Harinama in Bangkok. 200 books distributed in one hour! (Album of photos)

hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat Pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kanda-mūlaiḥ “Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O My friends, this hill supplies Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, as well as Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities-water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. […]

The post Govardhana – The King who could devour Mountains appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.10.

“One feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Ramacandra is omnipotence. The Lord can act without regard to material impediments or inconveniences, but to prove that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and was not merely advertised as Godhead or elected by popular vote, He constructed a wonderful bridge over the ocean. Nowadays it has become fashionable to create some artificial God who performs no uncommon activities; a little magic will bewilder a foolish person into selecting an artificial God because he does not understand how powerful God is. Lord Ramacandra, however, constructed a bridge over the water with stone by making the stone float. This is proof of God’s uncommonly wonderful power. Why should someone be accepted as God without displaying extraordinary potency by doing something never to be done by any common man? We accept Lord Ramacandra as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He constructed this bridge, and we accept Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead because He lifted Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old. We should not accept any rascal as God or an incarnation of God, for God displays special features in His various activities.”—Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.10.15 purport.

Diwali Morning Talk (Right click to download)

Iskcon New Govardhana - Govardhana Puja - 27 October 2019 (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna movement is present in every millennium of Lord Brahma’s life, and the holy name is chanted in all the higher planetary systems, including Brahmaloka and Candraloka, not to speak of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka. The sankirtana movement that was started in this world five hundred years ago by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore not a new movement. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.7.15 Purport)

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 31 October 2018, Murwillumbah, Australia, Home Program Lecture)

Everybody close your eyes and take a deep breath – breath in and then breath out. Now, in your mind, go to your favourite place, wherever that is. Now in that place, try your best to see Krsna. Do you see Krsna? Maybe, maybe not. This is difficult. What we see is usually a picture of Krsna that we may have seen of Krsna, maybe even in the form of His deity. That is what we try to remember when we see Krsna. So we have this mental image of Krsna, but can we actually see Him? Can we see His face or we just see the contour? Do we see His flute? How much of Krsna can we actually see?

It is said that in bhava, it is no longer us thinking about a form of Krsna, but Krsna Himself actually appears. So that is something special. Can you imagine? Krsna appearing! And then as we go deeper, more and more things happen. There are Krsna’s pastimes which start to unfold. And it has got the life of Krsna going and all we are doing is watching, seeing Krsna perform His transcendental pastimes. There, we can see Him play his flute and we can see Him herd the cows.

The article " Seeing Krsna " was published on KKSBlog.

The Village of Champakalata and the Samadhi of Vrajranabh (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: A few days ago we visited Kharala, the village of Champakalata, one of Srimati Radharani’s 8 special girlfriends. Full of cows, buffaloes, peacocks and other animals, it very much resembled the Vrindavan many of us first came to in the early 1970s. We all relished hearing of Champakalata’s unique transcendental qualities and her service to Vrindavan’s queen. Afterward, we visited the samadhi of Vrajranabh, the great-grandson of Krsna, who installed a number of Deities of Krsna around Vrindavan, soon after the Lord’s departure for Goloka, 5,000 years ago.

Kartik Yatra 2019 (video)
Thousands of bhaktas in Vrindavana with HH Radhanath Swami absorb themselves in Krishna-Katha during Karttika

Maha Harinama in Argentina (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Lord’s holy name is called sravana-mangala. This means that one receives everything auspicious simply by hearing the holy name. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.7.15 Purport)

Govardhan Puja 2019 in Auckland (Album of photos)
We had such an amazing festival of Go puja and Govardhan puja at New Varshana today. Thank you to all the devotees and guests for helping make the sweet hill, cooks, sponsoring of the feast and dance by our Hare Krishna school students

Govardhana Puja is celebrated in the month of Kartika (October – November) to commemorate the pastime of Lord Sri Krishna lifting the Govardhana Hill to protect the residents of Vrindavana from the wrath of Indra.

When the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna saw the residents of Vrindavana preparing for Indra-yajna, He suggested that they should forgo the worship of Indra and instead worship the Govardhana Hill.

On coming to know of this, Indra became angry and sent a devastating rainfall over Vrindavana. Krishna picked up the Govardhana Hill with His little finger and it gave shelter to all the inhabitants of Vrindavana. Indra became conscious of his offense and begged for forgiveness from Krishna.

Thus the Supreme Lord established that a devotee who is surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engaged in devotional service is free from all obligations and need not worship any demigods for material favor. This pastime is known as Govardhana Lila and is described in the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

I was able to attend the Govardhana Puja celebration at our New Govardhana farming community.

Giriraj Swami:

We welcome you on the most auspicious occasion of Govardhana-puja. When I was first initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1969, he was in Los Angeles and I was in Boston. He sent me a letter in which he wrote, “Your name is Giriraj. Giriraj is a name for Govardhana Hill, on which Krishna used to tend His cows. In Vrindavan the Govardhana Hill is worshiped as a representation of Krishna. Sometimes devotees take a stone from Govardhana Hill and keep it at home as a representation of Krishna, and they worship in this way.” Being a new devotee—I had just moved into the temple a few weeks earlier—I did not know anything about Govardhana Hill or Govardhana-puja. And the idea of taking a stone from a hill and worshipping it like a Deity was a very different concept for me. It was really only twenty-five years later that I started to get a sense of the importance of Govardhana Hill in the pastimes of Krishna—and in the lives of devotees.

After serving in India for many years, I had a visa problem and was unable to return to India for some time. When finally I did return, I felt at home. I felt more at home in India—even in the airport—than in the West. Maybe I like chaos. But the atmosphere seemed more spiritual, even at the airport. And then, when I got to Vrindavan, I felt even more at home. I felt, “This is really my home.” And of course in Vrindavan it is so much easier to chant and remember Krishna—especially in Vrindavan. First, Vrindavan itself is spiritual. The Vrindavan on earth, Bhauma Vrindavan, is considered nondifferent from the Vrindavan in the spiritual world, Goloka Vrindavan. Although there is a thin covering of maya to protect the confidentiality of Vrindavan, actually Vrindavan is spiritual. Further, it is populated by sadhus, by bhaktas, and in the association of sadhus, one’s spiritual advancement is accelerated.

tasmin mahan-mukharita madhubhic-caritra-
   piyusa-sesa-saritah paritah sravanti
ta ye pibanty avitrso nrpa gadha-karnais
   tan na sprsanty asana-trd-bhaya-soka-mohah

“In the place where pure devotees live, following the rules and regulations and thus purely conscious and engaged with great eagerness in hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in that place if one gets a chance to hear their constant flow of nectar, which is exactly like the waves of a river, one will forget the necessities of life—namely hunger and thirst—and become immune to all kinds of fear, lamentation, and illusion.” (SB 4.29.39–40)

That is why Srila Prabhupada formed ISKCON, so that there would be a society of devotees—so people could come and get the association of devotees and advance in their company.

Everyone in Vrindavan is thinking of Krishna; He is the center of their lives. And I felt at home there. Then, after some days, I visited Govardhana Hill. I really didn’t know much about Govardhana Hill, but I visited, and without any philosophy to it, I somehow felt even more at home there than in Vrindavan. Of course, Govardhana Hill is part of Vrindavan in the larger sense, but in that particular part of Vrindavan—Govardhana—I felt even more at home. Then gradually I began to learn about the significance of Govardhana Hill.

Today we have come specifically to celebrate Govardhana-puja, and soon His Holiness Radhanath Swami will captivate our minds with his description of govardhana-lila, but I will just touch on one point about Govardhana Hill about which I eventually learned.

Srimad-Bhagavatam is considered the supreme evidence in Vedic literature. In Sri Tattva-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Gosvami explains logically and systematically, with reference to various scriptures, that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the supreme evidence in Vedic literatures. The Bhagavatam itself says that it is the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge.

nigama-kalpa-taror galitam phalam
   suka-mukhad amrta-drava-samyutam
pibata bhagavatam rasam alayam
   muhur aho rasika bhuvi bhavukah

“O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.” (SB 1.1.3)

In principle, one should begin the study of Srimad-Bhagavatam from the First Canto. The Bhagavatam is compared to the form of the Lord. In fact, the Bhagavatam is not different from Krishna Himself. And just as we begin our meditation on the lotus feet of the Lord and then gradually move up the Lord’s transcendental form, similarly one should read Srimad-Bhagavatam from the First Canto and gradually progress until one reaches the Tenth Canto, which is compared to the smiling face of the Lord.

In the Tenth Canto we read about Krishna and His eternal associates in Vrindavan. Among all of the associates and devotees of Krishna, the damsels of Vrindavan are considered the best. And these young cowherd girls, gopis, prayed to Govardhana Hill. They glorified Govardhana Hill and called him hari-dasa-varyah. Hari means “Lord Hari, Krishna,” the Supreme Personality of Godhead; dasa means “servant”; and varyah means “the best.” They glorified Govardhana Hill as the best servant of Lord Hari. Govardhana Hill is considered to be Krishna Himself, and actually Govardhana Hill is Lord Krishna. But the gopis visualize Govardhana Hill as the best servant of Krishna, because he gave himself fully for the service of the Lord. He gave his whole body for the service of the Lord. He laid down his life for the service of the Lord. And he provided caves for the Lord to take shelter in. He provided waters to drink. He provided fruits and roots to eat. He provided every facility for the Lord and His devotees. It is specifically mentioned: “The Lord and His devotees.”

hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyo
   yad rama-krsna-carana-sparasa-pramodah
manam tanoti saha-go-ganayos tayor yat
   paniya-suyavasa-kandara-kandamulaih

“Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Krishna and Balarama, along with Their calves, cows, and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Krishna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.” (SB 10.21.18)

Govardhana Hill understands the secret that the Lord is actually more pleased when we serve His devotees than when we try to serve Him alone. So hari-dasa-varyah.

The idea of the gopis in glorifying Govardhana Hill was that we should go to Govardhana Hill to have our spiritual desires fulfilled. As devotees, we all have spiritual desires to serve the Lord, but how will those desires be fulfilled? Of course, we have our spiritual practices: We chant the holy names. We study the Vedic scriptures. We associate with devotees. We worship the Deities. We visit the temple and holy places. But the idea behind this verse, hari-dasa-varyah, is that by the mercy of great souls our desires can be fulfilled. And among all great souls Govardhana is the best. So if we go to Govardhana, he will fulfill our desires to serve Krishna.

So, Govardhana Hill is very important for devotees. In our aspirations to serve Krishna, Govardhana Hill can fulfill our desires. At Govardhana Hill there is a Deity named Harideva, just near Manasi-ganga. And when one begins parikrama of Govardhana Hill, one begins with darshan of Harideva. But the gopis are saying that the mercy that one can get from hari-dasa is even greater than the mercy that one can get from Harideva. Therefore, on the pretext of going to worship Harideva, they really went to get the mercy of hari-dasa-varyah, Govardhana Hill.

In that way, Govardhana Hill is like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. According to Vedic literatures—Srimad-Bhagavatam and others—Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself. But being in the mood of a devotee, being in the mood of the best devotee, Srimati Radharani, Lord Chaitanya is more inclined to give mercy even than Krishna. But in the mood of His devotee, He is more merciful than in His mood as Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the same applies to Govardhana Hill. Some of our acharyas have commented that these verses spoken by the gopis—particularly this verse, hari-dasa-varyah—were actually spoken by Srimati Radharani. The whole creation glorifies Srimati Radharani as the best servant of Krishna, and She is glorifying Govardhana Hill as the best servant of Krishna. This creates a transcendental competition among devotees—who can glorify the other more—because devotees by nature are humble and take pleasure in glorifying the Lord and His devotees. In fact, the Lord is more pleased when someone glorifies the devotees than He is by glorification of Himself.

