English
19 April 2020
Let’s do double and triple shifts for the Lord
Today is Varuthini Ekadasi. We have participants from 835 different locations. Last Ekadasi we had participants from 1000 places. I think this time there was not enough propagation that today is Ekadasi and we that we will chant more rounds. That’s why today’s number is not 1000. Many devotees who observed Ekadasi yesterday have sent reports. Mayapur, East India, Orissa, Bengal and some other countries observed Ekadasi yesterday. Dozens of devotees have sent reports that they have chanted 64 rounds, more than 64 rounds and others who are observing Ekadasi today are also writing their sankalpa. Prahlada Maharaja Prabhu said he will chant 80 rounds today. One mataji wrote that last Ekadasi she and her son chanted 64 rounds and her son also wants to chant 64 rounds today. She is requesting blessings for her son so that he can chant 64 rounds today. We are sitting to shower such blessings. In our parampara there is a shower of mercy always so that we can do kirtaniya sada hari.
One mataji from Ichalkaranji wrote, ‘I have learnt Harer namastakam by heart.’ She recites Harer namastakam daily. I was thinking it is very nice. Harer namastakam includes the glories of the holy name. Other devotees also could read and learn Harer namastakam. We could also post Harer namastakam on Loksanga. Today is the marriage anniversary of Arjuna Krsna from Kolhapur. I was thinking both husband and wife could sit together and chant 64 rounds.
grihe thako, vane thako, sada 'hari' bole' dako
Bhaktivinod Thakur said that even if you are brahmacari of the forest or grihasta you should always sada 'hari' bole' dako, Always chant the holy name. vadane hari-nam koro re.
Bhaktivinod Thakur further says, jivana hoilo sesha, na bhajile hrishikesa.
Many anniversaries have come and gone but maybe, na bhajile hrishikesa, you have not served the Lord of the senses, Hrishikesa. Even now if there is no taste in harinama. You should increase ruci in harinama as ones life is being wasted day by day.
sukhe duhkhe bhulo na’ko, vadane hari-nam koro re
Whether you are in a happy or distressful condition, just fill your lips with hari-nama. If today is your marriage anniversary, somebody said, It’s my birthday today or even if it’s not, keep chanting. In North India its always said, “aja ki shyam bhagavan ki nama, aja ki shyam krsna ke nama.” Yadunandan Acarya from Nasik changed it a bit and wrote, ‘aja ka din krsna ke nama.’ It’s a very inspiring line. He took a sankalpa to spend today in serving Krsna.
I was thinking lockdown is going on and the world is miserable. Many have lost their jobs. They are unemployed. In America more than 1 crore people are unemployed. They have lost their job. Many of them had made many others their boss. They were in the business of - He is my boss. I am servant. Once who thinks like this has become unemployed, but Hare Krsna devotees remember whose servant they are. Who is your boss? Jivera svarupa hoi krsnera nitya dasa. We, Hare Krsna devotees are eternal servants of Krsna. There is no question of Hare Krsna devotees becoming unemployed. Possibly first we were not employed. We were not serving Krsna, but now there is a chance to serve more. Krsna Kanahiya lal ki jai. And we have such a wonderful boss. If you have boss he should be like wonderful Krsna. Tell the people of the world to accept such a boss and become servant of such a boss. Such a boss is, Sarva loka mahesvaram
He is the proprietor of the whole world. Everyone has a Lord who is up in the sky. Remind the world and you also remember that you are a servant of the Lord. For Hare Krishna devotees there is no question of being unemployed.
People who make a boss in this world has to work hard like donkeys. Sometimes they have a single shift, then they do a double shift. So servants of Lord Krsna do you ever do such double shifts? We just do a little service for our boss. We can’t even chant our 16 rounds properly. We miss some rounds. Why not also do double shift, triple shift, quadruple shift, at least now when Covid-19 has provided us such a golden opportunity. If we chant 32 rounds then we have done double shift. If we chant 48 rounds we have done triple shift. If we chant 64 rounds then we have done a quadruple shift, 4 shifts. In this world people keep doing double shifts, triple shifts. Why don’t we do double, triple and quadruple shifts for the Lord? By doing this we will experience more joy. Just as in the world if we do double shifts, we get double payment. Don’t you think if you do a double shift you will get more payment?
loot sake to loot lo rama nama ke hire moti
goloker prem dhan, hari nama sankirtana
This is the real and divine wealth and by utilizing this wealth our souls will become healthy and nourished and we will become mahatma. There will be, anandambudhi-vardhanam, an increase in our joy and happiness. More chanting, double and triple shifts will give us more joy and happiness.
jo ananda sant fakir kare vo ananda nahi amiri me
This is the joy Hare Krsna devotees get. They may be brahmacaris, grihastas, vanaprastas or sannyasis. They may be of any asrama or varna but if they do ‘sravanam kirtanamm visnu samaranam’ then there will be happiness all over. And such happiness is not in being rich or earning money, its only harer nama eve kevalam. So the glories of the holy name are mentioned in Harer namastakam.
Today’s day is for Krsna. Actually everyday should be for Krsna. Everyday, every second, every moment we have to serve the Lord. ahaituki apratihata, there should be no motivation behind the service. The service should be Apratihata - undeterred, unbroken. This is the mood behind the service of the Lord. You all chant more rounds today, remain busy in this. This is the real business is life. Devotional service is the real dharma of the living entity/jiva. If the jiva is a servant then the dharma of the servant is to serve the Lord. When I was saying remain busy I was reminded of one incident in this context. A long time back I was a new devotee at Hare Krsna Land in Juhu. One day it was morning time and one of our life members from down town Mumbai came to Hare Krsna Land and he wanted to meet our temple president. I went with this news to call him. I told the president that a so and so life member wanted to meet him. He immediately said ‘Tell him I am busy I can’t see him.’ He told me to tell the life member that he was busy, he can’t meet now. When I heard - I am busy - in my mind I thought I thought you are not busy you are just chanting. You are not busy. You could meet him. Luckily I I did not say that to him. But later on I realized that chanting,
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna
Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
attentive chanting is a very important business. I am busy. If a devotee is chanting that means he is busy. He is not free. He should not talk unnecessary worldly things. He is calling the Lord. He is praying to the Lord, performing Hare Krsna is also meditation.
krte yad dhyayato visnum [SB 12.3.52]
In Satya-yuga, devotees obtained the Lord by meditation. In Kali-yuga we have to meditate. Chanting Hare Krsna is also mantra meditation.
In Treta-yuga, tretayam yajato makhaih, Lord was pleased by performing sacrifices, svaha…svaha….
yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra
loko 'yam karma-bandhanah
Translation: Work done as a sacrifice for Visnu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. [BG 3.9]
All work should be, yajnarthat. Arthat means only for the sake of, Yajna means sacrifice. Yajna is also the Lord and the Lord is also Yajna purusha. In Treta-yuga, people pleased the yajna purusha by performing sacrifices. But in Kali-yuga also we have to perform yajna and which is that yajna?
yajnanam japa-yajno 'smi
Translation: Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa]. [ BG 10.25]
In Kali-yuga we perform japa yajna. We do sankirtana yajna. It’s said in Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32,
yajai sakrtana-pryair yajanti hi sumedhasa
Translation: In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead.
Which yajna will be performed, yajai sankirtan pryair- Sankirtana yajna. Intelligent people will please the Lord by performing sankirtana yajna. Then remains Dvapara-yuga,
dvapare paricaryayam
In Dvapara-yuga the Lord was pleased by worshipping the Deities of the Lord. The worship of the Lord is incomplete without sankirtana. When we chant Hare Krsna that means we are doing archana also. Hare Krsna chanting is also archana. harer nama eva kevalam.
Isn’t all this a very serious business? Someone is performing yajna, someone is performing meditation, someone is serving the Deities, someone is performing sankirtana, or chanting the holy name. This is our business as spirit souls. This is the engagement of the soul.
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
Translation: One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna. [BG 4.9]
When there is me ‘mam eti’ we return to the abode of the Lord. Once you all reach there then you have to do harer nama eve kevalam. Here we are sitting with all these material engagements and unemployment. Also there are sinful activities all over, illicit sex, misbehaviour, corruption and this world is busy with all this. Some people are busy in meat eating, intoxication, illicit sex. They all are busy with lusty matters and desires.
Arjuna said in Bhagavad-gita, 3.36
atha kena prayukto 'yam
papam carati purusah
anicchann api varsneya
balad iva niyojitah
Translation: Arjuna said: O descendant of Vrsni, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?
Although the living entity sometimes does not want to act in sin, he is still forced to act. It’s like someone with force is getting it done by us. Who is that? Which is that energy that forces us to act sinfully? This was a question Arjuna asked Lord krsna, and Lord Krsna said,
kama esa krodha esa
rajo-guna-samudbhavah
mahasano maha-papma
viddhy enam iha vairinam
Translation: The Blessed Lord said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material modes of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring, sinful enemy of this world. [BG 3.37]
Lord said to Arjuna that its only lust. You have no choice, lust compels you to do that sinful act. When anger comes a person does what not. Lust, anger, greed, madness, envy and illusion makes us so intoxicated. These 6 are common enemies of mankind even if you are Indian, American, Australian or African. India should not think that Pakistan is their enemy or Russia should not think America is their enemy. This is not real reality. Those who are not under illusion can understand that lust, anger, greed, madness, envy and illusion are the real enemies. They get work done by us. We are very busy. In this world our subtle body is made up of mind, intelligence and false ego. These five working sense organs keep us busy. Behind these five working sense organs is,
manah-sasthanindriyani
prakrti-sthani karsati
Translation: Due to conditioned life, the living entities are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. [BG 15.7]
The mind is the 6th sense and then there is intelligence, vinasa kale viparita buddhi and also there is false ego ‘aham.’
karta aham iti manyate - I am doer
isvaro aham - I am the controller, I am boss. This is aham.
isvaro 'ham aham bhogi [BG 16.14]
Krsna has spoken to Arjuna so we can also hear and understand, people of demoniac nature. We were also pearls of the same necklace some months or years back. Now we are the same to some extent. We are in transition. We are practitioners in devotional life. This aham, aham bhogi aham balavan, I am the strongest, I am sukhi. This aham keeps the whole world busy. This engagement is because of our gross body and subtle body in this world. The engagement of the soul must be different. The nature of the soul, the dharma of soul is serving the Lord. The prescribed duty of the soul is serving the Lord. Prabhupada would say that dharma…
dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]
… is the laws of the Lord. One is ‘Laws of the Lord’ and other is ‘Laws of the land.’ According to the laws of the land one can go for abortion. Its legalised. The government has made it legal. Abortion is allowed by the ‘The laws of the land’ but it’s not allowed by the ‘Laws of the Lord.’ Then we are in trouble. The government is making so many laws and regulations and secularism. There are secular needs and government takes the responsibility to fulfil those needs. That’s why it’s called a secular state. Secular needs means food grains, clothes, house, electricity, roads, water etc. These are secular needs and taking care of these needs is the responsibility of the government. You are a soul and what are the needs of the soul? The government and the world does not worry about this. It goes on and on depending upon the ‘Laws of the land.’ A living entity should inquiry about Brahman.
athato brahma jijnasa
Know the rules and regulations of the Lord. We have sastra and also acaryas who explain these scriptures. Sadhu, sastra and acarya is team and with their help we can know about the dharma of the living entity or about the responsibilities of the living entity/jiva and about the goal of our life. Such work is being done by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness established by founder acarya Srila Prabhupada ki jai. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakur says that Krishna consciousness is lacking in this world. The International society for Krishna consciousness is doing a successful endeavour to fulfil this lack of Krishna consciousness. ISKCON is giving employment to the living entity. It’s giving service to the soul. This world is not giving employment to the living entity. He is not getting service of his Lord. The body and mind is busy, but the soul was not getting any employment. Enrolment is going on in ISKCON. It’s engaging the living entities in the service of their Lord. Serving the Lord is the real service. All the jiva or living entities can achieve service of the Lord and become employed. All the living entities have the right to serve the Lord. Come to temples, farm communities and gurukuls of ISKCON. You will never find a ‘No Vacany’ board here like the business companies can only give employment to some limited number of people. If the capacity is full, they put a sign board ‘No Vacancy.’ Hare Krsna devotees will never say such words to you if you meet them. Please come meet the Hare Krsna devotees. Hare Krsna devotees are sadhus, take their association.
sadhu-sanga, sadhu-sanga — sarva-sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
You will attain perfection.You will be joyful, happy forever. That’s why we say, chant and be happy. The whole world can chant or the whole world could read and teach Gita, Bhagavat, the whole world could honor Krsna Prasad. There are so many services and a living entity could engage himself in such services. [CC Madhya lila 22.54]
jiva Krsna dasa, ei visvasa. karle ta ara dukha nai
By doing this we can free ourselves from all kinds of miseries - adibhautik, adidaivik, adiadhayatmik, tritapa or Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi duhkha-dosanudarsanam. We will be free from all sufferings. Coronavirus or any virus will not be able to touch us or trouble us. We will go beyond it. madhava tithi bhakti janani- Ekadasi is the day of Hari or Madhava. She is mother of bhakti. Today’s day is for Krsna. aja ka din krsna ke nama
Today morning, afternoon and evening is all for Krsna. Have a nice day. All my good wishes are with you.
