes up. Similarly, since the spiritual master gives birth to the disciple by awakening him to spiritual life, a bona fide disciple understands that his spiritual master is the very basis of his life.

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all pleasure, and thus the Lord’s giving Himself to a pure devotee indicates that such a devotee becomes immersed in the highest possible ecstasy. In this connection there is the following śruti-mantra: ānandād dhīmāni bhūtāni jāyante. “Indeed, it is from the all-blissful Supreme that all these creatures have come into being.” Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has further pointed out that when the Lord bestows His own self upon a pure devotee such a fortunate devotee can actually see the Lord, touch Him and directly engage in His service.

According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, one should never consider one’s spiritual master to be mundane or on an equal level with one’s self. One should see the spiritual master as being always under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. One should never try to engage the spiritual master in one’s personal service with the mentality of lording it over the spiritual master and attaining through him some material gain. One who is actually advancing will become more and more eager to serve the spiritual master, and thus such a disciple experiences the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has delineated four preliminary requisites for advancement for the sincere disciple:

guru-pādāśrayas tasmāt

kṛṣṇa-dīkṣādi-śikṣaṇam

viśrambheṇa guroḥ sevā

sādhu-vartmānuvartanam

“[1] Accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master, [2] becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him, [3] obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion, and [4] following in the footsteps of great ācāryas [teachers] under the direction of the spiritual master.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.74) One who has executed these preliminary duties is qualified to relish Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

COMMENT

And then, the purport continues to explain the results of hearing and relishing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, ātmā-nivadanaṁ, self-surrender. Ātmā can mean self, ātmā can mean mind, and ātmā can mean body. So, we decide to surrender to the Lord. Well, we hope to decide to surrender to the Lord. But in that surrender, there are different features; there is surrendering our body, there is surrendering our minds, and there is surrendering our very souls, or selves. In the beginning stage, we surrender, but then we go back on our surrender. Bhurijana Prabhu says they surrender but then they take back their surrender.

This is very common in Kali-yuga because the whole atmosphere in Kali-yuga is so polluted and so surcharged with nescience that it is very easy to be affected by the illusory energy. The illusory energy will wear away one’s determination to surrender to Krishna. And so, it is very hard to withstand the attacks, or the assaults, of maya, especially in Kali-yuga. Devotees who work in the material world, especially if they have to work in the association of non-devotees, face a constant assault from the material nature. And it is very hard to maintain one’s determination. It is possible only if we have very strong association with pure devotees to counter balance, or counteract the pernicious influence of materialistic people within a materialistic culture that is constantly bombarding us with messages that we should be independent, we should enjoy our senses, we should progress materially. But let us say, we decide to surrender. What is the actual status of our endeavor to surrender? We know that there are different stages in devotional service and we should assess ourselves where we are, and we should assess ourselves at every moment where we are. Are we surrendering more to Krishna, or are we surrendering more to maya, or the mind? The mind, the materially contaminated mind, is always trying to lead us away from Krishna, and to maya.

So, there is a critical stage in the practice of devotional service called anartha-nivṛtti. At the stage of anartha-nivṛtti, the anarthas, the unwanted habits, the unwanted desires are eradicated, more or less. Srila Prabhupada says 75 percent. And so, before then, one engages in anishcitatā bhajana-kriyā, that means unsteady. And after that, one engages in nishcitatā bhajana-kriyā, or steady devotional service. Now, being steady is further analyzed in relation to the body, and the mind, and the self, or ātmā. For example, very anishcitatā, very unsteady, we are not consistent in chanting our sixteen rounds. But there is a stage we become steady with our body, our tongues, and our fingers, chanting sixteen rounds. But our mind is not steady, our mind is wandering. And so, we have to make a conscious, deliberate effort to bring the mind back to the sound of the holy name. Now, that is a struggle, that takes effort. But that effort will purify our heart, that is part of the process of anartha-nivṛtti. And then, when the anarthas subside, we can fix the mind more easily on the sound of the holy name. But then, it could happen, it is not likely but it could happen, that one will still engage in other activities outside devotional service, or I shouldn’t say quite like that, one will engage in activities within devotional service, but one will still want something in return. So, in that sense, one has not completely given one’s self.

