Reading from BG as it is, chapter 7. This is an overview of the chapter. Of course, by now you must be knowing why chapter 7 was selected for this festival at Cross Maidan. (someone responds). .. Yes, exactly. Srila Prabhupada had been giving his discourses on chapter 7 in 1971 here in Cross Maidan during morning hours. Srila Prabhupada ki jay. Of course, I missed the morning talks. Morning talks are for more serious students. Anyone could easily come in the evening. But to come in the morning – it takes special efforts – you have to be seriously interested in the subject matter. May be I did not have that much interest at that time in 1971. I was coming in the evening, attending Srila Prabhupada’s Hare Krishna festival right here at Cross Maidan. Unfortunately, I did miss the morning BG lectures.

The seventh chapter onwards, upto chapter 12 is considered bhakti yoga discussion. Yoginam api sarvesam mad gatim..This is how Krishna concluded the sixth chapter of Bhagavad Gita by saying that of all the yogis, the bhakti yogi is the topmost. Shraddhavan bhajate yo mam, same yukta tamah. Yukta tamah means the top most. This way one links with Me. Yoga is linking. The best and complete linking is there when there is bhakti yoga, with devotion. Of course, it is Srila Prabhuapda, who describes or translates bhakti not just as devotion, but devotional service. Lot others are there who say bhakti is devotion. But Prabhupada said bhakti is devotional service. Not just sitting around. That is over. Dhyana yoga is over, getting completed here. now it is time for gyana, meditation as well as action. That is devotional service. Mam anusmar yuddhya cha. Cha means and. You have to do two things. Mam anusmar is one thing. While remembering Me, yuddhya, fight ‘cha’, and . This and that. Not just remembrance and not just fighting, but fight while remembering Me. That is devotional service for kshatriya. So that bhakti yoga is being described here in chapter 7 and some more chapters. The knowledge of the absolute is the title of this chapter 7. Sri Bhagavan uvach..we will just take a look at the different verses. This chapter.. I was just running through the chapter. I could see practically that every verse in this chapter is the most quoted verse. Srila Prabhupada used many of them very frequently.

Verse 7.1 “Sri Bhagavan uvach: Mayy asakta manah partha, yogam yunjan mad-ashrayah, Asamshayam samagram mam, yatha jnasyasi tat chrunu” The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Now hear, O son of Prutha, how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

Please hear. Who says this? Sri Bhagavan uvach. Shrunu.. give attention. the advise here is try to hear. How fortunate is Arjuna. We are hearing this verse of Sri Krishna at Cross Maidan 5000 years later. But there was Arjuna hearing directly from the lotus mouth of the Lord.

Ya svayam padmanabhasya mukha-padmad vinimsruta – “This one book, Bhagavad-gita, will suffice, because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures and especially because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Gita-mahatmya 4 – mentioned in BHAGAVAD GITA introduction). It says that the Lord with lotus naval is speaking from His lotus mouth. The words are Padmanabh and mukha-padma. The words are coming out of the lotus mouth of the Lord and the first person to hear those words is Arjuna. He was recipient of this mercy. He said, this is Prasad my dear Lord. He said (BHAGAVAD GITA 18.73) “nashto mohah smrutir labdha tvat prasadan maya Achyuta” – My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am very thank ful for this Prasad. He said I have regained my consciousness by Your mercy alone. The Prasad that Arjuna is referring to is the verse that he heard from the Lord. What we get here in Cross Maidan is what? “Maha-pradad”. Acharyas have heard this in disciplic succession and we hear it from Srila Prabhupada in his BHAGAVAD GITA as it is. Prabhupada writes, “let Krishna speak!”. You have spoken enough, now you shut up. Kindly let Krishna speak. Even those who comment on BHAGAVAD GITA do not let Krishna speak; what to speak of others who are busy doing grama katha or prajalpa. But those who speak of so called bhagavat katha or Krishna katha, even they do not allow Krishna to speak. Hence Prabhupada had to insist to allow Krishna to speak. Let Him speak for Himself.

So that is BHAGAVAD GITA as it is. We have heard it. We are hearing it from Srila Prabhupada as maha-maha-maha-prasad.

So if we allow, as the acharyas allow Krishna to speak, then to know Krishna becomes possible. Krishna as He is could be known if we hear BHAGAVAD GITA as it is. There is no doubt about this.. there was not even a need to speak such a statement because Krishna is speaking. Yet Krishna is saying this so that no one should have any doubt. Krishna was not doubtful; it is for us that He is reassuring.

Sarvam etad hrutam manye, yan mam vadasi Keshav.. (BHAGAVAD GITA 10. 14) – “O Krishna, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me”, said Arjuna. Still Krishna says, “asamshayam samgram”. You will know Me by giving Me ear, just hear – right here!!

Verse 7.2 Jnanam te ‘ham sa-vijnanam, idam vakshyamy asheshtah Krishna says, “I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous”. Again Krishna says, asheshtah. As I speak, this knowledge will be complete; there will be no balance. Shesha means remaining. I will talk of gyanam and also sa-vigyana. There will be nothing more to be known. I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.

Then Krishna says, how everyone is not interested in this knowledge. Everyone doesn’t come to the pandal; everyone is not interested in hearing these topics of religion or God consciousness.

Verse 7.3 “Manushyanam sahasreshu, kaschid yatati siddhaye

Yatatam api siddhanam, kaschin mam vetti tattvatah” Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” How rare is knowing Krishna! Krishna clarifies this here. This knowing Krishna tattvah is of great important. Tat means that. What is that. That is Lord. Tat means the Lord. “Om tat sat”. “tat-va” means complete science about that ‘tat’, complete siddhanta about that ‘tat’.

So that kind of understanding is very important. Then “tyaktva deha puran janma na eti mam eti” (BHAGAVAD GITA 4.9) For that person, there is no birth but he comes to Me. He does not go for another birth but he comes to Me. So how important is this tatva business as is stated here.

Verse 7.4 “bhumir apo nalo vayu, kham mano buddhir eva ca, ahankar itiyam me bhinna prakritir ashtadha” Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies. Again this is one of the most often quoted verse. There are five great elements and tgree subtle elements. Grand total is ashta or eight. All these 8 elements constitute My separated external or material energies, Krishna says. Although the scientists have further broken down the five great elements into further more elements. They have reached the number 108. They are not able to go beyond this number. All those elements are there in the universe or “brahmanda” and also in this body called “pinda”. All the five great elements which are out there in the universe are also in the body, but in lesser proportion. However, the three subtle elements – mind, intelligence and false ego are even beyond this list of great elements. That makes the body different from the dead matter.

Yet another element which is of prime importance in the body. Krishna speaks of it in the next verse: Verse 7.5 “apareyam itas tv anyam prakrim viddhi me param, jiva bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat” Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature. The body comprises of the eight elements, as above, which are called as ‘matter’. Yet there is another ‘superior’ energy of Krishna which is the living entity and is present in the body.

Some scientists are coming slightly close to this conclusion. Srila Prabhupada mentions about Russian scientists in his book “easy journey to other planets”. The scientists are thinking that if there is matter; then there must be “anti-matter” also. Then it should be complete. This “anti-matter” or anti-material is the spirit soul. In the previous verse, Krishna spoke of matter or material energy. In the verse 7.5 He spoke of ‘param’ or His superior energy which is basically anti material. That is the living entity present in the body.

In the next verse, Krishna says, besides these superior and inferior energies, I am also there in the body. Verse 7.6 “etad yonini bhutani sarvaneeti upadharaya, aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah pralayas tatha” All created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution. This ‘aham’ is referring to Krishna. There is no pride in Krishna when He says ‘aham’. He is just explaining the truth. What else He could have said? Krishna says, all created beings have two natures – one is material and other is spiritual. And I am both the origin and dissolution of all that is created. Thus, Krishna is all in all.

Verse 7.7 “mattah parataram nanyat kinchit asti dhananjaya, mayi sarvam idam protam sutre manigana iva” O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.

This is Prabhupada’s favorite verse. He always emphasized that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead. How many times has he said this? How many times has he written this? Wherever he mentions the word “Krishna”; he always puts a comma and writes the subsequent words “the supreme personality of Godhead”. He is never tired of saying or writing it. This is Srila Prabhupada. This is his contribution. With full realization and conviction, Srila Prabhupada repeats the message of Krishna.

Prabhupada used to ask child Saraswati, “who is Krishna?” Saraswati was just a few years old daughter of Malati and Syamasundar prabhus and she used to sit on the dais in Hare Krishna programs in 1971. So Prabhupada used to ask her this question, who is Krishna. And she used to immediately reply, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead” to Prabhupada’s full satisfaction.

That is what this verse says, “mattah na andyad kinchit asti” – there is nothing more superior that Me, not even a little bit. Krishna is described as “asamordhvam” (Bhag. 10.44.14) meaning “not paralleled or surpassed”. No one is equal to Him or above Him. He is the one.

Everything rests upon Me as pearls are strung on a thread. Likewise same Krishna through each and every atom. Not just brahmada. This is the realization of Lord Brahma in Brahma Samhita. “Andantarastham paramanu cayantarastham” I am not only in the universes as Garbhodakashayi Vishnu but also in each smallest unit of the universe called molecule or atom (paramanu). In that sense, He is all pervading. Atoms are everywhere and He is in each and every atom.

Nowadays, the scientists are searching for new atoms – protons and neutrons. As they progress more and more, they wish they could produce a microscope to look at all the atoms. Of course that microscope is in fact Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. See through the eyes of the scriptures and you will see in that tiny atom the Lord is residing there.

Verse 7.8 “Raso ‘ham apsu kauteya, prabhasmi shashi suryayoh, pranavah sarva vedeshu shabdah khe paurusham nrushu” O son of Kunti, I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable Om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man. Now the Lord is giving some examples from different ‘pearls’ found here and there within the universe. He begins with “raso aham apsu”. He says He is the taste. I am the taste in the water. Every time Srila Prabhupada would pick up his water cup and drink water, he used to remember – oh! This is Krishna! Is it difficult to remember Krishna this way?

Prabhasmi .. Krishna says that I am the light of the sun and the moon. Every time you see the sun rise or the moon, think of Krishna. But without the light of the sun you cannot see. What is the power of our seeing if we have eyes but no light? That light is Krishna. Only with the help of Krishna you could see. If He does not want you to see, you cannot see. Do you not see how controlled we are? Srila Prabhupada further explains that the light of the sun and the moon are not independent. The light is actually coming from Krishna’s brahma jyoti in the spiritual sky. The sun is only acting as a mirror to reflect that real light of Krishna. When I was a child in the village, I remember we used to take the mirror outside during the day and then we used to throw the reflection of the light inside the house, right into the eyes of my mother. She used to shout as she could not see. Has anyone played these kind of tricks? Oh, so many. Just like this example of a child throwing the reflected light into the house, the original “Krishna – kanti”, the brahma jyoti is reflected into the material world with the help of the mirrors of the sun and the moon.

Pranavah sarva vedeshu is the OM sound. There are many pranavah sounds like Om, Aim, Clim. Of all these, Krishna says, I am the OM sound. Shabda khe. Kham means ether. The sound in ether is Krishna. Paurusham nrushu.. the ability in man or woman is Krishna. Anyone who is capable.. that capability is due to Krishna. Krishna is pointing out here how He is the common thread that goes through the whole creation.

Verse 7.9 punyo gandhah prithivyam cha, tejas casmi vibhavasau, jivanam sarva-bhuteshu tapas chasmi tapasvishu I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics. When we have obnoxious unpleasant smell, that is not Krishna. Once while looking at a patch of blooming flowers, Prabhupada said it was like the face of Krishna! When a devotee sees a beautiful flower, he thinks that let me offer this to Krishna. Another person would think that let me offer this to my girlfriend or boyfriend. So the consciousness is different where one is trying to abuse and exploit the energy of the Lord who is present there in the flower.

Verse 7.10 bijam mam sarva-bhutanam, vidhhi partha sanatanam, bhddhir buddhimatam asmi tejas tejasvinam ahm O son of Prutha, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men. If someone is intelligent , Krishna says that intelligence is Me.

Verse 7.11 balam balavatam chaham, kama-raga-vivarjitam, dharmavirddho bhuteshu kamo smi bharatarshabha I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna]. That lust which is not contrary to dharma or which is within the parameter of dharma, is Me, Krishna says.

In this way, Krishna continues to mention how He is everything as the common factor in every existence. Verse 7.14 “daivi hyeshya guna mayi mama maya duratyaya, mameva ye prapadhyante mayam etam taranti te”. This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it. Krishna says that all of this creation in which I am pervading is full of gunas – the three modes of material nature. This is My maya. Hence this has to be duratyaya.. very difficult to overcome, very powerful. Why?.. because whose maya is it? It is Krishna’s maya. So it has to be powerful; otherwise what kind of maya it would be if it is not strong? If it was my maya or your maya, it would not be so strong. But if it Krishna’s maya, then it is very difficult to overcome. Krishna is not scaring us, just informing us. He says, if you want to go ahead on your own, then go ahead and try it, try it. But you will not succeed in overcoming this maya. This is where I come into the picture. He calls us, hear me, I am here, come near O dear! Krishna says, if you surrender unto Me, then for sure very easily you could overcome because My maya is under My control. I can order her to go away at any time. Just like the owner of the dog can order the dog to go away as his friend wants to come in; the Lord also orders His own energy.

After suggesting us to surrender to Him, Krishna mentions that there are some people who would not like to surrender. Verse 7.15 na mam dushkritino mudhah prapadhyante naradhamah, mayaya apahrtia gyana asurim bhavam ashritah Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, who are lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons do not surrender unto Me.

Prabhupada always used these words – fools and demons and rascals and cats and dogs. He would say all these words during his lectures. I had just started listening to him that time in Mumbai and I thought, could he not use some better words? People used to come all the way from downtown to Juhu to listen to him – big rich people wearing coat-and-tie; with their wives sitting next to them with heavy jewelry. And Prabhupada used to address them – fools and demons, rascals, cats and dogs and on and on!! I was just a new bhakta and I thought, “What?! Such nice people with wives and family members coming from so far away just to listen that they were fools and rascals and cats and dogs? I had hard time digesting it for some time, but soon or rather gradually I realized that Prabhupada was presenting Bhagavad Gita “as it is”. These terms are right there in Bhagavad Gita which other speakers or commentators camouflage or modified as if sugaring of the pill. But Prabhupada presented it “as it is”. Straightforward.

Coming back to the verse, these are four kinds of people who do not surrender unto the Lord – grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion and atheistic. They are not Indians or Hindus only but people from all over the world who fit in these four categories – they do not surrender unto the Lord.

Verse 7.16 Now Krishna mentions the four kinds of people who do surrender to Him. These two verses are next to each other for our easy remembrance. So the verse is “chatur vidha bhajante mam janah sukrutino ‘Arjuna, arto jigyasu artharthi gyani cha bharatarshabha” O best among the Bharatas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. They are described as ‘sukrutina’. Kruta means activity. Duskrutina are those who do not surrender unto God and sukrutina do surrender. Those who are great distress, or curious or in need of money or those with some knowledge – these four surrender unto Me.

Verse 19 “bahunam janmanam ante gyanavan mam prapadyate, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah” After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare. Some people do take some extra time to surrender. They are referred to as ‘gyanavan’. Earlier Krishna said that the ‘sukrutino’ or the pious souls surrender unto Me. Here Krishna says those who are gyanavan (with some knowledge) surrender unto Me after many many births. What is that knowledge? “Vasudeva sarvam”. If someone asks us what is knowledge? Here is the answer by Krishna : Vasudevah sarvam iti. Iti means this much. One needs to know only this much: Vasudevah sarvam – Vasudeva is all in all. One who knows this much is described as ‘gyanavan’, in full knowledge. With full knowledge, what does he do? Mam prapadyate – he surrenders unto Me, Krishna says. How many such gyanavan people surrender? “sa mahatma sudurlabha”. Very very rarely a person surrenders unto Me in full knowledge.

Having spoken about persons surrendering unto Him, Krishna says now that some people do surrender – but not unto Me, but to someone else. Verse 7.20 “kamais tai stair hruta-gyanah, prapadyante anya devatah, tam tam niyamam asthaya prakritya niyatah svaya” Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures. Krishna speaks of those who are afflicted or influenced by kama or lust and hence are deprived of the knowledge. Knowledge is confiscated from them due to lust. The lust is stealing the knowledge from them. They have intense desires and they do surrender to some other devatas – other than Myself. Those who are in full of knowledge – gyanavan – they come to Me; but those whose knowledge is stolen – they go to some other personalities – other demigods or demigoddesses.

Verse 7.23: “antavat tu phalam tesham tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam, devan deva-yajo yanti mad-bhakta yanti mama pi” Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.

That is fine, Krishna says. We cannot stop them from going to other demigods, but then they should know that the fruit or benefit that they will be deriving by going to other demigods will be ending soon – not lasting very long. They are alpa-medhasam. That is how the Lord is describing them – the demigod worshippers are less intelligent. They go to the demigods and those who are My devotees, they only come to Me. The Lord is making a distinction here.

And now the case of mayavadis – impersonalists. Krishna spoke about the materialists, those who do not surrender unto Me or who surrender to other demigods and now He speaks of the impersonalists.

Verse 7.24 “avyaktam vyaktim apannam manyante mam abuddhayah, param bhavam ajananto mamavyayam anuttamam. Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.

The impersonalists who are also described as unintelligent. What is their philosophy? They think the Lord is ultimately avyakta – impersonal – He is just the light, all pervading. But occasionally He becomes vyakta – assumes a form. Manyante – they consider. About Me they think like this and hence they are unintelligent and do not know My superior nature which is inexhaustible and finest.

Verse 7.25 “naham prakashah sarvasya yoga maya samavritah, mudhoyam nabhijanati loko mama jam avyayam” I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible. The Lord is making a comment – I do not become known to everyone. They all are being covered by My yogamaya. They do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

Verse 7.26 “vedaham samatitani vartamanani charjuna, bhavishyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kaschana” O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.

Krishna says I know Vedas. Not only Vedas, but everything else that is to be known, is known to Me. All the things from the past I know. Everything that is happening right now, right here I know and I know the future of everything and everyone. But .. tu means but.. Krishna says something contrary.. while I am like this.. even though I know past, present, and future of everything and everything.. mam tu veda na kaschana..but Me no one know. In the beginning of the chapter Krishna said “srunu”. You better hear from Me Arjuna.. jnasyasi.. you will know by hearing from Me. At the end He says, no one knows Me. So knowing Krishna becomes possible by srunu – by hearing. Hence Krishna is speaking, so that we can know.

Verse 7.28 “yesham tv anta-gatam papm jananam punya karmanam, te dvandva moha nirmuka bhajante mam dridha vratah” Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

Devotional service is getting established here. If you hear Me, then you would know Me. If you know Me, then you would serve Me. That is the sequence. They will go for worshipping Me. How will they worship? Dridha vratah – equipped with knowledge, they will worship Me, having become free from dualities of this existence and illusion. Their sins will be finished by hearing from Me. Those pious person, who listen to Me, will worship Me.

Verse 7.30 “sadhibhuta adhidaivam mam sadhijaynam cha ye viduh, prayan kale api cha mam te vidur yukta-chetasah” Those in full consciousness of Me, who know Me, the Supreme Lord, to be the governing principle of the material manifestation, of the demigods, and of all methods of sacrifice, can understand and know Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even at the time of death.

They will keep knowing and remembering Me, even at the time of death. That is the perfection – that we remember the Lord at the time of death. This chapter was knowing about the ‘Supreme’ and the next chapter would be attaining the ‘Supreme’. You know and you achieve.. any questions or comments?

Q from Tattvavit prabhu, editor of BTG and BBT: Maharaja, you quoted the verse in which Krishna says that He knows the future. Many people want to know future, so they go to astrologers to know future. Is that equivalent to trying to find Krishna?

A: if you chant Hare Krishna, you need not go the astrologer. Those who chant Hare Krishna.. their lives are changing. What your astrologer is going to tell you is action and reaction. If you perform this action, you will get this reaction. The astrologer has a way to calculate or know your past and your activities. He asks questions about your actions. Then there are governing effects of so many different planets on your life. So if nothing much changes and if you remain mundane, then based on these factors, he predicts your future. It depends upon your past, present, influences of various planets etc. But as soon as you chant Hare Krishna, surrendering unto Krishna.. Krishna says .. aham tvam sarva papebhyo mokshayishyami.. everything changes! I will make you free from all the reactions of previous life, and you will come to Me. The astrologer could talk about your next birth based on the previous birth. But if you surrender unto Krishna then there is no more birth. Astrologer has no way to talk beyond this creation or universe. They cannot talk about that future, but the scriptures could tell – not only that the scriptures will tell that you will go back to Godhead, but they will also tell which flight you will take, where you will land, what party will receive you, what will be your mellow.. how you will enter the nitya lila, the scriptures can see inside you, within these eight elements, within these gross and subtle elements they can see the soul. The astrologer could predict the body’s future and about mind, intelligence and false ego. But as soon as you surrender to Krishna, it is another jurisdiction, another knowledge of the future.

Q: raso aham apsu .. how about the taste of wine? Is Krishna there?

A: yes, taste is essentially the characteristic of water. Prabhupada said even if a person drinks wine, and thinks that Krishna is there in the taste, he could become Krishna conscious.

Hare Krishna!

Opulence

After this killing Aristasura pastime took place which is
described here as

“krsnenadbhuta-karmana” (S.B 10.36.16)

This is wonderful pastime of Lord killing this Aristasura demon.

“kamsayathaaha bhagavan narada deva-darsanah” (S.B 10.36.16)

After killing Aristasura Narada muni comes to Mathura playing his Veena

“Naradmuni bajaye veena radhikaraman namane”

Narada muni veena, veena Narada muni, so when he comes to Vrindhavan Narada muni is because veena
he plays everywhere and he sings glories of Radhikaraman in Braja, in other
places he’s chanting (bhajan)

“Narayana Narayana Narayana Laxmi Narayana Narayana Narayana

Badri Narayana Narayana Narayana,Narayana Narayana Narayana,

Narayana Narayana Narayana, Narayana Narayana Narayana

Shriman Narayana Narayana Narayana, Shriman Narayana Narayana Narayana,

Narayana Narayana Narayana, Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana, Narayana Badri Narayana
Narayana Narayana, Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana”

So Narayana chanting names of Narayana and he gives Narayana to everybody hence his name is Narada “da”
means giver, one who gives what he is giving? he is giving Narayana,  he is giving Radhikaraman, Narada muni is such a exalted personality he is one of those personalities who could enter Rasa dance he is competent, he is qualified
but he cannot go with his veena & his hair so and he has to take bath in Kusum Sarovar, Vrindadevi said have a bath Naradaji, Naradaji throws himself into Kusum Savaror with all his clothes with his veena and everything he goes
in as with veena and all his normal outfits then he comes out Gopi and he is shown the way ok this way this way.  So
that Narada muni he is misunderstood like anything most misunderstood person is Narada muni, in India they don’t understand Narada muni lot of time they make mockery, that he is some kind of clown no that’s not the case he is topmost he
is Bhagvat, one of duadash Bhagvata’s Naradmuni is in that list they commit offences by thinking Narada muni’s, we don’t understand him, we think he is always behind oh! This fight that fight Narada muni he is arranging.  So he has come to now Kamsa to inform what?  So you will also again misunderstand him whyshould he go to Kamsa, you know?  To do
what?  What information he’s giving.

“yasodayah sutam kanyam, devakyah kr?s?n?am eva ca

ramam ca rohini-putram  vasudevena bibhyata nyastau
sva-mitre nande vai yabhyam te purusa hatah” (10.36.17)

This information this piece of information he was just puzzled; eleven years now he had heard. OH!
Your killer has been born elsewhere you fool. So then he was trying to find that person where is the eighth son of Devaki he couldn’t be a daughter he had all ready figure it out by consulting the astrologer, no! no! Son was expected
to take birth not a daughter. So Narada muni now informs you fool Kamsa you were just cheated.

“yasodayah sutam kanyam”

The kanya the daughter that you attempted to kill that was Yashoda’s daughter.

“devakyah kr?s?nam eva ca”

Devaki’s son is Krishna and “ramam ca rohini putram” Balarama is son of Rohini because “vasudevena bibhyata” Because Vasudev was Scared he took these two children and put into custody and under care of Nanda Maharaj and do you know that every associate of yours that you havebeensending,dispatching they were all killed by these two Krishna and Balarama. So he got all the clue Aaaaaa….! They are there in the Nandagram.

“nisamya tad bhoja-patih kopat pracalitendriyah” (10.36.18)

So by hearing this information, Bhojpati the swami the master of the Bhoj dynasty he “kopa” he become so angry that first
thing he did, he got sharp sword he attempted to kill Vasudev he was in town he was released by king Kamsa but now after 10-11 years now he thinks, OH! This Vasudev I thought he was such honest and straight forward person but I did not
know he was that crooked he is thinking like that and his sword is ready.

“nivarito naradena tat sutau mrtyum atmanah” (S.B 10.36.19)

But Narada muni stops checked hey! Kamsa fool not him your killers are his sons, Vasudev’s sons kill them, not poor Vasudev so he did not kill but he tied him up with iron shakals bound him tied him up.

“pratiyate tu devarsau. Kamsa abhasya kesinam” (S.B 10.36.20)

And after this Narada muni left Mathura and immediately Kamsa called for hey! “Kesi Kesi Kesi Mantri Mantri Mantri Mahodey Minister Kesi please come” he asked one of his servants to bring Kesi

“presayam asa hanyetam, bhavata rama-kesavau” (S.B 10.36.20)

And immediately gave a task ok go, Kesi had come yes sir how could I help you, hey! You go and kill this Ram and Kesava

“Rama-kesavau hanyetam” understand he had understood so he left.

“tato mustika-canura, sala-tosalakadikan” (S.B 10.36.21)

So he called for all his big big wrestlers not only wrestlers they are Ministers in the assembly in
the parliament of Kamsa “mustika,canura, sala, tosala” these are big big Ministers so kind of emergency parliament meeting

“hastipams caiva,samahuyaha bhoja-rathe” (S.B 10.36.21)

He called the care taker of the elephants specially thperson who took care of the Kuvalayapida he is addressing them

“bho bho nisamyatam etad, vira-can?ura-mus?tikau” (S.B 10.36.22)

Hey! Heros you Heros specially  addressing two of them canura and mustika

“nanda-vraje kilasate, sutav anakadundubheh?

rama-kr?snau tato mahyam, mr?tyuhh kila nidarsitah” (S.B10.36.22-23)

OH! I just got the news worst news of my life in one sense, I was finding trying to know but today I was informed by Narada muni you know my killers whom we were looking for Krishna & Balarama they are in Nandagram they are with Nanda Maharaj so you two,

“bhavadbhyam iha sampraptau, hanyetamm malla-lilaya”(S.B 10.36.23)

Now I am assigning two of you to kill two of them you have to do this malla-lilaya we will organize wrestling match and while you wrestle with them, by the way you just kill them ok as if it’s  a Lila it was  no preplan, no premeditated he is saying it should sound like that weshould not give wrong  perception to the  public no no while just playing it’s just happened (devotees laughing) it’s just happened on the spot this was malla-lilaya its just a lila we have to play this, “mancah kriyantam”

So you setup all the stages and invite lets have big festival & invite people of whole Mathura district and there will be big
competition of wrestling match that was instructions to his wrestlers and then he turns to his mahamatra hey! You take care of the Kuvalayapida right you are the one, yes yes I am the one so for you “tvaya bhadra ranga-dvary” (S.B 10.36.25) So just outside the wrestling arena you keep your Kuvalayapida and you kill them right there with the help of the elephant then we don’t have to get even blame oh! The children they were just ooking at the elephant and the elephant did its job we had again not planneit was just an accident. So he was told & given that assignment.

“arabhyatamm” and Kamsa he is trying to package everything and we will have a fire sacrifice you know that Dhanur the bow that we have which Parshuram donated me, let’s have Dhanur yaga right there will have a big sacrifice and so people will think that it’s a festival time, the fire sacrifice, the wrestling match & we will ask everyone when the residents come they should bring lots of milk products & just distribute,  exchange that with each other and decorate the whole town it should be like a festival so no one could even think or doubt what the  whole crux  of the matter is, what’s the purpose behind all this. And so he is making plans like that so after his ministers and this elephant caretakers as well as this Kesi they were given
different tasks the next thing is calling over Akrura go get Akrura and thenAkrura arrives & immediately

“gr?hitva pan?ina pan?im” he catches hold of the hands of Akrura and

“atas tvam asritah saumya” you know I am totally depended upon you O’ gentle one I would like you to do a favor to me I would like you to go

“gaccha nanda-vrajam tatra,sutav anakadundubheh?” (S.B 10.36.30)

And bring those two sons’ of Nanda Maharaj he is mentioning they are son’s of Vasudev now with Nanda Maharaj. He say’s you take this chariot, you take this chariot & they will like this chariot if you take a bullock card they may not be so much interested because every day they have their bullock rides but if you go with the chariot immediately they will jump into the chariot so take this chariot & “m? ciram” do not delay please go bring Krishna & Balarama & also invite all the residents & let them
bring all the milk products because we have festival here.

“yujyate harssa-sokabhyam,tathapy ajnam karomi te”(S.B 10.36.30)

Yes I will do as you wish but this is not fair this may give you some pleasure but be prepared for
lot of lamentation and suffering this warning is also given by Akrura to Kamsa.

“siddhy-asiddhyoh samam kuryad, daivam hi phala-sadhanam” (S.B 10.36.38)

Just depend on the Supreme authority he is not mentioning
the name of Lord, Siddhy, Asiddhi whatever comes remaining equipoised.

“sukha-du?khe same krtva, labhalabhau jayajayau” (B.G 2.38)

That kind of preaching Krishna has done in Bhagavat Gitajust little sampling of that, that’s the tone of Akrura’s presentation but he says if you insist ok I will go and so Akrura returns to his own resident this was evening time now, its next day two things are happening here Akrura gets ready to go next morning while Akrura is on way to Vrindavan the Kesi who was also
instructed, hey! you also go to Vrindavan to kill so he had  spared some most powerful very powerful demons so this Kesi in the form of horse, the horse form so the best thing that just kill them even though I have assigned Akrura to go get Krishna & Balarama but if they could be killed just there then my name will not be attach to that killing and, so Kesi demon goes & he is also big size, huge big magnitudes,the  hair on the neck, when they would shake the hair that scattered two things scatter clouds in the sky also scatter the aircrafts of the Demigods, Demigods are going doing their inter planetary travels so with the touch of the hair he would just get the clouds out of the way and the aircrafts would meet major accidents and he could see Krishna there,gigantic creature there so without going into much detail of this pastime we want to go to the crux of the matter,  so
the technique that Krishna is using here is, the horse had its mouth wide open,so Krishna put’s his hand inside the mouth of the horse and see the size of the horse you could imagine that size of mouth. so when Krishna puts his hand
inside the mouth that hand filled the entire space inside the big mouth all the hollow space from the front of the teeth all the way to the throat this all became filled up, Krishna kind of expands his hand makes it long although he is
that tall his hand is like a long long hand becomes that much hand is inside and also he makes it hot He makes it big & makes it hot. And result of that was you could see he is upside down now throwing his legs into the air & screaming (sound of horse screaming in the background some vedio being played)So what basically happens is that Krishna’s hand is inside he gets chocked up he cannot breath, no breathing all stops in out & no air & he lost his life also passing stool (laughs) special mention is there.

“papata lan?d?am”

“papata lan?d?am visr?jan ksitau vyasuh” (S.B 10.37.7)He became lifeless and this pastime Krishna was out there
herding his cows on the bank of Jamuna. You know where Kesi Ghat is?  Vrindavan Kesi Ghat “kesi ghat vamsi vat duadash kanan..” where Vrindhavan Dhama is not far from Radha Damador temple in 72 when Prabhupad held the festival first ever
Vrindavan festival & so I was in that batch of first festival & we were like 40-50 devotes from around the world we were thinking we were so many 40-50 devotees attended  the festival so  stayed at the Kesi Ghat for one month we were staying at the Kesi ghat which is right on the bank of river Jamuna it’s a palace king of Bharatpur had build the
palace at the site where Kesi demon was killed. So that happened during the day, while Akrura was on the way to Vrindavan, all that was going on, Kesi was in action trying to kill Krishna so that it didn’t work out & that afternoon another demon attempted to kill Krishna that was Vyomasura and that pastime, so Kesi demon was killed in the morning and Vyomasura in the
afternoon. Vyomasura pastime took place on the top of Govardhan hill one becoming what? One sheep, one thief, one police remember the cowherd boys played this different roles & Vyomasura came they were supposed to be so
called thieves but he became a real thief this Vyomasura he started stealing Krishna’s friends they were large number in the beginning but their numbers were diminishing & Krishna was wondering what’s going on here? his friends
those who were playing the role of thief they were so called stealing but again returning the stolen sheep but this Vyomasura he was picking up Krishna’s friends stealing them & he was taking them airways to Kamavana and hiding them in
cave, in Kamavana there is a cave which you can visit even to this day Vyomasura gufa, Vyomasura cave. So when Krishna realized  what was going on,  He identified this demon & Krishna followed him all the way up to Kamavana  in the
sky up there they battled two of them up in the sky, the whole earth was about to go out of orbit because Krishna they would come sometimes down then goes up in air so while giving pushing earth down and go on  giving a  boost, going up so that was shaking up the whole planet then Balarama he would hold his foot down just to make sure earth doesn’t go out of the orbit
doesn’t move. There are footprints of Balarama from that time you could go see during Brajmandal parikrama footprints of Balarama. So that Vyomasura killing happened in afternoon & so that would lead, so these two things happened on
the same day as Akrura is going to Vrindavan he lives for Vrindavan.

Welcoming each other and one of them also saying I surrender
“sarnagatam” please give me shelter or I take shelter of you  OH ! Krishna.

“varnyatam tata”

“saumy?gatah? kaccit, sv–?gatam? bhadram” ( S.B 10.39.4)

You are such a gentle  personality, we welcome you, how’s uncle
Kamsa? Enquires are being made here but we would like to know, what’s anything
we could do? Is there any definite purpose of your visit this time, we would
like to know? And then

Sri Suka uvacha like Akrura uvacah ,Akrura is speaking

?r?–?uka uv?ca

“pr?s?t?o bhagavat? sarvam?, varn?ay?m ?sa m?dhavah?” ( S.B 10.39.8)

So as Bhagvata Krishna , krishnena  Krishna enquired and Akrura  discloses all the plans and  all the intentions of Kamsa or even how Kamsa
attempted to kill Vasudev and it was also only Narada who intervened and saved
the life, but he has been shackled he has been arrested,  Vasudev has been arrested and many people he
is thinking of arresting, killing, driving them away, so like that this is Akrura
disclosing all these facts, confidential news he was not suppose to do this.

“?rutv?kr?ra-vacah? kr?s?n?o, bala? ca para–v?ra–h?” (
S.B 10.39.10)

When Krishna and Balarama heard all this they only smiled
ha..ha….OH! He wants to die so his days are numbered now for sure. Lords made
up their minds on who tried to kill their father Vasudev and he is thinking of
killing others and of course he is thinking of killing Krishna and Balarama . So
they smiled and of course Nanda Maharaj is not aware of all this confidential
reasons and the news, what developments are taking place in Mathura?, what the purpose  is?

So not only Krishna and Balaram were invited by Kamsa, but
he had invited Nanda Maharaj all other cowherd men, and boys . So Nanda Maharaj
is spreading the news, he is making announcement

“gop?n sam?di?at so ‘pi, gr?hyat?m? sarva-go-rasah?” ( S.B 10.39.11)

“go-rasah?” all the milk products take
them as a gifts  “yujyant?m? ?akat??ni” (
S.B 10.39.11)

Get all the bullock carts ready load all the milk products
and we will live for Mathura announce this. So party has gone to towns and
villages this is their duty, there are announcers they go to squares in
villages, they may sometime climb up some roof top of tree, beat the drum.
Ahe……….in my village I know they beat drum people gather, then announcement is
made, then the person walks to the next square (laughs). And he gets everyone’s
attention, people know that person, he has some announcement all gather round
him and the announcement is repeated and the whole village comes to know. So
Nanda Maharaj has made that arrangement.

“y?sy?mah? ?vo madhu–pur?m?, d?sy?mo nr?pate ras?n”

Part of the announcement is yes we will live for Mathupuri
tomorrow “draks?y?mah?” we will offer “nr?pate
ras?n” ( S.B 10.39.12)

All these milk products for the pleasure of are king Kamsa
we will offer this

“draks?y?mah? su–mahat parva, y?nti j?napad?h? kila” ( S.B 10.39.12)

We will also experience a wonderful festival, our king has
organized a grand festival in Mathura, wrestling match, fire sacrifice and what
not, food for life (devotees laughing) because they were taking all these milk
products. And we will be able to see the big town, we have never seen Mathura,
we only stay in village, sometimes we go to the forest. We will see the big
city today or tomorrow as we go, so get ready.

“gopya” so this was a good
news for most of the residents of Nanadagokul except there is one section
of the society and that’s Gopis  everyone
else, everyone was informed and many were able to go, men, boys and ladies
specially young girls they don’t get to go. So for them this news was not a
very good news.

“r?ma–kr?s?n?au pur?m? netum, akr?ram? vrajam ?gatam” ( S.B 10.39.13)

So they were not very happy OH! This Akrura he is the one
who has come to bring are Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, he is so cruel his
name is Akrura he is not Akrura but he is such a Krura person (devotees laugh).
He is going to break our hearts he is going to take are life away, he is our
“prananatha” Krishna is our prana our life and he has come to take our life away;
we are going to be lifeless. So they had hard time all night long they had
sleepless nights and when they got up next morning everyone got up,  somewhere exited that they would get to go to
Mathura , many were getting ready , oxcarts and all the milk products loading
was on,  Akrura was getting the chariot
ready, decorating also that was meant for Krishna and Balaram. So many of them
were very very happy, excited  looking
forward to that day’s trip.

Gopis  there was a
different thing  noon time they would be
meeting everyday going to Kusum Sarovar picking up flowers, making Vaijayanti
mala then running , rushing to Radhakund, offering garland doing all water
sports and so many pastimes. What would happen to them today and what about
tonight and who knows for how long this is going to last. So when everyone got
ready all Gopis also got ready only to attempt to stop Akrura from taking their
Krishna  and Balarama they were doing
everything possible to check the progress of the chariot not let it go, holding
the wheels and even catching hold of Akrura, mad handling him some Gopis were
what do you think you are? You know get down and some were with the horses all
the way in front all surrounding 100s and 1000s of them. Krishna and Balarama
were seated already in the chariot, they are begging, praying, pleading please don’t
go, please don’t go. But finally the Lord He did not say directly to the Gopis
but He asked one   of the devotee  vrajavasi
name is not mentioned  to pass on
the news to the Gopis let them know he just said 1-2  words “aayase”

I will be coming just
inform them, I will be back very soon just now coming just let them know this.
So that was the only communication Lord made and Akrura was signaled, to
proceed against all the protest, obstacles and Gopis chariot moves forward and
other carts also gradually follow, raising lots of dust Gopis stood there like
pillars motionless, speechless only looking even praying may there be thunderstorm
let there be some kind of blockage on the road, flood, let the trees collapse
and some thing let something happen. So that he would not end up going let him
return to us, no one took their side and so Krishna went to Mathura.

Venue:
Vrindavan, 2004

Some time I still saying that during Krishna’s
time if there were photographers and video graphers then we could have watched
the video of Krishna’s pastime video live as it is, we could have seen the photographs
of those times. But there as then I was listening to Radhanath Maharaj speak, it
was just like watching the video no need of these machine (devotees laugh).  Maharaj gets into  quite a few intricate details of the pastimes
that he paints a beautiful and complete picture that you  could feel the past time before you,  or as if he is seeing and then he is showing
us that past time. So he is gifted, gifted by God, Krishna, gifted by Srila
Prabhupad, our Hare Krishna Movement has been gifted, we are very fortunate to
have personality like Radhanath Maharaj who could present the past time as they
are. I am again very thankful for Maharaj to not come himself but brought
almost two thousand devotees are here.

Haribol,
Haribol, Haribol, Haribol….

All these two thousand devotees ki jai…………
each one of you ki Jai……(Maharaj laughing) Maharaj is very sincere follower
of Srila Prabhupada and you are too following him very closely and that’s the
topic of purport of the subject matter of this place or past time of this
place. When Maharaj arrived, we went behind the Lakshmi mandir just for few
minutes, quite association and  just we
could make little planning we were behind the temple , one poor show one kid
came begging he wasn’t begging from me, he saw I am Indian no money right
(devotees laugh)  so thinking Maharaj doesn’t
speak the beggars child’s language I was trying to send the child away, I told
the boy that what to speak of Maharaj being empty pocket, he doesn’t even have
a pocket (devotees laugh). Then as the boy wasn’t going away, and I was sending
him away but Maharaj embraced him that there was the difference, Maharaj was trying
to be  embracing and following Brajvasis
while I was just trying to send him thinking this a little boy just go away
don’t bother us. So I beg to this Dham and to Maharaj that I develop that kind
of “Anugatya” being follower of,
appreciator of Dham and the residents of this Dham. While I was coming here
today I came across a mantra and it was from Bhavishya purana prayer unto this
particular forest. So you could please repeat after me

“Tapa siddhi pradaye va Nammo bilva vanaya ca
Janardhan namastubhyam Bilveshaye namstute.”

Then I also realised why Lakshmi is
performing austerities here “Tapa siddhi
pradaye va”, this is the forest where your tapa, your austerities will bear
fruits “Tapa siddhi” so Lakhmi has
chosen the right forest, She is performing her “Tapasaya” in this forest, it takes little longer, little longer time.
But then I was also thing that the Caitanya Mahaprabhu travelling and
travelling through out India then south India, He comes to Maharashtra and He
comes to Kolhapur, they all know. (Maharaj asking to audience)  How many are from Kolhapur? How many from
Maharashtra? 90% (laughter)… Including Rathanath Maharaj is Maharashtrian.
Maharashtra Jai Maharashtra (Laughter). So kind of fulfilment of her
austerities that was fulfilled in Kolhapur Caitanya Mahaprabhu coming Krishna
coming to give darshan to Lakshmi devi while Lakshmi is performing austerities
here on this eastern bank of Jamuna, then on the western bank Jamuna just across,
there is Kaliya lake. So while Kaliya was chastised very heavily very badly by Shri
Krishna, then Krishna was still on his hoods on Kaliyas hood. Then wives of
Kaliya appeared and surrounded the Lord, of course they were not in air, they
were in water, that time during that very intense time they remembered the
Lakshmi’s austerities here, and as they offer prayer this is one of their
statements

“Kasyanubhavo ‘sya na deva vimahe tavanghri
renu sparsadhikarah yad- vanchaya srir lalanacarat tapo vihaya Kaman su-ciram
dhrta-vrata” (S.B 10.16.36)

So they say all we are simply surprised
how come our husband is getting all the mercy and all the dust from your lotus
feet, O’ Lord, they say very nicely, very nicely.

“tavange renu sparsha adhikara”

How did he get the adhikar, the
eligibility of having “sparsha” the
touch of the “renu” -the dust “Tavage” of your lotus feet, that time they
are citing example of Lakshmi devi, “yad-vanchaya”
meaning that  vanchacha of that “charan renu”, Srir Lalana
that is Lakshmi  “caratapo” She performed the austerities here in Belvan. “vihaya kama” giving all the comforts She performed austerities in
Belvan, “sushilam” for long time, “dhrta-vrata” she was very determined
to get the dust but no she did not get the dust to this date but look our
husband is blessed lots of dust of Krishna’s lotus feet, he did not even have
to bow down and reach the dust to put that on his own head. Lord personally
came, He brought His Lotus feet with lots of dust and sprinkled not just on one
head but all one hundred heads of our husband has been sprinkled with the dust
of Your Lotus feet. So they are just pointing out how fortunate, my Lord it’s
your causeless mercy that you have blessed our husband Kaliya. And they go on
describing the importance, significance value of the dust of Vrindavan. We have
also have come to Vrindavan, why do we come to Vrindavanto?  To get the dust of Vrindavan. We are sitting
right in the dust of Vrindavan, let us take the dust, Matajis bring some dust
to Maharashtra, smear your face with vraja dust “vihaya Kama” giving up all the comforts. I was also reminded, not
far from here is Manas Sarovar. Mana Sarovar, you may not go, I don’t know you
may or may not go there parikrama party goes there. Shiva had come Shiva ji had
come, and then near Govardhan there is Naradaji, Narada Kunda, so both of  these personalities Narada and Shiva they wanted
to take part in Rasa dance. There are basically two conditions for you in order
for you to become capable, eligible to enter Rasa dance. You need a “Gopi roop” “roop” of Gopi, a form like
Gopi, “Gopirupa” and “Gopibhava”, and mood like Gopi. The Shiva does he looks
like Gopi? When he arrived there he got the news that Krishna is dancing in
Rasa, let me enter, with this “Trishul” and “Dim Dim Dim” damaru and “munda
mala” wearing. So it was not possible for him to participate in rasa dance
with his also long mated hair, logs. He had not taken bath also for who knows,  so he was recommended if you have a Gopi like
rupa, so Shiva he throws himself in Man Sarovar, he goes in and then in few
seconds he is out with a form like a Gopi and he became Gopesvar Mahadeva and then in Kusum
sarovar, Vrindadevi has herself recommended that he could take bath in
Kusum sarovar , Narada Muni with his veena and all his outfit he jumped inside
and he came out in few second with a Gopi form.
It is easier to have form but to have mood is even more difficult. Some
mataji may think that I look like Gopi or even more beautiful but the “bhava” the mood of Gopi is difficult,
being “anugatya” being the follower
is one of the speciality of the Gopi that specialized being a very good
followers of other Gopis, there is a whole hierarchy there. To attain that kind
of mood everyday we do pray in our ISKCON temple, when we stand before Tulasi
Maharani, who is the one of the leading Gopis of Vrindavan.

“ei
nivedana dharo sakhira anugata karo”  “seva adhikara diye karo nija dasi”. “Tulasi
Krishna Preyasi namo namah”. (kirtan)

We are in the front of Vrinda devi,
Vrindavan is named after Tulasi and Vrinda devi kindly appeared in this world
in our temple also in a form of a Tulasi tree. So while we sing this song lets
bring this thought, lets understand what being said here, what is the meaning
of what I am singing, “e nivedana” i
humbly appeal to you ‘O’ Tulasi devi, make me “anugataya” the follower of damsals of Vraja. While Narottama dasa
Thakur sings “radha Krishna pran” is that Narottama dasa Thakur? Yes so there
also he is singing in similar mood.

“lalita vishaka adi jata sakhi-brinda ajnaya
koribo seba caranarvinda”

He wants to enter, Narottama das thakur
wants to render service to Radha and Krishna, it is a beautiful beautiful
bhajana, wonderful bhajana. It is a whole meditation, how would go, where you
would go, what would you do next, like that. Then he say when I  get there, for sure there will be Lalita
Vishakha there, Lalita Vishakha adi Jata sakhi brinda, there are sakhi also, “ajnaya koribo seba”, I will take their
permission then Caranarvinda-  I will serve
the lotus feet of divine couple Radha Krisnha. Not that I will just enter that
ahe……..get out who you are I want to serve who are you, Hey Lalita get out
Hey Vishaka..! . That is the mood Narottama that’s why he is Narottam Narottam.
So our acharya also has taught us the
mood being follower being a follower. This is our parampara, special feature of
our parampara is being a follower, good follower. Follower of the follower of
the follower of the  follower. Then
again I did not teach this lesson to you I need not teach you these lessons,
the reason is that Radhanath Maharaj is again, he is leading this kind of
training, Radhanath Maharaj leading the show. Practically every talk that he
delivers, he talks of this “dasa anudasa”
servants of the servants of the servants. The subject matter of this poet something
Maharaj repeats again and again “dasa
anudasa anudasa”.

So lets us keep in mind what the time
is, although some of you will be driving in buses across, Braj mandal parties
still have to only walk. Our speed is 4 km/hr, so we have couple of hours walk
ahead of us. So very very thankful, I am getting some thumping from behind (laughter).
It did take some few extra years for us to come together. But I wish our next
get together will be only next year and not many years. So on behalf of our Braj
mandal party, Radharaman Maharaj is one of the chief coordinators of this
party, for past out of last 18 years he missed one year for some reason,
otherwise this is 17th year of Maharaj running this padayatra Haribol Haribol……

And Badra so these are our right and left,
left and right man here, Badra prabhu also missed one so out of 18, 17 parikramas.
These two prabhu Maharaj are running the show. I am very thankful to them. So
of course there is whole capable team assisting them and show is on road.
Vrindavan is big big topic and Prabhupada of course gets the credit for
revealing the Dham, this Dham unto this whole world. We are here because of
Prabhupada, lets us not forget that.

Verse: Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.26

H H Lokanath Swami Maharaj sings “Jaya Jaya Jagannatha Sachira Nandana” and then “Jaya Radha Madhava” followed by the “Hare Krishna” maha mantra.

anasthitam te pitrubhir

anyair apy aìga karhicit

atishtha jagatam vandyam

tad vishnoh paramam padam

Dear King Dhruva, neither your forefathers, nor anyone else before you ever achieved such a transcendental planet. The planet known as Vishnloka, where Lord Vishnu personally resides, is the highest of all. It is worshipable by the inhabitants of all other planets within the universe. Please come with us and live there eternally.

Maharaja reads the purport by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada: When Dhruva Mahäräja went to perform austerities, he was very determined to achieve a post never dreamed of by his forefathers. His father was Uttanapada, his grandfather was Manu, and his great-grandfather was Lord Brahma. So Dhruva wanted a kingdom even greater than Lord Brahma could achieve, and he requested Narada Muni to give him facility for achieving it. The associates of Lord Vishnu reminded him that not only his forefathers but everyone else before him was unable to attain Vishnuloka, the planet where Lord Vishnu resides. This is because everyone within this material world is either a karmi, a gyani or a yogi, but there are hardly any pure devotees. The transcendental planet known as Vishnuloka is especially meant for devotees, not for karmis, gyanis or yogis.

Maharaja explains: Vishnuloka is specially reserved for pure devotees. Your seat is also reserved there. Whenever you go there, you will get it. In fact, a seat is reserved there for everyone. But gyanis, yogis or even karmis will not go there. Their arrival will be awaited in the Vishnuloka. When they become pure devotees, a transcendental airplane will be sent for them, just like the airplane received by Dhurva maharaja. Thus the gyanis, yogis or karmis can become pure devotees and then take up their respective vacant seats in Vishnuloka.

Maharaja continues to read the rest of the purport: Great rishis or demigods can hardly approach Brahmaloka, and as stated in Bhagavad–gita, Brahmaloka is not a permanent residence. Then maharaja explains: Even if someone reaches Brahma loka, he cannot be a permanent resident there. One doesn’t get permanent residency there, but only transit visa. One can take a stop there as in transit, as will be explained further in the purport.

Maharaja continues to read the purport: Lord Brahmä‘s duration of life is so long that it is difficult to estimate even the duration of one day in his life, and yet Lord Brahmä also dies, as do the residents of his planet. Bhagavad-gétä (8.16) says, äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù punar ävartino ‘rjuna: except for those who go to Viñëuloka, everyone is subjected to the four principles of material life, namely birth, death, old age and disease. Maharaja speaks:  Even the residents of Brahma loka are not free from the four rules of life – namely, birth, death, old age and disease. Life may be prolongated there, but death comes nonetheless.  Kshinye punye  martya lokam vishanti (Bhagavad Gita 9.26  when the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again).

Purport continues: The Lord says, yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama: “The planet from which, once going, no one returns, is My supreme abode.” (Bg. 15.6). Maharaja continues to speak – Srila Prabhupada is pointing out the difference between the two. Someone who is a ‘punya atma’, great soul who has worshiped demigods, who has done various sacrificial performances, austerities etc. can get the resultant fruit of going upwards to heavenly planets, but has to come down again to Mrityu loka. In fact there are 14 planetary systems – seven above the Eartha known as Bhuvar loka, swarga loka, Jana loka, Mahar loka, Tapo loka, Satya (or Brahma) loka or there are seven hellish planets below the Earth. Thus there are total 14 planetary systems called ‘bhuvanas’.  However the devotee of the Lord who returns to the abode of the Lord, never returns to the mortal world. (yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama). Such supreme abode of the Lord is being approached by Dhruva maharaja. Such an achievement of the supreme abode of the Lord is rare. It is not different from attaining the Lord Himself.

Purport continues: Dhruva Mahäräja was reminded, “You are going in our company to that planet from which no one returns to this material world.” Material scientists are attempting to go to the moon and other planets, but they cannot imagine going to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, for it is beyond their imagination. Material scientists are attempting to go to the moon and other planets, but they cannot imagine going to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, for it is beyond their imagination.

Maharaja continues: In the early morning, we can see the sun in the sky but the sunrays don’t immediately reach us. It takes eight minutes for the rays of sunlight to reach us on the earth planet. Here also, Prabhupada writes in the purport: By material calculation, traveling at the speed of light it would take forty thousand light-years to reach the topmost planet. By mechanical processes we are unable to reach the topmost planet of this universe, but the process called bhakti-yoga, as executed by Mahäräja Dhruva, can give one the facility not only to reach other planets within this universe, but also to reach beyond this universe to the Vishnloka planets. We have outlined this in our small booklet Easy Journey to Other Planets.

The current verse is spoken by Sunanda and Nanda, the messengers of Lord Vishnu who have brought the airplane from the Vishnu loka to Dhurva maharaja. They two are addressing him and inviting him to take his seat in the airplane and telling him that the final destination of this plane is Vishnu loka. We will take you to the abode of Lord Vishnu, which is the supreme and which is worshipable by the entire material world.

Just now we were singing: Jaya jaya Jagannatha Sachirnandana, tribhuvane kori jara charana vandana – all the three planetary systems are worshipping Your lotus feet. Krishnam vande jagat gurum (Krishna is worshipped as the Guru of all the worlds). “Aradhyo Bhagavan Vrajesh-tanayas tad dham Vrrindavanam.” The Lord is worshipped and His abode is also worshipped. Please come with us to that abode, please stay there. In fact, you will live there forever, not requiring to go back to the material world.  The other members of your family, your father Uttanapada, your grandfather Manu or even your great grandfather, Brahma also did not achieve such a supreme position. You desired such supreme position and so you decided to find the Lord. You worshipped the Lord with this mood. The Lord is happy with you and thus your desire is being fulfilled. The Lord is like “Vancha kalpa taru”. This ‘vancha kalpa taru’ is also said in reference to the devotees.  It refers to a personality like a tree who supplies whatever you desire for from it. So the Lord Himself, being such desire tree, is fullfilling your desires.

Soul’s no-return journey to Lord’s eternal abode:

So such a place, which was not approachable by anyone else in the past is being given to Dhruva maharaja. If the soul reaches the place to which he belongs, he will never think of leaving that place again. In this material world, from time immemorial the soul becomes “bahirmukha”, meaning averse to the Lord and makes many desires. The condition of such a soul is like “nikatastha maya tare zapatiya dhare”. By being ‘bahirmukha’, the soul totally forgets his original identity in this material world and keeps unlimited desires and expectations. Very soon, ‘nikatastha maya’, the illusory energy of the Lord who roams around in the material world, suddenly captures the soul. The desires of this material world are not very beneficial for the soul. No sooner the soul supersedes his original dharma or disobeys the laws of God; or even just considers of breaking the laws of God, than immediately he is seized by the nearby illusory energy ‘maya’. Just as when one neglects the law of traffic, a nearby policeman runs and captures the person. One who obeys the traffic laws has nothing to fear from the nearby police. Similarly, maya devi is the police officer of the Lord. ‘danda marahati’. She is there to punish the law breakers. The fine for neglecting traffic law may be simple but for more serious disobeying, the punishment could be even death!

So the soul who does ‘bhoga-vancha’ or keeps desires to enjoy separate from Krishna, the nearby illusory energy seizes him. However, when the soul obeys the laws that the Lord has made for him, then he is free from the clutches of maya devi, the illusory energy of the Lord.

Yamaraja – one of the twelve bhagavatas & judge of the highest court:

There is the story of Ajamila. The superintendent of death, Yamaraja, had ordered his servants – Yamadutas to capture and bring to him those souls who do not offer homage to him or who don’t utter his name. So the Yamadutas went to capture the of soul of this Ajamila who had done hundreds of sins, very grave sins to fulfill his unlimited desires to enjoy. But they failed to seize him. They returned to Yamaraja and reported to him, “we had gone to seize this Ajamila according to your order, but another party had already arrived there. They fought us and won over us. We never ever before failed to carry your orders and were always successful in bringing the disobeying souls to you. But this time we failed.” Yamaraja asked what happened. Yamaraja is one of twelve pure devotees – Bhagavatas. He very well knew the real religious principles.

Srimad Bhagavatam, 6.3.20 states the list of the Bhagavatas: “Svayambhur Naradah Shambhuh, Kumarah Kapilo Manuh, Prahlado Janako Bhishmo Balir Vaiyasakir vayam.”

(Lord Brahma, Narada, Lord Shiva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahuti], Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhishma, Bali Maharaja, and Shukadeva Gosvami). There is no reference to the name of Yamaraja in this list of only eleven names. But ‘vayam’ means ‘we people’ and this is being said by Yamaraja himself. Yamaraja enlisted the names of eleven Bhagavatas and said ‘vayam’ or we. Thus Yamaraja is included in the list as the twelfth Bhagavata. He said, ‘dharman tu saksat Bhagavat pranitam’. Just as we cannot concoct the laws of traffic at our home and start following them on the road, no one is going to recognize the family-made traffic laws.

Similarly, the religious principles of Bhagavat Dharma are established by the Lord Himself. “dharma sansthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge” (BH Gita 4.8) Those who are very well conversant with the Lord’s Bhagavat dharma are called the twelve Bhagavatas. Yamaraja is one of them. When Yamaraja punishes someone it is not injustice; in fact it is justice according to the law or rules and regulations of the Lord. A soul promoted to higher planets in the mode of goodness or demoted to the lower planets in the mode of ignorance is awarded a suitable body by Yamaraja according to the law-bound administration  of his justice department. Yamaraja is the judge of the highest court. That is the ultimate court for the soul. There may be numerous courts on earth with numerous types of laws made by governments. Now it is legalized by our government to kill an infant in the womb. Abortion is permitted according to the constitution of the government. But in the court of Yamaraja, such person will be punished. So government may make any whimsical rules; what can we speak about it?

Alas, if the government could be composed of ‘rajarshis’ or the kings who associate with sages and heed to their advice while ruling over the kingdom! Such kings use their weapons according to scriptural rules – they use shastra (weapon) according to the shaastra (scripture).   If they would not understand shaastra, then consult sadhus and acharyas (saintly teachers) before using weapons. That is called ‘anushasan’ or real administration. Anu means to follow and shasan means according to scripture. Sages and saintly teachers are brahmanas representing the head of the social body of the human society. Without listening to the head, if only the hands are working, legs are working or stomach is being filled, then it is called the head-less society having lost the real purpose of life, being direction less.

Yamaraja’s job-description of his servants:

There is a very nice verse about Yamaraja’s orders to his servants to bring to him all the sinful people: Srimad Bhagavatam 6.3.29 –

“jivha na vakti Bhagavat-guna-namadheyam, chetas cha na smarati tat-charanaravindam, Krishnaya no namati yat-shira ekadapi, tan anayadhvam asatah akrita Vishnu-krityan”

Yamaraja said to his servants, “My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Krishna, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Krishna even once, and whose heads do not bow down even once before Lord Krishna. Send me those who do not perform their duties toward Vishnu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such fools and rascals.”

That means, if a person has even once bowed his head before Krishna, then he is not brought before Yamaraja. Such a great benefit! Bhagavad Gita 2.39 says, Svalpam api asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat (a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.) See the Lord is so kind. Even if a person bows before Him only once is protected and is given further opportunities to progress. By bowing down once, he cannot go back to the Lord’s abode, but he is given further opportunity to progress. That person whose tongue doesn’t vibrate even once “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare”, to such a person bring before me, Yamaraja says.

Further while giving the job description to his servants, Yamaraja says in Bhagavatam verse 6.3.28:

tan anayadhvam asato vimukhan Mukunda-padaravinda-makaranda-rasat ajasram –

“My dear servants, bring to me for punishment only persons who are averse to the taste of the honey of the Lotus feet of the Lord, who do not associate with paramahamsas and who are attached to family life and worldly enjoyment, which form the path to hell.”

“Radha-Krishna padaravindam bhajana-nandena mattalikau” – Krishna’s  devotees who are engrossed in enjoying the honey of chanting the glories of the lotus feet of Radha and Krishna are not to be touched by the Yamadutas according to this instruction of Yamaraja. In fact, they should not even get an indirect glance of the Yamadutas. Those who wear a kanthi mala are not to be touched because they have a supreme master. Just like the dogs who do not have a neck-belt are traced and captured by the township vans. No one knows the destiny of such dogs. Similarly, Yamadutas also keep away from those who wear Tulasi mala, who chant the names of the Lord with their mouths, whose hearts remember the lotus feet of the Lord.

When Lord Krishna was dancing on the hoods of Kaliya, swiftly landing on that hood which indicated some live force and thus subduing it (Kaliya-damana), at that time the wives of Kaliya (Nagapatnis) prayed to the Lord (Bhagavatam 10.16.33): nyyato hi dandah – The punishment this offender has been subjected to is certainly just.” Your punishment to our husband is very justified, it is well done, we were expecting the same thing to happen one day for the welfare of our husband. This is ‘khala-nigrahaya’ (After all, You have incarnated within this world to curb down envious and cruel persons.) Bhagavad Gita (4.8) says, vinashaya cha duskritam. This is ‘anugraha ayam bhavatau’ – What You have done here is actually mercy for us. There are many other things said by the naga-patnis, but the following is one more prayer by the naga patnis in Srimad Bhagavatam 6.11.25: na naka-pristham, na cha sarva-bhaumam, na paramesthyam, na rasadhipatyam, na yoga-sidhhir apunar-bhavam va, vanchanti yat-pada-rajam prappanah: Those who have attained the dust of Your lotus feet never hanker for the kingship of heaven, limitless sovereignty, the position of Brahma or rulership over the earth. They are not interested even in the perfections of yoga or in liberation itself.

Sri Vishnoho paramam padam. The topmost planet is Vishnu loka. So the naga patnis are also saying the Vedic conclusion about those who have surrendered to the dust of Your lotus feet. Caitanya mahaprabhu has also expressed the same mood: sthita dhuli sadrisham vichintaya – please make me a particle of the dust of Your lotus feet. Those who desire the dust of Your lotus feet want neither heavenly kingship, nor liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the material world. Mahaprabhu says, “mama janma janmanishvare bhavatat bhaktir ahaituki tvayi”. (O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.)

Material desires reduced to ‘zero’ :

So when we reduce the material desire, hankerings to zero, then this Vishnoho paramam padam is possible. Then we will not desire for any object of this material world. No attachment or greed for anything material. Not asking for any svartha, adhipatya, svamitvah (selfish motive, control or supremacy over any material object) but only desiring for attaining the Lord. This is neti neti – not this – no this; just You O Lord.

The six gosvamis who desired only dust of Lord’s lotus feet:

Raghunatha Das Gosvami established the fact that he had no other material desires or hankerings. He was the son of very wealthy landlord. But he had no attachment to any land or lordship, but wanted Mahaprabhu’s association. The family decided to bound him in married life. But even that did not make him attached to family life. His mind was but over occupied with the name of the Lord. He would run away and the family would bring him back and keep under the control of attendants. But when the Lord pulls a soul towards Himself, all other ropes of the material world are cut off. So Raghunatha Das somehow reached Jagannatha Puri and started begging alms at the entrance of the Puri temple. Heaps of wealth at home – boats full of gold coins. It was all rejected by him.

Sanatana gosvami was the prime minister under the rule of Shahenshah. Dabir Khas and Sakir Mallik were the names given by the Muslim ruler to the two brothers Rupa and Sanatana. Their family names were Amar and Santosh. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu initiated them, they were given the names Rupa and Sanatana. They also had a brother Vallabh who worked as a treasurer under the government. Thus the three brothers were serving at the very important positions in the Muslim government. But when they got attracted to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and met Him at Ramkeli, they had His darshan, meeting, association, Krishna katha, kirtan of Hare Krishna mahamantra, they decided that their services with Shahenshah were meaningless. They resigned from their big designations for the sake of attaining Mahaprabhu, of attaining Krishna. Rupa and Anupam quickly gave up all the services and moved out to meet Mahaprabhu in Vrindavana. Sanatana Gosvami was the prime minister. He obtained a sick leave in the beginning. Under the pretext of sickness, he gathered all the great  learned Vedic scholars and began studying Srimad Bhagavatam. The Muslim king found him healthy and well doing, he arrested and imprisoned Sanatana. He bribed the jailor and jumped from the wall. He started walking towards Puri.

Rupa and Anupama who tried to meet with the Lord at Vrindavana could not catch up with Him since Mahaprabhu had already left for Prayag. So they both met Mahaprabhu in Prayag and upon their meeting, Knowing the real identity of Mahaprabhu, Rupa offered this prayer to Mahaprabhu: “namo maha vadanyaya Krishna prema pradayate, Krishnay Krishna Caitanya Gaura tvishe namah.”

Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Rupa for ten days and sent the two brothers to Vrindavana. He Himself set for the next travel to Benaras. He stayed with one devotee called Chandrasekhar. One day, a mendicant came to their door. Mahaprabhu told Chandrasekhar to get that person. Chandrasekhar found an ordinary looking person at the door and thought him to be some Muslim mendicant. Thinking that he may not the right person whom Mahaprabhu would like to meet, he announced there was no one. Mahaprabhu insisted upon meeting whosoever was sitting at the door because He knew who was outside. He is sarvagya – omniscient. His eyes are everywhere even though He didn’t have any cameras like today. So Chandrasekhar got this person inside. Mahaprabhu knew that he is Sanatana, my eternal associate and servitor in Vrindavana.

When Mahaprabhu desired to embrace Sanatana, he said, ‘no, no! I am untouchable. I am fallen. My clothes are very soiled.’ But Mahaprabhu very eagerly embraced him and then told him to get clean and wear clean clothers. Later Sanatana remained in Mahaprabhu’s company for two months to receive spiritual instructions from Him.

Just like Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami also wrote many books, the four most prominent being

• Bhrihad Bhagavatamrita,
• Vaishnava Toshani (his commentary based on the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam),
• Hari Bhakti Vilas (Standards of behavior, Vaishnava etiquettes and deity worship, various sanskaras) and
• Krishna Stava mala.

Such were the great devotees, who had all the opportunity to obtain honorable public designations, great wealth or beautiful woman; but in fact chose to aspire for only the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna – ‘yat pada-raja prappnah/vanchanti’ – Vishno paramam padam’.

Such were their desires (sankalpas) and they were fulfilled when they took shelter of the lotus feet Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They got residence in Vrindavana dham and finally entered the nitya-lila (eternal pastimes) of Lord Krishna in His abode to do nitya-seva (eternal service).

Deserve before desire – how to train oneself to qualify for the desire:

It is said that one must ‘deserve’ before one desires. Anybody can desire. Here in the current verse, it is said to Dhruva maharaja what kind of desires he had in the beginning (achieve a post never dreamed of by his forefathers). And he accordingly prepared for it as well to make him qualified or deserving for such a desire on the basis of his sadhana-dhyana-dharana-tapasya-dham vasa (devotional practices, meditation, austerity and residence in holy places). But he became free from all the material contaminations and was left with but one focus on meditation on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Later when he was asked what he wanted, he said – nothing! Just the lotus feet of the Lord. Karmi, gyani, yogi? No, just Krishna bhakti.

Krishna-bhakta nishkama, atah eva shanta; bhukti mukti siddhi kami sakali ashanta (Caintanya Caritamrita Madhya 19.149) – Because a devotee of Lord Krishna is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, gyanis desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful.

Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu (Nectar of devotion), well known as the science of devotional service (bhakti yoga) is a standard of rules and regulations for all the devotees. We must do our devotion (bhakti) according to this scripture. Sindhu means ocean. He made four sections of this ocean and each chapter was named by him as the waves of this ocean. The devotees can bathe or drown in these waves of this nectarean  ocean of devotion.

“Avatirne Gaura Chandre, vistirne prema-sagare” (from the purport of Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 13.123 – The advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is just like an expanding ocean of nectar.)

In this way, Rupa Gosvami expanded the ocean of love of Godhead in his scripture Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. This book includes many topics on devotional service. Out of the total 64 topics, there are five topmost ones. Even if one is able to barely come in contact with these five topics, it is called as sarva-siddhi – complete perfection.

The five topics are considered important for devotional practitioners (sadhakas)

• Sadhu sanga, (association of saintly persons)
• Nama sankirtan, (chanting of holy names)
• Bhagavat shravan, (reading of Srimad Bhagavatam)
• Mathura vasa, (residence at Mathura)
• Vigraha aradhana (Faithful Deity worship)

First is sadhu sanga. In the holy association one will automatically get to do the other items, namely nama sankirtan, bhagavat shravan, Mathura vasa and vigraha aradhana. Therefore the basic foundation is sadhu sanga. “sadhu sanga, sadhu sanga sarva shastra kaya, lava matra sadhu sanga sarva siddhi haya” (Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 22.54 – The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.)

What is that success? Vishnoho paramam padam. To attain the lotus feet of Lord Krishna is that success.

Any questions?

Q: What is exact position of Dhruva loka in universal sky?

A: Dhurva loka has all the arrangements just like Vishnu loka. Vishnu loka is in Vaikuntha. We can identiy Dhurva star in the night sky. In the army, soldiers are trained how to identify Dhurva star in the night sky in order to determine north if one loses the sense of direction in the dark. Dhruva means fixed, parmenent (sthira). Dhruva loka is a part of (extention of) Vaikuntha or Vishnu loka but is still a part of this material universe. We are able to see this Dhurva loka since it is based within this universe. If it was outside this universe, how could we see it? Planets outside of the universe are not to be seen by us. Just like Sveta Dvipa, which is a part of Brahma loka is a part of this universe (brahmanda), yet is the residing place of Kshirodakashayi Vishnu. In the ocean of milk, Kshirodakashayi Vishnu lies on this Sveta Dvipa. It is like an extension of Vishnu loka. These Vrindavana, Mayapur are also such extensions. Hence there is no difference between this Vrindavana and Goloka Vrindavana. At the time of universal devastation, these abodes are not destroyed, they are kept intact. Similar is this Dhurva loka.

Q: What is the position of Earth in the universal sky?

A: Earth is just one planet. Each loka has many planets. Earth is not a loka. Earth is one  planet of Bhuloka. Bharat Varsha is a vast  area. There are Sapta dvipa (seven islands) and nine Varshas. Varsha is a part of Dvipa. This is the cosmology. The fourteen planetary systems are situated in the stem of the lotus flower emanating from the lotus naval of Lord Vishnu. The flower of this lotus is the topmost Brahma loka.

Thank you. Hari bol.

Venue: Mayapur 2006

Hare Krishna!!! Everybody say Hare Krishna.Thank You. Thank you also for joining us once again. As we continue to narrate the pastimes of Guaranga, pastimes in connection with his visit to Vrindavan.

Yesterday! Was that yesterday?? Ok. Yes, it was yesterday. We did talk of how soon after taking sanayasa, first place he wanted to go to was Vrindavan.

“Where is Vrindavan??? Where is Vrindavan??? And as he inquired, he was misdirected. Even Supreme Lord could be misdirected, this was the job of those cowherd boys, you remember them. Haribol!!! They were all chanting ‘Hari Bol.’ Mahaprabhu was pleased with them, so they misdirected, misguided and ofcourse, our Lord Nityananda Prabhu, he had a role to play, gave the dictation; you tell Him if he asks, you tell him which way to Vrindavan. Tell Him where to go, just follow the path to the banks of Ganga and following that path as we heard Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ended up in Shantipur Dham. Shantipur Dham ki jay! That is where we also went. We were directed there today, not misdirected; we were directed to go to Shantipur. After spending some days in Shantipur, ofcourse Lord does not waste his time, He was using every minute, every second of his time.

Always, where ever He is, He does that and He did the samething in Shantipur. How did he spend his time? Chanting, dancing and feasting, meeting devotees and meeting Sachi Mata and ofcourse I am yours, this body is mine. You just order me, ofcourse; I cannot ask you to come back to Mayapur. “Dear son, could you please stay at Jaggannath Puri?” So it was settled that way and Caitnaya Mahaprabhu proceeded to Jaggannath Puri and on the way, as we were talking at Shantipur today, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He did stop at many places and one of those places was Remuna. As the name, we should be remembering today, if not everyday or all the times. Today is the day, Madhavendra Puri’s disappearance day and he disappeared at Remuna at Shirchor Gopinath temple.

As Lord spent one night, what did He do? He spent all night talking about Madhavendra Puri, the glories of Madhavendra Puri. Chaitanya spent all night talking about Madhavendra puri to the assemble devotees. Madhavendra Puri was Lord’s grand spiritual master also. Ishwar puri the spiritual master and his spiritual master Madhavendra puri so he was his grand spiritual master, then Lord proceeded to Puri and well, we were talking how, where else Chaitanya Mahyaprabhu could be or could have stayed, this was the best location, best destination for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jaggannath is the match. They go well together, we spent yesterday sometime describing how, our Guar Govind Maharaj talks, these were the two Lords, two crying Lords.Two lords were crying in Jaggannath Puri. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu crying. He is in the mood of Radharani and he’s crying for Krishna and other Lord, Lord Jaggannath, crying for his devotees and specially Radharani. One is looking for Krishna, and the other is looking for Radharani and they meet, the great meeting took place in Jaggannath Puri, they spent time together, 24 years. Out of which, ofcourse, 6 years Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent traveling and finally 18 years, He was there with Jaggannath. Also taking part in ‘Rathyatra’ festivals and playing the role of Radharani. Jaggannath Krishna in the cart and Radharani right in the front, in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

When Lord arrived for first time to Jaggannath Puri. Jag….Jag….. he couldn’t even utter the full name Jaggannath. Jag…. Jag…. Is all that he could say or utter. His voice was chocked up and next minute He was rolling on the ground right there in the Darshan mandap of Lord Jaggannath. And Lord taking part in Jaggannath Rath Yatra, yesterday also we spoke about this, that way, He brings Krishna Jaggannath to Vrindavan that is Gundicha temple. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed in Vrindavan. Gundicha is replica of Vrindavan. All those gardens around are non different from the forests of Vrindavan. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu thus proclaimed and he was introducing all surroundings and they were simply talking about Radha and Krishna for seven days and seven night. That is how much time Jaggannath spent in Gundicha temple, and there another Rath Yatra back to the main temple called Ulta Rath. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as they were proceeding towards Gundicha, His mood was,

“Mora Mann Vrindavan”

All the devotees were pulling the cart of Jaggannath. Trying to bring him to Vrindavan in the mood of Braj vasis.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his mood, my mind, my mind is Vrindavan, ‘Mora Mann is Vrindavan’; Mora Mann, ‘My Mind is Vrindavan’. “O Krishna, please enter my mind, reside in my mind, reside in my heart, please make my heart your residence, O Lord.”

And ofcourse by doing all this, as He is playing a role of a devotee,‘Bhaktavatar’ as he is known. He is teaching by example, it’s for all of us to take note of, watch him and understand Him, His mood, try to cultivate that kind of consciousness. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was there in Jaggannath Puri for some time. Then he does take his tour of South India. Travels extensively throughout South India and returns to Jaggannath Puri, we will not be talking details of that.

We could only take one drop of the ocean of pastimes of Guaranga. We are not very big, right!!! Even one drop good enough for us to get drowned. Kind of size that we understand, what we are one, 10,000th and that is also tips of the hair. I have a hair, tip of hair, you see, break that into 10,000, then take one, that’s our size. So that size we are, just one drop of the ocean of pastimes is just enough for us to get drowned. So He returned to Jaggannath Puri. Great to read and understand how he traveled, how he was spreading and chanting the holy name of the Lord everywhere. His purpose that time was to, he was looking for his brother Viswaroopa that was given as a reason. “I must go find my brother”. That was kind of a private, personal reason but than,

“Dharmasanthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge” (4.8)

His purpose is also, different purposes to establish the chanting of the holy name as yuga dharma for this age of Kali. So he did that, and finally in Pandharpur, finally He comes to Pandhapur, Pandhapur dham ki jai! Which is one of the very dear dhams for us. He found out that Viswaroop, he was there in Pandhapur and that is where he departed from, he had taken Sanayasa. So he found out that his brother was no more and so then he comes back to Jaggannath Puri, then he had desire to go to Vrindavan.

King Pratap Rudra, the great devotee of the Lord. He found out Chaitanya Mahaprabhu contemplating on going to Vrindavan. King Pratap Rudra made a special request to Sarvabhom Bhatthacharya and Ramanand Rai, “please, please make sure that Lord Chaitanya doesn’t leave Jaggannath Puri” and not only King Pratap Rudra but no one wanted Guaranga, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to leave Jaggannath Puri. So as now Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was appealing to the devotees, Ramanand Rai and Swaroop Damodhar, “please make arrangements for me to go to Vrindavan.” But devotees where, when he proposed for the first time, the devotees said, “Oh! This is not the proper time, this is rainy season, not good time for traveling.” Ok, rainy season was over. “So could you now make arrangement for me to go?” “No, no! It is too cold in Vrindavan now”. Then again he wanted to go.

“No, no! It’s time for Ratha Yatra. Soon the devotees would be coming from Bengal, looking for you also, besides taking part in Jaggannath Puri. Please stay. Please stay on”.
And like that, two years, they came up with this excuse and that reason, “No not now”. This time, that time. And two years passed that way. But finally Lord said, “No, I must go! Please make arrangements. Oh! Please let me go, please permit me to go, please happily give me permission to go. Then I’ll be happy on my way; on the way to Vrindavan.” So finally Mahaprabhu was ready to go and whole Jaggannath Puri was also ready to go with him, all devotees were there. As he started leaving Jaggannath Puri, all devotees were right behind him like an ocean. There is also an ocean, the Bay of Bengal, like that the ocean of devotee following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He forbade them. He had to do so many things to keep them behind and it was very very difficult for those devotees to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu leaving right in front of them. And some devotees traveled with him up to Cuttack, some more devotee’s upto some more points, and finally Lord practically by himself, Ok, we mentioned.

He wanted to go to Vrindavan but his idea was, “I’ll visit the devotees in Bengal first.” Especially he was thinking, “I should visit mother Ganga and mother Sachi.” He was thinking of these two mothers, I will go to Bengal and visit my mother Sachi Mata and Ganga Mata and also meet devotees there. And then via Bengal through Bengal then, I’ll head towards Vrindavan.” So with that idea, Mahaprabhu comes to Bengal side. One of the first places Mahaprabhu comes is Vidyanagar, you know Vidyanagar. Those who went on ‘Parikrama’, one day padayatra, parikrama stops at Vidyanagar, so just before Vidyanagar, there is a residence of Vidyavachaspati, the brother of Sarvabhom Bhattacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was staying there. And as news leaked, “Mahaprabhu is back.” “Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is here. “Guaranga! Guaranga! Guaranga is here”

The wave, the news was reaching; the news was reaching and the wave of people also coming back towards Vidyavachaspati’s home. There’s a description in Chaitanya Bhagavat, the kind of crowds came out and they were leaving for Vidyavachaspati home. Normally there are some paths for bullock carts or footpaths. But only few people could walk on those paths. When people came, they saw their path is blocked by the trees and bushes because there is only a little path. And they don’t want to go one after the other. They all wanted to go simultaneously like a wave. So it is described that people started cutting the trees and bushes and clearing the whole forest. And then they were walking on the trees, the bushes and crawling and proceeding towards Vidyavachaspati’s home. People just clearing the path, another wave came from the eastern side and then they have to stop.

Ganga was in the middle, there were few boats, but who wants to stand in a queue, ten people at a time and one boat coming back and another one going. It is also described that Vidyavachaspati personally arranged some additional boats for devotees. But they were not sufficient, they were not waiting for the boats to go and return, they were just jumping into the river, diving and trying to cross. There was a time, Ganga was filled with people, you could only see the heads of the people moving , not water, heads of people everywhere moving …moving…they did not care what would be the result, whether they could cross or whether would get drowned. All that they were thinking, “We want to see ‘Guaranga’.” “Where is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? Where is He? Where is He? This is all they are thinking, just thinking, there spirit is just moving and the bodies are just following. Finally as people arrived, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had realized that there is too much stamped could be too much to handle this crowd. So he had gone to kulingram. Devotees were disappointed and Vidyavachaspati was kind enough to bring all of them to bring to kulingram which is present in Navadvipa. And all the devotees met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jay!

They met and they saw and they were just drinking the beauty of the personality of Guaranga. Full dandavats and ofcourse big kirtans. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just sits and he gives darshan to everybody. He begins dancing and because he is very tall, everyone could take his ‘Darshan’. Bengalis are usually shorter people and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is seven feet tall. Easy for darshan right! And to make it yet easier what would Guaranga do? He would jump, the golden, the real gold in this world everyone is mad after gold and Guaranga…. ‘Go’ for Guaranga is real gold. So they had a great time and they were following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu everywhere, wherever he would go, they would go with him. One devotee Narsingh Bramhachari, Narsinghanand Narsinghanand Bramhachari, he found out that Mahaprabhu is planning to go to Vrindavan ofcourse he is going to be walking. “Oh! What could I do? What could I do? What service could I render?” And he had great idea of fixing the road. Starting from Navadvipa, kulingram, all the way to Vrindavan, he wanted to fix the road. But how did he do that? He did that in the mind, easy Job! No, that was his devotion. Lord is ‘Bhavgrahi Janardan’. Even your ‘bhava’ counts, you get credit for that.

So he sat down he started constructing the road and not with the stones it was with flowers, stemless translation is no stem, stemless. The stems were cut and the flowers being spread on the road, a bed of roses. There were bakuls, special bakul flower, they are very rare, but he had so many of them on either side, he had bakul flowers at intervals, there were lakes. If you need to go into the lake, you need a ghat or steps. They were made up of jewels and then he was filling up those lakes with the waters. The lake is there the water is there, what else is required??? Lotuses have to be there, lotuses were there. There were bushes and there were beautiful trees on the banks of those lakes. And he had birds’ chirping and singing. He was trying to do the best, road for Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to walk on building and building and building, and making that bridge, I mean, the road, he went up to Kanhai Natshala.

It is the place in Bengal-Bihar border, up to there he built the road and from there onwards he had difficulty continuing the construction of the road, He had lots of flowers and more lakes, the idea, more trees, more birds everything was waiting, big stalk he had but he was not able to. He was struggling to go forward with the road construction but not possible. He was not even able to put one step forward and as he contemplated, he came to conclusion that this time Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will not go to Vrindavan, He will only go up to Kanhai Natshala. Upto that Kanhai Natshala he had built the road and he said only upto there, He will go and he will not go forward, he told the devotees, “You will see! You will see!” he was fully convinced; you will see it was like a prediction and he was convinced.

So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from kulingram, he goes to Ramkeli and he met Rupa Goswami and Sanatan, the Dabir Khash and Sakar Malik, the two brothers, they were ministers. First time ever they were meeting, great meeting! These two brothers were holding a straw in between their teeth, “Dante Trina Dhari” and full obeisances at the feet of the Lord, full humility, folded hands and trembling voice and faltering of the voices, and they are speaking, Lord did not want to even hear so much. We are worst than Jagai and Madhai and we are this and we are that. It’s too much, the humility. He said leave it. No, I can’t hear. Enough…enough. Stop! Stop! And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “You are my eternal associates.”

Rupa Manjiri and Vilas Manjiri, they are meeting in Ramkeli for first time, so there was a nice dialogue, everything is wonderful. Sanatan Goswami says one thing and all those devotees were following the Lord. Ramkeli is in Bangladesh. The present day Bangladesh, that time ofcourse, there was no Bangladesh, that’s new creation, new country. Sanatan Goswami said this is not the way to go to Vrindavan, going with hundreads and thousands of devotees. No, don’t do this. Sanatan Goswami is giving a kind of good advice. Srila Prabhupad writes in the purport there that in those days, one of the thing mentioned that people use to take big tours to Vrindavan on some kind of commercial basis and charge people pandas giving tour and take money, what they would think of you?, you are no better as one thing that comes up and it’s a disturbance. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu now even after he had not taken it seriously and then he was traveling, he was on the way to Vrindavan and he was in Kanai Natsala spending night there and during the night, he was thinking what did Sanatan Goswami say?. No, No, dont go with hundreds and thousands of devotees to Vrindavan, then yes, that’s it. Mahaprabu decided I will not go to Vrindavan.

Narsinghananda Brahmacahri ki jai… Remember he had said he will not go. Mahaprabhu said I will return to Jagganath Puri. I will return to Nilachal, ofcourse yet he has not visited Sachimata, so Chaitanya Mahaprabu once again, he comes to Shantipur. Remember he had come after taking sanayasa and again he is in Shantipur and he meets Sachimata in Shantipur. First time also that meeting took place in Shantipur, second time also that meeting Sachimata in Shantipur. Spending time in Shantipur festival chanting, dancing, feasting and Lord proceeds to Jagannath Puri. Again every one wants to go with him and Lord had hard time keeping everyone behind in Bengal, only two devotees went with him, one is Balabhadra Bhattacharya and other is Damodhar Pandit, two devotees followed Mahaprabhu back to Jagannath Puri. Jagannath Puri dham ki jai! and he is in Jagannath Puri now.

He hadn’t forgotten his Vrindavan business, he wants to go to Vrindavan again, he calls Ramananda Rai and Swarupa Damodhar, “Please make arrangement for me to go to Vrindavan, but I dont want anybody, nobody will go with me to Vrindavan. I want to go by myself and then the whole dialogue.” No! No! No! (laughs) atleast take two and finally it was settled. Ok. Just one but make sure that devotee is peaceful in his mind, besides few other qualifications. Mahaprabhu said he has to be peaceful. You don’t know last time that Kaliya Krishna Das right, he was there but then he got into trouble, mind agitated. So make sure servant that goes with me, he has to be peaceful.

Who goes with Mahaprabhu? If someone wants to go with Mahaprabhu, then that is one of the requirements he has to be what? (Devotees saying) peaceful, not peaceful, then you will stay behind, you lag behind. So finally and then Oh! That Bhatacharya, Balabhadra Batacharaya, he is the one, he travelled with you from Bengal to Jagannath Puri, we are proposing his name, yes, yes, he could go and it was settled. So when Lord proposed that was kind of evening time and he said, “Tonight before sunrise, I will be out of here. Dont spread the news of my departure and I will go.”

So Lord, in the middle of the night, got up and took that one devotee with him and started his journey for Vrindavan. Next morning as devotees got up. Who are they thinking of? As soon as they got who are they thinking of, first who are they thinking?

“Guaranga” “Guaranga” “Guaranga”

First thing they think is of “Guaranga,” so morning, specially morning should be reserved for remembering the Lord and his devotees. Mornings are very very special, the best time of the day should be reserved for the best person best Lord and his devotees, so Jagannath Puri devotees were doing that. So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is incognito, incognito, he is not going on the highways, he is taking some side ways, he is going through the forest, this is how he ends up in Jharkhand, forests of Jharkhand. Now just few years ago in India, there is a new state like our Maharashtra or U.P or Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, one more state has been added Jharkhand, that’s part of Bihar, right, that’s part of Bihar, north India, that’s part of Bihar and so Bihar divided into two, Bihar state and Jharkhand, just to have some idea where is Jharkhand. So now He is going through Jharkhand forest, is He carrying gun with him? He has no gun, bombs, swords, stones (laughs). Nothing, He is empty handed and He is going through the forest and that forest, 500 years, that forest was full of tigers and lions and elephants and like that, it’s a real forest, forest like forest, thick forest, and Mahaprabhu is traveling through and ofcourse singing all the time.

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare (kirtan).

So we have little more time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has not today, he will just reach outskirts of Vrindavan, Mathura, going through the forest quickly he took ofcourse many many days. He was in the forest many months, he was in the forest and just Him and
Balabhadra Bhattacharya. Balabhadra Bhattacharya had hard time.(laughs) And he was traveling (makes sound of tiger), Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was walking and dancing and his feet touched sleeping tiger.

Tiger is on the ground, Mahaprabhu standing next and tiger looked and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says Hare Krishna (laughter) and tiger says (devotees saying), Hare Krishna. Get up, get up, he makes the tiger to get up and there is more chanting and dancing and that the tiger is singing, just like human beings, like you say Hare Krishna, tiger is saying Hare Krishna, not acting like a tiger any more. And another time, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he was on the lake taking his bath and now was chanting his gayatri. So he was murmuring his gayatri mantra and then comes the elephants, big herd, so many elephants comes to drink water and as they are drinking water, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu splashes some water and as water touches their bodies, they say Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, elephants (devotees saying). Hare Krishna Hare Krishna to you and elephants are not only chanting but their four legs are up in the air and they are dancing and singing. I wish some one had taken their video, you would have purchased one copy, right?

But as it is described in Chaitanya Caritamrita if you could hear or read and visualize in your mind, three dimensional, that’s the scriptures are like windows, through that you see the pastimes of Mahaprabhu, Krishna, Guaranga.. Then another time, he is walking through the forest and he has tigers and the deers they are walking side by side, is that ever possible? We can’t even imagine the deer, even if they see a human being, they run away, what to speak of tiger. They are walking next to each other, they are walking next to each other, not one, so many deers, so many tigers walking next to each other and next scene was, this was too much!

Well it’s difficult for us to understand this is all doing of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But he is not giving credit to himself or he is not thinking, he is not thinking I am playing double role here, let me fix the tiger’s consciousness and the deers consciousness and this and that, let me revolutionize, fix them, and then I will be there again to witness, to watch how they act, how they behave, how they demonstrate, how they perform. He doesn’t have to fix them first and then put them on the stage and see their performance, it’s kind of simultaneously happening. As if Lord has nothing, nothing to do with it, how is this happening? What is this? This is going against nature, against the nature. The deer and the tiger next to each other and not next to each other but Mahaprabhu saw as he looked behind to the next scene. The deer and tiger, they were embracing each other like what, one tiger, one deer standup, who is the tiger? (Laughter) He is the deer (devotee who acted tiger and deer embracing each other) and Haribol and applause.

Embracing was the first act, next was they were kissing each other. Haribol! (Laughter). Even difficult to get human beings to (laughter). So when Mahaprabhu saw that he was reminded of Vrindavan, there is a verse here, now we are not giving scriptures in the front but its right there. He is reciting the verse which is from 10th canto of Bhagvatam describing the spirit of Vrindavan, where animals don’t act like ferocious animals although they have animal body, they have no enmity, no anger, no hatred they are friendly even animals are friendly with each other. So although Mahaprabhu was far from Vrindavan he was just there in the Jharkhand forest but their he experienced Vrindavan, this is Vrindavan for him, that was Vrindavan, that experience was Vrindavan experience, that spirit was Vrindavan spirit.

So as he was eager to go to Vrindavan, kind of Vrindavan was running towards him. Vrindavan was coming also in his direction, he was experiencing Vrindavan on the way to Vrindavan and again ofcourse as he was out of thick forest of Jharkhand, more villages and towns on the way to Varanasi and his chanting and dancing continues. His assistant is arranging some prasadam, cooking spinach from forest vegetables and simple meal, sometimes some brahmans are inviting. It is described that some low class people also forest people, uncivilized, so then his servant has to cook which he is doing, the people are coming to chant and dance with him. its amazing there is no, there is no advertisement, no banner, no poster, no one is doing campaign for Mahaprabhu’s travel, “Tonight he is in this village and next day in that town” but somehow people are finding out and coming in a big number. Where ever he goes, that was happening in south India, some more people are coming as he is going through, this Jharkhand in North India, on the way to Vrindavan.

Ofcourse Lord is the heart and it is easy for Him just to make announcement in the heart of each person quickly and they come, they all found out, He is coming, He is here, so they are coming in big numbers and he is getting them to chant and dance. Inspiring, inspiring them to chant and dance (saying loudly).

Haribol! Haribol! Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is lifting all of them and let them go. Haribol! Haribol!

Kind of Mahaprabhu does that lifting everybody. Haribol! And then, those people go return to their towns, villages and then preach to everybody “jare dako tare kaho” those people meet other people and they meet other people like that. Chanting and dancing holy name was spreading everywhere in Mahaprabhu’s time. Then he passed through Prayag and as heading towards Vrindavan, Mathura, Mathura dham ki jai!

Tomorrow will be, we will deal with some of the chapters of Chaitanya Caritamrita according to my estimation or my liking, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s another word Vraj Mandal Parikrama of Vrindavan. Starting with his bath, holy dip at Vishram Ghat, going for darshan of Keshavdev at janmasthan, birth place of Krishna. Then going from forest to forest and how the whole vraj, Mahaprabhu is kind of dealing, reciprocating, whole vraj mandal, wholw vraj mandal is also dealing with Mahaprabhu. Char-achar, there is something non living in vraj, char-achar, everything is welcoming Chaitanaya Mahaprabhu. And it’s their experience, they are all thinking, although Guarsundar has come to Vrindavan but they are all thinking Oh! Shyamsundar is here, although Guarsundar is there but they are thinking Oh! Shyamsundar is . strong, he goes to Hare Krishnahere, Shyamsundar is here and cows and trees, the birds, male parrot, female parrot talking, peacocks dancing and Mahaprabhu’s ecstasy, his emotions, its a whole flood. So we will be dealing with that tomorrow.

‘Suprabhat’ you understand, Good. That’s how it is translated. There’s a big difference between the two. Prabha, prabhat, here ‘bha’ means ‘light’. From bha comes bhaskar, there is bhaskar sabhagruha. ‘Bha’. We are also, the country that we stay in is called ‘Bharat’. This country, that is absorbed in ‘bha’, meaning absorbed in ‘light’. Then, from the light comes the delight. So in the morning, we get good sun. Lot of countries do not even see light of the day, like England and several countries. They just have to be satisfied saying ‘suprabhatam’, they just say good morning for other purposes.

Its a very good morning, good afternoon or good night, if we are on the brighter side, on the side of the light and also in a place where Bhagavat Gita was spoken, ‘Kurukshetra’, doesn’t use ‘bha’, ‘jyotisar’ sar is ‘shrot’, source of light. So the Bhagavat Gita is also source of light ‘tamso ma jyotirgamaya’ don’t stay in the darkness, go to the light and ofcourse the source of the light is not just the sun. Sun, it acts like a mirror. It just borrows and then reflects the light, light that comes from the Lord. Lord’s form is brilliant, He is brilliant. ‘Koti surya samaprabha’, again prabha is here ‘Koti surya samaprabha’, when the lord appears anywhere, on some planets, some universe. And this sun that we have, would be like a candle, in front of the effulgence, emanating from the Lord’s body. So originally light comes, anywhere there’s light that comes from the Lord. And you cannot see anything without that light.

At the night, when there it is a pitch dark, you open your eyes, find, go ahead open your eyes but do you see, unless Lord shows you with the light. Ok OK here here is a light. So how much dependent we are on the lord. For everything, we are dependent. Even stalk of seeing we depend upon him, unless there’s light, we cannot see and light you may say coming from the sun but Sun is also one of the eyes of the Lord, he has two, one is ‘shashisuryayo’ one is sun and one is moon. Only when the Lord opens his eyes in the form of sun or moon, the world is able to see. First person to see is Lord and then we are the next one. We kind of get the remnants. After Lord has seen, then we are the secondary seers of anything, This is knowledge. To know this, is knowledge, this is vidya. Contrary to all this is avidya. Vidya – avidya. So you are vidyarthi, ‘arthi’ vidyarthi, you are accumulating vidya, accumulators of vidya. So we could go on talking like this, however, I am also asked to focus on the topic of chanting. I don’t know whether you were told, as per schedule, this topic was for tomorrow morning, Radheshyam prabhu decided to shift that to this morning. So now we wish to begin our day. Infact, your day did begin at 4.30 in the morning and you already had been chanting

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare”.

So something that you had been doing for past several years, on and off, or regularly, some chanting. You are all chanting, you are all chanters of the holy name and this morning, you have chanted. So there is no need of the talk really, like after, someone had taken his meal and he is satisfied and he knows, right? No one else has to tell you. Oh! Now you are satisfied. You must be contented or happy now as you had big meal or big feast. Does someone else need to tell this to the person who has just finished nice ten course meal? Yes, does anyone else to tell? Likewise, I’m confident that also in the atmosphere like this, almost, like the forest of ‘Naimisharanya’ here. And only difference is there were 80,000 sages had assembled. Now the numbers are little smaller, right. There were 80 or 88 and there were 88,000 and we are 80 or few extras accept one dog barking (laughs).There is nothing else, you could hear because for chanting, you need peaceful surroundings. Physically, your aasan before you go for chanting, the goal is Samadhi ‘ashtanga yoga’ and in between, there is a aasan, your situation and pratyyahar, dharna, dhyan, dharna, samadhi , these things are also applicable to chanting. So aasan which doesn’t refer to the physical seat that you are sitting on, but even the place that building or the hall that you are sitting in and where the hall is situated and again that whole hall and other things where are they stationed. Aasan is not limited to two feet by two feet patch. Aasan refers to what is around you; your surroundings is also the part of the aasan. So this is conducive atmoshere for chanting the holy names of the Lord, but everything is just the favourable, aasan is proper. And again there are timings they are favourable and not so favourable timings for chanting the holy name.

For chanting, concentration is required. With the concentration, with attention we chant. So in order to have that attention, we need some external help; we need some help surrounding us, proper aasan, even the company, the good company or the best thing is that others are also chanting around you, people around you, they are also chanting. That helps you, that inspires you to be absorbed in what you are doing, you are chanting and others are, whatever fighting, others are running hither and thither. What would happen? Naturally, you would get distracted by their physical run around and specially this kind of sounds that they are chanting, that shouting, they would reach your ears and what would be the next thing? You would be compelled to think about what they are talking, and that’s distraction. If they are not talking about the Lord or talking about the chanting or not chanting then that sound vibration by them will cause distraction so these are the favourable and then favourable timings we were talking, the day is divided into three parts.

Early morning hours are dominated by goodness ‘Satvagun’. The day times are, is of passion, the run around, the rat-race and night times are the darker side ‘Tamogun’. Of the three, which one is the best time you think for chanting? Goodness! My goodness, my goodness, everything is good. You have just woken up, your mind is fresh, the world is fast asleep, that’s nice! Let them sleep because as soon as they get up, they are going to make lot of noise or your phones are going to be ringing, tring, tring, tring, tring, tring. So while others are, of course good if everyone would be up. And this would happen in good old days. People used to get up early in the morning hours called ‘brahmamuhurta’ and chant the holy name. If you want to realise ‘parabrahma paramdham’ that is Supreme Lord. So the best time brahmamuhurta, muhurta you would know that. Before doing any activity, usually the reference, they refer to jyotish, jyotishi. He knows good times, bad times that’s ‘muhurt’. So for doing spiritual activities is already once and for all, muhurta is declared. What muhurt? Which time? Brahmamuhurt. It is one hour and 48 minutes or something before sunrise. That time is Brahmamuhurt and is most favourable time. If you wish to have a link with the Lord, so when we chant Hare Krishna, this is also yoga. Which yoga is this? This is bhakti yoga, in which bhakti is involved and this is the top most thing. So while we are chanting.

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare”.

We chant with bhakti , with the prayerful mood, mood full of prayers. Even Srila Prabhupada goes to the extent saying,”crying like a baby.” Chanting, crying like a baby for help. Oh! Lord, please help, please pick me up, I am your child. Please engage me in your service. So we need to keep our mind praying like that, crying like that. So then it is ‘bhakti yoga’. Bhakti and yoga, what is yoga part? Yoga means to link. Yoga is linking, so what are we linking with here with Krishna. Which Krishna are we linking with, as we chant the holy name of the lord Krishna? Which form of the Lord Krishna? Krishna has many forms. Namrupa, one of the rupa, one of the form of Lord is his name. One of his avatar, Lord takes avatar, he descends.

He talks in Bhagavat Gita, ‘sambhavami yuge yuge’. Once in one age, one yuga, Lord appears. And what about now, we need Lord now. So Lord is willing to appear everyday but not only again once a day. But any part of the day and night. When does Lord appear? Whenever his devotees are calling him, Lord appears. Draupadi was in trouble, in difficulty, you know that. Dhusshasan on one side and Draupadi on other side, she struggles so that she would not be disrobed by this ‘roag’ Dhusshasan. Not sushyasan, not nice. Shasan means administrator, he was a bad, worst administrator. So she was trying, holding with both hands, the saree. She was protesting, protecting herself. That was not working out. Then saree with one hand, crying and praying with one hand. Did that work? It also didn’t work, finally she realised, “I have no strength, I am ‘abala’ means stree. Abala not much strength. So she decided to depend upon the Lord. She had both of her hands up and she cried out, “Hey Krishna, Hey Govinda.”

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare”.

You may say, “Oh! no Dhusshasan is troubling me. Why I should pray, cry unnecessarily? Everything is so nice here”. But infact that is not so nice also or things are just waiting, sufferings of all sorts are waiting. Janma, mrityu, jara, vyadhi is all waiting and this could be described. If you hear the description how we are always in difficulty and always in a place described by the Lord as he is describing this world as ‘dukhalayam’ ‘dukhalayam’ which we are trying to make it into a sukhalay and this attempt is going on for past billions of years. Since the beginning of creation and we have not succeeded. But this generation thinks,”just give us as few more years by 2020, we’ll have this as sukhalaya” (laughter). But no, we cannot change the nature of this world. It is programmed to be dukhalaya and it will remain so forever. So we are in difficulty, in very awkward position, situation we are in, this is part of the knowledge also. Just ignoring that there’s no suffering or finding just little relief is not the way out, we want the solution to the problem. Again in Krishna’s words this ‘Janma, mrityu, jara, vyadhi dukhadoshanudarshanam’. Even the most intelligent, one of the most intelligent person Shankaracharya is praying. Last night also we were repeating:
“punarapi jananam punarapi maranam punarapi janani jathare shayanam, yah samsare khalu dustare very difficult this is to overcome these difficulties, so kripaya pahi pahe Murari”. “Oh! Murari! Please protect me.”

These are wise men. Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya all these are wise men, all these aacharyas, Tukaram Maharaj and the list is huge, big and the list of the scientists, Madhavacharya was a scientist. Did you know that? Ramanujacharya leading scientist of this world, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, there are hundreds and thousands of names of the scientists in this world. Lets define it in simple definition. One who knows the science is scientist. These personalities they knew the science. The science of the soul, science of the Supreme soul or even science of how this world is created. How many species are there? They knew everything, the reality as it exists. Not some mental concoctions and mental speculations. They knew the shastras, the Bhagavat Gita, the Vedas, puranas, Vedanta sutra and Upanishads, and Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam. These are the shastras, this is shastra and one who knows shastra is shastradnya. These are shastras. Everything infact, you need to know is in there.

Let’s go back to the chanting. It’s related. So we want to link with the holy name of the Lord while chanting the holy name and this is called bhakti yoga. Chanting with devotion, chanting attentively the names and then the Lord appears. This is the point we were making. So Draupadi called out in all helplessness and Lord appeared. So when the mood like Draupadi is there, mood of the chanter, then Lord appears. When those circumstances, similar circumstances, that kind of state of mind and intense prayer then Lord appears and the chanter of the holy name, he feels the presence. And in advanced stage, one could see the form of the Lord right in front of your eyes as a result of this chanting. And once you have the Lord, then you have everything, why only something. Actually, we are the proprietors, you know what are we proprietors of? We are the proprietors of this whole universe. Because that is our father’s property. Do you think that it’s your father’s property. You are making such claims. Yes, yes this whole universe is our father’s property.

Sab bhumi Gopal ki.

“Esha vashyam edam sarvam, yad kinchit jagtam jagat teen tyakteen bhunjita, mam kasya kris dhanam”

As good sons, we take only a small portion, that’s enough for me and I remain satisfied. So we are rich man’s sons. He’s not just a man, he is Supreme Personality, Supreme Father of all of us. This is his property. This is his planet. This is his universe and we are his sons. Why should we be satisfied with something little? Why not own the universe? Ya we become owners of the universe and as good sons, we remain satisfied with “teen tyak teen bhunjita” He has given you your quota and be happy with it. This would be possible, only possible if we are chanters of the holy name of the Lord and knowers of what we are talking here. We know, knowledgeable we are. The chanting of the holy names of the Lord will satisfy us. We will be happy, we will be happy to realise the Lord. We will be happy. This whole experience of joy and happiness, this is a blissful experience of chanting the holy name and then some basic necessity and we are done with it. Simple living and high thinking, high thinking, high thinking. So those who are high thinkers, high thinkers they will be happy with simple living. Keep it simple stupid(laughter). Keep it simple. But you won’t keep it simple unless you are a wise man, knowledgeable person or unless you chant the holy names of the lord and be happy.

Infact happiness doesn’t depend on anything outside. Even if you are given the whole world, you won’t be happy. You know the attempt is being made to reduce the number of people on this planet with the scheme called? What is that scheme? What is the strategy of the government called family planning? Big name under that comes number of things there, abortion. Family planning in good old days, the women they used to get ashtaputra saubhagyavati (laughter). I bless you to have how many? (Devotees: Eight) minimum. Now there’s a different formula. So 40 years ago they were saying,”Hum do humare do.” “We 2 and we have 2. Gradually they have changed. “We 2 and we have 1.” So systematic attempt is being made to decrease the population so that each one of us will have more to enjoy. More spacing facility, more clothing, more this, more that. Less people will share all that exists. Each one of us will have something more, best idea and then we’ll be happy. This is how the fools are thinking. But imagine by cutting down the population, cutting and cutting and cutting and reducing, finally, there are two people on the planet. You have successed in doing this family planning and now the success is there are only two people on this planet. Are they going to be happy? What each person is going to think? What? What will you think? Two is too many, two is too many. There should be only one. This is the conditioning, this is the disease which Krishna has spoken 5000 years ago in Bhagavat Gita. The conditioned soul thinks ‘Eshvaro Aham’ I am Eshvar. So he won’t be satisfied unless everything is his. But that dream would never be realised. So just decreasing the population so that each one of us will have more to enjoy. More, whatever more, that’s not how it works, no way.

We already said that our happiness does not depend on anything outside. What we really need to satisfy is ourselves, by satisfying your senses your bodies and the bodies of your
family members or bodies, ok extend this ego. You may want to include more people of your community and satisfy their bodies or further expand, include whole countries population, the country men and you may want to finally include all the humanity at large and try to satisfy their senses and the minds and the bodies . They would never be satisfied till when? Till what is satisfied? Last night also, we talked whole hierarchy is there. The material world is out there which is full of sense objects and above the senses is what? Mind above the mind. Some people are intellectual being and they try to satisfy their intellect, intelligence. They don’t so much care for their body and mind. They only try to nourish their intellect. That is satisfied.

You would not be satisfied unless and until so ‘he’ ‘you’, the real ‘you’ in’ you’ is satisfied, then you are satisfied. So what is that real you in you? Who are you? This the first thing first when we would know this, when we would learn this ABC. Happy happy we shall be when we learn our ABC. This is ABC. Who am I? This ABC or otherwise you may be PHD and all that. Not happy, not possible. No one is ever become happy just by these degrees so that so that again you could have a good job and you can make money and enjoy, no you suffer, Lord doesn’t want us to suffer, Lord wants us to be happy. Chant Hare Krishna and be happy. And when the soul is happy, when you are happy, then few basic needs and everything is taken care of. Even Mahatma Gandhi used to talk this, you should be happy in what you need. Need is ok, but if you are bothered by the greed then that greed will drive you mad all life long. This is what the rat-race is all about which is in motion. We are little behind in India but we are catching up with that race. Do you think this would make us happy? But we don’t realise that the greed is giving us dictation. We could become happy with some basic needs. But once you have enemy, this greed is one of the six enemies of humanity at large starting with kam, krodh, lobh, maad, moh, matsarya. These are the six enemies.

Greed, being greedy is you are attacked by your enemy. But these days you are encouraged to become greedy and how you could grab and for that purpose you become intelligent so that you could learn grabbing. There if you go with the ‘kaichi’ , scissors into the pick pocketting, then you will be behind the bars. Now if you want to transfer the money from others pocket to your pocket. But there are other smart people . They learn the art and science, how to grab the money? How to transfer the money from others account to your account in a legal way, in an authorised way, grab more, exploit more, and more or accumulate more and more and be happy this doesn’t work like that, so this chanting of Hare Krishna, infact, this is all you need and by chanting of Hare Krishna.

You have the Lord with you and he satisfies you. He pleases you. You are pleased with your Lord. He is also Lord of your heart, he is also Lord of your family member. He is also Lord of your neighbours and friends and countrymen and humanity at large. Let them chant the holy names of the Lord and we see so many. Even Guru Nanak. What do we see him doing? What is he doing?Chanting, even chanting, lot of people. Even Buddhist, you go to the. What are the places called? Montesary (laughs), monestry you go and they have rosary and they are chanting, Christianity, they also have rosary and they are chanting. This chanting is a universal thing and not only Hare Krishna’s are chanting. But in fact, all the religions they stress this chanting thing. What we call japa meditation which could also be called japa yoga. Yoga means linking with the Lord. So you are all the chanters of this holy name. You already have taken to this chanting. Chant. Keep chanting. Chant little more and you will experience for yourself, we have seen people. They are ‘Nisckinchan’, they are pennyless but they are chanting the Lord and they are the happiest people on the Earth while others, they have big big beds. You could buy bed but not sleep. You cannot buy sleep in the market. You could buy food but not the hunger like that.

People’s peace of mind is disturbed and they are greedy and lusty and angry and what not as they are, they will never be satisfied. Unless they turn to Krishna to Sri Rama and we turn to the Lord with chanting the holy names of the Lord. Lord has made His access very easy by chanting the holy names of the Lord. This vibration of chanting, this is nondifferent from the Lord. This chanting is a very big topic. It’s a big big science. It could be approached, it’s a science. It’s a science. It’s very scientific, results are also there. You do this and you go there and then, this happens and then this happens. Ofcourse, While you are chanting you have to keep your mind focused while chanting, while chanting your mind is bothering, your mind must be dragging you here there and so it’s not just sitting idle there. But you have to be very active . You should be sitting motionless you are not moving. But your mind is going to be bothering you at the time of chanting. More botherations of the mind comes during chanting. Other times mind is relaxed, absorbed. But when you are trying to bring your mind closer to the Lord, the conditioned mind ” No, No, No don’t bring me closer to the Lord” no I want to be there’s a big tug of war during chanting. Chanting is not a peaceful time. It is a war time. This is the time to fight. In the war, you have to fight and you would require help of what?

To tame the mind, to subdue the mind. To keep mind peaceful what would you need? Here help of, help of association. What else? Last night we were talking. Intelligence you need intelligence. With intelligence you will have to control this mind while chanting. Keep focused on chanting the holy names of the lord. So in our ISKCON several leaders also have written several books and seminars and volumes have been written on the science of japa and chanting. How much could we say in one sitting. There’s so much to talk about, this is a science. We are spending 20 years, 30 years to learn, a branch of knowledge, some science. But this is no small science. This is science first of all, results are there. So listeners think this chanting is only for some people only for religious people. Are you a soul? Is anyone here not a soul. You would not be here? If you had no soul or you are soulless then what would happen? When there is no soul but the body is there then what happens? Ramnam satya hai, immediately the body is useless. What’s the difference between the living body and dead body?

Difference is of the soul. We are all souls everybody here is a soul . If you are a soul then this chanting is for you. We want to make humanity happy. Lord knows we are children of god, why would he wanting us to suffer. He already knows that we are suffering i.e. why he is giving us the way out. Don’t suffer, be happy. This was Prabhupad’s mantra,”Chant Hare Krishna and be happy”. So we want you all to be happy. This is what Prabhupada wants, I want, Radheshyam prabhu wants and so many other personalities, mahatmas. They are well wishers. Mahatma is a well wisher of the society. ‘Paradukha dukhi’ why did Prabhupada leave that peaceful atmosphere of Vrindavan? Why did he go to America? Why did he go 14 times around the world? He knew that people are suffering ‘Paradukha dukhi’, he was dukhi in Vrindavan to see people suffering. So he wanted to do something on behalf of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and this is what he did. And as a result of chanting, he saw even hippies became happies. With the pride Prabhupad would we heard him saying this, “Even hippies have become happies.” If hippies could become happy then we are not that big of a hippy. We are not some traits may be there in us. So they were in intense care unit those hippies. Gone cases, dropouts and what not, they were cured by chanting the holy names of the lord. We are not that bad we have just little fever, little headache, routine disease This sickness, we could be cured instantly by chanting holy name of the Lord. So please keep chanting and share this chanting with others.

Encourage others to chant this holy name. You don’t have to be first, first I will follow all regulative pronciples “Oh still I’m doing this thing or that thing. I am still drinking tea or I’m still doing” this that, I want to first stop this and then take to the chanting, no keep chanting and if you really wish to give up some bad habits, some sinful activity, you will be able to give it up, kick it out of your life. Kick that bad thing with the help of chanting take to the chanting, your job will be a lot easier, so you don’t have to work so hard as the world is working so hard to accumulate more and more and more and try to enjoy their senses and body and they’ll never become happy. So learn this technique, science of becoming happy and you are already on the path of becoming engineers and doctors and professionals. Yes, we wish you all success. But at the same time, everyone has to be a devotee of Krishna whether you are doctor or professor or javan or kisan or doesn’t matter who you are, we want Krishna Consciousness, God consiousness is for everyone. Only some people would be doctors some would be engineers, some people lawyers, some people farmer, some may be soldiers but everyone has to be a devotee of Krishna devotee of lord. This is common for everybody.

Arjun was a devotee. He was a big fighter. And do not think people of this India. They knew this technology. You go to South India, see what kind of temple they have built, the masterpieces. They are 5000 years old, they are thousands and thousands of years old. Marvelous architect, the beauty and heights! You think they did not know technology, they did not know architect, they did not know engineering. Everything that you need to know is there, it is there in sastras. This is what we are talking, Sthapatya sastras and so many. Even subtle sciences and we knew this.

There was a time when people came from all over the world came to India to learn and their learning was not considered complete. “Oh! You had been to India? Did you go to that Nalanda University? Or did you go to that Takshashila University? Are you a student of that University?” They were teaching everything from A to Z. Not just chanting or puja, all practical things. The health, you name it, the hygiene, what, administration and what else you name it and it was being taught by the rishis and munis and people came from all over the world. Jesus Christ was in India. He became learned in India. Big big scholars used to come in India to Bharatvarsha to learn. And then they would go and teach there, this is how the knowledge was spreading. I just recently read one article. One big Chinese scholar, he visited India and he was astonished by the learning that was going on in India, he was captivated. He was a big leading scholar, What is his name? Ya difficult Chinese name (laughter). So finally he toured India and he was so much impressed and he wanted to share this with his countrymen. He took lots of scriptures with him, big big loads and he also took some men, who would interpret, explain those scriptures back in their China after some journey on their land. They had to travel by boat to get back to China. So during their journey in the ocean, there was winds and some turbulence. So they thought, ”we need to download some of these extra luggage, some baggage, some weight here.” Otherwise the boat is going to drowned here in the middle of the ocean. So they were thinking of downloading, of throwing some of those manuscripts, some books into the ocean. Some, but those Indians ‘Bharat pandits, scholars’, they told ”no no hands off”. If you wish to minimise some burden, some weight. Why dont you throw us into the ocean? Or we are ready to jump off and give up our lives. The scriptures are more important, more valuable than our lives. They were ready to sacrifice.

Knowing the value, the knowledge in depth complete knowledge in those scriptures. So we are leaders and India had been leader and we will remain so forever. This is a false propaganda. As we remained slaves for 1000 years, for 1000 years India remain slaves of Muslims and then Britishers came and they had done such a good brain washing. Everything Indian, low class and everything west is high class and like that. And unfortunately, leaders of this country, not realising this value of what India stands for? But amongst those leaders were Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada ki jai…………. He pointed out the value of India’s culture and knowledge and the wealth of the holy name again

We want to make India wealthy. Wealth is meant to buy something which will satisfy you. But your rupees and dollars are not what you buy is not satisfying you. But the chanting of the holy name which is real wealth. ‘Goloker premdhan’ harinam sankirtan. This will satisfy you. Take this wealth of this holy name and become wealthy. If someone asks you,”Oh! Where did you go
, we had to gone become wealthy, we have come here. Three days seminar we had, we wanted to be enriched”. “Where did you go?” we went to become enrich, become richer. Rich in culture, rich in knowledge, rich in spirituality, rich or souls becoming rich. So go on becoming richer and richer, rich person is happy right this is the notion. Everyone we have to become rich to be happy but not the kind of rich the world is talking about. Your soul has to be rich enrich then you’ll be happy. So chant:

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare”.

We guarantee you that you will be happy. If you don’t become, take us to the court, complain. Like last year also I could meet you, after one year, you could fine me. So it’s guaranteed. This is the guarantee given by the Lord. Ok I took few extra minutes of you and again your breakfast is going to be late, dinner was late last night. I come to spoil your schedule and your routine program. But again I was very happy to be associated with youths of India we feel also young in asand it will remain so forever. So we are in difficulty, in very awkward position, situation we are in, this is part of the knowledge also. Just ignoring that there’s no suffering or finding just little relief is not the way out, we want the solution to the problem. Again in Krishna’s wor/emem/emd/strongs this sociation, old as we are becoming in association. You are boiling with enthusiasm and energy. So it’s nice again I want to express my joy to see youths of this great nation India are stepping forwards to know the treasures, the hidden treasures, our forefathers have left behind them. We need’ means to find this and you are searching looking and, you will find Hare Krishna movement will keep guiding you with the help of sastras and sadhus and acharayas. They are wise men, they were not drunkard, they were not gamblers, they were not women hunters, they were not meat eaters. You could be knowledgeable but you could be women hunter, you may be scientist but you could be a drunkard, you could be so called leaders but you could be meat eater. That is not civilized, when we are talking of civilization, civilized so you are going for that treasure, that wealth, that knowledge. So as you pursue your paths you are simultaneously investing your time and energy in, then life would be complete. This mundane pursuit is not the way because we are not only body, we are souls we have to take care of body and soul, you have now both, and this is complete.

Thank you.
H.H. Lokanath Swami Maharaj ki jai!!

Born in a little village of Maharashtra called, Aravade, Lokanath Swami Maharaj went on to become one of the most powerful bonafide gurus of ISKCON. Little did anyone know from his village that the spiritual words uttering from the divine mouth of Lokanatha Swami, would be the source of inspiration for hundreds and thousands on the path of spiritualism. His fate was sealed when he took his first initiation in the year 1972 from Srila Prabhupada. And from then on, he took up his Padayatra mission to spread the Vedic culture. He, together with his baritone voice and a deep ocean of knowledge, spread the divine nectar to one and all. His inspirational lectures have helped in the rapid progress of his followers on the divine path.

In order to spread the message of ISKCON’s spiritual guru in a more effective manner, his worthy followers have created a magnanimous website called www.lokanathmaharaj.info. The website is a unique approach in spreading the words from the divine mouth so that it can reach to the homes of the general people. It has got word to word English translations of his lectures all over the world. The website has been so designed that anyone can access it easily. The design and layout is simple yet elegant and very user friendly. It is wonderful for the devotees as they can read each and every powerful quote of their divine master on this website. The website contains various transcripts under different sections. Some of the transcripts included are Lokanath Maharaj on the importance of tirthas, Lokanath Maharaj on curbing the symbol of sin, Chant for Change, etc.

One of the most interesting transcripts is ÇRÉLA PRABHUPÄDA ON SANSKRIT (SAÀSKÅTA ÇIKÑÄMÅTAM). It is an encyclopedia of Sanskrit pronunciations, an index of verses, and other features to assist readers in accurately reciting the Vedic scriptures. It has proved to be really helpful for the disciples and they have achieved a sense of perfection in reading the scriptures.

The transcripts here are a storehouse of knowledge and inspiration for the present devotees as well as for the inspiring devotees of His Holiness. The transcripts in this web portal will help the users understand how they can include chanting and various divine activities in their day to day life and enhance themselves spiritually. The Vedic verses included in these transcripts are very succinct to the topic.

Scores of people have found this web portal very interesting. It has enhanced their level of thinking and given them a better understanding of life. A lot of very fresh and informative transcripts are yet to be added in the portal and thus the readers will have a multitude of topics to read from. So, for those who want to transform themselves and reach to a higher platform of spiritual understanding, this website is a must read for them.

Lord Krishna did talk about this topic in Bhagavad Gita. So we will also talk and discuss about it. In fact the symbol of sin, i.e. lust, which is the biggest enemy, can be defeated not just by talking. Discussion is necessary for understanding. But we would succeed in curbing lust (and other five symbols- anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy) by chanting Hare Krishna, by honoring prasadam, and by association of devotees. These ultimately help us to curb the symbol of sin. Not just the knowledge or the philosophy.
This topic has its foundation in Bhagavad Gita. If it is not based on Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, we don’t touch that because it would haves no substance, or utility. We go for only those topics that have connection with sadhu, shastra and acharyas (scriptures and great personalities) Verse 41 in third chapter of Bhagavad Gita talks of this great symbol of sin, lust, “tasmat tvam indriyani adau niyamya bharatarshabha, papmanam prajahi hyena gyana vigyana nashanam.” (Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the Bharatas, in the very beginning curbs this great symbol of sin (lust) by regulating the senses, and slays this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.)
We would like to present the topic in five phases:-
1. Vision (or definition) of this topic: What is sin and where does it reside?
2. Obstacles or stumbling blocks in achieving the vision: Difficulties we face while curbing the symbol of sin.
3. Strategies to achieve the goal: Solutions for difficulties.
4. Negative effects of lust on the life of individuals, society, country or humanity, etc.
5. Benefits of curbing this enemy.
1. Vision: The symbol of sin could be curbed by regulating the senses. This is Krishna’s proposal. Niyamya adau. Adau – adi becomes adau in Sanksrit translation. Indriya is sense, plural is indriyani, senses.
If we don’t curb this symbol of sin, then it will destroy knowledge and self realization. We all are interested in knowledge and self realization, but the difficulty is this symbol of sin, lust. Sin destroys knowledge and realizations of a person.
Prior to this, Krishna was asked a question by Arjuna. In the middle of two armies, on a chariot, Krishna and Arjuna had a dialog. Arjuna is asking in verse 3.36, “atha kena prayukto ayam papam charati purushah? Annichhan api varshneya balad iva niyojitah.” (O descendant of Vrushni, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?) How come some people commit sin? How come sometimes the sin is committed unwillingly by a person? He knows this is not to be done. This is wrong and sinful. Still someone is pushing him, impelling him, and compelling him to commit that sin. Who it is, what is it, O Lord, could you please explain. This is the question of Arjuna. Do you have similar experience as Arjuna? If the question of Arjuna is also your question, then reply given by the Lord is also not only for Arjuna but also for all of us. Arjuna is asking on our behalf for the benefit of all of us, so Krishna doesn’t have to repeat the answer. He gave one eternal reply. Even when used generation after generation, the reply is still beneficial. Lord Krishna replies in verse 3.37, “Sri Bhagavan uvacha, kama esha krodha esha rajo guna samudbhava, mahashano maha papma viddhy enam iha vairinam.” (The Supreme Personality of Godhead said, “It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.”) It is lust that is compelling us to commit sin. Krishna is also adds some more words, “Kama esha, krodha esha”. Lust and anger. Srila Prabhupada says anger is younger brother of lust. First kama takes birth and then the next one to take birth is the krodha. They go together, kama and krodha, next to each other. Krishna also says, “rajo guna samudhbhava”. They are produced by rajo guna, the passion. Passion gives birth to kama and krodha. So immediately we would make a connection that if you want to become free from lust and anger, become free from passion.
What guna should we have then? Go higher. Go in Goodness. As soon as you are in the mode of goodness, you will not be bothered by lust and anger. Krishna says, “Arjuna, you should know this kama. This is your enemy. Viddhi enam iha vairinam. Please take note. We should also take note of this, that this lust is our enemy, not a friend. Having understood that much, what else would you like to know about your enemy?
Where does he stay? Unless you know whereabouts of your enemy, how would you accomplish destroying him? So Krishna points out, this enemy is having three bases or camps. Indriyani, mano buddhir. That is Lord’s reply. (verse 3.40), “indriyani mano buddhir asya adhisthanam uchyate, etair vimohayati esha gyanam avruttya dehinam.” (The senses, the mind and the intelligence are where this enemy resides. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.)
The enemy is found in the body, not outside, but right there inside you. You are your senses, mind and intelligence. These are the three places where the lust is residing. Now after this, comes that statement from verse 3.40, “Tasmat.. indriyani niyamya adau.” In the beginning you have to control the senses. Why in the beginning you have to control the senses? Because you would like to check the enemy right at the entrance from making a progress. The very first place where you would station your army is right at the entrance point of the enemy. In the body, the entrance for this lust is the senses.
In Bhagavad Gita verse 5.13 it is mentioned, “Nava dvar pure gehe”. The material body is like a city that has nine gates. Srimad Bhagavatam describes the city of body has four directions. This face is considered to be the East direction. It has five gates. (eyes, two nostrils and a mouth). The western side has two gates, anus and genitals. Then is southern gate, the right ear. The northern gate is left ear. By regulating the senses, we stop the enemy (lust) from coming in, stop him at the gates. Indriyani niyamya adau. If the enemy is not checked at the entrance, the next thing he is going to capture is mind. Even there, if we are not careful, or don’t identify the enemy or destroy him, then he is going to reach the intelligence. That is the most dangerous.
Body is compared to a chariot and intelligence is the driver of that chariot. The most important person in the vehicle is the driver. We have to make sure that this enemy, lust doesn’t get anywhere near there. Otherwise, this enemy will dictate the terms, “do this, do that, do as I say.” He will be our controller, in superior position. Our enemy, lust will captures the most strategic point in us and that is intelligence. So curbing the enemy begins with senses. Then you are safer. So this is what Lord has said in third chapter of Bhagavad Gita.
In the purport of this text 41, Prabhupada says, lust is only perverted reflection of love for God. Love for God is called prema in Sanskrit. When prema deteriorates, degenerates, dilutes, it is turned into or transformed into kama or lust.
Caitanya Caritamrita describes what is prema, what is kama, what is love and what is lust. (CC Adi 4.165). Atmendriya priti vancha – tare bali ‘kama’, Krishnendriya priti iccha dhare ‘prema’ nam (The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kama (lust) but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krishna is prema (love)). So things done for ‘atmendriya priti’ are for the pleasure of our own senses. For satisfaction of your own senses, you are working, desiring to enjoy your own senses and that is described as ‘tare bali kama’. That is lust. It is very simple. The other is Krishnendriya priti – when we do things for the pleasure of senses of Krishna. Krishna is a person and He has senses. Krishna is described as Hrishikesha, master of His own senses and of everybody’s senses. The boss of your senses is Krishna. Hrishika means senses and isha is master.
Bhakti is described as that activity wherein three things, Hrishikena, hrishikesha and sevanam. You are using, engaging your senses to serve Hrishikesha, serve the Lord. That is called bhakti. (Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 19.170, “sarvopadhi vinirmuktam tat paratvena nirmalam hrishikena hrishikesha sevanam ‘bhaktir’ uchyate.” Bhakti, or devotional service, means engaging all our senses in the service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, master of all the senses.
When the spirit soul renders service unto the Supreme, there are two side effects. One is freed from all material designations, and one’s senses are purified simply by being employed in the service of the Lord. Controlling the senses would be possible if engaged positively. “Indriyani niyamya adau.” Regulating the senses doesn’t mean just block the ears or put ear plugs or stitch the mouth. That is not controlling the senses, that may be controlling but we don’t want to just control, or making the senses inert or useless, idle or doing nothing. We want to engage positively and that is bhakti, devotional service. We have to go beyond controlling them. That is where the devotional service, bhakti yoga comes into the picture.
2. Obstacles: In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, in 2.62, “dhyayato vishayan pumsah sangas teshupajayate, sangat sanjayate kamah, kamat krodhobhijayate.” While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust, anger arises.)
Body is a bunch of senses and sense objects are there out in the world. We have five knowledge acquiring senses and five sense objects. We know the world around us by using these senses to perceive the five sense objects. If there was a sixth sense object out there in the world, we have no way to know that. We have no equipment or instrument to find that. By contemplating on the sense objects and attachment to them comes the lust. Using this information, here is a list of all those worldly items from our daily lives by contemplating which we develop attachment and lust:-
a. Mundane sounds and scenes: Television, internet, print media, books, newspaper, novels, film industry, mundane songs, cell phones, computer games, passionate or useless sports.
b. Mundane food and other habits: Junk food, fast food industry, intoxication by alcohol and drugs, smoking, fashion industry, free mixing with opposite sex
c. Mundane ambitions: Hankering for material success or economic development. Need to overcome obstacles, background for strategies.
In contrast to lust, ‘prema’, or love of God is the constitutional position of the soul. How the love of God is stirred up or manifested or revived? In Caitanya Caritamrita, it is said, Madhya 22.107, “nitya siddha Krishna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya, shravanadi suddha chitte karaye udaya.” “Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.”
All we need to do is hear about Krishna. When heart is pure, we will have love for God. Mundane hearing, mundane food, or habits will produce lust only. People are becoming lusty like anything. From lust comes anger, war, greed and what not. People have lost the intelligence, the power of discrimination and that is why they are not able to discriminate between love and lust. Love is something out of this world; in fact it is divine, eternal, pure, in relation with the Lord. But we have made it cheap by saying, I love you. What they should say is “I am lusty after you.”
When we talk of four things, dharma, artha, kama and moksha (religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation), if you notice, artha is in the middle of dharma and kama. If people take up artha for kama and not for dharma, then moksha is not possible. Out of four, they are going for only two, artha and kama. That is all. Their whole life is finished. Even education is just for money making. It is not for making man of character and morality. Money is not a problem, make a lot of money. Any fool can make money, but it takes a wise man to spend the money. It is easy making money, difficult spending it.
In this kind of seminar, we are teaching you how to spend. Creating modern Ajamils. There is a story of Ajamil in the sixth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. Ajamil was a young, nice man, cultured and from a good family background. Once he was in a garden picking flowers for pooja and then he saw a scene wherein a low class man engaged in low class activity, lusty affair. Ajamil was young and not trained enough, not matured enough. He contemplated on that scene. He developed attachment and lust. He targeted the same woman. He succeeded in getting her and then followed his huge degradation. He fell down from high thinking level. He lost all the culture, good name. He became known as dasi-pati Ajamila, husband of a prostitute.
What is happening these days? How many Ajamils are being produced? Wherever and whenever you look around, all objects of senses are dangling in front of us through fashion, food, cinema, internet, the list is never ending. There is whole team of planners out there in the society; they are breaking their heads to create newer and newer fantasies, knowing human weaknesses. They are creating so many objects of senses, advertising them, transporting them quickly and they are proud for doing such job of advertisement and communication.
I want to say what Sukadeva Goswami said 5000 years ago. He is also making list of flaws in the age of kali. He said now the new age of kali is about to begin. This age will have ‘sarva sadhana badhakah’. This kali yuga will cause obstacles in sadhana, in regulated life of God consciousness. There will be big turbulence. Kaler dosha nidhe Rajan, kali yuga is full of faults, big storehouse of doshas. That is why our list is not ending. He concluded on the positive note. Asti eka maha gunah. There is only one good quality. Kirtanadi Krishnasya mukta sangah param vrajet. (Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.)
3. Strategies: What could we do? We are in a big mess; we want to get out of this mess. We want to be like a lotus in the mud but above the mud, not touched by mud. When you churn the milk, a ball of butter is formed. Even if you try to push it down, it springs back and floats. Like that, we must do ‘vichar manthan’, churning of thoughts; we must do planning so as to stay pure, clean, and above it. Even if the objects of senses are freely accessible out in the world, be prepared and plan about how to encounter them. Engage all senses in Krishna’s service. Be in association of devotees. Never stay idle in mind. Read about Krishna instead of mundane literature. Develop attraction for kirtan and the taste for mundane music will automatically go away. Chant daily attentively. Follow four regulative principles. Take prasadam to control tongue, belly and genitals. Follow in the footsteps of previous acharays, take inspiration from them. Replace the thoughts of enjoyment with thoughts of service of Lord. When having encounters with opposite sex, think how beauty is skin deep. Think how the person in the opposite sex is a part of Krishna and ultimately for Krishna’s enjoyment.
Krishna says, “I am lust if that is not contrary to the principles of religion.” Some amount of enjoyment is legalized in the household life. So regulated sex within marriage is allowed to some extent. Try to remember the science behind sex within marriage, to give birth to Krishna Conscious children.
But in brhamachari, vanaprastha, sanyas, there is no legal or illegal. In this day and age, it is difficult to avoid some interaction with the opposite sex. Even if you don’t want to see, it is difficult not to see out in the world. At such time, you should remind yourself that this beauty is just skin deep, and it is just a bag of bones, the body is transformation of flesh. Bring these thoughts to the mind and think again and again. At some point you will transcend. Later you will not have to think. First time it will be difficult. Next time you go out, you want to be more prepared to overcome this mind’s tendency. If you practice like this, you don’t have to think every time, immediately you will come to a conclusion.
Devotees have to spend less time and energy on these thoughts and they can quickly go to positive or Krishna’s thoughts. There are so many exemplary personalities from India’s Vedic wealth. In Ramayana, when Laxman was asked to identify Sitadevi’s ornaments, he said, “Naham janami keyure, naham janami kundale.” ( I cannot recognize the armlets or earrings). But I can recognize the nupura, the rings from her lotus feet because when I used to offer my obeisances to Sita devi, I used to see those. This is the example set by Laxman, how to be a good brahmachari.
One who desires to become a brahmachari, could pray to these personalities: Laxman, Hanuman, Bhishmadeva. They are ideal brahmacharis, very advanced souls. This is our culture. “Matravat para dareshu.” All the ladies, except your wife are like your mother. This is what they used to teach and practice. Pray to the deities to reduce lust for opposite sex.
Once Prabhupada was asked by a devotee about difficulty in controlling the senses, the sex urges. Prabhupada wrote back, pray to the deities and tolerate the urges. Krishna is the enjoyer, apply that to daily life. Identify more with the soul, I am the soul, I am the servant of Krishna. As soon as we think of body, we think of enjoyment. Powerful hearing can cut anarthas or unwanted desires like a razor. Sins can be burnt to ashes. Bhagavad Gita, verse 4.37 says, “gyanagni sarva karmani bhasmasat kurute tatha.” (As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.)
If the presentational speech is loud and clear and based on Krishna’s thoughts, then it will purify worship of the deities. This minimizes the bodily concept of life, Prabhupada said, “by deity worship, you give more time to the body of the Lord. In our temples, the brahmacharis are ready in 15 minutes including bathing, putting tilak on, and dressing. But then they spend two hours decorating the body of the Lord.” At the end they also show Him mirror, asking “Lord, are You happy?” When the Lord is looking into the mirror, they look at the Lord’s face, to see whether the Lord is happy or not. They don’t look at their own face; their mirrors are so small, they cannot fit the whole face in there. Sometimes they don’t even look into that small mirror since they don’t want to think that I am beautiful and all. So little time they spend on their own bodies but so much time they spend on decorating the body of the Lord, bathing Him etc.”
Prabhupada says, “I was doing that service one time, in 1973, I was the head pujari in Radha Rasabihari temple of Juhu, India. When we used to finally put the wig on the Lord’s head and then the crown and the peacock feather that used to be like icing on the cake. We used to wait for that final touch of decorating. It used to be a wonderful experience.” That minimizes the bodily concept. Follow strictly our daily sadhana. These are all positive strategies to overcome and to reach to the goal.
Having this ISKCON youth forum, doing seminars like this, are a part of strategy to help overcome lust from our youth. Negative effects of the lust on the life of an individual, society, country or humanity: There are negative effects on the health, in this lust business, you lose semen. By that, you lose health, brain power, memory, power of concentration. You get disturbed and agitated all the time. The world is facing problems on the health front. There is deadly disease called AIDS. Asia is sitting on the bomb called AIDS time bomb. It could explode. It is very scary situation. We don’t know what we are getting into. All this is because of lust. If everyone followed the strategy we discussed, there wouldn’t be AIDS. But billions of dollars are spent for remedy. How much money are we spending on coming out with these strategies? Hardly any. You know the solutions. Big scientists, they don’t know what you know. In due course of time, we could wipe out AIDS. Of course, those with bad karma would get AIDS. But gradually, we could get over.
The divorce rate is on a rise in India. The families are breaking, splitting in pieces because of this enemy called lust. ‘India Today’ magazine did a survey and concluded that the rate of rape in India is on rise, alarmingly rise. Is this progress? Some people think India is making progress. This is regrettingly regress. Unwanted children are taking birth. This was concern of Arjuna and he called it unplanned, varna sankar. Result of ‘just do it’ mentality. Child is produced but no one is ready to take responsibility of the child. Care, attention, love, education, no one is providing. Some of such children become terrorists. They want to take revenge because no one took care of them, so they want to do something terrible and create terror. These are some of the bad effects on society, humanity at large.
The benefits of curbing lust is long life, healthy life, producing civilized human beings who would become manav, not danav (humans, not demons). Become rakshak and not bhakshak, do poshan, not shoshan (feeding others, not sucking others’ blood or money, so that you could fulfill your lusty desires), become gentlemen, better human beings by following these strategies. Thank you. Hare Krishna.
em“Naham janami keyure, naham janami kundale.”

Venue : NOIDA,7/3/11

Hare Krishna! “Je anilo prema dhana…kotha gela Aindra Thakur”
I remember sitting here, year after year, next to Aindra prabhu; there in Vrindavana during Kartik and other times and here during Mayapur festival. So where has he gone, leaving us all behind?
He dedicated his life for kirtans, 24-hour kirtans. He spread the glories of the holy name and with that his glories also have spread all over the world. He is with us in the sound. This night’s kirtan here has been dedicated to Aindra prabhu.
We would like to thank Narad Gopal prabhu, chanting beautifully, sweetly and traditionally in Bengali tunes. (Loud chants of Hari bol, Hari bol follows). I am sure Aindra prabhu is pleased. I hope he is here in his spirit with us to accept our offerings. Our connection with him was in the kirtans, through kirtans. So we continue doing kirtans and that way, keeping kirtans, which is the holy name, which is Krishna himself in the middle, we associate and relate to each other.
His Grace Aindra prabhu ki jay. Hari naam sankirtan ki jay. Sri Krishna Balaram ki jay. Sri Sri Pancha tattva ki jay. Srila Prabhupada ki jay. Nitai Gaura premanande Hari bol.