Principles for Effective Chanting, Putrada-ekadasi

Bhurijana Prabhu: [Referring to Jagattarini devi dasi]. . . began, was initiated by Srila Prabhupada. She was an actress. But not Bollywood and not Hollywood, but she was an actress in Australia. And then, on the first day, she visited the temple in Los Angeles on her way from Australia to London for the world opening of her latest movie. This was in 1970, so many years ago, she visited the temple, and Srila Prabhupada was there. And then, the devotees said, “Why don’t we go on saṅkīrtana?” which meant chanting Hare Krishna in the street. And Mataji went on saṅkīrtana and chanted Hare Krishna in the street with so many devotees, and she never left the temple.

Devotees: Haribol!

Bhurijana Prabhu: And her luggage is still waiting for her at Heathrow Airport. And at that time, I was in Japan. Srila Prabhupada personally asked me to go to Japan and help with the preaching, in 1969. And somehow or another, as Prabhupada later said that he arranged our marriage. But she was sent from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, and we met in Hong Kong. And our marriage was arranged. Now, raise your hand if your marriage was arranged. Raise your hand if your marriage was arranged, and you have been married for more than forty years. Okay! Yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:02:34] of an arranged marriage in bhakti more than forty years?

Bhurijana Prabhu: Yes, it is. Yes, okay. But one time, when I was in Los Angeles, which is of a different mood than in India, one devotee who I was walking with said, “How long have you been married?” So at that time, I said, “Twenty-five years.” And they said, “Oh, that is nice. To the same person?” This is actually a true story. But in any case, our marriage was arranged, but before she left Los Angeles, some newspaper reporters from Australia found that she was living in the Los Angeles Temple, so they came and interviewed her. And after some time – I was living in Japan at that time, and she was in Los Angeles, but our marriage was arranged. And then, after some time—Should I tell this?

Jagattarini Mataji: You have already begun.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Yes, I have to finish it. It was a nice man reporter, but she told the reporter, “Please present things nicely. Don’t quote everything improperly.” And the reporter agreed, “Yes,” and the article came out in Australia, and it was actually a reasonable article. But then, the way they advertise newspapers in Australia, in those days they would take the headlines of a type of a newspaper, and they would just put the headlines and advertise with that. So one day, her mother was walking down the street in Australia, and she sees the headline—"Weird Sect Forces Famous Movie Actress to Marry Japanese Monk.” And then her mother is walking down the street, and she sees the newspaper article. And she says, “Oh, that looks interesting.” And she looks inside, and it is her daughter. Later on, her mother and father, who were very pious, they met Srila Prabhupada. And every time Srila Prabhupada would see Jagattarini Mataji, he would always ask, after that time, “How is your mother? How is your father?” And they both ended up chanting japa on beads and very special souls; the whole family.

You asked me to introduce her, Jagattarini Mataji. Who is very tired, too, because we just came back from Kenya, just a few days ago. And there were some classes. Would you like to say anything? Not to introduce me, though.

Jagattarini Mataji: No, no. You always introduced me.

Bhurijana Prabhu: And also, the stories that she would tell are not as funny and exciting as the ones I told about her. So now, as I have introduced her, I followed your. . .

Giriraj Swami: You sort of introduced yourself without any biographical details, but I think everyone already feels very close to you. Now you can discuss whatever you like.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Well, because it is Ekādaśī, raise your hand if you are following Ekādaśī vrata, today. Yes. Okay. So, what I would like to do is chant some japa with everyone, and then, as we are chanting. . .What is your name?

Devotee: Bianca.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Bianca? Ooh. Is that already prasādam?

Devotee: This is from Radharani [Unintelligible 00:08:18]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Now, of course, there are different levels of chanting japa, and the best level, of course, evaṁ-vrataḥ sva-priya-nāma-kīrtyā. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained that this verse was the essence of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which explains that a devotee, while chanting Krishna’s names, experiences the presence of Krishna and loka-bāhyaḥ, doesn’t care at all for outsiders. And he laughs experiencing Krishna’s presence; he cries experiencing the absence of Krishna; he falls to the ground; he dances. This was actually the mood that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited as he chanted Krishna’s names. And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was exhibiting the perfect behavior, the exemplary behavior for one aspiring to elevate himself to the highest consciousness. Everything that Mahaprabhu did, we can emulate. Of course, we can’t imitate, but we can emulate. So, that is the perfection of chanting—to experience the presence of Krishna. But when I chant, so many times, most of the time, I experience simply the presence of my own mind. So, whether we are just beginning chanters or the most expert of chanters, chanting on the platform of śuddha-nāma, of prema’-nāma, pure loving devotional service—we still should chant Krishna’s names. And we should chant as best we can, on the highest level we are able to.

So, the first principle is to chant Krishna’s names. And a second principle in regard to that is when it is time to chant japa, we have to make a determination, a saṅkalpa, and that is, while I am chanting at this particular time, no matter how busy my life is—- when I am chanting my japa at this particular time, I have nothing else to do. We have to make that decision. “I have nothing else to do now.” Because if we don’t make that decision, our mind, when it starts saṅkalpa, vikalpa, accepting, rejecting so many things, we will fall into accepting that this, whatever my mind tells me, this is what I have to do right now. But now, we have to make the determination, the saṅkalpa, the decision that, “I have nothing else to do right now.” Does anyone else have something else to do now if we are going to chant japa for a few minutes? Do you have something else to do? Well, if you do, go and do it, because we are going to chant japa. So, make that determination. So, I would just like to explain a few simple principles that I pray will help you in your japa chanting. And how many principles did I just name?

Devotee: Ten.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just now? What was one? Raise your hands, please, because we are all teachers here, and we will make those who don’t raise their hands—there is so many corners. Okay, name one principle. Mataji?

Mataji: We chant as best we can.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Okay, we chant as best we can. Thank you very much. Another principle?

Devotee: I have nothing else to do, now.

Bhurijana Prabhu: I have nothing else to do. Nothing else to do, and third is, be determined. You have to make a determination on this point, a saṅkalpa. Very good, thank you. And then, a next simple principle—and we will explain two more, but this is the first of the two more. If we have already explained three, and we are going to explain two more—how many will we explain in total?

Devotees: Five.

Bhurijana Prabhu: You all go to the corners. I was asking one Prabhu over here, and I bet you all did that without taking out your mobile phones. That is very good. Three plus two is?

Devotee: Five.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Right. Do you remember the first three principles? Would you be able to repeat them? Would you remember one of them? Would you?

