CC Madhya 25.278; NOD 7; SB 5.5.1, 6.1.1, 6.1.38, 6.2.49 – Srila Prabhupada’s Books and Instructions as the Basis and Essence of Spiritual Life and Transcendental Knowledge

BV Goswami: We have a glorious opportunity to have heart to heart meeting with Giriraj Maharaja. He will be introducing this course which is about the deep studying of Srila Prabhupada’s books and deep understanding of Prabhupada’s instructions on important topics. So, we are grateful to Giriraj Maharaja for joining us and inaugurating this course in Bhaktivedanta University.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you! It’s, quite humbling to hear your words about me and to understand the importance of the university and my presentation today. I will begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan, and then I will speak about Srila Prabhupada’s teachings.

Before I begin on today’s topic, I wanted to share some reflections about the development of the yatra in Russia. A couple of days ago, we had one of the early Russian devotees visit us here at my ashram in Carpinteria, California. His name is Bahulasva dasa, and during his visit we remembered the beginnings of Krishna consciousness in Russia, when Srila Prabhupada visited. He actually went there from Bombay, and he left just as the mango season was about to begin. And Srila Prabhupada’s dear disciple, Malati dasi told him, “Srila Prabhupada, the mango season is just beginning now, it’s not a good time for you to go to Russia!” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Preaching in Russia will be sweeter than the sweetest mango!”

So, thinking of how Srila Prabhupada went under such difficult circumstances, and then how he made one disciple—Ananta Shanti dasa. And from that very tentative humble beginning, Krishna consciousness has spread in such a wonderful way in Russia! So many devotees, so many temples, so many programs, and now this—Bhaktivedanta University!

So, now I will speak on the topic which is basically Srila Prabhupada’s books. The specific topic is—Srila Prabhupada’s books and instructions, as the basis and essence of spiritual life and transcendental knowledge. And in preparation for today’s talk, I compiled some of Srila Prabhupada’s own statements about the importance of reading his books and knowing the philosophy of Krishna consciousness.

The first quotation is from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā, Chapter Twenty-five Text 278. The verse reads; (And this is Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami speaking)

TRANSLATION

Men become strong and stout by eating sufficient grains, but the devotee who simply eats ordinary grains but does not taste the transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Kṛṣṇa gradually becomes weak and falls down from the transcendental position. However, if one drinks but a drop of the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, his body and mind begin to bloom, and he begins to laugh, sing and dance.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

All the devotees connected with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must read all the books that have been translated (the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā and others); otherwise, after some time, they will simply eat, sleep and fall down from their position. Thus they will miss the opportunity to attain an eternal, blissful life of transcendental pleasure.

COMMENT

So, all the devotees connected with the Krishna consciousness movement, must read all the books!

Another important statement relates to the fact that we don’t have to read many books. Of course, all of Srila Prabhupada’s books, but we don’t need to read many other books. And this principle is enunciated in the Nectar of Devotion, Chapter Seven, entitled – “Evidence Regarding Devotional Principles.”

Another stricture is that a person may have many disciples, but he should not act in such a way that he will be obliged to any of them for some particular action or some favor. And one should also not be very enthusiastic about constructing new temples, nor should one be enthusiastic about reading various types of books save and except the ones that lead to the advancement of devotional service. Practically, if one very carefully reads Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Teachings of Lord Caitanya and this Nectar of Devotion, that will give him sufficient knowledge to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One need not take the trouble of reading other books.

COMMENT

Now, there is also the question of reading books by the previous acharyas, and there was a very interesting conversation between Srila Prabhupada and some of his disciples on this very topic. This is on a morning walk, on May 13th 1975, in Perth, Australia.

MORNING WALK CONVERSATION

Amogha: Srila Prabhupada, I once heard a tape where you told us that we should not try to read the books of previous acharyas. That we should not try to read Bhaktivinoda’s books, or earlier books of other of our acharyas.

Prabhupada: I never said that!

Amogha: You didn’t say that? Oh, I thought you had said that we should not read the previous acharya’s books!

Prabhupada: No! You should read. It’s a misunderstanding!

Paramahamsa: I think maybe, he was thinking there were some things about some of the Gaudiya Matha books.

Prabhupada: Maybe.

Paramahamsa: And sometimes, you said that it is better to read your books.

Amogha: When the devotees went to India this year, they said that Acyutananda Swami chastised them that, ‘If I catch any of you buying Bhaktisiddhanta’s books from Gaudiya Matha, then I will take it away.’

Paramahamsa: The reason was, because he didn’t want the devotees going to Gaudiya Matha, but there is nothing wrong with the idea of studying the previous acharya’s books.

Prabhupada: No, who said that is wrong? We are following previous acharyas, I never said that!

Paramahamsa: All of your commentaries are coming from the previous acharyas.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Jaya Dharma: But that wouldn’t mean that we should keep all the previous acharya’s books and only read them.

This is a very important instruction from Srila Prabhupada. He says; “That is already there! You first of all assimilate what you have got. You simply pile up books and do not read, what is the use?”

Jaya Dharma: First of all we must read all your books.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Paramahamsa: Practically speaking Srila Prabhupada, you are giving us the essence of all the previous acharya’s books in your books!

Prabhupada: Yes.

COMMENT

I thought this conversation would be illuminating, in relation to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions about reading the books of the previous acharyas. Srila Prabhupada wanted us, first of all to assimilate his books, and know that the teachings of the previous acharyas are included in his books. But that being said, there is no harm in reading the books of the previous acharyas, after, in particular after we have read and assimilated Srila Prabhupada’s books. And I think of one statement that Srila Prabhupada had said about the book distributors, that “Distributing my books will keep them happy, and reading my books will keep them.” Meaning keep them in Krishna consciousness.

Now, I’m going to read an excerpt from a talk that Srila Prabhupada gave on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 6.1.38, on June 4th, 1976 in Los Angeles. The verse reads;

TEXT 38

śrī-viṣṇudūtā ūcuḥ
yūyaṁ vai dharma-rājasya
yadi nirdeśa-kāriṇaḥ
brūta dharmasya nas tattvaṁ
yac cādharmasya lakṣaṇam

TRANSLATION

The blessed messengers of Lord Viṣṇu, the Viṣṇudūtas, said; “If you are actually servants of Yamarāja, you must explain to us the meaning of religious principles and the symptoms of irreligion.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada explains: “The Yamadutas had challenged, ‘Who are you, interfering in our business?’” 

I hope that you, dear devotees, are reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, and are familiar with this section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Sixth Canto, when the sinful Ajamila, uttered the holy name of Narayana at the time of his death. And at that time, both the Vishnudutas, the messengers of Lord Vishnu and the Yamadutas, the messengers of Yamaraja, the Lord of death, who punishes the sinful, came on the scene. The Yamadutas consider that Ajamila was under their jurisdiction because he was so sinful, and they wanted to take him for punishment to Yamaraja. But the Vishnudutas also came, because Ajamila had chanted the holy name of Narayana, although he was meaning to chant the name of his son. He was intending to call the name of his son, who he had fortunately named Narayana. But somehow or other, he did chant the holy name of Narayana, and thus the Vishnudutas came.

So, “The Yamadutas had challenged the Vishnudutas, ‘Who are you, interfering in our business? We have come to arrest him!’ So, the counter challenge was, ‘You, said we are servants of Dharmaraj. It is his jurisdiction. This person is impious so this is the jurisdiction of Dharmaraj. He has to try the case and give him punishment. Criminal department, law and order. So, you cannot interfere with us.’ Therefore, the challenge was replied by the Vishnudutas: ‘If you are actually representative of Dharmaraja, who tries the cases of dharma and adharma, first of all explain what dharma is and what adharma is.’”

And here Srila Prabhupada instructs all of us. He continues: “This is a very nice challenge. Suppose you say we are Krishna conscious persons. One may challenge you: ‘First of all explain what you know about Krishna!’ That is quite natural. If you do not know about Krishna, you have no right to say that, ‘I belong to the Krishna consciousness movement.’ You have no right to say. Simply because you have tilak and kanti, that does not mean you belong to the Krishna consciousness movement. Any cheater can do that. You must know the philosophy. If one challenges, you must reply.

“Therefore, Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung a song indicating these cheaters. He says, ei ota eka kali-celā. Here is a servant of Kali, what kind of cela, disciple? Nāke tilaka galāi mālā; He has got tilak and galāi mālā, neck-beads, basa, that’s all! He does not know what is the philosophy. If you do not know the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, if you simply mark your body with tilak and kanti, then you are not a proper servant. You are not qualified. So, tilak and mala are necessary, just like a policeman. . . but a bogus man—if he dresses like a policeman is not a policeman. He must know what the police law, criminal law is. Who is to be punished, who is not to be punished, what is criminality, what is innocence; all these things he must know.”

