20251005 Sunday Feast Address

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

Jayapatākā Swami: So it is very important to read all the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Bhagavad-gītā, is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is spoken about Lord Kṛṣṇa. And Caitanya-caritāmṛta is about Lord Caitanya. There are many smaller books, and each have their various mahimās, glories. I saw many people have purchased the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. At first, I was thinking they will all be devī dāsīs, I am glad to see at least two or three men stood up! Of course, married ladies are always with their husbands. Husband-and-wife each are half and they equal one! And now I have the Bhaktivedānta degree. They offered to give me honorary because after so many years, I read the books so many times. But I said no, I wanted to do the test and show a good example for my disciples. Now I am halfway through the Bhakti-Sārvabhauma degree. So, I read all the books many times. I saw on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s table, he had the Bhagavad-gītā. So, I asked, “If Bhagavad-gītā is the beginning book, why do you have it? Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “It was essential for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” To get the first initiation Śrīla Prabhupāda said, I should read the Bhagavad-gītā ten times! So, I saw that Bhagavad-gītā it had 1,2,3,4, tick and 1,2,3,4, tick! But I had read Bhagavad-gītā, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Teachings of Lord Caitanya and the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Nectar of Instruction, Nectar of Devotion and the Īśopaniṣad. And some of His Holiness Bhānu Swami’s books. They said what I want to read next. So I said, “Okay, I will read Bhagavad-gītā because I had not read it in a long time!” 

The Bhagavad-gītā tells about, karma, vikarma and akarma. Everyone knows what that means? [Hari Bol]. So, karma, by doing good karma, the goal is to reach the heavenly planets. And vikarma means unauthorized activities. That could be said as sinful activities. And so as a result, get back karma, lower birth, you go to hell, different things. So what is akarma? No reaction. No material reaction. How do you do that? Even if you don’t move, don’t act, still you produce some karma. So, akarma means devotional service. That doesn’t have any material action or reaction. It takes you to the spiritual world. So that is called buddhi-yoga. You think how everything you do can be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. You try to please guru and Kṛṣṇa. You want a guru who is a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So when you do something like you have to cook, then you pray that Kṛṣṇa accepts this service as His devotional service. If you are working and you think how by working you are able to maintain your house, family and in the house, you have Deities, so this house is a type of temple. If you are a gṛhastha and want to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child, that is a devotional service! 

This morning one couple came up to me and said, they are trying to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child for a long time but could not conceive. And they said that now they have conceived. They wanted blessings for the wife! So, I prayed that the child may be Kṛṣṇa conscious, healthy long lived suputra! If a person is looking for some material result, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, that they are very miserly. And the point was that this material world is known as mṛtya-loka. This is the world of death. Birth, disease, old age and death.

I was told by Śrīla Prabhupāda to get admission for the Western devotees to enter into the Jagannātha Purī temple. And then my attempts led me to the Śaṅkarācārya of Purī. He said, “No problem, you can go to see Jagannātha! Just drink one kilo of boiling ghee!” I said, “I will die!” He said, “Yes, but you would be born as a Hindu in the next birth and can go to the temple.” Śrīla Prabhupāda told me that in my previous birth I was born in India! So, I asked him (Śaṅkarācārya), “You are worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa Deities, They are young and beautiful, but you are growing old!” He said, “This is my līlā!” I said, “This līlā everyone has to do in the material world!” Anyway, I was not successful in getting entry into the Jagannātha Purī temple for the foreigners. But then, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Śrīmatī Mamata Banerjee made a duplicate Jagannātha temple. I talked to the architect, and he said this temple is a miracle because some university study said a maximum displacement is of plus or minus 15 millimeters between Jagannātha Purī and the Digha temples. So this temple has Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā, Sudarśana cakra made from the same wood as the Lord Jagannātha in Purī. And the Government of West Bengal made an agreement with the Bureau of India that the pūjā would be irrevocably done by ISKCON! When you go in that direction, please stop and see the temple of Lord Jagannātha in Digha! I wanted just an entry for the foreigners! But the Lord gave me a temple, Deities, everything! And we are doing the pūjā! [Hari Bol] It is your temple! 

