Unity amongst devotees | Rus-Split | 2017 | Srila Gopal Krishna Goswami

Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Welcome to the Saturday evening program. Hope everyone had enough prasāda. But I hope you didn't overeat. Why is that? You may not fall asleep in the lecture. Once somebody asked Prabhupāda this question. He said, "The sannyāsī devotees are so magnanimous, They give their prasādam away, and there are some who steal from other people's plates, especially with their pakoras and gachas. So he prays and wishes, "Who is better, Prabhupāda or their pork god?" At least they like prasādam. So, prasādam is the mercy of the Lord. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhāgavad-gītā, "Those who eat without offering to Me are eating only sin." So Prabhupāda once gave an example. He said, If you take a piece of grass and try to break it, it will break very easily. But if you take several pieces of grass, blend them together, they'll become stronger than a rope. Prabhu das. So what is that voice and message? We should always work together. Prabhu das is saying— in a famous English phrase, "United we stand, divided we fall." One of the reasons why ISKCON has grown all over the world is Prabhupāda encouraged the theme of unity, and he gave us a very good system of management. He established the Governing Body Commission, and because of the cooperation ISKCON is continuing to expand. There is a famous phrase that Prabhupāda says. He said, "Your love for Me will be shown by your cooperation." So we need to cooperate at various levels, from the bottom to the top. So in the 12th chapter of the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa describes how we can become dear to the Lord. Can everyone hear clearly in the back? This text 13th verse of chapter again— Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya! Om Namah Shivayam! Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudeva! Om Namah Shivayam! Om Namah Bhagavate Vasudeva! Om Namah Shivayam! These two verses describe the qualities that we should develop. In our scriptures, there are so many references to the qualities that we should develop. In the Chaitanya-caritāmṛta, Achyutānanda talks about 26 qualities of Sanatana Gosvāmī. Prasād Rāvalā talks about qualities to develop. And the Bhagavad-gītā, that reference is also. At the same time, we'll just do the translation and the reading of purport. You can read the translation from— Om Agyātmānandaśya Gāṇam Jñānaśakyaḥ. As I said earlier, my theme today is Unity amongst devotees. What causes disunity? That is also implied in this verse. If we take, if we follow this verse, then that will help us to develop a solid character and be united. Has anyone memorized this verse? I know that many devotees have memorized these verses. We should not forget The knowledge of the Bhāgavad-gītā is for the entire humanity. Kṛṣṇa says, "Aham bija-pradāpyata." "I am the seed-giving father of all living entities." Prabhupāda's Bhāgavad-gītā has changed the lives of millions of people all over the world. Prabhupāda's gītā has been translated in more than 80 languages of the world. Prabhupāda's Bhāgavad-gītā, when it first came to America, was published by a very big American publishing house called Macmillan. One of Prabhupāda's dear disciples was the late Brahmananda Prabhu. He passed away a year ago. Brahmananda Prabhu told us a very interesting story. How the Bhagavad-gītā got published by this big publishing house, Macmillan. After Prabhupāda came to America, he wanted the Bhagavad-gītā published by a big publishing house, big American publishing house. Once Prabhupāda had translated Bhagavad-gītā in India and he was looking for a publisher, Later when he found somebody who was ready to finance it, he discovered the Bhāgavad-gītā, and his script was lost. But he did not get discouraged. He retranslated the whole Gītā. Yesterday we discussed the 50th anniversary of incorporation of ISKCON. So Prabhupāda told Brahmananda and other disciples, "Look for a publisher who would print the Bhāgavad-gītā." So they approached several publishing houses, but they were not so impressed. No. They said, "We already have so many gītās." At that time, ISKCON had produced a happening record in which Prabhupāda was singing the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. And this record These were the old days when they had these big records. I'm sure they have them in your country also. Which was the big 33 RPM. So this record was advertised in a local New York newspaper called the Village Voice. And one accountant who worked for the Macmillan Company saw the advertisement Using a MacMillan letterhead, wrote to this Village Voice, wrote to ISKCON that, "I want one of these records." You may not know in Russia, but MacMillan is a very famous publishing house, a very prestigious publishing house in the Western world. The brahminanda read