HG Stoka Krsna Prabhu & HH Radhanath Swami, Jan. 21, Mumbai

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna.

 

On the morning of Saturday, January 21, HG Stoka Krsna Prabhu, who is in his

last days, addressed the devotees of Radha Gopinatha Mandir, Chowpatty,

Mumbai via phone from his bed at Bhaktivedanta Hospital. Following his

speech, HH Radhanath Maharaja gave the regular Bhagavatam class. Both

transcripts follow:

 

 

HG Stoka Krsna Prabhu (weak voiced):

 

 

I seek the blessings from our spiritual masters, Founder-Acarya His Divine

Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, and my spiritual master. By

their mercy and blessings I am making an attempt to serve the Vaisnava

community by speaking a few words. "Mukham karoti vacalam", by the mercy of

the spiritual master, even a dumb man can speak eloquently. So I am

spiritually dumb, but by the mercy of guru and param guru, some words are

coming for my purification. I am grateful to guru and param guru for giving

me the chance to serve in all circumstances and conditions. I myself am

engrossed in the material body, but by the mercy of guru and Krsna, I am

understanding the reality of life. ?? I am trying to overcome this

bhava-roga of bodily attachment.

 

>From beginning, birth to death, everyone is struggling to keep us in

illusion, just connected to this body is meant to be ?? it is bewildered ??

.. . . the spiritual master and scriptures they wake us up and bring us to

Krsna's shelter:

 

utthisthata jagrata prapya varan nibhodata

 

Scripture says that "Get up sleeping souls, get up sleeping souls and come

to the reality of spiritual life." Material life begins from bodily

attachment. As much as we are attached to this body, we have to suffer. And

at the time of death everything will be taken away from us. So it is the

most painful experience for one who is attached to bodily conception. We see

in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Dhrtarastra was having a high birth, the son of

Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation. He had the topmost association like

Bhisma, one of the great mahajanas; Vidura was also mahajana; Drona; and

chaste wife, Gandhari; but he was so ambitious, he wanted to become king but

because of his blindness, his claim was overlooked. Then he had hundred

sons, the Kauravas, his attachment and ambition grew to the greatest extent.

Then he became spiritually blind. So many devotees were giving him good

advices, but he wanted to enjoy through his expansion, Duryodhana, what he

could not enjoy.

 

Prahlad Maharaja says:

 

matir na krsne paratah svato va mitho 'bhipadyeta grha-vratanam

adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram punah punas carvita-carvananam

 

Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic

life make progress towards hellish condition and repeatedly chew that which

has already been chewed. Because of Dhrtarastra's attachment so much

disaster happened, but still till the last moment of the death, he was

holding on. So we can learn so much from the scripture, and there is no need

to waste many many births for this bodily attachment.

 

When I was at home, eighteen years old, eighteen years ago, before joining

the ashram, my father used to say, "What is the need of renouncing family or

relationships? We'll provide all facility. You can stay at home and still

practice devotional service. We'll all support you." So I replied, "Lord

Caitanya renounced the world when his wife was fourteen years old and his

mother was more than seventy years. There was no male person to take care of

the family. Still he renounced family life for the sake of delivering

conditioned souls like us." And my father had no answer or argument for

this.

 

So it is our desire and determination that, "Yes, since so many births I

have been attached to this body, so now I shall try to be free from bodily

attachment." So until we make a serious endeavour, there is no hope. We have

to be serious.

 

Srila Prabhupada was telling a story, there was a boatman. He was very sad.

When he came onto the riverbank from the boat, his feet were pricked by

thorns. So he thought, "Once I become rich, I will cover the riverbank with

pillows." Srila Prabhupada laughed. "See this fool, he wants to become rich

and be happy, but still he is attached to rowing his boat. He does not want

to give up rowing the boat. Similarly, every single living entity is

hankering for happiness. But at the same time he is not ready to give up

this material body. Krsna says, "Give up this body and come to the spiritual

world and you will have a body full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. But

noone wants to give up the attachment to the present material body. The

attachment is there.

 

In the Indraloka, Lord Indra, we all know the story of Indra becoming a hog

and attached to body and his family. Lord Caitanya says, "naham vipro na ca

narapatih", our eternal position is to remain the servant of servant of the

gopis. Even after knowing so much philosophy, still when time comes to give

some things, some position, it may be small or big, it is painful to the

heart, according to the attachment.

 

So if we really want to go back home, back to Godhead, and be with Krsna, we

should not be concerned for possessions or ?? and we should be completely

free from envy. Only then we can enter into the kingdom of God.

 

Now at the present moment, my lungs are full of ? fluid, so they have

removed two litres of fluid twice. I was thinking that Krsna is so merciful

and kind to me that he is even taking out the impure blood and all the

unwanted things from the body. He wants to purify me thoroughly. I am very

grateful to the Lord. It is a special experience. There is enough pain by

which I understand Krsna's love. And with the devotees' encouragement I am

getting strength. Without the devotees, I am helpless. Now I am eagerly

awaiting that realization so I need all the Vaisnavas prayers and blessings

at the time of leaving this body. And that I should fully realize that I am

Krsna's eternal servant, and that this body is an instrument. If I don't

realize, then whatever I did in this life and many lives previously is

simply a show of practicing of spiritual life, without substance.

 

So finally again, I say and beg, I am made of the mercy of guru and

Vaisnavas. Without their grace I have no existence. Previously I was praying

I wanted to serve Guru Maharaja exclusively, but now I am thinking I am not

at all qualified, I want to assist those devotees who are serving my Guru

Maharaja. And if need is there, then guru and Krsna will allow me to do

direct service. So please, I beg at your feet, life after life I just aspire

to be servant of servant of servant. Hare Krsna, thank you very much.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

 

HH Radhanath Swami:

 

 

Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.29

 

hiranmaye 'pi bhagavan nivasati kurma-tanum bibhranas tasya tat priyatamam

tanum aryama saha varsa-purusaih pitr-ganadhipatir upadhavati mantram imam

canujapati.

 

TRANSLATION: Sukadeva Gosvami continued: In Hiranmaya-varsa, the Supreme

Lord, Visnu, lives in the form of a tortoise [kurma-sarira]. This most dear

and beautiful form is always worshiped there in devotional service by

Aryama, the chief resident of Hiranmaya-varsa, along with the other

inhabitants of that land. They chant the following hymns.

 

PURPORT: The word priyatama (dearmost) is very significant in this verse.

Each devotee regards a particular form of the Lord as most dear. Because of

an atheistic mentality, some people think that the tortoise, boar and fish

incarnations of the Lord are not very beautiful. They do not know that any

form of the Lord is always the fully opulent Personality of Godhead. Since

one of His opulences is infinite beauty, all the HH Lord's incarnations are

very beautiful and are appreciated as such by devotees. Nondevotees,

however, think that Lord Krsna's incarnations are ordinary material

creatures, and therefore they distinguish between the beautiful and the not

beautiful. A certain form of the Lord is worshiped by a particular devotee

because he loves to see that form of the Lord. As stated in Brahma-samhita

(5.33): advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusam

nava-yauvanam ca. The very beautiful form of the Lord is always youthful.

Sincere servants of a particular form of the Lord always see that form as

very beautiful, and thus they engage in constant devotional service to Him.

 

(Mangalacarana)

 

 

Today we are reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Chapter 18 entitled the

Residents of Jambudvipa Offer Prayers, text no. 29.

 

The residents of Hiranmaya-varsa experience pure love in ecstatic bliss in

remembering the beautiful form of the Lord who is eternally existing as a

tortoise in their abode. Srila Prabhupada herein is bringing to our

attention a most essential truth: that the Lord is absolute and His

opulences, including infinite beauty, is absolute, and in whatever form He

assumes, whatever form He possesses it is of absolute, infinite beauty. It

is a fact.

 

In this world the only person who is attractive to a tortoise is another

tortoise. Human beings may become attached to a little turtle as a pet, but

tortoises are big and very few are attracted to a tortoise, what to speak of

love. However, when the Lord appears as a tortoise, there is no man, there

is no woman in this world or even in the heavenly planets that could be so

attractive and awaken such deep love in the heart.

 

What is a materialistic person? Someone who is attached to their own mind

and senses and affections. Material life means to forget our relationship

with God and to try to serve our own desires. Stoka Krsna Prabhu recited a

verse from the 7th canto of Bhagavatam:

 

matir na krsne paratah svato va

mitho 'bhipadyeta grha-vratanam

adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram

punah punas carvita-carvananam

 

As long as we are attached to being the enjoyer rather than being the

servant, then we are plagued with this disease, the disease of being

attracted to the senses and their objects. How is this possible? The eternal

soul that is part of God is under the conception that "I am this body, I am

this mind." It is relinquishing our eternal wealth of the ecstatic abode of

the Lord, the loving association of the Lord to indulge in what Bhagavad

Gita calls the sources of misery of material happiness. As long as we have

this attachment to be the enjoyer, we cannot understand the Lord by any

means we endeavour, either by our own efforts or with the help of others. We

have to give up this misconception that I am the enjoyer and assume the real

nature of being the servant. Servant does not want to enjoy. The true spirit

of a servant is to be enjoyed. The true spirit of a servant is to want to

please the object of his service, even if it creates much difficulty for

ourselves.

 

And we find this the consistent quality in all the great devotees in all the

great scriptures throughout history. Prahlada Maharaja did not mind his own

persecutions, he simply wanted to please the Lord. The residents of

Vrindavan didn't care if they were in heaven or hell. They only wanted to

please Krsna. Ambarisa Maharaja was not concerned with his own life or

death, he only wanted to satisfy the Lord. This is love. Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura explained that as long as we maintain this misconception

that I am the enjoyer, it is like an anchor in the boat of the human form of

life. This human form of life is especially meant to cross over the ocean of

material existence, but however much you row, however many good people you

have on board to help you, as long as the anchor is connected to the bottom

of the sea, you cannot really go anywhere. So Krsna says in Gita:

 

ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham

 

As we approach the Lord, the Lord reveals Himself accordingly. If we

approach the Lord in a spirit of servitude, in a spirit of devotion, then

the Lord reveals Himself to us as He is. Otherwise, if we want to enjoy this

world, then the Lord will, corresponding to our desire, reveal the things of

this desire as very, very attractive. Sripad Yamunacarya, he was king,

Alabandara, he had great opportunities for material pleasure, but in his

famous prayer he is revealing his heart, that even the most exquisite

pleasures of this world that I was so deeply addicted to, now that I have

tasted the sweetness of Your loving service, when I think of those things,

my lips curl in distaste and I spit at the thought.

 

How is this possible? This is not an aversion based on too much attachment.

This is that he's seeing that the pleasures of this world are impediments

that distract us from our eternal constitutional purpose, which is to serve

the Lord and please the Lord. He is not spitting at the thing. His lips are

not curling in distaste because of a particular thing that is before him,

but it is the principle of these things that drag us away from our

relationship with God.

 

So herein we find the Lord was all-attractive. He awakens within the heart,

according to our spirit of devotion, attraction to Him. No one can be

attracted to God without the grace of God:

 

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

 

Some people look at the deity and see something not at all attractive. They

see it is an idol, a diversion from real religion. Other people see the Lord

and their hearts melt in ecstatic love. They are willing to give everything

to that deity. There are so many stories of people, for a simple deity in

the temple, they are willing to give all their wealth to build beautiful

temples, they are willing to give all energy to cook wonderful food.

 

For materialistic people, this is incomprehensible. One disciple of Srila

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, he was a wealthy man and he gave literally

every paisa he had to build a temple for the deity of his Guru Maharaja,

every paisa he had. And he also arranged the architecture. He put so much. .

.. practically almost full time. He couldn't earn any more money because he

was giving his full time to the temple and all the money he earned in his

whole life was going to build that temple. By the time he was done, he had

absolutely nothing. He was blissful. He asked permission from

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur if there was some little floor space in the

temple where he could stay. He was homeless. He sold his home just to make

the temple nicer. He spent the rest of his life just doing menial service to

the deity and he was happy. He was more happy than anyone else in this world

because he was experiencing Krsna.