Devotee: I have nothing else to do.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Okay, do you remember one? The same one—when we are chanting japa, do you have other things to do that you should be doing?

Devotee: No.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very good. Two very good students. I taught gurukula for quite a few years, and when I see such nice young children, I become very happy. Nice devotees. So, the fourth principle that I would like to say, is when we try to chant—and if you would like to say something on this point, you can, I could give a long explanation, but I will explain it in brief. Keep your goal, very simple, not to listen to all the mantras you chant, not to listen to one whole round’s worth, but just if you can hear one mantra. If you can actually connect with Krishna’s names, avina tvam nāma-nāmānaḥ, by the hearing process. If you can actually just hear one mantra, you are so fortunate. That is the fourth principle. And the fifth is, if you can, you can remember Srila Prabhupada’s first translation of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, or the essence of it; is that “O Krishna, O Lord, O Energy of the Lord, O Hare, O Srimati Radharani, please accept me as your servant.” Expanding that meaning is that, “I have tried to be a master, an enjoyer, for so many days, for so many years, and for so many lives, and two things I have noted: First, I am not satisfied, and I am not happy by my attempt.” And this is something that, perhaps, the children and the youth cannot understand as clearly and deeply as those who are older in years, is that actually speaking, we try and we try and try to manipulate the material energy to make us happy, to enjoy, but we cannot. The anticipation of the pleasure is great, but the actual pleasure is flickering, like water on a lotus leaf, said the poet Govinda dasa. “So Krishna, my dear Krishna, my dear Srimati Radharani, I have tried for so many days and months and years, and even lives, to enjoy, but now I want to serve You. Please accept me as Your servant.” That is number five.

So by our free will, by my willpower, I can’t just decide, if my consciousness isn’t right, I can’t just decide, “Now I sincerely want to only serve Krishna, and all my material desires are now finished.” But if we can chant on that level, not chant on that level meaning two things going on when we chant, but infuse—what is the word for infuse in Hindi? I used to know it. Infused, it is like you take sugar and water and put them together, and it is not that you have two things, sugar and water, but it becomes sugary water. What is the word in Hindi? Yes, but ‘infuse’ is the word I like. Okay, but you get the idea that you don’t have two things anymore. So it is not that I am chanting and thinking, but the chanting should be mixed with the mood of calling to Krishna. I can’t do that mechanically, but if that mood comes to me, then I should chant with that mood. But below that mood, something that we can all do just by desiring to do it, willing to do it, is try to hear one mantra. We can make the attempt, as much as he said, we can try our best to hear one mantra. And if we can actually associate with the maha-mantra with our consciousness, by hearing, we are so fortunate because we are associating with Krishna. It is possible. Kamsa was right in front of Krishna, but his consciousness was so different that he saw Krishna as death personified. So the devotee, at least, we should try to hear, and we should be determined to do that. Okay, I won’t speak anymore now. Raise your hand if you have japa-mala with you. Okay, and if you don’t have japa-mala, it is okay, but just try to sit comfortably. And this is the Ekādaśī, so I feel very fortunate that I will be able to have some concentrated chanting, right now. Will you try also? Will you try your best? What is your name?

Devotee: Rasanatha

Bhurijana Prabhu: Rasanatha. What is yours?

Prahlada: Prahlada.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Prahlada? And there was a little girl sitting there before. What is your name? Priyanka! Very nice. Will you sit with your mother? Okay. Will you try to chant also, Priyanka?

Priyanka: Yes.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Thank you. Will you try to chant, please, Prahlada?

Prahlada: Yes.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Thank you. Now first, we make a saṅkalpa, And the saṅkalpa is, “I am going to try to chant the best I can, and I have nothing else to do now, and let me at least try to hear.” And then, we should pray for some mercy from our guru Maharaja, from the Vaishnavas, from Srila Prabhupada, from Sri Pancha-tattva, and ask for some special help. And also, we can think of our favorite Deity. Raise your hand if you have one Deity that is most favorite to you and most dear to you. What is the Deity that is most dear to you?

Devotee: Ugra Nṛsiṁhadeva.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Ugra Nṛsiṁhadeva. Yes! Yes, Mataji. Hare Krishna. You are well? 

Mataji: Yes, Jagannatha Deity.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Jagannatha. Yes.

Devotee: Radha-Ramanji.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Woah, wonderful. Who else?

Devotee: Radha-Gopinatha.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Woah! Radha-Gopinatha. Yes?

Devotee: Radha-Shyamasundara.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Oh! Okay. Keep the form of your Lords in your mind. Can you do that? And then take shelter, as I say, try to be as sincere as you practically can, and accept that I have nothing else to do now. And as we are chanting, I will speak a little bit into the microphone every now and then, but don’t stop chanting to listen, but just let my words reinforce your chanting. Just try to. And if you can hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra, especially on this holy day, mādhava-tithi, bhakti-jananī, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says. By mādhava-tithi, he meant the Ekadasi, specifically the day that is very dear to Lord Madhava. And bhakti-jananī means that bhakti takes birth on this day very easily. You have nothing else to do. Okay. Because the way that the mind is, is that if you don’t actually accept this, at least I see with myself, my mind will find something else to do. What will it find to do? Anything. And the nature of the mind is, it will take something insignificant, and for a few moments, it will seem like the only important thing in existence. And then later on, having been tricked by the mind, I will see that it actually, in fact, was not even important at all to do it right now. So, while we are chanting japa, nothing will happen without this saṅkalpa, this determined effort. So, is everyone ready?

Devotees: Yes!

Bhurijana Prabhu: Okay. So please take shelter of guru, Vaishnavas, Srila Prabhupada, Pancha-tattva, your favorite Deity, and then just begin chanting and try to hear the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. If you can hear one mantra, you are so fortunate.

Devotees: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

Bhurijana Prabhu: You can chant at whatever speed you want. . .

[Chanting] 

Bhurijana Prabhu: Loudly, softly, but not too loudly, because there are so many devotees.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very nice chanting. Very good.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Nothing else to do now, except—nothing else to do now except chant. And if you can hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra you are so fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just try your best. Just try to associate with Krishna through the sound vibration by hearing. Prahlada. . .Good.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you could hear one mantra, one Hare Krishna maha-mantra, you are so fortunate. Try your best, but be determined.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Keep your goal very simple. One mantra—if you can hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra you are so fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Be determined. If your mind wanders, never mind. Just bring it back to the simple goal of associating with Krishna in the form of His holy name by hearing.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just try to be with Krishna in the form of His holy name. If you can do that, you can be with Him in any time or any place. The doors of this temple never close.

