20021228 Hall Program Address

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on December 28, 2002 – in Gold Cost, Australia.

It’s ginger nectar. I wasn’t sure if there was something that you’d like to read from or if amongst the devotees had something they wanted or question and answers or something to read.

Jayam, Can you hear in the back? You want to move closer? You can’t. I won’t bite anybody. Any room up here? Some ladies to come up here.

Oh, that’s jazz. It.

When Lord Caitanya was having his pastimes as Nimai Paṇḍita, it said that he would sit by the side of the Ganges and he would be surrounded by hundreds and thousands of students of disciples. And older students would be teaching the younger. Sometimes or sometimes he’d speak and at all this. And people go by and they were just. It looked like he was golden like the moon and they all looked like stars all around him. The cream of the students. Now that the best students went to his school, what they used to call Sanskrit tol, kind of like academy. But he had a personal relationship with each of the students. If a student came and if they ever forgot to wear t lock, they were in big trouble. Then he would call them up, you don’t have tilak.

Since all the students were Brahmins, they all had to do their morning puja first. And so in order to do puja, I mean, they had to bathe and they had to put tilak and then do their puja and then come to the class. Kind of like in some of our schools, you have all the students come for the dini greeting and then go to class. Some places they do like that in a lab show. So he had. He called the student up and said, where’s your tilak? That means, what kind of Brahmin are you? You haven’t obviously, you didn’t take your morning bath. You didn’t do your puja. Maybe they just spaced out and put the tilak. But he took it well. Anybody who was responsible if they did all those things that have tilak on, she must have not done anything.

So he’d send them back home and say, go back home and do your puja. Come back, take your shower and come back with your tilak. So for the children, it was quite embarrassing to be singled out like that. But he was. He said to see a devotee’s face without tilak, it’s like seeing some type of, they said, like burning ghat or something, like a slaughterhouse. Sometimes when Lord Chaitanya, he would walk down as a Nimai Pandit, he’d walk down the street Then some of the other associates were afraid to. The other pandits would run away, they’d hide, because they were all afraid of Nimai Pandit. He was such a good debater that he come out very humbly and say, oh, my dear professor, my dear sir, please, I want to ask you one question. You’re a very learned pandit.

And it was all being set up because once he would ask them a question, then he’d probably ask such a question, they wouldn’t know the answer. And then he would tell the answer, or if they knew the answer, then he would disprove their answer and then prove it again. And then somehow in the end, they knew they were going to lose in this exchange. So the best thing was just to avoid getting caught by Nimai Pandit. So as soon as they looked before going out of their house, said, look, is the coast clear? So one day, Garadha Prabhuhiwa just came out of his house, and he hadn’t looked anywhere. And then he was on the street. There was Nimai Pandit. Oh, no. Ade Garadhar Prabhu, why you’re not coming to our academy, to our school? We’re missing you. He said, okay, I am stuck. Anyway.

He said, well, your academy is mainly teaching of Sanskrit grammar, and I am interested in learning Sanskrit poetry. So therefore, I am studying from another pandit and I am learning poetry. Then they might ponder and said, well, we also know a little poetry. We can teach you poetry. Well, let’s hear some poetry you have learned in your other school. Oh, no. So then Gadatha repeated some poetry, and then Nimaipandi Torah apart, He said, you should come to. So then Kadata accepted, okay, I will go to your school. So like this, you know, one by one, kind of Nimai Pandit was capturing all the students by hook or by crook, by a different na na ho or my crook, but somehow or another by debates. Sometimes when my Pandit would walk on the street, everybody just came out to watch him.

It was like a whole him and his students. It was a real sight. It was kind of reminded, like when Lord Krishna would come back from the fields. Then everybody would come out and watch him come back with the cowherd boys and the cows. Well, after school was over, when Nimay Pandit would come with his students down the road, people would just come and watch him. It was like the afternoon Leela. And sometimes they go by a flower stand and the flower man would just come out and offer Nimaya Pandit a garland. So this is my best garland I want to give to you. Then they walk by and they maybe go by a cloth stand and the storekeeper come out and offer him the best doti he had. Please take this doughty.

They walk by a milk products stand and someone come and give him a pot of sun dish. So it was like people were just spontaneously coming and offering service. So then they went by, they walked by and there was an astrologer. So then Lord Chaitanya asked the astrologer, can you tell me what was I in my previous birth? I would like to know. So then the astrologer took his hand and then he went into meditation. But then when he was deep in meditation, then he saw Varaha, Matsya, Kurma, all these different avatars. He’s like, what am I seeing? What’s going on? He saw Lord Ramchandra. So he was seeing the different incarnations of God from the previous millenniums. Then he was seeing Lord Ra and he was seeing Krishna. So he was astonished, how am I seeing all these different incarnations?

And he might ponder, could you tell me who was I in my previous life? What are you seeing? And then he just kind of looked amazed at Lord Shaitan, like, what am I seeing? All I am seeing is avatars. And he ran into his room and said, well, I can’t say anything today, I am sorry. It’s not a problem.

