20200809 Zoom Session with Singapore Devotees

 

 

Lecture Code: 20200809

Occasion: ADDRESS TO SINGAPORE DEVOTEES VIA ZOOM

Date :09 August 2020

Place: Sridham Mayapur

 

Transcribed By: Jayaraseswari DD

Transcribed on :30August 2020

 

1^st Level Proofer: Bhavatarini Radhika DD

1^st Level Proofed on: 31 August 2020

 

Editorial Changes (non voice): Usha

Date: 25-Jan-2020

 

 Status: Completed

 

 

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1361612347561605&extid=noYFqtJo2009S5D5

Title:

 

20200809 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami, Maharaj, Address to Singapore Devotees Via Zoom, Sri Mayapur Dham, India.

mūkaṁkarotivācālaṁ,

paṅguṁlaṅghayategiri,

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁvande,

paramānanda-mādhavam

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat.

(Bengali)

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: I think Guru Maharāja I can see 111 devotees online. We have Siṁha Caitanya Prabhu from the English congregation, and there are a lot of devotees from the Bengali congregation also Guru Maharāja. We have Bhagavān Dāmodara Prabhu, and other devotees also there. So many devotees are here. Jagatātma Kṛṣṇa Prabhu, the senior Bengali congregation devotees of Singapore. From the young generation we have Amalānga Caitanya Prabhu and other devotees also.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Shall I speak in English or Bengali?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa:  Most of the devotees are Bengali, so it is up to you Guru Maharāja. If you speak in English I can translate in Bengali, if you speak in Bengali I’ll do in English. How many of you speak English here?

Devotee: They can raise their hands-on zoom, electronically or on the camera.

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: So far, we have four electronic hands and some are also in the video. Siṁha Caitanya Prabhu may be able to tell how much English devotees?

(Bengali Words conversation)

Devotee:  Eight are electronically and there are some who are in the video.

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: Siṁha Caitanya Prabhu is saying there are fifty devotees in English.

Devotee: Fifty in 15 or 50?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: No no 50.

Devotee: 50.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Then I should speak in English right?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: Okay Guru Maharāja. Numbers of Bengali devotees are more Guru Maharāja than English.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Well anyway we have to have both English and Bengali. So, I speak in Bengali you can do English.

Maṇigopāl Dāsa: Yes, Guru Maharāja I will try.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  I will switch.

Devotee: And when Guru Maharāja speaks in English you do Bengali.

Maṇigopāl Dāsa:  Okay Prabhu.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  Do I need a repetition in English?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa:  Would be better.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  You speak in English and you speak in Bengali.

And in a few days, we will have the Janmāṣṭamī of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Vyāsa-pūjā of Śrīla Prabhupāda. What day is your Vyāsa-pūjā and Janmāṣṭamī? 11 or 12?

Devotee: Maṇigopāl Prabhu what day is the Janmāṣṭamī there? 11 or 12?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa:   12th Prabhu, 12th.

HIS HOLINESS. Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  Here in Māyāpurit’s 12th. In Singapore what day?

Maṇigopāl Dāsa:  Its 12th Guru Maharāja.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  So śāstras say if the Janmāṣṭamī is on Wednesday, then it is especially auspicious. Anyway, it’s most auspicious any day. But if it’s on Monday or Wednesday, then it’s more auspicious.

In America and Canada, it is on Tuesday.  But in Singapore, Malaysia and India it is on Wednesday. And we observe the Vyāsa-pūjā on Thursday. Bhakti Cāru Svāmī was very focused on the Vyāsa-pūjā. He was very much Prabhupāda conscious.  This Janmāṣṭamī and Vyāsa-pūjā we are deprived of his association. He inspired everyone to keep Śrīla Prabhupāda in the center. So, I tried that he stays back with us.

So, when he was in the hospital, I sent a message to him because when I was sick, I was not well then Bhakti Cāru Maharāja requested me to stay back. So, I said Maharāja because of you I stayed back because of your order. So, I am requesting now to you that if you so desire please stay back with us. So, I had given one of my doctor team to him. So, I had given the team who observes me or monitors my health. So, in that team, a couple of his disciples, they also joined that team or they were contacting the team. And one of my disciples who is a doctor he was serving in that hospital. So, we have tried our best so that Maharāja gets the best treatment. Because since it was a known hospital, so since it was religious hospital, they have allowed us to keep Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Vṛndāvanadhuli with him.

So, we had Śrīla Prabhupāda song box playing 24 hours. But in 2012 in the Vyāsa-pūjāhomage, he told Prabhupāda, please take me away. I want to serve you.

So apparently, we had him for eight years after that. But he had a desire to render personal service to Śrīla Prabhupāda. The people who have helped to wash Bhakti Cāru Maharāja’s divine body with Gaṅgājal after his departure, they say that Maharāja’s face was smiling. That person said that, “I have never seen anyone who has died with a smiling face.” So anyway then, the person who got the body freed from the hospital so he could send it to India, he said he had some medicine that if he had known, it might have cured him, but he only found out after he was already gone. And then in Delhi, no airplane company agreed to take his body. So, one of my disciples has helped, who had a jet plane, he helped to take Maharāja’s body. And that way we were able to do the samādhi in Māyāpur.

So, we know that it is very difficult for all the devotees. And nothing can replace his sweet character and disposition, nothing can replace his association. But all the leaders in ISKCON, they were expressing, each a personal realization how he has been so loving. He had established a personal relationship with each person. The way Maharāja was very dear to all of us; similarly, his disciples are also very dear to all of us. And whatever we can do from our side, we are always ready to help you and we want to do that. I heard that Badri-Nārāyaṇa Svāmī he was talking to the devotees in Singapore. I expect said that all the devotees, all the leaders be very sympathetic and very caring. And I hope that all the devotees be very sensitive to the loss that the disciples are feeling.

So, this, by following the instructions, the vāṇīseva of His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Svāmī, you can have his association. Prabhupāda said that his Guru Maharāja was always with him because Śrīla Prabhupāda would always follow and do the vāṇīseva of his Gurudeva.

I was reading how the glories of Janmāṣṭamī is such that, like thousands of millions of yagyas, various sacrifices like giving out a thousand cows every day for a year. And by observing Vyāsa-pūjā fasting during the day, not eating one is able to go at the end of life to the spiritual world. Even if someone accidentally follows Janmāṣṭamī they get benefit. There is a story, there was one king Citrasena, he was very sinful. He was killing many animals; he was eating animal flesh. He used to be very sinful. So, when he was hunting a tiger in the deep dense forest, he lost his way. And then he reached a lake. So, there were some ladies near the lake and they said to him that today is the very auspicious Janmāṣṭamī day.

So, you should observe fasting today. They gave him a lotus flower and that king offered that lotus to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. The next day when he broke his fast, immediately there was a divine airplane from Vaikuṇṭa and in that airplane he went back to Vaikuṇṭaloka. So, we don’t see many people going to Vaikuṇṭa right away. But this is happening in Citrasena’s case. But it says that also one can take birth in the heavenly planets for hundred thousand years and travel all over the universe in a celestial plane. So, if someone has any piety remaining from the observing of the Janmāṣṭamī festival, in the next life he can become a king, he will be a very good king. All the desires will be fulfilled. And then he will go back to Vaikuṇṭa. In another śāstra, it has been mentioned that if someone observes then he can go back to Kṛṣṇaloka. So of course, I don’t want to be a king (laughs).

Anyway, Janmāṣṭamī is a very auspicious festival to observe. We asked Prabhupāda, why does Kṛṣṇa have us fast till midnight, then we take anukalpa? Rādhārāṇī we only fast till noon. He said, Rādhārāṇī is more merciful. We hope that you will take special advantage and benefit of the festival of Janmāṣṭamī and Vyāsa-pūjā. We are very grateful to Prabhupāda, he went around the world so many times and distributed Kṛṣṇa-prema.

In the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa it is mentioned that how we approach Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā. Gaṅgādevi was the spokesperson on behalf of everyone else. So, she said that, “In the age of Kali people will be very much sinful and they will come to me, they will take dip in my waters and thus I will be full of sinful reactions. So therefore, I want to go back to Goloka Vṛndāvana with you.” Not only her, she was speaking on behalf of all the holy rivers. Kṛṣṇa was laughing. He said you tolerate five thousand years of sinful people bathing in your water. One devotee would come and spread the chanting of the Harināma all over the world. And then because of his coming, we will enter a golden age of ten thousand years! There will be only one ‘Hari-bhakta’! And those who bathe in your water will be chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra!

Haribol!

Gaurāṅga!

Nityānanda!

Nitāi-Gauranga!

So, Bhakti Cāru Svāmī was co-GBC with us in Bengal, Māyāpur, Kolkatta and Bangladesh. Many of my disciples had accepted Bhakti Cāru Svāmī as their śikṣa guru. Some of his disciples had accepted me as their śikṣa guru. In that way we were very close. And we didn’t see any difference.

So, I hope that everyone will be very sensitive. He was my very dear friend, god-brother, associate. Lord Caitanya was talking to Rāmānanda Rāya, he asked what is the greatest suffering?

And Rāmānanda Rāya said separation from a Vaiṣṇava is the greatest suffering. So naturally we are all facing this special situation. And we know that we will naturally serve His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Svāmī if we serve Śrīla Prabhupāda and his instructions. So, I have asked them to make a special e-mail like bcs-jps something like that, I don’t know if they did it? So that we can give priority if anyone has any question, then he can contact me.  Usually, every day I pray to the Lordships for my initiated and sheltered and śikṣa disciples. And after Bhakti Cāru Maharāja’s departure, I am also praying for his disciples. I hope that everyone will remain blissful and enthusiastic in your services. Anyone has any questions?

Devotee: Couple of hands have been raised Guru Maharāja.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja:  Video on

Sankarshan-priya Dāsa: What is the meaning of ‘uttama-śloka’ from third canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam?

HIS HOLINESS. JayapatakaSwamiMaharāja: Uttama-śloka means someone who has been worshipped with very nice and wonderful verses.

Devotee: Someone asked if they can offer some prasād to Guru Maharāja?

HIS HOLINESS. Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Yeah, why not!

Ugra-Nṛsiṁhadāsa: (Bengali) PAMRO. Guru maharaj, you had said in your class that Bhakti Cāru Swami guru maharaj, perhaps the only person whom he would have listened to if I had told him not to go to America. I am requesting you at your lotus feet if Bhakti Prema Swami who is a very dear disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Swami, may please be appointed as an initiating guru as well?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Maṇigopāl, you want to translate his question? This question has been sent to Pragosh Prabhu, he also answered on that. Anyway, for a disciple whose guru is not present anymore, it takes six months to become a guru, so those who are not initiating spiritual master yet, they have to wait for minimum six months for the approval. So, there is a system that from GBC Ujjain, they should have a ten-men local committee and they should propose Maharāja’s name and the person who is in the top as the proposed initiating spiritual master should be in six months waiting period. If there is no complaint against him fine, then he can.

Pragosh Prabhu was saying that it is not that he has to take initiation from his disciple. He was saying that ISKCON is one family you can take initiation from anyone, but should follow his teaching as śikṣa guru. Bhakti Cāru Maharāja is the śikṣa guru of the disciple who took his shelter, but did not take initiation. But anyway Bhakti-Prema Svāmī there is no difficulty for him to be a guru if he wants to. Next question.

