20200801 Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.5

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.1.5:
ta ekadā tu munayaḥ
prātar huta-hutāgnayaḥ
sat-kṛtaṁ sūtam āsīnaṁ
papracchur idam ādarāt

Translation: One day, after finishing their morning duties by burning a sacrificial fire and offering a seat of esteem to Śrīla Sūta Gosvāmī, the great sages made inquiries, with great respect, about the following matters.

Purport: Morning is the best time to hold spiritual services. The great sages offered the speaker of the Bhāgavatam an elevated seat of respect called the vyāsāsana, or the seat of Śrī Vyāsadeva. Śrī Vyāsadeva is the original spiritual preceptor for all men. And all other preceptors are considered to be his representatives. A representative is one who can exactly present the viewpoint of Śrī Vyāsadeva. Śrī Vyāsadeva impregnated the message of Bhāgavatam unto Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī heard it from him (Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī). All bona fide representatives of Śrī Vyāsadeva in the chain of disciplic succession are to be understood to be gosvāmīs. These gosvāmīs restrain all their senses, and they stick to the path made by the previous ācāryas. The gosvāmīs do not deliver lectures on the Bhāgavatam capriciously. Rather, they execute their services most carefully, following their predecessors who delivered the spiritual message unbroken to them.

Those who listen to the Bhāgavatam may put questions to the speaker in order to elicit the clear meaning, but this should not be done in a challenging spirit. One must submit questions with a great regard for the speaker and the subject matter. This is also the way recommended in Bhagavad-gītā. One must learn the transcendental subject by submissive aural reception from the right sources. Therefore, these sages addressed the speaker Sūta Gosvāmī with great respect.

* * *

Sometimes I will speak in Bengali and sometimes in English. This śloka has been very well explained. And how the morning program is performed and the sages with great respect they have presented the questions to Sūta Gosvāmī. Sūtadeva Gosvāmī was seated on a vyāsāsana. And this way, to learn spiritual matters one must be very respectful and learn with awe and reverence. So this way the listeners and the speakers, there was a proper environment. So basically, hear what the subject matter of the Bhāgavatam was. Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda was thinking that we should listen to what he said very carefully, and ask appropriate questions, with great respect. In this way the exchange of ideas between the speaker and the listeners is ideal. So, like this Lord Caitanya was visiting different houses for six years throughout India. And every house He went to, they offered Him respect, they bathed His lotus feet, they gave Him an exalted seat and they listened very respectfully and carefully. In the western countries it is often seen that people ask questions in a competitive and challenging manner, and that for understanding spiritual subject matters, this is not an ideal way. So Śrīla Prabhupāda with great restraint and patience attended many meetings and assemblies. In France, there was a public meeting, a press conference, he was given a raised seat, a vyāsāsana, but then many of the reporters criticized that and questioned why is he being given a high seat? In this kind of situation, spiritual subjects cannot be discussed or understood. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he was very patient and very nicely delivered the message of Vyāsadeva. How much trouble Śrīla Prabhupāda went through to give the message in the West, we cannot begin to imagine. He patiently and tolerantly presented the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We are so much indebted to His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda. When he came to India, at time there were very few Indians who were following. But by his mercy, now we have many Indians who are following. So this way, it was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s desire that the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu should be spread all over the world. He was asked, “What was his mission in life?” He said, “My mission is to change the way people think.” So in this way, Śrīla Prabhupāda actually changed the way people were thinking. But we have a lot of work left to do.

Now we are suffering the pandemic of the corona virus. But people don’t think that they have done anything wrong. They just think that we have to find a vaccine, we have to find medicine – the scientists, the politicians, they will find out something. One Muslim Member of Parliament made a statement that this must be because of people’s sinful activities. Now in Kali-yuga, the sacrifice for this age is chanting of the holy names of the Lord. If we chant the names of the Lord, that is the sacrifice meant for this Age of Kali. Someone had asked, how is it that in this age, the only sacrifice is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord? The others sacrifices that were performed in other ages, can we receive the result of those in this Age of Kali, simply by chanting the holy names? Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, one has to perform meditation, fire sacrifice and deity worship, respectively, in the temple. Now, these processes do not have that much power in this age of Kali. As people in general are very fallen, therefore these processes are not very effective. But the Lord, because of His causeless mercy for everyone, He has appeared Himself, as His own holy names. If we utter the names of the Lord, when the Lord has Himself has appeared as His names, can you imagine how much potency is there? So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He gave us this process to chant the holy names. He was in different moods, at different times. And so His external purpose was chanting the holy names. But because He was Kṛṣṇa Himself, sometimes, He would manifest different bhavas of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes, He manifested the form of Varāhadeva, He came running out in the mood of Narasiṁhadeva, where are the demons? Where are the demons? Seeing Him, people were afraid. He was carrying a stick, and He was running out where are the demons, and so they started running. And seeing the people running, He felt embarrassed, maybe I have offended them. But Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura said, You cannot offend anyone, rather they were liberated by seeing You in this mood! Sometimes, He would take the mood of His different energies. That is why He, in the mood of the gopīs, He would chant, gopī, gopī! He was in the mood of the vraja-vāsīs. Seeing this, one of the foolish students of Caitanya Mahāprabhu started asking, “Why is He not chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa, why is He chanting gopī, gopī?” The student did not understand that Lord Caitanya was in a different mood at that time. When He was in the mood of the gopīs and because of separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa in kṛṣṇa-prema, He would chant gopī, gopī, this way. It is mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in the 10^th canto, when Uddhava came to Vṛndāvana, He noticed Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in great separation from Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī made many statement against Kṛṣṇa. But Kṛṣṇa does not mind that, because these are expressions of love. But this foolish student could not understand that this is one of the moods of Lord Caitanya, in great separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa, in Vṛndāvana. So how Lord Caitanya came in different moods, different bhavas, that is a unique thing. And unless one really knows the philosophy of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they may not be able to understand Lord Caitanya.

So how the sages in Naimiṣāraṇya were respectful to Sūta Gosvāmī, shows us how we should hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. How we should hear the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, hear the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Just as Lord Caitanya was experimenting why His devotee feels so much transcendental bliss, more than Him. Rukmiṇī devī told Kṛṣṇa, “You know what Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, but one thing You don’t know. Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, You don’t know. How much we love You! In what way we love You! You don’t know!” Ha! So Lord Kṛṣṇa came as Lord Caitanya, Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu. He wants to find out what love His devotees have for Him! Ha! So, it is a very special pastime. Unless we approach it in the way that the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya approached Sūta Gosvāmī, we will not understand. So, it is a very interesting topic, how every speaker of the Bhāgavatam, has to represent Vyāsadeva. Śrīla Prabhupāda said, being a Bhāgavatam speaker or guru is not very difficult. Just like a postman he delivers a letter, as it is. He doesn’t open up the letter and write his own thing. You don’t want to receive a letter which has the postman write something inside! Ha! So, you have to deliver the matter as you heard it, in the guru-paramparā. If you speak in this way and you also hear this way, you are doing the right thing.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda said, that many people will learn Bengali just to read the Caitanya-caritamrita. The glories of Caitanya Mahāprabhu read in Bengali are extremely sweet. Yesterday, one of the teachers of the SMIS asked me, the students like kīrtana but they don’t like bhajana, what to do? So I suggested, maybe if you explain what the bhajana means, they will like it. Being in Māyāpur, we have a great advantage, that we can easily learn Bengali. When they sing the bhajanas and read the Caitanya-Bhāgavata, Caitanya-caritamrita, you can understand it. It is very difficult to learn Sanskrit. But Bengali is not that difficult. In Bengali there are two irregular verbs, which are very common. Learning Spanish, there are 18,000 irregular verbs, 18,000!! You have to memorize 18,000 variations, to speak Spanish correctly. But if you know Bengali verb declension, it is regular. And most of the devotees, they know many of the words. Words like karma, jñāna, are the same. Bhakti, prema. Anyway, this is an opportunity, living in Māyāpur. Caitanya Mahāprabhu had performed various pastimes for 24 years here. Now, Caitanya Mahāprabhu had gone to the house of the Chand Kazi, do the civil disobedience movement. The part that I liked the most is Lord Caitanya’s process of saṅkīrtana, that kīrtana on the way leading to the Chand Kazi, He went to every village, every area of Navadvīpa, and He completely inundated Navadvīpa with love of Godhead. Millions of people joined the saṅkīrtana. And there were four groups – in one group was Advaita Gosāñi, another was Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, another was Haridāsa Ṭhākura and another was Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu and Gadādhara Prabhu. Those atheists who saw the saṅkīrtana, they also became unconscious in ecstasy, they also chanted the holy names of the Lord! And they were rolling on the ground. In order to see Lord Caitanya, from the heavenly planets, Indradeva, Vāyudeva, Agnideva all came down. How the Supreme Personality of Godhead is dancing and crying in this way! And seeing this, they became unconscious. When they regained external consciousness, they took the form of human beings and joined Lord Caitanya’s saṅkīrtana. And it became a world kīrtana, universal kīrtana! All the Apsarās were throwing down flowers from the heavenly planets. Just as Kṛṣṇa relieved the burden of the earth, at the Kurukṣetra war, Lord Caitanya, He manifested the saṅkīrtana-yajña, in that kīrtana. The kīrtana went on and on, it was like a day of Brahmā. But when people calculated the time, it was like one night! Lord Caitanya was distributing love of Kṛṣṇa throughout Navadvīpa dhāma. The sound penetrated the universe and went to Vaikuṇṭhaloka. And there the people in Vaikuṇṭha were seeing how the Lord was chanting on earth. How the residents of the earth were so fortunate! Haribol! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda!

So this kīrtana description, Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, he described it. He is said to be the avatāra of Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva in caitanya-līlā. So this verse tells us how all the preachers are the representatives of Vyāsadeva. We have to be very careful to repeat the same version as Lord Vyāsadeva. And we should listen to that person with a submissive, respectful attitude. But if someone presents some different idea, different from the guru-paramparā, different Śrīla Prabhupāda, different Vyāsadeva, that is not acceptable.

Now in the Jhulan-yātrā, these five days from Ekādaśī to Pūrṇimā, are very special. Day after tomorrow is the Balarāma Pūrṇimā. So, we will fast on that day, at least in the morning. Balarāma came as Nitāi Prabhu in caitanya-līlā. Now we worship Nitāi Gaura. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

We can get some questions. I will be back.

Question: How much is it important to have a physical copy of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam at home? And what is the significance of Bhādra Pūrṇimā and distribution of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?

Jayapatākā Swami: So he asked two questions. First thing, I read in the māhātmya of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how if you have the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the literary incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, all the devas come to your house and offer their obeisances to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. By having a physical copy of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, your house becomes a tīrtha! You should also read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam! Ha! As far as Bhādra Pūrṇimā, I think there is a prediction, a blessing, that if one distributes Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on Bhādra Pūrṇimā, then one can go back to Godhead. I was, reading how by observing the Janmāṣṭamī, one gets a special blessing from Kṛṣṇa. So some things are mentioned in the Vedas, as giving special blessings. So Bhādra Pūrṇimā and distribution of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is one of those blessings. Next question.

Question: Daṇḍavat Guru Mahārāja. Is Kṛṣṇa a friend or companion?

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa is everything. Kṛṣṇa-mātā, Kṛṣṇa-pitā, Kṛṣṇa child, Kṛṣṇa is friend, Kṛṣṇa is lover, whatever relationship one has with Kṛṣṇa. In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa has many friends. Because He spoke the Bhagavad-gītā, so He is the friend and well-wisher of everyone.

Question: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja; Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda! How to draw a line between happiness and pride?

Your spiritual daughter,

Ratirūpiṇī Jāhnavā devī dāsī.

Jayapatākā Swami: How do you draw a line? Buy a pen! Ha! Ha! So, if you spiritual happiness, you are very fortunate. But, there is no reason to be proud because the happiness we feel is insignificant as compared to the happiness of Rādhārāṇī and the gopīs. I went to Śrīla Prabhupāda and I said, I am the most fallen. You are Patīta-pāvana, please have your mercy on me. He replied, you are not the most anything! Ha! So, he settled my pride. So we should not want to be proud. But if you are feeling happy in doing devotional service, that is very good. But don’t be proud of that. Because there is a lot more you can rise up to. But if someone feels happy and they are proud of that, that would stop them from progressing further. I don’t fully understand your question.

Question: Guru Mahārāja, please kindly have mercy on us and please tell us how we can increase our attachment to the holy names of the Lord? Acintya Nimāi dāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rūpa Gosvāmī, they wrote a poetry, Kṛṣṇa-nāmaṣṭakam. By hearing the glories of the holy name, one can increase their attachment for the holy names. But by chanting the holy names, one can increase the attachment to the holy names. If one does not chant the holy names, how can attachment increase for the holy name. The happiness we get on chanting the holy name, naturally our attachment to the holy name increases. On the path of devotion, we have niṣṭha, āsakti and ruci. First one gets niṣṭha, then one gets ruci. When there is taste or bliss in chanting then naturally one will become attached or āsakti will be there. Thank you Acintya Nimāi dāsa.

Question: Can we do abhiṣeka for Nitāi Gaura on Balarāma Pūrṇimā?

Jayapatākā Swami: If you have that mood, then yes. Nitāi is Balarāma, so in that mood if you perform abhiṣeka then it is alright. If you have Kṛṣṇa Balarāma or have Jagannath Baladeva Deities, Baladeva or Balarāma – we can do abhiṣeka. If you have śālagrāma-śilās, then you can perform abhiṣeka to the śālagrāma-śilās.

Question: How to remain guru conscious throughout the day?

Your aspiring servant,
Akash Deep.

Jayapatākā Swami: Three times a day, we should offer our praṇāmas to guru. In that way, hopefully, we can remain guru-conscious throughout the day, and if every service we do, we are thinking that without the guru’s mercy, I cannot be successful. I need the guru’s mercy. In this way, we could be guru-conscious the whole day. Last question.

Question: Mathurā Mandirā devī dāsī. Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, Please accept my respectful obeisances. How can we expand pracāra of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Jayapatākā Swami: Interesting question. I think that would need a whole brainstorming. We can think of different ways, how to expand the pracāra of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We are limited, explaining the glories of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Also if you testify to give your personal testimonial that by reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it helps you. Every question we have is answered in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Hare Kṛṣṇa! Thank you Mathurā Mandirā devī dāsī.

Thank all the devotees! Hare Kṛṣṇa! If you have any realizations, then please send us. Would you rather have me speak in one language, Bengali and then English? Or is it alright to switch? Hare Kṛṣṇa!