 

Now for a materialistic person, why, the deity? For those who have been to

Vrindavan and have seen Radha Govinda temple, magnificent, unbelievable,

work of art, so much time, so much energy, for the diety. Now from a

material point of view, it doesn't make sense. Or like Radha Rasabihari

temple, the deities only cost maybe 50000 rupees to have carved in Jaipur,

but for Them, they spend crores of rupees to make Them happy. Because when

Prabhupada installed the deity, invited Krsna to be present in the deity, it

is not just a statue that cost 50000 rupees of metal. The Lord has appeared

within to accept our services. And Srila Prabhupada and the devotees risked

their lives, they underwent so many unbelievable hardships and difficulties

just to keep their word to the deity. Prabhupada promised that we will build

You a temple. The municipality was against them, the mafias were against

them, so many people were against them. But they fought and fought and

fought to build the temple. That is love. Because Krsna is revealing

Himself.

 

So the form of Kurma is sac-cid-ananda, eternal, full of knowledge, and full

of bliss. A material tortoise, you may like it at best, but are you willing

to give up everything in ecstasy to please a tortoise? Most people wouldn't

like that. But for God, He is not a tortoise, He is not a boar, He is not a

fish as we know it in this world. He is the supreme controller of all

controllers. He is the ultimate object of everyone's love and in whatever

form He appears if we please Him He awakens that love within our hearts.

Salagrama sila is just a little stone. He doesn't have a three-fold bending

form that we can see. Just a little stone. To a materialist a salagrama sila

is not different to any other rock lying in the river, yes? But how is it

that great devotees have centered their entire lives around service to this

little stone called salagrama?

 

We read about that brahmana who came to Navadvipa, he was a worshiper of

Gopal. He had a deity of salagrama. His life and soul, his everything was

making offerings to salagrama, pleasing salagrama. What is he seeing? Yes,

if we have some sense of love for God, seeing salagrama sila, we will see

billions of times more beauty than a neophyte devotee seeing the most

wonderful darshan of Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha in the temple decorated with

wonderful jewellery, garlands, garments, and all sorts of incredible of

decorations all around. If we have love of God we will see billions of times

more beauty in a salagrama sila. How is that? Because Krsna reveals His

opulences by His causeless mercy in proportion to our service attitude, our

love.

 

So this is a wonderful thing. The inhabitants of Hiranmaya-varsa, they don't

care anything for any of the pleasures of this world or any of the pleasures

of the heavenly planets. They simply want to live eternally with tears of

love in their eyes remembering Kurma-avatara, the form of the Lord as a

tortoise. Srila Prabhupada explains herein that according to a devotee's

particular inclination to serve the Lord, the Lord awakens our love

accordingly. Krsna consciousness is beyond sectarian conceptions. God is

one-that is a fact-but by the Lord's inconceivable potencies, He can appear

in different forms to different people with so much variegatedness.

 

In the Navadvipa Mahatmya, as well as the Bhakti Ratnakara, we read about a

devotee named Vasudeva. He knew about Rama, he understood the various forms

in which the Lord has taken incarnations in this world, but he particularly

was so deeply attached to Varaha, the form of the Lord as a boar. Now

relatively, most people consider even a tortoise more pretty than a boar-an

uncivilized pig in the jungle-but that was his goal of life. He just wanted

to have darshan of Lord Varahadeva. That was his only passion. He was

performing great austerities just to get that darshan of Lord Varaha. Why?

Why not Krsna, why not Rama, why not Mohini Murti? [laughter] He wanted

darshan of Lord Varahadeva. That was his goal of life, his everything. And

Lord Varahadeva, in a place called Koladvipa, gave him His darshan. Because

the Lord awakened within him the realization of the greatness of this

beautiful form.

 

In Srimad Bhagavatam we find when Varahadeva appeared, the sages, the rsis,

all the devotees were offering prayers of love to him. They saw he had the

most attractive lotus like eyes. His paws were the essence of all beautiful

things, His hooves. And the bristling hairs on his body were just

magnificent, mind boggling, the way they were attracting their hearts with

love. What to speak of his irresistibly attractive nose. Not too many people

are attracted to the snout of a pig. But for Lord Varahadeva, that snout is

more attractive, unlimitedly, than the nose of any lover in this world,

because He is Krsna, the all attractive one, whose body is eternal and

spiritual. When He awakens that attraction in our hearts, then what we see

and what we remember is irresistible.

 

So we cannot bring Krsna down to our mentality. This is the condition of a

neophyte devotee. We try to judge Krsna through the limited perception of

our eyes and our ears. Sometimes we see these ancient deities, and they are

just not as pleasing to look at as the modern deities that are carved very

precisely in a very beautiful way so that the eyes just see such a beautiful

lady in Radharani and such a beautiful man in Krsna, the features so nice.

Some of the ancient deities have hardly any features that we can see. Just

black stones that just have a basic shape, but we find that the acaryas,

what were they seeing? Rupa Goswami was warning us, if you are attached to

your family, friendship, love and home in this world, don't go to Kesi Ghat

because the form of Govindaji is there and once you see the form of

Govindaji, how can you ever be attracted to anything in this world again? He

is taking about the deity of Govindaji. This what he is seeing. He is seeing

Krsna. So no, we cannot judge things by our material senses. When Krsna

appears, our attraction should not be based on superficial sentiment. Our

attraction has to be based on love.

 

Therefore, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarsavati Thakur has told us again and

again, do not try to see Krsna, because you cannot see Krsna. Even if you

see Krsna, you can't see Krsna. You cannot see Krsna with your eyes, even if

he is standing right before you. You have to see Krsna with your heart.

Kamsa saw Krsna but he wasn't feeling love, he was feeling hatred. Prahlada

was ecstatically worshipping Lord Nrsimhadeva, but when Hiranyakasipu saw

him, what did he see? He saw the most horrible form of death. Varahadeva,

Hiranyaksa was not attracted by Him. The form of Varahadeva only awakened

fear and hatred in his heart.

 

Krsna reciprocates with our devotion, and this is the difference between a

neophyte devotee and one who is actually striving for spiritual progress. A

neophyte devotee remains too much attached to the external form, to the

external rituals. A devotee who is actually aspiring for real advancement

understands that all these forms and rituals that the Lord has given us, it

is simply a facility, an opportunity to surrender our lives and awaken love.

Srila Prabhupada explained that we could do without everything else, but we

must have the association of devotees and we must have holy name of Krsna.

But even the name of Krsna, why are we not tasting the sweetness and the

ecstasy? All the opulences and beauty of Krsna is in His name. It is because

of our service attitude. We must develop this selfless service attitude to

understand Krsna.

 

When Murari Gupta was told by Lord Caitanya that "There is no need for you

to serve Rama; Rama is the supreme Lord, all attractive, no doubt, but

Krsna's pastimes are most sweet, most playful. Everyone around you is a

devotee of Krsna, join us and worship Krsna in Vrindavan." Murari Gupta

said, "Yes, I will do if that is your order." The next day Murari Gupta

approached Lord Caitanya with tears and begged for His permission, "Let me

end my life because all night I tried to surrender to Krsna, but in my heart

all I could think of was Rama. It is too painful for me to take my head away

from Rama because I already offered it at His lotus feet. It is not possible

for me worship anyone but Lord Rama."

 

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Murari Gupta and celebrated the good

fortune of Murari Gupta. He said, "I wanted to test your chastity and

faithfulness of your love to Rama." Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was most

pleased. He is Krsna Himself, He is Rama Himself. The Lord is infinite and

can appear in so many ways and so many forms to attract different people's

hearts.

 

A devotee, if he understands his own Lord with love and devotion, then he

will understand the other forms that the Lord may take. It is said that even

a dog understands his master regardless of how the master may dress. The

master may be dressed in a business suit or in a simple dhoti or kurta

another day, or simply kaupina another day; [laughter] the master may have

hundreds of dresses, but the dog will love the master regardless.

 

Similarly when you love the Lord, if you actually have some love for God, if

you see Him in other dresses, in other forms, you can only love Him. And if

you do not appreciate the other forms and ways that the Lord is revealing

Himself in other religions, then what does that mean? It means you are less

than a dog, that's all. Less than a dog. Srila Prabhupada emphasizes this

point, Sukadeva Goswami loved Krsna. He is a parrot in Vrindavana, the

intimate servant of Radharani, he is coming form Goloka, witnessing and

participating the most intimate pastimes of Radha and Krsna, but yet with

such ecstasy he is describing Kurma, Varaha Matsya, the Lord's form as a

fish.

