Kartika Mahatmya
Online class for ISKCON New York
29th November 2020

Welcome, all the assembled devotees from different conferences. I thank ISKCON New York, Radha Govinda Deva ki, jai! This is their arrangement. They have ordered me to say a few words on the occasion of the last day of kartika. For you, New Yorkers, and devotees in the west, in America, it is last day. But for us, tomorrow is the last day.

Kartika is a very special month. ISKCON devotees, vaishnavas, they love this month. It is called as Kartika mass. It is also known as Damodara vrata, Urjja vrata. We follow this vrata. Radharani is worshipped during this month.

Rupa Goswami has strongly recommended that we observe this Kartika vrata, preferably go to Vrndavana and do Vrndavana vasa or Vraja vasa during this month of Kartika. And I know Srila Prabhupada did that in 1972 during Kartika. Srila Prabhupada was in the middle of his world tour but he dropped that and rushed to Vrndavana to be there during month of Kartika.

Fortunately, I also was there with Srila Prabhupada in 1972 during the month of Kartika and we stayed because Srila Prabhupada stayed. Of course, we did not stay at Radha Damodara, Srila Prabhupada stayed at Radha Damodara temple during month of Damodara. We had lots of associations, tones of associations with Srila Prabhupada during that month of Kartika.

Prabhupada did lots of sravanam, kirtanam. While he was doing kirtana, we were doing sravana. He was talking from Bhagavatam in the morning and Nectar of Devotion was the topic in the evening and kirtan during the day. We were celebrating festivals throughout this month of Kartika. Later on, I started Vraja Mandal Parikrama and I had been having the opportunity to be in Vrndavana during the entire month of Kartika – 33 times, 33 years.

I thought we would just remember different festivals in this month of Kartika, revisit them, talking a little bit about them or reminding ourselves of those festivals; reviving our memories or review and revise; contemplate; do manana or cintana of those festivals so that they remain fresh in our memories; we do not forget or we stay high forever by remembering different festivals in month of Kartika. This month is famous for these festivals or festivities.

We do not have much time, so, we start. The month begins with Sharada Purnima.

Sri -badarayanir uvaca
bhagavan api ta ratrih
saradotphulla-mallikah
viksya rantum manas cakre
yoga-mayam upasritah [SB 10.29.1]

This is how Sukadeva Goswami begins describing this Sharada purnima, Rasa purnima and he has described this rasa of that Sharad Purnima night in 5 chapters of tenth canto. Describing Rasa dance which, finally, began. Many things happened prior to that, so we cannot go through all that.

Rasa dance means full of rasa. This festival is full of madhurya rasa or dominated by madhurya rasa. Some festivals are full of sakhya rasa, some are full of vatsalya rasa in the month of Damodara. The pastimes of Damodara or why He became known as Damodara. He was bound by Yasoda to the mortar, that is vatsalya rasa. During this month, some festivals are madhurya rasa mahotsava and sakhya rasa mahotsava and vatsalya rasa mahotsava.

Gopastami, we will be talking a little later on towards the end, that is sakhya rasa, friendship. This whole month is full of rasa, nectarian month. We could hear the pastimes of Sri Krsna in this and that rasas. So, it begins with madhurya rasa in Sharad Purnima. We read this and Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna Book also because there is the 10 canto, these 5 chapters. That day we try to read and remember and recite.

Sharad purnima night festival and Lord with millions of gopis “vadhu varga,” the damsels of Vraja.

laksmi sahastra sata sambhrama seva manyam

“sahastra sata,” hundreds and thousands of them dancing in the Rasa dance. Rasa dance was about to begin but then Krsna disappeared along with Radharani and then gopis were looking for Krsna everywhere. This is described in the five chapters. Finally, they only ended up finding Radharani. Then Radharani and the gopis go back to the banks Yamuna.

“Oh, we lost Krsna! But we did not lose Him in the forest. Let us try to find Him. We lost Him in the banks of Yamuna.” So, they go back on the banks of Yamuna and that is where they sing a song called Gopi Geet. As they are chanting, remembering the Lord of their hearts, He appears in the middle of them. Gradually, the rasa dance begins, full of rasa. They are all enjoying rasa dance and that night became longest night, Bramha night and they went on and on with the rasa dance night.

So, Kartika festival begins with Sri Krsna Rasa yatra which is a Purnima. Kartika begins with a Purnima, full moon night, and Kartika ends with another Purnima with rasa dance. In fact, in Vrndavana, there is a talk of rasa dance, every night there is rasa dance night.

Moving on, because we have very limited time. Then we have a very major festival in month of Damodar. There is Bahulasthami, the appearance day or we would like to call the appearance night of Radha Kunda. Radha Kunda appeared in the middle of the night on the Bahulastami day. Astami, that is eighth day or night, beginning from Purnima. That night also rasa dance was about to begin and gopis have started assembling, of course, Krsna had already playing His flute. Message had gone to gopis,

“Yes, tonight rasa dance here, in Vrndavana, on the banks of Radha kunda.” They all had started arriving but then Aristasura, the bull demon, arrived in the scene creating havoc, total disturbance. Everyone was scared and running hither and thither. So, Lord had to take care of this demon. He killed Aristasura. Haribol! Demigods, of course, had come and showered flowers upon the Lord and chanted His glories and Apsaras had danced and Gandharvas had done their beautiful singing and drums beatings. All that happen whenever Lord kills demons. Aristasura was killed and demigods had celebration.

Rasa dance were expected to begin and then the gopis and Radharani refused to.

“Well, stay away, stay away! You are a sinner! You have killed the bull!”

This whole dialogue we cannot get into the details of all this.

“Now, You have to take bath in all the holy places, rivers, kundas. Then we will consider being with You and dancing with you.”

So, Lord did not have to go anywhere. All the rivers and holy kundas had appeared and Shyama Kunda ki, jai! So, Lord took a holy dip.

“Okay, I am ready.” But then Lord said, “no. You are. You are sinners! You accused me so now You have to take bath in holy rivers and places.”

The gopis were endeavoring, they did create a kunda but no water. Finally, at middle of the night on Bahulasthami, Krsna proposed and the gopis and Radharani did not oppose.

“Okay, sacred waters are here in Shyama Kunda. Let them enter into Radha Kunda.”

So, that is what happened right in the middle of the night, at sharp midnight, waters of Shyama Kunda entered Radha Kunda. This way that midnight became the appearance night of Radha Kunda.

Radha Kunda – Shyama Kunda ki, jai!

Lord had declared,

“Your kunda will become more popular, known, famous and Your kunda is also dear to Me as You are dear to Me ”

That was Bahulasthami and appearance of Radha Kunda. Now, we could only talk of some of the festivals, not all the festivals. Some main festivals or some highlights of those festivals.

Then the middle of the month is Amavasya, no moon day or new moon day, which is celebrated as Deepavali. Jai Sri Rama! Rama had appeared or returned to Ayodhya in Treta Yuga. It was also month of Kartika in Treta Yuga. And Ayodhya was all lit besides so many other things, decorations, festivals too. Grand reception of Sri Rama and Lakshmana and Sita was taking place and they had literally lit Ayodhya with so many lamps. The darkness was over. Rama was here and He brought the light and delight to Ayodhya and Ayodhya vasis on Deepavali day, during month of Kartika.

On the same day, in Vrndavana, 5000 years ago, or we should say in Gokula Vrndavana, when Krsna was 3 years and 8 months old, He did stealing of butter at home. That day, Yasoda was trying to churn butter herself.

ekada grha-dasisu
yasoda nanda-gehini
karmantara-niyuktasu
nirmamantha svayam dadhi [SB 10.9.1]

“ekada,” once upon a time, Sukadeva Goswami says. So, that was day of Dipavali. Yasoda was “svayam,” herself started churning the butter and Krsna had every reason to break that pot. We are not saying everything.

Yasoda was thinking, “Maybe, maybe, butter churned and fed to Krsna at home, Nanda Bhavana, is not of good quality. Probably, that is why he goes door to door finding better quality of butter. So, let me churn the butter myself.” Yasoda had done it but Krsna had spoiled the whole thing. He was hungry. As early morning as soon as children get up,

Although, He is supposed to be “atmarama,” self satisfied, but Sukadeva Goswami says that morning Lord had the desire of drinking the breasts milk of Yasoda. He had just started drinking but then Yasoda had dumped Him and gone into the kitchen to save the milk which was over flowing.Such a sweet pastime! I am trying to run through or jump through but difficulty go forward.

So, that day Krsna was caught red handed by Yasoda stealing butter from home. I say He was caught white handed with the butter. He was considered a thief, He was a thief and a thief had to be punished.

Krsna was scared and He was full of tears. She managed to catch hold and she had to tie. Finally, she managed to tie Him up. On that Dipavali day, Amavasya day, in the middle of Kartika, Bala Krsna became known as Damodara be because the “udar”, the belly of Krsna was tied with the “dama,” rope to the motar .

“Dama” – rope, “udara” – belly. He became known as Makhana chora Damodara ki, jai!. This lila, in fact, dominates the scene and our consciousness throughout this month of Damodara. Everyday, we have been offering lamps to Damodara and remembering that sweet pastimes, as sweet as butter or sweeter than butter pastimes of Sri Krsna in Damodara lila.

Then comes Govardhana Puja. What a festival! I should say that Amavasya, no moon day or night is over. Next day is a shukla paksha, is a bright fortnight. The first day of the bright fortnight is called Pratipada and that is the day the Vraja vasis have been doing Indra Puja, year after year. But now, when Krsna was some 7 years old, He convinced Nanda Maharaja and the residents of Vrndavana,

“Worship Govardhana instead! And you do not have to do any additional shopping. All the ingredients you have already collected so you use them for worship of Govardhana.”
First ever Govardhana Puja festival took place in the presence of Krsna and Balarama. Lord also had asked, “Not only you are doing Govardhana Puja but also today is the day of Go Puja and Brahmana Puja. Feed prasadam, even candalas should get prasadam from this Annakuta festival.”

So, that is what they did. Also the first ever Govardhana parikrama was performed by Vraja vasis that afternoon. First they did Govardhana puja then, they did Govardhana parikrama.

The next day, as per the tradition, I think it is an ancient, old tradition; brothers and sister all go to Vrishrama Ghata which is in Mathura and take a holy dip there. All brothers and sisters were busy taking a holy dip in Yamuna at Vrishrama Ghata, mean time the news of,

“Oh, they did not worship you, today!” This news reached Indra and he had sent Samvartaka clouds. Inundation takes place, water and flood everywhere. All the residents had approached Sri Krsna.

“Help! Help! If You could, help!”

Then, Krsna had then lifted Govardhana hill on Tritiya. This is third day. First day was puja, next day was taking holy dip at Vrishrama Ghata and third day on Tritiya Krsna lifts Govardhana hill. He became known as Giridhari. And there is no other pastimes as sweet like lifting Govardhana hill. The speciality of that pastime is all the residents of Vrndavana had assembled and taken shelter of that Govardhana hill and these were great times for Vraja vasis. Never ever they had the company of Krsna 12 hours a day, 12 hours a night, seven days, seven nights. Simultaneously, the vatsalya rasa, sakhya rasa, madhurya rasa, all the rasas were on display as a reciprocation and they were all drowning in this rasa.

itdrk sva lilabhir ananda kunde
sva ghosam nimanjantam akhyapayantam

When Damodara-like lila the Lords performs and He fills kundas and lakes with “ananda,” bliss, by performing these pastimes, as He has lifted Govardhana hill. Indra is trying to flood Vraja with the rain water and Krsna has flooded Vrndavana with rasa – madhurya rasa, sakhya rasa, vatsalya rasa – and they were all drowning and swimming. They had great time.

Then, on the Navmi, on the ninth day of this Shukla Paksha, bright fortnight, by that time Indra was defeated and rain stopped. Krsna placed Govardhana hill back to its original place. But then we understand from Bhagavatam that the Lord of talk of town, one particular topic was being discussed they were wondering,

“Who is this Krsna? Or Nanda Maharaja is hiding His ID, identity from us. We have children also but no child have lifted Govardhana hill. He lifted the hill without much effort!”

They had to approach Nanda Maharaja and he had disclosed the fact which Garga aarya had shared with Nanda Maharaja. That chapter in Krsna Book is Wonderful Krsna. That was Navmi and Govardhana was put back into its place.

Then Dasami and Ekadasi. Nanda Maharaja observed Ekadasi. Then, on Dvadasi he had gone to take holy dip in Yamuna and the agents or servants of Varuna had kidnapped or arrested and brought him to Varuna Loka. Krsna and Balarama had jumped into the Yamuna river and through water body they had reached and rescued Nanda Maharaja and brought him back. This has also happened during month of Kartika, that particular Kartika. There is a series after Govardhana.

Srila Prabhupada ki, jai! Then is Srila Prabhupada disappearance day festival. Oh, what to say? What to speak? We say disappearance but Srila Prabhupada kind of appears. To me, I feel Srila Prabhupada appears more on his disappearance day. We are reminded of events leading to that 14th November 1977. So many disciples of Srila Prabhupada, we were there, I was there. Srila Prabhupada wanted to go to Govardhana to attend Govardhana Puja, to participate in the Govardhana festival, riding on a bullock cart. He had asked me to arrange the bullock carts and travels too. We are reminded and our emotions are stirred up as we remember Srila, again, during month of Kartika in 1997. We were there on disappearance day Every year we celebrate that festival of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance festival.

Gopasthami maha mahotsava ki, jai.

One asthami was Bahulasthami – Radha Kunda appearance night and then next asthami of the bright fortnight is Gopasthami. On this day Krsna became gopa. A mantra from Kartika Mahatmya says He was vatsapa. He had been taking care of the cows’ calves. On chapter of the 10th canto of Bhagavatam says there was an ishta goshti was held by Nanda Maharaja and there was a lot of discussion and consideration. They ended up promoting Krsna. He was a calf herd boy. On Gopasthami day, He was made cowherd boy.

That day was a great day in Krsna’s life and a there was a great celebration n Nanda Grama. All the cows were decorated and chanting of the mantras the cowherd boys were all excited and delighted to become cowherd boys, Krsna and Balarama now the cowherd boys. Yasoda proposing,

“Take the shoe or take the umbrella.”

“No, no. We should just take care of the cows. That is our dharma.”

dharma raksati raksitah

“If we take care of the cows then that dharma would protects us. Why are you worried, maiya?”

So, Krsna goes into the forest, no shoes, no umbrella. Lots more could be said about this Gopasthami day, another year. Subhala was sent by Krsna to bring Radharani over and that is another sweet pastime how he had gone to Javat with the excuse,

“Oh, I am looking for a calf. We have lost a calf!”

Jatila said, “why are you hanging around. There is residence here. Go to goshala, you may find your cow there.”

So, he has gone and Radharani had managed to come to goshala.

Subhala said, ” let’s go.”

Radharani says, “where?”

“To Krsna.”

“How? Jatila is keeping an eye on Me.”

Subhala was very smart He had managed, arranged for Radharani to wear cowherd boy clothes, gopa vesha. She was a gopi. So Subhala said,

“Okay, You catch hold of a calf right on Your chest and walk, passing by Jatila or Your home.”

So, that is what Radharani did and Subhala comes on the meeting point and then they both reached where Krsna was.

Okay, our time is up. Today is, for you, the last day of Kartika. It is also marriage day of Tulasi Saligrama vivah. Vrnda Devi has become Tulasi and Lord has become Saligram sila and Their vivah, Their marriage has also taken place on this last day of Kartika. It is also last day of Caturmasya, last day of Bhisma Panchak.

We should keep remembering this month and different festivities of this month. Like that we can maintain our connection with Vrndavana and that Vrndavana Krsna.

Okay, Gaura Premanande, hari hari bol! Thank you everybody for being with us. See you another time, another location, another festival.

Radha Govinda Deva, ki jai!
ISKCON New York ki, jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki, jai!

Devotee: “Maharaja there is one question, we want to take that.”

Please elaborate on Tulasi Saligrama vivah?

“I curse you, you become a tree!”
“I curse You, You become the rock!”

So, this is another manifestation.

tulasi krsna preyasi nama namah

Tulasi is “preyasi,” beloved of Krsna eternally. They tied in the knot. There is also pastimes of the marriage. Some manifestation she had become wife of some demon, Jalandhara. Jalandhara was powerful and he was defeating the demigods. Only if Jalandhara’s wife, who was Tulasi, her chastity is broken then he will lose the power. Jalandhara was getting his power as his wife was chaste.

Then Krsna had disguised Himself and had approached Tulasi. Then demigods had become victorious. But then Tulasi had, eventually, found out who this person was not her husband but someone else. She then cursed and Krsna cursed to become stone. Otherwise, Vrnda Devi is a big role in Vrndavana. She is the event manager. Before lila is performed, or performance takes place, Vrnda Devi makes all the arrangements, whole setups for lila. So Vrnda Devi, Tulasi Devi, her status is almost like Radharani.

Okay.

Commentary on Damodara Ashtakam
Iskcon Ujjain
26th November 2020

Iskcon Ujjain ki jai!

The project that was started by Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. Now your Samadhi preparations are in? I just heard, of course Pushpa Samadhi is one Samadhi that is already there in Mayapur so Hari Hari. I am very happy to be with the devotees of Iskcon Ujjain. They are very dear to me as they were dear to Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja.

Of course his disciples from wherever they are joining us today on this conference and I think everyone else is also welcomed and so I am happy to be with you all this evening and happy month of Kartik, the month of Damodar.
Damodar Masa ki jai!

Of course we are almost towards the end of Damodara Masa here and today is Utthana Ekadasi. He has even gotten up today and it is a big celebration.

The Lord is up after His long rest of four months and so the devotees are very jolly, happy to have darsana of their Lord again and only five more days to go before completion of Damodar month. So it’s not good news, we wish that is would go on and on and on and we would go on singing Damodarastaka and offer lamps to Yashoda Damodar. So it was two years ago that Bhakti Charu Maharaja and myself were together in the month of Kartik and that was in Noida.

Maharaja had been singing in the evening Damodarastak and I remember sitting next to him and listening to Bhakti Charu Maharaja sing Damodarastak and during this month also I heard Maharaja’s Damodarastak prayers several times so I thought ‘I’m not singing today as I already sang.’ And then Maharaja used to before singing or after singing songs, he used to explain those songs. He used to share the deeper meaning of those songs and Maharaja has done this with so many, many songs.

This is Bhakti Charu Maharaja style of presenting songs and astakas and so he would speak about and then he would sing also. Of course Srila Prabhupada also did that and Srila Prabhupada has written or spoken purports of many, many songs. So I thought why not remember Damodarastak which we have been singing everyday? So this is what we’ll do.

namamisvaram sac cid ananda rupam
lasat kundalam gokule bhrajamanam
yasoda bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam
paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya

So this is how damodarastaka begins with namami. I offer my obeisances unto that Isvara, that Parameshwar who is sat cit ananda. His form is sat cit ananda and He is wearing kundala.

lasat kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

Of course He is in Gokula. This pastime of Krishna which has now become known as Damodar pastime, took place in Gokula during early morning hours and ekada. Sukadeva Gosvami has said ‘ekada..’

ekadaa grha dasishu yashoda nanda gehini
karmantara niyuktasu nirmamantha svayam dadhi (S.B 10.9.1)

This is how Sukadeva Goswami Maharaja begins recitation of this pastime and so Yashoda- mostly there and these two characters, Krishna and Yashoda. It is the dealing between the two of them which went on and on for quite some time that day. It lasted till late in the afternoon, the pastime was going on. So unto that Lord I offer my obeisances.

yasoda bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam

Satyavrata Muni has described this pastime just in two verses and Sukadeva Goswami has described this pastime in a couple of chapters. So the couple of chapters have been condensed in two verses. So Krishna is afraid of Yashoda, isn’t that amazing? That is also what Kunti Maharani also said in her prayers, that ‘this is bewildering to see how Krishna who everyone else is afraid of is afraid of mother Yashoda.’

indro varshati yat bhayam

‘Indra manages or he makes sure that it rains because he is scared of the Lord. The wind is blowing because the wind god is afraid of him. Like that everyone is afraid of him but here in this pastime the Lord is afraid of Yashoda. Isnt that bewildering?’ Kunti Maharani says. It is difficult to understand this Krishna.

Krishna the Supreme Personality of Godhead claims

mayadhyaksena prakrtih
suyate sa caracaram (B.G 9.10)

I am the superintendent of this prakriti, I govern the wonderings of this cara and acara, and that Lord is afraid of Yashoda in this pastime and this is not a drama. Genuinely he is afraid, he is scared. He is playing the perfect role of being a child and children are scared when they do some mischief. Then the parents, especially the mother would come and catch hold and beat or slap. Children are scared, I think each one of us have that experience.

I remember I used to be scared and afraid of my mother when she would try and catch hold of me and ‘she’s going to beat me!’ So Krishna has become child like that and He is displaying His fear, He’s scared. He is afraid of mother Yashoda and He is running here and there and Yasoda has finally managed to catch hold of Him and considering Him to be the offender, thief the robber of butter, she wants to punish Him and tie Him up to the mortar.

So Satyavrata Muni, these are his realizations and he is saying how

rudantam muhur netra yugmam mrjantam
karambhoja yugmena satanka netram

So the Lord literally begins crying. He is crying- rudamtam muhur which means again and again. He is sobbing.

yugmam mrjantam karambhoja yugmena satanka netram

Then with both of His fists He is wiping His tears. Satanka netram. Satanka, He is afraid of Yashoda and satanka netram. You could see the fear in His eyes.

muhuh svasa kampa trirekhanka kantha

He is sobbing and crying and tears, you could see the three lines on His neck, that’s part of the beauty of the Lord’s neck or His features.

sthita graivam damodaram bhakti baddham

There’s a locket hanging from the neck of little Krishna, and it is moving. This Satyavrata Muni he is minutely observing and giving those details which even Sukadeva Goswami has not got any of the details like this and he’s zooming in on Krishna’s form, or the features of Krishna’s form and His body language as He is being tied up.

sthita graivam damodaram

So yes, it is mentioned ‘Damodaram.’ So the punishment is that Yashoda is going to tie his Uddara, the belly with Dam, with a rope and that is of course what she ended up doing with a rope. That wasn’t an easy task and it had taken a lot of time because every time, the rope she had was too short- two fingers short and she was making the rope longer by tying more ropes. She had to go to the Go-Shala and untie the cows and get the ropes which were tying the cows in the Go- Shala.

All the nine hundred thousand cows are wondering freely because all those ropes that were used for making the rope longer and longer and longer was still two fingers short. This was something amazing so finally, Sva bandhane. Krishna allowed ‘okay okay. I can see your endeavour, your determination. I know you are not going to give up.’ So the Lord is pleased with her endeavour. So her endeavour and Krishna’s Kripa and then she succeeded.

So from that day onwards He became Damodar! Jai Damodar! Hari Hari. So what happened was the stealing of butter at home took place one day. One child or Yashoda’s child rather, stole and ate butter and distributed that butter to the monkeys and then Yasoda tied Him to the mortar, considering the mortar also a culprit.

‘He helped Krishna steal the butter so he also has to be punished.’ So now you can see that five thousand years later and today what happened in Gokula one day, not a big deal- what’s the big deal?! A child stole and ate some butter and then his mother tied him up. But this has become a world-known story, pastime and it has become immortal and eternal.

You cannot forget this, what happened that day. This is well alive, this is kept alive in something worth remembering, worth relishing in this pastime. And you know Krishna wants, if some thief is arrested and tied up, he never likes that a photograph of him be published or circulated. The world would come to know that he is a thief, he is a robber and he would try to make sure that if the police is dragging them to the court or prison house they put a mask on or put some cloth on their face. They want to hide as they want to make sure that no-one knows them as a thief. But here this butter thief wants to make sure that ‘Let the world know me as a butter thief!’ He is immortalizing His pastime of stealing butter. In fact what He is immortalizing, what He wants to advertise is, well it’s coming up.

tadiyesita jnesu bhaktair jitatvam.

This is what He wants to advertise. This is what the Lord wants the world to know that He can be captured by His bhaktas. Devotees could control Lord or govern Him.

aham bhakta paradhino’ (S.B 9.4.57)

He has declared elsewhere that He is dependent upon His devotees.
This is the essence of this pastime, bhaktair jitatvam. ‘My Bhaktas,’ here Yashoda, has conquered Krishna, controlled Krishna. And He loves to see this happening, He enjoys this pastime or this kind of dealing. So whether this is bhaktair jitatvam or this as vatsalya rasa, the Lord is enjoying. vatsalya, vatsa means calf. Just like a cow loves the calf, so the calf is subordinate and dependent upon the mother cow. The cow even licks the calf. Feeling of reciprocation, rasa, bhava, bhakti, the feeling that is taking place between Yashoda and Krishna is called vatsalya.

And so the Lord wants to display this and He is doing that. This is one glaring example of this bhaktair jitatvam or aham bhakta paradhino. This is very rare example, glaring example of this bhaktair jitatvam.

itidrk sva lilabhir ananda kunde
sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

So the astaka continues itidrk sva lilabhir ananda kunde. He has summarized this Damodar pastime just in two verses and then immediately he says ‘itidrk, like this. Lilabhir, Lilas like this, Damodar lila and other lilas. Ananda Kunde. This produces so much ananda. So much happiness. How much happiness? Ananda kunde. You could fill up this ananda in a kunda, in a lake or in a ocean.

And then anandam buddhi vardhanam is also there. It is expanding, shoreless ocean. What kind of ocean? A shoreless ocean.

sva ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

So a pastime like this then becomes the talk of the town and everyone is doing bodhayantah parasparam. The news spreads and the breaking news happens. ‘You know what, you know what?!’ Everyone is talking of this pastime and as they talk and hear they’re blessed. They are swimming in ananda kunde.

bala caritani ca

Sukadeva Goswami describes that as Yasoda was churning butter that morning, that was diwali day. For your information if you did not know, this Damodar pastime took place in Gokula on the day of Diwali. It was on Diwali day that Krishna became known as Damodar. He was tied up on that day.

So while Yashoda was singing bal caritra, the pastimes of the Lord, she was singing, all the ladies are singing, others are singing and now we are singing! Srila Prabhupada has spread these pastimes through his books all over the world and so hasn’t ananda expanded? It was limited to India limited or Vrndavana, Mayapur, Jagannath Puri and few some tirthas limited, but what has happened.

anandam budhi vardhanam pratipadam purnamrita asvadanam

So it is spread all over the world now and everywhere there is the talk of Damodar and his pastime. Everywhere devotees are offering lamps to Damodar and singing Damodastaka, so many seminars and talks and presentations happening so the Suka, the happiness as they recite and remember this.

punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

Unto such Damodar, I offer my obeisances, satavrtti, hundreds and hundreds of times.

krishna jinaka nam hai
gokule jinaka dham hai
aise shri bhagavan ko
aise shri bhagavan ko – kitne baar (how many times)?
baramvaar pranam hai (again and again I offer my obeisances unto Him).

So this astaka that Satyavrata Muni is composing he says ‘unto such Damodar, satavrtti vande. I offer my prayers, my obeisances unto such Damodar again and again.’ And he is starting with ‘namamisvaram. I offer my obeisances’ but then he is offering his obeisances every now and then in this astaka. Then again he is going to say at the end.

namas te ‘stu damne sphurad dipti dhamne
tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne
namo radhikayai tvadiya priyayai
namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

How many times namah namah namah. He is singing like that. namas te ‘stu damne. He also says ‘I offer my obeisances unto that rope, not only namamisvaram. Not only my obeisances unto Ishwar but I offer my obeisances unto that rope also, that transcendental, brilliant, effulgent rope. Unto that rope I also offer my obeisances. Please oh rope accept my respectful obeisances.’

tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne

My obeisances also unto the belly of Damodar. Obeisances unto the rope and unto the belly, the Uddara of Damodar. Because your Uddara, your belly is the abode of the whole Vishwa (universe) which is within you. And this is where we understand ‘oh why was that rope always two fingers too short?’ Although it was hundreds and thousands miles long, Krishna’s belly circumference is just twelve inches.

So why was Yashoda not able to tie that long, long rope? And this is revealed here in this astaka – tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne because within the belly, within Krishna is the whole vishwa, the whole Brahmanda. So how big is Brahmanda and how long rope do you need? The rope has to be how long to go around the Brahmanda as Bal Krishna also has shown to Yashoda herself.

‘Oh you ate dirt!’

‘No, no I did not eat dirt!’

‘Yes even Balaram says you have eaten dirt!’

‘No, no Maiya. I didn’t eat, I didn’t eat.’
So she opens His mouth and as Krishna opened His mouth, the whole dirt- the whole universe is made up of dirt, right? The earth. Brahmand is within Him so a long rope is required. So your Uddara your belly is not the way is looks! Krishna is Adhoksaja, Achintya also. So obeisances again and again are coming up and then

varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va
na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha

So these prayers are also there as part of this astaka. varam deva moksam na moksa. varam deva, varesas apiha. ‘I know, I know you are varesa.’ Var means benediction and Isa means master. ‘You are the giver of benediction. You are Varadraj and you could give every and any benediction but to me oh Lord, moksha no, no, no! Please don’t give me moksha, I don’t want moksha.’

na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha

na ca anyan, no Moksha, there’s no this or that.

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad isa kamaye (Siksastaka 4)

I don’t want none of these things for my enjoyment, for my bhoga. I don’t want to be bhukti kami. And then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also has said in that Siksastaka ‘mama janmani janmanisvare’ also I don’t want liberation. So similar sentiments are explained here. na canyam moksham.

I don’t want liberation, moksha and no other this kind of benediction. ‘So what do you want?’ He says

idam te vapur natha gopala balam
sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih.’

He says just this Gopala Bal. Idam te vapur natha gopala balam. This vapur, the form of Gopal Bal, Gwal Bal or Bal Gopal, Krishna Kanaiya Lal.

manasy avirastam. Let him enter my mind and let me only think of him and him alone. Kim anyaih, I dont care for anything else. Only Krishna, only Gopal. Idam te vapur natha gopala balam. My interest
Is this Gopala Balam, I wish to remember and think and do other things like serve him and offer my obeisances unto him and feed him and play with him. Yes I want to render all kind of service unto him.

All I want to do is,

sravanam kirtanamm visnoh smaranam pada sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma nivedanam

This nava vidha bhakti, this Bhagavan, Gopal, Damodar. But (I dont want to do) none of this other stuff. This moksham and dhanam Janam. No, out! And then

namo deva damodarananta visno
prasida prabho duhkha jalabdhi magnam

Then he begins addressing the Lord, Sambodhan (addressing). Namo deva, again obeisances are there. I offer my obeisances unto who? Deva, this Damodar Deva, Krishna Deva, Adi Deva, Deva. In this Damodarastak he is offering his obeisances and why he is addressing him as Deva and Damodara, Ananta, Vishnu? Vishnu becomes Vishnau, like that. In address, in Sambodhan this happens by commentical arrangement.

Prasidah prabho. So Prabhu has become Prabho. ‘Oh Prabho.’ This is more correct to say, not ‘Prabhu.’ We are addressing someone so here also the Lord is Prabho, he is addressed so when you address him he becomes Prabho. So Deva, Damodara, Ananta, Vishnu, Prabhu. He is addressing the Lord and each one means so much. When you say ‘Damodar’ so many things you are reminded of. When you say ‘Prabhu’ or when you say ‘Ananta,’ when you say ‘Deva.’

Each of these addresses have so much meaning associated with it. Hari Hari, yes the Lord has thousands of names. Vishnu Sahastra Nama is also there and there are so many more names. Dukha jalabdhi magnam, ‘oh Lord look at me. I am observed in dukha jaal, janjaal. I am entangled very badly and am drowning in the ocean of misery here. Oh Lord have mercy, oh Lord.’

Like ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram?patitam mam visame bhvambudhau
(Siksastaka 5)

‘My Lord I am yours, ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram- I am your servant oh Nanda tanuja. You are Nanda Tanuja and I am your Kinkara. See what happened? I have fallen in this ocean of material existence. So Kripaya, please pick me up.’ As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said in His own astak so similarly here we find krpa drsti vrstyati dinam batanu. Please shower your merciful glance upon me. And we skipped two and one in the middle there.

idam te mukhambhojam atyanta nilair

Again focusing on the Lord and his form. mukhambhoja, your face is -lotus faced Lord. The seven different parts of Lord’s form are lotus – like. One of them is the face and his eyes are lotus like, His hands are lotus like. His feet are lotus like, His navel is a lotus. So like that there are seven different parts.

idam te mukhambhojam atyanta nilair

Your complexion is nilair. The deep bluish- Ganaevasham, He is described like a fresh monsoon cloud. Prabhupada translates and compares Krishna’s complexion as a fresh monsoon cloud. So atyanta nilair vrtam kuntalaih, That face and hair, vrtam means hidden or covered partially.

snigdha raktais’ ca gopya
muhus chumbitam bimba raktadharam me

You have reddish lips and muhus chumbitam. Muhus means again and again and Cumbitam. As Yashoda kisses your face, your cheeks, then what happens? Bimba raktadharam me. Immediately that part of the face becomes reddish because it is so very tender and soft and Yashoda kisses. You can see the- you have here this experience Mataji’s. That is also prayer, ‘I wish to manasy avirastam. Let that image of you be settled in my mind.’

vrtam kuntalaih snigdha raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba raktadharam me

So these are whole minute details of the face of the Lord. Also during this pastime of Damodar and at other times she is kissing that face of you, Damodar. ‘He Ananta, He Vishnu, He Prabhu, He Deva.’ So I wish to just have that on my mind all the time. He says ‘Alam, enough! This is enough and nothing else I look forward to. Alam laksa labhai. Labha means benefit and how much benefit? Hundreds and thousands of other benefits I am not interested! Full stop. Yes I want to just remember that Damodar.

vrtam kuntalaih snigdha raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba raktadharam me

Alam, this is enough. Alam laksa labhaih, I don’t care for any other kind of benediction, benefit. And the this Damodar pastime doesn’t end with Yashoda tying up Krishna to the mortar. It is also known as Ukhal Bandhan lila. Once he was tied up to the Ukhal, to the mortar, and then Yashoda was thinking ‘now he cannot do any further mischief.

I have tied Him up.’ Of course she was also thinking that he should be tied up otherwise she is scared that he may go away from home and it would be difficult to find him. ‘If I leave him alone in this state when now he is kind of afraid and scared because he has stolen butter. He is an offender and so I was trying to chase him and I had a stick to beat him.’

And of course one time Yashoda had thrown that stick away or else he would have become more scared and that’s why he was running faster and was trying to..It was difficult to catch hold of him so she threw away the stick. So she wants to tie him up and it is explained by the Acharyas that Yashoda is thinking ‘if I don’t tie him up he may go away and hide somewhere so he has to be tied.’ So he was tied up and then Yashoda was busy with her home affairs. Housewives, a lot of things to do.

But then Krishna had- He wanted to do further mischief. Mischief after mischief after mischief. He had broken the pot in which Yashoda was churning butter that morning and he had stolen butter and he was distributing that butter to the monkeys. This is another mischief and like that and now he is tied up. But Krishna is thinking, ‘no. I will do something more. I am unstoppable.’ And then he enters the courtyard with the big mortar tied to his belly and that is-

kuveratmajau baddha murtyaiva yadvat
tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca

So this is the other part of that pastime. This kind of interval here, he is tied up to the mortar but this is only half the story and then there were two trees, the sons of Kuvera. Manigriva and the other one Nalakuvera, they were cursed to become trees. ‘Okay I also bless you. You become trees in Gokula in the courtyard of Nanda Maharaja and you two trees, you will be able to witness Krishna’s pastimes and one day he will free you from this bondage and conditioning of being in bodies of trees.’

So that is what has happened so tvaya mocitau. So those Kuveratmajau, the sons of Kuvera, baddha- they were bound up. tvaya mocitau. He Damodar, you freed them. And not only you liberated them, freed them but bhakti bhajau krtau ca. You bestowed the mood of devotion unto them and in Srimad Bhagavatam there’s a whole dialogue between these Kuveratmajau’s the sons of Kuvera and Sri Krishna.

Sri Krishna has spoken and the sons of Kuvera also have offered their prayers begging for mercy, begging for devotional service and then they have circumambulated Damodar. And he is still tied to the mortar and two of these sons they are going round and round in Parikrama. They offer their obeisances and having been blessed by Sri Krishna with Bhakti they departed.

So that’s the other part of the pastime and the prayer is here in this astaka that.. The seventh verse starts with,
kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat

And then ‘you freed them, you gave them Bhakti and so Tatha like that, me too me too. Please give me lots of Bhakti, lots of devotional service, a life of devotion.’

na dhanam na janam na sundarim?kavitam va jagad isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare?bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also has prayed ‘I want Bhakti.’ So everyday as we were reciting this Damodarastaka and offering our lamps to Damodar and we were also begging- that’s if you were singing with understanding of what you were singing. So this is important and so Bhakti Charu Maharaja used to make us understand the meaning of the song before he would sing and he would get others to sing. So it’s important, it’s very important. You are singing and you don’t know what you’re singing, what is going on.

So we have been singing, begging and praying that

tatha prema bhaktim svakam me prayaccha

Give me- tatha, bhakti like you gave to the sons of Kuvera.
Na moksha- he is again reminding, ‘no moksha not for me, no no no!’

na mokse graho me ‘sti damodareha

Don’t give me moksha but give only Bhakti to me.’ And then in concluding, again more obeisances. namas te ‘stu damne, we said this, my obeisances unto the rope. Sphurad dipti dhamne. And you also have to pay attention to what you are reading and what you are saying, the pronunciation is also important, right?

namas te ‘stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne, one is damne and one is dhamne. So we should pay attention to these details and pronounce it right, then understand it. Then accordingly one is dam which means rope and other one is dham. Because there is talk of namah, obeisances then the dam becomes damne and dham becomes dhamne. My obeisances unto dham, that is dham namah dhamne. namah astu dhamne. You make two sentences like that so sphurad dipti dhamne.

That rope is an abode of that effulgence, that effulgent rope and that’s why it is called dhamne, spurad dipti dhamne. Dipti is the effulgence, the light, the Dipti of that rope and that is Dhamne.

tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne

The rope is the abode of the light or effulgence and your belly is the abode of the universe. So both dhamne, sphurad dipti dhamne and sisvasya dhamne. Hence my obeisances unto the rope and my obeisances unto your belly, oh Damodar.

Then obeisances unto Radhika also, Radha is also remembered here and why Radha is remembered? Namo radhikayai tvadiya priyayai. You are Priya, she is your Priya and she is Krishna Priya, Radha is Krishna Priya and Radha is very dear to Krishna and she is tvadiya, she is simply yours. tvadiya priya, radha. So radha tvadiya priyayai, this is again chaturti, grammer. Vrindayai not Vrindaya, Vrindayai, this is something else.

namo ananta lilaya devaya tubhyam

Again, ananta lila oh deva, again my obeisances now unto your Ananta lilas- the unlimited pastimes which you perform. My obeisances unto all those lilas and especially my obeisances unto Damodar lila. So Damodarastak begins with obeisances, namah- namamisvaram and it ends with namah anata lilaya devaya tubhyam. So again this is amazing Damodarastaka and because Damodar is amazing his pastimes are amazing.

Everything about him is amazing and sweet adharam madhuram, everything is madhur madhur, sweet about the Lord. Madhuradi pater akhilam madhuram. Madhuradi Pati, He is the master of sweetness and Akhilam madhuram. Everything is sweet about this Lord, about Damodar, so Jai Damodar.

Yashoda Maiya ki jai and Damodar Astak ki jai.
Damodar Masa ki jai. Gokul Dham ki jai. Damodar lila ki jai.
Srila Prabhupada ki jai.

Srila Bhakti Charu Maharaja ki jai. Gaura prema anande hari haribol.

Bhakti Sastri Seminar

ISKCON Pandharpur
4th October, 2020

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-
sevanam bhaktir ucyate

Translation :
Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the senses. When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord.

When we serve hrsikesa, hrsikena hrsikesa. hrsikena means by the senses.
We should read a little Sanskrit also. There are veda and upaveda also. Also vedanga, veda vedanga. Under vedanga comes shiksha, shiksha means pronunciation, and also grammar. So grammar is also veda, vedanga and you should read that also. By the help of vedanga we can read Veda. So let’s read Veda, Srimad Bhagvatam, 1.2.18.

Study of Srimad Bhagvatam is graduation study. If you do Bhakti Vaibhav then there you will study Srimad Bhagvatam. Nowadays people keep studying, half of their life they study. First education, then higher education and then overseas education in Australia, America. Bhakti Shastri course is also higher education. VIHE, Vrindavan Institute of Higher Education, higher education in ISKCON started like this, VIHE was established some 20-30 years ago. In Krishna consciousness all education is higher and outside krishna consciousness all education is lower.

Education about the spirit is higher. There are two things: spirit and matter, there are only two things in the world, one is spirit and another is matter. Most of the education of this world is about the matter, about mud, geography, astro. They are all zero until ke ami, Sanatana Goswami asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, people call me pandit and learned but I even don’t know who I am, ke ami.

So this higher education, spiritual education should be compulsory and if we have not taken this education then we have not even become human, then we remain animals, dvipad pashu.

nasta-prayesv abhadresu
nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
bhaktir bhavati naisthiki [SB 1.2.18]

Translation :
By regularly hearing the Bhagavata and rendering service unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.

Here is the remedy for eliminating all inauspicious things within the heart which are considered to be obstacles in the path of self-realization. Whatever inauspicious things are there they can be removed from our heart, first from heart, then mind, then thoughts or behavior, so how to remove those things is explained here by Srila Prabhupada. Also they are obstacles in the path of self-realization, so they should be removed, nasta. So how to do this, the remedy is mentioned here by Srila Prabhupada. The remedy is nityam bhagavata-sevaya, hearing and reading.

The remedy is the association of the Bhagavatas. There are two types of Bhagavatas, namely the book Bhagavata and the devotee Bhagavata. If someone hears nityam bhagavata-sevaya then what will he understand? He may understand it as the book Bhagavata but Srila Prabhupada is explaining the meaning here. Suta Gowswami said in Naimisharanya which is near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh that there are two types of Bhagavata one is the book Bhagvata and the devotee Bhagavat. So we have to serve both the book and devotee Bhagavata then we will do nityam bhagavata-sevaya.

If we don’t serve devotee Bhagavata then we will become kanistha adhikari. One is uttam and another is kanistha, one who only serves the Lord but disrespects the devotees or offends the devotee, then he does not do the complete seva of Bhagavata or doesn’t understand Bhagavata. The word is Bhagavat or Bhagawan, from Bhagavat becomes Bhagavata just like Vasudev becomes Vasudev. Bhagavat means Bhagavan, related to the Lord. So the book which is related to the Lord is called book Bhagvata and devotees are also called Bhagvata because they have a relationship with the Lord. Therefore both books and devotees are called Bhagavata therefore we should serve both of them.

Srila Prabhupada was the heart, the essence of Bhagavata. One who has understood Bhagavata, knows Bhagavata can be called Bhagavata. Then he will serve both the book as well as the devotee Bhagavata. But if he is not serving the devotee then his seva remains incomplete and he doesn’t understand Bhagavata.

matrvat para-daresu
para-dravyesu lostravat
atmavat sarva-bhutesu
yah pasyati sa panditah [Canakya-sloka 10]

Translation:
One who considers another’s wife as his mother, another’s possessions as a lump of dirt and treats all other living beings as he would himself, is considered to be learned.

Pandit means he is learned, he is qualified, he knows the sastras. yah pasyati sa panditah, who sees or who understands another’s wife as his mother, another’s possessions as a lump of dirt, lostravat and treats all other living beings as he would himself is a pandita. Tukaram was bathing at some other ghat, people asked him why are you bathing here today. He told him that someone has put some abominable things there. He said so because what he saw was looking yellow in colour, it was golden jewellery. Shivaji Maharaja wanted to gift him some golden and silver jewellery but Tukaram Maharaja denied. Being sad they put the jewellery at the ghat where Tukaram maharaj used to take bath. But Tukaram Maharaja saw it as dirt and went to take a bath at some other place. So Tukaram Maharaj was such a pandita. Tukaram Maharaja ki jai!!

We love ourselves the most, so who is really a pandita he treats everyone as himself. All the living entities belong to my Lord and are very dear to Him then they are dear to me also. The Lord said to Arjuna, you are very dear to me. Not only Arjuna was dear to Krishna, all the jivas are dear to Krishna. All living entities are dear to Krishna and if they are not dear to me then I am not intelligent or all the knowledge with me is useless. If all living entities are dear to Krishna then they must be very dear to me. So we have to love them all and we have to serve them, then there will be,

dadati pratigrhnati
guhyam akhyati prcchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva
sad-vidham priti-laksanam [NOI 4]

Translation:
Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering pras?da are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.

These are symptoms of love. You say I love you devotees or prabhus, it should not be just lip service, show me your love.

If you want to know the Lord then you need to read sastras and you must also know devotees. We should know at least two people, the Lord and his devotees. There are three things in the world: one is the Lord, second are his devotees and third is maya. This is also knowledge to know there is no other fourth thing. Or we can say there are only two things, the Lord and his energies. There are two types of energy: marginal energy which are the jivas and external energy or maya. So to have such knowledge we have to study shastra. The Lord is never alone, he is always with his devotees. We cannot separate the devotees of the Lord from Lord, they are part and parcel just like fire can’t be separated from its heat and light. You can’t say you just want fire and don’t want its light or it’s heat. There is no existence of fire without heat and light, fire means heat and light. Similarly when we say Bhagavan then it means part and parcel of the Lord are already included.

mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah [Bg 15.7]

Translation:
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts.

The Lord is complete and living entities are parts. So by studying Sastras, Gita, Bhagavatam, Nectar of Instruction, Isopanisad and Nectar of devotion we will get all this knowledge. Especially we should know who jiva or a living entity is, how small he is. He is so small that no one pays attention to it and also to know how small he is we need knowledge. Keshagra, part of hair, shata, divide the tip of that hair into 100 parts and then take one part and again divide it into 100 parts, now pick up one from that, this is your size.

This is the size of the soul, so small, so tiny. No one pays attention to it as no one can see it, but if you put spectacles of sastras then you can see it. But even after reading you didn’t understand then you need jnana. Atma is very small, very subtle, even the microscope or electron microscope can’t see it. When a doctor does surgery he sees different parts of the body using a microscope. Everybody has used a microscope to see the body but haven’t seen the soul through it. The power of your microscope to see is also imperfect, it can’t see everything.

nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam [Katha Upanishad 2.2.13]

Translation :
The Supreme Lord is eternal and the living beings are eternal. The Supreme Lord
is cognizant and the living beings are cognizant.

This is very very subtle. There are two types of body; one is the gross body made of earth, water, fire, air and ether and another is the subtle body made up of mind, intelligence and ego. Can you see the mind? But does it exist or not, can you say that mind doesn’t exist just because you haven’t seen it. You can understand the mind by its symptoms, cancalam hi manah [Bg 6.34], we are sitting here but in the meantime our mind can go and visit Solapur. So does mind exist? Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean that we can conclude that the mind doesn’t exist. So mind, intelligence and ego make the subtle body. Earth, water, fire, ether, these are all things we can see, but air we can’t see but it is there and if it blows strongly it distorts everything. We can’t see the sky, we can’t take selfies with the sky. So air and sky we can’t see them but they still exist similarly mind, intelligence and ego can’t be seen but they exist. They are more subtle than air and sky also and more subtle than the subtle body is the soul. You can’t even see the subtle body, so how can you see the soul which is even more subtle?

So what we can’t see sastras show us. Sadhu shows us with the help of sastra, sadhus just like a teacher explains what is written in the sastras or book.
So sadhu, sastra, acarya and then,

chakhu-dan dilo jei, janme janme prabhu sei
divya-jnan hride prokashito

Translation :
He opens my darkened eyes and fills my heart with transcendental knowledge. He is my Lord, birth after birth.

We sing this, at least Narottam das thakur sang this. He understood that my guru has opened my darkened eyes and that is why I will serve him life after life. This can be any guru, diksha guru or shiksha guru or vartma pradakshika guru. We can take knowledge from every devotee, so temple devotees or congregational devotees may be your guru or you may be their guru that is why Lord says in Bhagavad Gita, bodhayantah parasparam [10.9].

Some devotees became students and some devotees became teachers in bhakti shastri course. One day on teacher’s day, I became a teacher. To look like teacher we needed clothes so we used to borrow clothes from the teachers and they would not fit us so we used to stich them. So this is how student became teacher and for this one day all students acted as teachers. But this one is real, in ashram, in bhakti shastri course your guru brother taught you, he became your teacher and you heard humbly. If you have to learn something from anyone then you must become humble without that it’s not possible.

Because of corona everywhere there was lockdown but we had Bhakti shastri course and you all achieved karuna of Lord and Srila Prabhupada and now you all are shastrajna. That’s the problem we have forgotten that Madhavacarya was shastrajna, Ramanujacarya was shastrajna, Tukaram Maharaj was shastrajna, Srila prabhupada is also shastrajna, Rupa Gowswami was shastrajna. One who knows shastra is called shastrajna, who has knowledge of sastras. In Gita, Lord says, chastram pramanam te [Bg 16.24], which shastra is evidence? This bhakti shastra. Gita, Bhagavatam, these are all sastras, this is a science, in thi there is scientific knowledge, scientific basis of Krishna consciousness. Prabhupada told Bhakti Svarup Damodar Maharaj to write a book with the title scientific basis of Krishna consciousness. He was a shastrajna, he has done Phd in Chemistry, did his higher studies in California. He was from Manipur. When he became a disciple of Srila Prabhupada then Prabhupada told him to write books and they were titled as scientific basis of Krishna consciousness, life comes from life. Life comes from life and not matter, origin of life is life and not the dead matter. To oppose the misconception that by some chemical combinations and solutions we can create life Prabhuapada told him to write book titled life comes from life and not from matter.

So these Gita, Bhagavatam are sastras, we have forgotten.Gita, bhagavatam, veda, puran are the original shastra and rest all is secondary. So there is para vidya and apara vidya which a few moments before I said as higher and lower education. So you have read sastras and became shastrajna. If there is any database of shastrajna your names should be added to that list. Is the certificate ready?
Congratulations to all those who have become satrajna.

In the spiritual world everyone loves to talk about Krsna

1996
Vrndavana, India
Initiation Lecture

First of all, I would like to welcome you all and also thank some of you for being present here. Especially, few of my godbrothers are here. Vrndavana Prabhu is in the back. Who else? Any other Prabhupada's disciples here? Also, thank to Mukunda Datta Prabhu for accepting the chief priest of this ceremony which he described as auspicious ceremony. Which he said, also, the ceremony is taking place in a very auspicious place. 

It is a necessary for reminding you all this is a very auspicious place. Do you need reminder? First of all, this is Vrndavana. Do you remember you are in Vrndavana? That does not matter where in Vrndavana. Just being in Vrndavana is the top most situations. Any part of Vrndavana is very special part.

This area is called Seva Kunja. Seva Kunja is a place where Krsna not only used to but still is performing His madhurya lila, rasa dance pastimes. In Seva Kunja is temple of Radha Damadara, established by none other than Jiva Goswami, who is a topmost scholar of this world. The world has not seen scholars like Jiva Goswami, very rare. 

So, we are in the courtyard, backyard of Jiva Goswami's Radha Damodara. In that backyard there is the Samadhi of Rupa Goswami and we are all Rupanugas, sitting at the feet of Rupa Goswami and bhajan kutir of Rupa Goswami. This Tamala trees here, there are the shades of Tamala tress. You could have used some shade. In the presence of monkeys, our lives are quite exciting here. It will be fun for next 3 hours. 

Not only that. That is the window there. Prabhupada used to see through that window, meditating on Rupa Goswami's samadhi and thinking of the future plans. He was thinking of us, although, we were not even born those days but Prabhupada was thinking of our future. Because of Prabhupada's intense meditation and prayers
in the little room there which is the kitchen part of course, he also was meditating in other rooms – and contemplating and visioning the whole future of Krsna

consciousness movement. That Prabhupada's residence before he went to the West and, again, he stayed here in early 70.

Not only that. There is one more thing to add. Right here, between bhajan kutir and samadhi, Prabhupada used to sit here under those trees in 1972, Kartika month and gave his nectar of devotion classes. Here in this portion, there were some kind of structures – the bushes were here, broken walls, chirping birds, like you hear. So, Prabhupada used to sit here and gave his nectar of devotion classes.

During the Kartika of 1972, also something happened. Prabhupada was sitting here to give initiation to the initiates. I was initiated right here! At that time, I did not even think, I was not thinking. Those days we were not thinking. Prabhupada was there. We thought this will go – Prabhupada and us and Prabhupada's presence. We
thought that will go on and on and on. We never thought that there will be one day Prabhupada not with us and then there will be us who would be taking some of the business of giving initiations. We did not think like that. 

So, this place is certainly extraordinary and extra special place. There could be no better location than this. Especially, as I was thinking of giving initiation in Vrndavana, I thought I would like to go back into the history. Year 1972, that is quite some time. I was only 23 years old. It is quite different. I did not have grey
hair and sikha.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Initiation ceremony as it is, is very auspicious ceremony as some conditioned souls or conditioned for a long time are getting an opportunity for getting out of this material existence. It is almost like getting released from the prison house. When someone is coming out of the prison house, they welcome you as a joyous occasion. So, I was also thinking of all the senior devotees are kind of already there, initiated and brahmin initiated and Prabhupada's disciples, as some initiates are getting initiation today, which is like getting out of this world. So, at the
entrance all prabhus and matajis are there to receive you, welcome you, encourage you.

Today, we have several devotees taking first initiation and two will be taking first and second initiation and one taking second. This is to give you a picture of what is happening here. Those taking first initiation which is harinama diksha, you are accepting this mantra,

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare.

We will be handing mantra, delivering mantra, giving you hare krsna mantra and you will be chanting that mantra which is non different from Krsna Himself.  500 years ago, Lord Gauranga appeared. He brought the gift of holy name.

“golokera prema dhana harinama sankirtana”

Under the disciplic succession that were of the holy name of the hare krsna maha mantra is delivered from the spiritual master to the disciples and on behalf of Srila Prabhupada, we delivering that mantra up to you.

I was reading Bhagavatam, today. There was an example of how you cannot catch hold the tail of a dog who is right across this ocean. How far could a dog go in the ocean? What hope is there for you to cross the ocean if you are attempting to cross by holding the tail of a dog? Not much hope. So, Prabhupada explains there that nothing else will work out. If you want to cross this material existence and go beyond which is we called going back to Godhead, then one time Prabhupada said,
 
“When you catch, you catch hold of my dhoti.” 

Like little children always catch hold of dhoti of their father or saree of their mother and they are dragged along. They go where the father goes or mother goes. 

“mahajano yean gatah sa panthah”

That pantha, that path is the proper path which is shown to us by the mahajanas. So Prabhupada said,  "You just follow me, you catch hold of my dhoti and you will get there and you will end with Krsna." So, we are holding Prabhupada and Prabhupada is holding on to his spiritual master, like that, and you hold us. This is
the disciplic succession.

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yoga nastah parantapa [BG 4.2]

This Lord Krsna has spoken in the Bhagavad Gita. So, this ceremony is auspicious, it is very serious ceremony because there is a commitment. You will be committing yourselves. It is a big step forward and there is a big commitment of taking care of this holy name, not offending this holy name is quite a task and not sinning any more on and stay very active in Krsna consciousness. It is lifetime, if not, forever in the future. 

As we were talking the other day in class, we are eternal servants not in just one lifetime servants. In material world people could talk only in terms of one lifetime. But we are talking of being servants eternally being servants of Krsna, of the spiritual master, vaisnavas. This is our eternal connection. 

As you are taking initiatives, (I am just trying to make the meaning out of initiation), you are taking initiatives or coming forward to practice Krsna consciousness. This is, of course, most welcome. We will encourage you.

Sometimes it is observed that devotees are quite enthusiastic up till the time of initiation. Some cases I am saying. And after initiation, some of them then take it easy, take it for granted. They look forward to initiation time and once initiation is there, name is given, "Now, it is all done. I am part of the family." They take it too easy.  This we are talking also from own experience. One person I initiated and last time I saw he was sitting and he went to his home town and then never ever have I see him again. That is one case. Varieties of things happen. I thought to let you know that these things happen so you could make sure this does not happen to you. Today, you will be taking vows to follow certain principles. We have seen some devotees not able to do that. They follow 4 regulative principles for one year, 2 years, we keep them waiting long period, 3 years, because they know unless they follow these principles there are no initiation, there is no social acceptance. So, they want to be initiated, otherwise, they are called or addressed bhakta. They are embarrassed with bhakta this or bhakta that. 

Although bhakta is quite a good title. Bhakta means Krsna bhakta. It is the top most position, in fact, to be bhakta. To be bhakta is no ordinary thing. Sometimes, as it is understood, bhakta or bhaktin is someone new. For these reasons they want to be initiated and they struggle to follow principles. But then things fade and devotees back into intoxication, get back into illicit connections. Gambling we do not hear much or meat eating. Intoxication and illicit sex are the killers, the primary principle enemies of Krsna consciousness movement.

Up until initiation time and around the initiation time, everything look so good and normal, rosy. Then something happens. Time is there working on us. As soon as we take it a little easy and relaxed, immediately, the illusion returns. The gap is widened and wide opened and have Maya takes hold. Some devotees make a big change of ashrams. Devotees who were initiated, lots of them were brahmacaris. After some years, although they had think that they would be brahmacaris for the rest of their lives; especially, our days, early 70's. 

We thought that that most of us were brahmacaris and brahmacarinis. The spirit of renunciation was so high in presence of Prabhupada. It was easy as he kept us very very high in his presence. So we thought, at least, I was thinking that most of us will be sannyasis or brahmacari. But that was not the case. 

There is nothing wrong. At least now we say, "Those days we almost preached against this grihastha business. As soon as one of our godbrothers was thinking of getting married, we immediately would surround him by ten of us and make him sit down and make him understand Prabhupada said this and that, Bhagavatam says. We speak to him until he is convinced. But that fanatically in our early days – immaturity or immature. The reality is something different. This we have seen. Wanting is one thing. But it does not work like that, although, the scriptures will
encourage and we will be encouraging, sadhus or shastra will encourage.

Prabhupada says all brahmacaris should stay brahmacaris and all matajis should get married. How is it gonna work? And it does not work like that, but encouragement is there. The difference is just that brahmacari should stay
brahmacari.

So, things are changing. There are different mentions. Other mention is some grihasta devotees get so much concerned about their family and maintenance of their family and related business. Many of you will become, eventually, grihastas or brahmacaris. So keep this ongoing. We have repeated that in ancient days:

bramhacari, grihasta, vanaprastha, sannyasa. 

You are 25 years old brahmacari, you go to your home, you get married and have children but you never forget Guru or his mission, your promise or support. You are supportive of your Guru's mission. The 13 questions that you are asked to answer, in one of them said you staying in or supporting ISKCON. What does it ask about staying in ISKCON? "Why one should remain in ISKCON?" There was one question. So, it implies that one SHOULD remain in ISKCON and there are many good reasons. 

In our movement what is the inside and outside of ISKCON? You could stay outside and you are still in ISKCON but your consciousness, your service attitude, you are wanting to support, that always has to be there. So, we have seen that lots of time our whole grihastha asrama's situation has to be settled within ISKCON and because it is not settled, our movement is little bit unsettled and shaky. Because most of the devotees in our movement are grihasthas and less than 100 sannyasis and brahmacaris are maybe 20 – 30 percent. So, 70 – 80 percent of our populations are grihasthas. So how they are doing, how they are well connected with ISKCON, what is their situation, how they are supporting or not supporting, becomes the deciding factor, socially speaking, social
development.

So, you should all be concerned for International Society for Krsna Consciousness. What we are addressing is some social concerns and it is time to get concerned. And devotees who are getting initiated should have this concern. Your concern should be how you would like to see Prabhupada's International Society for Krsna Consciousness more developed as a society; to see how you could assist.  We have seen also some disciples after some time they keep looking for nectar. They think there is not enough in ISKCON, there is not enough in Prabhupada's
books, so they go looking, searching other books, other sampradayas, they minimize the process or the importance of chanting and they get into worshipping deities of some certain sampradayas. So this also we have seen happening. But this is already an experience and I'm sure this is a common experience of most spiritual masters in Krsna consciousness movement. That means each one of us has something additional, unique experience, some common experience also. 

The examples I am giving are some common examples of what happens to those who get initiated in rather 2 years, 3 years, 10 years. This is what happens to our disciples. That relationship, which is supposed to be an eternal relationship does not even exist. You do not even feel that any relationship exists. Then different offences are committed. Some of them becomes guru, bhogis. Guru bhogi, guru tyagi, guru drohi. 

Guru bhogi means they try to enjoy the property or institution of the guru sadhu or the position in guru's institution. They try to exploit, take advantage. Instead of contributing, they try to take away, take advantage for their own gratification. Guru tyagi means means just renouncing, giving up that connection, just turning the
back towards the guru institution. And guru drohi is betrayal, trying to assert the position of guru. Trying to become as good as guru. Or think, "I have become as good as guru. Now I do not need him anymore," as if you are using guru as some kind of stepping stone to go beyond him.

That also we have seen in Prabhupada's  institution. Some of them trying to take Prabhupada's position of becoming founder acarya or this and that. This guru bhogi, guru tyagi, guru drohi business dilute the consciousness and then weakens the relationships between spiritual master and disciple. When this relationship is weak then everything else remains spiritually weak as everything will depends on or starts off this sambhanda or this relationship. So this is not proper, this is not regular.

So, I thought I would just share these experiences. You will be taking vow so that you would not do such things, yes? As in Mayapur we had the social development conference. The society is weak or the Hare Krsna movement is weak or different difficulties are there and the cause was identified as the unqualified disciples.

Initiation that conducted too soon and all thing become cheap, fast in and out with very less commitment in the part of the initiates to push on the sankirtan movement. Prabhupada repeated, appealed to, he always said, very affectionately, "American boys and girls." And sometimes he would say, "European boys and girls." He never said Indian boys and girls, he had more faith in the Americans. 

About pushing on this movement. The movement is required so that we could do something effective, organised, it could influenced the thinking or revolutionize the thinking and consciousness. So, this commitment has to be lifetime, many lifetime or forever in the future. Commitment or accepting a spiritual master is not a fashion, Prabhupada said. My neighbor has car so I also buy car. My neighbor has dog, I also liked to have a dog. My neighbor went to Haridwar last week now he has goals and I'll also have  also goal. So, this is not a fashion.

Like in the west people like to "try it out." When there is something they say to try it out. Maybe some devotee from the west want to "try it out" this Krsna consciousness but he can try it out for six months but finally, if he is convinced, then only he should go for accepting initiation. So, we need you to practice and
propagate Krsna consciousness movement. The world is false alarm and need some positive alternatives and you have received, you know what the other alternatives are. What are they?

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare 

Do you think it is that simple? So, any big problem and you say the alternative is just chant hare krsna , how would that work? The problems are huge, big turmoil and you say chant hare krsna? Is there alternative? Can you convince us? Name is bigger than the problems. Jai! The name is Krsna and the name is unlimited. That is a smart reply. It is no small thing. Maha mantra is no small thing. When we say maha mantra, it is Lord Himself. We convince like that and learn the association of Prabhupada. 

So, you just keep these few things in mind and see how these things are not repeated. You have some kind of reliable devotee power. Once a devotee, always a devotee. This is not something you do for 2, 3 or 5 years and we will never see your face again. When you stay out, whenever you make your mind after 5 or 20 years, you come back and get initiated. Stay a member of congregation, namahatta, folk members. We do not force you but you are taking this step of wanting initiation then you have to commit yourself for full lifetime, whole heartedly. 
What else is there to do? If you think you have something important to do other
than Krsna's service, Krsna consciousness, then you are in maya.

So, those who are taking hare krsna, maha mantra initiation, harinama diksha, we say to you please, take shelter. Normally, I do not speak like that but I thought I was keeping you waiting and one reason I was saying that is I did not have good experiences. Some of these prabhus are turning against, getting into maya, going back to the drugs, going to some sampradayas. Batch after batch we initiate and after 2 or 5 years, the scene is completely different and there is frustration. 

We take seriously; I took seriously. When you came and take initiation I thought you are going to be with us for the rest of your life and serve Prabhupada's mission, you would have chant for the rest of your life, you will follow principles for the rest your life. Do not do that. 

There are ten offences. We say them every morning. That is part of the program you have to say them again. The first offence is not to offend vaisnavas, they are worshipable, they are very dear to Krsna and those who want to worship Krsna and not His devotees they are called third class devotees. Simple definition of kanistha adhikari. They are very expert in worshipping the Lord but vaisnavas, they are ready to kick, punch in the face. Aarti to the Lord and punch in vaisnavas' face. This is third class. Krsna does not like that. "Love my dog. If you want to love me, love my dog," in the west they say. They love dogs so much. In India they would say "Love my cow." So, we are dogs of Krsna, devotees of Krsna and we have to love them.

Second offence is to consider names of demigods, there are so many of them. How many? 33 crores, 330 0000 demigods. To consider their names to be equal to or independent of Lord Visnu, of Lord  Krsna is an offence. The devotees from the west have no problem with this offence because they are not into any worship including demigods worship. But in India we have problems, Bangladesh, of some very popular God.

Third offence is to disobey orders of the spiritual master. So, do not disobey the orders. A lot of people in India do not accept guru because they know, "If I accept guru then I am stuck, I have to follow his orders." So they are smart. What do they do? They do not accept the spiritual master then they think they are not committing
this offence. You see how they are thinking. They also do not go to the discourse because they know the sadhus are going to say do not do this and that. You are just eating, sleeping, mating. They already know what sadhus will say so they stay away from sadhus and do not accept guru.

But of course sastras say,

tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh shreya uttamam

Sastras are insisting that if you want to be qualified human being you must accept spiritual master and once you have accept do not disobey. The holy name also is not to be offended.
 
Fourth offence is to blaspheme the Vedic literature. Common offences are sashtras are misinterpreted and read such sastras is an offence. So better in ISKCON, we stick to Prabhupada's books, read them and distribute books. Distributing means serving the scriptures. If you have committed an offence against the shastras you carry books and distribute them. Sastras will forgive you. Sastras will be pleased.  Fifth offence is to consider the glories of chanting to be an imagination. It is not imagination, no exaggeration. The holy name is powerful, none different from the Lord. Jagai and Madhai have attained perfection of their life just by chanting hare krsna. Sastra says harer namaiva kevalam. The glories of the holy name are true, no imagination, no exaggeration.

Sixth offence is interpretation of the holy name. So many interpretations are there. They say, "Why hare krsna mantra? Any mantra." Some asramas give you lists of all possible mantras you could chant. They say, "Chant the mantra of your choice. Why maha mantra has to chanted? Or any mantra is okay. Why a mantra? You
could just say any word and you would achieve the same result." This is also interpretation.

Seventh offence is committing sins on the strength of the holy name. This is commonly done in all the religions, in the Indian religions. That is why we go on the banks of Ganga. We sin all year long and then go at the time of Kumbh Mela, take a dip and think we have freed from sins and ready to sin more. Like that, thus is a dangerous path and should be avoided.

Eighth is to consider chanting of hare krsna same as some ritualistic activity mentioned in karma kanda section. Especially, to consider social welfare activities on same level as chanting. Chanting is bhakti yoga and social welfare work may be some good activity. So, there is a big difference between shudha sattva and sattva guna.

Ninth offence is to preach to a faithless person.
jare tako tare tako krsna upadesha

In general, we encourage everyone to chant, to read, everyone to take prasad and we talk of some general basic process. But to talk some confidential, deep subject matters to some new comers or wordly people, this has to be avoided. According to the person that we are preaching to, his elevation in Krsna consciousness corresponding topics should be preached. 

Tenth offence is not to have complete faith in chanting and maintain material attachments after hearing so many instructions on the subject matter. So this you understand. The final offence, which is not part of the tenth offence, is to be inattentive while chanting the holy name. So, be very attentive when you are chanting the names of the Lord. You are calling the Lord and once the Lord is there, you are not receiving Him, you are not paying attention to Him. This is like giving someone appointment or asking someone to come over to the party. He comes and you are not there. You have given appointment to someone and you are busy in something else or you just take off or you go out of station. How does that sound? Not proper, right? Certainly offending that guest. 

So, when you are chanting the names of the Lord, you are calling, "My Lord, please come. Please, engage me as your eternal servant." So, that the Lord is taking seriously and coming but once He comes, you are busy in something else, you are not there. You are there and not there at the same time. Physically there, mentally
elsewhere. At some time in our life, although everyday we recite the ten offences as a ritual. So we have to follow these ten offences so that we can quickly achieve the desired goal of life which is Krsna prema.

Those who are taking second initiation they become brahmins. We have European brahmins, American brahmins. Yesterday, I was talking to someone and I was reminded how Bhaktisiddhanta's disciples went to the west, went to England and one time they had an appointment with the members of the royal family and they have heard of this title brahmin and they were wondering, 

“Oh, could you make us also brahmin?” 
And Bhaktisiddhanta's follower said,  “Oh yeah, no problem. Yes, we could make
you brahmin.”

“So, what do we going to have to do to become brahmin?”

“No meat eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex, no gambling and few other things he were going to say and before he was going to make the list complete, their response was” 

“Impossible! We cannot do this, and can not to do! Then what do I do? There is
nothing else left to do.”

But now, by the grace of Prabhupada, we have some American, European, Australian and African are brahmins. Some them are becoming qualified, learned. So that is the thing. The brahmin have become learned and read and can teach.
They worship and they teach others. Brahmin is basically learned teacher, he is teaching by example, knowledgeable person.

vidya-vinaye-sampane 
brahmane gavi hastini
suni caiva sva-pake ca
panditah sama-darsinah [B.G. 5.18]

He has lots of vidya, knowledge, and he is also humble. And there are many other qualities of brahmin mentioned in the scriptures, the 18th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, text 42, Krsna talks about brahma karma svabhava ja, qualities of a brahma. When you come here you are promising to follow all the principles in all presence of spiritual master and Prabhupada is here and the priests, Vrndavana is here, the fire and paramatma. Keeping in mind that there are so many persons witnessing. You will be promising to follow rules, to chant 16 rounds and you will stay in ISKCON, serve ISKCON for the rest of your life.  Bhakti Caru Maharaj always say when he gives initiation, "And you will serve ISKCON for the rest of your life.”

Initiation ceremony starts.

The idea of a Krsna Conscious society
July 12th, 1997
Radhadesh, Belgium

tvam hi brahma-vidamsresthah
samskaran kartum arhasi
balayor anayor nrnam
janmana brahmano guruh [SB 10.8.6]

Translation:
My Lord, you are the best of the brahmanas, especially because you are fully aware of the jyotih-sastra, the astrological science. Therefore you are naturally the spiritual master of every human being. This being so, since you have kindly come to my house, kindly execute the reformatory activities for my two sons.

Purport: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, says in Bhagavad-gita (4.13),
catur-varnyam mayasrstamguna-karma-vibhagasah

The four varnas — brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra — must be present in society. The brahmanas are required for the guidance of the whole society. If there is no such institution as varnasrama-dharma and if human society has no such guide as the brahmana, human society will be hellish. In Kali-yuga, especially at the present moment, there is no such thing as a real brahmana, and therefore society is in a chaotic condition. Formerly there were qualified brahmanas, but at present, although there are certainly persons who think themselves brahmanas, they actually have no ability to guide society. The Krsna consciousness movement is therefore very much eager to reintroduce the varnasrama system into human society so that those who are bewildered or less intelligent will be able to take guidance from qualified brahmanas.

Brahmana means Vaisnava. After one becomes a brahmana, the next stage of development in human society is to become a Vaisnava. People in general must be guided to the destination or goal of life, and therefore they must understand Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The whole system of Vedic knowledge is based on this principle, but people have lost the clue (nate viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum), and they are simply pursuing sense gratification, with the risk of gliding down to a lower grade of life (mrtyu-samsara-vartmani). It doesn’t matter whether one is born a brahmana or not. No one is born a brahmana; everyone is born a sudra. But by the guidance of a brahmana and by samskara, one can become dvija, twice-born, and then gradually become a brahmana. Brahmanism is not a system meant to create a monopoly for a particular class of men. Everyone should be educated so as to become a brahmana. At least there must be an opportunity to allow everyone to attain the destination of life. Regardless of whether one is born in a brahmana family, a ksatriya family or a sudra family, one may be guided by a proper brahmana and be promoted to the highest platform of being a Vaisnava. Thus the Krsna consciousness movement affords an opportunity to develop the right destiny for human society. Nanda Maharaja took advantage of the opportunity of Garga Muni’s presence by requesting him to perform the necessary reformatory activities for his sons to guide Them toward the destination of life

This topic or this discussion should bring us to Gokula, again and again, every morning we will go to Gokula and then come back to Radhadesh. Then back to book distribution during the day. This is Garga Muni Maharaja visiting Gokula. Soon, I think by tomorrow we will find out that he was sent there by Vasudeva. So, as he is there now, Nanda maharaja is very much interested in taking full advantage of his presence. First of all, Nanda maharaja is honoring Garga muni maharaja. They both are maharajas. So, he is addressed as brahmavidam.

tvam hi brahma vidam sresthah

Srestha means you are very much superior, the best. Kanistha means the lowest, like kanistha adhikari, the lowest and srestha means topmost. So tvam hi, you certainly are brahmavidam. Vid means to know and from vid comes vidvan, one who knows. So Garga muni is addressed here as brahmavidam. You know Brahman, brahma janati iti brahmanah, you know Brahman and you are topmost person, the best person around here. Samskaran kartum arhasi, please do something, kartum arhasi, could you kindly do something. He is requesting Garga muni to please perform samskaras, reformatory process. For who? Balayor anayor nrnam, for these two children. Do you see these little boys here? Krsna and Balarama! Balayor, two, bala means child, balayor means two children.

nrnam janmana brahmano guruh

You are guru of the whole human society. You are such a qualified person. So please do this favor for me and for my family by performing samskaras for these two children, Krsna and Balarama.

And again, it is not directly mentioned in this text, but in previous text, jyotisam. In the translation Prabhupada has included this, especially because you are fully aware of jyotisha sastra. Amongst us we have someone who has more knowledge of jyotisha sastra than most of us. One meaning of jyoti is light. I was in Kuruksetra just three weeks ago and the place Krsna spoke Bhagavad Gita is known as Jyotisar, means source of light, the place where Bhagavad Gita was spoken. Krsna and Arjuna stood there in the chariot and the dialogue took place. That very spot is there. You could go to that very spot. So that is known as Jyotisar. I want to go to Jyotisar. Which way is Jyotisar? Place of light or source of light!
So this jyotisha sastra, people are ignorant, they are in darkness. They do not know which way to go or which activity at what time they should perform? Which one should be done first and all the priority and all this, the good times and bad times, auspicious, inauspicious time. So one who knows jyotisha sastra, he can avoid inauspicious times. He can lead you to light, lead you to right path, so that final destination is achieved. As yesterday and today this Jyotisa sastra topic is on the floor, I was trying to make connection.

I will be 48 years in two days, but I never went to jyotish sastri, not yet. Although I did not go, my parents went to a sasrti who knew jyotish, in connection with myself. I will just tell you briefly, because I have the floors, I can talk about myself. Some of my disciples know this. This was the time I had joined ISKCON in 72 and then my brother had come to get me. He had come with the news that if you will not come then mother would not survive, she may be no more. If you really care, then please come. So I had so much respect for my elder brother, this was how we were trained. So I wanted to honor him also and survival of the mother was the concern, so I went back to village. And they had promised that you just go to see the family and mother and you could come back. That was the promise. So I went to see my family, my mother.

So while I was there, they went to see a jyotishasastri. And could you imagine what they wanted to know? He used to be such a nice boy. I had some kind of reputation of being nice boy, nice student etc. But as I took Krsna consciousness, they took that, this is not nice. He used to be nice but not now. So when he will be nice again, to make this inquiry they went. I think only in the age of Kali such enquiries, on the contrary they should have gone to enquire, when will he become mahatma? When that day will come? He was may be nice but when will he be better, when he will be transcendentalist? So this is the abuse for jyotishasastra, for these kind of reasons they go to jyotishasatri these days.

I remember, that jyotishsatri gave some assurance ‘soon’. They want to make money. You know even if they found out that never ever he will come back, even if that showed the report, because they want to please the customer, so they say something half truth and make the money and this kind of sastries they are, brahmins they are. They are into making money which is completely contrary to the consciousness or the way of dealings of brahmanas. As soon as a person takes money, he is finished, he is not a brahmin. Brahmin never works for anybody’s money. That is sudra’s job. Hence Prabhupada is talking kalau sudra sambhavah and he says, formerly there were qualified brahmanas but at present although there are certainly persons who think themselves brahmanas, they actually have no ability to guide society. So this is the trouble. So that’s one point.

As there is the talk of this balayor, these two boys, nice boys, Krsna and Balarama. Sounds nice hmm, Krsna and Balarama? Whenever you say or hear these two names, Krsna and Balarama, you feel good. This Krsna and Balarama, they are always together. This is good team. They are always together. Although Balarama took birth first, They both end in Gokula and They grow together in Gokula and They are playing together in Gokula. From Gokula They went to Vrndavan, everybody went to Vrndavan, all the residents. Krsna and Balarama also went. When the time was there for Krsna and Balarma for herding the calves, Krsna and Balarama, They were sent together. Many pastimes took place. Everyday Krsna and Balarama They go together out into the forest for herding the calves.

One day Balarama stayed behind. There was His birthday or something and that is the day Brahma had come and he stole all the friends of Krsna and all the calves also. And for one year no one knew. Even Balarama did not know what was going on and the reason given in the Bhagavatam is, that day, the day Krsna lost His friends and the calves were stolen, Balarama was not with Krsna. From this statement also we understand that every other day He was there. He was always there but one day He was not there. When Akrura came from Mathura to Vrndavan, that means Mathura to Nandagrama, he brought both brothers Krsna and Balarama to Mathura. They both took part in wrestling match. Krsna killed Kamsa and Balarama killed all the brothers of Kamsa. He had 7 more brothers. So They both took part in this killing. They together meet Vasudeva and Devaki. They are Vasudeva and Devaki’s children originally. Well They spent some time with the parents. Then the sacred thread ceremony, the Gayatri, second initiation They received from Garga muni. Both of these Krsna and Balarama, They had not gone to any school, not yet because They were just herding cows all this time. So there was time to go to school, so They both together, walking and walking, They both went to Sandipani muni’s asrama. They both stayed together for 64 days, at least those many days. Krsna was learning one art in one day.

They both came back and by this time Jarasandha was ready for a battle. Krsna and Balarama arranged all the residents of Mathura transferred to Dvaraka. Two of them stayed behind to fight with Jarasandha. They put their heads togetherand they had a strategy. They decided that we will not kill Jarasandha. We will kill his army. So Krsna and Balarama They killed the entire army of Jarasandha and Jarasandha looked around. He was the only one around. And he was scared and he rushed back to his capital. Then he gathered more of his friends. He must have telephoned them and send messages, ‘please come’. And then he rushed again to Mathura, second time. Then again same strategy, both together they killed entire army sparing Jarasandha. And this happened 17 times. 18th time he came also. Every time he was bringing his big army. And Jarasanda’s friends, birds of the same feather flock together. As the saying goes, they were of the similar nature. So he was bringing all the demons from all over the planet and making Krsna and Balarama’s job easy, because the purpose of Their advent was, vinasayaca duskritam, to annihilate the demons. If Krsna and Balarama had to go door to door and kill, like door to door book distribution, but someone gives whole set also. So, they wanted to do wholesell killing, not retail job, one at a time. So Jarasandha was helping by bringing all demons from all over and Krsna and Balarama were just cleaning up. So 18th time They had no interest, They showed total disinterest in the battling and They started running. And Jarasandha said, “Hey, look cowherd. They are running now. Oh, go get them.” He was running after them with whole army and Krsna and Balarama, They were only walking, others were running. Krsna and Balarama can walk so swiftly and then climbed on one mountain. Jarasanda looked for Krsna and Balarama, but he couldn’t find, so he put whole forest on fire, the mountain on fire. Krsna and Balarama both together jumped from 88 miles tall, from top of the mountain into the valley. They were enjoying. They were not scared. They were only enjoying the clouds and scenes. You may think, they are jumping, so They must be scared and holding each other, no. They were also holding each other, but in full bliss and with full speed They came down. So, they landed and walked to Dvaraka. So, you could see they are together, all the time They were together.

In Dvaraka also They were together. One time Krsna went alone to Vidarbha to kidnap Rukmini. When Balarama realized that Krsna has gone alone, he rushed, with the army He went. So again They were together. They fought together They were fighting Rukmi and company. They returned and They stayed in Dvaraka together for long long time and They were getting news and messages of sufferings of all the Brajavasis, who were feeling separation from Krsna and Balarama. So They both wanted to go, but the residents of Dvaraka let only Balarama go, because they thought that if Krsna and Balarama, They both go then They will not return. So they kept Krsna and Balarama went. They also knew that if Krsna is here, Balarama will not stay in Vrindavan, He will come back wherever Krsna is. So that is what happened. Balarama went for 2 months, gave some association, relief to Brajavasis and to parents and then He returned.

Then at the time of sun eclipse, Krsna and Balarama together went to Kuruksetra. Subhadra was also there and lots of residents of Vrndavan were also there together. Well They went and also came back together to Dvaraka. Sometimes there is disagreement between Krsna and Balarama. Although They are together, They always do not agree with everything, for something They disagree. At the time of marriage of Subhadra, who was in favor? Krsna was in favor of the marriage and Balarama was against. So, Arjuna had come as a sannyasi. First he became sannyasi and then grihastha. Something like that we also follow. So that’s the beginning of Kaliyuga, that end of Dvapara. Anyway he was just disguised. Not undergone any ceremony. That was whole trick. Krsna must have given all the tricks to him, come as a sannyasi. So that was one time. Then time of battlefield of Kuruksetra also. Krsna was in favor, Balarama against. Krsna took part, He stayed on there. Balarama went on pilgrimage during that period. When the battle was ending then Balarama had come.

So like this, I was thinking how Krsna and Balarama, these nice two boys, beautiful boys, how They are always together. They are always together. Few times They were not together, on few occasions They not agree with each other, but rest of the time They are always together. And of course we understand that Balarama’s mood is that of servitor of Krsna all the time. He wants to serve Krsna all the times. He is also Anantasesa. When Krsna was brought to Gokula in the middle of the night then Anantasesa, who is that? That is Balarama, that’s His expansion. So He was there also. And there are many other things, garments Krsnawears, that is Balarama. Very difficult to understand, but that’s what He is. The shoes Krsna wears, this is Balarama. The land where Krsna performs His lilas, this is Balarama. Whenever Krsna is lying down or Visnu is lying down, that bed and there is transcendental snake; that is Balarama, expansion of Balarama. Anantasesa or Sahasravadan, thousand hooded, this transcendental serpent and He is chanting glories of Krsna. So like this is Krsna and Balarama.

Prabhupada invited Krsna and Balarama in Vrindavan when he established the temple. He named it KrsnaBalarama temple, although there is Radha Shyamasundar also, but he put Krsna and Balarama in center. Normally Radha Krsna, They go in the middle, but Prabhupada put Krsna Balarama in the center, Radha Syamasundar on one side and Gaur Nitai on other side. Other day Jayadvait maharaja was talking after Deities were installed, Krsna Balarama Deities. And next day on morning walk Prabhupada was talking, now that we have installed the Deities, you could approach Them and pray to Them. He said in nice words. He said, ‘You go to Krsna Balarama and say, ‘sir, Krsna Balarama sir, this is my problem’. Prabhupada said, you approach Them like that.

So these are two nice sirs, Krsna and Balarama. And somehow They are being treated here as children, like other children, other families, they have children. And There samskaras are performed for purification, reformation processes. So these things are being applied to Krsna and Balarama also, which is not really necessary. Janma karma ca me divyam, Krsna says, My birth, My activities, everything about Me is divyam. It is transcendental. There is no contamination, so there is no need. Really there is no need of any purification. Krsna and Balarama do not have to undergo any reformatory process, or process of purification. But the example is being set, They are setting the example before the whole world and of course They are also giving opportunity to Nanda maharaja, Yashoda to become Their parents. You know, what if Krsna and Balarama tell them after hearing Nanda Maharaja saying,

tvam hi brahma vidamsresthah samskaram kartum arhasi balayor

Look Gargamuniji, these sons, they have to undergo some process of purification, reformation. Krsna and Balaram, They are listening all this and what if Krsna and Balarama say, ‘hey come on, We are God. We don’t need any purification process. Samskaras are not for Us. We have created all the samskaras. We have created these brahmanas and We are the source of all that is pure. Stop this!’ that would have been a heart breaking experience for Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda. Krsna and Balarama could have easily said this. Knowing Their position as Supreme Personalities of Godheads They could have said so. But They are keeping quiet, completely quiet. Samskaras? Yes, yes, please do. We are ready. They are submitting Themselves. They are hearing, yes, these two boys, they need samskaras and They did not say a word about, kept complete silence. So this is how Yogamaya works, so that the vatsalyabhava, from vatsa, vatsa means calf. So the cow’s affection for the calf, that is a symbol of motherly affection. The dealings of cow with the calf, that is the personification of the affection. So much affection! We have seen sometimes, the calf is drinking the milk, then the cow turn around and lick the body of a calf. That is affection. She is totally relaxed and letting all the milk flow. Almost effortlessly milk is going right into the mouth of the calf. Doesn’t have to do too much pressing. But when you are trying to milk a cow, then she is trying to withdraw, because she is not happy. But when the calf is there, wanting to drink milk, she is just letting it flow. And when she licks the calf, the calf lifts his tail in the back. So this is vatsalya. So vatsalyabhava is Krsna is drinking mother Yashoda’s breast milk and she is caressing His body. So this is same as cow deals with calf.

So these pastimes are very sweet and Krsna and Balarama, They are simply enjoying dealings of Nanda and Yashoda. They are acting as ignorant, helpless kids and They are letting whatever Their parents wish to do with Them. No protest nothing, They are just fully surrendered.

This topic of astrology and jyotishasastra and samskara, specially the word samskara is very significant in this text. Prabhupada has taken the opportunity to talk about the state of affairs of the present day society and how present day society needs samskara, reformatory activities. And he is pointing out the varnasrama institution as the need for the human society and brahmanas as the guide in that varnasrama dharma, varnasrama society and pointing out how unfortunately, there is a need of brahmanas but what is available is sudras. Tones of sudras are around, not abrahmin around. Sudras are no good. Also sudras are required and they always will be there. And as soon as they get connected with and render service, paricharyatmakam, they always render service, serving the brahmanas, serving the ksatriyas, serving the vaisyas, immediately their life is perfect. They are purified, spiritualized and they can go back to Godhead. Although technically they are known as sudras, they end up becoming vaisnavas. The chariot drivers were sudras and they were assisting in dharma yuddha, religious battle, they also attained the final destination. Or they assist the vaisyasto take care of the cows. They are serving mother cows. Cow is so very dear to Krsna. They serve king in so many ways. They serve brahmanas in so many ways. And like that, vaisyas are serving ksatriyas, bringing the taxes. And lots of vegetables, grains they produce which are used for fire sacrifice or cooking for Radha Gopinath. So they all work together. This is a team, team effort. Brahmin, ksatriya, vaisya and sudra, this is a great team. As is the natural cooperation between the head and feet and the belly, they all work together. As soon as they don’t work together or don’t want to work for feeding the belly, then what happens? They dry up.

Once there was a strike and all the senses, all different limbs of the body, they decided to go on strike. They said,why should we feed this belly? She is just sitting there and eating and we are working hard to feed this belly. From today we are not going to do this. So they stopped feeding the belly and soon as this stomach was taking in, but was also supplying, giving, nourishment to all the parts. They, the other parts were not realizing this. So as they went on strike and the belly was not getting food and in turn not able to supply energy, all the limbs of the body became crippled, they werenot able to move. Soon they realize that we can’t survive. We must feed the belly. And then everything was healthy again.

So with the advent of this age of Kali, the people in general are not following the guidance of a Brahmin. As a result they are not serving Visnu, who is the root, source, stomach and as a result the whole society is drying up. So Prabhupada’s scheme is, he is very clearly pointing out, reintroduced, the Krsna consciousness movement is therefore very much eager to reintroduce the varnasrama system in the human society, so that those who are bewildered or less intelligent will be able to take guidance from the qualified brahmanas. So you could see as you read this purport, you feel Prabhupada’s great concern. This is not just scholarly statement or he just preferring some scripture and then he is quoting that. Just lip service, nothing is happening inside. They just big sages doing so many things, they just doing full on exhibition of his knowledge, No!

Prabhupadais so much concerned. His heart is bleeding by seeing the state of affairs of the whole world, Prabhupadais suffering. And Prabhupada has a great urge. He has a realization. Hence he has urge to speak, to share this realization with the rest of the human society. So these words as you read, Prabhupada is talking with great concern and‘I mean it’, sometimes we say. They say something but people may not take it seriously. Then they add ‘I really mean this. I stand by these words. I am serious. I just don’t say this, but I am serious.’ So when we read this purport we get that feeling that Prabhupada is serious, dead serious about the subject matter that he is sharing with us. So this varnasrama dharma, he always said, he wanted to produce Brahmins again. He did not see qualified brahmanas in the world. This is something the world was lacking. So he established this international society for Krsna consciousness with the aim of having some Brahmins around. Once that guidance is there from the genuine Brahmins then other things could follow. The varnasrama could be established. Prabhupada wanted to see not just some Brahmins but society. So organization he established, he named that as society of international society for Krsna consciousness. Not just some kind of institution, some kind of rganization, some kind of spiritual group. He used the word society. You understand society means the complete society with everybody is in there, not just brahmacharies, sannyasis. That does not become a society. Not only brahmacharies and sannyasis in the temple or organization, could we call that as society? No! So just from the word society, we understand that Prabhupada was thinking of everybody, brahmacharies, sannyasis, grihasthas, vanaprasthas, Brahmins, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras and all activities and all dealings, complete whole.

So this is a challenge for us to establish the international society for Krsna consciousness. To establish church is easy. Monastery they call, church building and few priests are there. Every Sunday there is mass of people. They chant few prayer, play and sing some songs with the organs and bye. That’s not Prabhupada’s idea. He is talking about society. So whether we start some core group which is also may be small but complete society and then we grow and spiritualize the outside world and then whole world becomes international society for Krsna consciousness. Or whether we have a church where priests, they are sannyasis or brahmacharies and then they go out to congregation, to public and they preach and they spiritualize. Everything around them gets spiritualized also and the church and the whole thing become society. These are two kinds of approaches I am talking about. There may be many more, but these are two models they get talked about these days as varnasrama has become a topic. You will hear more, ISKCON social development, we talk about. Anyway this is big big topic. Unfortunately the world is full of sudras and everything is getting spoiled. Sudras don’t care for others. Sudra means mentality. Sudra means consciousness. They do not undergo any samskaras. Samskarat bhavet dvijah, as you undergo samskaras, you become twice born. Veda pathat bhaved viprah, as you scrutinizingly study the Vedas, you become vipra, learned. And finally, brahma janatiitibrahmanah, by realizing Brahman you become a Brahmin, but even going beyond that, realizing Visnu, you become vaishnava. This is what Prabhupada is talking. Goal is not to become Brahmin, undergo some process of purification and study Vedas and realize Brahman. You have to go still higher and realize Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Then there is vaishnava.

Question- Varnasramadharma, in Bhagavad Gita Krsna I think, explains the principles of Varnasrama dharma as karma-yoga?

Answer- Well, I do not agree with the karma yoga part. As very beginning, if you go by Bhagavad Gita, that’s very beginning stage; then the goal of the varnasrama is,

varnasramacar-vata
purusena parah puman
Visnur aradhyate pantha
nanyat tat-tosa-karanam (CCM 8.58)

Translation: “?‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varna and asrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varnas and asramas.’?”

Satisfying Personality of Godhead that is the goal. Prabhupada did start some farm communities. Everyone doesn’t have to go to the farm, but some of us could go. Specially, as now the finding of job in the city is tough, you can go, work in the field, serve mother earth and mother cow; lots of fresh air out there and lots of peace, and no air pollution. So that could be taken more seriously. So although we are born sudras but again we don’t want to do that dirty work. That’s low class, that’s primitive. This is how we look at going to the field and working in the field. Because of the sudra mentality, we only know to drink blood and not milk and we have dealt with the machines only in the factories and skyscraper buildings. It is a sudra’s job to build big big buildings. The Brahmins will just build the hut. He will cut few trees and he has 4 pillars and get some leaves and thatched roof and he will light some lamp. Someone will crush oil for him and he will lit the oil lamps and he opens not Times of India or New York Times, but he is reading ‘om namo bhagavate vasudevaya!’ So that’s Brahmin. He will keep a cow and milk the cow and clean the cow. People would rather clean the car. As soon as they get up they would love to clean their car not a cow. The sudras deal with the matter. This is their field. Sudras are good at dealing with the matter and machines. Broadly speaking, sudras are expert in dealing with the matter. Vaisya is better. He can deal with animals also, matter and animals. Ksatriya can deal with people and Brahmin can deal with the God. These are the 4 varnas, this is their inclination. And this is totally governed by the three modes, ignorance, passion and goodness. So what the world has succeeded doing is dealing with matter. We don’t know how to deal with the people as human beings. We have no time. We don’t take time to deal with people. I was just reading statistics in Peter Purves, one of our friends has written a book on leadership. He is some kind of ISKCON’s and Prabhuapda’s follower. So he writes that some kind of survey conducted in America and he says that in one week, because people are dealing with machines and matter and car and lot of time with the television; the family members, the total time they spend talking with each other is 25 minutes. In a week they have about 25 minutes to talk to each other. Although they spent hours in listening the talk of somebody, in the talk show on the television, they all sit there and they have more relationship with television than each other. So this is the state of affairs. This is bringing everyone down to very lower level, dealing with the machines. They would rather have tractor than the ox power because they have no affection for the ox. Anyway they like the tractor. So in one word I was just trying to understand reductionists and scientists, they try to reduce everything back to matter. Scientist’s effort is that they try to get rid of God and all the Godly things and feelings and whole thing is just the matter. You are simply lump of matter. You are reduced to the matter. So by following faithfully the scientist, they have reduced the world into a lump of matter means sudra, very successfully. Many parties are working together. There are labor parties. Labor is glorified to be a labor, sometimes. Dignity of labor, they use such terms. You have to honor labor. The communists when they are attempting making the society classless, which class they are trying to establish? Classless society means everyone is sudra. Classless, means one class and that is sudra class. So many attempts have been made and lot of success has been achieved and the goal is kalau sudra sambhavah, the world has become sudra. They have no affection for animals, specially animal like cows, most useful animal, most gentle animal. They have no affection for fellow human beings. They are selfish like anything. As we talk of Brahmin or a vaishnava, sarvabhuta hite ratah, they care for all the living entities, Sarve sukhina bhavantu. The genuine vaishnava, brahman, he thinks for welfare of everybody. He is the well-wisher of everybody. And not just thinking or talking but practically he would like to do something to show his love and affection. So what is required is a big turning point. The whole situation, the world’s situation needs to reverse. Entire human race, the way in which it is being trained and acting with no feelings, no traces of pure consciousness, needs to take u-turn. They are going to hellish regions. They have to be turned around, which in these days is parodying. So from sudra class which exists in abundance, Prabhupada is talking about the brahmanical class. He is talking about the other extreme. So ISKCON has lot of challenge but Krsna is with us. Prabhupada is that first Brahmin founder of that society, which world will see in next 9/10 thousand years, it will be very special time. The world will see better days. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has revealed this. The Holy name will be in every town, every village,

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare

This will be chanted in every town and every village. This will happen. This is already happening and this will happen more. There will be talk of one varna. Everyone will be of one varna and that varna will be Haribhakta. They will be all Haribhaktas, all vaishnavas. So this is talking of astrology or talking of the future of the world. This is the future of the world. And we are kind of first batches.

Question 2: In the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Prabhupada is talking about different types of duties of human beings. He is talking about garbhadhan samskaras and there are mixed marriages, like ksatriyas marry with brahmans or vaisyas with ksatriyas. Then the offspring will be of mixed varna. So I was wondering, in India still one can practice that, but in west it does not exist?

Answer: Even in India to some extent it exists, but in west it does not exist. So your point is it is tougher challenge in west than in India because our cultural or no-cultural upbringing. Well it could be also understood depending on which mode of material nature is controlling you. This is how you are, either Brahmin or in goodness. As soon as some passion is added to that goodness, then you are ksatriya. Or if you have passion and some ignorance is added then it is lower mode, you are vaisya. And devoid of goodness and passion and you are sudra. So this is how we are trying to divide our society as much as we could. But the perfection is not to become Brahmin or ksatriya or vaisya. Perfection is to become vaishnava. So if there is some discrepancy we are not able to do the right matching, brahmin boy, brahmin lady or ksatriya boy and ksatriya lady, or a Brahmin boy and ksatriya woman, then they marry. That is also proper. There is anuloma and pratiloma, anu means follow. The husband belongs to higher class and woman belongs to same caste or she may be belonging to lower varna. This is called anuloma. Prati means opposite. The bride belongs to higher caste and the bridegroom belongs to lower class. So anuloma and pratiloma; certainly they have difficulties even in India, what to speak about this part of the world. But the relief part is that we try to do as much but we don’t have to attempt perfection in this area. Because perfection is to become transcendental ultimately from all these varnas and asrams and come to the level of spirit soul and become Krsna conscious. That verse says, vaisnavo jati buddhi, to think that vaishnava belongs to some jati, caste, this is not right thinking. Visnusiladhir, the Deity is just statue, guru sunaramati, the spiritual master is just another ordinary human being and vaisnave jati buddhi, vaisnava belongs to some caste, this is all wrong. So finally the ultimate goal is to go beyond this.

Question-You say that everybody who is engaged in Krsna consciousness is a vaisnava so is there need of Varnasram?
Answer- Although goal is to become vaishnava or Krsna conscious, this varnaasrama, this is the means to achieve that goal. Of course that’s not the only means, chanting of Hare Ksrna is the principle mean, real mean to achieve that goal. But varnasrama also is another path to get there. So vaisnava means or Krsna conscious person means he has transcended all the modes, but the reality is we haven’t. So because we are still in to the modes, we need to follow varnasrama system to some extent, although it is very tough in this age of Kali and that is why the path is harer nama evakevalam, chant Hare Krsna. Nothing works, chant Hare Krsna. But we could at least give a try. As we said earlier that Prabhupadanamed this organization as International Society for Krsna Consciousness. And this implies that Prabhupada’s intention was to, he started the farm communities; that certainly showed clearly that he was trying to accommodate some of us who would be fit to do those jobs, working in the fields, working with the cows, producing grains. Not wanting to do that is a diseased condition, because lot of brain washing has been done. And we look down upon those prabhus who are working humbly in the fields. Someone else is so much glorified, Brahmin is glorified, book distributor is glorified, but the humble worker, the Hare Krsna devotee, also initiated disciple, no one pays really attention to him. So seems some imbalance. Prabhupada said or we also say that for survival we need to eat food, fruits, vegetables, grains. We can’t eat nuts and bolts. We can’t deep fry nuts and bolts in petrol and eat them for breakfast. You may go, sell paintings and bring some money, but then you go and do some shopping, buy some vegetables. Not that, I have some extra paintings, I will eat them for breakfast. You may do other things to make money somehow, but when it comes to eating, what do you eat? Something that is produced in the fields. So, the very basic necessity is food. We can’t survive with nuts and bolts and cars. You can’t survive by just driving. For survival you have to eat. Even if you don’t have car but you eat then you can survive. But you have car but you don’t eat, you can’t survive. So life is so much depending on nature and what is produced in the fields, cows to have milk, depend so much on the trees. So sudras have very little concern for all this. They are ready to chop trees, cut throats of animals, no feelings. You have devoid of feelings. This topic we need to discuss further and understand within Hare Krsna movement. Prabhuada also said towards the end of his stay with us on this planet, ‘I have done 50 % work and 50% yet to be done.’ And he refers that to developing varnasrama, the social development and lot of things, establishing grihasthaasrama within ISKCON. Or establishing brahmachariasrama and all the asramas and varnas and then cooperate with each other and be honest and accept who you are and act accordingly. Don’t be artificial.

Question-Brahmanas are not supposed to work to gain money?

Answer- Brahmins get daksina. When you teach, those who have learnt from brahmin teacher they feel grateful for what you have done to him and he wants to express that gratitude by supplying some of the needs. You don’t have to give cash, you can give cows, you could even give some land. So this is also has to be revived. The gurus are getting some dakshina, they are brahminas. But there are other brahmins also. They could also get something. They have Rasamandal Prabhu in charge of VTE, Vaisnava Training and Education. Even I gave him dakshina. Of course somehow, without that they are not going to teach us. Dakshina should have come toward the end, but somehow they take dakshina in the beginning. They say, unless you give dakshina, we are not going to teach you. Don’t come to our class, give some dakshina first. So what needs to be changed is first education and then dakshina comes and you feel grateful. And you don’t have to fix dakshina. 150 dollars dakshina! Someone may give 1000 dollars, someone may give 15 dollars. So like that, according to his means, something like this also and then the brahmin doesn’t have to worry. You can go study more deep deeper into the scriptures and go higher in the consciousness and that highly qualified realized Brahmin as he then goes around the society. Society gets benefited by his association. He can give so much. He has high potentials as electricity also flows from high voltage point to the low voltage point; Brahmin is also surcharges with spiritual energy and realization to everyone else; can be benefitted. So like that Brahmin is maintained, so that he doesn’t have to worry. Vaisyas, they are bringing taxes to the king. These are extra grains. We made so much money, you take this. This is for the state, for the welfare of the state. This rest is for our family. Then king is spending money, ‘organize rathayatra’. He is spending money.‘Build temples. Open gurukuls. And this fund is reserved for maintenance of the brahmanas. They can doresearch and spend money from this account.’ So like that, no one is keeping for himself. Everyone is into giving. Sudras are giving their labor. The vaisyas are giving their extra grains, extra money they have. The king is distributing, making sure there is no injustice. All the parts of the society, sections of the society are benefitted. The brahmins are looked after. Whole cooperation among all different sections, varnas and asramas and whole thing becomes very very healthy. And as soon as you become sudra, you don’t want to give, you don’t want to share. Others’ welfare is not your business. Mind your own business, everyone says, right? Don’t poke your nose into this. Get lost. Go away. All the time we split and go away, then you are left alone. And what is introduced -individualism. Each individual for himself or herself! One time the whole world was one family. This was ancient culture. Everybody on this planet is part of one family; that was the understanding. Vasudaive kutumbakam.

ayam nijah paroveti ganana laghu cetasam
udarcharitanam tu vasudaivakutumbakam

Everybody on this planet, this vasudha, earth planet, is part of my family. I am part of that family. From that ideal, now it is reduced to individualism. I don’t care about anybody. I care for myself.

A Tour of Lords Abode
Radhadesh, Belgium
July 4, 1997

I think we have come a long way starting with the holy name and contemplating, meditating on the rupa, form of the Lord, going over the list of the qualities of Krishna and then having some glimpses of the pastimes, lila of the Lord. Having done this much I’m sure you have some desire now to do something, go somewhere. In the last four days of our presentation we were trying to use few techniques which we also had learned in our teachers training course which had taken place a week ago to get an audience involved by forming groups and then group responses.

They did that and then some question answer on going thing and we also had yesterday just grouping into pairs and then hearing realizations of those discussions. So from what we had learnt in teachers training, I thought of using those techniques. One technique was to take the students on a tour- field trip, they say something like that? ‘Take them on a field, some experiments.’

Some lecturing and some interaction and then some experiential learning. So first two things we have done, lecturing we have done and lots of interactions have taken place and now is the time for the experiential learning. So after hearing about the name and form and the qualities and then the pastimes where would you like to go on a tour, to Hawaii? Someone was saying, I didn’t hear you, yes, to Vrindavan! Anyone else has some of course we would be going to Paris as that is dham also. Radha Paris-Iswara and Jagannath will appear there so it’s also appropriate to do that.

Nothing else comes to mind right, any other places you would like to go? Mayapur-In other words you would like to go to dham- Mayapur dham. To go to Vrindavan you have to go through Mayapur, to reach Krishna you go through Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Prabhupada also planned that way, Mayapur festival then Vrindavan festival.

So these places- Mayapur and Vrindavan are on this planet and in that way the Lord has made His dham accessible to us, however finally after visiting those dhams one finally goes- this Mayapur, Vrindavana is non-different from Mayapur Vrindavan In the spiritual sky, in Goloka. In that sense we could say we just go to Mayapur, we don’t know which- same Mayapur or we go to Vrindavan and is it this Vrindavan or up there Vrindavana?

We think there are two, this is Gokul Vrindavan there is Goloka Vrindavan but we also hear that they are the same, there is no difference. So we will be going on a tour of Krishna’s dham today, are you ready? You are still thinking, everyone else said yes but your lips are still tight so I was wondering. Ready? So as I’m talking, wishing to say something about Krishna’s dham, I can take you on a tour to show you Krishna’s dham.

I’m just thinking about the very first thing I ever heard from Srila Prabhupada about the description of Vaikuntha in ’71. In Bombay Prabhupada was lecturing and the first thing on the first day I had seen and heard Prabhupada, what I remember from that first hearing is Prabhupada was talking about the Vaikuntha planets, spiritual world. Yet there’s another world, so that was the introduction, not more. We have heard and read since then and as Ravindra Svarup was talking this morning, sharing his realizations, I also have a similar realization or in few days I was thinking something similar.

In the last few days, I was talking about the form of Krishna and all the- this part of Krishna is the lotus and the navel is deep and He has so many marks and He plays flute, not guitar- He plays flute only. And then you are talking about His relatives and He has father and mother and these are the names and all. So I was thinking in the last few days that although I can say that I haven’t seen Krishna face to face and yet I am describing His form and likewise His pastimes and His relatives and His neighbours and friends and cows and His abode.

And I was thinking that although myself, it is also a realization of you all or many of you, that for sure there’s a full conviction that Krishna plays flute. There’s no ‘I won’t accept that He plays any..’ I mean he could play some other, He could also play vina and He could also play mridanga but for sure He plays flute. Or the colour of His dhoti for sure is yellow, and all other facts.

Yes, these are His relatives and this is where He stays and even if someone is going to beat me to death I would not say that He doesn’t play flute or if someone going to bribe me ‘take a million dollars but say something other than what you have been talking here’ what to speak of God doesn’t exist or He has no form or He has different kind of- He is green in colour. Rama had some greenish complexion. Someone says ‘I will bribe you, I will give you million dollars or I will beat you!’ Could you say something differently?’

I thought I would not say anything from what has been said by Prabhupada and what Srila Vyasadeva has written or what Krishna has said in Bhagavad Gita. So I wanted to say this in Ravindra Svarup’s class this morning of my realization and I am saying this to you now. So how many of you also have similar realization as I or that kind of conviction? So most of you- we are together. So the same thing again of touring the dham, while most of the world doesn’t even know what we’re talking about. Here we are, even if we are beaten to death we are not going to give up these thoughts and these ideas and these words and we are only over our dead bodies we could be separated from this information and all these realizations- more than information.

Information is knowledge but when it begins to do something within you then it is more than just information. So well Ravindra Svarup said this had something to do with the Supersoul who is in action. So having said that much this idea of the tour is there still. Once upon a time when mother earth was overburdened by the load of the – especially ksatriyas who were not doing their duties properly and Mother Earth was in total distress, in tears and was in shape of a cow and she is crying and then she approaches demigods for help and they told her that they couldn’t do anything and they said ‘let’s go to Brahma.’

Even Brahma says ‘okay we better go to someone even higher than myself’ and they end up in Svetadvipa where Ksirodaksayi Vishnu resides and communication was made and Vishnu is ready to help. You are familiar with what I’ve just said but what I’m going to say hereafter is not something that you’re familiar with. It is simply because what I say did not happen five thousand years ago because that was not the only time that Krishna had appeared in this world.

Krishna appears once in day of Brahma so many, many times Krishna has made His appearance so one of those times- and these different times are called kalpas. This was the time of Varaha kalpa and what I am going to be describing to you in this touring dham- this description is found in Garga Samhita. Gargacharya- you know Gargamuni from Gokul to Vrindavan, a very prominent figure, spiritual master and like that.

He wrote the whole description of the pastimes of the Lord in Garga Samhita so what I’m going to narrate to you is from Garga Samhita. It’s just the touring concept, everything else I think you will have no difficulty to accept. And this tour was taken by the demigods- the demigods are going on a tour and they come to this time at the end of the kalpa to Vishnu. This time he says that even I am not Supreme, I am just expansion or plenary portion.

ete camsa kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam

So I would like to bring you to svayam Bhagavan and then He says ‘please follow me.’ So the tour guide is- who is guiding the tour here? Ksirodaksayi Vishnu. You are familiar here? So Rupa Manjari is one of the tour guides here and there are others. So here Vishnu is personally guiding all the demigods and He says ‘please come along.’ And they are all now following, so they are all within the universe. We had one painting showing the spiritual sky and material sky.

So there in the universe now what our idea is that as the demigods go on the tour guided by Vishnu, we want to follow that path. Imagine that you are also in that crowd with the demigods and so you are benefitted and so when you have to go in the future then you would know. But who knows you may not want to come back once you are there.

yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama

At least in consciousness you will be fixed in, our bodies may be still walking and talking and wondering here. That’s also one way of saying we did not come back from the dham, so that’s the idea. So those who want to stay can stay but the demigods did come back but you don’t come back. The demigods had some duties to perform- for preaching you also could come.

Everybody is within the universe now, how to get out of the universe? So Vishnu knew how to get out and he knew that the Lord had appeared or He had appeared as Vamandeva and He had taken one step and second step and while taking the second step Lord’s foot had touched the universe from inside and that had made a little hole, puncture. A little cracking took place although the layers- layer after layer are very, very thick.

But here is the Lord, as you go you also make some dent right in the ground, right? So the Lord, powerful Lord as He touched He made a crack and then what happens? Water that is outside starts dripping and so there’s a hole. There’s a hole in the layer of the universe so Vishnu enters that tunnel and all the demigods are walking right behind. Are you with us?

So now you are walking through that tunnel and on the side, where is that little stick? And on the side they’re noticing that water is flowing. They’re going in another direction, going out and water is flowing and this water turns into – what happens to this water? It’s Ganga, mother Ganga, we see her in Mayapur and she goes all the way through the universe- up and through the middle and she even goes down. So they’re travelling a long, long time- a long distance because layer after layer of different elements.

They come out of the universe, so there are all the universes, so which one is our universe? Okay that one, so they came out, they’re out now. So as they come out of one universe, what are they seeing? They’re seeing all the universes but this they had never seen ever before. They come out, universes like a watermelon or like a football and all the time we are inside and now we are out and as we look around there are watermelon type objects or footballs all over, unlimited, as far as you could see and beyond that in all directions there is this big, big gigantic bodied thing floated.

What to speak of the tiny creatures even demigods were simply – they had never imagined anything like this. So this happens as they simply come out of this universe, and there is water everywhere. Where is this water coming from? Maha Vishnu. Now you could see these little ones -they have just come out of the bodily pores, the universes and the water also.

This is the causal ocean and this is all the perspiration from the body of Maha Vishnu and as they come out they travel, their goal is to of course go touring to see Krishna. Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam, so somewhere between the border of the material existence and the spiritual sky, there’s a river there called the Viraja river who is supposed to be one of the consorts and she is liquid form in one of the pastimes, we also read that.

And then they cross across that and the first thing that they experience is that there is a brilliant, brilliant effulgence and their eyes – what happens when there’s a big torchlight right in front of your face? You could hardly you know, there’s a lot of light so you should be able to see but you stop seeing when there’s too much light. This is what happens with the mayavadis, there’s too much light, too much effulgence so they stop seeing the form. So as the demigods crossed the river the first thing they saw was this bright light and they had to close their eyes as they were almost becoming blind.

So Vishnu gave instruction to them ‘bow down, bow down, bow down’ so they all bowed down and as they then raised, they got up and they were able to see. Also they were able to enter that effulgence. Are you with us? So in the beginning we were – these are all Vaikuntha planets and according to Brahma:

goloka namni nija dhamni tale ca tasya (B.S 5.43)

devi mahesa hari dhamasu tesu tesu

Brahma says, goloka namni nija dhamni. Lord Krishna’s own abode is Goloka and tale ca tasya, underneath the Lord’s dham there’s Devi dham and that is material existence and then Mahesh dham somewhere, I can’t show it to you here. Then comes Hari dham- Hari dham is all the Vaikuntha planets, Vishnulokas and.. Then at the top is Lord Krishna’s own abode. So Vishnu’s original proposal was that ‘I will bring you to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsnas to bhagavan svayam.’

They’re not stopping anywhere and they are going through this effulgence and they’re seeing all the different planets of all the different incarnations and finally there is also Ayodhya dham and finally up there is Krishna’s own abode Goloka which they finally enter. Before entering in fact there’s a huge gate, there’s a description that there’s a big big huge gate and it is guarded by some sakhis and they have a stick in hand and they are guarding like a guard. So one of them approached and they saw two big large groups coming ‘Hey where are you from and who are you?

Are you from the universe where Brahma has four heads? Okay okay I heard so wait, wait don’t come in.’ So she goes all the way to give the report to Krishna that there’s a large crowd – ‘Three hundred and thirty million persons have come my Lord.’ So the Lord was very kind and He said ‘Let them in’ so this sakhi called Chandranana- a sakhi who is anana, who’s face is like a chandra- moon-like faced, bright faced sakhi.

So she said ‘okay, come on in’ and so Krishna is not right there at the gate entrance, He is all the way in the inner chambers like when you go into a palace there are so many other things before you can get to see, you pass by this that door or that corridor or that. So like that this is where the demigods get to see very closely the abode of Lord Krishna first time ever.

As they are going to see Krishna they are seeing what is there and they are all trying to hear and smell and touch as they are really overwhelmed with the whole experience and they see Jamuna there, there’s a Jamuna and this scene is there. Jamuna is very much there in the spiritual sky so they see crystal clear water and many blooming lotuses and there is a description that lotuses in the Jamuna mean that Jamuna is trying to hand out, ‘oh Krishna please take. This flower is for you.’

She’s trying to offer these flowers to Krishna, ‘ please take these flowers. This is our offering unto you.’ And swans are all swimming, the demigods are all seeing this and there are palaces on either side of Jamuna and there are steps leading to the waters and all those steps are studded with very valuable gems and sapphires.

Then they walk through the fields and they see cows everywhere- this is Goloka. Even this loka, planet is named after the cows. Also the Gokula, the whole dynasty that takes care of the cows, Goloka and Gokula – this Go is cow. So there are cows in abundance everywhere of all different complexions, sizes and there are calves which are running with their tails upraised and everyone is all jubilant and there are so many cowherd men, boys and they are singing songs.

There is no air pollution and the whole thing is crystal clear and there is no sound pollution, you say something and it could be heard at some distance away and the air would like to bring that vibration so that others hear and so like this all the demigods had never experienced such a clear, clean, spotless, beautiful, dazzling, brilliant place.

Then they also go this side here and there’s also a huge tall mountain with so many trees and there are rasa mandals, big, big arenas for rasa dancing and they see caves and then they happen to go this side which is like the mouth of Govardhan and there is Radha Kunda, Shyam Kunda, this is the mouth side. So of course all these forests are very glorious because Krishna performs varieties of pastimes. And superior to these twelve forests is what? Giri Govardhan, why? Because Krishna is lifting that personally. And superior to Giri Govardhan is Radha Kunda. Is there anything superior to Radha Kunda? There is nothing superior to Radha Kunda because it is as good as Radharani and there is nothing more better or superior than Radharani. So they have experience of that and they are just taking a little tour around and just enjoying and relishing the beauty.

So making tour, they finally, it must be Radha Kunda-like place, it says in Garga Samhita, they finally come to the place which is the centre of dham, there is a nikunja- nija, nikunja’s. Nija means His own kunjas which are thirty two in number according to Garga Samhita. So they are going through these nija nikunjas of the Lord and finally they come to the centre of these kunjas and there they see a lotus petal, a lotus flower that has thousand petals.

You could see a thousand petals going round and then there must be another layer and another on and another- a thousand petalled lotus. Then they see another lotus higher, which has sixteen petals and even higher yet another lotus with eight petals and there’s a big throne there, so they’re getting there. There’s a big throne bedecked with jewels and most opulent.

And there He is,

Govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami
Govindam adi purusham tam aham bhajami

venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksam
barhavatam samasitambuda sundarangam

kandarpa koti kamaniya vishesha shobham
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

So curtains have been already opened, the curtain of illusion is removed. The curtain is made thinner and thinner and thinner and then finished. You are there face to face with Krishna so here is the divine couple on that throne being served by:

lakshmi sahasra shata sambhrama sevyamanam

Millions of gopis are serving Radha and Krishna, it is all the description we heard of His form just like that- Krishna is just like that with His complexion resembling the monsoon cloud and He has a turban, peacock feather and He has that four piece suit on. His upper garment, tight belt and dhoti, all this is also described as the complexion reminds us of the monsoon clouds and the peacock is like a rainbow, when there’s clouds and raining the rainbow is there.

The garland of pearls, they are white in colour, sometimes He wears and they are compared to like a swan. Imagine the clouds in colour and white swans are going across, flying across and here is dhoti which is a brilliant yellowish colour, what is that? At the time of rain sometimes there is lightning, His dhoti is like a lightning and the Lord’s voice is compared to thunder or rumbling. The Lord has deep voice, right? His voice is deep and as He would say just one word it would just..

It could also be heard at long distances so that Shyamsundar is there, of course His flute is ever ready and to His left side Radharani is sitting with blessing mudra, to bless you all. Her beautiful clothes, colour of her sari is what? Bluish – because Krishna’s colour is bluish her sari is bluish. And because Radharani’s colour is golden so Krishna’s dhoti is that colour. They wear these clothes so just by seeing her own sari she remembers Krishna and by seeing His own dhoti He remembers Radharani.

And both of them with their lotus eyes and their merciful glances, now here they look at thirty three million demigods and you are also part of that crowd, they are looking at you mercifully. They have higher throne so that they could see everyone. There is one advantage why not that the speaker is proud that is why his seat is higher, but there’s a practical reason so that he could see or even speak to them and have eye contact, some relationship with the audience.

So Krishna used to meet so many of them and as his elevated throne was an elevated position, from there he’s seeing and then Vishnu gives an introduction and the reason why they were there. So Krishna says ‘okay, fine with me if you cannot handle. The demigods and Shiva and Brahma and even you Vishnu. Okay so you all go and I am just now coming.’ So they were all asked to go and then they appeared in this Gokula and later on Krishna comes and then makes His appearance.

So this happened in Varaha Kalpa and so this is a tour of the dham and so the demigods had to come back because they had lots of assignments. You can decide now if you want to hang around for longer up there or do you have some meeting tomorrow? Okay so that will bring description of the dham – Krishna’s dham is supreme abode, topmost abode, the spiritual planets and all other dhams they bow down in fact to the dham of Krishna.

One time there was a conference of all these dhams in Prayag in Allahbad and all the dhams were invited to attend one meeting and they all came- dhams are also made of personifications, so they all came many of them and everyone was there and they looked around and they said ‘where is Vrindavan dham?’ And then they had a little discussion, they were all furious, they were all very angry, ‘why is this Vrindavan not here?! Who does he think he is?!’ And they all thought ‘we should personally go and chastise this Vrindavan dham so he doesn’t miss any future meeting.’

So they started their journey and they’re going towards Vrindavan but as they came closer to Vrindavan and saw the beauty and the grandeur, the opulence- the whole position of Vrindavan was entirely a different one and they all realised their foolishness and they all bowed down to Vrindavan dham – bow down Mr! And they also decided to reside there in Vrindavan. So as you go to Vrindavan you will see all different dhams as part of Vrindavan dham, they are in there.

In other words also, Vrindavan dham is the source of all other dhams, like Krishna is the source of all other incarnations similarly Krishna expands in different incarnations and Krishna’s abode expands in different dhams for other incarnations. The origin of all dhams is Vrindavan dham and touring Vrindavan dham is just enough- Vrindavan Mayapur is sufficient and this is the ultimate pilgrimage and so at this point we could also do a little advertising, commercials as Shaunaka is expert in doing these things but he’s not here.

Yes we would like to invite you to the next Vrajamandal Parikrama which starts this year, so it’s 15th October for one month so that is till 15th of November and we’ll bring you to all these places and we’ll start there in Mathura and go like that and come back so it is thirty days camping at different places of Krishna’s pastimes including the foothills of Govardhan and the banks of Jamuna.

We take our breakfast and lunches at the same places where Krishna used to sit down and take his lunch with his cowherd boyfriends, what more do you want? The same dust is still there, there are three things still there- the dust of Vrindavan, Giri Govardhan and Jamuna, they are still there. Other things are- some externally, transformations, different looking. So this is the eleventh annual Vraja Mandal Parikrama.

Every year we have been organizing and devotees come, this is not a large group Parikrama like in Navadvipa we have a thousand devotees in Navadvipa Mayapur Parikrama, here we get hundred or hundred and fifty. Between hundred and two hundred devotees come from worldwide and it becomes more personal and we always have a few Swamis, talkers- Dina Bandhu prabhu joins us and also we are taking bath in Jamuna and one day we will go ahead and do it.

At midnight on the appearance day of Radha Kunda, imagine at midnight we will take bath in Radha Kunda. Unforgettable experience of your life, something that you’ll treasure. How many of you have gone through this experience, Vraja mandal parikrama? You could see one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine- how many times Maharaj you have been? Sacinananda Swami has done for many times.

So I think we will stop here for our fifth and final topic of our seminar in Radhadesh Iskcon european convention. We could always do a little question answer.

1. Question: Krishna was a cowherd boy, He had many cows so I wondered what is the importance of cow protection or maintaining cows?

Answer: They cannot be separated from Krishna consciousness. If you realize how dear is the cow to Krishna-it’s not just some artist’s imagination here, just painted a cow next to god or next to Krishna. In fact His deep affection for the cow- love my dog. Before you love me love my dog philosophy is there so if you want to love Krishna you have to love His cows. So this Prabhupada taught us how to serve and love cows so he gave us some cows and some farms.

New Vrindavan cows, Prabhupada would talk that the cows and Krishna you cannot separate- ‘They know, that is why they’re happy’ Prabhupada said. It’s a part of our culture, cow and Krishna and so they cannot separate. Prabhupada talked about ox and bullock cart sankirtan in India was successful and Prabhupada said we should have millions of carts all over the world, millions of bullock carts and ox carts all over the world so that seems to be the future. Whatever Prabhupada said has came true or it will come true sooner or later so so much could be said on this topic, thank you for reminding us.

And for economic reasons, I mean we’re taking ample developing the economy of Iskcon, Prabhupada did say ‘You need the land and the cow, so chant Hare Krishna and be happy.’

2. Question: Maharaja, I was wondering that Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita in several places that one should get to Krishna’s abode and never leave it for the material world, so I was wondering if the demigods again left to go back?

Answer: They did yes, they were not really qualified- it was the special mercy of Vishnu so they were taken in and out. Their consciousness was not- they were not thoroughly purified, it was an emergency time so they- Vishnu took them to the big boss to see how to resolve this calamity now- so yes they came back.

3. Question: They say that you can’t buy a train ticket to go to the dham and that when you’re in the dham, Krishna is covering the dham so it’s protected. So is there any benefit in going there or could it be penetrated, that layer?

Answer: Well it could be penetrated by cultivating the mood exhibited by Narottam das Thakur who sings:

visaya chadiya kabe suddha ha’be mana
kabe hama heraba sri vrndavana

He’s talking ‘oh Lord, when will I give up this idea of gratifying the senses?
visaya chadiya kabe suddha ha’be mana. Once I give up this idea of gratifying the sense my mind will become purified and then I will be able to see Vrindavan and reside in Vrindavan.’

So he has told us how to do it. Yes? Well one thing we hear is that the dham is revealed unto you by your spiritual master so this is one of the dhams. As there are ten offences against the holy name there are ten offences against the dham and one of them is to blaspheme or disrespect the spiritual master who reveals dham unto you. And for us Prabhupada has revealed dham unto us and the present spiritual masters or his disciples by the help of Prabhupada are revealing the dham unto their followers further.

This is done by all spiritual masters, so by the grace of Srila Prabhupada, easy answer- no, standard answer is how to do. By also chanting Hare Krishna which the spiritual master has given you instructions to chant Hare Krishna but we went over that on the first day, not to chant attentively and the result of that attentive chanting is that the Lord would reveal His form unto you. Then His qualities will be revealed and His pastimes and where do the pastimes take place? In the dham.

So like that it starts with the chanting, chant Hare Krishna and be happy and also follow these regulative principles and control yourself, free yourself from this sinful life and do your chanting and associate and take Krishna prasad. So doing these things is all mercy, this is mercy and this is how to become qualified. Okay so this is time up for questions and answers for today’s presentation.
Thank you for encouraging me and giving me many topics. I also think you’re a very wonderful audience which I’ve had in last five days, it was very relaxed time which we dont get in our busy life of spreading Krishna- expanding. I was hankering to do this for a long time, i was ending up making some centennial sessions but I was not able to talk directly in Bhagavatam classes yes but seminars of this kind is- this has not happened.

So this was new teacher and new students practicing this so like that you can all pray so that I can do this more in the future. Alright so, maybe one more comment on this topic highlighting the points to improvement? Maharaja already gave me some few hints possibly using some slight presentation and more audio visual which even I was thinking in last few days but it never happened so any other things we could do to improve?

Thank you. I highly appreciate those listening with attention.

Janmastami
ISKCON Noida
31/8/2015

There were pandals raised everywhere. Announcements were being made that Janmashtami celebrations are starting. All are cordially invited. Personal invitations are also being given. Press conferences are called for and the journalist are also told about the celebrations. ISKCON Noida is celebrating as well as the whole world. 50 years ago when Srila Prabhupada was travelling in the boat and when it reached the Atlantic ocean that was the day of Janmashtami. Srila Prabhupada celebrated Janmashtami in the ship itself. He invited captain Pandya, captain of the ship and his crew for the celebrations there in the boat itself. Iskcon’s first Janmashtami in 1965 was in the ship. And now after 50 years of the incident, around 150 countries are celebrating this Janmashtami festival. I went to China and there too in Beijing celebrations were in progress. I had been there in this month only. Its August right? So Janmashtami is getting celebrated in China.

“karti katha gati gane gudiya torane”
Sant Tukaram Maharaja of Maharashtra sang this song. It was Janmashtami festival during that time. Do you know what is “torana”? In marathi its torana. They tie mango leaves and flowers on the rope and hang it to the doors. Such decorations are going on. The whole Gokula was decorated. And,
anandalya nara nari

All the men and women were happy and joyfully singing the glories of the Lord. They were experiencing bliss. They were singing glories of Lord and dancing. A few minutes before, I saw that it was time for katha/ class but all of you were doing kirtana, singing and dancing and playing some musical instruments. 5242 years ago, I don’t want to go into calculations of how the grand total came. But from 5242 years onwards this festival of Sri Krishna Janmashtami is being celebrated. Till the moon and the stars are in the sky, this festival will be celebrated. From one generation to the other the Lord is giving an opportunity for the living entities to celebrate this festival. This objective also we will talk about. The reason why the Lord appears? So now when everything is getting ready for the celebrations then we will also make up our mind, getting ready mentally by hearing to some Hari katha , Krishna katha, janma katha. Then our mind will be “changa”. It’s a Punjabi word. So when Bhagavan appears on Janmashtami day then we will be ready mentally. The ground of our heart should be kept neat and clean. Then we will be eligible to hold the Lord in our hearts. Lord should take birth in our minds and in the courtyard of our hearts.

Before taking birth from the womb of Devaki, Lord had appeared in the mind of Vasudeva. Then from the mind of Vasudev He appeared into the heart of Devaki. Vasudeva’s mind and Devaki’s heart were the suitable pure places, vessel for the Lord to appear. And He appeared on the night of ashtami day. The Lord is not the product or combination of men and women. Krishna doesn’t take birth like us, like our body takes birth. Bhagavan does not take a birth, He doesn’t have a material body because He is not the product or the combination of man and woman. We don’t hear this in the lila, do we? Vasudeva is a man and Devaki is a woman. But when Lord was born how? He was very wonderful child. So we can understand that the birth is not common. The child was laughing. Did we ever come across any child in this material world taking birth laughing? No. That means this birth is unlike the material birth that we know of. The births that take place in this samsar, material world it is definitely not like the birth of Lord Krsna, that’s why Bhagavan is called Ajanma. The one who has no relation with the birth but still we celebrate Krishna Janmashtami. That’s why Bhagavan is saying,

janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah

My birth is divya, transcendental. One who knows My transcendental birth and activities will also get benefitted by this when we understand this principle of transcendental birth and activities of the Lord. The tattva of the Lord’s birth or the reason of His Birth, etc. We want to discuss about such topics and this we will start from the prayers of Kunti Maharani. She knew the Lord. Amongst the knowers of the Lord, Kunti Maharani was the Lord’s parshada/ parikar. She was not a conditioned soul. She was not a common wordly women. When the Lord appears in this material world he appears along with His associates. For example when a King is going somewhere he doesn’t go alone. He is followed by his body gaurds, His ministers , associates , His priests, etc. King doesn’t come alone. Similarly when Bhagavan is coming He doesn’t come alone. In some of His avatars Lord doesn’t come alone or didn’t come. For example when He came as Lord Rama, He didn’t come alone. Sri Krishna, when He appeared, sometimes like Rama sometimes like Shyam , He didn’t come alone. He came as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He didn’t come alone but when He came as Narsimha Deva then He came alone. Similarly He came in so many other avatars alone like araha bhagavan. So in many such avatars He comes alone but dharma sya glanir bhavati – when there is decline in the dharma- religious principles abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srjamy aham.

When the irreligiousness is spreading everywhere and religious principles are declining, not taken care, at that time Bhagavan says I appear tadatmanam srjamyaham. So during such times or circumstances the Lord appears. So at that time only one lila will be played and then the Lord disappears after that lila is over. But in some lila’s the Lord appeared and stayed for 125 years right from His birth, then balavastha –childhood, pauganda avastha then Kaishor avastha, navayavannam ca – yuva avastha –youth. Lord Rama also stayed long around 11000 years on this planet earth, Sri Krishna stayed for 125years and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for 48 years. So these 3 avatars are little special. Lord stayed on this planet earth for 1000’s of years displaying His pastimes.

Prayers of Kunti Maharani
ISKCON Noida
31/8/2015

We were talking about Kunti Maharani. She is sarvajna. She knows the Lord. One should understand the lila of the Lord through His tattva. Those who are the personal associates of the Lord they know the Lord’s tattva. They are tattvavetta. There are many prayers and glorifications of the Lord in Srimad Bhagavatam. And the very first prayers in the Srimad Bhagavatam are that of Srimati Kunti Maharani.

There are many others but this is the first

namasye purusam tvadyam isvaram prakrteh param
alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antarbahir avasthitam [SB 1.8.18]

That is how Kunti Maharani is praying. The Lord is in front of her and she is praying. After the war at Kuruksetra, Lord had spent lot of time at
Hastinapur. Pandavas were staying at Hastinapur and Dwarakadhish Sri Krishna was residing at Dwaraka. So it was time to leave for Dwaraka and
so the Lord was sitting in the Chariot. He was about to start when Kunti Maharani comes near to the Lord. Bhagavan is sitting in the chariot and
she was standing in front of Him. While taking His darsana Kunti Maharani offered her prayers to the Lord. We also pray in front of the deity of the
Lord. Pratyaksha – prati -aksha –in front of her eyes, the Lord was there in front of her eyes in Hastinapur. She was saying,
namaste purusham – Govindam adipurusham -tvamadyam ishvaram –

I offer my obeisances unto you. I offer obeisances again and again. How are you whom I want to offer my obeisances? Like “barambara pranam hai.”

loota loota dadhi makhan khayo aise bhagavan ko pranam hai

I offer my obeisance unto that butter thief . Does anybody bow down to a thief? But to this thief the whole universe bows down again and again. The
thief is also not from this universe. And He is the great thief, not an ordinary one. He is shiromani, the head of all the thieves. So Kunti Maharani is offering her obeisances. You are the origins of all the Gods, adi devam ajam vibhum. Arjuna also specified it during the Gita upadesh
and you are beyond the material nature. Lord is beyond the modes of material nature. Bhagavan is not from this material world. Material world is
called as prakrti. Bhagavan is beyond this material world – aprakrit world – unmanifested world. The Lord is present there in the natural world. The
world which we live in is artificial.

Lord says,
paras tasmat tu bhavo 'nyo 'vyakto 'vyaktat sanatanah [BG 8.20]
Translation: Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter.

Dhama where I stay is called sanatana dhama. Kunti maharani says prakrteparam – you and your dhama are beyond this material world and you yourself are beyond this material world because your form is not material. It is satcidananda. The material bodies are made of earth water fire air ether –pancha maha bhuta. All the bodies of the 84 lakh species are made of this pancha maha bhutas. But the Lord’s body or form is made of a different tattva and it is called sat, cid, ananda. Beyond prakriti.

alaksyam sarva-bhutanam antarbahir avasthitam

You are like that antar bahir avasthitam. Sarvabhutanam, you are inside everybody and also present outside. And even though you are like that you are alakshyam not visible to anyone because of their ignorance. They are many things even in the darkness.

Yesterday night one bhagavan in shahadara was saying, he is still wearing yesterday’s tilak. It was in the drama. The scene was of the courtroom of the Lord. And Lord is saying to Nikhil. When there is darkness there are lot of things around but we cant see them but when you lighten that area by switching on the lights or put a candle or torch then you can see everything. Everything is existing but one cant see because there is darkness. One can claim or declare that there is nothing here but it is only due to ignorance so alakshyam.

One cannot see the Lord. You are situated avasthitam but alakshyam (cant be seen). That’s why we say “om ajnana timirandhasya jnanajana shalakaya” Timir is darkness so the G uru will give the knowledge to see.

Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanenasantahsadaivahrdayesuvilokayanti

Premanjana, so he gives prema in the eyes. Then they can see in the courtyard of their heart. yam shyama sundar achintya gunaswarupam Lord who is alakshyam can also be seen with the help of

Jnananjanpremanjan.
maya-javanikacchannam
ajnadhoksajamavyayam
nalaksyasemudha-drsa
natonatyadharoyatha [SB 1.8.19]

Kunti maharani further says that Bhagavan is everywhere but cannot be seen. Yato yato yami tato narasimha wherever I go there the Lord Narsimha is present. But this darsana is only possible by Premanjana and jnananjana.

bahir narasimha hrdaye narasimha.

Whether you call Him Bhagavan Narsimha, Rama, Krishna has many names and forms. Bahir Narsimha He is outside as well as inside.
Those who pray to Lord Jagannath, they say,

Jagannath swami nayanapathgami bhava tumi
Stay in the path of my eyes. In the path of my eyes meaning in whichever
direction I see , I should be able to see you, get your darsana. Directions of
the eyes is always changing from here to there. So wherever I see
Chaitanya mahaprabhu says-

sthavara ja?gamadekhen? dekhe t?ram?rti sarvatra haya nijaista-deva-sphurti

When a person sees, a devotee, a vaisnava he sees a form he sees sthavarajangama but he is not concentrating on their forms he just passes besides it. Lord Buddha also must be in this mood. So one person came and asked whether he had seen a lady who passed this way? They said yes I saw but don’t ask me whether it was a women or a man but I have seen someone passing this way.

But in this material world they see differently. If it’s a women they keep staring at her turning their faces taking photos and they will take a serious note on who she is how she is what she is etc. So Kunti Maharani says maya-javanika cchannam Javanika means curtain. The curtain of maya has covered the conditioned soul and the Lord has also hidden Himself. Lord says in the Gita

naham prakasah sarvasya
yoga-maya-samavrtah
mudho 'yam nabhijanati
loko mam ajam avyayam [BG 7.25]

Translation: I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible. I also cover Myself with Yoga maya. So that which is hidden by maya, Adhokshaja – the one who is beyond the perception of our sense whether it is Lord’s darsana or touch or shravan.

atah sri-krsna-namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih?
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah?[Padma Purana]

Translation: One cannot understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Krsna through one’s materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him. Lord is there and His body is fragrant. In future we will discuss about it. How is the Lord’s body? Fragrant forever fragrant. Our body smells bad always . the gates of the body – navadwara- something or other is coming out of it

nalaksyasemudha-drsa

Just like in the drama company some actor is playing a role then the same actor will be playing a different role in another drama and in 3 rd so on . All the roles are completely different from one another, whether it is makeup, uniform, clothes, style, even hair style so those who are watching a movie, after 5 to 10 minutes, they say oh that’s Devanand. Hey that’s the one. The actor is one but he is displaying his art in different forms like in his costume or body language or walk or different circumstances then many times we don’t understand. We don’t recognize the actor – this is the one, this is the same actress actor.

Just like we can’t recognize the ordinary actors sometimes so what can be said about the Supreme Lord. You sometimes come as Narsimha, sometimes Varaha and sometimes tortoise. So much changes. In this material world the actors will be having 2 legs, 2 hands etc so many things in common and so many differences might also be there. But when the Lord comes sambhavami yuge yuge that time it’s very difficult to recognize the Lord.

kesavadhrita narasimharupa
kesavadhrita varaharupa
kesavadhrita rama sharira

Kesava is only appearing in those forms like 10 avatars. There are many avataars- advaitam achyutam anadi ananta rupam. But among that this is
a list of 10 avatras. In that Jayadeva Goswami says or prays about those 10 avataras– kesavadhrita– meaning that form which has been taken up by
Kesava. He became a mina –fish, kesava dhrita kkachchapa rupa, kesava dhrita varaharupa, shukara rupa like that. Kesava only becomes like that.
Kesava is the actor who takes up these forms. Same way nato nattya dharo yatha in different roles and different dramas He takes part

tatha parama hamsanam
muni nam amalat manam
bhakti-yoga-vidhdnartham
katham pasyema hi striyah [SB 1.8.20]

Translation: You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service unto the hearts of the advanced transcendentalists
and mental speculators, who are purified by being able to discriminate between matter and spirit. How, then, can we women know You perfectly?

The specialty of a swan (hans) is that if you mix water and milk in a cup and give them to drink, it will only drink milk and leave the water. Their wing despite being in water do not get wet. Swans are hence consider to be pure, clean in contrast with them we have crows. Wherever we have the
municipality dustbins we will find crows whereas we find swans only in the manas sarovar where the water is very clear and we find lotuses blooming.

parama hamsanam muni nam amalat manam

Means the people whose soul does not have any dirt. Their minds are pure

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam
tat-paratvenanirmalam
hrsikenahrsikesa-
sevanambhaktirucyate

You have to free yourself from the designation. One who is free from all designations that are related to the body they are nirmal. bhakti-yoga-vidhanartham [SB1.8.20] You Yourself descend to propagate the transcendental science of devotional service (Bhakti yoga). These paramhans or these param muni or amala atama will do bhakti and will establish bhakti.

dharma-samsthapanarthaya [BG 4.8]. They will establish the bhakti yoga, path of bhakti, Bhakti dharma and prem dharma.
Katham pasyema hi striyah [SB 1.8.20] “I am a woman , how can I know you when only paramhansa can know” says queen kunti.

krsnayavasudevaya
devaki-nandanaya ca
nanda-gopa-kumaraya
govindayanamonamah [SB 1.8.21]

Translation: Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devak?, the boy of Nanda and the other cowherd men of V?nd?vana, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses. This is the prayer of Queen Kunti where she says:-
Let me therefore offer my respectful obeisance’s unto the Lord, who has become the son of Vasudeva, the pleasure of Devaki, the boy of Nanda
and the other cowherd men of Vrndavan, and the enlivener of the cows and the senses.

Go means senses. The one who gives pleasure to the senses therefore govind. Go means cows. The one who gives pleasure to the cows is known as govind. Go also means mother earth. The one who gives pleasure to mother earth is govinda. These are not only names but also the feeling. As there was Indra who has also asked forgives for his pride as Krishna lifts up Govardhana during maha-pralaya as he could not do any harm to Vrndavan. During the great storm; the clouds are special and reserved for this purpose only. When the entire creation has to drown in rain a particular set of clouds named Samvartak clouds had to dispatch. When indra released these clouds and sent them to vrindavan to drown the village and the people in the village. As a response to Indra Krishna lifts the Govardhana mountain to give them shelter. When Indra had gotten tired of pouring down rain over the village for 24 hours but still could not affect the life of the people of Vrndavan. The villagers had a better life than before for
these 24 hours as they could see Krishna only for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening before whereas now they had him for all 24
hours. The same is the state for the Gopi’s of Vrndavan. The time had been divided into 8 division where Krishna spent time with different people like on for the parents and one for the gopi’s. In the particular division one would be for vatsalya bhava, sakhya bhava for the gopa’s and a division for madhurya bhava gopis. Even Krishna’s parents were like “Why do you have to go to the forest you can just stay at home.” Even in the evening the gopas’s were not happy as Krishna had to go back to his home and the friends had to go back to their home. But due to the rain everybody has 24 hours with Krishna.

Finally when Indra was not listening to Krishna, he got a metaphorical kick and then he came to his sense and asked for forgives to Krishna and gave
abhishekam to Krishna and the place all the water of the abhishekam had gotten collected is called govindakund. When you go for govardhan
parikraama you will find this Govindakund and this water was brought by Airavatha from heaven.

namahpankaja-nabhaya namahpankaja-maline
namahpankaja-netraya namastepankajanghraye [SB 1.8.22]

Translation:  My respectful obeisances are unto You, O Lord, whose abdomen is marked with a depression like a lotus flower, who are always decorated with garlands of lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as the lotus and whose feet are engraved with lotuses. Queen Kunt iprayes to Krishna as Pankaja nabhaya. Pankaja means the one who is born from a flower. Like the lotus that is born from the navel of the Lord over which brahma sits. The Lord’s navel is very large. The garland that the Lord is wearing is that made from the lotus flower. Krishna wears many garlands f different flowers so you will have to pray to the Lord depending upon which garland he is wearing, like if He is wearing a Vaijayanti flower garland then we cannot say namah pankaja-maline, sometimes he also wears vana-mala. The Gopa’s will take leaves and flower from here and there and make them into a beautiful garland out of love the we will have to say vana-maline. So first see the Lord on what garland he is wearing and the pray onto him. When Queen Kunti was praying the Supreme personality of Godhead was wearing lotus flower garlands. Namah pankaja-netraya; your eyes are also like the lotus petal.

When the lotus blooms, your eyes also brightens. When Vishvamitra came to take Ram and Lakshmana. King Dasharatha replied that they were unshodasa varshiya. Which means that Ram and Lakshman were 15 years.As it comes closer to evening the lotus tends to wither this is Rajiva-lochana. As the evening approaches Ram and Lakshmana eyes starts closing like a lotus. Dritarastra also added that in the evening the demons start appearing and Ram and Lakshman have to stand guard but these boys are Rajiva-lochana by 7’o clock just like the closing and the opening of a lotus flower. Namaste pankaj anghraye and the lotus feet which are as soft as a lotus petal. All the 7 limbs of the Lord has been compare to lotus Flower. Lords beauty is just as the lotus, he soft as the lotus and also as sweet smelling as a lotus.

Yathah rsikesa khalena devaki
kamsena ruddh aticiram sucarpita
vimocitaham ca sahatmajavibho
tvayaiva nathena muhurvipad-ganat [SB 1.8.23]

The Villainous Kamsa had locked Devaki for a long time in the dungeon. Devaki was filled with sadness and worry but as you freed Vasudev and
Devaki from their hardship and problems; you have also done the same for my children. She says to the Lord sitting in front of the Lord that you are the supreme Lord, the one Lord, Shri Krishna, Govinda, Jagannath, hey padmabha, hey Pankaja-maline. You have rescued us from the many difficulties and problems that we have faced.

visanmahagnehpurusada-darsanad
asat-sabhayavana-vasa-krcchrata?
mrdhemrdhe aneka-maharathastrato
drauny-astratascasma hare abhiraksitsh [SB 1.8.24]

Queen Kunti also goes on to specify some examples like the incident with poison or when they had to stay overnight at the wax house and were allowed to escape safely from there. Even during the war you have saved my children from all the weapons of the opposition’s great warriors. Even now you have saved King Parikshit from the brahma-astra released by Drona’s son Ashwathama.

You are the savior of all of them. You have sent us many problems and you only have saved us from all of them.

vipadahsantutahsasvat
tatratatrajagad-guro
bhavatodarsana?yatsyad
apunar bhava-dar?anam [SB 1.8.25]

Hey prabhu, please put me in more troubles prays Queen Kunti. Since the Lord is in front of her, Queen Kunti could have as well told “enough is
enough” or give him the list of the problems and asked him to stop But instead she told keep sending trouble my way. This is a very strange prayer. Would any of you ever ask for such a boon? I have lost for a job, I am not getting another job, I have also taken so many loans (Eduction loans, car loan, house loans) and even after all this would you ask that ”this is not enough please send more”. This is a very intelligent request to the
Lord. Only when we are in trouble we remember the Lord in every which way possible but when happy no one tends to remember. Only in trouble we come and your darsana. Only when we are in trouble again and again we will come and take darsana again and again. There is a play on the words on the last line on the shloka which means that when we take darsana again and again we will not take birth in the planet again and again we will come back to you.

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
edhamana-madahpuman
naivarhatyabhidhatumvai
tvamakincana-gocaram [SB 1.8.26]

There are also people who will not come and see you these people can be typed ad the people who have pride in the house. Those who are proud of
their Money. There is a phrase in English “When popper is proud of his penny”, some has cycle but I have a motorcycle and another has a maruti 800 and then BMW.

If there is a pedestrian is walking by the cycle person will laugh at him and say that this person even doesn’t have a cycle but I don’t have a
motorcycle. The same with the motor cyclist he is proud over the person with cycle but regrets not having the Maruti 800. The maruti feels the same
way towards the motor cycle and The BMW and then there is a helicopter person also. People have pride over their richness, education, beauty. It is
because of these prides that when come to the temple and call out the Supreme Personality of Godhead he will not even try to look at the Lord.
He will be looking here and there as if there is nobody.it is because this pride increases and the person is not able to call out to the Lord with right feeling (Bhava).

We were inviting someone to have prasad in the old Delhi temple in greater Kailash. He replied that he just had prasad at the Hilton hotel and I am
returning, give this to some poor person. His feeling that this is for poor people and I am not poor. I am a person who eats muttonum and chikanum
(Mutton and chicken) and you are patram, pushpam, khichadi person.

Queen Kunti has told that tvam akinchana gocharam. Those who understand that they have nothing even if in reality they have everything and nothing which meas that these people have understood that everything belongs to the Lord. go means senses as mentioned before. Which means that the Lord cannot be known but dirty senses.

But only those who are nishkinchana (Knows nothing is his and everything belongs to the Lord) only their senses can see, smell, hear the Lord.

Hrishikena hrishikesha-sevanam bhaktir ucyate (BRS 1.1.12)

The owner of our senses is the Lord which is why he is known as Heishikesha. The senses are with us but the owner is the Lord. And our senses in the service of the Lord. Only then we can gain the knowledge from our senses.

namo akincana-vittaya
nivrtta-guna-vrttaye
atmaramayasantaya
kaivalya-patayenamah [SB 1.8.27]

My obeisance’s to you unto the property of the materially impoverished. Do you understand the meaning of the word akincana?

Isavasyam idam sarvam yatkinca jagat yamjagat
tena tyaktena bhunjitha magrdhah kasya sviddhanam [isopanishad verse 1]

Bhagavan is the Lord, I will only keep only that which is required and use the rest to serve the Lord and his devotees. I am not the master. In Gita
Lord has told that He is the Lord, He is the master. b

hoktaramyajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdamsarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santimrcchati [BG 5.29]

The one who knows this truth will know peace otherwise he will always be in the tension. Such a person is a thief and should be given death.

punarapi jananam punarapi maranam

Krishna is not the butter thief but is the Lord of all. We are the thieves. We are the trespasser’s. Just like it is written when you buy a new plot. When Sukadev Goswami spoke then till the end of the story the discourse will go on.

namah akinchana vittaya you become the property of the people who have understood that all belongs to you. Those who submit everything to you.
It is yours and we offer it unto you. People like this have nothing of their own but you become their property. I pay my obeisance’s unto you Lord.
You have become the property of those who have understood that everything belongs to you.

Sri Radhashtami Katha
26th August, 2020

Radhastami Mahotsav ki jai !!!

Today is the day, our Radha Pandharinath appeared on Radhastami, 16 years ago. So there is another occasion, the 16th anniversary of Radha Pandharinath Temple, Pandharpur opening. Also Radhastami is a day in New Delhi in 1976, Srila Prabhupada gave me a, I would call it a special benediction, instruction to start padayatra. So that was 1976’s Radhastami, if I remember correctly, it was 1st of September, Lajpat Nagar 21, Firoz Shah Gandhi Road.

So it’s a very special day for me, as a special mercy of Radha Rani for me, I consider as Srila Prabhupada instructions for me to travel in a bullock cart. Which then gradually became a padayatra with the bullock cart or sometimes the horse cart , for sometime no carts, just to go to as many villages, as many towns. So that was the 1976 Radhastami instruction I received, for which I am very grateful to Srila Prabhupada for such instructions.

I consider Radharani appeared to Srila Prabhupada in his heart and in his mind and then he gave me these very special instructions, padayatra, Bullock cart Sankirtan party program. Then in 1984, we did padayatra on Radhastami, 8000 km padayatra from Dwarka to Mayapur via Kanyakumari. It took us 18 months. So it is the grace of Radharani again that we were able to regain and it never finished. We did arrive with padayatra in Mayapur and then we couldn’t just stop, Radharani was pushing us, Gauranga was inspiring us to carry on, so we went on and on and on and on. So today we are completing 36 years of the padayatra in India. Hari Bol !!!

This is the 36th anniversary of all India padayatra. And that same Padayatra was here, 11 years ago, when we had the Silver Jubilee Celebration of Padayatra, all India Padayatra here in Pandharpur on Radhastami day and then they started their journey from Pandharpur. We appointed Acarya Prabhu president of Padayatra or incharge of Padayatra and you would be glad to know that they have successfully travelled to thousands of villages and towns in the last 11 years, since their departure from Pandharpur.

So we congratulate those all India padyatri’s also for this accomplishment and of course all the padayatris from all over the world. We congratulate them and we are thankful for carrying forward Srila Prabhupada’s instructions or mission which is ultimately of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki Jay !!!

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu mission of spreading the holy name to every town and village. And making Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction come true, that is to spread the names of Radha and Krishna all over the world. Right!
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said,

Prithvite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama [Chaitanya Bhagavat]
Translation:
In as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the earth, My holy name will be preached.

My name will spread all over the world. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s name is Radha Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Radha, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna. So when he said my name will spread means Radha Krishna’s name will spread and this mahamantra is nothing but Radha Krishna’s name

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

The padayatras around the world are spreading the name of Radha, the name of Krishna. My name will reach every town, every village, Radha’s name will reach, Krishna’s name will reach. You see the connection – Radha that appears today, some 5200+ years ago, that her name is now been spread all over the world by the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, and amongst them some members are going out on padayatra and bringing Radha’s name to the heart of all. And anyone who hears Radha’s name, Krishna’s name,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

So, RadhaRani who appeared today on Radhastami day, She is now appearing in so many towns and villages. Yes! Do you understand this?

tatra tisthami narada
yatra gayanti mad-bhaktah

Oh Narada, where My devotees get together and chant My names, My glories, I am very much there. So if Hare is chanted, Krishna is chanted, Radha Krishna make their appearance in those villages and towns. So She doesn’t remain in Ravalgaon. Ravalgaon wali ki jai jai jai !!!

No one says that. They do say, Barsane wali ki jai jai jai !!!
That Radha Rani of Barsana She is not remaining limited to Barsana anymore. She is becoming, Delhi wali ki jai or Moscow wali ki jai. In fact, one time Srila Prabhupada installed Radha Pariseshwar and Radha Londoneshwar. Then he installed Radha Pariseshwar, that Radha of Pariseshwar. Prabhupada was talking, how the ladies, women of France, Paris were beautiful and he said, “Look at our Radharani, She is the most beautiful”. So he was making some connection with the women of Paris, in the form of deities also.

So Radha is rare and Radha’s appearance is rare, Her personality is rare, She is rare to be obtained. But by the grace of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu now Radharani is becoming known to all over the world.

yadi gaura na hoito, tabe ki hoito,
kemane dharita de?

It is written by Narottam Das Thakur. So he said, you cannot even imagine if Gauranga has not appeared then how could we have survived and revived our love for Radha and Krishna. And how could we have thrived also. Not just survive but revive and thrive. We are thriving, the members of Krishna Consciousness movements are thriving. Because of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he appeared.

radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima,
jagate janata ke

If Gauranga Mahaprabhu had not appeared, then radhara mahima, the greatness of Radha Rani, which is because of the ras and rasa, the mellow and the devotion and Her emotions for which She is known. Rasa sima, that the rasa, that the mellow, that she possesses are unlimited, aseem, no seema, no limits. So that kind of Radha Rani, how could we have come to realise or know Radharani, if Gauranga Mahaprabhu had not appeared. How the world could have come to know? Many people of Radhakund, they could have found out. Or people, residents of Jagannath Puri or maybe of Navadvipa, Mayapur, just a few places here and there, but jagat, the whole world, how could the world have found ? Radhara mahima and Premras, sima, unlimited rasa. Rupa Goswami’s song, if anybody knows Radha Rani, Rupa Goswami is the one who knows, among those who knows Radharani, Rupa Goswami is the one. How come he knows Radharani? He is always with Radharani as a manjiri, Rupa manjiri in Golok. He is always around Radharani. So that Rupa manjari appears as Rupa Goswami and we could also say that,

yadi gaura na hoito, tabe ki hoito,
kemane dharita de?
radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima,
jagate janata ke

So we have also come to know the glories of Radharani because of Rupa Goswami. So it’s not only Chaitanya Mahaprabhu or infact to introduce Radharani to the whole world, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come with a very major strategy and lots of manpower. He was not going alone to spread the glories of Radharani and make Radharani known to the world but he had appeared with a big team of those Golokvasis. So they all put together, headed by Gauranga. The goal was to grace the world, bless towns and villages with the mercy of Radha and Krishna. Especially Radha, because if you don’t get mercy of Radharani, then no mercy of Krishna. So Rupa Goswami has compiled so many songs and ashtakas glorifying Radharani and this is one of his very popular song,

Radhe jaya jay madhava dayite

So it’s a very great day as we did say earlier. It’s Radharani’s day. This ashtami has become known as Radhashtami. A lot of people even do not know that Radha exists. A lot of people doubt about Her existence and they also keep wondering “Oh! Radharani is not mentioned in Bhagavatam” and we know most of the people in the world do not know today is Radharani’s day and how many in, Chandrabhaga ke par, the other side of Chandrabhaga river in Pandharpur, how many are aware that today is Radhashtami. I wonder whether even the temple authorities of Rukmini Vitthal mandir, I think we had been reminding them and they had been doing something in the past, abhishek of Radharani and special dress for Radharani but there was a time they did not even know that Radhashtami is something or Radhashtami exists or this day is known as the appearance day. So that is the state of affair.
In south India Radharani practically, they go for Rukmini, Bhudevi, Sridevi that’s it. Radha? forget it.

Gaurang Mahaprabhu, appeared, 500 years ago and kind of started a campaign. He wanted the world to know Radharani and knowing Radharani is the way to get the mercy of Radharani. So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted the whole world to be benedicted by the mercy of Radharani. Jai Radhe! Since the foundation of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and since Srila Prabhupada started travelling and preaching all over the world, and he started spreading,

Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,

People started to know Radharani. O this Hara, hara is hare, when you address Hara, this Hara is Radha and when your address Hara, Hara is Radha becomes Hare while explaining the maha mantra also. Then they were explaining Radharani otherwise, that Srila Prabhupada was preaching on the footpath of New York roadside and chanting Hare Krsna Hare Krsna. Then in the middle he would stop and people gathered around him and he would say, you show them a photograph of Radha and Krishna and say this is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Just by hearing that they were like “Ah! Then what is that girl doing there, next to your God?”. These westerns ignorant and fools, well easterners also could be and are ignorant and fools, there are plenty of them around. So they did not know Radha.

In 1965-66 Srila Prabhupada was only one who knew Radha and then we could see by now how many persons in America, in Canada, in South America, in Africa, in Australia, in Russia, in New Zealand, like that around the world, how many have come to know who is Radharani and not only they have come to know but I am confident that today, the whole world is celebrating Radhastami festival. Over 100 countries are celebrating Radha’s appearance day today. The world has come to know Radharani along with Krishna. This is because of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Having said that Radharani is rare and it’s not easy to understand Radharani. You may understand women, you may understand Durga or you may even understand Laxmi, you may understand Sita also. But, Radharani is very difficult to understand because of her exalted nature and purity of Radharani and emotions of Radharani, Radha bhav.

radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krishna-svarupam [CC Adi 1.5]

To understand Radha’s emotions, Radha’s thoughts, simple living and high thinking. Radharani’s thinking is highest. No one thinks the way Radha thinks. Her thoughts are the highest thoughts, what She thinks is the highest thinking. So to understand Radha’s emotions, Radha’s bhava, Radha’s thoughts, what is on Radha’s mind, it is so very difficult that even Krishna doesn’t know. Rukmini has said to Dwarkadhish, “There is something my Lord, maybe I know something and Radharani knows more, so there is something that only Radharani knows and you do not know. What Radharani goes through when she is in vipralambha bhava, feelings of separation and emotions of those times are so intense and so deep and so pure that you don’t know what I go through”. This is Rukmini talking, “Radharani knows what Radharani experiences, you don’t know”. So when Krishna heard that, he must have been like “What you are talking about. You did not read the bhagavatam? Open the first verse of bhagavatam and there it says abhigya, svarat. I am supposed to be abhigya, a knower of everything. I am known for knowing everything and you say there is something that I do not know”. Rukmani says, “Yes, yes, there is something you do not know only Radharani knows, my dear Lord”. And so that was the time Lord made up his mind, that next time I appear, my homework is going to be to know Radharani. I would know Radharani, I would want to know, this will be my pastimes, activities, endeavours to know Radharani.

And thinking like that, he was thinking 5000 years ago like this, he made up his mind, he took sankalpa, he took vow, next time I am going to be. And in order to know Radharani I will become Radharani, I will become Radharani. That’s why we sing; Narottamdas Thakur has sung, “Yadi Gaur na hoite tabe ki hoite”. Gauranga Mahaprabhu had not appeared. To begin with Krishna he could not have found or known Radha rani fully well and then he also could not have shared his understanding, Krishna’s understanding with the world.

Radhar mahima prema rasa sima jagate janate ke

So, Lord did go ahead. He appeared as Gauranga and so this is mentioned that Lord’s confidential reason for his advent. General reason everyone knows, the routine reason everyone knows, what is that?

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge [BG 4.8]

Translation
In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.

But this time as he has appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he has one additional homework. He has one additional agenda as they say and that is to know Radharani. He is going to be acting like Radharani also, not only knowing but acting like Radharani. So, Lord had to take one whole avatar just to know Radharani. We can hardly imagine how difficult it is to know Radharani that even Krishna did not know some things and then he appeared as Gauranga and then he had spent the last 18 years studying Radha’s life and teachings, Radha-bhava. Of course he has assumed the Gaura varna – golden complexion so he is Gauranga.

antah krsnam bahir gauram [CC Adi 3.81]

Inside he is hiding as Krishna and outside he is Radharani, complexion like Radharani and his emotions are Radha-bhava

radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krsna-svarupam [CC Adi 1.5]

He has become Gauranga. In the beginning of Chaitanya Charitamrit Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami he has explained or shared a beautiful and confidential verse,

samajani saci-garbha-sindhau harinduh [CC Adi 1.6]

That Lord has appeared as Ajani – Gauranga Mahaprabhu appeared. Saci-garbha-sindhau – from the womb of saci-garbha, womb of Saci-mata is like an ocean.

vrsabhanudadhi-n ava-sasi-lekhe

Vrsabhanudadhi- Vrishabhanu is like a ocean dadhi is a ocean, nava-sasi-lekhe – and from that ocean normally it is kind of understood that when the moon rises if you are on a bank of some ocean, you experience that as if the moon has risen right out of the ocean. Moon has risen out of the ocean. So, vrsabhanudadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe, Vrishabhanu is ocean and sasi is moon, and Radharani has appeared. Vrishabhanu is also ocean and kirtida is also ocean so put together – ocean, so from that ocean Radharani has appeared. So, here, in this verse he says, saci-garbha-sindhau – from the womb of Saci mata whose womb is like sindhu – ocean. Harinduh – hari is hari, indu is chandrama – moon, moon appeared, Gaurachandra appeared. So, having appeared now what is His mission which He is going to accomplish while He is in Jagannath Puri for 18 years. So, Lord has a agenda and that’s what Krishnadas Kaviraj has mentioned

sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso [CC Adi 1.6]

kidrso – of what kind? radhayah pranaya-mahima – the greatness of Radha’s love, what kind of love it is? Radha’s love – I want to understand. So, there are three items mentioned here. One is the greatness of Radha’s love, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krishna, he wants to know the greatness of Radha’s love. Special experience; She is experiencing me, my sweetness. So, if she relishes my sweetness, what is that sweetness like? What is that experience of Radharani is like? That I don’t know, that only she knows that is her experience. In other words, I want to understand even myself through the eyes of Radharani or Radharani point of view. Who am I? Am I supposed to be wonderful? Am I supposed to be sweet? Oh, sweet Lord. So, these are the three questions that Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has or three agenda items. So it’s kind of getting to know each other. I want to know Radharani but I also want to know myself, the way she understands me, her satshaktkar – her anubhava,

mad-anubhavatah kidrsas
veti lobhat tad-bhavadhyah [CC Adi 1.6]

So Krishna has become greedy and eager to know these things and then he is hi bhava, his emotions have become more flourished or more solidified. He is determined to understand Radha and understand Krishna also through Radha.

sri krishna chaitanya radha krishna nahe anya [Chaitanya Bhagavat]

Translation
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the combined form of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

Gauranga Mahaprabhu has appeared to first realise Radha Krishna, realise Radha and then he is gonna share that Radharani, glories of Radha, glories of Krishna with rest of the world. So all we could say, as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is realising, realising the realisations of Radha, having access to Radha’ mind and heart and to know Radha as she is. So all that experience of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he has invested that in the mahamantra. He did not give big discourse, 700 verses Bhagavad Gita as he did as Krishna. He just condensed everything, all that you need to know in fact is all in it.

namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis
tatrarpita niyamita smarane na kalah [Siksastakam Verse 2]

All the energies, even Radharani. Radharani is the energy of the Lord, Hladini shakti of the Lord. Shaktiman, Sri Krishna is there and Shakti, hladini shakti, Radharani is there, are there in these names. He said okay, take this mantra and spread it, go everywhere, let the world know Radha and Krishna. Just introduce them to the holy name and then he also says harer namaiva kevalam, this is all that you need. Just chant, chant and chant and as you attain matra-siddhi then you will have realisation, you will have darshan of Radha and Krishna, just by chanting the holy names of the Lord. As you chant and chant, as sadhaka you are going to be attempting to become further purified, become free from anarthas. While chanting you are going to be praying & crying,

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkarama
patitam mam visame bhavambhudhua
krpya tava pada-pankaja
sthita- duli- sadrsham vichintya [Siksastakam Verse 5]

Translation
O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krsna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.

This is the prayer, while chanting Hare Krsna, you are praying like this with all humility at your command. Of course, Lord has already said this-

trinad api sunichena
trorar api sahishnuna
amanina mandena
kirtaniyah sada harih [Siksastakam Verse 3]

Translation
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

If you did this, you’re humble. Humbler than the straw in the street. Mahaprabhu has just given these 8 verses (mantras). All these teachings, he has condensed them into this Hare Krsna maha mantra. Go ahead and unpack it, open up this maha mantra, and then maha mantra will reveal unto you and eventually will reveal the darshan of Radha Pandrinath ki jai, Radha Shyamsundar ki jai, Radha Madhav ki jai, Radha Ras Bihari ki jai.

You will have darshan of the Lord, you will have Radha bhava, little sampling of Radha bhava. So you will have Radha bhava and you will have Gopi bhava. Bhaktas, devotees in order to do their services. Bhakti is done with bhakti bhava, Bhakti is done with emotions, feelings, what kind of feelings, we are asked to cultivate feelings, what kind of feelings we have to cultivate.

ramya kascid upasana vraja vadhu varga virya kalpita

Vraj vadhu varga, this Gopi’s emotions like them, so for us also the bhava that we have, whenever we have, whenever we get that bhava, that is Radha’s bhava, Bhakti’s bhava and Gopi’s bhava. Bhava is bhava, everyone doesn’t have a different bhava, once you are in bhakti, life of devotion and devotional service is nothing like Mauritius bhakti bhava orthis bhava is Chinese bhava, there may be Chinese bazaar bhava, there are different business techniques and thoughts while doing the business and making money, they may differ, but once, we are in the field of devotional service then all that bhava is same bhava. They are the same thing like oos donga pari rase nohe donga, that is also there just because of some sugarcane sticks, some sticks of sugarcane are straight and some are bent, but the juice inside, rasa nohe donga, the juice inside is the same in all of them. No one says ” Give me juice of only straight sticks, not this bent stick, there is no sugar inside, no, no, we know the sugar is the same, same sweetness. So it doesn’t matter, there is no different bhava, as we talk on bhava, emotions, it’s universal, univerally the same. So whether it is practiced in Goloka, practiced in Gokul, of course, that is another thing, sakhya bhava, dasya bhava, vatsalya bhava, these are varieties. Variety is there, but basically they are similar in nature of character as part of our constitutional nature,

hitvanyatha rupam
sva- rupena vyavasthitih [SB 2.10.6]

Sva- rupean, as we are situated in our own svarup, then that bhava, those emotions, those thoughts are the same as Radha’s bhava or Gopi’s bhava. So that is what Sri Krishna Chaitnya Mahaprabhu, he practiced, he was cultivating that bhava, try to realise that Radha’s bhava, Gopi’s bhava in Jagannath puri. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with the help of Lalita and Vishakha. SwarupaDamodar is Lalita’s and Ramanand is Vishakha and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, sri krishna chaitanya, radha krishna nahe anya, he is both Radha and Krishna. But in Jagannatha puri Krishna kind of takes a back seat and in the forefront is Radharani. He did act as Krishna, dharma- samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge, he takes sanyas. He travels all over the world

radha rabhave gaura avatar, hare krishna nama gaura karila prachar

He has propagated the holy name, so while spreading the holy name around, here and there, South India, he comes to Pandharpur, spreading the holy names. He goes through Jharkhand forest spreading the holy name amongst the animals and other preachers in Jharkhand, he is Krishna. He is Krishna there, Krishna is in the forefront and Radharani is waiting to act like Radharani or play her role. So Lord does that as he finally returns form Vrindavan, now he is Jagannath puri and Chaitnya Mahaprabhu is simply Radha there. He also sent Balaram, Balrama what are you doing here? Go preach, preach in Bengal. So, he is giving a small team, take this dwadash gopas and others and you go. You go away, so that I could be now Radharani. You can not be around me while I’m in the mood of Radharani or I‘m with Radharani. Brother, now it’s time for you to give me some social distancing, leave me alone, this is personal, private life. So don’t meddle in the middle.

So, Chaitnya mahaprabhu has planned that, sending Balarama away as preaching is going on and he has already done the dharma- samsthapanarthaya, he has already travelled for 6 years. He has done that duty and now he is free from obligations and he is going to be more renounced. He is going to do his nirjana bhajan in a secluded place, so he has selected gambhira and he has very selected group of devotees, his associates, just the right ones, appropriate ones who would nourish his emotions, his feelings, increase his bhakti bhava. In Jagannath Ratha yatra is he there as Krishna or Radha? He is there only as Radha, Krishna is in the chariot and Radharani is in front of the chariot on the ground.

While He is dancing in front of Jagannath’s cart, He is Radharani, His thoughts are like Radharani, He is thinking like Radharani or even having the dialogues with Jagannath in the chariot. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic dance in front of Jagannath’s chariot that chapter has so many verses, all Radharani’s thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Vrindavan Dhaam ki jai! Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

It’s so common, I always say this but then sometime this thing just slips and what a great misfortune. Yeah I got it. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says, mora man vrindavan, we are all pulling your chariot, bringing you to Vrindavan and we know you are anxious to return to Vrindavan but O Lord! Now Radharani is speaking to Krishna that mora man vrindavan, we are bringing to back to Vrindavan, you love to be in Vrindavan but please take a note mora man vrindavan, please enter my mind, please reside in my heart. So these are Radharani’s emotions.

So Mahaprabhu is lying down, He is Radharani, from inside He is only Radharani. He is thinking like Radharani. Talking of these siksastakam prayers,

ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah [Siksastakam 8]

Translation
I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.

So, this is said by Radharani, of course Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is compiler and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu saying it, this is how we read here but here Radharani is speaking. This is even the earlier bhava that one moment is like years or more longe.

Many passages, sections in Chaitanya Charitamrita where all these Radha’s emotions, Radha’s thoughts are expressed. It is written there in black and white by Krishnadas Kaviraj Gowswami. Study of Bhagavatam is graduation, graduate course textbook syllabus is Bhagavatam and if you want to do post graduation, your masters degree then you have to study Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Radharani is mentioned, Her talks are included in Chaitanya Charitamrita, Her thoughts and Her feelings and this is because of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri krsna chaitanya radha krsna nahi anya. The whole purpose of his advent is to know Radharani as we presented in the beginning, sri-radhayah pranaya-mahima kidrso.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared and he has made Radharani known to the world. So we can not imagine what could have happened, how could the world have found out about Radharani if Chaitnya Mahaprabhu had not appeared. Hence, our acharyas sing the song,

yadi gaura na hoito, tabe ki hoito,
kemane dharita de?
radhara mahima, prema-rasa-sima,
jagate janata ke

How could the world have found out Radharani and her love for Krishna, her understanding Krishna or her Krishna. This is my Krishna, Radharani says, this is my Krishna, like we have written, My Prabhupada, he is everybody’s Prabhupada, he is Keshav Prabhu’s Prabhupada also, he could also say my Prabhupada, right?. But then there could be a difference between Lokanath Swami’s Prabhupad and Keshav Prabhu’s Prabhupad, it is expected right? Like that, one thing is my Krishna, myself saying my Krishna or Keshav saying or Maharaj saying or everybody saying my Krishna and then if Radharani could say this is my Krishna. I think there is going to be a word of difference, same Krishna but how much you understand Krishna and you call him my Krishna and how much Radharani understands Krishna and then she proudly says, this is my Krishna, my Krishna.

So as Lord had appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and then Chaitnaya Mahaprabhu is Radha and Krishna combined. In that, Radharani finally becomes motivated and activated, going through the whole experience of Krishna realisation and then Radharani has realised Krishna. Those are the three questions. As Radharani understands me, so as Radharani in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu understands Krishna and then if Radharani would say this is my Krishna that understanding is going to be the complete understanding of Krishna. Krishna was not understanding Radharani before and then he appears as Gauranga Mahaprabhu and makes his mission, mission of life, goal of his life. Goal of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life is to know Radharani, realise Radharani. So Krishna becomes Radharani realised and Radharani has also become Krishna realised. So this is full manifestation, they are realising each other and there love for each other is also anandambudhi-vardhanam, is expanding and increasing.

So by the grace of Gauranga that world has, to begin with he has given the holy names and by chanting this holy names you are introduced to Radha and Krishna. The mode of worship, the way we worship Radha and Krishna in this age of kali is chanting Hare Krsna and this is how,

Yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah [SB 11.5.32]

By the performance of this sankirtana yajna you are worshipping Radha and Krishna. So one may ask how do I worship Radha and Krishna? Or today is Radharani’s appearance day, how do I worship Radharani? Our answer is chant Hare Krsna, Radharani will be happy by this.

So Radharani is about to appear, very soon. So she is going to be very very happy or to make us happy in fact. Happy birthday to Radharani!! We are grateful to our parampara acharyas, beginning with 6 goswamis of Vrindavan, archayas like Narottam Thakur and others acharyas, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur and Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!

We are linked to Radha and Krsihna through this parampara. They have kept all the knowledge intact and live and they have landed that down to their disciples and followers. So we have reached all the way from the day Radharani has appeared 5000 years ago to this day 2020. All the glories of Radharani, all the beauty of Radharani, all the pastimes of Radharani, everything about Radharani we get to know, we get to sit and hear, we get to open scriptures and read and understand through the pages of different scriptures. So we are grateful to all those involved for bring Radha’s mercy, Radha’s knowledge from that day Radhashtami day to today. It also becomes our duty, we have received so we should be happy and do nothing? Should we be doing something? We should distribute, share Radharani. be generous. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became generous with us by spreading the holy name and he asked each one of us to,

yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru haaa tara’ ei desa [CC Madhya 7.128]

Translation
Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.

You all become gurus and hand down the form of holy name, form of all these scriptures, all these books which Srila Prabhupada has given us, Radharani and prasadam of Radharani. Radharani was the best cook, share that prasad and that happens everyday, we feed her everyday. Distribute Radha prasad, Krishna prasad, so that Radharani’s mercy could reach souls in form of remnants or prasad.

Today is the 16th anniversary of Radha Pandarinath temple opening. So it was 16 years ago, 2004, we had this hall but not this big, Prahlad Prabhu had expanded it further. There were many Maharaj, Prabhus, devotees from many places, I am sure many demigods might be there. It was quite a wonderful event, deity installation, special abhishek and special kirtans, they were long, I also was doing kirtans that day. And we have prasadam also in front of that old stone house. Memorable event, so we remember it and we are grateful for all those devotees’ attendance and participation in our grand opening of Radha Pandharinath temple. But this temple is not the final temple, for pleasure of Radha Pandharinath we would like to build much much bigger temple, palace. Maybe we should take that sankalp on their appearance day that we want to build a monument that will become a big landmark in Pandharpur, centre of attraction in Pandharpur. So that the whole world could come and take darshan of Radha Pandharinath and Sri Sri Rukmani Vitthal. So let us not be satisfied with what we have, so lets work towards that goal of building that grand temple for Radha Pandhrinath.

Radha Pandharinath ki jai!!

Nectar Of Devotion (Bhakti Sastri class)
Online seminar

Welcome to all students and teachers of Bhakti Sastri Course. And today you made me the teacher, like a visiting professor is here. By the way, it is not my practice to give such teachings. As told by Sundar Caitanya Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada not only wrote the summary study, the essence of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, but he also wrote translation and even comments and purports at many places. And when the book was ready, in Vrndavan, in 1972, Srila Prabhupada taught this book as a syllabus. He became a professor and I was one of his students. In the side courtyard of Radha Damodar, near Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada’s Samadhi, the compiler of ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, there every day and Srila Prabhupada used to narrate ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’. From the writings of Srila Prabhupada, his disciples like Pradyumna Prabhu and others, used to read some portion. Srila Prabhupada used to call Pradyumna Prabhu as ‘Panditaji’. So they would read and Srila Prabhupada would narrate commentary, purport on that. I was also fortunate. And all those recordings are available. You try to listen those recordings while teaching.

So Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the speaker of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and the writer is Rupa Gosvami. The place is Dashasvamedha ghat. For two months Caitanya Mahaprabhu was giving ‘Sanatan-Siksa’ to Sanatan Gosvami in Varanasi. Sanatan Gosvami later on wrote books on those teachings. So here on Dashasvamedha ghat, the speaker is Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Rupa Gosvami compiled ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ based on those teachings.
So in the Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu, the nectar of devotion, Rupa Gosvami has described the Sakhya rasa, Vatsalya rasa and Madhurya rasa. This mellow, juice is not pot full or full of well or pond, but it is full of ocean, and that’s why this rasa, juice, mellow is called as Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu (ocean). Caitanya Mahaprabhu called it ‘anandambudhi vardhanam’. That ocean is shore less ocean. Generally ocean has a boundary and it can not go beyond it. If it would have come out of the boundary, then our devotees, bramacaris of Radha Rasabihari temple would have achieved Jala-samadhi. But this ‘Bhakti-rasa-amrita-sindhu’ is ‘anandambudhi vardhanam’, it keeps on increasing. It is ocean and it keeps on expanding further. So Srila Rupa Gosvami filled such ocean in a pot, ‘sagar ko gagar me bharana.’ And that pot is Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu.

So the speaker, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the writer Srila Rupa Gosvami, both are the authorities. They are from the world where raso vai sah, Lord is ‘akhila-rasamrita-vigraha’, completely full of rasa. When lots of rasa is accumulated at one place, then it becomes raasa, full of rasa. So the one who does the Raasa-krida, Sri Krsna, is the one who does sankirtana, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and within His team is Rupa Manjari. That same Rupa Manjari who relishes the Bhakti-rasa, has become Rupa Gosvami. So this book is the gift for all souls like us from such Rupa Gosvami and Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Rupa Gosvami has divided ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ into four divisions- Eastern division, Southern division, Western division and Northern division, clockwise. So he divided this sindhu, ocean in four parts. As there are waves in the ocean, there are many waves in each division. And today we will discuss on one wave. In this first wave of Eastern division, there is discussion on Samanya bhakti. There are four waves in Eastern division. First is ‘Samanya bhakti’. The remaining three consist of the stages of Bhakti; they are not types of Bhakti. Bhakti begins with Sadhana Bhakti, which is the second wave of the Eastern division. The third wave is Bhava Bhakti and the fourth is Prema Bhakti.

When Srila Rupa Gosvami compiled ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’, he himself composed some verses, sutras which are known as ‘mula-karika’. Other than that Srila Rupa Gosvami gives many references from the scriptures to prove the statements given by him. We can say that half of the book is written by him and half is full of the references from different scriptures.

In the first wave there are 24 mula-karika, which are composed by Rupa Gosvami and 22 are references from different scriptures. The first wave is smaller than the second wave which is having more than 120 karika and almost similar sastra-praman. In that way Srila Rupa Gosvami has compiled the complete book.

The other day I said, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu is speaker and Rupa Gosvami is writer of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, then Jiva Gosvami is editor. He did the editing of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu as per the instructions of Rupa Gosvami and he even wrote commentary on it. So two commentaries are famous, one is by Jiva Gosvami and another is by Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur. They are also available. Bhanu Maharaja has translated Jiva Gosvami’s commentary in English. I don’t know about the other one. So you can take help from those commentaries for teaching the next classes.

It was Srila Prabhupada’s suggestion that this Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu or Nectar of devotion should be the part of Bhakti Sastri. There are different grades or standards such as Bhakti Sastri, Bhakti Vaibhav, Bhakti Vedant, and Bhakti Sarvabhauma. You are sitting in the primary school. Srila Prabhupada already has given guideline about which books should be covered in Bhakti Sastri or Bhakti Vaibhav or Bhakti Vedant, or Bhakti Sarvabhauma. He is the founder acarya of these courses. As Maharaja was telling, Prabhupada used to have two complaints- ‘You don’t fear of Maya, you are so brave that you don’t fear of Maya, and another is- You don’t study my books. You may be reading them but not studying them’. So in this course you are not reading Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, but you are studying it. You have to take notes and all. When we say ‘study’ then it is ‘group study’. Reading you can do alone but study is better done in groups, study circles. Because when we read, we are alone, and some realization, some important point, ‘wow, clicked, wonderful, I got this’; we understand something but as we are alone, we can’t tell to or share with another person. Or if we are not getting some point, some doubt is there, then there is none to whom we can ask. But in the study circle we can ask and then there is bodhayantah parasparam and guhyam akhyati pricchati. So when Srila Prabhupada’s books were not being studied then he did this planning or you call it his trick or arrangement.

In the first wave of Eastern division of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, the 11th sloka is the Paribhasita sutra of this book. Each book or scripture has its one or two statements or verses which are the basis or foundation or theme of that scripture, which are known as Paribhasita sutra. So the paribhasita sutra of Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu is –

anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama

This is the foundation of this book or of the study of this book. This comes in the first wave. anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam is called as tatastha laksana. There are two types of laksana- svarupa and tatastha. Svarupa laksana means pradhana or primary and tatastha means gauna or secondary characteristic. So in this paribhasita sutra, there are two gauna and two pradhana laksana. This whole book is study of the science of Bhakti. Srila Prabhupada called this book- The Complete Science of Devotional Service. This is sastra of Bhakti, and you are going to become sastrajna, scientists. The knower of sastra is sastrajna.

So in this verse there are characteristics of Bhakti, two primary and two secondary. Anyabhilasita-sunyam or jnana-karmady-anavrtam are the gauna laksana, secondary characteristics. Anya abhilasita sunyam, if you break these words then the meaning is clear. How should be the devotee, anya abhilasita sunyam- no other desire. In Bhagavad Gita Lord said, ananyas cintayanto mam, ana-anya, he does not think of someone else, but thinks only about Me. He is not having any other desire, but desires only Me. Caitanya Mahaprabhu called this ‘na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagadisa kamaye’ free from such desires, such thoughts. Devotee does not have such thoughts in his mind; this is the secondary characteristic of bhakti. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam, jnana and karma adi, adi means etc, there is knowledge, karma, yoga etc, avrtam means covered; so in other words, karma kanda jnana kanda, keval vishera bhanda, as Gaudiya Vaisnavas say; so free from this karma and jnana, ana-avrtam- not covered, bhakti is not covered with karma and jnana kanda.

bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakale ashanta
krsna bhakta nishkam ata eva shanta

The devotee of Lord Krsna is free from this bhukti and mukti. So these are two secondary characteristics, gauna laksan.
At the end it is said that- bhaktir uttama, how is Bhakti? Bhaktir uttama, ut means above, tama means darkness of ignorance, so uttama means above or beyond the darkness of ignorance that means transcendental. It is gunatita, free from tama, raja and satva also. Bhakti is gunatita. So the devotee who is not covered by the darkness of mode of ignorance or passion or goodness which is due to karma kanda jnana kanda, such devotee, the bhakti of such devotee is uttama bhakti. This is tatastha laksana.

What is svarupa laksana? Sva-rupa, the eternal, personal form of bhakti! Tatastha laksana are additional which covers bhakti. So svarupa laksana is – anukulyena krsnanu-silanam, how should be Bhakti? Anukula bhakti, one is anukula and other is pratikula, favorable and unfavorable. Bhakti should be anukula. Kamsa also used to always remember Lord Krsna. It is said that if he sits to have meal and looks at the yellow prep like dal, he used to say, ‘hey, Pitambar! Is the Lord coming out from the plate? If He is here, then I will kill Him with my sword.’ This is also one type of bhakti, but it is not anukula but is pratikula. Anukulyena krsnanu-silanam, bhakti performed to please Krsna or as desired by Krsna; like Lord says, ‘patram puspam phalam toyam,’ so when there is the time for Lord’s meal, and you offer same menu as asked by the Lord, then it is anukula, anukulyena krsnanu-silanam. So these are two primary characteristics, muhkya laksana.

All this is explained in the first wave, but in your syllabus you have only essence of this. You need to read the remaining portion of the wave. Do you have book? You will be asked, ‘tomorrow there will be class on second wave of the Eastern division. So read before coming for the class.’ So you have to read it. You will also have exam in writing or in oral, so you have to read.

Based on this mula paribhasita sutra, in the same wave, six characteristics of bhakti are given. What was discussed just now was general. Going deep further, there is description given by Rupa Gosvami. This is intricate science. As I said, they are not types of Bhakti but stages of bhakti, three stages:

1.Sadhana Bhakti
2.Bhava Bhakti
3. Prema Bhakti

Rupa Gosvami has given two characteristics of Sadhana Bhakti, two characteristics of Bhava Bhakti and two of Prema Bhakti. In Madhurya Kadambini, Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur gives- there are stages from sraddha to prema- sraddha, sadhusang, bhajan kriya, anartha nivrutti, ruchi, asakti, up to here is Sadhana Bhakti. Then above that is Bhava bhakti, person is climbing on the ladder of bhakti, he is rising up. So from Sadhana Bhakti he rises to Bhava Bhakti and from there he attains Prema Bhakti, prema pumartho mahan.

In Shikshastakam, the first five slokas are sadhana bhakti, and then nayanam galadasru dharaya, and sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda virahena me, this is bhava bhakti. And the last verse, aslishya va padaratam, is prema bhakti. Commentators say that the eighth verse is the statement of Radharani Herself. Caitanya Mahaprabhu when reached Radhabhava while narrating this astak, then aslisya mam padaratam this is narrated by Radharani only and this is Prema Bhakti.

So kleshaghni and shubhada are two characteristics of Sadhana Bhakti. And we are at which stage or level? Sadhana Bhakti! Kleshaghni, klesha-aghni, klesa means miseries, sufferings, and the one who destroys the miseries, is kleshaghni, the characteristic of Sadhana Bhakti. Shubhada- shubha-da, da means giver, shubhamangal..(sloka recited at marriage ceremony). Don’t go ahead; food for someone is poison for the other. Each one is having different requirements. So if one enters in grihastha asrama and from there becomes vanaprasthi then it is shubha, auspicious, good fortune. Some people don’t listen the words but listen only after kicks. Some brahmacaris wants to get kicked. Dande na shuddhyati, Yamadutas’ said this, one learns only after getting beaten by stick. Now people are getting kicked by Corona virus, they can learn from this and can change their lifestyle.
So kleshaghni and subhada meaning is clear. To explain this more, Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada has given description. When we do activities in this material world, or why do we perform material activities? Because of avidya, ignorance; we are influenced by avidya. One is rajavidya or paravidya and aparavidya. Materialistic people are expert in avidya. They keep on studying, overseas education and all; by this they gain only avidya. The duty of brahmacari is vidya-arjan, to gain vidya, proper knowledge. Krsna also did Bhakti Sastri course in Ujjain, 64 lessons, 64 arts and science of bhakti. One lesson in one day, exam in the evening and excellent marks and certificate!

So when one is full of avidya, he commits sins. So he committed some sinful activity, activity is complete, finished, but after that the sanksar, impression, thought is still there and each sin is having its result. One has to suffer those reactions. As you sow so shall you rip! What do we sow? Seed! Rupa Gosvami said, we performed sinful activity, then the thought of the sin, the impression of the sin is known as aprarabdha, unmanifested. Tukarama Maharaja said,

‘papachi vasana nako davu dola tyahuni andhala baracha mi!’
The seed of sins inspires the person to perform more sins. Arjuna said,
‘papam carati purusah anicchanapi varsneya baladiva niyojitah’ (BG 3.36)

By what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force? Then in reply Krsna says, ‘kama esa krodha esa’, so the lust or the desire of lust when gets intensified then it takes a form which is known as seed, the seed of sin.

So one performed sin, then aprarabdha, then seed and then kutam, kutam means about to fructify. First there is a seed, to sow it, give water and fertilizer; in our childhood we have seen during Navaratri festival. One day they sow seeds, give water and next day when we get up, hey it’s ready. But some seeds may take few weeks or even few months to grow. We think, ‘is it going to come out or not?’ Like coconut seed, the whole coconut is sowed in ground, and after many months it shows a small sprout; it takes so much time. It may happen that the person committed sin today and thought, ‘hey I am free. There is no punishment.’ But what happens? The sin performed then the impression of the sin, seed, then kuta, and then one day police comes, and behind the bars, or any other type of punishment, misery, adidaivik or adibhautik. We have to get free from these miseries, klesha, which are due to ignorance, avidya.

Then after kutam, the plant grows in tree, then there are fruits and the person tastes those sweet or sour fruits, fruit of pious work or sin; but both are not good. Then this is prarabdha, or our fate, ‘this was in my fate’. Karmana daiva netrena sat-asat janma yonisu, one performed activity then impression or sanskar, seed, kuta and then fruit; to take birth is also fruit. Our sat or asat birth is result of our previous karma. When someone is suffering from some chronic disease, suffering from legal implications, -someone suffers from one court case to another, that is also result of his karma- born in a low or degraded family -asat janma yonisu-, if one is uneducated -for uneducated person the black letters are like black buffalos. They look at the book and say, so many buffalos are walking behind each other- and if someone is very ugly, so this is klesha. Only bhakti can free one from all these klesha, kleshaghni.

Then shubhada, good fortune comes with that. Have a happy journey. Life is a journey. So it will be smooth journey. Smooth journey in Bhakti and not even Ghana taral, you will come to know that in next lessons, the levels of bhakti, Ghana and taral. So this is Lord’s arrangement. If you will commit this sin then there will be this result, and that result for that sin, like that. After sin, comes aprarabdha, then seed, kuta, prarabdha, you will get to taste all of these. It is possible that the result of sin committed in one life will come in next life, it doesn’t leave us. When cows return to Goshala after grazing in the fields, there are many calves waiting for them. Within one -two minutes the calf of a particular cow reach to the cow, even within the big herd he is not having any difficulty to find his mother. Similarly wherever you go, the result of your sin will find you. Go in cave or on moon or anywhere you go, no way to escape.

Jnanagni sarva karmani bhasmasat kurute katha

All this was happening due to avidya but jnanagni, when we gain knowledge jnana from Bhakti Sastri course, then this lamp of knowledge gives light as well as it is having capacity to destroy or burn things. Fire gives light and also can burn. So this lamp of knowledge will burn piles of sins. It will burn the seeds of all sins. So from jnanagni comes klesaghni, free from klesa, miseries. Then progress in bhakti. Life free from miseries, that also means less anartha, anartha nivrutti. Lord said mam ekam saranam vraj, this is atma nivedanam, one type of bhakti. How many types of bhakti are there?

Nine, navavidha bhakti! Sravanam, Kirtanam, visnuh smaranam padasevanam
archanam vandavam sakhyam atma nivedanam

These nine, dha means types. Sometimes we say dvidha mana, mind is confused, what to do? I should do this or that? So navadha, ninth type of bhakti is atmanivedanam. If you performed that type of bhakti means you did mam ekam saranam vraja, surrendered unto the Lord then what Lord will do? Aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah, whatever sins you had committed, you don’t have to suffer those results, moksayisyami, I will free you. If we will not take shelter of the Lord then don’t know how many lifetimes we have to suffer. No end to it! We have not taken shelter of the Lord and had piled up papam bijam, kutam, then for many lifetimes, we have prepared for 1000- 2000 births. And with each birth comes janma mrutyu jara vyadhi dukha dosanu darsanam. So if we will take shelter of the Lord then kleshaghni, we will be free from all those klesha which are waiting for us in future. We call this proactive manner, in future I may have to suffer the result of this so I better not do this. I have to change, do adjustment in my lifestyle, in my thoughts. But most of the time people prefer reactivity, when the reaction will come then I will wake up. I did not know like this happens. Then crisis management, which crisis may come, make a list, what should be done to avoid them, all planning, master planning.
So did you note down the two characteristics of sadhana bhakti? Next is Bhava bhakti and it is also having two characteristics- moksa laghutakrita and sudurlabha. Moksa laghutakrta- laghu means small or lower, krta means to do, when devotee attains Bhava Bhakti stage, he considers mukti, liberation as insignificant, ‘who cares’. Kaivalyam narakayate, we are Gaudiya Vaisnavas, we are Rupanugas and it is our realization that there is something above liberation and what is that? That is love, Prema bhakti. Generally people talk about four purusharthas- dharma, artha, kama and moksa, mostly their aim is to merge in Brahma. They consider this is topmost and nothing is beyond that. Most of the so-called religious people are like this only. But Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave us the fifth purusharth and that is prema pumartho mahan. That is prayojana, the goal of Vaisnavas, especially of Gaudiya Vaisnavas. That’s why for Guadiya Vaisnavas don’t stop in between. For them this liberation is having no value, mokshalagutakrta. For the devotee who is floating in Bhakti-bhava, rasas are arising in him, he says, ‘bye bye mukti. We will meet some other day.’ Mukti is called as pishacini, ghost. Don’t get caught in her trap. Take diversion and go ahead. So those who are on the stage of Bhava Bhakti, they consider this mukti as valueless, insignificant, moksalaghutakrta. This is one characteristic of Bhava Bhakti.

Another characteristic is sudurlabha, very rarely achieved. Tukarama Maharaja said, ‘Bhakti is not the job of any fool. He must be intelligent.’ So at the end of many many births, bahunam janmanam ante, one who understands that vasudevam sarvam iti, isn’t this durlabha, rarely achieved? We could not achieve the Lord in this life, and not in that life, could not achieve bhakti, then they came in the association of the sadhu, sadhusang sadhusang sarva siddhi hoya, then they came to know the characteristics of the sadhu. In our country whoever wears saffron is sadhu. But the saffron cloth, or keeping shikha or wearing wooden sleepers or wearing kaupin,

kaupin vantah khalu bhagyavantah
vedanta vakyesu sada ramantah

Many sadhus of Varanasi talk like this. ‘See we are renunciants. We wear only kaupin and relish in Vedanta Vakya.’ Then what comes after Vedanta vakya? Aham Brahmasmi! They absorb themselves in this mahavakya. This is tatastha laksan, external characteristics of mahatmas, dress should be like this, such and such color, wearing tilak and all, this is secondary characteristic. What is svarupa laksan of mahatma? Mahatmanastu mam partha daivim prakrtim asritah, the daivi prakriti, Radharani; Lord says, one who has taken shelter of the followers of Radharani, acharyas who come in that parampara, that person is mahatma.

titiksavah karunikah suhrdam sarva-dehinam
ajata-satravah santah sadhavah sadhu-bhusanah (SB 3.25.21)

These are characteristics or ornaments of the sadhu, mahatma. These are primary characteristics. This is the identity of Mahatma. Other than these are gauna laksana or tatastha laksana.

So sudurlabhah, to attain Bhakti is not easy. Lord said, manusyanam sahasresu kascid yatati siddhaye, one out of the million of people try to attain siddhi, perfection, okay, we can give credit that he is performing Sadhana Bhakti. Those who are performing sadhana are very few in the millions of people. And yatatam api siddhanam, among those who are sadhakas, kascin mam vetti tattvatah, rarely anyone can know Me. So sudurlabha, rare achievement is the characteristic of Bhava Bhakti. There could be many sadhakas who are performing Sadhana bhakti, but there are very few who have attained Bhava Bhakti and to attain this stage is very rare. We don’t have to get discouraged. Utsahan niscayat dairyat and also avasya rakshibe krsna, one who has taken shelter of the Lord, what does he think? Krsna will definitely protect me. He will definitely give me darsana. Therefore

utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati (NOI 3)
Sidhyati, siddha mahatma!

The third and last stage of Bhakti is Prema Bhakti. Actually there are seven more stages above Prema. We know only up to Prema as our border, limit is prema. But there is sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, mahabhava; Mahabhava Thakurani! Rupa Gosvami has written Ujjvala Nilamani after Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu. In that book he has given description of bhakti of goloka eva nivasati, the residents of the Goloka, their bhakti is above prema. When prema gets intensified, then it is called as sneha, etc. etc.

So Sandra ananda visesatma and sri krsna akarshini, Sandra ananda means solidified happiness, Lord is Sachidananda. So solidified, intensified prema! Bhava is also Prema, it is the beginning of Prema. As we can see sunrays before sun is arisen, at dawn, pitch darkness of the night reduces and light comes out slowly that is bhava. And when sun is completely arisen then it is prema.

When Bhava is intensified then it is Sandra ananda visesatma, automatically puts one into transcendental pleasure. And it is natural.

Nitya siddha krsna prema sadhya kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

Soul’s love for Lord is completely awaken, enlightened. This is svarupa siddhi, one has attained his svarupa. Hitva anyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih, when we will come at the stage of our real svarupa then the devotion, feeling, bhava we will have will be of prema. Every talk will be with love, we will feed the Lord with love, with spontaneous love, natural love of the soul for the Lord.

Jnanakarmadi anavrtam, when jnana and karma covers the natural love of the soul, layer by layer covering; so by performing sadhana, we gradually throw them away which are binding or covering us. And then at the end we pure soul only remain. Pure soul and pure devotee! At that stage all the activities are the loving devotional service. So when we do bhakti, bhakti doesn’t mean to stay inert; but all the activities we perform are the loving devotional services. The works of the materialistic people are inspired by lust. Oh what are you doing? I am busy in work. (kama means lust and also work in marathi language) so the lust engages everyone in the work. The nature of lust is to inspire the person to work. And then the person is called as kami, who is working by getting inspired by kama(lust). Then how will be the premi? His thoughts will be of love for the Lord, he gets inspired by love and works for the Lord with prema, also serving the devotees of the Lord. He gains bliss in that. Lord is Sacchidananda, or Anandaghana, and He also gives happiness. So his life is full of bliss. This is one characteristic of prema Bhakti.

Another and last one is sri krsnakarsini. When the premi devotee performs loving devotional service, then that devotional service attracts the Lord, sri krsna akarshini. Srila Prabhupada used to say, ‘perform such bhakti, such loving devotional service that Lord Himself should come to see you. If you want to see the Lord then you will not get the appointment, you will not get the Lord’. Many demigods also used to come to Dvaraka and would ask appointment. Lord would say, ‘hey who is there, talking too much. Is he Indra? Hey, keep quiet. Which Brahma has come?’ ‘Caturmukhi Brahma!’ ‘Oh ok, let him come.’ When Suradas used to sing, he was blind, so whenever he used to sit and sing the glories of Govinda, his prema bhakti used to attract the Lord and would brought Him next to Suradas. When he would understand that someone has arrived and listening my songs, we would realize, ‘is He Kanhaiya?’ and when he would come to touch the Lord, the Lord would get up and start running. Then poor blind Suradas, how much he could run? He would say, ‘hey if You want to run then run, but I have already captivated You in my heart. You cannot go away from me. Wherever I am You will be there. I will keep You.’ He used to speak with authority. Lord is also having love for His devotees. It is not that only souls love the Lord. It is two way traffic.

It is said that Lord Vitthala came to meet Vallabhacharya to his asram which is here at the bank of river (Chandrabhaga). Vitthala gave darsana to him. And don’t know if that time or at other time, but Lord Vitthala gave instruction to Vallabhacharya to enter in Grihastha asrama and then he became grihastha. He had one son and he gave him the name Vitthalanatha. And Tukarama Maharaja, when he was sick on one ashadhi ekadashi, he was not able to walk to Pandharpur to take darsana of Vitthala. Then what happened? Lord was attracted by the bhakti of Tukarama Maharaja. Lord came personally to Dehu to give darsana to Tukarama Maharaja. Such incidents take place on daily basis in Goloka. So sri krsna akarsini is the laksan of Prema Bhakti.
Gaur Premanande Hari Haribol