Planet ISKCON

When Lord Brahma began to meditate on the supreme personality of Godhead, a little tiny bore the size of the tip of a thumb came out from His nose and it went into the sky.

Music and video by the Madhavas Rock Band.

Cryoseism and icequakes at New Radhakunda, Iskcon Temple near Stockholm, Sweden.
We are currently experiencing cryoseism or icequakes at New Radhakunda. Very loud booms that can be heard and felt. Cryoseism happens when the ground is saturated with water and the temperature suddenly drops very fast. The water freezes and puts stress on its surroundings.

How can God appear as a baby? (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhakti Gauravani Goswami at Iskcon Mayapur

Meditating on the humility of Srila Prabhupada, we can hope to develop humility and increase our appreciation and love for Srila Prabhupada.

We welcome you on this most auspicious occasion of the appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. According to the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the Absolute Truth is realized in three features. Preliminary is Brahman, the impersonal light that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord. Next is Paramatma, the localized Supersoul within the hearts of all living entities. And the last word in realization of the Absolute is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The jnanis who realize the impersonal Brahman experience only the sat, eternal, aspect of the Absolute Truth. The yogis who realize the Paramatma within the heart experience the eternal, sat, and cognizant, cit, features of the Absolute Truth. Only the devotees, who realize Krishna, experience ananda, bliss, which is the goal and ultimate nature of every living entity.

When an interviewer once asked Srila Prabhupada, “What is the goal of life?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “The goal of life is to enjoy.” Now, the effort to enjoy materially, through the mind and senses, leads only to frustration and misery, but spiritually one can enjoy in relation to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that pleasure, unlike the temporary so-called happiness of the material world, is eternal, and that eternal happiness can be realized through the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Nitya means “eternal” and ananda means “bliss.” So if we can come in touch with Lord Nityananda, we can realize that eternal bliss for which we are hankering.

How do we become eligible for Lord Nityananda’s mercy? That we can learn from the description of His qualities and pastimes in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the most authorized book, biography, about the teachings and activities of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda and Their associates. There are a number of verses that summarize the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, but one is especially instructive, from Adi-lila, Chapter Seventeen: “The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya in His Youth”:

TEXT 17

tabe saci dekhila, rama-krsna—dui bhai
tabe nistarila prabhu jagai-madhai

TRANSLATION

Thereafter Mother Sacidevi saw the brothers Krsna and Balarama in Their manifestation of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda. Then the Lord delivered the two brothers Jagai and Madhai.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

One night Sacidevi dreamt that the Deities in her house, Krsna and Balarama, had taken the forms of Caitanya and Nityananda and were fighting one another, as children do, to eat the naivedya, or offering to the Deities. On the next day, by the will of Lord Caitanya, Sacidevi invited Nityananda to take prasada at her house. Thus Visvambhara (Lord Caitanya) and Nityananda were eating together, and Sacidevi realized that They were none other than Krsna and Balarama. Seeing this, she fainted.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The story is that Sacidevi had a dream and told her son Nimai, “Last night I had a wonderful dream, and in this dream You and Nityananda went into my Deity room, and You picked up the Deity of Balarama, and Nitai picked up the Deity of Krishna, and the Deities started to protest, ‘You can’t take Us from the altar. You can’t take Us out of the Deity room.’ And You and Nityananda replied, ‘Your days of stealing butter and playing pranks are over. Now You are appearing as brahmans to chant the holy names.’ ” Then They started to fight over Mother Saci’s offerings, and Krishna and Balarama said, “These are meant for Us. You can’t have these.” And Gaura and Nitai were saying, “But now You have appeared as Us so We can take them.”

Mother Saci asked Lord Chaitanya, “What do you think of this dream?” and Lord Chaitanya said, “This is a very wonderful dream, but don’t tell anyone about it.” Because He was concealing His identity as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He didn’t want anyone to know that He was Krishna and Nityananda was Balarama.

Then Lord Chaitanya said, “I would go into the Deity room to have maha-prasada [the remnants of the offerings] and see that half of it was gone.” His wife Vishnu-priya was listening to this, and He knew that she was listening, so He said, “Seeing that half of the offering was gone, I would suspect that it was Vishnu-priya who had taken the maha-prasada, but now I am seeing that these Deities are very mystical, and I am suspecting that They Themselves might be eating half of the remnants meant for Us.” He continued, “Anyway, I think tomorrow you should invite Nityananda for lunch,” and she did. And as They were having lunch, she saw Them transform Themselves into Krishna and Balarama, and she fainted.

PURPORT (continued)

Jagai and Madhai were two brothers born in Navadvipa in a respectable brahmana family who later became addicted to all kinds of sinful activities. By the order of Lord Caitanya, both Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura used to preach the cult of Krsna consciousness door to door. In the course of such preaching they found Jagai and Madhai, two maddened drunken brothers, who, upon seeing them, began to chase them. The next day, Madhai struck Nityananda Prabhu on the head with a piece of earthen pot, thus drawing blood. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard of this, He immediately came to the spot, ready to punish both brothers, but when the all-merciful Lord Gauranga saw Jagai’s repentant behavior, He immediately embraced him. By seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face and embracing Him, both the sinful brothers were at once cleansed. Thus they received initiation into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra from the Lord and were delivered.

COMMENT

This is a very important pastime of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, and it is worth considering in detail, because it will give us an insight into the actual mission of Gaura-Nitai and, through parampara (disciplic succession), the mission of Srila Prabhupada and consequently the mission of his followers.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura to go into Navadvipa to approach whomever They met on the way, and go door-to-door and approach people at home, and request them to chant the name of Krishna, to worship Krishna, to accept Krishna as their life and soul and the treasure of their wealth—and not to distinguish between who was qualified and who was not. Many people in Navadvipa were pious, and when Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura approached them, they accepted the request. And they all developed pure love for Krishna.

One day, as Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura were making their way around Navadvipa, they saw a large crowd of people watching a spectacle from a distance. When they approached, they saw two drunken brothers, Jagai and Madhai. “They were born in a respectable brahman family,” the townspeople explained, “but in their youth they fell into bad association and have engaged in all sorts of sinful activities—sinful, horrible activities. They drink wine, they murder people, they burn down their houses, they loot and rob and plunder them. They rape women. They eat cows’ flesh. There’s not a sin they have not committed. They are extremely dangerous, and the whole of Navadvipa lives in fear of them.”

Nityananda Prabhu thought, “So far we have been approaching pious folks and they’ve taken up the order of Mahaprabhu and become pure lovers of Krishna, but no one really knows the glories of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. If we can convert Jagai and Madhai, then everyone will know the magnitude of Mahaprabhu’s mercy.” So Nityananda, accompanied by Haridasa, approached the drunken brothers and delivered the message, “Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, follow Krishna’s instructions, glorify Krishna, and give up your sinful activities.” The two were physically powerful, though—very powerful and very arrogant—and they became enraged: “Who are these people to tell us to worship Krishna and give up our activities?” So they decided to kill Haridasa and Nityananda and started to pursue them, shouting, “Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!” They were running after them, and Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura were running for their lives.

While they were fleeing, Nityananda Prabhu said, “Haridasa, I think this is the end of both of us. This is it.” And Haridasa replied, “I think You are right.” Then Nityananda said, “But you were caned in twenty-two marketplaces and Krishna saved you, so why don’t you pray to Krishna now to save us.” And Haridasa said, “Yes, that’s true, but at that time I wasn’t associating with a madman like You. You went up to the two biggest demons and told them to chant Hare Krishna and give up their sinful activities! All the townspeople told us, ‘Stay away from them; they are very dangerous,’ but You didn’t listen.” Nityananda defended Himself: “You are blaming Me, but actually I’m not the one to be blamed. It’s your master Gauranga Mahaprabhu who’s responsible. Never in the history of the world has a brahman acted like Him, like a king ordering people to go out in the town and approach people whether they are pious or sinful and ask them to chant Hare Krishna. I was just following His order. So don’t blame Me; blame Him.” And He added, “If we don’t obey His order, we’re finished, and if we do obey His order, we’re finished.” Like that, they were joking and laughing as they were fleeing for their lives, Jagai and Madhai in hot pursuit.