Once, when we first went to Bombay, Srila Prabhupada was traveling with his little brass Radha-Krishna deities, and he was in the room with Gurudas Prabhu, a senior devotee. Gurudas began to glorify one of the other devotees in our small party in India, but then he caught himself and said, “Oh, Srila Prabhupada, I forgot, we are not supposed to praise anyone in front of the Deity, in front of Krishna.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Krishna is already glorified. He takes more pleasure when His devotees are glorified.” So this is also part of Govardhana-puja—glorifying the devotees, glorifying Govardhana Hill who is Krishna but also a devotee of Krishna.

We are surrounded by so many devotees here, so it is our great fortune and privilege to be in your midst on this auspicious occasion. And now we will request the great hari-dasa sitting next to me to fulfill our desires for sweet hari-katha about Harideva and hari-dasa.

Hare Krishna.

Radhanath Swami:

I am very, very grateful to be here in New Govardhana at Govardhana-puja, sitting beside Giriraj Maharaja! And I am most grateful to be in the association of all of you. Sripada Giriraj Maharaja has explained according to shastra the divine principle of Sri Govardhana Hill as being simultaneously Krishna and the supreme servant of Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada, our beloved guru maharaja, when he was in his very last days, unable to even sit or stand, he requested the devotees to take him for the Govardhana parikrama in the month of Kartik. When devotees said, “How? You cannot walk,” he said, “Arrange bullock (ox) carts.” The doctor who was treating Srila Prabhupada said, “If you try to do that, you will die.” And Srila Prabhupada smiled. He said, “What greater way is there than to leave this world while doing Govardhana parikrama?” For several days there was a debate about this until finally devotees convinced Prabhupada, “Please don’t do it.” But that was Srila Prabhupada’s love for Govardhana Hill.

When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Vrindavan, the first time He saw a stone from Govardhana Hill He wept tears of ecstasy and embraced it and cried out, “This is non-different from the body of Krishna.” Madhavendra Puri, His param-guru, performed a parikrama of Govardhana Hill and discovered Sri Nathji at that place. Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami all had bhajana-kutiras (places of worship) at Radha-kunda at Govardhana Hill.

Then Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, when He was in Puri, a sannyasi gave Him one little stone, a govardhana-sila. For Lord Chaitanya, that little stone was more valuable than everything in creation. He always kept it around His neck. Sometimes He put it on His head. Sometimes He put it is on His heart, and that govardhana-sila was constantly moistened by the tears of Lord Chaitanya’s love. Seeing the supreme sacrifice of love of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Lord Chaitanya presented that small govardhana-sila to Raghunatha dasa and even arranged the bhoga and the offerings to help Raghunatha dasa Gosvami worship. And dasa Gosvami spent the majority of his life at the foot of Govardhana Hill.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura all had their places of worship at Govardhana Hill. And it was at Radha-kunda in Govardhana that Srila Prabhupada was given the order by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to print and distribute books.

Why is Sri Giriraja so important? The story in the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam describing the Govardhana-puja is so deep and so vast. We can only attempt to describe a particle of a drop from the ocean of that significance. In the month of Kartik, as per the tradition, Nanda Maharaja was arranging a grand worship of Indra. Krishna saw it and through so many words convinced Nanda Maharaja, “There is no need. You are worshipping Indra because he provides rain? But actually there is rain falling in the ocean. Who is worshipping him there? If you do good, you have good karma, which you do, and the rain will come—Indra or no Indra. But actually we are really depending on the cows, the brahmans, and Govardhana Hill. So let us take all the paraphernalia for the worship of Indra and worship the cows, the brahmans, and Govardhana Hill.”

Now, this is a very bold statement. Krishna was crashing through all the traditions of Nanda Maharaja’s ancestry. Nanda Maharaja already explained that “this worship ceremony every year at this time has been going on from our forefathers since time immemorial.” For Nanda Maharaja and the Vraja-vasis, Indra was not just some vague idea of somebody who may or may not be there. Indra was the lord of the demigods. This was the time when Indra would come down to earth and manifest himself. They knew him. They understood him. And they knew his powers.

Krishna was demanding a profound state of surrender. Just like Krishna spoke in the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna—He told him to engage in a battle where even his loved ones and relatives were present. The whole Bhagavad-gita was spoken to convince Arjuna to have faith in Krishna—sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender to Me.” Now Krishna was asking Nanda Maharaja to do the same thing. Please know that the Vraja-vasis understood the power of Indra. Like we saw in India the Tsunami waves, Indra can create a million of those in one moment. He can throw ten million hurricane Katrinas within a second. Indra is powerful. So Nanda Maharaja understood that not only was his life at stake, but all of his family’s, everybody’s. Indra’s anger. Unlike Arjuna, they did not have weapons to fight. But out of their innocent love and faith in Krishna, they accepted. The essence of all religion was manifested right there. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam. The purpose of everything in our spiritual life is simply to please God. If Krishna is pleased, our life is perfect. If we perform all the rituals, if we protect all our traditions, even if we engage in tremendous austerities and sacrifices and gain the whole world, if Krishna is not pleased, srama eva hi kevalam, we have wasted our time. Nanda Maharaja and the Vraja-vasis were willing to take any risk to please Krishna, and they didn’t even know He was God. They just loved Him. And they had no fear. “Who cares, Indra? We are pleasing Krishna, our seven-year-old little cowherd boy.”

So, they took everything of Indra’s worship and directed it all toward Govardhana Hill under Krishna’s direction. They made huge mountains of bhoga—Annakuta. Practically everything they had they just prepared—hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of preparations in large quantity, as Krishna directed. The brahmans performed yajnas and chanted mantras, musicians were singing and playing instruments, and all the Vraja-vasis were in utter joy celebrating. Why? Because their happiness would bring Krishna happiness. The only reason a Vraja-vasi wants to be happy is because it brings Krishna happiness to see His devotees happy. When we come before Radha-Giridhari, we should dance and sing and hear hari-katha happily because if we are happy to hear about Krishna, Krishna is happy. That is the essence of all of our aspirations, just to please God.

When the offering was made, little Krishna was standing amongst all the gopas and gopis, and then He manifested Himself as Govardhana Hill. He manifested a body that was unprecedented. It was huge with gigantic arms. He manifested the form of Govardhana Hill just to show the world that He was non-different than Govardhana Hill. And little Krishna, He was looking up at Himself in that form and said, “Oh, just see. Because Giriraja was so pleased by your devotion, now He has made Himself personified as a person, just to accept our offerings and fulfill all of our desires.” And then this huge form of Giriraja, with His two arms, consumed all the mountains of prasada. And He asked for more. “Aniyora! Bring more!” And Krishna, He Himself bowed down before Govardhana and all the Vraja-vasis bowed down with Him.

And then, under Krishna’s direction, all the cows and the calves and the brahmans and the gopas and the gopis performed a parikrama, the first historical circumambulation of Govardhana Hill. Such a happy festival. Everyone enjoyed unlimitedly, except for one person: Indra. Krishna is so merciful. Indra is a devotee. He is not a demon like Putana or Aghasura or Kesi. Indra is a devotee who has been entrusted with a very, very serious service by the Lord. In fact we read in Sri Brhad Bhagavatamrta, Srimad-Bhagavatam, that when Indra performs a yajna, Lord Narayana personally comes and manifests Himself to receive the offerings of that sacrifice. This we have not seen. We do so many sacrifices, but when Indra does, it is not only that we know Lord Narayana is coming, but He physically comes on Garuda and accepts. Indra is a very great person. But there is something that Krishna does not tolerate in a devotee: false pride. And His mercy to His devotee is, by whatever means is required, to crush that pride, remove the tumor of that cancerous pride from the heart of His devotee, because that tumor spreads in a very cancerous way and kills our devotional propensities.

Indra was so enraged. There are many such stories in which Krishna uses Indra to teach us this principle. He is the king of Svargaloka, the heavenly planets. He is worshiped by the devatas, the Apsaras, the Gandharvas. He is honored; he is praised. He sits on beautiful thrones. He has immense wealth, immense power, immense fame. If we have even a tiny trace of that, the tendency is to think that we are better than others, and when we think we are better than others, we make aparadha, offense. If nobody really cares much about you, when somebody says something it doesn’t really hurt so much. But the more you have, the more it hurts. That’s the nature of the ego. So for Indra the same: “Every year for centuries they are performing this puja for me, and this year, on the basis of the logic of a little seven-year-old talkative boy, they are taking all the worship of me and giving it to a mountain! A mountain! What an offense!” He was outraged.

So, Indra decided to destroy the entire Vrindavan and everyone in it, and he called the Samvartaka clouds. There is no army on earth that can compare to the Samvartaka clouds. They are not the clouds that come in the monsoon season and flood up Bombay and paralyse everything within a day. They are not the clouds that come in hurricanes or tornados and devastate a city or a town or a state. That business is for little clouds. Samvartaka clouds are specifically for the destruction of the universe at the time of dissolution. Indra called them. He was mad. And he screamed at those Samvartaka clouds, “Go to Vrindavan! They have offended me. Destroy everything and everyone!”

And they went. Massive black clouds started growing and growing and growing in all directions. Thunder, lightning, torrents of rain. And the Vraja-vasis knew what had happened: they had offended Indra. How do you fight against that? They all approached Krishna. The cowherd men put the cows in front and said, “See, Your cows are suffering. You are Govinda. You will protect the cows and us too. Please protect us.” Krishna left His home with a smile and effortlessly lifted the entire Govardhana Hill like a child lifts a mushroom. We don’t eat mushrooms, but sometimes we lift mushrooms! And with the little finger of His left hand, He held it up. Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari ki jaya! And He called out in a very humorous way, “Everyone come and see. Govardhana Hill is so pleased by your worship that now he has become an umbrella just to protect you from Indra. Now come and bring whatever is dear to you and all of your animals and come in the valley under Govardhana Hill.” So everyone came to Govardhana Hill.

Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill in such a way that it made an immense thunderous sound that could be heard in all directions. As He lifted Giriraja, Giriraja had large clumps of dirt and stones fall from all around the ends to create a boundary wall on the bottom so that not only would He protect from the top but no water could get in. Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill, and the Samvartaka clouds, they were mad. It was not rain. It was something else. Srimad-Bhagavatam describes that the drops came down with such force that they combined like unlimited rivers bursting out of a dam, coming downwards on Govardhana Hill. Srila Prabhupada explains that it was like columns of solid water forcefully pounding down. And the whole sky was crisscrossed with lightning and massive thunder and winds, such winds! Our greatest tornados multiplied by thousands of times. But Krishna just stood there smiling, with Govardhana Hill on His finger.

This pastime is so beautiful because Lord Krishna wanted to show how He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not just all powerful but the supreme object of everyone’s love. Srila Prabhupada said that people know that God is great, but Srimad-Bhagavatam tells us how great God is, not only in His power to create and to destroy and His power to perform any inconceivable feat but also in His power to reciprocate the love of His devotees. When Krishna was standing under Govardhana Hill, all the residents of Vrindavan were gathered together, and Krishna was glancing in such a way that every gopi, every gopa, every cow, every calf, every peacock, every monkey, every parrot, every living being was thinking, “Krishna is looking only at me. Krishna loves me so much.” This is Krishna’s power. He can completely satisfy the hearts of every one of His devotees simultaneously and reciprocate with their love. He was standing. All the residents of Vrindavan were glorifying that form of Girivara-dhari, the lifter of Govardhana. His left side was very straight, with His arm raised, but His right side was bent. He was standing in a threefold bending form, the very essence of all beauty, captivating everyone’s hearts.

