19790919 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.9.6

The following is class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 19, 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 4, Chapter 9, Text 6.

dhruva uvāca
yo ’ntaḥ praviśya mama vācam imāṁ prasuptāṁ
 sañjīvayaty akhila-śakti-dharaḥ sva-dhāmnā
anyāṁś ca hasta-caraṇa-śravaṇa-tvag-ādīn
prāṇān namo bhagavate puruṣāya tubhyam
[SB 4.9.6]

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: (Reads Translation and purport of the verse)

Translation by His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda:

Dhruva Mahārāja said: My dear Lord, You are all-powerful. After entering within me, You have enlivened all my sleeping senses — my hands, legs, ears, touch sensation, life force and especially my power of speech. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda: Dhruva Mahārāja could understand very easily the difference between his condition before and after attaining spiritual realization and seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. He could understand that his life force and activities had been sleeping. Unless one comes to the spiritual platform, his bodily limbs, mind and other facilities within the body are understood to be sleeping. Unless one is spiritually situated, all his activities are taken as a dead man’s activities or ghostly activities. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has composed a song in which he addresses himself: “O living entity, get up! How long shall you sleep on the lap of māyā? Now you have the opportunity of possessing a human form of body; now try to get up and realize yourself.” The Vedas also declare, “Get up! Get up! You have the opportunity, the boon of the human form of life — now realize yourself.” These are the Vedic injunctions.

Dhruva Mahārāja actually experienced that upon enlightenment of his senses on the spiritual platform he could understand the essence of Vedic instruction — that the Supreme Godhead is the Supreme Person; He is not impersonal. Dhruva Mahārāja could immediately understand this fact. He was aware that for a very long time he was practically sleeping, and he felt the impetus to glorify the Lord according to the Vedic conclusion. A mundane person cannot offer any prayer or glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because he has no realization of the Vedic conclusion.

When Dhruva Mahārāja therefore found this difference within himself, he could immediately understand that it was because of the causeless mercy of the Lord. He offered obeisances to the Lord with great respect and reverence and completely understanding that the Lord’s favor was upon him. This spiritual enlivenment of Dhruva Mahārāja’s senses and mind was due to the action of the internal potency of the Lord. In this verse, therefore, the word sva-dhāmnā means “by spiritual energy.” Spiritual enlightenment is possible by the mercy of the spiritual energy of the Lord. The chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is first addressed to the spiritual energy of the Lord, Hare. This spiritual energy acts when a living entity fully surrenders and accepts his position as an eternal servitor. When a person places himself at the disposal or order of the Supreme Lord, that is called sevonmukha; at that time the spiritual energy gradually reveals the Lord to him.

Without revelation by the spiritual energy, one is unable to offer prayers glorifying the Lord. Any amount of philosophical speculation or poetic expression by mundane persons is still considered to be the action and reaction of the material energy. When one is actually enlivened by the spiritual energy, all his senses become purified, and he engages only in the service of the Lord. At that time his hands, legs, ears, tongue, mind, genitals—everything—engage in the service of the Lord. Such an enlightened devotee no longer has any material activities, nor has he any interest in being materially engaged. This process of purifying the senses and engaging them in the service of the Lord is known as bhakti, or devotional service. In the beginning, the senses are engaged by the direction of the spiritual master and śāstra, and after realization, when the same senses are purified, the engagement continues. The difference is that in the beginning the senses are engaged in a mechanical way, but after realization they are engaged in spiritual understanding.

Thus, end the purport by His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, verse 6, chapter 9, canto 4 of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami: Actually… When I read here about the empowerment of Dhruva Mahārāja, I am reminded of a great devotee in our midst. Dhruva Mahārāja was empowered by Kṛṣṇa. And his intelligence, his ability became fully manifest.

Without being empowered by the Lord nobody can preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. No one can become spiritually enlightened.

kali-kālera dharma--kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana
kṛṣṇa-śakti vinā nahe tāra pravartana
[Cc Antya 7.11]

In this Kali-yuga, the only religion, the only path for spiritual life, is nāma-saṅkīrtana, Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, glorifying the holy name and fame of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. And unless someone gets the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, he is not empowered to preach, to expand that saṅkīrtana movement.

