19911106 Bhagavad-gītā 11.3

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on November 6th 1991 in Heidelberg, Germany. The class begins with a reading from The Bhagavad-gītā chapter 11 verse 3 and is about exposing bogus avatāras.

evam etad yathāttha tvam
ātmānaṁ parameśvara
draṣṭum icchāmi te rūpam
aiśvaraṁ puruṣottama

Translation: O greatest of all personalities, O Supreme form, though I see You here before me in Your actual position, as You have described Yourself, I wish to see how You have entered into this cosmic manifestation. I want to see that form of Yours.

Purport: The Lord said that because He entered into the material universe by His personal representation, the cosmic manifestation has been made possible and is going on. Now as far as Arjuna is concerned, he is inspired by the statements of Kṛṣṇa, but in order to convince others in the future who may think that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary person, Arjuna desires to see Him actually in His universal form, to see how He is acting from within the universe, although He is apart from it. Arjuna’s addressing the Lord as puruṣottama is also significant. Since the Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is present within Arjuna himself; therefore He knows the desire of Arjuna, and He can understand that Arjuna has no special desire to see Him in His universal form, for Arjuna is completely satisfied to see Him in His personal form of Kṛṣṇa. But the Lord can understand also that Arjuna wants to see the universal form to convince others. Arjuna did not have any personal desire for confirmation. Kṛṣṇa also understands that Arjuna wants to see the universal form to set a criterion, for in the future there would be so many imposters who would pose themselves as incarnations of God. The people, therefore, should be careful; one who claims to be Kṛṣṇa should be prepared to show his universal form to confirm his claim to the people.

Thus, end the Bhaktivedānta Swami translation & purport text 3 chapter 11 of the Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is, in the matter of the Universal Form.

Spoken the 6th day of November in the 505th year of our Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the Gaura-Nitāi Hare Kṛṣṇa center of Heidelberg, Germany.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, many people in India claim to be avatāras. Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā that he comes ‘sambhavāmi yuge yuge’ He comes in every millennium, in every yuga. But somehow in the age of Kali many people claim to be avatāra, where they’re actually not at all avatāras. Some popular avatāras of some kind, claim to be avatāras, then they get exposed for having some relation with their secretary or something, then they are no longer avatāra. Then the mother of the avatāra decides the other brother should become avatāra [Devotees laughing]. But then he doesn’t get the same kind of charismatic response from the people.

So, then the mother say alright, the original one is avatāra again [Devotees laughing]. These things are actually going on. Where sometimes someone claims to be Bhagavān, then afterwards he get sick and he not able to function. Then he starts actually I’m not Bhagavān, there’s no Bhagavān, there’s no God, like this it’s going on. So Arjuna is setting the criteria, if somebody claims to be Bhagavān then he should show his universal form. Call the CNN news, the BBC, whatever you want, all those televisions, correspondence, and show your universal form, everyone can see, otherwise shut up [Devotees laughing].

Even it’s the South India now there’s someone that, some people think he’s Bhagavān but though he’s there so much, sometimes cyclones and hurricanes would, hitting his āśrama also. So, when Kṛṣṇa, when Rāma was present on the planet everything became beautiful, the seasons became very mild, being the incarnation is no joke, but they make it like a joke.

The Māyāvādī, of course they think everybody is God or I remember I went once to see one Māyāvādī on a special mission sent by Prabhupāda. But I was very new in India, so the mission was more or less unsuccessful, anyways I saw that Māyāvādī had beautiful Rādhā Kṛṣṇa deities. So, then the Māyāvādī he says that the, he says that I’m God. But I said that if you’re God, why you’re going old?

And he said this is my līlā [Devotees laughing]. So that līlā everyone is doing [Devotees laughing]. So why you’re worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa? So, then he said word jugglery for everything.

Actually, Prabhupāda said even the Māyāvādīs are attracted to worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Because it’s very dry to be God like that you know, there’s no fun. So, they get, they get the real nectar by worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So there some amazing stories about the different so-called avatāras.

We know how Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he captured one tantrik who was posing as Kṛṣṇa and dancing with married ladies. And how there was a big court case and the tantrik was arrested and he cursed the Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to die. He was powerful tantric, so somehow even Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and His family got sick.

But Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura still stuck through the whole court case. Finally, one day he was convicted, so then they said his hair should be shaved off, actually he kept some tantrik power in his hair. But when the police went to cut the hair then sparks of things were coming out from the hair. Police became very frightened, then Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura himself had to go and cut it. Then he became powerless.

There’s also another story about, this very recent, may be 10 - 15 years ago. There was some yogī and he was claiming to be avatāra. And he would every day, it’s in the northern village of Orissa. People in Orissa state of India very devoted to Jagannātha, it’s the state of Jagannātha Purī is. So, he would, he had a little temple room and this so-called avatāra would, see give darśana the temple door, it opens up again he’d be gone. Then they close the door, when they open it up again after about an hour, he’d be sitting there with big pots of hot Jagannātha prasāda.

So, by his mystic power went to Jagannātha Purī and he brought the prasāda there. So, when the people saw that they became very impressed, lot of people were coming and but he was also doing some nonsense. So somehow the secret police of the government came to investigate the so-called avatāra. They’re looking around, they found about 100 meters away there was some smoke coming from the ground. So, they wondered what is the smoke coming from the ground for?

And it worked out like this, smelling like rice and chutney and dāl and everything. So next time when the yogī went in to temple, closed the door. Then the police went after and they looked and they found a false trap door. Then they went down the trap door and there was a tunnel leading about 100 meter under the ground, and there people were cooking in, on a little underground kitchen [Devotees laughing] preparing all the hot prasāda . So, then he shown all the villagers, this is your avatāra, this what he’s doing. So, the villagers said just give him to us just 2 hours [Devotees laughing] before you take him away. And they pulled out every hair on his head one by one [Devotees laughing].

