20251217 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.51

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

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.18.51

evaṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi
manaḥ-ṣaṣṭhair manaḥ-sukham
vidadhāno ’pi nātṛpyat
sārva-bhaumaḥ kad-indriyaiḥ

Translation: Although Mahārāja Yayāti was the king of the entire world and he engaged his mind and five senses in enjoying material possessions for one thousand years, he was unable to be satisfied.

Purport: The kad-indriya, or unpurified senses, can be purified if one engages the senses and the mind in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam. One must be freed from all designations. When one identifies himself with the material world, his senses are impure. But when one achieves spiritual realization and identifies himself as a servant of the Lord, his senses are purified immediately. Engagement of the purified senses in the service of the Lord is called bhakti. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. One may enjoy the senses for many thousands of years, but unless one purifies the senses, one cannot be happy.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Ninth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, Fifty-first verse of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled “King Yayāti Regains His Youth.”

* * *

Jayapatākā Swami: This Yayāti Mahārāja was the ruler of the whole world for one thousand years! But he was not satisfied! He was identifying with the body, and he tried to enjoy material happiness. And even after 1000 years he was not happy. So people want to be councilors, MLAs, minister, chief minister, prime minister, all designations to be happy only for a four-year period. So, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda says that as soon as one understands that they are the spirit soul and a servant of Krsna, then they are really satisfied! So I am very happy today, everyone I see has tilaka!! I hope you all, those who think they are the servant of Kṛṣṇa, raise your hand! Śrīla Prabhupāda in this verse is also encouraging us that we should consider ourselves as servants of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He quotes the verse:

hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate

Our senses are meant to serve Hṛṣīkeśa the Lord of the senses and if we do this then that is bhakti. So this Pañca-tattva Lord Caitanya, They descended to practically show how to be a devotee! Kṛṣṇa had already spoken the Bhagavad-gītā but in this Kali-yuga not everybody follows – most people do not follow. I met some students, they said they learnt one śloka of Bhagavad-gītā. At least in India, one should learn a śloka or two. But Kṛṣṇa came as His devotee, as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to show how to follow the Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He wrote only eight ślokas, and He instructed everyone to study Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

In this one month we are trying to distribute Bhagavad-gītā and other books to people. And we want everybody to read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Read these books as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommended. ISKCON Education Minister, His Grace Tapana Miśra told us that on a website that gives us 87 centers who give this śāstric degrees in the world. Kharghar is one of them! I don’t know how many people are studying and getting their degrees? Who has the Bhakti-śāstrī here? I have the Bhakti-vedānta!! I hope to get the Bhakti-Sārvabhauma soon! We want to study Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and lectures and keep this movement alive! Most of the people are like Yayāti Mahārāja and are trying to enjoy. He tried for a thousand years but he was the single Mahārāja of the whole world, but he was not happy! Now you are so fortunate in this Kali-yuga, we only live for hundred years at best. Even that is rare. Usually no one reaches there. We have to consider ourselves to be actively engaged in Lord Kṛṣṇa. I saw some multi-billionaire, he was trying to enjoy his senses. I don’t think he is happy! You can be happy! So try to tell this to the people who are trying to imitate this multi-billionaire. Yayāti Mahārāja had every facility to be happy. But he wasn’t. Even after a thousand years of trying, trying, again and again and again! After everything he said he was not getting any satisfaction.

Anyway, Lord Caitanya’s situation is amazing! 24-years He spent in Navadvīpa, Bengal. Then He went to Jagannātha Purī. And when He was in Jagannātha Purī, devotees from Bengal would come down. And so Rāmānanda Rāya was talking with Gajapati Mahārāja, Pratāparudra. Pratāparudra Mahārāja he was on the rooftop and was seeing all the devotees from Bengal coming to meet Lord Caitanya. And so, he was asking –oh that one is effulgent, “Who is He?” “That is Advaita Ācārya, He is very special!” Like that each devotee was being identified by Rāmānanda Rāya to King Pratāparudra. So King Pratāparudra did the sevā of giving all of them a place to stay. How much blessing he got to serve the devotees!