I was remembering how Śrīla Prabhupāda, in his last few days and months, one day called us and he was telling us how we have to prepare for carrying out the work which he had begun. He said, “Only half my work is finished, other half is remaining, you must all finish.” He said, “You are actually all simple, you are all simple, innocent devotees, so you should, you should combinedly work together to spread this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement.” He said, “Amongst you only one person has got a little intelligence, that is Rāmeśvara Swami.”

Devotees: Jaya!

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami: So, Śrīla Prabhupāda was very much affectionate with His Divine Grace Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami and for his using, having intelligence to use and using it to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. So, reading here about Dhruva Mahārāja, I was reminded of my worshippable godbrother, Śrīla Rameśvara Swami, who is always using his intelligence to glorify the Lord according to time and place.

Actually… Here we see the words ‘sva-dhāmnā’, the… His internal potency of the Lord. Actually… The Lord’s internal potency manifests Herself in so many different ways. And this potency of the Lord is divinely connected by the Lord (Excuse me…) to the Lord. And everyone who is a pure devotee is under the shelter of this divine energy. Actually, If anybody wants to see Kṛṣṇa, one first has to get the mercy of the energy of the Lord, in the form of the mercy of spiritual master or by Kṛṣṇa’s associates, of course of which the spiritual master is one. Other associates after the spiritual master gives mercy may also come.

Prabhupāda says that before you can see Jagannātha, first you will see Subhadrā. Subhadrā, being the energy of the Lord, She is all compassionate. Then after Subhadrā then come Balarāma, then finally you will see Jagannātha. The Lord’s mercy – very compassionate. Before Dhruva Mahārāja could see Nārāyaṇa, first he saw Nārada muni. And by his mercy, he ultimately saw Nārāyaṇa. By Nārāyaṇa’s mercy, he was empowered to glorify Nārāyaṇa. Glorifying Nārāyaṇa is not a material capacity. It is not possible for any material person to glorify the Lord perfectly. This is only possible by the mercy of Nārāyaṇa, by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees. So, one thing is, we see how ‘dhāmnā’ means spiritual energy, the ‘dhāma’ is also spiritual, is the spiritual potency.

I am reminded how nicely Śrīla Prabhupāda describes, describes that, “If you want to know Kṛṣṇa, if you want to love Kṛṣṇa, then you must know and love those who Kṛṣṇa loves. Otherwise it is not possible.” “My dear Lord Kṛṣṇa I love you, but if You just get rid of those cows, so I could have You on Fifth Avenue.” You see, these are all concoctions. If you want Kṛṣṇa then you have to also have His cows, and His cowherd boys, and His cowherd girls, and His mother, and His father, and His uncles, and His aunties, and His grandmother, Paurṇamāsī, everyone. Kṛṣṇa is a person, so He has likes and He has dislikes. He doesn’t like anyone to suffer. He doesn’t like His devotee, especially, to be put in difficulty. This is His dislike; He doesn’t like that. Therefore, He has come down to give His mercy to His devotees who are feeling separation of His lotus feet. Therefore, He mitigates the anxiety of the pious people, the devotees, by arranging to have the demoniac influence diminished.

The Lord has likes. He likes His particular dress, He likes His flute. He loves His flute, which is non-different. All these things in the Absolute world are non-different. But somethings take the position of paraphernalia, of associates, of eternal servitors, His holy name, His holy form. And He also has a place which He likes. He likes a particular place.

I never understood that yet, although everyone likes to say that Jayapatākā Swami has been living in the holy dhāma, that is my body alone. The glories of the holy dhāma, are not something that simply by living there even one can understand very easily. It can only be understood, what is the glories of the holy name, fame, dhāma, līlā, rūpa, of the Lord, only by very special mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His pure devotees.

