BG 9.30–31 – Gita-jayanti

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. So thank you for joining us on the auspicious occasion of Sri Gita-jayanti, the day on which Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, approximately five thousand years ago. But although the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken five thousand years ago, its knowledge is eternal and in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sri Krishna says that earlier He had spoken the same knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā to Vivasvan, the Sun God. And Vivasvan instructed Manu, Manu instructed Ikṣvāku, and that way the knowledge was passed on from teacher to disciple, in an unbroken chain. But in the course of time, that chain became broken. And Sri Krishna Himself detected that the chain had become broken, and so He spoke the Bhagavad-gītā again. And you could say he became a new disciplic succession or paramparā. Paramparā means literally one after the other, and in the Bhagavad-gītā Krishna says, evaṁ paramparā-prāptam, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ, that this knowledge was passed on through paramparā, or disciplic succession. And without following the principle of disciplic succession no one can have access to the true understanding of the Bhagavad-gītā, and fortunately our beloved spiritual master and founder Acharya Srila Prabhupada is coming in disciplic succession from Lord Sri Krishna Himself. And in the beginning of Srila Prabhupada’s translation of the Bhagavad-gītā, called the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, and I will explain the significance of the title in a minute but, he gives the account of the disciplic succession in which he is coming, and I will read that to you. And because Srila Prabhupada is coming in disciplic succession, his translation is most authorized. 

The disciplic succession evaṁ paramparā-prāptam, imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (Bhagavad-gītā 4.2). The Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is received through disciplic succession. 

1. Krishna, Krishna has to be the first in the line.
2. Brahma
3. Narada
4. Vyasa 
5. Madhva

So our particular disciplic succession is called the Brahma-Madhava Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradāya, which means that the disciplic succession is going through Brahma, then Madhvacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

6. Padmanabha
7. Nrhari
8. Madhava
9. Aksobhya
10. Jaya Tirtha
11. Jnanasindhu
12. Dayanidhi
13. Vidyanidhi
14. Rajendra
15. Jayadharma
16. Puruṣottama—It is purifying just to hear their names.
17. Brahmanya tirtha
18. Vyasa Tirtha
19. Laksmipati
20. Madhavendra Puri

Madhavendra Puri is very significant acharya in the line. He was the first to really introduce devotional service in the mood of the gopīs—separation from Krishna. He is very important. then his disciple twenty-one was Isvara Puri, and Isvara Puri’s disciple was Lord Chaitanya. Of course, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because he was playing the part of a devotee to set the example for us, he also accepted a spiritual master, and he accepted Sri Isvara Puri, who had so faithfully served his spiritual master, Srila Madhavendra Puri, especially when his spiritual master was leaving this world. And that is described very beautifully in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. 

21. Isvara Puri
22. So, Lord Chaitanya
23. Rupa Gosvami, and Sanatana Gosvami
24. Raghunatha Gosvami and Jiva Gosvami
25. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami
26. Narottama dasa Thakura
27. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
28. Baladeva Vidyabhusana and Jagannatha dasa Babaji
29. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
30. Srila Gaurakishora dasa Babaji Maharaja
31. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
32. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Now, why did Srila Prabhupada entitle his translation the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is? And the reason is as he explains in the introduction—there are already many translations of the Bhagavad-gītā in English. So what was the need for another translation? And Srila Prabhupada explains that although there were many translations into English, but in almost every case the translator introduced his own interpretations, or you could say speculations in the name of the Bhagavad-gītā, and they did not present the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, as Krishna spoke it to Arjuna and as Arjuna understood it from Krishna. And why did Krishna choose Arjuna to receive the Bhagavad-gītā? He was not a sanyasi, he was a householder, he was not a brahman, he was a kshatriya, he was not a Vedantist, so why, why did Krishna choose Arjuna to receive the most valuable knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā? And he gives the answer—bhakto ‘si me sakhā ceti, because you are my devotee, and very dear friend. And the Bhagavad-gītā is really meant for devotees. Unless one is a devotee one cannot really understand the Bhagavad-gītā. 

So Srila Prabhupada was very empathetic about presenting the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, without any misinterpretation or speculation. In 1976, and I will speak about this again a little later, Sri Rama Krishna Bajaj organized a meeting in Wardha under the auspices of the Gītā Pratishthan or the Gītā Foundation to discuss the Bhagavad-gītā, and how to spread the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā. And he invited Srila Prabhupada to attend and initially Srila Prabhupada considered that he would not attend personally but then he would send Gopal Krishna Gosvami, and me in his stead. And he spoke about the difficulty with people presenting their own philosophies in the guise of the Bhagavad-gītā. He said if someone wants to present his own philosophy, that is alright. Everyone is free to present his own philosophy, but not in the name of Bhagavad-gītā. And he gave the example that someone wants to smoke Hashish, but he does not hold the pipe himself, he has a friend hold the pipe, and then he smokes Hashish. And then if the police come, the authority come and say, “It is not me, it is him.” So, Srila Prabhupada gave that example to illustrate how people, they actually speak their own philosophy, but they say it is not me, it is him, it is Krishna, it is Bhagavad-gītā. But it is not. So we went, yes maybe I will speak a little about that now. I wrote something in preparation.

I think Ramakrishna Bajaj’s nephew Rahul Bajaj donated generously to our project here. So being Gita-Jayanti, the day of the advent of the Bhagavad-gītā, spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna—I reflected on Srila Prabhupada and how he addressed the members of the Gītā Pratishthan, Gītā Foundation in India, in 1976. The way Srila Prabhupada dealt with the conference was exemplary and extra ordinary, as I shall relate. In May, a prominent industrialist named Ramakrishna Bajaj, almost everyone in India knows Bajaj Autos, and Bajaj Electrical, wrote Srila Prabhupada that he was organizing a conference under the banner of the Gītā Pratishthan, to promote the preaching of the Bhagavad-gītā, and that he wanted Srila Prabhupada as the world’s foremost preacher of the Gītā, to attend. Srila Prabhupada however did not want to join, because although the purpose of the conference was to discuss how to preach the message of the Gītā, he was concerned that different participants would have different ideas of what the message of the Gītā was. The meeting would host many Mayavadis, impersonal speculators, who preach in the name of the Bhagavad-gītā, that people can become Krishna; that they can merge and become one with God. Then who would decide what the actual message of the Gītā was. So Prabhupada considered, What is the use of my going and wasting time with no conclusion. Rather he asked me and Gopal Krishna Maharaja to go on his behalf. 

In his letter to me, Srila Prabhupada wrote that we must insist that the Bhagavad-gītā be presented as it is, and that people not use the words of Krishna simply to make money or to promote their own philosophies. “If they have got their own philosophies, then let them preach their own philosophies, but not in the name of the Gītā.” And he gave an example, suppose a man wants to smoke ganja, marijuana, but he does not want to get caught. So he takes his friend’s hand and smokes it in his hand. And when the authority comes he says, “Oh, I am not smoking ganja, see my hands are clean.” The idea is that if one wants to preach the Gītā, then he must preach it as it is, otherwise don’t use the Gītā. In other word, don’t preach your own concocted philosophy and present it as Lord Krishna’s. 

Eventually Mr. Bajaj came in person to appeal to Srila Prabhupada to attend, and Prabhupada finally agreed. And so in December we went to Wardha, near Nagpur, in Maharashtra, in the center of India. Most of the Bajaj family members were followers of the Vinoba Bhave—a prominent freedom fighter under Mahatma Gandhi. And Ramakrishna’s father Jamanalal Bajaj, had been Gandhi’s treasurer. So every day while we were in Wardha, Srila Prabhupada and his party would take prasāda on the verandah of the house where Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, and Jamnalal Bajaj all used to take their meals. And Mr. Bajaj would point out where each of them sat, as we sat in the very same places. Finally, the main day of the conference came, and all the speakers went to Vinoba Bhave’s paunar ashram, various participants spoke, and Srila Prabhupada out of respect was asked to speak at the end, just before Vinoba Bhave. When Srila Prabhupada addressed the conference, his argument was clear and simple. Krishna preached the Bhagavad-gītā to instruct people to become devotees—man-manā bhava mad-bhakto. And how do people become devotees? Prabhupada raised that question—how to people become devotees? Any answers? By chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Harer nāma eva kevalam. Therefore, those who want to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā should propagate the chanting of the holy names of Krishna. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Because that will fulfill the Lord’s purpose in the Bhagavad-gītā that people should become devotees. 

Then Srila Prabhupada took his kartals and began to chant ‘Hare Krishna’, which infused the meeting with tremendous spiritual energy, especially after so many impersonal speculators had just spoken. The kirtan was not on the schedule, and Srila Prabhupada did not take anyone’s permission, not that he had to, still he was very tactful. And before the audience could become impatient, he stopped the kirtan, in what had been the most dramatic interlude. On the last day, there was to be a meeting of all the invitees to discuss practically how to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā, but the organizers did not come to invite Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada let some time pass, and then he ventured that the organizers might have thought that he was too aged, and ailing. So they did not want to bother him. But actually he said, “They don’t want to invite me, because they know I disagree with them.” So he let them meet for some time, and then he walked into the meeting room and sat down. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Everyone had to pay heed to him, because he was the most senior preacher of the Bhagavad-gītā in the world, and from every point of view, age, learning, success in preaching he was the leader. And when he spoke, he stuck to one point—paramparā. Unless you follow the disciplic succession and present the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, without personal interpretations, you have no right to preach the Bhagavad-gītā. “You can preach any philosophy you like, but don’t take the name of Bhagavad-gītā.” Of course, no one could really dispute what he was saying. Then Srila Prabhupada agreed to hear their proposals. The committee wanted to produce a list of resolutions on how to promote the message of the Gītā. As soon as they presented their first proposal, Srila Prabhupada again insisted on the point of paramparā. First you must surrender in paramparā, as Arjuna surrendered to Krishna as Guru, and then you can preach the Bhagavad-gītā. Srila Prabhupada spoke the plain truth, without compromise, very straight forward, and fearless, abhaya. 

Srila Prabhupada was so heavy, truly powerful. And after the meeting he commented, “We have injected our poison, and now it will act.” Of course, he actually meant now we have injected our nectar, or medicine, but as a sort of poetic device he said, “we have injected our poison, and now it will act.” And I am ashamed to admit but after the conference ended, there was a flight to Bombay, and Srila Prabhupada, Ramakrishna Bajaj, some of Prabhupada’s disciples, and other participants from the conference were all in the flight. And I mentioned to Mr. Bajaj that Srila Prabhupada had said, “We have injected our poison, and now it will act.” And Srila Prabhupada turned around and glared at me like, you weren’t supposed to say that to Mr. Bajaj. Although Srila Prabhupada was bold and forceful when he preached, and sometimes blunt in private, he was most polite and tactful otherwise. Even though he argued on philosophical principles in debate, he was always cordial in personal dealings. And because Srila Prabhupada was so genuine, Mr. Bajaj remained friendly even after Srila Prabhupada took such a strong position and later Mr. Bajaj gave quite a large donation to one of Prabhupada’s farm project. And out of respect for Srila Prabhupada, he held the next Gītā conference at the Krishna-Balarama temple in Vrindavan, during Srila Prabhupada’s last days with us. Even then, Srila Prabhupada repeated the same message to Mr. Bajaj. One can lead others only if one follows the Supreme leadership of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna through paramparā. Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So now I will speak on an important verse from the Bhagavad-gītā. Of course there are so many important verses in the Bhagavad-gītā. Every verse is important, but I chose one verse which I thought would be relevant for us as practicing devotees, or aspiring devotees. This is Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, Chapter Nine: “The Most Confidential Knowledge,” Text Thirty.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 30

api cet su-durācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

TRANSLATION

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The word su-durācāraḥ used in this verse is very significant, and we should understand it properly. When a living entity is conditioned, 

COMMENT

Listen very carefully, my dear devotees.

PURPORT (continued)

When a living entity is conditioned, he has two kinds of activities: one is conditional, and the other is constitutional. As for protecting the body or abiding by the rules of society and state, certainly there are different activities, even for the devotees, in connection with the conditional life, and such activities are called conditional.

COMMENT

There are hundreds of examples but paying your rent, paying your mortgage, paying your taxes. 

PURPORT (continued)

Besides these, the living entity who is fully conscious of his spiritual nature and is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or the devotional service of the Lord, has activities which are called transcendental. Such activities are performed in his constitutional position, and they are technically called devotional service. Now, in the conditioned state, sometimes devotional service

COMMENT

So our constitutional position is to serve Krishna. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa,’ the constitutional position of the living entity is the eternal servant of Krishna. So when we engage in bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Krishna, we are engaged in our constitutional activity, spiritual activity. 

PURPORT (continued)

Now, in the conditioned state, sometimes devotional service and the conditional service in relation to the body will parallel one another.

COMMENT

So sometimes it is like that, the two go together. There is no conflict between our conditional activities and our constitutional activities.

PURPORT (continued)

But then again, sometimes these activities become opposed to one another. As far as possible, a devotee is very cautious so that he does not do anything that could disrupt his wholesome condition. He knows that perfection in his activities depends on his progressive realization of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 

COMMENT

So that is the determination of the devotee. That is the conviction of the devotee.

PURPORT (continued)

Sometimes, however, it may be seen that a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness commits some act which may be taken as most abominable socially or politically. But such a temporary falldown does not disqualify him. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that if a person falls down but is wholeheartedly engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord, the Lord, being situated within his heart, purifies him and excuses him from that abomination.

COMMENT

That is the Lord’s mercy upon the sincere devotee, even if the devotee does fall down.

PURPORT (continued)

The material contamination is so strong that even a yogī fully engaged in the service of the Lord sometimes becomes ensnared; but Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so strong that such an occasional falldown is at once rectified. Therefore the process of devotional service is always a success. 

COMMENT

So in the scriptures there are different types of atonements, or prāyaścittas, recommended for different types of sinful activities. But according to Srila Rupa Gosvami in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, for a devotee there is no need to engage in prāyaścitta, to atone for some fall down. But he should simply continue in devotional service, in bhakti-yoga, and that will be sufficient to purify him, and reinstate him in proper Krishna consciousness. 

PURPORT (continued)

Therefore the process of devotional service is always a success. No one should deride a devotee for some accidental falldown from the ideal path, for, as explained in the next verse, such occasional falldowns will be stopped in due course, as soon as a devotee is completely situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Therefore a person who is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is engaged with determination in the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be considered to be in the transcendental position, even if by chance or accident he is found to have fallen. The words sādhur eva, “he is saintly,” are very emphatic. They are a warning to the nondevotees that because of an accidental falldown a devotee should not be derided; he should still be considered saintly even if he has accidentally fallen down. And the word mantavyaḥ is still more emphatic. If one does not follow this rule, and derides a devotee for his accidental falldown, then one is disobeying the order of the Supreme Lord. The only qualification of a devotee is to be unflinchingly and exclusively engaged in devotional service.

COMMENT

So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his book Sri Harināma-cintāmaṇi discusses the offences against the holy name. And the first offence is sādhu-nindā, or blaspheming the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name. So sādhu-nindā and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura raises the question, who is a sadhu? How do we define a sadhu? And he explains that there are twenty-six qualities of a devotee, mentioned in shastras. And one of the qualities is Kṛṣṇa ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ—that he has taken exclusive shelter of Krishna. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if someone possess the one qualification of Kṛṣṇa ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ, he is to be considered a devotee, even if he doesn’t manifest the other twenty-five qualities. And he also says that if someone has the other twenty-five qualities but lacks the qualities of Kṛṣṇa ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ, the other twenty-five qualities are of no particular value. So this is really the essence, Kṛṣṇa ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ, and Srila Prabhupada says that in this sentence of the purport- The only qualification of a devotee is to be unflinchingly and exclusively engaged in devotional service.

PURPORT (continued)

In the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa the following statement is given:

bhagavati ca harāv ananya-cetā

bhṛśa-malino ‘pi virājate manuṣyaḥ

na hi śaśa-kaluṣa-cchabiḥ kadācit

timira-parābhavatām upaiti candraḥ

The meaning is that even if one fully engaged in the devotional service of the Lord is sometimes found engaged in abominable activities, these activities should be considered to be like the spots that resemble the mark of a rabbit on the moon. Such spots do not become an impediment to the diffusion of moonlight. Similarly, the accidental falldown of a devotee from the path of saintly character does not make him abominable.

On the other hand, one should not misunderstand that a devotee in transcendental devotional service can act in all kinds of abominable ways; this verse only refers to an accident due to the strong power of material connections. Devotional service is more or less a declaration of war against the illusory energy. As long as one is not strong enough to fight the illusory energy, there may be accidental falldowns. But when one is strong enough, he is no longer subjected to such falldowns, as previously explained. No one should take advantage of this verse and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. 

COMMENT

So this indirectly refers to the seventh offences—committing sin on the strength of chanting. By chanting the holy name, one is freed from all sinful reactions. That is a fact, but someone in a cunning and calculating way thinks, Oh, I can engage in sinful activities and I will neutralize the effects by chanting, that is an offence. And not only it is an offence, but it does not work. So yes, here Srila Prabhupada is alluring to the same type of thing. 

PURPORT (continued)

No one should take advantage of this verse and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. If he does not improve in his character by devotional service, then it is to be understood that he is not a high devotee.

COMMENT

And I will just read the next verse because it is very encouraging. I won’t read the purport for the sake of time, but I will read the verse.

TEXT 31

kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā

śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati

kaunteya pratijānīhi

na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati

TRANSLATION

He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.

COMMENT

Although I said I wouldn’t, but I will read the purport because there are so many valuable instructions in it.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This should not be misunderstood. In the Seventh Chapter the Lord says that one who is engaged in mischievous activities cannot become a devotee of the Lord. 

COMMENT

Na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ

PURPORT (continued)

One who is not a devotee of the Lord has no good qualifications whatsoever. 

COMMENT

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā

PURPORT (continued)

The question remains, then, How can a person engaged in abominable activities – either by accident or by intention – be a pure devotee? This question may justly be raised. The miscreants, as stated in the Seventh Chapter, who never come to the devotional service of the Lord, have no good qualifications, as is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Generally, a devotee who is engaged in the nine kinds of devotional activities is engaged in the process of cleansing all material contamination from the heart. He puts the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, and all sinful contaminations are naturally washed away. Continuous thinking of the Supreme Lord makes him pure by nature. According to the Vedas, there is a certain regulation that if one falls down from his exalted position he has to undergo certain ritualistic processes to purify himself. But here there is no such condition, because the purifying process is already there in the heart of the devotee, due to his remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly.

COMMENT

om apavitraḥ pavitro vā

sarvāvasthāṁ gato ‘pi vā

yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ

sa bahyābhyantara-śuciḥ

One who remembers the lotus eye of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is purified within and without. So here Srila Prabhupada says the same thing. 

PURPORT (continued)

The purifying process is already there in the heart of the devotee, due to his remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly. Therefore, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be continued without stoppage. 

COMMENT

Why did you stop?

PURPORT (continued)

This will protect a devotee from all accidental falldowns. He will thus remain perpetually free from all material contaminations.

COMMENT

So yes. The purifying process of devotional service, and the exalted position of a devotee. So my dear devotees, thank you for joining us on this auspicious occasion of Gita-jayanti, and discussing the Bhagavad-gītā. And now, if any of you have any questions or comments, any reflections, you can raise your hand. 

Devotee: Can I speak. Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. So, my question is, can you define what is this accidental fall down? And maybe possibly differentiate accidental and intentional fall down? 

Giriraj Swami: What is the difference between accidental fall down and an intentional fall down. Yes, that is a very important question. In criminal law, they have say premeditated, like premeditated murder, that means you are planning it, it did not just happen, but you were planning it, and you followed through on your plan. So an accidental fall down means that you weren’t planning to fall down, but due to material contamination maybe bad association without intending to fall down, one falls down. And then after falling down, one should repent. Repentance is very important and necessary. One should repent for one’s having broken the regulative principles and one should take more shelter of the holy names, more shelter of the association of the devotees, more shelter of the philosophy of Krishna consciousness, and go on in bhakti-yoga with a greater sincerity, and determination. It can happen, it does happen. But it is not the end of the world, if you fall down, you can recover yourself and be restored in your position as a devotee by repenting, and by intensifying your practice of bhakti-yoga. 

Yes. Oh there are a few over here. He was first.

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja for your wonderful class. I had a question that when we see some devotee has committed some blunder, a big blunder say breakage of regulative principles, or something, breaking of

Giriraj Swami: Blunder such as?

Devotee: If we see some devotee, he has committed some blunder like breaking of some regulative principles, what should be our vision to see that devotee? 

Giriraj Swami: Well, first you should respect him as a devotee. But second, depending on your relationship with the devotee, you should try to encourage him, not to be discouraged by what happened, but to persevere in Krishna consciousness. Try to help him continue with enthusiasm and not be discouraged. 

Devotee: Thank You Maharaja

Giriraj swami: And let him know you are still with him, still there to support and encourage him. You are not rejecting him.

Devotee: Yes Maharaja, something in the similar lines of the other two questions. Just what I want to understand is that when we see very great personalities like renounced order people also undergoing the challenges in the past, in the present, within our society, so actually we have benefitted from their words, their lectures and surely we have a great regard in our heart about them. And we don’t even understand this accidental or premeditated like you explained, that can be understood for me, but I cannot understand about the other person, who is so exalted. How do we actually, what is the response in our consciousness to such happening in our life?

Giriraj Swami: You are saying if someone who was an exalted devotee and who gave valuable instruction that helped you, you are saying if he leaves Krishna consciousness or what are you saying?

Devotee: He is not accused, I don’t know the reality but what appears is some abominable activity, in terms of breaking the regulative principles of his order. So if it comes to our ears, then how do I see, because I don’t know accidental, I don’t know if it is premeditated. What is it, I don’t know but surely enough I have got great benefit from hearing from them, and seeing through shastras as well. So how do we see such exalted people in our heart?

Giriraj Swami: You can still see them, you can appreciate them for all they did for you, and all they helped you got from them. And if you don’t really know the circumstances of the fall down, you have two choices, one is you could pursue it and try to find out more about what actually happened, so you can assess the situation with more information. Or the other is, you just say to yourself you don’t know, and you are not in a position to know, and you just appreciate him for what he did in the past, and pray for his reinstatement. It is always good to pray for others. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is a description of the madhyam bhakta, and prema maitrī kṛpā upekṣāḥ. Prema he gives his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, maitr ī- He makes friendship with devotees, kṛpa—He gives mercy to the innocent by telling them about Krishna consciousness, and upekṣāḥ—He neglects the envious. And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in his commentary on the verse says that although the devotee will neglect the person in the sense that he won’t try to preach to him, because he is envious, and if he tries to preach to him, the person might become more offensive. So upekṣāḥ, we don’t preach to him, we neglect him in that sense. But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says, we can still pray for the person. So it is always good to pray for others. Yes.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Thank you very much for your enlightening lecture. Maharaja, my question is that you said in between about the seventh offence, that committing sinful activity on the strength of the holy name. But you said after that it does not work also. So is it that after committing sinful activity, we chant Hare Krishna, offences will also not go, and sin will also go? 

Giriraj Swami: We may have committed sinful activities before we came to Krishna consciousness, and by chanting we become free from the reactions. In fact, it is said that once chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is freed from the reaction to more sins than he can commit. And Srila Prabhupada mentions this in a purport in the prayers of queen Kunti, in which Srila Prabhupada says there is no such exaggeration in such statements, but there is a quality to such chanting. So, yes if we commit some sinful activity and we chant Hare Krishna, we can be free from the sinful reaction. But in a cunning and calculating way, we think, Oh well, now I will engage in sinful activity and I will neutralize the reactions by chanting, that is an offence and it does not work, meaning it won’t neutralize the effects. And Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in commenting on this principle says that, even in ritualistic activities, not even in chanting the holy names, even in ritualistic activities, if one deliberately engages in sinful activities, thinking he can atone for them by some ritualistic activity, that also won’t work. 

Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna’

Devotee: Thank you so much for a wonderful class. My question is according to today’s verse, a person who has committed sinful activities throughout his life, and suddenly he has come to Krishna consciousness, following four regulative principles, ready for atonement, but still the past deeds and his all sinful activities many times back him, many times he has to throw in self-pity, the affluent society always tortures him, and at that particular position, that particular moment, he has to be very sinful. Because my question is according to today’s verse he is called a sadhu because he is chanting the holy name, so my question is what would be his next birth strategy at the time of death, even if he is not remembering Krishna. What would be his?

Giriraj Swami: Well, why wouldn’t he remember Krishna at the time of death?

Devotee: My question is Maharaja, he was acting like a demon, and from a demon he is trying to be a devotee. So after his death, what would be his future, whether he will be delivered or not, whether he will be liberated or not?

Giriraj Swami: Well, it is a hypothetical question, and it is hard to say, but definitely he will, at least become a devotee in his next life, and whether he is delivered from the cycle of birth and death, we would need more particulars about the specific case, do you have someone in mind? 

Devotee: Thank you. I got my answer