Planet ISKCON

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Eight, Chapter Twenty-two: “Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life.” We begin with the chapter summary:

“The summary of this twenty-second chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Maharaja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing benedictions upon him, the Lord agreed to become his doorman.

“Bali Maharaja was extremely truthful. Being unable to keep his promise, he was very much afraid, for he knew that one who has deviated from truthfulness is insignificant in the eyes of society. An exalted person can suffer the consequences of hellish life, but he is very much afraid of being defamed for deviation from the truth. Bali Maharaja agreed with great pleasure to accept the punishment awarded him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bali Maharaja’s dynasty there were many asuras who because of their enmity toward Visnu had achieved a destination more exalted than that of many mystic yogis. Bali Maharaja specifically remembered the determination of Prahlada Maharaja in devotional service. Considering all these points, he decided to give his head in charity as the place for Visnu’s third step. Bali Maharaja also considered how great personalities give up their family relationships and material possessions to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, they sometimes even sacrifice their lives for the satisfaction of the Lord, just to become His personal servants. Accordingly, by following in the footsteps of previous acaryas and devotees, Bali Maharaja perceived himself successful.

“While BaliMaharaja, having been arrested by the ropes of Varuna, was offering prayers to the Lord, his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja appeared there and described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead had delivered Bali Maharaja by taking his possessions in a tricky way. While Prahlada Maharaja was present, Lord Brahma and Bali’s wife, Vindhyavali, described the supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Since Bali Maharaja had given everything to the Lord, they prayed for his release. The Lord then described how a nondevotee’s possession of wealth is a danger whereas a devotee’s opulence is a benediction from the Lord. Then, being pleased with Bali Maharaja, the Supreme Lord offered His disc to protect Bali Maharaja and promised to remain with him.”

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The Lord appears in various incarnations to favor the devotees. Although Bali Maharaja was born in a family of demons, he was a devotee, and Vamanadeva appeared to favor him as well as to favor the demigods, who were also devotees.

The Lord reciprocates with the particular mentality of each individual devotee. Bali Maharaja was inclined to give charity. In fact, he had achieved his opulence by the favor of the brahmans to whom he had given so much. Therefore Lord Vishnu, in order to take service from Bali Maharaja, assumed the form of a brahman and begged some charity from him. And because Bali Maharaja was so inclined to give charity to brahmans, he agreed to give Vamanadeva whatever He asked. Vamana replied, “I would like three steps of land.” Bali Maharaja was surprised. He said, “I thought You were more intelligent. You could ask for a whole planet. Why do You ask only for three steps of land?” And Vamana answered, “If I cannot be satisfied by three steps of land, I will not be satisfied by even a whole planet.” Srila Prabhupada enunciated the same principle for devotees, especially for brahmacharis: “All you need is a little service, a little prasada, and a little place to lie down at night”—three steps of land Vamanadeva Himself played the role of a brahmachari, so He set the example.

Now we come to the point at which Prahlada Maharaja appears in the arena where Bali Maharaja had been arrested and bound by the ropes of Varuna because of his failure to keep his promise. After Bali Maharaja agreed to give three steps of land, Vamanadeva expanded Himself into a gigantic form. With one step He covered the entire upper planetary system, and His toe actually pierced the coverings of the universe. Spiritual water from the causal ocean entered the universe through the hole made by His toe, and that spiritual water became the Ganges River. Then with His second step Vamanadeva covered the entire lower portion of the universe, and so with two steps He had covered the entire universe. Thus He concluded that Bali Maharaja would not be able to fulfill his promise and should therefore be arrested and punished. Now Bali Maharaja will find the most intelligent solution to the problem and tell the Lord, “You can place Your third step on my head, and thus I will fulfill my promise.”

So, Prahlada Maharaja came and made a statement that is important for today’s verse:

TEXT 16

          sri-prahrada uvaca
tvayaiva dattam padam aindram urjitam
  hrtam tad evadya tathaiva sobhanam
manye mahan asya krto hy anugraho
  vibhramsito yac chriya atma-mohanat

 TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja said: My Lord, it is Your Lordship who gave this Bali the very great opulence of the post of heavenly king, and now, today, it is You who have taken it all away. I think You have acted with equal beauty in both ways. Because his exalted position as king of heaven was putting him in the darkness of ignorance, You have done him a very merciful favor by taking away all his opulence.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As it is said, yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih (SB 10.88.8). It is by the mercy of the Lord that one gets all material opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is always ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is sometimes dangerous because it diverts one’s attention to false prestige by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of everything he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the devotee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy, sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada remarked that one astrologer in India had predicted that Prabhupada would become the wealthiest man in India, and in the beginning he was very successful in business—first as the manager of Dr. Bose’s chemical laboratory in Calcutta and later as the proprietor of his own business. But in time his business began to fail, and he came across the verse he quoted in the purport here (yasyaham anugrhnami), in which Lord Krishna says that the first installment of His special mercy upon a devotee is to take away the devotee’s opulence so that the devotee has no recourse other than surrendering unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And if the devotee tries to build up his opulence again, the Lord will take it away again—and again, until the devotee gives up the vain attempt to enjoy material opulence without the Lord.

Now, someone may hear about the Lord’s special mercy and become fearful: “I don’t want to lose my opulence. If I become a devotee and have to lose my opulence, I’d better not become a devotee.” But actually, the Lord does not always take away the devotee’s opulence; sometimes He gives the devotee more opulence, according to whatever is best for the particular devotee in their particular circumstance. So, we should have faith in the Lord, that He will do whatever is best for us.

