SB 1.2.6

Giriraj Swami: So, we will be speaking on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Two, Text Six. I first encountered this verse very early in my Krishna consciousness, soon after I met Srila Prabhupada in Boston. In May of 1969, after one week of hearing from Srila Prabhupada, I got the chance to ask him a question that was very important to me.

[READING from Service to God and Service to Man]

Before I met Srila Prabhupada, I had the desire to serve humanity. Then, from Srila Prabhupada, I heard about the importance of service to Lord Krishna. But I did have one question, how did God’s service relate to man’s? So, I got a chance to ask my question after Srila Prabhupada had just concluded his lecture and he concluded his lecture by quoting this verse:

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

“Without spiritual realization, you cannot have peace of mind. If you want to have peace of mind, peace in the world, peace in your society, peace in your family, simply by amassing money, by material advancement, it will never be possible. But if you improve a little in spiritual life, you will immediately become happy.”

“So now, if you have any questions, you can ask.”

“You talk about service to Lord Krishna. How does service to our fellow men come in?”

“Why are you and others coming here? Are we not rendering service? To deliver one from the illusory material energy and bring him to Krishna consciousness is the best service.”

COMMENT

Which is true.

READING (continued)

“What is the meaning of service? To give relief from suffering. And Krishna consciousness gives the best relief, as confirmed in the Bhāgavatam. The best service, the best religion, the best philosophy is that which teaches one how to serve God.”

COMMENT

He was referring to the same verse, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6).

READING (continued)

“And as soon as one comes to serve God without any motive, immediately he becomes satisfied, yayātmā suprasīdati.”

“As a five-year-old boy, Dhruva Maharaja was insulted by his stepmother. Still, he wanted his father’s kingdom, so his mother advised him, ‘Only God can help you.’ Immediately, Dhruva went to the forest to find God. But when actually he saw God, he said, ‘My Lord, I do not want anything, I am fully satisfied. I came looking for some pieces of broken glass, but now I have found the most valuable jewel.’ When one discovers his eternal relationship with God, he feels, ‘I have nothing more to ask.’ And to bring a man to feel, ‘I have no more demand, I am fully satisfied,’ is the best service.”

COMMENT

So, this is all an elaboration on yayātmā suprasīdati, one becomes completely satisfied by pure devotional service.

READING (continued)

“What is this so-called material service? Suppose I am hungry and you give me some food, will I not be hungry again? Of course, the Krishna consciousness movement also gives food, but we are giving food that will make one satisfied forever. No more hunger, no more demand. ‘I am fully satisfied,’ (svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi). ‘I have no more demand,’ (varaṁ na yāce).”

COMMENT

So, Dhruva went into the forest and performed severe austerities, and eventually, the Lord Himself came before Dhruva and asked him to accept some boon, but Dhruva refused. He said, ‘svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi, I am fully satisfied, varaṁ na yāce, I have no more demand.’

READING (continued)

“To think that you can satisfy your hunger materially is simply an illusion. America is materially advanced. But are you satisfied? So many frustrated young people, hippies, are there. Still, the rascals think, If we become rich like America, we shall become happy. One will never be satisfied by material adjustment.

“Actual happiness comes when you learn to love God, and that can be achieved without any material advancement. Anywhere you are, in any condition of life, you can simply chant Hare Krishna and develop such love, then you will say, ‘Now I am fully satisfied, I do not want anything else. No more stealing, no more pickpocketing, no more cheating because I have no want, why shall I cheat?’”

COMMENT

Now, at this stage, Srila Prabhupada’s words went deep into my heart. Although I prided myself on my honesty, I had one weakness; I had been turned on to shoplifting, pocketing little things here and there. But Srila Prabhupada’s statement ‘no more pickpocketing, no more stealing,’ made me realize how fallen I actually was, and how I could be saved by Krishna consciousness.

READING (continued)

Srila Prabhupada continued: “Perhaps you know the story. A saintly person was sitting in a solitary place almost naked. Alexander the Great asked him, ‘Can I do something for you?’ He replied, ‘Please stand aside, you are making a shadow. That’s all.’ Because he was fully satisfied, what could Alexander the Great do for him?”

yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ

manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥ

yasmin sthito na duḥkhena

guruṇāpi vicālyate

“You’ll find in the Bhagavad-gītā (6.22) that if you are situated in the transcendental position, you have no more demand and are not disturbed even in the greatest difficulty. This is life, to be satisfied in any condition. And this peace can be achieved only in Krishna consciousness.”

COMMENT

And I was satisfied. There was no need for me to look any further. Srila Prabhupada could answer every question.

The only way to be peaceful and happy in life was to follow Srila Prabhupada and become Krishna conscious. And the best way to serve others was to give them Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada had shown the way perfectly. Now I simply had to follow.

