Sankarshan Das:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.23.29

Maitreya uvāca

Stuvatīṣv amara-strīṣu

Pati-lokaṁ gatā vadhūḥ

Yaṁ vā ātma-vidāṁ dhuryo

Vainyaḥ prāpācyutāśrayaḥ

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued speaking: My dear Vidura, when the wives of the denizens of heaven were thus talking amongst themselves, Queen Arci reached the planet which her husband, Mahārāja Pṛthu, the topmost self-realized soul, had attained.

Purport

According to Vedic scriptures, a woman who dies with her husband, or enters into the fire in which her husband is burning, also enters the same planet her husband attains. In this material world there is a planet known as Patiloka, just as there is a planet known as Pitṛloka. But in this verse the word pati-loka does not refer to any planet within this material universe, for Pṛthu Mahārāja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Queen Arci also entered Patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained. In the material world also, when a woman dies with her husband, she again unites with him in the next birth. Similarly, Mahārāja Pṛthu and Queen Arci united in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets there are husbands and wives, but there is no question of their giving birth to children or having sex life. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets both husbands and wives are extraordinarily beautiful, and they are attracted to one another, but they do not enjoy sex life. Indeed, they consider sex not to be very relishable because both husband and wife are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and in glorifying and chanting the glories of the Lord.

According to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura also, a husband and wife can turn the home into a place as good as Vaikuṇṭha, even while in this material world. Being absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even in this world husband and wife can live in Vaikuṇṭha simply by installing the Deity of the Lord within the home and serving the Deity according to the directions of the śāstras. In this way, they will never feel the sex urge. That is the test of advancement in devotional service. One who is advanced in devotional service is never attracted by sex life, and as soon as one becomes detached from sex life and proportionately attached to the service of the Lord, he actually experiences living in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In the ultimate issue, there is actually no material world, but when one forgets the service of the Lord and engages himself in the service of his senses, he is said to be living in the material world.

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

Well, we have question, what if they don't die together. And united in the spiritual world or not? That's the obvious question. There was a strong quote I tried to find the other day where Prabhupāda says, Prabhupāda mentions how she was waiting, he was waiting in the spiritual world but i couldn’t find it, I cannot confirm. So we don't really know if they don't die together. If they really are united or not because it's not stated in this purport. But it doesn't matter. Actually we're all united in the spiritual world. The guru and disciple, all the Prabhupadanugas, we're all united. But so it's an interesting question, the husband and wife, well they certainly recognize each other. Oh yes, you were my husband, you were my wife, remember we got married in the material world, and now we're in the spiritual world, they certainly recognize each other. 04:28-34 they're extraordinarily beautiful, but they don't have any sex desire, more beautiful than here but no sex desire. So, the point is if we can be free from sex desire here, then we're living in Vaikuṇṭha even here, that's the interesting point. Prabhupada says, one who is advanced in devotional service, is never attracted by sex life. As soon as one becomes detached from sex life, proportionally attached to serve the Lord, he actually experiences living in Vaikuṇṭha planet. So the point is we have to be so absorbed in Krishna consciousness that sex is not even an issue. It's like something out there in the material world, as Karmis do. And if there's a thought of sex life, spit at it. It's like Yāmunācārya 05:22 – 26. The materialists, if they have a thought of sex life, they drool over it, oh yeah, they drool over it, oh yeah. Sex, Sex, Sex. But for a devotee, if it's not thought come, spit at the damn thing, spit at it. So this is a very important thing to become detached from sex life. Sex life is the binding knot you see. It’s Kāma deva - shoot to the arrow, boom, boom, boom, into your heart. So one has to have a Kāma deva proof heart. It’s like the police wear bullet proof vests. We have to have a Kāma deva proof vest. If he shoots the arrow, they just bounce off. So the question is how do you do that? Especially for those who came out of the hippie culture. The free sex was the standard. How do you then get free from it? Well,

Viṣayā vinivartante

Nirāhārasya dehinaḥ

Rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya

Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (B.G. 2.59)

The embodied soul, maybe restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects, but ceasing such engagements by what? Experiencing a higher taste, he is fixing his consciousness What's the name of our cookbook? The Higher Taste Cookbook.

