Sankarshan Das: Srimad Bhagavatam, 4th Canto, Chapter 19, Text 36.

ebhir indropasamsrstaih

pakhandair haribhir Janam

hriyamanam vicaksvainam

yas te yajna-dhrug asva-mut

ebhih - by these; indra-upasamsrstaih– created by the king of heaven, Indra; pakhandaih – sinful activities; haribhih– very attractive to the heart; janam – the people in general; hriyamanam – being carried away; vicaksva – just see; enam – these; yah– one who; te – your; yajna-dhruk – creating a disturbance in the performance of the sacrifice; asva-mut – who stole the horse.

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: Just see how Indra, the king of heaven, was creating a disturbance in the midst of the sacrifice by stealing the sacrificial horse. These attractive sinful activities he has introduced will be carried out by the people in general.

Purport: In Bhagavad Gita (3.21): it is said,

yad yad acarati sresthas

tad tad evataro janah

sa yat pramanam kurute

lokas tad anuvartate. 

“Whatever action is performed by a great man; common men follow in his footsteps. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”

For his own sense gratification, King Indra thought to defeat Maharaja Prthu in the performance of one hundred horse sacrifices. Consequently, he stole the horse and hid himself amid so many irreligious personalities, taking on the false guise of a sannyasi. Such activities are attractive to the people in general; therefore, they are dangerous. Lord Brahma thought that instead of allowing Indra to further introduce such irreligious system, it would be better to stop the sacrifice. A similar stance was taken by Lord Buddha when people were overly engrossed in the animal sacrifices recommended by Vedic instructions. Lord Buddha had to introduce the religion of non-violence by contradicting the Vedic sacrificial instructions. Actually, in the sacrifices the slaughtered animals were given a new life, but people without such powers were taking advantage of such Vedic rituals and unnecessarily killing poor animals. Therefore, Lord Buddha denied the authority of the Vedas for the time being. One should not perform sacrifices that will increase, rebel, induce reversed orders. It is better to stop such sacrifices.

Sankarshan Das: So, Lord Buddha was actually an incarnation of Krishna, but he denied the Vedas to stop the misuse of the Vedas so that gradually the proper use of the Vedas can be reintroduced.

Purport: And we have repeatedly explained due to a lack of qualified brahminical priests in Kali Yuga, it is not possible to perform the ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. Consequently, the sastras instruct us to perform the sankirtana-yajna. By the sankirtana sacrifice, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His form of Lord Caitanya, will be satisfied and worshipped. The entire purpose of performing sacrifices is to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Lord Visnu, or Lord Krishna, is present in His form of Lord Caitanya; therefore, people who are intelligent should try to satisfy Him by performing sankirtana-yajna. This is the easiest way to satisfy Lord Vishnu in this age. People should take advantage of the injunctions in different sastras concerning sacrifices in this age and not create unnecessary disturbances during the sinful age of Kali. In Kali-yuga, men all over the world are very expert in opening slaughterhouses for killing animals, that they eat. If the old ritualistic ceremonies were observed, people would be encouraged to kill more and more animals. In Calcutta, there are many butcher shops which keep a deity of the goddess Kali, and animal eaters think that it is proper to purchase animal flesh from such shops in hope that they are eating the remnants of food offered to the goddess Kali. They do not know that goddess Kali never accepts non-vegetarian food because she is the chaste wife of Lord Siva. Lord Siva is also a great Vaishnava and never eats non-vegetarian food, and the goddess Kali accepts the remnants of food left by Lord Siva. Therefore, there is no possibility of her eating flesh or fish. Such offerings are accepted by the associates of the goddess Kali, known as bhutas, pisacas and Raksasas, and those who take the prasad of goddess Kali in the shape of flesh or fish are not actually taking the prasad left by the goddess Kali, but the food left by the bhutas and the pisasas.