So.

When the Lord came as Lord Chaitanya, he didn’t come. He didn’t proclaim himself to be an avatar. He didn’t proclaim himself to be an incarnation. He came in disguise as a devotee. But first he went through a whole educational, academic, pastime. But then when his father had passed away, he went to Gaya in order to perform. There’s a rite that in Vedic culture you can perform for a deceased loved one or forefather, which is called Pindi or Sradha. And in this ceremony you offer some worship to God, you offer some foodstuffs to the Lord, some sacrament. And then you offer that foodstuff to the departed soul. You offer the results of the worship to the departed soul. So that’s like sending a care package.

Now that person may have taken birth, maybe even in a not a very good situation, or they may be in some difficult times. And by performing this worship, they’re getting a good big bundle of free good karma. That can make all the change, all the difference for them in the next life. Could even save them from a very difficult situation, could free them from unfortunate birth, could elevate them. So this ceremony of Pindi is normally performed. Especially people would go to the place called Gaya in Bihar. After the first. On the first anniversary of the person’s demise. So Lord Chaitanya went to Gaia and there he happened to meet Ishwarpuri Maharaj who was his spiritual. Now Ishwarpuri had visited the house of Lord Chaitanya and had talked with his father Jagannath Misra on some occasion. So they already knew each other.

They knew that he was a pure devotee and everything. So now when he just happened to meet him again in Gaya, he decided he wanted to take initiation from his father had passed away. He was a bona fide spiritual master known to them. So he wanted to take initiation. So he requested to please give me any ship. So then he said, this is the only way that I can be saved from a cycle of birth and death. If I take initiation from bona fide spiritual master. So then he was given initiation. Afterwards he went to the Vishnupad temple. This is a very ancient temple in a previous millennium. Vishnu had put his headstep there and put his footprints. So these are the actual footprints of the supreme Lord. So those footprints in a petrified stone, they built a whole temple around it.

So it’s called the Vishnu Pada temple. Vishnu means lord Vishnu supreme lord. And Pada means the lotus feet. So it’s the temple to the lotus feet of the Lord. There’s no deity there. The Devi is the lotus footprint. I am giving a reduced version, not the most extended version. So Lord Chaitanya was chanting there and dancing. And he was very ecstatic because he just got initiation. He was really chanting and dancing wonderfully. But they said I was watching him. So then he said, okay, let’s do the puja for my father. So they went and first they did. They offered the bhoga. But then when Lord Chaitanya Percy did an Abishek. Abishek means bathing the lotus feet with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and nectar. At that time, doing this personal service for the Lord is feet. He started to manifest loving symptoms.

Tears were coming to his eyes and hairs were standing on him. And then after that was finished and they offered all the results to his father. And he was again chanting. He just ran out and he ran across the river of Banda. It’s called the Falgu River. And he just said, I am going to Vrindavan. Vrindavan Bihari Lal Krishna ki Harib or going to Vrindavan. Vrindavan is the place of Krishna’s childhood pastime. Quite some distance, maybe from there it’s about 8, 900 kilometers to the northwest. As he was running, a voice came from the sky telling him stop. You can’t go to Vrindavan now. You’re supposed to go back to Navadip and start the Sankirtan movement. Later you can go to Vrindavan. He was going off the script.

He was a little anxious to get to Vrindavan Yoga Maya and reminded him how the Leela’s go. Then he went back to Mayapur. On the way he stopped in Can I not Shalom. That’s a whole other pastime. When he got back to Navaddy, everybody was amazed that he was a completely changed person. Instead of being the biggest debater and super academician, now he was like very humble. He was serving all the devotees. He go to the Ganges and help the elderly Vaishnava devotees into the Ganges water, help the old people to take their bath. He’d request to have please give me a blessing. So every Vaiava was blessing and may you be a super preacher and may your message spread all over the world. May your preaching liberate unlimited people. May your preaching help even the most unfortunate people.

Everyone was giving hands, showering him with different blessings. He was gathering all these blessings from the elderly Brahmanas, serving them. Now when he taught his students, every time he was explaining a lesson from Sanskrit grammar or Sanskrit education, he would use a Kṛṣṇa conscious example. All the grammar was used with names of Kṛṣṇa. All the examples were using different concepts of Kṛṣṇa. So the students, they got kind of worried what’s going on here? Because everything suddenly became overnight Krishna. So they went to one of his teachers and complain that it looks like Nimai Pandit lost his edge. That he’s not the same anymore. He’s not, you know, the big fighter. He seems to be very humble and he’s not arguing the same way. And I don’t know, it seems like he lost his academic edge. So then.

