19800301 Śrī Gaura-pūrṇimā Lecture

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a Gaura-pūrṇimā lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on March 1, 1980 – in Śrī Māyāpur dhāma, India.

Aponi Śrī Kṛṣṇa Jari Korea Bhakti Korea Pro Ch If Śrī Kṛṣṇa were to appear as an incarnation, he himself could preach devotion by his personal example. In this age of Kali there is no religion other than the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord. But how in this age will the Lord appear as an incarnation? I shall worship Kṛṣṇa in a purified state of mind. I shall constantly petition him in humbleness. My name Advaita will be fitting if I am able to induce Kṛṣṇa to inaugurate the movement of the chanting of the holy name. Adhd is saying this because he is actually non different from the Lord being his plenary portion. This does not mean that Advaita he never merges with Mahāprabhu. He’s always separate, yet he’s non different being his plenary portion.

This is not the Māyāvādī idea of merging when we say Advaita and Vaiṣṇava society. Kṛṣṇa Vasakoriben Konar Adhuni Bicharitayakshloka Ailo Tarshish While he was thinking about how to propitiate Kṛṣṇa by worship, the following verse came to his mind. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is very affectionate towards his devotees, sells himself to a devotee who offers merely a Tulasi leaf and a palm full of water. Adria considered the meaning of this verse in this way, not finding any way to repay the debt he owes to one who offers himself a tulasī leaf and water. Lord Kṛṣṇa thinks, there is no wealth in my possession that is equal to a tulasī leaf and water. Thus, the Lord liquidates the depth by offering his own self to the devotee. Considering this, the ācārya began worshipping the Lord.

Thinking of the Lord’s feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he constantly offered Tulasi buds in water from the Ganges Kṛṣṇa rail avatar. He appeared to see Kṛṣṇa with loud calls and thus made it possible for Kṛṣṇa to appear. Therefore, the principal reason for Caitanya’s descent is this appeal by Dvaitacharya. The Lord, the Protector of Religion, appears by the desire of his devotee. The essence of the meaning to these verses is that Lord Kṛṣṇa appears in all his innumerable eternal forms because of the desires of his pure devotees. So Siddha Acharya saw the whole world was simply engrossed in materialistic activities. Then he took this tulasī and flour and water from the Ganges. He began offering and loudly he began calling out for Lord Caitanya.

So we see here that how kind Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is And how kind Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is, doesn’t require a lot of money, doesn’t require high birth. What it requires is one has to cry out loudly, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Jotanna Mah Prabhu. One has to cry out. One has to cry out not only in his words, but in his deeds and in his thoughts, that he actually wants Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahbu to appear in his heart. So Śrī Advaita Prabhu, simply by his sincere calls Advaita, his undifferentiated calls, Lord Kṛṣṇa in his former Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu came down very near here, the place where he sat by the side of the Ganges and called very near. So I don’t know who was so kind who called for Sila Prabhupāda to come and bring that message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world.

But whoever was called, whoever was giving that cause, this mercy to him, we are most indebted. And we are most indebted to Śrīla Prabhupāda for taking up that and bringing Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu and this Harina Mahamantra all over the world. As we said here, Kali Khaled Harmon that except for the chanting, except for the saṅkīrtana, there’s no other way, there’s no other process in Kali-yuga to turn the head of the misguided, materially engrossed, fallen souls. People are completely absorbed, thinking I am this body. They’re thinking that this body is themselves. They’re making all their plans for happiness, all their desires, all of their dreams, all of their hopes, all of their aspirations, all of their endeavors simply are on the flickering platform of this bodily happiness. How unfortunate, how foolish and ignorant they are.

What avatar would come down when the whole world is filled with such foolish people? The Lord is known as Tri-yuga. He comes in three yugas, Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara. So what’s the use of calming in Kali-yuga when the people are such fools? They don’t desire the real perfection of their life. They’re desiring on the same platform of asses, cows, camels and dogs. What avatāra will come down in such a envious, despicable time that Advaita Gosāñī is thinking the avatāra can come down in this time everyone has turned his face away. If anybody is religious, it’s simply a name only, simply a show internally. There’s no love, there’s no devotion, there’s no desire to please The Lord. But anyway, Advaita, out of his causeless mercy, he called Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Maharaj. He called Kṛṣṇa. You must come. No one else can deliver these people.

