Srila Prabhupada gave us everything

S. B 1.15.33

prthapy anusrutya dhanañjayoditam
nasam yadunam bhagavad-gatim ca tam
ekanta-bhaktya bhagavaty adhoksaje
nivesitatmopararama samseteh

Translation
Kunti, after overhearing Arjuna’s telling of the end of the Yadu dynasty and disappearance of Lord Krsna, engaged in the devotional service of the transcendental Personality of Godhead with full attention and thus gained release from the course of material existence.

The setting of the sun does not mean the end of the sun, right. Only right things have written here. It means that the sun is out of our sight. Right, that’s all. Similarly, the end of the mission of the Lord on a particular planet or universe only means that He is out of our sight. It’s clear. The end of the Yadu dynasty also does not mean that it is annihilated. It disappears, along with the Lord, out of our sight. As Maharaja Yudhisthira decided to prepare to go back to Godhead, so also Kunti decided, and thus she fully engaged herself in the transcendental devotional service of the Lord which guarantees one a passport for going back to Godhead after quitting this present material body.The beginning of devotional service to the Lord is the beginning of spiritualizing the present body, and thus an unalloyed devotee of the Lord loses all material contact in the present body.The abode of the Lord is not a myth, take note of this. From myth comes mythology and all that. As is thought by the unbelievers or ignorant people, but one cannot reach there by any material means like a sputnik or space capsule. But one can certainly reach there after leaving this present body, and one must prepare himself to go back to Godhead by practicing devotional service. That guarantees a passport for going back to Godhead, and Kunti adopted it.

Haribol!! And are you ready also to adopt? So wonderful verse and amazing purport by Srila Prabhupada. Well, ‘The Pandavas retire timely’ is the title of this chapter. So, things are getting unfolded. I don’t want to do the recapping as they say. I think some of you had been attending these classes regularly and many of you are. It’s a good chance that you are visitors. Regardless, I’m not going to summarize, just going to make some point that attracted my attention. And, I’m impressed with, also as I read this verse and the purport and that is: going back to Godhead.

That is what the Pandavas are going to be doing as they have retired timely. These days no one retires. So, there is also a message. The Pandavas retired and as soon as they had news that their Lord is no more on the planet, then what is the use of you and that planet where the Lord is not performing his pastimes anymore. So, better go wherever he is now and where he is certainly at home, back home. Prabhupada always says, back to godhead! back to godhead! not only god but godhead. Who is a godhead? Who is a head of all the gods? Krishna. Prabhupada always emphasizes Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Even today, we read that. Such a clarity and perfection.

As the news was received, well everyone including Kunti is mentioned, took to the devotional service maybe even more seriously not that she was not performing devotional service. And, the Pandavas also were going to be retiring and they were going to do tivrena bhakti-yogena, tivrena- they are going to intensify, amplify and going to increase the frequency frequently. Like some people say,‘You know I’m visiting the temple, I’m pretty regular every Janmashtami’. That’s also frequency, once a year, that’s a frequency. And, I go to Sunday festival or ISKCON Sunday festival, that’s also a frequency. And then, everyday that’s even more frequent and like that if we keepgoing, the Sastras say, ‘anukshan’, how frequently one should practice Krsna consciousness. ‘Shan’ means moment, one moment. ‘Anu’ means the next one, the following one also and in between the ‘Shanas’, if there is some space in between, so that is tivrena bhakti-yogena.

Anyway, I want to get to the point, these are side points for me. So Kunti, was in fact the first one to leave the body. She left her body right there and then we hear as she heard maybe sometimes after because this talked here her practicing of devotional service. So, soon after she heard the news of the Lord’s departure, she also departed. The Pandavas are retiring and they are now heading towards the North. The rest of the world or India is behind, right, when you head towards the North Himalayas and the top of Himalayas is Badrika Ashrama. So, there’s a concept of heading North. It means going to the Lord with your back towards the rest of the world. So, that’s what the Pandavas were doing and, on the way, Draupadi also had joined this pilgrimage or the travelling, destination is back to Godhead. On the way, Draupadi was the first one to leave the body. Then, down the road, up the hill, the Himalayan Mountain, Sahadeva was the next one and then Nakula was the next one after five, ten, twenty, fifty kilometres. The end was Arjuna and Bheema.

In 1977, some time before Prabhupada’s departure, I was with my Narada muni travelling party distributing Srila Prabhupada books. We were in Badrika Ashrama and had visited that very spot which is known as ‘Bhima ka Pul’, Pul means bridge. On the way, there was a Sarasvati, this is even a little beyond Badrika Ashrama. He built a bridge; he did cross and he left the body. Then we had to come back to Vrindavan to see Srila Prabhupada, our party, to see how he’s doing. Those days there were no SMS and this and that. We had to personally come. Prabhupada was very kind to permit us to have his audience Darshana and during that Darshana we talked about Badrika Ashrama visit.

Well, also I had mentioned: ‘Srila Prabhupada! We showed your Bhagavad Gita to Srila Vyasadeva’, because we visited the cave of Vyasa and we were carrying Bhagavad Gita and we thought we did not see Vyasadeva but for sure he resides there, he must have seen us and also the Bhagavad Gita that we were carrying. So, I reported to Prabhupada that we showed your Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada had a smile on his face. Then, I had also mentioned about his spot from where Bheema departed and then our Darshana time was over. Then, Bhavanand Maharaja at that time, he rebuked me, rebuked means mild chastisement, and he said: ‘Why, why did you tell Prabhupada about your visit to this Bheema Ka Pul spot from where Bheema departed?’ He took serious objection to this and he gave the reason, ‘You want to give hint to Srila Prabhupada, what hint? also of leaving. Are you reminding Srila Prabhupada…’? That was of course not my intention or it was not in my mind but this was the reading of this Maharaja. Hari! Hari!

Anyway, I just want to make a connection with going back to Godhead. Someone else went back to Godhead and I talked about Bheema’s going back to Godhead from such a place as Bheema Ka Pul and as I was sharing, someone got the hint that I was giving some hint about going back to Godhead or Prabhupada going back to Godhead. And as we know, our meeting was just, maybe, five six days before Prabhupada’s departure and so Prabhupada did leave on 14th of November 1977 and he went back to Godhead! Oh, he just entered the pastimes of Krsna and Balarama in Vrindavan. He always called Vrindavan is my home, so he was at home, he entered the home. So, Prabhupada, I think, I don’t know anyone else as far as I know I have read, heard many acharyas. A lot of them don’t even talk of for no, the unbelievers that Prabhupada is talking about the unbelievers or ignorant people. They think this going back to Godhead or even back home Vaikuntha or Goloka is just a myth and going there, forget it! No one talks about but Prabhupada is the one, he talked about so much and over again and again every other purport, every other talk that he delivered, talked about going back to Godhead. We are going back to home, some devotees have even compiled and sung songs, ‘we are going…’ and they play their guitar a little, ‘Srila Prabhupada is the captain of the ship and ISKCON is that ship. Please board the ship, we are going back to home …’. I’m not an English singer.

If you ever get money, what you should do? Print books. What was the first book of publication that Prabhupada …? Back to Godhead 1944. He gave a title to his first publication, periodical they called them. It was a pakshika, by monthly and then became monthly called Back to Godhead the title, BACK TO GODHEAD! Prabhupada really highlighted this Back to Godhead, going back to home, Back to Godhead. Then Srila Prabhupada, he wrote a letter to the first President of India Dr Rajendra Prasada, he was from Bihar and that was appeal to the President of India that he wanted assistance for publication of his Back to Godhead or promotion of his back to Godhead. In that letter which is available, Prabhupada’s letter to the President, Prabhupada writes, says,‘I have got a hint’ and Prabhupada says,the hint is: ‘When I leave my body, I’ll be going Back to Godhead’ and he also says HARE KRSNA, I think. My attention goes to you know who? Those with eyes closed but I think its not because of rapt attention. So, some of my time is invested and energy also. Hari! Hari! I think our going Back to Godhead would be delayed or we may miss the bus as they say, because we are late or spend some time sleeping.

