19821213 A Talk by Guru Mahārāja

The following is a presentation given by His Holiness Jayapatāka Swami on December 13th, 1982 in Bangkok, Thailand.

[Editors note: This lecture includes sentence-by-sentence Thai translation.]

Obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master…
by whose mercy,
the lame man can cross over the mountain…
and the dumb man can become a great speaker.

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Jayapatākā Swami: Tonight, I would like to read you a verse from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam was spoken by the great liberated monk Śukadeva Goswami. This is a picture of Śukadeva. He never wore clothes. But he was completely beyond body consciousness. When he walked by, some naked women who were bathing in the pond, they didn’t cover themself because they knew that he had no desire. But when his father followed after, they covered themselves. The father was very great sage, he asked that “Why you are covering up for me? I am old enough to be your father, why you are not covering up for my young son?”

“Because you are married man, therefore you must know difference between man and woman. But your son, he is absorbed in the spiritual consciousness. For him man and woman are all the same.”

5,000 years ago, this was the King Parīkṣit, he was the ruler of the world. Parīkṣit. And it described that at that time, Thailand was also within his kingdom. Also China and even up to Europe, going towards Europe. Described that he crossed over Himalayas to tour his kingdom, and it describes in ancient Sanskrit that his total kingdom was the whole of Asia and Europe and India sub-continent.

He offended a very powerful brāhmaṇa and he was cursed to die in seven days. So then he asked all the spiritual authorities at that time that “I have seven days. What to do that in seven days I can be perfect?”

Some sages said that “It will take many births, seven days is not long enough.”

Some said “Well you should immediately start to meditate.”

Some said “You should do good works and give charity.”

Then Śukadeva Goswami, the great liberated soul came. He said that “I can guarantee in seven days you will reach perfection.”. He said “Why seven days?”

There was the king Katyayani?  What’s that one king? Khatvāṅga.

Devotee: Khatvāṅga.

Jayapatākā Swami: King Khatvāṅga, in one moment he achieved perfection. So this is the science how one can complete life and fulfill all desire perfectly. So this is one of the verses being spoken to the king.

etan nirvidyamānānām
icchatām akuto-bhayam
yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ
harer nāmānukīrtanam
(ŚB 2.1.11)

Translation: O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for everyone, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.

Jayapatākā Swami: So that harer nāmānukīrtanam means Hare… Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare means Hari or Kṛṣṇa, to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa is recommended. So, by constantly remembering this vibration, this brings our consciousness to its natural pure state. Just as Lord Buddha has described that we go through many many lives. So we are going through so many lives and we are accumulating merit - puṇya, and pāpa - sinful activities. You know that when you have the rice, then sometimes the birds are landing on the rice and eating it. Rice field, the paddy. I grew rice paddy in Bengal, so I know. Thailand is one of the big rice producers. So when the birds land then the children are clapping their hands. (*clap*) And what do the birds do? They fly away. So it’s said that when one is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and clapping their hands (*clap*) all type of bad influences in life, they are scared away just like those birds.

Lord Caitanya described it, “Cleaning the contamination or the dust from the mirror of our consciousness.” We have gone through so many lives. Now we are in this particular life, we think of ourselves in a certain way. Now we are in a man body or a woman body. Now we are born very rich or we may be born medium or we may be born poor. And we are trying to build up the possessions of our body: wealth, knowledge, fame, beauty. But sometimes we are successful and sometimes we have setbacks. This is the nature of material world. But the consciousness which can see beyond the changing world through the pure state is described by Kṛṣṇa that, that mind is just like a flame in a windless place, so steady, so pure, so bright. And you know what happens to a flame when the wind is on, then it becomes very flickering. So some people try to make every surrounding very peaceful to achieve that quiet mind. But that is temporary because when from outside some disturbance comes, the mind will be disturbed. But when that calmness is brought from within by inner spiritual strength by chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, then the mind becomes steady even outside there is troubles. Therefore, the devotee feels spiritual joy and sometimes dances and laughs. Others cannot understand why they are not sitting quietly and meditating without making any motion. But the point is to absorb the consciousness on the single point of Kṛṣṇa keeping out all the material thoughts. Like going in for a bath. One goes completely in putting the head under the water, coming out fresh, coming out purified. So our consciousness is like a dirty cloth, we have to wash again and again and again, until it becomes fully clean. Then we can see all the souls having their relation with Kṛṣṇa and with each other. We can see that man, dog, elephant, monk, everyone has the same type of ātmā, only different coverings.

So anyway, even if someone wants all type of material happiness, still by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, it describes here that this is the fearless way of success. But one should be careful to avoid making any offenses as far as possible. In this way it will be, as it mentions here, that everyone - whether a ambitious material worker, a philosopher or a great devotee - all of them can achieve success.

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

By using all of our senses in the meditation, this allows us to be more absorbed in the chanting, in the meditation, by using all the senses. So, I thank you all for chanting and I wish you all success in your life. Here I think tonight we want to show some video shows to you. So just before that if you have any questions?

How are you?

Devotee: I am fine.

Jayapatākā Swami: I thought you would not be able to make it. I heard you went up country.

Devotee: I intend to but I have been little bit sick. So, I intend to go tomorrow

Jayapatākā Swami: So because of sickness you stayed, you could come today.

Devotee: I am sorry because…

Jayapatākā Swami: So even the sickness in this case was a friend.

Devotee: I am so sorry (inaudible) he told me that maybe you are not your schedule to arrive Bangkok are not yet fixed. But that’s why..

Jayapatākā Swami: I was to come on the 10th but then I, earlier last week I had some cold so then I delayed my departure by two days, so I came here 12th, last night.

Devotee: Because I think that I miss…. maybe you come on Tuesday. It’s not yet fixed. It’s not past.

Jayapatākā Swami: (Aside) Ap kaha hain? Kaise? Kemon achen?

Guest: Bhalo.

Jayapatākā Swami: Your one friend came to see me last time at Ped Buri Road.

Devotee: Yes. She told me that she talked to you for a long time.

Jayapatākā Swami: They have it set up for the show?

She is chanting? She told me she would try to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Devotee: Yes, she told me that she would start chanting. She cannot have the deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa or Caitanya because her house is Chinese, they’re very conservative. Maybe it’s trouble for her.

Jayapatākā Swami: She can worship Buddha with the idea that Buddha and Kṛṣṇa is no different. Then there will be no difficulty. You can explain? They can worship Buddha with the idea that he is no different from Kṛṣṇa, if they like, if they want to.

(Question in Thai)

Translator: He is asking how many steps are there to perfection and how can we know on which stage we are?

Jayapatākā Swami: As the river is going towards the ocean, many small rivers join the main river and go in to the ocean. So some people are in the small rivers, some people are already merged in the main river but far upstream and some are about to go in the ocean. So depending on which path one is in, each path has got a certain maximum level of perfection and that is in relation to the ultimate perfection.

So in this practice of bhakti-yoga, there are eight levels up to perfection. And after reaching perfection, there are another eight levels. But all those levels are already after perfection as just, its already after perfection.

 (Questioning in Thai, continues)

Translator: He is asking like if he is an ordinary man, he can practice all these rules, can he be called a yogī?

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes, why he is not ordinary man then. Why he says ordinary man?

Translator: Common man.

Jayapatākā Swami: No no. If he follows….What is a yogī? Yogī means someone who is in touch with the… with the truth, someone who is in control of senses. That’s a yogī. He’s no longer an ordinary man. Outwardly you may be as an ordinary man but your consciousness will become elevated. Therefore, you will have inner strength. (Aside: What show they should show?)

Translator: He’s asking that from this inner strength that we get how can we use it, what can we do with this strength?

Jayapatākā Swami: What can you do? What can’t you do? That is the real essence. Just like you want to be happy, but the real happiness is in your mind, is in your consciousness. External things, that happiness is superficial. Just like now we like the fan because it’s warm but if it’s very cold we won’t like the fan. That means external, everything is relative.

(Questioning in Thai, continues)

Translator: He doesn’t understand exactly what is the soul.

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇa describes that the soul is the unchanging consciousness. That soul is unchanging energy in the body. That our body changes from child to… baby to child to youth to old age, so many changes of body, but the consciousness, the soul does not change. [break]

Kṛṣṇa describes that there are eight material energies – five gross and three subtle.

bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ
khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca
ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me
bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā
(Bg. 7.4)

Earth, water, fire, air and ether are the gross elements. Mind, intelligence and false ego are subtle. Ātmā is beyond them.

Translator: Is the soul and mind the same?

Jayapatākā Swami: No. The mind is also changing, soul doesn’t change. When you are asleep, at that time your body is silent but your mind goes in your dreams and moves around the world. When the body dies then the soul goes with the mind to the next body. So real liberation means also to be liberated from the mind. That is done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by purifying the mind and making the mind in harmony with the soul. This is known also as buddhi-yoga, yoga of the intelligence.

Transcriber: Suvilāsī Mādhavī Devī Dāsī - 31 March 2015