20200606 Zoom Session with CDM Supporters

Lecture Code- 20200606

Occasion- Zoom Address to CDM Supporters          

Place- Sridham Mayapur           

Date- 6-June-2020             

Transcribed by- Jayaraseshwari DD

Transcribed on- 26-June-2020

1st Level Proofer- Bhavatarini Radhika DD            

1st Level Proofed on- 26-June-2020

Editorial Changes (non voice): Usha

Date: 22-Jan-2021

Status: Completed

Source:

https://www.facebook.com/JayapatakaSwami/videos/566879293972331/

Title:

20200606 Jayapatākā Swami Guru Maharaj, Addressing Congregational Development Ministry supporters via Zoom, Śrī Māyāpur Dham, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

paramānanda-mādhavam

Śrī Caitanya Īśvaram

We are very grateful to all the devotees who are helping the Congregational Development Ministry, especially at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We see that the congregational activities have increased during this pandemic.

In Chennai recently they were doing an online Bhagavad-gītā class for beginners. They expected maybe 100 devotees, but 9000 people signed up! So much eager are people for spiritual life! I am very grateful that the KKD and other parts of the Middle East and India are helping the CDM. I am a co-minster and Śrīla Prabhupāda had personally told me that this was an important thing. And he gave some advice how to develop the namahatta in India.

So, we have been doing that and now our CDM has various programs – namahatta, bhakti vṛkṣa, counsel groups, the Dāmodara month. This year we will have the Purushottama month, every three years. And that is not good for weddings or any śubha karma, but very good for spiritual life. And there you get thousand times the benefit for any spiritual activities. So, we are continuously searching for different activities audio break the gṛhasthas. And I have been going on this Zoom visits, and visiting many homes. And I see that in the homes they have deities and very nice altars and it is very encouraging and I see how the gṛhasthas are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and they are practicing and helping their children, it is very inspiring. But you are doing this special service of supporting the CDM. So that is why tonight we are having a special program for you.

Actually, in my daily Caitanya book classes, we were recently discussing the saṅkīrtana of Lord Caitanya, to the house of Cand Kazi. Now we are discussing the Cand Kazi. But that saṅkīrtana is described by Śrīla Vrndavandas Ṭhākura that the sound penetrated the whole universe and went to the spiritual world. And all the denizens of the higher planets like Indra and others, they came down and joined the kīrtana, disguised in human form. There was an universal kīrtana and Lord Caitanya, He involved the Navadvīpa city vāsīs. They all were gṛhasthas, 99.9%. Only know one brahmacārī. So, everyone was a gṛhasthas.

 And Śrīla Vrndavandas Ṭhākura said, just to describe the auspicious sounds made by the ladies, the ulu dhwani, prema dhwani, Hari dhwani, would take me one hundred thousand years! So, they made such auspicious sounds, they were chanting the name Haribol! They were doing ulu dhwani, so many things. So, we are trying to encourage all the gṛhasthas, all the members who cannot live in the temple, to participate in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to have various programs. And we are very grateful that so many congregational members are now taking a very active role. Lord Caitanya told the gṛhasthas in His tour of South India, jāre dekho tāre koho Kṛṣṇa upadesh. So, He inspired everyone to tell the message of Kṛṣṇa. We are trying to recognize different devotees, to inspire them to have different programs. Some are doing children programs, schools, some are doing youth programs, some are doing gṛhastha programs, and in this way, we are trying to involve everyone. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not being an ascetic or a renounced person. It depends on your devotion, your bhakti.

So, thank you all for your devotion and help, for the expansion of this CDM. Hare Kṛṣṇa!

 If you have any questions?

 His Grace Mahāvarāha prabhu asked His Grace Sevā Swarup prabhu about the program.

 His Grace Sevā Swarup prabhu: I want to say something and then we can have the questions and we can see the different devotees who can see guru maharaj face to face. So, the idea is that this meeting we want that all the devotees, the subscribers, to feel that this CDM is part of them, so we are CDM altogether.

So CDM means all of us working together for the pleasure of Śrīla Prabhupāda and Śrīla Prabhupāda’s movement. In our CDM theme we have different roles. Some devotees are working here in the office of Māyāpur. Some are far away and present the CDM initiatives. Some devotees are contributing financially. So, all put together are called the CDM team. Also, we want to show some faces, behind the letter that we sent, behind the Gītā we sent, also the reminder we sent. We have here Adidaivi devī dāsī, taking care of data base, we have here suvigraha prabhu and Sucarita mātājī, joined two months and doing very good service. Also, we would like to thank and present Rasapriya mātājī, she has been doing the publication of the CDM very steadily, very nicely.

So, whenever you see a CDM book, this book has impregnated Rasapriya mātājī’s sweat, not literally, also some tears, some bad times, so we want to present her. She is the heart and soul of the CDM.

(Guru maharaj: Wow, is that why she is wearing a red saree!! Fire!).

Since ISKCON is always growing also the CDM also needs to grow. A part of the namahatta the CDM is supporting, there is also the bhakti vṛkṣa that keeps us funding. We have four or five different modules, we have as His Holiness Jayapatākā maharaj said, the Dāmodara month, we have the bridge program, Gītā for everyone, vaiṣṇava life counselling, our children’s programs are flourishing, the bhakti vṛkṣas are being established in many parts of the Middle East and the world, because of the command of Govinda prabhu from Sharjah. Our social network is increasing, we are making more videos, we have online courses.

So, in order to keep all this growing, the financial part is really, very, very poor. I know all of you, you have your own projects. Many of you have more than one project. So we are requesting you to stretch a little bit more to also fund your project of CDM. For now the GBC is also increasing our grant per year to 2000 dollars, so we are happy for that. We would like to thank you and communicate that our staff is always looking for different gifts that have spiritual value on how to reciprocate for your financial help.

So also, we are keeping a monthly offering to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva during the COVID-19, we are keeping all our services intact. So now let us do what we can and get Jayapatākā maharaj to meet face to face the devotees. So, we can open now to questions. Some devotees have less exposure to you guru maharaj, maybe Shyamarasika prabhu can say something to guru maharaj and he can see the devotees.

 Devotee: Lalitangi Rādhā devī dāsī. When new people come to bhakti vṛkṣa, they see we are doing potluck prasādam. And they also want to bring something for offering. We tell them to use a clean vessel, not used for nonveg.  Chant whatever possible, and do not use garlic and onion. Even if they are eating meat.

Is it okay?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Then better have them bring some fruits or uncooked things. So, they can also participate but eating the cooked food from non-vegetarians is not recommended. So, until they are basically following all the principles, it is better for them to bring fruits or salad.

 Vamsidari Mohandas: Guru maharaj, we have been fortunate to receive your spiritual instructions. Can you also please give us some instructions how to conduct our material life, especially our official life, which we do like eight hours daily?

What would be our mood in doing that? I basically work for an IT company as a consultant. How can I utilize this duty of mine also by aligning to instructions, of what Kṛṣṇa mentioned that whatever duty you do, do it for Him?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: Since devotees by working, they are getting some income to maintain their family and maintain their devotional service, offering food to the deities, and then with the income, they may help the CDM, the local temple, in this way they can see the activity as connected to Kṛṣṇa. Since by all this work, one is able to do various services to Kṛṣṇa. You have to do something to maintain your family, so it is quite necessary to do some work. But we can see how the work is connected to the different aspects of devotional service. Like Murāri Gupta was a devotee of Lord Caitanya. And he was by profession a doctor. So, he had to see patients and, in those days, give them ayurvedic medicines.

But for the income, he was maintaining his Sītā, Rāma Lakṣmaṇa, Hanumān deities. So, the devotees of Lord Caitanya, they also did different things to maintain their families. But that wasn’t an obstacle in their spiritual life. So, I think all the people here have either a job or business or something. And with the income they are helping the CDM. So, they can see their work as part of their service to Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the students, they can see their studies as a devotional service. Everything we should connect to Kṛṣṇa.

Devotee: Hare Kṛṣṇa guru maharaj, PAMRO. Some people are not taking up Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously, in spite of preaching to them for a long time. What do we do and how long we should try?

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: We should think that somehow we are not pure enough to favorably influence these people. But we can continue, there is no limit. But maybe if you find someone who is more eager, you put them on the front burner and put the other people on the back burner. But not that you take them off the fire. If people are more eager, more enthusiastic, then naturally, you want to give them more attention. But there is no limit. Eventually people take it up seriously.

Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that it takes buckets of blood, to make a devotee! It is not easy! That is the compassion of the devotee. So that is why we should be so grateful to all those who helps us in our spiritual life. Our dīkṣā guru, śikṣā gurus, our vartamāna pradarsaka gurus, etc.

Devotee: Rasapriya – On behalf of CDM from Māyāpur how can we assist congregational members all around the world in their service to Śrīla Prabhupāda?

 His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami: They could answer better than me. We try to think of different programs, if they can use to enthuse the devotees. Engage the devotees. So, you may keep track of the devotees who are making other devotees, and reward them with some recognition. Although we don’t expect to be recognized, no harm in doing so. So, I keep telling this to the CDM, they say, we don’t have the technical staff!

So, we need technical staff that can do this. I am having an E-CDM program made, so that we can keep track of all the devotees, who are not only teachers and administrators, but those also who are dynamic preachers. I think you can help the CDM in Māyāpur to do this kind of programs and I am very appreciative that we had a very big exhibition during the ILS and all the leaders around the world, temple presidents   they could see this display.

 To visit all the devotees, we have only one hour. How many devotees online? 48. We will end the questions session now and visit the devotees one by one.