20200619 Zoom Session with Middle East Devotees

20200619 Jayapatākā Swami Guru Maharaj, Zoom Address on Prophecy Of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura On Congregational Development, To Damodardesh And Other Desh Devotees, from Śrī Māyāpur Dham, India.

 Thank you all deshwasis. First, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my prayer to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Pañca Tattva, Rādhā Mādhava Aṣṭa Sakhi, Māyāpur Candra, Prahlāda Nṛsiṁhadeva, Jagannath Baladeva Subadra Sudarśana Cakra, and His Divine Grace Abhay Caran Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Śrī Śrī Nitāi Gaurāṅga, if They so please, allow Bhakti Cāru Swami’s health to recover and allow him to stay with him for some more time. He went to the west to encourage the preachers, but he fell ill. So, he had the COVID-19 corona virus. So, we hope that by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy he can somehow recover.

 Today we are having a class on the predictions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had predicted many things. He said that someone would come and spread the message of Lord Caitanya from continent to continent. This was in the 1800s and at that time there were no airplanes, only ships. Going from one continent to another was not so easy. But he predicted that someone would come and he would easily go from one continent to next.

So Śrīla Abhaycaran Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda was the one who first manifested this prediction. He also predicted that people will come from different countries to participate in the Navadvīpa parikrama. And that they would congregate together with their Indian brothers and they would embrace them and they would say Jai Śacīnandana! Gaurāṅga!

And they would not have prejudice of caste, creed, color, nationality, etc. So, this was realized by devotees who came from all over the world, have done the Navadvīpa parikrama and met with the vaiṣṇava devotees from India. So, like that, he made many predictions. And both of them were fulfilled by His Divine Grace Abhay Caran Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. He said that in Russia and France, England, different devotees would be playing on mṛdaṅga and karatālas and chanting the holy names. And that also came true. So, like this, many predictions he made, all of them came true! His disappearance day comes on the next Sunday. So, we are going to celebrate there and you are also welcome you to participate. We are going to sing the namahatta song. I will give the translation and purport:

Nadīyā Godrume Nityānanda Mahajan, pātiyāche namahatta jīvera kāraṇa

Translation: In the land of Nadia on the island of Godruma, the magnanimous Lord Nityānanda has opened up the marketplace of the Holy Name, meant for the deliverance of all fallen souls.

 By Nadia, they mean Navadvīpa and it has nine islands. Simantadvip, Godrumadvip, Madhyadvip, Koladvip, Ritudvip, Jahnudvip, Modadrumdvip, Rudradvip and Antardvip. And so Nityānanda started the namahatta in Godrumdvip. One of the nine islands of Navadvīpa. And this is the island connected with kīrtana. The first island is śravaṇa. Second is kīrtana, third is meditation, like that each island is connected to one of the sevas of bhakti.

Namahatta was established by Lord Nityānanda and different gṛhasthas mainly, they had formed different groups and some of the groups were temples and some were just groups. So, in this way, people chanted the holy names and followed the principles laid down by Lord Nityānanda. Lord Caitanya is combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

And Balarāma had come as Nityānanda. Balrama hoilo Nitāi. So, we take the mercy of Lord Nityānanda in order to understand Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. So, Lord Caitanya brought Lord Nityānanda and sent Him to give out the Harinām. So, the rural namahatta may have 25 or 50 or 75 devotees. So, the urban version of the namahatta is the bhakti vṛkṣa, which are small groups of 10 or 15 persons, which can fit into an apartment. And it is namahatta in villages and in cities it is bhakti vṛkṣa. Bhakti vṛkṣa means small group and namahata may be small or bigger.

And in this namahatta was given by Lord Nityānanda so that everyone could participate in chanting the holy name. Chanting the holy name, that is the sacrifice mentioned for the age. And by chanting the holy name, we become purified. And we are able to give out the holy name to others.

 Sradhavana jana he sradhavana jana he,pati āche namahatta jīvera kāraṇa

 prabhura ajnay bhāi māgi ei bhikṣā, bolo Kṛṣṇa bhajo Kṛṣṇa koro Kṛṣṇa śikṣā.

Translation:

O people of faith! O people of faith! By the order of Lord Gaurāṅga O brothers, I beg these three requests of you: Chant, Kṛṣṇa, worship Kṛṣṇa, and teach others about Kṛṣṇa.

 This is the order of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu – chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Bolo Kṛṣṇa. So, He personally chanted and He taught others to chant. Individually it is japa and in a group, kīrtana. Somehow or another, they say the name of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, because He is the Absolute Truth and there is no difference between His name and Himself. And somehow by chanting the holy name, one can gradually reach pure chanting. So, He said, that we should chant the name of Kṛṣṇa, and worship or serve Kṛṣṇa. Bhajo Kṛṣṇa, means serve Kṛṣṇa, worship Kṛṣṇa. He taught, yukta vairāgya. That the activity one does on a daily basis, they can also be offered to Kṛṣṇa. Just like one eats, so you prepare bhoga, offer to Kṛṣṇa and eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam.