Of course, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Maharabu had his internal reasons, his external reasons. He has so many reasons for everything he does. No one can put a limit. That is a meaning of Bhagavad Kṛṣṇa. He is expert. He does one thing, he accomplishes dozens and hundreds and thousands, so many things. So we are very fortunate to be here at the Holy Dharma. We are very fortunate to be here in the association of so many glorious Vaishnavas. And we pray all the Vaishnavas present. You are all trees, desired trees of mercy. You are very compassionate. You are spending all your energy, all your time thinking how to deliver these foolish souls according to the desire of Caitanya Muhammad.

Therefore, I offer you all my respectful obeisances and praying that you will have your mercy upon me, that I can get even a drop of that desire to spread to the Prabhupāda’s movement all over this world. I feel most honored and most fortunate to be in the presence of vice novice, although I am completely unfit. He called Chaityanya Mahāprabhu. And at that time, this very day, 494 years ago, not very long, on that very day, all the constellations they took the perfect position to announce the coming to make all the fortunate signs for the coming of the Lord. And that time being an eclipse, all the people are chanting Haribal, Haribol. Haribol. Everyone is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa. Hare, Hare, Ram. Hare Ram. Ram, Ram, Hare. Just preparing the moon for the advent of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Maharaj.

So she Devī effulged with the supreme Lord inside her sacred womb was illuminating the whole room. What a glorious moment for this universe. CJW Mahāprabhu has come. Thousands and thousands of years ago, when the Ganges was coming down from the spiritual sky after Lord Jivikram had poked his foot into the hall of the into the universal covering. Of course, immediately the Ganges did not come down to this earthly planet, but on the appeal of Maharaj Bhagi, the Ganges came down. And he foresee the Ganges with his rod, his chariot and carved a path for the Ganges. Down from the spiritual the heavenly planets, coming down from Gomukh to the land of hard Varvarsha until finally it reached the Sagar where he wanted his forefathers who were cursed, burned into ashes by Kapilamuni’s lands. Because of their rude behavior.

He wanted that the Ganges should fall over their ashes and deliver them. So he was coming down with the Ganges at full speed. And suddenly when he got to Navadib, the Ganges disappeared. And he looked back and saw there’s no Ganges. He became aghast, he became astonished. He became completely lost in hopelessness to how his forefathers are going to be delivered when the Ganges is gone. Finally, after meditation, begging, the Ganges appeared to him in her personal form and said that I am going to stay here until Gorpurnima Falgun Pūrṇimā. The day when Kali Yuga Caitanya Mahāprabhu appears. I am going to wait until that day and then again I will start because I want to be present here for Gorpurnima.

So Bhaktivino Thakur teaches us, anyone who takes a bath in the Ganges and Gora Pūrṇimā, he never comes back to this material world, no doubt. And he gets association of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But if you go in the morning, you will also get color. So it’s not only. It’s not the fallen souls which can appreciate to the full extent what this means that Lord Caitanya has appeared, described in the Caitanya Charita how the sun and the moon are rising simultaneously from the eastern side. Lord Caitanya Nithyanando. They have come. They have come here. And they’re bringing with them the most precious jewel, the most glorious gift who can understand. You see, it’s an inconceivable Leela. Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa. When he came, he introduced something new. Kṛṣṇa came. He revealed his pastimes in Vrindavan. This was something unique. No avatar has these pastimes.

He is known as rare, known as Madhun. They’re showing pure love. When Jagannath came, he manifested his opulence. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya came along with his associates headed by Nithyanandam. Lo, that has been described by the scholars, the previous charges as means that simply munificent, simply benevolent, simply giving out that mercy. Haven’t you ever felt sometime like you just like to take about 1 million books and just give them out to everyone. Like to take so much prasad that everyone just feasts. So we are just part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. We like to just give out something sometime. So Kṛṣṇa also that feeling must be in him because we are simply his part. Mamay Vang Sujiva lo Kajiva Bhutasanatha no, Jīva is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa.

