20250621 Addressing Youth Students

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

Rādhe Śyāma Dāsa: Mahārāja, we got the maximum strength of students this year – 1000!

Jayapatākā Swami: I used to travel six times around the world, not ten! And now he travels once or twice a year. I was given a lifelong Gold Class on United Airlines and British Airways. In United, I was a million miler! So, Śrīla Prabhupāda had told me, as a sannyāsī, to travel around the whole world. I saw all the temples in ISKCON! Which is not possible today! I saw San Francisco, New York and Montreal! There were only three temples at that time! So I joined ISKCON when I was 19 years old. I don’t know what your ages are! (18/19 years). So when I was in Montreal, I told my parents that I had found a new process, and I was very well at home! My father said, “You come back right away and I will turn you over to the American Army. And then you can die in Vietnam!” So I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, “What should I do?” He said, “It is better to join Kṛṣṇa’s Army!” So I have done that! Then, Śrīla Prabhupāda sent me to India when I was a two-year old devotee, at 21 years of age. And then in Calcutta, he asked me whether I would like to be a sannyāsī. At 21 I did not know much about it! But it sounded nice! So, Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “I gave sannyāsa to 9 in the USA, and India there were two. He initiated the 10^th sannyāsī and I was the 11^th sannyāsī!”

Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me different instructions, like he told me to make Calcutta Ratha-yātrā very big – the biggest in the world. Then I was sent to Māyāpur and he said, “I have given you the spiritual world, now develop it!” Like this, I got like 30 instructions which stick out. I am still trying to fulfill. Twenty years ago, I had a stroke and then I had some liver and kidney transplant. So these things are trying to stop me, but I don’t want to stop!! The doctors and secretaries, they give the reasons, you need rest, you need to calm down and take rest! You see, if you all take up some service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, with great enthusiasm, then you will advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and you will get closer and closer to prema! There is a step-by-step process given in the Nectar of Devotion and other books by our previous ācāryas. First thing is called śraddhā – hearing. You are all doing that. I mean, you have the basic faith to listen to the devotees. Second step is called sat-saṅga – taking association of devotees. You are doing that, you are taking association. And then next step after that is called bhajana-kriyā. Bhajana-kriyā is practicing various parts of bhakti-yoga. Is today the ‘International Yoga Day’? So you are all practicing bhakti-yoga! It is the most advanced of all yogas! In the final stage of bhajana-kriyā, one gets initiated. And then one tries to give up all the bad habits. That is called anartha-nivṛtti. So eventually, the anarthas, the unwanted habits, get reduced. When they are reduced a lot, then you reach the stage called niṣṭhā, means fixed in devotion. So like this, one is gradually climbing up closer and closer to prema. This prema-bhakti is unbelievably, inconceivably happy!

You see, in Bhagavad-gītā it explains that we are the spirit soul. And we have two bodies – one gross body that is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. Then we have a subtle body which is mind, intelligence and false ego. So when we die, we don’t actually die. Our gross body finishes and the subtle body and ātmā takes us to our next body. So this is going on, uncountable times! There are different kinds of living entities – fish, reptiles, insects, birds, animals and human beings. There are four hundred thousand types of human beings, not all of them are on this planet. So these human beings are special because they can understand the spiritual existence. In the human life you can find religion. Just like we have many different religions on this planet. The Jewish, Christians, Islam, Hindu and Buddhists to name a few, there are more. The Druze. Once a Druze group came here to Māyāpur and said I am wearing the Druze colors! They gave me like a trophy with these five colors! And they live will all Muslims around, but they believe in reincarnation and many things.

Anyway, human beings have this ability to know God. To know the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In my travels I found that there are some religions that are open for me to come and preach. So, that was interesting. Now, bhakti-yoga, the principle is that we should love Kṛṣṇa. But in many religions, they also have some verses, ślokas that say that, “We should love God, love Allah” or whatever. But actually, how do you do that? Christ said in the First Commandant, “Love God with all your heart, mind, etc.,” but did not say how to do that! You see, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, he presented a step-by-step process and that is the first time anyone told how to love God. Bhakti-yoga means to give all your emotions, all your concentration, to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When you do this, when you actually concentrate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you get a type of spiritual advancement.

