20030228 Question-and-Answer Session

(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 Question-and-Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 28, 2003 – in Śrī Māyāpur, India.

Ghanaśyāma Gopāla dāsa asks I would like to know how does Bhakti Devī, Tulasī Mahārāṇī grow nicely according to the standards of devotional service we do? Is there any process for the growing of Bhakti Devī according to the śāstras and His Divine Grace Śrīla Prabhupāda mutual servant Veṇuśyāma Gopāla.

Actually, Tulasī is known as Vṛndā Devī, not Bhakti Devī. Bhakti Devī is another personality and whenever Prabhupāda would see a very healthy, a very green, nicely cared for tulasī plant and he would say oh you must have devotion. The tulasī forest is not just on the water and other things that has to be there also. Obviously, somebody has devotion, they’re going to take care of tulasī very nicely. At the same time there’s some quality of devotion as well.

There’s different Tulasī Māhātmya telling the glories of watering tulasī and draw up and said like that and they can take care of tulasī nicely. I think there’s some ISKCON devotees have specialized in the more technical aspects of how to care for tulasī which I don’t have available here, but I am sure it’s available somewhere. You can find out. The main thing is to care as you would care for any. But then there’s certain rules like you don’t cut leaves on Dwarasi. Today’s Dwarasi you don’t take any leaves until see the water twice a day. Do Aarti circumambulate clean with water, different things like that. Somebody sent another message today. Deva Deva Dasi doesn’t say where she’s from. Heard about my upper question and answer session.

So they’re sending an email in offering a base and says my Maharani I was learning about the mood and consequently the appropriate worship of Pratip Bhavan Sadi Bhaman Jagannath Dev is the standard of worshipping, the standard of worship the same as when Jagannath Dev is worshipped with Subhadra and Bala Dev Ji. Does Dalai Brahman distribute his mercy more freely than when Jagannadeva’s worship with Subhadran Valladay Hare Krishna your fallen servant Deva Dasi. Well thank youk Deva Dasi Interesting question. We know that in Jagannath Puri there’s one deity of Jagannath at the doorway and they call him the deep island. I don’t know, seems they don’t offer so much worship to him, but sometimes they take him for some bathing ceremony or other things. I don’t have any way of knowing specifically about standard of worship.

You can offer worship to Jagannath to the highest opulent standard, offering 56 offerings a day. Or even if you offer to Jagannath a more simple standard, he also accepts Srila Prabhupada told us that Jagannath was very merciful. Prabhupada also mentioned that when we worship Jagannath, first the mercy comes from Subhadra Devi and she is the first to usually give them mercy and then Lord Baladev and then Jagannath. So from that example we’re seeing that you get more mercy with all the three at the mercy of Subhadra you get mercy of Baladev and then you get mercy of Bhagavala Dev. Mercy of Krishna. Thank you. Yes. Anyone else has questions? We will take it here. This is. Some devotees say that were never before in the spiritual world and that we are expansions of Maha Vishnu.

And other devotees saying that we have fallen down from the spiritual world. Where is the truth? Could you kindly describe the real origin of Jeeva Tattva? Thank you very much. Your lazy servant Bhaktapol. For a lazy servant you want to give me a lot of work. There’s a few catch questions. Were there? This is question two. First one was from Deva Dasi. We will put here two that in some places in the scripture it presents in both ways that we are coming from a spiritual world and coming from some other place. It seems as if we’re coming down from that. It’s not very clear. Like just from the Madhya Shakti platform. Sadly not clear. So Prabhupada, he said, well, there’s these two versions and he personally prefers the version that were with Krishna or at least we had some relationship with Krishna.

We have a friend here, This lizard here. The people on the Internet, they’re not going to know what we’re talking about. This lizard are tick, ticks supposed to be reincarnated. Brahmin is when you say something true then it not that if you say something true and it doesn’t tick, it doesn’t mean it’s not true. But if it ticks, it means it’s really true. This is confirming and there’s been a book about this written by I think Sri Lana Maharani. What’s it called?

I don’t know, but it’s an extensive research. Research and it shows that were.

With patients yes, the grade it can.

Be downloaded from the Internet.

One is ordination of physician.

That’s probably tbc. But there’s lately that’s been proven. Karma has written a very extensive research. It’s a whole book and it can be downloaded from.

So the preponderance of evidence that we originally came from Krishna. Anyway, wherever we came from, even Mahavishtu comes from Krishna. So what is it? Even if you say you come from something that came from Krishna, you’re still coming from Krishna. What is the difference between. What did he write here? Gyan Channa and Prema Channa? What do you mean? Where did he read these words from? What scripture? Or to get the answer, You just thought of some words and say words are different. The point is here, what we want is if you have from a reading some scripture or some philosophy, if you have a question. I am not an Encyclopedia Britannica. I am not a Vedic. I am not a Sanskrit dictionary. I have a rudimentary knowledge of some Sanskrit words. What’s the difference? Okay, I can answer that. What’s the difference between knowledge?

Jnana and Prema means covered. Covered knowledge and covered. But knowledge is about the self. This is the third question. Knowledge is about the self. Difference between matter and spirit, material worlds, temporary spirit, soul is eternal. This kind of difference is gana. To understand about the material and spiritual world. Material and spiritual realities. Prema is when somebody has developed pure love for Kṛṣṇa. So it’s a much higher level. They’re already not only self realized but they have already. Someone may have gathered and Vijayanami. They may have realized knowledge. They may realize who they are. But then even if they realize who they are, unless they are fully engaged in Ka’s service, unless they fully develop the love for Kṛṣṇa, they won’t have Prema. So Prema is the prayogyana. That’s the perfection in Gyana. This is the. This knowledge is our sambandha. So there’s three levels.

Samanda, avideya, prayoga. We go first from our relationship with Krishna, Samantha. We apply that. That becomes Avi Daya. That’s like the Vigna, applied knowledge. And then when we are perfect in that knowledge, when we’re perfect in our realization, we develop love for Kṛṣṇa. That’s the goal of life. That’s the prayojana and that’s Prema. Beautiful paper folding here by Prahlad nasenga das. Question 4. See, we get all the pins Back. In the time of Muslim invasion, they forced the Hindus to Eat meat and become Muslims for many other. They prefer to die but not to eat meat. This means they commit suicide by not saving themselves by eating meat. Your servant Prahlad Nirsingha does. Well, it’s not really suicide, is it? If somebody tells you to commit some blasphemy against Krishna or something and you don’t do it and they kill you because of it.

It’s not necessarily. That’s usually considered martyrdom. And someone who dies sin that way. They would go back to go to heavenly planets or back to Godhead or something. The problem with the Hindus in those days was that if you ate the meat, they would not accept you back in their community. I mean, right now, somebody told you to shove this meat in your mouth. I will kill you later, he lets you go or something probably is going to reject you. But in those days, if you did something like that, then okay, you’re rejected for life. And then you couldn’t go to any temple. You couldn’t have any association. There was Devoi Suhbudi Rai and the emperor spit in a glass and poured it down his throat. And that was enough to convert him.

And then he went to all the great Hindu leaders, the great pandits, and asked him, how can I get reinstated? And they went up to Banaras and there the top pandit told them, yes, you just take one kilo of ghee, you put it on the fire until it’s boiling. You drink it hot. So I will die? Yes, but next life you will be born as a Hindu. So it was very discouraging for people. So that’s how. Otherwise there wouldn’t be probably any, you know, very few, if any Muslims india today. It was this kind of very rigid caste, Brahmins who were bringing that kind of ridiculous standard in. Then Subodhi Rai went to Lord Chaitanya and he said, how can I get purified? You know, they made me eat the meat or they spit on me or whatever it was. And then he said, no problem.

