SB 9.10.20 – Sri Rama-vijaya-dasami

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Today is the auspicious occasion of Sri Rama-vijaya-dasami, also known as Dasara or Dusara. It is the date on which Lord Rama killed the demon Rāvaṇa. I will be speaking on a verse from the Ninth Canto, but before then, I will read a beautiful verse from the Second Canto that describes the exact event of Lord Rama’s killing of Rāvaṇa. This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations,” Text 25. I will just read the translation:

TEXT 25

“When Rāvaṇa was engaged in the battle, the trunk of the elephant which carried the King of heaven, Indra, broke in pieces, having collided with the chest of Rāvaṇa, and the scattered broken parts illuminated all directions. Rāvaṇa therefore felt proud of his prowess and began to loiter in the midst of the fighting soldiers, thinking himself the conqueror of all directions. But his laughter, overtaken by joy, along with his very air of life, suddenly ceased with the tingling sound of the bow of Rāmacandra, the Personality of Godhead.”

Lord Sri Ramachandra Bhagavān ki jaya!

Now, I will read today’s verse. This is from the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Chapter 10: “The Pastimes of Lord Rama.” The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is such a perfect and complete scripture that it includes a summary of the Rāmāyaṇa in the Ninth Canto, Chapters Nine and Ten. So we will read from Chapter Ten: “The Pastimes of Lord Rama,” Text 20.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 20

te ‘nīkapā raghupater abhipatya sarve

dvandvaṁ varūtham ibha-patti-rathāśva-yodhaiḥ

jaghnur drumair giri-gadeṣubhir aṅgadādyāḥ

sītābhimarṣa-hata-maṅgala-rāvaṇeśān

TRANSLATION

Aṅgada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Rāmacandra faced the elephants, infantry, horses and chariots of the enemy and hurled against them big trees, mountain peaks, clubs and arrows. Thus the soldiers of Lord Rāmacandra killed Rāvaṇa’s soldiers, who had lost all good fortune because Rāvaṇa had been condemned by the anger of mother Sītā.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The soldiers Lord Rāmacandra recruited in the jungle were all monkeys and did not have proper equipment with which to fight the soldiers of Rāvaṇa, for Rāvaṇa’s soldiers were equipped with weapons of modern warfare whereas the monkeys could only throw stones, mountain peaks and trees. It was only Lord Rāmacandra and Lakṣmaṇa who shot some arrows. But because the soldiers of Rāvaṇa were condemned by the curse of mother Sītā, the monkeys were able to kill them simply by throwing stones and trees. There are two kinds of strength — daiva and puruṣākāra. Daiva refers to the strength achieved from the Transcendence, and puruṣākāra refers to the strength organized by one’s own intelligence and power. Transcendental power is always superior to the power of the materialist. Depending on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, one must fight one’s enemies even though one may not be equipped with modern weapons. Therefore Kṛṣṇa instructed Arjuna, mām anusmara yudhya ca: “Think of Me and fight.” We should fight our enemy to the best of our ability, but for victory we must depend on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

Hare Krishna. So, today is a very auspicious day, Rama-vijaya-dasami, and there are many lessons to be derived from the pastime of Lord Rama’s killing Rāvaṇa. Of course one lesson is that we should not try to enjoy the property of the Lord. Sita was the property of Rama, you could say, eternal consort, and Rāvaṇa, due to his lust and envy, kidnapped Sita or at least tried to kidnap Sita, and take Her to his kingdom of Lanka, and enjoy Her. And the result was that he and his entire dynasty were destroyed.

So this is the first lesson: we should not try to enjoy the Lord’s property. And everything is the Lord’s property, everything that exists is the Lord’s energy, and therefore should be used in His service, for His pleasure, not usurped by us for our sense gratification. Because if we do make the mistake of trying to enjoy the Lord’s property for ourselves, we will be severely chastised, punished.

Another lesson is that in our fighting, we will be successful not by our personal strength and resources called puruṣākāra, but by the strength derived from transcendence called daiva. Now, in the case of Rama and Rāvaṇa, the enemy was external, Rāvaṇa was external. But we have our own enemies, our own demons, with which we have to contend within us. We have these demons of lust, greed, anger, envy, and so on, and they are formidable enemies. But, as indicated in this verse and purport, we will not be successful in defeating those enemies by our own independent strength or power, but we will be successful by the mercy of the Lord.

Very soon we will be starting the month of Kartika which is also known as the month of Damodara, and during the month of Kartika, devotees sing the Dāmodarāṣṭakam and remember the pastime of mother Yasoda binding Krishna around His waist with ropes. Dāma means “ropes” and udara means “belly.” So Damodara means “Krishna who is bound around the waist by the ropes of mother Yasoda. During this pastime—I won’t narrate the entire pastime because that would take a long time—but at one stage mother Yasoda was chasing Krishna because He had been naughty, and she wanted to tie Him with ropes mainly to restrain Him from further mischief. 

