19860917 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā 7.1.24

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on September 17^th 1986, at New Pānihāṭi Dhāma, Atlanta, Georgia. The class begins with reading from Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya-līlā 7.1-24

Text 1

caitanya-caraṇāmbhoja-
makaranda-liho bhaje
yeṣāṁ prasāda-mātreṇa
pāmaro ’py amaro bhavet

Let me offer my respectful obeisance’s unto the devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Simply by the causeless mercy of the devotees engaged in licking honey from His lotus feet even a fallen soul becomes eternally liberated.

Text 2

jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya Nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

All Glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, All Glories to Nityānanda Prabhu, All Glories to Advaita Candra, All Glories to the devotees of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

Text 3

varṣāntare yata gauḍera bhakta-gaṇa āilā
pūrvavat mahāprabhu sabāre mililā

The next year, all the devotees of Bengal went to visit Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and as previously, the Lord met each and every one of them.

Text 4

ei-mata vilāsa prabhura bhakta-gaṇa lañā
hena-kāle vallabha-bhaṭṭa milila āsiyā

Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed His pastimes with His devotees. Then a learned scholar named Vallabha Bhaṭṭa went to Jagannātha Purī to meet the Lord. For a description of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, one may refer to Madhya-līlā, chapter nineteen, text 61.

Text 5

āsiyā vandila bhaṭṭa prabhura caraṇe
prabhu ‘bhāgavata-buddhye’ kailā āliṅgane

When Vallabha Bhaṭṭa arrived, he offered his obeisances at the lotus feet of the Lord. Accepting him as a great devotee, the Lord embraced him.

Text 6

mānya kari’ prabhu tāre nikaṭe vasāilā
vinaya kariyā bhaṭṭa kahite lāgilā

With great respect, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu seated Vallabha Bhaṭṭa near Him. Then Vallabha Bhaṭṭa very humbly began to speak.

Text 7

“bahu-dina manoratha tomā’ dekhibāre
jagannātha pūrṇa kailā, dekhiluṅ tomāre

“For a long time,” he said, “I have desired to see You, my Lord. Now Lord Jagannātha has fulfilled this desire; therefore I am seeing You.

Text 8

tomāra darśana ye pāya sei bhāgyavān
tomāke dekhiye, — yena sākṣāt Bhagavān

“One who receives your audience is fortunate indeed, for You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

Text 9

tomāre ye smaraṇa kare, se haya Pavitra
darśane pavitra habe, — ithe ki vicitra?

“Since one who remembers You is purified, why should it be astonishing that one becomes purified by seeing You?

Jayapatākā Swami: You can remember the Lord and become purified, then you can see the Lord then how much more you can be purified.

Text 10
yeṣāṁ saṁsmaraṇāt puṁsāṁ
sadyaḥ śudhyanti vai gṛhāḥ
kiṁ punar darśana-sparśa-
pāda-śaucāsanādibhiḥ

“‘One can immediately purify his entire house simply by remembering exalted personalities, to say nothing of directly seeing them, touching their lotus feet, washing their feet or offering them places to sit.’

Purport: This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.19.33).

Text 11

kali-kālera dharma — kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana

“The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Unless empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot propagate the saṅkīrtana movement.

Text 12

tāhā pravartāilā tumi, — ei ta ‘pramāṇa’
kṛṣṇa-śakti dhara tumi, — ithe nāhi āna

“You have spread the saṅkīrtana movement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore it is evident that you have been empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa. There is no question about it.

Purport: Śrī Madhvācārya has brought our attention to this quotation from the Nārāyaṇa-saṁhitā:

dvāparīyair janair viṣṇuḥ pañcarātrais tu kevalaiḥ
kalau tu nāma-mātreṇa pūjyate bhagavān hariḥ

“In the Dvāpara-yuga one could satisfy Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu only by worshiping opulently according to the pañcarātriki system, but in the Age of Kali one can satisfy and worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari simply by chanting His holy name.” Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura explains that unless one is directly empowered by the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa, one cannot become the spiritual master of the entire world (jagad-guru). One cannot become an ācārya simply by mental speculation. The true ācārya presents Kṛṣṇa to everyone by preaching the holy name of the Lord throughout the world. Thus the conditioned souls, purified by chanting the holy name, are liberated from the blazing fire of material existence. In this way, spiritual benefit grows increasingly full, like the waxing moon in the sky. The true ācārya, the spiritual master of the entire world, must be considered an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Indeed, he is personally embracing Kṛṣṇa. He is therefore the spiritual master of all the varṇas (brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra) and all the āśramas (brahmacāri, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsīs). Since he is understood to be the most advanced devotee, he is called paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura. Ṭhākura is a title of honor offered to the paramahaṁsa. Therefore one who acts as an ācārya, directly presenting Lord Kṛṣṇa by spreading His name and fame, is also to be called paramahaṁsa-ṭhākura.

