19800525 Sunday Feast Address

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 25th 1980 in New Delhi, India. 

Jayapatākā Swami: On behalf of our Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and all the assembled Vaiṣṇavas, we thank all of you devotees for attending this grand opening of the Pārtha-Sārathi Mandir here at Greater Kailāsa. Although it is hot, a warm summer day, you are such great devotees. You are tolerantly, patiently attending this function. For this we are greatly indebted to you.

Actually, you can see that this International Society for Krishna Consciousness, from the lectures of the previous speakers, is actually saying the ancient message of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, of Lord Śrī Rāmacandra, from the Vedas, from the Bhagavad-gītā. Someone may have wondered, “What is this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, what will be the result of their coming in our neighborhood?”. But you can see that it is the same, as they say in the west, “Old wine in a new bottle”. Not so new. At least 500 years old, but the message is the same.

Today we are in 20th century India, 20th century world. So we are speaking to you over PA system with electric fans. But the message remains eternal. Remains the same. Actually this Kṛṣṇa Consciousness movement was… is coming in the line from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Lord Brahmā, from Brahmā to Nārada Muni, from Nārada Muni to Vyāsa, from Vyāsadeva to Madhvācārya, from Madhvācārya it has come down to Mādhavendra Purī, Īśvara Purī and Kṛṣṇa again has; as it is predicted in Mahābhārata, in the Bhāgavata and so many Vedas that Kṛṣṇa will come in Kali-yuga as channa-avatāra, as a disguised or gupta-avatāra, an avatāra who is embodying the spirit of devotion to Himself. That is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

So from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, Rūpa, Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Das Raghunātha, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, Jīva Gosvāmī gaṇa. This message has been handed down to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Gaura Kiśora Dāsa Bābājī, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and our humble worldwide organization’s Founder-Ācārya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who spent many years in Delhi, in Vṛndāvana, as was earlier mentioned.

So the unusual thing is that Prabhupāda, our Founder-Ācārya, he did not have to leave Vṛndāvana in Delhi. He was quite well situated for a sādhu and his own worship. But at the advanced age of 70 years, his order from his guru weighed so heavily upon his heart that he saw the whole world was in ignorance. And India, where the people are spiritually advanced by birth, by nature, they were only interested in politics. So he thought that I should follow this order and go to America. So he left this Vṛndāvana-Delhi area and he went by Jaladuta, jahāja, boat... ship to New York and established the International society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness in 1965; not very long ago.

Many sādhūs go to the West nowadays. Its not so difficult. He did not go. He stayed. For years and years together training the college students, training the business men in bhakti-yoga. His oath was, “I will not go untill I can make them devotees of Kṛṣṇa, until I train them to carry on this movement around the world”, he did not want to go and then come back and then all his Indian brothers and sisters, “Look at me, I am a sādhu has gone to the west, vileti phirat, vilati vāpasa.” He did not wanted cheap fame. He wanted to establish Sanātana-dharma all over the world, you see. And that is what Kṛṣṇa has empowered him to do. So of course in 1977, he wound up his manifested visible pastimes, in Vṛndāvana. And we see that in 12 short years he have created such a tidal wave which has not yet seen its limit, but is going on increasing, day by day.

Actually, Prabhupāda always desired that here in Delhi there should be a very big temple. He wanted like bodha garden to have a Kṛṣṇa garden. Kṛṣṇa Jayanti. Like Bodha Jayanti, Kṛṣṇa Jayanti. But we were not able to fulfill that desire on the one hand, and I think on the other hand because of your great devotion Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Pārthasārathi have decided that they would rather be amidst the devotees of Delhi, than by the Yamunā side or by some distant park.

So you may be wondering seeing all the sannyāsīs, all the brahmacārīs, of course we also have so many gṛhasthīs. You can see the gṛhasthīs in white cloth with their Indian wives and their foreign wives. They are also wearing sari and tilaka. So you’re probably wondering that, “What kind of arrangement is this?” Actually in this Hastinapura, ancient place of India, we should remember what is the actual history of Kṛṣṇa. We know Pārthasārathi, He was the friend of His devotee Arjuna. And to serve His devotee He took the very menial service of driving his chariot. Who is Arjuna? Who is Kṛṣṇa? Of course Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of Dvārakā but we know that actually He is the Lord of the 3 worlds.

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

(Bs. 5.1) 

He is the original Supreme Godhead, govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ. Yet, He came down and showed all of us, yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata (Bg. 4.7), how to get rid of dharma glāniḥ, how to get rid of irreligion. So how does Kṛṣṇa show? He shows through His devotees. Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna, Bhīma, the other Pañca-pāṇḍavas - Nakula, Sahadeva they were rulers at one time of this capital of the world. This was the capital of the whole world about 5,000 years ago and before. Of course, modern historians don’t like to go back that far. I think it’s the British heritage that they did not want to get India any credit for their ancient history and our modern historians even in India are following that tradition, which we don’t accept.

We accept that according to Mahābhārata, Yudhiṣṭhira was the king of the world here at Hastināpura about 5,000 years ago. So who was Yudhiṣṭhira? Who was Arjuna? They were kṣatriyas, they were worldly men, they were gṛhasthas. But they were prosecuted; they were prosecuted why? Because they were devotees. They were devotees of God, devotees of Kṛṣṇa, so they were prosecuted by their own family members, the sons of the blind Dhṛtarāṣṭra; not only blind by eye, blind by spiritual vision. We know from the history you all know, how Kṛṣṇa, He was always with His devotees and for some time the kingdom was divided into half, between Duryodhana and the Pāṇḍavas. The Pāṇḍavas, they were satisfied. They were not satisfied because they had their kingdom, they were satisfied because they had Kṛṣṇa. And Kṛṣṇa wanted them that they should have a kingdom, you see. Similarly, this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement does not say, because the śāstras do not say, that you should give up your comfortable life, you should give up your family. It doesn’t say that. But there must be Kṛṣṇa you see. If Kṛṣṇa is there, then there is all happiness, all real satisfaction. Without Kṛṣṇa life is not fulfilled.

So if we study the psychology between the Pāṇḍavas and between the Kurus, we can see that although the Kurus had half the kingdom, they were never satisfied. They wanted also the other half. They wanted to kill their brothers by any means. So here we see the sura and the asura. We see the bhakta and the nāstika, the devotee and the demon, you see. Duryodhana was a great ruler, he was a great king. He was a capable man but he was an envious man. Therefore though he had half the world, he was dissatisfied. We find in this material life, that some people are satisfied with what they are given by Kṛṣṇa. With what they are able to earn by their own hard work. And they don’t want to take unnecessary advantage of others. Beyond their need. And they are happy because they worship Kṛṣṇa. And we see the other type of man who does not have faith in God or Kṛṣṇa, and no matter what he has, the man next door is always his enemy. The wife says, “Why they have a better car? They have a better sari, and their house...”. The husband is thinking “He has a better influence, he has a better prestige”, and in this way an envy creates. This is not natural to the spirit soul but is the nature of māyā, the nature of the demonic principles. Anyone can be overcome by this envy. So this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement sees that throughout the world this envy has taken a shape, which is creating fear in the hearts of the all the people, you see. So we want to go to the root cause of this fear and strike it out.

So the Pāṇḍavas, they were not afraid because they knew that Kṛṣṇa was there. Of course, we know that they suffered many trials. Finally, there was no choice, there was no alternative, there was also war. And finally the Kurus were killed in the holy war at Kurukṣetra. So, at that time, when Yudhiṣṭhira was established as the one and only ruler of the world here at Hastinapura, surrounded by his brothers and his mother, Queen Kuntī. Then Kṛṣṇa said, “Thank you, now I am going back to Dvārakā. Please give Me leave.”, you see. But Yudhiṣṭhira’s heart was crushed. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t see and tears were flowing from his eyes that, “Kṛṣṇa my life, my soul is going.”

