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February 13, 2003 VNN7805 Related VNN Stories
Russian Preaching Tour 2002
BY CARU CANDRIKA DASI
RUSSIA, Feb 13 (VNN) — Odessa, Ukraine: September 2002
Paramaradya Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja arrived at a coastal resort in Illyichevski, a village just outside of Odessa in the Ukraine overlooking the Black Sea. He was greeted by about five hundred devotees, some whom had never met him before, and all of whom had come from all over Russia, the C.I.S. (Commonwealth of Independent States) and the Baltics. Standing in the midst of their kirtana, Srila Maharaja was adorned with many flower garlands, and shortly afterwards was accompanied by the devotees to the large hall where he would be speaking every day for the next week. The devotees had decorated the hall with hand painted pictures of the disciplic succession, and after Srila Maharaja offered his dandavat pranama to the guru parampara and to the Radha and Krsna, he took his seat on the pink silk Vyasasana that was adorned with hand made silk flowers.
Then, after the guru-puja and foot-bathing ceremony, Srila Maharaja spoke briefly. He said that for various reasons he could not come to the Ukraine previously, but now he must come every year because the hearts of the Russian devotees were rich. After his talk, he went to his room in a small cottage next to the main hall.
The next morning at 7am, Srila Maharaja spoke on the third verse of Siksastakam:
trnad api sunicena
taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniya sada harih
["One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly."
Srila Maharaja said that the devotees should be like this, that we should not try to control anyone, that we cannot control anyone, and that we cannot even control our own minds. He said that love has nothing to take but everything to give, and we should therefore try to give our whole selves for the service of others in Krsna consciousness. He told his audience that we should be just like a tree which gives it's shade, fruit, wood, and its very self for others, wanting nothing for itself. He said, "Don't glorify yourself; don't think, 'I am preaching everywhere'. Glorify your gurudeva and guru-varga, and in this way glory will automatically come into your pocket." He said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu never glorified Himself, but that Srila Rupa Gosvami always glorified Him. Similarly, Srila Rupa Gosvami never glorified himself, but in glorification of him, Srila Narottama dasa Thakura wrote:
sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyah dadati sva-padantikam
["When will Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established within the material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?"]
Srila Maharaja then humbly said that he himself is nothing; he is like zero. He said that actually his own Gurudeva, Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, and his guru-varga are doing everything through him. He used the analogy of a pen, saying that as a pen cannot write by itself; but a person writes through it, so the acaryas in the guru-parampara are writing and preaching through him. He then said that he did not come to the Ukraine to make a grand festival for taking prasada, but to make a festival for bhakti-yoga so that everyone will be engaged in bhakti-yoga by both hearing and speaking hari-katha. In this way he set the mood for the festival.
That evening, Srila Maharaja spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam in such a way that the devotees would very easily understand the subject matter. He began his class by saying that Krsna is love, and that His love is Radha. Without Srimati Radhika He cannot exist, even for a second, and if we follow Radha we will have darsana of Krsna in a moment. He said that Srimad Bhagavatam is the philosophy of love, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta is the essence of love, and all the books of Srila Rupa Gosvami, such as Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and Sri Ujjvala Nilamani are love and nothing other than love.
Srila Maharaja then summarized the first sloka in Srimad-Bhagavatam, beginning "Janmady asya yato nvayad itaratas carthesv abhijnah svarat." He said that although Srila Vyasadeva wrote in this sloka that Vasudeva-Krsna is the creator of this world, this meaning is secondary. Actually, His sakti, Radharani, Who is sometimes known as Yogamaya, expands as Mahamaya to enter this material world. Mahamaya then creates the illusion whereby the conditioned soul thinks, "I am a man", "I am a doctor", etc. Srila Maharaja then told the assembled devotees that he has come only to point this out - that we should be careful to give up our illusory material conceptions of life. He said that there is no pure love and affection in this world - only blind love. He gave the example that by the influence of maya, we have what we consider to be love and affection for our husbands, wives, and families, and we believe that this material world is true. Old age and death are very painful, and whatever we spend our valuable days and nights collecting cannot be taken with us at the time of death. Moreover, none of our current perceptions can go with us. In that case, what is the use of working hard like donkeys? Srila Maharaja told the devotees that in the first verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Vyasadeva is offering pranama to the illusory maya that makes us so ignorant. Satyam param dhimahi: he is especially offering pranama and meditating on the transcendental truth, Srimati Radharani and Krsna. This is the essence of the first sloka.
