The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Houston, Texas, on June 16, 1996 (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology Volume 5)

 

(In the following conversation with the devotees, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja speaks alternately in Hindi and English)

Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: We are offering our hearts, which are more beautiful than innumerable flowers, at the feet of the guru.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The heart is like a flower. It is so soft, sweet, and fragrant. So, I cannot take out my heart, but this flower is like my heart. The devotee prays, “I want to give my heart at your lotus feet. We will do what you say. We know that you have come to help us go to Kṛṣṇa and be engaged in His service. You have no other desires at all.”

Hence, it is not just a flower we are offering. It represents our sweet, soft, pure, and fragrant heart. We want to make our hearts like this, and it should be given at the lotus feet of the Divine Couple — Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. We cannot make our hearts like this flower, but Gurudeva can come and make it. He will offer it at the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. He is qualified. Those who are helping us to be engaged in the service of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are really our bandhava. Bandhava means?

Devotees: Friends.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They are really our father and mother.

sei se parama bandhu, sei pitā-mātā
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇe yei prema-bhakti-dātā
sakala janme pitā-mātā sabe pāya
kṛṣṇa guru nāhi mile, bhajaha hiyāya

Caitanya-maṅgala (Madhya-khaṇḍa)

[“One who has established my relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he is my supreme friend, my mother and father. He is a guru. In every birth, everyone gets a father and mother, but everyone does not attain Kṛṣṇa or a guru.”]

This is written in the Caitanya-maṅgala. Sei se parama bandhu means very beloved. Sei pitā-mātā śrī-kṛṣṇa-caraṇe yei prema-bhakti-dātā — the person who gives us prema for the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhikā is our friend, mother, father, and guru. So, the person, the Vaiṣṇava, the guru, takes us and makes our hearts pure. The heart will not have duplicity, hypocrisy, and other impure things. There will be no mood to chatter and patter; there will be no envy; there will be nothing impure in the heart. There will only be broad-mindedness and a sense of brotherhood. Guru teaches universal love. Guru and Vaiṣṇavas are our mother, father, brother, and dearest beloved. They will turn our hearts into a place of pure devotion. But if duplicity, envy, and hatred are taught, then what is to be said? You should respect even an ant. If we can have an affection for dogs that are not serving Kṛṣṇa, then why can we not have affection for human beings who are taking us towards Kṛṣṇa?

A person thinks, “I want to engage everyone in the service of Kṛṣṇa.” If someone else thinks, “I will help everyone go towards Kṛṣṇa,” then both persons should be friends, not enemies. The person should think, “He is my friend. He is also doing my service.” Shouldn’t they be friends? Why should there need to be a fight? So, we should be liberal, and we should think, “Those who are helping us go towards Kṛṣṇa are all friends. We are one family. Those who are not serving Kṛṣṇa are friends, but they are misguided. They should be helped.”

A person who is not doing bhajana should be taught how to do bhajana. He is also Bhagavān’s son. Everyone is Kṛṣṇa’s son and daughter. Everyone should unite and serve Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Father. Anyone who brings us to Him is our friend. So, you should duly consider this and engage in Kṛṣṇa’s bhajana. If a devotee meets another devotee, he should think, “The devotee wants everyone to be pure and to serve Kṛṣṇa. So, he is my friend. We are doing the same service.” Why should there be envy? There should be brotherhood and universal love.

Devotee: Mahārāja, what should be our attitude towards Māyāvādīs?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: There should be a mood of brotherhood. Some of their conceptions are good because they understand, “This world is māyā, and one doesn’t belong to māyā.” Up to this understanding, the Vaiṣṇavas and the Māyāvādīs are of one mood. They realise, “One is not this body. One is a soul (ātmā).” What comes after this mood will be considered. But, up to this understanding, it is all right. Later, the Māyāvādīs desire the annihilation of the ātmā; they want to merge into brahma. This difference will be considered.

Śaṅkarācārya has said,

bhaja govindaṁ bhaja govindaṁ
bhaja govindaṁ mūḍha-mate
prāpte sannihite kāla maraṇe
na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛñ-karaṇe

[“You fools and rascals, all your grammatical word jugglery of suffixes, prefixes, and philosophical speculation will not save you at the time of death. Just worship Govinda! Worship Govinda! Worship Govinda!”]

This is meant for his followers. He asked them, “Why do you chant brahma, brahma? Rather, chant Govinda’s name.” One day, if the Māyāvādīs have the association of bona fide Vaiṣṇavas, then they will return to this path. We think that Śaṅkarācārya was a very good Ācārya. But we don’t follow him.

Devotee: Mahārāja, the mind is superior to the senses. The intelligence is superior to the mind. The soul is superior to intelligence. So, when Jaḍa Bharata instructed King Rahūgaṇa, he glorified the mind in such a way that the mind can lead to bondage or liberation. So, it seems the soul is inferior to the mind. In the second chapter of the Gītā, the characteristics of the soul are given. But in the fifth canto, when Jaḍa Bharata instructs the King, he glorifies the mind.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, this is a wrong understanding. Jaḍa Bharata said that the soul is superior to the senses, mind, intelligence, and false ego.

mana eva manuṣyāṇāṁ
kāraṇaṁ bandha-mokṣayoḥ
bandhāya viṣayāsaṅgo
muktyai nirviṣayaṁ manaḥ

Amṛta-bindu Upaniṣad (2)

[“For man, mind is the cause of bondage, and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.”]

For man, the mind is the cause of bondage, and the mind is the cause of liberation. Bharata Mahārājajī said this. Mind is the cause of bondage and liberation. But whose?

Devotee: The soul’s?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Not all the souls.

Devotee: The conditioned soul?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. The conditioned soul has no activities now. The conditioned soul has forgotten himself. But when the mind of the conditioned soul becomes clear, when the soul starts to associate with the sādhus, then by this sat-saṅga, the mind becomes pure, and that soul becomes inclined towards Kṛṣṇa. This is meant for the conditioned soul.

Devotee: But isn’t the mind responsible for this conditioned state?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No, the mind has no influence there. The soul forgets Kṛṣṇa because of its own self. The mind did not even exist at that time. For instance, there was a king who ruled over thousands of kingdoms and employed millions of police officers. But this king stole something and was caught. A king who was superior to him imprisoned him. Now, a soldier who holds a position that is far less than the king controls the king himself. The soldiers were under the king’s command, but they now control the king. When the king is released, he will become the master of thousands of such soldiers upon reaching the kingdom. Therefore, the mind is guilty now. An offence was committed at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. So, by being guilty, the soul is entangled in the net of māyā. He is controlled by māyā. The mind is the maidservant of māyā. The mind is the soldier of māyā who is controlling the soul. This soldier imprisoned the king.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a very influential figure. But soldiers caught and guarded him from all four sides on a ship. He could neither eat nor walk. Then, he drowned in the ocean. Who drowned him? Soldiers, who were paid a very menial wage and who were controlled by higher authorities, drowned him. Soldiers, who held a position much lower than Napoleon, beat him and killed him. In this way, the mind is the maidservant of māyā. The guilty soul is now being punished. The liberated souls are beyond; māyā cannot even touch them.

Devotee: So, this is meant for the conditioned soul?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, this should be understood. The conditioned soul cannot perform any activities now. The soul’s hands and legs are tied together. The soul cannot do anything on its own. The soul cannot take birth and die according to its will. He cannot enjoy happiness and distress according to his desire. The conditioned soul is controlled and caught in the net of māyā. So, what you have said applies to them. The sādhus instruct the mind.

They tell the mind, “Oh, follow what I say. You should help him develop a taste for hearing hari-kathā and for chanting.”

With their assistance, they will go up. And at last, the mind will go away, and they will be liberated.

(Viṣṇu dāsa questions Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Hindi, and he replies in Hindi.)

Viṣṇu dāsa: Mahārāja, what are the symptoms of advancement in devotion?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: There will be taste in chanting harināma. A person advancing in devotion will also have respect for sādhus. He will have so much ruci (taste) in hearing and reading Bhagavān’s pastimes. He will not have the desire to sin. He will not be attached to wealth and saṁsāra. This will happen naturally. If a devotee is advancing in bhagavad-bhajana, then there will be no attachment to saṁsāra. But why does the devotee still do karma? The devotee had been revolving in the cycle of karma since time immemorial, and now he has stopped. Although the cycle continues to run, it will eventually come to a halt.

Another example can be given. When a train comes to a halt, it doesn’t do so immediately. It runs for a mile or two and then stops.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: You had previously said in Purī that when a person stops a fan, then the fan gradually stops and not immediately.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Understand in this way.

Viṣṇu dāsa: You had spoken earlier that by being humble, a person is very anxious to hear hari-kathā.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You will realise everything by being humble. Hanumānjī is very humble; still, he burnt Laṅkā to ashes. So, how is he humble? To serve his Prabhu, he is ready to give up his life. This is humility. He cannot live without chanting Rāma’s names. When Rāmacandrajī returned to Ayodhyā, He gave everyone something. He gave Aṅgada and all the others some gifts. When it was Hanumān’s turn, Sītājī removed her necklace and gave it to Hanumān. Hanumān started biting the necklace to have a look inside.

Rāma asked, “Oh monkey, why are you doing this? Don’t you know that this necklace is priceless? It has especially come from Sītā’s neck. But you are breaking it and throwing it away.”

Hanumān replied, “Oh Prabhu, I was just seeing if this necklace had ‘Rāma Rāma’ written inside it.”

“But is My name written in your heart?”

“Yes, Prabhu,” said Hanumān. He then opened his chest, and the name, ‘Sītā-Rāma,’ was seen and heard.

This is humility. Humility is not an external display. A person falls at the feet of another, but at the slightest provocation, this person will try to strangle the same person whose feet he had caught. He has one hand on his feet and the other on his neck.

(Laughter)

This is not humility. I am seeing this happen to the sādhus here. I didn’t understand this when I was in India. However, I am very surprised to see this. A mother had four sons, and she dearly loved all of them. If one son beats his brother, will he please his mother?

A son says, “Oh, mother, be pleased, for I am nicely beating and humiliating my brother.”

You should respect everyone.

tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi-līlā 17.31)

[“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honour yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”]

These devotees are tṛṇād api. They left their homes and their desire for prestige. This devotee has created numerous paintings. She knows siddhānta very well. She is no less than the GBC; she is even more advanced than they are. But she left everything for Bhagavān’s bhajana. She only desires, “My kṛṣṇa-prema should increase.”

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja speaks in English)

You should not think that I have left ISKCON and that they have forbidden me to be in ISKCON. You are really ISKCON, and no one can snatch Prabhupāda away from us. No one can do so; they have no right to do so. It is our right to say, “He is my Gurudeva, and I am worshipping him.” No one can challenge this.

(Break in audio)

Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Gurudeva, earlier you said that we should see all devotees as friends and family and not envy each other. Sometimes envy comes in very tricky ways, and we don’t recognise it. So, what can we do? How can we protect ourselves?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Call Kṛṣṇa, Guru and especially, Rūpa-Raghunātha, and Svarūpa Dāmodara. This has been told in Manah-śikṣā. One will become free of envy.

Devotee: I get very angry, Gurujī.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Your anger should not be harmful. You may fight, and by this, prema will be renewed. How can an ocean be still and not have waves? Prema has waves, but your anger should not dry the ocean.

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja speaks a few words on Śrī Vallabhācārya after Śrī Madhurāṣṭakam is sung)

adharaṁ madhuraṁ vadanaṁ madhuraṁ
nayanaṁ madhuraṁ hasitaṁ madhuram
hṛdayaṁ madhuraṁ gamanaṁ madhuraṁ
madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram

Śrī Madhurāṣṭakam (1)

[“His lips are sweet, His face is sweet, His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet, His heart is sweet, His gait is sweet — everything is sweet about the original Lord of Sweetness.”]

Vallabhācārya has written this aṣṭakam. He used to live in Gokula, and he was a one-pointed kṛṣṇa-bhakta. He wasn’t a worshiper of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Rather, he was a worshiper of baby Kṛṣṇa (Bāla-gopāla). So, this has been written from the mood of vatsālya-rasa, where Kṛṣṇa is considered as a son.

madhurādhi-pater akhilaṁ madhuram

He has left something for others. Kṛṣṇa’s mother is also sweet; His father is also sweet. His Mathurā is sweet; His Vṛndāvana is sweet. Everything about Him is sweet. His weeping is also so sweet.

(Break in audio)

Whether you are in America, India, or anywhere else, don’t leave Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

In Vṛndāvana, there are many small, beautiful groves. The cuckoos coo and the peacocks dance. The cuckoos are dark-complexioned like Kṛṣṇa, and they speak very sweetly, just as Kṛṣṇa does. What do they say? They say, “Rādhe Rādhe.” In Vṛndāvana, everyone says, “Rādhe Rādhe.” They don’t chant, “Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa.” There is so much inconceivable potency in the holy name.

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja speaks to some children)

You are little children. Among you, who will not become old? Raise your hand. How do you know you will become old? You see that your father and mother have become old. They were like you before. Can you say who will never die?

Devotee (child): Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who will not die among you? Whoever thinks that they will not die should raise his or her hand. Will you die or not?

You should realise that you are not this body. You are the soul within the body. You should understand this. You will have to leave this body behind. Therefore, chant Kṛṣṇa’s names from your childhood, and then you will know what your soul is. Kṛṣṇa is everywhere, and He is so merciful. He especially likes children; He always plays with them. All the cowherd boys and all the gopīs were with Kṛṣṇa, and they would always dance very beautifully. Your master danced so well, but he cannot dance like Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa dances so sweetly. If He dances, the clouds will come. If He dances with much spirit, then fire will come at once. Sometimes, when He smiles during dancing, the whole world becomes satisfied. He dances in such a way. One Kṛṣṇa danced with sixteen thousand gopīs. He danced so beautifully, sweetly, and swiftly that one Kṛṣṇa simultaneously danced with sixteen thousand gopīs. It seemed that Kṛṣṇa was dancing with every gopī.

Kṛṣṇa did not become many; there was only one Kṛṣṇa. But, He danced so swiftly that every gopī felt, “Kṛṣṇa is only dancing with me.” But there was only one Kṛṣṇa. It seemed that different forms of Kṛṣṇa danced with all the gopīs. How was this? If you take a firebrand and circle it, then it will seem that it is a ring of fire. So, Kṛṣṇa was one, and He was dancing so sweetly and marvellously. Śaṅkara cannot dance like that; no one can dance like that. But the gopīs can dance more sweetly and swiftly than even Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is defeated there. Kṛṣṇa can sing so sweetly, but Rādhā can sing more sweetly.

Kṛṣṇa will then remark, “Sādhu! Sādhu! Very good! Very good!”

Kṛṣṇa is powerful. If anyone folds their hands and prays to Kṛṣṇa, “You should be merciful to me, so that I can establish a relation and be engaged in Your service,” then birth, death, and old age will be stopped. If anyone wants to be eternally young, if anyone doesn’t want to suffer and die, then that person should remember Kṛṣṇa.

There was a sādhu called Agastya. He had nothing; he had only a small piece of cloth. He would chant Rāma’s name on the banks of the ocean. A bird had some eggs that fell into the ocean. The ocean took these eggs deep within its surface. The bird cried out, “Please return my eggs.” But the ocean didn’t listen.

The bird went to Agastya Ṛṣi and said, “The ocean has taken my eggs. He is not returning them.”

Agastya Ṛṣi came and told the ocean, “Oh brother, return the bird’s eggs. She is weeping bitterly for her children.”

The ocean did not listen. Agastya Ṛṣi then took a palmful of water and chanted Rāma Rāma. Then, all the water of the ocean entered Agastya Ṛṣi, and the ocean was now completely dry.

ulṭā nāma japata jaga jana
vālmīki pāya brahmā-samāna

[“The whole world knows how Vālmīki became completely divine by repeating the holy name of Lord Rāma in reverse as ‘Mara.’ ”]

If a person chants, ‘Mara Mara,’ then he will also be delivered. By chanting Bhagavān’s names once, by chanting Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, and Rāma, a conditioned soul will cross this bhāva-sagara. All of you little children don’t understand this. But your parents understand the glories of the holy name. You don’t understand that this world is a place of misery. But this world is filled with sorrow and thorns. You don’t realise that this world is full of miseries, sufferings, ego, lust, and everything else. But a day will come when you will have to weep if you are not chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names.

So, from the beginning, chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. All of you, repeat after me. Chant, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.” The children should especially chant loudly. Don’t forget these names. At least chant these names once in your house. After taking a bath and before going to school, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra once, and then leave your home. By chanting just once, you’ll see how beautiful your life is. There will be no more misery. Crossing this material world, all of you will be with Kṛṣṇa in Goloka-Vaikuṇṭha.

Everyone should chant Kṛṣṇa’s names if they want to be happy. No money is spent on chanting these names. A poor man, a wealthy man, the big, the small, while sleeping, while walking — anyone can chant the holy names at any time. Your auspiciousness is then assured.

(Break in audio)

Māyā consists of two letters — mā–yā (mā means not, yā means this). Māyā means that which is not. Whatever we see — father, mother, children, world, mind, eye, and everything else is not actually what we think them to be. Kṛṣṇa is the actual Father; He supports all. All the beings are sons or daughters of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the real father and mother. But we think, “He is my father.” But where is your father?

Devotee: He has gone.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Where has he gone?

Devotee: To Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We don’t know. We don’t know where he has gone. But his body was there, which we burned. But he was not actually burned. He is present even today. So, we think, “This body is my father.” This conception is wrong — this is māyā. This mind is māyā. A conditioned soul thinks, “I am this body.” But this is māyā. These conceptions are characteristic of illusory māyā. So, all the relations we have in this world are actually māyā. They are not real, but we think, “This is mine. This is mine.”

If your father were yours, then why did he leave you and go somewhere? So, this is māyā. He is the son of Kṛṣṇa, and he is serving somewhere. All we see in this world is māyā. Anything more?

Devotee: Why isn’t Śiva considered Bhagavān? And why did he take poison?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Śiva is not actually Bhagavān. He is a devotee of Rāma or Kṛṣṇa. With his wife, Pārvatī, he always serves Rāma. He always chants Rāma’s names. So, he should be considered a guru. But, he is not like Kṛṣṇa or Rāma; he is the servant of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. He took poison because he is qualified to take it. He will not die from taking this poison. When the world was burning with this poison, then Kṛṣṇa came and told Śiva, “The whole world will be burnt if you don’t take this poison. You are powerful enough to digest it.”

So, he took the poison and kept it in his throat. Kṛṣṇa is in his heart; Rāma is in his heart. So, if that poison goes to his heart, then it will disturb Kṛṣṇa and Rāma. That is why Śiva kept that poison in his throat, and it became blue. So, he is called Nīlakaṇṭha.

Gaura-premānande! Hari Haribol!

(Break in audio)

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: To wait is bhajana. By waiting this way, you will become restless. Then, Kṛṣṇa will be obtained immediately. However, we are unable to do this.

Viṣṇu dāsa: Gurudeva, vipralamba-bhāva is the opposite of milana.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: The greater vipralambha-bhāva is, the faster the goal will be attained. If vipralambha-bhāva has come, then it means that your bhajana is becoming complete. You should want this mood; you should be restless for it. What did Mahāprabhujī say?

He would cry out, “Where is My Kṛṣṇa? Where is My Kṛṣṇa? My heart is breaking!”

Viṣṇu dāsa: Gurudeva, in Goloka-dhāma, Caitanya Mahāprabhu is considered Kṛṣṇa, but…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But this conception is only there for some moments. It is similar to when Kṛṣṇa goes cow-herding. There is no vipralambha-bhāva there.

Viṣṇu dāsa: Then it is not prominent there? There is vipralambha for three months in…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is experienced in some sections. This mood is not experienced in all sections. Otherwise, no one will perform bhajana. Then you will only cry day and night in separation. Therefore, milana (meeting) is there. We should do service to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. How can we do Their service, when we have never met Them? We will cry day and night in separation only. In eternal meeting (nitya-milana), separation is experienced to a small degree. This is done to nourish the meeting. For instance, māna is experienced. Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are sitting together, but They are not talking to each other. What is this mood? It is vipralambha. They are meeting together, but They are not talking to each other. This mood is also experienced when Kṛṣṇa goes cow-herding. It is heard that Kṛṣṇa is absent for three months for some reason. However, this applies only to certain sections; it does not apply to all sections. How can vipralambha-bhāva be experienced when Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vṛndāvana?

The gopīs feel a lot of separation when Kṛṣṇa is playing with Baladeva Prabhu. At that time, the gopīs were feeling a great deal of separation. They think, “When will Baladeva Prabhu go? We cannot meet Kṛṣṇa in front of Him.” So, vipralambha-bhāva is here.

Viṣṇu dāsa: Gurudeva, Anaṅga Mañjarī is Baladevajī’s svarūpa?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Baladevajī has lakhs of svarūpas.

Viṣṇu dāsa: A person was telling me, “Where is the śloka that says Baladeva Prabhu is in mādhurya-bhāva?”

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You should tell him, “Is it necessary for everyone to be a fool like you?”

(Laughter)

Is it necessary to be a fool?

Viṣṇu dāsa: Gurudeva, this person was a sannyāsī. So, I could not tell him anything.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: By being a sannyāsī, he shouldn’t speak this way. Should everyone remain a fool like him for their entire lives? Shouldn’t they advance? Does everyone have the same qualifications? They can confine themselves to their particular understanding. But we have a greed for this. But they can remain where they are or go lower.

Viṣṇu dāsa: Gurudeva, you said that Baladevajī has lakhs of svarūpas.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Baladevajī has lakhs of svarūpas. Thus, He serves even in the form of Anaṅga Mañjarī. Sometimes, He becomes Nārāyaṇa; He becomes Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa; He becomes Kāraṇābdhiśāyī Viṣṇu. These are His eternal forms. Similarly, Anaṅga Mañjarī is one of His forms. This is the dearest form of His. He always serves Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in this form. This is beyond worldly understanding. Logic does not apply there. Foolishness doesn’t have a place there. It is beyond logic.

Why did Kṛṣṇa steal the sārīs of the gopīs? Your intelligence and logic cannot comprehend this. Why? Why does fire have the potency of heat and light? Why does a man die upon consuming poison? Your intelligence cannot understand this. Why can’t your intelligence understand everything?

Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Gurudeva, at the other house, you said that when Kṛṣṇa dances, then sometimes clouds come and sometimes fire comes.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes.

Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Can you explain this?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: These are strange occurrences. When it was winter and the gopīs were feeling so cold, Kṛṣṇa danced in such a mood that fire came, and the gopīs were so happy.

Śyāmarāṇī dāsī: Is this fire sunshine?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: So many things; fire, energy, and everything. Sometimes, fire is present, and it is very hot. Sometimes, it burns. When the creation is to be destroyed, then Kṛṣṇa becomes like Śiva and dances. This dance is of Kṛṣṇa. But it is a very bad, angry dance. And a sweet dance is Kṛṣṇa’s.

{Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja speaks to a devotee who is going to get harināma initiation)

You should chant in such a manner that if anyone has drowned in a well and he is dying there, then, being surrounded by so much water and snakes, he will call out to his father, mother, brother, or anyone.

He will cry out, “Save me! Save me! Save me!”

No one will hear his cries. But Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. He is present even in atoms. So, if you call out to Him by chanting, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare,” then He will at once come and save you. We are drowning now in the endless ocean of birth and death. This is not your first birth. Lakhs and lakhs of births have passed. But now you have come in a very beautiful human form. It is not necessary that after the death of this body, you will again come in the form of a human. So, only in the human body can you chant Kṛṣṇa’s names and call out to him. You will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare with tears in your eyes and your heart melting. This is pure bhakti. If you want anything by chanting Kṛṣṇa’s names, you will have it. If you desire very good intelligence, or if you desire to be married to a qualified spouse in a large family, or if you desire great wealth and reputation, then you will have that. But you will have to leave everything here. So, try to have something that will never be lost.

So, chant, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.” But there are some processes? What are these processes? Why do the police wear a uniform? Why do they wear this uniform? Can they not perform their duty without a uniform? They can do. However, they still have a dress. So, take a dress that will be helpful. What is that dress? You should apply tilaka. You should wear a kaṇṭhī-mālā. And eat what is helpful to us. You should eat anything that is offered to Kṛṣṇa with tulasī. And you should try to be in very good sādhu-saṅga. What is sādhu-saṅga?

Devotee: Good association.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is that association? There is no envy at all. There is no malice in this association. There is no quarrelling here. There is no chatter and patter. Nothing is told that is not related to Kṛṣṇa. There are no bad qualities here. They can chant Kṛṣṇa’s name. So, being in their association, we should chant, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.” If you want to purify your heart and voice, then you will also have to wear a tulasī-mālā. Without that, you cannot do. Tulasī is so powerful — more than gold. Gold cannot save us from death, but tulasī can. So, try. You can do more or less. You should also try to maintain your own life. You should also do this. All these material things are not the soul; we are the soul inside the body. And this soul is the servant and maidservant of Kṛṣṇa.

Father and mother will be left behind when we die or when they die. But Kṛṣṇa never dies, and the ātmā never dies. Therefore, if you have practised bhakti in this life, then your life is successful; otherwise, it is not. Try to develop your bhakti from childhood.

You should not think, “I will chant harināma when I am old and unable to sit straight.”

From today, chant harināma.

Source(s): Purebhakti.com, Serve Love – Bhakta Bandhav (Bhakta Bandhav Anthology transcribed and edited by the Bhakta Bandhav Team)

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net
Unless indicated otherwise, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)