Questions and Answers

Бхакти Вигьяна Госвами · 2023

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Invocation and opening chanting

Namam Vishnu Padaya Krishna Prastaya Bhutali Srimati Bhaktivedanta Swami Nitinamini Namaste Saraswati Devi Goravani Pracharini Nirvisha Sunyavadi Paschatya Desatari.

Dhatara Srivassadi Gaura Bhakta Vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and Tak Pravisy Mamavachima Mamprasuptam Sandziva Prananda Mo Bhagavati Urusha to Bhyam.

So So I can say a few words, but it really will be very few words. I mostly want to hear from you or to answer your questions if you have some.

As you know, we had some parikram in uh Vrindavan. And uh it was very nice for me to see some of you, I see some of you sitting here who were there in Parikram, yes.

So and we're basically we tal'kreing that spiritual life means transformation of the heart. Which is not an easy process.

We are programmed, very deeply programmed to lord it over material nature. And that's the cause of our so-called material happiness. And uh it's also a cause of our uh sufferings.

So unless we get rid of this program, which is again, I repeat myself very deeply rooted, we will not be able to change anything radically

in our situation Like in the internet, you have so many uh different uh live acts, uh, different videos which uh explain to you how to solve this problem, that problem.

You know, uh any problem you uh you have, uh there will be at least hundred different hundred and eight different uh advisors, uh, different ways of get rid of these problems.

But the problem is that even if you get rid of one problem, hundred new problem will come immediately.

So people they are very happy to apply uh this knowledge to get rid of some little particular problems, and they actually think that this is the success of life if

Addressing the primary problems of life

I solve this little problem, that little problem, and uh you know ultimately it's not so bad. But uh Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā that our real problem is

uh Janma Mr Jaravyathi uh that you will have to be born, you will have to die, you will have to be sick, and uh uh you will have to become old and uh you know useless or incapacitated.

And uh yeah, there are some videos on the internet how to remain young till you're 100 years old. But even if you manage to do this, still you will die.

So people somehow or other they're very happy to solve a little problems, but nobody even thinks that it's possible to solve the most important problems. They don't even question if it's possible or not.

And that's the foolishness of human beings. And spiritual life means try to solve the most important problems, not the small problems here and there, and when we are going into this journey, uh,

we will face uh that there is some resistance inside our heart. If we are honest with ourselves, we will we will see very clearly that uh there is some obstacle which is not external.

External obstacles is the manifestation of internal obstacles. In fact, Krishna very mercifully sends us external obstacles so that we would be able to overcome ultimately the internal obstacle which is there.

Srila Prabhupada calls this internal obstacle as irrational resistance, or I don't remember the exact phrase, irrational um unwillingness to surrender to God. You know, we do not want to surrender to God.

We, you know, we want we have to surrender, you know, in this life there is no question of not surrendering.

We surrender to circumstances, we surrender to uh you know to our uh you know chief and our job, we surrender to this, we surrender to that.

Uh we always surrender, but uh the problem is that we do not want to surrender completely. We've we're ready to do partial surrender, but uh uh the wholesale surrender is a very difficult concept.

It's very difficult concept for us.

Navigating life as a spiritual journey

We are uh we want to remain uh independent, uh and this independence uh you know is the cause of our problems. So gradual, gradual the process is there, that's why uh the spiritual life is a journey.

Journey is a very important word. Like Guru Maharaj wrote these two books, Journey Within

and Journey home and ultimately we are in this journey our life is journey and that's why uh we come to the holy place which is also a journey. And we are uh traveling into this holy land.

And uh while traveling in the holy land, we are trying to understand how we should traverse this uh journey uh of our spiritual life.

So we had this little parikram and I hope that next time uh some other people will come, the same people will come for Parikram. It's very important for us not to stop during the journey.

Sometimes we become a little tired, sometime we become desperate, sometime we become yeah ni rash. We lose hope, we become hopeless. That's all there, that's a part of our journey.

But if we are in the association of devotees, uh everything ultimately will be solved. It's interesting.

Yesterday I was giving a lecture in Russian about Vyāsadeva Samādhi, which was the foundation of the whole Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

What Śrīla Vyāsadeva saw in his trance while he was sitting in his ashram in Bādarī-āśrama, he ultimately described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And he saw how Maya is bewildering living entities.

yayā samāhito jīvaḥ ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakaṁ māyā-sṛṣṭāṁ tu apāśrayam ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakaṁ manyute so the jīvas they think themselves as the part of this material nature.

ātmānaṁ tri-guṇātmakaṁ manyute and uh uh That creates a lot of problems for them.

So, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī analyzes this, and one of the questions which he pos uh why is it if somebody wants to surrender uh if the purpose of Maya and all the problems which Maya creates is only to uh push us uh into the spiritual path and to help us surrender.

Why is it that uh when uh we develop some little desire to surrender, still the obstacles remain on the spiritual path. Why Maya uh does not uh retract herself?

Why Maya still offers us some temptations, why Maya still you know testing us? Why she does not retract himself, herself. And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives a very interesting answer to this question.

I'm sure you probably sometimes because we see that there are some sincere people, they come to the spiritual path, and then somehow something happens.

And uh uh due to some tests of Maya, uh, they uh cannot overcome it and uh they ultimately leave the spiritual path. So Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī asks, how is that?

How is that proper and that we see this in reality, that uh people are trying to achieve lofty spiritual goal, uh, but nevertheless, uh, you know, it seems like māyā still is making troubles to them. And Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gives a very interesting answer to this question. He says yes, māyā will continue testing us, māyā will continue offering us some prospects of material happiness.