So that desire to sometimes just give out something, tell everyone, don’t consider, all right, just give everyone. Sometimes some millionaire we find he throws out dollars from the top of a tall building. Of course, usually it’s a Madison Avenue stunt to get free publicity. He says, I am throwing out a million and throws out a few thousand, gets about half a million worth of free advertising. But the idea is there, people like to give out something. So that avatar of Kṛṣṇa where he manifests a mood of simply giving out freely, without any condition, without any kind of inhibition to whoever wants it. Just come and take. Just come and take the mercy so nicely described in Caitanya Chana Dhamit. How he is the gardener, how he’s grown. He’s also the tree. The tree is producing the fruits, the flowers. Those fruits are love of God.

He wants to give out the fruits. He’s got a bumper crop. He wants to give everyone. But how much he can do alone. So he’s begging that please come and help me give out these fruits of love of God to whoever will take. How many fruits can I give out myself? I need help. Please come and help you. First feast, fill yourself with this fruit and you give out. It’s a great festival. It’s a great Utsav. Just going out and giving everyone the real nectar of life which they don’t have the slightest idea what they’re getting. If you begin to tell them what is the value of what they’re getting, they will think you’re crazy. They think you’re a nut. Who could give out such a thing, free even such a thing exists. People are so foolish. They don’t know. They can’t begin to conceive.

Maru, he doesn’t make such distinctions that he knows what he is getting. He doesn’t know. Just give him any way this pure nectar, this pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness and someone takes that. Prabhupāda was asked, what is your secret? Why when you went to the west, people became delivered by Lord Caitanya’s movement. Here india the people are a little sluggish and accepting. Of course, Prabhupāda explained that in the west there’s no Vaishnavas, there’s no deities, there’s no Kṛṣṇa visible. So they have never committed any Kṛṣṇa or Vaishnava apparat. They not committed any apparat also. They don’t know anything about Kṛṣṇa India everybody knows about Sadhus. They know about Vaishnavas, they know about Kṛṣṇa and Dudu, they some atheists, some envious people there sometime raise some propaganda against Vaishnavas, against Kṛṣṇa, against the Bhagavad Gītā.

Even so, the Abarat has some extent created some type of impediment which can also be overcome by Lord Caitanya’s mercy. Of course, these are all esoteric spiritual things. But at least from the practical side, we know that when we tell someone, please chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. In India they say that, well, Kṛṣṇa is God’s name. That’s religion. I have no time for religion. I need money, I need this. I need so many things. And in the west, of course now people are getting wise. You asked them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. They already. Oh, we know Hare Kṛṣṇa now. At least in the beginning nobody knew to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa or why not Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. After chanting, getting a little more Caitanya’s mercy, tasting the nectar. What am I wasting my life in this nonsense pursuit over flickering happiness.

So naturally it’s a great advantage. They God, Lord Shaitan and mercy. Anyone who simply takes part of this process by any means, by any trick, by any way. If they somehow another chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, somehow another. If they practice devotional service, they get hooked, they get trapped because they taste such nectar. They can never forget that sweet taste. Even they bloop, even they fall away by bad association. They can never forget that nectar Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So of course the devotees desire is to think and scheme how to give out as many of these fruits as possible. You see, mass distribution. Wholesale distribution. That is what yesterday was revealed by one of our Acharyas who was speaking. I forget who spoke. I think maybe I don’t want to say the wrong name. But how about Divino Thakur?

