19820309_Srimad_Bhagavatam.4.22.25_First_Gaura_Purnima_in_Ke_Literal_Version

The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami on March 9th, 1982 in Sridhama Mayapura. The class begins with a reading from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4th Canto, Chapter 22, Text 25.

Jayapataka Swami:

harer muhus tatpara-karna-pura- gunabhidhanena vijrmbhamanaya

bhaktya hy asangah sad-asaty anatmani syan nirgune brahmani canjasa ratih

Translation:

The devotee should gradually increase the culture of devotional service by constant hearing of the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These pastimes are like ornamental decorations on the ears of devotees. By rendering devotional service and transcending the material qualities, one can easily be fixed in transcendence in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Translation with repetition:

Jayapataka Swami: The devotee

Devotees: The devotee

Jayapataka Swami: should gradually increase

Devotees: should gradually increase

Jayapataka Swami: the culture

Devotees: the culture

Jayapataka Swami: of devotional service

Devotees: of devotional service

Jayapataka Swami: by constant hearing

Devotees: by constant hearing

Jayapataka Swami: of the transcendental qualities

Devotees: of the transcendental qualities

Jayapataka Swami: of the Supreme Personality

Devotees: of the Supreme Personality

Jayapataka Swami: of Godhead.

Devotees: of Godhead.

Jayapataka Swami: these pastimes

Devotees: These pastimes

Jayapataka Swami: are like ornamental decorations

Devotees: are like ornamental decorations

Jayapataka Swami: on the ears of devotees.

Devotees: on the ears of devotees.

Jayapataka Swami: By rendering devotional service

Devotees: By rendering devotional service

Jayapataka Swami: and transcending the material qualities,

Devotees: and transcending the material qualities,

Jayapataka Swami: one can easily be fixed

Devotees: one can easily be fixed

Jayapataka Swami: in transcendence

Devotees: in transcendence

Jayapataka Swami: in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Devotees: in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada:

This verse is especially mentioned to substantiate the devotional process of hearing the subject matter. A devotee does not like to hear anything other than subjects dealing with spiritual activities, or the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We can increase our propensity for devotional service by hearing Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam from realized souls. The more we hear from realized souls, the more we make advancement in our devotional life. The more we advance in devotional life, the more we become detached from the material world. The more we become detached from the material world, the less we associate with persons who are after money and sense gratification. This is the advice of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

niskincanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya param param jigamisor bhava-sagarasya

sandarsanat visayinam atha yositam ca ha hanta hanta visa-bhaksanato 'py asadhu

(Cc. Madhya 11.8)

The word brahmani used in this verse is commented upon by the impersonalists or professional reciters of Bhagavatam, who are mainly advocates of the caste system by demoniac birthright. They say that brahmani means the impersonal Brahman. But they cannot conclude this without reference to the context of the words bhaktya and gunabhidhanena. According to the impersonalists, there are no transcendental qualities in the impersonal Brahman; therefore we should understand the… that brahmani means "in the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as admitted by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita; therefore wherever the word brahma is used, it must refer to Krsnaa, not to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan can all be taken in total as Brahman, but when there is reference to the word bhakti or remembrance of the transcendental qualities, the word indicates the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not the impersonal Brahman.

Thus end the Purport by His Divine Grace, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Devotees: Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Jayapataka Swami: Today, we are gathered together on the most auspicious day, the 496th Anniversary of the appearance of our Lord, the deliverer of this Kali-yuga, the souce of all the avataras, the avatari, and the most merciful incarnation of Krishna, Sriman Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Sri Sacisuta, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: Sri Sri Sacinandana ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: Sri Sri Sacinandana ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: This is a perfect day for hearing about glories of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His teachings. The teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were described by Krsnadasa Kaviraja to be brilliant like the sun. Lord Caitanya, Nityananda, they rose just like the sun and the moon, simultaneously from the eastern horizon of Gaudadesa, from the sacred land of Gauda-mandala-bhumi, in the… Sri Mayapura-dhama.