So, so many things are going on. And was one Vrajavāsī, he was giving a lecture, he said that Kṛṣṇa is coming every yuga. But now Kali-yuga there so called avatāras coming not only every yuga. Not over every century, not only in over every decade, but every year or every month or every week or every day, every minute, every second there’s a new one coming, so many bogus avatāras are coming.

So, it’s very important that Arjuna has set the criterion. If somebody claims to be God they should prove it, Kṛṣṇa proved it. Anybody can say anything, before the boxing game and all these times the fighters say, how they gonna smash the other guy, when they get in the ring then you see what happens. So, anybody can claim to do anything, but Kṛṣṇa actually showed it. Then but someone else is claiming, they should show. In the age of Kali for this reason Kṛṣṇa actually doesn’t come as the proclaimed avatāra. He’s known as tri-yuga He comes in Satya, Tretā and Dvāpara-yuga as the avatāra, as Kṛṣṇa. If he comes at all in the Kali-yuga, He comes in disguise, He doesn’t declare Himself to be God. That He knows that people are so unscrupulous in the Kali-yuga, that if God came and they proclaim who in Kali-yuga everybody will become, proclaiming.

So, He already said that I never proclaim myself in Kali-yuga. So, if anybody is proclaiming in Kali-yuga, that already means, by definition he’s bogus. Just like when Buddha came, but He was also disguise. Lord Caitanya is channāvatāra, He’s latest incarnation. Avatāras in Kali-yuga they don’t come in a proclaimed way like Kṛṣṇa or Rāma or Nṛsingha like that, until Kalki comes and He kind of cleans up the mess.

So anyway, that point is that, in spite of all these difficulties Kṛṣṇa is coming into the material world in order to give His mercy to the conditioned soul, in order to deliver them. He comes because, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu specifically to deliver the conditioned souls, that otherwise are forgetful of their relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa doesn’t have any need to come in the material world for any material purpose. We come into the material world in order to suffer, enjoy the karmas, to fulfil our different desire.

But Lord Kṛṣṇa doesn’t have any material desire at all. He comes just to satisfy His devotees, to deliver the devotee, paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām. While He’s doing that He also gets rid of some of the demon.

So, when Kṛṣṇa came He actually killed the demon, with the Sudarśana cakra or through His devotees like Arjuna, Bhīma. But when Lord Caitanya came He used the weapon of harināma-saṅkīrtana, the weapon of kṛṣṇa-prema. So, He killed the demons, demoniac attitudes without physically killing them. And He turned the demons into devotees. Just like Jagāi Mādhāi were delivered, or like Devānanda pandit got forgiven of his offence. So Prakasananda Saraswati, he was also delivered. That’s the special feature of Lord Caitanya, he killed the demoniac nature, doesn’t kill the body. That’s why we hate the disease and not the diseased. We want to cure the disease that people are affected with, that we want to save the person.

Just like Lord Nityānanda pleaded with Caitanya Mahāprabhu that when He was going to kill Jagāi Mādhāi, that if You kill them in the Kali-yuga there’ll be so many like that. So, there will be no limit how many people You have to kill, it’s better to give them mercy.

So, people in age of Kali there’s so many bad habits, they're so negligent in their spiritual life but Kṛṣṇa, Caitanya delivering them out of His causeless mercy. So, we need to understand how merciful Gaura-Nitāi are, to come down in this material world. To allow us to serve them, to give us this opportunity to saṅkīrtana, participate in the saṅkīrtana movement. Our previous ācāryas they’re very concerned that we should take advantage of the Lord’s presence to serve the Lord. And not try to use the facility that Kṛṣṇa gives us, for sense gratification.

So little story once about a pūjārī, this pūjārī he was the priest for the deity. But he didn't actually have devotion for the deity, he was a professional pūjārī. He’s doing it for a salary. So, every day, one day someone gave about a kilo of peanuts in the shell and he didn’t know how to open the peanuts. So, he closes the temple door, he took the śālagrāma-śilā off the altar and use it to crack the peanut. Then that person you know, there was some devotee came outside and heard that smashing. And then saw a look into the window or something, inside he’s using śālagrāma-śilā to break peanuts.

So, then they exposed this priest was a atheist and they gave him a few lessons in respect to the deity. That, Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura, he used this, of course Prabhupāda told us about this several times. Śālagrāma diyā bādāma bhāṅgā, breaking peanut with a Śālagrāma.

Obviously, we hear this is by too much makes the brain like, we can’t think how to use the deity for such a thing. But there are some people like that. Sometime if we think that we can take the deity’s things and use it for own material purpose, it’s the same idea. Everything connected with Kṛṣṇa is also sacred. We do saṅkīrtana, even the collection that people give in the name of Kṛṣṇa, we’d to give it back to Kṛṣṇa and then whatever the systems that we come I don’t know different system for allowance or whatever we take, we know, we receive but we have to give everything to Kṛṣṇa. We don’t want to take anything that’s Kṛṣṇa without permission. Because it’s also like breaking the peanuts with the śālagrāma. Anything that belongs to the deity, anything that’s the deity we have to use it for Kṛṣṇa, not for our own sense gratification.

Previously in the Gauḍīya Maṭha, they had the first automobile in, of any sādhu, in one of the first one’s in the whole country. May be that, only a few Lords and Governors had. But then Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura saw that the sanyāsīs were taking the car out just to go down and get some medicine or go to the market. That time car was like very special thing. So, then he passed a rule, wrote a letter, if you can use the vehicle for preaching, but you can’t use the vehicle to go out and do your marketing or something to walk, when you go the market. For your sense gratification walk, but for Kṛṣṇa’s service you can ride. Like if somebody had a private jumbo jet may just flew over to get, you know, for some food or his thing because in those. Of course, now everybody has a car, it’s like walking but, in those days, they were something very special.

So, the principle is that we use Kṛṣṇa’s energy for Kṛṣṇa’s service. Arjuna was very merciful, he really wanted to help the conditioned souls, he wanted to show them Kṛṣṇa’s actual position.

Lord Caitanya also was very merciful. When He met Prakaśānanda Sarasvatī with great patience He preached to Prakaśānanda. Going and sitting down in the dirty water at the gate. But that He would be very humble and Prakaśānanda requested Him. You please come and sit with us, went, picked Him up and brought Lord Caitanya amongst them. Lord Caitanya start to glow with the spiritual effulgence, brahmā-jyotī coming everywhere. And so, the Māyāvādīs they love to see brahma-jyotī, so they became very attracted to Lord Caitanya. But Lord Caitanya used all these simply to preach to them about Kṛṣṇa, about the potency of the holy name. So that’s the causeless mercy of the Lord. The preachers they also, they see that people are in ignorance, people are suffering. They want to help the people because they’re kind persons, compassionate.

There’s another story about a boy who is flying kite. You know kite? It’s made out of paper and cloth and, on a string and it flies in the air with the wind. So in India it’s a big sport in the winter now in November, December, January, everyone flies the kite. In fact, they put on the string, they put glue and powdered glass so that they can cut the string of the other people. And they have big battles up in the air.

So, this group of children they went on the top of a building, it was under construction. So, it was just a flat roof, there was no wall, no protection, just a flat roof. And they started to fly the kite. There were about 6 or 10 children. So, they are all looking upwards and the other children are cheering him on, you know higher higher (clapping) oh look it, you know just pulling. They all shouting and having a good time, playing, kids. They’re not watching, but they’re going closer and closer and closer to the edge of the roof.

So, one man was, gentlemen was walking by, he saw that children are just going very close to the edge. In fact, just to get little higher, little higher you many keep pulling back. The boy came right up to the edge, even one of his feet was practically going over. One more step and three stories down, would be sudden death. So, the gentlemen he became very anxious, the boy is gonna die. He ran up the stair ways as fast as he could. And just as the boy was about to fall, he grabbed him and saved his life. But the kite flew off the boy’s hand and all the other boys start criticizing, what have you done? You ruined our playing! Our kite is flown away [Devotees laughing]. And they also, you rascal, you nonsense, what are you doing? Ruining our kite play. When they all shouting in the next door the parents of the boy were next door house. So they came out, they see way he’s grabbing on to the boy. You let go my boy what you doing? [Devotees laughing] We’re gonna take you to court, [Devotees laughing] we’re gonna sue you, what is this? Are you a child molester? [Devotees laughing] So here is the gentleman he like; he saved the boy’s life. But so many people are criticizing.

So, this is actually the situation of saṅkīrtana devotees. They see people are going to be, they’re going to die through repeated birth and death. They want to save these people from that, from that sure death. When they go out actually, they save the people and all criticizing, oh what’ve you done?

You ruined his job, ruined his, his, he used to go to so many movies with his friends and now you ruined his life. He just goes to temple and chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, what have you done? And the parents say I’m gonna get the, you see what they call that? De programmed. I’m gonna do case on you, how you are taken our child. They don’t realize we’re saving the child from this repetition of birth and death. But just like that man, when he finally explained to the parents looking, that boy was just about to fall down. I just grabbed him just before he fell. Then they, oh really? Oh excuse us we didn’t understand. They shouldn’t let your children play here, such a dangerous place! Acha, you're very kind person, I’m very, excuse us for our offenses. Then they could appreciate. Sometimes people appreciate, like the children they didn’t understand why he broke our kite.

So, the foolish people they always criticize, they don’t understand what we’re doing when we save someone from this cycle of birth and death. Instead, they see the very superficial think like the children playing. They don’t realize the dangers that they’re facing. So, when we preach sometimes, we have to face, sometime people praise us, sometimes people criticize.

But the saṅkīrtana devotee, he can see what is the danger. And so even though at his own personal risk he knows how to save someone from this dangerous position.

Gaura-Nitāi ki!

Devotees: Jai!

Actually, people are so lazy about their own spiritual life. This is story we heard that when we were with Prabhupāda how that one king. He wanted to teach all the lazy people in his kingdom those who are too lazy to, to work. So, he gave a proclamation everyone who’s too lazy to work, they can work for (inaudible 22:38). But lot of people showed up, the king, how it gonna be so many lazy people? So how to know whos really lazy or not. So one minister suggested, you put them in a big house, you light the house on fire. Those who’re really lazy, they won’t even run.

So, they did that, everybody ran but two guys stayed and they are lying down. And one was saying, feeling little heat from the fire [Devotees laughing], so he’s telling the other one, but he’s so lazy, doesn’t speak the full words you know he’s saying, feeling he [Devotees laughing] so instead he says he he he he he he, he he he [Devotees laughing]. And the other one he’s also real lazy, so he says, he wants to say roll over, but he said ro ro [Devotees laughing] ro. So, then the guy rolls over, but then he’s feeling heat on the other part. He rolled over to his back, now he feels heat on back, hot back, hot back [Devotees laughing]. And the other guy said, ro, ro [Devotees laughing]. So, like this they came to see these two guys just kind of roasting you know rolling [Devotees laughing]. So, they saw okay, these are the really pakka lazy [Devotees laughing]. These are the real (inaudible 23:45) you know true blue lazy guys [Devotees laughing].

