The following is a transcription of a discourse delivered by Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja in Perth, Australia, on January 31, 2001

Once, the king of heaven, Indra, and the king of demons, Virocana, both went to Brahmā for ātmā-jñāna (transcendental knowledge). Brahmā asked them, “Why have you come to me?”

They told Brahmā the same thing: “We want to be happy. We don’t want to be defeated by anyone. We don’t want to be controlled by anyone, and we never want to die.”

Brahmā replied, “The subject is very high and deep, so you must remain here and obey me. Being brahmacārīs, stay very far away from ladies. You should live here, serve in my house for twenty-five years. Then I may tell you something. Otherwise, you will not be qualified to realise what I will tell you. You will misunderstand my intention. You will understand in a way that contradicts my intended message.”

They accepted this. Giving up all sense gratification, serving in Brahmā’s house in all respects, not shaving, not even cutting their nails, practising brahmacarya, remaining very far away from worldly intoxication, rising early in the morning, and sleeping very little, they strictly followed him for 25 years. After that, they approached Brahmā and requested him, “Please tell us what to do. How can we be happy, realise ourselves, and understand the answer to the question, ‘Who am I?’ How can we easily overcome birth, death, sorrow, and suffering in this life?”

Brahmā told them, “You should obey me. At once, go to a barber, shave, take a bath, cut your nails, and wash everything, and you should look beautiful. Having beautifully decorated your bodies, come to me.”

They did so. They washed everything, became very beautiful, and returned to Brahmā. Brahmā told them, “Bring a mirror,” and they brought it. He then said, “Oh, see your faces. They are both very beautiful.” Both were beautiful. Brahmā then said, “This is you, this is the soul, this is the ātmā, this is the paramātmā – this is everything. Now you should return and try to make this body very happy. Thus, you will be happy.”

They were initiated, and they both thought, “I have now been initiated by jagad-guru Brahmā.” Satisfied, they returned home.

Having returned to his kingdom, Virocana, the king of demons, announced, “I have learned about the reality of the soul, that this body is the soul. Therefore, by any means, by hook or crook, we should try to make it happy. We can drink wine; no harm. By all means, we should make this body happy.” He taught this philosophy of life, and he was fully satisfied.

Indra, on the other hand, had some doubts. He was not satisfied when he left his Gurukula, the abode of Brahmā, and proceeded to his kingdom. He thought, “Why has Brahmā told us this? We have heard, and Brahmā has also instructed us, that the ātmā never dies. It is always full of jñāna (knowledge). It has no transformation. Never. It is never unhappy. The ātmā is never unhappy. But at the same time, our Gurudeva told us, ‘This body is the soul, and you should try to keep it happy.’ I see, I realise that from the beginning of birth, there are so many transformations. First, one is a child of 1 day, then 5 years, and then 10 years. Gradually, one becomes a young man; after that, one becomes old and leaves one’s body. So how can his body be the soul? One moment, one’s happy, and another, one feels separation or suffering. I’m in doubt. I could not understand him. I could not follow him. He is always correct. Perhaps he said something true, but I could not understand him. I could not follow. So he has not made a mistake. I have made a mistake. I must return to him and ask this question again: ‘What is the purpose of existence?’ ”

Indra went to Brahmā and asked, “Gurudeva, you have told me that this body is the soul. It is permanent. It never becomes unhappy, and it has no death and no birth. However, I notice this body constantly changes, undergoing a series of transformations every moment. Then, after some time, this body dies and is burnt to ashes. Or, animals eat it, transforming it into stool and many other things. So how can this body be the soul?”

Brahmā replied, “Oh, I’m very happy to hear this. You should remain here for another twenty-five years, practising brahmacarya. Then you will become qualified to realise my instructions.”

Indra did so. After twenty-five more years, that is, after 50 years of practising brahmacarya and serving Gurudeva, he again came to Brahmā. Brahmā said, “You know that in a dream, you see that a person never dies. You will be very happy if you know the real person in a dream. You can be happy.”

Indra returned home, but again, he returned to Brahmā and asked, “How can this be? It can never be. A person’s mind in a dream is always in ten conditions.” ‘Ten’ means that there are numerous situations and numerous problems. “He’s always anxious and upset. Sometimes, he becomes happy with his children, sons, daughters, and wife, but he again becomes worried after some time. He thinks, ‘If I have some wealth, I will be happy.’ Wealth comes, but he’s never happy. Then he thinks, ‘Oh, if a wife, a very qualified, beautiful wife, comes, I will be happy.’ She comes, but he is not happy because there are no children. Even if children came, he still wouldn’t be happy. There are so many diseases and so many other problems. In the mind, he’s thinking all this; therefore, this ‘person’ (the mind) cannot be the soul. And dreams themselves are also false. When the man wakes up and comes to his external consciousness, he thinks, ‘Oh, everything was false.’ If, in a dream, someone is cutting off one’s head, that person will cry, thinking, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying.’ But he is actually not dying. This is a strange thing. Then he awakens and thinks, ‘Oh, what nonsense I was dreaming!’ So this cannot be the soul.”

Brahmā said, “When you are in deep sleep, that is reality; that is the experience of the soul. At that time, you are not thinking illusory thoughts; therefore, that is the soul’s presence.” This is Māyāvāda philosophy. It is negative. There is no positive spiritual thought. It is like a void. Considering this, Indra was also not satisfied with this philosophy. Again, he returned to Brahmā. Now, it had been one hundred years since he had first come. Now, he had served Brahmā and performed austerities for one hundred years.

This time, Brahmā told him about the ātmā. He said, “There is something transcendental in this body, which is part and parcel of the Supreme Godhead. Now you can realise it yourself through practice. If I had told you everything when you first came, you could not have practised and would have had no realisation. I therefore gradually took you to this point. Serving Guru for a hundred years resulted in gradual advancement and a purified heart.”

So, Indra and Virocana were both disciples of Brahmā. Virocana thought, “I am a disciple of Brahmā,” and Indra thought the same. But who is really the disciple? He who practises and wants to know the real mood and teachings, the internal mood and teachings of his gurudeva, is actually the disciple.

Nārada is a guru. He has so many disciples – Vyāsa, Vālmīki, Dhruva, Prahlāda, Prācīnabarhi, the Vālakhilyas, and the thousands and thousands of sons of Prajāpati whom he enlightened twice. All are his disciples. But why are there so many differences? Do you see any difference between Dhruva and Prahlāda? Can you explain?

Devotee: Dhruva Mahārāja achieved…

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Is he a disciple of Nārada?

Devotee: Yes.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: And Prahlāda is a disciple of Nārada?

Devotee: Yes.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the difference between the two? Are they both the same? Or is there some difference?

Devotee: There is a difference.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What?

Devotee: Dhruva Mahārāja had to go through austerity, and Prahlāda Mahārāja received the knowledge of the Bhāgavatam in the womb of his mother.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Can you explain?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: Dhruva Mahārāja had some material desires. He had to get that first because he prayed for some material profit. But Prahlāda had no material desires.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Still, Dhruva was thinking, “I am the disciple of Nārada.” But Prahlāda was rejecting all these material things. And what did Prahlāda desire? He also received from Nārada the realisation and vision that ‘God is everywhere, and everything is in God.’ He was, therefore, a mahā-bhāgavata. He could see his worshipable God everywhere, even in the grass. He had nothing to fear; he never feared. He was self-satisfied.

But Nārada also has a disciple like Śrī Veda-vyāsa, and he gave him something more. What is that? Vyāsa knows all worldly things. He has also realised transcendental things and revealed that in his scriptures. He divided the Vedas into four and put the essence in the Vedānta. Then he took the essence of the Vedānta and put that in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He wrote for persons with limited intelligence, and for those who are always absorbed in sense gratification, he wrote the Mahābhārata. This scripture is particularly interesting because of its depiction of kṣatriyas fighting each other. Vyāsa was very intelligent. He knew how to take his readers to the transcendental realm. However, although he had written everything cleverly, he was still unsatisfied. He, therefore, approached Nārada and said, “Oh, even though I’ve written so much, I’m not satisfied. Why?”

Nārada replied, “I know you cannot be satisfied. You have not glorified the sweet pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You have not yet described who the Supreme Personality of Godhead is and where His abode is. And You have not described transcendental love and affection. You should realise all this and write about it, and then you can be happy.”

Śrī Vyāsadeva then took shelter of bhakti. He saw the Supreme Godhead and māyā as His shadow, and then he wrote Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. What is contained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam? The highest transcendental knowledge, love and affection, and the constitutional form of Kṛṣṇa, who is the embodiment of love – raso vai saḥ. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Vyāsadeva glorified the gopīs,

vande nanda-vraja-strīṇāṁ
pāda-reṇum abhīkṣṇaśaḥ
yāsāṁ hari-kathodgītaṁ
punāti bhuvana-trayam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.63)

[“I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Mahārāja’s cowherd village. When these gopīs loudly chant the glories of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the vibration purifies the three worlds.”]

Though Nārada explained transcendental knowledge to Prahlāda, can Prahlāda be like Vyāsa or Śukadeva Gosvāmī? Never. Why are these differences seen? Why? You see, Nārada also gave knowledge to Prācīnabarhi, but he was not so advanced.

You can see that Mādhavendra Purī had many disciples, including 9 or 10 high-class sannyāsīs. However, his disciples were each of a different category. For example, Rāmacandra Purī also took initiation from Mādhavendra Purīpāda, but he was a Māyāvādī. Another disciple, Śrī Īśvara Purīpāda, was a high-class realised soul and devotee. He was always weeping like Mādhavendra Purī, and he became the guru of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Paramānanda Purī and Brāhmaṇanda Bhārati were also his disciples. There were many disciples of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, but they were of different types. Similarly, Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, your Prabhupāda, came to this world. He has many lakhs of disciples, direct disciples, indirect disciples, ‘by phone’ disciples, by letter, by cassette, and nowadays also by e-mail. They take shelter of him in many ways and say, “I am his disciple, his highest disciple.”

Why are there differences? Can you explain?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: Each individual is unique and has so many different desires. There are different desires.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Another example is that of the sun. The sun is the same when reflected in glass and water. You see that air and water become hot from the sun’s rays, but wood never becomes so. Why? A magnifying glass concentrates the sun’s heat so much that it can burn you by its touch. Concentrating the heat can also create fire (when it is placed at a certain angle and pointed in a specific direction). Although this quality is not inherent in wood, increased heat will also penetrate the wood. There may even be a forest fire, at which time all the wood will burn. Is there any change in the sun? Is there a doṣa (defect) in the sun? Or is the defect in those who receive it?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: In those who receive it. The sun remains the same, but the reception is different.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Similarly, the guru is the same. Why, then, does he give so many various kinds of knowledge to so many disciples? And they each say, “I am a disciple” of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, of Nārada, of the Sun, or Kṛṣṇa. Why are there so many differences? You should explain. Try to explain. This is a question for all, for everyone.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: According to our impressions from our previous actions, our karma, according to the previous association of saintly persons or of devotees we have contacted, maybe in a previous life also, we have arrived at a certain level of understanding and purification of the heart. The degree of purification determines how much instruction we can accept.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If the hearts of two disciples are pure, and they go to one guru, can they receive the same thing or not?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: Both have a pure heart?

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes.

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Like Vijaya Kumāra and Vrajanātha. [The svarūpa, or constitutional position, of Vijaya Kumāra was in mādhurya-rasa, and that of Vrajanātha was in sakhya-rasa. Therefore, although they had the same guru, they realised their own constitutional natures.]

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: It depends then on the speciality of their soul.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. But the guru wants everyone to follow him, and he wants them to be just like him. I’m not talking about bogus gurus. They cannot give you anything because they are bogus. They can give only bogus things. They can never give real things. As a mundane analogy, if anyone wants heat and light, one should serve the Sun. Similarly, if anyone wants high-class knowledge (tattva-jñāna), he should go to a realised soul, to a bona fide guru. One may think, “My guru is so high-class. In this world, there is no one like my guru.” But that guru may actually be bogus, lacking any transcendental insight. He’s never touched that realm. One may think, “My gurudeva is now the supreme guru of gurus in the whole world. There’s no one else like him.” Will he gain anything from such thinking? Nothing.

na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.31)

[“Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṇu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labour, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.”]

What is the meaning?

Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja: In this verse, Prahlāda Mahārāja is saying that if there is a blind person, and other blind people take shelter of him as they go along, they will lose the path and fall into a ditch. If a guru has no transcendental knowledge and is not realised, he is blind. And those who follow him follow him into complete disaster. Both the spiritual master and disciple are heading for a hellish condition and will remain there for a long time.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: So, in the beginning, we were blind. There was another blind person, and we thought, “Oh, he has eyes, and he can help me.” Later, when somehow he realises, “Oh, my guru is blind like me”, what should he do? He should reject him and go to one who actually has perfect eyes, who is transcendental. How will he know? He will know only by going to a pure devotee and hearing. However, how can he know if he is constantly engaged in worldly things and has no time for good association? If he has no time to hear, he must enter the endless chain of birth and death. On the other hand, if anyone has time for this and thinks, “Why am I wasting my time on these material things?” He will at once reject those false things.

Anyone who wants milk can buy a cow that produces it. Once, a man purchased a cow, but later, he saw that it did not yield milk. He expected the cow to give birth to a calf and produce milk, but it never happened. He waited for one year, then two years, but no milk was coming. He was very fond of milk. So what should he do?

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He should reject that cow and buy a new one.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, why not a new cow who already has a calf? Similarly, choose a guru who knows, who can remove all doubts, who can give knowledge – like Śrī Rūpa-Sanātana, like Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura, a guru like my Gurudeva, nitya-līlā-praviṣṭa oṁ viṣṇupāda aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. Although I was like an insect remaining in stool, he brought me to the bhakti line through his association, and now the whole world is hearing me. What a miracle he did.

We should therefore try to be in this line. Sato vṛtteḥ:

utsāhān niścayād dhairyāt
tat-tat-karma-pravartanāt
saṅga-tyāgāt sato vṛtteḥ
ṣaḍbhir bhaktiḥ prasidhyati

Upadeśāmṛta (3)

[“There are six principles favourable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavouring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam – hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.”]

What is the meaning of sato vṛtteḥ?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: Sato vṛtteḥ. The commentaries to this verse state that you should follow in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. For the householders, it means earning an honest living while doing as much bhajana as possible, and not exceeding one’s needs. For the brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs, it means strictly following in the footsteps of great previous ācāryas by hearing and chanting.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Can you clarify this further? You should all try to know this. This is for those who are disciples and those who want transcendental knowledge.

Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja: Śrīla Gurudeva is speaking a verse by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda from Upadeśāmṛta. He has written about six kinds of favourable activities for devotional service. Of these six, the last one is sato vṛtteḥ. What does it mean? Vṛttiḥ means one’s livelihood. How to maintain your existence within this world is called vṛttiḥ. What kind of vṛttiḥ? Sato vṛtteḥ. As those who are santa-mahātmās (pure devotees) have maintained their lives in this world, we should accept the same path.

In other words, those who are in household life, like Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, like Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura and others, in the same way that they maintained their lives, follow them in a very simple way and put all emphasis on doing bhajana and depending on Kṛṣṇa. And then, those who are in the renounced order, like Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Rūpa, Śrī Sanātana and others, should be followed by those who are in the brahmacārī-āśrama or sannyāsa-āśrama. They were doing bhajana, and whatever came by the mercy of the Lord, they would accept. Sometimes, they did mādhukarī (begging a little prasāda from the householders). In this way, if someone wants to progress in their spiritual life, they must maintain their life appropriately, following the examples given by the great saints according to whatever āśrama they are in. If one observes this, one must be successful in one’s spiritual life. However, if one neglects this, one’s devotional service will be ruined.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: When Guru Mahārāja was there, there were so many devotees, all brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs. We used to beg from door to door, and if we collected four rupees, we thought, “This is in great excess; it is so much.” When we used to give this to Gurudeva, he would be very satisfied and say, “Oh, no one has served like you.”

One day, Sanātana Prabhu, a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda…

Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He is the devotee who took the sannyāsa order with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: At that time, he had left his house and become like a vānaprastha. He was living in the maṭha as a brahmacārī. He told Guru Mahārāja, “I want to help your Gurudeva. I want to help.”

“How?”

“I want to start a workshop where each brahmacārī can give one hour of his time. I will teach the brahmacārīs how to make clothes for their maintenance. There will be cādars, kurtās, and dhotīs for all. And, if there is any excess, we can also sell it in the market. Thus, there will be no need to perform bhikṣā. Nowadays, no one likes this, so we should try to do business. We can make a factory of soap or incense and all other things and sell them.” Guru Mahārāja rejected this at once. At once, he rejected it and said, “You are brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs. You are now in the renounced order. All of you should always follow Śrī Rūpa, Sanātana and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.”

Can a brahmacārī who has taken saffron cloth serve anywhere in worldly companies or the government to make money?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: No.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: May he be allowed or not?

Dhṛṣṭadyumna Prabhu: No.

Vrajanātha Prabhu: Only under special conditions.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Never. Otherwise, he should give up his saffron cloth.

Vrajanātha Prabhu: But sometimes we see that those in saffron clothes are allowed to work at an outside job for some time.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who allowed this? Has our Gurudeva allowed it?

Vrajanātha Prabhu: There is one example.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This is because he was weak, but now he has left his job. One may do this briefly until one becomes strong, but I cannot allow it if he is in saffron cloth. No guru will allow it. A brahmacārī is only allowed to serve Kṛṣṇa. If he’s taken saffron cloth, he cannot even serve his father or mother because Gurudeva has become his real father. The other parents cannot liberate us. They cannot help us. A brahmacārī should follow the example of Nārada and Śukadeva Gosvāmī. As soon as Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī came out of the womb, he quickly ran away.

If you really want to develop your Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you should strictly follow our guru-varga – in vṛtti, in bhakti, and all things. If you are only following halfway, what will be the result? Only half will be equal to nothing. We should therefore try to develop. Otherwise, you will think, “I am the disciple of Nārada” or “I am the disciple of Svāmī Prabhupāda,” but in reality, you will not be following. In reality, what will you achieve in this world? Again, you will become entangled in the chain of birth and death. Carvita-carvaṇānām.

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30)

[“(Prahlāda Mahārāja replied:) ‘Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kṛṣṇa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.’ ”]

You will be ‘chewing the already chewed’ material existence.

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura always liked to read Prahlāda-carita. We should think deeply about this topic, and then transcendental knowledge may come. If you think, “Oh, this is my wife, but I have left her, but this is my wife. These are my children, but I have left them.” What is the difference between the time before and after renunciation? There will be nothing different.

You should realise, “Kṛṣṇa is my everything. Gurudeva has given this transcendental knowledge and relationship. I should follow this. I should try to engage myself and increase this transcendental relationship and attachment to Kṛṣṇa.” If one is not doing this, he will think, “I am a disciple. I am doing well. I am dressed in saffron cloth. I am a sannyāsī,” but these words will be useless.

Please don’t be upset with me. I don’t mean to say anything that causes pain in your heart. I want you to realise the truth.

Vrajanātha Prabhu: Any ācārya, like Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja, in establishing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, may sometimes introduce something on a lower platform.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: But he will not act contrary to the principles. A sannyāsī should not be engaged with his former wife and worldly things. There are some restrictions. He will not ignore these restrictions.

Vrajanātha Prabhu: But if he sees that many of his followers want to do certain things, he may.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I have explained all this clearly in my class. Some of the disciples of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, although sannyāsīs and learned persons, could not follow him. Not all could follow Nārada Ṛṣi, but still, they thought, “He has given all transcendental knowledge to me.” But why has Nārada given rāma-bhakti to Vālmīki? Why? He knows more than we do. He knows that Rāma is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Rāma-līlā is one of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. He saw that Vālmīki was qualified for that.

(Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja addressed the ten children attending the class) Today, I’m very happy with my children.

Devotee: They were quietly sitting in class.

Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I will give them the sweets first. I want every day to be like this. Don’t play during class. Come to me sometimes doing kīrtana, and sometimes hearing and taking prasādam.

Source: Purebhakti.com

Image(s) made possible by Pixabay.com, Krishnapath.org.in, Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo and / or Bhaktiart.net

Unless indicated differently, all verse translations and quotes are from the books by Śrīla Prabhupāda (Vedabase.com)