Take the Krishna and Leave the Maya—with Mumbai Devotees

Giriraj Swami: All right, well, I suppose one question that is on devotees’ minds is whether I am coming to India, or when I am coming to India, and I should be able to come.

Devotees: Haribol!

Giriraj Swami: I mean, I can’t say, but maybe not at the beginning of Kartik, maybe more like December, January, February.

Devotees: Haribol!

Giriraj Swami: After lasts year, [Unintelligible 00:01:01] we should not say anything too definite but it does seem like I will be coming then, and seeing all of you is making me even more eager. [Unintelligible 00:01:25] I hope my house in Vrindavan will be ready.

Devotee: Yes, Guru Maharaja Giriraj, we are hoping to get ready by October.

Giriraj Swami: October? The last time you said it would be ready by August.

Devotee: No, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Alright.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, my intuition is probably telling me the right things, come later, but there are other reasons. So, you are hearing?

Devotees: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. And otherwise, yes, I hope you are committing more and more of your time and energy to Krishna consciousness. A few of you are pretty much fully dedicated to Krishna consciousness, but in grihastha ashram there are other responsibilities and possible distractions, and most devotees are grihasthas. So, it is a delicate balance, how to take care of your responsibilities as grihasthas, and also fulfill the real mission of human life, which is to become Krishna conscious. But if you gradually devote very good energy to chanting the holy name with attention in japa and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and really take it that he is speaking with you and instructing you and guiding you, then gradually, you will be able to distinguish what is more essential, and what is less essential. And the more essential, which is ultimately Krishna consciousness, will receive more of your attention and energy because you want to see that you are always making progress. And progress comes from devoting more time and energy to Krishna consciousness in more direct ways. At the same time, we do have our responsibilities and obligations to our family members and society, but yes, we should always remember that those affairs are temporary, and that it is really our relationship with Krishna that is eternal.

Kali-yuga is so bad that what one would think would be a simple thing, to get married, have a family, it is not simple. Even in India, there are many complications, there can be many complications in grihastha ashram, and we have to tolerate those, and do our best to live as peacefully as possible in the material world and dedicate as much energy as you can to develop Krishna consciousness. And Srila Prabhupada said, “It is easy, but it is also not easy.” It is easy in the sense of the process, it is easy chanting the holy name, hearing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, serving the deity, serving the devotees. It is not a difficult process, as in previous ages, meditation and yajña, elaborate temple worship. But it is not so easy because Kali-yuga is so bad, and Kali-yuga itself means, [Unintelligible 00:08:10] Kali means quarrel. Kali-yuga means age of quarrel. So, there is so much quarrel in Kali-yuga, even within the family, between husband and wife and children, and in the business, in the workplace, it is quarrel and disputes over money and position, Kali is everywhere. But Krishna is also everywhere.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example of the haṁsā, the swan. In a mixture of milk and water, the haṁsā can take out the milk and leave the water. So, in the same way, in the material world there is a mixture of maya and Krishna. So, we have to extract the Krishna part and leave the maya apart. So, that is our challenge in Kali-yuga. But we have good direction in the scriptures, in Srila Prabhupada’s books, and in other books coming through the paramparā, and we have the association and guidance of more experienced devotees who have gone through many of the challenges that we face and can help us pass through them successfully. And that is why we are putting so much effort into the Mitra system—so that you can get that association and guidance to help you deal with the complexities of the material world, especially in the age of Kali, and at the same time encourage you in chanting Hare Krishna, studying Vedic scriptures, and rendering devotional service.

I am very grateful to all of you for making the effort, for coming to today’s iṣṭagoṣṭhī. And of course, especially to Sridham Prabhu, Kishori Mataji for taking so much time and putting so much energy into helping us, and all of you, all the Mitras, all the [Unintelligible 00:11:52] and all the senior devotees who may not be officially Mitras, but you are there to guide and help us. I am very grateful to all of you, and sincerely hope that you will really take advantage of the facility that Srila Prabhupada has given us in the Krishna consciousness movement to perfect our life in Krishna consciousness, and to serve humanity by bringing others to Krishna consciousness.

So, as you may know, some of you, I have to leave very soon for the Ratha-yatra in Los Angeles, but I am very glad that I got the opportunity to speak with you. I am not seeing you right now, but hearing, as Srila Prabhupada said, and in real life, hearing is more important than seeing. So, I hope you have been hearing me, I haven’t been hearing you, but maybe someone can confirm that you can hear me?

Organizer: Yes, we can hear you.

Giriraj Swami: Good. So, is there anything else? Any questions or suggestions?

Organizer: Any questions? Guru Maharaja, that is enough. Sorry, we are [Unintelligible 00:14:07].

Giriraj Swami: Sorry?

Organizer: Yes, Guru Maharaja, there are no questions.

Giriraj Swami: All right. So, it was nice to see you all, and it is a boon to you, Lokhandwalas that the Jagannatha Mandir and Bhaktivedanta school are there. You can serve it, you can attend the program, you can get associations. That is very good. And also, try to get the mercy of Radha-Rasabihari as well. In one sense, there is no difference, but still, Radha-Rasabihari is very merciful; all forms of Krishna are merciful but also [Unintelligible 00:15:08]