Just see what is devotee! He has the opulence, he has the power of the world but he is crying that, “I only love my Kṛṣṇa”. So we are not trying to teach people to give up, that is also false ego. But to love Kṛṣṇa, that is real. If you love Kṛṣṇa, whatever you have, you know this is Kṛṣṇa’s. “This is not mine. I have come empty handed; I am going empty handed.” But if there is not this love for Kṛṣṇa then like Duryodhana, “Whatever you have is mine, and I must also kill my enemies, and I must get more.”, and that means there is never happiness. Just like Rāvaṇa. He had hundred wives, he had a big kingdom Śrī Lanka, he was a powerful Rākṣasa. He didn’t need anything. The demigods were afraid of him. But what did he want? “No I want Sītā also”. Vibhīṣaṇa, his dear brother said, “No! Don’t do this”. When he stole Sītā by trickery, by falsehood and brought her to the kingdom of Śrī Lanka, Lakṣmī left that city. All inauspicious amaṅgala-lakṣaṇa and omens were manifest. Vibhīṣaṇa said, “Give her back, give her back.”, but he said “Get out you Vibhīṣaṇa. You are my enemy. What do you mean, ‘Give back Sītā.’? I will never give her back. I will enjoy her, I will enjoy her, I will enjoy her. I am Rāvaṇa, the king.” And what did Rāvaṇa get? You know better than I. He got that wonderful arrow of Rāmacandra in his heart. That is what he got.

So we can see the history, that for the non-devotee there is never any peace. They always want more. If they get the whole world, they want God’s wife. They want Lakṣmī herself. And so what happens you know. Lakṣmī, she is cañcala. She nevers stays in one place. But Lakṣmī is always by the side of Nārāyaṇa. If you want Lakṣmī, then you also must have Kṛṣṇa, you must have Nārāyaṇa. Then Lakṣmī will be there. Otherwise not. So by placing Kṛṣṇa in the center we want to bring good fortune to everyone. We want that everyone should be happy. Everyone should be fulfilled. And according to the śāstra we know that without this:

dharmaḥ svanuṣṭhitaḥ puṁsāṁ
viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ 
notpādayed yadi ratiṁ
śrama eva hi kevalam

(ŚB. 1.2.8) 

Its all wasted. A wasted, useless expenditure of time, of energy, for no gain. Śrama eva hi kevalam.

So actually, here we see that you all are enjoying very nice modernization. Here in Delhi we have air-conditioning, we have phone, we have nice houses, we have cars, vimāna, we have all types of facilities. You see, our Western opulence. Same facility that anyone has in the modern world, you see. But we see that throughout the world, with all these facilities, the people are not happy. I was born in a foreign country, but I was not happy. I have not seen anyone who has been happy yet simply by these things. So we are not saying that these things should be discarded. What is the need? That also won’t make you happy. But Kṛṣṇa, you all have Kṛṣṇa. You know Kṛṣṇa, you know Rāma. So Kṛṣṇa doesn’t have to be added. In the West, Kṛṣṇa had to be added. Only thing is that nowadays Kṛṣṇa has gone to the side. As Girirāja Mahārāja said, “Kṛṣṇa kendra chahiye”. We need Kṛṣṇa in the center. So we are simply trying to encourage everyone that they should not keep Kṛṣṇa in the side, but keep Kṛṣṇa in the center. Just like Yudhiṣṭhira, because he kept Kṛṣṇa in the center, therefore he was always protected. And Duryodhana, he wanted to keep Kṛṣṇa so much on the side, on the outside. Therefore he lost everything. So we want the secret of happiness to be revealed. What is that secret?

brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā
naśocati na kāṅkṣati
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu
mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām

(Bg. 18.54) 

That one has to practice bhakti, devotion to Kṛṣṇa. That is the secret of happiness. Nowadays, the whole world, as its mentioned, it’s a crisis situation. What is the symptom? We see the whole world is fearful. When we are going in the procession, they were throwing out the bombs. Boom! And the devotees, they were smiling. But the horses, what did they do? They jumped. Because animal means fear, they are always afraid. So if when you see a bird and say, “Hut!”, the bird flies away. Why? Because the bird is afraid. So paśu life means fear. So the whole world is now afraid, they are fearful. What is my future? Will there be a war? Will there be a strike? Will there be a shortage? In so many ways they are fearing. This fear is symptomatic of animal life. Animals are also fearing. According to the śāstra what is the difference from animal life and human life? You know. They say animal life plus dharma is equal to human life. So what is human life minus dharma? Can anyone say?

Devotee: Animal life 

Jayapatākā Swami: Any volunteers? Human life minus dharma?

Mr. Sharma: Animal life. 

