3 Weapons to fight with Maya | Story of Mādhavendra Purī | Rus-Split | 6.5.92 | Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

Ah, because I had told you all that I will give you all a little Caitanya-caritāmṛta class. So even though the temple wants to have an Īsta-gōsti, I said I'll just give a quick story and then the Īsta-gōsti points. So I'll tell you the story of Madhvandapuri. This is a very nice story that Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very, very fond of. This is in the Madhya Kaliya-līlā section of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So Madhvāndapūrī was a very, very great devotee of the Lord. And one day he had completed the circumambulation of the Govardhana Hill. And after having completed the circumambulation, he was resting underneath a tree and he was hungry. So while he was resting, he was not asleep, but he had just closed his eyes and he was relaxing. And also he was fasting. A very beautiful young boy came there with a pot and some milk inside. And the young boy said, "Oh sage, you look very hungry. So in my village nobody goes hungry. So here is some milk for you." Madhvānanda Puri said, "How did you know that I was hungry?" The boy said, The village women had come to take water from the well, and when they came to take water from the well, they saw that you were tired, so they came and told me that you were hungry. So the boy said, please drink this milk, and I will come back later and take the pot from you. So Madhvinder Puri, he was just struck by the beauty of that boy. He had never seen such a beautiful boy before, but he did not know who this boy was. So that same night, Madhvendra Puri had a dream, and in that dream, that same boy again appeared. And in the dream, the boy took Madhvendra Puri to a location and said, "Here I am, buried under the bushes. Please take me out of this place." I'm suffering the heat. The boy said, I'm Gopal, the lifter of Govardhana Hill. And when the Mohammedans had come, all that they had destroyed the temples and the pujari. To save me, he hid me under these bushes, and I've been lying under these bushes in extreme heat for a long time. Like I told you all yesterday when I was explaining Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Prabhu Daya-korāmāre by Noritām dāsa ṭhākura, that the Gau Swamis re-established the 5,000 temples that you see in Vṛndāvana, because nearly all these temples had been destroyed by the Mohammedan rulers who invaded North India. So Mādhvanda Pūrī started meditating on the order that the Deity had given him in the dream. He was feeling very sorry that Kṛṣṇa had come to him to give him milk, and he did not even recognize that here was Kṛṣṇa. So Madhvanda Puri was just lamenting that he could not recognize Krishna. But then Madhvanda Puri started meditating on the order that the deity of Gopal gave him in the dream. And what was that order? I just said that, to build a temple, to build a temple for the deity. So when Madhvanda Puri started meditating on the order that the deity of Gopal had given him, then at once his mind became tranquil and peaceful. So from this we learn a very important message. The important message is that when you meditate on the orders of Guru and Krishna, then your mind will become peaceful. And when your mind is meditating on your own ambitions, then your mind will never be peaceful. So the main reason why people are not peaceful today is they're all meditating on their own ambitions and on their own plans. So Madhvendra Puri was meditating on the order that the deity had given him. So the next morning he went and assembled all the villagers together, and he told them what had transpired in the dream. So he took all the villagers with him to that same location which appeared in the dream, and all the villagers saw, yes, there was a deity there. The deity of Gopal was there. That deity of Gopal was installed by Braja. Braja is the grandson of Krishna. It was such an old Deity, and that Deity was so heavy to carry that several strong men were needed to carry it. So Madhvandapuri established an altar, just like you have an altar for Gauranatha. He made an altar made of stone, and very soon, very— in a very grand ceremony, the Deity of Gopal was installed. This was such a grand ceremony, all the villagers came with foodstuff. And everyone, all the neighbors brought cows and very opulent offerings were prepared for the Lord. The body of the Deity was massaged with oil and then with ghee and water. And there was a big Abhishek ceremony performed. So Madurai established the very opulent system of Deity worship. Then sandalwood pulp was applied on the Deity. Tulsi flowers, tulsi garlands and flower garlands were offered. And then the Lord was offered very opulent foodstuff. And all the villagers, they brought their cows and whatever they could afford, they offered everything to the Lord. The Deities are the proprietors of everything. So therefore the devotee offers everything to the Deities. Īśvara means controller. Just like in London, when Prabhupāda installed Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities in London, he called them Śrī Śrī London Īśvara, the controllers of London. They are the real controllers and proprietors of London, not the materialists. So when Prabhupada installed Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities in Paris, he named them Śrī Śrī Parishīśvara. So you have Śrī Śrī Gauṇitāya Deities here. So they also, Gauṇitāya, are the real Īśvaras of Moscow, not the, not the government or whatever. So all the villagers, they brought all rich offerings and offered them to the Deities. And then the Deity of Gopāla ate the offering. When you and I eat, the plate becomes empty. But when Krishna eats, does the plate become empty? It doesn't become empty. The plate remains as it is because Krishna eats with his eyes and ears. Krishna hears the mantra offered by the devotees through the ears, and he sees through his eyes. Plus, the food gets mixed with what is known as Krishna's saliva. Food, when it's mixed with Krishna's saliva, it becomes known as prasad. If somebody spits at you, you almost feel like slapping him, isn't it? Sometimes you're talking to people and some people have a habit of spitting while talking. Happens in your country also. So, but, but when Krishna spits on the food, it becomes prasad. So when you are talking about eating prasad, devotees generally think prasadam means the mercy of the Lord. Yes, it is mercy of the Lord, But why has it— why has it become a mercy of the Lord? Because Krishna has eaten it and his saliva gets mixed with the food. And when you distribute this prasad, everybody gets purified. Therefore Prabhupada said, in Kali Yuga you win people through the ears and the belly. Through the ears, what do you give them? Holy name. And to the mouth—

you—

to the belly, what do you give them? Krishna prasad. So Krishna prasad is one of the three weapons that Prabhupada gave us. Just like your Russian Defense Forces has Air Force, Navy, and Army, And when you have a war, the Air Force is in action, the Navy is in action, and the Army is in action. So we are also at war. Against whom? Maya. So we also have to put our forces, defense forces, at work. So our army is the book distribution devotees who go out and distribute books. And then you have the devotees who go into harinama. And then you have the devotees who go into prasad distribution, food for life. So food for life was a very important program which Prabhupada emphasized. And here in Moscow, from Monday, we are going to have Food for Life on a very grand scale. Our plan is now in, in old Soviet Union to have Food for Life programs everywhere, but starting with Moscow. Actually, the correct name is Prasad for Life because Food for Life appears mundane word, but there is a reason why we are calling it Food for Life and not Prasad for Life. Because we're dealing in the material world where people are, uh, where people want to know, you know, what charitable things we are doing, and where people do not attach great importance to religious activities, instead of the word prasad, we're using the word food. But actually it is prasad for life for devotees and food for life for karmis. So we're going to, so we're going to start this program of prasad for life from next week. And if any of you want to help in this program, you all can see Krishnakumar Praval. So by eating Kṛṣṇa prasāda, the brain tissues get purified. Your senses get purified. And then with purified senses you can understand who you are, the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. Jīvēra-sūrūpāya kṛṣṇa-nityadāsa. You have to understand that we are dogs of Kṛṣṇa. So just like the dog serves the master, we should always be anxious to serve our real Master. So Madhvāndapuri was very happy that a very nice installation of the Deity took place. Char was distributed to all the people. And then Madhvandapuri had another dream. The same boy came again in the dream. And what did that boy say? He said, I'm still feeling very warm. So he said, I'm still feeling very warm, so I want some sandalwood to be applied on my body. So in order to get this sandalwood, Madhvandapuri would have to travel from Gauḍa, Northern India, to eastern India, Orissa. These days when your devotees come to India, you just go by summer load from Delhi to Calcutta and in 2 hours you are there, so no problem. But there was no summer load for Madhvanda Puri. He traveled on foot 2,000 kilometers just to bring the sandalwood for the deity of Gopal. And he traveled on foot and he came to Orissa. In Orissa there was a very famous temple called Kichor Gopinath Temple in Remuna. And wanted to see how he can improve the standard of deity worship for his Gopal deity. This is the devotee's meditation: how can I make my service better? So whatever your service is, try to improve upon it. If you're a cook, always meditate how can you cook for Krishna better. If you're a book distributor, always meditate how I can distribute more books to conditioned souls. If you're a pujari, Always meditate how we can dress the deities better. And if you're constantly meditating on your service, then your mind will get purified, and then your mind will not meditate on sense gratification, illicit activities. So Madhvanda Puri wanted to go. He went to this temple of Remana to see how that temple was very famous for offering nice sweet rice to the deities. So the Lord was very pleased by Madhvanda Puri's surrender. Because Madhvānandapuri travelled 2,000 miles just to bring the sandalwood for the Deity of the Lord. So Madhvānandapuri felt very embarrassed that he wanted to taste the sweet rice which is offered to Lord Viśṇū. Because actually he wanted to taste it so he knew how to cook better sweet rice for the Deities. But he felt very embarrassed by this thought. So Madhvānandapuri felt very embarrassed that he had developed the desire to taste the sweet rice that is meant for the Deities. So he offered his obeisance and saw the Ārati and he left the temple and he went in the market. That night, the pujari in the temple of Radha Kichor Gopinath had a dream. And in the dream, the Lord said, I have stolen a glass of sweet rice and hidden it behind the curtain. You please take that sweet rice and keep it aside, and you go to the market and find out where is Madhvanda Puri and give him the sweet rice. So the pujari went in the market, said Gadīya Mādhvanda Pūrī, Gadīya Mādhvanda Pūrī. Where is Mādhvanda Pūrī? So find him. Mādhvanda Pūrī said, 'Ettaya, this is me.' Stole in a glass of sweet rice and kept it aside for him. So when Mādhvanda Pūrī heard that the Lord personally stole a glass of sweet rice for him, his ecstasy knew no limits. He was in ecstasy that the Lord has stolen a glass of sweet rice to feed to me. So that priest could understand that Madhvānanda Puri is a very advanced devotee. That is why Kṛṣṇa stole a glass of sweet rice to feed him. Just like the devotee is anxious to serve the Lord, the Lord is anxious to serve the devotee. Therefore there is transcendental competition between the Lord and the devotee. Kṛṣṇa served Madhvānanda Puri when he came as a young boy and gave him milk. Now again, serving him by stealing sweet rice for him. So Madhvandapuri became very famous. Kṛṣṇa stole a sweet rice for him. Just like now if you have a big movie star or football star, he comes in your area, everybody says, "Oh, famous star." So those days society was more civilized. They used to honor saintly people. These days they criticize saintly people and honor corrupt people. So Madhvandapuri was feeling very embarrassed that everybody is thinking that he is a very great devotee. So he ran away from there and he went to Jagannātha Puri. But even when he came to Jagannātha Puri, everybody knew that this man is very great devotee. So Madhvandapuri, with the help of the Jagannath Puri government officials, they arranged for all the sandalwood and everything that he was going to carry and take it back to Mathura. Those days, um, the government everywhere was being controlled by the Mohammedans, so they were very much against, uh, carrying of paraphernalia for deities and so on. But with great difficulty, so, but still The officials of the Jagannath Puri Temple obtained all the papers so that Madhvendra Puri could carry the sandalwood, uh, without any difficulty from the border policemen like you have. So all arrangements were made, but on the way back to Mathura to Govardhan, Madhvendra Puri again stopped at the temple of Kichor Gopinath. Why is that temple called Kichor Gopinath? Chor means a thief and kir means sweet rice. So somebody may say, what type of God is this? You call him thief, one who stole sweet rice. But Krishna performed so many transcendental activities for his devotees. So that on the way back, Madhvandapuri, after greeting the deities and Río Ramanath in Ramanath Temple, he was taking rest. And that night again he had a dream. And in the dream Gopal said, you have obtained this sandalwood, but there is no difference between me, Gopal, and Govardhan. And the Deity that is here in the temple. So you don't have to carry this sandalwood back to Govardhan. Just apply the sandalwood on the Deity in the temple where you are. So next morning, Madhvanda Puri told his dream to all the other pujaris in the temple, and they were very happy. And the sandalwood was applied to the Deity of, uh, Kichor Gopinath, Prasada Gopinath. So this is briefly the story of Madhvanda Puri. Why Krishna did not let Madhvandapuri carry the sandalwood from Mūrīsa back to Govardhana? Because it would have been too much trouble to carry this heavy sandalwood 2,000 kilometers and having to pass through the border post of the Muslim policeman. So, um, from this story of Madhvandapuri, you can learn how Krishna is always ready to serve his devotee and how the devotee is always ready to serve the Lord. Okay. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Of course there are few more points in the story, but I just made it little brief. So meditate on this story. Tomorrow I'll give you another story from Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Okay, so now it's time for Iṣṭa-ghoṣṭi. After all, you must understand that the Bhāgavatam class you hear, the Iṣṭa, the Caitanya-caritāmṛta class, the Gītā class you hear, the chanting you do, all this is meant to culminate in one thing. And that's one thing is service. If you hear all day, read all day, and don't do any service, then it's useless. We would all like to just chant and read all day. Then who will do the preaching? Prabhupada could also have done that in Vrindavan. So we also have service to do. In fact, there's so much service to do in ISKCON, whether you're in Moscow or Bombay or London, the 24 hours are just not enough. So many conditioned souls have to be saved. Our mentality should be like Vāsudeva datta. Vāsudeva datta said, "Take everyone back to Godhead and let me suffer and take the reaction." So we want all devotees to take part in this book distribution marathon. Also to help in the selling of tickets for the Gauranga bhajan band. The Krishna Kumar can tell you more about this. But there are tickets at 50 rubles that have to be sold. So there isn't much time left, I was told, so it has to be done fast. And then we are starting this Food for Life program. Okay, Walid Vamsaprabhu is going to be in charge of this Food for Life program, but he's a little sick at the moment. Are there any volunteers who would like to take part in this Prasad for Life program?

What, what is to be done?

What is to be done? Cut vegetables, serve prasad. Grow vegetables in the field. Then you, then you have to, you have to take the vegetables out of the field and bring them by foot to the temple. Well, cutting sabji, cooking, serving, chanting. They need some healthy people who know how to use a knife and cut sabji and not their own hands. Sometimes people cut their own fingers while cutting sabji. Any volunteers for this? Of course, if you— if the devotees from outside Moscow, from other yatra, then you have to get permission from your temple president. But if you're an independent freelancer, then it's different. So how many people would like to volunteer in this Prasad for Life program? You should take the names. Put your hands up. So how many people are ready to do this food Prasad for Life program on a daily basis? We need it for 2 months. In 2 months they'll test you out. If you're good, then you can continue on the job, because there are many applicants, so they're selecting the best. Okay, so who are the people? Really, take their names, Prabhu. And they can come to Krishna Kumar Prabhu's office at 10:00 with your passport and your— okay. And those who are selected for this program They're also going to be trained by Shrikant in cooking. Yes, and Shrikant will help also. So Shrikant's here for some time, so while I learn my Russian, you people can learn cooking. Okay, so all those who are coming for this Food for Life, Prasad for Life, please see Krishna Kumar in his office at 10:00. Okay, and one thing is about this Prasad for Life program, this program is going to get a lot of television coverage. So if any of you want to become television stars, here's an opportunity. Okay, so anything, any— do you devotees want to bring up any points quickly? We only have 5-10 minutes left. So yes, I'll take on one or two questions from— yeah, this is Ishta Goshti now. So if you devotees want to say anything, please speak quickly.

Yeah, my question is about the service. Who should direct, uh, direct one to serve? Who should give some resource? Because one authority says you should do this service, another one—

Okay, so generally in a temple you have the temple president, vice president, department heads. So very often that president will delegate duties to the department head, and the department head will give duty to his people under him. So ultimately, for your service, you should have only one authority. The problem when there are too many authorities is that then people take advantage of it and one doesn't surrender to anybody. Because the devotee tells Authority A, I'm working under Authority B. He tells Authority B, I'm working under Authority A. Well, um, at least you should finish 10 rounds, 12 rounds before you go, so then you can maybe do— but you should make your schedule in such a way, best is if you finish all your rounds before you go. You should only take 2 hours to do your round. So arrange those 2 hours and then go. Okay, any other point? Any other important point from any Moscow devotee? This is Moscow Ishta Goshti. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Lama layare.