karmani ca yatha-kalam
yatha-desam yatha-balam
yathocitam yatha-vittam
akarod brahma-sat-krtam

Sankarshan Das: Srimad Bhagavatam, 4th canto, chapter 22, text number 50.

Karmani - activities; ca - also; yatha-kalam – befitting time and circumstances; yatha-desam – befitting the place and situation; yatha-balam – befitting one’s own strength; yatha-ucitam - as far as possible; yatha-vittam - as far as one can spend money in this connection; akarot – performed; brahma-sat – in the Absolute Truth; krtam – did.

Sankarshan Das: Translation and Purport by His Divine Grace Om Vishnu-pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara-shata Shri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Maharaj, Prabhupad, Founder acharya of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Translation

Being self-satisfied, Maharaja Prthu executed his duties as perfectly as possible according to the time and his situation, strength and financial position. His only aim in all his activities was to satisfy the Absolute Truth. In this way, he duly acted.

Purport

Maharaja Prthu was a responsible monarch, and he had to execute the duties of a ksatriya, a king and a devotee at the same time. Being perfect in the Lord’s devotional service, he could execute his prescribed duties with complete perfection as befitted the time and circumstance and his financial strength and personal ability. In this regard, the word karma.i in this verse is significant. Prthu Maharaja's activities were not ordinary, for they were in relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Rupa Goswami has advised that things which are favourable to devotional service should not be rejected, nor should activity favourable for devotional service be considered ordinary work or fruitive activity. For example, an ordinary worker conducts business in order to earn money for his sense gratification. A devotee may perform the same work and

execute exactly the same way, but his aim is to satisfy the Supreme Lord. Consequently, his activities are not ordinary.

Sankarshan Das: Just like many devotees have jobs. They are working in some office. So, mind you, by non-devotees, everybody is working the same job, trying to do well in the same job. But the consciousness of the devotee is, he wants to earn money so he can engage in nicely in Krishna's service to maintain his own Krishna consciousness lifestyle and to support the Krishna consciousness movement. Whereas the non-devotee is simply working for easily made descent. The big difference, the work appears to be the same but the consciousness is completely different. Next paragraph.

Purport: Prthu Maharaja's activities were therefore not ordinary, but were all spiritual and transcendental, for his aim was to satisfy the Lord. Just as Arjuna, who was a warrior, had to fight to satisfy Krishna, Prthu Maharaj performed his royal duties as king for the satisfaction of Krishna. Indeed, whatever he did as emperor of the whole world was perfectly befitting a pure devotee. It is therefore said by a Vaishnava poet, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijne na bujhaya no one can understand the activities of a pure devotee. A pure devotee's activities may appear like ordinary activities, but behind them there is a profound significance- the satisfaction of the Lord. In order to understand the activities of a Vaishnava, one has to become very expert. Prthu Maharaj did not allow himself to function outside the institution of the four varnas and four asramas, although as a Vaisnava he was a paramahamsa and transcendental to all material activities. He remained in his position as a Ksatriya to rule the world’s activity and at the same time remained transcendental to such activities by satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Concealing himself as a pure devotee, he externally manifested himself as a very powerful and dutiful king. In other words, none of his activities were carried out for his own sense gratification; everything he did was meant for the satisfaction of the senses of the Lord. This is clearly explained in the next verse. (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

So, we have a great deal to learn from this great king and great Vaishnava Prthu Maharaj. How to dovetail all activities in the service of the Lord. This word dovetail is very interesting. In carpentry there is what is known as a dovetail joint where just like I can show you with my fingers, just like this, it's a very solid joint, it's like this, it's called a dovetail joint. So, when we dovetail our activities in the service of the Lord, it means they are firmly and solidly interlinked with devotional service. Not just slightly or casually, no, very tightly and expertly connected with Krishna consciousness in all times, all places and circumstances. So, in this way we have to dovetail our consciousness with the Supreme consciousness. Supreme consciousness means the consciousness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, the source of all existence. And we many times explain the existence has a source.

The atheists say it comes out of nothing, but if we explain many times, nothing comes out of nothing. Show me any one thing that ever came out of nothing. So, if they want to prove their philosophy that everything can come out of nothing, let them demonstrate scientifically that any one thing can come out of nothing. So, Krishna consciousness, the philosophy of Bhagavad Gita, is most scientific. It's not some blind faith dogma. It's God-math, not dogma. It's the teachings of God himself. The Supreme Lord, given us Bhagavad Gita, it's the science of love of God. The whole thing is very precisely described in very scientific and profound ways. So therefore, it should be taught everywhere, just like mathematics is a science, it's taught everywhere in all elementary schools all over the world. The little kids are taught one plus one equals two, two plus two equals four, etc.

The science of mathematics is a Universal science. Similarly, the science of God is a Universal science. And my of not being taught in all the colleges, schools, and universities all over the world. It's a great crime, actually. It's a great crime that they are not teaching the science of God. So, nobody knows who they are, where they've come from, what the purpose of their existence is. This is my great anxiety as a young college student. I want to know why do I exist? The courses, the professors were not in the textbooks. We studied all the great philosophers. No one told me why I exist. This is the great deficiency of the western civilization. They don't have any philosophical foundation as to know why we exist. What's the meaning of life and it's the purpose of existence.

You don't even know why you exist and how you possibly can protect your existence. So, they go on in a blind way, just trying to gratify the senses, the tongue, the belly, the genitals, gratify as much as possible, the more you are expert in gratifying your senses, that means you are a big successful person. But what is the use of gratifying all these senses? They're only temporary. So, they're going after, it's called maya sukhaya, illusory happiness. They're going after temporary happiness. Do you want anything that's temporary? Do you satisfy with something temporary?

Actually, we want things to go on perpetually. Do I want to be temporarily happy or permanently happy? What do you prefer? Temporary happiness or permanent happiness? So, we have to learn the art of permanent happiness from the bonafide spiritual masters, the sadhus and the sages and the scriptures. There is great knowledge coming down that Krishna revealed to Lord Brahma, Brahma revealed to Narada muni, revealed to Vyasa deva. There is coming down this great science how to become free from all anxiety. The difficulty is, they don't even want to admit they're suffering. They want to pretend they're happy. It's like you ask somebody, you go out and ask people, how are they, oh fine, How, are you doing? Fine, fine, fine. Actually, they feel like hell, they're not allowed to admit it. It's like when I was a college student walking down the hall here at the University of Texas and somebody said, how are you doing? I said depressed. They said, don't say that. You're not allowed to even admit you're suffering. You have to pretend you have to keep up a good face. Fine, fine, fine. You, see? It's just the same way of a culture is you can't even honestly reveal that you're in anxiety. You have to pretend you're happy. You, see? Keep up a good face. Pretend that you're happy. So, what kind of nonsense civilization is it that you can't even be honest? You have to be dishonest. You have to fool yourself into thinking you're happy even though you're miserable like hell. You have to fool yourself into thinking, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy.

So just see the great mercy of Srila Prabhupada who reveal to us all this nonsense that's going on, to cut through all the nonsense. All these bogus gurus, like yesterday we were at the mind, body, spirit exposition in the booth next to us presenting some bogus guru. They called it Guru Day, teaching the art of living. There was nothing about God. There was some big guru standing up on the stage and saying, yes, I am going to teach you the art of living. But there is no mention of God. What kind of guru is this? What kind of nonsense rascal is this? He is presenting himself as a spiritual master, but he is not presenting the science of God. Do good to others. The more you can make others happy, the more you can be happy. That's alright. But he doesn't know how to make others happy. (indistinct) He doesn’t know what real happiness is. He's a real happiness, he comes to one of my seminars, that's my real happiness, that's how you make them happy. So, he packs the hall with all these people, it's called the cheaters and the cheated. You go to the cheater to be cheated and you think, oh I'm very happy. I heard Gurudev's lecture on the art of living, how to give joy to others so I can become joyful. They don't know what actual joy is. They think it's the mind, the body and the senses. They don't know what actual joy is in schools and rascals. Because they don't understand brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati. They don't understand what is the spiritual platform when one becomes transcendental to all the ups and downs of material existence. They have no conception of actually achieving the spiritual platform. Brahma bhutah becoming joyful for (indistinct) on the transcendental platform. They have no idea how to achieve this. Absolutely no idea. It's a crying shame actually.

But the Vaishnavas, the devotees of the Lord, the Krishna bhaktas, they know that the actual platform of happiness. They know, actually a devotee of Krishna never has to be in any anxiety in any situation. Why? Well, his best friend is the most powerful, influential, merciful, and all-knowing person in all of existence. It's like they say you want to enter some country and they say, well, you know, we don't, where's your visa, where's your passport? We're not gonna let you into this country. But if your best president, your best friend is the president, or the king, the better example, your best friend is the king, you have no trouble. Nobody can mess with you, if your best friend is the king. He's willing to give you all protection. No one can mess with you. In actual traditional royal countries, your best man is the king. You have no trouble in any situation because your best man is the king. So, our best man is the king of all existence.

The devotee's best man is the king of all existence, Lord, Sri Krishna. He is all powerful, all merciful and all knowing. So, the secret is if you simply understand, bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-maheshvaram suhrdam sarva-bhutanam suhrt What does suhrt mean? Suhrit means heart. Suhrit means very, very intimate. Suhrdam. That person is my most intimate well-wisher. I have the most intimate well-wisher as my constantly protecting me. So, all we have to do is to take shelter of Krishna. There is never any anxiety in any situation. We see that there is so much disturbance, disturbance about this, disturbance about that, disturbance, disturbance, disturbance going on. But the only reason we are ever disturbed is we are not taking shelter of Krishna. When we actually take shelter of Krishna there is no question of being disturbed in any situation. So, why we so stupid we don't take shelter of Krishna? Why we so idiotic that we think, well I'll just follow my mind. I will follow the dictates of my mind. My mind says, take this, smoke this, drink this. I just follow the dictates, have sex with this person. I just follow the dictations of my mind. What kind of an idiot am I to follow the mind, the rascal mind?

Govinda Dasa made it very clear. bajahahu re mana, sri- nanda-nandana abhaya caranaravinda re. My dear mind, just see how he is been very kind to this rascal; the rascal mind; my dear mind, please now engage yourself in the devotional service of the Divine son of Nanda Maharaj." He didn't even say that Krishna is the son of Nanda Maharaj. Why does he say the son of Nanda Maharaja? Why don't you say Krishna? Well, you know what? Krishna's pure devotees are very, very dear to Him. So, when you address Him as Nanda Nandamaharaja, Krishna becomes very pleased because Nandamaharaja is very, very dear to Him. Or just show to Nandana or Radha Priya. And when Krishna's name according to His associates, His most intimate devotees, that gives Him great, great pleasure, great, great pleasure. Nandana, Radha Priya, Nandanandana. Jamuna-tira-vana-chari. The Jamuna is very very dear to Krishna. So, we just Krishna in this way, we do in our bhajan, we sing everything, jaya radha-madhava kunja-bihari gopi-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhari the lifter of that Govardhana hill, Krishna is very very pleased. That's why we chant Hare Krishna, but we also chant these other songs too, because it is very very pleasing to Krishna.

