Why did the Lord appear in the form of an Archa Vigrah?| 17 Jun 2000 |Moscow | Gopal Krishna Goswami

So, I understand that you have a 2-day celebration today and tomorrow. And the celebration is in honor of the installation of the Deities of Goloka-dhāra. Today is Their 8th birthday. Is it today or tomorrow? Of course, the Kṛṣṇa conscious preaching started in Moscow long before the opening of the Vrindavan Temple. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu had predicted that the Holy Name would spread to every town and village of the world. What the Lord predicts, it has to come true. So as all of you know, Śrīla Prabhupāda had a desire that Kṛṣṇa consciousness be established in every corner of the world to fulfill the instruction of Bhaktisiddhānta Dī and the desire of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But it wasn't so easy to do it in the early days of the movement in what was formerly known as Soviet Union. We all know how Prabhupāda struggled in India and took the movement to the Western countries. First, Prabhupāda concentrated on getting the movement established in America. Then he set the mood to expand the movement in Europe. And then he concentrated on India. He wanted to establish real Kṛṣṇa conscious teachings in India. At the same time, Prabhupāda was taking How to penetrate behind those countries which were at that time known as the Iron Curtain countries. You've probably forgotten the word now, Iron Curtain. So it was in 1971 or '72 that Prabhupāda received an invitation from Dr. Kutarka. And actually we had the opportunity to invite Dr. Kutarka a few times over here for prasāda a few years ago. So he would tell us about how he took the risk in inviting Śrīla Prabhupāda. Prabhupāda would return. So he took full opportunity of the invitation to come and present the Kṛṣṇa conscious viewpoint. For example, you all know that Prabhupāda presented the spiritual definition of Communism. The spiritual definition of Communism is: Isha vāsye nama sarvām yātmijājagapi andhataḥ. "Keinata ke rabbandhikā mārtu dahātas a fidmānā." One should take as much as he needs knowing that everything belongs to the Supreme. Instead of everything belonging to the state, we say everything belongs to the Supreme. So that was Prabhupāda's first visit here in 1971. And during that visit Prabhupāda had got introduced to a fortunate Russian soul. That the way Prabhupāda met that fortunate soul was also very interesting. Prabhupāda was living in a hotel near Kremlin, and Prabhupāda was just living off milk and fruits. He would never go down to the restaurant to eat, and all of you were not there. So Prabhupāda had to live only off milk and fruits. No one was there to cook prasāda and bring to him. So Prabhupāda's secretary, uh, he was an American devotee, tall American called Shyamsundar. Shyamsundar was in one of the streets near the hotel looking for a shop which sold milk. And he was looking for somebody who could help him with Russian translation because he didn't speak any Russian. And on the way he met— he asked many people, "Any shop where you can buy milk?" Most people didn't understand what he was saying. They said, "New to me. We don't understand what you are saying." But there was one Russian who knew English. He said, "I'll escort you to the milk stall." And on the way they developed a little friendship. This individual was already a big yogi. So then he got injected with Kṛṣṇa consciousness and he wasted no time and started to preach it to others. And then subsequently there were other, there were other steps taken. Prabhupāda's books finally reached many prominent libraries and Moscow and St. Petersburg. And gradually the movement started, first in having— now had programs in people's homes. I remember that before the center opened here, and time flies, I remember coming to see this building when we had got here and nobody had moved in. It was in a real rundown condition. But with the efforts of the devotees, the temple was nicely built. And here we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of the temple. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's prediction that the holy name would travel to every town and village of the world will definitely eventually— it has come true and will continue to come true. On the devotional path, we have to have faith in the words of the Supreme Lord and the chariots of prabhupāda. So today we are also celebrating the 8th anniversary of the installation of the Deity. And you have the deities of Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda. So the Lord is so kind that He appears in archa-vigraha form. And this archa-vigraha form of the Lord is not different from the Lord. And amongst all the incarnations, the incarnation of Caitanya Mahāprabhu is described as the most merciful of all incarnations. What is nirodham vasakarān sāṁṣṭhiti? Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu You are the most merciful of all incarnations, who has appeared especially to save the fallen people of Kali-yuga. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu appears, or has appeared in your temple, upon the Lord Nityānanda. Without the mercy of Lord Nityānanda, you can't get the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So the devotee has faith that these Deities are not different from the Lord. We have read and heard of so many wonderful stories that describe how these Deities are not just some idols made of brass or wood or stone, but actually God is personally present in these Deities. So our understanding is that here is the Lord present in the Ājapa-gauḍ form, giving us all an opportunity to serve Him. Some serve the Lord by doing Deity worship, cooking for the Lord, dressing the Lord, sewing for the Lord, Making garlands for the Lord, cooking for the Lord. Some serve the Lord by singing and dancing enthusiastically for the pleasure of the Lord. The Lord is very pleased when He hears the enthusiastic singing and dancing of His devotees. Even if you don't feel like, devotees enthusiastically dance and sing for the pleasure of the Lord. In the story of Sakshi Gopal, you have heard how the deity of Gopal came to the rescue of the Brahman's honor. The Brahman's whole reputation was at stake, and ultimately he had no alternative but to take plea to the Lord to come to his rescue. The Lord said, "How can I come so far to testify?" And God walked. But what did the Brahman say? "If you can talk, you can also walk." So the deity testified and saved the Brahman's honor. In the story of Madhvānandapuri, we saw how the Lord had inspired him in a dream to install, to take out the Deity that was hidden underneath the ground. 500 years, about 700 years ago, in order to save the Deities from the Mohammedan aggressors, many of the Deities were taken out of the temple and hidden in secluded places or dead under the earth. So the Lord came in a dream and told Madhavanapuri to dig the Deity out and install it. And after the Deity was installed, Madhavanapuri engaged all the people of the village in serving the Deities through the Āsikaṇī by giving them different devotional assignments. And then the Lord instructed him, "I am still feeling heat. Go and get me some sandalwood." And when he was going to get the sandalwood, he came to the temple of Ropinath in Orissa, Tikaloka, where he had developed the desire to have the opportunity to taste the sweet rice that was being offered to the Deity there. And he manifested that desire to taste. While the offering was taking place. And what were the results? He felt embarrassed and walked out because he manifested his desire to taste it while the offering was taking place. Of course, Madhavan Puri's desire to taste it was strictly so that he could go back and prepare an even more delicious sweet rice for his devotees. But he felt so embarrassed that he went out of the temple without even tasting them. But what did the Lord do? What did he do? Stole the sweet rice hidden behind the curtains and instructed the pujari of the temple that the sweet rice was hidden behind the curtain. So the Lord stole sweet rice for the pleasure of his devotees. Prabhupada had a Shargam Shila and somebody gave him some offerings, very nice offerings of saris and jewelry. And he began to wonder, "What am I going to do with all this? If I had a Deity, I could have made dresses for the Shila. All it needs is chandan and tilsi. What am I going to do with all this?" So what happened? The Shila manifested itself as a Deity, a Deity of Radha Manohar. Radha Manohar means one who always gives you compliments. So this Deity is non-different from the wall. And based upon our endeavors of surrender, the Deity will also reciprocate according to that. On the devotional path, one should be careful to avoid offenses. Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained this in Athanagoh Swāmī, how after many, many births and deaths, it is the fortunate soul who gets the seed of bhakti. And when you get the seed of bhakti, Caitanya Mahāprabhu invited, we should water it. Water it through the process of showering and taking bath. And then if you water it, then the tree will see, will fructify. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu warns that if on the devotional path we commit brahmacāras, then the effect will be like that of a mad elephant entering into a beautiful garden. Therefore it is said, Bahau janma kāye āriśaṇa kṛṣṇa tabho tanabhāya kṛṣṇa-pranayaḥ kṛṣṇa-dvāmaḥ. When they go on chanting the Holy Name to the Lord birth after birth, but one is committing the offenses, then he will not be able to develop love of God. Therefore, in the 10 offenses that we chant, the first offense is to blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their life for propagating the Holy Name. Blessed everyone, isn't it? Which is the love of God. But he had a little bit of anger at his mother, Saci Mata. Because Saci Mata was thinking that Advaita Ācārya— means Saci Mata had a little bit of anger at Advaita Ācārya. Why? Her elder son had already taken sannyāsa, Vishuddha. And the younger son also took sannyāsa. So Saci Mata was thinking That Advaitācārya is refusing my son. So she had a little anger in her mind at Advaitācārya, which Advaita Caitanya Mahāprabhu was not happy. Advaitācārya, he had prayed along with Haidā Sāgur for the appearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He would say, "How can Saci-bātā come any offense? She is the mother of the universe. How can she make any offense?" So even if Sācīmādhā wanted to apologize, Advaita Ācārya would never accept it. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu wasn't happy that his mother had taught him this way about Advaita Ācārya. So once when Caitanya Mahāprabhu had showed his transcendental form, divine form, to his close associates, the Advaita Ācārya and others were bowing down. So Sācīmādhā came from behind and touched Advaita Ācārya's lotus feet and took a dust from his feet. Feet. And when he took the dust from the feet of Vira Charya, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very happy. Caitanya Mahāprabhu was showing the example how he wanted even his own mother to be careful on this point. In Bhāgavatam we read the story of Amṛśma Rāja and Vāsudeva Muni. How that Vāsudeva Muni was envious of the exalted position of Amṛśma Rāja. And for no reason we try to produce a demon from a seeker with a powerful mercy kīrga. To harm Amritānanda. But Amritānanda was undisturbed. He kept meditating in the lotus feet of the Lord, "Sarve manah prasadam." And then the selection chapter of the Lord was revealed. That chased Prasad RAVAL. Wherever he went, the selection chapter would be known. Eventually the Lord told him, "The 9 devotees are so dear." They reside in My heart, and I reside in the heart of the devotee. And then Amrit Vairāṣamāmī will affect forgiveness from His devotee. The Lord refused to pardon him, but His devotee pardoned him. So the devotees of the Lord are very dear to the Lord. Let me just push it a little deeper. The Lord maintains He resides in their heart, and the devotee resides in— He resides in the heart of the devotee, and the devotee resides in his heart. So rational class is very dangerous on the spiritual path. Just like when Caitanya Mahāprabhu was doing Hainām Samkīrtan in the house of Śrīvāda Ācārya, some brahmanas became envious of Śrīvāda Ācārya. Caitanya Mahāprabhu would only allow very selected devotees to participate in these kirtan sessions. So there was this one Brahman, he was envious that the Śrīvās is getting so much honor. So to defame, so to defame him, he, so to defame him, he put all the paraphernalia for worshiping Goddess Durga in front of his door. So in the morning when Śrīvās tarka saw, told it. He said, "Neighbors, see, I'm a devotee of Durga." But nobody actually believed him. So later on, this Brahman was afflicted with depression. He went on suffering. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but before something else, He was not in the mind. He was very compassionate. He didn't put lucha upon him. So he went on suffering, suffering, and finally, after years of suffering, the Lord told him, I can't pardon you, but if my devotee pardons you, then that's fine. And then he begged forgiveness from Śrī Vāsu. So, by being envious of the devotee, one destroys his own spiritual life. Kailāśaṭva was a chair seeing the Prabhupāda recite the Hovining. One person was envious. What was his name? Rāmachandra ṛḥā. Took the services of a prostitute to seduce him. And the prostitute, after the first night, assured him, "Oh, tomorrow he's going to be seduced." But on the third night, she was seduced by Haridas's purity. She revealed her plan, in his plan, and begged for forgiveness. However, that's not when the Khan had to face severe reaction for it. His house was plundered by the Muslimans. He was arrested, had to pay a huge penalty for having