The following is the class given by HH Jayapataka Swami on June 4, 1990, in Atlanta. The class was given the day after the Panihati Festival. mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate girim yat-kripa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam paramananda madhvam sri caitanya isvaram tāṅra pada-dhūli lañā svagṛhe āilā nityānanda-kṛpā pāñā kṛtārtha mānilā ( CC ANTYA 6.154) After taking dust from the feet of Raghava Pandita, Raghunatha Dasa returned to his home, feeling greatly obligated to Lord Nityananda Prabhu because of having received this merciful benediction. That's very important how Raghunatha Dasa got the mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. It’s also very very significant how he felt greatly obligated to Lord Nityananda. This is actually the characteristic of a civilised person. Just like in human society if someone was given some, amongst pious people if someone had given some mercy, given something then they feel obligated. If the demons or those who are uncivilised inspite of receiving so much mercy, they don't feel any obligation. It’s called lack of compassion or mercy. Krpana, miser some people they get the mercy they do not care. They do not take it very seriously. We have seen Srila Prabhupada gave out so much mercy yet there are some who not at all appreciated. Even after getting Prabhupada's mercy they have neglected. This, don't feel any indebtedness to Srila Prabhupada in any practical sense. So this is the symptomatic or lack of civilisation, lack of piety, lack of Godliness. This makes very difficult to preach in western countries or modern world because inspite of taking vows, people don't take the vows very seriously. Sometimes they take it very lightly. We should understand this is very mystical, Prabhupada, he, once gave a lecture on shameless, so the devotees are shameless. They take vows and they don't follow, they don't care. Its shameless. The initiation vows, wedding vows, they don't, afterwards they just drop it out, they don't care. For their sense gratification, they can sacrifice anything. Here, Raghunatha Dasa he didn't take any vow but he is lifelong indebted to Nityananda Prabhu for the mercy He gave him. Eternally indebted. That's actually the system of Vedic Culture that if one gets even one syllable from the guru, that one syllable of spiritual instruction. That syllable of spiritual instruction will give one eternally benefit. Therefore one can never fully repay that for any amount of material service or gifts or reciprocation., Its simply a token that one give knowing that one remains always indebted. That's the actual consciousness of the devotees to always be feeling obligated to the spiritual master for the mercy. So we see this quality in Raghunatha Dasa. That's another reason why he is glorified. He got the mercy from Lord Nityananda and he just felt obligated, and accordingly he acted to serve Lord Nityananda and His devotees. sei haite abhyantare nā karena gamana bāhire durgā-maṇḍape yāñā karena śayana (CC Antya 6.155) From that day on, he did not go into the interior section of the house. Instead, he would sleep on the Durgā-maṇḍapa [the place where mother Durgā was worshiped]. Srila Prabhupada explained in one class , in the Bengali culture houses there was a exterior part of the house and interior part of the house. There was like a …. (Conch) Haribol!! There was a interior side of house, exterior (noise). Nitai Gaurachandra Ki Jaya!! In fact in all parts of India and still in rural place, many of the sitting place its like the so called living room or like the reception room for public. Nobody goes into the interior part of the house. People would sit down there. Even sometimes there are guests room outside and it's totally separated from the inside. Prabhupada explained that initially the interior part of the house is where the women and children would stay. Even the husbands or in joint family maybe the father and the five sons. All the women would live inside of the house and men would live in the exterior part of the house. They only go inside is to see children or something and they come out. They only sleep in inside room for the purpose of procreation. They won't sleep in the same room or something all the time. So that way they would be very regulated (background noise) and easily practice garbhodana samskara and the wife was respected as very highly not used just for sense gratification but for procreation. Great respect. So there is a interior they won't go just like that , day time they go interior but he won't even go into the interior section of the house , he just stayed outside. Even at night he slept in the exterior part of the house where he sets the Durga Mandap. Bengal Durga Mandap means that Krishna is worshipped everyday so there is a Krishna temple but Durga may not be worshipped everyday but specially these are big landlords so they had to do so many like Ambarish also did so many types of worships for different devas. So being a big landlord in Bengal, they also have to do various Pujas. So especially on Vijaya Dasmi. Before that (upto ekadashi) upto Navmi, in Bengal they do a special Durga Puja. I think it's four days which is the (break) . So that time they have a little stage, they build it so that they don’t have to make a rear open stage like for a drama. That's where they put the deity in and that's called the Durga Mandap. And then they decorate it and the time of,.. They make a Durga deity out of clay. They place Mother Durga there and worship her once a year. So rest of the year (10:12) There is also a pastime of Lord Nityananda. He went to visit the village of Ramchandra Kant who had offended Haridas Thakura by trying to offering a reward to any prostitute to make him fall down. So Ramchandra Kant was very affectionate to the Vaishnava . So he told Nityananda to (10:36) Ramchandra thought that the Durga Mandap is being polluted by Nityananda by ---- (10:40)cow dung. He was so offensive to the Vaishnavas. Then after that the Maha…… (10:54), people that supervised whether the taxes are being paid. Ramchandra cow was much smaller than Lord Nityananda’s but they also had some powers. So they came and found he was cheating his taxes and they arrested him, deluded his whole village, burnt it down and destroyed the whole place. Therefore its said that if one offends the Vaishnava not only the person who offends the Vaishnava suffers but the whole