that, got that letter from this accountant, And I'm coming in letterhead. Please give me one of your records. I want to buy it. So he went to Prabhupāda, excited. Prabhupāda! Somebody from a printing company wants your latest record. So normally the devotees will send the record by post. Prabhupāda told him, "You won't send it by post. You should personally go there." So Brahmananda went. To the Macmillan Company to personally deliver the record to this individual. So when he arrived at his office, he met the editor of the religious book section of the Macmillan Company. So the accountant introduced the editor to Brahmananda Prabhu. So Brahmananda knew he was a religious editor. He says, "My spiritual vātā has translated Bhāgavad-gītā as it is. We want to publish." And the editor said, "This is exactly what I'm looking for. Bhāgavad-gītā, I publish all. I'm looking once to publish the Bhāgavad-gītā." Prasād RAVALA went running to Prabhupāda. "Prabhupāda, find somebody who is ready to publish the Bhāgavad-gītā." And then Bhāgavad-gītā got published by this very prestigious person. Now this Bhagavad-gītā has been translated in more than 80 languages of the world. And Bhagavad-gītā summarizes the Vedic literature. The conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā is pure devotional service. This chapter that we are reading is called "Devotional Service." 18 chapters, 700 verses. Kṛṣṇa is telling us how to become dear to Him. And I'm sure you all want to become dear to Kṛṣṇa. Right now you're very dear to māyā. Ah, yes. Our affair with māyā is not fully finished as yet. Mīyā koñchū, nishodham. We need to do śravana-kṛtana to terminate that relationship. So the first thing Kṛṣṇa says, Advaita sarva-bhūtanām. The word advaita means non-envious. What's the cause of conflict amongst devotees? In the material world, to unite anyone is not easy. How will that help? Everyone is independently minded. One of the causes of disunity is: "I think this other person should not be doing what he's doing. I'm envious of him." So we criticize, we compete. But if you recognize that ultimately the Lord is the proprietor, then where is the question of envy? In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, read the story of Sarabhomabhadraśārya. He was a staunch impersonalist who got converted to personalism. He had one daughter, Doṣka. Married to a devotee called Bodhādaya. Whenever Lord Caitanya would travel anywhere, He would be invited by devotees to have prasāda in their home. They would say, "Please have prasāda for one week in our home." Lord Caitanya would say, "No, no, only two days." So Lord Caitanya was invited to the house of Sarvaprabhu Mahāprabhu Chāyev for prasāda. He knew his son-in-law is very critical of Lord Caitanya. The servant, Vāma ācārya, would stand at the door with a stick to make sure that Amoga could not come in and see what was being offered to the Lord. Amoga would paste his ears against the wall and he would very carefully hear Lord Caitanya's words. To see if he could find any fault. Lord's devotee, Lord Caitanya, Sarvabhaumana Ācārya's wife would cook many, many items, but Lord would eat very few. So one day Sarvabhaumana Ācārya had to leave guarding the door to help his wife serve the Lord. And a Moga had a chance to come and see what was on the table. And he saw all these items. He said, "Dhaka desu niyāsi." pretends to be, he does see it. He is eating more openly than a householder. So Vāruḍhārya was so angry. He ran behind him, but he could not catch up. A little later, Nāmoga got infected with malaria. He was on his deathbed. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He heard about him on his deathbed. He went to see him. Lord Caitanya kept His hand on Nāmoga's chest and said, As long as envy is in the heart, Kṛṣṇa will not reside there. Do you like eating next to a garbage can? Do you like sitting near a garbage can? So Kṛṣṇa doesn't like sitting next to a dirty heart. So we need to clean the heart of envy. "He has something that I don't have." That's the beginning of envy. That's the beginning of disunity. Kṛṣṇa says, "Dōṇ't be envious." Then he says, "Sarvabhūtanām." Sarvabhūtanām means friend to all living entities. That's the nature of a devotee, friend of everyone. In the Third Canto, Arka Phirajya describes the qualities of a saintly person. He says, "Sūrdhasarvādhīnam." Friend of all living entities. Friend of even the insects and the ants. Bhrigari, the hunter, got purified by Nārada Muni's association, and he would not even place his feet on the ground. He saw that there was no entity on the ground. So a devotee is a friend of everyone. Others may consider him to be their enemy, He doesn't. The classic example is that of Haridas Thakur. Everyone knows Haridas. Haridas would chant Hare Kṛṣṇa 100 times a day. So the local mahāntī requested Haridas, ordered him, "You shall chant the names of