SB 3.25.21

Giriraj Swami: So, my dear devotees on Zoom, as far as possible, I request you to put on your cameras so we can see your moonlike faces and it is more personal.

So, today’s topic is the importance of sādhu-saṅga. To begin, I will read a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Twenty-five, “The Glories of Devotional Service.”

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

TEXT 21

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām
ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ
sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ

TRANSLATION

The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

A sādhu, as described above, is a devotee of the Lord. His concern therefore is to enlighten people in devotional service to the Lord. That is his mercy.

COMMENT

So, one of the symptoms of a sadhu is kāruṇikā, merciful, and he exhibits his mercy by trying to enlighten people in Krishna consciousness.

PURPORT (continued)

He knows that without devotional service to the Lord, human life is spoiled. A devotee travels all over the country, from door to door, preaching “Be Kṛṣṇa conscious. Be a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Don’t spoil your life in simply fulfilling your animal propensities. Human life is meant for self-realization, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” These are the preachings of a sādhu. He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks about others. He is the most compassionate personality towards all the fallen souls. Therefore one of his qualifications is kāruṇika, great mercy to the fallen souls.

COMMENT

And of course, here I think Srila Prabhupada is the perfect example of a sadhu as described here in the verse in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

PURPORT (continued)

While engaged in preaching work, he has to meet with so many opposing elements, and therefore the sādhu, or devotee of the Lord, has to be very tolerant. Someone may ill-treat him because the conditioned souls are not prepared to receive the transcendental knowledge of devotional service. They do not like it; that is their disease. The sādhu has the thankless task of impressing upon them the importance of devotional service. Sometimes devotees are personally attacked with violence. Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, Haridāsa Ṭhākura was caned in twenty-two marketplaces, and Lord Caitanya’s principal assistant, Nityānanda, was violently attacked by Jagāi and Mādhāi. But still they were tolerant because their mission was to deliver the fallen souls. One of the qualifications of a sādhu is that he is very tolerant and is merciful to all fallen souls. He is merciful because he is the well-wisher of all living entities. He is not only a well-wisher of human society, but a well-wisher of animal society as well. It is said here, sarva-dehinām, which indicates all living entities who have accepted material bodies. Not only does the human being have a material body, but other living entities, such as cats and dogs, also have material bodies. The devotee of the Lord is merciful to everyone — the cats, dogs, trees, etc. He treats all living entities in such a way that they can ultimately get salvation from this material entanglement. Śivānanda Sena, one of the disciples of Lord Caitanya, gave liberation to a dog by treating the dog transcendentally. There are many instances where a dog got salvation by association with a sādhu, because a sādhu engages in the highest philanthropic activities for the benediction of all living entities. Yet although a sādhu is not inimical towards anyone, the world is so ungrateful that even a sādhu has many enemies.

COMMENT

So, Srila Prabhupada spoke on this verse in Juhu and he related it to our situation. There is still one more paragraph in the purport, which I will come back to, but now I would like to discuss how Srila Prabhupada related this verse to our situation.

READING from The Juhu Story

Every morning in the temple, Prabhupada would speak on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25. In one talk, he spoke about our situation in relation to a verse describing the qualities and behavior of a sadhu:

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ
suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām

ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ

sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ

“The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.” (SB 3.25.21)

Although Prabhupada himself perfectly exemplified the verse, he related it to the devotees in Juhu:

“Here all the boys and girls, the devotees, they are concerned with Radha-Krishna. That is all. Their whole business, day and night, is Radha-Krishna. From early morning, three o’clock, to night, ten o’clock, their only business is Radha-Krishna. That is all. Therefore they are sadhus.

“And so many people are criticizing. We are not getting the sanction to build, because we have so many enemies. They say we are creating a ‘nuisance.’ We are chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and that is a ‘nuisance.’ This complaint is going to the police. So, that is very difficult.”

Filled with emotion, Prabhupada exclaimed, “Therefore a sadhu is advised, titikṣavah, tolerate! Tolerate all this nonsense! What can be done? We have no other alternative but to tolerate. Nobody’s coming to help us. Our business is so thankless. Because we are trying to create one temple, so many enemies are giving hindrance: ‘You cannot do it.’ Therefore titikṣavah. You have to remain sadhu. You cannot become asādhu. You have to tolerate. What can be done?

