SB 2.7.26 – The Lord Descends in his Original Form as Krishna

Host: Hare Krishna Maharaja, please accept our humble obeisances to your lotus feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all glories to the assembled devotees. Thank you so much, Maharaja for being here.

Hare Krishna. So dear devotees, we thank you all for being here today as usual. And, of course, we are very much blessed. We have the presence of His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja, who will be sharing with us the nectarean Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And we humbly urge every devotee to be very attentive. If you are tired, try to stay awake, and you close your eyes only after the class. Please, if possible, turn on your cameras so that it will be more intimate and personal. With that being said, Maharaja, please, you may go ahead. If you want to chant the maṅgala-ācaraṇa, you may do that. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: So, we will read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven, “Scheduled Incarnations,” Text Twenty-six.

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya,

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya,

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

TEXT 26

bhūmeḥ suretara-varūtha-vimarditāyāḥ
kleśa-vyayāya kalayā sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ
jātaḥ kariṣyati janānupalakṣya-mārgaḥ
karmāṇi cātma-mahimopanibandhanāni

TRANSLATION

When the world is overburdened by the fighting strength of kings who have no faith in God, the Lord, just to diminish the distress of the world, descends with His plenary portion. The Lord comes in His original form, with beautiful black hair. And just to expand His transcendental glories, He acts extraordinarily. No one can properly estimate how great He is.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This verse is especially describing the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His immediate expansion, Lord Baladeva. Both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Baladeva are one Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is omnipotent, and He expands Himself in innumerable forms and energies, and the whole unit is known as the one Supreme Brahman. Such extensions of the Lord are divided into two divisions, namely personal and differential. The personal expansions are called the viṣṇu-tattvas, and the differential expansions are called the jīva-tattvas. 

COMMENT

So, of course, we are jivas, jīva-tattvas and we are servant of the viṣṇu-tattvas. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had said, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, the constitutional position of a living entity is that he is the eternal servant of Krishna. So, that is our constitutional position and when we act in our constitutional position, we are happy and satisfied. And when we are envious of the Lord, when we want to take place of the Lord or want to assume the position of the Lord, we are frustrated and miserable.

PURPORT (continued)

And in such expansional activity, Lord Baladeva is the first personal expansion of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

Well first I will relate a little sort of humorous incident that took place with Srila Prabhupada at the Ardha Khumba-mela in Allahabad in 1971. And at the Khumba-mela, Madhuvisa Prabhu said that, “Krishna and Balaram are the same, the only difference is that Krishna is black and Balaram is white.” And then Yamuna devi said, “No, there is another difference because Krishna is the only enjoyer of Srimati Radharani.” So, Tamal Krishna Goswami took the dispute to Srila Prabhupada and he said that, “Madhuvisa Prabhu says that Krishna and Balaram are the same, the only difference is that Krishna is black and Balaram is white.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “He is right.” And then he said, “But Yamuna devi says that there is a difference because Krishna is the only enjoyer of Srimati Radharani.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, she is right.” And Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “They are both saying different things, they both can’t be right.” And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, you are right.” So then Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “Well then who is right?” And Srila Prabhupada said, “You decide.”

PURPORT (continued)

In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, as well as in the Mahābhārata, both Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are mentioned as having beautiful black hair, even in Their advanced age.

COMMENT

So, some time ago, there was I guess you could say an imitation God in Pune named Rajnish. He began as Acharya Rajnish and he wasn’t really an acharya and then he became Bhagavān Rajnish. So, one of the arguments that Srila Prabhupada gave against his being Bhagavān was that Krishna has beautiful black hair and Rajnish was going bald, so how could he be God. God has beautiful black hair.

PURPORT (continued)

The Lord is called anupalakṣya-mārgaḥ or, in still more technical Vedic terms, avāṅ-manasā gocaraḥ: one who is never to be seen or realized by the limited sense perception of the people in general. In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.25) it is said by the Lord, nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ. 

COMMENT

So, I will read the full translation

Bg 7.25

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ‘yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam

TRANSLATION

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

It may be argued that since Kṛṣṇa was visible to everyone when He was present on this earth, how can it be said that He is not manifest to everyone? But actually He was not manifest to everyone. When Kṛṣṇa was present there were only a few people who could understand Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

So, they may have seen Him with their eyes but they didn’t understand who He actually was and therefore it can be said that they did not really see Him.

PURPORT (continued)

In the assembly of Kurus, when Śiśupāla spoke against Kṛṣṇa’s being elected president of the assembly, Bhīṣma supported Him and proclaimed Him to be the Supreme God. Similarly, the Pāṇḍavas and a few others knew that He was the Supreme, but not everyone. He was not revealed to the nondevotees and the common man. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa says that but for His pure devotees, all men consider Him to be like themselves. He was manifest only to His devotees as the reservoir of all pleasure. But to others, to unintelligent nondevotees, He was covered by His internal potency.

COMMENT

So yes, there is another related verse which I will read. This comes a few verses later. This is Bhagavad-gītā Chapter Nine:

TEXT 11

avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā
mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto
mama bhūta-maheśvaram

TRANSLATION

Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

From the other explanations of the previous verses in this chapter, it is clear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although appearing like a human being, is not a common man. The Personality of Godhead, who conducts the creation, maintenance, and annihilation of the complete cosmic manifestation, cannot be a human being. Yet there are many foolish men who consider Kṛṣṇa to be merely a powerful man and nothing more. Actually, He is the original Supreme Personality, as is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ); He is the Supreme Lord.

There are many īśvaras, controllers, and one appears greater than another. In the ordinary management of affairs in the material world, we find some official or director, and above him there is a secretary, and above him a minister, and above him a president. Each of them is a controller, but one is controlled by another. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller; there are many controllers undoubtedly, both in the material and spiritual world, but Kṛṣṇa is the supreme controller (īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ), and His body is sac-cid-ānanda, nonmaterial.

Material bodies cannot perform the wonderful acts described in previous verses. His body is eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. Although He is not a common man, the foolish deride Him and consider Him to be a man. His body is called here mānuṣīm because He is acting just like a man, a friend of Arjuna’s, a politician involved in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. In so many ways He is acting just like an ordinary man, but actually His body is sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha – eternal bliss and knowledge absolute. This is confirmed in the Vedic language also. Sac-cid-ānanda-rūpāya kṛṣṇāya: “I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is the eternal blissful form of knowledge.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.1) 

COMMENT

So we are so fortunate that Srila Prabhupada has given us so much knowledge in his purports.

PURPORT (continued)

There are other descriptions in the Vedic language also. Tam ekaṁ govindam: “You are Govinda, the pleasure of the senses and the cows.” Sac-cid-ānanda-vigraham: “And Your form is transcendental, full of knowledge, bliss, and eternality.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.38)

Despite the transcendental qualities of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body, its full bliss and knowledge, there are many so-called scholars and commentators of Bhagavad-gītā who deride Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary man. The scholar may be born an extraordinary man due to his previous good work, but this conception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is due to a poor fund of knowledge. Therefore he is called mūḍha, for only foolish persons consider Kṛṣṇa to be an ordinary human being. The foolish consider Kṛṣṇa an ordinary human being because they do not know the confidential activities of the Supreme Lord and His different energies. They do not know that Kṛṣṇa’s body is a symbol of complete knowledge and bliss, that He is the proprietor of everything that be and that He can award liberation to anyone. Because they do not know that Kṛṣṇa has so many transcendental qualifications, they deride Him.

Nor do they know that the appearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in this material world is a manifestation of His internal energy. He is the master of the material energy. As has been explained in several places (mama māyā duratyayā), He claims that the material energy, although very powerful, is under His control, and whoever surrenders unto Him can get out of the control of this material energy. If a soul surrendered to Kṛṣṇa can get out of the influence of material energy, then how can the Supreme Lord, who conducts the creation, maintenance and annihilation of the whole cosmic nature, have a material body like us? So this conception of Kṛṣṇa is complete foolishness. Foolish persons, however, cannot conceive that the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, appearing just like an ordinary man, can be the controller of all the atoms and of the gigantic manifestation of the universal form.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada said, “We will not say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one purport, but we will say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every purport,” and this is an example.

PURPORT (continued)

The biggest and the minutest are beyond their conception, so they cannot imagine that a form like that of a human being can simultaneously control the infinite and the minute. Actually, although He is controlling the infinite and the finite, He is apart from all this manifestation. It is clearly stated concerning His yogam aiśvaram, His inconceivable transcendental energy, that He can control the infinite and the finite simultaneously and that He can remain aloof from them. Although the foolish cannot imagine how Kṛṣṇa, who appears just like a human being, can control the infinite and the finite, those who are pure devotees accept this, for they know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore they completely surrender unto Him and engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service of the Lord.

COMMENT

So we can go back to today’s verse and purport. I will read the previous sentence again because it explains what follows.

PURPORT (continued)

Only the bona fide devotees can know Him by His specific symptoms, and out of many, many such symptoms, one symptom is mentioned here in this verse, that the Lord is sita-kṛṣṇa-keśaḥ, or one who is observed always with beautiful black hair. Both Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Baladeva have such hair on Their heads, and thus even in advanced age They appeared like young boys sixteen years old. That is the particular symptom of the Personality of Godhead. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that although He is the oldest personality among all living entities, He always looks like a new, youthful boy. That is the characteristic of a spiritual body. The material body is symptomized by birth, death, old age, and diseases, but the spiritual body is conspicuous by the absence of those symptoms.

COMMENT

This phrase, “birth, death, old age, and disease” (janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi), comes from the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, which describes the process of knowledge. And part of the process of knowledge is to be aware of, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. We should be conscious of those concomitant factors to having a material body. Nobody wants birth, death, old age, or disease, but they are forced upon us because of the material body. To get free from janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi, birth, death, old age, and disease, we need to develop our spiritual body.

PURPORT (continued)

Living entities who reside in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas in eternal life and bliss have the same type of spiritual body, without being affected by any signs of old age. It is described in the Bhāgavatam (Canto Six) that the party of Viṣṇudūtas who came to deliver Ajāmila from the clutches of the party of Yamarāja appeared like youthful boys, corroborating the description in this verse. It is ascertained thus that the spiritual bodies in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, either of the Lord or of the other inhabitants, are completely distinct from the material bodies of this world. Therefore, when the Lord descends from that world to this world, He descends in His spiritual body of ātma-māyā, or internal potency, without any touch of the bahiraṅgā-māyā, or external, material energy. The allegation that the impersonal Brahman appears in this material world by accepting a material body is quite absurd. Therefore the Lord, when He comes here, has not a material body, but a spiritual body.

COMMENT

There are many evidences that the Lord comes in a spiritual body. One is that His body never appears to age beyond that of a youth of sixteen years or so, and He performed so many wonderful feats with His body, such as lifting the Govardhana Hill and holding it over His head with the little finger of His left hand. No one with a material body can perform such feats. So, Krishna definitely had a spiritual body when He appeared. He has a spiritual body and He appeared with the same spiritual body.

PURPORT (continued)

The impersonal brahmajyoti is only the glaring effulgence of the body of the Lord, and there is no difference in quality between the body of the Lord and the impersonal ray of the Lord, called brahmajyoti.

COMMENT

Just like the sun and the sunshine, there is no difference in quality between the sun and the sunshine.

PURPORT (continued)

Now the question is why the Lord, who is omnipotent, comes here to diminish the burden created upon the world by the unscrupulous kingly order. Certainly the Lord does not need to come here personally for such purposes,

COMMENT

Because He can kill the demons through His agents, through the external energy, through maya. He can kill the demons, so that is not the real reason why He descends.

PURPORT (continued)

but He actually descends to exhibit His transcendental activities in order to encourage His pure devotees, who want to enjoy life by chanting the glories of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.13–14) it is stated that the mahātmās, great devotees of the Lord, take pleasure in chanting of the activities of the Lord.

COMMENT

So, Bhagavad-gītā Chapter Nine:

TEXT 13

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

TRANSLATION

O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this verse the description of the mahātmā is clearly given. The first sign of the mahātmā is that he is already situated in the divine nature. He is not under the control of material nature. And how is this effected? That is explained in the Seventh Chapter: one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, at once becomes freed from the control of material nature. 

COMMENT

As I mentioned earlier,

daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī
mama māyā duratyayā
mām eva ye prapadyante
māyām etāṁ taranti te

So the exact translation in the Bhagavad-gītā At It Is: “This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered to Me, can easily cross beyond it.”

So yes, the Lord appears to create subject matter for His devotees, mahatmas, to recite. As stated, the mahatmas, great devotees of the Lord, take pleasure in chanting the activities of the Lord.

PURPORT (continued)

All Vedic literatures are meant for turning one’s attention towards the Lord and His transcendental activities. Thus the activities of the Lord, in His dealings with worldly people, create a subject matter for discussion by His pure devotees.

COMMENT

So yes, that is the Lord’s mercy. He comes and displays wonderful pastimes so that devotees can chant and hear about them. We read the translation to Bg.9.13 and now Bg.9.14, which is especially relevant and appropriate: “

Bg.9.14

satataṁ kīrtayanto māṁ
yatantaś ca dṛḍha-vratāḥ
namasyantaś ca māṁ bhaktyā
nitya-yuktā upāsate

TRANSLATION

Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The mahātmā cannot be manufactured by rubber-stamping an ordinary man. His symptoms are described here: a mahātmā is always engaged in chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. He has no other business. He is always engaged in the glorification of the Lord. In other words, he is not an impersonalist. When the question of glorification is there, one has to glorify the Supreme Lord, praising His holy name, His eternal form, His transcendental qualities and His uncommon pastimes. One has to glorify all these things; therefore a mahātmā is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

COMMENT

When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay, before we had the Juhu temple, because there was a dispute about the land and there were so many obstacles in getting the permission to build, Srila Prabhupada was staying at Seaface Park in the vacant flat of Kartikeya Mahadevia, who was a good friend of Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. Every evening, Srila Prabhupada would speak to the devotees about The Nectar of Devotion. But if it happened that someone from outside came, then Srila Prabhupada would change the level of discourse from that of The Nectar of Devotion to that of the Bhagavad-gītā. One evening, a big Hindu, Sri B M Kamdar, came and said that, “India is a land of mahatmas, so there should be no problems, yet India has so many problems. Why is that?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “The reason India has so many problems is because you do not know who is a mahatma and who is not a mahatma.” So here in these verses of the Bhagavad-gītā, we get the actual definition of a mahatma. Although popularly, Mohandas Gandhi was called Mahatma Gandhi, it is questionable if he was really a mahatma according to the standard and definition of the Bhagavad-gītā.

So, my dear devotees, to fully realize Krishna, we need to cleanse our hearts, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam. And we cleanse the heart by chanting the holy names.

harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā

One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Lord Hari. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in this age of Kali-yuga.

So, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any of you have any questions, you can raise your hand; your physical hand, or your virtual hand.

Hare Krishna.

Host: Hare Krishna. Thank you so much, Maharaja, for such wonderful kṛṣṇa-kathā. It is a very nice way of swimming through the scriptures, going in here and then coming out there. So devotees, if anyone has a question or comment, please, as Maharaja said, you may raise your physical hand or your virtual hand, and you will be asked to unmute to speak.

Giriraj Swami: Again, I would like, as you did earlier, to request the devotees, as far as possible, to put on their cameras so we can see our moon like faces, and it becomes a more personal experience.

Host: Well, Maharaja, I have one question, and my question is: we have heard about the six opulences of Krishna, of which one is renunciation. We have seen from the purport, we read that whichever way one wants to see Krishna; Krishna doesn’t really care. If one wants to see Krishna as a womanizer, He is not worried about that. If one wants to see Him as taking sides with Arjuna and the Pandavas, He really doesn’t care. But for us as devotees are trying to be devotees, it is difficult for us, especially if you are a disciple and somebody is saying something negative, which is untruthful, about your guru, how can you sit still and consider that to be demonstrating the qualities of Krishna—that He is renounced, detached? Please help me in this regard. How should aspiring devotees understand this quality of Krishna and try to live that quality that Krishna has?

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna. Well, Krishna has stated as Lord Chaitanya,

tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

One should be more humble than the grass and more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, but ready to offer all respects to others. In such a state of mind, one can chant the holy names of the Lord constantly. So although the Lord Chaitanya taught humility and tolerance, when Jagai and Madhai attacked Nityananda Prabhu, He rushed to the scene with His Sudarsana chakra ready to kill them. So, Srila Prabhupada explains that when it comes to a matter of an offense against us, we don’t take offense, tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā. But when there is an offense against the Lord or another devotee, we must respond. So, if there is criticism of Krishna or Krishna’s devotees, or our spiritual master, we should not just be humble and tolerant but we should respond.

It is stated in the scripture that one should not hear blasphemy of the Lord or the devotee. If possible, one should defeat the blasphemer with logic and reason and argument. If one is unable to defeat the person, then one should leave the place, but one should not hear blasphemy. Just as blasphemy itself is an offense, it is also an offense to hear blasphemy. So if we are able, we should silence the blasphemer with strong argument. If we can’t do that, then we should leave the place, but we should not hear such blasphemy.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. I really appreciate the answer, and I hope we all learn from it and try our best to do the necessary. I think that begins with ourselves trying to live in such a way that, as Sādhakas, our behavior extends to the spiritual master. As much as we love our spiritual masters, we also would like to behave in such a way that because of us, they do not receive unkind words because of us. We live in a very unfortunate age where anybody, whether they are smart or not, can talk and many people listen. It is unfortunate that most of us are unable to decipher who is speaking and what they are saying. Thank you so much for the answer, and we pray we all try our best to properly represent Srila Prabhupada and our gurus. Hare Krishna.

Anyone with questions, comments, realizations, please. It is not so common to have Maharaja’s association, so when we have him, we should make the best use of his association. Dr. Hassan, please, you may unmute.

Dr. Hassan: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. All glories to you and Srila Prabhupada and all assembled devotees. Maharaja, my question is a little bit related to His Grace Sahadeva Prabhu’s question. Sometimes it is very, very, very difficult to control yourself if you hear somebody talking bad about Krishna, Krishna consciousness, or your guru Maharaja because of the love you have for Krishna and what you know about Krishna. In other faiths, especially in Islam, it is very difficult for people to say bad things about Prophet Muhammad, Allah, or Islam because they react. So my question is, if somebody reacts in this way, if somebody says something bad about Krishna or your guru Maharaja or the devotees, which is a lie, and they react like in other faiths, is it because they have too much love for God, or is it acting out of ignorance? This is my question because sometimes there are certain things you hear and you become so upset. So I want you to help me with that. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Well, as I mentioned, we should not tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or the devotees. If we are able, we can silence the blasphemer by superior reason, argument, and evidence. If we are not able to silence the blasphemer, then we should just leave the place, but we should not listen to blasphemy, definitely not under any circumstance. As I mentioned, not only is it an offense to blaspheme, but it is also an offense to hear blasphemy. So we should not do that.

Host: Hare Krishna. Thank you so much, Maharaja. We go to guru Bhakti devi. Please, you may unmute.

