Q&A session

Chaitanya Prabhupada Nanda Sri Advaita Gada Taur Shiva said the go or a Bhakta Vrinda Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Yantapraviśyamam avacimam prasūptam sanjīvayāt akīla-shaktīdara-svadamna. Anyamśyahasthacarana-śravanātva-gādhim pranannamo-bhagavate-puruṣāyatūbhyam. Svasyas tu visvasya kalah prasidatam Vyayant bhutan shivam mitva udhiyya Manas ca badram vajatata doksa jya Havishyatam noma tir atya hai tu ki Yes, thank you very much for being present for this second talk. Regarding success, Krishna teaches us in Bhagavad-gita that we should become the same in success and failure. It's a very difficult instruction, because naturally we want success and everything good. But ultimately it doesn't belong to us, it's not up to us what is happening in our life. And only if we become equipoised, not too much concerned with the external circumstances, we will be able to find the peace within ourselves. And this is what we are looking for. We are looking for peace. We are looking for happiness. And as Krishna says, as shanta se kutaksu kam, there is no question of happiness without peace. So, whatever it is, I am here and yes, if I can be of some help, I will be very happy to serve you and to inspire you. Ultimately that's the main purpose of our association. Again Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita that when devotees come bodhāyāntas parāsparam kathāyāntas cāmam nityam tuśyanti cāramanti cā when they start awaking each other, bodhāyāntas parāsparam basically means saying to each other, get up, enough of this sleeping. Just become awakened to the eternal nature of the reality. kathayantas, chamam nityam, and they start talking about Krishna, nityam, all the time from different angles of vision. tushyanti-caramanti-caram, in this way they initially feel satisfaction, that's the first stage of spiritual experience. And the second stage, desirable stage of spiritual experience, Romanticah, they become extremely positively happy, not just satisfied. So anyway, whatever it is, I am here. And yeah, let's start with your questions about this difficult subject matter which you are discussing. Yes. Thank you so much for your kind association. My question is a question I wrote down a few months ago and I said, yeah, I need to ask this question to Bhaktivedyana Maharaj. And I just read it now. It's about the story of Krishnadaska Viraj Goswami, who left his brother because he offended Mirna Ketanam Ram Dass, a devotee of Lord Nityananda. Krishnadaska Viraj Goswami makes a statement saying that it's better to reject both Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda than to accept Lord Chaitanya and reject Lord Nityananda. I would like to know your perspective on this. I will listen to your answer from the kitchen. I have to go, so I will not be present at the time. OK. Thank you, Abiram Takur Prabhu. Well, it's indeed a very enigmatic statement. It's better to reject both than to reject Lord Nityananda and accept Lord Chaitanya. So, in the light of the topic which we are discussing, Lord Nityananda is the original spiritual master, Akhanda Guru Tattva. He is the root cause of our spiritual life. He is the original cause of this mood of service. The whole point of spiritual life is to change bhoga vritti, the predominant mood of enjoyment, which is very prominent in this material world, which is basically 100% of the population of this material world subscribed to, and to switch to several rittis, to the mood of service. So Lord Chaitanya is teaching, Lord Nityananda is teaching this, and by adopting this teaching, by assimilating this teaching, of Lord Nityananda we will be able to understand Lord Chaitanya. So I believe that the meaning of this statement is that if we reject Lord Nityananda and and still accept Lord Chaitanya, we will remain offensive in this relationship with Lord Chaitanya. And offenses against the Lord is a very dangerous position. It may bring complete ruination. So only the proper mood of service in the relationship can make relationship work and can make relationship really successful. So I believe that the meaning of this statement is that it's better not to have anything to do with the spiritual life than to become offensive in the spiritual life. which is almost inevitable if we reject Lord Nikananda. So I think that's the implication behind this indeed very paradoxical statement of Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami. Okay, thank you, Guru Maharaj. Thank you, Sr. Kravich. Dear devotees, I just want housekeeping item. Please, when you come into the Zoom, make sure that you mute your microphones yourself. Otherwise, it's background noises and it's annoying. Thank you. Shabrashpur. Shabrashpur. Shabrashpur. Shabrashpur. I have a question, Maharaj. In terms of when it comes to the spiritual master, the choice of spiritual master, there are lots of instructions given within the ISKCON community. Now, I am convinced