Devotee: Guru Maharāja, meanwhile, I just wanted to inform that there is Sanjayānand Prabhu who is actually the main coordinator, disciple of Bhakti CaruMaharāja, he and his wife are coordinating today’s program, class.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Please unmute and ask your question.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Daṇḍavat Prāṇam. Guru Maharāja. The question is that the devotees who have already taken shelter from Bhakti Cāru Maharāja but could not take initiation and now they are going to take initiation from other gurus but they used to worship Bhakti Cāru Maharāja’s photo in their altar, so my question is can they still continue keeping Bhakti Cāru Maharāja’s photo in their altar and can they also offer bhoga and remember Bhakti Cāru Maharāja while offering bhoga to Lord.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: If someone keeps the photos of śikṣa guru and dīkṣā guru both there is no problem in that. We have to accept such initiating spiritual master who is approved, authorized. But there is no such law in ISKCON that you cannot keep śikṣa guru’s picture. And we have to accept such spiritual master, initiating spiritual master who will allow this.

Devotee: Meanwhile there is an update from the chatbox. Sīma Chaitanya Prabhu, he is saying that…

Hare Kṛṣṇa Daṇḍavat prāṇaṁ, Guru Maharāja. The many times guru maharaj Bhakti Cāru Swami came to Singapore, he always said that we should have some facility to give prasādam to devotees here. So, with his blessings and your blessings we have opened a restaurant in Singapore. Please bless us that we are able to distribute prasādam to the devotees here guru maharaj.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: I am happy that you have opened a new restaurant where devotees can get Kṛṣṇa prasād. Very good!

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Maharāja, now at Gaura Nitāi Centre, we would like you to take darśan. Make it quick.

Devotee: If the husband and wife they have different guru’s, their pictures will be on two separate altars, so what should we do while offering bhoga?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Both the pictures will be on the altar. If the husband accepts the guru of the wife as śikṣa guru and wife accepts husband’s guru as śikṣa guru, in this way both can co-operatively worship guru. Anyway, bhoga offered to the guru, it will go to Lord Kṛṣṇa through guru and Śrīla Prabhupāda. There is no problem if anybody takes the prasād of Kṛṣṇa. In this way bhoga will go to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, from Kṛṣṇa it will come to Brahmā, Naradamuni, Vyāsadeva.

We put in the chat box the special email id bcs.jpscare@gmail.com.

Devotee: Some devotees who have already taken shelter from Bhakti Cāru Maharāja, so now if they want to take initiation from you, their question is what is the process?

What procedure they have to follow for that, if they want to take initiation in future from you and now want to take shelter from you?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: They can contact Maṇigopāl Dāsa at JPS office.

Devotee: Will there be any shelter period for them?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: We will ask the GBC senior leaders. If they want, whatever they want, śikṣa, or they just want care for them, want to help them without any formal initiation, whatever they want. If they are not initiated, and they want initiation, if they are initiated, they want śikṣa, if they want help or don’t want formal śikṣa, or they just me to pray for them. Whatever they want, I will do it.

Devotee: (translates) Those who have already taken initiation from Bhakti CaruMaharāja, then there is no question of taking initiation from other guru, but if those who have not taken initiation yet from Bhakti Cāru Maharāja, they were sheltered or aspiring from Maharāja, if they want to take initiation from me, then I can always help them, pray for them.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: No, no you don’t get it. If they want help, if they want prayer or they don’t want śikṣa, they don’t want dīkṣā, just pray for them, whatever they want. Not that if they want śikṣa, I will pray for them. I will pray. If they want śikṣa, they want help, they want prayer, whatever they want. What I am saying is one thing is not dependent on the other. If they don’t want anything, then also ok.

Devotee: Please accept my humble obeisance unto your lotus feet! We fast till midnight on Janmāṣṭamī day but why do we fast only till noon time, mid noon for Bhagavān Balarāma and Rāmacandra?

Kṛṣṇa appeared at midnight and Balarāma appeared at noon. We fast for Nṛsiṁhadeva till sunset, since He appeared at that time. Because in Māyāpur we have Nṛsiṁha deity, most of the devotees take anukalpa, it is optional, but on Janmāṣṭamī and Gaura-pūrṇimā we should take anukalpa prasād.

On Gaura-pūrṇimā we fast till moonrise and on Janmāṣṭamī we fast till midnight. Because Lord Caitanya appeared during the lunar eclipse.

What’s the question in the chat box?

Devotee: One Bangla question Guru Maharāja. We were residing in bhagavad-dhāma, my question is bhagavad-dhāma is eternal dhāma, cinmaya, if we are there, we never have to come back to this material world, then why did we take birth again in this material world, as no desire or lust prevails there?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: We were in Vaikunta. It is said that there are difficulties in the material world. But in Vaikunta there are no difficulties. No birth, death, old age, disease. Once we are here and go back to Vaikunta no one will want to come back. Some may come back. Like there is “Wet Paint” written on a seat and one goes and deliberately touches it, so the paint is on his hand! So, one will not want to touch it again. The same way, after going through so much difficulty in the material world, one would not want to come down from Vaikunta.

Devotee: By Shankarnath Gaurāṅga dāsa, Singapore, when are you coming to Singapore?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: I am now in Singapore! When there is vaccine, when there are flights, then we can think about travelling.

Devotee: Pavitra Prabhu: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Maharāja, please accept my humble obeisances unto your lotus feet. In my life, I never imagined that I will be able to talk to you directly face to face. Some of the devotees in the group have asked this question that, why Janmāṣṭamī is on both days 11th or 12th, nobody is able answer properly whether we have to fast on 11th or 12th. How can we easily convince them that why actually Janmāṣṭamī is on 12th?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: So, we have our Vaiṣṇava opinion regarding the fasting. Sometimes if the fasting day is touched by the daśamītithi, it is not auspicious to follow.  Sometimes the smārtha calculations, it gets clashed with the Vaiṣṇava opinion.

Devotee: Gokulānanda Kṛṣṇa Prabhu: What should I do to become a good devotee?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: Always remember Kṛṣṇa and Never Forget Kṛṣṇa. This is why we follow the four regulative principles, we chant 16 rounds japa daily, read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books daily, as far as possible, as per your capacity please preach.

Devotee: If you can kindly tell us about the exciting moments, beautiful moments with Bhakti Cāru Maharāja?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: When he was a new bhakta, he went back to his house. I went three times to his home to bring him back. But I was not able to find him in his house. I was in Calcutta temple and Maharāja came to the temple.

When I was not well and admitted in hospital, Maharāja came to me, he held my hand and requested me, “Maharāja, please stay with us”. So, I had many beautiful moments with Bhakti Cāru Maharāja.

Devotee: Lust is the greatest enemy in spiritual life, how can we overcome it. How can we avoid being devoured by lusty desires?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Maharāja: If we continue to practice Kṛṣṇa Bhakti, gradually these lusty desires will go away. Based on our situations, whether we are a gṛhastha, vairāgī, renounced order, depends on that. So whatever ashram we are in whether gṛhastha, vairāgī, by continuing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we can gradually become free from these desires. We are following yukta-vairāgya, we are offering all the vairāgya in Kṛṣṇa’s service. So, we see that we become developed in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, we become Kṛṣṇa bhaktas, so thus or kama- vega, lusty desires will be diminishing.

So, our greed, we can engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service, like whatever our favorite items offer it to Kṛṣṇa, in this way, we can engage our greed in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Everything can be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service except enviousness. If someone wants to do good service, then others they want to put him down. Enviousness is not allowed in the path of bhakti, and everything else can be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.  For example, our anger, if someone blasphemes Kṛṣṇa or blasphemes his devotees, then one can become angry. But if there is any hindrance and obstacle in gratifying our own senses, then we should not become angry.

It’s my afternoon lunch time now, if you have any questions and you are Bhakti Cāru Maharāja disciple write to bcs.jpscare@gmail.com and if you are my disciple write to jayapatakaswami@gmail.com .