Sankarshan Das:

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

iti tau dam-patī tatra

samudya samayaṁ mithaḥ

tāṁ praviśya purīṁ rājan

mumudāte śataṁ samāḥ

nāradaḥ uvāca — the great sage Nārada spoke; iti — thus; tau — they; dam-patī — husband and wife; tatra — there; samudya — being equally enthusiastic; samayam — accepting one another; mithaḥ — mutually; tām — in that place; praviśya — entering; purīm — in that city; rājan — O King; mumudāte — they enjoyed life; śatam — one hundred; samāḥ — years.

Now we have a computer problem here, let's see if we can get the, we just lost our connection, let's try again to get the class going here on the internet.

(Hare Krishna, Welcome to the wonderful world of Krishna consciousness, the dimension of eternity, knowledge and bliss. There are 16 participants in the conference. All participants are muted and they can unmute themselves. All participants are muted)

Vraja Kishore Das: So since internet is not strong, better not to use video.

Sankarshan Das: Okay.

Vraja Kishore Das: Video takes internet.

Sankarshan Das: Okay.

Translation in Purport, by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada.

The great sage Nārada said: My dear King, those two — the man and the woman — supporting one another through mutual understanding, entered that city and enjoyed life for one hundred years.

Purport:

One hundred years is significant in this connection because every human being is given the concession to live up to a hundred years. The span of life is different on different planets, according to the planet’s distance from the sun. In other words, one hundred years on this planet is different from one hundred years on another planet. Lord Brahmā lives for one hundred years according to time on the Brahmaloka planet, but one day of Brahmā is equal to millions of years on this planet. Similarly, the days on the heavenly planets are equal to six months on this planet. On every planet, however, the span of life for a human being is roughly one hundred years. According to the life spans on different planets, the standards of living also differ.

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, today we're hearing from His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada, about the one hundred years lifespan. So, today here in Trivandrum, how many people live to be a hundred? Has anybody lived to be a hundred here?

I know in the US if somebody lives to be a hundred they put in the newspapers, oh so and so lived to be a hundred. I think they have a word for it, centurion or something like that. It's a special word, centurion, he lived to be a hundred years. So why people aren't living to be a hundred? That's the standard lifespan. Why they're not living to be a hundred?

Do you know why they're not living to be a hundred? That is called the influence of the age of Kali. Is Kali Yuga getting better? Or is it getting worse? It's getting worse and worse and worse. Just like in the US now we have mass shootings every day. It's a new national pastime. Somebody goes to a school, they start shooting kids. They go to a church and start shooting everybody in the worship service. It's going to be so horrible.

Now you can also choose your gender. In the US. You ask a little boy, do you think you are a boy or a girl? The boy thinks, I think I am a girl. I mean that's what's happening in the US right now. Can you imagine? India has not become so degraded yet. But give another ten years and we will see what happens. It has become so bad. At the end of the age of Kali.If you are 13 years old be considered a grand old man. At 13 a teenager is considered an old man. So it's, what can I say, Kali Yuga, horrible age. I have good news for all you Prabhus and Matajis and guests. I have good news for you. Just like during the period known as Ram Rajya, when the whole world was auspicious, there was no disease, There was no anxiety. There was no poverty. And even you didn't die unless you wanted to die. You could live as long as you wanted to, you can imagine that. If you wanted to live to be a thousand, you could live to be a thousand. So that same atmosphere of Ramrajya, Srila Prabhupada has informed us, that same atmosphere can be manifested now, through what method? The Sankirtan movement. So just consider how fortunate we are, we've all been included into this Sankirtan movement. The most auspicious blessing upon this planet, upon this universe, upon the entire material world. So how do you actually become a potent member of this Sankirtan movement? It's so potent that if even one devotee can chant the holy names of the Lord without any offense, by that one devotee the whole world will become Krishna conscious. Everybody will be chanting and dancing in ecstasy. In every town and every village. All over India, all over Europe, All over America, all over Russia, all over China, they'll be chanting and dancing in extreme ecstasy.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

So think about that when you chant your japa. This is not, I have not made this up. It's right there in Prabhupada's purport. If a devotee can purely chant the names of the Lord without any offense, he becomes Jagadguru. So every devotee can become Jagadguru. The brahmacharis, the grihasthas, not the grhamedhi though, they don't qualify. The grihasthas, the vanaprasthas, the sannyasis, any, even a kid, if any devotee would chant, just think of Prahlad. If even if one person in this movement can chant the holy names of the Lord without offense by his or her influence, the whole world will become inundated with Krishna bhakti. Again, I'm not making this up. It's right there in Prabhupada's purport. So think about that when you're dancing in the kirtan. Think about that when you say Hare Krishna to somebody. We have an amazing, amazing mercy given to us by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. That each and every one of us can be instrumental in putting this Kali Yuga into a state of remission.