So then Lord Caitanya, He wanted to talk with Nityānanda Prabhu. And He said, We have to spread the saṅkīrtana movement in Bengal. I came here. Our business there is unfinished. So You go back to Bengal and finish our business. Like that Lord Nityānanda said, “I need some devotees to help.” I mean, this is a very big thing! Lakṣmaṇa is also Nityānanda. Now He was always with Rāma. Nityānanda Prabhu is Balarāma, Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. So Lord Caitanya, He told Lord Nityānanda to go far away from Him. So like this Lord Nityānanda went to Bengal and you know the pastime in Pānihāṭi. He went to Pānihāṭi, Kharadaha and other places. Then He was in Ādi-saptagrāma where Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura stayed. Śrīla Prabhupāda is actually in the family of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. But he did not stress that. He is actually a descendant of one of the associates of Lord Caitanya! He mentions but does not stress it. Anyway, Lord Nityānanda, He went to Ādi-saptagrāma to meet the gold smith business men  there who were very rich. So He spread the saṅkīrtana movement there and all the business men were also joining the saṅkīrtana movement!

I saw, His Grace Sura dāsa showed me the magazine of the inauguration. How businessmen were supporting the temple. Like that he is following the system of Lord Nityānanda! We have to also get them to chant and dance for Lord Kṛṣṇa! And then Lord Nityānanda finally went back to Navadvīpa. And Mother Śacī requested Him to stay for sometime and I will be very happy. So Lord Nityānanda He was chanting and dancing with so many devotees. There was one brāhmaṇa, he had a house, he invited Lord Nityānanda home. You see Lord Nityānanda He is known as a Avadhūta. He used to wear costly jewels, diamond necklace, expensive finger rings, bangles, gold armlets, silver nūpuras. So, a dacoit leader saw this and he was amazed! He called all his dacoit team and told them Caṇḍī Mā has sent all the wealth to us. One person has all this wealth – Nityānanda! We can steal from Him, and we can get crores of rupees! So, they made their plan to loot Lord Nityānanda! So, first night they came to rob Lord Nityānanda. And they sent a person to spy, what was happening in the house. They saw that Lord Nityānanda was eating His rice. He was taking prasāda. They went back and told the people, He is eating bhāta – rice. The devotees are chanting and dancing there, so the leader said, “We should wait, and they will sleep soon.” So they sat under a tree or something. So, one said, “I will take His diamond earrings”, one said, “I will take the rings.” In this way relatively the dacoits were concentrating on the body of Lord Nityānanda. One said, “I will take His gold armlets”, one said He would take His gem rings, and one His silver nūpuras. Like this they were greedy for taking Lord Nityānanda’s jewels. The dacoits are bad people. Sitting under the tree they all fell asleep! So deeply that they slept that they slept the whole night. They don’t know, who Lord Nityānanda is? He knew what He was doing – He put the māyā spell on them! And then crows started to cry out in the morning caw, caw, caw! I know a little Hindi! Then one person woke up and said, “Ay, you are all sleeping! What were you doing?” the other said. So then, it was already daylight, they could not rob. So they hid their arms in the forest and went back. The leader said, “This is because we did not worship Caṇḍī Devī properly. We should offer nice meat, wine!”

So the next day they came back after doing caṇḍī-pūjā, but this pūjā is a tamasic one. The spy saw people with big bodies, neck beads and strong, guarding the house. They were walking around them and protecting the place. So the leader thought that maybe some king or something was visiting Lord Nityānanda and these are his soldiers. He thought it was not good to go now. So let us go back and come again after a week or so! So, after some time they came. And no guard then. Suddenly, a rain cloud came up and there was storm. Completely dark and so they went to attack the house. But they could not see! Some fell in the ditch, in those days they used to have a pit where they threw the cooking pots. So some fell in that. Some were bitten there by worms and insects. Started to rain and hailstorms came down. So some broke their bones, some were in such pain. They could not advance! So then they retreated.

