Inaugration Ceremony—Sri Pancha-tattva Mandir

Giriraj Swami: In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami enumerates sixty-four items of devotional service. And he says that of the sixty-four, five are most potent. And even a slight association with any one of the five can awaken dormant love for Krishna. So what are the five? Sādhu-saṅga—associating with devotees; nāma-kīrtana—chanting the holy names; bhāgavata-śravaṇa—hearing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; mathurā-vāsa—residing in Mathura or Vrindavan; and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana—serving the deity with faith and veneration.

And Srila Rupa Gosvami gives a specific definition of sādhu-saṅga, sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare. So sajātīya, I guess in a literal sense, you could say, belong to the same community and in our case it would mean a follower of Srila Prabhupada. And snigdhe means that the sadhu should be affectionate to you. And svato vare means the sadhu should be more advance than you. So that is the definition of sādhu-saṅga. So sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, mathurā-vāsa. Once I did a program with His Holiness Gaura Govinda Swami Maharaja at the ISKCON Vedic Farm in Bodhi Kai. Somehow after the program, I mentioned these five most potent items of devotional service, and I mentioned mathurā-vāsa. And he looked me in the eye and said, “Kamsa also resided in Mathura.”

But of course, one should reside there in proper devotional consciousness. And then mūrtira śraddhāya sevana, serving the deity with faith and veneration. So these activities will be performed here in the wonderful Pancha-tattva temple. And the temple will be a facility for devotees to engage in these activities. And so I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to Devakinandan Prabhu and his team who have worked so sincerely and intelligently to create this facility which will be a haven for people all over Mauritius and especially in this part of the island. And it is really a great testimony to his devotion that he and his team have created this facility. So, please all of you come as often as possible and avail of the spiritual opportunities that you will have here and get the mercy of the Pancha-tattva.

Srī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara and śrīvāsa.

Best wish for all your friends and family and be happy in Krishna consciousness.

Host: Hare Krishna. His Holiness the Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!