You may wonder, it's predicted the age of Kali is going to get worse. And the Kalki avatar is going to come, to get rid of all these fallen souls, by preaching? Nahi. By killing. He will kill all these rascals. How can Sankarshan Das say we can put the Kali in a state of remission, when it's already predicted Kalki is going to come to annihilate all the rascals? I have an answer to defeat your doubt. Prabhupada explains, is something called the Chaitanya Era. We even calculate our calendars towards that. It's either BC, AD, CE, the Chaitanya Era. We can calculate our calendars according to the time from Lord Caitanya's appearance as 2 CE, Caitanya Era. So Srila Prabhupada explains how this Caitanya Era, It lasts for 10,000 years. For 5,000 years, increasing, increasing, increasing, increasing. And 10,000 years, gradually diminishing. So we can be very enthusiastic now. Because we are 550 years into the Chaitanya Era. And which is going to get better and better and better. This movement is going to grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, until it engulfs the entire material existence. We get to be the representatives of that Chaitanya era. So actually the whole world is waiting.

Just imagine somebody, one of your friends, one of your housemates is having a nightmare, you see. In the Brahmacharya ashram, one of the Brahmachary is having a nightmare. Or in your home, your wife is having a nightmare, your husband is having a nightmare, one of your kids is having a nightmare, what will you do? Wake him up, right? Get him out of their nightmare. So the whole world is having a big nightmare, you see. What is that nightmare? Bodily consciousness. I am this body. I am male. I am female. I am transgender. It's a nightmare, you see. Because we are suffering. The fourfold miseries, the threefold miseries, it's bad news Prabhus. We're suffering like anything, isn't it? So one great representative of Lord Caitanya has come to wake us up. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. He's come to wake us up from our nightmare. And he told us, now the whole world is having a nightmare. Now you go out and wake them up.

jīv jāgo, jīv jāgo, gauracānda bole

Wake them up, wake them up, wake them up. So the whole world is waiting to be woken up. They actually want to be awakened. Even the Jagais and Madais, the woman hunters, the rapists, the meat eaters, the cow killers, every single one of them wants to be awakened up. Particularly, they are all going to become awoken. So they dedicate their lives, for waking up these fallen conditioned souls, will go down in history as the deliverers of the world. So would you like to be one of those souls who are waking up the fallen souls?

How to do that?

It's very simple. What do you do? Preach. Preach, preach, preach to the world. Enlighten the fallen souls. Give them a book. Give them Prasadam. Preach to them. Wake them up, wake them up, wake them up. As I've said many times before, the more you give Krishna, the more you get Krishna. And the more you get Krishna, the more you have Krishna, and the more you have Krishna, the more you can give Krishna. The more that you give Krishna, the more you have Krishna. So it just goes on expanding, expanding, expanding, you see.

There's no end to how much you can have Krishna. How much you can give Krishna. You just have to take up this activity of cultivating pure bhakti within your heart. Driving away all the lust, the anger, the greed, the madness, the illusion and the envy. Kick it out. All this lust, anger, greed is like stool in the toilet. What do you do when there's stool in the toilet? What do you do? Do you relish it? Oh, just see that wonderful stool. It's so beautiful. Nice shape. Nice nice shape. nice, nice smell. No, you flush it. Get rid of that damn stuff. So that lust, anger, greed is a stool in the toilet. Flush it down, get rid of it. But is that flushing knob?

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

You gave it all that stool, urine, lust, anger, madness and grief, then what do you have left?

Prema bhakti.

Actually you are already Krishna's pure devotee. You are one of his associates in his transcendental pastimes in the spiritual world. So why are you cheating yourself by identifying with this bag of stool and urine? Whether your bag is male or female, or transgender. Stop misidentifying yourself and cheating yourself.

