SB 7.9.19 – Activities for Permanent Benefit

Giriraj Swami: So, we shall read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Nine: “Prahlāda Pacifies the Lord with Prayers,” Text Nineteen.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 19

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha

nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ

taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas

tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām

TRANSLATION

My Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

COMMENT

I think at this stage, it won’t be very helpful to have the purport on the screen because I’ll be speaking as I go along in the purport. I won’t be reading it straight through. So, thank you.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world.

COMMENT

That’s a fact. Now we are in the coronavirus pandemic, that is another kind of suffering, and people are trying to escape that suffering.

PURPORT (continued)

There is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents.

COMMENT

Once, I was in Srila Prabhupada’s room at the back of Hare Krishna land in Juhu, and he heard a child crying in the distance, and he quoted this verse, which, of course, was relevant to the situation because even the parents cannot protect the child, although they want to. And it also gave me a sense of how Srila Prabhupada saw everything philosophically, in terms of shastra.

PURPORT (continued)

No one can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected.

COMMENT

So, this should be our constant endeavor, to always be under the shelter and protection of the Lord, because that is the only sure shelter and protection.

PURPORT (continued)

This is guaranteed. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.”

COMMENT

So, it is significant that Krishna told Arjuna to make the declaration. He did not make the declaration Himself, although of course, He could have. But the import is that although Krishna is very truthful, His affection for His devotees is such that sometimes, on a rare occasion, Krishna will break His own word to protect His devotee’s word, but He will never allow His devotee’s word to be broken.

One example was during the battle of Kurukshetra. Duryodhana challenged grandfather Bhīṣma that he was not fighting to his full capacity because of his affection for the Pandavas, which was sort of an insult, I mean, definitely a challenge. So, grandfather Bhīṣma met the challenge, and he declared, “Tomorrow, either I will kill Krishna’s friend Arjuna, or Krishna will have to break His promise not to take part in the fighting, not to take up weapons.” And it so happened that Bhīṣmadeva fought so strenuously and heroically that Arjuna actually was in trouble, and Krishna got down from the chariot and He picked up a chariot wheel, and He rushed towards grandfather Bhīṣma with the chariot wheel as a weapon.

Now, it was Krishna’s promise that He would not take up any weapon during the fighting, but He broke His promise to protect Arjuna, and simultaneously, protect the word of Bhīṣmadeva, who is also His devotee. Bhīṣmadeva is one of the twelve mahājanas.

So, on special occasions, Krishna will break His own word, but He will never allow the word of His devotee to be broken. And therefore, He says kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati, “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” So, because Arjuna made the declaration, it was even stronger, and Krishna will certainly uphold His devotee’s word.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial measure can act effectively. One should consequently depend fully on the causeless mercy of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, we are fully dependent on the Lord. The physician in medicine may not help, the parents may not help, the boat may not help, but the Lord will certainly help in every circumstance, if we depend upon Him and serve Him.

PURPORT (continued)

Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, this is also important, as a matter of routine duty, one must, of course, accept other remedial measures, such as medicine. Srila Prabhupada, he consulted doctors, he took medicine. And that’s our duty, I mean, we can’t be so helpless. In other words, being dependent on the mercy of the Lord doesn’t mean that we should neglect to do our part. I joined in Boston, and after a little while, Satsvarupa dasa, who was the temple president, made me in charge of locking up the temple in the afternoon when the devotees went out for saṅkīrtana. So, one afternoon, we were in the vehicle, leaving for saṅkīrtana, and I remembered that I forgot to lock the temple. So, I asked Satsvarupa dasa, Adhikari then, “I forgot to lock the temple. Should we go back, or should we just depend on Krishna?” And Satsvarupa dasa said, “That’s depending on Krishna too much. That’s actually taking service from Krishna. Because you didn’t do your duty of locking the temple, now you want to take service from Krishna that He should protect the temple and the property.”

So, we must do our part. But ultimately, of course, we do depend on the mercy of the Lord, but we shouldn’t take service from the Lord by neglecting to do our part.

PURPORT (continued)

Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this material world, everyone is trying to counteract the onslaught of material nature, but everyone is ultimately fully controlled by material nature.

COMMENT

Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, this material nature consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome, you can’t overcome it. Mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te, but one who surrenders to Krishna, he or she can surpass the material nature.

Once, I was in the backseat of a car with Srila Prabhupada, and when we chant, sometimes our mind wanders. And so, I asked Srila Prabhupada, “What should we do in such a situation?” and at that time, he gave the instruction to chant more loudly. So, shout, cry out for the mercy of the Lord so the mind doesn’t wander here and there.

PURPORT (continued)

In this material world, everyone is trying to counteract the onslaught of material nature, but everyone is ultimately fully controlled by material nature. Therefore even though so-called philosophers and scientists try to surmount the onslaught of material nature, they have not been able to do so.

COMMENT

That’s why they’re so-called philosophers, because if they were real philosophers, they would know that they and everyone else should surrender to Krishna, as the only solution.

PURPORT (continued)

Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four — janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (birth, death, old age and disease). In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature.

COMMENT

So, these four are the real miseries, and no one has been able to overcome them by material means. Janma—birth, there have been many efforts to stop birth, birth control or whatever you want to say, but birth goes on. I mean, some people subscribe to the theory of overpopulation. Srila Prabhupada did not accept the theory of overpopulation because he said Krishna is the father of every living entity and He can provide for all the children. And if you say, “Well, Krishna didn’t know there would be so many.” Srila Prabhupada replied to that hypothetical objection that Krishna knows everything; past, present, and future. So, He knew how many there would be that He would have to provide for. So, he didn’t accept the theory of overpopulation. But sometimes people try to curb birth, janma, but birth goes on.

Mṛtyu, everyone wants to avoid death, but no one has been able to stop death, “As sure as death.” And jarā—old age, nobody wants to become an old man or an old lady. There are many inconveniences that come with old age, but no one has been able to stop old age. They may invent some cosmetic procedures to try to make you look less old than you actually are, but old age, they can’t stop old age. And disease, they can’t stop disease. They may find a cure for one disease and somewhat contain that disease, but then another disease will come, for which they have no cure. If we were actually able to stop disease, then the hospitals should all close, the doctors and nurses should go home, there should be no work for them. But to the contrary, there’s always a cry for more hospitals, more beds, more doctors, more nurses. So, we haven’t been able to stop any of these four.

PURPORT (continued)

In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ. Nature (prakṛti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws.

COMMENT

I recently heard a lecture in which Srila Prabhupada was speaking on the point about the stringent laws of nature, and he gave the example, a simple example of overeating. If you overeat, the laws of nature are such that you’ll get indigestion.

PURPORT (continued)

Nature (prakṛti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws. So-called scientists, philosophers, religionists and politicians should therefore conclude that they cannot offer facilities to the people in general.

COMMENT

That would be honest, if they came to that conclusion and admitted it.

PURPORT (continued)

They should make vigorous propaganda to awaken the populace and raise them to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

That would be a real service. That would really help the people to become free from the miseries of material existence.

PURPORT (continued)

Our humble attempt to propagate the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world is the only remedy that can bring about a peaceful and happy life. We can never be happy without the mercy of the Supreme Lord (tvad-upekṣitānām). If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.

COMMENT

So, the whole point of the verse is that no one can be protected without the mercy of the Supreme Lord. And then, here at the end of the purport, Srila Prabhupada makes the point that we can get the mercy of the Supreme Lord if we please Him, and if we displease Him by disobeying Him, then we won’t get His mercy and protection. So, that should be our effort, that should be our focus.

So, in the old Boston temple, where I joined, for a while, in the morning, we would always sing a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which comes from the end of the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter: “Lord Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa,” Fifty-Eight Verse. And I will sing that because it’s beautiful, the Sanskrit is beautiful and the meaning is beautiful. And it makes the same point as the verse.

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ

mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ

padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

“For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step, the devotee crosses right over it.”

So, as we read in the verse from the Seventh Canto, a boat is not guaranteed protection, but the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord is guaranteed. And mahat-padaṁ, that actually has two meanings. Mahat can mean the cosmic manifestation, mahatatva, and mahat can also mean great souls. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes, mahatmas. So, Krishna’s lotus feet are the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and of great souls. And by taking shelter of the boat of the lotus feet of Krishna, we can cross over the ocean of material existence as easily as if it were a small puddle contained in the footprint of a calf. And of course, especially in Kali-yuga, the main process for taking shelter of Krishna and pleasing Krishna is to chant the holy names of Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

So, whenever we have time, we should chant or read or somehow be engaged in Krishna consciousness. In one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you’ve got time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t waste time. Don’t speak nonsense. Chant Hare Krishna.”

So, Hare Krishna. Thank you very much. Now, would any of you like to ask any questions or express any comments? I guess if you have something to say, you can raise your hand.

Host: I want to encourage devotees to please dig down deep in your heart and really take this opportunity. To me, it definitely is a once in a lifetime opportunity because I was always told by my spiritual master that we should always look at life like we are not thirty years old but thirty years dead. [laughter] He always told us that, and to take life very, very seriously. So, please, if you have a question, please unmute yourself and ask your question and mute yourself back. That way, there is no feedback for others. I believe Nitya Gopal Prabhu has a question. Go ahead, Prabhu.

Nitya Gopal Prabhu: Hare Krishna, Mataji. Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Nitya Gopal Prabhu: Wonderful lecture, Maharaja. Thank you so much. So, I like the point that we have to take the shelter of the boat of the Lord’s lotus feet. So, when we listen to the kathā or sit in the lecture, we understand everything. But when we get outside the door, we kind of forget that moment and we kind of get lost in the material world. So, how can we have that shelter all the time in our mind? It does get registered when we’re in kathā, but it does not get registered when we go out.

Giriraj Swami: Can I see your beautiful moon-like face? Good. Thank you. Well, we are always vulnerable. And if we remember how vulnerable we are, then we will naturally want to take shelter of Krishna. As it is said, “There are no atheists in the foxholes.” Foxholes is a military position in war. They say there are no atheists in the foxholes because in the war, whoever they are, they know they could die at any moment. And in that vulnerable condition, but we’re always in a vulnerable condition, but they’re more vulnerable. They’re not atheists, they have to pray to God, they have to call out to God, they have to depend on God.

So, if we’re conscious of our vulnerability, then we can easily remember that we have to take shelter of the Lord. And therefore, it’s said, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi- duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, which means we should always be conscious of these four miseries. This comes in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, and it’s part of the process of knowledge, to be aware of these four miseries. And at the end of that description, Sri Krishna says that anything other than this is ignorance. So, to not be aware of these miseries is ignorance, and to be aware of them is knowledge. There’s another statement in the introduction to the Kṛṣṇa book, in which Srila Prabhupada says that we should always be conscious of death. We should be conscious of the possibility of death, and that will encourage us to cling to the lotus feet of the Lord.

Nitya Gopal Prabhu: Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, I have a question pretty much related to what Nitya Gopal Prabhu just asked. When we sit in class and we hear the lecture and we understand what has been spoken, what we have heard in the lecture. And we don’t ask questions because to us, we’ve understood everything we’ve heard. But then that exude that comes out of us differs from what we heard. And I was always encouraged that it’s always good to ask questions, but I’ve also been told, “I’ve understood what I’ve heard.” But hearing and acting are different. So, how can we, as devotees, really hear, and I was always taught that hearing and listening are different, to really take it in and really probably meditate on what we’ve heard and really be cautious of our behavior?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s a very important point. In Vedic language, there’s the word mananam, which means to meditate, to consider. We hear it, but then we should also consider what we’ve heard, and we should also see how we can apply it in our lives. Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Bhurijana Prabhu wrote a very nice article on prayerful reading, and the idea in prayerful reading is that you’re praying to get some instruction out of your reading that will be helpful to you, and then you are praying to be able to apply that in your life.

So, our hearing should be active, we should be eager. It shouldn’t be passive. We appreciate it, we like it, but then it doesn’t really stay in our hearts and change our consciousness and behavior. And therefore, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, we have to regularly hear, because our tendency is to forget. So, nityam bhāgavata-sevayā, we must regularly hear.

Srila Prabhupada was very critical of the idea of bhāgavata-saptāha, that you just hear for seven days, and then you go on with your life as it was. But yeah, nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, we should always hear or regularly hear. That’s a very important point. Thank you.

Host: Maharaja, there’s a question that was just posted on the group chat that I’ll read for you. It is from Pandita Srivasa dasa from Cincinnati, he has a question.

Giriraj Swami: Pandit Srivasa. I mean, his wife’s name is here. We want to see his smiling face. Okay? Good.

Host: Haribol. Maharaja, the question is, “Should we, as sādhakas, take shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master either in addition to or in view of the Lord? Is there factually any difference between these two shelters?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, in principle, they go together. In fact, there’s another very nice verse from the Seventh Canto which I spoke on the other day. But it’s a process, taking shelter is a process, bhakti-yoga. And bhakti-yoga begins with that, ādau guru-pāda-āśraya, take shelter of the lotus feet of the spiritual master, sikseti, take instruction from him, dikseti, take initiation from him. So, it’s part of the process. We can’t jump over. I’ll just read that other verse from the Seventh Canto. Well, maybe I won’t, but that’s the idea.

Host: And his second question, Maharaja, is, “Also, how exactly does the Lord protect us? Does He protect us from the influence of the material energy? Clearly, it cannot refer to protection from material distress like death and disease, as they are part and parcel of material life.”

Giriraj Swami: Well, it can apply to protecting us from disease and death. I mean, yes, of course, ultimately, we’ll all die, at least superficially, but He can protect us. In fact, Srila Prabhupada says something very nice about that, that Krishna wants us to finish up our Krishna consciousness in this lifetime. He doesn’t want us to have to come back again. And so, to facilitate that, He may increase the devotee’s lifespan beyond what it was meant to be, in order to give him sufficient time to finish up in the present lifetime.

So, He can extend the lifetime of a devotee. Of course, the devotee will die eventually, but the Lord can extend his lifetime, the Lord can reduce the severity of a disease or the duration of a disease. He can, if it’s beneficial for the devotee.

But clearly, it can’t be that if you become a devotee, then you won’t get disease or something like that, because then all sorts of materialistic people would become devotees so that they won’t get sick. And Krishna doesn’t want materialistic people coming to Him for material reasons. He wants people to come to Him to serve Him and to love Him without any material motive. But certainly, He’ll do whatever is best for the devotee, and that could mean extending the devotee’s lifetime, it could mean relieving the devotee from disease, decreasing the severity or the duration of it. But we shouldn’t come to Krishna with that intention, but our only intention should be to serve Him and please Him. Does that answer the question?

Pandit Srivasa dasa: Yes, thank you, Guru Maharaja. I think it partly answered the question. The bigger question is, what does it mean to take shelter of the Lord and the Lord giving us protection? Protection against what?

Giriraj Swami: Well, in a way, like you said, the modes of nature.

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

Protection against the modes of material nature, protection against maya.

Pandit Srivasa dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Can I ask a question, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, please.

Devotee: Thank you so much, Maharaja, it was wonderful hearing from you. And one thing I would like to express the point you made about how our reading should be prayerful. I think that’s one thing, it’s beautiful, really beautiful, it’s going to help me a lot. Maharaja, the question I have is. . . Actually, I have two questions. I will try to combine them. You said if we don’t obey the laws of nature or laws of Krishna or Krishna’s instruction, Krishna won’t protect us if we don’t please Him. So, how, as a practicing devotee, how will I know that I am pleasing Krishna or Krishna is happy with me? Because it’s part of practicing, a part of our devotion practice. So, what can tell me that I’m on the right track and Krishna is pleased with me?

Giriraj Swami: Well, externally, if the spiritual master is pleased or if the Vaishnavas are pleased, that could be an indication that Krishna is pleased, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo. And internally, if you feel that you’re being satisfied more by Krishna consciousness and less attracted or distracted by material things, then that’s another indication. And if you perceive that your taste is increasing; your taste for chanting, your taste for hearing, for reading, then that’s a sign that you’re making progress and Krishna is pleased with you. But even if you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean that Krishna is displeased with you, but sometimes we do have to struggle.

And Srila Prabhupada said that he’s most pleased when he sees his disciples struggling. So, if you’re struggling to be Krishna conscious, to be more Krishna conscious, that’s also pleasing to Srila Prabhupada. And therefore, to Krishna. There was a politician in the Island of Mauritius named Paul Berenger. Anyway, without going into too many details, he was always running to become the prime minister, and he was always losing. Every single election, he lost. But immediately, the day after the election results were declared, he would have his banners up, “La lutte continue,” the struggle continues, the fight continues.

So, we should be like that for Krishna. Whatever the setback is, la lutte continue, we should continue our efforts.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, I have another question, it was just asked.

Giriraj Swami: Yes?

Host: Something that you just said that makes me wonder. You said that Srila Prabhupada likes to see the devotee struggling more. And what I’ve noticed or seen is in the recent decade or so, the concept of struggling with all this high-tech stuff and all that, is, “Why should we struggle? Just push a button.” And it’s a very foreign concept, at least in the newer generation of devotees. So, how can we help them to really grasp the understanding that struggling is good, and it’s not just a push of a button and wow, we get something popping up.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. Well, just hearing the maha-mantra when we chant it is not easy, it’s a struggle. Like Bhurijana Prabhu says, it’s a battle, but that battle must be fought. So, in some ways, things are easy, although I must say I was a few minutes late joining tonight because we had trouble with our internet. So, even with all those technological advancements, there can be difficulties. But internally, controlling the mind, fixing the mind on the sound of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, that is a struggle. I don’t know about all these conveniences.

I mean, there’s one sadhu in Vraja. He didn’t like his students to take notes because he felt it made them. . . Although most people say that taking notes is good, that if you note something down, you remember it better. But he wanted his students to just focus on hearing, and by their minds, their mental strength, to remember what he was saying, not by taking notes. So, the real thing about anyone or the younger generation, since you asked about the younger generation, is how serious they are about Krishna consciousness. Like Prabhupada said, chanting is easy, but the determination to chant is not so easy. But you have to give them a lot of good association, set a good example, give them love and affection, then that will encourage them to take up the process.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. I think Nitya Gopal Prabhu has a question because he has his hand up. I don’t know if that’s him or his son.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. This is Nitya Gopal’s son. Thank you for the wonderful lecture. So, I have a question. When I read Bhāgavatam with the family, I often come across that in order to progress in spiritual life, we just partake in austerities. So, what kind of austerities should we partake in in our day-to-day life?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. The basic austerities are no eating meat, fish, or eggs, no taking intoxicants, no illicit sex, and no gambling, and working to spread Krishna consciousness. There’s austerity involved in that effort to spread Krishna consciousness, but that effort is necessary, to distribute books, or in whatever way, to preach. But we don’t believe in extreme austerities or unnecessary austerities.

When Srila Prabhupada was in Visakhapatnam, he was visiting his godbrother, a very favorable godbrother, BV Puri Maharaja. And so, he was walking to the beach, and one of his disciples, Gurudas Prabhu, I guess he was a little late or something, so he was running after Srila Prabhupada without any shoes on. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Krishna consciousness is hard enough as it is, you don’t need to make it harder unnecessarily.”

So, we don’t do unnecessary austerities just for the sake of making our lives more difficult, but there are austerities involved in following the regulated practice of bhakti-yoga and in spreading Krishna consciousness. Those are the austerities that we accept.

Devotee: Okay, okay. Thank you, Maharaja, for the wonderful answer.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, I think Vrinda has a question.

Devotee: Maharaja, my daughter has a question. It is in the chat and I’ll read it to you. She says, “Hare Krishna, Maharaja, this is Vrinda devi. Thank you so much for giving us your association. My question is, how can an aspiring devotee begin a bond or guru-disciple relationship with the guru?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, tac chṛṇu, first comes hearing. So, you want to hear from different gurus, and if you find that one particularly inspires you, inspires your faith, inspires your desire to serve, then you can try to develop a relationship with him. But it begins by hearing, and then following the instructions, applying the principles in life, and asking questions.

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

Tad viddhi praṇipātena; praṇipāt means surrender, at least tentatively, you surrender, paripraśnena, you ask questions, and sevayā, you render service. And that way, the relationship should develop.

Devotee: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Thank you.

Host: Another question, Maharaja, Visakha has her hand up. Do you want to ask a question, Visakha?

Visakha: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you very much for the class. There was a point that you mentioned about. . .

Giriraj Swami: Wait, I can’t see you.

Visakha: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Visakha: You mentioned how Krishna enjoys being a struggle or does recognize the importance of struggling on the path of bhakti. But my question related to that is, how can we, as devotees, through our struggle on the path of bhakti not badger our spirits on that path and kind of attribute all the faults and the purification that we’re going through to our own identity and rather be a bit more kind to ourselves. Because usually, when you do badger, we say, “There’s something wrong with me, I’m going through all these things,” it kind of has the opposite effect and discourages us on the path of bhakti. So, how can we avoid that and be a bit more kinder during this process?

Giriraj Swami: There’s a very wonderful verse in purport in the Eleventh Canto. Maybe I’ll read it. Well, I’ll just find that. I’ll read that. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Chapter Twenty, Texts Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight.

TEXT 27–28

jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu
nirviṇṇaḥ sarva-karmasu
veda duḥkhātmakān kāmān
parityāge ‘py anīśvaraḥ

tato bhajeta māṁ prītaḥ

śraddhālur dṛḍha-niścayaḥ

juṣamāṇaś ca tān kāmān

duḥkhodarkāṁś ca garhayan

TRANSLATION

Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, My devotee should remain happy and worship Me with great faith and conviction. Even though he is sometimes engaged in sense enjoyment, My devotee knows that all sense gratification leads to a miserable result, and he sincerely repents such activities.

COMMENT

So, I think this more or less fits your question. I won’t read the whole purport, but I’ll read relevant excerpts.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Thus a devotee’s sincere desire is to engage twenty-four hours a day in the loving service of Lord Kṛṣṇa without any personal motivation. The devotee sincerely desires to be established in his constitutional position as the Lord’s eternal servitor, and he prays to the Lord to elevate him to this exalted position. The word anīśvara indicates that because of one’s past sinful activities and bad habits one may not immediately be able to completely extinguish the enjoying spirit. The Lord here encourages such a devotee not to be overly depressed or morose but to remain enthusiastic and to go on with his loving service.

The word prīta indicates that a devotee feels exactly like the son or subject of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is very attached to his relationship with the Lord. Therefore, although sincerely lamenting occasional lapses into sense enjoyment, he never gives up his enthusiasm to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa. If a devotee becomes too morose or discouraged in devotional service, he may drift into an impersonal consciousness. Therefore, the Lord here advises that although one should sincerely repent, he should not become chronically depressed. One should understand that because of his past sins he must occasionally suffer disturbances from the material mind and senses.

The words jāta-śraddhaḥ mat-kathāsu are most significant here. By faithful hearing of the mercy and glories of the Lord one will gradually be freed from all material desire and clearly see at every moment the utter frustration of sense gratification. Chanting the glories of the Lord with firm faith and conviction is a tremendously powerful spiritual process that enables one to give up all material association.

COMMENT

I mean, we shouldn’t beat up on ourselves, as you said, but we can repent. I mean, it’s healthy to repent, but it’s not healthy to become too depressed or too discouraged. And we have to remember that Krishna loves us. I mean, it’s mentioned here, prītaḥ, Krishna loves us and He wants us to come back to Him. He doesn’t want us to suffer in the material world. So, if there are occasional lapses, we should repent. If a child falls down, he picks himself up and starts to walk again. So, just pick ourselves up and continue, and Krishna will help us, and He wants us to succeed. Does that answer your question?

Visakha: Yes, Maharaja. Thank you so much for taking the time. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, we have two more questions. One is, “How is the word pleasing different in terms of material and spiritual aspects?”

Giriraj Swami: Who’s asking this?

Host: Mamina.

Giriraj Swami: And where is she? Oh, there she is.

Host: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Mamina.

Host: Mamina, can you clarify your question? I don’t know if I read it correctly. I did? Okay.

Giriraj Swami: But I don’t understand it.

Host: Elaborate, Mamina, please. We can’t hear you. Are you unmuted?

Host 2: She’s not on mute.

Host: Okay, it must be on her end. No, we can’t hear you. No, we can’t. I’ll go to the next question while you fix it.

Mamina : Can you hear me now?

Giriraj Swami: Oh yeah, there she is.

Host: Go ahead. Perfect.

Mamina: So, my question is, pleasing means there is one thing which is people pleasing.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Mamina: In terms of materialistic. But when we think of spiritualism, it is completely for our pleasure.

Giriraj Swami: Well, our pleasure, devotee pleasure comes from Krishna’s pleasure. So, devotional service means pleasing Krishna, pleasing the spiritual master, pleasing the devotees of Krishna. And people pleasing, I mean, we want people to like us. So, in that sense, we want to be pleasing in our behavior, but we can’t compromise our principles or our goals for the sake of pleasing ordinary people.

Mamina: Okay.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. Does that answer the question or do you want more?

Mamina: No, thank you very much I got my direction.

Giriraj Swami: Good. Good. If you’re pleased, then I’m happy. [laughter]

Mamina: Yes, I am pleased. I found my direction. We have to stick to our principles and then comes the pleasure.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Hare Krishna.

Mamina: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, the next question is from Ayushi, “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances onto the. . .”

Giriraj Swami: Wait. Where is Ayushi? There she is. Okay, Ayushi.

Host: “Maharaja, how do we see our sufferings as a blessing to grow in our bhakti? Sometimes we get carried away by the miseries and wonder whether Krishna is testing us and trying to help me to make me more tolerant and patient, or I have done such an abominable thing like an aparādha in some life that He doesn’t want me back in this life. How do I see my suffering in Krishna consciousness?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, there’s another verse, tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo. It is also Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter. Well, I’ll read it because I think it’s very relevant and it’s a very, very nice verse.

tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo

bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam

hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te

jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

“My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.”

So, dāya-bhāk, it means one is the rightful heir to his father’s property, you could say. And Srila Sridhar Swami has commented on this verse, that just as all a son has to do to claim his inheritance is to remain alive long enough. So, similarly, all a devotee has to do to inherit the kingdom of God is to remain alive in Krishna consciousness by chanting, hearing, associating with devotees, and serving. I mean, of course, there’s a subtle point here. So, vipākam means fruitive results, and the subtle point is that technically, when a devotee surrenders to Krishna, he or she has no more karmic reactions, because Krishna says. . .

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

So, when you surrender to Krishna, Krishna frees you from all sinful reactions. But although you no longer engage in sinful activities, you may still retain the vestiges of the enjoying spirit that led to those sinful activities. And therefore, Krishna allows a devotee to suffer reactions. They resemble sinful reactions, but they’re not really sinful reactions, but they are His personal administration of suffering or punishment to help free the devotee from any remaining traces of the desires that led to the sinful activities. So, it’s actually the Lord’s mercy, to purify us, so we can come back to Him. He is eagerly waiting for us to come back to Him. Does that answer your question?

Ayushi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Hare Krishna.

Ayushi: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, for this wonderful nectar. I’m having difficulty even just phrasing my words just being in your presence, and I want to thank you so much for giving us your mercy and your blessings, and it’s our good fortune that we are able to be in your presence. And I also want to let the devotees know that we have a double jeopardy with Maharaja because Maharaja is going to be speaking again the following Sunday for the Harrisburg temple on June 7th. So, line up your questions because it is definitely. . .

Actually, Maharaja, I think there is one more question. Maharaja, can I ask one more question? It just popped up.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Who’s asking it?

Host: Shanta Raj.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, I see her.

Host: Okay. Her question is, “What is the difference between dealing with different levels of devotees differently and behaving in a duplicitous manner?”

Giriraj Swami: Oh, that’s a good question. I mean, The Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Upadeśāmṛta, advises, ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam, six reciprocations of love. And then, he describes different levels of devotees. And in his purport, Srila Prabhupada says that in order to intelligently apply the six-fold exchanges of love with different categories of devotees, one should be able to distinguish between them. So, we should be respectful to all devotees, but we should give ourselves fully to the first-class devotee.

Well, it’s like prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā, that we give our love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Maitrī, we make friendship with devotees. Kṛpa, we give mercy to innocent people by preaching to them. And upekṣāḥ, we neglect the envious. But really giving yourself, it should be to a higher-class devotee, of course, and then make friendly relations with other devotees. So, that’s not being duplicitous, that’s just being intelligent. I mean, why would it be duplicitous? Can you explain why you thought there would be duplicity involved?

Shanta Raj: I mean, Maharaja, sometimes we behave with some devotees, which are senior, very nicely, and we may behave very callously with our peers or someone. So, that looks a little duplicitous in that manner. That’s why.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, we should be respectful not only of superiors. I mean, we may be more respectful to superiors, but we should also be respectful of our peers if they’re devotees. I mean, we should be respectful of every living entity. We shouldn’t be over familiar with our peers and sort of treat them negligently. We should be conscious of every soul and try to encourage every soul in Krishna consciousness. That will please Krishna.

Shanta Raj: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, one more question, and I think I’m going to call it quits for you because I know it’s been a long class for you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Host: “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.”

Giriraj Swami: Who’s this from? Who’s this from?

Host: Puru. Puru, can you show your picture?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, I can see Puru.

Host: Okay. And her question, Maharaja, is, “I am twelve years old. I want to know how would I know when I am ready to get initiation?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are certain formal requirements. Of course, to chant a minimum of sixteen rounds daily and follow the four regulated principles, and then there are certain ISKCON requirements. You must take the ISKCON Disciple Course, IDC. And I’ve heard from devotees who’ve taken it that they’ve found it very beneficial. And then you have to be recommended by your local temple president.

So, after you complete all those requirements, you could be considered ready from a procedural point of view, you could say, or behavioral point of view. But then, within your heart, you also have to have faith in whoever you’re approaching as a spiritual master. And unless you have that faith and have developed a relationship, as we were discussing, tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā, unless you’ve developed that relationship with your prospective spiritual master, then your readiness is not complete, you’re not completely ready. And attentive japa, that will definitely help you in every respect.