SB 2.3.17 – Sadhu-sanga Kirtan Retreat

Giriraj Swami: All my dear devotees, we shall be reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service.” Text Seventeen. 

oṁ 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—Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

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 we want to accelerate our devotional service; means go faster. In a car there is the accelerator, so if you want to go faster you step on it, 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 consists of our time. And at the time of death, even if we are willing to spend any amount of money or gold we cannot buy any extra time. So we should be very careful how we utilize our time and we should use it uttama-śloka-vārtayā, in topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

Srila Prabhupada was very expert in speaking in the language of his audience. And he had a friend or a supporter named Sri Brijratan Mohatta who had been the wealthiest Hindu, in what later became Pakistan. He was married to R.D Birla’s daughter. And Srila Prabhupada told him that in the ledger of your life any time used in Krishna consciousness is profit and any time used outside of Krishna consciousness is loss. So any businessman will want to maximize his profits and minimize his loss. So we should utilize our time, uttama-śloka-vārtayā, in Krishna consciousness.

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 entity, 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

Which is why we are all here.

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 yes, this verse in the Bhagavad-gītā says that even a slight beginning in devotional service will protect one from the greatest fear, which is that one will fall into a lower species of life and we will continue in the next life where we left off in material activities, whatever we achieve in this life is lost at the time of death. We may be an expert linguist who can speak fluently in various languages but we lose it all at the time of death and in our next life we begin with ga-ga-ga-ga, we don’t know even a single word in any language.

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…

COMMENT

That is a-u-r-a-l, means 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. 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 on the face of it the verse is very startling: both by rising and by setting the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone (that we can all agree) except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. Well how is that? It is so because by using our time in Krishna consciousness, uttama-śloka-vārtayā, we are preparing ourselves for eternal life. And so death, what we call death is not really the end for a devotee but it is his entrance into his eternal life with Krishna, which is something we can all look forward to. And as we heard yesterday, we are preparing for that right here and now.

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. 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

So yes, because we have accepted this material body we suffer birth, death, old age and disease. 

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. . . and we are freed from those miseries.

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. If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brāhmaṇa, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times

COMMENT

My dear devotees, if you are looking for a good investment you won’t get a better investment than what is described here. 

PURPORT (continued)

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 the path of the Vedas as Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gītā, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ, He is to be known by all the Vedas. So if the money is given to veda-pāraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), in other words Krishna, it is returned by unlimited multiplication. So how does that work, because everything in the material world is limited, so how can our investment be returned by unlimited multiplication? My understanding is that it will be returned in the spiritual world that we will be promoted to the spiritual world to receive our return. 

Srila Prabhupada was in Hong Kong and he was received at the airport in a Rolls Royce, Limousine and taken to the Hong Kong Hilton, to the penthouse suite for a press conference. One of the reporters asked him, “Swamiji, you are supposed to be a spiritual person, why were you riding in a Rolls Royce car?” And he said, “You are right. Actually I come from the spiritual world, and in the spiritual world everything is made of cintāmaṇi gems. So even if they had picked me up in a Rolls Royce, that was solid gold, it would not have been good enough. So you asked why did I ride in a Rolls-Royce car, well that was the best they could offer me so what else could I do?” So yes, the return in the spiritual world is unlimited.

PURPORT (continued)

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

That is a line from the Bhagavad-gītā in which Lord Krishna says that those who attain His abode never have to take birth again in this 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 like old age or disease but old age and disease have a function as mentioned here—as impetus for our guaranteed eternal life. They remind us that life in the physical body in the material world is not happy. And therefore, we should endeavor to become free from the miseries of the physical body by purifying our existence through uttama-śloka-vārtayā, through discussions of the all-good Personality of Godhead and going back home—back to Godhead. 

So a devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus to such guaranteed eternal life because he will endeavor for Krishna consciousness which will bring him to eternal life. And of course, in this present age of Kali-yuga the recommended process is

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

Chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Hare Krishna. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in this age.

Srila Prabhupada used to quote a cartoon he saw in a magazine. I guess a devotee showed him, in which an old man and an old lady were sitting together and the lady was saying, “Chant! Chant! Chant!” And the man was saying, “Can’t! Can’t! Can’t!” And Srila Prabhupada comment that with the same effort that it took to say ‘Can’t! Can’t! Can’t!’ he could just as well have chanted. So yes, uttama-śloka-vārtayā, we should utilize our time for chanting Hare Krishna. As Srila Prabhupada said in a lecture in Los Angeles, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense, chant Hare Krishna.” 

Thank you very much. 

We have a few more minutes so if anyone has any questions or comments or reflections, I guess you could raise your hand. We have a microphone, a roving microphone. There is one here, our godsister, Urvasi dasi.

Devotee: Maharaja, could you put out a donation box so we can donate to you. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, this is the traditional donation box. Thank you. And I have some books also which are available. Good, thank you. Any other questions or comments?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. You were saying that even a moment, realization injected into the heart by devotee is sufficient for eternal life, so I am wondering what is the catch here? Is there something required on one’s part to actually have that realization or is completely by some mercy that one gets this?

Giriraj Swami: Well in one purport in the Nectar of Instruction, Upadeśāmṛta, Srila Prabhupada says that Krishna consciousness is so pure and perfect that one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success. So once we begin we are on the way. Of course, we should avoid offenses, that is there because if we do commit offenses then our progress will be hindered. But still Krishna consciousness is so pure and perfect that once begun one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success, so we should be hopeful. As Srila Prabhupada said, “We should be pessimistic about material life but we should be optimistic about the spiritual life.” 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. So my question is that with your experience with Srila Prabhupada, what was the most important thing that you have learned?

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Giriraj Swami: Yes there is nothing, nothing greater, nothing better. Yes, anyone who surrenders to Srila Prabhupada will get all spiritual benefits and even material benefits in a way. 

Yes, in the back.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. I was wondering if you could talk about how it is that this process seems so simple to simply chant Hare Krishna and feasting and chanting and dancing. I was listening to one class one time and Srila Prabhupada said, “Practically speaking this process is simply recreation. So why is it so difficult for so many people to take it at all, if you could talk on that please? 

Giriraj Swami: What was the last sentence?

Devotee: Why is it difficult for people to be attracted to this movement when it is simply recreation and the process is so simple?

Giriraj Swami: Oh! Well that is their misfortune. Srila Lochan dasa Thakura sings in his beautiful song Parama-karuṇa, that Krishna Consciousness is kevala ānanda-kāṇḍa, it is simply joyful. But then towards the end of his song he says, “But unfortunately I am not attracted and I can only think that Yamaraja, the superintendent of death is punishing me for my sinful activities.” So in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, 

yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ

janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām

That those who have acted piously in previous lives and who have given up sinful activities they can engage in devotional service. But even if one has been sinful, and pretty much all of us were sinful before we came to Krishna consciousness, by chanting Hare Krishna and associating with devotees we come to give up our sinful activities and thus we become eligible to engage in devotional service. But at the same time we can also think, tax our brains, that Srila Prabhupada said how we can make the movement appeal to more people. That is part of our service, an important part of our service. So that was a nice question, thank you.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glorious to you! About accelerating devotional service, is that about doing more or the quality or both?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. We accelerate our devotional service by intensifying our efforts, wasting less time. If we think about our lives, we will probably have to acknowledge that we do waste time. There is so many ways to waste time, especially now with the internet. And nobody will know that you are wasting time because it is just between you and your computer. So yes, don’t waste time, don’t speak nonsense. Chant Hare Krishna. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja for the class, very enlivening. And Maharaja, how do we surrender to Srila Prabhupada?

Giriraj Swami: Well, basically surrender means to follow the instructions. And we have Srila Prabhupada’s books, first and foremost, so we should regularly read his books and apply what we read in our lives. And in broad terms he wanted us to taste Krishna consciousness and to distribute Krishna consciousness; both. And the two go together. Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that the best goṣṭhyānandī is a bhajanānandī who preaches. A bhajanānandī means one who relishes bhajan, his own spiritual practices, and a goṣṭhyānandī means one who takes pleasure in preaching and spreading Krishna Consciousness. So yes, the best goṣṭhyānandī is a bhajanānandī who preaches.

And I remember some years ago, I was fortunate to be staying with Vaisesika Prabhu at his home and we went through the morning program and it was very intense and enlivening. He did many of the same things that we all do in our morning programs but he did it with great intensity and relish. And then afterwards he was speaking about the book he was going to be writing which has subsequently been published, wonderful book called Our Family Business. And he said that one of the themes of the book is that our enthusiasm to preach should come from the overflow of the bliss that we feel from our spiritual practices. So the two go together. 

So my dear devotees, I have good news for you. We are moving on to our next activity. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.