In Bombay I have seen cases of devotees who have become extremely opulent by the grace of the Lord. One, Dr. Narendra Desai, who was later initiated as Nathaji dasa, had a father who was a very shrewd businessman and a member of parliament but suddenly passed away and left Dr. Desai, who was still relatively young, with the responsibility of taking over the family’s businesses. I used to meet many of the more affluent people of Bombay, and I heard talk about Dr. Desai, that he was a good person but not as shrewd as his father had been and therefore less likely to do so well in business. But Dr. Desai increased the business many times over. He was very strict in his spiritual practices. He got up early every morning, had mangala-arati at home, and then chanted his rounds. He lived in a compound in a nice area of Bombay, with five buildings situated around a small park, with a driveway running in front of the buildings and encircling the park. In the morning, he would take a japa walk in the garden, and people would come up to him. Especially after he took initiation, people would approach him—people who hardly knew him—and say, “Oh, you have taken initiation. Why didn’t you consult me? I would have advised you differently.” But he opened new companies, and the new businesses flourished, and he became even more opulent.

So, sometimes, to encourage a devotee, Krishna will grant more opulence, but if the devotee becomes bewildered by the opulence, Krishna may take it away so that the devotee becomes free from false prestige and realizes his constitutional position as the eternal servant of Krishna. Whatever Krishna has to do for the benefit of the devotee, He will do. Thus the Lord is like a parent. The father will do whatever is best for the child. Sometimes he will give bitter medicine to the child, and sometimes he will give sweet candies. Sometimes he will indulge the child, and sometimes he will discipline the child. But whatever he does is meant for the child’s benefit. So, the Supreme Lord is the Supreme Father, and whatever He does is for the devotee’s benefit. Whether He gives the devotee opulence or takes it away, He acts with equal care.

And the devotee accepts the Lord’s dealings equally, completely surrendered, with full faith that the Lord will do whatever is best for him. Thus Prithu Maharaja prayed:

tvan-mayayaddha jana isa khandito
  yad anyad asasta rtatmano ’budhah
yatha cared bala-hitam pita svayam
  tatha tvam evarhasi nah samihitum

“My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship, and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me.” (SB 4.20.31)

Srila Prabhupada said that in his own case, in the beginning Krishna tested him by taking everything away—his business failed—and in the end Krishna tested him by giving him everything. And Srila Prabhupada, as Krishna’s representative and servant, actually did become the richest man in India—not just spiritually, but even materially. Of course, he did not think that anything was his own; he saw everything as Krishna’s. But he did have very nice places to stay, very nice servants, and very nice prasada according to his taste, and he was blessed with all opulence by the grace of the Lord.

Now we come to today’s verse:

TEXT 17

yaya hi vidvan api muhyate yatas
  tat ko vicaste gatim atmano yatha
tasmai namas te jagad-isvaraya vai
  narayanayakhila-loka-saksine

TRANSLATION

Material opulence is so bewildering that it makes even a learned, self-controlled man forget to search for the goal of self-realization. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, the Lord of the universe, can see everything by His will. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

PURPORT

The words ko vicaste gatim atmano yatha indicate that when one is puffed up by the false prestige of possessing material opulence, he certainly neglects the goal of self-realization. This is the position of the modern world. Because of so-called scientific improvements in material opulence, people have entirely given up the path of self-realization. Practically no one is interested in God, one’s relationship with God, or how one should act. Modern men have altogether forgotten such questions because they are mad for material possessions. If this kind of civilization continues, the time will soon come when the Supreme Personality of Godhead will take away all the material opulences. Then people will come to their senses.

COMMENT

The same principle that operates in an individual’s life also operates in the evolution of a society’s collective life. Here Srila Prabhupada gives the warning that if modern civilization continues to be mad after material acquisition and neglectful of the real goal of life—to be reinstated in one’s constitutional position as the eternal servant of Krishna and go back home, back to Godhead—then, to show favor to the bewildered souls of the modern age, Krishna may take away their opulence.

Srila Prabhupada often related the story of the yogi and the mouse. Once, a mouse approached a yogi and said, “I am being harassed by a cat.” So, the yogi said, “Then what do you want?” The mouse replied, “I want to become a cat.” “All right,” said the yogi. “Now you become a cat!” And he fulfilled the mouse’s desire. After some time, the cat approached the yogi and said, “I’m being harassed by a dog.” The yogi said, “What do you want?” And the cat replied, “I want to become a dog.” “All right; so be it.” After some time, the dog approached the yogi and said, “I am afraid of a tiger.” “Do you want to become a tiger?” “Yes.” “So be it.” But as soon as the dog became a tiger, he started to look at the yogi as if he was going to pounce on him and devour him. And the yogi immediately said, punar musiko bhava—“Again you become a mouse.”

Srila Prabhupada explains that by the grace of the Lord, modern civilization has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. But if in their opulence people think they can finish the Lord and enjoy their opulence without Him, then the Lord may say, punar musiko bhava—“Again you become a mouse. No more skyscrapers, no more superhighways, no more mega-computers. Go back to the fields. Go back to the jungles.” Then people may become sober. They may wake up from their dream. They may consider, “Boy, we’ve put all our efforts into material civilization, and look what happened.”

Srila Prabhupada thought that the means for taking away the opulence of the maddened materialistic civilization could be a world war or nuclear war. When I was in the Western European zone, the GBC for the zone showed the leaders there a movie about a town in England called Sheffield and what would happen there if an atomic bomb were dropped on it—what would happen to the people. It was quite a terrifying look into a possible future of the world. So, Srila Prabhupada has given the hint that if we remain maddened by material opulence and sense gratification, and forget God and the real purpose of life, then God may take away our material opulence to make us sober. And He may do it through devastation. But then again, if by our preaching and distributing books people can realize their actual identities and purpose of life, they may not need to suffer the consequences of atomic warfare to wake up.

One day in 1971, when Srila Prabhupada was staying in a house in Delhi, the father of the boy who was translating Srila Prabhupada’s books from English into Hindi came there to visit him. The father was also sort of a devotee, but he had a bad habit—smoking. So, Srila Prabhupada asked the father, “Have you given up smoking?” And the father answered, “No. But isn’t there some special mercy? Can’t I get some special mercy so that I can give up smoking?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Special mercy? Yes, there is special mercy: yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih. The Lord can give special mercy, and when He gives that special mercy, the first thing He does is He takes away the devotee’s material opulence. And, as the verse continues, then the devotee becomes poverty-stricken, and when he becomes poverty-stricken all of his friends and relatives reject him. So he suffers doubly. He suffers because he has lost his opulence, and he suffers because his so-called friends and family rebuke him and neglect him. So, yes, there is special mercy.” Then Mr. Gupta said, “No, no. That’s all right. I don’t want any special mercy. I’ll make my own efforts.”

That is the basic choice. As long as we are faithful to Krishna, He won’t forsake us; He will give us the chance to come to Him voluntarily. But if He sees that there is an impediment that we are unable to overcome—such as material opulence—He will remove the impediment so that we can come to Him more easily. And if the Lord does choose to take away the obstacle of material opulence, the devotee accepts it. But if the devotee is strong enough to remember his position as the Lord’s eternal servant and use the material opulence to serve Krishna, then the Lord does not have to take it away. As Srila Prabhupada said, “In the beginning the Lord tested me by taking everything away, and in the end He tested me by giving me everything.” So, if Krishna feels we are ready, He can give us any amount of opulence to be used in Krishna’s service.

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would say, “Krishna is the proprietor of the universe, and He can give you the whole world, but what would you do with it?” When we preach, opulence does come, but as we become more and more pure, Krishna will entrust us with more and more opulence, because He knows that we will use it in His service and won’t become bewildered. As Srila Prabhupada once wrote to me, “If we work sincerely without any material aspirations, Krishna will help in all respects.”

In any case, our mood should be like that of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who prayed, manasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor: “Whatever I have—my mind, my body, my words, my family, my household paraphernalia—it all belongs to You. In life or in death, in happiness or distress, in opulence or poverty, You are my Lord and I will serve You.”

 manasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor
arpilun tuwa pade, nanda-kisor!

“Mind, body, and family, whatever may be mine, I have surrendered at Your lotus feet, O youthful son of Nanda!”

sampade vipade, jivane-marane
day mama gela, tuwa o-pada barane

“In good fortune or bad, in life or death, all my difficulties have disappeared because I have chosen those lotus feet of Yours as my only shelter.” (Saranagati)

That should be our mood in devotional service.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Sankara Pandit dasa: Do we have to reach any particular stage to understand that the Lord is reciprocating with our mentality?

Giriraj Swami: I would say that a devotee can perceive the Lord’s reciprocation in any stage. I think of the different stages that begin with annamaya, appreciating the Lord’s mercy in the form of food. When we were traveling in India with Srila Prabhupada, one tourist from England joined us, and sometimes he would sit next to me during prasada. And he would say, “I am so degraded. I am so fallen. I am so bad. But still the Lord is giving me prasada. The Lord is very merciful.” He would remark, “Krishna is there. Krishna is there. Otherwise, how could I get nice prasada every day, even though I’m such a fallen soul?” He saw that the Lord was associating with him, or reciprocating with him, by giving him prasada. So, I think that any devotee in any stage can more or less appreciate the Lord’s kindness.

Higher levels of reciprocation will come as we advance—although in principle there is no difference. Krishna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.” (Gita 4.11) But the higher stages come as one progresses. Then one may realize that he or she wants to serve the form of Lord Narayana, so the Lord will appear as Lord Narayana. Someone will want to serve the Lord in the form of Ramachandra, so He will appear to that devotee in the form of Ramachandra. Someone will want to serve the Lord in the form of Krishna, and the Lord will appear in His original form as Krishna. Then too, if one wants to serve Krishna in vatsalya-rasa, Krishna will appear as baby Krishna in kaumara age. If one wants to serve in sakhya-rasa, Krishna will appear in pauganda age, about five to ten. And if someone wants to serve in madhurya-rasa, Krishna will appear in His attractive feature as Kishora, in kaisora age— Kishora-Kishori. So, in the liberated stage when one actually begins to develop his or her eternal relationship with the Lord in the spiritual world, the Lord will reciprocate by manifesting Himself in the particular form in which the devotee wants to see Him and serve Him.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Candramauli Swami says that the Lord will favor a devotee by giving him the association of advanced devotees and more and more opportunity for service. And yes, that is very true, very true.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that as the world is becoming more materialistic, we can expect that the situation will become more hellish. But at the same time, we are in the golden age of Lord Chaitanya. So, can we expect that the world will become better?

One thing I have heard that makes sense—and Srila Prabhupada was not making predictions based on some mystic power or astrological calculations; he was just explaining the law of action and reaction—is that if you are sinful you will suffer and if you are pious you will enjoy. If the people continue to be sinful, they will suffer more, and, as he said, the ultimate loss is the loss of the body—death. Death is the ultimate calamity. One scenario that Srila Prabhupada mentioned is that if people do not become God conscious, there could be a nuclear devastation that would destroy much of the modern civilization and make people more sober. As Prabhupada says here, “The time will soon come when the Supreme Personality of Godhead will take away all the material opulence. Then people will come to their senses.” So, after people start to come to their senses, there will be more and more devotees. At present the number of devotees is insignificant compared with the number of demons. And the demons are much more powerful than the devotees. But after the devastation there will be many devotees, though there will still be many demons. So, the first war will be between the demons—one group of demons killing another group of demons. Then many devotees will come. And then the next war will be between the devotees and the demons, and the devotees will win. And then the world will become God conscious and happy.