[Chanting]

etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi
durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: You can ask, or even beg Krishna to help you. Infusing that mood in your chanting, but be determined. You have nothing else to do now. Just try your best. Hare Krishna. And if you can hear one mantra you are so fortunate. 

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very nice chanting. Prahlada? Hare Rama Hare Rama. Just try to hear, or if you can infuse your chanting with our begging Krishna to be able to associate with Him. That is wonderful. Or, with the mood of serving Him, “Please accept me as Your servant.” Just try to hear.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: You have nothing else to do now. Be very determined about that. This is such an opportunity to associate with Krishna in the form of His holy name.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just try your best. 

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you could hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra you are so fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you can chant with a begging mood from Krishna; humble mood – a humble mood. Allow me to serve You. Allow me to associate with You in the form of Your holy name. So fortunate! Just try your best. And if your mind wanders, never mind. Just try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you can hear one mantra – If you hear one mantra you are so fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: You have nothing else to do now. Be very determined on that one point, and then try your best to be with Krishna in the form of His holy names with your consciousness. The process is hearing.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Try your best. Be determined on this one point that now I will try my best for this short time we have together. It is such a rare thing to sit together on an Ekādaśī with nothing else to do—We are so fortunate—except to be all together with Krishna. Just try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If your mind wanders, just bring it back – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna – to the simple goal of trying to be with Krishna in the form of His holy name. If you can hear one mantra you are very fortunate. Try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: And then, if you could hear another one – if you can hear one mantra—What to speak if you infuse it with the mood of service.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: The attempt itself is glorious! We may be successful; we may not. But the attempt is glorious to trying to be with Krishna in the mood of service.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very nice chanting—both of you – very nice chanting.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Keep it very simple – your goal. Just try to hear the sound vibration and be with Krishna in that way.

[Chanting] 

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you find yourself calling out to Krishna for His mercy in service, you are very fortunate. O Lord, O Energy of the Lord, please accept me as Your servant. I want to serve You.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Thank you for sincerely trying your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Okay. Why don’t we just stop for a moment. Just stop for a few moments, and I would like to thank you for your – Of course, it is difficult late at night also, and everyone tends to be a bit tired at night, but still trying so hard; trying your best, and I want to say something about Krishna; the person, but I am not sure what I should say. I am not sure what pastime. What time is it, now?

Devotee: Twenty minutes to eight.

Bhurijana Prabhu: To eight? If you would chant or think of your favorite Deity, the Deity that is yours, who gives you the most shelter, and you should pray to that Deity, right now with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and you could bring offerings. But while you are doing that, I am going to think what pastime I would like to tell you about Krishna. But you do that while I think or consult. But you do that. You think of your Deity, and you chant to your Deity, and pray to your Deity, or the Deity where you find the most shelter. Will you do that? How old are you?

Uddhava: Twelve. 

Bhurijana Prabhu: Twelve? You are very big. Powerful. What is your name?

Uddhava: Uddhava.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Uddhava. Who is Uddhava?

Uddhava: He is Krishna’s friend.

Bhurijana Prabhu: From where?

Uddhava: Vrindavan.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Do you know where he was first? Where was he?

Uddhava: [Unintelligible]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Yes. First he was in Mathura. And then, Krishna moved all of the residents of Mathura to Dvaraka; Uddhava, of course, came with him. Do you know what Uddhava means?

Uddhava: If someone asked me, I would say, he was Krishna’s friend.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Yes, but do you know what the special meaning of Uddhava is? It means that he who is a festival and increases everyone’s happiness just being with that person. Because Uddhava was sent by Krishna to Vrindavan. Does anyone know what Chapter of the Tenth Canto this took place in? Where Krishna sent. . .Does anyone know?

Devotee: Chapter Eleven.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Good, good try, but not exactly the right answer. I will give you a hint. You are ready for the hint? It is two chapters after the killing of Kamsa, and the killing of Kamsa was the chapter after the Forty-third Chapter.

Devotee: Chapter Forty-Six.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Jaya! You will go into IT, perhaps. Because, see, right after Kamsa was killed, which was one of the most amazing pastimes, because so much of Krishna’s Vrindavan līlā is connected to Kamsa, because when Srila Vasudeva took Krishna across the Yamuna, Vasudeva, Krishna, across the Yamuna, it was to avoid Kamsa killing the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva. In the Bhāgavatam, Srila Jiva Gosvami, he translates: janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ, is that Krishna is abhijñaḥ and svarāṭ. He knows everything and He is completely independent. So immediately after His birth, He wanted to go to Vrindavan, because there the great vrajavāsī devotees, they were waiting for Him to perform His childhood pastimes. But then, months after Krishna’s birth and being in Vrindavan, immediately Pūtanā was sent by Kamsa to kill all the children. Kamsa was such a demon to protect himself from death, which is inevitable, he was willing to do such evil things as kill every innocent child. He was willing to kill his own sister. But one can’t stop one’s passing away, one’s death. But yet, he was willing to kill so many just to stop something that is not stoppable. This is the demonic nature, and Kamsa was a demon. And the fact that Kamsa was demonic, it proved itself, again as we said before, that when he was face to face with Krishna, who the residents of Vrindavan saw in such a loving way, and the Mathura vāsīs saw him in such a loving way, Kamsa and the wrestlers saw Him such as if He was the most dangerous. Kamsa again saw Him as death personified. The wrestlers perceived Krishna as a thunderbolt, because a thunderbolt has the capacity to break anything, Vajra. So he sent Pūtanā. Who was the next asura that Kamsa sent? Who was the next one who attacked?

Devotee: Śakaṭāsura.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Śakaṭāsura. Śakaṭāsura noticed that the form of Pūtanā came in a beautiful form, even though she herself had a horrendous, terrible form, she came in a beautiful form, and she was killed. So, Śakaṭāsura thought that, I will come in a formless way, and that way I will kill Krishna. I will be able to approach Him, and then he entered into the cart. And then he is known as Śakaṭāsura. But little Krishna, they had a festival when Krishna turned over for the first time. The unlimitedly powerful Supreme Lord, turned over for the first time, and they held a festival. And that Śakaṭāsura entered the cart because Mother Yasoda had placed Krishna under a cart to protect Him from the sun while the festival was going on, and she was greeting all the guests and taking care of everyone. And that Śakaṭāsura entered the cart, and it came down. The weight of this demon entering the cart came down, and then Krishna, who was turned over, He just kicked.

