20260105 Question-and-Answer Session

Jayapatākā Swami: (spoke this before start of the class): Before we start reading about all this sakhya-rasa, last night I was listening to the Bhagavad-gītā 18^th chapter and there Kṛṣṇa was telling Arjuna the qualities of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. Rajo-guṇa is one where one is attached to his body for sense gratification and tries hard to satisfy his senses and attached to the results of his activities and he is happy if he achieves his activities and he is sad if he doesn’t. So that is rajo-guṇa. As an example you could say this description fits Duryodhana. He was happy when he won and sad when he lost. Arjuna, he did not want to fight because of some material considerations. But Kṛṣṇa had been preaching to him that his nature is a warrior, he is a fighter! So follow his nature. But do the service to please Kṛṣṇa. And so, by that reason, he is not a kṣatriya, he is a Vaiṣṇava. He is not really killing anyone, even though many people are being killed, because he is doing it in the order of Kṛṣṇa. So in the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa is saying that śūdras, vaiśyas, brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, striyāś, if they are doing their service for Kṛṣṇa, they are not that varṇa, they are Vaiṣṇavis or Vaiṣṇavas. I don’t know if you can understand this or not but Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted daiva-varṇāśrama to be established. In this way, everyone does not have to leave their occupation, they just change their consciousness.

Lord Caitanya, He taught us how we work for Kṛṣṇa and we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we follow the rules and regulations and in this way, all the services we are doing is spiritual. If we are working outside, according their nature they have different jobs. They just have to change their consciousness. That they are working for Kṛṣṇa. Their boss may be someone, they are doing farming or business, but they can do that for Kṛṣṇa. Be a military man, or administrator or politician, he should offer that to Kṛṣṇa. The brāhmaṇas, normally they are impersonal, but here we have brāhmaṇas who are personal, they want to serve Kṛṣṇa. So all of them will go back to the spiritual world. So we can establish daiva-varṇāśrama in this way. Women, if they do their activity thinking that I am doing this for guru and Kṛṣṇa, then it is not material, it is spiritual.

So, any questions?

Question: Many people do not work in harmony with their nature but merely for financial reasons. Should a devotee look for a work aligned with their nature and carry it out as his service to Kṛṣṇa? Or tolerate a job they dislike out of sense of duty?

Jayapatākā Swami: You see what is your nature. So what kind of nature or job according to your nature. Then you can find an appointment according to your nature. I had some disciple who was a businessman and he wanted to give up everything and be a preacher. But his nature was vaiśya, to do business. So I told him that he could do his business for Kṛṣṇa! And so now he is building a spiritual oasis! So, if you can find, I don’t know what your nature is, and if there is a job in that respect. If your nature is kṣatriya like, then you could join the armed forces. You may have to do what is necessary to maintain your body and soul. And we should think that what we are doing, we should do for Kṛṣṇa. But if you can ascertain what your nature is and if there is an employment like that or activity like that, then that is ideal. Arjuna was a warrior, a general, a prince, and he wanted to become a beggar, like a sādhu, like a monk. Kṛṣṇa said it is better to follow your nature even if it has defects rather than follow someone else’s nature even if it is perfect. You should not quit your job, if you find an occupation that is more suited to your nature that is ideal. Haribol!

Blessings! Kṛṣṇe matir astu!

Last night I was inspired by the daivi-varṇāśrama, I could not sleep! So I am a bit tired! I got the realization but I am not sure whether I was able to communicate it properly or not. We always thought that Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to establish varṇāśrama in ISKCON. Actually it is not that people are śūdras or vaiśyas or kṣatriyas, or brāhmaṇas, but if they do all their service for Kṛṣṇa, they become Vaiṣṇavas or Vaiṣṇavīs! But if you are a śūdra, maybe you can become a vaiśya or something in the next birth. But if you are doing a service to Kṛṣṇa, you go back to Godhead. Haribol! Thank you very much!