But people in their spiritual life sometimes they’re like these two lazy guys. They don’t want to make any effort, they may be active in so many things, but when it comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they’re too lazy. Of course, if they, if they don’t move out of that situation, they're going to get burned out.

Actually, the priority in life is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that’s what we should be giving our attention to. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness what do we have? We are simply spending the time, as time goes on soon our time will be up. We have to leave this body. We have a valuable human form of life, in this human form of life we can realize who is God, we can transcend the cycle of birth and death. Instead, if we waste our time, if we are lazy in our spiritual life what will happen? We’ll miss this valuable opportunity. Usually, people say I had no time, why don’t you come to temple? Why don’t you chant? I have no time. And time for everything else, but no time for God consciousness. So, they don’t realize what are the priorities in life. But if we neglect their own spiritual consciousness they’re actually heading to destruction. Just I have no time to put on the break in my runaway car, so it’s going to smash into something, but it’s very dangerous position. This is the problem that people don’t take their spiritual life seriously because they falsely identify with the body. That’s why the saṅkīrtana devotees are waking them up. All kinds of preaching devotees, they are there simply they help people to awake into the reality.

You see, sometimes people they give so many excuses, so many big reasons why they can’t take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometime you get lazy, sometime you get over intelligent. You probably heard the story about the tiger and the brāhmaṇa.

So, one time, one time there was one, this actually also known as the Sanskrit paṇḍita and the tiger. There was one young brāhmaṇa and he was very expert at Sanskrit grammar. He got 5th degree in grammar, so he was heading back to his home in the evening. And he was about to go into the forest to take a shortcut. But one villager told him that you please don’t go that way. So why not?

There is a tiger in the forest. So, it’s dangerous, you go the other way through the village it will be much safer for you. Said no no, you know Sanskrit? I’m a Sanskrit paṇḍita. You know the meaning of tiger in Sanskrit?

Sanskrit meaning of tiger, the word is ‘bhāgra’. ‘Bhāgra’ is two, three syllables, the word, the letter ‘bhā’ so this means powerful, dynamic, ‘agra’ means someone who's little active, so many different meanings are there. So, we don’t have to worry about the tiger. We know the meaning of the name in our, in Sanskrit. Oh, my dear brāhmaṇa, I don’t know Sanskrit grammar but I just know the tigers are very dangerous [Devotees laughing]. See the tiger may eat you, so why don’t you go the other way? [Devotees laughing] You see I’m a brāhmaṇa, brāhmaṇa is a priest, is meant to live for the welfare of others. I have to serve others, so am I get eaten by the tiger what’s the harm? I’m serving someone else [Devotees laughing].

So, I don’t know It’s best use for your life so is to become tiger food. You do what you want, but I recommend to go through the village. No no it’s alright. So, the, the paṇḍita any way he just gave so many superficial very intelligent reasons why not to follow and he went to the forest. So, he’s walking, it’s quite dark, little moonlight, there’s a bamboo trees, mango trees, various kind of bushes. It’s like he’s going through the path, of course all of a sudden, he was a bit surprised. Ah! [Guru Mahārāja is shouting] When the tiger leaped out and grabbed on to his leg, and threw him down, ah! Just chewing his leg [Devotees laughing]. So, the brāhmaṇa that was lying there being eaten by the tiger and he is thinking, I just remembered another meaning of the word tiger [Devotees laughing]. In Sanskrit it also means one who eats others [Devotees laughing]. Why didn’t I remember this earlier? [Devotees laughing] Then he was finished [Devotees laughing].

So sometimes we can be little over intelligent. The pragmatic advice, the practical advice of the villager was very well meant. And like that many time devotees they advise be very careful of māyā. And try, māyādevī rise on either tiger or lion I forget. So, we have to be very careful about māyā. But sometime people say no, no why have to worry about māyā? Why would? Who me worry? They give so many reasons. But in the end, we see that they get eaten by the tiger of māyā.

So, we have to be very careful, not to be over intelligent, not to be lazy. We have to follow the mahājanas, follow the great devotee, follow in their footsteps. Even the great devotees they pray to Kṛṣṇa for protection, so that they won’t fall away from His lotus feet.

Actually, one time one devotee told us that Prabhupāda was praying to the deities and kind of this devotee just without thinking, when Prabhupāda was leaving, Prabhupāda what were you praying to the deity? Of course, it’s not the right of the disciple to ask. But he like a child he asked very innocently. And Prabhupāda looked at him. And then he replied, I was praying to Kṛṣṇa that he may never allow me to leave the shelter of His lotus feet.

So Prabhupāda gave this lesson to us, so we have to be very careful to hold on to the lotus feet of Gaura-Nitāi. Especially when we are not in good association it’s very easy to get entangled into māyā. To gradually stop chanting, reduce chanting, to develop bad habits. To change our outlook and lose our spiritual vision, and then we suffer, so many anxieties and frustrations. So, we have to be very careful to remain on the path of devotional service without deviation. And for that we pray to guru, we pray to Kṛṣṇa, we take association of devotees and we practice very carefully the principles of devotional service.

In the 12th chapter of Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa explains in text 9, that “My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.”

Prabhupāda explains in the purport that, bhakti-yoga is the purification of the senses. At the present moment in material existence the senses are always impure, being engaged in sense gratification. But by the practice of bhakti-yoga the senses can become purified, and in the purified state they come directly in contact with the Supreme Lord.

.. [Break]

.. there’s a quote, is the discussion from Śrīla Prabhupāda, there was a devotee talking to Śrīla Prabhupāda saying that Śrīla Prabhupāda in India there are still 500 thousand villages, so we need so many for going. Prabhupāda said yes, and we want that all these villages people may come here daily hear and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. This devotee was saying that what about travelling parties went to Assam, and there we saw that one Gauḍīya Maṭha temple they are three or four brahmacārīs in a village and they have the whole village actually engaged. They saw some of the activities, so they were engaged in making the village Kṛṣṇa Conscious in their way. So similarly, we can do the same Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Yes! Oh, Śrīla Prabhupāda said yes! Then devotees said just like Gaura Govinda, he is bringing many villagers here. Prabhupāda said, oh yes, he’s a good preacher. So then there is 500 thousand such villages all over India and they’re more pious. We, some our devotees went to the Sundarban jungle and had a tremendous reception.

Prabhupāda said, just see, then Hari Śauri said very good reception. Prabhupāda said everywhere. Then Garga Muni said, yet there is no roads, there’s no lights there, nothing is there. Prabhupāda said India, is a good field, yes! India is a good field.

So Garga Muni said we can have one hundred jeeps and send them all over India, one hundred jeeps. Prabhupāda said, hmm, now you’re seeing that there is possibility of preaching and he even if he cannot speak local language, still he’ll be received. Also, Śrīla Prabhupāda had mentioned the, initially that he wanted to just preach in the cities of India. But later on, he said that since he established centers in all the cities but his God-brothers were not covering the villages. So, then he also said to spread the preaching to the villages all over India.

So, in 1977 our temple was attacked by some political instigation. Members of another community attacked us. So after that the Hindu villagers all gathered together and we had a very big procession and about 25000 people marched in that procession. And everyone was, it was, everyone was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And they marched from our temple up to the Chand Kazi samādhi. So just shows how solidarity that they won’t tolerate another attack on our temple. And it was very peaceful and after that everything also became very peaceful because the people from the other community saw that they couldn’t attack us. With that happened, we approached Prabhupāda and ask him that whether we should try to utilize the, in India especially in Bengal, Orissa, Assam, there’s a very big base of, (inaudible 34:09) of devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

So, whether we should somehow try to engage them. And Prabhupāda he replied that we should train them up to chant in the way we’re doing in the, to preach properly. Bring them to our temple and let them stay for some time and then send them out and then have preachers go there. So, with that instruction then different devotees here they began the, this type of congregational preaching.

Subsequently we found 1978 that, while Prabhupāda was the editor of the Gauḍīya patrikā, when he was a vānaprastha staying in the Devānanda Gauḍīya Math. He was the president of this magazine, that their regular magazine called Gauḍīya patrikā.

So, in one of those issues, His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaj showed me, there was an excerpt from a book by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura called Godruma Kalpaṭavī. Five different issues were published there. We’re not been able to locate any other issues yet, may be in the future be able to locate more. But from those five then we found that what Prabhupāda had said about preaching to the villages, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had already been doing and he called it as the Nāmahaṭṭa. And that time he taught that we should also keep the same name as the previous ācāryas had given and ISKCON I said so is called Hare Kṛṣṇa Nāmahaṭṭa, since we’re the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. There we continued to implement what Prabhupāda had ask us to do.

Now the first day here I’m just trying to give a little background about Nāmahaṭṭa ideas and then college going on in India. Previous year, years we had different volunteers from different parts of the world who talked about the congregational preaching. So, I’m hoping that I’ll get some volunteers that can tell about congregational preaching in different countries for two days. And then the fourth day was I gonna go over the results that I got so far as a monitor of congregational preaching we took a survey from the different temples. So this is the general idea we have how to go forward. Last year we have South Africa representative give nice presentation, someone from Eastern Europe.

(aside:) We have anyone here this year that in the future days give a presentation on congregational preaching in your area?

So, in the time of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura there was a lot of problem in India because of caste system. The caste system was separating the people. Unless you’re born in a, a, it was a lot of difficulty to the caste system and the people were not able to approach Kṛṣṇa consciousness very easily because of the various limitations.

So, Lord Nityānanda in his original preaching, anybody could take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness irregardless of what caste or background they were, just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura was born in a Mohammedan family, then he became the Namācārya.

So similarly, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he presented the Nāmahaṭṭa as a way that everybody can have access. ‘Haṭṭa’ means market and ‘Nāma’ means the holy name, so that we can purchase the holy name. Just like you go in the market whatever caste, color, creed, anybody can buy anything if they have the money.

So, in the market of the holy name, you can buy anything if you have the currency. But the currency is not material desire or material money but the currency is transcendental currency. Idea is that you can get the holy name if you have devotion. This is very interesting in our preaching all over the world because many people they may think they will, I’m not an Indian that why should I take to this? Or this doesn’t apply to me. But the principle is that anybody who has faith, they can start to purchase the holy name.

Faith in the beginning stage means they only come and listen. They’re least receptive and ought to hear you, that much faith. So that Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura called ‘śraddhā’ with worth one cent. Then there is three other stages which are association with devotees, or ‘sādhu-saṅga,’ then there is ‘bhajana-kriyā’ or devotional service and ‘anartha-nivṛtti’ getting rid of the bad habits. So those are like 3 cents, 6 cents and 9 cents. Where he calls on anna, so I’m dividing it in cents. These are, he compared these all to silver, one silver coin that when we get up to ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa that’s like a silver coin. So, one hundredth part of the silver coin is like having faith enough to listen. Then taking association is considered to be these three levels, we have satsaṅga, bhajana-kriyā, anartha-nivṛtti.

Devotee: Satsaṅga three times

Jayapatākā Swami: Ah?

Devotee: The satsaṅga three times

Jayapatākā Swami: Ya, he said when you get up to ‘niṣṭhā’, it’s worth 2 annas. Two annas is 12 cents, parts of a silver coin. Niṣṭhā is where you’re fixed. And 25 cents or 25 percent of a silver coin is ‘ruci’. 50, one half of a silver coin is ‘āsakti’. ‘Ruci’ means taste, ‘niṣṭhā’ means fixed devotion, ‘ruci’ means taste, ‘āsakti’ means attachment and ecstatic love is a silver coin or one hundred percent. When we get kṛṣṇa-prema, then it’s like a gold coin, so it goes to another dimension.

So very begin being is that anybody whether you’re living in a temple or living in your house we all have a certain buying power. And according to that buying power they can get the holy name. If somebody is living outside the temple but they’re very, they have a great attachment for Kṛṣṇa and the holy name, then may have a higher buying power. Someone may be a new bhakta in the temple, he’s still challenging everytime he hear us, doesn’t really accept, although he’s living in the temple, he may still be on the level of a, just learning how to take satsaṅga, or, or bhajana-kriyā, he’s just getting rid of his anarthas.

So actually, in ISKCON the system was that you know, you live in the temple then you’re considered to be a devotee. And if you’re outside the temple you’re considered to be a demon. But before Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati Ṭhākura there were no, very, not very many temples of people lived in. Up to the time of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura most people lived in the, their homes. And the very few sādhus lived in the holy places. There wasn’t this, this preaching temple is a relatively new occurrence. Before even the gṛhasthas were preaching, wife would stay in home and run the house and husband go out and preach. Of course, now both husband and wife both go out and preach, it’s a new thing. Prabhupāda said this is new because now Kali-yuga, things have changed, the western women are able to go out and preach along with their husband. Someone had got a quote on that; he was commenting how it was a new development. But he thought it was a positive development.

Now people are appreciating in the, in ISKCON that we need to develop our congregation. So initially if you see that the congregation, a person can be Kṛṣṇa conscious even though he’s in his house. The advantage of living in the temple is that we can concentrate all our effort in preaching. And because the atmosphere sometimes outside is not so conducive.

But, and Prabhupāda here he explains, that is not we have to open different centers all over the world. Whoever cares for the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can install deities at home and under superior guidance worship the deity regularly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and discussing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.

We are actually teaching in our classes how to go about this. One who feels that he is not yet ready to live in a temple, or undergo strict regulative principles in a temple. Especially householders who live with wife and children, they started center at home. By installing the deity, worshiping the the Lord morning and evening, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and discussing Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Anyone can do this in home without difficulty.

And Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested all the devotees present there to do so. Which is the quote ‘kori javo koro sadā kṛṣṇa saṅkīrtana, kṛṣṇa nāma kṛṣṇa kathā kṛṣṇa ārādhan’. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested them all to return home and begin chanting the holy name congregationally. He also requested them to worship Kṛṣṇa, chant His holy name and discuss His holy pastimes.

So, these are Lord Caitanya’s principles that people can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness in their house and that was the original basic. And Prabhupāda said that under superior guidance. But we see in the long run to preachers in the temple, they have to be dedicated to guide, to become experts to guide all the people who are practicing in their home. Because of their being, not having any other preoccupation they can concentrate all the time of being very expert. And be able to give better guidance to those who are doing other occupations and worshipping Kṛṣṇa in their home.

So, then Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, after establishing that, okay anybody can be Kṛṣṇa conscious, you have to use this is the money. You use material money, it’ll be rejected, as counterfeit and you’d be arrested by Yamarāja for trying to use counterfeit money.

So, then he explained that there are different kind of branches of the greater marketplace of the holy name. First see the left-hand corner you can see it’s a little picture called bazar. There are several temples in that bazar. It’s like a holy dhāma, is like a spiritual bazar, there are many temples like we went on Navadvīpa-parikramā we saw dozens of temples, holy places.

So, there are so many different activities going on. Here in Māyāpur there’s like goshala, there is gurukula, there is deity worship, there’s BBT, there’s like dozens of different things going on. So, when we have many different devotees and many activities this is like a spiritual market, a big bazar. So that’s the first level he considered was the holy dhāma. Where people can go like, people go to big cities because sometime you go shopping. You should get anything you want there. So the idea is the holy dhāma you can find the huru, you can find so many things like. There not be a huru in every temple but probably the holy dhāmas would be several gurus, several sannyāsīs and devotees, senior devotees to preach.

Then like in a, so what we call out these we have a supermarket. This is added by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswati Ṭhākura and Śrīla Prabhupāda. He’s establishing like mini dhāmas or big supermarket. Actually, the supermarket should have been there, temple.

So, like one thing is you go into a big commercial area like a downtown area, next thing is you go is like a supermarket. It’s one store but it’s got quite a bit of things on it, that’s a temple. You kind of some kind of masjid or something [Devotees laughing]. You can write temple there. You write temple, little bit.

Devotee: ISKCON temple is supermarket

Jayapatākā Swami: This is the bazar

Devotee: Bazar, which is supermarket?

Jayapatākā Swami: Supermarket is like New York or London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, those big temples you can go there. You can find so many devotees, there is the books, there is a big deity worship going on, you can get the mahaprasāda from the deities. So that way it’s like a more, you can get more variety. But then

Devotee: Temples, temples, many temples

Jayapatākā Swami: No one temple

Devotee: One temple

Jayapatākā Swami: One temple is supermarket. Then we have the Nāmahaṭṭa group. The Nāmahaṭṭa group is, he compared it to like a shop or a store. One little shop like a corner grocery store or something, like a seven eleven or they have different type of stores, you have a little shop. Some devotees gather together in someone’s house or they have a little small, they have some temple or home.

So, they use to gather together. So, we know that to maintain a temple now-a-days in ISKCON, there is lot of overhead. Especially in the west you buy the land on mortgage

payment. Here in India usually we, there’s no mortgage systems. So, you just have to buy outright or get it donated which is a saving in one sense, you don’t have to go on paying mortgage.

But in the west you buy a land, you get a bank loan, you have to pay mortgage. You have so many recurring expenses, you have to maintain pūjārī, such very big overheads. But you get benefit from that, you have the deities and you have many nice programs. So many people can go and get, there are big festivals, they can go and get lot of spiritual inspiration.

That’s the upper side, downside is that of course a lot. The Nāmahaṭṭa group like a little shop doesn’t have so much overhead. People got it together, they chant, they read shastras, they give each other association.

So, it’s actually unlimited how many Nāmahaṭṭa group was, groups you can make. It’s how many temples you can make. There’s a limit depending on what temples you have, should to be established, you take certain number of people. You have a certain cash flow to make a temple work. But you can start a Nāmahaṭṭa group, if you have five ten people going to gather together, you got a group. And they can meet someone’s living room, they can meet in the hall, they can meet in a church, a temple, anywhere. Then gradually this Nāmahaṭṭa groups can grow and eventually they can also turn into temples. Just like many businessmen they start off with just small shop and later on it, they get more capital, it becomes a supermarket. They expand the shop, they get bigger. What?

Devotee: They become Wholesalers

Jayapatākā Swami: They become wholesalers [Devotees laughing]. So, a temple is a bigger version of Nāmahaṭṭa, more established. Nāmahaṭṭa is, doesn’t necessarily have to be formal, many have a individual preachers. So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura considered them salesman or brokers, difference is the say if someone is able to actually explain the good and bad qualities of the product and convince someone to buy, he’s called the salesman. And a broker means that he’s not actually selling the goods, he’s bringing you to the person who has the goods, and he’s like commission agent. So, these all like he used all these terms, they all have significance.

Like Prabhupāda said even if you don't know how to preach, if you can sell my books. So one sense if someone doesn't know how to preach but if he can just repeat what he reads in the book or bring someone to a preacher, then he's considered like a broker. But if he can himself explain the subject matter then he's a salesman. In any case both are individual preachers. So, we can see that in ISKCON we had the holy dhāmas, we had first Prabhupāda started the temples, then he established

[Break]

.. Holy dhāma, the big bazar bringing all the devotees here for the Gaura pūrṇimā festival. And we had individual book distributors and preachers. But we didn’t have shops or so Nāmahaṭṭa groups so much.  But Śrīla Prabhupāda had that many places requested that people should practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness in their home. Even from the home they should preach. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam first canto Bhīṣma Deva’s teachings it says that last idle talks of Bhīṣma Deva was the process of pleasing the Lord. We are all eternal servants of the Lord and when we forget this is such a part of the nature, we’re put into material conditions of life.

 The simple process of pleasing the Lord for the householders especially is to install the deities of the Lord in the home. By concentrating on the deity one may progressively go on with the daily routine work. Worshipping the deity in home, serving the devotee, hearing the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Residing in the holy place, chanting the holy name of the Lord are all inexpensive items which can please the Lord. The subject matter was explained by grandfather Bhīṣma to his grandchildren.

Prabhupāda also explained that a sannyāsī or one who is in the renounced order of life should wander from door to door, village to village, town to town and country to country, all over the world in spite able to travel and enlighten the householder about Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

A person who is a householder, but is initiated by a sannyāsī has the duty to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness at home. As far as possible he should call his friends and neighbors to his house and hold classes in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Holding a class means chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and speaking from Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. They are mass preachers for spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness and it’s the duty of the each and every householder to learn about Kṛṣṇa from his sannyāsī spiritual master. There is a division of labour in the Lord’s service.

The householder’s duty is to earn money, because a sannyāsī is not supposed to earn money and is completely dependent on the householder. The householders should earn money by business or by profession and spend at least 50% of his income to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 25% he can spend for his family and 25 you should save for to meet emergencies. This example was shown by Rūpa Goswami, so devotees should follow him.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam chapter 21 canto 3, verse 31.

So Śrīla Prabhupāda has already very clearly given instruction in his books. In his letters for gṛhasthas to preach from their house, to invite friends, to chant. So basically, when that happens that would transcend to a Nāmahaṭṭa group. But we found was that Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he had developed this is into a very organized system.

Prabhupāda was a scholar and a businessman before he became a sannyāsī. So, he setup ISKCON to be very financially sound. And Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura was of course the scholar and he was a government officer under the British, he was a judicial and executive magistrate. So, he setup the Nāmahaṭṭa to be very organized administratively. That when we started the Nāmahaṭṭa, we got many people signing up. In fact, right now

(aside:) What’s the number when people sign up? What serial number they get?

Devotee: One thousand eight hundred

Jayapatākā Swami: One thousand

Devotee: Eight hundred

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) Eight hundred. So, there are one thousand eight hundred have signed up. So, what happened was we found it was very difficult to supervise so many groups. You’re talking about the last census that we took, the estimate I got. This is 15000 active people in the Nāmahaṭṭa. And out of the 1800 we’ve been able to maintain a very close contact with 650. But even 650 groups with 15000 people is a massive kind of job. If only the, if, it was supposed to be done only by devotees in the temple. Then you can imagine that one devotee could supervise how many?

If you were supervising 10 groups each, you need 65 devotees. And these devotees would want to travel alone, he’d want to go with pairs, that means the 130 devotees. So that becomes you know very, very big you know very big overhead to maintain.

So Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he setup the system, kind of like the mini governing system which is. That if each group that we want like temple president would be one group leader. And the group leader should be respected like a older brother. So then with the over so many groups they’ll be, they’ll be formed together in a circle.

So, one circle senāpatī, the word senāpatī in sanskrit, ‘senā' means soldier and ‘patī’ means protector or a leader. So senāpatī, I hope you all Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit means general. So, word for general, senāpatī. But he used in a different sense, he said senā is the devotee and patī is the protector. Who’s more spiritually advanced can protect the devotees from getting mislead, confusion, from frustration. He admits, who’s ever able to protect the other devotee, he should be the leader.

But then he tried to come up with, keep Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura system intact. So we came up with that, more of a, that more groups form into a semi-circle, kumbha cakra, kumbha cakra means a semi-circle, to a Nāmahaṭṭa. So, this person, he should visit each one of his Nāmahaṭṭa once a month to see that they going on properly. And then there be three such semi circles which count of twelve that means, and that becomes a circle, a circle of Nāmahaṭṭa. If there is a circle and is a senāpatī, he’s usually a initiated devotee.  Where only we’ve be able to organize centers for initiative, initiated devotee.

So, he had to build up the different groups, form groups and visit once in every two to three months. So, amongst the congregational members we have them to supervising. And then, a district supervisor who goes over, he’s a, who’s a devotee living in the temple, a district supervisor. He sees how these are going on and he keeps an organizer (inaudible 56:37). So right now, this is not up to date, so it’s 88, it’s 89. In the 89 there are 1609 registered, Nāmahaṭṭas of the 1800. We’re more strict now, we were just, sometimes you know 20 cakras organized. Some of the, some say are from the gurukul, some are saṅkīrtanas, some are Ratha-yātrās, each of the districts you know if sometimes two three districts we gather, we have supervisors.

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) How many supervisors you have in West Bengal? Or total?

Devotee: Seven

Jayapatākā Swami: Seven supervisors, it’s 15 districts, so it’s like 2 districts each.

Jayapatākā Swami: (aside:) And in Orissa?

Devotee: One

Jayapatākā Swami: One. So that’s amazing organization, that’s the structure they’re working under. It’s the structure given by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and the congregational rules they should be so expansive. We can imagine Prabhupāda said 500 thousand villages in India and West Bengal 60,000 villages, in Orissa I think it’s 20,000?

Devotee: (inaudible 57:47)

Jayapatākā Swami: So, there are 80000 villages and then you got other states. And this for the eastern region we have at least a hundred thousand villages. So, we want to have one Hare Kṛṣṇa Nāmahaṭṭa group in each village. We were discussing how (inaudible 58:20) Kṛṣṇa how to integrate that in to the overall picture so that in the rest of the world, ah, we can have a formula that can be applied everywhere. And use it, it uses integrate the Nāmahaṭṭa with membership program also, but is still in the discussion stages. In India the Namahaṭṭa people are some, are, 10% rich and 90% poor. So, it’s financially not very, we have to figure it out how to make it immensely so viable with. But it’s, but also that, it’s pretty much self-sustained. This is a map of West Bengal, each of these districts were, we have other maps that show how many there each district.

So, this, there’s a good scope to make it financially viable that we, were discussing. Because we just took the 90% poor throughout the whole West Bengal, Orissa and Assam. And each day you put on a festival, each festival cause the local villagers assemble between 10000 to may be 25000 rupees to put on. They collected the money, build the temple, expand the devotees, get the publicity, radio announcing and everything, like that each program

Devotee: Their own?

Jayapatākā Swami: Ah, Their own. So, it’s a known fact that if you can collect $3 locally, (inaudible 59:31) said you collect $5 nationally. People always try to give for the local program. So that’s huge and almost that they’re actually somewhat 1000 people in each one of these places. So, he states that, this is the way we can bring in the Nāmahaṭṭa into the membership program counting those people. We discuss much later for few hours. But that way only brought those who can give for the local project like local festival, local temple.

So anyway, this is the heritage we had it from previous ācāryas. Our goal is that in whole India 500 thousand villages, we gonna have 500 thousand groups. And these boys here, they’re from Eastern India, they’re doing eastern India region. The western India I’m trying to get them into it but so far, we haven’t taken into that fully. But hopefully very soon that we get up. We have Prem, Gaurāṅga Prema Dāsa brahmacārī and Bhadra Charu Dāsa. They’re organizing the Nāmahaṭṭa here in the Eastern India. There are many other individuals, here some of the district supervisors Dhruva Kiśora.

*conversation with devotees*

I mean, even in India we have also dharma, so people do come, that they’re very attracted to dharma. Just like in the Kumbha mela there’s no advertising but nearly one million people come. So, you do in India, it’s a very big deal. But in the foreign, it’s our devotees here, they have very nice drama group and this drama has become very famous, we showed on the parikramā. So that, by watching the drama, listening the cinema for bringing the devotees from different countries. Mostly they wanted to come to meet devotees from different countries. Some of the devotees, were on a tour, came from Māyāpur.

(aside:) You are in one of the tours, right?

He came and there was one bhakta Lucy or something, she came with little kids, Nandanācārya prabhu, Kala prabhu. That was one of the big mass, they want to meet the devotees in different countries. They want to see the drama, all these things combine, was the, what a advertise. So, the basic principle is present people what they want to, something which is attractive for them. In the west that we conquer by culture. So, we have dance, we have music we have little more cultural presentation more attractive for the people. That’s how people they want to see the Manipur dancers when Svarūpa Dāmodara Mahārāja brought all his team. So here in India people like drama, they like cinema and they like to see more Vaiṣṇavas. That we have those three things, we can see.

Devotee: And one more thing even if we have no drama, no cinema and no harināma, just to see Jayapatākā Swami appearing …

Jai! (clapping)

 

Second Level Proofer: Karuṇāpati Keśava das

Second Level Proofed on: 08-Jan-2021