Now, how much power does a little three-month-old baby have with its kicking, with its soft, tender body of a three-year-old? So Krishna, in His nara-līlā, had an all-powerful form, but it was in the form of just this little, most beautiful, attractive, sweetest, sweet baby, who had charmed everyone in Vraja, and no one in Vraja could think or talk about anything but Krishna, cause His lotus eyes and His curling hair. And with those tender feet, He kicked that cart, and immediately everything was scattered everywhere. And because there was so many brass cooking utensils hooked on that cart, it made such a sound, and everyone came running because they were fearful of something happening to Krishna. And this is the difference between a conditioned soul and someone who is qualified to be in Vrindavan, is that when we hear a great sound and the pots are all falling, we think, oh maybe one of my pots is bent, or maybe it is going to land on my car, or something like that. And it is the very nature of false ego is that everything is centered around me, and therefore there must be dissension in this world. There must be dissension because of false ego—What does dissension mean? Hindi word for dissension?

Devotee: Disagreement.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Disagreement. Another word. Quarrel, fighting, quarreling. There must be this, because false ego forces, forces us to think of ourselves as the center. And what Krishna- which means basically that we have our back turned to Krishna. And what Prabhupada always told us is that Krishna should be the center; that Krishna should be the object of love is the purpose of the Krishna Consciousness movement to spread that message. One time, I mentioned this when we were in Kenya. I was remembering that when I was in Hong Kong, when we were in Hong Kong, there was one devotee who came to visit, a sannyasi. And he had come from India, serving in India, and Prabhupada had actually sent him to China to preach. But you couldn’t get into China at that time at all, so he decided to go to the Philippines to preach. He was a sannyasi, very strong type of person, and he was going to go alone. And I thought that he shouldn’t go alone. At that time, I had the amazing good fortune of going from Hong Kong to Japan by Srila Prabhupada. So I had asked Srila Prabhupada if anyone from here or from Japan or in his party could go along with this sannyasi, because I didn’t think it was a good idea that he would just go by himself. So I suggested one devotee, one of Prabhupada’s servants, who had taken sannyasa. And Prabhupada knew that he wasn’t very strong.

So then, as we were walking one day, and it was raining, and I remember the scene very clearly, because in Japan, there were these wooden houses—this was many years ago—and it was raining, and the rain was falling off the roof of the house, and we were walking underneath the veranda. And Prabhupada said, “How about (another sannyasi) going?” He mentioned the name of someone. And I knew that devotee very well, and I knew that devotee very well. And this one was very, very strong. And that one was very, very strong. And I thought, That isn’t going to work. But Prabhupada had just suggested it. And he was asking me what I thought. So I said, “No, I don’t think it is a good idea.” He asked me. So he said, “Why?” And I thought, How am I going to politely say this to Prabhupada. So I said, “Prabhupada, I think they will have a difficult time deciding who is going to surrender to who.” Is that tactful or something? And I was walking behind Prabhupada, and he stopped and turned and he said, “It doesn’t make a difference who surrenders to who.” And then he turned around and kept walking. Now think about that, because with my false ego and my mind, I am thinking I really know, and he, doesn’t agree with me sometimes. Oh. No, not you. I am talking about this: With false ego, I am thinking I know everything, and this person doesn’t know, and on and on, and everyone should do things my way, etc., etc. And the reality is, if I do it this way, maybe this way is a little bit better than that way, but generally speaking, it is just one person’s view and another person’s view. But false ego causes quarrels. In Kali-yuga this quarrel is over everything. Everything! People are willing. So in the Twelfth Canto of the Bhāgavatam, it describes that over a coin, a coin, family members, brothers are willing to fight and become mortal enemies. Mortal means killing each other, practically. If not indeed, won’t talk to each other; they will talk badly about each other. This is Kali-yuga, this is the kingdom of false ego, where everyone is convinced they are the center, although no one is satisfied with that imaginary concept that I am the center.

So that is what Prabhupada said. And consider that when you next time you are having a big important disagreement with one devotee or another devotee. Is it really worth it? Because words, ill-spoken words, really pierce the heart, and one doesn’t forget them. This is the message of. . .Bhāgavatam also makes this point. I can’t remember where, now, but words are like arrows that pierce the heart, and the wound of sharp words. I have had children, not children anymore, but when I taught, and then the children grew up. And that is something when you are a young teacher, you don’t know that they are going to grow up, you don’t actually know that very deeply. And then, I have had children, ex-children, twenty years later, tell me, “Do you remember when this happened, and you said this to me, and this to me, and this to me?” And, ”No, I actually can’t remember saying that to you,” but they remembered. We should be very careful with the words that we use with each other, because they are in there for ten years, twenty years, thirty years, forty years sometimes, and piercing wounds in the heart, and we keep them. So, I was telling something about Krishna, wasn’t I?

Do you know what it was? There was something about the cart. Yes, there is a cart, and Krishna’s lotus feet kicked the cart. Oh yes, now I remember. Thank you, by your mercy. That the residents of Vrindavan are completely different than conditioned souls, because when they hear a sound or anything disturbing or anything good, they have one thought, and that is of Krishna, because they have no false ego. They are living in their actual life as servant of Krishna, and that is the qualification for being in Vrindavan. One has to be in love with Krishna, and one’s consciousness has to be fully focused on Him. And therefore, when we chant, even though it is sometimes difficult to focus on Krishna, sometimes it is too hot, sometimes there are noises coming from the sky and the walls, and it is hard to focus on Krishna. So in Vrindavan, this is the special characteristics of Vraja, that everyone is in agreement on this one point: that Krishna is everything for us. So, when we are chanting our japa, we don’t imitate the residents of Vrindavan, but we make the attempt to turn from being a conditioned soul, to Krishna. And that, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami in Bhakti-sandarbha, is the very purpose of sādhana-bhakti. The going from bhaya mukhe to samukhe, from facing, having our back turned to Krishna. I will show you something. Now, what I am going to do—I am going to tell you what I am going to do, I am going to turn my back on you, and tell me how it feels. And I am just doing a teacher’s experiment over here, but this will make it even more graphic on that. How did you feel?

Devotee: Very nice.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very nice? Come on. How did that feel?! How did that feel?! Salty, even? How did you feel?

