SB 2.1.12 – Bhakti Japa Sanga Conference

Giriraj Swami: I will begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and a short kirtan, and then we will speak about the holy name, and then take questions and comments from all of you.

[Prayers]

So, I will read two verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto, Chapter One, Texts Eleven and Twelve.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Again, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One: “The First Step in God Realization,” Text Eleven.

TEXT 11

etan nirvidyamānānām

icchatām akuto-bhayam

yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ

harer nāmānukīrtanam

TRANSLATION

O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.

COMMENT

So, before I continue to the purport, I would just like to ask you to see where you fit in these different categories, because you definitely fit. Either you are free from all material desires, or you’re desirous of all material enjoyment, or you’re self-satisfied by a dint of transcendental knowledge, or you may be a combination of two or even three categories. But you are definitely covered in this verse.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to Mukunda has been accredited. There are different types of persons who desire to attain success in different varieties of pursuits. Generally the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

So, the position of the devotee stands above that of a karmi or a jnani or a yogi. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada gives the example that say you’re in a hall and you find someone’s wallet, which is full of money. So, if you pick up the wallet and keep it for yourself, you’re a thief, which is like a karmi. If you see the wallet and you think, This doesn’t belong to me, I can’t take this, you’re like a jnani who has realized the futility of trying to enjoy in the material world, but even that is not perfect. But if you pick up the wallet and you try to find out who the owner is and return the wallet to the owner, that is perfect, and that is the devotee. He understands that everything is the energy of Krishna, either Krishna or the energy of Krishna. And therefore, everything should be used in Krishna’s service. And therefore, although working in the material world, he is not entangled. There is a subtle difference between material and spiritual.

Of course, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sri Krishna explains that He has eight separated energies, bhūmir āpo ‘nalo vāyuḥkhaṁ mano buddhir eva ca, “Earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intelligence, and false ego.” So, these are His separated inferior energies, aparā-prakṛti. But apart from these, there is another energy, which is the spiritual energy, and the living entities belong to the spiritual energy. But although we belong to the spiritual energy, we are called marginal, taṭasthā-śakti, because sometimes, although our nature is spiritual, sometimes we become covered by the material energy. And sometimes we can be in the shelter of the spiritual energy.

So, that marginal position is like the beach at the seaside. Sometimes when it’s high tide, that portion of the beach is under the water and it’s part of the ocean. And then again, when it’s low tide, that part of the beach is uncovered and it’s part of the land. So, we are marginal because sometimes we can be covered by the material energy, and sometimes not. But if we take shelter of Krishna, then we can always be in the spiritual energy. As the Lord says in the Gītā, daivī hy eṣāguṇa-mayīmama māyā duratyayā, “This material energy consisting of the three modes is very difficult to overcome,” daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te, “But one who surrenders to Me can easily overcome it.”

Once, I was sitting in the back seat of a car with Srila Prabhupada, and I was asking him about maya, and he said, “You cannot fight maya directly, but you can fight maya indirectly by taking shelter of Krishna.” And I also asked him, “Sometimes when I chant, my mind is distracted. So, what should I do?” And he replied, “You should chant louder.” [laughter] He just said chant louder, but what I understood was, “You should chant so loudly that the sound of the holy name drowns out the sound of your mind.” So, now back to the purport. So, just to repeat a little.

PURPORT (continued)

Generally the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

So, we gave the example. The materialists are like that karmi who finds the wallet and wants to steal it and then enjoy the money, and the jnanis are like the person who sees the wallet and thinks, Oh, this is not mine, and leaves it, I have nothing to do with this. And the devotees are like the person who finds the wallet, and then he searches out the owner of the wallet so that he can return the wallet to the owner. And the owner of everything is Krishna, sarvaloka maheshwara.

PURPORT (continued)

Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal account. If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation.

COMMENT

So, Srila Prabhupada himself is an example. He said that at first, Krishna tested him by taking everything away from him, and then Krishna tested him by giving him everything. Both are tests. If Krishna takes everything away, the test is, are we going to stay with Krishna, or are we going to chase after the facilities that Krishna took away from us? And the second test, when Krishna gives you everything, again, are you going to stay with Krishna, or are you going to try to enjoy what Krishna has given you? So, of course, Srila Prabhupada passed both tests. And so, he is the example here that if the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities. And of course, they don’t use the material facilities for sense gratification, but they use them for devotional service.

“If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation.”

As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prayed, mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi, “I desire only Your devotional service life after life.” That means He didn’t desire liberation. He wanted only devotional service life after life. Even if He has to take birth again, it’s all right, as long as He can engage in devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

Nor are they self-satisfied, because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only. In this verse, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc. Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities.

COMMENT

So, the verse says ānukīrtanam, and anu means to follow. We are rūpānugas, followers of Rupa Gosvami. Anuradha is a name for Lalita, who always follows Radha. So, anu means to follow, and anu also means continuous. And that word, anu, or that prefix, anu, has been beautifully rendered by Srila Prabhupada in the translation, where he includes both elements; ‘always’ and ‘following,’ “O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all.”

So, now, what does that mean, to follow the ways of the great authorities?

PURPORT (continued)

Hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, His attributes, His pastimes, and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively.

COMMENT

In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Goswami enumerates sixty-four items of devotional service. And in the category of kirtan, there’s nāma-kīrtana, rupa kirtan, guna kirtan, and līlā kirtan. Chanting or glorifying the Lord’s name, form, qualities, and pastimes.

PURPORT (continued)

This process is recommended not only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even for those who are materially attached.

COMMENT

Which is good.

PURPORT (continued)

According to Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī, this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by him but also by all other previous ācāryas. Therefore, there is no need of further evidence. The process is recommended not only for the progressive students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as philosophers or as devotees of the Lord.

COMMENT

That means if we are already successful as karmis, jnanis, or bhaktas, one should still constantly chant the holy names. So, here’s the explanation of ānukīrtanam, following the ways of the great authorities.

PURPORT (continued)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa. One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord.

COMMENT

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

PURPORT (continued)

One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name. But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet of the holy name of the Lord.

COMMENT

We have to be very careful to avoid committing offenses at the feet of the holy name of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa as being ten in number.

The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord.

COMMENT

Now, we could discuss each offense and it would be fruitful, but the problem is that according to the schedule, I have only ten more minutes to speak before questions and answers. So, unless someone has the authority to extend the duration of the program or of my talk, I’ll just read the offenses, but I won’t speak much about them to save time.

But the first one, sādhu-nindā, to blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives to propagating the holy name of the Lord, is very important to avoid. Once, His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu, I mean, he often conducts japa seminars and japa retreats. So, in the ten offenses, one of the offenses is pramāda, which means inattention, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if one chants with attention, then all the other offenses will be destroyed. But if one is inattentive or negligent while chanting, all the other offenses can flourish. So, that offense of inattention, pramāda, should be avoided at all costs, because that’s very critical.

So, in this seminar, Bhurijana Prabhu gave the students two homework assignments to see how they did in terms of chanting attentively, and to see how they did in terms of not criticizing devotees. And then the next day, he asked them to report. So, one lady said that she had every intention to avoid criticizing devotees, but she ended up in the company of people who were criticizing devotees, and sometimes we do it casually, we’re not even conscious of it, just casually criticize devotees. So, she said she wanted to avoid it, but it was in the environment.

So, Bhurijana Prabhu replied, “Well, you have two choices. One is, you can change the environment. But if you want to change the environment, good luck, because the environment doesn’t want to change. The environment wants to criticize devotees.” So, the other alternative is to dissociate yourself from that environment, and that is more practical, obviously. Although by such discussions, we do try, in a way, to change the environment, at least in this society of devotees, so they don’t commit sādhu-nindā, but still, it may be there and we have to be careful to avoid it.

PURPORT (continued)

The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord.

The second offense is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known in different places by different names, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.

COMMENT

So, when Srila Prabhupada was visiting Iran, Tehran, Atreya Rsi Prabhu, who was in charge of the mission there. . . And we have a devotee here with us from Iran, Mimaiti Mansoor. Thank you for joining us. So, Atreya Rsi Prabhu was sort of waxing eloquent, saying he was looking forward to the day when all the Muslims in Iran would chant Hare Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Why do you want them to chant only Hare Krishna? They can chant Allah Allah. We are not sectarian.” So, yeah, they can chant any name of the Lord as it is understood locally, and all of the holy names are identical with the Lord, and therefore, all powerful.

And Srila Prabhupada was also very practical. So, he might have foreseen that if Atreya Rsi tried to get all the Muslims to chant Hare Krishna, he might have got in trouble. So, that’s another aspect to it. But still, the philosophy is absolutely correct, that any name of the Supreme Lord is identical with the Supreme Lord, and it is as good as any other or as powerful as any other name.

PURPORT (continued)

The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized ācāryas or spiritual masters.

COMMENT

Yes, guror avajñā, to disobey the orders of the spiritual master.

PURPORT (continued)

The fourth offense is to vilify scriptures or Vedic knowledge.

COMMENT

Of course, it’s a very gross offense, to actually blaspheme the Vedic literatures or literatures in pursuance of the Vedic version, but it’s also a subtle offense not to read Srila Prabhupada’s books, not to attend the classes on the books. So, yeah, there are sins of commission and sins of omission. So, yeah, blaspheming the Vedic literature is a sin of commission. But to avoid reading the Vedic literature or attending classes is a sin of omission.

Srila Prabhupada would sleep only two hours at night. Generally, he would take rest at ten and get up at two and then he would translate. He made such a superhuman effort to translate these books for us. So, we should reciprocate with his kindness and effort and mercy and read the books and take advantage of them.

PURPORT (continued)

The fifth offense is to define the holy name of the Lord in terms of one’s mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord Himself, and one should understand the holy name of the Lord to be nondifferent from Him.

The sixth offense is to interpret the holy name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His holy name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the holy name.

COMMENT

Or as it is stated in the list in The Nectar of Devotion, to consider the glories of chanting the holy name to be imagination. And His Holiness Sacinandana Swami has also conducted many japa retreats and workshops, and he said that one of his motivations was that ISKCON devotees who don’t really experience the effects of chanting offenselessly may commit this offense of considering the glories of chanting the holy name to be imagination. And he said, in his beautiful German accent, that devotees suffer from a type of schizophrenia, they have a split personality. Because our motto is ‘chant and be happy.’ But a lot of times, devotees chant and they’re not happy. But the reason they’re not happy is because they are offensive in their chanting, inattentive.

As you can see, some of the offenses such as inattention are committed while chanting, and others are committed in one’s life, not while chanting. I mean, we hope that you don’t blaspheme devotees while you’re chanting, but you might when you’re not chanting. So, we have to regulate our life, control our mind and senses in such a way that we don’t commit any of these offenses, because committing the offenses while we’re not chanting will affect our ability to chant properly. These offenses will leave a residue of contamination in our consciousness that will make it harder to chant.

PURPORT (continued)

The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental method and continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing the effects of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender at the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a sinful man before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain oneself from committing sinful acts with a hope that his method of chanting the holy name will give him protection.

COMMENT

So, this is a very bad offense, and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that not only in the chanting of the holy name but in other methods of atonement, if one undergoes some atonement to neutralize the effects of one’s sins and then deliberately engages in sin in the expectation that he can perform that atonement to get free from the effects, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says it doesn’t work. So, not only does it not work, but on top of it, you’re committing an offense by that sort of cunning, calculating, devious mentality, “Oh! That’s great. I can chant and get free from sinful reactions. So, I can go and sin and then I can just chant and become free.” So, yeah, that’s very sinful and very offensive, and we should not do that. I’m sure you don’t, but it’s just to explain the philosophy.

PURPORT (continued)

The eighth offense is to consider the holy name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier. Similarly, since the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the holy name for one’s personal service.

COMMENT

So, in 1973, the head of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Srimati Lilavati Munshi, organized a conference: How can the Bhagavad-gītā solve all the world’s problems? And before the actual conference began, she invited the various speakers to her library to talk.

So, Srila Prabhupada went with some disciples, I was also among them. And there was one man, I don’t know his name, he had a long white beard and he told Srila Prabhupada that he was having large gatherings and getting people to chant and telling them that if they chant, their material diseases would be cured. So, he said to Srila Prabhupada, “I’m gathering people together and you’re gathering people together. I am telling them to chant and you are telling them to chant. So, we should cooperate.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “No. What you have described is against our principles.” And then, he explained the same thing, that the holy name is Krishna. He’s the Supreme enjoyer. He’s not our servant. We are not meant to use the chanting to cure our physical diseases. We are not meant to use the holy name to be our servants. So, yeah, we should be careful about that.

PURPORT (continued)

The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the holy name. If such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, the act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name.

COMMENT

So, the reason it’s an offense is because. . . Sometimes it’s rendered to preach the glories of the holy name to the faithless. And the reason it’s an offense is because if someone doesn’t have faith and you preach the glories of the holy name, they’ll think it’s imagination or exaggeration, which is another offense. And so, it’s an offense for us to create situations in which people become offensive, obviously. So, yeah, we can always engage them in chanting or in hearing, but not discuss the glories of the holy name unless they have faith.

Srila Prabhupada was meeting a Professor in Sweden, and in the course of the conversation, one of the disciples started to tell the Professor about the glories of chanting Hare Krishna, and Srila Prabhupada stopped him and he said, “This is an offense. First, the Professor has to have faith in our authorities, then you can speak to him on the strength of our authorities. But until he has faith in our authorities, we have to speak to him on the basis of logic and reason to bring him to the point where he will have faith in our authorities.”

So, these are subtle points. Sometimes these situations arise with family members who are not so favorable to Krishna consciousness, and we might want to, naturally, tell them about the glories of the holy name, but they might not be ready to hear it. And my general advice to people who deal with family members who are not Krishna conscious is: (1) They should be happy. (2) They should deal with their family members and others very nicely.

And if the family members or friends see that the devotee is happy and that the devotee is dealing nicely with them and with others, then that will be a very good recommendation for Krishna consciousness.

In fact, His Holiness Radhanath Swami told His Grace Vaisesika dasa that as the temple president in ISV, his first duty was to be happy, because that’s our motto; ‘chant and be happy.’ So, yeah, that was what Sacinandana Swami was saying, our motto is ‘chant and be happy,’ but if the devotees aren’t happy when they chant, then it’s sort of like the schizophrenia. There’s a difference between our motto and our reality. And so, he wanted to conduct these japa retreats and workshops so that devotees could actually learn to chant properly and actually feel happy.

And sometimes I’ve conducted retreats and seminars, and I make a list on the board. I asked the devotees, “What are the factors that make you unhappy when you chant?” And so, they’ll say things like getting up late in the morning, thinking I have too many other things to do while I’m chanting. And as Bhurijana Prabhu says, the mind will always tell you there are more important things to do than chant. So, I’ll make a list. And then, “What are the things that make you happy when you chant?” It might be getting up early in the morning, not trying to do anything else while I’m chanting. And so, you can chant and be happy, if you do it in the right way. But you can also chant and not be happy, if you do it in the wrong way. So, we want to chant and be happy.

PURPORT (continued)

The tenth offense is to become uninterested in the holy name of the Lord even after hearing of the transcendental nature of the holy name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one’s self only.

COMMENT

Bhurijana Prabhu says it’s like everyone is walking around with the psychology. . . I mean, of course, they may not say it openly, but they’re walking around with the mentality, they want to say, “Excuse me, please. I have an important announcement to make. I am the center of the universe, and everyone should cooperate with my desires to make me happy.” So, this is the general psychology of the conditioned soul, and the chanting is meant to free us from this.

PURPORT (continued)

False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one’s self only.

COMMENT

And this leads to conflict. As Bhurijana Prabhu says everyone leads life as if it was a drama or a movie and they are the stars of the movie, they’re the heroes or the heroines of the movie, and they think everyone else is meant to be the supporting cast, to help them in their exploits as the hero or heroine. So, you can imagine, I’m thinking, I’m the hero of this movie, you’re supposed to support me. And you’re thinking, No, no, I’m actually the hero of this movie, you’re meant to support me. So, there are all sorts of friction and disharmony. But if we understand that Krishna is the hero and we’re all meant to serve Him, then we can have very congenial relationships with each other as fellow servants of Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

The whole materialistic world is moving under such false egoism of “I” and “mine,” but the factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.

COMMENT

Or as Srila Prabhupada renders it in The Nectar of Devotion, to not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy name and to maintain material attachments even after understanding so many instructions in the matter. So, it’s not an offense to have material attachments, we all come with material attachments. It’s an anartha but it’s not an offense. But if you hold on to those material attachments even while chanting, our mood in chanting should be, “Oh Lord, Oh energy of the Lord, please engage me in your service,” which implies that we’re praying to be freed from any obstacles that would impede our service, such as material attachments.

So, to chant and at the same time maintain material attachments, is contradictory. And how does it relate to not having complete faith? If we had complete faith in the holy name, we would know that we could get everything, all satisfaction and bliss from chanting, and we wouldn’t maintain material attachments in the false hope that they will give us happiness and satisfaction. So, it’s good that we meet and discuss the holy name and also the offenses against the holy name, and that is harer nāmānukīrtanam. Following the ways of the great authorities means chanting without offense.

Hare Krishna. So, thank you very much for joining and being so patient, and now we can have questions and comments. Nice to see so many old friends I haven’t seen for a while, including Mahaprabhu dasa.

Host: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you. Thank you so much on behalf of Bhakti Japa Sanga group. I really want to thank you for such a beautiful class, for taking out your valuable time and giving that wonderful association. So, thank you so much, Maharaja. Maharaja, with your permission, can we take a few questions, if you are okay, if you have some time?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it will be a pleasure, it will be a pleasure.

Host: Okay. Thank you, Maharaja. And I request all the participants, those who have questions can please kindly raise your hand so that we can personally unmute you, and then you can ask your questions. Mataji, you have a question?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Very, very beautiful class. Maharaja, I don’t have words to say. It was so soothing to the mind, and very wonderful instructions. Maharaja, my question is about the aspect of, kleśa-ghnī, that one of the immediate effects of the pure devotional service is it puts out the distress that is kleśa-ghnī.  Is it okay to say that? I’m trying to understand the example that you gave with Srila Prabhupada saying that we don’t chant to cure material disease. So, when we want to inspire people about chanting, what do we say about the holy name? How much can we say? Can you please enlighten us?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s a very intelligent question, and I would say that in this case, you would just be speaking the truth. But again, it comes back to the question of whether your audience has faith in your authorities. So, yes, definitely Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu explains kleśa-ghnī, that destruction of material miseries is one of the by-products of pure devotional service. So, I would say you can repeat that, it’s the truth. But again, if the audience doesn’t have faith, then they might not believe you. And so, as Srila Prabhupada said in that discussion with the Professor in Sweden, we have to bring them to the point of faith by reason and logic and argument. But yeah, they should know the truth.

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

Host: So, our next question is from Gaurangi Mataji.

Gaurangi Mataji: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Gaurangi Mataji: Can you hear me?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, I hear you but I don’t see you.

Gaurangi Mataji: Okay. Yeah,

Giriraj Swami: Oh, okay.

Devotee: Yeah.

Giriraj Swami: Alright.

Devotee: Okay, my question refers to when you were saying that all names of Krishna refer to basically the same person. So, they’re all equally powerful. I just want to confirm that although they are all equally powerful, that they don’t necessarily all result in a person ending up in the same destination by the chanting of all of these different names for Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: That’s a very good point, and I’m glad you mentioned it, because it’s true that the chanting of different names can lead to different results. And so, yeah, if you chant Allah Allah or Jesus Jesus, you get one type of result. If you chant Rama Rama, you get another type of result, and if you chant Hare Krishna, you get another type of result. And it’s sort of confidential, but yes, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura does say that although in a sense all the names are equal, but in another sense, there is a gradation among the different things.

And so, we are fortunate that we’re chanting Hare Krishna, Radha and Krishna, the highest goal of life. But still, if someone is chanting another name, we should not discourage them. We should encourage them to chant whatever name they’re chanting. And if they inquire about Hare Krishna, we can answer, but if they’re chanting some other name, we should just encourage them to chant that name. Or what I sometimes do is I tell them they can continue chanting what they’re chanting, and just add a little of Hare Krishna chanting. I do that also.

And sometimes the Hare Krishna chanting can take over. We had a very good friend and devotee in Bombay, Dr N. D. Desai, who was later initiated as Sri Nathji dasa. And in his temple room, there was Krishna, I think Radha and Krishna, and also some demigods. And so, he was asking about the Deities of the demigods because we don’t worship demigods, but some of the family members were attached to the demigods. I said, “Well, don’t worry, just worship Krishna, and eventually, He will take care of the demigods.” And it happened. I don’t know how, but eventually, those demigods moved out of the temple room.

So, yeah, mainly we say add the chanting of Hare Krishna, and then the other things take care of themselves, usually. Is that all right?

Devotee: Yes. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Hare Krishna.

Host: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Now, can we take a few chat questions?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Host: So, this is Nitai Mata devi dasi, and she’s asking. . .

Giriraj Swami: Excuse me. If she’s on Zoom, I’d like to see the faces of the people who are asking the questions.

Host: Sure. Sure, Maharaja. Nitai Mataji, if you can be on your camera and ask personally your question.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Host: Maharaja, I’ll ask on her behalf. She’s asking, “Thank you for giving your valuable time. My question is, we chant extra rounds for someone who is sick, someone who has left this world. You did mention that chanting is not done for these reasons, if I understood correctly. Can you explain more on this, Maharaja?”

Giriraj Swami: No. I mean, the purpose of chanting, ultimately, is to please Krishna. Bhakti means to please Krishna. And in the chanting, we are attempting to purify our hearts, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, and praying for service. Now, chanting for others is fine, it’s like praying for someone else. We can pray for someone else. Whether they’re alive or whether they’ve left their bodies, we can pray for someone else. So, we can also chant for them. In fact, they will benefit from our chanting for them, from our prayers for them. But we should be careful about praying for material things, and we should be careful about not trying to impose our will on Krishna.

When Srila Prabhupada was sick at the end in Vrindavan, we asked him how we could pray for him, and Srila Prabhupada gave the answer, we could offer this prayer, “My dear Lord Krishna, if you so desire, please cure Srila Prabhupada.” So, that’s a good prayer, a good model for a prayer.

Host: Thank you very much, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Mataji. Please accept my humble obeisances.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: We can hear you, please go ahead.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and onto your lotus feet. It was such a beautiful class. And I’m having the same issue with my husband. He is very favorable, but sometimes when it comes to devotees, he gets a little bit upset. So, when he gets upset, I go away or, if I say something, I go to Krishna. I don’t know what to do sometimes. We’re watching Mahābhārata right now, and he says it’s a fairy tale. But he still watches it and enjoys it. So, I don’t know how to answer him when he says something like that.

Giriraj Swami: What is it that upsets him about devotees?

Devotee: He hasn’t had a couple of good experiences. When we went to Vrindavan. . . I took him to Vrindavan and I took him to Jagannatha Puri. When we were in Vrindavan, there was a devotee that I knew for a long time, and he went and said Hare Krishna, and he said, “I know my wife said she knows you from a long time,” and the devotee wasn’t very nice and he said, “I don’t feel like talking to you.” So, his whole mood of Vrindavan just got hampered. And so, little things like that have happened to him. So, I don’t know if it’s Krishna’s mercy, or I don’t know what it is, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, what came to my mind is that you explain to him that there are different levels of devotees. Not all devotees are on the same level. There are kaniṣṭhās, and madhyamas, and uttamās. So, I mean, without knowing the devotee but just based on what he said to your husband, I would say he’s a kaniṣṭhā, at best. And so, your husband should not judge. . . I mean, I’m suggesting this as how you could appeal to your husband, that he should not judge devotees on the basis of the lower grade devotees, because there are also higher-grade devotees. So now, what else was in your question?

Devotee: We’re watching Mahābhārata, and he is Muslim.

Giriraj Swami: He is what?

Devotee: He is a Muslim.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, He is Muslim.

Devotee: Yeah, but he goes to all the places with me and he’s very favorable. I have Lord Jagannatha at home, he lets me pray. He goes and offers obeisances to Them. We went to Jagannatha Puri and he was very favorable and everything, but sometimes he doesn’t understand who Lord Krishna is and thinks it’s just a fairy tale. Since we’re watching Mahābhārata, he loves to watch Mahābhārata, but then he doesn’t understand that Lord Krishna is the Supreme. So, that comes to be sometimes big.

Giriraj Swami: Is there any way you could induce, maybe you already tried, but to read Srila Prabhupada’s books? Because anyone can read Srila Prabhupada’s books, they’re meant for everyone. And that could really help, if you did it.

Devotee: He doesn’t like reading, Guru Maharaja, he gets a headache when he reads even one page. So, that’s why I’m having him watch Mahābhārata or some religious films. He loves to watch those. So, it’s very tough.

Giriraj Swami: What about watching Yadubara Prabhu? He put together a series Following Srila Prabhupada?

Devotee: Yes, I should have him watch that.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, yeah. He should, yeah, that’s what I would suggest.

Devotee: Okay.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, let’s see how that works.

Devotee: Okay. And so, sometimes when he says something which is not something that a devotee can take. What do I do? Just walk away?

Giriraj Swami: Oh! What did he say about Mahābhārata? That it’s all fairy tales?

Devotee: Yeah, or something like, “Why are you always praying?” Or it’s something not very nice about Lord Krishna. So, what do I do about that? Do I just walk away? Sometimes I’ll say I will just leave him because he says something about Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: I mean, depending on the situation, if he says something like, “It’s all fairy tales,” I mean, of course, there’s also husband-wife dynamics that could be at play here, but ordinarily, you don’t want to get into an argument but at the same time, you can’t accept what he’s saying. So, just say something like, “You’re entitled to your opinion and I have my opinion.”

Devotee: Okay, okay. But the good thing is, Guru Maharaja, he is very respectful to my Guru Maharaja, he’s very respectful if a devotee comes home.

Giriraj Swami: Well, that’s good. Well, yeah, if you have good devotees come home, mature ones who will understand how to deal with him, that would be great. That would be wonderful.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja. It was a lovely class. Thank you for your blessings and have humble obeisances. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. I pray for your husband and you.

Devotee: Thank you. [laughter] 

Host: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. We have six more questions. Do you have time to address those questions?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it's Ekādaśī. Here it’s a Ekādaśī, no eating or sleeping, just chanting and hearing.

Host: Thank you. Next, we have Sandeepa. Please go ahead.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to you. Very nice Maharaja. Really wonderful class. I just have one question. When I do my early morning chanting, I just started three months back. So, I have been up and down with my chanting since the last five years. I have started sixteen rounds, and then at some point, I dropped down to eight, and four, and then zero. However, during the lockdown, I got my love back for Krishna again and I started chanting sixteen rounds and reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as well.

But one of the mornings, I couldn’t do my morning chanting and then I completed my chanting in the late evening when I went for a walk, and then I thought, I didn’t do right. So, even with the kind of feelings in my heart that I didn’t do correct, how to overcome those thoughts saying, “You’re not chanting correctly?” And making yourself feel guilty all the time, “How could you just miss out in the morning?” So, how to overcome those thoughts from your mind that you didn’t do anything wrong or it was wrong?

Giriraj Swami: Well, you should have plan A and plan B. So, plan A should be to chant in the morning.

Devotee: Yeah.

Giriraj Swami: And you should try to arrange your life in such a way that you can chant in the morning, that’s for sure preferable. But you can have your plan B, which would be to chant in late afternoon or evening, not too late so you’re too tired. Just don’t let your mind be disturbed by criticizing yourself for missing in the morning.

Devotee: Yeah.

Giriraj Swami: But, yeah, just try to make the best use of the time that you have to chant in the evening, and try to arrange so you can chant in the morning.

Devotee: Yeah. Also, Guru Maharaja, just one more question. It’s about the chanting as well. When I start my morning chanting, I can make sure that in my first two rounds, my mind is definitely trying to please Krishna, in a closed space, and trying to concentrate on that. And all of a sudden, my mind just starts revering around, not necessarily that I want to think about anything else. Because I do wake up about four to five in the morning to do my chanting, and sometimes half past four in the morning. I’m trying to do a little bit more early so I can be more focused on Krishna only and not any worldly thoughts in my mind. However, sometimes I feel very bad. I did sixteen rounds but I’m not satisfied with those sixteen rounds because I think I didn’t do them correctly—I didn’t do them in the right way.

So, that guilt conscious always comes in my mind and makes me really feel very bad about myself, that I’m not a very good devotee of the Lord, I’m not living in a correct way.

Giriraj Swami: Well, it’s always good to think that you can do better. I mean, we always can do better. But thinking that we can do better should encourage us to try to do better. It shouldn’t discourage us. I mean, yeah, I don’t see that you’re a bad devotee. I mean, how could you be a bad devotee?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:36:15]

Giriraj Swami: Well, you’re a good devotee but you could be better, let’s just put it that way.

Devotee: Yeah, that’s true. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, don’t call yourself a bad devotee. You’re not a bad devotee.

Devotee: Oh, thank you, Guru Maharaja. Thank you. Is there any way I can concentrate more on my chanting? Is there any trick to concentrate more on the holy name and keep out of other things?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, you just have to practice. Srila Prabhupada said, “Practice makes perfect even in spiritual life.” And of course, as you know, chanting early in the morning. And then, it has more potency if you chant in front of Deities, if you chant in front of tulasi, if you chant with other devotees who are serious about chanting and who have faith in the holy name. All of these can support your chanting.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja. Thank you very much.

Giriraj Swami: On Facebook, I have a live stream called, “Giriraj Swami japa saṅga.” And so, devotees can join me in chanting japa, and it’s encouraging. Even though we’re not physically together, it’s encouraging to see so many devotees chanting with me and with each other.

Devotee: So, is it on your Facebook page, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it’s not on my regular Facebook page, which is Giriraj Swami but there’s another Facebook page called “Giriraj Swami japa saṅga.” So, if you look for “Giriraj Swami japa saṅga,” you’ll find it.

Devotee: Yeah, I will just check up, and then I would just like to join that Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it would be wonderful to have you with us.

Devotee: Thank you very much, Guru Maharaja. I’m feeling so blessed to have your word from you for me. All glories to you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. Next, we have Nitika Mataji. Can you please go ahead and unmute?

Nitika devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. This is Nitika devi dasi.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Nitika devi dasi: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I just wanted to ask you a question about how do we balance family obligations versus maintaining our spiritual principal life? I just want to give you an example that happened just very recently where we attended the funeral ceremony of a very close family member, and they had invited a Hindu priest to conduct the rituals. And the Hindu priests kept on talking about how the God is formless, has no form and so forth, completely Mayavadi, and it was very hard for me and my husband to sit there and listen to all this nonsense. But we could not walk out of the ceremony because that would have offended all our family members, and that would have caused friction. So, we just said it was very hot in the room and we went into the backyard and started chanting.

But how should we respond in some situations where we want to keep our family ties, and also, of course, show them that we are happy, as you mentioned earlier so nicely? So, we were caught in a very strange situation, and I’m sure this happens with everyone, but how should we respond?

Giriraj Swami: Well, was this in Los Angeles?

Nitika devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja. This was just yesterday in Los Angeles.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Well, I mean, in a way, it’s a bit too late but in a way, it could be a proactive move to try to make those family members who invited the Mayavadi to make them more Krishna conscious. I mean, today someone sent me something humorous about a little thing about social distancing, and it said, “Covid 19 social distancing—one meter, and Mayavadis social distancing—a hundred meters.” [laughter] We want to keep our distance from them. I think what you did was okay, to sort of get out of there, but not insult or offend your family or anything like that. But, yeah, Mayavadi is so bad.

Once, Srila Prabhupada was invited to a conference at Kurukshetra, and there were a number of speakers. And at least one of the speakers was a Mayavadi. And Brahmananda Prabhu was sitting right next to Srila Prabhupada on the dais, but he felt very, very uncomfortable with the Mayavadi speaking, and he said to Srila Prabhupada, “I’m sitting right next to you but I feel so bad.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, that’s the effect of Mayavadi, it will really disturb a devotee.”

So, yeah, we should try to avoid it. I mean, family is different but, I mean, Srila Prabhupada was without compromise. I saw it in his old letters. He was invited to a bhāgavata-saptāha in Bombay, I think before ISKCON, and the speaker was going to be a Mayavadi. So, he received an invitation, and Srila Prabhupada wrote back, “Not only will I not attend, but I will tell all of my friends and acquaintances that they also should not attend, so that they don’t have to be subjected to that.”

Nitika devi dasi: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Host: Next, we have Usha Mataji. Can you please go ahead?

Usha Mataji: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Usha Mataji: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya! All the way from Mauritius. Yes, speak? Did you want to say something? You just muted yourself. Yeah.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, can we have darshan of Gandharvika-Giridhari?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I would like to satisfy your desire, but I can’t do it now because I’m sitting at a desktop computer. It is not portable. So, I cannot move it to the Deities. It’s a nice thought, maybe on some other occasion. Sometimes on japa saṅga, maybe I’ll do that if you join the japa saṅga. I’m using just my iPhone and so it’s portable, I can give darshan of the Deities. Thank you.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. Next, we have Rajneesh Prabhu. Can you please go ahead?

Rajneesh Prabhu: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. I have one question. So, while doing japa rounds, can we play maha-mantra in our background at lower volume so that we can focus on the maha-mantra lower volume and then we can chant?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s alright. Once, Srila Prabhupada came into the temple room in Dallas, and they were playing his japa tape, and Srila Prabhupada said, “You should be listening to your japa, and not my japa.” But still, we do chant with other people in the room. So, if the volume of that recorded chanting is low enough that it doesn’t interfere with your hearing your own japa but it sort of supports you and encourages you, that’s fine, that’s good.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, next we have Dr Britanny. You can go ahead. Dr Britanny, are you there?

Devotee: Looks like she has dropped off.  

Host: So, next we have Amrita Gopi Mataji. You can go ahead.

Amrita Gopi Mataji: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Amrita Gopi Mataji: Please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, the question may be a little off topic, but I’d like to ask you anyway. How can devotees receive full benefits of Krishna consciousness if they surrender at their senior age?

Giriraj Swami: Wait, I was a little distracted because I saw a chat saying that Dr Brittany was there but she was on mute. So, we’ll get back to Dr Brittany. So, now, can you repeat what you just said?

Amrita Gopi Mataji: How can devotees receive full benefits of Krishna consciousness if they surrender at a very senior age?

Giriraj Swami: Oh. Well, you get the benefit by surrendering, as you said. And in principle, it doesn’t really matter whether you are young or old. Although young is better because then you have so much of your life ahead of you. And therefore, Prahlada Maharaja says kaumāra ācaret prājño and Srila Prabhupada repeated that so often, that from the very tender age of childhood, one should engage in Krishna consciousness. But even if one comes in contact with Krishna consciousness later, he or she can still make advancement. There’s a nice purport in the Bhagavad-gītā in which Srila Prabhupada makes that point, that it’s ideal if one can begin at a young age, but even if one begins at an older age, one can still achieve perfection.

So, yeah, we encourage everyone to surrender. I could probably find that purport, but Srila Prabhupada, I think he uses the phrase, “From the time that one appreciates the importance of Krishna consciousness.” It’s okay, it’s good. Better late than never.

Devotee: Will you say where to get that purport, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, yeah. I can email it to you.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you. Haribol! Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, Dr Brittany, kindly unmute and go ahead.

Dr Brittany: Okay. Thank you. Hare Krishna. Can you hear me, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: I can hear you and I can see you.

Dr Brittany: Oh, good. Okay. I have a question regarding chanting in general, the actual practice of it. So, when I chant in the morning, I tend to sit in front of my images of Lord Krishna, my calendar, my Deities, and chant while thinking about kṛṣṇa-līlā. But I’ve also been told I shouldn’t be doing that, that I should just be focusing on the holy name itself, that I should be focusing on the actual syllables, the actual sound vibration of the maha-mantra. Is either one better, or are they both good?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we’ve actually read it in the purport that from the holy name, you can become acquainted with the forms, with the qualities, with the pastimes. And in the old Boston temple, I think it was a general practice in ISKCON then, devotee would read Kṛṣṇa book at night before taking rest. And I was facilitating a japa retreat at New Vrindavan, and I found that by reading Kṛṣṇa book at night, it was sort of natural to think of Krishna’s pastimes while chanting. Yeah, I was saying that Srila Prabhupada introduced the practice that devotees would read Kṛṣṇa book at night before taking rest, so then in the morning, when we would chant japa, it would sort of be natural to remember Krishna’s pastimes. So, it shouldn’t be that we make a separate artificial effort to think of the pastimes that would distract us from hearing the holy name, but if we chant the holy name attentively and if Krishna’s pastimes come to mind, that’s very good. That’s perfection.

Dr Brittany: Okay. Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: My pleasure.

Dr Brittany: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Guru Maharaja. Maharaja, sometimes while chanting, I get the taste, but sometimes, I have to force myself to chant. What is the reason, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Can you repeat that?

Devotee: Sometimes while chanting, I get taste, but sometimes I have to force myself very badly. What is the reason, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Well, yeah, I mean, Rupa Gosvami describes in The Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, that the holy names are sweet like sugar candy, but one who is afflicted by the disease of avidya or ignorance doesn’t taste the holy names, not just the names but character and qualities, as sweet, but tastes them as bitter. Just like someone suffering from jaundice, the disease, he doesn’t taste sweet things to be sweet, but tastes them as bitter. But the ayurvedic cure for jaundice is sugar candy. So, even though it tastes bitter, the patient takes the sugar candy, and gradually, as the patient recovers, that sugar candy which tasted bitter will gradually start to taste sweet. And when the disease is completely cured, then the patient can taste the sugar candy as it is, which is sweet like nectar.

So, that word you used ‘forced yourself’ is very appropriate. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to take bitter medicine. But by taking this medicine of the holy name, we’ll gradually become cured of our disease, and then we’ll taste it as being sweet.

And as I mentioned earlier, we can get support in our chanting. Of course, chanting early in the morning, chanting in front of Deities, chanting in front of Tulasi-devi, chanting with other devotees who are sincere and serious. Those can all encourage you in your chanting.

Host: Maharaja, next, we have Lavanya Radhika Mataji. You can please go ahead.

Lavanya Radhika Mataji: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Very sweet class, Maharaja, as usual. It’s the best class. When we do Ekādaśī vratas there is always some boons, like benefits, like feeding the cows or bathing in the Yamuna. So, thinking in that way, should we think about the boons or do we in a loving way for Krishna we do the vratas. 

Giriraj Swami: Nice. Well, everything in bhakti should be done for Krishna’s pleasure and for our purification, because Krishna will be pleased if we purify our hearts so that we can become better servants of Him and His devotees. I mean, as far as those special boons that you get, I don’t pay much attention to them. We already have the greatest boon of Krishna consciousness. So, we just want to go deeper into Krishna consciousness. I mean, whatever we do, all of our Ekādaśī vratas should be done for Krishna’s pleasure.

There’s the story of Ambarīṣa Maharaja and how he was observing Ekādaśī. It’s all a discussion from the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but in the purport, it’s very clear, and it’s true of all of our activities, that the purpose of observing the Ekādaśī vrata is to please Krishna. So, the more we can chant and hear, probably the less we can eat and sleep, the better. But we shouldn’t do any artificial austerities so that our mind is more preoccupied with our austerities rather than with the holy name or with Krishna. But if we can reduce eating and sleeping and use that time we save for more chanting and hearing, it’s good. Krishna will be pleased. And when Krishna is pleased, we are pleased.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. So, next we have Anil Prabhu. Can you please go ahead?

Anil Prabhu: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Anil Prabhu: Maharaja, my question is, you just earlier stated in the answer to some other question that there is no harm when we chant for someone else. But my question is if that someone else is a wife or children or family.

Giriraj Swami: What do you mean chant for them?

Anil Prabhu: If we chant some extra rounds for the health of someone who is in our family like my wife or children or anyone else in our family. We do extra rounds, that is not for material purposes.

Giriraj Swami: Chanting extra rounds for someone’s health. Well, the way you phrased it doesn’t sound very good, but it could possibly be phrased in a different way. Why do you want your wife to have good health? Or why does she want to have good health? If it’s for Krishna’s service, then you could pray for Krishna to enable her to serve to her full capacity. But just praying for her to get better health in and of itself doesn’t sound like a proper prayer.

Anil Prabhu: But if the family members are well and healthy, then we can easily pay our attention towards our special commitments and we can chant properly. For that purpose, is it material, or is it spiritual?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, in a way it’s spiritual, but it seems sort of like you’re putting yourself at the center of the prayer, that you don’t want to have to be bothered with sick family members. And that also doesn’t sound. . . But it’s okay. It’s okay but it’s not great. We should always see ourselves as the servants of the servants of Krishna, and our family members, yeah, they’re family members but we hope they’re also servants of Krishna. So, taking care of a sick family member in the mood of being a servant of the servant, yeah, I mean, I can’t say in too much detail about your situation, but I would be careful not to pray for material things.

But again, the same thing can be phrased spiritually. I have an example from here in Santa Barbara. There’s a devotee named Giridhari Priya, and he was looking for a house, and he wasn’t able to find one. So, I asked him if he had prayed for it. He said, “No, how can I pray for a house? It’s material. How can I pray for something material?” So, I said, “It depends on how you phrase the prayer, how you conceive of the house.” I said, “If you pray to have a nice facility for your Deities, a nice facility where you can have programs, satsaṅga, a nice facility where you can host devotees, where devotees can actually spend the night if they need, then you could pray for a house.”

So, he configured his prayer, and within three days, he found a house. So, if we shift the prayer from the material features of the item to the spiritual utility of it, then it’s okay. We can pray for that.

Anil Prabhu: Okay. Thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, next we have [Unintelligible 02:05:28]. Can you please go ahead?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Guru Maharaja, I have a question for many years now. In Kali-yuga, the chanting of the holy name is the way back to Godhead, but then, we also have read in scriptures that a uttamādhikārī is very well-versed in scriptures and scripture knowledge. So, I was just wondering when a person dedicates his life to chanting the holy name of the Lord alone, solely depends on chanting and is not able to read scriptures or do other kinds of things, are all these scriptures truth revealed to him or her in their heart? And then, how does it work that just by chanting. . .

Giriraj Swami: Well, if you can do chanting all the time, that’s fine, but very few people can do just chanting. But we want to be Krishna conscious all the time. And so, sometimes we chant, sometimes we read shastra, sometimes we sing bhajans, kirtans, sometimes we worship the Deities, sometimes we distribute books. So, there’s a variety of engagements. But it’s true, if you can do chanting twenty-four hours, kirtaniya sada hari, that’s fine. But otherwise, we should engage in various activities that will help us with Krishna consciousness.

And one thing that Srila Prabhupada said about the chanting is that the chanting is easy, but the determination to chant is not so easy. And by reading the books, we can get that determination to chant. So, yeah, reading the books is important. But it’s also true, if someone is illiterate, like Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was illiterate, he couldn’t sign his name, but still, because he was an advanced devotee, mahā-bhāgavata, scholars would come to him with questions about Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and he could answer the questions because of his advancement in Krishna consciousness.

So, yeah, yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau, one who has implicit faith in Krishna and the spiritual master, to such a person all the truths of the Vedas are revealed. That’s true. But if we have faith in the spiritual master and the spiritual master instructs us to read the books, then we should read the books too. Yeah, why should we not?

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, I was also thinking about how Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed His main associate, Rupa Gosvami, to write so many books on the science of devotion and he left his legacy for us so that we can take advantage. So, I got this question in my mind because of that, because I also understand that there are so many nice scriptures which help us understand this, but at the same time, I’ve heard some devotees say that you may not need to know everything, you can just chant your way back to Godhead. So, I have this tendency to read. Now, should I chant or read? So, that’s why I asked.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, you should do both. You should definitely do both. Yeah, the proportion, that might vary from person to person or time to time, but you should definitely do both. But certainly, minimum sixteen rounds, that’s the most essential.

Host: Hare Krishna. Sunil Prabhu, you can please go ahead next.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you for your wonderful association and patience. I have a question. When somebody stops chanting and wants to resume the chanting again, why is it so difficult for a person to resume chanting? He may resume all other services, but when it comes to chanting, it’s very difficult for a person to resume it. Although we hear that the holy name is more merciful than the Lord Himself. Then why is the holy name not merciful to the person so that he can develop a taste to chant the holy name?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I would say that the holy name is being merciful to the person so that the person doesn’t take chanting for granted. Chanting is a privilege, and if we stop chanting, the holy name may want us to struggle a bit before we can chant again so we don’t take the chanting for granted and we’re very careful not to allow ourselves to stop chanting. But eventually, the holy name, of course, will show its mercy on the chanter by making it easier for the chanter to chant. But yeah, it's mercy to be able to chant. And so, to make that person appreciate the mercy, the person might have to struggle a little to get back to the chanting. But they have to do it, they can’t give up the struggle.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, thank you so much for your very, very valuable time. I still have a few questions on chat. Probably they don’t want to come personally. So, would you like to address them, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Okay, just give me a minute. I’ll be back in a minute.

Host: Sure, Maharaja, sure.

Giriraj Swami: Alright?

Host: Yes, Maharaja, thank you. So, she posted her question on chat, but probably now it seems that she wants to personally ask. So, Neeru Mataji, you can please go ahead.

Neeru Mataji: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya!

Neeru Mataji: My question is more about. . . I do my japa in the morning or during the day, I have extra time. So, I’m a bit confused about what to do with my extra time. Should I read more, should I chant more, should I give my time to my kids more if I have extra or should I give it to my body to maintain, to do some exercise or yoga?

Giriraj Swami: Well, yeah, balance is a very important principle in devotional service and in life. And what constitutes the proper balance at one time might not be the proper balance at another time. And I don’t think I can say you should do more of this or more of that, or less of this or less of that. But there’s a very nice purport in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the Tenth Canto. When Mother Yasoda was feeding baby Krishna her breast milk, the milk on the fire began to boil over. So, she set aside baby Krishna to attend to the milk on the fire before Krishna was satisfied.

But anyway, in the purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that everything in the household of Mother Yasoda was meant for the service of Krishna. But sometimes, in the course of performing devotional service, one has to do one thing first, and another thing later. And the intelligence of what to do first and what to do later comes from Krishna. And Srila Prabhupada quoted teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ, Krishna gives the intelligence, yena mām upayānti te.

So, we should try to fulfill the conditions in that verse. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ, that means ‘who are constantly devoted.’ So, we should be constantly devoted. I mean, yes, there may be many alternatives, like you mentioned; chanting, reading, taking care of your children, but they should all be in the mood of service to Krishna. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ, to those who are constantly devoted, bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam, it means with love. So, we should do the services in the mood of love, at least as far as possible. So, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ, to those persons, Krishna gives the intelligence by which they can come to Him.

So, yeah, you can pray to Krishna, pray to Srila Prabhupada, to give you the intelligence of what to do first and what to do later, what to do more and what to do less. But sometimes, between good choices, they’re all good choices. Maybe follow your heart, Krishna’s in your heart. As I said before, of course, the sixteen rounds minimum comes first, that’s a top priority, and then the other things.

And as far as the children, I don’t know to what extent they can be involved in chanting and reading, but it’s certainly a nice way to spend time with them, and it will also nourish your spiritual practices. But we can’t force them if they don’t want to, and we don’t want them to feel neglected, we don’t want them to think that because of Krishna consciousness, you don’t have time for them. So, it’s very important that you spend enough time with the children. And like I said, if it can be dovetailed in Krishna consciousness, so much the better. But if not, we don’t want them to feel that because of your Krishna consciousness, you’re not spending enough time with them. Because they are also future devotees. And so, in the mood of the servant of the servant. . .

Neeru Mataji: Thank you, thank you.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, next we have Simon Prabhu. He was not available. So, now please can you go ahead?

Simon Prabhu: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, the first thing we hear about chanting is ‘chant and be happy.’ And we hear about it and we tell others about it. My understanding is that this happiness is Krishna’s reciprocation for us. But today, when you were reading the purport about the eighth offense, it got me a little bit worried that there is some risk that sometimes we use that motto as, “I’m chanting just to feel good. I’m still using that for my personal service.”

Giriraj Swami: Oh! No, no, no. Like you said, chant and be happy, that’s our motto. It came from Srila Prabhupada. So, chanting and feeling happy, or even chanting to feel happy, spiritually, is not like you making the Lord your order supplier. He wants us to be happy and He knows we can be happy only in Krishna consciousness. So, that’s not making Him an order supplier like that man who was saying if you chant then all your physical diseases will be cured. That’s in a different category. But chanting to feel happy, yeah, you should feel happy when you chant, and that’s not a bad motive.

Simon Prabhu: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. So, next we have Praveen Pandita. Can you please go ahead?

Praveen Pandita: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and to your lotus feet. Maharaja, very wonderful class and very nice answers to all of these questions. It helped to understand so many questions and different answers. So, it answered a few questions that even came. So, my question is, while chanting, is it okay if we visualize the maha-mantra words in the mind and chant and hear? If I’m reading a book, I read a book, and when I’m reading the words, I hear those words as well as I read. So, I feel like it helps keep the mind a little focused, because I am reading in the mind and hearing at the same time. So, is it okay to do that?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. I mean, yeah, I don’t know about the mind, but I have the maha-mantra in English and in Devanagari, and it helps to focus the mind that while you’re chanting, you look at the mantra and you follow the words to the mantra. It’s backwards here.

Praveen Pandita: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: But I do that. And it’s recommended that while you’re chanting ‘Hare,’ you look at ‘Hare.’ When you’re chanting ‘Krishna,’ you look at ‘Krishna.’ It definitely helps to focus the mind.

Praveen Pandita: Yes, Maharaja. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. So now, respecting your time, I’ll just take four questions which are on chat, that will be the last one. So, we have Devanshi Pancholi Mataji. She is saying, “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to your class. My question is about the eclipse that it’s happening on Sunday.”

Giriraj Swami: Wait. Is she here? Where is she?

Host: She posted her question on chat.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, okay.

Devanshi Pancholi Mataji: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. I’m in the class. Sorry, I didn’t want to [Unintelligible 02:24:58]

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, I like to see the people who are asking.

Devanshi Pancholi Mataji: Hare Krishna. It’s just that I joined in late so I didn’t want to disturb the class, so I posted my question on the chat. Please accept my humble obeisances. My question is, this Sunday is eclipse, and I’m an expecting mother. So, I was wondering, is there anything recommended in shastra that I need to follow specifically?

Giriraj Swami: Oh! Well, someone raised the question by email, someone asked me about eclipses, if Srila Prabhupada said anything about how to observe eclipses. And I didn’t really have any experience with Srila Prabhupada, but I did add a few devotees as receivers to the threat who might be able to say something, and Shruti Kirti Prabhu, who was Srila Prabhupada’s servant, he said, “I was with Prabhupada the entire year of 1973 and some of 74 and 75. There were six eclipses during that time. There were no special arrangements made throughout the day regarding cooking, massage, or other areas of my service. Srila Prabhupada was very regulated in his daily routine.” And one of the other devotees I added as a receiver was Mother Malati, and she said two things. One was, “His instruction was, ‘Go out and perform hari-nāma.’” And she also added that he never instructed not to perform Deity worship.

I was with His Holiness Radhanath Swami. We were on a yatra in Jaipur during an eclipse, and he explained that the eclipse is considered, I would say, inauspicious or contaminating. So, what we did during the eclipse is we stayed inside, we didn’t look at it. Yeah, we just stayed inside and did chanting and hearing until the eclipse ended, which seems like a safe thing to do. So, these are different responses to the question of eclipse.