20201031 Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.34

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 1.3.34:

yady eṣoparatā devī
māyā vaiśāradī matiḥ
sampanna eveti vidur
mahimni sve mahīyate

Translation: If the illusory energy subsides and the living entity becomes fully enriched with knowledge by the grace of the Lord, then he becomes at once enlightened with self-realization and thus becomes situated in his own glory.

Purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda: Because the Lord is the Absolute Transcendence, all of His forms, names, pastimes, attributes, associates, and energies are identical with Him. His transcendental energy acts according to His omnipotency. The same energy acts as His external, internal and marginal energies, and by His omni-potency He can perform anything and everything through the agency of any of the above energies. He can turn the external energy into internal by His will. Therefore by His grace the external energy, which is employed in illusioning those living beings who want to have it, subsides by the will of the Lord in terms of repentance and penance for the conditioned soul. And the very same energy then acts to help the purified living being make progress on the path of self-realization. The example of electrical energy is very appropriate in this connection. The expert electrician can utilize the electrical energy for both heating and cooling by adjustment only. Similarly, the external energy, which now bewilders the living being into continuation of birth and death, is turned into internal potency by the will of the Lord to lead the living being to eternal life. When a living being is thus graced by the Lord, he is placed in his proper constitutional position to enjoy eternal spiritual life.”

So the illusory energy, in the conditioned life makes us think we are the body. And we think that satisfying the needs of the body is the goal of life. That is the illusory energy, when we are in the conditioned state. But the illusory energy can also be used by Kṛṣṇa, to help us advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Like we see, the protectress of the holy dhāma, Prauḍa Māyā, she keeps the demoniac people out of the dhāma. But she helps the devotees enter into the dhāma. We heard the pastime of Lord Śiva, who was chanting the name of Gaurāṅga. Mahādeva was dancing and chanting ecstatically: Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! He was dancing so ecstatically that even in the Patāla-loka there was like an earthquake. Pārvatī was touring the planets, and she was seeing that people were in great misery by the dancing of Lord Śiva. It was not yet the time of cosmic destruction. So she went back to Kailāsa to see her husband. And she saw her husband chanting. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! The dancing was creating these natural disturbances. He was experiencing such great ecstasy that the whole universe was trembling. So, she called out, “Svāmī! Svāmī!” And Lord Śiva, He stopped chanting and looked around, “I was in such ecstasy! why did you interrupt?” Then Pārvatī said, “You know, the universe was being affected by Your dancing.” Mahādeva’s one other name is Āśutoṣa. He is very easily satisfied and grants boons. Then He became pacified. So then Pārvatī said, “What is the name you were chanting? Something like Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga?? When I hear that name, I feel some ecstasy. Whose name is this, and what name were You chanting?” So then, Lord Śiva explained that, “Lord Kṛṣṇa comes in the Kali-yuga in the form of Lord Gaurāṅga. As Gaurāṅga, He gives mercy to all the conditioned souls. He distributes kṛṣṇa-prema, love of Godhead. He does not see who is qualified, who is not, without any discrimination, He distributes prema to all freely.” “How can I see Him!” asked Pārvatī?

“Well, He stays in Navadvīpa dhāma eternally. He is in an unmanifested form.” Pārvatī, she came to Navadvīpa, she said, Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Thus she was chanting Gaurāṅga’s name. And finally, Lord Caitanya manifested to her. “You were chanting My names constantly? What do you want?” Pārvatī said, “I heard that You will distribute kṛṣṇa-prema? I am unfortunate. I don’t get the mercy of the devotees. The devotees say I am piśāca, witch. The witch Māyā. So they don’t want to associate with me. I am very unfortunate. I want Your mercy!” So, Lord Caitanya gave her mercy, “You are My āḍhyaśakti, and in one sense you are not different from Rādhārāṇī.” Acintya-bedābeda-tattva – according to this truth there is difference and non-difference. So, like that she realized her non-difference from Rādhārāṇī. She then took the dust from the lotus feet of Lord Gaurāṅga and applied on her forehead. So that is known as the sīmanta, the partition of the hair. So, this happened in the island of Sīmantadvīpa. Since then the island is known as Sīmantadvīpa. So there, by the Jagannātha temple we have the deity of Gaurāṅga and Pārvatī.

