20210619 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.9.17

The following is a class given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 19th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

The class begins with a reading from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.9.17.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya!

Jayapataka Swami: Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and his brothers came to see Bhīṣmadeva. And Kṛṣṇa came along with Arjuna. Kṛṣṇa was materially a younger cousin brother of Yudhiṣṭhira. So, Kṛṣṇa behaved, although He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he behaved in the normal etiquette. So when Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers bowed down to Bhīṣma, Kṛṣṇa also bowed down to Bhīṣma. But Bhīṣmadeva knew Kṛṣṇa’s actual position. Bhīṣmadeva appropriately greeted Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, although Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He would behave just like an ordinary person. Sometimes, He would do miraculous things. Like lifting up the Govardhana hill on finger for seven days.

So then when Jarāsandha surrounded Him, He was on a mountain. And Jarāsandha lit the mountain on fire, then He and Balarāma jumped 80 miles! So, Jarāsandha thought that I have killed Kṛṣṇa. Then Kṛṣṇa went to rescue Rukmiṇī. And Jarāsandha was astonished to see how Kṛṣṇa is here again, I thought I had killed Him! This way, Kṛṣṇa, He followed the protocol of this world but sometimes He acts on His own accord or as He likes. Actually, He is independent. But as the Gītā says, whatever a great man does, the common men follow. So, as Lord Rāmacandra, He followed the order of His father. But Kṛṣṇa always sets examples as to which things we should follow. In every avatāra, He has a particular mood. Just like as Lord Narasiṁhadeva He is angry, but He is angry at the demons, He is protecting the devotees. That is why He is known as Bhakta-vatsala. Lord Caitanya, He had the mood of giving out mercy. But sometimes, He would get into the mood of His different avatāras. But His natural tendency was being merciful. Just as Locana dāsa Ṭhākura sings parama karuṇā pahū dui jana, nitāi gauracandra.

Caitanya Mahāprabhu this way would embrace His dear, loving devotees. Just on the outskirts of Pratāparudra Mahārāja’s kingdom there was a kingdom of a Turkish Muslim king. He was a governor or rājyapāla. So although he was a drunkard, was from a different religion, he went to see Lord Caitanya and he paid his prostrate obeisances. He cried and he expressed different symptoms of ecstasy. This way, Pratāparudra Mahārāja hearing this was shocked. How a person who was a Muslim governor transformed into a devotee. And how the governor, he sent soldiers and people with Him to protect Him from the pirates and provided Him a boat.

So then Lord Caitanya stayed in the house of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. He asked Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, I notice that you don’t go anywhere, how do you maintain and provide for your family? You have a big family with wife, children, brothers and sisters and so many different issues. Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura said, you want to know my secret? He clapped his hands one, two, three! Lord Caitanya roared, what is that? Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura said that, “I don’t feel like going anywhere. I totally, completely depend on the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. When I clap three times, one, two, three, if I go hungry or starve, for three days, I will tie a pot around my neck and jump into the river Gaṅgā and will kill myself.”

Lord Caitanya said that, “In the Bhagavad-gītā I spoke, I will maintain what My devotees have and I will provide what they lack.” He said many things. Then Lord Caitanya said, “Even if the goddess of fortune has to go and beg or does not have anything in her house, you will not see any poverty, there will be no poverty for you. You stay in your house, be happy.” So, He was so happy with Śrīvāsa. So, like this we can see Lord Caitanya although He is Kṛṣṇa, He had a very special relationship. So, like this, Lord Caitanya’s mood, although He was Kṛṣṇa, but something special. Because He was in the mood of a devotee. But He was still Kṛṣṇa. So, in this way, He had a special relationship with different devotees.

Bhīṣmadeva, he was instructing Yudhiṣṭhira that by the will of Kṛṣṇa he became a king. Being a king, he should protect all those people who have been rendered orphans, helpless and who are in need of protection. Bhīṣmadeva said, that this is will of providence or the desire of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and there is nothing that we can do about this. What is the plan of Kṛṣṇa, that none of us can understand. How we are so fortunate to be serving Kṛṣṇa! Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he was so ecstatic hearing Śukadeva Gosvāmī. He exclaimed, oh what more did my wonderful Lord do, what more did He do? Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja said that Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, he is such a great soul, that if anybody follows him they will become completely purified. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja said that if anybody follows Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, the three worlds will become purified. Just to remember him.

