SB 10.13.50 – The Glance of Lord Vishnu Creates the Desires of the Devotees

Giriraj Swami: As I was on the way to the temple here, we passed Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and I recalled Srila Prabhupada having thought that this area would be a good place to have a temple. And now we see that Srila Prabhupada’s desire has been fulfilled, and it is being fulfilled at every moment, increasingly so. And then I thought of Juhu. Before Srila Prabhupada went to America, he was staying at the Scindia worker’s colony because Sumati Morarji had agreed to give him passage on one of her steamships, and every day, he would visit her at the bungalow in Juhu and read to her from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And on the way to her bungalow, he would pass a plot of land, and he thought, This would be a nice place for a temple. And now the Juhu Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari Temple is there.

And then I thought how powerful is the desire of a pure devotee, that from his desire, these temples have been manifest, and so many temples have been manifest, so many devotees have been manifest, deities have come, so many books have become manifest; it is all based on that pure desire. And although there are so many wonderful verses in the Tenth Canto that relate to the pastime of Lord Damodara and other pastimes that we celebrate in the month of Kartik, the lifting of Govardhana Hill, the celebration of the rasa dance, the creation of Radha-kunda. But I thought to read one verse and purport that discuss the desires of a devotee because I was so struck by the beautiful manifestation of this temple, which Srila Prabhupada originally desired, and which His Holiness Radhanath Swami assisted by you all taking up Srila Prabhupada’s desire have made this manifest.

So, this verse comes from Canto Ten, Chapter Thirteen, “Brahma’s Stealing the Boys and Calves.” It was the last chapter that Srila Prabhupada translated. And you might have heard, and even seen photos of him lying on his bed, on his back, very weak, very gaunt, very emaciated, with his disciples, Jayadvaita Swami and Pradyumna Prabhu there, holding the microphone very close to his mouth. His voice was so weak that he could hardly be heard, yet these are some of the most brilliant and beautiful purports ever written. So, I will read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Thirteen, “Brahma’s Stealing the Boys and Calves,”

TEXT 50

candrikā-viśada-smeraiḥ

sāruṇāpāṅga-vīkṣitaiḥ

svakārthānām iva rajaḥ-

sattvābhyāṁ sraṣṭṛ-pālakāḥ

COMMENT

So, you know the story that Lord Brahma became bewildered by Krishna’s appearance as a simple cowherd boy, and he wanted to test Krishna by stealing all the cowherd boys and calves when they were in the Vrindavan forest, having their lunch. And Krishna understood that if He returned to the Vrindavan village without the cowherd boys and calves, all the parents of the boys and the calves would be in great anxiety. So, he expanded himself into a duplicate set of cowherd boys and calves. And just as everyone in this room is individual, no two persons in this room are the same, your physical features, your mentality, your voices, your speech, everything about you is unique and individual. So, Krishna expanded Himself and was exactly like every one of the cowherd boys and the calves that Lord Brahma had stolen. So, that was also Krishna’s mercy because He knew that within their hearts, all the parents of the cowherd boys loved Krishna even more than their own children. So, for one year, they actually got Krishna as their son.

And the young gopīs, they had also wanted to have a relationship with Krishna, and to fulfill their desire, yoga-māyā, in the form of Paurnamasi who is an elderly brahman lady in Vraja and respected as the authority, a śikṣā-guru for all the vrajavāsīs. So, she announced that, “This is a very good time to get all the girls married, so you should arrange for their marriage to the boys during this period.” So, all the cowherd boys that got married were actually Krishna. So, after a year of our time, which was just a moment of Lord Brahma’s time, he realized that he made a mistake, he should not have done what he did. So, he went back to the scene of the lunchtime picnic that Krishna was having with the cowherd boys, and he saw that they were all there exactly as they were before he had stolen all the cowherd boys and calves. So, then he went to see if he still had the ones that he took away, and he thought they were there, and then he came back, he saw they were still in the original place and he became bewildered. And then Krishna manifested Himself, He was already playing the parts of the cowherd boys, as Vishnu forms, and Vishnu was the immediate master of Lord Brahma. And so, he saw that all these cowherd boys were actually his master, Lord Vishnu. And as he looked at those Vishnu forms, he was getting many nice realizations. And so, this verse that I just read, it is a description of these Vishnu forms.

TRANSLATION

Those Viṣṇu forms, by Their pure smiling, which resembled the increasing light of the moon, and by the sidelong glances of Their reddish eyes, created and protected the desires of Their own devotees, as if by the modes of passion and goodness.