Ganga Das, one of his Sanskrit teachers came and spoke to see him and said, what’s this I hear that you have lost your Brahminical quality to be able to defend that philosophy? What do you mean? I can still argue according to logic perfectly. I will tell you. I  will go the first Brahmin I see, I  will defeat him. I will take whatever his point is, I will defeat it. Then again, I will re establish it by logic. Then again, using logic, I will defeat it again. I am the same in my Pandit. Nothing has changed. So they went out to see. But it so happened that the first person walking along happened to be the brother of Shivaj Thakur Sri Rampandit. And he was singing a song about Kṛṣṇa. He was singing how Kṛṣṇa is so merciful. Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of mercy.

Because even when the witch Putana there was a witch that came, put poison on her breast and disguised herself, changed her form into a beautiful woman. And she came with a very motherly affection to the mother of Krishna Yasoda. And said, let me. I feel so much motherly affection. I am overwhelmed with motherly affection for your child. My breasts are flowing with milk just to feed him. I just want, you know, somehow she put on this whole drama. And so they thought, well, this lady has so much motherly affection for her son. And they gave Krishna to this witch. She’s holding Krishna and showering all this affection. Oh you beautiful boy, you sweet child, I love you so much. And so she was putting a whole motherly act down because she was acting like a mother.

Krishna blessed her that she could take the position of one of his mothers in the spiritual world even for acting. But actually she was just putting on a big show so she could poison Krishna and kill him. But when she fed her, when Krishna took her breast in her mouth since she wanted to kill him. Then Krishna reciprocated and killed her. And just sucked her life air out from her breast. And then she said leave me child, leave me. Trying to pull him off, but she couldn’t. She passed it. She died. So Krishna reciprocated even with some kind of like false motherly affection which was just to win confidence to kill him. He reciprocated and made her a mother in the spiritual world. So what to speak of any devotee who has even a little bit of affection to Kṛṣṇa.

A little bit of love for Kṛṣṇa. How much Kṛṣṇa  will reciprocate with that? But then Lord Chaitanya, when heard this song he thought that look at even this witch Putana. She got the mercy. But look at me, I have not even an ounce of love for Kṛṣṇa. I have no devotion for Krishna. So watch Krishna reciprocate with me. And like he got totally into this very humble and very just surrendered mood. And he started to think that how Kṛṣṇa is so merciful but I so cold hearted that I don’t have any devotion for Krishna. And he was just starting to roll on the ground and pull his hair and cry for Krishna and how Krishna is so merciful. And he’s so fallen. And all the students are looking and they’re shaking their heads and they say it’s not the same.

Obviously something very big changed here. So then when Lord Chaitanya got himself together, he called all the students and they went to the side of the Ganges. And then he had a heart to heart talk with all of them. He told, look it, I have all along taught you the very best that I knew as your teacher. I taught you whatever. The best education that I had acquired, I gave to all of you. I imparted to all of you. Now I have taken initiation from Ishwar Puri Maharaj. Now I realized that Kṛṣṇa is a sama bono. There’s one supreme God. Everyone is his servant. Since I realized this, how can I cheat you? How can I mislead you? How can I give you less than what I know to be the absolute truth.

What I know to be the very top understanding of reality, of the truth. So therefore I have to tell you. I have also realized that in this age, if you chant the holy names of the Lord. This is the way of invoking the presence of the Lord and getting the maximum benefit. And like this, he gave them so many instructions. So then he said, anyway, I cannot mislead you. I am going to be teaching in this orientation now. Because this is what I realized to be the absolute truth. If you feel that you don’t want to remain as my students anymore because of this new realization that I have had. I am freeing you to leave me. And there will be no bad feelings. You’re free to go. Because you stay. Then I will be training you in this space.

The lead student stood up and said, dear Guru Ji, dear Nimay, dear Panditji, all along you have taught us the very best thing. This is the best academy. This is the best educational institution in the whole of Navadip. But you have never taught us before about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You never taught us about Harinam Sankhyata. So we didn’t know these things. So obviously it’s going to be shocking for us. But if you say that this is the best and you’re teaching us the best. All along we have believed in you. We have put our trust in you. And we have never been misled by that. So we also, we want to continue to follow you. We want to continue to take your instruction. But you should teach us then how to do this chanting. Because we don’t know it. You never taught us before.

So then Lord Chaitanya brought the devotees, Srivas Thakkur and other devotees to come and teach them how to do Sankirtan. So then pretty soon all the students, they learned how to do Kirta. And this way, the best students of Navadip, they all became Sankirtan devotees. So like this, the people, it was quite a big transition for them, quite sudden, actually. All happened very quickly. Once Lord Chaitanya came back, there was this very dynamic change after his initiation. He used that as the for manifesting his actual purpose of coming, which was to spread this congregational chanting of the holy names. So this congregational chanting, he personally taught by his own example how to do it. His followers were spreading the chanting. So his divine grace, AC Bhaktivedanta, Swami Prabhupada, brought to the Western world here, brought to Australia, the chanting of the holy names.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. The Srila Prabhupada, he wanted to give this mercy to the Western world. When he first landed in Boston, for two hours he walked in the Boston Commons, I guess you call it, and saw the people. And then he went back to his ship and the ship went to New York. But then he wrote a prayer, Markhan Bhagavata Dharma something. He wrote one poem. Shiva is explaining that, Krishna, why you brought me to this very passionate, materialistic place. These people here are in a mode of passion, ignorance, but they’re very proud about it when they think that’s the standard, that’s what you should do. But they’re suffering like anything. But in their suffering, they’re very proud that this is what life should be. They don’t realize there’s a whole other dimension to life. They don’t realize.

So how am I going to waken up these people who are totally in this frame to understand their spiritual nature, to understand that there’s the higher level of spiritual goodness. So he raised this dilemma. How am I going to do this? I need your mercy. But then Prabhupada answered his own question by regularly hearing and chanting the R Bhagavatam, a special scripture about Ka’s teachings. One awakens to their natural spiritual nature. So. And all the contaminations of materialism gradually get purified. So in this way, Prabhupada also quoted from the Bhagavatam and gave the answer. So he prayed that the police take me like a puppet and make me dance so that your  will be done, so that I can spread this message here to the people in this materialistic and very passionate, ignorant place where people are ignorant of their eternal nature.

They think that they’re the body. They don’t know that there’s something higher than the body, the real existence. So like this Prabhupada, he surrendered himself to the hands of Lord Chaitanya. And he very humbly and very determinedly spread the Sankirta movement. Of course, from the very beginning we always heard from Srila Prabhupada about Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So there was a total consistency from beginning to end. I am sure that Rla Prabhupada, he wanted his Grihastas to have nice houses and to be able to hold Kṛṣṇa conscious functions in the home. In a Caitanya Chaturita purport describing how Advaita Char used to regularly have periodic functions in his house. Then Prabhupada said that Grihasta should have kirtan for some time and then have reading of Bhagavad Gita or Srimad Bhagavatam or some scripture. And then they should have a little prasadam weight.

And this weight they should have regular Kṛṣṇa conscious functions and make their home into a kind of a center for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So this is what’s happening around the world is that we find so many Grihastas are having regular programs in their homes. And in this way they’re helping to spread the message to other people. Originally, Lord Chaitanya movement was all married people that were practicing. Almost 99%. Very few people were in the renounced order. Just a handful. Sukhlambar, Brahmachari and Navadip and about eight Sannyasis and Jagannathuri. And a few people were in the renowned. Otherwise most of the people were Grihastas. So the Grihastas would invite Lord Chaitanya over and they would feed him prasadam and they would invite other people. And this way they would also have functions. But in Avadi, more or less everybody was a Grihasta or a student.

Some were students and this way preaching what’s going on house to house, door to door. So we hope that also here door to door, house tower, people  will chant Hare Krishna and be happy. This is what’s happening now around the world. Many people are practicing their homes. But if anybody has any question or like to make share some pastime, I am sure the problem Hari Sri Pravu here I walk down I guess. Happy to hear another pastime. If you have a question. Ginger nectar, straw. Yes sir. What’s your name? Rajendra. You mentioned lo. Yes. I was wondering how relevant the learning of those sort of samskaras are to us as a body of birdies coming from the Western or I was thinking about that. It says, I mean for the renounced order we don’t.

Normally we don’t do it but for Grihastas normally they would do. Although I initiated the Grihastas if they have, if they’re fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa service, they don’t have to do it. I was thinking how really see the Vedic culture in this particular area has a monopoly which we have not utilized for preaching. I am sure that in this world there’s a lot of people like to do something for departed forefathers and Christian, Muslim and Buddhist they don’t have any system. I don’t think Jewish has a system either but I am not sure about that for doing something for our departed because they don’t even have in the Buddhism they believe in reincarnation but they don’t believe in sacrifice so they wouldn’t have that and the other since they’re not official believing in reincarnation then they won’t have a system like that either.

So we’re the only one that actually has a very specific system how to send good merit to a departed soul. They know many people, most people believe that the soul doesn’t die or they believe they are departed forefather is still alive somewhere. Reincarnation is quite commonly believed in today. I remember when I first went to America in 19. I mean when I first became a devotee in 1968 I read in the newspaper that something like 30% of Americans believed in reincarnation. But I think recently I saw something that 90% believe. I don’t know what the Australian statistics.

Are.

But just in talking with people, most people tell me I believe in reincarnation. They may not have a clue, a really clear concept what it is but in principle they believe so we could actually have a service that I don’t commercialize it really but more use it, really do it for the people do a real Hindi service whereby that way people at least come once in their life, once in a while they come and do a little service for Krishna, for their departed forefather. And this way they would also benefit and would help us to develop relationships with new people. Otherwise, otherwise we might not have access to. Now if a devotee is fully engaged in Kṛṣṇa service then their forefathers would also benefit from that. If they go back to Kṛṣṇa then 14 generations are liberated. But then.