So, just as the sun and moon rise in the East, and they start their parikrama, or their circumambulation, going around the world, in the same way Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada took the message of Caitanya Mahaprabhu from the East, from Sridhama Mayapura, Navadvipa-dhama, and brought it all over the world for the benefit of all the fallen souls. Srila Prabhupada, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: This hearing process is very important. One has to hear from the right source. When one hears from the right source, then immediately all of the pollutions in the heart are destroyed. When one hears from the right source, then one becomes fixed in devotional service. Srila Prabhupada, when he traveled around the world preaching, simply by hearing his hari-katha, the whole world was transformed to become devotees of Krishna. This is revolutionary. Just like the Bhagavatam said janatagha-viplavo. It’s destroying the sinful life of the populous. That is the revolution. So, this Krishna consciousness movement is a revolution of consciousness, a revolution to destroy the sinful life of the whole humanity, so one has to be very careful, especially those who have taken shelter in this Krishna consciousness movement, to remain under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada, and to hear the instructions from the right source.

Here in this sloka that Prabhupada referred to, he says ha hanta hanta visa-bhaksanato 'py asadhu, that if one hears… if one hears the words from someone who is attached to this material world, someone who is not serving in a devotional mood, then it is like drinking poison: visa-bhaksanato ‘py asadhu. Visa means poison.
So, this is our great opportunity, that by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy and the mercy of our previous acaryas, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, that the Krishna consciousness movement has reached us. We have been given shelter.

Srila Prabhupada once described that this movement is not different from Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is one of the branches of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s tree, therefore, we also have to be very careful to strictly follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada because he is our connection with Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s tree.

Therefore, we worship Srila Prabhupada as our Founder-Acarya. He is our connection with Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s tree. He has manifested all of the mercy of Lord Caitanya for giving out unlimited shelter to the whole world. Actually, the whole world should be very grateful to Srila Prabhupada. No one should be inimical because he has done what no one has ever done before. He has fulfilled the mercy prediction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Actually, people should not give him lip-serivce. They should not simply call him some exalted title, and then not actually accept Srila Prabhupada as the direct representative of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu meant to unite all of the pure Vaisnavas. They should not give lip-service, but they should actually give their heartfelt surrender to Srila Prabhupada.

But, that… this is the will of providence, if not, of course in every house, at least in this movement, we must project that consciousness, and just as Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said His movement will spread to nagaradi-grama.

prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama

sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama

So, by staying connected to the transcendental tree of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, this branch will grow and grow and grow and grow and grow and grow, and then its shade will cover the whole world from the scorching heat of this kali-yuga.

Srila Prabhupada, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: ISKCON, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: And, just as it was predicted in the Padma Purana that there are four Vaisnava sampradayas, Sri, Brahma, Rudra and Kumar, but then in the kali yuga, all these four sampradayas would merge into one, similarly in Caitanya-caritamrta, Caitanya-bhagavata, it is predicted that the ocean, the flood of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so great, that it will sweep away everyone. Those who are the pure devotees, they will be swept inside of the ocean water, and those who are even the non-devotees, the separatists, the criticizers, they will be swept away and floating on the top, but no one will be able to escape the flood.

This is especially the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, our previous acaryas. Actually, we heard our Srila Prabhupada, had said that he never expected that people in the Western countries would follow all of these regulative principles. He was hopeful that they would simply chant Hare Krishna, but he was very pleased that these devotees were sincere, they took up regulative principles, very seriously, and they stuck to them, and therefore he could establish purity according to his desire, in this movement.

So, the Bhagavatam, glorifies the pastimes of Krishna and His different incarnations. Those incarnations come down to deliver… mainly to deliver the devotees, and of course annihilate the demons, but mainly to deliver the devotees. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu came down, delivered the devotees and even delivered the demons, destroyed their demoniac mentality.

So kind is Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and in His absence, He has… actually, not absent, but He’s present, just as when Krishna left Vrindavana, He didn’t really leave Vrindavana. He was in Vrindavana all the time, in His bhava form. In the same way, Vrindavana dasa Thakura, he has instructed us:

Adyapi lilaya kare gaura-raya,

kona kona bhagyavan dekhibare paya

That says Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana-lila is continuing and one who is highly fortunate, he we be able to eventually have the darsana of those transcendental pastimes. So, Srila Prabhupada has revealed to us that this ISKCON movement is one of the… is the branch of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s tree, and the sankirtana preaching is part of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila.