I took you up to niṣṭhā. Next step is ruci. That means you are getting a taste in the bhakti-yoga process. And, from ruci you go to attachment, you become attached to that spiritual bliss. And so then after one being attached goes to the next stage which is bhava or rati. And that is the preliminary prema. In that stage of bhāva your hairs may stand on end, your eyes may cry, you may dance like a mad man! Haribol! Gaurāṅga! So, Lord Caitanya, He was Kṛṣṇa Himself, who came in the mood of a devotee. He combined with Rādhārāṇī and took Her love for Kṛṣṇa. He wanted to experience what His devotees were experiencing. When Kṛṣṇa was in Dvārakā, then Rukmiṇī Devī, She told Him something. “You know everything. You know what Brahmā is doing, You know what Lord Śiva is doing in Kailāsa, You know what is going on in the ananta-koṭi brahmāṇḍas! But there is one thing You don’t know! I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, but You don’t know!” So He was shocked! No one ever told Him there was something He did not know! So, He said, “What is that?” And after a great prodding, Rukmiṇī finally told Him that, “You don’t know how much Your devotees love You! You don’t know in what way Your devotees love You! I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, but You don’t know!” So then, He said, “Alright, in Kali-yuga I will come as a devotee!” Gaurāṅga! So, Lord Caitanya was here on this earth for 48 years. He spent some time in Bengal, He traveled around the circumference of India. Like, South India, West India, North India and so on. Then 18 years He spent in Jagannātha Purī. So, His latter pastimes He was experiencing love of His devotees for Kṛṣṇa. So, that love of Kṛṣṇa, He gave out! And Kṛṣṇa Himself, doesn’t give that! He gives it out very rarely! If someone completely surrenders, He may give it. But Lord Caitanya gave it – you don’t even have to ask Him, He just distributes it!

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, he made a prayer and said, You are giving what no avatāra gave before, You are giving love of Kṛṣṇa! So you are here in the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, Navadvīpa dhāma. I hope you like it! Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying, when we were walking down the road near the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, that, “This is the birthplace. ISKCON is the karma-sthāna. Janma karma ca me divyam [Bg. 4.9], there is a verse in the Bhagavad-gītā. So we have the birthplace, and here is the karma-sthāna. So you can keep Kṛṣṇa in your heart and gradually start to realize the ecstasy of kṛṣṇa-bhāva, kṛṣṇa- prema. Bhāva means ecstasy. Prema is when you actually realize Kṛṣṇa and your ecstasy is very sublime. So, all the yogas are there but they do not take you like bhakti-yoga. Aṣṭāṅga-yoga, you can get some mystic powers, shooo! But we can get those if you want. Or we can make something very small, smaller than the smallest, bigger than the biggest, like that there are eight mystic powers. But the devotees get those automatically! But they don’t use them. Because they don’t need them! So like that, there are also the jñāna-yogīs, generally known as Māyāvādīs, they think the Absolute Truth is impersonal. Then there are karma-yogīs and they want to reach the heavenly planets. Like that there are different yogas. We practice bhakti-yoga.

I am now an Indian citizen and talking to you as Jayapatākā Swami, I have my PAN card and passport in that name. Now if you have any questions, you can ask them.

Question: How to develop firm faith in the words of the spiritual master?

Jayapatākā Swami: Very good question. Because it says in the Vedas that if you have firm faith in the Supreme Lord, in the words of the guru, then you can achieve perfection. So when you ask different questions and when you get the answers then you develop faith, right? So the guru should just be saying what he heard from his guru or the śāstras. If he says, “Oh, I think, maybe like this,” you cannot put your absolute faith because he is saying maybe. I went to the MI, Māyāpur Institute. They asked me various questions. And they all liked the answers. I preach to the preachers. The preachers like Rādhe Śyāma Prabhu, he preaches to all of you! He was only in Pune, but they put in him in the Hyderabad temple committee, that is in my zone! Right now, I don’t travel as much. But that is my zone. Next question.

Question: How can we serve selflessly forever?

Jayapatākā Swami: As you develop faith in Kṛṣṇa, and you want to serve Him, He is eternal, you are eternal, then you can serve Him forever! And Rādhārāṇī, you can pray to Her to give you some kṛṣṇa-sevā. She made the Navadvīpa dhāma. So for us, the Rādhāṣṭamī is a very big festival in Māyāpur. And so this Navadvīpa dhāma has nine petals. And like the lotus you have the center and petals around. This also indicates the nine processes of devotional service in bhakti-yoga. One day Rādhārāṇī was playing the flute and Kṛṣṇa came to see who was playing on the flute. He said, “You made this beautiful dhāma for Me! So this will be non-different from Vṛndāvana. And every activity performed here will get a thousand times benefit!” But Vṛndāvana, you do anything sinful or think anything sinful, you will have to get a thousand times back! But in Māyāpur, it is not exactly the same. So, you don’t get multiple reactions. So, one sādhu in Vṛndāvana, Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, he came to Māyāpur and he said, Vṛndāvana was too hot!! Meaning if you do anything wrong you get the reaction a thousand times. So he stayed in Māyāpur and got his siddha-svarūpa here!

Question: How you see difficulties that have come in the path of your devotional service especially body sickness, it is difficult to continue the process, How to get rid of them?

Jayapatākā Swami: As I said, I joined when I was 19 and now I am 76. So, I have various physical problems. But, serving Kṛṣṇa is so blissful I don’t want to stop! Maybe I cannot dance and do the things I did before, but I am using the time to study Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and to preach. So I have my Bhakti-vedānta degree and now I am preparing for my Bhakti Sārvabhauma degree. How many of you have a degree? So, there is always something you can do.

Question: How can we always be in the mood of gratitude to Śrīla Prabhupāda and guru and how can we feel instrumental in the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda and guru?

Jayapatākā Swami: Just like this bhakti-yoga, Śrīla Prabhupāda had preached it all over the world. He went 11 or 14 times around the world. And he established 108 temples, and he gave us the essence, he gave us the books, and these books were translated in different Indian languages and also translated into foreign languages, by the BBT. So, how can we not feel grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda? I mean, he went around the world to spread this message. He was 70 years old and he stayed with us till he was 82. I am 76 and have so many difficulties. So Śrīla Prabhupāda at 70, he felt I have to carry out the order of my guru, the order of Lord Caitanya. And young or old, whether I go to hell or heaven, so he was committed to doing this sevā. And you are all the fruits, you are reading his books, hearing his lectures, etc. So why won’t you be grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda? Nobody paid him, people go to the West to make money. He went to the West to give Kṛṣṇa consciousness!

Question: As you said about anarthas and anartha-nivṛtti, most of the youth devotees are suffering from lust, social media and get addicted. How can they come out of that, even though they are devotees and practicing?

Jayapatākā Swami: What time is it? So, when we are young, we have a lot of desires. And we think that we are the body. And if we can satisfy our bodily desires, that is the goal of life. But actually, this material bodily senses they give us not only pleasure but also give us pain. When we are young, maybe there is not that much pain. As we get older there is a lot more pain. The pains that are mentioned in the Vedas – ādhyātmika, ādhidaivika and ādhibhautika. Ādhyātmika mean pain comes from your own body, like someone has some physical pain that is ādhyātmika. Ādhibhautika is pain caused by other living entities. For instance, mosquitoes, dogs, I can tell you an experience I had with the hogs. I went under a bridge, and I had to pass nature’s call. All of a sudden I heard a hog snorting. He pushed me over and ate my night soil! He scared the hell out of me! That is ādhibhautika! Ādhidaivika is just like now we have climate change. Maybe very hot or flooded, drought, things that are beyond our control, they are ādhidaivika.

So we hope while you are here, you can advance a lot in bhakti-yoga. And the South Indians told me that they don’t like the Bengali food! They like the South Indian food – more chili, more tamarind, they like more sour! But I am used to everyone because I travel all over India. Some ayurvedic doctor in Gujarat, I asked him if I can have iḍli, dosa. He said you are not South Indian, so why do you want it? I said, I am the guru of South Indians!

Thank you all for coming to Māyāpur and pray to Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityānanda, Advaita Ācārya, Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa, Pañca-tattva, for Their mercy and help spread this Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the whole of India! I mean, Śrīla Prabhupāda asked me to preach, but I am limited! So I need help, anyone who wants to help me can help me by spreading the message of Lord Caitanya.