So we have a higher taste, in the form of Prasādam. We just eat so many foods. When I was a kid the big thing was Thanksgiving, the turkey dinner. You have a big turkey sitting there on the table. Oh, now are we going to slice it? Oh, my God. It's a horrible thing. The turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. We show God how much we appreciate Him by eating a turkey. My God. What's the result? You become a turkey in your next birth and they eat you also. The turkey eats you. Which place is the ........ But Prabhupāda gave us the higher taste. Prasādam. Prasādam is so amazing. Just like one boy, Gary, here in Austin. He was smoking like a pack every day. He was so addicted to cigarettes. Then Visnujana Swami gave him simply wonderful. He had 25 of them. He gave up smoking immediately. 25 simply wonderful. Immediately quit. So, it's a matter of getting a higher taste really. Krishna consciousness is better than any taste of the material world. Higher taste.

So what if you're a neophyte devotee and you're still attracted to material things, still be urged, the attraction, to material sense gratification. What do you do? How do you get, the point is, how do you get free from the taste of sense gratification? Well, I can tell you this, my dear listeners. It's because of Nāma-aparādha. If we have Nāma-aparādha, then we're still going to be attracted to sense gratification. So we have to become free from those Nāma-aparādha. That's the key. We have to be free from them.

(aside)Do i have them here ? No ?.

Gurumataji was speaking about one of them yesterday – To demigods and Krishna to be on the same level. It was an interesting discussion we had. In India it's very common, all the gods are one, isn't it? Be it Shiva or Brahma, they're all one. What does that mean? If all the gods are one, that means there is no supreme being. So when you say all the gods are one, you're actually an atheist. You see, it means there's a supreme being. If all the gods are 1, there is no supreme being. You may say, well, they're all the supreme being. But no. They can't all be the supreme being. Supreme means one above all the others, that's supreme. You understand this point? If one is supreme, that means there's no one equal to him. No one equal, no one greater than. That's supreme being. So this is a very important thing. We chant Jāpa. But we have to realize not all are one. Like it’s said “Rishi- Rishi-Rishi, Brahma-Brahma-Brahma, Indra-Indra-Indra, Krishna-Krishna-Krishna, they are all the same”. That’s one very important thing.

So, we have to see how we can become pure chanters of the name. To whatever extent we have purified our chanting. What does that mean? Chanting is enchanting. So you have to become enchanted by the name. That's the key. The more you become enchanted by the name, the less you're enchanted by maya. You see, we're all going to be enchanted. That's our nature. Our nature is to be enchanted. So if you're not enchanted by Krishna, you’ll be enchanted by Maya. Simple. The Māyāvādīs say “Deny all detachments, Deny all enchantments”. But it doesn't work. Our nature is to be enchanted. We're cheated and enchanted by the material nature or the spiritual nature. So we have to increase our enchantment with Krishna consciousness. Be enchanted by the holy name, enchanted by the deities, enchanted by the Prasādam, enchanted by the Vaishnava association, enchanted by the Guru Sangha, enchanted by Vrindāvan, by Mayapur, all these things. Tulsi Devi. We have to be enchanted by every aspect of Krishna consciousness, Guru-puja. We’ve to become enchanted. Just like when I was a kid, the enchantment was the Beatles. It was a humongous thing. The youth was so enchanted by the Beatles. I remember they had a big program. It was a famous TV show. It was called the Ed Sullivan TV show, the most popular show. And on Sunday night the Beatles are going to appear on Ed Sullivan. And it was such a big thing. One girl brought it. We had a Sunday night youth group meeting in the church. One girl brought a TV to the church so we could see the Beatles on TV during that church meeting. It was such a big thing to be enchanted. They even had a saying, the Beatles, they used to say the British are coming during the Revolutionary War. Now they had

the Beatles are coming, play on words, “Oh! the Beatles are coming”. It's a huge propaganda. Millions and millions of people watched that appearance on TV of the Beatles. So, the youth were completely enchanted by the Beatles. It's called Beatlemania. That was the term for it, Beatlemania.

