ISKCON Temples are Heaven on Earth | CC 7.164 | ISKCON Potomac, DC | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami

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Um, who has read real words from Chaitanya Charitāmṛta?

Sri Caitanya. Sri Caitanya Charitāmṛta. This is Lord Caitanya in 5 features. Adi-lila, chapter 7, text 164. Mādhūrāte pātāya larūpa-saṇātana, dweṣena pāti-kāila bhakti-prācāraṇa. Lord Caitanya dispatched the two generals, Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātan Gosvāmī, to Vrindāvana to preach the bhakti cult. Yeah, purport by Śrīla Prabhupāda. When Rupa Gosvāmī and Sanātan Gosvāmī went to Vrindāvana, there was not a single temple. But by their preaching, they were gradually able to construct various temples. Sanātan Gosvāmī constructed the Madan Mohan Temple, and Rupa Gosvāmī constructed the Govindajī Temple. Similarly, Their nephew Jiva Goswami constructed the Radha Damodara Temple. Shri Gopal Goswami constructed the Radharaman Temple. Sri Lokanatha Goswami constructed the Gokulananda Temple. And Shyamananda Goswami constructed the Shyamasundar Temple. In this way, many temples were gradually constructed. For preaching, construction of temples is also necessary. The Gosvāmīs not only engaged in writing books but also constructed temples, because both are needed for preaching work. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted the cult of His Sankīrtān movement to spread all over the world.

Prasad Raaval.

Now that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has taken up this task of preaching the cult of Lord Caitanya, its members should not only construct temples in every town and village of the globe, but also distribute the books that have been already written and further increase the number the number of books. Both distribution of books and construction of temples must continue side by side in parallel lines.

Śrīla Prabhupāda ke. Hare Krishna. Can you hear me in the back? Yeah, can you give this volume increase? You can't hear?

They can hear, maybe a little bit more.

Or you can't understand? You raise your hand. As I said, yesterday I couldn't speak at all, and I don't know how long I'll be able to do it. My mind will take over. So this is a nice verse from the Chaitanya Charitamrita. How many of you have a set of Chaitanya Charitamrita in your home? How many of you read it regularly? Actually, Krishna Kavara has very nicely described the wonderful pastimes of the Lord. So here Lord Caitanya is instructing two brothers. Who are they? These two brothers, were running the whole empire. The king was Nawab Hussein Shah, and he knew at that time the population in India was nearly 99% Hindu. So he wanted very popular local people to take charge of India. Rupa and Sanatan were very learned in all the languages and the scriptures, and everybody respected them very much. So, their heart was not into it. So, first Rupa Goswami resigned, then Sanatan Goswami resigned from commentary. So, Rupa and Sanatan, as they were holding the most important position. And at that time, 500 years ago, the richest country in the world was India, and the richest kingdom of India was Mysore. So you can imagine how learned they were. And actually, when Dr. Prasad RAVAL resigned, he had a whole bowl full of gold coins. And so Lord Caitanya instructed them to go to Vrindavan, and they went to Vrindavan and they fulfilled the Lord's objectives. What were the Lord's objectives? Write books on devotion, they wrote. Lord Caitanya personally instructed both Rupa Goswami and Sananda Goswami about the process of pure devotional service. Can you hear me in the back? Yes. Personally instructed them and established temples. So here in Potamic you see a nice temple being built and the president opened it. This year. So why do we build temples? We build temples because temples are technically a place where one goes for spiritual recovery. In the material world we see, we see that everybody is struggling, they cannot find their happiness. But you come to a temple which is being used properly. Some people in India use the temple as a revenue picking business. But someone, some place where pure message of God has been presented, that's gone. Prabhupāda gave a pure message. No one can doubt the credibility of Bhāgavad-gītā. Can anyone say my work is not real? No one can doubt the credibility of Śrīmad-Bhāgavata. No one can doubt the authenticity of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Everything that you're getting here is agreed upon, even by critics, to be real and genuine. So in the temple, There should be spiritual atmosphere. When somebody comes to the temple, he feels, "Oh, this is heaven on earth." That's why they named the Bombay Project Heaven on Earth. So on earth, everywhere, what do you see? You see— nothing but misery. So temples are places where and go to get spiritual rejuvenation. And he gave an example of— Prabhupāda mentioned name of the Gosvāmīs and said, who will reach them first? The Gosvāmīs. Gosvāmī means one who has control over mindlessness. This is the Gosvāmīs, the Vaiṣṇavānanda. So, our deities here are also known as Radha Madamang. This is a very interesting story. Sanatana Goswami at one time was mostly running a kingdom. His brother also. So, Sanatana Goswami, his heart was into Servant Lord Caitanya. And earlier, Swami had approached the Lord and said, "I want to engage in service. I want to be with you." The Lord said, "No." He gave the example, He said, just like a married woman who has a friend outside, She at home may act very diligently, but in mind she is thinking, "When will I go and see my Master?" So similarly, aścita nitoru pavusāmī. You continue your job as Prime Minister, but in your mind you always think of Śrīla Kṛṣṇa. So, Śrīla Nārada Gosvāmī They don't know how to say everything. So, Sri Ramana Maharshi, down in his office, in his native city, he was, he had all the facilities. But when he came to Brindavan, and then he had almost nothing. He would take madhukari. Madhukari is you go house to house. And request something to eat. So he was going house to house and he came across a deity which was a deity of Madam Mohan. And he saw that one Mr. Chube had that deity. The Lord appeared to him in a dream and said that this deity, this Chhovi family was so fond of the deity, they were treating the deity like an ordinary child, one of their children. So, Snadagosa saw It was not correct. Then he said, "Abhigupta Swami, we requested the Mr. Chome, can I take this deity and worship?" And Mr. Chome said, "No, he's one of my children. How can I give one of my children to you, child to you?" Then So that night, Śrīla Adi Gosvāmī had a dream, and Mr. Chobe had a Deity in his house, had a dream. And the dream that Mr. Chobe had, the Lord said, "Please give this Deity to Śrīla Adi Gosvāmī." he comes to your house tomorrow. Madhu kari, you go house to house and just collect enough for that day. Not that you go house to house and build up a big storage. Just eat food for that day. So the Lord told Chobe, gave this deity to Sanathana Goswami, and the Lord in a dream told Sanathana Goswami for me. That go and take care of that deity and worship it to the best of your ability. So the Lord is so kind, He appears in various forms, which is known as archa-vigraha. Archa-vigraha means a form of the Lord that appears in a deity form. There are two types of deities. Some are self-manifested, just like, for example, the Mahadevi deity in Tripoli, or Gopal deity in Jaipur. They are all considered self-manifestation. So, Prasad RAVAL had his deity. He was living in a small hut, and in front of the hut, he began and began to serve the Lord. He was giving the Lord dry chapatis only. One day the Lord said, "Sri Rādhārāṇa, can't you do better than this? You just give me dry chapatis every day. Can you give me little salt?" Sri Rādhārāṇa said, "No, I will— this will take you— distract me from bhājaṇa. I am here to do bhājaṇa." So, the Lord was satisfied. By just by the offering of Draishpradī. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, paṣaṁ puṣpa-vraṁ so veyam, bhāgavya bhaktiḥ. One can offer Me with love and devotion, leaf, water, fruit, flower. I accept it with love. Provided it is offered with love. The question is, do we have the love and trust to serve the Lord? In our present condition stage, we don't. But if we follow this process of devotional service, then that will gradually develop. So, the— was worshipping his deity, and the deity was satisfied. That's why getting darshan, bhakti. So, there was— this was near the Yamuna River. So, there was a businessman going in a boat with a lot of salt in his boat. The man was doing salt business. His name was one Kapu. So, the businessman's boat got stuck in the mud. So, the businessman was getting unhappy. He was heading for Agra and he was going to sell his merchandise over there. He was stuck and it was evening time, getting dark. He was scared that the dacoits may attack. So, the businessman saw that there is some light from a little distance. So, he went to that hut which was being occupied by Slatengos. Sri Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī. So, he informed Sri Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī about his precarious condition. So, when he went back, the boat which was stuck in the mud, there were heavy waves, actually started moving. So, the businessman made a lot of money. So he made this money, he knew this was by Sanatana Gosvami's grace, his deity's benediction. Then he went to Sanatana Gosvami, and Sanatana Gosvami told him to build a temple. He built the famous Radha Madhavan Mohan Temple. The real deity is still there. —yam bhūnāvāt. And that's how Mother Mohan devī was established. So the Lord is so kind. He gives us all the opportunity, always the opportunity to engage in self. Sometimes the speaker benefits. In any spiritual discussion, the spiritual speaker benefits. Benefits. The person being spoken to benefits and the audience benefits. So what is needed in society today is spiritual knowledge. For example, there are many institutions that may teach you with high-tech artificial intelligence, but is there any department that teaches about Self-Realization? That will find Yeah. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving this most essential knowledge to society at large. In the Bhāgavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, "Ājā vidyā rāja." This knowledge is the pillar of education, most important. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu emphasized 5 major activities that we should practice to execute devotional service. Guruji said, 'Salu sangha.' 'Salu sangha' means you associate with those who know the goal of life. 'Salu' doesn't mean that necessarily I should be a sannyasi. You have to for keeping devotional service, and very good preachers also. So, he associated with somebody who can give you real meaning of a sadhu, who is practicing what he preaches. If we don't practice what we preach, and then, only the fools will follow us. And he should present the truth as it is. Now that you can come and give your own interpretation. So if you have the fortune to associate with a genuine sadhu, then you are on the right path. There are many people who may claim to be sadhu but, you know, but lack genuine spiritual qualities. So We associate with sadhu. And what are the qualifications of sadhu? Who knows the famous words of the Tarkhanda? A sadhu should be tolerant, should follow the scriptures. So if we associate with a genuine sadhu, sustaining person, then what will happen? Then he'll give you the real message. Just like Prabhupāda never compromised in presenting the philosophy. Even when ISKCON society was being established, Prabhupāda had few American disciples in New York, and none of them had any small commitment. The Prabhupāda asked them, "What should we name our society?" And what did they say? English language, "Very evil God consciousness." Prabhupāda said, "No! We have to be specific." They said in English language, "Krishna consciousness." And similarly, when Prabhupāda started preaching, he started preaching In behalf of many people advised him, if you go ahead with your rules and regulations and sannyāsa laws, nobody will come. But you should also become like us, Westerners. A brother of yours should come and marry. So he— but Krishna is working on the common man. Krishna says I am the highest truth. Who can modify those words? So, Baba gives the real thing. That's what happens when you meet a genuine sadhu. And what does the sadhu preach? What does he preach? Chant the names of God. Chanting the names of God, Nama Kirtan, chanting the names of God is mentioned in all the scriptures. Even in the Bible it is said, I shall always chant the name of the Lord. So chanting the name of God, something was sent there. And Acharya Srila Mahaprabhu came and freely gave us what? This process of self-realization. In previous ages, there were different techniques for self-realization. For example, in Satya Yuga, believe it or not, in Satya Yuga, the lifespan was up to 100,000 years. Sages used to meditate up to 80,000 years. And what was the process of self-realization? Who knows? Meditation. Meditation on the Lord. And The duration was 400,000 years. Then came the next age, which was Treta Yuga. In Treta Yuga, the process was whole yagyas, whole yagyas, in which pure ghee, pure milk, pure ingredients were to be offered. And the duration of life of living entities was 10,000 years, 10 times that. Then came Bhava Yoga, in which the process was offering gifts to the Lord. So he made a rule, if you want to come to a temple for darshan, bring 1 ounce of gold. He would say, "We can't afford that." So in this age, meditation also is not possible. For example, even if you go on top of a mountain, planes fly over it, so you're going to have distraction. So he gave us a simple process of changing your Holy Name of the Lord. You've all heard this before. I mean, one thing we should note is that this is kṛṣṇa. This is not a new philosophy that takes birth every year. It's the same philosophy coming down from Supreme Lord. Supreme Lord, when He was on the planet, everything was auspicious. But then, as the Bhagavad Gita says, the Lord has departed, but He has left His teachings in the pages of the Bhagavad Gita. So what the Lord wants us to do is the Bhagavad Gita. Shri Bhagavanu Vacha. What does it mean, Shri Bhagavanu Vacha? Supreme Lord's speech. We debate who is God. The Bhagavad Gita establishes Krishna as the Supreme Lord. This is not an ISKCON manufactured thought. This is what the scriptures have to say. So this chanting of the Holy Name is supported in all the scriptures. So one who is, one who is sincere, Krishna from the heart guides himself. In Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says I am the source of remembrance, and I am the source of— I was yeti am hitni sannivishta, mata asmita gyanam apalam. I am the cause of remembrance, I am the cause of forgetfulness. So a question may arise, why does the Lord cause one to forget and one to remember? Why? There is some lottery system? You know? You have to borrow. You are in vacation. No. The Lord is in the heart. Residing in the heart, He is doing various functions. One thing is, He understands what your mind is. Where your mind is. He knows. One after the other, that we want to immerse ourselves in this enjoyment, so He'll guide us in such a way that we can have facility. And if we see that you genuinely want spiritual life, then He'll guide you to a spiritual personality. Depending upon what you want, That's the only freedom we have, to serve God or not to serve God. So, Kṛṣṇa has procured it with our surrender. So, if you are in genuine salutary association, you'll get the right association, you'll get the right knowledge. Understanding of the Holy Name is— where is that coming from? It's coming from the Holy Name. From the spiritual abode. The holy name is non-different from the Lord. That's why you can chant day and night and not get tired. Sometimes people say, "You chant the same name every day, don't you get tired?" Read the Bhagavad-gītā every day. How many of you read the gītā every day? So, but gītā, In fact, every time you read it, you'll understand it better than the previous one. If you want to understand the Bhagavad Gita, of course you should go to a Help Realize Soul or a place where people are presenting the real philosophy. And if you practice the real philosophy, then that is aiming towards the goal, achieving the goal of life. So, this holy name is coming from the spiritual world and it's non-different from the Supreme Lord. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Ewa Kevalam. Prabhupada was once giving a lecture in Australia and a journalist asked him, If your Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so perfect, why is this hall fully packed up? And Prabhupāda said, when you're selling gold, very few people will buy. But when you're selling broken glass, everyone will buy. So this is gold. Not everybody will take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness easily because it doesn't promote sense enjoyment. So, important thing is understanding the spirit in which the Lord gives the instruction and asuna asa. People usually ask Prabhupada, "What do you mean by 'as it is'? What's different from the Āyam Gītā?" This is what Prabhupada explained. So, in genuine spiritual association, we need devotee association. And this devotee association is at three levels. One is you associate with those who are more advanced than you. Second is you associate with those who are equal to you. And the third is— what's the third one? You associate with those who are less advanced than you. So, by what I'm experiencing, that when you associate with persons who are more advanced, you should feel very happy, because you are getting the right instruction. Just like you may be suffering from a chronic disease, you must have been to many doctors, but the disease is still not cured. But if you get a famous doctor in that area, you feel happy. So spiritualist is happy when he meets somebody more advanced. In the fourth canto of the Bhagavad Gita, you read about Dhruva Maharaj. You read how Dhruva Maharaj and the Nagas gain austerities. Austerity is one word that the materialists hate. But spiritual philosophy is all based on some austerity. You get what you pay for. Isn't that what they say in business language? So Krishna also says the same thing in Bhagavad Gita. So the important point is that We should not waste our valuable human life. So, chanting the Holy Name of the Lord gives us— achieve the real goal of life. So therefore, this chanting of the Holy Name can be done by anyone. You've seen all over the world, there are Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Centres, and everywhere you go to any corner, board corner. You find someone telling you who you are. So spiritual association, and then reading the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita. Studying of these books is very important. In Prabhupada's purport that you heard today, Prabhupada said two things are important: books and building temples. Building temples have their own importance. And frankly, if you see many other religions, like Christianity, they have big, big churches. People have mosques. So in almost every bona fide religion, there is a place of worship. We call it temple. The Jews call it synagogue. So temple worship is very important, and so is book distribution. These books, Prabhupada said, are not ordinary books. If you read the Prabhupada books regularly, you will see that Prabhupada is presenting such deep philosophy. In the last few days, I started reading the Devotees will read the Bhāgavad-gītā, First Canto. You read that verse and purport, it's amazing. Prabhupāda said these purports are dictated by Kṛṣṇa Himself through Prabhupāda. That's why you find the purport so revealing and so much philosophy behind it. Religion without philosophy It's a waste of time. In other words, you claim you are religious, but you don't have a bona fide philosophy, then that self is no value. So, in spiritual association, you get real knowledge. So, when you are meeting somebody more advanced than you, then you become joyful. I was saying that Dhruva Maharaj was— he observed great austerities. So finally the Lord revealed himself to him. And the Lord said, Dhruva, ask me for any benediction you want. And what did Dhruva say? He said, Mahadev, Lord, if you want to give me And he made a decision. Please give me the opportunity to associate with those who are more advanced. Because if I associate with those who are more advanced, I get philosophy how to become free from the cycle of birth and death. So, the Lord offered all benedictions. He rejected them all. Similarly, we also see that Sāmyakaṇṭhā Pradhan Maharaj. Pradhan Maharaj also had to undergo great austerity. Only who was his greatest enemy? His own father. But the Lord always protected him. And Babaprasad. Hake Krishna mare ke, mare krishnaye. Who Krishna wants to protect, no one can annihilate. Krishna wants you in LA, he's going to protect. So that is our philosophy. And so, Prasad Raaval was attacked several times by his father and his demonic associates, but Krishna always protected Prasad. So the Lord told Prasad, because of me he underwent so many austerities, torture. Ask me for anything you want. What did Prasada say? He said, my dear Lord, do not tempt me with any attraction, but if you want to really give me some benediction, give me the benediction that all my material desires and gets smashed. Who says all the humility? To Prasad's humility, not that he had too many material desires. So the point is, devotee longs for the association with those who are more advanced. Then the other type of association is association with those who are equal. When you associate with those who are equal, Then what do you do in spiritual life? Make friendship. And the friendship is spiritual friendship. That is, we work together to save the Lord, to serve the Lord, we work together. And when you associate with those who are less advanced, then what do you display? Compassion. Compassion. What is genuine compassion. Most people think building a hospital, doing some philanthropic work is real charity. No, that is more mundane charity. The real philosophy is giving people knowledge by which they can become free from the cycle of birth and death. And that is what is presented in Prabhupada's books. These books have been appreciated by Scholars all over the world. And Prabhupada presented the Vedic philosophy as it is. So we should read these books. Of course we distribute books also. But our goal should not be just to distribute books, but also to read these books. And because of deep philosophy in them. So, Buddhism is a little less advanced. They have compassion, and compassion means giving people the real knowledge. Once Prabhupāda was speaking in Rishikesh, and he was giving a lecture, and Prabhupāda would offer code, the prescriptions, etc. But sometimes Prabhupāda would also use harsh words on the materialists. Fools. So there was a lady in the audience, American lady, who said, Swamiji, Swami should not use these harsh words, fools and rascals. So Prabhupada said, when you have a boil, Prasad RAVAL, what do you do? Blow over that boil? What do you press and boil to get the fuss out? You press and boil, isn't it? In other words, if you want spiritual life, even if it is painful, and if you don't take it, then you are mura. Bhagavad-gītā says that itself. I don't know if you call somebody an ass, he won't like it. But it is in Bhagavad-gītā. Word 'mūyū' is 'mūra'. So, association is very important. These days, with the advancement of technology, you can hear Bhagavan class 1000 miles away. And, but the 'śāvrankeśananda' is very important. Then, what should I say? Spiritual association. And then, from the value of hearing and chanting. And the glorified study of the Bhāgavad-gītā and the Bhāgavad-gītā. Then what else? Worshipping the Lord with faith and reverence. The Lord appears in the form of Ācārya-vrāgaḥ. This Ācārya-vrāgaḥ should be considered non-different from the Lord. That's why we get pleasure in hearing it again and again. In fact, Lord Caitanya says, one of the benefits of chanting the Holy Name is you experience more and more happiness. And that's what we want to know. Material happiness has a limit.— to what it can expand. But spiritual happiness has any limits? No. Prabhu said, you stand next to the waves, next to the ocean, you will see that the waves have a limit beyond which they can't exceed. But the spiritual nectar that you get in chanting the holy names of the Lord, the nectar just goes on increasing, increasing, increasing, increasing. So, we should also worship the Deity with faith and love. We should have faith that here is God manifesting Himself in the Deity form. During Lord Ramchandra's rule, everybody was worshipping Lord Ram. So, there was one Brahmin in Ayodhya, he did not see the Lord for 30 days. But his principle was, "First I'll go and see the Lord, and then I'll do eat." So, for 30 days, he did not eat anything. So, when Lord came back to Ayodhya, his brother Lakshman told him, "Lord," This Brahman hasn't eaten for 30 days. Why? Because he didn't have your darshan. Then the Lord took out a deity of Lord Rāma which he had and gave it to that Brahman and said, "Worship this deity. This deity is non-different from me." So, the Lord is non-different from the Holy Name, the Lord is non-different form, Hindi for— the point is, if we follow a modified process, then they will be practically hard. The Holy Name is all-powerful, and the Holy Name is source of real pleasure. But why is it that we are not attracted to the Holy Name? Maybe initially, When we first joined, when we first hear the importance of chanting 16 rounds, in the beginning it looks impossible, very, very difficult. Come up with so many excuses. Then if you pull, continue to endeavor, then what happens? Then you can chant. Guru Swami says in a The Holy Name is sweet like sugar candy. The pastimes of the Lord are sweet like sugar candy. The Lord has innumerable pastimes. But even though they are sweet, we can't taste the sweetness. We can't taste the sweetness. Why? Because we are suffering from one disease. What is that disease called? Avidya, ignorance. But then the Lord says that if you take to this chanting process, then this disease of avidya will be cured. So we are all suffering from the disease of avidya. We are all full of anarthas. I mean, it's amazing. I have 70, 75-year-old people coming and saying, He helped me remove my anatha. So, because the anathas are very deep-rooted. Once Akbar, Akbar was a— he was the most friendly amongst Muslim rulers with Hindus. He had a prime minister and he asked him, how long is this last traveller living? When will I feel that this sense gratification desire should not be fulfilled? So, Argo, Bibbul said, 'Till old age, till death.' And Argo said, 'Really? You mean old age also?' One day, the Prime Minister came and told the King, "Nasirullah is a dying man in the hospital, and we will go there to see where his eyes are, and bring your daughter with you." So, the boy took his daughter and they went to the dying man. And then he said, "Let's see where his eyes are," but he said, "Okay." And I would always make hang up. I would say, "I understand now." So these material desires, I said, they do not leave you even though you want it. Once I was talking to a doctor, he said, "My mother is 96 years old and she has a boyfriend." So that is the nature of material life. And till the end of her life, Vijayashree poured emotion into her. So here is ocean of devotees, thinks she. Prabhupada went to Burashiya, saw Vithula, just for 5 days, and he planted the seed, making one person a devotee. That devotee then in turn started preaching, and there was thousands of devotees. So spiritual association is very important for our spiritual progress. And so is the chanting and hearing. Many times devotees ask, "What service can I do for you, Mahārāja?" I tell them that the only best service they can do is to chant the Holy Name attentively. The more concentrated you are in your chanting, the bhāsana would be a spiritual progress. Because the bhāsana would be a spiritual progress. So, attentive chanting means— it doesn't mean that your mind won't wander at all. Your mind may wander, but you sit under Chariot Sakti, you know, Do it with utmost attention. Make that your single main service. Not that chanting and driving a car, chanting and driving a motorcycle. You can do that, but don't include it in your 16 hours. If you do 16 hours of attentive chanting, 4 regulative principles of Pāda-dvandini, that is that he will definitely go back to— You don't have to practice any great austerity. So we are very fortunate that Prabhupāda had received message fulfilling Lord Caitanya's prediction. What was Lord Caitanya's prediction? Iti vijñātijātā. A day will come in every town and village of the world people will know, people will be chanting Hare Krishna Mahāprabhu. For a long time even our Ācāryas thought this would not be possible because Bhaktisiddhānta Mahāprabhu had sent few sannyāsis to Europe to establish Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Consciousness, but they did not succeed as expected. There was one lord of the British House of Parliament who said, "Can you make me a Brahmin?" And the sanyasis said, "Yes, but, but I can't follow these rules." I don't give any rules, and I don't want to be a monk. So there is, there should be spiritual discipline. So if you chant, not only will you be content, but you'll also be happy. And Māmāmputtaprasād rātmāna sojātina. One who engages in this practice spiritual path is automatically joyful. And being joyful, you don't hanker or lament. Generally, you're hankering for what we don't possess. You have an ordinary car, you want to get a Tesla. So you're hankering and lamenting. As we get older, you lament for the days when you were younger. That's why. You can't manage, Mr. Prasad RAVAL. When I was your age, I used to do this, this, this. So, hankering and lamenting. Our hankering and lamenting should be, I have wasted so many lifetimes independent of Kṛṣṇa, and now I should hanker to Not waste a minute. Sri Naga Bhagavan said, "A minute lost cannot be made up with the wealth of the entire world." You may lose a minute, but you may waste a minute, but with the wealth of the whole world you can't bring it back. Can you turn the clock back? No. Can you? No. So, utilize your time. Serving the Lord. Of course, if one is a householder, then naturally he has to do business or job or something. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness doesn't mean that if you are a householder you have to abandon it. And why do you have to do a job or business? You have a family to support. So that is very important that we decide about We have material responsibilities also. Just like when Lord Caitanya was in South India, he was received by a Brahmin devotee called Kurma. Kurma washed his feet. He said, "I am so fortunate that Lord has come to my house." And he said, "My dear Lord, I want to leave my family and go with you." Lord was a sannyasi. But Lord said,— you don't have to come with me. Just stay where you are and do the following: Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and peace and glory of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Study the Bhāgavad-gītā and peace and glory. And this way you will always be with me and I will always be with you. So, aukhetane has to be done. Simplify the process, and Prabhupada gave us the same liberal process. And if we seriously endeavor, we'll have— in English they often say, God helps those who help themselves, isn't it? So Krishna helps us when He sees that we are sincerely endeavoring for spiritual life. So very happy to be here. And this Radha Madhavan temple is 80% complete and we plan to open in the next few months. So it's nice, those who have helped and Prasad Raaval told me, we have professional beggars. You know, and no one can participate in the project and thereby get a blessing from the Lord. Anyone who helps build the temple of the Lord has unlimited mercy from the Lord. So thank you very much. Hare Krishna. Thank you. I think the program is running a little late. Any questions? Yes? I have a question. Please, questions. You have a question?

You were talking about the deities is not different from Lord Krishna. So we just bought some deities from market and started worshiping them. Printed, downloaded some pictures from internet, printed them. So is that— how is that wrong, or how is it— will it work?

What's your question?

Um, I am— what I'm saying is we bought some deities, we brought some deities from market, and we started worshiping them at home without any proper installation. Procedure. So I want to know, is that okay, or we are doing something wrong, or is it the same?

That's okay. But better if you follow the procedure, read the information. But he has the ability that, oh, he just worships Krishna. And worshiping him. Okay, you have any question? No, ma'am. Yes, question there. Actually, we're getting late. A few more minutes. Yeah, yes. Speak louder. Could you all hear the class in the back? Was it clear? Yes. Is it possible that someone practices Kṛṣṇa consciousness and doesn't realize that he or she is not sincere? Actually, it is best to think, "I'm not sincere at all. I'm the most fallen. And you are the most yajña-gya." Then the sakho says, or Krishna's sakho says, "Don't even take my name. If you take my name, all your good fortune will go away." Ah, philosophy. Please take my name, by the way. I think you remind me. So what if you— if you have a motive like someone, you can do it, but do it in a very gentle way, a sweet way. If you know that he has some weaknesses, take the help of someone senior to you in presenting your reports. Okay, one more.

Beautiful plasma. Go like this.

And thank you for the beautiful— the question, how do I like improve the quality of chanting?

Like sometimes the mind wanders here and there.

The mind will wander all the time, don't worry about that. Krishna says, chanta levala Krishna. You ignore the 'a'. That's the nature of the mind. And how do you improve the quality? We have to endeavor. We should always be endeavoring to improve the quality of our bhakti. Our bhakti depends upon our chanting. Chanting is a Thank you for this beautiful class.

My question was, what are, what are the symptoms of offenseless chanting? We often refer to that we should chant offenselessly.

I say attentively. Attentively. What does that mean? Pay attention and take. Don't get diverted into other things also. Not that in one hand you have your beads and on the other hand you have— you think something else. And if you do that, in material life also, So he was telling this, if you are with a elderly person, you are very attentive.

Hare Krishna Maharaj. Sometimes when we perform the devotional practices, we don't have as much taste, and it's kind of, we're not able to do it from the heart as much. So how can we increase How can we increase our desire and taste for devotional service?

The solution to all problems is tapasamādhikītīya. Initially, we all had no taste at all. You know, somebody may have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness because of distress, or a grief, or mother's death, Initially, we all end, go to God. But by coming in association with the sadhu, sadhu may be manifested either as a person or the book sadhu. These books have made so many people into devotees. Then your life changes. What we are doing presently, 16 hours a day, Says that this is the way to increase our attachment. And all of you have experienced, when you practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then you feel happy. Devotee says, "Vedāpīra is beautiful, māyāpīra is ugly." And when you weaken it, what happens? The opposite. Māyā becomes beautiful, opposite. Devotees will become ugly. So the chanting, probably as the scriptures say, you can experience it. On the Hare Rama chanting, how nicely you feel enthusiastic. Okay. Yeah. Thank you for the wonderful advice. Is it true that if someone pleases the spiritual master, um, when they leave the body or even otherwise, they reveal the darkest secrets or whatever the most secret aspects of our spirituality to that particular disciple. All the secret aspects of devotional service are revealed in Prabhupāda's books. I'm giving you a secret mantra. But in spiritual life, nothing is hidden. So all the secrets you need to know are there in the books. There's no real secret. Okay, thank you.