The following is a class given by HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj given on June 16, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. The class begins with a reading from the Srimad Bhagavatam canto 4, chapter 25, text 16 and 17.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.16 sabhā-catvara-rathyābhir ākrīḍāyatanāpaṇaiḥ caitya-dhvaja-patākābhir yuktāṁ vidruma-vedibhiḥ

Translation In that city there were many assembly houses, street crossings, streets, restaurants, gambling houses, markets, resting places, flags, festoons and beautiful parks. All these surrounded the city. (Devotees repeat the translation after Jayapataka Maharja the second time He reads it bit by bit)

Purport In this way the capital is described. In the capital there are assembly houses and many squares, many street crossings, avenues and streets, many gambling places, markets and places of rest, all decorated with flags and festoons. The squares are surrounded with railings and are devoid of trees. The heart of the body can be compared to the assembly house, for the living entity is within the heart along with the Paramātmā. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca. The heart is the center of all remembrance , forgetfulness, and deliberation. In the body the eyes, ears and nose are different places of attraction for sense enjoyment, and the streets for going hither and thither may be compared to different types of air blowing within the body. The yogic process for controlling the air within the body and the different nerves is called suṣumnā, the path of liberation. The body is also a resting place because when the living entity becomes fatigued he takes rest within the body. The palms and the soles of the feet are compared to flags and festoons.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.17 puryās tu bāhyopavane divya-druma-latākule nadad-vihaṅgāli-kula- kolāhala-jalāśaye

Translation On the outskirts of that city were many beautiful trees and creepers encircling a nice lake. Also surrounding that lake were many groups of birds and bees that were always chanting and humming. Purport Since the body is a great city, there must be various arrangements such as lakes and gardens for sense enjoyment. Of the various parts of the body, those which incite sexual impulses are referred to here indirectly. Because the body has genitals, when the living entity attains the right age — be he man or woman — he becomes agitated by the sex impulse. As long as one remains a child, he is not agitated by seeing a beautiful woman. Although the sense organs are present, unless the age is ripe there is no sex impulse. The favorable conditions surrounding the sex impulse are compared here to a garden or a nice solitary park. When one sees the opposite sex, naturally the sex impulse increases. It is said that if a man in a solitary place does not become agitated upon seeing a woman, he is to be considered a brahmacārī. But this practice is almost impossible. The sex impulse is so strong that even by seeing, touching or talking, coming into contact with, or even thinking of the opposite sex — even in so many subtle ways — one becomes sexually impelled. Consequently, a brahmacārī or sannyāsī is prohibited to associate with women, especially in a secret place. The śāstras enjoin that one should not even talk to a woman in a secret place, even if she happens to be one’s own daughter, sister or mother. The sex impulse is so strong that even if one is very learned, he becomes agitated in such circumstances. If this is the case, how can a young man in a nice park remain calm and quiet after seeing a beautiful young woman? Thus end the purports to text 16 and 17, chapter 25, canto 4 of the Srimad Bhagavatam, translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada.

So the characteristics of King Puranjana, in which Narada Muni is describing symbolically or figuratively this body and the situations in which we are existing is very instructive for all the living entities. Because this body has different type of arrangements, so it is very nice. At the same time, these arrangements can distract us from our spiritual life, they can distract us from actually achieving that perfection.

Our spiritual master has given us so much transcendental mercy, so much nectar there is the opportunity in this human birth of achieving complete realization of Krishna consciousness, complete appreciation for Krishna’s sacred name, His quality, His form and activities, His devotees and holy Dham and other paraphernalia which is connected with the Lord. Transcendentalists all call appreciation and awakening to our slumber in spiritual cognition. So we can become distracted by this body at the same time we can utilize this body to realize that nectar of Krishna consciousness, utilizing our senses in Krishna’s service. When a grihastha devotee approached Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri, they asked him who is a devotee first. So Lord Caitanya he said anyone who chants Hare Krishna is a devotee.

But of course some different types of chanters are there. But basically we respect anyone who chants Hare Krishna because that is very rare and wonderful symptom. But there are some who are not very strict in following their spiritual master on accepting the devotional principles. Therefore they are bad example. But still somehow or the other they are chanting Hare Krishna. So we respect them in the heart but we do not associate with those people, because they may pollute our consciousness.