How the Lord has a deep love for a particular place and how that place is not part of the material world, but it is expanded by His internal potency, is a very difficult matter to understand. Actually, wherever the devotee goes, he recreates that place. The dhāma is not limited, although it is situated, fixed up in one particular place in the world, at the same time, it is all pervasive, just like Kṛṣṇa. Because wherever Kṛṣṇa is, there is His dhāma, there is His name, there is His form, there is His pastime, there is His devotees. So, when one brings Kṛṣṇa in his heart there also comes the holy place. When one brings Kṛṣṇa in his home there also the dhāma is manifesting. As much as one has his devotion so much will Kṛṣṇa and His holy paraphernalia, rūpa, nāma, dhāma, manifest. So, everything has a transcendental relationship.

Prabhupāda said, “ISKCON is my body.”

“I am a devotee of Śrīla Prabhupāda but I don’t like ISKCON. How can that be? Is it possible?”

“I love you Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami, but I don’t like your body.”

How is it possible? I like his transcendental beautiful form, his sweet lotus words, everything about him (if I like him), his associates, everything.

“Kṛṣṇa, I like you but I don’t like your body.”

In the spiritual world there is no diff… Of course, this material body is different from the spiritual body. But a pure devotee’s body becomes spiritually enlivened. It becomes holy, because it’s fully dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. Even that one told that is a material body, “No, it may be material to your eyes, but because it is fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service it has also becomes sanctified.” But especially when Prabhupāda said that, “My body is ISKCON.” How can we see ISKCON as separate? “Kṛṣṇa I love you but I don’t like your body.” Is that possible? Is there a difference in (Prabhupāda) from Kṛṣṇa, His body? Is there a difference in Prabhupāda and his body? When he says that, “ISKCON is my body,” he means, “That if you love me, then you love this association of devotees joined together to cooperate for the purpose of preaching the message of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”

I know one devotee said, “Śrīla Prabhupāda, is it true that only the devotees who are doing saṅkīrtana are the pure devotees of Kṛṣṇa?” And Prabhupāda, “Who is not doing saṅkīrtana? This whole movement is based on saṅkīrtana, who is not doing saṅkīrtana? Everyone is combining together to cooperate with the one, single purpose of spreading saṅkīrtana.” If one person does not cook the prasāda how the devotees would eat to go out and distribute? One person… Every person is combining together, one person may be taking greater risk than another. Whoever puts themselves out the most in the devotional service, taking shelter of guru and Kṛṣṇa, he gets the best. He can get more mercy. But who isn’t doing saṅkīrtana in this movement? Who is fully surrender… The whole movement is based upon spreading and everyone should have that preaching mood - How can I cooperate with the desire of Śrīla Prabhupāda, to work as a gear, as a nut, as a bolt, as a wheel in the huge machinery of ISKCON for the purpose of preaching the saṅkīrtana movement. The whole machine is going to that destination only, to spread Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s message everywhere.”

Dhruva Mahārāja, he is glorifying the Lord that, “By your mercy, my senses have become enlivened. I was just asleep.” Isn’t that our position? Before we get the mercy of guru, we are simply dead men, walking corpses. By His mercy, we become awakened. By His mercy, we have eyes to see, who we are, what is our purpose, where are we headed? Who is Kṛṣṇa? What is our relationship? How do we act in that relationship? What is the supreme perfection?

Śrīla Prabhupāda presented Kṛṣṇa consciousness in a unique, dynamic way. While maintaining the very strict essence of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s following of the principles of rules and regulations or sādhana-bhakti. He intertwined within that an all-pervasive facility for manifesting rāgānugā-bhakti or spontaneous devotional service. It is very rare. In India, it is immediately the tendency to become a kaniṣṭha-adhikāri. Immediately. “I am Hindu” “I am this I am that...” To simply ring the bell at the ārati time, “ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong” and then go back after the ārati, sit down, wait for the rice. Eating lot of rice to take a little rest. In other words, to be able to lift up the bell at the next ārati, very heavy, about 2 kilos, 5-pound bell.

Prabhupāda admitted to us that at one-point Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta said, “If I just had one madhyama-adhikāri disciple, one, never mind uttama-adhikāri, never mind first class, if I had a one second class devotee, I would say my whole movement is a success.” (Pause) One second class devotee.

The third-class devotee simply sees the external form, simply sees the external form. If someone bows down, “Oh, he is surrendered to Kṛṣṇa; if he goes to the temple, he is surrendered.” So then, there is more than that. But then, the sahajiyās they take it a step further. They say, “Oh, we are fully second-class devotees. We understand that simply bowing down, going to the temple, is not pure devotion. There's more to it. So therefore, we don't go to the temple in devotion to show we're beyond that. We don’t need that.” Then they go over the deep edge.

Prabhupāda said that spiritual life is sharp like a razor. What is that mean? That if one follows the straight path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness as given by Prabhupāda, which is completely aligned with Rūpa Gosvāmī, he goes down the straight path. If one goes a little bit to the right, he falls off in a pit of māyāvāda – “I am God!” “I am same as guru.” “I am same as Kṛṣṇa.” “All is one.” And if he goes a little bit the other way, to the left side, then he becomes a sahajiyā. “I am already eternal associate of Kṛṣṇa. I am already a pure devotee. I don't need all these rules and regulations. I can act in any way I like, I am surrendered to Kṛṣṇa in my heart and mind.”

But Rūpa Gosvāmī had, what he has said, perfectly Prabhupāda has given us the practical application, which so many so-called followers of Rūpa Gosvāmī have obviously failed to pick up.

While following basic sādhana – chanting rounds, attending temple programs, to be always fixed in enthusiastic devotional service under the order of the spiritual master, and to develop one’s spontaneous enthusiasm to that devotional service. The more purified one’s senses become, the more perfect becomes his service. The more purified one’s senses become, the more clearly, he can see what is his duty to the spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. And even if one is an awakened soul, he will try to give a good example, because the kaniṣṭha-adhikāri, the un-advanced devotees will not understand his advancement. But the pure devotee sometimes is just too much absorbed in his mood of trying to satisfy his order of the spiritual master, which is a much higher principle.

Our Śrīla Prabhupāda went to visit one wealthy man in Calcutta, and he went to his house. When he went there the man said, I’ll be said “Well, Śrīla Prabhupāda is here, would you like to see him? Many, many, years ago, you sent him a message.” The man sent out his message that, “Well, I am doing pūjā, please come back after an hour or something.” Prabhupāda said, “He does not know how to satisfy, who is the… what is the position of a devotee, simply kaniṣṭha-adhikāri. He is doing his puja and Kṛṣṇa sent His devotee. To greet a devotee is a much higher principle than worshiping the deity in a mechanical way.”

There are so many instances in Caitanya-līla. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya left what he was doing and immediately came to greet the devotees. By pleasing the Lord’s devotee, Kṛṣṇa immediately becomes pleased, more so than worshiping Kṛṣṇa directly for unlimited time.

Śrīla Prabhupāda personally he didn’t like the samādhi mandira of Bhaktisiddhānta, because he felt that they made the murti of Bhaktisiddhānta to look like... I forgot who he is said... either Rūpānuga or Bhavānanda, I forget. But he said, it did not remind him of Bhaktisiddhānta and when he went there they put him through so many different kinds of inconvenient situations. So, when he would go by he would pay his daṇḍavats like this with his hand, and he would go by. So, one day came through the grapevine that one of his god brothers was criticizing, “Why Bhaktivedanta Swami does not come and bow down before the samādhi mandira of Bhaktisiddhānta? Before his guru’s mandira. This is a defect.” They are criticizing. And I happened to be present in his room when he heard that. And he started to become so affective. “They just don’t understand, they don’t understand. They think that Bhaktisiddhānta is stuck there in the ground. They don’t realize that he is sitting by my side, and every moment guiding me, helping me.”

The kaniṣṭha-adhikāri he thinks that only one is worshiping his spiritual master when he is ringing the bell at his ārati. They can't see that by carrying out his order, a pure disciple is intimately connected with his spiritual master more than at any other time, and that connection is so strong and sweet, that he may even override some ritual, absorbed in that mood of satisfying his innermost desire. What will carry out and satisfy his intention, that is the higher principle. But blinded by envy, blinded by ignorance, blinded by material contamination, blinded by imperfect vision, one can see a defect in someone where there is no defect.