Devotee: Insulting.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Did I insult you, Prabhu? I am so sorry, I was only playing just to make a point. And the point was, we see things always from our point of view, but with our back turned to Krishna, that is how He feels. And that is actually what aparādha, in a simple way, means. It means insulting. So when we chant our japa, the attempt is to turn towards Krishna. And even though we may do it imperfectly, if we are trying our best, to sincerely turn to Krishna, Krishna is bhāva-grāhī janārdana. What does that mean?

Devotee: It means, accepts our affection.

Bhurijana Prabhu: bhāva-grāhī. . .It is a name of Krishna. What does it mean, Mataji?

Mataji: He accepts the feelings and emotions more than—

Bhurijana Prabhu: The essential point—that you are trying. He accepts that. That is what He accepts. So now, we will chant again for a few minutes, and just try your best, and think that Krishna is so powerful, with His soft lotus feet, He kicks the cart. And He is very kind. There is one commentary by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in the Twelfth Canto of the Bhāgavatam that if someone is passing away from this world, dying, and he thinks about Krishna, then He will bring him home. That is the verse. Then, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments on the verse. He asked the question, “Well, why would He do that?” You are just thinking about Him one time. Why would He bring you home; bring you to His own abode, parāṁ gatim. And also ātmā-bhāvanā, He will even bestow upon you your spiritual form. So Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura asked the question, “Why would He do that for so little, give so much?” And he said, “What is the difficulty for Krishna? He is so magnanimous by nature.” Magnanimous means?

Devotee: Udaar.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Udaar. Yes, exactly; generous. He wants to give. He wants to give Himself to us. Do you actually believe that? Not to answer to me; to answer to yourself. And while you are chanting, you will see how much you believe it. So please, make the attempt to turn towards Krishna when we chant, right now. You can chant on the level of hearing the mantra. If you can do that, wonderful. And if you can chant on the level of, “Krishna, please help me,” infusing it, wonderful. And if you can chant on the level of, “Krishna, accept me as Your servant. I need to serve You now,” that is wonderful. And if you can chant on the level of pure love, then do that.

Okay. Is it too much for you? Is it too late at night? Will you be able to try your best now? Okay, we will just chant for a few more minutes. Just try your best. You have nothing else to do now. This is such a special time. Our japa time is such a special time, because it is the time allotted for us to be alone with Krishna. So try your best, and if you can hear one mantra even, you are so fortunate. Just try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: So, we only have – not a long time, but try your best during this few minutes.

[Chanting] 

Bhurijana Prabhu: And you have nothing else to do. Start with that, for these few minutes; nothing else to do.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: This is nice. It opens the heart.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If you can hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra you are so fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Just another few minutes.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Try your best; try to hear the sound vibration of Krishna’s holy names—avina twam nāma nāmanah.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Thank you for trying sincerely. Just another two or three minutes. Try your best. This is a special time. On an Ekādaśī, to have nothing else to do except be with Krishna in the form of His holy names. Try your best.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: If your chanting could have some calling to Krishna, some begging for service, so wonderful.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: You have nothing else to do. Make the determination to try your best. Try your best. Just try your best. Take advantage of this time that we have together.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Beg for Krishna’s help. Beg for the help of Srimati Radharani. Just try your best. If you can hear one mantra, you are very fortunate.

[Chanting]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Okay, thank you very much. Are there any questions? We have a few questions or any comments? Yes, Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Prabhu. Thank you so much. Prabhu, there are two. One is when you chant on your beads and also when you hear kirtan. So, is there a difference? Because, personally, if I hear some really good kirtan, in the sense, sung by Indradyumna Swami or someone who is very senior, when I hear, absolutely doing nothing, that engages my mind much more than on my beads. So, how do I take this?

Bhurijana Prabhu: Thank you. I think that it is very fortunate that the saṅkīrtana, the kirtan, the loud congregational chanting, engages your mind and affects your heart. That is why it is the yuga-dharma, because it is so much easier to become absorbed. Because the point is the absorption. So it is so captivating. But yet, every day, we sit down in our own homes, very often, or in the temple, and there we are with the beads in our hand, and we vow to do this. So the question is, what do we do during that time, and why has that been prescribed for everyone. a minimum of sixteen rounds a day? But why? It is because the holy name is Krishna. So the point being is that if we can somehow or another take advantage of what we are already doing and use that time and understand the incredible value that this is almost like an invitation from Krishna. “This is the time that you can be with Me.” Just try your best. So, that is what we should do. We should try our best, and that is why we have been prescribed to do this. So the fact that the kirtan makes it easy, it means that we should chant kirtan a lot because the melodies stay in our mind, and we chant when we are walking here and there. So that is so wonderful. But when we are chanting japa, we should make our attempt at that time to be with Krishna.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:16:00] I get more distracted. And during kirtan, I am not so distracted as when you are chanting japa.

Bhurijana Prabhu: So what should you do?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:16:14] 

Bhurijana Prabhu: Mahaprabhu speaks about this, durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ “Unfortunate as I am, Krishna is there, but I am so unfortunate that I am attracted to so many things.” So what is the next verse after that verse? What is the next verse after the durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ?

Everyone:

tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

Bhurijana Prabhu: So we should feel very humbled. Why does one feel humble? What causes sometimes we feel humble, sometimes not but what causes a humble feeling?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:17:00]

Bhurijana Prabhu: Or unfortunate. So, that is exactly the point. And then from the seed of that misfortune of not having an attraction to Krishna, being conscious of it, comes the fortune of humility, the blessing of humility. And from that blessing of humility grows prema-bhakti; actual bhakti. Good question. Thank you.

Any other questions? Yes, Prabhu.

Devotee: Thank you to guru Maharaja and Bhurijana Prabhu, and all the Vaishnavas, giving us the opportunity to get the same mood, which we had in the retreat, here in Bombay. I really feel that there is no difference between Govardhana, and the spirit, and also here. Thank you.

Bhurijana Prabhu: That is because Giriraj is here!

[Laughter; Applause]

Devotee: I think that, more than Giriraj Maharaja, the audience’s mood is reflected in the mood of Maharaja. So it goes reciprocated. So the audience are more connected to guru Maharaja; guru Maharaja is more connected to the audience. So it is more reciprocated and more intense than it. And my question is, Prabhu, you would say, we have to concentrate on the chanting of the holy names.

Bhurijana Prabhu: I said that we should try our best.

Devotee: But sometimes, we quote some slokas connected to the chanting. Basically, it is diluting us from. . .

