Srila Prabhupada’s Concluding Words to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

Giriraj Swami: So, I shall read from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Chapter Twenty, “The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers”

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda

jayādvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

So, I will begin by reading the last few verses of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which are very poetic.

TEXT 147

sabāra caraṇa-kṛpā — ‘guru upādhyāyī’
mora vāṇī — śiṣyā, tāre bahuta nācāi

TRANSLATION

The mercy of their lotus feet is my spiritual master, and my words are my disciples, whom I have made dance in various ways.

TEXT 148

śiṣyāra śrama dekhi’ guru nācāna rākhilā
‘kṛpā’ nā nācāya, ‘vāṇī’ vasiyā rahilā

TRANSLATION

Seeing the fatigue of the disciples, the spiritual master has stopped making them dance, and because that mercy no longer makes them dance, my words now sit silently.

TEXT 149

 anipuṇā vāṇī āpane nācite nā jāne
yata nācāilā, nāci’ karilā viśrāme

TRANSLATAION

My inexperienced words do not know how to dance by themselves. The mercy of the guru made them dance as much as possible, and now, after dancing, they have taken rest.

TEXT 150

saba śrotā-gaṇera kari caraṇa vandana
yāṅ-sabāra caraṇa-kṛpā — śubhera kāraṇa

TRANSLATION

I now worship the lotus feet of all my readers, for by the mercy of their lotus feet there is all good fortune.

COMMENT

See how humble Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is.

TEXT 151

caitanya-caritāmṛta yei jana śune
tāṅra caraṇa dhuñā karoṅ muñi pane

TRANSLATION

If one hears the pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, I wash his lotus feet and drink the water.

TEXT 152

śrotāra pada-reṇu karoṅ mastaka-bhūṣaṇa
tomarā e-amṛta pile saphala haila śrama

TRANSLATION

I decorate my head with the dust of the lotus feet of my audience. Now you have all drunk this nectar, and therefore my labor is successful.

TEXT 153

śrī-rūpa-raghunātha-pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa

TRANSLATION

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.

COMMENT

So, on this date, Sri Rama-Ekādaśī, as usual, I went up to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters at 6:00 in the morning to accompany him for his morning walk on Juhu Beach. But when I got to the top of the stairs, I was surprised to find that his door was locked. There were two flats on the top floor, one for Srila Prabhupada and one for his staff. So Srila Prabhupada ‘s door was locked, which was very unusual. Then I tried knocking on the other door, which was also locked. But eventually, Srila Prabhupada ‘s secretary Harikesh Prabhu came to the door. He said that, that night, Srila Prabhupada had completed his translation of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that he was in a very jubilant mood, that he had dictated the most wonderful glorification of his spiritual master, and that we should celebrate by having a feast.

So now, I will read from the Concluding Words, which as Harikesh Prabhu described, was the most wonderful glorification of his spiritual master.

READING from Srila Prabhupada’s concluding words to Caitanya-caritāmṛta

Today, Sunday, November 10, 1974—corresponding to the Tenth of Kartik, Chaitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, the Rama-Ekādaśī—we have now finished the English translation of Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraj Goswami’s Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Gosvami Maharaja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide, and friend. Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada passed away from this material world on the last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always present with me by his vāṇī, his words.

COMMENT

And here, Srila Prabhupada introduces the main theme of his concluding words, which is the eternal presence of his spiritual master through his instructions or vāṇī. This is also very instructive for us, aspiring devotees as well.

READING (continued)

There are two ways of association—by vāṇī and by vapuḥ. Vāṇī means words, and vapuḥ means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vāṇī continues to exist eternally.

COMMENT

In Srila Prabhupada’ dedication to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he writes to His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: “He lives forever by his divine instructions, and the follower lives with him.”

READING (continued)

Therefore, we must take advantage of the vāṇī, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gītā, for example, is the vāṇī of Lord Krishna. Although Krishna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gītā continues.

In this connection we may call to memory the time when I was fortunate enough to meet His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, sometime in the year 1922. Srila Prabhupada had come to Calcutta from Sri Dhāma Mayapur to start the missionary activities of the Gaudiya Math. He was sitting in a house at Ulta Danga when through the inducement of an intimate friend, the late Sriman Narendranath Mullik, I had the opportunity to meet His Divine Grace for the first time.

