19840522-Arrival-Address-Atlanta-Literal-Version

The following is an arrival address given by His Holiness Jayapataka Swami On May 22d, 1984 in Atlanta Georgia.

So you are all very fortunate to have the association today of Sri Vishnupad Harikesa Swami, we are all fortunate and today in the Srimad-Bhagavatam you have heard how Lord Brahma explained to his son Narada with satisfaction the science of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhagavata praha, brahma didn’t say something which was concocted by himself, was very satisfied to say exactly what he heard from Lord Vishnu Himself. In this way the transcendental science is handed down through the disciplic succession. Evam parampara praptam imam, in this way the transcendental science is received from spiritual master to disciple, spiritual master to disciple.

As we have heard that the demons have their satisfaction, we see here what is the satisfaction of the bonafide spiritual master, the satisfaction of the devotees. When they are able to repeat exactly what Krishna has said, exactly what the predecessor spiritual masters have said, they’re satisfied. The mental speculators, the atheists, they are very satisfied, when they can present their own personal idea. Even if they get the idea from the Srimad-Bhagavatam cover, they will be more satisfied if they pla… they rob it, they what do you call… they plagiarize it and present it as their own idea, that will be their satisfaction. But the devotee knows that all real knowledge ultimately is coming from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And their satisfaction is in presenting that knowledge.

Even when Srila Prabhupada was asked one time in the Tokyo airport by one person, “Where do you get all that knowledge in your books, that wisdom?” Of course, he was so happy because the boy was reading the transcendental literature, the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhagavad-gita. But the devotees never shy to give credit to his spiritual master and to Krishna. This is the difference, were the materialists are always anxious to personally get the credit. In fact the devotee is shy when he is given the credit, but Krishna arranges it that the devotee for understanding and repeating this science of God perfectly also gets glorified.

Actually the real intelligence is to understand the truth. If one is very intelligent to come up with very interesting theory which is able to bewilder or convince a great number of people, but if that theory is not correct, if it’s simply based upon one’s own false ego and speculation, then even if so many people think that’s a good idea, what is the use? There is no permanent value or whatsoever. But to understand what is the reality, what is janmady asya yathah. The source, the origin of everything, the way in which everything is created, everything is existent, annihilated or not subject to annihilation. That is real intelligence.

So, unfortunately in this present iron age people don’t have much intelligence to understand these things, just like when Prabhupada was told the first time that they are accusing the Hare Krishna movement of brainwashing, he laughed, he said “Brainwashing?” He said, “They have no brain to wash. We are giving them brain. They have got no intelligence to understand spiritual matter.” You see Vishnupada has explained from the Bhagavad-gita, they are simply interested in enjoying the senses, they don’t see anything beyond matter, sex life, they don’t see anything spiritual. So where is the question of brain, they don’t have any brain or intelligence to understand spiritual matter.

So Prabhupada was so merciful that he gave even to the so called materially intelligent people who were spiritually bankrupt, he gave them spiritual intelligence by giving them this process of Krishna Consciousness.

By chanting

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

eating Krishna prasadam and practicing Krishna Consciousness, one gets real intelligence, then one will be able to understand what is the real meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam, what are all these ten factors of… or characteristics of Bhagavatam, which take one from before the creation of the universe up to the summum bonum of life. So one should be very diligent in practicing these principle of Krishna Consciousness and then one can realize everything, stage by stage from the beginning to the summum bonum of life, to the end.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna

Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Transcribed by Bhaktin Nivetha

Revised by Jagannatha dasa Brahmacari