Maha Gaura-purnima

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

It is a great honor, privilege, and pleasure to be here, in the most auspicious place of the Pancha-tattva mandir, on the most auspicious occasion of the Mahā-Gaura-purnima festival, in the auspicious presence of so many wonderful devotees.

His grace Vaisesika Prabhu gave such a wonderful talk, that afterwards when I was thinking about many different things that I could say, I discovered that they were all covered in his talk. So, I cannot say much about his talk, and in my moment of crisis, I approached His Grace Tukaram Prabhu and Tukaram Prabhu suggested that I could pick up a theme from the dramatic performances that we just witnessed—this theme is very significant for bhakti.

The theme is that Lord Chaitanya, or Krishna, for Their servants, do not look at the material feature of the offering, but they look at the devotee. And however meager your offering might be from the material point of view, if it is offered with devotion, They will be pleased to accept it. And it does not matter if one is rich or poor. What matters is that one accepts the lotus feet of the Lord within one’s heart. Then it does not matter if one is rich or poor, because internally he has the greatest treasure.

I will start with an example from very close to home. When I was in Vrindavan recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a devotee who is extremely dedicated to Srila Prabhupada. He never took initiation from him, but he is extremely dedicated to him. His name is Peter Burwash, and Peter Burwash was a tennis champion who started a business of teaching tennis and just motivating people to be their best at whatever they do. And he told me that when he was first visiting Srila Prabhupada, that whenever he met him, he would give him three hundred dollars, which was quite a lot back then, and also, he was just beginning his business.

And Srila Prabhupada would receive the donation, formally thank him and then put the donation aside. Peter Burwash was thinking three hundred dollars is quite a good amount, and he is not giving me any special recognition. His false ego was desiring more. So, one time Srila Prabhupada came to the Honolulu temple and he just stopped maybe for a day. And when he was just getting ready to leave, the devotees informed Peter: “Prabhupada is here, and if you want to see him you better come quickly.” So, Peter rushed to the temple and Srila Prabhupada was already in his car, ready to leave for the airport. And Peter came rushing up in a very eager mood, and went to the window of Srila Prabhupada’s car, and Prabhupada rolled down the window like: “Yes, yes.” So, Peter put his hand in his pocket to give Prabhupada the three hundred dollars. And when he put his hand in his pocket, he found that in the rush he had forgotten the three hundred dollars. So, Prabhupada was there, the window was rolled down, Prabhupada was looking at him – “Yes, you came running to the window – yes?” And he had his hand in his pocket, and finally, he dug deep inside, and he came up with seventy-eight cents. He took out the seventy-eight cents and presented it to Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada—seeing his eagerness, and at that time there was no false ego, it was just a desire to offer some service—Prabhupada smiled and thanked him profusely. All the appreciation and recognition that he wanted he got, but not because of the money he gave, but because of the mood with which he gave it.

Another incident—I happened to be present at. Srila Prabhupada was staying at the unfinished home of a supporter named P. L Sethi, near the Juhu temple. He was on the second floor, meeting with some of the devotees. And suddenly a laborer came to the door—we do not know how he got there, but he was recognizable because he had a muscular body, and just had a little white-grayish cloth around his waist. He was not the type of person that usually came to visit Srila Prabhupada and we did not know what was going to happen. And then he came forward, and he walked past all the devotees in the room and came right up to Srila Prabhupada’s table, and Prabhupada would always sit on a cushion behind his low table. And he took out a bunch of flowers that he had collected from the neighborhood and put it on the table, and offered obeisances, bowed down, and walked out. And Srila Prabhupada was so choked up, he literally could not speak for some moments. And he just looked down and he said: “This man—how did he know that I was here? How did he find me? But somehow, he found out and he got those flowers and offered them.” Then he quoted that same verse: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati—that one who offers me a leaf, fruit, flower, or some water with love and devotion, I will accept it.

And Srila Prabhupada said: “That even Krishna, He will accept such a small offering if it is offered with love and devotion, and I am just an insignificant living entity, so how much more that offering would overwhelm me, because I am just so small.”

So, this fact is very encouraging for every soul—every devotee—every soul. Because we do not have to become something that we are not. We do not have to become a learned scholar, or a wealthy businessman, or a beautiful singer. But whatever you are, whatever you have with you, just offer that with love and devotion and Lord Chaitanya. . . in any of His incarnations will accept it or in His manifestations – His devotees.

We recently celebrated Rama-Navami and one pastime that Srila Prabhupada told was of Hanuman and the spider. Although, by some accounts, it was a “squirrel.” But they heard “spider,” so we are going to take it as “spider.” So, as many of you know, when the great demon Rāvaṇa kidnapped Sita, and took her to Lanka, Lord Ramachandra formed an army of monkeys—primarily monkeys, some bears, (we are in California, even California was included). And it was just him and Lakshman and these monkeys, and there were some creatures of the forest.

So, to reach Lanka, the monkeys were throwing boulders into the ocean to build a bridge. And the boulders were floating. So, there was a spider who was just flicking little grains of sand into the water to form part of the bridge. And Hanuman—the great devotee, said: “Get out of my way, cannot you see I am doing very big service; I am heaving these huge boulders and you are just getting in my way. What are you doing?”

When Lord Ramachandra overheard that exchange, He was unhappy with Hanuman. And He said: “Hanuman, you are serving Me to your capacity, and that little spider is serving Me to his capacity. So, in my eyes both of your service is equal. And besides, I am the one who is making the boulders float, so you cannot take any of the credit. I am the one who is doing it all”

So, we just must be ourselves and give our hearts to the Lord, and serve Him to our capacity – whatever our capacity is. And appreciate other devotees who are serving according to their capacity – whatever their capacity is. And the Lord will be pleased.

In the beginning of the movement – this here of course is a very special year, because it marks fifty years since Srila Prabhupada arrived in America – and he began preaching in New York city and eventually the devotees got him a store front and he was having programs. And there was a drunken bum who had somehow come to the programs – maybe there was a little prasāda – somehow, he came. So, he was listening to the lectures, and he heard about devotional service. So, somehow, he got the idea – I do not even know where he came up with it – but he came in one day with some rolls of toilet paper. He came up to near the podium where Srila Prabhupada was speaking, and he deposited the rolls of toilet paper near the bathroom. Srila Prabhupada was very pleased, he said: “Just see, he has begun his devotional service.”

So, anyone can do service, and begin from whatever position they are in. Now it was also Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s principle, as we have heard, that we need to taste Krishna consciousness and distribute Krishna consciousness. That also can be done according to our capacity—everyone can do it.

Srila Prabhupada’s secretary Shyamasundara Prabhu and Shyamasundara’s wife, Malati Mataji, had a daughter named Sarasvati and this girl would preach—at one stage we had quite a nice apartment in a posh area of Bombay, and all these respectable gentlemen would come to meet Srila Prabhupada. And this little girl—Sarasvati—maybe three or four years old, she would approach them and say – “Do you know who is Krishna?” And then she would answer, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” And Srila Prabhupada said that this is preaching—anyone can preach—even a three- or four-year-old child can preach.

Just like we heard the wonderful story of the deaf and dumb person—he was the record breaker for first time book distributors. So, there is no excuse. And really, we do not know what effect our efforts will have. But even if our efforts are not materially successful, or externally successful, Krishna, or Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, or Their representatives, will appreciate the effort.

One year in Mayapur, when Srila Prabhupada was speaking, in the days leading up to Gaura-Purnima, he gave the example of Jatayu, who was a bird. Not an ordinary bird, but anyway. He saw Rāvaṇa abducting Sita. And he was actually very powerful, but he was old at that time. And he thought that if he tried to get Sita from Rāvaṇa, he may or may not be successful, because Rāvaṇa was very powerful. But still he felt that he must try to rescue Sita, and so he tried. He attacked Rāvaṇa and there was a fight, and he was very heroic in the fight—especially considering his age and Rāvaṇa’s power. But in the end, he was defeated and mortally wounded. And when Rama and Lakshman were passing through the forest in search of Sita, they found Jatayu. Lord Rama glorified him so much—He said: “I love you more than my own father, I love you so much”—and then He did the last rights of Jatayu, just like a son does for a father.

So, Srila Prabhupada said that when we preach, sometimes the opponents are very powerful. And the opponent is not necessarily a person like Rāvaṇa—in a way the opponent could be maya—maya is very strong, the influence of maya is very powerful on people we meet. But even if we are not successful, Rama will be pleased, Krishna will be pleased, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will be pleased, Srila Prabhupada will be pleased.

And I found that sometimes I would meet people who were very stubborn, and at a certain stage I understood—they are not going to become donors, they are not going to become life members, they are not going to give books, they are not going to give a donation, they are not going to do anything. But I felt that if I tried to wind up the meeting—it is a little different to when you are on the street—but I felt if I tried to wind up the meeting, they would think, “Oh these people, they do not know anything. I defeated them, with my impersonalism.”

So maybe there is a 0.1 percent chance there will be a miracle and you will get through, so that was also there. But the other side is I did not want them to think Prabhupada’s disciples are fools who do not know anything and could be defeated by some speculator. At the end of those meetings, I would often feel quite disturbed, but I would find the next morning a lot of internal reciprocation from Srila Prabhupada or from the paramparā.

So, that is the real point—to give our all—to give our best, to give our all. And what the actual external result is, that depends on Krishna, it does not depend on us. But if we give our best, Krishna will be pleased, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will be pleased.

In fact, once, when I came back, it was my good luck—and we find this in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, that he would send out Haridasa Thakura and Nityananda Prabhu and he would want to get the result from them at the end of the day—what was the result of their preaching? So, it was like that—Prabhupada would want to hear the results. So, one day—it was very unusual—no one gave anything. I cannot explain it, I met many people—pretty much no one gave anything. And Srila Prabhupada, he was compassionate and philosophical, and he said: “That if you do your best—if you sincerely do your best to please Krishna—Krishna will be satisfied even if others are not.”