So, this verse has a lot of personal significance to me because Srila Prabhupada spoke about it not only in his class about a week after I first met him, but in addressing my specific question to him about service to men and service to God. So, I’ll read the verse and purport. It is really rich, it’s really deep.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Actually, it’ll be good if everyone mutes themselves because there’s a little delay between you and us, so the response of chanting is a little bit off. Sukha Kamat, please mute yourself, Anna, all of you please mute yourselves.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

So, we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter Two: “Divinity and Divine Service,” Text Six.

TEXT 6

sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo

yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

ahaituky apratihatā

yayātmā suprasīdati

TRANSLATION

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

COMMENT

I’ll read it again. Or the way we do it in our classes is we read a bit of the translation, and then the devotees respond. So, we’ll do that, it helps the verse to sink in.

TRANSLATION

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this statement, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī answers the first question of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya.

COMMENT

So, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is actually an account of two different speakings of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One was what Suta Gosvami spoke to the sages at Naimiṣaraṇya, headed by Saunaka Rsi, and the other, of course, was Śukadeva Gosvami speaking to Maharaja Parīkṣit when he had seven days left to live. So, at this stage in the Bhāgavatam, we are reading Suta Gosvami’s answer to the sages when they had gathered at Naimiṣaraṇya and were contemplating the welfare of the world, the welfare of the people of the world in Kali-yuga.

PURPORT (continued)

In this statement, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī answers the first question of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya. The sages asked him to summarize the whole range of revealed scriptures and present the most essential part so that fallen people or the people in general might easily take it up. The Vedas prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is called the pravṛtti-mārga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other is called the nivṛtti-mārga, or the path of renunciation. The path of enjoyment is inferior, and the path of sacrifice for the supreme cause is superior.

COMMENT

So, paraḥ, it means sublime, or supreme, paro dharmo. And Srila Prabhupada, in the purport here, is explaining the two general paths; pravṛtti-mārga and nivṛtti-mārga. Pravṛtti-mārga being the path of sense enjoyment, and nivṛtti-mārga being the path of renunciation for the service of the Supreme. And of the two, nivṛtti-mārga is superior. So, straight away in discussing paro dharmo, we can understand that pravṛtti-mārga is not paro dharmo, but nivṛtti-mārga is.

PURPORT (continued)

The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life.

COMMENT

Because this body itself is our diseased condition. And as long as we are in this body, we have to suffer, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi; birth, death, old age, and disease, and so many other miseries.

PURPORT (continued)

The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhūta existence, where life is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. Material existence is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all.

COMMENT

So yeah, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. So, Krishna is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. The form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Sat, cit, and ānanda. And this material body is the opposite, asat, temporary, acit, full of ignorance, and nirananda, full of suffering.

PURPORT (continued)

Material existence is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all. There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness.

COMMENT

There are many examples. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada gave the example of how criminals were punished. They were put on the end of a pole and submerged under water. And when they were on the verge of dying, they would be lifted up and they could gasp for some fresh air. So, that gasping for fresh air is taken as happiness. It’s not real happiness, it’s actually just a relief from the suffering. But people take it as happiness.

I remember when I was in college, I read a book in which a Christian monk, said that when it was cold in the winter, he used to let his toes dangle outside of the blanket so they would feel very cold, and then he could bring them under the blanket and they would get warm, and he would enjoy the sensation of his cold toes getting warmed up under the blanket. So, it’s not really happiness, it’s just the cessation of misery. But in the material world, the cessation of misery often passes as happiness. It’s not real happiness but we feel it to be happiness because we’re getting some relief from the misery.

PURPORT (continued)

There is no happiness at all. There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness. Therefore, the path of progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable and illusory, is inferior.

COMMENT

So here, we’re talking about paro dharmo. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna talks about His two energies; parā-prakṛti and aparā-prakṛti. And the spiritual energy is the parā-prakṛti, and the material energy is aparā-prakṛti. So, as long as we try to find happiness in the aparā-prakṛti, that is aparā, that is inferior.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore, the path of progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable and illusory, is inferior. But devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which leads one to eternal, blissful and all-cognizant life, is called the superior quality of occupation.

COMMENT

Paro dharmo.

PURPORT (continued)

For example, adoption of devotional service for material gain is certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation.

COMMENT

Now, this is a very significant point, that engaging in devotional service for material gain is an impediment to spiritual advancement. As stated in this verse, ahaituky, there should be no cause, there should be no material motive for engaging in devotional service. But even then, Krishna is so kind that He can help a devotee who approaches Him with material desires to overcome those desires.