Sometimes… and then when there are very exceptional sankirtans… exceptional kirtana, harinama, at that time it means that either Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda, the Panca-Tattva, or one of those great parsada devotees is present at that point, therefore the devotees are feeling exceptional, ecstatic symptoms. So, many times, Srila Prabhupada has revealed that different eternal associates of Lord Caitanya enter into our ISKCON temples under the sankirtana, the ratha-yatras, and they participate, seen only to a few fortunate souls, but known by everyone, by their presence.

Devotee: Jaya

Jayapataka Swami: Sri Sri Panca-Tattva, ki,

Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!

Jayapataka Swami: So, when you are distributing transcendental literature, and you’re feeling some ecstasy, you don’t know that, who is looking over your shoulder, at that time, but you can be sure that Srila Prabhupada, the spiritual masters, the disciplic succession, they are with you. That is their special mercy, that they are with the devotee while they are participating in the sankirtan movement.

The easiest way to remember the Lord of course is by hearing His instructions, hearing His transcendental pastimes. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu left this planet, at that time all the devotees, of course were in great separation.
At that time, Narottama dasa Thakura, he thought that we should call all of the great vaisnavas, all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu together, and have a great festival at Gaura Purnima day, 450 years ago, and He approached Srinivasa Acaraya, his Godbrother, you can say cousin-Godbrother, and requested that if he would assist in organizing this festival, where he wanted to also install Radha-Krishna deities, and Srinivasa Acarya, he was very happy to help Narottama dasa Thakura. He agreed that, “Yes. I will help you in this service.”.

Then after that evening, everyone took rest. Srinivasa Acarya was meditating that it’s going to be quite an almost impossible task, or at least very difficult to try to gather together all of the associates remaining of Caitanya Mahaprabhu because they’re all practically half-dead due to separation from the Lord. They had just completely stopped.

To get them to come from Orissa, Bengal, everywhere, to Kheturi, the place of Narottama dasa Thakura’s sripata, dhama would be very difficult. He was thinking, “How are we going to do this? I need to get togeth… I’m not anyone who can make these demands on such very senior Vaisnavas, but I have agreed this mahajana sahi.” So at that time, somehow, by the Lord’s mercy, was drawing… entering slumber, and he had a vision, a dream. Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to him and told him, “This is My desire. I want there to be a grand gathering of all the vaisnavas from everywhere. All of my devotees should come together on My appearance day. Don’t fear. This is My desire that they come together. You go and bring everyone.” So, then He disappeared. So now Srinivasa Acarya, he woke up, filled with ecstasy, fainted. The Supreme, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he got the order.

Immediately called for the message bearers, gathered them together, gave them the instruction, gave letters to the different… Shyamananda part in Orissa, Jahnava devi and Khordaha Raghava Pandit’s followers place, Panihati followers in Srikanda, followers in Kuliya gram, everywhere, Santipura, Navadvipa. Naturally, then they didn’t get onto their Eastern Airways, or TransWorld Airways Jets. They simply went by foot, and they walked two, three, four, five-hundred miles at least to deliver the message of their spiritual master.

Actually, the sankirtana devotees can take a very great inspiration from this. In those days, on the order of their spiritual master, they would have to take the message five-hundred kilometers by foot, through the jungles, over the rivers, everywhere. Now, they simply have to get into the sankirtana van and go to the airport, or go to the streets and to the houses, and distribute. So, it has been simplified very much, by Lord Caitanya, Prabhupada’s mercy.
In those days, they were very fired up to go out, even it meant walking five hundred miles to go to their sankirtana spot. Sankirtana-yajna, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: When they reached Jahnava devi, the wife of Nityananda, Nityananda had already disappeared, long before, although He didn’t leave any remnant, he just disappeared, Jahnava devi was thinking “How could I, as a widow, go so far and participate in such a festival?” So, Lord Caitanya, Nityananda appeared. Lord Caitanya, appeared their and also told her that it was His desire to have this festival, and immediately she should go with her followers, and take all of the vaisnavas with her.

So, she gathered others, like Abhirama Thakura and Miniketana Ramadasa, and so many of Nityananda-parsada, and they all went together and they went out to Kulna, they went into Navadvipa, and they gathered all the devotees. When they got to Navadvipa, Ramai Pandita and other brothers of Srinivasa Thakura were all gathered together. They were thinking that, “We don’t have Acyutananda, the son of Advaita. What about him? We could go to Santipur.” He came, just at that time and joined the party.