So, just to repeat the essence of Srila Prabhupada’s argument here: Suppose if you say we are Krishna conscious persons, one may challenge you: “First of all, explain what you know about Krishna!” That is quite natural. If you do not know about Krishna, you have no right to say that, “I belong to the Krishna consciousness movement.” And how do we know about Krishna? By reading Srila Prabhupada’s books first and foremost! So, this is actually an appeal by Srila Prabhupada to his disciples to read his books and know the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and thus be proper members of the Krishna consciousness movement.

In another talk that Srila Prabhupada gave on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.1 on May 21st 1975, in Melbourne Australia. He says: “We have got Krishna, we have got spiritual master, we have got books, Bhagavad-gītā. Let us take advantage. These transcendental literatures—we have taken much pain to translate them into English so that you can understand. We have got fifty books, so take advantage. It is meant for the human being, not a particular class or nation. It is meant for all human beings. So take advantage of this knowledge. Understand the philosophy of life, that I am eternal.”

Now, many of you may have heard or read—I experienced it personally over many months and years in Bombay—that Srila Prabhupada would sleep only about two hours at night, and then he would get up and translate his books. He would retire at about ten o’clock, and rest for about two hours, and then he would rise at midnight and while we were all sleeping, he would be translating his books. So, it was a tremendous effort on Srila Prabhupada’s part, and we should make his effort fruitful by reading the books that he worked so hard to give us.

There is another important instruction Srila Prabhupada gave about reading his books, in a talk on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.1 on October 23rd, 1976, in Vrindavan: “Divyam is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā—janma karma ca me divyam.”

Many of you may know this verse; it’s one of the most important in the Bhagavad-gītā.

TRANSLATION

One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.

And Prabhupada explains: “If you simply take a little trouble to understand Krishna, that tapasya is required. To read Krishna’s instructions—Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and try to understand Krishna.” Because the idea is—if you understand Krishna, you go back home back to Godhead. “Because that tapasya, even if you take it as a little painful—it is not painful, it is very pleasing—but we avoid it; we think it is painful! ‘Oh, who is going to read books? We are meant for selling books, not for reading books.’ That is not good. We should read also; that is tapasya, austerity, sādhya that is tapasya, don’t think that our books are simply meant for selling, no! They are meant for reading also. If we read regularly at least two hours, three hours, that is tapasya. Tapo divyam—to understand the spiritual position, my spiritual position, Krishna’s spiritual position.”

So, here, Srila Prabhupada says two or three hours. . . Srila Prabhupada gave many instructions about reading his books. Many times, he said, “At least one hour a day,” but he often also said, “Two hours or three hours a day.” Now, that might seem a lot because we have so much service and various responsibilities, but we should try to read Srila Prabhupada’s books as much as possible.

I don’t want to go against the thrust of our talk, which is that we should read Srila Prabhupada’s books. But I am going to quote a couple of statements by Srila Prabhupada, that in a way mitigate that requirement. I’m doing so to make the presentation balanced.

There was a period in India when Srila Prabhupada was keeping us so busy (this is quite early, around 1971, in Calcutta) that I wasn’t having time to read his books. And I was feeling very guilty about it. So, I came into Srila Prabhupada’s room in the Calcutta temple, the same building that’s still there, and I didn’t say anything but Srila Prabhupada himself brought up the subject. And he quoted the verse from the second Chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, naṣṭa-prāyeṣu abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā, that by regular attendance in the Bhāgavatam class or by rendering service to the pure devotee—all that is inauspicious in the heart is practically destroyed, and a transcendental loving service to the Lord is established, as an irrevocable fact.

So, Srila Prabhupada was explaining to me that if you are serving the person Bhagavat, (which we were very much under his direction) if you are serving the person Bhagavat, then all the truths of the book Bhagavat will be revealed to you even if you don’t read the book. And I felt Srila Prabhupada was reading my mind, that I was feeling guilty for not reading his books. But the circumstances were such, that he was keeping us so busy in his service, the service of the person Bhagavat, that we didn’t have time. We hardly had time to read the book Bhagavat.

So, ultimately our advancement in Krishna consciousness depends on mercy. Of course, we have to make our effort, for sure, but it depends on mercy. And it was my conviction from quite early in my Krishna consciousness, that the secret of success in devotional service is to please the spiritual master, and by serving him as he desires. And in general, part of our service to Srila Prabhupada is reading his books, as he is emphasizing again and again in these excerpts. But there may be occasions when we have so much other service that we don’t have time to read. But if we are sincerely doing that service, for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā, he’ll understand and he will bless us with spiritual understanding.

The next quotation is a memory from Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Bhagavat dasa.  “Every day you have to read, study, and learn my books. Just like a lawyer learns the law books. You must know everything—Chapter and verse. If you do not know, how will you preach? Unless you know my books, how will you teach these men? Do you know that every day, even I read my own books? Do you know why I read my books? I read my books every day because even I learn something new when I read my books! These are not my books; I do not write these books! Every morning, when I sit here to write my books, Krishna comes personally and dictates to me what to write. I simply take dictation from Krishna to write these books. Therefore, when I read them, even I learn something.”

So, I would like to thank you all for joining us for this auspicious discussion on the topic of Srila Prabhupada’s books and instructions, as the basis and essence of spiritual life and transcendental knowledge. If you have any comments or questions, please raise your hand, your virtual hand or actual hand.

Ambarish Maharaja dasa: On some occasions Srila Prabhupada said that if you will just read this one book—Bhagavad-gītā—you will become Krishna conscious. Or, if you will just read this one book, Kṛṣṇa book, you will become Krishna conscious. And some devotees are literally taking this instruction and they are reading only Bhagavad-gītā, or only Kṛṣṇa book. Can you comment on this instruction?

Giriraj Swami: It’s true, Srila Prabhupada has made statements like that. The purpose of the statements—- well, he is appreciating his books. And he had some exchanges with his servant Srutakirti dasa. He said about Kṛṣṇa book, (and I think he said it about other books as well); “This book is so nice, that if you read just this one book, you’ll become Krishna conscious. In fact, if you read just one Chapter you can become Krishna conscious. In fact, if you read just one paragraph you can become Krishna conscious. In fact, if you read just one sentence you can become Krishna conscious. And if you read just one word you can become Krishna conscious!” Because Prabhupada’s books are Krishna, and when we read his books, we are associating with Krishna. So, this is a glorification of his books. It is not a recommendation that we just read one word, or we read just one paragraph, or even just one book. We should read all of them, as he said on many occasions.

Once, quite early in my devotional service, I came across this statement – it’s a verse – tatra laulyam api, that the price to pay for Krishna consciousness, is the eagerness to become Krishna conscious. So, in my neophyte understanding, I asked Srila Prabhupada in Bombay, when we were living in the city, before we got Juhu. I asked Srila Prabhupada; “I read that the only price we have to pay to become Krishna conscious is eagerness. So, if we have eagerness, do we have to read books?” And Srila Prabhupada replied; “If you are eager, why should you not read the books? If you are eager you’ll want to read the books!”

Another thing that Srila Prabhupada said is that speaking for half an hour is equal to reading for two hours. Because, yes, but of course, many devotees including myself, depending on the context. . . I know, when I was teaching in VIHE in Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education—for one hour class I would prepare for three hours! I would read and prepare for about three hours to give a class for one hour. It’s beneficial to repeat what you’ve read, very beneficial to repeat what you’ve read. You get realization when you repeat, and therefore Srila Prabhupada made that statement, that speaking for half an hour is equal to reading for two hours. But again, to speak nicely for a half hour, we probably have to read for two hours.

Devotee: Srila Prabhupada often times said that it’s more important to hear than to read. And also now, a lot of audio books are available, and many devotees take to listening to Srila Prabhupada’s books, narrated by devotees. Is that equal, or tantamount, or comparable to reading Srila Prabhupada’s books? Listening to his audio books?

Giriraj Swami: Well, both are good. Physically holding the book in your hand and reading it, has value. There is a benefit to holding a book in your hands and reading it. One of the benefits is that you can stop and re-read something that strikes you, something that you want to understand better, something that you want to understand more deeply. Whereas, with an audio book, it’s also good to listen to audio books for sure, but with an audio book it just keeps going, you don’t have a chance to stop and go over it. Another reason I like to hold a physical book and read it, is because in shastras – Sri Īśopaniṣad, Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta—you get the original verses in Sanskrit and Bengali, and the synonyms and of course, the translations and the purports. And I like to refer back to the Sanskrit or the Bengali, to see how the translation and purports relate to them.

There are so many statements about physical books. In The Nectar of Devotion – it says that someone who keeps transcendental literature in his home, there is so much benefit! So, I can see advantages to actually holding a book in your hands and reading it. And on top of that, of course, you can listen to audio books. I like to hold the book and read it. And go back and reread what I want to reread. I might read several verses, and then I might have a thought, “Oh, let me go back,” something will strike me from a few verses earlier, and I want to go back and refer to the verse that came earlier. So, there are advantages to holding a physical book in your hand and reading it. Yeah, of course, audio books are also good and I would say that an advantage to the audio book is that you can listen while you are doing other things, which you can’t do with a physical book. With a physical book you have to read, you can’t do other things. Whereas with an audio book, you can listen while you are cooking, cleaning the house, or making garlands for the deities, whatever. So that’s an advantage to an audio book.

VK dasa: You gave us a nice class about trying to realize the message of Srila Prabhupada of how important it is to read Srila Prabhupada books. So, we start to read, and sometimes you may encounter some absolutely fantastic statements of Srila Prabhupada which go way beyond our practical experience. Like a description of Dwarka for example, that Maharaja Ugrasena had quadrillions of bodyguards! Now, hardly any city can accommodate so many people. And when they encounter statements like this, should we try to apply some high dimensional explanations? Or should we just take it on face value? Srila Prabhupada doesn’t give much explanation. There are few statements like this, and it can give rise to many doubts, and these books are supposed to remove our doubts, but some statements they tend to create some doubts. So how would you suggest us to deal with statements like this?

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. I happen to be a member of the Shastric Advisory Committee of the GBC. And a couple of years ago we met in Houston, Texas, and we discussed problematic areas in Srila Prabhupada’s books. And one of the problematic areas was exactly what you quoted about the fantastic number of people. And one of the learned members of the Shastric Advisory, is Hari Parshad dasa, and he had access to some of the commentaries.

And in relation to that particular question of those huge numbers, according to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, the present tense is used; not the past tense. And the significance of the present tense being used is that it is going on now, which means in the spiritual world. So, it’s true, we can’t imagine such fantastic numbers in Dwarka, as it appeared in the material world. But that was how he resolved that particular issue, with reference to the commentaries.

So, part of our work when we, as members of the Shastric Advisory Committee got together, was to discuss problematic statements in Srila Prabhupada’s books. Some are problematic for the reason you mentioned, that the figures are just so fantastic. Some are problematic because Srila Prabhupada seems to make statements that do not seem in harmony with our ideas of morality. So, there are a few categories of problematic statements in Srila Prabhupada’s books. And we found it refreshing to be able to discuss openly, without being afraid of being considered demons for having these questions. It was actually very refreshing, and I think at the end of the whole exercise, we had more faith in Srila Prabhupada, and felt more of his mercy.

There is a verse in Caitanya-caritāmṛta stating the idea that one should not avoid discussing siddhanta because it’s problematic, but such discussions make the mind stronger and help us to develop love for Krishna. So, thank you for bringing up that point, it’s very relevant.

Devotee: The question is not about reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, but how important is it for us to discuss with other devotees what we’ve read in Srila Prabhupada’s books? And also, to systematically study his books. Sometimes senior devotees do not really pay much attention, or do not give much importance to discussing Srila Prabhupada’s books with others. They emphasize a personal reading of the books. So, are there any statements or instructions of Srila Prabhupada that you are aware of, in which Srila Prabhupada emphasized or at least commented on discussing the content of his books with other devotees and systematically studying them?

Giriraj Swami: Discussion is very important. We should spend our time discussing Srila Prabhupada’s books. And one of the last instructions that Srila Prabhupada gave, in one of his last purports that he dictated while he was lying on his bed in Vrindavan, in his last weeks. His instruction was, “Discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily, as much as possible! The more you discuss, the more the matter becomes clarified.” Then he glorified Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, discussion is very important! There are many general instructions in the shastra about discussing; satāṁ prasaṅgam mama vīrya-saṁvido. But in this case Srila Prabhupada gave this very strong instruction – We should, “Discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam daily, as much as possible; the more we discuss, the more the subject becomes clarified.” So that’s very important.

I recall visits of godbrothers who come to my ashram here, in Carpinteria, California, and spent some time with me. And I remember in one case in particular, my godbrother and I were discussing, I think it was Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and I remember we both felt this, and how we should be spending our time, discussing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, discussing Srila Prabhupada’s books. Certainly, discussion is very important, very welcome, very beneficial!

Madana Mohan dasa: Thank you Maharaja, (His name inaudible 1.25.40) a senior leader from Ukraine. He is from Donetsk, the area of conflict, and he has taken great courage to stay back there and help lead our movement in that dangerous region. He will ask a question.

Devotee: The question is about another statement which is not in Srila Prabhupada’s books per se, because it’s from the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. There is a statement that brahmans in Vedic times were given vergins. And they discussed that topic with some devotees in their region, and the had some doubts about the statement—why did brahmans need vergins? Why the girls were given to them? Maybe, you could elucidate, or please, give us some principles on how to approach such statements in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, concerning our Vedic culture.

Giriraj Swami: I must have glossed over that, because I really don’t know how to answer this question. I could speculate, but I don’t want to speculate.

Madana Mohan dasa: (Presenting the next speaker) He is a leader from the Far East region of Russia, and he is looking after the Far East and Yakutia. Those regions have extreme weather conditions, and extreme difficulties in preaching. Sometimes he distributes Prabhupada’s books at minus sixty degrees centigrade! I just want to introduce these devotees to you Maharaja; I hope you don’t mind.

Giriraj Swami: No, all glories to them!

Nanda Kumar: It was minus fifty. . . it was warmer yesterday. . .

The question relates to the course we’ve just studied under the tutorials of BV Maharaja, ISKCON hermeneutics, which you took part in developing, Giriraj Maharaja ). And in the course of our studies, we also studied the relative hierarchy of different shastras. It’s called Shastra Tara Tamiya—the relative sequence of hierarchy of different shastric statements. And on top of the hierarchical order, we have Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam placed as pramana, the highest evidence. Why not Caitanya-caritāmṛta? Are there any statements that compare the importance of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmṛta for us?

Also, his other question is, does it actually relate, or does it relate to hierarchical orders or relative importance among different books of Srila Prabhupada? That some of them are more important or foundational for us, or some are less?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Jiva Gosvami and his Sandarbha has given the argument or established the fact that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the highest evidence. But Srila Prabhupada’s general approach to the scriptures was to point out that all the scriptures are saying the same thing; definitely all of the books that he has given us. In that sense the version in one book will corroborate or support the version in another book. But in terms of degree of advancement of study, Srila Prabhupada said first Sri Īśopaniṣad, then Bhagavad-gītā, then The Nectar of Devotion, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and then Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So, it would probably be good for a new devotee to read Sri Īśopaniṣad and Bhagavad-gītā first, and then The Nectar of Devotion, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and then Caitanya-caritāmṛta. But there are no hard and fast rules.

I once asked Srila Prabhupada about reading his different books, and he said; “They are all nectar and wherever you have taste you can read there. You don’t have to go in any specific order. They are all Krishna!”

Ishana Prabhu: (through translation) This is something that he has been harboring with for quite some time and hasn’t come to a satisfactory resolution yet. So, he would like to take this opportunity to ask you. He feels very fortunate to be able to hear your instructions on the importance of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. His question is; ”Why on the one hand we understand that Krishna is really eager to bring us back home back to Godhead and this is the most important activity we can be doing, in trying to liberate the conditioned souls, and try and bring them back home back to Godhead. But on the other hand, it’s a fact that instructions on pure devotional service, in particular on Hare Krishna maha-mantra, somehow seem to be concealed in the shastra. They are not so evident, they are not so openly present there. We have to really study the shastra very deeply and take a lot of pain to reveal these confidential instructions from the shastra, for the benefit of the entire world. These two facts seem to be incompatible with one another. That on one hand pure devotional service is all beneficial, but on the other hand it is concealed in the shastra. So, Maharaja, if you have any thoughts or comments on that, he will be most grateful.

Giriraj Swami: There is a very interesting discussion that Srila Prabhupada presented on the subject of maya, testing devotees. And the idea is, you could say, to maintain the confidentiality of devotional service. I think I can find that. . .

This is me speaking, I’m reading from an answer I gave to a question; and within that answer I quote what Srila Prabhupada said. “Srila Prabhupada says that maya tests us, especially in the beginning, to protect Krishna. She tests us whether we really want to serve Krishna, or whether we are coming to bother Krishna with our material desires. At first especially, she tests us as a service to Krishna but she wants us to serve Krishna; she wants us to pass the test; and when we do—we make advancement.” Here is the quotation from Teachings of Queen Kunti, Chapter Three; “If one takes to Krishna consciousness, in the beginning there will be many disturbances caused by maya, the material energy of illusion. Maya will test us to see how firmly we are fixed in Krishna consciousness. Because she is also an agent of Krishna, she does not allow anyone the freedom to disturb Krishna. Therefore, she tests very rigidly to see whether we have taken to Krishna consciousness to disturb Krishna, or are actually serious. That is maya’s business. So, in the beginning there will be tests by maya, and we shall feel so many disturbances while making progress in Krishna consciousness, but if we follow the rules and regulations and chant regularly as prescribed, then we shall remain steady.”

So yes, Krishna wants us all to engage in pure devotional service and go back home back to Godhead, but as Prabhupada said, God is not so cheap, and in order to approach God, we have to pass many tests of maya, in her role as a servant of Krishna.

This may be a sort of indirect answer to the question, and if the devotee who asked the question would like me to address it more fully or more directly, I am willing to—he can repeat exactly what it is that is troubling him, that seems to be contradictory, and I’ll try to approach it from a different angle.

Ishana Prabhu: (through translation) His particular concern is that he hears from other devotees this question, that why is it so, that the Hare Krishna mantra is mentioned so seldom, if at all, in our main scriptures.

Giriraj Swami: Definitely the chanting of the holy name is mentioned. There is a very wonderful verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, Text Eleven, if I recall.

TEXT 11

etan nirvidyamānānām
icchatām akuto-bhayam
yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ
harer nāmānukīrtanam 

TRANSLATION

O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.

COMMENT

So, throughout Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a glorification of the chanting of the holy names. The whole story of Ajamila is a glorification of the chanting of the holy names. And then, up until the very end of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a glorification of the chanting of the holy name. But as far as the specific mention of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—it comes in the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad, where it says that these sixteen words—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—are specifically designed to counteract the effects of Kali-yuga. So, it’s there, in the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad. And it’s also there in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, by Srila Vrindavan dasa Thakura. He openly and explicitly quotes the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

Madana Mohan dasa reading questions from the chat: What is the purpose of word-for-word translations in Prabhupada’s books? Especially, what’s the purpose of us repeating these word-for-word translations in classes on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? Because usually it’s done more or less like a perfunctory part of our class, without paying much attention to what is being said by Srila Prabhupada’s word-for-word section. Maybe you heard something from Srila Prabhupada about the importance of it in his books, so it becomes more meaningful for us?

Giriraj Swami: Well, when I was speaking about the benefit of holding a book in one’s hand and reading it, as opposed to hearing an audio book, I mentioned being able to refer to the word-for-word translations, the synonyms, which I find very helpful. In fact, the verse I quoted about the holy name from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two Chapter One, Text Eleven, etan nirvidyamānānām—-—it’s beautiful the way Srila Prabhupada renders the Sanskrit into English. And I see that from the word-for-word translation.

I’ll explain what I mean with the word aṇu. The word aṇu has two meanings—one is to follow, like we are rūpānugas, followers of Rupa Gosvami. And another meaning of aṇu is – continuous. Like in the definition of pure devotional service by Rupa Gosvami; anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ. ānuśīlanaṁ means it’s a continuous cultivation. So, we have this in the synonyms – that aṇu means following and aṇu also means always. And I think it’s beautiful the way Srila Prabhupada included both meanings of aṇu in his translation of this verse; “O king, constant chanting. . .” So that’s the one meaning of aṇu – “constant” – “O king, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of great authorities. . .” So, “After the ways of great authorities"—is the other meaning of aṇu—- “following.”

So, I think it’s wonderful that we have the synonyms. And I think that being able to read the synonyms as a part of our reading of the book, is very helpful. I love reading the synonyms and seeing how Srila Prabhupada incorporated the Sanskrit meanings in his translation. So, I personally don’t find it to be some duty we have to go through it, but it doesn’t really serve any purpose. To me it’s very important to know what each word means. This is my humble perspective.

Devotee through host translation: Sometimes it seems that in other spiritual traditions it’s easier to study scriptures. Christians have the Bible; the Jews have Torah and Muslims have the Koran. And they can just study one book over and over again for the rest of their lives, and observe deeply in the book, and study it well, and know it by heart. But we have many books. All of them are foundational. And we want to know them and study them well, but we really feel short of lifespan. So maybe it’s more advisable for us to focus on one particular book and study deeply, rather than trying to study all of the scriptures given to us by Srila Prabhupada.

Giriraj Swami: I would say that it’s a matter of taste. As Srila Prabhupada told me that I can read wherever I have taste. But I did hear from Srila Prabhupada’s servants that Srila Prabhupada knew by memory almost all of the verses of the Bhagavad-gītā, and the ones that he did not know by memory, he was aware of. In other words, he was aware of every single verse in the Bhagavad-gītā, and he knew almost all of them by heart. So, I guess, if you want to focus on one book and really dedicate yourself to it—that would be fine! As Srila Prabhupada said, “Even one line you can become Krishna conscious.” I think that would be fine, and I would tend to think that the one book should be the Bhagavad-gītā. But I don’t envy the Jews or the Christians or the Muslims because they have only one book. I think we are blessed to have so many books about Krishna!

In one of the statements that I read earlier, the quotation from The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada does make the point that one doesn’t have to read many books, but he does say; “Practically, if one very carefully reads Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, and this Nectar of Devotion, that will give him sufficient knowledge to understand the science of Krishna consciousness; one need not take the trouble of reading other books.” Of course, at that stage we had the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, we did not have the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, but yeah, we are fortunate that we have so many books!

Madana Mohan dasa: Prabhupada said that his books are the law books for the next ten-thousand years. Sometimes devotees say that Prabhupada’s statements and letters and morning walks and lectures should be contextualized, because they were given to a particular audience, and they are of a lesser relative importance for us. At the same time, you must be aware, I am sure you are aware of for instance, his statements in his letters, conversations, and lectures, actually do take precedence over statements in his books. And that famous statement that he gave to you about intelligence and organization. That seminal statement is definitely something that he didn’t state in the book, but it’s the motto for our entire leadership. Maybe you could talk on how to balance what we hear in Prabhupada’s lectures and what we read in Prabhupada’s books. How these two are actually inseparable, and how they complement each other and corroborate each other, rather than contradict.

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good point, because Srila Prabhupada discussed topics in conversations, in a way that he did not discuss them in his books, although the philosophy in his books is in his books. But the application is very particular in a specific conversation. Like that one you mentioned, in Srila Prabhupada’s last days, he asked me, “So, do you think this movement will go on after I leave?” And I said, “Yes, if the devotees are sincere and they chant their rounds and follow the principles, it will go on.” And then Srila Prabhupada replied; “Organization; intelligence and organization!”

Another very important statement of Srila Prabhupada’s, which you won’t find in so many words in his books, is about cooperation; “Your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate with each other to keep the movement going after I depart.” That is such an important instruction which you won’t find in so many words in his books. So, his conversations, his lectures, they complement what is in his books. And we would not have a complete picture of Krishna consciousness without those conversations and lectures. Of course, there is a lot in the books, but there is such a wealth of instructions in Srila Prabhupada’s lectures and conversations.

I think of one conversation on a walk in Mayapur about guru, with H.H Jayapataka Swami Maharaja who was there, he asked something at the beginning. But the questions were coming mainly from Jayadvaita Swami and Satsvarupa Maharaja, and it really helps one to understand guru! It’s such an important conversation! And I read it again and again and again. And although the philosophy is ultimately there in the books, but how it is applied is very much clarified in that conversation about guru. So, I’m grateful that Srila Prabhupada was so generously sharing his time with us on his morning walks, answering so many questions in his conversations.

Madana Mohan dasa: Srila Kumar Prabhu, the temple president of our temple in Ukraine, asked a question about what helped you Maharaja, at such a young age to take to Srila Prabhupada’s instructions as your life and soul and become the only purpose of your life? What helped you?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada’s mercy is all I can say. . . the sequence in brief is that I was (This goes back to high school) looking for perfect happiness. Then I understood that I could not achieve perfect happiness materially. I could achieve perfect happiness only spiritually. So then, my quest was to become spiritually realized, and then I realized that I couldn’t make spiritual progress on my own. I needed a guru. And then my quest became to find my guru. I met many so-called gurus, and then eventually, by Krishna’s grace, I met Srila Prabhupada. And when I did, I knew that he was my guru, and I just surrendered to him on the spot! On the spot, means the first time I saw him, he gave a talk at my university Brandeis University, near Boston. And then, in the next night I went to the temple and he gave a talk there, and after the talk he took questions. And when I asked my question and heard his answer, I knew he was my guru then! And I surrendered, by his grace.

Madana Mohan dasa: Thank you very much maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: I brought up the verse earlier and my paraphrase of the translation was pretty accurate, but still I felt a little bad I couldn’t remember it properly. I’d like to read it now. It’s Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Chapter Two, Text 117.

TEXT 117

siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa 

TRANSLATION

A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

COMMENT

That’s what we’ve been doing!

If His Holiness Bhakti Chaitanya Swami Maharaja is still with us, it would be a blessing to hear from him!

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: Thank you very much Maharaja. Thank you, very much! I learnt some things today, and really, pretty much any time that I sit down and listen to you for a while, I learn something, and I learnt some valuable things today. So just thank you very much indeed!

Giriraj Swami: Okay, if I please you, I feel my effort has been a success.

Madana Mohan dasa: Thank you very much for sharing your precious time with us, and we do hope and pray that it’s not the last time that you bless us with your wisdom, knowledge, realizations, and your association. We would definitely like to invite you again on a topic you feel inspired to speak on.