So, now we have to have Krishnamania. You understand? We have to have Krishnamania. It's like the devotees are coming, Janmashtami is coming, Vyāsa-Puja is coming, Spiritual Master is coming, Gurumataji is coming and everything.  We have to become very excited and enchanted by all these different things. “Oh! now it's time for Tulsi worship. Now it's time for the Guruvastakam  prayer”. We have to become very, very enchanted by all of these things. “Now it's time for the Janmashtami feast, Aah!”. “Now it's time to fast all the way till midnight, Aah!”. So, we become enchanted by all these things. Do you understand this point? Otherwise we are not enchanted by these things. Maya; we are enchanted by Maya, we are enchanted by illusion. As I said in my memoir, The Illusion and Confusion and Profusion. Right now we are suffering from illusion and confusion and profusion. You gotta kick Maya out. Maya, you're no longer welcome in my home. You're no longer welcome here. Now I only have one thing – I want to have Krishna bhakti and nothing else. No more God bhakti or whatever it is. Kick it all out. I want to be a lover of God and not a lover of dog. What is God spelled backwards? G-O-D or D-O-G. You can spell it in elementary school. God is spelled G-O-D and dog is spelled D-O-G. It's in reverse. The 3 letters are reversed. So either you're a lover of God or you're a lover of dog.

What did they say in America? “Dog is the best friend”. Isn't it? Very popular thing in America. The dog is the best friend. But who was the actual best friend, is it the dog? What does Krishna say,”suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ”(B.G. 5.29, I am the most well-wishing friend of all living beings). So who is a better friend, Krishna or the dog? Why? Why is Krishna a better friend than the dog? Well, the dog is actually wanting to serve him. I see in the neighbourhood the dog wants to go for a walk, the master has to take him. The dog is urging, “Master, come on! Take me for a walk, Take me for a walk”. The dog is begging for the walk, the master has to serve the dog.

So, we have to then wake up and realize I can either be a servant of God or I can be a servant of God, which is more beneficial for me. Krishna consciousness means use your intelligence, use your brain. Analyze things very clearly and succinctly. What is my best benefit? Where do I get the best money? It's like when you're shopping, where's the best money? Where's the best bargain for my money, isn't it? You go shopping, you want to see where's the best deal, Where do I get the most for my money? Isn’t it? So there is another deal we have to look for, that’s called your time. Time is more valuable than money. So, where do I get the best deal for my time spent? By serving the dog or serving God? We have to analyze. We have to see where I get the best bargain, you see, for my time spent. By doing devotional service or engaging in sense gratification. I was hearing a nice lecture by Prabhupāda this morning as they were walking around the blocks and Prabhupāda was saying that Prema only exists in the spiritual world. There's two things, Prema and Kāma. Prema only exists in the spiritual world, not in the material world. They even say “I love you, I love you, I love you” but they're thinking, how can I gratify my senses. As soon as they get tired of gratifying their senses from that person, forget it, they’re going to somebody else. It's all Kāma. They say love, “ I love you, honey”. It's all Kāma. I want to gratify my senses.

So, we have to understand how to come to the position of Prema. That's very, very important. How to come to the position of Prema. And that is taught by the bonafide spiritual master Srila Prabhupāda teaches us how to come to the Prema platform. ”hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa sevanaṁ”(C.C. Madhya 19.170) By engaging the senses in the service of the master of the senses, you come to the position of a Prema. Actually we're in a diseased state right now because we actually rebelled against the supremacy of the Lord and Krishna  says, okay, I have a special place for all the rebels - The Material World. This is a place for all the rebels. This is a prison house for all those who rebelled against the authority of the supreme. Nobody is forced to stay in the spiritual world. You want to be a rebel? No problem. We have a nice prison for you in the cycle of birth and death. We are all rebels. We rebelled against the supremacy of Krishna. Krishna says, well, you want to be a rebel? Okay. I got a place where you can actually think that you're God. You know where your first birth was in the material world? Very interesting. The very first birth of living being when he entered the material world is Brahma. You were a Brahma. You had a whole universe under your control. Do you know that? You were a Brahma. You were also a Brahma. You had a whole universe under your control. But you weren't happy being in a whole universe. Maybe it's better to be an Indra. So you try this and that, you know, all the way from Indra to what? An Indra-gopa germ. You went from being Indra the King to become a germ, trying everyone . Well, I’m not happy as a cat, Let me try being a dog. You know the story? Yeah, there's a nice story in that connection. A nice story.

There was one little mouse. You know this story. There's one little mouse and he was in great anxiety because when he came out of his mouse hole there was a cat,  wanting to eat him. There was a sage nearby who had very powerful blessings. So when the cat was taking a nap, the little mouse man snuck out and said, “My dear guru, My dear sadhu, I have one problem. Whenever I come out of my mouth, the cat's trying to eat me. Can you make me a cat, so I don't have to worry anymore”. “Yes. Now you're a cat”. “Ah, yeah, Now I'm a cat?. But then he had another problem, the dog. So when the dog was taking a nap, he went back to the sage, “My dear sage, can you make me a dog?”, ”All right”, Dog. Then he had another problem, there was a tiger coming out of the jungle wanting a nice dog to eat. When the tiger went to the other forest, he said, “My dear sage, can you make me a tiger?” “Yes, now you're a tiger”. But for a tiger it's very difficult. Whenever he goes to eat, his meal runs away as fast as it can. But here was a nice juicy looking sage sitting right in front of him. So the tiger just looked, Aah!” So it says, “So, you want to eat me? Tiger said, “Yes”. Boom! “Then you become a mouse”. (Devotees laughter). So, we tried becoming everything, we tried becoming a mouse, a cat, a dog, a tiger, we tried so many ways to be happy with this. But you know what, now you have a very special benediction, my dear listeners. Now you have a very very special benediction “Athāto brahma jijñāsā”. Now you got the human form. Utilize this for self realization. Don't utilize it to be a more polished animal. They make human life, these karmis make human life of being more polished animal, that's all. Polished. Human life, to them, is polished animalism. The dog is running on 4 wheels but I'm not driving in my Mercedes-Benz. I mean the dog is running on 4 legs but I'm running in my four-tyred Mercedes-Benz. Higher authority.

So don't, my dear listeners, do not let you be polished animals. You must become “Athāto brahma jijñāsā”. Utilize human life for what it's actually meant for, utilize it to become self-realized. Otherwise you're wasting your human form. After going through 840,000 species again and again and again and again, now you've got a human form. Don't flush it down the toilet. Use your human form for what it's meant for. Now you’ve got to become awakened, spiritually awakened by taking a shelter of Guru and Krishna. When you do that, magic happens. A miracle happens. When you take shelter of Guru and Krishna, a miracle happens and you actually wake up. “Jīv jāgo, Jīv jāgo, Gauracānda Bole”. Lord Krishna is calling, “Wake Up You Living Entities”. Jiv Jago, Jiv Jago, Wake Up You Living Entities. Don't sleep in the lap of the witch Maya, Prahlāda. Don't sleep in the lap of Maya. Your little toy won't save you at the time of death. But when you hear from Krishna and Guru, then you become awakened.

(Aside)Uh-oh. Let him play with the toy then. He'll grow up, He’ll grow up beyond this.

See, the spiritual master has the toys. His toys is the material world. That’s the toys of Spiritual Master. He wants to make the whole thing Krishna conscious. So you can still play with the toys when you grow up. That's called preaching. I want to turn these un-devotees into devotees. That's the toys for the preacher. Devotees are preachers in the order of Lord Caitanya. They have a much better toy. They give their toys to the whole material world. How can I deliver all these souls? It's even stated in the scripture. What is that verse? I forget the verse. It says that after going through thousands and thousands of births, one actually realizes that one is the eternal servant of Krishna, you deliver all the worlds. So it's a very powerful thing to become awakened. When you actually become awakened in Krishna consciousness you have the power to deliver all living entities in all material existence. That's the great power of becoming awakened in Krishna consciousness.

So now we have to wake up so that we can actually deliver these golden messages. That's our duty. It's like a doctor has to deliver the sick people and make them healthy. We are doctors. Our duty is to deliver all the fallen souls and material world back to Godhead.

Let's see if we have any questions or comments or criticisms coming in. And we have also locals are here.

Tarun: Hare Krishna Srila Gurudeva, please explain the instant that a perception of cause depends on effect....temporary illusion

Sankarshan Das : Make it more clear, I don't understand your question.

Bhaktin Sheela: Please enlighten what senses are being satisfied while struggling to wake up at 4 A.M daily?

Sankarshan Das: What senses are being satisfied? Your spirit soul. You are beyond your senses. Bhaktin Sheela, you are not your senses. The senses are fences that block you from your true identity if you engage them improperly. So when you wake up at 4A.M. you are engaging your senses properly. That liberates you from misidentification with your material senses. So the senses. When you become Krishna conscious, all your senses are satisfied. Your eyes, every sense becomes very enlivened. When you engage your senses and fixed in the service of the master of the senses, your senses become enlivened. Every sense becomes very enlivened. You're thrilled to wake up at 4A.M. in the morning. Because it's thrilling adventure. “Oh, it's ecstatic”. You can wake up and taste the nectar. I get the tongue to relish Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. The eyes get to relish the form of the deity. My ears get to relish the holy name. My feet relish the feeling of the temple room floor. The ears get to relish. All your senses become ecstatic when you actually wake up with enthusiasm to engage in Krishna service.

Tarun : Percentage of fire depends on something that's turning into ashes.

Sankarshan Das : Actually you can have a bright fire without anything burning. It's like the sunshine is burning very brightly and lighting up the whole world but nothing is burning. Of course, grass is burning but it's not turning brown. Now burning is not, for something turning into ashes is not necessary. But if you awaken to the fire of Krishna consciousness burning within you, it turns to ashes all your material desires. Prabhupāda wrote me a letter that “All material desires – Zero”. Prabhupāda personally wrote me.

Sahil Zele :  By your causeless mercy I'm engaged in book distribution seva. What can I do which I can distribute wholeheartedly just spread gallons of litres of blood

Sankarshan Das : Can I distribute more books, is that the question? Well, you have to keep, by practice, makes perfect. You have to keep practicing. The more you distribute books, the more you become an expert at distributing books. Just keep practicing the art again and again. Any skill, if you practice it, you become expert it. They're just saying practice makes perfect. So you can become more and more expert in book distribution, doing it again and again and again. Anything else? Any of our locals have anything? Yes.

Paramahamsa Das : Srila Gurudev, You were helping understand the point that Prabhupada mentioned that there is no love in the material world. Is there any difference between affection versus attachment? One can have some kind of affection but not being attached. Is there any?

Sankarshan Das : If one is actually associating the with devotees, that frame, that's not common. Krishna consciousness is beyond the material world. If one is actually Krishna consciousness, he's not living in the material world, he is in the spiritual world.

Paramahamsa Das : And affection?

Sankarshan Das : The same thing. There is attachment and affection. What's the difference? Can you tell me the difference between them?

Paramahamsa Das : Like being attached to someone but not being...