Murari Chaitanya dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Murari Prabhu heard that Srila Prabhupada said that the day will come when we won’t have temples. We will just have the holy name. Well, the way you explained it, yes, it is true. We may not have temples, but we will always have the holy name. That’s more of a principle. As far as a prediction for the future, we do hear that at the end of Kali-yuga the world will be so bad that devotees will not be able to practice Krishna consciousness openly. Then they may have only the holy name. They won’t be able to have temples and deities. We saw during the communist era in Russia that in some places devotees were not allowed to practice Krishna consciousness freely. But even in jail, even in prison camps, even in psychiatric hospitals, they had the holy name.

Question: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: The point is that whatever happens, we will always have the holy name. Here the emphasis is on the importance of the holy name and the mercy of the holy name, not that Prabhupada was predicting that Krishna would take away our temples or any such thing.

Question: Can we determine whether someone is more Krishna conscious or less Krishna conscious by either the presence or the absence of material opulence?

Giriraj Swami: There is no absolute answer, because anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam: devotional service is beyond karma and jnana. So there is no material qualification or disqualification for devotional service. Some devotees are opulent by destiny or by the will of the Lord, and some are poor by destiny or by the will of the Lord. And all can be pure devotees. For example, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was born in a very opulent position, but gradually he gave up more and more and more, until finally he had nothing—by the grace of the Lord. But Pundarika Vidyanidhi continued to be materially opulent. Once, Mukunda took Gadadhara Pandit to meet Pundarika Vidyanidhi, and Vidyanidhi was sitting like a prince, dressed in fine garments, amidst luxurious furniture and opulent paraphernalia, being fanned with long peacock feathers by two servants. Gadadhara Pandit doubted him: “He is supposed to be a devotee and he is living in such luxury?” Mukunda detected the doubt in Gadadhara Pandit’s mind, so he sang a beautiful verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam. When Pundarika Vidyanidhi heard the verse, he was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy. Tears flowed from his eyes, and his body began to tremble and manifest all the symptoms of ecstatic love for Krishna. Then Gadadhara realized that Pundarika was an exalted devotee and that he (Gadadhara Pandit) had committed an offense by questioning how he could be an exalted devotee when he was enjoying an extravagant life. To atone for his offense, Gadadhara Pandit resolved, “I should accept him as my spiritual master. I should become his disciple and take instruction and initiation from him.”

So, we cannot say definitely that if someone is poor he is more advanced or that if someone is rich he is more advanced. There is also markata-vairagya, the renunciation of monkeys. Srila Prabhupada says that monkeys appear to live like advanced babajis: they have no clothes, they have no house, and they eat only fruits and berries from trees. Yet each monkey has two dozen girlfriends. That is markata-vairagya, the renunciation of monkeys. So, we cannot conclude that just because someone is living without opulence he is Krishna conscious, but neither can we conclude that just because someone has been graced with opulence he is Krishna conscious. He may have opulence by virtue of past pious activities, but right now he could have a hellish mentality—and still be enjoying material opulence because of his karma. But pure devotional service is beyond karma (jnana-karmady-anavrtam). Good karma or bad karma, it does not matter. In any case, one can still serve Krishna.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Candramauli Swami says that we can judge by how their material position affects their devotional service. In other words, if one is attached to Krishna, he won’t be attached to maya—to the extent that he is attached to Krishna. So, when someone who is poor and attached to Krishna gets opulence, he won’t be disturbed. He will continue to serve Krishna. And if someone is opulent and attached to Krishna and then loses his opulence, he also won’t be disturbed. He will continue in his service to Krishna. So, the real factor is service to Krishna in any condition.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that Lord Chaitanya instructed that one should not dress luxuriously or eat opulent food but that sometimes we see that devotees do dress opulently and eat delicious food and still they advance in love of Godhead.

There are some verses:

vairagi bhai gramya-katha na sunibe kane
gramya-varta na kahibe yabe milibe ane

 bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
hrdayete radha-krsna sarvada sevibe

“My dear brother, you are in the renounced order of life and should not listen to talk about ordinary worldly things, nor should you talk about worldly things when you meet with others. Do not eat luxurious dishes or dress in fine garments, but always remain humble and serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Krsna in your heart of hearts.” (Prema-vivarta, Chapter Seven)

These instructions were given for one in the renounced order of life. But then too, we have the example of Srila Prabhupada. He was in the renounced order of life, but he was also the acharya, the “world preacher of bhakti cult.” He didn’t indulge in different types of new fashion, but he did accept nice clothes and nice quarters and nice prasada. Not excessive, but nice. Sometimes in America he rode in a Rolls Royce, and sometimes in India he rode in a rickshaw, but he was the same. And that is the point: whether he was riding in the rickshaw or riding in the Rolls Royce, he was the same. He was detached and fully absorbed in devotional service, in Krishna consciousness.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: That’s nice. Candramauli Swami says that in Boston he heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that for himself he would like to go back to the Radha-Damodara temple and live in the simplicity of Vrindavan, but that for him to do so would be sense gratification. Yes, Krishna wanted Srila Prabhupada to spread Krishna consciousness all over the whole world, and to do something opposed to what Krishna wants is sense gratification.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that George Harrison at one stage wanted to give up everything—his career—just to serve Krishna. But Srila Prabhupada wanted him to stay in his position and serve Krishna from his position. Yes, I also heard that Srila Prabhupada said, “You remain as a Beatle and you write songs about Krishna.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Sri Kishora-Kishori ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Vamana-dvadasi, August 15, 2000, Chicago]

Meet Arpita Hembram, a bright and determined young girl from the Santal tribe in Purulia, whose inspiring journey exemplifies the power of education and support in transforming lives. With her strong dedication and the guidance of ISKCON’s India Tribal Care Trust (ITCT), Arpita has broken barriers and pursued her dream of becoming a doctor. She […]

The post ITCT Tribal Student Begins Her Inspiring Journey to Medical College appeared first on ISKCON News.

The fifth among the Dasavatara is Sri Vamana-avatara. There are innumerable lila-avataras. Among them are twenty-five chief lila-avataras of which Sri Vamanadeva is the eighteenth. All the lila-avataras have been mentioned in the previous description of Matsya-avatara.

Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the original catur-vyuha, or original four expanded forms of Sri Krishna in Dvaraka. They are prabhava-vilasa (four-handed forms) of Sri Krishna. The majestic expansion of Sri Krishna, Narayana, who resides in Vaikuntha, also has His catur-vyuha, which is known as the second manifestation of four expanded forms.

Each form of this second catur-vyuha again expands into three forms. Among the first manifestation of expanded forms, Pradyumna expands into three forms known as Trivikrama, Vamana and Sridhara. Thus, each form of the second catur-vyuha expands into three forms, which totals twelve, and These are the Presiding Deities of the twelve months.

The Deity of the month of Ashadha is Sri Vamanadeva. Vaishnavas wear holy marks of twelve hari-mandiras, (temples of the Lord in the form of markings known as tilaka) on different parts of the upper body. Among them, the hari-mandira on the left side of the abdomen is fixed for the Presiding Deity Vamanadeva.

One day of Brahma or one kalpa consists of 14 manvantaras (each manvantara consists of 71 cycles of the four yugas). The 14 manifestations of the Supreme Lord in these 14 manvantaras are known as manvantara-avataras. Sri Vamanadeva is the manvantara-avatara in Vaivasvata-the seventh manvantara.

In the 8th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa Muni has given detailed accounts of Lord Vamanadeva’s pastime appearance, the capturing of the three planetary systems from Bali Maharaja (on the pretext of asking for only three steps of land) and the eventual awarding of the Sutala planet to Bali.

Bali Maharaja achieved the touch of the lotus feet of the Lord, which is rare even for Brahma and other demigods. On witnessing the great fortune of Bali Maharaja, kettledrums sounded in heaven and flowers showered down.

Upon seeing the devotion and great fortune of his grandson, Prahlada Maharaja felt very happy and glorious. He had tried very hard to make his son Virocana a devotee, but Virocana had not become so and his propensity for demoniac tendencies caused Prahlada pain in his heart. There was now no limit to his joy upon seeing his grandson as a devotee. 

1 Gopi Gita text 1 Approaching rasa-lila – why & how?

2 Gopi Gita Texts 2 – 4 Glory Of Unreciprocated Love

3 Gopi gita | Texts 5-6 | Dealing with lust & pride

4 Gopi gita 7-9 Making sense of Krishna’s plan BCEC

5 Gopi Gita | Texts 10-11 | Taking anxiety for Krishna’s service

6 Gopi Gita | Texts 12-13 | Desire management

7 Gopi Gita (Gopi geet) | Texts 14-15 | Expressing and experiencing emotion

8 Gopi Gita (Gopi geet) | Text 16 | When we feel abandoned by God

9 Gopi Gita Texts 17-19 Remember to desire Krishna Pune BCEC

The post Gopi-Gita Series | Pune | 2024 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

To see notes, click here

To see notes, click here

To see notes, click here

For the most auspicious celebration of Sri Radhastami, we read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: “Pure Devotional Service.”

TEXT 23

jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum
  na jatu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah
  svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham

TRANSLATION

The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, the breathing dead body is a ghost. When a man dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to our present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost. Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. Similarly, the ghostlike nondevotees who have no respect for the pure devotees, nor for the Visnu Deity in the temples, create a fearful situation for the devotees at all times. The Lord never accepts any offerings by such impure ghosts. There is a common saying that one should first love the dog of the beloved before one shows any loving sentiments for the beloved. The stage of pure devotion is attained by sincerely serving a pure devotee of the Lord. The first condition of devotional service to the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement “reception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has also served another pure devotee.” That is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional parampara.

Maharaja Rahugana inquired from the great saint Jada Bharata as to how he had attained such a liberated stage of a paramahamsa, and in answer the great saint replied as follows (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.12.12):

rahuganaitat tapasa na yati
  na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va
na cchandasa naiva jalagni-suryair
  vina mahat-pada-rajo-’bhisekam

“O King Rahugana, the perfectional stage of devotional service, or the paramahamsa stage of life, cannot be attained unless one is blessed by the dust of the feet of great devotees. It is never attained by tapasya (austerity), the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of the renounced order of life, the discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns, or the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water, or before the blazing fire.”

In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna to another devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Chaitanya therefore designated Himself as gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah (Cc Madhya 13.80), or “the most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord, who maintains the gopi damsels at Vrndavana.” A pure devotee therefore never approaches the Lord directly, but tries to please the servant of the Lord’s servants, and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and only then can the devotee relish the taste of the tulasi leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee. In Vrndavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krsna. Srimati Radharani is a tenderhearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Radharani is available very readily to the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krsna, the Lord at once accepts the devotee’s admittance into His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by one’s doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

This verse and purport are so deep. Practically the whole philosophy of Krishna consciousness is contained in this purport, and one could discuss it for many hours and days. Still, we shall try to say something within the time available to us.

The first point—the most basic point—is that the living entity is not the body. The living entity is the soul within the body. The living entity in the material body has material desires for sense gratification and more subtle material desires that express themselves in mental speculation. After leaving the body, some unfortunate living entities end up as ghosts, in subtle, ghostly bodies, but they still have gross desires.

How does someone become a ghost? A typical way is that a living entity full of material desires becomes so frustrated and disappointed (which everyone is, to some extent) that he commits suicide. The result is that he gets a ghost body, a subtle body without a gross body. Krishna, the Supersoul, fulfills all desires. The person who commits suicide wants to be free from his gross body,

so Krishna fulfills his desire and gives him a ghost body, a subtle body. But the frustration and disappointment that gave rise to the impulse to commit suicide came from strong material desires, and he still has the material desires but not a gross body through which to fulfill them. So he is even more frustrated. And so the ghost will try to inhabit, or possess, someone else’s gross body in order to fulfill its desires through that person’s senses. Thus, ghosts are disturbing elements. They create fearful situations.

Another way a person can get the body of a ghost is if he is very attached to a thing or place—to his house, for example—and at the time of death thinks of that object of attachment. Yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram / tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah: “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” (Gita 8.6) Whatever you think of at the time of death will determine your next body. Now, if you think of your house at the time of death, you can’t get the body of a house, because that is not one of the species of life, but you can take birth as a ghost in that house. Therefore, many houses, especially big, opulent ones—mansions and castles—are reputed to be haunted by ghosts.

How can one be freed from ghosts? The chanting of the holy name is the best remedy for practically any ill in the world, and it is the remedy for being troubled by ghosts. Sometimes devotees take advantage of this fact. A large estate will be haunted and so people won’t want to buy it, but the devotees will see, “Oh, here is a good opportunity. We can get a major property to use in Krishna’s service for only a small sum of money, and as for the ghosts, we’ll just do hari-nama–sankirtana and the ghosts will go away and we will have a nice place for Krishna.”

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu Srila Rupa Gosvami composed a beautiful verse in which he says that one who is haunted by material desires can never experience the sweet taste of devotional service.

bhukti-mukti-sprha yavat
  pisaci hrdi vartate
tavad bhakti-sukhasyatra
  katham abhyudayo bhavet

“The material desire to enjoy the material world and the desire to become liberated from material bondage are considered to be two witches, and they haunt one like ghosts. As long as these witches remain within the heart, how can one feel transcendental bliss? As long as these two witches remain in the heart, there is no possibility of enjoying the transcendental bliss of devotional service.” (Brs 1.2.22) Pisaci means “ghost” or “witch.” Material desires are like ghosts that fill our minds with ideas foreign to us. In our normal consciousness we think in a certain way, but when a ghost possesses our mind, we think in a completely different way. As spirit souls, we are all originally Krishna conscious, by constitution eternal servants of Krishna (jivera ‘svarupa’ haya-krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’). So to desire anything other than to be a servant of Krishna or a servant of a servant of Krishna is like being haunted by a ghost. We get desires, ideas, for sense gratification, and instead of accepting Krishna as the supreme enjoyer, which is His constitutional position, we want to take His place and enjoy independent of Him. Such desires, such ideas, are foreign to our true nature. So, being possessed by these desires is like being haunted by a ghost.

Everyone in the material world is in a fearful position, and everyone needs shelter. Once, someone asked Srila Prabhupada, “What do you personally feel when you chant?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “I feel no fear.” Every conditioned soul is fearful. If we think about it, we are always afraid. We can’t even count all the things we are afraid of all the time. The Bhagavatam (11.2.37) says that fear arises from thinking of things as being separate from Krishna.

bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad
  isad apetasya viparyayo ’smrtih
tan-mayayato budha abhajet tam
  bhaktyaikayesam guru-devatatma

“Fear arises when a living entity misidentifies himself as the material body because of absorption in the external, illusory energy of the Lord.

When the living entity thus turns away from the Supreme Lord, he also forgets his own constitutional position as a servant of the Lord. This bewildering, fearful condition is effected by the potency for illusion, called maya. Therefore, an intelligent person should engage unflinchingly in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, whom he should accept as his worshipable deity and as his very life and soul.” If we recognize that everything is related to Krishna and that Krishna is the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and our best friend, we won’t be afraid; we’ll feel peaceful.

We need shelter, and we can get the shelter we need only from Krishna. But we cannot get Krishna’s shelter directly. We have no way to approach Him directly. Therefore all scriptures and bona fide acharyas recommend that to achieve the shelter of Krishna we should seek the shelter of a pure devotee who himself has achieved the shelter of another pure devotee who has achieved the shelter of another pure devotee—all the way back to Krishna. This is devotional parampara.

mahatmanas tu mam partha
  daivim prakrtim asritah
bhajanty ananya-manaso
  jnatva bhutadim avyayam

“Those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Gita 9.13) The great souls are not under the material energy. They are under the divine energy, the spiritual energy. And they achieve the shelter of the spiritual energy by taking shelter of a pure devotee who is under the spiritual energy, who in turn has taken shelter of a pure devotee under the spiritual energy, and so on, back to Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada was once invited to speak at the home of the wealthiest family in India then, the Birlas. I presented Mrs. Birla a list of topics on which Srila Prabhupada could speak (though I knew he could speak on any topic), and she chose “How to be Successful.” The invitees would be people who were already very successful, but her choice suggested that they wanted to become more successful—that they were not satisfied as they were. Thus they would want to learn the secret of how to become more successful.

At the program, Srila Prabhupada gave an interesting definition of success, one that we had not anticipated. He explained that everyone in the material world is under the control of the material energy, personified as Durga, who rides on her lion carrier and exhibits many arms with many weapons. He said that Durga holds a trident (trisula), which represents the threefold miseries of material existence, and that she pierces the conditioned souls with these miseries. And opposed to the material energy is the spiritual energy, personified as Srimati Radharani. Srila Prabhupada said that success in life means to transfer oneself from the control of Durgadevi, the material energy, to the shelter of Radharani, the spiritual energy. Of course, Durgadevi herself is serving Lord Krishna, but her service is to punish us conditioned souls who are under her control. She is the warden of the prison house of material existence, and success for a prisoner is to be released from the prison—not to get better facility within the prison house. Success is to be freed.

Srila Prabhupada’s definition was so intelligent and subtle. He was saying that success doesn’t mean to move to a better grade of prison: a better house, a better office, a better car—a better material position. Success means to get out of prison, and that is achieved by surrendering to Krishna, as stated by Him in the Bhagavad-gita (7.14):

daivi hy esa guna-mayi
  mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
  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.”

We must take shelter of Krishna and move from the control of the material energy to the protection of the spiritual energy, Srimati Radharani. But we cannot do that directly. We do it by taking shelter of someone who has taken shelter of someone who has taken shelter of someone who has taken shelter of Srimati Radharani. That is parampara. We take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and of those working under his direction, just as he took shelter of his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and served him, and as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took shelter of his spiritual master, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, and served him—like that, all the way back to Krishna.

It is a simple process, but it requires humility. And that can be a problem—a big, big problem. We don’t want to submit, to surrender. When Hiranyakasipu asked his five-year-old son, Prahlada, “What is the best thing you have learned in school?” he thought his son would say something agreeable. Sometimes we may also ask a child, “What is your favorite subject?” and we would be shocked and dismayed if the child said, “The best thing I learned is how to cheat people and get ahead by pushing others into the ground.” We would wonder, “Where did he learn that?” Hiranyakasipu was the type who thought that being selfish and learning how to defeat others was a good thing. So when Prahlada replied, “The best thing I have learned is service to God [sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam],” Hiranyakasipu was shocked: “Where did you learn that? Who has spoiled your consciousness?”

The powerful tyrant accused the boy’s teachers: “You have taught him this nonsense, bhakti, devotional service to Lord Vishnu. You have spoiled his intelligence.” “No, we haven’t,” they replied. “He hasn’t learned devotional service from us or from anyone else. He seems to be naturally Krishna conscious.”

Then Hiranyakasipu asked his son directly, and Prahlada replied with a verse similar to the one quoted by Srila Prabhupada in the purport. First he said,

matir na krsne paratah svato va
  mitho ’bhipadyeta grha-vratanam
adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram
  punah punas carvita-carvananam

“Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krsna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.” (SB 7.5.30) Now, if one cannot become Krishna conscious by one’s own efforts, by the efforts of others, or by the combined efforts of oneself and others, how can one become Krishna conscious? It seems that all logical possibilities have been eliminated.

Then Prahlada said,

 naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim
  sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo-’bhisekam
  niskincananam na vrnita yavat

“Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaisnava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Krsna conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.” (SB 7.5.32) One cannot become Krishna conscious unless one has been favored by the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who has nothing to do with the material world. By taking shelter of the lotus feet of a pure devotee—by serving the instructions of a pure devotee—one becomes free from anarthas, unwanted, miserable conditions. The miseries of birth, death, disease, and old age are all unwanted. And by following the pure devotee’s instructions, one becomes free from all unwanted, material desires, which bind us to material existence. One becomes free from everything unfavorable to Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada explains that Prahlada was indirectly telling his father, “You need not worry about becoming Krishna conscious, because one can become Krishna conscious only if one bows down to the lotus feet of a pure devotee, but you are too proud, so you will never bow down to a pure devotee. So, my dear father, you need not worry about becoming Krishna conscious. It just won’t happen.”

We tend to like to identify with Prahlada and to see other people as Hiranyakasipus, but if we—I shouldn’t speak for all of us, but many of us—if we look inside ourselves, we will see that we also are not that humble. We also have a little rebellious spirit. We don’t want to submit or surrender. We also have something inside us that thinks, as some people actually say, “I’ll never surrender. I’ll never submit.” Or, “I can surrender to God but not to any human being. I can serve God but not some human being.” But that false spirit of independence will not help us.

Given that we have so many doubts and reservations and rebellious tendencies, what hope do we have? The good news is that in this age of Kali, Sri Krishna came in the mood of Srimati Radharani. And as we read in the purport, Srimati Radharani is the tenderhearted feminine counterpart of Krishna. In The Nectar of Devotion also, Srila Prabhupada says that Srimati Radharani represents the compassionate nature of Krishna. Because Krishna is the father, He might be a little strict (which is sometimes necessary and beneficial), but the mother may be more compassionate, more understanding, more encouraging. Therefore devotees approach Krishna through Sri Radha. “Because Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krsna’s compassion.” (NOD Ch 22) Srimati Radharani, in addition to having other qualifications, is a maha-bhagavata. She sees that everyone is a better servant of Krishna than She. So if someone approaches Her with a desire to serve Krishna, She’ll very easily recommend the person to Krishna, and when Radharani recommends someone, Krishna is bound to accept, because ultimately Krishna wants to please Radharani. Transcendentally, Krishna comes under the control of Radharani. Thus in Radharani’s hometown of Varsana, the devotees have a saying: “Whatever Radha does, Krishna likes. Whatever Radha likes, Krishna does.” So, if Radharani wants Krishna to accept us, He will accept us.

Because today is a special day, Radhastami, we can approach Radharani directly—but even today it is through Her servants. Even when we are in the spiritual world, whenever that fortunate occasion arises, we will serve Radha and Krishna not directly, but under the guidance of Their servants. That is an eternal principle. There are different rasas, or relationships, that we can have with Krishna, but in whatever relationship we have, we will be under the eternal guidance of some eternal associates of Krishna. As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says,

naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
  naham varni na ca grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
  gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah

“I am not a brahmana, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha, or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.” (Cc Madhya 13.80)

That principle, being the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis, applies both in the conditioned state of sadhana-bhakti and in the liberated state of sadhya-bhakti, or prema-bhakti. It is an eternal principle. And we should welcome the opportunity to serve the servant of the servants. We shouldn’t think, “Oh, all right, in the stage of bondage I am in now, I guess I have to do it. It is the only way to get out.” Like, “Okay, I’m in prison now, so I have to do what the warden says, but once I’m out, that’s it. Then I’m free.” No. This is an eternal principle, and we should welcome it and relish it.

Srila Prabhupada paraphrased Srila Rupa Gosvami’s verse about being haunted by ghosts: “Anyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service.” (NOD Ch 3) And in a class, Srila Prabhupada stated the same thing in a positive way: “The more you become the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the sweeter and sweeter and sweeter and sweeter devotional service becomes.” It is glorious to be the servant of the servant of the servant.

We want to take shelter of one who is niskincana, who has no material possessions. Yes, in India there are sadhus, saintly persons, who hardly have material possessions. But as Srila Prabhupada explains, niskincana also means one who is free from false proprietorship. Here we are in a beautiful temple, and if I think, “This is my temple,” that is false proprietorship. But if I think, “This is Krishna’s temple, and I am just a humble servant of His servants,” that is also niskincana. A pure devotee’s only possession, so to speak, is his or her service to the lotus feet of the Lord. And the more lotus feet we have to serve—the lotus feet of the servant of the lotus feet of the servant of the lotus feet of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Krishna—the richer we are in bhakti, which is the life of the living entity.

Today’s verse is one of a series that all make the same point: If we are not engaged in pure devotional service, we are dead. In other words, pure devotional service is real life, and anyone engaged in anything other than devotional service is just a walking, breathing dead man.

Srila Prabhupada has given us this life. He has given us this opportunity. Sri Krishna Chaitanya is Krishna but in the mood of Radharani, and in Her kindhearted, tenderhearted, merciful, compassionate mood of love and care, He has given us the easiest and most practical process for success in the present age: the chanting of the holy names.

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

“In this Age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means for self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari [Krsna].” (Brhan-naradiya Purana 38.126) By chanting the holy names without offense, all the dirty things in the heart become cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam). Even if we have that little rebellious spirit—“Why should I surrender?”—by chanting, which is both easy and enjoyable, all these dirty things, these misconceptions and false identifications, are cleansed, and naturally we come to our real position as eternal servants of the servants of Krishna. So it is very easy. We just have to do it.

This is ultimately Srimati Radharani’s mercy. It is Her mercy that Srila Prabhupada came to America and gave us Krishna consciousness. In a poem he wrote on board the cargo ship he took to America, Srila Prabhupada wrote, krsna taba punya habe bhai, e-punya koribe jabe radharani khusi habe, dhruva ati boli toma tai: “O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krsna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.” First we must please Radharani. And how? By following the orders of the spiritual master, serving the mission of the spiritual master. We have everything—every opportunity. We have beautiful Deities; we have Srila Prabhupada, our founder-acharya; we have his instructions, his books, his translations of the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam; we have the holy name; we have the association of devotees—we have everything. We just have to take advantage, and that is why we are here.

Any questions or comments?

Child: How do you become the servant of the servant of the servant?

Giriraj Swami: She is a very intelligent young lady. Do you know what ISKCON is?

Child: Not really.

Giriraj Swami: ISKCON is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a spiritual organization founded by Srila Prabhupada. The temple where we are now sitting is part of that organization. You could say that the more senior devotees here who are steady in devotional service, in following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, are servants of Srila Prabhupada, that Srila Prabhupada is serving the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, and that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta is serving the instructions of his spiritual master. And so by following the instructions of one or more of the solid devotees of Srila Prabhupada here, you are automatically serving the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, going through the line all the way back to Krishna.

Gentleman: How can one overcome the fear of losing one’s identity and uniqueness by surrendering oneself to a pure devotee?

Giriraj Swami: Every living entity has a unique spiritual identity, and the process of Krishna consciousness means to discover what one’s unique, specific, eternal identity is. So you don’t lose your identity; rather, you discover your actual unique identity.

Just imagine Krishna’s situation. There He is in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vrindavan, surrounded by wish-fulfilling cows and trees and gems, being served by unlimited numbers of beautiful, pure, loving devotees. And off somewhere in a cloud is a bunch of angry, morose, belligerent souls, each determined that “I’m not going to serve Him.” Why should Krishna bother with them? Why should He even care? He is enjoying an eternal, celestial party. Why should He bother about us?

One answer is that each one of us is a unique living entity. No two of us are exactly the same. And so, when we are liberated, our mood of service to Krishna will be unique. This means that as long as we remain in the material world, Krishna in the spiritual world will be deprived of the particular flavor of loving service that each of us is meant to offer Him. Each of us has a specific, unique contribution to make to Krishna’s pleasure that no one else can make in the exact same way.

Even in the stage of sadhana-bhakti, we always have our individual preferences, but as devotees we give the highest preference to Krishna’s pleasure. Parents often sacrifice doing what they would ordinarily like to do, for the sake of doing what their children would like them to do. The parents are still individuals, but they give priority to pleasing their children. And when their children are happy, they feel happy. One reason we try so hard to have nice programs for children is that when the children want to come to the temple, even if the parents are feeling a little lethargic, the children will prevail upon them: “Come on, Mommy. Come on, Daddy. I want to go to the temple. I want to see the Deities. I want to sing and dance in the kirtan and arati. I want to meet the other children. I want to eat prasada.” And the parents will come, not because they don’t have their individuality, but out of love. They get more happiness when they see their children happy than when they do things for their own satisfaction that would leave the children feeling neglected. So in devotional service you remain individual but you give preference to Krishna. And as you become purified, you actually experience more pleasure in doing what Krishna likes than you would get out of doing what you would ordinarily like for your own sake.

So, do not hesitate. Serving a pure devotee, serving a servant of the servants of Radha and Krishna, is not a matter of force, being forced into a mold without any freedom or individuality. Rather, it is an opportunity for the conditioned soul to realize his or her fullest potential, fullest individuality, and fullest freedom, in divine, ecstatic love.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Radhastami, August 30, 2009, San Diego]