20201001 Zoom Session with ISKCON Metpally Congregation

The following is a Zoom Session with His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 1st,2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. Zoom Session with ISKCON Metpally Congregation.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Jayapatākā Swami: This Puruṣottama month the special mantra is:

govardhana dharam vande,
gopālam gopa-rūpinam
gokulotsava īśānām,
govindam gopikā-priyam

Bāgunārā? Is Varada Kṛṣṇa here? ? Someone can give an introduction to me and then I will speak. What Deities they are worshiping there now and what Deities they want to worship. (We have small Deities of Gaura-Nitāi, Rādhā Giridhārī and Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā small mūrtis are there and we are planning to install marble Deities of Rādhā Giridhārī.)

Bāgunārā? I am very happy to be here in Metpally. I did not have much idea about this wonderful temple. When I came here and saw Narahari Prabhu is doing very nice preaching. Here in Māyāpur we have the Nāmahaṭṭa, which was originally made by Lord Nityānanda. And restarted by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in the 1800s. So then, it had died out. So I have restarted it on the order of Śrīla Prabhupāda. In the cities we do Bhakti-vṛkṣas which is kind of urban, small Nāmahaṭṭa. In the villages we do Nāmahaṭṭa. Now in East India we have about 3,800 Nāmahaṭṭas. Like that we have now hundreds of thousands of devotees. So we are seeing that Narahari Prabhu is doing that kind of preaching in Metpally.

Actually, the villages in India are much more traditional and pious than the cities. People naturally, they can be more God conscious. People are attracted to work in the cities, by larger salaries. Then they live in basti type situation. Where they work long hours, and they spend their money on intoxication and drinking. And then other bad habits. In that way they actually waste their money. And they use that in bigamy and intoxication. Actually, they are much happier in the natural setting of the village. Now that there is a pandemic, the people in the cities are very badly affected. And the people in the villages should be very careful that they do not get infected. We are happy that Narahari Prabhu is caring about the villages. Rather to get back to Godhead is not difficult,one has to just desire. One has to desire to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa and His avatāras.

So these Telugu speakers seem to be a lot of Vaiṣṇavas. Here Lord Rāma came and Bālājī, Narasiṁhadeva, also Kṛṣṇa came here. This is a very holy place. Lord Caitanya taught that if one is born in India, they should perfect their lives and help others.

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra
janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra 

(Cc. Ādi 9.41)

So, like that most propaganda is that we will be happy by gratifying our senses. While we have senses naturally, we have to satisfy them to some extent. But the same senses that give us happiness, they may also give us distress. We get disease, old age, we get ādhyātmika, ādhibhautika, ādhidaivika miseries. Trouble from our body, trouble from other living entities, a mad dog, mosquito, and thieves. All kinds – ādhibhautika. And ādhidaivika – miseries from excessive heat, or no rain, drought, different problems like right now there is a pandemic going on. Sometimes there is war. Like in the Khasa region Indian soldiers and Chinese soldiers are facing each other. No reason to have fight. But this is Kali-yuga, for no reason they will have fight. So, we want that all of you after the end of this life go back home back to Godhead. Back to the spiritual world. So the real purpose of life is to solve all these problems of birth, death, old age and disease. That happens naturally by bhakti-yoga.

Lord Caitanya visited South India, Lord Caitanya especially came to give out the blessing of love for Kṛṣṇa. Normally, one has to get kṛṣṇa-prema by surrendering fully to Kṛṣṇa. But He was giving out love of Kṛṣṇa freely. He was not considering who was qualified, who was not qualified and giving to all. That is the real happiness we are seeking. Lord Caitanya was teaching how we should chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. Lord Śiva told Pārvatī that by chanting one name of Lord Rāma is equal to a thousand names of Lord Viṣṇu. So one name of Lord Kṛṣṇa He told was equal to 3000 names of Lord Viṣṇu. We chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare! ‘Hare’ is a form of addressing. ‘Hare’ could mean Hari or could be Harā which means either Lord Śiva or Rādhā. So Hare Kṛṣṇa is addressing Kṛṣṇa and His energy. So anyway, we are recommending that in this Age of Kali we should chant the names of Kṛṣṇa. Actually, in other yugas, Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, there were other processes. Satya-yuga there was meditation, in Tretā-yuga there was homa, Dvāpara-yuga there was temple worship. Actually, in Kali-yuga we are not qualified to perform any of these three. So to give mercy on the fallen souls in Kali-yuga, He came as the holy name. All the power He possesses, He has in the holy name. Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktiḥ: So by chanting these holy names we can achieve all the success. Please repeat after me:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Lord Caitanya, He had walked and He would visit all the houses along the way. When He entered into Andhra Pradesh, He went to Kūrma-kṣetra and it details that He stayed in a particular house. When He went to a house as a sannyāsī they would bathe His feet. The wife would pour the water and the husband would rub it in. Then He would stay in the house, take the food. So, He told the householder the following instruction:

yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa
(Cc. Madhya 7.128)

We are happy that Narahari Prabhu is trying to carry out this order. His Holiness Rādhānath Swami is my dear friend and close Godbrother. So, he was instructing his followers also to preach Lord Caitanya’s message. So this kind of order, this kind of instruction Lord Caitanya gave to everyone He met in South India. How many of you would like Lord Caitanya to visit your house? Raise your hand! Who wants? You see, Kṛṣṇa in Dvāpara-yuga He came and He was thinking people in Kali-yuga will be deprived. And then He was also challenged by Rukmiṇī Devī. She said, “You are Parama Bhagavān. You know what is happening in Satya-loka what Lord Brahmā is doing. You know what Lord Śiva, Mahādeva is doing in Kailāsa. You know everything. But there is one thing You don’t know!” “What?” He said, “What is that?” She said, “I know, Rādhārāṇī knows but You don’t know. What is that He asked? You do not know how much Your devotees love You! And in what way Your devotees love You!” So both to give mercy to the fallen souls of Kali-yuga as well as to answer the challenge of Rukmiṇī Devī, He took the role of being a devotee. Although He is Kṛṣṇa, He came as a devotee. Actually, He was enjoying as a devotee so much. Balarāma came as Nityānanda. As a devotee He was showing how to be a devotee. So, I hope that all of you in the villages you can get the people to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, to practice bhakti-yoga. In this way, enjoy the transcendental bliss. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda had the order to spread this in the Western world. But then he received the order to also preach in India. Although I was born in the West, he sent me to India. In 1978 I became an Indian citizen. I renounced my other citizenship. I became an Indian citizen. I have an Indian passport and I am very happy. I am very glad that you are having a nice center in Metpally. Since I have to meet many devotees and there are many other ceremonies, I will not speak longer. I speak Bengali and Hindi but am just learning Telugu, a few words! I think that you are very fortunate that there are many holy places in Andhra and Telangana. I hope that Metpally will become a center of spiritual vibration. Haribol!