Say hi to Krishna. Say Hare Krishna. Say Hare Krishna, please. Okay, you’re here now or you can join our kirtan movement. She became one of the big sun kirtan over the horizon. If it wasn’t for Lord Chaitanya, probably, you know, we’d be hearing here, you know, just nothing but namaz Lord Chaitanya and his followers completely. Not only completely, but not only did he stop the conversion, but Vir Chandra Prabhu, he actually brought many people back one day. If someone voluntarily believes and they want to accept Islam. That’s quite alright, we don’t mind. But this kind of thing was going on by forced conversion. And that was something that Lord Chaitanya really change the situation because he would accept anybody. Fifth question. There is conceptions of most devotees that we cannot find philosophical aspects. In folio of rla Prabhupada, it’s considered false or deviations.

What’s the question? Your humble servant leads to your Prana Das. What’s the question? This is your statement. Buddhister Pratt. What’s the question? Any counsel? What’s the question? Still just making a statement. I understood what you said. You said the same thing. You have to end it with a question mark. Is this true? What should we do? Question. Then you answer. What do you want from that? Is it right? Well, we accept Sadhu shastras and Guru. So our primary sources are Gita, Bhagavad and Chaitanya Cheramida. That’s our primary shastras. And then Prabhupada also. Whatever he said, that’s our Guru Praman. But there’s also Sadhu, the lives of great saintly devotees, the Mahajanas. There’s also in Prabhupada’s books he mentions that Surti, Smriti, Prana, Devan, Shriti, hidden, I can take career. Bhakti, Utbatayi, the Kalpati.

Something’s not mentioned in the Puranas and in the Bhuvanishas or Vedas in the Mahabharata. Those things are also disturbances to Bhakti. So there may be something that was not mentioned in Prabhupada’s folio, which could still be bona fide if it’s backed up by other Sadhu shastras. Guru Prabhupada already declared these are the scriptures we can read. These are Vedic scriptures. You can’t categorically say anything is not in that folio. Everything is going to be deviation. But there could be also, you know, I am not saying that something’s not in the folio. It isn’t a deviation either. Could be a deviation or could be true. Question is, where is it set in shastras? If it’s not in the folio, what shastras is it in? What scripture is saying is true? We’re not saying that everything is in Prabhupada.

We’re saying we have enough information in Prabhupada’s books to get us back to Godhead. And we should thoroughly understand Prabhupada’s teachings before we go to read other Teachings. But also Prabhupada said to translate other literatures in the future. Padma Purana, Vishnu Purana especially I heard a person he says Sats and Darvas of Jiva Goswami. So not all these things are in the folio. But they are referenced in the folio. In the folio he said that these are books that we refer to. So indirectly they’re in the folio.  will. Dear Maharani Mother Vendor purging again. This is question six. Shivrab today is 27th or 28th. Prabhupada gave his association to his disciples Sannyasi disciples while chairing in temple room and also otherwise known as Japa work. So similarly, suppose he wants to like to have our Maharaja’s association while chanting kindly.

Can you give some guidelines about how to approach him in this matter? Yours sincerely, Madhavandra Puri Das. I don’t think it’s so complicated matter. If you want to chant Japa with your spiritual master, you can humbly approach him, pay obeisance and say sometime can we chant? Can you chant Japa with us or can we chant with you? Could be asked. There’s nothing offensive about that. We can say you can come and chant in front of the Panchatava temple. And so many devotees are chanting around. We can also chant there with you. We will be happy to have him chant with us there. At 5:30 till 6 this morning. He was there for a few minutes. Your Gopal Krishna Maharani disciple, right? He also goes on Jatwa walks. I don’t know. He’s very fast walker though.

From Jaivada Krishna in Kali Yuga, offenses committed in the mind does not count. Only if it is committed does it have effect. But there are offenses. One can think by considering that the Holy Dham Vrindava Navadip are different. Considering chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa to be materialistic fruit of activity, Considering the spiritual mass to be an ordinary person, the deity to be made of stone. All these seem to be offenses committed in the mind. Your servant Radhakrishna does actually Kali Yuga sins. You don’t get the reaction unless you do. Sins and offences are different, isn’t it? A sin is bad karma. We do. And an offense is something directly in relation to Kṛṣṇa. So offenses can be in the mind. They can be by words and they can be by actions.

As Bhrigu Muni tested Vishnu and Shiva and Brahma, he went to Brahma and by his attitude he was offensive to Brahma. But he went to Shiva. He was verbally abusing Shiva till They got angry when he went to Vishnu and kicked him in the chest. That’s why Bhrigu’s footprint is still there in Vishnu’s chest, they say. But Vishnu didn’t get offended. He rather said, my chest is very hard. Maybe your foot is hurt. Can I massage it? So there are also mental offences. When we become Brahmanas and become devotees, we do have to watch out over our offenses. Sins and offenses are two different things. But if it’s a mental offense, it  will be much less. Usually a saat could be also a doubt. Not so much like a thought comes in. We don’t have to accept that we can reject it.

You can get some advice. You can ask the clear off the doubt whether somebody has a very firm conviction which is offensive and is thinking that then that’s something we had to purify. That was the end of question seven. Here’s question eight. Which of the first symptoms that Kṛṣṇa has manifested himself in the holy name while chanting. How can I practically recognize that? How are your servant Yideswara does? Well, there are signs of advancing while chanting. So the first sign of one’s advancing is that while chanting you fall asleep. How many have been able to achieve that level? Some have already advancing because you are chanting and at least it’s relaxing you. And again go a little further. Next higher level. It’s not a very high level. One of the first steps, then you chant and you actually get more energy.

So as you go up the different levels of Bhakti. Bhakti we know Takra explained the eight levels. Faith association with devotees. Practice the devotional service Anachronidriti. Clearing away the offenses and unwanted things, getting fixed, getting a taste, getting attached and getting ecstatic love. While we chant, we actually start to go up each of these steps. So progressively Kṛṣṇa is manifesting himself more and more to the devotee. When we actually realize Kṛṣṇa fully, then we achieve Prema. And who this is question nine. What is the importance of Vedic rituals and ceremonies like Yajna, Samskaras, etc. Are they not functional in this age of Kali? And we should just chant the Holy name and follow the four regular principles. Your servant Manarupadas Sikh.

For the Prabhupada mentions that the Purascharya or this kind of rituals are important for our purification and for our development and devotional service. Just like we take bath, so that means our body. These types of things. Also that Purascharya, rising early in the morning, going to Mangalarti, attending yagyas, having Samskara all these things also add to our purity. So they are beneficial for our advancement. And even six Go Swamis gave prescribes in different literatures the importance of performing these Samskaras. Especially things like Diksha, Samskara initiation. Also the Samskara of like the different Samskara for the Grihasthas, Samskara, taking Sanyas and things. So with those we follow according to the Pancharatric system, chanting not Vedic mantras as much as the Puranic mantra. So they are prescribed as being useful for our spiritual progress. How can I find myself in this world? Moscow Maitreya Rishidas.

You can find yourself by self realization. Self realization. The most direct method is called Bhakti Yoga. And Bhakti Yoga begins from Savannah and Kirtanam. No more questions after this. Read Bhagavad Gita. Follow the process of Bhakti Yoga. You  will find yourself. The grandfather spiritual master is more merciful than the spiritual master. This makes the disciple a cross the grandfather spiritual master for special mercy. But at the same time there is the etiquette of not jumping over. Please clarify this. Your disciple Jairadhakrishna does. Where does Jayaradhakrishna does? Let’s give him a big hand. We approach this person spiritual master through the grandfather spiritual master through the spiritual master also. We offer our service to the grandfather through our Guru that we may get directly inspiration and instructions and mercy. We pray also directly to. We can pray directly to our grandfather’s spiritual master.

Please bless us so we can serve Guru and serve you and serve Krishna. If someone tries to directly be the disciple of the grandfather Guru and not serve his devotees, serve his disciples or take any instruction or initiation from his disciples. That could be considered jumping over. Or if one is already initiated and then they don’t. What’s an example of jumping over? In the scripture. Prabhupada used to call it, were trying to serve Prabhupada. But if we didn’t follow his instructions, instead if we wanted to, Were offensive to him and just directly trying to approach Kṛṣṇa. That’s called Murja da Langana. To transgress we go to Krishna through the Guru to the guru Parampra. But someone may pray to Kṛṣṇa directly. There’s different ways. Some things are okay. But if someone tries to avoid bona fide instruction, bona fide advice.

By speculating on the previous Acharyas instruction without understanding it properly. And that can be a type of jumping over to think about. My mind starts I know there’s some Examples. But it’s not coming to mind right now. Padma Radhika. Hare Krishna. Give her a hand. Ham Ho. Usually for the Guru, we say, please accept my respectful obeisances for peers and humble. Is it right to pay obeisances or say Hare Kṛṣṇa to another devotee while chanting? Is the fear of the devotee getting offended if not paid obeisances? Usually once a day, we offer obeisances to all the Vaishnavas in the morning after Mangalarti. Every time, first time we see a Sannyasi in the day, we offer obeisances. Every time we see the guru, we offer obeisances. Unless we’re doing personal service for you. That’s the usual etiquette.

Or when we first meet a devotee after a long time with the obesity, don’t think it’s offensive if you say Hare Krishna to another devotee. Even if they’re chanting Hare Krishna, you’re walking by Hare Krishna. What is it? Ayapa? When you say Hari Bolt to an early devotee is correct because you are saying Channel Hare Krishna. Haribol is not so good. She didn’t say that Hare Krishna. You could say Haribol in a commanding tone. Or you could say it in an exclamatory tone like Haribo Chowbatti. Every time when they want to greet someone, I say something, let’s give them a big Haribo Hareem. That’s how they receive it. Said during the Panihati festival, everybody was shouting Hareem. So that’s every what moved. So whether someone should get obeisances or not, I already explained that normal etiquette. So that was question 12.

Now we’re back to the concluding statements here from the Gotrum Kalpatavi by Bhaktivedinod Thakur. This is a caution note. Bhaktived Thakkar wrote caution. The workers of the Nam Hata mentioned in the Second Heart should all deal with one another in a mood of true brotherhood. No one should consider another as being less perfect than himself. Just as on a Tulasi plant, one does not consider the leaves to be more or less pure according to the large or small size. So a pure Vaishnava is not to be considered higher or lower according to his wealth, physical strength, material learning, caste, physical appearance or age, considering of high caste, wealth, family, Vaishnav birth and the subsequent behavior of respect which is extended is simply social and has nothing to do with transcendental life.

The consideration of senior and junior amongst God brothers is simply on the basis of how advanced one is in pure Devotional service of the Lord. Pure Vaishnavas naturally offer all kinds of respect to other senior Vaishnavas and members in the hereditary family of the Lord or his great devotees, as well as observing matters of vaiava etiquette, respecting pure devotees, honoring guests and respecting others according to degree of renunciation of material life. Apart from the above mentioned considerations, pure devotees do not make any other distinction on higher low and carefully avoid such. So here’s an interesting point. We respect all the Vaishnavas as being devotees and we don’t consider that someone is better or worse or lower or higher on account of any kind of material. Nomenclature or. Characteristic. Just as it mentions by Narada Muniuchate.

That devotional service means to be free from all kinds of material designations. Sarva upadi Vinayamuktam, to be a pure level of transcendental consciousness, to engage our senses in the service of Kṛṣṇa Rishikesh, who is the master of the senses. This is what’s called bhakti. We heard that there are some places in South India where people are converted to some other religion from Hindus. And so when they bury them, then they bury different parts of the cemetery. If you were converted from a Brahmin family or a Kshatriya family, or a Sudra family, so they would carry on their caste distinction even after conversion from say Hindu Dharma to some other religion, an actual pure Vaishnava. All these things are not relevant. What’s relevant is how Kṛṣṇa conscious someone is.