place, the whole village, whole family everyone has to suffer for the offence of one . Here is such a great offence that contaminates everybody. When there is some offence, of course, Vaishnava Aparadha is very rare but even in a temple, so many, if one of the brahmins or priests, one of the servants of the deity or someone in the community breaks the regulative principles, they find that they had illicit sex or something who were accustomed to some kind of unvaishnava activity, they would bathe the deities with milk to purify, to beg forgiveness for the offence. One of the ways of counteracting the offence. Prabhupada had (12:32) I forget the details. Now in mayapur we bathe deities everyday with Panchamrita tāṅhā jāgi’ rahe saba rakṣaka-gaṇa palāite karena nānā upāya cintana (CC Antya 6.156) There, however, the watchmen alertly kept guard. Raghunātha dāsa was thinking of various means by which to escape their vigilance. hena-kāle gauḍa-deśera saba bhakta-gaṇa prabhure dekhite nīlācale karilā gamana (CC Antya 6.157) At that time, all the devotees of Bengal were going to Jagannath Puri to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu tāṅ-sabāra saṅge raghunātha yāite nā pāre prasiddha prakaṭa saṅga, tabahiṅ dharā paḍe (CC Antya 6.158) Raghunātha dāsa could not accompany them, for they were so famous that he would have been caught immediately. ei-mata cintite daive eka-dine bāhire devī-maṇḍape kariyāchena śayane daṇḍa-cāri rātri yabe āche avaśeṣa yadunandana-ācārya tabe karilā praveśa (CC Antya 6.159-6.160) Thus Raghunātha dāsa thought deeply about how to escape, and one night while he was sleeping on the Durgā-maṇḍapa, the priest Yadunandana Ācārya entered the house when only four daṇḍas remained until the end of the night. vāsudeva-dattera teṅha haya ‘anugṛhīta’ raghunāthera ‘guru’ teṅho haya ‘purohita’ (CC Antya 1.161) Yadunandana Ācārya was the priest and spiritual master of Raghunātha dāsa. Although born in a brāhmaṇa family, he had accepted the mercy of Vāsudeva Datta. Purport- Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that although the atheists who have deviated from the order of Śrī Advaita Ācārya introduce themselves as followers of Advaita Ācārya, they do not accept Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Yadunandana Ācārya, one of the most confidential followers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was the initiated disciple of Advaita Ācārya. He was not polluted by sentimental distinctions classifying Vaiṣṇavas according to birth. Therefore, although Vāsudeva Datta had not been born in a brāhmaṇa family, Yadunandana Ācārya also accepted Vasudeva Datta as his spiritual master. Must be Vasudeva Datta was like the siksha guru. Diksha guru was Advaita Acharya. (Break) Purohit is like the family guru who does the all the, like the Brahmin who does all the rites on behalf of his disciples. Sometimes maybe for a family or maybe for a yajna, say that someone has a private temple and they want a Brahmin to worship there so they arrange for the Brahmin to give him some --- (16:48), some daksina and he worships the deities on behalf of the family. That Brahmin is considered as purohit. He is acting on behalf of someone else. He is serving the deities but the deities are not his personal deities. (break) In Bangladesh, there is a temple of a Brahmana. This temple was established hundred years ago so there is one vaishshya and he made a ------(17:45)---system of sevaite . The property is put under the name of deity and he made the sevaite of the deity or the trustee who manages the diety , property on behalf of the deity is his descendents, is called the sevaite. Then there being the vaishyas they were doing buissness and other things, they have one Brahmin who does the deity worship and he is considered as purohit. That’s one of the meanings of purohit. You can say that… maybe different explanations. But here it says that not only was Yadunanadan Acharya was the purohit or the priest but also he was accepted as guru by Raghunatha dasa. The other point, in that time, Brahmin, the caste consciousness was very strong so much so that if someone was just, someone just spit in a glass of water and threw some water on someone, then they were considered converted to muslims, they were outcaste. So that was so easy that people ---(19:02)-that’s why today there is twenty percent of muslims in India but their real problem was because the Brahmin they were saying that once it happens you are out. You lost your Hinduism. You lost your caste forever. There was like, No You could get it back. One of the Buddhimant khan, he approached the Brahmins and asked how can I get back. He just said you take some hot ghee. You take ghee and you boil it, you drink some two kilos (laughter). He said but I will die. Ya but the next birth you take as hindu. So this way, so many they were not prepared to take the ghee treatment (laughter). So they remained the outcaste so they said we are muslims now what to do. (laughter). It was the most amazing kind of conversion. So they went to …(20:22) reality. Just because of this caste consciousness. Of course, one of the saintly person, they approached Lord Chaitanya how can I get purified, someone spit on me I am an outcaste. He said you chant ‘Hare Krishna’ three times, it will be alright. So here Vasudeva Dutta although he was not born in a Brahmin family but because he was a pure Vaishnava even Yadunanadan Acharya, he was obviously the pure devotee. He didn’t have all this, any kind of jati buddhi. In the Puranas, it states that if someone thinks that a Vaishnava is coming from some particular jata, a particular caste, that’s actually a hellish mentality. Jati buddhi. Vaishnava jati buddhi nahi. Guru naha …(21:20)… one thinks Guru as ordinary human being , if one thinks the deity is made out of stone. If one thinks that one’s (break) all these things are. (aside ) These are hellish mentalities. So Vasudeva Dutta was very broad minded Vaishnava. (excuse) Yadunanada Acharya because when he found that Vasudeva Dutta was a pure Vaishnava , pure devotee he didn’t care what people would think or what their caste was. Vaishnava is transcendental to all these things. He took the, accepted Vasudeva Dutta as his guru. advaita-ācāryera teṅha ‘śiṣya antaraṅga’ ācārya-ājñāte māne — caitanya ‘prāṇa-dhana’ (CC Antya 6.162) Yadunandana Ācārya had been officially initiated by Advaita Ācārya. Thus he considered Lord Caitanya his life and