Sankarshan Das: Today we are reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, fourth Canto, Chapter 17, Text 34.

sa vai bhavan atma-vinirmitam jagad

bhutendriyaantah-karanatmakam vibho

samsthapayisyann aja mam rasatalad

abhyujjaharambhasa adi-sukarah

sah – He; vai – certainly; bhavan – Yourself; atma – by Yourself; vinirmitam– manufactured; jagat – this world; bhuta – the physical elements; indriya – senses; vantah-karana – mind, heart; atmakam– consisting of; vibho – O Lord; samsthapayisyan – maintaining; aja– O unborn; mam – me; rasatalat – from the Plutonic region; abhyujjahara – took out; ambhasah – from the water; adi – original; sukarah – the boar.

Sankarshan Das: Translation and Purport by His Divine Grace Om Vishnu-pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara-shata Shri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Maharaj, Prabhupada.

Translation: My dear Lord, You are always unborn. Once, in the form of the original boar, You rescued me from the waters in the bottom of the universe. Through Your own energy You created all the physical elements, the senses and the heart, for the maintenance of the world.

Purport: This refers to the time when Lord Krishna appeared as the supreme boar, Varaha, and rescued the earth, which had been merged in water. The asura Hiranyaksa had dislocated the earth from its orbit and thrown it beneath the waters of the Garbhodaka ocean. Then the Lord in the shape of the original boar, rescued the earth. (End of Purport)

Vande ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaishnavams ca sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa jivam sadvaitam savadhutam parijana–sahitam krishna-caitanya-devam sri-radha-krishna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams ca

nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale

srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine

namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine

nirvisesha-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine

mukam karoti vacalam

pangum langhayate girim

yat-kripa tam aham vande

sri-gurum dina-taranam

Sankarshan Das: So, these various pastimes of the Lord are actually a great blessing for us fallen souls who are caught up here in the cycle of birth and death. Because by considering these wonderful pastimes, these wonderful teachings, these wonderful qualities, the attributes, what He wears, what He eats, what He does, etc., etc., etc., We become greatly blessed. Just like Krishna explains in the Bhagavad Gita,