in terms of spiritual master. But in terms of, there are discussions around four things in play. free will, the endeavor. This is from the spiritual seeker perspective. There is free will, there is endeavor, but there is also destiny and God, the Lord himself in play in this. Our internal position is that of Dasa and we go and serve the God brothers and sisters under the instruction of master and convince. But then why is this stress on we need to choose a spiritual master because it's destiny. It's our eternal position of servant. And it's almost by destiny, by God's will. It is will be taken to that. So in that case, how do we balance the statement that there is endeavor that is required and there's a sense of freedom to choose somebody, whereas it's already destined? Well, when it comes to this question, about the free will and destiny, usually people, they overemphasize either predestination or complete absence of free will, or vice versa, they overemphasize the level of our free will. So there should be proper balance, both Those play a very important role, but if it was all predestined, then there would not be a point of giving any instructions. This is actually the argument which is given by our Acharyas in favor of free will. What would be the use of all the instructions in Shastra, in teachings, if everything is any way predestined? But the instructions are given, and the instructions are given for a specific reason. The instructions, when we read these instructions and try to understand these instructions, They develop our intelligence and the more our intelligence develops. And by the way, sincerity is a function of intelligence. Because what is sincerity? Sincerity is the ability to introspect, to analyze our motives and everything else. And that's only possible when our intelligence is developed. When our intelligence or ability to self-analysis is not developed, is underdeveloped, then definitely our destiny plays a much more important role in our life. So, all these instructions are given to help us to develop intelligence. And the more our intelligence is developed, in other words, the more conscious we are in our actions, the lesser role of destiny plays in our life. So, basically, the instructions are there to help us develop intelligence. And when the intelligence is developed, then the free will takes precedence over the predestination or whatever else is there. So we should not neglect this instruction and we should not become lazy. This is actually the statement of Krishna Daska Viraj Goswami. We should never become lazy in our intelligence and in discussing Siddhanta. And the qualification of spiritual master and this very important choice which we are making by accepting spiritual master is a part of Siddhanta. So we should not be lazy in discussing Siddhanta because it strengthens our intelligence. Subhridhamanās, our mind will become very strong and we will be able to remember about Krishna. So I hope I answered your question. It's actually, you know, when people too much emphasize the destiny, it's a sign of kind of lazy intelligence. It's anyway all predestined, so what role do I have to play? And Shastra inspires us not to become lazy. Okay. Thank you, Guru Maharshan. So, anyone would like to ask a question now here? Because if not, then we'll turn to the online audience. Okay. So, you want? so uh okay you were the first one with the hand raised so maybe you should ask the question i have a question from titania charyta america the recent episode with prakashananda sarasvati and his disciples when lord chaitanya said that his master his guru maharaj said him to that he's a fool and so on but when we read the chaitanya bhagavata we see that ishvara puri was highly polite with lord chaitanya in gaia so we have not such an episode or write in any scriptures? Is it a real episode or imagination for preaching? No, no, it's not for preaching. It's the perception of Lord Chaitanya because the disciple is supposed to feel like a fool in front of the spiritual master, no matter what the spiritual master says. If spiritual master praises you, you still should feel like a fool. Ishvarapuri might have been very polite and delicate with Lord Chaitanya, but Lord Chaitanya still felt, I am a fool in front of my spiritual master. And therefore when he recalls this episode in his conversation with Prakashananda Saraswati, And he speaks these words. So that's how he felt. And that's how we are supposed to feel. No matter, you know, our spiritual master can be very kind and very polite and very encouraging. Still, the internal feeling of a disciple should be, it's just because, you know, I'm such I'm such a fool that I can only accept this kind of treatment from a spiritual master. So that's the idea behind it. And therefore, still, you know, when we're remembering our interaction, actually I remember one interaction with my spiritual master when he was very polite, But my internal