soul. aṅgane āsiyā teṅho yabe dāṇḍāilā raghunātha āsi’ tabe daṇḍavat kailā (CC Antya 6.163) When Yadunandana Ācārya entered the house of Raghunātha dāsa and stood in the courtyard, Raghunātha dāsa went there and fell down to offer his obeisances. tāṅra eka śiṣya tāṅra ṭhākurera sevā kare sevā chāḍiyāche, tāre sādhibāra tare (CC Antya 6.164) One of Yadunandana Ācārya’s disciples had been worshiping the Deity but had left that service. Yadunandana Ācārya wanted Raghunātha dāsa to induce the disciple to take up that service again. raghunāthe kahe, — “tāre karaha sādhana sevā yena kare, āra nāhika brāhmaṇa”(CC Antya 6.165) Yadunandana Ācārya requested Raghunātha dāsa, “Please induce the brāhmaṇa to resume the service, for there is no other brāhmaṇa to do it.” So, even time of Lord Chaitanya there were devotees who were…. (23:50), devotees who were giving up their responsibility. Putting the guru into (23:58), Yadunandan , he had to see that the deity was worshipped for his disciple may give up the worship of the deity. He left the service. So then its natural that one of the other God brothers of the fallen disciple, irresponsible disciple should go in also preached to that disciple and get him on the right track. So Yadunandan Acharya was requesting Raghunatha Dasa to find that devotee and preach to him to take up the devotional service again. (Break) (Background noise ) 9:13.. (laughter) 9.30, we have to take grains otherwise, .. 9.13….. by 9:13, some grains here After saying this, Yadunandana Ācārya took Raghunātha dāsa with him and went out. By that time all the watchmen were deeply asleep because it was the end of the night. ācāryera ghara ihāra pūrva-diśāte kahite śunite duṅhe cale sei pathe (CC Antya 6.167) East of the house of Raghunātha dāsa was the house of Yadunandana Ācārya. Yadunandana Ācārya and Raghunātha dāsa talked together as they went toward that house. ardha-pathe raghunātha kahe gurura caraṇe “āmi sei vipre sādhi’ pāṭhāimu tomā sthāne (CC Antya 6.168) Halfway along the path, Raghunātha dāsa submitted at the lotus feet of his spiritual master, “I shall go to the home of that brāhmaṇa, induce him to return, and send him to your home. tumi sukhe ghare yāha — more ājñā haya” ei chale ājñā māgi’ karilā niścaya (CC Antya 6.169) “You may go home without anxiety. Following your order, I shall persuade the brāhmaṇa.” On this plea, after asking permission, he decided to go away. “sevaka rakṣaka āra keha nāhi saṅge palāite āmāra bhāla eita prasaṅge” (CC Antya 6.170) Raghunātha dāsa thought, “This is the greatest opportunity to go away because this time there are no servants or watchmen with me.” eta cinti’ pūrva-mukhe karilā gamana ulaṭiyā cāhe pāche, — nāhi kona jana (CC Antya 6.171) Thinking in this way, he quickly proceeded toward the east. Sometimes he turned around and looked back, but no one was following him. śrī-caitanya-nityānanda-caraṇa cintiyā patha chāḍi’ upapathe yāyena dhāñā (CC Antya 6.172) Thinking of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, he left the general path and proceeded with great haste on the one not generally used. grāme-grāmera patha chāḍi’ yāya vane vane kāya-mano-vākye cinte caitanya-caraṇe ( CC Antya 6.173) Giving up the general path from village to village, he passed through the jungles, thinking with heart and soul about the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. pañca-daśa-krośa-patha cali’ gelā eka-dine sandhyā-kāle rahilā eka gopera bāthāne (CC Antya 6.174) Walking about thirty miles in one day, and in the evening he took rest in the cowshed of a milkman. By walk. Putting altogether he walked 15-20 kms a day, which is about five to ten miles. He walked thirty miles. He is very enthusiastic. To get to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This time he knew how he had to stay, he head to east. Here Lord Chaitanya is in Jagannath Puri which is southwest of where adisaptak gram (29:04) is, Raghunatha dasa’s house. Raghunatha dasa goes in the complete opposite direction, east, thirty miles towards Bangladesh. And he is going completely different way so they can forget where is he going. An --- tactic. upavāsī dekhi’ gopa dugdha āni’ dilā sei dugdha pāna kari’ paḍiyā rahilā (CC Antya 6.175) When the milkman saw that Raghunātha dāsa was fasting, he gave him some milk. Raghunātha dāsa drank the milk and lay down to rest there for the night. ethā tāṅra sevaka rakṣaka tāṅre nā dekhiyā tāṅra guru-pāśe vārtā puchilena giyā (CC Antya 6.176) At the house of Raghunātha dāsa, the servant and watchman, not seeing him there, immediately went to inquire about him from his spiritual master, Yadunandana Ācārya. teṅha kahe, ‘ājñā māgi’ gelā nija-ghara’ ‘palāila raghunātha’ — uṭhila kolāhala ( CC Antya 6.177) Yadunandana Ācārya said, “He has already asked my permission and returned home.” Thus there arose a tumultuous sound, as everyone cried, “Now Raghunātha has gone away!” Raghunatha has gone away!!! tāṅra pitā kahe, — “gauḍera saba bhakta-gaṇa prabhu-sthāne nīlācale karilā gamana ( CC Antya 6.178) Raghunātha dāsa’s father said, “Now all the devotees from Bengal have gone to Jagannātha Purī to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. sei-saṅge raghunātha gela palāñā daśa jana yāha, tāre ānaha dhariyā” “Raghunātha dāsa has fled with them. Ten men should immediately go catch him and bring him back.” (he wasn’t so foolish) śivānande patrī dila vinaya kariyā ‘āmāra putrere tumi dibā bāhuḍiyā’ Raghunātha dāsa’s father wrote a letter to Śivānanda Sena, asking him with great humility, “Please return my son.” jhāṅkarā paryanta gela sei daśa jane jhāṅkarāte pāila giyā vaiṣṇavera gaṇe In Jhāṅkarā, the ten men caught up with the group of Vaiṣṇavas going to Nīlācala. patrī diyā śivānande vārtā puchila śivānanda kahe, — ‘teṅha ethā nā āila’ After delivering the letter, the men inquired from Śivānanda Sena about Raghunātha dāsa, but Śivānanda Sena replied, “He did not come here.” bāhuḍiyā sei daśa jana āila ghara tāṅra mātā-pitā ha-ila cintita antara The ten men returned home, and Raghunātha dāsa’s father and mother were filled with anxiety. ethā raghunātha-dāsa prabhāte uṭhiyā pūrva-mukha chāḍi’ cale dakṣiṇa-mukha hañā Raghunātha dāsa, who had been resting at the milkman’s house, got up early in the morning. Instead of going to the east, he turned his face south and proceeded. (Aside). 