GURUDEVA acronym – Vyasa-puja offering to HH Radhanath Maharaj

[Vyasa-puja celebration at Manama, Bahrain]

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Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna! Today we are assembled for the occasion of the yajna puja of His Holiness the Arhat Swami Maharaj. I’ll try to speak briefly, speak about His, my understanding of, or my appreciation of His glories. But before we do that, just a background of the mood of yajna puja.
Generally, the spiritual path is a path which is often thought to require detachment, disconnection, renunciation. Well, that is true in general for the paths of yajna or ashtanga. The Bhagavatam is central in declaring that the path of bhakti is not so much the path of detachment as the path of attachment.
It is attachment to Krishna that we aspire for. And to get that attachment to Krishna, one powerful way is attachment to those who are attached to Krishna. The Bhagavatam, the third canto, Lord Kapila in his teaching says, It says, prasanga is attachment.
Prasanga is strong attachment. Attachment, prasanga, it is ajara, jara. What does jara mean? Old age.
So the Bhagavatam uses the word ajaram. That means attachment never grows old. Although our body grows old, our desires don’t grow old.
Attachment stays on. So the attachment is ajaram. And it is a pashya, it is a shackle which traps us in material existence.
Prasangam, ajaram, pashyam, Atmanah, for the soul, this kavayovidhu, the wise people know this, that attachment is like an imperishable shackle for the soul. But this principle of attachment, sadhu-shukruto, if that same attachment is directed towards the saintly people, sadhu-shukruto, what happens by that? moksha-dwaram apavritam The doors to liberation, apavritam, they open. So how does this happen? Normally when we become attached to someone, naturally we want to do the things that will please that person.
And we will avoid doing the things that will displease that person. And now those who are very devoted to God, they naturally inspire us, encourage us, guide us to do the things which will increase our devotion to God. And they will encourage us to decrease or avoid the things that will militate against that devotion.
And there can be many sadhus. Among the many saintly people who we may get attached to, which is a matter of fortune for us, there is the guru who is the most prominent. The spiritual master ultimately is a representative of Krishna.
So Prabhupada gave a famous lecture in the Gaudiya Math where he said that actually the guru is one, the manifestations of the guru are many. That means that the one guru tattva can manifest in different personalities. And when the guru manifests in a particular personality for a particular seeker, then that becomes the primary way in which that seeker connects with the Supreme Lord.
So there can be different spiritual masters for different seekers, but the particular spiritual master that we connect with, that becomes the representative of God for us in our life. Sakshat Haritvena Samastha Shastra Sakshat Hari, that God manifests to us through the spiritual master. And in our tradition we understand that Vyasadeva is God himself manifesting to provide us knowledge to go to God.
Vyasadeva is the literary incarnation of Krishna. So Krishna manifests as Vyasa to give the Shastra which will enable us to attain Krishna. So that same message of Vyasadeva is carried on in tradition by the spiritual masters over centuries.
And the spiritual master who is in our lives is a representative of that Vyasadeva. So when we do worship of the spiritual master on the Vyasa Pujari, that is the day when the spiritual master appeared in the world, we are actually worshipping the spiritual master for giving us the grace of Krishna, for giving us the pathway to Krishna. And by appreciating the spiritual master our attraction, our attachment to the spiritual master increases and that can increase further our attachment to Krishna.
So we worship the spiritual master not as God but as a very exalted representative of God. And while we want to cherish our spiritual master’s mercy in our life, every day of our life, but on some special days if we cherish that more, then that sharpens and deepens the appreciation. The Vyasa Puja day is one such day where we meditate on the spiritual master more and more.
So I’ll speak about with this background, I’ll speak about His Holiness Radhanath Maharaj. Primarily I’ll speak about eight qualities and I’ll use the acronym Gurudev to talk about eight qualities. So I was, so G is G-U-R-U-D-E-V-A I take it, G is Grateful.
Just before coming here I was in the Govardhaniko village and there I was I almost had a one hour meeting with Maharaj. I reported about my western outreach. I was just about four and a half months I was in the western world, one month in Australia, three and a half months in America and Canada.
So when I was talking with Maharaj and was talking about how best we can present the bhakti message in the western world. And then as speakers what are the strengths that we can develop. So some devotees have told me that I am a very serious speaker.
My classes are too intellectual. So I was asking Maharaj, how much should I try to change that. So Maharaj said you can’t change your personality but you can present according to the audience.
Understand the audience and try to present accordingly. And then he said that if you are intellectual that is a strength, if you are serious that is your nature. Krishna will send people who will be attracted according to that nature.
Then Maharaj is in his own way so sweet and humble, he said that actually I don’t have intellectual ability like all of you have. Referring not just to me, but Maharaj often talks about himself in a self-deprecating way. He says, I was a college dropout.
All of you are having big, big degrees. So Maharaj said that I don’t have any intellectual ability like you have. I was telling Maharaj, whatever intellectual ability we have, they are all wanted from you Maharaj.
So Maharaj said that, but what Krishna has gifted me with is a deep concern for people. And concern that people be happy, people become devoted to Krishna. And out of that concern when I talk with people they get connected with Krishna.
So now when I heard this statement it struck me, what Maharaj said is not that I have deep concern for people. He said Krishna has given me deep concern for people. So now when I was contemplating about this that actually there are many things which we can be grateful to Krishna for.
So there are some things that are external to us, some things internal to us. So if we have wealth, if we have a good family, if we have possessions, then we can see them as, we are taught in the philosophy to see them as the gifts of Krishna. If we have wealth, if we have possessions, we see them as Lakshmi manifesting in our house.
So external things, because we know that they can be with me anytime, they can go away anytime. So to be grateful for them, it still requires a certain amount of devotion, but it is relatively easy. Okay, this is wealth, this is a gift of Krishna.
But on something eternal to us, the sense of possession on that is much greater. Say for example, if we have some ability, then to think of that ability as a gift from Krishna is also, it’s required, but it’s a little more difficult. Because you think, it’s innate to me, it’s natural to me.
But going beyond that, at least ability can be singing ability, speaking ability, but we all have certain qualities. Say somebody may have humility, somebody may have sensitivity, somebody may have optimism, somebody may have. We have these qualities, and these qualities, we tend to think of them as my qualities.
But to think even of our qualities as gifts from Krishna, that is actually a profound level of Krishna consciousness. That our qualities are also not our qualities alone. The same person who may be very humble today, may not have humility.
So even our qualities are actually gifts from Krishna. Krishna does say in the Bhagavad Gita, in the 10th chapter, that verse, 10.4 and 5, he says, everything comes from me. And all qualities also come from him.
So I have seen this gratitude on many many occasions in Maharaj. When he speaks about the first time when I went to Vrindavan Yatra, there are thousands and thousands of devotees, and then we all went on a Parikrama. It was the first time Maharaj also had such a large number of people taking Yatra, and then it was quite a huge amount of coordination required for all the devotees to go on the Parikrama.
And we also had a medical team to take care of some people who might fall sick or something like that. But finally, there were a lot of problems in that year, and late at night we completed the Parikrama. Maybe at 10 o’clock or something like that.
So then, at the conclusion, Maharaj gave a talk. And then I was expecting that Maharaj will say that now we have successfully completed this Parikrama. Like sometimes, say there’s an election, and then the election is won, and the President or the Prime Minister have a victory rally.
So, I was quite new in Bhakti, and I was expecting Maharaj will say, yes, now we have successfully completed the rally. But then, I completed the Parikrama. But then what Maharaj spoke over there was profoundly instructive for me.
He said that by the mercy of the Acharyas, they have allowed us to receive the grace of Govardhan by completing his Parikrama. So, there was no sense of achievement over there. Actually, completing Parikrama requires the mercy of the Lord.
And, not just the mercy of the Lord, the mercy of the Lord comes through the Acharyas. And the specific mercy is at Govardhan. So, Govardhan has allowed us to complete his Parikrama.
That to do any devotional activity, it is not just our willpower. We will try to do it, but there are hundreds of obstacles that may come. So, even when we do something in our spiritual life, say, we fast Nirjala Nikadashi, we do some Vrata Nivrenga, Vishnu Panchak, or we do some kind of austerity, even doing that is not just our achievement.
It is Krishna’s mercy by which we are able to do that. And so, if we see it as our achievement, we will become proud. But if we see it as Krishna’s mercy, we feel grateful.
So, one of Maharaj’s quotes is that if we are not grateful, then we are great fools. We are great fools, because we are not able to connect with Krishna through various facilities that have been given to us for connecting with Krishna. And this gratitude is something which can actually enable us to stay positive and happy in whatever situation life sends us.
So, at one level, we talk about devotion as chanting Hare Krishna, we absorb these sadhanas strictly, doing the devotions strictly, doing a lot of teaching. All this is important. But these are ways ultimately meant to connect us with Krishna.
And if we are not grateful, then we will be resentful. And if we are resentful, then our mind gets blocked. We can’t connect with Krishna at all.
So, we need this sense of gratitude by which we can have the channel of our heart open for our emotions or our consciousness to flow towards Krishna. There are many other incidents when Maharaj’s gratitude is seen. But one thing which struck me was also that at one level Maharaj is a sannyasi who has left his family, left his home, left everything, and he has dedicated his life to Krishna.
But still, he had that sense of gratitude even towards his parents. And that’s why when his mother was in her last days, Maharaj before that went to be with her and Maharaj himself took and did the last rites of his mother, taking the sacred ashes to the Ganga. He describes about that in his book, Journey Home.
When I was in Chicago, Chicago is the place where Maharaj stays in retreat. After giving himself to so many people, he stays in retreat over there, in seclusion. So there, every day when Maharaj is there, he goes and meets his father.
And he spends some quality time with his father. And what Maharaj does is that for so many years throughout my youth, I was not able to take care of my parents. I was not able to serve them.
So now when he goes there, old people, when they are there, they know who to talk with, they are lonely. So Maharaj is telling that when he goes, whenever I am with devotees, they ask me to give classes. But when I am with my father, I let my father speak.
And his father is not, he is very favourable to bhakti, but he is not a devotee. So he speaks about a lot of contemporary affairs. So Maharaj says, whatever news I am not able to read throughout the year, I get to know from my father.
My father is happy that I am spending time with him. And he is, he gets to know. And his father also is a very intelligent person.
So he also thinks about those current news which his son needs to know. So in that way, his father is also servant. He is equipping Maharaj with knowledge of current affairs so that he can be aware of those things.
So actually, that gratitude, not just, of course he has a deep sense of gratitude to Prabhupada and the parampara, that is a given, but gratitude in the most unlikely of settings which you would not think of, that is what can be revealing and instructive. And then so, that was G. Next is U. U is unassuming. Unassuming means, although Maharaj is one of the prominent spiritual masters, one of the, you could say, not just the most prominent spiritual leaders of our movement, could even say one of the most prominent spiritual leaders in the world today, in many ways.
So he is still very simple, humble and unassuming. Especially when I went to meet him in Chicago, actually, I have had major time that I got with Maharaj mostly was in Chicago and in Mumbai. So in Chicago, when I went to meet him, there Maharaj says that being a guru is my service to Krishna.
So in Chicago, his mood is that he says, let me be a normal human being. So he tells devotees that, just treat me like a normal person. So treat me like a normal person means, there you will see that Maharaj drives his own car.
He doesn’t ask anyone else to drive. And the devotee is eager to drive. But he says, no, I just want to be… Now he used to drive car when he was doing college preaching.
Of course, in America, everyone, in the Western world, everyone knows how to drive. But he used to drive when he used to go from city to city doing college preaching. So, he does that.
And Balram Prabhu is one of Maharaj’s stalwart disciples. So he purchased the same house in which Maharaj grew up in Chicago. And they stayed in the same house for some time.
Now Balram Prabhu and his family are staying in another house. So that house Maharaj has for himself. So there, once Balram Prabhu was staying with… Balram Prabhu was there and then one night, Maharaj came around 10 o’clock.
Maharaj was staying in the basement where he would stay. Now that room is there, where Maharaj would stay and contemplate as a youth, thinking about life’s big questions and seeking answers. So that room has been preserved almost like a museum.
So Maharaj would stay in the basement over there. And one night Maharaj came and he said, I’m having a lot of cough. Do you have a vaporiser? So, Balram Prabhu asked his wife Kishore Ramatagi and they started looking.
And now they had a vaporiser, but they had used it. So then, I just go to a shop and get it. So Maharaj said, what is wrong with this? No Maharaj, we have used this.
So Maharaj just called Balram Prabhu and said, if you treat me like a guru here, I will leave this house immediately. Let me be a normal human being. Let me be a normal human being.
His unassuming nature attracts so many people to him and through him to Krishna. And it’s not just a show that he puts on. Just the way he normally is.
There are many occasions when, say, we have Radha Gopinath temple, which is his signature project. He has spent years and decades developing that project. So in the Radha Gopinath, D.P.’s birthday is there.
Radha Gopinath anniversary. So then, hundreds and thousands of devotees come together and they talk about the history. About how the project developed.
So at that time, Maharaj appreciates the devotees and says, Radha Gopinath temple is flourishing. But, we are not the cause of this flourishing. We are simply the witness to this mercy happening.
Simply the witness. So, even when something wonderful happens through us, we understand that there is not a big world in it. For me, Shastric study was quite important.
I like to study Shastra quite a bit. when the Radha Gopinath temple started a base, based on academic culture education, it was a forum for structured scriptural education. So at that time, Maharaj gave a class on the mood in which we should study Shastra.
And he said that, we may become very learned. We may become very scholarly. We may speak about Krishna to others, but we will not experience Krishna ourselves unless we have humility.
And what does humility mean in the context of studying Shastra? Is that actually, even when I study Shastra, even when I memorise verses, even when I speak verses, ultimately to memorise and speak verses, all that you need is just some sattvic good karma. Anybody who has that good karma, they can memorise and they can speak expertly. But to realise Shastra, and to help others realise Shastra, to touch your own heart and touch others’ hearts, what we need is mercy.
So even when we are able to study Shastra and speak Shastra eloquently, quoting Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami from Chaitanya Charita Amrit, such humility. So he says that, when he is writing this beautiful book, this Chaitanya Charita Amrit, there are thousands of verses and every one of the verses is rhyming. You read the Bengali, it is each verse rhymes.
It’s a marvel of poetic, artistic composition. And Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, he, when he wrote that book, he says that actually Nityanand Prabhu came in my dream. Now give me a thing, if Nityanand Prabhu came in my dream, that makes me special.
He says, Nityanand Prabhu came in my dream and instructed me. But it’s the Vaishnavas who blessed me. And he says, I have written this book because of the instruction of Nityanand Prabhu and the blessing of the Vaishnavas.
Similarly, whenever we give classes, whenever we teach anything, to understand, it is by the mercy of Krishna and his spiritual master, by the instruction of Srila Prabhupada and by the mercy of Vaishnavas. So being unassuming is what enables us to serve in a way that is effective. Humility just means that we don’t let our ego come in the way of our service.
For the sake of our service, if we are required to subordinate ourselves, we are ready to do that. And time and time again, especially I appreciate this unassuming nature, I’ll talk about this towards the end also, that when Maharaj was doing college preaching in America, at that time, there are so many places where Maharaj would go and he at that time, ISKCON was quite looked upon not so favourably. Now ISKCON has become quite respectable and mainstream in the western world.
So people would be suspicious. And sometimes people would be disrespectful, sometimes people would be insulting. So day after day, month after month, he’d go to that college.
And I was in Dallas. In Dallas, the devotees had still kept that same vehicle. There are some vehicles which are like homes, mobile homes.
So Maharaj had that vehicle and so he would stay in that, he would sleep in that, he would do Mangal Aarti in that, he would cook in that and he would reach through that. So, here often when he would do this kind of travelling preaching, there are practically very few, there’s practically no assistant for him. But he was a one-man army, he was doing everything for Krishna.
So unassuming means that he did not think that I am a preacher, I will assist you. Just alone did what it took. Even now, if he is in India, if he goes one class, at least a thousand people will come for each class.
But still he spends so much time in America because he feels that is where the need is there for outreach. So rather than thinking where I can get more respect, where I can get more followers, he’s thinking where there is more need. And even if in America, 50, 100, 200 people come for his programme, he’d spend time with all of them.
He’s concerned that our movement will be revived and be spread in the western world also. And R is renounced. Now, of course, this renounced, he says that this we know in the journey home how when he is in spiritual search as a youth, as a youth he was tempted on so many occasions.
But he completely totally rejected those temptations. And not rejected in a pride, arrogant way, but just in a firm way. So once Maharaj was giving a class in Radha Gopinath temple, I think it was a festival, and there was Kuladri Prabhu.
Kuladri Prabhu was the former president of New Vrindavan temple. So Maharaj was introducing Kuladri Prabhu. And he was introducing Kuladri Prabhu, he said that he was the president of New Vrindavan when I was a simple brahmachari there.
And he was my protector there. So then, what is a protector, he said. So when I was a pujari in New Vrindavan, many women wanted to marry me.
And everybody started laughing. I said, I’m not bragging, I’m just speaking the truth. So he said, whenever anybody would have that inclination towards me, he says, Kuladri Prabhu would tell them that he is a simple brahmachari, he is devoted to the deities, leave him alone.
So that way, he protected me. So Maharaj would say, I was so determined that I refused any temptation. He was giving credit to Kuladri Prabhu that he is my protector.
So, actually, to practise renunciation in today’s world is extremely difficult. And one way we can see of renunciation is not just how renounced one is, but how much renunciation one inspires in others. He said that Chintamani is a touchstone which can convert jewels, ordinary stone into jewels.
But, the greatest Chintamani is which can produce other Chintamani, other touchstones. So, the culture of renunciation, which was there during Prabhupada’s time, but afterward, it just went down because devotees couldn’t sustain it. That was revived by Radhanath Swamy Maharaj, when he started establishing the Brahmachari Ashram at Allah Gopinath Temple.
Traditionally, how it worked out was, when our movement started, it was emergency. So, anybody and everybody was doing whatever service was required. But for sustainability, there has to be proper training and culture.
So, I was in America and I was talking with one devotee who was in the renounced order for almost 10 years. And then, he is now a prominent scholar of Vaishnavism. But he said that, when I was in the ashram, my service primarily was to drive and drop the Matajis who would come for cooking Sandhya Bhoga, Raj Bhoga.
Now, that was what the temple required. But how will that kind of service nourish somebody who is in the renounced order? So, the idea was that anybody who is in the temple, they are like a free work force for the temple. But Maharaj said, those who are in the temple, they are meant to be exemplary sadhus.
And it was quite radical, the way he developed Radha Gopinath community. He said that, those who are staying in the temple, they will not do any fundraising. Traditionally, the whole idea was, those in the temple will raise funds so that the temple can be maintained.
If they will not do any fundraising, then, he said, who will raise the funds? He says, that is the activity of the Brahmacharis. He says, what will the Brahmacharis do then? Maharaj said, they will study Shastra. And that was, at that time, quite a radical idea.
What is there to study in Shastra? But then, he himself would every day take classes on Chaitanya Chaitanya Amrit and Bhagavatam, especially Chaitanya Chaitanya Amrit, through which he trained the devotees in Vaishnava etiquette, in Vaishnava culture, in Vaishnava Siddhanta. And, this was, Maharaj got, he became in charge of the Radha Gopinath Ashram more or less in 87-88-99. From 93 onwards, he was fully in charge.
So, from that time, he systematically developed. And now, we see that that has inspired not only many devotees from Radha Gopinath temple who are travelling all over the world and preaching, but along with that, that has inspired similar training for Brahmachari, the culture of education, which is there, by which renunciation can be sustained and renunciation can inspire others. That has been established by him.
So, this is renunciation as manifested as renunciation in many others. And renunciation not just as, I am proud to be so renowned, but renunciation as a service to society. Prabhupada explains, that the contribution of renunciates is that they provide, they share spiritual knowledge in society.
Those who are directly working in the world, they may not have so much time to study Shastra deeply. Those who are renounced, they study Shastra and share Shastra with others. So, that establishing or helping the renounced order to continue the traditional contribution to society and creating the training and culture for that, that’s what he was doing.
Then, the second U is understanding. Understanding means that Maharaj has many, many different disciples across the world and he, when he interacts with them, he interacts with them in a way that is appropriate for them. He understands each devotee and reciprocates with them accordingly.
There is, especially there are devotees who are people who are very talented, dedicated, intelligent, energetic. To engage them is a challenge. There is so much creativity, so much zeal, so much energy.
They need to be understood and given the freedom, given the blessings by which they can serve Krishna. So, there are some devotees who just love to study Shastra and when Maharaj meets with them, I am talking about his senior disciples, he says, when he meets with them, he talks about Shastra with them. There are some devotees who have that mood of achieving targets, deadlines.
So, when Maharaj interacts with them, he, in every meeting, he gives them targets and deadlines and more and more targets and deadlines. And the idea is that’s what enlivens them. I am doing something in spiritual life.
Otherwise, what is there to do? So, there is, I was talking to two of my senior Godbrothers. One of them has told me that, never in my spiritual life, I have been 20-30 years now, Maharaj has never asked me a single deadline. And there is another devotee who told me that, every meeting, Maharaj gives me a new target, a new deadline.
So, the idea is that what every devotee needs, to give that. It is to give that so that people can be understood and engaged. Sometimes, actually I was reading a book by a western author and he was telling that, he was talking about God’s glory.
It’s a Christian plaster. And he said that in that book that, that actually everything in this world is distinct. He says, although two snowflakes look alike, they are not alike.
He says, even when things look identical, they are individual. And he gave examples. He said, there are snowflakes, there are leaves of a banyan tree, there are flowers of a lotus tree, and he said, two Hare Krishna monks.
That was the example he gave. They look identical, but they are not identical, they are individual. So, sometimes, from a distinct perspective, it might appear as if there is one process of bhakti and everybody has to practise that process.
However, each person is individual. Each devotee is an individual. And bhakti is an individual relationship with Krishna.
And, as I have travelled across the world, I have seen that there is such a breathtaking variety of projects that devotees inspire the Maharaja to do. And there are devotees who are leading temple communities, but each devotee has their individuality and leading accordingly. There are devotees who are doing their own individual projects in cooperation with the community.
There are some devotees who are far away from the community, and they are doing services. And, they all feel encouraged and enlivened by Maharaja. This capacity to understand people and present Krishna as a way to encourage and engage them, this is something which is essential for people to continue bhakti in a long-term way.
And, it is just, I have met so many people. When I was in America, this time I did a lot of Western outreach. I went to yoga studios, and many of these yoga studios, there Maharaja has spoken before.
I went to Kirtan Festival, Maharaja has spoken over there. And, when I talk with people, they may have met Maharaja only once, twice, for a few minutes, but they had so much affection. Adana Swami loves me.
And, they felt in a few minutes as if Maharaja has understood them. And, Maharaja has encouraged them. So, actually, this capacity to connect with people at the level of the heart that requires a willingness to understand others.
And, not just a willingness, but a sharpness. And, this I have seen on many different occasions where devotees, if they come up with some inspiration to do a particular project, a particular way of serving Krishna. Now, other devotees may feel, this is not the way this should be done.
This is not the way it was done. Often, devotees become judgemental. This is not right.
This was not done in the past. This is not what is to be done. But, if devotees have inspiration, even devotees who are very defensive about what they are doing, who have been criticised, they come to Maharaja, they express to Maharaja, and then, they feel understood.
That capacity to understand is very important and he exhibits that. And then, D, of course, is dedicated. I went to New Vrindavan, which is the place where Maharaja was living for many, many years as a pujari.
And, as a pujari, his schedule was such that he was alone doing all the worship of the Deities. Not only worshipping the Deities, he was taking care of everything, taking care of the cows also along with that. Barely, there are many recordings of Maharaja also when he talks about it, how he would hardly get to sleep.
The only time he would get to sleep was after he would make an offering to the Deities. And before, the offering used to be taken out in a few minutes like that. And there are weeks and months when he just slept all the sleep that he got was in between the offerings.
There was no time at all. So much service here. And, especially when somebody is travelling and speaking, I am trying to do it in a small way, and you see that travelling, especially if you are travelling across time zone, just creates jet lag and tyres people so much.
So there was a… Maharaja had to do a big college programme once in America and he had just come from India. And he said, before the programme, when he came, in the car he was there, he was so tired, he said, I don’t have energy to open my mouth and speak. And then, he said, I was just praying to Prabhupada, praying to Prabhupada for strength, praying to Krishna for strength.
And then, when he went for the programme, as soon as the devotees got out, Maharaja was so tired that he couldn’t even stand properly. But then he just walked to the programme and then he just spoke. Spoke for one hour and there was a question and answer for two, two and a half hours after that.
After this completely energetic speaking after the programme, the programme got over, Maharaja just collapsed in the car itself. When the devotees got back to the place, Maharaja was so tired, he just had no energy at all. So, dedication means that even when the body has practically no energy, but the spiritual willpower just creates a surge of energy within the body.
And this has been seen on so many occasions. Maharaja’s doctor, once I diagnosed Maharaja and said that actually you are so sick. To move forward, physically there is no energy, but spiritual energy is going on.
The dedication is seen on, especially occasions when there are many ways in which you can see dedication, but especially in terms of when the body breaks down, body just doesn’t have no energy. It just keeps extending himself beyond human beings. And this dedication has inspired many other devotees also to become similarly dedicated.
And he is expert. This is where I see on many, many different occasions when people ask questions, people ask either personally or in the class, they ask questions. He is very expert in answering in a way that people are satisfied and the issue is resolved.
So expertise has many different aspects to it. But this is what I observed or what I appreciated is that when there was a conflict between two of his senior disciples, so when we study the Bhagavatam, should we underline the Bhagavatam or not? So one senior devotee, he said, actually Bhagavatam is a detail. Bhagavatam is Krishna.
He says, how can we underline the Bhagavatam? This is Sakshat Krishna. So another senior Godbrother said that actually when we are studying the Bhagavatam, we want to speak. So if there are some important points, we can underline those points.
Then we can recollect it much easier. Then we can make some markings on the side, some other additional points which you can use when we are to speak in future. It’s so much more helpful, so much more easier that Shastric study becomes more accessible if we underline a mark.
So they had a conflict. And both of them went to Maharaj. And then Maharaj said that yes, Bhagavatam is like the deity.
And as a deity, Bhagavatam should be offered full veneration. And some devotees, if they feel like underlining the Bhagavatam, they should treat it as they are decorating the deity of Krishna. They should be careful never to scratch out any text from the Bhagavatam.
Do it in a way that is clear and visually pleasing. So once there were some devotees who came to Maharaj and asked if devotee’s birthday is should we have a cake on the birthday? Since the cake is not a traditional Indian item. It’s a western item.
We are probably practising Vedic culture. There is no cake cutting in the Vedic culture. So one group of devotees said that actually we should stick to Vedic culture and not have any of these things.
Another devotee said that actually this is the way in which it is being done. And that’s the way it’s done today. And that is the way people can understand and connect with it.
So Maharaj said that there are two things. He said that firstly that there is the culture. And secondly there is the purpose of the culture.
The purpose of the culture is so that we can express and reciprocate affection. So we have to see how that purpose is best served. So if somebody has been born and brought up in a traditional culture and they have celebrated birthday in a traditional way then they may not feel a need for a cake at all.
But if somebody has been brought up in today’s culture then if the way of cutting a cake is a way in which affection can be expressed and reciprocated then that is the purpose of the Vaishnav culture that is being fulfilled. And therefore, we can do it keeping that purpose in mind. So there is sometimes happens when we stick to the letter of the law.
So similarly, expertise means that when there is sometimes some… expertise can have many different meanings, but when there is an intense situation, to be able to diffuse that situation also requires expertise. So one devotee was criticising another devotee very strongly, very severely, saying that this person is deviating from Prabhupada, doing this, doing that, doing that. And this devotee who was being criticised he was quite hurt by that.
And actually he started criticising that devotee, that devotee is envious of me. He is envious of me and that’s why he is doing this. Maharaj said, he is not envious, he is narrow-minded.
And he said narrow-minded, what that means is narrow-minded not in the sense of bigoted, bigoted not. Narrow-minded in the sense that he has a particular understanding of how Krishna-bhakti is going on. And he is dedicated in serving Krishna in that way.
So appreciate that. Don’t label other devotees who are also serving Krishna as envious. They may have a narrow mind in the sense that they have a particular understanding, this is the way you want to serve Krishna.
And that’s only, that alone is right. Others may not be right. That’s what they think.
So even when somebody is criticising us, to see their devotion and appreciate that requires quite an exalted level of devotion. It’s not material expertise, it’s actually spiritual expertise. So when I was serving Maharaj as editor for his books, so at one time, at one particular point, there was a particular story, particular point which Maharaj was making.
And I suggested to Maharaj at that time that maybe we can put a pastime of the point was about how the Lord is grateful. So I said how Hanuman, when he came back with the news of Sita, Ram embraced Hanuman. And Ram offered that embrace as an expression of his gratitude.
So then at that time, I suggested this pastime to Maharaj. Maharaj said, yes, it’s good. You have suggested it, you add it.
Then I wrote it down. And then I wrote it down. I’m in general a little serious intellectual person, so I wrote it down in my way.
And then Maharaj said, this is good. And Maharaj then sat down on his computer and he revised it. And he revised it, he brought so much emotion and excitement into the pastime.
So at the time when Maharaj described how Hanuman was embraced by Ram, it was such a moving description it would actually bring tears into the eyes. Then I told Maharaj, Maharaj, what I had written was like a documentary. What you have written is like a feature film.
This point where Ram embraces Hanuman so beautifully. Maharaj says, Haribo, so I’ll embrace you now. So I’ve seen this expertise in terms of not just diffusing situations, but sweetly connecting people and connecting people with Krishna.
I’ve seen that in so many different occasions. So DEV is visionary. Visionary is that so when I was in the Govardhan eco-village, actually I’ve been going for many years, but especially after going to America, last two, three years I’ve spent almost half of each year in America.
After seeing how difficult it is to do outreach to western people, my appreciation for the Govardhan eco-village has increased much more. So then, when I was in Govardhan eco-village, I asked Maharaj, Maharaj, what was your vision in establishing this eco-village? Because we did not have anything like this before in our movement. So at one level I knew that Prabhupada wanted New Vrindavan to be established in America.
But somehow that didn’t happen. So in some ways, Maharaj has created New Vrindavan in Govardhan eco-village. He has now created replicas of the various temples and created Govardhan.
But that is more in terms of the devotional aspect of it. But in the western outreach, the whole concept of eco-village. So Maharaj told me that actually whenever we have to do any preaching, whenever we want to share any message with others, we have to present it according to the time, place, circumstance of people.
So he said any system of thought or any teacher to be effective has to understand the ethos of the time and share their message accordingly. He said when Prabhupada went to America at that time there was this counter-culture where people had already rejected mainstream American culture, especially the younger generation. They later became hippies.
They were interested primarily in primarily in looking for some alternative after rejecting mainstream society. When Prabhupada came and offered Krishna Consciousness as a whole package, lifestyle, culture, philosophy together, they just embraced it. Because they had already at one point rejected all of the mainstream society and they were looking for an alternative.
And Prabhupada presented it to them. So Prabhupada says in a lecture, Krishna says sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja The hippies had already done sarva-dharman parityajya. I taught them how to do mam ekam sharanam vraja.
So they had given up their family, they had given up their education, they had given up their jobs, they had given up everything, but what Prabhupada did was he gave them a philosophical basis for why to reject all this and what to accept out of it. Now when Prabhupada came to India, that India did not have that mood of rejection. Indian society is still traditional and pious but still traditional family, traditional family structure was there.
So that mood of rejection was not there. So what did Prabhupada do? India in the 1960s especially in the 70s when Prabhupada came back, there was a there was a great sense of nationalism in India. We have been ruled by foreigners for so many centuries and now at last we got freedom.
So when Prabhupada came to India, at that time you see many of his public talks he tapped into the mood of nationalism by presenting cultural nationalism. He said that his vision was also that Indians are imitating the western people. If western people practise Krishna Bhakti then Indians will start practising it.
So when he came to India there are so many places where Prabhupada gives talks and he says that in one Hindi lecture he says that all of you, you are feeling that oh India lost Pakistan because that’s part of India. He says but if you share you see that people from America, people from Europe people from all over the world are practising Krishna Bhakti. He says if you study the Bhagavad Gita and you teach the Bhagavad Gita what to speak of one losing one Pakistan the whole world can become Hindustan.
The whole world can adopt Christian culture. And Prabhupada wherever he presented he talked about how Indian culture is being adopted by western world. Why don’t you adopt it? So Prabhupada tapped into that mood of cultural nationalism and presented Krishna Bhakti.
So he said accordingly today in the western world people are fed up with religious sectarianism. There is so much violence, in fact so much violence in the name of religion that is happening that people are fed up with anything that sounds sectarian or narrow minded. So in fact when America does census you have to tell your religion.
So one new category there is Christian, there is Muslim, there is Hindu, whatever. There is one new category which has been added and large number of people who are selecting that is called nuns. Not N-U-N nun but N-O-N nun.
Nun means we don’t follow any religion at all. We are just not interested. So he said that today if people are interested in religion and spirituality it is for contribution.
How can this add value to my life? So he said especially with respect to the environment if people see that practically through the spiritual culture of Bhagavad Gita or Bhakti that we can create a purer environment. The whole mood of eco-villages there is environmental consciousness that brings spiritual consciousness and environmental consciousness together. And then if we can present a practical example of how society can be transformed in a positive way then that can attract people.
So today the mood is not so much of rejection. The mood is of contribution. The Bhaktivant hospital is also how spiritual culture can animate medical practise.
So in various fields in life if we can have this understanding that how our bhakti can make a constructive contribution to our practise, to society. So the Govardhani eco-village is demonstrating that. And literally thousands and thousands of people have become spiritually inspired, have become devotionally inspired by their yoga classes in America and then there is annual bhakti immersion camp in Govardhani eco-village.
And so many people who would otherwise never come to a temple they are now coming and they are getting attracted to Krishnabai. And last I’ll talk about is A is appreciating. Appreciating means whenever anyone does even a small service Maharaj is so appreciative of that service.
And that appreciation that appreciation is what is the fuel for the heart. When there is appreciation when somebody appreciates us we can inspire to do more and more service. So devotees may serve in various different ways but whenever they do any service it is especially in the western world most of the western preaching that is happening is done not by the ISKCON temples.
It is done by individual devotees and other people who are appreciative of bhakti, who are inspired by Maharaj. And when they do any service Maharaj personally spends time with them, appreciates them encourages them and basically there is a lecture of Shri Prabhupada also where he says the purpose of our management is primarily to encourage devotees to serve Krishna. So when devotees are appreciated and valued for what they are doing then they feel enlivened and all their energy gets channelled by which they can serve Krishna more and more.
So once there was the memorial function for a devotee who had departed from the world and many devotees spoke very movingly about how that devotee had done so many services, had touched their heart in so many ways. And then Maharaj spoke about him and Maharaj spoke very movingly about all that this devotee had done and at the end he said that all of you appreciated this devotee so much now during this memorial ceremony how many of you appreciated this devotee when he was alive? He says, why do we wait for appreciating someone till they have departed from the world? He says, we need to appreciate each other, which I think Mahaprabhu when he would glorify devotees, glorify as if he had five mouths. I was in Govardhaniko village I was talking to Maharaj and there are two devotees in America who are doing phenomenal service but they also have a strong sense of their own independence.
They want to do service in their own way. Some devotees are quite critical of them. So I was talking about them with Maharaj and when Maharaj started speaking he was so lavishly appreciative of them.
Literally when I was speaking about them I felt as if Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is glorifying his devotees with four mouths. Many of you may have heard Kanhat Maharaj’s class about Bhaktipeeth Maharaj. That is the longest class he has given till now.
He spoke for 7-8 hours continuously. He started at around 1.30 and I think the class went on till 7.30-8 o’clock, so 6-7 hours. And he spoke so elaborately.
So many even disciples of Bhaktipeeth Maharaj tell me that the appreciation that Radhanath Maharaj had for Bhaktipeeth Maharaj was so extraordinary. So he spent the last months of his life, Bhaktipeeth Maharaj and Radhanath Maharaj were together. But that appreciation of somebody else’s service where one can speak so elaborately, so eloquently, that indicates not just great affection but not just great affection for someone else but also a deep appreciation in your heart.
And Maharaj wrote this book, Journey Home. He told me when I read the book, I read the book before it was published because I had to give some editorial review for the books. So then at that time Maharaj told me that, what is the purpose of the book? He said, many of my godbrothers have written their memories of Shila Prabhupada, their glorification of Shila Prabhupada.
He said, this book is my appreciation of Shila Prabhupada. Initially when Maharaj said that, I just couldn’t understand it. He said, how exactly is it? Because most of the book is about him.
It’s his search, his journey, his adventures, his meeting different teachers. Then Maharaj told me that there are different ways to glorify Shila Prabhupada. Because most of the glorification of Shila Prabhupada that we hear in our movement, this is my analysis, not exactly his words, but I’m phrasing my words now.
The way they are is that, oh, Prabhupada is so wonderful. And we have past times of Shila Prabhupada, how he did this, how he did that. That glorification is relishable for those who have already accepted Shila Prabhupada as their prominent spiritual guide.
But for those who have not yet come to that level. A glorification of Shila Prabhupada that outsiders can also appreciate. So that is what Maharaj’s purpose was that I went to so many spiritual teachers.
And many of the spiritual teachers who Maharaj met are from the outside world’s point of view, they are more better known than Shila Prabhupada. So Maharaj’s mood was that I went to all these spiritual teachers, but ultimately I found Shila Prabhupada most inspiring. So in that way, it is Shila Prabhupada is glorified.
All these teachers are good, but Prabhupada was the greatest. He said, this is my appreciation of Shila Prabhupada. And this is done in a way that people who would not directly read a biography of Shila Prabhupada, they will also read this book.
And they will also become appreciative of Prabhupada, appreciative of Krishna Bhakti. Almost one-fourth of that book is all about Vrindavan. So they come to know all the different spiritual paths they explore, but then they come to know the sweetness of Vrindavan, the bhakti of Vrindavan, the Prabhupada singing Jaya Radha Madhava in Vrindavan, and Prabhupada’s presentation of Vrindavan across the world.
So appreciation doesn’t have to always be done just by telling how great a person is. Appreciation can be done in many different ways, but the deeply appreciative heart that is there, that encourages and inspires thousands and thousands of devotees across the world, not even people who are not devotees, but people who are just well-wishers, to come forward and contribute and serve Krishna in their own small or big ways. And thus, they can all keep moving forward towards Krishna, from where they are, one step forward, one step forward, one step forward.
So even when George Harrison departed, Maharaj gave a class on George Harrison, a long-elaborated class, and the devotees who were there at that time they spoke that Maharaj was so deeply moved when he was speaking about George Harrison’s contribution to Prabhupada and to the Krishna movement, Krishna-Panchakya movement. So it’s amazing that Maharaj never got to meet George Harrison. Even though you never met him, but he had such a deep affection, appreciation, and such a personal connection that was there even without meeting him.
So we all can try, in our own way, to appreciate the devotees around us. And thus, we can also create an atmosphere of encouragement for everyone to move forward towards Krishna. Thank you very much.
His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj Ji Ki Jai Shri Prabhupada Ji Ki Jai Gaur Bhakt Vrinda Ki Jai Jai