The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami on October 27th, 1982. The class begins with a reading from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1st Canto, Chapter 6, Verse 28.

Jayapataka Swami: Prayujyamane

Devotees: Prayujyamane

Jayapataka Swami: mayi tam

Devotees: mayi tam

Jayapataka Swami: suddham

Devotees: suddham

Jayapataka Swami: bhagavatim

Devotees: bhagavatim

Jayapataka Swami: tanum

Devotees: tanum

Jayapataka Swami: arabdha

Devotees: arabdha

Jayapataka Swami: karma

Devotees: karma

Jayapataka Swami: nirvano

Devotees: nirvano

Jayapataka Swami: nyapatat

Devotees: nyapatat

Jayapataka Swami: pañca

Devotees: pañca

Jayapataka Swami: bhautikah

Devotees: bhautikah

Jayapataka Swami: prayujyamane mayi tam

Devotees: prayujyamane mayi tam

Jayapataka Swami: suddham bhagavatim tanum

Devotees: suddham bhagavatim tanum

Jayapataka Swami: arabdha-karma-nirvano

Devotees: arabdha-karma-nirvano

Jayapataka Swami: nyapatat panca-bhautikah

Devotees: nyapatat panca-bhautikah

Jayapataka Swami: praya…

[break]

But actually every letter is pronounced just as it’s written. So instead of seeing the whole word and becoming confused because you don’t know what it means or exactly how the… if you just pronounce each syllable, pra-yu-jya-ma-ne, ma-yi-tam, just as you see it, you just divide into syllables, pra-yu-jya-ma-ne, ma-yi-tam, su-ddham, bha-ga-va-tim, ta-num, a-rab-dha, kar-ma-nir-va-no, nya-pa-tat, pan-ca, bhau-ti-ka. If you don’t look at the whole word but you just see each syllable, each vowel... uh, each uh, co… uh, letter with the vowel and you pronounce it, then it’s very easy. But if you see the whole word then you… it becomes uh… you get scared you know (chuckles).

prayujyamane mayi tam

suddham bhagavatim tanum

arabdha-karma-nirvano

nyapatat panca-bhautikah

Anyone else that want to try?

WORD BY WORD: prayujyamane

[break]

Translation by His Divine Grace, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

“Having been awarded a transcendental body befitting an associate of the Personality of Godhead, I quit the body made of five material elements, and thus all acquired fruitive results of work [karma] stopped.”

Translation:

Having been awarded

Devotees: Having been awarded

Jayapataka Swami: a transcendental body

Devotees: a transcendental body

Jayapataka Swami: befitting an associate

Devotees: befitting an associate

Jayapataka Swami: of the Personality of Godhead,

Devotees: of the Personality of Godhead,

Jayapataka Swami: I quit the body

Devotees: I quit the body

Jayapataka Swami: made of five material elements,

Devotees: made of five material elements,

Jayapataka Swami: and thus all acquired

Devotees: and thus all acquired

Jayapataka Swami: fruitive works… uh, fruitive results of work

Devotees: fruitive results of work

Jayapataka Swami: [karma]

Devotees: [karma]

Jayapataka Swami: stopped.

Devotees: stopped.

Purport by Srila Prabhupada:

“Informed by the Personality of Godhead that he would be awarded a transcendental body befitting the Lord's association, Narada got his spiritual body as soon as he quitted his material body. This transcendental body is free from material affinity and infested… excuse me, invested with three primary transcendental qualities, namely eternity, one, two is freedom from material modes, and three, freedom from reactions of fruitive activities. The material body is always afflicted by… with the lack of these three qualities. A devotee's body becomes at once surcharged with the transcendental qualities as soon as he is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. It acts like the magnetic influence of a touchstone upon iron. The influence of transcendental devotional service is like that. Therefore change of the body means stoppage of the reaction of three qualitative modes of material nature upon the pure devotee. There are many instances of this in the revealed scriptures. Dhruva Maharaja and Prahlada Maharaja and many other devotees were able to see the Personality of Godhead face to face apparently in the same body. This means that the quality of a devotee's body changes from material to transcendence. That is the opinion of the authorized Gosvamis via the authentic scriptures. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that beginning from the indra-gopa germ up to the great Indra, King of heaven, all living beings are subjected to the law of karma and are bound to suffer and enjoy the fruitive results of their own work. Only the devotee is exempt from such reactions, by the causeless mercy of the supreme authority, the Personality of Godhead.”

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purport and translation of Text 28, Chapter 6, Canto 1, in the matter of Conversation Between Narada and Vyasadeva.

So, this is a very important verse because this tells us exactly what is the position of material life, what is the position of the material body, devotional service and the perfectional stage of reaching the transcendence, all in one verse. Because here Narada Muni is transferring from having a material body and going to having a spiritual body, a spiritual form. So, this is a very wonderful thing to understand, that how the Lord told him that I will give you a spiritual body, a transcendental body just suitable to associate with me. And that also happened just in the due course.

