Keep chanting and study Bhagvad gita

Surathkal, Shantipur Base

05 06 2016 [43:05]

Surathkal Youth Form ki…jai

Name is Shantipur Base, but where is Ganga here? Caitanya Mahaprabhu also travelled through Suratkal some five hundred years ago. He went to Udupi and then to Belgaum, Kolhapur, Pandharpur, Satara, Nasik and back to, back to Jagannath Puri. This land has been blessed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is also called God’s own country, Kerala. And someone says this is also the part of the same country. God’s country doesn’t end where, Karnataka Kerala border is. It extends, Parshurama Kshetra, right. We went to very nice Parshurama temple. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu very kindly appeared into this material existence.

golokam ca parityajya lokanam trana-karanat 

The scripture says ‘lokanam trana-karanat’ lokas, the people are uplifted sufferings in this material world, ‘trankaranat, in order to give them relief from the suffering, Caitanya Mahaprabhu left His Goloka behind and enter this material existence. He appeared just for you, each one of you, each one of us in fact. There is no other purpose of His coming into this world. Hari Hari! Then He had His family, old mother also and young
beautiful wife Vishnupriya. He abandoned them and He took sanyasa. So only Lord, only incarnation that takes sanyasa that is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He gave up the comfort, gave up the comfort zone, of the family comfort zone. He went to Katava, took sanyasa and immediately wanted to go to Vrindavan. He took sannyasa no bondage, free, free like a bird to fly.

So very first place He wanted to go to is Vrindavan, which is our, our original place also. We are all from Vrindavan. Mahaprabhu is playing a role of a devotee and He would like to go back to home, back to Godhead back to Vrindavan. Anyway, but instead of going to Vrindavan He changed His plans. Mother met Him at Shantipur. Advaitacarya made the arrangement for Sachimata to meet her Nimai. And then Sachimata proposed, “Why don’t you stay in Jagannath-Puri instead? Vrindavan is so far away”. So Mahaprabhu accepted the proposal, mother’s proposal and decided to reside in Vrindavan, mean decided to reside in Jagannath-Puri. He came to Puri, He was there for only two months and then He left again. He told all the devotees, “No, I must go. I will find my brother, Vishwarup. He had taken sannyasa and He was travelling somewhere in the South. So I would like to go catch up with him.” He just gave that reason, excuse. And then He started travelling. And He travelled all over south India. Walking, not flying. Chardham air yatra (laughs). Recently while Hare Krishna devotees were doing padayatra all over India there was Ad in a paper. They said,” Chardham air yatra.” Go to all four dhamas travel by air. So Mahaprabhu, no air yatra, no train journeys, no travelling by buses.

Sometimes He would take boat to cross rivers on the way but mostly walking. As Rama also had walked before all over India during His vanavasa while He was in exile. And of course Krishna also walks all, all over Vrindavan forest all day taking care of His cows.

So Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna. He is Krishna. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Proprietor of the whole universe. Owner, controller, source of everything and He is, He is only walking. And not only even walking, dancing, meaning He was enjoying His walk, enjoying His travel. He was dancing at every step. And of course chanting,

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”

And sharing His holyname with everybody that He came across. He was connecting everybody with the holyname. “Take Krishna in the form of holy name.”
‘Radha Krishna Bolo sange chalo’

This is Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s prayer. ‘ei matra bhikha’. Give me alms. Bhiksham dehi bhiksham dehi. What is bhiksha? You just chant Hare Krishna. This is bhiksha.

Mahaprabhu was appealing everybody to chant Hare Krishna. In the evenings He would have been big gatherings. Every night people from nowhere, somewhere they would come in big numbers. In village of one thousand, population of one thousand would get hundred thousand people. So this way also He was exhibiting His opulence, showing He is Lord. He could manage getting large gathering, getting together. No posters, no banners, no Ads, no Sms’s. Sitting in their hearts. So He could communicate, inspire as many as He could. There is no limit how many He could inspire, instantly, that’s the Lord. And then He would perform His kirtana. Large gathering all around Him and Lord is in the middle with raised arms,

ajanu-lambitbhujau kanakavadhatau sankirtanaika- pitarau,
sundar lala sachir dulala nachat srihari kirtan me

He is dancing in Hari kirtana. The beautiful Gauranga chanting,

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama RamaRama Hare Hare.”

And getting them getting everyone also to chant and dance. He would inspire and say Hari….bol (Hari….bol) As if, as if He would lift them and drop them, lift them drop them like a puppets. I would like Mahaprabhu also to pick us up, drop and pick and drop and make us dance? It would be nice and He is doing that in fact. When you chant and dance, ya? You do? You must be chanting and dancing. This is Mahaprabhu’s program. This was He did. Inauguration of the program five hundred years ago and that program continues to this day. And He said one day, day will come, My name will be chanted.

prithvite ache yatanagaradigrama, sarvatrapracharahaibe moranama

My name will be chanted in every town every village of this planet. What is name of this village? Surathkal. My name would be also chanted in Surathkal. That was prediction, prediction has come true. As He was chanting and dancing in this village. So fifty years ago Srila Prabhupada was only one, chanting on the streets of New York. And then he wouldinvite those, who he met on the streets or in park to come to his satsanga
storefront called ‘Matchless Gift shop’. You heard of that ‘Matchless Gift Shop’? And the whole movement started from that ‘Matchless Gift shop”. You have seen? You could go, see sometimes in future. First time I went to New York was in seventy-eight. And the day after I arrived in New York, I went to see that Matchless Gift and many other places or pastimes when Srila Prabhupada was in New York. The Bowery and many, the China town, Hari Hari. And then some of his followers were becoming serious, serious practitioners. They have started chanting Hare Krishna also.

So one day Srila Prabhupada gathered the more serious of his students together and proposed that we could together do something. He was thinking of the Hare Krishna movement organization or foundation of Hare Krishna. Then he said, you have to follow, chant Hare Krishna and also follow four regulative principles. What are those? And Prabhupada for the first time in formal way says, “These are the four: no more meat eating, no intoxication, no illicit sex, no gambling. Are you ready”? And You are not ready (devotees say Haribol). They were all assembled. Young American boys and girls were ready and Prabhupada initiated them also eventually. With those just handful young American boys and girls, he founded the ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness’. He just had a storefront. He had just one temple and may be number of followers you could count them on the finger of hand, fingers of two hands.But he named his society International society. It was just a local, not even regional, not
national. But he called ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness’.

So Hare Krishna movement is celebrating 50 th anniversary of ISKCON this year. ISKCON’s golden jubilee celebration ki jay!! Srila Prabhupada was trying to get some Indian young boys to join him,but they would not joining. Prabhupada was approaching different gentlemen. He would,”how many children you have?” “I have eight sons” those days those common to have. Now it’s we two and ours two, the family planning. So he would say, “Please give me one son”. No one, no one was coming forward. Ya in Jansi, while he was in Jansi, before going to America, he was giving Ads in news-paper,
“Students, youths wanted, youths wanted. I will train them as brahmacaris and then will send them all over to propagate Krishna Consciousness”. No response.One gentleman was travelling in the same train as Prabhupada, in same compartment with his son and this person was saying,” Swamiji Swamiji, please bless my son please bless my son”. Every now and then he was appealing, “Please bless my son please bless my son”. He was not leaving Prabhupada alone. “Please bless my son”. Then Prabhupada said, “Give me your son” (laughs) and after hearing that, person took his son away in another compartment where Swamiji would not never ever find them. He was hiding, oh not such blessing no, no. Hari.

So then after spending many years in the west Prabhupada returned. It should be during, returned to India forty-five years ago, 1971. Around this time, in April, May and he was holding festivals in different parts of India and one such festival was held in Mumbai, Cross Maidan, Church Gate station and that time I remembered I also was a student like you are students now. Studying chemistry and physics in Mumbai and I was fortunate to attend that festival. The advertisement was that the American sadhus are here, European sadhus are in town. We all went to see American sadhus, European sadhus. Ya they were sadhus. I was convinced yes they were sadhus, wasn’t just to catch the attention. They were genuine sadhus and Prabhupada was mahasadhu for, Prabhupada at whose feet all the masters sit. He was their spiritual master. Hari.

Radhanath Maharaja also was another. He was American but he was not Hare Krishna sadhu that time. He was in the audience like I was in the audience. So later on we both ended up also becoming some sort of sadhus. So that was forty-five years ago. So we are happy that you are also becoming sadhus. Sadhu is a big post big padavi. If we could become a sadhus that is perfection of our life. If we could become sadhus. This life is meant to become sadhus. And could be brahmachari sadhu or grihastha sadhu.

grihe thako vane thako sada ‘hari’ boledako
sukhe duhkhe bhulo nako vadanehari-namkoro re

So please keep chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare” and study Bhagvad-gita and become devotees of Krishna and whatever else you may do. Be engineers, be doctors, be this, be that, be javan, be kisan. Whatever, that is secondary the primary is becoming mad-bhakto.

man-mana bhava mad-bhaktomad-yaji mam namaskuru [BG 18.65]

So all those who stay in asram, some continue to stay in brahmachari asram, some also return to their family to their parents is the tradition. They are upkurvana, upkurvana kind of brahmachari. He takes vow, ‘so many years I would be in brahmachari ashram.

Then I will be, take up some job or be grihastha but devotee, grihastha devotee, brahmachari devotee, vanaprastha devotee, sannyasa devotee, sanyasi devotee, a Brahmin devotee, kshatriya devotee, vaisya devotee,sudra devotee. You may be, have different talents, different inclinations.

mam anusmar yuddhya cha [BG 8.7]

Be fighter, administrator, be farmer, could be this, that but all those activities mam anusmar, while remembering me you perform those activities. yogastha kuru karmani, this is, this is Krishna Consciousness. So Hare Krishna Movement is providing thisopportunity for Indian youths to undergo such training, become cultured, develop their personalities, personality development. Men of character, character is lost everything is lost, right? So this is what is lacking. So take advantage because there is no gurukul system these days. ISKCON is doing something.

brahmacari gurukule vasantanto gurorhitam

Some gurukul like experience, not full fledge but something. Some exposure. Ok I am happy here. You are in association, you are in good company of sadhus, of Sadayogi, is always yogi and others and then you also become yogi, sadhu and give association to others. Attract them to Krishna bring them to Krishna that’s the idea, so that we become happy, we become happy that’s all. Everyone wants to be happy but Hare Krishna movement is letting everyone know how to be happy. Wish you happy new year that’s not enough. Wishing is nice, I wish you Happy New Year but we say how to be happy. We say chant Hare Krishna and be happy. Ok.

Hare Krishna!!