Importance of the Holy name (story of Ajamil) | Rus-Split | 25 Dec 1988 | Gopal Krishna Goswami

Om Agyanatimandasya Jnananjana Shalakyachakshun Meletanyena Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha. Sri Chaitanya Mano Vistam Sthapitam Yena Bhutale Swayam Rupa Kadam Ayam Dadati Swaapadanti Kam. Bande Ham Sri Guru Sri Utapada Kamlan Sri Gurun Vaishnava Nashta. Sri Rupam Sakrajatam Sahagana Raguna Tanvitam Tam Sajevam. Sadhvaitam sabuddhutam parijñāsaitam kṛṣṇa-cetanya-deva. Śrī-rādhā-kṛṣṇa-padāṇṣahāgana-lalitā śrī-vaśākā-nitāmśca. Jai Śrī Kṛṣṇa-cetanya-prabhu-nītānanda Śrī Advaita-gadādhārṣivāśa-digaur-mātaramṇḍa.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa. Hare, Hare, Hare, Hare, Rāma, Hare, Rāma, Rāma, Hare, Hare.

Ke chet ke bhulya bhaktiya, vāsa deva prayāyena, agam dhanvantī kṛṣṇena, eñāram iva paṣkara.

So over here, this verse is being spoken by Śukadeva Gosvāmī. As there are many newcomers also in this audience, I would like to first give a little introduction to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled by Vyāsadeva. Vyāsadeva is the incarnation of God who appeared to put the Vedic literature into writing. Vyāsadeva compiled the vast Vedic literature. This literature is so vast that even if you were to read it every day of your life, by the time you die, you will still not be able to read the entire Vedic text. Vyāsadeva had compiled the vast Vedic literature, but still he was feeling unhappy. So he went to his spiritual master, whose name was Dārada Muni, and he asked his spiritual master, "I have compiled so much literature, why am I still unhappy?" And he said, "Because you have not exclusively glorified the process of devotional service." So then he compiled the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. So this Srimad Bhagavatam consists of 18,000 verses divided in 12 cantos. This Srimad Bhagavatam gives us knowledge about pure devotional service. Pure devotional service means that one is willing to serve the Lord without any condition. In the material world, we are only willing to serve if we get our conditions. Like for example, I'll do a job "If I can get the right amount of money for my Sanskrit." Pure devotional service means that we serve the Lord without expecting anything in return at all. In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatām, there is a verse in Sanskrit which runs as follows: "Serven punsām paro dharmo yato bhakti-ya dhaukṣuje āhituke pratyātaye yātmā suprasīdati." The self can only be satisfied by engaging in parodharma. Such devotional service must be uninterrupted, it must be without any stopping, and it must be unmotivated. So this is what Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is teaching us. In all our temples around the world, we read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam every morning at about 7:30. We take one verse every day, and then the senior-most person speaks and explains that verse. Just like by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, one can free oneself from material desires and develop love of God, similarly by reading the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly, one can develop love of God. The whole purpose of this Vedic knowledge is to enable the living entity to develop love for God. If we do not develop love for God, then we will develop love for these so-called material things which are going to disappear with the passage of time. So in this 6th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is the presentation of the story of Arjuna. In the entire Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there are so many spiritual stories, each of which is conveying to us a very important spiritual message. These stories are not friction. This is not scientific friction that people are very fond of writing. These are real stories. In this verse that we have read, the Sanskrit which we had chanted, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Deva Gosvāmī is saying, "Only a rare person who has accepted unalloyed devotional service can take away the sinful desires from the heart." Is everyone understanding things in the back?

Yeah?

Do you want me to go slower or is this okay? I want all of you to understand. Even if I have to go at the speed of an ant, I don't care. So, um, Śrīkadeva Gosvāmī is pointing out the importance of pure devotional service. There's a very nice example given. Just like you have the fog— fog is like the clouds, you know, like in London there's a lot of fog. I'm sure in Russia also you have fog. So when you have this fog, you cannot see anything clearly, but when the sun comes out fog gets destroyed. So devotional service is like the sun, Maya is like the fog. So this Maya can be destroyed by the devotional service. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is a verse: Krishna surya sama Maya hayandhikāra yahaṁ Kṛṣṇa tayāni Mayārādhikāra. The meaning is where there is Kṛṣṇa There is no room for Maya. Just like where there is sunshine, there is no room for darkness. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam teaches us how to get near Kṛṣṇa. All of you who have assembled here have assembled here because you are accepting Kṛṣṇa's teachings. Otherwise, why would all of you take all the risk and come here?

We are not giving you any money.

No ruble or kopek. Rather, we take away your rubles and kopeks. But you are getting some pleasure from Krishna, therefore you're coming here. So in the 6th canto, as I told you, we have the wonderful story of Arjuna. This 6th canto starts with Pariksit Maharaj. Pariksit Maharaj wants to know from his spiritual master, how can we give up sinful activities once for all? He says, what is the value of somebody going to the church or the temple on Sunday, atoning, and then coming back and sinning again? Just like an elephant. An elephant goes and has a bath, then the elephant comes out and then sits down in the sand, and again the body gets dirty. So Parekhshad Mahāj was not interested in that knowledge by which one may apologize to the Lord for his sins and then again sin again. So Parekhshad Mahāj is interested in that science by which the sinful desire from the heart will be pulled out. Parekhshad Mahāj gives an example that you may have fire and the tree may get burnt. But as long as the roots of the tree are below the earth, again the tree will grow. Do all of you understand this example? That the branches and the leaves and the tree may get burnt, but as long as the root is below the earth. So Pharekshita Mahārāja wants to know how one can take out sinful desires from the heart. So that has been explained by Śrīkṛṣṇa Deva Gosvāmī to be by the process of devotional service. Do all of you know who Parikshit Maharaj is? So Parikshit Maharaj was the king of this planet who was cursed to die within 7 days. And Parikshit Maharaj, when he was given notice that he's going to die in 7 days, he did not get worried or scared or started writing up his will. But Parikshit Maharaj invited all the great sages of the planet and asked them a very simple question. His question was, What should one do who's about to die? You and I may not even get 7 seconds notice, but Parikshit Maharaj was so lucky he got 7 days notice. It is, it is the same Parikshit Maharaj who, when he was in the womb of his mother, he was saved from the Brahmastra Vasvottama by Krishna himself. So some of you may say, why is it that Krishna did not protect Parikshit Maharaj now? As you know, Parikṣit Mahājāja was cursed by a young Brahmin boy, and if Kṛṣṇa wanted, He could easily have taken away that curse. After all, Parikṣit Mahājāja was not an ordinary person. But Parikṣit Mahājāja has become so famous because he heard the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam before death. So the Lord puts the devotee in difficulty, and the Lord gives the devotee the solution. Pralad Maharaj was put into so many difficulties, but he was always, always protected by the Lord. So this is very natural for a devotee to be in difficulty. Srila Prabhupada had to go through so much difficulty before starting this Krishna conscious movement. So all you ruskī devotees have also had to go through so much difficulty.

So all of—

because all of you are members of Pralad's family, you are put into difficulty and you're given the solution from that difficulty. To the devotee, struggling for Kṛṣṇa is a privilege. It is simply a burden of love. Just like a mother who is bringing up a young child. She may have to get up 10 times in the night because the child is crying, and she may have to clean the stool and urine of the child, but she does not complain. To her, it is simply a burden of love. Of course, the present Kali Yuga mothers don't like all this. Therefore, they prefer abortion. And I understand that in your country, the abortion rate is the highest amongst the developed countries of the world. So, Parikshit Maharaj wanted to know how to stop sinning once for all. So Parikshit Maharaj related— so Śrīkant Gosvāmī related the story of Arjuna. Arjuna was born in a Brahminical family. So Arjuna was born in a Brahminical family. He had a wife and nice children. He was following all the Vedic rules very strictly. One day, Arjuna was coming from the forest, and on the way he saw that a prostitute was making love with a man. So when he saw that incident, Arjuna's mind got distracted. And he just started meditating on that incident. That is why devotees do not see anything vulgar, because if you see something bad, then you begin to think about it and it disturbs your peace of mind. Arjuna had to engage in so many sinful activities. He had to rob rich people, and slowly, slowly, Arjuna's character became very, very bad. All good habits went away. And all bad habits developed. So slowly, slowly, Arjamil had many children, 12 children, and the youngest child was named Narayan. Prabhupada explains that in olden days in India, so when people would call these names of God, they would call their children, they would be indirectly chanting the names of God. But today, even in India, People are giving these Western names like Pinky, Bobby, and so on. They don't want to give their children names of God anymore. They think that this is very old-fashioned. So anyway, so Arjamil was attached to his youngest son, and he was somehow the other, uh, uh, call— whenever he used to call him, he used to utter the word Narayan. So Arjamil had become so sinful, and now he had also become old. Yamraj. We have one Yamraj over here also, but he is Yamraj Das, servant of the real Yamraj. But we are talking about the real original Bhrayamraj. So Yamraj is known as the superintendent of death. Just like in Russia and America and all these advanced countries, they have the radar system. The radar system is watching that no enemy plane comes in the country., and the radar system is keeping a watch on things. So similarly, Yām Rāja is the Supreme Planet of Death who's keeping a watch on everyone's activities. If you have a bank account, every time you put money in the bank, your account is credited, and every time you take money out, your account is debited. So Yām Rāja also, he credits your account when you do something nice.

So based upon the balance at the moment of death, your next life is decided.

Based on your balance, it is decided whether you'll get a human body, demigod body, the body of a dog or a cat or a tree or a fish or whatever.

So Yamaraj had already decided now that Yajamil must die, so he sent 3 of his agents, just like you have the police force in Leningrad, in Moscow, in every city, dressed up in a big coat and a Russian cap and all that. So Yama also has his police force, but these policemen sometimes look handsome also. But Yama's police force looks very ugly. Their teeth are coming out. You know, have any—

was there—

have any of you seen that movie Horror of Dracula? Anyway, Yamraj's police force is very frightening. The name of Yamraj's police force is Yamadutas. So Arjuna, why did Yamraj send 3? Anyone? Why did Yamraj send 3 policemen and not 5 or 4 or 2? Arjuna was so old, even one policeman could have, you know. No, no idea.

Everyone.

Because there are 3 ways how we can commit sinful activities. One is through the mind, the other is through the words, and the third is through your action, through the body. So each of us can sin either through the mind or through the tongue or through our body. So Arjuna, uh, 3, 3 yamratas and 3 policemen to bring Arjuna to help. Now, as soon as Arjuna saw those three ugly, fearful-looking policemen coming towards him, he shouted, 'Narayan!' And actually, he called his youngest son to come and help. Just like when you and I are in difficulty, we shout for our beloved one to come to our rescue. But as soon as he shouted Narayan, Lord Vishnu's police force known as the Vishnu Dutas, they also appeared on the scene. The Vishnu Dutas were very handsome, beautiful young men. So when the Yama Dutas saw the Vishnu Dutas, they said, they said, what are you doing over here? And when the Vishnu Dutas saw the Yama Dutas, they said, what are you doing over here? So the Yama Dutas said, "We have come to carry out the order of our master." And then the Vishnu Dutas stopped the Yama Dutas from taking Arjuna to hell. So there was a dialogue which took place between Yama Duta and Vishnu Duta. Arjuna was sleeping, but he was unconscious. But he could still hear what they were talking. And when Arjuna heard the conversation between the Vishnu Dutas and the Yama Dutas, he realized that he has made a big mistake. He realized that he has made a big mistake that he gave up his wife, children, parents, and he married this prostitute. So one thing is to realize our mistake, and the second thing is to correct the mistake. Just like all of you, all of us, Before we came to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we were engaged in so many sinful activities like Arjamil was engaged with his prostitute wife. But after you met a devotee of Hare Kṛṣṇa or you got the Bhagavad-gītā or some other book in rooski, then you decided, "Oh, what I'm doing is wrong, so I must stop it." But just understanding that you have made a mistake is not enough. You must work to correct that mistake. So you may meet a devotee or you may read the Bhagavad-gītā and understand that you're doing a mistake.

But if you do not correct your life, then what is the value of that realization?

So Arjamil not only realized his mistake, but he decided that now he must correct his mistake. So what did he do? He went to Haridwar where he started chanting the names of the Lord. So the yama-dutas, the agents of Lord Yamraj, They were very confused what happened. Previously Lord Yamaraja had sent them many times to bring sinful people to hell, and nobody ever stopped them from doing their duty. But today they were stopped for the first time. So they were very confused. So then they went back to their master Yamaraja, and they asked him. They said, "We have a question to ask you." "Is there anybody who is more powerful than you?" He said, "Yes, there is, Kṛṣṇa." Because a real devotee of the Lord does not think that he is more powerful than Kṛṣṇa. Then the yāmadūtas explained the whole story that took place and how they were stopped from taking Arjuni to Yāmraja. And then Yāmraja, after he heard the story from his servants, he said, He said, "In future, in future, only touch somebody whose tongue has never vibrated the names of Krishna, whose ears have never heard the name of Krishna, whose head never bows down before Krishna." In other words, Yamraj said that if somebody has chanted the names of Krishna or bowed down before the Deity of Krishna, then you cannot bring him to hell. So Arjamil was saved because even when Arjamil was in bad company, he was still chanting the names of the Lord, but unconsciously. He was still chanting the names of Narayana. So all of you who are chanting the names of Krishna will definitely be protected by Lord Vishnu. So this was in brief the story of Arjamil. And that is the end of the movie. So the summary of the story of Arjuna is when you chant the names of God, when you chant the names of Krishna, you're never a loser. Now none of you should learn from this story that just like Arjuna gave up his wife and children and married a prostitute and became a bad man, I'll also give up my wife and children and become a bad man like Arjuna. So none of you should think, oh, now I'm going to be like Arjuna, imitate him, and then the moment of death Krishna will save me. A devotee does not does not sin on the strength of chanting. He does not think that because I'm chanting, I'm clearing off my bad account, so now I can commit some fresh sinful activities. A devotee is very careful to not commit any sinful activity. And if a devotee is careful, and if by accident he commits a mistake, then Krishna will protect him.