We should understand the difference between a material body and a spiritual body – they are not the same. See the material body is afflicted in various ways. The spiritual body is invested with… with uh, wonderful qualities. The three qualities are mentioned here. One, is that the spiritual body, or the eternal body… or the transcendental body is eternal. This is the first point, that this material body is not eternal, it does not live forever. Some time or another we have to give it up.

Normally if a person is considered a healer, he can cure people, then they are known to be very great religious people. If you can cure someone, common people will worship such a person. If you can tell how this life will be if you can read their future or if you can heal someone from disease, that’s considered to be very great, in ordinary life. In fact you find that Buddhist monks often that it is like one of their side-lines. Either they will read the future for you or they will give a lucky… In Thailand often they come up to us and ask can you give lucky number for lottery? (laughing) It is a big thing, and if you can give a lucky number then everyone is very happy. (laughs) This is the purpose of a religious man - to give you the lucky number. (all laughing) That is what people think, or if you can cure them from a disease, you see. But here we can understand that actually this body is not eternal, it is going to die, sooner or later.

There is nobody who can claim that by the blessings of such and such a holy man this body has lived forever. Or by the blessing of material science, or by any blessing or by any means this body, no one has been able to make it last forever, you see. This is the first point. But the body that Narada Muni is getting, that transcendental body, first quality, it’s eternal, you see. It never dies. Therefore it can travel in the fire, it can go to the sun, it can go to the moon, it can go all over the universe, and it can go outside the universe. You don’t need a suit. Nowadays, if you want to travel in outer space you have the space suit. Because if you take off the suit you be… you’re finished, you’ll die in a second, you can’t live in that atmosphere, you see. But this transcendental body does not require oxygen and all these things, so it can go anywhere, you see. So this is the first quality that Narada Muni, his transcendental body was eternal, you see. So this body is not eternal.

There is also a pastime; you must have… you might have heard, how one time Lord Caitanya was chanting in kirtan and uh, and uh, while in the house of Srivas. And while the kirtan was going on Srivas’s son died, inside the house. You heard about that? Yes, no? What not? You heard about that? So at that time Srivas, he came in to see what was the noise. All the women started to wail, crying that the son was dead. And they said, well your son is gone, he is dead, and they are crying. (sobbing) “Your son is gone, he is gone…” naturally they are crying. So, he told them all to shut up. “Stop your crying, why are you lamenting? The son has died while the kirtan is going on. That means that he is going to get a spiritual body, or going at least up to a very good destination. Don’t cry, don’t disturb the kirtan outside.” (devotee chuckles) But then they couldn’t be convinced like that. So then he told if you don’t stop crying I’m going to jump into the Ganges and also commit suicide, I’ll also die. Then you will have to cry for both son and husband. (devotee chuckles) So they got scared and they stopped crying. They kept quiet.

So, then Srivas uh, again he went outside and he was dancing in kirtan with all the devotees, as if not… normally dancing. Of course Lord Caitanya, He is in everyone’s heart, He knew what was going on inside, He went on chanting He did not interrupt. And it was very ecstatic kirtan, the whole night it went on until the morning. When the sun was coming up they broke the kirtan. So, when the kirtan was over and they all paid their obeisances then Lord Caitanya, He asked everyone that, “I think something must have happened in Srivas’s house, I’m feeling something in My heart, that something is amiss, something is wrong. What is that?” They started talking among each other. They said, “Well, Srivasa’s son is dead!” Said, “What? When did he die?”

“He died yesterday afternoon in the evening just uh, during the kirtan.”

“Why no one told me?”

So Srivas said I did not want to disturb your kirtan. He said, “What ?!! you did not tell me such a terrible thing happened? And you did not tell me didn’t… you didn’t want to disturb My kirtan? What is this? Why I was not told?” Said, “IWell I don’t know, Your kirtan was going on. What we… If he is already dead, what can we do, you see? Better not to disturb the kirtan.”

So then uh, Lord Caitanya he embraced Srivas, “What a devotee! How can I ever leave such a devotee, you see? Such a thing happens, he is so unaffected, he is so detached, that all he is thinking about is how he can please me, he is not at all thinking about his family situation. So, you bring Me that body, where is that body? Where is the son of Srivas?”

They brought out the son outside in the courtyard. He told Srivasa’s son, “Why you have gone away? Why you left Srivas? Come on now! speak up! Why have you gone away?”

So Srivas’ son sat up, stood up, offered his obeisances and started to speak. Everyone was amazed. He was dead, how he is speaking? He was speaking from the… from the… from the platform of ‘jivatma’, from the platform of spirit soul.

He came back and He spoke, “Why you have left your father?”

He said, “Which father? (devotees laughing) I had so many fathers.”

“Your father is Srivas.”

“Of course, You have desired that I go. You’ve given me orders that this time… my time is up in this body, so I have left according to Your desire. It was by your mercy that I was able to come in the house of Srivas, and serve You and get the association with the great Vaisnavas. And by Your desire also, I have to leave. I only pray that by Your mercy I will always be able to associate with the pure devotees and be able to serve You.”

In this way there was a discussion going on. So then Lord Caitanya, He looked around and saw everybody was very happy, that they could see that Srivasa’s son although he had left the body that he was going onward under the shelter of Lord Caitanya, and that there was actually nothing to lament for. So then Lord Caitanya said, “Alright.” Again Srivasa’s son, uh… son’s body laid down and Srivas went on. He did not save the body, you see. When a person’s time is up, if he wants he can live for a few more years. But uh, what is the advantage of that? The main thing is that when they leave, they go to the proper destination, you see.

Just like as if you are in a rented house and you get an eviction notice. You have to leave in one month. You can talk to the landlord, “Please give me another two months.” He says, “Alright take two more months.” That is not the real thing, to get two more months in the house. But you want to get the next place where you are going to live, you do not want to be thrown out on the street with nowhere to go. You have to live in some slum or something. “You let me get… where is my next place?” you want to see it is same or better. So everybody is very anxious to somehow or another stretch out the time they can spend in this body. No one is thinking that we have to give it up, what’s the next position after this. You get evicted from your… from your uh, apartment; you want to know where is the next house I am going to stay. Why people are so foolish they don’t think that “I am going to get evicted sooner or later? Let me think about the next house now.” That’s their nonsense. They are working everything for this life, fixing up their apartment, when they know that the rent gets out they have to be kicked out, they are not going to be able to stay, you see. So that way Narada Muni he got the best thing. Naturally if the person owns his own building, that is better than renting. But you can’t own a material body. It’s not yours, it’s given by the material nature. It belongs to the material nature. You are of the spiritual nature, you see. So we can’t own a material body, we can only rent it. We can only live in it temporarily, and then we have to give it up. Because this is not our natural position, you see.

Just like Hong Kong, Hong Kong they can’t forever stay here, because it is the property of China. Ultimately they want to take it back, sooner or later, you see. Although everybody is hoping will be extended for more and more time, but they have to pay dearly for that, if they want that. And there is no absolute security. Anytime any crazy person gets in charge of the government he may do anything. Right? This is the situation. But we try to extend on and on. But if you can transform the body, then also you become free. Just like somehow or another, although this was originally this was China, they transformed it into a British colony. So everything here is not living under Chinese law but under British law. So then everything has a nicer situation according to material standards. In the same way if you can transform this body by owing allegiance to Krsna, then just like a magnet, if you put iron on a magnet you can take that iron also and pick up other iron, that iron also becomes like a extension of the magnet. In the same way, this body when it is engaged in Krsna’s service through bhakti-yoga then you can also immediately become freed from all the material laws, all the other laws that ordinarily affect the other bodies and be directly under the spiritual transcendental free position. What is that position? That’s mentioned here, in the next verse.

The second thing, freedom from the material modes, that material bodies are always being attached… attacked by the material modes – mode of passion, mode of ignorance, mode of goodness. Ignorance, passion, goodness – these three things are always affecting the body. Therefore no one is free. Sometimes someone feels very charitable, very… very nicely disposed to help others, much in the mode… mode of goodness. Sometimes the person is feeling very greedy, simply “I want more money, I want more enjoyment, I want immediately for myself, and very anxious and passionate for achieving that profit.”, the mode of passion, you see. Don’t want to give anything to anybody, don’t want to hurt anybody, “I want simply to get what I need, unless someone gets in my way I don’t care, but I want this”, this is passion. Ignorance very angry, you see, I don’t care even if I get any profit, simply I want to kill you. You see that in the movies sometimes they show, this is the mode of ignorance. He doesn’t care even if he loses his whole life, “I want to get you.” This is the mode of ignorance, you see. They don’t think about what is the future, what is the.. ultimately whether they will profit. And obviously mode of ignorance is not at all for any one’s good. It’s insanity, madness, anger, like that. So, in this body if we are not fully engaged in devotional service, then we can be affected by ignorance, by passion or by goodness, or a combination of all three, you see.

To whatever extent we engage in devotional service, we chant Hare Krsna, then our body becomes free from these influences. We become free, and then we can realize that natural freedom and happiness that comes with it. So even a person is free from the influences still another question is there, what about all the previous acts we have done? What about the reactions for those? You see, just like so many animals are killed so… so we can eat them. Or just as punishment, sometimes as little children they pull apart the insects, sometimes they play with snakes and they chop off their tails. Sometimes they do so many cruel things without thinking about it. And those all will bring reactions in the future. This is the law of karma, no one can escape.

