PLEASE NOTE, *THIS DOCUMENT IS AT DRAFT (NOT PERFECT) STAGE. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO READ WITH GM’S VIDEO IN BACKGROUND. *
Mukham karoti vacalam pangum langayate girim
Yat kripa tam aham vande sri gurum dina tarinam
Paramananda Madhavam Sri Caitanya Isvaram
We will read from the Bhagavad-gita 18th chapter, 5th verse:
Yajna-dana-tapah-karma
Na tyajyam karyam eva tat
Yajno danam tapas caiva
Pavanani manisinam
Translation: Actos of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.
Purport by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:
The yogis should perform acts for the advancement of human society. There are many purificatory processes for advancing a human being to spiritual life. The marriage ceremony, for example, is considered to be one of these sacrifices. It is called vivaha-yajna. Should a sannyasi, who is in the renounced order of life and who has given up his family relations encourage the marriage ceremony? The Lord says here that any sacrifice which is meant for human welfare should never be given up. Vivaha-yajna, the marriage ceremony, is meant to regulate the human mind so that it may become peaceful for spiritual advancement. For most men, this vivaha-yajna should be encouraged even by persons in the renounced order of life. Sannyasis should never associate with women, but that does not mean that one who is in the lower stages of life, a young man, should not accept a wife in the marriage ceremony. All prescribed sacrifices are meant for achieving the Supreme Lord. Therefore, in the lower stages, they should not be given up. Similarly, charity is for the purification of the heart. If charity is given to suitable persons, as described previously, it leads one to advanced spiritual life.
So first I would like to welcome and pay my obeisances to Their Holinesses, Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami Maharaj and Bhanu Maharaj. Also, my greetings and respects to His Holiness Bhakti Vinoda Swami and to His Grace Revati Raman das and welcome to all the devotees assembled here. So as we heard from Srila Prabhupada, this vivaha-yajna is a sacrifice which is meant for spiritual advancement. We can see here that one of the greatest acts of charity is the kanyadan. We see the elaborate arrangements for kanyadan. And for executing this vivaha-yajna. In the seventh canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Yudhistira maharaj asked Narada muni about the ideal standard of grihasta life and Narada muni explained how the grihasta couple should serve Vasudeva. How the husband has to earn, maintain a family, but he should do so following the instructions of the guru, the sastras and the senior vaisnavas. Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakur has also said that in the sastra, it is recommended to take grihasta ashram for the young men and women. That it is auspicious that they talk to each other, they touch each other, but they should increase their sadhana bhakti and devotional service. So in this way I am very happy that disciple, Pundarika Kesava das is actually a third generation. Mahamani Krsna das, his grandfather was my disciple. And Srivallabha das is also my disciple. And Pundarika Kesava das is also. So this is three generations. And we are very happy also that Mayuri Madhavi is my disciple and her parents are also my disciples. They are all in the family of Srila Prabhupada. So this is very auspicious and we are very happy that so many devotees are coming here to bless the happy couple, to bless this occasion. And so I hope that they will be very responsible in their grihasta life and in this way, they will be able to form a strong team to serve Krsna together. Please give them all your blessings. Hare Krsna.
I was asked to take this opportunity to invite everyone to attend the Navadvip Mandala Parikrama, especially this year as we are starting a South Indian parikrama. They will have south Indian cuisine. You will have to tolerate idlis, dosas and so on!
Transcribed by Jayaraseshwari devi dasi
10 July 2019