NOI – Secrets of Success—and Failure—in Krishna Consciousness

Giriraj Swami: So, it is a great honor and privilege and pleasure to be with all of you for this wonderful celebration, Kirtan 50. For the last days, we have been relishing, chanting the holy names, hearing talks about Krishna, and serving devotees in various ways.

When Nityananda Prabhu asked me to select a topic for a seminar, I thought of the topic ‘Secrets of Success and Failure in Krishna Consciousness.’ Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a short book called Sri Upadeśāmṛta. It consists of only eleven verses, and in the eleven verses, he tells us exactly how to progress from the beginning stages of Krishna consciousness to the most advanced, and he also tells us the things that will ensure our complete success and the things that will destroy our spiritual progress. And so, I thought to discuss both of these. In one verse, he describes six items, ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati, these items ensure our complete success in devotional service, and ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati, these other six destroy our spiritual progress.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who was a great acharya in our line, wrote twelve essays, one for each of the six items that ensure our success, and one for each of the six items that cause disturbances. And those twelve essays have been put together in a book called Śrī Bhaktyāloka, and this book very wonderfully analyzes Rupa Gosvami’s instructions and tells us how we can apply them in our lives. So, one of the six items necessary for success in devotional service is dhairyāt, utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt. Does anyone know the meaning of dhairyāt?

Devotee: Patience.

Giriraj Swami: Patience, yes, patience. So, we’ll begin reading about patience, and that will lead us to other discussions, which will also be very instructive. Dhairyāt, patience.

READING from Śrī Bhaktyāloka

“For the practitioner of devotional service. . .”

COMMENT

Now, this book is specifically written for practitioners of devotional service, and I assume or hope that that includes all of us here.

READING continued

“For the practitioner of devotional service, dhairyāt, patience, is extremely necessary. Those who possess the quality of dhairyāt are called dhīra, sober. Due to lack of this quality, men become restless. Those who are impatient cannot do any work.”

COMMENT

Now, some of the sentences are quite clear in and of themselves, but some do require some discussion. So, those who are impatient cannot do any work. What does that mean? I’m sure there are many people in Dallas and throughout the world who have to go to work and they get stuck in traffic, and they may be very impatient, but they have no choice because they are stuck in traffic but they still go to work. So, what does it mean that those who are impatient cannot do any work? This refers to internal work. If we are impatient, if we want results immediately and we are not prepared to invest the time and energy in doing our internal work, then we can’t make progress.

READING continued

In the first verse.

COMMENT

Oh, excuse me, I missed a sentence.

READING continued

“By the quality of dhairyāt, a practitioner controls first himself, and then the whole world.”

COMMENT

There is one history described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Caitanya-bhāgavata and other literatures about Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was the only son of the two brothers, Hiranya Majumdar and Govardhana Majumdar, and those two brothers were fabulously wealthy, they were practically like kings. And naturally, because Raghunatha dasa was the only son, they put all their hopes in him to manage the family’s property and business.

Now, they were considered to be materialistic devotees. They were devotees, and they were very generous. In fact, it’s said that almost the whole brahman community of that district was maintained by the largesse of Govardhana and Hiranya Majumdar. And so, many saintly persons would visit them, and they would arrange satsaṅgs, gatherings for discussions on the holy name. Srila Haridasa Thakura was one of the regular visitors to participate in those gatherings.

So, the family priest of the Majumdars was Balarama Acharya. They were connected to Balarama Acharya and Yadunandana Acharya. And it so happened that Haridasa Thakura came to stay in a village near the Majumdars with Balarama Acharya. So, Hiranya and Govardhana Majumdar thought, Oh, this is a great opportunity. Raghunatha dasa is just like a schoolboy; we’ll send him to Haridasa Thakura to get blessings. Because they thought that by Haridasa Thakura’s blessings, their son would be successful. Many people approach saintly persons for blessings.

So, he sent bullock carts laden with valuable presentations along with Raghunatha to Haridasa Thakura, thinking, If I please him with all these opulent gifts, he’ll give a very good blessing to my son. And of course, Haridasa Thakura had no interest whatsoever in those presentations. So, Raghunatha came before Haridasa Thakura. Balarama Acharya knew the mood of Haridasa Thakura, that he is not going to give material blessings like what Govardhana and Hiranya wanted.

So, there were all sorts of guards and employees of the Majumdars, so Haridasa Thakura understood that he must bless this boy, but Balarama Acharya knew he wouldn’t give any material blessing and that would upset the boy’s father. So, right when he was about to give the blessing, Balarama Acharya made a very loud noise, like coughing, so no one could hear the blessing. And the blessing was, “You will not have any material opulence.”

