The Passing Away of Devotees in Apparently Unfortunate Circumstances

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So, this planet is called Martyaloka, the place of death. In the Mahābhārata, Yamaraja asks Maharaja Yudhisthira, “What is the most amazing thing?” And the answer was that, “At every moment people are dying, but still, we think we will not die.” But during times like this with the Coronavirus pandemic, we are confronted more squarely with the prospects of death. Just yesterday, I got an email from a devotee who said frankly, that he is afraid of dying with all this pandemic. So, of course, death is inevitable, as sure as death. And so, we want to prepare ourselves. And I will read a verse and purport to encourage us to prepare. I mean, I will be coming to that topic of devotees passing away in apparently unfortunate circumstances, but really, that is part of the larger topic of death and how to prepare for death. So, I will read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, “The First Step in God Realization,”

TEXT 6

etāvān sāṅkhya-yogābhyāṁ

sva-dharma-pariniṣṭhayā

janma-lābhaḥ paraḥ puṁsām

ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ

TRANSLATION

The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Nārāyaṇa is the transcendental Personality of Godhead beyond the material creation. Everything that is created, sustained, and at the end annihilated is within the compass of the mahat-tattva (material principle) and is known as the material world. The existence of Nārāyaṇa, or the Personality of Godhead, is not within the jurisdiction of this mahat-tattva, and as such the name, form, attributes, etc., of Nārāyaṇa are beyond the jurisdiction of the material world.

COMMENT

In other words, the Personality of Godhead, Narayana or Krishna, exists beyond the material world, and even when He comes into the material world, He is still transcendental; His name, His forms, His qualities, His pastimes, they are all transcendental, and by associating with the Personality of Godhead, and especially by remembering the Personality of Godhead at the time of death, we can achieve the highest perfection and go back home, back to Godhead.

Just yesterday, I heard a talk in which Srila Prabhupada spoke about preparing for the time of death, and it was such a nice talk, and so relevant, that I thought I will read from it because it is very encouraging. My own summary of this talk would be, “Make your life successful, think of Krishna at the time of death.” So, here is what Srila Prabhupada said.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, June 5, 1976: “At the time of death, the position of your mind will create the next body. This is the science. So, if you create your position of the mind Krishna conscious, then you will get a body like Krishna, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. This is the Krishna consciousness movement. Love God, Krishna, and you get the next body like Krishna, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. This is the Krishna consciousness movement, how to think of Krishna at the time of death. Then, your life is successful. So, that has to be practiced.”

Giriraj Swami: And this is our assignment.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, June 5, 1976: “That has to be practiced. Sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ. If you always chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, that means you remember Krishna always. So, there is chance, 99 percent chance that at the time of your death, you will think of Krishna, and your life is successful. Very simple method, make always your mind absorbed in Krishna, and naturally, at the time of death you will think of Krishna. Mad-yājino ‘pi yānti mām. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ‘rjuna.”

Giriraj Swami: The translation is, “One who knows the transcendental nature of my appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in the material world but attains my eternal abode.” Such a person. . . This is Srila Prabhupada speaking.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, June 5, 1976: “Such a person, a Krishna conscious person who knows Krishna, if you think of Krishna, naturally you will know of Krishna. Krishna is in your heart. So, if you think of Krishna, then gradually, you become Krishna-ized. Just like you put the iron rod in fire. Gradually, it becomes fire—warmer, warmer, warmer, then red-hot. When it is red-hot, it is fire. Whatever you touch, it will burn immediately. Similarly, if you think of Krishna, the same example, touching fire. So, Krishna will purify you. Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ.”

Giriraj Swami: The translation is, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” So, we are discussing messages of Godhead. Now, this verse, satām, the truthful devotee. And Srila Prabhupada explains satām means a truthful devotee; no hypocrisy, no duplicity, we are what we present ourselves as being, we don’t pretend to be something other than what we are, and that is devotees.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Los Angeles, June 5, 1976: “Just like you are being purified by hearing about Krishna daily. Otherwise, why are you coming here? We have no money to bribe you to come here. You are feeling, becoming Krishna-ized; therefore you are coming.

So, this is the process, simple process. You simply be engaged in Krishna consciousness. Then you become Krishna-ized, purified. And as soon as you become purified, you understand Krishna. By thinking of Krishna, naturally you become attached. Just like the materialists, they are always thinking of women and money, so they become attached to women and money. Similarly, if you think of Krishna, you become attached to Krishna. It is not a difficult job.”

Giriraj Swami: So, this is our mission, to become attached to Krishna, more attached to Krishna than to anything else or anyone else, so that at the time of death, we can remember Krishna, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ, and go back home, back to Godhead. But it is not so easy. I mean, in a way it is easy, but in a way it is not so easy because we have other attachments.