COMMENT

So this very special, historic, significant place, the house at Ulta Danga has come into the possession of ISKCON, and the devotees have restored it just to the way it was when our Srila Prabhupada first met His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. So yes, I am planning to visit Calcutta in January and very much look forward to visiting that place.

READING (continued)

I do not remember the actual date of the meeting, but at that time I was one of the managers of Dr. Bose’s laboratory in Calcutta. I was a newly married young man, addicted to Gandhi’s movement and dressed in khadi. Fortunately, even at our first meeting His Divine Grace advised me to preach the cult of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in English in the Western countries.

COMMENT

So we are all indebted to His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura for giving Srila Prabhupada that instruction, which has led to the Krishna consciousness movement being brought to the Western world and to all of us.

READING (continued)

Because at that time I was a complete nationalist, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi’s, I submitted to His Divine Grace that unless our country were freed from foreign subjugation, no one would hear the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu seriously. Of course, we had some argument on this subject, but at last I was defeated and convinced that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message is the only panacea for suffering humanity. I was also convinced that the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was then in the hands of a very expert devotee and that surely the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would spread all over the world. I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

COMMENT

So Srila Prabhupada has discussed this point of, you could say, suspending the order of the spiritual master. The spiritual master may give an instruction that one is not able to take up immediately, but one will always keep the instruction in one’s heart and await the opportunity to execute it. I had my own experience. Srila Prabhupada had given me the instruction to write, and in Gorakhpur, and then from Gorakhpur, eventually, we were called to Bombay to help with the first Bombay pandal program at Cross Maidan. And when I arrived, Shyamasundara Prabhu was the temple president, and he asked me to collect ads for the souvenir book. I said, “Srila Prabhupada instructed me to write,” and he replied, “You can write any time, but this is one opportunity we have. You can go to any man’s office and ask for an advertisement for our souvenir book, and he doesn’t have to pay from his own pocket; the company will pay for the advertisement.” So I considered that what Shyamasundara Prabhu said made sense, and I also considered that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate with our authorities. So I agreed, and I collected a lot of ads for the souvenir book.

When Srila Prabhupada arrived in Bombay, as usual, he sat in his room and greeted all the devotees, glanced at them, and exchanged some words with them. And then he asked me, “So, Giriraj, how is your writing going?” And I was flustered. I didn’t know what to say, and Srila Prabhupada could understand my awkwardness, my feeling awkward. So I said, “All right, we will discuss later.” Then, after some time, he called for me to come back to his room and he said, “So, how is your writing going?” So I explained what Shyamasundara Prabhu had said, which made sense to me. And I added that, “I know that you want us to work cooperatively with our authorities, so I did what he said.” But I was apprehensive because I didn’t know if Srila Prabhupada would accept my answer. But Srila Prabhupada replied, “One may temporarily suspend the order of the spiritual master, but he can never neglect it.” And then he said, “Just like my spiritual master also ordered me to write, but I have been so busy traveling and preaching in India, I also hardly have time to write. So you can suspend the order of the spiritual master, but you can never neglect it.” So this principle is repeated here in Srila Prabhupada’s concluding words:

READING (continued)

I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

In this way I passed my life as a householder until 1950, when I retired from family life as a vanaprastha. With no companion, I loitered here and there until 1958, when I took sannyasa. Then I was completely ready to discharge the order of my spiritual master. Previously, in 1936, just before His Divine Grace passed away at Jagannatha Puri, I wrote him a letter asking what I could do to serve him. In reply, he wrote me a letter, dated 13 December 1936, ordering me, in the same way, to preach in English the cult of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as I had heard it from him.

After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine. After I took sannyasa, a well-wishing friend suggested that I write books instead of magazines. Magazines, he said, might be thrown away, but books remain perpetually.

COMMENT

So Srila Prabhupada took the advice of the well-wishing friend in support of the instruction from his guru Maharaja. And in that way, Srila Prabhupada was very open to accepting suggestions from friends in pursuance of his instructions from his spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada had a friend in Bombay named, Sri Brijratan Mohata, who, well, he had been the wealthiest man in what later became West Pakistan, and he was married to R D Birla’s daughter. So Mr. Mohata suggested to Srila Prabhupada that he serialize excerpts from the Bhagavad-gītā in Back to Godhead magazine. And Srila Prabhupada took the advice, although he didn’t choose to print excerpts from the Bhagavad-gītā. He rather decided to print excerpts from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And that practice continues till today. Every issue of Back to Godhead magazine has a section from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And that idea came from Srila Prabhupada ‘s friend in Bombay, Sri Brijratan Mohata.

READING (continued)

Then I attempted to write Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Before that, when I was a householder, I had written on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and had completed about eleven hundred pages, but somehow or other the manuscript was stolen. In any case, when I had published Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the U.S.A.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada commented that most of his God brothers went to England, not to America, and they failed. And Srila Prabhupada thought, “Let me go to America. If I fail, at least let me fail in a different place.”

READING (continued)

By the mercy of His Divine Grace, I was able to come to New York on September 17, 1965. Since then, I have translated many books, including Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Teachings of Lord Caitanya (A Summary), and many others.

In the meantime, I was induced to translate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and publish it in an elaborate version. In his leisure time in later life, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would simply read Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

COMMENT

When Srila Prabhupada was on Jaladuta, taking voyage to America, he also mentions that he was tasting the nectarean of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

READING (continued)

It was his favorite book. He used to say that there would be a time when foreigners would learn the Bengali language to read the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. The work on this translation began about eighteen months ago. Now, by the grace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, it is finished. In this connection I have to thank my American disciples,

COMMENT

So, throughout this concluding words, Srila Prabhupada is not taking any credit for himself. He is giving credit to his guru Maharaja and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And now he is giving credit to his disciples.

READING (continued)

In this connection I have to thank my American disciples, especially Sriman Pradyumna dasa Adhikari, Sriman Nitai dasa Adhikari, Sriman Jaya Advaita dasa Brahmachari and many other boys and girls who are sincerely helping me in writing, editing, and publishing all these literatures.

I think that His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is always seeing my activities and guiding me within my heart by his words. As it is said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1].

COMMENT

So, very beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, that the knowledge of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is imparted in heart of Lord Brahma.

READING (continued)

Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramātmā feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates.

COMMENT

So, we know that the Lord in His Paramātmā feature, is sitting within the heart. But here Srila Prabhupada made a striking additional statement that the Lord is sitting within the heart along with His associates. That means that not only is the Lord within the heart, but spiritual master is also in the heart. Literally not just in a figurative way, but actually.

READING (continued)

It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master, because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work. I do not think myself a very learned scholar, but I have full faith in the service of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. If there is any credit to my activities of translating, it is all due to His Divine Grace.

COMMENT

So again, Srila Prabhupada is not taking any credit for himself. He is giving all the credit to his spiritual master. And Srila Prabhupada also said that if we try to take credit for ourselves, there will be so many problems. But if we give credit to the spiritual master and Krishna, then everything will go nicely.

READING (continued)

Certainly, if His Divine Grace were physically present at this time, it would have been a great occasion for jubilation, but even though he is not physically present, I am confident that he is very much pleased by this work of translation. He was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krishna consciousness movement. Therefore, our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been formed to execute the order of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

COMMENT

So here, Srila Prabhupada is saying that ISKCON has been formed to execute the will of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, especially by publishing and distributing books.

READING (continued)

It is my wish that devotees of Lord Chaitanya all over the world enjoy this translation,

COMMENT

As Srila Prabhupada said, we should not only distribute his books, we should also read them.

READING (continued)

and I am glad to express my gratitude to the learned men in the Western countries who are so pleased with my work that they are ordering in advance all my books that will be published in the future. On this occasion, therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work to continue their cooperation fully, so that philosophers, scholars, religionists, and people in general all over the world will benefit by reading our transcendental literatures, such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

COMMENT

This is our mission; this is our service. Srila Prabhupada also wrote to me personally: “Go on increasing books and go on increasing my pleasure.”

