20180804 Evening Darśana Question and Answer Session

Nāma Oṁ…Mukham…

Since we are just coming back from the hospital and it is late, I will just have questions and answers. Any special day? No. 

Question: Why did Śrīla Prabhupad blame mundane charities of some swamis.?

Guru maharaj: You see serving Krishna is like watering the root of the tree and so if someone renounces the world and then engages in mundane charity work, then what is the meaning of that renunciation? So in bhakti yoga the activity of serving Krishna is transcendental and mundane charity work is on the mundane platform. So if someone practices bhakti yoga then they use their senses to satisfy the senses of Lord Krishna. Hrishkishena Hrishikesha sevanaṁ. So they engage in spiritual sevā. 

Question: I am curious what is the specific reason why we are known as Rūpānugas? Was Rūpa Goswami the foremost of the Goswamis? Caitanya Mahāprabhu also met Sanātan Goswami who wrote about the specifics of devotional practice in the Haribhakti Vilās. Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Goswami wrote about saṁskāras etc. But we are named specifically Rūpānugas after Rūpa Goswami. Not just followers of all the Goswamis. Ys Nanda Priya Prema dd

Guru maharaj: Yes, Rūpa Goswami is the chief of all the Goswamis and Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswati Thakur described how we are Rūpānugas. How Rūpa Goswami was the vishwa rājya sabhā and after he left, it was Jīva Goswami. So Rūpa Goswami is the ninth gopī. We worship the ashta sakhīs. 9th sakhi is Rūpa Goswami. Although Sanātan was his elder brother, he was considered superior to Sanātan Goswami. We follow all the Goswamis but amongst them Rūpa Goswami is the senior most. 

Question: How to be strong and unwavered in the practice of devotional service? Kusum Sharma

Guru maharaj: Not being strong is an anartha. So anartha nivritti is the stage when all these anarthas are taken away. As Prabhupad said, bhakti yoga is a gradual process. 

Question: If we are praised how should we internally and externally respond?

Guru maharaj: We should think that how all the praise is actually meant for Krishna, meant for our guru and we should not take any praise to be our praise. We should not think that we are somehow glorified. This is prathistha asha or desire for recognition, if someone offers us praise we should not take it as ours. If we have done anything worthy of praise it is actually Rādhā Mādhav, Nitāi Gaura, gurudev who have manifest this We should keep ourselves humble, more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, ready to offer all respect to others and not take any respect for ourselves. 

Question: Is it selfish to desire to go back to Godhead after this lifetime?

Guru maharaj: I said I want to serve Śrīla Prabhupad life after life. And Prabhupad said, why do you want me to come back? His magazine was Back to Godhead. So it seems that Prabhupad was promoting us to go back to Godhead after tis life.

Question: How can one have Krishna be unlimitedly and eternally merciful upon him or her? Patita Pavan Gaur das.

Guru maharaj: Krishna by His very nature is very merciful. Hey Krishna Karuṇā sindho, so here it describes Lord Krishna as an ocean of mercy. If one is always dependent on Krishna, then Krishna reciprocates and He always protects His devotees. Some of the cowherd boys entered the snake demon’s mouth – Aghāsura. So they thought Krishna is there, He will protect us. So they entered the mouth of this demon who was in the form of a snake. So Krishna’s nature is to reciprocate. If someone is depending on Krishna, then Lord Krishna protects that devotee. Ye yathā maam prapadhyante taams thathaiva bhajaamyaham. So someone might think I have material desires, this is only for pure devotees but Lord Krishna says, yathā that means everything, material and spiritual. So those who depend on Krishna and still have desires and those who depend on Krishna have no desires, Lord Krishna reciprocates and He protects the devotees who are depending on Him.