The Vraja-vasis were offering their profound gratitude to Indra for giving this darshan, the darshan of all darshans. And it was 24/7. The curtains never closed. All their desires were fulfilled. Usually Krishna would be with the gopis at night but then all day long the gopis would be in separation. And during the day He was with His cows, but all night long they would be in separation. And Nanda and Yasoda and the elders, they would be with Him in the morning and the evening, but the rest of the time they were in separation. But under Govardhana Hill, they were all standing, reciprocating the sweetest, most ecstatic love with Krishna constantly. The brahmans were serving Krishna by chanting mantras for His protection, and He was reciprocating. The gopas were telling jokes to encourage Krishna and making all kinds of playful discussions with Him. And Krishna reciprocated with them. The gopis, the perfection of their lives, they were glancing and smiling at Krishna and offering Him the love of their hearts in this way continuously, and the Lord reciprocated with each and every one of them. And the cowherd men, when they would see Krishna trembling, they would put sticks under the hill. And Krishna was smiling at each of them. Yes, govardhana-lila is a time when Krishna satisfied all of the devotees in a most desirable way. That is how God is great. It was a festival of transcendental ecstasy.

Meanwhile, Indra and the Samvartaka clouds were just pounding rains and winds and lightning. Indra ordered the Samvartaka clouds, “With all your force, blow that hill off Krishna’s little finger.” But Govardhana Hill did not move. Days passed. At one point, with His left hand holding Govardhana Hill, Krishna with His right hand took His flute and put it to His lips and played a beautiful song. And the brahman boy Madhumangala became very much afraid. He called to Krishna, “Don’t play Your flute, because we have seen what happens when You play Your flute. If Govardhana hears You play Your flute, he may become immersed in such transcendental happiness that he may fall from Your finger and we will all be crushed to death! We have also seen the power of Your flute. It can turn stones into water and water into stones. If Govardhana Hill melts in ecstasy, we will all be drowned! So don’t play Your flute.” Another cowherd boy said, “No, no. You don’t know Govardhana. He is a very, very composed and sober person. He will control himself.”

Yasodamayi, in her love for Krishna, was worried: “So many hours have passed and You haven’t eaten anything. And Your little finger, Your soft body which is like butter, how can it be holding this huge mountain and not feel pain?” Crying, Yasodamayi prayed to Govardhana Hill, “Please, all my austerities, all my worship, whatever I have done in all my previous lives, just give me one benediction, Govardhana. Please don’t cause any pain to my son Gopala.” Madhumangala said, “Yasodamayi, why are you worried? Because of my brahma-tejas, brahminical power, I am empowering Krishna to keep the hill up. You have nothing to worry about. In fact, this is a sweet festival. We love Indra for what he has done. Because of Indra, we are experiencing the sweet nectar of Krishna’s darshan in this beautiful form.” Yasodamayi said, “What kind of talk is this? What kind of heart do you have? You are saying it is sweet to see an innocent, gentle, little boy with this gigantic mountain on top of Him? How can you say this is sweet?” And Nanda Maharaja said, “Yasoda, don’t speak to Madhumangala like this; he is encouraging Krishna. Krishna is happy. He is smiling with all of his words.”

In this way, under Govardhana Hill, such beautiful relationships were being shared. The cowherds were thinking, “Because of Madhumangala’s blessing, Krishna has the power.” And the gopis were thinking, “Because Radharani is glancing upon Krishna, She is empowering Him.” And Krishna said to Yasodamayi, “I am not doing anything. Govardhana is so happy by the offerings that you prepared for him, he is simply floating. I am just the instrument standing.” Yasodamayi said, “If that is true, then let him fly in the air without Your finger. Then I will believe You.” All the rasas—santa-rasa, servitorship, friendship, parental affection, and conjugal rasa—were being fully exchanged between Krishna and His devotees for seven days and seven nights continuously.

As the clouds and the thunder and the lightning and the storms and the rainbows were coming down at Govardhana, underneath the hill there was another storm: Krishna was like a beautiful cloud, the gopis were like lightning, Krishna’s peacock feather was like a rainbow, and His love for His devotees was an incessant shower.

Meanwhile, on top of the hill, Indra was uncontrollably frustrated. The Samvartaka clouds with all of their prowess day after day after day were pounding against Govardhana Hill, and ultimately they went back to Indra and fell at his feet: “We can’t do it anymore.” Indra said, “Go!” They ran out of water. The Samvartaka clouds were going to the oceans and drying up oceans practically and getting more water and more water, and they were pounding it on Govardhana Hill. In all those seven days Indra and the clouds and all that lightning did not have the power to even move one speck of dust or remove a single leaf from the hundreds and thousands of trees on Govardhana Hill. Govardhana Hill, under that raging storm, was shining. Just like we saw today, Giriraja was receiving his abhiseka. For him it felt like that. Why? Because despite all the lightning, thunder, and mass of storms, Govardhana was feeling the tip of Krishna’s little finger underneath, and that was energizing him with such happiness.

Ultimately the Samvartaka clouds were so exhausted, they were on the verge of death. And so was Indra. They departed. The sky became clear, and the sun came out. Krishna was still smiling. He said, “Oh see, the rain is finished. Now it is a sunny day, and it is nice and dry outside. Everyone return to your homes.” But no one wanted to leave. This is a beautiful principle. If we have faith in Krishna, if we sincerely dedicate ourselves, even at any cost, or risk, to be faithful to Krishna, it will please Krishna. Krishna can transform the greatest crisis into something wonderful. That is surrender. So, on Krishna’s word, the gopas and the gopis, without taking their eyes off Krishna, came out from under the hill. And the gopas were trying to herd the cows. When they saw Krishna, they ran right back. They could not give up His association. Lord Govinda, Giridhari, with His eyes, He herded the cows out back into the pastures. And then effortlessly He placed Govardhana Hill on the ground exactly as it was initially.

When Krishna came out from under Govardhana, Balaramaji embraced Him, Yasodamayi was massaging His finger to relieve Him of His pain, the gopis were glancing at Him and smiling at Him, His friends were joking with Him and dancing with Him, the brahmans were chanting mantras for Him, their wives were offering gifts to Him, the servants were fanning Him and bringing Him water to drink, and Rohini offered arati to Him. It was a wonderful festival. Everyone was ecstatic except for one person. You know who that is?

Devotee: Indra.

Radhanath Swami: He was utterly defeated. He’d been intoxicated by his power and his fame, but now he was sober and realized that he had just committed such an offense. The Bhagavad-gita tells us that when we contemplate the objects of the senses, attachment is created. From attachment, lust, from lust, when it is unfulfilled, anger. Anger causes us to be bewildered, to lose our memory and our intelligence, and then to act in abominable ways. Indra went through all those cycles because of his attachments. And then he realized, “No one has ever committed an offense like this. I tried to murder God! I tried to murder all of God’s most intimate, loving devotees, and His cows and everyone. What have I done?” He was beside himself. He went to Brhaspati, his guru, “What should I do?” Brhaspati said, “Shew! There is nothing you can do, but if you approach someone that Krishna loves and that person appeals on your behalf for forgiveness, then Krishna will forgive you, but if you yourself come forward . . . You have sinned very badly.”

So, on Brhaspati’s instruction, Indra went to Surabhi, the mother of the cows. It is a very beautiful scene—try to picture it. Here is the king of heaven with all of his royal array, magnificent diamonds, rubies, jewels, sapphires, emeralds, beautiful silks, and crown, riding on a magnificent elephant. Indra himself is a very handsome, strong, magnificent man. And he is bowing down helplessly to the hooves of a mother cow, begging, “Save me! Please save me!” Mother Surabhi felt such sympathy for Indra. She said, “Come with me.” They came before Krishna, and Indra offered his obeisances, but Krishna totally ignored him. But then Mother Surabhi, who was a gentle female with such affection, approached Krishna and said, “Indra is seriously repentant. Please forgive him.” And on the basis of her appeal, Krishna forgave Indra.

There is a place on the parikrama path of Sri Giriraja called Surabhi-kunda. This place personifies the quality of forgiveness. And this is a universal principle. The Christians believe that you cannot approach God directly. If you have sinned, you must go through His son. The Jews have the same concept. The Muslims have the same concept. And we find its fullest, richest expression here in this story—that we cannot approach God directly. We must approach the Lord through those whom the Lord loves. Vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca/ patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah. Without the mercy of the Lord’s devotees, there is no hope. It is not a question of how much we know. We can memorize all the scriptures, we can give eloquent discourses, we can chant sweetly, we can make hundreds and millions of people our followers, but if we do not humble ourselves before a devotee who loves God, we cannot really approach God. We cannot receive the blessing of the Lord in its fullest. By the blessing of Surabhi, Krishna blessed Indra. Indra fell down weeping, and when Indra weeps, it is not a small thing, because he has a lot of eyes. All of his eyes were weeping in repentance. Two things are required: one is that we must submit ourselves, humble ourselves, before those who love the Lord, and two is that we must be serious; we must be genuine.

Indra was not making a show. From his heart he had such deep regret. It was more painful than death for him. He was begging for mercy, and because of his sincerity he humbled himself and Krishna forgave him. Indra called the devatas, and they performed a wonderful ceremony. Indra said, “I am just a little Indra, but You are the supreme Indra.” And they performed an abhiseka, bringing the Akash-ganga down with Airavata and the sages and rishis and devas—bathing Krishna. And the water of that abhikesa filled up the kunda. Then Indra and the demigods gave Krishna the name Govinda because He gives pleasure and protection to the cows, the land, and the citizens. And that place today is called Govinda-kunda.

After they left, the cowherd boys came and they saw all the magnificent paraphernalia left by the demigods. They made a nice little throne for Krishna out of rocks from Govardhana Hill and put Balarama on there, and they started performing the same pujas and singing their beautiful songs. The demigods had done it all exactly according to the scriptures—the abhiseka, the arati, the puja. And the gopas, they were just playing. They were imitating and playing and joking. When the demigods looked down and saw how the cowherd boys were worshipping Krishna, they came to a realization: “We have no love for Krishna in comparison to them—nothing.”

Then Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men and Yasodamayi heard all the kids singing and dancing, and they came rushing to the place and saw all this beautiful paraphernalia. They said, “What is this? What happened?” The cowherd boys explained, “You want to know what happened? Should we really tell you? First we saw this cow talking. Then we saw this man with thousands of eyes all over his body getting off an elephant with many, many trunks and bowing down before Gopala. And then we saw somebody with five heads and matted hair. He was doing puja. And someone before that was offering arati.” And then Nanda Maharaja and Yasodamayi and all the residents of Vrindavan performed a beautiful arati ceremony to celebrate the glories of Sri Radha-Giridhari.

Srila Prabhupada has given us entrance into the divine loving service of Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari. On this day of Sri Govardhana-puja, if we really want to give pleasure to Radha-Giridhari, what better way than by submitting ourselves at the lotus feet of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada? Indra sought out Surabhi to get her mercy. With Srila Prabhupada, he sought all of us. He took the risk and pain of the Jaladuta. He travelled the world again and again, going to every major city and town, calling us back to the loving service of Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari. So on this day let us worship Sri Govardhana Hill. You are approaching that person who loves Sri Giridhari so dearly.

Srila Prabhupada told us, “You can show your love for me by how you cooperate with one another.” A father loves to see affection between his children. I never had children, but I have seen and I have listened, and it is a great pain to the father when he sees conflict between his children. And the mother even more. So, Govardhana-puja is not just a ritual. It is a real celebration, and that celebration has its substance in how we sincerely make efforts to water the root of the tree, to please Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari by pleasing Srila Prabhupada and serving the Vaishnavas, and in this spirit to chant the holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

I would like to thank all of the devotees here in San Diego, especially the devotees who are maintaining and serving in this beautiful, beautiful temple. Radha-Giridhari want to call thousands and thousands of fortunate souls to Their loving service. It was Prabhupada’s dream, and his dream is our life.

Thank you very, very much.

Hare Krishna.