 

For Satyvrata Muni that fish was so attractive he could not conceive of

letting his mind divert to any other form. Sukadeva Goswami is glorifying

these devotees of the fish incarnation, the boar incarnation, the half-man,

half-lion incarnation. Why? Because he loves Krsna. If you love Krsna you

love everything about Krsna. God is great; to understand how God is great is

bhakti.

 

Not this particular form of the Lord Kurma, how he appeared in this world,

is a very instructive story. We know that the demigods and the demons were

churning the ocean of milk with Vasuki as the rope, but as they began this

great chore, the entire mountain sank into the ocean and none of them

individually or collectively had the power to lift it. Great difficulty. So

the devas prayed to Krsna for help, the demons thought it was some accident

that was impossible to resolve. Then the Lord appeared as a huge tortoise

and entered the ocean and became the base to support the mountain.

 

Srila Prabhupada explains that this is the difference between a

materialistic person and devotee of the Lord. The materialistic person sees

when hindrances come, either they are coming by accident or they are caused

by others, but a devotee sees that behind everything is the will of the Lord

and an opportunity to come closer to Him.

 

Therefore for a devotee hindrances, obstacles, are a benediction. For a

nondevotee they are simply disturbances. It is a matter of perception.

Nothing happens by accident. Everything happens according to the higher

power of God. Now different reactions that we endure may be karmic; there is

no doubt that every action gives a corresponding reaction and everything

that comes in the life of an ordinary person is simply the reaction of his

past karma. But a devotee understands that the law of karma is working

ultimately under the Lord's command. Everything is under the Lord's command.

He is the ultimate controller of all material and spiritual worlds. We are

getting the reactions of our previous acts-they may be pleasureable or they

may be painful-but the system was created by God, and the system was created

for a perfectly auspicious purpose. Therefore even karma the devotee sees

the all-merciful benevolent hand behind of the Lord behind it.

 

And those who are surrendering to the Lord, then the Lord personally puts us

in various situations that are perfectly according to what we need to

spiritually grow and a devotee sees that. A devotee wants to see Krsna's

hand behind everything:

 

tat te 'nukampam susamiksamano bhunjana evatma krtam vipakam

 

That even in a most painful condition, even in a most difficult

circumstance, a devotee feels powerless with gratitude and thanks Krsna,

sees this difficulty as a benediction and wants to serve the Lord.

Now we may say the reactions to certain thing are due to our mistakes or our

own offenses, and that may be, but the fact is that Krsna has created the

system that gives us the reactions to our mistakes and offenses. Sometimes

Prabhupada would chastise devotees; they would do things negligently and the

results were bad and they would say to Prabhupada that it was Krsna's mercy.

And Prabhupada would say do not blame Krsna for your negligence. It was your

foolishness.

 

That is a fact, but it also a fact that it is the mercy of Krsna. that He is

giving us a bad reaction because of our foolishness. So the fault is our

foolishness but still the reaction is mercy, the punishment is mercy, the

failure is mercy. We're supposed to learn from it, we're supposed to grow

from it, we're supposed to take shelter of Krsna in the face of this

situation. So a devotee sees even great hardships and reversals in life that

this is just a small token of what I deserve from to my past karma, and

Krsna you are giving it in the form that it's coming particularly for my

purification. Therefore it is a benediction.

 

A few minutes ago we heard from our dear Stoka Krsna how he is seeing what

human beings fight to avoid their whole lives, he is seeing it as a

benediction of the Lord, a terminal disease which puts us very close to the

most feared of all experiences in creation - death. Is there anything more

feared universally than death? Can you think of anything? Doesn't matter if

you're Indian or Pakistani. It doesn't matter if you're American or European

or Russian or Oriental, it doesn't matter if you're an insect, a rat or a

lizard or a dog or a cat or a camel, it doesn't matter, whatever species of

life you are in, whatever caste, universally, we are all afraid of death.

Isn't that amazing? Even in the heavenly planets they are afraid of death.

Even in the hellish planets were they are suffering like anything, they are

afraid of death.