He had long ago desired that there has to be a world organization for mass distribution of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. So by his desire we can see that ISKCON today got the great opportunity of distribution of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. So the thing is that I know that Prabhupāda always criticized. Don’t be small minded. Don’t be narrow minded. Think big. Think big. Big. How to distribute Lord Shaita in His mercy? Of course, my mind is so small that it doesn’t go very far. It’s like the frog in the well. Think big means twice my wealth. No big ten times my wealth. How to get the inspiration of the ocean? It’s how we link up with the ocean of Lord Caitanya’s mercy to flood everyone. So today Lord Caitanya’s appearance day. We’re seeing how the rain is coming. I think this is very significant.

We know how the sun beats down on the ocean and then evaporates the water. And then it takes the water in form of clouds and rains over the lands. So the son of Caitanilagua is risen today along with the moon of Nithyananda and their radiation on their own ocean of mercy evaporating. That mercy being carried by the numerous clouds of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees to rain down, you see on the whole world this shower of mercy, this shower of Lord Caitanya’s causeless mercy. So that today we are getting this very gentle reign of mercy. This is Lord Caitanya’s message to all of you. Take this message of Lord Caitanya, take this nectar of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and shower. Drench the whole world with that mercy.

Sheila Jai Chirtha Maharaj on the installation day of Raha Madhav Ji so kindly awakened us from our slumber and gave us the very appropriate advice how Raha Mahara’s appearance have brought to the foreground, brought to the imminent, to the immediate necessity the construction of their permanent place. Of course at that time he was mentioning that this is a flood shelter. Any mention how this was? This was also planned to be a garage. At first because there was going to flood, we thought we could park cars down here. But then Śrīla Brahma thought that this is the only big hall we have for gathering all the devotees together. So temporarily we will put Rādhā madam here and then we will shift them to the large temple. So as Śrīla Tiritha Pad was speaking, I was remembering because that day we had a very beautiful Abhishek.

How this whole temple room in 1978 had an Abishek. Abishek. Because there was not one drop, not one, I always say drop. But there wasn’t the least bit of air in this whole temple. This temple was completely covered, filled with water up to the first floor, American second floor. So when I came to Māyāpur 1971 were told that 12 years earlier there had been a flood. Then of course in 71 itself another flood came. And then in 78 a flood came seven years later. So of course Kṛṣṇa, he can flood anytime he wants that no one can see. But I think Rādhā Madhav are putting the ball in everyone’s courtyard. You better move me out before the next flood. You should have my. I don’t want to be moved upstairs. I don’t want to be promoted upstairs.

You put me in my temple before the next flood. So of course these floods also have very important meaning. They’re not ordinary. Prabhupāda described in his purports that sometimes at Śrī Maam Burdam there’s a flood.

And this flood is very significant. It means that just as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has begun his Sankirtan movement from Vidam from Seem that when the Ganges overfloods this holy dama, that means the whole world must be flooded with Kṛṣṇa consciousness. With Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement. If a devotee doesn’t get in the mood, if he can’t conceive, what a wonderful thing this is. We’re giving out the fruits from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s tree. If one doesn’t get inspired, if he doesn’t get enthused, if he doesn’t want to simply pick up those fruits and give out to everyone, then it’s to be understood his heart is just as hard as a rock. Hard as a rock.

And Śrīla Ramesh Saraswami brought out yesterday that if someone misses the chance of Lord Caitanya’s mercy in this opportune moment, then for countless Kalpas days of Brahma, he won’t get such an opportunity again. He won’t get such a chance. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mah Prabhu. There’s no one like him. There’s no one like him at all. You won’t find very difficult to understand his pastimes. Simply by his thoughts, simply by his glance, simply by hearing about him, simply by serving him, one becomes ecstatic. Even the most sinful person, the most fallen soul, simply if he decides, I want to get Lord Caitanya’s mercy. It’s there, it’s waiting. Take it up. Don’t take the feet. The more than one can consume, as much as you can eat.

I remember when I was just watching television when I was about seven or eight years old, there was this one noonday show, I can’t remember, there was some prize where you could take your shopping baskets and you could go in the supermarket, take as much as you could within a certain time limit. And you see these people furiously grabbing this and that and shoving it and running out to the front. And I was always thinking whenever I went to the house, why don’t I get that opportunity? I can take the candy bars, whatever, you know, of course, whatever at that time attracted my senses. So here’s the opportunity. Take as much as you can in this lifetime, as much as you can. Mahāprabhu is there giving it. Just take it.

