20160603 Adhivāsa Ceremony

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavaṁ śrī-caitanya-īśvaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa. Am I supposed to speak about the adhivāsa? When you have some important spiritual event like Janmāṣṭamī or Gaura-pūrṇimā or Vyāsa-pūjā or some similar momentous spiritual occasion, before it starts, it is customary to have an adhivāsa ceremony. So, in Māyāpur where they have a three to four week festival, which includes kīrtana-melā, parikramā and festivities in Gaura-pūrṇimā, and then they have the whole flag-hoisting ceremony, where they wave coconuts and have speeches and such things, and then before the appearance of Lord Caitanya they also have an adhivāsa.

So, adhivāsa means a ceremony before the actual event, a preparatory ceremony which gets us in the mood that this is a very spiritual, uplifting thing that we are going to observe, it is a very important observance that we are going to do, that is why we have the adhivāsa ceremony. I do not know how exactly they are doing it here. So, in Māyāpur, when the Deities come out then twenty-seven items are offered to the Deities, and one by one they are offered to the tulasī to the earth, to the śāligrāma, to the Deity and different brāhmaṇas are invited to participate if they are properly attired.

So, the idea is that to stop for a minute and adjust the consciousness that now for the coming period of time we have to get completely absorbed in the spiritual journey, journey of self-discovery, journey of spiritual bliss, and there will be kīrtanas, there will be pūjās, there will be classes, there will be līlā-smaraṇa of Prabhupāda, there will be offering of ciḍā-doi, this is our fiftieth anniversary, so, we are offering fifty pots, twenty yogurt, twenty condensed milk and ten salty salad.

We usually offer eighteen but this time fifty. (Haribol!) We need a lot of help for cutting the fruits, for the different devotees in charge of decorations, they need help, that will be mainly on Sunday morning. So, there is also a Ratha-yātrā here. This adhivāsa is very significant. Since my stroke half my face does not work, so, in case some people have some difficulty in understanding what I am saying, he repeats but usually, he makes a mistake. (laughter) Maybe someone in the audience is better. (laughter)

So, I was thinking how in these few days, how merciful Prabhupāda was, how he left Vṛndāvana which is a peaceful spiritual environment to come with only Kṛṣṇa’s mercy to the West, to a strange land with no money, at that time they only allowed one to take eight dollars. How long can you live on eight dollars? Cannot stand in one place. So, how Prabhupāda was, when he came to Australia, they said, “You are from a poor country, India. We are a rich country, Australia, so what have you come to take from us?”

“I did not come to take anything from you, I came to save you from a cat and dog’s life.” (applause) “What do you mean by living a cat and dog’s life?”

He told that how your life and cat and dog’s life is only different in it’s sophistication, otherwise it is the same thing, and that a human being should have a spiritual aspect and that is missing in the modern world and I was remembering how merciful Śrīla Prabhupāda is and what is the basis of life in the spiritual world. So, here you see there is [...] In the spiritual world, it is love. If you do not have the love, then you are here, and if you develop ove you go there.

So, the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and His expansions in the spiritual world are filled with loving exchanges. All the devotees are filled with love, and the Lord is coming down to the material world to give us easy access back to the spiritual world, to go back. It is because of His love, all the avatāras, all the descents, the avatāras. Lord Caitanya is the most merciful. He promises He would not take up any arms of violence. He has weapons — His beautiful features, the mṛdaṅga, the karatālas, the singing, dancing, the feasting and the festivals — those are His weapons. (applause) His love. And so, got a taste how love of Lord Kṛṣṇa is missing in that love.

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
[Cc. Ādi. 1.4]

So, anyway we all hope you in this New Pāṇihāṭi festival, and taste some love, and can taste some spiritual bliss. At least you can feast and you can dance and you can sing and can hear some fantastic pastimes of the Lord, Prabhupāda and the devotees.