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WORLD December 30, 1998 VNN2762 Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja In Malaysia, Dec '98 BY SRIDAM SAKHA DASA  MALAYSIA, Dec 30 (VNN) — (Part 2) Evening class Malaysia, December 4th, 1998. This evening Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja started his class by talking about Srila Prabhupada and Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Maharaja. "Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja came to Eastern and Western countries in such a short time, and preached bhakti everywhere. But after he had entered aprakata-lila devotees became so weak because no advanced sadhu sanga was there. So, lacking this, bhakti began to dry up. Srila Svami Maharaja saw that the devotees who are kanistha wanted to progress but gradually they were going to dry. So I think that he mercifully inspired me to go everywhere. He has given seeds of bhakti, he has made a very good platform, otherwise persons like myself have not done anything. You are only hearing due to his mercy. He wrote so many books so that new devotees could understand bhakti, the supreme personality of Godhead, and how we can be happy in this and future life. I see everywhere I go the good platform which he created. The numbers are few, but we are satisfied. I am also so much indebted to Gour Govinda Maharaja. He was a pure vaisnava, a very pure vaisnava. He wanted to serve Srila Prabhupada, but so many obstacles came, so much, from all round he was hindered, so at last he left this world. But he was so bold and he stressed so much on vaisnava sanga, and that is why almost all his disciples are associating with me. So I'm also indebted to him. I know that such vaisnavas cannot die. They have crossed birth and death. When they see we are preaching the same message they'll give that same mercy to us. You should not be weak, but have the same faith in bhakti. If we do not have sadhu sanga, then read Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhagavad gita. We can associate with them in their absence through their instructions. When, by good fortune we meet the living bhagavat, we should try to listen to him. We have very short time, only two or three days, so you should listen to all, and try to practise. Just as Vyasa heard from Narada, and Sukadeva heard from him. Like this, Svami Maharja also heard from his guru and followed. So try to do this, and don't have doubt." Then Srila Maharaja gave a class about the early pastimes of baby Krsna. After he had finished speaking, he instructed Krsna das prabhu to sing some bhajans. Then he asked one of the devotees to hand him a copy of his new song book. After looking through it for a short while, he told us how important it was that we learn these bhajans by the acaryas, and really understand their profound moods. "All these bhajans have a very deep meaning, and, if you know them, then it will really help you. Otherwise, knowing only the basic meaning will help you somewhat, because these are all transcendental words. But if you understand all the words, and the deeper meanings behind them, then you will be so much benefited. (reading out the words of the song 'Yasomati Nandana' by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura) Vraja bara nagara. What is the meaning?" Devotee: "Top most lover of Vraja." Srila Maharaja: "Yes ...but there is more meaning. A daughter may be in a marriage which she never wanted, but which was ordered by her parents. In India, still, the parents will arrange their daughter's marriage. She'll never know who her husband will be until the wedding day. Nowadays these standards are practised much less, which is not so good. Therefore there is so much divorce. This has also started in India now. But in ancient days, it was so solid. So a girl who has married may not love her husband. It may be that there was another whom she loved before in her childhood, so she cannot love her husband now. Similarly, Krsna is not the husband of the gopis, but He is their beloved, nagara, the nagara of the gopis. If Krsna says to the gopis that 'You should obey me because I am like your husband,' then they will reply, 'I am not dependent you. You are not giving me food or lodging. But you are dependent on my love.' So in this way Krsna is under the control of Srimati Radharani. She will order, and He will obey. But in Dvaraka, nagara - nagari relationship will not be there. So if any devotees want to know all these things, then they should have one of these song books, it is very essential for devotional service. In some places I have given explanations, but I could not do so much or it would fall into the hands of unqualified persons. In these words is the essence of all advice, so precious and so deep. You should also try to follow it, it will help you so much. These books should be distributed everywhere so that people will be helped, and again we will print more. The cost is very little for you, and it will help the whole world." Srila Maharaja then asked a local guest to sing some bhajans. Taking a harmonium the man then began to sing very beautifully about Krsna, using his own song sheets. After he had finished we all applauded, and Srila Maharaja congratulated him warmly, saying: "Very good, but no name of Radha. But it is OK. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would also sometimes not sing the name of Srimati Radharani. But there was a special reason. Do you know? Because He'd taken her mood, He was trying to understand Her love for Krsna. Therefore: 'Hare Krsna Hare Krsna,' Krsna who is so charming, 'Hari Haraye namah Krsna Yadavaya namah,' Who takes the mind and heart of Radha.' But a sadhaka should also sing and chant Radha's name. We are not upasakha to Krsna only. Those who worship Krsna alone are only getting half. It is not possible to accept the sun, but to reject the sun rays, the heat and the light. The sun is a planet and rays, both. So Krsna is like the sun, and Srimati Radharani is like the heat, Both are inseparable. When you'll be a bhakta you'll understand all these things." Morning walk 5/12/98 Every morning during his stay in Malaysia, Srila Maharaja was taken to the same park by Bala singam prabhu for his daily walk. While there, he would usually speak a few words to the devotees accompanying him. Today, even at 6:00 am there were many people present in the park, most of whom were chinese, practicing oriental exercises. In a couple of spots, teachers were leading the rest of their groups in tai chi exercises, moving gracefully and fluently from one flowing movement into another. This was all done in time to traditional chinese music, playing from small tape recorders. After Srila Maharaja had walked enough, and was resting in the pavilion in the park, he began to explain something about the relative positions of kanistha, madhyama and uttama adhikara. "One who has only laukika sraddha is a kanistha. But a person with paramarthika sraddha, who has *actually* taken diksa has come to the level of madhyama. When in Caitanya caritamrta it says: prabhu kahe yanra mukhe suni eka-bara krsna-nama, sei pujya srestha sabakara (Madhya 15.106) that the devotee who chants just once is a kanistha, then this does not mean a general kanistha who may have taken harinama. Here the meaning applies only to a madhyama-kanistha. A madhyama-kanistha does not have such a full realization, but he has some sambandha jnana. He has sambandha of the relationship between bhagavan and jiva, bhagavan and maya, jiva and jiva, jiva and maya, maya and maya, and inert matter with inert matter. "When the madhyama-kanistha chants harinama then it is with sambandha jnana. A kanistha does not always accept that which is anukula (favourable for bhakti) or reject that which is pratikula, (unfavourable for bhakti) but he hesitates because of his worldly attachment. For example, if there is some opportunity to accept a very bonafide guru or sadhu-sanga, the kanistha thinks that he will lose some material facilities, then he may hesitate or even decline it altogether. He'll offer obeisances to Deities and devotees not out of deep affection or love but simply because others are doing it. When it comes to accepting association, he will think 'what is favourable for my sense gratification?' If associating with worldly minded people or even those who are offenders means that he will gain materially, then he will do it. We may see that there is a person who is very renounced and detached and who seems to have the qualities of a vaisnava. But if there is some influence of mayavada in him, then he doesn't even qualify as a kanistha. The heart of a kanistha is clean from this influence, like clean paper. He's never heard the teachings of mayavada, and he has never come in contact with them. A person who is attached to the rituals of demigod worship is also not a vaisnava. One who is on the level of madhyama will never make an aparadha to any vaisnava. "What to speak of a kanistha, even a madhyama kanistha is unable to understand the internal moods of different kinds of vaisnavas, and what is their level of realization. Therefore he should not try to categorize them as kanistha madhyama or uttama, otherwise he will make offence. So how to honour vaisnavas, because one is supposed to do it according to the level of the vaisnava. To do this, a kanistha or madhyama kanistha should judge according to the external symptoms. For instance he should see how a vaisnava is absorbed in taking harinama, how he is serving guru, vaisnava and Krsna, and also by his knowledge of siddhanta. We see that those who do not have any qualification to know are thinking: 'My guru is a nitya parikara of Radha, but no-one else is.' But then, the next day, his guru falls down, head down and feet up, and now the disciple sees that his guru is even lower than a kanistha. "We see that madhyamas will never quarrel: "Why is he coming to my zone and taking my money and disciples?" If they're worrying for this then it shows that they're general kanistha only. So in this way, so many people may be seen as uttama vaisnavas, but we see by their characteristics that it is not so. They're fearing: 'Why is Narayana Maharaja coming into my zone. Money and disciples will be lost', which shows that they are kanisthas. By this they make vaisnava aparadha. If a person is a vaisnava aparadhi, then one should not associate or pay respects to them, even within one's mind. Those who make vaisnava aparadha to a higher class vaisnava will lose their adhikara and become 'anadhikara'. They are not even kanistha anymore. 