M orning Temple lecture on 3rd February, 2015 was given by HH Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami. Text SB 6.3.29 was discussed.
Transcription of the lecture:
There was a devotee of Caitanya Mahaprabhu named Satyaraja Khan. And he asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila Chapter 15, verse 103,
grhastha visayi ami, ki mora sadhane,
“I am a grhastha steeped in material enjoyment. What kind of practices should I do?”
So Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied in the next verse, in sloka 104. He said,(prabhu kahena), -‘krsna-seva’, ‘vaisnava-sevana’ ‘nirantara kara krsna-nama-sankirtana’
“Serve Krishna and the Vaisnavas as much as possible and constantly chant Hare Krishna mantra and that will be sufficient.”
This devotee left Bengal, walked for ten days to Puri, in June, to see Lord Jagannath at Rath Yatra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And he asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu “How do I recognize a devotee?” So Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, “One who likes the chanting of Hare Krishna is the best person in a group.” So that is the lowest denominator of the Vaisnava. This is why we go on Harinama sankirtana and distribute the holy name to everybody.
When the cold weather vanishes, the merchants come out and see us devotees, “Where were you?” (chuckles). Because the Harinama sankirtana is the joy for the merchants. (chuckles). Then he left Bengal, walked ten days to Puri in June to see Lord Jagannath at Rath Yatra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a year later. And he asked Caitanya Mahaprabhu, “How do I recognize a devotee?” So Mahaprabhu replied, it’s in Upadesamrta sloka 5, “If somebody has taken initiation, worshipping the deity, offering obeisances with one’s head, they are Vaisnava.”
Then a year later Satyaraja Khan left Bengal, walked ten days to Puri in June to see Lord Jagannath at Rath Yatra and Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he asked, “How do I recognize a devotee?” Then Mahaprabhu said, “not even externally aware!”
So Mayapur and Vrindavana are places for people to go after their kids are married. They have to set an example for other people. The first ten years of life they are available for their children and grandchildren. Then they cut off their mobile phone, they cut off their internet, they are not available. They are not externally aware.
Now you may ask what about preaching? Sure, you know, vanaprasthi’s can stay in some place and preach. But following Prabhupada’s example they should leave their body in the holy dhama. They shouldn’t leave their body in their place. The temple is transcendental but you should leave in the dhama. (chukcles) If somebody has got some disease and they can’t travel, then they try to invoke the dhama around them.
In Manah Siksa sloka 1, in Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Bhajan Darpana commentary, he is describing the word is gosthalayisu, the resident of dhama. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions two kinds of residents of the dhama, mentally and physically. If you read Caitanya Caritamrta, Caitanya Bhagavata, then you go to Mayapur and Navadipa without buying a plane ticket. If you read Srimad Bhagavatam tenth canto or Brhad Bhagavatamrta etc, books like that, then you go to Vrindavana without buying a plane ticket. Such persons then they get the right to live permanent. . . physically there.
Now you may ask what about the Vrajavasis? I asked my siksa guru in Vrindavan this question. Do they get Krishna? And my siksa guru says, “it depends on their mentality!” One businessman in Loi Bazaar told his relatives, “if anything happens to me don’t take me out of Vrindavana.” So he had a massive heart attack and his bewildered relatives they took him to the CMC Hospital in Vrindavana. It’s closed now but previously it was a maternal hospital. And they said, “We are a maternity hospital! We can’t help him. Take him to AIIMS in Delhi. They may be able to help him.” So they put him in a taxi and they took him to on the Delhi Agra highway. And just beyond Hodal in Haryana is the village of Banacari, the border of Vraja. And he left his body then. And all the businessmen of Vrindavana Loi Bazaar went Oh!!
Another devotee who always served devotees, he came to Vrindavana on Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi, June, blazing hot, must have been like 40-45 degrees C. He went to see Prabhupada’s rooms and then he got some icecream and came back to Prabhupada vani ashram. Srimati Radharani came in his dream and said, ” Welcome to Vrindavana! You just think of Us and we’ll do everything else!” Devotees asked him, what else did She say? Oh! I forgot! Then one day he thought if only I could have a day without pain I could leave my body happily thinking of Krishna. Then on Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi he woke up at6 am, he goes, “Hey! I don’t have any pain! Maybe today is the day!” Sure enough, at 11’o clock he was gone. (laughter) It’s actually Krishna’s company policy. He takes His devotees on auspicious days.