Sankarshan Das : Actually, spiritual master is attached to all his disciples. All his disciples are also attached to the spiritual master. Hopefully. That's transcendental. And he feels affection for them also. They are very very dear to him. What did he say? “My dear”. Srila Prabhupāda used to write, he'd write his letters, “My dear Sankarshan Das”. That means I'm dear to Prabhupāda. He has affection and attachment to me and disciples. He always, always, hoping this will meet you well, your ever well-wisher. This is attachment and affection, the spiritual master for the disciple. Do you understand or not?

Paramahamsa Das : Yes.

Okay, now we have.

Bhakta Prantik : Imitated chanting is an offense, but it's due to the mind which is naturally unsteady. How to strive for focused, concentrated, chanting ?

Sankarshan Das : Well, you have to just bring it back, bring it back.

Yato yato niścalati

Manaś cañcalam asthiram

Tatas tato niyamyaitad

Ātmany eva vaśaṁ nayet (B.G. 6.26)

From 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.

When you see the mind is going away bring it back, bring it back, bring it back. And when you keep practicing that, bringing it back, that day will come when it doesn't wander anymore. It takes time, it takes practice. Our mind has been wandering since time immemorial over through all kinds of sense gratification. So we have to keep bringing back to Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. Keep bringing it back, bringing it back, bringing it back. Gradually the mind will say “Okay. I give up. I surrender. I'm not going to wander anymore. I'm going to stay totally absorbed in Krishna consciousness 24 hours a day”. Keep bringing it back and that day will come. Like the little boy running here, running there. That day will come. That day will come. Hope it makes sense.

(Phone ringing, Aside) Okay, here we go. Answer the phone. Go to the phone in the kitchen and answer it. Abhay Charan. Okay, let's take her to the phone call. We should put it on silent during the class. We have to put it on do not disturb in the class. We have to remember to do this. It's ridiculous to have a phone call in the middle of the class. It’s nonsense. Okay

Devotee : Thank You Gurudev for the beautiful, enlightening class. My question is, if you have attachment to guru and devotee, is it prema ?

Sankarshan Das : It can be, yes. If there is any pure attachment in the mood of service, in the mood of loving service, then it's Premā. So if I'm attached to some devotee serving me, “I really like this devotee because he massages my feet. If that devotee serves you then it can be Kāma. If you are attached to serving that devotee then it is Premā.

Bhaktin Shelly : So when you give Krishna a little, he gives you, He starts to serve you. But then in today's lecture he said that there is no one higher than Krishna. So can you explain why?

Sankarshan Das: Can you repeat what she said? It got broke, many of the kids making noise.

Bhaktin Shelly : So in the Bhagavad Gita it says that when you serve Krishna a little bit, he serves you a lot. He starts serving you. And then...

Sankarshan Das : Again the kid is breaking it up. Do you understand what the question is?

Vrajakishor Das : Oh Yes. So in Bhagavad Gita it's mentioned that when we start serving Krishna, even a little bit, Krishna starts serving us a lot.

Sankarshan Das : Yeah, yeah, right, you take one step towards Krishna, He takes ten steps towards you. That's right.

Bhaktin Shelly : So then, but in today's lecture, you said that there's nobody higher than Krishna.

Sankarshan Das :  That's right.

Bhaktin Shelly : So why would he ever start serving?

Sankarshan Das : Why would he start serving us? That’s his loving affection. Do you know why you exist? As the spirit soul? Do you know why you exist as the spirit soul? Krishna enjoys loving relationships. So Krishna expanded you from himself to get a loving relationship with you. That's why you exist. Does that make sense? Well, all of this exists as spiritual beings because Krishna wanted to enjoy unlimited relationships, loving relationships. So he expanded as infinite number of jịvā souls from himself. Sweet loving relationship with each one of them. Like He had 16,108 queens in Dwārka, He has unlimited devotees. He can have unlimited loving relationships with devotees. That's why we exist.

Okay, we have more questions rolling in.

Visnurata Das : How one is convinced that relishing name is better than tasting heavenly pleasure by genital but when he has not yet experienced the sex?

Sankarshan Das : Someone who has been a brahmachari his whole life – Jai! Ki Jai! All Glories to You. How can I understand the name is better than even sex life if I've never had sex? You're in a very enviable position actually, a very enviable position. You must understand - Better than any material pleasure, Visnurata,  you've certainly tasted material pleasure in your life, haven't you? Some kind of material pleasure. Millions and billions of times better than any material pleasure. Simply understand that point. Okay.

Hare Krishna Das : What is the cardinal sign in one developing Premā transforming into Kāma?

Sankarshan Das : Well, when you're not enthusiastic to engage in devotional service, that's a sign of your developing Premā transforming this kama. Oh, okay. What is the sign of when your Kāma is turning in Premā ? You're enthusiastic for devotional service. Enthusiasm for devotional service is a sign that your Kāma is now becoming Premā-ized.

Sahil Zele : (Bengali text by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur) How can we elevate to this mood of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur?

Sankarshan Das : I don't know the translation to even answer your question. You have to give me in English. I don't speak Bengali. Sorry. I only speak English and a little Spanish. Okay. Here we have Panchatatva Das.

Panchattatva Das : Kindly enlighten me, whenever being facing financial problems ( for the material world), my thought gets diverted to earning money rather than focus on devotional service. Example Chanting, Sunday program, etc., gets affected the most and feels dejected or ashamed of faith devoting in the ISKCON temple.

Sankarshan Das : Some of our greatest devotees are total paupers, what’s the difficulty. Living under a tree with no money at all. So why are you worried about money? What do they say in the material? Money, Money, Sweeter Than Honey. But what if you are just a sage living in a forest under a tree with not even a paisa to your name, what’s the difficulty?

Panchattatva Das : I know money is not above devotional service in the name of Krishna, but my intelligence plays with me.

Sankarshan Das : No, that is not your intelligence. That's your mind only. Intelligence means to see things through the eyes of scripture. That's intelligence, actual intelligence. Or you could say misguided intelligence. You have to see things through the eyes of scripture. How much money can you get at the time of death? At the time of death, how many rupees can you take with you? Can you take a credit card with you when you leave your body? You can't take anything with you. What if you were to die right now, Panchattatva Das? What if you leave your body right now, you can't take even 1 penny or 1 dollar or 1 rupee or anything with you. So be in that mood – “I can die every minute” and then you'll have no problems. The thing is you're still trying to enjoy the material world. That is your problem. Stop trying to be enjoyer of this material world. That'll be, that'll solve your problem.

Sahil Zele : “Krishna is yours and you can give him to me for such is your power. They'll bet you're simply running behind you crying out Krishna”.

Sankarshan Das: Yeah, that's a good translation. So, let's see. The question is how to develop his mood. Well, one thing you can do is sing the bhajan. Sing the bhajan often. Sing it nicely, with the harmonium, the Mrdanga, the Kartals

Kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dīte pāro,

Tomāra śakati āche. (“Ohe Vaisnava Thakura” by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

Sing it often, sing the bhajan often, being in the mood, sing the bhajan again and again. And that will help you develop the mood.

Panchattava Das : thank you so much.

Sankarshan Das : Anything else from the assembled devotees? Or you've had enough? Can't handle it anymore? It’s too much already. Too heavy already. I can’t take it. Too much, too much for me. I can’t handle it. It’s blowing my mind, I can't handle this. You're too heavy, Gurudeva. Can't handle it, can't take it. I'm freaking out, I can't stand it. Okay. Looks like that’s it. There's no more questions. Question?

Devotee : Just to clear the statement, if one has attachment to serving guru and devotee, then he is famous.

Sankarshan Das : Yes. “I can't do this. I can't, that's common. I can't do this. I can't scrub these pots clean. There's no way I can do it I quit” That's, that's common but, “even though I'm doing a horrible job right now, I'm not satisfying the Vaishnavas, but I keep trying and trying, perfect this art  because cleaning the pots mean cleaning your heart. If you refuse to clean the pots mean you are attracted to Kāma. “I want to keep this dirt in my heart”. You're scuffing the thoughts and scuffing your heart.

Devotee : Thank You Srila Gurudev.

Sankarshan Das: You scuff your heart completely clean, you'll be able to see Krishna directly, face to face. Would you like to see Krishna face to face?

Devotee: Yes

Sankarshan Das : What is our prayer?

Jagannatha svami nayana-patha-gami bhavatu me (Jagannathashtakam by Adi Sankarachary)

“My dear Lord Jagannath, please come to my vision”. That you can't force your way in and say, “Okay, reveal yourself, Jagannatha”. No. You have to qualify yourself. As Prabhupāda personally wrote me that “Now you qualify yourself to see Krishna face to face”. Direct orders from Prabhupāda. “Now you qualify yourself to see Krishna face to face”. You can't barge your way into the spiritual world. You have to qualify yourself by cleaning and scrubbing your heart clean from all the dirt. So the pot washing service is a great service for you. The master of the art of scrubbing these pots perfectly clean. 

Okay, let's see what we got here.

Shivani : Kids too young to chant. How do they get protection?

Sankarshan Das : Bearing the kirtan. Get the kid dancing in the kirtan. That's easy to do. The kids love singing and dancing in the kirtan. If they can't chant, get them to dance in the kirtan. If they're little babies, just let them hear the kirtan. Lying in the cradle get him to hear the kirtan. Anything else? Everybody satisfied now? Okay.

Devotee : Do you get vision of Krishna?

Sankarshan Das : Well, I see Krishna daily. (Devotees laughter). I don't claim to see Krishna face to face, eye to eye but I'm begging for that day I'm begging for that day. Okay.

Visnurata Das :  Does spiritual pleasure increases from subtle, slowly to gross or swifter ?

Sankarshan Das : Definitely. It becomes more and more manifest over the course. If you stay in this process, you don't deviate from the rules and regulations, it definitely increases more and more. Even all your senses become enlivened becoming engaged in Krishna's service. Even your body becomes thrilled. That day comes as we advance more. Okay.

Lila Manjari : Does absorption in service enough to get free from impurities or one has to work on it separately.

Sankarshan Das : No. Absorption in service itself will get free all the dust from your eyes. And chanting Hare Krishna is also service. Reading Bhāgavatam is also service. There's nine different types of activities. They're all service. Everything we do is a devotional service. Anything you do that’s not devotional service, give it up. Anything else ? Everyone is totally satisfied now ? Yes ?

Devotee : Gurudev, You have mentioned about the illusion and confusion and profusion. Can you explain that?

Sankarshan Das : Yeah. You know what illusion means? You know what profusion means? It means a big quantity. A humongous quantity. It's like the COVID-19, the profusion of COVID-19, many people, profusion means big, huge quantity, like a whole ocean. So we're suffering in an ocean of illusion and confusion. That's what it means. Illusion and confusion and profusion. There's a whole ocean of illusion and confusion. “Ah, I can't handle this”. You were explaining illusion and confusion and profusion the other day. “I can't wash these pots”. That's called illusion and confusion and profusion. A huge finding of illusion and confusion. Okay next. That's it ? Nothing else?. We can stop here. It is recorded also so that you can hear. There is a link in “Thought for the day” for hearing any lecture. You were asking for it. There’s a link in the “Thought for the day” for hearing lecture. Okay, another one came in.

Devotee : How to focus the mind, intelligence in Krishna consciousness ?

Sankarshan Das: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare. The quality of your japa will manifest in the quality of everything you do. How will you speak? How will you hear? How will you watch the pot? Whatever it is. The quality of your japa will manifest in everything. It all hinges on your japa. What is the quality of your japa? Okay, anything else? And now we'll end it here.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Thank you very much. Srila Prabhupāda ki Jai.