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto

mad yaji mam namaskuru

mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam

atmanam mat-parayanah,

He says, engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it? Right now, we're caught up in a hellish nightmare called the cycle of birth and death. And death, wow, I mean you think birth and sickness and all the age of death, just getting ready for death. It is a hellish nightmare. The Yamadutas come, they rip you out of the body and take you to the hellish regions for punishment. But for a devotee, it's the opposite. Just like you're saving up to go to Mayapur, right? Saving up for many months, waiting to go to Mayapur. Now it finally has come. You go out to the airport, you get in the airplane, you buckle your seatbelt and it's taking off. You go wow! You're heading out to the holy land. So, for a devotee death is like that. You're buckling up and now it's the most thrilling, exciting adventure. So, death is something you'll actually look forward to if you're a devotee. Something you'll look forward to. Now I'm going to go back and be with Krishna. Krishna says, they come to Me. I get to go and be with Krishna again. That place doesn't worry about income tax. It's getting so bad now, do you hear the latest news? Five policemen are being charged with murder. Policemen are being charged. They stopped some guy in a traffic stop and they beat him to death. Out of anger. They just got angry and they just beat him to death. And so now these police are being charged with murder. That's how bad it is. Even the police are murderers. Just imagine how horrible it is. That's here in Memphis. Just imagine how horrible it is, this place, even the police are murderers. But this chanting of Hare Krishna is so powerful and such a wonderful thing. So, the more we chant, the more we go deeply into this chanting, the more we preach, the more we distribute books, the more we do Harinaam, the more we propagate this Krishna consciousness, more and more people will take it up. We can actually change the atmosphere on this planet. That's the wonderful thing about this Krishna consciousness movement. But here we have an amazing thing. We have the pastimes of Lord boar. He actually describes in great detail in the third canto, in great detail, let's read a little bit to get somewhere about nectar from the Bhagavatam. In the third canto they give details about this amazing pastime. So, Brahma thought, While I have been engaged in the process of creation, the earth has been inundated in the deluge and has gone down into the depths of the ocean. What can we do? We are engaged in the matter of creation. It is best that the  God direct us. All of a sudden when Brahma was engaged in thinking, a small form of a boar came out of his nostril. The measurement of the creature was not more than the upper portion of his thumb. The tip of your thumb, that's how big he was, only the tip of your thumb. Just imagine, so small, little teeny, itsy bitsy, teeny meeny. But then, all of a sudden, a Brahma observing Him, that boar became situated in the sky and a wonderful manifestation as gigantic as a great elephant, boom, became like a humongous elephant in size. Struck with wonder at observing the wonderful fur-like form of the sky, Brahma with great Brahmins like Marici as well as the Kumaras and Mali began to argue in various ways. Is this some extraordinary entity come from the pretense of a boar? It is very wonderful that it has come from my nose. First of all, this boar was seen no bigger than the tip of a thumb, and within a moment He was as large as a stone. My mind is perturbed. Is he the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu? So, Brahma is trying to figure out what's going on here. What's happening? While Prabhupada is deliberating with his son, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vishnu roared to most of us like a great mountain. Can you imagine a mountain roaring? That's something we've never heard of, a roaring mountain. But in the Vedic literature, there's such a thing as roaring mountains. Just imagine how loud a mountain could roar. The omnipotent Supreme Personality got it enlivened Brahma out in the other highly elevated realms by again roaring with His uncommon voice which echoed in all directions. From the great sages and thinkers who were residents of Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka heard the tumultuous voice of Lord boar which was all auspicious sound of the all-merciful Lord, they chanted various chants of the three Vedas. He was probably going to chant all the Vedic mantras as they were going on. Chanting Vedic mantras and reciprocation of His loud roar. Playing like an elephant, He entered in the water after roaring again in reply to the Vedic prayers of the great devotees. The Lord is the object of the Vedic prayers and thus He understood that the devotees' prayers were meant for Him. So, when you actually pray for Krishna, Krishna reciprocates, He appreciates it. I just had an amazing realization this morning, well I shouldn't talk about myself, I'm sorry. Let's present it in a different way. This chanting of Hare Krishna mantra that we do every morning in our japa, it's not some ordinary thing, well I got to get my japa done right, another duty, ok, chant japa, cut the vegetables, you know, this chanting of japa is a very special thing because actually now you are having your own personal meeting with Radha and Krishna. You have your private darshan with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. Can you imagine? You get to go and have an intimate reciprocation with Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. Every morning, we have a personal meeting with God. Every morning, I have a personal meeting with God. Just as powerful as going to Goloka Vrindavan and seeing Krishna face to face. Japa has that power. So, it is a matter of how deeply we go into it. We should take this japa as the greatest blessing every day. Now I get it on my own personal meeting with God Himself. So anyway, before entering the water to rescue the earth, Lord boar flew in the sky. Tune in, turn on and bliss out. Maybe they should sit right here. So, they get tuned in. Tune in, turn on and bliss out. Now you tune in. You focus. Take these vibrations deep into your heart through your ears. Before entering the water to rescue the earth, Lord boar flew in the sky, slashing His tail, His hard hair quivering, His very glance was luminous, and He scattered the clouds in the sky in His clothes and His glittering white tusks." Can you imagine glittering white tusks? They were like emanating light, you see, glittering. Can you imagine a hog with a glittering tusk? Pretty amazing boar. He was personally the Supreme Lord Vishnu and was therefore transcendental, yet because He is the body of a hog he searched after the earth by smell. He was smelling, where is the earth? Where is the earth? Where is it? Why did the hog so much into smelling? Because they might have found out where his stool was. Because this wasn't a stool eating hunt. It's thought we're fearful and he glanced over the devotee Brahmins and gays and offering prayers. That's he entered the water. Boom! He's going into the Garbhodak ocean. This is not an ordinary like going into the Gulf of Mexico. This is going into the Garbhodak Ocean. It fills up the whole bottom half of the universe. Diving into the water like a great mountain. Can you imagine diving like a mountain? Pretty amazing. The large boar divided the middle of the ocean in two. The whole ocean went pshh. It was that how powerful His impact was, the whole ocean went pshh and out. He divided the middle of the ocean and two high waves appeared as the arms of the ocean, which cried loudly as they prayed to the Lord, O Lord of all sacrifices, please do not cut me in two, kindly give me protection. The ocean was praying, not to be cut in two. The lower bird penetrated the water with its hooves, which were like sharp arrows, and found the limits of the ocean all of its unlimited. He saw the earth, the resting place for all living beings, lying as it was in the beginning of the creation and He personally lifted it up. He parted the ocean and there was the earth sitting there. Ah, down the earth. He lifted it up. Lord boar very easily took the earth on His tusks. So, on His two tusks, the earth was sitting between the two tusks. This is about how big boar is. The whole earth is sitting between His two tusks. And He got it out of the water. Thus, He appeared very splendid. Then His anger glowing like a Sudarshan wheel. Then His anger glowing like a Sudarshan wheel. He immediately killed the demon, Hiranyaksa, although he tried to fight with the Lord. The demon didn't have a chance. These demons don't have a chance. Krishna plays around with them. Krishna is never in fear of the demons. He plays with them before He kills them. Of course, you get killed by Krishna, it is a very special thing. They get liberated. It is like that Putana; she poisoned her breast and she went to kill the baby Krishna because He sucked her breast. When He killed her, she got the form of Krishna's mother in the spiritual world because she tried to kill Him by giving her breast. Just imagine the mercy of Krishna. Alputa, who was blessed, became like a mother in the spiritual world, in the mood of a mother of Krishna in the spiritual world. So now we go on. Therefore, thereupon Lord boar killed the demon within the water just as the lion kills an elephant. The cheeks and tongue of the Lord became smeared with the blood of the demon, just as an elephant becomes reddish from digging in the purple earth. Then the Lord, playing like an elephant, suspended the earth on the edge of His curved white tusks. He assumed a bluish complexion like that of a tamal tree. And thus, the sages, headed by Brahma could understand Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offer respectful obeisances unto Him. So just see this amazing thing. You can think about Krishna, talk about Krishna. Just like what does Krishna say,