Eventually Jagai and Madhai, though strong and powerful and angry, couldn’t keep up. They were a little heavy and quite drunk, so eventually they fell behind, and Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura ran to Mahaprabhu. The Lord had asked them to come report to Him every evening after their preaching, and they told Him what had happened. When He asked, “Who are these Jagai and Madhai?” Gangadasa Pandita and Srivasa Thakura explained, “They are most sinful. The whole of Navadvipa lives in terror because of them. They kill people, they rape women, they burn down people’s houses, they plunder their riches, they drink strong liquor, and they eat cows’ flesh.” Mahaprabhu said, “I will kill them. I will cut them to pieces.” But Nityananda Prabhu—and this is His extreme mercy—said, “No, Lord, don’t do that. Don’t harm them. In Kali-yuga our mission is not to kill the demons but to deliver them. And in Kali-yuga pretty much everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. So don’t kill them. You give them to Me; I will take charge of them.” Gauranga Mahaprabhu agreed, “All right, I leave them in Your charge, and because You want to give them mercy, I predict that very soon they will be delivered.”

While Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was speaking with Nityananda, Haridasa Thakura, who was sitting with Advaita Acharya, said, “You do not know how difficult it is to have a sankirtana partner who is a madman. He is an avadhuta. He goes to people’s houses and steals their butter and yogurt.” When the householder came out and pursued them, Nityananda Prabhu, who was younger, would be gone, and they would catch Haridasa. Sometimes Nityananda would ride on people’s bulls and say, “I am Mahesh!” And sometimes He would milk the cows and drink all the milk. Sometimes he would approach small boys and say, “I’m going to beat you!” and they would become frightened and run home to their parents, and their fathers would come out with sticks to protect their children. And Nityananda would escape, but they’d catch Haridasa, and he would fall at their feet and plead, “Please, please, it’s not what you think.” And sometimes Nityananda would go up to innocent young girls and say, “I want to marry you.” “But,” Haridasa said, “the worst was today. Everyone told us to stay away from these drunken demons, and He went right up to them and said, ‘Give up your sinful activities, surrender to Krishna, and chant Krishna’s name.’ They almost killed us! We barely escaped with our lives.”

Advaita Acharya began to laugh in ecstasy but with a little anger and said, “Why are you surprised? It is the nature for drunkards to associate with other drunkards. Nityananda Prabhu is always intoxicated with krsna-prema, prema-rasa, so it’s natural for Him to want to associate with other drunkards. But you are a naistika-brahmachari, sober and learned, so why are you associating with those three? You let them associate with one another. Why should you get involved with them?” Then he said, “I know the power of My Nityananda, and you will see within one or two days these rogues will be chanting and dancing in kirtan with us.”

A day or two later, as Nityananda Prabhu was wandering around Navadvipa in His playful mood, He again came upon the two drunk brothers. And again He approached them and delivered the same message, and again Madhai was enraged: “Who is this person? We almost killed him the other day, and still he is coming back. Who does he think he is?” Then he asked, “Who are you? What is your name?” Nitai replied, “I am avadhuta.” And that was it. Madhai picked up a clay pot, and with all of his immense strength he smashed the head of Nityananda Prabhu and cut a big gash. Blood came out and covered Nitai’s face and gradually His whole body. “I don’t mind that you struck Me,” Nitai told Madhai, but what really pains Me is how much you are suffering in ignorance. Please accept the mercy of Gauranga Mahaprabhu and you’ll be happy.”

That infuriated Madhai even more, so he picked up another pot, wanting to kill Nitai—he was ready to smash Him but Jagai intervened and said, “Stop it! Can’t you see that this is a genuine saintly person, that he actually has love for you and feels compassion for you? He is trying to help you. What will you gain by killing such an innocent soul?”

Meanwhile, the news of Madhai’s attack reached Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and He rushed to the scene—as Prabhupada said, angry as fire—and immediately called for His Sudarshan chakra to kill them. The chakra came like the blazing sun, but Nityananda Prabhu intervened. “Lord, don’t kill them,” He beseeched Mahaprabhu. “I am going to,” Lord Chaitanya replied. “They have harmed My Nitai, and I am going to kill them.” Still, Nityananda said, “But Jagai saved Me. Madhai was wanting to kill Me, but Jagai stopped him; he saved My life.”

When Mahaprabhu heard that, His heart melted and the chakra immediately disappeared. He embraced Jagai and said, “You have saved My Nitai. You have saved My Nitai. I forgive you for all that you have done.” After embracing him, He manifested a four-armed form with the symbols of Vishnu—the club, disc, lotus, and conch—placed His lotus foot on the heart of Jagai, and filled him with ecstatic love for Krishna. And Jagai was weeping in ecstasy.

Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu turned His attention back to Madhai. He was still angry and ready to kill him, but Madhai’s heart had also changed. The Caitanya-bhagavata describes that the two of them, Jagai and Madhai, were so close they were like one soul in two bodies. So by Jagai’s heart changing, Madhai’s heart also changed. And, of course, he didn’t want to be killed. So he said, “You have given mercy to Jagai, but we’re together; we’ve done everything together. Whenever we plundered someone’s house, we did it together. Whenever I burned down someone’s house, he was with me. Whenever I drank liquor, he was with me. Whenever I ate cows’ flesh, he was with me. We did everything together, so why are You giving him mercy and not me? You should give me mercy, too.” Mahaprabhu replied, “No, I will not give you mercy, because you have hurt My Nitai.” Madhai said, “We’ve read in scriptures that so many demons attacked You with weapons and You delivered them all. So You should deliver me too.” And Mahaprabhu replied, “No, I will not deliver you. Nityananda’s body is more dear to Me than My own. Those demons attacked My body and I delivered them, but you attacked Nitai’s body, which is more dear to Me. I will not forgive you.”

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was poised to kill Madhai, and Madhai pleaded for mercy. Then Mahaprabhu showed the way: “You beg for Nitai’s mercy. If He gives you mercy, then I will spare you.” So Madhai prayed to Nityananda Prabhu, and Mahaprabhu told Nitai, “If You actually forgive him, then You should embrace him.” And Nityananda, His body still bleeding and covered with blood, picked up Madhai, who had prostrated himself, and embraced him. That is how merciful He is. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “All right, I will spare you.” Nitai said, “Now I give him to You.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave Madhai prema-bhakti. This is inconceivable—He gave him something that Lord Brahma doesn’t have. He gave him something that great rishis and sages and devas are endeavoring to get. He gave it to Madhai and Jagai, and they were the most horrible, sinful reprobates.

So, all that Nitai wanted came true. Later, back at Mahaprabhu’s house, the devotees had sankirtana, and Mahaprabhu said that all of Nitai’s desires would come true. Nitai had been thinking, “If these two demons, the worst on the planet, could receive Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy, then My traveling everywhere and preaching would be successful.” He thought, “If I can convert these two demons to accept the mercy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, then I can actually consider Myself a servant of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And if these two demons can chant and dance in ecstasy with the Vaishnavas, I can consider that My name, Nityananda, has value and is true.”

