SB 2.3.17 – The Importance of Utilizing the Human Form of Life to Realize Our Lost Relationship with the Supreme Lord

[00:17:44]

Host: Hare Krishna Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you so much for giving us your association, and you may begin whenever you like Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, where are you? Okay, I can go ahead, that’s okay. All right, I’ll begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan. Then we’ll speak from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. How much time do I have exactly?

Host: Until around 7:00 p.m. Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, all right, that’s fine.

Host: You can go a little over also Maharaja, there is no problem.

Giriraj Swami: All right.

[Prayers 0:18:53–0:34:55]

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. We shall read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, ”Pure Devotional Service,” Text Seventeen.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Yes, I wanted to request all the participants as far as possible, to put on your videos so I can see you. It will be more personal that way. Jaya, thank you!

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Again, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, ”Pure Devotional Service,” Text Seventeen.

TEXT 17

āyur harati vai puṁsām

udyann astaṁ ca yann asau

tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta

uttama-śloka-vārtayā

TRANSLATION

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service.

COMMENT

I’ll speak as I read the purport. This first sentence has a very important word. I mean, of course, the whole idea is very important, but the word acceleration means that we are already moving forward, but we want to accelerate, that means we want to go faster. It’s like in automobiles, they have the accelerator, so when you want to go fast, you step on the accelerator. We are engaged in devotional service, that’s good, but we want to accelerate, we want to go faster. Why? One reason is because we don’t know how much time we have left, and we can’t waste time because we don’t know how much time we have.

PURPORT (continued)

This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values. Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold.

COMMENT

Our duration of life, āyuḥ, consists of time, and how we use our time really means how we use our life. The time should be used to chant and hear about Krishna, to advance in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada had a good friend in Bombay named Brijratan Mohatta. Mr. Mohatta was very intelligent, he was a big industrialist, and he had been the wealthiest man in what later became Pakistan. His wife was the daughter of R.D Birla, so you can imagine. For R.D Birla, the richest family in India, to give his daughter to someone, that man must have been quite substantial. Mr. Mohatta was very attached to Srila Prabhupada and he would often come to Juhu.

Srila Prabhupada was very expert in giving examples to suit the mentality of his audience, so he said to Mr. Mohatta that, “In the ledger of your life, there are two columns: profit and loss. Any time spent in Krishna consciousness is profit and any time spent outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.” Any businessman will want to maximize his profits and minimize his losses. We should keep that instruction in our mind, that any time utilized in Krishna consciousness is profit, and any time spent outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.

PURPORT (continued)

Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold.

COMMENT

At the time of death, if you want to extend your life, you can’t. Even if you are willing to spend any amount of money, you can’t buy more time, because you only get the amount of time that’s allotted to you. And when the time comes for you to leave, that’s it, that’s the end of your life in this body. If we think in those terms, that we can’t—that by spending any amount of money, we cannot extend the duration of our life by even a moment, that means that every moment is so valuable. You can’t even calculate how valuable it is, so you should be very careful about this.

PURPORT (continued)

Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold. Human life is simply awarded to a living entity (jīva) so that he can realize his spiritual identity and his permanent source of happiness. A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.

COMMENT

Yes, the absolute truth is described ānanda-mayo ‘bhyāsāt. ānanda-mayo means “full of bliss.” By nature, the absolute truth is full of bliss. We are part and parcels of the absolute truth, and therefore, our nature is to be full of bliss. Isvara parama krsna sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha; Krishna has a form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. We are part and parcels of Krishna, so our nature is eternity, to live eternally, to be full of knowledge and to be blissful.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity. But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere.

COMMENT

Sometimes I give the example of John Paul Getty, who was, at least at one time, the richest man in the world. Once a reporter asked him that, “You are the richest man in the world, you have everything that money can buy, so can you tell us in a word what is your philosophy of life?” And he said, “Yes, in one word my philosophy is more.”

