19810916 The darśana day of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda’s sannyāsa ceremony

(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 on the darśana day of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda’s sannyāsa ceremony given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on September 16, 1981 – in Montreal, Canada.

Yes, Today is the most auspicious day when our founder Acharya his divine grace. At the age of 59 accepted the sannyas order of life. Śrīla Prabhupāda was visited many times in dream by his spiritual master Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswi Thakur, calling him to come out of the household and to accept sannyas. When he accepted sannyas, some of the people present there commented that he was most interested in getting everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This was Śrīla Prabhupda’s ever engagement to encourage everyone to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Ramo, Hare Rāma Rāma Hare. This is for us something which is very important. You may wonder why. Because Rla Prabhupda, in relinquishing the responsibility directly for his little family, he commented that many years afterward that I gave up my sons and daughters.

Now I have accepted so many hundreds and hundreds of sons and daughters who are serving me better. Then my own son and daughters. So sometimes when people give up something materially, they always fear that they will lose. So Śrīla Prabhupāda was teaching us one is never the loser by giving to Kṛṣṇa. But actually we don’t feel that were able to do or are able to do very much significant service for Śrīla Prabhupāda. Rather we feel that we have gained everything that we can never pay back the debt to our spiritual master. That debt is so great. So because Śrīla Prabhupāda has accepted the inconvenience, whatever inconvenience may be there in taking sannyas and especially the inconvenience of accepting so many unqualified sons and daughters. At least.

Especially amongst them, I am the incomparably unqualified and with such a great patience training them in all different types of Vedic culture, from cooking to dressing to deity worship to kīrtana to philosophy, lifestyle, cleanliness, everything that we have learned has been by his mercy. So this was made possible because he gave up the small domain of his family for the greater family of the world. And Kṛṣṇa sent him so many children and now so many grandchildren. And we are all grateful. We are all grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda for his causeless mercy. Symphony of babies. In Māyāpur For a long time the householders were living separate. But as the community grew naturally it was necessary to have some householder facility for joint living.

So were discussing with Rla Prabhupda this development and this crying reminds me that he was Commenting that people give up the material world because of the crying of the babies. If someone gives up the material world and next door there’s family living and they have to hear that chee, cheers. And he made a face very bad. It’s a very difficult situation, very difficult decision to make. But now we have a whole household village. For householders, it’s music to their ears. But for the Brahmacharis and for the Sannyasis, the babies crying has a different note. It denotes to them suffering of material life. Only our mother and our beloved father, they have tolerated all of us when were crying brats. And of course in this Kṛṣṇa Conscious movement they’re taking the crying babies and turning them into great devotees by association and patience.

But for the Sannyasis and Brahmacharis too close proximity with that non stop night long crying, even Śrīla Prabhupāda could understand that was a very critical decision to make. So actually grihe taco, bone taco, sadahari bole taco. Whether one is a Grihasta or whether one is a Sanyasi, everyone is supposed to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, develop the pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the different rules, regulations are slightly different for the different types of bribing. So RLA Prabhupāda always encouraged everyone to become Kṛṣṇa Conscious and that everyone could become Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Now more or less equilibrium has been reached. Sometimes there used to be conflicts between the Brahmacharis or between the Sannyasis and the Grihastas who was actually in the right path, Something like that. I don’t know exactly what the conflict was, but it appeared that there was some kind of conflict, maybe just due to immaturity.

So I remember I was sitting once in the room and some of the Sannyasis came to Śrīla Prabhupāda that all the Grihastas are saying that you say that the Grihasta life is the real Sannyas and that is the better way and that you preferred that. And then Śrīla Prabhupāda looked at him and said, well, don’t tell anyone, but just you look at me. What am I? Saima Sanyasi. So from that you judge, why would I be something if it wasn’t worthwhile? Actually real Sannyas is in the heart. Our real goal in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness is to become Paramhansa. That means completely dedicated to the lotus feet of Guru and Gaurāṅga. So naturally, according to Varṇa Shram or Vedic, we give more respect for greater renunciation to encourage people in a difficult path.

