Ananda Lila and Chaitanya Lila’s Marriage Ceremony

Giriraj Swami: This is a very special occasion to make such a commitment. Srila Prabhupada has explained that when a person is in high school, but if he is doing college-level work, then he can be promoted to college. In the same, way when we are in the material world but if we are engaging in the activities of the spiritual world, we can be promoted to the spiritual world. So what is our identity in the spiritual world? What is our activity in the spiritual world? Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopīs. So we are meant to be the servant of the servants of the servants of Krishna. And in marriage of course there is a material side to the relationship, but in essence we should see each other as servants of Krishna and ourselves as servants of the servant. And that will also make the relationship very harmonious.

Now given that the goal is to serve Krishna, be the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, what is the need to get married or what is the purpose? So I will quote one authority on marriage, who said that marriage is not to make you happy, but marriage in the true sense is to create a stable situation in which you find your own happiness. That is a very true statement and translated into Vedic terms, we could say that being married in the proper sense of the term, in the true sense, is a situation in varnashrama-dharma that will create a favorable environment or atmosphere for progressing in Krishna consciousness. And in that effort you have so many friends and well-wishers; some are here and some will be coming, and some may not be coming to the function today but they are certainly your well-wishers, and they can guide you.

It is important to take guidance from people who have experience and knowledge. Of course, Srila Prabhupada said there are different ways of learning. The first class way is to learn by hearing, second class is you learn by seeing, third class you learn by experiencing, and fourth class you never learn. So if you can learn from the experience and wisdom of others by hearing from them, then you can save some of the suffering that may come from experiencing what they warned you about before you did it or didn’t do it or didn’t do it. As it is said, it takes a whole village to raise a child, so it takes a super village to raise the parents of the child. But you have a super village here; and I was very moved last night when I came in and I saw your friends late at night, helping with the decorations. And it is a real show of support, staying up so late and helping with the preparations. So it is a real blessing to be in this type of community; not everyone has that good fortune, but the real benefit is obtained by hearing from the devotees and serving them, not just coexisting in the same geographical neighborhood. And I am very confident that if you do that, consult the appropriate person, take their good advice, chant good rounds, study Srila Prabhupada’s books and work cooperatively to spread Krishna consciousness, then you will become qualified to enter Krishna’s family in the spiritual world.

Hare Krishna.

We wish you all the best and we will be here to support you to our capacity as far as possible.

Hare Krishna.