READING (continued)

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, dated November 10, 1974, at the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Bombay.

[Applause]

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta ki jaya!

COMMENT

So, I think we have a few minutes. If any of you have any questions or comments, you can raise your hand. All right, so thank you for listening. Yes, Maharaja.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. Maharaja, I have a question from Srila Prabhupada’s class that we heard earlier today, and that is that Srila Prabhupada said the test is: Have you taken Krishna consciousness to disturb Krishna, or are you serious? Srila Prabhupada mentioned that. Can you kindly explain what Srila Prabhupada meant in this regard?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada made a similar statement elsewhere that in the beginning, maya will test the devotee whether the devotee is sincere to serve Krishna or has come to disturb Krishna because maya is also a servant of Krishna, and she wants to help separate the sincere ones from the less sincere ones. So she tests us. And passing the test means that we continue to chant our rounds, follow the regulative principles, and engage in the process of bhakti-yoga. If we are not so sincere, if we just want some material benefit from Krishna consciousness, and then maya tests us and places some obstacles, then we will go away. In that way, maya protects Krishna from insincere people who would just come and bother Him.

Devotee: How is the writing going?

Giriraj Swami: I think the writing is going well. My latest book, Dancing White Elephants: Travelling with Srila Prabhupada in India, is basically ready. The printer is sending an advanced copy for my final approval, and once I give my final approval, it should be available here within two weeks. And then I have completed maybe 90 percent, at least 90 percent of a book about Boston when I first met Srila Prabhupada and the devotees and came to Krishna consciousness. So that is pretty close to being finished. But I have a good team of editors. After I finish the manuscript, then I send it on. Of course, Kalachanadji dasa is my main editor, and then I have Vishakha Priya dasi and Madhurika dasi and Nikunja Vilasini dasi, who is with us today. They do a very good job of editing. So the finished product is usually quite good by Krishna’s grace and their cooperation. Incidentally, your guru Maharaja came to visit me a couple of days ago, and he showed me the plans for the new temple in Pandarpur, which included some segments of you very enthusiastically describing the project. So yes, I am sure it will be a success. We wish you all the best.

Any other questions? Yes.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was talking about taking the dust of the feet of the readers of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. How can we develop this mood that someone who has written a book is talking about taking the dust of the feet of the readers? How can we be so thoroughly convinced that everyone is a better devotee than us?

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was very humble, extremely humble. He said that he is lower than the worm in stool and more fallen than Jagai and Madhai. That is a very advanced stage of Krishna consciousness, which we cannot imitate. And in his mood of humbleness, he is feeling grateful to his readers that they have taken the trouble, taking the time and taken the trouble to read Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So he feels grateful to them. He was a very pure soul, and we have a lot to learn, not only from what he has written in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta but also from his example of humility. Yes.

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:03:25]

Giriraj Swami: I am not completely sure I understand the question, but initially, when Srila Prabhupada met Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he argued that India was still under foreign subjugation and that people would not respect the message of India because India was not yet an independent nation, and first, India should become independent. But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati replied that the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is too important to wait for such considerations as India’s political independence. Srila Prabhupada was convinced that yes, we should immediately take up the cause; we don’t have to wait for India to become politically independent. Okay, thank you.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. You mentioned today about it is not just the Lord who is seated in the heart; but also, His devotees and associates, which means the spiritual master is in the heart as well. How do we awaken ourselves to feeling his presence in the heart?

Giriraj Swami: Well, we need to purify the heart, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. And we purify the heart mainly by chanting and hearing; attentive chanting and hearing. When we do that, then the heart becomes cleansed. Also, in the Second Chapter of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it explains how Krishna is situated in the heart as the well-wishing friend of the truthful devotee. Truthful devotee means sincere, not duplicitous. And from within the heart, he cleanses the desire for material enjoyment. And later, it also explains that when one is freed from the desire for material enjoyment, one can get instructions from the Lord within the heart or the guru within the heart. So, we should chant attentively and read. Our heart will become cleansed, and then we will be able to feel the presence of the Lord in the heart, along with His devotees and associates.