 

Why are we afraid of somebody in this world? Why are we afraid of

terrorists? Why are we afraid of dictators like Stalin or Hitler? Not

because of who they are but because they may bring us to meet with death.

Ultimately our real fear is death. But to a devotee, Bhaktivinoda Thakur

prayed, "Krsna, if you want you can protect me, or if you want, you can kill

me, it doesn't matter, I am your servant, you can do anything you want with

me."

 

Srila Prabhupada gave the example that for a kitten the cat is the most

protective loving mother but for the rat, the cat is death personified. So

when the kitten is in the mouth of the cat, there is no place anywhere it

would rather be than in the mouth being carried by mother, but for the rat

there is no place it is more afraid of than to be in the mouth of the cat.

What is the difference? Same mouth, same cat. Krsna says in Bhagavad Gita, I

am death personified. For a devotee, even Krsna in the form of death is the

all protecting, nourishing loving mother, but for a materialist, it is the

most horrible thing to dread and fear.

 

So painful disease, which is wracking the body with all sort of discomforts

and invalidity, nobody wants it. We try to fight against it, it is our duty.

But when it becomes beyond our control, for a materialistic person, it is

simply horrible. But for a devotee, it is a benediction because a devotee

sees through the eyes of faith and the truth that ultimately Krsna is the

controller of all controllers and is the cause of all causes, sarva karana

karanam. We saw in Srila Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, even in the most miserable

physical condition that anyone could possibly have to go through, he was

weeping in gratitude and happiness and would not change his situation for

anything else in the world because he was feeling Krsna's love so deeply in

that situation.

 

Stoka Krsna Prabhu, we have seen, he was always a nice devotee, he was

always sincere and struggling to control his mind and senses and perform

nice service and please his guru and Vaisnavas with his service. Always a

sincere soul, but the disease and imminent death he is facing has made him

grow. His realizations are so deep. His love for Krsna has expanded like

never before. It is a fact. Now on a Saturday morning, which is the prime

time for Srimad Bhagavatam class, is given to him. If he wasn't sick like

this, there would be no question of Stoka Krsna Prabhu giving Saturday

morning Bhagavatam class. Yes? If he sat on the asana, they would say "Get

out." Now people are listening to him all over the world. It is not because

he is dying. So many people are dying. They are listening to him because of

the gratitude, the positive Krsna consciousness realizations he has in that

situation. It is an inspiration for us. It increases our faith and love. We

want to follow in his footsteps. So yes, although it is a horrible thing on

one level that a devotee may soon be leaving this world, but it is a

benediction. He's seeing it as such, and it becomes.

 

His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, on several occasions said that if I had

lived in good health for another 30 years, in that 30 years I could not do

the quantity and quality of service that I am doing in the Vaisnava

community as I am being allowed to do in the last six months in my body. I

could not affect people's hearts in 30 years the way I have done in six

months. Therefore I consider this cancer to be a great benediction in my

life because it is providing me an opportunity me to do a great service to

the devotees. So he is not just seeing it as an accident, he is seeing it as

an arrangement of the Lord.

 

That is what this story of Kurma-avatara represents. Great difficulties come

in to our lives, great obstacles, sometimes impediments to our service to

the Lord, but Advaita Acarya in Sri Caitanya Bhagavat, he described that

impediments that come in a devotee's life are actually servants of the

Lord. Those impediments are just what we need to spiritually grow. We may

not understand intellectually exactly the details of how and why, but God

cannot be understood intellectually, He is beyond the intelligence.

Intelligence is a material element, a sense. Just as the real Sita could not

be touched by Ravana, it was the illusory Sita that he got. Lord Caitanya

Mahaprabhu explained this, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond

the grasp of the mind and senses.

 

We must understand the Lord through something that transports our

consciousness beyond the limitation and relativity of this world. And that

is called faith, the foundational substance of our spiritual life. And we

must use our intelligence to the capacity that we have, to understand the

validity of such faith, to convince our minds to accept such faith. Faith

can transport the consciousness from the material world to the spiritual

world. That faith must be in the word of God which is transmitted in this

world generation after generation through parampara, guru sadhu and sastra.

And to increase faith is to come closer to God and that is the duty of every

devotee in the association of other devotees to act speak and live in such a

way to help increase other people's faith and their own.

