Planet ISKCON

We are pleased to present the GBC Meeting Highlight Report for the GBC Meeting held on 29 May 2024. This report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the online GBC meeting highlighting key topics discussed. The meeting commenced with Prahladananda Swami leading the pranams (invocation prayers) followed by a reading by Krishnadas Kaviraj Das […]

The post Highlights Report from May 29th GBC Meeting Released appeared first on ISKCON News.

Answer Podcast

Transcription

Question: When the modes control us, how do we have free will?

So, when we act, our actions happen under the three modes, and even when we act, we say ultimately everything is happening by Krishna’s will, so sometimes when we act, that is also a reaction to our past actions. So, in all this, where does our free will come in?

Answer: Yes. We can consider the modes as a triplet, which multiplies. There are three primary colors. From those three primary colors, we can have a large number of colors. Like that, there are three primary modes, from which there are wide varieties of combinations of modes that can come out.

The modes present us choices, but those choices are not compulsions. When we say we act under the modes, that does not mean that we have to act under a particular mode all the time. Krishna, in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, when he tells about the three modes, it’s like we could consider three modes as, I have come till this point, and now I have three courses of action. Now, I have to go on one of those three courses. If we are practicing bhakti, we can say there is a fourth course of transcendence, but I have to go according to one of those, but which of those, that is up to me. So that means the modes determine the gamut of our choices. The modes don’t determine our specific choice.

For example, sometimes, you know, if there is a multiple-choice exam, and sometimes within the multiple-choice exam, there is a typing mistake so that the right answer is not there only in the multiple choice. (Laughter). So then, I look at it, which is the capital of India, and there is no Delhi only. What do I do there? What has happened over here, the gamut of choices, that is determined by the examiner, but then, which choice the student makes, that is not determined by that five, among the five, there is choice. The student may just say all five are wrong, the student may just add a choice, none of the above.

The point is that the modes don’t determine our specific choice. The modes provide us a gamut of choices, and within that gamut of choices, if we have repeatedly acted according to a particular mode, then a particular kind of action, we may be more inclined to choose that, but we are not compelled to choose that. The capacity to choose always remains with us; the extent of the choice, that may vary. For example, even if somebody is a compulsive alcoholic, he says, I can’t live without alcohol. But you know, even within alcohol, they may decide. Even if somebody says I can’t live without tea. Okay, but even within tea, you can take tea which is, you know, which is heavy tea or which is light tea. Somebody says I cannot live without sugar, I want to take sweets. But even with sweets, there are artificial sweeteners, there are natural sweeteners. Even when we talk about compulsion, even within the compulsion, there is choice. Based on how we choose, that compulsion increases or that compulsion decreases. The modes determine the scope of our choices, but the specific choice is not determined by the modes.

Now as far as the reactions to our past are concerned, yes, the reactions can come internally as the modes. That means the kind of modes that we have and the kind of behavioral pushings that we get, they are also reactions to our past karma, but along with that, the reactions to our past karma may also come as particular circumstances. For example, if I fall sick, then the ambit of my choice may be limited, you know, if I am so sick and if I have flu and I am weak, then I cannot go out of my room, but what I do inside my room is still free, it’s up to me. I can just sulk and feel sorry for myself or I can just shout and become gripey and shout at everyone who comes near me or I can try to become more introspective, I can read something. That choice is up to me. That’s why whatever reactions come to us by our past karma, again, they determine our external circumstances, they may also determine our internal inclinations, but they don’t determine our behavior per se. That is something which we still have the capacity to choose.

Everything is ultimately controlled by Krishna. But when we say everything is controlled by Krishna, that means that He “sanctions”, He does not “force” everything. Upadrasta anumanta ca: He is the overseer and the permitter. He is not the compeller of everything. This is most graphically seen when Krishna goes as a Shantidooth to Duryodhana. And here we see that God fails. If God is omnipotent, then how can He fail in persuading Duryodhana? This pastime is actually a testimony to God’s respect for human free will. Krishna rather than forcing Duryodhana to act in a particular way, Krishna appeals to the intelligence of Duryodhana, but Duryodhana doesn’t act according to his intelligence. So then, Krishna sanctions that. Sanctioning means not necessarily wanting a particular course of action, but allowing a particular course of action. Because we have been given free will, sometimes we may choose to act in ways which are undesirable. And sometimes, Krishna may allow that. Our free will is always there with us, but based on the ways in which we have used our free will in the past, the extent of the free will may vary.

If there is a horse which is tied to a pole, now some horses who are known to be very violent, they may be tied with very tight ropes and the ropes themselves may be very short. Some horses which are known to be friendly, they may be tied with a long rope, they are allowed to move around. Now all the ropes that are there, they control the horse. But within the circle, within the radius of that circle, the horses can do various things. Some horses can just strain and strain and strain and strain and they may just injure their legs or injure their necks by that straining. If there is some grass in that area, some food in that area, the others may eat that food over there.

To summarize it, whether it is God’s will or whether it is past karma, whether it is our modes, they determine the framework within which we have freedom, but they don’t take away our freedom. The framework of our freedom may be shaped by factors beyond our control, but our freedom, our capacity to choose is still there and when we make wise choices, the scope of our freedom increases.

End of transcription.

Srimad Vrndavan dasa Thakura’s mother’s name was Sri Narayani Devi.  Narayani Devi was the daughter of Srivas Thakura’s brother.  After the disappeareance of  Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srivas Thakura went to live in Kumar Hatta. Srivasa Thakura had three brothers: Sripati, Srirama and Srinidhi.

In his commentary on the Caitanya Bhagavata, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura: “At the ancestral home of Malini-devi  [the wife of Srivasa Thakura] Vrindavana dasa played as a small boy growing up.  There he was nourished and cared after just like a valuable gem.”

Vrindavana Dasa Thakura took birth four years after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa.  When Mahaprabhu had disappeared from this world and entered into his aprakrita-lila, Vrindavana Das was barely twenty years old.  

Soon thereafter, Vrindavan Das Thakura accepted initiation from Sri Nityananda Prabhu.  He is Nityananda’s eternal servant.  Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura went with  Sri Jahnava-devi to the great festival in Kheturi gram.  The poet Sri Krishna das Kaviraja Goswami writes of the endless glories of Vrindavan das Thakura:

“Krishna’s life was written in the Bhagavata of Vyasa. The Vedavyasa for Sri Caitanya was Vrindavana Dasa. Vrindavan das has called his book the “Caitanya Mangala”. Whoever hears his book no grave misfortunes shall befall. Who reads it knows the glories of Caitanya and Nitai.”

“Since such a wonderful book could not be written by a human being, it seems that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself has spoken it through the mouth of Srila Vrndavana Dasa Thakura. I offer millions of respectful obeisances to the lotus feet of Vrndavana Dasa Thakura. By compiling such a valuable book he has delivered everyone from the cycle of birth and death.” (Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 8.33-42)

At Mamagacchi in Modadrumadvipa (Navadvipa), Vrndavana Dasa Thakura establised Deities of Nitai-Gauranga and Sri Jagannatha. He lived there as a celibate and worshiped his beloved Deities. Vrndavana Dasa Thakura had many disciples including Gopinatha Brahmacari, a descendent of Sri Kesava Bharati.

 In Krishna’s pastimes Vrndavana Dasa Thakura is Srila Vyasadeva. His samadhi is in the 64 Samadhis Area of Vrindavana.

ICJ14_05_Krishna_Dharma_ISKCON’s_initiation_system_v4-1

The post A critique of ISKCON’s diksha guru system first appeared on Krishna Dharma.

Today is Srila Vrindavan dasa Thakura’s appearance day. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 11.55) states, “Srila Vyasadeva described the pastimes of Krsna in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Vrndavana dasa.” In his purport Srila Prabhupada elaborates: “Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura was an incarnation of Vedavyasa and also a friendly cowherd boy named Kusumapida in krsna-lila. In other words, the author of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura, the son of Srivasa Thakura’s niece Narayani, was a combined incarnation of Vedavyasa and the cowherd boy Kusumapida.” Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura was the last initiated disciple of Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 8.33–40, 42, 44) Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami glorifies Srila Vrindavan dasa Thakura and his book Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (then called Sri Caitanya-mangala): “O fools, just read Sri Caitanya-mangala! By reading this book you can understand all the glories of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thakura Vrndavana dasa has composed Sri Caitanya-mangala. Hearing this book annihilates all misfortune. By reading Sri Caitanya-mangala one can understand all the glories and truths of Lord Caitanya and Nityananda and come to the ultimate conclusion of devotional service to Lord Krsna. In Sri Caitanya-mangala [later known as Sri Caitanya-bhagavata] Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has given the conclusion and essence of devotional service by quoting the authoritative statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam. If even a great atheist hears Sri Caitanya-mangala, he immediately becomes a great devotee. The subject matter of this book is so sublime that it appears that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has personally spoken through the writings of Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura. I offer millions of obeisances unto the lotus feet of Vrndavana dasa Thakura. No one else could write such a wonderful book for the deliverance of all fallen souls. What a wonderful description he has given of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya! Anyone in the three worlds who hears it is purified. Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has written Sri Caitanya-mangala and therein described in all respects the pastimes of Lord Caitanya.”

In his purport to text 45 Srila Prabhupada writes, “Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura’s Sri Caitanya-bhagavata was originally entitled Sri Caitanya-mangala, but when Srila Locana dasa Thakura later wrote another book named Sri Caitanya-mangala, Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura changed the name of his own book, which is now therefore known as Sri Caitanya-bhagavata. The life of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very elaborately described in the Caitanya-bhagavata, and Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has already informed us that in his Sri Caitanya-caritamrta he has described whatever Vrndavana dasa Thakura has not mentioned. This acceptance of Sri Caitanya-bhagavata by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami indicates his acceptance of the disciplic succession. A writer of transcendental literature never tries to surpass the previous acaryas.”

And he writes in his purport to text 48, “The subject matter of this book is so sublime that it appears that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has personally spoken through the writings of Sri Vrndavana dasa Thakura”—Srila Prabhupada explains, “The secret in a devotee’s writing is that when he writes about the pastimes of the Lord, the Lord helps him; he does not write himself. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (10.10), dadami buddhi-yogam tam yena mam upayanti te. Since a devotee writes in service to the Lord, the Lord from within gives him so much intelligence that he sits down near the Lord and goes on writing books. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami confirms that what Vrndavana dasa Thakura wrote was actually spoken by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and that Vrndavana dasa simply repeated it.”

How blessed we are to receive knowledge of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through our glorious parampara—and to be engaged in their service.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Answer Podcast

Transcription

Question: Does the precision of astrological predictions imply that we don’t have free will?

Answer: They are very factual and very accurately determine certain things about our lives.

Our past karma does determine certain major landmarks in our lives.

Suppose I am going from here to Melbourne, and I board a flight to Melbourne. Once I board a flight to Melbourne, the trajectory is more or less fixed. I can see that I am here now; I came to Calcutta; now I am coming to Bangkok; now I am coming to Singapore. So, the trajectory is more or less fixed, and once I have boarded that flight, I can’t change the trajectory. 

At the same time, when the flight is going along its trajectory, I have some choices. It also may be determined, once I take a particular seat, who is going to sit beside me; that also may be fixed. Who is going to sit to my left, and who is going to sit to my right? That may also be fixed. 

But within what I do, I still have free will, and I can be in a very argumentative mood. I fight and quarrel next to me. Then, I may become abusive and attack somebody. As soon as I come out of the plane, I am under arrest. Or I find that the person sitting next to me is a very influential businessman. I come up with a business deal. I had a lot of prospects in front of me after I came out of the flight.

Once I am in the flight, a large pattern of my life is fixed, once I boarded the flight. Still, within that, I have substantial freedom.

When we start our life journey, we consider our body to be a plane; we have ascended the plane. The body is a plane journey from birth through youth, middle age, old age, and ultimately death. That trajectory is fixed.

That trajectory can be told, to some extent, through astrology. Things like, when you go on a plane, they can tell where you are going to go, where the plane is at this time, who is going to sit next to you here, who is ahead of you, and who is going to be behind. Those things are fixed, but what we are going to do is not fixed.

Sometimes we may say, I want to change my seat; I want to go from here. I sit somewhere else. Some amount of freedom is there. Astrology determines certain things in our lives.Those who are accredited astrologers may be able to tell us about these things. Still, it doesn’t mean everything is determined.

For example, if I am born in India, a large percentage of the people with whom I am going to associate are Indians. That is fixed by my birth in India. I may migrate to some other country, and then the people around me change. Even there, I may want to associate with Indians because that’s what I am familiar with. Then I may form a group, and I will have a large number of Indians with me. I may interact with some other people as well.

It’s not necessary that the predetermination of certain things or the capacity to predetermine certain things necessarily imply that nothing is in our hands. Everything is predetermined.

We have free will. One challenge in dealing with astrology is knowing in advance which factors are predicted to be right or wrong. We may not be able to know, based on how precise the astrologer is, how precise the kind of astrology is. How much initiative do we take in our own lives?

If we start practicing bhakti, astrologers also tell us that it is an important element that may change the astrological predictions to some extent. That’s why we don’t need to overdepend on astrology.

Astrology doesn’t mean that we don’t have free will. It means that certain things in our lives are determined, and certain things are malleable and choosable for us.

End of transcription.

Young devotees from the Jagannatha Gauranga Temple in Bali organized a camping trip at the beautiful lakes area, half way between Denpasar and Singaraja. The accommodation was comfortable cabin style and over one hundred youth and parents attended.

Kavicandra Maharaja and I were invited to give class and lead kirtan in the mornings and evenings. During the day the devotees took each others’ association and went out on canoes around the lake. Prasadam was wonderful and everyone had a great time.

Стимулы для экстатической любви, часть 79 – Чамара Youtube.com

Стимулы для экстатической любви, часть 80 – Чаша для ачамана – YouTube

What is the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds? In the spiritual world, everyone is serving Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And these lovers of Krishna are also serving one another. Even Krishna relishes serving His devotees. It cannot be fathomed. No one wants to get ahead, be the best, or […]

The post Vedic Culture Means Protection appeared first on ISKCON News.

Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930)—A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mrdanga. He gave me Radha-Krsna vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannatha ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father.”

As devotees, we try to encourage and facilitate our children’s Krishna consciousness, as Prabhupada’s father did with him—an effort that is solidified when our children find their eternal spiritual masters.

Later, Srila Prabhupada wrote one of his disciples, “You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. Relationship of father and son on spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationship is ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna consciousness. Your sincerity and service mood will always help you in advancing your genuine cause.”

We are indebted to all our fathers, biological and preceptorial. To those still with us, we wish you Happy Father’s Day. To those who have left us, we love you and miss you, and we shall try to act in such a way as will please you—and Krishna, the Supreme Father.

Hare Krishna.

The British yatra is brimming with fresh enthusiasm for book distribution. Among the Large Temples, the Bhaktivedanta Manor's 2,619 book points achieved the largest increase at 806%. London temple's 7,760 book points was #2 in large-temple increase at 194%, and the #1 Maha-Small Temple increase was Birmingham at 257%. Once the greatest power in the world materially, Britain is becoming great again spiritually. Similarly, Latin America, famous for its hot spots, boasts two temples on fire with book distribution. Among Medium Temples, Mexico City was #1 in increase with 5,805 book points at 436%, and among the Small Temples, Santiago, Chile was #1 in increase with 1,792 books points at 159%. Lastly, we offer a special shout-out to the Mayapur temple, which more than doubled its second-place competitor by earning a whopping 121,595 book points! Continue reading "WSN April 2024 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

Apara Ekadasi is observed on the 11th day of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight of the moon) in the Vedic month of Jyeshtha. It corresponds to the months of May-June in the Gregorian calendar. It is understood that by observing Apara Ekadasi vrata all the sins of the person will be washed away. This Ekadasi is also popular by the name of ‘Achla Ekadasi’ and gives divine and auspicious results. Like all ekadasis, the Apara Ekadasi is also dedicated to worshipping Lord Vishnu.

  NOTE: Apara Ekadasi is observed on June 2nd in US and June 3rd in India. Please refer to your local calendar through www.vaisnavacalendar.info.

  View, download and share the TOVP 2024 Calendar​.

The Glories of Apara Ekadasi

from the Brahmanda Purana

Sri Yudhishthira Maharaj said, “Oh Janardana, what is the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the month of Jyeshtha (May – June)? I wish to hear from You the glories of this sacred day of Hari. Please narrate everything to me”.

Lord Sri Krishna said, “Oh king, your inquiry is wonderful because the answer will benefit the whole human society. This Ekadasi is so sublime and meritorious that even the greatest sins can be erased by its purity.”

“Oh great saintly king, the name of this unlimitedly meritorious Ekadasi is Apara Ekadasi. Whoever fasts on this holy day becomes famous all over the universe. Even such sins as killing a brahmana, a cow, or an embryo; blasphemy; or having sex with another man’s wife are completely eradicated by observing Apara Ekadasi.

Oh King, people who bear false witness are most sinful. A person who falsely or sarcastically glorifies another; one who cheats while weighing something on a scale; one who fails to execute the duties of his varna or ashrama (an unqualified man’s posing as a brahmin, for example, or a person’s reciting the Vedas wrongly); one who invents his own scriptures; one who cheats others; one who is a charlatan astrologer, a cheating accountant, or a false Ayurvedic doctor.

All these are surely as bad as persons who bears false witness, and they are all destined for hellish punishments. But simply by observing Apara Ekadasi, all such sinners become completely free of their sinful reactions.

Warriors who fall from their kshatriya-dharma and flee the battlefield go to a ferocious hell. But, Oh Yudhishthira, even such a fallen kshatriya, if he observes fasting on the Apara Ekadasi, is freed of that great sinful reaction and goes to heaven. That disciple is the greatest sinner who, after receiving a proper spiritual education from his spiritual master, turns around and blasphemes him. Such a so-called disciple suffers unlimitedly. But even he, rascal though he be, if he simply observes Apara Ekadasi, can attain to the spiritual world.

Listen, Oh king, as I describe to you further glories of this amazing Ekadasi. The merit attained by one who performs all of the following acts of piety is equal to the merit achieved by one who observes Apara Ekadasi:

Bathing three times daily in Pushkara-kshetra during Kartika (October-November); bathing at Prayag in the month of Magh (January-February) when the sun is in the zodiac of Capricorn; rendering service to Lord Shiva at Varanasi (Benares) during Shiva-ratri; offering oblations to one’s forefathers at Gaya; bathing in the sacred Gautami River when Jupiter transits Leo (Simha); having darshan of Lord Shiva at Kedarnatha; seeing Lord Badrinath when the Sun transits the sign of Aquarius (Kumbha); and bathing at the time of a solar eclipse at Kurukshetra and giving cows, elephants, and gold there in charity.

All the merit one gets from performing these pious acts is gained by a person who observes the Apara Ekadasi fast. Also, the merit attained by one who donates a pregnant cow, along with gold and fertile land, is attained by one who fasts on this day. In other words, Apara Ekadasi is an axe that cuts down the fully matured forest full of trees of sinful deeds, it is a forest fire that burns sins as if they were kindling firewood, it is the sun blazing before one’s dark misdeeds, and it is a lion stalking the meek deer of impiety.

Therefore, Oh Yudhishthira, whoever truly fears his past and present sins must observe Apara Ekadasi very strictly. One who does not observe this fast must be born again in the material world, like one bubble among millions in a huge body of water, or like a small ant among all other species. Therefore one must faithfully observe the sacred Apara Ekadasi and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Trivikrama. One who does so is freed of all his sins and promoted to the abode of Lord Vishnu.

Oh Bharata, for the benefit of all humanity I have thus described to you the importance of the holy Apara Ekadasi. Anyone who hears or reads this description is certainly freed from all kinds of sins, oh best of saintly kings, Yudhishthira.

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Jyeshtha-krishna Ekadasi, or Apara Ekadasi, from the Brahmanda Purana.

It is on Apara Ekadashi that Lord Trivikrama (Vamana) took away the whole universe from Bali Maharaja with His gigantic steps and blessed him by placing His lotus foot on Bali’s head.

NOTES:

1. Pushkara-kshetra, in western India, is the only place on Earth where a bonafide temple of Lord Brahma is to be found.
2. The Vedas declare, narah budbuda samah: “The human form of life is like a bubble in water”.

In water, many bubbles form and then suddenly burst a few seconds later. Thus if a person does not utilize his rare human body to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, his life has no more value or permanence than a bubble in water. Therefore, as the Lord herein recommends, we should serve Him by fasting on Hari-vasara, or Ekadasi.

In this regard, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada writes in the Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 2:1:4 purport) :

“The great ocean of material nature is tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditions are something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self, wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living conditions, which are impossible in this material world.”

Credits: This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree

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Akshaya Tritiya marks the beginning of Chandan yatra, in which the Lord is smeared with sandalwood paste due to the scorching heat of the summer season. This Chandan yatra festival is celebrated over a period of 21 days in which the devotees make different arrangements to cool the Lord down to give Him relief from the intense heat.

Although the Lord is self sufficient and does not require anything, the devotees taking Krishna to be their life and soul and most beloved friend, cannot bear the thought of Him having to experience the burning sun of the summer. They always want Him to be pleased and hence they take care of Him with so much affection.

We shall discuss the conversation between Sri Ramananda Raya and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, ramananda-samvada, recorded in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Eight: “Talks Between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya.”

TEXT 1

sancarya ramabhidha-bhakta-meghe
  sva-bhakti-siddhanta-cayamrtani
gaurabdhir etair amuna vitirnais
  taj-jnatva-ratnalayatam prayati

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is known as Gauranga, is the ocean of all conclusive knowledge in devotional service. He empowered Sri Ramananda Raya, who may be likened to a cloud of devotional service. This cloud was filled with the water of all the conclusive purports of devotional service and was empowered by the ocean to spread this water over the sea of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Thus the ocean of Caitanya Mahaprabhu became filled with the jewels of the knowledge of pure devotional service.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

According to revealed scriptures, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, the origin of all knowledge—perfect knowledge. Here, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the ocean of knowledge of the conclusive purports of devotional service, is taking the part of a student and asking questions, and He has empowered Sri Ramananda Raya to give perfect answers. Thus, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is compared to an ocean and Ramananda Raya to a cloud that draws water from the ocean and then showers the water upon the ocean as rain.

 TEXT 243

anyonye mili’ dunhe nibhrte vasiya
prasnottara-gosthi kahe anandita hana

TRANSLATION

Thus they met time and time again, sitting in a secluded place and jubilantly discussing devotional service by the question-and-answer process.

TEXT 244

prabhu puche, ramananda karena uttara
ei mata sei ratre katha paraspara

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the questions, and Sri Ramananda Raya gave the answers. In this way they were engaged in discussion throughout the night.

TEXT 245

prabhu kahe,—“kon vidya vidya-madhye sara?”
raya kahe,—“krsna-bhakti vina vidya nahi ara”

TRANSLATION

On one occasion the Lord inquired, “Of all types of education, which is the most important?”
Ramananda Raya replied, “No education is important other than the transcendental devotional service of Krsna.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Texts 245 to 257 are all questions and answers between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya. In these exchanges there is an attempt to show the difference between material and spiritual existence. Education in Krsna consciousness is always transcendental and is the best of all forms of education. Material education aims at increasing the activities of material sense gratification. Beyond material sense gratification is another negative form of knowledge called brahma-vidya, or impersonal transcendental knowledge. But beyond that brahma-vidya, or knowledge of the impersonal Brahman, is knowledge of devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Visnu. This knowledge is higher. And still higher is devotional service to Lord Krsna, which is the topmost form of education. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.29.49), tat karma hari-tosam yat sa vidya tan-matir yaya: “Work meant for pleasing the Supreme Lord is the best, and education that enhances one’s Krsna consciousness is the best.”

Also, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.5.23–24):

sravanam kirtanam visnoh
  smaranam pada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam dasyam
  sakhyam atma-nivedanam

 iti pumsarpita visnau
  bhaktis cen nava-laksana
kriyeta bhagavaty addha
  tan manye ’dhitam uttamam

This is a statement given by Prahlada Maharaja in answer to a question raised by his father. Prahlada Maharaja said, “To hear or chant about Lord Visnu, to remember Him, to serve His lotus feet, to worship Him, to offer prayers to Him, to become His servant and His friend, to sacrifice everything for His service—all these are varieties of devotional service. One who is engaged in such activities is understood to be educated to the topmost perfection.”

COMMENT

This is the first in the series of questions and answers, and it seems appropriate in this environment of education, but as Srila Prabhupada says at the beginning of the purport, these questions and answers are meant to highlight the difference between the material and the spiritual. Material existence begins from the basic misconception that “I am the body and everything in relation to the body is mine.” More or less everyone is in this bodily concept of life. They identify with the body and are deeply attached to things related to the body. And because they identify with the body, they think the goal of life is to give pleasure to the senses of the body. Whatever they do is more or less for the sake of the body.

Srila Prabhupada gives the example that if you are performing a mathematical calculation and you make a mistake in the first step, then even if you perform all the other steps perfectly, you will likely stray further and further away from the actual answer or solution. If we begin from the mistaken premise that “I am the body,” even if everything else we do is perfect in terms of the body, because we made the most fundamental error in the very first step, we will end up further and further away from the actual goal.

The body itself is full of miseries. As soon as we accept a material body, we accept the miseries of birth, death, old age, disease (janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi), and so many others (tapa-traya). Everyone wants relief from these miseries, but as long as they are in the body—in the bodily concept of life—although they may adopt some measures that may give some temporary relief, ultimately they cannot escape the miseries of material existence, and often the remedies they accept are more troublesome than the troubles they are meant to address.

That is the basic situation in material life, but because of maya, people are not aware of their actual position. Maya has two potencies: one throws us down, and the other covers us. Because we are covered, we think we are happy, even though any sane or sober person can see that we are not, that we are always subjected to various types of miseries. But because of the covering potency of maya, we think we are happy. Of course, things are getting so bad that it is becoming harder and harder to maintain the illusion of happiness, but even then, if you ask, “How are you doing?” most people will say, “Fine.”

Srila Prabhupada gives the example of a patient in a hospital. The patient has suffered a severe trauma and has tubes attached all over his body; his arm is in a cast, his leg is in traction, and he has contraptions around him to counteract the suffering. But if you ask him how he is, he will say, “I’m okay; I’m doing good.”

That is our position, and when one becomes a little sober and actually realizes his or her position, he or she will try to make a solution, to get out of the material miseries, the bondage of material existence. He or she will inquire, as Sanatana Gosvami inquired of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, ke ami, kene amaya jare tapa-traya?—“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? How can I get relief?” That is the beginning of human intelligence. Until we make such inquiry, we are engaged just like animals—eating, sleeping, enjoying sense gratification, and arranging for shelter and defense. When one actually inquires, as Sanatana Gosvami did of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one is considered to be a human being.

In answer to the question “Who am I?” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu replied, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’: “The constitutional position of the living entity is to be an eternal servant of Krishna.” Krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’ means that we are servants of Krishna even after liberation.

Between the karmis, who work to earn money and spend it for gross and subtle enjoyment, and the bhaktas, who understand that they are eternal servants of Krishna and engage in devotional service—in between the karmis and the bhaktas are the jnanis. Because the jnanis recognize the miseries of material existence and want to escape them, they are more elevated than the karmis, but because they do not have knowledge of Krishna or of the living entity as the eternal servant of Krishna, their approach is negative. They think, “I am an individual and am suffering, so if I give up being an individual, I won’t have to suffer. I have desires and by pursuing them I suffer, so I will give up desire. I have thoughts and my thoughts lead to misery, so I will give up thinking. I have feeling and my feeling leads to misery, so I will give up feeling.” They want to negate their individual existence—no more feeling, no more thinking, no more desiring, no more working—and to merge and become one with God.

Ultimately, the principle is the same. The karmis want to become the chief (just like now there is so much competition to see who will become the president), and the jnanis, the impersonalists, also want to become the chief—by merging and becoming one with the Supreme. But the real solution is to become the servant of the Supreme (jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’). That is real knowledge. Therefore Sri Ramananda Raya says that other than knowledge of devotional service, which is the constitutional activity of the living entity, there is no real knowledge. The rest is illusion. And Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that material education makes one more and more foolish, because it is based on the body. To identify with the body is foolish, and mundane education, which reinforces the bodily concept of life and ultimately teaches one how to earn money and enjoy the body, makes one more foolish. The only real knowledge is knowledge of devotional service.

Before I met Srila Prabhupada and the devotees, I had been seeking. And when I met Prabhupada, I understood that he was the teacher for whom I was searching. And I surrendered to him. Without surrender, one cannot get knowledge. We see in the Bhagavad-gita that it was only after Arjuna surrendered that Krishna began to instruct him. Arjuna said,

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

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gita 2.7)

Krishna immediately assumed the position of teacher and chastised His disciple:

asocyan anvasocas tvam
  prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca
  nanusocanti panditah

“While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.” (Gita 2.11)

First is surrender. Without surrendering to an authority, a spiritual master, one cannot get transcendental knowledge.

tad viddhi pranipatena
  pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
  jnaninas tattva-darsinah

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” (Gita 4.34) Pranipatena means “by offering obeisances”—by surrendering.

So, I surrendered to Srila Prabhupada, and after serving in the Boston temple for some months, I got a letter from him: “I enclose a letter from your father, which will speak for itself. From this letter it appears that you are a good scholar with a good background in your education. So if you wish to make further progress in your educational career, that will be a nice asset for our Krishna consciousness movement.” He continued, “You have a taste for psychology and divinity studies, and this is very nice. Of course, our Krishna consciousness movement is on the line of divinity, and we have got so many books about the science of divinity.” Srila Prabhupada used the word divinity. Religious studies had not really begun or become very popular yet, but there were schools of divinity. Finally, he concluded, “I like the idea that you should make a thorough study of all theological schools, and in the future if you can explain our Krishna consciousness movement as the post-graduate presentation of all theological theses, it will be a great accomplishment.”

When I received the letter, I was unsure how to proceed. I did not want to go back to the university, but I knew that the order of the spiritual master was the first and highest consideration. Still, I wasn’t sure if Srila Prabhupada was giving me an order or just offering an option. I consulted my temple president, and he also couldn’t say. So, we concluded that I should write and ask Prabhupada directly. I wrote, “If you are instructing me to pursue my studies, then I will gladly do whatever you say, but if you are giving me the choice, then I would rather stay in the temple with the devotees and worship the Deities and go out for sankirtana.” A week later I heard back. “Yes,” Prabhupada wrote, “there is no need of any further education. . . . When Lord Chaitanya was discussing with Ramananda Raya who is the best-educated man, the answer was that a person who is Krishna conscious is the topmost educated man. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja stated before his father that one who has taken to Krishna consciousness is the best-educated man. I think therefore that in all circumstances you should steadfastly continue your Krishna conscious engagement, rather than joining any more universities.”

Now we shall proceed to the next question and answer.

TEXT 246

“kirti-gana-madhye jivera kon bada kirti?”
“krsna-bhakta baliya yanhara haya khyati”

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then asked Ramananda Raya, “Out of all glorious activities, which is the most glorious?”
Ramananda Raya replied, “That person who is reputed to be a devotee of Lord Krsna enjoys the utmost fame and glory.”

PURPORT

The greatest reputation a living being can have is to be a devotee of Krsna and to act in Krsna consciousness. In the material world everyone is trying to be famous by accumulating a large bank balance or material opulence. There is a steady competition among karmis attempting to advance in a wealthy society. The whole world is turning in accordance with that competitive mood. But this kind of name and fame is temporary, for it lasts only as long as the temporary material body exists.

COMMENT

It may not even last that long. For years, Bill Gates was reputed to be the richest person in the world, and then one year it was announced that the owner of Ikea was the richest. Then there was a whole confusion—was he or wasn’t he? After a few days, the statement was retracted: “Actually, much of his wealth is in the names of trusts; it is not his.” So, Bill Gates was back on top. Then there was a controversy over which was the tallest building in the world. For years it was the Sears Tower in Chicago. Then someone built one in Kuala Lumpur that, with its tower on top, was higher. In Chicago they continued to advertise the Sears Tower as the tallest building in the world, though, because they did not count the tower on the other building. And in Kuala Lumpur they advertised their building as the tallest in the world. There is always competition for reputation.

People want to be famous. Movies stars, sports heroes, rich people—all are famous. But the fame attached to being rich or glamorous lasts only as long as the body.

One of the founders of industry in the United States was Henry Ford, and he became one of the richest men in the world. Later, his great grandson Alfred Ford came to meet Srila Prabhupada. And the first thing Prabhupada said was, “So, you are the grandson of Henry Ford?” “Yes.” “And where is Henry Ford now?” Prabhupada’s statement immediately took the young man off the bodily platform. Yes, where is he now? That’s a good question. Is he an ant or a worm in stool? We don’t know where he is now.

At best, one’s fame will last only as long as one’s body. And then we don’t know where we will go or what we will be. We are under the stringent laws of material nature.

purusah prakrti-stho hi
  bhunkte prakrti-jan gunan
karanam guna-sango ’sya
  sad-asad-yoni-janmasu

“The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.” (Gita 13.22)

Srila Prabhupada remarked that people are worrying whether their children and grandchildren will have gas to drive their cars, but parents are not thinking that they may become cockroaches in the back seat of the car. The son may be driving a big car while the father is in the back in the body of a cockroach. The fame that is attached to the body is short-lived—very short-lived. At most it lasts as long as the body, and often not that long.

Therefore Ramananda Raya says that one who is reputed as a devotee enjoys the utmost fame.