Srila Maharaja then explained the second sloka beginning, "Dharmah projjhita kaitavo 'tra paramo nirmatsaranam satam." He said that in this world there are many kinds of religions, and new ones are manifesting all the time; but they are not real religion. They are not permanent or eternal; they only give knowledge about how to maintain our life. They have nothing to do with the soul or with ones relationship with the Supreme Lord. He then said that nowadays there are so many Buddhists. They don't believe in God or even in their own existence. They say that they don't believe in anything and that this world is false. Srila Maharaja argued that if this world is false, everything is false. There is no God. God is false, therefore we are false, and if we are false, then love is also false. Srila Maharaja then pointed out that without love we cannot maintain our lives even for a second. He said that Christianity is only 2,000 years old and the Islam religion is only 1400 years old, but love has been in existence from the beginning of the universe and the beginning of time. Therefore love is eternal, and this Krsna consciousness movement is sanatana-dharma, the eternal religion.
Srila Maharaja then used a practical analogy to explain the nature of love. He said that if you throw an object into the air it will fall to the ground, and that is the law of gravity. If you throw a balloon into the air it will not come down; rather, it will go skyward, and this is also true with fire. Air and fire are not made of the earth, and therefore they will go up towards the sky. Srila Maharaja said that only substances that are alike will stay together when they meet, and this is also true with the philosophy of love.
The pure love of the Vrajavasis and especially the gopis is spoken of in the Srimad Bhagavatam, and those who hear and remember their pure love and affection will very soon attain that pure love. Not only they, but anyone who utters even one word from Srimad Bhagavatam - such as Krsna or Radha - will also, one day, attain pure love. Srila Maharaja said that the religion of Srimad Bhagavatam is not a temporary or imperfect religion; rather it is eternal, complete, and fully transcendental. If one hears and understands its philosophy of pure love, then when he will give up his material body he will attain a transcendental body and enter Goloka Vrndavana. Krsna is weeping and lamenting for us, although we cannot weep or lament for Him, and to come to this understanding, we should continue chanting and remembering. Srila Maharaja's class ended there, and as usual the devotees performed kirtana as he left the hall - singing, 'Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, and Radhe Radhe Radhe, Jaya Jaya Jaya Sri Radhe!
Srila Maharaja did not give class every morning because he would sometimes work on his translation and commentaries of Sri Ujjvala Nilamani, but he assured his audience that there were many preachers at the festival who were qualified to speak. On his order, therefore, Sripad Bhaktivedanta Padmanabha Maharaja and Sripada Bhaktivedanta Aranya Maharaja spoke on alternate days, and each of their classes lasted for at least three hours. Many devotees came to take darsana of Srila Maharaja before his evening class to inquire from him or to ask for his blessings, and many also received harinama or diksa initiation.
Srila Maharaja's evening classes always began with bhajanas. He would come during the bhajanas, and afterwards he would speak for an hour or so. His classes were always followed by arati and tulasi-puja and kirtana, which would have continued throughout the night if the devotees had not been asked to stop in order to honor prasadam.
On one evening, Srila Maharaja began his class by telling how, after the battle of Lanka, as Ravana lay dying on the battlefield, Laksmana approached him on the order of Rama to inquire from him about the principles of success in the field of politics. Ravana told Laksmana, "If you want to do anything good, do it at once without delay. I wanted to make a stairway to heaven so that everyone could go there, step by step, without the need for an airplane. But I postponed it, and now that I'm dying I can't do anything. Also, if there is anything you want to do that is bad, you should delay doing it. You should think, 'I will do it the day after tomorrow.' If you want to do good, then what you want to do tomorrow, do today, and what you want to do today, do right now, without delay."
Srila Maharaja then spoke about Pariksit Maharaja, who was cursed to die in seven days and immediately sought a qualified guru who could help him. Pariksit Maharaja then met with Srila Sukadeva Gosvami and asked him what a dying man should do. Sukadeva Gosvami told him that he should hear Srimad Bhagavatam and Pariksit Maharaja immediately sat down to hear from him. Srila Maharaja gave the example that if someone wants to become a soldier in the army, he will have to be trained. Similarly, if one wants to obtain a university degree he will have to go to a university and study under the guidance of a qualified professor. Similarly, sastra states that if one wants to attain Vraja prema, there is a process. He will have to first receive initiation from a bona-fide guru. If someone chants without first having received initiation, he is only able to chant sabda-sammana, mundane sound vibration. However if someone chants in the prescribed process, he can eventually chant sabda-brahma, transcendental sound vibration.
Srila Maharaja then explained the third sloka of Srimad Bhagavatam, beginning, "Nigama kalpa taror galitam phalam." He said that the essence - the nectar - of the Vedic literature is Srimad Bhagavatam. There are three kinds of nectar, the first being worldly nectar, and that is the love that we have for our husbands, wives, children, etc. The second type is heavenly nectar, and if we drink this nectar, although we may not die for thousands of years, still, one day we will have to die. The third type is Bhagavat-rasa. If anyone tastes this nectar, he will never die; he will attain a spiritual body and go to Goloka Vrndavana.
Srila Maharaja told the devotees how many thousands of sages had gathered at Naimisaranya to perform sacrifices in order to counteract the influences of kali-yuga, but one sage, Sri Suta Gosvami, came and advised them to do kirtana instead. Krsna had sent him to instruct them about what was actually necessary to protect the populace from the influence of the coming age of Kali. The sages then humbly inquired from him and he replied:
sa vai pumsam paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhoksaje
ahaituky apratihata
yayatma suprasidati
["The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6)]
Srila Maharaja then quoted the sloka defining uttama bhakti:
anyabhilasita-sunyam
jnana-karmady-anavrtam
anukulyena krsnanu-
silanam bhaktir uttama
["Uttama-bhakti, pure devotional service, is defined as the cultivation of activities which are meant exclusively for the pleasure of Sri Krsna, or in other words the uninterrupted flow of service to Sri Krsna, performed through all endeavors of the body, mind, and speech, and through the expression of various spiritual sentiments (bhavas), which is devoid of all desires other than the aspiration to bring happiness to Sri Krsna"(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11)]
Srila Maharaja ended the class on a very encouraging note, by saying bhakti is not very difficult at all; that it is in fact very easy. Whatever attachments we have for our wives, children, etc. should simply be given to Krsna. He said that Caitanya Mahaprabhu traveled all over India and told everyone: "I am giving bhakti to you. You only have to take it." Srila Maharaja then asked the devotees, "What is the difficulty? We all have attachment to our wives, children, dogs, position, and so on. Can you give those attachments to Krsna?" He concluded by saying that bhakti is very easy, but at the same time very difficult. If we ask a baby to give us something that he is holding in his hands, he will not give it to us. Similarly, Krsna has come in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and is telling everyone, "You are holding poison; please give it to Me, and I will give you nectar." But we are not giving up our poison. If we give up that poison, which is like hell, we will get the nectar of Goloka Vrndavana.
If anyone is following the proper process and has received initiation but is not happy, then Nityananda prabhu, or Sri Gurudeva who is the manifestation of Nityananda prabhu, is fully responsible. Nityananda Prabhu Himself has said, "I am responsible." You can have strong faith that by chanting and remembering Krsna, you will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death and sufferings and sorrows, and go to Goloka Vrndavana. On this note Srila Maharaja ended his class.
In the following class, he explained how Srila Vyasadeva was feeling greatly dissatisfied even after writing all the Vedas, Puranas, Upanisads, and Mahabharata, and how Sri Narada Muni came to him to dispel his lamentation by pointing out the reason for it. He told him that he had only written about worldly dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, but he had neglected to write the glories of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who performs supremely sweet pastimes in Vraja as an ordinary boy. Srila Maharaja then asked Sripada Padmanabha Maharaja and Sripada Aranya Maharaja to elaborate on this.
Afterwards, Srila Maharaja told the devotees that a disciple of Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja had once come to him and told him that after traveling and distributing books everywhere and opening many temples, gurukulas, and gosalas (places of cow protection), he was still not satisfied. Srila Maharaja asked him, "Have you chanted one lakh of harinama? Have you developed love and affection for Krsna? Have you developed rati for your Gurudeva, and do you understand his inner moods?" That devotee honestly said that he had not done so. So Srila Maharaja said to him, "Try to know the aim and object of your life. Try to follow Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and come in the proper line; otherwise you are bound to give up your saffron cloth."