25-30. roughly, I am just guessing. Devotee- How old Raghunatha dasa was at this time? Guru Maharaja- He had young wife. And he was taking sannyasa. Maybe twenty five, somewhere, he was not old. He had children but he was already married. Wife like an apsara in the previous birth. -----(33:16)He wanted to just join Chaitanya mahaprabhu. (Break) He went east for thirty miles. Now he is going towards south. Direct path is going straight southeast but he is going thirty miles off the path. chatrabhoga pāra hañā chāḍiyā sarāṇa kugrāma diyā diyā karila prayāṇa He crossed Chatrabhoga, but instead of going on the general path, he proceeded on the path that went from village to village. Chatrabhoga, known now as Chāḍa-khāḍi, is in the district of Twenty-four Parganas in West Bengal. It is situated near the celebrated village Jayanagara-majilapura. Formerly the Ganges or some of its branches flowed through this region. Sometimes Chatrabhoga is misunderstood to have been a village on the river Kāṅsāi-nadī in Benāpola. He went to see this Chatrabhoga . Also Lord Chaitanya went to Chatrabhoga, crossing, This was the main place of crossing the river from Bengal to bindapur. Crossed the Ganges to bindapur. That time was for the route…… (34:57) part of orrisa actually. There is a river—(35:03)--- which has come flow from the Ganges and from that it explains that Lord Chaitanya went upto that river and he was still within the Orrisan kingdom of Prataparuda, crossing over that he entered into the mahamilan, kingdom of the emperor Hussain Shah. Today Orrisa is still ---- further especially in the wars they push back, they capture some of the area from the orrisan king but he never got even upto Yamuna. But this time, this was the transfer point, Chatrabhoga. In this Chatrabhoga even today there is a lotus foot print of Lord Chaitanya established. He also crossed. Chatrabhoga has many temples there. Jayanagara is famous because they make half rice sweetballs. Jayanagara …(36:22)… puffed rice, its not like popcorn, they pop the rice and then they make balls out of it. They had nice claypots. They sell over Bengal. They are famous. Jayanagar clay pots. Its the famous, very old village celebrated. Round about twenty four (36:54)----- this way that way, going by the side of ----–(37:00), the tigers, even today the famous Indian tiger is reserved there in twenty four…(37:05)……….. hundreds of tigers. The royal tiger of Bengal, the biggest cat in the world. Twelve feet long. (37:19)…………….. (aside) laughter.. Ten to twelve feet. Usually, you can find here, seven eight feet is like a common small. They are very big. Bigger than that. (38:08)---------Over the Ganges, Jayanagara, Chatrabhoga, cross over, then he was (break) going to the other kingdom. There was no passport in those days. You could go from one place to the next but of course when you cross over from one kingdom to next then the king’s people, the government people they require some special pass otherwise (38:47)…………… ordinary brahmins they could go freely anywhere. They didn’t have to.. kabhu carvaṇa, kabhu randhana, kabhu dugdha-pāna yabe yei mile, tāhe rākhe nija prāṇa Sometimes he chewed fried grains, sometimes he cooked, and sometimes he drank milk. In this way he kept his life and soul together with whatever was available wherever he went. bāra dine cali’ gelā śrī-puruṣottama pathe tina-dina mātra karilā bhojana He reached Jagannātha Purī in twelve days but could only eat for three days on the way. Its about five hundred miles from Jagannatha Puri that means about five hundred km which is like the average. Almost 30 miles a day, everyday , walking, running to go to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. svarūpādi-saha gosāñi āchena vasiyā hena-kāle raghunātha milila āsiyā When Raghunātha dāsa met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord was sitting with His companions, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara. aṅganete dūre rahi’ karena praṇipāta mukunda-datta kahe, — ‘ei āila raghunātha’ Staying at a distant place in the courtyard, he fell down to offer obeisances. Then Mukunda Datta said, “Here is Raghunātha.” prabhu kahena, — ‘āisa’, teṅho dharilā caraṇa uṭhi’ prabhu kṛpāya tāṅre kailā āliṅgana As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard these words, He immediately welcomed Raghunātha dāsa. “Come here,” He said. Raghunātha dāsa then clasped the lotus feet of the Lord, but the Lord stood up and embraced him out of His causeless mercy. svarūpādi saba bhaktera caraṇa vandilā prabhu-kṛpā dekhi’ sabe āliṅgana kailā Raghunātha dāsa offered prayers at the lotus feet of all the devotees, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. Seeing the special mercy Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had bestowed upon Raghunātha dāsa, they embraced him also. prabhu kahe, — “kṛṣṇa-kṛpā baliṣṭha sabā haite tomāre kāḍila viṣaya-viṣṭhā-garta haite” Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “The mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa is stronger than anything else. Therefore the Lord has delivered you from the ditch of materialistic life, which is like a hole into which people pass stool.” PURPORT: According to the law of karma, everyone is destined to suffer or enjoy according to a certain material standard, but the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa is so powerful that the Lord can change all the reactions of one’s past karma, or fruitive activities. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu specifically drew attention to the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That mercy is more powerful than anything else, for it had saved Raghunātha dāsa from the strong bondage of materialistic life, which the Lord compared to a hole where people pass stool. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave His verdict that those addicted to the materialistic way of life are like worms that are living in stool but cannot give it up. A gṛha-vrata,one who has decided to live in a comfortable home although it is actually miserable, is in a condemned position. Only the mercy of Kṛṣṇa can save one from such misery. Without Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, one cannot get out of the filthy entanglement of materialistic life. The poor living entity cannot give up his materialistic position on his own; only when granted the special mercy of Kṛṣṇa can he give it up. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew very well that Raghunātha dāsa was already liberated. Nevertheless, He emphasized that Raghunātha dāsa’s life of material comfort as a very rich man’s son with a very beautiful wife and many servants to attend him was like a ditch of stool. The Lord thus specifically indicated that ordinary men who are very happy with material comforts and family life are in no better position than worms in stool. (Break) I don’t know in the west, here how many of you have the experience of worms in stool. Or what a open hole is like with the worms in stool. In Mayapur recently we had a personal experience because initially when we lived in the grass hut for two years, the bathroom was beginning with the hole on the ground about ten feet deep, two and a half feet wide then next to that there was a bathroom built with the slide for the excrement to go down to the hole where we accumulate. It was not a septic arrangement; it was a natural, what you can call a ‘dark well stool house’. So sometimes we had to inspect that the hole wasn’t overflooding or anything. We would find that after sometime in that well which is cumulated filled with stool the white maggot type lice, I don’t know lice or , maggot type worm, white worms they would be calling and the place would be filled . You wouldn’t see any stool , you would just see the worms. See the crawling over one another. And then these worms would be sliding out of the sink, wanting to get out. And they crawl up but it would be so slippery and moist and dark they crawl out for about the half way and then they (boom), go back down. In other words the worm has its own couldn’t cross out of their own hole, they try to get out always to the top crawling one worm over the other’s body, over the other’s body and over the other body and getting to the topmost second and then the whole thing is just warming, slimy, worm piled and again it falls down. Its said that like comparative worms in the stool have been used many times for explaining how even coming up to political posts sometimes is like that. Someone gets to the top little bit ‘ Ya Ya I Am the worm in the pot !! (laughter) back down into the pit. In other words--------(46:26)but then someone is already crawling on his back. So even in time to be the president for four years is like crawling like the little worm in a --------. Some next four years later someone else would be there. So material life from the transcendental point of view even some little comfort got well, because so much suffering is there and what is the standard? even the worm they maybe happy to live there. Their food is stool. They are living in stool. That means you didn’t like you know, for them it’s like an ocean of edibles but from any objective point of view this is the most hellish existence. Its disgusting. But for a worm as they are like, they think this is great. But even if some worm decides that I want to get out of this hellish place, he try to come out he can’t get out. There is no way to get out on your own. If he wants to get out, someone can stick down and you can crawl over it and to lift him out. Otherwise on your own it’s hopeless. You are just crawling down on top of the other worm but there is no way to get out. So this whole material world is temporary. It’s based on sense gratification. Whether it’s a worm or whether it’s Indira, sense gratification is not the basis of happiness. Of transcendental happiness. It’s just a sense gratification. You are trying to enjoy through the senses. But if someone thinks that by my senses I am going to be happy that person is living in the garbage. We should understand that real happiness is in Krishna Consciousness. We should be completely disgusted, hopeless that there is no happiness in this material world. The material world is the dark world. With that determination, can one puzzles unnecessarily, try to increase the material comforts and happiness whatever the---- (48:53) be, the Brahmana’s, Chanakya Pandit was the prime minister of emperor Chandragupta. He is even mentioned in the Bhagavatam twelfth canto. Prediction is there in twelfth, I think twelfth only and when he was offered the primeministership of the biggest emperor who practically had conquered the whole of India. He said that I don’t want any opulent palace. I don’t want any…. I won’t accept any salary. I am a Brahmana. I will live in a grass hut. And I advice you for the welfare of the whole kingdom, people’s upliftment but I don’t want--------- (49:40), some chappatis, some vegetable, some fruit and I offer to my deity, my Saligram Sila and I eat. Even a grass hut, not in your palace, I don’t need anything. I wake up at one o clock. I don’t want all these servants and all. Its simply illusion. So that was, Chanakya was a grhastha. He lived in his grass hut with his wife, his children. He was the most powerful-------. He was the real -----(50:10) behind the king. He was the one, was the kings arms . He was the one who was controlling the whole place by his intelligence the whole kingdom was running. So this was brahaminical culture that there were brahmins, that were detached. They were situated in the mode of goodness and the Vaishnavas were transcendentally situated. They even, they were detached from the things in mode of goodness. Everything they used for Krishna. So this brahminical culture was considered the most worshippable thing in the vedic culture. But today in modern world brahminical culture no one considers. If you don’t have a big house then you are considered as dumb, if someone lives in a grass hut they think they are poor people. When in Namhatta preachings we go on our tour, then they are about twenty devotees, (51:16) from the gurukul, they are surprised in grass hut they are feeding the devotees twenty preparations in feast. They have so many vegetables. They have rice, they have dal,, they have wheat. They cooked the huge feast for the devotees. One chance of lifetime. When will they get the chance of twenty devotees coming from all over the world to their remote village so they gave everything they had. Cooked a wonderful feast for initiated devotees. They cooked in a grass hut. One after another. Its like a Janmashtmi feast or something. Eight- ten vegetables, two three dals, eight ten sweets, they have opulence. But the opulence is in the mode of goodness. So this is not understood like there is a multi millionare, they have a big grass hut but he prefer. He says it is much better. The sun radiates and it becomes hot and the thick mud wall, this is a very good insulation. Inside is very