19800605 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.2.38

(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 lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 5, 1980 – in Śrī Māyāpur, India. The lecture begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.2.38.

It is wonderful that these elderly women do not have a higher sense of life than we do. Indeed, we are most fortunate, for although we are children and have been left to struggle in material life unprotected by father and mother, and although we are very weak, we have not been vanquished or eaten by ferocious animals. Thus we have a firm belief that the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has given us protection even in the womb of the Mother, will protect us everywhere. As is stated In Bhagavad Gītā 1861, the Lord is present in the core of everyone’s heart. Thus the Lord gives protection to everyone and gives the different types of bodies the living entity wants to enjoy. Everything is done by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Therefore one should not lament the birth and death of a living being which have been arranged by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gītā 15:15 I am seated in everyone’s heart and from me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. One must act according to the direction of the Lord within the heart. But because the conditioned soul wants to act independently, the Lord gives him the facility to act and experience the reactions. The Lord says, saravadanaman paritya ja makang saranang baja. Give up all other duties and simply surrender unto Me. One who does not abide by the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is given the facility to enjoy this material world.

Instead of restricting him, the Lord gives the conditioned soul the opportunity to enjoy so that by mature experience, after many births, he will understand that surrender to the lotus feet of Vasudeva is the only duty of all living beings. This is a wonderful teaching instruction in the Bhāgavatam on how an example is given how one King Suryagya died King of Hussina and he died in the battlefield and the queens were lamenting. And even though it was time to burn the body, if the body is the person dies, he leaves his body, then the body should be burned before the change of the day or before the change of the night. In other words, if they die during the daytime, then the body should be burned before sunset, and if one dies at night, he should be burned before sunrise.

This is the general system so that it follows. So now the sun is about to set, but the queens are lamenting and smashing their head on his chest and crying. And so Yamaraj even hears and he thinks, what are these people doing? And so he takes the form of a young boy and he Comes and he makes these statements to instruct them. Very wonderful instructions. So this is when a young child makes a statement everyone likes to hear. If a small boy steps up and starts to make some philosophical statements. And everyone likes to listen to that. It’s very wonderful because normally children are very cute. They’re very nice to look at. And of course mostly they’re very naughty and uncontrolled. So if a young innocent child starts to speak something, learn it. That has a special attraction.

And people are not usually put into a challenging mood. No one will come up to the child and start to challenge you. Nonsense. What are you saying? Of course, except for Haranyakashipu so Jammu Raj he took the form of a young boy and he started to preach to them. You see, the least you can understand that if a gurukul can preach it will be very effective that he tells them that although I am in this material world, I am a young boy. It’s very wonderful how all the elder people you are lamenting and crying. But I am not feeling any fear because I am feeling protected by Kṛṣṇa. Even in the womb of my mother, which is such a dangerous place. See I protected by the Lord. Actually people are thinking that birth is a wonderful thing. We should contemplate that when we take birth.

It’s actually very dangerous time. It’s very dangerous time to be there in the womb. While in the womb we are simply depending upon the mother’s nutrition coming to us through the umbilical cord Nabi. And there are so many dangers. It is said that a pregnant woman, even if someone speaks very harshly to her that and if she feels it very strongly offended or hurt that may cause brain damage to the child because it will. It may create some whole contraction and squeezing and different kind of just nervous adrenaline and things. Whatever may happen, I don’t know that physiological effects the causes what the doctors say. But ayurvedically this can create defects. Just what to speak of all the physical taking too many chilies, taking proper imbalance.

So therefore even Prabhupāda has said that advanced stages of pregnancy that women should not do any strenuous work. Whatever they feel like doing, they should do so. It’s a very dangerous situation. Inside the worms are biting the baby. And at any moment so many poisons, so many difficulties arise. Especially in the modern day. It’s very dangerous with all these vacuum systems and so on and so forth. At any moment that may be the end of one’s short life. And he may be Killed by abortion. So called family planning. So family murder. The dangerous position we’re in at every moment, even before we are born. And as soon as we’re born, then it goes on to so many other dangers at every step. So Yamaraj, what he’s pointing to is, you people are lamenting. You’re smashing your head.

The king is dead, but you are all fools. You are fools. Here is your king, here he is, Everything is there. What is missing? Why you are lamenting? Before you spoke to him and he answered, now you are speaking. He is not answering, but there he is. Why you are lamenting? Because you are fools. You don’t know who was that person. You don’t know that who was the person. Yamaraj is feeling sorry. These people, everyone who comes from an unknown place, he spends some time and then he dies. And he goes again to an unknown place, never to meet them necessarily, these people again. So why they’re lamenting? There’s something new that is happening, something unexpected. Everyone dies. So why they lament? So he goes down and preaches to them. And what does he call them? He calls them fools.

Because they don’t see that the body is not the person. They don’t see that the soul is the actual person. They don’t know the person, they’re just knowing the body. Because they’re lamenting, there’s the body, but why they should lament them? The same body is there because the soul is gone and the soul is the real person. And you think once the soul is dragged off and takes another body, then that the previous bodies he was associated with, the previous souls will have any recollection, those souls again will go to another place. And this way we’re brought together and we’re separated in this material world. So what is the need for lamenting? But everyone is desiring, hankering, fearing. And then finally, when they lose what they so cherished before, they lament, like anything. So these things are going on.

So we see that this instruction given here in the Sima Bhāgavatam, an example from Yamaraja, this is just as applicable today as it was 5,000 years ago as it’s going to be 5,000 years from now. That is why this is called Sanātana Dharma, because these instructions are eternal. So long as there’s a spirit, soul, there’s a material body, these instructions are applicable. They don’t change, they don’t lose their message. This is the wonderful thing today, in modern churches, religious institutions, people are always trying to be up with the times and to change their religious system to suit the changing times. So as a result, they’re always, of course, behind the time because times are always changing and therefore they’re always off. They’re always off the track. Further and further off the track, they lose sight.

They lose sight of what is the goal of human life. You have seen Śrīla Prabhupāda. One man, gentleman walked in his room and he asked him, what is the goal of life? Just say, what is the goal of life? And that person said, well, some people say this and some people say that. Some people. And then Pro Puck smashed it. And some people say, what is the goal of life? Why don’t you know? Because nobody knows. Nobody knows factually what is the purpose of life. They’re all this and that. No one knows that. Everyone. If you ask him, what is the purpose of life? No one can definitely say this is the purpose of life. Only one who can say is someone who actually has a spiritual master. You can say, this is the purpose of life. Even people india have spiritual masters.

If you ask, what is the purpose of life, they don’t know what is the use of those spiritual masters. Actually, what Yamaraj is speaking is timeless. But now, essentially, in recent history, India is immersed in Hinduism. Before it was Vedic, Dharma, Sanātana, Dharma, eternal truths. But now it has become Hindu truths. But the word Hindu is a transitory word called by the people living. The Muslims living north of the Indus river, they couldn’t say Indus, so they said Hindus. Everyone on that side of the river is a Hindu. And so in this way, the word Hindu is been used, just like the Indians call the foreigners as mlecha or as jaubana. So the Mohammedans call the livers of Arjavartha of India Bharat Varsha. As Hindus, it’s a derogatory term. Now it is caught up.

So basically, the Hindu society has been captured by the Māyāvādī philosophy. But actually the Indian people, the people of Harad, Varsha, they’re trained. Their natural tendency is to worship Kṛṣṇa, to worship Ram, to worship the supreme Lord. Even the worshippers of demigods respect, in most cases, Vishnu. But the Maia ladis, or impersonalists, they have spread their philosophy so widely that everything is tinged with this impersonal philosophy. Yesterday went and met one gentleman and were trying to enthuse him that, you know, by serving Kṛṣṇa, this is especially enlivening. And he said, yes, he gave an example. Just like when you do something and you try very hard and that thing is especially pleasing to yourself for your own interest. Then because we are Bhagavān, we feel very satisfied. Bhagavān seva. It completely twisted the thing around.

