Nama Om…
Hari Haraaya Naama Krishna Yadavaya Naamahari, Gopal Govinda Ram Sri Madhusudhan
Jai Jagannath Jai Jagannath Jai Baladeva Jai Subhadra
Mukham karoti vaachalam…

Today iin Tamil Nadu the Pongal day. So all of India it is celebrated in different ways. It is Makar Sankranti. In Assam it is Bihu, in Bengal is Poush Parbon in India they serve lots of cakes, pithas. In Tamil Nadu they have two kinds of Pongal – salty Pongal and sweet Pongal. I had Pongal this morning and this evening I had pithas. So since probably all of you had Pongal today, tonight at the end of class, we will give you pithas – pithas means cake. Rice cakes are not the cakes you are used to but they are very nice and we have milk pithas – doodh pithas for you!

Since we started little late, we will have class for half an hour.

Srivas Thakur is offering his prayers to Lord Vishwambhar. If you have any word you have difficulty in understanding, note it down and give it to Ekarani and we will practice that next week for the voice therapy. So Srivas Thakur, he said that I have fallen into the illusion of grihastha, householder life. If I did not know You, my life would have been wasted. Not knowing You, my birth would have been wasted. So in the verses before this Srivas Thakur was offering some adapted verses that Lord Brahma was offering to Krishna. Now here he is saying something spontaneous about himself. He thinks that his being in the householder life was a waste of time because he didn’t know Lord Caitanya. Now he know Lord Caitanya and so his life has got value. If we just think that the material life is the only thing to achieve, then that is illusion. Household life is alright as long as one advances in their spiritual life together. Bhakti Vinod Thakur said that talking amongst couple and touching each other is auspicious if, day by day they also advance in their devotional service. So in this leela, Srivas Thakur is married to Malini who is having motherly affection for Lord Nityananda, and we know that Srivas Thakur was always chanting the holy names and worshiping the deities. So he is saying this is hisa utmost humility. He is actually a mahabhaagavat, a great, pure devotee.

You have deceived me through various illusions. You carried my flower basked and other things. Here Srivas is saying how Lord Caitanya, being a brahmana, He deceived him and took a humble role, carrying his stuff for him, when He is actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the role of a devotee.

Oh listen, Lord of my life, this does not give me any fear, for You have now revealed Yourself to me, before my very eyes.

Today all my miseries are destroyed. Today my fortunate day has arisen.

Today my life and activities have all become fruitful. Today has given all auspiciousness for me.

Today my forefathers have all been delivered. Today, my home has become auspicious.

Today there is no limit to the good fortune of my eyes! I have seen the one whose lotus feet are served by the goddess of fortune, Rama Devi.

Speaking this way Srivas Pandit became ecstatic. He raised his two hands in the air, he crted, he sighed deeply, Gauuuuuranga! GAuuuuuuranga!

The most fortunate Srivas Thakur rolled on the ground, seeing the incomparable, beautiful form of Lord Gaurachandra.

What wonderful happiness filled the body of Srivas! He was submerged in the ocean of bliss! BLISS!! HARIBOL! HARIBOL!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Prayers by Srivas Thakur, in the book Sri Krishna Caitanya the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a devotee.

So Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, paritranaya sadhu naam, vinayasha dushkrithaam – I deliver the sadhus and annihilate the miscreants. Many atheists, materialists, spread the false news that the soldiers were coming to arrest Srivas Thakur and all the vaishnavas. But it was just a routine change of the guard. Lord Caitanya came before Srivas and manifested His four handed form to Srivas. And told him that there is nothing to worry about. I am HERE! And your loud chanting and loud shouting of Advaita Gosain has brought Me down from the spiritual world to here! So then He told him, he can offer prayers. So we were reading for two days, the prayers of Srivas. He did not have to study, it just came natural. So he was experiencing great ecstasy in seeing his Lord. That is the goal of human life. To see the Lord and to engage in His service. Are there are any questions?

Question: Bhanu Swali (Bhakti Bhava devi dasi): Sometimes because of family responsibilities we are not able to able to have personal association with devotees. Although our family is supportive but not so much into Krishna consciousness. How to keep up our enthusiasm? Question by Phaneswari Lakshmi devi dasi.

Guru maharaj: Since last time I had answered; I wonder which have you heard? I said that since this is the modern age of telephone and internet, you can contact your friends and some of the vaishnavas from your house by telephone. So that way you can get association. Just like you are tuning into the class every night, I hope that my association is giving you some inspiration. The other thing is that our household duties we should offer as service to Krishna. Like keeping the house clean and cooking, this will be offered as a service to Krishna. Like in the temple, we also clean the temple and in cooking you can offer your food to Krishna and bringing up children to be devotees, is also Krishna seva and making your husband to be Krishna conscious is also a service. Somehow if you can cultivate your parents and in laws then instead of just being favorable, they can actually start to practice a little devotional service. That requires some expertise on your part like suppose your husband or your mother in law is saying, I have a difficulty in understanding this verse of Bhagavad Gita – since you are such a pandit, you are so intelligent, you please help me to understand. But you may understand it and he may try to read it and tries to figure it. So there are various ways in which you can use your feminine intelligence to engage your in laws in devotional service!

Thank you very much.

Question: Kaivalya Sundari: Since Srivas is an incarnation of Narada muni, can you tell what qualities they both have, as devotees of the Lord?

Guru maharaj: What qualities Srivas has, what qualities Narada muni has, same.

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
15 January 2019