Yesterday, I told how the Navadvīpa dhāma had nine islands. And the first island is Sīmantadvīpa. Each island is connected to one of the nine practices of devotional service. How there is a South Indian party which distributes South Indian prasāda on parikramā every year. So you don’t have to worry, you will have South India curd, iḍlis, dosas! So, Sīmantinī devī is actually Yogamāyā, Umā. And she took the dust of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet and put it on her hair. So, the first island is śravaṇam.

The second island is kīrtanam. And that second island, there is a Nṛsiṁha Deity and that is Nṛsiṁhapallī or Devapallī. I got the nṛsiṁha-prasāda today! So, there is also a holy dhāma known as Mahā-Kāśī. There Śiva and Viṣṇu combine to form a beautiful Deity of Hari-Hara Deity. All the devotees of Lord Śiva including Kārtikeya, Gaṇeśa, are asked by Lord Śiva to chant the names of Lord Caitanya, “Gaurāṅga. Gauuurāṅga! Gauuuāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” So devotees in Kāśī, Banaras, for a thousand years, they may achieve impersonal liberation. But, in Navadvīpa, in this place, Godrumadvīpa, devotees worship Lord Śiva by chanting Gaurāṅga achieve kṛṣṇa-prema! And in that area if anyone dies, when they die Lord Śiva chants in their ears, “Gauurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” So everybody goes back to the spiritual world! So in that Hari-Hara Kṣetra on the Hari’s side there is Lakṣmī and on Hara’s side there is Pārvatī. Because Lord Śiva was feeling sad, he was able to control his senses, even Umā could not agitate him. But he got agitated by Mohinī! So, he felt disturbed, sad! And Lord Viṣṇu came and said that, “We are not different! You should not feel sad, because the Mohinī form was just Me!” Then They combined and formed the Hari-Hara Deity.

There is one pastime that happened a little to the west in that forest. You probably have seen it – how many of you have been on the Navadvīpa-maṇḍala parikramā? How many have not? So, we have a South Indian parikramā party and you can join it. So, when Lord Caitanya was going to school and He was accompanied by Gadādhara and Jagadānanda. So He ran and came to the forest on the west of Hari-Hara Kṣetra. And there was a parrot, so Lord Caitanya took the parrot in His hand and said, “Please chant the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa! You are Śukadeva!” But the parrot chanted, “Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura!” “No, no, no!” said Lord Caitanya, “I don’t want to hear this, I want to hear the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa! I am a devotee of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. I want to hear Their glories!” But the parrot said, “You know I have been chanting this my whole life! I cannot help, but chant – Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gauuura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura!” “No, no, no! You should not chant this, Śuka- pakhī, please chant the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa!” The parrot said that, “I see here Gadādhara, Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa in You and together you are Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura, GAURA GAURA! GAURA GAURA! GAURA GAURA!” So chanting Lord Caitanya’s name is very blissful! What do you think? 

Then we went to the next island which is Madhyadvīpa. There in Madhyadvīpa you are connected to the devotional service of smaraṇam. There are many places there. Next to the Gomatī river, Śukadeva Gosvāmī was describing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. And when Lord Śiva heard of this, he wanted to listen. And he was heading to the earth from Kailāsa and he went on his Nandi and went by Satyaloka. But he felt the Nandi was too slow. So he asked Brahmā if he could borrow the Haṁsa-vāhana. And he left Nandi there and went to Navadvīpa on the Haṁsa-vāhana. Everyone thought, “Oh, Lord Brahmā had come!” When they saw the Haṁsa-vāhana. But they were surprised to see Lord Śiva! So he came to hear the pastimes of Lord Caitanya!

Lord Kṛṣṇa had a storehouse of love. But it was locked with a lock, tala! Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa but His mood is different. He is Kṛṣṇa in the mood of Rādhārāṇī! Therefore, His color is like Rādhā’s – golden! Gaurāṅga! So, He broke open the lock! He started to distribute love of Kṛṣṇa freely to everyone! [Hari Bol] And He wasn’t discriminating who was qualified, who was not qualified, He gave it to everyone. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda as Lord Caitanya’s representative went around the world and distributed this kṛṣṇa-prema! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! So, we hope you all get the mercy of Lord Caitanya and achieve kṛṣṇa-prema in this lifetime! Normally it says that ladies in general, they are not expert in the philosophy. But in the 9^th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatamthere is a verse where Śrīla Prabhupāda says, ladies, men, śūdras, whatever, if they are Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are all equal. So we want all of you to whoever you meet, try to give them this inspiration to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, tell them the message of Lord Caitanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa! The more you give Kṛṣṇa, the more you get Kṛṣṇa conscious! If you give material things, gone! Unless you are giving to Kṛṣṇa!

So, I guess it is already late. Any questions?

Question: When we are in gṛhastha-āśrama many times we have quarrels and fights going on. We are not able to focus or concentrate on devotional service and preach under the circumstances. What to do in that situation?

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda told me that I am a sannyāsī, I should not counsel people in the gṛhasthas āśrama, about gṛhastha affairs. But, I mean, in general, if one is disturbed, you have to calm down. You should have knowledge of not being disturbed. Regarding the quarrels in gṛhastha matters, better to talk to some senior gṛhasthas.

Question: You told Maharaj you got initiation from Śrīla Prabhupāda you read Bhagavad-gītā ten times. You have also done lot of sevā. How did you manage to read Bhagavad-gītā ten times and manage your sādhanaand sevā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, in those days Bhagavad-gītā was a little shorter. I mean, I ask my disciples before initiation to read Bhagavad-gītā twice. Since I wanted to get initiated then I used every spare moment to read the Bhagavad-gītā. I didn’t stop my service but no chance for Māyā!

Any question from ladies?

Question: Yesterday in the class you said that all gṛhasthas should try to become paramahaṁsas, so how do we understand the application and what it means to be a paramahaṁsa?

Jayapatākā Swami: Good question! A paramahaṁsa always thinks about something spiritual like Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Caitanya. And everything you do, you want to do for Kṛṣṇa, akarma! So, like that, one is always thinking about Kṛṣṇa, trying to serve, trying to please Kṛṣṇa! So, depending on your āśrama, there is also some duties to be performed, you have to do that for Kṛṣṇa! And obviously being a paramahaṁsa is a very big thing and I mean, gradually we may come up to that standard. So the thing to know is that in this material world there is no place, no material body will give us total happiness! In Svargaloka, Bhūloka, Narakaloka, every place there is suffering. So, we know that in this life we want to go back to Kṛṣṇa! So in the 8^th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is the history of Gajendra Mokṣa. And there in that history, Śrīla Prabhupāda says that just like Gajendra he was a land animal, the crocodile was a water animal. Gajendra was therefore getting weaker, and the crocodile was getting stronger gradually. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that we have to have strong senses and strong mind to fight against Māyā. So like that, one has to choose where they are stronger, what is their natural habitat? So most people are stronger, feel more natural as a gṛhastha. But they should still fight with Māyā! And we try to do as much Kṛṣṇa consciousness as we can! Alright!

Question: In this current situation where social media is impact is much on the younger devotees, what advice would you like to give them Guru Mahārāja?

Jayapatākā Swami: Unless there is something Kṛṣṇa conscious in the social media, I think we should not watch it. If there is something Kṛṣṇa conscious we can watch that. I don’t personally have much time, and I also have many pages, but all my time is engaged in other things! So, in the future I am trying to set up AI Assistant to store my lectures, my general letters which are not personal and to answer people’s questions. But we are told by the Upadeśāmṛta that we should avoid grāmya-kathā. So, like that we should discriminate, what we should do or not. I heard that His Holiness Bhānu Swami, he was walking down the road and there was somebody listening to a Māyāvādī lecture. His Holiness Bhānu Swami asked him, “What did the swami say? What did he say?” “What did he say? He is a great swami, I am a simple man, how can I understand anything he says,” the man said! So, like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke in such a way that everybody could understand! So this is the problem with the people who want to show off their knowledge – the Māyāvādīs, the paṇḍitas. You see, of course, in this material world people are very absorbed in politics and other material things. But we can understand that in this material world there is no place for happiness. Every place has suffering, more or less!

So thank you very much! Hare Kṛṣṇa!

