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Date: 3 July 2024 Speaker: HG Krishna Bhakta Prabhu Ji Topic: The Bhava of taking Holy Name HG Krishna Bhakta Prabhu Ji: Welcome all the devotees for this Japa Talk. Some days ago, a devotee has sent a post saying ‘we can’t meet Guru Maharaj often is a myth. He daily waits for you in Japa Session.’ We are meeting with Guru Maharaj everyday from past 5 years. Today we are watching Guru Maharaj was asking from the devotes of Suraj, Pakistan and some other places about them individually and He was also awakening those who are sleeping in the japa session. Guru Maharaj gives blessings from the bottom of his heart in this Morning session. Today we will discuss on the purport of Srimad Bhagavatam 8.3.1 along with the pastime of Gajendra Moksha. Srila Prabhupada tells about the process of Taking Mahamantra and Japa in this purport. SB 8.3.1: śrī-bādarāyaṇir uvāca evaṁ vyavasito buddhyā samādhāya mano hṛdi jajāpa paramaṁ jāpyaṁ prāg-janmany anuśikṣitam Translation: Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained later, Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life. Yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana. To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is imperative, therefore, that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly, one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ). Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain. For example, Ajāmila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief. Nonetheless, because of chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa for the purpose of calling his son, whom he had named Nārāyaṇa, he became advanced, even though he was involved in sinful activities. Therefore, we should not forget the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra. Here Srila Prabhupada teaches us to always remember Krishna by giving the example of Gajendra. Whatever service we are rendering weather it is chanting, following the four regulative principles, the process of servant of servants of servant, deity worship, Reading, residence in Dham, the main purpose of all the services is to always remember Krishna. We should always try to remember Krishna always and not to forget Krishna in any condition. CC Madhya 22.113: smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit sarve vidhi-niṣedhāḥ syur etayor eva kiṅkarāḥ Translation: ‘Kṛṣṇa is the origin of Lord Viṣṇu. He should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the śāstras should be the servants of these two principles.’ By hearing this statement, some people say it is ok we will take Name of Krishna at the time of death, but why we take His name every time, it is not necessary. But the real thing is we don’t know when death will come and if death will come it is not assured that we will remember the Holy name. So, it is good to take name every time. It is not necessary that we will die in the old age only. We can die any time. Whenever the counts of the breath will complete, we have to leave this body. Guru Maharaj often asks how old are you? The meaning of this is what is your age. Another meaning is how much you are getting older. People come up with the answers that we are 21 years old, we are 16 years old. It is certain that who have taken birth will die one day. But if we remember Krishna then Krishna will save us even if we will degrade. We can see by the example of Gajendra. Gajendra was given a body of an elephant because of the offence committed by him towards a Vaishnava in his past life. But Krishna gave him the knowledge in his heart, by which he was being able to offer his prayers at the time of difficulty. There is a twist in the pastime also. The prayers and offering were done by the Gajendra only and Lord decent for Gajendra. But the crocodile is the one, who delivered first. How is this happened? Gajendra has called lord only, but Crocodile has taken the shelter of the feet of a Vaishnava. That’s why Lord delivers him first and Gajendra got the body to become a devotee. Padma Purāṇa: ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam Translation: This is the instruction of Lord Śiva to Pārvatī. Pārvatī's question was, "Which ārādhanam is the best?" So he replied, ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param. He said... [break] ...but the knowledge is there. They have not lost the knowledge, but we have neglected. If we take advantage of this knowledge, then the whole world will become happy. It is described in 5th chapter of 7th canto, when Jada Bharat was given the service of lifting the palanquin of King Rahugana. Jada Bharat was jumping all the time. That’s why the king sitting in the palanquin feels very uncomfortable. He scolded Jada Bharat that your body seems so strong. But you have no knowledge how to lift the palanquin. How fool you are! Then Jada Bharat said to King Rahugana that until you drink the washed feet water of a Vaishnava, you can never get the devotion and self-realisation. ŚB 7.5.32: naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat Translation: Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination. There are so many examples in the scriptures to come to know that we can do devotion smoothly only by taking shelter of a Vaishnava. Sometime we say that we are chanting, we are taking the holy name. But no! there are so many pure devotees who are praying for us and by their prayers we are trying to take the pure holy name. Some time ago, Guru Maharaj was saying during Govardhan Parikrama that Kali is so bad and stubborn. Now he has entered in all the ashramas. But This Govardhan is preventing Kali to spread. Govardhan is saving our devotion. We are going in Dham and taking the holy name just because of the mercy of Giri Govardhan. Govardhan is standing like a shield in front of kali. Pure devotees of Lord purify the places they visit. By their mercy we can chant the holy name. ŚB 1.13.10: bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā Translation: My lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage. Sometimes we attend the kirtan done by some pure devotee. We realise that the tears flowing from our eyes, that is not the eight satvik disorders, but we can not find out the reason. This is because the holy name coming from the pure devotees, and by hearing that holy name, we realise some reflection of pure holy name. This is not our eligibility of taking pure holy name. But the Pure holy name coming from pure devotees enters in our heart and will do his work. Srila Prabhupada saying that even when we are degraded but we should not leave chanting the holy name. One must attain perfection in any of the mantra weather it is cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ). Bs. 5.29: cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa- lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi Translation: I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs. There is only one this preferred to us to chant. Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad it is stated: hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanam nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate Translation: “After searching through all the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa.” There is a very important place called Varadraj, in Kanchipuram in the Sri Cult. He is always ready to give blessings as his name suggests who gives blessings. His devotee Dushtipurn talk with the deities. Once Yamuna Acharya said to him that he should ask Lord that it is stated in Bhagavad Gita that: BG 8.5: anta-kāle ca mām eva smaran muktvā kalevaram yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ Translation: And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. Lord answered: If a devotee failed to chant the name of the lord due to some accident or some disorder, but he has chanted my name throughout his life, then it is my responsibility to take his to my abode. Once srila Prabhupada was asked that what is the future of the flowers offered on the feet of Krishna and Spiritual Master? Prabhupada answered the tree from which these flowers are plucked will surely get the human body in next birth and will do devotion and go back to Godhead. Flowers can also go back to the abode of Krishna, if they are used in the service of Krishna. 15 January, 1977, in Pragaraj, when Narad Muni Sankirtan Party reaches there with the deities of Gaur Nitai, Srila Prabhupada said these oxen are doing the service of Lord, they will surely go back, back to Godhead. Oxen and Flowers can go back to the adobe of Krishna. In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Shivanand Sen has a dog. Once he has given the service of advance party in which he has to arrange everything before the samkirtan party reaches there. Everyone was going through boat, The boatman said, ‘Dogs are not allowed in the boat.’ Shivanand sen gets disappoint. Further, in Jagannath Puri, he saw Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself feeding the dog the Mahaprasad of Lord Jagannath. The dog will surely go back to the adobe of Krishna. Because Krishna himself feeding him. Then what could be his destination. A pastime can be seen in the forests of Jharkhanda, where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu engages all the animals in the loving service of Lord. The deer and the lion were kissing each other out of love. Both are the enemies. Deer is the food for lion. This is the effect and power of Devotion. Srila Prabhupada is telling us the Same thing. Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. If we have some money in our bank account, we remember in our next birth that in so and so account I have put the amount of 1 or 2 crore, are we be able to take that amount? Security will push us out and can be shoot us if we will not understand. But Krishna is s merciful. He gives us chance to complete our devotion in the next birth from where we had left in the previous birth. We can see in the movement of Srila Prabhupada, little kids are doing devotion from the early age, they can lovingly recite Narsimha Aarti and verses, because they have started the devotion from where they have left in the previous life. Sometime, we said that this is the new devotee or the younger devotee but I am the senior devotee. This is completely wrong. Devotion has no relation with any ashrama or age. These are all designations of body. These designations are given us in this material world. Brahmachari, Vanaprastha, sanyasi, Grihastha, all these designations are related to the body only. The designation of soul is given by God himself, that’s why it is eternal. If we see devotee by their age or time duration, he entered in devotion, then it leads us to commit the 1st offence towards holy name: to blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives for propagating the holy name of the Lord. By committing the offence, one loose the interest towards holy name. Srila Prabhupada gave an example of Ajamila. Ajamila learn the Vaidik knowledge with his father in his younger age. Later, he put in the bad association. But he kept his son’s name as Narayana. At the time of death, Ajamila was calling hios son’s name. But that was not only his son’s name, but the name of the supreme personality of Godhead. This name has so much potential, that the Yamadutas went back from his door to see the Vishnudutas. We can see that Ajamila just saw the Postitute with another man just for a moment and his entire life changed. He took the time of 80 years to get back in devotion. What to say of those who watch abominable programmes on tv. So, one must chant thinking that it’s mercy of Krishna and Spiritual master that we are able to do so. We must render our services submissively. That’s why before entering the altar, one must pray: Hey Guru Dev! We are stuck here since time immemorial. We are like a dust particle; you have picked me up and allowed me to perform deity worship. So many prayers are recited. CC, Madhya Lila, 13.80: nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ Translation: “ ‘I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’ ” We should recite these prayers while entering in the deity room. sri-guro paramananda premananda phala-prada vrajananda-pradananda-sevayam ma niyojaya Translation: My dear spiritual master, who give the fruit of the highest bliss—the bliss of love of Godhead—please engage me in the blissful service of Sri Krishna, who bestows bliss upon the land of Vraja. And this bliss of Vraja can be awarded only by the mercy of the spiritual master. Nothing comes free. Krishna also would get His meals after killing a few demons! And we say that we must get full mercy without putting any efforts. So, devotion is devotional service as instructed by Srila Prabhupada. When one performs devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. Then it brings real success. Devotion without reverence for the spiritual master brings about lust and thus senior devotees also may fall. Nevertheless, by the mercy of Spiritual Master and Krishna one comes back to devotion. SB 12.3.52: kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt Translation: Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. In Satya Yuga, Dhruva Maharaj meditated on ‘Om Namoh Bhagavate Vasudevaya.’ Also, while doing yajnya, holy names were chanted. In deity worship also one chants basic mantra in Dwapar Yuga. So, in these three yugas holy names were chanted. CC Madhya 6.242: harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā Translation: “ ‘In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.’ ” So, meditation is not the forte of Kali Yuga. Yagya also is not recommended. As there are no pure ingredients available. Elaborate Deity worship is also not possible. So based on 5 limbs of Bhakti:- Association of Devotees 2. Chanting 3. live in Holy places 4. Hearing Bhagavatam 5. Deity worship