Devotee: Another question. [Unintelligible 01:08:40]. Did you ever feel that Srila Prabhupada was watching you even when you were not physically around?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, in fact, Srila Prabhupada said of his spiritual master that he felt that he was always looking over his shoulder at what he was doing. So yes, definitely.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. So you mentioned that Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is most humble, and I have heard that humility there, [Unintelligible 01:09:35], and vice versa. So, humility is very important for progress in bhakti. But sometimes, even though we are trying to be Krishna conscious and attempting to be humble, offenses [Unintelligible 01:09:55]?

Giriraj Swami: You are saying that in spite of trying to be humble, you still might offend devotees, and then what is the question?

Devotee: So how can we develop this humility? [Unintelligible 01:10:25]

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Prabhupada advised us to address one another as “Prabhu.” “Prabhu” means master, so if the other is our prabhu, our master, that means we are their servant. And yes, if we are always in the mood of being servants of the other devotees, prabhu, then we won’t commit offenses.

Devotee: In service, you have to—you still, follow the etiquette but you have to act, and in the course of service, offense may occur.

Giriraj Swami: It might be part of your service to correct someone. But if you make the effort to correct the person in a humble mood, with respect, then the other person shouldn’t take offense. And Srila Prabhupada said that if correction is offered with sympathy, it is more likely to be accepted. Just on this point of “Prabhu” we should mean it; we should feel it. As Srila Prabhupada said, not that we say, “Oh prabhu, please come and bring my slipper.” Not that “Prabhu.”

Devotee: [Unintelligible 01:12:30]

Giriraj Swami: I don’t think you can write if you think that you are the doer. We can write only by the mercy of our spiritual master and our superiors. And Srila Prabhupada quoted—practically every chapter of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami concludes,

śrī-rūpa-raghunātha-pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa

That he is giving credit to his spiritual masters. He is dependent on the mercy of his spiritual masters to write.

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja, for a wonderful class. Maharaja, I have this question: Srila Prabhupada’s disciples like you and your godbrothers, apparently you all come from ordinary backgrounds, but still you didn’t take much time to surrender yourselves completely over period of time, and you could accomplish so much. You didn’t really take time. So, what is it that is preventing us? I am in the movement for twenty years, and I don’t see that fire in me. Why is it not happening?

Giriraj Swami: Well, the main thing is sincerity, and Srila Prabhupada gave two approaches to being sincere or becoming sincere. One, he said that you show your sincerity by following all the instructions of the spiritual master, however big or small. And the other, he said you become sincere by associating with sincere devotees. So yes, a man is known by the company he keeps. So, I suggest you keep company with devotees whose qualities and mood of service you want to imbibe. Srila Prabhupada said Krishna consciousness is 90 percent association.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. This question is not relevant, but I used to walk that side, and many devotees just stand and say “Radhe! Radhe!” So, that is their mantra. So, I heard that the mantra is “Hare Krishna maha-mantra.” By chanting “Radhe! Radhe” they will go to Krishna, or what? That is authentic? I have a doubt so I ask you.

Giriraj Swami: Well, we should chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. There is no harm in chanting “Radhe! Radhe!” but iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ, it is said that these sixteen words of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra are especially designed to counteract the influence of Kali-yuga. So, we should chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and we should also pray to the Pancha-tattva to help us to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. And therefore, in kirtan and even in japa, we chant the Pancha-tattva mantra,

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

And then we chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Yes, that is our process.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My question is from the Prabhupada’s class, where Prabhupada mentions [Unintelligible 01:17:53] stage, which takes the essence. So, how can we mold our life so that after hearing, [Unintelligible 01:18:59], we take the essence and apply it in our lives?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Well, my dear godbrother, His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu, has written an essay on prayerful reading. The idea is, while we are reading, we should be praying to get instructions that are relevant to our lives and then apply those instructions for our spiritual improvement. So, that should be our mood when we read, that we are looking for some guidance that we can apply in our lives. And, of course, we also want to preach; we want to help others. So, we can also find things that we read that can be useful for preaching to help others. But at the same time, we want to see what is there for us to adopt and apply in our lives.

Alright, my dear devotees, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta ki jaya!

Concluding Words ki jaya!

Hare Krishna.

Thank you so much.