SB 3.2.23 – Srila Prabhupada—How Shall I Take Shelter of One More than He?

Giriraj Swami: So, we shall read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Two, Text Twenty-Three. This verse always reminds me of Srila Prabhupada. And after reading the verse, I will speak about Srila Prabhupada.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 23

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema

TRANSLATION

Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Here is an example of the extreme mercy of the Lord, even to His enemy. It is said that a noble man accepts the good qualities of a person of doubtful character, just as one accepts nectar from a stock of poison. In His babyhood, He was administered deadly poison by Pūtanā, a she-demon who tried to kill a wonderful baby. And because she was a demon, it was impossible for her to know that the Supreme Lord, even though playing the part of a baby, was no one less than the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. His value as the Supreme Lord did not diminish upon His becoming a baby to please His devotee Yaśodā. The Lord may assume the form of a baby or a shape other than that of a human being, but it doesn’t make the slightest difference; He is always the same Supreme. A living creature, however powerful he may become by dint of severe penance, can never become equal to the Supreme Lord.

Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the motherhood of Pūtanā because she pretended to be an affectionate mother, allowing Kṛṣṇa to suck her breast. The Lord accepts the least qualification of the living entity and awards him the highest reward. That is the standard of His character. Therefore, who but the Lord can be the ultimate shelter?

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So, this verse reminds me of Srila Prabhupada. How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he? There is no one more merciful than Srila Prabhupada. Lord Nityananda is most merciful, and Srila Prabhupada manifested the same quality of mercy as Nityananda Prabhu.

When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, he received a phone call from the temple president in Calcutta, who reported that one of Prabhupada’s earliest disciples from America had come to Calcutta and was smoking ganja, marijuana, and asked what to do. Prabhupada told his secretary to relay his response, “Tell him that if he does not stop smoking ganja, I will reject him.” Afterwards, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “Is it true that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja, you will reject him?” And Prabhupada said, “No, I cannot reject anyone. The mercy of Lord Nityananda has no limit.”

Maybe two years later, we were in Juhu, and Srila Prabhupada had a disciple who fell into bad company and was living on Juhu Beach, doing yogic tricks. He was doing things like putting a penny or a paisa in his ear and then making it come out somewhere else. Different strange things to collect money. And he was known as a disciple of Prabhupada and a member of ISKCON. So, Tamal Krishna Goswami approached Srila Prabhupada and said, “This is happening, and he is giving you a bad name and giving ISKCON a bad name. You should reject him.” And again, Srila Prabhupada replied, “I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “But don’t you have to draw the line somewhere?” And again, Srila Prabhupada said, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda has no limits.” How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he, Srila Prabhupada?

Another related quality of Srila Prabhupada is that he was always willing to give someone a chance. Around 1976, a strange person with a PhD came to the Juhu temple and said he wanted to join, and Srila Prabhupada invited him to stay upstairs with him. At that time, there were six tenement buildings, which came with the Juhu land, and Srila Prabhupada had us build an additional floor on the top of each of those six buildings, though in the end we added an additional floor on only five of the six. In the bigger buildings, each floor had two apartments, and in Srila Prabhupada’s building, he had one side for himself, and the other side for his personal staff.

So, he let this sort of strange character stay upstairs with his personal staff, next door to his own quarters. And Prabhupada was spending quite a bit of time with him. Hamsadutta Prabhu was visiting at the time, and he told Srila Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, you are just wasting your time with this man. He is never going to amount to anything.” But Prabhupada kept spending time with him, and in the end, the man left. He never did amount to anything. But when Hamsadutta mentioned that to Srila Prabhupada, “I could see that he was never going to amount to anything,” Prabhupada replied, “I wanted to give him a chance.” How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he, Srila Prabhupada?

Another person whom Srila Prabhupada encouraged was Dr. C.P. Patel, who would almost always accompany him on his morning walks on Juhu Beach. They had a friendly relationship, but Dr. Patel would sometimes speak like a Mayavadi. Prabhupada would accuse him, “You are a Mayavadi,” but Dr. Patel would reply, “No sir, I’m a Vaishnava, a pure Vaishnava.”

One morning, Dr. Patel and Srila Prabhupada had a huge argument. Dr. Patel would bring up different so-called holy men of India, and if they were not up to the standard, Srila Prabhupada would criticize them. So, one morning, Srila Prabhupada was criticizing one of Dr. Patel’s favorite, revered, so-called saints of India, and Dr. Patel and he had a huge argument. Dr. Patel raised his voice to Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada raised his voice to Dr. Patel. They were literally shouting at each other. And Dr. Patel’s friends, he had his cronies, were trying to pull him away, saying, “Don’t upset Swamiji. He has a heart condition.” And eventually, they pulled him away.

Back at Hare Krishna Land, Tamal Krishna Goswami approached Srila Prabhupada in his room and asked him, “What is Dr. Patel’s position? Is he a Vaishnava or a Mayavadi, an impersonalist?” In response, Srila Prabhupada told a story about a man who could speak many languages. In whatever language people addressed him, he would respond fluently. No one could figure out where the man was actually from. After much discussion, a neighbor said, “I will find out.” So, one day, when the man was preoccupied, the neighbor came up behind him and gave him a big whack. And when the man started to curse in his native tongue, his origin was disclosed.

“Dr. Patel is like that,” Srila Prabhupada said. He can speak very expertly. He can sound like a devotee, sound like a Vaishnava, sound like a Mayavadi, sound like anything. But when I gave him a slap where it really hurt, the so-called saintly person that he revered, his real language came out. “So, why do you put up with him?” Tamal Krishna asked. “He is so offensive.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is our duty to engage everyone.” He wanted to give Dr. Patel a chance. And as the years passed, Dr. Patel developed great attachment for Srila Prabhupada. And after Prabhupada left this world, Dr. Patel wrote a beautiful article for Back to Godhead about his relationship with him. The article was titled, “My life’s most precious moments,” with the subtitle, “A Bombay doctor wins the title big fool and loves it.” Because Prabhupada would always call Dr. Patel a mūḍha. He would say, “I am not saying, Krishna is saying. Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ, anyone who does not surrender to Krishna is a mūḍha, fool.” So, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he?

Srila Prabhupada had so many wonderful qualities, but his most important quality, for us especially, was his extreme mercifulness. Srila Prabhupada had a good friend in Bombay named Bhogilal Patel. Bhogilal was elder to Srila Prabhupada by about three years, and he was extremely pious. The first devotee to meet him was Gargamuni, and when Gargamuni was explaining Srila Prabhupada’s work, Bhogilal Patel wept profuse tears of appreciation.

One day, some years later, Bhogilal Patel came to meet Srila Prabhupada at Prabhupada’s flat at the back of Hare Krishna Land. I had a close relationship with Seth Bhogilal, so I brought him up to meet Prabhupada. They were talking, and as is natural in a conversation, when Prabhupada was speaking, I would look at him, and when Bhogilal was speaking, I would look at him. But at one stage, while Bhogilal was speaking, I looked at Prabhupada, which Prabhupada wasn’t expecting, and he was looking at me with such love and affection, like a father or grandfather. By age, Srila Prabhupada was more like a grandfather. I was surprised that he was looking at me with so much love, but as soon as Srila Prabhupada saw me look at him, he changed his expression and became very grave and serious. I think it was some special mercy that I got a glimpse of how much love he had for us, which he didn’t usually show very openly. His love for us was manifest in his care for us and his giving us the knowledge of Krishna consciousness and engaging us in Krishna’s service.

Srila Prabhupada was very reserved about touching people, including even disciples. In 1971 at Gorakhpur, as guests of Hanuman Prasad Poddar of Gītā press, we were staying in his large estate, Sri Krishna Niketan, which had previously been his personal residence. Srila Prabhupada was traveling with his small Radha-Krishna Deities, and he wanted to establish an altar for Them in Sri Krishna Niketan. He wanted some foliage for the altar. So, he sent a couple of devotees, including me, to collect some. I went out to a thicket and was collecting branches with leaves. I wasn’t tearing them live; I was looking for branches and leaves that had fallen. I kept going deeper and deeper into the woods and collecting more and more foliage, and eventually, I had a huge bundle, as much as I could possibly carry.

So, I was lugging the bundle up the stairs, and when I got to the temple room, Srila Prabhupada was there, and the altar was being set up. I just dropped the bundle on the floor and offered my obeisances. And while I was on the floor, Prabhupada patted me on the back. It was one of the only times, maybe the only time, that he physically touched me. I looked up, and he was smiling broadly. I don’t know if he even needed any more foliage, but he was pleased by my effort. Now, I ask you, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he?

We had many wonderful experiences with Srila Prabhupada in Gorakhpur. At one stage, he got off of the vyāsāsana and came down onto the floor to show Kaushalya how to mop the floor with a cloth and a bucket of water. From the vyāsāsana, he could see that she was not doing it up to the standard. And so, he came down and he took that rag or cloth and that bucket of water and he was actually demonstrating, by his own example, how to properly clean the floor.

There were so many wonderful experiences with Srila Prabhupada in Gorakhpur, and everywhere. But maybe I’ll end here. Of course, there is no end if we want to discuss Srila Prabhupada’s glories and mercy, but I did want to leave some time for questions and comments. So, I think I’ll end my talk now, and we can open the floor, or the microphone, to devotees, if they want to ask any questions or share any thoughts or realizations or reflections or make any comments. So, shall we do that?

Sarasiromani dasa: Yes, Maharaja, we can do that.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Sarasiromani dasa: Devotees who want to ask questions, they can raise their hand so that we can highlight them.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Sarasiromani dasa: First question, Maharaja.

Yoga: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. My question is that how to. . . 

Sarasiromani dasa: Hare Krishna. Who is asking? Whoever is asking the question, please start your video.

Giriraj Swami: Looks like Yoga.

Yoga: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. My question is, “What is the best way to serve Srila Prabhupada?”

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. Actually, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to do two things; advance in Krishna consciousness, and distribute Krishna consciousness. So, we should do both. We should relish Krishna consciousness, and we should share Krishna consciousness with others.

At one point, I was staying with Vaisesika Prabhu at his home in Burlingame, California, which is very near the San Francisco Airport. He wanted a place near the San Francisco Airport so he could conveniently and easily go there to distribute books.

At the time, Vaisesika Prabhu was preparing to write his book about book distribution, which eventually he did, and the book is called Our Family Business. So, I was with him for his morning program at home, and it was very surcharged with spiritual energy. I mean, he did many of the same things we do in our morning programs, even at home, but he put his heart into it so much, it was really exhilarating. Then afterwards, he and I were discussing, and he said that one point he wanted to make in his book was that our enthusiasm to preach and distribute books should come from the overflow of the bliss we feel from our spiritual practices.

So, the two go together; relishing Krishna consciousness and spreading Krishna consciousness. And if we do those two things, Srila Prabhupada will be pleased, and his purpose, his mission, will be served. Hare Krishna. So, my dear Yoga, does that answer your question?

Yoga: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, thank you. So, four more participants have raised their hands.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Sarasiromani Prabhu, you can decide who to call on.

Sarasiromani dasa: Maharaja, we have HG Varada Krishna Prabhu, who is the convenor of ISKCON Hyderabad. He has just joined us. He wants to ask.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Sarasiromani dasa: Please ask him.

Varada Krishna dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, I just want to begin by saying a few words of sincere appreciation to Your Holiness for the absolutely exemplary manner in which you have led your life from the time you have met Srila Prabhupada. And every word that you speak every day, every act of yours, is a source of inspiration for all of us. I think it will remain as a source of inspiration for devotees to come. You’ve definitely proven to be one of the most erudite and most dedicated pillars of this movement. I had very few opportunities to see you and serve you in my life. I still cherish that few days that you visited. Many years back, you visited ISKCON Bangalore. That was in the mid-90s when Madhu Pandit was there and we were all there. You gave a few classes. And every time you write something in the BTG, or anywhere, and the daṇḍavats, I read every word of it and I deeply admire your sincerity, your dedication. And you just said, “Please tell me how can I not surrender or glorify somebody who’s as merciful as Prabhupada?”

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Varada Krishna dasa: Who deeply touched our hearts. You are teaching us how the future generations regard their respective gurus by your own personal example. And your dedication to every spoken instruction of Srila Prabhupada makes you a perfect acharya. You walk the talk. I mean, how else can I explain this? It’s been a dream come true to have you visiting the congregation of ISKCON Hyderabad, and I would like to offer a very humble prayer at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Madanamohana, to Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra, Gaura-Nitai, Sri Srinivasa Govinda, Sri Devi, Sri Budevi, that you should be blessed. And you should be blessed with good health, long life, and many, many more years of dedicated service to Srila Prabhupada. And may Srila Prabhupada guru-paramparā bless you so you can fulfill each of these instructions of Srila Prabhupada.

My question is that the perception of Prabhupada, you people have a generation that closely intimately learned from him, served him. But as the time progresses, what should the successive generations do to continue to relish Srila Prabhupada’s mood and experience? And as time progresses, as successive generations come, how should we preserve the legacy of Prabhupada in all his glory preserved and expanded?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, that’s a very good and important question. Of course, first is Srila Prabhupada’s books, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. He said that he put the best of himself in his books, and that his purports were his personal ecstasies. So, reading and studying Srila Prabhupada’s books is very important for us at present, and it will be in the future as well. And there was a survey taken in Mayapur during the ILS, which means ISKCON Leadership Sangha, and these were leaders, people who have been in the movement for many years, how much they had been reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, and unfortunately, they were not reading Srila Prabhupada’s books as much as we would have hoped.