Then Prabhupada writes in the same letter, he says,‘I would like to bring all my fellow human beings with me, bring them to home Back to Godhead’. This is Prabhupada’s vision. The Back to Godhead exists, right? Yes? back home exists? Why can’t Goloka exist or okay if it exists let it exists, you know, what does it matter for me it exists. That’s the kind of stand, I think because a lot of the people don’t even know that it exists and there are others they know or they may accept that it exists, but it doesn’t really, they don’t care. Prabhupada is the one who talked about going, going, going there! Physically going, of course. Going there couldn’t be physical, spiritually going, actually going there, going Back to Godhead, from somewhere you are from there you go elsewhere, go back to home, Back to Godhead. Whenever a devotee in ISKCON, leaves the body, we always talk about or we even hope and pray that he went…where did he go? BACK TO GODHEAD. Happy birthday to you and what? You may never take birth again and then what happens? you may never take birth again and what? Go back to home.
The Sastras talk of this everywhere. I was just thinking, the Bhagavad Gita is like an invitation, extended by Lord himself to all those listeners and readers of Bhagavad Gita. Invitation where? invitation for what? Going Back to Godhead.

janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so ’rjuna

And after you give up your body,tyaktva deham punar janma
,naiti, no more birth death and what happens instead? mam eti. There are two eti: punar janmanaiti and mam eti. That person doesn’t go to another birth ,punar janmanaiti, instead mam eti, he comes to me.

dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

Is that 10th chapter of Bhagavad Gita? That I give intelligence to that person, of course, one who is practicing devotional service, and he is utilizing that intelligence for what?mam upayanti, upayanti means go again. Mam: to go to me and Lord is using ‘upa’ means comes close to me, meaning close, he comes closer to me.
He didn’t have much time while he was talking to Arjuna. He has mentioned about his abort.

na tad bhasayate suryo na shashanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama

So how many times, one time is enough. Your Lord mentions one time about his Dhama, isn’t that sufficient? Because he only speaks what? The truth, Lord only speaks the truth and nothing but the truth.It is talking about his Dhama and talking about going and those who go do not come back. In conclusion also, there are many other mentions of back to home, Back to Godhead and going back home but in conclusion man-man? bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mamnamaskuru ,now the Lord is going to say, ‘You know I had spoken about some confidential subject matters Guhyam, then I spoke about some Guhyatara more confidential but now I’m going to talk to Guhyatamam most confidential. Please pay attention. If confidential thing you ignored, most confidential, ATTENTION! Having said that, I’m going to talk of something most confidential than what a person is really focused on his attentive. I’m trying to do that but some of you don’t care. Hari! Hari!

There is man-man? bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mamnamaskuru, you know this, do these four things. Srila Prabhupada once time said, ‘We follow four regulative principles’ and as soon as Prabhupada says we follow four regulative principles devotees were thinking he is going to mention : no intoxication, no meat-eating and like that but then having said we follow four regulative principles ,they said man-man?, one principle :remember me, bhava mad-bhakto :become my devotee, mad-yaji: worship me and mamnamaskuru : offer your obeisances unto me. Prabhupada called these and we follow four regulative principles and if you did this, then what does Krsna say? Now, he’s going to close his dialogue with Arjuna with this statement. If you do these four things, then what happens? Then mam evaisyasi, again,mam evaisyasi, mam eva: me only, esyasi: you will come to me. You are dear to him or he loves you, he is dear to you, you are dear to him. Whether you are dear to him, yeah you are dear to him whether he is dear to you or not or temporarily he’s not dear to you, Maya is dearer and then you say I love you and all that. All this love is transferred and focused on someone else, something else other than the Lord or the demigods with a little demigod, they love this and Aham Brahmasmiand I am Brahman, I love Brahman.

But here the Lord is saying because I love you. So, we could very easily put ourselves in the seat or in a position of Arjuna. In fact, Lord is addressing through Bhagavad Gita, who is He addressing? Only Arjuna? No! He is addressing you, each one of you, me included. When Lord says priyah asi, Ishtadeva , priyah asi. The Lord is speaking in Sanskrit, you are very dear to me and could say all the names. Radharaman Maharaj,priyah asi: you are very dear. Lord is addressing, it’s good to know that the Lord likes and loves you. I think we always like to know who likes us and we love to know who likes us. What if one day, we come to know that the Lord likes me, Lord loves me and isn’t that good enough? Of course, if the devotees also like you, devotees, other souls like you and they do like pure devotees, like all the devotees. All those devotees in Goloka, everybody in Goloka loves you. So, it is not only the Lord who loves and likes you but all the devotees love and like you.

So, one should go to that place where everyone likes you. For sure, that place is back home, Goloka, that place is Mayapur Dhama Ki jai! Non-different from Goloka, sri-gauda-mandala-bhumi, jeba jane cintamani,tara hoy braja-bhume bas,those who would realise this sri-gauda-mandala-bhumi,in cintamani dhama, they will also go Back to Godhead, Back to Vrindavan Dhama ki jai! Anyway, some may stay here also, continue to stay because this is a part of Vrindavan. Hari! Hari!

Srila Prabhupada, on behalf of Sri Krsna or Sri Krsna Chaitanya gave us a lot of things including Mayapur festival 50 years ago. This is a year of celebration 50th anniversary, Golden Jubilee of Mayapur festival and a lot of other items also. He gave us Radha Madhava and gave us,

HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE,

He gave us Chaitanya Caritamrta. Of course, he gave Mahaprasade Govinde and each one of this is Lord, Dhama is Lord, his holy name is Lord, Caitanya Caritamrta, his Lila is Lord. What else? His form is Lord, non-different kali-kale nama-rupe krsna-avatara, his gunas are Lord, prasadam is also Lord. Srila Prabhupada, On behalf of Parampara, acharyas, he gave us all these gifts including or at the center also we could say there’s a Dhama, he gave us Dhama and gave us the idea of going back to home. Although, it is not a new idea, so it is an eternal idea but Prabhupada threw light on it. He emphasized this fact and as I said earlier more than anyone else amongst you and acharyas. Is it a good idea going Back to Godhead? Are you getting that idea? Are you making up your mind? Are you preparing as Kunti Maharani prepared and Pandavas prepared? They retired also from worldly, well for them not worldly, so-called worldly for us they are really worldly things. When did the Lord disappear for us? For them, as soon as they heard the Lord disappeared immediately, they took to Krsna consciousness devotional service very seriously. For us, what was the last time that we were with the Lord or we forgot or he disappeared? Time immemorial cannot be encountered or calculated even with the present electronic calculators cannot calculate number of years ago that we left, we became outgoing or going outward. We have become dancing dogs in the hands of maya and the mind, senses. Such a long time ago, the Lord did not leave us but we left him or we were trying to leave him. The Lord has kindly caught up with us and by the merciful arrangement of Sri Krsna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his Senapati bhakta Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

He founded this International Society for Krsna Consciousness and all the arrangements are made for us to get a passport. A lot of time, we say ISKCON temples are like embassies. ISKCON is Goloka embassy and an embassy what do you get? Prabhupada is mentioning passport but passport is not enough. Just because your passport cannot go to America, what do you need? A visa. So, in an embassy you get the visa. Then, the spiritual masters, on behalf of the founder acharya and ultimately Lord. They put a stamp of approval, visa approval. He gets only one-way ticket and visa for how long? Otherwise, you get one year of a five-year student visa. Hahahaa. This is a wonderful arrangement and it is here at the disposal of anybody, everybody on this planet.