The nine full processes of devotional service | 24 June 1997 | Moscow | Gopāl Kṛṣṇa Goswāmī

We all know that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and Nāmada-nādharaḥ is His devotee. So someone may say, "Why should the Lord ask His devotee for the answer? So who knows the answer?" Yes, the Lord, just like with Rūdi, Is anxious to glorify the Lord, the Lord is anxious to glorify His devotee. And Jnananda Prabhu always wanted to glorify Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We also see that Viśma Deva, when he was about to leave his body, the Lord along with His associates and the demigods were all assembled at his bedside. And the Lord instructed Yudhīṣṭhira, to ask Viṣṇudeva about religious principles or the duties of a human being, because the Lord wanted to glorify Viṣṇudeva. So we see that it is not uncommon for the Lord to also, to always endeavor to glorify His devotees. Even before Caitanya Mahāprabhu started His tour of southern India, He was already warned, informed that He would meet a great devotee called Rāmānanda Rāya. And they had their discourse on the banks of the river called Godāvari. In India, there are many sacred rivers. You can't even fully enumerate all of them. One of, one of the highlights of Śrīla Prabhupāda's centennial was the bathing of Prabhupāda with śāstra tirtha jal. You remember that? Prabhupāda was bathed with water collected from over 1,108 sacred rivers. So there are many sacred rivers, but unfortunately today everything is getting commercialized. And many of you have been to Jagannāth Puri. So there's a famous beach there. Lord Caitanya used to have bath, and He took Haridas Thakura's body. But today, if you go over there, you see all 5-star hotels, they're all planned of some such kind. These questions that Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked are actually very practical questions. These are questions that people may even ask you while you're preaching. So it's nice to meditate on this very wonderful conversation that took place. So the first question that Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Rāmānanda Rāya was, "Of all types of education, which is the most important?" There's so many different branches of education today. I'm sure if you go to a big university like Moscow University, you'll find that so many courses, so many different types of courses are being offered. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to know of all types of education, which is actually the best. And Rādhānanda Rāja replied, "There is no education that is more important than that which teaches you." to develop love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The difference between material education and spiritual education is that material education is aimed at promoting sense enjoyment, whereas spiritual education is aimed at making you realize your real constitutional position. A spiritualist recognizes the importance of material— it's not that a spiritualist rejects the scope for material education, but he realizes that material education without spiritual education is a liability. Therefore, in the Īśa Pāneṣad, it is said one must cultivate spiritual education and material education side by side. Prasad Raaval was being instructed by his teachers to understand that his father was supreme. So one day, Prahlāda had returned from school, and his father made him sit on his lap, and his father asked him, "What did you learn in school today?" The father expected that the son would say, "You are great, you are supreme." But instead, Prahlāda explained the ninefold process of devotional service, namely śrīmad-nām-kīrtanam vṛṣṇa-nama-bhāgavat-saṅghara "And his father was so angry when he heard that, that he threw the child off his lap." So real education is that which enables you to understand your constitutional position. In the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, "Rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyam." This knowledge is the king of education. So at no cost Should we ignore the value of spiritual education? Prabhupāda used to explain that ISKCON is also an educational institution. So people are being trained up regarding their eternal duty. In the material world, everybody wants to become famous, am I right? Maybe in Russia they don't. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's next question was, of all types of glorious activities, Which is most glorious? Of all types of glorious activities, what activity is most glorious? And Rāmānanda Rāja replied that that person who is a devotee of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoys the utmost fame and glory. In the material world, everyone is trying to become famous, whether they are trying to do it by hankering by accumulating money, power, prestige. Everybody wants to be worshipped by everyone. But that person who is actually a devotee of the Lord, he enjoys the utmost fame and glory. About a month ago, I was walking with a devotee on the streets of New York, and a man from a small country in Africa came running up to us. He said, "I know Prabhupāda." And we said, "How do you know Prabhupāda?" "I read Prabhupāda's books." And then we asked him, "Which country, where did you read these books?" And he gave the name of his country. It was a small country in East Africa. Never even heard of the name of the country. It was really small. It's not that now all of you should think, "I should be a devotee because that's going to give me the most fame." Of course, Kṛṣṇa says, "Doesn't matter what your motives are, come to Me." If you want money, come to me. If you are in distress, come to me. Inquisitive, come to me. And the genuine seeker of knowledge, come to me. The nature of devotional services, it can purify anyone. So a devotee of the Lord is known all over the world. Chennakeshava Pandit explains this point. He says, a rich man may be known in his village, his town, his city, his country. But the devotee of the Lord is known everywhere. Look at history. There are so many great devotees of the Lord and their fame is widespread. So one who becomes a devotee of the Lord enjoys the utmost fame and glory. Then Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, "Of all types of capitalists, who is the greatest?" Of the many capitalists, who possess great riches, who is the best? So what was the answer? I'm sure you can guess it by now. He who is richest in love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, he is the real capitalist. So the real capitalist, the question was, there are many people who possess great riches, but who is the capitalist? And the answer was that one who possesses Love for Radha and Kṛṣṇa, He is actually the greatest capital. So in the material world, everybody wants to accumulate wealth so that he can satisfy himself. But can wealth really satisfy you? No. Look at Jñāniya Kāśipū. Can anyone be richer than him? Can anyone be more powerful than he was? He was so powerful that everyone except Brahmāśiva and Viṣṇu was scared of him. Still he was always in anxiety. In the Bhāgavata there is a story of a very miserly man. This man was very miserly and very rich, very successful businessman. Usually when people have money, they use it for sense enjoyment and they let their family members also enjoy that money. But this man was a miser. He would not spend a penny He was always in anxiety. How can I protect my money? A rich man, he's always in anxiety. He's worried that thieves may come and steal. Therefore, if you go in front of rich men, how good they have big walls and dogs and such heavy security. They're worried about that the government may take their money away. Relatives may take it away. Relatives. In the Bhagavad Gita it is explained, the moment you have money, you have 15 different types of enemies. If someone gives you an offering, you should not go after money. Well, they don't know how much you're going to offer it in the round, and luxury goes in the round. So there's a miserly man, actually he was a Brahmana, he was an agriculturalist. Because he was so miserly, his wife, friends, children, they all became his enemies. And one day, they all conspired, and they together robbed this man of all his wealth. So when he lost all his wealth, initially he was in a state of shock. But this man was so miserly, he would just get pleasure in seeing his bank balance, seeing his money bank balance go up. And then when they lost everything, he was in a complete state of shock, and he was lamenting, 'Oh, I've lost all my money. I've lost all my money.' But that lamentation translated into detachment. And then finally he took shelter of Mukunda and he developed an immense feeling of detachment. He was happy that he got rid of all this wealth. And then he just started traveling from one place to another place, just glorifying the Lord. Wherever he would go, People would ridicule him, make fun of him. They would say, "Look, when this guy was rich, he didn't serve the Lord. Now when he's lost all his wealth, he's pretending." They would taunt him, taunt him, tease him, abuse him. But he accepted everything as a result of his past karma. When he would go to eat, They would pass urine, but he still was totally understood. And now when he had taken shelter of the Lord, he was fully satisfied even though he had no material possessions. And when he had his material possessions, he was always in anxiety, "How can I protect it?" So Caitanya Mahāprabhu's question was that there's so many people who possess riches, but out of them who is the greatest capitalist? And the answer was, he who is richest in love for Radha and Krishna, he actually is the greatest capitalist. So there are so many stories in our scriptures of devotees who are totally satisfied after having obtained the love of God, or after having taken shelter of the Lord. Just like there was this devotee of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Kola Vaitra Shridhar. He was so poor, he only had one dhoti and a dastar. But even though he was offered unlimited opulence, he refused. So one who takes shelter of the Lord, somehow or the other, will feel totally satisfied. Caitanya Mahāprabhu then asked— actually, I'm just discussing each of these points in brief detail, in brief summary, because actually if one wants to discuss each of these points, it's such a great length. So the next question was, Of all types of distress, what is most painful? You understand this question? Of all types of distress, what is most painful? If you were to ask this question to a man on the street, what would he say? That he can't get a sense enjoyment. But Rādhānanda Rāja says, separation from devotees of Kṛṣṇa, that is the cause of unbearable unhappiness. So the question was, Of all types of distress, what is the greatest distress? And the answer is, apart from separation from the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, I know of no unbearable unhappiness. So separation from devotees of Kṛṣṇa is very painful. Doesn't matter how many shortcomings the devotees may have, still we should look forward to associating with devotees. Therefore, Sadhu Sangha is very much recommended in the scriptures. Sadhu Sangha, I'm sure you're explaining. Just like in the third canto, you see that when Kripiladeva was asked by his mother, how could she become free from the cycle of birth and death? He said, by taking to the process of bhakti. And she wanted to know, how can you get bhakti? What did he say? By spiritual association and getting attached to spiritual association. It is said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, that even if you get spiritual association for 1/14th of 1 second, your life can change. Our mantra, properly explained in the purport, is 1/14th of 1 second. So we should look forward to spiritual association. Spiritual association helps us to execute devotional service. Of course, the different gradations of association that one can possibly obtain, You can associate with one who's more advanced and less advanced. So naturally, when you associate with somebody more advanced, the devotee is joyful, blissful, because you have the opportunity to hear something by which your materialistic concept can be destroyed. When you associate with somebody who's equally advanced, you're happy because you have the opportunity to discuss spiritual topic. And when you associate with someone less advanced, then you display compassion, mercy. Sometimes we say that there's a tendency to false sign or criticize the devotee. We tend to see so many faults in others that we tend to justify avoiding spiritual association. So maybe it doesn't happen in Moscow, happens everywhere. The tendency to false sign The tendency to see others' weakness, the tendency to think you are the greatest and everyone else is the worst is there. Of course, for spiritual life, Prabhupāda gave us a formula for looking at the good points in everyone. Prabhupāda used to say we should be like the bee and not like the fly. The bee is attracted to honey and the fly to filth. I remember once in '75 or '76, There was a devotee who had come from Africa, from Nairobi to Bombay, and he met Prabhupāda. And this devotee wanted Prabhupāda's permission to imitate Haridas Thakur, to go into seclusion and just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda went on telling him, "No, no, no, you should live in the temple with devotees." But he went on saying, "Na, this devotee had just fallen back home." Fortunately, everybody had talked. So ultimately, this man, this devotee, was given permission to build a hut in Mayapur. And this devotee wanted Prabhupāda's permission to imitate Haridas Thakura, to go into seclusion and just chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda went on telling him, "No, no, no, you should live in the temple with devotees." But he went on saying, "Nah." This devotee ended fall, therefore virtually everybody had fallen. So ultimately this man, this devotee, was given permission to build a hut in Mayapur and live alone and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. But what was observed? He was there for 2, 3 days, a few days, and then he was gone. No one ever saw him again. So the point is that we should avail of spiritual association. How do we take advantage of spiritual association? Do we have social parties like the Karmis have and that's the We chant our rounds together with other devotees. Like you chant, you do japa time, you do japa. You study the Bhāgavatam together. You hear the Bhāgavatam class. You give the Bhāgavatam class. We serve along with other Vaiṣṇavas. We go out preaching. We plan book production, book distribution, whatever. So somehow or the other, when you have the opportunity to avail of spiritual association, Please do it. Ramana Maharshi said, separation from devotees is unbearable unhappiness. Just like in mature life, you have bearable pain and unbearable pain. Just like sometimes you may have a toothache, a headache, but you can tolerate it and live with it. That's bearable pain. But suppose somebody's going for surgery, they're going to cut part of your body. Man is unbearable pain, so they give you chloroform. So they give you chloroform so that you may not experience the pain. Similarly, separation from the devotees results in unbearable unhappiness according to Brahmananda Roy's statement. These temples that Śrīla Prabhupāda has built and has encouraged us to build are all opportunities for giving people spiritual association. That's why we've seen the big temples that we have like in India, like in Bombay, Vrindavan, Mayapur. So many thousands of people come, have darshan of the Deities, get devotee association, buy Prabhupāda books, and get influenced with the spiritual life. In the last few months, we opened two big temples in India. On April 16th, Lord Rāma, Rāmacandra's birthday, we opened a big temple in Andhra Pradesh. And then we opened a very big temple end of the month in Bangalore. And we've seen since these temples have opened, up to 20,000 people come on Sundays to the temple to have darshan of the Deities, look at Prabhupāda's books. And obviously, anybody who comes and associates and has darshan of Deities, the spiritual life will begin. So spiritual association is very important. I'll just discuss one more question and answer. Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, "What should all living entities remember?" What should they constantly remember? So the question was, "What should the living entities constantly remember?" Please understand, the question was not just, "What should we remember?" Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "What should one constantly remember?" So the reply was, the chief object of remembrance, Rāmānanda Rāyaṣṭha, is the Holy Name of the Lord, His quality and pastime. So constantly we should endeavor to meditate on the glories of the Holy Name, His pastimes, His transcendental attributes. If the mind is engaged positively in thinking of the glories of the Holy Name, in thinking about how the glorious name or the Holy Name is not different from the Lord, in thinking about the transcendental qualities of the Lord, in thinking of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord, then the mind will not only get purified, it will help you to make spiritual advancement. So does everyone have a mind? Hahaha. You can live with a hand or a leg, but I don't think you can live without a mind. So what should one constantly remember? We all have to remember something or the other. So we should train the mind to be positive and not negative. Krishna's transcendental qualities are unlimited, but still for our facility, the great sages have summarized them. Krishna's transcendental pastimes are also unlimited, and when Krishna appears, he performs superhuman acts. So Śrī Ganeva Gosvāmī explained to Praśād RAVALA,— that the business of the living entity is to constantly remember the Supreme Lord in every situation. The Lord should be heard about, glorified, and remembered by all entities. The Chastasutra explains that the mind is considered to be your friend when it is acting, um, beneficially for the purpose of self-realization. And the mind is not thinking positively, then the mind is considered to be your enemy. So we have to make the mind our friend. And this katha and chanting helps us to purify the mind and focus the mind on the transcendental qualities of the Lord. Prabhupāda Mahāprabhu, when he explained the ninefold process of devotional service, he said, śrī-nama-kṛṭṇa-vṛṣṇa-svanam. Hearing, chanting, and then remembering. In other words, you hear and chant, dedicated to stage of remembrance. In the Kṛṣṇa-bhāgavatā you read about unlimited turns of the past and the future. How the Lord took care of the demons from a young age, just barely a few months after He was born. How the Lord received His friend Sudama. Sudama was a very poor friend of the Lord. He was materially very poor, but spiritually very fortunate. His wife was unhappy in their poverty condition, so she was always trying to instigate him to go to his rich friend. So finally, Siddhāma came to meet his friend. What did he bring for his friend? Little rice wrapped up in some cloth. Anyway, after meeting him, recalling their childhood pastimes, he, without asking Kṛṣṇa for any favor, headed back to his house. And when he came on the way back, he was thinking, "Oh, I didn't even ask my friend to help me. What's going on with my wife?" You know, how will he face his wife? The whole purpose of his coming to meet his friend was to get some favorism in the poverty condition to be relieved. And when he came back home, what did he see? His hut was replaced by a palace. The skinny wife who had torn clothes was beautifully decorated with ornaments and nice sari. So you could understand all this could really happen by the mercy of this person. Now a lot of you may think, "Oh great, I'm going to fall in love with someone for some reason, so maybe when I go back home my apartment will also mature into a palace and a lot of jewelry and some saris in the cupboard." Point of it, anything is possible, but you have to become a true friend of the statue of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Actually, there was once a lady who was selling apples, and she came in front of the baby Krishna's house. So she was very attracted to the boy's beauty. The boy was holding some grains and going to get those apples. But on the grains, by the time he reached the lady, the grains had fallen off his head's tiny palm. But still she was attracted to the boy beauty, she gave him the fruits. And when she looks back, what did she see? Golden apple, real gold. So there's so many transcendental pastimes of Krishna. How did Lord Krishna protect Shiva from Ganesha's anger? So take on a different pastime of the Lord every day. So if you try doing that, in one year you will know 365 pastimes of the Lord. The question was, What should the living entity constantly remember? And the answer was constantly remember the Holy Names, qualities, and pastimes. So someone may say this is very difficult. After all, Arjuna also did acknowledge it's more difficult to control the mind than controlling the wind. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, "Think of Me all the time." And then He says, Okay, if you can't think of me all the time, practice the regular principles of bhakti yoga. So, though it's difficult, it's feasible if we endeavor. Kṛṣṇa is anxious to facilitate our spiritual life. That's why he sends, he comes himself, leaves the scriptures, sends his representatives from time to time. Take advantage of all this. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa.