19860216 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi-līlā 1.19

 The Following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on Feb 16^th 1986 in Atlanta Georgia. The class begins with a reading from Sri Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi Līlā chapter 1, text 19.

 

vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca

                       sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam

sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam Kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devam

sri-radha-Kṛṣṇa-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

 

 

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharaj:

To text 19 of the ādi-līlā chapter one. so, it's a very important verse glorifying the three deities of Vṛndāvan Madana-mohanam, Govinda and Gopīnāth. the understanding of these three deities properly gives one a deep realization of process of devotional service in the process of advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness back to or to our professional platform back to the level of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

the deity of Rādhā-Madana-mohana and the function of the dīkṣā-guru are similar. this is explained later by Śrīla prabhupāda that Śrīla Sanātana Goswami is the ideal spiritual master for he delivers one the shelter of the lotus feet of Madana-Mohana.

Even though one may be unable to travel on the field of Vṛndāvana due to forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme personality of Godhead, he can get an adequate opportunity to stay in Vṛndāvan and derive all spiritual benefits by the mercy of Sanātana goswami.

Śrī Govindajī acts exactly like the Śikṣā guru instructing spiritual master by teaching Arjuna bhagavad-gītā. he is the original receptor for he gives us an instruction an opportunity to serve Him. The initiating spiritual master is the personal manifestation of Śrīla Madana-Mohana vigraha whereas the instructing spiritual masters the personal representative Śrīla Govinda Deva vigraha. Both of these deities are worshipped at Vṛndāvana.

Śrīla Gopīnātha is the ultimate attraction and spiritual realization. So, first by taking initiation of the seed of devotional service is given and one is firmly established with the concept that I am not this body I am the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, Jīvera swarupa haya nithya Kṛṣṇa das.

Then the next stage is to follow is take instruction from the guru which is the guru's function as Śikṣā guru and then one follows these instructions of the spiritual master by following the instructions and serving the order of the spiritual master then one achieves the next stage which is a transcendental appreciation as one becomes purified then one becomes more and more attracted by Kṛṣṇa and then the ultimate attraction in the form of Rādhā Gopīnāth is there.

So, the objective of either of taking shelter of diksha guru and the following instructions Prabhupāda said that for my disciples I am both the diksha and Śikṣā guru.

You see sometimes it would be that in India person would take diksha and then the diksha guru may assign him to go to someone else and accept him as Śikṣā guru. This was very prevalent although sometimes the diksha guru and Śikṣā guru are one in the same. There also many examples of that some of the disciples of the goswami's they personally would stay take instruction from their dīkṣā-guru as well in some cases they would attend so if they're different or the same accordingly instruction is there. Sometimes the first it might take action when there are twelve years old in the spiritual master may not be present later one may accept someone seeing him as a transparent medium as they take Śikṣā  guru examples like that also there.

But in ISKCON generally speaking at least for my disciples I also consider myself to be their diksha and Śikṣā  guru for my disciples charity asked me to give guidance to his disciples giving guidance and being Śikṣā guru, Śikṣā  guru no one can just say I am your Śikṣā  guru and of course there are two kinds of Śikṣā  guru one kind anyone who gives instruction as Śikṣā guru and then Śikṣā  guru in the others than one whose words are not different from the diksha guru who is actually the full representative of Kṛṣṇa and his instructions are to be taken as not different from Kṛṣṇa's so that type of Śikṣā  guru has to be on the level of the dīkṣā guru or more has to be on the same spiritual absolute platform has to be speaking from the absolute platform. It's not that anyone who gives relevant instructions it also Śikṣā that there's two kinds of Śikṣā guru mentioned in the scripture those who give relevant instruction and those who are directly representing the supreme personality of Godhead.

So of course, we respect anyone who gives us the relevant instruction but someone who is directly representing the supreme personality of Godhead gets special respect from the disciples in any case first platform is to get out of the material attachment.

Sometimes we find that the strategy of process is that people try to immediately jump ahead.

In India there are many well that you know in the in Bengal especially there are so many different groups of sahajiyās which have come yesterday we are discussing Bhakti Vinod Thakur appearance day how the different kind of upper sampradāyas have appeared even the Bhāgavatam mentioned that there's upadharma, adharma, upadharma, para dharma is the different kinds of dharma which are all a little bit off.

Upadharma or apa dharma apa sampradāya means that some similarity is there but they added their own speculation and it's been changed. adharma is blatant irreligion so there different types apa sampradāya means that they're claiming to be connected with the sampradāya but actually they're off they're not following strictly.

Of course, that everybody is calling everyone else apa sampradāya who is the real sampradāya? That's the point of discussion.

So therefore, everything else ultimately come back to the scripture.

What did Lord Caitanya say?

What did the previous acharya say?

So, in our line we strictly follow these teachings of Chaitanya caritāmṛta. We don't try deviate from these teachings at all. There are other groups to say that these teachings that are less necessary at all but one shouldn't be too much involved in all this study of Scripture that one's entire sentiment and feeling is more important but if you feel devotion if you feel you know very much in love of Kṛṣṇa that's the more important thing you regardless of what the scriptures say.

So they learn how to imitate that feeling so they even convinced themselves I'm feeling love for Kṛṣṇa and they do all nonsense so they may have deities sevā where they offer bidis, bidis are hand rolled cigarettes and they do their sevā after chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and they are made so many things which are totally speculative and completely unauthorized by the śāstra. So eventually they become exposed that if you are attachment is there for Kṛṣṇa then why you are attached to smoking bidis and cigarettes and things like that.

So that's why Bhakti siddhānta saraswati Thakur he stressed that rather than be someone who this puts on a show of being an advanced devotee and actually not doing any devotional service better to be a sincere person and admit that you are fallen and try to get purified then be a hypocritical sādhu who's actually there for not getting purified actually Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur very strict standard we saw one of the letters that he wrote put on the bulletin board for his asram and he was the first sādhu to get a motor-car. In fact, he had no car before anyone but he was using it for preaching at that time he saw that some of the Swami's are taking the car out to go and get some medicine from the doctor and driving back parading in the car. She became very upset that these people are coming from the village and becoming devotees becoming big sādhus I bought the car and should only be used for preaching but they're going out and buying medicine.

So, he wrote he wrote an instruction the door the car cannot be used for anything but preaching if you want to get medicine to walk walk to the drugstore. Don't use the car. The car was a very big preaching asset he didn't wanted to be just that misused and then he went on to say that purpose of coming and living in Kṛṣṇa's temple is to completely dedicate yourself to service. Everyone should be occupied with devotional practical accountable service. He didn't say practical account this they'd be occupied with devotional service from morning to night. So, if you don't one of the devotional services then better to go back home and live with your family and practice devotional service in your house.

Of course, at least in India you can practice some amount of devotional service in your house sometime at least in some homes at least at that time it was somewhat possible.

Of course, in this Western world you go back to your parents houses in most cases it's very rare we can practice any kind of devotional service so of course it's much more drastic.

But Prabhupāda he also was challenged many times I remember one time a girl said “why do we have to were always engaged in devotional service”?

Why can't we just I mean all this service?

Why can't we just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa?

I want to just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa

Then Prabhupāda laughed you want to just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa he said all right then you go to Māyāpur or Vṛndāvan and you stay there you don't have to do any service you chant 64 rounds in a day or more Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra you eat once today one time a day for those who don't do service they don't need to eat more because if they eat more, they'll sleep. You should eat once a day and you should sleep four hours in a day go to chant and get up early in the morning you chant whole day and night.

If you do that then it's alright otherwise, you'll eat your sleep you chant few hours what is the use?

Did you sitting there chanting and then Prabhupāda showed with his head you fall asleep. Therefore, I giving is so much service if you don't do service you fall in māyā. You won't think of Kṛṣṇa.

But Prabhupāda told if anybody wants to simply not do service then they should go to Māyāpur. They can come there we'll give them one meal a day rice chapatis dāl sabji whatever one meal a day they can eat they can sit there and chant. I can't speak for Vṛndāvan but they should also allow the same that’s Prabhupāda instruction if anybody and it's constantly wants to chant, they can go and live in the Holy Dham simply chant no one will mind once day he states we are twenty-four hours kīrtan in Māyāpur. We need people to chant there twenty-four hours a day someone stays there the whole day chanting will be very happy.

Otherwise for the rest of the center's the other 298 out of the 300 centers Prbahupada wanted everyone should be engaged in active devotional service. That was the standard of Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswati Thakur wanted.

He didn't want people to he said if you're living off of Kṛṣṇa you're not doing service you're doing yourself a disservice we come to the temple what are we offering to Kṛṣṇa it's alright and very beginning at first in the neophyte someone or even they'll find that the neophytes are more enthusiastic sometimes to do any kind of service.

