19840530-Srimad-Bhagavatam.10.8.8-9-New-Orleans-Literal-Version

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The following is a lecture given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami on May 30th, 1984 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The class begins with a reading from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10th Canto, Chapter 8, Verse 8 and 9.

Jayapataka Swami: kaṁsaḥ pāpa-matiḥ sakhyaṁ

Devotees: kaṁsaḥ pāpa-matiḥ sakhyaṁ

tava cānakadundubheḥ

Devotees: tava cānakadundubheḥ

devakyā aṣṭamo garbho

Devotees: devakyā aṣṭamo garbho

na strī bhavitum arhati

Devotees: na strī bhavitum arhati

iti saṣcintayaṣ chrutvā

Devotees: iti saṣcintayaṣ chrutvā

devakyā dārikā-vacaḥ

Devotees: devakyā dārikā-vacaḥ

api hantā gatāśaṅkas

Devotees: api hantā gatāśaṅkas

tarhi tan no 'nayo bhavet

Devotees: tarhi tan no 'nayo bhavet

Jayapataka Swami: kaṁsaḥ pāpa-matiḥ sakhyaṁ

Devotees: kaṁsaḥ pāpa-matiḥ sakhyaṁ

tava cānakadundubheḥ

Devotees: tava cānakadundubheḥ

devakyā aṣṭamo garbho

Devotees: devakyā aṣṭamo garbho

na strī bhavitum arhati

Devotees: na strī bhavitum arhati

iti saṣcintayaṣ chrutvā

Devotees: iti saṣcintayaṣ chrutvā

devakyā dārikā-vacaḥ

Devotees: devakyā dārikā-vacaḥ

api hantā gatāśaṅkas

Devotees: api hantā gatāśaṅkas

tarhi tan no 'nayo bhavet

Devotees: tarhi tan no 'nayo bhavet

[break]

Jayapataka Swami: Kaṁsa

Devotees: Kaṁsa

Jayapataka Swami: is both a great diplomat and a very sinful man.

Devotees: is both a great diplomat and a very sinful man.

Jayapataka Swami: Therefore, having heard from Yogamāyā,

Devotees: Therefore, having heard from Yogamāyā,

Jayapataka Swami: the daughter of Devakī,

Devotees: the daughter of Devakī,

Jayapataka Swami: that the child who will kill him

Devotees: that the child who will kill him

Jayapataka Swami: has already been born

Devotees: has already been born

Jayapataka Swami: somewhere else,

Devotees: somewhere else,

Jayapataka Swami: having heard

Devotees: having heard

Jayapataka Swami: that the eighth pregnancy of Devakī

Devotees: that the eighth pregnancy of Devakī

Jayapataka Swami: could not bring forth a female child,

Devotees: could not bring forth a female child,

Jayapataka Swami: and having understood

Devotees: and having understood

Jayapataka Swami: your friendship with Vasudeva,

Devotees: your friendship with Vasudeva,

Jayapataka Swami: Kaṁsa,

Devotees: Kaṁsa,

Jayapataka Swami: upon hearing

Devotees: upon hearing

Jayapataka Swami: that the purificatory process

Devotees: that the purificatory process

Jayapataka Swami: has been performed by me,

Devotees: has been performed by me,

Jayapataka Swami: the priest of the Yadu dynasty,

Devotees: the priest of the Yadu dynasty,

Jayapataka Swami: may certainly consider

Devotees: may certainly consider

Jayapataka Swami: all these points

Devotees: all these points

Jayapataka Swami: and suspect that Kṛṣṇa

Devotees: and suspect that Kṛṣṇa

Jayapataka Swami: is the son of Devakī and Vasudeva.

Devotees: is the son of Devakī and Vasudeva.

Jayapataka Swami: Then he might take steps to kill Kṛṣṇa.

Devotees: Then he might take steps to kill Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapataka Swami: That would be a catastrophe.

Devotees: That would be a catastrophe.