mac-citta mad-gata-prana

bodhayantah parasparam

kathayantas ca mam nityam

tusyanti ca ramanti ca,

the thoughts of My pure devotees’ dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service and they derive great satisfaction and bliss by enlightening one another and conversing about Me. So, what can I do? I'm not a pure devotee. This is what the pure devotees do. And this is struggling neophytes. What about poor struggling neophytes like me? What's the hope for us? Well, the good news is this. If you do that, you can do it as a practice. The pure devotees done spontaneously. We neophytes, we have to do it by, okay, in bhakti yoga, I talk about Krishna, I hear about Krishna, I serve Krishna, this is what I am supposed to do. Ok, now we get back into bhakti yoga. We have to make a conscious choice to do this. In the material world, the material world is just to be carried away by Maya. So, we have to make a conscious choice that yes, now I must hear about Krishna, talk about Krishna. But the good news is that by doing these things, by giving your life to His service, then you become a pure devotee. See, even for us neophytes this verse also works. The thoughts of My pure devotes dwell in Me, their lives are fully dedicated to My service and they derive great satisfaction and bliss by enlightening one another and conversing about Me. This is not giving this class right now. You are hearing this class. This is actually ecstatic to hear about Krishna and talk about Krishna. Even though we are struggling neophytes, we can taste nectar. Just like when Prabhupada came, we were just so, just sit at Prabhupada's lotus feet and hear him speak. It was like, it was as good as being with Krishna in the spiritual world. That's how powerful it was. It was as good as being right there in Goloka Vrindavan, Radha and Krishna, to sit at Prabhupada's lotus feet and hear him speak. So, in this way, if we take this process very seriously, then our lives become unlimitedly ecstatic. There is no reason to suffer in this material world, going through the cycle of birth and death again and again and again, to the higher planets, the lower planets, the demigods, down to the indragopa germ. There is no reason for us to keep going through this again and again and again. We can just tune in to Krishna and turn on our actual identity. So actually, we're not these material bodies, we're actually eternal spiritual beings. We are a servant of a Lord and His pastimes in the spiritual world. Can you imagine? You are not that little boy's body. You are not that little girl's body. You are an eternal servant of Krishna and His pastimes in the spiritual world. So don't misidentify with your old man's body, your young kid's body, your male body, your female body, Indian body, American body. Don't misidentify. I'm an eternal spiritual being qualitatively one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So now let me take this process very seriously, talk about Krishna, hear about Krishna, bow down to Krishna, serve Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, everything, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. This process is so powerful, it's so unbelievable and ecstatic. There's no reason, it's like the Bhagavatam, that nice Bhagavatam verse. What is it?

samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam

mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh

bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam

padam padam yad vipatam na tesam.

Such a wonderful verse from the Tenth Canto, amazing verse. For those who accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of this cosmic manifestation and is famous for His Murari. What does that mean? The killer of the Mura demon. This vast, insurmountable ocean of material existence becomes reduced down to the size of water within the hoof print of a calf. A vatsa-padam is the hoof print of a calf. This place which is full of misery becomes reduced down to a little tiny, that big, for one can easily cross over it. If you were to cross over the Atlantic Ocean, it would be pretty difficult. But for us to cross the Atlantic Ocean, it's pretty difficult. But to step over the hoof of a calf, even little Nilambar can do that. Step over the hoof of a calf, that's easy to do. So, their destination is that place where there is no material misery. Not this place, padam padam yad vipatam na tesam where there is danger at every step. And even the police can murder you. Such a dangerous place. Imagine being murdered by a policeman. That's what's happening. So, we can get out of this dangerous, dangerous place just by taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and that and the killer of the Mura demon. We ask Him, please kill the demon within my heart too. You killed Mura? My dear Lord, you killed Mura, now you kill the demon in my heart also. I this demon in my heart must enjoy the material world. Please kill this demon my Lord within my heart. I'll do the killing of this demon within me. So that my true nature as Your eternal servant now become fully manifest. My dear Lord I'm tired of suffering here and all these hellish nightmares I go through in this material existence. My body is falling apart in so many ways, so many difficulties. My dear Lord, please bless me now, I can get free from all this madness and this confusion and perfusion and delusion. Please let me become resituated now as Your eternal associate and Your eternal pastime in the spiritual world. So Prabhupada so kindly comes. Can you imagine the endeavour, the austerity that Prabhupada went through coming with no money to America? No money at all, you can imagine? It was so difficult for him. Some yoga teacher let him stay a little bit free. He gave him a place to stay in his yoga studio, a little room, you know. And he just struggled like anything. But then it was amazing how the movement took off. It got that funny, it got that storey. It really took off and got that stoery in 26th Second Avenue. We got to make a pilgrimage to New York sometime. The devotees now have that place. They put the original sign Matchless Gifts. It used to be a gift shop. I think it was matchboxes without matches, they called it matchless gifts. Little decorated matchboxes with no matches in them. I think that's what it was. So, the Sunday we should all go to matchless gifts and bow down, take the dust and mash it from the sidewalk where Prabhupada used to walk in his original early days in Swami Bhaktivedanta. Take that dust and put it over our head and get purified. Prabhupada's dust is still lingering there in the sidewalk at 26th Academy. Even though the rains come, there are still some microscopic remnants of Prabhupada's dust there in that sidewalk at 26th Academy. At least spiritually it is affected there. So here we are now. We have a great opportunity to develop this Krishna consciousness movement given to us by Prabhupada. To take it now in the order of Lord Caitanya, 

yare dekha, tare kaha ‘Krsna’-upadesa

amara ajnaya guru hana tara ei desa, 

whomever you meet instruct them in the teachings of Krishna and this is My order, you become guru and you deliver the people of this world. There is opportunity now coming up. Next weekend, we have the mind and body, the body, mind and spirit Expo coming up. We have a book table there. I'll be giving a lecture there. It's a great opportunity for preaching, distributing books. We want to give people this opportunity. We need a volunteer to correct the business cards too. We have our invitation card gives 4.30 to 6 at the time for the program. But I have a box over there in the pen. Anybody wants to scratch through them from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Anyone volunteer want to do that? There's a whole box of cards that need to be corrected, so we can hand them out. They won't come before 4.30 in the afternoon for the program.

So anyway, anybody have any questions? Any corrections? See if we have any questions coming in from the internet. Yeah, this process really works, but you have to work the process. We have this tendency to be doubtful also. We have this tendency to be doubtful. We have doubt as a demon. We have to, with our intelligence, we have to inquire until all our doubts are removed. That's what attracted me about the devotees. When I first saw the devotees, I thought they were like zombies, a bunch of robots. I thought it was pretty cool. I liked they were chanting Hare Krishna, but I thought they were a little bit too far out, just kind of like a military, like soldiers in a board camp, you know, in the military. I sound like a soldier in a military boot camp. I didn't seem as free-thinking individual. That was my first. But later on, I'm still not sure enough to talk about the past 10 years. So, we have to see the devotees not as just some zombie like soldiers in a boot camp. We have to see how the advanced devotees they are acting now on the basis of higher understanding. They have realizations about who they are, what is their relationship, what is their duty, what is their ecstasy, how to overcome other faults, they have not had realizations about these things. So, we see devotees like this, who are not like soldiers in a boot camp, but actually like empowered revolutionaries who can actually have a great impact on the world around us. We see such devotees and we can become really inspired. To not take this as some brainwashed cult. Sometimes they advertise, the Hare Krishna is a bunch of brainwashed cult members. Some guru came and he brainwashed them. Now they've been duped by the guru and they're just blind followers of this cult. That's what the anti-cult people say about us. They're brainwashed cult members. No intelligence, they're zombies. But actually, the real fact is, the material world is a cult. And they're brainwashed by the cult of the material world. That's the actual fact. They're brainwashed by it. It's all the propaganda. What is that like? What is that? Things go better with Coca-Cola. It used to be on the TV every day. When I grew up as a little kid, I always knew that song. Things go better with Coca-Cola. Things go better with Coke. That's how we were brainwashed. Things go better with Coca-Cola.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: No, that is not brainwashing, that is contaminating the brain.