In this way, thousands of devotees gathered from everywhere. All of the remaining disciples of Lord Caitanya, or disciples of the immediate followers all gathered together. When they reached the Padma river where the Kheturi gram is, Kheturi village, at that time, the king of Kheturi had sent hundreds of boats, and he greeted the devotees, washing their feet, putting sandalwood on their foreheads, giving them garlands, and then he had them cross over the river.

And the whole town of Kheturi was filled with ecstasy that all the devotees are coming from all over to observe the celebration of Gaura-purnima, and every house was decorated with mango leaves, with banana stalks, with sugar cane stalks and the streets were washed, and they washed the streets with scented waters, and everywhere you could hear kirtana parties going. You could hear Bhagavatam lectures going. You could hear everyone speaking, everyone in the whole town was simply talking Gaura-purnima! Gaura-purnima! Gaura-purnima! Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s festival! All the devotees are assembling! This one is coming from here. That one is coming from there. Everyone was simply talking about… simply completely fixed in the transcendental festival of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Gaura-purnima festival, into Vaikuntha, into transcendental world.

That time, on the day of Gaura-purnima, there was Bhagavatam classes describing how when Lord Caitanya… and Caitanya-caritamrta classes how when Lord Caitanya appeared, how the whole world was rejoicing, how in the Ganges, everyone was chanting, “Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol! Hari bol!”, reading the appearance of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. How, surrounded with all His eternal associates, He was dancing through the streets of Navadvipa, how He went all over India, everything was being discussed.

So, that time, Narottama dasa Thakura requested from Jahnava devi, who herself of course is, the internal potency of the Lord, not a conditioned soul, not a liberated soul, but internal potency, antaranga-sakti, asked for permission to perform the abhiseka of the deities of Lord Caitanya and Radha-Krishna, as we have performed here for Radha-Madhava some year or two, ago, two years. We also observed this auspicious day for installing deities.

So, Narottama dasa told Srinivasa to take up the bathing coordination. He bathed the deities. Six deities were installed that day, and then he took permission and they took the maha-prasada garlands of the deity and the garlanded all of the associates of Caitanya Mahaprabhu that were present. Then, Jahnava devi gave the order to the associate… one of the associates involved, “You garland all of these devotees.”

In this way, the senior devotees also garlanded the junior disciples and associates that were present, so in this way, there was a dinati prati ghrnati… dadati… there was a loving exchange between everyone, giving proper respect for the various devotees, at the same time, filled with loving affection for one another. Then, Jahnava said to give the arati, so then the arati was begun by Srinivasa Acarya, who was being given the equipment by Narottama dasa Thakura.

As he began the aratika, Lord Krishna performed a miracle. He started to expand from His transcendental field… form… the murti, His natural aroma, or scent, and then, just by concentrated incense, more powerful, inconceivable, transcendentally ecstatic, the aroma, the actual bodily scent of Krishna started to pervade from His Sri Murti over the whole audience of the devotees, and as it hit, I’m of course… use a crude example, we know that how when they show like chemical warfare, something the other sense, and if you start to… but here, in a transcendental way, as the aroma of Krishna reached the devotees, they would visibly, completely just overcome and overwhelmed with ecstasy.

And they became mad in separation of Krishna. In this way, everyone was completely incapacitated, and just swimming in an ocean of nectar, so in this way, the arati ceremony became just like one was actually walking through liquid nectar, and the kirtana was so thick that everyone was not walking. They were simply floating in the thick nectar of harinama, pulling out their hair, beating their chest, feeling so much separation from the Lord.
So, after that, Jahnava devi gave the… then that… when things got back to normal, in due course, as normal as things can be in such an exalted assembly, then Jahnava devi gave the… actually what… Acyutananda said, “I want to hear Narottama dasa Thakura lead a kirtana.”. In this way, different people were leading kirtanas. Different… so he was… “And I wanna now hear Narottama. Better he lead the kirtana.”.

So, then Narottama dasa Thakura started to lead the kirtana, then everyone became completely overwhelmed. Everyone became so overwhelmed that practically the kirtana just became all-pervasive, and all one could hear was that transcendental name, and everyone was so fixed, and they became so filled with separation that all the sudden, the most wonderful miracle happened amidst that transcendental assembly. Suddenly appeared, visible to everyone, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa, Murari, Mukunda, all of the associates, to everyone, they appeared, and they started to jump up and down with the devotees, doing kirtana, and everyone started rejoicing, “Jaya Sacinandana! Jaya Sacinandana! Jaya Sacinandana! Gaura Hari! Hari Hari Bol!”