Now, in a way, that was pretty sad. If he always wants more, that means he is not satisfied, therefore, he wants more. And he hopes that if he gets more, he’ll be satisfied, but he won’t be. He’ll still try to get more and he still won’t be satisfied, because as Srila Prabhupada says here “He is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere.” As a follow-up question, the reporter asked him in the same vein, “You are the richest man in the world; you have everything that money can buy. When you are alone, when no one else is there, what do you think about?” And he replied, “I think about how to pay the bills.” It’s just like anyone else, we might be worried about how to pay the instalment on our automobile, or on our mortgage, and he might be thinking about how he has to come up with so many millions or billions of dollars to acquire some company that he wants to take over. But it’s the same mentality, it’s not different.

Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the example of small animals eulogizing big animals. They are all animals, there is nothing great about a bigger animal, except that he is bigger, but otherwise he is an animal. Anyone who is not Krishna conscious is considered to be an animal, dharmeṇa hīna paśubhiḥ samāna, the only difference—dharmeṇa hīna, without religion, dharmeṇa hīna paśubhiḥ samāna, a man is on the same level as an animal.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities. The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him. Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened.

COMMENT

We are spirit souls, parts and parcels of Krishna, and we can be happy only in spiritual activities, in spiritual relationships. Krishna is the Supreme spirit whole, and therefore, we can realize true happiness, eternal happiness in relationship with Krishna. But how do we establish that connection with Krishna? Here Srila Prabhupada explains that on the absolute platform, Krishna, His name, His forms, His qualities, His pastimes, His paraphernalia, His associates, They are all Krishna. So, if we come in touch with any of them through devotional service, we can revive our Krishna consciousness and realize our happy life.

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him. Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. A slight beginning of such activities is sufficient even to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears.”

COMMENT

As the Bhagavad-gītā says, even a little advancement can protect one from the greatest fear, which is to take birth again in a lower species of life, where one misses the opportunity to continue in Krishna consciousness. And as Srila Prabhupada explains in the Nectar of Instruction, that a devotional service is so pure and perfect that having once begun, one will be forcibly dragged to ultimate success.

PURPORT (continued)

As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently.

COMMENT

Here it’s an important point, that one should hear these messages from devotees, from pure devotees, not from professionals or Mayavadis. When we hear them from pure devotees, they are very potent, satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvidaḥ. The Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that by hearing the messages of Godhead in the association of devotees, the messages act in a very potent way. And sraddha bhaktir anukramisyati—excuse me, śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati. And then, one after the other, sādhana-bhakti, bhāva-bhakti, and prema-bhakti follow. Prema-bhakti is the goal of life, and at the stage of prema-bhakti we enter our eternal relationship with Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently. Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts.

COMMENT

We hear as this verse is saying, uttama-sloka-vartaya. We hear topics of the Lord, uttama-sloka, who’s praised with select verses, the all-good Personality of Godhead. We hear those messages through the ear but the realization of Krishna is complete and includes all the senses.

PURPORT (continued)

This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī prepares one’s complete life for eternity.

COMMENT

This is the point; this is the point of this verse.

PURPORT (continued)

And thus the sun fails to rob the pure devotee of his duration of life, inasmuch as he is constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purifying his existence.

COMMENT

The reason that the rising and setting of the sun do not decrease the duration of life of a devotee, who engages in topics of the Lord, is that the devotee is preparing himself for eternal life beyond this world of birth and death.

PURPORT (continued)

Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

COMMENT

In describing the process of knowledge in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam that one should perceive the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. This is part of knowledge, because if we are aware of those miseries we will understand the necessity, the benefit or the necessity, of getting out of this material world and this material body that is subject to these miseries. And these miseries cannot be stopped by any material means.