PURPORT (continued)

One may become famous as a brahma-jnani, an impersonalist scholar, or one may become a materially opulent person. In either case, such reputations are inferior to the reputation of Krsna’s devotee. In the Garuda Purana it is said:

kalau bhagavatam nama
  durlabham naiva labhyate
brahma-rudra-padotkrstam
  guruna kathitam mama

“In this Age of Kali, the fame of one who is known as a great devotee is very rare. However, such a position is superior to that of the great demigods like Brahma and Mahadeva. This is the opinion of all spiritual masters.” . . .

The Garuda Purana similarly states:

brahmananam sahasrebhyah
  satra-yaji visisyate
satra-yaji-sahasrebhyah
  sarva-vedanta-paragah

 sarva-vedanta-vit-kotya
  visnu-bhakto visisyate
vaisnavanam sahasrebhya
  ekanty eko visisyate

“It is said that out of thousands of brahmanas, one is qualified to perform sacrifices, and out of many thousands of such qualified brahmanas expert in sacrificial offerings, one learned brahmana may have passed beyond all Vedic knowledge. He is considered the best among all these brahmanas. And yet, out of thousands of such brahmanas who have surpassed Vedic knowledge, one person may be a visnu-bhakta, and he is most famous. Out of many thousands of such Vaisnavas, one who is completely fixed in the service of Lord Krsna is most famous. Indeed, a person who is completely devoted to the service of the Lord certainly returns home, back to Godhead.”

COMMENT

Because we identify with the body, we identify ourselves as residents of the planet Earth. But actually, we are not the body. We are spirit souls, meant to get out of this material world and return to our real home with Krishna. But we identify with the body and consider the Earth—or the United States, or California, or Los Angeles, or this neighborhood or street—to be our home. And we worry what the people think of us. Sometimes we don’t want to be too open about being devotees, because we don’t know what people will think of us or how what they think might affect our material advancement or the congeniality of our social interactions. So, we are very careful about how we present ourselves, so that people think we are okay, that we are like them, not different.

But the total population of living entities is so much greater than the population in our neighborhood or city or state or country or even planet. There are living entities—people—everywhere. And most of them are in the spiritual world. The whole material creation is just one fourth (ekamsa) of the kingdom of God. This one fourth is the prison house. We are the prisoners, and we are desperately trying to impress the other prisoners so they will think that we are like them. “We are as criminal as you are. We are as ignorant as you are. Don’t think we are any different from you.” We want to fit into that society. We are not thinking of the real population, the liberated souls who are outside the prison, that they are the people whom we should really be trying to impress—not the criminals, the fools and rascals.

The fame of a devotee goes beyond this planet. Narottama dasa Thakura glorifies the spiritual master—that his fame is spread throughout the three worlds (ebe yasa ghusuk tri-bhuvana). That is real fame. It is not dependent on the body or on the recognition of ignorant fools. And it extends beyond the material world to the spiritual planets, to the Lord and the pure souls who live with Him. “But what about the famous people here?” one may question. “The political leaders and intellectual giants—what about them? They are famous.” The Bhagavatam says that people who are not God conscious are like bigger animals that are praised by smaller animals. Such a statement might sound harsh, but if you identify with the body, you are an animal.

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke
  sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih
yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij
  janesv abhijnesu sa eva go-kharah

“One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile, and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks the land of his birth is worshipable, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships, or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass.” (SB 10.84.13)

Srila Prabhupada used to say that if a dog is thinking, “I am a bulldog,” and if a man is thinking, “I am a British man,” what is the difference? Both are on the bodily platform. So, the famous people of this world, who are praised in this world, if they have no spiritual consciousness, are nothing more than bigger animals being praised by smaller animals.

sva-vid-varahostra-kharaih
  samstutah purusah pasuh
na yat-karna-pathopeto
  jatu nama gadagrajah

“Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels, and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Krsna, the deliverer from evils.” (SB 2.3.19)

And after all, what is the significance of an animal? The lion is the king of the jungle, and the other animals are afraid of him—“The lion! The lion!” But what does it amount to? It has no significance, being king of the animals in the jungle.

We want to be famous in human society, and actual human society means God-conscious human society. Without religion, without God consciousness, there is no difference between a man and an animal (dharmena hinah pasubhih samanah).

Now we come to the next question and answer.

TEXT 247

“sampattira madhye jivera kon sampatti gani?”
“radha-krsne prema yanra, sei bada dhani”

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Of the many capitalists who possess great riches, who is the topmost?”
Ramananda Raya replied, “He who is richest in love for Radha and Krsna is the greatest capitalist.”

PURPORT

Everyone in this material world is attempting to acquire riches to satisfy the senses. Actually no one cares for anything other than acquiring material possessions and maintaining them. The wealthy are generally accepted as the most important personalities in this material world, but when we compare a material man of wealth to one wealthy in devotional service to Radha and Krsna, the latter is found to be the greatest capitalist. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.39.2):

kim alabhyam bhagavati
  prasanne sri-niketane
tathapi tat-para rajan
  na hi vanchanti kincana

“What is difficult for the devotees of Lord Krsna, who is the shelter of the goddess of fortune? Although such devotees can obtain anything, O King, they do not desire anything.”

COMMENT

Sri Bilvamangala Thakura prays,

bhaktis tvayi sthiratara bhagavan yadi syad
  daivena nah phalati divya-kisora-murtih
muktih svayam mukulitanjali sevate ’sman
  dharmartha-kama-gatayah samaya-pratiksah

“If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think that liberation stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me—and all material conveniences of dharma [religiosity], artha [economic development], and kama [sense gratification] stand with her.” (Krsna-karnamrta 107)

By engaging in devotional service, devotees are offered every facility, including liberation. Yet they are so satisfied in devotional service that they do not desire anything else—only more service.

A devotee is satisfied in the service of the Lord, whereas materialists are never satisfied; they always want to increase their material acquisitions. Some decades ago, John Paul Getty was the richest man in the world. A newspaper reporter interviewed him: “You are the richest man in the world. You have everything you could possibly want. Can you give us your philosophy of life in one word?” He said, “Yes—‘More.’” He always wanted more. That means he never had enough. He was always in want.

“You have everything money can buy,” the reporter continued. “When you are alone—when there is no one around—what do you think about?” And he replied, “I think about how to pay the bills.” The same principle—the big animal and the small animals. The small man is thinking, “How to make the payment on the car? How to make the payment on the house?” and the big man is thinking, “How to make the payment on the multi-billion-dollar acquisition.” The consciousness is the same.

A devotee is satisfied in the service of the Lord, so he is the richest. He has what he wants, whereas others, who always want more, are poor, always in want. The devotee has the treasure of love for Radha and Krishna within his heart, whereas others look for treasures outside of themselves, treasures meager and mundane in comparison.

There is a story about Emperor Akbar. Although a Muslim, he was open to Hindus, and among the Hindus in his court was the great singer Tansen. Akbar thought, “Tansen sings so beautifully, but what about his teacher? I wish I could hear him sing.” Tansen’s teacher was Haridasa, a saintly person who lived in Vrindavan. But he sang only for Krishna; he wouldn’t sing for the king. So the king disguised himself as an ordinary person and accompanied Tansen to Haridasa’s hut. According to one version, when Akbar heard the beauty (both spiritual and material) of Haridasa’s voice, he was overwhelmed and removed a royal pendant that was concealed under his cloth and threw it on the floor in front of Haridasa. Witnessing this, Haridasa knew that Akbar was the emperor.

Akbar wanted to reward Haridasa. “I can never repay you for this,” he said, “yet I want to give you something—whatever you want, whatever is in my power to give.” Haridasa took him a short distance to the Yamuna River and asked him to repair the cracks in the steps of the ghat. The emperor replied, “I could give you anything you want, and you are asking me just to repair some cracks in the steps?” Haridasa said, “Put your face in the water and see what is there.” The emperor put his eyes in the water to look at the steps beneath the surface, but by Haridasa’s mercy he was able to see the actual feature of the Yamuna River and the spiritual Vrindavan. He saw that that ghat was made of cintamani stones, spiritual gems more precious than anything the king had ever seen.

When the king raised his head from the water, he looked at Haridasa and said, “With all the wealth in my treasury, I cannot do what you have asked.”

Our standard of wealth and riches in the material world is so poor. Once, when Srila Prabhupada visited Hong Kong, the devotees arranged to receive him at the airport with a Rolls Royce. At the press conference that followed his arrival, a reporter said, “You are supposed to be a spiritual person. Why are you riding in a Rolls Royce?” In response, Srila Prabhupada cited a verse from the Brahma-samhita (5.29):

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa-
  laksavrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam
laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
  govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, and always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.” Srila Prabhupada said, “I come from the spiritual world, where everything is made of cintamani gems, which are more precious than gold and diamonds. Even if my disciples had received me in a solid gold car, it would not have been good enough, but because that was the best they could do, I had to accept it.” After Srila Prabhupada related this story to me, he looked at me and remarked, “What else can you say to such people?”

Although what Prabhupada told the reporter was spoken in an ironic way, it illustrates the point that this world of death (martya-loka) is not opulent. Matter is all so gross—even gold, platinum, and diamonds. Diamonds are just coal, compressed coal. All matter is dead. It has no life, and it can never satisfy the soul. Therefore Srila Prabhupada wrote, “One who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord Krsna, in the course of his advancement in Krsna consciousness, no longer has a taste for dead, material things. . . . When one is actually Krsna conscious, he automatically loses his taste for pale things.” (Gita 2.59 purport)

Soon after I joined, I wrote Srila Prabhupada about the great gift that he had given us, the gift of Krishna consciousness. And in the same letter about the topmost educated man, he wrote, “I am so pleased to learn that you have taken Krishna consciousness as the most valuable gift. One who can understand this is not an ordinary living entity but is the most fortunate.”

TEXT 248

“duhkha-madhye kona duhkha haya gurutara?”
“krsna-bhakta-viraha vina duhkha nahi dekhi para”

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked, “Of all kinds of distress, what is the most painful?”
Sri Ramananda Raya replied, “Apart from separation from the devotee of Krsna, I know of no unbearable unhappiness.”

PURPORT

Concerning this, the Lord states in the Vedic literature:

mam anaradhya duhkhartah
  kutumbasakta-manasah
sat-sanga-rahito martyo
  vrddha-seva-paricyutah

“A person who does not worship Me, who is unduly attached to family, and who does not stick to devotional service must be considered a most unhappy person. Similarly, one who does not associate with Vaisnavas, or who does not render service to his superior, is also a most unhappy person.”

There is also the following statement in the Brhad-bhagavatamrta (1.5.44):

sva-jivanadhikam prarthyam
  sri-visnu-jana-sangatah
vicchedena ksanam catra
  na sukhamsam labhamahe

“Out of all kinds of desirable things experienced in the life of a living entity, association with the devotees of the Lord is the greatest. When we are separated from a devotee even for a moment, we cannot enjoy happiness.”

COMMENT

The real life of the living entity is devotional service—jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa.’ Devotional service can be executed in the association of devotees. Without the association of devotees, there is no happiness, because there is no chance to hear and chant about Krishna. Such a so-called life is worse than death. Therefore Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati prays, kaivalyam narakayate. Kaivalya, merging into the impersonal Brahman, is worse than hell, because at least in hell you can preach—chant and hear the glories of the Lord—whereas in impersonal Brahman there is no devotional service, and there is no happiness. It is worse than hell.

That is the vision of a devotee. His life is devotional service, and he needs the association of devotees; he is addicted to the association of devotees, and if he doesn’t have it, it becomes very painful. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Instead of thinking, ‘Unless I have a drink, I will go mad,’ one should think, ‘Unless I associate with a sadhu, I will go mad.’ When we can think in this way, we will become liberated.” (TLK 24)

Unfortunately, as the verse in the purport says, in the bodily concept of life one who is unduly attached to family is bound to suffer, because in the end family members are bound to be separated. Death will separate us from all our mundane attachments (mrtyuh sarva-haras caham), and even apart from death we may be separated by other circumstances. Therefore we should transfer our attachment to devotees, sadhus.

prasangam ajaram pasam
  atmanah kavayo viduh
sa eva sadhusu krto
  moksa-dvaram apavrtam

“Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation.” (SB 3.25.20)

The Lord said, “A person who does not worship Me, who is unduly attached to family, and who does not stick to devotional service must be considered a most unhappy person.” Without the association of devotees, one can neither take to devotional service nor continue in devotional service.

krsna-bhakti-janma-mula haya ‘sadhu-sanga’
krsna-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga

“The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.” (Cc Madhya 22.83)

Prahlada Maharaja was born in a family of demons, but because he had the association of Narada Muni while he was in the womb, he became a devotee. And he could not live without the association of devotees, so he preached to his demonic classmates and got them to chant and dance and become devotees. Sometimes Prabhupada’s followers go to a new place where there are no devotees, but they cannot stay there unless they make devotees. They just cannot live without devotees.

Today I received a phone call from a devotee in South Africa, Ajita Krishna dasi. She had been living in one of the South African townships, or ghettos, but it became too oppressive for her. She wanted to move to a community of devotees, but it didn’t work out. Then she met a very pious, very good, wealthy lady who owned a large estate in the Knysna forest, which the lady had developed as a resort with many chalets. The lady is originally from England, and as a youth, as she made her way by land and sea to South Africa, she was robbed in Kenya. In desperation, she went to a Catholic church for help, but she was turned away. Then, by chance, she happened upon the Hare Krishna temple in Nairobi and spent three months there. She got the association of devotees, and although she did not become a proper devotee herself, she came to harbor a dream that the chalet at the bottom of her property would one day be used as a Krishna temple. So, when she met Ajita she offered her a place to stay for free. And now Ajita has a perfect situation—all facilities, natural beauty, and no expenses. Wealthy people own and rent houses in Knysna to be near the beautiful beach and forest. But there is one problem: there are no devotees there. Ajita will have to make them—or meet them.

Even I have my own little story. In Mauritius we had a patron, Mr. Gowtum Teelok, who was actually a friend of Srila Prabhupada’s. His family owned sugar plantations, and they held important positions in the government. Mr. Teelok had a second house on the seaside, and he was always inviting me to come and spend time there. So finally I went, with one other devotee. Although it was on the ocean, with a garden with plants and flowers and palm trees, to me it was like a desert. There were no devotees or Deities, so it was dry, like being in a desert. So I stayed for a few hours and then shifted to the temple.

In general, we need the association of devotees, and in particular we may have special relationships with specific advanced devotees—our spiritual masters and perhaps some dear friends. And when we feel separation from some particular devotee, we feel acute pain. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was the most advanced devotee, one of the Six Gosvamis, but after Rupa Gosvami left this world, Raghunatha dasa felt so much separation that he wrote in a poem that Govardhana Hill, which he loved so much, had become like a python, and that Radha-kunda, which he loved as Srimati Radharani, had become like the gaping jaws of a tiger. There was no happiness for him, even in his beloved Govardhana Hill and Sri Radha-kunda.

Narottama dasa Thakura also lamented in separation from Lord Chaitanya and His associates. He wrote that, being unable to bear their separation, he would smash his head against the rock and enter into fire.

pasane kutibo matha anale pasibo
gauranga gunera nidhi kotha gele pabo

“I will smash my head against the rock and enter into the fire. Where will I find Lord Gauranga, the reservoir of all wonderful qualities?

se-saba sangira sange je koilo bilas
se-sanga na paiya kande narottama das

“Being unable to obtain the association of Lord Gauranga accompanied by all of these devotees in whose association He performed His pastimes, Narottama dasa simply weeps.” (Prarthana, Saparsada-bhagavad-viraha-janita-vilapa, “Lamentation Due to Separation from the Lord and His Associates,” 4–5)

Such separation cannot be compared to material separation. In time, material separation dulls and one gradually forgets. One may even absorb oneself in other things—another person or some pursuit—to replace or forget the lost loved one. But in devotional service separation is not like that. In devotional service our relationships are based not on the body but on the eternal relation between the soul and the Supreme Soul. The relationships are eternal and continue even after death. Thus Narottama dasa Thakura sings, cakhu-dan dilo yei, janme janme prabhu sei: “He who has opened my eyes with transcendental knowledge is my lord birth after birth.” And in service, that separation becomes blissful.

Once Srila Prabhupada established himself in America, he was with the devotees all the time. First he had only one center, in New York City, and there he was always with them. Then some devotees went and opened the second center, in San Francisco, and when Prabhupada went there, it was very hard for the New York devotees, because they were used to seeing him every day. And when Prabhupada went to India, it was even more difficult—for all of them. But he wrote to one disciple, “Please be happy in separation. I am separated from my guru maharaja since 1936, but I am always with him so long I work according to his direction. So we should all work together for satisfying Lord Krishna and in that way the feelings of separation will transform into transcendental bliss.”

This is the mystery of separation in Krishna consciousness. Although externally there is separation and lamentation, internally there is association and bliss. The real thing is the soul, and association on the spiritual platform is based on the soul—and the Supreme Soul—and is not limited by the body or time or space. What Ramananda Raya said is certainly true—the most intense pain is separation from a pure devotee—but at the same time, the pain of separation can serve as an impetus in one’s devotional service, and when one becomes more absorbed in devotional service, the feelings of separation transform into transcendental bliss. One experiences meeting even in separation. Thus Srila Prabhupada often said that although he had been separated from his guru maharaja for so many years, he did not feel that they were apart, because he was connected to his guru maharaja by service, by following his instructions: “I have written in the first publication of Srimad-Bhagavatam, ‘The spiritual master lives forever by his divine instruction and the disciple lives with him.’ Because I have always served my guru maharaja and followed his teachings, I am even now never separated from him. Sometimes maya may come and try to interfere, but we must not falter. We must always follow the chalked-out path laid down by the great acharyas, and in the end you will see.” (SP letter, November 25, 1973)

In general, we need the association of devotees to be happy. But among so many devotees, we may have a special relationship with a particular devotee, like Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had with Rupa Gosvami. Then even in the association of other devotees we may feel separation from that one particular devotee with whom we have that special relationship. But even that separation can be reconciled through service.

“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.” (Cc “Concluding Words)” Further, by following the instructions of the spiritual master and previous acharyas, we become eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. And in the end we all will meet in the spiritual world, in service to Krishna. As Srila Prabhupada said, “We will have another ISKCON in the spiritual sky.”

Sometimes, because we are still affected by the bodily concept of life, we don’t see each other from the purely spiritual point of view. We identify with the body and have material desires, and naturally we want our desires to be fulfilled by the people around us—who may be devotees. And when our desires are not fulfilled, we may find fault or complain about those devotees, or we may look outside the association of devotees for satisfaction. And our desires may be subtle. We may want affection, appreciation, friendship, fellowship. These are natural human wants. And when we expect these things from devotees and don’t get them, we may feel frustrated and may find fault and complain, and we may even look for society, friendship, and love elsewhere.

In pure devotional service we want only to serve and please Krishna—and His devotees. Although Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’—we are the eternal servants of Krishna—He stated further, gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah: “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna”—not directly the servant. That is our actual position. We are servants of the servants of Krishna. How, then, can we place demands on our masters? The other devotees are our prabhus, our masters. How can we place demands on them, even in subtle ways, for our own gratification? We are meant to be their servants, and in that mood our relationships become very congenial.

Once, when there was some disagreement among the devotees, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “What can we do to improve our relationships?” And Prabhupada replied, “If each devotee thinks, I am the servant of the servants, there will be no problem.” Unfortunately, to some extent we still have that conditioning that we want to be the master, and we want other devotees to serve us and give us what we want. But gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah; we are servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna. We should not place any demands on our masters—that is not pure devotional service.

After Nrsimhadeva killed Hiranyakasipu, He offered Prahlada, “You take any benediction you want.” And Prahlada replied, “I don’t want anything from You. By constitution You are my master, and by constitution I am Your servant. We have no other relationship. If I wanted something from You in exchange for my service, I would not be a servant; I would be a businessman. I do not want to do business with You, to take some reward from You in return for my service.” He said, “If a servant does service to get something in return, he is not a real servant, and if a master gives something in return in order to maintain his prestigious position as master, he is not a real master.” A real master doesn’t give anything except pure devotional service—more service. And a real servant doesn’t ask for anything except more service. That is the only exchange—nothing else.

Prahlada said to Nrsimhadeva, yas ta asisa asaste na sa bhrtyah sa vai vanik: “One who desires some material benefit in exchange for devotional service cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is no better than a merchant who wants profit in exchange for service.” (SB 7.10.4)

asasano na vai bhrtyah
  svaminy asisa atmanah
na svami bhrtyatah svamyam
  icchan yo rati casisah

“A servant who desires material profits from his master is certainly not a qualified servant or pure devotee. Similarly, a master who bestows benedictions upon his servant because of a desire to maintain a prestigious position as master is also not a pure master.

aham tv akamas tvad-bhaktas
  tvam ca svamy anapasrayah
nanyathehavayor artho
  raja-sevakayor iva

“O my Lord, I am Your unmotivated servant, and You are my eternal master. There is no need of our being anything other than master and servant. You are naturally my master, and I am naturally Your servant. We have no other relationship.” (SB 7.10.5–6)

In the mood of pure devotional service, our relationships are very congenial, with Krishna in the center. In the bodily concept, each one of us wants to be the center. I keep myself in the center—“I,” “me,” and “mine.” In the spiritual concept of pure devotional service, Krishna is the center and we all are His servants, but not direct servants—servants of the servants. When we serve in that mood of pure devotion, Krishna is pleased and His servants are pleased—everyone is pleased. And each of us automatically becomes happy and satisfied. We just have to keep Krishna in the center; then everything else will follow.

yatra yogesvarah krsno
  yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
  dhruva nitir matir mama

“Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion.” (Gita 18.78)

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Maha-sakti dasa: Going back to the earlier part of your lecture, about Prabhupada in the early days, his mission was to destroy impersonalism and voidism (nirvisesa sunyavadi). Back then, many of us were hippies and were into the idea of satiating our senses. And Prabhupada was talking about these impersonalists, who were trying to merge and refrain from desire. We were wondering, “Who is he talking about? Maybe they are in India, but in America we don’t have that experience.” In America back then everyone was into enjoying their senses and sense gratification, especially with free love. And that hasn’t changed much. In the New Age movement there is a big emphasis on not repressing your senses. “Engage your senses. Don’t restrain them, because that is artificial. Engage them, because that is the real path to understanding who you are and attaining happiness.”

I guess the question pertains to some degree to ourselves as devotees, because although there’s no ambiguity about the process, there may be a moment when we start to feel unhappy or unfulfilled—“Devotees are not giving me what I want.” So, how do we live a healthy, happy spiritual life without feeling “I am not getting what I want; I am feeling repressed,” with anger and so many things coming up in the mind—lust, anger, and different things? How do we grow as a society and attract new people, show that this is the right way of life and one can be happy at the same time?