There was a big festival of kirtan, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Don’t any of you think that Jagai and Madhai are sinful. I will accept all their sinful reactions. Just watch.” And as Gauranga, in His beautiful golden form, began to accept their sinful reactions, His body turned black. “What do You see? What do I look like?” He asked Advaita Acharya. “I see Shyamasundara,” Advaita replied. “Gaurasundara has become Shyamasundara.” Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Now how will I get free from these sinful reactions? It will be through hari-nama-sankirtana. So all of you do hari-nama-sankirtana, and I will be relieved of these sinful reactions. But then where will the sinful reactions go? Into the hearts of those who blaspheme Vaishnavas, who criticize devotees.”

So they had ecstatic kirtan, and Mahaprabhu with His black form was dancing in ecstasy, and gradually the black went away; His form became lighter, and He resumed His original beautiful, fair Gauranga golden hue.

After this, the Vaishnavas accepted Jagai and Madhai, but especially Madhai felt guilty, because he had tried to kill Nityananda Prabhu, who was the cause of his deliverance, and he was very, very sad. Nityananda Prabhu could see this and inquired, “You’ve been liberated, you’ve been given prema-bhakti—why are you so sad? Don’t be sad.” Madhai replied, “When I think that I tried to kill You, I feel terrible. I just can’t forgive myself.” Nityananda told him, “I accept you like My son. Sometimes a child will hit the parent, but the parent doesn’t take it seriously. I forgive you.” Madhai said, “But what about all the other people I wronged and caused pain to? I was so intoxicated I don’t even know who they are. I don’t even know how to ask them to forgive me. I hurt so many.” And Nityananda Prabhu said, “You should make a ghata with your own hand, a very beautiful ghata, and when people come to take bath, you prostrate yourself before them and ask them to forgive you. And serve whoever comes in any menial way. Being close to the Ganga, you will be purified.”

So, Madhai did that, and when people saw how humble he and his brother had become, their hearts melted and they gave them all affection and respect. But there were some people who were still angry, who had been so hurt by the brothers, by Madhai in particular, and seeing him in that humble position, they would take up a stone and throw it at his head. Madhai was now so meek, however, that he would pick up the stone and return it to them, saying, “I am so sinful. I’ve caused so much pain to others. Once is not enough; you should hit me again.” And even the people who were the most upset and angry had to forgive him and embrace him.

This is the mercy of Gaura-Nitai, and that was what Nityananda Prabhu wanted: that people should understand the glory of Mahaprabhu’s mercy. Srila Prabhupada took up the same mood of approaching anyone and everyone—pious or sinful, qualified or unqualified—without discrimination. As Nityananda Prabhu said, in Kali-yuga practically everyone will be like Jagai and Madhai. That may be more apparent in America and Europe than in India—though I did hear a talk in which Srila Prabhupada was discussing how demonic Western civilization is and how the leaders, and pretty much everyone, are demons, but then added, “Actually in my country also, 80 percent are demons.” But still, what Prabhupada encountered in 1965 when he came into America was something that people now, especially people in India, can’t even imagine.

Krsna-candra Prabhu (Hrishikesh Mafatlal), from Mumbai, used to say that people cannot imagine who Srila Prabhupada approached when he went to America. He recommended that everyone see the DVDs of Srila Prabhupada when he came to America, first at 26 Second Avenue in New York, then at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. You just can’t believe, can’t imagine, the type of people that he was approaching. And they didn’t always receive him well.

There was one incident when Srila Prabhupada was in New York—I hope you’ve read Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta; everyone should read the Lilamrta, as well as see the DVD series Following Srila Prabhupada—living in a loft in the Bowery, which was the most degraded part of the city, its “Skid Row”, inhabited mostly by drunks. But even they had a little respect. They would be sprawled out on the sidewalk and on the stairs leading up to Prabhupada’s apartment, but somehow they sensed that Prabhupada was a saintly person and would try to move over and make room for him to pass.

Prabhupada was staying with a young man who seemed interested. In fact, Prabhupada thought, “I’ll train him as a Vaishnava.” But one day the young man went crazy, probably from taking LSD or something—the 1960s’ equivalent of the strong wine that Jagai and Madhai were taking five hundred years ago. He went crazy and wanted to attack Srila Prabhupada. And he was ready to kill him, like Madhai was ready to kill Nityananda Prabhu. Srila Prabhupada bolted out of the room and ran down the stairs, with this young man in pursuit—very similar.

It is quite a history, how Srila Prabhupada stayed in different people’s places, and what he endured for the sake of delivering the mercy of Gaura-Nitai is inconceivable. On the boat to America he had suffered two heart attacks, and even in America he had a lot of physical problems. But he endured everything—all these attacks of maya—for the sake of delivering Gaura-Nitai’s mercy to us. And what Nityananda Prabhu wanted in India has been fulfilled by Srila Prabhupada outside India. What Nityananda Prabhu wanted was fulfilled in Bengal, but through Srila Prabhupada it’s been fulfilled throughout the world. So Srila Prabhupada is really the embodiment of that mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. There’s no one else in the history of our sampradaya, no one after Nityananda Prabhu, who has taken up that mood of approaching anyone and everyone without discrimination, without considering who is qualified and who is not.

And it’s the same message: chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, accept Krishna as your life and soul—but not in so many words, because the people that Srila Prabhupada was approaching didn’t even know who Krishna was. When Nityananda approached people in Navadvipa, “Chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, accept Krishna as your life and soul,” they knew who Krishna was, they knew what He was saying, but in America and Europe nobody knew who Krishna was. So that “just chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna,” had to be explained in detail in books, and thus Srila Prabhupada wrote so many books to explain who is Krishna, what is Krishna’s name, how to chant Krishna’s name, how to worship Krishna, why we should accept Krishna as our life and soul, why we should surrender to Krishna—the same message that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to deliver to everyone, but in an expanded form, because the people Prabhupada was approaching had no idea of Krishna’s identity or instructions.

When we go out with Srila Prabhupada’s books, it is like when Mahaprabhu sent Nityananda and Haridasa to approach people with that message. Sometimes devotees are not well received, but even Nityananda and Haridasa were not always well received. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would have nocturnal kirtans in Srivasa Thakura’s house, and if anyone was proud they were not allowed to enter. Only humble, pure devotees were allowed. So all these proud people in Navadvipa were upset and angry that they weren’t allowed to join the kirtan, and when Nityananda and Haridasa came, they were angry with them—“Oh, you’ve come from that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srivasa Thakura”—and they spread so many rumors about them: “They are thieves. They come to your door and say to chant Krishna’s name and worship Krishna, but really what they’re doing is looking in your house to see what you have so that they can come back at night and steal it.” They were spreading a lot of false propaganda. So we have to accept that, expect it and accept it, without being deterred. It didn’t stop Nityananda Prabhu, and it didn’t stop Srila Prabhupada, and it shouldn’t stop any of us.

So, this is the continuation of Nityananda Prabhu’s mission, and Srila Prabhupada really had that mood. When one of his early disciples came to India and the Calcutta temple president phoned Prabhupada in Bombay to tell him that the devotee was smoking ganja, marijuana, and asked what to do, Prabhupada told his secretary to relay his response: “Tell him that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja I will reject him.” Afterwards, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked Prabhupada, “Is it true that if he doesn’t stop smoking ganja you will reject him?” And Prabhupada said, “No—I cannot reject anyone.” Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “But don’t you have to draw the line somewhere?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “The mercy of Lord Nityananda is unlimited.” So that was Srila Prabhupada’s mood; he was in the mood of Nityananda Prabhu.

We are the recipients of Gaura-Nitai’s mercy through Srila Prabhupada. By Prabhupada’s mercy, we are chanting Krishna’s name and worshipping Krishna, accepting Krishna as the goal of our lives. And it is also by Prabhupada’s mercy and order that we should preach the same message to others. We can speak to our capacity, and whatever our capacity to speak may or may not be, we can give people Srila Prabhupada’s books, which convey the same message of Mahaprabhu. We just elaborate on it and present it in a way that people without any background in Vedic knowledge can understand.