Jayapatākā Swami: So these are very important verses. These two:

kali-kālera dharma — kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana

and…

tāhā pravartāilā tumi, — ei ta ‘pramāṇa’
kṛṣṇa-śakti dhara tumi, — ithe nāhi āna

That the fundamental religious principle in this age of Kali is chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Unless one is empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot propagate. Śrīla Prabhupāda was able to propagate the saṅkīrtana movement all over the world in its pure form. Therefore, he was supremely empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa. We find that Prabhupāda was unique in this regard. Everyone admits that he definitely was empowered by Lord Kṛṣṇa. So since he was able to get the blessings of Kṛṣṇa and Caitanya in spreading the saṅkīrtana movement all over the world, taking shelter of His Divine Grace Śrīla Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda is the process. By doing so we will definitely be successful. Sometimes one even sees that Prabhupāda’s training and process is so perfect that even out of false ego, if somebody wants to leave the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, but if they follow the principles of Śrīla Prabhupāda, to some extent they are also able to achieve the result. Because Prabhupāda’s message is so powerful due to his empowered position as the eternal devotee of the Lord.

The guru is considered the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. The true spiritual master simply represents the previous spiritual master's version. Doesn’t change a thing of the previous spiritual master, but tries to preserve that. This is a wonderful feature of the disciplic succession, there are no two opinions. There is only one opinion handed down. So because Prabhupāda was empowered by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, therefore he is understood to be the most advanced devotee. He is called paramahaṁsa-tḥākura. And he is the spiritual master of all the varṇas and all the āśramas. Somebody thinks that, “Well, I am born a brāhmaṇa therefore I can accept someone as my spiritual master who wasn’t born a brāhmaṇa.” It is not confirmed here. Somebody is actually empowered by Kṛṣṇa like Śrīla Prabhupāda, then everyone, regardless of their caste-color-creed, can take shelter. A true ācārya is the ācārya for the entire world. Somebody is actually empowered by Kṛṣṇa, then anywhere in the world someone may get faith instilled in the heart by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Here it explains what the qualifications of an ācārya are. Prabhupāda became the jagad-guru or the spiritual master of the entire world. Can happen simply due to the causeless mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Now Śrīla Prabhupāda presented Kṛṣṇa to everyone by preaching the holy name of the Lord to everyone throughout the world. In this way, as the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is being spread more and more, it is like the moon getting fuller and fuller. Today is the full moon day, Pūrṇimā. From this day onwards, milk fast begins and the yogurt fast is over. Just like the full moon, even though devotee is pure they are always trying to bring the moon to a full state, for practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Says here that the spiritual master is personally the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, the true ācārya. And that he is always embracing Kṛṣṇa. That is why in the song I wrote, prabhupāder patha bāhire, kali kāler māyā bhāi re. That if we go off of the path authorized by Śrīla Prabhupāda, which he enunciated, that path representing the pure path of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, someone just whimsically goes off of that path, then its kali kāler māyā bhāi re, then it means that is the illusion of the age of Kali.

In this regard Haridāsa Ṭḥākura went and visited the house of Advaita Ācārya and Advaita Ācārya was very happy to have Him there. And on the occasion of the śraddhā or death anniversary of His parents, Advaita Gosvāmī had a special function called śrāddha where they offer some sacrifice and rituals, where they offer a big feast to Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is customary that the first offering of the mahā-prasāda should be offered to the most senior devotee or brāhmaṇa present at that time. After the offering was made to Kṛṣṇa, then Advaita had to consider who he was going to offer the first remnant. Just like after the Rājasūya sacrifice, they (Pāṇḍavas) had to consider who they should get the offering. So that time Sahadeva said it should be given to Kṛṣṇa. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then Śiśupāla stood up and said, “No, Kṛṣṇa is this and Kṛṣṇa is that. How can you give it to Kṛṣṇa? Don’t listen to this fanatical boy. What does He know? And he kept on saying so many ridiculous things that finally Kṛṣṇa’s Sudarśana cakra flew from His hand and chopped his head off. Now Advaita Gosvāmī, he suggested that I should give the first offering to Haridāsa Ṭḥākura. Haridāsa Ṭḥākura was born in a Mohammedan family, and he was a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So Advaita saw that he was the best brāhmaṇa, he is the best representative of the Lord. He is the spiritual master of all the varṇas and all the āśramas. But then some brāhmaṇa objected, “How can you give Haridāsa Ṭhākura the first offering? He is not a brāhmaṇa!” Meaning he was not a born brāhmaṇa.

So then Advaita said, “Well, let us give a test, who is the real brāhmaṇa here.” According to the Vedas, the real brāhmaṇas, when they breathe on the wood, they can create fire. By mantra they can make wood light up. When they make the fire sacrifice with wood, they set up you know, instead of rubbing with the matches or lighting with the lighter, they simply say the mantras. So they all accepted the challenge. The firewood was held in front of each of the brāhmaṇas. When it came to them, they said the mantra and they blew on the firewood. *blowing sound* But there was no flame, no flame came up at all! Then the next one,  he said the agni-mantra and tried to blow but nothing. Like this it went around  the whole assembly and everyone was huffing and puffing, but there was no fire. So then they brought the firewood in front of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and he chanted the name of the Lord, and breathed into the firewood and poof! Came up the fire! Everyone was astonished. Advaita Gosvāmī then said, “Here is the brāhmaṇa!” Then he offered the first plate of prasādam to Haridāsa Ṭḥākura. So the real spiritual master is the spiritual master of all varṇas and āśramas. The person is a bona fide empowered spiritual master. Even if he is a gṛhastha, he may be the spiritual master of sannyāsīs. Or vice versa. It is not based upon some external, material qualification. But it is a spiritual blessing handed down from the previous ācāryas. So because Śrīla Prabhupāda took up very humbly and very sincerely the instructions of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, therefore he was empowered to spread the movement all over the world.

Actually all the different religious leaders, they should accept Śrīla Prabhupāda as spiritual master of the entire world, of every varṇa, of every āśrama, every caste, every creed, he is the guru for everyone. Jagad-guru. Paramahaṁsa-ṭḥākura. He should be accepted by all. The other important point here is that this verse from Madhvācārya’s Nārāyana-saṁhitā, which confirms in the Dvāpara-yuga, by opulently worshipping the Lord in the temple, according to the pañcarātriki system, we could achieve Kṛṣṇa. But in this age we attain the same thing by worshipping Kṛṣṇa through chanting His Holy Names. It is the very special benediction of this age. Just like we try to do deity worship. But then if you don’t have your own farm, you buy milk, they put cod liver oil in the milk and things. Everything is a little contaminated, you don’t get pure things. You want to offer things very opulently to the Lord, but things are not done so perfectly. But by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, then everything becomes perfected in this age. Even the deity worship is a little bit not up to standard. Not that we should be lax, not that we should not try to maintain the pañcarātriki principles. But in case there are some mistakes, that is corrected by the mercy of the Lord.

Text 13

jagate karilā tumi kṛṣṇa-nāma prakāśa
yei tomā dekhe, sei kṛṣṇa-preme bhāse

“You have manifested the holy name of Kṛṣṇa throughout the entire world. Anyone who sees You is immediately absorbed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Text 14

prema-parakāśa nahe kṛṣṇa-śakti vine
‘kṛṣṇa’ — eka prema-dātā, śāstra-pramāṇe

“Without being especially empowered by Kṛṣṇa, one cannot manifest ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa, for Kṛṣṇa is the only one who gives ecstatic love. That is the verdict of all revealed scriptures.

Text 15

santv avatārā bahavaḥ puṣkara-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ
kṛṣṇād anyaḥ ko vā latāsv api prema-do bhavati”

“ ‘There may be many all-auspicious incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, but who other than Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa can bestow love of God upon the surrendered souls?’ ”

Purport: This is a verse written by Bilvamaṅgala-Ṭhākura. It is quoted by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta (1.5.37).

Jayapatākā Swami: So love of Godhead is a special adhikāra, or special reserved blessing of Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. No one else can give that mercy to the surrendered souls. Different incarnations come, they can give mokṣa. Only Viṣṇu can give liberation. Śiva, Brahmā, Durgā, Indra, Varuṇa, they are not able to give complete liberation, only Viṣṇu can give. But only Kṛṣṇa can give love for Kṛṣṇa. Love of Godhead, prema, is only given by Kṛṣṇa, not others. So if someone understands this, then they can take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. It is not difficult. At the same time, by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, one can very easily progress. Without Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, even if one tries, they will not be able to expand or manifest even pure love for Kṛṣṇa. So in this way Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is being glorified. But Lord Caitanya, He did not like being glorified, so He replied.

Text 16

mahāprabhu kahe — “śuna, bhaṭṭa mahā-mati
māyāvādī sannyāsī āmi, nā jāni kṛṣṇa-bhakti

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “My dear Vallabha Bhaṭṭa, you are a learned scholar. Kindly listen to Me. I am a sannyāsī of the Māyāvāda school. Therefore I have no chance of knowing what kṛṣṇa-bhakti is.

Text 17

advaitācārya-gosāñi — ‘sākṣāt īśvara’
tāṅra saṅge āmāra mana ha-ila Nirmala

“Nevertheless, My mind has become purified because I have associated with Advaita Ācārya, who is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Text 18

sarva-śāstre kṛṣṇa-bhaktye nāhi yāṅra sama
ataeva ‘advaita-ācārya’ tāṅra nāma

“He is unparalleled in His understanding of all the revealed scriptures and the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He is called Advaita Ācārya.

Text 19

yāṅhāra kṛpāte mlecchera haya kṛṣṇa-bhakti
ke kahite pāre tāṅra vaiṣṇavatā-śakti?

“He is such a great personality that by His mercy He can convert even the meat-eaters [mlecchas] to the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa. Who, therefore, can estimate the power of His Vaiṣṇavism?

(Advaita Gosāñī kī… Jaya! Sītānātha kī… Jaya !!!)

Purport (by Śrīla Prabhupāda): It is extremely difficult to convert a mleccha, or meat-eater, into a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore anyone who can do so is situated on the highest level of Vaiṣṇavism.

Jayapatākā Swami:

paścatya-deśe śūnyavādī durācārī māyāvādī,
uddhāra pāila kevala tomāra daye

In the Western countries, the voidists, the impersonalists and persons addicted to illicit activities against the Vedic principles of human life; although it was almost impossible to deliver such fallen souls, simply by your causeless mercy even such souls have been delivered from material life.

The meat eaters are dull headed. It is hard for them to understand spiritual points. But it is possible if they get good association with the devotees and hear the glories of Kṛṣṇa. Then they can gradually become freed from their materialistic attachment. Advaita Gosvāmī was so powerful that he was able to purify even the meat eaters.

Text 20

nityānanda-avadhūta — ‘sākṣāt īśvara’
bhāvonmāde matta kṛṣṇa-premera sāgara

“Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, the avadhūta, is also directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is always intoxicated with the madness of ecstatic love. Indeed, He is an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.

Text 21

ṣaḍ-darśana-vettā bhaṭṭācārya-sārvabhauma
ṣaḍ-darśane jagad-guru bhāgavatottama

“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya perfectly knows the six philosophical theses. He is therefore the spiritual master of the entire world in teaching the six paths of philosophy. He is the best of devotees.

Text 22

teṅha dekhāilā more bhakti-yoga-pāra
tāṅra prasāde jāniluṅ ‘kṛṣṇa-bhakti-yoga’ sāra

“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya has shown Me the limit of devotional service. Only by his mercy have I understood that devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is the essence of all mystic-yoga.

Text 23

rāmānanda-rāya kṛṣṇa-rasera ‘nidhāna’
teṅha jānāilā — kṛṣṇa — svayaṁ Bhagavān

“Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya is the ultimate knower of the transcendental mellows of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s devotional service. He has instructed Me that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Text 24

tāte prema-bhakti — ‘puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi’
rāga-mārge prema-bhakti ‘sarvādhika’ jāni

“Through the mercy of Rāmānanda Rāya, I have understood that ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest goal of life and that spontaneous love of Kṛṣṇa is the highest perfection.

Purport: Puruṣārtha (“the goal of life”) generally refers to religion, economic development, satisfaction of the senses and, finally, liberation. However, above these four kinds of puruṣārthas, love of Godhead stands supreme. It is called parama-puruṣārtha (the supreme goal of life) or puruṣārtha-śiromaṇi (the most exalted of all puruṣārthas). Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by regulative devotional service, but the highest perfection of devotional service is spontaneous love of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: This is a special mercy of Lord Caitanya, He has come down, He has sent His devotees to come down in order to give us not only these four perfections of life: liberation, economic development… answer our inquisitiveness and so on but actually gives us the supreme benediction i.e. the puruṣārtha, chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is given by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. This is the special mercy that Lord Caitanya has given what even nobody else has given so far before freely. That is why we pray to Him,

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

He is the greatest benefactor, the greatest giver. But we can see how Lord Caitanya, He is relishing, He is glorifying His own devotees. It is the characteristic of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees, that they enjoy hearing and glorifying about other devotees. They don’t like to hear bad news about other devotees. They like to hear what someone is doing properly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the special mercy of the Lord. By doing that, a person is elevated beyond these four varṇāśrama functions and able to engage in pure devotional service. Now we read earlier the pastime of Rāmānanda-Raya, how he was answering questions for Lord Caitanya. He was saying that, “You are speaking through me. I don’t even know what I am saying. Whatever you are making me say that is what I am speaking.” So sometimes a spiritual master may say something, even he may not fully understand all the purports himself. But by repeating perfectly, then somehow or another it’ll be adjusted and one is able to get the benefit of rendering pure devotional service. Pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, love for Kṛṣṇa is something very special. That is why when somebody is advancing in the path of pure devotional service, we want them to continue. We want them to take full advantage and achieve pure love for Kṛṣṇa in this lifetime. Once that is achieved, then of course our whole mission will be successful. So this was the mood. We respect the Vaiṣṇavas and try to get them to give us their blessings. And by serving Kṛṣṇa, try to purify ourselves and come up to the path for pure spontaneous love for Godhead.

On Kṛṣṇa’s mercy: So many ways, unlimited. To the deities, to the devotees, through festivals, remembering. Even by remembering the Lord one can get the benefits. First to be more open to get the mercy of the Lord, we should learn to be humble. In the material world people tend to be proud, tend to be self-righteous. They think that whatever they are doing is right. That is actually the absolute feature, that we should be responsible for our activities and surrender to the will of the Lord. Without being humble, if we start to think that somehow Kṛṣṇa deserves to gives us mercy, then we will not be very successful. Even when Rādhārani became a little proud, she was left by Kṛṣṇa in the forest alone. He is supremely renounced. He is not afraid of anybody. Nobody is able to understand Lord Kṛṣṇa’s actions whatsoever. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s activities are completely transcendental. But if someone is very humble and dedicated, they can attract Kṛṣṇa’s attention, His mercy.

On the next Ācārya: That is for Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya to reveal. We hope in the future that everyone can become ācārya, maybe jagad-guru and deliver the whole universe. But Prabhupāda considered that his disciples and followers were pure devotees. He didn’t consider them to be neophyte devotees. So, definitions are given in the śāstras, what is a jagad-guru. If somebody qualifies according to those definitions, that has to be judged on a one by one basis. But idea is everyone should be jagad-guru. A real guru, Prabhupāda said, is a guru for the whole world, real ācārya. So the thing is to become from a guru to an ācārya, to actually be ācārya, to be able to deliver people all over the world, that is the objective of a preacher. In India, Prabhupāda, he didn’t like the word jagad-guru so much, although it has been used many times in his books. But they are possibly because all the Māyāvādī gurus, they always call themselves as jagad-guru. So you have big signs. If you go to the Kumbha Mela you see, 108 jagad-guru Sri Śrīpāda Śaṅkarāraṇya. Then we have the next saying 1008, then 10008. Prabhupāda once said, “What is this 108, 1008, 10,008? 420!” 420 means that, in India the Indian Penal Code, 420 means that is the code for cheating. The penal code for cheating someone else by falsification of documents, by misrepresentation, this type of thing, you know there is a code. And that is called 420 in Indian Penal Code. Just like homicide in America might be 286 or whatever. Normally nobody knows what the penal code is, but this has become very well used. Because if somebody gets caught doing some black marketing, all the papers they say he has been caught for 420. So if you say char sau bees (420 in Hindi), that means a cheat. Prabhupāda said – they had 108, 1008, 10008, then he said 420, and everybody cracked up. 420, ha! They just keep putting numbers you know and if someone puts 108, someone puts 1008 he must be bigger, someone puts 10,008 but they are all putting jagad-guru, 1 million and 8, 10 million and 8. But if you see who they have been able to make as kṛṣṇa-bhakta? They haven’t made one kṛṣṇa-bhakta. Whether 1 million and 8, or 420 jagad-guru. So that way they is no use in just putting the title jagad-guru, jagad-guru. Someone should actually manifest that preaching, practically show that mercy of Kṛṣṇa is there. Prabhupāda wanted his followers to be all empowered preachers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to all be jagad-guru and deliver the whole universe. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭḥākura, he was preaching to his followers and one day they were on a morning walk or evening walk, and he looked up at the moon and said that, “Next I want to go there and preach in the moon planet. There are so many materialistic people there. Although they’re in the moon planet, they have turned away from Kṛṣṇa and are simply interested in sense gratification. So we have to go there and give them pure Kṛṣṇa-bhakti.” Everybody was speechless. So the devotee of the Lord he is thinking simply how to spread the saṅkīrtana movement, in one place or the other, all over the universe. So, someone may be like Vāsudeva Datta Ṭḥākura who simply by his desire he delivers the whole universe, or someone may be like Śrīla Prabhupāda who physically travels everywhere and delivers everyone.

On preaching tactics: Well, if you go there and they blaspheme the movement or Kṛṣṇa then it is better not to discuss about the movement and Kṛṣṇa at all. Simply go there and say give them a little prasādam, say hello. And if they are going to blaspheme then say, “I cannot come here because it is too painful for me you know.” Just go there and give him some prasāda and engage him in some service knowingly or unknowingly. And if a person is a hardcore atheist or an impersonalist, Prabhupāda said that sometimes there is no use in preaching to them. Especially sometimes these people who are total impersonalists, no matter what you preach they just listen and they get all scrambled up in their brain, and when it comes out, it is all one. No matter what you say, they will nod, they will say yes, but then after a while, because somehow this Māyāvādī philosophy is such that it short circuits the intelligence. And if somebody has been too much absorbed in impersonal philosophy, their brain is totally short circuited. And you try to say something to them, and it is very difficult. In many cases, due to their offenses or something, they do not have the ability to understand. Rarely you can change such people. So after spending some time, if you see that in spite of all the time, they listen, they understand, they nod their head, the whole thing and when you ask them to explain what you told them, “It’s all one! I am God, you are God.” Then you say, “Alright. You are a wonderful person. Why don’t you come over to the temple.” Just engage them in some service, whatever it is. Although they may think they are God sweeping the floor or whatever, just engage them in service so they get some sukṛtī, maybe in this life or in the next life. We had one person, he was a friend of Kṛṣṇa life member. Every day he would meditate naked in his pūjā room “ahaṁ brahmāsmī ommmmm” and he would just do this kind of impersonal thing, and he was into this for two hours. He would get up at two in the morning and do the whole thing you know. And he wrote a book about the path of the light or something. But no matter what you said, even I told him that in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.27) it says brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham - I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman. In the whole context of that chapter, his spiritual life… Brahman… everything, he phoned up, he was so confused by that. There was like a major upset in his life. So he phoned up a friend of his who was a Māyāvādī also, professor or guru in some Māyāvādī āśrama. He said, “No, no. Brahmaṇo means the four headed Brahmā. Kṛṣṇa is saying He is the basis of the four headed Brahmā.” There is nowhere that you can squeeze that meaning out. But after that he wouldn’t hear anything. “No, no! Four headed Brahmā, that’s it.” They just don't learn, they are not open. But that person, inspite of all these Māyāvādī tendencies (you could say he was a hardcore impersonalist) he did tremendous service. So we didn’t waste our energy. You know few days we tried and then we saw it was hopeless. So then we just started engaging him in service. By doing service he started to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! And although he kept up his mystic-yoga meditation, he started to chant little Hare Kṛṣṇa. And gradually you could see that his heart was softening although it took a couple of years a lot of service. So Prabhupāda said sometimes these life members, these people who are too Māyāvādī, there is no use in disturbing them. Rather we try to engage them in some service. As long as they are not offensive. If we start discussing, they get offensive. They start to give their speculations and all. And then suddenly, just as he was trying to be a little bit devotionally inclined, slight, he passed away. I think for all of his service Kṛṣṇa will bless him that he can be a devotee. Because his brain was too contaminated to fully get into devotional service. But he was inclined, so I am hopeful that by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy he will be able to be a devotee in his next life. It says,

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ.
(Bg 7.19)

After many, many births one is able to accept devotional service and understand Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, become a devotee. So these jñānīs, even though they are wise men, it takes them many, many births to become truly. What to speak of these ordinary atheists who don’t even understand anything about the Absolute Truth or God. But for them also, they can simply be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Bring them a sweet or something. Give them some prasāda. See them for a few minutes and then go. In this way as much as you can engage, some people you can engage. Some wives who are Kṛṣṇa conscious complain their husbands are totally in māyā, not interested at all. So then Subhag Mahārāja was recommending that you offer little Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. Don’t tell him it is prasāda. Just slip it in his food, and by doing that many wives have changed the hearts of their husbands. So powerful is this medicine. In fact in one of the Nāmahaṭṭas, one of my disciples came and told me that now we have a very big revolution in the village. All the women are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and the husbands are totally against it. For one year they have been doing it on the sly. Sometimes they get caught. Sometimes they have to count on their fingers, sometimes they cannot find their bead bags. It’s a big thing. Somehow or another, they faced these things. By the time they get to one year chanting, they become fixed up. Then they can face their husbands. Then after that the husband cannot do anything. In the end, the wife is able to bring the husband around to make him a devotee. So this way we already have four or five families and we’re working on more. So whether the husband becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious first or the wife whatever, sometimes it happens that you are preaching in congregational preaching. One person is more interested than the other. But by association, by taking prasādam, by doing some service, gradually the heart becomes purified and they get enough sukṛtī that they are able to render devotional service.

On pure devotion: Kṛṣṇa says people that go to Him for material reasons are pious. So if somebody is worshipping God to get material benefit, they are also considered pious people. Like the sakāma devotees. They may not be pure devotees. They haven’t been trained to simply serve the Lord in love. Lord Jesus said that the highest perfection is that one should love the Lord with pure love, you know with all heart, soul, mind, everything. It was His first commandment. Love means to give something without expecting anything in return. When you give and expect in return, it is a business deal, it is not love. Love means it is unconditional. So this is already there in Christian teachings. So a real Christian should be a real lover of God from that definition, one would take it. But in practical terms, you find in all religions that people are serving the Lord but for some material purpose. They want something out of it. It is not pure love. So they are considered to be pious people, but not pure devotees. So we are trying to actually fulfil the real purpose of Lord Jesus. Therefore, in one sense you can take it that the Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees are the real Christians. Because we are following His first commandment - to systematically develop love for God. What if somebody says I am an American, I am a patriot, I am a pure American and they are waging war against the country or cheating on income tax? They can say anything. They can wear a bumper sticker on their thing. But if they don’t pay their income tax, what kind of citizen are they? Someone else, he may not put all the fanfare up, but when the need is there he gives his life for the country, then he is the real patriot. So like that if someone may be going around telling everybody how they are great Christians or how they are great this or great that. But we have to see their practical activities also. What is their understanding, what is their activities? So the meaning of ācārya is they should know and they should act and they should teach others. Just to advertise one’s own self then you put yourself under surveillance and see. We don’t advertise ourselves here and there that we are great Christians or anything. But if you follow the teachings of Christ, you must be a Christian. So Christ says that you should develop love for Godhead, that is my first commandment. So if you want to go through Him, that means you have to follow His teachings. So we are following that teaching. So how are we different? We are as much Christian as anyone else. At least on that pure level. We may not do the all other rituals, but at least we are doing the number one commandment, which is to develop love for Godhead. I don’t think that Jesus would at all be dissatisfied with our attempt. Rather He would be grateful that we are trying to develop love for Godhead. After all Godhead is the Father, that He said everyone should love.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Verified by your humble ever Servant  

Vinoda Gopīkeśa Dāsa
07-01-2025
Māyāpur India