SB 2.3.17 – Opening the Door to Perfection

Giriraj Swami: We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three, “Pure Devotional Service,” Text Seventeen.

om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 17

āyur harati vai puṁsām
udyann astaṁ ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta
uttama-śloka-vārtayā

TRANSLATION

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service.

COMMENT

So, we are engaged in devotional service, but by rising and setting, the sun decreases the life of people in general, and we do not know how much time we have. And therefore, we should accelerate our devotional service. Accelerate means go faster. If you are driving, if you want to pick up speed, you step on the accelerator.

PURPORT (continued)

This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service. Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values. Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold.

COMMENT

So, our life is made of time, the duration of our life is made of time. And therefore, time is our most precious asset. If we waste time, it means we are wasting our life. And time is so valuable, that at the time of death, even if you are willing to spend any amount of money to buy more time, you cannot do it, the time is invaluable. So, while we have the time in our life, we should utilize the time uttama-śloka-vārtayā, by discussing topics of the All good Personality of Godhead, this is what we are doing right now.

PURPORT (continued)

Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold. Human life is simply awarded to a living entity (jīva) so that he can realize his spiritual identity and his permanent source of happiness. A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.

COMMENT

The Vedanta-sutras describes the absolute truth as ānandamayo’bhyāsāt, by nature full of bliss, and we, in parts and parcels of the absolute truth, are also by nature full of bliss. But our natural blissful nature is covered due to our falsely identifying with the body and the material world, and being influenced by the modes of nature, which cause suffering. But still, our nature is to be happy, our desire is to be happy. But as Srila Prabhupada says, we are vainly seeking happiness in the wrong place. But we can find the happiness for which we are eager, if we look in the right place, and apply the right method.

PURPORT (continued)

A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity. But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere. A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities.

COMMENT

So my dear devotees, this is the secret to real happiness, eternal happiness.

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him. Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened. In the Bhagavad-gītā (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. A slight beginning of such activities is sufficient even to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears.”

COMMENT

So, Bhagavad-gītā (2.40), the very significant verse, it says there is no loss or diminution in devotional service, and whatever progress we make is eternal. Materially, whatever we acquire during our life is lost at the time of death. For example, we may be expert in language, we may be fluent in many languages, but after death, everything is lost. And when we take our next birth, we don’t know any language, we are just like any other baby. So, whatever we accumulate in this life is lost at the time of death.

But devotional service is never lost, there is no loss or diminution. And even a slight advancement in devotional service protects one from the greatest fear, which is to take birth in a lower species than a human being. So, as Srila Prabhupada explained, if we progress 1 percent in devotional service in this life, then the next life we begin from 2 percent. If we advance 50 percent, in the next life we begin from 51 percent. And as Srila Prabhupada said in a purport in The Nectar of Instruction, devotional service is so pure and perfect that one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success. That is the Lord’s mercy.

PURPORT (continued)

As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently.

COMMENT

So, this is uttama-śloka-vārtayā, Srila Prabhupada is discussing the potency of topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. They are so powerful, and the drug injected intravenously acts very efficiently on the whole body. Similarly, uttama-śloka-vārtayā, the topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead injected through the ear by the pure devotee acts very efficiently, very powerful, hearing, śravaṇam. Of course, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ. And in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, tac chṛṇu, just hear from me. So hearing is most important.

And Srila Prabhupada said, “When you are sleeping, someone might wave at you or appeal to any of the other senses, but they won’t work to wake you up. But the sound of the alarm clock or the clapping of hands, that will work. So that is the importance of hearing. Hearing can awaken us from our slumber in material existence. Can we get that light on again? That was helpful. [Unintelligible 00:34:50].

PURPORT (continued)

As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently. Aural realization. . .

COMMENT

That is a-u-r-a-l, through the ear.

PURPORT (continued)

Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts. This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī prepares one’s complete life for eternity.

COMMENT

So this is the mystery. The language of the verse is very striking. “Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.” So, how is that? It is so because by uttama-śloka-vārtayā, by discussing the topics of the Lord, one prepares one’s life or eternity. And thus, the rising and setting of the sun fail to rob one of duration of life.

PURPORT (continued)

This realization for a moment. . .

COMMENT

A moment.

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’ — sarva-śāstre kaya
lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya

By associating with the sadhu, even for lava-mātra, a fraction of a second, one can attain all perfection.