Sankarshan Das:  Actually, Gurumataji has pointed out a good thing, actually it's brain polluting. They call it brain washing but the real brain washing is Hare Krishna washes your brain. But they use brain washing in a negative way. Your brain means you were hypnotized into becoming a blind follower of something. That's how the dictionary defines brainwashing. It means your mind is becoming, you know, you are being hypnotized, you are turning into a blind follower of some dogma, they call that brainwashing. But actually, the term is not very accurate, the word is not good, maybe we could go to the dictionary and change it. Call it brain polluting. So, the real brainwashing, purifying your brain is Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. It frees you of all the brainwashing in the material world. You know, happiness means, your happiness means to go to school, make good grades, So, you get a good job and have a good career, get a nice house in sub-urbia, you know, two car garage, maybe you can get a swimming pool in the backyard, have a nice retirement in St. Petersburg, get a few good things, a shelf of barter before they put you in a very nice coffin, get some nice flowers on your grave once a year until they forget about you. Yeah, it's a whole misguided thing. We are taught to base our happiness on material sense gratification. That's what they teach us. Base our happiness on material sense gratification but it's a losing proposition. Essentially your senses can't enjoy it all. There's no pleasure left. There's no pleasure left. It's all finished. It's like my disciple, the <indistinct..> she's getting ready to die right now. Supposed to die very soon. She's getting ready. She's getting ready for death. By absorbing herself in hearing the Prabhupada lectures, chanting Hare Krishna, getting ready for the ultimate redemption, going back to home, back to Godhead. So, for a devotee death is actually a very wonderful thing, but for the non-devotee it is the most horrible situation. And that is the situation of 99.9999% of the population of the world. They are going to a horrible future, going down to the animal kingdom. After being punished by Yamaraja, now they may take birth as an animal. Can you imagine taking birth as an animal? Or even lower, maybe a plant, maybe a cactus out in the desert, being a cactus in the desert, or maybe being a germ. You can take a birth as a germ also if you are very sinful. Be a germ. So, for devotees we have a wonderful, wonderful future. Wonderful, wonderful pastimes of Krishna are going on and I am being invited now to come back and rejoin those amazing, amazing adventures going on in the spiritual sky.

So here we have a question.

Devotee: Why Mother Earth, why is it only Mother Earth who is fortunate out of the other planets to be saved by the Lord?

Sankarshan Das: Well, Mother Earth is the one that was cast down in the Garbhodak Ocean, the other planets had not fallen down in the Garbhodak Ocean. So, the Earth is the only one that required to be rescued. So actually, falling down qualified you for special mercy to be rescued. So, we have all fallen just like the earth fell into the Garbhodak ocean, we have all fallen in this material existence. So that actually gives us the special mercy that now Lord Caitanya has come just like Lord boar came to rescue the earth, Lord Caitanya has come to rescue all of us. So being fallen is actually a special mercy. And now you can qualify with the special blessings of Lord Caitanya to pick you up and take you back to your original home in the spiritual world. And Prabhupada even Lord Caitanya's mercy expanded even further for Prabhupada because Lord Chaitanya only preached in India. But now Prabhupada has taken Lord Caitanya's movement all over the whole world. So Prabhapad by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, magnified a thousand times. So, getting Prabhupada's mercy, and how do you get it? Well, you just pick up the book and start reading. It's like putting the lotus feet on your head, taking the book and putting it right on your head. It is like taking Prabhupada's lotus feet and putting it right on your head. Just imagine the mercy we are getting, even a thousand times greater than Lord Caitanya. Prabhupada's mercy is an amplified form of Lord Chaitanya's mercy.

So, anything else? Yes.

Abhay Charan:  Can you tell us more about the Garbhodakasayi Ocean? Can you tell us more about the Garbhodakshayi ocean?

Sankarshan Das: The Garbhodak ocean, the bottom of the universe? The Garbhodak water. Lord Vishnu is lying down in that ocean. Garbhodak? Huh? Garbhodakasayi Vishnu is lying down in the ocean.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Garbhodak? Garbhodak means. That's the meaning is that Garbhodak means from that Garbha. Garbha means what? You understand Hindi word, right? Garbha. And from that the lotus is stamped and from that stamp Brahmaji appears on that lotus stamp. That's why it is called Garbhodak ocean.

Abhay Charan:  It is made of water?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Ondaka. Ondaka means water.