Then there are those who are properly initiated and who are faithful to their spiritual master, who are strictly following the rules and regulations of devotional service, those spiritually advanced devotees we bow down with our head and pay obeisance and call them Prabhu or master. Because they are serving our Lord, they have become also worshipable to us, respectful object. Therefore we call them master because we like to serve those who are serving the Lord.

Then of course Caitanya Mahaprabhu said there is one other category of devotees who have surrendered heart and soul to the mission of the Lord and is dedicated to preaching and giving out the mercy of the Harinam, following in the footsteps of his spiritual master. Such bonafide spiritual masters when they are met they should be offered their sashtanga pranams or full prostrated obeisance. One should, not having no spiritual master should take shelter of their lotus feet and respect them.

So like this Caitanya Mahaprabhu said we respect anyone who chants as a devotee – but there are different categories and types of behavior with different types of devotees. So, the second question they asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu was “What else, what should be the proper behavior of a Vaishnava?” Then he said “asat-saṅga-tyāga,—ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra, 'strī-saṅgī'—eka asādhu, 'kṛṣṇābhakta' āra” i.e. devotee has the characteristic to give up all types of asat sanga that means bad association. Bad association is to associate with women and with those who are non-devotees. These are two types of bad association for the aspiring devotee. Now of course this was told to the grihasta devotees who are naturally married, they are living with their wives. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu is advising that although you may be living with your wives, one should be very careful even in that situation, not to become too much entangled, not to become too implicated in material attachment.

Of course Srila Prabhupada once he told us that just like Canakya said that one should see every woman except his wife as his mother. Here also we find that it mentions that one should not be in a – sastra’s enjoin that one should not even talk to a women in secret place even if she happens to be one’s own daughter, sister or mother. So the sex impulse is so strong that even if one is very learned he becomes agitated in such circumstances. So it doesn’t mention one’s wife, because naturally one’s wife one has license to associate with. That is why one is married, to associate with one’s wife, that license is given. Canakya also said everyone except one’s wife.

Srila Prabhupada was mentioning that even in the Vedas they don’t say you have to see your wife as your mother; they never say that, you see your wife as your wife; that is the natural attachment that comes.

But this Ramakrishna, he went after everyone that he was so, according to history he had a very licentious early life earlier so that he became impotent due to excessive debauchery. So, when he was married to his wife (what’s her name?) Sarada, he couldn’t, he was impotent at that time. He had no request, what he did is he took good advantage of it and instead of being embarrassed he started to address her as his mother. In this way, it attracted the fancy of the people that everyone knows that you accept every women except your wife as your mother, as pious. But here he was accepting even his wife as his mother. That was really something that was quite extraordinary. In this way he was able to, although he was grihastha, he was calling his wife as his mother and not approaching her, of course there is no facility anyway because he had already expended himself. But he was able to utilize that to get a lot of popular support. But actually Prabhupada he was more or less ridiculing that.

Not necessary, this is bogus that one has to consider his wife as his mother. But on the other hand one does have to be careful even with one’s wife that it does not cloud him completely, cloud the relationship with the spiritual master and Krishna. Even then one should be careful that in the heart, the attachment for the spiritual master and Krishna is not being clouded by association with the opposite sex, because the impulse to enjoy senses is so strong, and so dangerous that unrestricted sense gratification dampens our fervor in our realization of Krishna consciousness.

So it is very important that one should treat sense gratification in this material world with fear. Kamsa, he was always afraid. Devaki and Vasudeva, they were also afraid. But Kamsa was afraid of Krishna and Devaki and Vasudeva, they were afraid of Kamsa. This was the difference. So because Kamsa was afraid of Krishna would come and kill him at any moment, he was always agitated and he wanted to kill Krishna. Devaki and Vasudeva, they were always afraid of Kamsa, they were always thinking of Krishna, how Krishna may save the situation, how also Krishna could be protected. This way they were always having different types of fear of Kamsa.

So the example given in the Bhagavatam by Srila Prabhupada is that Kamsa is the personification of material fear. Non-devotees are always afraid, that he sees Krishna as death personified. They are always afraid of death, doesn’t see Krishna with love. Just like the mouse when it is picked up in the cat’s mouth, it doesn’t see the cat as a very loving person, sees the cat as death personified. When the little kitten is picked up by the mouth of the cat, then she is feeling I’m being protected by my mother. Similarly the devotee sees Krishna in a very wonderful perspective as the most kind and gentle protector while the non-devotee sees the same Krishna as death personified.