But it's actually the other thing. When Lord Caitanya did the Guṇḍicā mārjana He was the most enthusiastic when they had competition who can clean more dirt Lord Chaitanya cleaned more dirt than any other devotee.

Śrīla Prabhupāda told us India he should be the leader and the temple who can collect more money and can do more service that should be the criteria and any sphere his whole point in his college they said I am competing with my god brother but I came here I begged them please let us work together give me a place to bring my disciple will work together I'll back you up nobody gave us so much as a pin of land or pin up a facility to move in and there was like the perp for he's a nobody he didn't even get it instead we asked didn't give us any opportunity.

So therefore, we have to get our own land we have to get our own place then he said this is the competition that I am saying this is the way of serving Bhakti Siddhānta, Bhakti Vinod thakur to engage fully in devotional service and propagating the message of Chaitanya mahāprabhu and cooperating together totally this is the way that is Śrīla Prabhupāda philosophy and specific contribution and he said that if you help me will show this is the proper way.

There he said that there's a competition I want to show this is the way of doing this is what Bhakti Siddhānta wanted and I'm going to prove it because we're going to get the mercy of Bhakti Siddhānta and will be successful and he was.

So now people are turning around in India and they're saying yes Bhaktivedanta swami prabhupāda had the right idea and therefore he's successful.

He said “Let my actions speak louder than where everyone can say I got the right idea”. But then all I didn't you implement it because I carried out Bhakti Siddhānta’s order therefore this movement spread all over the world it's not my pride it's simply that this the order award of Bhakti siddhānta.

If we follow the order of the previous Ācārya we will be successful no credit to me credit is to them their credit only that I'm carrying out their order.

People ask again and again Śrīla Parabhupada what is your secret of success?

He said “My success I simply tried to carry out the order of my spiritual master”. 

And Śrīla prabhupāda in his Bhāgavatam purports that the only purpose of a disciple living actually of a disciple when the spiritual master leaves, he should simply die of separation from feeling the absence of the Guru.

How can you live without the only reason for living is because he's given some instruction to carry out his order? Otherwise, if we can't do the service to the spiritual or what is they use the remaining in this world of course Prabhupāda didn't want anyone to commit suicide but he wanted them to do was take their devotional service very seriously.

I remember one time I was telling darshan fan of Śrīla Prabhupāda in Māyāpur he was just chanting meeting different devotees on the way left he was their Lord in the room. Suddenly he became very serious and he started then he started to smile he said today Mahānandā west African devotee named such-and-such devotee has become very serious about his devotional service.

Today it's like a momentous occasion the devotee has become serious now I become very determined I'm going to engage in my devotional service.

We go on in our devotional service mechanically posting somehow just let's not mental platform for them somewhere along there like something happens just like Kṛṣṇa like a little light light up and we realize that unless we surrender to guru previous guru Kṛṣṇa lets me become completely serious we're not going to go anywhere somehow it just hits us that we have to when we come serious then the devotional service really starts today. Otherwise, you were saying is like Coast it's like you got a car it's an idols engine running but it you're not going you're not accelerating you have to put everyone have it has to put the gas on then we accelerate the gas means to become very serious about our devotional service.

So, what makes this not serious as we are thinking about sense gratification, we're thinking about our body we're thinking about our mind to think about other people are thinking or thinking about everything but what is going to please guru and Kṛṣṇa?

So Madana-mohana are so merciful that even touched laying people who are not able to focus their mind on guru and Kṛṣṇa they are so merciful that they attract us to their devotional service.

Kṛṣṇa is so kind he comes down into the material world simply to attract us even the Kṛṣṇa is so kind he comes like there but Lord Chaitanya he's even more merciful he comes in point look at there is Kṛṣṇa see how attractive he is.

See how wonderful Kṛṣṇa is! Because we're so blind we don't even look it's like the owl is that there's no Sun everywhere you think you can see Kṛṣṇa's manifestation you can see how he's acting but still we say there's no God this is ignorance.

Lord Chaitanya come jīv jāgo, jīv jāgo, gauracānda bole, kota nidrā jāo māyā-piśācīra kole. So wake up wake up sleeping how long you going to sleeping on the lap of the witch Māyā wake up I've come here to engage you in the service of [Not Clear – 00:20:21] that I've come here bhajiva to engage you in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa why? Because bhuliya because you've forgotten how to serve Kṛṣṇa bhuliya, bhuliya mean you forgot and where you rohila avidyā, rohila tumi you are in ignorance you are in ignorance therefore I come to remind you to wake you up and engage you in serving Kṛṣṇa.