COMMENT

Well, passion creates, and goodness maintains. This is transcendental. But by the glances of these Vishnu forms, He created and protected the desires as the living forms of their devotees. So, I thought of that when seeing this temple that was Srila Prabhupada’s desire.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Those Viṣṇu forms blessed the devotees with Their clear glances and smiles, which resembled the increasingly full light of the moon (śreyaḥ-kairava-candrikā-vitaraṇam).

COMMENT

So, their smiles were like the increasing light of the full moon, which is also like saṅkīrtana. So, saṅkīrtana is also a manifestation of Vishnu, of Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

As maintainers, They glanced upon Their devotees, embracing them and protecting them by smiling. Their smiles resembled the mode of goodness, protecting all the desires of the devotees, and the glancing of Their eyes resembled the mode of passion. Actually, in this verse the word rajaḥ means not “passion” but “affection.” In the material world, rajo-guṇa is passion, but in the spiritual world it is affection. In the material world, affection is contaminated by rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa, but in the śuddha-sattva the affection that maintains the devotees is transcendental.

The word svakārthānām refers to great desires. As mentioned in this verse, the glance of Lord Viṣṇu creates the desires of the devotees. A pure devotee, however, has no desires. Therefore Sanātana Gosvāmī comments that because the desires of devotees whose attention is fixed on Kṛṣṇa have already been fulfilled, the Lord’s sidelong glances create variegated desires in relation to Kṛṣṇa and devotional service.

COMMENT

In other words, devotees have no desires, they are niṣkāma. They have no personal desires because all their desires are fulfilled by being fixed in Krishna consciousness. Like Satyavrata Muni in Dāmodarāṣṭakam says “Let your form manifest in my mind. What use are any other conditions?” That is all that the devotee wants. So, when it says that the Lord created desires in his devotees, they were not material desires, but they were transcendental desires for the service of the Lord. The impersonalists cannot understand such transcendental desires.

PURPORT (continued)

Thus the word svakārthānām refers to eagerness to serve Kṛṣṇa.

In Vṛndāvana there is a place where there was no temple, but a devotee desired, “Let there be a temple and sevā, devotional service.” Therefore, what was once an empty corner has now become a place of pilgrimage. Such are the desires of a devotee.

COMMENT

Well, this was a bit of a conglomeration between an orphanage and classes. . . What was once a conglomeration of various little activities, has become a place of comfort. And Juhu, what was once an empty field that the local people used to use to distill illicit liquor in the bushes, that has become a place of pilgrimage. And same with Vrindavan, same with Mayapur. From the beginning, Srila Prabhupada wanted to get land in Mayapur, he faced a lot of opposition, and it took some time. But in the end, we got the land and established the first temple there. And in so many places, London, New York, Los Angeles. So, yes.

PURPORT (concluded)

There is a place where there was no temple, but a devotee desired, “Let there be a temple and sevā, devotional service.” Therefore, what was once an empty corner has now become a place of pilgrimage. Such are the desires of a devotee.

COMMENT

So, every day, Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha, Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Giridhari Gopal, They see us, and They glance upon us, and They smile at us. And that is creating spiritual desires within us, and they are protecting our spiritual desires. And we just have to surrender to Their causeless mercy. And as H.H Radhanath often says, we become instruments for Their love, which you are doing. And by these programs, by these discussions, we hope that those desires will be intensified, and our service will be accelerated. And our desires, following Srila Prabhupada’s desires and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s desires will also create many places of pilgrimage. And a devotee can also be a place of pilgrimage. So, by creating devotees, we are creating places of pilgrimage.

I happened to be in London for Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, and one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, Dhananjaya dasa, who was the temple president in Vrindavan, he spoke about his interactions with Srila Prabhupada. And he had read in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that there was a mountain of gold in the Himalayas, and he asked Srila Prabhupada if he knew where that mountain of gold was, and Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, I do.” So, Dhananjaya Prabhu said, “I would like you to tell me where it is.” [laughter] He was a very new devotee; I think he had been initiated. . . He met Prabhupada six days before, so he was very new. He said, “Well, Srila Prabhupada, I would like you to tell me where that mountain is so I can go there. I don’t need a lot. [laughter] I will just chisel out a few kilos of gold. It will help. I can see the devotees are struggling for Lakshmi, and I just bring back a few kilos of gold and it will help the movement.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “If you did that, it could be controversial.”