cool. In the hot weather, in summer. In the winter, its very warm, the thick grass roof ,its also a very good insulation. So especially for that time a person in cold climate may be different but that kind of climate is more comfortable. Whatever the house is, the person thinks that this house is going to be my enjoyment, then that’s a dark well. So more culture of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Vairagya vidya. Nija bhakti yoga. Perform devotional service and be detached due to transcendental knowledge and understanding. But, the devotees are --- (53:21) ,they are living in a dark well. They may think that they have a big house, big car whatever. But actually they are suffering so many inconveniences due to material existence. You cannot avoid it. So many anxieties. And their happiness is based on sense gratification. They are not having any transcendental bliss. Actually they are like a dark, well, like a worm in the well. But sometimes even devotees who are more better, they know all these things but due to imitating the karmis, due to trying to keep up with the (54:01), whatever, they think that this is the kind of life we should have. They are trying to imitate the same thing. They are not very careful about daily attending temple programs and daily chanting Hare Krishna and doing everything in devotional service. They start to become—-- (54:23)vaishnavas, almost vaishnavas. They think that they do some devotional service but their happiness but they actually think this world is needed to make them happy is some material comforts and that becomes the primary endeavour. How to get money, how to get comfortable thing, how to – that becomes the not for sustenance. Its like sometimes people say we live to eat or eat to live. Are you living to be comfortable or you are just working so that you can exist? Actually the purpose in Krishna Consciousness is you take whatever you need and do your devotional service. But sometimes due to the whole environment in the ocean of worms here, ocean, big well like an ocean. Everyone is got their dark well. They are all trying to be happy in material sense gratification but only Krishna Consciousness; we can see its openly preaching that this material existence is not the goal of life. Although its there in all the scriptures but who is educating the people about it. So then when one gets lost in this well, when they get into that type of rat race, into that type of situation, they can’t get out. Even rat race ,that concept is there, once you are in , you can’t get out like a little rat its running in the cage, it goes to the wheel, trying to run across to get out. But the real disease is sitting around. ---- (56:10) When I was a little boy we would see it running around the wheel (sound) and we would like but this keeps spitting doesn’t get anywhere. But he keeps ---- , he is going to get out in a minute. Then he realise the whole wheel is spinning. Who didn’t take the grains yet? Devotee- its late by an hour (57:00-57:32) I just saw my watch here, twelve seconds left! (laughter) Break. I remember there was one grhastha couple and the wife had run off with some other man and the husband was very upset and went to Srila Prabhupada and said I want to take sannyasa. I understood now that material life is frustration. So Prabhupada accepted. Its like a two cases like this. And immediately held a yajna in mayapur. Next time, you know they were standing with dandas, they were sannyasis. Of course, they had really prepared themselves. They had thoroughly detached themselves. Although they tried but unfortunately after sometime the sannyasis didn’t make it all the way. Because they didn’t stay strictly in that… again tried to have comfortable situation. They didn’t accept whatever Krishna gives. Sometimes you are in comfort, sometimes you are in hardships. Whatever Krishna provides you just, sanyasis of course,…Previous times the sannyasis used to live in forest. Now they live in temples. Sometimes in temples there are facilities , sometimes no facility. Sometimes you are in a wood, in the travelling sankirtan party, for taking shower, taking a bucket, a lota , sometimes we got hot and cold running water but the you need a , renunciants they always take cool showers. So, take whatever comes, don’t endeavour unnecessarily for comfort. Actually Prabhupada accepted it, this was a reasonable reason. Someone is totally virakti. Virakti means,, see the sannyasi is like total renunciation. Virakti means feeling disgusted , fed up, detached, vairagya but that has to be properly applied in devotional service. Actually one should realise that this material life is not the source of happiness but if somehow if a person got into that mentality that he can be happy due to material life and then they realise Oh! this is not the source of real happiness. Then they can take the impetus opportunity that Krishna is giving the mercy that they can fully again get absorbed whether as a sannayasi or whether as a properly situated devotee, there is no set..- whatever, I shouldn’t compromise. Actually Prabhupada said that if someone is fully Krishna Conscious that there is no doubt that they go back to Godhead. For one who take ----(1:01:05) for the whole life there is no doubt. But if one takes the grhastha life there is fifty percent chance that they won’t make it. Because the maya is such that the ‘grha’, retired, (sutapta) they will start getting into this thing. Whole of life have a bigger house, have a bigger car, have more money after this after that never end. They have a licence to have all these things. Renunciants doesn’t have the licence so he goes even one inch everyone will follow, grhastha has the licence. They have to control themselves how much to work for what is the limit what is the necessity. Of course, that why Prabhupada was merciful he said that no other guru in our sampradaya has allowed grihasthas to live in temple community like this. He said that all of them are ‘math’ . So all the people are renunciants. All the grihasthas are living outside. Living outside India is one thing but in a grass hut you can live but in western world as soon as you live outside you have to work so hard to have more people looking job, looking day and night and this……… You see so often once the devotees work out , they are lucky if they can come once a week for the Sunday feast. When you live in the community there is the opportunity to come