Here at new Pani hatti Jagannātha is so kind He goes out on His ratha-yātrā car to just engage the people in His service. Actually, Jagannātha is the first deity that Prabhupāda was worshipped in New York so it's our primary deity first deity to give ISKCON his mercy. I also was very fortunate in Montreal the first deity I had been given the service of was the Jagannātha deity in Montreal in ISKCON first Jagannath came then Prabhupāda brought Nitāi Gaura then finally he brought Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So we have this name order the order that Prabhupāda introduced us to deity worship actually first we understand Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is the supreme but we need the most merciful form of Kṛṣṇa because without Kṛṣṇa's mercy at this stage being in the Kali Yuga is very difficult but then we are everyone stays the devotees of Kṛṣṇa but to really go deep into devotion to Kṛṣṇa you need the mercy of Kṛṣṇa's most merciful form that's Caitanya mahāprabhu and by Lord Caitanya mercy then one can develop love spontaneous love which qualifies one to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

So it's not very interesting points here in this report one of the points said here pango in first to one who cannot move independently by his own strength and Mandhamate is one who is less intelligent because he's too absorbed in materialistic activities it is best for such persons not to aspire for success and furtive activities or mental speculations but instead simply to surrender to the supreme personality of Godhead, a pango someone who cannot move independently by his own strength and one who's less intelligent here's all the materialistic activities actually how can someone be successful if their apango or mandhmate.

Normally the materialistic people they simply just inspire more and more for different materialistic successes but here a different for different the angle has been given best for such people for so hopeless the crippled the less intelligent those who artists are suffering in the material world better for them not to aspire for our success for frutive activity because what success can may have when they are pango and mandhamate better they simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Just like one-time Prabhupāda was joking with one swamy someone was saying that though he was very renounced he said no who would have him?

Who would marry him anyway that's why he took sanyas because joking with this sanyasi? That in this material world someone who is very proud they all they always feel very confident self-confident that they will all be able to enjoy I'm very important very expert really intelligent so on well somebody was little frustrated for them it's easier to engage in spiritual life.

Actually everybody is the pango everybody is crippled although some are proud it is nobody can move independently by their own strength we're not able to move by our own strength people are proud just like there's not a big athletes and runners but sometimes just one little leg of mint or ligament or tendon or something goes and they become disabled actually they are simply running under previous karma this body one little thing goes wrong everything is finished we're not independent you may think we're independent actually we're depending only on the mercy of Kṛṣṇa so what when we're totally dependent at any moment something can go haywire something and go up the better for us to engage in devotional service.

Similarly, those who are less intelligent those are absorbed in the materialistic activity they always get cheated by māyā up they get misled by māyā they try to do so they make a plan how to enjoy how to be happy and it always in the end turns sour never works out as planned. We have various clichés best male I made plans to men and mice so on so we have so many clichés but end result doesn't work out as planned.

A big president previous president in the United States he makes the plan to save the hostages in Iran with millions and billions of the whole country behind they send over the helicopters they all break down. Big failure millions of dollar helicopter deserted in the Iranian desert whole thing a flop big embarrassing big big plan put the whole nation watching on television first time civilian teacher going in the Space Shuttle they're all watching two devotees two devotees to do sankirtan that time in Florida they were driving they may I think bhakti (In audible: 26.27) Swami told me he was driving to see something and they just happened to see some smoke they went looking and they saw this this rocket go up it's how much maybe that's the space others didn't know they were watching and they stock blow up with their own eyes so must maybe the station was not supposed to do that (Laughing) we all think we know we've made it now we have it we're we're infallible we don't have fallible Centre where we've got it all worked out you see

All these things they haven't Russia maybe having tongue-in-cheek well we at least we're together you see we don't let anybody know what happens here even if we have a feel you normally can find out.

So three four days after the all the countries in Europe are getting heavy heavy radioactive we reports what's going on there you fallout is coming then they start asked looking around where is it coming from they may find this coming from (In audible: 27.31) but Russia's that never tells anybody when anything goes wrong so they didn't tell anybody but they were afraid me what's going whole countries are becoming contaminated their cows and meat are all becoming radioactive the mellow stir then they're finally Russia has to admit that we have a big nuclear accident.