So Krishna should be approached as a devotee. But then we should fear, just like Devaki and Vasudeva feared Kamsa, the devotee should fear material sense gratification, should fear Maya because Maya can put one into complete forgetfulness of Krishna. This is Maya’s quality. Just as in Mayapur when we go to the Simantadwip we tell the story about how Mayadevi saw Lord Siva laughing and asked him why he was laughing and he said well he was thinking of Caitanya Mahaprabhu ‘Gauranga!’ She said as I even hear this name ‘Gauranga’ my hairs are standing on the end – who is this Gauranga? He said “He is the golden avatar of Krishna.” She said “I want to meet him.” Devi said (Parvathi) “How can I meet Him?” And he explained to her who Caitanya Mahaprabhu was and she went to Navadwip Dham and worshipped there. There she could meet Him. So she went to one of the islands near our Jagannath temple and began to worship Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Gauranga.

Constantly meditating on His transcendental lotus feet, chanting His holy name until finally chanting Gauranga Gauranga jaya Gauranga jaya Gauranga, then Lord Caitanya appeared to her with His hair tied up in a brahminical fashion with a flower in the hair and with His lotus eyes going to His ears , His golden form effulgent like the form of Srimati Radharani and His broad chest and thin waist thin like a lion and His arms going down to His knees “ajanulambhitha bujau” and lotus and colorful scented flower garland with bumble bees flying around trying to taste the nectar from His flower garland , from His lotus feet. In this way Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in His transcendentally effulgent form as the golden avatar to mother Paravthi. She fell down at His feet and offered her obeisance. “What do you want, my mother?” said Lord Caitanya.

Mother Parvathi said, “My Lord, You are giving pure love for Krishna to everyone without considering who is qualified, who is unqualified. How will I get delivered by Your transcendental mercy. This is Your quality of unlimited compassion.

I am no better devotee than Maya. I put the (bring) living entities out of Your devotional service and keep them in ignorance. And the devotees, they always criticize me saying Krishna should just come up “krishna -- surya-sama; Maya haya andhakara, yahan krishna, tahan nahi Mayara adhikara” wherever there is Krishna, there is no Maya. That means eternally I am cursed to not be present before You, to not have Your mercy, while everyone is getting your mercy I won’t get. Is this my misfortune never to get Your love for Krishna never to get pure devotion of Your lotus feet? When will I understand what is the highest mercy, the highest mercy, the highest love in pure devotion?”

So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu took the dust from His lotus feet and put it on her head. So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My dear mother Parvathi, you should know that you are the expansion of Yoga Maya, you are ultimately the expansion of Srimati Radharani, you are necessary for me to enjoy my pastimes in this material world. You are the expansion of Srimati Radharani, you are external energy. So here in the holy Dham you are praudha Maya. Praudha Maya, means that here and in Vrindavan you are Pauranamasi. You arrange the devotional service and moods of the devotees and protect the Dham from the Maya intruders.

So, in this way, He blessed her that she could understand at that moment her non-difference from Srimati Radharani as she was the external energy. And she could understand her connection and she came into the mood of pure devotional service, appreciation and love for Krishna and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. She became overwhelmed with ecstatic symptoms and there she resides. Lord Caitanya informed her as praudha Maya; Lord Siva will come as Vriddha Siva in Navadwip Dham. And she keeps those who have not accepted the relationship with Caitanya Mahaprabhu, she keeps them in ignorance and those who have surrendered to Caitanya Mahaprabhu who has accepted their internal relationship as His devotee, she increases their transcendental humor for the Lord. So Maha-maya, she is a great devotee.

But she is very efficient and her duty, especially outside the Dham, is very single pointed. You see, that is to bring the living entity under her control. That means that whether we are brahmacari or grihastha we have to be careful about coming fully under the control of Maha-maya. The brahmacari should completely avoid discussion in a solitary place with women. Brahmacari and sannyasi have to be very careful.

Jagadananda Pandit, he warned the brahmacaris and sannyasis that don’t discuss with women, don’t think of women, not even in your dream. Remember Chota / junior Haridas and how he was evicted by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Caitanya Mahaprabhu couldn’t tolerate when the people were showing red cloth, showing renunciation and then hypocrites talking with women solitarily, internally enjoying that because that tendency is there, very enjoyable, subtly and sexually gratifying to discuss with women in a solitary place. Therefore our brahmacari and sannyasis they do not allow themselves to be alone. Of course … even somehow that happens and one doesn’t get agitated that’s very good sign. But one should not take the risk, one shouldn’t think himself proud.

There was one so called acarya in another branch you can say of the Vaishnava sampradaya who challenged Maya. He said “Oh Maya! Come! I will not fall down! I will show her. I am strongly taken Krishna‘s lotus feet.” Our mood is ‘trnad api sunicena’; very humble, very tolerant, one should give glory to others not expecting honour for oneself. So what happened to that one acarya was, in a few years, that so-called acarya, he fell down.

Maya, Prabhupada said is to be conquered in this way, that one should be like a deep water fish ‘parapara-sunya gabhlra bhakti-rasa-sindhu’; the ocean of transcendental nectar of devotion is unlimitedly wide and deep. So we become like the makara fish, the deep water fish goes up up in the depths of that transcendental ocean, swimming in the nectar currents and Maya would go fishing on the top dragging her net. If one is puffed up and comes up to the top, they can get snared by the nets of Maya. But if one is very humble and very deep in to the nectar of devotion ocean, then the net of Maya will be far above and one stays protected deep in that ocean.

One should dive deep always remembering, chanting and hearing relishing the service to the spiritual master and Lord Caitanya. Feeling oneself very humble, very much afraid of associating intimately with Maya, not thinking oneself to be already over the hump, over the hurdle.

Actually, if you want to have real Krishna prema which means one’s material mind and intelligence is dismantled and one’s pure spiritual intelligence and mentality is there. One is always susceptible to attack from Maya. So the defence is fear, humility and submerging deep into the ocean of nectar. Someone challenges or thinks “No, no I am beyond all these things. I can associate or I can be beyond all these things, I can associate or I can do”, then it is very dangerous. Because Maya she is so strong.

We are actually so minute; we have to cling to the lotus feet of Guru-Gauranga. Nitai-Gaura, we have to cling to Their lotus feet very firmly, then Maya cannot get us. ‘Krsna-bahirmukha haya bhoga vancha kare nikata-stha Maya tare japatiya dhare’. As soon as we turn our face away from Krishna desiring sense gratification Maya she comes in you see, more seems like one of those, what do you call them, Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers(American football teams) and tackles us, throws us down on the ground. Immediately she tackles us, flying in and throws us down. She guards us under her grip… lock, stock and barrel. So the devotee is afraid of maya.

So what does the devotee do? That example is given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When He did is Gundica Marjanam lila, the cleaning of the temple Gundica in Jagannath Puri. He took all of His devotees and there, there was so many branches and leaves and things, he told everyone “Gather up all these things”. And He started picking up Himself leaves, branches, put them in His cloth, His own cloth. Lovingly he cleaned that temple. He told all the devotees, “Who can pick up more of these leaves and branches, whoever picks up more of the refuse, we will take it outside and see. A little transcendental competition was there: who can clean the temple very nicely and most enthusiastically.

And so of course everyone was cleaning until in the whole temple there was no more leave and branches and Lord Caitanya put his pile and everyone looked at their pile and their pile was so much smaller than Lord Caitanya’s. Then they put all of theirs together and even everyone’s combined was less than Lord Caitanya’s. He was so enthusiastically cleaning, which shows Caitanya Mahaprabhu is coming down, Krishna Himself, to show us how to be a proper devotee. These leaves and branches are like different material desires, like material gross desires in our hearts, they have to cleansed out of the heart. We say that our body is a temple, we see that our heart is the nerve centre, is the capital of the city, that is the exact word that is used “The heart is considered to be the capital.” So in the capital, we have to clean all the impurities.

So then it wasn’t finished there, we know that Caitanya Mahaprabhu came back and he had a broom and then he began to sweep the temple. Then all devotees started to sweep and all the little twigs that were left were swept, until the whole temple was completely swept clean. Every nook and canny, all the parts of the temple was swept and after it was swept, still it wasn’t finished. Then again, there were the devotees waiting ready with the water in the jug. So then Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu called for the jug and He was personally taking water in the jug and pouring it on the floor, on the walls on the vedi, the simhasana were the Deity would sit.

They cleaned the Bhog Mandir-the prasadam room and everywhere the courtyard, the natya-mandir, the kirtan hall, and of course there are hundreds of devotees bringing the water from the lake, from the well. And sometimes they would break the pots bumping them together. Sometimes they would throw the water on Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet and secretly sneak a little bit of that water, tasting a little nectar. Of course, one devotee was caught red handed and Lord Caitanya, He called Swarupa Damodara and asked “Who is this Gaudiya? You get your Gaudiya devotees! He was drinking the water from my feet when I was inside the Deity room. This is very offensive.” So Swarupa Damodara grabbed him by the neck and said, “What you are doing,” and pushed him out of the temple. Prabhupada said that Swarupa Damodara, he was in charge of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. That’s why Lord Caitanya said “Your Gaudiya.”

Some devotees were in charge of certain areas and certain devotees. Like Sawrupa Damodara was in charge of the Gaudiyas, Rupa and Sanatana they were watching over Vrindavana. Like this different devotees were in charge. Sivananda Sena would bring down the devotees from Bengal, but of course overall of the Bengali devotees, the Gaudiya Vaishnava was Swarupa Damodara.

So Lord Caitanya was giving a perfect example of a Vaishnava, although He Himself is Krishna. Internally He was pleased with the devotee, but externally He did not want to give a bad example that he was cleaning the simhasana in the Deity room and someone was washing His feet and drinking and everyone would see that. So then after cleaning everything with water, it appeared just as pure as Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s own mind, so clean and so pure.

But then again Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu He came back into the temple and they began to clean up the little cracks in between, all the stones with little nails or twigs, they were picking out all the little dust that was even within the crack, to get out every last speck. This is very important to understand how meticulously they were cleaning, because just as the analogy of Puranjana is there, this analogy of the Gundicha temple cleaning is there…

The four regulative principles then we get rid of mental speculation, then we get rid of all these subtle desires and even as we are giving up all these desires we go and we find out where are the traces of materialistic mentality, the aroma of all material desires. And then in the purport it is important to note how Srila Prabhupada said even if someone gives up the desire for sense gratification that we are so much addicted to fruitive activity that we are thinking that by the hard work and endeavor that we perform, we will enjoy some material fruit, some sense gratification. That even sometimes devotees with a good motive they engage in some type of business, some type of activity and give the money to Krishna and if they are not careful they get wrapped up even unknowingly into a whole fruitive mentality and they end up not giving anything to Krishna.

Instead they simply become fruitive workers, again falling into material consciousness. So we have to not only clean even the gross desires , “No, I don’t want to enjoy sense gratification, No, I don’t want to enjoy fruitive activity,” but even the subtle mentality, that aroma that is left even after you clean something; if you go in there you can still smell the aroma of garbage. Even the last scent of the filth that was within our heart has to be scraped out. Therefore that means that we have to always remain humble. If we get proud that ‘My heart is clean, I have made it, then there will be so many cracks with all the garbage stuck in it which we have not yet cleaned out.

Actually if we were completely cleansed of the last aromas he would be able to see and talk with Krishna. As soon as we heard the message of Krishna our heart would melt, it would not stay like a stone. Even after chanting Hare Krishna it would not remain peaceful without being melted, it will melt. So, we have to be very careful to cleanse our heart.

So we should protect ourselves like Devaki and Vasudev by being afraid of Maya’s association. Not allowing our attachment to let us forget our duty to the spiritual master and that is only possible if we are a little bit uncomfortable with Maya. Even with one’s wife one should be a little fearful of that attachment, very fearful. If one goes and breaks the regulative principles then one can forget one’s spiritual master and again become bound up. Both husband and wife they have that responsibility to remain Krishna conscious.

Naturally, there will be some become attachment. It is natural. The mother will love the children, the father will love the children, that is natural. But the real manifestation of affection is bringing one to Krishna consciousness. Sense gratification is selfish and we have to beware of that selfishness. It is not affection-real affection or real sentiment or real love. And what is it? It is sense gratification, it is lust.

One has the license when one is married, but one has to be careful that whatever natural affection or attachment may grow, instead of being dovetailed properly to bring each other to the service of Krishna, to serve the spiritual master co-operatively; instead ---by material association because Maya is so strong--- instead one will become simply engrossed in sensual attachment, in sense gratification and lose sight of the duty to the spiritual master. Then of course one becomes critical of other Vaishnavas.

There are six weeds mentioned in devotional service ‘nisiddhacara, kutinati, jiva-himsa…’ First thing is one breaks regulative principles. Next ‘kutinati’: false pride. We become critical of everything. Because when one is not up to the mark for oneself, he tries to bring everyone down, so finds out what are their defects that give oneself some sort of mental satisfaction. If everyone is bad and I am also a little bad, then that’s not so bad, but if anybody is good and I’m bad then that's very bad. Therefore the devotee has the humility “Everyone is very enthusiastically serving. Somehow another, I have to come up to that standard.” To push everyone and to be pulled along. If an object is moving forward very fast it creates suction behind. So we want everyone to go ahead and we want to be pulled along. Someone who is pushing up he is also going up. That is devotional service, the more you can encourage other people in the devotional service, the more Krishna pushes you up in devotional service. And Maya means “pull people down and try to push yourselves up.” The more that they are down, the person himself is being pulled down even if he does not know it. Then ‘jiva himsa’: to become envious of other living entities, envious of oneself---to commit violence on one’s spiritual life. Then ‘labha puja pratisthadi’ Labha: personal profit, personal procession. ‘I need some personal property, acquisition. What am I getting? I have been serving the spiritual master, chanting for six years, what do I get out of it? No colour TV!’ They don’t see that for millions of years they have been collecting karma, now they got rid of their sinful karma and got the opportunity to go back home, back to Godhead in this life.

Unlimited devotional credits have been given. But if it is not within their karma to enjoy so many material things, then what they do is they go outside. Some people have successes in their business and they are still miserable. Some people they go down to the pits of material nature. So we should be careful. These are all predicted delusions if we allow the weeds to grow. We shouldn’t think, “What am I getting by serving the spiritual master materially?” That is not why we approach a spiritual master, to get material things. That is what you approach the Lord Shiva for; or Mother Durga, “Give me a nice material facility, even if it is poison.”

The spiritual master and Krishna will only give material facility if a person is ripe, if a person is mature enough to tolerate that situation and properly engage it in and dovetail it in Krishna’s service. What do we get from the spiritual master? When people try to analyze materially, that means they are missing the whole point. Their heart has already become filled with garbage, so filled with weeds that they can’t see what was the original creeper. They may have become dogs in their next life or they may even fall down like that and have to become demigods and have to be in heavenly planets for so many thousands of years and miss Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement. They miss the chance to get back to Krsnaloka. But they will get what they want, as long as they don’t offend the Vaishnavas.

Then puja. They want worship. “No one is appreciating me enough. I should be worshipped.” Pratisthadi , then they want position. ‘Where’s my position? I have no position. Without position, how can I serve my spiritual master, as his menial servant? How is it possible without position, I can serve him as a menial servant after so many years?’

Of course these things are funny because they are obvious. But it is not obvious to some people, what they are saying. They are somehow flipping on the top of the ocean of nectar; they are not in the nectar anymore. They are watering the weeds.

So Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has warned us against this in different ways, through Gundicha, through Rupa Goswami. How we have to cleanse our hearts, how we have to pull the weeds, how we have to water. ‘mali hana kare sei bija aropana, sravana-kirtana-jale karaye secana’ How we get the seed? ‘brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija’ From the spiritual master, by Krsna’s mercy. And we become a gardener, we plant that in our hearts and we water it with chanting, by hearing and other devotional services. And that grows and grows right out of this material world, right to Krishna’s lotus feet. ‘tabe yāya tad-upari ‘goloka-vṛndāvana, kṛṣṇa-caraṇa’-kalpa-vṛkṣe kare ārohaṇa’. It reaches the lotus feet of Krishna, which are like desire trees and then it blooms the flowers and the fruits they come, of bhava, pure love for Krishna-prema. So we should not loose sight.

We are watering the creeper to go up to Krishna’s lotus feet. “We watered the creeper for so long, what weeds have we got out of it?” That is what is said, “What weeds have you got out of it? I haven’t got the weed of material lust, I haven’t got the weed of material desire for position, I haven’t got this or that, I didn’t get any weed! Now I have to plant my weeds, it’s time for weed puja!” Doesn’t make any sense! We shouldn’t become destructive. We should clean the last crack, aroma of material desire, so that we can relish nectar every moment. The nectar ocean is there. ‘tomaya cakhaite tara kahi eka bindu’ Lord Chaitanya told Rupa Gosvami that “I can’t give you the whole ocean. But I want to give you one drop and this one drop is more than the ocean. If you take all the material happiness possible in this universe, that one ocean of happiness, that does not even compare to one drop compared to one drop of the ocean of spiritual bliss of Krishna consciousness. And that one drop is like an ocean compared to the drop. So I want to give you that drop and by that one drop you will be able to understand the ocean which is there, the ocean of bhakti-rasa sindhu, the nectar of devotion.”

So Maharaja Puranjana, you see, is the standard materialist’s example. But the devotee, seeing the qualities of Puranjana, becomes fearful of the association of maya. He has the jewel of bhakti and protects it from all types of thieves, rogues, cheaters. It is very important. Just like sometimes of course people are delivered, they don’t even know.

Just like Mother Jahnava, after she left and was going to Vrindavan, she went into one town where all the people were Kali worshippers, Chandi. And they saw that devotees were being respected. They became very envious “Why are they bowing down to Jahnava, why they are bowing down to these Vaishnavas, these villagers? They are rascals, why are they not bowing down to Chandi, Mother Maya? They are not making any goat offering or drinking any wine. They are all offensive.” So they went to Chandi and said, “We are going to chop off the heads of these Vaishnavas, they are so offensive to you, they don’t offer you any goat or wine or anything and they are offensive. We are going to finish them off tonight. Chop off their heads. We will wake up in the middle of the night and do this work for your pleasure.”

Of course, Chandi Maya is the greatest devotee. She tolerates these demons. But when they want to offend the Vaishnavas she cannot tolerate. So she appeared in their dreams as soon as they went to sleep. Her eyes were flaming red and her hair was scattered and she was accompanied by her she-demons. She had her huge chopper I n her hand and she told them, “I’m going to chop off your heads! You don’t know who is Jahnava. She is my worshippable Deity. She is the Antaranga-shakti. These are all Vaishnavas. They are pure devotees of Krishna, my eternal master. You are going to chop their heads off? If you do not beg them for forgiveness for your offence, I’m going to chop off your heads.” They woke up shaking, ‘Aaaaaahhh! Aaaaahhhh!” They were very afraid of Chandi. They ran to the Vaishnavas and fell down at their feet, “Please, please, we did not know who you are. Please forgive us. Mother Chandi has told us, now we know who you are. Please, please instruct us what is devotion, who you are, what we are to do? We have committed so many offences.” So of course Jahnava being an ocean of mercy, blessed them with ecstatic love for Nita-Gaura. And they became devotees. They stayed there for a few days. Jahnava and other devotees were going to Vrindavan. They turned the whole village into pure devotees, there were demons there before. They turned them into pure devotees.

Of course when Jahnava went to Vrindavan, then all the Vaishnavas in Mathura, first they met her and then took her to Vrindavan. Then Jiva Gosvami and all the Vaishnavas came out and she was introduced to Krishnadas Kaviraja, Gopal Bhatta Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Lokanath Gosvami, Bhugarbha Gosvami, and so on.

She was introduced to all the Vaishnavas and Raghunath Das and Sanatan in Radha Kunda. Then she was wandering around and she saw Balaram’s Rasa-lila. She fell unconscious. She went to Radha-Kunda and offered her respects. She was offered respects by Raghunath Das Gosvami and others who were filled with separation and were worshipping in Radha Kunda. Then finally she was ordered by Gopinatha to get a proper Radharani murti for Him. There was a proper size and everything. And so then she went back to Gaudadesh to get a Radharani Deity for Gopinatha in Vrindavana.

Like this even the demons are delivered by mercy. Maya doesn’t want people to stay always. That’s why she kicks them. She is like the cool hand to remind us that we should just take shelter of Krishna. So even Maha-maya Chandi had her demon devotees take shelter of the devotees of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. So we should take shelter. We should not allow our mind, which has got that aroma of sense gratification.

Prabhupada says like washing the coal. Sometimes while washing the coal, no matter how much you wash, the black just keeps coming out. Of course, someone gave an analogy that even coal, if you put tremendous pressure upon it, it turns into a diamond; that if one is always in the fire of devotional service, even the coal can become diamond.

So we should be very careful to place ourselves in that fire, to cleanse our hearts completely ,and always clings to the lotus feet of Nitai-Gaura, Premanande Hari Hari Bol. Thank you very much. Sri krsna caitanya prabhu nityananda sri advaita gadadhara srivasadi gour bhaktavrinda. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Transcribed by:

Mahalekshmy, March 31 2013