19821020 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.10.42

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 20, 1982 – in Honolulu, USA. The lecture begins with a reading from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.10.42.

He, the personality of Godhead as the maintainer of all in the universe, appears in different incarnations after establishing the creation. And thus he reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, the non humans, and the demigods. The supreme personality of Godhead Vishnu incarnates himself in different societies of living entities to reclaim them from the clutches of illusion. And such activities of the Lord are not limited only to human society. He incarnates Himself even as a fish, hog, tree, and many other forms. But less intelligent persons who have no knowledge of him deride him even if he is in the human society as a human being. The Lord therefore says in Bhagavad Gītā 911 Parama Bha Valadanam to Mama Bhuta Maniswaram as we have already discussed in the previous verses, it is concluded that the Lord is never a product of the material creation.

His transcendental position is always unchanged. He is the eternal form of knowledge and bliss, and he executes his almighty will by his different energies. As such, he is never the subject of reactions for any of his acts. He is transcendental to all such conceptions of actions and reactions. Even if he is visible in the material world, the exhibition is only of his internal energy, for he is above the good and bad conceptions of this material world. In the material world the fish or the hog may be considered lower than the man, but when the Lord appears as a fish or hog, he is neither of them. In the material conception. It is his causeless mercy that he appears in every society or species of life, but he is never to be considered one of them.

Conceptions of the material world, such as good and bad, lower and upper, important and insignificant, are estimations of the material energy, and the Supreme Lord is transcendental to all such conceptions. The words paranga bhavam or transcendental nature can never be compared to the material conception. We should not forget that the potencies of the Almighty Lord are always the same and do not decrease because the Lord assumes the form of a lower animal. There’s no difference between Lord Śrī Rāma, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations as a fish and hog. He is all pervading and simultaneously localized at any and every place. But the foolish person with a poor fund of knowledge for want of that parang bhavam of the Lord cannot understand how the supreme Lord can take the form of a man or a fish.

One compares everything to one’s own standard of knowledge. As the frog in the well considers the sea to be like the well, the frog in the well cannot even think of the sea. And when such a frog is informed of the greatness of the sea, it takes the conception of the sea as being a little greater than the well. As such, one who is foolish about the transcendental science of the Lord will find it difficult to understand how Lord Vishnu can equally manifest himself in every society of living entities. Thus, in the Bhaktivedanta purport of text 42, chapter 10, canto 2, in the matter of the Bhāgavatam is the answer to all questions. Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Ka Hare, Hare, Ram Hare Ram, Ram, Hare.

He, the personality of Godhead as the maintainer of all in the universe, appears in different incarnations after establishing the creation. And thus he reclaims all kinds of conditioned souls amongst the humans, the non humans and the demigods. So Bhāgavatam is the answer to all the questions that a person has. Today, people are not accustomed to asking proper questions. This is a difficulty. Śrīla Prabhupda had that book still in print. Perfect questions, perfect answers. When there’s a perfect question, naturally if the speaker is qualified, he can give the perfect answer. This purifies both the inquirer as well as the lecturer. For instance, when Prithu Mahārāja in the fourth canto received the four kumaras, then he, at the completion of all the formalities, asked him very essential questions on how the people in the world can become God conscious.

So the kumaras were so pleased to hear such Kṛṣṇa conscious questions. They commented that all glories to you, King. By these questions, not only will you benefit, but we also benefit because it gives us a chance to speak on these subject matters. Today there’s so many questions that people have. But most of the questions are political, economical are questions which even they’re solved, even they’re answered, they simply are the forerunner of more questions. They’re not the real solution. So this Bhāgavatam is answering all the questions. When these questions that the Bhāgavatam answers are answered, then one no longer has any questions. That is the difference. You have so many talk shows, all the questions and answers are being given. But as long as you’re willing to sit in front of the boob tube, they can go on with the questions and answers.

But ultimately no one could say that, well, all their problems are solved. That means there are still so many questions remaining. But in the Kṛṣṇa conscious, in the Bhāgavatam, if a person can understand the questions and answers which are Given here. Well, then one is completely set. No longer does that person have any question as to what is the goal in his life, what is the purpose, what is the direction. So people even to ask questions, practically speaking, they have to be trained. Sometimes we ask for questions and a new person will say, well, I have to read more to know enough to ask a question. Right now, I don’t even know enough to ask a question. This happens that the whole society right now is structured to answer questions which don’t solve our problems.

