Nama Om Vishnu paadaaya..
Hari Haraya Naama Krishna …
Jaya Prabhupada…
Mukham karoti…

So today in Mayapur it was Kaal Baishakh. That is a special spring shower. There had been gale winds and fierce thunderstorms, and now there is still a sprinkle and the wind has subsided. So here still, no one has come in the bad weather. So we will give a special class for the Facebook viewers. So it was like this, a storm was coming when Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan party was going to be affected. Lord Caitanya raised up His kartals and clashed them in the direction of the clouds, and the clouds dispersed! So that place is known Meghachora, the place where Lord Gauranga scattered the clouds. Like this there are many pastime places in the nine islands of Navadvip. Navadvip is like the center of a lotus. Where the central whorl is the Antardwip and the 8 flower petals go around the central whorl. So 8 plus 1 is nine, that is the geography of Navadvip dham. The rest of the lotus which has hundreds of petals, that is the Gaura Mandala bhumi. Our safari this year went out to various places in Gaura Mandala bhumi. Today they are supposed to be returning. Maybe they have already returned. We went to various places in the Gaura Mandal Bhumi, but it is not possible to visit all the places. Unless you can spend several months. So Gaura Mandala Bhumi is a very ecstatic place. Because here so many pastimes which happened of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, and Their associates. It goes from Remuna in the south to Mandara Hill in the north, in the east to Pundarik dham and in the west to Kanainaathshaala. So the Gaura Mandala Bhumi jebo jane chintamani, tara hoi Vraja bhumi vaas. So living in this Gaura Mandala Bhumi, understanding its transcendental nature, one can also then be actually living in Vrndavan! So since today we have this tonight with the Facebook viewers, we can have some questions and answers. If you have any questions, please send them up.

Question: Krishna Kishora das: Hare Krishna guru maharaj: Since we have been speaking on the expansions of Balaram, Nitai, we hear that Balaram is the first expansion of Krishna and from them come the chatur vyuha etc. we also hear that Radharani is the first expansion. Which one do we accept according to shaastric reference?

Guru maharaj: You see there is a difference – Radharani is Shakti tattva and Lord Nityananda is Vishnu tattva. So Vishnu tattva is non-different from Krishna and They have vertical energies. And Shakti tattva is one of the energies of the Lord. So as the original energy, Radharani is the Hladini potency or the ananda potency of the Lord. Sat cit ananda, She is the ananda and sat and cit are the other potencies. So that is the difference.

Question: In Kali yuga we have manda sumanda matayo manda bhagya – poor fund of intelligence and poor fund of knowledge and it is also said that we have to accept anything favorable to Krishna consciousness and reject that which is unfavorable. So with this manda sumanda matayo, how can we understand what is actually favorable and what is unfavorable?

Guru maharaj: We learn from our spiritual master, we also learn from the shaastras and learn from the vaishnavas and sadhus. So there is the shaastra, guru and sadhu, the three are focusing on the truth. So we want to understand using these three sadhu, shaastra and guru.

Question: Guru maharaj, PAMHO: Just back to Kolkata after the safari. Blissful experience. My question is, is Kolkata in Gaura Mandal Bhumi?

Guru maharaj: Yes, it is in the Gaura Mandala Bhumi! But most of the people do not realize their connection with Lord Caitanya. Therefore, they live on the crust, they don’t enter into the holy dham. Those who understand that this is a part of the Gaura Mandala Bhumi, they have a personal realization of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. Hare Krishna!

Question: Hare Krishna guru maharaj, Dandavat pranam. Just like devotees can aspire to attain the raasa lila of Krishna, can devotees aspire to be at the Balaram raasa lila? Divya Nitai Leela devi dasi

Guru maharaj: There are different gopis that want to be in Krishna’s raasa lila and different gopis who are in Balaram’s. So some may be more attracted to Balaram’s raasa lila and they can achieve His raasa lila. Others may be attracted to Krishna and they follow the footsteps of Radha and Krishna and attain Krishna’s raasa lila. Normally the devotees are too young for the raasa lila of Krishna, but later when they are bit older, they fit into the Balarama’s raasa lilas. But these gopis are specifically attracted to Lord Balaram’s raasa lila.

Question: Hare Krishna dear guru maharaj (Hare Krishna dear disciple guru maharaj said). Is it possible to be situated in the shuddha satva or should we gradually come to the mode of goodness and be in pure goodness? Your servant, Anjana Gopika devi dasi

Guru maharaj: We try to do everything for Krishna, then automatically we are in the shuddha satva. But satva is close to shuddha satva. In the material world, there is no pure satva, everything is mixed with some rajas and tam. So the shuddha satva or pure goodness is existing in the spiritual world and there, people are focused on serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, therefore they are in shuddha satva.

Question: Dear guru maharaj, when a devotees commits suicides for how long should his relatives perform a shraadha ceremony and whether at home or in temple? Shyamalata

Guru maharaj: Try and understand what is the difference between committing suicide and dying naturally. As far as the period of asuchi for the relatives, I don’t particularly know this detail. I don’t know if there is any difference. According to the principles of varnashrama, a person waits for a certain period of time depending on their varna, brahmana I think it is 11 days, shudra is 30 days in between some days. Kshatriya little more and vaishyas even more. To what extent that affects the devotee I am not particularly sure. I know in the Guruvayoor temple if someone is a pujari and they are staying in the temple for 6 months and they are a pujari, if someone dies in the family, they don’t tell them, so therefore they don’t have any period of asuchi. To what extent the devotees are affected, that would depend on how long they should be out of the temple. Because they are not supposed to lament before Krishna.

Question: How to deal with bully people/ devotees? Fanny Cheema Hernandez

Guru maharaj: How to deal with bullies? Lord Caitanya recommended in the third verse of His Shikshashtakam, that we should be more humble than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree.

Question: Dear Gur maharaj, dandavat pranams. How are we to understand that the relationship between guru and disciple is eternal? Your servant, Haridhwani devi dasi

Guru maharaj: You see when we achieve the spiritual world, then the guru is always there as an old friend and if you need the guru for some reason, he appears as a friend and in the spiritual world, everyone is eternal. So the guru introduces us to who will be our guide in Krishna’s service. But he is always there, as an old friend to help us, when we need him.

Question: Dear Guru maharaj, I was wondering what is the significance of Holi celebration for Iskcon. I know that Krishna used to perform this pastime with the gopis. It is often used as a wat to attract new people to the temples to hear the holy names and to take prasadam, but for our devotees, how is it supposed to be observed? Kaivalya Sundari devi dasi.

(Guru maharaj was so concerned that some devotees had come out in the open and he wanted chairs to be put for them and a microphone put out and made sure they heard him.)

Guru maharaj: So we are having questions and answers session now. If you can think of any question, you can tell me.

Since the Holi day is on the Gaura Purnima, for us the appearance of Lord Caitanya is more important. In other countries they have the Holi on some particular day based on the climate and permission from the city. So there the Holi celebration is something that the new people very much, they enjoy it. So the devotees use it as an outreach program. See there are different festivals for different varnas. So Holi is for the shudras, of course everyone would observe it. Krishna would throw water or colors on His consorts, so that is the part we would like to remember. Since we appeared after the coming of Lord Caitanya, the Holi day, so for us, the appearance of Lord Caitanya is more important.

Question: What is the secret of success in our spiritual life and best way to execute that? Gunagrahi Gauranga das

Guru maharaj: Secret! Of spiritual life. mmmm. How can I tell the secret? If I tell it won’t be a secret anymore! See if we can follow the instructions of guru, then Krishna is very pleased, and the guru is pleased. So if guru and Krishna are pleased, then you have achieved all success in your spiritual life. Haribol!

Question: Dear guru maharaj, doing sinful activities is our habit of many past lives, how can one overcome from doing this kind of activities? Narayan Sarkar.

Guru maharaj: Narayan Sarkar, we have to build a new habit, you have to build a habit of serving Krishna and that replaces your bad habit of performing sinful activities. So we want to serve Krishna, and then we feel happiness by that service. So naturally, we lose our attraction to the sinful activities. That is very import to serve Krishna and develop a taste to that service. Haribol!