And one example which we discussed was Dhruva Maharaja. He came to find God. He engaged in the devotional service, chanting oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, to get his kingdom. But when he actually saw God, he was fully satisfied, he gave up that material desire for his kingdom and he said, “Svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce, I’m fully satisfied, I don’t want any boon.”

And there’s a very nice section in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam which is also quoted in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in which Krishna says, “One who approaches Me for material gain is certainly most foolish, because he is giving up ambrosia,” which means nectar, celestial nectar, “He is giving up ambrosia for poison. But I am very intelligent,” Krishna’s saying, “But I am very intelligent, and I will deal with that fool in such a way that he gives up his material desires and forcibly gets shelter at My lotus feet.” So, that could be seen in the example of Dhruva Maharaja and others. But still, as a rule, of course, we should not approach Krishna with material desires.

PURPORT (continued)

Adoption of devotional service for material gain is certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation. Renunciation or abnegation for ultimate good is certainly a better occupation than enjoyment in the diseased condition of life. Such enjoyment only aggravates the symptoms of disease and increases its duration.

COMMENT

So, as we discussed, our material existence in this material body is a diseased condition of life, and if we try to cater to the demands of the senses, we only aggravate the disease and increase its duration. So, we should not do that.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore devotional service to the Lord must be pure in quality, i.e., without the least desire for material enjoyment. One should, therefore, accept the superior quality of occupation.

COMMENT

Paro dharmo.

PURPORT (continued)

In the form of the devotional service of the Lord.

COMMENT

Bhakti, yato bhaktir.

PURPORT (continued)

Without any tinge of unnecessary desire, fruitive action and philosophical speculation. This alone can lead one to perpetual solace in His service.

COMMENT

Yayātmā suprasīdati. Now, here Srila Prabhupada says, and this is a very important discussion. . .

PURPORT (continued)

We have purposely denoted dharma as occupation because the root meaning of the word dharma is “that which sustains one’s existence.”

COMMENT

So, as Srila Prabhupada has explained, the root of dharma is dhr, and dhr means characteristic, that quality that cannot be separated from an object. And thus, Srila Prabhupada said, “The dharma of sugar is to be sweet,” that’s its natural characteristic. The dharma of chili is to be hot. You cannot separate sweetness from sugar, you cannot separate hotness from chili.

So, what is it that cannot be separated from the living entity? And that is service, that is the dharma of the living entity, service. Under no circumstances can the living entity exist without rendering service, it’s just not possible. So, that is our dharma. But what service? The ultimate object of service is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that service is eternal. And therefore, a synonym for Krishna consciousness is sanātana-dharma, the eternal occupation of the living entity, which is to render service to the Supreme Lord.

And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also confirms, jīvera svarūpa haya — kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa, the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is an eternal servant of Krishna. So, that is our natural condition, that is our healthy condition, that is our happy condition. And anything else, service, will not satisfy us. And as Srila Prabhupada says, “Most likely, it won’t satisfy the person who we’re trying to serve either.” And he gave the example of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi dedicated his life to serve his nation, to serve India. But he was not satisfied, ultimately, he wanted a unified India, but in the end, there was partition of India and Pakistan, he was not satisfied. And his fellow countrymen were not satisfied either, they killed him. That’s how unsatisfied with him they were.

So, material service will not satisfy the people we’re serving, and it won’t satisfy us. But this devotional service, bhakti, yayātmā suprasīdati, that will satisfy us and it will also satisfy others.

PURPORT (continued)

We have purposely denoted dharma as occupation because the root meaning of the word dharma is “that which sustains one’s existence.” A living being’s sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the central pivot of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form amongst all other living beings or eternal forms.

COMMENT

So, the very word ‘Krishna’ means all-attractive. As Srila Prabhupada explains, everyone says God is great, but how great He is, people do not know. And He is full in six opulences, and He is all-attractive. One may be opulent in one of those six categories, but however opulent one is, Krishna is more opulent. And therefore, one will be attracted to Krishna. So, Krishna is all-attractive. And indirectly, here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada is referring to a verse in the Upaniṣad:

nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām

eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān

Nityo nityānāṁ, there are many eternal living beings, and among them there is one singular eternal living being. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām, there are many conscious living beings, plural number, and among the plural numbers, there’s a singular number. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān, and that one singular, Krishna, is providing for the needs of all the plural numbers of conscious eternal living entities.

PURPORT (continued)

Kṛṣṇa is the central pivot of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form amongst all other living beings or eternal forms.

COMMENT

Nityo nityānāṁ.

PURPORT (continued)

Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Kṛṣṇa is the eternal attraction for all of them.