So, on this most sacred and blessed occasion, we can pray to Nityananda Prabhu to inspire and empower us with His mood of humble persuasion. When He approached people, after giving the instruction He would say, “If you accept this instruction, I will consider you more dear to Me than My own life.” And if someone did not accept the sacred instruction, He would prostrate Himself at their feet and beg them to take it. He is Lord Balarama, the first of all of Krishna’s expansions; He is the origin of Maha-sankarsana, who is in turn the origin of Maha-vishnu, Karanodakasayi Vishnu, by whose breathing universes are generated from the pores of His body. And then a portion of that Maha-vishnu is Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, and He enters into every universe and gives birth to Brahma and engineers the creation of every universe. And Ksirodakasayi Vishnu is the Supersoul in everyone’s heart. Nityananda is that Original Supreme Person, and He is rolling in the dust of people’s feet and begging them, “Just chant Hare Krishna.”

I saw that mood in Srila Prabhupada. He often instructed us, but I saw it personally. When we first came to Bombay, there was a program on the terrace of the house where we were staying—Seksaria Bhavan, on Marine Drive. It was very nice, very glamorous, near the sea, and our host, Kailash Seksaria, had invited all the elite, affluent aristocratic people he knew in Bombay. And Prabhupada, with the same humility as Nityananda Prabhu, implored them, “I am taking the straw in my mouth and begging you, please chant Hare Krishna”—just like Nityananda Prabhu.

Prabhupada often quoted a verse by Prabodhananda Sarasvati about how we should approach people the way Nityananda Prabhu approached them. The verse is, dante nidhaya tånakam padayor nipatya: “I take the straw in my mouth.” It is a sign of utter humility. “And I bow at your feet.” kaku-sataà krtva caham bravimi. And what the verse says, “And I flatter you a hundred times.” He sadava: O great learned man. Sakalam eva vihaya durad: Whatever you have learned, you keep it far away from you. And caitanya-candra-caraëe kurutanuragam: Just accept the mercy of Lord Gauranga, just surrender to Lord Gauranga, become attached to Lord Gauranga’s lotus feet. And Srila Prabhupada did it himself.

There was a big shipping magnate in Bombay who was avoiding me. I had been successful with many big people in Bombay, but I just couldn’t get through to him at his office—too many secretaries and too many doors. So one weekend I took a chance and went to his house. The man was totally unprepared, and when he opened the door and saw me, there was a little respect, or etiquette, and he didn’t slam the door in my face; he invited me in. I could see he was very smug, and the first thing he said was, “What can I do for you?” I responded, “I haven’t come so you can do something for me. I’ve come to do something for you.” And he said, “You’ve come to do something for me? What can you do for me?” “I’ve come to engage you in Krishna’s service.”

That evening, when I gave my report to Srila Prabhupada (as Haridasa and Nityananda would give their reports to Mahaprabhu), Prabhupada said, “To preach you have to be very humble. If you approach a materialistic person and say . . .” Of course, sometimes Prabhupada would say the opposite, so it really depends on the context, but in this case he said, “If you approach someone and say, ‘Everything is Krishna’s property, you’ve stolen it all from Krishna, you should return it to Krishna, the sooner the better,’ they will get angry: ‘What do you mean? It’s my hard-earned money. What do you mean it belongs to Krishna?’ But if you say, ‘We’re building a temple. I’ve come as a beggar to your door.’ ‘Oh, a beggar has come. Oh, okay, take something and go.’ ”

So, in that humble mood, Nityananda was begging. He wasn’t begging for money; He was begging for people to take the holy name—literally begging, falling at their feet, rolling in the dust, and begging them. And that, in essence, is what Prabhupada did with us. And none of us would be here today if Srila Prabhupada hadn’t done what he did.

Many Indians have told me, “I’m so glad I met the devotees here in America and became Krishna conscious here.” They say, “I can’t be Krishna conscious like this in India, because of the association of the family members.” I have devotee friends who, when their family members and friends want them to drink alcohol and eat meat, refuse and are questioned, “What’s wrong with you? You went to America and now you’ve come back. You’re supposed to be the leader in these things. Now you won’t even touch them.” So, people everywhere are pretty fallen.

I’ll conclude with one of my favorite statements of Srila Prabhupada’s. He said, “To approach Radha and Krishna, you need the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, and to get the mercy of Lord Chaitanya, you need the mercy of Lord Nityananda, and to get the mercy of Lord Nityananda, you have to approach people like Jagai and Madhai.” So if we ever feel, “Oh, I’m too high, I’m too holy, I can’t approach these people,” we should think of that instruction and Srila Prabhupada’s own example and Nityananda Prabhu’s example and really pray, beg, to be humble instruments of their love and mercy and compassion. That will, as Srila Prabhupada’s guru maharaja told him, be good for you and good for the people who hear you. Most of all, we should loudly chant the holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Nityananda-trayodasi, February 12, 2014, San Diego]

May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions Continue reading "Appearance Anniversary of Sri Nityananda Prabhu
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Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 8.24.39-46 Different Levels Of Spiritual Masters 2015-04-01 #LosAngeles #SpiritualMaster

Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Question: Is karma real?

Answer: How do we know whether something is true? There are different ways of proving different things. For example, if someone asks me what the time is, my reply would be – ten thirty-four. When asked how I know, my reply would be, “I have a watch”. When questioned how I know my watch is right, I can say, “We may look up in Google and confirm”. When we talk about facts, we can have objective measurements. However, if I ask whether your mother loves you, you may reply, “Of course, she does”. But when asked about the proof, can we put a love-o-meter in our mother’s head and measure her love for us? To prove our point, we can give examples like – when I was sick, my mother stayed up all night and took care of me, when I was hospitalised, my mother sold her ornaments just to get treatment for me. Similarly, we can think of hundreds of incidents by which we can infer that our mother loves us. However, it is an inference and not a mathematically provable thing. The point is that for different realities, there are different ways of proving. Similarly, with respect to karma, the way of proving is basically through inference.

When we look at our present life, we see that we accept the principle of cause and effect. For example, if a child comes back home to parents and shows them a report card with ‘F’, the parents will immediately ask the reason for such low grade. If the child replies, “It happened by chance”, it cannot be accepted as a reasonable answer. The parents would ask – did you not study, did you forget the answers, or were you sick. Whenever there is an effect, we assume there is a cause. Causality or “cause and effect” co-relation is the basic presumption in all human beings. It is true even in science, for example, Newton saw the effect – fruit falling and questioned the cause. In day-to-day existence, we presume cause-effect connections and the more knowledge we have, the bigger is the framework within which we can see the cause of connections. For example, if somebody is trembling, one cause of connection could be that they are not wearing the sweater, and if they put on the sweater, then they will not tremble. Here, the effect is trembling, and the cause is, the person is not wearing the sweater. But if somebody wears a sweater and still trembles, then he may have to go to a doctor where he may come to know that he is suffering from malaria. Ordinary people might define it as sick, but sick is a very general term whereas malaria is a more specific term. Therefore, the more knowledge we have, the same effect can be put in different causal box.

The cause for someone trembling can be put in multiple causal boxes and the more knowledge we have, the more causal boxes we can put something in and ultimately – what the right causal box is, will depend. Similarly, whenever anything happens in life, we presume cause-effect. The principle of karma basically takes this cause-effect correlation and expands the framework to if we do some action, there are results for it. Some results come immediately whereas some results come gradually. Therefore, karma is like sowing a seed. When we are sowing seeds for grass, they may grow in few days, but seeds of crops will take weeks to grow. Similarly, it will take years for a mango tree to grow. The idea of karma is that our actions have results and whatever we are experiencing are a result of some action. Different actions have different results experienced over different time durations and which can be explained through different frameworks.

Another aspect of karma is that immediate cause is not necessary because the immediate cause may not be the complete cause. For example, in a car accident, one person may get severely injured and the other person may get saved. Is this simply due to chance? No. It is important to note that chance is not an explanation. Chance is not a cause that makes things happen, it is basically a description of what happens. This difference needs to be understood. When something has already happened, the probability of that happening is talked in terms of chance. Therefore, the principle of karma tells us that we can infer about the different causal boxes. Why is that somebody is born poor and somebody is born wealthy? Is it arbitrary or are there some factors from previous life? If life is arbitrary then, is life a combination of arbitrary and the orderly? Even if someone says that the starting point of our life is arbitrary (being born in a poor family) but afterwards we can work hard, earn money and become wealthy. So, if there is an order in the world then why is there discrimination in the orders? Could it be that there is a subtler order or bigger order that we are not aware of?

Therefore, we should take responsibility in whatever situation we are in. The essence of principle of karma is – take responsibility for our actions. Our actions have consequences and to the extent we take responsibility, we extend our role in creating a better future for ourselves. Karma is essentially just an extension of the cause-effect principle that we all accept implicitly and there is a logical reason for extending the principle because we do see that the same effect can be explained by multiple causes and karma simply extends it, beyond the immediate causes to bigger causes. These causes may come from previous lives or may extend to future lives.

End of transcription.

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When Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvipa as Lord Chaitanya, Balarama appeared with Him as Lord Nityananda. He took birth in Ekachakra, a small village in present-day West Bengal in the year 1474. 

His father, Hadai Ojha and mother Padmavati, were pious Brahmins originally from Mithila. Nityananda Prabhu was born on the auspicious thirteenth day  of the bright fortnight of the month of Magha. 

As a child, Nitai loved to enact pastimes from Bhagavata and Ramayana. He so excelled at playing Lakshman or Balarama that the audience began to suspect Him to be an incarnation.

When He was thirteen, a traveling sannyasi visited the Lord’s parents and requested them to send Nitai with him as a traveling companion. His parents committed to Vedic culture were unable to decline his request and reluctantly agreed to send Nitai.

The two then went on a pilgrimage to all the holy places in both Northern and Southern India much like Lord Balarama had done five thousand years ago.

When Lord Nityananda arrived at Nadia, West Bengal, He met Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It was at the home of Nandana Acharya, a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, that Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya met for the first time.

Nityananda Prabhu was thirty-two then. It was here that they together commenced the onerous work of establishing the Sankirtana movement for the benefit of people in the Kali Yuga.

Lord Nityananda was an ocean of compassion and mercy to the extremely fallen souls of Kali Yuga. He delivered the degraded brothers Jagai and Madhai who were debauchees of the worst type. 

In this Kali-yuga practically all people are of the quality of Jagai and Madhai. If they at all want to be relieved from the reactions of their misdeeds, they must take shelter of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. 

However, Mahaprabhu cannot be approached directly without the guidance of a guru. Balarama is the fountainhead of guru-tattva, and he has appeared as Nityananda. Therefore we need to take shelter of Nityananda Prabhu. 

Only through His mercy shall we get the spiritual strength to understand and approach Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Sri Krishna Himself.

Śrī Nityanāndacandrasya – Of the Moonlike Nityananda

[ By An Unknown Medieval Gaudiya Vaisnava ]

It is better that I die. I did not worship Nitai. Alas! Alas! I am worthless! My intelligence was spoiled! I had a priceless treasure in my hand, and then I lost it.

In the moon of His face glisten eyes that defeat lotus flowers, eyes that mercifully gaze at every living being. Spreading his arms, and calling out, “Please come! He hugs the fallen souls. To everyone He gives the treasure of ecstatic spiritual love

A garment is gracefully wrapped about His waist. His glistening hair is curly. He wears a turban that charms the heart. He walks like a graceful dancer. Tears stream down His chest. He removes the three-fold sufferings the conditioned souls feel.

He calls out, “Hari! Haribol!” His body sways to the right and left. His arms rest on the shoulders of Ramai and Gauridas. His moonlike face is overflowing with pure sweet honey. Nitai has set a trap of ecstatic love. He is tossed to and fro by the rising waves of ecstatic love.

Nitai is an ocean of mercy. He is the friend of everyone. He has plunged the whole universe into the ocean of his mercy. Only persons blinded by lust, those who are tightly bound by the ropes of material desires, will not worship Nitai.

[ Gaura-pada-tarangini Sri Gauranga Press. Calcutta. 1931. Bengali: Kusakratha Das (editor and translator). The Acaryas Songs and Poems Glorifying Lord Gauranga and Lord Govinda. Unpublished manuscript. Published in Sri Krsna Kathamrita Bindhu, issue 467 ]

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Pathology Lab Inauguration at Mayapur Community Hospital (Album of photos)
HH Jayapataka Swami inaugurated the brand new pathology lab in the Mayapur Community Hospital. The Pathology department will be overseen by Dr. Bhaktin Kate, trained and educated in the USA and Dr.Santhosh Kumar Roy, who received his degree from the JIPMER University.

Sacinandana Swami: Lord Nityananda’s furthest reaching mercy.
As we reflect on our lives, we can agree that the help and support of others has always brought about desired changes that would otherwise not have been possible if we kept struggling on our own.
By the help of others, possibilities – starting with our birth in the present body – suddenly come into our reach. Doors open, unexpected connections are made, inspirations given, etc. All by the initiative of others.

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Today is Varaha Dwadasi, the auspicious appearance day of Lord Varahadev, Boar incarnation. vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna kesava dhrita-sukara-rupa jaya jagadisa hare 0 Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a boar! All glories to You! The earth, which had become immersed in the […]

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Today is Varaha-dvadasi, the appearance day of the boar incarnation, Varahadeva. To celebrate His appearance, we shall read one verse about Him from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven, “Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions.”

TEXT 1 

                      brahmovaca
yatrodyatah ksiti-taloddharanaya bibhrat
    kraudim tanum sakala-yajna-mayim anantah
antar-maharnava upagatam adi-daityam
    tam damstrayadrim iva vajra-dharo dadara

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiranyaksa] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Since the beginning of creation, the demons and the demigods, or the Vaisnavas, are always the two classes of living beings to dominate the planets of the universes. Lord Brahma is the first demigod, and Hiranyaksa is the first demon in this universe.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

From the beginning of creation, there have been two classes of human beings within the universe. One is the demigods, or the devotees, who are favorable to Lord Vishnu, and the other is the demons, who are against Lord Vishnu. The difference between them has existed from the beginning of creation, and the competition between them has continued until now. There are always struggles and fights between the devotees and the demons.

Even to get the place where we are so comfortably sitting now, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, there was a great struggle. Srila Prabhupada, the devotee, wanted to purchase the land to build a temple for Radha and Krishna, and so many enemies joined together to oppose him. Month after month the struggle continued, until ultimately Srila Prabhupada and the devotees were successful.

Even after they acquired Hare Krishna Land, the struggle continued. So many enemies tried to stop the construction of the temple, but again, in the end, the devotees were successful and Srila Prabhupada was able to build this temple for Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji.

Even after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, so many enemies tried to capture Hare Krishna Land and take the management of the temple from the devotees. They accused the devotees: we were CIA, we were spies, we were smugglers, we were this, we were that. They even claimed that the chakras on top of the temple domes were radio antennas for sending and receiving secret messages, and such ridiculous stories were published all over the newspapers. Finally, these enemies induced the police to make a thorough search of the entire premises.

The police came to look for radios, contraband, and whatnot, and eventually they wanted to search Srila Prabhupada’s personal quarters on the fifth floor of the west tower. At the time, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami was the GBC for Bombay and I was the temple president. So Tamal Krishna Goswami accompanied the officer to Prabhupada’s quarters. When the officer saw the quarters, he paused and asked Tamal Krishna Goswami, “Do you know why we are searching Hare Krishna Land?” Goswami Maharaja thought and replied, “Because there are so many foreigners here.” The inspector in charge of the investigation said, “There are more foreigners at the Holiday Inn, so why are we not searching there?” Tamal Krishna Goswami replied, “I don’t know. Maybe you should say.” Then the officer said, “At the Holiday Inn they eat meat, they take intoxicants, they gamble, and they have illicit sex, so no one bothers about them. But here you don’t eat meat, fish, or eggs; you don’t take intoxicants; you don’t have illicit sex; and you don’t gamble. And you broadcast very loudly that people should not eat meat, should not take intoxicants, should not have illicit sex, and should not gamble. That is why we are investigating you. People are comfortable with sense gratification, so where there is sense gratification they feel comfortable. But you are giving up sense gratification, announcing it, and telling others to give it up as well. So people get disturbed, they become suspicious, and they want to know what’s happening, because they can’t understand how people can actually give up sense gratification. That’s why we are investigating you.”

Shortly thereafter, I happened to read a purport in Srimad-Bhagavatam in which Srila Prabhupada states that the demons want to create a godless society in which they can enjoy sense gratification without restriction: “Demons are very much disturbed when devotees worship the Lord in the prescribed ways recommended in the scriptures. In the Vedic scriptures, the devotees are advised to engage in nine kinds of devotional service, such as to hear and chant the holy name of God, to remember Him always, to chant on beads Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, to worship the Lord in the form of His Deity incarnation in the temples, and to engage in various activities of Krsna consciousness to increase the number of godly persons for perfect peace in the world. Demons do not like such activity. They are always envious of God and His devotees. Their propaganda not to worship in the temple or church but simply to make material advancement for satisfaction of the senses is always current. . . . Demons are always anxious to have a godless society for their sense gratification.” (SB 3.18.5 purport)

So, that is the motive of the demons. They want to create a state of godlessness where they can indulge in sense gratification without restriction, and the devotees stand opposed to godlessness, opposed to sinful activities in defiance of God’s laws. Therefore there is always conflict and struggle. From the beginning of creation to the present, there is always a struggle between the devotees and the demons. The devotees want to establish the order of God, and the demons want to tear down God and God’s order.

So, Hiranyaksa is described as the first demon, and he was killed by the boar incarnation at the beginning of the creation.

PURPORT (continued)

Only under certain conditions do the planets float as weightless balls in the air, and as soon as these conditions are disturbed, the planets may fall down in the Garbhodaka Ocean, which covers half the universe. The other half is the spherical dome within which the innumerable planetary systems exist.

COMMENT

The universe is a hollow sphere. In the lower half of the sphere is the Garbhodaka Ocean, and in the upper half is space, and within space so many planets are floating or orbiting. There is a very delicate balance that keeps the planets in space, and if the balance is disturbed the planet may fall down into the Garbhodaka Ocean.

PURPORT (continued)

The floating of the planets in the weightless air is due to the inner constitution of the globes, and the modernized drilling of the earth to exploit oil from within is a sort of disturbance by the modern demons and can result in a greatly harmful reaction to the floating condition of the earth.

COMMENT

The demons do not appreciate the order of the universe created by God. They take everything for granted. They think they can transgress the laws of God without any reaction. They do not know that the creation is engineered very precisely and that if they disturb the natural order there could be severe consequences. Now people are becoming aware of the threat to the planet and the environment. Just a slight shift in the earth’s axis or orbit will completely change the temperature, change the seasons, change the climate, and affect the ecology. But the demons don’t understand or care that by drilling the earth and extracting oil they can actually disturb the orbit of the earth, what to speak of other harmful effects. The devotees understand the laws of God and the laws of nature and try to act accordingly. And the demons defy the laws of God and do whatever they want. But the result of such independent activities is that they create disturbance for themselves and for others. The earth is surrounded by air and space. We cannot measure the atmosphere around the earth, it is so vast. But the biggest things we know—the oceans and the air—are now being polluted because of disregard for the laws of God and nature.

It is not that the devotees are competing with the demons because they want to enjoy supremacy. Actually, devotees have no selfish interest. They just want to see that the people of the universe, all living entities within the universe, are peaceful and happy. But they know that people can be happy only if they surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and follow His orders. So out of compassion for others—not for any personal self-interest—they want society to be organized according to the laws of God. And because the demons disturb the natural order and cause the innocent people to suffer, devotees feel concerned, and therefore, if necessary, they intervene. They fight with the demons to place the universe in the right hands, in the hands of persons who are submissive to the will of God, to the scriptures.

PURPORT (continued)

A similar disturbance was created formerly by the demons headed by Hiranyaksa (the great exploiter of the gold rush), and the earth was detached from its weightless condition and fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean. The Lord, as maintainer of the whole creation of the material world, therefore assumed the gigantic form of a boar with a proportionate snout and picked up the earth from within the water of Garbhodaka.

COMMENT

Sri Varaha Bhagavan ki jaya!

The Lord is the creator of the universe. As the father of all living entities, He is concerned for all of His children in the universe. So when the earth fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean, the Lord assumed the form of Lord Varaha in order to pick it up. He assumed a form that was suitable for the purpose—the form of a boar with a long snout, which could enter into the water and lift up the earth planet.

PURPORT (continued)

Sri Jayadeva Gosvami, the great Vaisnava poet, sang as follows:

vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna
sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna
kesava dhrta-sukara-rupa
jaya jagadisa hare

“O Kesava! O Supreme Lord who have assumed the form of a boar! O Lord! The planet earth rested on Your tusks, and it appeared like the moon engraved with spots.”

Such is the symptom of an incarnation of the Lord. The incarnation of the Lord is not the concocted idea of fanciful men who create an incarnation out of imagination. The incarnation of the Lord appears under certain extraordinary circumstances like the above-mentioned occasion, and the incarnation performs a task which is not even imaginable by the tiny brain of mankind. The modern creators of the many cheap incarnations may take note of the factual incarnation of God as the gigantic boar with a suitable snout to carry the planet earth.

COMMENT

So, as any sensitive and intelligent devotee would have noticed, most of the public media is controlled by demons. They use the media to promote materialism, and quite often they use the media to mar spiritualism. During the struggle for Hare Krishna Land, the demons were very active. And apart from the articles that appeared against us, there were many articles that were designed to make a farce of religion. There was a journal called The Illustrated Weekly of India that was very popular, and the editor then was Khushwant Singh. From the editorial policy of the weekly, he seemed to be a demon. “Demon” doesn’t mean having ten heads and twenty arms. Demons can also look like you and me. But they are considered demons because they are against the supremacy of the Lord. So, this Khushwant Singh published an article by one Agehananda Bharati, an Austrian scholar who had become a sannyasi, in which Dr. Bharati gave his account of his debate with our Hridayananda dasa, in which he had claimed that Lord Shiva was supreme and advocated the chanting of Lord Shiva’s name.

I could understand that the idea of the article was to make both Bharati and us look foolish—religious fanatics fighting like children over nothing: “Krishna is supreme.” “No, Shiva is supreme.” “You should chant Hare Krishna.” “No, you should chant Shiva Shiva.” So, I wrote Srila Prabhupada what the editor had done, and Srila Prabhupada agreed: “Yes, Giriraj is right. Bharati is a fool, but the editor is a demon.”