feeling of his politeness was he's saying I'm a fool. And it was a fact. So I'm such a fool that I didn't even deserve to be called a fool by spiritual master. Thank you. So, Balram Prabhu, you are next. I want to ask a question since I think since the last meeting, but first of all, I just want to say something else and I hope it's proper here in the presence of everyone. But But I would just make myself a fool, I guess. Next Friday is our Viva Ayakim, Dorita and myself. So we kindly ask you to show all your blessings upon us, that it becomes an auspicious day and that entering our Gerastha Ashram will be dedicated to your pleasure. So please keep us in your prayers, Kronos Mroge. Okay. My prayers are there. Because family life definitely requires a lot of prayers. Without prayers, it's a very hopeless endeavor. But with prayers it can become successful. Thank you. I don't know if that helped me to become less nervous or not, but it sounds easy. Guru Maharaj, there is a verse. There are two verses which may, like at the first thought, appear contradictory, and they are both from the 11th Kant of Srimad Bhagavatam. The first one, I think you taught us in , is how . And that significant part for me is , is that one should neither be discussed by this material word, nor to attach. But then there is another verse you're quoting, also from the 11th canto, spoken by Krishna I think you're quoting in healing prayers and I can't even paraphrase it properly but I think it also starts with Yadrachaya and it is said that one should be disgusted by the sense enjoyment or sense gratification in the material world so like there are those two things that one should be be disgusted but at the same time by sense enjoyment but not by the material world. But our understanding is the material world is actually there for sense enjoyment. So how are we supposed to not be disgusted by it, especially by seeing all those, sorry to say, disgusting things happening in the world? Na nirvi no na ati sa kto, one should not be too much disgusted with the material world in the sense that when we are only disgusted with the material world, we only see the negative side of the material world, when we only see the sufferings and the problems in the material world, then it's very difficult to interact with Krishna within the material world. And we are in the material world. Bhakti means that we are already interacting with Krishna now. Bhakti is not something which is supposed to happen when we die. should take place now in our day-to-day interaction with other people, with this world. And if we are only stressing the negative part of this world, it will be very difficult to see how Krishna manifests himself in this material world. But we should be disgusted with material enjoyment and with our tendency again and again and again to enjoy despite the fact that we know that it's Dukhatmakam, that it is a source of misery. Vedadukhatmakam. In this verse it is said, actually this verse is Krishna's own purport to the first verse. He says that the devotee who has shraddha, who has faith in Krishna Katha, he knows that the material enjoyment is a futile endeavor. But despite of knowing this, he again and again and again makes the same mistake. He again and again thinks that he will become happy by these totally futile endeavors to become happy. So he is not too much disgusted with material world. he is disgusted with his own foolishness, with his own nature of being prone to accept to the face value the pleasures and happiness of the material world. So that's the difference. To be too much disgusted with the material world basically means to want liberation. Because when we are too much disgusted with the material world, we are ultimately disgusted with Krishna as well. Because it's his world. So there is no question of loving interaction with Krishna in this completely disgusting and terrible world which is full of only sufferings. But we should be disgusted with our constant and foolish endeavors or with our total, when we are enamored by this material world. So that's the difference. I hope I explained it to you. Okay, thank you. And then we will ask somebody from the audience here, to be fair. Okay, yeah, I'm sure. Yes, you are very audible. Quite loud. Thank you. Thank you very much for this opportunity. Yesterday we had a tiny Yosub Udza of yours and the devotees. They are also very grateful to you for your classes and for your assistance devotees. And also I want to congratulate you with your upcoming birthday and wish you happy disciples, eager to satisfy you in all respects for their service. And my question is about this aspect of relationship with spiritual master as Vishramba. I am now reading the book about Srila Pappapada and I can see that the disciples of Srila Pappapada, especially in those first time with Srila Pappapada, it seems that they were quite sentimental, that he was for them like a father, a grandfather, like a really loving person who they simply loved very much. At the same time I heard that a spiritual master is a person whom you are sure about that this person can bring you back to Krishna. And when I hear and read their remembrances, it doesn't seem like they were sure that this person will bring me to Krishna. They just fell in love with him. So is it Vishramba also and what is the place of those sentimental feelings in relationship with spiritual master and also in our relationship with spiritual master and with your father? See, the word Vishramba basically means proper distance. Sometimes Vishramba is translated as reverence. And sometimes Vishramba is translated as intimate closeness in relationship. So for us who have very black and white mentality, these two translations of the same words seem to be contradictory. because we think if the intimacy is there that there is no veneration and proper respect or vice versa. But ultimately the word vishrampam means the appropriate distance in the relationship. When we know what is the distance between us and the person with whom we are associating with. And that's the secret of success in the relationship. We should not become too close because being too close would ultimately translate into familiarity. And familiarity, as we know, breeds contempt. And we should not be too distant. And actually, Chanakya Pandit gives a very beautiful comparison in this regard. He says that a spiritual master is like a fire. If you are too close to fire, it will burn you. And if you are too far from fire, it will not give you any benefit. So you have to choose the proper distance between you and the fire, not to be burned and not to be deprived of the benefits of the fire. So, when it comes to all these descriptions of Kavinda Dasi, very, very intimate disciple of Srila Prabhupada, she had her relationship with Srila Prabhupada, and we should not imitate this kind of relationship. We should admire that somebody was so close and was so intimate, intimate with Srila Prabhupada, but that's her particular position and that's fine. It doesn't mean that we should try to imitate her relationship or strive to have a similar relationship. Relationship is a very individual thing and there is no standard formula for relationship. It's not like cooking recipe, you know, you take 120 grams of this and 50 grams of this and mix it. It's a different formula for everyone and therefore we should again admire the relationship of these disciples, but also know that there were many other disciples who were not that close with Srila Prabhupada and still received a lot of benefit by being in his association and by expressing the sincere reverence towards him. So, from here, yes, we will take one question from here. Thank you, Shon. Thank you very much for this question. Did you hear the question? No, you have to repeat the question. You are Zoomers. The question was yesterday quoted from Kathu Upanishad where it is said that the past spiritual past is like Razor's age. In which sense it is like a razor's edge and why it is so, why the spiritual path is so narrow and dangerous? And in which sense it is razor's edge? Does it mean that if we make a mistake it will cut us? Well, yes, it is. And why it becomes more and more narrow, it's a very important question and thank you for asking it again. It's because the further we go in the spiritual path, the deeper levels of our consciousness are being affected. And there is a lot of resistance on the deeper levels of our consciousness to surrender completely to the Lord. And we should not underestimate this resistance. In the beginning it's all nice, yes, happy, yes, yes, yes, right. Spiritual life is like an eternal festival, especially when there is good fresh Adam and it's fantastic. And yeah, spiritual life is especially pleasant on Sundays because of special prasadam. But in the beginning, we are not really conscious about the internal resistance which is there. But it's there subconsciously. we have this resistance and we have doubts also. Krishna at the end of the fourth chapter of Bhagavad Gita says that doubts are very deep and therefore he says you cut these doubts with the sword of knowledge. He uses a very dramatic kind of language. You take the sword of knowledge, and the sword means something very strong cutting instrument. And you should cut these doubts, because the doubts are like very tight knot within our heart. That's why you need really strong sword of knowledge and you need the spiritual master, according to the analogy from the seventh kent of Srimad Bhagavatam, who will help you to hold this sword of knowledge. Because we know the sword is a weapon and it needs a lot of strength to use this weapon. So even to lift the sword you need some strength. So it is said in the seventh kent of Srimad Bhagavatam that the spiritual master is the source. Gyanasana, there is this sword of knowledge and the spiritual master gives you Bala, the