And that is also a very important instruction which I took in two ways. When we do our best, people may not be satisfied. In other words, we may meet materialists and impersonalists—they may not be satisfied, they may not give anything. Or we may come back to the temple, and the temple president or the treasurer, or the saṅkīrtana leader will ask: “What did you do? What did you bring back for us?” And they also might not be satisfied. But if you sincerely try your best to please Krishna, Krishna will be satisfied, even if others are not.

So, another thing Tukaram said was to tell maybe a story about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And so somehow, one story comes to mind. After Lord Chaitanya took sannyasa, he traveled along the Ganges toward South India, and on the way, he visited various devotees’ homes to give them pleasure. And it is very interesting because at every home that He reached, the devotee was already in meditation on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—they were already wrapped in thoughts of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and then the object of their meditation turned up at their door.

So, one of the homes was Srivasa Thakura’s in Kumar Hatta. After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left Navadvipa, Srivasa Thakura went to Kumar Hatta, perhaps out of feelings of separation. And so, he also was absorbed in thoughts of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; he saw Him and he brought his best asana, best sitting place and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent some days with him. And after some days He said to Srivasa: “Srivasa, I noticed that you never go out to earn your livelihood.” And Srivasa Thakura replied that, “I have no desire to go out.”

I am sure you know this—Srivasa Thakura was on a very high platform. I am just telling the story; I am not suggesting anything-

“I have no desire to go out.” So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Well, you have a big family, nowadays if you do not go out you will not get anything. You must go out and bring something for your family. How will you maintain them?” And Srivasa replied, “Whatever they are destined to get, they will get.” And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “If that is your attitude then you should take sannyasa.” And Srivasa said, “That also I cannot do.” So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Well, how will you maintain your family—what if no food comes?” And then Srivasa Thakura went, “one, two, three,” and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “What does that mean? One, two, three? How does that answer my question? Please explain” And Srivasa Thakura replied that, “If for three days no food comes, I will take a water pot and tie it to my neck and fill it with stones, and I will drown myself in the Ganges.”

And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard these words, he roared like a lion and said, “Srivasa! What are you saying! Your family go hungry for three days? Even if the goddess of fortune one day becomes poverty stricken, and must beg, you and your family will never know hunger.” And then he quoted, ananyāś cintayanto māṁ—that one who is absorbed in thoughts of Krishna, without deviation, He preserves what they have and He provides what they lack.

And then he called Srivasa’s younger brother, Ramai Pandit and he said, “I am very pleased with your older brother Srivasa, and you should always serve him, and that will please me very much. You should serve him as if he is a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So, in this way, Lord Chaitanya gave so many wonderful instructions.

There was another devotee, who was reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited his house, it was the same thing. He invited him in, and Mahaprabhu said, “What are you doing?” He said, “I am reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the glories of devotional service,” and he kept reading. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became so ecstatic hearing the reading of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that he danced for seven hours just listening to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And he said: “From this day forward, you will be known as Bhagavat Acharya and you should do nothing but what you are doing, just keep reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that pleases Me very much.”

And He saw so many devotees; He basically accepted their devotion, and told them to keep doing what they are doing. And eventually he came to Panihati, to the home of Raghava Pandita and he said, “Raghava Pandita, I want you to cook—to prepare an offering for Krishna, because he loved to cook. So, He fulfilled all His devotees’ desires, accepted all their offerings of love, and He did not ask them to do anything different from what they are already doing, but He asked them to just continue what they were already doing.

So, we are in such a blessed movement by Srila Prabhupada’s and the paramparā’s grace. We have such a blessed process. So, we must trust in the process and do our best—whatever that is. And our best may vary from day to day, year to year, moment to moment. But whatever is our best at that moment, we should do.

Our dear God-brother Madhudvisa Prabhu who passed away just after last year’s Los Angeles Ratha-yatra—one year he gave a talk, mainly on Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa-puja day. Anyway, in his talk he mentioned that all the devotees were asking Srila Prabhupada what pleases him the most. And many times Srila Prabhupada would give different answers, because the real thing that pleased him was devotion. Of course, sometimes he would say, “If you distribute my books,” sometimes—once he said, “If you love Krishna, that will please me the most.” But on this one occasion he said, “The thing that pleases me the most is when you struggle for Krishna,” and that is something we can all do – in fact we struggle every day—either for Krishna or for whatever. We are already struggling. And Madhudvisa was already ill and he was saying sometimes it is a struggle just to wake up in the morning—just to get out of bed. But if you undertake that struggle for Krishna, Prabhupada will be pleased.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us so many wonderful instructions, so much wonderful service, and if we just struggle to follow the process, like Vaisesika Prabhu said, “Just show up!” Sometimes that is a struggle, just to show up, as easy as it is, just to show up, just show your face, so sometimes that is a struggle. But whatever it is, we should undertake that struggle, and know that that will please Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and our paramparā.

So, we have showed up and we have stayed. So, we are already blessed, and if we stay for the rest then we will just get carried along further and further by this current of devotional service that is emanating from the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Pancha-tattva, and flowing through disciplic succession through Srila Prabhupada and his followers to all of us.

So, thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.