Traveling with Srila Prabhupada—Part 02

Giriraj Swami: Welcome, my dear devotees, to the continuation of our discussion of Srila Prabhupada’s travels in India from the time we arrived in India until the time we got the Juhu land. Yesterday, we spoke about Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Amritsar. And after Amritsar, we travelled by train to Delhi. And in Delhi, Srila Prabhupada was met at the train station by one Mr. Gupta who had been corresponding with Srila Prabhupada. And Mr. Gupta asked Prabhupada to leave some devotees in Delhi to begin the activities there. And on the spot, Srila Prabhupada formed a team of Yamuna, Gopal, Bruce, Bhakta Bruce who later became Bhanu Swami, and myself. And for the sake of time, I won’t speak too much about our stay. Significant events took place when we were in Delhi, and that is that Srila Prabhupada asked us to go to Vrindavan. The first time we had been to Vrindavan. So, I will just read that little portion about our visit to Vrindavan.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS

Srila Prabhupada wrote Guru dasa that, ‘A big temple and compound belonging to the Maharaja of Bharatpur on the bank of the Yamuna at Kesi-ghat is for sale. Therefore I would like you to go immediately.’ [Unintelligible 00:17:03] containing a hand-written note and a large iron key. In the midst of all the austerities, syptus, and [Unintelligible 00:17:22] we have been enduring, the key represented to us the unlocking, something wonderful and long desired, entrance key to the holy land of Vrindavan, and what Prabhupada had called ‘The hub of the spiritual universe,’ the Radha-Damodar temple. It was the key to the spiritual world.

When Guru dasa left and after several days we had not heard from him, the rest of us followed. As soon as we arrived in Vrindavan, I felt something different, as if Krishna and His cowherd friends and cows were still present, five thousand years later. Thereafter, when in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada asked me about my visit to Vrindavan. He himself articulated for me what I had experienced. ‘When we are in Vrindavan, we don’t see Krishna now, but we can feel His presence.’ Yamuna devi reflected, ‘I thought about the residents of Vrindavan looking out in the same way for their beloved Krishna and Balarama as They returned with the cows five thousand years ago.’

The nights in Vrindavan are strangely reminiscent. The stars all-encompassing and appearing almost touchable. There are no loud sounds in Vrindavan at night, only kirtans from the temples and houses. Bicycle bells, temple bells, birds singing, peacocks singing, and dogs barking. Vrindavan is like a dense forest of longing, great longing and urgency for Krishna, captured in every vision. At the Radha-Damodar Temple we took out the key that Srila Prabhupada has sent and opened this kitchen door. Yamuna described, ‘The wooden door open slowly, [Unintelligible 00:20:37] and fell onto shades of silvery gray. Every surface was coated with at least two inches of powdery Vrindavan sand that obliterated corners and angles and made all forms look ethereal. The furnitures all had little items in them, and there was a round wooden chair on which Srila Prabhupada would honor prasādam. But looking up over Rupa Gosvami’s samadhi and bhajana-kuṭira, Krishna and his guru Maharaja had situated him in the most auspicious place on the planet to write his books and preaching at the West.”

COMMENT

Anyway, let me clean them Srila Prabhupada’s—quarters at Radha-Damodar.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

[Unintelligible 00:22:04] because everything relating to Srila Prabhupada was sacred to us, even the seemingly ordinary receipts for small purchases or papers having to do with his business or household of love, that he had given the instruction, so we tried to follow him, although he did not burn everything. Srila Prabhupada’s charms were not luck. When we opened one, we found some of his clothes inside; a quilted saffron jacket, which the mice had eaten, and the heavy woolen chadar, which had disintegrated to the extent of when we picked it up, it almost completely fell apart. There were also the personal papers, which we later took to the Yamuna, where we made a bon fire and burned them.”