Jayapatākā Swami: Thank you Mr. Sharma. So because the world is lacking the real Sanātana-dharma, everyone is afraid. Here we have to protect ourselves. But that type of overwhelming fear is not there in the devotee because he knows, kṛṣṇa rakhe māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rakhe ke. If Kṛṣṇa protects me, who will harm me? And if Kṛṣṇa hits me, who will protect me? So they depend upon Kṛṣṇa. So this is the, this is the secret of fearlessness.

bhaja huṅ re mana śrī-nanda-nandana,
abhaya-caraṇāravinda re 
bhaja huṅ re mana śrī-nanda-nandana,
abhaya-caraṇāravinda re

Abhaya-caraṇāravinda re, our Founder-Ācārya, A.C... what does that mean? A.C. means Abhaya Caraṇāravinda. Abhaya Caraṇāravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. Because he depended on Śrī Nanda-nandana - Kṛṣṇa - Pārtha-Sārathi, he went all over the world fearlessly preaching Sanātana-dharma. So whether you are in your home or whether you are preaching around the world, the cure for fear is Abhaya-caraṇāra, serving the Lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That is the secret.

So Prabhupāda, you see, he fearlessly went to the west and he presented Sanātana-dharma and he attracted so many followers. Do you think that he bribed the followers? Here in India, if you want to get something to the machinery very fast, some permit, some type of permission; you have to grease the mechanism, you see, by bribery. They only consider “Is there some lubrication?”, you can call it.

So in this way also different missionaries, the people are also contributing very generously to those who come in their camp. So Prabhupāda he went to the west, do you think he offered some bribe? “You become my follower, I will give you some material incentive.” Do you think he gave any bribe? What do you think? No. He could attract them because Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. Because Kṛṣṇa was all-attractive, he could attract the devotees whole over the world. That means that there is actually something real and spiritual in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata, in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness.

As it’s said:

bhārata bhūmite manuṣya-janma haila yāra
janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra
(Cc. Ādi 9.41)

That the people of India, they have Kṛṣṇa. So because they have Kṛṣṇa, they should know Kṛṣṇa, and they should give Kṛṣṇa to the world, to others; para-upakāra. That was the desire of Kṛṣṇa. Why did He come here to Hastināpura, why did He come here to India? Because this is His holy land, puṇya-bhūmi, and He wanted that these holy people who will take birth here would not only worship Him but they would know Him and they would preach His glories, saṅkīrtanam, all over the world. So we are hoping, you see… we want you to at least preach the glories of Kṛṣṇa all over Delhi, all over India and then all over the world. People are forgetting Kṛṣṇa as the center because they have placed Kṛṣṇa in the side. So, if Kṛṣṇa is placed in the center, then just like Yudhiṣṭhira was enjoying all opulence, then all opulence can be easily obtained. This is the secret of success. So you have, I see in present… you are all very good looking, you are healthy, you are bright faced, you are cultured, you have everything, you see. But we just want that Kṛṣṇa should be put in the center. And for those of you who already have Kṛṣṇa in the center, then you please help us to put Kṛṣṇa in the center of those who have not yet put Kṛṣṇa in the center of their lives. This is our mission.

Today we are going to just now see the ārati and the darśana of Rādhā-Pārthasārathi. You should know that these have got very special significance, these deities. How is it Rādhā and Pārthasārathi? We know Pārthasārathi is Dvārakādhīśa Kṛṣṇa who has come, you see, to Kurukṣetra to fight. Not to fight, but to drive the chariot of Arjuna. So Rādhā-Pārthasārathi means of course that Kṛṣṇa also came to Kurukṣetra; and Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī and all the devotees from Vṛndāvana, they all came to Kurukṣetra and met Kṛṣṇa again.

We are also… you can say, we are… you see, bereft of Kṛṣṇa. We are not with Kṛṣṇa today. You see Kṛṣṇa has gone back to His eternal dhāma. He only comes here in the words of His devotees, He comes in His holy name. He comes present before us in His arcā-mūrti. So we see that just like Kṛṣṇa was so kind to His devotee, Śrīmati Rādhārāṇī and allow… you see they also united nearby here in Kurukṣetra, therefore Pārtha, Rādhā-Pārthasārathi. That these deities are very kind. So that we can very soon meet with Kṛṣṇa. So now, let us go and see the Lord Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Pārthasārathi and by Their mercy we can very quickly meet with our eternal Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya!