SB 2.3.17

Host: Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So, we heartfully welcome HH Giriraj Swami Maharaja. Maharaja, myself Rambhadra dasa, I’m serving as the temple president in Gurugram here in ISKCON Delhi NCR. So, we are happy and blissful to have your divine association to the ISKCON Gurugram devotee, we are very fortunate, hardly we get your association Maharaja. And thank you for giving us your precious time and your energy to the conditioned souls like us. So, we are very, very fortunate to have your association, Prabhupada disciple amongst us. And just wanted to give Maharaja a short introduction to the devotees, although all the devotees know you well, but still. Hare Krishna.

So, HH Giriraj Swami Maharaja is ISKCON GBC of Bombay and Mauritius and South Africa and Spain and Portugal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Maharaja, you can correct me if I’m wrong anywhere in the introduction.

Giriraj Swami: I was the GBC of those places.

Host: Okay, okay, okay, yes, Maharaja. So, HH Giriraj Swami was born in Chicago, US, and he met Srila Prabhupada in March, 1969, while studying in the Brandeis University in Boston, and considered that he has learned more from Srila Prabhupada in five minutes than he had learned in his twenty years of academic education.

Maharaja was later initiated by Srila Prabhupada with the name of Giriraj dasa, and Maharaja quickly became a leading member of Boston center and he was soon given the opportunity to travel to India and help establishing Prabhupada’s mission in India.

And then 1972, Maharaja was appointed by Srila Prabhupada to become president of ISKCON Bombay and a trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Since then, Maharaja had many significant contributions to Srila Prabhupada’s missions, mostly notably:

1. Overseeing all the aspects of the development of Hare Krishna land in Juhu, Bombay.

Recently, Maharaja has launched his wonderful book also, so I request all the devotees to please have a look, and you can purchase the book, recently Maharaja launched it.

2. Maharaja was an instrument in the acquisition and development of the Bhaktivedanta ashram in Govardhana.

3. Maharaja led the development of the kirtan ashram for the women.

4. Also, Bhaktivedanta Hospice in Vrindavan.

5. The Vrindavan institute of palliative care.

And then 1977, Maharaja was awarded sannyasa and appointed the president of ISKCON board of trustees in India. And then 1980, he was appointed to ISKCON GBC, and he went to oversee the Society’s activities in Bombay, Mauritius, and South Africa, Spain, and Portugal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. And then, Maharaja has taught at Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education, and is still continuing the lecturing and giving presentations at the japa retreats and workshop globally. Following the order of Srila Prabhupada, Giriraj Maharaja written his books which are:

Watering the Seed, Many Moons, Life’s Final Exam: Death and dying from the Vedic perspective.

So, Giriraj Swami Maharaja has been renowned for the austerities he has accepted, his loyalty and dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, his ability to raise funds and cultivate important members of society, and his care for the devotees around the world.

So, this is the latest book of Maharaja, “I’ll Build You a Temple,” this is completely Juhu temple stories, how much the hard struggle was there to build the temple. So, this book was launched on January 14th, 2021, on Makara-sankranti—the 43rd anniversary of the grand opening of the Juhu temple. So, I can just read the statement here: “It was our greatest good fortune to be able to associate with Srila Prabhupada, and through this book, I want to share with you that good fortune and give you his association.”

So, let’s welcome HH Giriraj Swami Maharaja by loudly chanting. For chanting Hare Krishna, you can unmute yourself, and let’s welcome loudly by chanting, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Thank you. Hare Krishna. So, you can correct me, Maharaja, if I made any mistakes in the introductions. So, over to you Maharaja, thank you. Thank you for your advice again.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you for arranging this program. I will begin by saying the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan, and then I will read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Host: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: So, I would like to request the participates of Zoom to put on your cameras. I see many of you do have your cameras on, but then we can see you more personally. So, I will read one verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, Text Seventeen. This chapter is entitled “Pure Devotional Service.”

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Again, we read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, Text Seventeen: “Pure Devotional Service.”

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.

COMMENT

So, I will be speaking as I read the purport, so it might not be so useful to keep the purport on the screen.

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

So, just in this one sentence, the first sentence in the purport, Srila Prabhupada has said so much, “This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life.” So, first, the basic, fundamental point is that we, the living entity, are different from the physical body. This is the first instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā, na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre, that the soul is not killed when the body is slain. So, the living entity, the jīvātmā, is transmigrating through 8,400,000 species of life. And of those 8,400,000 species of life, only four hundred are human forms of life, including the demigods on the higher planets. So, the human form of life is actually very rare, and one may have to pass through 8,000,000 species before coming to the human form of life. But while we are in the human form of life, we should utilize it for the best purpose, for the purpose for which it is meant, which is to realize our eternal relationship with God, or Krishna. And this verse, “By rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone” reminds us that time is passing, the clock is ticking. And therefore, Srila Prabhupada says here, “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.”

Accelerate means to go faster. We’re already engaged in devotional service but time is passing, the clock is ticking, we don’t know how much time we have. And so, we should accelerate. Like in a car, one pedal is called the accelerator. When you step on that pedal, then the car goes faster. So, we have to step on it, we have to accelerate our devotional service because we don’t know how much time we have.

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

So, Srila Prabhupada had a good friend in Bombay named Brijratan Mohatta, who was very intelligent and very wealthy, he had been the wealthiest man in what became Pakistan. And he was married to the daughter of R.D. Birla. The four Birla brothers were the wealthiest family in India. And Srila Prabhupada was very expert in speaking in the language of his audience. So, he told Mr. Mohatta that, “In the ledger of your life. . .” Every businessman will keep a ledger; profit and loss. So, “In the ledger of your life, everything done in relation to Krishna consciousness is profit, and everything done outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.” So, that was a very striking statement because every businessman, I mean everyone, would want to minimize his losses and maximize his gains, or profit. So, coming back to the purport. . .

