Question: Often youths who are cultivated and brought up in bhakti life, have to move to other places for jobs and stay there. It not only increases the physical distance from the counsellor, but also dilutes the relationship to some extent since it is not possible for him to come and associate regularly with his devotee family. Also, he may face difficulties in accepting a new authority at a new place. In such situations how can he feel spiritually connected to his counsellor?

Jayapataka...

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Question: When we are staying in VOICE, at that time we can do our devotional activities very easily, but when we go to our home we become slow in devotional life. At that time, our parents tell that you can take rest, no problem. So at that time, we, specifically, I, cannot get up for attendance and unable to complete 16 rounds. Now I am realizing that without anyone’s pushing or forcing, I cannot develop my devotional life. But I am trying. So my question is: What will help me to come out from this kind of situation and I can develop my taste in Krsna consciousness, without being forced by anyone? I don’t know whether this question is understandable or not?

Jayapataka...

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Question: For many years there have been disputes about the correct pronunciation of the Hare Krsna maha mantra in kirtanas and while chanting japa. As we know Srila Prabhupada did not put emphasis on strict rules in this matter. But in our society it is believed that the incorrect pronunciation of the holy name is one of the obstacles to bhakti. Residents of Bengal very often pronounce the holy name with ao. Some people due to the phonetic features of their language, cannot pronounce the holy names. For example, Chinese and others. Please let us know if it is ok to pronounce like Bengalis or which is the correct way?

Jayapataka...

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Question: I find faults with everything and everyone. Sometimes I cry because it seems that I really cannot control myself from doing that. I repent every time I commit offence and ask for forgiveness. But this process of committing offence and asking for forgiveness seems unending. I feel hopeless and terrible at the thought that I will never receive the mercy of Lord Caitanya and will have to rot in hell, in different bodies, being deprived of the association of the devotees. I seek your help to overcome this offensive nature of mine.

Jayapataka...

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Question: So besides this program being a big part of you connecting, I think it is one of the biggest medium through which you connect to your disciples and well-wishers, but you have so many of them across the globe. Would you also like to share what are the other ways you also connect? So many numbers, you probably have hundreds of devotees writing to you, wanting to get inspiration from you. So besides this program is there any other form of communication, any modes of communication you follow during this lockdown period?

Jayapataka...

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Question: How do I preach to people who already have their own tradition like Buddhism, Shintoism, because when I talk to my mother, she is really understanding of me but she doesn’t really get deeper from that, of course she understands what I am doing, and she likes the photos of RukminiDwarakadish and everything but I find it sometimes hard to preach to her, because she already has her own belief in Shintoism and Buddhism. So I was wondering how to preach to people like that, I think there are a lot of people like that in Japan?

Jayapataka...

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Question: My question is related to giving charity. In the current situation due to corona, we see that many around us are suffering in various ways. One of our acquaintances has asked for financial help, as she was alone, away from home and sick, and we helped that person. But when we give charity to causes other than those related to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, does it incur karma. How do we transform it as a service to the Lord, then just to alleviate someone’s suffering? How can we offer help without any karmic involvement of both the parties?

Jayapataka...

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Question: I am confused about my duty. We girls always busy in serving our family, do not get time for service to guru and temple. Devotees say that taking care of our family members is also service to guru. Is it so gurudeva? But I am feeling bad that I am not doing any sevā for you. Is it ok gurudeva? If I do my sādhana at home and serve my family, and do no to do any service to temple? Please bless me guru maharaj to get time and strength and chance to do sevā at your lotus feet.

Jayapataka...

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Question: I have a question related to chanting japa mālā. Sometime back at a program while chanting time, I did not have my mālā and I was chanting on a counter, clicking. Then someone handed me a japa mālā from one of the many malas kept there for devotees to chant. Then I accepted it. Then someone else told me, no, you being initiated should not chant on any mālā used by other people. Is it really so? Can’t we chant on any japa mālā in a situation where we don’t have our own? Kindly bless me to have a taste in chanting and chant more.

Jayapataka...

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Question: Many girls in our group are chanting 16 rounds and reading Bhagavad-gītā, vegetarians and attending regular classes,and are aspiring to take initiation from you, Gurudeva! But when it comes to śikṣā papers, they get stuck in the 8 rounds paper, because it has no onion and garlic. Most of the girls want to leave onion and garlic because of staying with parents and pressure that they get from them; they are not able to leave. Gurudeva, what can we do under such situations?

Jayapataka...

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Question: In the context of King Bahulāśva and the poor brāhmaṇa episode, There is largely growing concern in the masses that ISKCON society, internationally, it only belongs to the rich, opulent in high material positions,and considered as good devotees, and also they are more close to gurus and sannyāsīs. Whereas meek, humble and submissive poor devotees are considered less fortunate,and even those lose their position, their opulence, are bereft of the mercy of less mercy from gurus and sannyāsīs. Similarly, their humble, poor offerings are considered less significant. How should we deal with it within the society and with public at large?

Jayapataka...

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Question: Nāradamuni is a pure devotee of the Lord and comes to the material world in a spiritual body as and when he likes to preach and make devotees. However, we see that Krṣṇa sends all our ācāryas, and Śrīla Prabhupāda and you, who are pure devotees, to this world in material body for preaching. The material body means suffering for the ācāryas, spiritual master, and even we disciples are very much pained in our heart to see such suffering of the ācāryas spiritual master. Why does Krṣṇa not send our ācāryas in a spiritual body? Because for him to do this is very easy.

Jayapataka...

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Question: While offering bhoga I sometimes get late due to which my family members get irritated maybe because they are too hungry, or they need to take prasāda and go out for work. So, they tell me to hurry up and do some shortcut of this offering process. But I don’t know any shortcut bhoga offering process. I do as per you taught us. Bur generally it takes time, they become very impatient. It seems that instead of wanting to offer to Kṛṣṇa, they want to have it first.

Jayapataka...

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Question: King Pratāparudra and Rāmānanda Rāya both were externally materialists, having opulent positions, but internally pure devotees. Why Lord Caitanya kept King Pratāparudra away because he was wealthy and materialistic, but discussed most confidential pastimes with Rāmānanda Rāya? Same is the case with Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, who was externally exhibiting himself as a materialist, but internally he was a pure devotee. What is the difference between King Pratāparudra externally a materialist, and Rāmānanda Rāya and Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi externally a materialist or have opulent, material positions?

Jayapataka...

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Question: Here we see that the devotees they were feeling that they were the offenders. Even though we know the associates of Lord Caitanya were highly qualified and there is no scope for them to commit any offences. But still they were feeling, because the Lord was distressed, they were feeling that they were the offenders. But in our situation, we see that even though we commit offence, we tend to say that I didn’t do this, and we always try to protect ourselves. So how to develop that mentality that the associates of Lord Caitanya had, when they were with Him?

Jayapataka...

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Question: Day before yesterday, a mātājī had a question on the class of Guru Mahārāja on the subject of Mādhavendra Purī. Guru Maharaj had said that the Gopāla and Gopīnātha are the same deity. Therefore, Gopāla had said that if you smear sandalwood and camphor paste on Gopīnātha, I will also cool down. In our Rajapur Jagannātha temple, there was a little tussle between Lord Jagannātha and Girirāja, over the acceptance of bhoga. Guru maharaj had made a solution to that, that day he gave the answer but I would like to hear that again from Guru Maharaj.

Jayapataka...

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Question: NimLhamu Sherpa, my English is not very good. Hare Krsna Guru Maharaj. Thank you very much for blessing us with your presence. I can fell energy and feel blessed to be in the presence of your grace. I have been associated with Iskcon Gangtok for a while and from last June 2019, I started chanting 16 rounds a day. Now I have been chanting 16 rounds every day. My question is, many times as we progress, I have been chanting for a while, but I am not able to, when I am chanting I feel great connection with the Supreme Lord but I am from a Buddhist family and have a family deity we pray to. I have a small altar in my room and I try to connect. However, I don’t get the same power. But I feel with the blessings of all the Guru Maharajas I will grow in bhakti. It has been my problem since the beginning. I have not been able to connect with rupa or with the deity. So Guru Maharaj if you can bless me and suggest what I can do, I shall be grateful Guru Maharaj.

Guru...

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Question: As we have been hearing from all the sannyasis,your lotus mouth, and also from Guru Maharaj that vani is very important, and that it is more important than vapu. We understand that we have to develop that mood and serve Guru Maharaj more seriously, but at the same time we feel very devastated in the absence of his personal association and times like this, I always feel this question, with prayers to Guru Maharaj, will I ever get any reciprocation back from Guru Maharaj? Please enlighten, as you know Guru Maharaj was very, very, personal, he used to reply our emails, he used to call us on the phone, and he was extremely personal, and he showered a lot of love on us. So my only concern is that will he ever reciprocate with us maharaj?

Jayapataka...

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Question: Mahārāja, why in our sampradāya the most exalted devotees are honored with samādhi. In purport of Śrīla Prabhupāda, in second chapter, of the seventh canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he mentioned that not only materialistic people but some yogīs are also attached in the bodily concept of life, which won’t allow them to burn their guru’s body until it starts to smell. And here, we are also keeping the body of our gurus in samādhi. How is this different from the yogīs’ conception? How keeping the body of the ācāryais not a material concept?

Guru...

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Question: Guru maharaj had said that in 2012 that Bhakti Caru Swami Guru Maharaj had requested Srila Prabhupada. And similarly in Vrndavana, when Srila Prabhupada had wanted to leave then, he brushed aside Tamal Krsna Goswami Guru maharaj, Bhavananda Prabhu and left the world. Today away from Ujjain, and especially from India, he left his body far from here. Is there any sastra that if any of our previous acaryas want to leave their body, specially that they will have some difficulties? Is there any such mention in our Vedic sastras?

Guru...

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Question: In regard to ajñāta-sukṛti, is it possible for someone that has no intention to be Kṛṣṇa conscious, to become a devotee involuntarily? By the mercy of devotees or Kṛṣṇa Himself? A mouse in a temple approached a burning lamp that was about to get extinguished. At that moment, his moustache which caught fire, lighted the lamp again. And he died due to fire and because of this he was promoted to Vaikuṇṭha. How can the Lord seemingly favor one and not the other? Is not Lord Caitanya changing in a way, the statements made by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā?

Guru...

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Question: We are ever so grateful to you and to Srila Prabhupada, and cannot stop thanking both of you for your mercy. One question, please pardon me if it seems a little odd. You said the episode of Srila Prabhupada picking the cockroach by the back and a big cockroach, and then throwing it out of the window. Srila Prabhupada was very fearless and all, but guru Maharaj when I see a cockroach, the first thing that comes to mind is to kill it, say Hare Krishna and kill it. What should we do to be like you and Srila Prabhupada to be magnanimous and let that thing go. Flies and all are ok, but cockroach is deadly!

Guru...

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Question: Every year this is a very blissful time for all the devotees and also many thousands of devotees come to the ISKCON temples. This time, very difficult to visit and have the association, participate in many services and honor prasadam. So that is completely missing this time. However, we are not feeling the same satisfaction despite, everyone understands that this is not a congenial time for that kind of association. How they can perceive the same blessings available online?

Guru...

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Question: Hare Krishna Maharaj, Dandavat Pranam. Please accept my humble obeisances. Thank you for the wonderful lecture. I am from Atlanta, Georgia, New Panihati Dham. Maharaj my question to you was, you described Panchatattva enacting and mother Sachi passed out because she had ecstatic symptoms and then you said that the drama was performed so beautifully that everybody fell in love with Krishna.So I have a question that can we also enact dramas as devotional practice as a method of preaching to attract people towards Krishna Consciousness? Is that something which we can do at New Panihati Dham is that something you would recommend?

Guru...

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Question: How a conditioned and extremely fallen soul like me can be saved from the sudden and acute attack of maya? Question: How a conditioned and extremely fallen soul like me can be saved from the sudden and acute attack of maya in the form of desire for sex and lust. What should he do at that moment to stop such type of thoughts immediately so that he can save himself from further fall down and the entanglement of maya? How can he develop strength to fight and win against maya?  

Guru...

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