PURPORT (continued)

This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī prepares one’s complete life for eternity. And thus the sun fails to rob the pure devotee of his duration of life, inasmuch as he is constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purifying his existence.

COMMENT

So time. Time is of the essence, and we should be constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purify our existence.

PURPORT (continued)

Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age and disease.

COMMENT

In other words, we are subjected to birth, death, old age, and disease because of this physical body that we have, which is, as Srila Prabhupada says, it is an infection of itself, it is an artificial imposition on the pure spirit soul, we don’t need it. So yes, death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being.

PURPORT (continued)

The materialistic way of pious activities like charity is recommended in the smṛti-śāstras as quoted by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Money given in charity to a suitable person is guaranteed bank balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be given to a brāhmaṇa. If the money is given in charity to a non-brāhmaṇa (without brahminical qualification) the money is returned in the next life in the same proportion. If it is given in charity to a half-educated brāhmaṇa, even then the money is returned double.

COMMENT

So, if you are looking for a good investment, [Unintelligible 00:40:28], the returns here are very good.

PURPORT (continued)

If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times, and if the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

COMMENT

So, veda-pāraga, one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas. Yes, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo, “By all the Vedas, I am to be known.” So one who knows Krishna is a veda-pāraga. And if one gives in charity to him, the money is returned by unlimited multiplication. And how is that? Because everything in the material world is limited. The implication is that you go back home, back to Godhead, and there you will get the unlimited return.

PURPORT (continued)

The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ).

COMMENT

This unlimited return, as I mentioned, can be realized only in the spiritual world. When Srila Prabhupada arrived in, I can’t remember, it was Manila or Hong Kong, I think Hong Kong. When he arrived in Hong Kong, he was received at the airport in Rolls-Royce limousine, and then he was taken to the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, the devotees had rented the penthouse suite. And there, Srila Prabhupada had a press conference. And so, one of the reporters asked Srila Prabhupada, “You are supposed to be a spiritual person. Why are you riding in a Rolls-Royce car?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Actually, you are right. Rolls-Royce car is not good enough for me.” [laughter] “I come from the spiritual world, and all the gems are cintāmaṇi, touch-stone. Even if they had picked me up in a solid gold Rolls-Royce or a diamond Rolls-Royce, it wouldn’t have been good enough.” So yes, that is a hint of unlimited multiplication.

So, from Hong Kong, Srila Prabhupada came to Juhu, and he related that exchange he had with the reporter, and then he said, “What else can you say to such envious people?” It was a beautiful answer. Also, while he was there, someone asked him about Guru Maharaja Ji, also known as Bala Yoga Swami. And Srila Prabhupada said, “He is cheating the people, but when he meets Krishna, he will see that Krishna is a bigger cheater than he is, and he will lose everything.” And that happened actually. But Srila Prabhupada said he came to pass.

And that exchange was quoted in Time magazine. There was a section in Time magazine called People section. And in the People section, they had a little item called “There is trouble stirring in Nirvana.” And the piece quoted that, when one asked about Guru Maharaja Ji, ISKCON Founder Acarya, quoted Srila Prabhupada. And it happened, he lost everything. Even his mother who had appointed him as God. . . I mean, this is a bit different, but she always withdrew her appointment as God.

But the point here is, yes, how Srila Prabhupada was received in Hong Kong, and what the real standard of opulence is for a pure devotee who’s a resident of the spiritual world. So, therefore, it is said that it is returned by unlimited multiplication.

PURPORT (continued)

If the money is given to a veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas). . . .

COMMENT

Like Srila Prabhupada.

PURPORT (continued)

. . . it is returned by unlimited multiplication. The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ). There is a guarantee of money’s being returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion. Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead. Mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate.

COMMENT

[Unintelligible 00:48:12] in Bhagavad-gītā that one who achieve Krishna, never take birth again in material world.

PURPORT (continued)

In other words, a devotee of the Lord is guaranteed eternal life. A devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus to such guaranteed eternal life.

COMMENT

So yes, we don’t want disease, we don’t want old age, some of the inconveniences of old age, but they serve a purpose, they are an impetus for us to accelerate our devotional service, so that we can attain our eternal life with Krishna, where there is no more birth, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi birth, old age, and disease.

And in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna discusses the process of knowledge. And of course, first is Amānitvam adambhitvaṁ, to be prideless and humble. But one of the items is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, to proceed, to be conscious of, to be aware of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease, because that awareness will encourage us to accelerate our devotional service and attain our eternal life with Krishna. And all of that can be realized by the chanting of the holy names,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Hare Krishna.