Giriraj Swami: Do you have any ideas? I am sure you must have thought of it.

Maha-sakti dasa: I know that this is the right path. We may just need to learn how to relate to Vaishnavas more in the right way. In a sense, we are very new, and maybe we haven’t yet learned how to be a Vaishnava society. Rupa Gosvami talks about revealing one’s mind and that kind of thing, and I don’t think we are quite there yet, because if we were, maybe our mood would be a little more joyful. We would enjoy the service more than we actually do right now. So, maybe it is a matter of time—and continuing the preaching spirit. I don’t know.

In reality, we are not repressing our senses at all. We are really engaging our senses. With constant festivals, we are constantly glorifying devotees and different incarnations of Krishna, and we are always taking prasada. So, there is no question of repression. But still there is the problem that lies within, as you mentioned. There is the residual karma that seems to bother us, and that is the question—how devotees can deal with that within the society and not feel that they have to go outside in order to take care of that issue.

Giriraj Swami: I think of late 1969 or early ’70 in the Boston temple. Tamal Krishna Goswami had come for the first time. He was a legend from the West Coast, and Brahmananda Prabhu from New York, who was the legend on the East Coast, drove up to meet him. In the evening, after we had a little prasada—perhaps hot milk and puffed rice with peanuts—we were all standing in line to wash our plates in the sink, and Brahmananda Prabhu said to Tamal Krishna Goswami, “Everyone wants love, so if we just love each other, everyone will get what he wants and everyone will be happy.” It sounded logical and sensible—and true.

The only catch is that to really love someone, you have to be pure. Otherwise, what passes as love, as Srila Prabhupada said, is actually lust. For example, a boy tells a girl, “I love you,” and the girl tells the boy, “I love you,” but actually it is not love; it is lust. And if either partner does not get from the other what he or she wants, the relationship breaks. When we become more advanced, more pure in heart, we can actually serve with love. Love isn’t just a sentiment. It is a process that manifests in service. And to cleanse the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam), we have the chanting of the holy name—offenseless chanting of the holy name. That will cleanse the heart, and that will create the type of relationships that we want.

We want to create a culture of service, vaisnava-seva. Even before deep love develops, we can create a culture of service and follow Vaishnava etiquette. Proper etiquette guides our relationships and makes our interactions more congenial. In Vedic culture people’s roles are defined, as is the behavior appropriate to each role—how to relate to others. It was mentioned in the quotation in the purport that one who does not serve a superior is a most unhappy person. In essence, there are three different relationships—a subordinate to a superior, an equal to an equal, and a superior to a subordinate. A subordinate should sincerely serve a superior, the superior should affectionately guide the subordinate, and equals should be friends. And we should carefully avoid the contaminated forms of those relationships, in which the subordinate is envious of the superior; the superior exploits the subordinate; or the equals, instead of having genuine, open friendship, feel proud of themselves.

So, we want to develop a culture of selfless service and proper etiquette. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that there are different levels of conversion. The first level is spiritual or religious, but the cultural level may take longer. Devotees may quickly grasp the fundamental spiritual principles—“I am the eternal servant of Krishna”—but it may take longer to understand and adopt the culture of service. And it has become even more difficult now, because with so much influence from the West, the sublime culture that existed in India is rapidly deteriorating. And the Indians who come to the West become further influenced by Western ways. So, we do not see the Vedic or Vaishnava culture in practice as much as before.

We are in Kali-yuga, and it is getting worse. But we need that Vaishnava culture, and we need spiritual purity. The main thing is purity of heart, and that comes from the process of devotional service, especially from offenseless chanting and hearing about Krishna and serving Krishna’s devotees.

kaler dosa-nidhe rajann
  asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krsnasya
  mukta-sangah param vrajet

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (SB 12.3.51)

Maha-sakti dasa: And reading, too, is important. We have been reading today.

Giriraj Swami: Indeed. Reading, which comes in the category of hearing, teaches us who we are, who Krishna is, what the material world is, what the spiritual world is, and what our relationships are. It teaches us what the goal of life is and how to attain it. Reading is most important, and Srila Prabhupada advised that we should read for one or two hours every day.

We are in the age of Kali. Kali means “quarrel.” In the age of Kali people quarrel over the smallest thing. They make such a big thing out of a small thing.

Practically, I always feel that there are two things that can help devotees appreciate other devotees. The first is preaching. When you go out and meet people, you see the difference between the people you meet and the devotees, and you appreciate devotees more. Unfortunately, devotees don’t preach so much anymore. Most are grihasthas who live outside of temples, and not many are actively preaching. But if you go out and meet people and speak to them and see what kind of reactions you get, what kind of people you are dealing with, you come to appreciate devotees more.

The other way is to be separated from devotees for some time. You may end up in the beautiful Knysna forest without devotees. Then you appreciate devotees.

It is very important that we have good relationships. If we have strong sadhana—hearing and chanting—and loving relationships, we will grow and prosper. But if our relationships are poor and our sadhana is weak, we will tend to disintegrate.

Devotees are very nice. Sometimes we have to speak strongly to distinguish between the devotional creeper and the unwanted weeds, so we can grow and flourish. Otherwise, devotees are chanting, and they are serving. They are the best people in the world.

Hare Krishna.

[ A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Ramananda Raya’s Disappearance Day, June 1, 2008, Camarillo, California]

Five hundred years ago in the district of Puri, in the village of Bentapur adjacent to Brahmagiri Alalanatha, there lived a great devotee named Bhavananda Raya.

Bhavananda had five sons, the eldest of which was Ramananda. Descendants of this family-line are known as Choudhurya Pattanayaka. It is said that Lord Caitanya visited the birth-place of Ramananda in Alalanatha every year.

Ramananda was the Governor of East and West Godavari and a minister of King Prataparudra.
A great statesman of that period, Ramananda was also a poet and a scholar.

When Bhavananda met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord embraced him and said, “Formerly you appeared as Pandu, and your five sons appeared as the five Pandavas.”

The Gaura-ganodesa-dipika (120-124) states that Ramananda Raya was Arjuna in his past incarnation. He is also considered to have been an incarnation of the gopi Lalita, although in the opinion of others he was an incarnation of Visakha devi. He was a most confidential devotee of Lord Caitanya.

In Lord Caitanya’s final pastimes, both Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodara were always engaged in reciting suitable verses from Srimad Bhagavatam to pacify the Lord in His ecstatic feelings of separation from Krsna.

Sri Ramananda Raya left this world after the disappearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Statements by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda such as “within this universe there is only one sun” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 5.21.11 purport) and that “the stars that twinkle in the sky also reflect the light of the sun” (Bhagavad-gītā 10.21 purport) are, of course, challenging for the scientifically-minded. After all, modern astronomers say that […]

The post Is There Really “Only One Sun”? appeared first on ISKCON News.

Today is a very auspicious day, for many reasons. One reason is that today is Chandana-yatra. It is also Sri Madhavendra Puri’s appearance day. So, I thought to read about Sri Madhavendra Puri’s pure devotional service and how he brought candana for the Deity of Gopala and ultimately offered it to the Deity of Gopinatha, who is not different from Gopala.

jaya jaya sri caitanya jaya nityananda
jaya advaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

We read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 4, “Sri Madhavendra Puri’s Devotional Service”:

In his Amrita-pravaha-bhasya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives the following summary of the Fourth Chapter:

One night while in Govardhana, Madhavendra Puri dreamed that the Gopala Deity was within the forest. The next morning, he invited his neighborhood friends to accompany him to excavate the Deity from the jungle. He then established the Deity of Sri Gopalaji on top of Govardhana Hill with great pomp. Gopala was worshiped, and the Annakuta festival was observed. This festival was known everywhere, and many people from the neighboring villages came to join. One night the Gopala Deity again appeared to Madhavendra Puri in a dream and asked him to go to Jagannatha Puri to collect some sandalwood pulp and smear it on the body of the Deity. Having received this order, Madhavendra Puri immediately started for Orissa. Traveling through Bengal, he reached Remuna village and there received a pot of condensed milk (ksira) offered to the Deity of Gopinathaji. This pot of condensed milk was stolen by Gopinatha and delivered to Madhavendra Puri. Since then, the Gopinatha Deity has been known as Ksira-cora-gopinatha, the Deity who stole the pot of condensed milk. After reaching Jagannatha Puri, Madhavendra Puri received permission from the King to take one “mana” of sandalwood and eight ounces of camphor. Aided by two men, he brought these things to Remuna. Again he saw in a dream that Gopala at Govardhana Hill desired that very sandalwood to be turned into pulp mixed with camphor and smeared over the body of Gopinathaji. Understanding that that would satisfy the Gopala Deity at Govardhana, Madhavendra Puri executed the order and returned to Jagannatha Puri.

TEXT 1

yasmai datum corayan ksira-bhandam
  gopinathah ksira-corabhidho ’bhut
sri-gopalah pradurasid vasah san
  yat-premna tam madhavendram nato ’smi

 I offer my respectful obeisances unto Madhavendra Puri, who was given a pot of sweet rice stolen by Sri Gopinatha, celebrated thereafter as ksira-cora. Being pleased by Madhavendra Puri’s love, Sri Gopala, the Deity at Govardhana, appeared to the public vision.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Bhaktivinoda Thakura annotates that this Gopala Deity was originally installed by Vajra, the great-grandson of Krsna. Madhavendra Puri rediscovered Gopala and established Him on top of Govardhana Hill. This Gopala Deity is still situated at Nathadvara and is under the management of descendants of Vallabhacarya. The worship of the Deity is very luxurious, and one who goes there can purchase varieties of prasadam by paying a small price.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya gauracandra jaya nityananda
jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

 All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya!

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Now we will skip to Remuna, where Madhavendra Puri received the pot of condensed milk stolen by the Deity Gopinatha. Madhavendra Puri was afraid that when news of the event spread, everyone would want to see him and appreciate him. So he thought he should not remain there any longer but should leave immediately for Jagannatha Puri.

TEXT 143–146

cali’ cali’ aila puri sri-nilacala
jagannatha dekhi’ haila premete vihvala

Walking and walking, Madhavendra Puri finally reached Jagannatha Puri, which is also known as Nilacala. There he saw Lord Jagannatha and was overwhelmed with loving ecstasy.

When Madhavendra Puri was overwhelmed in the ecstasy of love of Godhead, he sometimes stood up and sometimes fell to the ground. Sometimes he laughed, danced and sang. In this way he enjoyed transcendental bliss by seeing the Jagannatha Deity.

When Madhavendra Puri came to Jagannatha Puri, people were aware of his transcendental reputation. Therefore crowds of people came and offered him all sorts of respect in devotion.

Even though one may not like it, reputation, as ordained by providence, comes to him. Indeed, one’s transcendental reputation is known throughout the entire world.

TEXT 147

pratisthara bhaye puri gela palana
krsna-preme pratistha cale sange gadana

Being afraid of his reputation [pratistha], Madhavendra Puri fled from Remuna. But the reputation brought by love of Godhead is so sublime that it goes along with the devotee, as if following him.

