Importance of the Studying of Shastra
Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · Chitagong · 2014
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Introductory prayers and opening remarks
Oma vyan dimirandesya dyan janam salakaya chaksurum iritanyana, Tasma Shavama, Sri Chaitanovishtaw, Stap dam, Swaan, Lada Sapadanti Vandya Sri Guru, Sri Yutapadakamalam, Sri Guru Vaisnavamsta, Sri Ruham S Sagrajatam, sadhanarabunatamitam sadam sadwitam savadhutam, Harijana Sahitam, Krishna Chaitamale, Sri Radam Krishna Padam Saganaladita Sriakatamsam Krishna Karunasindu, Dinabandu Jagatapate, Gopisha Gopikakanta, Radakantana stude, Taptakanchanagurange Rade Vrindava Nishwari Vishabanu sutevi pranamami Vancha Kapatar Vascha, Pripasindu Byavacha, Patitanampavaneby, Vaishnavyamonaha, Sri Krishna Caitana Prabhunitanda, Sri Advaitagadhara, Sivasadigura Bhakta Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare namo viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale śrīmate bhaktivedanta-svāmin iti nāmine Padaya, Krishna prestaya Bhutale, Srimate Bhaktivedanta, Swami Vitnami, namaste Saraswati Gaurabani pracharine, ne vishas washatadeshatari Ajanu Lambhita Bujokana Kavatata Sankirtanaika Vitaroka Malataks, Vishwambarod Vijayaro, Yuga Dharma Palo Vandeja Gat Priakaru Karunavataru, Dantah Pradishamamuachampa Sutam Sanji Vayatekila Shakti Dara Swadama Anjamasramana Pavari, Ranandamo Bhagavate Purusha durvi. It's a big honor for me to speak in front of you today.
I would like first of all of course to thank Mother Delicid for inviting me here. If it was not for her insistence I probably would not come.
But because she's so eagerly and enthusiastically was inviting me year after year after year after year after year I I had to surrender.
Importance of studying sacred scriptures
And because I am here on your order, uh I would like to speak what she ordered me to speak about.
She asked me yesterday to speak something about the importance of studying our shastras, scriptures and books of Sri Prabhupada. And I will elaborate a little bit on this very important topic.
In one sense we know that what is all important is devotion is in our heart. The Hokana Vijay Hokti. Lapalabhaka. And if we have bhakti in the heart we have everything.
If we have bhakti in the heart, devotion in the heart we have a bhakti happy Shakti Knowledge in one sense is not important.
If one has ardent devotion even if he's illiterate, even if he doesn't know so many shlokas, even if he doesn't know Sanskrit, even if he doesn't know uh so much you know devotional knowledge, he has Krishna in the heart and that's it.
A ship over the high to the Nataka. It will read the Bhakti Haken, Talic Hokki.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā himself that I am sitting in the heart of every living entity, and if somebody is a devotee, if somebody is really serving me with love, I will reveal all knowledge from within in his heart.
Krishna Bhavita Bhakti Karadhi Bhutti Bhavriva, I will I will enlighten him from inside. I will by the fire of knowledge, by the lamp of knowledge, I will dissipate the darkness of ignorance in his heart.
Ah so the question is whether we should study or not. And sometimes devotees they have this misconception that when we study books it's gyana and when we chant it's bhakti.
And after all, Lord Chaitanya Mahabrabul when he spoke with Ramananda Roy the first verse which he admitted to be the beginning of real devotional life of real self-realization
starts with jnane prayasam Mudapasyanamante Eva, you should kick out Gyan far away. He uses this very interesting Sanskrit word Ud Ap Asya. Udap Asyan means you know Ud and Up.
You just you have to kick out jyan or endeavour for gyan, very far away. They target it out.
Scriptural faith versus worldly faith
But at the same time, as I said, this is a misconception that this sort of statement uh justify not to study the books and scriptures and shastras.
Our acharyas they say that the adikar or qualification for bhakti to practice bhakti you have to have qualification For any field of you know activity you need some qualification, some Adi Kah.
Yes, so this jogyata, this adikar, this qualification, um for bhakti is Shraddha. But Srila Jiva Goswami he specifically classifies or says that there are two kinds of Shraddha of faith.
He says there is Shastriya Shraddha and there is Lokik Shraddha. So smallity says Shastriya Shraddha are And he says that specifically the qualification for bhakti is not Loki Shraddha.
The qualification to practice bhakti is not Loki Ksradha. So is it yogyatā bhakti praveśa or is it laukika-śraddhā? No, I think. It is śāstrīya-śraddhā. It was a śāstrīya-śraddhā.
So I will uh describe a little bit the difference between the two. What is laukika-śraddhā and what is śāstrīya-śraddhā and how śāstrīya-śraddhā comes to our heart?
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, by elaborating on the same topic, he calls laukika-śraddhā, śraddhā, balād-utpāditā-śraddhā. So Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura viśeṣaṇaṁ brūte.
And balād-utpāditā-śraddhā means that this is a forced śraddhā. And he calls śāstrīya-śraddhā as uh svābhāvika-śraddhā. Natural śraddhā, svābhāvika.
So laukika-śraddhā, we all know, it's it's some samāja-śraddhā, it's uh it's śraddhā or the faith which we obtain in the society. I think the the best place to obtain samāja-śraddhā is kitchen. Kitchen. Kitchen.
Samāja-śraddhā mālā-bhūtaṁ dharmeṇa. You know, people talk, talk a little bit and somebody tells the story and somebody else says, ah really? It was like this? You know, people tell so many stories.
And every time somebody tells the story, the story becomes more and more and more amazing and more far out and more and more beautiful. In reality something really simple happened, but then after so many years it becomes a real miracle.
So it's kind of like a simple attack on...ikitapato the giving of an aṣṭottarī check. And
usually when we talk about laukika-śraddhā, or sāmājika-śraddhā, or balād-utpāditā-śraddhā, we talk about this kind of śraddhā which is basically based on miracles. So many people believe in Sai Baba.
By the one of the research, I mean that's all due respect. You know, this whole śraddhā is based that he gets some little, little ashes in his hand. Basically faith in ashes, not in anything else.
So and you know and people when they, you know, there is a big movement of followers, and they come together and they usually talk, you know, Sai Baba came to me in a dream and he said this and he saved me and somebody else says something else and this is going on.
So laukika-śraddhā is usually this is what it's based on. It's based on the dreams, it's based on some miraculous stories, it's based on some little, you know, ashes in the hands, it's based on all this kind of things.
So highway Therefore, our ācāryas, they are very careful about these miracles.
So Amade say Asarjara Tara Miracalva Avastov Bada Like you know if you go to India every Rikshawala has you know Shirdi Saibaba picture in his riksha.
So Nik Viksha in here with other Viksha Guru Pishana Bhakuta the Sai Bhava Chobi Rakh Viksha Mun. And they worship him and they, you know, get some supposedly get some benefit.
And in one sense it's good to have this kind of Shraddha at least people are not completely hundred percent materialistic.
Prabhupada's definition of true miracles
But in real sense, this kind of Sradha is not conducive for our bhakti. Therefore, when Śrīla Prabhupāda was asked, Swamiji, show some miracle.
Śrīla Prabhupāda would say, you know, he gave different answers on these questions in different occasions. I I'll I'll tell you a couple of stories about it. So, I'm not sure that
Once he was speaking in front of the big businessman in uh Mumbai, in Bombay. And somebody asked him, Swamiji, can you show us some miracle? So I couldn't have saying it wasn't samijating to look.
And Prabhupada said, I went to America with 40 rupees. And now I have 100 temples all over the world and I have millions of dollars and that's within just five years. So, you know, we have to do On
some other occasion when somebody asked him in the big audience, uh can you show us some miracle? He saw that his Western disciples shaven heads and dojis and cultures and he said, This is my miracle.
In in fact I was uh some time ago in two thousand in the year two thousand I was in one convention of Sadus in Rishikesh. And one sadhu approached me and he said, Your Guru Maharaj, Śrīla Prabhupāda is he is amazing.
So Kinita say acts on a go to Guru Maharaj Sila Prabhupada.
He said, I am a Sanskrit scholar I know all the Shastras and I have you know around four hundred disciples. I have a big Guru Kul in Rajasthan, I have so many followers. He said, but I cannot make my own son to weird.
He said, Your Guru Maharaj went to America and he made Americans to wear daughter, this is a big miracle. So the point which I want to make is that uh when we
base all our śraddhā, all our faith entirely on the miracles, is not it's not very healthy for our bhakti.
Grounding spiritual faith in scripture
You know if we're always eager to you know get some chamatkar, you know, and our faith is is entirely based, you know, if chamatkar is there we believe in God and we chant nicely and we have enthusiasm. If chamatkar is not And
as far as chanting is concerned, of course we know that all the knowledge is coming through through chanting. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says Vidya Vadu Jivanam, he says that the knowledge is coming from the chanting.
Yeah, he says that vidya, the knowledge, is the bedfellow of this hari-nama-sankirtana. Whenever the pati is going, the chaste wife is following him.
But at the same time, you know what I want to say is that to practice properly with enthusiasm we need really to ground our faith in the scriptures. Therefore, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says śāstrīya-śraddhā is the first step.
So if a mother big hope to notification a shastro another do the a shastro shot down the orchid of the This knowledge which is coming from the chanting itself is coming on the higher stages when we chant in a very pure manner. But to reach this stage we have to really put our understanding very properly from the very beginning. If our understanding is proper and if I understand the logic of the Shastra, Shastra Yukti, then only we will be able to sustain our practice in many difficult situations.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu he points out that if uh one doesn't have this Shastra Yukti, the understanding of the logic of the Shastras, the complete or systematic understanding of
then his śraddhā is komal, is a very pliable. This komal śraddhā means that anyone can influence your śraddhā. It means that anyone can change your śraddhā, the shape of your śraddhā. If you have śāstrīya-śraddhā, śāstrīya-śraddhā means dṛḍha, means very firm. Who's shocked?
But if it's commal, somebody comes to you and he says something and it creates doubts in your heart.
And if you have doubts, doubts means that uh uh your mind is divided you're basically uh in Sanskrit Daut means samsha uh bidranti bose ma sanskrit is it like a samsha go say they say monkey vibhavakha This is a very interesting word in Sanskrit.
Samsai means sam means samyak completely. Songnok and you know and shy means uh sleeping. Sleeping, shy, anantashy or sh something means some mana shama, sha means just sleeping mana. Yeah.
So same means completely sleeping. Completely sleeping, what is the meaning of this? If you have samse, if you have this doubt in the heart, then you are paralyzed, you cannot act.
Your mind is split into parts, you know, and one part believes in this, another part doesn't believe in this, and you better and you feel like going to sleep.
Eliminating doubt through scriptural logic
Therefore, in Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says, «saṁśayātmā vinaśyati». If somebody is saṁśayātmā, if his ātmā, if his soul is made of doubts, he is vinaśyati, he is lost.
In one sense, uh, in this verse in Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says that it's even better to be ignorant than to have doubts, than to have some share.
So what I want to say is that if your śraddhā is uh is not very firm then uh it can be easily influenced
by external influences, by negative influence, by some uh by asatsaṅga. And uh usually what people do because they feel
that they have some doubts and they try to hide some doubts, they somehow or other they want to make their s their śraddhā, their faith stronger by all these miracle stories.
Those people who have very nice, good and complete
systematic understanding of śāstra, they don't need miracles. They are very convinced and they are determined to follow the path of bhakti no matter what, whether miracles happen or not.
I know some people, they practice bhakti and they hope, of course, that, you know, Krishna says, «My devotee will never perish», you know, uh declare it boldly, Arjuna, I will always protect my devotees.
So and bhakti would say that na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati.
But then something happens with them on something happens with their friends, there is some car accident or whatever, and they immediately have doubts if Krishna is there or not.
How rituals become empty superstitions
So, se bhakta, konoṅ saṅgī bā, konoṅ bhakta, konoṅ patanaḥ, uh, jīvantaśī, Krishna to make the why because their śraddhā is not grounded in the śāstra.
And that's actually what happened in uh with Hinduism, especially in India, people lost their uh śraddhā in in śāstra. That is the short hurrying it.
And there is only some superstitions, some kind of rituals and superstitions and people don't know w why they are doing what they're doing, what is the reason, uh why they should do it.
There is a nice story about how this faith in rituals and superstitions develops. Once there was a little temple and there was a pujārī in this temple. And he was worshiping the deity.
And he would bring some offering, some food offering every day to the deity. But then the little mouse appeared there and the little mouse started coming.
The little mouse figured out that at that time when there is some ringing of the bells there is some food for her and the little mouse would come and eat this offering.
So this pujārī, he started thinking what to do and he was not a pujārī only, he was a guru, he had some following, some some of his followers and whatever. So somebody said why don't you bring some cat here and put some cat? And of course, you know, some cat uh was put there and cat finished the problem with the mouth.
So they don't know how you walk in a lot, uh you do it some But created some other problem. It's usually the way of material world the solution is worse problem than the initial problem.
So this cat because the cats are you know they like to come to people, so the cat if if pujari would go or the swamiji would go to the altar, the cat would also come to the altar and you know he's doing puja and the cat is also there and he's just you know mm
you know So some puzzle So is guru sabiko. So he he made a solution for this and
during the puja, when the puja would start, before the puja he would uh put the cat in a in a box and tie the cat with with some rope uh so that the cat would be there in the in the box. And after the RT he would untie the cat and the cat would again be free and you know take care of the mouse mice.
And um you know after some time the this Guru Jiswamiji left he left his body. So So far, say Burujette.
