Sri Shikshashtakam
Shravan Utsav
280219-Mayapur [1:54:16]

Hare Krsna!! You don’t say? Hare Krsna!! Thank you for saying hare Krsna! I should say thank you for being with us here to hear. You are here to hear, so that Lord would come near. Then there is no fear, oh dear. You are taking keen interest in this sravan utsava. Its utsava for your
ears. This is very important aspect of Mayapur utsava. Srila Prabhupada kindly gave us this

Mayapur utsava. Mayapur utsava ki…jai

What is Mayapur utsava without sravan utsava, you could imagine. You come to Mayapur utsava and there is not hearing and chanting program! We can’t even imagine. Sravan is part of our life. Hearing gives us life.
prananti punanti subhanti Srimad Bhagavatam says,

As you hear,

sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam [SB 7.5.23] or
srnvanti gayanti grnanty abhiksnasah [SB 1.8.36]

When sadhus come together what do they do? srnvanti gayanti grnanty Krsna also says in Bhagavad-gita,

mac-citta mad-gata-prana bodhayantah parasparam  [BG 10.9]

parasparam, nice word- each other bodhayantah they share instructions, remind each other instructions of the Lord, pastimes of the Lord, the holy name of the Lord.

kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca

This katha has to be about Me, they hear My katha. How long do they hear? Nityam- all the time. Tusyanti- and then they become satisfied.

tusyanti ca ramanti ca

This is their life, ramanti-they wander during the festival, they go there katha there, kirtana there ramanti ca. So this is our lifestyle. Hearing is the central activity. Hearing is of prime importance. You have already realized the importance hence you are with us here.

So we have two topics. One is Kavichandra Maharaja’s topic which is shikshashtak. So Sri Sri shikshashtak ki….jay. It is very serious topic. So Shikshashtakam, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu He left these 8 prayers behind. Shiksha-ashtak, lots of shiksha, lots of instructions this Shikshashtakam has been included in the Caitanya Caritamrta, at the very end of the Caitanya Caritamrta, antya lila in chapter 20. It’s like an essence, something that comes at the end is usually most essential or essence or the conclusion.

Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu not only complied and said, “Ok, you folks, you read them, you recite them or you memorize them, I have done my part of compiling this instruction or shikshashtak.” That wasn’t the case. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagganath Puri during antya lila pastime, when He was practically in Radha bhavaa,

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

That Lord what He always had or He appeared in Radha bhavaa, Radha’s emotion and Radha’s complexion, complexion was there always. Hari Hari, is that meditation or sleep?

antah krsnam bahir gaura

Caitanya Bhagavat says, he was Krsna inside hiding within Radha or hiding behind Radha, ‘antah krsna bahir gaura’. Outside He is Gaura. He is Gaura Gaura Gauranga Gauranga!! And His bhava was Radha bhava But he did not exhibit that Radha bhava in Navadwip Mayapur which is Adi lila. He did not exhibit this so much during His Madhya lila, travelling on then,

hare krsna nama gaura karila prachar

As He was propagating chanting of the holy name. However when He returned, finally returned, third time He returned to Jagganath Puri. Now He had served the purpose. His personal purpose for His own advent, personal private confidential reason, why Lord appears that we would be talking also in my seminar which is next. So during those days in Jagganath Puri, He was trying to experience Radha bhava, He is acting like Radha, thinking like Radha, sometimes even dressing like Radha and missing Krsna like Radha.

Radhe, Radhe…

he radhe! vraja-devike! ca lalite! he nanda-suno! kuta?

Where are you? Where are you? Krsna, where are you? So that Radha bhava. Then at Gambhira, in Jagganth Puri there is a place called Gambhira. Did you ever you go to Gambhira? I was expecting more hands to go up. So remember that place. Quite a tiny place but very gambhir full of gambhirya. The name gambhira, very serious, grave and deep. So that place, at that place Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu specially during night time, whole world goes to sleep but Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to have sleepless nights with His associates. Very selected few, Svarupa Damodar Goswami, Ramananda Raya on His sides. How would he send his nights? He would take one of His shikshashtak and He would think, contemplate on that shikshashtak or the deeper meaning of shikshashtak, think this way and that way from different angles of visions, approach that shikshashtak and He would spend whole night like that.

So like He compiled His shikshashtak. Then He would give His commentary, ‘bhashya’ and He would share with Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodar. Let’s see what this chapter says. This is 20 th chapter of antya lila of Caitanya Caritamrta.

ei-mata mahaprabhu vaise nilacale
rajani-divase krsna-virahe vihvale [CC Antya lila 20.3]

I had only said the day and night. There is day and night in Nilachal. Mahaprabhu would spent day and night in feeling of intense separation from the Lord. Who is feeling separation? Who must be feeling separation? When we say Caitanya Mahaprabhu feeling separation? Radha in Caitanya Mahaprabhu- Radharani is feeling separation.

svarupa, ramananda, — ei duijana-sane
ratri-dine rasa-gita-sloka asvadane [CC Antya lila 20.4]

And He would also recite and relish Srimad Bhagavatam, Krsna Karnamrita and His own poetry or.

nana-bhava uthe prabhura harsa, soka, rosa
dainyodvega-arti utkantha, santosa [CC Antya lila 20.5]

And while He would recite His own shikshashtak and relish it, Raya Ramananda, he is also relishing. Caitanya Mahaprabhu is speaking, He is also hearing and He is relishing.

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

So Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is doing and different emotions, sometimes He is full of joy, shok, He is full of lamentations, rosha, sometimes He becomes angry, why you are not coming, where, why you are not appearing before me, dainya-He would become very very humble, full of humility, He would express humility, utkantha, then He becomes very anxious, where is Krsna, where is He? And He would even sometimes go outside Gambhira to the bank of ocean
and becoming very very anxious.

sei sei bhave nija-sloka padiya
slokera artha asvadaye dui-bandhu lana [CC Antya lila 20.6]

So nija-sloka, His own sloka, shikshashtak. Taking these two brothers with Him, Raya Ramananda and Svarupa Damodar He would,

kona dine kona bhave sloka-pathana
sei sloka asvadite ratri-jagarana [CC Antya lila 20.7]

Someday one bhava or one meaning He would contemplate upon. Another day same sloka same shikshashtak another emotion another bhava. And He would spent whole night like this.

If they could do it, the materialistic could spend sleepless nights enjoying and while enjoying they would forget their sleep. How could they sleep? There is so much to enjoy, so likewise or more than that Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu would be spending, ratri jagarana.

harse prabhu kahena, — “suna svarupa-rama-raya

And sometimes He would get attention, “hye Ramananda Raya” he was not very far but trying to get his attention. He knows that he was hearing but Lord wants to make sure he is hearing, you should not miss this one, “Raya Ramananda, listen to this” and then He would say,

nama-sankirtana — kalau parama upaya [CC Antya lila 20.8]

In the age of kali, Raya Ramananda, there is no other solution other than ‘nama sankirtana’.

param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam ki jay!!
sankirtana-yajne kalau krsna-aradhana
sei ta’ sumedha paya krsnera carana [CC Antya lila 20.9]

Those who are intelligent in the age of kali they would perform sankirtana yajna and this is the way to worship Krsna. You could see, how, what context, what Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is pointing out nama sankirtana is the way. And then He would quote,

krsna-varnam tvisakrsnam sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah [SB 11.5.32]

And this is Bhagavatam, eleventh canto. Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu recites that verse from
Bhagavatam.

nama-sankirtana haite sarvanartha-nasa
sarva-subhodaya, krsna-premera ullasa [CC Antya lila 20.11]

Then, Mahaprabhu would comment this, nama sankirtana would destroy anartha, sarva anartha nasa. What nasa? What destruction of? Anarthas, anarthas would be destroyed.

Anartha nivriti would take place as one chants the holy name of the Lord and then, He would recite the first verse,

ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam [CC Antya lila 20.12]

And having said that He would give His commentary. You comment upon this verse which is there in, a condensed form commentary is also mentioned.

sankirtana haite papa-samsara-nasana
citta-suddhi, sarva-bhakti-sadhana-udgama [CC Antya lila 20.13]

He is commenting upon the ‘ceto darpana marjanam’ verse. He is giving His commentary ‘ceto darpana marjanam’. He says ‘citta-suddhi’ – Your consciousness is refined.

krsna-premodgama, premamrta-asvadana
krsna-prapti, sevamrta-samudre majjana [CC Antya lila 20.14]

Same thing He has said that in Bangla bhasha and in simplified way He has given the commentary on the first shikshashtak.

And then,
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-saktis [CC Antya lila 20.16]

He would say this and then He gives His commentary,

aneka-lokera vancha — aneka-prakara [CC Antya lila 20.17]

You understand now, Bangla devotees must be very happy, no need of translation. You need
translation, they don’t need translation.

krpate karila aneka-namera pracara

namnam akari bahudha there are so many names, khaite suite yatha tatha nama laya  [CC Antya lila 20.18]

Very interesting!

Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, khaite suite yatha tatha nama

laya while eating, while sleeping yatha tatha, make sure you are somehow you are managing to chant.

kala-desa-niyama nahi

There is no niyam, no hard and fast rules, He is saying, kala-desa-niyama nahi, sarva siddhi haya.

“sarva-sakti name dila kariya vibhaga
amara durdaiva, — name nahi anuraga!!” [CC Antya lila 20.19]

Lord has invested all His energy in His name, amara durdaiva – I am so unfortunate

‘durdaiva midrsha iha jani naanuragha’
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, name nahi anuraga- This is my durdaiva,

ye-rupe la-ile nama prema upajaya
tahara laksana suna, svarupa-rama-raya [CC Antya lila 20.19]

First of all He says I am so unfortunate I have no attraction for chanting the holy names of the
Lord but then, “ye Raya Ramananda! but I will tell you how one could develop attraction for
chanting the holy name.” You want to know? Yes, Haribol

The He says,

trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena kirtaniyah sada harih [CC Antya lila 20.21]

Just now He had no attraction for chanting and now what He is doing. ‘kirtaniya sada hari’. See
the difference.
‘durdaivam idrsha iha ajani’,

‘ajani’, not takan birth. By what, ‘anuragaha’, where is my Anurag? Where is my attraction? Attraction is not getting produced. Where is my attraction? Where is my attachment? Oh! I am so unfortunate. Then he says, “you could have attachment and you would always chant you
would end up always chanting”. Then as we translate this verse in English there is one word that gets my attention that is,

“In such a state of mind one could chant the holy name of Lord constantly.” So underline, what, ‘In such a state of mind’, in such a state of mind one could chant the holy name of Lord constantly and what is that state of mind?

‘trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna amanina mana-dena

The humility, the tolerance and giving respect to others and not to expect respect for oneself and in return not to expect respect. Now He is giving His commentary on this.

gharma-vrsti sahe, anera karaye raksana [CC Antya lila 20.24]
uttama hana vaisnava habe nirabhimana [CC Antya lila 20.25]

sita atapa bata barishana e dina jamini jagi re

This is another song, this song says, sometimes rain sometimes, yesterday there was rain, before there was hot sweating, sometimes this and that. The tree tolerates all this. Hari hari!!

premera svabhava — yahan premera sambandha
sei mane, — ‘krsne mora nahi prema-gandha [CC Antya lila 20.28]

He thinks that He has no attraction so like that Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu would go on reciting shikshashtak after shikshashtak after shikshashtak after another shikshashtak one, two and then He would comment and contemplate and relish and get absorbed and get stunned

and all these.

mahaprabhoh kirtana-nrtya-gita-vaditra-madyan-manaso rasena
romanca-kampasru-taranga-bhajo vande guroh sri-caranaravindam [Guru-astaka Verse 2]

All these symptoms Caitanya Mahaprabhu would exhibit, trembling in the body, all this, the tears they would never leave Him alone. ‘nache kande g.aye’ Caitanya Mahaprabhu always busy ‘keha nache keha kande keha gaye’, He is chanting, He is dancing, He is crying.

His shikshashtak verses, they talk of all the three kind of bhaktis, sadhana bhakti, the first five verses of shikshahshtak, they describe sadhana bhakti. Verse number six and seven, they describe bhava bhakti, the last verse eighth verse talk about prema bhakti.

Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur also talks in Madhurya Kadambini from shraddha to prema. All those steps are also there. He talks of shraddha and sadhusanga and bhajana kriya, anarthanivrtti.

na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi [CC Antya lila 20.29]

This is anartha-nivrtti. I don’t want- na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam, none of this. Ok what about mukti? He says no no no no mukti… no bhukti no mukti, only bhakti. Forth verse, na dhanam na janam na sundarim -this is bhukti, mam janmani janmanisvare- this is mukti, I don’t want mukti. No bhukti no mukti. What I want, ‘mam janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi’. He is only begging for devotional service, life after life after life. Then comes the humility, trinadapi, that also there.

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja-sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintayahe [CC Antya lila 20.32]

ayi means oh! addressing “ayi nanda-tanuja, o son of Nanda Maharaja, Nanda tanuj akinkaram, I am your kinkar, I am your servant”. ‘

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram patitam mam visame bhavambudhau

Look look look at me, I am fallen I am in the middle of this ocean of material existence bhava ambudhi, so have mercy, o my dear Lord, please pick me up, please pick me up and fix as a dust particle dust of your feet. He doesn’t say, make me crown on your head or make some necklace
around your neck. No, just some dust particle at your lotus feet, on your lotus feet. This is dainya. This is also sambandha jnana. Shikshashtak, is also talking about sambandha, abhidheya prayojana, prem is prayojana, the sambandha- I am yours, I am yours. This sambandha- my
relationship with you is ‘ayi nanda tanuja kinkaram’.

And then He is further praying, begging, o Lord, when that day would be mine?

kabe ha’be bolo se-dina amar
(amar) aparadha ghuci’, suddha name ruci,

Another song, ‘O! When that day would be mine when would I become free from all the offenses? When would I develop ruci, attraction for this chanting? And when will I chant ‘hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama hare hare’ This whole shikshashtak is glories of the holy name, this is glorification of the holy name. I am not going very systematically. So the first very first verse is ‘ceto-adarpan marjanam’ this is greatness or quality or this adjective of what?

‘param vijayate shri krsna sankirtanam’

There are four lines of first shikshashtak and each line has two parts. The final part is ‘param vijayate shri krsna sankirtanam.’

All glories to the holy name!! But then which holy name? What kind of holy name? Ceto-darpana marjanam, that holy name which does, what, cleaning of consciousness.

bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam, we get relief from this davagni. sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam- third, vidya-vadhu-jivanam- forth one, ‘anandambudhi-vardhana?- fifth one, ‘purnamrtasvadanam- sixth one ‘sarvatma-snapanam-this is seventh one ‘sarvatma snapanam, snapanam means snana- taking bath or drowning, abhishek. Whole atma could have abhishek of harinama ‘harinamabhishek’. Abhishek of the harinama, atma, is swimming in the nectar of the holy name, ‘sarvatma snapanam param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam’

So that sankirtana’s victory, victory of the holy name. What kind of holy name? So all those seven glories or adjectives, mahatmya of the holy name is there in the first verse. So in this one, this is bhavana, the sixth one is bhava. When would, when I chant the holy name I would ‘galadashru dharya’, torrents of rain, like that tears, nayanam galad asru dharaya vadanam gadgada rudhaya gira My voice getting chocked up, I am full of devotion and emotion, my voice getting chocked up.

When would that happen?

nayanam galad asru dharaya vadanam gadgada rudhaya gira
pulakair nicitam vapuh tava nam grahane bhavisyati [CC Antya lila 20.36]

vapu means this body, pulakair- when my body become tremble? As I chant your holy name, so this is bhava stage, bhava and then as there the further evolution or progression or condensation of this bhava, then feeling separation. What is that one?

yugayitam nimesena caksusa pravrsayitam
sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me [CC Antya lila 20.39]

Period of the nimish is this much time [Maharaja snaps his fingers] this much time without Krsna is like a yuga, so many yugas, have…

truti yugayate tvam apasyatam [SB 10.31.15]

Gopis said, Gopigeet, truti yugayate, without seeing my dear Lord, that truti, small fraction of second, yugayate- becomes like a age. I won’t seen Him for ages. They have just seen Him at Radhakunda in noon time and then they go to their villages, Nandagram and they again miss Him. We haven’t seen Him for such a long time, two hours ago they were with Him.

govinda-virahena me

So viraha, virahabhava and that is Gopi-bhava and that is Radhabhava and that is why the next verse. The final verse is, what,

aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam adarsanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah [CC Antya lila 20.47]

Now this statement Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, this in Radhabhava. This is like a Radha in Caitanya is speaking. Now He has full manifestation of Radha in that, Sri Krsna Caitanya radha krsna nahe anya. Radha and Krsna together, so as this final shikshashtak is uttered, this is Radhabhava and then ‘aslisya va’. You have a choice, it’s upto you sometimes you may embrace me, aslisya va pada-ratam pinastu mam Or you may crush me under your feet, yath? tath? v? vidadh?tu lampa?o, you are lampat, you like that, I know, I know you, you are like this, you may treat in the way you like. One thing is for sure. What is that?

mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

My prana- natha, you are my prana-natha, you alone no one else, no matter how you handle with me deal with me. You may embrace me, you may crush me under your feet, discard me but I am simply yours. I have no other Lord, than you my Lord. Hari hari!! So that’s why before chanting
‘hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare’

We recite this shikshashtak, gets you in the right mood, prepares you with your mental preparations or your hearts condition, right emotion for setting the scene, before we chant. Ok and that is how much we could say. Shikshashtak seminar time is over and the next seminar could begin or would like to begin getting your attention to panchatatva.
[kirtan for some time]

panchatatva ki jay!
Radha Madhav ki jay
Shrila Prabhupada ki jay
Nitai Gaura Haribol!
Nitai Gaura Premanande haribol !

Question 1: Hare Krsna Maharaja the class was very nice, [One Prabhu asking question on behalf of a Mataji] Whenever we chanting the holy name of Krsna then externally we are chanting but mind is vacillating from one point to another. So by subduing the mind how can we chant and be satisfied this is the question.

Answer: Common question, be humble same thing I have no attraction what does that mean? I have so many other attractions. Mind is running hither and thither.

chanchalam hi manah krishna pramathi balavad dridham [BG 6.34]

So trinad api sunicena, in such a state of mind so try to develop that state of mind. Be humble easier said than done. Be humble, be tolerant, be respectful. We also said shikshashtak prayers meditate upon, that should make your mind peaceful settled then you chant. Lot of things have to be done but keep chanting. Some ceto-darpana marjanam will happen each time as we chant.

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare’ It is a big topic, common topic, it’s a common question answer is not that short lot of things.

You could join sometimes japa retreats, Mahatma Prabhu or Sacinandana Swami Maharaja japa retreats where they spent few days or one week whole day this is a topic, how to chant, how to chant with concentration, how to control mind. All different things we have to do. Be intelligent, over the mind is intelligence. Chanting is a job of intelligent person.

yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah

Su-medhasa-You have to be intelligent. Intelligence could control the mind, the chanchal mind can be subdued with the intelligence. You shut up, you could preach your mind. Intelligence could address that flickering mind intelligence could discriminate. This is my favorite topic.

Lord’s creation is Acintya, beyond our capability to know
DELHI [1:9:36]
youth lecture

varsa-puga-sahasrante
tad andam udake sayam
kala-karma-svabhava-stho
jivo ‘jivam ajivayat [SB 2.5.34]

Translation: – Thus all the universes remained thousands of aeons within the water [the Causal Ocean], and the Lord of living beings, entering in each of them, caused them to be fully animated.

Purport: – The Lord is described here as the jiva because He is the leader of all other jivas (living entities). In the Vedas He is described as the nitya, the leader of all other nityas. The Lord’s relation with the living entities is like that of the father with the sons. The sons and the father are qualitatively equal, but the father is never the son, nor is the son ever the father who begets. So, as described above, the Lord as Garbhodakasayi Visnu or Hiranyagarbha Supersoul enters into each and every universe and causes it to be animated by begetting the living entities within the womb of the material nature, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita (14.3).

After each annihilation of the material creation, all the living entities are merged within the body of the Lord, and after creation they are again impregnated within the material energy. In material existence, therefore, the material energy is seemingly the mother of the living entities, and the Lord is the father. When, however, the animation takes place, the living entities revive their own natural activities under the spell of time and energy, and thus the varieties of living beings are manifested. The Lord, therefore, is ultimately the cause of all animation in the material world.

Thus all the universes remained thousands of aeons within the water [the Causal Ocean], and the Lord of living beings, entering in each of them, caused them to be fully animated.

The animations are very popular and that is considered to be very advanced or very intelligent thing to do. Animations in television, they get different dolls to fight with each other or they seem to be talking, running after each other. That’s extent of our abilities to animate things, which then we sit in our sofa and watch our own creation and enjoy or be amazed, ‘Oh! What an animation look, amazing, the Disney world’. You know in America, their most famous animations are by the Disney world in North America.

So we are parts and parcels of the Lord and like father like son, the ability of the Lord is also in us in minute quantity and this is what little minute animation that we become the cause of. Or off course we create, we create little children. Lord has crated all of us and we create few children. Lord begets living entities within the womb of material nature. mama yonir mahat brahma [BG 14.3] Lord makes mahat-tattva, that is the womb and Lord’s glances, He glances upon that total material energy mahat tattva in front of Him. He doesn’t even have to touch it.

Just by looking at it He does the impregnation and how many? Countless living entities, they get animated as per kala, karma, svabhava, their karmas which they had committed during previous creation, and their bhava, inclinations, tendencies.

So we create few living entities or few, we don’t create living entities. They always exist. Give bodies, become cause of giving bodies to few children, but look at the Lord, how much He could create.

tasmin garbham dadhamy aham
sambhavah sarva-bhutanam
tato bhavati bharata

He becomes cause of sarva bhutanam, of all the living entities and giving them bodies also. First of all they are His parts and parcels. So whenever it is difficult to stress the history, when the living entities were created, mama amsa, purna amsa, some parts and parcels were created. We don’t know, difficult to find out.

So that creation of living entities and later on giving them bodies also, to sarva bhutanam, of all living entities.

I never heard this saying, this creation as the lila, sristi lila, Devakinandan Prabhu was explaining, different incarnations have different lilas or even there are lila- avataras. For first time I was thinking ‘Oh!This is also lila of the Lord. Creation is also lila, sristi lila. And the three Purusa-avataras put together, performing this lila. So what we do little bit is not described as lilas. We also have little creation, few children okay, big house okay, housing colony, or that kind of creation. Big bridge we build or little space Apollo 8 or Apollo 11, little Sputnik, there are unlimited ocean. At night time there are so many planets floating like a dust particle float in the air and then we say little sputnik floating. So these are the tiny creations of the tiny living entities. So they are not described as lilas, but when Lord performs the herculean tasks, big big tasks, creation of the universes, not just one but unlimited universes and within each universe so many planets and so much variety. For a tiny tiny living entities as we are, from where we are sitting, or wherever we are existing, from there to take a look at the one universe and so many universes and beyond that there is another kingdom, the spiritual kingdom, and living entities are tiny, and that tiny living entities’ brain is further tiny brain.

Prabhupada used to call ‘tini brain’. He would describe, ‘so that tini brain how much tini living entities, tini tiny how much that could understand? I mean what we know is very very little. There is a planet and there is space, so many planets in that space and there is ocean and there is whole world out there or in there in that ocean, so many varieties in there. I mean of the total creation of the Lord, all that exist, how much does living entity know? How much do living entities know? Just a fraction! Who was that? I think he was Einstein, he said “You admit that how much ignorant you are. If you could admit that I am so much ignorant means you are kind of knowledgeable, but one who thinks oh I know everything that is how the ignorance is described.” One who thinks that I know everything, that means you are ignorant. But if you admit, yes yes I am ignorant; in fact I don’t know so many things. Oh! He is knowledgeable. At least he knows that he doesn’t know. That is one scientist, Einstein was admitting.

You go to the beach and you take one sand particle from that beach, Juhu beach, where Prabhupada used to walk and then you admit that my knowledge is one particle that now I am holding within my pinch, that particle, may be that much or may be even less than that I know, compared to the number of sand particles on the beach. You know there are so many beaches also. So how much could living entity know? Not much!

So when Lord performs His lila, the sristi lila, the creation, then it is just mind boggling. It is just achintya, just beyond the grasp, the capability of living entity to know it. But in order to make the living entity knowledgeable or at least as much as living entity could know to the extent they could know here in, in this part, in this section of Bhagavatam, the creation has been described, not just theory of creation, the facts of creation have been described. I was thinking how Narada Muni, he had gone to the authority in the creation, next to the Lord or Lord’s right hand man. Lord is cause of all causes, that is the chapter here we are dealing with, Lord is cause of all causes, sarva karana karanam. So the popular fact is, Brahma is the creator, but even Brahma had to be created by the Lord before he creates more things. So Lord is cause of all causes, even cause of Brahma who is kind of secondary cause of creation. Lord is sarga and visarga is, we were hearing and understanding in yesterday’s class also. So Brahma certainly has a big role. If anyone has to play role besides the Lord, that is Brahma. He has big big role to play in the creation of brahmanda.

So what Narada muni is doing? He is going all the way to the top authority in this creation, who is responsible for this creation. He goes there, he says okay Brahmaji. He does interview. We heard those ten questions yesterday which are at the beginning of this chapter. Yad rupam, yad adhistanam, and total number of ten questions were raised. So Narada Muni, who also has inferior position, he is going to the superior authority. He is going to father also, Narada muni is son and Brahma is father. ‘Oh! Father, daddy daddy, could you please tell me, explain to me, be kind upon me’.

So keeping in mind, these things human beings should know, or they should know these things even as lila of the Lord. The creation is lila of the Lord and oh my dear father Brahmaji, and he is asking all those questions, all possible questions that human beings would want to know about the creation, those questions were raised by Narada muni. Probably he sat in Badrikasrama and made a list, oh! these questions probably people from Delhi would ask and these questions people from Ney York would ask, and these questions from here and there, and he made up a list and Badrikasrama because that is his headquarter, Badrinarayan he worships in Bharat varsha.

Narayana, Narayana, Narayana, that’s why when you see Narada muni, you remember Narayana or he reminds whole world about Narayana, he gives out Narayana. So Badrikasrama is his place and when he comes back, he probably prepares or he thinks, reflects, he plans. Anyway somewhere he made this list and he approached Brahma, ‘Could you please tell us about this creation, this this this tell us, ten questions.’ And what we are hearing these days in Bhagavatam class including today’s verse is reply, is a response to Narada muni’s questions.

The person who is asking questions, who has made list of these questions is a topnotch authority himself. Pure and he is representative of all the people. And he has to go around and what if someone will ask me about creation? You know I go every where. Then I better know, I better equipped myself with answers to these questions. Otherwise could be very embarrassing position as those Yamadutas were embarrassed.

Prabhupada writes, if you are representing someone, before you go out there to represent, you better be knowledgeable about the representation, about what you have to present. So Narada muni is world preacher and he is going to the topmost authority and wants to know all the things about creation. And the answers given were nothing but the truth. If anybody knows about the creation, of course Lord knows, and there is another person who knows and that is Brahma, because he is directly involved with the creation. So that person had been interviewed by Narada muni and these are the answers to those questions.

And these are facts, this is the truth for all the time to come. And Narada muni and Brahma both of them, they want to go on record and that record is here, in Srimad Bhagavatam, several chapters. Many many chapters dealing with creation, sarga visarga, very in depth or mystical also and so many great details and very interesting details about the creation of the Lord. So this is it. In fact this is, if anyone any where any time is interested in knowing about the creation of the Lord, creation which is out there, this is the place, this is the source. You go into the Bhagavatam, Vedic texts Upanishads and puranas, like that essence of all that is in here in this amal purana, Srimad Bhagavat purana. And you hear this you read this and you become knowledgeable about the creation of Lord……….

The creator mentioned here is jiva, jivo ajivam ajivayat, close very nicely, even sounds very nice. Jivo ajivam ajivayat, one jiva, jiva also means life, jiva. Oh! This is nirjiva, they say, this doesn’t have jiva, this doesn’t have life. So the first person, Prabhupada is describing that person is leader of all the living entities. And he is also jiva because he is full of life. Infact life comes from life. Prabhupada made that bold statement, life comes from life. So that is right here. Jivo, in the beginning there was jiva, the Supreme living entity and he is the cause of all causes and from that jiva from that life rest of the life has come into existence.

hiranyagarbha-antaryami , that jiva has been described as hiranyagarbha that is Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. That jiva also has been described as antaryami, antaryami Krsna, Lord in the heart, or Supersoul.

Samsar vyatirikta paramesvarah, jiva is samsar vyatirikta means someone who is beyond this samsar, this material existence. This jiva doesn’t come from, He is not part of this creation, samsara. Living entities are also samsar vyatirikta. Living entities are also from beyond this material existence but He is not only samsar vyatirikta but He is samsara vyatirikta parameshvarah, He is Supreme Personality of Godhead and He is creator. Yesterday also the word ubhayam, means two had appeared. He creates Brahmanda, anda, egg like shape, anda, egg and brahmanda, brahma mahad yonir. So brahmanda is universe and He is also creator of pinda, another word had been used for the living entities. The brahmanda is universe, and one is anda, one is pinda, brahmanda is material universe and pinda, each one of us is a pinda. Like we hear, pinde pinde matir bhinna or munde munde matir bhinna Mati means intelligence.

Devakinandan Prabhu was also throwing light how each one is different or thoughts are different, everything is different. You could see, he gave a class and I am also giving a class. He said each one of us could give a class, would be talking, talking the truth but differently. This is also amazing creation of the Lord, though two persons look alike, there are hundreds of you are sitting and each one is different looking, except who? Jananivas and Pankajangri! Even after 30 years I cannot figure it out. I have to take few minutes to understand to whom I am
talking with, this is Pankajangri or this is Jananivas. One has bigger shikha, one has small. There is some difference. Difference is there but it’s very subtle. Isn’t this amazing!

And sometimes we could hear, it could be true, that at the beginning of creation till now all the bodies created by the Lord, not two bodies are alike. Not that present batch each one is different, but the previous batch and the previous, each batch, no two bodies were created just alike. At least some slight difference, little scar, something will be different. And this is something amazing, that we could just sit and appreciate and become Krsna Conscious. If we could just sit and be amazed. Instead of going to see Agra, to see the eighth wonder of the world, you could just sit in Vrindavan and hear about the creation of the Lord and be amazed, such a wonderful Lord is. Of course Krsna is wonderful, there is chapter Prabhupada gave title as a wonderful Krsna, but even there is wonderful Maha- Vishnu, wonderful Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, wonderful Kshirodakasayi Vishnu. We don’t have to, yeah I mean only appreciate rasa dance and talk about rasa dance, and how amazing and appreciate and relish. But here this Sristi lila is also such a amazing thing, we could relish and we could really go deeper and understand step by step the creation of the Lord and the subtleties and the details and the flavor, and just amazing thing what Lord does. Amazing, wonderful creation of the Lord!

Brahmanda and that anda and this pinda and all that is in anda is also in pinda, all that is out there is also in this body in minute quantity, different elements out there, bhumir-apo nalo vayuh kham all are out there and in here also. So the whole brahmanda you want to sample, just sample your body, and analyze your body. And by knowing pinda you could know lot about anda, the whole brahmanda.

So what attracted my attention is Prabhupada writes in the purport of the second verse of the same chapter, this is Srila Prabhupada ki jai! ‘Contrary to such mental speculative theories of creation, however, Narada Muni wanted to know all the facts of creation in truth, and not by theories.’ So many theories are floating, many be at the time of Narada muni also, and big bang theory and many other theories are there and Narada muni just wanted to smash those or expose those or establish the facts. Not just go by the theories but he wanted to establish the truth about the creation.

Srila Prabhupada being a representative of all the previous acaryas and Brahma and Narada muni, is really wanting to attract attention of the whole world, ‘are you interested in knowing the truth how the world was created’ and if you say yes, then here, Bhagavatam is the way. You may be studying the theories which are full of mental speculations but the facts are these. This is spoken by the person who was involved with the creation. Right then and there, millions of year ago, when the creation took place, this person Brahma, he was right there. Not
just witnessing but he was involved, making his hands dirty. Look his hands are still dirty. He is holding the microphone and giving interview.

I have not studied Bible in depth but what we hear from our devotees, with the Christian background, is the description of the creation of this world. Of course the great thing is that we appreciate, that they admit. Bible admits that this world was created by the Lord, that is a good thing. This world was created by the Lord, not much detailed. And He took some, six days to create. And by that time He was kind of exhausted and on seventh day He took some rest and that was sunday. And following the footsteps of God, who took rest on sunday, we also. Of course we are fighting for more rest. So beside sunday now we have saturday for half day. We want to work less, more pay, work less more pay.

In the beginning there was sound, shabda. From sound, shabda, then sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha like that, each of these five elements, earth, water, fire, air, ether, ether has only sound. Ether is most subtle element and it has only sound and the next one has sound and touch, like that. You go to next one, there are three things, fourth one four things, like that. So whatever is written in Bible is also true, giving credit to God, the creation of the God. Of course He creates. He existed before creation. He was there at the time of creation. But the only trouble is, how much you could relish, whatever written in the Bible, although that is also lila, but described in such a summarized way that you can not really relish. And for the fact, cannot appreciate also, unless you get into the details of creation you cannot appreciate it. So what is in the Bible although truth, but not much we could relish because so many missing links are there. And some holes are there, and doesn’t make sense some times. So this is how devotees has explained, this is what Christians has to say or Bible has to say.

Very recently I came across the statement from Kurana about creation. They kind of agree with the description of creation given in the Bible, the Muslims agree with what is written in Bible. Only disagreement they have with the Christian or with the Bible is, they are saying, hey come on, you are making our Lord, Allah kind of ordinary person. You are saying that He was working for six days for creation and then He was exhausted, He was tired. Come on, God cannot be tired. He is never tired. And He created for six days and on seventh day He took rest, they don’t agree with His taking rest. Lord and taking rest, doesn’t go together, they think so. And that’s the only difference Christians and Muslims have to say about creation. Of course both the parties fully agree that Lord has created this world. But because what has been presented in Bible and Kurana is not complete and perfect and in great detail, some places it doesn’t make sense, and that has given rise to the speculation of the scientists.

The scientists or intelligent beings, intellectuals, they always want to keep their brains busy and active and do exercises. Others do exercise with the muscles, the intellectual persons they do exercise for their brain muscles. Their power is in brain muscle and they want to keep it fit and active. So they were referring to this Bible and Kurana theories and that was not convincing and some intelligent theory has to be presented to the world, so they came up with the popular theory of creation which is known as big bang. What is the name of the theory? Big Bang!
What was big? The bang was big. The sound that explosion had made, they kind of talk about some kind of mahat tattva. Or the mass of matter was just sitting there, the mahat tattva. They don’t know, not talking about that, but the matter was there. And then for nothing or suddenly or for no prior cause or notice because there was no person according to them, for the creation, just a big bang, big explosion took place and whole matter started to scatter everywhere. And then came into, beautiful round shaped ball started floating.

But that’s not the experience. When the explosion, when the terrorist came, they also went to the State towers and they exploded those twin towers. Did some beautiful thing came out, that you would go and take photograph, ‘Oh! Wow what a beautiful creation this is.’ Or in Japan, Americans when they got the karma back, in Japan they used their bombs, the most powerful bomb was exploded, and did some housing societies, planets, some beautiful things came out of that explosion? So the experience that we have of the explosions is that nothing beautiful nothing wonderful nothing that you could use that comes into existence as a result of some small or big bang or some explosion.

So with this we reject and I am sure there are so many others arguments, who was, behind every explosion, there is a person, either he is right there lighting the bomb, may be the crude way to light the bomb is you go with candle and you light it. May be that was being done some 50 years ago. But now remote control, but still there is a remote, machine is there and person to push the button is there. So no explosion is automatic, unless some person is involved.

So this is how the big bang theory is down the drain. I also was thinking how, because what was available to the western world, the information or views or news of creation from Bible and Kurana, that did not satisfy the scientists and intellectuals. And then they had to speculate and speculate and they speculated to their heart’s content. There was no one to stop them. Generation after generation, they went on speculating and supporting these imaginary theories, big bang and some other theories. And they did this because the facts were not available to them. The Bhagavatam theory was not made popular. Of course this big bang theory and this is all from last 500 years and few thousand years there was a time when this was a theory. This was a common knowledge. ‘Oh! How was the world created?” Everyone knew. You could stop anyone on the street and ask them how the world was created. And they would refer to the conversation between Narada muni and Brahma or Maitreya muni and Vidura. They knew, that every student, his schooling began with the guru’s asram.

brahmachari gurukule vasandantam guraur hitam

They all went to guru’s asram. The perfect narottamas, thoroughly purified and honest persons as they were, they were only speaking the truth and spreading the truth, travelling extensively. Wherever there is some black spot, some ignorance, wherever, they would go with the torch light of knowledge and dispel the darkness by discussing these topics of creation from Bhagavatam and other scriptures. So one time, 500 years ago, 5000 year ago in satya yuga, in treta yuga, every single human being practically everyone knew how the world was created.

So the present theories are just few hundred years old concoctions or mental speculations which world is buying because there was nothing substantial being presented. But now the task has begun with Srila Prabhupada entering the field of the whole world with the original facts from Narada muni and Brahma which are right there in Bhagavatam which are being distributed far and wide. So this big bang theory doesn’t have much future; not much longer into the future this big bang theory would be accepted as something intelligent. Like so many other
theories are being challenged not only by Hare Krsna’s, but other intelligent beings are challenging theories.

One of such theory, very popular theory, theory of Darwin, theory of evolution being challenged all the time. I had read in the newspaper before about the challenges and rejection of Darwin’s theory of evolution, but something very recently, a week ago, what I, Darwin under attack by US school boards. US that is American school boards are attacking Darwin’s theory, appeared in a front page of Sunday Express on 2 nd January. And the writer, of course the whole news is from America, as it is, and God or Darwin, report says, God or Darwin choice is yours And this is US school boards; they want to go for God. They want to reject this Darwin. All or most of the report says, okay we may could accept this as a theory but not a fact. May be something let it be there before it dissolves, completely dead, but as a theory and not as a fact.

Report also says, I definitely would preferably believe that God created me and I am not the cousin or descendant of the ape, monkey. The Darwin was presenting that the most evolved being was ape, monkey, some 5,6,7 thousand years ago. The human being from the monkey, monkey was using all the four feet, he kind of stood up, started up gradually. Then his four limbs became his hands and the tail went inside from back and this became feet hands, feet became hands and no tail and he stood erect. And this all happened some few thousand years ago and then first edition, first version of human beings, they were such uncivilized, uneducated. They were living in the caves, cave man theory and they used to fight a lot amongst each other, men of one cave with men of another cave. They had no instruments. They just used rocks, throwing rocks at each other.

At the time of your battle of Kurukshetra its described amazing kind of weapons were used in Mahabharat war around that time. Actually human being has just now has come into existence and he was using rocks and some sticks to beat each other and there were no towns and cities. And from time the human being has further evolved and he is becoming more and more intelligent and intelligent and most civilized human being in the present version of human beings. So in brief, and in the beginning was amoeba, when the world was created in the beginning was amoeba, not Brahma but amoeba. So that’s Darwin’s theory of evolution which was being taught in all schools and colleges in all over the planet including India, unfortunately. I am sure, even in Mathura University, vidyapith is teaching evolutionary theory of Darwin. Vaisnavas never taught such theory.

Prabhupada not even spit at such theories, why even spit, waste of spit on such a garbage. He just used his boot to kick. He didn’t want to kick the face but with the boot only.

So one by one, let us maintain some strong faith and some more patience and we would realize that all those things which are presented as some kind of truth all over the world will be exposed. They would be proven wrong when we know what is right. And gradually there is a major change.

I was talking with Bhakti Svarupa Damodar Maharaja, on the phone just few days ago. He conducted his world conference, scientific conference in Rome, in Italy just few months ago to celebrate Prabhupada’s 108 th birth anniversary. And he said there were so many scientists, but 32 of them, he had a list of then, but 32 scientists talking in favor of God or God’s existence. There was a time when scientist would say, prove it, can you show me God? Yes yes? Okay then I can accept. But now same scientists are coming to the senses and gradually there is global revolution in consciousness. And certainly the chanting of, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare And study of the scriptures and the air is getting filled with truth which is defeating the myth and that truth is inspiring so many individuals all over the planet now.

There is a study first time, Rasaraj was mentioning to me, ‘For the first time you would be amazed to know,’ I was amazed, ‘first time the research on consciousness is being done.’ The scientists are doing research into consciousness, consciousness means conscientious. You go beyond, it’s not just matter, something living, something conscious. They want to study consciousness, because they may have different, whatever idea they may have, what the consciousness is. But at least they are coming to the conclusion that this world is not just the dead matter, as Darwin was also trying to prove, this is bunch of chemicals and interaction of this chemical, life come to existence.

No! this verse is talking that original jiva that samsara vyatirikta parameshvarah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was full of life, He gave life, He put life into everything was there around, the living entities and got them working as per their karma and svabhava. Ajivayat, He becomes cause of giving life to others, life comes from life. So life is being studied as a consciousness for the first time and this is happening.

Of course you know when Prabhupada, in easy journey to other planets, Prabhupada writes, the scientists are coming to the conclusion, if there is a matter, oh possibly there must be antimatter also. If there is material then there must be anti-material, something anti-material. What is anti-material? That is a spirit. Matter is matter and anti-matter is spirit. Some scientists are waking up to the reality. It is their good fortune and good fortune of so many others, because in this day and age, the scientists have become the gurus of the masses. The guru’s or acarya’s position has been taken over by the scientist. If scientist says something, everyone, Prabhupada says, double standard, double standard here.

When sadhu is talking, acarya is talking then you challenge him, show me, could you prove it? But when scientist says something, lot of things which are not proven, people don’t ask those questions any more, even, oh could you prove it. Their speculation, they are just blindly accepting it. And Prabhupada said, this is double standard. You are asking us to prove, show me, but you are not asking similar questions to the scientist to prove it.

So it is very important for the spread of this Hare Krsna movement all over the planet, the scientists are big stumbling block, because they are taken as the authority and they are presenting so many theories, bogus theories, they don’t know they begin with, their source and anybody’s source to become scientist you don’t have to be man of any kind of character, no. you could be a woman hunter, you could be meat eater, you could be speculator and what else, what did I miss? Drunkard, yeah, you can have a wine bottle in one hand and you are punching your keys and theories you are typing on the screen and it’s fine. It’s fine. They may be murderer, they may be terrorist, they could be anything. No questions are raised. Only their theories are accepted, because with those theories you could

exploit this material world and that is when you could be ishvaro aham, and you could declare, not only declare but practically be that Ishvar, the controller, the enjoyer. So it’s a good team, right? Good team, the scientists are making job easy, facilitating the demoniac nature and giving them how to be enjoyer, ishvaro aham. So from that isvaro aham status, human being want to achieve, they want kingdom of God without God. Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!

Wonderful Prabhupada, kind of statements Prabhupada has made, he was the first one to speak this kind of language. It was most relevant statement, Prabhupada has made. So from that position human beings are taking, isvaro aham, we have to bring them down to daso aham, dasosmi, not bossosmi, boss asmi. So these theories and the scientists and they are just eager for the exploitation of the world, this is how they are helping and people are getting distracted and as a result, in fact suffering. They want to enjoy, but they are suffering.

So the last lecture series Prabhupada gave on the planet in Mumbai was, the present day, modern civilization is a total failure. Only alternative is Krsna consciousness, this was his topic. From Mayapur he went straight to Mumbai and everyday he was roaring like a lion, although we have to lift him, literally lift him and put him on a vyasasan, but once he was on a microphone, he was getting the audience trembling. He was very bold and outspoken and this civilization is total failure, only solution is Krsna Consciousness.

So many myths are being spread, but now the Prabhupada’s books are everywhere. Do you know, I am sure this is, another place also this hold true, that Delhi distributed 86000 Bhagavad Gitas in marathon. Devotees of Delhi and Panjabi Bagh, 86,000 Bhagavad-gitas out there. And like that, this is just one city’s score and wait till you hear about what Bombay did and other temples did and to distribute books and to spread this knowledge. This is Prabhupada’s program, so that truth is established this way.

dharma samsthapanarthaya and then sarve sukhina bhavantu, people could be happy and in real sense will be prosperous and that’s life. That’s real life. So let us push on Prabhupada’s program, Prabhupada’s movement, spreading the Holy name and Bhagavatam, the knowledge based on Bhagavatam. This way spread the truth. World will be benefited and this is the topmost welfare work, Prabhupada used to say.

Krsna exists, God exists and He is the one behind this Base program that we have here, the get together with some of His devotees, some of the devotees of God. Those who do not know much more about God, they just say God God, but we call Him Krsna, because we know that God has name, many names. The principle name is Krsna. And that Krsna is cause of all causes.

sarvakaranakaranam

Including this morning’s program, this happening here, the event certainly. How could God not be the cause of this program, this get together also?

Krsna exists thenyou also exist. Again He is the cause of your, our existence. He must be, who else? And then you exist in the form, in the shape which is kind of mysterious. Your form is very mystical, confidential, the secret that even you don’t know your own IDs, identities. And that ID is you are spirit souls. You are atma.

mamaivamsojivalokejivabhutahsanatanah[BG 15.7]

That is your real identification and that ID has a form. If you had a spiritual camera, you could take photographs of atma and that ID that personality, that form is very closely connected with Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are very dear to Him, Krsna. That is Krsna, you are very dear to Him or to Him all the living entities are very dear. All the living entities are very dear to Him. And because He is very kind, He has arranged this program, series of programs. This is one of those series of get togethers and encounters with some other devotees of Krsna, ‘Hare Krsna’s, Krsna devotees.

Lord is kind and He knows that you are not and cannot be happy. You are not happy and you cannot be happy in this existence. Krsna knows that, because He is the creator of this existence. Then He is the cause of this existence and He has already declared that this existence is dukhalayamasasvatam. This existence is dukhalaya and very much temporary. God knows everything, including the nature of His creation. And He knows that we all are not happy. We cannot be happy in this existence which is full of sufferings. So He comes, He also comes here, in this material world. And He doesn’t become material. He doesn’t become mundane. He remains what He is. He remains transcendental to this world. In this world but not of this world! Lord comes and He comes in this world, but He is not of this world, you understand this? He belongs to another world. He comes in here, but He always belongs to another world. Although this world belongs to Him, but He doesn’t take much interest in matter of making His residence here in this world. He always remains eternally in His own abode.

And then He sends Nidradevi [Laughter] forget Him, ignore Him. When we ignore. He is such an ignorant person. Ultimately ignorant of what? Ignorant of Krsna, ignorant of God! He is ignoring. Sometimes we say ‘I was right there but he just ignored me. He just ignores me everytime I am around. I was in that party. I was right there but he just ignored me’. Trying to make you understand the meaning of ignorance, he is ignorant. He ignores me. So what are we ignorant of in this world is, ignorance of the Lord. And we are ignoring Him all the time. All the times He is around, He visits, He is around. Although His own abode is eternally in the spiritual kingdom, He also stations Himself in this world. But the purpose was basically to reclaim, reclamation the souls His parts and parcels, His devotees. The sole purpose of God’s coming into this world, God’s residing in this world, or God’s residing in our hearts or God’s residing in different forms in this world, the sole purpose is to rectify our mentality. The sole purpose is to, He like to expose Himself to those who are ignoring Him. Or He is around here to remind us, ‘Oh! I exist, I exist do you remember Me? I am your very dear friend. Don’t you remember Me?’ So to remind us that He exists, to remind us that we all belong to Him, to remind us that we are spirit souls, parts and parcels of Him, to remind that you cannot be happy here.

He comes to give lessons. Happy happy we shall be when we learn our ABC! So sometimes the teachings of Krsna in the form of Bhagavad-gita, this is like a foundational knowledge. This ABC’s of the spiritual subject matters. So ABC doesn’t mean not very important. ABC is always important, whether it is a student doing just his KG. Before there was no KG.Now there is KG and this and that, all this going on. During our days, at least, I was part of village, there was not KG and LKG and this and that and so many things. In my village the parents would bring their children to the school and the teacher would ask, ‘how old is he?’‘He is six years old’. ‘No, too early![Laughter] Come next year’. At the age of seven they would admit children into the school. But now they are starting this education, so called education that teaches you the ways and means to ignore God, forget God. We don’t care for Him. You are God. Not exactly in those terms, we are the controllers of the environment. They don’t say we are God, but we are controller, that’s God. We are the enjoyers, that’s God. We are the exploiters, we are God. We are knowledgeable, we are God. This is God, controller, knowledgeable this and that. So this education, forget the God, compete with God. So this is ignorance.

So in this way on the name of knowledge what is taught is ignorance. Ignorance is cultivated. Everyday, we go to school, higher school and then overseas education also and layer upon layer upon layer, you are being distant from God, away from God. Closer to Maya that is away from God. Every step taken closer to Maya, that is another step away from God. Going in the midst of Maya so that Krsna cannot even access you. You are so absorbed and captured and bound by Maya that you don’t remember Krsna. You think you don’t need Krsna. ‘Oh who has seen Krsna, God?’
So this is education which is described in the Upanisada as ‘atmah’, the killer of the soul. The present education is killer of the soul. It kills soul, the spirit soul. The soul cannot be cut and killed, that is also our understanding. But atleast they try to cover, put cover on the soul, another layer, another package, another package with all the glitter of this existence, all the dazzling nature of the creation, and they want to be get attracted to that, like a moth, moth you know? Little creature called moth, he is attracted by the fire. And what happens? Svaha! He kills himself, commits suicide that way, his existence, the end of his existence as he is attracted by that glitter, dazzling. ‘The kingdom of God, without God’, this is Prabhupada’s statement, very famous statement. Everybody is busy creating kingdom of God without God. Why do we need God, what for? I am God. So kingdom of God without God!

So Krsna is kind. And He comes and He returns. He also stays here in the form of the Deities. Radha Govindadevaki Jai! Comes in the form of Radha Govindadeva, takes avatar, comes to stay in Noida. Lord makes His residence in Noida. Resident of Noida! He comes to Vrindavan, He is always there. That is another something to understand that in Vrindavan Lord resides eternally, even now. And that Vrindavan is not different from GolokaVrindavan. So He is residing and He comes and speaks, opens His heart, confidentially He speaks to Arjuna. But that speech was meant for everyone in this material world. He is addressing one person, but infactLord is thinking, every single, at least He is thinking of human, the souls in the human bodies, embodied. The soul is embodied by 8 million and four hundred thousandvarieties of bodies, embodied. Then the human body, embodied. Lord is thinking, at least, the humans are only party that is capable of understanding Krsna, understanding His message. So He spoke to Arjuna, but He meant to speak to each one of us. So then that speech is also made available to read everyday by newer and newer generation after generation after generation, they could read and hear and understand the message of the Lord.
So that kind Lord makes all these arrangements. Kind Lord also appears in the form of His Holy name. This is incarnation of the Lord.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna KrsnaKrsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare!

This is Lord’s incarnation, avatar. He descends in this existence especially in this age of Kali in the form of Holy Name. What for? To communicate with us, to contact with us, to touch us, Lord wants to touch us. We could touch Him through the medium of this Holy name of the Lord. The soul could touch the Supreme soul. Supreme soul is Holy name. Supreme Soul, Supreme Personality of Godhead is- the Holy Name is Supreme Personality of Godhead. This Holy name is Bhagavan and the living entity isbhakta. Living entity, the spirit soul within this body is a bhakta and then bhakta and Bhagavan are connected. There is communication through bhakti, through devotion. As one chant with attention and with devotion, chants and hears, that is communication. That is yoga that is link, established.
So we are not behind the cause of this program. Don’t blame us. The parents were blaming, this Hare Krsna’s are the cause of distracting our children. No, this is Gods, Krsna’s. This is His arrangement amongst all those different arrangements we mentioned. He is advent to this world, and He is speaking Bhagavad Gita or He is appearing in the form of Deities, in the form of Holy Name. He also sends His devotes or He revives Krsna consciousness of spirit souls and they become devotees. When they become devotees, they understand, they further empowered by the Lord to convert others also to take this path, to others also become Krsna Conscious. Lord gives this inspiration. This is Lord’s arrangement. This is Lord’s mission. Not accident, but arrangement! This get together here is not accident. This is whole arrangement. Krsna is behind this. So Krsna is making the arrangements. He has also founded this Hare Krsna movement, International Society for Krsna Consciousness. It’s foundation, it’sexistence, it’s propagation which is taking place all over the world, this is all Krsna’s, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s kind arrangement. Hare Krsna!
So we should not be held responsible. It is Krsna who is responsible. It is His arrangement.

Sankirtanaikpitarau

He is the founding father of the Hare Krsna movement, inspiring empowering, directing the devotees, the leaders of Hare Krsna movement to contact or directing them to other souls. For especially to those souls whose time has come. This Hare Krsna idea’s time has come. The Hare Krsna movement in this from or other form always existent and it is existing now. Not that everybody could come this way or towards Hare Krsna way. Only some are going to come.

manusyanamsahasresukascidyatatisiddhaye[BG 7.3]

Out of thousands and thousands only handful are going to come in the direction of this Hare Krsna’s or Radha Krsna’s.

The reason being why only those, because their time has come or they have gone through.

bahunamjanmanam ante gyanavan mam prapadyate
vasudevamsarvamitisa mahatma sudurlabhah [BG 7.19]

Krsna says. So those who are coming to Krsna now, they had been coming from previous many lives, they had been coming and coming closer closercloser and now closest, right there. So there are the paths. This is revolution of consciousness. This is revolution, elevation in Krsna Consciousness also. So those who are elevated their time has come and they are going to take this Krsna Consciousness.

So Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupadaki jai! He started this, Founder Acarya of International Society for Krsna Consciousness, does preaching in India also. And he was appealing to the parents, ‘Oh how many children you have?’‘I have five children’. ‘Give me one’ [Laughter]. Those days five or even dozens they were allowed. Having dozens children, normal thing! Now ‘ham do hamareeak (one)’, Oh!Not even do(two)! They used to write behind the scooter ‘ham do hamare do’. But there was time ‘astaputrasaubhagyavati’, may you have eight children. So during Prabhupada time, there 100 or 150 years ago, there was no limit and there was no need of limit. There was lot of supply. Krsna or Krsna’s earth, Bhumi was providing, Vasundhara, means the holder or bearer of the wealth, vasu means wealth, Vasundhara. Earth is still holding but not releasing that wealth in different forms. She is not happy with her offspring’s. We are children of earth, Dharati Mata, mother earth is not happy with us, so she is not releasing or hiding the wealth, holding on.

Like cow, sometimes there is milk in the udder of the cow, but specially there is no calf. Calf is taken away. They don’t let calf to drink the milk, enjoy the milk. The human beings instead of feeding the calf, the calf not getting the due share, quota, they banned the calf from drinking. They want to drink, they want to exploit. Cow is not very happy with this strategy, so that time although there is milk, she doesn’t let it go. She holds on to the milk. This is example. Likewise the earth has all the riches, all the wealth, but not happy with the quality of her children or their consciousness, their attitude is not very good. They are trying to exploit her. Anyways that is another topic, I don’t want to open up.

Cutting the forest, as like making the earth naked.This forests are like, sometimes poet describes, it is like a sari, mother earth is wearing sari. Look at the embroidery, nice beautiful, varieties of flowers, and this that. This cutting trees, deforestation, this is very similar to attempt of Dushasan to disrobe Draupadi. And the outcome off course was Dushasan lost his life for that attempt trying to disrobeDraupadi, intention of enjoying, exploiting. So that is also happening with mother earth, because our attitude towards mother earth is not right. Trying to exploit, enjoy, spoil, and as a result earth is developing some temperature, global warming. 4 degrees increased. So she has developed fever and not happy with her children, that’s why she is not supplying. Otherwise there is no shortage. She has all the riches in the stock.

So Srila Prabhupada, the founder of this Hare Krsna movement, he was approaching parents, oh! you have five children. Give me one! But no one even gave one son in India. He approached so many ladies and gentlemen. No one responded. Then He was also advertising when he was in Jhansi, the advertisement in newspapers, ‘Students wanted! Young man wanted! I will train them. I will make them brahmanas, the men of better qualities.’

[Coughing sound] You cannot do anything about what I am going through. Just bare with me.So he wanted some youngsters to step forward, join him and he also wanted them to send all over the world to propagate the truth, preach the culture of Bharat varsa and Krsna consciousness, Bhagavat dharma, you could give different names. He wanted to propagate this Holy name, but there was no response. And then of course he was asked or ordered by his spiritual master, go to the west and preach Krsna consciousness in English language there. That is what he ultimately did. He was preparing, lifetime in preparation. Almost 80%of his life he prepared and then he went to the west and he propagated Krsna consciousness there. And there was very good response there. There was no need to approach the parents, please give me your son or give me your daughter. Because so many sons and daughters of American soil, they had abandoned their parents. They had left their parents [laughter]. They were wandering aimlessly, looking for alternative. They had everything at their disposal to enjoy. They had the kingdom of God, residential palaces. They were residing in palaces, gardens, cars and what not. You could dream and that was there. But none of it satisfied them. Matter cannot satisfy the soul, the spirit. Spirit cannot be satisfied with the matter. You cannot feed the matter to the soul. The souls were starving. Souls are souls, whether the souls are in Indian body or American body or whoever body. Souls are souls. You could only feed spirit to the spirit. You cannot feed matter to the spirit.

So they were looking out. ‘Is there any way out? Is this the way life is?’ And they were all frustrated,looking beyond that kingdom of God. ‘Is there any other kingdom? Is this the only kingdom? Is there something beyond, something better, some alternative?’ and then around the time, when they were looking, the time had come for so many souls. Souls in American bodies, their time had come to find the Supreme Spirit, to find the God, meet God, to get connected with the God. Their time had come. Nothing mundane was making them happy. Srila Prabhupada presented Krsna consciousness. And then as a result they all became happy. Even hippies became happies. Some of you don’t know what is hippy. Which I will not explain, but the other day, on morning walk, one of you, I don’t know who, when I mentioned,‘These hippies became happies’. The bhakta said, ‘what is hippy? What do you mean by hippy?’ Travelling, that is from another generation. Good that you don’t know. You don’t have to know. Not of good thing to know, what is hippy. But hippies became happies, and that much you could know.

Then so many American boys and girls were joining Srila Prabhupada, thentheir parents were not happy with what was happening to their children. And there was a court case in New York, big case against Hare Krsna movement, against this Swami, Indian Swami. He has brainwashed our children. Brain washing charges against Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada! He has brain washed. Anyway Prabhupada’s one response was, ‘well you made their brains dirty, and I did the washing. What is a charge? Why are you penalizing me? You should be rewarding me for this brain washing that I did. I did cleansing job.’

Of course those parents were not the first ones to accuse Mahatma or a devotee. Daksha had done the same thing, long long time ago. When Narada Muni had done the preaching, NaradA Muni preached to ten thousand sons of Daksha. Daksha means expert and he was expert in producing children. He was Prajapati. That was his duty to produce lots of children. So when Narada Muni did the talking preaching program and Narada Muni also was accused by Daksha. He was calling all ill names, bad names. This is in Bhagavatam, description you can read. And ultimately Daksha also cursed Narada Muni, ‘I curse you.’ And what is the curse? Daksha said, ‘I curse you, so that you cannot stay at one place more than three days.’ And when Narada Muni heard this, he said, ‘this is not a curse. This is blessing. I am very happy. Thank you! Thank You! Now I could go to more places. From place to place to place I could go chanting the glories of the Lord. I thank you for such a curse.’

So Srila Prabhupada also used to say that, everytime Srila Prabhupada went to stay in temples, there were nice arrangement for Prabhupada’s stay, nice quarters for Prabhupada. And then he used to say, ‘because your parents have cursed me I also cannot stay in one place more than few days, although nice arrangements. I could have stayed longer but your parents have cursed me like Daksha had cursed, ‘only three days’’. And then Srila Prabhupada wanted to stay in one place and write his books but he used to say to his disciples or senior disciples, ‘now I want to transfer that curse unto you. That curse you may also travel more and more so that I could stay. I transfer the curse so that I could stay at one place and can write books’. This was his vision.

Anyway this, I was rememberinganother gentleman, one time Prabhupada was travelling on a train and one gentleman he was traveling with his son and he was approaching Srila Prabhupada, ‘Swamiji, please bless my son?’ Every now and then he would come with the son, ‘please bless my son, please bless my son’. And Prabhupada decided to bless his son. He said ‘give your son to me’. Then this gentleman took his son away, to some other compartment or at the end of train, in the last coach. And he never again approached Srila Prabhupada, otherwise he was just bothering, please bless my son. Please bless my son.

So parents also don’t know what is a blessing? Anyway it is good to know that the alternative is there. The whole world is busy, the government is busy, the education system is busy just presenting one alternative, mundane, materialistic approach, mundane kind of kingdom of God. So one should know that there are some other alternative? Something else also exists. Does another kingdom exist? This is only life style or there is alternative? Are there only cinema songs or there other kind of, Hare Krsna songs, some other kind songs also exists? Does only illusion exists or does truth also exists? So good to know preferably at the beginning of our life to know this. Then there is alternative, this alternative. Then you take a pick. Then you have a choice. Right now, the material world is not offering you any, materialistic leaders or parents and educational ministers, they are not offering any alternative. ‘This is it. This is it’.

But then Krsna very kindly is making offer of this other alternative. ‘Hey I exist. Not only Maya exists, I exist. I am here. Haribol! Look at me’. Not at me, look at Krsna! Sleeping souls wake up. Is sleeping only is alternative? Waking up! Alternative is there. So on the behalf of Krsna, there are some other parties also, but Hare Krsna party, Hare Krsna movement is adding this dimension, making this other alternative available. You should be very much exposed to this. You are made aware of this alternative, the reality, the truth, spiritual life, the Supreme spirit or the connection with Him. So that is what basically this Hare Krsna movement is doing with all the age groups. Especially our ISKCON youth forum is catering to the young generation. So the other party, the government or parents all of them together are making one presentation, one offer, one alternative. And here is another alternative on behalf of Krsna, God, devotees, acaryas, Bhagavad-gita is also there. Vrindavanis also there. There is also Krsna Prasad, not just muttonamchickenam. You try this out. Try this food, food for soul. Here is a food for soul. Your soul is starving. Your soul is thirsty. Your soul is hungry and then angry also when frustration comes. And then Hare Krsna’s come, Krsna Prasad, try this out. This satisfies the soul. Person becomes satisfied, person becomes peaceful by Krsna Prasad and chanting Hare Krsna. You should also feel Krsna Consciousness.
So once you have both alternatives, both options then you could choose. Take a pick, as they say. Then you could make decision. You are well informed. Not kept in darkness about other alternative. And you could take decision. Chose and it is not again about joining full time. That’s if they are willing, welcome. Krsna welcomes them. But the others could live whole life, but Krsna conscious life, which is good for them, good for their wife, good for their children, good for the family, the society, the country, humanity at large, that kind of life style. You continue your job. Get married, become family man. So that is also there. You know what is what. Keeping Krsna in the center, Krsna in or on the mind, you live life. Brahmachariasram is there, also there is Grihasthaasram.

Brahmacariasram is in the temple. We also have grihasthas in temple. They are full time, married men, but they are full time, or they continue their jobs, continue their family life near the temple, but lead a Krsna conscious family life and support or participate Krsna consciousness or propagate Krsna consciousness with their own capacity.

So is there any question or comment, otherwise we are happy. So far we had only one Base. Someone was calling it student hostel, ‘Hare Krsna student hostel’. We had one of them for all these years and expansion is signed of progress. So we are multiplying from one to two student hostels, bases or voices. There are different names. We had NityanandaKutir and now we have Caitanya Kutir, Haribol! So more the merry! We are happy that things are expanding, progressing. Numbers are multiplying. So we welcome this Base, called Caitanya kutir. Who is going to stay here? Only four, or they are busy else where? One has gone to office already. Okay, so you have enough numbers, eight! So you have lot of space here. Anything upstairs? Just this floor! Lot of space here and no one around [laughter]But they are not very far. They are behind you, in front of you. Don’t create kind of agitation or disturbance to neighbors. Bible says, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself.’ Don’t hate them.

Any question, comment, any reporting, anything else?

Question:-Is the number of souls constant?
Answer: Number of souls, should be. Parts and parcels of the Lord are sanatan means eternal. They existed in the past. They are existing now and they will continue to exist. From this word meaning we could assume that number is constant. They come from spiritual sky, from spiritual world to material world some come, they get lost. They get illusioned, they come here. And some of the souls from here, they are going back to Krsna, Krsnaloka. So that two way traffic is there. Then from one universe they could also go to the next universe, near by neighboring universe. There are innumerable universes. There suppose to be 4,00,000 varieties of human species. Where are they? Some we are. They could also be in higher planets in same universe, some Yakshas and gandharvas, different devatas and vanaras. Vanara, is this nara, is he human, that is vanara meaning. Kimpurusa, there is kimpurusa, are they purusas? So other universes, so it seems the numbers are fluctuating, changing.

Question – How can we enter in Vrindavan as we know that we cannot enter in GolokaVrindavan in spiritual body?
Answer:- Krsna is kind. Krsna appears in the form of Deity. Otherwise we could not see, with our eyes we do not see the form of the Lord. What to do? Lord appears in the form of archavigraha that we could see. So likewise Krsna allows us to enter in this Vrindavan. But again just physically bringing your body to Vrindavan,is not the way to enter in Vrindavan. May be you not enter in Vrindavan, you think you have entered in Vrindavan. But there is a big question, whether you have reached Vrindavan, entered in Vrindavan. Prabhupada used to say, ‘we cannot travel to or enter into Vrindavan by car or by train or by plane. You should enter Vrindavan in the way, who was it?- the way Akrura entered Vrindavan’. Of course he was in Mathura. From Mathura he went to Vrindavan. The kind of consciousness he had, the way he was thinking of Krsna, of Vrindavan, his devotion, he was very very eager to meet Krsna. This is whole attitude, this whole consciousness, so that’s the way to enter in Vrindavan.

There are ten offenses against Holy Dham, as there are ten offenses against Holy Name, ‘dasanamaaparadha, dasadhamaaparadha’. So there is a list. So if you are offending dhama then you cannot enter, so avoid dhamaaparadha then you can enter. The first dhamaaparadha- those who reveal dhama unto you, those who introduce dhamaunto you, if you offend them then you have offended dhama also. Like that, although you may be thinking that you are in there, but you are out of there. You are not in there. So like that, different things to do and not to do, to become adhikari to become eligible, eligibility to enter Vrindavan.

Question:-Earlier you were saying that Krsna is the cause of all causes. Means that everything is done by Krsna only. Should we blame Krsna for the thing happened in our life? Should we blame Krsna as Krsna is the cause of all causes?

Answer: – Those things that happened, those things are reminder that Krsna exists, but this is not the place for us to be. This is not the place to be enjoyed. To get those reminders, when some people say why do the bad things happen to good person like me? Why bad things happen? But sometimes, or lot of time, those bad things are good. If bad things would not happen, if everything good would happen to you in this world, you will never think of going, leaving this world.

KuntiMaharani she prays, Kunti, mother of Pandavas

vipadahsantutahsasvattatratatrajagad-guro
bhavatodarsanamyatsyadapunarbhava-darsanam [SB 1.8.25]

Please send me calamities, send me bad things. As if they had not enough, Pandavas were already, so many happenings to them, so many troubles. Send more, send more! Send more difficulties, more troubles, because then we will remember You. We will come to You, please help, help, protect, protect, Krsna protect. And the result of this is apunarbhavadarsanam, then we do not have to take darsana of this world again, we don’t have to enter in this world again. Send difficulties; send difficulties and when there are difficulties, we run to You. We will come to You. We will have Your darsana, then we will not have to take darsana of this world again. This is the strategy of Kunti Maharani. Krsna is all good. He never does anything bad to us. He is our well wisher. He is loving father and friend.

One king while he was doing hunting, he lost his finger and he was blaming, why God did this to me? He was blaming God for losing the forest. And then in the same forest, the Kali temple, and they were looking for human to be sacrificed, slaughtered for the pleasure of this Durga. So they were going around, searching and they found this king. And they dragged him to this Kali temple, and the priests before making offering to Kali, they were checking up the body of this person. Is he wholesome or some defects, something missing? And while searching, they found one finger is missing. He said, ‘No,this is not fit offering, send him away’. You get the point? So first time when he lost the finger, he did not understand, why did the God did this to me? But then he realized, ‘Thank you God, thank you. I just lost my finger. They would have cut my throat. Thank you’. So like that also those connections are there.

Explanation of Sri Damodara Ashtakam

181118-Vrindavan [1.21.54]

Hare Krsna, you don’t say? [Hare Krsna] I like it atleast to say Hare Krsna at the beginning of the class. I also like that you are here in the courtyard of Krishna Balarama mandir and underneath the Tamal tree. This morning you could see there is no Bhagavatam verse written on the board. So there is no Bhagavatam, we have Damodaraashtakam verses.

Damodaraashtak ki….. jai

Yes, I just thought of staying in the mood of this month. Damodaraashtak certainly connects us with that mood or revives the mood of the most auspicious month- Damodaraa month. As I decided to do that, I don’t know whether you are happy or not that I decided to do this. But you know this garland (in his neck) is from Radha Damodara temple. I don’t ever remember receiving any garland from Radha Damodaraa. Today, in the morning, when one mataji said “Maharaja, Radha Damodaraa garland for you”, then I thought Damodaraa is happy with me so I selected this topic- some indication. It (garland) did not fall from His neck around my neck but someone brought it over and now it is here.

Radha Damodara ki……Jai
Yashoda Damodara ki… jai

Radha Damodara were the first deities of Vrindavan that I had taken darsana of, all the way in 1972.We used to sit there for listening Srimad Bhagavatam and Nectar of Devotion classes from Srila Prabhupada under the Tamal tree there also. Now it is the same month, same deities garland and same Vrindavan.
Vrindavan dham ki jai

Many, many things –not things, festivals and past times keep happening throughout this month every day, every other day and every night. Radha kunda appeared in the middle of the night and so day and night, things or past times keep happening throughout this month. However, I think of all those happenings, the past time between Yashoda and Damodara is most significant and highlight of this month. Something that happened – just one day.

ekada g?ha-dasisu yasoda nanda-gehini  [SB 10.9.1]

Wife of Nanda Maharaja, she asks her maid “Do something else today. You do this sweeping, you do cleaning etc. Today I am going (swayam) to do the churning up of butter.”

Ekda- Sukdev Goswami is not putting any date, he is making a general statement by saying ekda-once upon a time. That time was the month of Kartik (pointing to the audience) Some of you already started sleeping, Krishna just woke up. It was early morning hour and there was no Yashoda around. Yashoda did not come to wake Him up. Uthi uthi gopala-she did not do that, that day. uthi uthi-Please get up. As soon as he would get up, the first thing that he would do or the first pastime of Krishna was to drink the breast milk every morning.

yasoda ca maha-bhaga
papau yasyah stanam harih  [SB 10.8.46]

The most fortunate lady, yasoda cha mahabhaga papau-someone is drinking, who is that? Hari. Hari is drinking the breast milk of Yasoda. What a good great fortune of Yasoda? Sukdev Goswami says that Yasoda is mahabhaga. Krishna would do that, drinking breast milk every morning. But that morning-ekda-once upon a time or one morning that did not happen. Anyway, I am getting into narration of the past time which I did not want to get into because I wanted to go through these eight prayers of Damodarashtak. But what I meant to say was that, this past time took place just one day and it did not take place the whole day only part of the day. Basically and ultimately what happened was that Yasoda bound Krishna and the mortar with the rope. That was the final act of the episode and from that day onwards Balagopal Krishna became known as Damodara.

Dam and uddar put together becomes Damodara. Dam is rope and uddar is belly-Krishna’s stomach. Lord bound up with the rope that is Damodara. So that happening, that past time has become eternal past time, a topic of deep meditation and topic of discussion. And Lord has become famous of becoming Makhanchor. He is stealing and still He became popular. So Krishna is known as Damodara. It is confirmed that He steals butter. He is butter stealer. So many complaints were coming from the ladies. But Yasoda always denied. “No, no, how this is possible? My sweet little boy is stealing. Is there any shortage of butter at home? We have 9 hundred thousand of cows, tons of butter. Why He would go next door to steal butter”? Like that Yasoda would always deny. But ekda once upon a time that day was Diwali. On the day of Deepawali, Sri Ram arrived in Ayodhya, after the victory on Lanka. It was the same day but another age. Difference of one age, that was Treta Yuga but this is Dwapara Yug. That day, on Deepawali , Krishna who was supposed to be good, well behaved boy, was caught white handed by Yasoda. I knowingly said this what kind of Krishna’s hand was it, what colour? White hand. Usually thieves, robbers and thieves are caught red handed. Their hands become blood red but Krishna’s hands were bright white because of the butter. And He was caught then He had to be punished and not only He should be punished but also one who helped Him to steal the butter, should be punished. So who helped Him? The mortar helped Him. If there was no mortar around, there was no way Krishna could have reached the butter hanging from the ceiling. He found the mortar, placed it right underneath the pot full of butter. He climbed up and then he had fun that morning, good morning. Hari hari time is running out (to the audience) we better get to our business, actually we haven’t even started yet.

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

Satyavrat Muni is the compiler of Damodarashtakam. It is supposed to be dialogue between Narada and Shaunak Muni. These are beautiful eight prayers. So namami. These prayers are worship. This way we worship the Lord. We offer our obeisances unto the Lord. We glorify the Lord. Different things we do as we recite this Damodarashtakam. So the compiler of Damodarashtakam , begins the ashtak with namami. What is namami? I offer namami-namaskar. I offer my obeisances. Satyavrat Muni would do this from time to time. He would do that in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. He would do that again and again like.

aise sri bhagavan ko barambar pranam hai

Krishna is like this. Because He is like this, I would like to offer Him my obeisances. Because He is like this, I love to offer my obeisances unto such Krishna. So namami I offer my obeisance unto whom? Namami Ishwaram-I offer my obeisance unto Ishwar. Namami Ishwaram- this is one thing. I offer my obeisances to Ishwaram, Parmeshwaram, Krishnam, Sacchidanand rupam. I offer my obeisances so -vande has to be said every time. It is not said, not written –every time. It won’t fit into the meter like that. But vande goes with lots of items in this first verse also.

Sacchidananda rupam namami and who is offering namaskar? Aham namami –aham Ishwaram namami- aham sacchidanand rupam namami. There are small statements in the poetry but you could make that in the prose form-for understanding. You understand better when it is put in the prose form.

lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam

The brilliant effulgent earrings unto such Damodara, I offer my obeisance. yasoda-bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam offer my obeisance unto him the Damodara- dhavmanam-who ran. Now – dhavamanam-one who was running, why was He running? Yasoda-bhi Because of the fear of Yasoda, He was running and ulukhalad –from where to where? He was on the ukhal-the mortar and He jumped down and started running away. Unto that Damodara, I offer my obeisance. paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya and Yasoda followed Him. He was running very fast- atyantato drutya gopya. He is running fast and she is trying to run faster but not able to manage because of her size and Krishna is little young boy. Okay, so he is trying to stay away, not allowing Yashoda to catch him up not as yet. It will happen later and as He tried and tried, I think it could be, while He is still running, He is afraid.

rudantam muhur netra-yugmam m?jantam
karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram

He is still running or He has been caught and as that happened, what is He doing? – rudanta? He starts crying, crying again and again. In fact He is crying constantly, not that He is stopping and then crying and then stops and again cries.

muhuh svasa-kampa-trirekhanka-kantha-
sthita-graivam damodaram bhakti-baddham

First of all as He is crying, tears are coming out from both His eyes. He is using His both fists to rub His eyes. As He is crying, He is fearful, cannot even look at His mother or His eyes into mother’s eyes. That could also be the reason why He is trying to close His eyes “No no Yasoda, I can’t.”

karambhoja-lotus hands, yugmena – two hands, satanka-netram – atanka means fearful, very much afraid of-satanka. Atanka- atankwad –like a terrorism, you know Krishna is terrorised because of mother Yasoda. He is afraid of Yasoda.

muhuh svasa-kampa

I am sure you cried like this. Each one of you at some point of time, cried like that. Is there any exception? No exceptions. Because Krishna cried, we cried also. Krishna has set the standard.

mama vartmanuvartante manusyah partha sarvasah [BG 4.11]

Lord says in Bhagavad-gita, the path which I follow, the acts I perform, they are followed by the whole world. So the way, He cried as a baby, all the babies keep crying. It cannot be the other way because the babies around the world, the way they cry, Krishna looked and understood, they cry like this so let me also cry like that. No, it is the other way around. Krishna cried as a baby, the genuine, original eternal baby. He has set the standard. Of course the perverted reflection of that but whatever reflection we see, where it is coming? It has origin in Krishna.

trirekhanka-kantha

And there are three lines on the neck of Sri Krishna, they are always there. This way you get to know the details of the form of the Lord. When you go, next time, go back to Krishna standing face to face then you will remember, we were told, it’s exactly like that it is confirmed . Anyway you don’t have to really go and see and then confirm because this is in the sastra. This is praman, sastras see and show. Or those who have seen they have compiled the sastras-scriptures and the form. So it is confirmed. Because the scriptures say so, because Damodarashtakam says so, it has to be like that and it is like this.

sthita-graivam damodaram bhakti-baddham

And there is a locket- graiva is neck .And something hanging from his neck. Griva becomes graiva. There is a locket or pendant and that is also moving as His whole body is shaking. Whatever He is wearing, is also shaking.

itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam

Satyavrata Muni further says- itidrk sva-lilabhir- lila like this-iti- means whatever has been only briefly explained. Certainly He is clearly stating, which lila- itid?k-like this-sva-lila by His own lila- by His past times. ananda-kunde- Damodara Krishna fills the kind the pool, lake or even ocean with ananda. There is so much bliss-ocean of bliss. This lila becomes the cause of ananda-so much ananda- ananda-kunde. Who is taking the advantage of this kunda? –sva-ghosam-the residents of Vrindavan, His associates. And what do they do?-nimajjante. They jump right into that lake, they swim, dive deeper into it. This is what we could say,

sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate- sri-krishna-sankirtanam

Sankirtana andolan, movement of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu sankirtana

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare

When we chant this, we are also supposed to be creating kunda, lake of ananda. Here it is referred about this lila -itidrk sva-lilabhir. But when we chant Hare Krishna as already stated,

anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam

What is the chanter supposed to be doing- sarvatma-snapanam. He drowns, he dives deeper into that ananda. Nimajyanti nimajyanti te maha anarth sagre-Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Prabodhanand Saraswati Thakur also said this. Anyway, if we keep talking like this, we will never see the end of this ashtakam. Okay we’ll just carry on, so nimajjantam-merging, entering into, becoming part of nimagna..

sva-ghosam nimajjantam akhyapayantam
tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

Again vande has come here. I offer vande –vandana. I worship-again namami-I offer my obeisances unto the Lord-how many times-satavriti. Avrtti means repetition. How many times- hundreds and hundreds of times-satavrtti vande and how do I do this? prematas- full of devotion-love for my Lord. I offer vandana-namaskar unto the Lord. One thing that is also mentioned –why I offer my vandana unto this Lord- bhaktair jitatvam.

Damodara becomes conquered-jitatvam. He becomes conquered. He is conquered by whom? bhaktair- by the bhaktas. Devotees conquer Him, otherwise He is unconquerable-Ajita Krisna even Ayodhya -unconquerable. No matter what kind of yudha- battle you come up with-Ayodhya the capital of Sri Ram is never conquered- unconquerable. Lord is like that but He becomes conquered by bhaktair jitatvam. Then akhyapayantam -He has become famous like this-famous for being conquered by his devotees- by His devotees’ devotion Lord is conquered. This is a statement, this Damodara Lila is making this statement. He could be conquered, He could be conquered-see how Yasoda conquered Him, arrested Him, bound Him up.

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

No, no, I do not want, don’t give me varam, don’t give me benediction- Dev-O’ lord, do not give me benediction. moksam na moksavadhim va -anything all the way upto moksha and whatever is in between- bhuktikami, siddhi kami and this kami and that kami all the way upto mukti. There are so many kamnas all the way upto mukti. Even mukti I don’t want-moksavdhim-upto mukti. Anything from bottom all the way upto moksha, I don’t want.

na canyam -cha anyam and other similar var. Varesad-I know you are Var –ish, you are varada the giver of benediction or I know you are Varadraj- the king amongst the benedictors.

Varesad-Var-ish. But for me, I have no interest.

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

Oh! Gopal, Gopal-Gopalabalam-Bal Gopal- all that I want is sada-always-manasya virastam. Please stay in my mind, in my heart. Enter my mind. Let me always think of you-manmana. Let me do this,

manasy avirastam kim anyaih
All other things, I don’t care- kim anyai?-all other items I don’t care. I only want that-may Krishna be with you, may God be with you-like that we always say-so you be always with me and you be always in my mind. Let me always think of you.

idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair
vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais’ ca gopya

Now it is the turn of mukhambhojam – lotus face like karambhojam-lotus hand as said earlier. Now lotus face- mukhambhojam. You are mukh ambuj-you are lotus faced. Krishna is not ever trying to look for any lotus face here but maybe some of you may resemble. But your atma your spirit has. If I could see the spirit, the spirit’s face is like lotus-like father like son or like father like daughter. Why not, so many daughters are sitting here. We are all children of Krishna. So if our father is beautiful then it is also seen that if parents have beautiful features then children are also beautiful. If Krishna is beautiful then here also we must be, we are beautiful.

So Lord’s face is mukhambhojam but then he says atyanta-nilair. Well okay Krishna’s form is like that-deep bluish-Ghanshyam-ghan eva shyam. Krishna’s complexion is ghan eva- ghan is the clouds and they have to be not the clouds of the month of Kartik but of the month of rainy season. Like fresh monsoon clouds. Srila Prabhupada says –fresh monsoon clouds are loaded with lots of water drops and their density is very high then that complexion resembles Krishna’s complexion-ghan eva shyam.

atyanta-nilair vrtam kuntalaih

And that bluish face is covered, is hidden by the curly hair of you O’Bala Gopal.

snigdha-raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
snigdha-raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih

So, similar earlier statements have been repeated here, that you please enter my mind. Please let me think of you O’ Lord. Now what kind of Lord- muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me -something reddish. Two reddish things have been pointed here. First, the lips of the Lord which are reddish like the bimb fruit or the pomegranate seeds inside. So the Lords lips are red. Seven parts of the Lord’s body are reddish. One of them is the lips. The reddish bimb- raktadharam me and the cheeks are also reddish. There are red marks because of muhus cumbitam. Yasoda is always, doing chumban, kissing Him every now and then. She kisses her darling little boy Bala Gopal and His cheeks are very tender-not like the elderly faces. The skin on His face is not like the buffalo skin. No matter what you do with the buffalo’s skin, you bite it, it is not going to leave any impression. But the face of the Bala Gopal is so tender that even if Yasoda touches His cheeks, it seems as if will eat Him up. He is so sweet, we like to put Him in the heart. So as she kisses, His face becomes reddish-reddish cheeks and reddish lips-that is nice beauty. Beauty is enhanced. He is already beautiful but then His beauty is enhanced specially because of reddish lips. Lips get your attention. When you look at a person, first you see the eyes and lips of the person. You may see the nose, ears, hair later on. But first thing you see is the eyes and then the lips. So He wants,

manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih

He wants to keep the image, wants to store, preserve this. And He says, I do not care for millions of other kinds of benefits and benedictions. No, no I am not interested. Now moving along if we are allowed.

namo deva damodarananta visno
prasida prabho duhkha-jalabdhi-magnam
krpa-drsti-vrstyati-dinam batanu-
grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah

So here we quickly point out that Satyavrata Muni is addressing the Lord in various ways. There are many addresses. You understand addresses like-O, aho, ye etc. are addresses to get attention. Namo is there again-I offer my obeisances, this is going on. This mood is always there. While he is saying all other things, he wants to offer obeisances constantly. He is offering obeisance to whom again.

Deva is one address-Adi Deva, Govind deva, Hari deva. O! Deva-that is one address. Damodara is another address. O! Damodara, O! Anant means unlimited. Ananta Vishno- O! Vishno- like hey Krishna karuna sindho. This is also a type of address. He is karuna sindhu but when you address, it becomes Karuna Sindho. He is dina bandhu but when you address, it becomes Dina Bandho. He is Vishnu but when you address, you say Vishno like she is Radha but when you want to address, she becomes Radhey. Radha is addressed as Radhey. Hare Krishna is also an address. Krishna Krishna-8 times and each each one is an address. There are 16 names in the maha-mantra. There each one is address. That is why it is Krishna not Krishnah. Two dots in front then it is Krishnah- the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You take away the 2 dots (visarga)-you remove them immediately-becomes O’ Krishna. So there is difference. So Hare Krishna means Hey Krishna, Hey Radhey.

prasida prabho -Prabhu here becomes Prabho- O! Prabho and another address grhanesa –esa is also an address. So these are addresses. esa is an address, Prabhu is address, Dev is address, Damodara is address, Anant is address, Vishnu is address. About by half a dozen of addresses, he is addressing. But each address has a reason- why he is saying Vishno, Damodara Anant? There are whole emotions and feelings and so there are reasons why is he addressig Lord with that particular address.
Now kripa drishti-and you are this, you are that, you are Prabhu, you are Vishnu, you are Ananta or you are Damodara. These are you, okay and what about me, look at poor me-and what kind of me.

Dukhjalabdhimagnam

Here I am drowning in the ocean of dukha- -abdhi means ocean. I am not drowning in a drop of suffering, a little lota full of suffering or a pool but in the whole of ocean. Where ever I go, I suffer. I cannot get rid of this. Where ever I go, everywhere- dukhjalabdhimagnam. I am absorbed in it and now-dinam- poor I am. But alas oh I am ajnam- on the top of all this, I am ignorant, fool. I am ignorant, fool. I am agyam, I am dinam, dukhdjalabdhimagnam. As I already said who you are, so what do I expect from such you and such kind of me-Kripadristi. Only krpa-drsti-vrstyati- -shower kripa (mercy) with your dristi-with your glance. Shower merciful glance on this wretched. edhy aksi-drsyah – let me with my eyes see such you-Ananta, Damodara, Vishnu ,Prabhu, Ish. Let me have darsana of you. Now 2 more paragraphs to go if you could tolerate.

kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat
tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca
tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha
na mokse graho me ‘sti damodareha

This past time also took place the same day- the day Krishna was caught white handed and He became known as Damodara because He was tied with the rope to the mortar. kuveratmajau the two sons of Kuvera.

kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat

You are bound up and inspite of being bound up-what you did? tvaya mocitau. You were bound up but you freed those two sons of Kuvera -Manigriva and Nalakuvara and not only you freed them but also liberated them.

bhakti-bhajau krtau ca

ou loaded them with so much bhakti bhava ,endowed them with so much devotion- so much prem for you. Yadvat-the way you dealt with those two sons of Kuvera-Satyavrata Muni says-tatha-like that- I like the way you dealt with those two sons. You liberated them but that is not big deal. You gave them so much bhakti bhava. You made them eligible-kripa patra, qualified, deserving candidate for having bhakti tatha-like that,

tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha

Give me your bhakti, give me that kind of bhakti. Again repeating-no moksha, do not insist na mokse graho. I do not insist, not at all on this moksha business.

na mokse graho me ‘sti damodareha

O’’ Damodara-he is addressing-O’’ Damodara only give me bhakti and finally-

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

Now namah, again you see namah is there-I offer my obeisances. So finally, he offers obeisances to 2 parties or 2 items, there are more also but in first half of this last ashtak, he offers obeisances to 2 parties. One part is- namas te ‘stu damne -let my obeisance be unto damne. What is damne?-Dam is rope and damne is unto rope. I offer my obeisance unto damne. I offer my obeisance unto damne the rope – sphurad-dipti-dhamne

Who is the abode or source of dipti-the effulgence. The rope is the abode of the effulgence-the brilliant effulgent rope. So one is dam and another is dhama. Dam is dhama, dhama of what? The rope is dhama-abode, refuge-take the shelter of, the protector etc. So to this brilliant effulgent rope, I offer my obeisance unto. This one obeisance is to the rope and other is to,

tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne

I also offer my obeisance unto your uddar your belly. I want to offer my obeisance unto your belly which is uddar. I just offered my obeisance to dam-rope- Damodara, now I offer my obeisance unto uddar. One obeisance is to dam another obeisance unto uddar the belly. As rope was dhama of the effulgence, your belly is dhama- abode of visva- visvasya dhamne . Your little belly is abode of entire visva. The whole universe is within you-brahmanda like brahmanda ghat. When Yasoda says open your mouth-as Krishna opens His mouth, what was inside, the whole brahmanda. Whether that brahmand was right in the mouth or in His form or it was in the belly. Here it is said, your whole belly is the abode of the visva- the universe. And my obeisance unto uddar and that is the reason why Yashoda was finding difficulty in tying Krishna. No matter what length of the rope, she managed to get, Krishna’s belly was swelling, growing in size. Was He taking viratrupa- universal form? No the form remained the, same- maybe one foot or half meter or less big but the trouble was inside because there is the whole universe. So the rope has to be long enough to go around the universe. That is why too short-every time too short.

Okay, now 2 more obeisances are there in the last verse. It begins with obeisances and obeisances are going on and on. Now- namo radhikayai- my obeisance unto Radhika also. What kind of Radhika? tvadiya-priyayai- who was very very dear to you- tvadiya-priyayai.

namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai

He had to say this- Radhikayai, Vrindayai. If you have to offer obeisance to Radhika, don’t say Radhikah namah, it is incorrect. We end up saying Vrindai,Tulsidevai-all wrong. Most of the world is pronouncing it wrong. If Brahmins of south India hear us here- Vrindai, Tulsidevai-they will have no clue-what we are talking about or what we are singing. They will only think these are ignorant people or fools. They don’t know even simple things. If you have to offer obeisance unto Vrinda, then you have to say Vrindayai tulsidevyai priyayai… Why make so much effort, it is easy Vrindai, Tulsidevai. But Vrindayai tulsidevyai-takes a lot of effort and that is what the sanskrit language. The language wants you to make effort. It is not for lazy bums. Yes, like effort be conscious also. So Radhayai namah,Vrindayai namah,

vrndayai tulasi-devyai
priyayai kesavasya ca
krsna-bhakti-prade devi
satyavatyai namo namah

Devi is also an address but Devi doesn’t change. So, next time when you sing tomorrow morning sing it correctly. It is not difficult if you think you can do it, you could do. I know you can do only thing you never thought of doing it. My obeisance unto Radhe who is very dear to you.

namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

My obeisance unto Devayai unto Dev who is Ananta- nanta-lilaya-performer of unlimited past times, so many past times and each past time becomes eternal. In that sense it is also ananta. There is no end and so is unlimited and that’s why this class is not coming to end. It is unlimited-no limit.

namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

Okay, let us stop somewhere, so stop here and see you singing Yasoda Damodarastakam.
Damodarastakam ki ……jai.

Krsna and Balaram in Vrindavan
Dated:  Sept 7  2009
Venue:  Pune|
Vrndavana dham ki jai
udhava mohe braja bisarat nahi

God said this for Vrndavana, I cannot forget Vrndavana. Lord is in Mathura now. He was there in Vrndavana for 10-11 years performing various pastimes amidst all His loving, very-very dear devotees.  Akrura had come to Vrndavana to fetch Krsna Balarama. They were also kind of eager to go to Mathura, thinking that it would be a very good opportunity, a rare opportunity. They had never been to any city before. They always stayed in the villages or in the forest, on the banks of the rivers, top of the trees, climbing and playing flute on the top of the Govardhan Mountain. Like that they wandered all over Vrndavana.

The city was Mathura. When there was a proposal of going to Mathura, they were very willing to go to there because they were excited to see the city. They were village boys, cowherd boys who stayed in Gokul. They stayed in Chhatikara and had to go to Vrndavana.  Then finally the residents of Gokul had gone to Nandagram. They were in Nanda Gokul before and during their transit they stayed in Chhatikara for some time, and finally they reached Nandgaon, Nanda Maharaja’s village.  All this time Kansa was still looking for eighth child of Devaki.

Ten days ago I was in Braja dhama in a country called Hungary. You get hungry sometimes or get angry when hunger is not satisfied – hungry and angry. We were on a Hungarian farm and it is named after Vrndavana. It is called Braja dhama and there is also Vraja-mandala and Vraja dhama Parikrama.

Sivarama  Maharaja  had been working for establishing Braja in the West.  We were there –  100 devotees and Niranjan Maharaja was also there.  We had gone on a tour of Braja dhama. There was Radha Kunda near Govardhana, a big gosala in Nandagram in Barsana. In between Barsana and Nandgram there is a place called Sanket where there is some indication of “Oh! Where would tonight’s Rasa-lila take place?For instance Radha and Krsna gave some indication or body language or by pointing some fingers.  We could only imagine how there would be sanket- giving indication. Just sanket. Now let us speak of Gokul.

For 3 years and 4 months Krsna stayed in Gokul. Then they crossed the Yamuna.  There were ox carts and hundreds and thousands of cows.  They made a bridge. How do you think they made the bridge? They just used the bullock carts. They took one cart and they tied another cart to that cart and another cart to that cart. They walked over or through the ox cart.  There were several bridges which they were all walking over. You couldn’t think of  a bridge like this.They would cross the river in an emergency without using the cart, whatever they had at their disposal. They did not go to the steel or cement factory where there are architects and engineers. There are lots of engineers in Pune.  They did not bother with engineers, they made their own bridge. It did not cost anything. They had carts, they had ropes to tie one cart to other cart and they happily they crossed but how could the cows cross? They swam across. Cowherd men were carrying the calves on their shoulders and cowherd men were swimming with a calf on their shoulders and when they swam the mother cow would swim right behind. You understand how it was working.

After crossing the Yamuna they were in Vrndavana. Remember Vrndavana. We are in Pune. To get out of this world we think of Vrndavana where Krsna resides eternally. We meditate on Vrndavana.  In the context of Vrndavana we hope to place Krsna, not replace Krsna. Krsna is there. We hear about Krsna, Balarama and our body may still be here, but our soul is transported to Vrndavana. We sort of go there and closely look at Krsna’s pastimes. We are not yet qualified to enter pastimes of Krsna in Vrndavana, but we could watch, witness and learn how everything works. Krsna is the topic.

We are the students and what is the topic? We have different subjects, Physics, chemistry, botany, biology like we studied one time. But for the devotee of Krsna, Krsna is the topic, understanding Krsna is the goal. He is studying Krsna, wants to become graduate, post graduate.  Every day we are trying to understand Krsna. When you understand Krsna you get to know Krsna, get closer to Krsna, developing some attraction for Krsna. The more we know, the more we are attracted to Krsna.  We are not attracted to Krsna because we don’t know Krsna. If you really knew Krsna you would be attracted to Him. He is all attractive. You will love Krsna and you would love to serve Him.  Because of ignorance we don’t care. Question is. “Who knows? Who has seen Krsna? He is such a loving personality and if you knew Him, your mouth would be watering like when you see a rasagulla.  “Could I have it?” Just by seeing some eatables, you are attracted. There is some feeling, some emotions.  Just by smell, just by seeing, touch you become eager to eat it, touch it.  Rasagulla is attractive that is also because of Krsna.  All attractions have origin in Krsna.  As we hear we begin to witness the pastimes of the Lord. As we hear, study  we see the Lord more with the help of ears  compared to seeing the Lord with the help of eyes.

They all have crossed Yamuna and entered Vrndavana.  This is where Krsna wants to be a cowherd boy. In Gokul as a newly born child He was mostly on the lap of Yasoda or just in Nanda Bhavan calling and playing – vatsalya bhava – parenthood. That was the rasa, the mellow that He had been experiencing towards the end of the Lord’s stay in Gokul. He makes friendship with some of His friends of same age group and then stealing butter pastime, makhana chori begins in Gokul. Krsna would spend time with friends, other children but mostly at home with Nanda Baba, Yasoda, Rohini. But now as He had come to Vrndavana, He wants to solidify His friendship with His friends. They were growing up, He was also growing up, so He wants to go out and be useful to the family, go get a job.

Lots of people were unemployed, jobless, hungry they were crying.  We always hear someone saying go get a job not depend on others. Go get a job.  Krsna wanted to take up a job but Yasoda was not in favour of this. Half of the time, He would be at  home, and the half in the forest. She could not imagine being away from her darling, Yasoda Nandan or Nandalal, but Nanda Maharaj was in favour. He had no objection.

Krsna was also very much in favour, so the vote was two in favour and one against.  The party that wanted to go, won and then Krsna was allowed to go into the forest, but not take care of the cows. He was not big enough to take care of the cows. He was given charge of the calves. Small baby cows were gathered and Nanda and Yasoda trained Krsna and Balarama.  They were given a crash course on how to handle cows, how to get them to start off, how to get them to turn around, how to sit down.  Yasoda reluctantly agreed that Krsna could go.  There were some other cowherd men who had their children going along with Krsna and Balarama. A small group of children and small group of cows were going into the forest. Yashoda wass giving all kinds instructions, “Don’t go deep into the forest. There are  many ugly creatures there. My son may be scared.  Come back soon, and Balarama listen, take care of Krsna.”

 They would go and come back and then the condition also was that he could go into the forest, but not every day. Some days he should stay behind and only for some days he could go. The whole schedule was – Monday, Thursday and Sunday you go and four days you stay behind.  Krsna did not like to stay behind but what to do?  His Mummy would not  allow.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is going to the forest, Mummy or Yashoda is worried about the Supreme Personality of Godhead getting scared or tired or this may happen, that may happen. Here is vatsalya bhava and Krsna enjoys this. It is not against His will. He is relishing this relationship.  He has become a son now and he acts like a son. On some days when he was not supposed to go into the forest Yasoda would make sure that Krsna has stayed behind. He is indoors and she makes sure that he is not out with Balarama and the other cowherd boys. She makes sure that the others have left with the cows.  She is happy that today He is going to be all day at home. She gets back into her some household duties. From time to time she is making sure that He is around. She keeps calling for Him and he responds. However after some time there is no response and she looks outside through the window.  She notices Krsna is running towards the boys, to catch up with other cowherd boys, cows and Balarama.  And then Yasoda runs after Krsna. Krsna has taken note that Yasoda is running after Him so He is runs faster. By this time all the cowherd boys and Balarama have taken note that Krsna is running and Yasoda is running after Him.  They encourage Krsna to run even faster and they are very happy. They are not happy to go without Krsna but what to do Yashoda doesn’t let Him go every day.  Krsna had finally managed to reach His destination –  Balarama. He grabbed Balarama and Yasoda was coming. Yashoda is dragging Krsna and  Balarama is pulling Him from the other side. A big tug up war, sometimes he is dragged back home and sometimes He is allowed to go to the forest with His friends.  He is about 6 or 7 years old now.

When He goes into the forest, the Lord plays with His friends and the calves are also getting time with Krsna. There is  vatsalya rasa at home and there is also vatsalya rasa in the forest between Krsna and calves. With His friends it is sakhya bhava.  There were times when only calves were going with Krsna in the forests. Cowherd men were taking cows to the forest. Cows were not very happy. They were not getting Krsna’s association.  Now the cows held a conference and all resolved that if He doesn’t go into the forest with them then they will not go into the forest. They will go on a hunger strike in front of Nanda Bhavan.  The cowherd men were trying to bring the cows to the forest but they were not going.  They were ready to fight.

By this time, in Bhagavatam, Sukadev Goswami describes that Krsna had grown up and there was a get-together, ishtagosti of elderly members of Braja, Nanda Maharaja and others. They resolved that they we were going to promote Krsna, an from that day onwards He was the vatsapal. Thus far He was calfherd boy but from today onwards He will be Gopal. That was astami, Gopastami during Kartik. That was the day five thousand years ago when Krsna was promoted. He became Gopal. The cows were happily going to the forest with Krsna.  Krsna now is grown up and gets extra time to spend in the forest with the cows. Then finally the residents of Vrndavana migrated. They travelled again and made their residence on the top of the hill, which is now known as Nanda gram. Krsna is now enjoying vatsalya rasa and sakhya rasa. Two full-fledged rasas were developed.

He is now growing up interacting with gopis, meeting and talking with Radha Rani who is a resident of Rawal. Rawal the place where Radha Rani had taken birth. They were staying in a place called Basanti. The residents of Gokul were staying in Chhatikara. Near Chhatikara was the other place Basanti which is in between Rawal and Radha Kunda. As we go from Vrndavana Krsna Balarama temple to Radha Kunda, about 3 or 4 kilometers before you reach Radha Kunda there is a place called Basanti. It is a small village and it is still there.  Bhakti Ratnakar confirms that residents of Rawal, Vrishbhanu, Kiritida and other residents stayed there for some time. Residents of Basanti finally went to Barsana and the residents of Gokul end up in Nandagaon.  Now Krsna is a full-fledged grown up. He is now Kisor and there has to be Kisori. Kisor-Kisori met before when they both were children, little babies.  The meeting had taken place in Rawal. You know that pastime also. Radha Rani was born but she was not opening her eyes. Her eyes were closed. They were not very happy. Then Yasoda, Nanda Baba had come from Gokul for Radhashatmi celebration – Radha’s appearance day celebration. All the elderly members were going there. Radha Rani was playing in a cradle. All were blessing the child, praying for the well being of the child. So Krsna had also gone. Children were there. They like to imitate each other. They all were very curious. Krsna had managed to climb up and stand and look inside the cradle and as Radha realised that Her Lord is here, She immediately opened Her eyes drinking the beauty of Krsna’s face.  That was the first ever meeting and now they are both grown up. Krsna stays in Nanda gram and Radha Rani stays in Barsana. Sanket is in between  in the middle. It is the meeting point and there they would make decisions where which Rasa dance would take place.

In this way Krsna enters into yet another relationship, another rasa, mellow. He is relishing the relationship with the gopis and specially Radha Rani and that is Madhuraya rasa. Krsna’s life, His pastime, early childhood began with vatsalya rasa then sakhya rasa now madhuraya rasa.

parakiya bhave jahan brajete prachar

This parakiya bhava, Sringar rasa is the top most. This is practiced in Braja. There are a few servants in Vrndavana, the dasya rasa. They do not serve Him so much in Vrindavan. He doesn’t act like an Isvara, like a boss. He doesn’t like that relationship. Mostly it is the madhuraya rasa, sakhya rasa, vatsalya rasa. These are the mellows and moods Krsna relishes in Vrndavana.  As He has now been brought over to Mathura by Akrura. He is in Mathura and Mathura is,

ye mathura kanchan ki nagari

Krsna’s realization is that  Mathura is only a business place where they only deal with chandi (silver), sona (gold). There are so many transactions of that nature.

 O udhav mohe braja bisrata nahi.

“I cannot. I tried but I cannot forget Vrndavana. What to do Udhav? Please tell me what should I do. I used to play with the friends, the birds were chirping. There is Yasoda. Of course I have Devaki here. When it’s time for My meal she left the plate – Ok, you eat, Yasoda never did that to Me. She used to put Me on her lap even if I tried to eat myself, she would take the spoon out of My hand and feed Me with her own fingers.  She would do the spoon feeding or finger feeding. Mother Devaki is giving the plate and say eat-eat, I will see you later but Yasoda never did that to me.  She would stop all other important business to feed Me, make sure I am eating enough. She used to feed Me with her own hands so that’s why mohe braja bisrata nahi.”

I cannot forget Vrndavana Oh! Udhav. He is remembering this pastime, that pastime, this forest, that forest. Each time He is saying I cannot forget Vrndavana.  I cannot forget, how could I forget?  He is in Mathura but He lost His heart in Vrndavana There are T shirts that say –“I lost my heart in Vrindavan” . For sure for Krsna that was the case. I am not sure whether they wear T- shirts they lost their heart in Vrndavana or they lost their heart in Ahmednagar.  Krsna says I lost my heart. Your home is where your heart is – Krsna’s home is in Vrndavana.  As a matter of duty He is staying in Mathura for a while but His heart is in Vrndavana.  He is counting his days.  When you have a good time what happens, time flies. Not so good time then time stops.

We are students. We get to know something more what we did not know but then each time we hear it becomes more solid. Knowledge is enhanced. We become more convinced about Krsna, the different aspects of Krsna. It is more tonic for us and then we become stronger, spiritually strong, feeding our soul. Some more food for thought – this material realm, material world, material body, material consciousness, contaminated consciousness . Try to purify that. Replace some of them, feed more chips in the brain with some spiritual thoughts so  that our head and heart becomes full of Krsna, soul and heart becomes full of Krsna like Krsna consciousness.

munijana manasa hansa

Jaidev Goswami said, “The devotee’s mind acts like a swan.” A swan moves about in a lake, the devotee’s mind like a swan moving in the lake of consciousness, Krsna consciousness.  So many wrong things we have learnt. We have been taught and we thought they were all right things, but now we are realizing that we were cheated, we have been tricked. We had to unlearn then learn the right things, the eternal truth. We realize that Krsna is eternal.

avyayam achyutam

Krsna is the target. He has to be eternal, something that never gets exhausted. It never comes to an end, He has to be forever, always, always eternally. What’s the fun, you have been realizing after so much endeavour, that soon it will finish, it doesn’t exist anymore.  So Krsna is  avyayam, vyaya means that as you spend it, it becomes less and less and less. One day you may become bankrupt, left with nothing. You are spending and spending.  Krsna is avyaya, ajar amar.  I read something that we want to realize, He has to be eternal, He has to be always, always existing all the time in the future otherwise what is the fun.

This body could be finished. Is it the same case with the Lord’s body, Lord’s form?  He would also be finished one day? Why should we be trying to realize the person, who is no more. He will be with him only for some time and he will be finished? He will be gone. Why would anyone try to realize such a person, such a Personality of Godhead? So that is the difference between anyone else in this world and the Lord. Everyone else is dirt or earth. You go back to dirt, go back to earth. Bible says something like that.

You rise from dust and to dust you return.  Body comes from the dirt. It is made from dirt, it goes back to the dirt, goes back to the dust, finished. When more bodies are coming into the existence some are moving on. This way this world although temporary seems to always exist. In the 15^th chapter verse 1,Bhagavat-gita it says:

urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham
asvattham prahur avyayam
chandamsi yasya parnani
yas tam veda sa veda-vit (BG 15.1)

The Lord is ayaya. There is a commentary by Sridhara Swami. Although this world is temporary, it appeared as if it always exists. Always doesn’t mean always. At the time of annihilation it  ends, but normally everything is moving. So many people are dying, but things just move on,  go on – buses are moving, terrorists killing people, everything moves on.  Avyaya the world is always temporary, so Lord is advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam. Lord is ajar, amar, avyaya. He is our target, our hope.  Our body will end. If you want to end up with Krsna or search for Him that will not come to an end.

bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan (BG 7.19)

Until we become jnanavan Vasudeva sarvam, Vasudev is all in all in that jnana. So that kind of determination

utsahan niscayad dhairyat
So what if you don’t find Krsna in this life, you will give it up, forget Him or find something else now. No, that’s not the case. Devotees continue.

Thank you

Rama Katha
Venue: Bahrain
Date: April 15, 2016

Janaki Jivan Sita Mohan Rama

This short song talks about Sri Rama as Ayodhyavasi. We have Vrajavasi, Vrindavanvasi, Mayapurvasi. Like that there is also Ayodhavas. Vas means to reside. This residence is Ayodhya. Those who reside there are called Ayodhyavasis and Rama Himself is Ayodhyavasi.

ayodhyavasi rama
rama rama
dasharatha nandana rama

Dasharathanandana and Kaushalyanandana. Kaushalya’s name is not mentioned in this song.

sambhavami yuge yuge

And the purpose is patitanam pavanebhyo. Vaisnavas are also like that.

patita pavana janaki jivan

Sri Rama is a Janaki jivan. Janaki Jivan like Radha Jivan or Vishnu Priya Jivan. Rama is Janki Jivan. Rama is Patitapavan, but who is patita? We are in this material existence so that’s an indication. We must be Patita otherwise why would we be here. Patita means fallen, fallen from Ayodhya or Goloka. There is also Ayodhya up there. Above Vaikuntha is Saket Dhama. Above Saket or Ayodhya is Goloka. So Vrindavan is here, Gokul is here. Goloka is up there. Ayodhya is here and Ayodhya is also up there. So from somewhere up there we have fallen. Then comes Sri Rama then Sri Krishna and then Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

jivane marane gati ara nahi mora

That is the spirit, I don’t know any other destination but you.
Radha Krishna prana mora or Sita Rama prana mora. Sita has her prannatha, Sri Rama.

patita pavana janaki jivana sita mohan rama

Sita Mohan is like Radha Mohan. Sita Mohan Rama means Sita attracts Rama, Rama becomes mohit. Sita is attractive and attracts the all attractive. She attracts the mind of Rama and Rama cannot survive without Sita.

Site! Site! When Sita was kidnapped by that rascal Ravana Rama just could not forget her. He was looking for Her looking for Her everywhere because He was Sita Mohan Rama and He did not stop and searched till His goal was to reach Lanka.

ayodhyavasi rama rama rama dasharatha nandana rama rama

Today is the day reserved as Rama Navami or the Appearance day of Sri Rama and the celebration is Lord’s Appearance which is going on almost closer to 10 lacs which is a million years. Lord appeared in Treta Yuga and we are here in age of Kali and between one whole age has passed – Dwapara Yuga. Dwapara Yuga, calculations goes on for million years. Dwapara Yuga is 86,4000 years duration. Kali Yuga is 4,32000 years so Dwapara Yuga is twice as long and Treta Yuga is three times and Satya Yuga is 4 times as long. So 8 lacs and 64 thousand years right there a big chunk and then 5000 years of this Kali Yuga and then some more years of Treta Yuga and hence the number close to 2 million years ago on this day Lord Rama appeared.

So the day was navami and the day was also Tuesday. Krsna appeared on Wednesday and Rama appeared on Tuesday at noon time because He is appearing as Suryavanshi. Surya is the king of the day and Chandra is the king of the night hence chandra is called Rajneesh, Rajni-eesh, eesh the master, Rajni is night – the king of the night. King of the night is moon. Dinesh, dina means day and esh is king. Dinesh is Surya. Krishna is Chandravanshi and Rama is Suryavanshi. Krsna has appeared in the kingdom of the moon, the ruler of night. Surya is ruler of day and Sri Rama is appeared as a Suryavanshi. He appeared in midday today but not this time, a few hours ago. We are sitting here with Bhagavatam and Sukadeva Goswami has recited Ramayana or Rama Katha also. Bhagavat Katha is not only Krsna Katha but also Narasimha Katha, Vaman Katha. Like that there is Rama katha in the 9th canto of Bhagavatam. Two chapters 10 and 11 are dedicated to Rama Katha, like a condensed Ramayana. We will just read a few verses from the middle of Bhagavatam 9th canto chapter 10 – the pastimes of Lord Ramacandra speaker is Sukadeva Goswami and the listener is Pariksit Maharaja and many other rushis, Rajasris, Maharsris and Devasris. They have assembled not in Bahrain but on the banks of Ganga. Any sacred river here? Bahrain, does it rain here? I don’t know the meaning of Bahrain, so no rivers here.

sri suka uvacha
khatvangad dirghabahus ca
raghus tasmat prthu-sravah
ajas tato maha-rajas
tasmad dasaratho bhavat (SB 9.10.1)

So he wants to bring Dasarath, Sukadev Swami wants to bring Dasaratha in the picture. He wants to talk about Rama so no Dasarath, no Rama. So Dasarath appeared at the end of the sloka.

dasaratho abhavat

Prior to him many others had appeared in the dynasty Khatvanga, Khatvangad from Kathvanga appears Dirghabahu, from him appears Raghu

raghus tasmat prthu-sravah

From Raghu comes Prthusravah, from Prthu comes Aja and the son of Aja is Dasaratha and son of Dasaratha is Jai Sri Rama. It is not only Sri Rama we will be hearing who else appeared from Dasarath.

tasyapi bhagavan esa
saksad brahmamayo harih
amsamsena caturdhagat
putratvam prarthitah suraih
rama-laksmana-bharata
satrughna iti samjnaya ( SB 9.10.2)

That Brahmamayo Hari is full of Brahma, is Parabrahma. Parabrahma appeared and He is also sakshat Bhagavan. Parabrahma is Bhagawan Hari. Hari is one who steals away our suffering that is also Hari Hari Gaur Hari Sri Rama Hari. He takes away our suffering, our birth, death, old age and disease. He is a thief. He steals all these things and makes us free and makes us Pavana. He makes us pure so that Hari brahmamaya amsamsena, expansion of expansion plenary portion.

chaturdhagat putratvam

That Hari, saksad Hari appeared in four forms as four sons of Dasaratha.

prarthitah suraih

Demigods were begging and appealing, ‘My Lord Dear Lord, this is the time. Please have mercy upon us also. Please appear. So they are praying to the Lord Who has responded to the prayers of the demigods. Demigods are praying for Lord’s advent and they know this is the right time because what had happened was –

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion—at that time I descend Myself.

Bhagavatam also said earlier end of the 1st canto,

dyutam panam striyah suna
yatradharmas catur-vidhah (SB 1.17.38)

What is adharma? What are adharmic irreligious principles?

So dyutam there is gambling. You must understand there is a decline in religious principles and the dominance of irreligious, people are not drinking caranamrita anymore and drinking sharabamrita or even chaiamrita. You must understand this is irreligious. If there are slaughter houses and India has become biggest exporter of beef. This is irreligion. Even India indulges in irreligious principles. Give us petrol take beef in exchange. This is the predominance of irreligion or prostitution, illicit sex or illegal sex. So these are the four places five thousand year ago, King Pariksit allowed Kali to reside.

Kali was showing his ugly face and was beating the cow and trying to attempt to kill the cow, and King Pariksit had a sword in his hand and he was ready to slaughter the killer of the cow to establish the principles of dharma.

dharma-samsthapanarthaya

On the behalf the Lord the King represents the Lord. This is his job description – to establish Dharma. So the saintly king as he was, he was trying to stop that. Kali begged for forgiveness and was given four places to stay dyutam, panam, stiyah and suna these 4 places. Kali had a hard time finding such places 5000 years ago and now we have hard time finding places where there is no meat eating.

Probably only vegetarian restaurants Govindas in Bahrain may be others, not many are turning up. They going ending up in another restaurant, other places where there is meat eating, Whenever such situations arise then the Lord makes His appearance. So the Demigods have taken note that this is what is happening a million years ago, towards the end of Treta Yuga. They are praying to the Lord to please appear.

Then the Lord responded and Ramayan will describes this in detail. However at the time of putrakameshti yajna when Dasaratha Maharaja was performing a big sacrifice so that the Lord would be very pleased with him and he could have a son. It is a big sacrifice and all the demigods were invited to attend.

yam brahma varunendra-rudra-marutah stunvanti divyaih stavair (SB 12.13.1)

They all are offering their prayers also for the Lord’s advent. In fact the Lord appeared not as Sri Rama but appeared seated on Garuda. Wherever there is a yajna the Lord also appears there to accept the offering. At that time the appeal was made face to face and the Lord had promised that He will appear and perform His pastime for dasa sahastra dasa shatani cha. Ten Thousand -das sahastra and thousand- das shatani cha, cha means and. Ten thousand plus one thousand is 11 thousand years. We read this in Ramayan: “I will appear and I will perform my pastime on earth for 11 thousand years.”

Lord responded positively to the prayers of the demigods and He made His appearance as Rama Laksman Bharat Shatrughna ki jai. So Rama appeared today, What about Laksman? When did appear?

He also appeared today. Bharat also and Shatrughna also. Today is not only Rama Navmi it is also Laksman Navmi, Bharat Navami and Shatrughna Navmi. Three mothers gave birth to four children, simultaneously this was happening in the palace of King Dasaratha. Kausalya gave birth to Sri Rama and Kaikaiye gave birth to Bharat and Sumitra gave birth to Shatrughna and Laksmana.

During that Yajna the fruit of yajna, Kausalya and Kaikaiye received just one piece and Sumitra receives two times so she gave birth to two children. And then Rama is always with Laksman and they became two teams Rama and Laksman and Bharat and Shatrughna. They were close to each other. As little children’s they were placed on four different cradles but soon they would end up with two. Laksman would go and be with Rama and Shatrughna would go and be with Bharat. There is some special affinity, friendship and liking.

tasyanucaritam rajann
rsibhis tattva-darsibhih
srutam hi varnitam bhuri
tvaya sita-pater muhuh (SB 9.10.3)

So tasyanucaritam means Ramasya caritam and also called as Laksmanasya caritam, Shatrughnasya caritam, Bharatsya caritam. Oh! Rajan which king is this? King Parikshit, Sukadev Goswami is addressing Rajan King Parikshit.

tattva-darsibhih srutam hi varnitam

The knower of truth always recites the pastimes of these four brothers headed by Sri Rama. Sages always recite not only pastimes, but also the nama, rupa, guna, lila, dhama. Recitation of or kirtana means also recitation, kirtana means glory singing the glories.

Kirtaniya sada hari

That doesn’t mean only kirtana. Chanting of the name is also nama kirtana. There is also guna kirtana, lila kirtana. There is dhama kirtana of the Lord. The pastime, glories of holy name, glory of His glorious qualities, glorious pastimes, glorious abode and glorious devotees of Sri Rama. This is all being recited by risis, and sages those who know Rama tattva, Krishna tattva or Vishnu tattva.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so arjuna (BG 4.9)

The Lord’s not only pastime, birth also, janma tattva, nama tattva, guna tattva, lila tattva, dhama tattva. There are so many tattvas, Pancha tattva. Don’t get confused tattva is true science. Sukadev Goswami says, “Tose tatvadarshis, the knowers of truth or those who realized the truth always talk varnitam. As you rajan can srutam,
sita patihe, Sita pati Sri Rama’s Charitam charitra tatvadarshis have been speaking varnitam and tvaya shrutam

Where in the next verse Sukadev Goswami has condensed the whole Ramayana. Some seeds ideas are there in one verse which covers kind of all the pastimes.

avatan nah

I will read end of the prayer first nah means all of us, May that Rama protect us, be pleased with us. You would also like Rama to protect you? Do you have life insurance, body guard and all kind of defence mechanisms? And Sukadev Goswami has already said about that,

deha apatya kalatradisu

They have so much faith in deha, strength of their body, apatya their offsprings, kalatra the wives, relatives, doctors, lawyer. This is the very beginning of Bhagavat recitation so much faith, in this kind of army – my body, my children, my desire, my army, my wife. I have wife but this is all asat. This is my army but his army is asat – fallible and will not help, specially at time of death. In a picture a person in Bombay opened his heart and a photograph of a Limca bottle appeared. It was not Sita Rama. Hanuman tore his chest and showed his complete faith is in Sri Rama only, but this person had a Limca bottle. And another person he was into coca cola. He was about to die and the family surrounded him> he only had a few more moments to go and then children were saying, “Daddy, Daddy please say Bhola at least say bhola.” They were Bhola devotees Shankar Bholenath. “Please say Bhola” The father did not say Bhola he only said coca cola. The last word taking shelter of coca cola thinking of coca cola, full of coca cola.

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaRama
tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

He went to coca cola loka – America. Sukadev Goswami had already said that only the Lord could help.

rama raghav rama raghav rama raghav rakshamam

Caitanya Mahaprabhu always recited that. So this verse is also a prayer for protection. May Sri Rama be pleased with me and once he is pleased, protect me and those who He is pleased with.

gurv-arthe tyakta-rajyo vyacarad anuvanam padma-padbhyam priyayah
pani-sparsaksamabhyam mrjita-patha-rujo yo harindranujabhyam
vairupyac churpanakhyah priya-viraha-rusaropita-bhru-vijrmbha-
trastabdhir baddha-setu? khala-dava-dahanah kosalendro vatan nah

The condensed Ramayan in one verse. Ramayan’s very first is chapter Bala Kanda. You heard Bala Kanda otherwise Ramayan has been recited by Valmiki Muni in seven kandas. As Bhagavatam has skandas and Mahabharat has Parvas, Ramayan has Kandas – 7 kandas. Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya kanda, Kishkindha Kanda, Sundarkanda and Yudha kanda and then Rama returns to Ayodhya that is Uttarkanda.

Bhagavatam has 18,000 verses and Ramayana has 24,000 verses compiled by Adi Kavi Valmiki Muni. Wonderful, powerful, beautiful scripture!

gurv-arthe tyakta-rajyo

For the sake of His father Lord Rama gave up the kingdom. He is about to be the crown prince and he gave it all up.

vyacarad anuvanam

He was wondering for 14 years from one forest to another to another including Dandakaranya. Then it says Lord’s Lotus feet were very tender. So how did He wander? A chariot was provided at the beginning but He also adamant. “Let me be a vanavasi not only in name. A vanavasi resides and walks around barefoot so that what Rama’s program.

padma-padbhyam priyayah

Sukadev Goswami says Lord’s Lotus feet where so soft and tender they could not even bear the touch of Sita’s hand. This means that Sita’s hand were too rough because the Lotus Feet were very soft.

patha-rujo yo harindranujabhyam

However during all this travel time and trying times many devotees helped the Lord but two have been mentioned specifically. Harindra was always helpful. Hari is monkey. Hari has another meaning Hari is monkey and Hari also means lion. Hanuman was a monkey under Harindra King. Sukadev Goswami says one personality was Hanuman and Anuja, anu means man to follow and ja means one who take birth. Rama took birth and Laksman also took birth right after, so Ramanuja is Laksman. Ramanujacarya is the incarnation of Laksmana. So he is called Ramanuja. Hanuman and Laksmana they were very helpful – assisting, giving relief to Sri Rama throughout his travel in different forest.

vairupyac churpanakhyah

There was time Shurpanakha on the Bank of Godavari panchvati. She was disfigured. Her nose was chopped out. She had gone to Lanka complaining to Ravana. That rascal Ravana who kidnapped Sita and that made Rama very angry.

rusaropita-bhru-vijrmbha

As he was looking for Sita and finally He met the monkey Army and others. Sugriva, Jambavan were at Rameshwaram waiting for the ocean God to come forward and help out how to cross. It was delaying Rama who became very furious. He built Setu and crossed Indian Ocean to reach Lanka.

khala-dava-dahanah

Then he killed and finally burnt that kalnayak Ravana who was killed. That killer of Ravana is described here as kaushalendraindra. The King of Kaushal the country called Kaushal and that is Sri Rama. Avatanah, may he pleased with us may He protect all of us, with that prayer we stop.

Jai Sri Rama

Sign says matchless gift
Venue: Den Haag, Netherland
Dated: April 26, 2016

You all are welcome. I see some old faces, lot of new faces also. And some faces I don’t see them here, maybe they are on their way. It’s a very special year, this year. You know what is so special about this year? There will be a Bhumi Puja. ISKCON Den Haag will have their own Vedic style designed temple. Of course it will not be completed this year. It has been announced that the bhumi puja is next month. Please be there. I was in Germany and there is a big Radha Madanmohan temple and Radhadesh has a landmark, some historic location. I was traveling around and every other place has their own big temple, except Den Haag. This year you will have your own temple.

There are so many temples so what is the need of yet another temple? Someone asked Srila Prabhupada that question “Swami, there are so many temples in India. Why are you building some new temples”? Prabhupada asked that gentleman who was there with his good wife. “Is that sitting next to you your wife?”

“Yes, yes she is my wife.”
“And that boy is that your son?”
“Yes, he is my son.”

Prabhupada said, “There are so many children already what was the need of one more?”
“No, but this is my son. There might be other children but this is my son.?
Prabhupada said, “ There are so any temples but this will be my temple, my Krishna’s temple.” So that’s one reason why this is a special year.

Yet there is another reason why 2016 is very important year for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. You can say this is fiftieth birth anniversary of ISKCON. ISKCON was founded in 1966 when Prabhupada went to the West. Last year was Jaladuta 50. Prabhupada was a devaduta, messenger of Krishna. He sat in the Jaladuta and went to the West as instructed by his spiritual master to fulfil the wishes of his spiritual master. This Krishna consciousness is so essential for everybody. Every soul in the world, especially in the Western world. They know very little about how God is great. Yes, they know ‘God is great’, but they don’t know how God is great. “Love thy Lord with all thy heart and all thy strength” says the bible. But not knowing who the Lord is? And not knowing who you actually are? It is very difficult to love the Lord with all thy heart and all thy strength. One ISKCON devotee had come to India and one Indian Hindu gentleman had asked why he had become Hindu? “You gave up your Christianity, and have you become Hindu?” He said, “ No, no no now I have become a better Christian. Before all I was told “Thou shall not kill”. This is also one of the 10 commandments “Thou shall not kill.” But that is what we did all day. Well, we did not kill personally. Someone else slaughtered the animals and then we ate for breakfast for lunch, dinner but “Thou shall not kill.”
But now no more killing for me. My menu is menu that is given by God.

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati

No more muttonam chikanam biryanim fisham. So before I had heard some priests were talking “Thou shall not kill” but they killed. Someone killed animals for us and then we ate them. We gobbled them up, but now I don’t do that anymore. So I am a better Christian, now I am practising Christianity. Srila Prabhupada was asked by his spiritual master go to the West and propagate this Krishna consciousness in the Western world in English. That’s why we are speaking in English here. Not that we don’t speak in local or regional languages, but Prabhupada was asked to preach in the English language.

So that was in 1965 when Prabhupada reached America under so many unfavourable conditions. Prabhupada had to go through so much struggle. Then he managed to get. I am saying all this in this hall here and in New York 26 Second avenue that was the address where ISKCON started. It was a store front. What Prabhupada managed to rent out was the store front a store. That store was shifted elsewhere and then Prabhupada took over and at some point Prabhupada’s followers found out there was a sign at the top. Should we take that down Swamiji? Prabhupada wanted too know what the the sign said? Sign says matchless gift. Prabhupada said, “Don’t take it down. It’s a good sign. What I am distributing here is a matchless gift. Krishna consciousness is a matchless gift. Krishna is matchless and everything about Krishna is a matchless. The message of Bhagavat Gita is matchless. The philosophy is matchless. The culture is matchless. The holy name is matchless, matchless prasada. Is there anything like Krishna prasada in this world?”

So that matchless gift is where Krishna consciousness started. So ’65 was arrival and ’66 Prabhupada started International Society for Krishna Consciousness with the help of a bunch of American boys and girls. Prabhupada was trying to start this movement in India and he was trying to get some followers, some youths to join. He was asking Indians how many children they had? “5, good give me 1.” We picked up the right one the other day. I asked how many children he has? He said I have none. In those days they were having 5 children or ashtaputra saubhagyavati. These were the blessings – I bless you . May you have 8 children. Sages or brahmins would bless like that. But now that is a thing of the past.

In Prabhupada’s days having half a dozen children was common. Prabhupada would appeal to “please give me one son. I will train him, I will send him all over the world or make him a preacher in Krishna consciousness”, but no one was coming forward. One gentleman was traveling in the same train as Srila Prabhupada. He was traveling with his son and he kept appealing, begging and bugging Srila Prabhupada, “Swamiji Swamiji, bless my son, bless my son.” He was not leaving Prabhupada alone every now and then, “please bless my son, bless my son.” So Prabhupada said ‘Give me your son’. After hearing that this gentleman left the compartment and went far away where Swamiji would never find this person and person’s son.

But as he reached America then some American boys and girls were ready. They were already kind of loitering on the streets. They were disgusted, frustrated with so much to enjoy and they were looking for some alternatives. That materialism had not satisfied them and it’s not possible, materialism cannot satisfy us to satisfy our senses, satisfy our mind. There is some entertainment, some body satisfaction, mind satisfaction but soul satisfaction is not possible. Deep within us is our soul. We see something and then there is some happiness. Something we hear, some music, touch, smell gives some temporary pleasure, but that is flickering and just disappears like bubbles. How long do bubbles last? They don’t last very long. That’s why the acaryas have said,

kamala dala jala jivana tala mala

Like having a drop of water on kamala dal, lotus petal. With a little wind tala mala, tala mala kamala dala jala jivana tala mala is finished. Hence the advice is,

bhajahu hari pada niti re

Hari pada – lotus Feet of Hari should be worshiped and that is permanent.

bhajahu re mana sri-nanda-nandana abhaya-caran?aravinda re

When Srila Prabhupada was in that store front he started holding programs twice a week. On the street in the park he would hand out some visiting cards, invitation cards to come to the store front, the matchless gift place. He was getting good numbers and this matchless gift place was becoming packed. One of the special attractions was the prasada which Swamiji would cook before the arrival of his guests. 100 to 150 would fit into the hall which was a little bigger than this.

So he would cook and come down and give pravachan. Everything was brand new to these American folks. They had not even heard of all this. Hare Krishna what? Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, and Prabhupada would sometimes show Radha Krishna photographs. This is the flute player. This is Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And they would ask what is that girl doing there? Next to God, who is that girl. So much ignorance. Prabhupada had to start from scratch. He did not mind. He knew this is what he had to do. He would deliver his talk. They did not know even how to sit down. Like most of you are sitting, this is called sukhasan if not padmasan. Different lotus position is padmasan. But cross-legged is called sukhasan, sukh-asan comfortable sitting. They did not know.

They did not know how to sit and Prabhupada taught them how to sit. Then he would get them to stand up and he was teaching them the dance. He was chanting and dancing. Not only chanting. Chanting has to be accompanied with dancing. So would get them to stand up and raise their hands and it became universal known as the swami step. That dance became popular as the swami step.

Prabhupada taught that. Talk and then kirtana and getting them to sit down for prasada. They would all sit down and who would serve? Swamiji had to serve all of them and he did not mind. He was happy. He was 70 years old. He was raising some funds to maintain this establishment, sponsor the prasada. After prasada they would all leave and Swamiji had to clean not only the hall, but the plates and the pots. This is just a little sampling of what Prabhupada was going through. You should study the life or teachings of Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada lilamrita is available in Dutch? English ,of course yes and maybe some 100 languages is available. Even Chinese are printing. You should all study the life of Srila Prabhupada. It is some additional chapters of Bhagavatam. Prabhupada was Bhagavat,

person-bhagavat, maha bhagavat.

svayambhur narada? sambhuh kumarah kapilo manuh?prahlado janako bhismo balir vaiyasakir vayam

Twelve original 12 bhagavats are mentioned in Srimad-Bhagvatam and in that parampara, disciplic succession, Prabhupada was a living Bhagavat. Studying his life is studying Bhagavatam.

nityam bhagavata sevaya

This is the statement from Bhagavatam and Prabhupada translates that as Studying Bhagavatam or serving person bhagavat, reading book bhagavat or serving person bhagavat. That is the meaning of nityam bhagvata sevaya.
Knowing Srila Prabhupada maha bhagavat and then taking inspiration from his life and then you try to follow the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada. Some of those followers were now becoming serious students, serious practitioners. They started chanting,

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

Prabhupada gathered that serious group together and asked them if they could assist him in the propagation of Krishna consciousness, but they had to follow the four regulative principles to become his associate members or initiated disciples. For the first time Prabhupada split out in a formal way he spelled out the four regulative principles.

No meat, fish or eggs, no intoxication including tea and coffee, no illicit sex and no gambling. “So are you ready?” You are still thinking but those who were present before Prabhupada did not take much time. They said, “Yes Swamiji, we are ready.” Everybody present there was ready to follow these four regulative principals. Then with the help of those handful American youths Srila Prabhupada found this Hare Krishna movement in 1966 and then ISKCON’s first temple Radha Govinda Mandir in New York opened. After 50 years you are opening here in Den Haag, but the first Radha Govinda temple was opened in New York. Now ISKCON has 650 temples around the world in a short span of 50 years. And millions of books have been distributed in over 100 languages. There are over 100 Govinda’s restaurants around the world. Farm communities around the world. Prasada distribution is big. In India we have something called midday meal served to the school going children at midday. Every day ISKCON distributes 1.2 million plates of prasada. Did you hear that? 1.2 million plates daily served at this midday meal scheme.
ISKCON holds 10 000 festivals every year. Janmastami, Gaur Purnima, Ratha yatra, and many more. The Grand total is over 10 000 festivals. All this in a short span of 50 years, and this is just a beginning. This is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. ISKCON is Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s program as per Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s vision. Krishna’s of course Ramacandra, Krishnacandra, but specially Caitanyacandra, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Rama appeared in Treta-yuga Krishna appeared in Dvapara yuga but we are in Kali-yuga so,

dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami sambhavami yuge yuge

The latest advent of the Lord was 520 years ago in the form of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He has given to this world this yuga dharma which is the chanting the holy names of the Lord. Tulasi Das also says,

kali yuga kevala nama adhara

Nama is the only adhar, only shelter, only base, only protection in this age of kali. Every time Kali-yuga comes there is the same dharma. How many times does Kali-yuga come? So many times. In Brahma’s one day, Brahma Vishnu Mahesh, In Brahma’s one day 1000 Kali-yugas come. 1000 Satya yugas, 1000 Treta yugas, 1000 Dvapara yugas and 1000 Kali-yugas. Every time, so this is not the first time Kali-yuga has appeared. So now what to do? Nothing to worry. Checkout what was done in the previous Kali-yuga. What was the process? Same process that would work out this time also.

Every time there is a winter – is this is winter or summer? Climatic changes occur because of our misbehaviour. The way we are treating mother earth, cutting the trees and deforestation. So many factories and chimneys, who’s smoke expel CO2 and what not, animal killing. As a result we have increased the temperature of mother earth. Temperature is rising 4 degrees than normal. As a result of all this everything is topsy-turvy. This could be just the beginning of what is in store for us. Man is so greedy wanting to enjoy and exploit mother earth – deforestation, cutting the trees. The nice trees and greenery and flowers everywhere. This is like a sari worn by mother earth. She wears green sari and flowers are like embroidery. But you know what happened when Dushasan attempted to disrobe mother Draupadi. Result was the war and killing because of the way Dushasan dealt with mother Draupadi. He was trying to disrobe her.

This forest and the trees and greenery, this is a sari. This is the clothing of mother earth and we are just chopping, cutting and we are getting reactions. So much enjoying spirit. The survey conducted recently on the consumption of consumers goods said that if the whole world consumed as much as whatever they consume then for the waste we would require five earths. One would not be sufficient. You want go by the American land of enjoyment, land of opportunities. The land the whole world would like to imitate. All Indians like to. So many attempts to exploit the resources where there is gold deep in the body of mother earth and the small city towns inside the earth. The railway tracks go miles in the depth of the earth. I have seen a gold mine in South Africa. By a lift they took us way down. I don’t know how many stories down and we were walking and we had helmets and a guided tour.

There so many are there. Now the scientists were hoping that the they would make this world enjoyable. They did lots of industrial economy and what now? Now the scientists say that this planet is not liveable anymore and that we better look for another planet. Their hands are up, “ Sorry folks. We can’t deliver our promises.”

The sea levels are rising. I don’t know what would happen to Mauritius, a small Island in the middle of Indian Ocean. And right on the banks of the ocean and there is no high altitude. There is just a few meters height and all will be drowned in the water.

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

So every time Kali-yuga comes you have to chant Hare Krishna.

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam?kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

Kalau means the age of kali. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way. Only the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. This is the truth . This is the arrangement of the Lord. It may not be known so much in the West because they follow this culture ,that culture and some new religions, some religion 1500 year old religion or maybe 2500 year old religion. But religion has to be eternal. Religions are not created or born. Anything and everything that has a beginning has and end also. This is a simple law rule here. This religion that religion started on such and such date will also have a beginning and an end.

We are talking of jivas, the living entity dharma has to be eternal. If you want to give a name to dharma then Sanatana dharma is one name. Sanatana means no beginning no end, eternal. And that is the dharma of every living entity regardless of whether they may say, “I am Christian, I am Hindu, I am Muslim”. This is the faith, but religion, dharma ,the characteristic of the living entity does not change.

Electricity must give a shock or sugar is always sweet, salt is always salty. Being salty is the dharma of salt, being sweet is a dharma of sugar. So every living entity has a dharma and the dharma for all living entities is the same. Brahmas one day has 1000 cycles of this four yugas Satya-Treta-Dvapara-Kali put together is Maha yuga and 1000 times. Once again to become universal applicable everywhere. Caitanya Mahaprabhu appearing 500 years ago established this chanting as a yuga dharma for this age of kali and he predicted that this would spread all over the world. As per His visions and predictions now you see it is spreading all over the world. Chanting is spreading all over the world. Practically every country in the world has the presence of the Hare Krishna movement. In this Kali-yuga there is a golden period of 10,000 years, out of those 10,000 years Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared 500 years ago. So 500 years and then 50 years. ISKCON is 50 years old. We have 9500 years to go. This Krishna consciousness movement has already spread in 50 years. We will be spreading Krishna consciousness movement for another almost 9-10000 years in global phenomena universal.

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

God has a name, form, qualities and pastimes. Prabhupada always appealed to the audience, Indians to understand this movement. Then he would also repeat what Caitanya Mahaprabhu had said or expected specially those who have some Bharat connection, some Indian origin.

bharata-bhumite haila manusya janma yara?janma sarthaka kari kara para-upakara

These are words of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You are born in India. Of course at one time India was not limited to the present map of India. India was all over the planet. It was Bharat Varsha. We find remnants of India’s presence and culture in all the continents. If you have taken birth on this planet in Bharat Varsha then you would like to make your life perfect. How to do this?

janma sarthaka kari kara para-upakara

To make your life perfect do para-upakar. Srila Prabhupada has set that example the world is in need of Krishna. Krishna consciousness is lacking. Everything else is there and what this world is lacking, is Krishna consciousness. The soul needs Krishna. The soul could only be happy when it attains Krishna or Rama He has many names, many forms. He appears again and again in different forms. You accept Krishna consciousness and you practice Krishna consciousness and you propagate. Share this Krishna consciousness with as many people- your family members, your neighbours, your circle of friends. As much bigger circle you could make spread, propagate this. Let the word of God spread.

And it says as paropkaraya, ‘paropkaraya vahanti nadya’ that comes at the end. For the benefit of others rivers flow and distribute water.

paropakaraya vahanthi nadhyaha
paropakaraya dhuhanthi gavaha

The cows give milk for others, paropakaraya phalanthi vrkshaha – for the benefit of others trees give fruits. paropakarartham idham shariram – specially this human form of life is for paropkaraya. This Krishna consciousness is the topmost welfare programme for humanity at large. Debt, disease and fire must be dealt with urgently, you hear that. Something is on fire, “Oh! I will take my breakfast”. No! The world is on fire, davagni.

samsara-davanala-lidha-loka

What could extinguish the fire? Mercy clouds. when the forest is on fire you cannot throw a few buckets of water. When the forest is on fire you cannot go there with a spoon and sprinkle some water. That would not do. No other attempts would work. You need some mercy from above. That mercy is the mercy of the Lord which also comes down through His devotees, sadhus , mahatmas.
Hari Hari!

Padayatra Forever
Dated: October 29, 2018
Venue: ISKCON Noida

Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu over six years He travelled and that was padayatra. Why the acaryas were walking and travelling and why did Caitanya Mahaprabhu traveled? This was to spread the glories of the Lord. Lord Caitanya left on his six years padayatra to establish the yuga dharma, the chanting of the holy names. Especially Caitanya Mahaprabhu and our Gaudiya vaishnavas have travelled to bring the holy name to more towns and more villages.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the inaugurator of this program and Srila Prabhupada took it up. Srila Prabhupada himself, in 1952, while he was in Jhansi, went on padayatra just a short one, not long one; but he did Padayatra for 30 kms from Jhansi to Chirgoan. In 74, this was shared with me by Tribhuvanath Prabhu. Tribhuvanatha and Bhagavat Prabhu, Prabhupada wanted to see them and they were going up, there in Bombay and they were excited what assignment Prabhupada was going to give and finally, when they met Prabhupada. Prabhupada said , “You go in Padayatra. You do Padayatra.” But then that did not materialize, Prabhupada was thinking and approaching his disciples, followers to take up this Padayatra program. Then, in 1976, the Padayatra finally happened from Hyderabad to Mayapur, half dozen devotees walked for 3 months that was of 1500 kms, and Prabhupada was there at the entrance gate of Mayapur to greet them, as I understand.

And then, Prabhupada wrote a letter to Mahamsa Swami who was in charge of the Hyderabad Farm. Prabhupada wrote, “Naturally the sankirtan men travelling with the bullock carts are blissful. It is Lord Caitanya’s engagement. Lord Caitanya personally travelled all over India for six years. His program was simply kirtana and prasada distribution. Lord Caitanya never spoke philosophy in public. So continue this program. It is very pleasing to Lord Caitanya.” (Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Mahamsa Swami in 1975)

We heard this, Yasomatinandana Prabhu shared this with me, and he said, during his visit to Gujarat in 1975, Prabhupada said to him “Please arrange bullock carts” He wanted to travel from village to village. He said he would travel with the padayatris.

There was a gentleman called Punjabi Parmananda and he had written to Prabhupada about taking up this Padayatra program and Prabhupada responded to the communication of Punjabi Parmananda saying, “ Concerning your offering of doing Padayatra travelling touring from village to village, town to town. However my foreign disciples have the language defect, they can’t speak the village language, otherwise I would have started this programme long ago. If some young men like you would join me then along with some foreign disciples can immediately take up this programme.

Take a note on what Prabhupada is saying “I am immediately ready” Prabhupada is willing to join such walk.
“If you are eager, please get hold of at least half a dozen young men like you, then with another half dozen foreign disciples, I can immediately take up this program and tour village to village and town to town. This is very effective. I know that.” This is Srila Prabhupada, emphatically saying this.

I’m sharing this to you so that we would know Prabhupada, what was on mind of Prabhupada. There were so many things on this mind, books distribution, this and that. Certainly, this was one of those item that was very much on his mind and very dear to his heart. I know that because I have interacted with Srila Prabhupada and had many talks and correspondence, and I know how much he appreciated; he appreciated the Padayatra program and so I’m trying to transfer these thoughts of Prabhupada, his will, if you want to call that on to you.

So that in future, so many of us will be no more. I would be no more but you will be here much longer. So, I just want to make sure you fully understand Prabhupada, what was his thoughts about padayatras. And of course, you know why Padayatra, the holy names needs to be brought in to more villages and more towns and what we distribute in ISKCON ? We distribute the books of Prabhupada, we distribute prasadam Krishna Prasadam and what else? We distribute Harinama. I think these are three big items also festivals this and that. When it comes to distribute or share, the holy name is on the top of the list and Prabhupada wanted to make sure the holy name spread far and wide and not to be limited only to the towns where there is ISKCON. What about every town? Every village? So, Prabhupada representing Caitanya Mahaprabhu also, and wanting to make Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s predictions come true, this was Prabhupada’s strategy, all about this Padayatra program.

In 1976, this is where in Delhi, I personally received this instruction of Padayatra on Radhashtami Day when ISKCON was in Lajpat Nagar only once in Feroze Shah Gandhi Road, you know the address this is all the way back to 1976. Prabhupada was attending Radhashtami festival at Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Temple and, on Radhashtam. Srila Prabhupada said, “You don’t need to travel on the bus in India. Instead you can get one bullock cart and go and preach village to village all over India. It will be a great success.”

We were travelling in German buses, Hansaduta Maharaja, GBC also that time, they came with the western buses and we were travelling all overnight in North India and we had a good time. We were enjoying the German buses, they have very special opening and closing doors, you push the buttons. Lot of people would gather around. It was a Mercedes bus; they would gather around just to see how the door opens, door closes and we were having good time. But then, Prabhupada said, “Get down from the bus. Here’s a bullock cart.” It was a big sacrifice but we were happy.

So, then we started the first walk was from Vrindavan to Mayapur. Prabhupada gave us that destination. We received the instruction in Delhi. We went to Vrindavan, we organized everything and Prabhupada said, “You go to Mayapur.” And on the way, we passed by Kanpur. I wrote to Srila Prabhupada, “Prabhupada, need some financial help for the Padayatra. We need money, we need men.” I wrote to Srila Prabhupada and this was Prabhupada’s response.

“Do not depend on outside help. Also for financial support, depend on Krishna.” Srila Prabhupada sent me a World Sankirtana Newsletter, the scores of different temples and he said “Also book distribution. We are maintaining our huge establishment by selling books. That is wanted.” And so, we took up book distribution seriously in Padayatra, and I would like to report the scores we achieved in 2015, 2016 and 2017. We distributed in 2015, 96,000 books of Srila Prabhupada books in Padayatra. In 2016, 97,000 and in 2017, over 100,000 books were distributed and that made Padayatra more than self-sufficient.

We have Padayatra president here, Acharya Prabhu for last 10 years, he has been managing Padayatra right here in front of you. They are saving funds by distributing books, they took a pledge of 5 lakhs for TOVP and they are sponsoring some other projects and temples from book distribution on padayatra. Besides chanting the holy name, bringing into every town, every village, Prabhupada’s books are going to all remote corners of India and they have gone around India 6 times 6 rounds. As we do temple parikramas, they have done Bharat Varsha Parikrama.

Then Prabhupada wrote to me again in 1976, “I am also happy to hear your very nice activities. I wish, I could have joined you. I like your program very much.. If you continue this program you will be benefited, people will be benefited and every one will be happy.” Like this Prabhupada said, I like your program, he wanted to join padayatra.

Now, what more Prabhupada have to say to inspire us to keep doing this program? Then, in 1977, as we had a very successful bullock cart Sankirtana Party going in India, this is what Prabhupada wrote to Nityananda, our God-brother in America, New Talavan farm community and he said, “And oxen can be used for driving carts and preaching village to village.” Those goshala managers and goshala’s having bullocks and this was Prabhupada wanted to see that those carts are used for preaching village to village.”What is the question of killing them” and then he wrote, “Here in India, our Lokanatha Maharaja has successfully organized such a program and it is a great success. He has travelled all over India and everywhere they distribute books, prasadam and perform kirtanas village to village.”

And then you could read that highlighted statement and here Prabhupada wrote, “We can introduce many millions of such carts all over the world.” This is Prabhupada’s big thinking, he never thought small. We had only one cart going rounds which he thought was very successful then he’s talking of millions of carts. But this was not to be organized only by Lokanath Swami. From this, it is very clear, Prabhupada wanted his followers and his managers to take up this project, Padayatra, and spread the holy name around the world.

Then in 1991, GBC formed Padayatra Worldwide Ministry and this is the mandate – Padayatra worldwide ministry GBC Mandate.

“TO BRING THE CONGREGATIONAL CHANTING OF THE HOLY NAME TO EVERY TOWN AND VILLAGE OF THE WORLD THROUGH ORGANIZED PADAYATRA FESTIVALS.”

So, to execute the will of Srila Prabhupada, GBC took that action and here is that mandate. So for Padayatra, we are on the road; you could do the calculation, that is how many? All India Padayatra on the road was on over the past 34 years from 1984 – 2018. And every day, they go to a new village to new village, to the new village, to the new village, to village.and thousands. I was looking at Acharya Prabhu, who is keeping the records. He took over about 9-10 years ago, and he was showing me the record started at Pandharpur, 10kms down the road, this village and he has all records of all the last 10 years. 10 years of Padayatra visits and their phone numbers and some contacts and they’re becoming devotees as he goes back. He’s our 5th President in last 34 years, there were four before. Also we’ve gone around non-stop.

And then in 1996 we organized 100th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada and everyone was thinking his disciples, how to glorify, what to offer to Srila Prabhupada on his 100th birth anniversary, so padayatra ministry also was thinking. Pancharatna Prabhu was with us in France or as a part of Centennial. So we took the pledge of organizing padayatras in 100 countries. Here is the list of all those countries. In fact it was 105 countries, we covered with Padayatra. And I think till date padayatris have walked over 250,000kms and padayatri’s do not take one step forward without chanting ‘Hare Krishna’ at every step they are chanting.

So you could imagine, how many towns and villages His holy name has reached. And sometimes, I say and this is true that padayatra not only brings holy name to every town and every village but in between the villages and in between the towns we chant. Not only in the town, in the village, in between from one town to another, one town to another. So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction is coming true.

In 1977, probably you know this one thing, Prabhupada wanting to go on bullock cart. He was in the bed for months. He was not even able to get up and sit on his own. I also came to Vrindavan and wanted to travel and he said, “No no, bus will not be good. Get me a bullock cart.” This is Prabhupada’s thought, inconceivable Prabhupada.

And then, we have Vraja mandal parikrama, Navadvip mandal parikrama, the Padayatra becomes instrumental starting those Parikramas. Sri Kshetra Puri Parikrama is very very much there. Then Bhakti Purusottam Maharaja took over, I only go for inaugurating, cutting the ribbon and going on for 10 years? More than 12 years Sri Kshetra Parikrama, Pandharpur parikrama and this parikrama and that parikrama. also going on.

We have a manual, Padayatra manual, how to organize from beginning to finish, all the details and is available. Also, Padayatra Ministry website- www.padayatra.com.

Padayatra in AndhraPradesh/ Telangana – One grihasta devotee, disciple of Bhakti Vikas Maharaja, he had been doing padayatra all over Andhra, now Telangana since 2012. He has also gone on with his only team of not more than half dozen members. This 4-5 devotees covered so many villages, distributed so many books and everywhere. Just one gentleman, one grihasta, he leaves his family and his wife behind and he goes on a lot many time, most of the time he is on the road.

20 day bullock cart padayatra by ISKCON Bhuvaneswar from Gaura Govind Maharaja’s days, then after his departure, his followers has been organizing padayatras every year.

Pune to Pandharpur, his is an ISKCON Pune initiative, organizing this Padayatra every year for18 days but a grand 50 temple devotees are PDC, they join and, they all have good time . Padayatras are a kind of retreat. Everyone likes Padayatra. There’s a whole list and upcoming Padayatras, which is ISKCON Kanpur, is on the list. ISKCON Baroda and Tirupati is getting ready to have a Padayatra, that was all around Andhra Pradesh. There’s a big list, as many temples organized padayatra every year. There’s one day padayatra concept is cropping up in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, 3 day Padayatra, 1 week Padayatra. ISKCON Noida devotees go from Noida to Vrindavan.

Please take this up. As I said in the beginning, you all are the doers, the temple presidents, you have to take this action to organize padayatra in your area and you see Prabhupada’s will or legacy that he has left behind in the form of padayatra and we have to push it forward and you are ready? Show up hands all those who wish to be part of this initiative. Hari Bol!