And our acharyas who have studied very deeply and analyzed very minutely these activities of the Lord with His devotees, say that initially, Bali Maharaja surrendered his property and his body, even surrendered his body, but he didn’t really surrender his self. And that is why he was arrested, because he only surrendered his body, but not his self. That happens even in the material world, someone is, a slave, or an indentured servant. Or even a child might be living at home and begrudgingly doing what the parents say but inwardly wishing he could escape. It is not real surrender, but yes, he does with his body what he is told to do or forced to do, but he hasn’t really surrendered his heart. But real ātmā-nivadanaṁ means everything; the body, the mind, the words, and one’s heart and soul. And when we give our heart and soul to the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Lord will give Himself, heart and soul, to us. If we surrender fully to the Lord, depending fully on the Lord, the Lord will reciprocate. But if we are making our own arrangements, then the Lord will say, “Well, why should I bother? He is making his own arrangements, or she is making her own arrangements. Why should I bother?” As many of our devotees have said, His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami for one, that if you put Krishna in the center, if you put Krishna in the foreground, then you will be in the foreground for Krishna. But if you put Krishna in the background, which is our tendency, we put ourselves like we are the center, Krishna is there but He is in the background but we are really the center, then, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante, then for Krishna, we will be in the background.

So, this is the gradual process, all of these stages from sraddha all the way to prema are a gradual process of the conception of me being the center decreasing, and Krishna being the center increasing. The “I” and “mine,” in the beginning stage, when we are still conditioned, more or less on the material platform, we are still preoccupied with the thoughts of “I” and “mine." “I am this body, and everything related to this body is mine; my husband, my wife, my children, my parents, my house, my car, my mortgage, my debts, it is all mine.” But gradually, as we go through these stages, that conception of “I” and “mine” changes, and we think, “I am Krishna’s, and Krishna is mine.” And the critical point is anartha-nivṛtti. Up until anartha-nivṛtti, although there is progress, but still, it is more, “I am the center, I am mine. I am this body, and everything related to this body is mine.” And after anartha-nivṛtti, when we come to niṣṭhā, ruci, āsakti, and so on, then Krishna is more in the center, “I am Krishna’s, and Krishna is mine.” And that is the whole process. And along the way, we have to constantly evaluate what is our consciousness, and we have to work on our consciousness, making Krishna the center, making the spiritual master the center. And thinking of their interest, not thinking of my interest separate from them, but thinking of their interest and having no separate interest. And we have to work on it, we have to work on the mind, you have to always be careful of the mind.

In the same talk about Dhruva Maharaja, His Holiness Radhanath Swami described that during the fighting with the Yakshas, Dhruva Maharaja became successful, and when he entered their capital city, the city was deserted. But Dhruva was not complacent, he didn’t take it for granted, “I have been victorious,” but he was wary because he knew that the Yakshas are very tricky, so he was on guard. And as it is, the Yakshas were just hiding and waiting for the opportunity to attack. And His Holiness Radhanath Swami said, “This is the mood of a devotee. A devotee never is complacent, a devotee never takes it for granted, “Now, I have surpassed maya. Now I am beyond all temptation. Now, I am in complete control of my mind and senses.” A devotee never thinks like that. A devotee is always wary of the tricks of maya, or the tricks of the mind to tell us, “Okay, you can relax, you have worked hard enough, you can relax,” and so on. So, it is an effort, but it is well worth it because in the end, one is liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and all the miseries of the material world, and one sees the Lord, touches the Lord, and engages in direct service to the Lord. Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments? Yes, Narottama ananda.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Maharaja, my question is about [Unintelligible 01:09:33]

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Rupa Gosvami advises that generally, a devotee should live in the mode of goodness, we should act in the mode of goodness, and then, from the mode of goodness, we can more easily come to the transcendental platform. So, the mode of goodness, satyam, truthfulness, very much part of the mode of goodness. So, generally, we should be truthful. But there can be exceptions, but we should be careful about exceptions. Yes, there are exceptions. But it is the same thing, it is duplicity. The Lord gives Himself to the disciple who serves without duplicity. The transgression should genuinely be for a higher cause. There should be no duplicity, by which one engages in the transgression for one’s own sense gratification in the name of Krishna consciousness.