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

Jayapatākā Swami: So it is very important to read all the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Bhagavad-gītā, is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is spoken about Lord Kṛṣṇa. And Caitanya-caritāmṛta is about Lord Caitanya. There are many smaller books, and each have their various mahimās, glories. I saw many people have purchased the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. At first, I was thinking they will all be devī dāsīs, I am glad to see at least two or three men stood up! Of course, married ladies are always with their husbands. Husband-and-wife each are half and they equal one! And now I have the Bhaktivedānta degree. They offered to give me honorary because after so many years, I read the books so many times. But I said no, I wanted to do the test and show a good example for my disciples. Now I am halfway through the Bhakti-Sārvabhauma degree. So, I read all the books many times. I saw on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s table, he had the Bhagavad-gītā. So, I asked, “If Bhagavad-gītā is the beginning book, why do you have it? Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “It was essential for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” To get the first initiation Śrīla Prabhupāda said, I should read the Bhagavad-gītā ten times! So, I saw that Bhagavad-gītā it had 1,2,3,4, tick and 5,6,7,8,9, tick! But I had read Bhagavad-gītā, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Teachings of Lord Caitanya and the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Nectar of Instruction, Nectar of Devotion and the Īśopaniṣad. And some of His Holiness Bhānu Swami’s books. They said what I want to read next. So I said, “Okay, I will read Bhagavad-gītā because I had not read it in a long time!” 

The Bhagavad-gītā tells about, karma, vikarma and akarma. Everyone knows what that means? So, karma, by doing good karma, the goal is to reach the heavenly planets. And vikarma means unauthorized activities. That could be said as sinful activities. And so as a result, get back karma, lower birth, you go to hell, different things. So what is akarma? No reaction. No material reaction. How do you do that? Even if you don’t move, don’t act, still you produce some karma. So, akarma means devotional service. That doesn’t have any material action or reaction. It takes you to the spiritual world. So that is called buddhi-yoga. You think how everything you do can be pleasing to Kṛṣṇa. You try to please guru and Kṛṣṇa. You want a guru who is a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. So when you do something like you have to cook, then you pray that Kṛṣṇa accepts this service as His devotional service. If you are working and you think how by working you are able to maintain your house, family and in the house, you have Deities, so this house is a type of temple. If you are a gṛhastha and want to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child, that is a devotional service! 

This morning one couple came up to me and said, they are trying to have a Kṛṣṇa conscious child for a long time but could not conceive. And they said that now they have conceived. They wanted blessings for the wife! So, I prayed that the child may be Kṛṣṇa conscious, healthy long lived suputra! If a person is looking for some material result, Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, that they are very miserly. And the point was that this material world is known as mṛtya-loka. This is the world of death. Birth, disease, old age and death.

I was told by Śrīla Prabhupāda to get admission for the Western devotees to enter into the Jagannātha Purī temple. And then my attempts led me to the Śaṅkarācārya of Purī. He said, “No problem, you can go to see Jagannātha! Just drink one kilo of boiling ghee!” I said, “I will die!” He said, “Yes, but you would be born as a Hindu in the next birth and can go to the temple.” Śrīla Prabhupāda told me that in my previous birth I was born in India! So, I asked him (Śaṅkarācārya), “You are worshiping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa Deities, They are young and beautiful, but you are growing old!” He said, “This is my līlā!” I said, “This līlā everyone has to do in the material world!” Anyway, I was not successful in getting entry into the Jagannātha Purī temple for the foreigners. But then, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Śrīmatī Mamata Banerjee made a duplicate Jagannātha temple. I talked to the architect, and he said this temple is a miracle because some university study said that the dimensions of the Master Plan there is only a difference of 15 millimeters between Jagannātha Purī and the Digha temples. So this temple has Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā, Sudarśana cakra made from the same wood as the Jagannātha Purī Deities in Purī. And the Government of West Bengal made an agreement with the Bureau of India that the pūjā would be irrevocably done by ISKCON! When you go in that direction, please stop and see the temple of Lord Jagannātha in Digha! I wanted just an entry for the foreigners! But the Lord gave me a temple, Deities, everything! And we are doing the pūjā! It is your temple! 

Yesterday, I told how the Navadvīpa dhāma had nine islands. And the first island is Sīmantadvīpa. Each island is connected to one of the nine practices of devotional service. How there is a South Indian party which distributes South Indian prasāda on parikramā every year. So you don’t have to worry, you will have South India curd, iḍlis, dosas! So, Sīmantinī devī is actually Yogamāyā, Umā. And she took the dust of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet and put it on her hair. So, the first island is śravaṇam.

The second island is kīrtanam. And that second island, there is a Nṛsiṁha Deity and that is Nṛsiṁhapallī or Devapallī. I got the nṛsiṁha-prasāda today! So, there is also a holy dhāma known as Mahā-Kāśī. There Śiva and Viṣṇu combine to form a beautiful Deity of Hari-Hara Deity. All the devotees of Lord Śiva including Kārtikeya, Gaṇeśa, are asked by Lord Śiva to chant the names of Lord Caitanya, “Gaurāṅga. Gauuurāṅga! Gauuuāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” So devotees in Kāśī, Banaras, for a thousand years, they may achieve impersonal liberation. But, in Navadvīpa, in this place, Godrumadvīpa, devotees worship Lord Śiva by chanting Lord Caitanya’ names achieve kṛṣṇa-prema! And in that area if anyone dies, when they die Lord Śiva chants in their ears, “Gauurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga!” So everybody goes back to the spiritual world! So in that Hari-Hara Kṣetra on the Hari’s side there is Lakṣmī and on Hara’s side there is Pārvatī. Because Lord Śiva was feeling sad, he was able to control his senses, even Umā could not agitate him. But he got agitated by Mohinī! So, he felt disturbed, sad! And Lord Viṣṇu came and said that, “We are not different! You should not feel sad, because the Mohinī form was just Me!” Then They combined and formed the Hari-Hara Deity.

There is one pastime that happened a little to the west in that forest. You probably have seen it – how many of you have been on the Navadvīpa-maṇḍala parikramā? How many have not? So, we have a South Indian parikramā party and you can join it. So, when Lord Caitanya was going to school and He was accompanied by Gadādhara and Jagadānanda. So He ran and came to the forest on the west of Hari-Hara Kṣetra. And there was a parrot, so Lord Caitanya took the parrot in His hand and said, “Please chant the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa! You are Śukadeva!” But the parrot chanted, “Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura!” “No, no, no!” said Lord Caitanya, “I don’t want to hear this, I want to hear the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa! I am a devotee of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. I want to hear Their glories!” But the parrot said, “You know I have been chanting this my whole life! I cannot help, but chant – Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gauuura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura!” “No, no, no! You should not chant this, Śuka- pakhī, please chant the glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa!” The parrot said that, “I see here Gadādhara, Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa in You and together you are Gaura Gaura! Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura, GAURA GAURA! GAURA GAURA! GAURA GAURA!” So chanting Lord Caitanya’s name is very blissful! What do you think? 

Then we went to the next island which is Madhyadvīpa. There in Madhyadvīpa you are connected to the devotional service of smaraṇam. There are many places there. Next to the Gomatī river, Śukadeva Gosvāmī was describing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. And when Lord Śiva heard of this, he wanted to listen. And he was heading to the earth from Kailāsa and he went on his Nandi and went to Satyaloka. But he felt the Nandi was too slow. So he asked Brahmā if he could borrow the Haṁsa-vāhana. And he left Nandi there and went to Navadvīpa on the Haṁsa-vāhana. Everyone thought, “Oh, Lord Brahmā had come!” When they saw the Haṁsa-vāhana. But they were surprised to see Lord Śiva! So he came to hear the pastimes of Lord Caitanya!