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

“Srila Prabhupada had gone on to Bombay, and after a month in Bombay, he proceeded to Indore by the invitation of Gita Bhavan, for the Gita-jayanti-mahotsava, the celebration of Lord Krishna speaking the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna. And on December 8th, at his request, our group, Guru dasa who was working on getting the custom experience with Prabhupada’s books joined him. The organizers said that [Unintelligible 00:24:19] and house the rest of us nearby. After settling into our quarters, we toured the festival sites large pandal and estate, the Gita Bhawan Eye Hospital, and an extensive diorama exhibit with an eclectic mix of spiritual paths. It was kind of like a pseudo-spiritual museum, and we were impressed by the energy and imagination that had gone into the center. Unintelligible 00:25:09] about the legitimacy of it all. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Vivekananda, Rama Krishna, as well as demigods and even animals were on display, which Srila Prabhupada referred to dismissively as Panch-path [Unintelligible 00:25:36]. ‘Where in the Bhagavad-gītā does it say you should open an Eye Hospital? Yes, but if I tell them that, they will feel offended.’ Later, when we entered Prabhupada’s darshan room, he looked up from his desk. ‘Srila Prabhupada,’ Yamuna remarked, ‘you look just like a picture I have seen of your guru Maharaja looking up from his desk.’ ‘All of that glitters is not gold,’ Prabhupada replied. ‘My Guru Maharaja was like gold, I am like iron.’”

COMMENT

Of course, we [Unintelligible 00:26:40] just like his guru Maharaja.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

“Yamuna recalled, ‘How Srila Prabhupada dealt with us each individually was the greatest thing. He treated everyone on a personal basis and encouraged us in our practice of Krishna consciousness.’ I felt that he genuinely loved each of us, and he exhibited that love throughout and took care of us with great concern, compassion, and correction when required. He personally took me to my room, which contained a small bed and a metal Elmira, then he took out a small key, opened the Elmira and said, ‘Here is space for your belongings. Is this all right?’ I was thinking, Here I am, an insignificant person in this party, and he is showing so much concern from my welfare.

And the same concern and kindness he showed to me, he also showed to everyone in the party by taking into account our main concerns, our characters, our individuality. We were his world saṅkīrtana party, his preachers. And at every moment, we were reminded how important this was to Srila Prabhupada, this traveling saṅkīrtana. Srila Prabhupada was scheduled as the last speaker on the first night of the festival, so we had to sit on stage for hours, listening to an assortment of sadhus and Swamis give their series of long lectures in Hindi on Mayavada and Mayavadi misconceptions. He sat with us and waited, chanting japa.”

COMMENT

And Srila Prabhupada would often chant japa when people were speaking nonsense. When we were in Delhi, Srila Prabhupada requested us to visit one [Unintelligible 00:29:29] related how when he would speak to Srila Prabhupada about his idea of Vedanta, Prabhupada would be chanting japa. [laughter] So here, while Mayavadis were speaking in Hindi, Srila Prabhupada sat with us and waited, chanting japa. [Giriraj Swami is reading from TSP 0:30:10 to 0:49:00]

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

When it was finally his turn, [Unintelligible 00:30:15] and began clapping rhythmically, others devotees joined him, and soon, hundreds of people rose to the heat and joined the kirtan and danced. The next day, pleased by the performance, one director visited Srila Prabhupada in his quarters. Prabhupada complained about having to wait so long to speak and his disciples having to sit through hours of speeches that deviated from the teachings of the Gītā in a language they didn’t understand, but the director replied, ‘We do not favor any particular way. Followers of the Shankara school and others also come to our institution. We do not subscribe only that Krishna is the sole God or anything of the sort. There is a power behind Him.’

This remark drew fire from Srila Prabhupada, ‘What kind of glorification of Gītā did not accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead? The highest truth, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat.’ When the men have left, Prabhupada continued, ‘They are thinking that there is something beyond Krishna, or that it is the spirit within Krishna that we have to surrender to, but they do not know that the within and the without of Krishna are all absolute, eternal, and full of bliss.’ As in Amritsar, he could see that the festival organizers had invited him to draw larger crows, but they would not make him sit through all the Mayavadi nonsense again. From then on, he said, he would go with his disciples, speak, chant, and then leave.