Jayapataka Swami:

Translation

Kaṁsa is both a great diplomat and a very sinful man. Therefore, having heard from Yogamāyā, the daughter of Devakī, that the child who will kill him has already been born somewhere else, having heard that the eighth pregnancy of Devakī could not bring forth a female child, and having understood your friendship with Vasudeva, Kaṁsa, upon hearing that the purificatory process has been performed by me, the priest of the Yadu dynasty, may certainly consider all these points and suspect that Kṛṣṇa is the son of Devakī and Vasudeva. Then he might take steps to kill Kṛṣṇa. That would be a catastrophe.

Purport

Kaṁsa knew very well that Yogamāyā was, after all, the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa and Viṣṇu and that although Yogamāyā had appeared as the daughter of Devakī, she might have been forbidden to disclose this fact. Actually this was what had happened. Gargamuni argued very soberly that his taking part in performing the reformatory process for Kṛṣṇa would give rise to many doubts, so that Kaṁsa might take very severe steps to kill the child. Kaṁsa had already sent many demons to attempt to kill this child, but none of them had survived. If Gargamuni were to perform the purificatory process, Kaṁsa's suspicions would be fully confirmed, and he would take very severe steps. Gargamuni gave this warning to Nanda Mahārāja.

Thus end the Translation and Purport by His Divine Grace Srila Abhayacarana Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10th Canto, 8th Chapter, 8th and 9th Verse, in the matter of Lord Krishna Shows the Universal Form.

Nanda and Yasoda are not aware that Krishna is the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Natually, they think that Krishna is their own child, and they were very concerned that all the Vedic rites… in the Vedas, they’re called dasa-karmas, or ten purificatory processes for a spiritually advanced human being. Beginnging with the garbhadhana samskara, then there’s the pumsavana ceremony during pregnancy, then here Vasudeva… excuse me, Nanda Maharaja wants to have nama-karana, or the name-giving, which is something like baptism in the Christian uh, faith, where one is given a name, officially by a priest with uh, various ceremonies.

Similarly, there’s cutting the first hair, is a ceremony. Taking the first grains, which are offered to Krishna. Like that, giving of a Brahmana initiation, or the uh, upanayana. There’s so many different ceremonies which are performed for purifying the child, before birth and even up till after leaving this body, after death. So, Nanda Maharaja, he was very concerned that when he had a son, He should be uh… when he had a child, that all these ceremonies should be performed.

But that too, he’s… (inaudible) There’s all these dangers. Indirectly, Gargamuni is revealing that Krishna’s actually the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. But, of course, Nanda Maharaja, he doesn’t pick that up. He just sees that, “Yes. This is a dangerous coincidence.” and Kamsa may go after Krishna, so one thing is to see that how the uh, in Vedic culture that every sect, the various uh, ceremonies are especially meant for encouraging one in one’s spiritual advancement. Garga muni is a twice born, excuse me, and Nanda Maharaja is a vaisya, the second born brahmana, ksatriya and vaisya, they would always undergo all of these uh, performing of purificatory ceremonies. Just as today parents want to send their children to college, they think that this is like a purificatory process. You go to a college, you are a twice born or something. You are… become civilized. Of course, the colleges produced have produced… in other parts of the world specially, the colleges are best places for producing political activists, terrorists or destroying peoples morals, and for so many other things. Of course, to some extent you can get some aspects of material education also but especially destroying for the character. Well, the Vedic uh, college course begins before birth, but basically if one is uh, going to be a twice born or one is going to be a developed human being then the parents will take very special care that every stage of life the child gets the benefit of the spiritual uh… spiritual uh, association and spiritual uh, ceremonies. More than the ceremony it’s actual spiritual purification.

This is another proof that from birth nobody is pure, from birth everyone is in an impure or in a undeveloped non spiritual state, born just like an animal is born. They are born simply with the animalistic characteristic, but it is due to the spiritual culture, due to spiritual purification, that the higher uh, traits, the higher development of an individual uh, for spiritual realization is encouraged.

Today the society is one sided, seeing only through the material aspect. Because of that, that uh, is also not perfectly done, it is ultimately separated. The character of a person from the uh, uh, education, in fact it’s said that if you educate someone who has a bad character, it’s like pulling a jewel on a to… on a snakes forehead. If you put a valuable jewel on a cobras head, everyone would want to go for the jewel, but in doing so they will be bitten, they will die. So giving education to uncultured people means that they will misuse the education. Instead of having a proper spiritual consciousness, they have a consciousness to enjoy materially, to exploit, to control. So practically it’s a criminal mentality.

So to educate criminals… just like if you give an education to terrorists and criminals, how they could avoid the law, how they could break the law more effectively, that would be defeating the purpose. But factually this is what’s being done indirectly when people are not being spiritually encouraged. Then that means amongst those people who are going forward for this advanced, what you call advanced education, so many of them are simply in a type of enjoying criminal mentality. Ultimately everything is the property of Krishna. So if we’re taking from Krishna and we’re not giving back to Krishna, we are not acknowledging that Krishna is the owner, that means we are thieves.

How can you take something from the owner without giving him anything or acknowledging his ownership? So this is basically what’s going on. Modern society, they are taking from God everything, that He is providing but they don’t reciprocate and give back to Krishna what He’s due. So because of that, there is this imbalance, and people’s vikarma or materialistic activities are increasing more and more.

So the devotees are basically doing all good fortune for people by accepting uh, from them service and offering that service to Krishna. Some people directly come and render service to the temple by sweeping the floor and helping to do some… Any kind of service, type something, or help in some way. Others they are busy working giving their energy in exchange for money. Just like you can convert dollars into pounds and shillings, pence, franks and uh, marks and other forms of currency, for, they are exchanging their labour into money. So that money they give to Krishna’s devotees, and that is said that the devotee are acting like bill collectors for Krishna, like tax collectors rather, collecting the due.

Since Krishna is unlimitedly uh, the creditor or they are unlimitedly indebted to Krishna, there is no limit in how much they can return to Krishna, but even by giving something to Krishna, they benefit uh, unlimitedly because formerly people who don’t give anything back to Krishna, they want to keep everything for themselves, if they give something normally, it’s also… either as a, income tax shelter or some kind of a uh, personal uh, for their own personal uh, sentiment, or name or fame, somehow or another if the donation actually goes, the contribution actually goes to Krishna then they get sukriti or eternal spiritual benefit for that. Sometimes unknowingly they do service to Krishna, that is called ajnata sukriti or uh, spiritual credit given by and unknowing person.

Here in this ah…present verse in the preceding one we can see, some of the mood of Vatsalya bhava. Vatsalya rasa is the parental rasa. In this parental rasa the parents are always trying to protect Krishna. Garga Muni and Nanda Maharaja were discussing their concern about Krishna’s welfare, about His protection. For this reason they were discussing, that the dangers, how to protect Krishna, this is the Vatsalya bhava, feeling that Krishna is actually dependent upon them, that He is a ward, a dependent, He has to be protected and cared for, and if they don’t do that, then how Krishna will survive? So this not this type of relationship is possible because of the intervention of yoga maya. Yoga maya is like the uh, you can say stage manager of the whole uh, lilas of Krishna. He allows uh, she allows rather, that everyone, exactly with that particular mentality they need to perform that service.

If Vasudeva and Garg… excuse me, if Nanda Maharaj knew that Krishna was God, the tendency might be, “Well what can we do to protect God? God can protect Himself, He is the all powerful, all powerful, all famous, all knowing, so how to protect uh, the Lord, if He is the Lord, how…there is no question of protecting. Its only when yoga maya covers that ability to see Krishna as the supreme, and one sees Krishna according to one’s devotional relationship where you sees Krishna as a boy or as a friend or as a lover or as a… like that, then accordingly the devotees uh, acts in that relationship.

So in this way of course, that doesn’t interfere with your love for Krishna. Rather that allows the love to flow more naturally, without the artificial consideration that Krishna will take care of Himself, and so on. One actually feels in that relationship, that “If I don’t feed Krishna, Krishna will starve!” So this way mother Yasoda, she is always very concerned for protecting and taking care of Krishna, even though they fear demons will come and take Krishna away, and miraculously Krishna gets saved. It’s never… hardly does it dawn on anyone that Krishna Himself is uh, God… the Supreme Lord. They consider that Krishna is blessed, He is always being protected by God.

Sometimes they get a hint, they get some vision, they think that, “Oh! How is it possible, who is Krishna, Krishna must be some great demigod or incarnation, otherwise how can He do these amazing things?” but then again yoga maya covers their… that vision, so that they can simply see Krishna in their loving relationship. Otherwise to think that Krishna is Krishna, it actually interrupts the flow. Similarly those people who preach or who preach and have to show mystic powers to their followers, that is considered to be on a much lower level, that instead of a natural love of a servant for a master or a disciple for the spiritual master, uh, and for the appreciation of the spiritual gifts, then there is more of an awe inspired by seeing some kind of mystic powers, and once attraction is more for the mystic powers than in most cases than actually for the spiritual message.

In a situation where the people are very materialistic, very unsubmissive, very unable to understand the spiritual subject matter, and something is needed just to overwhelm them so that they start to listen, then such mystic powers are sometimes displayed. Gar…Narada Muni displayed that sometimes, sometimes it is displayed by different Acaryas, sometimes of course other preachers, they have that displayed but Srila Prabhupada explained that this is considered to be at a very much lower level than actually if someone actually has faith, simply by hearing, that is the actual spiritual uh, process. Otherwise, the faith just by seeing something miraculous, this is a more superficial faith, more sentimental faith. That the perfection of religion is when we actually become attracted to hearing about Krishna , to actually be attracted to the uh, messages of Krishna. To want to hear about Krishna . To have faith in those words of uh, Krishna.

viṣvaksena-kathāsu yaḥ

notpādayed yadi ratiṁ

śrama eva hi kevalam

That unless we come up to that stage, we are not considered to have fully utilized our energy in this human birth. We should come up to the stage where actually we have affinity for hearing about the messages of Krishna. That actually when we hear about Krishna that time our mind becomes fixed, we should make our mind just like a slate board, like a black board. Now a days we have the ink board. Where we can… where the spiritual master is writing the message of Krishna, there on our consciousness.

So people do… their minds are so disturbed, that Srila Prabhupada explained that it is very difficult, even on the street if we try to explain them something, basically it is… it’s very difficult for them to understand, but if they take the books home with them, read in their own peaceful living room or wherever (inaudible) But anyway, they may have an opportunity somewhere during that day, to read in a little peace and uh, concentration to understand. Therefore for this particular day, if you somehow or another get the people to have books which they can try read and understand this philosophy, this is by far the best process. Also it allows for one person to reach many people, because how long can we spend with each person on the street? Unless they come up to certain level it’s very difficult for them to understand anyway. So giving a transcendental literature is the best opportunity for them to make spiritual advancement.

Even a person… I understand that now we are doing a marathon for uh, contributing to the book trust for being able to distribute more books. This is a very important… this is a way that people of New Orleans and the visiting people be able to get the maximum purification, just by doing service and by getting the opportunity to uh, read the transcendental literature glorifying the holy name of Krishna.

The time that people spend for all their material pursuits, nothing will they take with them. Everything will be destroyed when the body is destroyed. They can only take certain reactions, which they will suffer and enjoy in their next birth. But, physically whatever they accumulate, whether it is millions of dollars, everyone knows they can’t take even a red cent with them. What to speak of enjoying, they are the uh, things that they accumulate, but whatever spiritual activities, pious activities they perform, that they can take with them.

Normally the more materialistic a person is, the more sinful activities they perform, especially in the present day and age. So therefore, in the next life it is very unlikely that a rich person is again going to be rich unless he actually performs spiritual activities. It’s says that a devotee who fail to complete their spiritual activities, they can take birth as a son or daughter of a yogi, of a brahmana, or a rich vaisya. So some people they may take birth even in wealthy family. That’s to give them an opportunity to engage in spiritual life, because they have no material worries. But anyone knows that in the modern day that someone is born in a very wealthy family they become very pampered, very what they call, foot loose and fancy free, accustomed to just doing whatever they want, going anywhere, and especially in the modern… they run so many bad habits because of that.

Like in the South what they call, filthy rich or something. Even though they are wealthy, their character becomes rotten because of uh, not having proper association. So this is a problem, that someone may have had spiritual credit from their previous birth before in a wealthy family, not have material… any material problem, but due to the present materialistic period they get sucked into all kinds of uh… uh, materialistic activities, intoxication, gambling, illicit sex, and so on… meat eating. So even though a person might have had some devotional credit, because otherwise uh… thus causing one to get that type of a pious birth. If one is born with wealth, good looks, with uh, an education or any aristocratic family. That is considered to be result of any previous pious activities of previous births, and some of the people may be devotees from their previous life.

When they come in contact with devotional service they become immediately attracted, that is the symptom that have performed devotional service in their previous life. Some people when they come, they are not so much attracted, they have to… it’s just like pulling teeth, they have… by association, they may also become devotees, but for them it is very difficult to practice the sadhana. Even people might be friends, one person may not be a devotee in the previous… another person may have done hardly any devotional service, so even though someone may have been a devotee for ten lives, and therefore been a full devotee, just always been doing something, but not very perfectly. But today they may be able to advance very rapidly, because one will take off where one leaves off, while another person who is actually having very little credit from previous lives, but then it might be more of a struggle. They have to take the mercy given by a pure devotees, and then they can also make rapid advancement, by mercy of guru and vaisnava, or even if someone is born in a good situation because of having been a devotee in the past, one has to be very careful because of course even for the short time we are in this material uh, wealthy family for instance, we may get so many bad habits, and we may adopt an enjoying attitude, which would be a impediment for in advancing in Krishna consciousness.

We should transform the enjoying attitude to one of trying to please guru and Krishna, that if guru and Krishna is satisfied, that is our enjoyment, that is our happiness. Not that our own sense uh, pleasure is the standard of happiness. Sense pleasure is actually very despicable, it is very disgusting, because the senses after all are instruments of dead matter, and only come down to the level of trying to satisfy the senses, you just become entangled more and more. It’s a very sudra mentality to want to enjoy the senses, on that type of level. We can see here the twice-born, they are concerned, always with advancing spiritually. The demons, they are also concerned with increasing their sense gratification. And the demigods of course, sometimes the demigods they also fall into the syndrome of wanting to enjoy their senses, but not at the sacrifice of their spiritual advancement, that is very rare.

Generally speaking, the demigods, they want… even if they have a few desires, but they don’t want to sacrifice their spiritual position for that sense gratification. A prime example is when the demigods and the demons were having the tug of war, the demons and the demigods both uh, were churning the ocean, and when the nectar was produced, somehow or another by tricks, the rahu he was able to get the uh… he was able to get the nectar, but… so Krishna then appeared in the form of Mohini or the beautiful form of a beautiful woman, and naturally the demons they became very attracted because they are always in a enjoying attitude, they weren’t as concerned about getting the eternal nectar, as they were with enjoying the beautiful woman, enjoying sense gratifica… but the demigods, even though they were also able to see Mohini, they were more concerned with how to get this eternal nectar. Why give up eternal nectar just because of the temp… the beauty of the a… of a… sense attraction.

Somehow or another of course, Rahu one of the demons was able to get nectar into his mouth , but the Sudarsana chakra then chopped off his head, so didn’t go down into his body, just got down to his neck. Because of that Rahu was uh, was able to survive, the head of his became eternally uh, immortalized. So of course, if there is any eclipse and uh, astrologically the Rahu and just the opposite of Rahu, the Ketu is uh, the presence of uh… this uh… these uh… Rahu demon. I heard from uh, some scientist said uh, astrologically, there is some kind of a invisible force which is in the places of Rahu and Ketu. They take it to be that there is some kind of a uh, vacuum or something produced uh, because of uh, the uh… some kind of a force produced because of the moon and the earth lining up. Others have said that there… they have recorded that there is some kind of a planet which is not visible but which uh, radio waves, they don’t bounce off the same way they had seen that there is some kind of a globe there, which is uh, not uh, fully visible but there is some kind of a body in there, we hear different things. Normally scientists do not publish their discoveries, if it doesn’t match up with the prevailing theories, if it’s too far out, then there nothing that can explain it, they just uh, they don’t tell anybody about it. There is an institute in Texas I heard, that has taken off this discoveries which nobody can explain, and this is… there are some discoveries like this which are, some of them… just out of curiosity or something… out of something… I don’t know exactly what is the purpose is, but there is supposed to be some kind of a foundation, but actually uh, maintains a list of all these discoveries, but in any case, the uh, the point I was trying to make is that how demons, they are very attracted to enjoying the senses, so much so that they completely forget about the opportunity to get a et… immortal life. If sense gratification is strong enough, then they will forget.

So we have to be very careful against this demoniac attitude. But we forget about our spiritual progress, out of the desire for enjoying comforts and sense gratification in this life. To get those things is very cheap, even you see a dog in the street… when it is a cold night, last time when it was a cold night …. You see that one corner of the barn, where all the cowherd boys had to burn up some hay or something to warm their hands, and there were the ashes there, you will see a dog go lay in the ashes.

Nice soft ashes stretching out the warm ashes of the little fire there, relaxing in great comfort. (laughter) Of course our idea of comfort may not be ashes, but well, for the dog it was a soft warm bed, and he stretched out and he was enjoying. So this idea of enjoying or just being lazy or having comfort, that’s even there in the animal species, like the bears and dogs and so on, so that’s not very glorious but to use our full energy for satisfying Krishna, not leaving any t... stone unturned to serve Krsna, that is actually glorious. Even better of course than taking birth in a… back to the other point, taking birth in the family of someone who’s wealthy, is to be born as a devotee, in the family of yogis and have the opportunity like Krishna showed what is the Vedic culture of having the parents take every spiritual uh, precaution or effort to see to the maximum spiritual benefit of the child.

But all these things require uh, continuous cultivation of spiritual life, Krishna consciousness, in this way it is possible for a human being to go back home back to Godhead. Even if you are born in a lousy family, even if you are born in some kind of a despicable situation, still by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, we can still have… there is still hope for us, don’t lose any hope. There is still hope even if someone was born in a less fortunate situation materially, by the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In other words one person may be born, just like in the race some people, they get to go up in the front, because in the previous races, they did fairly well. So they get to uh… like the Indianapolis 500, of… the winners of the previous races, they could be a in the front lines, and other people had to be behind them, but once the race begins even if you started in the back, you can move up and pass, and you run a good race, you can still come from behind and win, especially if the people in the front don’t keep the gas pedal down, right? So, that may be alright, just that… “Alright one person, they started off with a little bit of uh, an advantage from previous races, but they have to take advantage.” They cannot rest on their laurels... laurels? Laurels. They cannot rest on their laurels if they want to win.

Of course this is not that kind of competition you know. Everyone can be a winner, all you have to do is finish the race. Finish this life in Krishna consciousness, you are a winner uh, but time is the factor. We are racing against time. Time is not stopping for anyone, every breath is counted, if we miss enough time we wasted by not using any Krishna consciousness, we may not be able to have got far enough in the race of life. That when our time is up, then we may not be Krishna conscious. So we have to uh, be very careful, that whenever the final whistle blows, whenever it’s time for us to leave this body then you are actually Krishna conscious. Of course we don’t know when that is going to be. So we have to be prepared, it could be even the next second. We should think like that. “I could leave this body anytime, but anytime I should be prepared and I should be always clinging to the lotus feet of Guru and Gauranga.” In this way then at every moment we are very safe.

So we have our immediate contingency plan, where we are always keeping one or two hands clinging to the lotus feet of Nitai-Gaura. Then we have a long range program where we’re trying to purify our consciousness through Krishna consciousness, and especially the most purifying thing is to give Krishna consciousness to others in a sacrificial mood, in a… in a great sacrifice and endeavor, trying to reach as many people as possible, because even if one of those people become Krishna conscious, that alone would be enough to deliver us, even if later we have difficulties. What to speak of if we are able to bring many people to Krishna consciousness, and we ourselves become very much uh, noticed by Krishna, we can receive His special graces, and in this way we can uh, be uh, reinstated in our transcendental position very quickly.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

So this marathons are very good because that allows uh, one to really to turn up the gas for a little while, and this uh, fills up ones uh, spiritual uh, stamina, one has to be very careful of course... (Inaudible) One has to be very careful to always uh, keep up this spiritual practice simultaneously even if it’s somewhat on the run. Hare Krishna. Yes?

Question: (Inaudible)

Jayapataka Swami: Some people they have... (inaudible) causeless mercy. Some people, they previously had association,

Reply: (inaudible)

Jayapataka Swami: Not supposed to eat, drink or evacuate during the time from the touch of the sun or moon, to the time it clears. And then, normally, after eating one would take a shower. Any glasses of water into the open vessels, liquids, after the eclipse, they’re changed.

Main thing is that because it’s not a… it’s a time when a type of a… it’s inauspicious for… it’s considered astrologically inauspicious time, so to counteract that the devotees do maximum sacrifices, chant the holy names, do different types of sacrifices, bathe in the Ganges.

Question: (inaudible)

Jayapataka Swami: But they bathed, just like 5,000 years ago, when there was a solar eclipse, Krishna coming up, everyone in the entire universe, they all went to Kurukshetra and they uh, they were present there with Krishna, and then they bathed in the… in the holy waters there in the Kuruksetra.

They didn’t have the… they only had the… (inaudible) They were able to calculate.

Reply: (inaudible)

Jayapataka Swami I don’t know… (inaudible) All I know is that the Vedic calculation’ll also tell you when the eclipses are. (inaudible) There are people who are researching that, but uh, obviously it’s an observable thing, but the basic cycle between the earth and the sun and the different luminaries, this is calculable. (inaudible) Cause they’ve been doing it since the Vedic times 5000 years ago, (inaudible) of course in other things… we don’t get into this type of detailed discussions with uh… with people. Srila Prabhupada said that (inaudible) which they can see in their own life.

(inaudible) even they don’t have telescopes, but by astrological and mathematical caluculations, but the scientists say the earth is turning. But they just say that the sun is also moving. That the sun’s orbit in juxtaposition with the earth, if the sun is also moving, then other luminaries are also moving, in some way, we’re going about eachother, but those are also moving, so you get these various phenominas, which actually the scientists don’t really have an explanation of. But, they’ve figured out when the solar eclipse, and lunar eclipses are, but there’s a lot of things that they can’t explain, also. But whether you say that this one is stationary and that one is moving… even now, they’re admitting that the sun is also moving, but exactly how the sun is moving, because there’s no other luminary (inaudible) that they can use as a reference point, so in space, if something’s moving, how do you know, you know… it’s all relative.

If you sat… just like if you’re in a car, and another car is moving… like sometimes, maybe you go to the train station, and you’re actually stopped, but the other train’s taking off other way, you’d understand, “Oh, we’re moving.” So it’s relative. So there’s this movement, but the question is who is moving, at which speed? You know. The scientists say no the earth is moving and sun is stationary, but the Vedas say, no. The sun is also moving. You know, that… So this is the (inaudible)

Of course that’s where the… that’s… that’s what’s especially assigned to our Bhaktivedanta Institute, but that’s not really… it’s not individual members who are studying that. So, Sri Visnupada is building some models to show that how the modern theory of astronomy has many fallacies and that the Vedic astronomy is actually more scientifically… just like there’s an affect where stars are wiggling in the sky, which the scientists, they say it’s due to atmospheric condition, but the Vedas say there’s other… there are other causes. So these things are explained in the Vedas, but modern science, they’re just saying, “Well it’s atmosphere, you see.”

So, he’s presenting a whole report for the… for putting in our big temple in Mayapur. There’s a lot of… because what they found… they were trying to figure out, “Well what about Rahu and Ketu?” and then, there’s nothing in modern science about that, and it doesn’t always exactly match up exactly the way they say certain things when you actually go into it, but that’s when they found out that, “Well…” this other organization in Texas that kind of collects all these discoveries so they don’t… they know they can’t figure out, so they shove them under the rug, and then they’re convinced that there are… they call them black hole, or this thing. They have different like words for it. They don’t know what it is.

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Transcribed by Sadananda Krishna Prema dasa

Revised by Jagannatha dasa Brahmacari