Abhay Charan: Ok. We call it the line of the Shiv Sagar, right?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: No, there is another. Shiv Sagar is another one. There is a... There is a ksirodakasayi Vishnu who enters into everybody. Garbhodak ocean only Brahmaji is coming.

Abhay Charan: Okay.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: And all along the stem is all the material world. Upper, lower, middle and lower.

Abhay Charan: Okay.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: That's why it is called Garbhodak ocean.

Abhay Charan: So, Lord Vishnu enters in everybody from the….

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Ksirodakasayi.

Abhay Charan: So, every being has this.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yes. And the Paramatma from the KsirodakasayiVishnu.

Abhay Charan: So that is a different ocean to know, is it?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yes. Not different person.

Abhay Charan: The ocean, different ocean, right?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yes.

Abhay Charan:  So where is that located, like you know, in terms of…

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: That is near where Dhruva star is.

Abhay Charan: So, it's in the higher level?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yes. That is also in material world. Dhruva loka and all that is in material world. All the stars and moon and they are all in the material world. They are just higher planetary systems.

Abhay Charan: But they never...

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: No, they got all annihilated. But Dhruvamaharaj, because Ksirodakasayi Vishnu is there, so that portion is not there. Rest of it is all annihilated.

Abhay Charan: So, there is an ocean in the higher planet of... Again?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: There is an ocean there, but all this Ksirodakasayi and all that, they are in the material level.

Abhay Charan: Okay. Take it away.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: The Druvaloka never gets annihilated because it is on the, Ksirokadasayi Vishnu, same planet. Other demigods’ planets and all that gets annihilated. Question? Is that by you?

Abhay Charan: Yeah, I got it. Thank you.

Devotee: Gurudev, Was there any specific reason why Hiranyaksa threw the earth planet and not the other planets? Both planets stand north to the other planets. Why Hiranyakasip, Hiranyaksa why he threw the earth in the Garbhodak ocean?

Sankarshan Das: You have the answer, Devi? Why he did it?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yeah, why he did it, because he didn't like it, and to get the Lord's mercy as quickly as possible, to get out of the curse, he did all notorious things, so he can be overcoming his curse very quickly.

Sankarshan Das: Question from the internet.

Devotee: When one has been misidentifying with the body from so many lifetimes, I don't understand that by one small step in the bhakti process there is a possibility to become purified in one lifetime.

Sankarshan Das: That's the inconceivable mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And Lord Krishna also is saying, engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offering, worshiping Me, being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. All we have to do is take this process seriously. Lord Krishna has promised us. Can you engage your mind in Krishna? Sure. You just have to understand this is what I need to do to get rid of this hellish nightmare of material existence. I always think about Krishna. From the moment you get up in the morning, the moment you go to bed at night, just keep thinking about Krishna. Always bring Him to service. I have to serve Krishna, I have to remember Krishna, I have to bow down to Krishna, just keep going everything Krishna, Krishna, Krishna. Even going to my job and earning money so I can engage this money in Krishna's service. See in this way everything is fully absorbed in Krishna. And Krishna guarantees you'll come to Me.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Who's that? What's your name, sir?

Sankarshan Das:Lilamanjari Devi Dasi.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  Now you cannot get back in one lifetime unless you are fully purified. Prabhupada says even 70% you can go back, but you have to do that endeavor. Otherwise, you can come back like Bharat Maharaja again.

Sankarshan Das:  Actually, if you are very sincere, you see. Krishna says,

ananyas cintayanto mam

ye janah paryupasate

tesam nityabhiyuktanam

yoga-ksemam vahamy aham,

for those who worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form, I preserve what they have and I carry what they lack. So, if you say, OK, all my love now must go to Krishna. I give up my love for the material world, for this material sense gratification. Now Krishna is my sole object of devotion. Krishna and everything in relation, related with Krishna. That's where all my devotion goes nowhere else. As far as being devoted to my country or to my this or that, this material world, no. I give up all this devotion that I once had. Now I'm simply devoted to Krishna and that's all. If you have that determination, if you are lacking something, Krishna will cover for you and take you back to home, back to Godhead.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Krishna also says, whatever the mentality you have at the time of death, you are going to get in that.

Sankarshan Das: So, we have a tendency, to go back and forth, Krishna, Maya, Krishna and Maya, Krishna and Maya. We keep saying no Krishna, Maya, no Krishna, yes. Keep training your mind, okay Maya no, keep rejecting Maya, Keep accepting Krishna and gradually, gradually, gradually you become more expert. The idea has become so expert that under that there's no question of being attracted to maya because you've trained yourself day after day, week after week, year after year. Yes, to Krishna, not to Maya. Keep training yourself. No Maya, no Maya, no Maya. Spit at the thought. Maya, I spit in your face. I am not interested in what you are offering me. I spit. Now my only desire is Krishna. Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.

Other question here on the internet? Go locally.

Local Devotee: That means devotees are happy when they are dying, is it?

Sankarshan Das:  A devotee, if one is actually in Krishna consciousness, then death is an ecstatic experience. It is actually the Vishnu dhutas of the <indistinct..> being taken, it is like they are coming, as they are, I can see the Vishnu dhutas are being taken by the Krishna Loka. It's a very ecstatic thing for the devotee to die.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: If that is ecstatic, now I have a question. Then Maharaj could have said a phrase, that at that time of moment of death, when our body will be always appreciating, so how will I remember you? So let me die now.

Sankarshan Das: He was understanding death is so wonderful, I may have it immediately.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: You can have it immediately when the body is properly situated. At the time of the death, body is...

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, old age is a bit of a hassle. I've lost count of how many things are going wrong with our bodies. We lose count of how many things are going wrong with our bodies. We get old and we lose count. I can't remember how many things are going wrong with our bodies. There are so many of them. I've lost count. So many things are going wrong. So, dying young is actually good. Dying young. But at the same time, we want to do everything we can to push forward this movement. So that way the devotee wants to live so he can keep on making more and more people Krishna conscious. He wants to live for the sake of delivering the fallen souls, even though he used to suffer so many pains of old age, he wants to keep living so he can keep preaching. Because actually Prabhupada told us to liberate the whole world, so that's our duty, to liberate the world. It's not a joke. Prabhupada told us to liberate the world. That's a sign we have from Srila Prabhupada. So, one must live, keep living and living and living so we can keep preaching. That's a spiritual desire. He knows so many problems of old age, so many problems of the body.

Other questions here? Oh, now there are more questions rolling in. Okay. All right.

Devotee: Modern education has done a great disservice as a result of the demons of doubt that are deeply rooted in the heart. Even though we hear scriptures, classes, that demon of doubt springs up sometimes deep in the heart.

Sankarshan Das: There are no scriptures in the US. Actually, when I was a kid, in this country, we all prayed the Lord's Prayer every day. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. We prayed that every morning throughout the whole United States. But one lady named Madeline O'Hare, she didn't like it that her daughter, she was an atheist, she didn't like her daughter to hear the Lord's prayer. So, the Supreme Court said, okay, so your daughter won't have to pray, will bounce prayer from all the schools in the whole US. They could have said, well, your daughter can go in a different room during the prayer. We actually had; they could have said that. Just send your daughter to a different room. But no, they said, okay, be kind to you, we'll ban prayer. No kid can, every school in the United States can no longer pray the Lord's Prayer. So that's the culture here in America. Even the Lord's Prayer was banned by the Supreme Court. Of course, in India there may be some scriptures in the schools, but they don't teach the science of God, unless it's Krishna conscious school. They're not teaching the science of God.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: That's what Prabhupada said. America is a leading country, right? So, America is leading everyone in atheism also.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, they still have in God we trust on the money, but some atheists may get that removed too eventually.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: They are already trying to.

Sankarshan Das: Getting in God we trust off the money.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Even from the Supreme Court.

Sankarshan Das: I don't know if they, they're probably, I know they want, they'd love to get it off the money. They'd like to get it off the money. God, we trust off the US money. I'm sure they'd like to get it off. They haven't done it yet. Let's see what happens. Okay, now we have Akuti Devi Dasi.

Akuti Devi Dasi: What is the minimum sadhana at least for the next life guarantee?

Sankarshan Das:Actually, the minimum sadhana is to remember Krishna at the time of death. If you can just do that much in spite of all the faults, all the deficiencies in your service and your Krishna consciousness, if you can somehow remember Krishna at the time of death, you're in good shape. So, we should do everything we can from our side so that when death comes, Krishna consciousness. Everything we can from our side.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: We can't go back. We'll have to take another birth to get over with all our anarthas.

Sankarshan Das: The Boy Scouts of America have a slogan, it's called, Be Prepared. That's their motto. Well, it's also our motto on Krishna Consciousness, Be Prepared for Death. By chanting Guru Brahms every day, by offering your obeisances, by kicking all the doubts out of the heart. You see, have full faith in the spiritual master, have full faith in the scriptures, kick all the doubts out so there's no question at the time of death that your mind will be going here and there.

Okay, let's see.

Lilamanjari: Thank you so much for always waking me up from my deep sleep.

Sankarshan Das:That's our service. Wake you up. It's the spiritual master's duty to wake up the disciples. Gurumataji is a Siksha Guru. She's doing the Guru service also. Okay.

Vishnurata: What is the meaning of truly recognized, transcendental nature of Krishna?

Sankarshan Das: That means you have no doubts that Krishna is not a Hindu myth. He is not just an imagination of some poet or some ordinary person that was elevated into being God. No, you have to have full faith.

isvara paramah krsna

sat-cid-ananda-vigrahah

anadir adir govindah

sarva-karana-karanam.

Isvara paramah krsna. What does that mean? Supreme control, supreme control is krsna. Sat-cid-ananda-vigraha. He has an eternal form full of bliss and knowledge. Anadir adir, He has no origin; He is the origin of all. Sarva karana Karanam, He is the supreme cause of all causes. Everything exists because Krishna is emanating from Himself. Nothing exists independently of Krishna. There is no existence besides Krishna. Everything that exists is Krishna Himself or Krishna's expanded energy. So that's truly recognizing the transmigration of Krishna. Do you have any difficulty recognizing that nature? Then study the Brahma Samhita prayers. They are so powerful. You understand the transcendental nature of Krishna. The transcendental nature of Krishna.

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vrksa

laksa-vrtesu surabhir abhipalayantam

laksmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami.

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, what's He doing? He's tending the cows in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees and served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of laksmis or gopis. Can you imagine? This is not just poetry. This is scientific knowledge. This they say H2O equals water, scientific knowledge. This is also scientific knowledge.

Anything else? Everybody satisfied now? Yes.

Local Devotee: Somewhere in the class you mentioned all the prayers, that Krishna listens to our prayers. So, sometimes when the devotees are sick, they ask us to pray for them. So, does it help that particular devotee who is going through the suffering or how does it work?

Sankarshan Das: We certainly prayed for Prabhupada when he was dying in Vrindavan. We wanted to keep him here as long as we could. But still, Prabhupada, the thing is that Krishna had his plan, and we certainly prayed that Prabhupada wouldn't leave, but Krishna took him anyway, because that was Krishna's desire. So certainly, as well-wishers we naturally pray for somebody who is in great difficulty that they can be relieved of that difficulty. But ultimately what happens is up to Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme Controller, not us. Krishna, we have our plan, but Krishna has His plan. Ultimately, it's Krishna's plan. But actually, when the Prabhupada said in the letter, hoping this meets you well, your ever-well wisher. So Prabhupada is always wishing well for us. We could be hoping this meets you in good health, in a cheerful mood. He used to write letters like that, hoping this meets you in good health. So Prabhupada was always wishing good health for all of us. But sometimes we still got sick. We were supposed to get sick. So as Vaishnavas we always wish good health for everyone. Ultimately it is Krishna's plan. But those wishes are powerful. They have an impact. So, we should keep wishing for all the devotees. That's good. Yes.

Local Devotee:  So, Gurudev, this reminds me of the point when we say that Krishna is bestowing unlimited mercy upon us at every moment. So, if Krishna is bestowing unlimited mercy on a devotee, then I think like, why should I pray to change that if Krishna is already doing that?

Sankarshan Das: It's a natural sentiment.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Krishna is not only bestowing all mercy on the devotees only. Krishna is bestowing mercy on every living entity. So, we have to also reciprocate. In the human form we can reciprocate with Him.

Sankarshan Das: I can know from this, from Prabhupada's example, hoping this meets you well. I know from Prabhupada's example that it is proper to think that way. Prabhupada is a perfect example. I may be confused about what is right and wrong but I can study Prabhupada and see. Since Prabhupada said that I know it is proper to think that way.

Local Devotee:Gurudev, my question is mainly when we pray, like wish you well is different from when we pray to this devotee, he got in a car accident, please help his family, and you know kind of things like that people do. Are those okay?

Sankarshan Das: I don't know if it's necessary to pray that. Just like my disciple is dying now Langvatika. I'm not praying to Krishna that she can get over it. I'm teaching her how to take death. I'm teaching her how to die. I'm not praying to Krishna that she won't die. The doctors have said you only have a few weeks or a few months. It's all over. Instead of saying to Krishna please save her and saying I'm training you how to die. That's what I'm doing. She feels very happy giving this training, how to die. She's happy.

Anything else? Let's see here. Okay, thank you very much.

Devotee: Thank you very much, Gurudev.

Sankarshan Das: It's my duty. Okay, that's it. I guess we can stop here. We thank everybody for tuning in. Take this process seriously and your life will be unlimitedly sublime. Even if you're getting sick all the time, your life will be unlimitedly sublime.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.