House Program Q&A
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Kochi · 2024
Chapters
Namam Vishnu Padaya Krishna Prashtaya Bhutales Srimate Bhakti Vidanta Swami Finami Namaste Sarasvati, Gauravani Prachari Nirvisha Sur nyavadi pachaitades panchakalpatra chakripa sindu veva chapatitanampavane bhyovaisnave bhyonam, rajri Krishna Chaitanya prabnitananda sriadvaitabad harashivasadigura bhavta vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hari Hari Sadamasiva Teklashti Dharastich So you want me to say what is wrong with you?
We would love to hear about like uh what can be collected from our side to make Śrīla Prabhupāda's moment better in place. If you feel something more appropriate, please feel spoken up to you.
Strategies for building a structured congregation
I'm not in a position to say something in this regard, but I can say what I basically said in this program which we just came from that we can build our congregation in a very spontaneous way.
Whoever is attracted, he is attracted, and we are happy for those people who are somehow other attracted. And ultimately, it will create a lot of difficulties because Because we'll have a very diverse crowd,
and usually that's what it is done. You know, mm very spontaneously. You know we welcome everyone who is coming and we are happy and we give them prasāda and we give lecture.
But in the long run it's a very difficult route to go because the crowd becomes very Very diverse, and people uh don't have much in common with each other besides Krishna consciousness.
And usually it's not very educated people who come in uh with this sort of uh you know uh policies. And ultimately it doesn't bring so much satisfaction to the heart.
So if we really want to build a congregation we have to first build up the mechanism of attracting people in a more systematic way like college preaching or whatever.
You know, because if you preach in the colleges, then those people who join, those who don't join, don't join, but those who join, they are educated people.
They are intelligent people and then they themselves will attract other people. What happens when the crowd is too diverse is that you know a new person comes and he feels very uncomfortable in this situation.
He doesn't feel that he has a place here.
Whereas you know we know this f uh birds of feather flock together, you know. If the crowd is more of the same kind, then it attracts more of these people. You know, it's a glory of Vedic culture.
In Vedic culture, the society was very strictly stratified. There was hardly any interaction between the stratas, you know, Shudras, between the śūdras, vaiśyas with the vaiśyas, kṣatriyas with the kṣatriyas.
And, you know, there is an advantage of this system because and of course we know that the marriage was also strictly within within this strata within this varṇa because the value system is the same.
You know, of course people come, they have spiritual understanding somewhat, but still, you know, they they bring a lot of their luggage with them, you know.
Understanding of the values, this and that and you know people intelligent people naturally feel themselves not so comfortable when it's too much and you know it's it's like this. You know, to to stratify a little bit.
We are of course the movement of Lord Chaitanya, he says na haṁ dvija-prabhur na śūdro na vaiśyo na kṣatriyo nāhaṁ vipro. But still we know that there are you know kṣatriya and vaiśya and śūdra and vipra.
And when they interact with each other, then it's a very productive interaction. Whereas when there is this interaction of chaotic crowd, it's not very productive.
It doesn't have a momentum to build up, and so many other problems are there.
So I I'm speaking on my own experience, I you know I in Moscow there is a big yatra with few thousand people and it's it's so difficult to deal with it because it's so chaotic. It's so diversified.
And the reason is that there is no clear strategy, preaching strategy which would attract certain types of people.
And you know, when intelligent people are there, this is the backbone of society and then they can attract so many other people and you know do so many other beautiful things which they do.
And as I said, you know, when the when the similar people associate with each other there is a lot of synergy generated.
They can do a lot because they kind of understand each other and they can make teams and you know it's it works.
We see the example of this in Chopati, the whole success of Chopati temple is that Pradhanand Maharaj at one point started college preaching.
He also said there was in the beginning the congregation was it was a nightmare because the congregation was suing Brahmacharyas in court and Brahmacharyas were fighting with the congregation.
But then when uh the college preaching started working, then you know, the first one, Bhaktira Samrit Maharaj, he be he came. And then, you know, he attracted people of the similar caliber.
You know, see just one person how how much difference he can make. So if we are talking about a strategy there has to be a strategy to attract people of some caliber, some class. And um yeah. What else can I say?
Otherwise many Bengali workers are here, no problem.
Roles of teachers and managers
Laborers. Just following upon what is question. What explained is very trivial, it's happening. And most of our energy goes into managing the chaos.