But if we remain in the association of devotees, we will be immune to all these temptations of māyā.

Krishna did not did not order māyā to stop or job to those people who are trying to achieve him, but he did give the remedy

to this people and this remedy is uh satsangha, and if uh people take this remedy they will be immune. You know, yes, there will be some problems here and there, some disturbances.

Uh, but uh if we sincerely uh stick uh to the association of devotees, uh then ultimately we will be able to overcome all the obstacles.

So that's uh uh that's a very interesting and uh relevant uh point which uh I just remembered while speaking to you. So that's my little introduction now.

I am ready to hear your questions and doubts because that's what we are doing.

We are trying to do some satsang, and uh that's the purpose of satsang to make each other stronger, make each other more immune from all this uh you know temptations and seducements of māyā.

Okay, yes, Guru Maharaj, thank you very much for this introduction and uh yeah, I think so let us just now uh taking into account that still uh we have uh some time uh allocated for this, uh and then each one of us can just maybe uh uh make some questions, uh ask some questions and uh I don't know actually uh Kushi you you sent a whole list so uh

you're we're the only one who actually s sent the list of questions so maybe we start with with those. Uh and yeah, you can ask people who were actually writing these questions, so maybe they can start with these questions.

Fundamental principles of a sane society

Rajmahades and says um yeah there are questions from the pranama group which I sent through so the first one is from Brian Prabhu.

So Brian Prabhu do you want to ask your question first? Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj, please accept my humble obeisances. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.

Um yeah, I have a question about a lecture that you gave on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the third canto and uh chapter sixth verse.

And then towards the end of the lecture, you were stating how you have formulated some guidelines about eternal principles to make a social structure uh sane or in other words principles underlying social interactions that foster a healthy society and um i wanted to ask if um are they are available if it's possible to to share them and um because I find it very important also for for the community and uh and uh very relevant for for the temple in general yeah

this is the this is the topic which I think uh at this moment uh a lot uh I think of a lot and yes, I do have see society is such a complex structure.

And if we read, you know, dharma-shastras, which actually uh is the specific uh uh you know scriptures to create the same social structure.

We will see so many different rules, so many different uh details of how it should be, how uh people should perform their own duties, their own svadharma according to their uh you know psychophysical nature and according to their social status.

And then you know the the rules of interaction, uh, the rules which everyone has to follow for society to be sane, and it's um it's very bewildering because you don't know where to start.

And uh there is uh I mean all these rules are important uh in in their own way, so to speak.

But because we are living in a society which is far from being uh healthy and sane, we need to start with some simple basic principles and not the details. Oftentimes people get caught up into the details.

Like recently, I heard one critic who is a very strong proponent of varṇāśrama-dharma and he criticizes ISKCON because in ISKCON our prasadam is not bona fide because we cook pizza here and we cook with something else, and this is all uh bogus because this is you know another traditional meals, and Krishna will only be happy if we cook everything uh totally completely traditional.

Uh you know that's that's a consideration, but definitely it's not the principle.

It's not that you know that this is something totally completely important and we should start creating healthy society from forbidding everyone to eat pizza.

I don't think that should be the starting point of our uh endeavors to uh do something.

So oftentimes people they speak about these things uh and and the same time they um uh they break very important principles like principle very important principle which is a good part of this pranamo program is the principle of respect of the seniors.

That's a very foundational principle of sane society. Without respect, uh there will be no sane social structure. And that's what we see.

This is uh and oftentimes this people who want to promote Varnasham they break this particular very important principle and they try to you know establish themselves as the authority over somebody who is much more senior than them.

And they may have a good points, but you know, you have to know how to do it. Anyway, this is uh this is just an introduction. I didn't start uh answering the question. The question was simple.

Uh, can I share the set of these principles, which I think I can.

I'm not, I'm still working on this uh conceptual framework. Uh uh I'm still trying to make the system uh as simple as possible, but at the same time as complete as possible.

Um so I'm not yet completely satisfied with the uh the structure which uh I have so far. Uh so it may require a little more time.

But I want to share with you now a very simple definition of healthy society, which Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives in Chaitanya Sikshamrita. He says, what is healthy society?

Healthy society is the society where people are healthy, where people lead healthy lifestyle, they eat healthy food, uh, they do exercise, you know. Uh that's one important thing.

Then he says that this is the society which creates sane people.

This is the society where people are not so distort, like modern society, it makes people agitated, stressed, completely disturbed, and as a result, the mental health is a huge problem in the modern society.

People are so stressed by the way of life that ultimately their mind breaks. They work too hard. There is so much financial pressure on everyone, and so on and so forth.

So uh so the mind should be healthy uh in the society, uh body should be healthy in the society, uh social interaction or the uh um you know the uh little micro social uh micro society which we're in should be friendly, there should not be uh too many conflicts in it, uh and this should be you know the the environment, the social environment which uh we are in uh should be uh friendly, should be very uh uh uplifting, uh, enlivening and friendly.

And uh uh yeah, basically that's it. And yeah, and and people should also definitely have some uh higher goal to achieve. That's four main um conditions which should be fulfilled.

If we want to say that this is the healthy society, the healthy society is the society which helps to maintain physical health, which helps to maintain mental health, which uh has uh you know uh healthy social interactions and

uh which helps people to establish themselves uh the higher goals but i can share yes i i can share

certain principles again i'm not sure if it's complete or you know but definitely I have a list. I'm sorry for such a long answer, but Okay, thank you, Guru Maharaj. So who is next? Um Edwin probably.

Uh would you like to go next? Yeah, thank you. Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj, please accept my humble obeisances. Um, yeah, uh my question is uh well it is actually three small questions related.

You mentioned in a class that one of the when the principal issue of the uh of the offenses is well the root of the of the of the all the offenses is the uh the lack of attention so uh and

Addressing attention deficit in spiritual practice

i'll also you mentioned that um we need to follow certain practices in our life uh because we are on the the major rules so uh we need to act in that mode of goodness and yeah in this way uh we can be more focused on on on Krishna consciousness and conscience about ourselves as well.

But you mentioned that all the bodies work in the same way, all these material bodies.

So I was wondering what happened, for instance, with the people who are diagnosed with uh attention deficit disorder, for example, uh, because as far as I know that uh they those people need to be like uh focusing in different uh things uh very fast because they cannot be concentrated in in one thing because they need to uh have like more dopamine or something like that.

I mean from the material uh perspective but I was wondering what happened uh

from the spiritual point of view and uh yeah and if there is uh like uh extra tips or extra the recommendation for those people to try to follow those principles or to you know to do in the japa because I think well I don't know maybe it's uh uh they they need to add different uh things or an extra thing to be more focused in what they are doing in the in the present and yeah also um i was uh yeah i i would like to ask if it is like this those conditions are like a consequence of previous lives, like they needed to do something else in the previous lives, and in this life they have this condition to do some improvement in Krishna consciousness or something like that.

And yeah, I think that that's good. Attention deficit syndrome is a mental disease. And there are different kinds of mental diseases, diseases, and physical diseases.

Some diseases are not completely curable uh but uh they can be improved and uh some more or less satisfactory level of uh uh you know of the state of being can be maintained.

Um some of them are easily curable uh some of them are curable with great efforts. So attention deficit syndrome, depending on the gravity. I'm not a big specialist on these mental diseases.

You know, it's definitely an acute form of inattentiveness.

We all have inattentiveness, we all have this rajasic mind, which is very active and you know always trying to engage uh himself with different things and uh is not being satisfied with anything for a long time.

So in one sense we all have it, but you know, I don't exactly know from which point it is considered to be a disease and up to which point this is quote unquote normal.

Uh from the point of view of uh Vedic view, we all are completely hopelessly in this regard. There's no doubt about it.

So uh uh but again, as I said, uh uh it's uh you know uh we have our own uh measurements uh and what is n what is considered to be normal today is not necessarily normal from the highest possible point of view.

So, but uh, you know, if we take this attention deficit syndrome, it's probably a disease which is either curable with great efforts and difficulty, or incurable but could be maintained on a certain satisfactory level, providing we follow certain regimen.

So that's uh that's the characteristic of this disease.

Uh it may be obtained like nowadays uh children because they are engaged in all these uh gadgets and uh use internet from a very, very early age. Uh they obtain this disease even though they may be born completely normal, but uh because parents neglect them and uh they give them smartphone and whatever. Uh they spend too much time into looking into the screen and it actually creates permanent damage in their brain.

It may be from past life, it may be you know uh acquired during this lifetime. Uh but in any case it definitely can be improved uh provided we you know discipline ourselves.

Gradually, gradually, gradually, we discipline our mind, we you know, follow certain rules, we don't uh spend too much time in uh looking different sites or news or whatever.

So that's uh simple rules, you know, we don't uh we don't turn on our phones first thing in the morning to check our you know messages in the messengers or emails.

Uh so this all thing they it it really um damages our brain, damages our mind.

So we try to do one thing at at a time, uh not uh to uh miss or overuse this multitasking uh so called abilities it's all you know ultimately very bad habit for the brain.

So we can maintain it on a certain level of sanity. At least we can make sure that it does not deteriorate, it does not become worse. Yeah, there are many rules which we can use.

Like in Ayurveda, there are herbs which help to uh fortify our brain, like uh Ashwagandha, uh it calms you down uh or another one is Brahmi. Uh these two prominent uh herbs.

Uh there is you know sandal, uh if it's real sandal, does the sandal wood oil also calms you down and cools you down, cools your brain.

Śrīla Prabhupāda used sandal wood oil every day by applying it on the top of the head to maintain the sanity and to you know make sure that the mind is not going out of control.

This is from the physical point of view, from the uh

you know exercise point of view, there are pranayam and some other exercises which help to uh maintain balance in in the prana in the prana's movement in the movements of our prana, because ultimately mind is being controlled by prana, by the movements of prana.

And if we maintain the balance with the movements of prana, then it's uh it will help, no doubt about it.

So on the different levels and diet, if we uh really maintain the satvik diet uh and be very regulated, it will also help. Uh even with the attention deficit syndrome.

Uh, you know, how big the improvement can be, probably it will take a lot of time before a person can feel tangible improvement, but still it's possible. Thank you, Mahārāja.

Chanting from the heart using scripture

All right, so uh next, Kuchi, who is there? Yeah, we've got Kucha. Hare Krishna Maharaj, please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you so much for your time today. I have a really simple question.

How can we chant in a way that is more from our heart and less in our heads where we're feeling more and thinking less.

Well, for that we need uh help because we usually live in our mind, in our very active, passionate mind and when we chant we also try to do it from this level.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the main help in this regard. And that's exactly what Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura advises us. He takes the verses of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which he knows of course by heart, and meditates on them and this meditation on the points of this verses On the meaning of these verses, uh, if it becomes deep, uh then it touches the heart. You know, when superficially we learn a verse by heart and we um just you know read it uh externally uh then it's not going to help.

But the process is like this, let me explain it in little detail. It's not a simple question as you said. It's probably the most difficult question.

So uh like today I was thinking Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he quotes uh Mukunda Mālā Stotra or uh is it yeah, I think it's muku yeah, it's from Mukunda-mālā-stotra, not from Stotra Ratna.

From Kulaśekhara's Mukunda-mālā-stotra the verse, Idaṁ śarīraṁ sat-saṅgī jarjaraṁ patatīvaśaṁ pariṇāma-peśalam, kim auṣadhiṁ pṛcchasi mūḍha durmate niramayaṁ kṛṣṇa-rasaṁ pibasva.

So uh it's a beautiful verse uh and I was thinking today about this verse uh The verse literally says Idam śarīraṁ sat-saṅgī jarjaraṁ pataty avaśaṁ pariṇāma-pe- śalam.

This body consists of many, many different joints. So it has many, many different parts.

And because it has different parts, uh, it will for sure patati avasyam, for sure avasyam patati, it will fall down uh that's the principle of nyaya if somebody in if something consists of parts uh the more parts is there the more vulnerable it is, the more prone it it is, uh you know, the more chances uh for it to be destroyed.

You know, it's a very logical understanding. If something is one doesn't have any parts, uh then uh it's difficult to destroy it.

But if uh something has many different parts uh in it uh then something wrong goes in one part and then it affects other parts and ultimately it falls apart. That's why it is called in English fall apart.

So So uh and that's exactly what uh King Kuloshikar says. Uh uh, you know, idamsariram, this body, sata sandi jarjaram, it consists of shatter. Shatter means hundreds of hundreds of sandhi. Sandhi means joints. Jarjaram.

Patatya Vasham Parinama Peshalam. And for sure it will fall down at one point and will be destroyed. Parinama Pesalam. Kimosadim prichasi mudha durmate or fool mudha. O complete full Muda Durma te uh addresses his own mind.

Uh what kind of medicine you're asking for? Like when we have some problems with our body, we run to the doctor and we ask, dear doctor, please give us some medicine.

So uh King Kulashekha says, Kimo Sadi, Prechasi Murda Dur Mate, Niramayam Krishna Rasayana Piba.

Just drink Piba, this name of Krishna, which is Niramayam, which is free from disease, and this name uh is Rasayan, uh, it will give you strength, it will give you uh you know strengths, uh, vitality and ultimately eternal life.

Don't ask for any other medicines. So you know how to chant with the heart. That was the question.

Uh, we may hear this advice, read the verse and meditate on this verse, and I'm sure you will try it and you will still chant from the head.

Uh you will still think about it, and you will uh you know continue chanting from the head. Like now, I explained to you what is the meaning of this verse.

But if we you know have a glimpse of the real meaning of this verse internally, if we really understand, you know, it's one thing to repeat, yes, this body will fall apart. Uh, and we know this, we heard many times about this. Uh, but uh we think, you know, well, it's not so bad so far.

And if I use this medicine and that medicine, it will probably maintain in this quite nice condition for some time. So, you know, what is the use?

You know, I I, you know, we don't feel really inside our heart the urgency of chanting the holy name. You know, we don't feel what King Kulashikhar says here,

but if we really understand that there is no there is no medicine, there is no other medicine, there is no other medicine, but there is one medicine, and this one medicine is uh is Krishna's holy name, and that's the only medicine which can help us in all our ailments, even on the physical level.

Uh, if we somehow or rather get uh this concept or this idea deep in the heart uh then the emotion comes and then we will chant uh with this emotion uh which is derived from this verse.

So that's what Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains. He says, you take a verse, you understand the meaning, you learn it by heart, you repeat it again and again and again.

And at one point, by the mercy of this verse, uh the meaning uh will become uh very deep in your heart, will be established in your heart. And then you will continue chanting from this position, from this state.

And that will be a different kind of chanting. That will be the chanting, you know, yes. Yes. Yeah, somehow or other.

So I today I was thinking, you know, yes, I know this verse yes I yeah I know what it means yes I know it by heart uh yes I repeat it many times but do I really know it do I really does it really uh shape me mentally?

Uh and uh does it really helps me uh to chant? So and when I you know came to this realization, my my chanting immediately went to different level. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes, there is only one medicine.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hari Hari Ramadi Ram Ram Ramari Hari. So that's that's the process, you know. We take uh this beautiful verses from Maurcharyas or from scriptures.

They are collected in Bhajan Rahasya by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. And by serving these verses and remembering them during the chanting we can deepen our chanting. Thank you so much. Okay. Okay, thank you.

Um so uh Kushi, who is next?

Differences between Gaudiya philosophy and Mayavada

Um next we have uh Taras Prabhu Mahar

uh to ask them i have to uh arrange you know like scene and to do that i need to use some difficult words which i'm not used to do so therefore if i say some nonsense, please you know um correct me.

So I was listening your seminar uh on uh um dashamula shiksha and uh in the three or

uh to two ending lectures where you were speaking about uh acintya beda beda and uh basically about what uh you know like what what unique uh Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave compared to other uh Vaishnava schools.

So you said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu he had to forget himself being Krishna.

uh therefore that he could i i do not remember exactly now you know why was said that but uh that stuck in my mind that he had to forget that he is krishna therefore that he could you know maintain um uh to maintain uh like in in full capacity what he was what he was doing uh at that time?

So when I've heard this um Um so I was thinking you know um if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was able to forget that he is Krishna, if this correct. Uh maybe I make a mistake, but if if it is like this.

So uh why then you know we say that uh Mayavadi's philosophy when they say, you know like, that God forgets himself being a god, you know, and he separates himself in the souls, and everyone is forgetting that they are God, and they are, you know, like just trying to remember himself that they are god.

So why this is not not relevant? Why this is you know like what is the argument argument there? Why god cannot make himself to forget to be a god and to divide himself in souls. It's really simple question.

This question is really simple. So the process which Mayavadi propose is that God is really forced to forget himself because somehow or other Maya overcomes him. It's not a volunteer process.

You know some uh concepts of Māyāvādīs say that this is uh līlā of God to become a human being that Brahman uh uh becomes uh jīva, jīveśvara I think it's called Jīveśvaravāda.

That uh Brahmā or Īśvara becomes jīva because it's his līlā. He just wants to enjoy. You know what kind of lila it is if we are uh you know doomed to get old and uh to die and to get sick.

It's not a lila. Lila is something which is very pleasurable. So their concept is that uh you know God is uh you

know playing his Lila, or uh if this is not their concept, then they say yeah, somehow rather he becomes jīva. But uh it's not in any case, it cannot be a volunte he cannot do it voluntarily, because what is the use?

What is the point for God to become jīva? What is the point for God to become somebody?

When Lord Chaitanya is doing it, there is a point, there is a purpose, and uh he wants to experience something much higher than he experiences being God.

Uh uh, but uh you know, to experience what we experience is it's not higher than to experience what God is experiencing. So there is there is a big difference between these two concepts. Yeah.

Okay, yeah, you you yes, you're right.

Unique contributions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Thank you.

And uh the so the the the second part also related to to all this, so um I'm not yet really sure what what exactly I I need I still need to to study like what exactly was given by by Chaitanya you know what is that you unique uniqueness you you mentioned you know that this is like uh Mādhurya Mādhurya Rasa and Parākīya or like something but yeah, so but just say just let's say like that he gave something unique like with which uh his followers can uh achieve by following uh his teachings or his you know like um disciples' teachings.

Uh and that uh this is basically the only way, if I understand correctly, to achieve that exactly goal which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said.

So my question is, you know, like also I I've hear earlier I used to hear quite often from like these uh hardcore bhakti preachers you know like who you know like uh try to somehow to uh let down other you know like pasts and you know like trying to find you know some illogical um subtle you know like things in in different religions and different paths and you know one of them, you know, it' likes when they say that Jesus Christ, you know, that Christians say that there is the only way to reach God, the Father, is just through the Jesus Christ. You know, and they say, okay, so so what about all these souls which were uh before Jesus Christ?

You know, so so how they would reach God if the Jesus Christ was here just two thousand years ago?

So then the same would be question regarding the what Chaitanya gave to us. So does it mean that all the previous, you know, like Yuga's previous, you know, souls who was there, they are not able to achieve what he gave or how to... That's a difficult question.

So ah see first of all

there is a difference between us and this uh you know Christians because uh this especially this newborn uh oh how you call it born-again Christians, very fanatical Protestant Christians who say there is only one way and there's no other way.

We don't say this. Uh we say that uh one can become closer to God by following uh rules of religion, uh by following rules of Dharma.

But we also say that the conceptually you know the understanding of particular religion gives you certain limitations which goal you can achieve.

It doesn't mean that everyone who follows this path will achieve the highest possible way.

Uh, you know, Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave us very high things. It doesn't mean that anyone who follows Caitanya Mahāprabhu will necessarily achieve this very high thing.

We don't say this, we don't say that you know, anyone who is the follower of Chaitanya by definition is better than anyone else because we are better. No, not at all.

You know, Śrīla Prabhupāda said that if you follow very nicely the rules of your religion.

And especially Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, he was very generous in this regard. He uh he's saying, you know, you will achieve something, and uh uh

vice versa, if you don't follow what Caitanya Mahāprabhu did, no matter if you are formally you know his follower, it doesn't mean necessarily that you will achieve something higher.

Uh so uh that's a science and science needs some scientific criteria, not the criteria of just belonging.

Uh you know, if we judge uh anyone by the you know by formal belonging to certain group uh it's it's not scientific it's sectarian so we

and we definitely revere all the vaiṣṇava acharyas and vaiṣṇava groups, and we definitely say that by following them you can achieve um you know, spiritual world, you can achieve liberation in the spiritual world, including uh samepya mukti, being close to God in the spiritual world.

That's all possible, there's no doubt about it. Yet Caitanya Mahāprabhu was teaching by his example a very deeply emotional state of love of God. And that is unique.

The devotion which is preached in Ada Sampradayas, it doesn't have such a high temperature, such a high intensity of devotion.

So, and you know, you're not necessarily doomed, you know, for for people of other religions, you know, either you follow them or you're doomed. We don't say this.

You know, you may follow different paths, you may achieve certain level of achievements, certain height of achievements, but to achieve that unbelievable spiritual goal

which uh Caitanya Mahāprabhu embodied uh this uh very intense, uh intensely involved emotional love, and which some of his, not all again, but some of his followers also manifested, like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī or Svarūpa Gosvāmī, uh you know you have to be follower of uh Lord Caitanya.

Uh it's not uh it's not the sufficient condition, but it's a necessary condition. But it's not sufficient by far.

So yes, and and we see that certain people uh despite uh they were not followers of Lord Chaitanya, despite the web preceding Lord Chaitanya, they still somehow rather manifesting something similar, maybe not exactly the same, but something similar.

So somehow rather the access to this was for example, Jayadeva Gosvāmī. Jayadeva Gosvāmī was an amazing bhakta manifesting very high intensity of his emotional feelings towards Krishna.

So we don't say we are the only one, we don't say that all of us necessarily will achieve this, we don't say that others are doomed, we don't say that others don't achieve anything.

But we say that if you are follower of Lord Caitanya, if you are trying to do everything properly, then you have greater chances to achieve something very special. That's that's it. Thank you.

Uh I just wanted to uh take into consideration so Gurumaharaj, what is the plan? Like we we are talking for one hour now. Do you would like to continue? How much more time do you have?

Um I we can continue. I have time let me see just one second. I have uh yeah, I have half an hour more. Okay. That's good. Yeah, by seven o'clock my time I have to finish. Okay, that's good. All right.

Importance of studying scriptural siddhanta

So uh okay, Bashar, uh you have uh raised hand, so Krishna, Hare Krishna Guru Maharaj, please accept my obeisances. All glories to Prabhupada, all glories to you.

Uh Guru Maharaj, it is it is said um you probably know the verse where where uh all the scriptures are revealed for one who is serving the spiritual master.

I'm not sure where is it from, which Upanishad is yesya devi parabhaktier and so on. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad. Yeah.

To those great souls who are completely surrendered, who have bhakti to Krishna and similar bhakti to the spiritual master. Tasyaite kathitāḥ, the meaning of this uh of this basically,

it's the last verse of yeah, I think it's the last verse of Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad. Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad explains how to understand what was before.

So, but of course, it's a general rule as well, but more specifically, it's about what is said in this Upanishad, yes.

So, um well, like today the story came to my head, this brāhmaṇa who uh literally a brāhmaṇa who uh was seen by Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he was reading Bhagavad-gītā and crying in tears.

So So so like my doubt is if by serving the spiritual master or of our all this knowledge is coming to us, why do we need to by extra endeavor to study the Siddhanta? Because you know I'm I'm also doing this uh Daśa-mūla-śikṣā course, Daśa-mūla-tattva with uh Jagadīśa Prabhu and it seems kind of contradictory to me.

So if you could place C S it's a very simple question. So uh uh Krishna

Dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī says that uh you should not be lazy in studying siddhānta, because by studying siddhānta, your mind will become strong and will become concentrated on Krishna.

So we are studying siddhānta not for the sake of a mundane, not to become more proud of our knowledge, but you know studying siddhānta helps our mind, helps us to concentrate our mind on Krishna, that's the main reason why we're studying siddhānta.

I can find I always forget siddhānta Bolye. Just one second, I will read this verse to you I think I wrote this verse in the Siddhānta-bali or something like that, yeah. Just one second.

Siddhantabali cheat and Kara Alas, one should not be Alas, one should not be lazy in uh applying your mind uh to studying Siddhanta. Krishna Lagi Sudri Dhamanas.

From the knowledge of Siddhanta, your mind will become Sudridhamanas, very firmly fixed on Krishna. Ihahoiti Krishna Lagi Sudridhamanas. Yeah.

So that's it's not contradictory if you are on the level of this Brahmana, you know. And also, see, uh, you know, for those who have brain to study Siddhanta, they should study Siddhanta.

For those who don't have brain to study Siddhanta, no problem. They are not deprived of anything. They still can understand a lot of different revelations if they're really devoted.

So it's not that they are disqualified by definition.

But those who have brain, they should apply their brain for Siddhanta, as simple as this. And if you don't, then then you know you're not again you're not missing anything you still can achieve a lot by sincerely following it and this example of Brahmana definitely proves it.

Thank you, Gurudi. Okay. Thank you very much. Uh so Kushsi, we go on with your list, I guess, so um so uh Lakshmi Anand mataji, you can go, and then afterwards uh Shinsu mataji, yeah, uh Hare Krishna, Maharaj.

Dandavat Pranam. Yes.

Managing material desires on the spiritual path

Hare Krishna. Maharaj, uh the question we have is, uh like sometimes you know there may be material desire of you know having a bigger house or a bigger car for example.

And then the intelligence will tell us that hey, we should dovetail that in Krishna's service. It originates as a material desire, but intelligence qualifies it.

And then the facility may be used a little bit in Krishna's service, but rest of it, it is for sense gratification. Now should such desires be condemned, or is it okay with such...

You know, desires is something which you cannot really control. I mean you can you definitely can to a certain extent, you know, but still if desire is persistent, uh you know it's it's just the manifestation of particular state of consciousness.

And if it's very persistent, it's probably better to do it and be happy and ultimately realize that it didn't make you eternally happy but uh made your life more complicated.

So you know, whereas if you try to force yourself to you know and and you always think about it and uh at the same time you force yourself not uh to do it, then it's probably you know uh it it will just end up in hypocrisy.

If you can forget about it uh easily, then forget about it.

But if you cannot forget about it, then fulfill your desire uh and uh you know peacefully practice your Krishna consciousness in a bigger home, no problem. Thank you, thank you so much, Mataji. Thank you, Mataji. Thank you.

Krishna Shaila Mataji, you can go. Hare Krishna, Gunamayi Mataji. I was wondering, sorry, I have some background.

So how do the karma, the destiny act on the practicing devotees? Um, especially when it comes to the major mindset and events of life, mindfully all the difficulties that we go through.

Is it the—is it according from the previous karmas that we have to suffer and then just go through? Or is it uh coming under the direct arrangement of the Supreme Lord? Or are you feeling uh planned or scheduled to uh go through in this particular—i

didn't hear everything clearly, but I think I understood your question. Your question is: when a devotee suffers something, how we should take it?

Is it the suffering which is uh result of our karma or if we should take it as the suffering which is uh given to us by Krishna uh that's the question that is one part of it Maharaj.

Another one is how does karma exactly act on these practicing devotees? Karma and the system.

There is a beautiful verse in the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Brahma-stuti, prayers of Lord Brahma, tat te 'nukampaṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ bhuñjāna evātmakṛtaṁ vipākaṁ hṛd-vāg-vapurbhir vidadhad namas te jīveta yo mukti-pāde 'sa-dāya-bhāk. Jiveta Yomukti Padesadayab.

So that verse exactly answers this question. Lord Brahma says, and he is definitely the master or the knower of the law of karma, he knows how it works.

says, and he is definitely the master or the knower of the law of karma, he knows how it works, and he says that tat te 'nukampaṁ susamīkṣamāṇaḥ bhuñjāna evātmakṛtaṁ vipākaṁ.

If somebody goes through the sufferings in this life, thinking that this suffering is the result of my own deeds atma kritam vipakam. vipākaṁ means the reaction, and ātmā-kṛtam, something which I have created myself.

And I tolerate these uh sufferings, and moreover I uh I think that Krishna even reduced uh the sufferings which I have to undergo because of his mercy, susamīkṣamāṇaḥ, uh then and at the same time uh I continue glorifying Krishna, continually going down in front of him by my body, by my words, and by my thoughts.

If I say yes, I deserved it, that's my suffering. Um and uh it doesn't become the cause of uh my stopping uh devotional service and I still glorify Krishna, then such person for sure will get liberation.

That's the meaning of this verse. So basically, we should think yes, I deserved more. Krishna is giving me some token.

And um it is also said it's very important, uh, especially when it comes to the mechanism uh as you said how it is uh while chanting the holy name uh we eradicate uh karma very easily.

The karma from many previous lifetimes, which is not manifested in this particular body in this lifetime, uh, is burned. You know, there will be no effects of this karma.

Holy name can completely change our karma, uh, including prarabda karma, uh, but, uh, only on the level of pure holy name if we achieve very high elevated state of Krishna prema, then there is no karma whatsoever, uh,

till that moment uh we still have to suffer certain reactions uh you know and gradually, gradually, these reactions will be eradicated,

but till that time certain uh reactions uh will be um coming to us. So but when it comes to us, we should gratefully accept it and uh tolerate it and you know still continue with devotional service.

As far as the mechanism of eradicating the karma is that you know while chanting the holy name we basically, uh, erase uh saṁskāras which are there, uh, saṁskāras which are the source or root cause of uh very strong desires, like sexual desire, uh, which is very strong, so gradually, gradually, this uh root cause becomes weak, and it uh it does not disturb us to the same extent as it used to disturb us.

Uh and gradually, gradually it becomes uh less and less and, uh, on the level of, um, rūci and uh āsakti, uh, our mind becomes free from, uh, rajas and tamas. But not before that.

Before that stage still some traces of rajas and tamas and, uh, rajasic and tamasic energy is the cause of our sufferings. Your microphone is thank you. Thank you.

So can I like just ask another one? Yeah. If I understand. Thank you.

So I was like very recently listening to the other one uh emotional entire and uh in the pranama courses we've taught like several techniques wherein we can transform ourselves and then uh you know uh the brain patterns and then you know what is already cultivated in us for several verses.

And on the other side, we also learned that chanting is going to help us purify.

And here we are also learning all these techniques know where where you we can manually fast at those things how do we reconcile more um you know utilize uh chanting as well these techniques in purifying and transforming us can somebody help me?

What was the question? I I understood that I we should reconcile something, but I'm not sure what we should reconcile. Yeah, I couldn't get in also. There's a background noise, so it was not clear.

Um Um purification technique. Yeah, I see it in the chat. One second. Okay. So what exactly we should uh reconcile in this? Ah okay. Okay. Okay. So yeah, okay. So correct me if I'm wrong.

The question is that chanting is the main purification process or method which we adopt. But at the same time we are talking about other kinds of methods to purify how to. That's the question, right?

Do we need other processes? And if we don't, why do we study them? That's the question, right? Yeah, that's the question.

Uh well, basically, see because our chanting is offensive, it does not uh act so quickly and therefore we adopt other means uh to help uh bring our mind to the state which will help us to chant more purely. That's it.

The main method is chanting. Other methods are subsidiary, but nevertheless they are important because uh they may uh you know speed uh this uh process. speed up this process of purification because by adopting them or using them uh we can uh improve our changing.

Yeah. Okay.

Aligning individual desires with scripture

Okay, next. So um Grimaraj, the next one is from me. Um I just gonna ask that um sometimes well we know that Krishna like if we have a desire that he will fulfill

it, but often our desires are not good for us, and we see that in the Shastras that he'll still give the the the desire of someone has it.

So how can we avoid that and how can we try and like be in tune with Krishna's desires? Like how do we even know what Krishna's desires are for us.

And I think it's kind of related to in your lecture, you said that we're kind of partially surrendered, but like what does full surrender look like for for practicing Well,

because we don't know the desires of Krishna directly, uh Krishna arranged for us to have shastras, uh, which is the manifestation of his will and desires.

And if we follow Shastra, it's tantamount of following Krishna and fulfilling his desires, he also uh you know sends

to us certain spiritual master which expresses uh his desires or at least you know transmits or explains what he wants, what he doesn't want, what is good, what is bad.

So there are predecessor acharyas. So that's all the ways to know what Krishna wants. And try to follow.

And what was the first part of the question how do we know or how to how what what else how how to get rid of the other desires or what um no i i i think you answered it. I answered. Okay.

Um yeah, I I I think um Ratananda probably you can go next. Got your hand up. Guru Maharaj, please accept my humble obeisances to lotus feet.

Guru Maharaj, I have I was uh recently hearing um the life of Rāmānujācārya's uh pastimes uh that Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu Maharaj gave an extensive series on.

And uh something that really strike me, uh like because when we you know in our uh you know when we think about our relationship with Krishna we always uh see that um feel that you know Krishna knows uh what I want and you know Krishna knows what is best for me and uh one thing

really struck me in the interactions with um Ramanujacharya and uh no he his relationship with Ranganath and Varadrajan and Varda Rajana and that you know the deities he were he he was you know great acharya he was able to talk to these deities uh you know and sometime there were interactions where Kanchipurna Kanchipurna yes, Kanchipurna.

And uh uh there was one specific uh episode in that

where Kuresha lost his eyes and uh you know his eyes were taken out and after many years he meets Ramanujacharya again and uh Ramanujacharya you know becomes you know uh he he feints to see how much pain

Kuresh went for him and he asks Kuresh that uh you go to Varadraj and ask for your eyes and uh he he kind of um you know orders him to do that first kuresh was hesitant but then he

goes to the deity and he says, I want spiritual eyes and he's given the spiritual vision, but does not get the external eyes.

Then Ramanujacharya becomes still not satisfied. He says, now you go again and ask for you know physical eyes. And uh Kuresh goes and second time he asks forgiveness for you know those who actually pulled his eyes out.

And then Ramanujacharya the third time becomes so you know impatient that he says that I will come with you. And um then they go and sit with the Lord and they negotiate with him.

So the Lord gives him the vision, but only the vision to see Ramanujacharya and him. So I was thinking that uh you know even in many other um

pastimes like Santa Tukaram and where sometimes I feel that you know the Lord knows everything, but relationship with a particular deity, there is it is very different, like a devotee, sometimes the deity is very helpless and pushing the devotee to ask something, but the devotee does not ask.

But I was thinking that why would not Lord know what a spiritual master wanted and give him in the first place.

You know that um but he was so I mean I really relished that pastime and you know the interaction between three of them.

But uh I was thinking that on many occasions I see in the pastimes of uh a devotee and the Lord, that Lord is all knowing, but in that particular instance or in but that particular pastime, the Lord is very uh he he acts as if he does not know and he will only do what the devotee will ask.

So I I I do not I I was trying to understand how how this dynamics works. You know, the Lord is all-knowing, but in certain cases he is very he appears like, you know, very much dependent on what devotee wants.

See, that's the difference between Paramātmā and uh Bhagavān. Paramātmā is all-knowing, all-pervading, uh, all-controlling. That's paramātmā. That's paramātmā feature of the Lord.

But when it comes to Bhagavān, Bhagavān is bigger than Paramātmā. And in a paradoxical way the uh Bhagavan is greater than Paramatma but uh in the very paradoxical way

the greatness of Bhagavan sometimes manifests that he's not all-knowing, you know, and all knowing is a limitation in one sense, you know, because somebody who knows all cannot not know.

But Bhagavan, he is all-knowing, but at the same time he can, uh, if he wants, you know, he can be Paramatma cannot be not all knowing.

Paramatma is sitting in everyone's heart, it knows everything, it has a tremendous headache, no everyone and everyone's desire and

everything else, uh, but, uh, Bhagavan is Bhagavan, you know, it's like, see, uh, like if you have a manager, uh, uh, on your bank or whatever on a job, then the duty of a manager is to know everything which every single person under him is doing, to keep everything in mind and you know, direct them in different ways.

But then there is a boss of this bank who is sitting there, and he can get any information he wants from this manager. He can just call the manager and ask what these people are doing.

But at the same time, he doesn't have this headache of knowing everything. He's just sitting there enjoying, and you know, he knows everything is going on in its own accord.

Uh, you know, this manager is there, he has a lot of headache, and I'm headache- free, and if somebody comes to me, yes, I'm I'm ready to, you know to do some something good for him. Does it explain that? Yes, yes, yes.

This is, uh, this is like, uh, on many occasions, you know, when, uh, when this Brahmāstra was coming, Uttarā ran to the Lord for help, you know, on on occasion when Arjuna, Arjuna, uh, when Bhīṣhma gave, uh, arrows, uh, Krishna became anxious.

So this is very sweet. I really love this, uh, exchange of, you know, the Supreme Lord being anxious and many amazing things. He's Bhagavan, he's Bhagavan, and he can do it. Paramatma cannot do it. Paramatma.

Paramatma is all knowing. Bhagavan, not necessarily. Thank you, Guru Maharaj. Yes, he does explain. I guess Guru Maharaj. I have Guru Maharaj. Yes.

Sorry, but, but then last question, uh, in regard to the Madan-mohana Prabhu's question. So when, uh, Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā, this, uh, śloka where he says that, uh, ananyāḥ cintayanto mām, So when basically you know I will I will take away everything that is not needed and like give you everything that is really required.

So that in this case, then, who is actually doing this is the Paramātmā or, uh, Bhagavān, no, it's, uh, it's Bhagavān that's in case of devotees, and he keeps what we have—yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham—and brings what we need.

That's Bhagavān himself, and that's the whole meaning of the word vahāmi. Vahāmi means I personally bring it to him, and, uh, not karomi aham, not I'm arranging, uh, that's the whole story is there about vahāmi or karomi.

Somebody couldn't realize that that how is it possible that God Himself is doing it, carrying it? So it's vahāmy, not karomy. But that requires a certain level, right?

Requires certain level of our interest in God to to invoke such interest in him, uh you know we have to have certain level of interest. Yeah. Okay. Okay, thank you, Guru Maharaj. Thank you. Hare Krishna.

Our obeisance is Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna, thank you.