Authenticity and Harmony in Krishna Consciousness

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: It is a great honor and privilege and pleasure to be here today in the holy land of Gita Nagari, in the association of so many sincere seekers and devotees. The theme of the retreat is Authenticity and Harmony. Authenticity refers more specifically to the individual aspirant, to know who he or she is, and where he or she is situated, and to make sincere and systematic efforts to progress towards the ultimate goal of life. But part of realizing who we are includes realizing how insignificant we are, how weak we are, and realizing. . .

Sri Sri Radha-Damodara ki jaya!

For success in any endeavor, one requires association. For example, in the business field, there are organizations such as the stock exchange, or the chamber of commerce. So, one can do business, one can trade in stocks without being a member of the stock exchange, but one will not do very much business. So, we can try to progress spiritually on our own, but we will not make much progress. And in fact, there is every possibility that we could go backwards.

And therefore, associating with other aspirants, other practitioners, is an essential part of bhakti-yoga, of Krishna consciousness. But when we associate with others, even in the endeavor to progress spiritually, there is some chance of some conflict, because of our conditioning. But if we realize how tiny we are and how much we need the support of fellow devotees to help us on our way, we will treasure that association, we will value each and every person. And naturally, our relationships will be harmonious in that spirit.

We, in the Hare Krishna movement, take knowledge from the Bhagavad-gītā, which is the literal record of Krishna’s, or God’s spoken word. And at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna instructed man-manā bhava mad-bhakto, “Always think of Me and become My devotee.” And sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, “Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me.” These instructions are just what we need to hear and apply.

But because in the present age, people are slow to learn, Krishna came again 500 years ago as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the same Krishna, but He came in the role of a devotee, to show us by His example, man-manā, how to always think of Krishna, bhava mad-bhakto, how to become Krishna’s devotee. And there is a very nice picture of Him with His associates, performing saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the holy name.

Now, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made a prediction,

TEXT 126

pṛthivīte āche yata nagarādi grāma
sarvatra pracāra haibe mora nāma

COMMENT

This was about 500 years ago, and He predicted that in every town and village of every country of the world, His name, or Krishna’s name, would be sung and glorified. This prediction, at that time, in, you could say, medieval India, seemed inconceivable. And even among the followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, through the centuries, they could not understand how such a prophecy could come true. They thought it may be some sort of poetic metaphor, but not something that could actually happen.

But it so happened, that fifty years ago, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our esteemed beloved spiritual master, left India on a steam ship, a cargo carrier, actually, and came to America, to Boston, and then New York. And he fulfilled the prediction of Sri Krishna Chaitanya. And it is because of his faith and his efforts and his love and his compassion, that we are here today. He has made the teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad-gītā and the teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya are in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta available to us in the English language, “as it is.”

Srila Prabhupada’s translation of the Bhagavad-gītā is called Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Now, if you think about it, that could be taken as a provocative statement. “Do you mean to say that you are presenting the Bhagavad-gītā as it is and others are not?” Well, my dear devotees, that is exactly the case, that is precisely the situation.

Srila Prabhupada himself raised the question because there were other translations of the Bhagavad-gītā in English, so what was the need for another translation? And Srila Prabhupada gave the answer that the Bhagavad-gītā must be received according to the directions given in the Bhagavad-gītā.

It’s just like if you have some medicine, you have to take the medicine according to the directions on the label, or according to the directions of the physician who prescribed it. So, the Bhagavad-gītā tells us how to receive the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā.

And first is evaṁ paramparā-prāptam, this knowledge must be received through paramparā. Paramparā means literally one after the other, it means disciplic succession. Because the real knowledge is coming from Krishna, from God. And one who has heard directly from God, he will understand properly what God is saying. And then, he in turn can communicate the same message to his students, and then they in turn can communicate the same message to their students. And this is called paramparā. So, that is the qualification of the teacher.

Now, what is the qualification of the student? Krishna Himself also says in the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, who was the ideal student, bhakto ’si me, “I am giving this knowledge to you because you are My devotee.” And Arjuna accepted the knowledge from Krishna as it is. He says, sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye, “I accept in truth whatever You have said.” And he accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavan.

So, to get the real benefit of the Bhagavad-gītā, we must receive it as Arjuna did, accepting it in total, as the truth, and accepting the speaker of the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So, as I mentioned, Krishna came again as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and He showed us by His example how to be devotees of Krishna. And in the course of His instructions, He gave a very nice example that is very relevant to the theme of our retreat. He said,

TEXT 151

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

COMMENT

This is the first instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā, that the living entities, jīvātmās, are distinct from the body, and the body is just a machine, or a dress for the ātmā. And when the body dies, the soul, the ātmā, continues to live. And according to the living entities’ activities and thoughts at the time of death, they get the next body, which is called the transmigration of the soul.

So, brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva, this means that the living entities are wandering through so many species of life, in so many different planetary systems, but when one such living entity becomes fortunate, he receives the seed of bhakti, pure devotional service. And all of us here are fortunate, because we are coming in touch with that mercy. Guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja, by the mercy of guru and Krishna, one receives the seed of devotional service.

The idea is that God is within the heart, and He knows the sincerity of the living entity. And if He sees that some living entity is sincere to make a permanent solution to the problems of life and attain actual everlasting happiness, then from within the heart, Krishna will guide that living entity to the association of devotees who can teach him the science of Krishna, of bhakti-yoga.

So then, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that when you receive that seed, you should become a gardener, a mālī, and you should plant that seed within your heart. Now, what comes next after you plant the seed? Many things come, but the basic requirement is one should water the seed.

And what is the process of watering it? It is śravaṇam kīrtanam, it is chanting and hearing about Krishna, that’s how we water that seed. And every program that we offer includes chanting and hearing about Krishna, because that is how one develops the initial faith to receive the seed, and that’s how one makes the seed grow, by chanting and hearing.

But that is not the end, because the gardener has to be wary of weeds that may grow up. Because when weeds grow, they suck the water that’s meant for the real plant, and they can disturb the conditions under which the plant can grow nicely. And it is in connection with these weeds that the association of. . . Well, the association of devotees is necessary at every stage, but because part of our topic is authenticity, we will discuss the weeds.

And Lord Chaitanya explains that these weeds may exactly resemble the devotional creeper. They may appear to be of the same size and shape as the devotional creeper, but actually, they are not, they are actually weeds.

Bhakti means that the individual soul engages in the service of the Supreme Soul to give pleasure to the Supreme, and in the course of giving pleasure to the Supreme, the individual enjoys unlimited, everlasting pleasure. That is bhakti. But one can, knowingly or unknowingly, engage externally in the practices of bhakti-yoga, but internally, harbor other desires, material desires, desires for material enjoyment, even desires to enjoy yogic powers, or desires to merge and become one with God, to think that one can become God. So, these are all weeds, and to be authentic means to distinguish between the devotional creeper and the weeds.

Now, because the weeds may resemble the devotional creeper, we may not be able to distinguish easily. And therefore, we can take help from an expert gardener who can explain, “This is not good.” I mean, I could elaborate with some examples, but our audience is so diverse that I’m not thinking of an example that everyone could relate to. So, what I will do is, I will read from this most valuable book, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, a description of some of these weeds.

This is Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Nineteen, Text 158. Chapter entitled, “Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.”

TEXT 158

“Sometimes unwanted creepers, such as the creepers of desires for material enjoyment and liberation from the material world, grow along with the creeper of devotional service. The varieties of such unwanted creepers are unlimited.

TEXT 159

“Some unnecessary creepers growing with the bhakti creeper are the creepers of behavior unacceptable for those trying to attain perfection.

COMMENT

In fact, I’ll read the Sanskrit because it will make it easier.

TEXT 159

‘niṣiddhācāra’, ‘kuṭīnāṭī’, ‘jīva-hiṁsana’
‘lābha’, ‘pūjā’, ‘pratiṣṭhādi’ yata upaśākhā-gaṇa

COMMENT

So, I’ll read the purport by Srila Prabhupada.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

There is a certain pattern of behavior prescribed for those actually trying to become perfect. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we advise our students not to eat meat, not to gamble, not to engage in illicit sex.

COMMENT

It means sex outside of marriage, to begin with.

PURPORT (continued)

And not to indulge in intoxication.

COMMENT

Which strictly speaking includes coffee, tea, and cigarettes.

PURPORT (continued)

People who indulge in these activities can never become perfect; therefore these regulative principles are for those interested in becoming perfect and going back to Godhead.

COMMENT

If the devotional creeper is watered and protected, it will grow and grow and grow, and it will penetrate the coverings of the universe, and ultimately, take shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna in the spiritual world, in Goloka, Vrindavan, and it will produce the fruit of love of God, and the devotee will relish that fruit. And that perfection can be achieved even in this body.