Just like even Grihastas they give Christmas gifts or their birthday gifts to their parents. Why not a Pindi gift? If they have left, send them some nice gift. Now some people have distorted this whole system india and they think send the people whatever they liked. So if they like liquor, meat and things, okay, let’s offer that. But that is specifically described by the six Goswamis as sacrilegious. And it’s actually sending them bad karmas. It’s like totally antithesis of what’s supposed to be happening there. But the actual system is really benefiting the people. So I was thinking that even we could probably advertise or publicize. Once we get the system down, we have priests that can do it very nicely. We could perform that as a service for people.

It could earn a little support for the temples and it would help us to establish new relationships with people. And it’s a very nice preaching platform. But anyway, that’s just kind of an idea I had. I don’t know if it would interest anybody. The only time I have ever seen an actual Pindi ceremony done was at the death anniversary of Vasur of Govinda Ghosh. This particular ceremony is performed by Krishna Devi. Krishna Devi publicly proclaims that I have accepted my devotee as my father and I am his son. And when he dies on his death anniversary, I shall be taken to his tomb and I  will perform this Pindi ceremony for him. Sradha. So on the Kada Sea after Go Purnima. In the island of Agradvip, the ceremony is performed by the deity. And about 200,000 people come to see the stone de.

Come and perform the ceremony. And it’s quite. I was there and it was such a huge crush of people. And they don’t really have crowd management systems in place. I wanted to contribute to them crowd management, but I haven’t done it yet. But the local priest was very kind to me and he grabbed me and pulled me inside the room. So I was right there. While they were performing the ceremony, the deedee was seated on top of Govinda Ghosh’s samadhi. And there’s a system that what they call Pindi, it’s because they take some sesame, I don’t know what it is, maybe sesame, and rice balls, and they take and they drop it. You drop them and they fall and they form little mounds. So the mound is called Pindi in Sanskrit.

So they would take that and hold it to the hand of the deity and drop. So then there were the little Pindis forming under the Deity. They performed the whole ceremony. So I presume that’s the exact ceremony that other, you know, any child would perform for their father or any relative for a forefather. That’s the only time actually saw the ceremony. It was quite amazing. But seeing with the didi performing, I was totally overwhelmed because someone told me that at one point the deity  will turn white, becomes like human or something. I didn’t see that, but I definitely saw. I definitely felt like a vibration there where Krishna was becoming very personal and he became very soft at one point. But that’s something I felt. But maybe I blinked and missed some leelas that happened. It was.

Something really unforgettable for me, how the deity was coming and performing. All these people outside were wild to see, but nobody could hardly see what was going on inside. People were fighting to get to the window just to have a glimpse.

Yeah, it was there. He got really crushed.

I mean, there was one side where there were ladies. And I saw literally. I mean, it was like a roller derby match or something. It was unbelievable. There was. One lady was just holding on to watch, and the other lady is pulling her by the hair, trying to yank her out and get in to see. People were so wild to have a darshan. It was becoming a little bit beyond what you normally expect for some kind of a devotional situation. People were frantic. That’s why I thought they could have some kind of. More like in Tirupati, they put about a million people through there and matter of hours, hey, that’s another issue. But I was fortunate to be inside the storm. So I was very peaceful right in there. You were outside? Well, you can give your viewpoint from outside.

It was so crowded. And when we tried to get up to. I remember trying to get up to the front to get into the. Finally, when we made it near the front, we just got pushed, kind of just really pushed. You couldn’t even peek in and see anything. So then when I went around to a sidebar, there were women crawling on top of each other’s shoulders and then some. I think Hari Duani was there and someone cut her bag. But the other thing I remember, there’s so many shrouds. Someone sliced her little bag. Someone yelled, thief. And they all went on. I remember that they went with another guy.

I was in the Nectar. I didn’t. The whole almost near riot scene going outside, but inside it was. The Pujaris were very methodically doing. They’re chanting their mantras and things were going on, but unfortunately they didn’t have infrastructure for helping the people to participate or witness the very beautiful and very solemn ceremony that was going on inside. Although people had a tremendous desire to participate in that. Unfortunately very few people got that. I think my secretary got some pictures of it.

And brought it inside.

I have got it in one of the videos so you can see that you get an idea about what happens. I am sure that probably that Jay Chirthachar and he probably would know the whole family. We could find out. Did everybody else already take Persona? Is there a facade?

There’s. There’s cookies.

Cookies. Everyone want a cookie. I can give them out. Just some Vaishnav Sava. Meanwhile, any other question? I do have one question about the Vaishnav calendar. So about Gaddad Pandit’s disappearance. Generally we don’t. No other Panchatand’s disappearance day. Interesting. Nobody ever brought that up. We know that Lord Chaitanya, he never left any. Remnants. He just disappeared inside the deities. And also the Nithyananda also just kind of entered into a deity they say under Banki Rai at Ekachakra and Advaita also. He kind of. There’s different versions, but he also just went back to godhead without. Didn’t leave any body, didn’t leave any remnants to leave anything behind. The day that Gaddadhar Prabhu last was Jagannath Puri. That was probably a very well documented day. It was a big celebration and so people knew that particular day was recorded. I don’t know.

