20230605 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 5th, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja. Please accept my respectful obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Question: We have heard through Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, how Kṛṣṇa appears, how He has curly hair, manda manda muskaan (gentle smile), how He walks, but I have always been curious how His voice sounds like? How He speaks? I have never come across how Kṛṣṇa, how His voice feels like? Can you give me an idea Guru Mahārāja, how that is?

Jayapatākā Swami: It says only the most fortunate can hear. Ha! Ha!

Devotee: Then you would know Guru Mahārāja!

Jayapatākā Swami: In other words, we should be so fortunate that we can hear Kṛṣṇa’s voice, His song, His flute, His ornaments. Think how fortunate the vraja-vāsīs were! They could hear Kṛṣṇa talking and singing, His ankle bells, His flute playing! If even for a minute, we think wow! I would like to hear that, that one desire then can lead us back to the spiritual world. Unfortunately, people are thinking other things. And we take birth after birth after birth in this material world, thinking that this other thing will make me happy. Then that doesn’t make me happy, then we think of something else. I heard that for some kind of quantity, I don’t know how much, they will freeze your body, then when the scientists find how to bring the dead back to life, they will do it. It is all like Post-dated checks. Actually, the Vedas tell us life comes from life. That as long as the life is in the body, the body is beautiful to look at, because of the living force, the ātmā. It is not some material thing you can adjust. All these rich people, the scientists, they don’t know the basic ABCs of spiritual life. The body is a machine, we need doctors to correct the machine, but the doctors cannot put life back into a dead body. They are saying give me your money we will freeze your body and when the doctors figure out, we will unfreeze you! So this is a bluff! Śrīla Prabhupāda was in one village in India. And he was giving a simple example. He said say, somebody’s grandfather dies. His wife is crying, my husband has left. His sons and daughters are crying my father has left. The grand-daughter or grandchildren they are crying, my grandfather has gone and in the village everyone according to their relationship, they are lamenting he has gone! He has gone! Śrīla Prabhupāda asked them, who has gone? Same body is same hair is there, same hands, so, who has gone? Everyone is lamenting that he is gone, but who has gone? It is actually the ātmā, the soul has gone. And that if the soul is there the body is alive, the soul is not there, the body is dead. So, that is the unfortunate thing. People don’t know these basic things of spiritual life. My purvāśrama mother, she visited India and she came to Śrīla Prabhupāda. She gave him roses every day. I was surprise that, Śrīla Prabhupāda was speaking to her about the living force! In such a simple language, the living force, I never heard Śrīla Prabhupāda say that usually we hear ātmā, he was saying the living force, you are the living force in the body. When you leave the body, the living force leaves the body, then it is dead. I heard that Disney or somebody, they have their body frozen, then their heirs started fighting who is going to inherit from him? Maybe he will come back to life! So a big fight and someone pulled the cord! He was rotting and then alright! So then they could take his money! Any other question., our guest, Paṇḍitajī?

Dr. Pandit: I live in New York now and one thing about New York is lots of people, lots of events, lots of noise, lots of money, and I am 25 years old and one of the things I am thinking about is understanding how to balance living in the materialist world and having accomplishments, and meeting people and networking, but also living a peaceful, spiritual fulfilling life. How do I, at 25 who is ambitious and want to serve my community, but also not be attached to so many things, how do I find that balance?

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, He told many people that they should keep their heart on Kṛṣṇa, but they should do their material activities in a very responsible way. He gave the example that say, a married woman has another lover than her husband. And so, she does not want to be discovered and does her activities very carefully. Household activities are very good. But her mind is always thinking about her lover. So Lord Caitanya advises keep your mind on Kṛṣṇa, but do your material activities outwardly in a very responsible way. That is how He advised to balance the things. Like, we found that when we first joined Kṛṣṇa consciousness in 1968, we were chanting on the street, and we would see people walking by and they would react in different ways. And we were somehow, we were in a different atmosphere. And we could see all the mental trips and things that people were going through. And so, being in New York, you see lots of people, but you can understand what is the real purpose of life? And while you are in this world, in this life, you have to do things to make your family work. But ultimately you want to go back to the spiritual world, and so that way you keep your mind on Kṛṣṇa.

Dr. Pandit: I was talking to Dr. Vinaya Gauracandra dāsa, and he was telling me how when you had this stroke you had a choice, to join Kṛṣṇa or to serve His mission here. Is there anything about that experience that you can share?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, I joined in 1968. And at that time, I thought my parents would be very happy. I called up my mother, she tried to convince me to be a Christian priest, but she came to see me. I called my purvāśrama father and he was very angry. He said you come back immediately, I am going to send you to the Army, you will die in Vietnam! I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda what should I do? He said, better you join Kṛṣṇa’s army! Ha! Ha! So I did that and I have been in his army ever since. In 2008, I had a stroke. And His Holiness Bhakti Cāru Mahārāja and others told me that I should stay. I wanted to see the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium and many services given by Śrīla Prabhupāda. And I wanted to do those. Kṛṣṇa somehow, the doctors they said that I will die. 99%. And if I 1% lived, I would be a vegetable. But somehow by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, I am still able to talk, I am able to think, I cannot walk too much, Ha! I am able to appreciate these wonderful instructions of Lord Caitanya. I am combining all the books on Lord Caitanya to bring them into one in English, so that people can understand about Lord Caitanya. I don’t know how long Kṛṣṇa will keep me here, I am doing a therapy now. I have taken the second last therapy for my skin cancer. Wednesday is supposed to be the last. But they said that, after that I will gradually start to get better. So I was asked in the Dallas Sādhu-saṅga by His Holiness Śacīnandana Mahārāja, he said how are you? I Ha! I said, well, how do you mean, materially or spiritually? Materially I had a stroke, I am wheelchair bound, I had a liver and kidney transplant, skin cancer, I mean materially, I am a wreck! But spiritually I am very happy! Ha! Ha! Some people say that actions speaks louder than words! But most people, they have no problem, I have to sit, although, in the airplane I am like the first one in and the last one out. Anyway, this material world is not a very nice place. But when you are young, you don’t think that way. But we see how Lord Caitanya, He was so appreciative of devotees of Vraja dhāma, how they were Kṛṣṇa conscious. That happiness is incomparable!

Any more questions? Last question.

Question: In today’s class you talked about hearing Kṛṣṇa’s words. Sometimes when we read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Caitanya-caritāmṛta we don’t get that nectar as much, but when we listen to Śrīla Prabhupāda or to you speak, so which is better reading alone or listening to guru and Śrīla Prabhupāda or both are equally important?

Jayapatākā Swami: Hearing in the association of devotees is the best. Because then we can get a taste. But somehow or another you have to read, you have to assimilate, and it is not that every time we can hear classes. We encourage people to read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. I have been encouraging devotees to read his books. And they have degrees – Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta and Bhakti-Sārvabhauma. Some young people have read and got their degrees already! I read the books many times. To get first initiation, Śrīla Prabhupāda said I have to read Bhagavad-gītā ten times! So, I say that people, when they want initiation, they should read Bhagavad-gītā twice. Even then, people complain, say, I will do it later! Give me initiation, and I will finish the book in one year! Ha! Ha! But actually, they offered me a free honorary degree, but I said if I take a free degree that won’t be a good example. I will take the test. I got my Bhakti-vaibhava, now they have a summative exam. You can take it without going through the whole course. But I did not do that. They did not have it at that time. I took each canto and got an A and A plus! I have started on by Bhakti-vedānta but I only did up to the 7th Canto. I am very busy here! So, I have to quickly do it because many devotees are reading and moving ahead, I have to quickly do it! But every night, someone reads to me, I am on the 10th canto now. And 10th, canto 11th chapter. So I hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam every night, I give class in the evening. Like that.