Just like, who was it? Rāmananda Purī? What is that? Paramānanda? No the… Rāmacandra?! Rāmacandra Purī, who saw, he would come and he would feed devotees, feed prasāda.

They, “I am full, I am full.”

“No, no, you must take more, you must take more.”

Pile on their plate. Then they would finally they will… He would force so hard, that they, “Alright, I've already had; just for you, I’ll take a little more.”

“Oh, you over-ate, you slob, you non-vaiṣṇava, you rascal, you have over-eaten, you are not a true bhakta.”

“I was just taking because you were insisting, I had enough.”

“Arhhhh… you rascal!”

This is Rāmacandra Purī mood. Set someone else up and then cut off his head. So, there is really no positive instruction, wonder why are these līlās put in Caitanya-caritāmṛta! What is the benefit? Benefit obviously is because there are going to be instances when foreign souls are going to… like us… they are going to have different idiosyncrasies to act like that.

Therefore, to give us instruction how foolish it is, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja has included for our instruction, lest we become a Rāmacandra Purī, who goes to Lord Caitanya’s room and sees the few ants on the floor, “Oh! you are eating so many sweets, ants are coming, you are not a real sannyāsī!” He is criticizing Kṛṣṇa Himself! How… How puffed up? So then forced by the opinion, the devotee is so humble. Lord Caitanya was taking the mood of a devotee, so humble, “Alright, I will no longer eat.” He reduced His diet to just one token. Devotee is so soft-hearted that if somebody criticizes, on a, on a, even though it is the materialistic platform, even though it is not a perfect platform, He is so humble, “Alright, whatever you like… I will stop eating.” But actually… where there is no fault, someone will find a fault.

Simply due to not a deep anubhāva or understanding realization of what is the inner intention of the guru or Kṛṣṇa. What does it take to instill faith in fallen souls in this Kali-yuga? How is it possible to inject in their dead, stone-like heart, the sweet nectar of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is what Lord Caitanya’s supermost desire.

We pray every day, “śrī-caitanya-mano-’bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhū-tale svayaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-padāntikam. Oh! Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī! I follow and beg to take shelter of your divine lotus feet, because you have established the desire of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in this world.” That is the highest principle.

Rūpa Gosvāmī is called Rūpa Mañjarī. He is the most intimate servant of Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī, 9^th gopī in the 108 gopīs. He does not think that he is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. He is the eternal servant in the most superlative internal aspect. What is he doing? He is establishing Kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana to satisfy Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

And following his rule, Bhaktisiddhānta said, “I have taken sannyāsa just to show that I am the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa. I am not like Lord Caitanya, who would sit and enjoy, in the… in the Gaura Gambhīrā of Purī, tasting the nectar of Rādhā Kṛṣṇa-līla. Am I Lord Caitanya, am I to enjoy like that? I am His servant; what He wants, let me simply serve Him. He should enjoy this internal pastime. I will simply serve His lotus feet. And whatever mercy He wants to have on me, that I am always eager and anxious for. Nothing else do I want, but I will not imitate Him, to try and taste the nectar of Radha and Kṛṣṇa. Falsely putting myself in His position, that is His. I will taste anything simply by His mercy, absorbed in serving His intention, His mood.”

So, he saw that what Caitanya wanted, His saṅkīrtana spread everywhere, His pure devotional service spread everywhere. So, all through the guru paramparā, we see they are simply manifesting His desire. Śrīla Prabhupāda took that order to heart unlimited percent and expanded all over the world. This is a very wonderful thing, very wonderful thing.

I may be walking down the street in Māyāpur (of course, there is only one street) but the road I have to say. And actually… I have been told by some local people that there is a very big banyan tree at near bridge, about half a mile from our land, on the main Bhaktisiddhānta Road, and that tree, someone told me, “This is yogamāyā.” So about 7 – 8 years ago, I asked Prabhupāda, “Prabhupāda, people say, ‘This is the tree yogamāyā personified come here.’ Could you explain, is that true Śrīla Prabhupāda?” Prabhupāda looked, “Why not?” Answered the question, at the same time left us completely bewildered - that definitely that tree was yogamāyā, but then of course he was instructing that that doesn’t mean that every other tree in the holy dhāma isn’t yogamāyā.

