SB 2.10.22 – The Best Subject Matter for Hearing

Giriraj Swami: Hare Krishna, my dear devotees. We read from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Ten, “Bhāgavatam Is The Answer To All Questions,” Text Twenty-two.

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

TEXT 22

bodhyamānasya ṛṣibhir
ātmanas taj jighṛkṣataḥ
karṇau ca nirabhidyetāṁ
diśaḥ śrotraṁ guṇa-grahaḥ

TRANSLATION

By development of the desire of the great sages to know, the ears, the power of hearing, the controlling deity of hearing, and the objects of hearing became manifested. The great sages desired to hear about the Self.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, by advancement of knowledge one should try to know about the Supreme Lord, the summum bonum of everything.

COMMENT

So yes, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says, vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo, that by all the Vedas, He is to be known. So, that is the conclusion of knowledge, that is the culmination of knowledge, to know Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

Knowledge does not mean knowledge only of the laws of nature or physical knowledge, which are working by the direction of the Lord. The scientists are eager to hear about the physical laws working in material nature. They are eager to hear through the medium of radio and television about things taking place far away from them on other planets, but they should know that the power of hearing and the instruments for hearing were given to them by the Lord for hearing about the Self, or about the Lord.

COMMENT

So, the sense of hearing is most important. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says tac chṛṇu: just hear from Me. And Sri Prahlada, in enumerating the nine processes of devotional service, nava-vidhi-bhakti mentions hearing as the first—śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. So, first is śravaṇam, hearing. When a person is dying, all the senses shut down gradually, but the last sense to shut down is the sense of hearing. So, hearing is most important. And what should be the subject matter of our hearing? The subject matter should be the Supreme Lord, the Absolute Truth, Sri Krishna. And we should utilize our time and our sense of hearing for hearing about Krishna or hearing the holy names of Krishna. In one talk in Los Angeles, which I like to quote, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense, don’t waste time, chant Hare Krishna.” So, there are many topics for hearing, that is also mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but the topic about which we should hear is Krishna. There are different degrees of hearing or following, but in general, we should focus our attention on hearing about Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

Unfortunately the power of hearing is misused in hearing the vibrations of mundane affairs. The great sages were interested in hearing about the Lord through Vedic knowledge and nothing more. That is the beginning of aural reception of knowledge.

COMMENT

So, I will read about hearing from the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, “First Step in God Realization,”

TEXT 2

śrotavyādīni rājendra
nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ
apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ
gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām

TRANSLATION

Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the revealed scriptures there are two nomenclatures for the householder’s life. One is gṛhastha, and the other is gṛhamedhī. The gṛhasthas are those who live together with wife and children but live transcendentally for realizing the ultimate truth. The gṛhamedhīs, however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word medhī indicates jealousy of others. The gṛhamedhīs, being interested in family affairs only, are certainly envious of others. Therefore, one gṛhamedhī is not on good terms with another gṛhamedhī, and in the extended form, one community, society or nation is not on good terms with another counterpart of selfish interest. In the Age of Kali, all the householders are jealous of one another because they are blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth. They have many subject matters for hearing — political, scientific, social, economic and so on — but due to a poor fund of knowledge, they set aside the question of the ultimate miseries of life, namely miseries of birth, death, old age and disease.

COMMENT

So in the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna explains the process of knowledge, and part of the process of knowledge is janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. One should be mindful of the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. That is part of the process of knowledge. And in the human form of life, we should utilize the opportunity to become Krishna conscious and put an end to the repeated cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. That is possible by the practice of bhakti-yoga, as given to us by Srila Prabhupada, following Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Krishna. So we should utilize our sense of hearing for hearing about Krishna.

And then Text Five, again, Canto Two, Chapter One, “The First Step in God Realization,” Text Five, tells us what we should hear.

TEXT 5

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā
bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyaś cecchatābhayam

TRANSLATION

O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In the previous verse, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life by sleeping, indulging in sex life, developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion. Being engaged in all these materialistic activities, the living soul entangles himself in the cycle of the law of fruitive actions. This entails the chain of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life: the aquatics, the vegetables, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, the uncivilized man, and then again the human form, which is the chance for getting out of the cycle of fruitive action. Therefore, if one desires freedom from this vicious circle, then one must cease to act as a karmī or enjoyer of the results of one’s own work, good or bad. One should not do anything, either good or bad, on his own account, but must execute everything on behalf of the Supreme Lord, the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This process of doing work is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27) also, where instruction is given for working on the Lord’s account.

