SB 6.3.33–35 – Ajamila and the Glories of the Holy Name and Devotees

Giriraj Swami: So, in preparation for my speaking about the three verses at the end of the discussion of Ajamila, I would like to read the chapter summaries of the three chapters leading up to those verses.

So, we will begin with the chapter summary to Canto Six, Chapter One.

CHAPTER ONE SUMMARY [The History of the Life of Ajāmila]

This Chapter relates the history of Ajāmila, who was considered a greatly sinful man, but was liberated when four order carriers of Viṣṇu came to rescue him from the hands of the order carriers of Yamarāja. A full description of how he was liberated, having been relieved of the reactions of his sinful life, is given in this chapter. Sinful activities are painful both in this life and in the next. We should know for certain that the cause of all painful life is sinful action.

COMMENT

So, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami explains that all suffering is due to sin, and that sin is due to ignorance. So, the best thing that we can do to help relieve people of their suffering is to remove their ignorance—to give them the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the knowledge of Krishna consciousness. That is our duty. Srila Prabhupada said that if you have knowledge and you do not share it, you become envious. So, we have been given this sacred, precious knowledge by Srila Prabhupada, and so we must share it with others. So now, back to the Chapter summary.  

CHAPTER ONE SUMMARY (continued)

On the path of fruitive work one certainly commits sinful activities, and therefore according to the considerations of karma-kāṇḍa, different types of atonement are recommended. Such methods of atonement, however, do not free one from ignorance, which is the root of sinful life. Consequently one is prone to commit sinful activities even after atonement, which is therefore very inadequate for purification.

COMMENT

So, we have the same principle in Christianity, through the practice of confession. Confession is a sort of atonement, but the atonement is not sufficient to remove the desire to commit sin. And therefore, even after the atonement, the person is prone to continue to engage in sinful activities.

This Chapter One of the Sixth Canto is a continuation of the last Chapter in the Fifth Canto. And in the Fifth Canto, Śukadeva Gosvami described different hellish punishments for sinful living entities. And Maharaja Parīkṣit, being a compassionate Vaishnava, was concerned how people can be freed from these hellish punishments. And in response to Maharaja Parīkṣit’s compassionate question, Śukadeva Gosvami related the history of Ajamila, which we are now reading in the Sixth Canto, in the beginning of the Sixth Canto. So, coming back to the Chapter summary.

CHAPTER ONE SUMMARY (continued)

On the path of speculative knowledge one becomes free from sinful life by understanding things as they are. Therefore the acquirement of speculative knowledge is also considered a method of atonement. While performing fruitive activities one can become free from the actions of sinful life through austerity, penance, celibacy, control of the mind and senses, truthfulness and the practice of mystic yoga. By awakening knowledge one may also neutralize sinful reactions. Neither of these methods, however, can free one from the tendency to commit sinful activities.

COMMENT

This is the crucial point, that by atonement, one can neutralize the effect of sinful activities, but such atonement does not remove the desire to commit the sinful activities. Back to the Chapter summary.

CHAPTER ONE SUMMARY (continued)

By bhakti-yoga one can completely avoid the tendency for sinful life; other methods are not very feasible. Therefore the Vedic literature concludes that devotional service is more important than the methods of karma-kāṇḍa and jñāna-kāṇḍa. Only the path of devotional service is auspicious for everyone. Fruitive activities and speculative knowledge cannot independently liberate anyone, but devotional service, independent of karma and jñāna, is so potent that one who has fixed his mind at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is guaranteed not to meet the Yamadūtas, the order carriers of Yamarāja, even in dreams.

To prove the strength of devotional service, Śukadeva Gosvāmī described the history of Ajāmila. Ajāmila was a resident of Kānyakubja (the modern Kanauj). He was trained by his parents to become a perfect brāhmaṇa by studying the Vedas and following the regulative principles, but because of his past, this youthful brāhmaṇa was somehow attracted by a prostitute, and because of her association he became most fallen and abandoned all regulative principles. Ajāmila begot in the womb of the prostitute ten sons, the last of whom was called Nārāyaṇa. At the time of Ajāmila’s death, when the order carriers of Yamarāja came to take him, he loudly called the name Nārāyaṇa in fear because he was attached to his youngest son. Thus he remembered the original Nārāyaṇa, Lord Viṣṇu. Although he did not chant the holy name of Nārāyaṇa completely offenselessly, it acted nevertheless. As soon as he chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu immediately appeared on the scene. A discussion ensued between the order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu and those of Yamarāja, and by hearing that discussion Ajāmila was liberated. He could then understand the bad effect of fruitive activities and could also understand how exalted is the process of devotional service.