They thought that this is a very mystical and very important uh ritual, part of the ritual, part of the puja, you know. The puja is only complete if the cat is there, tight in the in the box.
And it's already written there, and the stample is there, you know, the puja is only proper and complete if the cat is there tied in the box and it should be black cat.
Well what I want to say is that sometimes people they do this rituals and they don't understand why they do the rituals, what is the rationale behind it and what is the sh what does Shastra say about this.
And there is a tendency, you know, to proliferate or to increase these kinds of rituals, you know, and this is again all based on the Loki tradition. They have a look with a tradition transcripting.
They being kidding Jotha Dinger, the Homo to no gives a potential Arabishan Vishan.
It's interesting that in the beginning of Indrapuja when uh Krishna noticed that all his relatives and his father and all the cowhard men in his village are running frantically and bringing so many ingredients for big sacrifice for Indra, then Krishna asked the question.
He asked his father, my dear father, please tell me why you're doing this? What is the reason for this? If this ritual is based on Shastras or if it's just some Loki tradition.
And then he says, very interestingly, he says that, you know, do you know what is the purpose of this?
Because if you don't know the purpose and why you're doing this then you will not really achieve anything by doing this. So abdiki dana netiki karani kurchem ba adoki abnadana ansidanana
So uh what I want to say is that it's a very common
trait in any religion that over the time the religion becomes overburdened with all these completely useless rituals and nobody knows why these rituals are there and there are so many miracle stories and nobody knows the real Siddhanta.
The Itharmogulo, Ishamoso Posati Gulo, ritual it in Auto Hare, Avare Hara, Shall I guess the Hammer And people they become the followers of the
particular religion not because uh they so much have the conviction within the heart, internal conviction, but because everyone else is following this.
They follow this religion and that happened exactly with Hinduism that followed with the movement on Lord Chaitanya.
They follow this not because they internally very much convicts in this, but they just follow because everyone else follows and just in case it works they do it.
Like in Russia, uh seventy percent of people if you ask them on the streets what is your religion they will now say Orthodox Christianity. So Digikesan Sotovaki Nanajan and Orthodox Christian But interestingly enough, if
you ask the same qua the same people, you know, if you believe in God, then forty percent will say no, we don't believe in God. Forty percent. Forty percent.
Um they want someone wishes for another one the soldiers are now uh name. My religion is orthodox Christianity, but I don't believe in God.
And there are so many Hindus, if you ask them, you know, what is your religion? The willy say Hindu. And if you ask them, you believe in God, they will say no, but don't believe in God.
Hinduism, the gush for Bhavan Vishwara, we search for it. This is exactly what happened with any religion if there is no study of Shastra. So and therefore therefore uh the Vishwana Chakravati Thakur
he says this Shradhan which is not based in Shastra, it's Balatut Padita, it's forced upon you. So Shradhi Vishnu Shakrabishakosan it is Balatut Padita, Jul Pudoka You know, like w
for example we are living and we have our little society, there's some some kind of social society is there, society of brahmacharis Brahmacharya Samach. And then this Brahmacharya Samach, there is samajik Shraddha.
And there is some social pressure. In one sense it's good to have some little social pressure you have to get up for Mangalarity.
But it's much better if you're convinced from inside that you have to get up early for mongolarity and it's good for you.
You may believe in it because everyone else believes in it and because you're more or less forced to do it, because everyone else is doing it.
Deepening japa through internal conviction
But if you have internal conviction that this is what I need to do, this is what I need, this is needed for my spiritual development, that's a completely different story. I won't have a meeting to see Tanto.
I mean it's the hair at Tamal Paramathi Munozion of the Kaboshi Utah. You know, kīrtana is very nice and we all like to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare Hare.
You don't need much faith in it because it's kind of nice. But to chant your japa properly you already need some kind of faith.
It's one thing if you have very strong internal conviction that this is a very important process for my development, for developing the taste. It's one thing.
Another thing if you do just because everyone else is doing it. Dido ship the but do we have a misship? You can immediately see during the japa time, you know what kind of śraddhā everyone has.
Uh Japan Jay, Sabha exhaudi, Jamanamari. You know, this is one kind of śraddhā. This is balāt-pāḍitā japa. This is forced japa. This is John Mugha This is uh the you You know, daily torture.
Yeah, but if somebody has this very strong faith, then it's different. Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma, Rāma, Hare Hare.
There is a very nice book by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Bhajan Rahasya. Bhaktivin Takurati Kushn, Halavantarita, then Bhajan Rahasya.
And basically a stream of his meditation when he meditates on these ślokas of Śikṣāṣṭaka. And he says that in the beginning, while chanting japa, we have to meditate on the first śloka of Śikṣāṣṭaka.
So and when Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives his meditation, explains what it means to meditate on this śloka, he gives, I think, around 45 or 50 ślokas from different scriptures which confirm this first śloka, and he says that first śloka is the description of our faith.
Sri Shaitan, what is the dish?
When we chant japa, we have to have, especially in the beginning, we have to have this very strong faith, viśvāsa, this very strong conviction that if I do this, all these results which Caitanya Mahāprabhu explains will come to me gradually one by one.
Preserving devotional movements with shastra
That ultimately ānandāmbudhi-vardhanaṁ prati-padaṁ pūrṇāmṛtāsvādanaṁ, that everything comes and the complete bliss of my soul will be revealed to me. And if this śraddhā is there, and again this śraddhā is based exactly on on the shastra, on the logic of the shastra.
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started his movement in Bengal 500 years back, the phone privacy Then in Bengal basically all the followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu they were converts uh by Nityānanda Prabhu.
And Nityānanda Prabhu he liked kīrtana and all his followers, they liked kīrtana. I need a go within the Joe Kirtan Pasanda Kirtan Aranukamirao, Kirtan Pasandakotan. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
But what happened with this Bengal movement is that so many different you know movements and sects and uh sampradayas appeared very soon, very quickly.
And therefore the wife of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, uh Jāhnavā Mātā, she already knew that it's going to happen and she went to Vrindavan and she ordered that the books of Goswamis of Vrindavan were brought to Bengal. And only because these books were brought to Bengal the movement remained in Bengal
in a proper way, but still by the time of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura there were 13 apasampradāyas in Bengal. So Bangko Nyasa Aul Bau you know karta bhaja sake beki, whatever it is, Guranganagari and you know what.
In fact, I had a friend of mine, he was my student, university student friend of mine. And in in the beginning of 80s, I started chanting and I became a little interested in this movement.
And this friend of mine, he got married with a Bengali woman.
And I was very much interested, you know, and I I decided to meet with this Bengali woman and I saw that, you know, at that time I saw that all Bengali is a pure devotees. You know better and
and I met with her and I said that this is Hare Krishna, Hari Ram and and she was said, yes, yes, yes, this is our religion. So it's Ahmedavan Gokida Majya Havikisham.
And and and then little later I found out that she eats meat and everything else. And then immediately what she did, she put some tape in uh in a tape recorder for me. She put some tape. Tape.
And there was some, you know, music she said this is this is the real our religion. And somebody with very high voice was singing the oo that was Awls.
And I was very impressed because at that time I didn't have śāstrīya śraddhā, I only had laukika śraddhā.
Practical presentation of Prabhupada's books
Anyway, what I want to say is that if we want to protect our movement, if we want to protect our enthusiasm, our śraddhā, it has to be based on the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. And books of Prabhupāda very special.
Because he basically dismisses all these superstitions in the books. Dismisses? Dismisses. He he just he neglects the Loki but the regular thing I want him.
His specialty, his viśeṣa of his books, the specialty of his books it's it's very much grounded on the logic. He explains how uh it's not something miraculous or mysterious.
This is something very rational and very much kind of say, you know, I would say that when you read books of Prabhupada, he speaks of say uh you know I I would say that when you read books of Prabhupada he speaks about God and religion in such a manner that you know it becomes very relevant and the topic of uh of day to day necessity so to speak.
You know, when sometimes other people like you know swamis they speak about god they they make it so vague and so you know so you know it's something you know, Prabhupada know it's something you know Prabhupada when he speaks about this you you immediately can feel this is something I have to do, this is something relevant to me, to my heart, to my to my life today.
They call it some superno.
It's not something which was relevant five hundred years ago, five thousand years ago, and it's not relevant anymore now when we have iPods and iPhones and you know, all these iPads and all these computers and everything else.
He immediately goes to the heart of what we need and he instills this very logical and systematic. And it's very systematic in a sense that you know if you if if you get it you're more or less trapped because you understand that's it.
This is how I have to live. When Prabhupāda presents the teachings of the Shastras, there is no loopholes there. For your mind, basically, you know, your mind is there, you know, that's it.
You you you have to surrender, there is no other way. Logically Prabhupada explains that you have to surrender, otherwise you just you know you there is only two alternatives in this world.
Either you have to surrender to uh God or you have to surrender to your wife. And I guess you already made your choice but Anyway,
so what I want to say is that Prabhupada he presented and this is the beauty of his books, he presented this Shastra Yukti, this uh And it gives a lot of conviction to your intelligence.
And it basically if you have this conviction, then your practice of uh bhakti will become uh completely different on a different level.
We all know when we have when we hear some nice lecture, you know, we have some enthusiasm and we want to do and practice bhakti properly. When you know when the lecture is not there then then it's kind of again goes back to to normal.
So, but if we comp, if we're always in touch with books of Śrīla Prabhupāda, then our enthusiasm, our śraddhā will always be there.
And if śraddhā is strong, then you will have sādhu-saṅga, bhajana-kriyā, anartha-nivṛtti and niṣṭhā, and ruci, and āsakti, and bhāva, and ultimately prema, everything will follow step by step, crown by crumb, you know, in a very natural way.
At the on every step you will get the help from the shastra.
How to associate with sadhu, sadhu sanga, how to perform bhajana kriya, how to get rid of your anarthas, how to maintain your firm face and how to develop taste.
Request to study scripture attentively
Everything is there in the śāstra, in the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Therefore, my humble request to all of you, and this is the request of Prabhupāda, I'm just conveying his request. Please study my books very carefully.
He says, I am very, he said once I am very pleased with my disciples. I am very happy with them.
He said, actually, this is the difference between ISKCON and Gauḍīya. Because in Gauḍīya Maṭha, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī was not very happy with his disciples. In fact, Prabhupada once said that Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati left this world so early because he was
disgusted with his followers and their discipline. But Prabhupāda said, I have only one complaint about my disciples.
In the Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, they should not actually complain. They think that my books are just for sale. For distribution. And they don't study my books properly.
Uh, I'm gonna know how about it. So I'm already speaking too long. Thank you very much.
Uh I just uh again wanted to stress this point that this is very important to nourish our practice and our faith on every step, on every stage of our development. It's very important in in our internal development to study the books of Prabhupada,
to read bhakti-granthas like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhagavad-gītā, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu and so on and so forth. Otherwise, there will be yet another apampradāya very soon.
And we have all the facilities to develop nice apasampradāya, no problem. We will have our cats in a box in the new temples and so many other, and we will tell so many miracle stories about Hare Krishna Mantra.
Anyway, thank you very much for your question.
Balancing congregational chanting and study
Is there any questions or whatever? Sankhi thing we have. So we should do some kick and then what we say, if we ask questions like this, then what we answer.
Yeah, but Prabhupada said it's a fact the main process of uh Yagya or spiritual self-realization in Kali Yogis saṅkīrtana. Prabhupada said I wrote all these books to explain why and how to perform Sankirtan.
So I mean as I said, if you do saṅkīrtana, you will get everything by saṅkīrtana. But uh if you don't study the books there is a great chance that you will not perform Sankirtan properly.
When you study the books, you will again and again be reminded how God is great and how you are small. And in this way you will develop the mood of humility.
I mean we don't know the harshit up and uh we drive them what it was.
Uh whereas if we just chant Sankirtan at one point uh the pride may you know may return to our heart. I am so great, I am only doing Sankirtan all these people they uselessly wasted their time, you know, they studying the books and then doing some kirtan.
No, the books are necessary to remind uh us that we are very small and insignificant and God is great and so many other things can be said about this.
And besides that, there is another question to this uh uh answer to this question. You can only perform saṅkīrtana in the association of sādhu. So Sadhudin Modte Anikana Sanghita Nana Putadari. Sadhudya Sanghi.
And the saṅkīrtana is only proper if there is sādhu-saṅga, right? Proper Sankirtan Shiva Dhan Sadhu Sangha Mantamana.
So Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura says there are two types of sādhu-saṅga. Sometimes you have association with the sadhu of high caliber with the pure devotee. Sometimes you don't have association with such a sadhu.
But uh Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura in Premā-bhakti-candrikā says, if you study Shastra, then this is another kind of sadhu sanga. You may associate with m Mahabhagmata devotee, you may study Shastra.
That's that's sadhu sanga and that's important. That's important. There is a devotee who he doesn't chant much, he doesn't do Mamalati but he gives nice pastimes of Rādhārāṇī.
Sometimes he says, oh I heard Rādhārāṇī's, you know, and different uh stories he used to tell other devotees, but he never tells the devotees about Harina.
And also uh some of his um Um followers also they don't do very name. So in this regard you can uh is there any logic?
This is what happens, you know, somebody comes and tells I hear Rādhārāṇī ankle bells and you know and you have to believe him. And if he tells this and he he cries, you know you you become his follower and then you then God knows what happens to you.
So Mahaprabhu said by this shouldn't be as I don't know. No, it may be radarani sankel bells, it may be the bell which is there and the goat. God is there, then uh the radarani is uh Oh they know which one is it?
Another question. So far that one of them collect to hai. Toba Maharajba Prabhupada Vantovala kickan re like
you said Śrīla Prabhupāda's books we should read. So there are books of different sannyasis and different robus they they have written also many books. So is it necessary to write to read those books also?
It's up to you but basically you have to study Prabhupada's books because this is the important Siddhanta. It's like this, every day you eat rice, right?
And there are so many other nice things which you can add to the rice. But rice is the main meal. No, this other things are nice, but rice is the main meal.
Sikshastaka verses and devotional stages
In Russia I say bread, but here I say rice.
Russia they are wholly onible bread by root. But then I'm drawing that suggest anything to my body The pro customers and the Hurinamasikh was a champ of the two born across the same way to be says and the relationship between Shiksh Chhasastuck and Varina instead of the Dinah Shri. So would you please elaborate a little bit?
So taking doubt, so Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura he explains that all the eight verses of Śikṣāṣṭaka they correspond to the stages of spiritual development. And he says that the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka explains the Sradha.
Sikhsashakam Swok Tini Banana Prasad is Shraddha. And the second verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka explains Bhajanakriya and Anartani Briti stage. And the third śloka of Śikṣāṣṭaka explains Nishta, it's a description of Nishta stage.
Uh here the slok shit on the Nishta store the uh big one shit and Kipdanya Sadahari, you always chant the holy name. When you become completely fixed and your face is very firm.
And then the fourth s uh uh slope of six sashtakum explains the Rucchi stage. You develop so much taste to the practice of bhakti then you easily can give up all the other allurements of this world.
Nadanam Najanam Nasundari. And then uh the fifth verse of Siksashtakum explains the Asakti stage. And Asakti stage is the stage of so much
uh your mind becomes so clear that you can see your own spiritual The beginning understanding of my spiritual eternal spiritual nature comes on the stage of āsakti.
The beginning understanding of my spiritual eternal spiritual nature comes on the And therefore, Lord Chaitanya says that uh you know I Nandata Nuja King Karampatiamam
And therefore, Lord Chaitanya says that uh you know I Nandata Nuja King Karampatiamam Vishane Bhavam Budho. He says that uh you know I'm your eternal servant, King Karam. So Kimadavala Sami Ivan it to severe.
Yes, and I'm uh I'm intimately connected with your lotus feet. So that's basically the description of emotions which somebody feels on uh who reach it reaches the stage of āsakti.
And of course Bhava is described uh Nayanam Galadashu Daraya m when all the symptoms of uh ecstatic love uh when you're established in your stay both uh firmly So
what Bhaktivinoda says that when you are on the stage of śraddhā and then you develop the face then your meditation is on the first uh verse of Shikshashtakam. No, but Rushata Surteam put the other.
And during Harinam, you know you emotionally meditate on the content of this verse. So Ridana Sami Habek Raban Habe Anadek Obundarin Habe E Shop Than for the Have it like this
if we have few minutes I can explain a little more about this. You know, each each of the verses of Sikshastakam explains certain valve certain emotional condition of of the chanter.
You know you may chant in a very humble mood, in a mood of complete humility.
And this is a certain mood and uh when you chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Ram Ram Ram Hari Hari.
You try to uh remember this mood which is there in the third verse of Sixth Sastakam. Or you may chant uh being saddened by your unfortunate condition.
Bahudani Jat Sarva Shakti Skatartitanianitas Maranana Kalaha Eta Adrishi Tavakripa Bhagavan Mamati Durdaiva Medrishamajaninan Rado. I am so unfortunate, Durdaiva Medrishim. So you may chant by understanding that Or
you may chant the same Hare Krishna mantra in the mood of complete enthusiasm. Finally I found my way and this chanting of Hare Krishna will bring everything to my life and will completely change my life.
Techniques for locking the mind
Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam bhava-mahādāvāgni-nirvāpaṇaṁ—and this is a different chanting, different mood of chanting. Some time ago I spoke with one devotee, he's a disciple
of Bhakti Daita Madhava Maharaj, who is a godbrother of Śrīla Prabhupāda, disciple of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda. So he's a very old devotee and he has been chanting his whole life uh
sixty-four rounds, one lakh of holy names every day. For the last ten ten or fifteen years he has been chanting two lakhs and sometimes three lakhs a day.
And when he chants, I mean you can feel that this is you can see that this is something genuine when when he chants, he has a lot of taste to holy name. So, aṁśu-nidhi-jāla-kāṭā, so he should have a tulasī-mālā.
He said if you want to chant properly, you have to lock your mind. Usually we all know when we chant, our mind is, you know, traveling all over universe.
Sometimes Russians they're very proud because they sent the first man in the space. But I think we all traveling in the space without even spaceships. Just enough to start chanting, then go with this stuff.
So he said if you want to chant properly, you have to lock your mind. And he says that the easiest way to lock your mind—he says that, you know, the triangle is the simplest way. You have to put your mind into a triangle.
In Yamarāja's abode, they... At a-trivṛt, triangle on a-trivṛt, each other comes out, a-trivṛt victory mantra, both are putting.
You know, this is a very simple kind of cell for the mind, you know, consisting of three sides. You have to place your mind into this triangle and put it there. He said that there are three three sides of this triangle.
One is uh you hear the sound of the holy name.
Another one is that you try to concentrate on it; it means you do it with a certain pace, with a certain speed, you know. You don't space out, you know, sometimes, you know, Hare Krishna, you know, Krishna Hare, you know, you have to, especially if you chant one lakh or two lakhs a day. You cannot really too much space out this Hare Krishna mantra.
You have to... bhotithaka, Bhāgavatam.
So this is another line, you know, one is one is the sound of the holy name, another one is that you really concentrate on it and you you really try to do it as quickly as possible so that there's not much space in between the names.
So I call it... Śraddhā are called? sometimes people they chant Hare Krishna and then you know there are five minutes later But then the third side of this triangle is the emotion, the certain
emotional state, bhāva in which you chant. If if you take care of these three sayings while chanting, then your mind will be locked. So that's what Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says.
He says that in the beginning when you start chanting, you chant in the mood of the first verse of The bhāva emotional state is the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka.
And then he says then then uh you know and he says you you have to do it for a certain period of time and and therefore he gives some other verses which uh confirms this and
deepens the meditation on the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka, how Harinam brings everything, all the results Astasona Shoti, this uh Manibuktawe, she would have uh she put it.
And this and then after that your Dyan while chanting uh can be on the second verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka, you know, how how Krishna placed all his energies in the in his holy names and still I don't have taste for for the
holy names. Like for example, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura starting explaining the meditation of the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka he quotes the seventh verse of Nāmāṣṭaka of Rūpa Gosvāmī. Suditasha Ramy Chit Gana Sukasvaru
Pine Nama Gok And And uh in this verse Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains you know what is what is holy name? Explain is that how Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains this meditation.
Meditation means that you take the content of the first verse of Śikṣāṣṭaka, and by adding so many other verses from the scriptures, you deepen your
meditation and while chanting you try to stay it in this emotional state while chanting the harinam. This is this is this Bhajana-rahasya, the secret of his bhajan.
Scriptural reading as daily practice
Another house She stays some devotees say to Never Sun given. If we want to develop our spiritual life properly, it's very important to uh put aside some time to read scriptures.
Some people are more inclined to do it, some people are less inclined to do it, but still some time uh has to be put aside. So I killed the wish you would say how we want to then make two pictures on my own.
We just have to understand that this is important, this is a part of sadhana. This is this is our nitya-kriyā, something which we have to do every day. And if we do something every day, then it becomes our nature.
And we develop taste for it. So it's just a question of some endeavor in the beginning so that it becomes our nature and we just you know it becomes very natural for us. I think it's already six o'clock.
One last question to uh and the sila property uh the autograph yeah. So what kind of uh carefulness is that? Careful means sradan vitam Nasrunayataka Varnayat yeah. Careful means with Stradha.
And Stradha means in Sanskrit it means faith and it also means respect. Faith along respect. Yeah.
So careful means that uh we have to read it with a lot of respect uh towards the Śrīla Prabhupāda and his contribution and his words.
We also try to fight with our inattentiveness because even during reading our might will tend to fly somewhere to Dhaka or Mayapur or Vrindavan or somewhere else. If not New York edited. I think New York credit about it.
So uh it means that we have to really try to keep our mind on the subject of what uh Śrīla Prabhupāda is read is uh writing. Even during this when we hear scriptures, you know, our minds sometimes you know somewhere and we don't really understand what's going on.
So to be careful reading means that you read it very attentively and then you will be able to tell others what is there and you will be able to apply it in your own life.
When somebody carefully or attentively reading, he will be able to tell uh or hearing he will be able to tell what is going on, what is the logic, what what is the point which Prabhupada made there.
Usually half things. Usually because people are not very careful, they read it as a ritual or they hear as a ritual. Uh Karan Manush they took all over uh Tara Monica edited rituals and though putting on the courti.
Usually after l any lecture you ask somebody you know, 15 minutes after what was the class? He says very nice class. What was it all about? I don't remember, but it was very nice.
There was a story about cat there. There was a story about the cat or Anyway, we are in the ultimate month. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda kī.