Once, I asked Srila Prabhupada a similar question, and he told the story of Govinda dasa when he was serving Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri. The rule was that Govinda dasa would massage the Lord’s lotus feet every day after lunch. So one day, it so happened that after lunch, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu laid down just at the entrance to the room. So, after His rest, when He awoke, He saw Govinda dasa was sitting there in the room. He said, “Govinda dasa, have you taken prasāda?” And Govinda dasa said, “No.” “Why not?” “Well, your body was laying across the threshold of the room. And so, to leave the room to take prasāda, I would have had to step over Your body, which would have been a transgression. How could I step over Your body?” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Well, how did you enter the room?” Govinda dasa said, “Well, I stepped over Your body, but that was for Your service, that was for a higher cause. But I can’t do that for my sense gratification.” So, it is very important that we always check our motives to see whether there is duplicity, whether it is really for Krishna, or whether it is for me, or for Krishna but also for me.

His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami often gives the example of the desire for recognition and appreciation. Devotees are happy to do service, but they want some recognition or appreciation. Means they want something for themselves also. They want to serve Krishna, but they want something for themselves also. How many devotees are ready to continue to serve without any recognition or appreciation? See, that is transcendental. You can do that when you are actually in your relationship with Krishna, means feeling your relationship with Krishna. You don’t need reinforcement from others, you get your reinforcement from your japa, from kirtan, from your sadhana. So, yes, we want to distribute books, but we want to be recognized, it is mixed. It is not bad, but it is mixed. But when Krishna is the center and we are really absorbed in our relationship with Krishna, we get our reciprocation from Krishna in our devotional service, then even if no one recognizes me, I will do it.

I have sometimes told the story of His Holiness Sacinandna Swami and his nāma vratā during Kartik at Radha-kunda. Initially, he felt he was not able to enter, and was thinking what to do. He came to the door, and he was knocking on the door, but the door was not opening. So, then he thought, I have to do humble service, menial service. So, he thought, I will sweep the kuṇḍa, I will sweep the area around the kuṇḍa. But then he thought, If I do it and someone sees me, then they will appreciate, ‘Oh, you are doing such nice service, you are cleaning the kuṇḍa’ and then I will become puffed up and the whole purpose will be defeated. So, he concluded he has to do it at a time of day when no one will see him. So, I think he chose one in the morning, between one and two in the morning when no one would see him. And then, after doing that menial, humble service for some time, the door opened, he was able to gain access to the holy name.

So, that should be our endeavor. We can do service to get, name and fame or recognition and appreciation, but the real thing is to do service to please Krishna so that He will bring us closer to Him. And as we feel ourselves coming closer to Krishna, that is the only reciprocation we really need. Of course, the other is nice and it is good for us as devotees to recognize other devotees and appreciate other devotees, that is something else, that is something we should do all the time. But me, as a servant, my service should not be dependent on recognition and appreciation, but it should be done as part of my effort to please Krishna, develop my relationship with Krishna as the central figure.

Like Bhurijana Prabhu says, most people see life, as a movie. And in the movie, he is the hero, or she is the heroine, and everyone else is meant to play a supporting role in my life, in the movie of my life, in which I am the hero or the heroine. But when we really get serious about surrender, then Krishna is the hero, and Radha is the heroine, or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the hero, or Srila Prabhupada is the hero, and we are the supporting cast, and we just do what is necessary for them. And that is the only reward we want, seeing their pleasure.

All right, thank you very much. Tomorrow is another auspicious day, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance Day. And then, Friday is nāmācārya Haridasa Thakura’s Disappearance Day. I also give the morning class on Friday, and it goes on. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Vamana Avatar ki jaya!

Nitai-Gaura premānande Hari Haribol

Srila Jiva Gosvami ki jaya!

Devotee: Giriraj Swami ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Vamanadeva is one of the daśāvatāras, so maybe in one of the kirtans we can sing the Daśāvatāra Stotra, or at least the one about Him.