SB 2.3.17 – Srila Prabhupada’s Final Instruction

Giriraj Swami: So, to begin, I would like to request the devotees on Zoom to put your cameras on so I can see them.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: [foreign]

Giriraj Swami: And when I speak, will you be translating?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, I will begin by leading a short kirtan, and then I will speak on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja, we can start now.

[Prayers]

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So, again, for the devotees on Zoom, please turn on your cameras so we can see you nicely. So, because we are leaving one year and entering the next year, I thought to read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the cycles of time. We shall read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service,” Text Seventeen.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 17

āyur harati vai puṁsām
udyann astaṁ ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta
uttama-śloka-vārtayā

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

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

COMMENT

This verse and purport are about the passing of time, and we are conscious of the passing of time now, because the year 2020 has already passed, or is almost passed. And the year 2021 is about to begin, or has just begun. So, here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada says, “This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service.” Acceleration means to go faster, accelerate means to go faster. So, we are already engaged in devotional service, but time is passing, the clock is ticking, we don’t know how much time we have. So, we should accelerate, we should go faster.

PURPORT (continued)

Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values.

COMMENT

Our life is made of time. The duration of our life is made of time, and how we utilize our time means how we are using our life. And we should use our time to realize spiritual values, to progress in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada had a good friend in Bombay named Brijratan Mohatta. Brijratan Mohatta was a very wealthy industrialist. He was married to the daughter of R.D. Birla, and the Birla family, at least then, was the richest family in India.

Srila Prabhupada was very expert in speaking in the language of his audience. Srila Prabhupada said to Mr. Mohatta, “In the ledger of your life, there is a profit and loss. Any time used in Krishna consciousness is profit, and any time wasted outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.” So, any businessman, or anyone, will want to maximize his profit and minimize loss. So, we should utilize our time by glorifying the all-good Personality of Godhead, or in other words, in Krishna consciousness, by chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

At the time of death, if we want to increase our duration of life by even a minute, by paying any amount of money, we cannot do so. That means that our time is so valuable, and if we waste even a second, we cannot buy back that second for any amount of money. So, we should be very careful about how we use our time.

PURPORT (continued)

Human life is simply awarded to a living entity (jīva) so that he can realize his spiritual identity and his permanent source of happiness. A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness, because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.

COMMENT

The Lord is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ. He is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge. So, our nature is to be happy, but our original nature is covered by material contamination. But it is our nature to want to be happy and to try to be happy. We all experience this.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada often gave the example of a fish out of water. If you take a fish out of water and put it in a golden bowl, and put precious gems and jewels in the golden bowl, light incense, and create all sorts of comfort, the fish will not be happy. Because the fish is a creature of the water, and the fish can be happy only in water.

Similarly, we are creatures of spirit, and we can be happy only in the spiritual atmosphere, with Krishna. No matter how much we try to pamper ourselves with material comforts and gratification, we will not be happy; we will be like the fish out of water.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity. But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere. A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities.

COMMENT

As Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad-gītā, mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ, “The living entities are My fragmental parts and parcels, and they are eternal.” So, we are eternal parts and parcels of Krishna, and we can be happy only in relationship with Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities. The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him.

COMMENT

We have already established, or understood, that we cannot be happy materially, we can be happy only spiritually. And being happy spiritually means coming in connection with Krishna. The word yoga means to connect, to link. So, we can be happy only in connection with Krishna. And how do we come in connection with Krishna?

Here in the purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that Krishna’s name, His form, His qualities, His pastimes, His entourage, and His personality are all identical with Him.

PURPORT (continued)

Once a person comes in contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened.

COMMENT

So, this is how we should utilize our time, and if we do so, we will attain perfect happiness and eternal life. Nobody wants to die, and whatever happiness we experience in the material world, we cannot really enjoy fully because of fear of death; our own death, and deaths of loved ones.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Bhagavad-gita 2.40 the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. A slight beginning of such activities is sufficient even to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears.”

COMMENT

Someone might think, I want to come in contact with Krishna and I’m ready to engage in devotional service, but what if I’m not successful? But in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says, “There is no loss or diminution in this process of devotional service.” So, ultimately, there is no chance of failure. We can be successful in this very lifetime, but even if we are not completely successful in this lifetime, we’ll get the chance to continue in the next life from where we left off.

Any material progress you make in this life is lost at the time of death. For example, if you learn to speak six different languages, but when you die, you lose everything, and in your next life, you begin as a baby with “Ga ga ga,” you don’t know any language. But whatever progress you make spiritually, stays with you. So, say, you make 10 percent progress in this life, so in the next life, you will begin with 11 percent. One will eventually achieve success.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

Aural reception, aural means through the ear, a-u-r-a-l.

PURPORT (continued)

Aural realization of the transcendental message implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts.

COMMENT

So, coming in contact of the Lord through the messages injected in the ear by the pure devotee, that realization will lead to complete realization of the Lord, that’s the idea.

PURPORT (continued)

This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Sukadeva Goswami prepares one’s complete life for eternity. And thus, the sun fails to rob the pure devotee of his duration of life, inasmuch as he is constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purifying his existence.

A moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead.  Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate.

COMMENT

Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā that one who attains to His abode never has to take birth again in this material world.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

So generally, we don’t want disease or old age, but they serve a purpose, they remind us that we cannot be happy or live permanently in this material body. Therefore, we should accelerate our devotional service so that at the end of this life, we can go back home, back to Godhead, where life is eternal, full of bliss, and full of knowledge. Of all the processes of devotional service, the most important and the most effective are śravaṇaṁ, kīrtanaṁ, hearing about Krishna and chanting about Krishna, chanting Hare Krishna. Yes, especially chanting the holy names, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

This is today’s verse, which was chosen especially for the end of the year, or the beginning of the new year. So, it is also a tradition to make new year’s resolutions. So, most resolutions take the form of “dos,” things that I resolve to do; and don’ts, things that I resolve to not do. Vedic wisdom tells us that all dos and don’ts should support one main do, “Always remember Krishna, or God,” and one main don’t, “Never forget Him.”

Now practically, what can we do to always remember Krishna and never forget Him? The processes most favorable for remembering Him are chanting and hearing His holy names; the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and chanting and hearing His transcendental topics, such as what we are doing right now, uttama-śloka-vārtayā. And in broad terms, the processes most obstructive to remembering Him are mental speculation and sense gratification, especially vicious activities against Vedic principles or God’s laws, which include eating meat, taking intoxicants, engaging in illicit sex, and gambling.

So, for our new year’s resolutions, we can resolve to increase our chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, especially on beads, and increase our reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books. And we can resolve to decrease or stop activities unfavorable to Krishna consciousness. And the Lord will help us in our efforts, for God helps those who help themselves. So, we wish you a happy new year in Krishna consciousness by the grace of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Thank you, Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, thank you for organizing the program and thanks to all of you who joined the program. So, do we have time for questions and comments?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: All right. So, anyone who wants to speak, you can raise your hand. And again, everyone please turn on your cameras.

Rajasurya dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Hare Krishna.

Rajasurya dasa: First of all, I just want to say thank you for your association because it’s a new year here, and this is the first Bhāgavatam class in this year. We are very blessed to hear from you, Maharaja, through the Zoom. So, I just want to say thank you for being here and giving us such an important message.

I understood that time is very important, we shouldn’t waste any time, but sometimes we do play games, Maharaja, somehow. Even though we know the chanting is good, we try to chant many rounds, but somehow, I don’t get so much taste in chanting, so I have to stop. And sometimes listening to class also, one after another, but still, after two or three classes, then I need to play some games or listen to some music. These things are coming and disturbing me, Maharaja, I don’t know how to read it out Maharaja, maybe you can help me a little bit. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Well, the basic principle, as I mentioned, is smartavyaṁ satataṁ viṣṇum vismārtavyaṁ na jātucit, one should always remember Krishna and never forget Him. Now, in principle, you can remember Krishna in a variety of engagements or activities. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that when he and his sister were children, they used to fly kites, but they were praying to Krishna that their kites should stay in the sky. So, even while flying kites, they were Krishna conscious.

So, there are so many services that you can do for variety, to keep you engaged. But even if you engage in some recreational activity, even in that, you can remember Krishna. Taking care of your health is also part of Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada would take his morning walk every day, but he was Krishna conscious. He would take a massage every day, but he was Krishna conscious. But of course, things that are against the principles, like gambling, those of course we should avoid. Yes, just always remember Krishna, never forget Him.

Rajasurya dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. It helps me a lot.

Giriraj Swami: Good, good, thank you. You do book distribution?

Rajasurya dasa: Yes, Maharaja. Recently, Gita-jayanti, so we try to get books, local books. About seventy books, just recently, we have distributed, Bhagavad-gītā.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, Srila Prabhupada liked book distribution, so we should try to do book distribution. Mangala Arati, it looks like she is unmuted but we still can’t hear her.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja, Mataji is writing in chat box.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, in the meantime, should we go on to someone else?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Malati dasi is raising her finger.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Mataji, you can unmute yourself.

Malati dasi: Yes, I have done it. Can you hear me, Guru Maharaja?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Mataji.

Malati dasi: Thank you so much for your wonderful class, Maharaja. I had a question. You said taking care of your health is also Krishna consciousness, but I feel as Matajis or ladies, if we put your time in health in the morning, you lose up on your chanting. If I used to do yoga for one hour, I used to struggle with my chanting. Your day is so packed, the whole day it’s difficult to then concentrate on your chanting in the afternoon time. So, how to get about your health then?

Giriraj Swami: Well, based on what you said, can you do your chanting in the morning and do your yoga in the afternoon? Unmute, Malati. I mean, I can see you are saying no.

Malati dasi: Sorry, Maharaja. It’s not so peaceful, Maharaja. If I go for yoga, obviously, at home, I need peace. And for chanting also, you need silence, you need to hear your rounds. So, it’s difficult both ways. I have actually left it on health and taken up chanting because I cannot lose up there.

Giriraj Swami: Correct, you cannot lose the chanting.

Malati dasi: Yes, Guru Maharaja. I’ll try and take care of my health in the afternoon or evening, if I can, I’ll do that.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Malati dasi: Thank you, Maharaja.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Mataji wants to hear your pastimes with Prabhupada. Prabhupada’s pastimes with you, a few things.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I just wrote an 800-page book about it. Then there are two more books about my association with Srila Prabhupada that still have to come after this. But do you have a specific question, or a specific request?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Maharaja, incidents during Juhu Temple time.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Well, that’s a big topic, but I’ll speak a little about one part of the story. So, the Juhu Land was owned by a demon named Mr. Nair. Once, I gave a talk about some of the things that happened in Juhu, and I used the word demon. Afterwards, my godbrother Virabahu Prabhu told me, “I don’t usually like when devotees use the word demon, but after hearing what you said, I agree that these people actually were demons.” 

So, Mr. Nair was trying to cheat Srila Prabhupada, and he did many terrible things. One day, I was walking in Bombay, and at least in those days, maybe now, there were vendors who would sit on the sidewalk, on the footpath, with newspapers and magazines that they would sell. So, I happened to look down, and I saw a big headline in the newspaper, “A.B. Nair is dead.” And I felt so happy, I felt like dancing in the street. But then I thought, We are trying to be saintly persons. Is this a proper way to respond? So, we felt we had to inform Srila Prabhupada.

At that time, there was a devotee more senior to me, and in a way, more experienced with Srila Prabhupada, named Bali Mardan. And so, Bali Mardan phoned Srila Prabhupada and gave him the message. Then, maybe a week later, we received a letter from Srila Prabhupada. It was addressed to me and to some of the devotees and supporters. Prabhupada’s servant, Srutakirti, took the call, and he ran back into Srila Prabhupada’s room. He said, “Srila Prabhupada, that was Bali Mardan on the phone. He wanted to tell you that Mr. Nair is dead.” Prabhupada joined his hands together above his head as if in prayer, and he said, “Oh, thank you, Krishna. I prayed that Krishna would kill him because that’s so much difficulty. He gave so much trouble to the devotees. I was praying that Krishna would do something to this demon.” And he quoted a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.14:

tad yaccha manyum asuraś ca hatas tvayādya

modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā

lokāś ca nirvṛtim itāḥ pratiyanti sarve

rūpaṁ nṛsiṁha vibhayāya janāḥ smaranti

Prahlada Maharaja said, “Even a saintly person becomes pleased when a snake or a scorpion is killed.” Then Prabhupada said, “Nair was a big snake, so it is very good.” And later that day, Prabhupada wrote to us in Bombay, “This morning, Srutakirti received a telephonic message from Bali Mardan. It is understood that Mr. Nair is dead, so it is good news that Nṛsiṁhadeva has killed a demon like him. It is a matter of great pleasure for all devotees.”

So, I got my answer, that it was all right to feel happy, because even saintly persons take pleasure when a snake or a scorpion is killed. I see two hands up, Inmi and Ramaipandit. 

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Prabhuji, you can ask a question and you can unmute yourself. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, Ramaipandit.

Ramaipandit dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Am I audible, Guru Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: You are audible and visible.

Ramaipandit dasa: Thank you so much, Guru Maharaja. Guru Maharaja, thank you so much for such a wonderful class, and it’s such a wonderful gift on the first day of new year to have your darshan and to be able to hear you. Thank you so much for that. Guru Maharaja, my question is regarding reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. How do we become more consistent in reading Srila Prabhupada’s books? Because some days, we have lots of time to read, and some days it’s so busy with your services and other things, that it becomes very difficult to give not more than ten minutes or fifteen minutes. And you would like to give more time but you can’t because of other reasons. So, how do you become more consistent, and how important is it to give a particular set of time for Srila Prabhupada’s books, let’s say, one hour or two hours every day, and to follow that religiously?

Giriraj Swami: In general, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to read his books for an hour a day, or two, or three. But sometimes if we have a lot of service, we can’t. I had my own experience with Srila Prabhupada. In India, Srila Prabhupada was keeping us very busy in the early days, and I wasn’t finding time to read, and I was feeling guilty about it. So, I came before Srila Prabhupada in his room in Calcutta. I didn’t say anything but he could read my mind, and he quoted a verse, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.18, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā.

And he said that by serving the person Bhagavat or reading the book Bhagavat, one gets the same results. And he said, “If one serves the person Bhagavat, all the truths of the book Bhagavat will be revealed to him.” In some extraordinary circumstances, you might not be able to read so much. Like you said, maybe just ten or fifteen minutes a day, but if possible, you should include an hour or more in your schedule to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Okay?

Ramaipandit dasa: Thank you, thank you so much, Guru Maharaja. I’ll follow that, I’ll try to follow that.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Neeta Mataji. You can unmute and ask, Mataji.

Neeta Mehra: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Neeta Mehra: Maharaja, this time, I distribute the Bhagavad-gītā books.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful!

Neeta Mehra: Two cartoons, two cartoons.

Giriraj Swami: Two cartoons!

Neeta Mehra: Yes, Guru Maharaja.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, I’m asking a question on behalf of Neeta Mehra Mataji. She is trying to focus on chanting now, but she feels that her mind keeps wavering. So, to have more focus, she started to play Prabhupada’s maha-mantra. But still, she feels that the mind is wavering and she cannot focus on chanting and she is not able to focus on chanting, she keeps thinking about other things.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Well, there are some factors that can help. First is to chant early in the morning, beginning before sunrise. The best time is during the brāhma-muhūrta hours, which begins an hour and a half before sunrise. And it’s good to chant in front of tulasi, chant in front of Deities, and chant with other devotees who are serious about chanting. And when your mind wanders, you have to just bring it back to the sound of the holy names. And before each round, chant the Pancha-tattva mantra, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda. The Pancha-tattva, as Srila Prabhupada said, will help you to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Neeta Mehra: Okay, Guru Maharaja, I will try my best, whatever you say. Thank you so much, Guru Maharaja. Thank you so much, Guru Maharaja. Nowadays, I go to maṅgala-ārati also Radha-Rasabihari and Jagannatha temple also.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. Yes, that’s a very good way to begin the day, with maṅgala-ārati.

Neeta Mehra: Yes, Guru Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: So, are there any other questions or comments?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. There is one devotee asking, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Mataji.

Meera Bhakti Mataji: Hare Krishna, Mataji [foreign].

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Mataji wants to know, there is one Mataji who is worshiping Mahaprabhu’s Vigraha at home, but Mataji’s family members are not devotees. So, can she still worship Mahaprabhu at her home?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. But do they eat meat in the home?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes Maharaja, they eat meat, they eat fish. Yes, Maharaja. But that Mataji is dīkṣit, she is already a dīkṣit, and she cooks separately for herself and she serves the Deity.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, that’s all right, that’s all right. Mahaprabhu is very merciful.

Meera Bhakti Mataji: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: I think no more questions, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: No more questions?

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, so then we can end now. We will conclude by offering Vaishnava praṇāma.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami:

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

Ananta-koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! ISKCON Myanmar ki jaya!

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Thank you so much for giving us your most precious association, we feel very blessed. Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Thank you for arranging the program and for translating.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Thank you, Maharaja. Please keep blessing us, keep blessing ISKCON and the devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I will do my best. And again, I wish you all a happy Krishna conscious new year.

Devaki Karuna devi dasi: Thank you, Maharaja, happy Krishna conscious new year. Thank you, Maharaja, Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.