So even now we are engaged in devotional service, what will protect us from all the acts we have done before? Now even if I am not influenced, I’ll have to suffer and enjoy so many things that I’ve, for the results that I have done and this may also affect me in many ways. This is also a question. So people are not freed from that, they have to uh, get the results of what they do, you see. prakrti kriyamananai gunaih karman sarvasa? ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate Bhagavad-gita describes that material nature is doing everything, you see, gunaih karmana… karmasa… uh, gunaih… that due to the material qualities of passion, ignorance and goodness, and due to the karmas the material nature is putting everyone in different situations. And the foolish living entity he thinks, ”I am doing everything.” doesn’t see that you work hard and get good results that is due to your previous karma. Or you work hard in spite of that you lose everything, that is also due to your previous karma. And you don’t do anything, and still you’re lucky fellow, you get lots of results. Hardly you work at all, just a little bit, and you some results, big results, that’s also due to karma. And you don’t work at all and you don’t get anything, that’s also karma. Everything in the material world is due to karma and the material qualities, you see. If a person even he has good karma, but his association is mode of ignorance, he gets money what does he do? He spends it on drinking, gambling, and he’ll waste the whole lot, doesn’t have anything to show for it. And a person if he has good karma and mode of passion, he reinvests it. In the mode of goodness he uses it for helping others and in the future he gets more good karma. So, in this way (aside)… close the door… everything is going on in the material world.

So here the third freedom is there, freedom from reactions of fruitive activities. That this transcendental body is free from all those reactions of fruitive activities. Because everybody wants to be free from the reactions of all the fruitive activities. We’ve made so many mistakes in our lives, if we can start with a clean slate , that’s what we need. If we have to try to make uh, advancement with all the reactions still there, then it’s very difficult situation, how we’ll progress? Just like there are different processes of yoga. The process of uh, Buddhism is indirectly like a type of yoga, in a sense. Although we don’t generally call it yoga, we call it Buddhism. But it is like a prog… a process of realization. Then there is of course the process of mystic yoga, the process of bhakti-yoga, karma-yoga, jnana-yoga like that. Mainly the mystic yoga and the bhakti-yoga are the main divisions. And Buddhism where one practices renunciation and a type of meditation… there is a story in Buddhist history, there was one demon who was called Anguliasura. I don’t know the full detail, but just a little bit I know. What he used to do was he a demon that would cut off the little finger of people and wear them around his neck in a big garland.

Devotee: Anguli?

Jayapataka Swami: Anguliasur, and naturally he was not well liked by the people in general. Whenever they saw him they would run, because he would try catch them, and chop off their fingers and put it around his brace… Devotee: Anguli-mala.

neck. Anguli-mala – you have heard about him. Now what happened was that he met the Buddha. He also wanted to cut off his fingers. But by the association of Buddha, instead he could understand that uh… that uh, this whole world was uh… a temporary world and he was in a wrong position. So he became a bhikshu, he became a monk. But the problem was that although was a monk, being in Buddhism, you don’t immediately get purified from these reactions. The reactions are still there, you stop creating more reactions. So what happened, all the other reaction, he had such a pile, chopping off people’s fingers. So he couldn’t get freed from that. When the people saw he was a monk, they still did not have any fingers on their hands, they weren’t happy about it. So they all chased him and beat him to death. Eventually, he was killed. He was beat to death by all the people he had tortured, you see. Because he was not freed from those karmas.

So this is the disadvantage of other practices. But, Krsna promises in the Gita that if you simply surrender unto me sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyoh I will protect you from all reactions. moksayisyami ma sucah, “I will liberate you, bring you to me, this is my promise.” Just like Mrigari he was killing so many animals, but when Narada Muni, the same Narada Muni came, he was able to not only make Mrigari into a saint, but he was able to free him from all the reactions to all the animals he had killed, because he taught him bhakti-yoga. How to free from the reactions. Similarly there was a great robber and murderer was Dasu Ratnakar. He used to kill so many people and steal, the same Narada Muni met him, and Narada Muni is very important is because he is a guru, spiritual master of bhakti yoga. He is written a book also, Narada Pancaratri, and there the whole system of worshipping the deities is given. All the deity worship we do is according to the Narada pancaratrik system.

So, there is two systems, one is Bhagavata vidhi, which is chanting Hare Krsna and mantras. Within bhakti there are two systems, other is deity worship. So we use both. We use Bhagavata as well as Narada Pancaratrika. The Narada system is about the rules and regulations and the Bhagavad is the pure expression of devotion by dancing and chanting. So we use both, both are required to help us.

Daku Ratnakar he met Narada Muni, that’s a whole story, how he converted him. Of course I m not going to tell the whole thing. But after a lot of discussion and convincing, and… he revealed some secrets about reactions. What happened was, just in a nutshell, he said he wanted to steal also from Narada. Narada said, “Well, all I can give you…” all he had was his tambura. You know Narada carries the tambura, the vina. He could give him that only, but he wasn’t going to give. But anyway he said, “I’ll give you whatever you want. First you have to answer this one question to me, that all this killing and murdering you are doing, who is sharing the karma with you? Who is sharing the reactions? You have to suffer the reactions. Who is sharing it with you?” He said, “Well, my wife and my grandmother, my mother, my father, my children, they all will be sharing,” he says. “Are you sure? You go and ask them. Tell me who is sharing with you.”

You see, because technically according to karma husband does something, whoever is dependent on him is not responsible for the reactions directly. Because they are dependent, how the person who is supporting them is maintaining them that is his worry. They are dependent, so that means they are not in control of the situation, so how can they be held responsible? You see, if a baby is there and the father is in a job or if he’s a thief, the baby is not telling the father that you be a thief, or… he is just dependent, so that’s the law of karma. So he went back and asked his mother and father, “You are taking the karma?” They said, “Listen, we wanted you to become a doctor or lawyer or something, whatever, you became this, what can we do? We tried to train you up, but.” So whatever they said in that day and place they said appropriately that we tried to train you up but you became a thief, what could we do? Now we are old and invalid. Now we… How could… don’t give us the sin now because when we die then we’ll have to suffer so many things anyway. So we can’t take any share.” Then he asked his children, they wouldn’t take. “We are just children, you brought us in the world, don’t start us off with all this burden. We’re already starting with a fresh life; don’t let us have all these reactions.” They refused. Then he asked his wife, that , “Well, you are my companion for life. You should be grateful; I’m bringing you everything, so you should take the share.” She said, “What do you mean? I have not had a new dress for so long. You never take me out anywhere, we are always in hiding. And, you think I like this kind of life? Why should I take also a share of your karma, I’m already washing your clothes and I’m doing all the work, raising your children. Now you also want me to take a share of your karmas for all the murders you are doing?” Said, “You are nuts.”

He was shocked. So then he came back to Narada and said “No one is taking any share. No one is grateful, they all take the money but they are not taking a share of my karma.” So then Narada gave him this chanting of Hare Krsna, he gave him the chanting and said you should chant the name of God. He said I cannot chant any such thing as you are mentioning. I cannot say anything which is to do with anything except for violence and killing, and I cannot speak any type of holy words. He could not even say God. He could not say anything like that, he was so uh, against this idea that he could not say anything about God or Krsna or anything. So then Narada asked him can you chant uh, the uh, word uh,murder.. murder ?

Yes, I can chant ‘murder’ easily. “So you chant ‘Ma Ma Ma’, ‘Kill Kill Kill’, in Sanskrit. You… this is my mantra to you. You go on chanting ‘mara mara mara mara mara mara’”, So, he said, “Yes, I can… I can... I can chant this with great enthusiasm.” (All laughing) “Kill kill kill, mara mara mara mara mara…” But as he is chanting, “mara mara mara”, Narada was so clever that he combined the word that when you chant it in a line, it comes out ma… the… after the first ma, it comes “Ra-ma Ra-ma Ra-ma Ra-ma Ra-ma Ra-ma”, so he was chanting Rama.

Even though he was thinking and chanting “kill kill kill”but the vibration was coming out “Rama Rama Rama Rama”, after the first ma then it was “ma Ra-ma Ra-ma Ra-ma” In this way he became free from all those reactions. It is the power of Krsna’s name, it’s a great secret, we don’t tell people right from the beginning, that how powerful is this name. People they may not believe it and they may say something offensive, so we do not tell them right at the beginning all the secrets about chanting. We just tell them it will make you healthy, happy, whatever. But the actual secret… it will free them, from the modes of nature and influence from karma. It will develop a spiritual body, especially once one surrenders to the spiritual master and takes to chanting without offence then the full effect of the name manifests.

So, this is very important to understand that how this material body differs from the spiritual body, and one other thing that Prabhupada mentions here, very important, is that a person becomes uh, unaffected, free from material affinity, you see. Material affinity is something we like. It’s something naturally, we are attached to. You are born in the material world, your mother and father take care of you. You become very attached to them. Because it is a very intimate relationship, because they are feeding and taking care. But the relationship is based on the body. We have the material body it is based on this body. We are not thinking, just like Srivas. His son, what was the previous life, he had a mother… mother and father. This life we have a mother and father. After we die we will have a new body, another mother and father. So this material affinity is another kind of uh, bondage, another kind of uh, illusion. We don’t realise that because of this affinity, we are putting ourself in more and more anxiety and difficulty. Just like because of this relationship… just like we have a baby. Now if the baby is sick, the parents they feel bad. Because there is such a close affinity. Even it is difficult, even if you are Krsna conscious it is difficult not to feel when your child is sick. At least there, you dovetail it. At least there you dovetail it that “I am raising my child to be God conscious, to be Krsna conscious. So I have to take care of the child.”, so that natural love which is there for the children that becomes offered to Krsna in an indirect way, or a direct way when the child is trained to be Krsna conscious. The feeling is there sometimes, even among the really advanced yogis, what to speak of materialists. If their child is in danger, they are out of their skin. Even a cow if they lose the calf, it is crying, tears are there. It is not that this is only a human quality, even a cow loses her calf it cries like anything.

