20251011 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: So today is the disappearance day of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and Śrīla Prabhupāda considered his songs like non-different from śāstras. He would quote them in his Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam classes and lectures. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura was born as a crown prince in a royal dynasty but he was born with all auspicious qualities. Long arms, golden complexion, conch like neck, and he had great devotion for Lord Kṛṣṇa from his birth. He went to Vṛndāvana at an early age. After taking initiation from Śrīla Lokanātha Gosvāmī, he took śikṣā from Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī and the other Six-Gosvāmīs. So, he became a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. He abdicated the throne and went into devotional service. Then he returned to Kheturi. He had the appearance day of Lord Caitanya festival and installed six Deities. Jāhnava devī came with her entourage and presided over the whole ceremony. That festival, Lord Caitanya and all His associates, They appeared there and people could see them directly, they could see Lord Caitanya although He had disappeared many years ago! We should have such a festival!! That we unite the whole Gauḍīya sampradāya!

Anyway, I said a few words about Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. I was told that today should be a question-and-answer day. So, have you written down your questions, send them here in English, Tamil, Hindi. He knows Hindi, (pointing to the repeater). I know Bengali. [Applause]

Question: Whether śikṣā under śikṣā-guru can awaken one’s kṛṣṇa-prema or dīkṣā is mandatory to awaken kṛṣṇa-prema?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, in any case, on the level of bhajana-kriyā, one should take dīkṣā. You start practicing chanting, following the regulative principles and acting in your devotional service. So, you are able to rise to devotional service under the guidance of your spiritual master, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said that every step in devotional service of rising is a step towards prema. And then we reach the stage of ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa, which is known as bhāva or rati. Now, our dīkṣā-guru is also a śikṣā-guru. One has one dīkṣā-guru and many śikṣā-gurus. So, if any of those or one of those śikṣā-gurus helps you to rise, that is to their credit! When you actually realize Kṛṣṇa, you move from bhāva to prema. How many of you have seen the Mahāvatāra Narasiṁha movie? The thing I liked most of all in that movie was when Prahlāda said that I am born in a demonical family and I am not qualified to see You, My Lord! But in spite of that I desired so! Then the Lord appeared to him and showed that He is everywhere. So, who taught you the right attitude to have, whether your teacher, your śikṣā-guru, dīkṣā-guru? That, maybe you can say. You know, you are fighting in this battle, and different gurus are helping along the way. So, it is a combination and ultimately it is for you to do it!

Question: Whether one should do preaching to a large number of people or select number to make them good devotees in a few numbers – whether preaching should be done on a large scale or to a small group of people.

Jayapatākā Swami: They said I have 45 questions, I will give short answers. His Holiness Bhānu Swami is famous! You write him a long letter, he replies, okay, fine, nice! We would like to give a loud reception to Surabhi Mātājī who is a Śrīla Prabhupāda disciple!

Question: So there are many issues for a gṛhasthas like health issues, job related issues, financial issues, family issues and many entanglement. how to maintain our spiritual sādhana?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, the most important thing is to maintain the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa. I have many issues. Like I don’t have a family, I don’t have finance, but I have health issues! I am on a liquid diet, gradually transiting to a solid diet. Anyway, I will give short answers. In spite of all the problems which I was going to tell, but since I am giving short answers – I use this clicker and chanted 468 times! If you want to get back to Godhead, you have to fight! If you want to serve Kṛṣṇa, you have to fight with māyā! That means atleast you have to chant and be sincere. If everything is favorable, life is favorable, finance is favorable, wife is favorable, health is favorable, you are a lucky man!

Question: What one must do if they feel unqualified to preach to others?

Jayapatākā Swami: Who is qualified? You just have to repeat what guru, Lord Caitanya, śāstras, sādhus say. We are not qualified to say anything else! Listen to what Lord Caitanya said – yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Whoever you meet, whoever you see, tell them the message of Kṛṣṇa. It is Lord Caitanya’s order, you have to do it – qualified or not! I see, all of you are students now but eventually you have to be gurus! You have to give the message of sādhu, śāstra and guru. I have to go now to see the Deities. I think you have to go to take your prasāda. Do you want me to come back here? [Hari Bol]

Question: Often in your classes you often mention that gṛhastha couples should beget Kṛṣṇa conscious children and raise them to become ācāryas. Guru Mahārāja, my question is how can we, as parents raise our children to be ācāryas?

Jayapatākā Swami: That is a very good question. Being a sannyāsī I don’t have much experience. If you study about those who have begotten ācāryas as children, that may give you some ideas. We are told that the husband and wife have to pray before Śrīla Prabhupāda to have Kṛṣṇa conscious ācāryas as their child. Early in the movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda told the gṛhastha couples to chant 50 rounds that day. Later, we see that in the text book by Śrīla Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī about the garbhādāna-saṁskāra, he said they should chant Pūruṣa-sūkta, svasti-vācana prayers and other mantras. The day of the garbhādāna-saṁskāra, in the morning or afternoon this should be chanted. It should not be held during twilight but after. And the saṁskāras which are mentioned in very short. Next question.

Question: How do we not judge other devotees or come to biased conclusion, while in association in the devotee community?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see, We are trying to be madhyama-adhikārīs, we would like to move up to uttama-adhikārī. Madhyama-adhikārīs are usually of four types – Kṛṣṇa and His representatives, the devotees - the sādhakas, innocent people who don’t know about devotional service maybe and those who are against, who are envious, who do not want devotion. So that much discrimination we need. You see, uttama-adhikārī can even preach to the envious. But, the madhyama-adhikārī, he avoids them. He preaches to the innocent. He associates with the devotees, and he surrenders and respects the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His representatives. Gauuurāṅga! Haribol!

Question: We have been away from Śrī Kṛṣṇa for many billions of years and our forgetfulness is also very, very deep. In this condition how can we chant the holy name of the Lord with the feeling of separation?

Jayapatākā Swami: It will take you at least some years of chanting. You see in the second canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is a verse that says even Kirātas, Hūṇas, even people from Khasadeśa, endless people, tribals, westerners and things etc. can chant. People like, mission impossible! It is impossible, according to the Vedas to deliver these people. But according to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, a pure devotee can deliver them! Haribol! So even if you have been away from Kṛṣṇa for a long time, but if you take up this chanting, you follow the orders of Lord Caitanya, you read Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and see the history of Lord Caitanya, He even delivered disciples of the Buddhist master. The Buddhist master was trying to poison Him. Gauuurāṅga! Gauuuuuurāṅga!

Question: How do we have faith in the Supreme Lord when we are facing our worst situations?

Jayapatākā Swami: Whatever we are suffering is the result of our karmas. We see how many of you when you walk you crush insects? When you drive, insects get smashed. So there are sins that are unavoidable, but we commit them. So, to counteract these unavoidable sins, Kṛṣṇa has given different yajñas. So if we perform these yajñas we do not suffer the same results of the sins. So, Kṛṣṇa is giving us a token and if we are very careful, then we can be without any sin. And if we observe Ekādaśīs, our sins are destroyed. But after Ekādaśī, we should also not perform sins! I ride on the airplanes, and most people take the non-veg. So, killing animals is also a very big karma! According to Manu, a person who cooks, eats, slaughters, delivers, sells, there are six kinds of people. I was once as bhakta, an uninitiated devotee and was working in an A&W Root Beer Stand which sold meat. I was giving all the money to the temple to pay for the rent. So when I asked Śrīla Prabhupāda whether I should give up my job, Śrīla Prabhupāda asked me, “What do you do?” I said, “After they eat the meat I take their plates away and throw the meat away and clean the floor.” “That is not covered by the six people indicated by Manu,” he said. “So you can do it.” I mean, you should not do a job like cooking meat or something. In our gośālās we have cow protection as our principle. We don’t sell them, harm them, we protect them. So like that, we may have committed many sins, but we may get relieved when we take initiation, when we do devotional service. I am suffering many health issues. I don’t do any sinful things but I have taken many disciples. Part of the initiation, the disciples promise to follow the four regulative principles and chant 16 rounds. If any of the disciples break any principle, do not follow them, that karma goes to them and also to me! So, being a śikṣā-guru, you don’t get karma of your followers, unless you give them wrong instructions. But being a dīkṣā-guru has this responsibility that you have to take for the karmas of your disciples. So my request to all the disciples, please follow your vows! I want my disciples to also get kṛṣṇa-prema, get spiritual mercy! I am thankful to all the śikṣā-gurus for helping my disciples. What time is it? We are overtime!