So are there any questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, my question is about the last section where it is told that the charity. [Unintelligible 00:50:51] But many of the cases, I give my realization that whenever we want practice the charity, so we are very calculative, what exactly we have to give. So we always think how much…what to give, how much I can give, what is my capacity, lot of things comes in mind. So what is the real mood of doing the charity? Is it ok in our condition, right that we are so much calculative, still we want to do something or we are not giving from our core of heart, very open minded, decide whatever we want. We are always [Unintelligible 00:50:51]. What is the mood?

Giriraj Swami: Well, everyone thinks of his own interest, that is natural, that is not wrong. Though we should know what our real self-interest is, we should know what a real self is, and then we can know what our real self-interest is. And Prahlada Maharaja says, na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ, that our real self-interest is to serve Vishnu. Now, the Bhagavad-gītā mentions charity in different modes; the mode of goodness, mode of passion, mode of ignorance, but certainly, if we give in charity to Veda-pāraga devotees, we will use the money to advance the cause of personal consciousness, we will get great returns. And that is fine.

I think of two things. We were talking about time. And Srila Prabhupada had a friend in Bombay named Brijratan Mohatta who had been the wealthiest man in what became West Pakistan. And he told Mr. Mohatta, “In the measure of your life, any time spent for Krishna is profit, and any time spent outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.” And Srila Prabhupada was very expert in speaking in the language of his audience. So, any businessman would want to increase his profits and minimizes his losses. So Prabhupada said, “Any time used in Krishna consciousness is profit, and any time used outside of Krishna consciousness is loss.”

But yes, there was another name in Bombay. I was quite successful in approaching the people in Bombay and making them life members or getting advertisements for our souvenir books. And one time, there was a boy avoiding me, he was a big shooting magnet [Unintelligible 00:54:55]. I could never get to meet him in his office. So, one day, I took a chance, and I went to his home. And he saw me when he opened the door but, he had some culture, he invited me in. And in a sort of smug way he said, “So what can I do for you?” And I said, “Well, we have come to do something for you.” He said, “What can you do for me?” So, I said, “I came to engage you in Krishna’s service.” And eventually, he did give something in charity.

But later, when I described the exchange to Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada said that a businessman is always thinking of his profit. So artificially, he might have said that, “What can you do for me?” but actually, unless he thought he was getting some benefits by giving to charity, he wouldn’t have given. So, he knew actually that he was benefiting from doing that service, but he also sort of said that, maybe I should have been more humble [Unintelligible 00:56:47] in my interaction with him, which I am sure is true. But anyway, in the end he gave in charity. Srila Prabhupada said, “When you approach people and tell them that everything belongs to Krishna, and you are a thief [Unintelligible 00:57:15].”

Is there any hand up over here? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, do you mind if I ask an off-topic question?

Giriraj Swami: Let us see.

Devotee: Okay. In the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada says a devotee could judge his own advancement by how free he was from envy.

Giriraj Swami: Yes?

Devotee: And so my question is, what is envy, and how can we overcome it?

Giriraj Swami: Okay. Envy means that you don’t appreciate the good qualities or the good service of another person. And how to overcome it? Once, I went through my own introspective process about envy when we were with Srila Prabhupada in Surat. And when I approached Srila Prabhupada, “What can I do about envy?” His first remark was, “Can you think of any reason why you should not be envious?” And I had considered many reasons. One is that it was affecting my relationships with the devotees. In other words, there is no reason to be envious because Krishna is unlimited, Krishna’s service is unlimited. So, [Unintelligible 00:59:36]. So, I had thought of why there is no reason to be envious.

So, Srila Prabhupada said, “Have you thought of any reasons why not to be envious?” I said, “Yes.” And Prabhupada said, “All right. Envy means you don’t like somebody, and that not liking should not be directed toward devotees, but it should be directed towards the demons who are creating havoc in the world and causing trouble to the devotees.” So, that was Srila Prabhupada’s answer to how to deal with envy.

But yes, we should glorify the devotees sometimes. And we can even be expressed through our finding falut with devotees. And that is an offense, sādhu-nindā, it is the first offense against a devotee. And yes, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that with the same tongue that you blaspheme a devotee, you should glorify the devotee. So I think that is a good procedure. If we find that we are envious of someone and we don’t want to recognize their good qualities or their good service, we glorify them.

