Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, Ślokas 6-7
New Braja, 22 May 1997
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: When you come here, what will you do?
Devotee: Listen.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: What will you listen to?
You will first have to pay some dakṣiṇā for listening. But you are not first giving dakṣiṇā, and that is why you are not hearing deeply and keeping my words here in your heart. Those who will not give dakṣiṇā in the form of śraddhā don’t know the value of śraddhā and the value of hearing. I have learnt it by serving my Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas very laboriously day and night, by reading and by doing austerities. All that I have gained from them I am giving to you without taking any dollars or anything like that in return. So you are thinking that this hari-kathā is of no use, having no value at all. But if I tell you that I will take $1,000 or $10,000 for one hour, even that would be an insignificant amount considering what I am giving. But you are not taking in all this wealth.
Then what is the use of spending so much money to come here from England if you are wasting your time and not really hearing anything?
I worry for this. We should try to take in all these teachings.
Otherwise, what is the use?
This is a very unfortunate situation and I am so unfortunate that I cannot give you anything lasting. Don’t give me cause to worry. If I become very worried, then I will not be able to give classes here, and I will return to Vṛndāvana.
What is the use if no one is gaining anything?
You will all have to repay me. Sanātana Gosvāmī has written in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that if there is no dakṣiṇā, then initiation will be false. So this śikṣā is like initiation.
What is the meaning of śikṣā?
It is a form of initiation. By this hari-kathā I am giving initiation.
What is the point of hearing?
Śikṣā-guru is to be considered the same as dīkṣā-guru, even more so. I have left Vṛndāvana, Mathurā, my sādhana, bhajana, everything, only to give you some new thing, that which I have realised. But I am unhappy to see that I am not being paid. I should be paid.
How can you pay me?
By learning what I want to give you.
We have finished Ślokas 5 and 6.
What is the purport of Śloka 6?
Can anyone answer?
dṛṣṭaiḥ svabhāva-janitair vapuṣaś ca doṣair
na prākṛtatvam iha bhakta-janasya paśyet
gaṇgāmbhasāṁ na khalu budbuda-phena-paṅkair
brahma-dravatvam apagacchati nīra-dharmaiḥ
Very briefly you can tell the meaning of this śloka.
You don’t remember?
This means you are not tasting what I am giving.
Devotee: Just like the Ganges has foam and some impurities in it, the Vaiṣṇava looks like he is impure but we should never consider the advanced devotee in a material way. We should see that he is actually pure cent-per-cent.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Who can answer?
Those who cannot reply should hide their heads so that Mahārāja will not see them. But Mahārāja is seeing everything, everyone. You should tell the meaning of this śloka—
dṛṣṭaiḥ svabhāva-janitair vapuṣaś ca doṣair.
Devotee: In this śloka Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmīpāda is telling how we should be careful when associating with Vaiṣṇavas. He has told us about the three levels of Vaiṣṇavas.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: He has explained kaniṣṭha, madhyama and uttama. Now he is telling how to honour the three.
What is he saying?
Devotee: We have to be very careful when meeting with uttama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇavas because their dealings, behaviour and all their activities are on a completely transcendental platform. Outwardly they act like normal human beings. Sometimes we see that they are having some disease or they are unable to speak, that there is something wrong with their voice. Yesterday in the drama we saw that all the sages in Mahārāja Janaka’s assembly started laughing at Aṣṭāvakra Ṛṣi because his body was so deformed. That was not proper etiquette because a pure devotee is completely situated in transcendental consciousness.
He laughed back at them and then they were all ashamed of their behaviour. We should not try to estimate the activities of pure Vaiṣṇavas with our material intelligence.
In this verse Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī is explaining about the Gaṅgā. The water has come from the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, so it is like brahma; it is very pure. By the touch of the Gaṅgā we get purified. That is the power it has. But when we go there, we see some impurities and some foam lying on that water. If we say, “oh, this water is not good. I’m not going to touch that water. I’ll become more dirty,” this will be an offense to that holy river. But those who know this will dip in the water with full faith, despite seeing all those impurities on the surface. Then they are blessed with the mercy of the Ganges.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: What is the meaning of svabhāva-janitair?