COMMENT

And here is a very wonderful painting. It shows Ajamila on his deathbed, and the Yamadutas—the order carriers of Yamaraja, and the Vishnudutas – the order carriers of Vishnu, both came on the scene. And the Yamadutas claimed that they had jurisdiction over the soul of Ajamila because he was so sinful, and the Vishnudutas claimed that they had jurisdiction over the soul of Ajamila because he chanted the holy name of Narayana at the final moment. And so, a great discussion took place between the Yamadutas and Vishnudutas over who had jurisdiction over the soul of Ajamila. So now, we come to the Chapter summary of Chapter Two called Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY [Ajāmila Delivered by the Viṣṇudūtas]

In this chapter the messengers from Vaikuṇṭha explain to the Yamadūtas the glories of chanting the holy name of the Lord. The Viṣṇudūtas said, “Now impious acts are being performed even in an assembly of devotees, for a person who is not punishable is going to be punished in the assembly of Yamarāja.

COMMENT

So, the Vishnudutas were criticizing the Yamadutas that they had come to take the soul of Ajamila to Yamaraja, when actually, they had no jurisdiction over Ajamila.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY (continued)

We see perfectly that Ajāmila should not be punished, although you are attempting to take him to Yamarāja for punishment.”

It was due to Ajāmila’s glorifying the holy name of the Supreme Lord that he was not punishable. The Viṣṇudūtas explained this as follows: “Simply by once chanting the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, this brāhmaṇa has become free from the reactions of sinful life. Indeed, he has been freed not only from the sins of this life, but from the sins of many, many thousands of other lives. He has already undergone true atonement for all his sinful actions. If one atones according to the directions of the śāstras, one does not actually become free from sinful reactions, but if one chants the holy name of the Lord, even a glimpse of such chanting can immediately free one from all sins.

COMMENT

So, this phrase is by Srila Prabhupada—a glimpse of chanting refers to nāma-ābhāsa. There are three stages in chanting called nāma-aparādha—which is offensive chanting, nāma-ābhāsa—which is offenseless chanting, and śuddha-nāma—which is pure chanting. Ajamila’s chanting was considered nāma-ābhāsa. If he had engaged in sinful activities with the idea that by chanting the holy name, he could become freed from the sinful reaction, that would have been an offense—to commit sin on the strength of chanting. [Unintelligible 00:41:20], to commit sin on the strength of chanting—it is an offense.

But Ajamila did not deliberately sin with the idea that he could become free from the reaction by chanting. But seeing the fearsome forms of the Yamadutas, in complete helplessness, Ajamila called the name of his son, Narayana. So, that was nāma-ābhāsa. And as Srila Prabhupada says here in the Chapter summary, even a glimpse of such chanting can immediately free one from all sins. Again, I am quoting what the Vishnudutas were explaining to the Yamadutas.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY (continued)

Chanting the glories of the Lord’s holy name awakens all good fortune. Therefore there is no doubt that Ajāmila, being completely free from all sinful reactions, should not be punished by Yamarāja.”

As they were saying this, the Viṣṇudūtas released Ajāmila from the ropes of the Yamadūtas and left for their own abode. The brāhmaṇa Ajāmila, however, offered his respectful obeisances to the Viṣṇudūtas. He could understand how fortunate he was to have chanted the holy name of Nārāyaṇa at the end of his life.

COMMENT

Yes, it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ—that the goal is to remember Narayana at the end of life, ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY (continued)

Having thoroughly understood the discussion between the Yamadūtas and the Viṣṇudūtas, he became a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He lamented very much for how very sinful he had been, and he condemned himself again and again.

COMMENT

And as Srila Prabhupada in his purports to this Chapter says, every devotee should lament like Ajamila for our past sinful activities.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY (continued)

Finally, because of his association with the Viṣṇudūtas, Ajāmila, his original consciousness aroused, gave up everything and went to Hardwar, where he engaged in devotional service without deviation, always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, although Ajamila chanted in nāma-ābhāsa, as we discussed, when he went to Haridwar and engaged in devotional service, he attained spiritual perfection.

CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY (continued)

Thus the Viṣṇudūtas went there, seated him on a golden throne and took him away to Vaikuṇṭhaloka.

In summary, although the sinful Ajāmila meant to call his son, the holy name of Lord Nārāyaṇa, even though chanted in the preliminary stage, nāmābhāsa, was able to give him liberation. Therefore one who chants the holy name of the Lord with faith and devotion is certainly exalted. He is protected even in his material, conditional life.

COMMENT

Now, we come to the Chapter summary of Chapter Three, which is actually the conclusion of the history of Ajamila. This Chapter is called Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY [Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers]

As related in this chapter, the Yamadūtas approached Yamarāja, who very exhaustively explained bhāgavata-dharma, the religious principle of devotional service. Yamarāja thus satisfied the Yamadūtas, who had been very disappointed.

COMMENT

Because never before had the Yamadutas been squatted or frustrated in their attempts to bring a soul to Yamaraja. This is the first time they had ever been defeated in their attempt to bring a soul to Yamaraja. So, they had been very disappointed. But Yamaraja satisfied the Yamadutas with his explanation.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY (continued)

Yamarāja said, “Although Ajāmila was calling for his son, he chanted the holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, and simply by a glimpse of the chanting of the holy name, he immediately achieved the association of Lord Viṣṇu’s order carriers, who saved him from your attempt to arrest him. This is quite all right. It is a fact that even a chronically sinful person who chants the holy name of the Lord, although not completely without offenses, does not take another material birth.”

By chanting the holy name of the Lord, Ajāmila had met four order carriers of Lord Viṣṇu. They were very beautiful and had quickly come to rescue him. Yamarāja now described them. “The Viṣṇudūtas are all pure devotees of the Lord, the Supreme Person in regard to the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this cosmic manifestation. Neither King Indra, Varuṇa, Śiva, Brahmā, the seven ṛṣis nor I myself can understand the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord, who is self-sufficient and beyond the reach of the material senses. With material senses, no one can attain enlightenment about Him. The Lord, the master of the illusory energy, possesses transcendental qualities for the good fortune of everyone, and His devotees are also qualified in that way. The devotees, concerned only with rescuing the fallen souls from this material world, apparently take birth in different places in the material world just to save the conditioned souls.

COMMENT

So, my dear devotees, this sentence very nicely describes our duty, our mission, our purpose.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY (continued)

The devotees, concerned only with rescuing the fallen souls from this material world, apparently take birth in different places in the material world just to save the conditioned souls. If one is somewhat interested in spiritual life, the devotees of the Lord protect him in many ways.”

Yamarāja continued, “The essence of sanātana-dharma, or eternal religion, is extremely confidential. No one but the Lord Himself can deliver that confidential religious system to human society.

COMMENT

Yes, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ, the path of religion is enunciated directly by the Lord.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY (continued)

It is by the mercy of the Lord that the transcendental system of religion can be understood by His pure devotees, and specifically by the twelve mahājanas Lord Brahmā, Nārada Muni, Lord Śiva, the Kumāras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and me.

COMMENT

Here, Yamaraja is enumerating the twelve mahājanas. Yes, Svayambhu manu, Kapila, and so on.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY (continued)

Other learned scholars, headed by Jaimini, are almost always covered by the illusory energy, and therefore they are more or less attracted by the flowery language of the three Vedas, namely Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma, which are called trayī. Instead of becoming pure devotees, people captivated by the flowery words of these three Vedas are interested in the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. They cannot understand the glories of chanting the holy name of the Lord. Intelligent persons, however, take to the devotional service of the Lord. When they chant the holy name of the Lord without offenses, they are no longer subject to my rulings. If by chance they commit some sinful act, they are protected by the holy name of the Lord because that is where their interest lies. The four weapons of the Lord, especially the club and the Sudarśana cakra, always protect the devotees. One who chants, hears or remembers the holy name of the Lord without duplicity, or who prays or offers obeisances to the Lord, becomes perfect, whereas even a learned person may be called to hell if he is bereft of devotional service.”

COMMENT

So, these were the instructions that Yamaraja gave to his order carriers, the Yamadutas. And back to the Chapter summary.

CHAPTER THREE SUMMARY (continued)

After Yamarāja thus described the glories of the Lord and His devotees, Śukadeva Gosvāmī further explained the potency of chanting the holy name and the futility of performing Vedic ritualistic ceremonies and pious activities for atonement.

COMMENT

And this brings us to the three verses that were assigned to me today at the end of the Chapter called Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers. 

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Six, Chapter Three, Text Thirty-Three.

TEXT 33

kṛṣṇāṅghri-padma-madhu-liṇ na punar visṛṣṭa-
māyā-guṇeṣu ramate vṛjināvaheṣu
anyas tu kāma-hata ātma-rajaḥ pramārṣṭum
īheta karma yata eva rajaḥ punaḥ syāt

TRANSLATION

Devotees who always lick the honey from the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa do not care at all for material activities, which are performed under the three modes of material nature and which bring only misery. Indeed, devotees never give up the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa to return to material activities. Others, however, who are addicted to Vedic rituals because they have neglected the service of the Lord’s lotus feet and are enchanted by lusty desires, sometimes perform acts of atonement. Nevertheless, being incompletely purified, they return to sinful activities again and again.

COMMENT

So again, the same principle, that by atonement, one can become free from sinful reactions, but such atonement does not free one from the desire to engage in such sinful activities.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

A devotee’s duty is to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. One may sometimes chant with offenses and sometimes without offenses, but if one seriously adopts this process, he will achieve perfection, which cannot be achieved through Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement. Persons who are attached to the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, but do not believe in devotional service, who advise atonement, but do not appreciate the chanting of the Lord’s holy name, fail to achieve the highest perfection.

COMMENT

So,

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Hari, Krishna. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in this age of Kali.

PURPORT (continued)

Devotees, therefore, being completely detached from material enjoyment, never give up Kṛṣṇa consciousness for Vedic ritualistic ceremonies. Those who are attached to Vedic ritualistic ceremonies because of lusty desires are subjected to the tribulations of material existence again and again. Mahārāja Parīkṣit has compared their activities to kuñjara-śauca, the bathing of an elephant.

COMMENT

Yes, kuñjara-śauca or hathi-snana—the bathing of an elephant. The elephant enters a body of water and cleanses himself very nicely in the lake or the river, and then he comes out and he puts dust all over his body, dirt all over his body. So, that is kuñjara-śauca or hathi-snana.

So, the ritualistic ceremonies for atonement are compared to this hathi-snana, because one cleanses oneself of sinful reactions by atonement, but then one again engages in sinful activities and pollutes himself. So again, the process of atonement does not give lasting relief. But bhakti-yoga, and specifically and specially the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, cleanses the heart, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, and removes the desire to engage in sinful activities. And therefore, it gives a permanent solution. And by Srila Prabhupada’s grace, we have been given this process and this knowledge.

TEXT 34

itthaṁ svabhartṛ-gaditaṁ bhagavan-mahitvaṁ
saṁsmṛtya vismita-dhiyo yama-kiṅkarās te
naivācyutāśraya-janaṁ pratiśaṅkamānā
draṣṭuṁ ca bibhyati tataḥ prabhṛti sma rājan

TRANSLATION

After hearing from the mouth of their master about the extraordinary glories of the Lord and His name, fame and attributes, the Yamadūtas were struck with wonder. Since then, as soon as they see a devotee, they fear him and dare not look at him again.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Since this incident, the Yamadūtas have given up the dangerous behavior of approaching devotees. For the Yamadūtas, a devotee is dangerous.

COMMENT

In other words, it is dangerous for a Yamaduta to approach a devotee. And so, they are afraid of approaching devotees, and if they see a devotee, they don’t dare to look at him, as if he was object to their jurisdiction. So, my dear devotees, as long as we remain faithful to the practice of Krishna consciousness, bhakti-yoga, as given to us by Srila Prabhupada, we need not fear the Yamadutas. Rather, they will be afraid of approaching you.

TEXT 35

itihāsam imaṁ guhyaṁ
bhagavān kumbha-sambhavaḥ
kathayām āsa malaya
āsīno harim arcayan

TRANSLATION

When the great sage Agastya, the son of Kumbha, was residing in the Malaya Hills and worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I approached him, and he explained to me this confidential history.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Sixth Canto, Third Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “Yamarāja Instructs His Messengers.”

COMMENT

Granthraj Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya! Sri Nama Prabhu ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So now, my dear devotees, if you have any questions or comments, any reflections, you can raise your hands, your physical hand or your virtual hand, and we can discuss further.