In other words, if you go out, rob a bank and get some money or you do something and you feel very happy. Then you see, if you get anything, someone praises you or you lie and cheat and you get some wealth and you feel naturally you feel a little bit of pleasure from that. Well, that is divine. Because after all, we’re God. This way a person can be the worst. Crook, thief, rapist, debauchee, demon. And think that actually what I am doing is devotional service. You see, it’s a unique. Of course he called it a very unique. He said some people know me as unique and some people as mad. So actually this is. The demons are so expert that of course india everyone knows you’re supposed to perform devotional service. They know bhakti is actually the highest.

So the Mayavadis are so expertly given this philosophy that everyone is God. So then if I serve myself as material interest, I am doing devotional service. I thought it was a wonderful twist. You see how they are able to poison the people. Unfortunately, the person is completely miserable. Chain smoker. In fact, in spite of all his devotional service to himself he’s not the least bit satisfied trying to rip us off for every cent he can. This is the position, you see, that any artificial concoction cannot satisfy. Superseded thee. The ātmā becomes satisfied when you serve an Hokaja. The immaterial beings in this material world are not a Hoksheja. They’re not the inconceivable Lord to anyone who can be described by words is material. And Kṛṣṇa cannot be described by mere words.

It is said that Kṛṣṇa, when he is being described by Ananta Seish who’s got millions of heads, unlimited heads. You see, with every mouth a different glorification going on. He can find the end. He can properly describe Kṛṣṇa’s voice. That is why he is Adhok Shaja. Adhok saja means aha or A to aha Bisarga in the Sanskrit Alphabet. Just like in. In English we have A to Z. A to Z. In Sanskrit the first letter is A. In the last letter is Aha or bisargah. Just like in our slok. Today we had here that on the end as he put in English transliteration, that is bisargaha. So that is the last letter in the Alphabet of Sanskrit. And the first letter Is A or a. So from to aha or A to Z, anything you can describe with words that’s not Kṛṣṇa.

Then why they say why you are describing Kṛṣṇa day and night. We’re not so proud to think we are completely describing Kṛṣṇa. We are giving some direction that this is something what Kṛṣṇa is like. But we should not bewildered to think that any description can properly give the description. How wonderful Kṛṣṇa is describes in the Bhagavat that you see. Just like we think Yaśodā, Nandana, Bharjajana, Ranjana. All the residents of Vrindavan, how they are enjoying simply serving Kṛṣṇa. In fact, when Kṛṣṇa is going out, when he is going out to the field to her, the cows before your sword is preparing so many nice preparations that Kṛṣṇa should be fully fed and then go out. And all the residents, they’re thinking that when Kṛṣṇa is going by, they’re anxious to hear the bells on his lotus feet.

They want to hear the sweet sound of his voice and his flute. Everyone is waiting, in fact, just to see. Kṛṣṇa’s face is described as a mahotsav, as the greatest festival for the residents of Vrindava. They don’t need the cinema, they don’t need any kind of discos or anything. They’re simply anxious when they can see the festival of Ka’s face, his lotus face. So how can Kṛṣṇa’s lotus face be described? They describe a shama Sundar as the beautiful, like a monsoon cloud. But they say you can describe all the natural phenomena this world and you can’t come close to a drop compared to an ocean of the beauty of Kṛṣṇa. So Kṛṣṇa cannot be properly described with words. But the devotees, they still. They try to glorify Kṛṣṇa, knowing that they’re not capable of doing so.

Because it’s the duty of the devotee to glorify Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is uttamasloka, one who is to be glorified by chosen words. So even we are not able to properly glorify Kṛṣṇa. Even our broken speech and our poor grammar and dictation and diction. Rather everything may be completely inadequate to properly glorify Kṛṣṇa. Still, the devotee tries to glorify Kṛṣṇa, just like the Ganges. When we worship the Ganges, we take in our two hands a small fistful of the water and we lift it and again offer it to the Ganges river. This is a system for worshiping Ganges. We take one fistful or one handful cupped in our palms of our hands and we offer that to the Gaṅgā. So like that Kṛṣṇa is Unlimited, like the ocean. We’re just taking one little palm full of light, offering it to Kṛṣṇa.

Not that we are able to offer the whole ocean, but what we can take in our palm, that we again offer to Kṛṣṇa. The principle is, everyone has to give the capacity of his within his grip, within his PI should give what he can back to Kṛṣṇa. And just by that dedication, by that surrender that I am the servant of Kṛṣṇa, he is elevated to the transcendental platform. So these Māyāvādī philosophers, of course, they completely distort the holy shit. Everyone is God. But we don’t find one inconceivable person in this material world. Of course, for in this material world, Kṛṣṇa’s Māyā is unconceivable. That you can say. No one can conceive the limits of this material nature. Even a man, he cannot conceive the limits or the actual intellect or desires of his own life.

What to speak of is the rest of the material nature, which is, you see, unlimited. So this material world, what even the greatest scientist admits they have not discovered, but a drop in its great expanse. How we can try to understand what is this glorious position of the Creator, the eternal intelligence, the primal mover, the supreme personality of God. Him and some insignificant fig like person. Due to the bewilderment of instructions of impersonalist philosophy. He is so much illusion that he thinks that in all respects he is actually one with the Supreme Godhead. Although in the same breath he will admit that he is mad, he is incapable and he is completely miserable in all of his attempts to enjoy. It is a fact that due to this philosophy, people lose their intelligence. They become mad.

That is why Lord Chaitanya said that if anyone listens to the philosophy of these mailadis, these impersonal philosophers and think they understand the philosophy. If they just listen, of course the worst thing, they think that Now I understand. That means they are finished. Binash means ruination and saro bina, Sarobhonash means complete destruction. Finish whatever trace of intelligence, finish completely bewildered, they will be cast down to the level of insects. Because every insect thinks that I am God. When the five robots that lands on top of the house, he thinks this is my house. When he lands on your plate while you’re trying to eat your mango and you say what are you doing? And you wave him away, thinks he does not know this is my mango, why he’s driving me away? I have sat down to eat.

So my Awadi philosophers, they’re simply preparing themselves to become insects. Then they can you See that? With a hundred thousand legs walking, I am the Lord, I have more feet. Sahasrapad Sahasramuk. They think they’re the Visa Rūpa. So they get thousand legs, thousand heads, centipede, insect, bugs. So actually the people india have a natural devotion. But they’re being misled. They’re being misled by this crazy philosophy. Everyone is God. Actually we also accept. Yes, everyone is God. Everyone is the Kṛṣṇa. That Mamaaya Vanisha, Jīva, Loki, Jīva Bhuta Sanātana. That Jīva is my part and parcel. So if we’re his part and parcel, then it means that we are God. But the thing is, we’re part God. We’re small God, we’re qualitative God, we’re servant God. And he is Master God. He is unlimited, omnipotent, omniscient.

So because he is Jagannath, he is the Lord of the Universe. So devotees, they have very humble attitudes. They’re simply trying to develop their service to Kṛṣṇa through serving Kṛṣṇa’s devotees. Shyamananda Anad, one of our great Acharyas. He has initiated of course, Rashika Anonymous. So one time these Mayavadis were preaching and someone came and saw Rasik Anant and was praising how they have all these mystic powers. He was brushing his teeth with his Datu sadist took his Datu now put it beneath his legs and flew around the Ashram. Said what is this nonsense? Flew back down ladder and brushing his teeth. Who cares? Sabistic power. These things we had long time ago, what is the use? They’re useless. What do they have to do with developing our devotional service for Ka? Now it’s become Fashion Club. Who is the Avatar of the month?

(Side B of the Cassette)

Which avatar is more popular? There should be like a Gallipola for presidential elections. Now who is the more popular avatar? Is it the Baba? Or is it the Crya? Or is it the Thakur? Of course. Then there’s regional favorites. Prabhupāda said they should all get together and fight it out. Who is the real Bhagavān? Please stand up. But the whole world is going to hell. Everyone is completely engrossed in sense gratification. There’s consistent disease, petulance, earthquake, every kind of drought, every kind of. But in spite of so many Bhagavans, what is the use of all the Bhagavans? You see, all Sovatto Bhagavān who don’t help anything. They simply. What do they teach? How to become greater devotees, which if you have more sex, then you will become more divine. This is the greatest type of sadhana practice of yoga.

So everyone already is practicing that yoga. In fact, the pigeons are the greatest yogis. Every sparrow can become one of these new Sannyasis to practice that yoga 50, 60 times a day. So this type of yoga they will become, you see, all forest dwellers to practice that type of yoga. What is the use of. And you see these so called blissful people, they’re just. They look like any other man on the street. Only a little more. Little more rings under their eyes, little more fried out. And with the same kind of ludicrous half smile like they’re trying to show that they’re enjoying completely bewildered. So this is the position is that people are simply being bewildered. So we are discussing.

And so representatives of the Vedantas of the Mayavadis, they’re criticizing that some of our supporters, while you are supporting this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement, they’re the complete Bhakti end. They’re the complete, you see, believing in Kṛṣṇa as the supreme. They’re the exact opposite of us. Don’t support them. Actually, the Māyāvādī, they know us very well. There was one devotee here. He wrote when Māyāvādī Sannyāsī that I want to join your ashram. He gave return address iskcon. He wrote back. You are iskcon. Why you are writing? You don’t know that ISKCON is against our philosophy. We cannot accept you. They know very well what ISKCON stands for. You see, just like all the likes of could never forget Kṛṣṇa. He is always thinking in his mind that when is that black snake Kṛṣṇa going to come? He is thinking that Kṛṣṇa is like this.

Kṛṣṇa is a Kala Sarpent. He is like the serpent of time devours everyone. They are the thinking, when will this ISKCON devour us? How to stop them? When will this ISKCON destroy all of our Myavad philosophy and get these people too. That’s why so many groups now are starting Bhajans. Every Māyāvādī group is vigorously starting Bhajan since our preaching. Oh, it’s we chant. You chant, everyone chant. See, it’s all the same. But there’s no juice there. There’s no rasa vigraha, Nam Chin damani, Kṛṣṇa Rasavigraha, Purna Sudhonity. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t dance on the lips of these frogs who are croaking Māyāvādī philosophy. He dances on the lips of his devotees. Lord Caitanya promised I will again come back. And I will come back in the form of the holy name. And I will dance on the Jīva on the lips of my devotees.

If they want to associate with me, they simply chant my name. Chant Kṛṣṇa’s name and I will be dancing on their lips. He said I also will come as the form of the deity. And by worshiping me they can realize that I am present. Said in these two forms I will again come. So when the devotee chants Kṛṣṇa’s name, that shatters the Māyā body. That’s why we have this big invited to these big sabas. Prabhupāda said first go and chant Harinam. And for half an hour he’d make them chant. In fact, one time there was some Māyāvādī philosopher. He started preaching how you see Kṛṣṇa cut off his hand. He has no arms, has no legs, has no head. He starts to dissect. Kṛṣṇa Prabhupāda became so anxious start the kirta.

Right in the middle of his lecture, Hare Kṛṣṇa started to kirta shut him right up. Of course it’s not doesn’t make us very popular. All the sentimental dihasis become tried out. We can’t stand to hear these people simply speak their poisons. So the thing of course is that if we simply maintain, just like Yamaraj, he’s preaching the same thing after you see, he can go on 1 million years ago or today. This story you can say and the same thing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Whether we travel by Bulaf kart or whether we travel by Mercedes, our message is the same. Our message is the same. Our message is that Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor and everyone is his servant. Our message is Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor, everyone is his servant. Our message is that people are not this material body, they are the pure Jīva Spirit, soul.

So the devotees in this Kṛṣṇa conscious movement, they have to be very careful. Just like if you’re looking over a vast jungle, you will see so many plants. You may see man eating Venus fly traps, what they call them, Venus fly traps. You may see coconut, you may see oak, you may see so many types of vegetation. Each type of vegetation is competing who can get up closer to the sun with their roots in the ground. But this devotional creeper, you see is actually Bhakti Lotha. Bhakti Lotha has its mystic roots, you see, in the spiritual world how it appears to have roots in the material world, yet the roots are actually being nourished. You see from the spiritual sky here in our Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority 2 railway go down shed opposite the Indian Museum.

You may have seen that they planted a creeper one side of the building. And it was very interesting to see how they would tie a rope to the end of the creeper and attach some weight, some stone to the opposite end, throw it over the roof and have it dangle down. And by the weight of the string on that creeper, it pulled the creeper right over the whole building and back down the other side. So in the same way Kṛṣṇa is pulling our devotional creeper, the spiritual master, as Kṛṣṇa is represented, is pulling the devotional creeper. It is automatically growing to the spiritual world. But you see, we’re living in this huge forest. So many weeds are there, so many non devotional vegetation is surrounding us. We have to simply keep our head above all this jungle, above all these weeds.

But we’re living in this material world. Therefore, because we’re living, so called in the material world, we have to always defend our devotional creeper. We have to clear the forest, you see all the enormous weeds and plants and trees that are keeping our creeper from getting the shade, the shelter, the sunlight of Kṛṣṇa, we have to keep it a little clearer. But the tendency is that because we’re in the forest, we become one of the forest plants. We start to merge, we start to get smothered. And this is the symptoms of material contamination, lethargy, enviousness, this sleepy, no enthusiasm, lamentation, greed, lazy, and so on and so forth. There’s so many symptoms of materialistic life. Eat, tumor, irregular eating, irregular sleeping, so on and so forth.

So the way that Śrīla Prabhupda has given, the way the previous cryas have given us for avoiding this is we have to always be fixed up. We have to always be fired up in preaching. The devotees are not so advanced that simply they’re going to sit and chant. And they’re going to be completely immune from this material. Not that the chanting isn’t powerful enough. But the people of this kali Yuga are 99% of the time too materially contaminated. To listen properly to the chanting day in and day out, hour after hour, the mind is agītāted. And moreover, that chanting does not bring so much of a special mercy. Kṛṣṇa said, of all the devotees, that devotee who is preaching my glory, he is the most dear. You see. So even chanting is. Is purifying. But chanting alone, you see, we need a special mercy.

We need the extra boost. Because we are especially fallen in this Kali Yuga. Therefore, we need Lord Caitanya Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahprabhu’s mercy. And we get that mercy by preaching. The tendency will be to gradually just slide and become more and more lax. And to try to defensively. Simply to defensively. Well, all right. So I will force myself to get up and go to Aarti. I will force myself to listen to the class. I will stand up in the back of the room. When I fall asleep, I will force myself. You see, of course, that defensive tactics are better than nothing. But the real solution is we have to become enthused to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness to the fallen soul. To give them the books, to give them the message. To let them be exposed to Kṛṣṇa simply by being exposed to Kṛṣṇa from a pure devotee.

Pure devotee means a devotee who’s just trying to represent Kaja. Trying to represent the Guru Paramparā. If he has that desire, I want to simply purely represent Kṛṣṇa, you see, then he is considered to be a pure devotee. His purity may be graded depending on how much he has been able to understand what Kṛṣṇa wants by mercy of Guru Paramparā. But that desire itself means at least he’s a third class pure devotion. Because he at least understood one basic essence. That basic essence is that we have to please Kṛṣṇa. And from that Kṛṣṇa he will gradually correct the person. Not that to preach one has to already become a Paramahansa. By preaching, we get the special mercy. So every program, the maximum exposure we can give to Kṛṣṇa.

So that means there’s so many that some people are loading the ammunition and some people are fighting, shooting the bullets. And some people are constructing the. Nowadays, you see, that of course now is the Kali Yuga. So in Kali Yuga, hardly how many people go out and fight on the battlefield? Now they have all the nuclear bombs the people are working in the laboratories, tying together the plutonium, you know, with. With lead fingers run by computer. So now you see, a lot of our preaching is done by construction. A lot of our preaching is done by deity worship. A lot of our preaching is done by book publication. So many different systems are there. Of course, ultimately there also has to be the person who goes out and gives that person, you see, the medicine. Now there are different methods.

Now is the Kali Yuga. So we have these mechanized warfare. So we use mechanized Kṛṣṇa. If we have a big building, this will bring people. But ultimately they have to hear from the lips of a pure devotee. That can’t be mechanized, that can’t be computerized. They have to hear from a living devotee. So Prabhupāda said he wanted every one of his devotees to go out and to be Ka’s representative, to go out and preach Ka’s message in whatever way they can. So that means that people have to the devotees, we have to understand at every moment and not lose sight that the goal is to please Kṛṣṇa. If by doing our service we gain such.

If we are so careless that we allow our mentality to slide, become so much engrossed in satisfying our senses rather than trying to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and we’re not able to satisfy Guru and Kṛṣṇa, we should not be so forgetful to know that we will never be happy. Then even we’re doing so called Kṛṣṇa service. If we are looking more towards our material sense, gratification to give us our happiness, you see, that means we’re lost souls. We are in the most pitiful condition. We have to begging Kṛṣṇa, begging the spiritual master to simply get Ka’s mercy. Which means to appreciate the beauty, the service to Kṛṣṇa. If we can’t get the bliss from Kṛṣṇa service, then we’re in an unfortunate position. Not that we should give up our devotional service. We should go on plugging.

We should understand that we are in the lowest platform of devotion as well. Service. So what are we supposed to do? We’re supposed to hanker. What is the rope which is tying us to Ka? How is Kṛṣṇa pulling that Lota, that creeper, back to the spiritual world? Our desire, our desire to serve Kṛṣṇa, to please him, is synonymous with our tasting satisfaction in our service. Service. When we want that Kṛṣṇa is pleased through his representative, the spiritual Master, then we feel satisfied. And when we are thinking how I can be satisfied to whatever extent, to that extent, we’re miserable. We’re in anxiety. Anxiety for Kṛṣṇa means bliss. And anxiety for ourselves means Misery. So Yamaraj came. He told him, you’re lamenting. Look out for yourself. You’re lamenting for your so called husband. What about yourself? You’re going to die any minute also.

Don’t be such a fool. I am a little kid. He came as a child. I am not worried because I am depending on Kṛṣṇa. You’re depending on your husband. Look what happened to him. What’s going to happen to you? Don’t think you’re surrounded by your family members and by all these arrangements. You’re going to be happy or you’re going to be free. You’re going to end up just like your great hero, the King of Husina. You’re going to end up fried on the battlefield. So you are fools. Now you should think for yourself. Take the lesson from this. Don’t simply lament like a cow crying for the calf. You are much older and senior to me. I am just a child. But I know that only Kṛṣṇa can protect me. Because I have no mother, no father. Now I am only Kṛṣṇa to save me.

So this is what we have to become. Akinshana. Akinchana Gochara. Kṛṣṇa is only known by that person who has no one else to protect him but Kṛṣṇa. So long as someone thinks I am protected by this arrangement, by that arrangement, by this life insurance, by this savings plan, by this system or that system. That means that he has got, you see, no shelter. Akinsa Nagochara. One who doesn’t have any material shelter. He’s the safest person in this world. Look at Śrīla Prabhupāda. He was able to be a big businessman. But he was so much in concern with how to preach the message of his spiritual mastery. He gave all his money, he just maintained his family. He gave all the money he had, every last spare cent to Prince Ibakti Godhead to print the Back to Godhead magazine. He had one house.

He moved out of part of it and gave half his house to Sudhar Swami’s other godbrothers who live here. Just taking the nominal exact rent that it cost to pay that share of the house. And whatever money he had, he simply printed back to Godhead. In those days, his all his godmother said that he was always helping. But he actually had no capacity at that time to give any financial help. So practically speaking, at that point Prabhupāda was in the same position as many of our Iskcon Grihastas. He worked and he got his bare necessity. But what was he doing he was simply engaging his time in preaching. He couldn’t. He didn’t have any chance to make any big savings because he had to preach, he had to print. Proves back to Godhead. But he maintained his family.

They complained, oh well, we could have got this and that. We could have seen better. But they’re all alive. They didn’t starve. And because of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s starting back to Godhead. Because of his preaching, the whole world has begun to see the light of Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. So Yamaraj, he’s coming and telling these people, why are you such fools? You don’t see the time is coming. But I am not afraid. I am depending on Kṛṣṇa. In other words, one has to do his duty. He has to do his duty in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Trying to give the maximum contribution of his time, of his energy to preaching Prabhupāda’s movement and taking the mercy of the spiritual master. Nobody is going to make it rich in this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement. It’s not set up for making it rich.

If someone makes it rich, he’s stealing and he’s not in the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. No one’s going to make it rich. But Prabhupāda said that no one’s going to stop. So no one is going to starve in this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement. If they’re starving, then that manager should be removed. Everyone should get their food, they should get their clothing. They should get whatever they need to keep their body and soul together. It should have the facilities. But everyone is going to become rich in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Because we’re in this jungle of the material world. And if we’re not careful, we get submerged, we get bewildered. And every Brahmachari, everyone, every Grihasta, every Sannyāsī, they can all become bewildered by this material world. It is a bewildering place. Brahma becomes bewildered, great devotees. Dhruva Maharaj becomes bewildered.

We have to always be a fool before our spiritual master. We have to always be fearful of Māyā and courageous. That Kṛṣṇa will help us. Not that we’re fearful, but we’re courageous. We’re brave. Yes, Kṛṣṇa, he will protect me if you’re not afraid. Fear is a better part of valor. But we’re not afraid in the sense that we’re fearful. We’re apprehensive, we’re cautious. Sadhus, Sabdhan. Be careful. Sadhus. Whenever the Govidiya Vaishnavs take Prashad when they get up. Because after taking Prashad, you especially Feel very enthusiastic for more than one reason. Mainly because it’s Kṛṣṇa Prashad but also because it’s just natural. So just as they’re about to get up, you often will hear Sadhusav dance. Be careful, don’t get up all pepped up that you forget that you have to be dependent on Kṛṣṇa.

Māyā is still there waiting for a chance to get you. Kṛṣṇa Ji Vanadiya Bahimoka Toy Māyā Daisang Sam Duke. Whoever forgets Kṛṣṇa even for a moment, Māyā is there kicking. So Jammu Raj so kindly personally comes in the same way. I see that my God brothers and my disciples and the disciples of my Godbrothers they’re actually all before me as actually Śrīla Prabhupda as the Guru Parampura. They have all come in different forms and shapes simply to instruct in different ways how to surrender, how to be devotee. This society is meant that we take instruction in so many different ways. From good example, from bad example, from good instruction, from all different tribulations, trials, all different successes and failures. We take our instructions. Bhakti Siddhānta, Sasthi Thakur. He used to pay his obeisances to his disciples. Das Asmi, I offer you my obeisances.

You are all the form of my spiritual master. Come to me in these different shapes and forms to instruct me. So therefore I am your servant. So in that way we should look upon the society, the devotees. How Kṛṣṇa is teaching us, how our spiritual master is teaching us through them. And that will be to our benefit. Just like Yamaraj came as a boy, he’s instructing. They don’t know this is Yamaraj, this is Mahajana Janakota Supunta. This is a person we’re to follow in the footsteps of. They’re seeing as a young child. In the same way Prabhupāda is speaking to us in so many ways. Through our Godbrothers, even through our disciples, through our husband, to our wives. We’re to speak of through the spiritual master himself. Kṛṣṇa is speaking directly and we have to learn how to our spiritual master is instructing us.

And then what instruction we get, we take it and we preach it to others. And keep enthusiastic, keep steps ahead of Māyā Sam D Jay.