offended an exalted devotee. So, vāsanaprāsa should be avoided. Then there is the story of this, the son-in-law of Sarvabhauma Vāccharya called Amarga. Sarvabhauma Vāccharya had only one daughter who was married to a devotee called, to an individual called Amarga. This Amarga, Sarvabhauma Vāccharya at one time Oh, it's not personal. But by the mercy of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he got convinced about the personal nature of the Lord, and he also got convinced that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is none else but the Supreme Lord incarnating as a devotee. So whenever Caitanya Mahāprabhu traveled to different cities, he would be invited by different household of devotees. So, Sarvānābhadraya and his wife had the privilege of serving puja to Caitanya Mahāprabhu for a certain period of time. Āraṇa-lāvanavākṣema. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, instead of ordering chariot's wife to cook sweet delicious offerings in a big variety, Caitanya Mahāprabhu would take only vegetables. So one day, Sir Amaravān had the opportunity to see the various offerings that were offered to Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By his mother-in-law and father-in-law. So he said, "Na kele sanyasi!" You pretend to be a renunciate, but you are eating more upland banana? That's over. So Amoga was chased out of the house by Sarvabhauma Balacharya. He was so upset, Sarvabhauma Balacharya, that he hit his wife. Then he said, "May my daughter become a widow!" Nothing in the house of Sarvabhauma was working. Dying. So Chaitanya Mahāprabhu asked his uncle, Gropinath Ācārya, "Hand him over." So he would inform that he was very sick on his deathbed. Chaitanya Mahāprabhu went there and placed his hand on his chest and said, "As long as you have envy in your heart, the Lord will not decide you." And what did Amārādhā Dūrū? He got up from his bed, fell at the feet of the Lord, and begged forgiveness and became a great devotee. So we should be very cautious on the devotional path and avoid committing a prat. This is the advice of the Lord. This is the advice of the great sages. On the devotional path, we proceed cautiously, then the devotional people will grow taller and taller and produce the fruit of love of God. Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted His followers to develop the the world of humanity. And tolerance, each opinion. And he himself set the example. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asked, "Why are you studying the Vedānta? You are such a prominent Sanskrit scholar." What did he say? "As Prahlāda Mahāprabhu thought that I was a fool, so he thought I should just chant. That's as far as I can go." At a young age, the mind had become a very prominent scholar. So when the prominent Sanskrit scholar of that time, Kṣer Kṣeṣmīri, came to meet Nimāya. He had the opportunity to meet him on the banks of the Ganges. Kṣer Kṣeṣmīri had defeated everyone in competition, but he had heard that in Navadvīpa there was a young boy who was a very prominent scholar. So he came with a whole entourage, whole entourage, a band, big trumpets, you know, Just like when a king goes, there's a whole crowd of men that go to the king glorifying him. And he went to Maya on the banks of the Ganges. He said, "May I have your respect, ask you to compose some verses." He said, "I've heard so much about your glory as a Sanskrit scholar. Please compose some verses for me." And he instantly composed over 100 verses glorifying the Ganges. And then he asked Maya, "What do you think about these words?" Nimai told they would grow good, but these were the defects in the following words. So when he heard Nimai repeating the verses, he was surprised. He said, "How? I was chanting, reciting, and speaking the mantras. How did he memorize these verses so fast?" So he had no answer to Nimai's queries. So Nimai's students started making fun. Offered the guest, but he did not swallow it. He wanted his students to give respect to this scholar. Of course, the next day, the scholar surrendered at the feet of the Lord because God Himself told him that this person you are debating is not an ordinary individual, it is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Ramachandra Prabhu was always angry with the Christian Nazis. Those who would feed them, then criticize. So he had this envious attitude, and then he even started criticizing Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So then he started even advising his guru about Brahman meditation. So we should be very cautious on the devotional path. Everyone sitting here is very fortunate in having come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. We are fortunate in that we have the real thing, the real word, and the real process of serving the Lord. About 2 weeks ago, I was in a Canadian city called Calgary, Canada. Have you heard of it? So anyway, so I was visiting a devotee, and he showed me the front page of the newspaper which had a big article about an Indian Swami. This Swami was doing some miracles, and his followers would come to him, he would give them rich presents, gold, Shilwaru, and so many different experts like that. And some of the people he blessed had become rich. So they were saying, "This Swami is God." And then they quoted some professors of Indology from Alberta University who said, "Yeah, it's very common in Hindu mythology for people to do magic and become God." So there are so many people like such, like him. Who claim to be incarnation of God or divine representatives of God, and they gave something that's not genuine. So we are fortunate in that we got a genuine philosophy as presented by Śrīla Prabhupāda. He gave us the Bhāgavad-gītā, kan-kana-yev. He gave us a pure process. And he gave us a pure process and set the example, example of purity. And he gave us elaborate purpose. Or explanations. He gave us elaborate purports or explanations to the philosophy spoken by the Supreme Lord. Now what we should do is take advantage of this process. Take advantage of the process by following the process without any deviation. Prabhupāda once told a very beautiful vyāsaṣṛta offering in honor of his guru, and he said, "The line of service is clearly drawn by you." So none of us have been speculating of the process of spiritual life. Whether we are living in the temple or living at home, the process is clear for everyone. Kṛṣṇa says, hai, just think of Me all the time. If you cannot think of Me all the time, follow the regulative principle of Bhakti Yoga, and then you will develop a desire to attain Me. So what does the regulative principle of Bhakti Yoga mean? You chant the 16 rounds very attentively, very attentively, and make sure We'll be chanting every day without fail. Not that you get in the habit of running debts. Like sometimes the devotees, "Oh, I'm running a debt, I have a debt." So make it a point of time, finish your rounds every day. Regularly read. Associate with devotees. Those of you who live outside should try and go to the temple or be consecrated twice a day. Engage in some practical service. And if you do these things, then automatically We will find spiritual satisfaction. In the material world, it doesn't matter how much economic success you have, there is no real happiness. Just like these days, even in American industry, they are discovering that the stress level of people is very high. So to relieve the stress, here are some of the things they have suggested. In these big, big offices, they now have gymnasiums, so the executives After every 2 hours, they can go for 20 minutes to the gymnasium. So some of the companies are telling the employees, "You can go jogging in the lunch break." So many of them go jogging in the lunch break and come back and have a shower. They have shower facilities in the office and go back to work. Some of these companies, they have massagers coming and giving a massage in the office once a week for 2 hours. So they are trying. Various things to reduce the stress level of people. But what is the real solution? Transcendental meditation. That is by chanting the jingle. So this is the solution for the sage. Hare Namah Hare Namah Hare Namah Ewa Kevala. Alo Musteva Musteva Musteva. We should take this process seriously and introduce the process to others. After all, Caitanya Mahaprabhu did say, Jare daga praheta ho Krishna, tabale vache. Whenever he sees, tell him about the Supreme Lord. Then Kṛṣṇa says, "Endearest of all is one who preaches My glories." So on the auspicious occasion of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Vrindavan temple, and on the auspicious occasion of the 8th anniversary of the installation of the Deity, each of you should become more determined to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and to make others Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is what Prasad RAVAL has given. Don't speculate. And by following the process, you'll get the determination to follow it on through the ascension. Just like by bhajana-kriya, the anātman evriddhi takes place. And then you develop nishta, determination. So all this is a result of attentive bhajana-kriya. Take advantage of this and perfect your life. Ee, eeh, zīmṛṣṭhasya śrīmad-bhāgavata-bhāgavatam. Hare Kṛṣṇa.