CONTENTS:
- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH GURU MAHARAJA
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH GURU MAHARAJA
Q: Can Grihasthas go back to Godhead or higher planets only?
A: Actually, the condition for going back to Godhead is developing our love for Krishna irrespective of our varna and ashram. If we develop our love for Krishna, we become qualified to go back to Godhead, it does not matter what ashram we are in. Higher planetary systems will depend on punya Karma. Grihasthas can also go to higher planetary systems, Brahmacharis can also go to higher planetary systems and sanyasis can also go to higher planetary systems if they want to. They also have the access to the lower planetary systems so everybody has his options open lower planetary systems, higher planetary systems and spiritual sky.
Q: Does the Lord help women since we are inferior to man?
A: Sure, the weaker we are the more affectionate Krishna will be to us. That is why the women make better devotees than men. Who are the greatest devotees in the spiritual sky? The Gopis. Still, you see in a man that tendency of lording o0ver is there but in women that tendency is less or at least naturally should have been less. Nowadays men are becoming like women and women are becoming like men but this is an abnormal situation. Generally, women are more devotional because they have softer hearts, their nature is tender, they are more submissive so these are all favourable qualities of Krishna Consciousness.
Q: Does the disciple look for the Guru or does the Guru find the disciple?
A: When we come across a bona fide spiritual master then it’s up to us it surrender to him so the onus is actually on the disciple, the Guru is not going to say come and take initiation from me, he may say take to this path, he will preach but it’s up to the disciple to surrender. When the disciple surrenders then the Guru accepts him just like when Arjuna surrendered to Krishna only then Krishna started to give him the advice and spiritual guidance.
Q: Krishna in Chaitanya Charimrita comes only once in Brahma’s day so does Srila Prabhupada come also only once and establish ISKCON or does Srila Prabhupada come every catur yuga?
A: Krishna comes once in a day of Brahma and in the following Kali Yuga Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu comes and following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s plan Srila Prabhupada comes and then Prabhupada never leaves. Prabhupada just stays here for 10 000 years to make sure that all of us are properly situated in Krishna Consciousness. Prabhupada is present in the form of ISKCON.
Q: Is ISKCON present in every manvantar and catur yuga?
A: No only in Vaivaswata manvantar, the seventh manvantar and 28th chatur yuga.
Q: How did Sati become Parvati?
A: When Sati left her body then Lord Shiva went and plundered the yajya of Daksha and then Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu came and pacified Lord Shiva. But still Lord Shive stops plundering the sacrifice but he took the body of Sati and started to dance like a madman. Do you know what is Lord Shiva’s dance? Tandavanitra, when Lord Shiva dances the whole creation falls apart. Narayan saw that this may completely destroy the whole creation so then Narayan released His sudarshan Chakra which started cutting the body of Sati. Sati’s body was cut into 51 pieces and those 51 pieces fell in different parts of this planet and those parts became the tirthas of devi. Like Calcutta is one of the places Kalighat so similarly there are all these places. Lord Shiva saw the body was not there so Lord Shiva sat in meditation and started to mediate upon whom He meditates? Upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the meantime, the demi-gods needed a general to fight with the demons and felt if there is a son of Lord Shiva, he will be a proper general but for that Lord Shiva needed a wife and they decided Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya is the right choice.
Sati actually took birth as Parvati, the daughter of Himalayas and Lord Shiva was so absorbed, although Parvati came Lord Shiva was not at all concerned in his external consciousness he was completely absorbed. Parvati tried to break the meditation of Lord Shiva in so many ways but she did not succeed. Then finally the demi-gods asked Kamadev to arouse the feeling of lust in Lord Shiva so Madan said I am not going to do that, if Lord Shiva’s mediation breaks then he will be so upset I will be in trouble but the demi-gods gave him the assurance they will give him the support and nothing will happen. So finally hiding behind a bush Madan released the arrows that generate lust in a man’s heart, five flower arrows and as a result of that Lord Shiva’s meditation broke but he was angry, who broke my meditation and his glance fell on Madan, Kamadeva and as a result of that he got burnt to ashes so although he was burnt to ashes the demi-gods revived him but he did not have a body, so Kamadeva does not have a body so he is ananga, without a body. Lord Shiva saw Parvati and fell in love with her and as a result of that Kartikeya or Skanda was born.
Q: You mentioned that sankirtan movement is both japa and congregational chanting, please can you explain sankirtan as using everything in Krishna’s service is also part of this process?
A: Very good question. The word sankirtan is a combination of two words samyak means total complete kirtan and this complete sankirtan has two connotations one is muhur bili dwarje kirtan when many people get together and chant the glory of the Lord in music then that is sankirtan. The other consideration of sankirtan is when everything is used in glorifying the Lord that is sankiratn, the bigger concept of sankirtan. For example, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur considered the printing press to be brhat mrdanga, big mrdanga. In sankiratna you need mrdanga but here is brhat mrdanga why? Because this is brhat kirtan not just singing, because when you sing some people can hear but when you print books and give out the books how many people can hear, that sound goes further away so that is why that is brhat kirtan and even bigger that brhat kirtan is what Srila Prabhupada is doing. Engaging everybody to use everything in glorifying.
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur is using the books, Srila Prabhupada used the books and other things also. Especially nowadays internet is a big way of communication and we have to start that brhat brhat kirtan soon, preaching through internet, propagating Krishna Consciousness through internet or even making movies and with that understanding I embarked on the Abhay Charan project. Prabhupada’s lilamrita was there but not many people were reading lilamrita but movies everybody wants to watch. When we were showing it in Durdarshan our viewership was 4 million when it started but then after 6 months the viewership went to 22 million. So, this is the potency of this advanced media.
Q: How do we come out of the fault-finding tendencies and respect devotees even whom we see faults.
A: amäninä mänadena. Don’t try to judge others rather judge yourself. We have a very wonderful quality to find faults we are very expert and the best way to utilize that wonderful quality is to try to find fault in ourselves, why misuse that quality to others why not apply it to yourself and that will be the perfect utilization of that faculty.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Q: How do you experience Srila Prabhupada still being present?
A: You know the concept of Vapu and vani, out of these two which one is more important and permanent? Vani. Personalities are there but we have to see or feel the spirit of that personality, what he wants. When I adapted then I am only linked up properly. You see what is our relationship? It’s very simple master and servant. What is the servant’s business? To follow the command of the master. Try to understand what the master wants and try to act accordingly. That is what we have to do. What Srila Prabhupada wants? Then the question arises why Srila Prabhupada wants that? Does Srila Prabhupada want that in order to exploit us or benefit us? Benefit. For our benefit Prabhupada is doing that therefore I have to surrender to him and become completely tuned up to him and then only I will derive the ultimate benefit myself. So, you see human nature is like that we want to do something because there is some benefit. Does anyone want to do something to lose something or to gain something? Here we are whatever we are doing for our ultimate gain we have to become aware of that. By being in ISKCON I am not helping anyone else not even Srila Prabhupada I am helping myself so that is the very basic criteria for developing our relationship with Srila Prabhupada.
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
- Don’t try to judge others rather judge yourself. We have a very wonderful quality to find faults we are very expert and the best way to utilize that wonderful quality is to try to find fault in ourselves, why misuse that quality to others why not apply it to yourself and that will be the perfect utilization of that faculty; and
- is the servant’s business? To follow the command of the master. Try to understand what the master wants and try to act accordingly. That is what we have to do.
(The content of this E-magazine is based on Questions and Answers)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)