strength to lift up this sword of knowledge. And then with this sort of knowledge, what you should do? You should do the surgical operation on your heart. So, the whole language of this metaphor is quite strong to give you the sense that there is some internal resistance in the form of doubts. And doubts are there to justify our non-participation in the spiritual life or non-surrender. Why doubts are there? Doubts, they just, you know, they give us justification. That, you know, why should I surrender? So they serve the purpose. and therefore it's not easy to get rid of these doubts and you need a lot of knowledge and the proper association to use this knowledge properly. When it is said that the spiritual master gives you the strength to use the sword of knowledge, it basically means that he helps you to apply knowledge in your life. And in this way to cut this. Because again, the tendency to enjoy independently on God is very, very strong. We should not underestimate this tendency. All right. So, who is next? Smriti? Yes. Hare Krishna. Yes, Hare Krishna. Please accept. Hare Krishna, please. My question is, how can we establish a strong relationship and serve our Guru through his Vani? And how do you know you have your Guru's mercy from far away? So when we are talking about relationship, the closeness does not have anything to do with the material distance. Because we are programmed by the modern science, we think in terms of distance, material distance, in terms of kilometers and miles between us and the spiritual master. But when it comes to relationship, you can be in physical proximity with somebody and still very distant from him. Or vice versa, you can be very far away from somebody and still feel the closeness. Actually, when Krishna left the inhabitants of Vrindavan, they felt his presence much more strongly than when he was there. That's, Sīla Jīva Goswami goes into great length to explain that so-called separation, which they felt was actually a very special kind of meeting. And that's why separation is called viraha. Viraha means special kind of meeting, secret meeting. Viraha or separation means secret meeting with the object of our love. And Krishna was in reality closer to the inhabitants of Vrindavan when he left them. When he was there present, they were not that intimate. And that's why they became very, you know, all these very negative expressions. They started chastising Krishna when he was away. You know, Simati Radharani is heavily chastising Krishna in Brahma Raghita. She would never chastise him so heavily when he was present. And the very fact that she is chastising him so heavily means that she is much more intimate with him at this moment of time. So anyway, I was carried away by this question. It doesn't mean that you should chastise your spiritual master to feel the closeness with him. Please, don't take me wrong. So, it basically means that no matter how physically distant we are from spiritual master, we still can feel His approval and His support. If we meditate on His instructions and we are acting according to His instructions, we feel that He is there, He is present in our life. And actually, Śiva Prabhupāda, he said this thing, you know, You know, when his god brothers criticized him that he very rarely visits Samadhi of his spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, which was actually very short distance away from Chaitanya Chandradaya Mandir, the property which Śrīva Prabhupāda acquired in Mayapur, Śrīva Prabhupāda became very offended. And he said, these fools, they don't understand. I'm not sure whether he used this strong language or not, but he was very, very disgusted with these accusations. And he said, they don't understand that I feel the presence of my, the living presence of my spiritual master all the time. I may not, you know, visit ceremonially his samadhi, But I still feel his presence in my life because I'm serving his instructions and I'm fulfilling his mission. And that's how Srila Prabhupada himself showed that's what you need to do to feel the presence of the spiritual master in your life. Just understand what he wants, fulfill his will and do more. You know, that's the secret in spiritual life, to meditate constantly on the instructions and try to do what he wants you to do. Thank you so much. Anything else? Yes, Radha Pramod Prabhu. Please accept my humble businesses Maharaj. Yes, my humble businesses to you Hare Krishna. Maharaj, we see that Prithu Maharaj was taking instructions from Kumaras and then he goes to spiritual world. But Kumaras, they did not, after that, this is in Swain Bhuv Manavandra, mantra and after that we see that Kumaras are going to Waikutta. So there is taking instructions from Guru but before Guru only, Prithamaraj looks that is more elevated than Kumaras, is performing bhakti and they are still in the jnana platform. So how to understand that? Once Gopal Krishnamaraj told me a very intimate story. He was visiting one community, famous community, after Srila Prabhupada's departure. And while he was leaving this community, the leader of this community approached him and whispered into his ears, Gopal, don't think that the disciple can be more advanced than the spiritual master. So, Gopal Krishnamaraj told me this episode and he was kind of shocked by this statement. So, despite all these instructions and all these descriptions in our Shastra, you know, whatever the position of spiritual master is, spiritual master is playing a very important control in the life of disciples. And yes, Humaras may not go to Vaikuntha because they have certain role to fulfill here in this material world. But the very fact that Pritha Humaraj accepts them as his spiritual masters should be the ultimate verdict for us. We should not judge them, we should not try to do this. You know, this is, he is, you know, fulfilling the role of obedient disciple and we should try to follow his example. And whatever happens with the spiritual master, whatever happens with disciples is actually up to Krishna. But we should very clearly understand that our role as a disciple is to remain humble in front of spiritual master. And that will please Krishna. That's how Krishna will be pleased. Because otherwise, you know, as I explained yesterday, I tried to explain yesterday, bhakti is the science of relationship. And if you don't accept somebody in the capacity of God and enter, please mute your microphones. Somebody is probably talking something very important, but it disturbs others. so why do we need spiritual master? because bhakti is a science of relationship and ultimately relationship with God and we should prove to God that we are ready to enter into relationship with him by properly establishing our relationship with Guru so that's why it is so important Otherwise we will be just an illusion that yes, yes, I'm such a surrendered soul. We actually can only measure our surrender in real relationship, not in imaginary relationship. In imaginary relationship we are always very surrendered. But whether it is like this or not, will be proven in real relationship. And therefore, Prithumaraj is extremely surrendered to Kumaras. And Kumaras give him the instructions of Bhakti. Very beautiful instructions. What was this verse, the famous verse? Yadpa,da,pangaja,palasa,vilasa,bhakti,a. And they explained that only by bhakti you can stop your mind, whereas other people who are trying to empty their mind, rikta,matayoh, they still remain in this material world. So you should be in this playful flow of bhakti and always engaged in the interaction with the lotus feet of the Lord. Otherwise, you will never be able to stop your karma. So that's the instructions which Kumaras are giving to Prithvi. And he accepts these instructions very seriously. Yarpada pankaja palasa vilasa bhaktya. Guru Maharaj, we have a few devotees here, so if they can ask a question. Yes, please, please. Please, you have the first. Right. Thank you again for being here, even if you are so far, physically we feel your presence and the benefit of your and we hope that you will come also physically in the future. My question is connected with the last question because we are studying since weeks the Jai Vijay chapters about the Humara going to Bhavikuta and so in some parts of the history we feel that we are in Waikunta and everything is happening there then at the end of the chapter it is explained that everything happened at the doors of Waikunta and so how can we interpret it in the right way so where Jai Vijay will stay are they residents of Hakunta or they stay on the door? It's difficult to understand from a logical point of view. So because we are studying this history since weeks, for me it's important to have the right interpretation. Please, if you can answer this question. Thank you again. See, our presence in a particular place very much depends on the frame of mind. Again, it's not that the physical presence which is important, but our mind, where our mind is present. So you may be physically, I don't know if it's possible to be physically in Vaikuntha because there is no physical bodies in Vaikuntha or material bodies in Vaikuntha. But again, the point is that where your mind is, this is more important. And yes, they entered the atmosphere of Vaikuntha, the Kumaras. And that's why such a beautiful description is there of Vaikuntha atmosphere. But at the same time, their mentality was not fully suitable to Vaikuntha. And therefore, this whole description is there, that they were not able to enter into the innermost part of it, and Jaya and Nizjaya were guarding it. In any case, Jaya and Nijaya, they are definitely in Vaikuntha, there is no doubt about it. Even after their so-called fall down in the material world, there is a description in Srimad Bhagavatam and other places of Srimad Bhagavatam that while they were there taking incarnations of Hiranyika