20220222 Question and Answer Session

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

I had a question on my mind for a long time now and specially in the time of the pandemic. So when I hear at the crucial times of some devotee’s health situations it sometimes looks as if he or she may make some decisions that seems more in the direction of leaving their bodies rather than live. How to understand or see this in a Kṛṣṇa conscious way?

Your Servant,
Abhayacaraṇa Nimāi dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Since there are many factors – age, health, and various situations, one may try to survive and may think that it is hopeless, and they want to remember Kṛṣṇa at the end of their life. Generally, we should try to survive and depend on Kṛṣṇa. If our situation gets worse, then we try to remember Kṛṣṇa at the last moment of our life. But generally, we try to survive.

How to overcome fear and what is the sign of full surrender to the lotus feet? - Bhaktin Kāñcanā

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, this material world is a place of fear and suffering. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. So we depend on Kṛṣṇa. There is a saying in Bengali, kṛṣṇa rākhe māre ke, māre kṛṣṇa rākhe ke. When Kṛṣṇa protects you, who can hurt you? And when Kṛṣṇa hurts you, who can protect you? So, like that we try to depend on Kṛṣṇa.

How can we become more appreciative in our day to day life since as human beings our natural inclination is towards criticism. And seeing the defects around us disfavoring us in the cultivation of good qualities?  - Hemāṅga Gauracandra dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: It is not that we have to develop a tendency to criticize, we can also appreciate devotees. Just like, the flies they go to the scabs and sores, injuries in the body. But the bee goes for the honey. So, we want to be like bees, not like flies. We would like to see the good qualities of others and not the bad qualities.

I am retired and my children are settled, so how do I detach myself from them as I am finding it difficult to detach and focus on my spiritual life? 

Your Servant,
Yaśodānandana Mādhava dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: You try to cultivate your children so that they practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and that is a good service for you. And you should also help to cultivate and outreach to other people. sometimes other people are more receptive than your own children. I went down today, and I saw a lady that I met yesterday, and she had already started chanting. When I came back, I met a couple, the husband had been in hospital and discharged. So he chants every day 15 to 20 minutes and the wife chants five minutes every day. So there is plenty of opportunity to preach if you are looking for that chance.

We are Brahman and individuals, but the Brahman is impersonal. How to understand it properly? - Anuttama Rādhā, Germany

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Kṛṣṇa is known as Para Brahman. He is superior Brahman. So Brahman may be impersonal but the superior Brahman is personal. So we try to understand Kṛṣṇa as a transcendental person.

When a person leaves his body untimely in an accident, or murder or suicide, what should we do for the benefit of that soul? If we perform the funeral rites in the Vaiṣṇava way with tulasī stick, chanting, Vṛndāvana dust, Gaṅgā-jala, etc. will the soul receive the same benefit and go to the spiritual world? We had one of our congregation members who left his body recently like this. - Lakṣmī Rādhā devī dāsī

Jayapatākā Swami: We try to send the soul in a most auspicious way. Could be that with all these things a soul can go back to Godhead. There may be many factors we don’t know. But in this way we are doing what we can for the benefit of the soul. And so if you put Ganges water and other auspicious things it will definitely benefit. We heard how a bird caught a snake and was eating it when it was dead. The tail of the snake touched the Ganges water and therefore the snake got delivered. So normally the snake is envious, it bites without cause. So, we do what we can for the departed soul.

A devotee working at the billing counter of a grocery store has to scan meat and egg. Will she incur sinful reactions? Can you give her some suggestions Guru Mahārāja? - Lalitāṅgī Rādhā devī dāsī, Canada

Jayapataka Swami: According to the codes of Manu, there are six persons who get the karma. So analyze these instructions of Manu and see if the devotee working at the billing counter is included in those six. Alright!