Due to the nature of the body.
What does this mean?
Devotee: If he has a deformed body or diseased body.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: No, disease is not svabhāva.
Devotee: He is always situated in his original constitutional position in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: svabhāva-janitair vapuṣaś. Vapu, the body, is separate.
Devotee: If his nature is....
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: What nature?
Devotee: If he seems to have something wrong with his character.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Yes! Sometimes he will become angry, speaking roughly or giving some slap, like Rāmadāsa Abhirāma Ṭhākura. He would use his whip on everyone. This is svabhāva, nature. By the nature of the body, sometimes they become angry without any reason. Don’t be put off by seeing this rough behaviour or rough speech.
If there is some gold but it has fallen down inside a drain where all pass stool and is very filthy, what will you do?
You will look all around to see if anyone is watching you. then you will pour some water into the drain and take the gold.
Understand?
An intelligent person will take that gold anyway. There is no consideration whether it is in a clean or dirty place. Gold never becomes impure. It is the same with bhakti. If someone has bhakti and is really a Vaiṣṇava, but sometimes becomes angry, uses rough, harsh words, or exhibits rough behaviour, still you should try to serve and please him, and try to take bhakti from him.
Do you understand?
If you think, “He is a rough-speaking person, so I will not go to hear from him,” then you will be the loser. So we should be very careful about this.
Svabhāva and then vapuḥ. Svabhāva-janitair vapuṣaś ca doṣair and other things.
kibā vipra, kibā nyāsī, śūdra kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā, sei ’guru’ haya
(CC. Madhya 8.128)
Go to any person who is tattva-vettā, whether he is brahmacārī, gṛhaṣṭha, vanapraṣṭhī or out of varṇāśrama society, no harm. He may be Mohammedan like haridāsa Ṭhākura, no harm. You should go and take bhakti from him. If you have any bad thoughts about him, considering that he is ugly or black, his teeth are crooked, or he is a rough-speaking person, then you will be making an offense at his lotus feet and you will be cheated. So do not look at his “negative” qualities. And do not try to give him advice.
Why?
You will only give him advice if you think that he is a fool, and this is an offense. Don’t advise and don’t try to correct him by saying, “You are incorrect. You should do it in this way.”
You know Hemalatā Ṭhākurāṇī, the daughter of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya?
She was sitting in an assembly, hearing hari-kathā. While the speaker was reciting Bhāgavatam, she was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare. The speaker was thinking that now he had become uttama-mahā-bhāgavata, and he told Hemalatā Ṭhākurāṇī, “It is very bad to chant harināma when Bhāgavata is going on.
Don’t you know that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is himself Kṛṣṇa, and you are chanting here?”
At once the whole assembly was very much offended. Everyone boycotted him, telling him, “We don’t want to hear from you. Hemalatā Ṭhākurāṇī is beyond the control of anyone, beyond all rules and regulations. She can manifest lākhas and lākhas of forms, being here and there at the same time. Chanting, remembering, hearing— she can do everything at the same time. So there is no need or possibility of controlling such a person.” Finally, this Rūpa Kavirāja was boycotted by the whole Vaiṣṇava community and became known as atibāḍī (a pretender) Rūpa. So we should not try to correct those who are advanced. Rather we should try to be corrected by them.
In addition, do not think that Kṛṣṇa consciousness is limited to a certain section of people, a certain group of devotees or a certain tract of land. “We will hear only from those who belong to a particular group of devotees.” Don’t make all these offenses. Be broadminded and try to honour all Vaiṣṇavas.
We should not avoid all these regulations, thinking, “oh, I am now madhyama-adhikārī, and these instructions are meant only for kaniṣṭha-adhikārīs. There is no harm if we don’t follow them.” Don’t do this; otherwise you will be making an offense at the lotus feet of Rūpa Gosvāmī. You should try to always be established in these truths. They are very helpful. up to bhāvāvasthā (the stage of bhāva), we will still have some anarthas. If we displease the Vaiṣṇavas, bhakti and Bhagavān, then we will lose our status As madhyama-adhikārī. So don’t be deluded like this. Try to read these ślokas again and again and try to follow. If you are not following all these instructions, it means that you are not advancing in bhakti but are actually gradually regressing back to your worldly activities. Those who understand will practice and progress.
Text 7
syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidyā-
pittopatapta-rasanasya na rocikā nu
kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā
svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī
Read the translation.
Devotee reads: The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidyā (ignorance) cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Will the disease first be destroyed and then taste will come, or will taste first come and then the disease will go away?
Devotee: First taste comes and then the disease goes away.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Is she speaking correctly?
Devotees: Yes.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: I think that the disease must first go and then sweetness will come, or is it that some taste will come first and then the disease will go?
Which is it?
Devotee: Both are taking place at the same time, simultaneously both are going on.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: But must medicine be given first, or will the disease go away gradually without medicine?
Devotee: Medicine must be there.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Yes, first comes the medicine. Harināma is the medicine and everything. Harināma should be taken first, then the disease will go. But if you think, “first the disease will go and then I will take the medicine. Then I will taste it,” this is not correct. You can progress from whatever stage you are in, no harm. You may be lusty or a liar. You may have so many worldly desires and bad qualities. Just take that medicine first. Try to leave all your bad habits, but the medicine should be taken regardless. So the medicine is harināma. By chanting harināma, gradually the disease will go away and a little taste will come for the medicine.
How?
By taking, taking, taking, taking, and having good association—as we are doing kīrtana and hearing so much hari-kathā here. Old people, young people, even all the little boys and girls—all are energetic. Everyone is dancing, chanting, hearing and doing so many kinds of bhakti services. So we must adopt this process.
Now read the purport.
Devotee reads: The holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, his quality, pastimes and so forth are all of the nature of absolute truth, beauty and bliss.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: The holy name, character, pastimes, and activities of Kṛṣṇa —everything is transcendental and transcendentally they are sweet. But we are taking harināma—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare—and falling asleep.
Why?
No taste! We are hearing hari-kathā, but our minds are going here and there.
How do I know?
I know, because if I ask any questions, you will answer, “I don’t understand.” But if I will say, “I want to arrange your marriage with a very, very, very beautiful lady devotee,” then immediately you will give your full attention:
“oh! Where is she?”
This is very tasteful. But when I am telling hari-kathā, actually everyone’s mind is anywhere else but here, and then you fall asleep. But if someone really wants to know the sweetness of this medicine, he will be convinced to take it and will be careful. It is very sweet, but now you are thinking otherwise. In Mathurā, there was a devotee who never joined in the kīrtana. We used to begin kīrtana very loudly with the mṛdaṅga, first dik, dik, dik, and then ta. With the first dik he would fall asleep and start snoring. He never used to come to our classes. After some time he returned to his home. He bought a rickshaw, and after that he was badly engaged in worldly activities and even began to eat fish again.
So if you have no taste in hari-kathā, Then you will not find any taste in harināma. First taste should come in hearing, but if it does not, then you should think, “I will sit and hear again.”
Once Bhāgavatam was being spoken in Vṛndāvana.
Who was the speaker?
Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. So many persons were sitting there listening to the pastimes of the gopīs when Kṛṣṇa went to Mathurā. hearing his narration all were weeping and feeling separation mood. But one person was not. His heart was not melting, so he took some chilli powder from his pocket and put it in his eyes. tears started flowing. Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa was watching this. After class he approached that person and embraced him. “oh, I have heard that a chaste devotee will think that he has not served the Vaiṣṇavas or Bhāgavatam, so he punishes his body. Tears are not coming from my eyes, so my eyes should be punished. I saw that you took something and put it in your eyes and tears were coming. Surely you are a very fortunate person. Surely.” Hearing this and having been embraced by Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, that devotee began to weep. He was repenting, knowing that he was so full of offenses and anarthas that his heart was not melting. he was feeling, “I am not qualified to be in this assembly of Vaiṣṇavas who are all weeping, so I should do something to punish myself.”
