23 -24 May 1996 Radlett U.K.

Cry When You Chant
[Hari-katha spoken by Nitya Lila Pravista Om Visnupada Astottara Sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja – Srila Gurudeva]
To listen to the audio file of this transcription, please click on this link:
Devotee: For many years, she has not taken shelter of another guru to take diksa. But for many years she has been serving and some devotees are telling her that because she hasn’t accepted diksa from a guru, her service is worthless.
Srila Gurudeva: I cannot say like this. I speak on the authority of the sastra like the Srimad Bhagavatham and I follow what the disciplic acaryas have to say. We should follow in the footsteps of the associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If any guru falls, we should give him up. Then our faith will not be broken. So, we should wait and look for a bona fide guru. By accepting him or a siksa guru, we will advance rapidly in our devotion. If we don’t have faith in anyone, then we should wait and pray to Krsna that He will arrange a bona fide guru for us. If you are not satisfied by the character of any guru, then you shouldn’t accept him as your diksa guru. I told some devotees of ISKCON to consider Svamiji as their siksa guru.
I told them, “Thinking of Svamiji as your siksa guru, you should try to develop your mood. You should pray to him and to Krsna that they will manage a bona fide guru for you. Then there will be no need for you to repent as you did earlier, when you thought, ‘The guru I accepted has fallen down. The second guru I accepted has also fallen down.’”
So, wait a little and see a bona fide guru by his own mercy. Without having a bona fide diksa guru, you will remain unqualified and you will not progress in your devotion. You will not come in the line of devotion because of this shortcoming. Not coming in order, you will not be able to totally follow anyone. Therefore, a diksa guru is needed. Hence, in our disciplic order it has been told that we should give up the fallen guru and accept a bona fide guru. But if he is chanting, his devotional services will not go in vain. They will help him to some extent; they will help him find a bona fide guru. Really, Krsna will manage and Krsna Himself will accept his service. If anyone hasn’t accepted a diksa-guru or a siksa guru, but still, chants, “Krsna Krsna,” then will his chanting go in vain? I think not because Ajamila didn’t accept a guru. He named his son as Narayana and would always call out to him, saying, “Narayana, Narayana.”
When he did so at the point of his death, the messengers of Narayana came and chastised the messengers of Yama Maharaja. They then instructed Ajamila on how he could obtain the service of Narayana. They saved him from death and Ajamila had the good fortune of listening to the discussion between the Yamadutas and Visnudutas. He then realized the glories of the holy name.
He thought, “Oh the glories of the holy name are so marvelous. To unintentionally chant or listen to the name of Narayana even once, without having a guru, will bestow incalculable transcendental benefit. Thus, I should go to Haridvar and accept the shelter of a bona fide guru. From him, I will learn and engage in the service of Narayana.”
With this objective in mind, Ajamila went to Haridvar to seek the shelter of a bona fide guru. He then accepted the shelter of a bona fide guru and came in the line of devotion. He chanted, worshiped, and meditated on the mantra of Narayana. Thus, he achieved perfection. Although, he chanted nama-abhasa, a semblance of the holy name, his chanting never went in vain. The bhakti we engage in presently is bhakti-abhasa, a semblance of devotion; we are not practicing pure bhakti. When we perform sadhana to attain bhava-bhakti, then the services we perform can constitute real bhakti.
The definition of pure bhakti has been given by Srila Rupa Gosvami in the following verse. We must know this verse:
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
By observing the limbs of bhakti according to this verse, we will engage in svarupa-siddha bhakti. So, you need not worry or bother yourself. All your devotional services like chanting the holy name will never go in vain. The semblance of the holy name will provide something, but it will not provide entrance into Vraja. By receiving the holy name from a bona fide guru, you will enter Vraja.
Devotee: How will I find a bona fide guru?
Srila Gurudeva: Krsna will manage. You cannot find a bona fide guru by yourself. If you are sincere, Krsna will arrange for you to take the shelter of a bona fide guru. Any of the disciples of Svamiji had never made any effort to find him. But, he went door to door of every house and gave everyone the instructions of Krsna. So, you should not be worried about these matters. The opposing devotees cannot tell all these truths to you. If I speak, they will patiently hear. I know.
So, you should see me as a friend and not otherwise. Let them do whatever propaganda they wish to make against me. One day, they will realize their folly. But, they may not have any time for repentance.
Gaura Premanande! Hari Haribol!
[Devotee reads Srila Svami Maharaja’s purport of a particular verse]
Devotee: When you become convinced that Krsna is your intimate friend and protector, how happy and peaceful you will be. When everyone will love Krsna, the world will be filled with tranquillity. When you are protected by Krsna, you will never be worried about insufficiency. You will become pure and make progress in spiritual life.
Srila Gurudeva: Svamiji has written this?
Devotee: Yes.
Srila Gurudeva: Very good. Do you want this as a blessing from me? Or should I keep my blessings to myself?
Now I will take prasadam and become ready for the evening class. I should be excused if I have given pain to any devotees. My mood is to only glorify your Prabhupada. I want everyone to know who Svamiji really was.
Devotee: Maharaja, thank you very much for answering my questions.
Srila Gurudeva: I am also glad to have answered your questions. I will be gladder if you believe and act according to my answers.
Gaura Premanande! Hari Haribol!
Is my daughter Anandini satisfied by my answers?
Anandini dasi: Very much.
Devotee: I am also satisfied.
Srila Gurudeva: You are also satisfied?
I want to see you all again.
[Break of audio]
24th May 1996 Radlett
Devotee: After I have returned to England from Vrndavan with Bhudara, I see many changes in myself.
Srila Gurudeva: This is the mercy of the holy Dhama. I am very glad to meet you. You are a simple person. I am glad to know that you went to Vrndavan. I want you to develop your Krsna consciousness. I will feel so happy to help you develop your Krsna consciousness.
Devotee: I give you my heart Gurudeva.
Srila Gurudeva: You are so lucky to have come in this line of cultivating love for the Divine Couple. You will only get this chance after many births. Hence, the devotee must make use of this opportunity. He will then tread this path of devotion and become sincere. His devotion will gradually develop and Krsna will facilitate the birth of the soul in the manifest pastimes of Vraja. You must have many pious activities from your past lives to your credit. You have performed many pious activities even in this life. Moreover, you went to Vrndavan and also to Govardhana. Therefore, they have given their causeless mercy to you. This is the mercy of Giriraja Govardhana and Vrndavan.
You must know that this human life is extremely rare. Therefore, you must use this opportunity to develop your Krsna consciousness.
Srila Gurudeva to a devotee: Perhaps your wife and you are chanting?
Devotee: Yes.
Vrajanatha Prabhu: You can tell Gurudeva what you are doing.
Devotee: We started a company with a minimum amount of money. Now, we have seventy employees.
Vrajanatha Prabhu: He sent a very good sponsor letter for visa.
Devotee: We run our company explicitly with love. There is not enough love in business. People need love. In order for me to speak about love, I need to be loved and I need to have my heart in the right place. This can only result through sincerity with Krsna. If I am humble, Krsna may give me the love and strength by which I can give it to others.
Srila Gurudeva: Chant more then you will have that love.
Devotee 2: No one eats meat in the company. It is a beautiful thing to be able to love Krsna and share Krsna’s love and sweetness in different ways with people in your life.
Srila Gurudeva: If a man has no love, he will never be happy. If you have love for the Divine Couple, then you can always be happy in Their service. This is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I explained this in the morning class. All the living entities of the entire universe should have love for Krsna. If you have love for Krsna, you can distribute it to all. Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and the other religions of this world are not actual religions. They are the process by which one can develop morality and a mood of brotherhood with each other. They concern themselves on how to make the souls happily and peacefully reside in this world. These religions are worldly designations.
Sripada Madhava Maharaja: The religions of this world are only material designations and nothing else.
Srila Gurudeva: In our sastras, it is has been stated that all the souls are the part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead—Krsna. So, the souls of this world have become conditioned by choosing to enjoy the Lord’s material creation. Their minds and hearts are enamored by the Lord’s material creation. The conditioned souls are of the opinion that only wealth, women, and wine will give them happiness in life. But, only divine love can give them eternal happiness. After attaining this divine love, you will experience the topmost bliss.
I am very glad to have met you.
Devotee: During your stay here, I felt your presence in my heart every day.
Vrajanatha Prabhu: For the entire week, he has felt your presence in his heart increase every passing day.
Devotee: Whenever I would chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, my eyes would fill up with tears.
Srila Gurudeva: May you develop the moods of bhakti very soon. It is good that you chant. But if you chant in the process that Caitanya Mahaprabhu has stated, you will attain divine love. Srila Rupa Gosvami has explained this process. Have you ever heard the name of Rupa Gosvami?
Devotee: Yes. I chanted in front of Rupa Gosvami’s Samadhi in Vrndavan.
Srila Gurudeva: That is why you cry while you chant. You should pray in a heartfelt way to Rupa Gosvami and his associates. In the books of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, it has been stated that if anyone can have the association of a bona fide Vaisnava and if they visit the pastime-places of Sri Radha and Krsna under the guidance of this association, then they will surely have this divine love. So, I will explain the process by which all anarthas will be removed on chanting Krsna’s name. I will speak on how you can increase your taste for the holy name.
Does anyone have any more questions?
Devotee 2: I have a question on receiving diksa.
Srila Gurudeva: Receiving diksa depends on your discretion. I will listen to what you have to say. I don’t have any self-interest. I don’t say, “You should be my disciple.” I only want to help. If you want to have that thing, you can approach me.
Devotee 2: I believe everything that you have to say, that is why I asked the question. In India, many sincere disciples talked to me and told me that one receives the qualification to receive diksa by the Mahat’s mercy.
Devotee 3: He has heard from through your disciples in India and now he has met you. He has spoken to Bhudhara Prabhu about diksa and now that he has met you, he feels so serious in this matter of taking initiation.
Srila Gurudeva: Very good. You should also see me and associate with me. Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami have explained the process of diksa. A bad reaction results from accepting an unqualified guru. You should place your trust and faith in a bona fide guru. You should develop your relationship with such a bona fide guru because this relationship is forever. So, we should accept the shelter of a bona fide guru and not change our moods every passing day.
Devotee 2: Yes. It is not that we decide something today and have a different idea tomorrow. We should very carefully decide and be of the conviction, “I want this and nobody can change my decision.”
Srila Gurudeva: Like Svamiji; our disciplic order’s love and honor for their gurus increases at every moment. If someone is not a pure devotee, but is performing the service of a guru, then he should be honored. Because Nityananda Prabhu is the root of all gurus; He is adi-guru. The gurus of the disciplic order are the prakasa, manifestation of Sri Nityananda Prabhu; they are not separate from Him. The gurus must be established in this line, otherwise they cannot help others. The disciples of an unqualified guru will not be bona fide. So, we should see and judge before we determine who we will accept our guru as.
I am not telling you to immediately act this way. I know that you are sincere and qualified. For your benefit, you should determine to see if I am bona fide or not. Otherwise, I am always helping everyone.
Devotee 2: I have respect for what you have told me. I am satisfied by what you have said. I have been thinking about taking diksa from you Maharaja since January. So, it is not something I have only been thinking about recently, I have been thinking since January. I have read your books and I have had many discussions with Bhudara also.
Srila Gurudeva: Will your wife agree to your decision?
Devotee 2: She will agree. But if she also wants to get initiated, then I will determine how sincere is in her desire. But ultimately it is her decision.
[Vrajanatha Prabhu explains what the devotee said to Srila Gurudeva]
Gurudeva, his wife also wants to be encouraged. But, he wants her to make a decision by herself.
Srila Gurudeva: Very good. She should not be influenced or controlled by anyone. You shouldn’t force her to take initiation.
Devotee 2: She has her decision and I have my decision. We love each other and we both love Krsna.
Srila Gurudeva: Very good.
When is Ekadasi?
Vrajanatha Prabhu: Ekadasi is next week Gurudeva.
Devotee 2: Please bless our marriage Gurudeva.
[Break of audio]
[Srila Gurudeva speaks to the devotee couple]
I wish that both of you will love each other. You should see to each other’s requirements. Thus, you should help each other advance in cultivating divine love for Krsna. Without chanting you will not attain this divine love. Generally, people think that they will be happy by the things of this world. They think wine and other forms of intoxication, wealth, and duplicity will make them happy. But these cravings only act against their well-being.
People want happiness, but they get sorrow. Sometimes, without them desiring so, they obtain wealth, reputation, and everything. But, those who want these things never attain them and resultantly, become unhappy. We way collect many things from this world during our time of a hundred years. But, you must know that you will have to leave everything behind when you leave your body. You will not be able to take a strand of hair with you, what to speak of other things? And you will not know where your next destination will be. You don’t know where you have come from also.
None of these senses can independently function. For instance, the ears seemingly listen to many sounds, but there is a driving force behind the working of the ears. Similarly, the mind and body cannot act on their own. There is a soul in the body that is a part and parcel of Krsna. You haven’ realized your real self—the soul. The soul is the driving force of the body. We don’t want to want to become old, but we will have to become old. We think we should always remain young, but we will see old age quickly dawn on us. Your power of sight and the functioning of the other senses will weaken. Your teeth will also fall out. You will become so old that you will be unable to move without anyone’s help. You will use a stick to support yourself.
Ultimately, you will give up this body. So, we should consider about what lies in our best interest. How can the soul be happy? We should not think, “By serving our body, we will be happy.” This understanding is quite wrong.
Rather, you should think, “What should I do by which I will realize the soul and the master of all souls—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna who has created this world and sent us here?”
We should try to realize Him. Religious designations will not suffice. Therefore, we should know all these truths. Even animals are engaged in eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Should the humans behave like the animals? We should try to know the answers to questions like, “What is the atma? Who is Krsna? Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Why have we come to this world? How can we be liberated?”
You should co-operate with your husband and he should also co-operate with you. Both of you should treat each other equally. You should not try to control each other. There should be equality and love between the both of you. Then you can live peacefully for your entire lives and help each advance in Krsna consciousness. Your lives will be spoiled if both of you act against each other’s moods.
Now I am seeing here and there that the husband and wife are not bona fide. They give each other up and accept others. They then give them up and accept someone else. This is very traumatizing, especially to the children. You should not behave like this.
We should try to chant and always think about how we can advance in our devotion. I will help you in all respects like a friend.
You should always think of yourself as my darling daughter and not anything else.
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