[Talks by Giriraj Swami and Radhanath Swami on October 22, 2006, in San Diego]

“Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika.” (SB 10.9.1–2 purport)

We are now in the month of Damodara. It began on the full-moon night and will continue until the next full moon. Damodara is a name for Krishna. Dama means “rope,” and udara means “belly.” So Damodara means, “one who is bound around the belly with ropes.” And you can see in the picture of Lord Damodara with Mother Yasoda that she was binding His belly with ropes. The history behind the incident is that Mother Yasoda was feeding baby Krishna with her breast milk when suddenly some milk on the fire began to boil over. So she set aside Krishna to attend to the milk on the fire. But baby Krishna had not yet been satisfied with His mother’s milk, and when she left Him He felt frustrated and angry. So, to vent His anger and to satisfy His desire, He broke a pot of butter that was hanging from a rafter on the ceiling. When Mother Yasoda returned from attending to the milk on the fire, she saw that the butter pot had been broken and she saw little footprints smeared with butter on the floor. And she understood that the mischief was the work of her son, Krishna.

According to Vedic literatures, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so how is it that we are speaking of Him as if He were a baby who got frustrated and angry and made mischief? The answer is that every living entity has eternal love for Krishna within the heart, and that this love can be manifest in any of a number of relationships. The relationships we have in the material world are actually reflections of the relationships that devotees have with Krishna in the spiritual world. In the material world we have the relationship of servant and master; the relationship of friends, who are equals; the relationship of parents and children; and the relationship of husband and wife, or boyfriend and girlfriend. The relationships we have in the material world exist because they exist originally with Krishna in the spiritual world. Mother Yasoda has maternal love for Krishna, and her desire to serve Krishna as His mother is so pure and so strong that Krishna, to reciprocate with her, plays the role of her son and thus allows her to serve Him as His mother. And when Krishna plays the role of Mother Yasoda’s son, He identifies with the role so much that He actually feels as if she is His mother and He is her son.

After Krishna did His mischief, He knew that when His mother found out He would be in trouble, so He was anxiously looking here and there. And Mother Yasoda, after she put down the milk that had been boiling over on the stove, found Krishna sitting on a wooden grinding mortar. When He saw her with a stick in her hand, He began to run away from her in fear. She didn’t really intend to strike Him, but she felt that she needed to show the stick to enforce some discipline, because, like every mother, she wanted her son to be good and well-behaved and disciplined, according to her conception. So, baby Krishna began to flee in fear. He was small and agile, and she had a large body, so He could escape her. She pursued Him and became tired, but she was so determined and sincere in her desire to catch and train baby Krishna that eventually He felt compassion for her and allowed her to catch Him.

After catching Krishna, Mother Yasoda thought that she should tie Him up, not as a punishment, but to keep Him from getting into more trouble. So, she took a length of rope and attempted to bind Him around the waist. But the rope was too short by the width of two fingers. She got some more rope and added it to the first length, but still the rope was too short by two fingers. And she got some more rope and added it, but still the rope was too short. Mother Yasoda became perplexed: every morning she would dress baby Krsna and tie His ornamental belt around His waist, and she knew how big His waist was and how long the belt had to be, and the length of the ropes now was much longer, but still the ropes couldn’t reach around Krishna’s waist. Mother Yasoda was the wife of the king of the cowherd community, and she had lots of ropes for various purposes. Yet even after putting together all the rope she could gather, she still couldn’t get it to fasten around baby Krishna’s belly. Then Krishna, appreciating Mother Yasoda’s ardent desire and endeavor to serve Him, took compassion on her and allowed her to bind Him. But actually, He was bound not by her ropes but by her love.

Describing the story of Mother Yasoda and Lord Damodara, Srimad-Bhagavatam explains that Krishna cannot be caught by the greatest yogis but that He allowed Himself to be caught by Mother Yasoda. Krishna cannot be bound by any means, but He allowed Himself to be bound by the ropes—by her love.

Many learned scholars have commented on this particular pastime of Krishna, and Jiva Gosvami has explained on the basis of this pastime how the Lord can be bound. Lord Krishna Himself declares that He can be conquered only by the pure love of His devotees, and the pastime here demonstrates that He was indeed bound by such love. But what exactly is the process of binding Krishna and developing pure love?

Srila Jiva Gosvami explains that there are two factors, signified by the two fingers by which the rope was too short. One finger represents the endeavor of the devotee. For example, in Krishna consciousness we have certain basic practices, the most essential of which is chanting the holy names of Krishna. As one is able, one should rise early in the morning and have a program similar to the program that devotees have in the temple. But the essential process really is chanting and hearing about Krishna and endeavoring to serve Krishna according to one’s taste and capacity. So, part of the two fingers’ gap can be closed by the devotee’s hard labor (parisrama), and Mother Yasoda showed that effort. She tried her best to bind Krishna to the extent that she may have put together miles and miles of rope, but still her effort alone was not enough. So, the other factor that allows the devotee to bind Krishna is Krishna’s mercy (krsna-krpa). When Krishna was pleased with Mother Yasoda’s endeavors, He mercifully allowed Himself to be bound. Thus the other half of the gap, the second finger, was closed.

Recently a devotee told me that her brother, who is a Christian missionary, had challenged her, “How will you go to the kingdom of God?” She replied, “I will go the kingdom of God by chanting the holy names of God.” Then the brother said, “Oh! You think you can go to the kingdom of God by your own endeavor, by works. No. One cannot go by works; one can go only by grace.” And what her brother said is true. One cannot go by works alone. “Works” in this context means spiritual practices, or following the injunctions of the scriptures, the law. But it is very unusual for a person to reach the kingdom of God without making any effort, just thinking, “I’ll wait for the grace of God.” So, the conclusion we reach from the story of Lord Damodara, from the instructions of the acharyas and the instructions of Lord Krishna Himself in the Bhagavad-gita, is that we work to the best of our ability but at the same time depend on the mercy of the Lord for our success.

The acharyas have given two examples. One is the example of the mother monkey and the baby monkey. The baby monkey holds on to the mother and puts his little arms around her and holds on. And as the mother monkey is swinging and flying from tree to tree, the baby monkey is in a very precarious position because the baby just has his little arms and he has to hold on to his mother for dear life as she swings from tree to tree. At any moment he could lose his grip and fall down.

The other example is the mother cat and the kitten. The mother cat picks up the kitten in her mouth and carries the kitten. And the kitten really doesn’t have to do anything. The kitten just allows the mother to carry him or her to wherever the mother wants. In a broader context, the karmis, jnanis, and yogis are like little monkeys that are trying to hold on with their own strength, and therefore they are always in anxiety. They are in anxiety because they do not know if their strength will be sufficient to bring them to their destination. The devotees, however, are like the kitten that doesn’t really have to worry. The kitten just surrenders to the mother, and the mother picks up the kitten and takes the kitten to the destination.

Now, if we look closely at the life of the devotee, yes, ultimately the devotee is picked up by the grace of the Lord, but still the devotee makes efforts to serve the Lord, and then the Lord’s mercy allows the devotee to bind the Lord, or to bring the Lord under the control of the devotee’s love. So, if someone thinks he or she can, as they say, storm the gates of heaven, or reach God by one’s own endeavor, that is not correct. But if someone says, “Well, I am just going to sit and pray to God to deliver me, and I am not going to make any effort,” that also is not complete. So, we do both.

The kingdom of God has different divisions, or sections, and the highest is Goloka Vrindavan, and the special feature of Goloka Vrindavan is that the love of the devotees there is completely spontaneous. The devotees there do not think, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore I must serve Him”; they are spontaneously attracted to Krishna according to their particular mood of service. For example, the cowherd boys are attracted to Krishna as their friend. They are not thinking that He is God; they just love Him as their best friend. Similarly, Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja are not thinking that they have to serve Krishna because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, they are thinking, “Oh, Krishna is our son. We have to nourish Him and protect Him and educate Him.” Similarly, other elders in Vrindavan have a mood of parental affection. And the young ladies of Vraja are spontaneously attracted to Krishna because they think He is a handsome young man, and they want to make friends with Him. So, in the Damodarastaka, with reference to the pastime of Mother Yasoda binding Krishna, the author says that by being bound by Mother Yasoda’s ropes, by her love, Krishna shows that He is conquered only by pure love. “Pure love” here means not just without any material motivation, but without any conception at all that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and without any attraction for the opulence of the other sections of the kingdom of God, called Vaikuntha, where the Lord’s opulence is prominent. Only in Goloka Vrindavan do the devotees have such pure love that they forget that Krishna is God. And thus, they are not bound by any restrictions or barriers, thinking, “Oh, Krishna is God. He is great, and I am small.” They treat Him as an equal, as a friend, or even as a dependent, as a son or pupil.

In the other section of the kingdom of God, Vaikuntha, the devotees are aware of Krishna’s opulence—His majesty, His greatness. Therefore, they serve Him in a mood of awe and reverence. At most, there may be a sense of friendship, but even the friendship is mixed with a sense of awe and reverence, and although the love is pure in that it is without any material desire, it is not pure, natural, spontaneous attraction but is mixed with the knowledge of Krishna’s supreme opulences. That love is not sufficient to bind Krishna, to bring Krishna under the control of the devotee. Not that Krishna actually ever comes under the control of the devotee, but He comes under the control of the devotee’s love. So, the Damodara pastime also proclaims to the world that Krishna can be conquered only by pure love, which is not mixed with the conception of Krishna’s supreme opulence and Godhood.

There is a class of transcendentalists called impersonalists who desire to merge and become one with God. Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual preceptor, says that the impersonalists want to merge and become one with God but that the devotees can become greater than God. They can bring God under their control by their pure love. So, the achievement of the impersonalists cannot even be compared to the achievement of the devotees. The devotees relish ecstatic love for God, and the happiness that they experience in their loving relationships with God is millions and trillions of times greater than the happiness the impersonalists relish if they merge and become one with the effulgence of God. And the mystery or the charm is that one can develop one’s pure love, which is already there within one’s heart, just by chanting the holy names, like we did tonight—so beautiful, so pleasant, so congenial—just chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, and as Prabhupada said, “You chant, and when you feel tired you take a little prasada.”

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Q: Can you tell me if a person, who after so many lifetimes on earth eventually departs to Vaikuntha, can make further advancement from Vaikuntha to Krishnaloka?

GS: Each devotee has eternal love for Krishna within the heart, and by chanting Hare Krishna the eternal love is manifest. Whatever one’s particular type of love is, it is just right for the individual, and the individual will feel fully satisfied in his particular relationship with the Lord. For example, if you tell Hanuman that his mood of service to Rama is not the highest, that he should give up the service of Rama and come to Krishna, he’ll say, “No way!” because he is fully satisfied in his service to Lord Rama and wouldn’t want to exchange it for anything. But there are rare instances, such as the case of Gopa Kumara described in Brhad-Bhagavatamrta, when a devotee moves on. Gopa Kumara went to Vaikuntha, and although Vaikuntha is the spiritual kingdom of God and everything there is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and everyone there is absorbed in the same mood of service to the Lord with awe and reverence in the opulence of Vaikuntha, still somewhere within his heart he didn’t feel completely satisfied, and ultimately he came back to earth, to Vrindavan on earth, the best place to perform practices to go to Goloka Vrindavan. And from there he was promoted to Goloka Vrindavan. So, it may be that one reaches Vaikuntha but hasn’t really developed one’s full love for Godhead. Then one may, as you say, make further advancement to Goloka Vrindavan.

Q: I have heard that Jesus Christ has his own planet. Can people who go there move on after further knowledge of self-realization and eventually go to Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavan?