Question: Dear Guru maharaj, dandavat pranam (Guru maharaj: Dear disciple Hare Krishna) How can I ask for forgivance from Lord Gauranga for all my offences? Your spiritual son, Jai

Guru maharaj: Jai. You can ask forgiveness by going in front of the deities, by bowing down, saying please forgive me for all the sinful activities I did knowingly or unknowingly, there are some prayers by the previous acharyas, where they do this. So you can repeat the same prayers before the deity, and the deity understands all languages and will understand your sincere apologies and requests to be forgiven, and to render favorable devotional service. Just like if someone goes to the mother or father, and begs for forgiveness, the parent would be happy if you are sincere about it. If you ask for forgiveness and then go on doing the same thing, thinking that oh, I will just ask for forgiveness then Krishna won’t be so happy and He won’t be so happy. For trying to sin on the strength of begging for forgiveness. So we should avoid that, as that is the seventh offence.

What time is it?

Guru maharaj: Question In Spanish. She spoke with the mike very close so it was very hard to understand. I can understand Spanish but she should repeat keeping the mike a little away.

Question: In every day’s difficulty, how can we develop determination to go back to Krishna and have more faith?

Guru maharaj; You see how people are determined to win some Olympic game, some Olympic race or competition. They train for years together, they try to be the best and get the gold medal. So if they get the gold medal, what is the use? Who remembers who was the person who won the gold medal 20 years ago? They are only in the record books. People have long forgotten them. Johnny Weissmuller, he got so many medals for swimming and he played the part of Tarzan in the movies, but finally he was frustrated. He went to Mexico and there apparently he lived in Acapulco and went bitter, what is the use of having all the gold medals? What difference does it make? So actually to be Krishna conscious makes a big difference. So if people work so hard for something that makes no difference, even if you get a gold medal by winning some race, when you die you cannot take it with you. But if someone attains Krishna consciousness, they go back to Godhead. So it is a matter of intelligence, so why should we try for something which doesn’t matter. We should try for Krishna. And as you are performing devotional service, you can develop a taste as naturally your consciousness improves, you start to feel great affection and love for Krishna. So that is what all religion is about, we should develop our love for God. That was Lord Jesus’s first commandment, that is the instruction of Lord Caitanya, by practicing bhakti yoga, one systematically develops that love of Krishna, which is enough. It is not something we have to learn. It is just something we have to awaken. Like children, their capacity to walk is naturally there they just have to practice a little bit, and that capacity awakens. Our ability to love Krishna is there, but now we are loving our mobile phone, or TV sets, our car, different temporary things, and those are somehow destroyed, but our relationship with Krishna is never destroyed by time. So that is how we get the determination. Two more questions.

Question: How can we understand our services are pleasing to you? Rasapriya Gopika devi dasi, Mayapur.

Guru maharaj: Well, if it is something I said to do and you know it is favorable, and you know it is favorable to me, otherwise you do something that Prabhupad said, that is also pleasing to me. If you develop your Krishna consciousness and develop love for Krishna, or your affection for Krishna increases, or you help to make other people Krishna conscious, all these things are pleasing to me.

Question in Bengali: Hare Krishna. If we don’t follow the four regulative principle and do devotional service, will they achieve perfection of live?

Guru maharaj in Bengali: How is it possible to do that without following the four regulative principles? I don’t understand, how much they are not doing. But if they are in sense gratification and they don’t depend on the Harinaam, they would maybe take birth again. But Ajamila, he was doing a lot of sinful things so the Yamadutas came but he had named his son Narayana and he called him at the time of death. Or, I should speak in English for everyone. Like Ajamila, had done lot of sinful active but he called his son Narayana, so therefore he was calling for his son to come. Narayana come walk with me, Narayana come eat with me, Narayana come here! So by this repeated repetition of Narayana, he was accidently chanting the name of Narayana. And as such, he got purified and at the time of death he called his son, Narayana and then he remembered that Narayana was the name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So the Vishnudutas came and saved him. But there is also in the Padma Purana, description of a lady that was kind of a prostitute, and she bought a parrot that chanted the name of Rama Rama. So all day she would chanting with the parrot, Rama Rama and the parrot would say Rama Ram. So at the time of death she was struck by a lightning that killed her and the parrot, but because she was chanting the name of Rama she actually got some spontaneous affection for Rama. So she was saved by the Vishnudutas. Even though the Yamadutas came, they were told to lay off since she had chanted the name of Rama she was delivered. So sometimes people even they don’t follow the four regulative principles, they get some special mercy. But we should try to follow. We shouldn’t think that oh, I will chant Rama at the time of death. Instead, we will chant something else!!

Alright thank you very much. Muchas gracias!

Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
06 April 2019