SB 10.14.8 – Expecting the Lord’s Mercy

Giriraj Swami: All right. I will begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan, and then we will discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

[Prayers]

Hare Krishna. My dear devotees, as far as possible, please turn on your cameras so we can see your moon-like faces and it will be more personal. Today we shall read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Fourteen: “Brahma’s Prayers to Lord Krishna.” Text eight. Now, this verse is mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion, and before I read the verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I will read to you what The Nectar of Devotion says. This comes under the item “Expecting the Lord’s Mercy.” It is one of the items of devotional service, and this is described in Chapter Ten of The Nectar of Devotion. In the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, verse eight, it is said:

“My dear Lord, any person who is constantly awaiting Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, and who goes on suffering the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering you respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated, for it has become his rightful claim. This statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be the guide of all devotees.”

I will read that again.

“This statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be the guide of all devotees. A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities. If one has finished his material activities, then there is no more birth. This is possible only when one begins Krishna conscious activities because such activities do not produce reaction. Therefore, as soon as one becomes perfect in Krishna conscious activities, he is not going to take birth again in this material world. A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krishna consciousness seriously.” 

I will read that again.

“A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krishna consciousness seriously. Even though there may be so many impediments, when such impediments arise, he should simply think of Krishna and expect His mercy.”

Again, “When such impediments arise, he should simply think of Krishna and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the Kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk refers to a son becoming the lawful inheritor of the property of the father. In a similar way, a pure devotee who is prepared to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Krishna conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental abode.” 

This is a very significant verse and purport as explained here by Srila Prabhupada in The Nectar of Devotion. I thought of this verse and purport or this statement from The Nectar of Devotion in relation to my beloved disciple Arca Vigraha devi dasi, because to me she exemplified the verse. Although she was suffering terribly from cancer at the end in Vrindavan, she persevered in her devotional service and became eligible to enter the Kingdom of God. Now we will read the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam itself. Again, Canto Ten, Chapter Fourteen: “Brahma’s Prayers to Lord Krishna.”

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

TEXT 8 

tat te ‘nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo
bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam
hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhan namas te
jīveta yo mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk

TRANSLATION

My dear Lord, one who earnestly waits for You to bestow Your causeless mercy upon him, all the while patiently suffering the reactions of his past misdeeds and offering You respectful obeisances with his heart, words and body, is surely eligible for liberation, for it has become his rightful claim.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains in his commentary that just as a legitimate son has to simply remain alive to gain an inheritance from his father, one who simply remains alive in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, automatically becomes eligible to receive the mercy of the Personality of Godhead. In other words, he will be promoted to the kingdom of God.

COMMENT

So, my dear devotees, this verse tells us how we can be promoted to the Kingdom of God, and basically, we just have to remain alive in Krishna consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, tolerating whatever impediments or difficulties may come along, and mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk, we will be eligible for liberation. In other words, we will be promoted to the kingdom of God. 

PURPORT (continued)

The word su-samīkṣamāṇa indicates that a devotee earnestly awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord even while suffering the painful effects of previous sinful activities. Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma.

COMMENT

In Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ, that if you surrender to Krishna, He will free you from all sinful reactions. That means for a surrendered soul there are no sinful reactions, but still, the devotee does experience pain and suffering. So if they are not sinful reactions, then what are they? So the purport explains. 

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma. 

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada also made an interesting statement in relation to the karma of a devotee who surrenders to the Lord. He said that “The Lord takes your karma and holds it for you, and then releases it at the times and in the ways that it can most benefit the devotee.” So technically it is not karma because karma is the mechanical workings of action and reaction in the material world. Technically it is not karma, but it resembles karma because what is happening is Krishna is taking your karma and holding it, and then releasing it at such times and in such ways as will best benefit the devotee.

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma. However, because in his mind a devotee may still maintain the remnants of his previous sinful mentality.

COMMENT

There is a very important point, and a very subtle one, because we may stop engaging in sinful activities but we might maintain the vestiges of the sinful mentality that gives rise to such sinful activities or that gave rise to such sinful activities. And Krishna wants to do a very thorough job of purifying His devotee, so He wants to rid the devotee of these last remnants of his sinful mentality. How does He do that? 

PURPORT (continued)

Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that a devotee who fully surrenders unto Him is no longer liable to suffer the reactions of his previous karma. However, because in his mind a devotee may still maintain the remnants of his previous sinful mentality, the Lord removes the last vestiges of the enjoying spirit by giving His devotee punishments that may sometimes resemble sinful reactions. The purpose of the entire creation of God is to rectify the living entity’s tendency to enjoy without the Lord, and therefore the particular punishment given for a sinful activity is specifically designed to curtail the mentality that produced the activity.

COMMENT

Krishna is very merciful. His punishment is actually for our benefit. And when a devotee surrenders to the Lord and is freed from sinful reactions, the Lord still bestows upon the devotee what appear to be life sinful reactions that cause pain and suffering to the devotee. But that pain and suffering is not without purpose, it is meant to purify the devotee from the enjoying spirit, from the mentality that gave rise to his previous sinful activities, so it is very good for us.

PURPORT (continued)

Although a devotee has surrendered to the Lord’s devotional service, until he is completely perfect in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he may maintain a slight inclination to enjoy the false happiness of this world. The Lord therefore creates a particular situation to eradicate this remaining enjoying spirit. This unhappiness suffered by a sincere devotee is not technically a karmic reaction; it is rather the Lord’s special mercy for inducing His devotee to completely let go of the material world and return home, back to Godhead.

COMMENT

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna describes the material world as duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. Duḥkhālayam means a place of misery, and aśāśvatam means temporary. The material world is not our real home. Our real home is with Krishna in the spiritual world. And as long as we are in the material world, which is a world of duality, we suffer the dualities of pain and pleasure, happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor and on and on. But the living entity, being part and parcel of Krishna, is by nature pleasure seeking. 

The Vedānta-sūtra says ānanda-mayo bhyasat, that the absolute truth is full of ānanda or bliss, and we living entities being part and parcel of the absolute truth, are also constitutionally meant for happiness. Therefore we are always seeking happiness, but generally, ordinary people at least, seek happiness in the wrong way, in the wrong places. They seek happiness in the material world, which Krishna says is duḥkhālayam, a place of misery. They want to make the duḥkhālayam into a sukhālayam, which is not possible. But they can attain happiness in relation to Krishna, and when they go back home, back to Godhead, their happiness in relationship with Krishna is pure and unadulterated. And that is our goal. 

PURPORT (continued)

This unhappiness suffered by a sincere devotee is not technically a karmic reaction; it is rather the Lord’s special mercy for inducing His devotee to completely let go of the material world and return home, back to Godhead.

A sincere devotee earnestly desires to go back to the Lord’s abode. Therefore he willingly accepts the Lord’s merciful punishment and continues offering respects and obeisances to the Lord with his heart, words and body. Such a bona fide servant of the Lord, considering all hardship a small price to pay for gaining the personal association of the Lord, certainly becomes a legitimate son of God, as indicated here by the words dāya-bhāk.

COMMENT

And again, dāya-bhāk means rightful heir. 

PURPORT (continued)

Just as one cannot approach the sun without becoming fire, one cannot approach the supreme pure, Lord Kṛṣṇa, without undergoing a rigid purificatory process, which may appear like suffering but which is in fact a curative treatment administered by the personal hand of the Lord.

COMMENT

The Lord is our Supreme Father. He has only our best interest in mind, and if He punishes us, it is not out of malice, obviously. It is not because He is cruel, certainly, but it is because He wants us to come back to Him, back home, back to Godhead. But we can only go back to Godhead when we are completely purified. And therefore, the Lord arranges suffering for the devotee to induce the devotee to give up his hold on the material world and go back home, back to Godhead, which is our ultimate self-interest. The devotee, while undergoing the painful situations, first of all appreciates the painful situation as the Lord’s mercy, and he expects the Lord’s mercy to take him back home, back to Godhead. 

Having read the verse and purport, I would like to return to what Srila Prabhupada said about this verse in The Nectar of Devotion under the heading “Expecting the Lord’s Mercy.” 

“In the Tenth Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, Verse eight, it is said: ‘My dear Lord, any person who is constantly awaiting Your causeless mercy to be bestowed upon him, and who goes on suffering the resultant actions of his past misdeeds, offering You respectful obeisances from the core of his heart, is surely eligible to become liberated, for it has become his rightful claim.’ This statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam should be the guide of all devotees. A devotee should not expect immediate relief from the reactions of his past misdeeds. No conditioned soul is free from such reactionary experiences, because material existence means continued suffering or enjoying of past activities. If one has finished his material activities then there is no more birth.”

Srila Prabhupada is giving the example of the turning of a fan, that when the devotee surrenders to Krishna, it is like turning off the fan, turning off the power of the fan. There is still some momentum in the turning of the fan, but gradually it will become less and less, it will turn slower and slower and then finally it will stop. 

If one has finished his material activities then there is no more birth. This is possible only when one begins Krishna conscious activities because such activities do not produce reaction. Therefore, as soon as one becomes perfect in Krishna conscious activities, he is not going to take birth again in this material world. A devotee who is not perfectly freed from the resultant actions should therefore continue to act in Krishna consciousness seriously, even though there may be so many impediments. When such impediments arise, he should simply think of Krishna and expect His mercy. That is the only solace. If the devotee passes his days in that spirit, it is certain that he is going to be promoted to the abode of the Lord. By such activities, he earns his claim to enter into the kingdom of God. The exact word used in this verse is dāya-bhāk. Dāya-bhāk refers to a son becoming the lawful inheritor of the property of the father. In a similar way, a pure devotee who is prepared to undergo all kinds of tribulations in executing Krishna conscious duties becomes lawfully qualified to enter into the transcendental abode.

And just an aside, when Lord Chaitanya went to Jagannatha Puri, He met Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, who was a learned pandit, you would say the chief pandit in the court of the king. He was an impersonalist, but by the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was converted and became a Vaishnava, he became a personalist. And once when reciting this verse to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he replaced the word mukti-pade with bhakti-pade. He didn’t want to hear about mukti because generally people take mukti to be impersonal liberation merging into the effulgence of the Lord, so he replaced the word mukti-pade with bhakti-pade. But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not accept his rewriting of the verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and He explained that mukti-pade, which literally means the position of liberation, really means the lotus feet of Krishna. 

So yes, by following the instructions in this verse, we will attain the lotus feet of Krishna [audio interrupted 00:55:32–00:55:45] while we practice the directions given in this verse, as mentioned jīveta, jīveta means to remain alive. Srila Sridhara Swami explains in his commentary that just as a legitimate son has simply to remain alive to gain an inheritance from his father, so a devotee simply has to remain alive in Krishna consciousness, following the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga, and automatically becomes eligible to receive the mercy of the personality of Godhead. In other words, he will be promoted to the kingdom of God. 

And what are the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga? Well first and foremost, we have to chant the holy names. For those who are initiated or aspiring to be initiated, they must chant a minimum of sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra daily. In one purport Srila Prabhupada writes that of all the regulative principles, the spiritual master’s instruction to chant a minimum of sixteen rounds is most essential. So we chant our minimum sixteen rounds, follow the four regulative principles, and take to the practice of bhakti-yoga, which is easy and joyfully performed, especially as given to us by Srila Prabhupada. If we do that, tolerating whatever impediments may come on the way, then mukti-pade sa dāya-bhāk, we earn the right to enter the Kingdom of God. Hare Krishna. 

So now my dear devotees, if any of you have questions or comments you can ask. You can raise your hand, your real hand or your virtual hand. And again, as far as possible, please turn on your cameras so we can see your moon-like faces and experience your participation in a more personal way. 

Yes, Nitai Gaurasundara Prabhu.

Nitai Gaurasundara dasa: Thank you Maharaja for such a nectarean narration of this verse. For our group we have, I think, Ramagiridhari Prabhu is online, you can probably articulate. We are having this discussion about getting mercy, how it depends on our free will or how do we get it? Ramagiridhari do you want to add on? 

Ramagiridhari dasa: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Daṇḍavat to you and it is a very very wonderful lecture as always. So, we were discussing this point when we were discussing the Teachings of Lord Kapila, so I was trying to churn this out. We were trying to understand the real concept of freedom, free will, desire, independence, these are all some words that we constantly use in our Krishna consciousness and causeless mercy. Even though we have some vague idea here and there as a part of our learnings, probably it will be. . . I am sure I have skipped several words, but at least in the word free will, which happens to be the triggering point for one’s functioning, even though mercy comes our way, if I am not, as Prabhupada wrote and as you mentioned, if I am not alive or if I am not awake, what has happened to me? This whole concept, probably I may be with whatever limited time, you can enlighten Maharaja. Hare Krishna. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada used the phrase minute independence. The living entity has minute independence, and basically his free will is that he can choose to serve Krishna or to serve maya. By constitution, he is a servant. Srila Prabhupada explains that the root of the word dharma is “Dra” and “Dra” conveys the meaning of an intrinsic quality, that which cannot be separated from something. For example, the dharma of sugar is to be sweet, if it is not sweet, it is not sugar. The dharma of chili is to be hot, if it is not hot, it is not chili. So what is the dharma of the living entity? The dharma of the living entity is to render service, that quality of rendering service is what cannot be separated from a living entity. But he does have minute independence and he can choose whether to serve maya or to serve Krishna. If he serves Krishna and gets one result, he goes back home, back to Godhead. And if he serves maya, he gets another result, he stays in the material world and is punished. 

That is our minute independence, and that choice is given to us by Krishna, because ultimately, He wants our love, and premā pumartho mahān, the ultimate goal of life is Krishna prema, love for Krishna. Love is voluntary, it cannot be forced, so He gives us that free will, whether we want to love Him or not. At the end of the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, “Now you have heard everything that I have said, yathecchasi tathā kuru, now you do as you like.” Arjuna immediately replied, naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā, “My illusion is now over and I have come back to my original consciousness” and kariṣye vacanaṁ tava, “I am prepared to act according to Your direction.” Krishna gives us that free will and if we are intelligent like Arjuna we will submit, kariṣye vacanaṁ tava, “I will act according to Your instruction.” 

Ramagiridhari dasa: Maharaja, thank you so much. I wish I get some time to churn this out because this topic is very intriguing, because it takes our endeavor. If we miss that part, a slightest mistake in not utilizing our independence correctly, then probably we missed the great chance. And quite often in this material context we keep getting allured and pulled by several people and several things, so we always look for somebody, “Can somebody overpower, control, dominate, and make me Krishna conscious in spite of my freedom?” So that is where the interest is, but thank you so much for your wonderful response, Maharaja, I will meditate on that and probably in the next opportunity we can churn more. Maybe there are others to ask questions. Hare Krishna. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, but I will say one more thing, that there was a sage named Astavakra, and the king asked him how to get free from the clutches of maya. In response, Astavakra went to a tree and started holding the tree very tightly and saying “Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” That was his answer, that maya is not holding on to us, we are holding on to maya. And that is the whole purport of this verse, that the Lord is acting in such a way to induce us to let go of maya. Hare Krishna. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances Maharaja. This is Rasasthalidd devi dasi. I had a question relating to today’s topic and also I just started reading your Juhu book. So I was wondering. . . of course, over a short period of time it is possible for a common person to tolerate hardships, but even in Juhu, in the beginning, how all the devotees, including yourself, were going through so much difficulty or. . . of course, the difficulty in our lives is not even a small portion of that, but how can we constantly remain motivated, and always remember that Krishna is behind it and not lose our enthusiasm to the difficulties? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, the first thing is faith. Srila Rupa Gosvami says ādau śraddhā, devotional service begins with faith. And the whole progression through the different stages, ādau śraddhā, tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo, ‘tha bhajana-kriyā, anartha-nivṛttiḥ, niṣṭhā rucis, athāsaktis, then bhāvas, and then ultimately prema. All of those different stages of advancement are really just further developments of sraddha. Sraddha just becomes deeper and more intensified as we progress through those different stages. We have to have faith in Krishna and we have to tolerate if there are reverses, and there will be reverses. We are in the world of duality. We have to tolerate the reverses without being disturbed and we have to continue in devotional service in Krishna consciousness. We don’t really have any other choice. We don’t have any good choice. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Spiritual life is difficult, but material life is impossible,” so we are better off with spiritual life. 

Devotee: Sure Maharaja, thank you so much. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Giriraj Swami, you read from The Nectar of Devotion—Expecting the Lord’s Mercy, and I heard a class by Mahatma Prabhu. He said that a pure devotee won’t ask Krishna for anything, even if he is hungry, he won’t ask Krishna for food. In one sense I am expecting food or prasāda, but how do I do service without expecting anything in return? Not even food, if I am dying of starvation I am going to pass out, I am still going to keep serving. How can I get to that stage? 

Giriraj Swami: How can you get to the stage of engaging in devotional service without any expectation of return? 

Devotee: Right, anything at all. I heard a class by Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Gurudeva, and he said that the gopīs never asked Krishna about anything, never expected anything, never asked Him anything, it was only for Krishna’s pleasure. How can I get to this stage where I don’t want anything but Krishna’s pleasure?

Giriraj Swami: Well that is bhakti by definition. Bhakti means to serve Krishna for His pleasure. Srila Rupa Gosvami gives the definition of pure devotional service in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Now, bhilās means desire, so anyābhilāṣ means no other desire. But Rupa Gosvami has added the suffix itā, not anyābhilāṣ but anyābhilāṣitā, why? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that under ordinary circumstances, the devotee will not ask Krishna for anything, anyābhilāṣ, he has no other desire than to serve Krishna. But in some extreme situation, for example, when the devotee is faced with imminent death, say someone comes to attack the devotee with deadly weapons, the devotee may pray for protection. Ordinarily he will not pray for his body, but in an extreme situation, he may. And that falls within the definition of pure devotional service, anyābhilāṣitā, because under ordinary circumstances he won’t pray for anything material, such as bodily protection, but in an extreme situation he may. That does not place him outside pure devotional service. 

Yes, we want to serve Krishna for Krishna’s pleasure, but by this precise definition, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam, one may in extreme circumstances pray for material protection. I won’t even say material protection but pray for the protection of the body. But otherwise, in general it is true, we don’t want anything material in return for our devotional service. Pure devotional service is ahaituky apratihatā. Ahaituky means without cause, means there is no material cause, there is no material motivation. Apratihatā means it is uninterrupted. That should be our standard of devotional service. Hare Krishna. Ramagiridhari, you have your hand up, do you have another question?

Ramagiridhari dasa: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Just in case if you have a minute, I would like to ask another question. 

Giriraj Swami: All right. Well, Santi has her hand up, why don’t we give her a chance first and then we will come back to you?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Guru Maharaja, kindly enlighten us on bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there are nine stages in the development of sādhana-bhakti. . . no excuse me, there are nine stages in the development of bhakti, and the first seven come in the category of sādhana-bhakti. Bhāva-bhakti means that the heart of the devotee is touched by or infused with the hlādinī-śakti and the saṁvit potency. It is a state of liberation from the material modes of nature, it is a liberated stage. Bhāva, Srila Prabhupada translates it as ecstatic love and when that ecstatic love develops further, when it becomes more condensed, more intensified, and more condensed, then it becomes prema-bhakti. But when you are at the stage of bhāva-bhakti, there is no more sadhana, so the bhāva-bhakti itself, the deepening of the bhāva-bhakti itself will take you to prema-bhakti. Now we pray for that fortunate day when you have the realization of bhāva-bhakti and prema-bhakti.

Devotee: Okay, thank you guru Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Yes Cheena?

Cheena Mataji: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. It was extremely a very blissful class, so much to learn. I will never forget the word dāya-bhāk in my life. I just had this one question that Krishna makes so many arrangements to take us back, by getting us purified He inflicts so many sufferings on us. But sometimes even being very loyal to God because of our association, we make wrong desires also. We know that they are wrong but then Krishna honors our wrong desires, so does it mean He doesn’t love us? Because He is facilitating, He is honoring our desires, they are wrong, but still He is fulfilling them, and they are wrong. Does it mean He doesn’t want you to be there with Him? He is probably. . . what is it? I don’t understand. 

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes, of course Krishna loves you and He wants you to come back to Him. But if you have some material desire and your material desire is fulfilled, it doesn’t mean that you will go away from Krishna, you can still maintain your determined desire to go to Krishna. I don’t think that having a material desire fulfilled is worse for you than having a material desire unfulfilled. In fact, you could take it as Krishna’s mercy that He is fulfilling your material desire so you don’t have to worry about it anymore and you could just focus on Him. 

Cheena Mataji: Thank you guru Maharaja. I had some burden on my head, am I going wrong? I don’t know how it is, but it is a very beautiful answer. Thank you so much. 

Giriraj Swami: Thank you, Hare Krishna. Ramagiridhari would you like to continue? 

Ramagiridhari dasa: Yes Maharaja. This is slightly off the topic, but still it can be connected to the topic. I was in the Prabhupada quarters the other day in the temple, and we have also in Radha-Madana-mohana, the new temple that is coming up in Mumbai. I saw the wording “The early struggles of Srila Prabhupada” and some pictures were there. I was just wondering if this word “struggle” can ever be attached to an acharya? Because I always feel it is always a struggle from our perspective, but how come an acharya? It is this part of this project that Krishna had given so he had apparently put himself through a situation by his personal choice to serve Krishna. This struggle word. . . I am just trying to be in the literal sense, in an acharya’s life when we see any Madhavendra Puri’s story or Srila Prabhupada’s life or various other things. In connection to this current context that we were discussing, should we call that as a struggle or should we call it as something else? That is my question. 

Giriraj Swami: Should you call it a struggle or call it as. . .?

Ramagiridhari dasa: Something, maybe mercy or another word. But the struggle seems like a conditioned soul, it is just English, that is fine, but if it is beyond that. I was just wondering on that part.

Giriraj Swami: Why can’t a liberated soul struggle? 

Ramagiridhari dasa: Because according to these words, the challenge is also mercy of the Lord, what we just read today in the Bhāgavatam. Anything that is coming the way of a devotee, even if it is a challenge, he says “The challenge is my mercy,” so we may name it as challenge but technically it is mercy. Should we even state it as a struggle because the self-realized soul is beyond this pain and pleasure? From that perspective, is that the struggle or is that. . . I am not sure if I make some sense. 

Giriraj Swami: I don’t see why a liberated soul can’t struggle. Srila Prabhupada struggled; he used the word struggle to refer to what he went through. But that doesn’t make him not an acharya or not a liberated soul because there are struggles even for liberated acharyas. There is one devotee who had his own following in Hawaii, his name was Sai and his approach to Krishna consciousness was very mellow, but eventually he, along with all of his followers, surrendered to Srila Prabhupada. Sai was initiated by Srila Prabhupada, he became Siddha-svarupa, but he still had that mentality of wanting everything to be very mellow and peaceful. Once he said to Srila Prabhupada, “The one thing I can’t stand about your disciples is there is always in anxiety” and Srila Prabhupada replied, “That is their love. The gopīs were always in anxiety for Krishna.” 

Ramagiridhari dasa: Makes a lot of sense. Thank you, Maharaja. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Is it too late to ask one other question? 

Giriraj Swami: Not too late for me. 

Devotee: Okay. Maharaja, I heard a class by Vaisheshika Prabhu, he said that you mentioned something about maya having a customized package for each victim. Can you please talk about that? 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, maya’s business is to. . . although maya is a servant of Krishna, she has the thankless task of testing the conditioned souls. Srila Prabhupada says especially in the beginning, maya will test the conditioned soul to see if they have come to disturb Krishna or if they really want to serve Krishna. So yes, she will present a customized package to tempt you or allure you, but if you are sincere and serious about Krishna consciousness, you won’t be deviated by maya. You can overcome maya by surrendering to Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī, “This material energy consisting of the three modes,” daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā, “is very difficult to overcome.” Mām eva ye prapadyante, “But one who surrenders unto me,” māyām etāṁ taranti te, “can cross over maya.” We do not fight maya directly, but we surrender to Krishna. We become free from maya not by fighting with her, but we become free from maya by surrendering to Krishna. 

Devotee: Thank you, Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Well, if there are no more questions or comments we can conclude now. Oh! Prananatha has his hand up, I didn’t see that. 

Prananatha dasa: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Daṇḍavat praṇāma Guru Maharaja. You made me reminded that I have to hear more lectures of yours to understand or get clarity of what Prabhupada meant because I was meditating that we are reading Prabhupada’s books but I am lucky that Guru Maharaja is totally into Prabhupada. So, when I hear his lectures, I get all the summary, everything in that only. I am so grateful actually. Today’s lecture was as if I heard many things for the first time after being so much time in the movement, so many things got cleared, but I had some questions off track. I was lately just asking some questions to a devotee, I asked him, “Before we fell down we had a svarūpa and a relation with Krishna? Can you throw some light?” So, he replied, “We didn’t fall from the spiritual world.” This sentence actually created a doubt or I didn’t understand it. 

Then, from my side I asked, “Then the word back to Godhead itself gives an understanding that we were with God” to which he replied, “Read the first Back to Godhead magazine, its original use by Srila Prabhupada was back to a more religious orientation of life.” He gave me that answer and said, “If you are satisfied with your understanding then leave.” He left me confused actually, so I wanted to know about when he said we didn’t fall from the spiritual, or I didn’t understand actually, still confused about it. 

Giriraj Swami: Where did he come from? 

Prananatha dasa: There was a devotee on Facebook actually. He is a devotee but I don’t know him very much, but he was having a question-and-answer session. And he referred to read the first Back to Godhead magazine, its original use by Prabhupada was back to a more religious orientation of life” he answered that, so I was very confused. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well not just the name or the phrase “Back to Godhead” but there are many places where Srila Prabhupada refers to our going back to Krishna. In the Fourth Canto, Twenty-eighth Chapter, there is a very nice verse and purport that does suggest that we were with Krishna, we came into the material world and our purpose now is to go back to Krishna. You can look it up, I could read it but I don’t think it is necessary. But if you look. . .

Prananatha dasa: Four point twenty-eight. . .? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, if you want that exact. Okay, here it is, Text fifty-three. I will read a little of it. It continues in Text fifty-four, but part of the translation is “Unfortunately, you gave up my company and accepted a position as an enjoyer of the material world.” And in the purport Srila Prabhupada says, “When the living entities desire to enjoy themselves, they develop a consciousness of duality and come to hate the service of the Lord. In this way the living entities fall into the material world. In the Prema-vivarta it is said:

kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga-vāñchā kare

nikaṭa-stha māyā tāre jāpaṭiyā dhare.

“The natural position of the living entity is to serve the Lord in a transcendental loving attitude. When the living entity wants to become Kṛṣṇa Himself or imitate Kṛṣṇa, he falls down into the material world. By misusing his independence, the living entity falls down from the service of the Lord and takes a position in this material world as an enjoyer.” 

Then in the next purport,

“The original home of the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the spiritual world. In the spiritual world both the Lord and the living entities live together very peacefully. Since the living entity remains engaged in the service of the Lord, they both share a blissful life in the spiritual world. However, when the living entity wants to enjoy himself, he falls down into the material world.”

Prananatha dasa: Very beautiful. Thank you so much. 

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Giriraj Maharaja, I know that it is late, but we are supposed to like nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā. So, is there time for another question or no? 

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Okay. I have two questions. Who is more merciful, Lord Chaitanya or Lord Nityananda? That is the first question. 

Giriraj Swami: Why do you ask? 

Devotee: Because I have another question after that. I want to ask you another question after that, but this is the first question, I have another one to follow up on. I am just curious. 

Giriraj Swami: What is the next one? 

Devotee: The next one is, yesterday was the appearance day of Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Gurudeva, so my question is, “Who is more merciful, him or you?” I think that you both are like. . .  

Giriraj Swami: Why are you asking these questions? 

Devotee: Why I am asking them. . . 

Giriraj Swami: We need all the mercy we can get. We need Nityananda’s mercy, Lord Chaitanya’s mercy, we need all the mercy we can get. 

Devotee: But is one merciful. . . are they both the same or. . .? I guess they are the same, right? For example, I heard that you are the soft side and Srila Gurudeva is the hard side, that you are one soul, two bodies, so I am just. . .I am sorry, I don’t mean to. . . 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Tamal Krishna Goswami said that we are one soul and two bodies. 

Devotee: The question is then, if one side is Lord Nityananda and one side is Lord Chaitanya, who is who? Are you Lord Nityananda and he is Lord Chaitanya in the mercy aspect? 

Giriraj Swami: I will just say one more time, you need all the mercy you can get and you shouldn’t try to distinguish who is more merciful because the Lord is merciful, the Vaishnavas are merciful, the Lord coming as a Vaishnava is very merciful. You should try to get whatever mercy you can. 

Devotee: Sometimes when there is a difficult mercy, like a chastisement. . . because my ego is so big, one time you chastised me, it was a very minor chastisement, but because I am so puffed up I took it like, “Oh!” but luckily I didn’t go away, I stayed there. But how to see the Lord’s mercy whether I am chastised or whether I am spoken to sweetly or whether I am. . . one time I saw that in a class, I think this was about a few months ago, I think Bhakta dasa Prabhu. . . you mentioned about a heater, there was a heater you have somewhere there, and then you wanted it to be turned off or on, I don’t remember exactly, but he did what you requested but you didn’t. . . he did what you requested but then you said it in a way that. . . My point is, if I am chastised by somebody, how to just accept that as love? I don’t know, I have got a lot of issues, sorry. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, how do you know the chastisement is offered with love? 

Devotee: Well that is the thing. 

Giriraj Swami: It would depend on who is offering the chastisement to see if it has love or not. When was the last time I chastised you?

Devotee: When you are in Houston I think I took a picture of you, and then you said. . . it is okay, it was nice. I am glad that it happened that way because it was a good experience for me to learn actually, and it was nice. Also, Maharaja, I understand that you are not coming to Houston now. Is that correct; you are not coming to Houston? I just asked somebody else and they said you have canceled your Vyasa-puja for Houston physically. Is that correct? 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I will add you as a receiver, but Guru Bhakti Mataji, the medical doctor in Houston, a devotee, wrote a very convincing and persuasive letter why I should not attempt to travel by air and come to Houston now. Based on her letter I canceled the program, and His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami privately said that he was very glad to see that I took her advice and canceled my trip. 

Devotee: Is it a question of the air travel? Whether she was advising against coming by airplane or. . .? 

Giriraj Swami: No, there are many reasons. I will add you as a receiver to her letter. 

Devotee: Okay, thank you. 

Giriraj Swami: Very persuasive and convincing. 

Devotee: Because I always think we can hire a private jet and just fly you in. A golden jet with diamond engines and pearl fins and fly you in. 

Giriraj Swami: Just give me the money!

Devotee: We can get the money! We can get it! Prabhupada said money is flying everywhere, you have to know how to catch it.

Giriraj Swami: You can fly here! 

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you. 

Devotee: Maharaja, it is getting late but I cannot hold myself but to read what Ramagiridhari Prabhu said about the struggle, and your book. I will just read what Prabhupada said and I am not going to context of it, you can explain it or people can read your book. “Finally Prabhupada lay on his head and he spoke in a soft and tender voice, ‘All of you are trying so hard to please this old man, who gets irritated so fast. I am old and on top of that, I am unwell so little things irritate me, but all of you are so tolerant.’” 

Giriraj Swami: It seems like you are there because the next paragraph, Sarva-bhavana says: “He went on like that for about ten minutes. I thought I was the only one who was crying, but when I looked around I saw that everyone had tears in their eyes, including Prabhupada. It was so sweet, so wonderful. How can you not love such a person?” That was very nice. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. Yesterday I heard that two more books are coming. 

Giriraj Swami: I am working on them. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja, I am anxiously waiting for it.

Giriraj Swami: Have you finished this one? 

Devotee: Almost there Maharaja. 

Prananatha dasa: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. I just wanted to comment actually regarding Prabhu asking about who is more merciful. Actually you had clearly said that Srila Prabhupada is made of Lord Gauranga and Nityananda’s both mercy, so Srila Prabhupada is most merciful. 

Giriraj Swami: Perfect, that is the perfect answer. 

Prananatha dasa: Thank you guru Maharaja, beautiful lecture.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we get everyone’s mercy through Srila Prabhupada. 

Prananatha dasa: For me, you are the most merciful because without you I have no connection to anybody. Yes, Prabhupada’s mercy led me to your lotus feet. But without you there is no identity, I don’t know anybody. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: I thought Prema Manjari had her hand up a while ago, but maybe not. 

Prema Manjari: Yes, actually I wanted to, twice I put my hand up but it was automatically going down against me. I thought maybe time was less. Guru Maharaja I would like to ask one question. You explained so wonderfully that when a devotee suffers, it is not necessary that it was the karmic reactions that made him suffer, because the devotee is practicing Krishna consciousness perfectly well. But it is because the Lord wants to remove the evidence of the desires of enjoying, so that is the reason why the devotee could be suffering. I wanted to know that when the suffering comes in a form of a setback on the health, and however you try, the devotee is not able to. . . the health is not getting back to what it was maybe because Krishna doesn’t want that person to become what he was earlier, enjoying and. . . so maybe the health is kind of a purification that Krishna is giving to that devotee. 

My question was that the devotee may tolerate it as whatever has come is Krishna’s mercy, but sometimes in the process of tolerating the devotee may slow down in his Krishna consciousness, he loses his focus because of suffering too much. What is the solution there? Do we just tolerate it? Yes, tolerating, but that devotee is not making further advancement. If the devotee had been healthier maybe he could have made further progress, but it is just a standstill because he is tolerating and he is just there where he is. What is a position of such a devotee? 

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada had consulted doctors and took medicine, we are not against medical treatment. We want to keep the body fit for serving Krishna. We don’t always get immediate relief, and along with the idea of the verse, whatever the situation is, we continue with our devotional service. But yes, we consult doctors and take medicine for the sake of our health, so that we can serve Krishna. Srila Prabhupada did. 

Prema Manjari: I understand we can consult doctors, but sometimes doctors also don’t do much, it is just a helpless situation, you are meant to just tolerate it. Even others in the family are meant to just tolerate along with the person. 

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that may be. We don’t always get better quickly, we might not get better. So we have to tolerate and be firm in our Krishna consciousness. We shouldn’t become stagnant. You can’t blame poor health for being stagnant in devotional service because you can be progressive in devotional service even if you have bad health. All right. 

Prema Manjari: Thank you. 

Giriraj Swami: Samin? Samin is from Iran. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you, Maharaja. I just wanted to give evidence on when you said. . . well, you and other Prabhu confirmed that Prabhupada is most merciful, and I just remembered a verse from Bhagavad-gītā, Chapter Three, Verse twenty-nine, when Krishna says that we should not preach to the ignorant. Then Prabhupada in the purport says that Krishna says we should not preach to the ignorant, but devotees of Krishna do. He says they do that because they are more merciful than Krishna, and they are more merciful than Krishna because they know the mission of Krishna, they know what Krishna wants. I just wanted to. . . 

Giriraj Swami: That is beautiful. 

Devotee: Yes. Can I read what Prabhupada says? 

Giriraj Swami: I just want to point out to the devotees that a cow has joined us. Oh, there are two cows. Okay. Yes, please read.

Devotee: “Men who are not ignorant cannot appreciate activities in Krishna consciousness, and therefore, Lord Krishna advises us not to disturb them and simply waste valuable time. But the devotees of the Lord are more kind than the Lord because they understand the purpose of the Lord. Consequently, they undertake all kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching ignorant men to try to engage them in the acts of Krishna consciousness, which are absolutely necessary for the human being.” 

Giriraj Swami: Beautiful. Are there any other questions or comments?

That was beautiful. All right, well, it has been a very enlivening and purifying discussion, and if there are no more questions or comments, we can end by offering Vaishnava praṇāma.