20221029 Śrīla Prabhupāda Disappearance Day Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 29th, 2022 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!

Jayapatākā Swami: So today since it is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance day, would you rather have questions and answers about Śrīla Prabhupāda rather than Haridāsa Ṭhākura-līlā? 

Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda said that a lot of preaching has to happen on the moon. Can you share that pastime with us? 

Jayapatākā Swami: I heard from Dāmodara Mahārāja, one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Godbrothers, one-time Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, he was walking in the evening, and suddenly he started gazing at the moon and everyone was looking at him and he was looking at the moon.

After a long time, he said the people on the moon have become materialistic, they have become bahir-mukha, they need preaching.

So next trip to the moon, send some preachers!

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Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda said Kṛṣṇa consciousness can happen in one minute. Can you please let us more about it? 

—Satyamedha Gaurāṅga dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Satyamedha Gaurāṅga dāsa!

Haribol! Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that if we had a strong desire then Kṛṣṇa consciousness would manifest suddenly.

Just like a baby is crying, if the baby is like half-crying, the mother may ignore but if the baby really cries, aaaaahhhh, the mother will run, what happened?

If we desire to be Kṛṣṇa conscious very intensely, then Kṛṣṇa will help you to become Kṛṣṇa conscious in a minute. 

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Question: We have seen that in many letters Śrīla Prabhupāda has warned us not to associate closely with the other Gauḍīya Maṭha devotees, but at the same time he also said we have to cooperate with them.

How do we balance and understand this?

Jayapatākā Swami: We are trying to have some joint programs on the appearance disappearance days of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura.

And that time everybody speaks for ten minutes.

And we have various speakers.

That way we are cooperating.

But we don’t really associate, one on one, individually, because it may expose us to some criticism. 

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Question: What is the mood to observe the disappearance tithi of a great ācārya like Śrīla Prabhupāda?

Jayapatākā Swami: Combination of separation when we miss the devotee, and because they went back to Godhead, so some feeling of bliss. 

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Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda says that spiritual life is as sharp as a knife. What does that mean?

Jayapatākā Swami: To the guru you should pay respectful obeisances and to other godbrothers and godsisters pay humble obeisances. So, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is quite simple. But you have to practice it very sincerely. That way, a slight deviation may be very significant. That is why he says that it is like a knife edge. 

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Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda, what prasāda did he like to eat and you Guru Mahārāja what prasāda did you cook for Śrīla Prabhupāda?

—Śāśvatī Sudhārāṇī devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: I remember that Śrīla Prabhupāda liked kacaurīs.

And that is why sometimes he would have kacaurīs.

I am not one who cooked for Śrīla Prabhupāda, so I don’t know all the things he liked.

One time I saw he had dysentery and his sister prepared hot purīs with salt.

So she sprinkled salt on the purī and the purī was hot.

I didn’t think that it would cure dysentery, but somehow it cured him!

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Question: What qualities are we to learn from Śrīla Prabhupāda?

—ISKCON Kurnool

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t think there is any limit.

All the qualities of a pure devotee we can see in Śrīla Prabhupāda. 

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Question: What was your mood when you heard about Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance.

—Kṛṣṇa Karuṇāmṛta dāsa 

Jayapatākā Swami: Crying! 

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Question: Even so long after Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disappearance how do you experience his presence?

Jayapatākā Swami: I am thinking that I still want to perform the different instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me, and I am praying to Śrīla Prabhupāda to give his mercy so that I could execute these orders.

One thing on the disappearance day, is that the heritage of the spiritual master is left for us to perform, and we want to keep him alive by executing his instructions.

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Question (in Bengali): How can we increase our surrender to Śrīla Prabhupāda? 

Jayapatākā Swami: Read his books, try to carry out his instructions.

He wanted his gṛhastha followers to become paramahaṁsas, what to speak of others?!

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Question: What is your most fond, personal interaction with Śrīla Prabhupāda? 

Jayapatākā Swami: If you ask what is my most favorite this and that how can I say?

Tell us one of your favorite, I can do that, say that whatever comes to mind.

Someone told me when you see the spiritual master you should humble yourself, praise him ask for blessings.

Whenever I went, I used to do that.

One day I said, Śrīla Prabhupāda, you are very merciful, I offered praise and then I said I am a fool and I humbled myself.

Before I could say something else, he spoke out, yes! Ha!

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Question: How did Śrīla Prabhupāda convince you and his other disciples into Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Jayapatākā Swami: He was very sincere.

Whatever he would give speech in the evening, he was very straightforward, simple and honest.

So that was very convincing.

And he used to tell the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gītā in a very simple way and it seemed very appropriate.

When I was trying to practice bhakti-yoga, there were no books at that time.

He said we could read the Teachings of Lord Caitanya by Professor O.B.L. Kapoor.

So I was reading that about Haridasa Ṭhākura said that whenever he had some māyā thought chant loudly.

I was a new bhakta, I had so many māyā thoughts!

I chanted louder and louder and louder and I was screaming Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

and all the devotees when to Śrīla Prabhupāda and complained - this Bhakta Jay, he shouts Hare Kṛṣṇa and we cannot chant our japa.

Śrīla Prabhupāda called me, asking me to explain why all the devotees were stressed with me!

So I explained that I read Haridāsa Ṭhākura chanted louder when he had some māyā thought, I had so many māyā thought so I chant loud! Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “Hmmm, that is not so bad!” So he told me that chant next to the temple in the public park, Park Mount Royale, the city of Montreal is named after this hill, Mount Royale, means Royal Hill.

Our temple was next to that park.

So I would walk up to the hill and chant loudly and the squirrels and birds would dance around So in that way I was chanting. 

At that time, we were having Māyāpur and Vṛndāvana festival.

And he would take devotees in between and we would visit different places. 

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Question: Whenever you were in separation from Śrīla Prabhupāda, your spiritual father how did you accept it? And what did you do to serve him and keep yourself content even in separation? 

—Vrajasevinī Vṛndā devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: I did not, but I had no choice.

I did not want Śrīla Prabhupāda to leave.

But Kṛṣṇa takes us, and nothing we can do.

But I did lots of service, and thanks to Ahlādinī Rādhā and others to help us do all the services.

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Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda’s disciples are very enthusiastically serving their Śrīla Prabhupāda with surrender, dedication and commitment.

How do we as his grand disciple develop this level of faith and surrender? 

Jayapatākā Swami: I hope they are serving Śrīla Prabhupāda enthusiastically and I hope that the grand disciples will also serve guru and Gaurāṅga enthusiastically.

And that depends on their sincerity.

If they are sincere they will do that. 

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Question: What qualities of yourself Guru Mahārāja that Śrīla Prabhupāda liked the most?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know. Attend the JSSS programs!

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Question: Please share some pastimes of Śrīla Prabhupāda on the Lotus roof top. 

Jayapatākā Swami: Many pastimes.

One pastime, he was going around the rooftop and he stopped by the door there and he told me that when a spiritual master leaves sometimes the disciples sell off his properties and live off the proceeds.

And so if you can increase it very good, but at least maintain what I gave you. 

One time we were walking on the roof here and there was a migration of ants from one side to the other.

And we could tell the queen ants were bigger in size.

The male ants carried the seeds, and the female ants were just going along.

We were looking down at them.

Śrīla Prabhupāda said that as just as we were look the ants and thinking that they were insignificant, the devas in the higher planets were looking at us and thinking how we are very insignificant.

We only live a few of their days.

Those are two pastimes. 

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Question: Śrīla Prabhupāda said in one of his letters to his disciples, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is for training men to be independently thoughtful and competent in all types of departments of knowledge and action.

But at the same time the culture and teachings encourages, and expects its practioners to surrender and to be obedient to senior devotees, guru and Gaurāṅga.

How can I be independently thoughtful and be obedient at the same time, especially when dealing with senior devotees?

—Ekleśvarī Mādhavī devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: It seems that you are facing some contradiction.

That you want to be submissive, at the same time independently thoughtful.

So, independently thoughtful, we decide what we are going to do.

Not that we just do something blindly, but if we decide that we are following some more experienced devotee, that should be helpful.

So you can do well by following an experienced devotee, at the same time be independently thoughtful.

Doesn’t mean you just blindly follow any devotee, but you pick up some particular activity, because it is something that sits nicely with you and it is in the śāstra. 

We are going to have Marīci dāsa – he has 108 laḍḍus he is going to give in the name of Korkay George, and please pray for him.

He was very favorable to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although he was not fortunate to get initiated by me.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!