20201121 Question and Answer Session

The following is a Question & Answer Session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on November 21st, 2020 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India. 

Keyā Rāṇī: Sometimes question arises that Mahārāja Parīkṣit being such a great devotee, why he put a dead snake around the neck of the sage. What should we understand from this act of Mahārāja Parīkṣit?

Jayapatākā Swami: We understand that the Lord put him into some illusion so that the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam could be spoken. But the sage, he did not consider it as a serious offence. Certainly, it does not a warrant cursing the emperor to death. If in the present society, if somebody does this, how that person should be punished? You know, certainly not death sentence! Maybe some punishment for disrespect. But the emperor was feeling he was being disrespected. And we take that as Kṛṣṇa’s arrangement. Like when Arjuna expressed his reluctance to fight, then we consider that he was put in some illusion by Kṛṣṇa, so that Kṛṣṇa could speak the Bhagavad-gītā. Normally, Parīkṣit Mahārāja would never do this kind of mistake.

Saṅgītamayī Gopī devī dāsī: Gurumahārāja, being a gṛhastha how can we understand whether we are actually gṛhastha or gṛhamedhī. And in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is already described how one should follow the gṛhastha life. What happens if we don’t act according to the scriptures and go on satisfying our lusty desires?

Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we read in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya when Lord Caitanya was in Vṛndāvana, one gṛhastha approached Him and he said, I am a very very fallen gṛhastha. So like that he got the mercy from Lord Caitanya. Now Śrīla Prabhupāda said as gṛhasthas we should try to keep our goal higher. But as you said, maybe we are not able to achieve that right away. But we try. That is why the śāstra gives us different vratās, different systems that we can follow. Like the Bhīṣma Pañcaka is optional. So there are many things which are optional. If you think you need more purification, you can do these optional vratās. A brahmacārī may consider, these are not for me, I don’t have any problem. But they can also preach to the gṛhasthas. And if they do, no harm. I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda what should we do in the Dāmodara month? He said, this is especially for the new customers! Like a store has a sale. To encourage new customers, but you are a regular customer. All the months, all the days, whether sale or not sale, you are a regular customer. So this is the answer Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me.

Question [Bengali]: In the gṛhastha-āśrama there are many initiated Prabhus and Mātājīs and their families. But their children, even though connected to Kṛṣṇa conscious families, they do not follow devotional lifestyle. They eat outside food and are oblivious to devotional life. If their children act in this way, will that affect the devotional lifestyle of the parents? If you can kindly elaborate on this.

Jayapatākā Swami: One time, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that he would indulge a 100-times in sex life if he knew that every time, he was guaranteed to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child. So therefore, every times your child will become a devotee, that is not guaranteed. That is why we try from the beginning we want a Kṛṣṇa conscious potential child. So we pray to the Deities, we get the blessing of guru. We do the garbhadāna-saṁskāra. Then we also have to bring up the child with love and affection. It is not an accident that they become a devotee. They may get some special association of a pure devotee. The parents naturally feel that they are very successful if the child becomes a devotee. There is no śāstra that says if a child is not a devotee, that somehow affects the parents. But the first five years of the child life, if they commit some sinful activities, then the parents have to take responsibility. This was a curse given by a ṛṣi to Yamarāja so this thing was done in the universe. Because when he was a little child, he poked an insect with a grass.

Śrīnivāsa dāsa and Ratnāvalī devī dāsī: We are living in a society where there is no Kṛṣṇa conscious environment. How can we comment behavior in another person, and we can give a gift of spiritual environment in our daughter?

Jayapatākā Swami: That is why we are trying to create this Kṛṣṇa conscious environment in Māyāpur. And in different parts of the world, they are doing different things to give devotees, young children, a Kṛṣṇa conscious environment. The CDM (Congregational Development Ministry) they have specially a program for children. If you would like to be part of this initiative, please contact the CDM.

Rādhikā Premabhakti devī dāsī: When one’s material life is too problematic, how should we take it as Kṛṣṇa’s special mercy or settlement of karma?

Jayapatākā Swami: Yes! Next question! Ha ..Ha ....Ha... So, we take it as Kṛṣṇa’s mercy because He doesn’t let anything happen without His permission. Nothing! For devotees, they see that their karma is settled at a reduced rate. Actually, this material world is always problematic. This material world is duḥkhālaya. This is already stated by Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā. If you think that this material world is problematic, that should be an inspiration for you to go back to the spiritual world. Why do you want to stay in the material world, life after life? Why don’t you see that this material world is problematic? And you should try to be Kṛṣṇa conscious? You have such a nice name. Rādhikā Premabhakti! I want that prema-bhakti of Rādhikā! So we see that this material world is a horrible place, but we try to make best use of a bad bargain. That is why it is very important that husband and wife, both are devotees. And they try to become very dear to Kṛṣṇa.