Monthly Message (22 July 2024 to 19 August 2024)

My dear dīkṣā, sheltered, aspiring, śikṣā, grand disciples, and well-wishers,

Please accept my blessings and best wishes.

All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Written from my Home base: Śrī Māyāpur Chandrodaya Mandir

I wish you all happy Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī  and Śrīla Prabhupāda Vyāsa-pūjā celebrations.

It has been a month since I am in Māyāpur. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me different instructions. He told me to develop Māyāpur, and he also told me to travel and preach. So, I took this opportunity to be in Māyāpur and carry out the instructions that Śrīla Prabhupāda gave me. Being in Māyāpur is always a special mercy. Apart from giving classes daily, I also attended various meetings, attended all the festivals in Māyāpur, took darśana of the Deities daily, met devotees, and many other things. We had GBC meetings every alternate Wednesday, SMOVP meetings weekly, MVT meetings, Māyāpur co-directors meetings, etc. We had various discussions on the development of Māyāpur, the Community hospital, and other things. Also, I have dialysis three times a week, and they have set up a dialysis unit in Lotus Building, 3rd floor, making it convenient for me.

Every Saturday, I gave Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam classes both in English and Bengali in the temple hall. I give morning classes, especially on Saturdays, so that devotees from South East Asia and Australia can attend my classes. Otherwise, my daily evening classes are very late for them to attend. I also visited devotees on Zoom after the class. I asked the devotees how I should give the class, in English or Bengali. My dear godbrother Pañcaratna Prabhu told me that I should do both English and Bengali, so I speak like this every Saturday.

I do all of these to please Śrīla Prabhupāda, and I am simply depending on the mercy of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I have no other qualifications. I am simply trying to carry out the orders of my Spiritual Master. As long as I have breath in my body, as long as I have any abilities, I will try to serve Śrīla Prabhupāda.

This month, we had many Nāmahaṭṭa sammelans organized for devotees from Birbhum, Murshidabad, East Medinipur, Howrah, Kolkata, Sonarpur, and Hooghly. There was also another program for the students of Gītā Cakra. Thousands of devotees came from each of these places. I have visited these places many times. And I am very grateful to devotees for carrying out the mission of Śrīla Prabhupāda. I am very happy to see Lord Caitanya’s movement expanding. I am hoping that by the good activities of my sincere disciples, I will be able to please Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu more.

My JPS Office in Māyāpur arranged 3 initiation ceremonies. They said there are many devotees eagerly waiting for initiation. Most of the leaders are punctual in the initiation process, but some leaders approach the office at the last minute, which makes it a bit tough for the office. During the initiation address, I spoke about the importance of following the vows that one takes at the time of initiation. If you do not follow the vows, I will have to face the reactions. I may get some physical suffering or I may get some bad dreams or nightmares. Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying how, sometimes, he had to suffer bad dreams. Whatever the disciple does, the guru is responsible. If you follow all the principles properly and do devotional service, then you can go back to Godhead. But if you do not follow the principles, then there is no use.

Sometimes devotees tell me that they have no time to read Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. But now BBT in Mumbai has produced Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in audio format in different languages. So I hope devotees take advantage of this facility. It is called “Transcend” (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bbt.transcend&hl=en).

The next Pūrṇimā is a very special day to distribute Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that if on the full moon day of the month of Bhādra one places Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination. (SB 12.13.13)
So, you get a free ticket to back to Godhead by distributing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on Bhādra Pūrṇimā. In my zone, every temple should pledge to distribute the glories of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu, the Minister for Book Distribution, informed me that they are yet to receive pledges from temples in my zone. He requests every devotee to pledge something more than zero and not less than one! The goal for 2024 is 68,000 Bhāgavatam sets! I request devotees to inform their pledges to their Yatra leaders so they can update the Bhādra campaign team. This year, in Māyāpur, the devotees have taken a pledge to distribute 5,000 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets. Last year, Māyāpur devotees distributed 4,516 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets, but this year the goal is 5,000.

Māyāpur is the land of festivals. Some days we have multiple festivals. This month, we had Haṁsa Vāhana Deity coming to Māyāpur, Jhulan Yātrā, Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect Festival, Balarāma Pūrṇimā, and many other festivals. It is said in Nectar of Devotion that one must attend festivals. And it is one of the 64 limbs of sādhana bhakti. We also had the temple opening in Mangalore on Balarāma Pūrṇimā. My dear disciple Namanista Dāsa had invited me to the temple opening. But I attended it online. I visited the temple last year when the construction was going on.

Despite all the other services and responsibilities, I don’t miss my regular chanting and daily reading. Also, I have started recording answers for the Bhakti Sarvabhauma assessment.

We were very sad to hear about the recent incident in Bangladesh. As soon as we got the news, the GBCs held meetings to provide support and ensure the safety and well-being of our devotees and temples in Bangladesh. We are doing everything that is possible to offer protection and assistance. I was thinking about how this material world is not a safe place. But by chanting the Mahā-mantra, we are being saved. Even if we have to leave our bodies, we will go back to Kṛṣṇa. And when we are in this material world, we derive great bliss by chanting the holy names. In whatever situation we may be in, we should be thinking about how to serve Kṛṣṇa.

I hope this finds you in good health and blissful Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Your well-wisher always,
Jayapatākā Swami

JPS/ssdb