20081015 Dāmodara Program Evening Lecture

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 15^th, 2008 in Dāmodaradeśa.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa! Happy Dāmodara month. There is twelve months in a year, and this month is considered the favorite month of Lord Kṛṣṇa, when the devas were running from the hiding of the Śaṅkhāsura, then they saw that the Śaṅkhāsura went to the Brahmaloka to get the personified Vedas and destroy them and thus destroy all the devas. And so, then the devas, when they... the personified Vedas ran from Satyaloka and went into the ocean. So the asura chased after them, but they had actually dissolved in the water. So then you know it will take longer. He would not find the personified Vedas. He would not find... [since they were] dissolved in the water. He is looking all over in the ocean – in the hills and valleys of the ocean.

So, then they [the devas] went to the side of the milk ocean where Viṣṇu resides and they began to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. They were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu woke up. It was a rainy season. He is sleeping. He woke up. He was so happy to see all the devas chanting and dancing. He said, “This day, this tithi and this month, anyone who… any devotional service they render will get hundred times the benefit. So, that was the tithi of the Ekādaśī in the month of Dāmodara of Kārttika.

Of course, Dāmodara we know also because in the Kṛṣṇa Book, in kṛṣṇa-līlā, He was having His dāmodara-līlā. In Svarga, the two sons of Kuvera, Kuvera is the treasurer of the devas. So, he is very rich, has all the money. So, his two sons were very proud of their aristocracy. They were maybe. You know, some children are rich parents who misuse the wealth of their father. This type of thing happens sometimes. So, they were enjoying their aristocracy. They were in some heavenly lake or river – bathing naked with some naked ladies, damsels, girls. Nārada Muni shows up and the girls cover themselves seeing a great ṛṣi feeling embarrassed. And the two devas, they were not even aware they are so drunk or whatever, so intoxicated and so by far gone, that they do not notice Nārada Muni. Nārada Muni said, “You are blind like trees. So I curse you to become trees.” Then they suddenly realized we just got cursed. It is a ṛṣi – Nārada Muni. And they fell at his feet and begged forgiveness. Then he had mercy on them. “Okay, I will adjust the curse. They will be two trees in the garden of Yaśodā and Nanda Mahārāja – the foster parents of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa will deliver you in His līlā.”

So, then Kṛṣṇa... that happened, we do not know how many thousands or millions of years ago. It is on another dimension of the planet. They came down to Earth, extraterrestrials of the heavenly planets. They took the forms as two big Arjuna trees. Kṛṣṇa was playing around. He was just a toddler crawling. And His mother was worrying about Him getting in trouble. So, she tied Him to a mortar stone, and she was cooking. He dragged the mortar between the two trees and pulled over the trees. And the two devas came out circumambulated Kṛṣṇa, offered Him obeisances, begged to be His eternal devotees. So, Nārada Muni’s curse was actually a blessing. His curse was a blessing. Then they went back to Svargaloka and joined their father. These two trees crashed down. Nanda Mahārāja came and saw his son in the midst of these crashed trees. Then all men they ran. Then he said, “Why my wife left Him unattended like this in such a dangerous place?”

They asked the boys what happened. “Well, Kṛṣṇa was crawling, and He knocked the two trees down. Out came two brilliant figures. Looks like some kind of people from other planets. And then they bowed down to Him and went flying back in the sky.” “These children. What imaginations. They can say anything. What really happened? How will we ever know?” That is actually what happened though. (laughter) Like this, so many kṛṣṇa-līlā, the adults could not see, but the children could see it. But nobody believed their children. So that līlā is also connected in some way or another to this month because of the same name. But apart from that, this month is the very most dear to Kṛṣṇa. In the sixty-four activities of devotional service, there are twenty activities given out of forty-four.

In the forty-four activities, it says one should arrange one’s devotional service according to one’s means. Then in the month of Kārttika, October and November, one should make arrangements for special services. There is a whole chapter in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa about separate special activities. So, there is so many quotes. It is about over a hundred. I will just read a few. These are the māhātmyas of month of Kārttika or Dāmodara.

In the Padma Purāṇa, it is said, “Of the twelve months, Kārttika is the most dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa. To anyone who even slightly worships Lord Viṣṇu during its time, the month of Kārttika gets residence in Lord Viṣṇu’s transcendental abode.”

“As everyone knows, Lord Dāmodara loves His devotees. Lord Dāmodara’s month, the month of Kārttika, also loves the devotees. The month of Kārttika thinks even the slightest devotional service is very big and important.”

Text 44: “Lord Kṛṣṇa is pleased by the offering of a single lamp during the month of Kārttika where Lord Kṛṣṇa glorifies anyone who lights a lamp.” For someone else if you offer, you can get double blessing. One blessing is offering the lamp, another is lighting the lamp and offering it to someone else to offer to Kṛṣṇa. How many want to help others to do Dāmodara? I want to be very dear to Kṛṣṇa.

In the Skanda Purāṇa, it is said, “Charity, yajña, japa and austerity performed in the month of Kārttika bring a result, O best of brāhmaṇas that will never be destroyed.”

“One who regularly offers food to Lord Kṛṣṇa during the month of Kārttika does not suffer trouble.”

“For as long as the fourteen Indras’ rule, he is free of trouble.” That is a little karma-kāṇḍī (laughter), but this is one of the things is it is recommended to be a pure vegetarian – just take kṛṣṇa-prasāda as much as possible in the month of Kārttika. I know most of you are already vegetarian but if anybody is not, encourage them in this month to definitely be a vegetarian. Eat prasāda especially.

Text 68: “It is clearly said, O Nārada, I have personally seen that a person who happily reads Bhagavad-gītā during the month of Kārttika does not return to the world of birth and death.” Another thing you can do is read a verse.

“During the month of Kārttika, a person who with devotion sings, plays a musical instrument and dances before the Deity of Lord Hari attains a pious result that will never be lost.”

“Also, reading the thousand holy names of Lord Hari that are… in Dāmodaradeśa, already does sometimes, a good excuse to do another one.

“And the story of Gajendra is liberation they do not take birth again.”

“O tiger of sages, a person who during the month of Kārttika hears the topics of Lord Hari becomes free from the sufferings of hundreds and millions of births.”

It is said, “Lord Hari, the all-powerful Supreme Personality of Godhead forgives thousands of offenses and a host of terrible sins committed by one who worships Him during the month of Kārttika.”

In the Skanda Purāṇa, it is said, “When one offers a lamp during the month of Kārttika, his sins and many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eyeblink.”

“By offering a lamp during the month of Kārttika one attains the pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kurukṣetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the river Narmadā during a lunar eclipse.”

“Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Kārttika.”

So do not have to worry. Maybe this person is not qualified, is not vegetarian, no pūjās, no japa, does not matter, let him offer the lamp. It is further said in text 108, “By offering a lamp during the month of Kārttika, one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt.”

“A person who offers a lamp in a temple of Lord Viṣṇu during the month of Kārttika attains eternal wealth, good children, fame and glory.”

Text 126: “By serving the Vaiṣṇavas and lighting the lamps they offer during the month of Kārttika, one attains the result of performing many Rājasūya and Aśvamedha-yajñas.”

Just a few. There are many more here. So, this month of Kārttika is a very important occasion. So, I once wrote Prabhupāda about what we can do from until Kārttika, he said, “You are full-time devotee. You get the blessing of all the months. Because every day you are doing pūjās in the temple, you are doing circumambulation, doing all the things. This is especially for the new people to give them the blessings. It is like when some supermarket has a special offer – discount. You are a regular customer, you are going every day you get when it is a discount or not discount, you are going. But the discount is to attract new customer.” When you see 70% off, everything must go clearance sale. You see, “If there is something good, maybe I can save some money, right?”

So that the month of Dāmodara is like that — can attract the new devotees or potential devotees. And this way they can get some special mercy. So, since a number of years we have been trying to promote that we should go out in the month of Dāmodara and do pūjās in the homes and do some special programs. This is to make new contacts also for our own devotees to give them a special spiritual boost. So, one of the temples that taken this up very actively in the world is our temple Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Maybe you do not know, we have some devotee from here that is now in Malaysia. Some devotee from Malaysia that is found sometime here? So I wanted to show you an eleven minute movie of what they are doing. They started this program about six years ago and did sixty in one year.

Sixty house programs and gradually they have increased it. Last year they did 3850 more or less house programs. [Aside: Get a mic with the sound.] This is called the Jagannātha Mandir. When they do the first day like today is the first day they... They have some big tables. So, one devotee, he made a booth on the ground to offer lamps. We had 60,000 people offer lamps at this booth. They went to school children, gave the children some prasāda. It shows some of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa that they showed. Malaysian speakers amongst the Indians there are many Tamils. There are many temples of Gaṇeśa, to Durgā, to the devas. Even the Śiva priests are offering lamp to Dāmodara – reminding everyone that Dāmodara is for everyone. These are going to universities to get the students to do a Dāmodara-pūjā, there are some students from the ‘Bhakti-yoga Club’. The main program is to go to the homes. That is something we can do here in Dāmodaradeśa, Śyāmadeśa. They printed out pictures of Dāmodara calendars. They printed with the Dāmodara-Yāśodā picture to get everyone in the family to light for lamps.

