19811003 Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā 13.25

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 3d, 1981 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The class begins with a reading from the Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 13 with Spanish translation.

CC Madhya 13.1-3

sa jīyāt kṛṣṇa-caitanyaḥ
śrī-rathāgre nanarta yaḥ
yenāsīj jagatāṁ citraṁ
jagannātho ’pi vismitaḥjaya

jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya nityānanda
jayādvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

jaya śrotā-gaṇa, śuna, kari’ eka mana
ratha-yātrāya nṛtya prabhura parama mohana

Translation (2-3): All glories to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Prabhu Nityānanda! All Glories to Śrī Advaitacandra! And all glories to the devotees of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to the listeners of Śrī Caitanya-caritamṛta! Please hear the description of the dancing of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at the Ratha-yātrā festival. His dancing is very enchanting. Please hear of it with great attention. 

CC Madhya 13.25

sūkṣma śveta-bālu pathe pulinera sama
dui dike ṭoṭā, saba—yena vṛndāvana

Translation: The fine, white sand spread all over the path resembled the bank of the Yamunā, and the small gardens on both sides looked just like those in Vṛndāvana.

 CC Madhya 13.26

rathe caḍi’ jagannātha karilā gamana
dui-pārśve dekhi’ cale ānandita-mana

Translation: As Lord Jagannātha rode in His car and saw the beauty on both sides, His mind was filled with pleasure.

CC Madhya 13.27

‘gauḍa’ saba ratha ṭāne kariyā ānanda
kṣaṇe śīghra cale ratha, kṣaṇe cale manda

Translation: The pullers of the car were known as gauḍas, and they pulled with great pleasure. However, the car sometimes went very fast and sometimes very slow.

CC Madhya 13.28

kṣaṇe sthira hañā rahe, ṭānileha nā cale
īśvara-icchāya cale, nā cale kāro bale

Translation: Sometimes the car would stand still and not move, even though it was pulled very vigorously. The chariot therefore moved by the will of the Lord, not by the strength of any ordinary person.

Jayapatākā Swami: You already read the part that Lord Jagannātha came down into the cart? You read that earlier.

So Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was enjoying the festival of serving Lord Jagannātha. Jagannātha is the mood as the Supreme Enjoyer and He has come in the mood as Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the mood as a servitor, although They are the same Lords. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s avatāra is most confidential and secret but the Lord has come down to taste His own… to taste the service, the dāsya-rasa to Himself. Dāsya-bhāva. The mood of being a servant of the Lord.

So this Ratha Yatra festival is not done by the devotees’ own desire. It is not simply, only by their effort. Actually, it is all by Lord Jagannātha’s mercy. He empowers the devotees and by His will things proceed. You see. Just like when the car was being pulled, a hundred years ago, when Lord Caitanya Ma… When Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was living in Purī and just after Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was born. When it came up to the house of Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, it wouldn’t go any further. It stopped! Nothing would move it. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's wife, she went out and took the opportunity to put Bhaktisiddhānta just at the feet of Jagannātha Swami and there at the lotus feet of Jagannātha the garland fell down from Jagannāth’s neck and circled Bhaktisiddhānta in his child, baby form, giving a special blessing!

So then, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s wife everyone was very overjoyed that Jagannātha had blessed the pure devotee, nitya-siddha, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. So, this Jagannātha festival is filled with pageantry, filled with great opulence and wonderfulness and beauty. When Śrīla Prabhupāda sent me to India in 1970, at that time, there was only Acyutānanda Swami and myself. So we took the advantage of going and seeing the Jagannātha festival. And also Prabhupāda had given us some other service there also.

Thereafter Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered that Calcutta Ratha-yātrā should be made the biggest in the world, so we did not have any opportunity to go there. We were fortunate enough to see Lord Jagannātha being taken down from His throne to the Ratha-yātrā cars. How Lord Jagannātha was tied with a silken rope going round His waist. And how on all the steps they had big cotton pillows.

First came Balarāma, then Subhadrā, then Jagannātha. So Balarāma, of course He is very big, He is about seven feet high and about more than a meter wide. And so there were so many people that were moving Lord Jagannātha and Balarāma. So Balarāma, He had a big white feather on His head, on His turban. And over His head they had a big white feather fan, four meters, this fan. And in front of Lord Jagannātha there were fifty pujārīs, each with cāmara fan, fanning vigorously, just very fast. And in front of them there were one hundred pujaris with gongs, all in two rows. First, buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop, like this they were all pounding off in unison, exactly at the same time and they would hit twice like that and each second beat they would bow down. buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop! Like this. They are moving like machines. And in front, they’re fanning. And behind the feathers are going. And then they are moving Balarāma.

First they move His head forward with a rope. Then they push His feet. So it looks like He is walking. He is moving like this, the cāmaras are fanning, the gongs are beating, buh-boop, buh-boop! And the big fans are going round. And hundreds of pujārīs are running everywhere holding incense and then sprinkling scented water before and pulling the Lord, pushing the Lord, moving Him and He is walking on! 

Every time He goes down the step, boom! There is a big sound! 50 – 30 feet into the air flies up cotton! In this way the Lord is proceeding to the ratha. 

Hundreds of thousands of people are lining the road. You see, finally when they take Lord Balarāma in front of the cart, they have a huge ramp, three metres wide, going about 10 metres up, 10 metres long. So then they are moving Lord Balarāma up. At this time there were about 50 to 70 pujārīs and the pujārīs were just like this on top of each other, pulling from the top and pushing from the bottom, pulling from the side. They got Balarāma half way up. Suddenly Balarāma just came down and they were, they were, “Ahhh!” and they are just like being crushed and more pujārīs jumped on top of the others’ backs. And there were just a mountain of people pushing in, and “He is coming down!” And somehow or other, they straightened Lord Balarāma up. 

Off the ramp, so many pujārīs had fallen and so many more were climbing up. Somehow, they looked like small ants moving and finally they somehow got Lord Balarāma up to the top. Jaya Balarāma! Jaya Balarāma! Jaya Jagannātha! Then they established Him in His seat they performed the ārati. You see, then we could hear the gongs and see the cāmaras and there was coming, Subhadrā Devī. Subhadrā Devī was being carried on a palanquin. And she came down mui rapido, very quickly and they took her right up into the cart. But then Jagannātha, His coming down was the same as Balarāma. Walking, With a big 3 or 4 metres high peacock fan, so big.

You could not see Jagannātha, you could only see the fan moving like this! You could see the cotton flying up in the air. We were on top of a big building and we could see down. And for miles and kilometers you could hear gongs going buh-boop, buh-boop, buh-boop, You see, so in this way there was a magnificent darśanas. 

Also then they finally when Jagannātha was visible to the people, when they came out of the Siṁhadvāra gate of the Jagannātha Purī temple, hundreds of thousands of people shouted out “Jaya Jagannātha! Jaya Jagannātha! Jaya Jagannātha! They took the Jagannātha deity the same way, hundreds and hundreds of people pulling and pushing Him up on to the cart. Then suddenly there were trumpets blowing and drums were beating and horses came up with people wearing golden uniforms and big turbans with (inaudible) The king of Puri, Gajapati is coming. 

Then came another drums and band taking up a huge elephant parade. There on top of the elephant was the king of Puri. Although it is now a democracy, still the descendant… the same king hereditarily is the titular head of the Jagannātha Purī temple. Then he got down and bowed down to Lord Jagannātha. Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Balarāma. Then he was given a broom with a golden handle and he swept all around the three Deities and he sprinkled scented water on the ground. Then he did all types of pūjās and different ceremonies. Different devotees would come up and touch the lotus feet of Jagannātha, Subhadrā, Balarāma. 

The ropes… the ropes were fifty metres long, more than fifty metres, so long! Each car has sixteen wheels. The cars as wide as they were long which was nine metres wide and long. In front there’s four horses. The person that whips the horses is always swearing at the horses, telling them to push on. So, then they start the Ratha-yātrā after finishing the ceremonies. 

So sometimes even today, the Ratha-yātrā cart is moving and then stops for one or two days. Jagannātha, if He wants to move, He moves, if He doesn’t want, He just stops! One time, in Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes, the Ratha-yātrā cart was moving and suddenly it stopped. Nothing would move it. They brought elephants, hundreds of strong men, nothing could move it! Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu went behind the Ratha-yātrā cart and with His lotus head He pushed it, just by touching the ratha, even no one was pulling in front, it rushed forward with the wheels going gada, gada, gada, gada, gada. 

You didn’t translated the gada, gada, gada, gada. (Devotees laugh)

So this is all by the will of the Lord that – everyone should think that “I am not pulling the Lord but the Lord, He is pushing me to pull.” It is by His mercy that I have the strength to pull. It is by His mercy that He is moving at all! Otherwise, just like when Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten in 21 market places and the people fell down at his feet and said, after it was over and he was still unharmed, they prayed unto him, “My Lord please, please have your mercy on us! We beg you! One favor!” 

He said, “What is this favour you like?”

“My Lord for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, the Shah of Bengal has ordered you to be whipped in 21 market places.” You see, “and by whipping you in 21 market places, for sure you are to be dead. But still you are alive and unharmed even! So what will happen is the king, the Shah, he will cut off our heads and have us killed for not finishing you off. So therefore we request you, please die! That is what we say.” 

Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, “So this is what you would like? Alright.” and he fell dead! But actually he wasn’t dead. He had absorbed himself completely in meditation of Kṛṣṇa in the heart. Kṛṣṇa was completely manifest there in his heart. And he was completely absorbed in meditating on His lotus feet, so that all of his body functions stopped. No breathing. No heartbeat. Everything was silent. And he was completely there with Kṛṣṇa situated in his heart, in deep samādhi. So then, the two gatekeepers saw and they were overjoyed. “He is dead! He is dead! Victory! He is dead! He is dead! We’re saved!” They ran back to the Shah – like there was a Shah of Iran, there was a Shah of Bengal, because the kings of Iran at one time had conquered India. So the Shah’s dynasty... So they reported to the Shah that “Haridāsa Ṭhākura is dead. We finished him off!” (devotees laugh)

So the Shah said, “What proof have you brought?”

They said, “You can go and see, he is lying there dead.”

So then the Shah with his very envious head priest, who was a bishop of the Muslim religion, the Kazi, they all went together to where Haridāsa Ṭhākura was lying. “There was no breathing. No heartbeat. No sign of life. dead! Dead!” So the Shah said, what to do with him, my dear bishop? The Kazi said The bishop kazi said to the Shah, this person for chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, giving up his own birth religion, he is a condemned soul.” You see, “His soul should never find any peace. It should always wander, forever, suffering, always disturbed.

Therefore he cannot be buried in the warm earth. He cannot be burnt in the hot fire. Let him be thrown into the ocean… to the river for his body to rot and be eaten by crows and the dogs.

[break]

He was very envious. You see, so the Shah said, “Alright, throw him in the river.” So then they tried, two people, they tried to lift up Haridasa Ṭhākura, big strong men, very strong. they went to pick him up. They couldn’t move him! They couldn’t move him They strained. Used all their strength They couldn’t move one inch. Not one centimeter, not a millimeter. So then they’re… “Get more men.”

Ten men tried to move him. They graaaaabed and strained! Not one millimeter did he move because he had Kṛṣṇa in his heart.

Kṛṣṇa weighs… holds up the whole universe. He weighs more than the universe. How could they move Him? They brought hundred people. They couldn’t move him. You see, so just like it says here the Lord is so heavy. How can an ordinary person move the Lord if He doesn’t want to be moved? If He manifests His full weight, it is more than the universe. How can you move a universe? So like that the Lord in the heart of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, out of His own sweet will, He allowed Himself to become light. You see, then they easily lifted Haridāsa Ṭhākura and then threw him in the river. “Now you die, unrest!”

Then when he hit the water, he came out of his samādhi and swam to the other side of the river, jumped up on the side and started to chant. “Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! Jaya Gaura Hari! Jaya Nitāi!” Jumping and dancing!

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

In this way, he was dancing down the road. The Shah, he saw, “What happened! Oh my God! Oh my Lord! What a saint! What an offence I have committed!” He immediately called the boat, crossed to the other side, ran after Haridāsa Ṭhākura, fell at his feet and grabbed his lotus feet and said, “Oh my Lord, forgive my offence. We could not understand you. You are so powerful. Please forgive my offence.”

Haridasa Ṭhākura said, “Only if you promise not to persecute anyone else for chanting the Holy Name of Kṛṣṇa. There is only one Supreme Lord. This is a great offence to His lotus feet to persecute people who are worshipping Him. This is complete illusion that you think that Allah is different from Kṛṣṇa. There is only one Supreme Lord over everyone and he has only… and He has millions of… unlimited number of names.

You see, those who are saying that only one name is God and neglecting others, they are actually atheists and they’re actually very neophyte in their understanding and very offensive to the Lord. So don’t persecute anymore those people who chant the Holy Name of the Lord. Then I will forgive you.”

“Yes, yes, whatever you say, we will not persecute anymore. You can go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, you will find no obstructions.” Haridasa Ṭhākura, he went on chanting and went away. Also, the Lord in the saṅkīrtana party in Śrivāsa’s house, He would manifest different types of ecstasies. You see, sometimes, He would also increase His weight to weigh like a universe. But every step He is jumping in the air and dancing in kīrtana, five to ten feet in the air. You see, when He hit the ground it would cause earthquakes because His huge weight and everything would shake. Sometimes he would fall in ecstasy and become as light as a ball of cotton. The devotees, they would pick Him up with one finger and carry Him and over their heads, they would carry Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, dancing in kīrtana. You see, while sometimes He would become so heavy, nobody could move Him. 

Sometimes He would become so hot, the devotees with sandalwood would put it on His head. But just like when you throw water on a hot skillet, a hot frying pan, they would touch and psst it would immediately dry. Sometimes He would become so cold, they would touch Him with the hands and they would freeze. So many different ecstasies, He would be chanting and manifesting His love for Kṛṣṇa.

So if the Lord wants to go, then He will allow us to take Him. You see, and if the Lord wants that He not move, then no power on earth can move Him. You see, so Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the mood of a devotee, He would respect the senior Vaiṣṇavas, the Godbrothers of His spiritual master, He would offer them respect. Apart from that, He would offer all the devotees respect, even His disciples. This is described here in texts 29 and 30.

CC Madhya 13.29

tabe mahāprabhu saba lañā bhakta-gaṇa
svahaste parāila sabe mālya-candana

Translation: As the car stood still, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gathered all His devotees and with His own hands, decorated them with flower garlands and sandalwood pulp. 

CC Madhya 13.30

paramānanda purī, āra bhāratī brahmānanda
śrī-haste candana pāñā bāḍila ānanda

Translation: Paramānanda Purī and Brahmānanda Bhāratī were both personally given garlands and sandalwood pulp from the very hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This increased their transcendental pleasure. 

CC Madhya 13.31

advaita-ācārya, āra prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-hasta-sparśe duṅhāra ha-ila ānanda

Translation: Similarly, when Advaita Acarya and Nityānanda Prabhu felt the touch of the transcendental lotus hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they were both very pleased. 

CC Madhya 13.32

kīrtanīyā-gaṇe dila mālya-candana
svarūpa, śrīvāsa,—yāhāṅ mukhya dui-jana

Translation: The Lord also gave garlands and sandalwood pulp to the performers of saṅkīrtana. The two chief performers were Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. 

Jayapatākā Swami: See the mercy of the Lord, personally garlanding and putting sandalwood pulp on the devotees. How fortunate to be a devotee of the Lord. You see, what the Lord doesn’t do for His devotees? What the Lord isn’t saying on behalf of His devotees? To be a devotee of the Lord is the most exalted position, there is nothing to compare. Look at… even the Lord Himself has come down as His own devotee just to relish that ecstasy of being a devotee. And hearing these qualities of the Lord who would not be His devotee? Who is that miser? Who is that fool not to be a devotee of the Lord Kṛṣṇa? Look at what Lord Kṛṣṇa does for His devotees. 

By being a devotee one is able to completely get the mercy of the Lord. You see, by being a devotee of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa became the chariot driver for Arjuna. By being a devotee of the Lord, Mother Yaśoda was able to tie Kṛṣṇa with a rope. By being a devotee of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī bathed the feet of Sudāmā Vipra, His brāhmaṇa friend. Because of being a devotee, Satyabhāmā was able to induce Kṛṣṇa to bring a Parijāta flower from heavenly planets. By being devotees, Kṛṣṇa was carrying His devotee… when He was fighting with Śrīdāma and uh, Śrīdāma and, who else, Subala, He was carrying them on His shoulder. You see, how fortunate to be a devotee! 

Here because of… the devotees of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they were personally garlanded and sandalwood pulp was put on their foreheads by the hand of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Where is anyone more merciful than Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu? Kṛṣṇa’s most merciful form! You see, and where is there a Lord more merciful than Kṛṣṇa? So what an opportunity! Even today

ādyāpi kare līlāya gaura-rāya
kona kona bhāgyavān dekhibāre pāya

Today, adya ‘pīha,  the pastimes of Caitanya Mahāprabhu are still continuing, kona kona bhāgyavān…very rare person, rare, fortunate person, You see, kona kona bhāgyavān: bhāgyavān means very fortunate. Dekhibāre pāya can also see these pastimes. Yes you can see these pastimes even today. This is the mercy of the Lord. If you become a fortunate devotee to participate in the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, chant Gaura-Nitāi, serve Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Balarāma, manifest His pastime of the Jagannātha Ratha-yātrā, distribute the mercy of the Lord. This saṅkīrtana pastime is directly empowered by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. What greater opportunity for us? 

A fallen soul in this material world never had such an opportunity, as they are having now. To chant this Hare Kṛṣṇa Maha-mantra and serve Lord Jagannātha and Gaurāṅga. Never will they get such an opportunity again, You see, for billions and billions of years. So take advantage of this opportunity, this is the greatest opportunity just give your full energy, your body, your mind, your words, everything, in the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Balarāma, get Their causeless mercy and become glorified, feel the transcendental pleasure and be transferred to the spiritual platform immediately. 

Nitāi-Gaura premānande! Hari Hari bol!

Nitāi-Gaura premānande! Hari Hari Bol!

Nitāi-Gaura premānande! Hari Hari bol!

Jaya Jagannātha! (Jaya!) Jaya Subhadrā! (Jaya!) Jaya Balarāma! (Jaya!)

 

Question: In which date is the Ratha-yātrā festival in India?

Jayapatākā Swami: This year Ratha-yātrā was on July 3rd.

Question: Is the always the same day?

Jayapatākā Swami: No. It’s… every year it is the same date according to the lunar calendar, not according to the solar calendar.

Question: (Inaudible)

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like Gaura-Pūrṇimā. The uh… In India the seasons change by the moon, they don’t change by the sun. So the weather, climate, every Ratha-yātrā is more or less the same. Date varies by two three weeks, more or less. 

 

Question: Sometimes we see the Ratha-yātrā festival is blocked. There’s an obstacle presented by some demons, what is the meaning of that?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that when the preaching is effective, the demons always get worried. Therefore, they obstruct. But by the Lord’s mercy, nothing can stop the saṅkīrtana movement and it is a test for the devotees to show their devotion. And by passing these tests they get new advancement. 

Actually, without these types of tests, You see, where would you get the opportunity to surrender at higher levels of devotion? Cāṇakya Paṇḍita said, the way one can test whether someone is a good friend is when you lose your money. The way you can test whether you have a faithful wife, is when you are in difficulty, You see, whether they stay or run away. You see, so times of difficulty, that is the test for whether a devotee is a fair weather friend or a true devotee.

Look at Draupadi, Draupadi, Draupadi… what a trial she went through. A simple woman but she was banished in the forest for fourteen years with her husbands. And so much suffering but she received five nice sons from her from her husbands. But then, they had their heads cut off, sleeping in their bed at night! By Aśvatthāmā, the son of a brāhmaṇa. You see, ruthlessly cut their heads off! What a shock! What mother could bear it? 

She was crying. She was so upset. But think, not for a moment did she doubt about Kṛṣṇa. Not for a moment did her faith or devotion stop. Her pure love for Kṛṣṇa went on, unabated. Devotees possess all good qualities. So much so that when that Aśvatthāmā was brought before her,  bound up ready to be killed for his offence, she felt compassion even for the murderer of her five sons! 

She said, “My… I am a mother and I had to suffer due to the death of my sons, why should his mother suffer for his death?” Someone who thinks that “I am a Vaiṣṇava!", knowing the quality of these great devotees, Draupadi, the Pāṇḍavas, is nothing but fooling himself and being very falsely proud. We should never think we are Vaiṣṇavas. We are the servant, of the servant of the servant, of the servant, of the servant, of the servant of the servant of the Vaiṣṇavas… trying to be a servant of the Vaiṣṇavas. And by their mercy, we are able to do some humble service. 

So what difficulty Kṛṣṇa can give us You see, that compares to the trial these great devotees have overcome. This is simply to make our devotion become more intense. No matter what happens we will never give up the service to Kṛṣṇa. Nothing can make us stop chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Just like Prahlāda Mahārāja was held over boiling oil, the hot steam from the oil was singing his skin and his father held him over the oil “ I am going to throw you in this boiling oil to be burnt to a pakora. You are going to be finished. You now denounce Kṛṣṇa. Never chant Hare Kṛṣṇa again. This is your only salvation. I am going to throw you in the burning oil finish you off forever. Now, renounce Kṛṣṇa! Give up His service! Stop chanting. What do you say?”

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Prahlada Mahārāja yelled out. 

“Damn you, throw him in the oil” But he was swimming just like just like in the swimming pool.

Jaya Jagannātha! (Jaya!) Jaya Subhadrā, (Jaya!) Jaya Balarāma! (Jaya!) Jaya Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu! (Jaya!)

Don’t mind any obstacles, this is just a test to show your true devotion. Of course you will be able to anyhow preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those who are sincere souls, they will be brought to you by Kṛṣṇa. You see, Kṛṣṇa is testing who is the real sincere devotees, they will come. You see, He is only giving out less mercy maybe or mercy to more particular people. You see, but those who get the mercy, they advance more.

You will see, everything is within the Lord’s plan. No one can stop the flow of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement, just like the Ganges going down. Water finds its own course. Kṛṣṇa brings the souls to His lotus feet. We are simply instruments. You see, so still people will be brought to His lotus feet.

We should surrender and be good instruments. We are not machines, we are personal instruments. So we have to give our mind, word and deeds in His service. It is under pressure that the greater intensity of devotion is formed. Just like which is stronger, iron or steel? Steel is repeatedly burnt and then put in water and burnt and then made harder and harder by that repeated pressure. You see, it’s the devotee that goes through so many obstacles becomes stronger.

Which army is stronger – a peacetime army or wartime army? Peacetime army, they simply drink and sit around, thinking of things to do. But during the wartime, that is when the heroes are made. No obstacle means no heroes. Obstacles means that devotees qualify themselves, more and more. But we should not make any obstacles, ourselves. Some obstacle comes without our control, beyond our control we have to take that as the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and try to use our full intelligence, words and deeds to somehow, another cross over the obstacle and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

17 March 2014 Jayarāseśvarī Devī Dāsī

Revised by Jagannātha Dāsa Brahmacārī