PLEASE NOTE, THIS DOCUMENT IS AT DRAFT (NOT PERFECT) STAGE. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO READ WITH GM’S VIDEO IN BACKGROUND.

Mukham karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim
Yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam
Paramananda Madhavam Sri Caitanya Isvaram

So yesterday we were in the temple in Penanga in TODU and we drove down to Kuala Lumpur today and now I am in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. I just want to appear on the Facebook, for the devotees. We did not go to the temple today, we stayed here and rested from our journey, but we will have a few questions and answers. One thing is that we are seeing now in the world, there is this allegation of fake news. Sometimes people put up rumors on the internet., on what’s app groups, social media and people take those posts as real news. But it is a phenomenon that many things are said which are not true! So we should be careful not to indulge in spreading of fake news, which involves us in vaisnava aparadh. Because if we say something that is not true, or not confirmed about a vaisnava, then we are also guilty of vaisnava aparadh. So we should be very careful. Previously, rumor was mouth to mouth, now, rumor mongering can be done by internet on mass scale virus! So rumors can go viral. On April 1st, some people call it April Fools’ day, people would send out false news. But now people are doing it every day! And political parties are doing it to each other. But we, as devotees, we should be very careful. We can say what is in the sastra, we can say spiritual truths, but we should avoid saying rumors, which are not confirmed.

So today I met a devotee who is also having a proposal from South Africa for marriage. Now we have intercontinental marriages, inter guru disciple marriages, because this is a worldwide society. Srila Prabhupada said, this is his United Nations of the Spiritual World. So we are finding that people are being united, based on the practice of Krsna consciousness, from different parts of the world. So this is very encouraging. It is very slow though and the unifying factor is devotion to Lord Krsna. So if there are some questions you would like to ask, write to me on internet, we can try to answer. How many people are online? 70. Anyone posting a question?

Question: Gunagrahi Govinda das: What is the secret of preaching Krsna katha effectively?

Guru maharaj: Mercy of Krsna. Krsna gives us the empowerment to speak about His devotees. He is in our heart as Supersoul. So if we surrender to Him and repeat what we heard from the spiritual master or sastras, or what we heard from the advanced souls, then by that means we can change the hearts of people. We should not speculate, we should not say things that are not confirmed by sadhu, sastra or guru. This is the secret of successful preaching, if we get the mercy of Krsna, we simply transmit the message as we heard it. Srila Prabhupada said it is not difficult to be a guru, it is like a postman. You don’t open the letter and write your own comment. Oh my dear, I love you. You write, oh my dear I used to love you! The postman just delivers the message. And so, in the same way, devotees should deliver the message as he heard from Srila Prabhupada, from guru, from the sastras and the sadhus, and not change things according to his whim. Another question?

Question: Radha Kishori devi dasi from Gurugram, India: What does the deity of Lord Jagannath alone signify? Many temples have only Jagannath deity in Gaudiya Matts.

Guru maharaj: Usually Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra are worshipped together. In Jagannath Puri there is a deity of J alone at the Simhadvar, called Patita Pavana Jagannath. That He gives mercy to the fallen souls. Maybe everyone that has a solo Jagannath has also the Patita Pavana form. I haven’t heard anything in particular, but we see in Jagannath Puri, at the doorway, they have a single Jagannath and they call Him Patita Pavana. Hare Krsna. Thank you Radha Kishori. Please accept my blessings!

Question: Dipa Das, London: Gurudev, how can we use our professional position in the material world to help expand bhakti vrksa in the western world? As a councilor, in London, how can I assist to expand?

Guru maharaj: Well we are very happy that our sheltered disciple is a councilor in London. You have to do your councilor service according to the city courts. At the same time by serving the people naturally you will get some appreciation from the people. And you can in your private life, you can spread bhakti vrksa or Krsna consciousness. And because you are serving the people as a councilor, and you are doing your service very conscientiously and sincerely, people may be interested in knowing what your personal source of strength is. I don’t think as a councilor, per se, you can directly do anything sectarian. But apart from that, as a private citizen who is also acting responsibly as a councilor, people would be interested in seeing what makes you tick. So you can use your personal example to inspire others. Also if there is any like a Ratha Yatra or something that happens in the city, you may be able to help them organize such a thing to get a city permission. You can in your position as a councilor, in some way try to help them within the legal limits.

It is 11.55 pm here but lots of questions are coming. So.

Question: Iswari Lalita devi dasi, South America: Hare Krsna gurudev, I would like to know what is the real meaning of sankirtan? And how could it be practiced practically?

Guru maharaj: Sankirtan. Kirtan means to glorify the Lord. Sankirtan means a group of people gather together and chant the holy names or chant the glories of the Lord. So this sankirtan is more pleasing to the Lord, because He sees how different devotees are cooperating together to sing His glories. So that is more endearing to the Lord.

Question: Madhuri Mamatamayi from Mumbai: Hare Krsna dear guru maharaj: PAMHO. What should one do while staying in Vrndavan or any holy dhama to make the maximum for one’s spiritual growth?

Guru maharaj: One day Srila Prabhupada was saying that in Mayapur or Vrndavan, you get a thousand times benefit for any spiritual activity you do. So then he asked what is a thousand times zero? So the answer is zero. So we want to do as many spiritual activities as possible, when we are in Vrndavan or Mayapur or some other holy dhamas. So that it multiplies. Occupation in the holy dhamas, means vacation from material activities that obstruct our spiritual activities. So thank you Madhuri Mamatamayi and thank your good husband. Hare Krsna!

Question: Haridhwani mataji from New Talavan: Dear Guru maharaj, PAMRO. We often hear you say, “it is a slow process”. Then is it valid to think that it is understandable or even okay if initiated disciples are not chanting and following strictly?

Guru maharaj: If you don’t chant it is very slow. As it is, it is a gradual process. That means we should chant, we should be very sincere and continue with our process. Then we will gradually rise up from bhajana kriya, anarta nivritti, nista, ruci, aasakti and bhava, and finally reach prema. So that may take some time – it may take 20 or 30 years. But if you don’t chant, then your progress stops. You are stuck up. You keep chanting and that is a gradual process. Not that, I am old devotee, so you stop chanting. You are stuck! Like a traffic jam! So you should continue to chant, continue to serve. In this way, you will continue to progress. It is a gradual process – how fast or slow, depends on how sincere you are. You can also very quickly – Srila Prabhupada said you can very quickly advance if you very sincerely chant. Like if a small child howls for the mother, MAAAAAAAAAAA! The mother comes running. If the child just ma ma ma, then she knows the child is alright. So we want to call out for Krsna, heart and soul, a T shirt of a youth in Malaysia said, ‘Chant from the Heart’. So I don’t know if we have that here? That is what we want to do. Chant from the heart! Hare Krsna! Thank you Haridhwani devi dasi.

Question: Aswasena Govinda das, Washington DC: Guru maharaj, what is the best and easiest way to preach?

Guru maharaj: Aswasena, blessings to you and your good wife. I am thinking about my visit to your house. So what to answer, the best way to preach? I mean in one way, people say that to give out a book is a good way, because if a person reads the book, hours and hours and days reading, we cannot do that practically. So in some ways giving a book is a good way to preach. But what is the best way would depend on the particular individual. You ask people what brought you to Krsna consciousness? And some people say it was the prasadam, some people say it was the good dealings of the devotees and some people say it was Srila Prabhupada’s books. So you never know. It depends on the person you are preaching to. What will actually change that person and affect their consciousness. Thank you for trying and spreading the movement.

Now it is 12.01 am. Last question.

Question: This is from Sukarti Radha. In Vrndavana in mangala arati they sing Vibhavari sesa and in Mayapur they sing samsara dhava prayers. How to understand this guru maharaj?

Guru maharaj: Because Prabhupada’s samadhi is right next to the temple. So they sing the samsara prayers at his samadhi, I understand. And they sing the vibhavari sesa prayers in the temple. Mainly in the temples around the world, Srila Prabhupada said to chant the samsara prayers. But Vrndavana was special, since the samadhi was right next to the temple. In Mayapur the samadhi is a bit far from the temple. Since the worship of Sri Radha Madhava and Asta Sakhi and the Panca Tattva in Mayapur is based on the instruction and mercy of Srila Prabhupada, therefore we chant the samsara prayers to Srila Prabhupada first. That was how he instructed us to do, in Mayapur. So basically in Vrndavana, he instructed to chant vibhavari sesa and in Mayapur he instructed to chant samsara dhava. So we follow Srila Prabhupada’s system of worship, as he prescribed.

Thank you all very much. Thank you for your nice questions. And I just wanted to sign in because there was no public class today. Hare Krsna!

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
25 June 2019