Janma, birth, there are always efforts to stop birth, birth control, contraception, this, that. Of course, a lot of that is based on the theory of overpopulation, which Srila Prabhupada did not accept. Overpopulation means that there will be too many people for the resources of the earth to support, but Srila Prabhupada did not accept the theory of overpopulation because he said, “Krishna is the father of every living entity and as the father, He will provide the necessities of all His children.” And if someone argues, “well, he didn’t know they were going to be so many.” But in response to that Srila Prabhupada would quote the Bhagavad-gītā, that Krishna says, He knows everything, past, present, and future. So, He knew how many they were going to be, and He is prepared to supply the necessities for all of them. There is no such thing as overpopulation. But still, people try to stop birth but they can’t.

Death, nobody wants to die, but still death is there, “as sure as death.” Old age, nobody wants to suffer the complications and difficulties of old age, but old age comes and you can’t stop it. And disease, same thing, you can’t stop disease. Sometimes we can cure one disease, but then another disease will come. If we were actually able to stop disease, then all the hospitals would close down, all the doctors and nurses would have no work, but there is always a clamour for more hospital beds and more doctors and more nurses. So, we are not able to stop any of these miseries, birth, death, old age, and disease by material means. They can be solved—and these are the real problems of life, they can be solved only by uttama-sloka-vartaya, by engaging in topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead and becoming Krishna conscious. Then no more birth and death, or old age, or disease.

PURPORT (continued)

Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

The materialistic way of pious activities like charity is recommended in the smṛti-śāstras as quoted by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Money given in charity to a suitable person is guaranteed bank balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be given to a brāhmaṇa. If the money is given in charity to a non-brāhmaṇa (without brahminical qualification) the money is returned in the next life in the same proportion. If it is given in charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa, even then the money is returned double. If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times, and if the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

COMMENT

Veda-paraga, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah, the purpose of the Vedas is to know Krishna. If someone is a veda-paraga, someone who knows the goal as Krishna, like Srila Prabhupada, and if you give money to him, then it is returned in unlimited multiplications. Which means it can’t be returned in the material world, there is no such thing as an unlimited return in the material world. It really means that you go back to Godhead and you get your returns there.

There is one story about Srila Prabhupada that I’ll relate, but I am short of time. I won’t tell the whole story, but just in brief. When Srila Prabhupada arrived in Hong Kong, Bhurijana Prabhu arranged for him to be picked up at the airport in a Rolls-Royce car and then brought to the penthouse suite of the Hong Kong Hilton hotel for a press conference. One of the reporters asked Srila Prabhupada, “You are supposed to be a spiritual man, why did you ride in a Rolls-Royce car?” and Srila Prabhupada replied, “Actually, I am a resident of the spiritual world, and in the spiritual world everything is made of cintāmaṇi, spiritual gems. Even if they had come with a solid gold Rolls-Royce car, it wouldn’t have been good enough. So why did I ride in that Rolls-Royce car? Because it was the best they could offer.”

When Srila Prabhupada came to Juhu after that, he told me that story and then he said, “What else can you say to such envious people?” but the thing is that there is really truth to what he said. That’s the point about unlimited multiplication, that to collect, you have to go to the spiritual world. Or to put it in other terms, by serving a veda-paraga like that, the reward is that you go to the spiritual world.

PURPORT (continued)

The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ). There is a guarantee of money’s being returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion. Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead. Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate.

COMMENT

And having once gone there, one never returns to this world of death.

PURPORT (continued)

In other words, a devotee of the Lord is guaranteed eternal life. A devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus to such guaranteed eternal life.

COMMENT

My dear devotees use your time for kṛṣṇa-kathā, for chanting and hearing about Krishna. Don’t waste any time in prajalpaḥ. Prajalpaḥ means—well, it’s mentioned in the Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, as one of the six things that spoils one’s devotional service. So don’t spend any time in prajalpaḥ, idle talks. Of all types of prajalpaḥ, the worst is sādhu-nindā: criticizing devotees, blaspheming devotees. Don’t do that at all, but use your time, uttama sloka vartya, to discuss topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. By doing so, you will realize your eternal life and the rising and setting of the sun will not decrease your duration of life, but it will bring you closer to your eternal life.

As Srila Prabhupada said in one talk in Los Angeles—and he said similar things in other places, “If you’ve got time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t waste time, don’t speak nonsense. You’ve got time, chant Hare Krishna.” We should always do that; chant and hear about Krishna, and if we have books, we can read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Reading and hearing are the same. And if we don’t have books, then we can chant Hare Krishna.

Thank you very much. We are at the end of our allotted time, but our host did say that we could go over a little, and I would like to give you all a chance to ask questions or share thoughts if you like. I guess you can raise your hand and we will call on you. Yes, can you unmute yourself?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna!

Devotee: I have one question. When you mention that we gain profit when we perform Krishna conscious activities, and we have loss when we don’t, so when I go to school and I learn things like science, which isn’t a Krishna conscious activity, is it a profit or a loss?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it depends on how you use that knowledge, because you do need to be educated. I also went to middle school, high school, and college. But then when I met Srila Prabhupada and understood the value of Krishna consciousness, I was able to use that knowledge in Krishna consciousness. And even otherwise, your friends at school, maybe your teachers at school, they might know that you are a devotee, that you come from a family of devotees, so if you do well in school, they’ll think, “Oh, she is a devotee and she is such a good student, being Krishna conscious is good.” Yeah, it’s good you excel in your studies, in that way your studies can be dovetailed in Krishna consciousness. They can have a Krishna conscious dimension to them, and it’s not loss, it’s gain. Any other questions or comments? Yes, Sarva Boma Prabhu.

Devotee: In the purport there was an analogy of the transfusion of medicine and compared to the hearing process as a medicine for the consciousness. So what is the difference in this analogy between medical transfusion and hearing? There seems to be a difference also.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, the point is that someone’s very sick and you give them medicine intravenously, it works very quickly and it goes throughout the whole body almost immediately. In the same way, when the messages of Godhead come into our ear from the lips of a pure devotee, it acts very effectively. I’m not quite sure what your question is, or if just by saying that much I answered it, but it’s very potent. That’s the whole idea, that if you take a tablet, it takes time to work and it might not be that effective, but if you get the drug administered intravenously, then it’s very powerful and it works very quickly.

That’s the idea, that the messages of Godhead received through the ear from a pure devotee act very efficiently. And they cure us of our material disease, which ultimately is this material body. It frees us of this material body and leads us to our eternal life, in our spiritual bodies with Krishna. Is that okay?

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Yes! Guru Bhakti.

Devotee: If the medicine is injected, does the recipient need some qualification? Because it seems like I hear so much, but it doesn’t make a difference to my heart. So, what is the qualification needed for the recipient to be able to receive the potent medicine?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that is a very good question. Well, they should be devotees, and the hint is given in the very first sentence, which I mentioned; “This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord as for every human being by acceleration of devotional service.” That means already engaged in devotional service, but now we need to accelerate it. We have to step on it because we don’t know how much time we have. So yes, that is implied, that the recipient should be a devotee. That’s correct, thank you, very good point. Any others? Yes, Anima Mataji, unmute yourself. I’m still not hearing you, now you are muted.

Devotee: Okay, am I unmuted?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, you are.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. What are the processes to accelerate the devotional service? As you said, and it is true, that nobody knows how much time left for someone. Would you please give some points or direction? That these are the ways we can accelerate the devotional service.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, well, accelerating devotional service means decreasing other things. So, say, you spend—I’m just making this up.

Devotee: Sure.

Giriraj Swami: Let’s say you spend eight hours on devotional service and eight hours on other things. And then eight hours eating, sleeping, and maintaining your body. If you decrease the time that you spend on other things, that will accelerate your devotional service. But I should add that especially in grihastha ashram, you do have other duties, you may.

Devotee: Yes, yes.

Giriraj Swami: You can’t neglect those also, because those can also—if you do neglect those, that will create problems. It might disturb your bhakti. We need to maintain a balance, we have to maintain a balance, but to accelerate we can spend as much time as we can engaged in devotional service, and as little time in other activities that are sort of a waste of time. They don’t really yield much profit materially or spiritually. And even within devotional service, after listing the sixty-four items of devotional service, Rupa Gosvami says that five of those items are especially potent, and that by even a little contact with any of those five, one can awaken ecstatic love of God, if performed without offense.

Those five are; nāma-kīrtana, chanting the holy name; bhāgavata-śravaṇam, hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā. Nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇam, sādhu-saṅga. The technical definition of sādhu-saṅga given in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu is to associate with devotees who are more advanced than yourself. So, sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇam, mathurā-vāsa, to reside in a holy place like Mathura or Vrindavan.

But then again, Srila Prabhupada had said that his temples are holy places. Wherever there is an installed deity, it’s a holy place. And if you can’t live there then you can visit. Sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇam, mathurā-vāsa, and murtira sraddhaya sevana, worshiping the deity with faith and veneration. Those are the five most potent forms, and even a little contact with any one of them without offense can awaken a dormant love of God.

Serving devotees is very important, sādhu-saṅga, associating. It doesn’t mean just you are in the same room with them, but it means you hear from them and you serve them. That’s sādhu-saṅga, that serving devotees is very important. Even “little devotees,” I mean, serving devotees, it pleases Krishna. Bhakti means, ultimately to please Krishna, and when we serve His devotees, Krishna is pleased.

I’m reminded of something His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami said, that “If you serve the guru, Krishna will be pleased. And if you serve Krishna the guru will be pleased. But if you serve the Vaishnavas, both Krishna and the guru will be pleased.” All right, our host is back.

Host: I actually joined because we have an anonymous question sent in, so I wanted to ask that on behalf of whoever sent it. He asks, If a devotee has done wrong to you, and when a situation comes and we are asked about it, then what shall we do as of something to clear our part? Will that not be prajalpaḥ?

Giriraj Swami: Well, is that person on the Zoom call? Because I would need to clarify the question a little. It’s a good question but I need to clarify it. But I think it’s getting at a good point. How do we know who asked it? If you asked that question, please 

Host: Yes, I know who asked it, but I cannot see them in the call any longer.

Giriraj Swami: All right, all right. Do you understand the question?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes!

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, Hare Krishna. This question was coming from me. Just want you to know that, suppose if anything happens between devotees. Usually it happens when two people come together; usually there are some kind of differences or maybe some kind of arguments. When you are dealing with devotees and when you are being really very careful, but at times it happens that we are not on the same level and there are some differences. In that process, if something wrong happens, or maybe if someone has told us something which is very disheartening, when the other people come to know about it, obviously they would ask us, “Okay, what was it like?” So, in that situation, if we have to clear our path, will that not be a prajalpaḥ? If it is, then how do we deal with that situation? That’s what I wanted you to know, I hope it’s clear.

Giriraj Swami: You have some disagreement or some argument with a devotee, and then another devotee asks you about what happened.

Devotee: Right.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I would say it depends on who the devotee is, who’s asking, and what your relationship is. I mean, if it’s a senior devotee who’s asking with the idea that he might be able to help the situation, then you could tell him. But if it’s a junior devotee or a mixed devotee, just sort of looking for some distraction from chanting and hearing about Krishna, then I don’t think you should get into it. You just say it wasn’t a big thing and it’ll work itself out, something like that. Better, use our time to chant and hear about Krishna.

Devotee: Okay. Thank you, Maharaja, thank you, thanks a lot. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. Maharaja, when we hear advanced devotees and we hear their words, our heart becomes soothed and all the turbulence kind of goes away. And I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days, that I have to constantly calibrate myself. If I feel that, “Oh, I’m losing the enthusiasm,” then I go “Okay, I need to do something different.” So, I try to hear different lectures, read, this, and that. Do advanced devotees, they come to a steady platform where they are not recalibrating their efforts or endeavours all the time? And is this something you can attain with practice?

Giriraj Swami: Well, there is a statement in the Vedānta-sūtra that Brahman is unlimited and always expanding, and I thought of that in relation to Srila Prabhupada. When we were with him in Wardha, when we went for the Gītā conference, he said that when he gets the reports about his books being distributed, his enthusiasm increases, and then I thought of that verse because his enthusiasm for Krishna consciousness seemed unlimited. But he said that when he gets the reports about his book distribution his enthusiasm increases. I thought it’s unlimited, but it’s always increasing.

As Srila Prabhupada said, “Devotional service is not static, but it’s ecstatic.” So, devotees—I mean, even pure devotees, even Srila Prabhupada, they were encouraged by certain types of association, so that’s natural, but it’s not that we get encouraged only by more advanced association. Of course, we will be encouraged by more advanced association, sādhu-saṅga, but we can also be encouraged by preaching to new people and seeing how happy they become when they become enlightened in Krishna consciousness. We can become enlivened by speaking to peers and sharing our realizations and working together to do service, all those relationships can nourish us. We want nourishing relationships. As Srila Prabhupada used to quote, “No man is an island.” That’s good.

Devotee: Thank you guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: His holiness Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya. Maharaja this is your servant, Kiraj.

Giriraj Swami: I know that voice and I know what it means!

Devotee: As it is customary, at least all the devotees that are doing the virtual association with you are not hungry to leave to go take prasādam right now. They may be taking prasādam at home, as we speak. But thank you so much Maharaja, I wanted to share some details with many of you that are listening online to Maharaja. We have a few Sundays and some other programs that are planned ahead, so next Sunday His Holiness Rhitari Maharaja will be speaking at six o’clock Houston time, His Holiness guru Prasad Maharaja will speak on Radhastami at seven o’clock. August 28th, which is a Friday, and it is an Ekādaśī, His Holiness Ramapha Swami Maharaja will be speaking at 6:30 p.m. Houston time.

Giriraj Maharaja will be back with us through Zoom on Saturday to celebrate Lord Vamana’s appearance day, Vamana-dvadasi. Then Sunday August the 30th at 6:00 p.m. is Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s appearance day, and His Holiness guru Prasad Swami Maharaja will come back and speak to us. Then September 6th, which is a Sunday, His Holiness Rhitari will be coming to speak to us. I hope each and every one of you have marked it on your calendars, because as much as you miss being in the temple, and receiving some great words from our esteemed Maharajas that visit Houston often, we wanted to make sure that we provide that opportunity to you.

Our temple management team has been very kind to make sure that we do this and I’m hopeful that it’s working out for most of you. The Zoom meeting ID will remain the same for all these dates and times that I mentioned. And an added note for Radhastami that’s coming up on Tuesday, August 25th, our temple festival team, if you will, will be getting in touch via phone, of course virtually, tomorrow. and we’ll have some plans and details to share with you.

It’s very possible you may be able to come see the deities in person. Of course, all the guidelines have to be addressed and met, it won’t be a festival like we normally are used to, but you will be able to come see the deities after almost five months. I think that’s probably so refreshing. I have been fortunate to go there and do some service during this lockdown, and every time I step into the temple and I see the deities, it just gives you goose bumps. We are hoping and we are planning to make this Radhastami festival coming up a successful one, and we hope to see some of you, if not many of you. And remember, whatever the plan is, it’s not mandatory for you to come, you can only come if you feel comfortable to come and see the deities. When you do come and see the deities, I think deities will take all your worries and stress away.

Please help me thank His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja, we thank each and every one of you for joining via Zoom and YouTube, and a few of you have joined us through the Facebook Live post. Now everyone will go home or stay home and take prasāda.

Giriraj Swami: I think we should end by offering Vaishnava praṇāma.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord, who are just like desire trees, who can fulfil the desires of everyone, they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

[01:39:26]