20200801 Addressing Balarāma Pūrṇimā Festival Eve to ISKCON Toronto

The following is an address given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 1st, 2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine

namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

Oṁ tat sat.

Jayapatākā Swami: So I am very happy to be here today in Toronto.

Actually, I was the temple president in Montreal, and then I decided to open the temple in Toronto.

Then I went to Toronto.

I was the first president, but soon after that, Jagadīśa Prabhu came up from Buffalo and Raktaka Prabhu was there and he said, “You were the temple president in Montreal, I would like to be the temple president here!” Then I said, “Well, let Jagadish be the president, I will be the treasurer and you can be the secretary.” Because I did not think that Raktaka Prabhu was qualified.

Actually, for some days, I was the first president in Toronto.

I took also sannyāsa in Calcutta, in 1970, on Rādhāṣṭamī.

Then I was sent to Māyāpur later.

Otherwise, I am at your service!

I am very happy to see Rādhā Khīra-chora Gopīnāth, and it is a great pleasure to be here in Toronto. 

So today we are celebrating little bit in advance, the appearance day of Lord Balarāma.

Balarāma is svayam-prakāśa.

He is the first expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead, and He is the original expansion.

So He is the original guru, as He is the first person to be serving Lord Kṛṣṇa.

From Him all the other avatāras come.

Mahā-Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu, Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu, Anantaśeṣa.

So Anantaśeṣa, does all the services for the Lord.

He is the Lord’s shoes, the Lord’s clothes, the Lord’s umbrella, everything that the Lord uses, even the bed, everything is an expansion of Ananta.

So nothing about Kṛṣṇa is material, It is all spiritual.

And so, Kṛṣṇa expands as Balarāma and then the catur-vyūha – Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha.

So Saṅkarṣaṇa is the expansion of Balarāma.

Vāsudeva is the expansion of Kṛṣṇa.

So, actually Balarāma He is always with Kṛṣṇa in His various pastimes.

In Rāma-līlā He comes as Lakṣmaṇa.

In Lord Caitanya-līlā He comes as Nitāi. 

śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya, rādhā kṛṣṇa nāhi anya
balarāma hoilo nitāi

So in Kṛṣṇa-līlā, He comes as the elder brother, Lord Balarāma.

So, as the elder brother, He protects the younger brother.

In the Ratha-yātrā in Purī, Balarāma goes first.

Then Subhadrā, and then Kṛṣṇa.

Because Balarāma the big brother, He is protecting His younger brother.

Both brothers are protecting Their sister Subhadrā.

That is the system followed in Jagannātha Purī.

So Lord Balarāma, He has all the pastimes that Kṛṣṇa has.

Kṛṣṇa would observe His rasa-līlā in the fall, in the Kārtika month.

But Lord Balarāma, He would also have His rasa-līlā, but that would be in March.

Then Lord Balarāma, He had His pastime, when He was taking Vāruṇī-rasa.

Vāruṇī is a special beverage made from honey.

And it was seen that He was intoxicated.

But actually, this is His pastime.

So, Lord Caitanya, He would go into different moods of His different avatāras.

As Varāhadeva, He manifested four hoofs.

In His līlā as Narasiṁhadeva, He came out in the street with a stick, yelling, “Where are the demons? Where are the demons? I will kill them all!” So also, this is not as well known, but many times Lord Caitanya took the mood of Lord Balarāma and He played the Balarāma-līlā.

And the Vāruṇī beverage scent, the sweet scent of the honey, pervaded the whole air, and He was enjoying these pastimes, playing like Lord Balarāma, walking like Lord Balarāma.

He was very ecstatic in the mood of Lord Balarāma.

So Balarāma, He was a very important personality.

And He is non-different from Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said, the only difference is the color.

Kṛṣṇa is black, Balarāma is white.

So, Balarāma, He helps Lord Kṛṣṇa in His different pastimes.

And as you know, variety is the spice of life.

So Lord Kṛṣṇa expands His pastimes, and His enjoyment, by having different expansions.

So Balarāma is His first expansion and He always goes with Kṛṣṇa, in His different pastimes. 

So, Arjuna wanted to marry Subhadrā.

And in a kṣatriya style, he took Subhadrā.

So Balarāma, He was angry at Arjuna, and He was going to attack Arjuna.

And if that happens, then Arjuna would have been finished! But Lord Kṛṣṇa came and fell at Balarāma’s feet and said, “Actually, our sister wants it.” So He pacified Lord Balarāma.

Because Balarāma is playing the part of big brother, so therefore He had some say.

So although He is the expansion of Kṛṣṇa, He knows that Kṛṣṇa is His origin, but for the pastime He plays as the big brother.

That is why in Rāma-līlā, He was the younger brother, and he was complaining that, that is a bad deal! Not only is He the expansion of Lord Rāma, but He also is playing the part of the younger brother, means He has to follow whatever Lord Rāma says.

In Balarāma līlā, as big brother, has certain balancing.

So actually, Balarāma, He protected the vraja-vāsīs, from being assaulted by the Dvivida gorilla.

So He had a big fight with him, and then He defeated him.

But they picked up trees and they hit each other on their heads.

But Balarāma was doing a pilgrimage to different holy places.

He came to Navadvīpa dhāma.

And here there was a demon called Mayāsura, and Lord Balarāma had a fight with him and defeated him.

That place was found, and is called the Mayamāri maṭh - the field where Balarāma killed Mayāsura. 

So like this Balarāma visited various places in India and refreshed them by His visit.

So, similarly as Lord Balarāma, Nityānanda visited various holy places.

When Lord Caitanya started His saṅkīrtana movement, Nityānanda came and joined Him in Navadvīpa.

So today we are remembering some of the qualities of Lord Balarāma.

He is actually a special mercy. 

As Lord Nityānanda, Balarāma is the original guru.

Actually, Lord Balarāma is the original guru, as the original devotee, original expansion of Kṛṣṇa, He would naturally be teaching others how to worship Kṛṣṇa.

So we need the mercy of Lord Balarāma, so that we can have the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

At the same time, He is also the Lord.

There is a song by Locana Dāsa Ṭhākura, pahu dui jana, nitāi gaura-candra, the two Lords, Nitāi Gaura, the two Lords Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa. 

So here in New Remuṇā, we worship the Rādhā-Khira-chora Gopīnāth, and we also have Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadra.

So Baladeva is also a Lord in Toronto.

And by His mercy, one can get the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.

I am very happy to be here with you, and to be sharing these understandings with you about Lord Balarāma.

He tried to bring a peaceful deal with Duryodana, and He went and spoke to him.

But Duryodana and his crews, offended, they were very proud and they were not submissive to Lord Balarāma.

Then Lord Balarāma took His plow and dug it in the earth and started to pull the whole city of Hastināpura to the Yamunā river.

So, then they realized that they are messing around with the wrong person.

So then they came out and presented whatever they needed to do, and they begged for forgiven.

So Balarāma, is an expert mace fighter, gadā.

And so He taught Duryodana how to fight with a mace.

So that way Duryodana became very expert.

Because Duryodana was a cousin brother and family member.

So Lord Balarāma, He gave some mercy to Duryodana.

That is why Duryodana was a better mace fighter than Bhīma.

But Bhīma was stronger.

With technique and power, Bhīma could not defeat Duryodana.

Then Kṛṣṇa told him his secret, how to defeat him.

So like that, when Kṛṣṇa kidnapped Rukmiṇī and Kṛṣṇa cut the hair of Rukmī in a strange way, Balarāma came and said, “Oh, this is not our family tradition to cut his hair in such a way!” Like that Balarāma, He was performing different roles in different pastimes.

And that adds a lot of spice, to the different pastimes.

So we pray to Lord Balarāma, who is the svayam-prakaśa, who is the first expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa, at the same time, He has some variegated pastimes.

This is inconceivable, how the Lord has different forms, and He is individual, but one.

So are there any questions today?

Question: Thank you so much for this amazing class.

One of the key questions I have is about forgiveness.

Maharāja spoke about how Rukmī’s hair was cut and Balarāma almost chastised Kṛṣṇa that this is not how you cut people’s hair.

That brings us to the point of forgiveness - how can we build on this quality because it is so important right now to have this mood of forgiveness, because it actually impacts our service. 

Jayapatākā Swami: It is interesting that two days ago was the Putradā Ekādaśī.

So some people want children, they observe Putradā Ekādaśī.

But in the glories of this Ekādaśī, it is said that for the renounced people or people who don’t want children, they observe this Ekādaśī to get the child of forgiveness, because forgiveness is a quality that Vaiṣṇavas need.

We were reading today how, some foolish student was criticizing Lord Caitanya when He was in the mood of a gopī, a Vraja-vāsī, He was chanting the name, Gopī, gopī!

The foolish student came and told Lord Caitanya, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, why are You chanting gopī, gopī?

They did not understand that Lord Caitanya, at that moment, He was in a different mood.

He was in the mood of Rādhārāṇī, or some gopī-bhāva.

And they did not understand that.

And they were thinking ill against Him.

They wanted to attack Him, or to take some retribution.

So then Lord Caitanya was thinking, I came to deliver the most fallen, but if these people they offend Me, they don’t pay their obeisances to Me, they will be deprived of the mercy!

So like that He was thinking how can I get these people to offer their respect to Me, and thus take up bhakti-yoga.

So He had the mood of forgiveness.

So it is very important, that we also adopt this mood.

And somehow, that thing we should practice regularly.

We don’t take the offences of anyone, as something directly to them.

So we take it that, we have some karma which is because of something, we caused suffering for someone else.

And therefore, we are getting the reaction.

Somehow we take it indirectly, and do not take that persona as responsible, and we forgive them.

And then we go on.

Just like Lord Jesus, He was crucified, He was innocent, but He prayed, please forgive them, they know not what they do.

Similarly, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was beaten in 22 marketplaces.

Normally one would die after 2 or 3, but he was surviving even after 22 marketplaces.

Because he prayed to Kṛṣṇa, please forgive these executioners, they don’t know what they do.

The executioners were very frustrated.

He asked them, why are you so unhappy?

They said, because you are alive.

Because you are alive, the king will punish us.

So he said, if I die, will you be happy? They said, Oh! So happy!  So happy!  Please die!

So then he lay down and went into nirvikalpa-samādhi.

Then they thought he was dead.

Then they told the king, ok, he is dead.

So how these great souls, they have forgiveness.

Like Lord Jesus was saying, one who is sinless throw the first stone.

So naturally, we all have committed various offences.

So rather than wishing ill on anyone, we rather forgive them.

That is the special qualify of a Vaiṣṇava, that quality Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa, They had.

Question: Thank you so much Mahārāja. There was another question. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave you many instructions when you were in Māyāpur, and so many times, multiple instructions. How did you actually work on them and take them to heart and how did you go about doing them all simultaneously? How did you do it Mahārāja?

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the instructions are work-in-progress.

I am trying to fulfill them.

I don’t say that I fulfilled all of them.

Maybe some of them, to some extent.

But Śrīla Prabhupāda took so much sacrifice, took so much trouble to bring Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the West.

So we owe Śrīla Prabhupāda, unlimitedly.

So whatever he asked me to do, or instructed me to do, I am trying to do that.

I don’t say that I have done it, but I am trying to do it.

Seven days before his departure, he established the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust, and he made me the lifetime chairman.

That meant that my lifetime service was to see the fulfillment of this Trust objective.

So it is basically to develop Navadvip dhāma, develop Gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi, and also to unite the Saraswat disciplic family.

So we have established the Sārasvata Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Association, and many Gauḍīya members are members of this organization.

Some people, they keep separate.

But we are trying to work on it.

And Śrīla Prabhupāda, in the BSCT, he had established two of his god brothers and 5 ISKCON devotes.

So now the god brother are no longer there, so we are having the disciples of those god brothers.

So like that there are many different services.

We would like to see the completion of the TOVP.

I have a minor role, maybe.

Ambarīśa Prabhu is doing the major thing.

I am overseeing the Western wing, which is the planetarium and exhibitions.

So we are trying to do what Śrīla Prabhupāda desired. [paragraph It is very interesting to be serving Śrīla Prabhupāda.

I hope that the generations that follow will continue this service.

Bhakti Cāru Swami, he wanted that his followers would also serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.

In fact, he saw the whole ISKCON family as one. 

Question: That was a comprehensive answer and we really appreciate and get inspired by your service.

I have one question that, despite all adversities, you have always continued to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda without any interruption, and we see sometimes devotees, they get upset on small things. And they leave their services. And that really compromises everybody’s service to Śrīla Prabhupāda. So how can we continue in your mood, that not to leave services when offended and work together? Any instructions, any guidance you can give us about that? 

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, as I said, we owe everything to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

He could have stayed in Vṛndāvana.

He would have easily got liberation.

But he took a great headache, he came to the USA, came to Canada, and he gave us Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

So who thinks that they have paid their debt fully?

I don’t think so!

I have to do so much, still the debts are not paid for.

As long as I have breath in the body, as long as I have any abilities, I will try to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.

When I was in Canada I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, whether I should join the USA army, because my father said he would turn my name.

Then Śrīla Prabhupāda told me better you join Kṛṣṇa’s army.

So I am still in Kṛṣṇa’s army, and I haven’t taken retirement yet.

So as a serving officer in Kṛṣṇa’s army, I have to continue! Ha!

Question: This is so inspiring. Many of us have had opportunities to interact with you, when you were visiting Toronto, and those are very special moments, at the Ratha-yātrā, on Centre Island, just walking with you, it has been amazing to have memories of talking with you.

One question I have is, whenever you talk, you always are meditating on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, so how do you do that? How can we constantly meditate upon Lord Caitanya? It is very hard when you are going through our day to day activities.

Jayapatākā Swami: The pastimes of Lord Caitanya are so nectarean.

Kṛṣṇa Himself came as a devotee.

And He established the saṅkīrtana movement, and He was experimenting, what it is like to be a devotee.

And as Rukmiṇī said to Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā, You know everything, You know what Brahmā is doing in Satya-loka, You know what Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, but there is one thing You don’t know!!

Rādhārāṇī knows!

I know!!

You don’t know! He said, What do you mean? There is something that I don’t know?!

Yes!

She said. What is that?

You don’t know how much Your devotees love you!

and in what way we love you? So that inspired Kṛṣṇa, ok I will become a devotee, and I will find out.

So this is such an amazing pastime, that Lord Gaurāṅga came as a devotee.

I cannot, it is in my mind, it is so wonderful, I cannot forget it!

I see that in every aspect of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can have some connection with Lord Caitanya.

Haribol!

Nitāi Gaurāṅga!

Question: Thank you Mahārāja! That was so good. And we will try to meditate on connecting everything that we do, to Lord Caitanya. That is so critical for us to move forward in our devotional life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Mahārāja, what would you instruct us, what should we pray to Lord Balarāma on Balarāma appearance, which is on August 3rd, what should be our mood of prayer? And what should we be asking for?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, Lord Balarāma can give any blessings, but the highest blessing is to have love for Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Balarāma, He had a special love for Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa said that Balarāma, is as dear as My life.

And for Lord Balarāma Kṛṣṇa is as dear as His life.

So I think that to Lord Balarāma, you should pray that knowingly or unknowingly if we have made offence, please forgive us, and please bless us, that we can have love for Kṛṣṇa.

Haribol! What do you think?

Satyabhāmā devī dāsī: Thank you Mahārāja. Any specific message you want to send for all of us in Toronto, at ISKCON Toronto? 

Jayapatākā Swami: I think you are all very fortunate.

Since the deities of Rādhā Khira-chora Gopīnāth are there.

And that having been given the name by Śrīla Prabhupāda, as New Remuṇā.

I don’t know if you have done any brainstorming, of how you can bring up the pastimes of Remuṇā there.

Like in Atlanta, Śrīla Prabhupāda had called that as New Pānihāṭi.

They did not, they didn’t do anything.

I went there and I said, well, do you know what Pānihāṭi is? How Lord Nityānanda had the ciḍā-dahi mahotsava? etc. etc.

So then we established a big festival, and we offered 18 or 21 flavors of ciḍā-dahi.

At that time, I used to get from Canada, lychees, but now they are available in the USA.

But at that time, they were only available in Canada.

Anyway, Remuṇā, Śrīla Prabhupāda gave the name as New Remuṇā, which you know is very to Mādhavendra Purī.

That the Deity stole His own khīra to give His devotee, Mādhavendra Purī.

I went many times to the new Toronto temple, on Avenue Road, I don’t know if they have khīra available.

But they had not offered to me!

But in Remuṇā if you go there, you have to have khīra! Everyone goes there they have little bottles of khīra.

So we are trying to get in Bangladesh, the birthplace of Mādhavendra Purī.

His samādhī is in Remuṇā.

So you can help, the Toronto devotees, you can help us to get the birthplace of Mādhavendra Purī, in Bangladesh.

Like that, but I think lots of pastimes had happened there.

Rasikānanda, he was a guru there.

Some villagers came and told him, a yogī, a yogī, is flying on a stick!

He was brushing his teeth with a neem twig! Oh, it is not important, he said.

Another villager, came, yogī fliying on a stick! Yogī flying on a stick!

By the time about three devotees came.

And he said it is not important.

He put the neem twig under his legs and flew around Remuṇā.

He said, “It is not important!” Haribol! Nitāi-Gaurāṅga! Lord Caitanya, He visited there, He heard the pastime.

I don’t know, offhand, how to observe that in New Remuṇā, but something that you all should think about.

It is not enough just to name your deity Khīra-chora Gopīnāth.

Śrīla Prabhupāda, in his fifth purpose of ISKCON, he wants to make the transcendental places of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Since you were given the name of New Remuṇā, you should have some special festivals there, for the disappearance day of Mādhavendra Purī.

Lord Advaita would have a huge feast on Govinda Dvādaśī, the Dvādaśī before the Gaura Pūrṇimā.

He had such a fantastic feast, everybody was chanting, reading and offering their services.

Śacī mātā was cooking.

Lord Caitanya said, this is incredible, the arrangements! Advaita must be Lord Śiva’s incarnation no human being can do such an arrangement!

He said, anyone who takes prasāda at this place, on this tithi, will get Govinda-bhakti.

So, that was on Mādhavendra Purī’s disappearance day.

His disappearance place, his samādhi, is in Remuṇā.

So if you want any ideas I can think about it, but I think you have a lot you could do there.

Actually, the Deity was carved in Remuṇā by Lord Rāmacandra.

He carved the Deity to show Sītā devī.

That Deity is still worshipped in Remuṇā.

It is a million-year-old deity.

So it is a very place.

It is a part of the Śrī Kṣetra, and part of the Gaura-maṇḍala-bhūmi.

Somehow both Caitanya-līlā and Jagannātha-līlā are there.

Actually, very inspiring.

I think you all are very fortunate.

We found the birthplace of Advaita Gosāñi, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, we have them under our control.

We are still trying to get the birthplace of Gadādhara Prabhu.

We have temples in Māyāpur and Ekacakra.

Although we are not in charge of the birthplace.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said that we are the karma-sthāna - the place of Kṛṣṇa’s work.

Janma karma ca me divyaṁ – the birthplace and the karma-place, they are both transcendental.

So you are in the karma-place.

Hare Kṛṣṇa! All glories to the devotees of New Remuṇā Toronto temple!

Thank you ! Haribol!