To solve the problems which are not the real problems. Therefore, we come up with so many dramas like saving the drowning man, where a person is saved from being drowned. But instead of he being saved, the code is taken. Well, he saved the coat, but the person died. This is like the whole society is in the same way. They’re saving so many things and they’re very proud of it. They’re saving so many, they’re solving so many problems. But the real problems they’re not solving, you see? So Kṛṣṇa conscious life is actually meant to bring about a solution to all the essential problems of life. Just like everyone. The main problem in people’s lives is how to be happy. So everyone is taking shelter of so many kinds of drugs. People spend thousands of dollars even in a week for consuming their drugs.

Of course, when we have to depend upon painkillers and headache killers and different kinds of tranquilizers, even then there’s ordinary difficulties like addiction. There’s different. So many other problems, side effects to come along now that it’s been further complicated by madmen who are putting cyanide inside the capsules. So people take. There was one man, he died and his brother and sister. Brother and the wife were so upset that when they went back to his house, they were so upset that he died that they went and took the same painkiller that it killed him. And they took it and they both died. Otherwise, there was no clue as to why these people were dying. Because one family, everybody died as they were getting in anxiety. They’re all going for the painkiller. But this is the idea.

When there’s some problem, take a painkiller, take a sleeping pill. I was on the plane a few days ago, and then someone asked someone else, hey, Harry, how you doing? To some, you know, hey, Frank. He said, well, I am not feeling too good now, but I am going to be feeling real good when I get out of this plane in that bar. This is their standard of happiness, their actual consciousness without the tranquilization. Anesthetization actually alcohol, if you look in dictionary, it’s anesthetic they used to give people alcohol when they have to amputate their arm so they wouldn’t feel anything in the civil war, different places. So what they want is that they’re actually unhappy, they’re miserable. So somehow another, they want to simply tranquilize that, simply anesthesia that. Then you don’t feel the problem anymore. Everything is all right.

So this is not a solution yet. This is the only solution that the common man knows. And when you tell them that no, the solution is you simply uncover your consciousness from all these dirts, from all these pollutions. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma, Hare Rahu, Ram Hare Chetnini Ravanam. You just polish the consciousness like the mirror image. Then you immediately put out all the fires of material misery. Then they say, oh, you’re trying to escape. So in that way, RLA prabhupāda, he wrote a small word. Who is crazy? Everybody is saying that everybody else is crazy, especially the karmis. They all say, well, the devotees, these Hare Kṛṣṇas, they are crazy. They have short hair, they wear robes or so many whatever they can. Anything different. That’s crazy.

Of course, if they were to show up from Waikiki beach and be dropped off in the city of Mecca, they’d be stoned to death in a second. You see, there india, there was one woman who kept the Mohammedan. Mohammedans are very fanatical. You know, every time she go to the market to buy vegetables, she had to wear this black. You know, they wear a black robe over their head and everything, and they take up the robe just to see what the vegetables were. Well, the husband kept warning, never do that again. Don’t show your face to any other man, you lusty, whatever, so on and so forth. He’s a very angry type of fellow. So then next time she went to the market, she uncovered her face. He stabbed her to death for being unfaithful. So there’s all different standards in the world.

Of course, we don’t advocate these fanatical things, but we see that in the west they’re just as fanatical as those fanatics. They’re just as fanatical here over at a slight different thing. It’s just that it takes a different expression because the devotees, they can wear anything that’s needed. But for our religious ceremonies, for we have our traditional ancient dress which has been handed down, they can’t tolerate that. So what’s the Difference, they may criticize that. Well, this one’s fanatical. This other one, we find that they’re just as fanatical. Their liberalness is a fanatical liberalness, which changes from day to day. And if anyone is not at the same level of their liberalness, then that person is also considered either a right or a left or extremist or a conservatist or whatever. And it’s changing day by day. You can’t even keep track of it.

So in this way, people are always being bewildered by the material nature. Even great scientists, they can understand the material nature. Even Brahma, who created this material world, does not perfectly understand how the material nature is working. He has to do meditation just to find a clue how to create. And he doesn’t even understand exactly how this material nature is working. How can anyone understand Kṛṣṇa? How can anyone understand God who is beyond this material nature? He comes down into the material nature out of his own free will. And when he wants, he leaves. He’s not a product of this material nature. How can these people, who are so limited by superficial designations, even if they were free of those designations, still they would never be able to understand the complete complexity even of this material world.

How can they even get a glimpse at what is Ka? Who is Ka? So therefore, only the Bhāgavatam, only the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavad Gītā, or about Kṛṣṇa, by realized souls empowered by Kṛṣṇa to do so. Actually, Bhāgavatam was recorded by Vyasadev, but it’s the words of great realized souls who have realized Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. Only by these spiritual revelations and spiritual dispensations can we actually understand what lies beyond this material world and what is the essential nature that this world functions with. So therefore, we should understand what is our limitation? And we should also understand what is the real purpose of life. This devotional service or bhakti yoga that we practice, Nārada Muni explains it right from the very first definition. Sarav, Upadi, vanir, muktam, free from all Upadis mean the designations, all type of material designations, categories, divisions, completely free.

Doesn’t think that I am young, old, doesn’t think as a. As a American, as a Chinese, as a Japanese, as a Russian, as an Indian, simply sees what Kṛṣṇa dasanudasanu Das, I am the servant of Kṛṣṇa. So because the devotee gets over these designations, because the devotee is acting on the spiritual platform, therefore he’s labeled Crazy? Well actually Śrīla Prabhupāda, one time in Māyāpur, he was up on the roof and he was having a private darshan. And then he started to talk on this point. He said, actually all my family members, they all thought because through my whole life, whatever extra time, whatever extra money, I would always spend it to print my Guru Maharaj’s books. I would always spend it for worshipping Kṛṣṇa. So they all thought. What did they think, Śrī Das? They all thought that I was crazy.

Why is he wasting money behind Ka? Something we can’t even see, someone we don’t even know about. Some belief. For the devotee, Kṛṣṇa is reality. He is with Kṛṣṇa at every moment. He has contact, connection with Kṛṣṇa. But for the non devotee it’s a mystery. So they all thought. Prabhupāda said his family members, this our boy Charan, he said, what’s he crazy? He’s always chasing after this Kṛṣṇa. So then Prabhupāda explained that actually to give up this material world with all of its wealth, with all of its opulences, with all of its relatives and attachments and things, actually a person to just give this up, the very solid material world and go after spiritual realizations has to be a little crazy, a little frustrated somehow has to become detached. So Prabhupāda, he was ascending on his spine, he was a little crazy.

At least my material viewpoint, he will appear crazy. No one else will understand what is motivating that person. So then Prabhupāda became humorous for a second and he said, well, that person has to be a little crazy by a material standpoint. So in fact we could change the name of our society from the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness to the International Society of Crazy Fellows. Because as far as everyone else is concerned, we’re all crazy fellows. So then. But actually in this transcendental madness there is the real wisdom that the Bhagavad Gītā explains. What is the waking time for the self realized soul is a time of sleeping for the materialist and vice versa. So naturally, when the spiritually awakened person comes on the scene, the materialist is completely asleep, doesn’t know what’s going on.

When the materialist is very active for taking their intoxication, to try to momentarily forget their problems. The spiritualist isn’t at all interested in that non solution. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he came down specifically to liberate, to deliver, to give the opportunity to all these fallen souls to get out of this miserable condition. It’s not that every Kali Yuga, Lord Caitanya comes. He comes after Kṛṣṇa. This is the most rare opportunity. Kṛṣṇa comes once in a day of Brahma in a particular time. He tells everyone, I am going to come at this time, you can be ready for me. And after he comes, Lord Caitanya comes. That means that once in a day of Brahma we know that 4,300,000 years is a day, one cycle of Kali, Dwarapar Cheta and Satya Yuga. That’s called one Mahayug. And there are thousand Mahā Yugas in a day of BRAHMA.

That means 4,300,000,000. So 4,300,000,000 is a day of Brahma. And of course the drink is nighttime. Everything is closed down. So that means that practically speaking Kṛṣṇa is coming after 8,600,000,000 years. See, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Panchatat are coming here after 8 billion years. So are we going to miss this opportunity? What is a special opportunity is that by Lord Caitanya’s coming, he’s coming simply giving out freely the mercy, pure love for Kṛṣṇa. All right, you can go back to Godhead and you can simply be engaged in pure love for Kṛṣṇa. This is the special benediction whether you’re qualified, unqualified, whatever situation you happen to be. Now just come on. It’s there for the asking. There simply if you want it, you can have it. So because the devotees, they’re getting it so easily, they’re able to just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa feasthan Kṛṣṇa Prashalam.

Practically speaking it’s just like a festival every day. The people can’t understand even india the very strict karma Kandis who are following so many caste conscious rules or those who are the Mayavadis who are always mental speculating, they can’t understand how the devotees are so advanced. They recognize that they’re very strict, that they’re very suchi pure. They can see that they know the Shastra. Even one time Śrīla Prabhupāda was in the Kumbha Mela. There was a whole room filled with sadhus, saints, you know, different. What do you call sadhus? Sages, Sadhus, sages, monks and some big Indian businessmen. And he called in one of the mothers and said actually you know our women in this society, they also speak, they also know Sanskrit because india a lot of times the women don’t take much time out for Sanskrit.

And so he turned to the devotee disciple and said, repeat these Saṁsāra prayers. So then saṁsāra da va nalalida loka tranayya karu naganagana tang prap speaking fluent Sanskrit. So they were so impressed that how a lecha javana was able to pronounce Sanskrit, which even an ordinary person can’t do things that we take for granted. They were very impressed that how this was a very significant progress in spiritual life. Of course, these things we don’t even consider as very significant at all. But that even more than that, devotees become detached. They become fixed in their spiritual activity. These things are completely amazing even to the very advanced philosophy. Because they have so many followers, they’re not even able to get them to stop drinking tea. They can’t even stop drinking tea.

Therefore they’re amazed how the Westerners have stopped and whiskey stopped, taking marijuana and so many things. How is it possible? Unless one is factually getting some spiritual energy, it is not possible to control the senses. Caitanya Mahāprabhu Caitanya means the energy, the spiritual force. He giving us that living force, the living spiritual force to go out of this material contamination, out of the material world, back to home, back to Godhead, back to the original spiritual position where we are connected directly with Kṛṣṇa in pure love. This happens so quickly that people think that, oh, they’re crazy. How is possible such an abrupt change? Because that is the meaning of Chaitanya, because there is the full spiritual force, such an intensity of mercy, of spiritual force no one has seen before.

That’s why the demigods and the heavenly planets, they’re looking and seeing that in 60 years, in a few years, these people are becoming completely detached from material world. We have been living in this heavenly planet for thousands of years and we’re simply becoming more attached. Simply, if we could join that movement. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare Ram Hari Ram Naam Hare. We simply sing Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name, feast on prasadam and we go back to Godhead in not even. What is it for them? One of our years is one of their. What is it? Six months is one of the. Our six months is their one day. So that means our one year is two days. So that means for them it’s about four months. They’re saying in four months they’re going back to God, who couldn’t hold out for four months.

Of course, even 60 years for devotee, it seemed just like. When was it? I was just here. How long ago? It seems like how many days is before? At least it seems like a very short time. Maybe some weeks have gone by, but Actually, it’s already practically half a year. It.

(Side B of the Cassette)

It’s already half a year, but it’s going by just like a few days. Because in the spiritual realm, we are in the level of eternal time, eternal present. So Chaitanya Mahvu is coming down. Once we get into. Once we get out of the material consciousness and actually link up with his transcendental energy, then things go very quickly. It’s just one after another. We simply have to keep following Prabhupāda’s principles. Chanting 16 rounds, avoiding the breaking the four regulative principles, reading and preaching, pending the Bhāgavatam classes and the Aartis. Pretty simple process. So now the Māyā bodies, they have seen that, well, this is very successful. They’re imitating. They’re also telling their followers. You also chant india. Many Māyā bodies say to chant something or another. They make up so much. But it’s not the same. We were at this big Gītā conference.

Prabhupāda was there and there was some Chit Ananda. I don’t know if it’s chit Ananda. His name is Chit Ananda. In English. It has a different meaning. I guess it means someone who gets pleasure from chitinas. Of course, in Sanskrit, chit means spiritual energy or something. Spiritual cognizance, knowledge that they pronounce it Chitananda. So anyway, he told his followers, before we could even chant, you all chant. So he started a Kirk, Jai, Sikṛṣṇa, Sat, Chidananda Satchi, Randa Rāma, Pagavan Satchi. Then made up some completely dry, you know, hodgepodge of names. And everybody was getting bored. And he was trying to get everyone worked up. And he’s made some Māyāvādī mantra using Kṛṣṇa and Satchitananda Brahma this, that he put a whole thing. And then about after 5 minutes, Prabhupāda just pointed to the devotees chant, pulled out the madrangas and cartons.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram. The whole crowd jumped up, took over the whole show. All the Mayavadis became completely petrified. Hare Kṛṣṇa chant has done us again. Then Prabhupāda, after it was over, he chanted. But he told that you could just. After you say this, you just see the difference. There’s no energy. There’s no energy in these Māyā. Even they want to imitate us, trying to just attract the people. The energy is coming down from Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that special energy. Of course, we take this mercy of Lord Caitanya for granted. But actually it’s a very great and Rare thing. We should be very careful not to lose that energy. All the Acharyas, what they’re playing. I am like bancita koi venani tai gor ban chita. Please do not banchito me. You know what bancito means?

So many times you see that? Please see that I am not ban chito. Banchito means cheese. Don’t let this material nature cheat me, Māyā. Her only business is to cheat us. We have the real thing just here, the eternal. You can never lose Kṛṣṇa. Once you get him, you see, you can maintain that forever. You can maintain Kṛṣṇa. Pure devotional service. Completely be independent of all material nature. Completely be self satisfied. Atmanamas chamunaya. But what is her business? To cheat us? Just like someone has got a real note. And he says, here, take my counterfeit note. Just give me that. Or the baby’s got a bill. Just take the. Take the candy and give me that. You got the real thing. In India, if you take your watch into the watch shop, you have to be careful. You take your jewelry into the jewelry.

You have to be careful. They will take out the real jewel and put in the piece of glass. Therefore, the custom is you stand right there and you don’t take your eyes off. You bring in a watch with a Rolex. I didn’t understand. They do this in other countries. You take it back and inside you have got, you know, Pinocchio or something. So this is Māyā’s business. You have the real thing she’s giving you. Here, take the imitation. You see this world, it’s real. You will be happy. But none of it remains. It’s always changing. It’s simply the imitation she’s giving. She’s trying to cheat us. We have real happiness just here. We can have eternal, transcendental, blissful knowledge. That’s why Kṛṣṇa has come. That’s why Lord Caitanya come here. It is. But what is Māyā doing? She’s trying to cheat us.

We’re very small if we think I can never be cheated. I am so great, Māyā cannot cheat me. No. She’s very powerful. Because even though we are spiritual energy, she is material energy. But she’s very great. She’s very vast. We are very infinite. Hasima. Therefore, the only protection we simply have to hang on the feet, the lotus feet of Guru Garanga Mithai Gordon. By their mercy, we can be immunized from being cheated. That is their special mercy that they can immunize us from being cheated by this material. We have to be very careful not to accept these counterfeit notes. Not to be cheated, not to be misled from our real purpose of life. Just like Lord Chaitanya’s intimate associate Bhattacharya Kṛṣṇa does. He was going in South India. Some gypsies caught him, said, oh, you can be happy.

Even he was an associate of Lord Caitanya. He forgot Lord Caitanya. He went off with the gypsies, started engaging in illicit sex. He was captured by some immoral women. Lord Caitanya to personally go and drag him out of there. Why did Lord Caitanya reveal this? Because even you’re standing next to God, next to Kṛṣṇa. If you turn your face away, if you become careless, if you become negligent, therefore then you can fall down the ice age of you look away from Kṛṣṇa, you will see a shadow Māyā. And she comes and tackles one. Japotiya tore. She tackles one and just throws you down. So as Lord Chetan is mercy as a devotee, they go and just drag you out of that. You have been cheated. And then after that he could realize, how did it happen? How did I fall down? How was it possible?

Of course he wasn’t allowed to directly serve Lord Caitami again. Even though he was delivered by Roche. This is the problem. We want to be very careful once we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness not to become sentimental and bewildered. It makes it that much harder to again come up to that pure standard. Of course we should never give up. Even if we fall away again, we should try to come up to the standard. But once we are again in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in the spiritual consciousness, we have to be very careful not to become misled. Because Māyā can always mislead us. Until we get full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Until we’re cent percent cured. Until we completely return to our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As long as we have the material body, Māyā can always allure us with some subtle cheating process, with some imitation.

She’s very expert in this. So Lord Caitanya and Nithyananda, they also showed how to immunize oneself. That’s why they prayed to Lord Nithyananda. Praymananda Sukhi, that you please give your mercy to me. Because you are always ecstatic in pure love for Kṛṣṇa. Even if I get one drop of that ecstasy, then there will be no room in my heart to be cheated by Māyā. We all have to follow in this present day. Because Māyā is very expert in packaging. We always will start to think that we can be happy in this material world. Therefore, the only way we can immunize ourselves is by always being ecstatic in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That can happen by the mercy of Lord Nithyanandan. Lord Nithyananda, just by his very casual glance, he can make a person completely ecstatic. And devotional service. Thus one can be completely immunized.

So we have to therefore always cling to Nitaigor. Keep chanting, keep serving, keep a constant link. Apriyata apa, aprihata apa ahaytu gaapatihata. Completely unbroken, causeless link. So Lord Caitanya, when he was Śrīvas, had this mercy of Lord Nithyananda. Śrīvas was accepted as the father of Lord Nithyananda. So Śrīvas, wherever he went, he was ecstatic. One day he went to the lecture by Devananda Pandit. Devananda pandit used to read from the Bhāgavatam. But he wasn’t a pure devotee, he was a scholar. So he would take the Bhāgavatam and dissect it and discuss it and from this angle and that angle. And how is this happening? But actually he was no rasa there. He wasn’t getting. He wasn’t a devotee. So even though he would study the Bhāgavatam, it was a dry thing. But because Śrīvas was already ecstatic.

So when he happened to just drop in to see, well, what’s the Bhāgavatam class? He was in the neighborhood in a liberal way. He just that and sat down. He was discussing some very ecstatic topic. He was reading from the Bhagavad. And as soon as heard this locust, Shivas became stunned in ecstasy and tears were pouring from his eyes. He couldn’t control himself. And even though he wasn’t creating any commotion, he was just there stunned. But Devananda Panda, he didn’t want anybody crying in his class. His class was for dissecting the Bhāgavatam and analyzing it like that. So then he said, you know, what is that in the back? That person is crying. What is this? And then his students, they could see that devotee didn’t like it. So then they picked up Śrīvas by the hands and by the legs.

Because he was at that point stunned momentarily because of hearing that. And they took him, they threw him out physically on the street in the dirt. Don’t come here again and disturb our class with all this crying. And then, you know, I hit the ground and, you know, he came out of the ecstasy, didn’t even realize it was happening. And that he was completely transported to Kṛṣṇa Loka. He didn’t even know what they were saying at that point. He was actually stunned. Ravi said a person really stunned becomes unaware of what’s happening. And that symptom. Then he realized what had happened and he felt very offended. But he just left. Well, when Lord Caitanya heard about this, he was very angry. He was very angry. One time he was walking on the street and he saw Devon on the palmit.

And he said, there is a so called Bhāgavatam lecturer who is simply an offender to the Vaishnava. You have no qualification to speak on the Bhāgavatam. You are not a devotee. You offend Śrīvas. He is so pure that even the Ganges is anxious that he bathe in her waters that she may become purified. What do you know of Bhāgavatam reading? You are simply a dry scholar. Dry as a. He gave. I forget what he said. Dry as a fig or something. Devananda. He was angry. He was shaking in anger. But there was nothing he could say. If you were to say anything against me, my pundit, he knew right then he would be completely smashed. But he was so angry that he walked off and he started criticizing. Who is he to say these things to me? What does he.

And it happened that one of his relatives was a devotee of Lord Caitanya. He started to preach to him. You don’t know who Lord Caitani is. You should see his symptoms. You should understand. Because at that point, somehow when he was chastised by Lord Caitanya a little bit for a second, he had some doubt that maybe I did a big mistake mixed with some anger. And this person preached to him. Then he finally came to understand through some. I am just telling you a very long story short. He finally came to understand that actually who Lord Caitanya was. Because this devotee started to engage him in service, started to preach to him. So even though this person was an offender because of a devotee going to him, preaching to him, engaging him in some service, Devananda Pandit.

He could realize that I had actually offended the devotee, that actually I am supposed to be getting ecstasy when I am reading the Bhagavad, I am getting nothing because I am reading it in the wrong way. I should learn from these Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, from these followers of Lord Caitanya, what is the real method of studying the Bhāgavatam. Then he saw Śrī Vas once in Navadvp, opposite the river of Navadvip in Kule Agram, which is the present day Navadva. And he fell down at his feet and prayed that you please forgive me for my offense to you. And after that then he was trained by Śrīvas and the other devotees in pure devotional service. And he actually became qualified to read the Bhāgavatam and he became an ecstatic devotee. And then the devotees would go to his class.

So even today that is known as Aparad Bhanjan Kuleagram, the place where even an offense to a pure Vaia was forgiven. So this is the special mercy of Lord Caitanya. You cannot approach this Bhāgavatam as the material, even as a spiritual scholastic way. You have to simply approach it through the pampara through the authorized method of pure devotional service without any offense. Then you can constantly taste his full nectar. Devananda who was such a formal step, he became dancing in ecstasy like a little child. When he got the mercy of Lord Caitanya, he was also dancing in the Sankirtan. People couldn’t believe. Here’s such a very grave. Because when you get so ecstatic, you don’t care what people think anymore. Do you care what Kṛṣṇa thinks? Any questions? Yes. What is the impetus association with peer devotion? My association with pure devotees.

My association with devotees who are already situated in that enlivened devotional service, spontaneous devotional service. A person is induced to render also pure devotional service. Therefore, Narottam Dhanastagoi said Vaishnava charyache, Vaishnav seva nistar, Vayache kebab. That someone who’s given up serving the pure devotees, serving the Vaishnavas. Where has ever such a person ever been delivered? Śrīla Prabhupāda says in Upadeshamita, the whole reason why he made the International Society for Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so that Vaiava devotees of the Lord could gather together and exchange loving relationships, have loving exchanges, spiritual loving exchanges, giving foodstuff, accepting foodstuff, opening their mind, accepting the open mind, doing some service, accepting some service. This is a special facility. Of course there are so many impetuses and whatever may initially give some impetus. But the most powerful that’s mentioned is of course the association with pure devotees.

That is a special mercy. Worshipping Tulsi. She’s a pure devotee that can also help one to get spontaneous devotional service. Fasting on ecodosis, fasting on Kṛṣṇa’s appearance. These things all have been to some devotees. Causes of spontaneous devotion or service. But all these things, especially inspiration in the association of pure devotees, those who are already situated on that platform. A person has a desire to reach the truth, has a desire to actually reach the absolute truth, then it’s simply a question how that desire will be fulfilled. So if one gets association with pure devotees, then they gain the faith and inspiration to render pure devotional service. Also to achieve that, sometimes they meet some Māyāvādī, so called Guru or some Māyāvādī. Then they try to reach absolute truth that way, but usually they find it very dry.

Then somehow another, they meet some pure devotee and they see that oh, this is the. This is the direct process. That’s why all of you Prabhupāda said that all of his followers, they’re all to become pure devotees and that his preachers are pure devotees who are disseminating this knowledge. So by association with devotees, people will get the best opportunity to develop a desire to become Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books that develop some desire to know more about it, develop some desire to be Kṛṣṇa. Because they’re reading what especially the Bhāgavatam is all stories about pure devotees. We’re also getting association through sound with Dhruva Maharaj, Prahlad Maharaj. We just hear about them and we also want to associate with such great souls. We want to follow in the footsteps of a such. Such great souls because they live in sound.

When we hear even the sound about these great souls, about Śrīvasha, about different associates of Lord Caitanya, Narottam Dash Thakur, they’re living in sound. So we hear about them. But how to hear about them except when it’s spoken from pure devotees, when it’s been written down by pure devotees, somehow we get the association. That’s why the Bhāgavatam, the whole book is pastimes of devotees in relationship with the Lord to give us that association. By that association, we can also follow in their footsteps and achieve the same perfections. Anything else? Jayaram Ram Sam La Sam.