COMMENT

I will read that verse. (9.27)

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

TRANSLATION

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Thus, it is the duty of everyone to mold his life in such a way that he will not forget Kṛṣṇa in any circumstance. Everyone has to work for maintenance of his body and soul together, and Kṛṣṇa recommends herein that one should work for Him. Everyone has to eat something to live; therefore he should accept the remnants of foodstuffs offered to Kṛṣṇa. 

COMMENT

Yes, in the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says that those who eat food that is offered to Him, those who eat food, remnants of sacrifice, are freed from all sin, whereas those who eat for their own nourishment or sense gratification without offering the food to Krishna verily eat only sin.

PURPORT (continued 9.27)

Any civilized man has to perform some religious ritualistic ceremonies; therefore Kṛṣṇa recommends, “Do it for Me,” and this is called arcana.

COMMENT

That is one of the nine processes of devotional service, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ.

PURPORT (continued 9.27)

Everyone has a tendency to give something in charity; Kṛṣṇa says, “Give it to Me,” and this means that all surplus money accumulated should be utilized in furthering the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Nowadays people are very much inclined to the meditational process, which is not practical in this age, but if anyone practices meditating on Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra round his beads, he is surely the greatest meditator and the greatest yogī, as substantiated by the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.

COMMENT

Yes, that is the conclusion of the Sixth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā,

TEXT 47

yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ

TRANSLATION

And of all yogīs, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself and renders transcendental loving service to Me – he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The word bhajate is significant here. Bhajate has its root in the verb bhaj, which is used when there is need of service. The English word “worship” cannot be used in the same sense as bhaj. Worship means to adore, or to show respect and honor to the worthy one. But service with love and faith is especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can avoid worshiping a respectable man or a demigod and may be called discourteous, but one cannot avoid serving the Supreme Lord without being thoroughly condemned. Every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus every living entity is intended to serve the Supreme Lord by his own constitution.

COMMENT

Yes, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’, the constitutional position of the living entity is that he is the eternal servant of Krishna.

PURPORT (continued 6.47)

Failing to do this, he falls down. The Bhāgavatam (11.5.3) confirms this as follows:

ya eṣāṁ puruṣaṁ sākṣād
ātma-prabhavam īśvaram
na bhajanty avajānanti
sthānād bhraṣṭāḥ patanty adhaḥ

“Anyone who does not render service and neglects his duty unto the primeval Lord, who is the source of all living entities, will certainly fall down from his constitutional position.”

In this verse also the word bhajanti is used. Therefore, bhajanti is applicable to the Supreme Lord only, whereas the word “worship” can be applied to demigods or to any other common living entity. The word avajānanti, used in this verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is also found in the Bhagavad-gītā. Avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ: “Only the fools and rascals deride the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa.” Such fools take it upon themselves to write commentaries on the Bhagavad-gītā without an attitude of service to the Lord. Consequently they cannot properly distinguish between the word bhajanti and the word “worship.”

The culmination of all kinds of yoga practices lies in bhakti yoga. All other yogas are but means to come to the point of bhakti in bhakti-yoga. Yoga actually means bhakti-yoga; all other yogas are progressions toward the destination of bhakti-yoga. From the beginning of karma-yoga to the end of bhakti-yoga is a long way to self-realization. Karma-yoga, without fruitive results, is the beginning of this path. When karma-yoga increases in knowledge and renunciation, the stage is called jñāna-yoga. When jñāna-yoga increases in meditation on the Supersoul by different physical processes, and the mind is on Him, it is called aṣṭāṅga-yoga. 

COMMENT

Yes, at the end of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it says, dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino, that the goal of meditation is Krishna.

PURPORT (continued 6.47)

And when one surpasses the aṣṭāṅga-yoga and comes to the point of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa, it is called bhakti-yoga, the culmination. Factually, bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal, but to analyze bhakti-yoga minutely one has to understand these other yogas. The yogī who is progressive is therefore on the true path of eternal good fortune. One who sticks to a particular point and does not make further progress is called by that particular name: karma-yogī, jñāna-yogī or dhyāna-yogī, rāja-yogī, haṭha-yogī, etc. If one is fortunate enough to come to the point of bhakti-yoga, it is to be understood that he has surpassed all other yogas. Therefore, to become Kṛṣṇa conscious is the highest stage of yoga, just as, when we speak of Himālayan, we refer to the world’s highest mountains, of which the highest peak, Mount Everest, is considered to be the culmination.

It is by great fortune that one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness on the path of bhakti-yoga to become well situated according to the Vedic direction. The ideal yogī concentrates his attention on Kṛṣṇa, who is called Śyāmasundara, who is as beautifully colored as a cloud, whose lotuslike face is as effulgent as the sun, whose dress is brilliant with jewels, and whose body is flower-garlanded. Illuminating all sides is His gorgeous luster, which is called the brahma-jyotir. He incarnates in different forms such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha and Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He descends like a human being, as the son of mother Yaśodā, and He is known as Kṛṣṇa, Govinda and Vāsudeva. He is the perfect child, husband, friend and master, and He is full with all opulences and transcendental qualities. If one remains fully conscious of these features of the Lord, he is called the highest yogī.

COMMENT

So, we may want a perfect child, a perfect husband, a perfect friend, a perfect master, and that can all be fulfilled in a relationship with Krishna.

PURPORT (continued 6.47)

This stage of highest perfection in yoga can be attained only by bhakti-yoga, as is confirmed in all Vedic literature:

yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)

COMMENT

Once Srila Prabhupada asked a disciple, “What is the most important verse in the Vedic literature?” And the disciple replied,

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

And Srila Prabhupada replied, “No,” and then he quoted this verse that we just read in the purport, yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau. That is the most important verse.

PURPORT (continued 6.47)

Bhaktir asya bhajanaṁ tad ihāmutropādhi-nairāsyenāmuṣmin manaḥ-kalpanam, etad eva naiṣkarmyam. “Bhakti means devotional service to the Lord which is free from desire for material profit, either in this life or in the next. Devoid of such inclinations, one should fully absorb the mind in the Supreme. That is the purpose of naiṣkarmya.” (Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad 1.15)

These are some of the means for performance of bhakti, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the highest perfectional stage of the yoga system.

COMMENT

So yes, again coming back to hearing, I just want to repeat from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Two, Chapter One, “The First Step in God Realization,”

TEXT 5

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā
bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
smartavyaś cecchatābhayam

TRANSLATION

O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.

COMMENT

Just to come to the end of the purport; we discussed some of it already.

PURPORT (continued 2.1.5)

Therefore, one should first of all hear about the Lord. When one has perfectly and scrutinizingly heard, one must glorify His acts and deeds, and thus it will become possible to remember constantly the transcendental nature of the Lord. Hearing about and glorifying the Lord are identical with the transcendental nature of the Lord, and by so doing, one will be always in the association of the Lord. This brings freedom from all sorts of fear. The Lord is the Supersoul (Paramātmā) present in the hearts of all living beings, and thus by the above hearing and glorifying process, the Lord invites the association of all in His creation. This process of hearing about and glorifying the Lord is applicable for everyone, whoever he may be, and it will lead one to the ultimate success in everything in which one may be engaged by providence. There are many classes of human beings: the fruitive workers, the empiric philosophers, the mystic yogīs and, ultimately, the unalloyed devotees. For all of them, one and the same process is applicable for achieving the desired success. Everyone wants to be free from all kinds of fear, and everyone wants the fullest extent of happiness in life. The perfect process for achieving this, here and now, is recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is uttered by such a great authority as Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī. By hearing about and glorifying the Lord, all a person’s activities become molded into spiritual activities, and thus all conceptions of material miseries become completely vanquished.

COMMENT

So, my dear devotees, today’s verse is very important because it discusses hearing; discusses the ear, and the function of hearing. We should use the faculty of hearing to hear about Krishna, and that will purify our heart and fulfill all of our desires. So yes, we should utilize every moment as far as possible, either for chanting Hare Krishna or for hearing about Krishna or speaking about Krishna, and that will cleanse our hearts, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam; śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. Just hearing about Krishna is a pious activity, or just hearing about Krishna makes us pious. The Lord, who is the well-wishing friend of the honest devotee from within the heart, cleanses the desire for material enjoyment, and then the only desire left is to serve Krishna.