Srila Maharaja concluded this class by saying that if you hear the sweet pastimes of Krsna and follow this process, there is no doubt that you will attain the sweet love of Vraja. He said that seeing the suffering of all the fallen conditioned souls, Krsna sent him saying, "O, go and tell the sweet pastimes of Srimad Bhagavatam." He said that only for this reason has he come here. In the classes that followed, Srila Maharaja explained, and asked others to speak, on the history and teachings of Ajamila, Prahlada Maharaja, Bharata Maharaja, Citraketu Maharaja, and Ambarisa Maharaja. As an introduction to the pastime of Ajamila, Srila Maharaja said that if an ignorant, foolish, stupid, nonsense person will chant the name of Krsna, he will be purified very soon. Even if someone has committed sinful acts throughout his life, if he chants the name of Krsna, Narayana, or Rama, he will be liberated very soon. There is one consideration though. If anyone criticizes a bona fide Vaisnava or guru, he will go to hell.
Srila Maharaja said that this history of Ajamila is not mythology; this is a true fact recorded by Vyasa, so do not doubt the power and effect of nama - if that nama is given by a pure devotee like Narada. If you chant, you will be liberated very soon.
On the following evening, Srila Maharaja began his class by saying that if you want to enter the realm of bhakti, you must have guru-nistha like Sri Prahlada Maharaja had in his Gurudeva, Sri Narada Muni. If you do not, you cannot advance, because guru-nistha is the backbone of bhakti. If your guru-nistha is weak, you may give up bhakti at any time. If you want to do bhajana, you should follow the tolerance and patience of Prahlada Maharaja, who, although he never did anything against his father, was given poison, thrown of a cliff, practically trampled on by elephants, etc."
A devotee had come to Srila Maharaja during darsana, just before he began his class, telling him that her parents were completely against Krsna consciousness, so much so that she had to run away in order to come there. When she asked him what to do, he said that she should be like Prahlada Maharaja, who underwent so many trials and tribulations because of his atheistic father. Because of his faith in Krsna, Krsna was bound to protect him. Then, another devotee told him that her husband was so completely against Krsna consciousness that he would even physically attack her and threaten to kill her because of this. Srila Maharaja said that she should also be like Prahlada Maharaja, and that her husband would not be able to harm her, what to speak of kill her, just as Hiranyakasipu could not harm or kill Prahlada Maharaja. Now, in this evening class, Srila Maharaja said that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had given classes on Prahlada-caritra (the character of Sri Prahlad Maharaja) no less than one hundred and eight times; so we should also try to hear.
He then began to tell the pastimes and teachings of Bharata Maharaja, who left his family, kingdom, and possessions as one leaves stool after passing it. He gave a very good example, that if you want to do something but you have not passed stool and you need to, you cannot do anything. Similarly, you cannot do bhajana unless you follow this example of Bharata Maharaja - that he became detached from his hearth and home.
Unfortunately, however, Bharata Maharaja became very much attached to a deer, and thus at the time of death he remembered this deer and took birth as a deer in his next life. If we are engaged in worldly activities, then at the time of death we cannot possibly remember Krsna. If we become attached to someone, we are bound to remember that person at the time of death. So give all your time and energy in serving Krsna. You can maintain your wife and family and do your duty, but do not be attached. Your attachment should be to guru, Vaisnavas and Krsna. Srila Maharaja then said that in Bharata Maharaja's next two lives he was completely detached; he had learned his lesson. Especially in his life of Jada Bharata he became self realized and was able to give many good instructions to Maharaja Rahugana.
After this Srila Maharaja described the pastimes and teachings of Citraketu Maharaja, and he concluded the class by saying, "Do not try to be happy by having a son; try to make Krsna your son or beloved. In this way, try to be attached to Krsna. He will never die, and at the time of death you will surely go to Him."
Srila Maharaja then explained about Ambarisa Maharaja, who is a suddha-bhakta and who used all his senses in the service of the Lord. Srila Maharaja said that it was Lord Narasimhadeva Himself who became the sudarsana-cakra to protect his devotee. Ambarisa Maharaja remained very peaceful and undisturbed when the sudarsana-cakra came towards him, but Durvasa Muni ran far away. Srila Maharaja concluded with the comment that if you want to be an ideal and pure Vaisnava, you must follow Ambarisa Maharaja.
Srila Maharaja said that Sukadeva Gosvami recited Srimad Bhagavatam for seven days. In five days he completed up to the ninth canto, describing the pastimes of the devotees of Krsna, and in the last two days he spoke about the pastimes of Krsna in the tenth canto. He then said that now we have also finished speaking about the devotees of Krsna in five days, so we will speak about Krsna today and tomorrow.
He then began to give a simple, but very sweet introduction to the tenth canto. He invited everyone to come with him to Vrndavana, where the cuckoo birds are singing, peacocks are dancing, Jamuna is flowing, and where so many cowherd boys are playing with Krsna. He said, "In Vrndavana, Krsna can play on His flute very, very enchantingly, attracting all living entities, and especially the gopis. This Krsna is very tricky. He can manifest Himself in Vaikuntha as Narayana, who is very powerful, and at the same time in Gokula, as a small baby who is weeping. He appeared in the jail of Kamsa as Narayana, holding a club, disc, lotus, and conchshell, and at the same time in Gokula as a beautiful baby boy." Just the mention of the word Gokula was enough to inspire Srila Maharaja's servant Sripad Madhava Maharaja to want to sing a very well known Hindi song: 'Jiyo Shyama lala'. Therefore, in order to fulfill his servant's desire, Srila Maharaja asked him to get up and sing this at the end of his class.
Then, together with Sripad Aranya Maharaja, he got up on the stage and sang, "Jiyo Shyama lala, Jiyo Shyama lala, pili tere pagari rangakala," and everyone joined in. The devotees felt like the whole atmosphere became transformed into what they imagined to be Gokula, where all the gopis are singing sweetly for the pleasure of Krsna, who is the very beautiful darling son of Mother Yasoda.
On the last evening, Srila Maharaja continued this mood, saying, "Come with me to Gokula, where a very beautiful sweet boy has just been born to Yasoda Ma". He said that by the influence of Yogamaya, Krsna performs so many sweet pastimes in Vrndavana, hiding His supremacy. Without the help of Yogamaya, He cannot perform any pastimes in this world, but by her help He becomes a very innocent boy.
Srila Maharaja said that when Krsna was six days old, Kamsa became very worried. He therefore called all his associates, such as Putana, Bakasura, and Aghasura, for a great meeting. He addressed them all saying, "My enemy has come from the womb of Devaki, so he must be killed. Kill all the baby boys born in the previous ten days, and in the next ten days also." Hearing this, Kamsa's demoniac associates became very active, especially Putana, who had mystic powers and could assume any form she liked. She thus appeared in the form of a very beautiful gopi and entered Gokula Vrndavana.
Srila Maharaja then made the point that no demon can ever enter Vraja. Even highly elevated devotees cannot enter, so how could Putana enter? Her entrance could only be possible by the influence of Yogamaya, who attracted all the demons to enter by Krsna's desire. Putana entered the house of Yasoda in that very attractive gopi form, like a mother, and she took Krsna in her lap, gave Him her breast, and said, "O my lala (darling boy), You are my son - not the son of Yasoda." She pumped her breast, which was full of poison, into Krsna's mouth, with a desire to kill Him at once, and therefore she is Putana, meaning she is always impure. This poison immediately became nectar, however, and Krsna drank it. Putana flew up into the sky to go to Kamsa, but Krsna would not let her go. She tried with all her power to become free from His embrace, crying "O Kamsa! O Kamsa! Save me!" but no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape. Krsna was thinking, "I will never give up those who come to Me, and therefore you will have to remain in Vrndavana."
When Krsna grew a little older, he would play-fight with his brother Baladeva. Some gopis would take the side of Baladeva and say, "My Baladeva is stronger than Krsna," and some would say, "No, my Krsna is stronger." Then they would decide "Let us see! They will fight, and whoever wins will get a laddhu." In their mock fighting sometimes Krsna would cause Baladeva to fall over and sometimes Baladeva would cause Krsna to fall over. In this way, the Supreme Lord descends to please his devotees.
When Krsna became somewhat older, he would run around naked, playing with all his friends. He would also run from one house to another stealing butter. Why did he go to the gopis homes? He was not actually stealing butter; He was stealing their hearts. He is Hari, and can therefore steal the hearts of all.
One day He was caught red-handed stealing butter from a gopi's home. She told Him, "Why have you come in my house to steal butter?" He replied, "O mother, I thought you were my mother, so I thought this was my house." He smiled in a most charming way, and that gopi's heart melted. She forgot everything for a moment, and Krsna ran away.
Another time, a gopi caught Krsna stealing butter, and she asked Him what He was doing. He said, "My mother put bangles on my wrist, but then My wrist starting to become so hot that I could not bare it. So I put My hands in this jar for relief." That gopi then lovingly scolded Him, saying, "I will have to take you to your mother." She grabbed Krsna's hand to take Him to Yasoda Ma. On the way, however, Krsna stealthily exchanged His hand with that gopi's son's hand and then ran away. When that gopi arrived, she called out, "Yasode! Yasode! O Yasode!" When Yasoda Ma came there, that sakhi told her, "Look. I've caught your son red-handed. Yasoda Ma saw only that gopi's own son, and she was astonished. In the meantime, Krsna came down from his bed, rubbing his eyes as though he had just woken up, and He said, "O Mother, just see. They are always accusing Me of stealing, but I never steal. They are all always telling lies; so from today on I must go and steal butter from their homes!"
Krsna was the life and soul of all the Vrajavasis. Even animals and birds used to love Him. The Vrajavasis, especially the gopis, could not forget Him, and He could not forget them. He was always sitting on the chariot of the gopis' minds, and the gopis' were always sitting on the chariot of His mind. Even when they were milking their cows, they used to remember Krsna and sing, "Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti." Whenever they were churning yogurt, they would remember His pastimes and sing, "Govinda Damodara Madhaveti."' While they were cleaning their courtyard with cow-dung and water, remembering Him they would sing, "Govinda Damodara Madhaveti." Whenever a baby was weeping and not sleeping, the gopis would sing to him, "Govinda Damodara Madhaveti." Whenever a gopi was going anywhere, she would remember Krsna's sweet pastimes and sing, "Govinda Damodara Madhaveti." They would remember Krsna throughout the day and night and sing in this way.
We can also sing like them. When we are going to our place of work we can sing, "Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare." Whenever you are going anywhere or doing anything, you can remember Krsna and chant. This is bhajana. Especially in this iron-age of quarrel, you can chant like this and very soon attain Krsna prema.
Srila Maharaja also told how, when Krsna was still only a young child, He had a desire to fly high in the sky like a bird; and therefore Yogamaya arranged for Kamsa to send a demon in order to fulfill Krsna's desire. That demon took the form of a whirlwind so that he could take Krsna high into the sky, and at that time Krsna was thinking, "At last, My desire has been fulfilled. Now I have the opportunity to fly." When He was thus satisfied, He held onto the demon's neck and became very heavy, and the demon's eyes suddenly popped out of his head, like rasaghullas. When Krsna saw this, He thought, "Oh, I simply held onto your neck and you died; what can I do?"
One day, when Krsna was still a young child, he was playing under a bullock cart and a demon came and entered it. While Krsna was playing and kicking his feet, he kicked the cart and killed the demon. Similarly those who present logic against the existence of God, saying that there is no God or that He is formless, try to kill Krsna by their logic. However, Krsna comes and kills them.
Srila Maharaja then asked Sripad Aranya Maharaja to tell the pastime of the fruit seller. At the end, Srila Maharaja said that if Krsna gave a motherly position to Putana, who wanted to kill Him, then what position would He grant to that fruit seller? He gave Putana a position of nurse in Goloka, (not Goloka Vrndavana), but that fruit seller went to Goloka Vrndavana and became like a mother of Krsna, whom she would take in her lap, like her own child. Krsna is very merciful, and therefore we should pray to Him that we may become mad like that fruit seller and always cry for Krsna as she did: "O Govinda, O Damodara! Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti, Govinda Damodara Madhaveti. In the morning of the last day, Srila Maharaja spoke a few last words thanking everyone, especially Ananta Krsna dasa brahmacari and those who helped him in organizing the festival. He said that this festival was the most successful yet, as everything ran very smoothly and there were no complaints.
He invited everyone to come to Vrndavana for Vraja Mandala parikrama. He acknowledged that some of the devotees could not afford to come, but that one day they must come. He encouraged them to continue chanting and remembering and not be weak, and then he gave a warning, saying that in this part of Russia there are so many ghosts, and if they are not chanting and remembering, the ghosts will disturb them. On the other hand, if they are chanting and remembering, these ghosts will serve them. He said that in India he and the devotees were chanting so much that all the ghosts had to leave. They all had to go somewhere, so they came there to Russia. "So go on chanting!" Srila Maharaja urged, and on that note he ended. The devotees were grief stricken to see him leave, but at the same time they felt thoroughly enlivened by the festival of hari-katha and kirtana.
Approximately 150 devotees received initiation by the end of Srila Maharaja's stay in the Ukraine, and those who had already received initiation from him were again inspired.
Written by Caru Candrika dasi
Editorial advisors: Pujyapada Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanatha dasa
Editors: Premavati dasi and Syamarani dasi
Typist: Anita dasi
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