We address in all these different ways, the lifter of Govardhan hill, and the one who wanders the bank of the Yamuna playing the flute, the flute player. Krishna is very, actually there are unlimited ways of describing the Lord of Dvaraka, the Lord of Mathura, Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe, there are many, many, actually unlimited numbers of ways we can name, you know, designate that Supreme Lord. So just like there is what is called Vishnusahasranam, the thousand names of Vishnu. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Thousand names. There are actually thousands and millions and quadrillions and trillions going on and on and on in the names of the Supreme. And this chanting of Hare Krishna is so ecstatic. In this material world everybody is looking for sense gratification a little sense gratification here, a little sense gratification there. They smoke this or they drink this or they have a little temporary pleasure but how long is that pleasure left? It comes and it goes, it's fleeting. Material pleasure comes for a while and it goes away. I go to the restaurant and eat, eat, eat and I'm so full I can't take it anymore, I have to vomit actually. I ate so much I had to go vomit. I had some problem with my bowel movement because I ate so much. So, all material pleasure it comes and goes. This Hare Krishna Kirtan, this chanting of the holy names of the Lord is so static. Prabhupada explains, I want you to go on chanting 24 hours a day. Just like our Haridas Thakur, our Namacharya, the great acharya of chanting all the names. How many names did he chant every day? 300,000 names. 300,000 names a day. Now with our 16 rounds we chant about 28,000 names a day. He chanted 10 times more than we did. Actually, it comes out, if you calculate it comes out to 173 rounds every day. So, he chants about 173, he was chanting 24 hours a day. I wonder how he could take care of the bodily needs; it is not even mentioned. He was chanting 24 hours a day this Hare Krishna mantra. He was so fixed in this chanting that this Ramachandra Khan was very much disturbed. He wanted to bring this Haridas to be worshipped as a great acharya. So, he was very envious of all this honour and worship that Haridas was getting. So, he wanted to pollute and wanted to destroy his reputation.

So, he found one prostitute, you go there and you pollute and you attract the Haridas for sex life and this way we will catch him and this way we will destroy his reputation. So, she went there very beautifully dressed. First, she offered her obeisance to Tulsi Devi and then she came in and she told Haridas, she exposed part of her body also explained and then she said if you don't give me union I will commit suicide. I so intensely want union with you, if you don't give it to me, I will kill myself. So, Haridas said yes, yes. Instead of being carried away and very fixed in chanting, yes, yes. I have taken a vow to chant ten million names. So, you just sit here and wait patiently and certainly I will fulfil your desire. So, in this way she actually went and told Ramachandra Khan what was going to happen. So, they were all looking forward to catching him and having this illicit sex life. But she came, I think it was three nights, he was chanting and saying, yes, yes, I am almost done, you come again, surely tonight I will satisfy you. So, this way he went on for 3 days. But she actually seemed so purified, he was chanting Hare Krishna, so she started imitating, she was imitating, Hare Hare, she was imitating, making fun, Hare Hare, so then she got purified, she was chanting the holy name in a fun way, making fun of him actually. But she was chanting the holy name, she had offered obeisance in the Tulasi devi, she had the associate in the great sadhu, and then she became a pure devotee actually.

So, this chanting of Hare Krishna is so powerful, even a prostitute trying to pollute the devotee, she became a devotee just by hearing the holy name. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. So let us learn from Haridas Takur, how to become fixed in chanting Hare Krishna mantra, that nothing in this service, no material attractions will divert our mind from Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Just like that one verse. I think it is Rupa Goswami, isn't it? I don't know how much nectar these 2 syllables, Krishna, produce. Because my chanting Krishna, I might need to have millions of tongues and millions of ears. To somehow get a little of that nectar. There's so much nectar in the name of Krishna that my tongue and my ears are not sufficient. One tongue and one set of ears are not sufficient. I can't get that full nectar. Then we have millions and millions and trillions of ears and tongues so I can even get just a little fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the unlimited nectar that is contained in the name of Krishna. We should learn from Rupa Goswami and Haridas Thakur how valuable these holy names actually are and take this chanting Hare Krishna as the greatest benediction, the greatest blessing, not just something you have to get out of the way of. You've got to get my rounds on, Prabhu. No, you should take it as the greatest benediction, the greatest blessing that this opportunity for the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda, Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, His Divine Grace, Om Vishnu-pada paramahamsa parivrajakacharya ashtottara-shata Shri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Maharaj, Prabhupad to engage get to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. 

If we have any questions or challenges or any points that need clarification you can type it in or if not, we can end it a little early today. If nothing else, any questions? Here's a...

Ajamil Das: How can we serve the Lord with love?

Sankarshan Das: Very nice verse bhaktya. Not just mechanically do things, but

bhaktya, what is that verse?

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakti-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

bhaktya, how we do the devotion. Well, the good news Ajamila Das is, we already have that devotion within us. We actually are pure devotees; we are actually intimate associates of the Lord. We have that pure devotion within us. That is a natural thing, just like a father and son have a natural intimate relationship. A husband and wife have a natural intimacy there, a natural feeling there. So just by practice, it's called sadhana bhakti. There's Prema bhakti, serving with love and sadhana bhakti, serving according to the rules and regulations. So, if you are sick, healthy is your normal state and you are sick right now, you go to the doctor and say take this medicine and restrict your diet in this way. So, you follow the doctor's order and by doing that your natural healthy state comes back, the disease is removed. So, we have a disease now called material lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy. We have this disease, disease of our heart, covering the Prema bhakti which is within us. So, we take this as a medicine. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. It is a do's and a do not. No illicit sex, no meat eating, no intoxication and gambling. Take the orders of the spiritual master as your life and soul and be dedicated in serving the spiritual master's orders. In this way, by doing sadhana bhakti, you gradually become purified. It's like the natural state of the room is clean but now there is dust and dirt everywhere. So, you have to clean it up. It is like every day after lunch our service is to clean the floor in the kitchen. There are so many particles of food on the floor, so many things, but we take up the rugs and we sweep and sweep and sweep, take a dustpan and throw all the dust away. So, we have that dust and dirt in the heart, so you have to sweep and clean, get rid of it. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare This way cleanses the heart of all the dirt that's polluting it. So, once you get the dirt out of the way, that lust, the anger, the greed, the madness, the illusion is all gone and now your original pure state of loving Krishna becomes re-manifested. As simple as that, Ajamil Das.

Bhakta Sunil: I am confused about the phrase personal ability in the first paragraph of the Purport.

Sankarshan Das: Let's see that. Take a look at that. Personal ability. He could execute his prescribed duties with complete perfection as it fit at the time and circumstances, financial strength and personal ability. So, we all have certain abilities, don't we? Right? So, is it physical or spiritual? Why not both? Because it doesn't say according to his personal ability. Why not both? Why not take it as both? Because his spiritual abilities were unlimited if you are a pure devotee. But why not take it as both. So, why not take it as both?

Amala Purana Das: Hare Krishna Srila Gurudev. How is it that that prostitute can be purified in such a short time even though she is committing offence against Haridas Thakur?

Sankarshan Das: Of course, the mercy of Haridas, the power of his personal association.

Amala Purana Das: However, neophyte devotees like myself trying to chant from past few years and still not much progress, please help me understand the difference between that prostitute and neophytes like myself.

Sankarshan Das: Interesting question. She got me a pure devotee in 3 nights became completely pure. Here we are going over 30, 40, 50 years and we are not pure devotees yet. Chanting and chanting and chanting. Why we are not good? She was making fun of the chanting. We were seriously trying to chant. Why are we not becoming pure devotees quickly? She became the pure devotee quickly.

It's a very nice question, Amala Purana. Very nice question. One thing is our lack of desire. Why are we, how she got it, we can explain that. Why are we not getting it quickly? Because we're holding on to our material desires. That's why we're not getting equipped. How does she get equipped with the special mercy of Haridas Thakur. She had to be in his technical association. If we had been in Haridas's personal association it could be a different thing. But you know what? You can actually beg Haridas Thakur. You can say, my dear Haridas Thakur, in 3 nights that prostitute became a pure devotee. Please bless me. Even I'm not coming to pollute you in any way. I'm just coming to beg your mercy. Please beg your blessing. I also can become now the pure devotee in 3 days. Confer to Hari Das Thakur. Beg for his mercy. Help me get out of my I'm chanting for so many years and so full of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy. So please, as you purify that prostitute in 3 nights, please now purify me now. I'm begging you, my dear Haridas Thakur, please, you're merciful that prostitute, now give me similar mercy. You can take this confusion now to approach Haridas Thakur and beg for his mercy.

Anything else? Any about our locals, any challenges? Corrections? Directions?

Local Devotee: How can one decide one's personal ability in doing spiritual activities?

Sankarshan Das: By trying your best and see how much you can pull off. There is a limit of my abilities, but try to do as much as you possibly can and you'll be excited. Try to do as much as you possibly can and see how much you can get away with doing without being too tired or whatever.

Local Devotee: And when it is a commitment, because you have done something this time, the next time you might be committed or you might prove yourself that you were able to do it the next time around too.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, maybe the next time you can't do it because you were more tired or you were going through some health issues or financial issues or whatever. So, your ability can vary according to the situation. The weather can have an impact, your financial situation can have an impact, the kind of association, quality of the association you're in, all these things can have an impact on your ability to act in a certain way in a certain situation. So, you just do the best you can in whatever situation you are in. And you may be in a different situation another time, but you may not be able to do as much because the situation was different.

Local Devotee: Thank you.

Sanat kumara Das: How does Hare Krishna Srila Gurudev, how can a devotee realize that he is fully purified of consciousness?

Sankarshan Das: When you are fully purified, you will be able to see Krishna directly face to face. How you can know this?

premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti

yam syamasundaram acintya-guna-svarupam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord who is Syamasundara, Krishna Himself, with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love. When you see Krishna face to face, eye to eye, then you can know you are completely purified. You won't be confused. You will know that Krishna is blessed with pure bhakti when you get it.

Devotee: But what about the struggling neophytes?

Sankarshan Das: Well, we have to keep doing our sadhana, trying our best. Even if we are not completely purified, if we can somehow remember Krishna at the time of death, then boom! If Krishna will overlook our deficiencies, if we take shelter of Krishna at that last moment, even if we have so many deficiencies, so much lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy, if we take shelter of Krishna at that last moment, and boom, back to home, back to Godhead. Back to your svarupa, your original form that you had in the past time with Krishna before you foolishly tried to enjoy it separately in this material existence. Anything else? Anything in the kitchen?

Visnurata Das: When will one's chanting get enchanted?

Sankarshan Das: When you become a pure devotee. Even before that. You don't have to become a pure devotee for the chanting to be enchanting. Even now, even us who are struggling neophytes, sometimes we find it to be very enchanting. We dive into it, the really sweet kirtan, the ecstatic kirtan. We taste the nectar, we are sometimes enchanted, even our neophyte state where we have so much lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, madness and envy still polluting our hearts. Even a birth struggling neophyte sometimes we find it to be enchanting. But that as you become more and more advanced you become more enchanting and more enchanting and more enchanting until finally you become enchanted, completely totally enchanted with all the names. You know all your enchantment from maya devi's offers, maya devi is offering all these things. Lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, maya devi, come on, you can enjoy a little of this, come on, enjoy a little of that, there is no harm, take a little enjoyment, take a little break from pure bhakti, have a little enjoyment here, come on, come on, come on. She is always trying to tempt us and trick us into living in some sense gratification. So, the more you become, right now we are enchanted by maya and we are enchanted by Krishna both. That enchantment for maya will go down, down, down to the point of zero. We are no longer enchanted by maya devi's offers.

Bhakta Prantik: Hare Krishna Srila Gurudev. I am always struggling to steady the mind while chanting holy name. Always doing offenses.

Sankarshan Das: It is a very common problem for all of us neophytes. Our minds are unsteady minds, jumping here, jumping there, jumping, jumping, jumping. Thinking about this sense object, that sense object, that's the trouble. We are all struggling, our neophyte devotees are struggling with this mind which is trying to pull us away from the holy names again and again. Come on mind, mind says, come on I want to think about this for a while and meditate on this for a while. Don't get too much into this chanting, I mean give me some space to enjoy. Come my dear devotee, let me enjoy. The mind is always trying to pull us away.

Devotee: How did Haridas take so much nectar in chanting?

Sankarshan Das: He is a pure devotee. Simple thing. Pure devotee. If we want to taste the nectar of a holy name, we have to beg for pure devotional service. There is a special prayer. How it goes? Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare I have to beg Krishna, my dear mother Radharani, my dear Krishna, please now bless me with pure devotional service. Here I am struggling with my lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy. Please save me, please liberate me from this laziness and craziness, this illusion and confusion and perfusion which I'm drowning in right now. Please, isn't it? Isn't it so? Or is this some hype? Is really what I'm saying is true or just some fancy words?

Local Devotee: It's true.

Sankarshan Das: It's true? How do you know it's true?

Local Devotee: I'm feeling that.

Sankarshan Das: You're feeling it? You're tasting it? You're experiencing it?

Local Devotee: Through your word and your conviction.

Sankarshan Das: What about you? Are you experiencing this or just some words? Flowery words?

Local Devotee: Experiencing... Which parts are we experiencing?

Sankarshan Das: Are you experiencing some pleasure in chanting the holy names?

Local Devotee: Not always.

Sankarshan Das: Sometimes? Can we have Bakhtin Sheela from Ottawa, isn't it?

Bhaktin Sheela: Hare Krishna Srila Gurdev, as a beginner, please enlighten me how to save myself from being a fanatic.

Sankarshan Das: See everything through the eyes of scripture. Read Prabhupada's books. Bhaktin Sheela it is called sastra cak.us, one who sees everything through the eyes of scripture. In other words, you have to be philosophical and not fanatical. Fanatic, he has no philosophical understanding, he's just acting out of some crazy, some crazy, some whims. But if you see everything through the eyes of scripture, sastra caksus, so Prabhupada's books are there to prevent us from being fanatics, protect us from being fanatics. So read all the Prabhupada's books again and again and again, spend your whole life reading all the Prabhupada's books again and again and again, all of them. Bhagavad Gita, Nectar of Devotion, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Isopanisad, Easy Journey to the Other Planets, read all these books that Prabhupada has given again and again and again and Prabhupada will protect you from being fanatic.

Yugadharma Devi Dasi: Hare Krishna Srila Gurudev. What is the significance of Prthu Maharaj being concealed as a pure devotee, especially manifested as a dutiful, externally manifested as a dutiful king.

Sankarshan Das: Well, he could have just been, you know, he could have just gone to Vrindavan and chanted, and just chanting, but he was engaged dutifully as a king and a ksatriya, doing the duties of a ksatriya. Could have done deity worship and chanting and preaching like a Brahmin could engage in that even though he was certainly unable to do such things, but he acted externally as a king, but doing it in the mood of pure devotion.

Okay, Bhaktin Sheela good, you are going to read the books, that's good. Read these books and also inquire. There is another nice training I got from Vishnu Jana swami, my vartma-pradarsaka-guru here in Austin. He said, you must inquire until your intelligence is fully satisfied. That's a great instruction. Prabhupada told me, he said, you have been trained up under the expert guidance that is holding this Visnujana Maharaj. He had some difficulty, still, Prabhupada confirmed he had given me expert training, so I take that training and I remember that instruction very, I take it as a very dear instruction. You must inquire until your intelligence is fully satisfied. That's how you avoid being a fanatic. Anything else? Have you been satisfied, fully dedicated now to engaging in devotional service with your every thought, but indeed in all times, like in the circumstances, you still have some doubts or some hesitations. What's the situation? If you still have doubts and hesitations, we're ready now for pure devotional service. We have to admit as neophytes we still have our doubts and hesitations. As neophytes we have to kick out these doubts and hesitations, kick them out with boots. My dear mind, please, now I have become fully absorbed in the devotional service to the (indistinct). If any nonsense things come, what does Yamunacharya say, spit at the thoughts. Some materialistic thought comes to your brain, get out of my brain you rascal thought, you dirty rascal thought, you are not welcome in my brain. You are some thought of some sense gratification. You are not welcome in my mind. You rascal mind stop thinking such thoughts. You have to be very strong in your mind. You see your mind getting deviated by some materialistic thought, don't try to go off and into it and enjoy it. Kick him out with boot. Get out of my mind you rascal thought, you are not welcome here. You have to clean all those rascal thoughts out of the mind, the lust, the anger, the illusion, the madness and envy, those thoughts that sometimes pollute the mind. Get out of my mind, you are not welcome, get out and don't ever come back. You can be very strong in this way. 

Ok, if there is nothing else, we can stop here and thank you everybody for tuning in. 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.