So the point is that no one is able to move independently by his own strength they may say there's no God they may say so many things but they're not able to vote properly perfectly independently on their own strength. So therefore, what is the real best thing they should do they should depend on Madan mohan. They should surrender to Kṛṣṇa instead simply to surrender to the supreme personality of Godhead the perfection of life is simply to surrender to the supreme.

In the beginning of our spiritual life, we must therefore worship Madana-mohana so that He may attract us and nullify our attachment for material sense gratification. Just like booster rocket Madan-mahana, Govinda Gopīnāth person takes shelter of Caitanya Mahāprabhu engaged in devotional service Madana-mohana give their mercy to get us completely fixed up in devotional service.

So Sanātana Goswami he was very merciful he gave us different rules and regulations how to practice devotional service so that we can't guide our mind guide our consciousness out of the material attachment.

Just like they have think something so they're like if you want to heat up iron you have to keep the iron in the fire you take something to take the iron out of the fire it starts to cool down one of advanced in devotional service we have to keep the iron inside the fire. If somebody is able through various maneuvers to take all pressure off himself of devotional service he simply enabled himself to be in Māyā

Remember Tamal Kṛṣṇa Goswami when he was the president GBC, BBT trustee everything in Bombay he went to Śrīla Prabhupāda he was frantic he said that Śrīla Prabhupāda from morning tonight in the GBC the president the BBT that constructionist is so I don't have any time from morning to night it's complete being moment there's no free time.

Prabhupāda said very good this can keep you out of Māyā it's very good this is what we want. No free time! Not a moment to spare we should have such intense pressure on us pressure coming if we're not able to have the pressure come from within then better we have pressure come from without when a devotee reaches rāgānugā bhakti that means that if he says I know for a moment he starts getting agitated where is the service I have to do something for Kṛṣṇa and my guru that is what is known as spontaneous devotion if the devotee for a few minutes if he doesn't have devotional service if he doesn't hear topics the Kṛṣṇa starts to get anxious strategy what's going on ?

I just I feeling uncomfortable he starts losing that atmosphere of devotion he feels that are like a fish out of water and before that vidhi marg means that our inclination is to be in a māyā.

Therefore we need very strict rules and our pressure of rules regulations service given to us to do this so that we'll always stay in devotional service and when we stay long enough in the fire then it becomes spontaneous and we like devotional so we don't want to do anything else but devotional we don't want to do anything that's not directly pleasing to guru and Kṛṣṇa. We should give our different activities certain tests we do something is this going to be pleasing to guru and Kṛṣṇa? Is this going to be displeasing to guru and Kṛṣṇa?

It is pleasing or if we can accept it if it's displeasing, we should reject it this is the wise use of my time in devotional service or is this an over endeavor which is not ultimately going to produce something which will be of use to Kṛṣṇa.

Is this whimsical action that I am doing which is not authorized by Sādhu, śāstra and guru? Or is this now over application of sādhu Śāstra guru fanaticism which is missing? The real point and sticking up on some specific rule the others so many rules and regulation if you get hung up on the one you lose sight of the other you have to take everything in perspective Lord Caitanya wanted to sankirtan to go on so we have Bhagavad-vidhi the San kīrtan movement and we have deity worship pañca ratrika vidhi the two don't always mix there's areas where they conflict then one has to see at that Twilight Zone that area were they where they meet that which one how to coordinate the truth?

How to make them meet?

Actually, they're not in contradiction in the real sense but to eliminate view they may appear to because their purpose or both is the same but the process is slightly different. Bhagavat process is to increase the devotees to be preaching so for that maybe sometimes we go places which are not clean which are not good which are but we have to go there because this for all the conditioned souls that stuck up to bring them out of their illusion in pañca ratric one shouldn't go into dirty places one should only cut one should remain pure and do daily worship with that so these contradictions are there.

So sometimes the pūjārī think the preachers what are they doing they're not as pure they're coming back a little bit messy and their clothes aren't always dirty but they're going out there and they're preaching taking so many risks we always they take a risk for Kṛṣṇa. The glorified well what is that why we we say take our risk means when you go out and you preach to the materialistic people you go out and try to engage them in devotional service the risk is that you can take their subtle mentality there's subtle cynicism their subtle criticism their subtle negative or materialistic attitudes their subtle or gross desires for material sense gratification and that can become part of you like a disease you can contract it again it's a risk.

Therefore, we come back to the temple to see the beautiful form of Jagannātha, Nitāi Gaura Chandra, Rādhā Madana-mohana to purify our heart so that we can again go out and try to with that purity attract people to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So, we need to come to the temple to come to the spiritual place and become purified. We need to always analyze her mind soon as we identify we think that what we're thinking is correct then we know that we're in danger our thoughts have to always be analyzed you can never rely on your thought. We take intelligence from the śāstra to intelligence from the Guru intelligence from the life of previous devotees’ example they gave apart from their whatever the mind comes up at face value we don't accept anything. That's why the principle our preaching is always to give a reference for anything that's there. So, whatever we may think this is wrong this design but we should be able to give a direct reference to it and then we should always refine our realization by spiritual discussion by spiritual iṣṭagoṣṭhī, Hari kathā we should become so absorbed in trying to improve our devotional understanding and realization we have no time for how to improve our service to Kṛṣṇa we don't have time for materialistic thoughts and materialistic desires this is the secret.

How did Prabhupāda tell us to be enthusiastic?

He said that you should become so absorbed in your devotional service that your heart is flooded with spiritual ecstasy.

So just like a Steve if it's kept flooded just like in India we have rice paddies in the rice paddy when I was first in Māyāpur we had to do cultivation actually we're only given 35 rupees the day excuse me not a day a week for our maintenance thirty five rupees the week for seven to twelve devotees is 35 rupees at that time seven and a half repeats the dollar would say roughly less than five dollars the week for six seven devotees and then later it went to twelve that was only allowance that we were given. Thirty-five rupees was worked out. I think they've increased it to like 25 anyway it's impossible to live on that much money you cannot live. So, I went to Prabhupāda and said that can I grow agricultural crops on our land and then my GBC said that how can these Western people grow the agricultural land in India totally impossible forget it it's like you know start I said Prabhupāda I'm sure that we can do it otherwise we don't have in it we're getting very little money to be able to maintain we have the land I don't like to see the idle crops so that I do it

I always like it if the presidents tell the GBC that I want to do more devotional service than you think I can do that's very encouraging to me if they prove me prove that they can do more than I expect I always like to do more than whatever my GBC would allow me to do. Whenever they always say you're never going to be able to do that so then that was like a real special impetus for me that Alright

Prabhupāda said I can do it you say I can't let us be like Kṛṣṇa's mercy what we can do?

So I got the award in the district for the highest yield of rice there in māyāpur the thing is we had to work being many they're going in the in the rice fields we'd walk over the rice fields and we found our Cobra snakes so many things but the example I wanted to give wasn't that the example was that was all by Prabhupāda mercy because otherwise he couldn't have done it the examples only growing the rice we found from practical experience from ploughing and growing that he had to keep the rice paddy field filled with water as soon as you let the rice paddy water drain out the mud would dry up and there'd be so many cracks in the field.

Just like you see and that the mitachi pond you know how the mud is just completely cracked then a different range all the water goes down into the subsoil and it doesn't stay at with the rice the whole thing is you create a mud puddle you get all this soil very muddy and it creates the kind of a water barrier the water stays there longer and you can't to keep giving a little irrigation a little irrigate takes very little water once the soil dries up and cracks then you're finished.

In fact it's so important sometimes you have to go there and give a massage to the earth and just work out all those cracks so that the water will stay otherwise you won't get any rice because then what happens if your water dries up the s take over rice can compete against the don't sprout as long as there's water rice will grow in the water but s don't grow in water at least as long as they're in the seed from the seeds can't sprout so you already sprout the rice seeds and make little saplings and you plant them by hand transplant them in the water in bunches. So, there's no grass in there it's completely without grass so the longer you keep the water you practically there's nothing to do you get a full rice crowd. But as soon as the water dries up the little seeds start to sprout and before you know it you've gotta feel filled with this and then you'll get no rice complete failure.

So Prabhupāda used this is an example that as long as this is a very ancient example from you know right from the original Vedas you keep your heart filled you see if you let the seed dry the water dry out of your How it will sprout?

So, if you keep your heart filled with devotional enthusiasm, you're always active and trying to do something to serve your spiritual master then those s don't sprout as soon as you allow that enthusiasm that level of devotional service to go down the water drains out then you get compounded problems material desires start coming the s start sprouting and the more s come the less than energy you get the more material just it's just there like a syndrome

Therefore Lord Caitanya says in Chaitanya Caritāmṛta the only thing to do with the s is what you have to do when that happens in your field just cut them down pull them out from the root when you get s you got to go in there and you have to pull them out you have to distinguish between the two what's the and what’s the rice sometime it's very hard to distinguish between the two there are very similar sometimes they're all grass.

So the farmer is there they get so expert they showed me look at you see this little you've seen this one that one this one's rice that one  I look come to see any difference they're both green so how do you tell ahaha this is the secret the nice trick you see here this one's got a little fuzz on it that's the rice doesn't have any fuzz ah so there's the expert just by having the fuzz been it was like a slight little hair you know they cannot even a millimeter not even you know 32nd of an inch it's a little bit of little hairs under wheat but under rice there's nothing so you just have to be able to stop little symptom aha this is a wheat to pull it out then if you don't somehow the s are expert they're able take all the fertilizer all the manure all their strength from the land and your rice gives you like three grains little warped little grain nothing you can't you couldn't even eat anything there's nothing like a total loss so when the weeds are smaller then it's easier to pull it out the bigger they get the harder it is the more we let our weeds grow the more we let them take root the harder and harder it is in the future to pull them out. I've had devotees tell me that I got this attachment in my heart I know it's a weed but I'm afraid to pull it out it hurts I'm attached those are sincere devotees most of all is known in a minute when they have a  the weeds been there for a while we get a - - some subtle desire some subtle identity some subtle or you growth attachment we want to do things in our way or this way or that or somehow whatever it is this we observe so many this kuti nati some  weeds are there to just criticize others to be negative attitude always everything we find fault that's kuti nati no matter what we see we always have our own interpretation of it and so by doing that we don't engage in pure devotional service cira hiṁsā - to dislike others to want to put others down to one to cause pain to others there's Jīva hiṁsā stuff.

Then should I start to break the principles some devotees they say oh I am a good gṛhastha I chant 8 rounds today and I only have sex once the day but I chant Hare Kṛṣṇa beforehand and I only take marijuana once a week I'm not like other people that take it every day I'm this I'm a good gṛhastha people wrote like their letters to the GBC I'm not that bad there are others that are much worse but the rule is there that we're supposed to only have sex life or procreation or only - we're not to take any intoxication but once a week is alright because others are taking daily I'm only taking once a week but through various illusions they've been able to compromise there and they become very attached to this nishedacar. So, they think that it's alright these things are not important I mean after I am a devotee.

Prabhupāda said because then you think that problem is that in India everyone's the devotee have you ever been an Indian who is not a devotee everyone's a devotee and in fact they are to some extent they believe in Kṛṣṇa they're Hindus.

So, we don't want Hindu you know we don't just want people to be just that type of devotee that they only believe that's all right we respect them in our heart that they believe in Kṛṣṇa thank you.

But we want people to come a little higher level of devotion therefore I'd only know preaching in India first of all this is a new experience to me coming to the West but I tell you that I don't find anything new in the West in terms of Māyā. Māyā is more glamorous here but the Māyā are already there in India with more variety there's no new varieties here just simply different colorings but the types are all this thing you know just like weeds might be a little bigger different but the basic weeds are the same.

There you get people who have traded whole sampradāya based on these types of compromise you stay here just the beginning sprouts they have whole sampradāya based upon their compromise to following their orders a guru’s order. They create their own disciplic succession so called based upon some form of compromise to the Guru's order. Okay. We some may say that our idea where all everybody wants to eat fish fish is not that bad it's after all simply swimming in the ocean and eggs after all they're all I'm fertilized so they have sampradāya they can eat unfertilized eggs and fish because they're after all the officials of water fruit this fruit of the water.

So like that there are some may say well becoming after all sex isn't bad so they create a philosophy how to accommodate they may say well the body after all is the microcosm of Kṛṣṇa's macrocosm instance everything is ultimately the energy of Kṛṣṇa so the body is pure therefore anything the body does is pure therefore sex is also pure so we can have pure sex simply because we have a body which is part of Kṛṣṇa's energy these are the different forms of sahajiyās and it goes on and on and on so there they but they are the differences that they have all the creative philosophy to substantiate it and to make it legit to legitimize it.

Where in the West they're not they're just developing this art of creating philosophies and for substantiating their illicit activities you know they haven't become expert yet this is the problem. No matter how you try to legitimize sense gratification the same thing is sense gratification that's why they're apa sampradāya they've deviated from the real path.

Therefore, Prabhupāda he stressed very straight path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness it's a very profound the way the Prabhupāda balanced all of these things balanced preaching balance the rules and regulations is the perfect balance for this modern age. This much service this much chanting this much temple activity this much preaching and constantly remain the main thing is remain enthusiastic to propagate the message of Lord Caitanya because if you try to do everything perfectly by the rules and regulations alone we are not expert enough to do that we're going to make mistakes and then if you just are trying to do it mechanically you make a mistake then you have to take the penalty then you don't progress.

But by spreading and propagating this matter by giving it to others you get special mercy you get special points so that covers any little mistake you make although you should use that as an excuse to make mistakes but we're bound to sometime make some error even unwillingly it should be unwilling we shouldn't be willing to make error we should not want to make here but sometime it may happen so by being absorbed in this preaching propagation attitude of Sankirtan then even if there's some defect knowing or unknowingly if we make some offense that can get purified very easily.

So Madana-Mohana especially merciful to attract us to get us into that fire of serving Kṛṣṇa and when we're in the fire that's Rādhā Govinda and then finally by that fire when we become completely purified and completely attracted to Kṛṣṇa the perfection of life is Rādhā Gopīnāth shouldn't compromise.

Prabhupāda one thing he never compromised he never called something that was bad good or something that was good  bad to  please anybody he would always say what was absolute would say absolute he may have been merciful and may even in different situations he may have been patient but his standard the standard has to be focused upon we may tell people our chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and try to get we may see they're not going to follow these principles we don't tell them that if they shouldn't follow but we saw a first chant and come and associate them because we know if we start pressing on the principle they'll get scared and go away they can't follow right away but by coming and associating and chanting gradually they become more strong then we start to one after another see which type of anartha we can encourage them to relieve themselves so they'll get more strength so they'll by having less we they'll get more of the direct fertilization the direct energy from the chanting to be successful one should try to absorb oneself in Kṛṣṇa can lease in that we're not able to maintain fixed in our Kṛṣṇa consciousness is because we don't remain absorbed as soon as the absorption is like keeping the heart flooded keeping the rice field flooded when you let their water drain out weeds come you stop becoming absorbed in your devotional service you start thinking about this one in that one you start thinking about this sense gratification that sense gratification you start thinking about everything and anything.

But how to carry out your personal instruction to guru and Kṛṣṇa the one purport we can get from Śrīla Prabhupāda life after all all of us are his children and grandchildren and followers was that he took up the instruction of his spiritual master even though there was no other God brother or god sister any one of his who was there to assist him there was no one else to it rather they all discouraged him historically every one that he requested for encouragement either ignored him or discouraged him it's historical.

When he said that Lord Caitanya predicted this message was spread all over the world they said no no how can that be world means India it was spread over India eventually he said no no prithvi te means the whole world and how the whole world in America chant Hari Kṛṣṇa one preacher came back from America and Canada to India and he said that one thing I have very difficult in answering when they people say you are coming from poor country we have got all technology and the and material about what do you have to give us I don't know how to answer that question and that was the first question ask Prabhupāda in Australia he wrote as they send us the news clipping he said Swamiji why you're coming to the we are advanced nation while you're coming from a poor country what do you have to give us you're coming here to beg he said no and come here to save you from a dog's life you are simply leaving a cats and dogs life so i come to save you how do we leave the cats and dogs life what do you mean yeah a cat and dog are only eating sleeping mating and defending don't you eat cat is eating you're eating cat is sleeping you're sleeping you might sleep on bed he's sleeping on floor he's eating out of dish you're eating off of table you're having sex I understand you're a hotel room and cat is having a on the Street you're fighting with nuclear weapons cat and dog are fighting with teeth and fangs and claws so what is the difference yes you're right so I'm coming to save you from that existence.

But Prabhupāda didn't back off from them Prabhupāda did it you would have loved to have done it with his God brother but he never left it he never left the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement he never left the gauḍīya math he didn't leave it he was preaching in it he was trying to work with his God brothers they asked him to please go out because he was preaching people were being I'm attracted whatever reason they said listen you great ideas you're very progressive but you're too much progressive for us better you go and do your own center you can have so many other devotees and things like that this is the best thing

 

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare,

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.

 

 

Transcripted by: Pundarika Mahajana Das

Transcripted on: 14-1-2020

 

Proof Reading By: Amrita Padma Devi Dasi

On 16/10/2020