CC Adi 5.150–154; NOD 29, 41; SB 1.11.16–17 – The Glories of Lord Balarama

Giriraj Swami: To begin, I will read one or two nice prayers to Lord Balarama for His mercy. These are from The Nectar of Devotion:

“Let me take shelter of the lotus feet of Balarāma, whose beauty is enhanced by the earrings touching his cheeks. His face is decorated with tilaka made from kastūrī (musk), and His broad chest is decorated with a garland of guñja (small conchshells). His complexion is as white as an autumn cloud, He wears garments of blue color, and His voice is very grave. His arms are very long, touching His thighs, and He has shown His great strength by killing the Pralamba demon. Let me take shelter of this chivalrous Balarāma.”

And the next one also from The Nectar of Devotion:

“Lord Baladeva, intoxicated from drinking excessive quantities of honey, once began to address the ants, ‘O you kings of the ants! Why are you hiding yourselves in these holes?’ At the same time He also addressed the king of heaven, ‘O King Indra! You plaything of Śacī! Why are you laughing? I am now prepared to smash the whole universe, and I know that Kṛṣṇa will not be angry with Me.’ Then He addressed Kṛṣṇa, ‘My dear Kṛṣṇa, tell Me immediately why the whole world is trembling and why the moon has become elongated! And O you members of the Yadu dynasty, why are you laughing at Me? Please give Me back My liquors made of honey from the kadamba flower!’ Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī prays that Lord Balarāma will be pleased with all of us while He is thus talking just like an intoxicated person.”

A quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 1.11.16–17: 

“Because He is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa and can bestow spiritual power to the devotees, He is therefore known as Baladeva. In the Vedas also it is enjoined that no one can know the Supreme Lord without being favored by Baladeva. Bala means spiritual strength, not physical. Sometimes less intelligent persons interpret bala as the strength of the body. But no one can have spiritual realization by physical strength. Physical strength ends with the end of the physical body, but spiritual strength follows the spirit soul to the next transmigration, and therefore the strength obtained by Baladeva is never wasted. The strength is eternal, and thus Baladeva is the original spiritual master of all devotees.”

COMMENT

So, of course Lord Balarama is the first expansion of Krishna. During the pastimes of Lord Ramachandra, Lord Balarama appeared as Lakshman, and served Lord Ramachandra as His younger brother. But He didn’t like being the younger brother, and thus, during Krishna’s pastimes He appeared as the older brother. So I will read the explanation of this wonderful mood of Lord Balarama.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā, Chapter Five.

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda [3]

TEXT 150–154

The activities of Lord Rāma were full of suffering, but Lakṣmaṇa, of His own accord, tolerated that suffering.

As a younger brother He could not stop Lord Rāma from His resolution, and so He remained silent, although unhappy in His mind.

When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, He [Balarāma] became His elder brother to serve Him to His heart’s content and make Him enjoy all sorts of happiness.

Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakṣmaṇa, who are plenary portions of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma respectively, entered into Them at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s and Balarāma’s appearance.

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma present Themselves as younger brother and elder brother, but in the scriptures They are described as the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and His expansion.

COMMENT

So now, to come to the history of how it came that Krishna and Balarama appeared. When the earth was overburdened by demonic rulers, who had amassed large military forces armed with deadly weapons to wage war for personal gain, Lord Brahma, the chief of the demigods in this universe, approached the shore of the ocean of milk. There, accompanied by Lord Shiva and other celestial beings, he worshipped Lord Vishnu, the Supreme God of all Gods. In response, Lord Vishnu imparted instructions which Lord Brahma in turn, conveyed to the demigods. He told them that very soon the Lord would appear on earth to diminish the burden of the world. And that the demigods, to assist him, should take birth in the Yadu dynasty. Lord Brahma further stated that Lord Balarama, who is also known as Saṅkarṣaṇa, would precede the Lord and serve Him in every respect.

And to confirm this, I will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.1.24: 

vāsudeva-kalānantaḥ
sahasra-vadanaḥ svarāṭ
agrato bhavitā devo
hareḥ priya-cikīrṣayā

The foremost manifestation of Kṛṣṇa is Saṅkarṣaṇa, who is known as Ananta. He is the origin of all incarnations within this material world. Previous to the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa, this original Saṅkarṣaṇa will appear as Baladeva, just to please the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in His transcendental pastimes.

COMMENT

Lord Brahma also told them that yoga-māyā, the personal potency of the Lord, would also appear to assist the Lord in His mission. 

So, immediately preceding the appearance of Krishna and Balarama, Vasudeva, a great devotee in the Yadu dynasty, wedded Devaki, another pure devotee. After their marriage, Vasudeva mounted his chariot with his bride to return home. And Devaki’s brother, Kamsa, to please his sister, took the reins of the horses to drive the chariot. Along the way, Kamsa heard a voice from invisible source which told him, “You fool! The eighth child of the woman you are carrying will kill you!” Kamsa, a great demon, became enraged and was ready to kill his own sister on the day of her marriage. But Vasudeva intervened and appealed to him to desist. He said, “How could a qualified person like you kill a woman, your own sister, on the occasion of her marriage? In any case one day you will die, and in your next life you will have to suffer the reactions to your present activities.” Still, Kamsa was so shameless and cruel that he persisted. And Vasudeva, to save his wife from imminent death, told him, “You have nothing to fear from Devaki! According to the omen, it is her son who will kill you. So I promise to deliver all her sons who are the cause of your fear, into your hands.” Kamsa, having faith in Vasudeva’s words, was pacified. Still, he imprisoned Vasudeva and Devaki, and year after year, as their children were born, Vasudeva dutifully delivered them to Kamsa who mercilessly killed them.

Now we shall read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two, “Prayers by the Demigods.”

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

To save time, I will just read the translation. Canto Ten, Chapter Two, “Prayers by the Demigods.”

TEXT 7 

The Lord ordered Yoga-māyā: O My potency, who are worshipable for the entire world and whose nature is to bestow good fortune upon all living entities, go to Vraja, where there live many cowherd men and their wives. In that very beautiful land, where many cows reside, Rohiṇī, the wife of Vasudeva, is living at the home of Nanda Mahārāja. Other wives of Vasudeva are also living there incognito because of fear of Kaṁsa. Please go there.

TEXT 8 

Within the womb of Devakī is My partial plenary expansion known as Saṅkarṣaṇa or Śeṣa. Without difficulty, transfer Him into the womb of Rohiṇī.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The first plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa is Baladeva, also known as Śeṣa. The Śeṣa incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead supports the entire universe, and the eternal mother of this incarnation is mother Rohiṇī. “Because I am going into the womb of Devakī,” the Lord told Yoga-māyā, “the Śeṣa incarnation has already gone there and made suitable arrangements so that I may live there. Now He should enter the womb of Rohiṇī, His eternal mother.”

COMMENT

So Lord Balarama is always in the mood of serving Lord Krishna, and thus, He entered the womb of Devaki before Krishna did, to make all arrangements for Krishna to reside there. And it is said that Balarama’s desire to serve Krishna is so strong and so complete, that He serves Him in all the rasas. As Balarama, although He is the older brother, sometimes He serves Krishna in the mood of a servant, in dāsya-rasa. Often He serves Krishna in the mood of a friend, in sākhya-rasa, and sometimes as the older brother, He serves Krishna in the mood of a parent, in vātsalya-rasa. But He also wanted to serve Krishna in mādhurya-rasa, conjugal affection, and so He expanded Himself as Ananga Mañjarī, the younger sister of Srimati Radharani. And thus Lord Balarama, in the form of Ananga Mañjarī, is able to serve Lord Krishna even in mādhurya-rasa.

TEXT 9

Lord Krishna says: O all-auspicious Yoga-māyā, I shall then appear with My full six opulences as the son of Devakī, and you will appear as the daughter of mother Yaśodā, the queen of Mahārāja Nanda.

COMMENT

So this is like setting the scene for the appearance of Krishna and Balarama. And continuing on the theme of how Lord Balarama served Krishna in all these different moods, from Caitanya-caritāmṛta, a little later, in the same chapter, Ādi-līlā Chapter Five says:

TEXT 135

Sometimes He serves Lord Caitanya as His guru, sometimes as His friend and sometimes as His servant, just as Lord Balarāma played with Lord Kṛṣṇa in these three different moods in Vraja.

TEXT 136

Playing like a bull, Lord Balarāma fights with Kṛṣṇa head to head. And sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa massages the feet of Lord Balarāma.

TEXT 137

He considers Himself a servant and knows Kṛṣṇa to be His master. Thus He regards Himself as a fragment of His plenary portion.

COMMENT

And to support this, there are two quotations from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 10.11.40 and 10.15 14: 

TEXT 138–139

“Acting just like ordinary boys, They played like roaring bulls as They fought each other, and They imitated the calls of various animals.”

“Sometimes when Lord Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, Lord Balarāma, felt tired after playing and lay His head on the lap of a cowherd boy, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself served Him by massaging His feet.”

COMMENT

So the relationship between Krishna and Balarama is very beautiful. Each one likes to serve the other and please the other, and They are very intimate.

There was one pastime when Lord Brahma stole away all the cowherd boys and calves and kept them for one year. And during that year, Krishna expanded Himself as a duplicate set of cowherd boys and cows, exactly like the original set that was stolen by Lord Brahma, to please the residents of Vrindavan and to save them from any anxiety over their missing children. So during this period, no one knew what the actual fact was, but towards the end of the year, Lord Balarama had some suspicion, and this is recorded in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 10.13.37:

Lord Balarama says: 

TRANSLATION

Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Kṛṣṇa, for who else can bewilder Me?

COMMENT

And in the purport Srila Prabhupada writes:

PURPORT

The playful pastimes of the Lord, caused suspicion in the mind of Lord Brahma, and therefore Lord Brahma, to test Krishna’s Lordship, stole all the Lords calves and cowherd boys with his own mystic power. Sri Krishna responded, however, by replacing all the calves and boys in the field. Lord Balarama’s thoughts of astonishment as such wonderful retaliation are recorded in this verse.

COMMENT

And one other important verse spoken by Lord Balarama - it comes in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.68.37.

At the time of the battle of Kurukshetra, the Kauravas, to flatter Baladeva, so that He would become their ally, spoke ill of Sri Krishna. But Lord Baladeva became angry and spoke this verse:

TEXT

“What is the value of a throne to Lord Kṛṣṇa? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lakṣmī and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads.”

COMMENT

So Lord Balarama expressed His loyalty to Krishna, His reverence for Lord Krishna, and His love for Him. Sometimes we, in our conditioned state, if someone wants to win our favor, they might criticize another devotee. And that is exactly what the Kauravas tried to do with Lord Balarama! But He did not accept their criticism. He did not appreciate their criticism, and He countered their criticism with praise and appreciation for Lord Krishna, whom He accepts as His Lord and master.

So, we have spoken a little about the glories of Lord Balarama, and now we can open the floor or the mic to the other devotees who have gathered, in case any of you have questions or comments or reflections. 

Priti Radhika: I have a weird question so please forgive me if it is. You said that Balarama gives spiritual strength and that is not physical strength. But we, in our mundane body, don’t we need physical strength to have a good spiritual sadhana? So is it okay to ask Him to give us a good physical strength as well? 

Giriraj Swami: So that you can have a good sadhana? Yes, you can!

I am looking at His picture (Balarama) and the answer is yes! 

Rukmini: Can you say something about the relationship between Balarama and Duryodhana? It is rather bewildering. . .

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Balarama did have a friendly relationship with Duryodhana, and in fact, He taught him the art of fighting with a club. And at the time of the battle of Kurukshetra, Balarama was in an awkward position because of His relationship with Duryodhana. He had an affectionate relationship with Duryodhana, and of course with the Pandavas. And He didn’t want to be caught in that awkward situation, so He went on pilgrimage during the battle of Kurukshetra, to avoid that conflict of interest. So sometimes it happens. . . But anyway Balarama is very magnanimous! He didn’t withhold His mercy from Duryodhana. He did teach him the art of fighting, but He couldn’t support him during the battlefield, during the battle of Kurukshetra, so He left the scene. He couldn’t support him, and He couldn’t oppose him so He left the scene and went on pilgrimage. 

Brahma Samhita Prabhu: You read that Lord Balarama is the origin of the līlāvatāras, and my understanding is that Lord Ramachandra is a līlāvatāra when He appeared in this world, He was a līlāvatāra. So how is it that Lord Balarama, as the younger brother of Lord Ramachandra can be the origin of the līlāvatāras?

Giriraj Swami: That is a nice question. It is a matter of līlā. Although He is the origin of all of the incarnations after Krishna, still in rama-līlā He played the part of the younger brother as Lakshman. There are two considerations, two factors: One is rasa and the other is tattva. Although in terms of tattva, or Siddhanta, spiritual truth, although Baladeva exists prior to Lord Ramachandra, but in terms of līlā He is acting as the younger brother, as Lakshman. But as we read, He didn’t like being the younger brother because He had to go along with so many things that were painful for Him, because they were painful for Lord Ramachandra. So the next time, He wanted to come as the older brother so He could serve Lord Krishna to His heart’s content and give Him all sorts of pleasure.

Brahma Samhita Prabhu: Could I also comment that I have always found it very amazing, the relationship between Lord Balarama and Duryodhana, because although Duryodhana was doing so many things. . . still Krishna, although He had this antagonistic type of approach to dealing with Duryodhana, still in the form of Balarama He was so merciful! And it just goes to show you that Krishna is an ocean of mercy.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is very nice, that is true.

Ayushi Nanda: My question is: when we fast for Janmashtami, we observe the fast for the complete day, and then we honor prasādam after midnight. But when we fast for Balarama Purnima, we open our fasting at noon. Is there significance to it?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the standard has been set by the previous acharyas, but I think the idea of fasting until midnight is because Krishna appeared at midnight, and Lord Balarama, I don’t know exactly when He appeared, but it would seem that on these days we fast until the appearance of the Lord in that particular form, so in the case of Lord Balarama, we fast only till midday as you rightly said.

Rukmini: This is sort of ensued from the question of Brahma Samhita Prabhu. We heard this morning that it was Balarama who had to kill Dhenukāsura, because he was the son of Bali Maharaja in a previous incarnation, and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva had promised to Prahlada that although He had killed his father Hiraṇyakaśipu, He wouldn’t kill any of his other relatives. However, if it is Balarama, who is the first expansion and then the source of subsequent expansions, then how is Balarama, killing him, keeping that promise? 

Giriraj Swami: I would say that how Krishna kept His word, is that in His original form as Krishna He did not kill him. But in His expanded form, as Balarama, He did kill him. So they are simultaneously inconceivably one and different. They are the same but also different. And in terms of the promise—we take it that Balarama was different, and therefore Krishna did keep His promise. 

Devotee: I have a question: What is the best thing to pray Balarama for, when chanting?

Giriraj Swami: Well, what is your foremost spiritual desire?

Devotee: I want to do so many things—to do book distribution; I like to do cooking, and many more. . .

Giriraj Swami: Well you can pray to Him to fulfill all your spiritual desires! And He will help you to give you spiritual strength, to resist the temptations of maya and to act upon your spiritual desires, for His and Krishna’s and Prabhupada’s and the paramparā’s pleasure. 

Devotee: And also, I want to hear one story about Balarama. 

Giriraj Swami: Okay, just out of curiosity, how old are you?

Devotee: I am eight years old.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, all right. Now, there are many stories about Lord Balarama of course, but one that comes to mind is: He drinks this beverage called Varuni, which is made from honey. And often, on Balarama Purnima, we offer him Varuni, and by drinking the Varuni beverage, He becomes intoxicated. So when He was playing with the gopīs, near the shores of the Yamuna River, He called the Yamuna River to come to Him. But the Yamuna River, considering Him to be intoxicated, did not show Him due respect, and she refused to come to Him as He had commanded. So He took His plow and threatened, “If you are not coming to Me voluntarily, I will forcibly drag you to Me with My plow!” So He made these channels or rivulets in the Yamuna River. Because she was bewildered by seeing Him intoxicated, she forgot His supreme position as Lord Balarama. But Lord Balarama forcibly brought her to Him with His plow.

So we should not deny the order of Lord Balarama! That is the lesson. And we should never mistake His transcendental intoxication to be anything less than transcendental. 

Jaya Prabhu: My question is: Are there any differences in the mood of Lord Balarama and Lord Nityananda which we need to know and learn from?

Giriraj Swami: Well, basically Lord Krishna came as Lord Chaitanya and Lord Balarama came as Lord Nityananda. But in Their forms as Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, they are more merciful than in their original forms as Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya. And we should learn that mood of mercy from Lord Nityananda. Srila Prabhupada very much exhibited the mood of Lord Nityananda’s mercy, so we should be merciful like Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya. And distribute Krishna consciousness.

One of my favorite statements of Srila Prabhupada is that in order to approach Radha and Krishna, you need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya. And in order to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, you need the mercy of Lord Nityananda. And in order to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda you have to approach people like Jagai and Madhai. So that is our process.

Hari Krishna Prabhu: You made the point about what Srila Prabhupada said about Jagai and Madhai, that we should approach people like them. And I have been doing that a lot lately, bringing many people to the temple. But I guess the temple has a different mood than in Srila Prabhupada times, because there was an astrologer who saw a picture of Prabhupada’s face, and I think he said that this man or this person has the ability to build a house in which the whole world can live peacefully and happily. So I thought that ISKCON is supposed to be like that. . .

My original question was: you just asked young devotee what was his spiritual desire? And then in the preface to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, it says that the gopīs simply love Krishna without any motive for material or spiritual gain. What does that mean? They don’t want even spiritual gain? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, the gopīs love for Krishna is completely pure! And spiritual gain in this sense would refer to liberation. . . but otherwise, by serving Krishna for Krishna’s pleasure, as the gopīs do, and as all pure devotees do, they get spiritual gain which is Krishna’s pleasure. And through Krishna’s pleasure they experience pleasure. So in this sense there is gain, but not like liberation. 

ISKCON Indiana: My question is: is it appropriate to adopt a certain mood of different rasas, other than simply servitude with Krishna? And I ask this because I remember reading about Mother Yasoda as a parent in parental relationship with Krishna. Not that I could ever actually adopt that sort of relationship or rasa with Krishna and serve Him in that way, but sometimes when I think of the Paramātmā inside my heart, I think of Krishna as a small baby that I need to take care of and I need to feed Him with my love and devotion. Does it make any sense? I hope it is an all-right question. . .

Giriraj Swami: Is that a question or a comment?

ISKCON Indiana: A question: is that a viewpoint or mood that I should shift, and if so, what should I shift that to, or is that okay for my service to Krishna? 

Giriraj Swami: It is nice that you want to serve Krishna in a parental mood. Of course that will take time to realize fully. But for now it is all right that you want to serve Krishna in a parental mood.

Once one devotee said to Srila Prabhupada, “Does Krishna have only 16,108 wives?” and Srila Prabhupada replied, “Oh you want to become Krishna’s wife? You can pray like that.” So you can also pray if you want to serve Krishna in a parental mood. Of course, you can never become Mother Yasoda! But you can serve in that mood, as her assistant. There are many elderly gopīs who serve Krishna in the mood of mothers. 

Samin from Iran: Today in our daily Bhagavad-gītā class we were reading from Chapter Thirteen, the last verse Thirty-five. And in the purport it says that a spiritual master, by various instructions teaches his students to get free from the material concept of life. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā we find Krishna instructing Arjuna to free him from materialistic considerations. It occurred to me that Lord Balarama, being the original spiritual master, why Krishna didn’t arrange in such a way that Lord Balarama will instruct Arjuna? But earlier you were talking about why Lord Balarama left the scene in Kurukshetra. So when you explained that, I was just thinking if that is the answer to why Balarama did not become Arjuna’s spiritual master? 

Giriraj Swami: Krishna is the original spiritual master. We also say that Balarama is the original spiritual master, but Krishna is the original spiritual master. And He took the position of spiritual master to Arjuna, and that was proper. It is also true that Lord Balarama was not even present during the battle field of Kurukshetra, but Krishna is the original spiritual master. But for us, Lord Balarama is also the original spiritual master, because the spiritual master has two duties: One is to serve Krishna and one. . . In Calcutta, one day Srila Prabhupada gave the answer that the duty of the spiritual master is to serve Krishna and the duty of the disciple is to assist the spiritual master. He gave the example that it is the duty of the spiritual master to keep the temple floor clean, and the disciples assist the spiritual master by washing the temple floor. So that is one function, to serve Krishna. So certainly Balarama does that as the original spiritual master. And the other is to give knowledge of Krishna. And of course, Krishna does give knowledge about Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. But Balarama also gives knowledge of Krishna. So Krishna is the original spiritual master in a sense, and Lord Balarama’s also the original spiritual master.

Malati devi: When we hear the pastimes of Lord Balarama, sometimes they are very bewildering. When we are hearing or reading about Him, we cannot understand with our limited senses. So what should be our mood while we are reading, and we tend to think of something else? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, on a day like today, on Balarama Purnima, you can pray to Balarama directly to help you to understand Him in the right way. And otherwise, you can pray to Srila Prabhupada, pray to Guru Maharaja to help you understand Lord Balarama in the proper way. We can understand Him only by His mercy, by the mercy of the paramparā. 

ISKCON Columbus Temple Hari Ramesh: My first question is: In Caitanya-caritāmṛta līlā, Lord Balarama came as Nityananda Prabhu. Is Visvarupa Prabhu, Lord Chaitanya’s elder brother was also an incarnation of Lord Balarama? 

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

ISKCON Columbus Temple Hari Ramesh: Thank you! My other question is: in Krishna-Balarama temple, we see Lord Balarama is putting the hand on the shoulder of Krishna. Does that have any significance, or is it related to any kind of līlā?

Giriraj Swami: I don’t know about that, but once Srila Prabhupada asked who is stronger, Krishna or Balarama? And most devotees couldn’t answer properly. But I actually gave the answer that Krishna is stronger, and that is why Lord Balarama is resting His arm on Krishna’s shoulder. And that was the right answer.

Pavitra Bhatt: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna.

Pavitra Bhatt: Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances, all glories to Srila Prabhupada. (Speaking on behalf a deaf devotee who’s speaking in sign language) This is a question from Daya Gauranga Prabhuji. And he is saying that before, he used to chant using his voice, but now he is changed and he got this picture, I think you gave it to him when you met him about ten years ago with the words, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And he looks at that and he chants. So with his eyes, he just looks at the words and he is hoping that would just go into his ear and into his heart. Is that okay guru? So he doesn’t use his voice at all. Is that okay guru Maharaja? 

Giriraj Swami: Why does he not use his voice?

Pavitra Bhatt: Because his voice is not proper, so he doesn’t use his voice. 

Giriraj Swami: Looking at the words is good. And I find when I chant, I have the words both in Devanagari and in English, and when I chant, with my eyes I follow the words that I am chanting and it helps me to focus. So it is good while he chants that he fixes his eye on the holy name that he is chanting.

Pavitra Bhatt: He hears Prabhupada chanting as well sometimes. He can hear a little bit as well. 

Brahama Samhita dasa: This is a very good day to ask this question. It is something that I have wondered about for a while and it would be nice to hear your authoritative opinion. You mentioned how one cannot approach Krishna without the mercy of Lord Balarama and we see that in caitanya-līlā, the great Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, before he was able to retire, he got the mercy of Lord Balarama. Lord Nityananda put His feet on Raghunatha’s head. Is there some significance or something that we should get out of that, he told Raghunatha dasa Gosvami to prepare a feast for His devotees? Is there a significance to that? What was the reason for that?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Lord Nityananda asked Raghunatha dasa to prepare feast for His devotees because that would please the devotees, and by pleasing the devotees we get the mercy of the Lord. And I think of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. He asked one of his students to learn cooking from one of his disciples in Calcutta, with the idea that if she cooks well, she will be able to please the Vaishnavas. Feeding the Vaishnavas is an important part of devotional service. So Lord Nityananda showed the example by instructing Raghunatha dasa to arrange prasādam for all the devotees. 

Rasika dasi (ten years old): Who created the demons, Krishna or Kamsa? Because I know Krishna created all the living beings, entities of the world.

Giriraj Swami: All living entities come from Krishna, but they have minute independence. They have free will, and they can use their free will either to serve Krishna or go against Krishna. And if they misuse their free will to go against Krishna—then they are demons, as long as they continue to oppose Krishna. So, He creates the living entities but He doesn’t make them demons! They become demons by misusing their free will and going against Krishna. That is their free will. But even though they are demons, they can still become devotees by the mercy of Krishna and the other devotees. 

Host: Thank you Guru Maharaja for the wonderful class, and for presiding over this momentous event. And thank you for your very valuable time and for your invaluable guidance on this occasion.