Lord Chaitanya explains that even after the devotional creeper pierces the coverings of the universe and takes shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna in the spiritual world, the devotee on earth continues to water that creeper by chanting and hearing. In other words, chanting and hearing about Krishna never stops.

Before I met Srila Prabhupada, I was one of the unfortunate men who was seeking spiritual perfection, but was coming in touch with people and with books that were not able to explain what actual perfection was, and what the means to attain it was. So, one of the slogans I read in some of these books was that as long as a pot remains empty, it makes noise, but when the pot is full, it becomes silent.

So, the idea is that as long as we are spiritually empty, we talk, but when we are spiritually full, we stop talking. So, this theory is refuted by Lord Chaitanya. He said that even after you attain perfection, the chanting and hearing about Krishna continues.

PURPORT (continued)

Kuṭīnāṭī, or diplomatic behavior, cannot satisfy the ātmā, the soul. It cannot even satisfy the body or the mind.

COMMENT

Now, we are talking about being authentic. So, one very important word in Sanskrit is saralatā, which means simplicity. It means that there is no difference between what you are thinking and what you are saying and what you are doing. In material life, there may be differences. You might be thinking one thing and saying something else and doing something else, but with a devotee, there should be no difference. So, diplomatic behavior. An example in general terms is that I am pretending that I want something for Krishna, but I actually want it for myself.

A friend of mine gave a rather innocuous, or innocent, example. Because in this process of arcanam, worshiping the Deity, we offer the Deity very opulent foodstuffs, which we don’t eat in our normal course. So, one devotee, he was lusting to have that, it’s called mahā-prasāda, of the Deity. And that mahā-prasāda was always kept in a certain place, so that when the devotees gathered, everyone would get a little bit.

But he was just so eager, that he snuck into that restricted area, and he was planning to eat it all. And the head pūjārī, the head priest, at that moment came and discovered him. He said, “What are you doing here?” He said, “Well, I just wanted to make sure that the offering was to the proper standard.” [laughter] “So, I was just going to take a little morsel of each preparation just to make sure that the cooks were doing their duty properly.”

So, it’s sort of a relatively innocent example, but there could be many other examples where a devotee wants something for himself but makes a pretense that it’s for Krishna’s service.

PURPORT (continued)

The culprit mind is always suspicious.

COMMENT

Now, this is also one of the effects of being crooked, and that is that we think others are crooked. It’s sort of human nature that ātmavān manyate jagat, “As you are, you think others are also.” So, if you are crooked, then you think others are also crooked, which is not such a good mentality in the society of devotees. It’s not good either way, we shouldn’t be crooked, and we shouldn’t assume others are crooked. But ordinary people, not everyone, but they tend to be crooked.

When we opened the project in Juhu, we were very few devotees, and we were not so experienced in India, and we had to run a big restaurant. And some friends suggested we should give it out on contract. So, it made sense, we got someone who had a vegetarian restaurant and explained our standards, and so, we gave it to him. So, then we also got a general manager who was a Hindu worker.

So, he said, “The people you’ve given the restaurant to are cheating.” And they were. So, he said, “I’ll do it, I’ll take it over.” So, we gave it to him, and he was also cheating. [laughter] It takes one to know one. So, we shouldn’t cheat, and we shouldn’t wrongly accuse other devotees of cheating, that’s the basic idea.

PURPORT (continued)

The culprit mind is always suspicious; therefore our dealings should always be straightforward and approved by Vedic authorities. If we treat people diplomatically or duplicitously, our spiritual advancement is obstructed. Jīva-hiṁsana refers to the killing of animals or to envy of other living entities. The killing of poor animals is undoubtedly due to envy of those animals.

COMMENT

So, jīva-hiṁsana, it means envy of other living entities. It’s often taken to mean committing violence. And here, at Gita Nagari, we are. . . Of course, devotees don’t harm any living entities.

When Srila Prabhupada first came to New York after he arrived from India. . . So, eventually, he was staying in a small apartment, and the apartment became infested with insects, I guess cockroaches and whatnot. So, the landlord had an extermination company come, I guess to exterminate the pests, and Prabhupada refused to allow them to do that in his apartment, because devotees do not cause any harm to any other living entity.

So, what happened was all the cockroaches and other insects from all the other apartments, all the other units in the building, came to Srila Prabhupada’s apartment, and he was very happy. [laughter] He said, “Just see! They are taking shelter of Krishna consciousness.” But there is another meaning to jīva-hiṁsana.

PURPORT (continued)

The human form is meant for the understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness (athāto brahma-jijñāsā), for inquiring about the Supreme Brahman.