The whole dhāma is of course yogamāyā, so it is hard to believe that only that tree yogamāyā, of course everything is yogamāyā there. So specifically, if there is more yogamāyā that of course was something which required deep realization to delve further into. Prabhupāda had given a very, deep-as-the-ocean reply, which simply increased our appreciation of the holy dhāma.

Actually… We feel at Śrī Māyāpur not that we are like local GBC or temple president. We have eyes to go see, we feel very much that we are simply the caretakers for the whole ISKCON society. If I remember, in 1970 when Śrīla Prabhupāda went, he actually asked me to go to India and then he came there after some short time; also, he mentioned that “my gurudatta deśa , the land given to me by Kṛṣṇa to preach was here in the western world; now we have so many devotees in the west, who are preaching. It is necessary that they should go and visit our the holy lands, to see Māyāpur, Vṛndāvana and visit on occasion for some time the holy birthplace of Lord Caitanya, of Kṛṣṇa.” So, then he asked me to try to find, he asked first Acyutānanda, and later he asked me to help Acyutānanda, and later asked me to try to find the land, some land in Māyāpur and Acyutānanda Swami for that purpose. It was a long drawn out thing as most things are in India takes about three hours just to mail a letter at the post office, you can imagine what it is to buy land.

And Prabhupāda’s mood was always that we have a very nice facility so that devotees can come and visit, and stay here for some time. He used to tell us that, “By preaching to demons gradually one’s mind becomes affected. Such a thing that this is a stethoscope. It is 100%... 0%... 100% Kṛṣṇa conscious and 0% māyā conscious. But when one is preaching continuously to people who are 100% māyā conscious and 0% Kṛṣṇa conscious, then gradually, one can become a little bit grayed. This conception of what is the real standard of living can become a little bit shaded. Just like, through the years we are seeing, how even in America, 30 years ago if someone said, a man is homo-sexual, people would say immediately “I want to kill the guy.” And now, because of this association by continuing improper association, pretty soon, after 30 years the people of America… now they are styling… many were started to think, “oh yeah! This is also normal. This is a normal way to be.”

Association is so powerful. So, of course devotees by associating with gross karmis continuously, they may eventually start to think that something a little bit better than that is really what we should be to be perfectly Kṛṣṇa conscious. But Prabhupāda wanted to be recreate that mood of Lord Caitanya people get out of this kind of gross sensuous people, once in a while for some time, to and to also associate with each other, on a purely spiritual level. Just with devotees, an island oasis, so that this combined with the desire to satisfy the hopes and dreams of the previous ācāryas, to manifest Lord Caitanya in the most respectful and prominent place all over the world, so many factors, Prabhupāda had started these projects.

And when we see how all these things, when one is working with the dhāma, then he starts to appreciate what is nāma? What is rūpa? What is līlā? What is a devotee? So, one sees that in the spiritual world, there is a relationship between everything else. And this relationship has different moods and mellows and rasas, and at the same time everything has a deep attachment with Kṛṣṇa, so that one has to be very careful – how he is dealing in this spiritual realm. So, this spiritual realm is of course existing all over Kṛṣṇa conscious movement and we have to become so expert to perceive the relationships between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees, Kṛṣṇa and His holy name, Kṛṣṇa and His holy dhāma, Kṛṣṇa and His form, Kṛṣṇa and His paraphernalia. We cannot touch the Śrī kohl, the mṛdaṅga, the drum, with our feet, we cannot touch ārati paraphernalia with our feet. Why? These are simply pieces of brass, why don’t we touch with our feet? Because they are used in Kṛṣṇa’s service. In the spiritual kingdom, the ārati paraphernalia is singing Kṛṣṇa kīrtana while doing ārati. Of course, we cannot say that our ārati paraphernalia is not! We are simply may be too dense, too stone-and-wood-like to hear the song that little gopī is singing while we are offering the ārati. Kṛṣṇa’s flute talks. The gopīs say, “Oh, you are so fortunate. How is it that you are always being kissed by Kṛṣṇa’s lips?” And the flute will chide them on. Everything in the spiritual world is alive; it is a … it is a living spiritual entity. How can we separate anything? Everything is prasānta, person, everything is vital, dynamic, living, spiritual entity. Kṛṣṇa’s expansion in different forms, with different relationships with Himself.

Although everything is Kṛṣṇa. But, in some aspects He is serving Himself, and in aspects He is accepting the service, in some aspect He is tasting the nectar of serving, in some aspect He is tasting the nectar of being served and reciprocating with the devotee. The most difficult thing to understand, this is… this is the essence of all existence that everything is based, everything is simply a reflection of the deep spiritual relationship which Kṛṣṇa has in His eternal kingdom. And the wonderful thing is that to experience that we do not have to adopt any artificially. It is simply by dedicating ourselves to carrying out the order of our pure spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa reveals everything.

vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
[SB 1.2.7]

By surrendering in pure devotional service automatically transcendental knowledge and renunciation become manifest in our heart.

I was very pleased and astounded to hear the… that… when I was visiting Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī that, I don't know whether he mentioned this here or not, I am little bit afraid that I might misquote, because I wasn’t paying so close attention when it started, although in the end my mind was completely attracted. But, apparently, he attended the Vyāsa-pūjā of Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami. “He came here?! For your Vyāsa-pūjā?” He told me he had a dream either that night or the night before or the night after, or few nights after, I don't know exactly the chronologically, order I don’t know.

He had a dream, how Śrīla Prabhupāda, “He was going down, came to the temple, there was Rāmeśvara Swami, His Divine Grace sitting on his Vyāsa-āsana. Śrīla Prabhupāda was personally present in his Vyāsa-āsana. And the morning temple program was going on and Prabhupāda went up to his room at 10.30 took a little breakfast. He said now I want to go back to the temple. He said, ‘Oh! so what arrangements shall we make Śrīla Prabhupāda?’ He said, ‘I want to hear Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami’s disciples offering him Vyasa puja.’ Prabhupāda went downstairs and was listening very intently to each devotee’s offering and experiencing transcendental pleasure from the very Kṛṣṇa conscious offerings being made.”

Prabhupāda, I don't know whether he mentioned that to anyone or not, but of course, Prabhupāda is personally present. How pleased he must be when a devotee surrenders to this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement and feels a deep faith in the guru paramparā. How satisfied he must be!

Of course, the dream that a person has are directly dependent on how pure that person is. Naturally, a pure devotee’s dreams are very significant. Because Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual master will reveal, and they will become very important. But if some insane, mad, crazy lunatic has a dream, naturally there won’t be very authoritative, one cannot depend on it. Someone, anybody can say, people walk in… someone walked in Māyāpur temple, and told me, “I had a dream that you are going to come to Asansol and you are going to… which is about a little town about 200 miles, and you are going to come there to build a very big temple in my backyard.” I said, “Go on dreaming, may happen.”

So, you see, actually Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī he mentioned to me that he was very disturbed over some recent things that happened. Two months ago, during his Vyāsa-pūjā, he received a letter from a devotee in Bombay called Amogalīla telling that, “I have realised that you are the avatāra of Kṛṣṇa. That you are Kṛṣṇa, you has descended, you are the avatāra of… You are Kṛṣṇa Himself. I realized this.” And he wrote a Vyāsa-pūjā which they did not publish, saying that Tamāla Kṛṣṇa was actually the Kali-yuga avatāra of Kṛṣṇa. And Tamāla Kṛṣṇa told us, intimated how this person is actually an affirmed māyāvadi. And how Prabhupāda warned against these kinds of thing. But because didn’t pay… just wrote him back that you shouldn’t say these things and stopped it. He was very offended.

Recently some other letter was sent out acquire some so called dreams that this same person had, telling that, Tamāla Kṛṣṇa that, “The whole GBC is no longer valid and then now, you and Girirāja are the joint Ācāryas for the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement.” He felt very offended. “I was just two months ago Kṛṣṇa, I only the Ācārya?! Why I have been… I demoted?!” You see. Of course, this recently I heard another letter that he is announcing, “Everything is alright. Kṛṣṇa had… Prabhupāda has come in his dream and told him that actually he was just testing Amogalīla, actually everyone everything should go on as it was and then everyone is alright.” GBC is reinstated on the strength of his dreams.