But the greatest renunciation is the renunciation of the desire to enjoy this material world. And that renunciation, whether Grihasta or Sannyāsī, whoever it may be, if he does that renunciation, that desire to enjoy this material world and accepting instead the desire to serve Guru and Kṛṣṇa and to be enjoyed by Guru and Kṛṣṇa as their humble servant, that is the real meaning of sannyas. That is actually the Paramhansa platform. Just like of course, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. He came down to distribute the nectar of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahamantra. And when he came, Everyone didn’t know exactly who he was. They took him to be a great devotee, but they couldn’t recognize that he was in fact Kṛṣṇa himself. He didn’t allow anyone to call him as Kṛṣṇa. But one day, instead of his ordinary mood of humility and servitorship, he accepted the mood.

That day he was in the mood as Supreme Personality of Godhead. He sat right on the Singhasana of the deities and the devotees were called before him. And he showed to Advaita Goshai his original spiritual form as Kṛṣṇa and said, it’s you who call me. And when Advaita Gosai was seeing Caitanya Mahprabhu, all he could see was the effulgence coming from Lord Caitanya and his associates who were also on the same divine platform. Nithyarana was holding an umbrella over his head. Anything else in the world apart from Lord Chaitanya and his associates, he couldn’t see anything. Then Lord Caitanya took his form as Kṛṣṇa. Threefold bending form, playing on the flute. Different forms as Braha Kurma, Matsya Narasiṁha. Demigods came from the heavenly planets and were offering their stutis, their prayers too.

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Brahma with four heads, Shiva with five and Kartikeya with six heads. Even the Ganges came on a special type of water chariot pulled by Makara Fish was offering prayers to Caitanya Marduk. Soon thereafter the Lord in his Bab as in his original form. Because Chaitanyama himself is God. But he came to enjoy the happiness of being a servant of God, a servant of himself. So the devotees, they prepared to worship Kṛṣṇa with 16 preparations. You know, there’s different type of pūjā, five type 1664. So with 16 types of pūjā they prepare to offer worship to Lord Caitanya. So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu one time they Started to saying that I am Kṛṣṇa, come in this Kali Yuga, give me the offerings. And when they gave him the offerings, he ate everything. He said, there’s nothing more. And they kept giving.

They gave 200 people’s food. He finished it all off. They were cooking non stop. They couldn’t keep up. Sunday feast. You can say hold all. He just took it. What is it? Then they fell. Lord, you are holding up the whole universe. With your fire. Coming from your mouth is another station that you can devour the universe. How can we feed you to your satisfaction if you want to devour everything? So now we are very embarrassed because how we will be able to satisfy you. So then Lord Chaitan said, well, what else do you have? They said, well, we have some pan with some camphor in it. All right. He took that the Kīrtana. So like this chaitanya Mahāprabhu, that 21 Sapta Prahari, a Prada Prahar is three hours. So this is 27 Prahars. That means 21 hours he stayed in that mood.

Sometimes for a few moments he’d come in the mood as Kṛṣṇa. But in this time he for 21 hours non stop he remained in that transcendental mood as the Lord. Otherwise he wouldn’t always be in the mood as a devotee. Sometimes he become very ecstatic and he’d become overwhelmed with the mood as the Lord as his original mood. But this time for 21 hours. So there was one great devotee, Kolavacha Śrīdhara. He was very poor by material standards. He had holes in his roof, holes in his clothes. People used to tell him that why you are so poor? He said, I have no want. He said, no. You have got rip in your cloth. He says, what do you mean? I am not naked. No problem. But your house is not in good repair. No, it’s very cool.

Every day he would spend 50% of his income to worship the Gamzees. Without fail the materialist would come and tell him, you just stop worshipping for a few years. Even one year you stop worshipping. Build up your capital, become rich. Then you can do big Pūjā for Ganges. If I stop, I may not start. I may develop material desire. I won’t take that risk. If Kṛṣṇa wants me to have material wealth, alright. I am simply working, depending on him, whatever he wants. So like that he would be chanting the whole night, every night. So these materialists, they were very envious. So he used to criticize reason. He’s chanting the whole night because his belly aches. He’s hungry. Not enough food. Therefore he’s just shouting all night, disturbing us. He said his stomach aches because he’s hungry. These are always demons.

They can never recognize a devotee. When Lord Caitanya Sankirtan was going on, he closed the door. Because sometimes he’d fall into these ecstatic moods showing different forms of incarnations. So it was only for the devotees. No one else could understand. So the demons, they’d stand outside. As soon as the kīrtana, they’d all run. What’s going on in there? Maybe they’re just drinking wine behind the doors. Therefore they don’t want anybody to know. Like there’s so many bogus criticism they make. Or maybe they’re doing some black magic. What is that shouting? Hooray, hoody. Woah. What is that? This is all some ploy. Then someone would come up and say, we are so unfortunate that we are not able to go inside. This is due to our bad karma. They say, oh, he must be one of them. One of their group. Nasty people were there.

But of course, how fortunate they were listening to Lord Caitanya’s Gurta. Still they were very fortunate. So like that there are always some critical people. Sometimes they say, this Śrīvas, he has brought the whole Brahmin community into disgrace. Lord Caitanya is taking this Jawan. Like Haridas, different people, everyone together, chanting the Brahminical name and fame is going down. Instead all these people are coming, prominent. We should take his house and burn it down and throw it in the Ganges. Save our Brahmin community. Naturally, these are the worshipers of the demigods like Gopal Chappell and others. So like that. So Lord Chetan, you just closed the door. And his devotees, they didn’t care for all their criticism. They were always immersed in the transcendental nectar. Every night they’d come and chant the whole night in kīrtana.

In the daytime they go out and preach door to door chanting. So when Lord Chaitanya came in that mood, he called for Kolav Acha Siddharth, bring him. As the devotees went near his house, they could hear him loudly chanting. In the night when they went and told him that Lord Chaitanya is calling you. And just as soon as heard the name Lord Chaitanya, he jumped up and he fell unconscious in ecstasy. They picked him up and they brought him to Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya used to go when he was a student, shopping. And he would never look at the non devotees. He go right to Kolavichya Śrīdhar. And sometime get his banana leaves and banana vegetables from him. So sometimes Lord Chaitanya would joke and say, you’re charging too much. He’d just grab the bananas and walk off without pain.

And Siddhai would grab them back where you’re going. If you take without pain then how I worship Ganges. And then Lord Chaitanya would joke, what do you mean I am the father of the Ganges. He go, Vishnu, Vishnu. Vishnu is a great offense. Only Kṛṣṇa is the father of the Ganges. How you can say that? The Lord says that you’re taken back from a Brāhmaṇa. This is a great offense. So then it’s all right. Take the fruit vegetable. Give me back some few half price. In this way they’re having so many different kinds of it. Sometimes he’d just take off and he couldn’t say anything. His heart would melt whenever he saw Lord Chaitanya. Who is this person? What is this? So when he brought Kolabecha before him, Holavicha Śrīdhar. Then Lord Caitanya showed his transcendental form.

As Kṛṣṇa said, you are my eternal devotee. In Kṛṣṇa Leela also you were providing vegetables, bananas, other things. So then he asked him, take a boon. Take a boon. Make a wish. What do you want? I will give you anything you want. I gave you so much trouble taking your bananas. I want to give you the eight mystic powers. Where you can fly to other planets, you can go into the atom. You can bring anything you want. The eight mystic powers, I want to give you Bholav. Siddharth. He couldn’t say anything. He wasn’t very interested. I want to give you liberation. You take liberation. Kolavich. He was also not agreeing. Oh, what do you want? You make away anything you want. You just tell me what do you want? He said, lord, you are coming here from age to age.

All that I want is that wherever you are, I may provide you with banana leaf plates, bananas and all your requirements like that and have your eternal association and your service. I simply want to remain your humble servant. I have no other desire. This type of devotee they Kṛṣṇa sent him just in a poor, so called poor position to teach people that even they’re born poverty stricken they can still be first class devotee of the Lord. Actually where is the question of poor? A devotee like that has got Narayan in his heart. Which means Lakshmi Devī, the Goddess of fortune is always with him. When the Goddess of fortune is living in the same house. Where is the question of poverty? Actually he is the richest person. He is spiritually. But because of the Lord’s desire, material opulence was not shown.

But actually he was the richest. He never felt any need. Even in this modern world, people with bank balances are always feeling the pinch. Where’s the question of being rich, Siddha? He felt no want, therefore he was the wealthiest. So that is the real meaning of sannyas. In the Vaishnav sense. To actually not have any material desire, that is a perfectional platform. Rather to have desire for serving Kṛṣṇa. These pure devotees of Lord Caitanya, when they’re offered all type of material facility, they’re not attracted. All they want is his pure devotional service. All they want is his eternal nectar of his holy name and his holy Shiva. Nothing more do they desire. So many people, even in Lord Caitanya’s time, they couldn’t understand. So they go on criticizing.

But one by one they were all swept away in the flood of the ecstatic movement of Chaitanya Mahathir. Similarly today Śrīla Prabhupāda, just as he predicted in the beginning, people will. Laugh. They will think it’s something funny what’s going on. Then after that, when they see that all these devotees are very serious and very active, then there will be some opposition. Then after the opposition, then those who are more intelligent, they will see that oh, actually these people have something which will benefit the whole society. Then they will become favorable. In the beginning, people were not taking the movement of Lord Chaitanya Siri. Then also they were opposing because it started to take effect. One criticism the materialist had, they said what? This Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, he was a good boy when he was one of those, when he was a pundit arguing.

Now he’s gone mad and he’s making other people mad also. Look at that. Proof is so many people are joining him. Therefore it’s turning the whole society into madmen. So they must be. This must be stopped to protect the good interest of the society. People should become good materialists to be happy. So Lord Chaitanya’s movement, certainly one who is very advanced, he’s a little bit mad by material standard.

(Side B of the Cassette)

Ask for a little bit of sense gratification. But the devotees work very hard. But their happiness is in serving others, chanting the Holy name and in associating with the Vaishnava of us. So by material standards, certainly it appears that they’re crazy. But from the devotee standpoint, the materialist is crazy that he is simply selfishly trying to serve his senses and always being frustrated at every step. In this material world there’s danger at every. Every step. Every step we make filled with danger. Someone may think that by atomic war we may die. But you will be surprised to know that not too long ago there was a very heavy rain in one of the cities in America. And one old man, he was walking and he tripped and he fell and he hit his head in the sidewalk.

There was a slight curvature, one and a half. That means 3cm of water had collected. And his face fell right in the 3cm of water when he was unconscious. And there in the middle of the Main street, in 3cm of water, he drown. It didn’t take an ocean, it just took this much water. So at every step there’s danger. Today we are driving back the car in front of us. The wheel was coming off somehow it didn’t come off. But had it come off, the car would have spun and could have caused a big accident. That every moment the potential danger is there. We should be ready at any moment simply to share Hare Kṛṣṇa and join Kṛṣṇa wherever he wants us. Then what fear do we have?

But the material is in spite of having so many soldiers like bank balance, family, friends, society is always a fear. Because none of these so called soldiers can actually protect us from that danger. Ultimately, when Kalath harp, when the snake of death is going to come, it strikes without fail. No one can stop it. No one can stop it. So better to simply be prepared to go at any moment and carry on with our practical. That is our practical service, that is Sannyas an attached. Not very happy when one gets something material. Not very sad when one loses something material. Very happy to get the association of Vaishnavas and serve the Lord filled with separation in his absence. This is a devotee no materialness.

We can take special advantage of this sacred day, remembering Śrīla Prabhupāda’s kindness upon us to accept the great responsibility of carrying the order of his spiritual Master on his head and bringing the message of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. Here he stayed in Montreal for some time, preaching because of his mercy. Today we have this opportunity of Being in the eternal society of KA’s devotees, So also upon us falls the great and solemn duty to carry out the order of our spiritual Master. This should be taken as more dear than one’s very life and soul. The principal order is to always remain Kṛṣṇa content. Water the devotional keeper in our heart. Of hearing, intending the name. Any questions? When he can go to the Gungan Kṛṣṇa and he can accept their always. And why should not you reject? There’s a difference.

I can give you a ticket to Ottawa. But if the Prime Minister says that you do this service for me and you don’t need a separate ticket afterwards. If his service is in Atua, then you go with the Prime Minister in Ottawa. If his service is to go with them to France or somewhere else to go there, the devotee doesn’t get focused on the side benefits. When you have the eternal service of Kṛṣṇa, automatically you’re going to get all the side benefits by living where Kṛṣṇa lives, being with Vishnu. Why is the why? Except it’s like saying here’s the whole cake. Someone’s asking you want sugar, you want flour and he has a whole cake. You don’t need the sugar, the flour, the candle, everything is there, all in one. The devotee just wants to serve Kṛṣṇa.

He’s attached to Kṛṣṇa for Kṛṣṇa’s sake, not for all the Thai benefits. Those come if we get distracted. Then the next thing we will be having a ticket to Ottawa. But we will be sitting just on the main street there in Ottawa. Doesn’t mean you can get close to the Prime Minister. It’s a whole separate level. Death is the demon, Death is the. Humans don’t believe in God, but everyone has to die. That is their God realization which absolute you cannot avoid. That is one of the absolute truths. Everyone born this one is time. Time only because of it. But the lord. Who takes us and judges our time like that’s Gemini. Sam it. If the Lord be destined, nothing secure. Place his foot on his head, step up to the second stone, go back to the demon. That is anger. That whole captivity.

The last few years of his life, Many times he offered the gift to be already. Sam. I no desire to fulfill those. Form in our heart. But if someone has no desire to enjoy that desire and can control myself, Doesn’t mean that the ignobles are Lord give them mount of. Just to give an example, he said when you saw a figure of a cow in the face of a woman, it would have to be. As well as. So as long as one has material bodies, there May be some agītātion. If one can tolerate agītātion and not volatile objects of attention absorbed in God. If the mind is not able to not dwell on but comes back again and again isn’t it better to overcome that by. Neither is the goal.

The result is when we actually develop a spontaneous pure love for this kind at that case nationalism, personal aggregation that is not. Developing a divine attachment to Kṛṣṇa. Detachment is not very important. Attachment to this so called detachment is in relation to the material world this memorization of the material so the yield seems to be positively. Everyone is developing that positive attachment and service Very enthusiastic. Logo on. There’s such a motion in the concept of the Vedas. There’s a process where one OD’s himself. Overdose of some satisfaction to the point where you get completely fed up actually without referring to the Tantra the Western civilization doing a pretty good job. Tantra that particular Tantra is very materialistic but the idea of one is.

Very unregulated just then the chance is there that he made some people just get fed up and say that actually I use nothing. No saluspakin I can’t get no Sally Saxon. But that alone isn’t enough. Then they still need glue. But this is the wafer satisfaction but both wine there’s no real guru there. Therefore even though they have so much bolt they don’t ever there’s no clue for any further advance. Simply vogue and more vogue already he’s finished. He’s got terminal cancer of the throat malignant cancer already for all his mansions is already finished. But if you’re going to do both then at least if a person has no whole part he might find himself out might completely become disgusting. If it becomes disgusting and then renounces that from that he gets some enunciation and starts to practice penance austerity chanting.

Otherwise they don’t generally chant. Most people they do some meditation. Then of course they can counteract the karma that they got from. That is also. Many difficulties but it’s in the mode of ignorance and passion for people who are very much in the mode of ignorance and passion. The person I don’t even want to like to say his name. The person you’re referring to he doesn’t even have such a noble concept. He’s saying only the boldest. You have boldness, that’s enough. But the whole world is already doing that. What’s new? Nothing new. Timothy Larry also tried to make that no, he’s only different to be he is kicked out of India. The Indian says it ashram and fire. He Has a runaway business. The only thing you mean about him is his passport. He’s becoming an American citizen by marrying an American woman.

He doesn’t respect the baby. High. The actual process that we first did is very gross. I don’t know the full detail, but do all kinds of viral things. Am I grieved? Mother? You. Already have a king, Māyā. So bad philosophers. So many people. They have their own select of his novels. There are moon continually above the moon above the mental speculators. When we get a better idea, we give up the lower idea. We should study the philosophy given by the six plus families. And their philosophy is so perfect that as we get to better philosophy, we shouldn’t be attached to our own idea just because it’s our idea. If we give up our idea if it’s not as good, if it’s not, let’s come to better ideas. Keep working in the rest. Kick it out. Bring Kṛṣṇa back in. You think it’s a pen?

You open it up, you see it’s caging there. Don’t leave your house empty. Be Christian. Like india. They have these very small elevators. There’s only room for two people. People line up and one, two go in and go out. Only takes two people like that. There’s only room for us and one other in our mind. I can fix that. If you want to take us out in else and pixie goes out. You don’t let fix me go out. You just pick the other.