“At the same time, you have to be merciful. You know what has happened in this place, Hare Krishna Land? So much attack by the police, by the municipality: ‘Break this temple.’ We could have gone, concluding, ‘What is the use of taking so much botheration? We have hundreds of temples outside India. If people here are not liking, let us go away.’ No. Kāruṇikāḥ. We have come to distribute Krishna consciousness. We must tolerate and give this message to the people. Kāruṇikāḥ: very merciful, in spite of all trouble.

“These American boys and girls have come to help me—not that they have come because they are hungry. No. My mission is, ‘You Americans, you chant Hare Krishna so the people of India will see, “Oh, Americans are also chanting. Why not we?’” But unfortunately— such dull brains—that thought is not coming. But still, we have to do it. We have to tolerate, and we have to become kāruṇikāḥ, merciful.

“Why should you want to be merciful? Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. Kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye. A Vaishnava understands, ‘These people are engaged like cats and dogs in sense gratification. They are misguided, and in the next life they will be punished. Let us do something for them.’ This is kāruṇikaḥ: out of mercy. There is no question of getting something, money. No. We have got sufficient money. But just to become merciful upon these fallen, conditioned souls, who are suffering on account of becoming animalistic, without Krishna consciousness, the preacher, the sadhus. . . These are sadhus—titikṣavah, tolerant: ‘Never mind. Whatever hindrances and tribulations they are offering to us, never mind. Tolerate.’

“And suhṛdaḥ; suhṛdaḥ means the heart is so nice. . . The Vaishnava is always thinking how a man can be saved from the clutches of maya. He has no other desire. The Vaishnava is so kind that suhṛdaḥ sarva- dehinām: he is kind not only to the human beings but to all embodied souls—cats, dogs, trees, plants, insects. A Vaishnava will hesitate to kill even a mosquito. Sarva-dehinām. Not that ‘I shall take care of my brother only. I am good, and my brother is good.’ No. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām.

“And ajāta-śatravaḥ. When one is living in that way, as a sadhu, why will others become his enemy? The sadhu does not create enemies, but people become enemies out of their own character. How can a sadhu create enemies? Krishna says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja, and we are simply teaching, ‘My dear human being, my dear friend, you become a surrendered soul to Krishna.’ So, what is our fault? We don’t create any enemy, but they become enemy. Why shall I create enemy? Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. But they become, out of their own nature. . .

“We are in this society, human society, and because we are spreading Krishna consciousness, the envious, who are more dangerous than snakes, are putting so many impediments. But we have to tolerate. We have no other alternative. You see? Ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ. Be peaceful. What can be done? Depend on Krishna.

“These are the ornaments of a sadhu: titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. You must know what is a sadhu. First, a sadhu is a devotee. And if he is a devotee, then all the symptoms are there. Now, you find a sadhu and associate with him. Then your path of liberation will be open.”

For us, of course, Prabhupada was that sadhu. And by his words and example, he was encouraging us to try to become sadhus as well.

COMMENT

So Srila Prabhupada related this verse very beautifully to our situation in Juhu. So now we have one last paragraph in the purport.

PURPORT (continued)

What is the difference between an enemy and a friend? It is a difference in behavior. A sādhu behaves with all conditioned souls for their ultimate relief from material entanglement. Therefore no one can be more friendly than a sādhu in relieving a conditioned soul. A sādhu is calm, and he quietly and peacefully follows the principles of scripture. A sādhu means one who follows the principles of scripture and at the same time is a devotee of the Lord. One who actually follows the principles of scripture must be a devotee of God because all the śāstras instruct us to obey the orders of the Personality of Godhead. Therefore sādhu means a follower of the scriptural injunctions and a devotee of the Lord. All these characteristics are prominent in a devotee. A devotee develops all the good qualities of the demigods, whereas a nondevotee, even though academically qualified, has no actual good qualifications or good characteristics according to the standard of transcendental realization.

COMMENT

So just to give a further definition of sādhu-saṅga, in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami enumerates sixty-four items of devotional service, and he says that of the sixty-four items, five are most potent and that by even a little association with any one of the five, one can awaken dormant love for Krishna. So what are the five? Sādhu-saṅga, nāma-kīrtana, bhāgavata-śravaṇa, mathurā-vāsa, and mūrtira śraddhāya sevana. Now, these are the five most important items out of the sixty-four items of devotional service, and Srila Rupa Gosvami says even with a slight association with any one of them, one can awaken dormant love for Krishna. And then he gives a definition of sādhu-saṅga; sajātīyāśaye snigdhe sādhau saṅga svato vare. Sajātīyā means in a literal sense, in the same caste or community. In our case, it would mean a follower of Srila Prabhupada; snigdhe means that the sadhu should be affectionate to you, and svato vare means the sadhu should be more advanced than you are. So, that is the actual definition of sādhu-saṅga as given by Rupa Gosvami in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. But in a general sense, we should associate with devotees and execute devotional service in their company, and follow all of the characteristics of a sadhu, at least develop all the characteristics of a sadhu, and we will be happy. We will do good for ourselves and do good for others.

And of course, in Kali-yuga,

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

One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Krishna. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in this age. So, as Srila Prabhupada said in one talk in Los Angeles, “If you have time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense, don’t waste time, chant Hare Krishna.”

So my dear devotees, thank you for listening so patiently and attentively. Again, as far as possible, please put on your cameras. And now if any of you have any questions or comments, any reflections you would like to share, you can raise your hand. Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

Grantha-raja Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ki jaya!

Devotee: Thank you, Maharaja, for giving this sādhu-saṅga to us for most of the last few years. And you are also one with all the qualities you have just mentioned from the Bhāgavatam. I don’t think anybody will disagree with that. Especially reading your books gives us sādhu-saṅga too. So I was reading today how Prabhupada instructed you to take care of your body and when you should take rest, and he also told you to eat some gulābjāmun and sandeśa, put on weight, two dozen, two dozen. It was just wonderful. Just reading your books and waiting for the next book, Boston.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, should be coming out soon. Richard, did you have your hand up?

Devotee: Yes, Hare Krishna guru Maharaja. Guru Maharaja, thank you so much. Please accept my humble obeisances. Guru Maharaja, thank you so much for accepting me at your lotus feet. Recently you have accepted me, guru Maharaja, so thank you so much for that. Maharaja, I have a question if you are okay. Can I ask?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: Maharaja. Sometime I really wonder. First of all, I would like to say just like Prabhuji said, you are the real personification of sadhu. You are the sadhu personified. We can see your divine qualities, and Maharaja, I have no words to describe but what I am feeling in my heart. You are sitting in front of me. I am feeling so emotional, Maharaja. I can’t believe my eyes and how fortunate I am that you are in front of me. So Maharaja, I would like to ask one question. Why does it happen? I really wonder why the saintly person has to suffer so much sometimes. Then Lord Krishna also would feel that pain for them, is it not, guru Maharaja that like Haridasa Thakura. Sorry, guru Maharaja. Why does it so happen sometimes, I am not able to understand because of my limited understanding. Like Bhishma Pitamaha had to go through a lot of pain. He was on the bed of arrows, and Haridasa Thakura went through a lot of severe pain. So why does Lord Krishna set an example like this to glorify the devotees? Would He not feel the pain for them because He is the most loving person, He is the most loving God, and He is the well-wisher of everyone? He loves His devotees the most, so why does He put them through such conditions? That is my question, Maharaja. Sorry for my ignorance, Maharaja, if I have asked something wrong.

Giriraj Swami: No, that is a good question. Well, if by becoming a devotee of Krishna, one never had to face any difficulties, then all sorts of materialistic people would become devotees, or so-called devotees, so that they could live a comfortable and happy life. But Krishna doesn’t want materialistic people to become His devotees so they can live materially happy and comfortable lives. He wants people to genuinely surrender to Him and accept whatever may come in the spirit of devotional service and Krishna consciousness. And the fact that devotees undergo difficulties and tolerate, as we are reading, titikṣavah, that is one of the qualities of a devotee—that he is tolerant. So that a devotee goes through difficulties and tolerates and remains merciful, kāruṇikāḥ, is for the glory of the devotee. And Krishna wants that His devotees should be appreciated and glorified.

Devotee: Thank you, guru Maharaja. It means the Lord Krishna wants them to be glorified. That is the main reason why we put them into condition. Thank you so much, guru Maharaja. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, Chankya Priya.

Devotee: Hare Krishna guru Maharaja, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to your divine grace. Thank you for the wonderful class, guru Maharaja. I would also like to echo what was said before about Srila Prabhupada and you, following his perfect example, have brought out all those qualities and shown by example, an amazing example. I just wanted to ask, sometimes at my level, there are so many preaching engagements, but then there are some health issues or family duties, and I cannot attend to those preaching engagements. There is a part that was mentioned in the lectures that the sadhu places the service first to all living entities above himself. We are aspiring to follow in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada and yourself. I was wondering, at our stage, what should we do when sometimes there are obstacles in some service or engagements?

Giriraj Swami: Well, you have to balance your various responsibilities. You should not neglect any of your duties, but of course, the main thing is to engage in direct service to Krishna. At the same time, you will have other duties and responsibilities, and you also have to discharge those. If you don’t, it can cause a disruption to your bhakti. So, you have to take care of your other duties and responsibilities also, but keep Krishna in the center.

Devotee: Thank you very much, Maharaja. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: Shyama Chandra.

Devotee: Guru Maharaja, I think the way you put it out sounds really great, but in reality, most of the people in ISKCON, the whole society of people, doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be spiritual. That doesn’t take away from them being mean people or saying mean words or not being accepting or not understanding a person’s psychological stability or even showing any compassion. I find that when people go, ‘Oh, Maharaja this, oh, Maharaja that,’ and I have seen it for the last twenty-five years, they treat you with all respect because you are my guru Maharaja or śikṣā-guru, let me treat you with all respect but then when it comes to treating me, they treat me like crap. Excuse my language. They treat me like a schmuck. It is really not even fair.

It was just the other day I went to the Laguna Beach temple and watched the temple president treat you with all this respect. I thought, ‘Why doesn’t he talk to you like he talks to me?’ I am listening to your lecture about being nice, but I am just sick of the pretend niceties. If you are going to be nice to someone, be nice to someone and treat them with respect instead of saying bad things behind their back. This ISKCON sure sounds great, but the only reason I am here is because of you. I am not here for anybody else. You are the only nice person, and there are a couple of other nice people, but besides that, everyone else is really mean. You are the only nice person, and everyone goes, ‘Maharaja this,’ and I hate when they do that because if I were to go and talk to them, they would walk the other direction and not want anything to do with me. That is how it is been for the last twenty-five years. So, you have a couple of people who have maybe been in the movement for eight months or one year, or maybe they just got initiated after waiting for two years. I waited twelve years to get initiated and seven years to get brahman initiation. Everyone should wait twelve years. Being a devotee doesn’t necessarily make them nice. You are nice, I love you, but not everyone is like you.

Giriraj Swami: Anyway, your duty is to be a sadhu. Don’t worry about others. If you are a sadhu, then I think people will naturally respect you.

Devotee: Well, I am not a sadhu, or I don’t know what I am.

Giriraj Swami: Try to become a sadhu.

Devotee: Yes, okay. What if I can’t become one?

Giriraj Swami: You can. Everyone can. Yes, just chant good rounds and read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Take your medicine, and it will be okay. Hare Krishna. So, Sudama Krishna Prabhu.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, guru Maharaja. Please accept my obeisances. Thank you so much, Maharaja, for continuing the association. Maharaja, I had a question. While explaining a verse from Srila Rupa Gosvami about sajātīyā, you said that in ISKCON, it means the followers of Srila Prabhupada, they are our sajātīyā. But, Maharaja, I have observed sometimes that even among devotees, due to differences of opinion, it brings a gap in their relationships. Although the intention of both parties is to please Srila Prabhupada, how can such gaps in relationships due to differences of opinion be mitigated so that there could be affection among devotees?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there is a nice purport, a beautiful purport, which I will read about relationships among devotees. It is beautiful. This is from the purport of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Seven, Chapter Five, “Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu,” Text Twelve. Listen attentively, my dear devotees.

“Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition. “

Srila Prabhupada explained the difference between transcendental competition and mundane competition. In transcendental competition, one acknowledges the good qualities or good service of the other person but still wants to surpass it to give greater pleasure to guru and Krishna. Whereas in mundane competition, there is envy, and one does not admit the good qualities or the good service of the other person.

“There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, giving dictation according to the attitude of the servant. However, the Lord gives different dictation to the nondevotees and devotees. The nondevotees challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord dictates in such a way that the nondevotees forget the Lord’s service, life after life, and are punished by the laws of nature. But when a devotee very sincerely wants to render service to the Lord, the Lord dictates in a different way. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ
bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ
yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Everyone is actually a servant, not an enemy or friend, and everyone is working under different directions from the Lord, who directs each living entity according to his mentality.

So, yes, I think these first sentences are beautiful.

“Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking.”

Devotee: Wait for the next fourth Monday of July.

Giriraj Swami: Look forward to it also.

Devotee: Thank you for coming. Thank you for giving us so much of your precious time. Thank you.

Devotee: Thank you. It is a very nice lecture. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: So, if we are going to end now, then I suggest we conclude with Vaishnava-praṇāma.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca 

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