GS: Your basic question is whether someone can go to the planet of Jesus and make further advancement, and the answer is, “Yes.” But I would hesitate to claim that I have a definite answer as to where his planet is. Still, I can say that wherever it is, one could make further advancement. And the planet of Jesus could be in the spiritual world, or it could be a heavenly planet within the material world.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that he accepted Jesus Christ as a saktyavesa-avatara. Saktyavesa means “one who is empowered by God, for some particular purpose,” and avatara means “one who descends.” One category of saktyavesa-avatara comes from the kingdom of God into the material world, empowered by the special potency of God. But in principle, someone who is already in the material world could also be empowered with some special potency from God. So, accepting Jesus Christ as a saktyavesa-avatara does tell us that he descended and that he was empowered by some special potency from God. However, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta didn’t tell us exactly where he descended from, and I would not like to venture to guess, but I would say if someone is a sincere follower of Jesus Christ and follows the instructions of Jesus Christ, he could definitely, eventually enter into the kingdom of God.

Hare Krishna!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on November 10, 2001, in Isla Vista, California]

ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 09/15/2019

Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes cow protection, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Founder-Acharya.

Participating Directors: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala, Jamuna Jivani (board secretary), Makara (chair), Olivia (partial), Ranaka, and Vraja.

Participating Advisors: Allegra, Kripamaya (partial attendance).

1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report

Lalita Gopi (Temple Barn):

• There are eight cows being milked (Subhadra, Surabhi, Cintamani, Parijata, Sita, Vamsika, Jaya Radhe, and Usha)
• 23 gal of milk are produced daily.
• 20 gal of yogurt and 30 lb of butter are produced weekly.
• There are five calves (three males and two heifers): Prahlada, Satyabhama, Puspavati, Narada, and Dhruva.
• Lalita is repairing some fence and painting in the back of the barn pasture.
• Gaurangi was moved to the Valley Barn for breeding with Dharma, andLakshmi was moved from his space.
• Sriya is starting to bag up at Nandagram.

Ray (General Farm Hand):

• Cleaned out the winter dung from the pasture.
• Rotovated the Valley high tunnels twice, bringing up more rocks to remove and place on the road behind the tunnels.
• Cut, baled, and stacked 95 second-cutting bales in the barns in addition to the 681 round bales of hay from last report. He was assisted by Daniel and Caitanya Bhagavat. Total hay baled and stored in Valley Barn is now 492 first-cutting and 122 second-cutting 800 lb round bales. Total hay baled and stacked in Nandagram barn is 162 bales giving us a grand total of 776 bales produced to date for 2019.
• Brush-hogged Bahulaban pastures.
• Repaired tractor and hay wagon tires along with the hay-baler string cutter.
• Moved five dump trailer loads of topsoil from the RVC lagoon area and four loads of manure from the Temple Barn to repair the construction area around the new Tulasi greenhouse next to the RVC temple.

Caitanya Bhagavat (Cow Care):

• Daily cow care at Nandagram and Bahulaban, included:
• monitoring the herd numbers for the 16 Nandagram cows (five females, 10 males, and one bull) and the 26 Bahulaban cows (17 females and nine males).
• Feeding hay to supplement the pasture of the Bahulaban cows as needed.
• facilitating veterinarian visits.
• Checked and maintained fence lines at Nandagram and Bahulaban.
• Mowed and weed-whacked at Nandagram and Valley Barn.
• With the assistance of Daniel, completed the new high-tensile fence at the milking barn pasture.
• Cleaned the dung out from the Nandagram barn for the winter.
• Stocked the Nandagram feeding area barn with hay for the winter.
• Vet check and special care for Madhu who has a skin issue
• Assisted in hay-making operation by raking hay and moving bales from the field and stacking in the Valley and Nandagram Barns.

Suchandra (Gardens):

Community Garden

• Watering, deadheading, weeding, and collecting produce and flowers
• Trimmed tomato plants
• Had a problem with deer this year. Suchandra made as many repairs to the fence as possible, but they were also getting in through the front gate when it was not latched properly. However, a good amount of produce was still able to be harvested.
• Had issues with water pressure in irrigation system

Teaching Garden

• Mowed and weeded weekly
• Laid mulch in walkways and beds to keep weeds away and make garden look nice.
• Produce and flower totals for the month of August for both gardens:
  • Green beans: 55.15 lb
  • Roma tomatoes: 44 lb
  • Heirloom tomatoes: 12 lb
  • Cherry tomatoes: 4.5 lb
  • Cucumbers: 141 lb
  • Green peppers: 11 lb
  • Jalapenos: 5.5 pounds
  • Zinnias: 260
  • Dahlias: 50
  • Sm. Marigolds: 4,200
  • Lg. Marigolds: 4,950

• Vidya (Vidya’s Garden):
• Planted the high tunnel:
  • carnations
  • tube roses
• Elena started the marigolds in Ranaka’s greenhouse for planting in the tunnels
• Hundreds of sunflowers were grown and picked and are being used in vases along with zinnias for decorating Krishna and Srila Prabhupada at his Palace.
• All the temple’s marigold needs are being provided by the gardens
• Constructed a system of chicken wire and ground cloth along with a fence around the high tunnel to keep out unwanted animals.
• Angie took the lead on preparing the high tunnels for planting
• Brooklyn and Joseph have been hired on to work with Angie.
• Vidya’s Garden harvest totals for the Month of August 2019:
  • Large marigolds: 7,372
  • Small marigold: 8,839
  • Gladiolas: 20
  • Green beans: 2 lb
  • Roma tomatoes: 35 lb
  • Tomatoes: 405 lb
  • Cherry tomatoes: 48 lb
  • Peppers: 16 lb
  • Bitter melon: 237 lb
  • Large sunflowers: 202
  • Small sunflowers: 48
  • Carnations: 30
  • Globes: 65
  • Zinnias: 353
  • Asters: 408
  • Basil: 16 bunches
  • Rosemary: 3 bunches
  • Sage: 3 bunches
  • Cilantro: 3 bunches
  • Loki: 10 lb

• Lila (Nandagram Garden):
• Watered and removed groundcover and mulch in preparation for fall manure spreading
• Harvested and delivered to the temple kitchen during the month of August (all quantities reported in pounds):
  • Zucchini: 40.5
  • Summer Squash: 1.5
  • Apple: 71
  • Green Beans: 52
  • Cherry Tomatoes: 48
  • Hot Peppers: 9.5
  • Roma Tomatoes: 202.5
  • Large Tomatoes: 230.75
  • Butternut Squash: 25.25

Ranaka (General Manager):

• The two new valley high tunnels have both been roto-tilled. Angie is leading the effort to prepare the valley high tunnels by rock removal, bed preparation, and fencing. Tripada will bring skid-steer from Prabhupada’s Palace to help move composted manure into the tunnels for bed formation.
• Ranaka began working on the Bahulaban apartment project that was approved a year ago. He has been in contact with Tejo and Warren Harkness to plan and install the septic system.
• With no changes, the herd count remains at 66.

2. Farm Conference Update

Prior to the conference, Jamuna Jivani will act as the ECO-V delegate and travel to Gita Nagari for the focus group with the Amish. Ranaka will set up a time for a meeting with Syamsundar during the weekend of the conference. Kalakantha will send out the conference schedule.

3. Internal Funding Request: Up to $4K for Gifts & Plaques for November Meetings

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to acknowledge the dedication of key community members, as well as offer a token of appreciation to the INV and ECO-V staff and volunteers.

RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $4,000 as a budget for plaques and gifts to distribute during the November meeting weekend.

4. Bahulaban Apartment Update

Ranaka will begin putting in the septic system and electricity at the Bahulaban barn. The subcommittee will work on a design for the apartments to propose to the board.

5. ECO-V Properties Available For Sale

WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wants to make available for sale certain properties in the New Vrindaban village.

RESOLVED: The Board approves the two properties connected to the 219 Coffield Lane parcel be made available for sale for $25K each. The standard covenants and restrictions associated with ECO-V property sales will apply. ECO-V will publicly post the properties, take offers from applicants, and make selections based on the responses it receives.

Here’s a link to the ECO-Vrindaban website.

For regular updates, please visit, like and follow the ECO-V Facebook page.

Kartik Parikrama 2019 Visit to Chir Ghat (10 min. video)
Indradyumna Swami: GThe other day as part of our Kartika parikrama 2019 we visited Chir Ghat, where the playful pastime of Krsna stealing the clothes of the gopis took place. The nearby village was enchanting and the spiritual atmosphere of Chir Ghat was overwhelming. We discussed the pastimes that took place there and chanted in bliss with Bada Haridas prabhu. I would say that Chir Ghat is a must-see for all Gaudiya Vaisnavas who want to go deeper into understanding the science of Bhakti - loving devotion for the Supreme Lord.

THE QUEEN’S SECRET - Written and Directed by The Walking Monk - Bhaktimarga Swami (video)
A play written and directed by Bhaktimarga Swami. All music used with permission. No copyright infringement intended. For educational purposes only - sharing stories from the sacred texts of ancient India.

During the month of Kartik breakfast and lunch Prasadam is free for everyone at Krishna Balarama Mandir. They feed from 4,000 to 10,000 daily. The cost for the month is about $75,000, about 50 lacs.

We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year's end we want to pay our debts, rectify our relationships--and then try to do better the next year Continue reading "Reflections on Diwali
→ Dandavats"

Diwali greetings from Sri Mayapur dhama! Diwali is a day loaded with pastimes of the Supreme Lord to remember, celebrate and worship to make the day more fruitful. Diwali marks the return of Lord Ramachandra with mother Sita to Ayodhya. Citizens of Ayodhya decorate the city with lamps everywhere to welcome their Lord. To celebrate […]

The post Happy Diwali appeared first on Mayapur.com.

February 13, 2020 will mark the next historic milestone of progress in the TOVP construction. On that day ISKCON devotees worldwide will joyfully celebrate the most auspicious Grand Opening of the Deities’ entire Pujari Floor. Please accept our invitation to attend.

Srila Prabhupada said, “Mayapur is my place of worship.” Here he established the Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir to facilitate that worship, eventually to a scale that would influence the entire world through the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. Indeed, the TOVP is the long-awaited new home for Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimhadeva, and this Pujari Floor opening ceremony heralds Their relocation to Their new home in 2022. Here They will be worshiped in the most impeccable and grandiose manner for thousands of years to come, offering Their merciful darshan to devotees and pilgrims from every corner of the world.

Under the scrutiny and guidance of Their Graces Jananivas and Pankajanghri prabhus, many rooms have been planned for this floor with very specific purposes in mind. 21 of these rooms have been selected for eager donors to sponsor. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to directly serve ISKCON’s Main Deities at our World Headquarters in sacred Sridhama Mayapur won’t come again. You can personally serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimhadeva by financing the completion of one of these rooms in Their long-awaited new home, and have your name placed over the entrance as the sevaite responsible for this unique service. Make your pledge today and receive Their Lordships’ eternal blessings.

“Worship Krishna with love. That is the qualification for Deity worship. If you love Krishna, you will worship Him very nicely.”

Srila Prabhupada letter, October 7, 1974

“If one attains perfection in Deity worship, that is called Arcana Siddhi. Arcana Siddhi means simply by Deity worship one goes back to Godhead, immediately after this life.”

Srila Prabhupada Letter, March 18, 1969

“If you think this is a brass-made idol, then it will remain a brass-made idol to you forever. But if you elevate yourself to higher platform of Krishna consciousness, then Krishna, this Krishna, will talk with you. This Krishna will talk with you.”

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, L.A., July 16, 1969

For more information go to the TOVP Rooms of Worship page here.

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

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The post The Most Auspicious Grand Opening of the TOVP Pujari Floor and Launch of the Rooms of Worship Fundraising Campaign appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

“While Srila Prabhupada was a grhastha working as a pharmacist, his godbrother —Professor L.B. Hari Kapoor, whose intitiated name was Adi Kesava Das—met Srila Prabhupada and asked him. ‘You know so many different formulas. Do you know the formula for love of God?’ And Srila Prabhupada answered. ‘Yes, I do.’ Professor Kapoor asked. ‘Can you tell it to me?’ And Srila Prabhupada answered:

trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” Siksastaka 3.