Sankarshan Das: So, we can see how irreligion is going on, they oppose the religion. Even we see .. people opposes sanyasi, but behind the scene they engage in all kinds of illicit activities. Even within ISKCON sometimes these things are going on. Child abuse, seducing women in the name of someone who is supposedly a great spiritual leader, but behind the scenes they are having illicit sex and abusing children. So, this is not the actual ISKCON. The real ISKCON is pure and perfect, given to us by Srila Prabhupada. Those who oppose themselves as ISKCON, that engage in irreligious activities, are not actually ISKCON, they are MISKON. They are missing Krishna consciousness. So, the pure perfect ISKCON is here in the form of Prabhupada's teachings and all those who are sincerely following Prabhupada's teachings without deviating, they are also connected with Srila Prabhupada, they are the real Iskcon. So, we should take advantage of these great teachings of Srila Prabhupa and make our lives perfect. As he pointed out, Prabhupadad quoted this verse here,

yad yad acarati sresthas

tad tad evetaro janah

sa yat pramanam kurute

lokas tad anuvartate. 

Whatever action a great man, is performed by a great man, the common people follow in his footsteps, and understand, he said, by exemplary acts all the world pursues. The trouble is the so-called great men are doing nonsense. They also have an influence. Just like Indra is a great personality, but because he engaged in nonsense activities, now other people are taking that example and they are also engaging in nonsense activities. So, the so-called great men may do nonsense. They are not the true great men. The true great men are strictly following the instructions of Krishna, strictly following the bonafide spiritual master, they are not deviating in the name of religion or in the name of Iskcon. So, it is up to us now who are trying to follow Prabhupada, we should do so sincerely without any deviation. Let us be true acharyas, you see, presenting the proper example. Now let us not be cheaters in the name of Krishna consciousness, let us be actual examples of what it means to be a devotee.

yato yato niscalati

manas cancalam asthiram

tatas tato niyamyaitad

atmany eva vasam nayet 

from whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self. Someone who is actually following the path way of mahajano yena gatah sa pantah, once should follow the path way of the great acharya, the great mahajanas, those who are actually following this process, they don't cheat. They solidly chant 16 rounds every day, at least 16 rounds every day without fail. They don't engage in illicit sex, meat eaing, intoxication, or gambling. They strictly follow the instructions given by the coming down of the disciplic succession. Mahajano yoni. We follow the path of these great Mahajans.

evam parampara-praptam

imam rajarsayo viduh.

This knowledge was thus received by the chain of the disciplic succession and the saintly kings understood it in that way. Now they began to invent some new teachings. These so-called religious people opposing the religious but not actually religious, they invent their own teachings, some new teachings. They want to go out and attract followers and they make some new teachings. They may attract many, many followers. It's like these butcher shops in Calcutta attracting many customers. So called Kali prasadam they're selling in the form of flesh and fish. So that is they may attract many many customers by advertising, this is prasadam of Kali. But such a religion simply is the royal road to hell. The propagators of it and those who follow it are also going to the hellish regions. We should take advantage of this human form of life which is meant for self-realization and not engaged in sense gratification. Sense gratification means you stay in the cycle of birth and death going down and not even guaranteed a human birth again. You see. By engaging in so many sinful activities you are going to go down to the lower kingdom, lower the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, the fish, the germs, the worms. Once you take full advantage of the human form, we have gotten after great difficulty going through so many species of life to get this human form. Now we should take full advantage of it and engage in this Sankirtan movement. The Sankirtan movement is the prime benediction of humanity at large. It spreads the base of benediction moon and increases the ocean of transcendental bliss and enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious. See, everyone is actually hankering for pure love of God. That's within the heart of our hearts. Everybody is hankering for Krishna consciousness. That's why we introduced this sankirtan, this public chanting of the holy names. Not just some musical performance, because everybody likes some attractive music, but it goes beyond that. It actually connects them with their original nature.