So, everyone went back, and so Hiranya and Govardhana were very eager to know, “Did he give my son a blessing?” And they all said, “Yes, yes, I think he did.” And he said, “Well, what was the blessing?” “Yeah well, I don’t know, we couldn’t hear what the blessing was.” So, the blessing was, “You will be able to control your senses, you’ll be completely materially detached. And by controlling your senses and being completely detached materially, you’ll be able to control the world.” This is what Bhaktivinoda Thakura is saying here.

So, they told him, “The blessing is that your son will,” they didn’t repeat the full blessing, “Your son will control the whole world.” So, his parents were over the moon, they were thinking, We just control this one district in Bengal and we have so much opulence, and he is going to control the whole world, we can’t even imagine. And they were just so happy. But he could do that because he was not allured by anything material. If we are allured by material prospects or material facilities, we will come under their control. The only way we won’t come under control is if we have no attachment or aversion, and if we are really fixed in Krishna consciousness.

So, that is the secret here, that one who has the quality of patience, dhairyāt, that means one who is dhīra, dhīras tatra na muhyati, dhīra means he doesn’t identify with the body and he is not bewildered by any change of the body, even death, dhīras tatra na muhyati. So, if he is not disturbed by death, which is the greatest calamity in the material world for an ordinary person, then he won’t be disturbed by anything, he won’t be controlled by anything. He can control himself and he can control the world in the sense that he can use everything in Krishna’s service, engage everything.

In the first verse of Sri Upadeśāmṛta, the symptoms of dhairyāt are explained.

Does anyone know the first verse in Sanskrit?

Devotee: Vāco vegaṁ.

Giriraj Swami: Raise your hand, yes.

Devotee:

vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ

jihvā-vegam udaropastha-vegam

etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ

sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt

Giriraj Swami: Very good. Dhīra, that describes dhīra. Thank you, Govind Candra Prabhu.

READING from Upadeśāmṛta

“A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, [that’s vāco vegaṁ], the mind’s demands, [manasaḥ], the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly, and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world.”

COMMENT

So, the first is vāco vegaṁ, that is the urge to speak. And how many of us have the urge to speak? Everyone does because it’s natural. But how we speak and about what we speak, that is very important.

READING continued

“With a desire to speak more. . .”

COMMENT

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura is starting with that.

READING continued

“With a desire to speak more, a person becomes talkative. If speech is not regulated, then enmity arises from talking about others.”

COMMENT

Now, this is a very important point, which Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will elaborate on, and that is talking about others. And here, talking about others means in a negative way. And so, if speech is not regulated and one talks about others, it will lead to enmity, and we can easily understand how that takes place. I have heard or seen something about someone that is not very complimentary, so I tell one person, “Do you know what I. . .” “Really?” “Oh yeah, and it’s worse than that. . .”

Then, “Oh my God, but don’t tell anyone, I’m just telling you because you are my special friend.” So, everyone has their special friends, so he or she thinks, Well, he told me because I’m his special friend, so that means I can also tell my special friend. So, then I go to my special friend, “Did you know that? But don’t tell anyone.” And then that person thinks, Well, she told me and I have my special friend, I can just tell one person. And in that way, it goes around and it could very well end up reaching the ears of the person who is the subject of the gossip, so enmity is created.

And then there are many levels of enmity, because the first person, “Well, I told that person not to tell anyone, why did he tell someone?” And then you don’t know who else has heard it, so you become suspicious, “Does that person know? How far has this gone?” You get caught in this web of doubt and suspicion and ultimately, enmity. We have to be careful.

READING continued

“If speech is not regulated, then enmity arises from talking about others. To speak uselessly is the business of a fool; but out of a desire to unnecessarily engage in speech, the materialists always waste time and face so many distresses.”

COMMENT

I mean, this is the whole world. I mean, to some extent, we need a sheltered life in the temple, in the association of devotees, but I’ve heard from devotees who work in the material world that one of the biggest hardships is listening to the talk of the fellow people in the workplace. They gather around, whatever, the water fountain, and they just talk unnecessarily, and it’s very disturbing to the sincere devotee to listen to that.

And His Holiness Niranjana Swami has spoken on this topic. Once, he visited us and spoke briefly about it. He describes how before he became a devotee, he was a construction worker, and the consciousness of the people on the construction crew was so low, and I shouldn’t be saying it here, but whenever they saw a lady walk by, they would say, “Phew, did you see that?” I mean, there is a verse, beautiful verse, that devotees should be attracted to talks of Krishna, just like materialists are attracted to talks of the opposite sex, because whatever is in our mind, that will come out of our mouth.