Kṛṣṇa." Haridas refused. He was dragged through 22 marketplaces. By the servants of the king, whipping Hāidās nonstop. "Stop chanting! Stop chanting! Stop chanting!" By the time somebody reached the second market, he would be dead by this whipping. Hāidās was flogged with 22 market places and still he was alive chanting the Holy Name with no signs of any beating on his body. The servants who were whipping Hāidās, were scared of their lives. They were thinking, "Now the Qazi, only was alive. We've been killed for 22 marketplaces, we've dragged his body, but he's still alive." What was his last thing? "What's going to happen to those people who Qazi commissioned to kill me? If I don't die," "These people will not be left alive." So Hāidā controlled his breathing process, and it became evident that he's dead now. And those who were whipping him began to rejoice in ecstasy. So here was somebody whipping Hāidā to death, and Hāidā was thinking for their welfare. Not his welfare. Can you imagine so much love for all entities? So they finally told the king, "At last Haidar died. He died on the 22nd marketplace." The king said, "We should give him a burial." Haidar said, "No! He was an insult to our religion. Throw him in the Ganga." So they threw him in the Ganga, swam across. And started chanting. When the king heard that saint was chanting and alive, he came and apologized for his offenses. So a devotee is also a friend of those who criticize him. I'd gone with Prabhupāda to his high school engagement in Canada in '68. Someone just got up and started criticizing Prabhupāda. Prabhupāda was very cool, undisturbed. Two months later when Prabhupāda left the city, he called that person and blessed him. So Devotee is a kind friend of all the entities. And if you are friend of everyone, then there will be no question of disunity. He does not think himself the proprietor. He is free from false ego. What's the correct understanding? Who is the real bhakta? Bhakta-nāmya-gata-bhūsamaṁ. Sava-loka? Krishna-kṛṣṇa. He's really the enjoyer. Prabhupāda said to be Kṛṣṇa conscious is very easy. Recognize that Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of everything. He is the enjoyer. And He's our evaluation. What does it mean, He's our evaluation? Kṛṣṇa knows what's best for me. When Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmā-pradaya-mām ekaṁ janam vraja-ām tam sarva-pāma-bhema-ukṣam imāṣu-cāra, I accept it. I don't speculate, I don't challenge, I don't interpret. So we should recognize Kṛṣṇa as our well-wisher. As our well-wisher, He knows what is best for us. Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Free from false ego." Prabhupāda explains this point in the purport. Why do we have this false ego? Why? Because we identify with the body. This body is my real self. This morning we were lecturing on Prahlāda Mahārāja's response to his father. Prahlāda Mahārāja was saying, "If you uncontrol senses, people are headed towards the hellish planets. They're simply chewing the chew." Punar punaḥ ceroḥ daḥ ceroḥ naḥ. In the scriptures you read about examples Or different animals, how they can get caught to death due to addiction, to satisfying their senses. You have the moth. What's a moth attracted to? Light. Wants to satisfy his eyes. So in the night when you put on the lights, the moth says, "Ah! This is what I was waiting for all day." Then he goes and kisses the light. He goes to the light and he gets burned to death. Then he has the deer. He has large ears that he's very attracted to sweet melodies. So the hunter, when he wants to capture a deer, he plays a particular melody. You see deer in the park here. Washington where our temple is in Potomac, the whole area is full of deer. You don't know from where they show up on the road. So the hunter plays a particular melody, deer stops to hear that melody, and he gets shot. Then you have the bee that gets very attracted to the fragrance of the flower, lotus flower. And in the evening, The way the lotus closes, the bee is in so much samādhi, it forgets the lotus is going to close. Bee just thinks, "Ah, what heavenly pleasure!" But it forgets in the evening the lotus is going to close. It gets trapped. Then you have the he-elephant. That is made to chase the she-elephant. She elephant. And the she elephant is made to tease the he elephant forward, and then he ends up falling in the ditch and was put over there by the hunter. So Prasad RAVAL gives these examples to show how these different animals are being slaves of their senses, means their death. The fish, How does a fisherman tempt the fish? He puts food on the hook. The fish goes to eat the food. He gets trapped. And the problem with the human being is all the senses are competing for satisfaction. So we have to be very careful. We have to understand I am not the proprietor. Kṛṣṇa is saying, Free from false ego, free from the concept of proprietorship. I may be a big oligarch, powerful man, but all these possessions I have, all the bank balances I have, when do they get separated from me? When? After death. After death. Everything's going to get separated in any case. We can't do You read the story of Balimaraṣa. The Lord had disguised as a Brahmin boy and assembled in His, and was present in His assembly. Balimaraṣa received the Brahmin boy. "What can I do for you? You are so fortunate. I am so fortunate. You have come to bless me and my family." Mahāmādhya said, "You want to give me something?" "Just give me enough land that I can keep 3 footsteps." Balimurāya said, "That's all you want? I can give you a whole planet, a whole island. Why are you asking me for something so little?" "No, no, I'll be satisfied with it." Śukrācārya was the spiritual master of Balimurāya. He said, "You fool! You don't realize what you have done." "This problem is going to cover everything. People are still going to take everything away from you." "Bahigurāsa! Everything is going to be taken away from me at death in any case. So the Lord is going to take it now. Let Him take it. Everything belongs to Him in any case. Why should I worry?" So that's the devotee's understanding. I'm not the proprietor of anything. I'm just a temporary holder. Everything belongs to the Lord. He is equal in both happiness and distress. So in the material world, we all experience happiness and distress. What do we endeavor for? Happiness. Nobody wants distress. Only Queen Kunti wanted distress. We all want happiness. And we are all endeavoring to get this happiness. But Prasād RAVAL says, "Jode ho endeavor." You're not going to get a drop of more happiness than what is your destiny. Hṛdaya mādhāvāmāri graḥ. You won't get a drop more, forget about getting more. Don't waste your time. So we have so much wisdom in our scriptures. So both happiness and distress will be there. Then the seasons come and go. Then the worry and the stress. He thinks, "I should have got something 100 times worse." Lord, that You are so kind. You minimize it. The other day in Sochi, I think I told you that story. I'll repeat. There was once a king. My two of his fingers cut. He said, "One day his Prime Minister was very religious." "Why did the Lord make me lose my two fingers? What wrong did I do?" The Prime Minister said, "Whatever the Lord does, He does for your benefit." King said, "Throw this man in prison. He's not sympathizing with me." The king was not a kind king. And he got caught by the dacoits. And these dacoits wanted to offer the king to Goddess Kali. In Sanskriti you read the story of Jatbāhat being offered to Goddess Kali. So as they were preparing to offer the king to Goddess Kali, massaging his body, giving a perfume bath, They saw, "Oh! Two of his fingers are missing." They said, "Oh, too bad." "No, no, two of his fingers are missing." They told the king, "Okay, now you can go home." The king came back to the palace, told the prime minister. He said, "Release the prime minister. You are right. Whatever the Lord does, He does for our mercy." And he told him the whole story. Then the prime minister, the king said, 'You are such a pious devotee of God. Why did the Lord inspire me to put you in prison?' And the minister said, 'You are a fool. If you wouldn't have put me in prison, I would have also gone out with you to the forest. And I would have got caught also. Because all the parts of my body are intact, I would have got slaughtered. So by putting me in prison, you saved me from being slaughtered.' So there is always understanding. If there is distress, I should be getting 1,000 times worse. By the Lord's mercy, it's minimized. How do you react in happiness? Generally we find when people are experiencing material happiness, they forget the God. Prabhu, Krishna says, "People come to Me in 4 circumstances." What are they? One of them is distress. One of them wants money. But I heard you people don't like having money. I heard you people are so honest. You see a $100 note on the road, you say, "It'll be there, it's not mine." Okay. So people come, one was in distress, wants money, one is inquisitive, and then Janani Śrīkrishna Mahāprabhu. If a devotee is experiencing the material success and happiness, he thinks it's coming from the Lord. "Let me use everything and serve to the Lord." Even if I get happiness, it's temporary, tomorrow it's going to go away. So you have to realize Material happiness is also temporary. Over time we get parted from our children. Straws come together in an ocean and then get separated in the ocean. So to think that, "Oh, with this arrangement I'm going to find real happiness," is an illusion. We all make plans, "Oh, this relationship's going to give me pleasure." Ultimately you realize Everything was a bubble. Bubble gets busted any time. Then it says one is self-satisfied. So devotee is satisfied in every condition. In mature life, no one is ever satisfied. Prabhu da? Everyone wants more, more, more, more. Did they ever get satisfied? No, they want more and more. If I make a little more money, I'll be satisfied. All over the world you see one pattern: the rich are getting richer. All over the world, this 2 or 3% of the rich people control 80% of the world, getting richer and richer. They're not satisfied, they want more and more. A devotee is satisfied because he has love for the Deity. Prabhupāda is a good example. Of Rūpa and Sanātana and Raghunātha Gosvāmī. They at one time had access to unlimited wealth. When they came to Vṛndāvana to lead a retired life, they were leading a life of madhukari, with virtually nothing in their possession. Still they were satisfied. Why? What did they have?? The Holy Name. If you have the Holy Name, you'll be satisfied in every condition. Then Kṛṣṇa says: "Be tolerant." This point comes up almost every day in every class. What did Lord Caitanya advocate? More tolerance in the tree. Say, in the material world there will be honor and dishonor, victory and defeat, heat and cold. If we develop the quality of tolerance, then again there will be unity amongst us. Why do we not remain united? My tolerance level is zero. I can't tolerate anything. Kṛṣṇa says, "Be tolerant." Tolerate the agitation of your senses. Tolerate the environment. Maybe too hot, maybe too cold. Tolerate offensive behavior also. Prime example of tolerance was explained by Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the way He dealt with Jagāyaṇmadāya. Self-control. Self-control means you have to control mind and senses. And that's again possible through the process of devotional service. Practice devotional service with determination. Determination is a must for spiritual advancement. Prasād RAVAL gives us advice. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa says, "What is that, Prasād RAVAL?" And he says, "Prasād na ishtarya dayā tāta-karma-pravartanā saṅgatyāge satto." That is bhakti facility. You have a determination. I travel in many parts of the world. The questions people ask are almost the same. They ask the same question in Russia, same type in America, same type in Africa, same in India. It's almost the same. Even the question everybody's asking, "How can I become more determined to advance spiritually?" So what's the answer? Yogi Bhagavan says, "By bhajana-kriya nikhilabhyanishtha." The Vajrayāna Kriyā means following the spiritual discipline, chanting, hearing. You saw how this Para was determined, and then she got her sons, children back. So on the spiritual path, if you wish to succeed, we need determination. Not that with the slightest agitation I think, "Eh, this is not for me." Since determination is a by-product of Vajra-nākriyā. Kṛṣṇa says, "Practice devotional service with determination, with mind and intelligence fixed on Me." Mind is very active. It's less active here. Mind can travel at any speed, faster than sound. And intelligence. Engage the mind positively. Engage the intelligence. So Kṛṣṇa is giving us some guidelines The prabhārī elaborates in the purport. I'm sure you've heard these before. We're so conditioned, we need to keep hearing again and again and again. So we endeavor to develop these qualities. Prabhupāda used to say, "You take one step towards Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will take ten steps towards you." If you sincerely endeavor to have good sādhana, Good chanting, reading. And that shows I am determined to develop these qualities. And if we sincerely endeavor, Kṛṣṇa is more than anxious to help us. Kṛṣṇa says, brahma-bhūta-prasannātmā svaujatī na khaṅṣati. One who is constantly situated is always joyful. We need to convince ourselves Spiritual happiness is better than material happiness. We need to convince ourselves material happiness is a beginning and an end. The by-product is ādiśpānas. Kṛṣṇa says happiness and goodness is better than the beginning, sweet in the end, and which wakes you up to Self-realization. It was happiness and passion. Sweet in the beginning, bitter in the end, and which is derived of contact of the senses with sense objects. So when we are in the association of devotees executing service, then we get the strength to tolerate difficulties. The association of devotees makes it easier for us to face challenges on the devotional path. And if you don't have this association, then it becomes difficult. So stay in devotee association. Look at the good in everybody. Śrīmā Vaiṣṇava is. Develop the mood of service, not only to the Lord, but to the Lord's devotees also. Recognize the need. I need direction. I need correction. Please tell me how I can improve my devotional capacity. Prasādaḥ prayād. God helps those who help themselves. If we endeavor, Kṛṣṇa will help. But we do not endeavor, then what can we do? Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa.