BG 3.10 – Sunday Festival Talk

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. We have been discussing the festival of joy, the Ratha-yatra. And, I thought to begin by discussing some of the internal and external features of Ratha-yatra originally. The deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subhadra, and Lord Balarama are quite unlike other deities. By deity, I mean, the worshipable form in the temple, the arcā-vigraha. And, the history is that some thousands of years ago, King Indradyumna commissioned these three deities to be sculpted. And, the sculptor was Visvakarma, who is the architect of the demigods or devatas. And, he agreed to take up the work on the condition that he would work behind closed doors, and no one would interrupt him until his work was finished.

So, Visvakarma was doing his work, and King Indradyumna became very anxious that what’s happening, why is it taking so long. And, he was listening outside the door. He didn’t hear any signs of work inside. So he opened the door, and Visvakarma immediately disappeared, and he left these three incomplete forms. But the king decided that he would worship them as they were nonetheless, and so the Lord accepted that worship. Now, the features that you see with their eyes dilated and even, you could say, their arms and legs withdrawn, those are actually features of someone in ecstasy. And, our Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura relates the history of how and when They assumed those ecstatic forms.

Krishna manifested His childhood pastimes in Vrindavan, and His Vrindavan līlā, which are human-like nara-līlā, are the sweetest of all of His pastimes. And later, after Krishna left Vrindavan, and went to Mathura, and then Dvaraka, He was always remembering Vrindavan. His heart was in Vrindavan. Sometimes, I’ve seen t-shirts I’ve left my heart in Vrindavan. Krishna actually did. And, sometimes in the middle of the night, He would wake up and call out the names of His devotees in Vrindavan. So, the residents of Dvaraka were very curious to know what is this place Vrindavan? What is so special about it? What is so special about the devotees there?

So, the one person who had been present in Vrindavan and was also present in Dvaraka was Rohini, the devotee who played the role of the mother of Lord Balarama. So, all the ladies of Dvaraka gathered in the hall to hear Rohini speak about Vrindavan, and they did not want to be disturbed under any circumstances. So, they posted Subhadra at the door to make sure that no one would disturb them. But she also wanted to hear, so she kept her ear to the door. And, as she was hearing this description of Krishna and His devotees in Vrindavan, she became very ecstatic. And she assumed that feature with her eyes open and limbs withdrawn, and so on.

And it so happened that Krishna came by, and He saw Subhadra with her ear to the door, and that ecstatic feature. So, He wanted to listen too. He also became ecstatic, and He manifested the features of Lord Jagannatha. And, Balarama also came, and He also became ecstatic, and exhibited His features that we see.

Now, the history of how the Ratha-yatra came to be, and what its inner significance is, goes back to the time of Lord Krishna. He was living in Dvaraka as a royal prince, so there was to be a solar eclipse. And it is the Vedic custom that at the time of an eclipse, one takes bath, one immerses himself or herself in some sacred water. So, Krishna decided that He would go from Dvaraka to Kurukshetra, which is a holy place of pilgrimage, Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra. So He and Balarama and Subhadra went on a chariot, that’s how They traveled then, They went on a chariot from Dvaraka to Kurukshetra. And so, we have the three of Them on a chariot.

Now, when the residents of Vrindavan who had been feeling separation from Krishna, except for Rohini who had gone to Dvaraka, heard that Krishna was going to Kurukshetra, they wanted to go because Kurukshetra is not so far from Vrindavan, Dvaraka is much further. So, they went. And, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes the very affectionate meeting between the residents of Vrindavan and the residents of Dvaraka. The ladies were so, yeah, just so affectionate to each other. You could see absolutely no envy, but everyone was just appreciating everyone else and appreciating everyone else’s service to Krishna.

So, of all the devotees in Vrindavan and in existence, the greatest is Srimati Radharani who we see on the altar to Krishna’s left. And so, yeah, She was very eager to meet Krishna, and Krishna was very eager to meet Her. But when She saw Krishna, He looked different. He wasn’t the Krishna that She knew in Vrindavan wearing His yellow pitambar dhoti and peacock feather, as we see here. But He was dressed as a royal prince. And, instead of the sound of peacocks, there is the sound of the clattering of horses’ hoofs and their chariots and elephants, and it was a completely different environment.

So, Srimati Radharani’s sentiment was that, You are the same Krishna, and I am the same Radharani, but We are not able to enjoy Our pastimes in this opulent atmosphere of Kurukshetra as We did in the simple rural atmosphere of Vrindavan. So, You should please come back to Vrindavan. And so, the mood of the devotees in Ratha-yatra, and Lord Chaitanya, who is Krishna but in the mood of Srimati Radharani, He celebrated the Ratha-yatra in Jagannatha Puri in that mood. What was that mood?

That mood was to take Krishna back to Vrindavan. And, in Puri, that journey is actually manifested because the Jagannatha temple is considered to be the representation of Dvaraka or Kurukshetra. And, the Gundica temple, where the Ratha-yatra procession ends up, is considered to be Vrindavan. So, in the Ratha-yatra procession in Jagannatha Puri, Lord Chaitanya was in that mood of Radharani dragging Krishna back to Vrindavan. So, when Srila Prabhupada spoke on Ratha-yatra on different occasions, he said, “This is a very feeling festival for the devotees.” So it’s. . . Of course, for the general people, they get so much benefit from seeing Lord Jagannatha, from pulling the ropes of the chariot.

In fact, there is a statement in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu compiled by Srila Rupa Gosvami that if someone in ecstasy sings and claps and looks at Lord Jagannatha, at the end of his life, he will go back home—back to Godhead. So, that is a very powerful blessing. And, some devotees asked Srila Prabhupada, “How is that possible?” Of course, sometimes Srila Prabhupada explained that, ‘Yes, when you see Lord Jagannatha, you are liberated. But you have to remain on the liberated platform.’ He says, it’s like you go into a hospital, and you get cured, but you have to follow the principles of health and hygiene so that you remain healthy, otherwise you can have a relapse.

So yes, in a way, it is possible. One can attend the Ratha-yatra, and feel transcendental pleasure, be liberated, be on the liberated platform but not maintain that position. But still Srila Prabhupada gave the other answer that how is it that if you just clap your hands in ecstasy and see Lord Jagannatha that you go back home, back to Godhead? Srila Prabhupada replied that at the time of death, all of our life’s activities pass through our minds. I had heard this also as a psychology student that at the time of death, all of one’s life’s activities pass through his mind very quickly. And, Srila Prabhupada said, “It’s like a movie in fast motion. But when it comes to that image of Lord Jagannatha that was imprinted in your mind at the Ratha-yatra, the film freezes on that frame. And so you leave your body with that image of Lord Jagannatha in your mind, so you go back, back to Godhead.” But still, we don’t want to take any chances. So we should try to be on the Krishna conscious platform throughout our lives, and develop love for Krishna so that we can think of Him at the time of death.

So, this festival has been celebrated in Jagannatha Puri for thousands of years. It was also celebrated in other places before ISKCON in India. I believe they had one in Ahmedabad. I know they had one in, sort of, on the outskirts of Calcutta that I attended once. But Srila Prabhupada, he brought Ratha-yatra to countries and cities all over the world. Now, we have it in Dallas. But yeah, New York Ratha-yatra is very famous, San Francisco Ratha-yatra, Los Angeles Ratha-yatra, and in Melbourne.

There is one story. I did tell it recently, but it’s a very nice story. So the devotees in, I believe it was Melbourne or Sydney. So, they were building the Ratha cart on the street. And, near where they were building the chariot, there was an apartment building. And, on the fourth floor of the apartment building, fire broke out. And, there was a lady trapped in that apartment. And, the only way she could get out, and save herself was to jump from the window. So, the devotees took the canopy from the chariot, and held it out under the window to catch her. So, they caught her, and she landed safely.

So, the news media picked up that story, it was covered in the press. And, they were very impressed that the devotees had used the sacred canopy of Jagannatha’s chariot to catch the lady. We may think, we can’t let this get contaminated. And so, Srila Prabhupada was very pleased with that news coverage. And, because I was meeting important people in Bombay, so he had his secretary cut out the news clipping, and send it to me in Bombay. And, he said that I should approach all important people, and tell them that Krishna consciousness is rendering the best service to humanity, materially and spiritually. Of course, spiritually for sure but even materially in the sense that we saved that lady’s life with Lord Jagannatha’s cloth. So, yeah, it’s a wonderful movement.

So, that was about Ratha-yatra. I have a verse from the Bhagavad-gītā to read. But before we proceed, do any of you have any questions or comments on what we’ve discussed about Ratha-yatra or any of what we discussed?

Devotee: Maharaja, the story that Krishna leaves Dvaraka with His brother Balarama and Subhadra and goes to Kurukshetra, and the initial reaction of the gopīs was, sort of, [Unintelligible 00:24:32]

Giriraj Swami: It could be as if they didn’t recognize who He was, right. Yeah, very well could be. Yes, thank you. So, we shall read from Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Three, “Karma Yoga,” Text Ten. Now, this verse and purport are very important because they tell us how to live happily in this life. Who wants to live happily in this life? Everyone. And, after this life to achieve liberation, who wants to achieve liberation after this life? Okay, this is a very important verse. Please repeat.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Again, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Three, “Karma Yoga,” Text Ten. Please repeat if you can follow.

TEXT 10

saha-yajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā
purovāca prajāpatiḥ
anena prasaviṣyadhvam
eṣa vo ‘stv iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk

TRANSLATION

In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Viṣṇu, and blessed them by saying, “Be thou happy by this yajña [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu).

COMMENT

Vishnu is another name for Krishna or another feature of Krishna, He is Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home – back to Godhead.

COMMENT

So, what is the material creation, ultimately? Yes, it’s a chance for the conditioned souls to go back to Godhead. That’s what it really is.

PURPORT (continued)

The material creation by the Lord of creatures (Viṣṇu) is a chance offered to the conditioned souls to come back home – back to Godhead. All living entities within the material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness of their relationship to Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

COMMENT

We are conditioned because we’ve forgotten our relationship with Krishna. When we are mindful of our relationship with Krishna, established in our relationship with Krishna, we are liberated. We are in our natural position. jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa.’ But when we forget our relationship with Krishna, we come into this material world and become conditioned by material nature. And, some of that conditioning is the body becomes conditioned, and the mind becomes conditioned. We identify with the body.

PURPORT (continued)

The Vedic principles are to help us understand this eternal relation, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. The Lord says that the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns, it is said: patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaram. Therefore, the Lord of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu.

COMMENT

So, of course, here we are in the Third Chapter but in the Second Chapter, Lord Krishna explains that we are not the body but we are the soul within the body, the ātmā or jīvātmā. And as spirit souls, our real relationship is not with matter, not with the body, not with the material world. But our real relationship is with the Supreme Soul or Krishna. And, we can be happy only in relationship with Krishna. When we come into the material world, we are like a fish out of water. You can put a fish in a golden bowl, and fill it with gems and jewels, and spread perfume and whatever, but the fish will not be happy. The fish is a creature of the water, and it can be happy only in the water. So, similarly, we are creatures of the spirit, and we can be happy only in the spiritual world or in the spiritual atmosphere.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also (2.4.20) Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as Pati in so many ways:

COMMENT

So, what does Pati mean p-a-t-i? Anyone know? [Unintelligible 00:36:40] Yeah, it’s often taken as a husband. Yeah, Lakshmi Pati, husband, Lord, master.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes the Lord as pati in so many ways:

śriyaḥ patir yajña-patiḥ prajā-patir
dhiyāṁ patir loka-patir dharā-patiḥ
patir gatiś cāndhaka-vṛṣṇi-sātvatāṁ
prasīdatāṁ me bhagavān satāṁ patiḥ

The prajā-pati is Lord Viṣṇu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world.

COMMENT

So, we read in the first sentence that the material world is a chance for the conditioned souls to go back home—back to Godhead. Now here, in this sentence, Srila Prabhupada is explaining, how?

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajñas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu, so that while in the material world, they can live very comfortably without anxiety.

COMMENT

Who wants to live comfortably without anxiety? All. So, we have to perform yajñas, sacrifice.

PURPORT (continued)

So that while in the material world, they can live very comfortably without anxiety. And after finishing the present material body, they can enter into the kingdom of God.

COMMENT

Who wants to enter into the kingdom of God after finishing the present material body? We all do. We should.

PURPORT (continued)

By performance of yajña, the conditioned souls gradually become Kṛṣṇa conscious and become godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali.

COMMENT

So, one might think, Well, those Vedic yajña are very costly, and very complicated. But here is the answer.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Age of Kali, the saṅkīrtana-yajña (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all people in this age. Saṅkīrtana-yajña and Kṛṣṇa consciousness go well together.

COMMENT

What does that mean? It means, if you are Krishna conscious, you’ll engage in saṅkīrtana-yajña. And, if you engage in saṅkīrtana-yajña, you’ll become Krishna conscious. They go together. Well!

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Kṛṣṇa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the saṅkīrtana-yajña:

COMMENT

This is an important verse.

PURPORT (continued)

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.”

COMMENT

So, sumedhasaḥ, that means who are intelligent, there is some good intelligence. There is another term in the Bhagavad-gītā, alpa-medhasaḥ, which means who have little intelligence. That term is used to refer to people who worship the demigods. And, sumedhasaḥ refers to people who worship the Supreme Lord Krishna especially in Kali-yuga by the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña.

PURPORT (continued)

Other yajñas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this Age of Kali, but the saṅkīrtana-yajña is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā also (9.14).

COMMENT

So, 9.14 supports this. Oh! it opened right to it. Satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ. What does satataṁ mean? Always. Kīrtayanto, what does that mean kirtan? Glorifying the Lord. Mam, Krishna.

TEXT 14

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

TRANSLATION

Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination.

COMMENT

As Srila Prabhupada says, “Chanting is easy, but the determination to chant is not so easy.” But we will do it.

TRANSLATION

Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

COMMENT

So, the conclusion after reading, and examining, and studying, and discussing is that we should engage in saṅkīrtana-yajñas. And, that will enable us to live happily in this life and to go back home – back to Godhead at the end of this life. So, we should all chant as much as possible.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

And, Srila Prabhupada says anyone can do it, anyone can chant. Even if a child can take part, even a dog can take part. Parth, do you take part in chanting? Do you chant? Yes. How old are you? Five. Can you please stand up, let everybody. . . This is Parth. Turn around. He is five years old, and he chants Hare Krishna.

[Devotees loud and clap] “Haribol!”

A practical living example of what Srila Prabhupada said, “Even a child can take part.” Okay. Hare Krishna. So, we have a few minutes. Yes. So, do we have any questions or comments?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Is there any difference between kirtan yajñas, and the chanting on japa beads, or the japa beads is part of kirtan yajñas?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. In fact, yes, japa is also. In fact, there is another line in the Bhagavad-gītā where Krishna says, yajñānāṁ japa-yajño ‘smi, that I am the sacrifice of japa. So, both are encountered as sacrifices that will bring the same result. Good question, very good.

Devotee: Thank you Prabhuji for your wonderful class. I am offering my obeisances.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

Devotee: And first of all, I offer my humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord, and then unto all the devotees of Lord. Here, my question is, in your talk, you mentioned that chanting is easy, but determination in chanting is difficult, and how one can get strong determination in chanting the holy name? Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, good question. So, there are two answers which are related to each other. One is by association. Srila Prabhupada said that Krishna consciousness is 90 percent association. So if you associate with chanters, you will become a chanter. When someone is born, he or she doesn’t smoke but they become smokers by association. No one is born a drinker, but by association with drinkers, he becomes a drinker or a drunkard. So by associating with devotees, you become a devotee. By associating with chanters, you become a chanter.

And, the other answer is by hearing. Just like, we are hearing now from Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, by hearing the importance of chanting. That we are suffering in the material world, we don’t want to suffer, and we can become relieved from suffering by getting out of the material world, and we can get out of the material world by chanting. And, I’ve heard that there are groups, they chant japa together on the phone or something. My own little attempt, I do a Facebook live stream of chanting japa every day, and a lot of people join in and it helps them in their chanting. So, association, it comes back to association, and also hearing, hearing the philosophy, understanding the importance of chanting. Yeah, I’m sure you can do it. Yes.

Devotee: I was curious because there are all these warnings related to chanting. But at the same time, it’s also instructed that we should chant constantly. So, how can one have a life?

Giriraj Swami: Well, let’s begin with the requirement for initiated devotees which is to chant sixteen rounds per day, that’s the minimum requirement. So, yeah, we can chant any time. We should. I mean, in some ashrams, even instituted it in Juhu, but I heard in some ashrams. And, even its described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, when the devotees would take prasāda, they would chant Hare Krishna, they would refer to the food, and say, ‘Krishna, Hare Krishna.’ So, yeah, we should chant all the time. But at least those sixteen rounds.

You are saying about your life, I did one japa retreat with Mahatma Prabhu among others. And, Mahatma Prabhu quoted one devotee who said that he used to feel that japa was getting in the way of his life. But now he feels that his life is getting in the way of his japa. [laughter] And, it’s better to chant inattentively than not to chant at all. As His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “The worst round you chant is better than the best round you don’t chant.” So, yeah, and by chanting, chanting, chanting, gradually, you become purified and offenses decrease. We should chant attentively, of course, as far as possible.

Devotee: I was very apprehensive [Unintelligible 00:53:11]

Giriraj Swami: So, chant attentively.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:53:28]

Giriraj Swami: Well, then don’t chant when you can’t chant attentively.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:53:43]

Giriraj Swami: By who?

Devotee: Trista Krishna Prabhu.

Giriraj Swami: Oh! yes, yes. Trista Krishna Prabhu.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:53:52]

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s good. Yeah, somewhere else is Madhava Prabhu, the kirtan leader, how he does it. And, he said the same thing basically that he chants each mantra as if it’s his last one, as if everything depended on it. He tries to do that. That’s good. Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, guru ji. Thank you for the class. [Unintelligible 00:55:08] So, many people ask me when I say this, they ask me so when the Lord wanted us to go back to Him, why did He descend here?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I think the initial premise may not be correct. I wouldn’t say that, that the Lord sent us here. But somehow, we turned away from the Lord and came here. And now, He is trying to get us back, and we are also trying to go back, but He didn’t send us here. No, we turned away from Him, and we came here. Yeah, I mean, some rare souls, śaktyāveśa-avatāras, they may be sent by the Lord to preach, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. But the Lord doesn’t send us here to enjoy. We come here on our own initiative to enjoy independent of the Lord.

But we are always frustrated because we can’t really enjoy independent of the Lord. So, when we come to our senses then we resolve to go back to Him, and then we can really enjoy spiritually with the Lord. That will be our success and our perfection.

All right. So now, we’ll have tulasi-puja. Tulasi is a pure devotee of Krishna. Vṛndādevī, her name is Vṛndādevī in the spiritual world, and she assumes the form of tulasi. And so, the worship of tulasi is very important. So we will do that now.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Hare Krishna.

Devotee: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji ki jaya!