SB 7.9.19 – Guaranteed Protection

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Hare Krishna, dear devotees, on behalf of ISKCON Farmington Hills, we are very happy to welcome you all this Sunday Feast program. Today, we are very, very fortunate to have with us HH Guru Maharaja, who has very kindly agreed to give us his wonderful association and to speak among us. Thank you so much, Maharaja, we are very, very grateful.

For our purification, a few words in glorification of Maharaja. Maharaja appeared in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. Maharaja met Srila Prabhupada in the year 1969 and got initiation in the same year. In 1972, Maharaja was personally appointed by Srila Prabhupada to oversee the construction of Juhu temple, practically all the aspects of the temple construction. And in 1978, Maharaja received sannyasa, and Maharaja has made amazing contributions to ISKCON in a great way, which are unparalleled, and many, many such services, many, many such projects, most notably, Juhu temple, followed by Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Govardhana.

Maharaja was very instrumental in acquisition and also development of this project and Kirtan Ashram for women, Bhaktivedanta Hospice, Vrindavan Institute of Palliative Care, all in Vrindavan. And in the year 1982, Maharaja was appointed as the GBC in ISKCON. Maharaja was overseeing many places like Bombay, Mauritius, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, many such places.

And Maharaja is the author of many wonderful books, such as Watering the Seed, Many Moons, and Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective, and the most awaited book, here is this book, I Will Build You a Temple: the Juhu Story. And this book, I would say, is the most awaited book of the decade, if not the century. Thank you so much, Maharaja. And the sentence, “I will build you a temple,” is not just a sentence, it’s a pure divine emotion.

And this book has come and [Unintelligible 00:19:07] has got quite a good supply for Farmington’s devotees and we’ve got a few boxes to Canada already, it is already here. So, those devotees here in the Farmington and Michigan area, please rush to get this book as soon as possible. Such a wonderful book. The second Chapter of the book, Facing the Challenges, itself is about two hundred and four pages. It’s an amazing book, please take it.

And Maharaja is presently based in California, and we are very, very grateful, Maharaja, that you agreed to speak among us. Thank you so much, Maharaja. Many devotees are there at the temple hearing your class, and also a lot of devotees on Facebook as well, along with Zoom. Maharaja, once again, we are very grateful, and let us all with gratitude chant three times loud Haribol to welcome Maharaja. Thank you so much, Maharaja. It’s all yours, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Again, we read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Nine, Prahlada Pacifies the Lord with Prayers, Text Nineteen.

TEXT 19

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha

nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ

taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas

tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām

TRANSLATION

My Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent. For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents.

COMMENT

Once, I was sitting with Srila Prabhupada in his room at the back of Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, and in the distance, he heard a child crying, and he quoted this verse, that the parents do not want the child to suffer, but in spite of the parents’ desires and efforts, the child is suffering and crying. So, Srila Prabhupada saw the world through the eyes of shastra, and he related that sound of the child crying in the distance to this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And actually, it is a fact.

PURPORT (continued)

Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.”

COMMENT

The question may be raised, why did Krishna ask Arjuna to make the declaration? Why did He not just make the declaration Himself? And the answer is that although Krishna is most truthful, He may on occasion break His word for the sake of His devotee.

One example is during the battle of Kurukshetra, Krishna had given His word that He would not take part in the fighting, He would not take up any weapon. During the battle, Duryodhana, who was the leader of the Kauravas who were fighting against the Pandavas and Krishna, challenged the great warrior, Bhīṣmadeva, that because of Bhīṣmadeva’s affection for the Pandavas, he was not fighting to his full capacity, which was a challenge to Bhīṣmadeva, sort of an insult, but definitely a challenge. So, Bhīṣmadeva replied, “Tomorrow, I will fight so valiantly and fiercely that either I will kill Arjuna, or Krishna will be forced to break His promise not to take part in the fight.”

And so it happened in the warfare, Bhīṣmadeva broke Arjuna’s chariot and Arjuna was in great danger. Bhīṣmadeva could have killed him, but Krishna intervened and He picked up a broken chariot wheel as a weapon, although He had promised that He would not take up any weapon, but He picked up a broken chariot wheel as a weapon and was rushing towards Bhīṣmadeva to stop him from killing Arjuna.

So, this is an example, a rare example, but it is an example of when Krishna broke His word to protect His devotee. And therefore, Krishna says, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati, “O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” Because if Krishna’s devotee makes the declaration, Krishna will certainly uphold His devotee’s word.

PURPORT (continued)

Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.31), kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati: “O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial measure can act effectively.

COMMENT

So, we may adopt various methods to counteract the miseries of material existence, but unless they are sanctioned by Krishna, they will not be successful. Ultimately, everything depends on Krishna, and therefore, we should surrender to Him, as He advises in the Bhagavad-gītā.

TEXT 66

sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

COMMENT

And surrendering to Krishna means being relieved from material miseries, because Krishna says, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ, “I will free you, I will liberate you, I will free you from all sinful reactions.” And all of our suffering is due to sinful reactions. So, when we surrender to Krishna and He frees us from all sinful reactions, that means ultimately, He is freeing us from all suffering, and that should be our real effort.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore, unless one is protected by the mercy of the Lord, no remedial measure can act effectively. One should consequently depend fully on the causeless mercy of the Lord. Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures.

COMMENT

I’ll read that again because this is very important.

PURPORT (continued)

Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

In other words, if we are sick, as a matter of routine course, we can see a doctor and take medicine. But ultimately, the success of the treatment will depend on the sanction of the Lord or the mercy of the Lord. But it doesn’t mean that we should not make our own efforts and we just pray to the Lord to cure us. No, we must make our own efforts and ultimately, depend on the mercy of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

Although as a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this material world, everyone is trying to counteract the onslaught of material nature, but everyone is ultimately fully controlled by material nature. Therefore even though so-called philosophers and scientists try to surmount the onslaught of material nature, they have not been able to do so. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (13.9) that the real sufferings of the material world are four — janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi (birth, death, old age and disease). In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature.

COMMENT

So, we all want to avoid these miseries, but these four, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, birth, death, old age, and disease, cannot be stopped by any material means. They can be stopped only by surrender to Krishna by Krishna consciousness.

Birth, there have been so many efforts to stop birth, birth control, but birth is continuing.

Death, people have been trying to avoid death since the beginning of time, but death is always there, as sure as death.

Old age, nobody wants the miseries of old age and they may accept some cosmetic measures so that they don’t look like they are so old, but actually, they cannot stop old age, old age is relentless.

And disease, they want to stop disease but they can’t. Although they have invented so many new medicines, still, disease is continuing. If disease were to end, then all the hospitals should become empty, all the doctors and nurses should go home, there’d be no more disease. But to the contrary, disease is continuing, it’s increasing. There is always a clamor for more hospitals, more beds, more doctors, more nurses.

So, these four miseries, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, cannot be stopped by any material method, however we may try, but we can escape these miseries by surrendering to Krishna and going back home, back to Godhead.

PURPORT (continued)

In the history of the world, no one has been successful in conquering these miseries imposed by material nature. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ. Nature (prakṛti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws.

COMMENT

By surrendering to Krishna, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, this material nature consisting of the three modes, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, is very difficult to overcome. But mām eva ye prapadyante, one who surrenders to Krishna, māyām etāṁ taranti te, can easily cross over.

PURPORT (continued)

Nature (prakṛti) is so strong that no one can overcome her stringent laws. So-called scientists, philosophers, religionists and politicians should therefore conclude that they cannot offer facilities to the people in general.

COMMENT

So now, this is a real point. Scientists, philosophers, religionists, and politicians all promise that they will relieve people of their miseries, and they make efforts to relieve people of their miseries, but they cannot do so. The only way people can get relief is through Krishna consciousness. And so, Srila Prabhupada says.

PURPORT (continued)

So-called scientists, philosophers, religionists and politicians should therefore conclude that they cannot offer facilities to the people in general. They should make vigorous propaganda to awaken the populace and raise them to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

COMMENT

So, we’ve been reading how the parents cannot save their children from suffering. So, what are the parents to do? So, the real duty of the parents is to elevate their children to Krishna consciousness. And this is also stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Five, Chapter Five, Text Eighteen.

TEXT 18

gurur na sa syāt sva-jano na sa syāt

pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syāt

daivaṁ na tat syān na patiś ca sa syān

na mocayed yaḥ samupeta-mṛtyum

TRANSLATION

One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.

COMMENT

In other words, the duty of the parents is to ensure that their children do not have to take birth again. And the only way that the children can be assured of not having to take birth again is if they become pure devotees, if they become Krishna conscious. And therefore, the duty of the parents is to bring their children to Krishna consciousness, and in that way, they will be fulfilling their duty as parents. And they will, in an ultimate sense, be able to protect their children from the miseries of material existence.

PURPORT (continued)

They should make vigorous propaganda to awaken the populace and raise them to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our humble attempt.

COMMENT

This is Srila Prabhupada speaking, of course, in the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

Our humble attempt to propagate the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world is the only remedy that can bring about a peaceful and happy life. We can never be happy without the mercy of the Supreme Lord (tvad-upekṣitānām).

COMMENT

Upekṣāḥ means to neglect. So, if one is neglected by the Supreme Lord, one can never be happy.

PURPORT (continued)

If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.

COMMENT

So, our constitutional position is that we are eternal servants of Krishna, jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa, and if we act in our constitutional position as eternal servants of Krishna and please Krishna, then by His pleasure and mercy, we can be relieved from all material miseries. Otherwise, without the mercy of the Supreme Lord, whatever remedial measures we take will not be effective, will not be successful. So, our duty and our natural position is to surrender to the Lord and engage in His service and come under His protection, come under His shelter. And under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, we will be safe and secure.

When I first joined the Boston temple, every morning, we would sing a beautiful prayer. It’s actually a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and I will sing it now because it’s very relevant. It’s Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.14.58. The Sanskrit is beautiful and the meaning is beautiful.

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaṁ

mahat-padaṁ puṇya-yaśo murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaṁ paraṁ padaṁ

padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation.

COMMENT

Now, this shelter of the cosmic manifestation is mahat, mahat-padaṁ. Mahat can mean the total material creation, or it can also mean the great souls who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. So, both meanings are applicable.

TRANSLATION

For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada sometimes rendered the meaning that the ocean of material miseries shrinks to the size of a puddle contained in the hoof print of a calf. Although there is danger at every step, the devotee crosses right over it, steps right over it.

So, the other boat that we’ve been discussing, as mentioned in the verse, cannot guarantee protection from drowning. Like the Titanic was advertised as a boat that could not sink, and on its maiden voyage, the Titanic hit an iceberg and it sank, and so many important people were drowned. But the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord is guaranteed to carry us across the ocean of birth and death. And so, we should take shelter of those lotus feet and be happy in Krishna consciousness.

And of course, taking shelter of the Lord, it means many things, but it means taking shelter of His holy names, and therefore, we should be very regular in our chanting.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

So, thank you for joining us today for this wonderful discussion of the Lord’s mercy and our dependence on the Lord’s mercy. And now, we can take questions and comments from the participants.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Here is a question from Balabhadra Prabhu. Please unmute yourself, Balabhadra Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. So nice to see you and to hear this very timely discussion.

And I really have a reaction to it, and that is, here we are in the middle of a pandemic, and this is most appropriate to look at it like you said Srila Prabhupada does, through the eyes of shastra, and see that.

There are two sides I see going on. There are some people saying, “Get vaccinated, wear your mask, do all these things to protect yourself.” But really, we can’t protect ourselves unless our protection is sanctioned by Krishna. And the other side I see is people trying to protect us in another way and saying, “This is all a hoax and there is a conspiracy going on and you should protect yourself from the conspiracy.” But really, it’s the same thing, we can’t really be protected unless Krishna is protecting us.

So, that was my response to that and an appreciation to you for sharing this very important verse. So, thank you. I don’t know if you have any comments on what I had to say, if I’m looking at this correctly or not.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I did think the verse would be appropriate to the difficult times we are in. Of course, we are always in difficult times, but with the pandemic, times are more difficult than usual. But in relation to taking remedial measures, Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

As a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures.

COMMENT

And to my mind, it would include getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, keeping social distance. So, Srila Prabhupada says.

PURPORT (continued)

As a matter of routine duty one must of course accept other remedial measures, no one can protect one who is neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, as far as the other idea, “It’s a hoax, it’s a conspiracy,” I don’t think that’s the case at all, it’s real. But Krishna is more real, so we should take shelter of Krishna.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. I feel like I really need to continue to focus on my sadhana and make sure that that’s still an integral part of my life rather than focusing on these other issues. Yes, to go ahead and do my duty, get my vaccination, be safe out there, but the sadhana and the association and all the other things that are elements of Krishna consciousness are still very important.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes.

Devotee: So, thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

Host: [Unintelligible 01:00:06], please proceed.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. I just wanted clarification, Maharaja, on what it means to be neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because in the purport and the translation as well, it says, “One who’s neglected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Can you please clarify that, Maharaja? Daṇḍavat-praṇāmās.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham, as one surrenders to Him, He reciprocates accordingly. So, if one neglects Krishna, Krishna will neglect him. Of course, internally, Krishna is the father of every living entity, bījo ‘haṁ sarva-bhūtānām. And so, He cares for every living entity, but still, in terms of dealing, as He mentioned the word neglected here, if one neglects his relationship with Krishna, in this respect, Krishna will neglect him.

And that’s why Srila Prabhupada writes in the very last line of the purport, “If we keep displeasing our supreme father,” in other words, if we neglect Him, “If we keep displeasing our Supreme Father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.” So, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante, if one surrenders to Him, Krishna responds accordingly. And so, if somebody’s neglecting Krishna, then he’ll be neglected by Krishna.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Host: [Unintelligible 01:02:28], please proceed.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, please expect my humble obeisances, all glories to Prabhupada, all glories to you.

There is a question by Neema Gauranga Prabhu, he is one of the deaf devotees who’s joined in, and his question is that he has got two children, both boys, they are hearing, and his question is, him and his wife, both of them are deaf, and it’s very difficult to give Krishna consciousness to their children. So, he is saying, “How do we do that?” That is the first question. The second thing he is saying, “We encourage them to do service because we enjoy doing service to Krishna as well. Is that enough?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, the two main ways that parents can encourage their children in Krishna consciousness is by their instructions and by their example.

On occasion, we’ve had visitors at my ashram here in Carpinteria, California of children of devotees who became devotees, and also parents of children who became devotees. And we asked them what made them become devotees, why did they become devotees. And one couple, a very nice couple, my godbrother Shesha Prabhu and his wife, said that they did everything; they would go to the temple programs, they would have programs at home, they would host devotees, they would serve devotees, they would chant their rounds. So, they did everything, but they never forced their children to do anything.

And their children, they had two daughters, Shesha Prabhu and Madhumati Mataji, and both daughters became devotees and they are both initiated now. So, that was the parents’ answer, they did everything but they didn’t force their children to do anything. And when we spoke to the children, they more or less gave the same answer, that their parents did everything, but their parents never forced them to do anything.

So, I think that’s the right approach. The advice I give parents or not just parents but devotees in relation to family members is that they should be happy and they should treat their family members nicely, and when their family members see that they are happy and that they are dealing with people nicely, then they’ll think, Krishna consciousness is good. So, I don’t know why he was saying that it’s difficult, or maybe I answered the question.

Devotee: He is saying it’s difficult because they are deaf.

Giriraj Swami: Well, yeah, but still, even being deaf, they do have the responsibility as parents to make sure that their dependents don’t have to take birth again, and that is possible if the children become Krishna conscious. And it is more of a challenge because they are deaf, but still, they can be that positive influence in their children’s lives.

Devotee: Okay, thank you, Maharaja. Guru Maharaja, there is a comment by Gita, she is one of the deaf devotees here as well today, and she is saying, “It’s very difficult for me sometimes to do my chanting because I’m deaf. So, what would you suggest?”

Giriraj Swami: Well, Pavitra, what would you suggest? You know them better than I. What would you suggest?

Devotee: I’m not qualified, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, you are.

Devotee: I would just tell them, just every time they’ve asked me this question in the past, I always said, “Just focus on Krishna,” because they cannot hear. So, I tell them, “You think of Krishna’s pastimes.” We are doing the Kṛṣṇa book in the deaf saṅga, and we talk about all. At the moment, we are doing Krishna killing all the demons in Vrindavan. So, I tell them, “You focus on these stories and you think about Krishna, think about how beautiful He is, He has got a peacock feather and He has got curly hair, and so on.” So, I just encourage them to think about Krishna in that way and do their rounds and chant.

Giriraj Swami: That’s nice, that’s good.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. Thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: I mean, in the mantra, of course, Krishna is Krishna and Hare is Radha. So, when they are chanting their rounds, they could think of Krishna and Radha, Radha and Krishna. 

Devotee: I definitely tell them to do that. Thank you, Guru Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: My pleasure.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, Maharaja, here is a question from Facebook, Amrita Nandani Mataji. “Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Very beautiful Bhagavad-gītā description, thank you. How to overcome bad habits, which are not helpful in Krishna consciousness?”

Giriraj Swami: There are a few approaches to overcoming bad habits. The first is chanting. By chanting, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, by attentive chanting, by offenseless chanting, the heart becomes cleansed, and that frees us from bad habits. And the other way is to make a conscious effort. I forget the figure, but in overcoming a bad habit, one has to make a conscious effort for some period of time. Like I said, I forget what the period of time is. And then, one develops a new habit, a good habit, and that good habit replaces the bad habit.

And as in many things in devotional life, it’s good, well, in life in general, but we are talking about spiritual life, to have a support group, to have people who will alert you if you are acting on your bad habit and encourage you to reform yourself and act in a better way.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Maharaja, there is a question from Sri Gauranga Mataji from temple ISKCON Farmington Hills. Sri Gauranga Mataji, can you ask your question now?

Devotee: Yes. Hare Krishna, Maharaja, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you so much for the amazing class, Maharaja.

Maharaja, my question is slightly related to the previous question on neglect. So, Maharaja, the last line of the purport says, “If we keep displeasing our supreme father, we shall never be happy within this material world, in either the upper or lower planetary systems.”

So, Maharaja, as devotees and also as materialists, is it safe to assume it the other way around. If somebody is constantly unhappy, can a preacher, after being empathetic, talk to them and give them this line, that there is something wrong, we are doing something wrong and displeasing our supreme father and that is the reason for our unhappiness? Or is it not right, Maharaja? Is the understanding not correct?

Giriraj Swami: By the way, I’m not seeing you. Is your camera on? Are you with us here?

Host: Maharaja, she is actually at the temple, Maharaja, in the temple.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, I see, yes, okay. Well, if someone’s unhappy, it is due to lack of Krishna consciousness, for sure. Srila Prabhupada said that devotees should be jolly, brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā. My dear godbrother, HH Śrīdhara Swami, was known as the jolly Swami. So, we should be jolly in Krishna consciousness. And if they are unhappy, if they are morose, then it is due to lack of Krishna consciousness. So, you should encourage them to become more Krishna conscious, and then they’ll be happy. Chant and be happy.

But we also have to chant properly. HH Sacinandana Swami Maharaja, my dear godbrother, he facilitates japa retreats and japa workshops. I’ve also done some with him. And in his own inimitable German accent, he says that devotees suffer from a type of schizophrenia, split personality. Because our motto is to chant and be happy, but sometimes devotees are not happy. And the reason, according to his analysis, is that they don’t chant properly. And so, he has facilitated these japa workshops and retreats to help devotees chant properly, so that when they do chant, they are happy.

But it does come back to the same answer, that if someone’s not happy and they want to be happy, everyone wants to be happy, so they should become Krishna conscious, become more Krishna conscious, and then they’ll be happy and jolly.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Hari Krishna Prabhu, please unmute and ask your question.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. I just have a question, and then a request. The question is, sometimes I try to go to sleep early, I went to bed at 8:00 p.m. and I had my alarm to go off at 1:00 a.m., but then I kept putting it 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m. So, what can I do to force myself to just get up when my alarm goes off? That’s the question I have. And then, I have a request.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t know. But once, His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami and I were sharing a room together in Spain, and he wanted to get up early and he said, “I want you to wake me up at such time, and in the morning, if I say something different, don’t listen to what I tell you in the morning, but listen to what I’m telling you now. And if nothing else works, you can sprinkle water on my face.” So, he was very sincere in his desire to get up early.

But what can I say? You have to really desire to get up early. If there is a will, there is a way. I mean, of course, it was never true, but you used to jokingly call yourself Tamo Guna dasa. So, just when it’s time to get up, don’t be Tamo Guna dasa and get up early.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. And today’s the disappearance day of Ramananda Raya. Can you please say something about him, if possible?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes. Well, Ramananda Raya was one of the most confidential associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami were very intimate associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri. And Ramananda Raya was said to be the incarnation of Visakha Gopi, and Svarupa Damodara was the incarnation of Lalita Sakhi.

And the talks between Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya, as recorded in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, they contain everything. It’s called Rāmānanda-saṁvāda, conversation between Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya. They contain everything, the whole philosophy and practice of Krishna consciousness are covered in that conversation. So, as far as possible, we should honor that day by reading about the meeting of Lord Chaitanya and Ramananda Raya. Thank you.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. Premadori Mataji, please unmute yourself and ask your question.

Devotee: Thank you. Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. This program is going live on Giriraj Swami Worldwide Lectures. So, on Facebook, Shakti Krishna Mataji has written, “Hare Krishna, Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. Lust, greed, and attachment can all be used in the service of Krishna, except ego. Please explain if there is truth to this?”

Giriraj Swami: There is a statement that everything can be used in Krishna’s service, except envy. And once, I asked Srila Prabhupada about envy in Surat, India. And I’ve been thinking of all the ways in which envy was bad; bad for my consciousness, bad for my relationships with other devotees. So, I was really convinced that envy is bad, but still, it wasn’t going away.

So, I asked Srila Prabhupada, and he said, “Can you think of any reasons why you should not be envious?” Then I said, “Yes.” So, he said, “All right. Envy means not liking someone. So, that not liking should not be directed towards devotees, but it should be directed towards demons who make life difficult for devotees.” So, from that perspective, you could say that even envy can be dovetailed, but definitely, all the other ones can certainly be dovetailed, as the devotee who asked the question said.

Devotee: There is one more question on my behalf, may I ask? The Mataji who was doing the translation for deaf people, she was saying that they are finding it difficult. And we have known that the nine processes of devotional service start with śravaṇam. And in your previous lecture also, you mentioned that the last sense to go is the hearing. The person, even if he is in a coma, his hearing is there. I mean, I had this personal experience because my dad also went into a coma and we were just playing the maha-mantra so that he gets to hear the chanting of Srila Prabhupada. So, how do we help a person, a dying person, who’s in coma and he is deaf?

Giriraj Swami: I would say by praying for them. Prayer is very powerful. Yeah, we can pray for them. I mean, I think we can still chant although they are deaf, but the vibration will be beneficial. But mainly, praying for them would probably be the best that we can do for them in the end. And giving them sacred water, Radha-kund water, tulasi, putting tulasi on them and in their mouth. There are things we can do. Incense, The Nectar of Devotion. There are so many items of devotional service, and although they are not able to hear, their other senses are functioning. And so, the sacred water, the tulasi leaves, mahā flowers, flowers that have been offered to the Lord, smelling incense that’s been offered, they can all help purify that person at the end.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Host: [Unintelligible 01:26:32] Mataji, please ask.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Guru Maharaja, could you please enlighten us on Srimati Radharani as a veritable form of bhakti?

Giriraj Swami: As what?

Devotee: As a form of bhakti.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t think I would say Srimati Radharani is a form of bhakti.

Devotee: But how would you relate Srimati Radharani to bhakti? Because I read that she supervises bhakti.

Giriraj Swami: I mean, Srila Prabhupada says that because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it’s difficult to approach Him. I mean, one of His qualities is compassionate, He is compassionate, but Srila Prabhupada said that because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it’s difficult to approach Him. And therefore, devotees take advantage of Krishna’s compassionate nature, who is represented by Srimati Radharani, and they pray to Srimati Radharani for Krishna’s compassion.

So, She is very, very compassionate, and we can pray to Her to be merciful to us and help us in our bhakti. Bhakti means to please Krishna, and Srimati Radharani wants only to increase Krishna’s pleasure. So, if we pray to Her to help us in our bhakti, to increase Krishna’s pleasure, She will certainly help us.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna.

Host: Maharaja, as of now, these are all the questions we have here in Zoom. Maharaja, would you mind if I ask you a question, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: You can ask.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. Maharaja, when I think of personalities like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Ravana, Mr. N, Juhu project, the forces look insurmountable, very hard to overcome. And I understand for pure hearted devotees, they see the hand of Krishna and they wait patiently. But otherwise, it doesn’t look like that, there is nothing on the horizon, we cannot feel Krishna’s presence. So, in a situation like us, in simple devotees like us, Maharaja, where do we keep our faith that this will also pass and surely, we can see the light? So, could you please give us some idea, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Can you repeat the question? Are you talking about when you have to face demons, or what?

Host: Yes. And the forces there, they seem like Hiraṇyakaśipu was very powerful. Similarly, Mr. Nair also had a lot of influence and political powers. So, it appears that it’s going to go on for quite some time. So, I was thinking, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, we have to persevere, but sometimes, the force of the demon is so great that we cannot overcome it.

And I think of the example of the bird Jatayu and Ravana, when Ravana kidnapped Sita and Jatayu saw him. And Jatayu was a very, actually, a very powerful bird, but at that time, he was quite old and he couldn’t fight Ravana with the strength that he had previously. But still, he did, he fought with Ravana in an attempt to rescue Sita, and he was mortally injured by Ravana. Meanwhile, Lord Ramachandra came upon Jatayu and He appreciated that he had given his all to try to rescue Sita. Then, Jatayu gave them hints where Ravana had gone with Sita, and then Jatayu left his body and Lord Ramachandra performed the funeral rights for him, just like a son would do for a father.

So, even though externally, Jatayu was not successful, but internally, he was successful because he gave his everything for the service of Lord Ramachandra. And Srila Prabhupada related this incident to preaching, saying that when we preach, sometimes the opposing forces may be so powerful that we are not successful externally in our preaching, just like Jatayu was not successful externally, but internally, we will be successful because we are doing our best for Krishna, so that’s our success.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, that was very helpful. Maharaja, we are very, very grateful for this deeply inspiring talk and your wonderful answers, Maharaja. Thank you very much. HH Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya! Thank you so much, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: So, are we ending now?

Host: Maharaja, looks like these are the questions we have as of now.

Giriraj Swami: All right. Well, then I would suggest that in the conclusion, we can offer Vaishnava praṇāma.

Host: Excuse me, Maharaja, I’m so sorry, looks like there is one more question. Maharaja, please forgive me. Maharaja, this question is from Paramanan Prabhu. Paramanan Prabhu, if you are on Zoom, would you like to ask by turning on your video?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: My question is, which is more powerful, the devotion of Hanuman, or the devotion of the gopīs?

Giriraj Swami: Why are you asking this question?

Devotee: I’m wondering, I’m asking whether regarding to surrender, was it should be as a friend or lover or to Akash [Unintelligible 01:35:15] Hanuman.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I mean, Hanuman was the greatest servant of Lord Ramachandra, and our mood is to be servants. I mean, a servant of the servant of the servant. As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopīs in Vrindavan. So, we just want to be the servant like Hanuman, or the servant of the servant of the servant.

And I mean, if we are fortunate by a combination of our good sadhana and mercy to realize what is our svarūpa. Of course, as we mentioned, jīvera svarūpa haya kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa, we are all eternal servants of Krishna, but we have some svarūpa, some eternal form in which we serve Krishna, but we don’t know what that is now. It may be as a gopī or not, it may be as a cowherd boy. So, I don’t think we should artificially try to imagine ourselves to be a gopī or any such associate of Krishna. We should just try to be a good servant like Hanuman, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant.

But thinking of Krishna and the gopīs is fine. If you find that favorable, that’s fine. Thinking of Hanuman is also fine, if that’s favorable for you. So, it’s good to think of these great devotees, eternal associates of the Lord, and try to follow in their footsteps in terms of their surrender and devotion.

Devotee: Excuse me, Guru Maharaja, there is one more question that just escaped. It is also on Facebook live Worldwide Lectures, from Yamuna dasi. She says, “Guru Maharaja, does escaping these miseries mean the actual miseries lessen or go away? Or does the devotee rise above their miseries and not be afflicted by them? Hare Krishna.”

Giriraj Swami: Yeah, it could be both. I mean, when we surrender to Krishna, He minimizes our sinful reactions, so they are actually lessened. And also, by our consciousness, we can tolerate them and be fixed in Krishna consciousness and not be so disturbed by them. So, both could apply.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Ganga raised her hand. Yes, Ganga?

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, can you hear?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: I just wanted to ask, because you were talking about how to be happy in Krishna consciousness. And at times, even if we are doing the best for nice chanting and nice service and do the needful, be appreciative of devotees, and all this, still, when difficult situations arrive, we are still shattered, we are not completely happy. What can we do to increase our happiness in Krishna consciousness?

Giriraj Swami: We can feel unhappy for the fallen conditioned souls. Once, I was with Srila Prabhupada in his room in Juhu, in his new room at the top of the tower, and in a very sort of dramatic way, he said, “Our only lamentation is why people are not taking to Krishna consciousness.” So, I mean, being happy, like Prahlada says, “For myself, I’m happy because wherever I am, I can immerse myself in the ocean of your nectarian glories and pastimes. But I’m unhappy when I think about the fallen conditioned souls.”

So, I mean, devotees have that mood of compassion. So, in a way, they are not happy. Personally, they are happy, but in a way, they are not happy because they are also thinking about others.

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. We are very, very grateful to you, and please forgive any offenses or mistakes, Maharaja. Thank you so much, we look forward to hearing from you more and more, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. So, if we are going to end, I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

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

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

Ananta koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda—kī jaya!