I will tell one instructed story about my godbrother, very nice godbrother, Vaikunthanath dasa. In fact, he was in the old Boston Temple, he was my senior godbrother when I joined the temple in Boston, I was in the Boston Temple. So, he was driving his motor vehicle, and it stalled on the railway tracks. And naturally, he wanted to get it going, so he was fiddling with it, trying to get the motor to start again. Meanwhile, he saw a train was coming, it was heading right towards him. And he was trying to get the motor to start but he couldn’t, and he saw that the train was going to hit him. So, just before the train hit, he started to chant Hare Krishna, but when the train hit, he thought of his wife, what will happen to her after he dies, and that was his last thought. But he didn’t die. Fortunately, he lived to tell the story and he is still alive and well in Krishna consciousness. But that shows how our mind may, at the last moment, go to some other attachment besides Krishna. And so, we have to really Mayy āsakta-manaḥ partha, as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, increase your attachment to Krishna. And we do that by chanting. Well, all the processes, but especially chanting, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, but the chanting also should be from the heart.

Srila Prabhupada gave the wonderful example that a parrot can also learn how to chant, a parrot can also chant ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,’ but when death comes, when the cat catches hold of the parrot, then there is no more ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,’ it says “Ka ka ka”. So, Srila Prabhupada said our chanting shouldn’t be like that, that ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,’ but then when death comes, “Ka ka ka.” So, the chanting has to be deep, that is the idea. And of course, there is a whole science to chanting, and many devotees have written wonderful books about japa, chanting; His Holiness Sacinandana Swami, His Grace Bhurijana dasa. And so, reading about chanting and speaking about chanting is also very supportive to our chanting. So, now we come back to this purport.

PURPORT (continued)

By the speculation of empiric philosophy, which discerns matter from spirit, or by cultivation of mystic powers, which ultimately helps the performer to reach any planet of the universe or beyond the universe, or by discharge of religious duties, one can achieve the highest perfection, provided one is able to reach the stage of nārāyaṇa-smṛti, or constant remembrance of the Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, that is our task or assignment, and as Srila Prabhupada said, the best way or the principal way is by chanting.

PURPORT (continued)

This is possible only by the association of a pure devotee, who can give a finishing touch to the transcendental activities of all jñānīs, yogīs or karmīs, in terms of prescribed duties defined in the scriptures. There are many historical instances of the achievement of spiritual perfection, such as that of the Sanakādi Ṛṣis.

COMMENT

That means the Four Kumaras.

PURPORT (continued)

And the celebrated nine Yogendras, who attained perfection only after being situated in the devotional service of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, these personalities, like the Four Kumaras and the nine Yogendra’s, they were transcendentalists but they were not devotees, but in the end, they became devotees, and that is the position from which we could remember Narayana or Krishna at the time of death.

PURPORT (continued)

They attained perfection only after being situated in the devotional service of the Lord. None of the devotees of the Lord ever deviated from the path of devotional service by taking to other methods as adopted by the jñānīs or yogīs.

COMMENT

So, the other practitioners, karmis, jñānīs, and yogis, they have to make progress to become devotees, but devotees, they never go back and become karmis, jñānīs, or yogis.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone is anxious to achieve the highest perfection of his particular activity, and it is indicated herein that such perfection is nārāyaṇa-smṛti, for which everyone must endeavor his best. In other words, life should be molded in such a manner that one is able to progressively remember the Personality of Godhead in every step of life.

Giriraj Swami: So, if we are constantly remembering Krishna. . . In fact, that is the basic principle, vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti, smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇuḥ vismartavyo na jātucit that is the basic principle, to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. And we should mold our lives in such a way that we always remember Krishna and never forget Him, so that at the time of death, it says 99 percent chance, maybe even 100 percent, that we will remember Krishna and attain success in life, and go back home, back to Godhead. So now, we have examples of what we would consider to be the ideal death. We have Srila Prabhupada’s example who is in the holy dhāma of Vrindavan surrounded by devotees chanting the holy name. But sometimes devotees do not leave in such ideal circumstances, but that may also be part of a plan. We should not think that just because devotees leave in awkward situations that they did not get Krishna’s mercy or they did not achieve their progressive goal.

And so, I thought to read a very relevant verse, the purport of which is that we cannot really understand the plan of the Lord. And therefore, even if a devotee leaves in apparently unfortunate circumstances or awkward circumstances, it may not actually be so because it may be part of a larger plan of the Lord. So, this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Sixteen, “Jaya and Vijaya Cursed by the Sages,” Text Thirty-seven. I will just read the translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada.

This is Lord Brahma speaking.

TEXT 37

My dear sons, the Lord is the controller of the three modes of nature and is responsible for the creation, preservation and dissolution of the universe. His wonderful creative power, yoga-māyā, cannot be easily understood even by the masters of yoga. That most ancient person, the Personality of Godhead, will alone come to our rescue. What purpose can we serve on His behalf by deliberating on the subject?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

When something is arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not be disturbed by it, even if it appears to be a reverse according to one’s calculations. For example, sometimes we see that a powerful preacher is killed, or sometimes he is put into difficulty, just as Haridāsa Ṭhākura was. He was a great devotee who came into this material world to execute the will of the Lord by preaching the Lord’s glories. But Haridāsa was punished at the hands of the Kazi by being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Similarly, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, and Prahlāda Mahārāja was put through so many tribulations. The Pāṇḍavas, who were direct friends of Kṛṣṇa, lost their kingdom, their wife was insulted, and they had to undergo many severe tribulations. Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, devotees are always under the care of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and even if they die in apparently awkward situations or unfortunate situations, we have to have faith that they were and are being protected by the Lord or, placed by the Lord in certain circumstances for their ultimate benefit by the Lord’s mercy.

PURPORT (continued)

Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavatam’s conclusion is that a devotee is never disturbed by such reverses. He accepts even reverse conditions as the grace of the Lord. One who continues to serve the Lord even in reverse conditions is assured that he will go back to Godhead, back to the Vaikuṇṭha planets.

COMMENT

So here, Srila Prabhupada is indirectly referring to a very important verse from the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo. And the idea of the verse is that if one accepts reverse conditions as the mercy of the Lord, and rather than becoming discouraged in devotional service becomes even more intent in devotional service, offering respects to the Lord with body, mind, and words, such a devotee, as Prabhupada says, is guaranteed to go back to home, back to Godhead. And the exact word used in that verse in Sanskrit is dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk refers to a son’s rightful inheritance from father. And Srila Sridhra Swami, the great commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, remarks that the devotee need only remain alive in Krishna consciousness, and he is guaranteed to inherit the kingdom of God. So, in other words, he will go back home, back to Godhead. He just has to remain alive in Krishna consciousness, and he will get his lawful inheritance from his father, and in this case, the Supreme Father. And that rightful inheritance is the kingdom of God, going back home, back to Godhead.

So, we should always have faith in the mercy of Krishna and in the process of Krishna consciousness, and practice remembering Krishna always, especially by chanting the holy names. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, and by studying Srila Prabhupada’s books and engaging in all the processes of devotional service of bhakti yoga as given in the revealed scriptures and by the spiritual master, by Srila Prabhupada. And especially, the chanting, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, that will create remembrance of Krishna.

When we first joined ISKCON, it was the practice that we would read Kṛṣṇa book at night before taking rest. And so, then in the morning, when we got up to chant our japa after maṅgala-ārati, it was natural to remember Krishna. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you read the Kṛṣṇa book, whatever situation you are in will remind you of Krishna. And I experienced that, particularly at one stage when we were in Gorakhpur with Srila Prabhupada, it was amazing. Yes, everything reminded me of Krishna because of reading the Kṛṣṇa book. So yes, these are all different methods or practices that help us to remember Krishna, so that ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ, we can remember Narayana or Krishna at the time of death, and that is our success, that is the perfection of our life. Hare Krishna.

So, I would like to stop speaking now to give others a chance to add their thoughts, insights, realizations, or to ask questions. So, I would say that anyone who has a question, you can raise your hand, and we will call on you, I guess Premarasa dasa will call on you and unmute you or ask you to unmute yourself. So, if you have any questions or comments, please raise your hand.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, for the wonderful, nectarine class, got to understand a lot of deep insights. Maharaja, I have a list of questions already because I knew that there will be a lot of devotees joining, so we have already prepared a list of questions. And so, if I can ask you a couple of them?

Giriraj Swami: Okay, you prepared these questions?

Host: My devotee friends and myself, I have questions, so we already have prepared some questions, and I think probably most of the devotees might have similar type of questions.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, shoot.