Well, they may see that sound devotee is respecting a guest or some politician comes, we give them a garland, we respect him. These are social etiquette because they’re respectable people. They’re representing Krishna in some indirect way as kind of a booty that they’re government or something, or just because they’re respectable people in the society. So for social etiquette we’re giving civil etiquette. You give them some reception or some guest comes to offer as part of our culture to serve all the guests. That’s called Atiti seva. These things are alright, these are normal. But what’s for us most important is observing the Vaishnava etiquette, respecting the appeared devotees or somebody’s the renounce the order of life, the Vanaprastho or the Sannyasi that maybe we offer. Maybe. But we do offer respect according to the renunciation.

That’s some external things that may not be as relevant as pure devotion, but we offer respect as part of our Vedic culture. Vaishnava etiquette renunciation of material life. It’s a good step for spiritual advancement. It’s not perfection. But you find that even like some sannyasis, they will be offering respect to an advanced devotee who may be a grihasta. Because they recognize that this devotee is very advanced spiritually. That’s more important than external renunciation of symbols, Bhujaitanya. Because people would offer respect at least 500 years ago for people in the renounced order. He saw it was beneficial for him to preach. So he took the renounced order to liberate the people. It was a kind of acceptance of an austerity for the sake of delivering all of the people. So Bhakti Vinod thakura. But he clearly said, what consideration we should have, what we shouldn’t.

We don’t. Consider people higher, lower. For all these material purposes, someone might be born in some illustrious family. Like I remember one time, Prashida Prabhupada, he met someone who was coming in some hereditary family of one of lords connected to the Lord. So then he offered some respect. But he said, I am offering respect out of respect for your family lineage. That person himself may or may not be a pure devotee. Probably wasn’t. But just look, out of respect for your family line, we offer you respect. That’s also a kind of an external. There may be so many cats go swamis like that who come from some illustrious family. But they’re not practicing, so that won’t be as relevant. Because they have some families. So that way we can respect them. But that’s also an external type of respect.

Heartfelt respect  will be for the pure devotees. Someone who’s sacrificing their thoughts, words and deeds for serving Krishna. That’s more relevant in this regard. Naratim Das Thakur said that Jeva. Vihe ba boreninte taki je Baha goranga daki sayama pranri. Whether someone’s born in Agrihasta or whether they’re in the Renounced order, if they feelingly chant with love, hey gauranga, hey my Lord, then that person is as dear to me as my life and soul. This thing. For in Iskcon, we also consider this thing more important than the devotional aspect. If some devotee has achieved some wonderful devotional service and done some nice dedicated service, we all like to offer them respect and appreciation for that. Even the senior devotees  will come and offer respect, appreciate so much. There are some. There are some kinds of groups organization where they take very seriously this external consideration.

And they like to give the provenance to those external things. But Bhakti Dino Thakur here, he’s not giving that importance. Apart from some social etiquette. What’s really important is appreciating people according to their devotional status. But he mentioned everything here. But having said that, then there’s a few other circumstances that we do otherwise. You see, we don’t make any distinction that this devotee is higher or lower. Wonderful example. The leaves on a tulasī plant. Some may be big or some may be small. Or the big leaf is better than the small leaf. We don’t think like that. Some may devotee may be skinny or may be big. Or may be good to look at. Or may be plain to look at. Maybe very educated or very simple. But their devotion and their dedication. All these factors are essential. And other things are more superficial.

So these are things that we have to be careful ourselves that we don’t get caught up at all. Because some people may think because I was born in a better family or because I am more educated, therefore I should get more mercy because I am more qualified. And we want to avoid that kind of false ego. In fact, Lord Chaitanya gives his mercy to those who are more humble.