So it is described that she was chasing Him, but she couldn’t catch Him. But eventually she did catch Him. But when she tried to tie the ropes around His waist, the ropes were always the distance of two fingers too short or two inches too short, and this was very perplexing, because every morning mother Yasoda would dress Krishna and she would tie His belt around His belly without any difficulty. 

Anyway, somehow she couldn’t tie the rope around His waist, so she got more ropes and added them, but still, the ropes were two fingers too short. Then she got more ropes. She had a lot of ropes because they were members of a cowherd community and they needed lots of ropes. So she kept adding more and more ropes, but they were always two fingers too short.

So, eventually Krishna, feeling compassion for mother Yasoda, allowed Himself to be bound by her ropes, and in the verse that describes Him allowing her to bind Him, there are two words, one is pariśrama and the other is kṛṣṇa-kṛpā. Pariśrama means “hard labor or endeavor” and kṛṣṇa-kṛpā means “Krishna’s mercy.” And our acharyas explain that that width of two fingers was covered, the distance of the one finger was covered by pariśrama, by one’s hard labor, and the distance of the other finger was covered by kṛṣṇa-kṛpā, Krishna’s mercy. So this is a combination that will enable us to bind Krishna, that is our own endeavor plus Krishna’s mercy. And that combination is required in every aspect of devotional service, really in every aspect of our lives.

So when we chant, for example, we are talking about gaining victory over enemies, so sometimes our mind can be our worst enemy. As Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, the mind can be your friend or it can be your enemy. And when we are trying to chant with attention, we can easily notice when our mind is acting as our enemy and taking our attention away from the holy name. So how do we bind the mind? It is the same combination: pariśrama, by our own strenuous endeavor, and kṛṣṇa-kṛpā, by Krishna’s mercy.

So, if we think we can do everything just by our own endeavor, that is wrong. But if we think we can do nothing—make no endeavor at all—and just pray for Krishna’s mercy, that is also wrong. We need the combination of both—of our own efforts and Krishna’s grace—and then we will be successful. We can conquer the mind which can be our worst enemy, and bind it to the holy names, to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada has drawn a parallel between Rama’s going to Lanka to retrieve Sita to his own, Prabhupada’s own, going to America, and he said that as Sita is Lakshmi and Lakshmi means wealth, so Rāvaṇa had kidnapped Sita or Lakshmi, and in the same way, the western countries, and specifically Srila Prabhupada referred to America, had captured lots of wealth, which is considered Lakshmi or Sita, and just as Rama crossed the ocean to Lanka to rescue Sita, so similarly Srila Prabhupada had crossed the ocean and gone to America to get Sita or Lakshmi, which was in the possession of the Rāvaṇas or the materialists of the western world. And just as Rama was assisted by so many monkeys, he was assisted by us. But he was successful because of daiva, because he was supported by divine strength, strength that came from Krishna and the paramparā.

So we all have our enemies. Some are external and some are internal. And to be successful we need to. . . as Krishna said, [amān udacar?] we fight, but we think of Krishna. We make our endeavor, but at the same time, we pray for the mercy of the Lord and the paramparā to be successful. And that consciousness develops by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as we are discussing now and also by chanting the holy names, because this Rāvaṇa-like mentality of wanting to be the enjoyer and the controller and the proprietor is there in every conditioned soul, and we want to cleanse our heart to become free from those unwanted desires, materialistic desires. And so chanting—ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam—the chanting cleanses all the dirt from the mirror of the mind. And what is the dirt? Srila Prabhupada says that the dirt, the beginning of the dirt, is identifying with the body, thinking, “I am the body,” and along with thinking, “I am the body,” there are these three, you could say, corollary conceptions that, “I am the enjoy,” “I am the controller,” and, “I am the proprietor.” So when we chant, if we observe the movements of our mind, what is our mind thinking, what is our mind latching onto when it should be focused on the holy name, and it will come in these three categories: either the desire to be the enjoyer, the desire to be the controller, the desire to be the proprietor. Sometimes they all combine together.

So we want to kill that demonic mentality by our pariśrama, by our endeavor, by our effort to chant attentively, and kṛṣṇa-kṛpā, Krishna’s mercy. And in discussing the ten offenses against the holy name, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has said that if one can chant attentively, then one will be able to destroy all the other offenses, but if one is inattentive while chanting or negligent while chanting, then the other offenses can flourish. 