So, they are thinking of that, and as soon as one walks by, they say, “Hey, did you see that one?” So, in the same way, devotees should be always thinking of Krishna, and any little provocation, they talk about Krishna, like we heard in Govinda Maharaja’s beautiful talk this morning, how when Gopa Kumara saw the color of dark blue, he thought it was Krishna, and that came out.

READING continued

“So, the practitioners of devotional service should not speak unnecessarily. If you do have to speak unnecessarily, then better to keep quiet.”

COMMENT

In other words, there is no exception, there is no way out.

READING continued

“Besides topics regarding Krishna, all other topics are unnecessary.”

COMMENT

Now, this may seem extreme. And later, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains under what circumstances one may actually have to talk about other topics, because you can’t really live in the world. . . I mean, yes, if someone was a Babaji at Govardhana, it could be avoided, but especially householders and even people who have responsibility in a spiritual organization, they may have to talk about others, but that also has to be very carefully controlled, as we will read.

READING continued

“To speak about the subjects favorable to devotional service is not unnecessary. Therefore devotees should speak only on topics about Lord Hari or those favorable to such topics. All other topics will be counted in the category of the urge to speak. One who is able to control the urge to speak is a sober person.”

COMMENT

So, I’ll come now to the exceptions, because otherwise, it might seem nice in theory but difficult to apply. So now, Bhaktivinoda Thakura comes to one of the six topics that are unfavorable to devotional service. The topic of prajalpaḥ. Does anyone know the meaning of prajalpaḥ? Raise your hand. Yes?

Devotee: Speaking unnecessarily.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, prajalpaḥ, speaking unnecessarily. Actually, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that jalpanah, speaking, is natural. And even in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is the wonderful story of Uddhava when he comes to Vrindavan to deliver the message of Krishna and eventually, he meets Radharani and the gopīs. And there was a bumblebee hovering around Radharani, and She starts to talk to that bumblebee as if it was Krishna or a representative of Krishna. And those “mad talks” are analyzed by Rupa Gosvami as different types of ecstasy, and one of those is called prajalpaḥ, but that’s transcendental prajalpaḥ.

So yes, talking about Krishna, that’s wanted, that kind of jalpanah is wanted. But talking unnecessarily about others, there are many varieties of prajalpaḥ, but talking unnecessarily about others is the most dangerous.

READING continued

“Talking without reason about other people is extremely adverse to devotional service. Many people talk about others to establish their own reputation.”

COMMENT

So, what is that psychology? “Did you hear about. . .?” And then we say something bad about the other person. The psychology is that we want to make ourselves look good. I mean, it doesn’t really work that way with advanced devotees, but by making others look bad, we think we’ll look better. And this actually comes to a basic desire, false desire of the conditioned soul, which is to take the place of Krishna.

We heard this morning again about the Mahat-tattva and the creation. So, at the beginning, there is the Mahat-tattva, a sort of undefined spiritual energy. And the first creation is false ego, because the living entity, by nature, is the eternal servant of Krishna, and people in the consciousness of eternal servitor-ship to Krishna are in the spiritual world. So, when we come to the material world, we need a different identity, and that is called false ego.

So, there is this undifferentiated matter, and then we need a new identity, so that’s false ego, and then by contact with the mode of goodness, the mind is created, by contact with the mode of passion, intelligence is created, by contact with the mode of ignorance, the senses are created. So, we all have this consciousness that we want to be the supreme.

Srila Prabhupada gave the example that a mother is cooking in the kitchen and the child wants to also cook, but the child is too small. If she actually touches the fire, she’ll burn herself. So, the mother arranges a toy set of kitchen. I’ve seen it, we have many friends and their daughters have their little kitchen set and we visit them and they offer us their wooden bananas and whatever. So, okay, you can’t really cook, but okay, we’ll give you a toy set, you can play at cooking. So, we can’t really be Krishna. So, Krishna says, “Okay, we’ll give you this toy world and you can play at being Krishna.” And every person in the material world comes with that false ego, “I want to be the supreme.”

And Bhurijana Prabhu says it’s like you have six, and that’s every living entity in every species, but even if we just take the humans, so that’s six billion people walking around, and each one internally is really feeling, “Please wait, I have an important announcement to make: I am the center of the universe and everyone should act only for one purpose, which is to make me happy, and everyone should do exactly what I say and want.” So, you can imagine if we have six billion people and everyone is saying, “Wait a minute, I have a very important announcement to make: I’m the center of the universe, you all should just do what I want to make me happy.”