So, my dear devotees, thank you very much for listening so patiently and attentively. Now, if any of you have questions, you can raise your hand, your physical hand or your virtual hand, and we will discuss further. Yes, I see Lalita devi has her hand raised.

Host: Yes, you may go ahead and unmute.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Guru Maharaja, sometimes the way instructions are written or spoken, it makes the process sound very automatic. When you yourself have said in a class that perhaps there is nothing automatic, and with some effort, we understand that there is a lot of conscious effort and minute free-will that needs to be used to keep one’s self aligned to the right orientation. So, I just wanted to hear from you because it seems that with some years of practice, the conditionings remain supreme inside and outside, and they are not good.

Giriraj Swami: Well, as far as automatic, it would depend on how you apply the term. Bhurijana Prabhu, my dear godbrother, wrote a whole essay on the subject of automatic. But, as you said, one needs to make a conscious effort. One has free-will, minute independence, and the Lord does not interfere with our minute independence. At the end of the Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Krishna says to Arjuna, “Now you have heard everything, now you do as you wish.” Yathecchasi tathā kuru. You do as you wish. So, the Lord gives us that independence, and Arjuna used his free-will properly. He says, nasto mohah smrtir labdha tvat prasadan, “Now I have regained my memory and karisye vacanam tava, I am prepared to act according to your direction.” So, that is our free-will. We can choose to follow Krishna’s instructions or not. But if you are intelligent and fortunate, you will use your minute intelligence, as Arjuna decided at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā; karisye vacanam tava, I will act according to your direction.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Anyone else with a question or comments? Chandrika Lata, please, you may unmute.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja, all glories to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to your divine grace. Thank you very much for the wonderful class. Actually, I was wondering, we have the nine types of devotional service discussed so nicely. I was wondering, in which type does the service to Vaishnavas fall?

Giriraj Swami: I would say pāda-sevanam because the Vaishnavas are situated at the lotus feet of the Lord, serving the Vaishnavas is pāda-sevanam.

Devotee: Thank you very much. Actually, I also had another question, but it is not directly related to this book. It was a similar purport that I was reading yesterday, where Prabhupada mentioned from the Fourth Canto, that the nine processes of devotional service, and he said that for a neophyte, they should do the first seven. Then, he was mentioning that the first seven come under vaidhī-bhakti, and then the sakhyam and ātma-nivedanam come under rāgānugā-bhakti. He said that actually a preacher should be on the level of the last two. But, at the same time, we see that we are instructed to spread Krishna consciousness at whatever stage we are. In the next purport, Srila Prabhupada does say that we must spread Krishna consciousness. So, I was just wondering, how do we understand this? It seems a contradiction.

Giriraj Swami: Well, sakhyam can be understood in different ways. Yes, one way is having a direct relationship in sākhya-rasa with Krishna, but sakhyam can also mean accepting Krishna as your friend or being a friend to Krishna by trying to fulfill His desires that all the fallen souls should come to Him. That is preaching Krishna consciousness; you are a friend to Krishna. And ātma-nivedanam, surrendering yourself, that can be done from the beginning. So yes, I think that you are eligible, every devotee is eligible to preach.

Devotee: It is by your mercy and mercy of Srila Prabhupada. Thank you.

Host: Thank you, Chandrika Mataji, for the beautiful question. So, Damodara Krishna Prabhu, please, you may unmute.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, dear guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Maharaja, I have two questions. First is, we understand that Srila Prabhupada many times says that “I am in my books.” So, how can we see Srila Prabhupada in his books and in his instructions? And then the second question is, how can we see that the instruction is coming from Srila Prabhupada when we read, and how can that bring purification to us instead of just knowing the story or just knowing the theory? How can that instruction bring purification as well?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Srila Prabhupada’s books are alive, and he is present in them. He is speaking to us. Again, my dear godbrother Bhurijana Prabhu wrote a very nice essay on prayerful reading. The idea is that while reading, you should be praying to get some instruction from Srila Prabhupada, from paramparā, that you can apply in your life, for your benefit. So, when we read, we should be in a prayerful mood to find instructions that apply to us and that we can utilize in our daily lives. What was the second question?

Devotee: How can we see Srila Prabhupada in his books, even though we hear that Srila Prabhupada says, “I am in my books"? How can we see Srila Prabhupada in his books?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, well, Srila Prabhupada is speaking to us. So, if he is speaking to us, it means he is there. You should appreciate his merciful presence and his wonderful book.

Host: Thank you, Damodara Krishna, for those questions. Actually, Maharaja, when you were helping us swim through the transcendental ocean of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, because you took us through Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, and as we were reading the purports, I said, “Wow.” Srila Prabhupada said that everything in his books, and it is true. So many things that I was not quite clear about became much clearer to me. So, to Damodara Krishna’s question, we can see Srila Prabhupada in those purports. Thank you anyway. So, we go to Archana Gupta Mataji, please, you be on unmute.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, guru Maharaja. All glories to you and Srila Prabhupada. Guru Maharaja, first of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for accepting me as your aspiring disciple and giving me this opportunity to join your online classes and talk to you directly. Thank you so much. Guru Maharaja, my concern is, out of the nine processes of devotional service, hearing is my favorite process. However, I do my hearing throughout the day while continuing my household chores. Is that considered offensive? Because we have certain protocols to follow while we chant, do we have protocols to follow while we hear also? Is it offensive to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā while doing other activities? Though I am paying rapt attention to what I hear, the attention is divided between the chores and the hearing process. Is it considered offensive?

Giriraj Swami: No, it is not offensive. It is desired that you hear even while you are doing your household chores. That will purify and elevate your consciousness. It is not a problem that you are also doing household duties at the same time.

Devotee: Thank you so much, guru Maharaja, for this clarification. Thank you, Hare Krishna.

Host: Archana Mataji, thank you for your question, and Maharaja, thank you for the answer because Mataji’s question applies to me also. Sometimes, when I am here trying to host this program, somebody will be asking me questions and drawing my little absorption on the speaker to try to answer this person’s question. I would wish that I don’t have anything to do with anybody at all, just listening, but it doesn’t work very often that way. It is interesting and very beautiful to understand that all is not lost, even if there is some sort of divided attention. Thank you for such an answer. Well, I do not read Sanskrit, so I cannot mention your name, but whoever has your hand up, please, you may unmute and then go ahead to ask your question or speak.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja, daṇḍavat praṇāma. It is Prakhar Dubhe, I have written in Hindi. My question is that if a devotee is aspiring to take initiation from guru Maharaja, but if Maharaja departs and he feels very much connected to that particular Maharaja, how should he deal with this situation? How shall he find peace, and how will he get connected with that Maharaja, especially regarding initiation and the future?

Giriraj Swami: Well, of course, he cannot take initiation from the spiritual master who has left the world, but that spiritual master can still be his śikṣā-guru, and he can still take instruction from that spiritual master who has left the world. In choosing a living spiritual master, he can look for someone who will support and encourage his relationship with the departed spiritual master. It would be good for the spiritual master who will initiate you—I am saying you, whoever—but it would be good if the spiritual master who is going to initiate you is aware of your connection with the departed spiritual master and is prepared to support and encourage you in your relationship with the departed spiritual master. If possible, you can accept someone as a spiritual master who is close to the departed spiritual master as well.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, for the beautiful answer. Anyone else have something to ask or share? Oh, Sri Varaha Charan Prabhu, please unmute.

Devotee: Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to the assembled of devotees. Thank you very much, Maharaja, for the wonderful saṅga. My question actually is concerning the person who asked how we can see Srila Prabhupada in his books. That question sparked off some memory in my mind. My guru Maharaja, Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja, used to say you can associate with the acharyas, all the saintly persons mentioned in the holy books by reading these books, touching them, you are associating with Narada, you are associating with Śukadeva Gosvami. Even if you have nobody around you to associate with, by reading these books and hearing about these persons, you are already in their association. I remember that my guru used to say that.

Then the second thing that comes to my mind is, when I started associating with the devotees, I didn’t know much. I was studying the books, and I loved them. One day, I had an inspiration to offer my food, and I didn’t know the process. I just had the desire to offer my food. I had Srila Prabhupada’s Beyond Birth and Death with his picture at the back of it. When I finished preparing my food, I brought it to my bookshelf where Prabhupada’s picture was on that book, and I put the food in front of Prabhupada. I was just happy that I am giving my food to Srila Prabhupada. I had no idea how to offer food; it just came to me that I have to share my food. So, I am thinking about this. There is some truth in the fact that Prabhupada is in his books, but just that, we cannot limit it there. We have to go further by accepting a living spiritual master, but there is no doubt that the saintly persons mentioned in these books and Prabhupada himself are physically present in these books. That is just what I want to share as my experience and what my guru Maharaja said. Thank you, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Wonderful, beautiful.

