19970818 Bhagavad-gītā 18.2

The following is the class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on August 18, 1997 in Poland. The class begins with the reading from the Bhagavad-gītā 18^th Chapter verse 2.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

kāmyānāṁ karmaṇāṁ nyāsaṁ
sannyāsaṁ kavayo viduḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ
prāhus tyāgaṁ vicakṣaṇāḥ

Translation: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyāsa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyāga].

Purport: The performance of activities for results has to be given up. This is the instruction of Bhagavad-gītā. But activities leading to advanced spiritual knowledge are not to be given up. This will be made clear in the next verses. In the Vedic literature there are many prescriptions of methods for performing sacrifice for some particular purpose. There are certain sacrifices to perform to attain a good son or to attain elevation to the higher planets, but sacrifices prompted by desires should be stopped. However, sacrifice for the purification of one’s heart or for advancement in spiritual science should not be given up.

Jayapatākā Swami:  So here Arjuna had had some questions for Kṛṣṇa. What is renunciation and what is the renounced order?

So, the renounced order of life is giving up all the activities based on material desires. In devotional service, one can do so many different activities in order to please Kṛṣṇa and that is still considered a renounced order. But any activity meant for sense gratification is not renounced order. Someone who is in the renounced order of life has to be living a life completely devoid of activities based on material desire.

To give someone a sannyāsa and take the vow to use their thoughts words and deeds in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Now tyāga or renunciation is a bit different. Many people think renunciation is just giving up everything.

Specially some people say I can't take it in my house anymore. My husband I don't like him, I don't like my wife, I don't like this and I don't like that I will give it up. I am renounced. But it's quite interesting that's it’s not renunciation. Giving up the result of activities is renunciation.

And Prabhupāda also said that if you are, what's the question of renouncing if you are renouncing suffering? You don't like something renouncing that means you are renouncing suffering. You know the story about miserly father-in-law. miserly father-in-law You know that history.

There was once a father may be its not father-in-law but miserly father and poor son in law. You know that story? She knows it. So once there was a miserly man and he didn't want to spend money on his daughter’s marriage but he couldn't get his daughter married without giving some kind of a dowry.

So, he made a plan and he built a very nice bed set that's a wedding dowry gift. But he made it from jungle wood and he stained it so it looks like it was a high-class wood but it was third class wood, cheap wood.  It may look like it was mahogany or something so then the young bride groom to be saw and he said look at my beautiful daughter I am giving you beautiful bed set and so many things so he said alright it’s a good deal and the hand of the daughter of the miser was given to this poor son in law and they were living they were happy in their life. But as time went on the bed started to fall apart, the wood started to bend. ESHHH. Things fell down so he was hopeless Couldn't sleep on the bed anymore and the husband was too poor to buy the new bed.

So, he started to preach to his wife, I think we should renounce beds. What's the use of these beds? Anyway, they are so artificial. We can sleep on the ground on a nice grass mat, close to nature. Let's be renounced. You get the story?

This is a Bengali story.

It's an analogy, every one of those characters represents some philosophical point. Who does that poor son represent?

He is one of those people who wants to renounce the things that he is saying he is suffering from, false renouncer. He has no choice his bed fell apart. His bed is already a failure so now he is saying let’s renounce the bed.

So Prabhupāda said someone is not happy in their family life then they say I want to renounce this.

Just like this man who wants to renounce his bed. What's the sense of renouncing you are already unhappy? That's not renunciation and these people renounce like that and later they see something Oh, maybe I might be happy with somebody else.

So, Lord Caitanya, He said this type of artificial renunciation means Markaṭa Vairāgya. Markaṭa means monkey and vairāgya means renunciation. Monkey Renunciation. They look like they are renounced but they are big sense gratifiers. So rather we should do things for a higher purpose not just give up things if we don't like it. We give up the result of activities for higher purpose for Kṛṣṇa. We have to do our duty. We give the result of that duty to Kṛṣṇa. This way one gets closer and closer to Kṛṣṇa.

This morning I was talking about how lord Balarāma left the battlefield of Kurukṣetra because he saw that there was going to be a massacre. He decided to visit the Holy places so he travelled over India and visited the Holy places and by visiting them he purifies them.

Even Balarāma he went to Māyāpur in Nabadvīpa dhāma, and there the brāhmaṇas approached Him and told that we are being threatened and tortured by this demon called Mayāsura.

So as a Kṣatriya, Balarāma is playing the part of Kṣatriya, it's his duty to protect the brāhmaṇas. There is also a saying that varṇāśrama works as a family that kṣatriyas protect the brāhmaṇas and other weaker sections.

So, the Balarāma is the Supreme Lord but He is playing the part of kṣatriya that time. So, then He went and told to Mayāsura to leave the brāhmaṇas and go away. But the Mayāsura attacked Him. There was a big battle. They are fighting back and forth. They dug a big lake in the ground, a big indentation because of all the fighting. Then the Mayāsura demon started to bleed and he filled the lake up with his blood and he passed away and that the holy place is still there in the Navadvīpa dham by the Jalaṅgī river called Māyāmārī math or the field where Mayā was liberated Mayāsura. Balarāma Ki Jai!!!

So, like that all the avatars including Lord Balarāma visited Nabadvīpa-dhāma. Navadvīpa dhāma is not different from Vṛndāvana. All of the Holy places are there within Navadvīpa. Different avatāras also visited.

Lord Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Varāha deva, Nṛsiṁhadeva, Lord Śiva, Nārada Muni and Śrī Rāma Candra who else, everybody lives there. Four Kumāras, Lakṣmī devī they all appeared there. Now we are coming into today is the last of Balarāma’s appearance day.

Today is also the last day of Jhūlana-yātrā the swing festival for Rādhā and Mādhava. And eight days from today is for Kṛṣṇa ‘s appearance and then 15 days after that is Rādhārāṇī’s appearance.

So, all these days are very special. Everyday has so many glories mentioned in the śāstras. Nectar of Devotion says how by serving Janmāṣṭamī we can get the spontaneous devotion for the Lord. No one should ever say i am going to renounce Janmāṣṭamī. That's not renunciation. Renounce sense gratification but never renounce such spiritual sacrifices like observing Janmāṣṭamī.

Glories of Rādhārāṇī’s is also given in scriptures. Once there was a lady who was a very sophisticated lady, modern lady. Even though this happened many thousands of years ago. She was well travelled, she travelled around the world. She lived by herself and she had many friends.

So, by Vedic culture she was not considered a very pious lady because she had many material habits but she had a good heart. She will go and visit temples and things. She had a religious interest also but she was actually accumulating more bad karmas then good karmas. One day she went to a Kṛṣṇa temples and saw they were having flowers and flags and all kinds of preparations.

She said’ What's happening?’

They asked you don't know?

She said ‘No’. Tomorrow is Rādhāṣṭamī, the appearance of the dearmost devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Why don't you stay and help us prepare for Rādhāṣṭamī? So being a good-hearted person, she agreed to their invitation and she was helping in making a garland and decorated temple. She was having a good time and the next day they observed Rādhāṣṭamī. They had kīrtanas and dancing they give glories of Rādhārāṇī. The temple was well decorated very nicely and they did abhiṣeka of Rādhārāṇī. Very nice festival and many different aspects to it and as a result of observing that Rādhāṣṭamī that lady when she died and she was being taken for judgement, for observing the Rādhāṣṭamī she was freed and allowed to go back to Godhead.

Even Rādhāṣṭamī is worth something like the incredible huge number of Ekādaśīs, I forget how many like hundreds and thousands of Ekādaśīs. The result you get by observing Rādhāṣṭamī is worth hundreds and thousands of Ekādaśīs.  Of course, if there is any devotee who renounces Rādhāstami, not much hope for them. How can they get love for Kṛṣṇa if the greatest devotee of Kṛṣṇa is neglected?

So, these Holy days are actually great opportunities for us to make a quick advancement. Today, Balarāma’s appearance day is also a very special holy day which can give all of you a lot of special blessings. So, take advantage of these festival days Balarāma Pūrṇimā, Janmāṣṭamī, Rādhāstami of course Prabhupāda’s Vyāsa Pūjā, very special days.

How many of you want some special mercy?

Haribol!!!

I was once asking Prabhupāda about some of these months of Dāmodara what I can do as a devotee you know to get more mercy in the month of Dāmodara and Prabhupāda said that, ‘Well śāstras give many bonus points for this month many many benedictions ‘but that’s for attracting new customers for attracting many special benedictions, mercies, blessings. But that's mainly to attract new customers, new clients like in a store get new clients like a store has a special sale 50 percent off, all must go, Prabhupāda said that regular customers are coming anyway. The idea is to attract new customers.

So, you are already a regular customer. The temple devotees they are practicing 365 days of the year all the days they are practicing Kṛṣṇa Consciousness and they get automatically all the holy days and all the observances. But the people living in their homes and they only have a certain time they can spend in the temple. Then if they spend some time at a special festival they are understand to gain more. Right? Specially you can enthusiast new people. Oh, you should go this time to get some special mercy.

So, this is special mercy then that we all came here today and it is a very sacred day. Had some nice association with so many different devotees. Lord Caitanya stressed as how we should have association with devotees. The number of devotees to go on increasing.

So Prabhupāda saying here sacrifice for one’s purification of the heart, the advancement in spiritual science should never be given up.  Those things we have to go on doing. So If something is purifying us we shouldn't be giving up. Something is helping us to advance in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness we shouldn't be giving it up. Of course, unless what we want to do is more purifying, more helpful.

So, devotees in the congregation have lot of options about what they can do in their time. By their volunteer use their time to serve Kṛṣṇa to attend the Bhakti Saṅga group and so on then this is actually very pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. If they voluntarily trying to bring other people to Kṛṣṇa then naturally Kṛṣṇa will reciprocate. That's the secret of success.

Any questions?

Devotee: So, Guru Mahārāja here we are talking about artificial renunciation, but we have seen sometimes people are discussing something that hasn't given up.

How can we help them to come to Kṛṣṇa Consciousness?

Jayapatākā Swami: So that’s the point is that if you are going for something higher just giving up in itself doesn't means you are making spiritual advancement. If you are giving up for a higher purpose then it's alright. If someone gives up i am not giving up sense gratification here and I am getting more sense gratification there, it's not very spiritual.

So, if we give something up for a higher purpose that's alright. We really have a taste, develop the taste first.  Because If we don't have a taste and you renounce something which you think you don't like it and later on you see something you think you like and you will take that.

The Kūrma-brāhmaṇa told Lord Caitanya he wanted to renounce his family, his money and everything and go with Lord Caitanya. He didn't say I want to go with you because i love you, i want to spread the harināma and I want to see the world delivered. He said I don't like my family, life is too much headache, too much problem, i want to go with you to have a good time and travel around as a sannyāsī.

Lord Caitanya said never say that again, i don't want to hear that from you again. He said yāre dekho tāre kaho… Whoever you meet you tell them the message of Kṛṣṇa. So, Lord Caitanya ordered him to stay back and preach from his house. Raghunātha Dāsa, he wanted to go also but Lord Caitanya told him to go back and preach from his house. But in the end, he got the mercy of Lord Nityānanda. By Lord Nityānanda’s mercy, Raghunātha Das could approach Lord Caitanya.

So always do things for a higher purpose. Get also the mercy of Guru and Kṛṣṇa. There were some devotees who i asked me to give some advice and don't know who the guru was and how to find or choose the guru. How many people have that question?

Not so many. How many, one two, three. Then you could go and is Kṛṣṇa around, somebody could read that i have 15 points in my copy down you can get it from my room. Take a note of those points down and hopefully they will help you to decide. So if i give a class i was suggested to give a class tomorrow morning and then go. You all will be here for class tomorrow morning. I will give an early class from 6-7. Is that better? How many wanted to participate in the japa workshop?

So, it's better if everybody take rest early. You get all kinds of mercy today from Lord Balarāma and pañca-tattva and the Holy Name. This is a new month by the Kṛṣṇa Conscious population and the new month starts. You didn't come up here after this class. Those have this question. Bring a paper pencil copy down. I will chant a few rounds and will stay here and chant for a while and few people will be listening me still.

Thank you very much.

Haribol!

Transcribed By: Neetu, Reading, United Kingdom

Completed On: 16th December, 2020