Reliving The Hare Krsna Festival at Cross Maidan, Bombay

25 March 2021

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri’gurave namah

Reliving Hare Krsna Festival

Going back 50 years in the past, on this day. What you just saw on the screen – the festival, the venue, the crowd, Prabhupada, the Deities, Yamuna, Madhudvisa singing, the entrance, balloons – I saw all that exactly at this moment, 50 years ago. It was amazing. Except that I did not look the way I look now and neither I spoke the way I am speaking now. I was not a young, full fledged man. I was just a boy in early 20’s, college student, residing in Dadar, Mumbai. Of course, I was born in a remote village in Maharashtra. Who knew? I did not know this was all that was going to happen to me that I was going to become Hare Krsna.

Not that I am regretting, I am very happy. But 50 years ago, I was completely different. I was brought to this Hare Krsna Festival Cross-Maidan day after day or eleven days and I was transformed. There were revelations, eye opening and eye opener was Srila Prabhupada. I was thinking that Hare Krsna Festival at Cross Maidan was like an eye operation camps and all those 20, 30 thousands persons coming, I was just one drop in the ocean of people of Mumbai present there. So we were all getting operated and the operator was His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada assisted by his American and European disciples,American sadhus, European sadhus.

I was a completely changed man. Like what we say “divya gyana hrdaye prokasito.” That is what was happening. Or “om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya.” Srila Prabhupada was opening eyes and he was putting jnana anjana in our eyes so that we could see. And towards the end of this festival I was as Arjuna says,

“I am ready to, karishye vachanam tava.”

So I was studying in Sangli Willington College. I had this thought, “I should go to Bombay and become a graduate of Bombay university!” This was compelling me or dictating me within. So I came to Bombay. In fact, I did not come, I was brought to Bombay because,

brahmanda bhramite konabhagyavjiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija

This statement of Gauranga Mahaprabhu to Sanatana Goswami, I realized that in my own life. “Why did I come? Why was I brought to Bombay?” Because Srila Prabhupada was going to arrive there very soon, along with his American and European disciples, sadhus and I had to meet him. Or, Lord Gauranga was going to arrange my meeting with Srila Prabhupada on this day, 50 years ago and that happened. Gauranga! What could I say, I thank, what a little creature could say or thank to the Lord for such a gift of bringing me in contact with Srila Prabhupada on this day of 25th March 1971.”

With that everything changed for better. I had been every day, jumping in the local train from Dadar to Church gate. At first I did not have dhoti-kurta, I wish I had. My father and my brothers always had these robes, dhoti-kurta, but I was becoming or my parents and brothers wanted me to become the modern man and so I was wearing pants and shirt like normal people wear. So, with that attire I had been coming and attended this Hare Krsna Festival.

There was advertisement, I had already said a few times. I always say this when I remember the Hare Krsna Festival Cross Maidan 1971. I remember the advertisement, “American sadhus are in town.” That caught the imagination folks of Bombay, including myself. “What? American sadhus? Forget it. American scientists are okay. But what are you talking about?” So, I ended up there and did realize that yes, they were sadhus. It turned out, as we heard earlier, 10-30 thousands of people and I was just one drop of the ocean. There was a big stage and the deities of Radha and Krsna were on the stage. They had transformed the Cross Maidan into a Hare Krsna temple, with full deity worship. Srila Prabhupada would come, offer pranams, dandavat to the deities. Sometimes he would circumambulate and take his seat on the vyasa asana next to and at the feet of the deities.

I remember taking darsana of Srila Prabhupada 50 years ago and oh the kirtans of these Hare Krsna devotees were out of this world. I am sure no one in India or Bombay had seen such kirtans before. They were really into these kirtans, totally oblivious to their surroundings and totally absorbed and beating drums and kartala and jumping up high in the sky and going round and round. They were really enjoying and I was remembering this is what Bible says,

“Love thy Lord with all thy heart, with all thy strength.”

So these Hare Krsna devotees with all their love and strength were into these kirtans and perspiration as they were working very hard performing these kirtans. I would say of all the different things that impressed me was one item – these Hare Krsna kirtan of American and European sadhus. I was convinced, “yes, they must be sadhus, they are sadhus.”

Srila Prabhupada was delivering lectures everyday in English. Well, I knew English. I would write my papers in English. I was not able to speak fluently those days, but I understood. I was listening to Srila Prabhupada’s lectures day after day and things were getting clearer and clearer as I went on hearing. But one day, one item helped me the most. From my childhood, this was me those days, I had this intense desire to serve others, serve humanity, serve my countrymen, to become desh bhakta or reformer of some sort, serving people, helping others. This was so much on my mind but I did not know where to start, what to do. I had no resources, I had no direction, I had no tools, no clear vision. But one day, Srila Prabhupada quoting from Srimad Bhagavatam, he said this is what Narada Muni had said to Pracetas. I found that later on:

yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya [SB 4.31.14]

“As you pour the water on the root of the tree, the whole tree is energised. The trunk, the branches, leaves, flowers, the fruits and everything.”

So the process is to pour water or fertilizer at the root of the tree. Then Prabhupada explained how the whole world is like a tree and we all are like leaves and branches, parts and parcels of the Lord and Lord is the root or the source. If we serve the source or root, the Lord, then everything is nourished, everything is served. That was it. I decided to go for that formula of serving the Lord. Madhava seva manava seva. Not the other way round. Madhava seva manava seva – serving Madhava is serving humanity, serving everyone, your family, your society, the country, humanity.

Well, I was in business as Prabhupada revealed that the truth or reality unto me. Thank you Srila Prabhupada. So, that happened, I do not know which days, but one of those eleven days during the Hare Krsna Festival. There was a book table. I think Giriraja dasa brahmacari, I did not even know their names those days. I found out this later on. He was managing the book table. I managed to get, those days I did not have much money or pocket money, I could not buy much books. But I did buy Back to Godhead magazine which was very colourful, the four colours.

I had not seen anything like that before in any book or magazine. I think it was printed in Japan and beautiful photographs. I think the Radha Londonisvara was on the back. “Govindam adi purusam” prayer was also printed there and the photographs of Ratha Yatras in different places, London, San Francisco. Then I took also small books Lord in the Heart. Those days the Bhagavatam was not published, they were just published in different chapters. Lord in the Heart, I remember that book. So books are the basis. That also I found out later on – Prabhupada,

“if you want to know me, read my books.”

I wanted to know Prabhupada more so I got these books for myself.

There used to be question and answer booths and the American and European sadhus – I used to spend so much time there listening to those American and European sadhus expertly giving answers to all various or series of questions. So not only they looked like sadhus or did kirtan like sadhus but I could see how they were convinced, philosophically sound, not just sentimental but philosophers also, religion and philosophy. I remember an Indian gentleman asking a devotee, ” oh, these Hare Krsnas have converted you. You were Christians and now you have become Hindu!” And I remember that devotee, very smartly said, “No, no. To become Krsna conscious, this is above Christianity, above Hinduism, transcendental to all the religions.” And he says, “I have become better Christian now. Anyone who takes to Krsna Consciousness, he becomes better Christian or better Hindu or better Jew or better Sikh.” I was very much impressed with the devotees replies. Like that, every day there were questions and answers.

Deities on the stage, I mean they were a center of attraction. Radha Krsna deities and I found out later on that they were having full worship of Radha and Krsna, seven offerings, mangala arati and so many aratis, the whole cooking were happening right there and they were making offerings, dressings. In the venue also the American American sadhus, they were doing artis, they were doing kirtans, they were learned, they were giving befitting answers to tough questions. There used to be an another kirtan towards the end, arati and kirtan. Everything was out of this world although it was all happening at Cross Maidan. But all activities were transcendental, out of this world or transcendental to Christianity or Hinduism.

The Deities, They were beautifully decorated and those deities, I did further research I found out that Prabhupada had personally carried those deities to Australia, Sydney. Literally, he was carrying Them along with his assistants, servants, secretaries on their lap. And They are there in Sydney, Radha Gopinatha deities. They ended from the Hare Krsna land to Sydney, Australia.

This Hare Krsna Festival made two full time devotees or disciples quite instantly or very soon after this Hare Krsna Festival. Of course, who knows and who could count every single person there was influenced positively, elevated and lifted and greatly benefited. Those two devotees who immediately joined Hare Krsna movement were one American Richard, Bhakta Richard, Radhanath Swami Maharaja and the other one I was Radhanath, I became Lokanath Swami.

I was in the middle of the crowd, I did not get anybody’s attention but Radhanath, Richard, American, they pointed out, “Hey, some American there! Call him, call him!” Those days Radhanath Maharaja was Shiva bhakta. He had a little beard and just few little possessions with him and he also had been attending the festival and he also bought books. I think he bought a big Krsna Book. He also had no money. What was he doing? He was begging alms and he had then sufficient money, funds to buy Krsna Book. He ended up going on the stage and even touching the feet of Srila Prabhupada and sitting amongst those American sadhus. I remember where I was but Maharaja was kind of elevated and he got closer to Srila Prabhupada, instantly. So, those were the two immediate byproducts of the festival. Two of us became Srila Prabhupada’s disciples.

What did I walk away with at the end of the festival. But why the end of the festival? I made up my mind and I had chosen Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual master and if I ever get initiated there is going to be “Why Srila Prabhupada?” Earlier, I had gone looking for some spiritual leaders and connect with them. That was what had happened while I was studying at Sangli, I had gone to join Vinobha Bhave, Mahatma Gandhi only genuine or surviving disciples. And he was doing lots of social reform, work and I wanted to join him at one point but I almost went there but Krsna intervened and I turned around, went back to Sangli so that I could end up in Mumbai and end up here at Hare Krsna Festival and have association and darsana of Srila Prabhupada.

I am saying I did not meet Srila Prabhupada face to face but I had his darsana. How does one take darsana? By hearing. By seeing you do not see much. But by hearing you know a lot or everything. So I had that kind of darsana. I was able to see and also, especially, hear Srila Prabhupada. That was one thing I made up my mind Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual guide. Another thing was I wanted to be like these like those American and European sadhus, to be like them. Not just be like them but be with them. This also I made goal of my life. I was aspiring to be like them and to be with them.

Then I, of course, as I said earlier, the chanting of,

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

really had crooked me. As the festival had come to an end, i were now walking away, returning, I am carrying the holy name with me and had Srila Prabhupada’s small book and a Back to Godhead with me. That is what had kept me going, surviving and, eventually, thriving. I was hidingly reading books of Srila Prabhupada in big, fat Chemistry books. I would keep small books of Srila Prabhupada and read them as I did not want my roommates to know that I am becoming serious about the spiritual life. Because this had happened before that I had left studies. So, they were asked to keep an eye on me. So, I was hidingly doing analytical study as I read Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Whenever my roommates were not in the room, I would locked the door and closed curtains and guess what I would do? I would remember those American and European sadhus on the stage dancing. So, remembering them or remembering being in front of them or I am with them, I would jump and dance on my own. But I am sure I was not alone I had association of the Lord and Lord’s devotees as I was busy with that.

More things happened. There was an another Hare Krsna Festival following year, 1972, now at Hare Krsna Land. Again there was an advertisement of Hare Krsna Festival is taking place and I got my life back. For an entire year I lost the contacts and I did not know the whereabouts of the Hare Krsnas in big Bombay. As soon as I heard of this Hare Krsna Festival, Juhu, Bombay, I ran rushed and attended the festival. Now I was joining in kirtans with these sadhus. I was not just sitting around and witnessing or watching. But I was participating in kirtans and listening to Prabhupada.

Towards the end of that festivals I wrote an appeal or an application to the president that I wanted to joined. I found out the president and that was Giriraja Dasa Brahmacari. He read my letter on the spot and he said, “Oh, new bhakta here! We have a new bhakta here!” He was delighted and he called all other devotees and they were delighted also and they all embraced me. That was it. My dreams or aspirations were fulfilled. I ended on becoming the Hare Krsna devotee also.

So things that Srila Prabhupada told and Hare Krsna festival in 1971 and more in 1972, tomara karuna. So, I am just made up of mercy of Srila Prabhupada and he has mercifully kept me around or busy past 50 years. I thank Srila Prabhupada for giving me shelter, for saving me and engaging me in service of Krsna, service of Radha Rasabihari at Hare Krsna Land, beginning there. He has given me a lot of instructions so I am trying to follow those. I am trying to please His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada ki, jai!

Nitai Gaura Premanande, Hari Hari Bol!

Spiritually and Youth
Birmingham Pandava Sena
14th March 2021
Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Hare Krishna Maharaja. How are you?

Lokanath Swami: A standard answer is that I’m fine (laughter). It’s very difficult to say when it started. It starts and stops and starts and stops. But then it starts and then never stops. Why we say that it is starting then never stopping is because during my childhood days, I don’t know. There is the whole, I don’t know, in the previous births I’m sure I was into this. I was born in srimatam gehe. The Lord says you take birth into a pious family or wealthy family.

If you did not wind up your business then you get to continue. So I don’t know- I’m just philosophizing and so when I was a boy, born in a village and my parents are pious and devotees of Panduranga. Vitthala Panduranga. So my parents, uncles and others, they were doing bhajans and kirtans and I used to listen to those and sit in the bhajans and kirtans and that’s how it started.

We used to get prasadam coming from Pandharpura. We were waiting and my father would walk a hundred kilometres to take darsana of Vitthal and he would have darsana and then he would buy some prasadam for us who were left behind. He would walk one hundred kilometres back and so we would be eagerly waiting.

The villagers used to wait in fact for the pilgrims to return from Pandharpur. The idea was- they used to think that ‘this pilgrim or this person from my village went for Darshan of Panduranga.’ The speciality there, the special way of getting Darshan of Panduranga is that you could touch the lotus feet of the deity or you could even put your head to the feet of the lord.

So such person when he returns, the villagers think ‘if we touch that devotee who has touched the Lord then we have also touched the Lord.’ So we used to enjoy prasadam and like that things started in early childhood days.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: One hundred kilometres! Nowadays just walking for one kilometre- you just want to get in the car and even to go to the temple we hear ‘oh that’s too far. I have to drive for thirty minutes.’ So here we are talking about a hundred kilometres so the mindset was different back in those days to todays’s youth.

Lokanath Swami: Five hundred years ago Chaitanya Mahaprabhu walked every single day for six years and not just walking but he was dancing in fact. So those were the days and that is the tradition. At least some people are still following that tradition, my father did. (A picture of Maharaja in his younger days is shown). Here I was nineteen years old. This is during my college days.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: So it’s not that all his life Maharaja has been- he went to Aravade, he went to Sangli and then he went to Mumbai, to Kirti college where he did his pre-graduate studies. And I hear you were a very bright student, you were coming at the top of your class so we can see we have an academic scholar going on here, Lokanath Maharaja.

So when you are at university you are meeting- you are out of the village which is Padharpura where right now Lokanath Maharaja is residing. They have a beautiful temple in Pandharpura and so you were coming from Pandharpura and were now in Mumbai as a youth, a young gentleman. How was that transition for you, coming from this lovely village and then coming to this metropolis which is Mumbai?

Lokanath Swami:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija (C.C Madhya 19.251)

That’s the answer I could give you. There could be so many causes but the main cause is the mercy of Sri Krishna. I could have continued my college education in Sangli which is a district town but I had an urge from within. ‘No I must go to Bombay to continue my studies.’ And later on I found out why I was bought to Bombay.

In 1971 Srila Prabhupada was coming there with American Sadhu’s, European Sadhu’s. English Sadhu’s were coming there and so as I was studying in Mumbai, Bombay in those days, I went and in fact in two months the 50th anniversary of my first ever meeting with Srila Prabhupada would be celebrated. Only two months to go and then 50th anniversary and so Krishna brought me to Bombay so that I could meet Srila Prabhupada and come in contact with the Hare Krishna’s and then things revolutionised for me.

So whatever was there revived and there was a full blown manifestation of whatever, devotion for Krishna and service to Krishna.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Maharaja were there any particular instructions when you met Srila Prabhupada that really struck out to you?

Lokanath Swami: Tons of them. Instruction after instruction, but I would say that in the very first meeting in Mumbai, Hare Krishna festival, Prabhupada was talking every night and one day as he talked, I thought he was talking to me. Prabhupada was explaining how just by pouring water on the root of the tree or putting fertiliser on the root of the tree then the trunk and branches, the leaves and flowers and fruit- everything is nourished.

So Prabhupada was explaining that likewise, Krishna is the root cause of all of us. Aham bija pradah pita. I am the seed giving father of all of creation and all the living entities. So by serving Krishna you serve everybody in the whole creation. So I had this urge to serve, I wanted to serve my Indian folks or humanity. I wanted to serve but I did not know where to start and I had no resources.

So I think I got the clue very clearly and I took that as instruction from Srila Prabhupada that you serve Krishna and you will end up serving everybody. You serve your parents also, keeping Krishna in the centre and that’s how you serve others. If the right hand wants to serve the left hand he cannot spoon feed the fingers and the palm. He has to feed the belly, the stomach and the stomach will feed all other parts.

So the stomach is in the centre of the body, so feed the stomach and so I got the idea there and that’s what I’m doing for the past fifty years now, following that instruction and that guideline given by Srila Prabhupada. Some devotees say, even at the time of marriage there is a talk, inspiration or blessings so they say ‘you have Krishna,’ they say he is the marriage partner. ‘It’s not just an affair between you and the wife.

That’s fine but no no. There’s another person in your life, a marriage partner and that is Krishna.’ So Krishna in the centre between wife and the husband and then it is complete. Otherwise there is Maya, an illusion or you are detached or kind of abandoned even by the lord. So keeping Krishna in the centre is not just for the Sannyasi or Brahmachari but it’s for the Grihastha or for every single person serving Krishna.

So this was my favourite pastime and I was singing and chanting and dancing the and that’s all that I have done since. I keep doing this till this day and I wish to do this till my last breath. This is like a Prahlad Maharaja program, as Prahlad used to get his friends together and get them to..

kaumaram acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha (S.B 7.6.1)

And he would instruct ‘this is the time friends, to take to Krishna consciousness.’ So I am doing something like this following the footsteps of Prahlad Maharaja and getting these kids to chant and dance and sing. So this is Juhu beach, or not far from Juhu beach, a famous beach in Mumbai.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: So you are showing by example how we should encourage the youth and how we should try to make it fun for them so they can feel like joining. Is there advise you can give to the twenty five year olds, how they can connect with the fifteen year olds who can then connect more with the ten year olds to try and bring this Krishna consciousness mood and lovingness?

That picture depicts so much love and as you said it’s something you enjoy doing and you want to do it till your last breath. How can we take on that mood to help youngsters Maharaja?

Lokanath Swami: Well our Pandava Seniks- there’s Sena and there is the Senik. Sena is the army and the Senik is the soldier. I think in general our Pandava Seniks I would call again, are into Kirtan and they have come this far. Krishna is very kind to them. Is it okay if Krishna is kind to you Prabhu’s and Mataji’s? Krishna is kind to you? Maya is not kind to you- it’s good that Maya is not kind to you.

It’s better if Krishna is kind to you. Yes and so it’s never too late, it’s never too early . So grab the opportunity whenever that happens to you, go for it. I am very happy to see you connecting yourselves to Krishna, the Hare Krishna’s and the Hare Krishna movement and yes, this is the right thing to do.

I was also thinking, do not postpone- while we were young, during my college days the standard response was ‘this is, this Hare Krishna Hare Rama, when we get old.. We should be offering Krishna something that is fresh and energetic. Something that is blooming and flowery and fragrant and that is what you are as youths. Not that when we are rotten and invalid, what could you do for Krishna?
Krishna has to do so much for you then.

So folks this is the time. Get into this and you will love it, you will be greatly benefitted and everyone else around you will be benefitted. When Prabhupada asked me to do Padayatra he said ‘this will do good to you and this will do good to everybody,’ he was saying. So Krishna conscious activities are like that.

They are good for you and they are good for your family, for your parents, for your children, for your neighbours. You will not be a trouble maker for anybody. That is the Hare Krishna devotee, that’s a devotee.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Maharaja when we go out on the streets to do Harinam, sometimes the youngsters can feel image conscious. So there is this aspect of ‘what will my friends think if they see me. What am I doing with these people. They look all in orange and look a bit.. Even though I like this Krishna consciousness, I cannot go out and be seen just in case somebody comes.’

This is why some people may not go out to do Harinam or they are feeling image conscious, not wanting people to see them. So how can they get over this type of feeling? We are saying ‘you are a devotee so do it’ but these type of aspects come into their mind that stops them going out into the streets and doing this. So is there any type of advise you could give on this?

Lokanath Swami: So much advise I can give. We would like to advertise, mundane people advertise doing this nonsense, doing that nonsense. Killing, beating, drinking, smoking, sex mongering and gambling. Whilst doing all that they want to be photographed or they take a selfie with someone holding a whiskey bottle in his hand.

So shamelessly they pose like that or they want to be photographed or they want to have an image like that. So why not for Krishna or while doing a Krishna conscious activity, why not let the world know you? Let others know or rather, be proud of association with Hare Krishna devotees or of Krishna. One day you have to be next to Krishna and somebody’s going to take a photograph in Vaikuntha or Goloka and so we have to practice and be prepared for that moment.

Otherwise in that devotee photograph we photograph the spirit and not so much the body. The Krishna conscious spirit is caught in the picture or photographed. And worldly people, when they take photographs their bodies are captured. But the body is like a prison uniform. When you are admitted into a prison the first thing they do is they give you the prison uniform.

So there are eight thousand four hundred million varieties of uniforms and so who would like to have their photo taken like this? ‘My photograph in a prison uniform?! No no no don’t do this don’t do this.’ But we are this body and we wear this body which is vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya. Krishna says this is a cloth, a uniform in this world which is Durga’s fort and we are prisoners.

So you don’t mind those photographs so this is not fair. You should be associated with the supersoul or the supreme spirit and let your spirit also get across and get captured in the photograph. Why not? Be proud and get over this.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: So Maharaja the next aspect is family. There are youngsters here who might want to do spiritual chanting but they keep it under cover because maybe their parents are not so favourable. Sometimes they may be like ‘what are you doing? You should be going out with your friends eating and drinking and socializing. What is this vegetarianism? Do this when you are older.’

All these questions come in and so how was it for you and your family when they realized? Because I remember that you said that you went for studies and they were expecting you to come back maybe in a car but you came back in a bullock cart and you were speaking to the villagers. So how was your family when you came in this way?

Because remember they sent you away to do material studies because the subject of material studies just came and I think a lot of the children will benefit from hearing this if you don’t mind.

Lokanath Swami: When I went back for the first time as a Hare Krishna with a shaved head with Tilak, Dhoti and Kurta, the villagers and family members were commenting, ‘oh he used to be such a nice boy! Used to be a nice boy but see what has happened to him. He has gone mad.’ So I had gone back just to visit the family because my brother had come running, well running or driving or on the train or on the bus with the news that if I did not return, my mother, you see her in the photograph, she loved me so much and I also loved her.

I think no one has loved me as much as my mother did and I also had love for her of course. So the news my brother brought was that if I did not return then my mother may not survive. I better return and at least show my face to her and then whatever happens happens. So I had gone and then at that time my sister and everybody were not very happy, they wanted me to be a modern man.

As you said they thought I may be back one day riding on a motorbike. The motorbike was more affordable, the car a four wheeler was very rare and only very rich people would have a car. We are talking about fifty, sixty or seventy years ago. So then I think as you mentioned, in ’84 we had started this Padayatra program, Dwarka to Mayapur via Kamyakumari for forty eight thousand kilometres with a couple hundred Hare Krishna devotees from twenty countries.

Walking and walking we also came to Pandharpur and my home village is not far from there and so we made a route so that we can go through my village. So the whole circus- it’s a big party and we even had elephants and lorries and the deity cart with Gaura Nitai and Prabhupada in the front sitting as I was driving. So their dreams were shattered and they were expecting me to come back one day riding on a motorbike, but I came back riding on a bullock cart.

So it takes some time, the parents or even friends, initially they are anti then they turn neutral and then they become favourable. So by now I have a whole Hare Krishna temple, Radha Gopala ki jai! In my home village and probably this was the first village in the world- the Hare Krishna temples were in big cities around the world but in a small village this was the first Iskcon temple of a good size-Radha Gopala temple.

Some ten years ago we opened the temple and I had thirty, forty if my god brothers, GBC’s, Sannyasi’s and we had thousands in attendance from nearby villages as a grand.. So finally I brought Krishna to my village and put Krishna in the centre of my village including putting him in the centre of my family or my blood relations. And by now all my brothers, my three brothers and my sister, that’s everybody – are initiated disciples.

And many other relatives and friends, my friends, we went to school and college together and now they are my disciples. So one time they were not so favourable or happy but Krishna has made them happy and they are happily chanting Hare Krishna and practicing Krishna consciousness. They are still Grihastha’s and some are Vanaprashtha’s but Krishna consciousness is for everybody, fits all the age groups.

I say that whether you are a Kisan (farmer) or Jawan (a youth), Jai Jawan Jai Kisan. Lal Bahadur Sastri, the one time prime minister, he came up with this slogan ‘all glories to the farmers and all glories to the army men Seniks.’ So I say that whether you are Jawan or Kisan, Krishna is for you. Whether you are a Grihastha or a Sannyasi, Krishna is for you.

You are young or old, Krishna is for you! Whether you are easterner or westerner, he is for you. Whether you are a lady or gentleman, Krishna is for you. Whether rich or poor.. Anyway Krishna is for the soul and everybody is a soul. First there is the soul and then comes the body, right?

But Krishna consciousness is not for the body, Krishna consciousness is for the soul and in every body there is a soul so Krishna is for the soul. So go for Krishna. He is so nice, Krishna is so nice, so wonderful!

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Maharaja we have talked about Pandharpura and your village but Maharaja now I would like to ask, did you have any struggles in that time?

HH Lokanath Swami: So there is a lot to do in Krishna consciousness and we are struggling to keep up with all that what needs to be done. I was struggling, in some ways it could be called a struggle. I was thinking all my god brothers and god sisters were doing so much. ‘So much they are doing. I’m not doing enough.’ So others are struggling but I’m struggling for Krishna.

We struggle for Krishna or we struggle to survive, right? Not only to survive but to revive and thrive and so yes, what is the saying? Survival of the fittest. So you have to struggle to survive or to stay fit or become fit to serve Krishna. So one time I was just remembering that ‘other’s were doing so much but I’m not doing that much so oh lord please give me something more to do.’

And then Krishna, the lord gave me so much to do that I couldn’t even handle. In fact I was in south India that time on Padayatra and we reached a town called Kanchipuram and this Kanchipuram has a Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi. There is one Kanchi town for the Vaishnavas and another for the Shaivites and so of course we went to both places but while I was in Vishnu Kanchi, there is a deity called Varadharaj. Vara means benediction and Varada means the one who gives benediction.

Varadharaj, the king of benedictors and that was the deity himself. So I had prayed to lord that ‘please give me something more to do. Please engage me in your service and make me eligible to serve you.’ This was my prayer at that time and so then the lord gave me so much to do that I had to go back to the same deity Kanchipuram and say ‘my dear lord, enough is enough. Stop stop!’

I had to beg because I was the struggling to catch up and do this and do that. So yes, this is the kingdom of Maya and to practice Krishna consciousness and to establish Krishna consciousness in Maya’s kingdom is always a struggle of various natures, fighting with so many anti Krishna parties. Even your mind could be that one or the senses could be that one also.

It it could be neighbours, Hare Krishna devotees have some neighbours and then we struggle and they say ‘oh you are wicked! You are chanting and my wife is here having a heart attack!’

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Is there any advise or steps we can take in our youth that will help us grow in our relationship with Krishna?

HH Lokanath Swami: Your relationship with Krishna or your finally getting or cultivating devotion, you get this from a devotee. You get Krishna from a devotee. So the Satsang, the association is the number one factor.

sadhu sanga, sadhu sanga sarva sastre kaya
lava matra sadhu sange sarva siddhi haya (c.c Madhya 22.54)

All perfection is possible by association with the devotees. Prabhupada also wrote one time to one of his disciples..

‘Let me find it let me find it!’ But if he did end up in the moon as a dream.. Colony on Mars and.. So if you go there then soon we are going to be spoiling that planet. Then the scientists are going to say ‘sorry folks, another planet. So wherever we go we are spoiling and we are going to be making rounds up and down and round and round. And this journey has no end so we better get out of here.’

Anyway I wasn’t going to say that. The blind man and lame man. So Prabhupada did not denounce that we are Sannyasi’s so we don’t say – it could be Krishn-ised. So we could use everything in the service of the lord, even the phone or whatever.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Sometimes as being part of the youth we struggle with not being taken seriously in our community and we are also criticised for not doing enough. How can we overcome this?

HH Lokanath Swami: Someone is criticizing you for not doing enough? Is this what it is? Well, why not do more? I mean it’s possible that you are not doing enough or otherwise someone is misunderstanding you. You are doing a lot but they are understanding that you are not doing enough. So maybe that misunderstanding can be cleared first of all, one on one with some talk, some communication.

From communication comes co-operation. I heard this from Mukunda Goswami Maharaja when he was the all global communications minister. He said ‘from communication comes co-operation.’ So communicate, communicate and co-operation should come through or there will be more co-operation with more communication. So leaders should appreciate the followers contributions, whatever they are-small or big.

And they should also understand that initially the ups and downs are also expected. One may do a lot and sometimes one may do less. In Nectar of devotion this is described as Ghana or Taral. Sometimes we may be spaced out, Taral meaning we are doing less or taking it easy and then at other times we are very serious, dead serious about Krishna consciousness.

So one goes through this, Ghana Taral, Ghana Taral, Ghana Taral. So far I would point out that you start and you go up but then you will be going down also. Then you go up and you are going down also. Go up and the you’re going down. So far you are ending up not going up only. There may be times when you are going up and up and up but initially or so far it is not like that. So up and down, going more down and less up, more down, less up.

So I think the mature leader, whether councillor or Siksa Guru or Diksa Guru, spiritual master, they should be understanding or maybe do some.. Doctors, what do they do? Diagnosis. Diagnose your case, do your study and then come up with the prescription. Food for someone is poison for others and different folks, different Slokas. So we are different- each one is different.

Why we are different? Because our bodies are different, our past is different and that is why our present is different. And depending on our present, our future is going to be also different.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: I have just had a question come in that as youth we are working towards building our careers which is a materialistic desire. How do we balance this with spiritual practice?

HH Lokanath Swami: I would say, I have just had a thought come into my mind. Okay you get married, you are not an Akhanda Brahmachari, lifelong Brahmachari so you get married and lead a Krishna conscious life, wife and husband and have children. So I think that’s the act of balancing but the imbalance is that Krishna is out of the centre. In the
Sastra we find two terms. One is Grihamedhi and other is Grihastha.

And Sukadeva Goswami started his Pravachan in the second canto of Bhagavatam. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Then immediately he is getting on the case of these Grihamedis, their totally materialistic families and their lifestyle. So Sukadeva Goswami says

nidraya hriyate naktam
vyavayena ca va vayah
diva carthehaya rajan
kutumba bharanena va
(S.B 2.1.3)

So these folks they spend their nights uselessly doing what? Nidraya, sleeping and then of course before sleeping is eating and when you eat too much the urge for sex is there. So these are the business of sleeping, sex and eating. And you are eating all abominable things. It’s not that we say ‘don’t eat’ but we say ‘eat Krishna Prashad.’ So that’s the act of balancing.

Then as they get up, Sukadeva Goswami says ‘diva carthehaya rajan kutumba bharanena va.’ They think ‘where is money? Where is money?’ Artha means economic development. Kutumba bharanena va. You have to feed the bellies of your family, family maintenance. This is all that they do, this is night’s business then you get up and then this it’s day’s business.

So this is imbalance. The act of balancing is done in Grihastha Ashram and you cannot go for Brahmachari, Sannyas so okay, middle path is Grihastha Ashram. So one extreme is the Grihamedhi, totally materialistic fellow who is like a follower of Charvaka. House by the beach and coloured television and they make that the goal of their lives. So lead an ideal Grihastha life, Krishna centered Grihastha life.

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. So go to bed early! God turns off the light at night time, right? The moon is like a night lamp, like you have in the house. So right now here in India the light has been turned off ‘so come on folks, time to go to sleep.’ So this is nature’s arrangement, this is Krishna’s arrangement. Take it easy! Don’t work for fourteen hours.

So go to bed early and get up and that makes you healthy, wealthy and wise. Who wouldn’t like to be healthy or wealthy or wise? I said wise and so it is said any fool can make money but it takes a wise man to spend it. It takes wisdom to spend the money. Any fool could make money. So lot’s of fools are making lot’s of money but they are fools and they remain fools, they are not wise and so they don’t know how to spend money. Or spend their lives, spend their time. And so

Grihe thako, vane thako, sada ‘hari’ bole’ dako.

Chant Hare Krishna or a lot of people like to sing so they can sing for Krishna. It’s nice and it’s good for Krishna prasad. And not only is it good for your body but it’s good also for your mind and the soul. The soul’s food is prasad. The soul does not eat and that is why the soul is thirsty and hungry.

Then it gets angry sometimes, because we are not feeding the soul. The soul is starving so when there is cinema singing the soul does not take pleasure but the soul spits at it. And the food stuff which is whatever, the soul does not even look at it. So the prasadam is also good for the mind. The food not only nourishes your body but also nourishes your mind.

The mind’s business is thinking, feeling and willing so the kind of food that you consume accordingly is going to be thinking feeling and willing. If you take Krishna prasadam you are going to be thinking of Krishna also and if you take other foodstuffs you will be killing others.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Maharaja you have taken on many responsibilities for the movement since you were in your youth and we heard the story that so much was coming your way and you were like ‘please that’s it, enough is enough.’ But you’ve done it.

You’ve been carrying on and so how did you make sure you didn’t get overwhelmed by the amount of services and the responsibilities you took and how did you remain grounded?

HH Lokanath Swami: I think you are giving me the lead now by using the word ‘grounded.’ So yes, I suppose I remain grounded in chanting

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So I get grounded and so I haven’t missed chanting of Hare Krishna. I missed two or three days in the last fifty years in the late seventies, maybe seventy eight or something. So I remember three days that I was not well and something happened and I couldn’t.. Otherwise that’s one thing that I have done every single day. I chanted Hare Krishna which is a prayer to Krishna for his mercy or even to give me intelligence.

That’s also part of the prayer or lot’s of prayers. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna is also a prayer to Krishna but there are varieties of prayers. So I have chanted and I have prayed to Krishna, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. This is one of my favourite pastimes. Even during my early childhood or early days I was into reading and reading and reading.

I liked to read and so whatever I was reading before was not all Krishna conscious but I was reading. And I have continued that habit of reading. Either reading or also hearing, I like to hear as much as I can while walking and talking. While even eating I like to – I was hearing Sivaram Maharaja’s talks, these days I have been hearing.

Like that I always have heard Prabhupada’s talks or I hear my god brothers. Even sometimes I hear disciples’ points so yes, chanting and reading and so like that I was thinking that the banyan tree that we see growing tall and spreading it’s huge branches like Visvarupa (universal form), the Viratrupa. Some trees are so gigantic but as much as we see them up there, that much they are within the ground also, spreading their roots and network and so they are grounded.

The trees are grounded into the ground and that is the support system. If they did not have that kind of support of the roots, spreading everywhere, it’s not possible that what you see outwardly would be existing, no. So I think every devotee who is doing so much service or with so much on their plate and they still manage to accomplish so many services..

Devotees and global leaders around the world are.. Well, the Hare Krishna’s are the busiest people on the planet. We begin making money even at four thirty in the morning. Chanting Hare Krishna that is wealth and so we have wealth. Everyone else is relaxed and at eleven o clock or ten o clock they begin making money but we get up early. So like this healthy, wealthy, wise. So that wealth we begin acquiring early in the morning.

So I remember that one devotee said that the morning Sadhana is like sandwich which has the lower loaf of bread and there’s the whole tomato and cheese and this and that stuffed. So all that is devotional service. And then another loaf at the top, more Sadhana, more hearing and chanting before you go to sleep.

So that combination is so sweet and nourishing. So I think that’s what we need to do, go deeper. If we wish to go higher more then we have to go deeper and be more grounded and then there’s the support system..

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: So I want to go on to two of your projects since we do not have long left. One is, you talked a little bit about Padayatra and some of the people and especially the Seniks may not know about this. What is the purpose and mission of this program of Padayatra?

HH Lokanath Swami: Well Chaitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that his name, ‘Mora Nama, my name’ that is

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

His name would spread in every town and in every village of this planet. So I would say that Srila Prabhupada made a strategy of the walking festival so that we could go to more towns and more villages and bring the holy name there. So the GBC also has, when we had formerly established the Padayatra ministry, this is the mission of Padayatra. To bring the holy name to every town and every village of this planet.

This started by Prabhupada’s instruction in seventy six and there was a little interruption and then we started in nineteen eighty four and then we haven’t stopped. So every single day the Padayatri’s are walking on this planet and we have ended up doing Padayatra in over a hundred countries and close to three hundred thousand kilometres, the Hare Krishna devotees have walked.

Including one Padayatra we had during Prabhupada’s centennial, that is during the nineties and we started in Glasgow and after five years, going through all the European countries and Eastern Europe and Moscow- from Glasgow to Moscow for five years the Hare Krishna devotees walked. And like that we had America Padayatra, South Africa Padayatra.

Here, there and in Hungary and Parasurama does Padayatra all the time in England and so I would say we did Padayatra and Prabhupada sent us from Vrindavana to Mayapur. We walked and Prabhupada was so much pleased with this program that when we arrived we met Prabhupada in his quarters in Mayapur on the second floor in the lotus building.

We were greeted and garlanded. Lotus flowers garlands were waiting, they were Maha garlands, Prabhupada’s garlands and Prabhupada asked ‘how was the journey?’ The whole party was there and Prabhupada asked me and I said ‘it was an easy journey to Mayapur planet, Prabhupada.’ You know the book easy journey so I said ‘the easy journey to Mayapur planet.’

So Srila Prabhupada was pleased and after we had just one cart going in India and then Prabhupada wrote a letter to one Nityananda Prabhu from America, he was in charge of one farm. Prabhupada was talking about our bullock cart Sankirtan party in India and Prabhupada said ‘we could have millions of such carts all over the world.’

So this is Prabhupada’s big thinking and so there’s big scope and potential and I would like you to sometimes join. Everyone loves Padayatra and especially youths, they enjoy Padayatra. Families, kids ..

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: So Padayatra is one and the other project is your Kirtan. Everybody on the globe knows you for your Kirtans to the extent that you are the Kirtan minister for us. Iskcon Kirtan minister and so I would like if you could Maharaja, just here we are doing some events as the Iskcon Kirtan ministry and right now there is an amazing festival going on as you all know.

Please Maharaja can you explain about this and we are going to soon finish on that. Finally as Lokanath Maharaja has explained on this, I really want everyone to check out his books. He has done different books on different topics and honestly it’s a wealth of knowledge.

HH Lokanath Swami: Jagannatha Kirtanananda, you are also a big part of our Kirtan ministry. You are our right hand man and I think we have had lots of accomplishments in our last one year. The world holy name festival and every Ekadasi we have Sravan Kirtan Utsava, just a few days we had one. And on every Ekadasi- we don’t miss one of those. We have a monthly newsletter bringing news to you of global Kirtan.

What’s the name? Kirtan world news comes to you and so we are busy with lot’s of things and right now we are busy organising Kirtan Mela. Mayapur festival is on and normally they would have Kirtan on ground in front of Pancha Tattva temple. Those who gather, they get together and something will happen online but only this year we have doubled it, number of hours wise and we have one hundred and eight hours of non-stop Kirtan.

Right now Kirtan is happening. It was happening before, happened now and will happen tonight. For India it’s tonight and for you day and night. So take advantage and join in those Kirtans, dive deeper into Kirtan. This is our life, right? We come back to life in fact. We revive.

Prananti punanti shubhanti

This is what Akrura said to himself in fact. He was on the way to Vrindavan from Mathura and so this gives us life this Hare Krishna chanting, Harer nama kevalam. There is no other way, only chanting of Hare Krishna. So it’s happening during this Mayapur Kirtan Mela and this is a very special year also. The hundred and twenty fifth anniversary of Prabhupada this year Iskcon is celebrating.

So the Kirtan ministry is going to be encouraging the whole world to do more and more Kirtan. I already got the news that England, Soho street are also going to do one zero eight hours of Kirtan, not non-stop but I think every weekend they will be.. I think starting on Gaura Purnima they will go for many months and every weekend they will be doing these Kirtans and so this is happening.

You are not all from England here but many of you are so take part in that Kirtan and I remember Nagar Kirtans every Saturday. These were very famous starting from Soho Street and I had been participating in those Kirtans. So many, many Saturdays I have done those Kirtans and that’s a world famous Kirtan.
And Padayatra’s go around England with Kirtans and like that, Kirtan Kirtan.

nachite gaite soite hari nama.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said while eating or sleeping chant Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So just do this more this year, especially this year. More chanting and more Kirtan either with Mridangas and Kartals or take your beads and chant after a meditative Kirtan or meditative Japa and make your life perfect. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. Happy happy we shall be when we learn our ABC.

Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das: Association, books and chanting. So ABC. Thank you so much Lokanath Swami Maharaja. It’s been so great to have you today and just to have that association has been such nectar. I am just going to say from my side thank you so much for your time. It’s always a pleasure and an honour just to get your association and to get this knowledge that you are imparting to us.

We feel much more spiritually enlivened every time after just speaking to you so thank you.

Caitanya Mahaprabhu visits Pandharpur

7th March 2021

Pandharpur

Welcome to you all once again. No matter how much you are welcomed here, it is always inadequate. Also you are being welcomed at Pandharpur dhama. You are not being welcomed at Simla or Mahabaleshwar.

Where is the welcome being made? At Pandharpur dhama. May you be welcomed just like this, one day in Vaikuntha or Goloka dhama. (Shouts of Haribol)! May you not ever be welcomed in hell or even in the heavenly planets. Anyway nobody wants to be welcomed in hell or want to go to hell but many wish that they may be welcomed in the heavenly planets.

Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol.

So now there’s not so long to go till Gaura Purnima Mahotsava and tomorrow is Ekadasi, right?. So amavasya will come and then two weeks after that, purnima. The name of that purnima is Gaura purnima.

Gaura Purnima Mahotsava ki Jai!

So we should all try being in the mood of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who by the way had come to Pandharpur. Just like you have come here. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had come neither by elephant nor on a horse so how had he come? On foot He had come here just like we have a party of many devotees who come on foot to Pandharpur.

When they come for darasan during the day, they come by foot, walking in a group in Dindi (devotees of Lord Vitthala who travel on foot to pilgrims). This is how Tukaram Maharaja used to come also.

Sant Tukaram Maharaja ki Jai!

So Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and this tirth yatra is for grhastha’s and vanaprasthas and also for sannyasi’s it is especially so.

Tirtha yatra is one of the five limbs of bhakti, as is the instrument to live in the dhama, a holy place-dhama vasa. To do yatra of the dhama by going on tirth yatra and living there. Then bathe in the Ganga, but not that by just bathing in the Ganga the yatra is done, finished. It’s not like that because during yatra, sadhu sanga is very important.

yat tirtha buddhih salile na karhicij (S.B 10.84.13).

Those who go to the place of pilgrimage just to take bath in the holy waters, thinking that the yatra is therefore accomplished, they don’t understand that just by doing this the yatra is not successful. Lord Sri Krishna Himself has said this at Kuruksetra, not to Arjuna but when Sri Krishna was a grhastha, Dwarkadish, He also went on tirtha yatra and from Dwarka where did He go? To Kuruksetra.

We are not talking about the Kuruksetra war or that time but before this He had gone at the time of an eclipse. Sri Krishna along with the residents of Dwarka would then stay in a tent and many Mahatma’s who were staying there and also some who had come there would come to meet Krishna and Balaram. So they were all given a place to sit and when they had taken their seats on their asana’s, Lord Krishna was glorifying them, singing their glories.

Lord Krishna enjoys glorifying His devotees very much because Krishna loves His bhakta’s. He therefore sings their glories. So the Lord spoke in the Bhagavad Gita
Krishna is speaking to all the present sages as he glorifies them, Krishna says, Sri Krishna Bhagavan uvaca. He speaks of those people who go to places of pilgrimage just to take a bath and who therefore think that just by doing this the pilgrimage has been successful.

yat tirtha buddhih salile na karhicij
janesu abhijnesu sa eva go kharah (S.B 10.84.13)

In that place of pilgrimage, those persons who are Abhijna, Jna means to know and Abhi means all-knowing, those who are the acarya’s, the spiritual masters of the places of pilgrimage. So to not meet them, those devotees, saints and Mahatma’s, or to not hear from them, if the Tirth Yatra is done like this then Krishna says ‘sa eva go kharah.’

So Krishna says that their thinking is like that of a bull. Actually you can say like a cow as well but that is not nice so I am saying a bull. So these two animals are mentioned, and not just the bull, whether you say Nandi bull or any other bull. So Go khara and Khara means a donkey. So the mention is of a donkey and a bull.

So what is the most important thing to do when one goes to a place of pilgrimage? So you are ready to hear? Are you eager to know? (Shouts of Haribol). So this is called laulyam api mulyam ekalam. To attain Krishna, Krishna prapti, you have to pay some price. What is that? Laulyam, Lolupata. So let’s see, we are sitting here with Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya Lila chapter eight and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s tirth yatra is the teacher here.

So you have all come here becoming pilgrims and also Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself once became a pilgrim, so these are his yatras. There are so many pilgrimages he went to, everyday he was on yatra and so in a loud voice it must be said, yatra’s or Pilgrimages. So performing yatra, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whose yatra had started from where?

Whether it had started form Jagannatha Puri, Santipura or Katwa or Mayapur where he had appeared. So performing yatra Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

kolapure laksmi dekhi’ dekhena ksira bhagavati
langa ganesa dekhi’ dekhena cora parvati (C.C 9.281)

So before coming here to Pandharpur, Mahaprabhu did yatra of the whole of South India. And he entered Maharashtra from Karnataka.

Gokarne siva dekhi’ aila dvaipayani.

So after entering Maharashtra, he went to Gokarna. You have heard the name of Gokarna? It is a very famous place and it is Lord Siva’s Ksetra. From there the Lord came to Kolapura where he saw Lakshmi devi. Maha Lakshmi is famously worshipped in Kolapura, I am not sure what you are all famous for (laughter). So it is our misfortune that her fame has not reached us yet but she is certainly famous.

So that Lakshmi who becomes upset with Narayana in Vaikuntha, when who had come? Bhrigu Muni had come or rather, Bhrigu Muni had gone there. From the three Lords, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, who was the supreme? In a very big gathering of sages, they would declare the answer of who was the greatest. Anyway this is all narrated at the end of the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

When Bhrigu Muni had reached Vaikuntha, there Lakshmi was serving the Lord’s lotus feet as she goes on doing. So as soon as Bhrigu Muni came, he didn’t ring a bell at the door and he didn’t ask ‘may I come in sir?’ He just barged in and as soon as he had done so he kicked the lord’s chest. But the lord did not do anything.

He did not bring out His Sudarshan Chakra to kill. So the test was to determine who was the most tolerant and he would be the greatest. So Brahma had been tested as had Siva to see if they were tolerant. Now it was Vishnu’s turn and the Lord passed the test.

Vishnu Bhagavan ki jai!

This sort of tolerance was not tolerated by Lakshmi. The Lord is tolerant and he therefore tolerated this but Lakshmi could not tolerate such impudence and she could not even stay there. She left Vaikuntha and came to Kolhapura.

As she was coming, coming, coming- where did the landing happen? Kolhapura and so she started staying there and from then on till now she is there. So Lakshmi was angry. It seems like whenever Rukmini or Lakshmi become angry they come to Maharashtra (laughter).

Here we have Vitthal Rukmini and this Rukmini also was upset with the Lord in Dwarka and so she left Dwarka and came to Dindirvan which is on this side of the Chandrbhaga on the other side of the bank. The temple there is now called Lakhubai and there is a small deity there of Vitthal Rakhumai.

So Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Kolhapur and then what is written here? kolapure laksmi dekhi. He had come there to see Lakshmi but in actual fact Lakshmi took the opportunity to take darsana of the Lord. So just think about this, we go take darsana of Lakshmi but the Lord went there to give darsana to Lakshmi.

So I will now definitely tell you about something. Where the Lord got kicked on the chest by Bhrigu Muni, that place made an impression on his chest of the foot by which he was kicked. Bhrigu Muni had kicked the Lord’s soft, lotus -like chest with such force that the force of the kick had left an impression on the Lord’s soft chest. The Lord had also kept that impression carefully.

The Lord could have had plastic surgery or whatever so that no-one found out that he had been kicked, but no! The Lord wanted to announce this matter. ‘Let the world know,’ and that is why He kept Bhrigu Muni’s – His devotee’s foot impression on his chest till now.

Now if you want to see this impression, when you take darsana of Lord Vitthal -of course the Lord has got his clothes on but many times we have seen when the arati is happening here and also abhishek is done. Then there is no curtain between you and the Lord. When the Lord’s abhishek is happening you can sit right in front of him and take darasana.

Once we came from Dwarka on padayatra and reached Pandharpur with Indian and foreign devotees also, this happened in ’84. Devotees from India and other countries were welcomed at Pandharpur dhama by the head pujari’s and purohit’s and we got an opportunity to perform the maha abhishek. (Shouts of Haribol)!

So some black bodied devotees were there also and like that, the Lord is very merciful. We do not think like this, if one has become a Vaishnava, we don’t think that he was this caste or he was a Mleccha, or was like this or that. So the Pujari was pointing and showing us all.

When we saw from close we saw that it was the impression of Bhrigu Muni’s foot of the Lord’s chest.

tatha haite pandharapure aila gauracandra
viththala thakura dekhi’ paila ananda

Tatha haite pandarapure

So Gaura Chandra came to Pandharpur. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Mahaprabhu Ki Jai!

So Gaura Chandra came to meet Krishna Chandra. They are both the supreme Lord, right? This is the knowledge we have to understand and having done so, we become Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Otherwise we just stay Warkaries or we remain Hindu’s. So Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Mahaprabhu took darsana of Vitthal Bhagavan.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu embraced the form of Lord Vitthal. And this would happen, it was possible even some one hundred and fifty, two hundred years ago. When the pilgrims would come, they would embrace the Lord’s deity form. This is the feeling of love for the Lord of the devotees who come here.

So the darsana is not from far but from very close by to the Lord. So you may have seen the painting of Lord Vitthal, or when you go shopping you will see Lord Vitthal. Many devotees are sitting on his shoulders, some are sitting somewhere else and some are on his waist and like mothers who carry their small children as they walk here and there, he is carrying them on his waist in the same way.

So the Lord is taking them like they are his own children. Someone is holding on to his finger whereas someone else has held on to his Dhoti and is walking behind him. So Lord Vitthal is Lekurvale. Do you understand Lekurwadi? It means the father of many children. The fortunate father of eight or one who has twelve sons. Those are called in marathi, Lekurvadi.

‘We are two and we have these two’ (sons), so obviously they did not become Lekurvadi. Now the government does not even allow one to become Lekurvadi, the father of many. Before it was ‘we are two and we have these two’ but now it is ‘we are two and we have this one.’ No more Lekurwada. But the Lord is Vitthal and this is the relationship of prema between the Lord and His devotees.

This feeling is everywhere, wherever the Lord and his devotees are present but here the feeling and experience is more intense and available to all who come to take darsana of the Lord. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took darsana.

premavese kaila bahuta kirtana nartana
tahan eka vipra tanre kaila nimantrana ( C.C Madhya 9.283)

And Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed kirtan constantly,

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

If you perform kirtan with pure love then you would be returning back to godhead. So only the lord and his devotees know what actual pure love of god is, and that is if they are truly devotees. So the Lord was performing kirtan and then as the kirtan ended

tahan eka vipra tanre kaila nimantrana (C.CMadhya 9.283)

One Brahmana gave Chaitanya Mahaprabhu an invitation.

bahuta adare prabhuke bhiksa karaila
bhiksa kari’ tatha eka subha varta paila (C.CMadhya 9.284)

So the Brahmana invited the Lord to take his alms at the Brahmana’s home that day with love and respect. The Lord, being a Sannyasi, accepted the invitation to take the meal as alms at the Brahmana’s home. So there is the tridandi mendicant and ekadandi mendicant. Do you all call Brahmanas or Sannyasi’s to your home to feed the regularly?

bahuta adare prabhuke bhiksa karaila.

After finishing His lunch, the Lord received auspicious news. Some good news was received and what was that good news?

madhava purira sisya ‘sr? ranga-puri’ nama
sei grame vipra grhe karena visrama (C.C Madhya 9.285)

So in those days Sri Ranga Puri, one of the disciples of Sri Madhavendra Puri, was present in Pandharpur in the house of a Brahmana.

So who here has heard the name of Madhavendra Puri? Okay, fifty percent of the devotees here have heard the name of Madhavendra Puri. How many of those who have heard his name actually know about him? It is one thing to have heard the name. Many times we have heard the name but we don’t know anything else about them – we just hear the name many times.

So Madhavendra Puri is the first acarya of our Gaudiya Sampradaya, disciplic succession. This much I will tell you about him. And in one sense you can also call him the founder acarya, and who is this? Please say it! Madhavendra Puri. So what a nice name it is.

So many silly pet names people call their children, Tinku or Chinku or whatever else. Madhavendra Puri is such a nice name to hear. So let me just tell you about Madhavendra Puri whose disciple was Sri Isvara Puri. There was Ranga Puri as well. Madhavendra Puri did not have many disciples but whoever was a disciple was a great disciple, a great devotee.

Just like the moon, there are many stars but the most prominent is the moon although it is only one. So he had just a few moon-like disciples and one of them was Isvara Puri and then there was Ranga Puri who was in Pandharpura at that time. And Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became the disciple of Isvara Puri.

Now you can make the connection. Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri whose disciple is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Lord had no need to become a disciple, whose student can the Lord become? He himself is- Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum. But by becoming a disciple the Lord sets the standard for the world.

yad yad acarati sresthas

Whatever work a great man performs, common men follow in his footsteps. So if the Lord had not become a disciple we would also not become disciples. The Lord showed us by becoming a disciple and so he became a disciple of Isvara Puri.

So what is the relationship between Isvara Puri and Ranga Puri? God brothers, just like myself and Gopal Krishna Maharaja or Radhanath Maharaja. So god brothers like us. So he who had reached here, Sri Ranga Puri was the god brother of Isvara Puri.

suniya calila prabhu tanre dekhibare
vipra grhe vasi’ achena, dekhila tanhare (C.C Madhya 9.285)

As soon as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard that Ranga Puri, a disciple of Madhavendra Puri was there in the very same village, he ran to meet him.

premavese kare tanre danda paranama
asru, pulaka, kampa, sarvange pade ghama (C.C Madhya 9.287)

Many Marathi words you will find to be the same in Bengali, ghama is? Ghama means sweat. So the Lord was not sweating because He had run there. This is just a sign of Bhava Bhakti.

Just like I said if you perform Kirtan in pure love you will start trembling. What else will happen? Romancha, signs of ecstasy like standing of hairs on the end and Ashru, tears. There will be jubilation in the body. So sarvange pade ghama. So the Lord reached there and offered full obeisances. The lord was full of ecstatic love and transcendental symptoms became present in his body.

You can see that these feelings appear first in the mind and the soul. You can call these the eight kinds of transcendental ecstasies that appear. So they are eight in number, the different ecstasies or the signs of the bhava, feeling of love of god. So all this was going on.

dekhiya vismita haila n ra?ga purira mana
‘uthaha stipada’ bali’ balila vacan (C.C Madhya 9.288)

So Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu paid full obeisances for a long time to Sri Ranga Puri. We sometimes do dandavat very quickly (laughter).

sripada, dhara mora gosanira sambandha
taha vina anyatra nahi ei premara gandha (C.C Madhya 9.289)

So actually Sri Ranga Puri understood that ‘this personality who is bowing down to me and is producing these ecstatic symptoms and whose darsana I am taking as well, he must have some relationship with Madhavendra Puri. Those who are to come in the succession of Madhavendra Puri, only they can produce such symptoms of love.’

So yes, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu indeed had a relationship with Madhavendra Puri as he was the disciple of Madhavendra Puri’s disciple Isvara Puri.

eta bali’ prabhuke uthana kaila alingana
galagali kari’ dunhe karena krandana (C.C Madhya 9.289)

Now Sri Ranga Puri has stepped forward and has embraced the Lord. They are both now embracing shoulder to shoulder and have tightly held one another. As they both cry in ecstasy they are performing abhishek on one another by bathing each other.

Are you all meditating on that moment when this happened? Maybe that moment is set in your mind. Well this is a moment that is worth remembering, yes or no? Actually not much is happening but whatever is happening, just think of how great it is. Look at the depth of the situation, the feelings of love. Galagali kari’ dunhe karena krandana. They started crying and their throats were choked.

ksaneke avesa chadi’ dunhara dhairya haila
Isvara purira sambandha gosani janaila (C.C Madhya 9.291)

So who knows how much time passed, they were not even looking at the clock. You are all looking (laughter). So all these pranams and

Vancha kalpatarubhyash cha
kripa sindhubhya eva cha
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaishnavebhyo namo namaha

So all this took place and there was embracing. This Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the disciple of Isvara Puri, Ranga Puri found out. He had already guessed that there was some connection between the lord and Madhavendra Puri. He had guessed that much that the Lord was not a local of that village, he was not a Warkari.

adbhuta premera vanya dunhara uthalila
dunhe manya kari’ dunhe anande vasila (C.C Madhya 9.292)

So they both were conversing in the mood of ecstasy.

dui jane krsna katha kahe ratri dine
ei mate gonaila panca sata dine (C.C Madhya 9.293)

From this we learn what should be done in the dhama. When coming to tirth yatra how should one spend his time? Look at Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s example. For five to seven days he spoke of Krishna katha all day and night, it carried on. They are between themselves speaking Krishna katha to one another.

Bodhayantah parasparam kathayantas ca mam nityam
tusyanti ca ramanti ca (B.G 10.9)

The Lord said.

‘This is the identity of My devotee. And what is that identity? Mad gata prana. His mind is fully engaged in me.’

So we were saying that for five to seven days they spoke katha non-stop. ‘What is the identity of my bhakta? Bodhayantah parasparam. Their minds are fully concentrated on me.’ Anyway Krishna is Cit-Chora. What does he do with the Cit, the mind? He steals it and so he is not just a butter thief. He stole the clothes of the Gopi’s and not just that, he steals the mind and heart. So then only the life air, prana is left.

radha krishna prana mora jugala kisora
j?vane marane gati aro nahi mora

So this is the identification of a devotee and what else is his identification? He is always spending his time in speaking or hearing Krishna Katha.

kathayantas ca mam nityam
tusyanti ca ramanti ca (B.G 10.9)

When the devotee is listening to Katha he becomes satisfied by this. And it is the Lord’s katha, his name and darsana of His form by which the mind becomes calm and satisfied. When the mind is satisfied then everything is fine.

Jai Sri Ram ho gaya kama (my work is done, everything is alright, Jai Sri Rama).

If the mind is satisfied just once then it is all okay, all done and the soul is satisfied. So people here are not satisfied. No matter how much they earn, it is not enough.

But if the mind is peaceful and satisfied then that person is happy, he is satisfied and Krishna has said yadrccha labha-santusto (B.G 4.22). This means that Yadrccha, by whose desire. When this is attained then one benefits and also then he becomes satisfied. If we do just this then our life will be successful. dvandvatito vimatsarah.

So you have come to the holy Dham so learn something and understand it and return back after giving some thought to why you are here. It is better if you do not return back (laughter). Like Krishna has said

yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam mama (B.G 15.6)

What is My own abode like? When somebody reaches there then Na nivartante. So the return ticket then has to be cancelled. No return booking.

So Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Ranga Puri performed kirtan in Pandharpur on the banks of the Chandrabhaga for many days. So let’s move forward a little bit.

kautuke puri tanre puchila janma sthana
gosani kautuke kahena ‘navadv?pa’ nama (C.C Madhya 9.294)

So when they had first met Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had said only that he was the servant of Isvara Puri. This was the only introduction and there was not much other small talk. ‘How are you?’ And ‘how is the business and what is the current temperature?’ Or ‘what is the situation with this Coronavirus?’

So this is the type of talk that is constantly happening but here there was nothing of the sort. They came and offered obeisances, embraced and sat down and immediately talks of Krishna started. Krishna became the topic, forget the rest of the world or forget Maya. So in the end Ranga Puri asked the lord where his birth place was.

‘So much you told me and you said that you are a student of Isvara Puri but where are you from?’ The Lord replied ‘I am from Navadvipa.’

sri madhava purira sange sri ranga puri
purve asiyachila tenho nadia nagari (C.C Madhya 9.295)

‘Oh that Navadvipa! I had gone there some time ago along with Madhavendra Puri, my Guru maharaja. He is the Guru maharaja of your Guru Maharaja so he is therefore also my Guru Maharaja. Along with him I went to Navadvipa.’

jagannatha misra ghare bhiksa ye karila
apurva mocara ghanta tahan ye khaila (C.C Madhya 9.296)

So there in Navadvipa, Jagannatha Mishra who was a resident brahmana of that place, in his home we went. There we were fed such a wonderful meal that Mrs Jagannatha Mishra, Saci Mata, his wife had prepared.’ Apurva means before. ‘So never before had we ever had such a meal like this.’

jagannathera brahmani, tenha maha pativrata
vatsalye hayena tenha yena jagan mata (C.C Madhya 9.297)

She was the most chaste, Saci mata. The way she hosted us and fed us, you can say we were like her own children, her sons. It felt like this, the affection she had for us. She was the mother of the universe and with such love she fed us this wonderful meal.

randhane nipuna tan sama nahi tribhuvane
putra sama sneha karena sannyasi bhojane (C.C Madhya 9.28)

Randhan means to cook food. So tan sama nahi tribhuvane. Tribhuvan means the whole three worlds and so nobody could know the art of cooking like her in the three worlds. This is because Saci mata is who? She is Yashoda. Can you cook like Yashoda? No you can’t, matchless. Putra sama sneha karena.

We all sannyasi’s and brahmachari’s went there and she showed us love and affection as if we were her sons.

tanra eka yogya putra kariyache sannyasa
‘sankararanya’ nama tanra alpa vayasa (C.C Madya 9.299)

So Sri Ranga Puri now in Pandharpur is telling Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that ‘we went to Navadvipa and there we visited the home of Jagannatha Mishra. We had a wonderful meal and we found out that Jagannatha Mishra and Saci mata had a young son who had taken sannyasa. We found this out at their home.’ Alpa vayasa. He was also very young in age and his name previously was Visvarupa. Now his sannyasa name had become Sankararanya.

ei tirthe sankararanyera siddhi prapti haila
prastave sri ranga puri eteka kahil (C.C Madhya 9.300)

Sri Ranga Puri is speaking to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and is telling him that this very Visvarup, the son of Jagannatha Mishtra and Saci mata had reached this dhama, that he had come to Pandharpur and then ‘Siddhi prapti haila.’ This means that from here he went back to his own abode, back to godhead.

This means that because Visvarupa was the incarnation of Lord Balaram, he wound up his own Lila and went back home.

prabhu kahe, purvasrame tenha mora bhrata
jagannatha misra purvasrame mora pita (C.C Madhya 9.301)

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said ‘Jagannatha Misra is My father.’ You went to my home and of course their son is naturally my brother who had taken sannyasa and who wound up his Lila in Pandharpur.’

Are you all understanding? This Pandharpur is so special. Yes of course the main reason is there that Vitthal is here but also five hundred years ago Chaitanya Mahaprabhu arrived here and we are therefore speaking of and hearing some of those Lilas. And then also Visvarupa ended his Lila’s here in Pandharpur.

Have you heard of the name of Nityananda Prabhu?

Here we are talking about Nityananda who is Balarama. Balaram hoila Nitai. That Nityananda was also Balarama and so Balarama had also come to Pandharpur five hundred years ago and when Balaram became Nityananda Prabhu he also came to Pandharpura and in this very same Pandharpur dhama, Nityananda Prabhu took initiation. He took initiation.

So in this way Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Visvarupa, they all have a deep rooted relationship with Pandharpur. This is why in the morning Dharmaraj Prabhu made an announcement. That the lotus feet impressions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet impressions and Visvarupa’s lotus feet impressions have been installed.

So please all of you make sure to take darsana and make your heartfelt prayers.

dina cari tatha prabhuke rakhila brahmana
bhima nadi snana kari’ karena viththala darsana (C.C Madhya 9.303)

Now you are all going to take darsana of Vitthal. First will be breakfast and then Vitthoba. This is the way we do things, first we feed the stomach and then let’s see how it goes in terms of lord’s worship. Our demigod is here with us (stomach) and the Puja is constant. That Puja, worship is of the stomach. Anyway there should be worship of the Lord also alongside.

So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a bath in the Bhima River. There is also Ganga and Yamuna. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a bath and then karena vitthal darasana. So after he had a bath he would go often to take darsana of Vitthal.

Meet the Monk: A journey of Transformation
21st February 2021

Nandini [The program host]: Krishna consciousness is from the east and we take you to the eastern scripture eastern wisdom. And today, we have the opportunity to hear from, in fact some banker or publishers or editors how much of you have got the opportunity to hear from a monk and today we provide you with the opportunity very very fortunate to announce we have His Holiness Lokanath Maharaj. Lokanath Maharaj is in India right now and he has been a monk in the Krishna consciousness movement for over forty five years he travelled to Europe he travel to Asia he travelled to Africa and India hosting too all about this with them. We are so very fortunate have him here with us today and Jagannath Kirtananda Iskcon north project manager as profession but he undergoes a lot of help in many projects and help care well-being. So, please have your camers on interact with you and if you have any question please post it in the chat or to me or also directly he will answer your question so you will enjoy this session today, Thank for coming with us today, for a Sunday now I will pass to Lokanth Swami, Jagannath Kirtananada thank you so much.

Jagannath Kirtanananda: Hare Krishna everyone. Thank you so much for joining and wow we speak into His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaj. How are you doing today Maharaja and how is everything in India?
LNS [Lokanath Swami Maharaja]: I am happy.

JK [Jagannath Kirtanananda]: It is so nice to have you and today the group we have got. We have got university students I can see some other members coming joining so enthusiastically. So, we want to talk about some of the members that have not met a monk before and you are a living breathing monk as well.

LNS: Am surprised that make me a Monk as at be.
Jagannath Kirtanananda: It’s so nice to have you in life as for me it’s so nice to talk to you again. And before we start, because we got lot of university students on, like I love yourself and I would love to hear about your youth, your upbringing. So, I wanted to talk about if I can, please tell us about your academic side. You moved from Aravada to Sangali, and then in Mumbai. You went to Kirti College as they we call it what know as university here where you studied chemistry and it would be so nice to hear what your thoughts were of all this type of age and what you were doing and so, please love to hear your thoughts about your early life in education.
LNS: That a big question and lot to talk about. I was born and brought up in a village in Maharashtra and born in a devotee family where they still sing bhajans.

‘Jay Jay Ram Krishna Hari …Jay Jay Ram Krishna Hari’
Not exactly Hare Krishna Hare Krishna but similar mantra and I used to sit and enjoy participate and that my father used to go on pilgrimage walking to, walking hundred kilometers to take darsana of Pandhurang Vithala in Pandharpur and we used to wait back in the village eagerly awaiting specially for my parents, father would bring some prasadam from Pandharpur Vithala prasad. So like that, then I moved for education from village to Tasagaon bigger town high school and in a college education in Sangli the district town and moved to then it was a Bombay now is Mumbai for my university education then I was studying chemistry and physics.

Of course, I wanted to be Engineer, I wanted to be Doctor, I thought of being Lawyer. All those days, I was thinking of how I could serve the society, people, the nation, the humanity and so throughout my upbringing I was thinking. These thoughts was always on my mind. There are different things I’ve heard, I used to read biographies of great leaders Mahatma Gandhi or Vivekananda swami or Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln and so I always thought of being useful to the society to the country to humanity though this is how far.

Jagannath Kirtanananda: I heard that you were very bright student. You were top of your class, so academically and quite naturally to you and of course right now from academia you utilizing it in the spiritual movement as we call Krishna Consciousness. So, how did that swap happened? Was it like utopian moment like some mess me not, some type of thought that will help serve what you were saying. So, how that transition happened?

LNS: Well, as I said in our, I went Sangli for my higher education and I had a access to the library and I was studying and I was reading all these books about the leaders and social welfare workers of how they serve. So, although I always top notched the top students in primary school in high school but in the college, then I was getting diverted and even at one time I became a dropped out. I wanted to join Mahatma Gandhi’s only disciple called Vinoba Bhave. He was in some town some thousand kilometers from Sangli so I went there to join him. But I was almost there but then Krishna saved me. Later I realized, Krishna saved me because Krishna did not want me to join this Vinoba Bhave but Krishna wanted me to join Bhaktivendanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

So I was brought back and then I decided to go to Mumbai for higher education and then I was losing my interest in higher education I was realizing that there is something higher that what I am being educated in something higher something beyond this and I was looking for that. And then, the Hare Krishnas came to the town Mumbai. They were organizing Hare Krishna festival in Mumbai and they advertised that the American Sadhus are in the town!!European Sadhus are here!!So this, can’t imagine of folks in Bombay including myself American and Sadhus forget it, you know American scientists is okay, European’s scientists but American Sadhus, no!! no!! This was unheard of. So, everybody was coming to check out, I also went there and I realized that there they are the monks, I saw the monks. I saw the Sadhus HARE KRSNA Sadhus.

Jagannath Kirtanananda: The rest is history like they say isn’t it like the way. So, you know, in your youth itself; you mentioned about this aspect of wanting to serve humanity what came out you know you wanted this aspect of serving what were any other factors in your life that help you come to this spiritual path that you are on so many year when you were a young if I may ask

LNS: As I said, during early days of my life, childhood days. I was exposed to this bhajans and kirtans, so that was in me. And as I was, I had that urge to serve humanity and I was reading. One of my hobby, it became a hobby of reading, study the lives of the great leaders and that was pushing me inspiring me to something similar to what they had done in the past and what they were still doing till around so that got me going and as I said the Hare Krishna festival I joined in Mumbai Srila Prabhupada was very much there of course he was this center of that festivity.

The Cross Maidan Festival 1971, March April. One of the top that Prabhupada, well he was in everyday and one day Prabhupada talked about serving the people serving humanity and I thought he has the answers to my question. I wanted to serve but I did not know where to begin, I had no resources I did not know how to proceed. So Prabhupada said,

yatha taror mula nisechanena
He said an example from Srimad Bhagvatam he said by pouring the water and the root of the tree or putting fertilizer at the root of tree then the trunk ,the branches ,sub branches ,the leaves ,flowers ,fruits everything is nourishes. And here Prabhupada was explaining how, the Lord his name is Krishna they are other names also beautiful name by serving Him he is the root he is the source of all of us we are all connected with Him. So, by serving Him then simultaneously and automatically everybody everyone get served. So I got it and I thought that this is what I was looking for and I decided to join Hare Krishnas and I became Hare Krishnas monk.
Jagannath Kirtanananda: It seems like that was there. That was another question there were so many paths so you knew the path like the Cross Maidan festival 1971 when we heard this from Srila Prabhupada who is the founder acarya for those who may not know, it was like turning out point for yourself. I would like to ask you if I may Now, you coming to the Hare Krishna movement and how did you come from a lovely village in India, your parents are there and how did they take the news that suddenly now you are joining this Krishna conscious movement ,going in a spiritual path way, studies are one side now how did they take the news it would be love to here as am sure who are on this call that might be thinking about spirituality try to put their lives or might have the similar type of question coming up. How do I deal with this or how do I make them understand how was it for yourself if I may ask for your parents.

LNS: They were very shocked. And from village my brothers came looking for me because I used to reside with the villagers from my village they were staying in Bombay I was sharing room. They were my roommates, they sent the news that Raghunath, my name was Raghunath. Raghunath is not around, we have not seen him for days, so news went back to village and my brother came running because they came to know I had told them in fact that I have gone to join the Vinoba bhave Mahatma Gandhi disciple and renounce and be part of his organization. So, they were anticipating something like this, what Raghunath may do and now I was no more to be seen in my room by room mates. So my bother came looking for me and looking here and there. They got a clue that I have been going to some Hare Krishna Festival that the second festival 1972 and there was some advertisement, little ad that I left behind. I had left behind something in which there was Hare Krishna festival Juhu from such and such date. So, my brother came running and news I had received you have to come back!! You have to come back!! Otherwise mother may leave her body. You have to come back!! So, I, what to do, I did go back. I took permission from my president Giriraj Dasa brahmachari now Giriraj Swami Maharaja, temple president, he allowed me and I went back. But I had promised my temple president I’ll be back!! I’ll be back!! So, while I was back in my village a lot of things happened. They used to think, they were talking. Such a nice boy. He used to be such a nice boy. So that not nice he used to be nice but now he is mahatma, not nice. They were not even happy I was wearing dhoti and kurta. Although my parents and my brothers that was their attire. They wore it all lifelong but they wanted me to be the modern man be an Engineer this and that. Instead I became a Sadhu. So, they were not happy.

Jagannath Kirtanananda: So they were not happy. And am wondering those that join in, we have got over hundreds of you that are online right now on zoom chat I know through the other; Facebook channels we have got quite a few more had joined . and I just want to hear from the students if you agree when you do the spiritual pathway and your feeling what my parents going to think am going to renounce everything of course spiritual life you got two ways of renunciation and also dove tailed it into your life as well. So, the two path so does anybody else have this though that how do I explain it to my parents to this type of spiritual activity.

So, this question Maharaja, I would say it’s quite important and is something is nice that they hear it. It’s not just to say everybody when it comes to it because at the end of the day people do not know what it is about. So, can I ask you Maharaja was there a turning point for your parents at some points where they started to accept it and they were more okay about it?

LNS: Well this is what happens parents turn anti and against and as more time passes on and then they become neutral, some more time passes on and they become favorable and as a result you know, now all my three brothers have become devotees they became my disciples and my sister and my whole village so many of my friends are my disciples. My parents, they were not again me practicing the Krishna Consciousness or going to the temple and then they say do this at home we will build a temple for you in the village why you are. This is a foreign organization they did not know what this international society is, who are these people these are some westerners you have join them. They have no knowledge of they all wanting me to become a normal person. You practice Krishna consciousness, this and that, be Hindu so that was fine but Krishna consciousness was though beyond that.

Jagannath Kirtanananda: Actually one comment came through from Vrindavani. My parent freaked out, I had to practice secretly for long time. Well done for your dedication, you know that saying, “You can take the village out of the boy but we cannot take the boy out of village.” Here I’ve got a nice picture of yourself and wanted to share with everyone. You are doing Hari Nama Sankirtan, youthful age with all these children, can you explain a little bit here Lokanath Maharaja.

LNS: This is Hare Krishna land Juhu Bombay and the first thing I was most impressed with Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas was this Kirtana. That festival that I joined the American sadhus some European sadhus some English sadhus and chanting and dancing. And, they are doing all that with all their heart with all the strength and they are perspiring and they are totally oblivious to the surrounding and thousands of people watching but they do not care they were in their own world, so that impressed me the most. And so this is what I took away from this festival and this has become my life chanting and dancing and drumming and am serving those little children they are souls. So, Prabhupada taught me how to serve humanity. So, those children I am serving chanting, getting them to chant and dance. As I was even new devotee there.

JK: So one thing what’s nice you told by Srila Prabhupada just want to come into it as I see some questions that Srila Prabhupada coming up. I would like to ask if I may is when it comes to Srila Prabhupada what it that struck you the most about Srila Prabhupada.

LNS: I think I already said one thing that, he showed me the way I wanted to serve I did not know how to serve and where to start all that. So, Prabhupada gave me the clue or the answer of my question, this was a big question and Prabhupada had answered or Krishna delivered that answer through Prabhupada. And the whole world including myself was impressed with Prabhupada’s achievements that Prabhupada had gone to America and then all over and he had made Krishna devotee in 14 land and this is amazing thing. Even Prabhupada once said, Narada muni was amazed, Narada muni appeared in New York and as devotees was doing street kirtanA and Prabhupada was laughing. And why this smiling Prabhupada. So, Narada muni was amazed to see this westerners taking to Krishna consciousness and practicing Krishna consciousness now Prabhupada had come with them. So India, imitating and following blindly the western lifestyle and the westerners and western values and here you go the westerners they are going for. They are going for, they are grabbing ancient India’s culture I would say not the modern presently India culture is even worse than English culture or European American, am talking ancient culture Prabhupada got to practice that and they have become sadhus and no intoxication so these folks drink whatever instead of water drinking wine whisky or vodka for breakfast for lunch for dinner and they are only drinking charnamrita or only eating,

patram pushpam phalam toyam

No more matanam chikanam and this was amazing this so Prabhupada was revolutionary, he brought about revolutionary in consciousness the way people was thinking so, the whole display demonstration. So, that was very impressive what Prabhupada have achieved so, I was impressed now, then I decided right there that am going to follow this Swamiji. He is my guru he is my guide.

JK: The nice thing is that even here in the UK and different parts of Europe we have the Krishna consciousness society. So following Krishna Consciousness. So I would like to ask you what do you think Srila Prabhupada would say to this university group if he would speak to them right now?

LNS: You could have also say, you know, you English man you came to India and you have ruled India and while ruling you thought this is the wealth of India, these are some valuable items of India whatever you are viceroys, the ruler in India would think this is valuable you are grabbing bringing transporting that back to England you are looting India but Prabhupada would say, you know while doing that you know you English man or youth of England you viceroys you rulers. They are left behind with the most valuable items of India. There are left behind and I have come to do the home delivery or use of, Europe England please accept those gifts. And they may ask what are those gifts what is such a valuable thing that our viceroys could not acknowledge or recognized and then Prabhupada would say again the ancient culture of India I have brought here. I have the knowledge. The wealth of knowledge of Gita, Bhagavatam, Vedas , Puranas this is the most ancient and not just revealed revelation to some sages, this was spoken directly by the Lord to Arjuna there is no revelation there is no instruction the knowledge that is in Bhagavad Gita, like Bhagavatam like Puranas like Vedas like. So I have come with that and I also have a this Maha Mantra for you.

‘Golokera Prema Dhan Hari Naam Sankirtanam’

500 years ago Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came down from spiritual sky down to the earth and he chanted and he propagated the holy name and he also predicted that one day this holy name is going to reach every town every village of the world so I also have come with that gift of the holy name for you English man, English folk, English youth so please accepts these gift from India or Bharatvarsha I should say.

India is not one gentleman’s getting the mike, he going to address the audience when he said I want to introduce myself I am not Indian I am Bharatiya I belong to Bharat Varsha not to India like any other country now. But Bharat is different.

Question: What is so good about ancient scripture why one study should or accept them?
Answer: That is the original source of knowledge there are different authorities, pramans and the Vedas is the praman and there is also pratiyeksha praman ; all that you got to see ,hear and how you get to know things that is called pratyaksha praman empiric knowledge, there is inference also ; pratyaksha anuman, and the Shastra prahman , Vedas praman or shruti pramans so all evidences, the best one is Shruti praman you know by hearing by reading this is puruso vedas, one become knowledgeable by reading those scriptures but Krishna says, god spoke. So, there is mundane knowledge vidya and avidya that kind of discrimination or distinction is made, but here knowledge and spiritual knowledge so what you are study we all study I also learnt , learnt the matter ,the knowledge of the matter, you study in college the physics chemistry would teach you cosmology or biology or all this is mundane material inferior but there is something spiritual superior knowledge and that source of knowledge is the scriptures, the Sastras.

Question: People practicing different faiths. So, if somebody is practicing Christianity, practicing Jewdesum, Islam, can we still connect to Krishna consciousness or is it that you have to practice Krishna Consciousness and that’s it.

LNS : Well, again going back to 1971 pandal program the Hare Krishan festival, there were question answer sessions also going on there. And one Indian gentleman, he has to question to European sadhu and that Indian Hindu said ‘oh these Hare Krishnas have converted you, you were Christian before now he have become a Hindu, and they have made you a Hindu’. And I remembered that European Sadhu very smart very impressive answer ‘no no no I have become better Christian and he explained by practicing Krsna consciousness.

JK: So, Maharaj we’ve covered a bit about your life. We also talk about your upbringing and talked about this place to cross maidan festival which was of Pemital in your Krishna conscious life and your time with Srila Prabhupada and we are talking about just now different places. They if you belong to another faith guru then how can you utilize Krishna consciousness in those space and I think you were talking about that regardless our faith ,you can utilize this process to help you go stronger in your own faith. So, your faith is being amazing you have been a spiritual leader for 45 years

LNS: I want to say is that there is nothing like your faith my faith or anyone else faith. Now this world have made your faith my faith Christian faith Hindu faith we are all spirit souls we are all part and parcel and children of same god one god and there are different names and that we are born under different cultures and so called different religions these are external and temporary designations . So, Krishna consciousness other faith also will revive when you are involving revolving and Krishna consciousness is the goal of all faith that’s why they have to get there is 100% others Prabhupada is to say reading other scriptures, we have bible if there is a trust is the science of God explained there that is for everybody, everybody on earth, so is Bhagavad Gita Science for everybody. There is physics chemistry biology, this is English chemistry you know, and the Indian chemistry and this is European, no, like mundane science is the same H2O oxygen this is everywhere so similarly if there is a science of God explain science of soul explain whatever this is explained.

It has to be the same, at some point the one God, we are all children of that one god and I guess as it going to say Prabhupada said some scripture are like a pocket dictionary and the Gita Bhagavatam Vedas Puranas are complete. Large volume, big dictionary. So all that is find in Bible or Khuran and all those scriptures that is in Vedas but also planned that is something in Vedas only and you cannot find them anywhere else. So there is some additional things more elaborate things. God is great, God is great!! Everyone says and Prabhupada would say somehow to find out how god is great and how great, why is he great, then he had to turn to Gita Bhagavad Puran there is a lot more information knowledge in depth you could find. So, the entrance, you enter through Bible, Khuran and keep going and you’ve reached Gita Bhagavad and keep moving.

JN: So please keep that faith and keep going make sure you do that with love and devotion. And talking about devotion, yourself Lokanath Maharaj, you’ve been a spiritual leader for 45 years you’ve been like a renunciate for that time what is this secret, what is any tips for all of us out there that can help us in our spiritual life to keep going that would be very great to hear from yourself.

LNS: Well, as I met my spiritual master His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jay. And I was around him for 6 – 7 years. He gave me lots of instructions, lot of services, lot of homework to do. So I had good site list, and I am just trying to follow his command, his wish is my command. So, he ask me to chant minimum 16 rounds daily and I keep doing that, I love to do that as he asked me to follow four regulative principles, am happily following those. Prabhupada gave me sanyasa made me monk and he asked me to travel and preach so sky is the limit when it comes to travelling and preaching I am doing the global chating, I do this because Prabhupada instructed me to do this or Lord wanted, the holy name of Lord spreads all over, I am pushing, I am playing my role to bring the holy name to more town to more village more countries. That’s keeping me busy, Prabhupada wanted me to be exemplary and those who are under your care and ill set example before them and take care of them , look after them, see to their welfare. So, the hare Krishna movement is a big family so I have many of them to take care of. And I have thousands of disciples also more than 40 countries spread and taking care of them.

Srila Prabhupada wanted his disciples to write books so I keep doing that as Prabhupada asked me to do this padayatra festival and then we had padayatra going within India and once Prabhupada wrote to his disciple – my god brother Nityananda Prabhu from one farm in America he said Lokanath swami is travelling with a bullock cart sankirtana all over India very successfully we could have we could have millions of such carts all over the world.
Prabhupada was a big thinker. so that is keeping me busy to organize this bullock cart sankirtanan padayatra festival and one time during 1996 when we were celebrating 100th birth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada my spiritual master, we did organize padayatra over 100 countries so like than on and on there was so much to do. So I think this what is keeping me busy and maybe this is a secret if you want to call it and that is keeping me on and on busy for us for 45 close to 50 now and counting.

JK: Yes its truly spectacular and such an inspiration for those that are starting their spiritual life or have been in spiritual life for some time and and I have a few really nice questions coming on…apology we can’t get through all the questions but we are trying to get through as many as possible so please do keep them coming in. And this is from Parikshit das and he says and I can see him right now, I can see you right now there and he says: he says as many people are mentally struggling now with loneliness and social isolation during this lockdown, he says something that can help us deal with this?

LNS: We Hare Krishna are looking for opportunity to communicate with all those specially those who are feeling lonely, why be lonely. Be with Hare Krishna devotees or be with Krishna in fact be with god. So we Hare Krishna are just a click away a telephone call away. The world is like that in fact. Even if you are in the midst of lots of people you still feel lonely because you are missing something to something vacancy you are feeling vacancy feeling so, if you could fill in that gap and add Krishna in your life are and add some Hare Krishna devotees association to their lives. One could get rid of such loneliness and in the spiritual sky, kingdom of god we are surrounded or we are bombarded with association with the devotees with the souls. We are souls. So what we are really missing is that lifestyle. Be in the midst of other devotees of Krishna. Have Krishna consciousness that would be happier.

Souls that are missing and thirsty hungry for that but stop getting the right drink and right food we end up getting something else and.I was in Bombay several years ago and I saw holding big billboard and I just looked at it and there was a young man-youth and what was he doing? He was. When he opened his chest and I looked inside, there was a limca bottle not Ram Lakshman Hanuman. Hanuman opened his heart there was Ram there. So we are missing Ram we are missing Krishna, we are Jehovah we are missing Allah. Devotees we are missing and not having met we feel lonely we feel vacancy and that has to be filled in and we are at service of such folks.

JK: I think it’s been really great recently because of this pandemic is here but firstly I felt the world has come closer together because of zoom and all this internet activity- like how often everybody on this course would you get the chance to speak to a living breathing saintly person like Lokanatha Maharaj. This is for us this is the absolute real opportunity and maybe that is still the silver lining in the cloud right now. And so on this point that we are talking about. Association is key and so nice to have and a very auspicious number here Lokanatha Maharaj we’ve got on our zoom call a 108.

So we have 108 amazing individuals on this course so thank you to all of you for joining and if anything is resonating with you. Lokanath Maharaj is out there. Srila Prabhupada you’ll have the padayatra and you’ll have the kirtana ministry which we’ll go on a bit afterward. I want to share a beautiful picture to you all. I just want to make sure before i do that because of the lovely wonders of technology. Keep on changing screen. Right ok here we go. Here we have you mentioned padayatra so just when going to someone initiative as you mentioned about Srila Prabhupada reaction to you doing padayatra – you were talking about that a bit as well. What is padayatra? I know it’s happening in India but is there anywhere else in the world it’s happening and what does it mean padayatra?

LNS: So, pad is feet and yatra is a festival so that is a walking festival and we make it a festival and we chant and dance, not just walk. It’s not a parade. We sing and chant and dance and as we meet people on the way we encourage them to chant and dance so we share this

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This maha mantra for deliverance. Well we want to make people wealthy by giving them this holy name. This is Prabhupada project. As Prabhupada grandchild, was thinking ways to propagate the holy name of the lord but how could Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prediction could come true.

Krishna appeared 500years ago as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he established this practice and propagated the dharma the religion for this age of kali which chanting the holy name of the Lord and all scriptures will say the same thing also. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu want this to go to every towns and every villages all over the world on this planet we are talking. So, Srila Prabhupada came out with this project of padayatra walking festival. Here you see. Only vehicle I could drive is a bullock cart (laugh). My parents were also looking forward to you know. One day our son will become engineer he will ride a motorbike and he will come back riding on a motorbike and come back to the village but then you know one fine morning or one day, I came with so many hare Krishna devotees drove back in to my village on a bullock cart and so this is what I’ve been doing. My parents, I was kind of disappointed them when I came back in a bullock cart but this is Mahaprabhu this is god’s program and that’s the best program this the best means also transportation also-oxcart bullock cart ox power.
There is no pollution as a result. The global warming you know what’s not happening. So this is padayatra-walking festival.

JK: How many kilometers since the birth of the padayatra festival-I talking about India you’ve been doing kilometers. How many kilometers do you think the padayatra walking festival has covered so far to date.

LNS: Close to 300000 kms

JN: Wow that’s a lot of walking. You know you have got those devices we people can track their movement – how many steps they’ve done. I tell all people doing padayatra walk could break the world recorded.

LNS: people would loves. Parsurama in England and in 1992 we started one walk. We started from Glasgow you know where that one is, we have to go to Moscow. One large group of European devotees-that padayatra was for European padayatra so 5 years to walk. I was there in the beginning I also was joining in the middle from time to time I was there to receive them in Moscow and that was one padayatra then we are the American padayatra and like all 100 countries padayatra and everyone loves padayatra. And this is the monks lifestyle so they’ll like hare krishna style. They are impressed with hare krishna.

JK: I think one point was it that some devotees thinking “oh we’ll have Volkswagen buses going around and Srila Prabhupada said no bullock cart” something like that came about.

LNS: We had 2 German buses we were already travelling with those buses but then those buses have to go back to Germany. They expired the car visa. So we were left with no other alternatives and our means of transportation that Prabhupada has. Bullock cart

LNS: Padayatra and sankirtana, I happily got down from the luxurious buses. I was back to where I belonged bullock cart. I was very happy and I am happy

JK: Simple living high thinking as the philosophy goes and you’re practicing that even with then padayatra right now. And i may come on to. There’s many questions coming through and really loving the questions, ok Maharaj there’s a question coming here- you joined Hare Krishna of your prime youth. How the same can be done today with the youth specially the current generation of Hare Krishna. Because talking about delusion or doing other things.. How can they have that kind of focus to do something great for the world or great for spiritual life or for themselves? So you say your motivation was humanity if I’m correct

LNS: Well you know we are GOD’s we are Krishna’s we are all souls. We should be giving ourselves back to Krishna. And don’t foreseen it when i get old when, well when you get old you became rotten. And is that what you want to make rotten mango rotten things all things like that I will enjoy then. No give prime youth. Prahlada maharaja advise was you should be beginning from childhood .the whole social system social order of life. And life begins, practicing begins, at early age, as a youth, everyone but begin earlier. You cannot become monk like me, you could become grihasta you could become married man and still practice Krishna Consciousness. We are thousands and thousands of married youth couples that are practicing Krishna Consciousness and they are leading happy life. Hari Hari

JN: we have covered some points here. Maharaj, some people can be thinking okay signs me up that sounds great, let’s do it but it’s the Krishna conscious process is a hard process.

LNS: You want to listen to Krishna consciousness, ‘su sukham kartamam gayam’ happily perform Krishna consciousness Srila Prabhupada said ‘nacho gao khao’. Dance, Sit down and listen to some Hari katha or Krishna Katha and enjoy Krishna Prasad. and for souls, soul enjoys and Krishna consciousness is for the soul not the body. There inconvenience but you know in Maharashtra the padayatra are very popular. So many groups they come five hundred thousand million people walk to Pandharpur. So, one of the devotee was interviewing he said: Asked the question how are the facilities for the question on this walk that you are doing and what is the facilities and the gentleman said no facilities very miner facilities but I am happy. He said back in pune lots of facilities but i was not happy. Happiness doesn’t depend on the facilities. He performs some tapasya voluntary some inconvenience that would purified you and then unlimited joy happiness waiting for you. To remind you folks and friends If you want not suffer then do not go for enjoyment if you enjoy be prepared for suffering it’s a complete package. You cannot get only enjoyment the tag goes along with sufferings. Sooner or later you will be suffering, the source of suffering is enjoying spirits. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want you to enjoy, yeah, the call is to enjoy but that enjoyment is Krishna Consciousness that makes you joyful, the joy process. We are happy, we make you happy and always happy. That’s the beauty of this Krishna consciousness god consciousness. In the world happy unhappy sukkah dukkha this that ups downs but Krishna consciousness is only up you’re happy forever. Stay high forever. That is your goal and that is every soul’s goal to be happy forever.

JN: just for the university students, saying stay high doesn’t mean we are not talking about the illegal substances just make it that clear. We are talking about chanting mantra meditation so stay high forever and in that point what you made about enjoyment means suffering has really touched many individuals. This is so great to have someone like yourself to speak about this spiritual life.

Question: when you meditate Lokanath Swami Maharaj how do you feel and what do you feel
LNS: I feel good waken up. And we talk of meditation. So, when I meditate when the Krishna devotees mediate we mediate on Krishna or we mediate on Radha Krishna. And who doesn’t meditate, every individual in the world is meditating. Only choice is, whether you are meditating on Krishna or Maya. That’s is the only difference otherwise you cannot, every single person must meditate. There is a whole list of as you do meditation on object or sences the worldly objects. Then you develop attachment and the lust arises and the when you cannot fulfill that lust and never it could never be fulfilled. The fire become blazing fire and you cannot fulfill then you become angry and then you are lost and bewildered and lining down instead if you are meditation on Krishna then you are influenced by Krishna. Krishna’s qualities. He is peace He is source of peace, so everyone meditate on him he is peaceful most peaceful person you also become peaceful. So that, during meditation there is a flow there is an energy there is a reciprocation between the meditator and the object of meditation and this is also called yoga or bhakti yoga. When you are meditating upon Lord form. So the whole influence the Lord is Sad Cit Ananda Vigraha He is personification of Ananda happiness the source of joy. So as you meditate even if you get few drops that is good enough we could get drown in those drops of nectar or joy or happiness. We may not also have that kind of reunion or complete fully absorbed or perfection of meditation but whenever or whatever degree we are able to focus communicate reciprocate. So that degree, then we develop that qualities of god we are children of god like father like son or like father like daughter also. And you experienced life that is experienced by those eternally liberated souls on the spiritual sky , high thinking also there and you got happy with that, you don’t look for anything beyond that , there is nothing beyond.

JN: Thank you so much
LNS: So if you are feeling lonely, get in touch, if doesn’t get in touch with me for your information there are lots of monks around you and your country by god’ grace, or around the corner from you or just across the street find out. And that’s what you need. And your soul is looking for that. And try chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, there are Bhagavad Gita for you check out, you’ll see the difference of the depth and the details you’ll find in the Gita and honor Krishna prasada you ll love it and devotee association monk association or hare Krishna devotees sadhus, or householders ladies and gentleman they could also guide you and inspire you. You must need guidance. We are Hare Krishna there that can counsel you or guide you excels some helping hands. Remember whenever you are.

So, what is mechanical chanting? The body is also like a machine- yantrarudhani mayaya and mechanical chanting, the body is chanting or the mouth is chanting but something is missing. Something is not there. What is not there? That is why it is called mechanical chanting. Feelings are not there or we could say heart is not there. Emotions, sincerity is not there. It is so mechanical.

Prabhupada said, the chanting; what kind of chanting? Chanting like a baby. That is not mechanical. Crying is not mechanical. It’s emotional, feelings are involved, he is fully into it. Not that the mind is elsewhere and he is just crying. No, baby is in fact thinking of mother; thinking of “Where is, where is she, why is she not coming?”
The mechanical chanting will not work. When Draupadi chanted “Hye Krishna! Hye Govinda!” What was that? A cry was originating from deep within the heart, cry of the soul and how did Lord respond to that call?

Krishna was right there! Because we are not calling out the way Draupadi called out for Krishna! That’s why He is not coming. So, anytime, every time, anybody, anywhere, everywhere, if their call is like that of Draupadi, Lord must reciprocate the similar manner as He reciprocated to Draupadi’s call. Lord is not partial. He doesn’t come only when Draupadi calls out. When Draupadi-like call, that quality call, the Lord makes His appearance. The mechanical chanting will not work.

Gaudiya Bhakti, Maharashtrian Bhakti and Universal Bhakti

3rd February 2021

The Monk’s Podcast with Chaitanya Charan Prabhu

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Hare Krishna Maharaja, Dandavat Pranam. Thank you very much for joining in the monk’s podcast today. It’s been a great aspiration for me to have your august presence here and I am very grateful that you could spare that time today.

HH Lokanath Swami: You are welcome.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So Maharaja on this podcast we usually try to discuss topics which go into our issues relevant to devotees and aspiring devotees so since my first encounter with you- I was bought up in Maharashtra and almost all the devotees I met.

HH Lokanath Swami: We had many encounters in the past but this is one of the first.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja, so I have met many devotees but you are the first devotee leader who was not only from Maharashtrian background but you also bought your Maharashtrian Bhakti into your Krishna consciousness.

So I grew up in a more religious than devotional family but we used to have slokas and other regional bhakti songs and verses we would recite. Till that time I was fascinated as to how Gaudiya bhakti and Maharashtrian bhakti come together so broadly. What aspects of Bhakti are universal, what are regional? So I thought we could talk about that topic today.

Maharaja, I think you were amongst the first few Indian disciples who really became one of the dedicated followers of Srila Prabhupada because it was then that people became life members but not really disciples. But now you see that in fact India is the power house of the Krishna consciousness movement. Now there are more Indian devotees, there are more temples and more books distributed. So what do you feel is the reason for this revolution? Why were Indians so reluctant at that time and now they may be more open, more receptive?

Lokanath Swami: During Prabhupada days, as you just pointed out, we did have lot’s of maybe hundreds or several thousand life patron members but talking of being a follower, being a disciple, there were maybe only a dozen or so who came and stepped forward to being devotees and followers in the Krishna consciousness movement.

I am talking about Mumbai where I was and where I had joined and that is where I was practicing my Krishna consciousness. And I was only a college student when I joined Iskcon.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Oh so wonderful! We are all college preachers so we have all inherited your legacy Maharaja.

Lokanath Swami: And now you have Prerna festival in Mumbai and other places. In those days they were saying ’when I become old I will take to Krishna consciousness’ but that is no more. The congregation is now such that there are thousands of disciples, followers of Gopal Krishna Maharaja and Radhanath Swami Maharaja and then there are my disciples. Then there’s Jayapataka Maharaja of course we are talking about Maharashtra and Mumbai but there’s a whole Iskcon world in India also.

So I think Indians were still busy imitating the west and they had so much faith in science and technology but gradually they were seeing that science and technology were not keeping the promises, not delivering the goods. And you know it takes some time right? Action and then for the reaction it takes time so people were in the enjoying spirit then soon the troubles were there. The global warming and the ecological disasters and the pandemic is here and this and that. There is more violence and more divorces and what-not.

This is my observation that Indians took note of this and they were trying some alternative to Krishna consciousness or religion or devotion but that wasn’t working out or so prevention is better than cure so some kicked that out and they discarded that and are back on the track practicing culture and their religion. I think this is one observation why they are turning up in big numbers. From the congregation they are joining and youths are coming also to become full time devotees and propagators of Krishna consciousness.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Thank you for that answer Maharaja. From what I’ve seen the life members that came had more like a cultural national pride that ‘all these Americans and Europeans are following our culture’ so it was more out of curiosity and pride rather than a personal involvement and commitment. As you rightly said afterwards, a certain level of prosperity also came and then people started looking more for spirituality. Then we had a viable option.

Lokanath Swami: Yes I also would say that Prabhupada preached to the Americans, westerners and in fact while I was in college in the early seventies Prabhupada came with a bunch of his followers from America and Europe and other parts of the world. They were advertising the Hare Krishna festival in Bombay.

‘The American Sadhus are here, the European Sadhus are here!’ So Prabhupada, he had envisioned this and he thought ’okay, you want to follow Americans, westerners? Then follow those Americans, those who have become the Hare Krishna devotees or devotees of Krishna. You are trying to follow their culture, the western culture and they are westerners who are great in technology and science but see? Look at the westerners. They are kicking that out, discarding that and they are becoming devotees! You foolish Indians, wake up!

Go back to your culture or Krishna consciousness.’ Prabhupada was kind of dangling those Americans, ‘look look at these Americans.’ They did not become happy, they became hippies. Their progress, so called progress and materialism and being modern, they were not happy and you also would not be happy if you followed in their footsteps. This was a eye opener for Indians and people started thinking twice.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Compared to our movement in the 1970s and now we are in two thousand and twenty almost, so do you feel Iskcon in India has become somewhat Indian-ized in some ways and that’s why Indians maybe feel more at home?

Lokanath Swami: There were days when it was known as the westerner’s Mandir, our temple in Vrindavan and the followers were thought to be CIA’s. ‘These are CIA’s. Stay away from them!’ So that was propaganda and ‘they did this business in the past and gradually they conquered India and they made us slaves. Now they are coming in guise of Sadhus but they have the same intentions that they previously had.’

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: I have heard this accusation of devotees being CIA, so was there somebody particularly doing this or was this just because of the tension between India and Pakistan and America supporting Pakistan? Also was it just geopolitics?

Lokanath Swami: We could say that they just did not want to practice their own culture and religion and so this was their excuse that they did not follow the American Sadhus or European Sadhus. They were not following Indian Sadhus or Indian saints and sastras and now Americans were coming and so they were not into practicing. So I think this was some propaganda so they don’t then have to follow.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So Maharaja when you were introduced to Krishna consciousness, now you came from a Maharashtrian bhakti background, what was your experience? Did you find some significant differences or similarities? What was it that attracted you, did anything cause you hesitation when you were introduced to Krishna consciousness?

Lokanath Swami: No, I mean I was looking for Krishna consciousness or my soul was very much longing and I came in contact with these Hare Krishna Sadhus, American and European Sadhus as they were being advertised during that Hare Krishna festival. And of course Srila Prabhupada also was there. I found what I was looking for and I did not think twice whether or not to go for it.

I was right in the middle and of course I had been doing bhajans and kirtans or listening to bhajans and kirtans during my childhood days and I was into some bhajan, kirtan so when I heard and saw the Hare Krishna devotees in the Cross Maidan near Churchgate on the stage chanting and dancing and drumming and playing hand cymbals..

Prabhupada especially talks about the Warkaries in Maharashtra, their kirtan mandalies [group] and Gaudiya kirtan mandala, he says they are very much similar. They also use mrdangas and kartals and they also dance while chanting and we do the same thing so I did not – I felt at home and I took that away with me from that festival, this chanting and dancing and soon where I was residing in Dadar in my room with my villagers who were my roommates, when they were out I would lock the doors, close the windows and curtains and imitate those Hare Krishna American western sadhus and chant and dance myself. So I found what I was looking for.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: That’s amazing. So your spiritual search enabled you to transcend whatever cultural differences might have been there and you focused on the cultural similarities. I had some friends when I was studying engineering so I got introduced to Bhakti in my third year of engineering. That was about twenty five years ago. Then there were some friends also who were also studying engineering. I used to invite them for a program and they would say ‘this is already part of culture so we will follow our culture. We don’t want to follow this.’

Then what I noticed is that they would actually not really follow their culture at all. So sometimes the regional culture conceptions can come in the way of people taking up bhakti. So do you feel that in Maharashtra we are seen as a Bengali bhakti tradition because of our temples and kirtans? Are we accepted as a viable bhakti tradition to be practiced here also?

Lokanath Swami: I think that bhakti is bhakti. Bhakti is an activity or symptom of the soul. It is an expression of the soul’s devotion and that is Bhakti. In Maharashtra there is a saying. Sugarcane may be straight one or bent one or like this or that one but the juice inside of the sugarcane, regardless of the shape and size is the same. So we act accordingly to where we are born and brought up, in different geographical locations and then there are different cultural backgrounds, and we do pick up those as well.

And that also becomes a designation or imposition on the soul’s pure devotion and bhakti and the conditioning is like that. So in Maharashtra they would say ‘oh you should be bhakta like a Pudalika! He was taking care of his family and his parents and he even made god wait.’ So in Maharashtra that kind of culture or language is commonly spoken by all the parents but that’s just not the original culture that is practiced in the spiritual world or which Gauranga Mahaprabhu appeared to propagate which, is the right culture, the eternal culture and devotion and devotional activities.

He bought that down to the Earth right here on this planet and fortunately Mahaprabhu came to Kolhapur and Pandharpura and Nashik and he passed through Satara and he chanted and he danced with full devotion and dedication. By his example Mahaprabhu himself has taught, he became Mahatma or Sant or Acharya, Bhagavan (Supreme Lord). Sri Krishna Chaitanya becomes Sant, Mahatma or Acharya, Gaura Bhakta and he practiced Krishna consciousness.

So I think that’s a flaring example and then our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, our acarya – that is what they are practicing and propagating and that was delivered by Srila Prabhupada and eventually it is the expectation and prediction of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that this would become a global cultural, a global phenomenon.

This practice of Krishna consciousness transcends the regional cultures so this is Maharastrian culture, this is Bengali culture, this is North Indian culture, this is maybe South American culture, this is African culture or even religious culture, this is going to be transcending all these. Krishna consciousness is not just . There are more and more religions. There is Hindu religion and that religion and so the Krishna consciousness movement cannot just be added to that list.

‘This is another religion, another and not ours.’ So you know it’s beyond and transcendental to this kind of thinking. We are not part of that duality. We are above and beyond and matchless and we cannot be compared to anything that is around here.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: What you just said Maharaja, Bhaktivinoda Thakur also says this in Siksamrita, that bhakti is a universal emotion and then he says that there are regional expressions according to culture, language, place, time- the things that are taught in different ways. So what you are saying is that the universal aspect of bhakti will appeal to everyone irrespective of cultural background. And if somebody holds on to their background too much then that is like a designation which is basically covering the soul and which may obstruct them in their spiritual journey.

Lokanath Swami: Yes, like-I don’t know if that’s another question just to talk a little more about what we are talking but in 1971, I remember some Indian, Hindu Indian talking to the American Sadhus, Hare Krishna devotees, ‘You are Christian then why did you change your religion and you have now become Hindu?

And that devotee gave a pretty smart answer. He said ‘No no no! I haven’t become a Hindu.’ In fact he said, ‘I have become a better Christian.’ And he explained this saying ‘You know the Bible says love thy Lord with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy strength. But I did not do that before, I did not put my heart into what I was doing for Jesus or for Jehovah. But now I’m doing that, in Krishna consciousness that is what I’m doing.

That is what I’m explaining to you with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength I’m loving and I’m serving my Lord and unfortunately I did not even know who that Lord was before and now I know who that Lord is. Krishna or Rama, okay he has many names, Allah. So not that I have now been converted or I belong to another religion.’

This is true of one who becomes Krishna conscious, he becomes a better Hindu, better Christian, better Muslim, better this or that. This is the best above all other ordinary stuff.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So you mentioned how Krishna consciousness cannot be added to the list of various world religions. So people will see us as belonging to a particular group or religious organisation. So is it primarily by our philosophical explanations that we help them see that we are not just another cultural group or another religious group? Because practically speaking we dress in a particular way and we chant particular Mantras so the aspect of ethnic or regional expressions of Bhakti is there with us also.

Lokanath Swami: This could also be listed- this kind of dress or this kind of colour of the dress or this kind of tilak or whatever else. But bhakti is beyond that all also. These are gaun lakshan, these are secondary symptoms of a religious person or a God conscious person. The architect and design of the place of your worship, the Mosque is this way and the church is that way and temple is that way.

These are external things and the world pays more attention to differences or externalities but we should be going deeper within, beyond these external forms and looks and cast and nationality and gender. And so Krishna consciousness is transcendental to all that. By seeing these things you could recognize this as superior or transcendental beyond all that exists- the different names of different religions.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So Maharaja you have – apart from preaching all over the world you have also focused a lot on Maharashtra. So over the five decades or so long as our movement has been here, what do you see as the major achievements on landmarks in our outreach in Maharashtra?

Lokanath Swami: Well Maharashtra in our early days, in our Srila Prabhupada days we were limited to Mumbai only, Hare Krishna land only, and then we just started, I remember in 1975 Srila Prabhupada sent me and Bhagavad Das and few others to Pune to preach and of course we are thinking of Maharashtra but there were a few places. There was Vrndavan land bhumi poja and Juhu bhumi puja and Mayapur bhumi puja took place within a span of just few months in 1972.

So there were a half dozen temples in India during Prabhupada days. In Maharashtra it was basically Mumbai so from them till now all that you see, all the manifestations – now we have fifty or so big and small occasions where Krishna consciousness is practiced. We have temples everywhere and I was one Maharashtrian who joined in the beginning and I remember Prabhupada saying to me one day when myself and Prabhupada were in a room.

Prabhupada said ‘We want more men like you!’ And now I can see that there are so many hundreds and hundreds of devotees, men and women also and in Maharashtra, practicing and propagating Krishna consciousness. So these are all landmarks and there’s book distribution and the number of books we have distributed in Maharashtra is a big number.

I think Bhagavad Gita as it is in Indian language, I think in marathi is ranking high if not the highest. And Pune distributed four hundred thousand Bhagavad gitas just last month! Previous year they did the same thing at Juhu Bombay, distributing books like crazy all over. So all these dimensions have been added and there are so many festivals, rathayatras held and we are part of the Maharashtra dinda Warkaries.

We joined them and we are there so when there’s a Nasik Kumbha mela and a Hare Krishna camp is there and we have big names in Mumbai. We have many temples and there’s Juhu and then Chowpatty and Mira road and now Kharghar is huge. And we have our Govardhan eco village and that’s a big thing. And we have Pandharpur here.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja I was going to ask about Pandharpur. I think this is amongst the few temples where there is already a holy dham. In Maharashtra and now we also have quite a significant presence there. So did we have some- like in Jagannatha Puri there are some anxieties among the local devotees about Iskcon’s presence there, so was there some anxiety over there or were we naturally accepted and now seen at the Pandharpur holy land scape?

Lokanath Swami: Our neighbours threw some land dispute and encroachment so still some harassment is there. Otherwise we are accepted and embraced and we are an integral part. when padayatra from Mayapur to Dwarka was passing through Maharashtra and coming to Pandharpur – this is of course all the time. So our party was greeted by the officials of Vitthal Rukmini temple, by the authorities and pandas.

Not only that but we have the walk which is from some twenty different nations walking with us and we all had an opportunity to do maha abhishek of Vitthal Panduranaga. Yes we had some Africans and Americans and Germans and they were all bathing and massaging the body of Vitthal. In Jagannatha Puri you cannot even look at them with side long glance. You will be immediately caught and sent away but here that’s not the case.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So this happens every year or did it happen in a particular year?

Lokanath Swami: No I’m just saying that it happened one time in 84 but otherwise also whenever our devotees come from distant countries we do bring them to the mangal arati of Panduranga Vitthala and there is something very special about the Abhishek and arati. Especially the abhishek I would say, there’s no curtain so you get the Lord being woken up.

uthishtothishta Govinda trilokyam mangalam kuru

And they offer arati and undress him and bathe him. So we always have devotees.. Jayapataka Maharaja or Giriraj Maharaja, so many Maharaja’s they always come here or devotees from all over the world may also come. So they get just to sit a few feet away from the deity and watch and have Darshan to their heart’s content. So there’s no discrimination of that sort in Pandharpur.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: That’s amazing. So Maharaja when you said Eighty four, that means we got acceptance very early. So our movement was not even that big then, now we are much bigger so I presume your presence must’ve played a significant role. You were a Maharashtrian and you acted like a like a bridge between the movement and the local bhakti leaders and bhakti culture over there. That means you literally are our pioneer of Krishna consciousness in Pandharpur. So Maharaja were you the first Maharashtrian to be introduced to Krishna consciousness?

Lokanath Swami: 71 in March, April was the first festival Hare Krishna festival and of course talking about being introduced, there were thousands and thousands for this one speck of dust. Of course Radhanath Maharaja was the audience there. I started practicing Krishna consciousness after the pandal program.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So both from the historical perspective you are the first Maharashtrian to become a committed follower of Prabhupada and then you pioneered Bhakti also in Maharashtra. This is amazing.

Lokanath Swami: Prabhupada asked me also to do that. I received a letter from Prabhupada in seventy seven and I already had been preaching in Maharashtra. I had been going to my home village once a year also with Hare Krishna devotees and with a whole festival. So after one such festival in seventy seven, I was also doing travelling and preaching book distribution all over India, all over Maharashtra.

Then Prabhupada wrote to me in 77 saying ‘the whole of India and specifically your Maharashtra are enthused with Krishna. Now you have to revive their Krishna consciousness. This is Tukaram’s country but now they are becoming bad politicians. So revive them by the process of the Sankirtan movement.’ And in the same letter towards the end Prabhupada wrote ‘Organise very solidly and just increase the number of books distributed, the numbers of devotees made and develop centres of Krishna consciousness everywhere.’ So this is a direct instruction of Srila Prabhupada

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So in a sense Maharashtra is like a Guru datta desh in what Prabhupada gave you.

Lokanath Swami: That is one of the Guru datta deshas.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: I also remember that in the Kumbha mela now you were recognised as one of the sadhus by the traditional authorities on Vedas.

HH Lokanath Swami: They are called Mahantas.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Can you elaborate on that a little bit? That is I think a special honour for our movement and it’s also a recognition of how people are recognising Srila Prabhupada’s followers as authentic.

Lokanath Swami: Yes so it took a long time. Srila Prabhupada attended in 71 Kumbha Mela with his followers and so he did also in seventy seven. The seventy seven Kumbha Mela in Prayag, Triveni Sangam and actually I was also there with Srila Prabhupada and we had been participating In Kumbha Melas- Iskcon was participating in practically every Kumbha Mela.

But there was some misunderstanding still prevailing ‘these western movement and American Sadhus and Mlecchas are a part. Their members are Mlecchas or Sudras or Yavanas so they cannot be integrated into the Kumbha Mela team or given honour of joining the procession that takes bath at Triveni Sangam and other places like Shibayan, Ujjain, Godavari, Nasik and Ganga in Haridwar.’

So it took quite some time convincing them or clearing their misunderstanding that this is not a western organisation or a western Sadhus predominance, and so like that. Gradually after many years in Ujjain Kumbha Mela some dozen years ago our Dina Bandhu, our American Sadhu Dina Bandhu and Sarvabhauma Prabhu, the two of them were working on these Kumbha Mela authorities – the big, big Mahantas.

They are the ones that recognise different parties and get them into the fold and acknowledge them as official institutions. So then it finally happened and we were asked to take leadership in India and so this is how we became part of the Kumbh Mela.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: So when Prabhupada was there, even he was not recognised as a Mahanta at that time? He was a prominent presence at the Kumbha Mela wasn’t he? From what I read lot’s of people came and saw Prabhupada and were impressed.

Lokanath Swami: That anybody could do but when there’s a arrangement your snana days- Makar Sakranti snana and this snana and that snana and there is a Grand trunk road or a path leading to the bathing Ghat and there, only those who are authorised or recognised as Mahantas, they are allowed to- there are thousands or millions watching and taking Darshan. There are Naga Babas and many, many parties so Prabhupada was there but I think he was not even trying to become a Mahanta. These developments took place after Prabhupada’s demise.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja. So the Mahanta specifically appointed you as the representative of Iskcon or you as an individual? How does this work?

Lokanath Swami: It means I am representing Iskcon, the international society for Krishna consciousness.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: That’s amazing. You made the earlier point about how the non-Indian devotees are allowed intimate Darshan and massaging of Lord Vitthal. So is this like the inclusive characteristic of all temples in Maharashtra? So is Jagannatha temple more an exception or is the norm openness, or does it vary very much from temple to temple?

HH Lokanath Swami: I think in general and as we walk from Dwarka through Gujarat, through Maharashtra, through Karnataka and then to Kerela, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Mayapur. I think Jagannatha Puri was the worst experience and that’s where the opposition had some tradition from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu days and that’s why even Namacharya Haridas did not enter in and so he stayed away and maybe others also stayed away.

So in general we were welcomed and I mean even in South India some of the temples have a sign ‘only Hindus are allowed but even there the Hare Krishna Padayatri’s, the western Hare Krishna Padayatri’s were allowed to enter. I think in Dakor dhama, Gujarat, they also at least in those days, they were not allowing westerners. I remember one time we had one of my god brothers Dinanatha, he was from America but black bodied.

So there were several of us and we asked him to be in the middle and we had told him that ‘if anyone tries to talk to you, tell them you are observing Mauna, you are observing silence.’ So you know that worked and he was able to take darsana but if he was a white body you know Dakor temple probably would not have allowed darsana.

So in general we were welcome in most of the temples but I would say in Pandharpur we had a very special and very intimate darsana and association and service of the deities and I’m sure the Sri Sampradaya temples would not have allowed us to come. Yes, their deities darshan you could take, but there was no question of us, what to say if westerners doing archanam but here in Pandharpur we had that privilege.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Okay so is it also proper to say that the Maharashtrian Bhakti tradition itself was rejuvenated by many saints, most of them from what is conventionally called the lower caste? Maybe could you say that because of that the discrimination is much less in Maharashtra?

Lokanath Swami: Yes, whatever historical reasons are there- these could also be the reasons. The famous devotees of Panduranga, some were farmers or some were cobblers or beggers or potters and from all castes and creeds.

vaishnave jati buddhi arcye visnau sila dhir gurusu nara matir (Padma Purana).

All this is opening the gate of hell. To think that a person belongs to such and such caste or that Guru is just ordinary- just another human being and that the deity is just a stone. Here the Lord and the Lord’s devotees are kind and there everyone is welcome. We see a picture of Panduranga Vitthal and he is carrying all sorts of devotees coming from all different backgrounds and so-called castes and Varnas and asrams.

Some of them are on his shoulder and some he’s holding in his hand and bringing them along and they are sitting all over him and he is carrying them so that is the Lord, wherever he is, in Jagannatha Puri or South India or Pandharpur, that’s the Lord.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: This is a very intimate image of the Lord, almost like Krishna in Vrndavan where he carries the Gopas. We don’t have such an intimate image of say for example Lord Rama carrying his associates and Lord Vishnu would definitely not. So can you say something about the similarities between Vitthala and Lord Krishna? The way he is worshipped or the wag he is been conceived by the saints?

HH Lokanath Swami: Well officially you could say that Lord Vitthal is Dwarkadish but here the deities lilas are like the Lord of Vrndavan. In the beginning of his Abhishek the Lord is like ‘oh where is my butter, where is my butter?’ And then they stop bathing him and they bring the big bowl of butter and then they feed him. Makhan Chor, the Lord who eats butter, this is Krishna and what other Lord can..?

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Krishna in Vrindavan specifically.

Lokanath Swami: I’m sure Rama also eats some butter, Nrsimha eats, everyone eats but no-one eats and likes butter like Krishna does. Or Vitthal in Pandharpur, he has that very special affection for butter there and then there’s Radharani, so this is what we have. We are bringing it to the notice of Warkeries and Maharashtrians that okay, it means there’s a Pandharpur and there’s also a Gopalpura.

And Gopalpura is Vrndavan and if you visit Gopalpura you will see that they visited Gokul in Vrindavan. All darsanas are like that and pastimes are like that. The Vishnupadas near Gopalpura, at the bank of Chandrabhaga, you see Sri Krishna and footprints of the calves and the cows and flute, so that is Krishna.

That is the very image of Krishna – I have done some research with the help and consultation of scholars and going through libraries and scriptures that what they call Gopalpura which is in top of a hill, that hill is Govardhan. And there’s a river flowing and there’s a Chandrabhaga and Jamuna confluence. I’m sure along with Rukmini – this is a Vitthal Rukmini temple so there’s a Rukmini, there’s a Satyabhama and there’s a Radharani also.

Next to Rukmini, if you take darsana of Rukmini and come outside, next to Rukmini there is Radharani darsana. Vitthal is the Lord of Radha who is Lord of Vrindavan, Vrajendra Nandan Sri Krishna. He is Dwarkadish and he is also Vrajavasi, Vrindavanvasi Krishna and so we want to bring this to the notice of the warkeries and everyone.

So Prabhupada wanted me to preach in Maharashtra also and revive their Krishna consciousness and the process of Sankirtan. So I wrote a book. Prabhupada was asked to preach in the west so Prabhupada thought ’I better have some books translated in English language so I could preach.’ So I also thought to do something similar and so upon arrival here in Pandharpura we have come up with this book called Bhuvaikuntha and we are trying to pair these mysteries of Pandharpur and unfold these different dimensions. So that’s our goal.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja it’s a beautiful book and we will put in the information about this in the podcast also when you’re talking about it. So Maharaja going back to the point also of you doing research to show how Krishna is very much there is Pandharpura also, so it’s almost like where Lord Chaitanya is a Channa (covered) Avatar of Krishna and the devotees actually highlight how he’s the Lord.

So it’s almost like it is Krishna’s Vrndavan or that the mood of Krishna in Vrindavan is there in Pandharpura but now in the Gaudiya tradition you are bringing it to light.

Lokanath Swami: I’m not the first one. The previous saints – especially Tukaram and others also, and so many, many of the of their compositions talk of Vitthal as Sri Krishna.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: In general the poetic compositions are quite syncretic like even when Balaji is being worshipped he will be referred to as Rama and Krishna so I think the poetic compositions have always been syncretic and the different manifestations are worshiped together. But specifically the local places as being associated with a particular form of the Lord, I think that is something which is maybe not so highlighted.

Lokanath Swami: Tukaram Maharaj says that Krishna has appeared in Gokul and everyone is Sukhi, very happy in Vrndavan.

Govinda Govinda mana lagalia chanda

So you name it, there are thousands of Angas. We talk of Vitthal less as Dwarakadish and more as Krishna of Vrndavan. And there’s the Gopis and Gopas and that.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: In general with respect to the Bhakti songs, Krishna in Vrindavan is much more glorified and sung about more than Krishna in Dwarka. It’s not just in Pandharpur but overall even if you see the Gaudiya Vaisnava songs or in general the bhakti songs, they are much more about Krishna in Vrndavan than Krishna in Dwarka.

Lokanath Swami: So our Gaudiya vaisnavas, our emphasis is in Vrajendra Nandan and as you said that is also observed in many, many Krishna temples or Dwarkadish temples or Vishnu temples also. They are always singing the glories of Krishna. There is even Rama or Vishnu or Guruvayur.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja, so you mentioned about Padayatra being welcomed across the country in many places so in general in the heart land of Maharashtra, how much of the Bhakti culture which was there at the time of Tukaram Maharaj and before, how much of it is still there now and how is the Krishna consciousness movement helping to revive that more in the rural parts? We have centres prominently in the cites but in the more internal parts of the country or in the state how is it Maharaja?

HH Lokanath Swami: The age of Kali is here and getting more active and everyone is being engulfed, including Maharashtrians in it. As a result the irreligion,
Yatradharmas catur vidhah (SB 1.17.38)

Bhagavatam said ‘you could reside in four places and that is where there is gambling so that is for you, oh Kali. That is your residence. Also where there is drinking, intoxication, where there is illicit sex and where there is meat eating.’

So these things are in the practice of the western culture and part of that culture is the mall culture and shopping and eating and five star hotel culture and this and that so people are indulging and Maharashtrians are indulging in these things. There used to be Akarsh (chess playing) at time of Tukaram and now there is mutton Bhakri. That’s how they advertise. Not only Bhakri, Bhakri is the Maharashtrian bread of Chappati but in those days they would eat that with bhaji (spinach) bhakri or vegetables and bhakri but now mutton bhakri [jawar roti].

I was not far from Kolhapur, I was on the way to Belgaum and there was a festival called ‘Mutton Utsav.’ And like that you know all these things go on and even Warkeries have this mala around their necks and when they want to eat meat or eggs they take it off and put the mala away. Then they eat and put the Mala on back again. So this is very common, chewing tobacco or drinking. This also happens during dindis and this and that.

Of course worse things happen in other parts of the world. Maybe Maharashtrians are not that bad but in the middle of Kirtan in Maharashtra they will just drink tea but I have seen in Bengal during our Padayatra that they will stop in the middle of Kirtan and they will drink liquor and also Ganja or Marijuana they will smoke and then Kirtan again. So I would say there are ten offences against the holy name and the whole world is chanting the holy names.

Hindus, Maharashtrians chanting Bhajans and Kirtans but they are not aware of ten offences against the holy name. They are eternally in Padma Puran but our Gaudiya Vaishnavas have made the popular for talk. These are the ten offences against the holy name and when we are given initiation in the Hare Krishna movement we are reminded of what those ten offences are. But the Maharashtrian Kirtan chanters and singers either they know those and they of course follow those offences or that he is not there because of his offences.

So the four regulative principles are not followed- no meat eating or intoxication, no illicit sex and no gambling.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: I think this is unfortunate everywhere. In Bhaktisiddhanta Thakur’s biography it is mentioned that in previous times there were Bengalis who would have a bead bag in one hand and they would go to the fish market and bring fish with the other hand. So that is unfortunate yes Maharaja. And you were quoting many sweet lines from Maharashtrian Bhajans and songs so now these for every culture have a special appeal. For Maharashtrians there will be an appeal for Maharashtrian songs.

If we go to North India then over there people are very much into Ramcharitmanas and Tulsidas and there is a very special intimacy when Bhakti is frozen in the Vernacular language, the language that people have grown up in. So in our outreach when we are presenters of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition you were also preaching in Maharashtra so how much do you utilise or integrate Marathi Bhakti songs or Bhakti expressions in your outreach?

HH Lokanath Swami: I wish I could do more. I had realised the significance of this and our Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharya Narottama Das Thakur and Lochan das Thakur and many other Thakurs have complied songs. Lot’s of Krishna consciousness or Gaudiya Vaishnava Bhajans or Lila Kirtan, Rupa Kirtan, Nama Kirtan, Nimai sannyas lila Kirtan.

So when it is your local language or mother tongue then you could follow and digest and assimilate that more easily so and Prabhupada has said that the songs of Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Narottama Das Thakur are non different from the Vedas, they are Vedas. So to grasp the Vedas and the Sanskrit language in Sutra form and all these acarya, they compose in vernacular or local languages so we should take full advantage of these arrangements.

Then there’s some difficulties as these compilations are three hundred, seven hundred years old and then the language of the words used in those day are not the same as these days and then again philosophy understanding becomes difficult. So besides myself there are other devotees in Maharashtra who are quite well versed in the Tukaram Abhangas and they have memorised or they seek and explain. I do some, some of them are part of my vocabulary.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Yes Maharaja so if I understand rightly you said three things that our tradition has done. That l in the form of the songs of the Acarya like Narottama Das Thakur, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Lochan Das Thakur, so in that sense it’s part of out tradition to present a Sanskrit message in the vernacular languages. And then you are saying that there are some devotees who are doing it with respect to Tukaram Maharaja’s Abhangas and other things.

And that can be done with the challenges which include that it’s a little old English. And you said that you would like to do more, is it just a matter of logistics or is it because we are a part of a particular tradition which means there are limits to how much we can take resources from other traditions, or is it just more logistical?

HH Lokanath Swami: There are other traditions and even amongst those other traditions some are closer to our Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. Some things may be not so close and matching our philosophy or tradition or culture but we are very aware of those.

Karma kanda, jnana kanda, kevala visera bhanda.

Or Tukaram Maharaja says that your talk or songs or whatever, ‘if it is tinged with Advaita, this non-dual, Nirakara, Nirguna, Advaitavad, then I have nothing to do with this!’ So I am sure that this Advaita Vani or Nirvishesha shunyavadi pashchatya desha tarine. That Advaitavad or Shunyavad or Bhautikvad or Samyavad is just mixed and it becomes a song and those Abhangas could be a Mishra.

Karma Mishra or Jyana Mishra or Yoga Mishra Bhakti but our principle is

Harer Na harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha (C.C 6.242)

Why is it said three times? So the explanation is why? Nasty eva, not by Karma so there’s one Nasty eva and not by Jyana there is another Nasty eva. And not by Yoga so there’s another Nasty eva. So these things will be there so you have to also be cautious, be careful. So that could be a reason and so it’s better to be safe than sorry, as they say. So just stay awake.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Okay. So sometimes I find it a little paradoxical or ironical that sometimes in our out reach we can quote western authors and we may quote something from Shakespeare or Byron or something like that. But sometimes we have to be you could say almost hyper cautious about quoting something from the Indian tradition itself.

So although they may be much more spiritual, so the ideological principles may be there but if we consider the lifestyles of the western authors whom we may quote, just to introduce some philosophical point to new people, to show how something is not strange or alien but is relevant, in one sense if there is wisdom that can help us connect with Krishna’s wisdom, then does the source matter that much?

Because it is not that we are recommending that source to some people, so you are familiar with this and so this is a similar point..

HH Lokanath Swami: Okay so Sankaracarya propagated this impersonalism so we stay away. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has warned

Mayavadi bhasya sunile haya sarva nasa
(c.c Madhya 6.169)

But when the same Sankaracarya talks

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
govindam bhaja mudhamate ?
samprapte sannihite kale
nahi nahi raksati dukrinkarane

So he’s saying ‘go for it.’ He is Advaitavadi and all that. Well he was speaking the truth, Bhaja Govindam otherwise you are being a fool! So otherwise you look into this study of grammar but then what about worshipping Govinda? The whole Bhaja Govindam series of verses is a book called Bhaja Govindam. And there are talks of Vairagya, renunciation and there we are together and so we have no issues with Sankaracarya’s Bhaja Govindam and those songs.

Or when he says bala vasta krida sakta. When are you going to worship the Lord? When you are a child you will be playing and when you will become a young man you will be running after young women and when you are old you will be absorbed in you anxieties. A ridden person you are going to become, so where is your time for the Lord? So we welcome this statement of Sankaracarya and so it depends.

Each year Sankaracarya comes to Pandharpur and he has darsana of Vitthal and he spontaneously composes Pandurangastakam.

Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam
Parabrahma lingam bhaje Pandurangam

Sankaracarya ki.. (laughter). He says Bhaja Pandurangam, worship Panduranga and what kind of Panduranga? Parabrahma lingam. Lingam means form so Parabrahma and Param Dhama like that the same thing he is talking. Just like Arjuna said to Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita and then Sankaracarya is glorifying Panduranga to his heart’s content.

So we could do some picking and choosing from even what these other Sampradayas, saints or Mahatmas have written or spoken.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: That’s a very important point about selecting carefully and you also mentioned that something written in very old Marathi language, it’s meaning may not be clear and accessible. So do we also have a living Bhakti tradition right now? In Maharashtra within our movement or outside, there are people even today composing Bhakti songs and Bhakti poetry. Is it happening now also in the local languages?

HH Lokanath Swami: Yes maybe somewhere but there’s nothing dominating the Maharashtrian scene.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: In the last hundred to hundred and fifty years in general poetry itself has been going down all over the world. Not any great poetry has been composed and I guess that’s a part of..

HH Lokanath Swami: Yes, we are to revive our Gadiya Vaishnava consciousness, Krishna consciousness here and now we have Chaitanya Caritamrita in Marathi and Bhagavatam in Marathi and Bhagavad Gita and so let Maharashtrians
now go for it and drink it, digest it and assimilate it. They should take full advantage of what is being made available by Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Maharashtra is waiting, India is waiting and whole world is waiting for Gauranga Maharprabhu’s special benediction and the international society for Krishna consciousness is here to deliver that benediction in the form of chanting

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

And in the form of Srila Prabhupada’s books and we have temples and Darshans and festivals and Prashadam. So this is complete and I think let the world be just happy with this. Or let Maharashtra, India, the world be happy like that.

Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai!

Param vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtana
Srila Prabhupada ki jai
Hare Krishna movement ki jai

He has established this international society for Krishna consciousness and it is from here that Krishna consciousness spreads to the world to the best of our ability.

I think I have given my concluding message just now and am just winding up so it’s your turn and you can do this.

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: Is there anything you would like to add Maharaja?

Lokanath Swami: Thank you for this opportunity Chaitanya Charan Prabhu. It was nice talking to you and I look forward to ..

Chaitanya Charan Prabhu: It has been an immense honour Maharaja. Thank you very much for your time and sharing not just your experience and your wisdom. Through all that you were saying I could feel your sense of devotion coming out and I feel not just illumined but also encouraged. I’m sure the audience will also have that experience. Immensely grateful to you Maharaja for sparing your time and being here for the podcast.

Lokanath Maharaja ki jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!
Thank you very much Maharaja.

End.

“Results of disrespecting our superiors”
January 16th 1994
New Delhi, India

tasyayam anayasyasit
parebhyo vah parabhavah
praksinebhyah sva-vairibhyah
samrddhanam ca yat surah [SB 6.7.22]

Tranlsation:
Because of your misbehavior toward B?haspati, you have been defeated by the demons. My dear demigods, since the demons were weak, having been defeated by you several times, how else could you, who were so advanced in opulence, be defeated by them?
Purport
The devas are celebrated for fighting with the asuras perpetually. In such fights the asuras were always defeated, but this time the demigods were defeated. Why? The reason, as stated here, was that they had offended their spiritual master. Their impudent disrespect of their spiritual master was the cause of their defeat by the demons. As stated in the sastras, when one disrespects a respectable superior, one loses his longevity and the results of his pious activities, and in this way one is degraded.

So, this is yet another incidence from the history which took place long time in the past have been shared with us by Srila Vyasadeva in the form of Srimad Bhagavatam and this takes place here. We are here and history repeats. Meaning what happened in the past could and does happen all over again. So here, what we are understanding from this part of Bhagavatam is what happens when your superiors are disrespected or misbehave our relationship with our spiritual master and our respectable superiors. The results has been given.

We could say that happened in the past, that has nothing to do with us or with the present time. Can we say that? No. This is the rule. The world is governed by different rules, different sets of rules. Big and small rules. They do not change. So we cannot say that one time this had happened and this was the results of the misbehavior or misconduct in the part of demigods, Indra. They offended their spiritual master, Brihaspati, and he left their company disgusted and unsupported of their behavior. Then he walked away but the result was there was a fight which is a normal again – fight between demons and demigods.

Prabhupada is using the term perpetual. This fight is perpetual. Devas are celebrated for fighting with asuras perpetualy. Now there are only two kinds of people in this world,
Two kinds of persons, devotees and demons, and they always fight for their rivalry, one wants to defeat the other one. And who wins ultimately? Demigods always win. This time, they were defeated.

So, Brahma has personally asked them questions, “How come? In the pasts, you defeated the demons so many times, but this time you are defeated! You have been continually defeated these demons, they had become weaker. The strong demons you have defeated. After so many defeats, the demons have become weaker. Those demons you could not defeat. Strong demons you have defeated, but now weak demons you are not able to defeat. Can you think of some reasons? What do you think what is the difference? That time when you defeated the demons and now the demons have defeated you. What is the difference? Just think for a while. There must be some thing.”

Now the demigods had no answers to the questions. Brahma is going to reveal the facts to them as he is going to make it clear that the reason is that in the past you had several of your superiors including Brihaspati, your spiritual master, but now, this time, you are not favoured by your spiritual master. As a result, you lost all your powers and now you are defeated.

We get powers from whom for our spiritual advancement? If we want to make this advancement, we get powers from Krsna. Krsna’s powers come through the previous acaryas and they come to us through our spiritual master, diksha guru, shiksha guru, caitya guru, vartma-pradar?aka-guru – varieties of gurus. One diksha guru, many shiksha gurus, our family – Prabhupada’s family. There are so many gurus. Some are giving us initiation and so many more giving us instructions, sharing their realizations, giving us guidance, inspire us. They are also gurus and by their mercy we are making some progress. It is not automatic.
According to Cakravati Thakur,

yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado
yasya aprasadan nagati ko to pi

You will not make any progress if there is no prasad or the superiors. We thrive on prasad. If there is no prasad or the supply is cut, we will starve. First of all we have to manage to get some food to eat. But there are other kinds of benediction and mercy that we need which is not some material sustains. There are some mercy in the form of plate of prasad that we eat and some other necessities are coming also: devotees care and maintenance, soaps, toothbrush, toilet kit. These things, are they mercy? Are they prasad? These things are healthy in the service of the Lord. So it’s some kind of mercy.

Yet, there is another kind of prasad that you do not even see. It is so subtle. Because it is so spiritual then mercy flows. Mercy flows from high potential as there is the electricity flows. If we keep ourselves at the higher potential or the higher level than the spiritual masters or others vaisnavas, how will the mercy flow? So we bow down at the feet of vaisnavas, spiritual superiors, spiritual master. Where do we touch our hands and head? We touch by their feet or we touch the feet. We bow down or our head goes down. We try to put ourselves at a very lower level. More lower position we take, what will happen? More flow will there be. Is this easy to understand? Yes.
In case we put ourselves like Indra who thinks he has so much opulence and “that makes me superior to my spiritual master or other superiors,” so, immediately, mercy flow is stop. So, one has to be always watchful and always careful so that this mercy is not cut off. We need mercy all the time. We are at the mercy. Just like mercy case, so that is our case. Without the mercy of Krsna, vaisnavas, spiritual masters, we can not make any progress. We need mercy all the time, not that certain time in our life we would not require or need mercy anymore. There are various examples, because they thought, “we are superior, we do not need the superiors.”

There was a mouse and he was always harassed by a cat. He was wondering, “what should I do?” So the mouse went to a sage, some mystic yogi like sai baba. He said, “There’s a cat who is always harassing me. Do something and make me a cat.” He chanted some mantra and “chu-mantra”. So he became a car. You want to become someone superior to you, by position or body you are. Now he was cat but mouse was not harassing. Who was harassing them now? The dog was harassing, always chasing the cat and again he got into trouble.

He went back again to the same yogi. “My problem is not from the mice but my problem is from the from the dogs. So please make me dog.” Another mantra was chanted and he became a dog. No problem from cat anymore but now problem from lion. So he goes back again, “could you make a lion?” “Yes, yes, why not? You are approaching, begging me for mercy and no other shelter, just me.” The yogi did a mantra again and he was made a lion. Then he started roaring, “I am the king! There is no creature as powerful as I am.” So he wanted to make someone around him his first target and this was the sage in front of him. So he went wandering in the forest to find someone to eat or scare.
So on whom he was going to try his power on? The sage! Roaring him up. And then what happened? Before he could do something to the sage, the sage chant another mantra and that mantra was meant to make the lion back into mouse. He became mouse again by that mantra. He took all his powers that made him into the cat, the dog and the lion and he was mouse again – back into trouble. He could have let the lion by the mercy of this powerful sage, by his mantras, he could have let him alone but the person who gave him all these powers and vision, he was trying to get him. Ungrateful, “namakharam.” “Namak” means salt. You eat somebody’s salt then you owe him something or you have some obligation towards him as you are eating his “namak”, his salt. You do not eat only salt, it is part of the whole meal. It is not just salt that you are eating. He was someone ungrateful so, he lost all his powers.
This could and this does happen. This has happened, also. We have seen many some of our godbrothers and devotees also. Position is no big thing but losing service or not having desire for serving Krsna anymore or the mantra does not come, or if one does not want to chant mantra anymore, would there be any worse defeat than that? One may think, “oh, demigods had to fight. They were ksatriya and they had to fight, physically, with the demons. We are just simple people. We are not emperors or kings, we do not have army and there is no fight and battle and no victory and defeat. So why should we learn anything from this example? What kind of defeat is no defeat?” But we have enemies.

These demons represent, they are personification of, bad qualities. Demons represent what? “Anarthas.” Which also, broadly speaking, big, big anarthas. Big enemies are in how many numbers? Six enemies are there – kama, krodha, mada, moha, lobha, matsarya. So, who would defeat us? If we do not have the mercy of the superiors, mercy of the spiritual master, who will save us? When the kama is powerful, the lust is trying to devour you, who will save us? When krodha, so much energy. When a person becomes angry, he is losing so much of his power. When you go through this anger thing you become physically weak, you begin trembling, you can not think and lot of energy is drained by this kama. Kama is powerful, it defeats us. Krodha is powerful.

Lobha is powerful. Greed keeps us busy. There are two things. One thing a need yet other thing is a greed. Need is okay. You need somethings, few things. As soon as those things are provided which you need, you should be happy. But if your enemy called greed is very, very strong then there is no end this greed will make you work and work as you will never be satisfied with few necessities of your life. If there is greed then you will have no time for Krsna and you will not chant Hare Krsna. Like that, it is to explain that how kama, krodha, lobha, mada, moha, matsarya defeat us when we have no mercy of the respectable spiritual superiors. So, we have to be very, very careful.

We were talking to one devotee in Melbourne, last week. He was saying, “I rather be careful as I turned up my eyes and I see some senior devotees, some leaders having difficulties and they had to leave and they are no more serving. Am I the next?! That makes me fearful which makes me more careful. Or am I an exception?”
So we have enemies and in order to become victorious, we are in need of mercy. We are a mercy case. But when the superiors become merciless, no more mercy – can you think of that state of existence that you do not get, anymore, mercy? If you are told, now, no more mercy. If you are beginning trembling and will you know what to do and how you would survive? What will happen to you? Because we are not here with our own strength, we are not lively because of our own powers or strength, adjustment or physical strength or material opulence, no. None of these things are called of our present spiritual status. Whatever all we have attained is all simply mercy. What kind of mercy? Causeless mercy.

We do not even deserve it. We do not even talk of our past. Not even take a look to go with the history case. Our own history is so bad and still we are here and around Krsna and devotees. It is amazing. We are amazed that we are here. What is the cause of us being here? It is the causeless mercy. Those who are giving us mercy, even Krsna is giving us mercy through the spiritual master. Krsna is giving us mercy to the association of devotees. Somehow, we deserve that mercy. As soon as you start thinking otherwise, immediately, the enemies are here. It is not the regular demons but our own anarthas. We have not conquer all so there is a remain in our bhajana kriya. The result of bhajana kriya is what? “Anarthas nivrati”. Before bhajana kriya us what? Sraddha, sadhusanga and then comes bhajana kriya. As we begin bhajana kriya, then we become free from our anarthas, conquering our enemies.
So we cannot forget that we have enemies, very powerful enemies. We can conquer or defeat our enemies by mercy of Krsna and the spiritual master and vaisnavas. Arjun and the pandavas were only 5 in number, their army was much smaller in number but they became victorious and what is the cause? They have mercy of Krsna.

vijayatu panduputranam
esam pakshe janardhanam

“Panduputranam”, Pandu putras became victorious because they were inspired by Janardhana Krsna, inspired of Krsna. That was the cause of their victory. So stay in the side of Parthasarathi, of Prabhupada and the devotees we become victorious by conquering all of our enemies, lust, greed, etc. Being small we have so many enemies, hovering around, just around the corner they are waiting to get us. As soon as you are not alert, immediately, they are going to grab us. So keep serving the devotees and also for protection by the mantra

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

This is our ISKCON bullets, gulab jamuns. Do not eat too many, otherwise, you will be fat then you will be defeated.
Okay, thank you. Sri Sri Radha Partha Sarathi ki, jai!

The origin of bhagvad gita

11th December 2008
Iskcon Amravati

Sri Krishna Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu ki jai!
Rukmini Dwarkadish ki jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

These days, the topic for discussion can only be Bhagavad Gita or it should just be Bhagavad Gita. Why? You all know why. This most auspicious time is the time of Gita Jayanti. The birth day of the Bhagavat Gita. You know Hanuman Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Jayanti. Jayanti means the birth day and so the same meaning goes for Gita Jayanti. The day of the birth of Bhagavad Gita.

Gita took birth on the day of Ekadasi and that Ekadasi is named Moksada Ekadasi. On the battlefield of Kuruksetra this Bhagavata Gita took birth and the time was morning time and it was the first day of battle. The battles of that time were called ‘Dharma Yudha’ (righteous battles). And they would start in the morning and continue till evening.

So on the first day at the beginning of the battle, both armies, the Kaurava army and the Pandava army had arrived and were ready to fight. Now In the middle partition of both armies there is a chariot.

tatah svetair hayair yukte?mahati syandane sthitau (BG 1.14).

A great chariot settled in the midst of both armies, or it started towards the middle. Arjuna spoke saying ‘take the chariot further in the middle.’

senayor ubhayor madhye
ratham sthapaya me ’cyuta (BG 1.21)

Arjuna said, ‘Oh Acyuta (infallible one), please draw my chariot between the two armies.

As the Lord did this, it was during the morning time and the Lord’s wonderful chariot was pulled by horses which were white in colour. This was the chariot that the Supreme Lord Himself, Dwarkadish was driving. The Lord had come from Dwarka, not Vrndavana or Mathura, but He had come from Dwarka. In Kuruksetra what is the Lord’s role? He is a charioteer; He is Parth Sarathi (charioteer of Partha, Arjuna). In the Lord’s right hand the Lord is holding a whip and He is controlling the horses.
For who is He riding? For His friend Arjuna.

bhakto ‘si me sakha ceti (BG 4.3)

madhavah pandavas caiva (BG 1.14)

The personalities on the chariot are Madhava and Pandava, Arjuna. Arjuna is one of the five Pandavas and he is on that chariot.

divyau sankhau pradadhmatuh (BG 1.14)

In the first chapter of Bhagavad Gita it is said that as soon as the chariot has reached the middle of the arena, the Kaurava army have blown their conch shells and so from the Pandava’s side Krishna and Arjuna both make sounds of their conch shells. Everyone blew their own conches.

pancajanyam hrsikeso (BG 1.15)

Lord Hrsikesa blew His conch shell of the name Pancajanya.

devadattam dhanan jayah

Dhananjaya Arjuna blew his conch shell and Bhima blew his conch of the name Paundra. Ananta Vijaya was the name of the Sankha blown by King Yudhisthira. Left now were the two brothers Nakula and Sahadeva who then also blew their conches Sughosa and Manipuspaka.

So the names of the conches have also been given in the Mahabharata or you can say in Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad gita is one limb of the Mahabarata. There are different sections in the Mahabarata and there is Bhishma Parva (chapter) as well. Bhishma Parva in itself has eighteen chapters which is this Bhagavad Gita. So the description is given.

dharma ksetre kuru ksetre
samaveta yuyutsavah
mamakah pandavas caiva
kim akurvata sanjaya (BG 1.1)

So this is the beginning of Bhagavad Gita. Dhrtarastra uvaca. Dhrtarastra asked Sanjay, his minister and both were sat in Hastinapura from where they could see from that far- do you know where is Hastinapura? It is on the bank of the Ganges and it is very far from Haryana where Kuruksetra is situated. Haryana is so named as the Lord Hari came there (came means ana). Haryana the city, where the Lord personally came.

So Madhava and Pandava are on their chariot in the main part of the battlefield, in between both armies and now there will be a discussion between Krishna and Arjuna. Arjuna will be listening to the discussion as he is the main limb of this conversation. Also far away in Hastinapura this discussion is being heard by Sanjaya who is turn will tell Dhrtarastra
all that he hears.

Dhrtarastra is blind and so cannot go to the battlefield so Srila Vyasadeva has been very merciful to Sanjaya. ‘I will give you .. chhhooo.’ He must have not done that, a Chu Mantra (black magic spell) but ‘Oh Sanjaya I am giving you a power that from by sitting here in Hastinapura you will be able to have Darshan from far.’

Doordarsan television. Even before five thousand years what did they have? Doordarsan. (Door means far) so darshan from far. It is a good thing that that Darshan was Darshan of Krishna or had in it Darshan of Krishna. These days Doordarsan means there are others’ Darshans and less of Krishna Darshan. So Sanjaya is seeing and hearing and so to this Sanjaya Dhrtarastra is asking ‘kim akurvata sanjaya?’

‘Oh Sanjaya tell me, tell me. Mamakah pandavas caiva (BG 1.1). When my sons and the sons of Pandu met on the battlefield of Kuruksetra, which is also Dharmaksetra, what did they do? Samavets yuyutsavah (BG 1.1). They have both assembled to fight so what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do? kim akurvata sanjaya?’

So the answer to this curiosity is included in the whole Bhagavad Gita. There are other descriptions in the coming chapters of Bhagavata Gita and also after all the eighteen chapters it goes on further. So Arjuna and Krishna have both blown their conches.

divyau sankhau pradadhmatuh

After this Arjuna says ‘Prabhu, Prabhu please take my chariot further. Denayor ubhayor madhye ratham (BG 1.21). Please take the chariot forward. Yavad etan nir?kse ’ham yoddhu kaman avasthitan (BG 1.21). O Lord, please draw my chariot between the two armies so that I may see who is present here, who is desirous of fighting, and with whom I must contend with in this great battle.’

So the Lord did just that and drove the chariot forward so now the Kaurava army was a little closer in view and so they could recognise which individuals were in the opposite army. Krishna and Arjuna were just looking when the Lord, Hrsikesa spoke.

‘Pasyaitan samavetan kurun iti (Bg1.25). So you wanted to see with whom you would have to fight so take a look.’ So then Arjuna looked. The Lord told him to take a look so as Arjuna is looking the Lord says ‘pasyaitan samavetan kurun.’ Those who have assembled here to fight are indeed the Kauravas. You have to fight with the Kauravas and you are also a Kuru and they are also Kurus, from the same family. Hari Hari.

So the Lord also wants to call Arjuna’s attention to the fact that.. So Arjuna has seen and now understood that ‘hey! These are my own family members! They are my cousins, my Guru’s and other relatives are there.’ So Arjuna thought or in his mind there came a thought.

Na ca sreyo ’nupasyami hatva sva janam ahave (BG 1.31). Arjuna spoke ‘Oh Lord, I am not seeing anything good coming out of this battle, out of killing my own family members. No profit I can see in this.’

Na kankse vijayam krsna na ca rajyam sukhani ca (BG 1.31). Arjuna further says ‘I have no desire to become a king or to become happy. I have no such desire!’ In this way there are thoughts occurring in Arjuna’s mind. Bhramativa ca me manah. Arjuna spoke to the Lord ‘Oh Lord I am forgetting myself, and my mind is reeling.’

Then Arjuna further says ‘sidanti mama gatrani mukham ca parisusyati (BG 1.28). I feel the limbs of my body quivering and my mouth drying up. My bow Gandiva is slipping from my hand.’ If you want to fight you need to hold a bow like Gandiva tight but if the hand is quivering resulting in the bow slipping from the hand then can one do battle?

So Arjuna says to the Lord, ‘look look! Look at me. Sidanti mama gatrani mukha?lm ca parisusyati (BG 1.28). Brhramativa ca me manah (BG 1.30). My mind is reeling.’ There are so many things Arjuna has spoken of in the first chapter of Bhagavad Gita. He speaks of many duties, ‘what will become of this and what will become of that?’ Duties towards society and towards mankind.

‘If there is a war then the women will become widows and they will also become polluted. There will be unwanted population with children who are an unwanted progeny. They cannot become proper due to the unwanted circumstances of their birth and upbringing.’

So there were many thoughts on Arjuna’s part for the many groups of people and for the family, the domain and it’s protection. Thoughts of his duties and of fulfilling his duty in a proper way.

All these thoughts Arjuna conveys to the Lord. ‘Yes so for this reason we should not fight or for that reason we should not fight.’ Maybe Arjuna was thinking the Lord would have agreed.’ ‘Yes okay Arjuna you are right, let’s not fight. Let’s sit and have some snacks.’ But that is not what happened and the Lord carried on listening and Arjuna kept speaking and telling his thoughts on why battle should not happen.

Arjuna then got tired and at the end of the first chapter Arjuna sat down on the chariot. He had kept his Gandiva in his arm and was so confused and tired, so much so that in the second chapter there is a description of how from his eyes tears are flowing. Now the Lord will speak. The Lord could see the state if Arjuna, his plight and so the Lord says to Arjuna.

Sri bhagavan uvaca kutas tva kasmalam idam (BG 2.1). ‘Whatever you just said, how have these impurities come upon you? Since when have you started speaking these nasty, polluted things? They do not befit you nor your upbringing, your heritage. Such persons cannot go to the higher planets. Also you are speaking like a learned man but actually nanusocanti panditah.

Although you speak like a learned man you are not a pandita, a learned man because a pandita does not do what? A learned man does not lament. Na nusocanti panditah. But if you look in the mirror you will see your face is full of sorrow and you are lamenting with tears in your eyes. Being a Ksatriya, a warrior you are sitting with the bow in your hands on the chariot so this is not how one prepares to battle.’

When you want to play fight, a small fight with someone, what do you say to them? ‘Hey get up!’ If somebody is sat down you get them up and sometimes you may grab their collars to get them to stand up because naturally you can only fight whilst standing. Of course if you need to talk you say, ’please sit, sit.’ So to talk you sit down but to fight you must stand. So the fact that Arjuna is seated means that he has firmly confirmed- actually he had already said and will say it again plainly that ‘I don’t want to fight. I will not fight.’

Na ca sreyo ‘nupasyami hatva sva janam ahave (BG 1.31). ‘I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, oh Lord.’ So this is the beginning of the Bhagavad gita and is the grounds for Bhagavad Gita to take place, on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Also the state of Arjuna’s mind is described in the beginning of Bhagavad Gita.

So the beginning, the first chapter of Bhagavad gita, we call it the Gita this first chapter, right? What Gita (song) is it? Bhagavad Gita. It is the Lord’s song and in the Lord’s Geet, the song of god, the first chapter is included but in this first chapter the Lord has not really spoken. His song, Geet, his words are not really in the first chapter, the Lord has only said a few words in this chapter.

Partha pasyaitan samavetan kurun iti (BG 1.31). Just these five small words the Lord has spoken in the first chapter. Otherwise it is all ‘Arjuna Gita.’ It is Arjuna’s feelings, his thoughts and his state of mind. Before that there is a description of the armies and of Kuruksetra. From the second chapter of Bhagavad Gita the Lord starts speaking. Sri bhagavan uvaca means who spoke? The Lord has spoken and what sort of Lord is this?

Sri Bhagavan whom is the possessor of the six opulences and within these six opulences is the opulence of knowledge. Bhagavan means all- knowing. Bhagavan also means all attractive and all powerful, all opulent and famous as well as the most renounced. These are the six opulences of the Lord.

aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana vairagyayos caiva sannam bhaga itingana (Visnu Purana 6.5.47).

These are the six opulences and one is knowledge. So here it is said said Sri Bhagavan uvaca which means the all- knowing uvaca, the all knowing supreme Lord Sri Krishna uvaca. He is the source of all knowledge. He is saying Aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate (BG 10.8). ‘I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me.’

He is speaking this and so knowledge is also coming from him. The Lord himself is all knowing and if there is any knowledge in this world it is coming from the Lord. Separately no person can produce knowledge in their factory or in their home. And there was never a time when-well, the Lord spoke this Bhagavad Gita five thousand years ago and the Lord gave knowledge to Arjuna.

So knowledge did not come into existence then. Since when is knowledge in existence? Since the Lord is there knowledge is there because that knowledge is only in relation to him. So therefore ever since there is the Lord, from then there is knowledge. All this knowledge, information and news is here since the Lord has been here.

It’s not that the Lord came and a much longer time after that these things came. So the all knowing Lord has made Arjuna the example, the reason to speak this knowledge. The Lord has lit the lamp of knowledge. You have all told me you have not been to Kuruksetra, you haven’t, have you? Oh you went and you too, so now there’s two and now three of you. Now you are remembering that you have been there.

So in Kuruksetra upon the order of Arjuna the Lord took the chariot into the middle of the battlefield and stopped it there. Bhramativa ca me manah. He became confused and forgetful and his mind reeled, the state of his mind going crazy. Then the Lord spoke to Arjuna the message of Bhagavad Gita. You can all go to this place, where the chariot was standing. That place within Kuruksetra is called Jyotisar, or we can say the light (Jyoti) of knowledge.

The Lord shone the knowledge of the light of the Gita. Therefore that place from where the Lord did this and spoke the Gita is called Jyotisar, the place of Jyoti, light. So in this world so many speeches are forever taking place but this speech, this discussion, which happens between two people is unique, a very important speech. People are always talking and there are always questions and answers going on when you go to school, market place, court place or shopping place or on the phone.

This is going on day and night, many discussions and talks, look even now there is a conversation going on but this conversation of the Gita is amazing and for the greatest good for all. Every man should understand this with great attention. One should not try to memorise the Slokas like a parrot but he should take them into the heart with proper learning.

We should lead our lives according to the order of the Lord in the Gita. This is the greatest mercy of the Lord on all of us that the he has given us all the knowledge of the Gita. Ya svayam padmanabhasya mukha padmad vinihsrita. In the Gita Mahatmya it is written, ‘what is so special in Bhagavad Gita when there are so many other scriptures?’

Gita sugita kartavya kim anyaih sastra vistaraih (Gita Mahatmya). What use is there of any other Sastras when we have Bhagavad Gita? Ekam sastram devaki putra gitam. So this Bhagavad gita which is the song of Devaki Putra, son of Devaki, Ekam Sastram – this one scripture is enough. So what is so special about it?

Svayam padmanabhasya, mukha padmad vinihsrita. One of the The Lord’s name is Padmana. Because his navel is like a lotus flower or also it could be said because from his navel a lotus flower grew on which Lord Brahma was born. The lotus flower sprouted from the navel of Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and so he is addressed as Padmana.

The Lord’s navel is very deep and so is the impression on his throat. His intelligence is also very deep. In Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu the signs and impressions on a great personality’s body are described. In these descriptions three places are said to be deep including the navel and the Lord’s throat which is deep like the sound of thundering clouds.

When one hears or sees some documentary of Sri Krishna, other people talk in the documentary or film but when the Lord’s turn to talk comes then the voice is different, a different sound and deepness of voice. And his voice and words reach far distances. Also there is depth in the Lord’s intelligence. His intelligence is not mixed up but is deep. So this is the Lord and devaki putram gitam is this Sastra (the words of the son of Devaki).

In the Mahatmya it is said that whoever-

gita gangodakam pitva punar janma na vidyate

When one drinks Ganges water that person becomes liberated so here it is said that this water comes from his lotus feet. Tu ja charani ca ganga nimani chandrabhaga ganga bhajan. You may have heard this.

Chandrabhagaya, Gangaya Jamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, Kaveri Sindhu, Narmada and all other rivers which are there, where do they come from? From the lotus feet of the Lord and from his lotus mouth comes out the Gita. Around the Lord’s arms are the cows and so we have these great signs of religion in our culture – Ganga, Gita, the cow.

So the Ganga comes from the Lord’s lotus feet and the Gita from his lotus mouth and he is a Gopa who stays with the cows and looks after the cows. So from the lotus mouth of Lord Padmana is this promise of the Gita. When the Lord declares

Sarva dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah (BG 18.66)

So the Lord spoke by moving his lotus lips and therefore these words are from the lotus like mouth of the Lord. It is no ordinary air of this material world moving out when these words are coming out and spreading from his lotus mouth-

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati (BG 9.26)

This is eternal and transcendental to material sound and it is indeclinable. Imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam. The Lord has said this in the fourth chapter of Bhagavad Gita and so the words that have come out of the lotus mouth of the Lord and are Avyaya. These words are never going to become lost or any less or be spent, this will not happen. These words will never be hidden and are therefore eternal words.

We can also take these words of Gita to be the form of the Lord. In the form of the Gita the Lord descended. And in the form of Bhagavad Gita although the Lord himself came out of his lotus mouth through his words, he did not become any less by expanding his form into the Gita.

om purnam adah purnam idam purnat purnam udacyate
purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate (Sri Isopanisad invocation).

So if from the complete the complete was taken away then what is left? The whole complete is left. One minus one is zero in this material world. If something is one whole thing and is taken away then nothing is left but here the supreme Lord is speaking and these words are his complete form and so the Lord does not any become less. The Lord is complete and the Bhagavad Gita, his spoken words also remain complete .

Sarvopanisado gavo dogdha gopala-nandana (Gita mahatmya 6)

Like this the greatness of the Bhagavad Gita has been sung. Sarvopanisado gavo. All the Upanisads in existence are in the form of the cow. How has the cow been made? From the Upanisads, Sastra. From these the cow has been made.

Dogdha gopala nandana. And Dogdha, who is milking this cow? Gopala nandana.
Parthovatsa. Partha, Arjuna who is he? Vatsa, the calf. What does the calf do? So Krishna is milking the cow, the Sastras he is wringing and Arjuna is drinking the milk of Sastras what Krishna is milking and wringing.

Sudheerbhoktha. The Gitamrutam which Arjuna is drinking (nectar of the Gita). Gitamrutam mahat. So the Gitamrutam which Arjuna is drinking, Sudheerbhoktha. This Amrita (nectar) that Arjuna has drunk, is Maha- Maha Prashad. Who drank it first? Arjuna drank it and in the form of Maha Prashad who will take it now? Sudheerbhoktha, those who are intelligent, Sudheer. What will they do? They will drink this Gita nectar through attentive listening and recitation, those who are intelligent will do this.

When one is intelligent and studies Bhagavad Gita they will become more intelligent. Only by intelligence does our life have existence just like a car driver or an air pilot. He is a very important person and even if the passengers fall asleep that’s okay but if the pilot becomes confused or inattentive then there can be devastation.

So in our lives intelligence has the most important role just like the driver of a car is the most important in making the car drive or move. This is the type of intelligence that the Lord is giving in the Bhagavad Gita.

Dadami buddhi yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te (BG 10.10)

So this intelligence should be used in what way? Yena mam upayanti te. ‘To come more closer to me they can use their intelligence, to come to me.’ So
How should we use this intelligence which has been given to us by the Lord? To get closer to him. This is the right way to use one’s intelligence. When I was small, even I was small at one time, there was that time as well. So when I would go to the temple with my mother, when she would go I would go along with her.

So my mother would tell me, ‘put your hands together, put your hands together.’ So I would do so and I remember then she would tell me to ask the Lord to give me intelligence. ‘Go on ask for intelligence, ask for intelligence. Oh Lord give him intelligence.’ Maybe your mothers have done this or said this before, ‘give my child intelligence.’ So finally when the Lord gave me intelligence and I became his devotee and joined Iskcon, when my mother found out she became very angry with the Lord.

‘Oh what sort or intelligence did god give you??!’ When I was young she would tell me to pray to the Lord to give me intelligence and when the Lord gave me this intelligence-

Yena mam upayanti te (BG 10.10). So that I could go closer to the Lord. This intelligence was at that time not pleasing to my mother, she was very hurt and upset. ‘Why did the Lord give you such intelligence and till when will you carry on thinking like this?’ She went to an astrologer to find out ‘till when will his intelligence, his thinking stay like this?’ So they also wanted to get some money, the astrologers so they said, ‘it won’t be for very long.’

So my family became happy but the prediction of the astrologer has not become true as yet. He had given them faith that it would not be for too long, maybe a month or two. So when I went back to my village I went to meet my older brother and the village people were saying ‘what a good boy he used to be.’ So I was before a good boy and when the Lord actually gave me intelligence I wasn’t good anymore.

Actually I became a Mahatma then and before this I was a Duratma. So now when I was a Mahatma they were saying ‘what a good boy he used to be.’ So I had gone for a very short time back to my village and my friends were playing cards. I was chanting japa.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So my older sister, when she would see me chanting Japa and all the other boys playing, she would cry and pray to the Lord, ‘when will my brother play like this? When will you give my brother intelligence to do like this?’ She was praying to the Lord like this. Rukmini Dwarkadish ki jai!

So Bhagavad Gita is the most important thing given by the Lord, it is a gift and you could say it is a letter written by god. But who is this letter for, only Arjuna? Hari Hari. The Lord has written a letter. Who is this letter for? For all of us or for just you all or just for me? It is for all of you. So who has he written this for? For me and for all of us individuals the Lord has done what? The message is one for all of us, the message is the same. And what is that message?

Man mana bhava mad bhakto
madyaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ‘si me (BG 18.65)

This is the message and this is a very confidential message. The Lord said ‘now I will tell you something very confidential.’
Guhyatamam pravakshyamy (BG 9.1)
Guhyatamam, Guhya, Guhyatar, Guhyatam.
‘I will teach you the most confidential knowledge.’ After saying this the words spoken by the Lord are these.
Man mana bhava mad bhakto
madyaji mam namaskuru (BG 18.65)

The Lord said ‘work in this way.’ And what way is that? Man mana, meaning ‘think of me. Mat manah, put your mind on me.’ Give the Lord your mind, put that concentration of the mind on the Lord. So this one thing is now done, so now?

‘Become my devotee. Madyaji. Serve me and worship me. Mam namaskuru, bow down to me.’ None of this is difficult so become a devotee of the Lord. And whoever will do this, the Lord says and it is written on these pages- Mam evaisyasi. Those who do this Mam evaisyasi, they will attain me. ‘Satyam te’ he says that he is telling the truth.

The Lord has no need to convince us or say that he is telling the truth, to justify this fact. Because whatever the Lord says is always the truth and apart from the truth he doesn’t say anything else. In the court what book is there? Bhagavad Gita is there and it is said ‘whatever I say I will speak the truth and apart from lies I will not say anything else.’ (Laughter)

‘I’m telling the truth that apart from lies I wont speak anything else.’ But the Lord is the epitome, the form of truthfulness and whatever words are said from his lotus mouth are always the truth. He doesn’t have to separately state that he is telling the truth. For the sake of social customs we say ‘I am telling the truth’ but here the Lord says ‘Mam evaisyasi. Hey you persons who are doing man mana bhava mad bhakto madyaji mam namaskuru, you devotees will attain me.’

‘Satyam te I am telling the truth’ and that’s not all because further the Lord says, ‘Pratijane. I am promising you, this is my oath that I take.’ Why all of this? Priyo ‘si me. ‘Because you are all very dear to me. You are all mine- mamaivamso.’ The Lord says ‘mamaivamso jiva loke jiva bhutah sanatanah (BG 15.7). You are my parts and parcels and you are my limbs. You are not separate from me.

Yes it’s true that you are lost to me and wandering about aimlessly but nevertheless you are mine.’ So this is true that we belong to the Lord and that the Lord is ours and so the Lord is telling us to go back to him, to attain him. We are missing the Lord and the Lord also wants us to be back with him in his abode. So this unusual discourse- we were not there at that time five thousand years ago.

Well of course we were around and we must have been somewhere but we were not in Kuruksetra and we did not get the good fortune to hear Bhagavad Gita there as it happened. If we had heard it there at that time then would we be here now sitting in Amravati? We were not there and the proof of that is what? We are here now which means we were not there then and that is why we are here now.

If we had been there then we would not have stayed here but would have gone back long ago to the Lord’s abode by becoming devotees. After becoming devotees some stay here to preach the Lord’s message. Some devotees the Lord calls back to his abode and some devotees he sends and keeps in this material world.

Bhutani bhavyani janardanasya (SB 3.5.3)
Lord Janardana’s great souls, the Mahapurushas take the Lord’s message and spread it to others. So this is service of the Lord and upon those who do this service the Lord becomes very pleased. So whoever understands the knowledge of the Gita and then explains it to others, when the Lord sees this he becomes very happy and pleased. Why does he become pleased? Because he knows that when my message is heard and understood by the devotee, then what will happen?

Bhakti Yoga. There will be a link, forever there will be a bond between the Lord and the soul which is currently imprisoned in the material ocean of birth, death, old age and disease. Punar janma na vidyate (BG 8.16). ‘He will not attain another birth again and he will establish a relationship with me,’ the Lord is saying. So whoever helps one make a sacrifice in Yoga, in helping one to establish a relationship with the Lord, giving a helping hand by putting their hand forward to help someone, the Lord is very pleased with such a person who helps others in this way. He is called Bhurida.

Bhuvi grananti te bhuri dhajana. Whoever on this planet gives this message to others in his life- tava kathamrtam tapta jivanam. This life is like what? This Samsara is Davanal, this world is on fire. This type of fire is found in most cases and is everywhere in this material world in the form of fire, fever, poisons and various kinds of heat. So by hearing and understanding this Kathamrita or this Gitamrita a person becomes relieved and is freed and becomes a devotee.

So those who help others like this, they are the greatest benefactors. They are kind and benevolent who spread this knowledge to others, they are most benevolent as they share their own wealth. This Bhagavad Gita is the greatest possession, it is the greatest of riches and therefore those who distribute their wealth in the form of knowledge of Bhagavad Gita, they are the greatest philanthropist, giver of charity.

By giving clothes or any other thing in charity we help others, it is service to society and in doing this we fulfil our duty, but the greatest charity is the charity of spreading the knowledge of Gita. And whosoever attains the charity of this knowledge becomes wealthy. One who is knowledgeable is wealthy as well, and this is the actual wealth. From this wealth and knowledge come worthiness and then happiness.

By this Happiness which is eternal, the happiness of the soul is achieved. The soul will achieve happiness. So the endeavours made in the material world- yesterday we went to a school ‘Adarsh Vidyalaya.’ So for the many students Gita Jayanti Mahotsava was being explained over there. The devotees were explaining how one old lady went out to do her shopping and she bought a cage for her bird.

She put the bird in the cage but gave more attention to the cage and polished the cage frequently. Hardly any attention was paid to the bird inside the cage. She wasn’t feeding the bird so it was becoming weak and so one day came when the bird was no more. The lady still continued polishing the cage, making it shine. So she called her neighbours, ‘please come, please come and look at the cage! Look at the cage!’

Her friends were seeing the cage but at the same time they could smell a horrible, nasty smell. What was this smell? The poor bird that was dead in the cage, that was the horrible smell coming from the cage. So from this we learn that our body is alike to the cage and the bird in the cage is who? That is the soul. Is the cage most important or the bird? The animal, the bird is most important.

So who should be looked after more? The animal and not the cage. This the Gita teaches us and explains to us. It gives us knowledge of the soul and knowledge of how to keep or make soul happy.

Brahma bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad bhaktim labhate param (BG 18.54)

The process to give the soul happiness is explained in the Bhagavad Gita. We can see that this world is looking for further knowledge of matter constantly and will continue to do so. Atoms and the molecule and nucleus, neutron, proton all these things they’ll put under a microscope and with the help of these microscopes and telescopes people are trying to go to the moon!

But the Lord is in the heart, so close to us and within us and yet we cannot go there, there is no endeavour to go there. ‘We are thinking ‘where shall we go elsewhere, further?’ We don’t want to go within or be absorbed in our inner self. So this Bhagavad Gita gives us actual eyes to wake us up and it open our eyes. This Bhagavad Gita is a pair of spectacles that we must wear to see ourselves, to see the Lord and to see our own families.

Those who we call our own family members we have not yet seen. We actually have not seen our own kin and do not see them throughout our whole lives and that is why when there is death we cry and say- what do we say? ‘He has gone.’ Well who is it that has left? That person with whom you were has gone but the body is lying there. It is either on your lap or on the bed but nevertheless it’s lying there in front of you.

You are saying ‘he’s gone, he’s gone.’ But who has gone? The soul has gone. But we never recognised that soul and the actual person who is the soul we did not take care of or worry about them. We did not make any arrangements to nourish that soul or we did not serve that soul in any way. If we did do anything, any service, then it was for the cage, the body and that’s all.

So this is the knowledge that is in need and this knowledge is available in Gita. Srimad Bhagavad Gita ki jai! Gita Jayanti Mahotsava ki jai! Rukmini Dwarkadish ki jai! Srila Prabhupada ki jai.

So we have another two, three days left and so we will further speak the message of Bhagavad Gita to understand it and put it into practice. We can plan and have a think about all this. About practicing and spreading this message, we can speak about this as well as think about it. This can all be the talk in the coming days and the fact that you all are present here, you have come, you are welcome and I thank you from my heart for your coming here.

Please continue coming and we will speak further and there will be an endeavour to understand the Gita. So it is all profitable. The actual profit is attaining the Lord, what is the profit? Attainment of the Lord by the help of Gita. Who do we need to attain through the assistance of the Gita? The supreme Lord. The Gita is his words which is the only thing he left here when he went away. So through concentration on these words..

When we understand these words we will be able to understand the Lord and attain him. This is profit and apart from this profit there is no other profit.

Sukh Sampati Ghar Ave (a song which asks the Lord for happiness and material gain and mental peace). This all carries on but this is not the profit we are talking about. Dhanam Janam Sundarim (wealth, long life and beautiful women). These things are useless and temporary. This sort of profit will bring us distress alongside the temporary so called happiness. It is duality and this is what we are trapped in, Bhagavad Gita teaches us this.

We need to be transcendental to this duality of happiness and distress, rising above it. we need to transcend victory and defeat and this is the highest point, to learn this and then we will not be so unsettled. We are trapped in these dualities of happiness and distress, day and night, poor and rich, man and woman, countryman and foreigner, Hindu and Muslim and the list is very long.

How to arise above these dualities? We are actually going backwards not forwards. So the Gita teaches us liberation from all these struggles. So please begin study of Gita or continue this study and we will further speak on this matter tomorrow and the day after.

Gaura Prem Anande Hari Haribol.

End.

Spirituality and Youth
Prerana Festival
Zoom lecture for Iskcon Chowpatty
23rd January 2021

So Hare Krishna to you all assembled youths. Radha Gopinath ki jai! Yes there were the days where the Prerna festival used to take place right there in front of Radha Gopinath. I understand today is the one hundred and eightieth Prerna festival. That’s what I was told so I am very happy with the organizers of today’s event and especially with those who started this Prerna festival a long, long time ago. Maybe fifteen, twenty years ago the Prerna festival started.

I suppose Gauranga is one of the organizers or inaugurator of this festival. This is our oldest youth program in India so I once again thank and congratulate the organizers of this Prerna Iskcon youth forum festival. Of course without you students, the Prerna festival is not possible and so I am very happy today. I don’t see many of you but I suppose many of you are there, not visible but wherever you are in different forums.

Yes, those were the days, during my days when I was a young man like you, and of course there were so many other millions of other young men, youths like me some fifty years ago. They coming to satsang, coming to the temple and joining program like Prerna festival, forget it!

But now things have changed and revolutionized and now there are thousands of youths stepping forward and participating in this program of Iskcon youth forum all over Bombay and all over New Delhi and all over Bangalore, all over everywhere. Thousands of youths are part of these Prerna-like festivals. So I am very, very glad, some fifty years ago as you heard the announcement, in the early seventies I was also a young man, right? One day I was also a young man and a youth like you and I was also studying right there in Mumbai, Kirti College Dadar. Do you know Kirti College of Dadar? So some of you know it and I was a student of Kirti College. I was a student of the Willing don College, Sangli. I was a student there but by the grace of the Supreme Lord- I realized that later on. When Krishna is kind to us he brings us to his devotees.

So Krishna kindly took me to His devotee Srila Prabhupada ki jai! Hari Hari. And as I was studying I came in contact with Srila Prabhupada. I came in contact with Srila Prabhupada’s followers at Cross Maidan near Church gate Station. There was a huge festival- Hare Krishna festival and there was a huge advertisement all over the town that said ‘American Sadhus are here! American Sadhus are in town!’

I was along with so many Bombaikers, so many Bombay Wala’s surprised to hear. American Sadhus? How is that possible? American scientist is okay but American Sadhu?! Forget it! So the huge crowds were rushing and participating in Hare Krishna festival and so I also was one of the participants. So this is how I was put in contact with the devotees of the Lord and with Srila Prabhupad as well as his followers.

I considered and consider that even today that that was my great fortune and likewise now Krishna is calling you.

Jiva jago jiva jago gaurachandra bole.

I’m sure you’ve heard that song which says ‘Gauranga is calling Gauranga is calling. Wake up sleeping souls. Wake up youths of India, Gauranga is calling.’ So you are hearing Gauranga’s call and you are responding to that call. You are running, rushing and you have already ran and rushed and you are in the association with the devotees of Krishna and they are guiding you on the path, on the journey of life.

Life is a journey so it’s good to have, it’s the best to have the guidance of devotees of Krishna otherwise certainly you will be misguided- guaranteed. Because that is what this world is, of cheaters and cheated. No one knows the truth and no one shares the truth with you. Because if they don’t know the truth then how could they share the truth with you?

They do not know the ultimate reality in all that you see around or touch or smell, that is not all that exists. There is a lot more that exists out there or up there. But you cannot study and understand that world, the spiritual world and Vaikunthaloka and the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Panduranga. He exists and His kingdom, so much exists! The spiritual life exists, spirituality exists and so we have to study and understand that the ultimate reality is something that is eternal. We are also eternal and to even understand that we are eternal.. We get to know all these truths by coming in contact with devotees of Krishna. That is why sastra says:

Sadhu sanga sadhu sanga msarva sastre kaya
lava matra sadhu sange sarva siddhi haya (CC Madhya 22.54).

So in this Iskcon youth forum, you get sadhu sanga. Sadhus come where you are based and you also get to go to Sadhus, Hare Krishna devotees. You can go to the temple or even on pilgrimage and then they open our eyes and this is called Sabda Praman. There are different evidences, different ways to know the truth.

So there’s a Pratyaksha Praman and this is where seeing is believing. So we try to see with our eyes but you cannot see Sac Cid Ananda Vigraha, the spiritual existence and spiritual personalities with your eyes. You can’t perceive that spirituality with your blunt material senses which are imperfect. This material world has so much faith in the power of their senses so to acquire knowledge they use their senses called Prayaksha, prati and aksha-Right in front of you is whatever you perceive, whatever you can smell- but there is an existence of not only pratakshya but parokshya, something that is transcendental above or beyond this material reality and to understand that we need sastra praman, sadhu, Sastra and Acarya’s. If you hear from them and if you hear Krishna in Bhagavad-gita then you will know so much more.

And true reality is a science; it is a science of self realization. Srila Prabhupada was a scientist or even Tukaram Maharaj was a scientist. Ramanujacharya was a scientist, not just Galileo or Newton – what do they know? They don’t know much, they don’t know much but these spiritual scientists they know so much more. So after we come in touch with these great personalities and often they make the Gita syllabus, textbooks and they become teachers and professors they teach us, teach you.

So this has to be done in this human form of life which is a very, very rare gift which we have been gifted by the Lord, this human form of life and we have to make the best use of it by approaching devotees and making an enquiry from them.

athato brahma jijnasa
It is said and they will reveal the truth unto you, ‘oh youths of India wake up.’ I mean you have woken up so now wake up others. The rest of the youths, also your friends and neighbours or other youths.

Now Prabhupada wanted youths. Youths wanted! When he was contemplating or planning the propagation of Krishna consciousness worldwide, at one point he was in Jhansi. You know where Jhansi is. At one point Srila Prabhupada was advertising in newspapers, advertising for what? Youths wanted! He wanted youths to come forward, get trained and propagate Krishna consciousness, God consciousness and India’s culture all over the world.

The gift of India – India has beenWgifted; I would not even say India. Bharat Varsa has been gifted, and why? This Krishna consciousness gifted along with Krishna- ‘we have Krishna, we have Sri Rama!’ Jai Sri Ram! So this is our wealth. Ramayana is our wealth, Mahabarata, Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam is our wealth. The ancient culture of India, not the modern culture of India is India’s culture.

So Srila Prabhupada wanted this to be shared with the rest of the world. Prior to that while the Lord was on the planet, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jai! Some five hundred years ago Sambhavami yuge yuge happened and the Lord appeared in the form of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became a preacher.

The Lord took sannyasa and he was travelling all over India and sharing the wealth of the holy name.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is the wealth of India, Bharat Varsa. So Mahaprabhu was sharing this all around and while he was doing this, as in Chaitanya Charitamrta He says ‘I am the only malakara. I am the only gardener and oh! How many fruits can I pick up alone? And fill the baskets and share them, distribute the fruits of love of Godhead? I’m the only one! Distributors wanted! Distributors wanted! Please come forward and fill up the baskets with the fruits of love of Godhead and distribute them freely everywhere!’

And he wanted the distribution to take place not just in Mumbai or not just in Maharashtra or Bengal, Orissa or India but all over the world. The Lord cares right? The Lord cares for every single person and every single entity because they are his people wherever they are.
So the Lord said:

prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama (Chaitanya Bhagavat)

My name will be chanted and shared in every town and every village of this world. So Mahaprabhu was appealing ‘please join me please join me.’ So then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s representative Saksad Hari, Srila Prabhupada also had the same mood and he was also welcoming and inviting, ‘youths wanted youths wanted’ because he wanted to make Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s prediction come true!

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted everybody and youths also, Srila Prabhupada wanted youths and in that parampara now we also want youths. We want all of you to come, join Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. You may join the temple or you may practice this Krishna consciousness at home.

grihe thako, vane thako, sada ‘hari’ bole’ dako
sukhe duhkhe bhulo na’ko,
vadane hari-nam koro re (Gitavali 2)

So this is also an appeal, everyone please chant the holy name of the Lord wherever you are. Grihe thako householder, Grihastha, make your home into an ashram or a mandir. Dil ek Mandir hai, Ghar ek Mandir hai. Every home could be a temple and the temples are already temples and brahmacari’s reside there. So wherever you are you could practice and relish Krishna consciousness. So we want or Krishna wants, our founder acarya wanted and we also want youths to come and join this effort of sharing this Krishna consciousness all over the world.

Or you could share that in big circle as possible within your home town or your home state or your home land, your motherland. Or you could go overseas. So when Srila Prabhupada once was in London one newspaper reporter asked him, ‘Swamiji, why have you come to our country?’ And Prabhupada possibly said ‘oh you also came, you Bristishers, you also came to our country so now I have come to your country.’

‘But why have you come?’ So Prabhupada was explaining that ‘I have come sir to give the gift of India, India’s gift. I have come to do the home delivery. You had come and whatever was valuable you thought, you took that away and you looted our country. But whilst doing that you left behind the most valuable asset, the gift of India. So now I have come to share that with you.’

When asked ‘Oh what is that gift? Is it a Rolls Royce during british Raj that may have been left behind?’ Then Prabhupada said ‘Krishna consciousness.’ Or then Prabhupada said ‘This Vedic literature from India or the holy name of the Lord. This is the gift.’ And then Prabhupada also used to say ‘You know I have come to your country or ‘I have come to America.’ Prabhupada very proudly used to proclaim ‘I haven’t come to take anything from you. I have come to give.’

And Prabhupada was the first Indian to go to the west to give and not to take. And because we are going, Indians are going, politicians are going or even youths are going for higher education – it’s not higher education (laughs). So they are going ‘Give us education, give us loan, give us super computers, give us give us give us!’ As a result we have become very popular in the west at least.

You know forty years ago when I went for the first time, seventy eight was the first time I went to America and they were asking me ‘oh where are you from?’ And I would say ‘from India.’ ‘Oh that India? The beggar’s country?’ That India what? Beggar’s country. Because we had been going and begging ‘give us give us.’ So Srila Prabhupada was that Bharat Ratna, the jewel of India.

He knew the wealth of India, the importance of India. Bharat desh mahan. In fact India is great but that greatness of India was in true sense realized by Prabhupada and he wanted to share that with the rest of the world and he did that. To do so he wanted.. In fact the youths of America, the first ones to join Srila Prabhupada, the American boys and girls, became his disciples.

America is suffering like anything, you know that? All that glitters is not gold, friends. So America and not only America but the whole world is suffering. England is suffering and not because of Covid 19, that’s yet another reason for suffering. This world is full of suffering and it’s meant to be like that. This world is duhkhalayam asasvatam (BG 8.15). There’s no way we can change the nature of this world, God has made it that way and this is no place for a gentleman, Prabhupada used to say.

So one time I was in America and read- I’m sure some youth had written something on a wall and he had written -listen to this. American youth writes like this on the wall, his realization and his thoughts. ‘Life is tough and then you die.’ Did you hear that? He says ‘life is tough and then you die.’ There was a pause and then he writes ‘You’re born again and as you are born again what is going to happen? Life is tough.’

That life is going to be tough so life is tough and then you die and you are born again and so this goes on and on. And this is what India could do. India has to take leadership in propagation. Yes let the western world propagate materialism, the mundane sciences and technology and this and that and then let India share it’s culture Krishna consciousness, knowledge of Bhagavad Gita with the rest of the world. They are badly in need of it!

Then Prabhupada used to say ‘andha pangu nyaya.’ The west is blind and India is a little bit lame. Then he used to talk andha pangu nyaya. East and west could combine, you don’t have to condemn and discard the progress made by technology and science. That could be utilized, or this blind man and lame man could get together, the east and west could get together. So when this blind man and lame man are together, what could they do and how could they help each other?

If they wish to go someplace certainly they could help each other. The blind man could walk and the lame man sitting on the shoulder of the blind man could show the way. So the world is blind and India has torchlight of knowledge. So our culture teaches simple living and high thinking. So simple living high thinking, simple living high thinking but the propagation, Prachar is high living and no thinking, you understand?

The Prachar, propagation the breaking news and all that happens through internet, the propagation, the Prerna will give inspiration to high living and no thinking. Our Srila Prabhupada used to say that they want the kingdom of God, opulent kingdom, country like God’s but country without God. Kingdom of God without God. ‘What do I need God for? I am God! I am Bhokta. Aham isvaro.

aham bhogi aham balavan aham sukhi’ (BG 16.13-15)

Krishna has said this in Bhagavad Gita. The demoniac nature is like that so simple living high thinking. So again I was in America and some team, some gentlemen they approached me and they said, ‘Swamiji Swamiji we have one formula that we are practicing these days.’ I said ‘what is that formula?’ They said ‘kiss formula.’ I said ‘I’m a sannyasi and I have nothing to do with kiss. No no kissing.’

They said ‘Swamiji not that kissing.’ I said ‘What kiss are you talking about?’ And he said – listen to this what he said. He said ‘Keep it simple, stupid.’ Did you get that? The kiss formula is ‘keep it simple oh stupid.’ So this is also a message? Keep it simple stupid world or mad mad mad world. Or this bad bad bad world is they have to keep themselves simple. On the contrary I was again talking about simple living and high thinking, lots of people or this is again a propaganda. The youths you see sometimes wearing t-shirts and what do they write on the back? Just do it! Have you read that? Just do it! Just do it! Meaning if you feel good, kuch kuch hota hai. Then if you feel good, do it! Do not even think or think later on but just do it! So this is high living no thinking. Not even simple thinking but no thinking. Just do it! So this is how the youths are being misled all over the world, all over India. Just do it. If you feel good just do it!

I was in Bombay many years ago and we were going for some function downtown and I saw a big board, a sign board billboard and when I looked at it there was a young man, some Mumbai wala (from Mumbai) and he had opened his chest (Maharaja makes swooosh sound) like Hanuman. But when I took a closer look at it what was in his heart? It was a Limca bottle. There was no Jai Sri Ram or there was no Sita Ram, the young man had a Limca bottle in his heart. So this shows what is their thinking, what are they contemplating, what are they planning to enjoy. So whatever you do, these things in your youthful days, that makes an impression upon you and that governs your thinking, feeling, willing.

That is the function of the mind thinking, feeling, willing and that stays with you even to the last breath of your life. There was an old man dying and his family had gathered around him and the children were saying ‘daddy daddy, you have only have one or two breaths to go before you leave. Could you say Bhola Bhola?’ They were followers, worshippers of Bhole Nath Shankar so they said ‘please say Bhola.’

But did father say ‘Bhola?’ What did he say? The father said ‘Cola Cola.’ And this was the last thing he said and he was out of there. So possibly he went to Coca Cola Loka? By thinking of Coca Cola

Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam
tyajaty ante kalevaram (BG 8.6)

Krishna says this right? Whatever you remember at the time of death that’s your destination. So be aware, be aware young men and ladies and gentlemen. We need good company. We need Hare Krishna devotee company, association of saintly persons to become like them. Men of character.

So the present day education is, I keep saying, it’s money making education. Education so that you can make money and then spend money but we would like to see the education that will make you man-making. Making Danavas into Manavas. There is so much Danavi, Rakshashi Pravritti all over the world and so this Hare Krishna movement is busy day and night revolutionizing the consciousness of people globally and there is a tremendous response.

From all over the world people are stepping forward, youths are stepping forward. Somehow everywhere the youths are the first ones to come and join. Youths come, so I was thinking that our Krishna is a youth. Our God is always youthful and so he is attracting youths from all over the world. Young boys and girls are joining- not just in India but in America. In Australia, in Africa, everywhere. And youths like singing and dancing so they chant

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

So they are becoming men of character. Money is lost, nothing much is lost. You know the saying it is very popular. ‘Money is lost nothing much is lost. Health is lost then something is lost however if you lose your character, Charitrahina (characterless) then everything is lost. So this Hare Krishna movement would like to see the men of character, youths building their character- character building.

So we pray and as we pray we propagate this,

sarve sukhinah bhavantu
sarve santu niramayah
sarve bhadrani pasyantu
ma kashchit duhkha bhagbhavet

This is high thinking. This is high thinking. Thinking of the welfare of the world. Sarve sukhinah bhavantu. Let everyone be happy, let everyone be happy. Others may also think that everybody be happy but the speciality of Hare Krishna devotees or the Hare Krishna movement is that not only do we wish that let everyone be happy, or we say ‘happy birthday to you’ or ‘happy new year’ but we tell the world how to be happy.

And that is chant Hare Krishna and what?
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. So we wish happiness to everybody in this world and we know how they could be happier. How can we know? The Lord has told us how to be happy. So we are sharing that news, that formula with the rest of the world. So the same prayer

Sarve sukhinah bhavantu
Sarve santu niramayah

Let everyone be free from sickness and no more disease. Let everyone be free from disease. This is the prayer, Sarve santu niramayah. So I was reminded that many years ago one of my friends, he became a doctor and then he was opening his hospital and I was invited for the inauguration of the hospital.

At that time I said this prayer, Sarve sukhinah bhavantu sarve santu niramayah. Let everyone be free from diseases and free from sickness and my friend said ‘Maharaja, if that happens, if everyone becomes free from sickness- no more sick people no more disease, then what will happen to my hospital?! You are just now about to open my hospital and cut the ribbon right now and I have a fifty bed hospital and you are praying that let everyone be free from the sickness and disease.’

So that’s not very high thinking, my friend was thinking differently and that is how the rest of the world also thinks that way. ‘Let the world go to hell and let me be healthy and happy. I don’t care.’ So part of the high thinking is that we are- all the people on this planet are part of our family. As Krishna enters your heart then your thinking becomes big thinking or high thinking and you are no more low, low minded, narrow minded. As Krishna enters your heart and you are thinking of Krishna then what is your heart? Our scriptures say

ayam nijah paroveti ganana laghuchetasam
udaracharitanantuvasudhaiva kutumbaka.

Ayam nijah, ‘these people are my people. Paroveti, but these people are outsiders.’ Thinking like this is ganana Laghuchetasam. Laghu, one thing is Laghu and the other thing is Guru. Laghu is narrow, small minded and Guru heavy and broad minded. So Laghuchetasam, those who are small minded, narrow minded, low minded, they always think ‘oh these are some outsiders and they are my people’ but those who are udaracharitanam tu, magnanimous, broad minded, high thinkers, what is their though?

Vasudhaiva kutumbaka

Vasudha means the earthly planet and ‘everybody on this planet is part of my family. That big is my family and the head of that family is Sri Krishna or Sri Rama.’ And if you want to say Allah go ahead or Jehovah, these are different names of God. ‘He is the head of our family and we are all children of that one God. ‘This is right thinking and this is high thinking. The world needs this kind of thinking very badly otherwise so much fighting and quarrelling.

What not is going on all over the world. Again when I was a child I was reminded. In my village I think it was early sixties, sixty two or in the sixties that China and India were getting ready to battle, fight so India is a peace loving country and so children all over the home villages were shouting the sloka ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai, Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai.’

So I was a little, small boy in the village, so small that I did not know what I was shouting or what I was saying ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai.’ So I was thinking that Hindi is the language and Chini is what? Sugar. And Hindi language and the sugar that you eat were Bhai, Bhai. They were supposed to be brothers. So only when I grew up I realized that Hindi referred to people of Hindustan and Chini referred to the people of China.

So all people of China and all people of India are Bhai Bhai, they are brothers. At least I understood the meaning or some kind of word meaning of what slogans were shouted, but only when I became spiritual and was brought in contact with devotees of Krishna, Srila Prabhupada and his Bhagavad Gita and when I read that Bhagavad Gita especially, then I realized. Two persons if they are brothers, what does that mean? They have a common father, they have one father and that’s why they are brothers. So I was wondering that who is the common father of all people in China and all people in India. Who is their father? Is it Mr Modi or the president of China, is he the common father? No!

aham bija pradah pita (BG 14.4)

Krishna says ‘I am the seed giving father of all living entities.’ So God is father of all people of China, of all people of India and in fact of all people everywhere. Krishna, God is the father and so this understanding is the right understanding and this kind of thinking, this understanding will make us men of character. Then we will live happily and peacefully on this planet otherwise this world is becoming unliveable. Unliveable, you cannot live on this planet, you better leave. Don’t live here, leave!

So thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to address you all today, all the youths. And I’m very happy to see you all and I’m happy to talk to you and see you some time again in the future. We are same family right? The same family and please keep chanting

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

And stay in the association of the devotees of Krishna or Hare Krishna devotees and study Bhagavd Gita and honour Krishna prasadam only. For the rest of your life do not eat anything else but Krishna prasad. Okay so any questions or comments or what else are we supposed to be doing?

Question: Maharaja, how do we handle failures in our life and still remain undeviated in our devotion?

Answer: Failure is the pillar of success, we hear that saying. Krishna’s advice is

sukha duhkhe same krmitva labhalabhau jayajayau (BG 2.38)

Sometimes happiness, sometimes distress. Transcend it and go beyond. Sometimes gain, sometimes loss. Sometimes success, sometimes failure. Yes, this is the world, this is the nature of this world. Krishna also says dvandvatito vimatsaraha (BG 4.22)

Dvandvatito, go beyond this dvandva of success and failure, gain and loss, youth and old age. Like that this world is full of this dual nature dvandva. That’s the meaning also of being transcendental or transcend, I would say just be successful at the time of death and do not ask for Coca Cola. Go for Bhola or go for Rama or Krishna. And if you do that you go back to Krishna. You re-join Krishna and there is no success like that. That is real success. Otherwise you may have so many gains and so many trophies and this and that but it’s no good.

ante narayana smrtih- that’s our goal.

itna to karna swami Jab pran tan se nikle govinda naam leke

Then you are victorious. So shoot for that and make that a goal. Other successes they come and go. You could learn from failure or you could do a review and you could reform or improve or learn from your mistakes. You can consult your councilor, your spiritual advisor or spiritual scientist and don’t repeat the same mistakes again. So making mistakes or even to err is human but not to learn from the mistakes and not to improve them..

There’s a difference between wise man and the fool number one. The wise man learns from his mistakes, from his failures and he is always improving, trying to rectify, plan to be better. Prevention is better than cure so try to prevent as much as possible learning from failure or some setbacks so that you will not repeat that failure again. The best thing is to get out of here and that’s param vijayate sri krsna sankirtanam.

That’s the supreme victory and all these other successes and failures are not much important.

Question: Maharaja, we are chanting the holy names, we are doing seva but still we are attracted to the material world and our mind is still thinking about worldly affairs.

Answer: Yes, so? That’s not new. We have been thinking of worldly affairs for such a long, long time and all the affairs that we were thinking of were only material. All this time. So don’t expect that those material thoughts are just going to disappear just like that. That they are going to leave you alone instantly. No, it will take time and you have to practice.

man mana bhava mad bhakto
mad yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ‘si me (BG 18.65)

‘Remember me’ Krishna says. Or chant Hare Krishna and become Krishna’s devotee and attempt to become Krishna’s devotees. Endeavour to remember Krishna, practice to remember Krishna and as you remember Krishna more and more, you’ll forget the material world and worldly affairs more and more. So ‘Ye yatha mam prapadyante’ Krishna says.

The more you remember Me, the more you surrender unto the Lord to that degree the Lord reveals himself unto us and to that degree we get free from Maya.

mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te.(BG 7.14)

Otherwise Maya is very strong. Krishna the owner of Maya says ‘mama maya duratyaya’ (BG 7.14). ‘Mama Maya, my Maya is very difficult to overcome’ so giving up the worldly thinking is not an easy thing but it could become easy by mam eva ye prapadyante, by surrendering unto Krishna. Call out for help, ‘help, help Krishna help.’ And that is

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

That is our call out to Krishna. ‘Help help, Krishna help!’ And you could get Maya out of your way and the path is clear and you could proceed. Yes? So this process of Krishna consciousness is to achieve that goal. We want to get rid of these mundane thoughts, worldly thoughts.

dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho ‘bhijayate (BG 2.62)

As soon as you contemplate on the objects of the senses what happens? Sangas tesupajayate. You develop attachment and then sangat sanjayate kamah, lust. And when that lust is not fulfilled you become angry. This is the cycle, the vicious cycle. Dhyayato visayan pumsah. Instead of thinking of Visayas, the sense objects, if you are thinking of Krishna, if you think of Krishna’s form, think of Krishna’s qualities and pastimes, think of Krishna’s devotees then what will happen?

Sangas tesupajayate You will also develop attachment for Krishna. Krishna’s name, Krishna’s abode, Krishna’s name, Krishna’s pastimes, Krishna’s devotees. And what will be the outcome? Earlier there was sangas tesupajayate sangat sanjayate kamah and here in this case you have contemplated on Krishna, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s qualities, Krishna’s devotees and then instead of developing Kama you will develop Prema, you will develop love for the Lord.

So this is how you transform lust into love or thinking of worldly affairs into thinking of Krishna by changing your contemplation, what you are thinking about. And we are thinking day and night so Krishna says ‘think of me’ and then you don’t have to think of Maya if you think of Krishna. Hari Hari.

Question: Preaching is becoming more and more difficult with the advancement of modern civilisation. How can we maintain patience and perseverance in spite of lack of interest from the youths?

Answer: I thought it was becoming easier in the sense that now a lot of preaching goes on online and with virtual programs happening. And it is also so easy now I am preaching to you right now, I am talking to you. The Covid-19 situation I think has compelled us to the modern means of communication and so that way through the Internet and through these virtual- online communication programs and preaching, things are becoming also very easy or economical and faster.

So in some sense it is becoming easier due to what the world has gone through. The kick of the Corona Virus has given us a kick, a big kick! Those super powers, America bow down, China bow down, bow down Russia. You could tell them this is what happens, from Bhoga comes Roga.

So the world had been in this enjoying spirit Bhoga enjoyment, and that results in Roga. And as this Roga, this Covid-19 has beaten off the human race, I hope they are coming to their senses and turning to God. So hope that they become more submissive and receptive to the message of Krishna consciousness. Now you could tell them ‘you better change your diet.’ Wuhan right? That was a city in China where that market place where all sorts of meat and this and that, a big kind of mix up- that’s where this virus was born and spread and was exported all over.

So yes, better go for this patram pushpam phalam toyam. No more muttonam chikanam this and that. So you could point out and bring this to the attention of the people of this world so that they can change their lifestyle and diet and the whole value system, their attitude. So I think that we have an opportunity to preach. This Covid-19 is providing us with a great opportunity and great forum, channel also. So don’t get discouraged and face the challenges if there are any.

Srila Prabhupada’s desire to establish Vedic farms

November 23rd 1997
Maharashtra Tour,
Chamorshi, India

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Krishna who is the source of all incarnations. So let’s hurry up a little bit as we have to go to Nagpur yet. On the way back to Godhead we have to go past Nagpur which is on the way. From Nagpur we can go back to Godhead and Pandharpur is going back to Godhead right? Going there means going back to Godhead where on the way is Nagpur.

na casya kascin nipunena dhatur
avaiti jantuh kumanisa utih
namani rupani mano vacobhih
santanvato nata caryam ivajnah [SB 1.3.37]

Translation

The foolish with a poor fund of knowledge cannot know the transcendental nature of Krishna’s forms, names and qualities of the Lord, who is playing like an actor in a drama.

In a drama sometimes you do not know who is acting, who is Vitthal, who is Rukmini. We do not know his real name so who can understand the Lord who acts like a nata caryam ivajnah. So this sort of foolish person through his words or speech contemplation cannot express the understanding of the Lord through their contemplation or speech.

Purport
No one can properly describe the transcendental nature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore it is said that He is beyond the expression of mind and speech. And yet there are some men, with a poor fund of knowledge, who desire to understand the Absolute Truth by imperfect mental speculation and faulty description of His activities. To the layman His activities, appearance and disappearance, His names, His forms, His paraphernalia, His personalities and all things in relation with Him are mysterious. There are two classes of materialists, namely the fruitive workers and the empiric philosophers. The fruitive workers have practically no information of the Absolute Truth, and the mental speculators, after being frustrated in fruitive activities, turn their faces towards the Absolute Truth and try to know Him by mental speculation. And for all these men, the Absolute Truth is a mystery, as the jugglery of the magician is a mystery to children. Being deceived by the jugglery of the Supreme Being, the nondevotees, who may be very dexterous in fruitive work and mental speculation, are always in ignorance. With such limited knowledge, they are unable to penetrate into the mysterious region of transcendence. The mental speculators are a little more progressive than the gross materialists or the fruitive workers, but because they are also within the grip of illusion, they take it for granted that anything which has form, a name and activities is but a product of material energy. For them the Supreme Spirit is formless, nameless and inactive. And because such mental speculators equalize the transcendental name and form of the Lord with mundane names and form, they are in fact in ignorance. With such a poor fund of knowledge, there is no access to the real nature of the Supreme Being. As stated in ,Bhagavad-gita the Lord is always in a transcendental position, even when He is within the material world. But ignorant men consider the Lord one of the great personalities of the world, and thus they are misled by the illusory energy.

When you in the midst of disturbances that disturbance enters your head and heart. People cannot even compare the peaceful time with the disturbed moments because throughout their lives all they have experienced is disturbance, noise and so when you come to a place like this you understand then what you were missing. Here you have to struggle hard to see whether there is any sound of anywhere in the creation.

On the contrary, in the modern cities we have to look for a place where we can find some peace and some quiet. By the grace of the Lord there are a few places left in the world where you could still go to for preaching and achieve to peace. Of course one time what we experience here now, this peace used to be all pervading. It used to be all over and now it’s a different situation.All glories to somebody, someone who has worked very hard and disturbed that peaceful situation- Jai ho! Someone has worked very systematically, bringing us to the worst state of affairs.

So it was the desire and the endeavour of Srila Prabhupada to establish and identify peace. This is the reason we got this idea with a farm and also cows, we could have a small temple and grow vegetables. Prabhupada inspired us to do this.

So what Prabhupada did was he endeavored to uphold these Vedic principles. Prabhupada started emphasizing the farm communities and the cow protection. Prabhupada personally went to New Vrndavan and sat there under a tree. We had lots of land but we had no development, no buildings and no temple facilities. So Srila Prabhupada just stayed in a very simple dwelling in West Virgina, New Vrndavan and he went there several times. He spent days and weeks each time and I was feeling very bad that I also come to Chamorshi but I do not spend as much time as Prabhupada used to spend time in New Vrindavan.

Some other farms also in the west, Prabhupada used to go and stay there. Even in Hyderabad we had a big centre in the city and Prabhupada used to go and stay on the Hyderabad farm. It is shown in photographs and is in conversations also Gita Nagari farm in America Prabhupada would go and stay there. So all that we are doing here, our founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada has encouraged us to do these things.

This is right here is the International Society for Krishna Consciousnesses. Around here we have 40 kilometres of land and we are trying to utilize this land as per wishes, desires and direction of Srila Prabhupada. We are not like other farmers in the region or in this part of Maharashtra, we also grow useful grains and vegetable, flowers and fruits.

All these flowers are grown in our own garden and Prabhupada used to say also that there are lots of farmers and they go for the crop that brings cash and they try to commercialize the farming. So they grow tea and coffee and tobacco and all those kind of stuff. So that’s again the part of the age of Kali, the mentality of the age of Kali. There are two kinds of economies in the world – one is called agrarian economic development depending on the land and agriculture and the other one is industrial economy.

So there’s a competition between the two and somehow industrial economy is a predominant force and agrarian economy in the background is being ignored and being forgotten. These days intelligent, those who think that they have some brain, that they are intelligent, they rush to the cities. They think this work of agriculture is for low class, unintelligent persons and this is a widespread misunderstanding in the world including India.

Doing farming, taking care of the cows and doing trading, if you have some extra grains you could sell them or do bartering. This is part of the Lord’s Varnasrama Dharma system.

krsi go raksya vanijyam (B.G 18.44)

This is Vaisya, even Nanda Maharaja was a Vaisya. And Krishna was the son of a Vaisya. What was Krishna doing? Herding cows all day, he did not go to some factory. He lived in Vrndavan, he did not go to Delhi to find some job. Haribol! But we are running. So we were talking how there’s lots of disturbance in the world, there is no peace and so much disturbance, so much noise and running around.

This is all caused by the industrial economy. As soon as you come to the villages or go to the farms, the other disturbance is finished, it’s over. There are so many side effects, bad effects of the industrial economy and the body is getting a bad deal, the mind is getting a bad deal from this industrial economy. The soul is completely covered over and there is not even talk of the existence of the soul.

So many doctors and medicines and hospitals why? 80 % of the population of India is still in the villages but twenty percent of the population that live in the city have more doctors and more hospitals and more medicines for that twenty percent population compared to the rest of the eighty percent.

In Dehli, in Nagpur, every lane has a signboard of this doctor or that surgeon or this specialist. But in the villages they don’t have any doctors, there’s no need because there’s nice fresh air, the fragrance.

punyo gandhah prthivyam ca

The sweet smell that you get there is directly coming from the earth and ‘that is me’ the Lord says. This is the tenth canto. So when you work in the farm especially, after a few months of summer season when it rains for the first time. I mean you have no experience, but as village boys we have experience. That smell, the first time it rains, that kind of smell that you get it’s amazing. That kind of smell is Krishna. Hare Krishna!

Also the flowers add to the beauty and the fragrance, so there is no comparison between industrial and agrarian economy and the simple villages and the big complex cities. They are hellish. Prabhupada also said about London or England ‘you don’t have to go to hell. Just by going there you can have firsthand experience of what hell is like.’

So this has to be changed. As a scientist and the materialist and so many other staunch followers of the age of Kali, they have worked very, very hard and systematically to bring the situation to the present day levels. And now someone else, the other party, Krishna conscious party, the Vedic team will have to work equally or even harder to reverse the situation and bring people back to the nature, back to the villages, the land and the cow.

So as we are so much spoiled as we always prefer big cities and towns- even Iskcon devotees, they always run to the cities. You could see the devotees of Iskcon Chamorshi, they are such dedicated servants of Srila Prabhupada. They are very much here staying on the property and serving mother earth and the cow. So we appreciate their dedication and we can’t say how much appreciation they deserve.

We can’t say just a few words for a few minutes, they are working – what we said, that someone has to start working. So they have started working on establishing this farm so they are upholding the principles of Vedic culture.

Haribol! Iskcon Chamorshi ki jai!

So we wish that there will be more and more devotees who will join this team here. They are also capable of organizing a grand festival and reception as we have seen, as they have done for us. This is the best program of the tour, right? Gauranga, Gauranga!

Nowhere else have we had so many people or public and according to Subhag Maharaja, not only was there a large number but they were also listening attentively. We had speeches in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and English also. And no-one left until the end but were increasing till the end. And you know after the drama, people sat down, they wanted to stay. So they were attracted by Vitthal Rukmini and by the devotees.

We could see that sincere efforts were being made here. Otherwise we had nothing to offer, we were not offering any other kind of money or support. Temporarily they had forgotten their homes so there was no desire of going back. It was a very, very successful program and the credit actually goes to Parameshwar Prabhu and of course his team.

They are not here as they are still winding up the show and I am very happy. Are you all visiting devotees happy also? So sometimes you could come and stay here and you could do your Sadhana, some reading and work in the field. There is a field right outside here so you can work in the field right here. You don’t have to drive, Prabhupada said they drive literally, as you know, a hundred kilometres. Some people everyday go from Pune to Bombay everyday in the morning on the train called Deccan Queen, you don’t even know how.

Everyday for three, four hours on the train one way and those many hours on returning in the evening and it is like that in many cities around the world. They are wasting their time where here it takes half a minute to go in the field and you can work. So this is a mad world with crazy people and so let us not join those crazy people.

Stay wise and make best use of your time and energy and here you could do Sadhana and peacefully you could chant. When you chant Hare Krishna there is nothing else.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

There’s nothing else that mixes other sounds in it. You can only hear Hare Krishna Hare Krishna and the soul can hear this. It is so very hard in the cities to do this and even if you don’t want to hear there are so many other sounds to disturb you. In Hong Kong we were just there a few months ago, Giridhari Maharaja said there’s a point high up so all the sounds of the cities all go up into the air in this place.

All the sounds, vibration, talks and honking of the horn- everything goes in the air and you can go to this one point to hear it (Maharaja makes a funny sound of all these sounds mixing). This is what you hear because each sound is trying to collide with the vibrations and it neutralizes to nothing really and ultimately this kind of sound is so much surcharged with so many vibrations that there is no room for additional sound effects there.

So when you put your mind in the midst of all this, you go crazy. So I feel times are hard but we have Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with us. Gauranga Mahaprabhu is very much on our side and so we already have succeeded and more success is now awaiting us. We can see so many people, all those who are assembled agreeing with what we are talking here and following it to different degrees. Ten, twenty, thirty years ago even we did not -we were part of that other crowd.

This is just a few devotees, there are hundreds and thousands times more bigger devotees on this planet with this conviction. And this is all in the last thirty years, in 1965,1966 there was one person with this philosophy and by association of Prabhupada, he has converted us, he has entered our hearts and his contagious association has transformed us and certainly if you have started listening to what he has said.

We have a lot to learn and he is the source of all knowledge, we have these books which are Prabhupada’s thoughts and we have Krishna, of whom he has spoken about and so Prabhupada always emphasised book distribution. We must always go on distributing books. Even our Iskcon Chamorshi now is distributing books, Jai!

They got this vehicle Jeep donated and immediately they made that into a Sankirtan vehicle. Same thing also in Nagpur, we had few scooters but when we got our first vehicle of four wheels- a Jeep, we immediately put that into action distributing books. So now these two centres, one in Nagpur and one in Chamorshi -they are reviving the five thousand year old culture by distributing Prabhupada’s books and also we have Antaryami and Dakshina Mataji’s home village. Soon they are going to be giving up everything American and be giving a big kick to America and that will give a big boost. So they will big a big kick and then come and they will land in India. Haribol!

Like that, that region also they will take care. So please leave becoming more enthusiastic and stay that way too. So we will come back maybe next time but there is always shortage of time but we should stay here for a few days. Some devotees were not very happy that we were coming and quickly going back in one day. But by some arrangement we at least got to spend one morning program here.
Jai Radha Shamsundara ki jai!

Otherwise having to get up at 5.30 and just take off. Yesterday’s book score?

Devotee: Four thousand nine hundred

Maharaja: Almost five thousand rupees worth of books were distributed yesterday. Hari Haribol! Five thousand rupees in Krishna’s pocket, huh? Now that five thousand has to be used to glorify Radha Shamsundara and has to be used in buying more books. So thank you, all the devotees, Parameshwar Prabhu and his team for a wonderful reception, nice prasadam Even I sat down and took a whole plate of prasadam after the drama at ten o clock.

It was nice prasadam with not too much spices and so we will stop here. Any questions?

Devotee: Maharaja can you tell us something about these self manifested deities?

Maharaja: So these are the personal deities of Parameshwar Prabhu and they appeared to him and he found them in Bangladesh, how many years ago? When he was eight years old. He is forty years now so when he was eight years he came in contact with these deities.

(Devotee speaks of how the deities came to him in a dream and then they came into his house in self manifested form and he started to speak for first time as he was born without speech prior to this and had never spoken as a child).

Maharaja: you should write about all this. His parents are not here now so he could just write the history. So these are really special deities.

Devotee: So many wonderful devotees have come here but due to the situation here we were not able to properly receive them nicely and this is a mistake and inconvenience on my part and so I beg for the forgiveness of all Vaishanavas. The district authorities would like us to make a tourist spot here and many devotees can come so please give blessings and pray that we may be able to do this. We want a beautiful farm here and a small temple.

In Sastra it is written that the Mother or Father’s favour on us can never be returned and nor can the spiritual master’s favour be returned as he takes us back home, back to Godhead. So I would like everyone’s blessings so I may be able to do like this and be able to make a small temple to dedicate to Prabhupada no matter how hard it may be and no matter how many difficulties I may have to face. I am ready to do this.

Your strength and good wishes will be my greatest strength so that’s why I pray that you all may pray to the Lord so this may come to pass. Hare Krishna.

Maharaja: we have at least someone who is very committed. You could see that his commitment is very deep and you can see that this is his life and soul. This is the meaning of following the instruction of the spiritual master or doing something, no matter what, you would like to do it. This is very..

So I wish that we can also all take some impression from the example of Parameshwar Prabhu and stick to some instruction which is important and given to us by our authorities, our spiritual master so we could also dedicate our life like that. In every way our tour of Chamorshi has become successful and inspirational. So we will stop here and take rest. During prasadam Hari Kirtan Prabhu will make an announcement about when we have to be gradually leaving for Nagpur. We are not going by train there which is clear. We will be going by bus.

These are the kind of hardships to spend in Krishna consciousness