So there we see in this verse that the Lord can change from His one energy to another. And so, in this way, Sīmantinī became the antaraṅga śakti in Navadvīpa dhāma. When we go, to enter Navadvīpa dhāma, we need the special mercy of Vṛdha Śiva and Prauṇa Māyā or Sīmantinī devī. So if we want to serve Kṛṣṇa, then we get such intelligence. If we want to serve Kṛṣṇa. If we want to enjoy the senses, then she gives us the illusory consciousness.

Śrīla Prabhupāda has given an example like from electricity we can get air conditioning, cooling and the same electricity is used in the heater to produce heat as well. So for Kṛṣṇa all the energies are the same. With all His energies, whatever He wishes He can do that. He has unlimited potency. Whatever He wants He can do. But sometime, someone asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, can Kṛṣṇa create something so heavy that He cannot lift? Śrīla Prabhupāda said, yes! First He won’t lift it, then He will! So like that, we see in this Dāmodara month, Kṛṣṇa can never be bound, and as much ropes Mother Yaśodā brought, it was always falling two fingers short. Now, this was amazing to the Vraja-vāsīs. Then Kṛṣṇa said, “Oh! My mother is working so hard!” Then Rādhārāṇī gave some little string or something, and then Kṛṣṇa allowed Himself to be tied. We are observing this Dāmodara month, celebrating it, observing this function. How Kṛṣṇa can be bound by prema-bhakti, pure love? Kṛṣṇa cannot be defeated by force. He is the source of all forces. But He can be won over by pure love. We practice bhakti-yoga, devotional service. Because devotional service, is the path if we follow that, Kṛṣṇa becomes very satisfied. So, like this we try to practice bhakti-yoga. Use our mind, words and body in the service of Kṛṣṇa.

So in this way, we should understand that Kṛṣṇa is the controller of all His energies. Sometimes people think that I have no independence and everything is done by Kṛṣṇa. But He does according to our desires, and our karma, what we deserve. Śrīla Prabhupāda found a cockroach in his room, in Montreal, Canada. He picked the cockroach by the back, and opened the window and told the cockroach, I give you the whole world to enjoy, enjoy! And threw the cockroach out. So Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying, that how the fly stays in some house, and thinks I am the lord of this house. Bhakti-yoga means we want to serve Kṛṣṇa. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was the emperor of the whole world. But he thought that he was doing everything just to serve Kṛṣṇa. Gajapati Mahārāja, Pratāparudra Mahārāja, was in Odisha. He considered that Lord Jagannātha was the proprietor, and I am here to serve Him. So we should have that mentality.

Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that if we want some palatial building, then Kṛṣṇa will certainly give that. But that we can get, but not kṛṣṇa-prema. But if we desire to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa can keep us in a palatial building or in a thatched hut. So, bhakti-yoga means we want to use our mind, our words, our body, in the service of Kṛṣṇa. The ācāryas have said, gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. So in this way, people should render devotional service all the time. Actually, being in the household life, one gets attached to the husband or wife. But if they keep Kṛṣṇa in the center, then everything is perfect. They should try to serve Kṛṣṇa. Try to help their children to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. But in the Kali-yuga, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that one does not have to leave gṛhastha life, if the wife is service-minded. But even if one wants to change, that has to be done gradually. One has different subtle body in the renounced order. And one cannot change all of a sudden. We should serve Kṛṣṇa in this way and this way, be a brahmacārī, be a gṛhastha, in all situations we serve Kṛṣṇa. So we see a number of people have questions.

Rāsanandinī: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja. Since we jīva souls are infinitesimal and act with minute quantities of Kṛṣṇa’s potencies, is the best way to please Kṛṣṇa, is to serve the servant of His servants, because He is close to the lowest first?

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya said, that gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. So He said, He was the servant of the servant of the servant. So, Lord Caitanya is known as the Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja. He came to show by His own example, how to be a devotee. So He said, that He was a servant of the servant of the servant. So yes, we should follow that example.

Question: We sometimes plan to serve Kṛṣṇa on a particular way, but because of someone or some circumstances, we are deprived of that devotional service. So how should we understand whether it is our karma that we could not do the service, or Kṛṣṇa has not sanctioned for us service because we are not qualified?

Jayapatākā Swami: We are not attached to a particular service. We simply want to serve. That may change sometimes. Kṛṣṇa may have some different plan for us. But we should always be in a service mood. If someone is not representing Kṛṣṇa properly, and the person takes away our service, we may see that such persons are soon removed. So anyway we should always be in the mood of service.

Question: How can we get pardoned from vaiṣṇava aparādhā? Please let us know.

Your granddaughter,
Arundatī, Melbourne.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śacī devī had committed an offence to Advaita Gosāñi. Lord Caitanya said He cannot give her kṛṣṇa-prema, because she has offended a Vaiṣṇava. Everybody was lamenting, “How is that Śacī devī was such a great devotee, how is that she cannot get kṛṣṇa-prema?” The devotees were crying that Śacī devī is not getting kṛṣṇa-prema, what is the reason? She was doing such wonderful devotional service, but why still, she will not get kṛṣṇa-prema? Lord Caitanya said there is nothing I can do, she has offended a Vaiṣṇava. So, she has to get forgiven from Advaita Gosāñi for her offence. Along with all the devotees, Śacīmātā went to Advaita Ācārya’s house. That time, Lord Caitanya was there. So Advaita Gosāñi asked, “Why all these devotees are here?” Then they said that, “Śacīmātā wants to be forgiven by You.” And Advaita Gosāñi, He became ecstatic, “How can I be offended by Śacīmātā? She is such a great devotee!” Then He started to glorify mother Śacī. He glorified her so much, that in the process He fainted. Lord Caitanya told mother Śacī, “He is not going to forgive You! There is one way only, take the dust of His lotus feet and apply it on your head.” I saw, some devotees taking dust from the shoes. Also, there is a place in Navadvīpa, aparādhā-bhañjana kulia-pāṭ, where you can be forgiven for your vaiṣṇava-aparādhā. Haribol! Haribol! Next question.

Question: In our devotional life how does a wife respect her devotee husband? How to be humble to him?

Your sheltered daughter,
Nivedita.

Jayapatākā Swami: In the Vedas, there is some description, how exemplary wives treat their husbands. So you can see those examples.

Question: Sometimes I voluntarily accept to be illusioned by Māyādevī. The mind takes control of me. How to keep the mind always under the control of intelligence?

Kavita Santosh,
Sydney.

Jayapatākā Swami: If we want to forget Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa gives us the ability to forget Him. If we want to always remember Kṛṣṇa, then He gives us the intelligence to come to Him. So, since you say you voluntarily surrender to māyā. If you desire that you want to do everything as a service to Kṛṣṇa, then He will give you such intelligence. You can do things for Kṛṣṇa, under the guidance of guru. Kṛṣṇa does not want us to be too austere. Then our heart becomes very hard. So, we should see how we can do our service to Kṛṣṇa.

Question: When preaching to a very newcomer, what aspects of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be given more focus?

Sīmantadvīpa dāsa,
Vancouver, Canada.

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda would offer some service which a person could do. Like someone who is used to working in an office, you don’t say you have to work in a field. You give a service suited to that person. What aspects of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you have to see a way to approach them, and then accordingly give them the service.

Anyway, now I have requested that the class should end here and I will let the devotees go for their service. After the class, we do the home visits a bit. There are a lot more questions, but what to do?