Bhurijana Prabhu: There are many things that we can do that have been prescribed. One is you are holding up a sign of the syllables, and sometimes we like to look at a photograph of the Deities, or we can actually be in front of the Deities. So whether something is working or not, slokas or remembering or prayers, it will reflect back in our chanting, and it will increase our concentration in that chanting. That is why I say it shouldn’t be two things; it should be one thing. Just like when, say. . .Prahlada, where is your mother? I will ask her. Where is Prahlada’s mother? Hare Krishna. Two! Priyanka and Prahlada.

Okay. So, sometimes you are worried about Prahlada. Mothers are always worried about their children. But sometimes you see him doing something, and then, or he is away, and he comes back, and you say, “I am so happy you are back!” But you don’t say that, you say “Prahlada!” So there is the name of Prahlada, and then you are feeling, “I am so happy that you came back,” and it is not one distracts you from the other, rather the feeling makes the intensity of the calling for him, “Prahlada!” or “Prahlada! I am so happy!” The feeling makes your calling for him more absorbed. You are more absorbed in it. So the prayers, the test whether these things are helping you or not helping you—because I have put pictures in front of me, and I use them as this; my mind will catch on to them and distract me from the hearing. But if they are used properly, they are glorious things. But the test of whether it is being used properly or not is whether it helps you and absorbs you, not create a division in your mind between here are the mantras I am chanting and here is the mood I am chanting. So therefore, personally, I try to emphasize the hearing, because that will just increase the absorption if you add these other elements in a proper way. Because there is a tendency to think, Oh, the hearing is the lowest, and prema-bhakti is the highest. Or I should do the highest, because here I am, I am me! So, of course, I should do the highest.

But we should chant on whatever level that we are able to be most absorbed in. And naturally, just as you pointed out, Prabhu, if your mind wanders, then that should give birth to humility. And that humility should give birth to a taking shelter. Humility doesn’t mean, “Oh, I am so bad. I am such a bad devotee,” and continuously thinking about how bad you are. That is not humility at all. That is neurotic behavior, to use a technical term. But humility means that, “I am Krishna’s servant, I am so fallen; please Krishna.“ Humility means taking shelter of Krishna. So we try our best to hear, to chant in an absorbed way. Our mind wanders, and we think, Oh, I need so much help, Krishna. I have no attraction. Oh, Krishna, please help me. But not two things, but one, the mood. So, did I answer your question, too? Thank you, Prabhu. Any other questions or comments? Yes, Prabhu.

Devotee: Normally, we have seen the chanting is very effective in the morning hours. That is the best time to chant. But sometimes, with our routines or schedules, we are not able to manage that. And when we chant at other times of the day. So how do we try to concentrate when in the wrong times, actually.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Well, this was a wrong time, by that definition. So we tried our best. Chanting is best done in the early morning in the brāhma-muhūrta hours, but sometimes that is not so practical. Sometimes we are very tired at that time. So whenever we chant, this principle of trying to hear. . .How many principles did I mention? Do you remember the number?

Devotee: Five.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Very good. I mean, yes, of course, there are many more, and this is just one way to speak about it, but just try your best to be happy with whatever successes you get about hearing. And anytime you are not feeling successful, see if you can turn it into humility and take shelter more. And if you are not able to chant at all very well, at least keep chanting. And if you are not able to, don’t worry, don’t feel discouraged if you can’t do it very well. But if you could hear one mantra, you are so fortunate. Just what we were saying. That would be my suggestion. Other devotees may have even better suggestions, and that is something good to speak about to your mitra. Because you are not the only one who has a difficult schedule. Most of the devotees share that, one responsibility or another. So this is guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati. This is something so nice to talk about with the devotees: How can I improve my japa? I tend to be tired in the morning; I have to chant later in the afternoon or in the evening. Do you have suggestions; your experience? This is a nice thing to talk about. Is that all right?

Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Thank you so much for wonderful instructions on chanting. I have a question related to the same thing, but in a very different manner. In the sense that when we are trying to—like Prabhuji just said, that in the morning times when you can’t chant, but in the morning times, when you have a sevā, and it is every day. It is on a day-to-day basis, and on a daily basis you are doing the service, and you can’t chant during the brāhma-muhūrta. So that means practically, the brāhma-muhūrta period, you are not chanting at all, you are doing the service that you are engaged in. So, the question of chanting, not chanting in the brāhma-muhūrta, of chanting in the brāhma-muhūrta doesn’t arise. You can’t do that. So on an everyday basis, you are chanting your rounds later on, and then you are tired in the morning, and then you have other things that you have to do on a day-to-day basis. So how do you think that. . . it is very disturbing sometimes.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Is this is your situation?

Devotee: Yes, it is my situation.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Oh, the first thing is don’t think you are unfortunate if you have the service of dressing the Deities every single day. What Deities do you dress?

Devotee: Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra-ma. Every day, yes.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Every day! They are the Lord of the Universe! And They have asked you to dress Them. So that the first principle is just say, “I am so. . .”

Devotee: By the mercy of guru Maharaja, and the blessings of guru Maharaja.

Bhurijana Prabhu: By the blessings of Giriraj. Yes. So the first thing is don’t take it as a problem and getting in the way of your advancement first of all, especially because it is your guru Maharaja’s order. It is such a blessing attached to that. Because the first thing, your consciousness is filled with Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra Deities.

Devotee: It is very enjoyable and very satisfying. I am not saying that, but there is always this concern in my mind that. . .

Bhurijana Prabhu: I know. I will get there. But the first thing I wanted to say is, don’t become confused on this particular point, because the mind is very tricky; at least my mind is tricky. It might start doing that sometimes. Why is he giving me. . .Prabhupada even spoke about that sometimes. What is it? Garaghra. Do you remember. . .? Yes, a burden. Why is he giving me this burden? The mind can do these things, and then bhakti flies very far away very quickly. But then, the second principle is that whatever time you allot for chanting, whatever time you give, this is the time I am going to chant my japa, then, you have to be ready to apply some principles and restrictions during that time; these principles. And then it moves back into the same point, “What should I do?” And then you can ask the next question, “What should I do when I can’t do what I should do?”

Devotee: What is the important thing?

Bhurijana Prabhu: But we already answered that question too; is we have to become humble. And only by Krishna’s grace, when we can’t do what we should do, only by Krishna’s grace, we can do what we should do, when we can’t do what we should do. See? I told you; you would be confused, and then we will clear it up. Yes, so we have become humble and, “Okay, Krishna, look at me.” Narottama dasa Thakura prays like this, that, “You please make Your name Narottama pavana. Please become famous as the deliverer of Narottama.” And Narottama was so exalted. So such humility in these exalted souls, and such pride in these Kali-yuga rascals; such pride and envy; so embarrassing.

Giriraj Swami: How much time do you have available to chant later in the day?

Devotee: I can give two to three hours, guru Maharaja, but then, you are so tired, also.

Giriraj Swami: Do you have a choice of those two to three hours when they come, or they are all at a certain time of day?

Devotee: I have a choice, having the sense that I can do two hours—two or three hours, yes.

Giriraj Swami: Pretty much any time during the day?

Devotee: Not anytime during the day, but at a fixed time during the day.

Giriraj Swami: But can you choose the time that you fix? In other words, do you have to work at a certain time, or you just have to do a certain amount of work during the day? And you are can fit in your work when you want, and your japa when you want?

Devotee: I can do that.

Giriraj Swami: So, that is very good. Different devotees have different experiences. I know many disciples of Srila Prabhupada who would be serving him personally from early in the morning until he took his nap in the afternoon. And they said that afternoon time was a very good time to chant. They had the same situation, but not just dressing for two hours, but from four in the morning until two in the afternoon. And I have also heard that later in the morning, leading up to lunchtime, is another good time to chant. And depending on the situation, if you take a quick shower and freshen up, that washes away a lot of the stuff, and that refreshes your mind. And it is definitely possible. And I have also heard devotees say that a lot depends on—the same thing that Bhurijana Prabhu has been saying, a lot depends on your determination. From the beginning, if you think, It is too late. I am never going to be able to chant good rounds, then, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. As you surrender to the holy name, the holy name reciprocates. But whenever you surrender, what if the time of death comes? You can’t choose when it is going to come, but when it comes, you have to surrender. You have to take shelter; whatever time it is. So whatever time it is, just surrender, take shelter with intensity, and the holy name will reciprocate.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, it may be a little personal. We would like to know your schedule for chanting so that we can get some glimpse, if we are a little qualified to follow your footsteps, so that we can.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I will tell you my schedule in Vrindavan, because in Vrindavan, I had a schedule. As far as Mumbai goes, I am still working on it. But I had a schedule. Yes, I would get up, before it got too cold, or when I wasn’t sick, I would go to the temple at maṅgala-ārati time. And then, say by 5:15 or 5:20, I would go to Srila Prabhupada’s room and chant. And that was really good. In fact, when Bhurijana Prabhu was saying, “Think of Deity,” and I thought of different Deities, but then at a certain stage, I thought of chanting to Srila Prabhupada in his room in Vrindavan which was very powerful. And so I would do that until 8:00, and then I would have a little prasāda; do some service. But then, I would chant again for two hours, hour and a half leading up to lunch. And I also felt that chanting with devotees helped me in two ways.

So I would chant, say maybe from 11:30 to 1:30. And I would invite devotees to chant with me, usually. And that way, I would have their association in chanting, they would have my association, or group; and it was nice. And so I would have those two stretches, and I might chant again in the evening, but those are my two main stretches. And I mentioned it to one of my sannyasi godbrothers who was in Vrindavan, and he said that he had also sort of hit upon the same type of schedule, where he would chant one set earlier in the morning, and then chant another set before lunch, in the later morning leading up to lunch. So yes.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Maharaja, you told me many times in Vrindavan how much you really like to chant in Prabhupada’s room.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, and the more help we can get, the better. So everything was so nice in Prabhupada’s room, but they didn’t have Tulasi-devi there. So then I asked, and yes, so they started to keep Tulasi-devi there, and then it was like perfect and complete.

Devotee: Sometimes, you chant while you are traveling, you are not stationary at one place. Sometimes you chant while traveling in public transport, or car, or not while driving.

Bhurijana Prabhu: What question?

Devotee: The quality is not the best, but sometimes you don’t have a choice to consider that as one of the sixteen rounds. So is it okay?

Bhurijana Prabhu: But he just said they didn’t have a choice. The corner! Do you understand my point?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja and Prabhuji and Maharaja. My daṇḍavats. I just want to express a feeling, realization, and a comment, not a question. It was really very intense. I felt today when you were helping us to blot out everything else, try to concentrate, and it was really very intense. And I felt I could actually chant nicely, which we don’t do otherwise every day because that urgency which you created with your full mood that you created for chanting, and that really helped. And all the other questions after that, it is my experience that I am saying that I feel that time actually is not important. That yes, brāhma-muhūrta helps and everything, but if you can, it is the mind that troubles you. And if you can just think, try to hear this mantra, try to hear the mantra the way you were urging us, and saying this is the only thing we have to do right now. And then guru Maharaja said he chooses those times, which means actually we should try to chant and hear, and then any time of the day can become successful in chanting. This is the realization I got from today’s experience. I am really thankful to you for that. It is wonderful.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Hare Krishna, Prabhu. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. My question is that we are into three levels and three modes of nature, tama-guṇa, raja-guṇa, and sattva-guṇa. Then with each should do sattva. And like you say today, that while chanting, we should be doing that. This is it, I want to chant, that is it, nothing else. So there are three modes of chanting moods, also: nāma-aparādha, nāma-ābhāsa, and śuddha-nāma. So in that, we are chanting, but we are sometimes compromising on our sixteen rounds. So, my question is that nāma-ābhāsa will definitely give you a result of being in tama-guṇa, slowly and gradually, come in raja-guṇa by chanting, and then you go to sattva-guṇa. So these are the three words which is helping in nāma-ābhāsa also. So, if we are not taking it, granted that I won’t be able to take śuddha-nāma, I don’t that have much of confidence, being a neophyte or being an initial devotee. So, my question is, that will nāma-ābhāsa help us to go ahead in śuddha-nāma, or if we are not successful doing that, will that help us in the future?

Bhurijana Prabhu: Which one? Help me.

Devotee: Nāma-ābhāsa. In emergency, we chant, and haphazardly. 

Bhurijana Prabhu: The way I look at that is that there is aparādha, chanting on that level. So what we want to do is try our best to avoid nāma-aparādha, because that stops the fruit from coming. So of all the aparādhas, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says pramāda, he defines that as inattentiveness. Basically, it means bewilderment. And the mind is so powerful that in one second, I could say now I have nothing else to do and be completely convinced, and then three seconds later, my mind is doing something and I am completely absorbed in it. So this is the nature of the rascal mind. And one mataji also said that there is only one problem. This is the conclusion of the Twenty-third Chapter of the Eleventh Canto of the Song of the Avanti Brahmana. There is only one cause of distress, and that is the mind.

So what we want to do is deal with this particular aparādha, and that is chanting inattentively with a wild mind. And what I have seen from my own unfortunate experience is that, if you have a long-standing bad habit, it is much more difficult to correct it. So, I almost want to fall at all of your feet and beg you not to catch this habit of just accepting, “I can put my hand in my bead bag and I push the beads, and then it is alright. I have chanted, and it doesn’t make a difference; what I am doing consciously.” So we don’t want to do that because that is insulting to Krishna. So, the point being that if we try to chant nāma-ābhāsa in this way, the way that Bhaktivinoda Thakura uses it, it means that you are chanting offenselessly, but not on the stage of śuddha-nāma. So that is very good; nāmābhāsa haite haya sarva-pāpa-kṣaya, means the resultant reactions of all sins are removed by one nāma-ābhāsa chanting, what does speak of the result of chanting with prema-bhakti, śuddha-nāma. So yes, it is very good. We should try to avoid the ten offenses while we chant, including inattentiveness, which Bhaktivinoda Thakura says is the mother of all offenses in the sense that it gives birth to the other offenses. Is that okay? Yes, it is okay.

Devotee: Thank you so much. Hare Krishna.

Girirja Swami: We could have time for one more question if anyone has a burning question. Two very sincere devotees.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, and my daṇḍavats to all the Vaishnavas present here. I see the sitting postures while chanting the maha-mantra. You may also have observed, somebody sitting like this, somebody sitting like this, somebody sitting like this, in different postures. I sit well while I am chanting, keeping my spine erect. I know very well—Personally, this is my experience and observation, that if you chant maha-mantra keeping most of the time your spine erect, you sleep well and you relax also while you are chanting. I need your comments or suggestion or advice. What should be the right posture when you are chanting while sitting? Walking is different. That is fine, but even while walking, I have seen many devotees, even sometimes senior devotees, that they are not walking, keeping their spine erect. So, what are your comments or advice on this matter? I would like to know. Thank you very much.

Bhurijana Prabhu: Hare Krishna. Thank you. I know that there is a great benefit to sitting erect, because it actually helps. It can be a great aid in concentration, and that is the purpose of the sitting erect. While we are chanting japa, it is an assistant to being able to focus the mind. But the purpose of it is to focus the mind on the holy names of Krishna. So it can be an aid to do that, and if one has the capacity and the ability it could be a very helpful aid. I know there is quite a few devotees when they are helping others with japa, this the first principle, even, that sit erect. But again, it is an assistant, an aid to focusing the consciousness on the ear and the hearing of the maha-mantra. And while walking, I never think about sitting erect or standing erect while walking. I try to I will try not to trip over anything, mostly. But again, it is the point of hearing is the essential thing. So, when Srila Prabhupada would chant Gayatri mantra, he would be very careful, from my remembrance, about sitting in a way that would aid his focus.

Was that alright, or would you? You want to. . .Yes, you do.

Devotee: Thank you very much in giving your comments and advice. One more thing I will observe wherever I go, that devotees, non-devotees, they chant but no smile on the face. They make a very stiff face, and they make too much of life noise, shake the body up in all possible different ways. You can see even in the morning, tomorrow, in the temple room, and you can closely observe the mood, particularly the face impression. Very stiff face, no smile, even after chanting the holy names. I would like to have your comments. I observe that after chanting the holy names, naturally, the smile should be on the face, but there is no smile in many of the cases. I would like to know your comments on this one. Thank you.

Bhurijana Prabhu: On this one, I have a really good comment, but I can only comment on how I think about these things. This isn’t how others should think about it. But for myself, I never look at anyone’s face while I am chanting. I just try to and hear one mantra. I honestly mean this, because if I am looking at everyone’s face and seeing how unhappy they are, then I will get so unhappy. But instead, if I can just hear the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—I don’t generally smile a lot when I chant, I just don’t know how to say it—but I just try to hear one Hare Krishna maha-mantra. And this is actually something that I have concluded about life, is that I ask three questions. The first question is, “Who am I?” And my answer is, “A servant,” especially on good days, that is my answer. “I am a servant.” Second question is, “If I am a servant, who’s my master?” Well, I won’t tell you, but I have a master. So, I am a servant and I have a master. And then my third question is, “Well, what is my service?” So, if my service, as it was in this particular time, is to keep my consciousness on the devotees, then I will do that. But if my service is just to hear myself – to hear the Hare Krishna maha-mantra in this example—then I want the strength to be able to just do that, because I am only a servant.

So, very much it depends on what one’s service is. And so the particular point that I have learned in life is that I should keep my mind on my own service. I used to think that my service was to save the world, and I tried. I didn’t do very well. But now, I think my service is—because that wasn’t my service, actually. There is someone who is really powerful, like Srila Prabhupada. He really saw that as his service, not only to save the world, but to save the universe. He told Jagattarini Mataji and I one time in the Philippines that, “It is my desire that every soul in the universe become Krishna conscious. Please help me with that desire.” So he really had that as his desire and his service, and he preached like that. And he came up with so many strategies to unfold that desire. But I know that that is not my service. So what I try to do is keep my mind on what my service is and, anvaya-vyatireka, and I try to keep my mind off of what my service isn’t. So those are my comments.

Giriraj Swami: You also had a question.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you very much to the strong team that has created such wonderful magnanimity this evening on this most auspicious Ekādaśī. I just like to know that we have been given this wonderful mercy by Lord Chaitanya and more wonderful mercy by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada with the backdoor key, and we have the road clear and simple back to Godhead. May I ask, in contrast, why did the residents of Vrindavan have to undergo so much of austerities to perform their roles for Krishna?

Giriraj Swami: What austerities are you referring to?

Devotee: Mother Yasoda and the rest, they were sages that engaged in extreme austerity to get their positions in Vrindavan.

Giriraj Swami: Oh. There are different categories of residents of Vrindavan. But I think what you are saying is that those who became sādhana-siddhas to enter Krishna’s service in Vrindavan, why did they have to undergo such severe austerities?

Bhurijana Prabhu: Something that we are getting very, very easily in the back door. Yes, it is that.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: But I think you gave the answer because we have the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, enhanced by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya!

Hare Krishna maha-mantra ki jaya!

Gaura-premānande Hari Haribol!