Now, Srila Prabhupada didn’t elaborate on what he meant, but Dhananjaya Prabhu conjectured, maybe that mountain was somewhere on the border of India and China. [laughter] So, he was imagining, that if he went and started chiseling away, it would be controversial. So, Prabhupada said, “No, I am not going to tell you.” [laughter] And then he said, “But more valuable than gold are devotees. So, if you make devotees, that will be much more valuable than any amount of gold.” [applause]

So, yes, definitely Krishna’s mercy is flowing, His temples are being manifest, [Unintelligible 00:25:06] devotees are being manifest, and the Lord is smiling and glancing, and you are also smiling. [laughter] So, I am very glad I got this opportunity. I am scheduled to leave for Vrindavan tomorrow, but I will be back in January, and I am hoping to spend some good time with all of you.

Devotees: Haribol!

Giriraj Swami: That is my desire. [laughter] Man proposes and God disposes. Based on what we read, I don’t know about my desire, but if the devotees desire, it should be fulfilled. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Haribol! [applause]

Giriraj Swami: Are there any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Thank you so much, Maharaja, for giving us this class. Maharaja, in the past we have heard from senior devotees like Mahaprabhu and Srinathji who spoke earlier about Prabhupada’s mission. Basically my question is how can one develop unflinching faith and determination to serve despite all the setback that we face, individually and collectively serving Srila Prabhupada and guru’s mission? How can we develop unflinching faith and sustain it in our service to guru and Krishna? Please kindly enlighten us.

Giriraj Swami: Well, as Srila Prabhupada says quoting the Bhagavad-gītā, saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ, desire develops by association. And that strong desire to serve guru and Gauranga, that also develops by association. So, if you associate with such devotees, that determination will come in you. And the other side of it is that you have to take up the order of the spiritual master, the order, which comes through paramparā as one’s life and soul, without consideration of personal gain or loss. When Srila Prabhupada discussed how he took up the instruction of his spiritual master, he said it was very difficult. When he was in householder life, he would have dreams that his guru Maharaja was calling him to leave the home and come out and follow him. And Srila Prabhupada had been thinking that he would stay in grihastha ashram and earn lakshmi and contribute. So, when he would wake up from the dream, he explained that he would have a horrible feeling that, “Oh, guru Maharaja wants me to leave home, how can I leave home? How can I leave my family? How can I accept so much difficulty?” But eventually, while reading Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā verse, vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana, he read that one should take the instructions of one’s spiritual master as one’s life and soul, and take it up without consideration of personal gain or loss. So, he did that. The way he describes it, he was reluctant, but his guru Maharaja forced him. And recalling that mercy of his guru Maharaja he would say that one who surrenders to Krishna is not the looser, but he gains so many times.

So, we have our little versions of Srila Prabhupada’s great test and great achievement. We all have our little comfort zones, which are like our hearth and home, and we may be called to leave that comfort zone and take a little risk. Not like Prabhupada did and suffered two heart attacks on the ship, arriving in New York and no one to meet him. But on our scale, we have our little tests, our little challenges, are we going to give up this comfortable situation and go forward in our devotional service to start the movement and accelerate our own advancement? And as we pass tests, just like in school, you pass one test and you get the next one, that one is a little higher level, and you pass that and you get the next one. And the final test is the time of death. We are all going to face that. Are we going to be able to remember Krishna at the time of death, take shelter of Krishna? Or at the last minute, are we going to try to grasp for some other shelter? So, that is our constant challenge, are we going to take shelter of Krishna, or some other shelter? And it is good practice, it is the practice leading up to the final destination. And the association can help.

Of course, Srila Prabhupada gave the example that, you know, birds have to fly by their own strength, but that strength really means the strength of our desire, the purity of our purpose. And that is influenced by association. But yes, it is a very good question. It is a challenge that we all have. And one thing I found in studying the life of devotees who were leaving their bodies, is that if they don’t pass the test right away, Krishna will give them another chance. Again, it may not be a universal principle, but definitely, Krishna wants us to pass the test. Prabhupada said that Krishna’s more eager for us to come back home, back to Godhead than we can imagine. Most people are not at all interested to go back home back to Godhead. So, I have seen in some cases that the devotee would have a health crisis, but wasn’t quite ready to pass that test, wasn’t quite able to think of Krishna, was not able to take full shelter of Krishna. And so, in many cases, Krishna allows the devotee to live longer and sort of learn from that experience and make some adjustments. And then another test. And then, at least in these cases, very fortunate souls, when their final test came, they were quite well prepared.

So, it is good we have these tests, sometimes we get pop quizzes. [laughter] Something comes up we weren’t expecting at all, and then, are we going to take shelter of Krishna or not? So, they are all Krishna’s arrangements to help us progress. If He wants us to pass the test, He also wants us to spread the movement, and in the end, He wants us to come back to Him. Hare Krishna.

So, I look forward to seeing you next time. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Devotee: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!