So, that’s false ego, and the mind is the agent of the false ego, it serves the false ego in the conditioned state. And the mind has two basic functions, very simple functions. Who can say? Yes, accepting and rejecting on the basis of false ego. I want this for my happiness, I don’t want this. And it just goes back and forth, accepting and rejecting, accepting and rejecting, and one minute, it will accept something, and in the next minute, it will reject the same thing.

So, the mind is also very important, vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ vegaṁ. But the principle is the same for both, and if time permits, we might discuss a little about the mind in particular, but it’s the same idea that the mind should be engaged in Krishna, otherwise, it should not be engaged in anything else.

So, this speaking ill of others, what we basically want to do is we want to establish that we are the supreme, that’s the underlying psychology. And so, if we say, “Well, this person has that fault so he is not the supreme, and that person has that fault so she is not the supreme.” But we find fault with everyone, okay, they are not the supreme, they are not the supreme, they are not the supreme. I guess there is only one person left, guess who that is? So yeah, you laugh, but it’s serious.

READING continued

“Being envious.”

COMMENT

I mean, we are here because we are envious of Krishna.

READING continued

“Being envious, some people are accustomed to discuss others’ character. The minds of those who are busy in such topics can never be fixed on the lotus feet of Krsna.”

COMMENT

So, this is why we are here, to be fixed on the lotus feet of Krishna, the holy name, and the Deities, and the scriptures. But if we busy ourselves in these topics out of envy, and envy is the basis, we will never be able to fix the mind on the lotus feet of Krishna. In other words, this is one of the secrets of failure, prajalpaḥ, and there are many varieties of prajalpaḥ, and specifically, speaking about others.

READING continued

“Talking about others should be rejected in all respects. But in the practice of devotional service there are many favorable topics that are faultless, although they are about others. In order to completely renounce talking about others, one needs to live in the forest.”

COMMENT

And some people do that, but it’s not practical, for most.

READING continued

“The two different types of practicing devotees are the householders and the renunciates. Because the renunciates have no business whatsoever with sense enjoyment, they can give up talking about others in all respects.”

COMMENT

Unless you are in ISKCON and have responsibility, sometimes it’s our service. But the typical renunciate just lives in the forest, he can give up talking about others completely. Yes.

READING continued

“Because the renunciates have no business whatsoever with sense enjoyment, they can give up talking about others in all respects. But because a householder is engaged in earning, saving, protecting, and maintaining the family, he cannot completely give up talking about others. It is best for him to live in a Krsna conscious family. When all one’s material activities are related with Krishna, then even his unavoidable talk about others becomes sinless and a part of devotional practice in relation to Krishna.”

COMMENT

In other words, as Srila Prabhupada said, we need to earn enough to keep the body and soul fit for serving Krishna, and everything in the house, and our spouses, and our children, and everything ultimately is meant to be engaged in Krishna’s service. When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, he gave a beautiful talk to life members in which he quoted a song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and in the song, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “When I chant the holy name, my home becomes transformed into the spiritual world.”

And Srila Prabhupada was encouraging them that the devotees are so powerful that they can make the spiritual world manifest by their chanting and hearing about Krishna. And he quoted the verse nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe, Krishna says, “I’m not in Vaikuntha,” yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā, “I’m not in the heart of the yogi. But I am there wherever My devotees are chanting My glories.” So, you can transform your home into Goloka Vrindavan by chanting and hearing about Krishna.

READING continued

“When one’s material activities are related with Krishna, then even his unavoidable talk about others becomes sinless and a part of devotional practice in relation to Krishna.”

COMMENT

Because he has to earn, he has to save some money, he has to protect his family members and property, he has to do all those things. But the ultimate goal is Krishna.

READING continued

“He should not talk about others in a way that is detrimental to anyone.”

COMMENT

So, this applies not only to talking about devotees, it includes talking unnecessarily about anyone. And people who distribute books or just interact with people in general often are reminded about how fallible their judgments are, how often they are wrong when they pass a negative judgment on someone.

I mean, I catch it in myself. I’ll be walking, I’ll see someone, and being the center of the universe, I feel everyone should look the way I want them to look, they should dress the way I want them to dress, they should walk the way. Everything should be just the way I want it. So, I’ll see someone and I’ll think, Gosh, what is that? And then the person will come up and smile and say, “Hare Krishna.” Oh man, how wrong could I be? Again, Krishna’s teaching me again, don’t see faults in others, but they may not even be there, ordinary people, so-called ordinary people.

READING continued

“He should not talk about others in a way that is detrimental to anyone. He should talk about others only whatever little is necessary in his Krishna conscious family. He should not talk about others without reason.”

COMMENT

All right, so that’s for the householders, and then there is another exception.