5/12/98 morning class When he first arrived in Malaysia Srila Maharaja had asked that class be given in the morning by any of the senior devotees, saying that he might come to speak himself on some days. Coming into the temple room this morning, he was not happy to see the poor attendance, and asked why so few devotees were present. One devotee who just happened to wander in at this point when challenged by Srila Maharaja said that he had been chanting japa. Srila Maharaja then replied: "If one is chanting without taste in Hari katha, then all his seva and harinama will be zero." Seeing a local devotee attending to some pujari duties Srila Maharaja told him that he should come and hear the class too, and that he would tell his personal servant Navin Krsna prabhu to make the offering instead. Srila Maharaja then began to tell a story about a guru and a neophyte disciple. "There was a very bonafide guru who had a kanistha disciple. The disciple wanted to serve his guru but he had so many defects. Because his intelligence and heart were impure, he could not touch the interior mood of his guru. He was sincere but that is not enough to touch the inner moods of the guru. Still he was trying, by watching and following carefully all of the external activities of his guru. Trying so hard, if the disciple would see his guru sit to do japa for half an hour, then he would sit for one hour. If he saw that the guru was sitting straight, then he would try to sit straighter. When the disciple saw that his guru was doing acaman three times, then he would think 'then I will do it 50 times.' When he saw his guru doing arati, offering incense four or five times, the lamp 14 times in all, the water four times, the cloth five times, and the camara four or five times he thought that he would do everything exactly as he had seen, but for much longer. Taking the incense, he now began to offer it for half an hour. When he had finished he next took the lamp, and now offered this for half an hour too. Meanwhile others saw that he was taking half an hour for each article, and they thought 'Oh, we'll do it for one hour!' So this arati was now taking two hours, and afterwards the devotees were so tired. Seeing all this, the guru could not understand why it was taking so long, and he thought that his disciple could not really be touching his inner mood. So the next day when he saw his disciple nearby, the guru took his asana (sitting mat) and began to swing it around his head fifteen times. When the disciple saw this, he picked his up and swung it around his head thirty times. So in all this time the disciple had been imitating his guru, but he never thought to ask him the reason why he was performing all these activities. "So what is the real reason behind doing acamana, arati and all these things? When Yasoda does arati with her lamp, she is just trying to examine Krsna's body to see if He has been hurt by fighting with other boys. But if you're taking hours, then Krsna will get hungry, weep and run away. We should not swing the camara like this (Srila Maharaja then swung his arm around vigorously) this is not a wrestling match, or exercise. It must be done with affectionate mood. There is no regulation in scriptures to do it for such a long time. Arati should be done very softly and artisticly, gently and smoothly, not very fast, especially near Krsna's face. Water is offered to wash His mouth, just as Yasoda does, two or three times. More than this is not required. We offer the cloth to dry Krsna's mouth, it should be done very softly, not like this, (Srila Maharaja briskly rubbed his hand to and fro) very hard, for one hour. And dhupa (incense) should not be offered to Krsna's feet or face. If it is offered to his face then the smoke will drift up, and he will not be able to appreciate it." Srila Maharaja now began to speak about chanting harinama. "Harinama which is not done with the heart will not even make any sukrti. Instead if you are thinking 'mother is ill ...shall I go to India - or England? Where is she now?...' then it is better to smash this body in seva in order to get some sukrti. Devotees should not neglect coming to hear harikatha in the name of chanting, otherwise advanced devotees will feel like they're wasting their time. Those who are neglecting Hari katha are very unfortunate. When Vrndavana vilasini (now 52) was 16 and very beautiful like a rose, she was distributing books in the airport, and, if rebuked, no harm. So why have you come with me? You should go and preach to energetic people. If there is no preaching, then advanced devotees will think 'Why am I here? No use.' One who neglects to preach will become sick. Although we'll never be able to do it, we should try to repay Srila Svami Maharaja by following his process. We should distribute all the books we have here in Malaysia so that they'll have to be reprinted. Go and preach to less fortunate persons with compassion, and bring them here, otherwise why have we come?" A local devotee who is one of Srila Maharaja's initiated harinama disciples was sitting at the back of the class, having entered some time after it had begun. Seeing him there, Srila Maharaja asked him: "Why are you sitting so far away? Are you afraid? Are you afraid of diksa?" "No Maharaja!" the devotee replied earnestly. "Then you should take tomorrow!" Srila Maharaja said to him. "I will give you forcibly! you should shave your head..." Then, turning to the devotee's wife he said: "You should shave him. You should shave all his material desires." If you would like to read more material on or by Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, then please contact the following websites: http://www.igvp.com http://hgsoft.com/~agrahya/ http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/2469 http://www.angelfire.com/ar/goloka/index.html http://www.angelfire.com/va/vaishnavism/news.html http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/saranagati/ Comment on this Story This story URL: http://vaishnava-news-network.org/world/WD9812/WD30-2762.html
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