20240914 Question-and-Answer Session

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Hare Kṛṣṇa! First of all, I want to tell you that I have cataract in my eyes. But I was told that either I come to Malaysia with the cataract or I get that operated upon, wait and then come later. So I thought being present at the National Convention in Johor and then here in KL (Kuala Lumpur), better to go even though I had cataract. When I go back to India, I will have it operated upon. So I don’t see the faces of the people, I just see that you are there. Cirañjīva thought I was angry at him because I could not recognize him! I am not angry at anybody! So, just a short talk before the question and answer.

It is very important that everybody realized that Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa Himself, who came down as His devotee. Rukmiṇī devī told Kṛṣṇa that, “You know what Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, what is going on in the ananta-koṭi brahmāṇḍas, but there is one thing You don’t know, Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, but You don’t know!” Kṛṣṇa was amazed! “What is She was saying, there is something I don’t know!” He asked, “What is that?” She told Him, “You don’t know how much Your devotees love You, and in what way we love you – Rādhārāṇī knows, I know, but You don’t know, because there is nobody above you.” Then He said, “In Kali-yuga…” He said three times, “I will come as My devotee, I will come as My devotee, I will come as My devotee!”

But Kṛṣṇa thought how He had so much transcendental fun, enjoyment, in Vraja. But He had not distributed this kṛṣṇa-prema for a long time! So, He decided to come again in Kali-yuga. So, Rādhārāṇī had created the Navadvīpa dhāma, Kṛṣṇa came there and appreciated it very much. Then He and Rādhārāṇī combined together. Originally, Kṛṣṇa created or manifested Rādhārāṇī and She is the pleasure potency, the āhlādinī-śakti. Kṛṣṇa and Her combined, they produced Caitanya Mahāprabhu! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! So when He came, He did not come alone, He came with His expansions, avatāra, śaktis, His devotees. This was predicted in the 11^th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ
sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ
[Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.5.32]

So Kṛṣṇa will come in Kali-yuga but He will not be in Kṛṣṇa’s color, He comes with His expansions, sa aṅga; pango, His potencies and His associates, parsadam. Those who are intelligent will follow Him and do the saṅkīrtana yajña. All of you are very fortunate, you are following Nitāi Gaura, and practicing the special yajña of this Kali-yuga, chanting the holy name. So, this is the magic, we have to keep chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa!

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

You see the name is powerful in all the yugas. Like Ajāmila, he chanted the name of Nārāyaṇa, his son’s name. Different people chanted different names in the different yugas. But the special yajña for Kali-yuga is chanting. So whatever you do, keep chanting. Also, those who are initiated, they take a vow to avoid breaking the four regulative principles. It is very serious. Sometimes, there was someone who said it is not so important to follow these rules. I am in rāgānuga-bhakti, I don’t need to follow. But these vows have to be followed all life. The sahajiyās, they say we don’t have to follow, but we don’t say that. If you want to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you have to follow these vows. You see, if you want to follow no illicit sex, you have to be married or abstain. If you get married, you are allowed to have procreation, otherwise not. So, Lord Caitanya came to deliver all the people in this Age. His mercy is such that somehow everybody gets delivered. But it is your responsibility to help to spread this message of Lord Caitanya to everyone. Hare Kṛṣṇa! So this was just a short talk. Now we will have questions and answers.

Question: We read from Caitanya-caritāmṛta that Lord Caitanya preached to the Muslims, Māyāvādīs, Buddhists, demigod worshipers, etc. Did Lord Caitanya also preach to the Christians? I could not find any description in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Jayapatākā Swami: Maybe He left that to Śrīla Prabhupāda! Because Śrīla Prabhupāda preached in Europe, America, Australia, to all the Christians. I was born as a Christian. Śrīla Prabhupāda explained how we should love Kṛṣṇa. This is the International Society for Krishna consciousness. So in the Bible, Lord Jesus, He said the first commandment was to love the Lord with your heart, mind and soul. In the Bible, they tell a lot about Lord Jesus. They say we should love God but they don’t have much information. But the Bhagavad-gītā, the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam they tell so much about the Lord and His avatāras. So I was telling some Christian nurses who came to see me in the hospital, in the Bible it is said so much about Jesus and He says you should love God, but you don’t know so much about God. But in the Vedas there is a lot of information about God. So they said, “Oh, that is true!” So Śrīla Prabhupāda gave the information that the Lord, He is personal, He has a variety of pastimes. So naturally people, they became the lovers of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In that way, they were following Lord Jesus. Actually, Śrīla Prabhupāda he gave this knowledge to the Western people.

Question: Only initiated devotees go back to Kṛṣṇa? If a devotee chants 16 rounds, follows the four regulative principles, do devotional service, but not initiated can he or she go back to Godhead?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, if they remember Kṛṣṇa at the time of death, they can go back to Kṛṣṇa. But if someone avoids initiation which is available but they want, out of false ego or something they don’t want to be initiated, that is an offence. If one cannot get it, it is not available, then he could still go back to Godhead. But if it is available and one does not take it because of his false ego, so due to that offence he may not go back. All the initiated devotees are being trained up to be gurus in the future. How many are here now? As many people that are here, if you are initiated, you all can be gurus. After the guru leaves, or if the guru orders you.

Question: I understand the term demigod etc. However, there are few Prabhus/mātājīs who do not respect demigods. Is that right? Is it forgiven even if he or she continuously prays to Kṛṣṇa?

Jayapatākā Swami: The devas are also devotees and we should not disrespect any devotees. Some devas have got some desires, they are called sakāma-bhaktas, but they are devotees, we should not disrespect them. If one disrespects them that is an offence. devas, devīs, they are also Vaiṣṇavas. Actually, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it says vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ: Śambhu, Lord Śiva is one of the greatest devotees. So, Lord Caitanya, He would have some personally association with Lord Śiva and visit many different temples. In every temple He would chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

We see sometimes that there is some disagreement between the devotees of Kṛṣṇa and the devotees of devas and devīs, but that is due to ignorance. When I went to offer my obeisances to the devī, and the things were settled. That was in Palam Estate here. So, to Lord Viṣṇu you offer with your left side. But for the devas and devīs you offer with the right side. So they all are worshipable in a particular way. It says in Nectar Of Devotion and other transcendental books that we should not disrespect the devas. But we understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme. They are also devotees and may have great powers in the material world.

Question: May I know what is Śrīla Prabhupāda’s expectation on Vaiṣṇava care? How should one be part of it?

Jayapatākā Swami: People, if they read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, they could find out what Śrīla Prabhupāda’s expectations are. It is not a secret. But unfortunately, many devotees do not read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. I realized this, although I had already been studying the books, I decided to get the different degrees. I had already received the Bhakti-śāstrī directly from Śrīla Prabhupāda. Recently, in the past couple of years I started taking the test for Bhakti-vaibhava and Bhakti-vedānta, although they were giving me free, honorary degrees, I said, “No, I will reread the books and take the test!” So I got by Bhakti-vedānta degree recently. I want to be a good example to all the devotees to study Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Now I am taking my Bhakti-Sārvabhauma! So anyway, all the Vaisnavas and Vaiṣṇavīs, we want to serve and to take care of them.

Question: Thank you Mahārāja. I am in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for four months. How do I choose a guru for initiation? Is there one and only one guru for a devotee?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see one should ascertain who they should take dīkṣā from. Who to take initiation from. That person is the dīkṣā-guru. But one has one dīkṣā-guru. But one can have instructing spiritual masters, unlimited. So, at one point Śrīla Prabhupāda said I am the initiating guru and all of you are the instructing gurus. When he became sick, he had some health issues and then he selected certain number of disciples to start initiating, initially on his behalf and finally to accept their own disciples. As far as how to choose who is your dīkṣā-guru, there are a number of things you should ask yourself to ascertain. I will find out those questions you ask yourself and make it available.

Question: Do we need to have the qualities of a brāhmaṇa as mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā 18.42, in order to get second dīkṣā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Out of humility one may think I don’t have all these qualities. But some of them have to be very careful not to break any regulative principles. Then you get these qualities by accepting second initiation. By our own estimation we never may be perfect. But there is a certain line that we have to come over, be very strict. So if we want to have second initiation we have to become further qualified. Second initiation means like 12-years-old child. Before second initiation, is lesser than 12. So like a baby creates a mess on the lap of the mother, it is not a big thing, but if a 12 year old child creates a mess on your lap, it is a big thing. So for second initiation we should be confident that we will following the regulative principles, and we should have some basic philosophical knowledge. In fact, there is a quote from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that he wanted the people who wanted to take the second initiation, they should have Bhakti-śāstrī.

Question: Could you please explain the foundation of congregational development in the temple?

Jayapatākā Swami: If someone heard a class from Śrīla Prabhupāda, he said that we create these temples so that people sit down and listen. Gradually they may start to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So the congregational development is all the people who live in their homes, they are also given different programs, so that they also advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Maybe Nāma-haṭṭas, Bhakti-vṛkṣas, different programs so that they can also practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness and advance. So most of our devotees, they live in their homes. They also practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So our temples are meant for people to cultivate them and teach them, and many of our home devotees are also initiated. So, we want to see that everyone is able to engage in devotional service, in bhakti-yoga. If they want to have children in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they need to do garbhādhāna-saṁskāra. So one Christian priest in South America he said, you are a guru I am also a guru, I want to talk to you, Christian guru. So he asked everyone to leave. He said that, “I am a Protestant, I am allowed to get married? How will I have God conscious sex?” I told him the process of garbhādhāna-saṁskāra and how one could practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness as a gṛhastha. After some months I came back to that place and again that man said, “Guru to guru I want to talk to you.” Then everyone left. Then he opened his white collar and took out his neck beads and said thank you very much!

Question: How to fill up the mind with Kṛṣṇa consciousness when the mind is always a monkeying?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, it took him 20 years to achieve perfection. So, don’t expect that in a few months or years you can control the mind. But gradually get the possibility of controlling the mind. The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa purifies the mind. Also, when you want to hear more information on the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa as the Supersoul, He is in your heart and He helps you to purify your mind. So eventually, your mind can be purified. It is a gradual process. And gradually like a little child in the beginning is like a monkey and runs around but eventually, he becomes mature and controlled. So chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, engaging in devotional service, helps to purify the mind.

Question: Onion garlic and caffeine are prohibited to be consumed to practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but there are times it is unavoidable situation when we fall sick, tackling headache and so on, are devotees allowed to take them, especially initiated devotees?

Jayapatākā Swami: I don’t know of any doctor who has prescribed that you have to take onions! I never heard! I know some people having blood pressure they take descented garlic. If you are taking, your doctor is prescribing, don’t look around for a doctor who is prescribing! I am the onion doctor! Give me a 100 ringgits, I will prescribe onion for you! Some people take this garlic to control their blood pressure. But my doctor never prescribed that to me!

Now is the Vāmana Ekādaśī, in the month of Bhādra. Bhādra Pūrṇimā, anyone who gives the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on a golden throne, gives it to somebody, he can go back home back to Godhead. The husband can give to the wife, wife to the husband. Thus spread the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In Māyāpur, they have the special Bhādra Pūrṇimā yajña, different sannyāsīs every day they speak on the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And they distribute the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So Malaysia could also take advantage. This is the special offer of the Bhāgavatam! So you can give some Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets to the different libraries, school libraries, college libraries, your friends, to your Nāma-haṭṭas, your Bhakti-vṛkṣa groups. Somehow, we should promote this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That is very pleasing to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Parīkṣit Mahārāja, he sacrificed his life to have this Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam spoken. So if someone sacrificed his life for you, should you not read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? The first six cantos is Bhakti-vaibhava. The last six cantos is Bhakti-vedānta. So, in the 9^th canto in the purport, Śrīla Prabhupāda said when it comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, men, women, śūdras, whatever, they are all equal. So there are various instructions in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So everyone should read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Thank you very much for your questions. I hope my answers were Kṛṣṇa conscious enough! This human life is a rare gift and getting facilities in the material world depends on your karma. Normally people are very desirous for attaining money, education, beauty, parentage, etc. so we are taking birth after birth in the material world. Someone has good birth, money, good looks, and have good education, but they realize that I am still not happy! The real happiness comes from being Kṛṣṇa conscious! And the material things are just phantasmagoria. I hope that all of you realize Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become very happy! Thank you very much! All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!