In fact, all the activities can be dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa. And devotees spend their time everyday chanting kīrtana.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare,

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare!

Whoever we see, we try to tell them something about Kṛṣṇa. Jāre dekho tāre kāho Kṛṣṇa upadesh. This was the order of Lord Caitanya. And we find now in this pandemic time people are very receptive about getting knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā etc. So, we want to also participate in this yagna of Lord Caitanya. And it is not difficult to chant the holy names. To take Kṛṣṇa prasādam and to tell others how nice the chanting is. People don’t know about the holy name, but if they actually chant, they can feel the unlimited happiness.

So, Lord Nityānanda, He is the main distributor and He engaged everyone in this service of saṅkīrtana. So, we are very happy that Lord Nityānanda has established the namahatta and gave all of us a chance to serve Kṛṣṇa.

Aparādha śūnya hoye loho Kṛṣṇa nāma, Kṛṣṇa mata Kṛṣṇa pitā Kṛṣṇa dhana prāṅ

 Translation:

Being careful to remain free of offenses; just take the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is your mother, Kṛṣṇa is your father, and Kṛṣṇa is the treasure of your life.

 We know that by chanting the holy name there are ten offences, and we should avoid those ten offences. The first offence is to offend a devotee who is glorifying the holy name. That is the most serious. But there are also nine other offences. So, one should avoid all those offences. We understand that Kṛṣṇa is the origin of everything. Therefore, He is our Father, He is our Mother, like our wealth, our treasure and our very life and soul! So, if we did not have sunlight we would die.

So Kṛṣṇa gives us the sunlight, for electricity you have to pay the electric company. How much do you pay for sunlight?

So, we also owe Kṛṣṇa for the sunlight. That is why we should chant the holy name. And this is the payment for all the things that Kṛṣṇa gives us. Not only sunlight, moonlight, fire, water, and so He gives us everything we have. So, we should be attentive, we should reciprocate with the Lord. Those who are faithful people, they appreciate what the Lord is giving us. And they want to repay the Lord. And in every yuga there is a sacrifice. In the Satya yuga there is the sacrifice of meditation.

In Tretā yuga the sacrifice is homa yagna. And in Dvāpara yoga the sacrifice was temple worship. And also, the Lord He was personally present. In Kali yuga, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the yuga dharma. Kalau tad hari kīrtanād. In the Kali yuga, it is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā mantra.

So, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we realize that all our life, everything is devoted to Kṛṣṇa. So, we want to serve Kṛṣṇa with whatever we have. That way, we are not thieves, we are actually devotees of the Lord. So, like this, this song is very small but very sweet. And how the offensive chanting, nāmābhāsa, clearing chanting and offense less chanting of shuddha nāma. So, we want to chant, clearing all offences. That means simply chanting for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa.

Lakṣmī devī said, you don’t have to ask Kṛṣṇa to fulfill our material desires. He is antaryāmī, He knows what we want. Simply chant to please Him and He will give us whatever we want. But He sees whether one is ready for it. Next verse.

 Krnera saṁsāra kori cāri anacar, jīva doyā Kṛṣṇa nam sarva dharma sar

 Translation:

Giving up all sinful activities, carry on your worldly duties only in relation to Kṛṣṇa. The showing of compassion to other souls by loudly chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is the essence of all forms of religion.

 So here family life, centered on Kṛṣṇa is recommended. We should give up the prohibited or forbidden items. Like, taking intoxication or eating meat, gambling, extra marital and illicit sex. That way have to give up the anacar. And try to engage everything in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Kṛṣṇa is manasā deho geho jo kichu mor, arpilu tuā pade Nanda Kishore – whatever I have, my body, my house, my family, whatever I have, I offer in the service of Kṛṣṇa. So that way, we offer everything in the service of Kṛṣṇa, that is Kṛṣṇa saṁsāra. And so that is what Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is recommending. That we make a Kṛṣṇa-centered life, and give up the forbidden activities.

So, this way we are living with Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa, He understands what we want. And gives us and fulfills our desires. But if we only want to serve the Lord and please the Lord, that is the best. Then we can go back to the spiritual world at the end of our life. But if we want material things, that is very easy for Kṛṣṇa to give. But temporary things, they are temporary, they don’t last! When we can get something everlasting, why should we take something temporary?

So, Lord Caitanya went to Jagannath Purī and He sent Lord Nityānanda back to Bengal. He said, I have not finished the work. You should go and finish it. Lord Nityānanda went to Bengal and on the order of Lord Caitanya, He accepted the gṛhastha āśrama. And there He established the namahatta. Now in the Middle East we are also having the namahatta, bhakti vrska. And so, this is the mercy of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, through Śrīla Prabhupāda. So, in this way, one can practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness in their house. So, we want to also give some time for question and answer. So, I think you can put your questions in the chat box.

Question from Omkar Das and Yadurāṇī Dāsī mātājī: Daṇḍavat prāṇam maharaj at your lotus feet. (Guru maharaj: Thank you!)

This bhakti vṛkṣa work for new devotees. However, in our movement we have so many young people who grew up in the movement, but as adults even after having tasted the nectar all their lives, are not practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness actively. They may in their hearts love Kṛṣṇa, but they don’t chant and participate in ISKCON activities. How do we “preach” to them?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: You see, many people they may know about Kṛṣṇa but they are not active in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So, the thing is you present to them, they can be actually be happy, blissful, ecstatic, by practicing the aspects of Kṛṣṇa bhakti. Everyone is working to be happy. But they think that the dharma does not make them happy. They think that dharma means rules and regulations. That is why Rūpa Goswami advised that somehow or another, we get the people to practice bhakti yoga and to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, and later we give them rules and restrictions. What is done lots of time, is first we give the rules and regulations and then they think I cannot be happy by following all those rules and restrictions. But our process is different. We try to help them experience the happiness of serving Kṛṣṇa. So, this chanting of the holy name is so blissful! So, if people they taste the happiness, then we can later on give them the rules and regulations. It is a secret.

Devotee: Guru maharaj, in the bhajan, what is the qualification of sradhavan jana?

How does he act?

Does he act blindly on blind faith?

What are the qualifications for shradava jana?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: In this song there is a line that says shradavan jana he shradavana jana – that means the faithful people. Some people are faithful and some are atheistic. And the atheist they don’t believe in God, they don’t believe anything. So faithful people believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But they don’t know how to serve the Lord. They may not know. So, we want them to learn how to serve the Lord. So, we go especially the faithful people, not the pāṣaṇḍīs.

 Devotee: From Zoom, we have Yagna Sītā who is asking, our intention is to preach more and more, but sometimes we offend devotees who are creating hindrances in our preaching activities. How do we avoid this?

Or sometimes we take offence to those hindering our preaching activities. How can we avoid these?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: What you consider an obstacle to your preaching, I am trying to understand your question there.

 Devotee: Maharaj, obstacle here is specially when devotees are hindering their preaching or being offensive. I guess it is related to disagreement between devotees and that kind of hindrance in preaching.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: What type of hindrance? How do they hinder? I don’t understand. If you are telling someone about Kṛṣṇa, and they say KṚṢṆA IS NOT GOD! Is this hindrance.

 Devotee: The mātājī has clarified it by saying, in some places we are preaching and another preacher comes and starts preaching there. So I guess it is another devotee hindering a devotee’s preaching.

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Seems like a management issue. You see, like in New York city there is a street where many Brazilians go and one store had a doorman who was very against devotees. A devotee stood in front of his store and tried to see a book, a Bhagavad-gītā. He came out, he took the book and threw it and jumped on it and said, these people are BAD! That was a hindrance. So, Christmas came. Devotees would run past that store, not in front.

In Christmas, they give out Christmas cookies. So, one distributor saw that this doorman was watching him give out cookies to people. So, then he gave a cookie to the doorman. He ate it. He came out to the devotee and asked him, do you have more? Yes, take it. Then he ate it! Very good! And in the future, if someone came, he would walk up and say, these are good people, BUY A BOOK! BUY A BOOK! Yes sir, yes sir, they would say. That is what you call hindrance and you make a hindrance into a favor. But if you are preaching, someone else comes and they preach, what is the problem? If a person preaches and the end product is that he or she is more Kṛṣṇa conscious, then that is good!

Any question?

 Devotee: When is a devotee qualified to start a bhakti vṛkṣa? If a bhakti vṛkṣa has more than 15 devotees, but they are not ready to form small bhakti vṛkṣas, what can be done? Your insignificant servant, Anantaranga Caitanya das.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: You see, there is a coordinator of the bhakti vṛkṣa groups and he or she can say what the qualifications are for someone to be a bhakti vṛkṣa leader. Usually, one becomes an assistant servant leader of a bhakti vṛkṣa group. The bhakti vṛkṣa servant leader has an intern servant leader. So, when they divide the group into two, the assistant servant leader becomes the next leader. So, if a leader appoints you as an assistant servant leader, then he trains you up, gradually you lead the group. He watches you; he trains you and when he feels you are ready, the group splits into two and you are the next leader. But sometimes, some groups have two or three leaders. Two or three groups. Maybe they become 21 and they make three groups of 7 each. Maybe the group leader becomes a sector leader. Sector leader oversees 3 to 5 bhakti vṛkṣa groups. So, you can talk to the servant leader and see what you have to learn to become a leader yourself.

 There was a break in audio video at the end.