Of course, some people who are kaniṣṭha-adhikāris, who don’t realize what is the mood of satisfying the spiritual master, they may become affected. Obviously Kṛṣṇa allows certain things to happen just to reveal who is a kaniṣṭha-adhikāri and who is a madhyama-adhikāri; who is absorbed in the internal mood of satisfying the desires of Śrīla Prabhupāda and who is absorbed in the external forms without even touching his real desires. Prabhupāda said, “Sometimes it requires little bit of churning of the mud to see where people stand -- who is that clear vision, and who is got muddy vision, and who is got absolutely clouded vision. Kṛṣṇa tests His devotees.”

Each devotee will have a different mood, individual, of how to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, how to satisfy his spiritual master. But those who are cent percent pure they can be seen that their every moment is absorbed in fulfilling the orders of his spiritual master to him. There are detailed and there are general orders given in the scriptures.

Scripture gives a general order that one must go to the temple. Nectar of Devotion explains many specific things, when one goes to the temple, what should he do? Rūpa Gosvāmī left out of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. General order one must accept initiation from the spiritual master, follow his orders. Whatever his orders, those will be given by the spiritual master according to the time and circumstance, according to the disciple. There is a general order, one must do worship to his guru, to his spiritual master, accepting him as the pure representative of Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is speaking through him, instructing through him, that by serving him - Kṛṣṇa is accepting that service through him, by feeding him - Kṛṣṇa is eating through him. Now, how the spiritual master wants his disciples to render that worship according to their particular mental frame of mind, according to how they will become more fixed up in devotional service, that is the specifics, which Rūpa Gosvāmī doesn’t get into, because it varies from different time and place.

I remember when I came to Māyāpur, in the beginning people, people when I say people, some of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s godbrothers criticized Śrīla Prabhupāda, “Why you are sitting in such a big seat like Bhaktisiddhānta? Why you are sitting in such a big seat?” Now they don’t say that. Now they say he was the only one who can spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. He was an empowered soul. Now what we are doing in ISKCON they have nothing wrong to say. All the senior respected members, they have nothing wrong to say. Now they are coming forward and saying,” We are looking for that day when ISKCON will actually manage all these temples, because we are not able to manage.” Many brahmacārīs come and say, “We are not able.”

At the Māyāpur festival Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami revealed how Prabhupāda personally confided him that, “One day all these temples, they will come to us and beg us please take over. Please manage us, nobody else who can manage.” And this year, this year, as we are going on parikramā one of the very ancient shrines in Māyāpur, a holy spot dating back millions of years, was offered to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement that, “please take this over and manage it.” That is the sacred temple of Jagannātha, Subhadrā, Balarāma of Sīmantadvīpa. So, there are many pastimes connected with that, which I don’t have the time to-wind right now, which are very interesting. But I would just like to mention that thanks to the blessings of Śrīla Prabhupāda, and the inspiration of Śrīla Rāmeśvara Swami, who encouraged us as soon I asked him, “Should we accept this burden? Should we accept?”

“Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda told me all these temples we should eventually manage. And he told all the GBC this is our duty.”

So now that temple has been fully signed and given to the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement. And five thousand of the local villagers came for the snāna yātrā, and they were glorifying how wonderful it is to see Jagannātha worshiped. Actually… There are some very transcendental and beautiful pastimes which have occurred with the Jagannātha deities, which I’ll go into later, if you are interested to hear.

Devotees: Jaya!

His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami: The point is that, this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement will be spread by the madhyama-adhikāri devotees, by the devotees who have accepted the order of their spiritual master as their more dear than their own life, as their very life and soul. Who rise above all kinds of limited vision and see what is the relationship between general and specific order, what is the relationship between rules and regulations, and between the manifestation of the order of the spiritual master on this world. May Dhruva Mahārāja please bless us that we can get the mercy of Kṛṣṇa! What greatest thing is there to hope for?

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya!