Is the bead bag to be worshiped like Krishna?
Transcript
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so the bead bag some devotees call it as Jwala Thakur it is the place where the beads are kept so what is the exact understanding of the bead bag in the 11th canto it is also said that all Tara-Kamilya of Krishna is worshipable yes everything connected with Krishna is sacred at the same time there are levels of sacredness so one time in the early days of our movement Hayagiri Prabhu who was an early disciple of Sri Prabhupada he used to do typing and proofreading and editing of Prabhupada’s books so he was typing in a typewriter Prabhupada came into the room and so he wanted to offer obeisances so he just started kicking the typewriter with his foot so that he could move aside and offer obeisances Prabhupada said hey don’t touch it with your foot Krishna is manifesting through this it is sacred so then he asked Prabhupada do you mean that my leg is not sacred and the typewriter is sacred so Prabhupada replied yes you are a devotee your leg is also sacred but there is a way in which sacred objects are connected and to touch something with a leg is considered to be a sign of disrespect so now the point I am making is there are levels of sacredness so yes even in Bhakti just like Prabhupada said the typewriter should be respected so like that Bhaktivinoda Thakur had in the emblem of the Gaudiya had printing press also he called it the Brihat Madanga and he said it is sacred but still he did not put Brihat Madanga on the altar and worship that isn’t it so there are the printing press is sacred but it is not the object of worship so like that the bead bag is sacred and the bead bag should be respected but at the same time it is not that the bead bag is directly Krishna the bead bag contains the beads and the beads are what manifest the means by which we can connect with Krishna but not just the beads the beads are also sacred because the spiritual master has chanted it and initiated it so just like we have the Deity and we have the dress of the Deity now the dress of the Deity is also sacred that also has to be respected but we will be offering Bhoga to the Deity not to the dress of the Deity so like that we should respect the bead bag but there should not be paranoia or over respect where we start becoming judgmental towards everyone and say you are not respecting the bead bag you are not respecting the bead bag so there has to be basic respect that the bead bag should not touch the ground and the bead bag should be kept in a clean place all that is important but if there is also room in Bhakti for individual devotional sentiment so if I feel that I should take care of the bead bag and I will treat it very respectfully, very sacred yes that is fine but that is a matter of preference when a matter of preference is presented as a matter of principle then it becomes fanaticism yes I feel it very very sacred that is fine I remember there were once there was a question whether we can mark on the Bhagavatam or not so there were two devotees, one devotee said Bhagavatam is like Krishna how can we mark on it so they asked Anand Maharaj so Maharaj said yes Bhagavatam is a deity, Bhagavatam is Krishna and if you feel that yes Krishna is Krishna Maniprasthi you don’t need to mark but if somebody else feels that when I am studying the Bhagavatam if I underline something, if I mark something I can read it, I can recollect it I can become more accessible then that is like decorating the bead so if I feel that if I feel jarred by marking on the Bhagavatam I needn’t mark but I don’t have to make that into a principle that I impose on others and if somebody else feels no I shouldn’t mark on the Bhagavatam then I don’t have to impose otherwise how will you remember so there is room for individuality and the extent of respect that you may offer to the bead bag that is something which is a matter of individual preference