Host: Thank you so much for sharing that, Sri Varaha Charan Prabhu. It is very beautiful.

Yes, well, Srila Prabhupada himself has said, sometimes some people think that Srila Prabhupada was kind of monotonous, he repeats the same thing over and over. But if we have been with a blacksmith before, Srila Prabhupada himself says that a blacksmith will be hammering a metal to form the shape to a particular shape that he is looking for, and he will keep hammering, hammering, hammering until the shape has been achieved. So, Srila Prabhupada keeps telling us, “Chant, chant, chant, chant.” It may sound repetitive, but that is just what we need to hear. Srila Prabhupada has said so many times the guru has disciples, and the disciple becomes guru, and then the guru takes disciples, so it is a chain. Maharaja, when you were taking us through Srila Prabhupada’s purports, and I was saying how Srila Prabhupada himself had said so many important things to us. I was looking at myself, where do I fall into, and I saw so many places where I fall into, where I sometimes take so much pleasure in social topics, in politics, and less interest in divine knowledge as we are doing now.

On social media, as we have today, so many people say so many things, and I think it is very important to pay very close attention to what we hear on social media because some can be very deceptive and distracting. That Srila Prabhupada is in his books, so you don’t need any physical guru. Maharaja is here, so I will be careful with my choice of words, but it doesn’t make sense to say the least. Thank you, devotes and Manjiri Gopika, please you may unmute.

Giriraj Swami: I just want to say something what you said. It is about taste for Krishna consciousness, and I quote from Śrī Upadeśāmṛta,

TEXT 7

syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidyā-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rocikā nu
kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā
svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī

TRANSLATION

The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidyā [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.

Yes, in the 1970s, I actually had jaundice in India, and it is true that sweet things taste bitter when you have jaundice. But the ayurvedic cure for jaundice is sugar candy. Even though it is bitter, you take it as a medicine, and as the medicine acts and you gradually return to good health, your sugar candy tastes sweeter and sweeter. Then, when you are completely cured, you can taste it as it is, which is sweet like nectar. So we take it as a medicine even if it seems bitter, and by taking the medicine, our disease, our ignorance of avidya, identifying with the body and so on, will be cured. Then we can taste the sweet nectar of hearing and chanting about Krishna.

Host: Thank you so much Maharaja for quoting that verse. Padmaksha Prabhu, please unmute.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. Daṇḍavat praṇāma. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and your divine grace. I have one reflection and I have a question as well. The reflection is that recently I joined the Bhakti-sadachar course from Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education, and we were starting with this reading reform. In the course, they were mentioning that if you want to read Srila Prabhupada’s books, because many of them, especially myself, I am also complaining like I am not able to read the books, Srila Prabhupada’s books. So in the quotes, they are mentioning that if you understand the troubles that Srila Prabhupada went through in writing these books, and so many times—I think the fourth time Srila Prabhupada got an opportunity to publish the Bhagavad-gītā previously, so he lost so many manuscripts and everything. So if you know the struggles that Srila Prabhupada went through in publishing these, printing these books, then we will get that interest to read the books, you can hold these books. That is one of the things I just want to share.

And the question is, guru Maharaja, as they say, the purity is the force. When we hear from the lips of the pure devotees like yourself and other maharajas, they feel like the same purports. And same purport if you read it and we don’t get the similar kind of taste and interest. When you visited Columbus the first time in 2019, that when like when you were explaining about your journey to Krishna consciousness, how you connected to the devotees, immediately I got connected to you. I may have heard the similar pastime from other devotees, but I didn’t feel that. But when I hear the similar pastimes from pure devotees’ mouths, it was feeling like it was so much exciting and very interesting also. What is the thing? I don’t know what I am missing because when I read those purports, I am not getting the similar kind of taste. So what to do in this?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, well, in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has enumerated 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, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇa: hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Bhagavad-gītā, mathurā-vāsa: residing in Mathura, Vrindavan, or Navadvipa Mayapur, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana: serving the deity with faith and veneration. So the first item is sādhu-saṅga, and Srila Rupa Gosvami a very specific definition of sādhu-saṅga. He said, sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare; sajātīyā, in a literal sense, it means belonging to the same caste or community, but in our case, it would mean a follower of Srila Prabhupada. Snigdhe mean that the sadhu should be affectionate to you, and svato vare means that the sadhu should be more advanced than you. So in the association of a sadhu, as defined by Srila Rupa Gosvami, the other processes come to life more. So, sādhu-saṅga, that is very important, and then all the other items, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, mathurā-vāsa, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana and those other four processes come to life in sādhu-saṅga.

Host: Hare Krishna, thank you so much, Maharaja. Padmaksha Prabhu, did you want to say something? You may unmute.

Devotee: No, thank you, guru Maharaja.

Host: Okay, Hare Krishna. Maharaja, actually, what Padmaksha Prabhu said, I was feeling the same thing because I had read the text before we met here today. And when you were reading, I was thinking to myself, is this the same text I read? I was surprised. I don’t know whether because you were reading or the way you were reading it, it kind of brought so much insight to me about the text than when I read it myself. I would like to ask you one question from what I learned when you were reading it. When I read, I didn’t catch it. So if I may put the verse here, and I will ask my question from it: It says,

“The development of the desire of the great sages to know, the ears, the power of hearing, the controlling deity of hearing, and the objects of hearing became manifest. The great sages desired to hear about the Self.”

So, as you were reading, this caught my attention. I said, hey, the great sages, they desired to know. Usually, when somebody wants to know something, we say, like in material sense, “seeing is believing,” so everybody wants to see, but there is no mention of seeing. Everything mentioned here is hearing, hearing, hearing, hearing, which means that whatever we want to know begins with hearing. So, Maharaja, my question is, how can we—it is very interesting, Archana Gupta said hearing is her most favorite of the nine processes—how can we develop this sense of hearing? Because we all want to know, but we are getting the hint that the secret of knowing everything is through hearing. How do we develop the taste of hearing, Maharaja?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, everything begins from hearing, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ. The first is hearing. Again, as I read that verse from Upadeśāmṛta, that even if it doesn’t taste sweet in the beginning, but if we take it as a medicine, then gradually we will be cured of our disease of jaundice or avidya, ignorance, which really means identifying with the body, and then it will become sweeter and sweeter. And then, when we are cured of our disease of avidya or the jaundice, we can taste the holy name and qualities and pastimes of the Lord as they are, sweet like nectar. So, we take it as a medicine.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja. Anyone else with something to ask before Maharaja leaves for the day? Well, like Maharaja rightly said, we thank you all for your rapt attention and your patience in sitting down in one place and hearing the transcendental messages from the scriptures. In fact, Maharaja, one devotee had offered his praṇāma to you in the chat room. It says, “Hare Krishna Maharaja, I got the opportunity to have your darshan for the first time in Eugene. This is your aspiring servant, Prakhar Prabhu.” So, Prakhar Prabhu is offering his obeisance, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Thank you Prakhar, Hare Krishna. Thank you for joining.

Host: Yes, Maharaja, on behalf of my humble self—I don’t know if I am humble anyway—but on behalf of myself and, I believe, the devotees in general, we will humbly request that you pray for spiritual strength for all the disciples and friends and well-wishers of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Gosvami Maharaja. Because there is nothing as painful in this world as losing the personal, direct, physical association with your guru Maharaja. And I am speaking from experience; I am not speaking from theory. So, I understand it is very difficult, but by the mercy and the prayer of the guru, the devotees, such devotee can be up healed. So, in our humble request, Maharaja, you pray for the disciples, well-wishers, and friends of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Gosvami Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: I have been doing so, and I will continue to do so. In fact, I am keeping his picture in my temple room. Anyone who comes in my temple room to chant with me, will see his picture. Yes, it is great.

Host: Yes, Hare Krishna. Thank you so much, Maharaja. With that being said, we are going to humbly request all the devotees to—oh, okay, before we do that, do you have any concluding words before we finally bring this to a close?

Giriraj Swami: No.

Host: Okay, okay, thank you, Maharaja. So, dear devotees, we are going to humbly request you all to kindly unmute, and we will all chant the loudest Hare Krishna maha-mantra to express our appreciation to His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja for being here with us, sharing his love and wisdom with us all.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Giriraj Swami: So, as usual, I would like to end 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