Devotee: Thank you so much, Giriraj Maharaja. Thank you so much for the overview of this miraculous, of this wonderful Ajamila līlā. And you have completed your lecture by saying that Ymadutas are fearful of seeing devotees. So, not only our relatives, our family members are scared of ourselves, especially at the beginning of our practice, but even Yamadutas are. We have a question.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, dear Maharaja. It was such a pleasure for me to listen to yourself. My question is, how can the holy name liberate those devotees who practice on the path of Krishna consciousness, but at the same time, they commit sins? For example, Ajamila was a great sinful person, the same is about Jagai and Madhai, but they somehow started to perform their devotional service and never came back to their sinful activities. However, there are other types of devotees who time after time would commit sins. So, my question is about this kind of devotees, how the holy name liberates this kind of devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Well, to be liberated, one has to chant in nāma-ābhāsa, as we discussed. If the devotee engages in sinful activities with the expectation that he can neutralize the sinful reactions by chanting, that is an offense—committing sins on the strength of chanting Hare Krishna. But if one is chanting and is sincerely trying to avoid sinful activities but due to weakness does commit sins, then he should repent. It is a very important point—he should repent.

As it is mentioned, Ajamila lamented and he condemned himself for his sinful activities. So, that repentance is purifying. And yes, the devotee should feel ashamed of himself. So, he repents and he condemns himself, and if he is ashamed of himself, then his chanting will help him, and eventually, by the mercy of the Lord and the devotees, he should be able to give up his sinful activities.

Yes, there is a very beautiful verse and purport in the Eleventh Canto, which describes the devotee who is trying to give up sinful activities but is unsuccessful, and what his mentality should be. And maybe I will read that. Yes, it is very relevant.

So, this is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Chapter Twenty, Text Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight. And to save time, I will just read the translation and purport.

TEXT 27–28

Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, My devotee should remain happy and worship Me with great faith and conviction. Even though he is sometimes engaged in sense enjoyment, My devotee knows that all sense gratification leads to a miserable result, and he sincerely repents such activities.

COMMENT

So again, this is a beautiful verse, and the purport is wonderful. Again, for the sake of time, I won’t read it now, but I do recommend it because it really discusses this subject very nicely.

Again, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Text Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Thank you very much for such a wonderful class. While you were reading these verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I was feeling so extremely happy. You said that if a devotee repents the sinful activities, sometimes the new devotees they come, they join, they like kirtan, they like prasāda, but at the same time, they perform sinful activities. And on one hand, they understand that this is sinful but they don’t mind doing it. It is just okay for them. So, what is the process of purification for them? Will they be purified simply due to chanting?

Giriraj Swami: They will be purified, but it will take a long time. Once, Srila Prabhupada had some disciples in Hawaii, who had the philosophy that they were chanting Hare Krishna, and even if they engage in sinful activities, the chanting would work.

And so, some of the sincere devotees asked Srila Prabhupada what is the position of these other devotees, and Srila Prabhupada said that the chanting will work, but it will take some time. He gave the example that if you are cooking some rice and you put the pot in the fire, then the rice will cook very quickly. But if you keep the pot of rice away from the fire, it is not going to cook very quickly.

So, those devotees need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books, and they need to understand how precarious is their position in the material world, how vulnerable they are. And even though they are chanting, but if they are engaging in sinful activities, they are punishable and death can come at any moment. They should give up their sinful activities immediately and come running to the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ, there is danger at every step. It is good that they are chanting, it is good, but they can do better.

Devotee: So, we could inspire such devotees to read more of Prabhupada’s books.

Giriraj Swami: Yeah.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Your Holiness. How can I attain the goal of life as Krishna? How can I aspire towards this goal of life? I know that this is the kind of theoretical goal, I have read about it from books, from scriptures, I have heard about it from other devotees. However, I do not share this goal whole heartedly. I am not striving toward this goal.

Giriraj Swami: So, what are your other goals?

Devotee: The same, Maharaja, the same as they were when I was engaged in the material life, just to enjoy my senses and try to live as comfortably as possible in this material world.

Giriraj Swami: And how long will you be able to do that?

Devotee: This kind of desires, this kind of goals are subconscious, they are kind of habits. I feel like I am a machine who is still working on auto pilot regime and to turn this machine 180 degrees towards different direction is quite complicated. How much time will it take, I don’t know, maybe they are results for my karma and my physical body will allow me to do it for a few more years.

Giriraj Swami: So then, what is your question? Or it is more of a comment?

Devotee: His question was how he can make Krishna his whole hearted goal of life.

Giriraj Swami: Again, I would suggest reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. Because this pursuit of sense gratification, I understand it’s conditioning, but it is based on ignorance. And if you read Srila Prabhupada’s books, then your ignorance will be removed. Again, as Rupa Gosvami says, all suffering is due to sin, and sin is due to ignorance. So, if you remove your ignorance, then you will stop your sin, eventually. I will pray for you.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Can you hear me?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I can’t believe I am here. I love you so much and thank you so much for including me in your wonderful, wonderful teachings, and I love all the devotees and you are so wonderful and thank you so much. So, here is my question.

So, Maharaja, not being a devotee and being more of a demon, when you go out and preach, you see these demons, the Yamadutas are the worst, the lowest, they have this horrible existence because we can’t even look at a devotee, we know that if a person does not have association with a pure devotee, there is no way, no way, no way, and if they cannot even hear the holy name, we know that Narayana is a great name, but Hare Krishna, Krishna is the ultimate name.

And if they cannot hear that name, if they cannot look at a devotee, how can we reach those Yamadutas, how can we save those Yamadutas, how can we save Yamaraja? Are they stuck in that service? I mean, is it just Krishna that is the only one who can save them? How can we get to them? How can we save those kind of low and lost and disgusting people that pure devotees like yourself shouldn’t even need to look at? For instance, I am not a devotee or anything, but can we preach to them? Is there some way to get to them so that they can change their service, or are they stuck in their service to Yamaraja?

Thank you, Maharaja, and thank you devotees for being patient with me. Hare Krishna. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: The Yamadutas are servants of Yamaraja, who is a pure devotee. He is one of the twelve mahājanas. So, we cannot say that the Yamadutas do not have the association of devotees, but they are enjoying not to approach devotees to bring them to Yamaraja. But they are servants of Yamaraja, who is a pure devotee, and they themselves are devotees of sorts. Because to be a servant of Yamaraja is not an ordinary thing. So, I don’t think we need to worry about saving the Yamadutas. We should try to save ourselves. Thank you for that question.

Devotee: We got a couple of more questions from YouTube. May we?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Mataji is asking that every single thing you shared so far, I understand and accept and appreciate theoretically with my head. However, I don’t feel like Krishna is nearby, that He takes care of me and He cares about me. How can I change it?

Giriraj Swami: Well, again, I suggest reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, and there is a way to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. My dear godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu calls prayerful reading. You read in a prayerful mood, praying for Srila Prabhupada and Krishna to instruct you in a way that will be beneficial to you and help you to apply what you read practically in your life.

And the other thing is offenseless chanting. If you get up early in the morning and chant in front of Tulasi-devi, perhaps in front of the Deities, perhaps with other devotees who are serious about chanting, then that attentive chanting and hearing will cleanse your heart, and it will also inspire you in Krishna consciousness.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to Guru Maharaja. Guru Maharaja, this age of Kali, as we know, the only way to deliver ourselves is to chant the holy names of the Lord. Earlier, there was only one Jagai, Madhai. In this Kali-yuga, everyone is in that position, maybe I would say about myself, I am in the lowest of the position.

But one question, doubts rise when I was hearing this pastime with Lord Chaitanya, happening in the house of Srila Srivasa Thakura. And there was a beautiful kirtan going on. And in between, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just stopped the kirtan and He said, “I am not experiencing bliss, there is someone in the room.” So, and it came out that Srivasa Thakura’s mother in law was there, and just a doubt came, “Why was Srila Srivasa Thakura’s mother taking out of the kirtan?” Because it was for everyone to be delivered. So, at that point of time, why was she taken out of the kirtan, and then Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started experiencing bliss?

Giriraj Swami: The nocturnal kirtans were specially meant for the Lord, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His intimate associates to relish saṅkīrtana together. And if someone wasn’t really meant to be there, or qualified to be there, Lord Chaitanya’s usual ecstasy would not come. What you said is true, that the saṅkīrtana movement is meant to deliver everyone, and Lord Chaitanya and His devotees would do hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana in the public for the benefit of everyone, but those kirtans at night, at Srivasa Thakura’s home, were for a different purpose, they were for Lord Chaitanya and His intimate devotees to relish.