20220219 Question and Answer Session

The following is an evening darśana with the Questions & Answers session given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on February 19th, 2022 in Chennai, India.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Question: I have too many negative thoughts about Vaiṣṇavas and in spiritual life I don’t seem like making any progress. I feel like I will go crazy if this is how it continues. What should I do?  

Jayapatākā Swami: Follow the third verse of the Śikṣāṣṭaka - offer respect to all others and don’t expect any respect for yourself. Seems like you are not offering respect to other Vaiṣṇavas. And this is something that we should do. And when we neglect that, naturally we have to suffer. So we should appreciate what other Vaiṣṇavas are doing. And that is the secret of success.

Question: How do we know if we are talking prajalpa because sometimes with devotees we need to talk something not Kṛṣṇa related or some management issues. But how to identify if we are doing prajalpa?

Jayapatākā Swami: If it is really connected with Kṛṣṇa then it is not prajalpa. But if it has nothing to do with Kṛṣṇa or service, then it is prajalpa.

Question: How to feel that we are always connected to your lotus feet and you are always with us?

Jayapatākā Swami: Naturally when you are serving guru and Kṛṣṇa, then you will be connected to guru and Kṛṣṇa and you can feel that. So, we try if we can either serve the guru directly or by following his instructions. And that way we can feel connected.