20260514 Special Class

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-gurun dina tāriṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: How is everybody tonight? You all gave you feedback on the videos? So, it is late. So I have the series on Vaiṣṇavī dīkṣā-gurus. First Śrīla Prabhupāda, what he said about his desire, what was the order of Lord Caitanya, and it was all very positive. So, seeing this, everybody should be in favor! But some people were not in favor. They give various points. So there is another video where we have discussed those points to refute them. The third video is the history of our sampradāya.

Actually, we have discussed four disciplic successions, but there are many. So in these four, one third are Vaiṣṇavī dīkṣā-gurus and two thirds are male, they are Vaiṣṇavas. Those are the videos I have. They are still drafts. We are editing those. In the West, they are very much in favor. In the east, in India, for some reason, they are not in favor. I am trying to present – it is a very difficult topic. But it is already late. Maybe I will show that tomorrow and get your feedback.

If you have any questions today, you can ask. Would anyone want to help with the Ai videos? Anyone has experience in this? Get their names and emails. They are fading out. Take their names. Any questions?

Question: What is the transition for Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees towards daiva-varṇāśrama dharma, what should a family do if they are working professionals?

Jayapatākā Swami: Whatever work you are doing, you should continue doing that and simply consider that they are working for Kṛṣṇa. They should also chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Question: From the second video related there is a question. I saw that the Prime Minister of India is very favorable, supporting our mission. So, why don’t we take more chance to preach and teach the democratic MPs and MLAs and ministers and governors to change the democratic process in India and target to bring them into Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Jayapatākā Swami: You can try. Some minister asked me to give him guidance. For him and his wife. I told him, “Work for Kṛṣṇa! Think that you are doing the work for Kṛṣṇa.” And he appreciated that. Now I tell everybody. We cannot tell people, leave what you are doing and do something else. It is Kali-yuga. And they don’t do it. So, have them work for Kṛṣṇa and follow Lord Caitanya’s process of bhakti-yoga. Especially hearing and chanting the holy name.

Question: Is it good to hear kṛṣṇa-kathā and kīrtana from other ācāryas who are not from our sampradāya?

Jayapatākā Swami: I cannot give a blanket statement, some people are alright, and some are not. We are trying to unify the Vaiṣṇavas, especially the followers of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. We are trying to do that. Some accept and some have not yet accepted. So, if they are asking if we can listen to other ācāryas, it is hard to say. You have to tell me, who it is and what they are saying. It depends, like, if you are aspiring from someone in the Brahma-Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya, then first you should listen to the people in that sampradāya. Because each sampradāya has different spins on things. But if you have – I don’t know who your guru is – if you hear someone who is your guru, it is alright. You can clear from your guru.

Question: What is the difference between varṇāśrama-dharma and daiva-varnāśrama-dharma?

Jayapatākā Swami: We practice daiva-varṇāśrama. And that means it is a spiritual varṇāśrama. Arjuna, he fought in the battle of Kurukṣetra, but he was not motivated to fight Duryodhana and others. He wanted to please Kṛṣṇa. That was his only purpose. Therefore, he was practicing daiva-varṇāśrama. Do you want to follow Arjuna or Duryodhana?

So, the purpose of human life is that we should try to understand Kṛṣṇa. Marīci dāsa here is connected to me, right? The last thing I think of is Śrīla Prabhupāda and Kṛṣṇa. Of course, all day I dream about is Śyāma!