So, that’s a very important point. And I mean, this might sound like a little different approach what I’m going to say now, but I think seeing the videos of Srila Prabhupada is very important. Now we have that series called “Following Srila Prabhupada” put together by Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Yadubara dasa. And also, the film, “Hare Krishna,” everyone should see the film. I’ve seen it many times. But seeing those videos really enables you to get a close view of Srila Prabhupada, especially in the early days. There is one very nice devotee in Mumbai called Krishna Chandra dasa, Hrishikesh Mafatlal, and he said that everyone should see these early videos to appreciate the type of people Srila Prabhupada was preaching to when he first came to America during the time of the hippies. And one newspaper reporter at that time asked Srila Prabhupada about the hippies, and he said, “You know better than me, they are something extraordinary.”

So, Krishna Chandra prabhu was saying, “Everyone should watch these videos to see the types of people that Srila Prabhupada encountered and were recipients of his mercy, and the austerities he underwent, the hardships, in those early days when he didn’t even have his own place to stay.” Anyway, there are many stories, you can read them in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta. So, to preserve Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, I think it’s good to see these videos, to actually see what Srila Prabhupada was like and how he extended himself. As he said, “We have to spend hundreds of gallons of blood to make one devotee.”

Myself, when I think of how much Srila Prabhupada sacrificed for us, for me and for us, then I feel there is no sacrifice too great for me to make for Srila Prabhupada, considering how he sacrificed for us. And of course, he gave the general instruction that the society should be managed by the GBC, Governing Body Commission. In other words, he didn’t appoint one person to become the acharya, as had been the case in many Maths previously, but he wanted a governing body, which his Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, also wanted. But unfortunately, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s disciples disobeyed his order, and they chose someone to be an acharya. There were different camps. Someone wanted this one to be the acharya, someone wanted the other one to be the acharya, and the whole preaching mission, basically, fell apart.

So, we want to stay united and follow that principle that Srila Prabhupada enunciated, of collective management. There is a statement in shastra, kāluā śaktiḥ saṃghe, that in Kali-yuga, there is power in the group. And Srila Prabhupada said of us that he didn’t have that much faith in any one of us, but he had faith in us collectively, that as a group, we would continue the mission.

So, these are the thoughts that come to mind with respect to that wonderful question. Thank you.

Varada Krishna dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you. Very inspiring to hear your instruction on how to preserve him.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. [Unintelligible 00:34:57]

Sarasiromani dasa: Sitakanth dasa Prabhu, ask.

Sitakanth dasa: Hare Krishna, dear Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. We have been hearing about you for more than twenty years. We are very fortunate to have your darshan now. My question may be very insignificant, kindly forgive me, but in your wonderful lecture today, you have given two examples of how Prabhupada said he cannot reject anyone. So, in my situation, struggling in devotional service, when we get some differences in devotees, we cannot give them up. Hearing the lectures of acharyas, we cannot give up their relationship physically, but mentally, we get separated. How to rectify this situation, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Mentally you get what?

Sitakanth dasa: Mentally this offense is going on, we don’t want to associate with them.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yeah. Bhakta dasa, can you give me the Seventh Canto? I’m going to read a verse and purport, at least part of the purport, which is extremely relevant to your question, and which should give guidance to all of us, how we should associate with each other as devotees. So, this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Five: “Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu,” Text Twelve.

TEXT 12

sa yadānuvrataḥ puṁsāṁ
paśu-buddhir vibhidyate
anya eṣa tathānyo ’ham
iti bheda-gatāsatī

TRANSLATION

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with the living entity because of his devotional service, one becomes a paṇḍita and does not make distinctions between enemies, friends and himself. Intelligently, he then thinks, “Every one of us is an eternal servant of God, and therefore we are not different from one another.”

COMMENT BY Giriraj Swami

So, it’s a long purport and it’s a very instructive purport, but I’ll come to the conclusion, which will, I believe, address your question very nicely.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Everyone is a servant of the Lord, as confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’). As servants of the Lord, we are one, and there can be no questions of enmity or friendship. If one actually understands that every one of us is a servant of the Lord, where is the question of enemy or friend?

COMMENT

Well, the next few lines, but just the very next line, it should be our motto. It should be something that we always keep in our mind.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, giving dictation according to the attitude of the servant.

COMMENT

So, this is your point, that according to our natures and according to our inclinations to serve in different ways, the Lord will dictate to us. But because we are all servants of the Lord, we are all one. And therefore, as Srila Prabhupada says, everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. I’ll just read a little more, we are almost at the end of this purport.

PURPORT (continued)

Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, giving dictation according to the attitude of the servant. However, the Lord gives different dictation to the nondevotees and devotees. The nondevotees challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord dictates in such a way that the nondevotees forget the Lord’s service, life after life, and are punished by the laws of nature. But when a devotee very sincerely wants to render service to the Lord, the Lord dictates in a different way. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Everyone is actually a servant, not an enemy or friend, and everyone is working under different directions from the Lord, who directs each living entity according to his mentality.

COMMENT

So, we should appreciate our fellow devotees as servants of the Lord, and specifically in our case, servants of Srila Prabhupada. And as Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport, the Lord will give different dictations to different devotees according to their mentalities, but we should appreciate their service and not be proud of our own, and that will make our relationships very congenial, and that will make our progress very smooth. Because the worst obstacle on the path of devotional service is vaiṣṇava-aparādha, or sādhu-nindā. And even if it’s in the mind, of course, it’s better that it’s in the mind rather than expressed through words or shown through action, but we should try to see the good in the devotees and focus on that.

Just like Srila Prabhupada would give the example of the bees and the flies. The bees always look for the nectar, and the flies just go and sit on the stool. So, we should be like the bumblebees and look for the nectar in the devotees. We shouldn’t be like flies, looking for the sores. Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Srivasta Sharma Prabhu, you can ask your question. You are not audible, Prabhu, there is some problem with your mic.

Srivasta Sharma: Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Srivasta Sharma Prabhu, you can ask your question. [Unintelligible 01:00:42]. Srivasta Sharma Prabhu, there is some problem with your mic. I’ll give you the chance later. Just set up the system.

Srivasta Sharma: Hare Krishna. Is it audible now?

Sarasiromani dasa: Yes, it is audible.

Srivasta Sharma: Yes, Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so very much for such an enriching session, I’m very touched and moved. It was as if Prabhupada was just in front of us. Thank you very much. This is very rare and unique, and we are blessed to have this opportunity to be with you, Maharaja. I have a very small and silly question. Pardon me for this question, but I’m curious to know. Actually, will our relationship with Prabhupada be everlasting after this body goes? Even if I have fallen into the darkest regions in this material world or elsewhere, will Srila Prabhupada still be there for me, standing there and guiding me to the Lord?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes. Once you’ve taken shelter of Srila Prabhupada, he will never let you go. And of course, you should try to make it easy for him by following his instructions and serving his mission, as we discussed, tasting Krishna consciousness and distributing Krishna consciousness. But, yeah, once you have taken shelter of him, and more so if you’ve taken initiation in ISKCON, he will be there for you. Yeah, he’ll make sure you reach the ultimate goal. As he said there will be another ISKCON in the spiritual sky.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next is Gajendranath. Okay.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please accept the humble obeisances. Thank you very much for your wonderful lecture, which really enhanced our appreciation for Srila Prabhupada.

I would like to know two things, Maharaja. One is from a philosophy point of view, which you told from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam verse. So, Krishna is such a merciful person that He gave Putana the post of mother in the spiritual world, and there can be no one like Him. But now, while describing the verse, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo, you were saying that when non-devotees want to go away from Krishna, He gives them such thoughts but by learning about the difference between the Supreme Lord Krishna and demigods. We were told the example that Krishna is like the mother. When the child is having a sore throat, the mother doesn’t give the ice cream although the child cries. But if you go and worship the demigods, which are like shopkeepers, if you pay the price, they will give it.

So, Krishna is like a mother, He gives only what is best. But why with the non-devotees, He gives them those thoughts which will take them away from Krishna? Ultimately, that is not the best approach. So, how do we concern this thing? This is one question, and I would like to know if it is possible that actually, the pastime of Radha-Rasabihari, Juhu temple. . .

Giriraj Swami: Let me answer the first one first.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: The answer is that Krishna wants our love, and love is voluntary, love cannot be forced. And He never interferes with our minute independence. After speaking the whole Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, He asked Arjuna, yathecchasi tathā kuru, “Now you have heard everything. Now you do what you like.” So, it doesn’t interfere with the minute independence of the living entity. And then Arjuna voluntarily said kariṣye vacanaṁ tava, “I will act according to your instruction.” So yeah, it’s His mercy that He doesn’t interfere with our minute independence. Otherwise, we would be like machines, we’d be like robots. We wouldn’t be human beings or living entities. But He is very merciful and He comes personally and speaks the Bhagavad-gītā. He comes again as Lord Chaitanya, as a devotee, He sends His servants and representatives to give us good instructions so that we won’t misuse our independence. But He doesn’t interfere with our independence, and that’s also His mercy. So, yes, part two?

Devotee: Thank you very much, Maharaja. Part two. The first time I heard the pastime of how Radha-Rasabihari ISKCON temple was established at that time, what sort of hardships all the devotees of Prabhupada have undergone, including Your Holiness. So, it’s really very inspiring. And when we heard and read that it said that you were, at that time, a new brahmachari, it was mentioned like that. So, what made you become so committed and dedicated for the cause of serving Srila Prabhupada personally in your life? How can we get such commitment for Srila Prabhupada, already explained so mercifully, and how can we get such deep commitment and appreciation for our gurus and special authorities despite having little personal association? So, could you please explain, enlighten us? Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, very early in my devotional career, I mean, not that early but quite early, I had a very significant talk with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami on the balcony of the Calcutta temple, late one night when all the other devotees were asleep. And he said, and I accepted, that the secret of success in spiritual life is to please the spiritual master. And that became my guiding principle. And as far as Juhu, I knew that Srila Prabhupada wanted it, and I didn’t really consider those austerities to be an impediment, I accepted them. And yeah, I feel that again, considering how much Srila Prabhupada sacrificed for us, whatever sacrifice we could make for him was small in comparison. So yeah, I was happy to do it. I didn’t mind it.

Yeah, my book about Juhu and Srila Prabhupada is at the printer now. It’s 800 pages. I think 760 pages of text and forty pages of pictures. I mean, I’m tempted to read a little excerpt about. . . Let’s see, maybe I’ll come back to it because there are still a number of other devotees who have their hands up. Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next, Aparna Mataji can ask her question.

Aparna dasi: Thank you, Prabhuji. Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Aparna dasi: Please accept my humble obeisance and daṇḍavat-praṇāmās to all Vaishnavas present over there. Maharaja, first of all, I beg your pardon and seeking your mercy that my question could be insignificant. As Krishna says, “I love the person most who serves My devotees.”

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Aparna dasi: So, if one is seeking mercy of Krishna, one should serve the devotees. So, can you please enlighten me and us what is the best way to serve devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the best way to serve them is to help them in their service. But that can take many forms because devotees also have their bodies, they have their minds, they have their souls. And so, serving the devotees may include serving their bodies, if they’re sick, for example, to help them. And to serve their minds, everyone needs encouragement and appreciation. And serve their souls, help them by chanting and hearing about Krishna, reminding them of Krishna and helping them in their service. But that is a very, very important item in devotional service.

And one of my, you could say, favorite prayers in The Nectar of Devotion, is a quotation from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and it begins, “Let me become a sincere servant of the devotees, because by serving the devotees, one gets relief from all miserable conditions and develops unalloyed love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” It’s a very beautiful verse. And you can always ask the devotees, “How can I serve you? What can I do to please you?” And they can also help you to serve and please them. Hare Krishna. Thank you. Very good question.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next, Vaishnavi Mataji can ask her question.

Vaishnavi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. First of all, thank you very much, Maharaja, for the wonderful class. It was really very heart-touching. So, related to the class itself, I had a question. Just like Your Holiness is a personification of complete surrender, dedication, sincerity, and faithfulness to Srila Prabhupada and his instructions, how can I develop that deep attachment and humble service attitude towards Prabhupada, and also towards Srila Gurudev, whom I’m aspiring from? So, Maharaja, can you please guide in this regard?

Giriraj Swami: Practice. Srila Prabhupada said, “Practice makes perfect even in spiritual life.” Once, I was present in his room and someone asked His Holiness Radhanath Swami how he became so humble, and he said, “I practice.” He practiced doing the things that a humble person would do, and eventually, it became a habit. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Habit is second nature.” So, it became his nature. So yeah, I would say practice.

And another important principle, Srila Prabhupada said, and there is a context in which he said it, but basically, he said that his motto was always, “Everything for Krishna and nothing for myself.” And he said therefore, he never complained, because his motto was always everything for Krishna and nothing for himself. So, I think that’s a good motto to keep in mind, and that will help you develop the mood of service and surrender.

But just your having the desire is good. Once, someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “How can I please you?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Just your desire to please me, pleases me.” Hare Krishna.

Satya Narayan has his hand up.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next is Madankumar Prabhu. Satya Narayan has not raised his hand, Maharaja. Yes, Madankumar, you can ask your question.

Madankumar dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Am I audible, Prabhu?

Sarasiromani dasa: Yeah, yeah.

Madankumar dasa: Thank you, Maharaja, for your wonderful verse from Bhāgavatam and many wonderful questions. We are grateful to you. Even though a couple of times I’ve personally heard from you, but this is very special.

Maharaja, my question is, when one is sick, one’s sadhana goes down. And we heard from Srila Prabhupada and all his wonderful disciples, and even the last question that you were answering was telling us that practice makes one better. So, in that regard, when one is sick and sadhana goes down, and in general, being a person in the age of Kali, I mean, the inclination is not to practice very stringently, and added to that, the sickness makes one go down in his sadhana.

So, at the same time, we have seen that the special devotees like you, those who practiced and performed a lot of austerity, taken a lot of inconvenience to please Srila Prabhupada and to set an example. Yes, it is a big thing for persons like me, but how will I practically imbibe at least a drop of those qualities in our life, which can please all of you, our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, and Vaishnavas?

Giriraj Swami: Well, taking care of your health is also a part of devotional service. In one letter, Srila Prabhupada wrote me, he said, “If you are feeling tired, you may take rest. Your body is very valuable. It is dedicated to Krishna. So, you must take care of the body very carefully. The best medicine is to rest and chant the Hare Krishna mantra, along with the doctor’s prescription. The Hare Krishna mantra is bhavauṣadhi, the panacea for all material disease.”

So yeah, you have to take care of your body. And in fact, Srila Prabhupada, as a general rule, he said, “First health, second sadhana, third service.” But yeah, I mean, we have to be honest. I mean, we can’t use poor health as an excuse to neglect our sadhana. Once, I had a very serious operation, cardiac bypass surgery, and I fell sixty-three days of rounds behind. Of course, for many days, I couldn’t chant, but even when I was able to chant a little, I couldn’t chant sixteen rounds, I just was too sick. And so, the number of rounds that I owed, so to speak, was increasing, but I kept track.

So, sixty-three days of rounds, that’s sixty-three times sixteen, that’s quite a few rounds. But I kept track and I made them up. So, we should do that. If we miss our rounds, that’s a rule. Of course, we shouldn’t, under ordinary circumstances, but if we miss our rounds, then we should make them up. I mean, I, you could say, had the advantage of not having to go to work. So, I had time. But yeah, I hope you can stay healthy or become healthy and perform your sadhana without too much impediment. Madankumar Prabhu?

Madankumar dasa: Yes, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Do you have a chronic illness? Are you just asking?

Madankumar dasa: I had some ulcer in my intestine, and now it is getting healed. As you said, I’m taking a prescription according to the doctors, but somehow, by all of your blessings, I didn’t get to that level to miss my rounds, but still, my sadhana is very bad. I am not able to render service in the temple, which I was regularly doing, twice a week, to worship the Deities. But it is getting improved.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Well, do as much as you can at home.

Madankumar dasa: Thank you very much, Maharaja.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next is Manohara Prabhu. Manohara Govinda, you can ask.

Giriraj Swami: Satya Narayan is very eager.

Sarasiromani dasa: Satya Narayan Prabhu. . .

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Okay, Ramamadhava Prabhu?

Ramamadhava dasa: It’s okay, Maharaja. Most humble obeisances, Maharaja. I think today is a memorable day, Maharaja. We never expected in our life that we will speak to you through Zoom. So, I thank Lord Krishna, Maharaja, and I offer my most respectful obeisances at your holy feet.

Maharaja, I’d like to ask you one question, Maharaja. So, when reversal happens in a devotee's life, how to take it? Whether it is my past karma or Lord Krishna is helping me to advance in my spiritual life? And even after getting reversals, how to be enthusiastic or more enthusiastic, like previously?

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is, again, a very good question, and I would like to read a verse and purport. I can get Tenth Canto, Part Two. This verse and purport are extraordinarily instructive and exactly to your point, and it discusses those reversals. And again, this verse is quoted in The Nectar of Devotion, and Srila Prabhupada says that this verse should be the guide of all devotees. So, I’ll read the verse. It’s Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Fourteen: “Brahmā’s Prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa,” Text Eight.

TEXT 8

tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains in his commentary that just as a legitimate son has to simply remain alive to gain an inheritance from his father, one who simply remains alive in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, automatically becomes eligible to receive the mercy of the Personality of Godhead. In other words, he will be promoted to the kingdom of God.

COMMENT

So, the first point is that in the face of reversals, you should persevere in devotional service. Now, how to see those reversals is explained further in the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

The word su-samīkṣamāṇa indicates that a devotee earnestly awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord even while suffering the painful effects of previous sinful activities. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma.

COMMENT

Yes, Krishna says sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ, if one surrenders to Krishna, He frees you from all sinful actions and reactions.

PURPORT (continued)

However. . .

COMMENT

Now, this is the purpose of this suffering.

PURPORT (continued)

However, because in his mind a devotee may still maintain the remnants of his previous sinful mentality, the Lord removes the last vestiges of the enjoying spirit by giving His devotee punishments that may sometimes resemble sinful reactions.

COMMENT

And Srila Prabhupada also said that when the devotee surrenders to Krishna, Krishna takes charge of the devotee’s sinful reactions, but He may release those sinful reactions at opportune times for the benefit of the devotee. So, technically, you could say it’s not a sinful reaction in the sense that it’s not a mechanical result of a sinful activity, but it’s the Lord’s personal handling of the devotee that He releases those sinful reactions in circumstances that will be beneficial for the devotee.

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma. However, because in his mind a devotee may still maintain the remnants of his previous sinful mentality, the Lord removes the last vestiges of the enjoying spirit by giving His devotee punishments that may sometimes resemble sinful reactions. The purpose of the entire creation of God is to rectify the living entity’s tendency to enjoy without the Lord, and therefore the particular. Punishment given for a sinful activity is specifically designed to curtail the mentality that produced the activity. Although a devotee has surrendered to the Lord’s devotional service, until he is completely perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he may maintain a slight inclination to enjoy the false happiness of this world. The Lord therefore creates a particular situation to eradicate this remaining enjoying spirit. This unhappiness suffered by a sincere devotee is not technically a karmic reaction; it is rather the Lord’s special mercy for inducing His devotee to completely let go of the material world and return home, back to Godhead.

A sincere devotee earnestly desires to go back to the Lord’s abode. Therefore he willingly accepts the Lord’s merciful punishment and continues offering respects and obeisances to the Lord with his heart, words and body. Such a bona fide servant of the Lord, considering all hardship a small price to pay for gaining the personal association of the Lord, certainly becomes a legitimate son of God, as indicated here by the words dāya-bhāk. Just as one cannot approach the sun without becoming fire, one cannot approach the Supreme Pure, Lord Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing a rigid purificatory process, which may appear like suffering but which is in fact a curative treatment administered by the personal hand of the Lord.

COMMENT

So yeah, these reversals serve a purpose in the life of a devotee. They are opportunities for the devotee to take more shelter of the Lord and to realize that the material world and the physical body are not happy places. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, it’s a miserable place, and temporary. But unfortunately, we have the tendency to want to make this duḥkhālayam, a place of misery, into sukhālayam, a place of happiness, which it is not. We cannot expect happiness from this material world. There may be some happiness, but it’s always mixed with distress.

Srila Prabhupada said it’s like eating sweet rice mixed with sand. You can’t enjoy it. I mean, yeah, sweet rice is nice but it’s mixed with sand, so you can’t enjoy it. But what we can enjoy is Krishna consciousness, the spiritual pleasure of chanting and hearing about Krishna and bringing others to Krishna and pleasing Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada gave a disciple the name Bhavananda. He is quite a well-known devotee, Bhavananda. Bhāva means the material world, as opposed to bhāva, which means ecstasy. So, Srila Prabhupada gave the disciple Bhavananda dasa, the servant of the bliss of the material world. And Bhavananda was quite concerned what did Srila Prabhupada have in mind by giving him that name, the servant of the bliss of the material world. So, Bhavananda asked him, and Srila Prabhupada explained that a devotee perceives happiness only in relation to Krishna’s happiness, and Krishna gets the greatest happiness when we bring people to Him, and that you cannot do in the spiritual world, because in the spiritual world, everyone’s already with Krishna. But that you can do in the material world, you can bring people to Krishna, and that is the meaning of Bhavananda, that is the bliss of the material world, bringing people to Krishna, and that gives Krishna the greatest pleasure, and therefore, that gives the devotee also the greatest pleasure. And that was certainly Srila Prabhupada’s mood.

There is another very nice verse by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati in Caitanya-candrāmṛta, in which he says viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate, which means that he sees that viśva—the material world, pūrṇam—full, sukhāyate—happiness, which seems to be the opposite of what Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. But the explanation is viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate, that he sees the world is full of happy opportunities for serving Krishna. It’s not a happy place if you are trying to enjoy sense gratification, but it is a happy place if you are looking for opportunities to serve Krishna. And we can always serve Krishna in any condition. And therefore, he says viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate. And we can serve Him by our own spiritual practices, and also by our preaching, our efforts to bring others to Him. Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next, Satyanarayan Prabhu, can you please ask your question?

Satyanarayan dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja Prabhu. Please accept my humble obeisance. The class is very excellent, Prabhu. I have got one little bit of doubt. The spirit soul takes the body with the set of what is to be carried out here in the world and we cannot get more or less, we get the fixed amount of quota that we cannot increase or decrease. That is God sanctioned. Coming to Krishna consciousness, coming not to Krishna consciousness, or committing suicide, are they dynamic, or are they a static set of things which have to be carried out here in this world by spirit soul before coming to this, which has been decided very earlier?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we always have our minute independence. And therefore, we have the choice to serve Krishna or not. We have the choice to commit suicide or not. I don’t know why you’ve asked that question, but suicide is considered to be very sinful. Krishna has given life, and so we have no right to take away life. Not the life of someone else, and not our own life. At one stage, Srila Sanatana Gosvami was contemplating suicide. I mean, there is a whole history, but he came to Jagannatha Puri to be with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But on the way, passing through the Jarikhanda forest, he contracted a disease that caused his body to have oozing sores. So, this foul smelling liquid would come out of his body. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would embrace him, and Srila Sanatana Gosvami felt terrible that this foul-smelling liquid is oozing out of his body onto the body of the Lord, and he was in so much distress that he decided that he’ll commit suicide, he’ll maybe throw himself under the chariot of Jagannatha during the Ratha-yatra.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as the omniscient Lord, knew what was in Sanatana Gosvami’s mind, and on His own, He said, “If I could attain Krishna by giving up this body, I would give up hundreds and millions of bodies. But one cannot attain Krishna by that means. One can attain Krishna only by devotional service.” And then He said, “You’ve already surrendered your body to Me. So, how can you destroy another person’s property? Kindly consider.” So yeah, suicide is sinful, but it’s not predestined, nothing is predestined. I mean, we may make a decision that influences us in a certain direction that we take, but even then, we still have our minute independence.

For example, suppose you get on an airplane that flies from Hyderabad to New Delhi. So, once you are on the airplane, you have to go to New Delhi, but that’s your choice. You got on the airplane, that was your choice. But now that you are on the airplane, you have to go to New Delhi. But what you do on the airplane, you still have free will. You can read the newspaper, you can chant Hare Krishna, you can read the Bhagavad-gītā, you can go to sleep. So, we always have our free will. And even if a certain action that we take is going to bring us to a certain result, we still have our free will in terms of how we will respond to that result. So yeah, nothing is really predestined in that sense.

But Narada Muni says, and Prahlada also says, that nobody makes an effort to get distress, but distress comes of its own accord. So, just as distress will come of its own accord, happiness will also come of its own accord. So, we shouldn’t spend our time and energy trying to increase our happiness or decrease our distress because they will come as destined. But rather, we should use our energy to progress in Krishna consciousness.

Satyanarayan dasa: Under the free will, we are going as per our faith? Am I right, Prabhu, or wrong?

Giriraj Swami: You are right. It’s very important where we place our faith, because yes, according to our faith, we will act. So, we should put our faith in Krishna and not in the material world.

Satyanarayan dasa: Having faith in Krishna, not having faith in Krishna, that is also as per the fate only because under the free will condition, we are accepting our destiny, choosing the destiny. Am I right, Prabhu? Hare Krishna, Prabhu.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, but saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ, our desires develop by association. So, if you want to develop faith in Krishna, then you should associate with people who have faith in Krishna. Srila Prabhupada said, “90 percent of Krishna consciousness is association.” So, we should associate with the people who have the qualities that we want to develop. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so much for your association, Maharaja. So, it’s a long time, we heard your name in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, but I never heard from you. So, thank you so much for giving your association. So, I have a little question, Maharaja. It’s very, very important that we need to read Prabhupada’s books.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: And Prabhupada has taken so much painstakingly. In the middle of night, he used to wake up and write books. And we know this, we need to read Prabhupada’s books, but somehow, for myself, I am unable to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Does something block us from accessing Srila Prabhupada’s books to read it, or is it my own laziness that I’m unable to read Srila Prabhupada’s books? So, could you please bless, Maharaja, how to develop that taste for reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and apply it in my life and assist in Srila Prabhupada’s mission? Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, I would suggest you should read some every day, and if not a lot. But even reading a few pages, or a verse and a purport, or a few verses and purports, it will be good. It’ll be like spiritual nutrition, like vitamins. Do you read other books by devotees?

Devotee: No, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Do you read?

Devotee: No, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Newspapers or magazines? Or you are not much of a reader?

Devotee: No, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: You are not much of a reader.

Devotee: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, what about listening?

Devotee: Yes, Maharaja, I do listening.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. So, you can listen to Prabhupada’s lectures, and there are also readings of Prabhupada’s books. You can listen to audio books. You can listen to Prabhupada’s books being read. So, that’s good. I mean, it’s nice to hold a book and read. So, I do suggest you do a little every day of reading, but otherwise, you can do hearing. It comes to the same thing.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Maharaja, would you like to continue? There are three more questions left. Or is it getting late for you?

Giriraj Swami: We can do that.

Sarasiromani dasa: Okay, Maharaja. Next, Manohar Govinda Prabhu, you can ask.

Manohar Govinda dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Thank you very much for your holy association. I have a small question. How to overcome our conditionings which come in between our service? One side we hear because of association and then hearing, we get the desire to render service. And when we take up service and when we are doing it, our conditionings will pull us back. And then later on, we feel, “I could have done better service if conditioning was not pulling me back down.” Partly, I got the answer. To one of the questions, you said practice. Can you be a little bit more elaborate on it, please?

Giriraj Swami: Well, in what way does your conditioning pull you down?

Devotee: Like laziness or inability to balance work life and the spiritual life, and most importantly, that postponing mentality. So, if you keep counting, even what we say; lust, anger, greed, envy, pride. So, most importantly this lust, which manifests in various ways.

Giriraj Swami: Well, you have to appreciate the importance of Krishna consciousness. I mentioned when Srila Prabhupada was in Gorakhpur, he would give talks, but devotees would fall asleep during his talks. And so, one morning, he raised the issue about the devotees falling asleep during his lectures. And so, different devotees were giving different suggestions; to take rest earlier, not to eat at night. But eventually, Srila Prabhupada said, “You have to value Krishna consciousness more than anything else. You have to value Krishna consciousness more than sleep.”

So, okay, you have your conditioning, you want to sleep, you want to procrastinate, put things off, whatever. But you have to consider Krishna consciousness more important and not sacrifice Krishna consciousness for the sake of those things, but sacrifice those things for the sake of Krishna consciousness. And to value Krishna consciousness, chant, read, associate with advanced devotees is very important, and yeah, just consider it’s more important and that it shouldn’t be sacrificed for your conditioning, but your conditioning should be sacrificed for Krishna consciousness.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next, [Unintelligible 01:56:46], can you please ask your question?

Laxman Reddy: Hare Krishna. Please accept my humble obeisances, Maharaja. I am so happy to hear your class today. Maharaja, I have a practical question. I’m talking about myself, what attracted me to Krishna consciousness was the devotees, the satsaṅga, the kirtan, the prasādam, the festivals. Maharaja, in the last six months, all of them were missing. and the enthusiasm is really, I mean, no one’s calling home for prasādam. So, I don’t know how to maintain it, and then this phase doesn’t seem like it’s going to end. It’s just going to go on for maybe, I don’t know, a year, maybe more. So, how do I compensate for what I’m missing and maintain the same enthusiasm in today’s day and time, Maharaja? Please, if you can give some tips, that’ll be really helpful.

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are a lot of, as you know, you are on one of them now, there are a lot of programs on Zoom now. So, that’s one answer. And yeah, I mean, you can’t go outside, but you can go inside. So, you can go deeper in your internal spiritual life. Yeah, take it as an opportunity. Okay, you can’t join kirtan so much, but then work more on your japa. Or you can do kirtan with your family or whoever is with you. There is always an opportunity to engage in Krishna consciousness and make spiritual advancement.

Srila Prabhupada had a very nice disciple named Kaushaliya, and she was in a little mishap on a rickshaw in India and she broke her arm. And her arm was in a cast, and so she couldn’t do much active service, and she felt very frustrated. She went to Srila Prabhupada and said, “I can’t do service like I used to, I feel very frustrated.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “But you can chant. Chanting is the most important service.” So yeah, whatever service our situation allows, we should do that service. We should take it as an opportunity to develop in areas that we might not have paid so much attention to earlier. So yeah, you can chant, you can read, do kirtan at home, have a festival.

Laxman Reddy: Thank you, Maharaja, for giving the tips.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Laxman Reddy: Thank you.

Parth Sahu dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Parth Sahu dasa: Please accept my humble obeisances, Maharaja. Thank you so much for giving your association. So, I wanted to ask that many times we take some decision that, “I will read this much amount of Prabhupada’s books every day from now onwards,” but we are not able to stick to the commitment. And we saw in your question answer also how deeply you have read and remembered the purports of Srila Prabhupada. And I generally tend to like books which have stories, like Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, or other disciples’ who have written about Prabhupada. But I find it difficult to maintain continuity in reading Prabhupada’s books every day with the same quality and quantity. So, many days, I miss, and then again, I start like that. And one more thing, Maharaja. When we do some group book reading, then we are able to maintain the continuity, when four or five devotees read together. But I mean, then sometimes attentiveness is less. Should we read it personally also, or group also, we can read to maintain the continuity?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, group reading is good, that’s nice. And reading about Srila Prabhupada is also good; Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta and books about Srila Prabhupada. One of Prabhupada’s very senior disciples, Mukunda Maharaja, was saying how important the books about Srila Prabhupada are, and he gave the example of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which is about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that it’s practically more important than the other books. Of course, they are all important, but more important than the other books that contain Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s philosophy.

And I’ve heard many devotees say that they understand Srila Prabhupada’s, or, well, more like congregation devotees, and in Bombay, they would come to me and say that by reading Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, they are able to appreciate Prabhupada’s books more. So, all those things are good, but as I mentioned earlier, some reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books should be every day. Whatever, a few pages, verse and a purport, that should be there. But the other things are good. A reading group is good and books about Prabhupada are good. It’s all good.

Parth Sahu dasa: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Parth Sahu dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Sarasiromani dasa: Maharaja, from temple hall, some devotees want to ask questions.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. My question is approaching a spiritual master. So, is it possible for a person who is in Kali-yuga? Because so much energy is wasted, stolen, borrowed, and it is the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. So, is it possible for me to acquire the qualifications to approach a spiritual master?

Giriraj Swami: Well, in principle, it’s possible for anyone. Because you need a spiritual master. And if you have some conditioning that is making it hard for you to come to the stage of approaching a spiritual master, then it’s the same point, that you have to consider the urgency of Krishna consciousness to be greater than being lazy and accepting your conditioning. I mean, it may be Kali-yuga, I mean, it is Kali-yuga, but we don’t have to be so affected by it. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,

TEXT 51

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet

COMMENT

That Kali-yuga is like an ocean of faults, but still, there is one great opportunity, and that is that by Krishna kirtan, one can get liberated from material association and attain the Supreme destination. So, however strong Kali-yuga is, Krishna kirtan is more powerful. So, we have no excuse. And that Krishna kirtan, it means kirtan, but kirtan means glorification of Krishna. And so, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books is like hearing Prabhupada’s kirtan, in that sense. So yeah, just stay immersed in Krishna consciousness, and Kali-yuga will not be able to drag you down or keep you back.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you very much for your association. So, we heard of one episode, Srila Prabhupada calls you at midnight and asks about how the ISKCON will grow. And Prabhupada replies, “By organization, by intelligence.” So, can you please explain about that, what Prabhupada has meant, and how we can apply it forever? Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it’s true. It was just a few days before Srila Prabhupada left, and he was confined to his bed in his room in Vrindavan, and I was taking rest on the rooftop of the gurukula building. And in the middle of the night, someone woke me up and said, “Prabhupada is calling for you.” So, I went to his room and he was lying on his bed and he said, “So, do you think this movement will go on after I leave?” And I said, “Yes. If the devotees are sincere and they chant their rounds and follow the regulated principles, it will go on.” And then Srila Prabhupada said, “Organization. Intelligence and organization.” And reflecting on what Srila Prabhupada said and also on what I said, it’s true that the devotees have to be sincere and chant their rounds and follow the principles, and that will be good for their spiritual advancement. But we are a preaching movement, and to spread Krishna consciousness, we require organization and intelligence.

And so, I believe that Srila Prabhupada’s answer was sort of complementary to my answer. But yeah, it was a very significant answer. We have to be organized to spread Krishna consciousness. In a way, we have to be intelligent and organized just to manage our own spiritual lives, but we really need to be organized and intelligent to spread Krishna consciousness. Thank you for reminding us of that important exchange.

Sarasiromani dasa: Maharaja, there are two more questions, two more devotees who raised their hands. Is it okay to take their questions, or is it getting late for you?

Giriraj Swami: It’s getting late. We can take these two, but then we can’t take more after these two.

Sarasiromani dasa: Last two, okay. Padmavati Mataji can ask. Hare Krishna.

Padmavathi dasi: Hare Krishna. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Padmavathi dasi: Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās, Prabhuji. Kindly accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, what is the transcendental form of Krishna, and whether it is necessary to meditate on that transcendental form while chanting?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, you are asking if we should meditate on the transcendental form of Krishna while we are chanting?

Padmavathi dasi: Yes, Prabhu. Yes Maharaja. Is it necessary to meditate on transcendental form while chanting?

Giriraj Swami: No, the main thing is to hear. Yeah, to articulate the holy names clearly and to hear them attentively. Srila Prabhupada said we don’t artificially try to remember the pastimes of the Lord, but while chanting, if naturally the Lord’s pastimes and form and qualities come to mind, that’s welcome.

It was a practice in the early days of Krishna consciousness, that we would read the Kṛṣṇa book at night before taking rest. And so, reading the Kṛṣṇa book at night, then you get up in the morning, and then maybe attend maṅgala-ārati and tulasi-puja and so on, and then you chant your rounds. And so, having read the Kṛṣṇa book at night, it’s sort of natural that you think of Krishna while you are chanting your rounds. But that should come naturally. Our main focus should be to chant, articulate the names clearly, and hear them attentively. And if we are lucky, those forms, qualities, and pastimes will come to our consciousness, but we shouldn’t make a separate endeavor. Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Next, Ambika Mataji. Please unmute.

Ambika dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Ambika dasi: Please accept my humble obeisances, Maharaja. Maharaja, I have a doubt. Early in the morning, after performing maṅgala-ārati, it is said that it is very auspicious time for chanting.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Ambika dasi: But while chanting, I feel a very sleepy mood and I’m not able to chant consciously at that time. How can I develop that consciousness? When I am at the temple and I attend maṅgala-ārati with the devotees and when I chant, it should be very auspicious and I don’t feel like that. Then when I am alone and early in the morning I start chanting, I feel very sleepy and I’m not able to chant very consciously. How can I develop that?

Giriraj Swami: Well, do you get enough sleep? I mean, do you take rest early? You get enough sleep. Well, there are different, you could say, obstacles to chanting nicely. They are discussed in a book by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura called Mādhurya-kādambinī. One of them is laya, which means laziness, and another is bhūpekṣā, which means negligence. So, you might be suffering from some of those. But how’s your chanting later in the day? Do you chant later in the day also? Unmute yourself, please. How is your chanting later in the day? Oh, you muted again.

Ambika dasi: Early in the morning, as I'm not able to chant early in the morning, and I will be just dealing with things and I’ll not be able to complete my rounds. It’s not good, Maharaja. Actually, I will not be able to complete my rounds. I will try. Early in the morning, I will not be able to complete and I will not be able to consciously complete chanting. And the whole day, I’m not able to chant in that good consciousness.

Giriraj Swami: Well, then I think we are sort of back to Srila Prabhupada’s question in Gorakhpur, why the devotees are sleeping when he is giving class, and his answer was that we have to consider Krishna consciousness more important than sleep. Now, generally, it’s best to sit and chant, and the next best is to stand and chant, and the next best is to walk and chant. But if you feel too sleepy sitting and chanting, then definitely, it’s better to stand and chant. And if you are too sleepy standing and chanting, then it’s better to walk and chant. But I think you should stick to that effort to chant during the brāhma-muhūrta. It’s a good time, and you could develop the habit of chanting attentively then. Yeah, that’s good. You are so sincere. You are making that effort and you are able to confess your challenges.

Ambika dasi: As you said, Maharaja, maybe I am suffering from laziness, I have a habit of delaying, “Yes, I will do it, yes I will do it,” but I never complete my rounds. The habit is there, Maharaja. [Unintelligible 02:18:24] But I want to come up in that consciousness, a delaying habit.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah. Well, Srila Prabhupada gave a hint how he forced himself, as a grihastha, to chant sixteen rounds. Of course, you can adjust this to your situation, but it’s just the principle. He said that he would not take breakfast until he chanted four rounds, then he would not take lunch until he chanted another four rounds, then he would not take dinner until he chanted another four rounds, and then he would not take rest until he chanted his final four rounds.

So, that much discipline should be there, that until you complete so many rounds, you won’t do something you want to do, like eat or go to sleep, and then you’ll finish your sixteen. Yeah, please do that.

Ambika dasi: Okay, thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Hare Krishna.

Sarasiromani dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. We have His Grace Anandamaya Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, who is serving at ISKCON Hyderabad for the last forty-five years. He wants to talk to you once. Can you just unmute, Anandamaya Prabhu? Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Yes, Prabhuji is gone there. Just a minute.

Sarasiromani dasa: Okay. So, I would like to thank you, Maharaja, for giving your valuable association for the last almost three hours. We’ll be very fortunate to have you physically also in the future at ISKCON Hyderabad. So, if you can just wait for two minutes, the devotees will just make you meet with His Grace Anandamaya Prabhu.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Sarasiromani dasa: And thank you, Maharaja, for giving us your valuable association, sharing the importance of studying Srila Prabhupada’s books and following his instructions, and thank you for giving your valuable time. It’s already quite late for you there. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Prabhuji, there is some difficulty.

Sarasiromani dasa: There is some problem, Maharaja. We are not able to connect to him.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, okay.

Sarasiromani dasa: Thank you, Maharaja, again, for your valuable association and guidance, patiently answering so many questions. Surely in future, we would like to take more of your association, either on Zoom or physically also. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: If we are ending now, then I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Sarasiromani dasa: Okay.

Giriraj Swami:

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

[Prayers]

Sarasiromani dasa: So, let us thank His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja for his wonderful association by loudly chanting three times. [Chanting Haribol] Thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Thank you for arranging this. So, shall I take your leave?

Sarasiromani dasa: Please keep praying for us.

Giriraj Swami: I will, and you pray for me too. Hare Krishna.