COMMENT

“Being afraid of his reputation [pratistha], Madhavendra Puri fled from Remuna. But the reputation brought by love of Godhead is so sublime that it goes along with the devotee, as if following him.” Actually, Canakya Pandit makes the same statement, which Srila Prabhupada sometimes quoted: “A rich man is famous only in his own place, but a learned man—a pure devotee—is famous all over the world.” Someone may be a rich man in India, but if he goes to America, he’s nobody. A rich man from America wouldn’t be a complete nobody in India, because the beggars would see that he’s a foreigner and this would give him importance. But a rich man is really known and served and worshipped only in his own place, whereas a learned man is known and served and worshipped throughout the world. Just like Srila Prabhupada: wherever he went, he was loved and served and worshipped.

Madhavendra Puri was a great devotee. When the Deity stole condensed milk for him in Remuna, he thought people would come and honor him, so to avoid them he went to Jagannatha Puri. But when he arrived in Puri, people knew that the great devotee Madhavendra Puri had come, so they came to honor him. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami states, “Being afraid of his reputation [pratistha], Madhavendra Puri fled from Remuna. But the reputation brought by love of Godhead is so sublime that it goes along with the devotee, as if following him.”

PURPORT

Almost all the conditioned souls within the material world are envious. Jealous people generally turn against one who automatically attains some reputation.  Consequently, when a devotee is fit to receive worldly reputation, he is envied by many people. This is quite natural. When a person, out of humility, does not desire fame, people generally think him quite humble and consequently give him all kinds of fame. Actually a Vaisnava does not hanker after fame or a great reputation. Madhavendra Puri, the king of Vaisnavas, bore his reputation, but he wanted to keep himself outside the vision of the general populace. He wanted to cover his real identity as a great devotee of the Lord, but when people saw him overwhelmed in ecstasy in love of Godhead, they naturally gave credit to him. Actually a first-class reputation is due Madhavendra Puri because he was a most confidential devotee of the Lord. Sometimes a sahajiya presents himself as being void of desires for reputation (pratistha) in order to become famous as a humble man. Such people cannot actually attain the platform of celebrated Vaisnavas.

COMMENT

Once when Srila Prabhupada was in Los Angeles, my parents came to visit. I was there, and so many people—old and young, male and female—were also there with Srila Prabhupada on his morning walk in a park, and he was dealing with each and every person in such a way that everyone was pleased, even though they were so different. For example, my mother was fifty-five or so years of age, but Srila Prabhupada told her, “Mrs. Teton, you look so young.” And she was very pleased. Everyone was pleased. At the end of the walk we came to where the cars were parked. Perhaps Karandhar Prabhu had arranged a Rolls Royce for Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada knew the heart of everyone, and even otherwise he might have seen my father glancing at the car. So, he and my father and some devotees were standing around the Rolls Royce, and Srila Prabhupada said to my father, “You should come and ride with me.” “No, no. I cannot.” “No, no, you should come and ride with me.” Then, very humbly and in a very shy way, Srila Prabhupada said, “Actually, my disciples got this for me.” My father immediately said, “No, no. You deserve it.” Afterwards, Srila Prabhupada’s servant Hari Sauri Prabhu commented to him, “Srila Prabhupada, everyone likes you so much.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, because I like everyone.”

TEXT 148

yadyapi udvega haila palaite mana
thakurera candana-sadhana ha-ila bandhana

Madhavendra Puri wanted to leave Jagannatha Puri because the people were honoring him as a great devotee; however, this threatened to hinder his collecting sandalwood for the Gopala Deity.

COMMENT

Madhavendra Puri came to Jagannatha Puri for service, but when he got there he found fame, which he did not like. So he wanted to run away from Puri to escape the reputation there. But if he had run away, he would not have been able to do his service to the Deity of Gopala. So he gave more importance to Gopala’s service than to his own likes or dislikes. This is the quality of a pure devotee. The pure devotee does whatever is favorable for the service of the master, even if it is not favorable for his own personal happiness. And, of course, in serving the master and giving happiness to the master, he enjoys the greatest happiness.

TEXT 149–151

Sri Madhavendra Puri told all the servants of Lord Jagannatha and all the great devotees there the story of the appearance of Sri Gopala.

When all the devotees at Jagannatha Puri heard that the Gopala Deity wanted sandalwood, in great pleasure they all endeavored to collect it.

Those who were acquainted with government officers met with them and begged for camphor and sandalwood, which they collected.

PURPORT

It appears that malayaja-candana (sandalwood) and camphor were used for the Jagannatha Deity. The camphor was used in His aratrika, and the sandalwood was used to smear His body. Both these items were under government control; therefore the devotees had to meet with the government officials. Informing them of all the details, they attained permission to take the sandalwood and camphor outside Jagannatha Puri.

TEXT 152

eka vipra, eka sevaka, candana vahite
puri-gosanira sange dila sambala-sahite

 One brahmana and one servant were given to Madhavendra Puri just to carry the sandalwood. He was also given the necessary traveling expenses.

COMMENT

Madhavendra Puri had no material assets. He would not even ask for food. He would just chant the holy name, and whatever food Krishna sent he would accept. He himself had nothing. But when the people of Puri saw his exalted devotional position, they automatically offered to collect candana and camphor, get permission from the government, and even give him money for expenses on the way.

TEXT 153–157

To get past the toll collectors along the way, Madhavendra Puri was supplied with the necessary release papers from government officers. The papers were placed in his hand.

In this way Madhavendra Puri started for Vrndavana with the burden of sandalwood, and after some days he again reached the village of Remuna and the Gopinatha temple there.

When Madhavendra Puri reached the temple of Gopinatha, he offered his respectful obeisances many times at the lotus feet of the Lord. In the ecstasy of love, he began to dance and sing without cessation.

When the priest of Gopinatha saw Madhavendra Puri again, he offered all respects to him and, giving him the sweet rice prasadam, made him eat.

Madhavendra Puri took rest that night in the temple, but toward the end of the night he had another dream.

TEXT 158

gopala asiya kahe,—suna he madhava
karpura-candana ami pailama saba

Madhavendra Puri dreamed that Gopala came before him and said, “O Madhavendra Puri, I have already received all the sandalwood and camphor.

TEXT 159

karpura-sahita ghasi’ e-saba candana
gopinathera ange nitya karaha lepana

“Now just grind all the sandalwood together with the camphor and then smear the pulp on the body of Gopinatha daily until it is finished.

TEXT 160

 gopinatha amara se eka-i anga haya
inhake candana dile habe mora tapa-ksaya

 “There is no difference between My body and Gopinatha’s body. They are one and the same. Therefore if you smear the sandalwood pulp on the body of Gopinatha, you will naturally also smear it on My body. Thus the temperature of My body will be reduced.”

PURPORT

Gopala was situated in Vrndavana, which was far from Remuna. In those days, one had to pass through provinces governed by the Mohammedans, who sometimes hindered travelers. Considering the trouble of His devotee, Lord Gopala, the greatest well-wisher of His devotees, ordered Madhavendra Puri to smear the sandalwood pulp on the body of Gopinatha, which was nondifferent from the body of Gopala. In this way the Lord relieved Madhavendra Puri from trouble and inconvenience.

COMMENT

The devotee always wants to serve the Lord—without any personal consideration. But the Lord also wants to help the devotee—and reciprocates. Madhavendra Puri was ready to carry the sandalwood and camphor all the way from Jagannatha Puri to Vrindavan—on foot, in the heat of summer—to please Gopala. And Gopala was pleased by Madhavendra Puri’s pure, devotional service attitude and felt compassion for him. He didn’t want him to take the trouble to carry the sandalwood all the way from Jagannatha Puri to Vrindavan by foot in the heat. So He appeared to Madhavendra Puri in a dream and told him to “smear the sandalwood pulp mixed with camphor on the Deity of Gopinatha, and because the Deity of Gopinatha and I are the same I will feel relieved.”

TEXT 161–168

dvidha na bhaviha, na kariha kichu mane
visvasa kari’ candana deha amara vacane

 “You should not hesitate to act according to My order. Believing in Me, just do what is needed.”

After giving these instructions, Gopala disappeared, and Madhavendra Puri awoke. He immediately called for all the servants of Gopinatha, and they came before him.

Madhavendra Puri said, “Smear the body of Gopinatha with this camphor and sandalwood I have brought for Gopala in Vrndavana. Do this regularly every day.

“If the sandalwood pulp is smeared over the body of Gopinatha, then Gopala will be cooled. After all, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely independent; His order is all-powerful.”

The servants of Gopinatha became very pleased to hear that in the summer all the sandalwood pulp would be used to anoint the body of Gopinatha.

Madhavendra Puri said, “These two assistants will regularly grind the sandalwood, and you should also get two other people to help. I shall pay their salary.”

In this way Gopinathaji was supplied ground sandalwood pulp daily. The servants of Gopinatha were very pleased with this.

In this way the sandalwood pulp was smeared over the body of Gopinatha until the whole stock was finished. Madhavendra Puri stayed there until that time.

TEXT 169

grisma-kala-ante punah nilacale gela
nilacale caturmasya anande rahila

 At the end of summer Madhavendra Puri returned to Jagannatha Puri, where he remained with great pleasure during the whole period of Caturmasya.

PURPORT

The Caturmasya period begins in the month of Asadha (June-July) from the day of Ekadasi called Sayana-ekadasi, in the fortnight of the waxing moon.

COMMENT

In Maharashtra many people go to Pandharpur to celebrate Asadhi-ekadasi, and they do kirtan on the way, chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, or Jaya Jaya Rama Krishna Hari. With great jubilation, they walk in dindi parties until they reach Pandharpur. Then they do parikrama, take darshan of Vitthala, and hear the ISKCON devotees chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. And if they are lucky enough, they will purchase some of Srila Prabhupada’s books and take some prasada.

PURPORT (concluded)

The Caturmasya period begins in the month of Asadha (June-July) from the day of Ekadasi called Sayana-ekadasi, in the fortnight of the waxing moon. The period ends in the month of Karttika (October-November) on the Ekadasi day known as Utthana-ekadasi in the fortnight of the waxing moon. This four-month period is known as Caturmasya. Some Vaisnavas also observe it from the full-moon day of Asadha until the full-moon day of Karttika. That is also a period of four months. This period, calculated by the lunar months, is called Caturmasya, but others also observe Caturmasya according to the solar month from Sravana to Karttika. The whole period, either lunar or solar, takes place during the rainy season. Caturmasya should be observed by all sections of the population. It does not matter whether one is a grhastha or a sannyasi. The observance is obligatory for all asramas. The real purpose behind the vow taken during these four months is to minimize the quantity of sense gratification. This is not very difficult. In the month of Sravana one should not eat spinach, in the month of Bhadra one should not eat yogurt, and in the month of Asvina one should not drink milk. One should not eat fish or other non-vegetarian food during the month of Karttika. A non-vegetarian diet means fish and meat. Similarly, masura dhal and urad dhal are also considered non-vegetarian. These two dhals contain a great amount of protein, and food rich in protein is considered non-vegetarian. On the whole, during the four-month period of Caturmasya, one should practice giving up all food intended for sense enjoyment.

COMMENT

The story we just read was spoken by Lord Chaitanya when He visited Remuna on the way from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri in Orissa. He told the story of Madhavendra Puri to all the devotees with Him, including Nityananda Prabhu.

Now we shall read a short summary of the glories of Madhavendra Puri and pray for his mercy to bless us with the tiniest fraction of his devotion to Krishna:

TEXT 170

sri-mukhe madhava-purira amrta-carita
bhakta-gane sunana prabhu kare asvadita

Thus Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally praised the nectarean characteristics of Madhavendra Puri, and while He related all this to the devotees, He personally relished it.

COMMENT

Devotees take pleasure in speaking and hearing the glories of other devotees. And Lord Chaitanya set the example. He personally relished remembering and discussing the glories of Madhavendra Puri.

TEXT 171

prabhu kahe,—nityananda, karaha vicara
puri-sama bhagyavan jagate nahi ara

 Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Nityananda Prabhu to judge whether there was anyone within the world as fortunate as Madhavendra Puri.

TEXT 172

dugdha-dana-chale krsna yanre dekha dila
tina-bare svapne asi’ yanre ajna kaila

 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Madhavendra Puri was so fortunate that Krsna personally appeared before him on the plea of delivering milk. Three times the Lord gave orders to Madhavendra Puri in dreams.”

COMMENT

What were the three orders the Lord gave Madhavendra Puri? First, at Govardhana, Gopala appeared in Madhavendra Puri’s dream and told him, “I’m hidden in the bushes; please take Me out and install Me on top of Govardhana Hill.”

The second time was also at Govardhana. The Deity appeared to Madhavendra Puri and told him, “I’m feeling very hot. Please bring sandalwood pulp to cool Me.”

And the third time was at Remuna, where Gopala appeared to Madhavendra Puri and told him, “The Deity of Gopinatha and I are the same, so you can smear the sandalwood on the body of Gopinatha and I will feel relieved.”

TEXT 173

yanra preme vasa hana prakata ha-ila
seva angikara kari’ jagata tarila

 “Being obliged because of the loving affairs of Madhavendra Puri, Lord Krsna Himself appeared as the Gopala Deity, and, accepting his service, He liberated the whole world.

COMMENT

In other words, the Deity of Gopala was so obliged by Madhavendra Puri’s service that He appeared to Madhavendra Puri just to accept it. And thus the Deity of Gopala delivered the whole world. Even now, an expansion of the Gopala Deity is here, and He is delivering the world.

TEXT 174

yanra lagi’ gopinatha ksira kaila curi
ataeva nama haila ‘ksira-cora’ kari’

 “On account of Madhavendra Puri, Lord Gopinatha stole the pot of sweet rice. Thus He became famous as Ksira-cora [the thief who stole the sweet rice].

COMMENT

Generally, stealing is considered bad. And definitely, stealing is bad. But here we see that the Deity stole. Is the Deity at fault? No. God is absolute, Krishna is absolute, so whatever He does is good. God is good, so whatever Krishna does is all-good, absolutely. Even in Vrindavan, Krishna used to steal butter and yogurt. Of course, the residents of Vrindavan did not think of Krishna as the Lord. They thought of Him as the son of Yasoda and Nanda. The elderly gopis complained to Mother Yasoda, “Your son comes to our houses and does mischief. Sometimes He steals butter and yogurt, and He feeds them to His friends and to monkeys. Sometimes He pinches the babies and makes them cry. Sometimes He passes urine on the floor. What kind of a boy is this? And what kind of a mother are you? You’re not controlling Him. He is becoming a nuisance, and He’ll be spoiled. You should control Him. Keep Him with you and don’t let Him go into other people’s houses and make trouble.”

 Mother Yasoda also did not think that Krishna was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. She thought, “He is my son, and I’m His mother, and if I don’t take care He will be spoiled.” So she took it very seriously and kept Krishna at home. But after some time the elderly gopis came and complained, “Krishna is not coming to our houses anymore. He’s not coming to tease our children or steal our butter, and we’re so unhappy.”

This is the absolute nature of Krishna: whatever He does is all pleasing to everyone. Even His stealing gives pleasure. If someone in the ashram steals something, we won’t feel pleasure. In fact, we will want to beat him with a stick and chase him out the door. Our stealing doesn’t give pleasure, because we are conditioned souls in the duality of material nature. So we should not steal. Even Rupa Gosvami has advised devotees to be straightforward in ordinary dealings and to act in the mode of goodness, in the way of brahmans, whose first quality is satyam, truthfulness. But Krishna is on the absolute platform. When He steals, people take pleasure and glorify Him as Makhana-cora, or Ksira-cora, because His stealing and our stealing are not on the same level. We should not imitate. People may think, “Krishna stole; I will also steal.” Whatever Krishna does is all-good, absolutely. But we in the material world who are trying to become devotees (and even those who actually are devotees) act according to religious principles. And according to religious principles, one should not steal, one should not lie, and so on.

We should follow—that is our duty. And Krishna’s duty is to give pleasure to His devotees by any means. And sometimes, to give pleasure to His devotees, He steals. But there is another lesson for us: we should not stock or hoard things. When Srila Prabhupada first had the devotees print BTG in large quantities in America, he said, “Don’t keep the magazines stocked. Distribute them. Otherwise, if you keep them stocked, Krishna may come and steal them, just like the gopis used to keep butter and yogurt and Krishna used to come and steal. So if you keep the transcendental literature stocked, Krishna may come and steal it.”

Krishna’s pastimes can be understood on many levels and in many ways, and we should be sure to understand them properly from Srila Prabhupada. Now Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains the reciprocation between Madhavendra Puri and Gopala.

TEXT 176

mleccha-dese karpura-candana anite janjala
puri duhkha pabe iha janiya gopala

“In the provinces of India governed by the Mohammedans, there was much inconvenience in traveling with sandalwood and camphor. Because of this, Madhavendra Puri might have gotten into trouble. This became known to the Gopala Deity.

TEXT 177

maha-daya-maya prabhu—bhakata-vatsala
candana pari’ bhakta-srama karila saphala

“The Lord is very merciful and attached to His devotees, so when Gopinatha was covered with sandalwood pulp, Madhavendra Puri’s labor became successful.”

TEXT 178

purira prema-parakastha karaha vicara
alaukika prema citte lage camatkara

 Caitanya Mahaprabhu placed the standard of Madhavendra Puri’s intense love before Nityananda Prabhu for judgment. “All his loving activities are uncommon,” Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. “Indeed, one is struck with wonder to hear of his activities.”

PURPORT

When the living entity feels spiritual separation from Krsna (krsna-viraha), he has achieved the prime success of life.

COMMENT

Here Srila Prabhupada is analyzing what is the actual wonder of Sri Madhavendra Puri’s devotional ecstasy.

PURPORT (continued)

When one becomes disinterested in material things, he is simply experiencing the other side of attraction for material things.

COMMENT

Attachment and aversion. In material life we feel attracted to material things. We want to possess them and enjoy them. And when we try to possess and enjoy them, we suffer. On a morning walk in Juhu, Srila Prabhupada spoke about money, and he said that getting money is a problem, keeping the money is a problem, and when you lose the money, that is also a problem. At every stage there is simply trouble. So, when someone has experienced all the troubles of material life, he may think, “Why shall I bother for all these things? Let me renounce. Let me leave.” But that is not bhakti. That is just the other side of attachment. “First I wanted to get it, and now I want to leave it. I wanted to get it to become happy, but when I actually got it I didn’t become happy. I had more trouble. So, let me leave it.” But the basic principle is one’s personal happiness. The karmi’s idea is to enjoy, but instead of enjoying he suffers. And the idea of the jnani, impersonalist, is that by trying to enjoy he suffered, so now he won’t try to enjoy anymore so he won’t have to suffer anymore. Then: zero. When he was a karmi he wanted plus—enjoyment—but instead of plus he got minus—suffering. Now he thinks, “I don’t want minus. Though I wanted plus, I got minus instead, so now I want zero, because at least zero is better than minus.”

So, both the karmis and jnanis are selfish. And:

bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami—sakali ‘asanta’
krsna-bhakta—niskama, ataeva ‘santa’

 “Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnanis desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful. Because a devotee of Lord Krsna is desireless, only he is peaceful.” (Cc Madhya 19.149)

Thus the real glory of Madhavendra Puri, as described by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu here, is not his renunciation, but rather his intense love for Krishna in the mood of separation.

PURPORT (continued)

When one becomes disinterested in material things, he is simply experiencing the other side of attraction for material things. However, feeling separation from Krsna and engaging in the service of the Lord to fulfill His mission constitute the best example of love of Krsna.

COMMENT

Someone might say that the devotee is crying in separation, suffering. But actually he is not suffering; he is enjoying transcendental ecstasy on the spiritual platform. Someone may see that the devotee is laboring—going to Jagannatha Puri, meeting the government officers, getting permits, getting the sandalwood and camphor, carrying everything with him by foot—and think, “Oh, he is laboring, he is suffering.” But he is not suffering. He is enjoying transcendental ecstasy on the spiritual platform, because the central point is Krishna.

PURPORT (concluded)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to point out this intense love of Krsna exhibited by Madhavendra Puri. All Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s devotees later followed in the footsteps of Madhavendra Puri, serving the Lord without personal considerations.

COMMENT

This is the standard of the followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who follow Sri Madhavendra Puri: they serve the Lord without any personal considerations.

TEXT 186

pragadha-premera ei svabhava-acara
nija-duhkha-vighnadira na kare vicara

 “This is the natural result of intense love of Godhead. The devotee does not consider personal inconveniences or impediments. In all circumstances he wants to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

It is natural for those who have developed intense love for Krsna not to care for personal inconvenience and impediments. Such devotees are simply determined to execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative, the spiritual master. In all circumstances, even amidst the greatest dangers, they undeviatingly carry on with the greatest determination. This definitely proves the intense love of the servitor.

COMMENT

Their love is shown by their being undeviating and unfaltering in serving the order of the spiritual master in the face of all difficulties—not by a show of tears.

PURPORT (continued)

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam, tat te ’nukampam su-samiksamanah: those who seriously desire to get free from the clutches of material existence, who have developed intense love for Krsna, are worthy candidates for going back home, back to Godhead. An intense lover of Krsna does not care for any number of material discomforts, scarcity, impediments or unhappiness. It is said that when one sees apparent unhappiness or distress in a perfect Vaisnava, it is not at all unhappiness for him; rather, it is transcendental bliss.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada’s disciple Jadurani was one of the first artists in ISKCON. Srila Prabhupada used to give her photos as subjects to paint. Once, she looked at one and commented, “Oh, Srila Prabhupada, you look so sad in this picture!” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “That was a moment of ecstasy.” Thus it is said that “when one sees apparent unhappiness or distress in a perfect Vaishnava, it is not at all unhappiness for him. Rather, it is transcendental bliss.”

Once, in New York, the devotees arranged a big program for Srila Prabhupada. Although they had very little money, they rented an expensive hall, but in the end hardly two or three people came. The devotees might have felt discouraged, but Srila Prabhupada said, “Don’t be discouraged. We have prepared a big feast to distribute to the guests, and if guests come, we will distribute the prasada and be happy, and if they don’t come we will eat the prasada and be happy. So in every case we are happy.”

PURPORT (concluded)

In the Siksastaka, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has also instructed, aslisya va pada-ratam. The intense lover of Krsna is never deviated from his service, despite all difficulties and impediments brought before him.

Sri Madhavendra Puri Prabhu ki jaya!
Sri Gopalaji ki jaya!
Sri Gopinathaji ki jaya
Sri Chandana-yatra ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A Talk by Giriraj Swami on Chandana-yatra and Madhavendra Puri’s appearance day, May 4, 1995, Chowpatty, Bombay]