Come back, come back, come back to that place where you once belonged. At the lotus feet of Sri Radha and Krishna, you will taste unbelievable, ever-increasingly sweet nectar. You will be swimming in an ocean of bliss. You have to tune into the holy names. Turn on your identity as an eternal servant of Krishna. And then you'll be blissing out in the transcendental ecstasy of Prema bhakti.

So I'm going to ask you now if you have any questions. Guru Mataji, you want to add some points? I can't hear you. Alright. Any questions?

Vishnu-Priya Devi Dasi: Srimad Bhagavadam says, in Kali yuga, there's all the faults, but there is one good thing about it, we can attain Krishna consciousness very easily. By chanting of this Hare Krishna Mantra. Unlimited faults, but there is not mention, and as you have mentioned that India is not as far as gone becoming as Western countries. The other day in the airport we saw that same gender marriage. So India is not following their own culture, but India is following some sense gratifactory culture. So there is nothing so special about India also.

Sankarshan Das: India is also catching up.

Vishnu-Priya Devi Dasi: Yes

Sankarshan Das: India is also catching up? Land of Krishna. Now, they are going to be the land of mleccha, mleccha desh.

Question here?

Devotee: Srila Gurudev, Your Grace asked us to preach. I also like to preach. However, I am not able to do it expertly. Not just preaching, Srila Gurudev, anything that I am trying to do, there are so many errors. So in this situation, what to do?

Sankarshan Das: So he wants to preach, but he cannot do it expertly. Can you play mridanga? No. Can you drive a car? The first time you got in the car, could you drive it expertly? But now you can drive very expertly. By practice. So, Just start off preaching in expertly. Like practice you become expert. They have a saying in English, practice makes perfect. So the more you practice, the more you become expert. So, Prabhupada said, preach, preach, preach to the world. Take Prabhupada's order and do it. And here is a special mercy. Krishna within your heart will guide you and inspire you what to say. Just like when I sat down to give this class, I was thinking what will I say. It was in anxiety, I don't know what to say. But I put myself in the hands of Krishna and the words keep coming out. What can I do? I'm just a fool and a rascal. I don't know anything, really. But by Krishna's grace, by Prabhupada's grace, I am able to say something. The key is enthusiasm. The enthusiasm to preach, it's like when I was a young brahmachari back in 1971, I wrote Prabhupada and I said, Srila Prabhupada I want to spread this movement. He wrote me a wonderful letter in return. He said, I can see you are a very sincere and enthusiastic boy. Now continue enthusiastically as you are doing and surely Krishna will bless you. That's it, just be enthusiastic to preach, that's all. And Krishna will bless you if you make that enthusiasm. Prabhupada's words work. See, here I am, 76 year old body. There are so many pains and difficulties of the body. But still my enthusiasm is growing, getting more and more enthusiasm.

Next question. Yeah.

Devotee: So you will get how much one should focus on preaching and how much one focus on inner purification?

Sankarshan Das: Okay. So from 4 am to 9 am, focus on purification. From 9 am to 6 pm, focus on saving the world. And from 6pm to 9pm focus on purification. Something like that. According to your schedule. That gives you the idea. I can't. Give the microphone to Gurumataji. I can't hear. He'll repeat it. He'll repeat it for me. He'll repeat it for me. You Go ahead and say it. He can repeat it for me.

Vishnu-Priya Devi Dasi: What I was saying, is it that in the beginning, we have to have guidance.

Sankarshan Das: For preaching and purification, both require guidance? Absolutely. That's fine. Someone says, well, you know, I don't want to take a Guru. I'll just do it on my own. But that means you're not following Krishna. Krishna says,

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

Just try to learn the truth by approaching the spiritual master. Inquire of him submissively. Render service unto him. Self-realized souls, can impart knowledge unto you, because they have seen the truth. So if you want to surrender to Krishna, you cannot concoct your own processes running to Krishna.

You have to obey Krishna, which means accepting a spiritual master. Prabhupada makes it very, very clear. Just as the train runs on two tracks, If you have only one track, the train will fall off the side. So what are the two tracks? Guru and Krishna. You can't have Guru without Krishna. You can't have Krishna without Guru. They both go together, you see. So take shelter of bonafide spiritual master, get initiated by the spiritual master. Not just making a show. Now I am initiated. I am so and so Das. I am so and so, Dasi. Just see, now I'm initiated. Wait a minute here, we have a nice darshan of Krishna Balaram and Gaura Nitai.

So initiation means not just making a show. It's not just a rubber stamp, Now I've initiated. Initiation means taking the order of your spiritual master and your very life and soul. Your every thought, Your every word, your every deed, in all times, places and circumstances, should be for the pleasure of the spiritual master. You may think, well, I can do a little nonsense. Nobody will know. Secretly I do a little nonsense. But my dear listeners, Krishna can see everything. Yamaraja can also see everything. There's two databases. Krishna's keeping a record of all your devotional activities. Yamaraja also has a book. He's noting down any nonsense that you do or even thoughts. It's also noted down by Yamaraja. So whose database do you want to be in? Krishna's database or Yamaraja's database? When you take Guru, every thought, word and deed has to be for Krishna's pleasure. And Every nonsense comes, new thoughts, words or deeds, kick it out. Spit at it. Get it out of your heart. Any other questions from the ladies? Guru Mataji wants to add a point.

Vishnu-Priya Devi Dasi: Taking a guru, what does it mean?

Sankarshan Das: What's that?

Hare Krishna Das: Taking a guru, what does it mean?

Sankarshan Das: Taking a guru means following his instructions. I know in my own spiritual life, I was a singer-songwriter. I was attracted to Vishnujana Swamy. I was thinking well I'll be like George Harrison. It was a big hit, My Sweet Lord. Not being one of the initiated devotees. I'll just be a singer-songwriter following George Harrison's example, Krishna conscious songs. Then one day, We got a radio station DJ gave us a record album that he didn't want to play on his radio station. It was called the Radha Krishna Temple album. While I was vacuuming the temple room rug, that album was playing on the record player, And I heard one song.

saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka-

trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam

prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

It's being sung by the London devotees. They were giving their love to Srila Prabhupada. This is not the love of this material world. I love my dog, I love my cat, I love my goldfish, I love my school, I love my mom and dad, I love my girlfriend. It was not those kind of loves. This was a pure love of selfless total surrender. I could tune in that loving feeling they had for Prabhupada. And that love was so sweet. The taste of that love was so incredibly sublime, far beyond any so-called love by obsession in this material world. I felt a little sample of their love that they felt for Prabhupada. I tasted a little bit of that love they felt for Prabhupada. And that little taste was the most amazing experience I ever had in my whole life. And the tears just came streaming down my face. So I asked the devotees, When can I get initiated? So initiation is not just following rules and regulations. Initiation is a loving relationship with the spiritual master. It is totally free from any tinge of material consciousness. That love we have for our spiritual master is the gateway through which we can learn to love Radha and Krishna. So that's what, that's something a little bit more, I may say again gurus. It's a loving feeling between the disciple and the spiritual master.

Any questions from the ladies side? Yes.

Devotee: Is there any minimum qualification for preaching?

Sankarshan Das: Shraddha. Do you have faith that Krishna is God? Now tell the whole world.

Devotee: What should be one's mood while preaching?

Sankarshan Das: Mercy, kindness, love. Someone is drowning in the river and they're calling, Help, help, help. You try to save them, won't you? So you have to have that mood of wanting to rescue the fallen souls that are drowning in the ocean of birth and death. Compassion.

Devotee: I am not purified. What influence I can exert on others?

Sankarshan Das: You have some purification. That's why you are here. Actually, you think you have no purification. That mood itself is purification. Bhaktivinoda Thakur said,

kabe ha'be bolo se-dina amar

When, oh when will that day be mine?

When my offenses ceasing,

Taste for the name increasing,

When in my heart will your mercy shine?

aparadha ghuci', suddha name ruci,

krpa-bale ha'be hrdoye sascar

kabe ha'be bolo se-dina amar

When, oh when will that day be mine?

So if you feel yourself to be the most fallen rascal, with no qualification, That feeling itself is your qualification. Devotee doesn't advertise, oh I'm free from lust. Beware of somebody who advertises how pure they are. Oh yes, I'm a pure devotee. I have no material desires. Beware of such a rascal. One who says, I'm very fallen and I have no purification, I have no love. Then you can say this person is on the right track. Your humility is a sign that you have the qualification to preach. Now liberate the world. Yeah.

Vishna-Priya Devi Dasi: Does the the words of Guru and Krishna has power?

Sankarshan Das: The words of Krishna, this is a very good point from Guru Mataji. Just by... The preaching itself will purify you. Just like I know from giving classes. I can be completely in Maya. All kinds of stool and urine in my brain. But when I give a class, I feel I'm purified by giving a class. That's why I love giving classes. It purifies me, you see. So you may have brain filled with stool and urine. By preaching, preaching itself will purify you.

Vishna-Priya Devi Dasi: You want to say your purification will come when you repeat Krishna's words to somebody, Krishna is the speaker

Sankarshan Das: That's right. Just like the postman may come to your house, give you a cashier's check for one crore of rupees. Now do you ask him, my dear postman, are you a rich man or are you impoverished? No, I'm actually in poverty. I can't even pay my rent. I may have to move out and live under a tree because I have no money. Well my dear postman, I won't take this cheque from you, no I won't accept it, you're a poor man. It doesn't matter if he's impoverished, he's a wealthy man, if he brings a cheque for one crore of rupees, take it. So Prabhupada said I may be qualified, I may not be qualified. But my qualification is I'm simply giving you what I've received from my spiritual master. So I may be the most fallen rascal in all the three worlds. The most degraded, despicable mahamudha that's ever manifested anywhere in all of existence. I'm simply giving to you without adding or subtracting what I receive from my spiritual nature. So when you preach in that mood, you'll be a very successful preacher.

Anything else from Guru Mataji? One last question then.

Devotee: Srila Gurudev, it's in the answer you have given for the mataji regarding the preaching mood, Srila Gurudev Your Grace has mentioned that one example of one person is drowning and asking for help. So that time, we can help. But my question is, people are not feeling that they are drowning. So when we are offering our help, they are not accepting. So how to handle that?

Sankarshan Das: They're not accepting our help?

Hare Krishna Das: Because people doesn't feel that they are drowning. So they don't accept your help.

Sankarshan Das: Well, then any successful salesman, he knows this mantra.

(translation in the background) I made… this is a short sentence.

Hare Krishna Das: Repeating the question.

Sankarshan Das: Ah, ok..

Some will. Some won't. So what? Next.

So you going to book distribution. Some will take it, some won't. Go to the next one, the next one, you find somebody who will, so in this way the whole world is waiting but some people are ready and some people aren't ready, keep going person to person to person. You will find somebody who is ready. So that's how it works. And the more people that come, the more people become attracted. There is a saying also, a crowd attracts a crowd. When Prabhupada first came, he attracted a few hippies by chanting in Topkin Square Park with a pair of karthas. Few hippies. Then a few more came, few more came, and the more that came, the more became attracted, Oh, some big movement is happening here, let's check it out. So just go for one person. Go to many, many people and find even one person. And make him Krishna conscious. In this way we can be successful.

So we'll stop here now. All right, I'll squeeze one more and this is it, no more. This is the last one.

Devotee: How to increase our love towards our spiritual master?

Sankarshan Das: To increase your love to the spiritual master. You can pray to him, my dear spiritual master I have no love for you at all. I am drowning in the ocean of material desires. So I plead my beloved Guru Maharaj, rescue me from all these material desires and bless me even just one tiny drop of love for you. Please my Guru Maharaj. Try that, it works. Do it sincerely and you will be amazed how you can feel the mercy like torrents of rain in the monsoon season falling upon you.

So that's it. We have my class tonight. On the roof, the Krishna Balaram Residency. So everybody's invited to come. It's the last lecture before we head back to Vajradhamma. And then to America also. So please all of you come tonight, I don't know how much room there is, as many as we can squeeze into the roof, come tonight and join us for the last class. So may you all take this process seriously, and Dedicate yourselves fully to Guru and Krishna. Get out of all your nonsense, still in your heart. Become fully awakened in pure love of God. And your lives will be unlimitedly sublime. The great Acharya's absolutely guaranteed it. This process works, If you work the process. If you don't work the process, it doesn't work. So work the process. That's my last instruction to you. Work the process. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna Das: His Grace Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Gurudev ki

All devotees: Jaya!