COMMENT

So, the real life is to inquire into the ultimate good, and to pursue, and ultimately, reach the goal. And that knowledge is given by devotees. So, if we have that knowledge and we don’t share it with others, that is also considered jīva-hiṁsana, because in a way, we are doing violence, in a way, we are showing envy of other living entities because we are depriving them of their real life. So, this is part of continuing chanting and hearing. We are chanting not just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others.

So, this is an elaborate discussion, and because we have such a diverse audience, I try to just give an overview. But the basic idea is that we cannot be Krishna conscious alone, we need the support of other devotees. And for our relationships with each other to be mutually beneficial as they should be, we should really, if not literally, at least within our hearts, throw ourselves at their lotus feet and beg for their mercy. Because without their mercy, without their kindness, without their association, we cannot do anything. And we should value and treasure each and every devotee.

When we associate with devotees, we may, because of our culprit minds, take their association for granted, and that is very risky. It’s very risky because if we take something for granted, we may lose it so that we come to understand the value of it. And after we’ve lost it, it may not be so easy to get it back. So, we should really embrace the association of devotees.

And part of valuing the devotees and appreciating the devotees is serving them. Of course, ultimately, we are spiritual beings. And so, the best service that we can render is to help people come to Krishna consciousness, and to encourage them to chant and hear about Krishna and serve Krishna, share the message. But devotees also have bodies. As Her Grace Vraja Līlā pointed out in her introduction, devotees also have bodies, and sometimes, we need to serve their bodies to facilitate their service to Krishna. And devotees have minds. They also need encouragement, affection, and appreciation.

We didn’t get to read too much, but one of the other items that Srila Prabhupada mentions is the mad elephant. I think I must tell you about the mad elephant. So, apart from weeds, there is another danger, an even bigger danger. And of course, in a literal sense, in this particular context, it may not be so relevant, but in India. . .

So, the danger was hātī mata, a maddened elephant. You could very carefully cultivate your garden, but if a maddened elephant comes into your garden, he can just trample everything and uproot everything and destroy everything in no time.

So, what is that maddened elephant that can cause such havoc and devastation within moments? So, that is vaiṣṇava-aparādha, that means offending Vaishnavas, or guru-aparādha, offending the spiritual master. In particular, guror avajñā, disobeying the orders of the spiritual master on the execution of devotional service. If one disobeys those instructions, then all the effort that he put into cultivating his devotional creeper may be wasted, because you can lose it all very quickly.

So, how do we protect ourselves from that maddened elephant? So, Lord Chaitanya says that we have to fence in our devotional creeper. Okay, that’s good, but what’s the fencing? The fencing is the circle of pure devotees. We have to stay within the circle of pure devotees. And if we stay in the circle of pure devotees, our devotional creeper will be protected.

And the other side of it is that one should avoid intimate association with non-devotees. There are many details, and you may have questions about how to apply these principles, but not to associate with non-devotees does not mean that you can’t be in close physical proximity to them. It doesn’t mean that at the workplace, you can’t talk to them, or look at them, or at school, you can’t talk to them or look at them, or at the yoga studio. But what it means is that you should not develop intimate relationships with them, you should not be influenced by their materialistic ideas.

But in an ordinary sense, yes, you can and you must. There is no way, you can’t live in this world without coming in close physical proximity and having to look at someone or speak to them or give them something, take something from them. But our real affection should be for devotees. There are six exchanges of love, and those should be done with devotees. You can do something that’s similar with others, but without that intimacy, without that affection.

So, when Srila Prabhupada began to speak, he would often tell people, “You don’t have to change anything, you just add Krishna.” And that is true. But hearing this more elaborate discussion, one might think, Oh my gosh, I can’t do this, I can’t do that, I can’t be friends with anyone. But what Srila Prabhupada said is true. If you feel that there are things that I said that seem to be too much for you right now, that’s okay, you can just take whatever you are able to at this particular stage, just do the best you can where you are now.

But for others who are initiated, or aspiring for initiation, these guidelines are essential, very essential. But whatever it is, if we just go on chanting the holy names, everything will be alright. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

So, we have a few minutes. Do any of you have any questions or comments? Yes, Prema Vilasa Prabhu?

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Maharaja, you said that a way of fencing this maddened elephant, offense, we should stay in the association of pure devotees. So, what does it mean, pure devotees? And then, if you stay in their association, is there a possibility to commit more offenses?

Giriraj Swami: This is a very tricky question. [laughter] First, he is asking what is the definition of a pure devotee. The simple definition is someone who is serving Krishna just for the pleasure of Krishna, without any ulterior motive, either for material enjoyment, or mystic powers, or impersonal liberation.

On occasion, Srila Prabhupada said that anyone who’s strictly following the instructions of the spiritual master is to be considered a pure devotee. But Prabhupada makes this point, that if you think that there are many pseudo devotees in the Krishna consciousness movement, then you can associate with the spiritual master directly, or take his guidance.

And it’s true that if you associate with pure devotees, there is a verse, that the dust from the lotus feet of pure devotees can bestow the greatest boon upon the living entity. But the same dust, if you offend it, can send you to hell. So, we need to associate with pure devotees in order to progress, and we just have to be careful to relate to them in the proper way.

You see, in bhakti, there is no external arrangement that will ensure your progress, everything depends on your sincerity of heart. You need to associate with pure devotees, you can’t advance without the association of pure devotees. But there is no external arrangement by which you can associate with pure devotees and automatically not offend them. That depends on you. But the pure devotees are there to guide you, the books are there, the other devotees are there.

So, that’s why I say we have to, at least internally, fall down at the feet of the Vaishnavas and beg for their mercy and do whatever we can in our power to serve them and please them. And if we see some fault, if it’s our service, if we are sure that the fault is really there and if it’s our service to instruct them and correct them, then very humbly and very gently, we can do that. But otherwise, we shouldn’t.

We were recently at the sādhu-saṅga retreat in North Carolina. So, one of the organizers asked His Holiness Radhanath Swami what they could do to improve. And His Holiness Radhanath Swami replied, “When I visit a place, I don’t look for faults, I just appreciate the good that’s there. But when I’m responsible, then I look for all the faults, and I try to correct them.”

I saw that in action when I visited the Govardhana Eco Village. There was a little defect in the room, and I saw it, and I thought, Anyway, I’m not going to say anything. And then Radhanath Swami came into the room to see how it was, he immediately saw the fault and very explicitly instructed, “Chastise the devotee, ‘How could you allow this fault to be there?’”

So, if it’s not our responsibility, it’s probably better just to see the good. But if it is our responsibility, then we have to see the faults, so that we can correct them. And on the other side, we should be open to being corrected. In that mood of valuing the association with devotees, we should value their good instructions, and not rebel, “Who are you to tell me? Don’t you know who I am?”

On the flight to. . . No, no, anyway. It’s a nice story, but we don’t have time. Oh, I have to? Because I started, okay. [laughter] So, someone told me this, I wasn’t there. So, because of whatever circumstance, a flight was canceled. All the passengers were standing in line, waiting to get other flights. So, there was one man towards the end of the line, maybe he was some performer, he was sort of good-looking and whatever. So, he was pushing, sort of clawing his way to the front of the line.

And so, the lady at the counter said, “Sir, you were at the end of the line, you have to wait your turn, you can’t just bypass everyone and come to the front.” And he said, “Don’t you know who I am?” She said, “No, I don’t.” Then she picked up the microphone, and she described, “There is a good-looking man here, six feet tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and he seems to have forgotten who he is.” [laughter] “Does anyone know who he is?” [laughter]

Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you were talking about the relationship that the devotees have with non-devotees. One of the things that I’ve noticed recently is this phenomenon of the Bhakti Lounge, which is, in my understanding, the space created so that people that are becoming more aware of Krishna consciousness have a chance to develop different relationships with devotees, because relationships are really about what people are looking for and bring them to Krishna consciousness. So, can you give a clarification how those relationships [Unintelligible 01:06:58] actually support the preaching, [Unintelligible 01:07:03] Krishna consciousness?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that a preacher has to distinguish between four categories, and deal differently with each. So, prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā yaḥ karoti sa madhyamaḥ. So, with God, he gives his love, to Krishna. With other devotees, he makes friendship. With innocent people, he gives mercy. And with envious people, he neglects them.

Of course, initially, we can’t know who’s innocent and who’s envious, so we give everyone a chance. And that’s the mercy of the devotee. But it shouldn’t be that they influence us more than we influence them.

In other words, we have to build a bridge to people because otherwise, there is no connection, and without the bridge, how will they cross over to Krishna? But we have to see if they are moving across that bridge, if they are innocent, which means that they are open to learning, but they are just innocent. A child might be innocent. He doesn’t know better, but by good association, the child can learn, they can learn, and they can improve. So, if you see that they are actually coming closer to Krishna, then that’s our mission.

I mean, it’s so individual, but it could happen that by listening too much, you could be influenced the other way. I mean, I’ll give an example from another tradition, because it’s a little distant and it’s a little extreme.

But there was a Catholic priest. And so, quite frequently, a young woman would come and confess to him about her promiscuous sexual activities. So, he was listening to this. I guess there is a curtain there or it’s a booth, something. He was listening to this, and it worked on his mind. He said, “Oh, she is doing it with all these other people, she could be doing it with me.” And then, somehow, he actually took a peek and found out who she was, and then. . .

So, that’s the thing, there is always give and take. But I guess if we are really sincere and we are constantly praying to be instruments for Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā and Gaura-Nitai’s love and compassion, then we’ll be alright. And then, always balance that with the association of pure devotees, that will keep us. If we always have our main association with pure devotees, then we can extend ourselves to others in a very humble mood of service, always praying to guru and Krishna to be their instruments, and to help them to come to Krishna. Is that alright?

Devotee: Yes, it is.

Giriraj Swami: Yes?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you so much for the wonderful topic [Unintelligible 01:13:06]. Maharaja, when being practical, we say we should be in the association of devotees and not be in association of non-devotees. When we say devotee, are we drawing a boundary as ISKCON devotee, or as a full Krishna conscious devotee, or simply as Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradāya devotee, or candidate devotees from another religion? You may feel good in the association of these other devotees. How should we observe these friendships? 

Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. [laughter] Do you want a sweet candy, or are you ready for some bitter medicine? [laughter] I’m prepared either way. [laughter]

Devotee: Maharaja, whatever is your mercy. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Well, from everything that I’ve heard from many, many devotees, what you have described is more or less an illusion. I know people who have been in other associations, and when you get that deep into the other association, you find all the same things that you are seeing in ISKCON, but worse.

Alright, there is politics, and there is envy, but there are also many purified devotees who aren’t envious and who aren’t political. So, if you focus your attention more on them, your spirits and your consciousness will be uplifted. And by focusing your attention on the envious people and the political people, you are bringing your consciousness down.

And actually, those faults may be in you. Like we were saying, it takes one to know one. I mean, I shouldn’t say about you, but I’ve seen it in myself that if I’m very sensitive to a certain type of fault in another person, it’s because I have the same fault inside of me, and because it’s inside of me, I’m very aware of it, and I can recognize it very expertly.

So, I would say that it would be better, rather than focusing on the faults that you see in them, which may or may not be there, or may or may not be there to the extent that you are seeing them, and focus more on your own faults, and try to remove those from within your heart by offenseless chanting and hearing, and by serving pure devotees.

But leaving aside all of those other points, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that the real criteria is whether someone is serving God without any motive of material enjoyment, or impersonal liberation.

And he says that even if someone is in your tradition, the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, or organization, but is motivated by desires to get material facilities and material advantages, or to merge and become one, you should not associate with them intimately. And even if someone’s in another tradition, but if their only purpose is to serve God for His pleasure, without any personal motive of sense enjoyment, or personal liberation, you can accept that association.

Say we are talking, a Christian, or Muslim. So, you can accept their association if their motive is pure, just to serve God and please God without any personal desires for themselves, but you should see their Deity as your Deity. You should see that Jehovah is actually Krishna. So, under those circumstances, you can accept their association and you can appreciate them, there can be a genuine bond. But still, the most intimate will be with those who are aspiring for Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan, pure devotees who are aspiring for Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan, or Gaura-Nitai. Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So, I think we have said enough. There is one thing I didn’t say, but at a certain stage, I noticed that His Holiness Radhanath Swami was sitting in the audience, and I was so overcome with feeling, that I really had to struggle to control my mind and senses to continue the talk. And for a moment, I thought, I should perhaps acknowledge him, but I didn’t until now, and I will explain the reason. It’s a very esoteric explanation. [laughter] And that is this:

The speaker of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is Śukadeva Gosvami. Suka means parrot. And in his original identity, he is the parrot of Srimati Radharani. So, it is sometimes questioned why the name of Radharani, who is the topmost devotee of Krishna, is not mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? It’s only hinted at, but it’s not mentioned directly. And why not?

So, the answer is that Śukadeva Gosvami knew he had only seven days to complete the Bhāgavatam, and if he would have uttered the name of his worshipable mistress, Srimati Radharani, he would have gone into complete ecstasy, he would have fallen unconscious, and he would not have been able to complete the Bhāgavatam. [laughter] So, that’s why I didn’t. [laughter] Thank you very much, Hare Krishna.

Devotees: Haribol! [applause]