SB 7.5.12 – Vaikuntha Appreciation and Competition

Devotee: Today Maharaja will speak on Vaikuntha appreciation and competition from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam at Canto Seven Chapter Five Text Twelve. So please join me in welcoming His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja. Thank you, Maharaja, so much for joining us. Hare Krishna

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Hare Krishna.

I will begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers and leaving a short kirtan and then we will discuss Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

So my dear devotees on Zoom, as far as possible, I request you to put on your cameras so we can see your moon-like faces and it will be more personal. Today we shall read a very important verse and purport from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Canto Seven, Chapter Five, Text Twelve.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 12

sa yadānuvrataḥ puṁsāṁ
paśu-buddhir vibhidyate
anya eṣa tathānyo ’ham
iti bheda-gatāsatī

TRANSLATION

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with the living entity because of his devotional service, one becomes a paṇḍita and does not make distinctions between enemies, friends and himself. Intelligently, he then thinks, “Every one of us is an eternal servant of God, and therefore we are not different from one another.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

When Prahlāda Mahārāja’s teachers and demoniac father asked him how his intelligence had been polluted, Prahlāda Mahārāja said, “As far as I am concerned, my intelligence has not been polluted. Rather, by the grace of my spiritual master and by the grace of my Lord, Kṛṣṇa, I have now learned that no one is my enemy and no one is my friend. We are all actually eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, but under the influence of the external energy we think that we are separately situated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead as friends and enemies of one another. This mistaken idea has now been corrected, and therefore, unlike ordinary human beings, I no longer think that I am God and that others are my friends and enemies. Now I am rightly thinking that everyone is an eternal servant of God and that our duty is to serve the supreme master, for then we shall stand on the platform of oneness as servants.”

COMMENT

So, I will stop intermittently during the purport to speak. And to begin, I want to comment on one sentence here, “I no longer think that I am God and that others are my friends and enemies.”

We may or may not admit that we think of ourselves as God, but the underlying mentality or psychology of everyone in the material world, is to think that he is the center of the universe. My godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu says that it’s as if people are walking around with the consciousness to say, “Excuse me, I have an important announcement to make, I am the center of the universe and you all should cooperate with me and do what I want.” He gives the example that most people live their lives as if it were a drama or a movie, in which he or she is the hero or heroine. And he thinks that everyone else is the supporting cast who is meant to support ourselves in our heroic exploits.

You can imagine how much conflict there will be, because I am thinking I am the center and you should be supporting me, and you are thinking you are the center and I should be supporting you. I am thinking I am the hero and you are the supporting cast, and you are thinking no, I am the hero and you are the supporting cast. So, this is the mentality of conditioned souls to think that they are the center of the universe or the hero or the heroine of the drama or movie of life. And in this verse Prahlada Maharaja describes how he became freed from that mentality. I will go back to the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

We are all actually eternal servants of Krishna but under the influence of the external energy we think that we are separately situated from the personality of godhead as friends and enemies of one another.

COMMENT

So yes, I think I am the center, I am the hero, I am the heroine, and if you support me you are my friend and if you don’t you are my enemy.

PURPORT (continued)

This mistaken idea has now been corrected, and therefore, unlike ordinary human beings, I no longer think that I am God and that others are my friends and enemies. Now I am rightly thinking that everyone is an eternal servant of God and that our duty is to serve the supreme master, for then we shall stand on the platform of oneness as servants.”

Demons think of everyone as a friend or enemy, but Vaiṣṇavas say that since everyone is a servant of the Lord, everyone is on the same platform. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava treats other living entities neither as friends nor as enemies, but instead tries to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, teaching everyone that we are all one as servants of the Supreme Lord but are uselessly wasting our valuable lives by creating nations, communities and other groups of friends and enemies. Everyone should come to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus feel oneness as a servant of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, this is instructive for us because even though we are in a spiritual society and should keep Krishna in the center, and work cooperatively for the pleasure of Krishna, due to our conditioning we still have the tendency, we may still have the tendency to want to be the center and to think of others as friends or enemies according to whether they support us or not in our ambitions.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone should come to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus feel oneness as a servant of the Lord. Although there are 8,400,000 species of life, a Vaiṣṇava feels this oneness. The Īśopaniṣad advises, ekatvam anupaśyataḥ. A devotee should see the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be situated in everyone’s heart and should also see every living entity as an eternal servant of the Lord. This vision is called ekatvam, oneness.

COMMENT

I will just read that, a very nice verse.

Īśo 7

yasmin sarvāṇi bhūtāny
ātmaivābhūd vijānataḥ
tatra ko mohaḥ kaḥ śoka
ekatvam anupaśyataḥ

TRANSLATION

One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?

COMMENT

So anupaśyataḥ means ekatvam anupaśyataḥ means to see the oneness in all living entities.

PURPORT (continued)

This vision is called ekatvam, oneness. Although there is a relationship of master and servant, both master and servant are one because of their spiritual identity.

COMMENT

Lord Chaitanya’s sublime philosophy is called the acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. Inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference. The Lord and the living entities are one in quality but different in quantity. The Lord is infinite and the living entities are infinitesimal, as Srila Prabhupada would say, or as we would say infinitesimal.

