SB 10.8.4 – Compassion of a Devotee

Giriraj Swami: So, I will read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Eight, “Lord Kṛṣṇa Shows the Universal Form,” Text Four.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 4

mahad-vicalanaṁ nṝṇāṁ
gṛhiṇāṁ dīna-cetasām
niḥśreyasāya bhagavan
kalpate nānyathā kvacit

TRANSLATION

O my lord, O great devotee, persons like you move from one place to another not for their own interests but for the sake of poor-hearted gṛhasthas [householders]. Otherwise they have no interest in going from one place to another.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As factually stated by Nanda Mahārāja, Garga Muni, being a devotee, had no needs. Similarly, when Kṛṣṇa comes He has no needs, for He is pūrṇa, ātmārāma. Nonetheless, He descends to this material world to protect the devotees and vanquish miscreants (paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām). This is the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and devotees also have the same mission. One who executes this mission of para-upakāra, performing welfare activities for people in general, is recognized by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as being very, very dear to Him (na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ).

COMMENT

In the purport here, Srila Prabhupada is referring to Lord Krishna’s statement at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā. And Krishna says that one who explains this secret to His devotees is most dear to Him, and there will never be one more dear. He says, “For one who explains the Supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end, he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, or will there ever be one more dear. In other words, devotees are very compassionate. They personally experience the benefit of Krishna consciousness, and they want to share the benefit with others. And such an attitude of a devotee makes the devotee very dear to Krishna. And Krishna rewards the devotee by awarding him pure devotional service, and bringing him back home, back to Godhead. Srila Prabhupada himself is the perfect example of such a devotee, who took all pains to distribute Krishna consciousness. He came to America at the advanced age of seventy years. He didn’t know anyone. He had only seven dollars, which Srila Prabhupada said was one hour of spending money in America. But he had full faith in the order of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And starting with practically nothing but his faith in his spiritual master and in the holy names, he was successful.

When the Juhu temple opened in Bombay, there was an article, it was a full-page article with colored photos, which was very rare back then, Newsweek Magazine. And in the Juhu Temple, we have dioramas depicting various scenes from both scripture and from Srila Prabhupada’s life. And there was a diorama depicting Srila Prabhupada standing under the tree in Tompkins Square Park in New York City when he first began. And so the article juxtaposed that the picture of Srila Prabhupada standing under the tree with a picture of the multi-million dollar Juhu Temple with the caption, “From Rags to Riches.” Of course, Srila Prabhupada always had the internal wealth, immeasurable wealth of Krishna consciousness. But externally, he began in a very humble way with seven dollars. But because of his sincere service to guru and Gauranga, Krishna rewarded him with tremendous opulence to be engaged in the service of Krishna. Srila Prabhupada was the greatest welfare worker.

PURPORT (continued)

One who executes this mission of para-upakāra, performing welfare activities for people in general, is recognized by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as being very, very dear to Him.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual master and Founder acharya wanted us to become dear to Krishna. And so he engaged us in welfare activities, preaching Krishna consciousness, which we should all do. We can do it by speaking about Krishna, and we can do it by distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed,

āmāra ājñāya guru tāra ei deśa
yāre dekha tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa

That wherever you go, whoever you meet, deliver the message of Krishna. In this way become a spiritual master and save all the people in your land.

We are a preaching mission. And Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master told him that by presenting the message of Krishna consciousness, you will benefit, and those who hear you will also benefit. Which reminds me of a beautiful verse by Shakespeare. “The quality of Mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, and blessed he who gives it and he receives it even.” So, Krishna consciousness is all about mercy. Yes, receiving mercy and distributing Mercy. So after saying now Krishna recognizes the preacher, Srila Prabhupada says,

PURPORT (continued)

Similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised this para-upakāra, and He has especially advised the inhabitants of India:

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
janma sārthaka kari’ kara para-upakāra

“One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.” (Cc. Ādi 9.41).

COMMENT

I can mention also that Bharat-vrata also refers to the Earth planet, so the verse also applies to anyone born as a human being on the Earth. Prabhupada continues,

PURPORT (continued)

On the whole, the duty of a pure Vaiṣṇava devotee is to act for the welfare of others.

Nanda Mahārāja could understand that Garga Muni had come for this purpose and that his own duty now was to act according to Garga Muni’s advice. Thus he said, “Please tell me what is my duty.”

COMMENT

When a sadhu or mahatma blesses us with his mercy by coming to us, we should inquire of him, “What should we do? What advice do you have for us? What is our duty?” I am repeating, but just to bring us to that point, “Nanda Maharaja could understand that Gargamuni had come for this purpose and that his own duty now is to act according to Garga Muni’s advice.” Thus, he said, “Please tell me what is my duty.”

PURPORT (continued)

This should be the attitude of everyone, especially the householder. The varṇāśrama society is organized into eight divisions: brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. Nanda Mahārāja represented himself as gṛhiṇām, a householder. A brahmacārī factually has no needs, but gṛhīs, householders, are engaged in sense gratification. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.44), bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām.

COMMENT

And the translation of that verse is, “In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.” So, coming back to the purport,

PURPORT (continued)

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.44), bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ tayāpahṛta-cetasām. Everyone has come to this material world for sense gratification, and the position of those who are too attached to sense gratification and who therefore accept the gṛhastha-āśrama is very precarious. Since everyone in this material world is searching for sense gratification, gṛhasthas are required to be trained as mahat, great mahātmās. Therefore Nanda Mahārāja specifically used the word mahad-vicalanam. Garga Muni had no interest to serve by going to Nanda Mahārāja, but Nanda Mahārāja, as a gṛhastha, was always perfectly ready to receive instructions from a mahātmā to gain the real benefit in life. Thus he was ready to execute Garga Muni’s order.

COMMENT

And this calls to mind, another verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.20).

SB 3.25.20

prasaṅgam ajaraṁ pāśam
ātmanaḥ kavayo viduḥ
sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto
mokṣa-dvāram apāvṛtam

TRANSLATION

Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Here it is clearly stated that attachment for one thing is the cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for Kṛṣṇa or His devotee is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 

Here it is recommended that attachment should be transferred to the self-realized devotees, the sādhus. And who is a sādhu? A sādhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sādhu is described in Bhagavad-gītā as one who unflinchingly engages in devotional service. Even though one is found not to be following the strict rules and regulations of devotional service, if one simply has unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, he is understood to be a sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ. A sādhu is a strict follower of devotional service. It is recommended here that if one at all wants to realize Brahman, or spiritual perfection, his attachment should be transferred to the sādhu, or devotee. Lord Caitanya also confirmed this. Lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya: simply by a moment’s association with a sādhu, one can attain perfection.

Mahātmā is a synonym of sādhu. It is said that service to a mahātmā, or elevated devotee of the Lord, is dvāram āhur vimukteḥ, the royal road of liberation. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam (Bhāg. 5.5.2). Attachment to a devotee is attachment to the service of the Lord because if one associates with a sādhu, the result will be that the sādhu will teach him how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord. These are the gifts of a sādhu. If we want to associate with a sādhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on how to improve our material condition, but he will give us instructions on how to cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction and how to elevate ourselves in devotional service. That is the result of associating with a sādhu. Kapila Muni first of all instructs that the path of liberation begins with such association.

COMMENT

So in this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, we read how Garga Muni, mahad-vicalanaṁ, he visited Nanda Maharaja and gave him association and instruction. And Nanda Maharaja as the ideal householder, accepted Garga Muni’s authority and submitted himself to Garga Muni’s instructions. So this is a very good example for us, how we should receive a sadhu or mahatma and serve a sadhu or mahatma by following the sadhu’s good advice.

Hare Krishna. So, I am very happy to be in the association of all of you sadhus. And if you have any thoughts that you would like to share with us to enlighten us, or any questions, we will be happy to hear from you now. You can raise your hand. Oh Mukunda Madhava dasa, please unmute yourself.

Mukunda Madhava dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. My humble obeisances. Thank you for blessing us with your presence with this class. I have a question that has to do with the sadhus. You explained the association with the sadhus. Is the sadhu a devotee, or is it śuddha-nāma, the holy name that the sadhu chants?

Giriraj Swami: That is a good question. The Bhagavad-gītā says,

api cet su-durācāro
bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ
samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

That even if one is found committing the most abominable activity, still he is considered a sadhu if he is rightly situated in devotional service. So any devotee who is fully engaged in devotional service is considered a sadhu, even if he is not perfect. In the ten offenses against the holy name, the first offense is sādhu-nindā, to blaspheme or criticize the sadhus or devotees. In his book Sri Hari-nāma Chintamani, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the ten offenses, beginning with sādhu-nindā. And to understand sādhu-nindā, we have to understand first, who is a sadhu. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the twenty-six qualities of a devotee. One of those qualities is kṛṣṇa eka saranam, to be exclusively devoted to Krishna, Krishna’s exclusive shelter. So if someone has that quality of having taken exclusive shelter of Krishna, he is considered a sadhu, even if he doesn’t have the other twenty-five qualities. So, we should not criticize or blaspheme such a devotee in case he doesn’t manifest all the other qualities of a sadhu.

Now, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami enumerates sixty-four items of devotional service. And out of the sixty-four, he mentions five which are most potent. He says, even a little association with any of those five, if one is offenseless, will bring about love of Godhead. This is his definition of sādhu-saṅga, sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare. So, sajātīyāśaye, it means having like-mindedness, being in the same caste, and in our case, that would mean especially being a follower of Srila Prabhupada. snigdhe can be translated in two ways: one is similar affection for the Lord, and snigdhe can also mean that the sadhu should be affectionate to us. Svato vare means the sadhu should be more advanced than we are. So that is the definition of sādhu-saṅga given by Srila Rupa Gosvami, which is one of the five most potent forms of devotional service.

Shyma Krishna Gopal: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. Shyma Krishna Gopal here. Thank you so much for your class, very beautiful and powerful. In this verse that we are reading, it is talking about that the sadhu or the pure devotee doesn’t need to go anywhere or do anything. So, these are the desires that devotees have to benefit the other souls, is that his own desire, or is it Krishna that is putting that desire in the devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it is both, because we are part and parcel of Krishna, so we have the same qualities as Krishna but in minute quantity. So he wants to get back the conditioned souls, so it is natural for us also to want to get back the conditioned souls. But it is also part of the nature of bhakti that one wants to give mercy to others. But as preachers, we do make distinctions. And Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam advises, prema-maitrī-kṛpopekṣā. This is for the madhyam-bhāgavata, and Srila Prabhupada wants us to act on that platform. So, prema means we should give our love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maitrī means we make friendship with devotees, kṛpā means we give mercy to the innocent, and upekṣā means we should neglect the envious. We should not try to preach to the envious because it will just make them more offensive. But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says, we can pray for them, as Prahlada Maharaja prayed for the envious, and that will be sad-ācāra, good behavior on our part.

Kirti dasa: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you very much for your class, for joining us and giving us your association, giving us the sādhu-saṅga you are talking about in your class. So, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a verse which says that even the saintly persons become delighted when they see a snake or scorpion killed. So, in the construction of the Juhu temple back in the days, there was a big snake who was impeding the acquisition of the land and the construction of the temple. So when that snake died, there was a celebration amongst the devotees. Maybe you could please say a few things about that if you remember.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I remember. The owner of the land was named Mr. Nair, and he tried to cheat Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. So one Sunday, I was walking near Metro Cinema in Bombay. And in those days, the vendors used to put magazines and newspapers on the footpath, on the sidewalk. As I was walking, I saw this big headline: “A.B. Nair is Dead.” And I felt jubilant. I felt like jumping for joy. But then I thought we are supposed to be sadhus, we are supposed to be developing saintly qualities, whether this reaction is proper. At that time, Srila Prabhupada was in New Zealand. And there was a devotee visiting Bombay who in a way, was more senior to me and had more experience with Srila Prabhupada. So I asked him to phone Srila Prabhupada and inform him. Srila Prabhupada sent his servant to receive the call, and the servant, named Sruti Kirti Prabhu, conveyed the news to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada folded his hands and he said, “Thank you, Krishna. I was praying for this, because he was causing too much trouble to the devotees and to the deities.” Then Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter addressed to me and a few of our other supporters in Bombay. He wrote that, “I received a telephone message that the demon Nair is dead. If it is true, this is a great occasion for rejoicing.” Because that was my question, whether it was appropriate to feel happy. He said, “This is an occasion for rejoicing.” And then he quoted Prahlada Maharaja, what you were saying is from the Seventh Canto, that “Even a saintly person takes pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed.”

Now, the background to that verse is also significant, because after Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, he was still angry. And then Prahlada Maharaja said to Nṛsiṁhadeva that even saintly persons take pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed. And the purport is that Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva might have been concerned that Prahlada Maharaja was unhappy that Nṛsiṁhadeva killed his father. So Prahlada was assuring Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, “Don’t worry, I am not unhappy that you killed my father.” So, even a saintly person takes pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. all glories to your divine grace. Thank you for the wonderful class. Guru Maharaja, thank you for the beautiful class. Is Krishna more pleased when we serve sadhus rather than we serve Him?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. In the Adi-purana, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that those who claim to be my devotees are not my devotees. Those who are the devotees of my devotees, they are actually my devotions. So yes, Krishna is more pleased when we serve His devotee than when we try to serve Him directly. And He is more hurt when we offend a devotee than when we offend Him directly. The example is given that when someone is walking barefoot on the beach in the hot sun, the beating of the sun on his head is not as painful as the hot sand is painful to his feet. So Krishna feels the pain when His devotees, who have taken shelter at His lotus feet, are offended rather than when He is offended directly.

Did you have a second part to your question?

Devotee: Thank you for the beautiful answer and perfect answers. How do we improve our sādhu-saṅga if we don’t have time to associate with devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada said that man is a social animal, so he does have to associate with other people. And so we should associate with devotees. Now there are two ways of associating: one is by vāṇī, which means words, and the other is by vapuḥ, which means physical presence. So when the physical presence is not available, you can associate with the vāṇī, with the words.

Devotee: Thank you so much for your wonderful classes Maharaja. I have a question about sādhu-nindā, vaiṣṇava-aparādha. If one is doing aparādha directly but trying to restrain himself and try to chant and see the positives or stop that devotee to nullify the aparādha. But somehow the other, that devotee is in contact with a person, and that is necessary, and he has to be with that person who is doing aparādha every now and then. So, that devotee has to hear every time aparādha about the other devotee. So how to save yourself from that devotee or nullify the aparādha what that devotee has heard every now and then?

Giriraj Swami: It is true. It is an offense not only to speak blasphemy of a devotee but it is also an offense to hear blasphemy. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura advises that the same tongue that has blasphemed a devotee, that same tongue should be used to glorify the devotee. That is how we can purify ourselves from the reaction to the aparādha. Now I didn’t quite follow the part that, someone who associates with someone who is offensive.

Devotee: Actually this is a personal question that I am facing that I have to associate with a person who is blaspheming a devotee and it is painful to hear, but then I cannot do anything about it. I can stop sometimes, that please don’t speak about a devotee, but then I cannot go far away from that person because it is a very close relationship. So it is painful to hear, but that person is not understanding and every now and then I have to hear, and it is surely painful. I know because vaiṣṇava-aparādha is like finishing up everything in your devotional service.

Giriraj Swami: So, the person who is doing the blaspheming, is the person a devotee?

Devotee: No.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, so in principle, we shouldn’t associate closely with those people. I don’t know what the relation is, but in principle, we should not associate closely with non-devotees, especially if they are offensive. I think it is a general principle not only among devotees not to speak badly about others. I gave a seminar in Alachua on a verse from the Nectar of Instruction. So, in Upadeśāmṛta, there are two verses: six items that destroy one’s devotional service and six items that nourish one’s devotional service. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote one essay on each of those six items that are favorable and each of the six items that are unfavorable. And those twelve items are collected in a book called Bhaktyaloka. So one of the six items that destroys devotional service is prajalpaḥ. Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura says that within the category of prajalpaḥ, speaking about others is the worst, if you speak negatively about others. And he includes speaking about others, not only devotees but anyone. Of course, it is worse to speak about devotees, but it is bad to speak about anyone.

So after I gave my seminar in Alachua, one lady raised her hand and quoted a saying that was very appropriate on the subject of not speaking about others. And the saying is, “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to speak about the rest of us.” So you can try quote that one. I will repeat it. “There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to speak about the rest of us.”

Mother Gauranga-lila: In what way can we detach from the things that are not good for us? Is there a practical way for that?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, there are six divisions of surrender quoted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. And the first two are: ānukūlyasya saṅkalpaḥ prātikūlyasya varjanam. That one should accept whatever is favorable to devotional service, and one should reject whatever is unfavorable. So, we should evaluate any situation or any activity: Is it favorable to devotional service or unfavorable? And if it is favorable, we should accept it, and if it is unfavorable, we should try to avoid it. Now, sometimes when we are in a situation where it is not so clear. They have the expression, choosing the lesser of two evils. But the basic principle is to accept whatever is favorable or whatever is most favorable, and to reject whatever is unfavorable or whatever is most unfavorable. Hare Krishna.

Lalita devi dasi: Could you please elaborate on how can aspiring persons stay encouraged under different circumstances?

Giriraj Swami: Could Lalita devi be more specific? Basically, Srila Prabhupada say that enthusiasm comes from following the regulated principles, and of course good association always helps. Encouraging association as we were discussing sadhu-saṅga, sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare, which we already discussed.

Devotee: Thank you, guru Maharaja for the beautiful presentation as always. Sometimes Krishna may arrange to take that association away?

Giriraj Swami: Well, of course, it is painful to lose the association of a dear devotee——but we can still associate with the devotee through vāṇī, as we are associated with Srila Prabhupada. And Krishna also arranges for us to get whatever association we need. I have my own experience after His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja left. I missed him very badly for many reasons. But then I developed relationships with other godbrothers. Tamal Krishna Goswami was so extraordinary that I could go to him for practically anything, and so the other godbrothers are not like that, that I can go to one of them for everything, but in the totality of them, I can get everything. It is like yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham. Krishna, He preserves what we have and carries what we lack.

Devotee: Can you speak a little on that relationship?

Giriraj Swami: What relationship?

Devotee: That you cherished only with Tamal Krishna Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Well, he was very materially [Unintelligible 01:39:33]. So, I could go to him with practically any questions. So in his absence, I don’t find anyone with that particular combination of material and spiritual expertise. But amongst the other devotees, by his mercy, I would also say amongst the other devotees, I can get answers.

Translator: Maharaja, you said there is somebody that raised a hand on Facebook through here?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Chandni Doshi.

Translator: Okay, can we have her question, and then I am going to read a message, a special message, that somebody wants you to please give, so Chandni Doshi.

Chandni Doshi: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisance. Thank you for the wonderful class, and really nice and sound association. Guru Maharaja, you mentioned that if one has offended by the tongue, it can be purified by glorifying the devotee, but what if you have heard, then is there anything that can be done?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, if you have heard criticism of a devotee then you should try to counteract it by glorifying the devotee. This is otherwise it can leave some residue of contamination in your heart. And if it is appropriate, you could go back to the person who did the criticism and say, “I was thinking about what you said, and, I don’t actually agree with you,” or “ I think there is more to it than you said, and actually, that devotee has many good qualities or does many good things.” And then the person will get the idea that you don’t want to hear this kind of negative talk.

Chandni Doshi: Thank you very much. Thanks a lot. Hare Krishna.

Translator: Thank you. So, we have a message that was sent to in private to Shyam Krishna Gopal. “Please accept my humble obeisances. We have Bhakta Matthew from Dallas present between us, and soon, and it is his birthday today. He is very much inspired by Maharaja. He would be pleased to receive blessings from Maharaja and Vaishnavas.”

Giriraj Swami: And who is this in Dallas?

Translator: It is Matthew. Matthew Taylor. Yes, he joined us earlier today, since before the class started.

Giriraj Swami: Well, can Matthew Taylor turn on his video?

Translator: Yes, he has his video on, but it seems that he is dark where he is. Can you unmute yourself?

Matthew Taylor: Hare Krishna. Can you hear me?

Translator: Yes, we can hear you, we cannot see you.

Matthew Taylor: Okay, yes, thank you so much for the wonderful class and for your wonderful blessings, and, you have made, such a wonderful birthday. I enjoy you all so very much.

Giriraj Swami: All right, Matthew, happy birthday. May you never take birth again in this miserable material world and go back home back to Godhead.

Matthew Taylor: Thank you so much Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: All right. Well, if we are at the end, and I think we are, you see, we can conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