 

If we act recklessly we can disturb others' faith, and that is a great,

great disservice-in fact there is no great disservice than to disturb

another person's faith in their evolution and development. We should be

there to help each other in this regard. And that is why devotee association

nourishes the faith, whereas association with people who are too much

addicted to the material conception, their association challenges our faith,

has the power to distract our faith. And to lose faith is the greatest loss.

To lose money, health, to lose prestige, or even to lose life, is not such a

loss. But to lose faith is disconnecting ourselves from the Lord or the

possibility to reunite with the Lord. It must be protected very nicely.

So death disease, if we see through the eyes of faith, if we see, yes maybe

I'm the cause of some of the things that are causing me pain, but the Lord

is giving me a reaction just according to the perfect plan that He has made

for my benefit. Therefore it is a benediction. And to see that benediction

and reciprocate is the basis for making spiritual advancement. And therefore

practically all of the great souls of the past have gone through many

difficulties, just to show us the way the never gave up faith, never gave up

endeavouring, and always see it as an opportunity to grow. Thank you very

much. Srila Prabhupada ki jai!

 

When Lord Caitanya was in Kurma Ksetra, the Kurma brahmana came to see Him.

Previously Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was dancing in ecstatic love before the

deity of Kurma, He was chanting the holy names, His limbs were trembling,

His hairs were standing on end, tears pouring from His eyes worshiping

Kurmadeva at Kurma Ksetra. He was seeing Krsna in the form. He was not

seeing that the tortoise was just some material representation of Krsna, He

was seeing that in that deity Krsna has appeared in that form. And therefore

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was teaching us what is a real devotee, to love

Krsna means to love everything about Krsna, to love Krsna's relationship

with other devotees in various forms. Hare Krsna. So we will end here. Is

there any questions?

 

Question by Sridama Sakha Das: Hare Krsna, Maharaja. Thank you for the nice

class. Maharaja, in the lecture you were mentioning how neophytes are not

able to recognize the beauty of the deity. I wanted to understand, that

personally speaking, although I can appreciate the physical beauty of the

deity, but am not able to really get pure appreciation in the heart and also

I don't have a taste for deity worship. Other aspects I'm somehow able to

appreciate, but deity worship I'm not able to so much. How important is that

and how required and what to do if it not coming?

 

Maharaja: Do not try to see Krsna, but try to serve Krsna in a way that He

is pleased to see you. We are not concerned with our own taste. We are

concerned with giving Krsna taste. The actual higher taste is that spirit of

selfless service. We do not dress the deity because we have a taste that

gives us happiness. That is also nice, Krsna gives us that taste, but if it

is not there, then we do it in the spirit of servitude. It is that service

that purifies our heart, yes? Deity worship is a very, very sacred

opportunity for spiritual progress. We don't do it because we like to do it;

we do it because Krsna likes us to do it. If I like it, then it is

wonderful, and if I don't like it is, it's wonderful. We should like to

please Krsna. That is what deity worship is about, to please Krsna. That is

what we like. And it does please Krsna, so why not? Does that answer your

question?

 

Sridama Sakha Das: But if somehow we just don't get around to doing it. In

devotional service there are so many things we are doing, this is one of the

things that somehow I just have not gotten around to doing. Where do we make

the start, what do we do. . . ?

 

Maharaja: Carry on with what you are doing. If you are asked to do it, then

you should understand it is an important part of your spiritual life. If you

are asked to do other things, then that is your deity worship. If you are a

gardener then your deity worship is growing those plants for Krsna. If you

are a book distributor, then your deity worship is giving those books to

others. Whatever we do is deity worship, whatever we do is for the personal

service of the Lord. Worship of the deity in the temple is a wonderful

facility because it gives us very personal experience of serving the Lord.

And it is especially very recommended for grhasthas, and since you are a

grhastha, since you are publicly confessing this lack of inspiration, we

will reciprocate by giving you public instruction to begin doing deity

worship [laughter] on a regular basis. Does that answer your question?

[laughter] Do you have any other questions? [laughter]

 

Thank you very much. Srila Prabhupada ki. . . jai! Gaura premanande!