jivera svarupa haya

krsnera nitya das 

We can go to some place and we can begin this chanting of Hare Krishnamantra and people became attracted to it. Prabhupada came, just one alone sannyasi, an elderly man and one son, but he attracted so many people to the holy name. Thousands and thousands of people were attracted because Prabhupada is purely chanting the name of Krishna. So, we purely chant Krishna's name not for some ulterior motive to attract followers to make money or some other ulterior motive. If we chant simply to the purpose of developing love of God and trying to bless the fallen souls with this process by which they can attain love of God, we can attract thousands and millions of people. Thousands and millions of people. We can just go to some place and chant and so many people will come and they will start chanting and dancing in ecstasy actually. We can chant purely these holy names without any motive. In fact, so many people have joined the singing and dancing movement in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This is described as yagna at this age. There is no qualified brahmana to do the Vedic ritualistic sacrifices. No, we are not qualified to do such things. No brahmana can chant so perfectly the mantra. Even we mispronounce Hare Krishnamantra. Hare Krishna instead of Hare we say Hare. Even we mispronounce the Hare Krishna mantra many times. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishnainstead of Hare Krishna. Krishna is so kind, He accepts our endeavour. Well, they are trying to chant My name, they are trying to chant this mantra. All right. The Krishna is very kind and He accepts our stumbling efforts to chant Hare Krishna and to awake love of God within our hearts. We make so many mistakes doing this wrong, that wrong, this and so many wrongs. But he was sincerely trying to be Krishna conscious, sincerely trying to please the spiritual master, the previous acharyas, Lord Caitanya, Lord Krishna and Radharani, were sincerely trying and in spite of our so many mistakes, our sincere effort is accepted. And we make progress on this pathway to get out of the entanglement of this material nature, caught up in birth and death, old age and disease, again and again and again and again, suffering like anything. So, everybody is hankering for this pure nectar of Krishna consciousness and it's available. Prabhupada is making it easily available. His books are here. Anybody who reads these books, anybody who gets this prasadam, anyone who can chant this holy name, even unknowingly, you see. We just tell people, say Hare, Hare Krishna. They say it. They say Hare Krishna, just cooperating in a friendly way with us. We ask them to say Hare Krishna and they say it and they get unlimited mercy, unlimited blessing because they uttered the holy name, and Radha and Krishna were dancing in their mouth. They got the direct contact of the Supreme Personality of God in the eternal concert. This personality of Krishna is simply amazing, amazing person. Unlimitedly amazing. He is all powerful, all beautiful, all renounced, all wealthy, all famous and all wise. And He is all merciful upon us suffering souls in this material world. This is why He has come as Lord Caitanya. We should take full advantage of this amazing personality. He comes again and again. It's like He told Arjuna,

bahuni me vyatitani

janmani tava carjuna

tany aham veda sarvani

na tvam vettha parantapa 

Many, many births you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of enemy. The Krishna comes again and again.

yada yada hi dharmasya

glanir bhavati harata

abhyutthanam adharmasya

tadatmanam srjamy aham

Whenever and wherever there was a decline of religious practice and a predominant rise of irreligion, at that time I would descend Myself. So, this is why it is very very irreligious. It is very very irreligious. It shocks me to see how irreligious it is. How it is becoming more and more irreligious. When I was a child in the 50s, we said the Lord's Prayer. We said it over the intercom system. The whole school, everything paused and said the whole intercom system, the Lord's Prayer was stated but then some lady didn't like that her child didn't hear the Lord's Prayer, so she went to the court and the court threw it out. Now because of one child wouldn't have to hear the Lord's Prayer. Now no children are allowed to say the Lord's Prayer anymore. It's banned to the whole country. Why didn't they just say, let the child go to a different room so they didn't have to hear the prayer. But now nobody can hear the prayer. So, this is an increase of irreligion. More and more irreligion. They say, in God we trust on the currency. They haven't taken that off yet. That's probably coming down the tubes eventually. And God we trust will be removed from the currency. But who is God? Who is God? How can you trust somebody you don't know? If they don't know who is God, how they can really trust Him. We know who is God. God is Krishna. The Supreme Personality of God who appeared 5000 years ago. We know so much about Krishna by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, all the books of Krishna, the Krishna book is here. We can read these amazing pastimes. How Krishna appeared, how He killed all these demons. So many pastimes. He had His childhood pastimes with the cowherd boys and then with the cowherd girls. How He went here, He went there... So, we have to take advantage of this process. We have to stop being rascals. We have a tendency, so many people they get initiated, but they end up just acting like rascals. They don't follow the instructions of the scriptures. It's shocking sometimes the reports I get about what my disciples are doing. There's so much deviating, they're not following their initiation vows. It's a great shock to me as a spiritual master to hear how these disciples are so much deviating from dharma. So, my request is all my disciples and those who are disciples or other spiritual masters, don't deviate from dharma. Don't put your spiritual master in a difficulty by engaging in sinful activities, acting irreligiously. Anyone who takes the vow of initiation, you have to keep your word. A gentleman keeps his word. If you make a promise, you keep your promise. Otherwise, you are not even a human being, you are an animal. You don't keep your initiation vow to follow the instructions of the spiritual master as your life and soul, you are not even a human being. Those men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses, curse those men who do not listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna, the deliverer from all evils. Don't be a category of a dog, hog, camel and ass running, running, running after sense gratification. Become an actual human being by taking this process of Krishna consciousness very seriously. Now you have got this human form, you must utilize it for self-realization. Don't be a cheater, don't be a rascal, don't put your spiritual master into difficulty by not keeping initiation vows. So, this process of Krishna consciousness is simply wonderful and if we take it seriously, our lives will become simply wonderful. So, we have to not be stupid idiots to throw away this great opportunity that is coming by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.  Prabhupada has given this wonderful institution, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. So, take the association of devotees, it is a very valuable thing.  

‘Sadhu-sanga’, ‘sadhu-sanga’

sarva-sastre kaya

lava-matra sadhu-sange 

sarva-siddhi haya. 

This devotee association is so valuable. The association of devotees, even one moment, lava matra, even one eleventh of a second can deliver all perfection. sarva siddhi hoican give all perfection. So, take advantage of having the association of the sadhus here in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, don't be offensive, actually if we are offensive to the devotees, we are offending the holy name also. You can't be a pure chanter of the holy name, if you don't have a proper loving relationship with the Vaishnavas, that's the first offense against the holy name. It's a blasphemy to the devotees who have dedicated their lives to propagate the holy name all over the world. So, we have to have a proper relationship with the Vaishnavas. Otherwise, we can't have a proper relationship with the holy name also. So please understand, have proper relationships with the devotees, don't be abusive to the devotees, don't neglect the devotees, have a wonderful loving service mood with the Vaishnavas and that will enable you to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, in the proper mood. We can properly connect with the holy name of Krishna and the whole spiritual world becomes accessible to us. The holy name is so powerful. The holy name enables us to fully taste the nectar which we are always hankering for. The holy name in the Vaishnava sangha is the access to the holy name. The more you dive into chanting Hare Krishna, the more you can have proper relations with the devotees, the more you have proper relations with devotees, the more you can chant Hare Krishna, they feed into each other. Both of them help each other. If you are having trouble with your japa, try to improve the relationship with the devotees. If you are having trouble with the relationship with the devotees, try to improve the quality of your japa, how they feed into each other, on both sides. We chant our japa for our 16 rounds for a bit of the day, but then all day long we are having an opportunity to associate with the devotees. So, take that devotee association is very very important, this is the bone of your japa. And it's actually the quality of your japa, how you have a quality relationship with the devotee. So, are there any questions coming in yet?

Local Devotee:  Hare Krishna. Sometimes, how can we have proper relationships with devotees if the other devotee is like really offensive and cruel?