So one specific question is not, there are now two areas of uh sections of society in the school is the youth college and the other is I would call them thought leaders. What we had for this whole feast, I would call them thinkers, but then there is a whole higher level who we have not yet touched.
So my question is, Maharaj, we have that focus on one side and on the other side we have these four groups of people to to go by those class. So the question is, how should we balance this work?
Can we start four centers which are working, that's very impactful? He already started this Soul Feast and then the Soul Feast there is a separate crowd, you know, which not necessarily mixes with the rest of the crowd. So yeah, that's the way to do it. You know, cater special programs for them in a separate place and don't mix
them because the mixture does not help. Many times communities want to get into see the study of those books and like going a very educational way, like learning the books and like part of partnering the agenda kind of way.
So many times those devotees we see get absorbed in the management and the whole life goes that way.
So is it okay to kind of—I'm not making a political statement, but sometimes it helps to give the management to somebody else and kind of focus on this. It's just common sense. You know, everyone has has his own
unique contribution and if he if somebody who is capable of study and teach is engaged in management it's okay. He can, to a certain extent, can do it, but he's never completely good at it.
And the main contribution which he can make he doesn't make because he's too preoccupied with these hassles and anxieties of the management. So better to empower people who can manage.
This are two most important types of people in the society. Teachers and managers, right?
I don't want to call them brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, but you understand what I mean. So there's no brāhmaṇas, there is no kṣatriyas, but people of some, you know, some managerial administrative, you know, type and people of Brahminical type.
And if the Brahminical people are engaged not according to their nature and try to do this, the people who can manage easily feel disempowered and they look down at those poor Brahminical people who are trying their best to manage.
And they don't appreciate what they're doing, and ultimately it destroys the most important element of the society because the most important element of the society is the respect of administrative class towards Brahminical class.
If the relationships are established properly, if the people who very easily can manage other people respect and take advice and appreciate the input of Brahminical people, then everything works.
But if they don't appreciate, if the Brahminical people or teachers or whatever, they don't really show the proper example, then everything goes to hell. Literally, everything goes to hell because of this one reason.
And the people who are teachers they can see the bigger picture. People who have this very you know strong nature of administrators, they know how to make things work, but they don't see the bigger picture.
And when they become in charge, when the teachers and you know Brahminical class is not really doing what they're supposed to do, then they easily can take reins within their hands and they will do something nice, very nice working mechanism. But ultimately it will not be successful because uh because of the limitation of their vision, natural limitation of their vision.
They will do good mechanisms without proper direction. So that's that's the problem. And I've seen how it sometimes works. You know, when these people become in charge.
It's a very good machine. You know, sometimes even you know making devotee machine, this and that, but it's ultimately headless, it doesn't head in the proper direction. Because of the natural limitation, you know.
By nature they are they see certain things which Brahmanas don't see, but they don't see things which Brahmanas see. And it becomes very black and white sort of um uh system or situation.
So therefore, Krishna two times in Bhagavad-gītā, he says it's better to do your own duty even imperfectly rather than uh do something which is not according to nature.
Presenting Krishna consciousness as universal science
And I'm speaking myself because I uh most of my life I was doing something which I was not supposed to do.
I don't know whether I'm framing this question completely or correctly, but please uh help me understand this thing. The thing is, in Kerala is my personal experience.
Probably in this room, and I am one among the Keralaites who bought bought the Krishna consciousness born in Kerala, grew up in Kerala and bought the Krishna consciousness inside Kerala.
Does everyone else get Krishna consciousness outside Kerala? So one of the what you call uh so my question is uh
in my family and everyone, I mean technically they called me mad and a radical for switching to some other culture.
Because even though Krishna consciousness comes, the way we put tilak, the way we put our dhoti and the kinds of bhajans we sing, I mean in Travandram and all they are calling the Bengalis. I mean it's kind of what he says Bengalis.
I mean it's a the public the social side of things, they are noting what you call the social side. I mean it's a practical fact and I would admit that only a few of us have
barely one handful of devotees in this entire congregation where still like 24 hours.
They are not having that courage to display the Vaishnava sign on 24 hours because from the social standpoint it's totally viewed as a different culture altogether.
So my question is what sort of a cultural adjustment we can make permitted
because Śrīla Prabhupāda said uh unchanging principles and adjustable details. So what exactly is the cultural adjustment we can take so that we don't dilute the whole thing and we can attract the people?
I mean, I'm sorry. You know the all these things are details, you're right.
But first and foremost we have to learn how to present Krishna consciousness as a science not as a specific culture, not as a religion as such, but as a science. Science is universal.
Religions or cultures, they are, you know, they are very ethnically you know, colored. They're not universal. So yeah, and we may have some external, you know, signs of belonging to a different culture.
But nevertheless, if we present Krishna consciousness as a science, it will not have this reaction of, you know, you're mad, you switch to another culture, you this and that, because as I said, science is universal.
It's universally accepted. Of course, initial reaction of people will be still the same. You know, they will judge according to your external appearance. But, you know, if they hear you speak, then they can appreciate that this is just something external.
You know, like communism is not really, you know, native Kerala culture. Still it came here and established here very strongly. Why?
Because they presented some things which they presented as a truth. And then people adopted it. You know, people adopted this, you know, uh Hammer and Sickle and Lenin and this and that.
And this is completely different culture, right? But still they adopted it. Why? Because, you know, it answered their questions.
They asked questions why there is so much, you know, unevenness in the society, everyone is, you know, it gave some answers which they were looking for.
And now people have so many answers, uh, questions, uh, and they're looking for the answers.
If we give them answers which satisfy them, that's not a problem, you know. Instead of hammer and sickle they will have tilak on their flag. That's that's not it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, culture is not a problem.
But if we only present Krishna consciousness as a sectarian culture, then of course we will have very limited area of success and influence.
But if we really, you know, I I would say, you know, boldly, I wanted to say aggressively, I I don't like this word, but if we boldly preach Krishna consciousness as a science, I don't see a problem.
You know, in in Russia there is one outreach preacher. And And he has his style of preaching. And it may not be you know 100% uh accurate from the shastrik point of view.
But because he has such a strong faith in the Vedic culture, when he speaks, people they may not understand anything which he is talking about, but the impression which they have he's talking the truth. He is presenting the truth.
And they started listening more and more.
And actually, you know, most of the devotees in Russia coming from this one person. And many people criticize him, he is this, he is that, he's not doing it so strictly, he is watering down.
You know some of this criticism may be correct, no
problem, but still because he's so dedicated to Śrīla Prabhupāda internally and because he is presenting it in a very you know clever, intelligent way, speaking about some universal truths, and people can relate to this, then it's not a problem.
They started, you know, Vedic culture, okay, great, Vedic culture, let's do Vedic culture. And they started looking for the solutions which he intimates or you know explains.
So it's it's it's a very much a question of the style of presentation which we do.
Observance of devotional practices in Kartika
Madam asking questions. I told you about computational development industry and we are trying to uplift the rishis and the real stars. So um I would like to record some videos like questions.
Okay, yeah, I'll just ask the questions. So I have like uh three different categories.
One is like for the upcoming Damodara one, then uh the next is for youth preaching and the uh uh third part is Russian preaching, uh your experiences with uh Russian teaching. So the first uh uh section um for
someone who's observing Kārtika for the first time what are some simple yet powerful practices that can uh that they can adopt to make the most of the sacred month and then what is uh how can the devotees maintain their focus and enthusiasm
for increased devotional activities during the entire Kārtika.
Yeah, this Śivālaya Prabhu in Dubai, he has a great success with this Damodara-darsana just by you know teaching them to offer lamp. It's such a simple ritual, but at the same time it's very mystical kind of ritual.
Everyone can offer something personally and in this way some personal relationship is being established. So that's that's a very good way, you know. By offering something, people start their spiritual journey. So yeah.
Therefore Krishna says give me one fruit or one leaf or little water or one jalam and yeah I will accept it. So you would advise this for the existing gṛhasthas that you would have to do.
Yeah, especially you know if uh talking about people of um Indian traditional background, for them it's kind of easy understandable and uh it's a m mystical kind of feeling you know you do something and you offer it to the Lord and if you teach them how to feel inside you know that this is actually the the light of knowledge which you want to reflect yourself by offering this lamp.
Yes. So what's this second question? I'll go to the youth section. So in today's fast-paced and distracted world, how can you young people stay connected to spirituality and remain focused on their personal goal?
And how can uh young devotees effectively deal with peer pressure and societal expectations that often push them away from practice and bhakti. I just was talking with um Gopāla Gopāla Guru Gaura Prabhu.
I never remember the sequence. But uh exactly on this topic. I think the starting point for young people and for children is to establish in them the proper identity or the pride that I belong to this great culture.
You know, because if the identity is established properly, and how you establish identity, you establish identity by explaining everyone has this inner desire to belong to something greater.
Because by belonging to something greater or great, you know, we elevate ourselves. Our understanding of us becomes also more pronounced and more great.
So, you know, I think for a long time that's exactly what Britishers did. They destroyed the self-esteem of Hindu people by
hiring all these pundits who started saying that this is, you know, fictitious story from Purāṇas, starting, you know, giving some interpretations according to, you know, it cannot be that long, this, this and that completely demolished the self-esteem of Hindu society.
And then other people came like Brāhma Samāj and they added upon this by rejecting a, you know, huge part of of Vedic culture. So, or Ārya Samāj, all these people, that's what they did.
And that the first thing which has to be done if the young person is proud, I belong to this culture. And if this is very firmly established within his heart, No peer pressure can destroy this.
Because, you know, the foundation of our life is ego. And ego means the sense of belonging. I belong to this.
And you know, if he understands that this is something great, you know, we have the great literature, we have great science behind us, we have greatest, you know, oldest culture which is there, we have so many great saints.
If this is established, everything else will follow this. So I think that's the first point.
And then if this is established, naturally he will start uh looking for the association with similarly minded people or start converting other people into this phase rather than succumb to the pressure of their peers.
They only succumb to the pressure of the peers because of this hīna-bhāva, because of this inferiority complex. I'm, you know, they are progressive, they are advanced, they're using this uh phones and this and that.
You know, if this is established there, which is of course it's already established in the minds of people, this is the advanced civilization. America is advanced country.
In this advanced country, 50% of population take uh uh drugs, antidepressant drugs. So literally 50% of population is mad. Crazy. Because depression is psychiatric disease.
So 50% of this great advanced civilization is completely mad people with so many problems and uh but you know, you ask anyone, America is great. You know, he thinks that it's really advanced. India is great.
And he doesn't understand this. He doesn't understand, you know, to how great is the culture in which he happened to be born. So you should start with this.
Methods and impact of Russian preaching
Establish this firmly, this identity, that this is a very amazing, unique and great culture and I have the privilege to be a part of this culture. And
uh so so can you please share some experiences that you had when you were teaching in Russia and also do you know about the ongoing situation like with regards to the future that you know like the war I have not been to Russia for since 22 so already three years I was not there.
I was last time I was in 22 in Russia. Twenty-two? No, in twenty-one. Twenty-one.
But I just told that there is a lot of initiatives of the devotees who preach Krishna consciousness in a non-sectarian way. Who present Krishna consciousness as a science with different degrees of success.
They have their own, you know, strong points and weak points. I mean I'm not a great uh you know propounder or advocate of this kind of preaching. I I know the downside of this kind of preaching, but still it has a great potential. If we learn how to present Krishna consciousness as a vital science which can solve the problem you know, relevant or very acute problem of people.
On every level, on a family level, on the raising children level, on the health level, on the social level, on the economic level.
If we you know present Krishna consciousness in this way, then you know so many people will want to join. Whether their motivation is 100% right or not, that remains to be seen.
But they will join and that's the key of success in Russian preaching because there are many people who themselves understood the value of Krishna consciousness and this universal value and universal nature of Krishna consciousness and started preaching it in a similar vein to other people.
You know, it's not without a reason that people go to Dubai and become devotees in Dubai or Muscat or Emirates.
Because it has an advantage, they go to another culture, they see the problems of another culture, supposedly materially very advanced, and they can look back into their own culture and appreciate it better.
So, and uh yeah, and that's basically the key of success of Prabhupada's preaching, because he was presenting Krishna consciousness in a very universal way.
And that's the first purpose of ISKCON, according to Srila Prabhupada. You know, to present Krishna consciousness in such a way that it will solve the problems of the humanity and it will remove the uh you know the uh
quarrels and fighting and everything else and the right. Oh, it's uh it's going on despite the war and everything else, you know Nareshwar Prabhu knows better, he's just from Moscow came.
But it's going on it's going on full speed. Bhadrapurnima, everything else, we do everything which the rest of the school is doing and uh December Marathon and everything it's going on.
Millions of books, you know, that's uh um probably around twenty million books was distributed so far in Russia.
And considering the fact that you know there is hardly hundred, hundred twenty million people in Russia. So it's just practically in every in every home there is some Prabhupada book.
And you know, sometimes these books they sit on the shelf for you know dozens of years and then the at one point the children of the family, the kid or somebody else just picks up the book, starts reading it, and becomes a devotee like this.
You know, I I know many of the stories.
Maintaining daily sadhana and chanting standards
Somebody said, you know, Science of Self-Realization was there on my shelf and I never read it and then I opened it at one point because internet was not working or something like this. And I read it the whole night and you know the next morning, you know, he's ready to shave up and and do this And then I have a small question regarding sadhana.
So there is an intense desire to follow the complete package of sadhana as given by Śrīla Prabhupāda.
As in read everyday, chant 16 rounds, take prasāda, wake up early in the morning. The basic things. But many times it is not possible to follow every aspect of it.
Therefore, the mind uh uh instigates me to follow none of it. So uh what is the bare minimum I I should really
adhere to with an intention of getting to the point of? Bare minimum is to get up early and chant 16 rounds. That's the bare minimum. And uh even if this minimum you cannot do, then you
can sometimes give up getting up early. But 16 rounds you have to do. But getting up early is very important because then your mind is more,
you know, sāttvik and the whole day is more sāttvik. Otherwise, you're more passionate and this passion, you know, will drive your mind crazy and take it away.
So the bare minimum is this, just chanting mantras. You know, and then you can hear a little bit when you are driving or whatever, some lecture.
And uh but try to chant uh in the morning if you cannot do sixteen rounds in the morning at least eight rounds in the morning and then something during the day. But it's important to maintain this minimum.
You know, somebody told me that I should chant 16 rounds and I didn't understand why why 16 I I I didn't know who is Krishna but since that day I'm chanting 16 rounds and I never missed a day when I didn't chant the 16 rounds.
Even though in the beginning it took me four hours to chant 16 16 rounds, 16 rounds. I remember this. That was that was very difficult.
But still, you know, I somehow or rather I took it to heart and you know I I never missed the day. Never. Maybe couple of days I chanted fourteen rounds or at least twelve rounds, but even this was very rare.
Addressing impersonalism without unnecessary debate
So just this minimum, everything else will come. Impersonalism is very widely seen in Kerala, followed Kerala philosophy.
So what should be about making strategy not such things because uh recently we had Srikesha Janashwestival when the chief guest who addressed gave the speech was actually speaking on an impersonal viewpoint. So it's our audience but he's speaking in an impersonal part.
So actually I I learned from Acharya's tongue, like many books says that we are supposed to, even Prabhupada says that we should actually confront and try to... No, for these official functions of course we shouldn't confront.
We should sing whom we invite to give the the keynote address, but um you know it's uh almost impossible to deal with these people because they already programmed in a very specific way.
And they are not really open to hear anything else. And they will, you know, they will tell you all kinds. So I, you know, I won't waste my time trying to really preach to them too much.
You know, if they are interested, if they ask questions, if they have something. But if you try to, you know, kind of defeat them.
Even if you defeat them, uh they will just go out and say, oh yeah, this is ridiculous, and they will just brush it out. You know, and they will think that they defeated, you know.
It's it's it's like you know, the debate between the atheist and the person who believes in God.
They speak, they give so many arguments, and then the debate is over and everyone, you know, atheist remains the atheist and religious person remains the religion person and nothing changed. What's the use?
You know, of course, if there is a big audience and they can, you know, they can maybe sway this way or that way.
But as far as they are concerned, it's very difficult unless you are powerful like Śrīla Prabhupāda. You know. I remember once Shankaracharya I think he was Shankaracharya. One of the Shankaracharyas. He came to Moscow.
I think Shingery Shankaracharya or I don't remember exactly. There was this uh yatra arranged by uh Viswa Hindu Parishad uh and um uh
They were traveling all over the world, and they came to our temple, to his ISKCON temple.
And he wanted to address the crowd, so I, you know, I selected certain people, few devotees, took them in a separate room and he started speaking. And he gave a beautiful speech.
He spoke about Śukadeva Gosvāmī, how he was attracted by the verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhāgavatam. He was quoting Barhapidam, Attavara, Attavaramappu, Karnayok Karnikaram, Bibratwasam, Kanakakapisham.
He was, you know, beautifully explained this story, quoted all the verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It was so nice. And then the lecture was finished and we came out, and he said, You know what?
Your Prabhupāda, he cheated you. You're Christian by your culture and by your upbringings. And you naturally believe in one God. So therefore he came to the West and he said there is only one God Krishna.
But we know, and he knew, that there are many gods, so there's So he cheated here. So there's no point to to argue with such people. Yeah. It is Okay. We are very thankful and grateful to be a very