That was Srila Prabhupada’s Faith in the Holy Name.”

Srila Prabhupada’s Faith in the Holy Name (Right click to download)

“When mother Yasoda and the other ladies finally saw that Krishna, although decorated with many bangles and other jeweled ornaments, could not be bound with all the ropes available in the house, they decided that Krishna was so fortunate that He could not be bound by any material condition. Thus they gave up the idea of binding Him. But in competition between Krishna and His devotee, Krishna sometimes agrees to be defeated. Thus Krishna’s internal energy, yoga-maya, was brought to work, and Krishna agreed to be bound by mother Yasoda.” SB 10.9.18 purport.

Talk at Ananteshwar’s_home (Right click to download)

“I think that His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is always seeing my activities and guiding me within my heart by his words. As it is said in Srimad Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye. Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates. It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work. I do not think myself a very learned scholar, but I have full faith in the service of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Sr?la Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. If there is any credit to my activities of translating, it is all due to His Divine Grace. Certainly if His Divine Grace were personally present at this time, it would have been a great occasion for jubilation, but even though he is not physically present, I am confident that he is very pleased by this work of translation. He was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krishna consciousness movement. Therefore our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has formed to execute the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Sr?la Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.”—Sri Caitanya Caritamrita concluding words

Sri Caitanya Caritamrita concluding words (Right click to download)

Today, Sri Rama-ekadasi, is a very special day. It is the first Ekadasi in the month of Kartik, or Damodara, and it has special significance as the day on which Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the most important book on the life and precepts of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This multivolume work was originally published in seventeen volumes, and every devotee should read it. Actually, every devotee should read every book of Srila Prabhupada’s, from Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, The Nectar of Devotion, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Although Sri Caitanya-caritamrta covers a wide range of topics, it is a very advanced book of study, and we will read from the end of it.

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

 “All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaitacandra! And all glories to all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

On this date, Sri Rama-ekadasi, in 1974, we went up the stairs to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters in the E-block in the back of the Juhu property. It was usual for us to go every morning at six o’clock to accompany Srila Prabhupada for his walk on Juhu Beach. But this time we were surprised to find that the door was locked. In fact, both doors—to his quarters and to his staff’s quarters—were locked, and we could not understand why. We knocked on the doors, and eventually Srila Prabhupada’s secretary Harikesa Prabhu opened the door and told us that Srila Prabhupada had just completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, that he had written the most beautiful glorification of his guru maharaja at the end, that he was in a very jubilant mood, and that he said that we should celebrate by having a feast.

Now we shall read Srila Prabhupada’s Concluding Words to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta:

CONCLUDING WORDS

Today, Sunday, November 10, 1974—corresponding to the 10th of Kartika, Caitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, the Rama-ekadasi—we have now finished the English translation of Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Gosvami Maharaja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide, and friend. Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada passed away from this material world on the last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always present with me by his vani, his words. There are two ways of association—by vani and by vapuh. Vani means “words,” and vapuh means “physical presence.” Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gita continues.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada sets the theme for his Concluding Words in the very first sentence by saying that he had completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja—the order, the instruction, the words, the vani. Although Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had passed away on the last day of December in 1936, Srila Prabhupada was still connected with him by serving his instructions. Almost forty years after his guru maharaja disappeared, Srila Prabhupada was pleased to offer him his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. In other words, his relationship with his spiritual master was not diminished by the passage of time, because the association of vani continues eternally. In Srila Prabhupada’s dedication to his translation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, he wrote, “To my eternal spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. He lives eternally by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.”

We never need to feel bereft of the association of the spiritual master or the parampara, because their association is always available through their words (vani), and as Srila Prabhupada wrote, we must take advantage of the vani. For example, Srila Prabhupada’s vani is available in his books. So we have to take advantage of his books. If we don’t read his books, if we don’t study his books, if we don’t discuss his books, how will we have his association? And we want his association.

A householder devotee in England told me that he was concerned about his son—not only his son, but also many other members of the congregation—because his son was focused on only his immediate authority in Krishna consciousness, whom he accepted as his guru, and his father was concerned that he should also develop his relationship with Srila Prabhupada, understanding that everything in ISKCON, including Prabhupada’s disciples, was the result of Prabhupada’s mercy. He felt that his son should have a proper, tangible, substantial relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

So the father prevailed upon the son to start listening to Srila Prabhupada’s tapes systematically and begin reading Srila Prabhupada’s books systematically. And that boy started to awaken his relationship with Srila Prabhupada in a very tangible way. He hadn’t understood it before. He hadn’t understood that he could have a real, substantial, tangible relationship with Srila Prabhupada even in Srila Prabhupada’s physical separation by hearing Srila Prabhupada’s words, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books. And then Srila Prabhupada started to come in his dreams. The boy is very pure. In his teens he went to Vrindavan and joined the twenty-four–hour kirtan party and was ready to live the rest of his life in Vrindavan just chanting the holy name. In particular, he was a very good mridanga player. So, he had a dream in which the deity of Srila Prabhupada sitting on his vyasasana in Vrindavan came to life. Many devotees have had dreams in which the deity of Srila Prabhupada comes to life. And he had another dream in which Srila Prabhupada was standing at the entrance to the temple room at Bhaktivedanta Manor, observing all the youth, including him, doing kirtan. After the kirtan, Srila Prabhupada walked over to him and said, “It is very good that you are engaged in kirtan. However, if one does kirtan simply to attract women, or the opposite sex, this kind of kirtan will take one to the darkest regions of hell.” The boy took the dream as real and took the instruction to heart. And of course, what Srila Prabhupada said was true.

This is just one example of how we can establish our relationship with Srila Prabhupada—or any of the previous acharyas—through vani, through hearing the words, through reading the books.

Srila Prabhupada would take rest at about ten o’clock at night and then wake up at about midnight after only two hours and translate. While practically everyone else was sleeping, he was translating for us. He was translating so that we would have these books to study and apply. So it is our duty, it is our privilege, it is a blessing, but it is also our duty to read the books. Otherwise, it means that Srila Prabhupada was wasting his time writing books for us and we don’t even care enough to reciprocate and make the effort to study them. And Srila Prabhupada said that we should not only distribute his books but also read them. He said of his devotees that sankirtana will keep them happy and reading his books will keep them. So we shall continue.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

In this connection we may call to memory the time when I was fortunate enough to meet His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, sometime in the year 1922. Srila Prabhupada had come to Calcutta from Sridhama Mayapur to start the missionary activities of the Gaudiya Matha. He was sitting in a house at Ulta Danga when through the inducement of an intimate friend, the late Sriman Narendranath Mullik, I had the opportunity to meet His Divine Grace for the first time. I do not remember the actual date of the meeting, but at that time I was one of the managers of Dr. Bose’s laboratory in Calcutta. I was a newly married young man, addicted to Gandhi’s movement and dressed in khadi. Fortunately, even at our first meeting His Divine Grace advised me to preach the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in English in the Western countries. Because at that time I was a complete nationalist, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi’s, I submitted to His Divine Grace that unless our country were freed from foreign subjugation, no one would hear the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu seriously. Of course, we had some argument on this subject, but at last I was defeated and convinced that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s message is the only panacea for suffering humanity. I was also convinced that the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was then in the hands of a very expert devotee and that surely the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would spread all over the world. I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada explained that he was the leader of his circle of friends and thus when Narendranath Mullik met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura he wanted our Srila Prabhupada also to meet him, to give his verdict about him. Srila Prabhupada also described how across from his home in Calcutta there was a large building with many rooms and many men living there. During the day they would go out and earn money, and then in the evening they would come back and cook and eat their dinner and go to sleep, and then the next morning they would again go out to earn money and come back in the evening. Among them there was one man who, before going out each morning, would put on the robes of a sadhu and go out and collect money and then come back, take off his robes, eat with the other karmis, go to sleep, get up in the morning, and go out again.

Many sadhus would come to Srila Prabhupada’s father’s home, and Prabhupada was not very satisfied with their dealings. So when his friend invited him to meet the sadhu, he was not very eager to go, because he thought, as there were so many bogus sadhus who were cheating innocent people, this might be another one. So he didn’t want to go. But his friend insisted, and ultimately Srila Prabhupada relented and went and met his eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Srila Sarasvati Thakura was sitting on a raised platform, maybe on a cot that was set up as an asana, and everyone else was sitting down. But there were some other seats, and Srila Prabhupada sat in one. And from the very first meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ordered him to preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language throughout the world. Srila Prabhupada, as a nationalist, as a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, argued, “Who will listen to India’s message, to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message, when India is still under foreign subjugation? Even uncivilized countries like Japan have political independence. First India should gain political independence, and then people will be ready to hear the message.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura did not accept our Srila Prabhupada’s argument. He said, “The message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is transcendental. It will act independent of factors such as political independence or dependence, and the world needs the knowledge now. We cannot wait for India’s independence. We must present the message now.” And Srila Prabhupada said that he was defeated in argument by his guru maharaja. He said that he had never before been defeated in any argument but that he had been defeated by his guru maharaja and was happy about it.

But Srila Prabhupada was newly married and had a small child, and so he could not take up the order of his spiritual master immediately. But he kept the instruction in his heart and was always thinking when he would be able to take it up.

This is an important instruction for us—that if due to circumstances we are unable to take up an instruction from the spiritual master, we should always keep that instruction in our heart and think of how we can execute it, pray to be able to execute it, and wait for the opportune moment when we will be able to do so.

I had an interaction with Srila Prabhupada in which he enunciated the same principle. In 1971 in Gorakhpur we were staying as guests of Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and the Gita Press in what had been Mr. Poddar’s estate, Sri Krishna Niketan. A new issue of Back to Godhead magazine had arrived, and the issue had an article that I had written. Srila Prabhupada read the article and called for me. “I’ve read your article,” he told me. “It is very nice. You should write.” And he added, “You can travel with me, and I will personally instruct you how to write.”

Some days later, one of the senior devotees, Hamsaduta, wanted to begin his world sankirtana party, and he asked Srila Prabhupada if he could have me on his party. And Srila Prabhupada agreed. I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to travel with Prabhupada and get personal instructions on how to write, but I had faith that whatever he did was ultimately the best for all concerned. So I accepted the decision to go with Hamsaduta.

This was before computers, when, in India, even typewriters were rare. If you needed a document typed, you’d have to go to the court and find someone outside the courtroom to type your document. The materials for writing were pen and paper. So when I got the instruction from Srila Prabhupada to write, I went out and bought pens and lined paper. But travelling with Hamsaduta, there was not much time. We had a very busy schedule, going to Agra and Aligarh. And then Hamsaduta Prabhu got a telegram from Srila Prabhupada saying, “We are planning a big pandal program in Bombay. Come with party immediately.”

So we all packed up and came to Bombay. In Bombay, Shyamasundar Prabhu was the temple president. He had a meeting with everyone to divide up the duties, and he asked me to collect advertisements for the souvenir to raise funds for the pandal program. I told him that Srila Prabhupada had instructed me to write as my main business. Shyamasundar Prabhu said, “You can write anytime, but this is a special occasion, a time when we can go into any man’s office in Bombay and ask him to give an advertisement for the souvenir. We need to get advertisements to raise funds for the pandal. So do this now, and you can take up your writing later.” I thought that what Shyamasundar Prabhu said made sense, and I also knew that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate with our authorities, so I agreed.

Then, some days later, Srila Prabhupada arrived, and, as usual, all the disciples entered his sitting room with him, and he glanced around the room, at each disciple, maybe exchanging some few words. When he came to me, he said, “So, Giriraj, how is your writing going?” I was completely flustered; I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to speak, but nothing clear was coming out. So Prabhupada said, “Okay, we’ll discuss later.” Then, after a while, he called for me. I was alone in the room with him, and he asked me, “So, what about your writing?” I was in anxiety, because I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing. But I explained what Shyamasundar Prabhu had said and how it made sense to me and also how I knew that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate with our authorities, so I thought I should cooperate. “Did I do the right thing?” I asked. He replied, “One can suspend temporarily the order of the spiritual master, but one can never neglect it.” And then he gave his own example: “Like me—my guru maharaja also instructed me to write, but I’m so busy traveling in India, I hardly have time to write. You can suspend the order of the spiritual master, but you can never neglect it.”

