SB 11.5.34 – Sri Gaura-purnima

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, my dear devotees. I will begin by singing the maṅgalācaraṇa prayers and leading a short kirtan. Then I will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is fascinating. It draws parallels between the activities of Lord Ramachandra, Lord Krishna, and Lord Chaitanya. You might be aware of the form of the Lord called Sad-bhuja. Sad-bhuja has the water pot and danda of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the flute of Krishna, and the bow and arrow of Ramachandra. After Tukaram Prabhu’s introduction, I will speak about some of my association with Srila Prabhupada.

[Prayers and kirtan]

Reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Eleven, Chapter Five, “Nārada’s Teachings to Vasudeva,” Text Thirty-four. I selected this verse because it is beautiful, deep, and intriguing how the same description of the activities of Lord Ramachandra fit the description of the activities of Lord Krishna and fit the activities of Lord Chaitanya.

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

TEXT 34

tyaktvā su-dustyaja-surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīṁ
dharmiṣṭha ārya-vacasā yad agād araṇyam
māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad
vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam

TRANSLATION

O Mahā-puruṣa, I worship Your lotus feet. You gave up the association of the goddess of fortune and all her opulence, which is most difficult to renounce and is hankered after by even the great demigods. Being the most faithful follower of the path of religion, You thus left for the forest in obedience to a brāhmaṇa’s curse. Out of sheer mercifulness You chased after the fallen conditioned souls, who are always in pursuit of the false enjoyment of illusion, and at the same time engaged in searching out Your own desired object, Lord Śyāmasundara.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, this important verse of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is understood to describe Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord Kṛṣṇa and also Lord Śrī Rāmacandra. This verse appears within the discussion by the sage Karabhājana of the yugāvatāras, or the different incarnations of the Personality of Godhead who deliver the conditioned souls of each age. The prayers ending with the words vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam are understood to glorify the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa in Kali-yuga known as Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived for twenty-four years in Navadvīpa as a householder and enjoyed immense popularity among both scholars and ordinary persons. His saṅkīrtana movement was completely supported by the local government, even though it was Muslim. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu had the pleasure of marrying the goddess of fortune. No ordinary woman of the material world, no matter how gorgeous she may be, can in any way compare with the beautiful goddess of fortune. Everyone in the universe, including Lord Brahmā, is searching after the goddess of fortune. Therefore it is stated here, surepsita.

However, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Lord Kṛṣṇa appearing as a brāhmaṇa, and therefore He is certainly dharmiṣṭhaḥ, or the most religious. Actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead is always dharmiṣṭhaḥ, whether He appears as a cowherd boy, a great king or a brāhmaṇa, because the Lord Himself is the original source and personification of all religious principles. However, in the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu there are very few political or economic activities. Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared as a great philosopher-brāhmaṇa, and thus He is certainly dharmiṣṭhaḥ. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in the Seventeenth Chapter of the Ādi-līlā, it is described that a certain brāhmaṇa, who was well known for being harsh and cursing others, could not enter the kīrtana hall where Caitanya Mahāprabhu was performing kīrtana because the door was locked. Being very agitated and breaking his brāhmaṇa’s thread, he cursed Caitanya Mahāprabhu the next day on the bank of the Ganges, saying, “I shall now curse You, for Your behavior has greatly aggrieved me. You shall be bereft of all material happiness.” However, Caitanya Mahāprabhu felt great jubilation within Himself, since His mission was vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga — to give up the illusion of material sense gratification and staunchly engage twenty-four hours a day in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore, Caitanya Mahāprabhu took this curse as a blessing, and soon after, the Lord took sannyāsa. Thus it is stated in this verse that by the words of the Āryan, the brāhmaṇa (ārya-vacasā), Caitanya Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa (yad agād araṇyam) and went traveling through the different forests of India on the way to Vṛndāvana, and later South India. Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted especially to preserve the prestige of the brāhmaṇa class, and therefore He decided to keep the brāhmaṇa’s curse intact.

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has explained the word māyā-mṛgam as follows. Māyā means one’s so-called wife, children, and bank account, which keep one firmly bound up in the material bodily concept of life. The word mṛgam indicates mṛgyati, or “to search out.” Thus, māyā-mṛgam indicates the conditioned living entity, who is always frantically searching for the latest up-to-the-minute sense gratification in the material bodily concept of society, friendship, and love. Anvadhāvat indicates that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always visibly going here and there, searching after the fallen conditioned souls.

COMMENT

He is so merciful, the most merciful incarnation. Therefore, Rupa Gosvami has glorified him as, namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te, that he is the most magnificent incarnation of Godhead. Srila Prabhupada actually commented that we, as followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or servants of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or representative of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, should also manifest that quality of being munificent.

PURPORT (continued)

Caitanya Mahāprabhu would sometimes embrace the conditioned souls on the pretext of religious friendship or ecstasy. But actually, the Lord was touching the bodies of the conditioned souls to pull them out of the ocean of material existence and hurl them into the ocean of ecstatic love of Godhead. Thus Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the most merciful and munificent incarnation of the Lord, whose mercy surpassed the bounds of mundane discrimination in the matter of caste, color, and creed.

The word dayitayā can be explained as follows. The Sanskrit word dayā means “mercy.” Thus, by grammatical derivation, the word used in this verse, dayitayā, indicates that because of being the most merciful, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was busily engaged in rescuing the fallen conditioned souls, who are completely distracted and bewildered by the external illusory energy of the Lord. The quality of being the most merciful is part and parcel of the character of the mahā-puruṣa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, this verse also describes the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself in His original blackish form. Thus the words surepsita-rājya-lakṣmīm indicate śrī-mathurā-sampattim, or the opulence of Mathurā. Mathurā is described in Vedic literature as the reservoir of all opulence because of the touch of the Lord’s lotus feet in that precinct. But Kṛṣṇa, although taking birth in the opulent city of Mathurā, transferred Himself to the forest village of Vṛndāvana. In this case the word ārya-vacasā indicates the order of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s original parents, Vasudeva and Devakī. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.3.22, 29) both Vasudeva and Devakī express their fear at the threat of Kaṁsa, who had already killed all of Kṛṣṇa’s elder brothers. The word ārya-vacasā thus indicates that with great love they requested Kṛṣṇa to kindly make some arrangement to avoid Kaṁsa. And Kṛṣṇa, to obey their order, transferred Himself to the forest village of Vṛndāvana (yad agād araṇyam).

In this context, the words māyā-mṛgam indicate the special, exalted relationship between Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Māyā also indicates the internal potency of Kṛṣṇa, yoga-māyā. The original form of Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Due to the inconceivable love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes easily controlled by Her.

COMMENT

Yes, in Radharani’s birthplace, Barasana, there is a saying that whatever Radha wants, Krishna does, and whatever Radha does, Krishna likes.

PURPORT (continued)

Thus, mṛgam, or “animal,” in this case indicates krīḍā-mṛgam, or “a toy animal.” Just as a beautiful young girl may play with so many dolls or stuffed animals, similarly Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes just like a doll in the hands of the most beautiful young girl, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī performed innumerable types of worship in order to bind Kṛṣṇa more and more to Her because Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī cannot live without Kṛṣṇa. Thus, due to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s ārādhana, or worship, Kṛṣṇa can never leave Vṛndāvana. He runs here and there in Vṛndāvana, protecting the cows, playing with His friends and engaging in countless intrigues of love with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs. Thus the word anvadhāvat indicates Kṛṣṇa’s boyish activities, His running throughout the transcendental land of Vṛndāvana, tightly under the control of the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has explained how this verse also describes the incarnation of Lord Śrī Rāmacandra. Although the Lord is completely independent and detached from everything, He becomes attached to His pure devotees due to their love for Him. In the great capital of Ayodhyā all of the citizens loved Rāmacandra more than can be described. In this context ārya-vacasā means that by the order of His father, who was just like His guru, Rāmacandra gave up everything and went to the forest.

COMMENT

You may know the history that the Lord Rama’s father had promised boons to one of his co-wives named Kaikeyi and at the time Kaikeyi said that I will take the boon now but when required I will ask for it. So, asked for the boon on the eve of the coronation that Rama should be banished or send to the exile. 

PURPORT (continued)

There He exhibited His great affection for mother Sītā and chased after māyā-mṛgam, or the illusory deer that had been created by the trick of Rāvaṇa. That this golden deer was especially desired by Śrīmatī Sītādevī is indicated by the word dayitayepsitam.

All of the limbs of the Lord’s transcendental body are nondifferent and interchangeable, as stated in Brahma-saṁhitā (5.32):

aṅgāni yasya sakalendriya-vṛttimanti
paśyanti pānti kalayanti ciraṁ jaganti
ānanda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

All of the limbs (aṅgāni) of the Supreme Lord are sakalendriya-vṛttimanti, or possessing all of the functions of all of the other limbs. Thus the two lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead are a plenary representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet immediately places the worshiper in the ocean of transcendental bliss. There is no factual difference in spiritual quality between the incarnations of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Śrī Rāmacandra. As stated in Vedic literatures, advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Therefore there is no contradiction in the opinions of the ācāryas that this verse wonderfully glorifies three different manifestations of the one Absolute Truth. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is undoubtedly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His transcendental attributes fulfill in every sense of the term the descriptions of the Absolute Truth as given in Vedic literature. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in the Third Chapter of the Ādi-līlā, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī and Śrīla Prabhupāda have given elaborate explanations of the transcendental status of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, which the reader can refer to for further information.

Everyone should follow the example of the sage Karabhājana and worship the lotus feet of the Mahāprabhu, the mahā-puruṣa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One should not rot on the platform of mental speculation and whimsical interpretation but should actually revive his lost relationship with the Absolute Truth by surrendering to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Those who are worshiping Caitanya Mahāprabhu are deriving wonderful spiritual results and are tasting the fruit of love of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, vande mahā-puruṣa te caraṇāravindam: let us humbly bow down at the lotus feet of the original Personality of Godhead, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the mahā-puruṣa glorified within Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Corroborating the explanation of this verse, the followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu also worship Him in His six-armed form of ṣaḍ-bhuja. Two arms carry the waterpot and daṇḍa of the sannyāsī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, two arms carry the flute of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and two arms carry the bow and arrow of Śrī Rāmacandra. This ṣaḍ-bhuja form is the actual purport of this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Giriraj Swami: And this is the sad-bhuja. [showing picture] So, by the way, not to find fault, but it is not that peanut butter goes with chocolate; peanut butter goes with jelly. But anyway, still, the purport is that. So yes, Tukaram Prabhu like to allude to my relationship with Srila Prabhupada, so I thought I would describe my first meeting with him, which was most significant. It was a turning point in my life.

When I was in high school, I had the desire to achieve perfect happiness, but I understood that perfect happiness could not be achieved materially but only spiritually. Then I came to understand that in order to progress spiritually, one needed a guru, and then my quest became to find my guru. In the course of that search, I met many, many gurus or so-called gurus. I won’t mention all of them, but there were many. Also, I had a vague impression of what my guru looked like, and he didn’t have hair, and all the other gurus had long hair and beards. So I was almost becoming hopeless. I was a student at Brandeis University, and I lived off campus. I had some friends over for dinner. I was already vegetarian, and our plan was to go to a movie after dinner. In those days, they had art houses where they showed special movies, artistic movies. On campus, I had seen a poster advertising a lecture on Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by AC Bhaktivedanta Swami.

When it was time to go to the movie, something inside of me was impelling me that I must go to this lecture. One friend in particular, a lady friend said, “Why can’t you be normal like other people? Why do you always have to be chasing after these swamis and gurus?” She raised her voice, and I raised my voice. I was an obliging type of person, so she raised her voice, and I raised my voice and said, “Okay, this will be the last one I ever go to.” [Laughter] We went to the campus, and coincidentally, the program was in the auditorium of the psychology department, and I happened to be a psychology major. Because of all the discussion, we arrived late, and there was a kirtan on the stage. One by one, the students in the audience were climbing up on the stage and singing and dancing in the kirtan, which I also felt like doing, but I knew that would be too much for my friends, so I just swayed back and forth in place.

Afterwards, Satsvarupa announced that if anyone was driving to Boston or Cambridge, they should meet the devotees in the lobby because the devotees needed a lift. I was going to the movies in Cambridge, so I met the devotees in the lobby. The first devotee who spoke to me was Baradraja, and he was very high on Krishna consciousness. Everyone piled into my car, my red Rambler Station Wagon that my father had given me as a high school graduation present. I was in the front seat with the lady friend and a devotee named Jahnava, and the others were seated in the back section. I had so many questions, so I asked Jahnava about Yogananda because I had read Autobiography of a Yogi. She said, “Oh! Yogananda, “he is just a shopkeeper. If you ever visit his ashram in California, he keeps everything in stock. Whatever you want, he pulls it out.” She said more, but for the sake of brevity, I will keep it short. Then she said, “And he has a monument for Mahatma Gandhi as a worker for world peace. Mahatma Gandhi was not a worker for world peace; he wanted to drive the British out of India. He doesn’t even know who Mahatma Gandhi is.”

So then I asked about Zen, and she gave such a brilliant answer that it went beyond anything I had read within the Zen tradition. She said, “It is like you are watching images on a movie screen, but actually, they have no reality. But if you draw your attention from the movie screen, there is a beam of light, and the light comes to a point.” I said, “Oh wow, great, the void.” “But behind that point, there is a bulb and a projector. And behind the projector, there is a person.” I thought, Wow, this is amazing. [Laughter] She was answering all my questions, but then I thought, She is speaking with such authority, but she is just a young girl. It can’t be her own authority; it must be the authority of her guru.

We got to Harvard Square, and I let the devotees out. Then I realized I didn’t know how to reach them, so I left the car. The first devotee I caught up with was Patit Pavan dasa. He is now in the sort of San Francisco area. He said, “You see all these people? They are just like sleepwalkers. They don’t know who they are or where they are going.” Everything the devotees said seemed so profound. Suddenly, I heard loud honking of horns because all the traffic was backed up at Harvard Square because I left my car there. I said, “Quick, give me the address to the temple.” So I went to the temple the next night. Srila Prabhupada, gave a lecture, but because I wasn’t familiar with the philosophy and also, I wasn’t used to his thick Bengali accent, I couldn’t understand everything he was saying. But at a certain point, he said, “Out of many thousands of men, one will seek perfection.” I thought, That is me. He is talking about me. [Laughter]

At the end, he asked for questions. I asked a question that was burning within my heart. I said, “There are so many swamis and gurus, and each recommends a different process of self-realization. So how do I know which is actually best?” Srila Prabhupada response was brilliant. He asked me a question, “What is your goal?” Because I was asked what is the best means, but a basic question is, what is the best means to what end? He said, “What is your goal? Do you want to become God or do you want to serve God? If you want to become God, that means you are not God now. And how can ‘not God’ become God? God is always God. Krishna is always God, whether He is playing on the lap of Mother Yasoda or speaking the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna. He is always God. He doesn’t have to become God by yoga or meditation. So if you sow the seed of service to God and water it by chanting, then God will give you the sunlight and all the conditions favorable to make it grow. But if you want to become God, you are only cheating yourself because why should God help the competition? [Laughter] You can become godly, but you cannot become God.” At that point, I had the distinct impression that Srila Prabhupada was seeing through me, through the walls of the temple, over the roads into my apartment, into my bathroom where in ornate colorful lettering, I inscribed a sign, “You are God,” in case I forgot. [Laughter]

So, back in the temple room, Srila Prabhupada asked, “So what do you think? Do you want to become God or do you want to serve God?” By then, I knew I should say, “I want to serve God,” but I also knew I couldn’t deceive the Srila Prabhupada. So I said, “I want to serve God,” but actually, I wanted to become God. Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes.” [Laughter] So then I knew I had found my perfect spiritual master. I bowed down my head in obeisance, as I had seen the other devotees do, and I kept it down for a long time, mainly in the mood of surrender. But I was also afraid to look up because I thought everyone would be glaring at me, “Oh, he wanted to become God, he wanted to become God.” So I stayed down for quite a while. But then I heard sounds that indicated food was being served, so I thought, Well, now is probably a good time to come up. [Laughter] So, I came up, and nobody was glaring at me. Everyone was smiling and happy. They brought Srila Prabhupada a large platter of prasādam, and he said, “I am not God. I cannot eat so much; distribute.” The first item I had was a cauliflower pakora, and I experienced such an explosion of taste in my mouth like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Every item was like that—out of this world, so many different colors and textures and flavors. Then I thought, “Yes, everything about Krishna consciousness is perfect. The guru is perfect, the philosophy is perfect, the process, the chanting is perfect, the food is perfect. Everything about Krishna consciousness is perfect.” So then, yes, I surrendered to Srila Prabhupada and thereafter my goal was—and it still is really—to just bring people to Srila Prabhupada because I know somehow or other, if someone becomes connected to Srila Prabhupada, their lives will be completely successful.

After Srila Prabhupada left, I felt a little concerned. How will I bring people to Srila Prabhupada now? But then I realized that they can still be connected to Srila Prabhupada through his books, through his society, through the process that he has given us. So, my dear devotees, we are all extremely fortunate that we have come in touch with Srila Prabhupada. He is like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, merciful, most merciful. He reciprocates with even a slight bit of service that anyone offers. He said, “Even if you turn one screw in Krishna’s temple, Krishna will never forget it.” So yes, he is grateful, and we are grateful for him.

So, my dear devotees, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any of you have any questions or comments, any reflections you want to share, you can raise your hand.

Devotee: Thank you very much, Maharaja, for the lecture. You mentioned in the purport regarding emphasizing again and again not to enforce mental speculation. It was also sweet that I heard that your major was psychology. I wanted to ask your idea: is there any difference between the act of mental speculation versus the act of thinking? If they are the same, not mentally speculating you stop thinking. What are the differences between mental speculation and thinking?

Giriraj Swami: Well, what first came to mind was on a morning walk, someone said to Srila Prabhupada “I think,” and Srila Prabhupada said, “You think? You don’t know/ If you don’t know, don’t think.” [Laughter]

Yes, I was a psychology major at Brandeis, and the chairman of the department was Abraham Maslow. I found many similarities between what he taught and what Srila Prabhupada taught. One of his ideas was the hierarchy of needs, and another idea was peak experiences. One of the early programs with Srila Prabhupada in Boston, I felt an overwhelming love for everyone who was in the room. That feeling of love extended beyond the walls of the room to everyone in the world, and I thought, Maybe I am having a peak experience. But after that, I went up to Srila Prabhupada. It was one of the first times I approached him personally like that outside of a class. And I said, “Srila Prabhupada, this chanting is wonderful.” And Srila Prabhupada started to laugh. His chest was heaving, and I knew he wasn’t laughing at me, but it was like a type of ecstasy. He was laughing, and he said, “Thank you very much.”

Thinking is one of the functions of the mind: thinking, feeling, and willing. But when it comes to the Absolute Truth, we should not speculate; we should hear from authorities. Otherwise, in ordinary matters, we can think, evaluate, analyze, and consider what is best. But not when it comes to the Absolute Truth. We cannot approach the Absolute Truth through our limited mind, senses, and intelligence. We have to receive the knowledge through submissive oral reception from authorities.

Devotee: Yes, no disrespect to you or the movement whatsoever, and Srila Prabhupada. I am pretty new to the movement myself, so I am just wondering. From my personal worldview and from being here around devotees for this past week, I see a lot of focus on bringing people to Srial Prabhupada. I have a lot of respect for the teaching and the work that he did to bring people to the Lord. But my question is, shouldn’t the movement be trying to bring people straight to the Lord instead of straight to a person?

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. The thing is that we cannot approach the Lord directly. We want to approach the Lord, but we cannot approach the Lord directly. We have to approach him through a guru. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, evam paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ, that Krishna says that, imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam, He originally imparted this knowledge to Vivasvan, the Sun-God, and in that way, the knowledge was passed down through disciplic succession, paramparā. Do you know what disciplic succession is?

Devotee: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: So, like our disciplic succession, paramparā: Krishna spoke to Brahma, Brahma spoke to Narada, Narada spoke to Vyasadeva, and in that way, from master to disciple, the knowledge was passed down through an unbroken chain. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers, and our recent acharyas, and then Srila Prabhupada. So, that is paramparā. The knowledge is received through paramparā, and the service to Krishna is offered up through paramparā. Yes, our goal is the Lord—to approach the Lord and to serve the Lord. But we cannot jump over and reach the Lord directly; we have to go through the paramparā. Thank you, good question. Yes.

Devotee: I have two questions. When you met Srila Prabhupada, were you already practicing something like kuṇḍalinī or hatha-yoga? And did you continue that after you joined the movement? My second question is, how could one teach Krishna consciousness to people who are just joining a hatha-yoga class, who are just there to move their body? What is the best way to open up Krishna consciousness to people like that?

Giriraj Swami: Among the many swamis and gurus I met in my search, one was a hatha-yogi named Swami Sachidananda. He gave a talk at Brandeis University, and he said that by hatha-yoga, you could gain control over your involuntary muscles. You could command your intestines: ascending colon, advance; transverse colon, advance; descending colon, advance; rectum, pass. [Laughter] So, that is interesting, but where will that take us? But I was really looking for a guru. I didn’t want to discount anyone, so I asked if I could ride with him in the car to the airport. His followers said no, there is no room in his car, but I could ride with some of his disciples. In the car, his disciples were complaining about the different types of food they missed since they joined the ashram. I thought that was odd. They were just with their guru, and they are just thinking about the types of food they are missing since they joined the ashram. Anyway, they are just the students. So we got to the airport, and Swami Sachidananda, he was really the picture of Indian spirituality with long hair and a beard. He actually had a flower behind his ear. But he was very warmly and tightly embracing some of his female followers, and then I thought, he is not my perfect master.

As far as introducing bhakti-yoga to hatha-yoga classes, well, what is the actual purpose of hatha-yoga? Nowadays, people might do it just for health, but that wasn’t the original idea. The original idea was to enable the body to sit for long periods of time in meditation on the Lord. That is the actual purpose behind hatha-yoga. So, I think if you can just weave that in so they know that its original intention, hatha-yoga or good health is not an end in itself, but it was actually just meant to make the body fit to meditate on the Supreme for long periods of time without being disturbed.

Okay, so the hand at the back—you can blame Tukaram Prabhu [Laughter] for cutting it short. But I will be around, you can ask me separately. Thank you very much.

Devotee: Haribol!