We should realise all these things. If tears are not coming, our hairs are not standing on end and our heart is not melting, then we should know that we are very unfortunate. We must have made some offenses and we are full of anarthas. everything about Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally sweet, more than sugar or honey, but yet we have no taste at all. So there must be some reason for this.
Then?
Devotee reads: Naturally they are very sweet, like sugar candy, which appeals to everyone. Nescience, however, is compared to the disease called jaundice, which is caused by bilious secretions. Attacked by jaundice, the tongue of a diseased person cannotpalatably relish sugar candy. Rather, a person with jaundice considers something sweet to taste very bitter. Avidyā (ignorance) similarly perverts the ability to relish the transcendentally palatable name, quality, form and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
Despite this disease, if one with great care and attention takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting the holy name and hearing Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes, his ignorance will be destroyed and his tongue enabled to taste the sweetness of the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa and his paraphernalia.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Take an example. Kṛṣṇa is like sugar candy. His names are like sugar candy, and so are his pastimes. Akrūra brought Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva to the council of Kaṁsa at raṅgasthāli. Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, Kaṁsa, and many evil persons were there. Twelve kinds of people saw Kṛṣṇa in twelve different ways. It was always the same sugar candy, Kṛṣṇa, but everyone tasted it in different moods.
How did Kaṁsa taste this?
Devotee: He saw Kṛṣṇa as death personified.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Yes. Actually he began to shake upon seeing Kṛṣṇa.
And the other courtiers of Kaṁsa, his associates, how did they see Kṛṣṇa?
Aśanir—the wrestlers saw Kṛṣṇa as a thunderbolt. Nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ—all the common persons saw that Kṛṣṇa was so beautiful, marvellous. among all persons he is the most beautiful and sublime, having all good qualities and opulences. Strīṇāṁ smaro— all the wives of Yādava saw Kṛṣṇa like Kāmadeva, cupid. all were charmed by him. Gopānāṁ sva-jano—all the gopas saw him as their friend. Subala and Śrīdāmā were there. Sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ—and Nanda Bābā, Vasudeva and Devakī saw him as their son. The jñānis, brahma-jñānis and all others saw tattvaṁ paraṁ yogināṁ, tattva, paratattva. Mṛtyur bhoja-pater—Kaṁsa saw him as his death. Asataṁ kṣiti-bhujāṁ—all the evil kings who had been invited by Kaṁsa saw him as their controller and they feared him, and vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devatā—the members of the Vṛṣṇi dynasty saw Kṛṣṇa as their paradevatā, iṣṭa-deva (supreme worshipable deity).
So there were twelve kinds of persons and each one had a different vision of Kṛṣṇa. Kaṁsa was a rogī (diseased person) with this jaundice, and his courtiers were also jaundiced, but to different degrees. They were bhaktas of different levels. All of them tasted the same Kṛṣṇa, but Kaṁsa and his courtiers became angry, and his parents, the Yādus, Yādavīs, Vaiṣṇavas and all others became overjoyed to see Kṛṣṇa.
Kṛṣṇa-nāma is like sugar candy. But when you first take it, it will be very bitter, very bitter. If you take it gradually, the disease will go and then you will find it very sweet. When this happens, then you can understand that your roga (disease) has gone.
Devotee reads: Such a recovery of spiritual health is possible only by the regularcultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: We should not give up. If it is not tasteful, no harm. You should continue anyway. If sleep is coming, no harm. Chant loudly, very loudly. There was a Vaiṣṇava, our śikṣā-guru, who said, “When I first came in touch with Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in the beginning of my career, I used to sleep while chanting. So I discovered a way to stay awake, above me there was a hook. I took a rope and tied my śikhā to that rope and chanted harināma and if sleep came and my head fell down, the rope would jerk my head up again. So the whole night I spent chanting harināma like this.” After that we saw that in his old age he was always chanting, always chanting. Even if he had no mālā, no harm, he was chanting anyway. He was very beloved to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī and a close bosom friend of our Gurudeva. All sannyāsīs and senior Vaiṣṇavas used to call him Narahari Dādā (big brother), just as they used to call my Gurudeva “Vinoda Dādā.” Narahari Dādā was the mother of the whole Gauḍīya Mission. He used to tie his śikhā to the ceiling in order to chant harināma. If you are sleeping, you can tie your śikhā to something and then you will stay awake. Some measure should be taken, anything, to keep sleep away. Then when sleep or alāsya, laziness, comes, loudly chant:
“Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.”
You can also jump. So like this, nidrā, sleep, will go away and then sit down and remember Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, such as Dāmodara-līlā and others, or by mind go on Govardhana and Vṛndāvana parikramā while chanting.
Then?
Devotee reads: When a man in the material world takes more interest in the materialistic way of life than in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is considered to be in a diseased condition.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Almost all of us are like that. I think that it is a rare person who has taste in all these things. They are not concerned with worldly matters like how to maintain their lives, how to be happy, how to have a very beautiful house or anything else. They don’t go toward these things.
“How to make our love and affection so qualified?”
They only endeavour for this!
Devotee reads: The normal condition is to remain an eternal servant of the Lord (jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya – kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’). This healthy condition is lost when the living entity forgets Kṛṣṇa due to being attracted by the external features of Kṛṣṇa’s māyā energy. This world of māyā is called durāśraya, which means “false or bad shelter.” One who puts his faith in durāśraya becomes a candidate for hoping against hope. In the material world everyone is trying to become happy, and although their material attempts are baffled in every way, due to their nescience they cannot understand their mistakes.
People try to rectify one mistake by making another mistake. This is the way of the struggle for existence in the material world. If one in this condition is advised to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and be happy, he does not accept such instructions.
This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is being spread all over the world just to remedy this gross ignorance. People in general are misled by blind leaders. The leaders of human society —the politicians, philosophers and scientists—are blind because they are not Kṛṣṇa conscious. According to Bhagavad-gītā, because they are bereft of all factual knowledge due to their atheistic way of life, they are actually sinful rascals and are the lowest among men.
na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
prapadyante narādhamāḥ
māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
(Bhagavad-gītā. 7.15)
“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.”
Such people never surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and they oppose the endeavour of those who wish to take Kṛṣṇa’s shelter. When such atheists become leaders of society, the entire atmosphere is surcharged with nescience. In such a condition, people do not become very enthusiastic to receive this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, just as a diseased person suffering from jaundice does not relish the taste of sugar candy. However, one must know that for jaundice, sugar candy is the only specific medicine. Similarly, in the present confused state of humanity, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord:
Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Is the only remedy for setting the world aright.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: One thing I want to tell you. Once I took a stone, and I threw it in a very big pond, two or three miles in diameter. When I threw the stone, some ripples came, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and reached the far side of the lake. Those ripples went here, there, everywhere. If the stone hits very near to one shore, from there the ripples spread everywhere in the lake.
In this way, if anyone chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, what happens?
It vibrates in the air, and it goes to the far end of the world. Not only this world, but it covers the whole universe, Svarga, Martya, pātāla, even to Vaikuṇṭha and beyond. There is no end to it. All are touched by this vibration. It purifies the atmosphere of the whole world. Suppose I am sitting here singing. I can be anywhere in any far corner of the world, and singing into some machine there. If others in another part of the world are listening to their radios or any other good machine, my voice will vibrate more there, and they will hear clearly.
But those who have no machines, will they get any effect?
Yes, the vibration will go there, even though they cannot hear it. It will purify the atmosphere in the whole world. If you chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa more, especially when all are singing in a large congregation, this sound will go everywhere, and the whole atmosphere will be purified. So don’t think that it is useless to do kīrtana. Everyone in the whole world will receive the effect and be purified so much by it.
If we chant like Gaura Kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, Śrīla Prabhupāda, our Narottama Ṭhākura, our Rūpa Gosvāmī, who were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare.
What will it do?
It has two functions—internal and external. For instance, when we throw a stone in the water, we see outwardly some ripples going everywhere—one, two, three, four, five, there. But internally there is a power doing this. So if you chant, outwardly you will see its effect, going here and there, making the whole atmosphere very pure.
But internally what will it do?
It will change your heart—not only your heart, it will touch everyone’s heart in the whole world. In this way you will develop kṛṣṇa-prema. We are not realising this, but still it is working. So you should know that this name is very powerful. If you have no ruci but still continue chanting, you will see that a taste will come and your heart will be changed. Your kṛṣṇa-prema will develop, and the whole atmosphere will become very, very pure. So always keep firm faith in this.
This world can never help you. Don’t attempt to enjoy anything here. Try to develop a spiritual mood. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We see how Swāmījī was preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness so strenuously.
But what has happened?
Devotees practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness for a long time, even twenty or twenty-five years, who were chanting, remembering and doing so many bhakti activities, gave up and went away.
Why?
It must be due to some offenses or from the beginning they had no taste. They wanted to taste worldly things, and misused kīrtana and hari-kathā for their mundane purposes. They didn’t want to develop kṛṣṇa-prema. They were thinking, “By this chanting, everyone will come and honour me and then I will taste all worldly pleasures very easily. All will offer praṇāma to me. They will give me what I want; one lākha, two lākhas dollars, and then I will buy a car for one lākha, and decorate my room in gold.” Thus they will be deprived of bhakti. So always remember these things and chant only to have bhakti and be in Vṛndāvana.
Go on from, “the real disease is in the heart.”
Devotee reads: The real disease is in the heart. If the mind is cleansed, however, if consciousness is cleansed, a person cannot be harmed by the material disease.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: We do not fear or worry for material diseases. They cannot harm us. It is this heart disease that will harm us. But we are concerned only for our outer diseases and not for our inner diseases. Instead we are indulging in all material enjoyments, and thus our disease will gradually increase.
Devotee reads: To cleanse the mind and heart from all misconceptions, one should take to this chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: They should enter into the authorised process, otherwise it will not be fruitful and the outer disease will develop.
Devotee reads: This is both easy and beneficial. By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is immediately freed from the blazing fire of material existence.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Those who are following and always chanting say, “I am daily chanting sixteen rounds. Our holy master has told us to do this.”
So if they are chanting and preaching all day here and there, why are they falling? What is the cause?
We should wonder why. There must be some loophole. We should try to discover where it is and stop the leakage. otherwise, the water will not be retained and all will leak out through these holes. So our water is going out like this. We should try to be careful in all these matters.
Devotee reads: There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord—the offensive stage, the stage of lessening offenses, and the pure stage. When a neophyte takes to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, he generally commits many offenses. There are ten basic offenses, and if the devotee avoids these, he can glimpse the next stage, which is situated between offensive chanting and pure chanting. When one attains the pure stage, he is immediately liberated. This is called bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpanaṁ. As soon as one is liberated from the blazing fire of material existence, he can relish the taste of transcendental life.
The conclusion is that in order to get freed from the material disease, one must take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is especially meant for creating an atmosphere in which people can take to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.
ŚRĪLA BHAKTIVEDĀNTA NĀRĀYAṆA MAHĀRĀJA: Now, something is going on that is very wrong. Devotees who are coming from hearing from Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja, wanting to take darśana of the Deity and hear hari-kathā, are being banned from visiting certain temples.
Why?
If someone is chanting and you go and tell him, “oh, you cannot come here. You are a bogus person,” This is an offense and a serious cause for concern. You should always be careful not to do this.
One hour is over and we will finish it tomorrow.
Gaura premānande!
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