COMMENT

Even now, we have our eternal spiritual forms but they’re covered. And when we’re liberated, then our eternal spiritual forms become manifest. And Krishna, of course, has His eternal spiritual form. And we, in our eternal spiritual forms, will be attracted to Krishna in His eternal spiritual form, and we will love Him and we will naturally want to serve Him. And that’s our liberated state. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

TEXT 6

muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ

sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ

COMMENT

Muktiḥ means liberation, hitvā, giving up, anyathā rūpam, other forms. Muktir hitvānyathā rūpaṁ sva-rūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ, and being situated in one’s constitutional position. That is liberation. And that constitutional position again, jīvera svarūpa haya — kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa, eternal servants of Krishna. That’s our liberated life, that’s our happy life, that’s our eternal life.

PURPORT (continued)

Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Kṛṣṇa is the eternal attraction for all of them. Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the served.

COMMENT

So, yes, this is the sublime philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called acintya-bhedābheda-tattv, which means inconceivable, simultaneous, oneness, and difference. So, we are one in quality with God, but different in quantity. And because we’re one in quality, we can have a relationship with Him. If there’s no point of similarities between two entities, there’s no question of a relationship. So, we are one in quality, but different in quantity. As Srila Prabhupada said, “God is infinite, and we are infinitesimal,” or as we would pronounce it, infinitesimal. So yeah, because we have the same qualities, we can have a relationship. But because He is great and we are small, the relationship is defined as part of the whole, or as servant-master.

PURPORT (continued)

Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the served. It is transcendental and is completely distinct from our experience in material existence. This relation of servant and the served is the most congenial form of intimacy. One can realize it as devotional service progresses.

COMMENT

Generally, in the material world, we don’t want to be servants, we want to be masters. But that is our diseased mentality. We can actually be happy when we’re servants, but servants of the right master, and that is Krishna. Otherwise, we are servants by nature; servant of our husband, servant of our wife, servant of our parents, servant of our children, servant of our society, servant of our community, servant of our nation, servant of our species. But being a servant of those entities without Krishna consciousness will not satisfy us. Or again, it probably won’t satisfy the people we’re serving, attempting to serve.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone should engage himself in that transcendental loving service of the Lord, even in the present conditional state of material existence. That will gradually give one the clue to actual life and please him to complete satisfaction.

COMMENT

Fully satisfied. Svāmin kṛtārtho ‘smi varaṁ na yāce. There were times in my devotional career when my father tried to, you could say, lure me away from Srila Prabhupada by offering me a million dollars. And back then, we’re talking maybe fifty years ago, a million dollars was worth a lot more than it is now. Even now it’s quite a bit, but back then it was really a lot. But he was not successful because I was satisfied in devotional service and he couldn’t tempt me with his bribery or his inducements. But of course, he had his own perspective and he was fully entitled to that. But he couldn’t take me away from Srila Prabhupada and Krishna consciousness because I felt that what I was getting from Srila Prabhupada and Krishna consciousness was so much greater than anything that he could give me or that money could buy. But he did some service, so that’s also to his eternal benefit, by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.

Hare Krishna. So, shall we take questions and comments now?

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Maharaja, thank you so much, Maharaja. Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. So wonderful and inspiring class, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: More than thirty-five families are watching on Facebook as well, along with Zoom, there are some questions on Facebook. Can I read out to you?

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Maharaja, this question is from Amrita Nandini Mataji, she is asking. . .

Giriraj Swami: From who?

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Amrita Nandini devi dasi.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. That’s a nice name.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Very nice lecture, Maharaja. In Mahābhārata, Duryodhana also saw Krishna. Why did he not get bhakti from Krishna?”

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that’s a very good question. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada always said, “Hearing is more important than seeing.” People might see Krishna and not know that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But if you hear that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you can appreciate Krishna more than by seeing Him. So, therefore, it is said, sastra-caksusa, we should see through the eyes of scripture, not with these eyes. Of course, these eyes are good if we can see Krishna when we go to the temple or we may have Deities of Krishna in our own homes, or pictures of Krishna, so that’s good. But we wouldn’t know who Krishna was, even seeing Him, unless we heard. So, yes, hearing is more important than seeing.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Maharaja, I have another question. In your lecture, when you were saying, “I was completely satisfied, my father could not allure me,” that was deeply inspiring, Maharaja. I have a question related to that. Can I ask you?

Giriraj Swami: Sure.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Maharaja, I understand one of the toughest times in our Krishna consciousness movement was during the construction of ISKCON, Juhu temple, especially with Mr. N who gave us so much trouble to all devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Also, the facilities, there were hardly any facilities. When we read, you could understand that there were no facilities at all, everything was bothering, externally. And also, as a person, he was constantly giving trouble. Maharaja, could you give some insight, some understanding, how amidst so much difficulty externally, internally, how one can be fully satisfied, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: We were satisfied because we were serving Srila Prabhupada. And it’s true that the conditions were very meager, and on top of it, Mr. Nair was harassing us in so many different ways, but we tolerated it because we wanted to please Srila Prabhupada. And the devotee experiences pleasure in Krishna’s pleasure, the disciple experiences pleasure in the guru’s pleasure. So, we were happy knowing that Srila Prabhupada was pleased.