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

In this way I passed my life as a householder until 1950, when I retired from family life as a vanaprastha. With no companion, I loitered here and there until 1958, when I took sannyasa. Then I was completely ready to discharge the order of my spiritual master.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada describes how he would have dreams in which his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, would come to him and call him to follow him. Srila Prabhupada would wake up in anxiety because he would think, “Oh, Guru Maharaja is calling me to follow him. He wants me to preach. He wants me to leave my family.” And he was in a panic because he was thinking, “How can I leave my family? How can I live alone?” Then one of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrothers, another disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, His Holiness Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, encouraged him, “You should take sannyasa. You cannot really take up the order of Guru Maharaja to preach unless you take sannyasa.” When that godbrother passed away in 1968, Srila Prabhupada gave a nice talk about him, saying how that godbrother had forced him to take sannyasa. “Actually, he did not force me to take sannyasa,” he said. “My guru maharaja forced me to take sannyasa through my godbrother.” So, this is another instruction—that a sincere disciple can receive instructions from his spiritual master through others.

I had one exchange here in Juhu that suggested the same idea. Srila Prabhupada was staying upstairs in his new quarters, and he was very ill. He was not meeting anyone, he was hardly speaking or eating, and no one was allowed to see him. Tamal Krishna Goswami was Srila Prabhupada’s personal secretary, and he would sit in the front room.

One day, I went up to Prabhupada’s quarters to see Tamal Krishna. Mindful not to disturb Prabhupada, we met in the furthest outside room, where Tamal Krishna had his desk, and spoke in whispers—with two sets of closed doors between us and Prabhupada. Tamal greeted me with a warm embrace and then asked me to go to the bank to make a deposit.

“I am the temple president,” I thought. “I have so much important work to do that nobody else can do. Why me? Why do I have to go to the bank? Anyone can go to the bank and make a deposit.” So I told Tamal, “There are so many devotees who can make a bank deposit, but there are many things that only I can do, so better I do those things and let someone else make the deposit.” Perhaps on some deeper level, based on envy and false ego, I may have been considering, “Who are you to tell me to go to the bank?” Anyway, we were discussing back and forth, in hushed tones, so as not to disturb Prabhupada.

Suddenly Prabhupada rang his bell, and Tamal Krishna and I raced around the outside hallway and entered Prabhupada’s room. Especially then, it was a rare treat to be summoned into his presence.

“Now you have to do so many things,” Prabhupada said to me straight away, chuckling. “Again, another burden. You have to do all these things. So, how is your preaching?”

I wasn’t sure exactly what Prabhupada meant, but he knew that I sometimes felt burdened by management and preferred to preach.

I gave him a report about our recent preaching successes, and he spoke about the mood of a Vaishnava and the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. “If one does not present Bhagavad-gita as it is,” he asked, “then where is its authority?” And then, apparently to illustrate his point, he said, “If I say, ‘Giriraj, you go there, to the bank,’ and ‘No, no, I cannot do this; I can do only this,’ then where is my authority?” Then he laughed. “Just see.”

I didn’t think Prabhupada could possibly have heard my exchange with Tamal Krishna; we had been separated by a room and two closed doors. Krishna, I thought, must have inspired him from within. And further, he had pointed out a defect in my mentality, that I was seeing Tamal Krishna independent of him, thinking he was just my godbrother, and that I should have seen him as Prabhupada’s representative, that it was Prabhupada’s order coming to me through him.

I thought of Prabhupada’s opening words: “Now you have to do so many things. Again, another burden. You have to do all these things.” He had spoken with emphasis: “You have to do all these things.” And I understood that if I saw the service as coming from Prabhupada, I wouldn’t feel it a burden.

Later, when I described the incident to our godbrother Tejyas Prabhu, Tejyas gave the opinion that Srila Prabhupada had highly acute senses and could hear things that no one else could hear. We could be whispering, and no one else could hear it, but because of his highly attuned senses, he could have heard the discussion.

In any case, the point is not that Prabhupada knew that I was arguing with Tamal Krishna; his real instruction came in the statement “If I say, ‘Giriraj, you go there, to the bank,’ and ‘No, no, I cannot do this; I can do only this,’ then where is my authority?” Srila Prabhupada was asking me to go to the bank through Tamal Krishna Goswami. I was thinking, “We’re godbrothers. Yes, he is a little more senior, but we’re both godbrothers, and he can’t really tell me what to do. I am the temple president, and as temple president, I am my own authority. But Srila Prabhupada was saying, “If the spiritual master asks you to go to the bank and you refuse, where is the surrender?” He wanted me to understand that he could be giving me orders or instructions through others, that the orders or instructions didn’t have to come through him directly, and he manifested that mood in relation to his godbrother Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja—“My guru maharaja forced me to take sannyasa through my godbrother.”

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine. After I took sannyasa, a well-wishing friend suggested that I write books instead of magazines. Magazines, he said, might be thrown away, but books remain perpetually.

COMMENT

Here’s another example: he took the advice of his friend very seriously because his friend’s advice was in support of his spiritual master’s instruction.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

Then I attempted to write Srimad-Bhagavatam. Before that, when I was a householder, I had written on Srimad Bhagavad-gita and had completed about eleven hundred pages, but somehow or other the manuscript was stolen. In any case, when I had published Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the USA. By the mercy of His Divine Grace, I was able to come to New York on September 17, 1965. Since then, I have translated many books, including Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Teachings of Lord Caitanya (a summary), and many others.

In the meantime, I was induced to translate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and publish it in an elaborate version. In his leisure time in later life, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would simply read Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. It was his favorite book. He used to say that there would be a time when foreigners would learn the Bengali language to read the Caitanya-caritamrta. The work on this translation began about eighteen months ago. Now, by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, it is finished. In this connection I have to thank my American disciples, especially Sriman Pradyumna dasa Adhikari, Sriman Nitai dasa Adhikari, Sriman Jayadvaita dasa Brahmacari and many other boys and girls who are sincerely helping me in writing, editing, and publishing all these literatures.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada translated seventeen volumes in eighteen months. That’s one volume a month. No one can do that. No ordinary human being can do that, and while it was happening, Srila Prabhupada was chiding us like anything for not bringing out the books. He had the manuscripts ready, but the books were not being published. So he told Ramesvara Prabhu, who was head of the BBT in Los Angeles, that he wanted all the volumes published in four months. Only maybe two or three had been published, so there were fourteen volumes left. Using material calculation, Ramesvara said, “It is impossible.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Impossible is a word in a fool’s dictionary.” Then Ramesvara said, “Well, what if we can’t do it?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Disqualified.” In other words, “If you can’t do it, you are not qualified to be in charge of the BBT and we’ll have to find someone else.”

So they surrendered to the order. It said that when the spiritual master gives an instruction, the power to execute that instruction comes with it. And the devotees totally surrendered to the instruction. They reorganized the BBT and were working day and night, hardly eating or sleeping, and they did it.

Here in Juhu, too, Srila Prabhupada had the design for the temple, and he kept complaining that the work was going too slow. I was bringing people from the construction line to meet him, and finally I brought Mr. G. L. Raheja, who was a big builder in the suburbs. Srila Prabhupada showed him the plans, the blueprints, and said, “I want this temple complex finished in six months. Do you think it can be done?” Mr. Raheja said, “Yes.” So Prabhupada said, “Okay.” Now, it is a long story, but ultimately it was built in two years and eight months, and during that time we felt that we were doing nothing. Prabhupada was constantly asking us, “Why is it going so slow? Why is it going so slow?” Now, when people hear that this huge temple was built in two years and eight months, they think, “That’s really fast. How could you build it so quickly?” But in Srila Prabhupada’s presence it was not fast—it was way too slow.

What I am saying is that Srila Prabhupada could do things that no human being could do, and he gave us instructions that were beyond our capacity. But if we surrendered to his instructions and tried our best, sincerely and with intelligence, we could do things that would be very difficult for ordinary people to do.

Now we come to the penultimate paragraph, and this is revolutionary, so please listen with rapt attention.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

I think that His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is always seeing my activities and guiding me within my heart by his words. As it is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1]. Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates.

COMMENT

We all accept that Krishna is in the heart. It is a basic instruction in the Bhagavad-gita: sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto. But here Srila Prabhupada says that his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta was guided by his spiritual master within the heart. Now, of course, Srila Prabhupada received the instruction to write in English from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and kept that instruction in his heart, but here Srila Prabhupada seems to be saying more that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was actually sitting in his heart as one of the associates of the Supersoul and from within the heart could give active, dynamic guidance.

This subject is discussed in the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam in relation to the disappearance of the spiritual master. It is actually a metaphor—that a king and his wife entered the vanaprastha-ashrama and went into the forest, and the king died leaving his widow alone. Figuratively, the king is the spiritual master and the widow is the disciple. After the king died, an old friend came to the widow—the old friend who came in the form of a brahman is considered to be the Supersoul, or a representative of the Supersoul.

So, there’s a lot of discussion how one can get guidance from the spiritual master after the disappearance of the spiritual master. The widow was ready to enter into fire—sati—and Srila Prabhupada explains that this means that the disciple should be ready to lay down his life for the mission of the spiritual master. When the disciple is ready to take up the order of the spiritual master or the mission of the spiritual master without any personal consideration or personal gain or loss, he is ready to lay down one’s life to execute the order of the spiritual master; he would rather die than fail to execute the order of the spiritual master. At that time the spiritual master appears to the disciple to give him instruction.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master, because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work.

COMMENT

There was another time when Srila Prabhupada was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter in America after having published so many books in such a short time. And he said that actually he didn’t write the books; Krishna wrote them. The newspaper reporter was a little confused about what that meant, and one of Prabhupada’s disciples explained that Prabhupada had meant that Krishna had given him the intelligence to write the books. But Srila Prabhupada said, “No. Krishna wrote directly.” And he would read his own books. Any ordinary author, when he writes a book, that’s the end of it; he doesn’t read the book he just wrote. And he’ll go on to the next book. But Srila Prabhupada would read his own books. What author reads his own books? Only if the subject is transcendental will an author read his own books.

Sruta-kirti Prabhu went into Srila Prabhupada’s room one day when Prabhupada was reading Krsna book. “These books are so wonderful,” Prabhupada said. “If you just read this book Krsna you can become completely Krishna conscious.” Then he said, “Not even the whole book—if you read just one chapter you can become completely Krishna conscious.” And then he said, “Not even one chapter—if you read one page you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a page—if you read just one paragraph you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a paragraph—if you read just one sentence you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a full sentence—if you read just one word you can become completely Krishna conscious.” Because these books are Krishna. They are written by Krishna or Krishna’s pure devotees, and they are Krishna. You are associating with Krishna. By associating with Krishna, you can become fully Krishna conscious, which is what we are meant to do.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master, because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work. I do not think myself a very learned scholar, but I have full faith in the service of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. If there is any credit to my activities of translating, it is all due to His Divine Grace.

COMMENT

Prabhupada is not taking any credit for himself. He is giving all credit to his spiritual master.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

Certainly if His Divine Grace were physically present at this time, it would have been a great occasion for jubilation, but even though he is not physically present, I am confident that he is very much pleased by this work of translation. He was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krsna consciousness movement. Therefore our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been formed to execute the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

COMMENT

So, we come back to the theme of the order of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada began by saying that he translated Sri Caitanya-caritamrta under the authorized instruction of his spiritual master. Now he is saying that he formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to execute the order of the spiritual master and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What order? The order to print and distribute books. There are other orders, of course, but specifically Prabhupada is focusing on the order to print and distribute books.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is my wish that devotees of Lord Caitanya all over the world enjoy this translation . . .