Sankarshan Das:  Yeah, if a devotee is being offensive, what do you do? Well, if someone is offensive, you can try being kind to them and pull them out of their offensive mentality. If inspite of that they still remain offensive, there is not much you can do except keep a distance. It is a sad thing that sometimes devotees are not really devotees actually, only so-called devotees. A devotee will not be a, somebody who is a devotee will try to avoid being offensive. If they go on being offensive, they are not really devotees. They are just a show bottle of devotees, not actually devotees of Krishna. A devotee may accidentally be offensive sometimes, but he will certainly reject being offensive and try to overcome it. We have a nature to be offensive, that's why we are here in the material world. This is the world for the offenders. We are all offenders against Krishna. We all have a nature to be offensive. That is how we got these material bodies. Coming to Krishna consciousness means I want to give up this offensive mentality, become actually absolutely pure and perfect in all my thoughts, words, and deeds, in all times, places, and circumstances. So due to the past contamination I had, it's natural sometimes I'll be offensive, either openly or in my thoughts. So, by being a devotee means I'm working to overcome that offensive nature. I'm sincerely endeavouring to overcome that offensive nature and become proper in all of my thoughts, words, and deeds in all time, places, and circumstances. Because these offenses are actually keeping me here in the cycle of birth and death. I have to become qualified to go back to home, back to God, and actually I have to become offense-less. So therefore, someone who is not trying to give up the offensive nature, they are not really a devotee of Krishna, they are a devotee of Maya.

Local Devotee: But sometimes, like I have seen people, they don't even really care that they are being offensive and then they will literally start thinking the other people are offensive and then they go and they are alone all day and don't associate at all. So how are they even still around with that mentality?

Sankarshan Das: Like Krishna is great, they are somehow still in the association of devotees, they get a chance to overcome their offensive nature. They are not really devotees. Krishna is a show-bottom. They are not part of Iskcon; they are part of Miskcon. We have seen so many people come and go. It is very sad that so many people have given up Krishna consciousness. They are only half way following it or they have given up completely. It is a very sad thing. It is very rare.

manusyanam sahasresu

kascid yatati siddhaye

yatatam api siddhanam

kascin mam vetti tattvatah 

Out of thousands of men, one may endeavour for perfection. Now out of all those who endeavour for perfection aren't even one Muslim in truth so it's actually one out of a million who actually take it properly. It's a very rare thing for even someone to be attracted to and then for those who are attracted how many actually become attracted? It's like one out of a thousand is attracted and one out of a thousand who are attracted become perfect. So, they become a pure devotee is very rare. Very rare thing but by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, you can become very widespread. So that is why we have to do book distribution, Harinaam, have public programs, Song distribution, that is why we are here, we offer so many people on the internet to join. We want to get more and more people connected to this process, as much as possible, because it can actually become very widespread. There is a nice verse in the Chaitanya Charitamrita saying that one becomes an uttama adhikari, the topmost level devotee, he can liberate the whole world. It is stated right there in the Chaitanya Charitamrita. So, we should endeavour, each one of us should endeavour to become uttama adhikari, the topmost level of spiritual perfection so we have the power and potency to liberate the world. We want to see the whole world become Krishna conscious, we want to see these damn slaughterhouses closed down, it's just disgusting to think of it, we make all the milk offering the Lord, it's disgusting to think these poor cows have given us milk, they're being murdered, it's a horrible thing that's going on, these slaughters, these abortion clinics, and then there are like 1,200,000 children murdered every day, can you imagine? It's a horrible thing going on, these rascals, women, they say it's my body, it's my choice. It's not your body rascal, it's a living entity. It's not your body, another person is taking shelter of your body, that's all. It's not your body, it's somebody else's body and they say, my body, my choice. Let's see what rascals are going to do. They make big protests, big my body my choice. It is not your body, this child is taking shelter of your womb, now you are killing this child. Now your karma, you will be aborted in your next life. You aborted the child who is taking shelter of you, now in your next life you will be aborted, that will be your karma.

Do we have any questions coming in from the online people? Let's see. Here we have... Visnurata das.

Visnurata Das:  What does devotional service dissolve the entire subtle body means?

Sankarshan Das: Devotional service doesn't dissolve or eliminate your subtle body, it purifies it. The subtle body and the gross body are there. Mind intelligence, the mind is there and the subtle body is composed of the mind, intelligence and the false ego. So, you purify your subtle body by having the false ego of misidentification with matter. You have the pure ego and you make the intelligence of Krishna conscious by becoming sastra caksus, by seeing everything through the eyes of scripture. In this way you keep your mind always fixed in Krishna. So, the subtle body is still there but now it's a purified subtle body. Your gross body and your subtle body should be fully engaged in Krishna's service. The time of death, you see your gross body will be finished but your subtle body will carry you to your next body. That's what happens when the subtle body is impure, then you get another gross body according to the nature of the subtle body. So, if your subtle body is pure, fixed in Krishna consciousness, then you go back to home, back to Godhead and then you leave your subtle body behind. Your subtle body has been with you through all these millions and billions and trillions of lifetimes in the material world. The same subtle body has carried you. You have that subtle body for millions and millions of births. So now as long as you keep your subtle body impure you stay in the cycle of birth and death and you purify your subtle body then you drop it behind. That's when you dissolve it, you can become a pure devotee and go back to Godhead.

Anything else? Any other questions? Any disagreements? For those who are coming in just now, this is our time now, an hour earlier.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: We have a daylight savings time.

Sankarshan Das:Daylight savings time in Iskcon. At 2am this morning it also became 3am. So, what was the class happening at 7.15 and what will be happening at 6.15 according to the old time. So come an hour earlier to catch our class and to catch all the programs. Gurumataji’s afternoon class, the Mangalarati, an hour earlier for everything until the fall and then they go back. They say spring forward and fall back. That's how the clock works in the US. They have daylight savings so they can have more fun in the evening. There's more sense  gratification in the evening. In the winter, forget about it, in the summer you can go outside and have fun in the evening. You have an hour extra of sunlight every evening for more fun in the evening. But for devotees, we don't need these changes of time because we are always in a state of bliss if we are fixed in Krishna consciousness. We can be blissful 24x7 whether it is light or dark, it doesn't matter. Our happiness is within. What does that verse go?

yo ‘ntah-sukho ‘ntar-aramas

tathantar-jyotir eva yah

sa yogi brahma-nirvanam

brahma-bhuto ‘dhigacchati 

one whose happiness is within, who rejoices in his activity within, whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic, he is liberated and supreme and ultimately attains the supreme. So, our happiness is within. It doesn't matter if it is sunrise, night time, night time or day time. Our happiness is within. We rejoice and we are active within. Our happiness is within Krishna consciousness. We can be in youthful energy or lying on our death bed, sick in a hospital, or sick in Vrindavan, better, ready to die, like my godbrother just, Sanyasi just left his body in Vrindavan, Kadamba Kanana Maharaj. We can be in any situation, a youth, youthful, full of energy, or dying, in an all dying body because our happiness is within and we rejoice and we are active with our loving relationship with Krishna. Like one of my disciples, very disturbed because her body is all fixed, she can't do anything, but it's a great opportunity to go within, to hear more of the lectures of Prabhupada, to go deep into the chanting and reading. We take every opportunity in a positive way, in Krishnakarananda we take everything in a positive way. We take everything as a mercy of Krishna. It all goes deeper and deeper into the mellows of Krishna bhakti.

Devotee:  Has the class timing changed?

Sankarshan Das: Yes. It is now an hour earlier because we just mentioned daylight savings time.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  No, class time is not changed. It is the same time but daylight savings is the same.

Sankarshan Das:  For those who are outside of the US, for them the class time has changed because our whole clock has changed here. We're still having the class at 7.15 a.m. Austin time, but for those who are outside of the U.S., that's an hour earlier. If you don't have daylight savings, I'm in Europe, Australia, and India, and Malaysia, wherever you are, you don't have daylight savings. For you, it's an hour earlier, but if not, it's the same time, 7.15. So, everyone takes advantage of this process, make your lives sublime.

Any other questions? Any comments? Gurumataji, do you want to make some points to add to what we've been saying?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  I'm going to wait for you. So, there's nothing else?

Local Devotee: Guruji.

Sankarshan Das: Yes. 

I remember hearing the Prabhupada said a few times that if one wants to eat meat he can offer, not offer, but he can sacrifice like a goat in front of the deity of Kali or something like that. So how to understand that in relation to this?

Sankarshan Das:  Really? I don't remember hearing that. He can offer a goat to Goddess Kali?

Local Devotee:  I don't think I've heard offer, but you can sacrifice, they said.

Sankarshan Das: I've never heard that, that Baba said that. I thought I might have read that. No, Prabhupada never gives a concession, the meat eaters can sacrifice their God in front of... No, I've never heard such a thing. Maybe you misunderstood.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: They do that. So, from what he said, the lower animal is okay. But not cows. At least not cows.

Sankarshan Das: You can send me an email or show me where you read it because I'm curious to see.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  I think that he has said that lower animals are okay.

Sankarshan Das:  Yeah, if you want to eat meat at least don't eat a cow. That's certainly a fact. If you want to eat meat don't eat a cow. Because that's not as sinful. It's sinful, but not as sinful. It's not that you can eat meat sinlessly. That cannot be. To my knowledge, from what I've read, minister.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  So like, you know, the thing was to be sacrificed by the Japanese in the other study, remember? And they couldn't find anything and he was missing a finger and he was spared. The animal had completely no damage in the body of the animal, then it can be sacrificed, otherwise it's not.

Local Devotee:  I found out where I read it.

Sankarshan Das: Can others, Bhakta Rob can't hear me, can others hear me? If you can hear me, send a comment, yes, I can hear you. Okay, Bhakta Rob others can hear, so you have to do something with your device, you can't hear me Bhakta Rob cannot hear. Okay, now we have a question from Bhakta Praṇtik.

Bhakta Prāṇtik:  How to develop the staunchest faith of the spiritual master like that for the parents and loved ones?

Sankarshan Das: No, it should be more for the parents and loved ones. Parents and loved ones are always... In this material world we have attachment for parents and loved ones, it is always what they can give me. Our relations in the material world are all contaminated by what I can get out of that relationship. What is in it for me? The relationship with the spiritual master is how can I please Guru and Krishna? Not what I can get for myself but how I can please them. Prabhupada explains that pure devotees, those who are fixed in Krishna, they don't even desire liberation. They just want to please Krishna. So that's the relationship. Not wanting anything, what can I get out of this? Can I get a better job? Can I have better health? What can I know? I simply want to please Krishna. Krishna wants me to be totally dedicated to the spiritual master. So that's the pure relationship without requiring anything in return.

Anything else?

Local Devotee:  I found where I read it.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, read it out.

Local Devotee: It's in the middle of the purport. It's saying in the 9th Canto, 6th chapter, text number 7.

Sankarshan Das: Okay.

Local Devotee: Formerly such an offering was allowed, but in this age, it is permitted. In this age, Kali Yuga, everyone is expert in hunting animals. He was describing previously how ksatriyas were allowed to hunt. In this age, everyone is very expert in hunting animals, but most of the people are sudras, not Kshatriyas. According to the Vedic injunctions, however, only Ksatriyas are allowed to hunt, whereas sudras are allowed to eat flesh after. Whereas sudras are allowed to eat flesh after offering goats or other insignificant animals before the deity of Goddess Kali or similar demigods. On the whole, meat eating is not completely forbidden. A particular class of men is allowed to eat meat according to various circumstances and injunctions. As far as eating beef is concerned, however, it is strictly prohibited for everyone.

Sankarshan Das:  Has it said this was previously done or is it okay now? What does Prabhupada said in the beginning.

Local Devotee: He's quoting how in the age of Kali the five acts are forbidden, offering a cow, horse, taking sannyas, offering oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man should be getting children of his brother's wife. The word pala-paitṛkam refers to offering flesh and obligations to the forefathers. Formerly such an offering was allowed.

Sankarshan Das: Formerly? It doesn't say it's allowed now, does it? It's said formerly. It's formerly.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  Another thing is only Ksatriyas. Sudras are not to go and do hunting. Ksatriyas go for hunting. And then they...

Sankarshan Das: In fact, it's a killing art, they had to do that. They had to become expert in killing, so they would kill dangerous animals.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Not everybody.

Sankarshan Das: Like tigers. They would fight the tigers, so they learned the killing art to clear the forest of dangerous animals, they were harassing the sadhus.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, so why were, now that the age is more fallen, why were sudras allowed to afford when now there would be more mediators?

Sankarshan Das: Why were sudras previously allowed to do that?

Local Devotee: Yeah, that's what I just read.

Sankarshan Das: Interesting question.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Sudras were not allowed. Sudras were living in the forest; they will do killing.

Sankarshan Das: No, we're talking about Sudras don't live in the forest. The Sadhus live in the forest.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Samaras live in the forest and the jungle people do eat meat.

Sankarshan Das: It's interesting, this kind of research. You said that the Sudras were allowed to eat meat, they were sacrificed for the demigods.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: They don't go fast because the jungle people, Samaras, they live on the meat, animals and so they are called low class. But not like this kind of sloth houses.

Sankarshan Das: We read today that Prabhupada strictly made it very clear here that in the Kali Yuga men are expert in opening slaughterhouses and killing animals they eat. If they all butchered 600 men, people would be encouraged to kill more and more animals. So, the butcher shops, the said thPrabhupadaey are not getting amendments of God as Kali, they are getting amendments of the ghosts, companions of God as Kali. Those who think they can operate as Kali now. What's he saying here? You think it's popular to purchase animal flesh from such shops because here's a picture of God as Kali there. But if I had to know, Kali is not getting it.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: I mean, he's killed some demons so everybody wants to drink the blood of them for animals because they must satisfy their senses. I mean, there was a demon, the other day I was explaining. I think his name was... Something, I don't remember. And when he... His name was something else, I remember that. And when somebody kills him, as many as drops fall on the earth, that many demons are created more. Immediately that many demons come and many of the drops fall on you. So, to have to avoid that, the Kali took the form of this, Durga Devi took the form of that Kali and she did not let any blood flow or drop fall on her. What was her name? I forget. So that was the purpose of Kali. That Kali would eat the meat and as soon as she was going on, chewing, chewing, chewing, then Lord Siva, stop her and he laid on the ground. As soon as she came across Lord Siva, her tongue fell out. She immediately realized that she had stepped on her husband.

Sankarshan Das: So, can they do these, can the shooters now offer to God as Kali and eat meat?

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: No. It is something like this when Lord Siva takes his prana intoxication, they want to imitate. But then they imitate one thing, but they can't imitate the other.

Sankarshan Das: The hippies used to do that. So, you are saying that we should... The hippies were used... Hippies were... They had a rock and roll band in Austin called Siva's headband.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Yeah.

They were thinking about, he was taking, we can get intoxicated. You know, Siva, following Siva, ..

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji:  They imitate and when they cannot imitate everything, then they should, if they want to imitate, they should imitate him completely and drink the ocean of poison. How about that?

Sankarshan Das: Yeah.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: But she was drinking the whole poison.

Sankarshan Das: She was drinking the ocean of poison. They can't do that.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: If they want to imitate, they should do full imitation.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, imitate in full. So, Bhakta Prantik says,

Bhakta Prantik: I'm failing to follow 100%. Well, you have to give up your failing. By this failing you're keeping yourself caught up in the cycle of birth and death.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: What is it?

Sankarshan Das: Bhakta Prantik says, I'm failing to follow 100%.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: That's alright. Gradually you will...

Sankarshan Das: I'm failing to follow 100%.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Gradually? You can gradually go forward.

Sankarshan Das: Whatever percentage you are, go forward. You're at 75%, go to 76, then to 77 and 78. You can't immediately go to 100% and come gradually to 100%.

Srimati Vishnupriya Gurumataji: Human can follow if they want to.

Sankarshan Das: Actually, you can beg Krishna, my dear Lord, Krishna please bless me I can follow 100%. You can ask Krishna to help you. If you are sincerely wanting to come to 100%, Krishna will help you come to 100%.

There's nothing else, we can stop here. Grantharaj Srimad Bagavatham ki Jai.