Lord Kṛṣṇa had a storehouse of love. But it was locked with a lock, tala! Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa but His mood is different. He is Kṛṣṇa in the mood of Rādhārāṇī! Therefore, His color is like Rādhā’s – golden! Gaurāṅga! So, He broke open the lock! He started to distribute love of Kṛṣṇa freely to everyone! And He wasn’t discriminating who was qualified, who was not qualified, He gave it to everyone. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda as Lord Caitanya’s representative went around the world and distributed this kṛṣṇa-prema! Śrīla Prabhupāda kī jaya! So, we hope you all get the mercy of Lord Caitanya and achieve kṛṣṇa-prema in this lifetime! Normally it says that ladies in general, they are not expert in the philosophy. But in the 9^th canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatamthere is a verse where Śrīla Prabhupāda says, ladies, men, śūdras, whatever, if they are Kṛṣṇa conscious, they are all equal. So we want all of you to whoever you meet, try to give them this inspiration to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, tell them the message of Lord Caitanya, Lord Kṛṣṇa! The more you give Kṛṣṇa, the more you get Kṛṣṇa conscious! If you give material things, gone! Unless you are giving to Kṛṣṇa!

So, I guess it is already late. Any questions?

Question: When we are in gṛhastha-āśrama many times we have quarrels and fights going on. We are not able to focus or concentrate on devotional service and preach under the circumstances. What to do in that situation?

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda told me that I am a sannyāsī, I should not counsel people in the gṛhasthas āśrama, about gṛhastha affairs. But, I mean, in general, if one is disturbed, you have to calm down. You should have knowledge of not being disturbed. Regarding the quarrels in gṛhastha matters, better to talk to some senior gṛhasthas.

Question: You said before you got initiation from Śrīla Prabhupāda you read Bhagavad-gītā ten times. You have also done lot of sevā. How did you manage to read Bhagavad-gītā ten times and manage your sādhanaand sevā?

Jayapatākā Swami: Of course, in those days Bhagavad-gītā was a little shorter. I mean, I ask my disciples before initiation to read Bhagavad-gītā twice. Since I wanted to get initiated then I used every spare moment to read the Bhagavad-gītā. I didn’t stop my service but no chance for Māyā!

Any question from ladies?

Question: Yesterday you said that all gṛhasthas should become paramahaṁsas, so how do we understand this and how to be a paramahaṁsa?

Jayapatākā Swami: Good question! A paramahaṁsa always thinks about something spiritual like Lord Kṛṣṇa or Lord Caitanya. And everything you do, you want to do for Kṛṣṇa, akarma! So, like that, one is always thinking about Kṛṣṇa, trying to serve, trying to please Kṛṣṇa! So, depending on your āśrama, there is also some duties to be performed, you have to do that for Kṛṣṇa! And obviously being a paramahaṁsa is a very big thing and I mean, gradually we may come up to that standard. So the thing to know is that in this material world there is no place, no material body will give us total happiness! In Svargaloka, Bhūloka, Narakaloka, every place there is suffering. So, we know that in this life we want to go back to Kṛṣṇa! So in the 8^th canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is the history of Gajendra Mokṣa. And there in that history, Śrīla Prabhupāda says that just like Gajendra he was a land animal, the crocodile was a water animal. Gajendra was therefore getting weaker, and the crocodile was getting stronger gradually. So, Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that we have to have strong senses and strong mind to fight against Māyā. So like that, one has to choose where they are stronger, what is their natural habitat? So most people are stronger, feel more natural as a gṛhastha. But they should still fight with Māyā! And we try to do as much Kṛṣṇa consciousness as we can! Alright!

Question: In this current situation where social media is impacting younger devotees, what advice would you give them Guru Mahārāja?

Jayapatākā Swami: Unless there is something Kṛṣṇa conscious in the social media, I think we should not watch it. I don’t personally have much time, and I also have many pages, but all my time is engaged in other things! So, in the future I am trying to set up AI Assistant to store my lectures, my general letters which are not personal and to answer people’s questions. But we are told by the Upadeśāmṛta that we should avoid grāmya-kathā. So, like that we should discriminate, what we should do or not. I heard that His Holiness Bhānu Swami, he was walking down the road and there was somebody listening to a Māyāvādī lecture. His Holiness Bhānu Swami asked him, “What did the swami say? What did he say?” “What did he say? He is a great swami, I am a simple man, how can I understand anything he says,” the man said! So, like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda spoke in such a way that everybody could understand! So this is the problem with the people who want to show off their knowledge – the Māyāvādīs, the paṇḍitas. You see, of course, in this material world people are very absorbed in politics and other material things. But we can understand that in this material world there is no place for happiness. Every place has suffering, more or less!

So thank you very much! Hare Kṛṣṇa!