Nama Om Vishnu Paadaya, ….
Hari Haraaya Naam Krishna Yadavaya Naama Hari Gopal Govinda Rama Sri Madhusudhan
Mukham karoti…

There was no audi for the first 3.38 minutes.

Dvadasi no fasting, fasting on the Ekadasi. On Dvadasi we can take full prasadam. On Tryodasi it is Lord Nityananda’s appearance! Haribol! So we fast till noon, and then we take feast. I don’t know what the exact observations will be in the Chennai temple. We will find out and tell you. So today I had my physical therapy and voice therapy. If there are any words you have difficulty in understanding my pronunciation, you can send them up by internet or if you are here, you can give them to Ekarani. She has her hand lifted up at the back. Guru maharaj then said in Bengali: jodhi aama kono kotha asuvidha hoi, taahale bolben. (In English it means if you have any problem understanding, please tell.) Nanri (that is thank you in Tamil language).

So today we will continue reading Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes. We are a little late!

This Mahakaavya is a Sanskrit verse. So I will have my secretary read the translation:

“Gadaadhar was absorbed with longing and skillfully stringing garlands, using attractive, fragrant, flowers. It seemed He was stringing a garland of desires with His mind.”

Same Mahakaavya in Sanskrit. “Gadaadhar skillfully made a crown for the Lord’s curly hair, two attractive ear rings and attractive flower necklace and a beautiful forehead ornament.”

“Sri Gadaadhar made an attractive necklace, arm bands, bracelets and attractive rings for all Lord Gauranga’s fingers.”

“Gadaadhar made an attractive belt, anklets and ornaments for the Lord’s toes in an instant. With longing, He decorated Lord Gauranga’s body with these, taking a long time.”

Caitanya Bhagavat Madhya Kanda:

Gadaadhar decorated the lotus feet of Gaurasundar, and the Lord’s toe nails, with a variety of flowers including champaka, mallika, kundha, kadamba, malati. I don’t know what the translation is for these Indian flowers! Champaka is called fanzy pansy in Hawaii. They are round flowers – the kadamba – it is a round flower with many different small flowers. In other words, they decorated the Lord’s feet and His toe nails with very fragrant, exquisite and rare flowers.

“With spiritual desire, the infinitely fortunate Gadaadhar, with longing, then applied camphor, aguru, sandalwood and kum kum, thickly to the Lord’s body from His toes to forehead.”

So the original verse is also in Sanskrit and the Bengali translation was read by Devagauranga das. Guru maharaj asked the repeater – you cannot read the Bengali script? And he replied sorry, no guru maharaj.

“By applying the thick, fragrant paste of camphor and aguru, which shone everywhere like gold and decorating the Lord with flower ornaments and shining ointment of oil and kum kum, combined with a natural gold of the Lord’s body, a different Gaurachandra seemed to manifest.”

Thus ends the chapter entitled – Various services by the devotees, under the section of 21-hour ecstasy. Hare Krishna!

Are there any questions?

Question: Ananya Devanath das: What is the significance of calling prabhu in our ISKCON?

Guru maharaj: We consider all devotees as worthy of serving or worshipping. Therefore, we address them as prabhu or master.

Question: Jishu Sen: How can one gain the firmness or devotion in the words of his gurudev?

Guru maharaj: If you apply them in your life, and you see that your life is improving, then naturally, you will have more and more faith. Like when you walk you put your foot ahead and you do not fall into a pit, then you think that the ground is solid, each step you put your foot, you gain your faith that this ground is solid. So you should follow the guru, and then you will see how his instructions help you. Hare Krishna!

Last question.

Question: Not audible. (how to guard against offences…)

Guru maharaj: Why will responsibility lead to offences? If we are inconsiderate of the people, then only there will be offence. We think that all devotees are very dear to the Lord. Therefore, we engage them in service and we do so very respectfully. In Mayapur we give out free food, two days a week. But we do so with the utmost respect to the receivers. As a result, they also feel that that is a very nice expression, and they have commented so. So having a responsibility doesn’t mean that we Lord it over others. Rather, we engage others in the service.

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
15 February 2019