20210604 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question and Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 4th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

Harihara Kṛṣṇa Caitanya dāsa: Hare Kṛṣṇa Gurumahārāja. Dandavat praṇāma. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda and you. From this Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi līlā, we have to learn that even a little enviousness towards any Vaiṣṇava is very dangerous. I find it very difficult to overcome enviousness. Please help. 

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, we can try to learn from this līlā, and it is like say in some countries, if you steal, they cut off your hands. And people are afraid to steal because they will lose their hand. So, if we understand how serious it is to be envious against the devotees, then you will avoid that like anything.

Koṭiśaśi Gaurāṅga dāsa: Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā: yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas – whatever great people do the common man follows – if devotees don’t follow the rules then common man also start doing the same, without understanding the inner intention. How to understand this?

Jayapatākā Swami: If the devotee is doing some service to the Lord, then we should see how this service was established. So since Lord Jagannātha has approved of this service, there is nothing wrong with it, as Svarūpa Dāmodara had mentioned. So, the idea that one does what the Lord wants, that should be followed by everyone.

Kṛpā Sindhu dāsa: How much should we aspire for personal reciprocation from the Lord? 

Jayapatākā Swami: Well, that is something to be aspired for, but it is very rarely achieved. That is why we are seeing, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, without aspiring, he got punished and he took that as the special mercy of the Lord. But although the Lord actually reciprocates with us in many ways, maybe we don’t realize it. But Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, he got such an instruction from the Lord that when he woke up his cheeks were swollen, so he was feeling very blessed. Also, the Chand Kazi, he saw a person half lion half man, came and told him that you disturb by saṅkīrtana again, I will really punish you. And He scratched him across his chest with His claws and when he woke up, the scratch marks were still there. That is a very great blessing. So we would hope that you would not commit any offenses, but we are always anxious to receive some blessings from guru and Kṛṣṇa.

Question: Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi saw this pastime as the mercy of the Lord, how do we see the mercy of the Lord in everything in our life? As you say Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi saw this pastime as the mercy of the Lord, how do we see the mercy of the Lord in everything in our life?

Jayapatākā Swami: by following in Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi’s footsteps. We see that everything that happens is by the mercy of the Lord, even if we get some punishment we think that it is very small, we deserve much worse. Like that if we get any good fortune, we also think that is the mercy of the Lord. 

Līlā Kṛṣṇa Caraṇa dāsa: We know that a Muslim gets punishment from Rājāpur Lord Jagannātha in his dream, when he does not accept the prasāda. How to understand this?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, when the Muslim came to see Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā, in Rājāpur, the pūjārī offered him prasāda, he took it and threw it and said, “I don’t take food offered to idols.”

Then the pūjārī said, “if you think like that, why did you come here?”

So like that he left. Next day he came and offered his prostrate obeisances to the Lord and begged the pūjārī for prasāda. The pūjārī thought asked him, “Are you crazy or what? Yesterday, you threw the prasāda, today you are begging for it. Why is that?”

He said, last night, “These three came to me in my dream. The guy with the white face, He grabbed me by the neck and said, “You threw My brother’s prasāda, I am going to Catch you!” And the lady said, “Get him! Get him!” But the one with the smiling black face, He said, “Oh leave him alone he did not make that big an offense.” But now I believe! I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE! I WILL NEVER THROW PRASĀDA! I BELIEVE!”

So he got special mercy from Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā. that is why we say that the Rājāpur Deities are very merciful and very active. Normally, the yavanas would not get such mercy, but Rājāpur Jagannātha, He is very special! Haribol! Jagannātha kī jaya! Jagannātha kī jaya! Lord Jagannātha kī jaya!!