PURPORT (continued)

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

In other words, loss.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

At the time of death, we may be willing to spend any amount of money to prolong our life even for a moment, but we can’t. When the time comes, we have to leave this body, and no amount of money can buy us more time. So, we can just consider how valuable is our time, we cannot put a price tag on it, it’s so valuable. And therefore, we should be very careful about how we use our time, how we use our time means how we use our life, and be mindful to use every moment in Krishna consciousness. Now, we do have to spend some time on maintaining the body, and especially in grihastha ashram, to discharging our family responsibilities. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that such activities are not a violation of the principle of using every moment for Krishna consciousness, because such activities are required to keep the body and soul together for serving Lord Krishna. But it is also true that we should try to minimize the amount of time we spend on maintaining the body. The Bhagavad-gītā says we should not eat too much or eat too little, sleep too much or sleep too little. So, we should find the proper balance and progress in Krishna consciousness.

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.

COMMENT

So, here Srila Prabhupada gives further elaboration on the purpose of the human form of life. He has already said that it is meant for reviving our lost relationship with Krishna, and here he says it’s for realizing our permanent source of happiness, which means that our permanent source of happiness comes in relationship with the Supreme Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.

COMMENT

Yes, Krishna is sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, a form of eternity bliss and knowledge. And we, jivas, are part and parcel of Krishna. And therefore, we have the same nature as Krishna, which is sac-cid-ānanda. But our nature, our original spiritual nature, is covered by this physical body and more so by our material consciousness. But our nature is to be happy. The Vedānta-sūtra says ānanda-mayo ‘bhyāsāt, the absolute truth is full of ānanda, or bliss, and we are part and parcel of the Absolute Truth. So, we are also meant to be blissful. But again, because accepting material body and material consciousness, we are not feeling blissful, until we revive our Krishna consciousness.

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

So, we have an expression in English, “Like a fish out of water.” A fish is a creature of the water, and if you take the fish out of the water and put it in a golden bowl and fill the bowl with precious gems and jewels and light incense and spray perfumes and create all sorts of facilities for the fish, the fish will not be happy, the fish can be happy only in water. Similarly, we are creatures of the spirit, and although we may try to pamper ourselves with all sorts of material conveniences, because we are creatures of the spirit, we can be happy only in the spiritual atmosphere, and then we will find the happiness that we seek.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities.

COMMENT

So, in the very first sentence, Srila Prabhupada wrote that we should utilize the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Now, how do we come in touch with the Lord? Srila Prabhupada addresses that question next.

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage, and personality are all identical with Him. Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened.

COMMENT

So, our whole effort here is to come in touch with the Lord by His name, nāma, rūpa, guṇa, līlā—His name, His forms, His qualities, His pastimes, and so on, and then we feel happy. Even in our beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti, we feel happy. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written a book called the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which Srila Prabhupada has presented as a summary study, as the Nectar of Devotion. And there are six general characteristics of devotional service; two of them are prominent in the stage of sādhana-bhakti, two are prominent in the stage of bhāva-bhakti, and two are prominent in the stage of prema-bhakti. The two that are prominent in the stage of sādhana-bhakti are; devotional service brings immediate relief from all distress, and pure devotional service brings all auspiciousness. So, from the very beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti, we get relief from material distress, and we get auspiciousness. And Rupa Gosvami describes different elements of auspiciousness, and one of the elements is happiness. So, from the beginning stage of sādhana-bhakti, we experience happiness in devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

So, this is a very important verse from the Bhagavad-gītā, and it says even a little advancement in devotional service saves one from the greatest fear. And what is the greatest fear? The greatest fear is that we will fall down into a lower species of life and lose the chance to realize our lost relationship with God. So, even a little advancement will save one from the greatest fear, and there is no loss or diminution in this effort. Material things are lost at the time of death. For example, one may be a brilliant linguist, he may know many languages, he may be a wonderful orator, he may be able to speak beautifully. But when he takes birth in the next body, he begins like any other baby, ga ga ga ga, he doesn’t know any language. So, what he had gained materially in his previous life is lost, but as Krishna says, in the Bhagavad-gītā of devotional service, there is no loss or diminution. So, in the next life, we continue where we left off in the present life, in devotional service, because there’s no loss.

So, suppose we’ve progressed 1 percent in Krishna consciousness, then in the next life, we get we begin from 2 percent. Or if we progress 50 percent, then in the next life, we begin from 51 percent. So, in this process, there is no loss or diminution, and even a small progress will save one from the greatest fear.

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

So, we’re talking about uttama-śloka-vārtayā, topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. So, just as a drug injected in the veins acts very efficiently, it’s immediate. If there’s a serious case, they inject, it works much faster than taking pills, for example. So, when these topics are injected into the ear by the pure devotee, it acts very efficiently.

PURPORT (continued)

Aural. . .

COMMENT

That’s a-u-r-a-l, through the ear.

PURPORT (continued)

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

COMMENT

So, it all comes from this aural reception. And in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, tac chṛṇu, “hear from Me.” And in the nine processes of devotional service, the first is śravaṇam, hearing, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ

smaraṇaṁ.

PURPORT (continued)

Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts. This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī 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. Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

COMMENT

So, by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except those who utilize the time discussing topics of the all-good personality of Godhead. But actually, the living entity has no death, he is by nature eternal, but he experiences death because of the material body, which he has gotten due to his material consciousness. But when we’re purified, when our consciousness is purified, then we don’t have to take another physical body, and thus, we attain our eternal blissful life.

PURPORT (continued)

This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī 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. Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

The materialistic way of pious activities like charity is recommended in the smṛti-śāstras as quoted by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Money given in charity to a suitable person is guaranteed bank balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be given to a brāhmaṇa. If the money is given in charity to a non-brāhmaṇa (without brahminical qualification) the money is returned in the next life in the same proportion. If it is given in charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa, even then the money is returned double.

COMMENT

It’s a good investment.

PURPORT (continued)

If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times, and if the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

COMMENT

So, what is the path of the Vedas? In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo, that by all the Vedas, He is to be known. So, one who is a veda-pāraga, (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), is really one who knows Krishna. And if the money is given to such a person, such as Srila Prabhupada, the money is returned by unlimited multiplication. Now, how is that possible? Because everything in the material world is limited, so my understanding is that the unlimited return must be given in the spiritual world.

Once, Srila Prabhupada visited Hong Kong, and Bhurijana Prabhu arranged for Srila Prabhupada to be received at the airport with the Rolls-Royce limousine, and then taken to the penthouse suite of the Hong Kong Hilton hotel for a press conference. At the press conference, one of the reporters asked Srila Prabhupada, “You’re supposed to be a spiritual person, why did you ride in a Rolls-Royce limousine?” And Srila Prabhupada replied that, “I come from the spiritual world and everything in the spiritual world is made of cintāmaṇi stones, spiritual gems, which are far more valuable than any gem of this world. So even if they had picked me up in a solid gold Rolls-Royce, it would not have been to the standard. So, you asked why did I ride in a Rolls-Royce car? Well, the answer is that that was the best they could offer, so I accepted it.” [laughter] 

And after Hong Kong, Srila Prabhupada came to Bombay, and he told me that story. And then at the end, he said, “What else can you say to such envious people?” But now coming back to this purport. . .

PURPORT (continued)

If the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

COMMENT

Which to me means in the spiritual world, which is fine.

PURPORT (continued)

The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ).

COMMENT

We already made that point.

PURPORT (continued)

There is a guarantee of money’s being returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion. Similarly, a moment. . .

COMMENT

Again, a moment.

PURPORT (continued)

. . .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

That’s a line from the Bhagavad-gītā, that one who attains to Krishna’s abode never has to take birth again.

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, we may not like old age or disease, but the old age and disease remind us that this physical body is not a happy place, this material world is not a happy place, duḥkhālayam, it’s a place of misery, Krishna says. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam, place of misery and temporary.

So, old age and disease can be an impetus to us to accelerate our Krishna consciousness and realize our eternal life with Krishna. And of course, especially in Kali-yuga, the main process is chanting the holy names, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. So, whenever we have time, we should chant. At one talk in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you’ve got time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense, chant Hare Krishna.”

So, yeah. So, thank you very much, and if you wish and if there’s time, we can take questions and comments.

Host: Yes, yes, Maharaja. We have questions from the devotees. So, thank you very much for giving such a wonderful session, Maharaja, enlightening and giving your really divine atmosphere and divine association. We are really out of the water, so with your presence, we got a spiritual atmosphere, as you were mentioning in this class. So, we’re happy to be in the water of your association spiritually. And it’s really auspicious, as you were mentioning, that in sādhana-bhakti, the first thing we’ll get in this human form, the happiness, auspiciousness, and then really free from our greatest fear, and I like this point. Greatest fear mean we may fall in the lower species of life and lose our relationships with Krishna, it was really heart-touching personally to me.

And your last story with Srila Prabhupada, sometimes devotee asks this question, and what about the need of this ISKCON? It’s a very opulent organization. The sadhus, they roam in a very big, big car. So now, thank you for wonderful enlightenment, Maharaja. Of course, a devotee should not hanker, but it’s all very wonderful answer by Srila Prabhupada, “They should provide me golden car. I’m from the Vaikuntha, where people use the jewels car and diamonds, so they are giving the thing.”

And then Prabhupada shared with, “What else you can convey? These are envious people.” So, thank you, thank you very much, Maharaja, for your really enlightening and very encouraging, spiritualizing association. So yes, we have the questions from the devotees, and devotees can ask the questions to Maharaja. Yes, Jeevan dasa Prabu, you want to ask?

Giriraj Swami: Namada Jeevan dasa?

Host: Yeah, yeah.

Jeevan dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. May I ask a question?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Jeevan dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja, as Rambhadra Prabhu was saying, it was very wonderful to have your association, we are feeling blessed. My question is, Maharaja, we as in sadhaka, we do our sadhana and we get sevās also. So, then we find a difficulty between maintaining time between sadhana and sevā. So, can there be any time we can maintain the situation, we can maintain a balance between our sadhana and sevā?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t know if Srila Prabhupada used the term, but devotees talk about the transcendental sandwich. That in the morning, we have our spiritual program, and in the evening, we have our spiritual program. And then in the middle, we have our sevā, as you say. But we should be sure to chant our minimum sixteen rounds and read Srila Prabhupada’s books or hear the classes, and that will give us impetus and energy for our sevā.

One time, I spent the night with Vaisesika Prabhu at his home in Burlingame, California, which is very near the airport. He chose that location so that he could go to the airport to distribute books, and he had a very intense morning program at home. I mean, he did many of the things that we do, but with incredible enthusiasm. And then afterwards, we spoke, and at the time, he was planning his book, which he subsequently did write, called “Our Family Business,” about book distribution. And he said that he wanted to make the point that our enthusiasm to preach or distribute books should come from the overflow of the bliss we feel from our spiritual practices, from our morning program.

So, the two are very intimately connected. Good sadhana gives us enthusiasm for sevā, and sevā gives us impetus for good sadhana. So, we have to find a balance and maintain the balance, and what may be a proper balance at one time may not be the proper balance at another time, so we may have to make adjustments. But yeah, that’s a very good question.

Jeevan dasa: Thank you so much, Maharaja. So, we understand we need to be very focused on our morning program so that we get a spiritual strength to perform our sevās.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Jeevan dasa: Thank you so much, thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Hare Krishna, Rasika Kesava Prabhu, do you have some question?

Rasika Kesava dasa: Yeah, Hare Krishna, thank you. Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you so much for enlightening us on such wonderful words from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is such a dream come true to have your darshan, we read about you in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta. So, it’s such a special moment for all of us. We have one question, Maharaja. Maharaja, we have read that you have been instrumental in constructing India’s first ISKCON temple Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji in Juhu, and you have personally seen the struggles and how Srila Prabhupada has engaged so many influential people from the society to serve Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji and all the devotees. But in our present times, we have so many other avenues to advance spiritually, we have YouTube, and we feel like there’s no need to go to temple, but we have to. So, what is the importance of a temple in our lives? If you can enlighten us on what would be the role of a temple in our lives, especially in current times.

Giriraj Swami: Well, you may get many things on YouTube and Zoom, but one thing you won’t get is prasāda. So, if for no other reason, you should go to the temple for prasāda. But also, it’s important to have that personal interaction with devotees, to chant with devotees, hear with devotees. I mean, now with the lockdown, we may be limited in what we can do, but certainly, when we have the opportunity, we should take advantage of it, yeah. But fortunately, we can get association now through Zoom and YouTube, and so on. That’s a great fortune for us. Hare Krishna.

Rasika Kesava dasa: Thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Host: Okay, Anadi Gopinatha Prabhu, you have some question? Yeah, you need to unmute.

Anadi Gopinatha Prabhu: Thank you, thank you. Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Maharaja, it’s an honor and blessing to get your divine association today and hear from you, it’s truly, truly special for all of us. With your permission, Maharaja, I wanted to ask you, do we really need to do a self-analysis of how we’re growing in Krishna consciousness, and how important it is, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Well, to come back to the example of the businessman, he will do a calculation at the end of the day, how did he do, what was the profit or loss. So, that’s natural. And Srila Prabhupada also said that at the end of the day, when we take rest, we should think back on the day and what we did and what we could have done better. So, we do want to take an assessment. But then again, we shouldn’t spend too much time on that assessment. We do want to monitor our activities and progress, but we want as much as possible to use the time, uttama-śloka-vārtayā, to use the time in topics of Krishna, service to Krishna. So, yeah. I don’t know if that answers your question.

Anadi Gopinatha Prabhu: Yes, yes, Maharaja, it does. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Hare Krishna. Thank you, thank you, Maharaja. Maharaja, I have a question expanding Krishna consciousness and applying the principle of organization and intelligence, because Srila Prabhupada, I think, told you especially how to balance this organization and intelligence as a person, as a community development. So, how to use this principle? Because sometimes if we give so much time in organization and intelligence, then we lose on sadhana. And when we focus so much on sadhana, then we’ll trap in a different way. So, you might enlighten us with the statement of Prabhupada using ‘intelligence and organization.’

Giriraj Swami: Well, again, it’s a matter of balance. I mean, Srila Prabhupada did say ‘organization and intelligence.’ And definitely, if we want to spread Krishna consciousness, we have to be organized and use our intelligence. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t do our sadhana, of course, we have to do our sadhana. So, it’s a matter of balance. Yeah, I mean, ‘organization and intelligence’ goes everywhere, I mean it’s required everywhere. Community development, certainly it’s required there as well.

Host: Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: And as my godbrother Sridhar Swami Maharaja used to say, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” So, we have to plan. [laughter]

Host: Thank you, thank you, Maharaja. Maharaja, we have a lot of questions from the devotees.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Host: Yeah, Aruna Madhavi Mataji, you have a question?

Aruna Madhavi Dd: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Aruna Madhavi Dd: Maharaja, my question is that you talked about balancing the spiritual practices we do on daily basis and our bodily duties also. And the question is, how do we understand the thin line difference where we will not cross that wall of sense enjoyment, in balancing these two things together?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, well, the main thing is to be sincere in your desire to be Krishna conscious and not look for some loophole through which you can indulge in sense gratification. Because, yeah, sense gratification does not lead to happiness, it actually leads to distress. So we should be aware of that fact and take what we require to keep our body and soul together, but not indulge the senses.

In 1971, we were with Srila Prabhupada in Gorakhpur, and we were staying in a state called Sri Krishna Niketan, which used to be the personal residence of Hanuman Prasadji Poddar of the Gītā press. And one day, he called me into his room and he said, “Do you ever think of getting married?” And I said, “No, except I see that most of the GBCs are married.” I thought being a GBC meant they were maybe on a higher platform. And Prabhupada said, “You will never be GBC.” And then he said, and it’s a principle in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he said that, “The demands of the body are like itches. And if you scratch the itch, you might get some temporary relief, but then it will come back worse. So, it’s better to tolerate.” And yeah, he said, “Not just sex, but all the different urges of the body.” So, keeping in mind that sense gratification leads to misery and that as a rule, it’s better to tolerate the urges than to indulge them, yeah, you should just do what’s necessary and not more. And chant, chanting cleanses the heart, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ, and it gives you a higher taste. And when you actually experience the higher taste, then you think, Why should I waste my time in this inferior pursuit of sense gratification? It’s better to use that time for a better purpose, which will bring me greater happiness.

Host: Thank you so much, thank you so much, Maharaja.

Aruna Madhavi Dd: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Host: Giriraj Prabhu, do you want to ask a question?

Giriraj dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās, all glories to Prabhupada. Thank you so very much, Maharaja, for giving us your association. It was so wonderful to take your darshan and hear from you.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

Giriraj dasa: I just wanted to ask, Maharaja, when are we going to get the book “I Will Build You a Temple”? And if you can speak a little about it, it would be wonderful, Maharaja, for everybody.

Giriraj Swami: Oh!

Giriraj dasa: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, here’s the book, and it was released, as mentioned, on Makara-sankranti, the anniversary of the grand opening of the Juhu temple, and it’s being distributed in north India. I don’t know all the details, but I think I saw a list of all the different centers that they were going to supply books to, and maybe, I think, Gurugram was on the list. Where exactly are you?

Giriraj dasa: Gurugram only, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it should be coming, I can check, I’ll definitely make sure that it will come. And I just saw in the chat, someone’s saying you can pre-order on www.thejuhustory.com. But I’m pretty sure it’s going to be delivered to. . . Let me see. . . No, we won’t do that. I’ll make sure you get a copy.

Giriraj dasa: I don’t know, I just want everybody. . . Maharaja, if you can speak some incident or something from the book or anything, it’d be wonderful, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Oh my, it’s so much. Well, I’m sort of in two minds here, although they’re related to each other because the same devotee of Srila Prabhupada was involved in both, his name was P.L.Sethi, he was a very staunch devotee of Srila Prabhupada. So, I could speak about how he faced the enemies after they destroyed the temple, partially demolished the temple, and then we wanted to rebuild it and they were threatening that we can rebuild it, but they’ll tear it down again. And the leader of that group, Pushpakant Mhatre, he said, “Well, you can rebuild it, but I’m going to come with fifty gundas and break it down again.” So, Mr.Sethi said to his son, Brijmohan, ”Brijmohan, bring my revolver and my rifle.” And then he said, “How many cartouche,” that means cartridges, “How many cartouche do I have?” And Brijmohan said, “250.” So, Mr. Sethi said to Pushpakant Mhatre that, “Fifty gundas won’t be enough, you have to bring at least 251 because I’m going to kill 250.” [laughter] So, he was very staunch, and Prabhupada really appreciated that kshatriya spirit. So, maybe I’ll read that since somehow, I was inspired to speak about it, I’ll find that. Okay, so. . .

READING from I’ll Build You a Temple

During the temple reconstruction, Mr. Sethi had demonstrated his kshatriya spirit for which Prabhupada expressed his appreciation, and also teaching us a lesson that sometimes a fighting spirit was required. “In this way, we have to fight,” he later said. “We should not be afraid for these rascals, why should you be afraid? If they take to goonda-ism, we shall engage fifty goondas, ‘Come on, let us see.’ We have to maintain that spirit. Anyaya ye kare prabhu ara anyaya ye sahe. Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry, ‘One who does wrong and one who suffers wrong—he is wrong.’ One should not do anything wrong; one should not suffer anything wrong. That is human. If somebody does harm to me, wrong to me, I cannot suffer it. I shall not do any harm to anyone, that’s our right. But if you want to give me suffering, I must fight you. Why shall I suffer it? That is kshatriya spirit. Yuddhe chāpy apalāyanam. If you are challenging, then, ‘All right, come on, I accept this challenge.’ We have to do like that.”

Prabhupada was referring to the verse in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.43) describing the qualities of the kshatriya:

śauryaṁ tejo dhṛtir dākṣyaṁ
yuddhe cāpy apalāyanam
dānam īśvara-bhāvaś ca
kṣātraṁ karma svabhāva-jam

“Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the kṣatriyas.” Prabhupada continued, “If somebody is atatayi, aggressor – ‘you unnecessarily attack me; I must first kill you. That is my duty.’ Just like you have done here, Sethiji, ‘I’ll bring my revolver.’ That is argumentum ad baculum. Here they wanted to put us into trouble, and he was in great trouble. So, he came and stood, ‘All right, come on, we shall fight. Bring my revolver.’ He did that. So, we have to do like that. Why shall I tolerate unnecessary injustice? Take that spirit.”

COMMENT

And then, Prabhupada quoted Krishna’s instruction.

READING (continued)

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.7.53–54, Krishna Himself instructed Arjuna, “A friend of a brāhmaṇa is not to be killed, but if he is an aggressor he must be killed. All these rulings are in the scriptures, and you should act accordingly.” “If there’s a fight,” Prabhupada said, “we must be prepared to fight.”

Mr. Sethi mentioned me, that I had supported him, and I responded referring to him, “He is very heroic. He was very heroic.” “Yes,” Prabhupada said, “He’s a kshatriya.”

Then, Mr. Sethi told us about his experiences fighting at the time of the partition between India and Pakistan. “In the Pakistan time,” he said, “I fought forty, fifty men.”

“Yes,” Prabhupada confirmed, “That is kshatriya spirit. If you want to fight. . . So, you killed?”

 “Yes! So many times, so many times.”

 “You have got experience.”

 “Sometimes I’ve walked on the dead bodies.”

COMMENT

This is Prabhupada and Mr. Sethi.

READING (continued)

“Really?” Prabhupada said. “So many dead bodies. I was with four men at Pathankot. A tonga, a horse-drawn carriage, came with six Muslims, and they challenged us, ‘We will kill you.’ We said, ‘Yes, come on. You kill us? We will kill you, we fight.’ We were ready at that time because one revolver was with us and kulhari axe, and khundasa, curved sword. One my friend was from Gujrawala, he showed this khundasa and cut the first one’s head off, and he was running.”

And Prabhupada said, “Accha. Still running?”

“Running! In Mahābhārata, I heard that a body was running, but I actually saw it. His head was cut off, and the body was running.”

“Just see,” said Prabhupada, “and then he fell down.”

 “Yes, then he fell down, and after that, the other men went away.”

 “He was running with his mind, just see.”

“The mind is in the heart,” Hari-sauri added.

“That,” Prabhupada said, “these rascals do not know.”

 “The one man got out from the tonga,” Mr. Sethi continued, “and first we cut off his head, then all the others ran away. We saved all the fellows.”

COMMENT

See, by killing that one man, all the others got scared and ran away, and so he saved them. By killing the one man, he saved them.

READING (continued)

“Then all the others ran away, we saved all the fellows.” “That is also Krishna conscious,” Prabhupada said, “you see how many demons were killed by Krishna?”

Referring to the rebuilding of the temple, Mr. Sethi said, “I declared, ‘If they challenge us, I’m ready. Come on.” In the night at the temple, I challenged, ‘Come on! You are 150? We are not afraid.’ Then, when Mhatre came with that barrister to give Giriraj notice, I scolded and insulted him publicly.”

 “Therefore,” Prabhupada said, “Mhatre was so against, that we must stop this.” “Yes, I heard from that doctor that he was insulted by Sethi, ‘Either Sethi should go…’ Like that, he had repeated. He gave me a hint, ‘Remove this Sethi,’ but I replied, ‘I will not let that happen.’ And that doctor was Mhatre’s man, he also gave a hint, ‘Give Mhatre two lakhs of rupees.’ He was a canvasser on behalf of Mhatre, he wanted two lakhs. We will not give you a single paisa,” Mr. Sethi concluded. “We will fight you. Come on.”

COMMENT

That was a very good question, a request. It’s a pleasure.

Giriraj dasa: Thank you so very much, Maharaja, it’s so wonderful. We are eagerly awaiting. Devotees are saying in the chat that Tuesday, the book will arrive in Gurugram.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, okay.

Giriraj dasa: So, we’re eagerly waiting. And Prabhupada said, “It was a good fight, someone should write a book about it.”

Giriraj Swami: He did say that.

Giriraj dasa: Finally, it has manifested.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Giriraj dasa: So, thank you so very much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, pleasure, thank you.

Host: Thank you very much, Maharaja, for the nice story. I think you mentioned the place, Pathankot. So, this is my native place, Maharaja. I’m born and brought from same place, the Pathankot.

Giriraj Swami: Really?

Host: Yes, Maharaja. [laughter] So, I think he’s from Punjabi family, Mr. Sethi.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Punjabi.

Host: Yeah, he’s a Punjab. So, I was born and brought up from same place, Maharaja, and studied there only, Pathankot, and then Gurdaspur district. So, thank you, Maharaja, for bringing this. [laughter] The Punjabi people are mostly like kshatriyas, the sardarjis, the kshatriya spirit. Thank you, thank you. Maharaja, we have questions related to kids, and then one of our devotees leading kids is Hardik Prabhu. Hardik Prabhu, do you have questions regarding kids?

Hardik Kathuria: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you, Maharaja, for this wonderful class. Like devotees are mentioning, we hear about Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta. But it is the first time that I am seeing and hearing you, so it was my great honor to hear from you. Maharaja, I have one question. You mentioned very nicely about one who takes up to the process of devotional service, then very easily he gets relief from material distress, and he gets auspiciousness. There are two qualities of sadhana that you mentioned.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, yeah.

Hadrik Kathuria: So, Maharaja, in this particular context, I’ve heard and sometime what happened that we want the kids, especially the devotees, they want their kids to come into devotion because through this, they can develop all the good qualities, and later, they can be used into their material success. So, in one line, should bhakti be used for gaining material achievements like this?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I’m not quite following, but the children of devotees will be known as children of devotees, generally. And so, if they do well in their studies, it reflects well on Krishna consciousness, that people think, “Oh, this child is coming from a Hare Krishna family and he’s doing very well in his studies.” So, that’s a good recommendation for Krishna consciousness. Yeah, we’re not against material success, so-called material success, because anything can be used in Krishna’s service, including their success. So, we’re happy. And often, devotees’ children do well in their studies because they’re disciplined, they have good habits, they don’t do bad things. So, it’s nice for the children to grow up in Krishna consciousness, and they can also serve Krishna by being good at what they do, as examples of devotee children.

Host: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Hadrik Kathuria: Thank you, Maharaja, this answers the question. Hare Krishna.

Host: Haribol! Hare Krishna. Ok, who is there next?

Narmada Jeevan dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances in your lotus feet. Thank you, Maharaja, for giving early morning darshan and wonderful association. Maharaja, you were saying in reference of the Nectar of Devotion, that in the sādhana-bhakti, two things come, all auspiciousness and immediate relief to all distress. So, Maharaja, but is it applicable to the devotees who are now coming to the Krishna consciousness and chanting maybe one round or four rounds, or is it for the devotees at least chanting sixteen rounds, or at least spend some use in Krishna consciousness. So, because sometimes devotees say, “No, it is not for us, it is for the pure devotees, pure souls.”

Giriraj Swami: Well, Rupa Gosvami has given a definition of bhakti, which is considered the paribhāṣā-sūtra of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, which means it’s the essential verse that governs all the other verses. So, these generic characteristics of devotional service apply to devotional service, as defined by Rupa Gosvami, which is, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ, that means ‘without having any other desire,’ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, ‘not being covered by karma or jnana,’ and so forth, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ. Ānukūlyena means ‘favorable to Krishna’s pleasure,’ ānukūlyena kṛṣṇā, yeah, devotional service to Krishna, not any demigod or anyone else, ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-śīlanaṁ. So, śīlanaṁ means ‘cultivation,’ and ānu has two meanings. Ānu means to follow, like Rupanugas were the followers of Rupa Gosvami, and ānu means continuous, it’s a continuous cultivation. Bhaktir uttamā, that is devotional service. So, if someone comes with that mood, even being in the stage of sādhana-bhakti, he will get those results. But I don’t think we can say that someone who just casually meets the devotees and then starts chanting one round will get the full effect. He’ll get some effect, even by that little touch, he’ll get some effect, but he’ll really experience it when he takes up the process seriously.

Narmada Jeevan dasa: Thank you, thank you, Maharaja. That has cleared a lot of doubts because certain times, the situation occurs when we go and preach about it, a senior devotee or the other devotees say that it is not for the beginners. Once you reach a level, then you can have or experience these two points. But it clears a lot of points, so immediately when we start chanting, so we’ll start get a relief. Thank you, thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Can we go ahead with more questions, Maharaja? We have two, three devotees left.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Host: Yeah, Radhapadadhuli Mataji, do you want to say anything? Yeah, you can unmute.

Radhapadadhuli dasi: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Radhapadadhuli dasi: So, regarding the books, they have reached the warehouse in Agra, and we should be getting it very soon. By Tuesday or Wednesday latest, I’ll make sure that the book reached the Gurugram bookstore, I’ll connect with them. Dhanajaya Prabhu has given me their number, but I was just waiting for the books to come before I connected. This is just to update.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, wonderful news, wonderful news.

Radhapadadhuli dasi: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, thank you Mata. We have Navadvipa Prabhu. I’m unable to read the full name because. . .

Giriraj Swami: Candra, Navadvipa-candra.

Host: Navadvipa-candra Prabhu, okay.

Navadvipa-candra dasa: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Navadvipa-candra dasa: Guru Maharaja, my question is also related to the point that you made about Rupa Gosvami where you said that Rupa Gosvami says that one who performs devotional service in the beginning stage, will experience happiness. But we also hear a verse in the Bhagavad-gītā, which says that initially, it is poison, and later, it is nectar. So, how do we understand these two points?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, it doesn’t have to be poison in the beginning, you can get nectar from the beginning also. But yeah, for someone who’s very materially conditioned, it may be like poison in the beginning and nectar in the end. But for most devotees, in my experience, it’s nectar from the beginning. It might be a little hard to get up at four o’clock for maṅgala-ārati in the beginning, it might be a little hard to shave your head in the beginning, but overall, it’s nectar.

Navadvipa-candra dasa: Hare Krishna, thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Navadvipa-candra dasa: Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. There’s one question from Bhuvana Mohini devi dasi, “Maharaja, my question is, how to get rid of envious nature?”

Giriraj Swami: And where is she?

Host: Mataji is here.

Giriraj Swami: Is she in Zoom? I’d like to see the people in person if they are here.

Host: Yeah, Mataji can switch on the camera if she’s here?

Giriraj Swami: She is? Okay, well, can she ask her question? Oh, there she is, there she is.

Host: Yeah, she’s here.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. So, can you ask your question personally? You have to unmute yourself.

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Am I audible?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Maharaja, I want to ask how to get rid of envious nature? May I ask in Hindi and Prabhuji can you translate in English?

Host: Yeah, yeah. Your English is better than mine. [laughter]

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Okay. [Unintelligible 01:48:13]

Host: So, Maharaja, Mataji is saying that when sometimes we see the devotee doing something very extraordinary, and we get impressed by this feeling of, “the devotee is doing something extraordinary, but I am not able to do that.”

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: No, I am not asking that. I’m asking that [Unintelligible 01:48:50]

Host: Okay. She is saying in the beginning, we are impressed but later on, we feel that we are lacking, something like that. Maybe some other devotee can help if I am wrong somewhere.

Giriraj Swami: I mean, yeah, it might happen that. . . What she described, I don’t see enviousness in this question.

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Yes, yes.

Giriraj Swami: Anyway. [laughter] So, I asked Srila Prabhupada about envy, and I will tell you what he said. So, this was way back in 1970 when we were in Surat, and I became aware of enviousness in my heart, and I didn’t like it. Although I would try not to act on it, I would be careful, but still, I didn’t like it. I felt that it was disturbing my attitude towards devotees, and it could disturb my relationships with devotees. And also, I reasoned that there’s actually no reason to be envious because Krishna is unlimited and His service is unlimited. So, if someone is doing some service, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be any service for me, so why should I be envious that they’re doing that service? I can do some other service. So, I thought of all these reasons why not to be envious, but still, that feeling was there.

So then, I approached Srila Prabhupada in Surat while he was taking his massage, and he said, “Can you think of any reason why you should not be envious?” And I’d already been thinking about all these reasons why not, and so I replied, “Yes, yes, I can think of many reasons.” Then he said, “So, to be envious means that you don’t like somebody, and that not liking should be directed towards demons who are causing trouble to devotees, that not liking should not be directed towards devotees.” And that was Srila Prabhupada’s answer.

And later, I saw that he was echoing the statements of Narottama dasa Thakura about how these different, you could say, bad qualities, what are ordinarily considered bad qualities, can be dovetailed in Krishna consciousness. So, I mean, if somebody’s doing well, better than you, then you can feel that you should appreciate their service. You can desire to do better than them, to excel them, to give more pleasure to Guru and Krishna, but that is what Prabhupada called transcendental competition, it’s not envy. In envy, you don’t admit the good qualities or the good service of the other person. In transcendental competition, you recognize their good qualities and their good service, but you want to do better to please Guru and Krishna.

Host: Thank you, Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: It looks like her lips are moving but she needs to unmute.

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Thank you, Maharaja, Hare Krishna. It is a kind of anxiety when I cannot do the things like others, when I cannot do sevā so much, sevā in the temple, then it is a kind of anxiety, “Others are doing so much, and I am not able to do so much sevā like that.”

Giriraj Swami: Why are you not able?

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Because of household works, and because I’m slow in doing work. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Just do the best you can do. Don’t worry about what they’re doing, just do the best you can do. If you want, you can pray that you can do more, you can pray that you can do more, but just do your best.

Bhuvan Mohini devi dasi: Okay. Thank you so much, Maharaja, Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: Okay, thank you so much, Maharaja. Prashant Prabhu, you want to ask some question?

Prashant Sharma: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Prashant Sharma: Hare Krishna, Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. I’m really feeling blessed and fortunate in your presence, and I never thought that I would get a chance to talk with you directly, and for that, I want to thank his grace Rambhadra Prabhuji.

Host: Maharaja is giving his full time, Maharaja is opening his heart for all of us. So, thank you, please go ahead.

Prashant Sharma: Maharaja, I have a question. If you allow me, I can proceed.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Prashant Sharma: Hare Krishna. Maharaja, in your lecture, you have told us that at time of death, our material things completely deteriorate. Especially if you are a good orator or a good philosopher or a thinker, then it will end at the time of death. I was thinking that material deterioration means things, which are tangible materially. But being a good orator or a philosopher or a thinker, one needs to be deep in his thinking, or one needs to have elevated consciousness, so with that skill, he can touch the heart of people, with that thinking and realization. And we also see in Bhagavad-gītā, Puruṣottama-yoga section, the Lord said to Arjuna, “This soul takes the consciousness as wind takes the fragrance of flowers to the next body.” And we also see child prodigies are there from very beginning, some are very good at some particular skills, and we have examples in our history also. And we also say that there are purva samskara. So, how we can understand this, Maharaja, that these kinds of skill also? Because I have a very little understanding of Krishna consciousness, that’s why I’m not able to completely comprehend it. Thank you, Maharaja, that is my question.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, what you said is a combination of spiritual and material, but the progress you made in Krishna consciousness will continue in the next life, and that covers many of your examples. As far as child prodigies and things like that, that’s a question of their karma. Everyone is born with a certain karma, which is usually a combination of good and bad, so to speak. And so, yeah, that’s a good karma. And yeah, it may be continuing from their past life, yeah, there may be some continuation, but it’s not guaranteed. But in some cases, it may happen. Whereas the continued progress in Krishna consciousness is guaranteed.

Prashant Sharma: Yes, Maharaja, yes, Maharaja. I got it, yes, Maharaja. Maybe there’s something that depends upon the consciousness at the time of death that we have and the realization that we have in Krishna consciousness. Have I got it right, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, our Krishna consciousness will continue in our next life, we’ll continue from where we left. Other things may or may not continue according to our karma.

Prashant Sharma: I got it, Maharaja. Thank you, Maharaja, thank you very much for the. . .

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.

Host: Thank you, thank you, Maharaja. We have Mridula Govind Prabhu. Do you want to ask a question? Please unmute yourself.

Mridula Govind dasa: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you for this great time that you have answered questions for us, also a great opportunity for us. I am wondering about a basic question I have, how to increase the dependence on the Lord? I mean, I want to give a practical example. In 2019, when this election was going on, in my mind, I was sort of too much worried that if the Modi ji does not win, the things will be very bad, like that. I mean, that was the question coming in mind because so much negative publicity was going on, and somehow, this feeling was not going. So, I felt that I’m not depending completely on Krishna. I mean, how to increase our dependence on Krishna? We know theoretically that whatever Krishna decides or He desires, it will happen. But still, this anxiety comes sometimes when we feel too much about something. I thought you understood my question.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t know how responsible Krishna is for who wins the election. Of course, Modi is very favorable to Krishna consciousness. So, in that sense, I think Krishna would want him to win. But as far as you’re being disturbed about it, why were you disturbed?

Mridula Govind dasa: No, not disturbed. I mean, I was sort of anxious that he must win. Otherwise, we’ll feel bad because we have suffered so much in the previous thing, I mean as a Hinduism, and it may not survive. Because we have seen these examples in other countries also, that if it’s not protected, I mean, I don’t know what will happen, something like that.

Giriraj Swami: I don’t see anything wrong with that. Do you think there’s something wrong with that?

Mridula Govind dasa: No, I just want to understand how is this.

Giriraj Swami: No, I don’t think that’s wrong. I don’t think that’s wrong. Yeah, I am glad he won. [laughter]

Mridula Govind dasa: Okay, Hare Krishna. I thought I’m missing something. Thanks, Maharaja.

Host: Thank you. Vishakha Mataji?

Vishakha dd: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances, Maharaja. Happy Ekādaśī, I just feel like wishing this to you.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

Vishakha dd: Maharaja, if I may ask you a question, what is the best thing that one can offer to their spiritual master. And also, what is the best thing that one can offer to Krishna? If you could kindly help me understand.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, our general program is to taste Krishna consciousness and distribute Krishna consciousness. So, we should relish and we should share. But as far as a more specific answer, can you ask your spiritual master?

Vishakha dd: Yes, Maharaja, yes.

Giriraj Swami: I mean, when Srila Prabhupada visited Atlanta, Georgia, many devotees from all over came there, book distributors. And when Srila Prabhupada was there, one of the devotees asked him, “How can we please you the most?” And they were expecting that he would say, “By distributing my books,” because Srila Prabhupada said that often. But this time, when they asked, “How can we please you most?” He replied, “If you love Krishna.” So, that’s our ultimate goal. Premā pumartho mahān, it’s our ultimate goal to love Krishna. And the services we perform are meant to please Krishna and help us to awaken our love for Him.

Vishakha dd: Okay. Thank you, thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Vishakha dd: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Yeah, the best thing you can offer is your love, in other words. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ

yo me bhaktyā prayacchati, the only ingredient is love, bhakti.

Vishakha dd: Thank you, Maharaja.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. We have Sumit Kapoor too.

Sumit Kapoor: Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. Maharaja, as you mentioned, I mean, family life. So, my question is, when we prioritize our day like the morning program, and then we have to attend the office, and then evening also there are some other things that need to be taken care of. So, should we spend more time on attending all the programs in the temple? So, what should be done in the beginning stages of Krishna consciousness?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the morning program is very important. Yeah, if you can attend the morning program, and it’s early, so, under ordinary circumstances, you should be able to attend the morning program, and then do your other services. But the main thing is sixteen rounds, and second is reading, which includes attending the class, that counts as reading. And then service. I mean, once or twice, Srila Prabhupada said, “First comes health, second comes sadhana, and third comes service.” And then another time, the way he put it, “First comes health, second comes chanting, third comes reading, and fourth comes service.” But our chanting, it’s a prayer to be engaged in service. But yeah, sometimes if we’re not feeling well and we can’t do everything, then we may have to choose and give priority, as Srila Prabhupada mentioned.

Anything more on this one?

Host: Okay, yeah. Thank you, Maharaja, and we have last question from Rishika. That’ll be two.

Rishika: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Rishika: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Wait, how old are you?

Rishika: Eight years old.

Giriraj Swami: Eight years old, okay.

Rishika: Maharaja, when I do chanting, my mind runs away. So, how many rounds should I do, and how to do my mind in chanting?

Giriraj Swami: Those are very good questions. Do you have some minimum number that you do now?

Rishika: Maharaja, I said that I will do eight rounds, but I do six rounds, not properly at least.

Giriraj Swami: So, you do six rounds every day, that’s your minimum?

Rishika: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: And if by chance you miss one day, do you make it up the next? Or do you always finish your six?

Rishika: Sometimes I do four, sometimes I do five, and sometimes I do two, and sometimes nothing.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, no, no, no, no. You have to pick a minimum, even if it’s only one, but you have to pick a minimum, and then you must do that without fail. And if by chance you miss, then you do the next day.

Rishika: Okay. And I love to read books of Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: You love to read books of Srila Prabhupada?

Rishika: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Good, good for you, that brings joy to my heart.

Rishika: Thank you. Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: So, thank you, thank you very much, Maharaja. Really, we are very grateful and blissful and very, very enlightened with your divine association. We were not hoping that you’ll give us two hours, Maharaja. So, generally, Maharaja, all the Maharajas, they just give a lecture and then they have so many engagements, Maharaja. So, of course, you also have many engagements, but still, you opened your heart for ISKCON Gurugram devotees. So, we are very, very grateful, and we’d like to have your association in the future also, Maharaja, best if we can have your offline association, we can have some seminars if you can spend some time here. Devotees really want to take your association, and we will be very much grateful, and thank you so much. Let’s thank Maharaja by loudly chanting Hare Krishna maha-mantra. You can unmute yourself now, and we can loudly thank Maharaja by loudly chanting Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Devotees: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Host: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Well, thank you.

Host: I hope that Maharaja’s book is coming soon, Wednesday, like Mataji said. So, all of you can get the book and you can take Maharaja’s association through the books. And Maharaja had written many wonderful books, so you can take the association of Maharaja through his books. So, thank you, Maharaja, again, for your kind association. You are so merciful to all of us here, Maharaja. So, we beg for your future association also.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. So, if we’re ending now, I suggest we conclude with vaiṣṇava-praṇāma.

Host: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami:

vāñchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca
kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

ananta-koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda—kī jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! ISKCON Gurugram ki jaya!

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.