Demons try to make religious people look silly so that intelligent people reject religion. Of course, much of what passes as religion is actually fanaticism, and Srila Prabhupada even commented that in the present age intelligent people will be skeptical because so many cheaters adopt the guise of religious leaders. But then again, Srila Prabhupada also said that just because there is counterfeit money, it doesn’t mean there is no real money. Just because there are false religious leaders or false incarnations, it doesn’t mean there are no true representatives of God or true incarnations of God.

A real incarnation of God does things that no one else can do, that ordinary human beings cannot even imagine. The Lord assuming the form of a boar and lifting the earth from the bottom of the Garbhodaka Ocean? We can’t even imagine it. So these are the activities of real incarnations—not making ashes. Anyone can make ashes just by burning agarbatti, incense. You don’t need an incarnation to make ashes. So we should judge. Who is an incarnation? One who can do something that no one else can do.

In one sense, Srila Prabhupada is also an incarnation, saktyavesa-avatara. He did what no one else could do: spread Krishna Consciousness to every town and village in the world. Of course, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of Krishna for the age of Kali described in the scriptures, had desired it: prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama/ sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama: “In every town and village in every country of the world, the glories of My name will be chanted.” (Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.126) But five hundred years passed, and it was actually Srila Prabhupada who fulfilled the prediction and desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which no one else had been able to do. Therefore Srila Prabhupada is accepted as saktyavesa-avatara, a living entity who is imbued with the potency of God. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 7.11) confirms:

kali-kalera dharma-krsna-nama-sankirtana
krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana

“The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Unless empowered by Krsna, one cannot propagate the sankirtana movement.” The religious system for Kali-yuga is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, sankirtana. And krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: unless one is blessed with krsna-sakti, the energy of Krishna, one cannot spread the chanting of the holy name all over the world. Because Srila Prabhupada was blessed with krsna-sakti he was able to spread the sankirtana movement throughout the whole world.

Still, Srila Prabhupada presented himself as the humble servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord, and generally we also worship Srila Prabhupada as the humble servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Krishna. And we want to be his servant, or the servant of his servants. That is the position of a Vaishnava: gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. Even Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as such:

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)

“But if you are not a brahman, not a kshatriya, not a vaishya, and not a sudra, if you are not a brahmachari, not a grihastha, not a vanaprastha, and not a sannyasi, then what are you?” Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah: “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis of Vrindavan.” That is the identity of a Vaishnava. He has no other identity. He doesn’t identify with the material varnas and ashramas. He identifies himself as the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord.

In fact, Sisupala, who was also a great demon, criticized Lord Krishna, “No one knows Your caste. Sometimes You act as a cowherd boy, and sometimes You act as a warrior. So nobody knows Your caste, whether you are a kshatriya or a vaishya or what.” In Vedic civilization, to accuse someone of being without a caste is a great insult. Yet although Sisupala meant to criticize Krishna, indirectly he was glorifying Him, because the Lord—and the Vaishnava—is transcendental; he doesn’t belong to any caste. He doesn’t belong to any varna or any ashrama. So, mundane people or demonic people may criticize, “What are you? You are not a brahmana, not a kshatriya, not a vaishya, not a sudra. What are you? You don’t fit into our categories.” Or in the West, when we used to perform hari-nama-sankirtana in the streets of major cities, people would come up to us and shout, “Get a job!” But our business is to serve Krishna, and Krishna’s business is to enjoy transcendental bliss. Actually, Krishna and Krishna’s devotees are beyond material designations and categories. So although materialists may try to fit them into some category and then become bewildered or disturbed that they don’t fit, devotees know their own identities: they are just the servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis of Vraja.

PURPORT (continued)

When the Lord appeared to pick up the earth, the demon of the name Hiranyaksa tried to create a disturbance in the methodical functions of the Lord, and therefore he was killed by being pierced by the Lord’s tusk. According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the demon Hiranyaksa was killed by the hand of the Lord and after being killed by the hand of the Lord, the demon was pierced by the tusk. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura confirms this version.

COMMENT

The Lord is absolute: He can perform any function with any limb. But He chose to kill the demon with His hand, and then He pierced the demon’s body with His tusk.

Now, what can we as devotees learn from this pastime? Of course, there are many lessons to learn from every pastime of the Lord. But we are also like planets in the sense that we stay afloat in Krishna consciousness by a delicate balance and if there is a disturbance to that balance we may fall down into the ocean of material existence. So we have to be careful to maintain our wholesome condition in spiritual life. And what is the balance? In general, Srila Prabhupada said that the balance is between hearing and chanting about Krishna in the morning and the evening and working for Krishna during the day. Thus Srila Prabhupada established the daily schedule for ISKCON: every morning from 4:30 to 8:30 the devotees come together in the temple and hear and chant about Krishna, and then again every evening from 7 to 9 they gather in the temple to hear and chant about Krishna, and during the day they engage in so many different activities for the spreading of Krishna consciousness. I don’t know if Srila Prabhupada himself used the term, but some devotees use the term “transcendental sandwich.” A sandwich is two pieces of bread with a filling in the middle. Similarly, we have the morning and evening programs, and in the middle we have our practical activities to spread Krishna consciousness. So we have to keep the balance. We cannot imitate Haridasa Thakura and think that we can sit down and chant 300,000 names daily, because we can’t do it and don’t have the time to do it. Nor should we work like materialistic people, just keeping busy going here and there to get and spend money with no time to hear and chant about Krishna. So we need to do both: hear and chant about Krishna and engage in practical service to spread Krishna consciousness.

And we should cultivate favorable relationships with devotees. Because man is a social animal, if we don’t develop relationships with devotees we will make relationships with nondevotees, demons. Relationships with nondevotees will lead us into nondevotional activities or sinful activities, and ultimately we will commit offenses against devotees. So, to maintain the delicate balance, we need the association of devotees. Otherwise, if our outside engagements become too much and our spiritual association becomes too little, we may fall down into the material ocean.

But even if we fall down grossly or subtly, the Lord is very kind and He will pick us up. Specifically, the spiritual master will come and pick up the devotee if by chance the devotee falls from the standard of pure Krishna consciousness. So we are not alone in our struggle. We do our best to follow the instructions we have received from sadhu, shastra, and guru. Still, because the material energy is very powerful, we may become bewildered and fall from the pure principles of Krishna consciousness. But the spiritual master will not leave us. As long as we are sincerely trying to serve him, he will not leave us; he will pick us up again and again. Just like a child who is learning to walk—because the child is weak, sometimes he or she might stumble and fall, but the parent will pick up the child and help him or her to walk again. The parent will actually hold the hand of the child, and the child, being helped by the parent, will walk without any fear or difficulty. So, in Krishna consciousness we are not alone. We don’t try to succeed by our own strength or our own intelligence. Rather, we are helped by the hand of the Lord, who extends Himself in the form of the spiritual master. And if we allow ourselves to be guided by the spiritual master, we can be relieved from all distress and disturbance.

For example, Arjuna was so confused; he did not know what to do. He saw arrayed on the battlefield before him his uncle, his cousin-brothers, his teachers, his superiors—people who loved him, who had fed him, who had trained him—and he was thinking, “How can I fight with them? How can I kill them? Even if I win the kingdom, how will I be able to enjoy it?” People want to enjoy some kingdom or some success or some facility with people they love. He was thinking, “Even if I win the battle and gain the kingdom, I won’t be able to enjoy it, because all the people I would want to enjoy it with will be dead, and I will be responsible.” He was bewildered, and eventually he became overwhelmed with grief. His limbs were shaking, and his eyes were full of tears. Although he was such a powerful kshatriya, such a fierce warrior, the material energy is so strong that even he was trembling, his eyes brimming with tears.

And then Arjuna made a critical decision. He decided to surrender to Krishna and accept Krishna as his spiritual master. He had been enjoying a relationship of friendship with Krishna. They used to sit together as equals, dine together as equals, and in general they used to enjoy together as equals. Arjuna used to relish that friendly relationship with Krishna. But when he was bewildered about what to do and what not to do, he could not get any solution just by being friends with Krishna and talking as equals with Him. It was only when Arjuna decided to surrender to Krishna and accept Him as his spiritual master and take instruction from Him that Lord Krishna began to teach him the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita. Arjuna said, “I am confused about my duty—I do not know what to do—so now I am surrendering unto You. Please instruct me.”

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah
   prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me
   sisyas te ‘ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gita 2.7) When Arjuna surrendered to Krishna, he asked Krishna to instruct him—what to do, how to solve this problem. And when he accepted Krishna’s instructions, all of his problems were solved.

Srila Prabhupada once wrote to a disciple, “Your enthusiastic response to my instructions is very encouraging. Actually, the disciple is supposed to find relief from all of his problems just by carrying out the orders of the spiritual master. In the beginning Arjuna was completely confused and lamenting, but after accepting Krishna and hearing from Him he said, ‘Now my illusion is over, and I am prepared to do whatever you say.’ If the guru is a representative of the Supreme Lord in disciplic succession and the student is sincere, only then he can get him out of the clutches of the material energy to become situated in spiritual happiness above all material desires, in Krishna consciousness.” (SP letter dated 4.5.1974)

So, this is our process. We don’t try to stay afloat by our own efforts, by our own intelligence. We take help from Krishna and Krishna’s representatives, and that will lift us up. Even if we have fallen down and become bewildered and confused—we don’t know what to do and what not to do—when we surrender to Krishna’s representative, he will pick us up by his guidance and mercy.

Today I read a letter from a devotee in Mauritius. In the beginning he related how after spending some few minutes with me and discussing some problems he had, his chanting had improved. But then, after some time, the same problems came again, not as bad as before, but still, the same problems came. I had given him five instructions, and he was not following one of them. So he wrote, “Please give me your mercy that I may follow your instructions.” Now, that appeal may sound nice, but in one case when a disciple prayed to Srila Prabhupada, “Please give me your mercy that I may follow your instructions,” Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is like a man who has fallen to the bottom of a well. I come and send down a rope to pull him out, and the man at the bottom prays, ‘Please give me your mercy. Please make my fingers curl around the rope.’” And with that, Srila Prabhupada made such a face of disgust. The person is giving you his mercy by sending down the rope. All you have to do is hold on to it and he will lift you up, and you are praying, “Please give me your mercy that my fingers will curl around the rope.” So, the spiritual master comes and sends down the rope of his instructions, and all you have to do is follow his instructions and he’ll lift you out of the deep, dark well of material existence and situate you at the lotus feet of Krishna. But at least you have to hold on to the rope. At least you have to try to follow the instructions—not even follow perfectly, but at least try to follow the instructions—and he will lift you up.

Actually, our process, the descending process, is very easy. Knowledge descends from above. Mercy descends from above. We just have to accept it, and then the Lord will lift us up out of our abominable condition, just as Lord Boar lifted up the earth when it had fallen into the Garbhodaka Ocean. So this is the mercy of Krishna. Sometimes Krishna comes personally, as so many incarnations, but generally He sends His representatives. And for us, the rope that can take us out of the material world back to Krishna is the disciplic succession. So we just hold on to the rope of the disciplic succession—the instructions of the disciplic succession—and the disciplic succession will lift us out of the well of material existence and situate us at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in pure devotional service.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Mataji: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: The question is: When we do something wrong, is it misuse of our free will, or is it the Lord’s arrangement to purify us? Both may be true. We may misuse our free will and come into difficulty, but even then we are not alone. The Lord is there, and He wants us to learn from our mistake and rectify it. So, although the Lord is not responsible for our mistakes (nadatte kasyacit papam)—we are responsible—by the Lord’s mercy we can learn from our mistakes and be reinstated in our constitutional position and be stronger and better than we were before we made the mistake. Because we have learned from the mistake, we are actually better situated than before.

Mataji: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Yes, by the misuse of the free will we make the mistake, and by mercy of the Lord we get the intelligence to realize our mistake and rectify it. Of course, the Lord’s mercy is open to everyone. So it is the devotee’s openness to receiving the Lord’s mercy and being rectified that allows the devotee to be reinstated. Not everyone who makes a mistake is purified. But it is to the credit of the devotee that even after making the mistake he or she tries to take shelter of the Lord, to take shelter of the spiritual master, and by the mercy of the Lord and the spiritual master is able to improve, to come back to the proper standard.

Mataji: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: She says that in Bombay people work late at night and then sleep late in the morning, so how to make our transcendental sandwich—how to strike a proper balance between spiritual activities and the material world? Everyone has his minute independence. In most cases, if someone wants to take rest early and get up early, he or she can. Although there may be some jobs that require one to work late, still, if we give priority to hearing and chanting about Krishna, we will be able to find time. “Be there a will, and wisdom finds a way.” Many people watch television at night, or read the newspaper or go to clubs. They find time, because nobody can work day and night without recreation. They need some recreation. Generally, people work in the mode of passion, so they want relief from that mode. Sinful people get relief through the mode of ignorance: they go to a bar and get drunk; they engage in meat-eating, illicit sex, and gambling. They try to get relief from the mode of passion by plunging themselves into ignorance. And pious people get relief through the mode of goodness. They want to rise early, to chant Hare Krishna, to attend mangala-arati, to read Srimad-Bhagavatam. So, there is time for recreation. Nobody can work day and night, without recreation. And according to the person’s desire, he or she can seek recreation in sinful life or spiritual life.

And if someone really is confused about how to organize one’s time, he or she can speak to some experienced devotee and get some suggestions. There are many devotees, even in Bombay, who work during the day, but they still chant sixteen rounds, come to the temple, attend satsangas, and read Prabhupada’s books. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Prabhuji: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: He says that he read in an article by Khushwant Singh himself that Singh came to Hare Krishna Land, stayed in the guest house, closed the doors so that he wouldn’t be disturbed by conchshells, and drank whisky. He himself has written so.

When the sun rises, the owl goes into the cave; the owl doesn’t like sunlight, so he goes into the darkness of the cave. Krsna-surya-sama; maya haya andhakara/ yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara. Godhead is light, and nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead, there is no nescience, or darkness. Singh came here; he could have been in the light of Krishna consciousness, in the glory of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari. But he went to his room, closed the door, turned out the light, and drowned himself in the bottle. That was his free will. We do not force. Even Krishna does not force. After explaining everything to Arjuna, Krishna did not force him to fight. Rather, He told Arjuna, “Now you have heard everything that I have said; now yathecchasi tatha kuru—whatever you like you can do.” And immediately Arjuna replied, smritir labdha: Now my memory has come back; now I remember my actual position. Now I am prepared to act as You instruct me. Karisye vacanam tava: I am prepared to act according to Your order. Krishna never forces. He gave Arjuna the choice. He explained everything, but in the end He gave Arjuna the choice, and Arjuna voluntarily surrendered. Karisye vacanam tava: Now I am prepared to act according to Your order.

So, I am sure that those who want to take the benefit of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s splendor and mercy and glory will do so. And those who want to close the door and open the bottle—they too have their free will. They too are free to do as they like—and enjoy or suffer the consequences.

Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari ki jaya!
Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Varaha-dvadasi, February 8, 1998, Bombay]

It’s all Prabhupada’s mercy! (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, Feb 4, 2020, in ISKCON Vrindavan.

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Therefore to make food antiseptic, eatable and palatable for all persons, one should offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcription: Suresh Gupta

Question: If work is worship, is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals?

Answer: Bhagavad Gita 18.46 says,