I was a psychology major, and I was told about an experiment that was done with high school students. And each student in this class was asked to identify the person who that student disliked the most, and for one month, to be very nice to that person who they disliked. And at the end of the month, all of them ended up liking the person who they disliked. And usually, we think, someone is nice to us, we like them. But this experiment showed that if you are nice to somebody, you like the person. So, I think that is how we should deal with envy.

Devotee: So, glorification is the key?

Giriraj Swami: Sorry?

Devotee: Glorification is the key?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, yes. Glorification and service to a person. Any other questions or comments? Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, while doing a material jobs, what our aims are there? While we are doing materials job, whatever the result is, we will be offering it to Krishna. And so, I mean, that is what our usually aims are. But while doing the material jobs, we are not remembering Krishna or even the fact that we have the problems of birth, disease, old age and death because of the anxiety of material work. How do we generalize, transform that in the material sphere?

Giriraj Swami: Why are you in anxiety at work?

Devotee: Like, normal, finding a solution for any problem, the work-related problem of the material. . . I am doing PhD, so in that PhD field, if I am facing any problem, why I am not able to find solution, or something like that.

Giriraj Swami: Okay. But, I mean, in the back of your mind, you are being paid to do your work, and you are going to use the money to support your Krishna conscious lifestyle. So, it is connected to Krishna. I mean, it may be in the back of your mind, it might not be in the front of your mind because you are focusing on the problem that you have to solve, but it is there in the back of your mind, for sure. So okay, that is okay.

And there is a story of when Arjuna and others were. . . their archery was being tested, the story. And each person was asked what he saw. And Arjuna saw only one thing, the eye. So that is okay to be focused on a problem. Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you mentioned about accelerating our devotional service. And for now, I feel as time progresses, I become complacent. So how would you recommend to accelerate?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, yes. Well, by being conscious, Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, to be conscious of two things. One is how vulnerable we are in the material world, and the other is how we don’t know how much time we have left, so we can’t really put off our devotional service for the future because we don’t know. . . As Prabhupada said, that not future [Unintelligible 01:06:13]. So yes, we should have that [Unintelligible 01:06:19]. Once someone asked Madhava, the great kirtan leader of Mauritius, how he is able to sing with such intensity, and he said that he chants each mantra as if it was his last. You can imagine, each mantra you think, “This might be my last, this could be it, this could be the end of it.” And how much you would put into that mantra? So yes, that is a very nice consciousness.

Another thing. It seems unrelated, but it is related only in the sense that it is about we don’t know when death will come. But Tamal Krishna Goswami’s brother, Kalachandji dasa told me that whenever anyone in their house leaves the home, they say, “I love you” to the elders because they don’t know when death will come, so they want the memory of that person to be pleasant and loving. So, that was a nice instruction and a nice practice. And once it happened… [Unintelligible 01:08:25] told me the story, that he was taking the boys on the bus tour, which he used to lead, and while they were on the tour, they got the news that the mother of one of the boys had passed away. And just before coming on the tour, the boy had a fight with his mother. And he felt very bad that that was his last interaction with her. So, Kalachandji dasa [Unintelligible 01:09:06].

Any other comments or questions? Yes?

Devotee: So, Maharaja, how can we identify a pure devotee, and what are the best associations with the pure devotee?

Giriraj Swami: What was the first one?

Devotee: How can we identify a pure devotee?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, how can we identify.

Devotee: And then how to associate?

Giriraj Swami: How to associate. There are different definitions of pure devotees. But Srila Prabhupada said that anyone who surrenders to the spiritual master is a pure devotee, that is one definition. Because. . . Anyway, I will give you the background why he said that. But yes. Rupa Gosvami gives the definition through devotional service, and basically, the idea is that you don’t engage in devotional service for any material benefit. And how to associate? Basically, by hearing, hearing from the pure devotee. So much of this purport is about hearing from a pure devotee and serving them, pleasing them.

Yes, I was suddenly. . . gave me a very nice reception here, and I was remembering a purport in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in which Srila Prabhupada discusses offering obeisances to a sannyasi, a sadhu. That when the sannyasi or sadhu sees someone offering obeisances, he becomes mercifully inclined to that person. So yes, serve them, please them, pray for their mercy. I think I was. . .

Just to complete that about the circumstances in which Srila Prabhupada said that anyone who surrendered to the spiritual master is a pure devotee. So, Srila Prabhupada said that to a disciple of his named Tushta Krishna dasa. And Tushta Krishna dasa has been a follower of a devotee named Sai in Hawaii. Sai, he had his own follower, and he had a mellow approach to Krishna consciousness. And eventually, he and all his followers surrendered to Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada initiated them as Siddha Svarupa. So Tushta Krishna dasa wrote Srila Prabhupada a letter, and you can gather what he had written based on Srila Prabhupada’s reply.

Srila Prabhupada replied, “Why do you want to be in the spiritual sky only with Siddha Svarupa? Siddha Svarupa is a good soul, but others are also good souls and do not make a fashion.” And then he said, “Siddha Svarupa will go back to Godhead.” They mentioned Shyamasundara. “Shyamasundara will go back to Godhead, you will go back to Godhead, everyone will go back to Godhead except Mr. Nair.” And then he said, “Don’t make this distinction that Siddha Svarupa is a pure devotee and others are not. Everyone who surrenders to the spiritual master is a pure devotee.”

Yes, Satsu [Unintelligible 01:14:27]?

Devotee: So, you were saying in that purport that discussing the topics of Krishna is very effective, and pure devotee is speaking, and it is like an injection to the ear. So, I was wondering, what is the difference between a pure devotee discussing these topics, and someone else? What makes it so effective when a pure devotee discusses it?

Giriraj Swami: Well yes, we discussed the definition of pure devotee. In our chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, Srila Prabhupada says that chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee. So, once someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “What if I don’t hear from you. . .” Or maybe he wrote Srila Prabhupada, “What if I don’t hear from you, but I hear it from your disciples?” And Srila Prabhupada replied that, “They heard it from me, and you are hearing it from them. So, it is as good as you are hearing it from me.” So, if we receive the message from a pure devotee [Unintelligible 01:15:38] and repeat it without any material motive, then yes, that is hearing from a pure devotee. I mean, Srila Prabhupada criticized the professional Bhagavat reciters, who are trying to earn money by their recitations of the Bhāgavatam.

But, if someone is speaking the message of Krishna without any material motive, then it is like hearing it from a pure devotee, and it is effective. Yes, the real concern is hearing it from Mayavadis writers that is. As Sanatana Gosvami said, avaiṣṇava-mukhodgirṇaṁ pūtaṁ hari-kathāmṛtam, that hari-kathā is like milk, very wholesome and nourishing. But milk touched by the lips of the serpent causes poisonous effect. Serpent means Mayavadis. So that will be effective.

In the early days in India, Srila Prabhupada sent Guru dasa, Yamuna, and me, maybe the three of us, to his quarters at the Radha-Damodara temple to go through his possessions. And we came across a lot of old letters, and one letter that Srila Prabhupada wrote was addressed to an organizer of a bhāgavata-saptāha, who I guess was a Mayavadi or some sort of materialist. And the man had invited Srila Prabhupada to attend, and Srila Prabhupada wrote back, “Not only will I not attend, but I will tell everyone I know that they also should not attend.” No compromise. Yes?

Devotee: Maharaja, you said that we can accelerate our devotional service by becoming conscious of how vulnerable we are, and how death can come at any time. But how can we realize the gravity of that, that we can die at any moment? For some reason we don’t have that realization.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. And why not?

Devotee: Why not?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Must.

Giriraj Swami: Sorry?

Devotee: Must to enjoy. We have all these desires going on.

Giriraj Swami: Well, yes, there is a nice. . . I don’t know if I understood that, but you are saying that because of the desire to enjoy, one doesn’t want to acknowledge his vulnerability and mortality. There is a beautiful purport that is part of the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which basically says that a devotee, he knows that sense gratification leads to no good, but still, he is unable to give it up. So he should continue in a happy mood, praying to Krishna and depending on Krishna, and knowing that he cannot give up the desires, his sense gratification, only if Krishna helps him. And also, he won’t do anything else besides [Unintelligible 01:21:14], even if he is not able to give up sense gratification, he will continue in a happy mood.

And yes, if Krishna doesn’t want to do it in this lifetime, then he will continue the devotional service confident that Krishna will do it, [Unintelligible 01:21:40] have some faith. It is a mistake. It is such a nice verse and purport. And the beginning of the purport says this is the beginning of pure devotional service. Do I have your email address? I could send you that reference.

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Any other questions or comments?

All right. So [Unintelligible 01:22:23]? I think maybe sing Nṛsiṁha prayers.