I never heard anything about Shivas. Most of the other associates. Many of the other associates. The day they left was recorded. The last person to leave was major, like really intimate associate. Lord Chaitanya was Narahari Thakur. When he left, it was like the end of a whole era. Was like to last associate. So everybody gathered and they had a one year anniversary of his disappearance. They all gathered for a very big celebration. They’re really feeling separation. It’s like I don’t know what happened when the last, you know, maybe Prabhupada disciple or something leaves the world. I don’t know if there’s anything that can compare with that. But it was because he stayed behind and he was really guiding and counseling a lot of the different. He was like a Siksha guru for many of the cryas like Shrinivas Crya.

They all kind of went to him and got some guidance from time to time. So when he left, it was a very big feeling of separation apart from everybody. So when they had one year anniversary disappearance festival, something really Amazing happened is that you know how they had a vyasa sadhg and they were worshiping the vyasa and those of them didn’t have photographs or anything. So they said the vyasa sign there and suddenly he just appeared on the vyasasa a year after his death. Everybody could come up to him, talk to him, get a blessing. I was thinking it was prabhupada that would do that for. But we don’t have that devotion.

They had so much devotion that somehow he came and for one morning he spent with them and then when they offered him the bogot when they opened the door again he was spot. So like them. Other associates they seem to have recorded. Many of them have recorded disappearance days and they have the samadhis and things where they left.

But.

There’s no samadhi for the tin prabhu. You come up and get shot of cookies and if you still have questions, I’d be happy to answer. But you can munch and listen. Ladies this side and men this side. One, two. How are you? Very well. One or two? One or two.

There.

There’s more cookies here if anybody wants.

Say thank you.

Thank you.

Grimar.

One or two? One, please.

Thank you.

Any other? Nobody else has it? Anybody else has a question? Otherwise you can all just socialize and then individually I answer question. If anybody has a philosophical question I can answer. You do it a year afterwards. Do you actually do the ceremony a year after. Year after anniversary? Sometimes you can have readings of Bhagavad Gita and offer the have Brahmins read a chapter of Bhagavad Gita and offer the result in the Padma Purana it mentions how somebody read the seventh chapter, Bhagavad Gita and offered to the departed Father and the Father was liberated. You can do more things too. In India there’s special Brahmanas you just go for feeding. You look at me. Look for Brahmins to feed for srada. So there’s like professional eaters, They just go and eat at strata ceremonies. Still got more cookies here. Thank you. Should I throw it?

Good catch. Anyone else? You can catch that fire? Yeah, I think so. Hope I can throw that fire. Anybody else? Any other question? Otherwise? Yes, sure.

Thank you.

Sure. Could you talk I don’t know very much about Krishna and my point of reference is more totally with Christ and so. Well, in Christianity there’s Father, Son and Holy Ghost. So we see that Son, Christ or such very good devotees, very good prophets, saints and good sons. Then there’s Holy Ghost is the super soul that Krishna has. The all pervasive form which is in everyone’s heart, in every atom, everywhere. So that’s the called the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. And then the father. So we see Vishnu is the form of the father. The Krishna is the original father. He says in the Bhagavad Gita Ahambija Pradha, I am the seed giving father of everyone that he’s the original father. So we see that Krishna or in his different forms as Vishnu. But he is the supreme father and supreme original person.

So when Jesus said we should love God, it means that we should love Krishna. So the process we practice of Bhakti Yoga is a very systematic way of how to awaken that love of God. And the similar things were mentioned in the Bible. Like in the psalms, it talks about singing the names of God. And playing cymbals and drums in the street. And dancing, singing the praise of the Lord. So kirtan means to sing the glories of the Lord. Sapresses Sankirtan congregationally singing the glories of God, chanting his holy names and in accompaniment of music and dance. So like that we’re basically Jesus said, love the Lord thy God with all their heart, their soul, their mind. So that’s what Bhakti Yoga says. Use your thoughts, your words and your deeds in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

So find that there’s a lot of parallels, a lot in common. That there’s a harmony there in terms of loving God. Lord Chaitanya said there are many different levels of religion. But mostly people are involved with religion on a very material level. Performing some good activity or performing some religious activity in order to get some material result. So in the Vedas, that’s called the Karma Khanda. To do some service to God in order to get some material benefit. Another level is you’re serving the Lord in order to get salvation. So that’s called jnanakanda in the Vedas or process of knowledge. To get knowledge of our eternal reality. But actually to do a service for the pleasure of the Lord which is actually love. Love doesn’t have a condition. If you love someone, you work for that person’s interest.