So, we are one in quality because we are spiritual but different in quantity because again, the Lord is infinite and we are infinitesimal. And because we are one in quality, we can have relationships with one another. We can have relationships with the Lord, and because the Lord is great and we are small, the relationship is defined as one of servant and master. We are the servants and the Lord is the master. So that is acintya-bhedābheda-tattva—inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference. So although there is a relationship of master and servant, both master and servant are one because of their spiritual identity.

PURPORT (continued)

This is also ekatvam. Thus the conception of ekatvam for the Vaiṣṇava is different from that of the Māyāvādī.

Hiraṇyakaśipu asked Prahlāda Mahārāja how he had become antagonistic to his family. When a family member is killed by an enemy, all the members of the family would naturally be inimical to the murderer, but Hiraṇyakaśipu saw that Prahlāda had become friendly with the murderer.

COMMENT

The background is that Hiranyakasipu had a brother named Hiraṇyakṣa, and Hiraṇyakṣa was killed by Vishnu in the form of Varahadeva. So ordinarily, the members of a family would be inimical to a person who killed one of their relatives, and in the case of Prahlada Maharaja, Vishnu in the form of Varahadeva, killed his uncle Hiraṇyakṣa, the brother of his father. But Prahlada, rather than being inimical to Vishnu as his father was, was friendly with the murderer as Prabhupada says here.

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore he asked, “Who has created this kind of intelligence in you? Have you developed this consciousness by yourself? Since you are a small boy, someone must have induced you to think this way.”

COMMENT

To give a little background, one day Hiranyakasipu asked his son Prahlada, “What is the best thing you have learned from your teachers?” And Prahlada replied,

śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam 

The nine of kinds of devotional service, Nava-vidhā-bhakti.

So when Hiranyakasipu heard this answer from Prahlada, he became angry and he blamed Prahlada’s teachers, Amarka and Sananda, who were the sons of Sukracharya, who is the guru of the demons. So Hiranyakasipu blamed them that, “you are teaching Prahlada wrong things,” and they said, “no we are not,” because Prahlada had spoken favorably about Vishnu. Then Hiranyakasipu said, “then you are allowing Vaishnavas in disguise to enter into the school.” And the teachers said, “no we are not allowing Vaishnavas in disguise to infiltrate.” Then Hiranyakasipu said, “how has Prahlada learned this?” And the teachers replied, “we don’t know you better ask him.”

And yes, three very beautiful and important verses, Prahlada Maharaja explained, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ-that people, they do not know that their real interest is Vishnu. Yes, after saying this, “śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ,” so Prahlada’s father asked him, “How have you become Krishna conscious?” And Prahlada replied,

matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām 

So, matir na kṛṣṇe means one’s inclination to Krishna is never aroused from parataḥ-the efforts of others; svato-from one’s own efforts; and by the combined efforts of oneself and others.

One might think logically, all the possibilities have been eliminated-matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā. And then Prahlada explains the mystery.

naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat 

Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaishnava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined towards materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Krishna conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way, can one be freed from material contamination.

So in effect Prahlada was telling his father that, “You don’t need to worry about becoming Krishna conscious, you can become Krishna conscious only if you bow down to the lotus feet of a pure devotee. mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ, abhiṣeka means, bathing ceremony. So, literally mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ means to bathe oneself in the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee. Prahlada was in effect telling his father you don’t need to worry about becoming Krishna conscious because you are too proud, you will never bow down to the lotus feet of a pure devotee. So now, returning to the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

When a family member is killed by an enemy, all the members of the family would naturally be inimical to the murderer, but Hiraṇyakaśipu saw that Prahlāda had become friendly with the murderer. Therefore he asked, “Who has created this kind of intelligence in you? Have you developed this consciousness by yourself? Since you are a small boy, someone must have induced you to think this way.” Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to reply that an attitude favorable toward Viṣṇu can develop only when the Lord is favorable (sa yadānuvrataḥ). As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is the friend of everyone (suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati). The Lord is never an enemy to any of the millions of living entities, but is always a friend to everyone. This is true understanding. If one thinks that the Lord is an enemy, his intelligence is paśu-buddhi, the intelligence of an animal. He falsely thinks, “I am different from my enemy, and my enemy is different from me. The enemy has done this, and therefore my duty is to kill him.”

COMMENT

That was Hiranyakasipu’s mentality. My enemy has done this killed my brother Hiraṇyakṣa and therefore my duty is to kill him.

PURPORT (continued)

This misconception is described in this verse as bheda-gatāsatī. The actual fact is that everyone is a servant of the Lord, as confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’).

COMMENT

…which means that the constitutional position or, svarūpa, the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa—eternal servant of Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

As servants of the Lord, we are one, and there can be no questions of enmity or friendship.

COMMENT

My dear devotees please take note, there can be no questions of enmity or friendship.

PURPORT (continued)

If one actually understands that every one of us is a servant of the Lord, where is the question of enemy or friend?

Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord.

COMMENT

I repeat that; everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada has explained the difference between transcendental competition and materialistic competition. Srila Prabhupada did encourage competition and book distribution, for example. I remember once in Juhu, Srila Prabhupada was in his room. Srila Prabhupada was speaking about the competition and book distribution between the Los Angeles temple, which is very strong in book distribution, and the book distribution of Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Radha-Damodara party. And Srila Prabhupada smiled and said, if Los Angeles defeats the Radha-Damodara party Tamal Krishna will have a heart attack. So Srila Prabhupada did encourage competition, the transcendental competition.

So what is the difference between a transcendental competition and mundane competition? The difference is that in transcendental competition one admits the good qualities of the other party, appreciates the good service of the other party. But still, one wants to excel, well one wants to exceed their performance to give more pleasure to Krishna, that is transcendental. And mundane means that we don’t acknowledge the good qualities or good service of the other party, but we put them down. Or in other words, we are envious; we are envious and if someone praises another person we think “oh well you don’t know what that person is really like, I know what that person is really like and if you knew you wouldn’t be praising him.” So that’s a materialistic attitude.

So transcendental competition is wonderful because the ultimate result is to give more pleasure to Krishna. So coming back to the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others.

COMMENT

This is so purifying.

PURPORT (continued)

Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, giving dictation according to the attitude of the servant. However, the Lord gives different dictation to the nondevotees and devotees. The nondevotees challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord dictates in such a way that the nondevotees forget the Lord’s service, life after life, and are punished by the laws of nature. But when a devotee very sincerely wants to render service to the Lord, the Lord dictates in a different way. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Everyone is actually a servant, not an enemy or friend, and everyone is working under different directions from the Lord, who directs each living entity according to his mentality.

COMMENT

So we should cultivate this mood of service, this vision of seeing the others as eternal servants of Krishna, and seeing us all as one, as servants of Krishna. And we can also develop that consciousness by cleansing the heart by chanting the holy names, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, that when we purify our hearts then naturally we will see Krishna as the Supreme, and see one another as Krishna’s servants, and see ourselves all as one, as servants of Krishna. And then our relationships will be very congenial and harmonious and Krishna and Srila Prabhupada will be more pleased. As Srila Prabhupada said, your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate together to maintain this institution after I am gone.

And so the mentality or the consciousness that is favorable for that cooperation is explained in this verse and purport. And this is very important for us to show our love for Srila Prabhupada. Hare Krishna.

So, are there any questions or comments? If you have any questions raise your hand.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna Sachi.

Devotee: May I ask a question? Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to you.

Guru Maharaja, I wanted to ask how does one develop the genuine humility to think of oneself as a servant of Krishna at all times, because there are times when we hear classes and we feel that I am a servant of Krishna but somehow or the other later due to the modes of material nature, and due to our own pride we feel like the hero or the heroine and we treat everyone else as supporting cast. So how does one develop the genuine humility and maintain it?

Giriraj Swami: Yes that’s a very good, practical question. To begin, I would a recommend attentive chanting, because attentive chanting will make you humble and even if you struggle to chant attentively which many of us do, that also should make you humble. You think you are so great but you can’t even fix your mind on one mantra without your mind wandering. So either way, chanting attentively successfully will cleanse your heart and make you humble because you realize you are the eternal servant of Krishna. Not exactly even eternal servant of Krishna, but servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.

As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu described Himself, “I am not a brahma, acharya, I am not a grihastha, I am not vanaprastha, I am not a sannyasi, I am not a brahman, I am not a kshatriya, I am not a Vaishnava, I am not a sudra.” Then what are you? Gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ-servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopīs. So that is our actual identity and again, if we are able to chant attentively, then ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, our heart, the mirror of the mind will be cleansed and we can see ourselves as we are; as eternal servants of the servants of Krishna.

And if we are not successful, that also should make us humble because we can’t even chant with attention, but still we have to keep trying. As Bhurijana Prabhu says, “When we chant, it’s a battle with the mind.” We can’t just give into the mind and let it go take us wherever it wants. He said it’s a battle, but that battle must be fought. So yes, keep trying.

Devotee: Thank you so much Guru Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Brahama Samhita dasa.

Devotee: This is a fascinating topic a lot could be said about it. I suppose a few thoughts come to my mind when I hear this, because one thing is that, I don’t remember, if its Rupa Gosvami or Sanatana Gosvami, but they talk about envy in a certain place, and they say that envy can actually be used for advancement in Krishna consciousness, but it’s better not to even try to do that. So they say, “don’t worry about that,” going to something else. I suppose in practical terms when we are encouraging competition amongst devotees, it seems like, you tell me, I think that if we are encouraging that type of competition, don’t we have to be aware that it doesn’t get out of hand such that the competition becomes bitter and people develop genuine animosity. That’s one thing, and I guess the other thing too that comes. . . a lot comes to my mind actually, but I will note that we have seen in practical terms that even some of our most advanced devotees, for some reason, for one reason or another people do become envious and develop an inimical attitude. I was just kind of wondering maybe what you have to say about those two things.

Giriraj Swami: Well yes, Srila Prabhupada did say that cooperation is higher than competition and he encouraged a transcendental competition. But in cases where the competition became too bitter, Srila Prabhupada stopped it. In the Chicago temple at one stage, the competition became very bitter and Srila Prabhupada said if that’s the case, then they should just stop book distribution altogether, they should just sit down in the temple and chant and hear together.

So yes, he wanted his books to be distributed and to encourage book distribution. He also supported competition but only to the extent that it was favorable, and if it became unfavorable then he stopped it. And then what was the second part?

Devotee: I suppose the second part was that I have noticed. . .

Giriraj Swami: It was about enviousness.

Devotee: That’s right even a great, very advanced devotee, I hate to bring it up but my Guru Maharaja was the purest people, but still they were people, even in our society that developed an inimical attitude towards him. I am just wondering how does that happen in practical terms, what could be done about it?

Giriraj Swami: Well that is a problem to be envious of devotees; and it’s more serious when one is envious of more advanced empowered devotee. That’s disastrous as Prahlada says. I had my own contemplation of envy. In 1970 or 71 we were with Srila Prabhupada in Surat, and I had been thinking a lot about envy that it was bad for me, and that it could disturb my relationships with the other devotees. And I also consider that there is no reason to be envious of another devotee for having some service, because Krishna is unlimited and therefore Krishna’s service is unlimited. So even if some devotee has a particular service it doesn’t mean that I won’t have another service; I will also have service. And so there is no reason to be envious, and there is no benefit to being envious.

So I approached Srila Prabhupada while he was taking his massage, and I brought up the question of envy. And he immediately responded, “Can you think of any reasons not to be envious?” And I had already thought of so many reasons and I said “Yes.” Then he said “All right then to be envious means that you don’t like someone.” So that not liking, should not be directed towards devotees; that not liking should be directed toward demons who are always creating problems for devotees.

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, he explains how everything–lust, greed, anger, all those things can be dovetailed in the service of the Lord. But the one thing that cannot be dovetailed in the service of the Lord is envy. Envy of the Lord is what brings us into the material world and keeps us there. So we have to become free from envy, and if we think about it there is so many reasons not to be envious. But if we still have that envious feeling which Srila Prabhupada said, it means not liking; you don’t like someone, then direct that towards the demons not towards the devotees. We just read that everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Is that all right, you have a problem with that?

Devotee: No I don’t have a problem with it, but just to finish up, maybe you can just remark briefly. It does seem like to me that it is Kali-yuga and it seems like to me, you correct me if I am wrong, but this is a very big, ambitious undertaking, an International Society of Krishna consciousness and I just think that disturbances of this nature in Kali-yuga are be expected and I am just wondering how can they best be managed so things don’t get torn apart.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that’s true, we are in Kali-yuga and there is that tendency. I’ll read something nice that Srila Prabhupada said.

“Suppose you are in this Krishna conscious society now you cannot expect that all the members of the society will be first-class men. How can we expect that? We are collecting members of the society from all classes of men; so there may be a man in goodness, a man in passion, and a man in ignorance, but if you think, oh this man is not good; that man is not good. No, you should be tolerant. You haven’t got any connection with this man or that man. You are connected with the philosophy, with the process of life. Suppose you are on the ship; you do not find all the men to be of your choice. There may be different kinds of men, but what is that to you? You have to patiently cross the ocean, just sit down tightly on the ship and take advantage of the opportunity, that is your business.”

That’s a lecture by Srila Prabhupada in New York on January 3rd 1967. And another perhaps relevant quotation:

“Although there may be some difficulties within our society, these things are not very important. What is important is that we should simply fix our mind on Krishna’s lotus feet. That is His instruction in the Bhagavad-gītā, so we associate with one another so that we can assist each other in hearing and chanting about Krishna. That is the purpose of our society, to assist each other in hearing and chanting about Krishna. This you will not find in the materialistic society where all hearing and chanting is simply concerned with sense gratification. So, our desire is Krishna and we want to go back home back to Godhead where Krishna lives eternally. So you simply follow my instructions as I have given them to you and surely your life will be a success. (Srila Prabhupada’s letter dated November 22nd 1974.)”

“Yes, I like that, you haven’t got any connection with this man or that man, you are connected with the philosophy, with the process of life. Suppose you are on the ship; you do not find all men to be of your choice but what is that to you? You have to patiently cross the ocean. Just sit down tightly on the ship and take advantage of the opportunity.”

Devotee: Thank you for purifying my intelligence, it is very much appreciated.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you for your reciprocation. Yes, Kaurana Avatar dasa.

Devotee: Please accept my obeisances Guru Maharaja. My question is related to the verse that Prahlada Maharaja spoke about, you cannot become Krishna conscious by your own effort or somebody else’s effort. And I was thinking about how sometimes there are times where we may feel that we are putting in the effort, but we are not getting Krishna’s mercy or at least in the way that we expect the mercy to be. So I was wondering, I don’t know if it’s a case of not surrendering to a pure devotee completely, if it’s other things or if it’s a case of insincerity I am just not sure, so I guess there are two parts of the question Guru Maharaja. What could be causing it and how do we fix it?

Giriraj Swami: You are talking about lack of spiritual progress according to your hope or desire.

Devotee: Yes, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well in the Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, Srila Rupa Gosvami describes different qualities that are necessary for success. So first is utsāhān. Utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt So utsāhān means enthusiasm; niścayād means confidence, and dhairyāt means patience. So it may be that you are lacking patience. Srila Prabhupada said that enthusiasm without patience, can lead to a desire to control; and patience without enthusiasm, can lead to lethargy. So we need to have both, Utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt-that means performing activities favorable for devotional service. saṅga-tyāgāt-that means giving up the association of non-devotees; sato vṛtteḥ-following in the footsteps of the previous acharyas. ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati-these six principles undoubtedly ensure the complete success of pure devotional service.

So it’s good that you are enthusiastic, but at the same time you may need to be more patient. And you can read this, I’ve just presented the verse to you, but it’s a very good purport in the Upadeśāmṛta Text Three.

Devotee: May I ask a little follow-up Guru Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. I’ll just add one thing that I remember that Srila Prabhupada said in the purport, it says that the Krishna consciousness is so pure and perfect that one will be dragged to ultimate success.

Devotee: So I was wondering Guru Maharaja, that you spoke about patience and so it sometimes seems contradictory, because you are trying to develop patience but how do you develop patience when you are meant to desire spiritual progress. So in my heart there is some sort of a contradiction between sincerely desiring spiritual progress and developing patience. I don’t know what it is but I guess I haven’t understood patience properly.

Giriraj Swami: It’s good to be eager, it’s good to be enthusiastic. It’s good to be eager but you can’t expect that you can overcome perhaps lifetimes of conditioning so quickly. You have to give the process time to work and the niścayād confidence, that’s also very important. One reason someone might be impatient is because one lacks confidence and has some anxiety that “If I am not successful right away, I won’t be successful.” But niścayād means you are confident you will be successful. So you can be patient because you know ultimately you will be successful. If you are not sure that you’ll reach a certain destination you might be very anxious and impatient, but if you know you’ll reach it eventually then you can relax and enjoy the journey.

Devotee: Thanks Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna

Devotee: Guru Maharaja

Giriraj Swami: Yes

Devotee: I like your mention of the ship. One year, Tamal Krishna Maharaja was in Hungary farm for Srila Prabhupada’s  Vyasa-puja and under Sivarama Maharaja’s direction, the devotees there made a boat in the temple and Prabhupada was the captain of the ship, and the ship was pointed towards Krishna and there was different fish and sharks that were the apasampradāya, the Mayavadi philosophy they were kind of on the side of the ship but the ship was moving forward. So, I thought that ISKCON is compared to the ship and somehow Prabhupada gave us some shelter and guidance and yet I was wondering, if someone leaves a ship of ISKCON, and ends up in another spiritual movement or something, so I was just wondering if even though we are loyal to ISKCON, if we should have some appreciation of other spiritual groups without being disloyal to ISKCON. In your book there is a story of this Muslim film star when the devotees at Juhu were being attacked, Mr. Khan stood up for the devotees, which was a nice spirit so can we just try to develop that kind of outlook also?

Giriraj Swami: Sure, we can appreciate devotees, if we use the term in a broad sense, we can appreciate devotees and other traditions. But someone leaving ISKCON to go somewhere else, I wouldn’t feel so good about that. And Srila Prabhupada said if someone leaves, we should take 50 percent of the responsibility and they get 50 percent of the blame. So we should also think why, what could we have done, so that that person wouldn’t have left. But yes, certainly we should appreciate God-consciousness, genuine God-consciousness wherever we see it, in whatever tradition.

Devotee: One comment is that in your book, you describe how one time there was a lot of different devotees with different ideas of how to do things and they were trying to sincerely serve Prabhupada but there was challenges and different personalities. And when devotees spit at you, somehow you tolerated it and you didn’t take the materialistic kind of offense. To me that was very inspiring and very wonderful example that you wanted to serve Prabhupada and could tolerate something that was not so nice, done to you. So I appreciate that.

Giriraj Swami: There was another, that’s not in the book, it was related to the Hyderabad farm, and at the Hyderabad farm there were three leaders. They were all very strong-willed and highly opinionated and Srila Prabhupada instructed them, “You sit together, you fight like cats and dogs, and then when you all agree you go forward.” In other words, the dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s service takes precedence over everything else. Even if they have to fight like cats and dogs to come to a conclusion, but eventually their desire to serve Srila Prabhupada should prevail and bring them to the best conclusion, in spite of their strong individual personalities.

So, I see two more hands; Chandrika Priya’s hand was up first so we’ll call on her first and then Shyama Vallbha Prabhu.

Devotee: Thank you. Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to you. Maharaja, I have two questions. I have a couple of questions; the first question is that we know that Vaishnava service is higher at the neophyte stage, the neophyte devote is more attracted to deity worship than to Vaishnava service. But if you are not at that stage then what should you do? Because it’s not like you don’t like Vaishnava service but sometimes Vaishnava service can be really hard, and it can maybe lead to more offenses. So then in that case what should a devotee do?

Giriraj Swami: Why would serving Vaishnavas lead to offenses?

Devotee: Because sometimes I think that a high level of maturity would be required or sometimes with different natures and different understandings. Because we see, Guru Maharaja, you tolerated so much but should you tolerate or should you say something to the Vaishnavas?

Giriraj Swami: Depends what it is. They say, “choose your battles,” so something small might be better to tolerate than protest. But if it’s something important then you could bring it up, and if you are not in a position to bring it up yourself, maybe you can explain the situation to someone else, maybe a more senior devotee who the other devotee respects and maybe the more senior devotee can instruct that devotee, as long as the devotee is not upset that you complain to the senior devotee. But yes, otherwise in an open-hearted Vaishnava-like way, with humility and respect, you can express yourself to the devotee.

Devotee: Thank you Guru Maharaja, thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, please accept my obeisances. Wonderful to be in your association and the other devotees here. It’s interesting, I used to have this happen a lot when I would talk to my mother sometimes, but this morning I was watching on YouTube, Gaura Govinda Swami. Specifically, the lecture was “Without the mercy of the sadhu guru you cannot overcome maya.” And then again here today we are talking about pretty much the exact same thing.

So whenever that used to happen I would tell my mother, Krishna’s like “okay you need to pay attention to this.” This is “really listen to this.” And so this is the third time today specifically, and then I thought about the fact that I am coming up on two years where you gave me your mercy and, two years, I just can’t thank you enough for allowing me to become your disciple. I think about the time when I am chanting and I am not paying attention, I think about how Srila Prabhupada said “sit properly.” And so I kind of imagine you sometimes, if I am slacking or sitting down, I think about that and I imagine that I am there with you.

So mine is more of a comment, I just want to say I am really really thankful that I am able to be a part of this Krishna conscious movement, and I pray by your mercy, by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada that I can share this with others. This is the greatest gift that anyone has given me and there is nothing can top it. So, thank you very much Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya. Beautiful, wonderful. And just for those who don’t know, Shyama Vallbha Prabhu’s mother, late mother was a great devotee, Krishna Nandini devi dasi. Yes, very extraordinary devotee. Hare Krishna. So, Kartikey.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Maharaja, I have a small question. Whenever I question in my mind, that same moment or maybe a couple of moments I get the answer from within my heart. So I wanted to know that is it my Paramātmā guiding me, or is it my ego boosting in that same way, dictating me in that way? How to distinguish between that; is it my Paramātmā guiding or my ego?

Giriraj Swami: No, the answer is a genuine answer, then we read at the end of the purport, –

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te 

“To those who worship Me with love and devotion I give the intelligence by which they can come to Me.”

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Krishna gives you the intelligence so no place for false ego there.

Devotee: Thank you, thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Shaski did you raise your hand again or you just didn’t take it down?

Devotee: No, sorry Guru Maharaja. I have another question.

Giriraj Swami: Okay.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, with relation to Kartikey Mataji’s question, it also happens with me sometimes that I get an immediate answer from within but that’s actually a wrong answer. When I consult devotees, I find out it’s wrong, but all this while I have been thinking it’s Krishna guiding me from within and I have full confidence with my answers. But I go ask some seniors and turns out I am terribly wrong. How do I distinguish between the right and the wrong then, Guru Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: You yourself said it, by consulting more mature and experienced devotees, that’s the way.

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

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Malati dasi.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to you. Guru Maharaja, I feel that I am the center of this small universe, what Krishna has provided me. I try to control the activities according to my own intelligence but by the process of devotional service every day, it gets you in the consciousness again to become the servant of the servant of the servant. But then it aggravates more when you see around the environment that there is enviousness around. So Guru Maharaja, what should be your attitude towards the situation where you see these things happening?

Giriraj Swami: And we have some enviousness of whom?

Devotee: If you see both the parties and you know both parties and have spoken, and then you see enviousness in the situation.

Giriraj Swami: They are envious of each other?

Devotee: Yes Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Well, one possibility would be to read today’s verse in purport. Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should appreciate the service of others and not be proud of his own service.

Devotee: Yes, Maharaja, thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So next I saw Guru Bhakti and then Sushmita.

Devotee: I think Sushmita was ahead of me.

Giriraj Swami: Oh she was, okay.

Devotee: That’s okay Mataji, she can go ahead, that’s fine.

Devotee: In the analogy you gave about the ship event, that we should sit tightly on the ship, what should be our attitude if an attempt is made to push someone off the ship. In the case of the Juhu story, you gave the example how you tolerate it, but if it is happening to us, what about if we see it happening to someone now, what is our responsibility?

Giriraj Swami: Oh! Well, we should intervene. Yes, Srila Prabhupada said that we have to spend gallons of blood to make one devotee. To lose a devotee is a great loss, so if we think that someone is trying to push someone out, there is two ways of intervening. One is to approach the person who is doing the pushing to request them to desist, if possible. And the other, I think with or without the first, is to go to the victim so to speak, and say “I am sorry that so-and-so is treating you this way but try to tolerate it and we are with you, we are for you, we want you to stay with us, and such a great opportunity to come to Krishna consciousness. Maybe even say, maybe it’s a test of Maya to see how sincere and determined you are, so please don’t leave, don’t miss the opportunity.

Srila Prabhupada said that especially in the beginning, Maya tests whether this person has come to serve Krishna or to disturb Krishna with his or her material desires. Somehow, we have to give the person the strength and encouragement to pass the test. Let me see if I can find that. I definitely can but I don’t know how long that would take.

Yes, here it is. This is Srila Prabhupada as recorded in 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 the 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, something like that might be appropriate to present to the person to encourage them to remain steadfast, even in the face of disturbances, obstacles. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. I have this question. What is the greatest attitude or behavior that a devotee can have to breeze through this lifetime service in Vaishnava without any offense, but also kind of when you go to a theme park you get a fast pass? So, what would be the greatest that behavior or attitude in bullets or something that I can keep on top of my head all the time, that I can practice that helps me to breathe through service in this fashion? At least at my deathbed I will feel confident that I have done my part and I am leaving the rest to the Lord.

Giriraj Swami: Curiosity, where are you geographically.

Devotee: Sorry?

Giriraj Swami: Just out of curiosity, where are you?

Devotee: Houston.

Giriraj Swami: I thought so. Well on a number of occasions, well three occasions in particular, Lord Chaitanya was asked by some householder devotees how they could make advancement. And Lord Chaitanya replied by serving the Vaishnavas and chanting the holy names. And when I first visited His Holiness Radhanath Swami’s temple in Chowpatty, I saw they had that emphasis. I don’t know if it came from Caitanya-caritāmṛta or whether it was just Maharaja’s own realization, but they had the same emphasis to chant the holy names and serve the Vaishnavas.

So, I would say those are two important instructions. And of course, chant without offense, which means to chant with tension, and to serve the Vaishnavas without offense, which means with respect and humility, and then it should be clear. It means your path should be clear and yes that’s good grounds. Read Srila Prabhupada books as far as possible to distribute the knowledge to others by speaking about Krishna or by giving them Prabhupada’s books. Are you living with family?

Devotee: Yes, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Try to keep the relationship at home congenial. Family members should see one another as devotees, and respect each other as devotees, and serve each other as devotees. When I was just a young boy, they had this slogan “the family that prays together stays together.” So yes and especially with the pandemic and various restrictions, we end up probably maybe spending more time with our family members. We want the family, the environment at home to be spiritual and devotional and Krishna conscious.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Namarata., Hare Krishna. Oh there you are, Namarata.

Devotee: Okay, so Maharaja my question was that in reference to devotee association, sometimes we find that when you are trying to associate with the devotee they ask questions or they comment on your business or your material opulence or something like that, which is not very Krishna conscious. And at that time one doesn’t know how one can react to such a situation. Is it that you don’t associate because association is so important, so what is one supposed to do in that. Are we supposed to ignore those instances and focus on what our Krishna consciousness is, and the devotee association? How can we differentiate and decide that okay this is what I should not be doing, and this is okay? I am trying to make myself as clear as possible. In my years of Krishna consciousness this is the one issue I have faced, so I don’t have an answer to it. I will be happy and please help me, thank you.

Giriraj Swami: Well, when they ask you about things related to the material side of your life, are they concerned about you as a person, are they asking out of genuine interest, or are they prying and probing maybe looking to find some fault or some weakness?

Devotee: It’s the third one. I am sorry but that’s my experience and that is why I have come to a point where I am forced to refrain from associating with devotees and personally, I feel that is my loss. But given the circumstance I would rather than do Vaishnava aparādha or to do something which is offensive, it’s better to stay away and just associate with Prabhupada’s lectures, and his books, and my chanting, and my personal service to my Guru Maharaja, and to the disciplic succession.

Giriraj Swami: That’s okay, but we need the association of devotees, and I would say that if someone brings up an unpalatable topic, you should just change the subject. This is something His Holiness Radhanath Swami said, and in the context in which he said it, it wasn’t even that that devotees were trying to probe and find some dirt, but it was just that the topics that they were bringing up were in his estimation, not that congenial to Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: Yes, precisely.

Giriraj Swami: So he would say “I still have some rounds to chant so you are welcome to join me in chanting” or he might say, I still have to do some reading and you are welcome to join me in the reading.” That way you are not rejecting the person, you are welcoming the person into your life but in a context that will be spiritually beneficial for you and the person.

Devotee: Okay, so what you are saying is basically, change the topic.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, exactly.

Devotee: Okay thank you very much. Hare Krishna

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

So I don’t see any more hands raised, and if that’s the case we could conclude by offering Vaishnava praṇām. One last chance if anyone wants to ask any question or share any reflection.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Could I just say one thing about this? I think that one thing in reference to the last question, I think one thing that is very helpful is that to remember how much Srila Prabhupada had to tolerate to bring us what we have, and to appreciate it. We have such a wonderful, nice thing that Srila Prabhupada gave us, and then what he had to go through.

If we could remember that then it will help us to tolerate these things when we are conflicted. And having also very good association is very helpful. Just like I was listening to you, the words, the pure example that helps uplift us and it also makes us want to be like that; I want to be able to uplift somebody as well. So, I think having seeing good examples, having good association that makes us want to be better, and it makes us want to be more tolerant, be the kind of Vaishnava that help each other. I just wanted to throw that out.

Giriraj Swami: That’s very good. In fact, I am glad you said that because at one stage I was going to mention that and then it just didn’t come out. But you said it and, I think to make it very clear, according to shastra, I will quote what Srila Rupa Gosvami says about sādhu-saṅga, which means basically associating with devotees.

He says, sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅgaḥ svato vare. Literally sajātīyā means one’s caste or community, you could say like-minded. Sajātīyāśaye snigdhe, snigdhe—means affection and one way of reading it is, have a similar affection for the Lord, but another way of reading it is that the sadhu should have affection for you. So sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅgaḥ svato vare, and svato vare means he should be more advanced than you. So this is the real definition of sādhu-saṅga. And just one nice exchange I had with His Holiness Sacinandana Swami one year, he was spending Kartik at Radha-kunda, and he had a very severe nāma vrata to chant so many holy names, but still he made a time for us to meet and discuss.

And we came to this point of sādhu-saṅga; sādhu-saṅga svato vare, because at that time there were some devotees who had the idea that to get more advanced association you had to go outside of ISKCON, which we did not accept. And so, sādhu-saṅga svato vare, associating with more advanced devotee can be fulfilled within ISKCON. And I am speaking more in the case of Sacinandana Swami and I were more peers, by seeing the other as more advanced. Srila Prabhupada said we should address one another as prabhu, as a master, and we are servants.

So Sacinandana Swami was saying that from his position he will say, Oh Giriraj Swami, he is more advanced than I am, I can learn from him, I should serve him. And then Giriraj Swami from his position, his honorable lifestyle we will think, “Oh, Sacinandana Swami is more advanced than I am, I can learn from him, and I should serve him.” So in having that humble Vaishnava mood, one can get sādhu-saṅga in that sense; sādhu-saṅga svato vare, seeing others as being more advanced than one’s self, even if they are peers, even amongst peers. And there are, by Srila Prabhupada grace, opportunities to associate with more advanced devotees who are affectionate to you, and that’s very congenial and beneficial.

Devotee: Yes, very much so. It is amazing because despite everything the association is there in ISKCON, and I think about what Srila Prabhupada said that this Krishna consciousness movement was meant to make first-class men. Srila Prabhupada was successful in doing, but they are definitely first-class devotees in ISKCON there is no doubt.

Giriraj Swami: Any other questions, comments, reflections? Then let us conclude by offering Vaishnava praṇām.

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

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

ananta-koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Devotee: Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!

Giriraj Swami: Simply wonderful Friday ki jaya!

Devotee: It’s wonderful because you came.

Giriraj Swami: Now what?

Devotee: Sri Rupa Manjari will make some announcements and we want to thank you again Maharaja for coming.

Giriraj Swami: It’s a pleasure.

Devotee: Thank you Guru Maharaja, thank you so much for your heart, generosity, your kindness and your compassion. It’s great seeing your interaction and so many of the devotees’ heartfelt feelings. It was such a sweetness. Thank you so much.

Devotee: Is Laura available to unmute to share some announcements about the farm? Is she still here?

Devotee: Yes thank you, I am here. Maharaja, thank you so much for such a wonderful class and discussion. I would like to thank everyone for being here today and I would love to welcome everyone to Bhakti Urban Farm this weekend. We are at 5415 Wheatley, that’s the same street as Ella and that’s just two miles north of the temple. We are open from nine to twelve both Saturday and Sunday; on Saturday come volunteer in the garden or groom and feed and cuddle the cows. On Sunday we have that same deal but we’ll also have kirtan at eleven and yummy prasādam lunch at twelve and we really hope to see you there. Thank you.

Devotee: Thank you, Laura. It sounds amazing, I wish I was in the area. For those of you that are, you should definitely join and please join us next Friday to hear from His Grace Nityananda Prabhu, as he speaks about the history of Krishna consciousness in Fiji. Also, would you like to join our mailing list to receive updates and information about upcoming programs, I have put the link to the WhatsApp chat in the chat, so please join if you are interested. Thank you so much and Hare Krishna. I hope to see you all again. Thank you for joining us and thank you again Giriraj Maharaja, for such a wonderful evening. Thank you so much. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Just on the subject, when Srila Prabhupada visited Gita Nagari in 1976, he said that if you just associate with the cows you will automatically come to the mode of goodness. So, by all means, go to the Bhakti Urban Farm and associate with the cows.

Devotee: Thank you so much Maharaja, nobody wants to leave; they still want to hear from you.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I don’t mind staying. I have some rounds, if the devotees want to chant rounds or else maybe we should let everyone go and do their service. But I am open, whatever you all want.

Devotee: Sarvabhauma Prabhu, what do you think?

Devotee: Sri Rupa Manjari represents the east coast so she has to go to bed, but whenever.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, well no, she asked you and you have given the hint so who is going to press the button?

Devotee: I will in a moment, but for those of you that don’t know, I am sure many of you already do, but Giriraj Swami does chanting japa on Facebook. So for those of you that are interested you could join his page. If somebody has the link to that, could you please put it in the chat. This way, those that aren’t a member can join.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that’s true.

Devotee: We will wait a moment and see if somebody could put that in the chat. Thank you, it seems somebody put the link in the chat.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it’s called Giriraj Swami japa saṅga. So you have to look up Giriraj Swami japa saṅga and we can chant together; usually in the morning, occasionally in the evening but regularly in the morning our time here. Thank you for mentioning that.

Devotee: Okay, I am going to press the button now. Hare Krishna.