The next night however, despite promises by the pandal directors, Prabhupada again had to wait until the end of the program reported to this weekend the crowd was larger than before and they were clearly waiting before he could speak and do kirtan. The crowd was larger than before, and they were clearly waiting for him and his foreign sadhus. And his turn came at last, he spoke, and then asked us to begin kirtan. Again, the crowd responded enthusiastically. But during the kirtan, one of the members of The Gita Bhawan gestured to the devotees to jump down into the crowd as they had done the previous night. But what the devotees had done spontaneously could not be staged as a crowd pleaser. The man however was insistent. He came forward to the edge of the stage, reached up and began grabbing at the feet of the dancing devotees, trying to pull them into the audience. Grabbing indiscriminately, he pulled up one of the women’s sarees. Srila Prabhupada was also dancing, but when he saw what was happening, he rushed to the edge of the stage and swung his kartals towards the man’s face and shouted ‘Stop this!’ The man retreated, and Prabhupada and the rest of us continued our kirtan. Although didn’t notice by the crowd, Prabhupada’s verse of lion-like ferocity and [Unintelligible 00:34:50] inspired us, his disciples.

One of the Mayavadi sannyasis who went by the name of Muktyananda Swami, joined our movement. We were impressed by his change of heart, considering to be like [Unintelligible 00:35:23] Prakasananda Sarasvati and all of his followers converted by Lord Chaitanya to Vaishnavism. We have never had a Mayavadi sannyasi join us, so we asked Srila Prabhupada what his position would be. Prabhupada said that Muktyananda should give up his sannyasi garments, and dress and live like a brahmachari. Eventually, Muktyananda went through the standard procedure of getting first and then the second initiation. Prabhupada was pleased that he had joined, and he sometimes addressed remarks to him to encourage him.

Generally, Srila Prabhupada would ask people who wanted to meet him to come to his cottage, but when the request came from an especially prominent party, he would go to their place. So, on December 11th, we went with him to Lalbagh Palace to meet His Highness Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar and Maharani Indira Bai Holkar, the king and queen of Indore. Upon our arrival, we were seated in a room with rows of chairs, where we waited until we were called for our audience with the royal couple. When we were ushered in, I sat on the floor with the other devotees, and Prabhupada spoke with them. Then, Prabhupada gave a talk on the role of the kshatriya class in the Krishna consciousness movement. It was really a brilliant talk.

COMMENT

The transcript is here but for the sake of time I won’t read it.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

From start to finish, the meeting at the palace went very well. On December 14th, Prabhupada accepted an invitation from a wealthy gentleman who was related to the Royal Family. He spoke with the man about the importance of Krishna consciousness, and then he showed him his books and then asked him to become a life member. ‘I already have these books in my own language,’ the man responded, ‘I don’t need any more.’ Prabhupada [Unintelligible 00:38:42], ‘I had not come here to sell you some books. I am coming here begging at your doorstep.’ Later after that, the man immediately joined, ‘Oh, yes, Swamiji, I will become your member. I will be glad to become your member.’

In the dining room for lunch, our host seated Prabhupada at the head of a long [Unintelligible 00:39:14] table, and I took my place at his right. Then we all honored prasāda. Having been trained to follow a strict brahmachari lifestyle, I was particularly reserved about eating sweets, and especially seated next to Prabhupada, I tried not to take too much of the more opulent preparations. I didn’t want to indulge in the sense gratification, and I certainly did not want Prabhupada to think I was doing so. So, even when the host’s elderly father repeatedly tried to serve me a second rasagullā, I refused. Prabhupada could see the host’s father was disappointed, and finally, he glanced at me and said, ‘You can take a sweet to make an old man happy.’ [laughter] And so I did.

Many gentlemen came to meet Srila Prabhupada naturally, usually with their own ideas of spiritual life. He even complained, ‘They come to the guru with their own opinions, to see if the guru would agree. But if the guru disagrees, they [Unintelligible 00:40:47].’ One argument we had with guests was especially instructive. On the previous night, he had delivered a lecture at the Gita Samhiti Hall, where he was of appalled to find that there was no picture of Krishna. The next day, he raised the issue with his guests, to point out that many people were not properly understanding and presenting the Bhagavad-gītā and the speaker, Lord Krishna. He explained that his mission was to present the Gītā properly, as it is, and to expose those who did not.”

COMMENT

And this following conversation is so instructive and so enlightening and so illuminating. And it has a surprise ending.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

Prabhupada: Bona fide spiritual master means one who carries the order of the entire authorities. We are carrying on the order of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, or Krishna. Krishna taught the Bhagavad-gītā, and he stated, ‘Anyone who preaches the confidential message of the Bhagavad-gītā is very dear to me.’

Guest: We believe in [Unintelligible 00:42:35].

Prabhupada: Who says [Unintelligible 00:42:43]? Who says?

Guest: You find it all over India, that [Unintelligible 00:42:52] jyotir-liṅga.

Prabhupada: That is all right. You are bringing something besides the Bhagavad-gītā. Just try to understand, in this International Society for Krishna Consciousness, we are preaching the Bhagavad-gītā, jyotir-liṅga [Unintelligible 00:43:15]. But we are particularly interested in reading the Bhagavad-gītā, and because the Bhagavad-gītā is being preached wrongly all over the world with nonsense commentation, we want to rectify it. Therefore, our society is especially named Krishna Consciousness.’

Guest: What is wrongly preached about Gītā?

Prabhupada: Just like yesterday, I went to that Gita Samhiti, Gita Society. There is a lamp. Why is there a lamp instead of Krishna? Therefore, I say it is being wrongly preached. Why there is a lamp? Does Krishna say?

Guest: Lamp has been with us for more than. . .

Prabhupada: That is all right, Krishna has also been there.

Guest: They must evolve.

Prabhupada: No, no. The first thing is that the Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by Krishna. So, why there is no picture of Krishna? That means you have not understood Krishna. Therefore, your so-called Gita Society is not qualified. Gita Samiti is preaching the Bhagavad-gītā, and there is not a single picture of Krishna. This is misguided. Gita Bhawan, they have invited me because we are teaching the Bhagavad-gītā, and that was the greatest Gita-jayanti, and the speaker of the Gītā is not present. Therefore, I say there are so many places, even here, that are wrongly representing the Bhagavad-gītā. So, our position is to rectify that wrong propaganda.

Guest 2: What is that wrong propaganda?

Prabhupada: That is one instance, there are many. Just like in the Ninth Chapter, there is man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. Lord Krishna says, “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me.” Dr. Radha Krishna says, “It is not for the person Krishna, where does he get this nonsense idea?”

COMMENT

And incidentally, later on in his travels, Srila Prabhupada went to Madras and he met Dr. Radha Krishna who was almost paralyzed, he was up to his feet. Prabhupada was kind to him, but as I recall, he said that because he misused his power of speaking, Krishna took it away.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

Prabhupada: Dr. Radha Krishna says, “It is not for the person Krishna, where does he get this nonsense idea?”

Guest No 1: Muktyananda has also said that.

Prabhupada: Therefore, I say they are all nonsense. They are all nonsense who deviate from the original text of the Bhagavad-gītā.

The guests challenged Srila Prabhupada’s statement that his presentation of the Bhagavad-gītā was correct, whereas others were not. They said that he should see and treat others with ‘equal vision.’

Guest 5: If each and every person has an individual identity of soul above the body, unless you treat him as equal.

Prabhupada: There are three gunas [Unintelligible 00:48:09]. These persons are in sattva-guṇa, raja-guṇa, and these persons are in tama-guṇa.

Guest 5: That is not the personality of the ātmā. The ātmā is everybody’s soul, if you have the potency to rise and go higher and higher.

Prabhupada: You are not in the ātmā state. I am not in the ātmā state. You are in the bodily state.

Guest 5: Both, body and soul together.

Srila Prabhupada: Challenge [Unintelligible 00:48:57].

COMMENT

He was asked to give a class in the temple I was given this verse to speak up. So yes, equal vision.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

Guest 3: That is the correct position.

Prabhupada: That is the correct position? But if you find that Swamiji is not up to the standard, that means you are not [Unintelligible 00:49:33] sama-darśinaḥ.

Guest 3: But that means that if a person is smoker [Unintelligible 00:49:41], a sinner?

Srila Prabhupada: Oh yes, that is very high stages on the sama-darśinaḥ.

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

Here it is clearly stated vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇe gavi hastini, a brahmana is learned and denied, very humble. These are signs of goodness. śuni means dog. You see the dog and a learned brahmana the same. Now, the dog is supposed to be sinful, and this learned brahmana is supposed to be virtuous. Therefore, in his vision, the virtuous and the sinful are the same. That is sama-darśī.

Guest: I think they have made many mistakes in writing the slokas. [laughter]

Prabhupada: That is all right. Now you are finding faults in Vyasa. So, [Unintelligible 00:51:00].

Guest 4: We only want you to be understood here.

Prabhupada, shouting: I am not sama-darśī. I don’t say I am sama-darśī. You say sama-darśī.

Guest 2: You should be sama-darśī.

Prabhupada: But I am not in that stage. I say because you don’t surrender to Krishna, you are sinful, that is my darshan. [laughter]

Guest 5: You should also be seen as sama-darśinaḥ.

Prabhupada: No, why shall I? I am not in that position; I am simply repeating the words of Krishna. That is my point, I may be sama-darśī, I may not be sama-darśī. My position [Unintelligible 00:52:05] some interpretation of the knowledge, no?

Guest 4: You are the successor of somebody.

Srila Prabhupada’s practical work had made Krishna consciousness available to persons all over the world. That was his equal vision, and that was his special contribution to his predecessors and to us. He was presenting Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, and people all over the world were accepting and becoming Krishna’s devotees. The guests were impressed, and if they wanted, they could also follow and benefit.

COMMENT

In Indore, and in other places on his tour, Srila Prabhupada was speaking from the Sixth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam about the life of Ajamila.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

On his last morning in Indore, Prabhupada continued Ajamila’s story, explaining that because Ajamila has uttered the holy name, he was immediately saved, even though he had been so sinful.

COMMENT

I hope you all know the story of Ajamila.

DANCING WHITE ELEPHANTS (continued)

So, Ajamila, at the time of his death, just remembered his youngest son whose name was Narayana. The very name of Narayana has got the full potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana. This is the secret of this nama saṅkīrtana movement. By chanting the holy name of Narayana, you immediately contact with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nāma. The Lord’s name is not material, it is spiritual. Krishna and Krishna’s name, there is no difference. In a very appealing voice, Ajamila began to ask his son Narayana, “Please come here, I am dying.” He was very afraid of the Yamadutas. Krishna sent the Vishnudutas to give Ajamila shelter. The Vishnudutas looked just like Lord Narayana with four hands. With a grave of voice, they said to the Yamadutas, “What are you doing? Stop. You cannot take this man to Yamaraja.”

Thus, Prabhupada ended his lecture and his stay in Indore. Baba Bala Mukunda, one of the sadhus who attended the Gita-jayanti summarized Srila Prabhupada’s contribution, “I have seen many sadhus and great saints in this Gita Bhawan. I saw Prabhupada also, in the same place. I was very much impressed by Srila Prabhupada and his preaching. It was because Prabhupada had revealed the reality about bhakti, because he was a pure bhakta that could change the people of the West and give them another dress, give them another diet, and he could entirely change their culture and give them true bhakti. And this was the greatest thing Prabhupada has done. Let the world say as it likes, but he has done a marvelous thing regarded Lord Krishna’s bhakti. What Swami Vivekananda, Swami Rama Tirtha and others could not do, Srila Prabhupada has done. It is a marvelous thing.”

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! [applause]

So, we will end here. Next time, we will read about Srila Prabhupada in Surat, which is a glorious visit. But we will end here now, in Indore. And if any of you have any questions or comments or suggestions, you can raise your hand. His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami Maharaja, would you like to enlighten us with any. . .? [laughter] One of the twenty-six qualities of the devotee is silent, so he is choosing to be silent now. [laughter] Okay.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:58:42]

Giriraj Swami: Sorry?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:58:45]

Giriraj Swami: Alright.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 00:58:51]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Friday was Sri Rama-ekādaśī, the date on which Srila Prabhupada finished his translation of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta at Hare Krishna land in Juhu. And every morning at about six o’clock, I would go up to Srila Prabhupada quarters to accompany him on his morning walk on the Juhu beach. But that particular morning, when I got to the top of the stairs, I found that the door to Srila Prabhupada’s side was locked. So, I tried knocking on the other door, to his stats quarters, and that door was also locked. Anyway, I kept knocking, and eventually, Harikesh came to the door and said that Srila Prabhupada had completed his translation of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that he had written the most wonderful glorification of his guru Maharaja, that he was in a very jubilant mood, and then he said we should celebrate by having a feast.

And it is true, in the concluding words, Srila Prabhupada refers to his guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura as his eternal spiritual master, guide, and friend. Well, ‘friend’ can be taken in two ways. One is, friends who are equal, but ‘friend’ can also be taken in another way, like Krishna, suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ, best friend of every living entity, meaning He is the well-wisher of every living entity. So, in that sense, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was his friend. Not that he was saying they are equals, but in that sense that he is a well-wisher.

Any other questions or comments? Yes, can we pass the microphone back?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:02:23]

Giriraj Swami: I didn’t quite catch the question.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:03:09]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, that is a very high level, uttama-adhikārī. Yes, he doesn’t distinguish. [Unintelligible 01:03:36]. There was a hand up over here.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. daṇḍavat-praṇāmās [Unintelligible 01:03:57]. Hare Krishna, Maharaja. [laughter]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, it is true. The first time I met Srila Prabhupada he asked, “You want to become God or do you want to serve God?” And actually. . . Well, first of all, we can’t become God, and second of all, it is our natural position to serve God. As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is the eternal servant of Krishna. So, it is our natural position to serve Krishna, but because of false ego, we don’t want Krishna to be the center, but we want to be the center. And that is the difficulty. But when we become free from false ego and come to our actual identity, we realize that we are the eternal servants of Krishna.

My dear godbrother, Bhurijana dasa, he has nicely explained the psychology of most people, [Unintelligible 01:06:04]. And he said it is as if everyone is walking around and they want to clear their throats and say, “Excuse me please, I have an important announcement to make. I am the center of the universe and everyone should cooperate with my desires.” [laughter] That is the underlying psychology of the conditioned soul. And he also said that everyone envisions life as a drama, or as a movie in which he or she is the hero or heroine, and he wants everyone else to be the supporting cast. So no, “I think I am the hero of this movie, you are meant to be my supporting cast.” You think, “No, no, no. I am the hero and you are meant to be my supporting cast.” So, there is scope for a lot of conflict. But when we accept that Krishna is the hero and we are all Krishna’s supporting players, then there is no conflict. We can live in harmony with Krishna and with one another. Yes?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:07:50]

Giriraj Swami: That is an important question. When I was in Juhu. . . I mean, in general, but in particular because you referred to Juhu, I was always very conscientious to chant my rounds early in the morning. And I got a lot of spiritual strength and clarity from chanting attempted rounds in the morning. And without that, I could not have done my service to the extent that I did. Prior to coming to Juhu, I was in Calcutta with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, and I was supposed to make appointments for us to meet people to enroll as life members or to contribute to advertisements for our souvenir book, but I couldn’t function well unless I chanted at least twelve rounds. And initially, Tamal Krishna Goswami was quite annoyed, and he accused me, “You don’t really want to chant your rounds, you just want to avoid work.” But eventually, he understood that I really needed that to be able to function, and he allowed me to chant my twelve rounds before making phone calls or doing other service.

So, I think that is the foundation, the chanting of our rounds in the morning. And as I said, that will give us the spiritual strength and the clarity of thought to proceed with our service nicely. Well, we should always chant. I would like to quote a talk about Srila Prabhupada in Los Angeles, in which he said, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna, don’t speak nonsense, chant Hare Krishna.” Yes? Microphone.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:12:36]

Giriraj Swami: Everything begins from faith, ādau śraddhā. And I did have faith in Srila Prabhupada, in his vision for Hare Krishna land. And he also wanted the book to be written. Early on, he instructed me to write. When I was in Boston, Satsvarupa was the temple president and the editor of Back to Godhead, and he always wanted articles. And so, I wrote an article about the genuine spiritual master, and because of the time it took for the magazine to actually be printed, by the time the magazine came out, we were in India with Srila Prabhupada, in Gorakhpur. And Srila Prabhupada called for me and said, “I read your article, it is very nice. You should write, you should write as your first business.” And he repeated the instruction that I should write over the years.

And so, I am trying to do that. It is his order and it is my service. I don’t know if I answered your question, I am not sure what your question was, whether it was about the working. . .

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:16:03]

Giriraj Swami: Well, I think of something that Srila Prabhupada said in Calcutta. He said that his motto was always, “Everything for Krishna and nothing for me.” So, if we adopt that policy or motto, “Everything for Prabhupada and nothing for me,” we can do it. And I can give a little back. . . Well, I don’t know. But yes, in brief, [Unintelligible 01:17:55] Srila Prabhupada to come. And when he did come, one by one, devotees were expressing their dissatisfaction. And then he called the meeting of all the devotees, and he listened very patiently and sympathetically to all they had to say about the difficulties in the temple. But then at a certain stage, his mood seemed to change. And he mentioned how much he had suffered to spread Krishna consciousness, what he had endured when he first went to New York City, even physical ailments. He said, “I do not even wish to discuss, but I never complained because my motto was always, ‘Everything for Krishna, nothing for me.’” Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! It is so relishable to speak about Srila Prabhupada.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:19:46]

Giriraj Swami: When Prabhupada left this planet there must have been what in my heart?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:20:19]

Giriraj Swami: Oh, emptiness. Well, after Srila Prabhupada left, I came across a section in the Fourth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which discusses the departure of the spiritual master. And it answered every question that I possibly could have had about how to deal with the disappearance of the spiritual master. And apart from the guidance that I got from that section of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, I also got the feeling that Srila Prabhupada was so perfect and complete in his work, that even after his departure, he could give us all the guidance we needed to proceed in his absence. And that is such a revelation. And when I came across that, I went and I shared it with Tamal Krishna Goswami and Bhakti Charu Swami and the other devotees who have been serving Srila Prabhupada at the end.

And, so many wonderful instructions, but one is that the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciple, as long as the disciple faithfully serves the spiritual master. And that is a principle that Srila Prabhupada enunciated on many occasions, in many places. In his dedication to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he wrote, “Dedicated to my spiritual master, His Holiness Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.” So, this principle of vāṇī sevā, serving the words or instructions, as opposed to vapuḥ sevā, serving the body or the physical presence, is a major theme in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, and it is a major theme in his concluding words to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

So yes, in that section in the Fourth Canto, the king and his wife. . . Figuratively, the king is the spiritual master, and the wife is the disciple. So, when her husband leaves his body, the wife cries tediously. And Srila Prabhupada says that yes, that when the spiritual master departs, the disciples can cry.” But again, the spiritual master always keeps company with the disciples, as long as the disciple sincerely follows the order of the spiritual master. Yes? Can you send the mic back?

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you very much for [Unintelligible 01:24:49]

Giriraj Swami: What was the last part?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:25:41]

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Well, in one letter to me, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “In the midst of your heavy duties, go on writing articles. Writing means putting into words how you have understood the whole philosophy.” And he said, “This writing is for everyone.” So, not just for me or him or her, but it is for everyone. And yes, there is a nice definition of realization in the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So, we repeat. Of course, we repeat, we don’t speculate. We repeat what we’ve read and heard from Srila Prabhupada and the paramparā, but we also should add some personal realization, so it is more touching to the hearts, more personal. And yes, I know when I read and probably many of you feel the same way when you read where Srila Prabhupada is talking about himself and his own experiences in life, I find it, very interesting, very relatable. So, yes.

There are some books I am writing. I ordinarily wouldn’t say that, but in the presence of His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami, and I recommend two books. One is called The Elements of Style by Strunk, and the other is called On Writing Well by William Zinsser. So, if anyone wants to write, I highly recommend these books to help you clarify your writing. Any other questions or comments? Yes, Bada Haridasa Prabhu?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:29:20]

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes, Muktyananda. Yes, he stayed, he became a devotee, and eventually, he ended up in Juhu, doing service in Juhu. I must admit, I lost track of him, I don’t know where he is now or what he is doing, but yes, he made it. He made it, he took first and second initiation from Srila Prabhupada and was doing service in Juhu, yes. It is nice, it is nice.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:30:06]

Giriraj Swami: Oh. I think it was Vardhan. V-a-r-d-h-a-n. Prabhupada gave him the name Vardhan. All right, my dear devotees, thank you for joining us.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:30:35]

Giriraj Swami: Oh, okay.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:30:39]

Giriraj Swami: What was the last thing?

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:31:40]

Giriraj Swami: No, did you say Kurukshetra? [laughter]

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:31:43]

Giriraj Swami: He said, “Bombay is like Kurukshetra and Giriraj is our Arjuna.” [laughter] [applause] Alright, thank you very much. All right, all glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Devotee: His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!

Ananta-koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda ki jaya!