One God brother, Italian God brother, left his body on Advaita Acarya’s appearance day. After the festival was over then he went out shopping. And some car side swiped him and knocked him into the bushes and he left his body. The Italian devotees told me they didn’t find his body for ten days until the ants started to eat it. So they generally do, when they find the body they do an autopsy. I called his widow in Rome and I said, what time did they say that your husband left his body? And she said, oh! About 7’o clock or 8’o clock at night! When I put that in the G calendar it turned out it was Advaita Acarya’s appearance day!
So some people were asking Sridhar Swami, “Hey! On Gaur Purnima, are you going to leave your body on Gaur Purnima?”
“No! Gaur Purnima is going to remain for Gauranga!”
So Gauranga took him on the next one, Srivas Thakura’s appearance day.
There is one good devotee in Australia. And he left his body on Ekadasi. He had a murdercycle accident. He was sixty, broke both his arms. Prabhupada used to call it murdercycles not motorcycles, murdercycles. You have an accident, you are finished. (laughter) So his Godbrother told me that he is in a hospital in Gold coast. So I said, its navami, it’s the ninth day, it asubha. He has to wait two days then Ekadasi, then he can leave. So that’s exactly what he did. He waited two days in the hospital and then left his body. I told his widow, “you can be ambivalent about your husband, but at least you can be proud he left on Ekadasi.”
There is a God brother Radhakunda dasa who left his body on Varuthini Ekadasi in Vrindavana. He was a little bit of an avadhuta. It takes one to know one. (laughter) He was very strange! I mean you may think that I am strange, but he was strange even for me! (laughter) He was really avadhuta!
Even stranger than me! (laughter) But if you leave in Vrindavana you are liberated anyway.
I brought six kilos of goji berries from South Africa to help his cancer. And he returned five and a half kilos, he said I can’t use them. Then I was shocked! I asked Daivi Sakti Mataji, what am I supposed to do? I tried to help his health! She said, “Let him go! Let him go! He will be happy. We have to rot here for 30/40 more years.” (laughter) So I gave up! And he left his body on Varuthini Ekadasi.
Then on Ramanavami I went to Bombay. I asked my God brother Bhima dasa what about him? He said, you didn’t know. He had Aids. How did he get that? Oh before he became a devotee, he had a girlfriend, she gave it to him, he gave it to her, I don’t know! It means Krishna used his disease as an agent of change.
So Krishna protects His devotee who chants His name. The glories of the name is mentioned in many places. Specifically Bhaktivinoda Thakura refers to it in Gitavali in the Namastakam section. See Namastakam was written by Rupa Goswami. There are 8 slokas. And Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote one Bengali bhajan for each sloka.
Basically Krishna will do anything for anybody who chants His name. Even accidentally if we chant we are benefitted. Ajnata sukriti, we don’t even know we are making advancement. But clearly that’s ok, that’s better than nothing, but it’s not good enough.
Visnu Dharmottara mentions you can give, offer tulsi neckbeads to anybody. Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary, drunkard, meat eater, whatever! Basically the Sanskrit says, asucam, they are not clean, anacaro they are condemnable, mam aveti they will achieve Me, na samshaya, don’t doubt it.
Also Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa Chapter Twelve, verse 82-85, says that you can fast on somebody’s behalf and you will get one hundred times the benefit than if you fasted for yourself. So our business is to become pure devotees and Tulasi rani’s business it to chastise everybody and push everybody to become better. If they don’t improve after some time then it just means Krishna wants you to do a little bit more. It’s not what we give Krishna, it’s what’s behind our backs that Krishna wants, that’s what He wants.
So we are going to close right now and we are going to do parikrama. Seven times around Govardhana Sila is one time Govardhana parikrama, without buying a plane ticket. I remember that one God brother in Radhakunda, you know from Ekadasi to Purnima the crowds in Govardhana are intense. If you want a peaceful parikrama don’t go at that time, that’s for sure. (chuckles) So when it was really a lot of crowds he would just go seven times around the tongue of Govardhana and that was all right.
Those who have questions can see me in their private capacity.
Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jaya!
(Kindly transcribed by Sarasvati Priya DD)
Download the audio for this lecture from:
https://www.mayapurtvarchives.com/p/downloads-2015.html
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