If you say, I only do something for your interest if you pay me $8 an hour, obviously that’s not love kind of affection that the parents give to the children. The care they give. You can’t put that into any kind of something totally different. So when we actually do something purely for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa without any other condition, without any Other motivation, then that is considered to be pure devotion. So if we do pure devotional activities, then that awakens our natural love for the Lord. So initially we don’t have love for the Lord. Instead of Kṛṣṇa, we have so many other things which are the energies of Kṛṣṇa. When we actually start to perform devotional activities, then this awakening awakens our natural love for Kṛṣṇa. And then eventually someone actually does it.

Not just because initially, when we do it because, okay, this is a system. I do it more out of a principle or regulation. So it’s called regulative bhakti or vidhi bhakti. Then as we do that, then we actually awaken a natural attraction and affection and a love for Kṛṣṇa, attachment for Kṛṣṇa and ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. So there’s different steps of how one advances up to that level of love of Kṛṣṇa. There’s like eight different levels. You can kind of review and see which level you’re on as you’re practicing. So it’s very, you know that Jesus said love God, but actually how you do it, that wasn’t really detailed, in fact, because the second commandment was love your neighbor mostly. That’s what’s got a lot of the focus. And the first commandment is often really not collaborated on.

So we find we have many people who are Christians that practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And we don’t. We don’t have a conversion or something that they have to reject Jesus. We rather, as a Christian, they probably feel that now they’re fulfilling what Jesus said better than when they were just doing their normal church rituals, which was probably praying for a better house and a better job or whatever. But in principle, anywhere where people develop their love for God, we  will respect that. We have handed down the system that very effectively works. But I also have, like, for instance, I have a disciple who is a practicing Roman Catholic nun. She still wears her frock. She’s under the mother superior and everything. But she chants 16 rounds. She’s a vegetarian. And she does her monastic duties as a nun. She’s an outreach nun.

She works with the children of prostitutes. But she gives them cookies, also gives them prasada. So she has a very profound love for Jesus. But she also. She developed a very strong faith in Krishna. She doesn’t. For her, everything’s no contradiction anymore. All right, Krishna, I still got here about 10 more cookies. If someone like to here, if we’re asking a question, you get another one?

Yes,.

Thank you. Okay. I am afraid to throw one to you in case I beam the baby. You want deliver you can deliver other this. Got some puff rice or something. Okay. Everyone’s free now too. Hi Bo. Thank you very much thank you. Be here until the first so at the temple or any other function be happy to discuss more with you.

Where I want to be or. And I know that because I don’t.

Want to be there.

It’s easy for me to just avoid it but I don’t know how to find the is between. Between avoidance and not like they take some offense they.

Some puff rice or something. Yeah, good one. You like hot milk as well? Okay. A puff wheat.

It’s not them trying to judge. Why were you even you know like you know if he’s getting dropped off they all want to come to the family first.

Is he going on the phone?

You know he’s not particularly partial in any way. So he thinks that why am I being partial that I am being sectarian.

Why do you have to interpret what I am doing as judgmental? This. The point is like this. We want to. Get all this ideas that I have that clear idea. Then I feel a little more confident about the white in here. But I want to be a pr. I want to follow K. That’s how you go and hear everybody. Then we get so many different perspectives. I have a very pristine. Someone else. There’s sultanas in it curry leaves and.

Sofa the other. So it’s kind of worried me because. You know my mother was always. Know.

So her.

She always was like yes but our philosophy is non sectarian. Some people and they think more like because there’s a lot more judgment like we say we’re non sectarian then there’s so much criticism and judgment of even other Vaishnavs but like a religions as well. You know sometimes most of the time more subtle criticism. But a lot of the time you know, play to the criticism of philosophies or other ways of life. I guess myself I just have to. What. Like. Like even sometimes on Sunday feast classes you hear. How the Christian church makes this. Just picking faults with you know, not saying like that’s rather than 20, you know really like picking faults. It unbases the whole non sectarian thing.

You know, we cannot say at the beginning it seems like it’s wrong to say at the beginning of a class, you know, we’re non sectarian. And we then go on to say but. But they’re wrong, you know that they should intervene. You know like it’s one thing you know to say that everybody has. There  will be that, you know this point in their philosophy is wrong. And sometimes there are even points that are wrong. They’re institutions. But you know, when we can see them in something else.

We’re not sectarian in the sense that. Everybody’s worshiping the same God, whatever service that they’re doing for God. But that doesn’t. Within our own tradition, within Vedic tradition, you can see the different paths, What the results are. But there’s a danger that we can generalize because there may be very sincere Christians. General mold. So it’s not a good idea to what they call kind of. Characterizations. I question. If you question. Melted. Doesn’t mean we’re dying to. We can even self criticize ourselves. Allah tolerate. Actually tolerate. Really, because respect. Some puff rice as well. Yeah, Give me two balls.