They tell some of the māhātmyas, some of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, the glories of Kṛṣṇa, extra hari-nāma that is something we can do. This year their goal is 5,000. Been doing it for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 for 7 years. What is our goal for Śyāmadeśa? How many house programs? 500? You got to plan it out. Every Bhakti-vṛkṣas, every Nāma-haṭṭas, they need to plan out. How many want a program in your house? Those who are in the work camps they could organize the program and have all the Hindu workers come in and offer a lamp. Out of the other paraphernalia, this is very simple altar, very short kīrtana. The whole program is maybe fifteen minutes. Simple prasāda, like devotee’s prasāda. They make many friends of Kṛṣṇa their strategy there they do not ask for anything – they just give. They take their names and later on they make lifelong friends in from the Dāmodara month.

Dāmodaradeśa, what is your goal? What is your goal this year? 1000. Haribol! How many of you are fired up to help, give the mercy out. The people, if they just do one lamp or anything this month they get so much blessing. How many want to give the blessing to others? You get so many blessings yourself too. Everyone should think how I can improve my devotional service in the month of Dāmodara. Especially if you are a little weak in the japa or anything. This is a good chance to get a special boost. So this is my third inauguration of Dāmodara this year. Yesterday I inaugurated Bahrain (Balarāmadeśa) and here (Śyāmadeśa) they had their inauguration one month ahead in Kuala Lumpur. So that for one month they will get all the strategies down. And then next month is putting it into practice.

It is the wrong side if you do not do it – offering of ghee lamps. Here is some of the benefits offering a lamp in the month of Dāmodara, they become purified – hundred generations of family are delivered. That was last year. How many want to offer a ghee lamp every day in their homes? In Kuala Lumpur with some of the devotees, I went to South Africa, to Mauritius, I do not think there came Middle East. They are willing to come and give some of their... anyways, it is too late.

So Dāmodara, it is a very important month. Especially the devotees, the householders, that cannot live in the temple. They can make their home a temple and they can increase the mercy for their whole family. Very simple things. So even a small devotional service, a month of Kārttika is very big. A big chance for mercy. Any questions? Śiva Saṅghan, what is your goal? 250 lamps. 250 lamps? Lamps. Oh, how many houses? 250 Houses. Yeah.

I recommend ghee, but if you cannot get ghee for some reason I think ghee is available here. Is it that much cheaper and expensive than pillow? You buy hundred gram little tin, the whole month? But whatever. I mean, in some countries, like South America, they offer also candles. I am sure it is an even little sevā. But if you want to be pakkā, then do ghee. But anything you offer is better than nothing.

Devotee: As well as Bhakti Viśvambhara Mādhava Mahārāja was saying that if we also have in the way a dry tulasī twig, each lamp that you offer becomes a thousand times. It is easy way of getting multiple.

Jayapatākā Swami: Yeah, in Māyāpur, they put like cotton on a dry tulasī twig. They say that is a thousand times more. So we cannot get such big tulasī twig, but we can actually do a tip of the tulasī. Any other comments or question? kauna praśna? (in Bangla) kuch pūcheṅge? (in Hindi) Any from... Anybody from a labor camp?

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: If you need help to buy the ghee, I am sure someone will be happy to give you some ghee, some cans, of course some ghee directly. You want to do some program, labor camp?

Devotee: There was one question from Harsita. She wants to know that even though Nalakūvera had committed so many sins, but still they could witness the līlās of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the garden of Nanda and Yaśodā. What really must have been their good fortune that actually they could get such a position. If you could explain anything more on that she wanted to know about that.

Jayapatākā Swami: It was the causeless mercy of Nārada Muni. Sometimes the guru or the Vaiṣṇava. Seems like, they are being harsh, but it may be a mercy. Normally we get a curse. It does not help but to suffer. If you apologize, if you beg, you get forgiven. They begged for forgiveness, they begged for mercy. So then Nārada thought, “How can I bless these two? They do not deserve it”, but because they begged it and Nārada is so merciful, he gave a blessing.

Devotee: This we do twice in a day or once the evening.

Jayapatākā Swami: At least once a day. You can do morning, evening also. When I have Dāmodara… the Dāmodara month I spent the last week or ten days in Māyāpur, Vṛndāvana. Then I am praying for all of the devotees, the disciples and the aspirants and everyone devotees who had śikṣā. The devotees who asked me to pray for them.

Devotee: Please pray for all of us.

Jayapatākā Swami: Who wants me to pray for you? What language you speak in the back. Who wants me to pray for them in the months of Dāmodara? More or less. I just came back. I was at the thirty-year anniversary of our temple in New Gokula in Brazil. They have about 500, 800 devotees came there. Very nice festival. I flew on the 12^th back, 13^th back from there. Trying to go to India for GBC meetings. How many years have we been in this, Dāmodaradeśa? But you know the exact. You can have a twentieth anniversary next year? Twelfth anniversary. I want to thank you all for coming. Daṇḍavats. Thank you very much.

Devotee: Śrīla Jayapatākā Swami Guru Mahārāja for being with us today and enlightening us on the and the importance of the offering devotional service in this month.