Host: Okay. So Maharaja, you mentioned about, you quoted Srila Sridhar Swami Maharaja and how he mentioned that you just be alive in Krishna consciousness and you can go back to Godhead or you can inherit the property of the father. But Maharaja, you also know that there are certain requirements to go to Goloka. As we know from shastra, and Srila Prabhupada also mentioned in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, without cultivating the feelings of rāga marg or rāgānugā-bhakti or without following the resident of vrajavāsī, we cannot go to Goloka. So, how do you connect the special mercy, which is bestowed by Prabhupada? Because we are not, in ISKCON, we are not talking about these things, we are mostly talking about spreading Srila Prabhupada’s mission, chanting the holy name, and follow the regulative principles strictly, and we go back to Godhead. So, how do we connect both these things together, and what exactly happens at the time of death? Is our svarūpa revealed to us or we know whom we are supposed to follow in the spiritual world? So that is the question.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, just yesterday, I read a letter from Srila Prabhupada to a disciple who was asking similar questions, and Srila Prabhupada replied that generally, the followers of Lord Chaitanya will go to Goloka, Vrindavan. And yes, as you know, there are different stages of spiritual progress. As Srila Rupa Gosvami in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu delineates,

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ atha bhajana-kriyā
tato anartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā tataḥ ruciḥ
athāsaktis tato bhāvas sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ
prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ.

So, it is considered to be sahajiyā, sahajiyā means, people who take things cheaply, they are devotees but they are not really proper. So, it is considered to be sahajiyā. This is from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

If one tries to build one’s svarūpa on the basis of one of the developments of sraddha, before āsakti. In the advanced stage of āsakti, when one is approaching bhāva, one can get a sense of one’s svarūpa. And then, of course, at the stage of bhāva, yes, one’s svarūpa is revealed, and at the stage of prema, one actually acts within kṛṣṇa-līlā, according to one’s svarūpa. So yes, I don’t think that we should try to prematurely imagine our svarūpa. As you said, there are two processes of sādhana-bhakti. There is vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti and rāgānugā- sādhana-bhakti. And the ādhikar, or the requirement for beginning vaidhī-sādhana-bhakti is sraddha, faith, and the ādhikar or requirement for beginning rāgānugā- sādhana-bhakti or greed, greed to follow one of the associates of Krishna in Vrindavan in a particular mood of service. But, as Srila Prabhupada says, that doesn’t come before anartha-nivṛtti. If one asks to become free from these unwanted habits and bad qualities, and then when one has passed that and is at a more advanced stage, one can have some lobha, some greed for a particular type of service, following in the footsteps of one of Krishna’s eternal associates. So, it is all there, but when one comes to the state of advancement when such thoughts or practices are appropriate, one will have that and all the information is there that we require. But we shouldn’t artificially try to imagine our svarūpa or our relationship with Krishna, our service to Krishna, yes.

Host: Yes, Maharaja. Maharaja, thank you so much for the answer. There is a follow-up question to this, and the question is that. . . So, do you mean to say that when a devotee passes away, then if a devotee is quite advanced or has satisfied the spiritual master quite thoroughly, then all these higher stages, or all these symptoms, or the inclination to serve a particular vrajavāsī in Goloka, it will all manifest at the time of death, before passing away?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, you mean, will it manifest in this lifetime?

Host: Yes, generally we say that the devotee has gone back to Godhead. Seeing the type of services the devotee has rendered, he must have pleased Prabhupada very thoroughly or the spiritual master. So then, we believe and we have faith that because Prabhupada said that, “If you just sincerely serve Krishna throughout your life, follow the regulative principles, and read my books and preach, then you will. . .” One is assured to go back to Godhead in this lifetime, Prabhupada said many times. So, does it mean that because of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy the devotee will realize the details of his relationship with the Lord?

Giriraj Swami: Well, he might not before he leaves the body, but he will reach the goal after leaving the body.

Host: Okay.

Giriraj Swami: Once, Yamuna devi asked Srila Prabhupada about that, following one of the eternal residents of Vrindavan, and Srila Prabhupada. . . I don’t remember exactly how the discussion went, but the conclusion was that Srila Prabhupada was an eternal resident of Vrindavan and one could follow him. Yes, I don’t think we should worry too much about these things. Yes, our superiors will take care of all that.

Host: Okay. Okay, thank you very much, Maharaja. Another question, Maharaja is, one devotee is asking. . .

Giriraj Swami: One of these devotees who are with us, or one from. . .?

Host: Yes, yes, one of the devotees who is currently live, and also, she is part of our group.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, because I like to see the devotee who is asking the question.

Host: Oh, okay.

Giriraj Swami: On the screen. That is more personal.

Host: Yes Maharaja. [Unintelligible 01:15:38] Mataji

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Thank you for the wonderful class. Maharaja, my question is that you mentioned about the devotee that he was chanting Hare Krishna, but actually, when the time of death came, he thought about something else, and we shouldn’t chant like a bird and then, when the tragedy happens, our mind goes somewhere else. And you said that one should develop attachment to the holy name, but our mind always wanders while chanting. So, how can we develop that intensity to purify our chanting?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes. Well, Srila Prabhupada said practice makes perfect, even in spiritual life. So, we have to practice. Yes, the main thing, of course, is to articulate the holy names and hear them. In fact, I listen to these. . . I mean, I used to listen to Srila Prabhupada lectures systematically, but recently, I have started listening to his lectures on TuneIn, so I just get whatever comes up. And I like it because I end up getting things which I wouldn’t have expected. And so, in one of those, which I heard recently, Srila Prabhupada spoke about chanting. So, I will just read an excerpt from that talk, which I heard.

Mayapur, June 17, 1973: Kṛṣṇa is always ready to help us, provided we are also ready to cooperate with Him. If we cooperate with Him, what Kṛṣṇa desires, if we want to do little, immediately Kṛṣṇa will help you. If you work 1 percent, Kṛṣṇa will help you 10 percent. Again if you work 1 percent, Kṛṣṇa will help you another 10 percent. But the cent-percent credit you get, by the help of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa gives you intelligence teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, buddhi-yogaṁ dadāmi tam. “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” If you are engaged satatam, twenty-four hours, without any other engagement, giving up all other nonsense business, if you are engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s business, prīti-pūrvakam, with love. Not as hackneyed.

Giriraj Swami: Hackneyed means, stereotyped or you could even say boring.

Mayapur, June 17, 1973: “Ah, here is a duty, chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. All right, Harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇa. . .”

Giriraj Swami: [laughter] In this talk, that is how Srila Prabhupada was chanting, imitating someone who just wants to be done with his rounds, chanting very quickly and indistinctly.

Mayapur, June 17, 1973: “Harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇa. . .” Not like that. With prīti, with love. Chant every name, “Hare Kṛṣṇa,” and hear. Here is Kṛṣṇa, here is Rādhārāṇī. That kind of chanting, quality. Not “Harekṛṣṇaharekṛṣṇakṛṣṇakṛṣṇaharehare. . .” Not like that. Prīti.

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti. That prīti. . .

Giriraj Swami: Prīti means love.

Mayapur, June 17, 1973: That prīti is required; that is the essential quality.

Comment by Giriraj Swami: So yes, you just have to keep practicing. Again. . . And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that. . . I mean, in his book Harināma-cintāmaṇi, in which he discusses the holy name and the ten offenses, he says that we should not chant with the mentality of wanting to get our rounds done. We may, but I have facilitated many japa retreats and workshops, and in one, which I did with Mahatma Prabhu, he quoted a devotee as saying that, “Previously, I used to think that japa was coming in the way of my life.” Meaning, because he had to finish his rounds, he couldn’t get on with his life. So, he said, “Previously, I used to think japa was getting in the way of coming in the way of my life, now I think my life is coming in the way of my japa.” So yes, we want to come to that stage, that attitude.

Any other questions or comments? Especially from people who are with us.

Host: There is a question from Rasa Sundari Mataji, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, Rasa Sundari Mataji.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Nice to be with you. I was wondering when you were talking about when the devotee is leaving the body, and you spoke about higher authority, so we are taking care of him then. I was wondering, because of the eternal relationship between the disciple and the spiritual master, so when the disciple leaves before the spiritual master, how he is taken care of?

Giriraj Swami: I don’t understand the question. You mean. . .? Yes, maybe you could repeat it or explain it?

Devotee: Yes. The relationship between the spiritual master and the devotee is eternal, and I understand that the devotee, when he goes to the spiritual world, he is under the guidance and the practice, under the guidance at least, of the spiritual master. So I was wondering, what is happening when the devotee leaves this world before the spiritual master?

Giriraj Swami: Oh. Well, there will be other associates of the spiritual master in the spiritual world, yes, who can engage the devotee. So, in our case, I imagine if someone goes to the spiritual world, so Srila Prabhupada will be there in some form, and then the other disciples who have already left. There is so many, but say, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Tirtha Swami, so many, they will be there, and they can welcome that new arrival and engage them. So, I think that there is no problem at all, yes. Hare Krishna.

Host: Okay, Maharaja, next question we have from Sunil [Unintelligible 01:24:36] Prabhu. Are you there, Sunil Prabhu?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you very much for your wonderful. . . Hare Krishna. Maharaja, I had a question. What about devotees who are unwell in the hospital when they are not conscious for many days. So, how will the remembrance of the Lord come to them? Although externally we may put Prabhupada tape, it may be running and all, how will the Lord allow them to remember Him?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Well, there is a very nice verse, I believe in the Varāha Purāṇa, in which the Lord says that, “If due to various circumstances My devotee cannot remember Me at the time of death, I will remember My devotee.” But, although externally the person may appear to be unconscious, but internally, the person is conscious, and of all the senses to go, the sense of hearing goes last. And so, again, although the person may appear to be unconscious, but the person is hearing, maybe hearing or is hearing. And so, we should keep the vibration of transcendental sound as long as the person is still in the body. And it has happened, unfortunately, that whatever, friends and relatives, they think that the person is not able to hear them, and they say things that they would not have wanted the person to hear, but the person did hear them, because although he or she seemed to be unconscious, but the consciousness was there and the sense of hearing was there. So yes, we want to keep up that transcendental vibration until the end and afterwards, yes.

Host: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. There is another question from Kola Mohan dasa Pramodini. Would you like to ask the question, Kola Mohan dasa Pramodini?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, please ask.

Host: Okay, I am not sure if the devotee is still there. So, the question is, if devotee at the time of death remembers family members, what is the status after death?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it would depend on the spiritual advancement of the family members. Thinking of a family member at the time of death may or may not be good or bad, but if the family member is very Krishna conscious, then thinking of that family member could be good. So, it is natural that we are attached to our family members, so it is both for their benefit and for our benefit that they become Krishna conscious because then, if we think of them and they are Krishna conscious, then that will be a Krishna conscious death for us.

You may know the story of Ajamila who was born in a good brahman family, but later he married a prostitute and became very degraded, very sinful. So much so that at the age of Eighty-eight, he had an eight-year-old son. And at the time of death, the Yamadutas, the messengers of Yamaraja, came to take Ajamila to punish him for all his sinful activities. But at that moment, being panic-stricken, he called out helplessly for his son who was named Narayana, ante nārāyaṇa smṛtiḥ. So, the last moment, he chanted, “Narayana, Narayana, Narayana,” indicating his son, but because he chanted the holy name of Narayana, the Narayandutas, the Vishnudutas came. And then, there was a big discussion between the Vishnudutas and the Yamadutas about who had jurisdiction over Ajamila. The Yamadutas said, “We have jurisdiction over him because he was so sinful.” And the Vishnudutas said, “But he chanted the holy name of Narayana at the final moment, so we have jurisdiction over him.” The final moment means he didn’t die but he was on the verge of death. And our acharyas say that although he was indicating his son Narayana, chanting the name of Narayana reminded him of the original Narayana whom he had chanted during his youth.

So, by that chanting, that chanting is called nāma-ābhāsa. There are three stages of chanting; nāma-aparādha, which means offensive. Now, to commit sin on the strength of chanting is an offense. But Ajamila didn’t do that, he wasn’t offensive in that way, he wasn’t thinking, “Oh, I will commit sinful activities and I will chant the name of Narayana to neutralize them.” No, his crying out the holy name of Narayana was offenseless, that means nāma-ābhāsa. But it wasn’t pure, it wasn’t śuddha-nāma. And so, he was saved from death, he was saved from hellish punishment, and he went to Haridwar and he practiced, he was associating with devotees and chanting. And when he was in Haridwar, he attained perfection in chanting, and then those same Vishnudutas whom he had seen earlier, they came to take him back home, back to Godhead. So yes, the holy name is very powerful, if chanted without offense.

So now, who was that from?

Host: That was from a devotee called Kola Mohan dasa Pramodini. I see the devotee online, in our list, but I am not sure why they can’t speak. I don’t know if it is because they can’t unmute themselves.

Giriraj Swami: All right, we will move along.

Host: Okay, Maharaja, thank you so much. There is one more. There is a question from Vishakha Priya Mataji.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Prabhu. This was me, Mohan dasa Purnekar. The question was asked by me, and I got the very good answer. Thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Okay. So, Vishakha Priya Mataji, would you like to share your comments?

Giriraj Swami: So, who is speaking now?

Host: Okay. If you aren’t in there, please [Unintelligible 01:34:36].

Sumitra: Maharaja, may I ask a question? This is Sumitra.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes! Nice to see you. [laughter]

Sumitra: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you, wonderful lecture, thank you. I just wanted to say one comment, and then a question about Krishna always protecting his devotees. This is a true incident that Lalita shared with me. On a weekend, she was seeing patients in the ICU, and the patient’s wife looked at her kaṇṭhī-mālā and said, “Are you a Hare Krishna?” Long story short, the patient happened to be in Krishna consciousness twenty years ago, and then fell out of it, and the wife communicated to Lalita that he has been missing it for so long. Here was the patient, intubated, vented, couldn’t speak for himself, and once Lalita knew that, she brought gaṅgā-jala, played a tape of the maha-mantra, and eventually, he left his body. So, even when he couldn’t speak for himself, Krishna arranged that he would have devotee association. So, that has always kept me going, that Krishna would never forsake, even if it happened two decades ago.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, beautiful.

Sumitra: Thank you. The question is, Maharaja, when we say when in our family if someone suffers a heart attack or some other disease caused by a lifestyle issue, even if they are critically ill, that forces us to reckon with, well, what changes do we need to make? What changes do we need to make in our family, need to make in our community? When there is a death from an unnatural cause in our community, what is our responsibility as a devotee community to look into and say, “What could we have done to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again to someone else?”

Perhaps this question is coming from. . . Sometimes in my childhood in India, when there was something bad happening. People would use the reason of God has a plan to not help that person who is suffering. So, they might have used that to not take an active stance to get to the root of some of the problems that might have contributed. So, while we take solace in the fact that we will never know the extent of Krishna’s plan or the reason for it, on a practical level, what is our responsibility as a devotee community to look into the circumstances and ensure that doesn’t happen to someone else again?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I am not sure what. . . Maybe you could give an example because I am not clear on what you mean.

Sumitra: For example, if the death was caused by a lifestyle disease, a heart disease, cancer, there is very well widespread knowledge on the causes for it, but if it is caused from untreated depression or an undiagnosed mental illness, what is our responsibility of the devotee community?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. That is a very good question. We should try to. . . Yes, there could be systems for doing it, pairing of devotees or placing of devotees under mentors or counselors or mitras who monitor the devotee, that is the one thing. And also, someone the devotee can confide in without being afraid that the confidante will share the information with others. That is a really important point about confidentiality, that we have to maintain confidentiality so the devotees who have a problem feel they can speak to someone about it without worrying that the person is going to tell others, broadcast it. And then, if they feel. . . It is a combination, monitoring the devotees, just keeping an eye on them, seeing how they are doing, and creating an atmosphere in which the devotee feels that he or she can confide in others without the confidence being broken. Then things could come out, and we could try to help that devotee before something bad happens. That is very important.

Sumitra: Thank you, Maharaja, thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Alright, thank you. Thank you, Hare Krishna.

Visakha Priya dasi: Maharaja, I have a comment, if it is not too late, because I think you are speaking about half an hour.

Giriraj Swami: Well, go ahead.

Visakha Priya dasi: Okay. I have heard several times that we have a certain number of breaths to breathe and then we die, we may die tonight. But if we are not ready to die and we are practicing Krishna consciousness, then at the time of death, Krishna will extend your life. And I haven’t experienced. . . I think it was 1989 or 90 in South Africa in Durban, where I almost drowned. It was after Ratha-yatra, and I had gone with a couple of devotees to the beach where we prayed after three days of intense preaching. And there were girls that didn’t know how to swim, so they sat on the sand. [Unintelligible 01:41:14] and I started swimming. And after a while, I realized that the current was taking me out to sea, and I tried to swim back in the other direction, but the waves were extremely strong and I was not making any progress. And then, at one point. . . And the beach was deserted. So, I was trying to swim back to the shore, and then a huge wave hit me at the back of the head. It is happened one time, two times, three times, four times, and so I started diving under when I saw the wave gone, but it wasn’t helping.

Finally, I started swallowing water, and then I looked at the sky, I looked at the sea, there was nobody around, I thought, This is it, I am going to die. What to do? Let us chant Hare Krishna. And that was my last thought, and then I don’t know what happened, the next thing I found myself on the beach, on the sand laying there, and I didn’t give much thought to it, I just went back to the girls and said, “Oh, I almost drowned,” and then I drove back to the temple. And then, a few years later in Vrindavan, I think it was during the VIHE seminar, something, that remembrance that actually, I remembered what to do at the time of death, but there was no love, it was not a call to Krishna, it was just guidebook for devotees what to do at the time of death, chant Hare Krishna. And I did it, but there was no feeling, there was no fear actually, but there was no feeling either. So, I think Krishna mercifully extended my lifetime so that I could relate this. And by your mercy, hopefully one day, I will chant with feeling, right now it is just chanting. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Just keep chanting, just keep chanting. [laughter] All right.

Sanjiv Agarwal: Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. This is Sundrānanda dasa from London. It is so nice to see, Maharaja. I hope you are well.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes, nice to see you too.

Sanjiv Agarwal: All right, yes, I had a quick question, Maharaja. A lot of times devotees say that, “Please, pray for me,” or, “Please, pray for us,” and I see a lot of devotees just knee-jerk response say, “Yes, I will pray for you,” and it seems more like a knee-jerk response rather than a statement, rather than actually an action. So, my questions are two. One is that, should we be asking the devotees to pray for us? That is in difficulty, that is number one. And number two is on the other side, when devotees do ask us to pray for them, what should be our mood and consciousness rather than just making a statement? And often I resist making a statement till I can actually deliver it. So, what would be your guidance, Maharaja, on that?

Giriraj Swami: Well, in Srila Prabhupada’s last days, I heard him say on many occasions, “Please, pray for me.” Not to his disciples but he said, “Please, pray for me.” But we, disciples, we wanted to pray for him, but we wanted to know how, and he gave the wording, “My dear Lord Krishna, if you so desire. . .” This is very important, “if you so desire.” “My dear Lord Krishna, if you so desire, please cure Srila Prabhupada.” If devotees ask us to pray for them and we say we will, then we must. I mean, we said we would. But quite often, when a devotee asks me to pray for them, I ask, “What do you want me to pray for?” So, it is not just a figure of speech, but they actually think about it. And then, when I hear what they want me to pray for, depending on the quality of the desire for the prayer, I may accept it or I may question them further, “Why do you want me to pray for that?” Say they say, “Well, please pray for me so I can get a good job.” So, I will say, “Well, why do you want a good job?” And if it comes back to Krishna consciousness, I could pray for it with the note that the good job is so that he can have more money to spend on Krishna consciousness.

There was a devotee in our community named Giridhari Priya, very nice devotee from Surat. Family is originally from Surat, and he was looking for a house. He wanted to buy a house, and he couldn’t find one. So I said, “Well, have you prayed for it?” He said, “No, I can’t, how can I pray for a material thing?” So I said, “Well, if you conceive of it materially, then you can’t. But what if you reconfigure the idea that you want to have a nice place for your deities, where you can host devotees and have programs, where you can accommodate devotees if they need a place to stay, if you pray for that, then it is not material.” So, he started to pray in the way I suggested, and then very, very soon he found a suitable house.

So, yes, in Krishna consciousness everything really depends on motivation. And so even something that appears to be material, if the motivation is Krishna consciousness, then it is not material. But that being said, our mood should be to serve Krishna whether I get the facility I want or not. That must go on whether we get the facility or not. Like Srila Prabhupada said, “If I have a microphone, it is good, people will be able to hear me more easily. But even if I don’t have a microphone, I will still preach.”

Sanjiv Agarwal: Maharaja, in this time of Covid 19 and also, yes, everybody is getting sick, one of the common prayers, which is being asked is that, “My so-and-so relative is unwell. Please pray for him.” Or the second instances and they have left their body, “Please pray for him.” So, those are the two common instances that devotees right now asking, and I just wanted your thoughts on that.

Giriraj Swami: Well, you know him very well, my disciple Ramanuja in London.

Sanjiv Agarwal: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, he had Covid 19, and I don’t think he was afraid of death as such, but he felt he had work to do before leaving his body. So, I prayed for him in the mood of giving him some more time so he can do more service, and he did fortunately get better. And praying for someone who has already left, yes, we can pray that they go forward on their spiritual journey. Yes, it is good to pray, yes.

I was present when Srila Prabhupada was meeting with Bob Cohen in Mayapur, and their conversations became the book, Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. And so, Bob Cohen asked Srila Prabhupada, “Does Krishna know what we are thinking?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes.” And then Bob asked, “Well, then why should we pray? Because Krishna already knows.” And Prabhupada replied, “Because your business is praying.” So, yes, it is good to pray. And there have actually been scientific studies of patients who were suffering from disease who had people praying for them, and then others with similar medical condition did not have people praying for them. And the group that had people praying for them didn’t know that they had people praying for them, so it wasn’t psychological that, “Oh, people are praying for me,” they didn’t know. But still, the group that had people praying for them had a higher rate of recovery than the others. So, prayers are powerful. But yes, we don’t pray for material things, that is for sure. So, does this answer your question or do you have more?

Sanjiv Agarwal: No, Maharaja, this is wonderful. We just, in our own group here, we are doing a project called ‘Project Prayer.’ And if you would recall when I first met you, I said, “Maharaja, I am a surgeon, please give me a prescription how to pray,” and you gave me some guidelines in the first instance, and that has stayed with me. So we are doing a project on prayers, and I will write to you specifically, separately to take your blessings and your suggestions. But your answers are always so perfect, Maharaja. I just can’t thank you enough. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, thank you, Sundrānanda Prabhu.

Host: Hare Krishna. So, I think, Maharaja, we can wrap it for the day. I just got a message from Bhakta Raj Prabhu that you have another program, which is starting in a few minutes. So, we are extremely grateful, honored, and thankful to you for taking time out from your busy schedule and enlightening us in this very deep topic. And also, building our faith that ultimately, whatever Krishna does is for the best of everyone. So, thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, why don’t we end by offering Vaishnava praṇāma?

Host: Yes, Maharaja. And I would request, Maharaja, please join us whenever you can possibly next time, we will be grateful for that.

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes, yes, okay.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees and can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Giriraj Swami: ananta-koṭi Vaishnava vṛnda ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Host: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!