READING continued

“Moreover, when a guru enlightens his disciple on some topic, then unless he occasionally talks about others, his instruction may not be clear.”

COMMENT

Because sometimes we have to give a negative illustration to make the positive more clear.

READING continued

“When previous mahājanas have talked about others in this way, there is merit in such talk, not fault. As Śukadeva Gosvami said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.1.3–0).”

COMMENT

And he quotes the Sanskrit.

READING continued

“The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members. Persons devoid of ātmā tattva do not inquire into the problems of life.”

COMMENT

So, he is not speaking about a particular person, but a category, and it’s necessary that this is what you should be like, and this is what you should not be like. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura is very analytical, so there is a general category, that’s one way of talking about others. Another way is you speak about someone, a specific person, but you don’t mention the person’s name, that’s another way. And a few people will know who you are talking about, but depending on the audience, the others won’t know. And it may even happen that someone will speak about a person by name but there are conditions for this because you might think, Well, I’ve almost been suffocating here thinking I can’t talk about others.

Now, there is a loophole here, I can speak about others to illustrate a point about what you shouldn’t be like. So, we go around, “this person is really bad, you shouldn’t be like that person. I mean, you definitely don’t want to be like that, never, really bad.”

So now, what are the conditions under which one can speak about others? This is very important because if we don’t meet the condition, then we should keep quiet. Okay, so there is more, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives different examples of previous mahājanas who have spoken about others to make clear the point, and then he says. . .

READING continued

“Unless one speaks in this way while instructing and while concluding a subject, there is no benefit for oneself or others. Therefore, when the previous acharyas have personally set an example and taught others, how will we be benefitted by acting contrary to their instruction?”

COMMENT

So, there are people who think that you shouldn’t criticize anyone. This is very common, I don’t know about here, but in India, we met many people who thought we shouldn’t criticize others, and they criticized Srila Prabhupada because he criticized others. They were setting themselves up as superior because they don’t criticize. So, I’ll give one example from Juhu.

Srila Prabhupada had a friend named Dr. Patel. If you’ve ever read, well, even in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta or the conversations books, or listen to the tapes, almost every morning, Srila Prabhupada would walk on Juhu Beach, and he would discuss with Dr. Patel. And he and Prabhupada used to argue a lot, back and forth. So, Dr. Patel brought up a popular spiritual figure in India, and Prabhupada just pointed out why that person is not really accepted as an authority.

And there is no need to go into the details, but Dr. Patel became livid. I mean, something, the way Prabhupada spoke really offended his sentiment for that so-called spiritual leader. And they got into a huge argument. I mean, it was so bad that Prabhupada was shouting at Dr. Patel, and Dr. Patel was shouting back. And Dr. Patel’s cronies were trying to separate them and saying, “Don’t upset Swamiji, he has a heart condition, it’s not good.” But he just kept going. It reminded me of in the boxing ring, the bell rings and the round is over but they keep smashing each other, and the referee is trying to separate them, and their people from their corners are trying to drag them back to their corners, but they just keep going.

So then, after that, Srila Prabhupada said, “Okay, now no more discussion on the morning walks, we’ll just read Kṛṣṇa book.” And for the first time in I think a few years, Dr. Patel didn’t come to accompany Srila Prabhupada in his walk. But then, after maybe two days, three days, the way Dr. Patel describes it, Prabhupada was walking in one direction from one side of the beach, and Dr. Patel in the opposite direction, the other side.

Something inside Dr. Patel forced him to come to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, and he bowed to Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, and he said, “I’m sorry, Srila Prabhupada, but I’ve been taught to respect all the accredited saints of India.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, and I have been taught to say who is a saint and who is not a saint.”

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, not here, but in Harināma-cintāmaṇi, says that one should not criticize others, but one may, for a good reason, and as we’ll read, with the proper consciousness, criticize others. And if someone criticizes someone for rightly criticizing someone else, then that person should be avoided. But that was another thing, that Prabhupada didn’t stop Dr. Patel from coming, but this is the point, that sometimes you may have to criticize others. But conditions apply.

READING continued

“Those who talk about others. . .”

COMMENT

Now, here are the conditions.

READING continued

While influenced by devotional impediments like envy, hatred, pride, or desire for distinction are offenders at the feet of Bhakti devi.”

COMMENT

So, we are trying to get the favor of bhakti devi; crying, dying for bhakti. But if you talk about others while influenced by these impediments, you are offenders. So, it may happen that we see something wrong, some devotee may actually need to be corrected, but we should not attempt to do that correction if we are influenced by devotional impediments like envy, hatred, desire for distinction, and so on. But we can go to someone who we feel is free or relatively free from these impediments. And say, “This is what I’m seeing, the first thing is what I’m seeing, is it really there? This is what I’m seeing, is it really like that? Or is it just my own envy that makes me see it like that?”

So, that’s why it’s very important that we have confidential relationships. That’s also guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati, people that we can confide in who won’t talk about others, who we can genuinely reveal our mind to, “I’m seeing this in this devotee, it doesn’t seem right, but am I just seeing this? Is it just my own prejudice or my own envy?” And then, maybe more advanced or more pure hearted devotees can help us to see it in perspective, and then if there is some need for someone to speak to the devotee, find someone who can do it in a way it will be more likely received well by the devotee. Don’t take it upon yourself if you are influenced by these impediments or if it’s not your service.

READING continued

“Speech in the form of blaspheming sadhus is the source of great inauspiciousness.”

COMMENT

In the ten offenses, satāṁ nindā paramam, blaspheming devotees is the supreme offense. In other words it’s the worst offense.

READING continued

“If one wants to attain devotion to Lord Hari, then he should make a vow like this: “In this life, I will never blaspheme sadhus.” Devotees are sadhus. By blaspheming them, all one’s virtues are destroyed.”

COMMENT

And we can feel it in the kirtan. It’s said that the mercy of the holy name recedes when there is blasphemy of devotees, and that even if it’s on a subtle platform, it will affect us. So, we want to avoid this at any cost, by all means.

READING continued

“By blaspheming the supremely pure Lord Mahadeva, Prajapati Daksa, the best of ascetics, met with severe inauspiciousness. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.4.46)”:

“My dear King, when a man persecutes great souls, all his benedictions of longevity. . .”

COMMENT

Longevity, what does that mean?

Devotee: Duration of life.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, long life. So, by persecuting great souls, one’s duration of life is reduced.

READING continued

“All his benedictions of longevity, beauty, fame, religion, blessings, and promotion to higher planets will be destroyed.” The conclusion of this essay is this: Whatever prajalpaḥ is not favorable for devotional service should be carefully given up by Vaishnavas who are cultivating bhakti.”

COMMENT

And again, one should discuss only what is favorable. There is one other point, which I think is worth mentioning. Sometimes there are disagreements between superior devotees, and the acharyas and scriptures advise us that we should not take sides, because if we take sides, we will end up committing offenses. We should excuse ourselves from that controversy and just say, “They are advanced devotees, they are higher than I am. And who am I to judge?” And don’t entertain it, because very likely, you’ll end up committing offenses.

Another situation will arise when a person sort of wants to talk to you but you don’t know what’s going to come out, sometimes that happens, but you don’t want to reject the person, you don’t want to make the person feel bad, but you also want to, for your sake or for his sake or for both, you want to keep the topic congenial.

So, in such a case, as His Holiness Radhanath Swami told me this, you say, “I’m so glad you came, it’s so nice to spend time with you, but I have to finish my rounds. Would you like to join me in chanting japa?” Or, “I have to finish my three Chapters of the Bhagavad-gītā. Would you like to read the Bhagavad-gītā with me?” And they’ll either join you or leave, and it’s okay either way.

So, that’s also there, we don’t want devotees to feel unwanted or unloved, but at the same time, we don’t want them to degrade themselves by talking about others or to affect us by talking about others unnecessarily. And there was one devotee in Los Angeles, Gauri dasi. She was a great book distributor and a wonderful devotee. I heard whenever someone would approach her, “Did you hear about so-and-so?” She would say, “Oh yeah, that’s the one who distributed so many books,” “Oh yeah, she is such a great devotee and servant of Srila Prabhupada.” Before it can go any further, turn it into appreciation and glorification of the devotee.

So, that’s our vāco vegaṁ, way of controlling the speech. What to say? I guess we are on a somewhat fluid schedule here, but even otherwise, I think I have about ten minutes left, and then Madhava Prabhu and Radhika will continue with kirtan. So, do any of you have any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you read from the book that Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if we can control our senses, we can control the world. What is the meaning of controlling the world?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, controlling the world means what I said, that most people want something material, and if they want something material, then they’ll come under the control of whoever they feel can give them what they want materially. It may happen.

Srila Prabhupada told this story that he was in a discourse by his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and a person sitting next to Abhay, as he was called then, started to talk to him, and Abhay sort of naturally turned to him, and then Srila Bhaktisiddhanta stopped speaking, and then he said to Abhay, “Would you like to come up here and give the discourse?” And then he said to the person who was next to Abhay, “Don’t think that because of your monthly donation to the Matha that you’ve purchased me.”

In other words, if we depend on anything other than Krishna, in other words, if we depend on something of the material world, then we become under the control of those things. And if we don’t, we can control ourselves, vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha-vegaṁ, then viṣaheta dhīraḥ, he becomes sober and he is qualified to make disciples all over the world.

So, making disciples all over the world doesn’t mean that he controls them in a material way for his sense gratification, but he does control them in the sense that he gives them good guidance on how to serve the paramparā and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Radha and Krishna. So, in that sense. Good question.

Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you briefly talked about having to interact with people at workplaces. I mean, you need to socialize to do well at your job, and maybe that was one of the exceptions. Can you elaborate on to what extent are we supposed to or should we indulge in non-Krishna conscious talks with our colleagues at work?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that in your workplace, and it could also apply to students in regular mundane institutions, that these prohibitions do not mean that you cannot be polite in the normal course of affairs, but you don’t really disclose your mind to them about spiritual topics, you don’t take their advice about spiritual topics. And there are so many different situations, but sometimes they’ll expect you to, whatever, they’ll have the annual Christmas party in the office and there are so many varieties of social demands or expectations.

Now, there is one devotee in Mumbai named Srinathi dasa, quite a big industrialist, and so it was just part of his business. He had to go to these cocktail parties, and he said he used to go and he’d say, “Oh, I don’t drink alcohol.” “Well, why not? What’s wrong with it?” And he was like, “I don’t eat meat or fish.” “Well, why not? God created those things for us to eat.”

So, it wasn’t going very well, so then he changed his approach. So, whenever there was an event like that, he’d phone ahead and he would say, “You’ve invited me to this event and I really want to come, but I have to tell you that I have a terrible food allergy and I can’t eat meat, fish, or eggs.” And immediately, “Oh, you poor thing. Well, what can you eat? Just tell us what you can eat, we’ll make something special for you that’s completely different.”

And then when he’d get there, he’d go to a guess the cocktail bar before anyone had a chance, and then he could get an empty cocktail glass and pour seven up in it or something and put just a couple of ice cubes and a cherry or something to make it look like champagne or whatever. And he would walk around carrying that. The others would say, “Oh, he’s like one of us.”

So yes, Prabhupada said you should know the art of catching the big fish without getting wet. So yeah, I know it’s a common problem and you have to find your way to sort of do the minimum you have to, so that you can carry on with your work or your studies or whatever, but at the same time not compromise important principles. Because any of those things, imbibing alcohol, does affect your consciousness. And when you are really focusing on the holy name and really learning what it means to fix your mind on the holy name, then you want to regulate everything so that it’s favorable for that. Accept what’s favorable and reject what’s unfavorable.

But sometimes we do have to do those things, but the idea is the minimum, and you have to be sincere, not like, “If I don’t watch the super bowl and drink beer and eat whatever, I won’t be able to work with them.” Really work with a minimum. And if you are sincere, that’s the main thing. If you are sincere, Krishna will help, I am sure He will.

Yes?

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. When someone failed on the path of bhakti, does he lose the seed of devotion?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, when someone fails?

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Well, this is also a good question, he is asking if someone fails in the course of bhakti, does he lose the seed of devotion? Well, basically, the Bhagavad-gītā says that whatever advancement you make, it is not lost, but there are different causes why a person will fall down, and the most common is sensual weakness. If someone’s weak sensually and breaks the principles, his progress will be hampered, but it’s not that serious in the sense that he can continue.

There is a beautiful verse in the Eleventh Canto in which Lord Krishna says to Uddhava that His devotee is convinced that all sense gratification leads to misery and he resolves not to engage in sense gratification, but still, because of past habit or conditioning or weakness, he fails.

So, Lord Krishna says that that devotee should continue the process of devotional service in a happy mood. Why in a happy mood? Because the devotee knows that Krishna is there and he knows that with Krishna’s mercy, he’ll be able to overcome any weakness, and he is confident of Krishna’s mercy, sooner or later. And that’s where dhairyāt comes in, patience. His mood is, “Krishna may be merciful in this life or in the next life or in the next 100 lives, but He will be merciful. And I will not do anything but serve Krishna.”

So, the fall downs caused by offenses are more serious, and they can really make you weak, but even then, there is hope. And by chanting in the case of vaiṣṇava-aparādha, if you are in a position, just go to the Vaishnava and beg for forgiveness. And if you are not in a position, if the person’s no longer physically present and internally, you can go to those who are near and dear to that Vaishnava who’s no longer physically present and try to please them, confide in them. There is always hope.

But that one is really something that we should avoid like the plague, I mean, that’s the whole topic of this talk. But it’s never lost. Whatever service you do, you get sort of a spiritual credit, but you may not have access to that credit. It’s there, but it’s not doing you any good because you don’t have access to it. But you can regain your access to it by whatever the recommended method is for the particular cause of your fall down.

Very good question.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:20:37].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, philosophical. Maybe you can tell us. Yes, yes, yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:20:51].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, philosophical deviation. Well, that usually leads to offenses. So, I think the conclusion is that there is always hope. That’s the conclusion; there is always hope. No matter what you’ve done, there is always hope. You can come back. But at the same time, we shouldn’t take advantage of that, but we should really be very, very, very careful not to do anything that will upset our wholesome equilibrium.

Jaya! Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji ki jaya!

Okay, last question, then Madhava Prabhu will carry on.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:22:09]. 

Giriraj Swami: Your family members?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:22:23].

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we are talking about avoiding prajalpaḥ. And so, one example is in the workplace, but another example is with family members, and that can be even more complicated. Well, what has your experience taught you?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:23:00].

Giriraj Swami: Again, there are degrees. If you can find something of common interest, even if it’s not directly Krishna, of course, in the vision of the devotee, Krishna, is everywhere, nothing it’s outside of Krishna, but find something of common interest that doesn’t involve criticizing others. Something where you can relate, but it’s not going to involve criticizing others, that would be the main thing. And it’s also an offense to preach to the faithless, so sometimes younger devotees in their enthusiasm try to preach to their parents or other family members, and that may not work if there is no faith.

Once, I invited my parents and sister, they met me in India, and we were on a flight to Kashmir, actually, at that time, we were flying to Srinagar. And I had the idea, somehow, I brought up the content of the book Easy Journey to Other Planets. It’s sort of written in a scientific language, and my father was sort of rational and empirical. And so, I started talking to him about how you can travel to other planets by yoga, and he looked at me like, “Son, I was worried about you before.” And I thought, If I continue in this line, it’s just going to get worse. So, then I realized that it’s against our principles to preach to the faithless.

So yeah, you can find a way to engage them, try to find some way to engage them in a way that they don’t mind [Unintelligible 01:25:47]. Ṛtadhvaja Swami told me that he and his mother, when he first joined, they would always end up fighting about Krishna consciousness, so then they made a deal that he won’t try to convert her, but she won’t criticize what he is doing. And then after that, it was okay.

So yeah, sometimes you have to agree to disagree. As Bhakti Bringa Govinda Maharaja said in the morning, there will be obstacles, and there will be obstacles. And “expert”, one of the definitions of “expert”, one of the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, one of the definitions of “expert” is to always remember Krishna in every situation.

Maybe one last story. It’s not really good to give ourselves as an example but. . . So, one year before I was about to leave for India, this is within the last ten years. So, my sister made a feast and a farewell party, and she invited all the cousins and family members. And so, she made dal and everything she thought I would like just according to my diet, and it turned out to be Ekādaśī. And I thought one of the other devotees would have told her as she knows about Ekādaśī, but no one told her.

So, I sat down and oh my gosh. So, there was quite a bit of pressure, “What’s the big deal?” Within my heart, I know I couldn’t do it, it wouldn’t be good. So, I began glorifying the plate of prasāda, the beautiful colors, the texture, the arrangement. And my cousin is a family therapist, and so he is sort of into mindfulness and things. He said, “Wow, that’s such a great description you give, that's real mindfulness.” And I had what I could, the vegetables. And then I forget exactly what happened later, but something really good happened, and I think either my cousin or my brother-in-law, but one of them said, “Because you didn’t compromise on your principle, you got this reward.” They made that connection, so I felt vindicated.

So, I think we have to draw a line somewhere, but you have to try to be as pleasing as you can without violating any of our basic principles. And yeah, Krishna helps anyone, when someone appreciates a devotee, they make advancement. And Srila Prabhupada said if someone is just looking out their window and they see devotees walking down the street and they think, Those people look very nice, they make advancement.

Ṛtadhvaja Swami recently dyed his clothes, he was staying with me in Santa Barbara, and it was really a beautiful color. I told him I was getting orange envy. The cloth was such a nice color. And so many places he went, or we went, or he went, people were complimenting him and saying, “That’s such a beautiful color.” And so, they make advancement. If they appreciate a devotee for any reason, they make advancement.

You know when you do a good turn. I remember when I was in Sri Lanka, in Colombo, I would take the bus back then, but if there was ever an elderly person, I’d always get up and offer the seat on the bus and people would appreciate it. Just by appreciating, they can make advancement. So, let’s try to make people happy.

Hare Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya!

Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Ki Jaya!

Harinam Sankirtan Ki Jaya!