Jayapataka Swami: You see, the chanting of the holy name Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, is mentioned in all the scriptures, as the method in the Kali yuga of performing sacrifice. So namahatta was based on this distribution of the holy name, But he said that it is not for sale for ordinary money. It could be purchased by one’s faith, depending on how much faith you have, you can get that standard of the nama. So, although the process was very simple, having people to chant Hare Krsna together, read the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, practice bhakti yoga or devotional service, but the philosophy was very deep. And in this way, people did not have to change, grihasthas would remain as grihastas, they added Krsna to their lives. Actually Srila Prabhupada said in the future ISKCON would be like that. There would be a few devotees in the temple, most of the grihastas would be living outside. And he told me in Mayapur that we would have many grihastas, but at that time we had mainly brahmacaris. So I wondered how we would have many grihastas? Srila Prabhupada told me, THINK BIG! THINK BIG! And we see that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura he had many grihastas as devotees. Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Thakura, he had mathas which were mainly sannyasis, brahmacaris and widows. But he mentioned about namahatta. So Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was the one who started namahatta. So that is why we consider him the, you can say, the founder of the modern congregational movement. Now, today we had the Saraswat Gaudiya Vaisnava Sangha, meeting and talking on the glories of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. It was nice to hear all the swamis speak. And they had so many things to glorify. They said how Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktivedanta Swami Goswami Prabhupada, he had spread the message all over the world. But this message was established by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. In a sense that it had been lost, almost because of the apasampradayas. So he reestablished the siddhanta or conclusion of the scriptures, and he engaged all the grihastas in Krsna consciousness. While he established grihastas, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta did sannyasis and brahmacaris and Srila Prabhupada did both!
21-June-2020 SRI DHAM MAYAPUR, INDIA