everyday. People don’t take that opportunity that’s a great misfortune for them. What is the use of living in the temple community where you can have daily sadhna bhakti and one doesn’t take it. So Prabhupada he was giving us special mercy like in Mayapur. He said this is the Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir . All other are the Gaudiya math, Chaitanya math. ‘math’ means only the renounced people. Sannyasis, bramacharis and maybe some widows. Matha, no couples can live. But this is a mandir. Mandir, temple you can also have like so many temples have priests, husband and wife are living. So like this but this is , one should be careful for the purpose of serving Radha Madhava , Lord Chaitanya in Mayapur, this was the standard. So Prabhupada wanted some brahmanas wanted some Vaishnavas who would be dedicated to cultivating their God Consciousness. That’s the biggest problem. Especially the whole American system is meant everyone should work hard and enjoy more. So somehow Raghunatha dasa when he was born, he was already having a golden spoon in his mouth. He had everything but his parents they thought that this was the goal of life. They couldn’t understand why his son would wander away with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he is chanting with Lord Chaitanya with all his associates in Jagannatha Puri. When he had such a nice house with so many servants and everything he wanted, they couldn’t understand why he would want to go and join Lord Chaitanya. You worship in your house that’s alright. One day you can kirtan at night or something. That was their understanding. They were devotees but Lord Chaitanya called them as Vaishnava-(1:04:46)-------. They were devotees. They were having tilak, they were having daily Bhagavatam class in evening, they were walking around with their bead bags and things but actually they were not thinking, this was their real happiness. They were very attached to their material thing. There is a whole difference from say Pundarika Vidyanidhi who had, he was a landlord, he had… he was completely detached from all these material things. He just put a show on to do his job but he was completely absorbed in Krishna consciousness. No attachment for these things. For … (1:05:28)Family they were considered as Vaishnava by Lord Chaitanya. They were almost Vaishnavas but they were not fixed up in pure devotional service. They were too attached to the other things. So they are holding on. That’s why they thought that all these things won’t be happy. Whereas devotees like Pundarika Vidyanidhi, he had things and he used them in Krishna’s service without his, it didn’t make any difference to him. He showed that on different occasion. He thought that Krishna gave it so why misuse it so he used it. He was also born as a son of great landlord, Brahmana famiily. He didn’t , he wasn’t attached. He used it for going to Lord Chaitanya. Going to Navadwip. He is always giving discourses on Krishna consciousness. But that lifestyle didn’t affect him. He was already in the transcendental position. (1:06:38) -----------------------------------------, lifestyle may also affect someone so one has to be very careful to stricty follow the regular sadhna and everything. And sometimes devotees they usually realise that somethings are really useful for devotional service, whats the use of saying just for having a comfortable life there is no use, what is this discomfort so much suffering you have to suffer so much to get comfort, you strive to work endeavour to get so called comfort. Its not the highest understanding actually. If someone is really intelligent , Krishna gives mercy they can see that I should simplify my whole existence and engage fully in devotional service. That’s where one feels—that’s where one feels peace, that’s where one feels ecstacy that’s where one actually having a little transcendental bliss is wonderfully absorbed in devotional service. Otherwise material life is so delicate. Its like the lotus leaf on the water. That bead of water on the lotus….. …. (1:07:45). one minute everything seems alright and next minute everything is just like a hurricane. You just tossed around and you don’t know what’s going to happen from one second to the next. This is the material life, so how we can build a permanent foundation on such a quick sand base but this is the illusion maya gives, you have to be happy. You have to make this arrangement, that arrangement. Illusion, maya. There is no such arrangement you can make to be happy in this material world. And the real devotee, whatever ashram he may be in, he knows that there is zero possibility of being happy simply by this material arrangement. The only happiness that one can actually hold on to permanently which is the real happiness is Krishna consciousness. Thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Jaya!! Any questions?? Yes!! Pardon? You would like to continue the reading? Its late otherwise I would . (aside) You liked the class.? We will continue tomorrow. Devotees- Jaya! Guru Maharaja- Any other questions? Devotee- --- (1:09:33) Was he considered a Brahmana or Vaishnava? Guru maharaja- Srila Prabhupada said basically he was more like a Brahmana. Brahmanas would also worship saligram. But he was not considered specifically like a pure Vaishnava as such. But like a very ethical brahamana. But as a Brahmana he was also worshipping Vishnu. Devotee- But he knew how he ------ ?(1:10:05) Guru maharaja- Ya, He was the.. just like Dronacharya was a Brahmana but he was teaching the military arm so Chanakya was a Brahmana but here his teacher…… (1:10:15) was a teacher. But he was an expert from political sides. In fact he wrote many books on economy, arthasastra, how to run a kingdom, economically how the people can be prosperous, everything he wrote. Srila Prabhupada also said he was a very great moralist. He would give many moral instructions. A very moral person. Chanakya sayings are so called all over India. His book on government and administration or the arthasastra. How to choose and who should be a good minister for the king. How to set up the kingdom? What should be the administration?. How many ministries you require? How many departments? How the, , what to do if someone, even if …(1:11:15)………. It’s like a running commentary on manusamhita or vishvas teachings on Mahabharata.. Prabhupada kind of condensed thing and put them into one thing. He even gave how the king should