In India sometime what they do, the cow once it loses the calf it will stop giving the milk. The cow is a little bit stupid. They do not know the difference between the body and the soul. So they will take the calf and they will skin it and stuff it and they will hang it up by the cow, and he will be licking the skin of the calf even, it’s dead, just the skin, but they are a little bit stupid, think that my calf is alive, I still have my calf. Human being knows the difference between a live body and a dead body. A cow doesn’t know the difference very well, you see. But with the human being still thinks that “Well, alright, this is live body, this is dead body…”. but what is the difference? They know that there is a difference. That much intelligence we have. What is the difference, that we do not know. We have so many big jets, big buildings, we have Walkman tape recorders, we have everything, right? But we do not know the difference between a living body and a dead body. We know there is a difference. So we think that we are better than the cow. But what is the difference we do not know in this material world. That is where bhakti yoga or Krsna consciousness comes in.

What is the difference between the living body and the dead body? The difference is that the soul is not there. We are the soul. So when we identify “I am not this body, I am the soul.”, immediately become free from anxiety. As soon as identify with the body we have so many affinities and those affinities bring anxiety and misery. They bring desires which can never be fulfilled fully. As soon as we realize that the body is my machine, it is my automobile. Nobody spends so much money on their automobile and lets the driver starve. First he will feed himself, he’ll have his apartment, then he will spend money on the automobile. There is apriority. A person will not be putting petrol in his car and then he day after day starve and die. No one does that. Only we are doing that we are putting everything on our body but spiritually we are practically dead. In this material life, that is the nature, we don’t know how to be satisfied. So they are working so hard trying to dress the body, clean it, make it enjoy and still they are not satisfied, because the driver is starving, the spirit is starving. So we should know the difference between the spirit and the body. And actually we don’t need this material body, forever. We can use the material body like Narada Muni did, to achieve his spiritual body.

There is another pastime, just in conclusion. That Lord Caitanya when he came, he did not come in his material body, that… His form is spiritual form. Similarly he came with his associates, just like Srivas. All these associates, some of them are eternally liberated souls, who also came in their spiritual body. Some of them were material persons who by devotional service spiritualized their body. These two categories were there. So Srivas, he was actually, he is Narada Muni, came to help Lord Caitanya. He took this form, so his body is accepted as a fully spiritual body. One time Lord Caitanya told everyone that “I am going to dance. We are going to have a drama, of Lakshmi… of Rukmini and Krsna. We are going to have this drama.” And so he told one of the devotees to arrange for all the costumes and everything. So then he told that “I am going to dance tomorrow as Laksmi dancing to attract Krsna, everybody became “Oh!” to see Lord Caitany dancing like Laksmi, “This is something inconceivable.”

He said everybody is allowed except those who still have some material attachments. They should not see. Then everybody became very sad. Then of course nobody could say anything. But everyone knew what they were thinking. Then Advaita and Srivas, they spoke out, “Lord Caitanya, I do not know about others, but we are not free yet from material affinity. How can we, then… so we cannot see.” They took that position, actually they were the only ones who were free. But they were speaking on behalf of the conditioned souls. “We are not free from material affinities, how can we see you dance then? We are not in that position.” They took that to show an example. So then Lord Caitanya said, “Alright, by My special mercy tomorrow all of you devotees will be free from any material affinity, or any material attachment, so that when you watch this dancing you won’t be deluded by maya.” So the next day Lord Caitanya he dressed up as Lakshmi, as Rukmini, and He told Srivas “You have to dress up as Narada Muni.” And then of course this is NaradaMuni, actually there was no position for Narada Muni, but this was Lord Caitanya’s trick to advertise to everybody who actually Srivas was.

So then the next day Gadhadhar he had dressed as Rama, one of the expansions of one of the other Lakshmi forms. And Srivas was dressed as Narada Muni. So then Lord Caitanya what he did is by his mystic power all the people that were there although they were putting on costume, they were appearing to the other devotees not in any costumes, but they were able to see those personalities in their original form. When Mother Saci saw Srivas and actually was seeing Narada Muni. She became so stunned with love, and was in ecstasy. In this way there were so many transcendental things that were going on. And Lord Caitanya when He was dancing there were all so many others dressed up as Lakshmi, no one could any more tell who was Lord Caitanya. All were there Lakshmi, Narada Muni, no one could anymore tell. Even mother Saci could not tell that, “Who is Lord Caitanya?”. They had all assumed their spiritual forms. So in this way Krsna, Lord Caitanya told that “Why Narada has come here? Because he went up to the spiritual world to see Krsna. When he went he found that the whole spiritual world was empty, all Krsna’s palace, everywhere it is empty. Then he asked ‘Where everybody has gone?’ So they all came to Nabadwip because they heard that Krsna is going to dance as Lakshmi (all laughing). So, He’s come down here to see also. Devotee: He came.

Jayapataka Swami: So like this, so many transcendental pastimes, so many transcendental enjoyment are there. He was Narada Muni he was only working as the son of a cleaning woman, who was washing pots and doing menial services. He was the son of a cleaning woman. Cleaning wo… His mother died of a snake bite and she was the cleaning woman in the house of great devotees. So he used to get this mahaprasad from the devotees. How sacred devotees are, we have no idea. Because although we think they have material body because they are using their body only for the service of Krsna, their body becomes purified, just like magnetized. It becomes transcendentalized. Although it appears to be a material body, sometimes it may even appear to be old or young, or may appear to be sick or healthy, or thin or fat, or strong or weak. But that is all superficial, has nothing to do. Because the body is always being engaged in Krsna’s service, that even though apparently to vision it is a material body, it has become like magnetized. It has become transcendentalized. Therefore it is considered to be pure.. Just like the Ganges river is considered to be pure all year round. But in the rainy season there are so many bubbles, and sometimes mud is coming in the river because floods are there. Still a spiritually advanced person will bathe in that river Ganges, not thinking that “This is winter, or this is summer, or this is rainy season.” Like that a devotee’s body, a devotee who is purely engaged in Krsna’s service, that body will be uh, spiritualized. Therefore devotees are already having transcendentalized bodies by association with Krsna through devotional service. Therefore we respect the devotees and we offer our respects them and our obeisances to them, we touch their uh, feet, in this way to get uh, special spiritual blessings, to help us on our spiritual path.

So, these are some of the important things that we can know. Actually this verse we can go on speaking month after month, it has so many uh… so many spiritual instructions for us. But few things only I am explaining here, today. Basically the… we can sum up the whole thing is that this is all the causeless mercy of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that He allows us to be completely attracted and attached and close to Him, to immunize us from all the temporary attractions of this world. Which only causes pain in the long run, you see. That is the special mercy that even though we are in the material consciousness He attracts us, He allows us to taste the happiness of spiritual life, to free us from the miseries of this material world, and the attachments that will cause us future misery in the material world. That is His special mercy. Therefore we should always offer our our obeisances to Lord Sri Krsna, by whose mercy we become attached and attracted to His spiritual existence and we can become freed from all the material miseries of life.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

Krsna krsna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Are there any questions?

Devotee: So, someone may think that, “Well, these… this sounds good. This yoga, but actually, there are a lot of other things first, and maybe I’ll take up this process later, when the time is better.” Someone may think like that. Is that a good plan. To just, take care of our uh… some material obstacles first, you know. Take care of the… the family, or any… any other things that might be in the way, then later take up the yoga process.

Jayapataka Swami: The point is that, that will… whole thing will all depend upon the amount of time a person has, theoretically. Just as when I came here six months ago, then the Hong Kong Dollar was very strong, but then after the Prime Minister of England went to Beijing and they told so many things like, “Well, after all… the Chinese government said so many things. We may just throw you out. They were exerting some force, for whatever reason. Now the Hong Kong Dollar (gasps) everybody wants to take the money somewhere else, where it is safe. They are afraid, “What if they do throw us out, then? We have to take our money somewhere where it will be safe.” Because they are thinking that may they wont have so long after all. Before that they are thinking if it will get extended then no problem. So, they wont worry. But then they became worried “Well, if we don’t have that much time after all, then we better make some arrangement.” So it is like that. People are thinking “I am young now, so let me take care of my material things, when I get old I will take care of the spiritual matters.”

Well, theres two problems there. The one problem is that we do not know how long we are going to live. Of course in the normal course of things we will live up to old age. But it is not that everyone lives up to old age. I do not know the percentage of people who die untimely. But say at least 25% may die. Actually I do not know the number, but a good percentage, not an insignificant number, but a good, significant number die at an age which is young. So that danger is always there, that if we get evicted from this body then we will have no alter… then we’ll have no hope. So that would also make us that we should make some preparation now. Just like saving money in the bank, put money now in other accounts overseas, just in case, you see. That is not for sure. Hong Kong may be able to make some deal later and stay on here, for some time. But it is for sure we have to leave the body That’s for sure! There’s not definite… I mean, that is definite, sooner or later. So that’s the one problem we do not know when.

The other problem, say we live till old age, but to do spiritual uh, practices also is not something that can be done abruptly. Naturally, we’ve been practiced… it’s not all the suddent… if someone can do it immediately, that is also a great fortune, it means some great spiritual asset or blessings have been bestowed on that person, but, Prahalad Maharaja gave the example that his children friends also told him the same thing “We don’t want to chant, we don’t want to do this yoga, because we want to play now, we are kids. When we grow old we will do it.” He told them “You play like this for the next ten years as children, after that you will be busy with your school work and other type of play. Then you are going to get into family life, working hard to make money to maintain your families, raise your children, in this way you will be busy with your family life. Then in your old age you will be weak and sick, you wont have the energy to travel or do anything. And half your life you are spending sleeping anyway. So where is the time? Therefore ‘athato brahma jijnasa’ you should inquire now, or uh… uh… uh, ‘kaumaram acaret prajno’ you should start and prepare yourself even in childhood.”

Actually if a person is already 18, 20 or 25 years old, that means already 18 years was wasted. That means one quarter of the life is wasted, because we don’t generally live over 80, maximum 100. That means 1/4th of the life has already been wasted. Now you want to waste how many? Another quarter. If you waste another quarter then you will become so engrossed in family life that you won’t be able to stop. That’s why a person has to start practicing yoga either partially or fully from immediate moment. Take whatever time has been wasted, you have to make up for that. If a person takes up at 75 years, that means he has to make up for 75 years of wasted time. How is that possible? At that time you are weaker.

At least if you start at 25, that means 25 years are wasted. At least you have strength enough to try double speed, to make up for lost time. So generally we find that you get people either young or old. Middle age is very hard because they are so involved in so many material entanglements. They don’t find any time. When they are young they are in college or their out of high school, or they have not yet got married or got deep into the family situation, there is a good chance for them to start with the good habits of yoga. Otherwise, at the end of life they develop so many bad habits even if they want to practice yoga, they don’t… it is too hard for them to learn at an old age. It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

So for these two reasons, one is we don’t know when we are going to die. Second is that if we keep delaying it, it becomes harder and harder and we waste more and more time. For these 2 reasons we should immediately start the practice of yoga, if at all we want to become free from these material problems and acheive spiritual perfection.

Any other questions? Do you have any question?

Devotee(2): When the disciple gets initiation from the guru, the guru takes away all his karma. Then, why is it a disciple never preaches (indistinct)…

Jayaptaka Swami: The guru takes responsibility for their karma, and depending upon how the disciple surrenders then that karma is either taken away directly by Krsna withdrawing it or by giving the disciple some tokens, to help the disciple come to the proper frame of mind which will allow all the karma to be removed. The total responsibility is taken away by the spiritual master and therefore the karma is not given to the uh, disciple at uh, face value but some momentum from the previous uh… from the previous uh, activities, some desires are there. And also after initiation devotees are also performing sinful activities, against uh, their oath, so for various reasons the person is put into difficulty.

One time Srila Prabhupada cut his finger and one drop of blood came out. He said that “I should have had my head cut off, but instead Krsna has given me this token, just to remind me and I was released from such a big sinful reaction.” So, once we surrender to the spiritual master then we’re under the care of Krsna, once we take initiation, you see. But then we have to also practically practice devotional service and then, more and more relief from all these reactions.

Just after initiation we come into the clearing stage when all these reactions are cleared away, it is not that immediately everything is gone, unless we can completely fix our mind, every thought word and deed completely, without any material attachment, absorb ourselves in the service of guru, then we are completely free.

But just after initiation it is not that people suddenly forget their parents and everything material. They become more detached, but still there may be some slight attachments. So how to get free from those? Whatever attachments we have those are linked with reactions. As detached as we become that is as free as we become from the reactions. These two things are told today. The 3 modes are there and their reactions, they are linked. As we have attachments within the 3 modes of nature those are linked with reactions. As we get rid of the reactions of fruitive activities, we get rid of the attachments also. Just like a person is very attached to getting a $1,000,000. Once they get $1,000,000 they are not so attached any more, then either they want $2,000,000 or something else.

Just like in Hong Kon… Japan people get very attached to material things, they want a brand new tape recorder. They get the tape recorder. After a while they get tired of the it, they just throw… a perfectly good tape recorder, they throw it away in the garbage. Just fed up, that’s the mood they are in. You can get good tape recorders lying in the garbage, you see. When you get the thing, that means that now your desire is fulfilled. That is one way of getting your material fruitive action is you get what you want. That’s one, that’s called the reaction for pious activities. That also makes you detached, in some cases. You get tired of it, you want something else.

Another way of getting rid of attachment is by suffering. When that thing you want causes some pain you become detached. So, both these reactions, pain as well as pleasure the devotee becomes detached to because both of them cause material attachment. They want spiritual ecstasy, spiritual bliss. So, already the plug has been pulled out, you are not creating any more karmas, you’ve been freed. And Krsna promises that according to how you surrender that is how you will be rewarded. So, already you are free from any direct reaction of karma. If any karma is given it means that you still have some attachments and this is to help you become more and more advanced, and you are only getting a small token of what you deserve.

[End of recording]

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Transcribed by Lilamayi Rukimini Mataji, Key words: Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, karma, Angulimala, Narada Muni