(B-side of the Cassette)

You came the next morning with Rasa Parayana. From Rasa Parayana. He was a driver, huh? In which. That’s 14-4-74. Yes. On arriving Mayapur in the afternoon of the same day. Sorry. I don’t know. I really fixed it in my mind as definitely, you know, I never do this in my life, but some dates, I know, like, my life is really changing. When I came to Mayapur, when the jeep came through the door, you have seen these movies in, you know, like the second World War in the Pacific in all those Japanese prisoners camp. It was like this, like bamboo, bamboo everywhere and rice paddies. And I knew it was serious, you know, like, oh, it was a ghost. So I knew it was really serious, you know. And then I am coming to marry here.

I say, that’s the wrong place to get married here in Mayapur. It was a complete Brahmachari, you know. Complete, complete. Anyway, you know, I was. The first day, you know, I came down from the jeep on Babananda, it was Maharaj. And he called, who is this? This is Bakta and Marie France. Bring some pressure on for Marie France. And he came down and he was as a Sannyasi, but he didn’t know the formalities. Bhavananda. I came as a Sannyasi and I should have bowed and etc. I was in Guriasta already, you know, I was shaved, but it was like not even 24 hours. Anyway, he came down and I just shook his hands. I say, hi. Hi. They look at me, we’re gonna get this girl now. But that was. Yeah, the most wonderful.

Of course, you know, there is it never when you meet the Abataka Maharaj. Sorry. And when you meet him, that was so, you know, I knew at that time, you know, when you come into crucial consciousness, like nothing is under your control, like everything that is happening is under some supernatural control that you understand or not. But I surrender to that because I knew my life was changing for the best, you know. And when Jaypatha Gambara came with Rasa Parayana, they said very few words. They looked just the same as he looks now on Panchak Zhangri, on Jananiva, I said the two other persons, you know, I have been impressed like that. Like these people I know with a bit of knowledge I have now, you know, the gradation of Bhakti.

I cannot say those people are more advanced than they were 20, 30 years ago. No, I have always known you as. You know, I never. I don’t think I am any. You know, how you say in English, like flatter. I never considered you as an ordinary person from the beginning. I mean, they never said it. I said it to a lot of people. And you know, I think it counts for me because I know the weight Prabhupada has put on your shoulders. I was there at that time when I heard all these things, you know, like, if there is so many thousands of people living in Mayapur, your life is useless, you know? Yes. You know, so many things.

So many things like that, you know, And I never, you know, I had, of course, you know, my one life in ISKCON is I raise my children, they’re here. And I don’t know, I don’t think anything has changed for me so far. You know, like, It’s like those kind of things. You read it in scriptures two or 300 years ago, right? Like, we don’t believe we are living in this world presently with some people who are not conditioned souls. That may be very something to say, very intense. But our whole philosophy is just complete with this. It’s complete with this from the beginning to the end. But for us, we believe it easier if they took birth at least a few hundred years ago. All right? It’s more easy to do digest when we are approaching them too near.

You know how you say in English, familiarity breeds contempt. Yeah, yeah. And when you, how many years you was living with the Patakamaras in the same class? Oh, I was always a new bhakta. There was no way, you say, like, he treats me highly in saying, you know, my dear God, brother, you know, I was in the womb practically when he was already, you know, and I was trained in Mayapur, you know, I tell you like this for about seven months or eight months on every day almost. I wanted to go, you know, but after the clash of Bhagavatam, I was like. It was so austere, you cannot imagine even for the mind. There was nothing left, right, back or north, nothing for the night. You go to the top toilets, you go to pass at that time, you know, in the forest.

In the forest you have little guys around, you know, waiting for you with stones and stunning you, right? It was a whole adventure, right? But it is, you know, it is. You had tetras, sorry, Daedras. Yes, everything. What I could not never believe in my lifetime, you know, I would see the development of the movie so fast, chapters after chapters, so fast. I am. You know, when was the last time you went to my emperor? Five. I was in refitation. I was in the hospital in Dehradun for some time and I was completely dying. I couldn’t move. And somewhere or other, Krishna, you know, somewhere other, I don’t know, I am still here. And then I have been repatriated to France when I was in that state.

But when I came to France, it was a heavy blow, you know, I left this country, it was, etc. Etc. At first sight it was like this at first sight. At second sight, you know, after one year, two years, you start to meet devotees all over and you see they are all practicing in their homes and there are 200 temples. If you see it like this in France, I have always seen it like that, you know, like these people, they invite neighbors, they invite their friends, etc. I see it all the time, you know, I meet people like that and their house is changing bit by bit. But then nobody comes, or whoever comes, you know, you turn your back and boom. Oh, you know, they have been initiated.

So what, you know, I am there, I am 53, I don’t know how long, still I have to stay there. But no, there are a lot of very good people in France. A lot of very good people. What I feel is that, you know, the GBCs or the authorities, the French, you know, like just so much. He’s very busy, I heard in his place.