Although at one stage, quite early on, I was feeling a lot of anxiety. And then Srila Prabhupada came, and I was hoping, or expecting, that when Srila Prabhupada came, I would get relief from my anxiety, but I was still in anxiety. So, I asked my senior godbrother, Tamal Krishna Goswami, and he gave a beautiful answer. He said, “It’s just like you’re in a house that’s on fire, and the only way you can get out of the house is if you break the window pane and jump out. And so, you have to use your hand to break the window pane, and when you break the window pane, your hand hurts, but you have to do it to save your life.”

And for us, our life was Srila Prabhupada, the service to Srila Prabhupada. I was saying, “I’m doing what Prabhupada wants and I know he wants me to do it because he has told me, but still, I’m feeling this anxiety.” So, it was a beautiful answer, that the anxiety is like the pain we suffer when we break the window pane, but we have to do it to save our body, to save our spiritual life, to serve Srila Prabhupada, to save the Juhu project.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Maharaja, very grateful to you for the very satisfying answer, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you, thank you.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: These are the questions we have on Facebook, Maharaja. Now I’ll look if devotees who are here in Zoom, if they have any questions.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, I guess if you have a question, you can raise your hand or something.

Devotee (Mathura Priya dasa): Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee (Mathura Priya dasa): Thank you very much. Maharaja, [Unintelligible 01:07:06]. Can you hear me?

Giriraj Swami: I can hear you but it’s not that good of a connection for some reason.

Devotee (Mathura Priya dasa): So, I can type it, I can type.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Maharaja, there is one more question from Sita Thakurani Mataji, would you like her to ask in the meanwhile while Prabhuji is typing?

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Sita Thakurani: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Sita Thakurani: Maharaja, I was thinking, when do we know that we have to fight for our rights? How Krishna induced Arjuna to fight for his rights. And when should we forgive and forget and move on?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, Krishna didn’t exactly induce Arjuna to fight for his rights. Krishna wanted the Pandavas to rule, and so He induced Arjuna to fight, ultimately, to please Krishna. But now, can you ask your question again?

Sita Thakurani: When do we know that we should fight for our rights? As we read Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna is asking Arjuna to fight. And in the Dhruva Maharaja story, he had to go to the forest and pray to the Lord.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Sita Thakurani: I’m finding it contradictory. Sometimes we should forgive and forget and pray to the Lord, and sometimes Krishna’s telling Arjuna, “Fight, you fight.”

Giriraj Swami: Well, different people have different natures. It’s described in relation to Dhruva Maharaja that he had a kshatriya’s nature.

Sita Thakurani: Right.

Giriraj Swami: And when he was in the forest, Narada came to him. He was successful by the grace of Narada who gave him instructions as his spiritual master. And because he followed Narada’s instructions as his spiritual master, in the end, he was able to see the Lord. But first, Narada, you could say, tested him and he said, “You’re just a young boy, you shouldn’t take things so seriously, you should go home. And when you’re older, you can come to the forest and look for God,” and Dhruva replied, “If you can help me find God, well and good. But if you’re going to tell me to go home, then you should go home.”

And the Bhāgavatam explains that because Dhruva had the kshatriya nature, he wasn’t in the mood to forgive and forget. But a brahman, he is more inclined to forgive and forget. In fact, forgiveness is one of the main qualities of a brahman. It’s said that the qualities of a brahman are beautified by forgiveness.

So, it would depend a lot on the circumstances, who the person is and what the, you could say, infringement was. But yeah, sometimes, as they say, it’s better to tolerate than to protest. And that would depend on case to case. But with Mr. Nair, Prabhupada didn’t want us to tolerate. But not for us, for Radha-Rasabihari. Hare Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Looks like there are three more questions, Maharaja. Is it okay to ask, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: This question is from Mathura Priya Prabhu, who was asking you before.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: The question is, “In the purport, Srila Prabhupada mentions pravṛtti, enjoyment, and nivṛtti, renunciation path. And sometimes we talk about yukta sannyasa. How can we, the bhakti-yoga practitioners, understand them as they are?”

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yukta-vairāgya is a very central point in bhakti-yoga. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami enumerates sixty-four items of devotional service, and then he lists different items that people might think should be considered items of devotional service, which are not. And in that category, he includes following varnashrama-dharma, and he also includes cultivation of renunciation. They are not in themselves items of devotional service.

But yukta-vairāgya is different. And the definition is very important. The first part of the definition is anāsaktasya viṣayān. Anāsaktasya means without attachment, viṣayān, to the objects of the senses.

anāsaktasya viṣayān, yathārham upayuñjataḥ

nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe, yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

We see everything in relation to Krishna and use it in Krishna’s service without attachment. That is yukta-vairāgya. And Srila Prabhupada, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, they were really, you could say, masters of yukta-vairāgya. Srila Prabhupada used anything and everything. He commented about the dictaphone, that certainly, the person who invented the dictaphone had no idea that it would be used to glorify the Personality of Godhead, but we are using it for that purpose.

So, we can use so-called material things in Krishna’s service, and then they’re not considered material anymore. Srila Prabhupada said, “A temple and an ordinary house, both are made of bricks and mortar, they all have the same ingredients. But in the temple, Krishna is the center, and in an ordinary house, the sense gratification of the family members is the center.” So yeah, something so-called material can become spiritual by being used in the service of the Lord.

I’m not sure if that answered the question exactly. Mathura Priya, this was yours?

Mathura Priya dasa: Thank you very much. [Unintelligible 01:16:11].

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you so much, Maharaja. Gopal Gupta Prabhu, would like to ask your question? I’ll come back again.

Gopal Gupta: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for your association and your lecture. Maharaja, my question was regarding what you were speaking about, the material welfare work and spiritual service, and the relationship between the two. The question is, those people who really engage in a lot of material welfare work and may even sacrifice their life for it. Like today we see many people fighting for black lives, and they risk their lives to go on a protest, sometimes they get hurt. People like this who are doing material welfare work, philanthropic work, very intently, do they one day get Krishna’s loving devotional service because of that effort?

And part of the reason I ask is because Prabhupada refers to this one place in the Kṛṣṇa book or in the Bhāgavatam, which says that the cowherd boys were playing with Krishna because they accumulated heaps of pious activities. So, is this going to lead them to Krishna’s service?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. Well, yes, the heaps of pious activities performed by the cowherd boys was devotional service. Sometimes devotional service is referred to as pious activities. But within the realm of material pious activities, I mean, we can’t really say that those will help one come to Krishna consciousness because as Rupa Gosvami describes, pure devotional service, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam. So, jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, not covered by jnana and karma.

I mean, I don’t think that those activities, I don’t even know if I would call them material welfare activities, they’re more like political causes. But if they meet devotees, if devotees go out and do hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and distribute books, then definitely. That’s why it’s good if we can, if it’s safe, it’s good for us to be everywhere and let them hear the holy name, get some prasāda, get some transcendental literature. Yeah, then we can turn their well-intentioned protest into something really spiritually beneficial for them. It’s a good idea.

Gopal Gupta: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you, Maharaja. There is a question from Ashwini Mataji. “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, can you please guide how to deal with situations where we feel we are helpless and cannot do anything? Especially in relationships, to make someone understand or to tell something.”

Giriraj Swami: Well, dealing with a problematic relationship, we do have some alternatives. I believe the person is saying we want to explain ourselves to someone but we can’t get through to them. So, one approach would be to involve someone with whom we have a good relationship and who also has a good relationship with the other person, and ask them either to convey our message, or perhaps to be present in a conversation where the two people plus the third party are present.

But yeah, it’s good, obviously, to have harmonious relationships with devotees, and even at home, and we should make an effort to find out some way to get through to the person. I mean, if it’s not an important relationship, maybe you could let it go. But if it is an important relationship, then definitely, you should pursue it, but probably with outside help.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Maharaja, there is a question from Meera Mishra Mataji. Would you like to ask, Mataji? Then I’ll come back again.

Meera Mishra: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, in one of your lectures, earlier, you mentioned how Jadurani Mataji and also other devotees of Srila Prabhupada, she was confused about this particular statement, which reads as, “Moon is churned in the ocean of milk.” And Prabhupada recommended that she repeat it multiple times to understand the true meaning of it. I’ve tried repeating it, but I don’t understand. If you could just help me understand this.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, first we give some background. Yes, one of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples, Jadurani, came across the statement, “The moon is churned from the ocean of milk,” and she didn’t understand it. And Srila Prabhupada asked her to repeat it, so she repeated it, then he asked her to repeat it again, she repeated it again, then he asked her to repeat it again and she repeated it again, and then he said, “Now, do you understand?” And she said, “Yes, the moon is churned from the ocean of milk.”

But there’s a whole pastime to that described in the Eighth Canto, how the demons and the demigods got together and they were churning the ocean and different things came out of the ocean. So yeah, I would say that you should read that. But one thing that came out of the ocean was poison, a very deadly poison that threatened to consume the whole universe. And nobody knew what to do, and Lord Shiva, the most munificent Lord Shiva, He volunteered and He drank that whole poison and He kept it in His throat, which made His throat turn bluish. And since then, He got the name Nilakant, blue-throated.

And there’s a beautiful discussion in the Eighth Canto about the mood of the Vaishnava, how he’s ready to undergo all sorts of difficulties and face all sorts of risks for the sake of others. Vaiṣṇavānām yathā śaṁbhuḥ, of all the Vaishnavas, Lord Shiva is the greatest.

Meera Mishra: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. Maharaja, sorry, Maharaja, for the inconvenience to you, there are three more questions. Please instruct me, Maharaja, what should I do? Should I ask, or is it too late for you, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: No, it’s not too late.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Okay, thank you, Maharaja. Maharaja, this question is from Venkatesh Murugesan Prabhu. “Respected Maharaja, recently, we see there are a lot of courses of training to be materially successful devotees. These courses are conducted by devotees themselves. They claim that being successful materially serves Krishna, but Srila Prabhupada does not directly recommend this as the supreme dharma. How do we understand this, Maharaja?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, I would begin by asking the person who asked the question, how does he understand it? What is his understanding? Can we find out?

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Yes, Maharaja. Venkatesh Prabhu, can you come? Can you turn on your video or audio and talk to Maharaja, please? Venkatesh Prabhu, are you there in Zoom? Can you turn on your audio and talk to Maharaja, please? Sorry, Maharaja, he doesn’t seem to. . .

Giriraj Swami: All right. I don’t really know what to say because it’s hard for me to understand exactly the context of the question. But I think of my dear godbrother, His Holiness Sridhar Swami Maharaja, and he used to teach a course called “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Vaishnavas,” which was based on Stephen Covey’s book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Now, I was not inclined to read such books, but in Juhu, His Holiness Sridhar Swami really wanted me to read that book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and it just so happened that at one stage, I had kidney stones, but they weren’t so big, I could flush them out just by drinking coconut water, which is a diuretic. So, I was in my room, in my gamchā, and I thought, Well, this means a lot to Sridhar Swami, I should read this book. And I read it, and I found a lot of useful information in it that was practical, and I would say it has helped me.

There are so many principles, they’re very useful. But one of the principles is that we should work within our circle of influence rather than our circle of concern. In our circle of concern, we may. . . I mean, there are so many that we could have in our circle of concern over which we have no influence. So, if we spend our time in our circle of concern, it’s pretty much a useless waste of time. Whereas if we stay within our circle of influence, then we can actually affect positive changes. And he says that one thing that’s very much in your circle of influence is yourself, you can work on yourself. And by working within your circle of influence, either on yourself or beyond one’s own self, one’s circle of influence can increase, it can expand. So yeah, Sridhar Swami adapted that and he taught it, he even gave one or two seminars to the GBC body.

So, in that sense, as a yukta-vairāgya, we can take, you could say, wise lessons from non-devotees and apply them in devotional service. But yeah, it depends on our service. Of course, in proportion, our main reading should be Srila Prabhupada’s books, for sure. But in a small proportion, we can take knowledge from others who are not devotees.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you very much, Maharaja, that helps. Maharaja, there’s a question from Brandi Beckham Mataji. Would you like to come and ask, Brandi Mataji?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, there she is.

Brandi Beckham: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you for the class. It’s a beautiful Sunday, lovely outside. I wanted to ask what would be your advice regarding any devotee, but especially as a neophyte myself, how to increase our devotional service? Obviously, every day, we should focus. . . I would like to know, what are some other ways that you would suggest increasing our devotional service by engaging by association with devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Well, that’s a very nice question. Unfortunately, I missed some of it, your voice was breaking up. But earlier on, you said, “Obviously, we should. . .” But then I couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence because the sound broke up.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Brandi Mataji, some part of your question wasn’t clear. Can you just turn on that video? That might help.

Brandi Beckham: Yes, Hare Krishna. So, I said, obviously, a part of increasing our devotional service is we should focus on strengthening out our own sadhana and then chanting our rounds, offering, reading, etc. But I was wondering if there were any specific other suggestions that you may have for someone looking to increase their devotional service by maybe association with devotees, things like book distribution, I was wondering if you had any ideas. Because association and actively participating in service physically, spreading Krishna consciousness, is very, I think, important to strengthening my sadhana.

I was wondering if you, maybe, had any suggestions. Right now, with the Coronavirus, we can’t really meet as well. So, I hope my question was more clear. Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. Well, you yourself said the two things that I would have recommended. One is to associate with more advanced devotees. Srila Prabhupada said, “Krishna consciousness is 90 percent association.” So, yeah, we definitely want to associate with more advanced devotees. And if we can’t associate with them in person because of the lockdown or whatever, then we can associate with them through Zoom, through vāṇī. And then, the other thing you said is also very important, and that is spreading Krishna consciousness, sharing Krishna consciousness with others by distributing books. Or prasāda, inviting people to programs, that’s very important. Because bhakti really means to please Krishna, and advancement in bhakti means to please Krishna more, and Krishna is pleased when we bring people to Him.

Srila Prabhupada had a disciple named Bhavananda. The word bhāva means the repetition of birth and death, more literally it means something that comes into being, and then ceases to exist. And ānanda, of course, means bliss. And then, there’s another word, bhaava, which means ecstasy. So, Srila Prabhupada gave this disciple the name Bhavananda, the bliss of the material world.

So, when Bhavananda heard the name that Srila Prabhupada gave him, the bliss of the material world, he became very concerned and he wanted to know what Srila Prabhupada was trying to say by giving him that name. And Srila Prabhupada replied that the devotee experiences pleasure only in Krishna’s pleasure, and the greatest pleasure we can give Krishna is by preaching and bringing people to Him. And that, you can do only in the material world. That, you can’t do in the spiritual world. You don’t preach in the spiritual world because everyone’s already Krishna conscious, but you can preach in the material world, and that gives Krishna the greatest pleasure, when you bring people to Him. And then, that is your pleasure. And that is Bhavananda, that is the bliss of the material world.

Brandi Beckham: Thank you, Maharaja. I really see that whenever I have friends over from time to time and I make them prasāda and they love it, they really do, they always tell me how special it is. And for once, I could say, “I know,” because it is, and I explain to them that it’s spiritual food. It’s lovely and it does make my devotion that way. So, thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. It appears that this is the last question here, from Hansa Medley MD.

Giriraj Swami: Oh.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Is she on Zoom or Facebook?

Kadamba Kanana dasa: I think she is on Zoom, Maharaja. Hansa Mataji, are you there on Zoom? Can you come on?

Giriraj Swami: It would be nice to see her. She’s a disciple of Tamal Krishna Goswami and her spiritual name is Guru Bhakti dasi.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Guru Bhakti dasi.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, there she is, it’s actually her husband.

Hansa Medley MD: She’s listening and I was listening, [Unintelligible 01:39:18].

Giriraj Swami: That’s fine, that’s fine.

Hansa Medley MD: So, I’ll just ask the question. You had talked about how karmis really need to sustain. So, it seems like material dharma sustains us temporarily, but only if it’s sanātana-dharma, it sustains our eternal relationship with Krishna. So, do you have any comments on that? There are so many different types of dharma.

Giriraj Swami: Our eternal dharma, sanātana-dharma, is devotional service. But there are other, you could say, material dharmas or temporary dharmas. And therefore, Krishna says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. So, earlier in the Gītā, Krishna says:

TEXT 8

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ

vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

Whenever there’s a decline in religiousness and an increase in irreligiousness, at that time, He descends, dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya, to reestablish dharma. But then, at the end of the Gītā, He says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, “Give up all your other dharmas and just surrender to Me.”

So, as you rightly said, there are different categories of dharma. And surrender to Krishna is our real dharma, and that is mentioned in this verse, paro dharmo. And the other dharmas can be impediments to our full surrender to Krishna. And so, sarva-dharmān parityajya, “Abandon all varieties of religiousness.” And one relevant point from this verse, sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo, that Srila Prabhupada made often while speaking on this verse, is that it’s not a question of being Hindu, or Christian, or Muslim, or whatever. It doesn’t matter what you are, the test is whether by following your process, you are developing yato bhaktir adhokṣaje, you’re developing your dormant love for Krishna. And if you are, then that religion is fine. But it should be tested to what extent you are developing bhakti.

So, that way, we’re not sectarian, we’re open to any process. But we have to test to what extent is that follower or practitioner actually developing his love of God. And if he’s developing his love of God, then that’s wonderful.

Hansa Medley MD: Thank you very much, Maharaja.

Kadamba Kanana dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Venkatesh Prabhu, he has actually mentioned that he is trying to connect, Maharaja, the one who asked a question earlier. Somehow, his audio wasn’t working properly, he said, “Sorry,” and he said, “Thank you so much, Maharaja, for the practical answer.”

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Sundarhari dasa: Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes?

Sundarhari dasa: Hare Krishna. Maharaja, I see a very beautiful picture behind you, I would assume that is with Prabhupada. Can you please show us? We can’t actually really see it clearly from here. Can you show us the picture and give us context of the picture, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Well, this picture is of myself and His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami.

Sundarhari dasa: Oh, Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it’s a picture of us when he was here, he came on several occasions and stayed with us here.