COMMENT

The same thing: we shouldn’t just distribute the books; we should read them. We should relish them, we should enjoy them, we should make ourselves one with them.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

. . . and I am glad to express my gratitude to the learned men in the Western countries who are so pleased with my work that they are ordering in advance all my books that will be published in the future. On this occasion, therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work . . .

COMMENT

We are all disciples—some siksa disciples, some diksa disciples.

CONCLUDING WORDS (concluded)

On this occasion, therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work to continue their cooperation fully, so that philosophers, scholars, religionists, and people in general all over the world will benefit by reading our transcendental literatures, such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta dated November 10^th, 1974, at the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Bombay.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta ki jaya!
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust ki jaya!
Hare Krishna Land ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!

So, it is very good that today is Ekadasi, because we don’t have to worry about prasada. We can follow Srila Prabhupada’s instruction, or Rupa Gosvami’s instruction, that on Ekadasi one should spend the day and night chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. Still, I do not want to cause any disturbance, so I will limit the questions and answers according to my discretion.

If any of you have questions, because it is a very important subject and it is a very special day, you can raise your hands.

Premanjana dasa: My question is that I—most of us—have never seen Srila Prabhupada, so how can we have a strong attachment to him? How can we love him? How can we serve him more and more, and how can we know more about him? We have his books, of course. But personal association makes a difference. There is a difference between my speaking with you and my reading your books.

Giriraj Swami: That’s true. So, your question is how to increase your attachment for Srila Prabhupada?

Premanjana dasa: Right now Srila Prabhupada’s disciples are present, but maybe after twenty or thirty years, there will be no one. So who will guide us who have never seen Srila Prabhupada?

Giriraj Swami: As you said, there are the books, and there are recorded talks and conversations, but there are also books about Srila Prabhupada, such as Srila Prabhupada- lilamrta. Everyone should read Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta. And Yadubara Prabhu has compiled a wonderful video series called Following Srila Prabhupada with all the live footage of Srila Prabhupada, with, where possible, live recorded sound, or, otherwise, memories from devotees who were there. Another disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Siddhanta dasa, has brought out the series Remembering Srila Prabhupada, in which disciples share memories of Srila Prabhupada. And, as you hinted, the direct disciples of Srila Prabhupada who have imbibed his mood and are following his instructions—by their association you can get a sense of Srila Prabhupada.

Still, there is a difference between books and physical presence. Srimad-Bhagavatam states, nasta-prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata-sevaya: by serving the book Bhagavata or the person Bhagavata, one gets the same result. A disciple asked Srila Prabhupada if one was better than the other, and Prabhupada replied that the person Bhagavata was better, because the person Bhagavata can catch you by the ear. The theme of the Concluding Words is that the book Bhagavata is better, because the books continue perpetually. So in that sense the book Bhagavata is better, but in another sense the person Bhagavata is better.

Devotee (2): Maharaja, the question is, first of all it was a very nice krsna-katha. He says that we know that we have to give importance to the instructions of the spiritual master or the orders of our authorities, which sometimes seem to be different, even contrary to each other. And we are always fearful if we try to follow the orders of our spiritual master that in fulfilling the orders of the authority we somehow fail to follow the orders of our spiritual master. Then what?

Giriraj Swami: This is a very intelligent question. Such a situation took place in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Svayambhuva Manu, the first manu in this period of time, had a son named Priyavrata. Narada Muni instructed Priyavrata that he should not marry but should dedicate himself fully to spiritual life. But Svayambhuva Manu wanted Priyavrata to marry and take charge of the kingdom, because Svayambhuva Manu himself wanted to retire to enter vanaprastha-asrama, and he needed Priyavrata to manage the kingdom.

Now, both were authorities. Not only was Svayambhuva Manu Priyavrata’s father, but he is also one of the mahajanas, one of the twelve mahajanas—Svayambhu, Narada, Sambhu. Manu is one of the twelve. So, Priyavrata was in a dilemma because he received one instruction from one bona fide authority and a different instruction from another bona fide authority. What to do?

So, it was a very tense situation. Then Lord Brahma came personally. Lord Brahma is also a mahajana—Svayambhu, Narada, Sambhu, Kapila, Manu. And he was superior to both because he is the father of Manu and Narada. He told Priyavrata that he should marry because his father wanted to renounce his material responsibilities and dedicate himself to God. Priyavrata was in a dilemma.

Srila Prabhupada explains that the disciple must be intelligent enough to reconcile different instructions from bona fide authorities—from the spiritual master and the grand spiritual master—because Narada was his spiritual master and Brahma was his grand spiritual master. So, what did Priyavrata do? Externally he got married and took charge of the kingdom, but internally he remained detached like what we read and discussed earlier. Although he could not immediately execute the order to renounce material responsibilities, he always kept it in his heart and abided the time when he could take up the order. Then, when he was sufficiently old and there were others to take charge of the kingdom, he and his wife, who had faithfully assisted him, renounced their material responsibilities—in a way it is all spiritual—and fully absorbed themselves in God. The Bhagavatam describes that at the end Priyavrata went back home, back to Godhead, and his wife also went back home, back to Godhead.

So, as Srila Prabhupada said, the disciple has to be intelligent enough how to reconcile different bona fide instructions from different bona fide authorities and somehow fulfill the demands of all the instructions in all the authorities.

Devotee (3): Throughout your talk, you used the title Srila before “Prabhupada.” That honorific title is often omitted by speakers. This shows deeper love and reverence. Are others also are supposed to use Srila before “Prabhupada”?

Giriraj Swami: I feel more comfortable using the honorific Srila. In the early days of the movement we used to call Prabhupada Swamiji, but then he commented that Swamiji was not a very good term. So we started to call him Prabhupada, and then the Srila got added. I’m used to that culture, and I feel it is more respectful, but I would hesitate to judge someone on the basis of whether or not he says Srila.

Devotee (4): Maharaja, you spoke about surrender, how Prabhupada emphasized surrender. In the Bhagavad-gita there is a verse that in surrendering one should not fear. So, can you explain that? Even Priyavrata was fearing, in his surrender. So, is there a role of fear in surrendering, or one should not fear at all?

Giriraj Swami: Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Surrender unto Me.” Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo: “I will free you from all sinful reactions.” Ma sucah: “Do not fear.” So we should not fear that Krishna will not protect us if we surrender to Him. We should not fear that if we are following the orders of Krishna and perhaps neglecting some mundane duties, that we are doing the wrong thing or that we will suffer. But we should be afraid of deviating from Krishna’s instructions; in another words, we should be afraid of maya. That type of fear is healthy, but we should not be afraid that if we surrender to Krishna we will lose. We should not have that fear. But the surrender has to be genuine, with sincerity and intelligence. Surrender to Krishna doesn’t mean that we sit down and do nothing and wait for Krishna to put food in our mouth. Yes, we depend on Krishna for our necessities, but we do our duty—and depend on Krishna for the result. If we neglect our duty in the name of depending on Krishna, that is not actual surrender. We do our duty and depend on Krishna. Only when one is in the paramahamsa stage is he considered completely transcendental to one’s duties in varna and ashrama, and then he can just chant Hare Krishna and depend completely on Krishna. But preachers such as Srila Prabhupada, even if they are on the most advanced stage, when they take responsibility to preach, they act like madhyama-bhaktas to set the example for others.

Devotee (5): We want to follow the instructions of our spiritual master wholeheartedly, but seeing that in ISKCON there are many gurus who have many disciples and sometimes there is politics and partiality, how should we respond to such a situation?

Giriraj Swami: In The Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada writes, Rupa Gosvami writes, that the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu will deal with principles but not details. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that to follow the orders of the spiritual master is a principle and that the fact that one spiritual master’s orders may differ from another spiritual master’s orders is a detail. In other words, one spiritual master may give an instruction, and another spiritual master may give a different instruction, but that’s a detail; the principle is that we should follow the order of the spiritual master.

Coming back to the example of Priyavrata, Srila Prabhupada is the founder-acharya and either the spiritual master or grand spiritual master of the all devotees in ISKCON, so we should follow Srila Prabhupada—but Srila Prabhupada also told us that we should follow his representatives. That’s also following Srila Prabhupada. For example, Srila Prabhupada told me to write, and Shyamasundar Prabhu told me to collect, but Prabhupada also said to follow his representative. Shyamasundar was his representative—he was the temple president—so by following him, I was following Srila Prabhupada’s other instruction to follow his appointed representatives. So, somehow we have to reconcile these things.

As far as partiality, in principle the authorities should be impartial. They shouldn’t favor their disciples. But my question to you is, Why does it bother you? Bhakti Tirtha Swami was born in a black body, and he told Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON is supposed to be a spiritual movement, but there’s prejudice against black devotees.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “If you identify yourself as a black devotee and get disturbed by the prejudice against black devotees, you’re the same as they are.”

But to be given contradictory instructions by superior authorities is a difficult situation to be in. The best thing would be if the superior authorities discuss between themselves and together agree upon a conclusion for you. So one approach, if practical, would be for you to say, “Guru Maharaja, you are telling me one thing, and the other authority is telling me something else—I am in a very awkward situation.” Or you tell the other authority, “You are telling me something, and my guru maharaja is telling me something else—I am in a very awkward position. So the two of you please discuss what you want me to do, and when the two of you agree, let me know and I will be happy to do it.” That would be the best thing. Otherwise you are caught in between.

Devotee: In relation to your point about Srila Prabhupada’s hearing your discussion with Tamal Krishna Goswami, you had a realization in Srila Prabhupada’s final days when you had a desire in your heart and Srila Prabhupada was very ill and reciprocated. Can you elaborate on this incident?

Giriraj Swami: I can, but I will not do so now because this question is not really on the subject of the class, or is it?

Devotee: Like here, there was some whispering going on, so someone said maybe Prabhupada could hear, but in that case, even without . . . the spiritual master knew the desire and even at that stage he reciprocated.

Giriraj Swami: That’s true, and devotees have hundreds and thousands of incidents when the spiritual master reciprocated without the disciple’s saying anything. It happens all the time.

Thank you very much.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A Talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Rama-ekadasi, October 23, 2011, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Mumbai]

Vrindavan Darshans (22-23 Oct, 2019) (Album of photos)
Please take darshan of Sri Radharamanji, Sri Radha Damodar, Deities of Radha Gokulananda Mandir & Yamuna Arati in Keshi Ghat. Also take darshan of Mahaprabhu’s Charan Paduka (wooden shoes) from Nabadwip’s Dhameswar Mahaprabhu Mandir, which has arrived in Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan for the first time.

Taking Shelter of Lord Krishna’s Lotus Feet (audio)
“For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.58.

The conference ran from October 4^th to 6^th in New Vrindaban, West Virginia, where ISKCON’s first cow protection program started in Spring 1969 with a black Jersey, “Kaliya,” named by Srila Prabhupada himself.

The book describes the strict yet sensitive dealings of God and godly people to inspire a journey from apathy to empathy, and from rejection to reformation, while responsibly dealing with others’ mistakes. 

The Lord: A long-time passed and there was not a single sign that you would ever look in My direction!
HH Sacinandana Swami: Krishna is very eager for the company of each and every one of us.
As I sit here in Vrindavan, I sometimes ask myself, “Does Krishna see my efforts? Does He care for such an insignificant and useless person?” I’ve seen many sincere practitioners of bhakti ask this question.

Visit to Bhaya Gaon - Prahlada Kunda (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The other day we visited a village with a lake named Prahlada Kunda. The local villagers hold a festival in honor of Prahlada Maharaja there each year, appreciating his love and devotion for the Lord.