Guru Bhakti devi: Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you and Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, you mentioned that Srila Prabhupada said that he would write that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead not just in one purport but in every purport, and he never compromised on Krishna’s position. The way you and all the devotees preach, we also try not to compromise on Krishna’s position. But then, guru Maharaja, when we try to tell people who believe in demigods that Krishna is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the demigods are His servants, they don’t feel good, and it drives them more away from Krishna consciousness. They are willing to listen, and then I tell them that, and they don’t like it. So what do we do, guru Maharaja? I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but you also said we should not compromise.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we should not compromise, but at the same time, we should be sensitive to our audience and what they can hear and appreciate and what they cannot hear. Of course, it is true that the demigods are like ministers in the cabinet of the king. Krishna is the king, and the demigods are faithful servants of the king, entrusted with various responsibilities for the management of the universe. If we explain it like that, they shouldn’t take offense or be turned off from Krishna consciousness. But again, we should be sensitive to our audience. If we find that they are getting turned off to Krishna consciousness by that kind of preaching, then we can leave it. The main thing is we want them to continue to associate with devotees, chant, visit the temple, hear the scriptures, and read Prabhupada’s books. It is very important that they read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Once, I visited a family in America. The wife is my disciple, and her mother was visiting from India. Her mother was very pious and nice, but at a certain stage in the conversation, the mother started to speak impersonal philosophy. I thought if I argue with her, she won’t like it, and her daughter, who is my disciple who was hosting us, won’t like it, and the whole mood will be spoiled. So I thought the best thing is she should read Srila Prabhupada’s books. I won’t call her a fool and rascal, but I will let Srila Prabhupada call her a fool and rascal. Giving people Prabhupada’s books is almost always a good approach.

Gurubhakti devi: Thank you so much, guru Maharaja.

Host: Thank you for that beautiful question, guru Bhakti devi. I think I saw Īśopaniṣad devi dasi. Are you still here?

Īśopaniṣad devi: Hare Krishna. All glories to your divine service, Maharaja. How have you been?

Giriraj Swami: Good, wonderful, fine.

Īśopaniṣad devi: I just have a couple of compliments.

I just wanted to share that I just got through reading your book, Many Moons. Maharaja, your book Many Moons: Reflections on Departed Vaishnavas is excellent. I enjoyed it so much. Are there any more books that we can look for from you in the future?

Giriraj Swami: Well, yes, I have written five books. So the first was Watering the Seed.

Host: In fact, we are going to play a very short clip of Maharaja and his books after the class. So if you can still hang on for a few minutes, you are going to see that.

Giriraj Swami: Please, can we show that now? We should show it now. It is very appropriate.

[Video clip is being played]

Host: Hare Krishna. So, Mother Īśopaniṣad, thank you so much for your question. And with that giving us the opportunity to have this beautiful darshan of His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja’s love for Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, I am sorry, I always have questions, and I think this question is probably from each and every one of us here. So I am asking this question on behalf of all the devotees. Srila Prabhupada had a desire, and his desire was that each and every one of you, especially his direct disciples, become moons. Most of you tried your best, and by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, we have had so many beautiful moons. Now it is our turn. We are also trying to become moons, but it has been difficult. So we are just praying, we are praying to you, we are praying to our gurus that we can properly represent our gurus and also represent Srila Prabhupada. This is our humble request that you pray for us, that somehow or other, even if we are unqualified, still we will be able to represent our gurus, we will be able to represent A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, this is our humble request.

Giriraj Swami: Jaya, I wish you all the best, and I will pray for you. I think you can do it. Your humble attitude is nice, but I will pray for you, and I think you can be successful in your endeavors.

Host: Hare Krishna, thank you so much, Maharaja. Devotees, if anyone has a question, we may bring this to a close. We request you all to kindly unmute, and we will all chant Hare Krishna maha-mantra and express our thanks for Maharaja’s blessings and wisdom.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Giriraj Swami: I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava praṇāma.

Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

[Music]