Devotees: “Hari Hari Bol!”

Jayapataka Swami: In this way, the kirtana went on. Just as Krishna appeared when the gopis were feeling separation, like that Lord Caitanya, He appeared, mitigating all the separation of His devotees, and that kirtana went on like a night of Brahma. In the same way, if we completely absorb ourselves in this sankirtana movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu… Srila Prabhupada has trained us, we have to absorb ourself in that mood. Every page in his books, every instruction is how to absorb ourselves in that mood of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pure sankirtana movement.

By being absorbed, all of those were preachers, all of those devotees were going in different parts. Srinivasa Acarya was the raja-guru, the king’s guru in Visnupura. Narottama dasa Thakura, he sent his preachers to Manipura, and he was preaching over East Bengal. Shyamananda Pandita was preaching in Orissa like… they were all preaching devotees, going in different parts, preaching, establishing the movement of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

They came together and discussed hari-katha. They chanted the holy names. They wanted to be absorbed in that sankirtana mood of Lord Caitanya. Similarly, we may not be immediately so pure as Narottama dasa Thakura, others … because of course they are all eternal associates of Lord Caitanya, but by their mercy, by Prabhupada’s mercy, anything can happen, but at least, even if we may not immediately see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu with our eyes, if we absorb ourselves in the sankirtana movement, if we absorb ourselves in that mood, we will be... immediately be able to feel His presence, feel His separation, and if we get that causeless mercy… that does not mean that we will also not be able to see Him, that we will also, in due course, be able to see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and His associates and pastimes, simply by surrendering to His sankirtana mission, our reaching every village all over the world with this sankirtana message.

Although Acyutananda was only one of the six sons of Advaita, and at that assembly, only three sons came, and the other three sons of Advaita didn’t come, because they didn’t feel part of that mainstream of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement, that did not mean that in any way, that the festivities, or the transcendental desire of serving Lord Caitanya was in any way diminished. Everyone was fixed in their desire for satisfying Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Similarly, we have come together to hear about Caitanya Mahaprabhu, here, in front of Srila Prabhupada, in front of Radha-Madhava, in front of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to get their special mercy. If we can be absorbed in this sankirtana mood of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so sublime, His movement is so sublime that we can easily get His mercy in this kali-yuga. Even though one is so fallen, even though one is so unqualified, he can get the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, simply for the asking.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

“Give me Your mercy, Lord Caitanya. Give me Your mercy. Engage me in Your sankirtana movement. He, Krishna! He, Radha! Engage me in Your sankirtana movement. Engage me in Your transcendental service.”

This is the prayer of the devotees. They’re always praying that, “Somehow or other, by the will of providence, we have been brought to this ISKCON movement, and this is a movement to give the shelter to the whole world, but it is like a vessel, or an oasis in an ocean, filled with sharks, whales, various kinds of dangerous elements.

As long as we are on the vessel, we remain safe, and as soon as we go out, then we’ll be smashed up by some kind of ferocious animal, by desire for fruitive advancement, mystic power, liberation, by desires for fame, distinction, adoration, by various kinds of anarthas.” Therefore, Srila Prabhupada requested that we keep this movement very pure, absolutely pure so that it can continue to be the shelter for everyone who wants to taste the nectar of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement.

So, it is a great responsibility upon us, and we need the blessings of all the vaisnavas. Especially we need the blessings of our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, our previous acaryas, Lord Caitanya Mahprabhu. We should get their mercy by any means, so no doubt it is an austerity to work together. It is the great austerity in this kali-yuga. No one can work together. Nations can’t work together, states in the same country can’t get together, families, two towns.

Just look at California, when will San Francisco and Los Angeles ever get together? They hate each other. Each one is always trying to beat the other. In Australia, Melbourne and Sydney, they’re always having conflict. It’s so much that they have to put the capital of the country somewhere in-between. There’s no way that either one would get the credit. In Canada they got the two big cities Montreal and Toronto. They had to make it, “We’ll put it in Ottawa.”
So, cities, they can’t get together.