judge even if somebody steals the money from someone else and he should pay the ---(1:11:35)---, he should be… or he should even pay the person eight times. Eight time per------ he had the capacity. -----------------------first put him in jail, … them eight times and then…. (1:11:50) Break. What to do if all they say, in marital problems if something happens. What was the king supposed to decide in what circumstances, all codes are given. Don’t have to take it to the Supreme court all the time. This time they change this time what to do this way, next time that way. According to the sastras, if this thing happens its like this. You should decide like that. Supreme court is already there in the scriptures and the great sages. The king didnt have to tax their brain too much because already the codes were well defined. They simply have to apply which circumstance actually does this fit. What should be the decision that’s already known. Everyone knows. So he gave so many things like that. He also said if a person is not God conscious is not a Vaishnava. You cannot depend on him. He is not believing in God. Yes? Devotee- Krishna says that my devotee when he does service, whatever he does I will take care.. is not the karma, because of my karma I have to go out and work .. (not clear) 1:14:00) Guru Maharaja- well, Prabhupada explained that it doesn’t mean sit there and Krishna will bring anything but the point is you should do your duty for Krishna. You do what you are doing for Krishna and then Krishna will fulfil his obligation to you whatever his promise is to you, not obligation but its his promise. A devotee does his duty, it’s like a guru, Prabhupada has instructed that you do this service, do this, preach Krishna consciousness more so you work , you give in this way. People may say how will I survive, how will I do. Krishna is saying I will give you what you need. You have to work. Not that we don’t work. We have to work according to what Prabhupada has said. Someone may contemplate by working like that I may never get that. That’s not the question is, depending on Krishna and Prabhupada… (break) Yes? Devotee- -----------household life is like a well (not clear)- 1:15:30, so how to understand this prediction? How to --- well?------------- there are grihasthas who donot perform Garbhodana samskara and their offspring….. ?(not clear) (Break) Guru Maharaja- The first point is that if one artificially leaves the house then that’s also against regulative principles. That also is a kind of disturbance. The Lords Chaitanya’s teachings is the vairagya vidhya. One should use everything in the service of Krishna so in this one sense Raghunatha dasa is running away. Many times people their actually intention might be I want to be happy. They are having some material anxiety so that want to renounce the family. Too much headache, maintain the family, kids… -(1:17:45)------------- But that’s the only impetus, negative impetus. They have not actually developed the strong attachment for Krishna. Then what happens is that once things cool down then again they start forgetting the sufferings of material life and they think that its going to be hunky-----, its going to be great again when I go back. Whole material world starts to look better due to our forgetful nature. So that’s considered type of negative or dry renunciation. Lord Chaitanya didn’t want people to just renounce artificially. If someone really realise, on one hand material life is a dark well and on the other hand they have developed positive attraction for Krishna consciousness, then it’s quite natural that they leave the dark well and peacefully engage in devotional service. They don’t look back. If they are going to continue thinking that I was happy at that moment, that second I really liked it. Maybe I can be happy again. It didn’t work out because this thing wasn’t right, that thing wasn’t right. Again in the future I can make some arrangement. It will be right. Don’t worry. So that means one’s mind is not fixed yet in the real vairagya vidya. So therefore, it’s not appropriate for that person to enter the renounced order of life. This we have seen that some people the moment they took sannyasa, they were not prepared. Later they weren’t able to maintain that virakti bhava, the renounced mood. Because of not fully realising that--- not having positive attraction to Krishna consciousness, not strong. So, Lord Chaitanya, he wouldn’t be ready, he knew that.,, not that there was a contradiction. That was not a real contradiction nut they realise that you come to the point of actually realising that this is the dark well. You should leave it if you are still thinking that you know forced , nice parents and all---- if you are not seeing the dark well then don’t leave it. And just seeing it as a dark well and not actually attracted to Krishna consciousness, then leaving that you are in more dark anyway. So both the way. One has a very strong renounced feeling, he can get out or if one has, better than that is to have simultaneously a very strong attachment for the Lord. So Lord Chaitanya didn’t want to accept someone running and saying I wanted to join you. He said you practice in your house, you could use anything for Krishna. Practically he could use everything for Krishna. Why he is not using his own property which is Lords property. They are not hundred present Krishna consciousness. They have so many other. They were called as Krishna conscious, they were Vaishnava but they weren’t ready to use everything. They had so many other, they had little bit other interest, they used something for Krishna. Wasn’t all better. It was ninety percent, eighty percent, I don’t know what to say but some percent. So Raghunatha dasa he used it to make festivals where hundreds and thousands of people he gave donations, he supported Vaishnavas, he used everything. By serving the Vaishnavas he got the mercy—you don’t need to do this, so much other things he had to do, he had to use his energy to his uncle who was stealing tax money from the emperor, he had to get him saved, he had to do so many other things. Not that just he could devotional service. To run that, the business of being a landlord, he had to do other politics, so he wanted to do fully devotional service. He wasn’t able to do fully the way he would like to and plus he wanted to directly take the association of Lord Chaitanya. Transcribed by Rasapriya Gandharvika Devi Dasi (2017)