So it a battle. Bhurijana Prabhu has written a book called Japa and he has conducted many seminars on japa, and he says it is a battle. It is a battle to get the mind to hear, but he says that battle must be fought. You can’t just give in and surrender and let you mind go wherever it wants, do whatever it wishes. So he said it is a battle but that battle must be fought.

And on that subject of the psychology of wanting to be the enjoyer and the controller and the proprietor, it really amounts to wanting to be God. And Bhurijana Prabhu said that basically people walk around with that psychology. He said it is as if everyone wants to say, “Mmm. Excuse me, I have an important announcement to make. I am the center of the universe and everyone should cooperate with me and do what I want, what I say.” Another time he commented that people envision their lives as a drama or movie in which they are the hero or heroine and everyone else is the supportive cast. So you can imagine the scope for conflict because I am thinking, “I am the hero; you are meant to support me in my exploits,” but the other person is thinking, “No, no, you are not the hero; I am the hero. You are supposed to support me in my exploits.” And so there is conflict.

But if we keep Krishna in the center, that He is the hero, and we are the supporting cast for Him, then there is no conflict; we can all live in harmony with each other and with Krishna. As it is said, first make peace with God, so we make peace with God and accept Him as the center as He should be, and then naturally our relationships with each other are peaceful and harmonious.

So these are some of the lessons that we can derive from the history of the battle between Lord Rama and His devotees and Rāvaṇa and his army.

We have almost come to the end of an hour, not fully, but we have almost come to the end of an hour, so thank you for joining and giving me your association. And now we will open the floor, open the microphone to you if you have any questions or comments. Hare Krishna.

Amrita-nandini devi dasi: Hare Krishna Maharaja. How do we get the mercy of Radha-Krishna and Vaishnavas?

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. The natural way to get their mercy is through humble submission and sincere efforts to please them, which means doing what they want. If I ask someone to do something and then he or she does it, then I will be pleased. If they do it with the right attitude in the correct manner.

So Krishna and Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā told us what they want us to do and basically they want us to taste Krishna consciousness, relish Krishna consciousness, and spread Krishna consciousness, distribute Krishna consciousness. So if we do those two things, they will be pleased, and then they will give us our mercy.

There is a very interesting discussion in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about whether the Lord is partial or impartial. And the answer is that He is impartial, but He may appear to be partial based on His reciprocating differently with different people. And the example is given of a teacher in a classroom, especially in the type of class where students work at their own rate, so the teacher gives everyone the same lesson, but some students complete the lesson sooner. They grasp the material earlier. So the teacher will give that student more. But it is not because the teacher is partial and favors that student, but it is because that student, by his or her own behavior, has come to the stage of being ready for the next lesson. So, although the teacher deals differently with different students, it is not based on partiality, but it is based on the student’s ability to learn and perform.

So, in the same way, the Lord is equal to all of us, but according to how quickly we pass a particular test, He will move onto the next chapter, so to speak, but whatever our position, we should not give up, we should never stop. We shouldn’t think, “Oh, someone is making more progress than I am, so I am just going to give up.” You also continue with your efforts and you also be successful.

Sudhveer: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My question is we see that Lord Rama’s army is made up of monkeys and other living entities, nonhuman living entities, whereas in the case of Rāvaṇa we see that there were many expert men and trained generals also. So, I was trying to understand the deeper meaning in how this final victory is achieved. My final understanding is that, when as individuals one may possess any amount of material abilities or opulences, but if one doesn’t utilize them in the service of the Lord, then the success is not achieved in the devotional path. Is that a correct understanding and could you also shed some more deeper thoughts on this particular principle or observation?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. As it is said, kṛṣṇa rākhe māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rakhe ke, that if Krishna wants to kill someone, who can protect him, and if Krishna wants to protect someone, who can kill him. So this was demonstrated in the fight between Rama and Rāvaṇa because as you may know, Rāvaṇa was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Often the demons worship demigods. So during the fighting, Rāvaṇa prayed to Lord Shiva for help and Parvati, Lord Shiva’s consort, approached her husband that, “Rāvaṇa is your great devotee and he is in trouble now. So, why don’t you help him?” And Lord Shiva replied that, “When the Personality of Godhead Ramachandra wants to kill Rāvaṇa, what can I do?” So, it is the same idea, kṛṣṇa rākhe māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rakhe ke: if Krishna wants to kill someone, who can protect Him?

Our first and foremost endeavor in every situation should be to be aligned with the Lord’s desires and to be in His camp and not in the opposing camp of demons or materialists, karmis, jnanis, yogis, and what not. So yes, it is very important, that has to be first and foremost, to be aligned with the Lord.

Ankit Golati: Maharaja, as you mentioned, it is always a battle that has to be fought to get the mind focused. So, how to develop the strength to fight the battle?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada said strength means intelligence and intelligence develops by hearing. So, by hearing about the importance to chant with attention and by hearing about the process by which we can chant with attention, you will develop that strength and determination. And in every area, good association is very important. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said 90 percent of Krishna consciousness is association. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura, specifically on the point of japa, he recommends that one should chant with devotees who have taste.

Of course there are other factors: rising early in the morning, chanting during brahma-muhūrta, chanting in front of Tulasi devi, chanting in front of the Deities; all of these things bolster us in our efforts to chant with attention. And prayer. Also, to look at the words to the holy name as you chant them can also help. I have two maha mantras on my altar—one in Devanagari script and one in English script. And it definitely helps that while you are chanting Hare, you look at the Hare word. Then Krishna, you look at the Krishna word. 

So yes, it is a battle, but there are techniques that we can adopt that will help us to be successful in the battle.

Vaibhava dasa: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Maharaja, how can one develop humility and how can he make sure that he is making progress in Krishna consciousness?

Giriraj Swami: Developing humility and making progress in Krishna consciousness go together. Once someone asked His Holiness Radhanath Swami how he became so humble, and I happened to be in the room, and Maharaja replied that in the beginning he practiced acting in a way, like they say, “Fake it until you make it,” he practiced acting in a humble way and eventually it became a habit. Srila Prabhupada quoted a habit is second nature. And Srila Prabhupada gave us the advice or instruction that we should address each other as Prabhu. Prabhu means “master.” So that means we become the servant of the Prabhus, of the masters. But we should mean it when we say “Prabhu.” Like once Srila Prabhupada said, “Not like, ‘Oh Prabhu, please bring me my slippers.’ Not like that. ‘You are my Prabhu; I am your servant. How can I serve you?’” And Srila Prabhupada said that if someone asks us to do some service, we should always agree, and if someone offers to do some service for us, we should always refuse. So this is a way of developing humility. Of course, sometimes, for the sake of the service, for the sake of pleasing guru and Krishna, we do take help in our service, and as long as it is for guru and Krishna, not for us personally, then it is okay. 

But that was the basic instruction that Srila Prabhupada gave us. And if we think about ourselves, it is actually quite easy to be humble. Bhurijana Prabhu says that when you chant and you realize how hard it is just to control your mind, you can become humbled by that. We think we are such big controllers; we can’t even control our mind long enough to hear one whole mantra. So that is humbling. 

And yes, we do make mistakes along the way, and if we think of those mistakes, it can be humbling, which is good. But we shouldn’t. . . like sometimes they ask people, they ask what’s the difference between being humble and low self-esteem. Low self-esteem is considered being negative whereas being humble is considered positive. So one answer is that being humble doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself, but it means thinking of yourself less and thinking of Krishna and the devotees more.

Shyama Kishore dasa: Maharaja, please accept my obeisances at the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. We hear that Krishna accepts the mood of any devotional activity whether it is japa or any service, so how can I get the spiritual strength to maintain that mood which will be interesting or pleasing to Krishna during sadhana?

Giriraj Swami: You have to desire. Everything is based on desire. By his grace, Aindra Prabhu used to say when you chant, you should cry for Krishna, and if you can’t cry for Krishna, you should cry because you can’t cry for Krishna. And if you can’t cry because you can’t cry for Krishna, you should cry because you can’t cry because you can’t cry for Krishna.

Yes, we have to have that intention. I am not sure if I exactly answered your question. Would you like to rephrase your question?

Shyama Kishore dasa: Yes, Maharaja. That was very inspiring. If you could shed more light on how I can maintain my inspiration continuously because while rendering the service or while chanting, to maintain that inspiration to offer my heart and my mind to service and to Krishna and to guru.

Giriraj Swami: I would say by good association. So much comes from good association. Like we didn’t know anything until we met Srila Prabhupada, and part of our inspiration came from his teachings, but a lot of our inspiration came from his example. And I know from my own experience with japa, I think of my godbrothers who are serious about japa and how they chant. And the same for other elements of devotional service. I think of their examples and of course the more we can associate with advanced devotees, chant with advanced devotees, serve with advanced devotee, then their mood will rub off on us. 

Shyama Kishore dasa: Can association also mean praying to the previous acharyas, praying to Srila Prabhupada? Is that also association?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. That is not what I had in mind, but that is also a way of associating. Certainly.

Shyama Kishore dasa: I hope what you are saying can be revealed in my heart more and more as I try to practice.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Well, Krishna gives the answer in the Bhagavad-gītā, teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te: “To those who constantly worship Me with faith or love, I give the intelligence by which they can come to.” So Krishna will help you. He will give you the intelligence. . . that you are constantly endeavoring to please Him.