And then we just sit there while the minutes tick by, not grabbing the opportunity, not being hungry for the opportunity. Then we’re dull Headed. Then we’re really dense. Then I feel very dense. Because somehow every moment I see time slipping through my face. I miss this chance to serve Lord Caitanya. I miss this chance to serve my spiritual master, the pure representative of Nityānanda. Every moment I see so many opportunities slip by. And only intense remorse I am speaking that I hope no one else is as unfortunate as I am to miss so many opportunities to serve my spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. And take this opportunity by constantly chanting, constantly endeavoring to consume as much mercy as possible and give out as much as possible. That is the whole purpose of this holy Dhamma.

To come here to get the mercy, to get the understanding of the mood of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He wants to simply give out the mercy. Of course, one has to be clever when dealing with demons. Just like a mother. When he’s feeding the baby, the medicine puts it in some sugar coating. So Lord Caitani is giving the sugar coating. But Ibadi won’t take it. He doesn’t want. So Lord Shaitani is giving first. He’s giving the sugar. You take this. You take first the nectar. Prabhupāda described it. When you’re feeding gentlemen, everyone takes first the bitter. Then you take your spinach and you take your rice. You take the sabjis. You take everything. But when you feed the kids, you give them the dessert first. This is Kali Yuga. First you take the dessert. Take Kṛṣṇa Prem.

After you’re already in love with Kṛṣṇa, then you start to give up all your bad things. So we’re very fallen. We’re very fallen in this Kali Yuga. But Lord Caitanya is more merciful than we are fallen. He is more merciful than anyone can be born. Just take the nectar, take the dessert. That nectar is when we follow the instructions of our spiritual master. Once we have accepted Lord Caitanya’s mercy, we have to stay linked up. We get that. Linking a time of initiation, a time of surrender to Kṛṣṇa through the medium of the pure spiritual master. Prabhupāda wrote in his purports how Bhakti Siddhānta had ordered the Gauriyamad to form a governing body commission to manage together cooperatively. They failed to do so. Of course, there are senior Vaishnavs. But history is history. What can we say today?

The movement that was begun is a scattered mess going on. Somehow another lost the original drive. So we see that Sila Prabhupāda. He gave ISKCON the same order. And ISKCON is following that instruction, accepting the governing body commission as Śrīla Prabhupāda’s representative. And by taking up the order of the spiritual master. That is the highest principle of devotional service. That is the highest principle. So by working together, fulfilling Bhaktivino Thakur Bhakti Siddhānta Sila Prabhupāda’s desires to unitedly arrange the mass distribution. Namhad, why is it marketplace of the holy name? Because he wants mass distribution. He wants his distributors, stockists, storekeepers, traveling salesmen all over the world, everywhere distributing these goods. Here is the main storehouse. And he has opened up big. You see zonal offices all over the world where unlimited nectar and then some temple offices each traveling buses and traveling salesmen everywhere.

They’re all caring. And Lord Caitanya is there supervising with all his assistants, all the guru Parampura, all the distribution. How it’s going on and somebody is neglecting distributing. He’s seeing the sale results. Why Hari Naam, why? Pure devotion is being distributed less at this point. If it goes down too far, then you have to put in a new distributor or you have to go there and fire up. Then there’s also. You see, sales are distribution competitions for internal inspiration. So this is all a great transcendental pastime. The Lord is thinking that within this short time, how can I give as much mercy as possible? And the people, they are so tricky. They’re thinking, how can I avoid Lord Caitanya’s mercy? And Lord, she gives anxiety. How can I give these javas, these meat eaters, these nonsense people, how can I give them my mercy?

And they’re thinking, how can I avoid getting the mercy? And the devotees are thinking, we will give them the mercy by any means. So who is going to win? Who is going to be victorious? Devotees. They will become victorious. Now, how much we want to participate, that’s up to each individual. Prabhupāda said, like so many birds flying, one bird may fall down. What can the leader do? What can the spiritual master do? If one says, I don’t want to fly anymore, you can simply encourage. Come on, come on, just a little bit further. We’re about to reach the goal. Everyone has to fly his own flight. Association instruction, these are all the great sources of strength that are dragging us along. But we have to fly our own flight.

We have to take our own initiative to follow the instructions of the spiritual master, to follow the process of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanila. If we don’t take that initiative, as was mentioned by Śrīla Bhagavad Goswami if we are just parasites on their mercy, how much? You see Prabhupāda mentioned here, years ago, everyone used to get diarrhea. And he would say that why they’re getting because they are not serving enough on the holy Daam. They’re not active. If they serve very hard, then their digestion automatically increased. If one has a strong digestion, he can digest a stone. He can digest a stone. So if someone is not very enthusiastic and serving how much appetite he can get for eating whatever he eats, he gets indigestion. It’s too much, too difficult giving out the mercy because his attitude is not there.

So we have to get that eagerness to get the mercy and give the mercy. Then we get the appetite to consume more and more of that fruit of love of God. As much as our appetite increases so much, our ability to distribute increases. So. So a very great opportunity that we have to be together with so many devotees to make plans for preaching this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement all over the world. See, just like when Lord Nityānanda was having his Chirodoya festival, there was present Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. It says when Prabhupāda described that coming back from the Rath Yātrā in San Francisco, he turned over to his driver and said, did you see how nicely, how wasn’t it beautiful the way Lord Caitanya Nityānanda were dancing there amongst the devotees that our spiritual master, they are present with us as we are distributing their message.

As long as we are pure and high, wherever the devotees are purely trying to spread this myth, he is there. He is right there with them. That is why we feel so wonderful, because presence is there. We feel so wonderful when we are preaching and when we’re in Māyā, when our heads are down, when we are sleepy, when we are lazy, when we are filled with so much anxiety. If we analyze, we will see what is the root cause. We have lost our perspective on life. We have lost our vision of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There’s no other reason. There’s no deficiency in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. There’s no deficiency. If there’s any deficiency, it’s only in our ability to follow. By allowing our mind to be distracted. This has been described by Śrīvivasa Charg that we get the jewel. We get the jewel of pure devotion.

We get the jewel of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. We have to guard that jewel. When I go around the world, I saw many places. There are Many self defense arrangements in a public assembly I don’t like to mention because they may not understand. Everybody knows they have all got their little arsenals because demons are so prominent. So they’re thinking self defense. But that’s only one defense, you see. But we should think our own self defense. How to protect that jewel of devotional service from Vaiava Pura. From material desire. How to protect that jewel? Śrīnivasa Chai described the gossipers. They’re like prostitutes. They come up and fill your ear with sweet talk to allure your mind away. Come with me. And we listen to the gossipers. And our mind is away from Lord Caitanya. We immediately forget the nectar. We get absorbed and become despondent.

Fame, prestige, adoration on a material platform. We become very much desirous. This is just like a tiger. Like dagoids coming in, armed robbers coming in and taking away our jewel of devotion. So we have to become very expert in self defense defending. And what is the best defense? The best defense is a good offense. Preach Lord Caitanya’s message. Preaching. As long as you’re giving out the mercy of Lord Caitamya and simultaneously absorbed in that process of preaching. Absorb. In the process of following the instructions of spiritual master. You don’t have time for all these evil influences to try to come and steal away that jewel. We will be left standing and the jewel will be gone. So Lord Caitanya came. He gave us this mercy here at the Holy Dhao. We had no clue Śrīla Prabhupāda.

We heard from Śrīla Satsarupa Goswami how many obstacles he encountered to get out of India. Just to get his permission to leave. He had to go to the State bank of India. He had to stand in line for days and weeks going back. And the clerks harassed him. He had to wait. He had to go for this form and that form. He had to beg the steamship company. They said, do not. Do not go to the West. It’s too difficult. You are now very old. You may die there. There’s no proper people there. They’re not very compassionate. It’s one thing to be. To be a simple sadhu india. And you’re in the West. They will simply treat you so harshly if you don’t have money and friends. Give up this idea. Everyone is discouraging. He’s going to the ambassador. He’s giving a runaround. Everyone.

So many difficulties. It is impossible to conceive how anyone could have so much determination simply taking up that Message that I have to do this for my spiritual master. Everyone is saying, don’t go. This is not a wise decision. He doesn’t care what anybody says. My spiritual master wants me to go. I must go. No matter what my age. No matter what you say. I don’t give a damn for what you say. I must go. If Sila Prabhupāda hadn’t gone, I just can never forget this point. If he hadn’t done that, what would have been our permission? And because he did go, because he did take up the order of his spiritual life, because he did present the pure message of Lord Jay Daniel, now everyone over the whole world has got that opportunity to get this most valuable jewel.

And anyone who in the same light, in the same way, takes up and let me simply follow the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu through my spiritual master. There’s nothing they can’t do. There’s no limit to what potency Lord Shaitan you can give them. We shouldn’t become bewildered by the apparent unlimited obstacle of Māyā standing before us. Kṛṣṇa Surjoshammayah, Jahakṛṣṇa, Taha Māyā Nahiyadika. When you’re in the form, you don’t see anything. You can’t sometimes see your hand in front of your face. When you’re in the darkness, everything is black. When the sun comes, everything is revealed. In the same way. The immense obstacles standing before this movement are easily destroyed. Simply as we maintain Lord Caitanya in his pure form, giving in this movement immediately, it goes away. As he desires, he may test us as he tested Prabhupāda. Who could pass such a test?

According to our capacity, he will test us. Are we sincere? Are we going to compromise? Are we going to stick to the strict principle? Who doesn’t compromise? Who doesn’t compromise with Māyā who sticks to the strict principle? There is no limit how this movement is starting. You see, just like in Nepal, we are in the Himalayan country. It’s called the rooftop of the world. There you see? It’s nothing to find. Then you saw Japanese party going up to scale the Annapurna, to be the 54th group to put their flag on the top and have their name written in the snow. And they’re going up there. And as they’re going up, suddenly the snow starts to fall and the avalanche starts. And you read in paper that, you know, Ika, Mahoki and Yokomawa and 10 people finished, but they almost made it.

And the next week you find, you know, Frank Clark American expedition, you know, these Things are going on. Everybody wants to get to the top. So these avalanches and this snow peaks, these are very common, you see, in our Nepal area. So there we have studied what is the nature of an avalanche. And then we find that it’s very peculiar because nobody can predict it, how it happens, how it becomes just a small drop of rain or some small little particle of snow starts to spin and fall down. And with it picks up a few more grains and pretty soon you have hundreds of grains, and they form a small ball. And it rolls as it’s rolling.

It gradually becomes a little snowball and it rolls and it becomes a bigger snowball and it rolls and it becomes basketball, and it rolls and it keeps going down. And as it increases, it becomes, you see, as big as an automobile. Finally it comes and it becomes big as a house. And pray. So the whole mountain falls down just like that. This movement is rolling on. And we simply have to be ready any moment where the whole mountain is going to come down and avalanche everyone. But we’re just seeing the small flakes of snow falling. But it’s already avalanching. It’s already avalanching because Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wants it. Because Advaita Gosai cried out loudly. We should also cry out heart and soul through our thought, words and our activities, praying for the mercy and to give the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

And already the ball is out rolling. Already it’s moving. How long it will take, when it will build up that momentum that is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s sweetness. will we simply participate rolling along? We don’t want to leave this ball. We don’t want to leave this avalanche of mercy. We want to simply stay in this movement and spread Lord Caitanya’s mercy everywhere. What greater thing is there? What more wonderful thing? How wonderful, how wonderful it is to simply give out this mercy. Don’t miss the chance. Don’t take your mind off the service. This is Lord Caitanya’s cause is mercy. Thank you very much.