Families, they can’t even get together. Look at me. They’re still fighting feuds, for hundreds of years in the Appalachian Mountains. Still even they… in the vaisnava sect, the advaita-vamsa and the nityananda-vamsa, they don’t go to each other’s programs, and even in the family, husband and wife, father and son, father and daughter, hardly they can get together. The kali-yuga’s very difficult to work together.

Srila Prabhupada, he wrote a letter one time that there’s a secret for working together, if you are more attached, you see… to the… actually, that… he said that the secret to working together… says someone that is trying to work together for Lord Caitanya, then Maya-devi, she will give so many ideas, and the only shelter is to be more attached to lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. So, then when Maya gives her idea, the devotee doesn’t accept. “No. I don’t care for your idea, Maya-devi. I want only Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s idea.”
One can work together even in the kali-yuga. So, what is seemingly impossible, what no one has been able to do, to work together in the kali-yuga, [break] …(Prabhu)pada gave us this greatest test, that, “Those… those followers of mine who are real lovers of me, the evidence of that, the proof will be to what extent they’re able to cooperate together, how they’re able to work together for spreading this Krishna consciousness movement.

So, this is the burden of love. This is the austerity, right down to every… the brahmacari in the asrama, who’s worrying about the t-shirt that got stolen last night off the line, and he doesn’t like the other brahmacaris, or the person that lost their shoe, to the householders that just got married, it was arranged, and then for six months, the husband and wife can’t talk to eachother. They go back to their gurudeva and say it’s a wipeout, to the devotees in the temple who don’t like the temple commander, who’s always yelling at them to get up fifteen minutes earlier than they wanted to, to the devotees on the sankirtana movement, and the devotees who are doing the service in the temple, to have mutual respect for each other and encouragement for each other, the devotees who are printing the books and those who are distributing the books and those who are writing the books, to the people who are coming to hear and read the teachings of the books, or the different leaders to respect each other as vaisnavas and try to do whatever is pleasing for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

That is the only goal in this movement. We want to do what is pleasing for Sacisuta. Whatever is pleasing for Lord Caitanya, we want to accept that, and whatever is displeasing, that we have to reject, and how do we know what Lord Caitanya wanted, that Srila Prabhupada has instructed us for the next 10,000 years, this ISKCON movement is going to take the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, so that we can grow… and how. Thus Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted us to act so that He will be pleased.

If we fix up, then we can maintain our devotional attitude in spite of so many obstacles. Obstacles will always be there. Even we don’t want any obstacles, they come without our asking. Even we try to avoid, they seem unavoidable. Just like the Battle of Kuruksetra. So many attempts were made to avoid, but ultimately, couldn’t be avoided.

Like that, devotees are always trying to avoid any type of difficulty, any type of obstacles, and just push on the sankirtana movement, but just as the Chand Kazi tried to come stop the sankirtana move, just as various criticizers tried to mislead people from following Lord Caitanyas movement, and those who were very rigid, even they were chanting Hare Krishna, when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu acted in a way they couldn’t understand… Actually, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna. We can’t imitate Krishna.

We have to follow His instructions. In the same way, Srila Prabhupada instructed us not to imitate, but to follow. He was the Founder-Acarya. He was the one acarya of ISKCON, but he told us not to imitate, but to follow his instructions, therefore, we’re trying to work together, following his instructions. That is the motto. So, on this birthday of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, we should fix ourselves in this determination: to be ready, determined to do everything we can, pleasing for Caitanya Mahaprabhu, pleasing to Srila Prabhupada and previous acaryas.
If we can do that one thing, then we’ll be protected from all types of influences of maya.

Jaya Sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda, Sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda, ki

Devotees: Jaya!

Jayapataka Swami: And just as I mentioned before in the parikrama, Prabhupada said that, “From Mayapura, the flood of the sankirtana movement expands throughout the world now, taking the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sacisuta.”. Everyone should take up the sankirtana mood into all these far corners of the world, determined not to in any way decrease the sankirtana movement. To expand it. Just like the ocean of Lord Caitanya’s mercy is ever-expanding, the sankirtana movement must always be expanding, to expand and spread everywhere the chanting of

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Thank you very much.

Devotees: Jaya! Haribol!

Devotee: Srila Acaryapada, ki,

Devotees: Jaya!

Transcribed by

H.G. Jagannatha dasa April 10th, 2015 Sri Mayapura Dhama