The leader, he was a brāhmaṇa but he was in bad association so had bad habits. Then he thought after all the incidents and realize that Lord Nityānanda is the Supreme Personality of Godhead! And he went to Lord Nityānanda and he fell down at His feet and had his associates there and he said, “I want to surrender and I realize that You are the Supreme Lord!” But some of the associates told Lord Nityānanda that, “You cannot trust him as he is a dacoit. He may be lying and maybe come to spy on us!” So Lord Nityānanda asked, “Who are you and explain your purpose.” He said, “Actually we wanted to hurt You, we wanted to steal Your precious ornaments. So I should take my life in the Ganges! Because we are offensive.” So a thief never admits his wrongdoing generally. But he said everything upfront, and so it meant that he was sincere. Lord Nityānanda said, “You don’t have to commit suicide. You just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! Make the other dacoits in your team and let them also surrender.” So Lord Nityānanda was so expert that He made all the dacoits devotees! Jaya Nitāi! Jaya Nitāi! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda!

So, like this Lord Nityānanda was preaching in Bengal, and then Advaita Ācārya wrote Lord Caitanya a message. He said that this bazar, the market is flooded. No more customers! This is like a poem that Advaita Ācārya wrote which I am sorry I do not remember. He indicated that Lord Nityānanda had succeeded to take the saṅkīrtana movement to everybody and all were participating! That is what Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to do for the whole world. That is what our His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami was doing in west and north India and internationally. So now you have to do it! You have to carry on this movement in the future so that everybody becomes devotees and the bazar should be flooded, market is flooded with customers! Everyone is chanting:

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

So we have such a great good fortune that we are in the shelter of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. Even the dacoits are surrendering to Lord Nityānanda what to speak of the good people, they should all be surrendering and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa! Haribol!

I am very happy to have been here to this wonderful temple in Kharghar.

Any questions or comments?

Question: Morning, I did Tulasī ārati and in the praṇāma-mantra we can change Viṣṇu to Kṛṣṇa. I preach in jails so please bless me that I am able to continue that and there are more than 300 inmates there are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa there!

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, Śrīla Prabhupāda they did not want to change whatever the ācāryas gave. Whatever is handed we should do that. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who was the teacher of the Māyāvādīs before and he changed the verse which says mukti-pada, to bhakti-pada. Lord Caitanya objected. That you should not change anything. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. You only are allowed to ask one question. You asked three. Blessings!

Question: 2065 ISKCON will be 100 years old. What can we do that we can be united and bring the flood of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the world, especially for Śrīla Prabhupāda’s pleasure?

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrīla Prabhupāda went to the West when he was 69 years old. You should try to think, how in different areas you can preach to make devotees. I see some ladies, Vaiṣṇavīs they were giving preaching in schools. And maybe in ten years the students would be youths. I mean we have to look in all directions, how we can change the people’s views. I was in Apollo Hospital in Navi Mumbai yesterday. Rāma Giridhārī was distributing Bhagavad-gītās to doctors and nurses! He gave me, I gave out! Actually, these people were quite open, and everyone do what Lord Caitanya said – yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128] –  whoever you meet tell them the message of Kṛṣṇa. Whoever you meet, tell them to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa! If we get ten people, hundred, thousand, lakh. You have to try! Maybe if you preach, he does not become a devotee, maybe if you say the same thing ten times he will listen. We just do our duty.

Śrīla Prabhupāda did not tell me, I was an associate of Lord Caitanya, he told someone else! He told me, I was born in India before. You have to take your breakfast before 10, the pāraṇa time. We observe the Ekādaśī and also the pāraṇa! Haribol!