So, Lord Śiva was also asked by Pārvatī, there are so many kinds of worship, pūjā, but which is the best? So, Lord Śiva, he instructed:

ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ
viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
tasmāt parataraṁ devi
tadīyānāṁ samarcanam

That of all the worship, worship of Viṣṇu is the best. But one exception. Worshiping those persons, objects in relation to Him is better. So, Kṛṣṇa wanted Yudhiṣṭhira to hear from Bhīṣmadeva. Bhīṣmadeva, in this way instructed Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, and Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja became convinced and peaceful. In this way, Kṛṣṇa was glorifying His devotee. Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja was not pacified even by hearing the instructions of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but upon hearing the instructions of Bhīṣmadeva, he became completely pacified and peaceful. So in this way, Kṛṣṇa wanted to put His devotee in a superior position. So sometimes some devotees used to ask Śrīla Prabhupāda why did Lord Caitanya not preach Himself, all over the world? Śrīla Prabhupāda said, that He left that task for me! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya!

So no one can know what the plan of the Lord is. Now the world is in the grips of this pandemic. Millions of people have died throughout the world. Taking advantage of this situation, we should try to get everyone to chant the holy names of Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that everyone should at least take the names of God and pray. Because we had committed many sins and acted in a way we should not have acted, therefore in order to please the Lord we should take up the chanting of His holy names. Material scientists think that this material energy is the source. This is called as aja galai stana nyāya. This is called, the goat having the breast in the neck. Logic! So, actually, the people who think that goats have a type of breast that falls from the neck, that does not produce any kind of milk. Although material scientists think that material energy is the source, but the actual fact is that by the will of Lord Mahā-Viṣṇu, everything has come into being or created. The material energy cannot act without the conscious living entities. Kṛṣṇa, He infuses the marginal potency in this Mahā-māyā and therefore it works. So, our mistake is that we identify with our body. We are not this body, we are actually the spirit soul. So as it is said, that our soul is a part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, minute atomic part. This way, so it is our duty to engage in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. If we do that, we will get actual bliss. As long as we are in the material world, we have a material body, we need some sense gratification. But as human beings, our purpose is to actually go back to Godhead. And we can do that very easily by serving the Lord.

We read how Svāyambhuva Manu, he had all kinds of material facilities. But he was not degraded. He did everything in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way. A group of Gandharvas would come in the morning to sing Kṛṣṇa consciously for him. In this Kali-yuga we cannot have our personal band of Gandharvas! But just like I have one TV, I take darśana of various temples. Vṛndāvana, Mumbai, Chennai, Dhaka, TODU, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Melbourne Australia, Sydney Australia, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, I see all the different deities. I don’t have a group of Gandharvas, but I can see the temples. And everyone either by tape recorder or TV can hear the glories of Kṛṣṇa or see Him on TV. Like after class, I will take darśana of various temples in Dhaka, Sylhet, Narsinghdi, Malaysia, Australia, various temples I will see. Also, visiting different homes of the devotees, how they worship the Lord in their homes. So in this way, if husband and wife, together if they serve and worship the Lord they become purified. Lord Kṛṣṇa said, husband and wife they can serve together and preach the message of Lord Caitanya. This is the special opportunity for the people of the age of Kali. If we engage in the service of Lord Caitanya, our lives will become sublime, perfected.

Bhīṣmadeva was giving instructions to Yudhiṣṭhira. He was lying on a bed of arrows. He must have been having intense material pain. But his mind was clear and you could say his advice to Yudhiṣṭhira. But he requested Kṛṣṇa that I could see You in the mood of the battlefield, and then I can leave the body. Because he had the relationship with Kṛṣṇa in the mood of chivalry. So this way, there are different types of relationships with Kṛṣṇa. So devotees of Lord Caitanya they want to always remember Lord Caitanya and His devotees. To stay in this material world, we have to be engaged in the service of someone or the other. But if we engage in the service of Kṛṣṇa, compared to Kṛṣṇa, there is no one who can protect us like Kṛṣṇa can. He is the best friend, the best master, the best of everything. So, what we try to do in this age of Kali, is to reestablish our lost relationship with the Lord. That we can do by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.