SB 3.2.23

Giriraj Swami:

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

We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Two, “Remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa,”

TEXT 23

aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ‘nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema

TRANSLATION

Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Here is an example of the extreme mercy of the Lord, even to His enemy. It is said that a noble man accepts the good qualities of a person of doubtful character, just as one accepts nectar from a stock of poison. In His babyhood, He was administered deadly poison by Pūtanā, a she-demon who tried to kill the wonderful baby. And because she was a demon, it was impossible for her to know that the Supreme Lord, even though playing the part of a baby, was no one less than the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. His value as the Supreme Lord did not diminish upon His becoming a baby to please His devotee Yaśodā. The Lord may assume the form of a baby or a shape other than that of a human being, but it doesn’t make the slightest difference; He is always the same Supreme. A living creature, however powerful he may become by dint of severe penance, can never become equal to the Supreme Lord.

Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the motherhood of Pūtanā because she pretended to be an affectionate mother, allowing Kṛṣṇa to suck her breast. The Lord accepts the least qualification of the living entity and awards him the highest reward. That is the standard of His character. Therefore, who but the Lord can be the ultimate shelter?

COMMENT

So I prepared some notes. This verse is very significant. Not only is the verse beautiful, but it also has historical significance, because when Śukadeva Gosvami came out of the womb, after sixteen years, he left home immediately, and his father, Srila Vyasadeva, followed him into the forest. And when he came close enough to him, he recited two verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one describing Krishna’s beauty, from the Tenth Canto, and one describing Krishna’s mercy, which is this verse. When Śukadeva Gosvami heard these two verses—the one describing Krishna’s mercy and the one describing Krishna’s beauty—he became attracted. Although liberated, he became attracted by the transcendental qualities of Krishna, and he came back to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father, Vyasadeva.

This verse reminds me of Srila Prabhupada. How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he? Srila Prabhupada said it is a mark of a good man that he takes the good side, not the bad side, of others. He gave the example of his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta had a disciple named Kunjabihari dasa—people used to call him Kunja Babu—who, Srila Prabhupada said, came to do business with their guru Maharaja, to profit personally from his relationship with him and from his service in the Gaudiya Math. But Srila Prabhupada said their guru Maharaja didn’t take Kunja’s dark side, that he was coming to make business, but took the bright side, that he was coming to offer service.

“Putana Raksasi—she offered Krishna poison. But Krishna is so nice that He thought, She took Me as My mother,’ so He took the poison and delivered her. Krishna does not take the bad side. A good man does not take the bad side—he takes only the good side. Just like one of my big godbrothers—he wanted to make business with my guru Maharaja, but my guru Maharaja did not take the bad side. He took the good side. He thought, He has come forward to give me some service.” (Talk with Bob Cohen, February 28, 1972, Mayapur) 

This verse reminds me of Srila Prabhupada: How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he? There was no one more merciful than Srila Prabhupada. Lord Nityananda is most merciful, and Srila Prabhupada manifested the same quality of mercy as Nityananda Prabhu. When Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay he received a phone call from the temple president in Calcutta, who reported that one of Prabhupada’s earliest disciples from America had come to Calcutta and was smoking ganja, marijuana, and asked what to do. Prabhupada told his secretary to relay his response: “Tell him that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja I will reject him.” Afterwards, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “Is it true that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja you will reject him?” And Prabhupada said, “No—I cannot reject anyone. The mercy of Lord Nityananda has no limit.” Then maybe two years later, we were in Juhu, and Srila Prabhupada had a disciple who fell into bad company and was living on Juhu Beach and doing yogic tricks. He was doing things like putting a penny or paisa in his ear and then making it come out somewhere else—different strange things to collect money—and he was known as a disciple of Prabhupada and a member of ISKCON. So, Tamal Krishna Goswami approached Srila Prabhupada and said, “This is happening, and he is giving you a bad name and giving ISKCON a bad name. You should reject him.” And again Srila Prabhupada replied, “I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “But don’t you have to draw the line somewhere?” And again Srila Prabhupada said, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda has no limits.” So Prabhupada was the manifest representative of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and his forgiveness was like his. And so I always feel, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he?

Another related quality of Srila Prabhupada’s is that he was always willing to give someone a chance. Around 1976, a strange person with a PhD came to the Juhu temple and said he wanted to join, and Srila Prabhupada invited him to stay upstairs with him. At that time there were six tenement buildings, which came with the Juhu land, and Srila Prabhupada had us build an additional floor on the top of each of those six buildings (though in the end we added an additional floor on only five of the six). In the bigger buildings each floor had two apartments, and in Srila Prabhupada’s building he had one side for himself and the other side for his personal staff. So, he let this sort of strange character stay upstairs with his personal staff next door to his own quarters. And Prabhupada was spending quite a bit of time with him. Hansadutta Prabhu was visiting at the time, and he told Srila Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, you are just wasting your time with this man. He is never going to amount to anything.” But Prabhupada kept spending time with him. And in the end, the man left; he never did amount to anything. But when Hansadutta mentioned that to Srila Prabhupada, “I could see that he never was going to amount to anything,” Prabhupada replied, “I wanted to give him a chance.”

Another person whom Srila Prabhupada encouraged was Dr. C. P. Patel, who would almost always accompany him on his morning walks on Juhu Beach. They had a friendly relationship, but Dr. Patel would sometimes speak like a Mayavadi. Prabhupada would accuse him, “You are a Mayavadi!” and Dr. Patel would reply, “No sir, I am a Vaishnava, a pure Vaishnava.” One morning Dr. Patel and Srila Prabhupada had a huge argument. Dr. Patel would bring up different so-called holy men of India, and if they were not up to standard, Srila Prabhupada would criticize them. So, one morning Srila Prabhupada was criticizing one of Dr. Patel’s favorite revered so-called saints of India and Dr. Patel and he had a huge argument. Dr. Patel raised his voice to Srila Prabhupada, and Srila Prabhupada raised his voice to Dr. Patel—they were literally shouting at each other. And Dr. Patel’s friends (he had his cronies) were trying to pull him away, saying, “Don’t upset Swamiji; he has a heart condition.” And eventually they pulled him away.

Back at Hare Krishna Land, Tamal Krishna Goswami approached Srila Prabhupada in his room and asked him, “What is Dr. Patel’s position? Is he a Vaishnava or a Mayavadi, an impersonalist?” In response, Prabhupada told a story about a man who could speak many languages. In whatever language people addressed him, he could respond fluently. No one could figure out where the man was actually from.

After much discussion, a neighbor said, “I will find out.” So, one day, when the man was preoccupied, the neighbor came up behind him and gave him a big whack. And when the man started to curse in his native tongue, his origin was disclosed. “Dr. Patel is like that,” Prabhupada said. “He can speak very expertly. He can sound like a devotee, sound like a Vaishnava, sound like a Mayavadi, sound like anything. But when I gave a slap where it really hurt—this so-called saintly person that he revered—his real language came out.” “So, why do you put up with him?” Tamal Krishna asked. “He is so offensive.” “It is our duty to engage everyone,” Prabhupada said. He wanted to give Dr. Patel a chance. And as the years passed, Dr. Patel developed great affection for Srila Prabhupada and after Prabhupada left this world wrote a beautiful article for Back to Godhead about his relationship with him. The article was titled “My Life’s Most Precious Moments,” with the subtitle “A Bombay doctor wins the title ‘big fool’ and loves it”—because Prabhupada would always call Dr. Patel a mūḍha. He would say, “I am not saying—Krishna is saying: na mā duktino mûhā.” Anyone who doesn’t surrender to Krishna is a mūḍha, fool. So, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he? Srila Prabhupada had so many wonderful qualities, but his most important quality, for us especially, was his extreme mercifulness.

Srila Prabhupada had a good friend in Bombay named Bhogilal Patel. Bhogilal was elder to Srila Prabhupada by about three years, and he was extremely pious. The first devotee to meet him was Gargamuni, and when Gargamuni was explaining Srila Prabhupada’s work, Bhogilal Patel wept profuse tears of appreciation. One day some years later, Bhogilal Patel came to meet Srila Prabhupada at Prabhupada’s flat at the back of Hare Krishna Land. I had a close relationship with Seth Bhogilal, so I brought him up to meet Prabhupada. They were talking and, as is natural in a conversation, when Prabhupada was speaking, I would look at him, and when Bhogilal was speaking, I would look at him. But at one stage, while Bhogilal was speaking, I looked at Srila Prabhupada, which Prabhupada wasn’t expecting, and he was looking at me with such love and affection, like a doting father or a grandfather. By age, Srila Prabhupada was more like a grandfather. I was surprised that he was looking at me with so much love. But as soon as Srila Prabhupada saw me look at him, he changed his expression and became very grave and serious. I think it was some special mercy that I got a glimpse of how much love he had for us, which he didn’t usually show very openly. His love for us was manifest in his care for us and his giving us the knowledge of Krishna consciousness and engaging us in Krishna’s service.

So these are my reflections on today’s verse and how I relate them to our beloved, merciful Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any of you have any questions or comments, any reflections you would like to share, you can raise your hand.

Yes, Hanuman Prabhu.

Hanuman Prabhu: Thank you very much, Maharaja. Very nice class, and we are listening attentively. I have one comment. When Śukadeva Gosvami was in his mother’s womb, he did not want to come out because he was afraid, he could be captivated by maya. Then Vyasadeva went to Dvaraka and prayed to Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna came to the house of Vyasadeva and promised that he would not be captivated by maya, so he came out and took birth. That was a special mercy of Krishna upon him.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there is one more point about Dr. Patel. One day, Dr. Patel and Srila Prabhupada had a huge argument because Srila Prabhupada had criticized one of Dr. Patel’s favorite revered so-called saints of India. For the first time, Dr. Patel didn’t come to accompany Srila Prabhupada on his morning walk. Then Srila Prabhupada said, “Alright, now no more discussion. We will just read Kṛṣṇa book on the morning walk.” This went on for about three days. As Dr. Patel describes it, after three days, something within him impelled him to go to Srila Prabhupada, touch his lotus feet, and come back to him. Dr. Patel said, “I have been taught to respect all the accredited saints of India.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “And my business is to point out who is not a saint.”

Devotee: Thank you very, very much, Maharaja. Such a rephrased statement which you made—who else other than Srila Prabhupada is more compassionate that I take shelter of. So two questions, Maharaja. You said that Dr. Patel Ji has written an article. Is that article available now?

Giriraj Swami: The article came in Back to Godhead magazine. You can find it in the archives. Yes, it is a wonderful article. It is very interesting because he had a very, in a way, intimate relationship with Srila Prabhupada. Sometimes they would converse; he would speak in Gujarati, and Prabhupada would understand him, and Prabhupada would speak in Bengali, and Dr. Patel would understand him somehow.

Devotee: Another question, Maharaja. You had a lot of memories with Prabhupada. You are appreciating that compassion of Prabhupada, but we didn’t have that association. Whatever association we have is through you, great disciples of Prabhupada. Whatever memories you share with us, we feel that we appreciate that compassion of Prabhupada. How do you suggest we develop that appreciation for Prabhupada and dedication to Prabhupada?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we want to appreciate Srila Prabhupada and be dedicated to him. Of course, first, read his books, distribute his books. Prabhupada was very pleased when devotees distributed his books. I also recommend, Yadubara Prabhu compiled a DVD series called Following Srila Prabhupada, in which he assembled all the footage of Srila Prabhupada—not just footage that he took, but all the footage of Srila Prabhupada. So I highly recommend watching that DVD series, Following Srila Prabhupada, and then the movie Yadubara Prabhu’s movie Hare Krishna. So we should immerse ourselves in Srila Prabhupada. Of course, there is Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, and other disciples have written books about Srila Prabhupada. So yes, we should immerse ourselves in Srila Prabhupada and develop our love and appreciation for him. Wonderful, beautiful. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Maharaja. Thank you for the wonderful lecture. In the purport, Prabhupada says that a noble man sees good qualities even in a person who has a bad attitude. But sometimes in preaching, we end up in such a case that the person takes advantage of us or exploits us in different ways. We are being good to them, but they take advantage. So how can we deal with such a situation?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada wanted us to be intelligent enough to deal with people in such a way that they don’t take advantage of us. Srila Prabhupada said that after people deal with us, they should tell their friends, “These Hari Krishna people may look like fools, but actually they are very intelligent, so don’t mess with them.” And he also said we should reciprocate with the mood of the other person. If someone is very upright and straightforward with us, we should be very upright and straightforward with them. But if someone is crooked and cunning with us, then we should recognize that and be more cunning than they are to avoid being cheated or taken advantage of.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, my question is related to something I have seen. You and His Holiness Subhag Swami Maharaja always give only Prabhupada’s explanation whenever there is a lecture. So my question is, whenever we speak on the Bhāgavatam, we have seen other devotees refer to many, many slokas. What do you feel is best: giving more examples or speaking from Prabhupada’s related books or quotes to give an example or support to that sloka?

Giriraj Swami: Both are good. I think it is really a matter of the individual and what is dear to his heart. When I speak about a verse, I naturally bring in Srila Prabhupada. But the slokas are also transcendental, and it is nice to cite various relevant slokas. I think both are good. Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, thank you very much for mercifully explaining how Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, the unlimited mercy Srila Prabhupada carries for all of us, represents Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Maharaja, when we hear about how merciful Srila Prabhupada is, an unlimited ocean of mercy he carries; whatever we do, he is ready to bestow his mercy on us and forgive us. Then, a thought comes to mind: whatever I am doing, let it be like that only. Why should I improve? Why should I endeavor to not hurt others or offend Vaishnavas? Then, where is the qualification where I can receive the mercy if I keep on doing the same old nature and old behaviors and committing sinful activities? How will they be merciful? So what will be the qualification to receive their mercy?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, well, the first qualification to receive the mercy of the spiritual master or a Vaishnava is to follow the person’s instructions and to serve the person. Srila Prabhupada also explained that there are three categories of disciples. In the lowest category, the spiritual master will give the disciple instruction, and the disciple will forget it or begrudge the service. In the second class, the disciple will receive an instruction from the spiritual master and execute it perfectly. In the first class, the disciple will know what the spiritual master wants even without being told by the spiritual master, and he will do it. As far as offending devotees, of course, we should not offend devotees. That will hamper our spiritual progress and it will also give pain to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. It is said that if someone is walking in the hot sun, barefoot on the beach, he will feel the pain more on his feet than on his head. So, in a similar way, Krishna feels more pain when the devotees at His lotus feet are offended than when He Himself is offended directly.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, thank you very much for your wonderful class. Here, this example of Krishna delivering Pūtanā, because here Krishna just saw the externals and forgot the internals, the motivation with which Pūtanā had come. Is this example an exception on behalf of Krishna? Because generally, we hear that Krishna is bhāva-grāhī-janārdana, that Krishna sees the internals and leaves the externals. So, is this particular deliverance an exception, or will Krishna do this again, maybe with all of us?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well, Krishna wants to bestow mercy. So, bhāva-grāhī-janārdana, even if there is some external defect in the offering of the service, Krishna will see the mood or the intention of the person. But as in this case, He didn’t see the mood but saw the external show of service, and in that way, He gave mercy. So, Krishna will perceive or assess the situation in the way that enables Him to give the most mercy.

Any other questions or comments? Hare Krishna.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. I just wanted to share one sloka. The sloka is,

śrutasya puṁsāṁ sucira-śramasya
nanv añjasā sūribhir īḍito ‘rthaḥ
tat-tad-guṇānuśravaṇaṁ mukunda-
pādāravindaṁ hṛdayeṣu yeṣām

Maharaja, the meaning of this sloka, śrutasya puṁsāṁ sucira-śramasya, that there are some great exalted devotees who hear about Lord Krishna, and these devotees should also hear about the pastimes of the devotees of Lord Krishna, because these devotees carry the lotus feet of Lord Krishna in their hearts. The best example is you, Maharaja. Applause] Along with studying Bhāgavatam, we should also read your books because it will help us progress in our spiritual life because it is filled with so many pastimes of the devotees of Lord Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful. Thank you.

Bhakti Brihad Bhagavat Swami: Hare Krishna. When you mentioned earlier to the devotee who was asking about how to access Srila Prabhupada’s direct association, we are in the process right now to upgrade our Srila Prabhupada ultimate videos. So when you mentioned to the devotee that he should watch the video of Srila Prabhupada and DVDs, we have much more than that, including that. So, there is all of Srila Prabhupada’s direct videos, including the Acharya series and others, which includes the twelve DVDs that you mentioned, which includes Srila Prabhupada’s last days with us, like the final lesson. It also includes the movie, the Hare Krishna movie. It is on a 64-gig USB drive and it is a total of seventy hours. It will be released at the end of this month.

Giriraj Swami: How can people get that?

Bhakti Brihad Bhagavat Swami: It will be released on a USB drive and a package, like a gift package with it, including a booklet that explains everything. It is the first time we are releasing the upgraded version. I released one last year, but this is a more upgraded version with the best sound to take people off social media and the internet and see it directly. At the same time, it is increased in its quality for viewing, also background sounds, which includes this twelve plus the movie, and much more. You can’t get more than that that has been recorded.

There is a nice devotee here who is based in Mir Road, his name is Madhava Prabhu. So, he is the producer and I am the promoter, and it is copyrighted with the ITV ISKCON television with Nrsinghanada Prabhu who gave us the original footage of everything. He handed it over officially to him and myself, and as well as it is copyrighted from ISKCON Cinema directly from the archives. So, I am just letting the devotees know.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful. It will be a great resource. Thank you.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

ISKCON disciples ki jaya!

Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda ki jaya!

Devotee: Hare Krishna. So, we are very thankful to Maharaja for sharing his heart full of appreciation for Prabhupada and his mercy. This mercy of Prabhupada and all these pastimes, which Maharaja has personally witnessed and been with Prabhupada, as some of the devotees were feeling that we were not there with Prabhupada during his pastimes on Earth, the same experience we can have by reading the books written by Maharaja. So, all these books are available for all of us, and Maharaja will be sitting here. Those who take the book, Maharaja will also personally sign.

Giriraj Swami: I brought my special book signing pen.

Devotee: So, everybody can avail this wonderful facility. Maharaja will be sitting here in the courtyard. The books are already at the book table, so those devotees willing to purchase these books, please visit The Book Stall in the courtyard.

One more announcement: This coming Saturday, 24th February, we are having the Tarang Youth Festival for ages between fifteen to thirty. This is very wonderful festival. Titled is “Kab Hongye kamyab?” The festival will be on the Terrace of Heaven on Earth on the 24th of February, Saturday, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the evening. All the youths are invited. We are making this announcement here so that all the congregation devotees, if they have related youths, kids, or any other relevant information regarding any schools or colleges, can inform them. Volunteers can come forward to take photos. We have many such cards to show. These are the cards which we can distribute to as many people as possible to invite youths to this festival. You can distribute these cards within your own family to those who can come for this festival. You can also distribute them in your community, around your area, and in societies. Even in societies, you can put up posters so that people can come for this event. Again, I am telling you, this is on the 24th of February, Saturday evening, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Please contact Mangal Manendra Prabhu is here. If you want posters or pamphlets, you can take them from him so that we can serve many youths who are visiting Radha-Rasabihari.

Sri Radha-Rasabihari ki jaya!

Sri Sri Sita-Rama Laxamana Hanuman ki jaya!

Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!