Shepu, Hiranyaksha, Rabana, Kumbhakarna, Shishu Pau, Dantavakra, they were still Jain Vijayain Vaikuntha. So it's just some projection of their, or whatever, there was some lila performed in this material world, but Jain Vijayain, the residents of Vaikuntha. But Kumaras were not completely in sync with this atmosphere of Waikuna. That's the point. Thank you. One more question. Yes. My question. We were talking here with the other people. What did you hear? Yeah. I'm Gisha. Yes. Please come. And my question, we were talking here with Madam Ananda Prabhu about the choosing of the spiritual master, that we shouldn't be influenced by external circumstances like family or society or even the success of the guru. So I was, I was, I would like to ask you how should we choose it and what should be the feeling that we should have to see that is the right mood. Thank you. Right mood. Actually I have another. Right mood. You're asking about right mood. What was the last word? Yes, how can we recognize that the person that we have in front of us is our master? So which is the right feeling that we should recognize? I often hear this question and in my humble opinion, this is a very artificial question. How should we recognize our spiritual master? Should there be, you know, lightning and thunderbolt when he appears in front of us? Or should we feel complete shaking within our, you know, guts when he opens his mouth? or should our right eye or left eye twinkle? What are the special signs of this? How we should recognize this? It's very simple. You know, we hear somebody and we feel that we are ready to follow what he says, that we understand the way he teaches and we are ready to do what he tells us to do. And if this feeling is there, yes, this is your spiritual master. The spiritual master is somebody who teaches you and you are ready to follow his instructions. If you feel this in regard to a particular person, that yes, this is something which makes sense, and I'm ready to do this, and I have inspiration and enthusiasm to do what he tells me to do, that's the sure sign that it's somebody. And besides all other criteria, I'm sure Madhavananda Prabhu explained other criteria, but we should choose our spiritual master by our ears. This is how it should take place. We hear and we feel the response from our heart that, Yeah, this is something which makes sense and I'm ready to do what he tells me to do. Simple. No lightning, no thunderbolt, no earthquake. Everything is just... Thank you. I'm again here with the question of the Rotten Tewoti. Okay, when the spirit or the help in spiritual life, we still fail to jump from suffering and difficulties into opportunities. And you feel that you can only fall lower because you will always get stuck on the same issues. What is that for us to do? I didn't understand exactly the question. Can you repeat it, maybe in your own words? Yes, OK. I think that the point of disability was that she has some difficulties to overcome some problems. And she probably won't overcome them so easily. So she feels like she doesn't have any possibility to make them into good opportunities to learn from. So how can this person overcome the suffering that she has from these situations, despite all the help from the spiritual life that she has? We have to understand the root cause of our sufferings. The root cause of our sufferings is identification with the body and the mind. And until we closely identify with the body and with the mind, the suffering will continue. Because that's the nature of the body and the mind. The mind is always in turmoil and the body always something is wrong with the body. So when we come to spiritual life, we have this very sentimental and foolish idea that all the sufferings should disappear by the movement of the magic wand. You know, all of a sudden I should feel completely blissed out. It only happens when your consciousness is withdrawn. What is the cause, the root cause of our sufferings is because we're stuck in matter. Our consciousness is stuck in matter and because the consciousness and matter they are diametrically opposed to each other. They have different nature. The consciousness is eternal, the consciousness has knowledge, the consciousness is blissful, and the matter is temporary, the matter is dull, and the matter is miserable. No matter which matter it is, it may be subtle matter or gross matter. So, when our consciousness is stuck in the matter, when we are stubbornly insisting in being or identifying with the subtle or gross matter, then we will continue suffering. And sometimes the suffering will be less, sometimes the suffering will be more. When our mind is relatively more peaceful, then it's less. So the preliminary discipline of spiritual life is to calm down your mind. To make your mind more peaceful and to make your body less sick. Because when we are suffering too much, it's very difficult to distance ourselves from body and the mind. And yes, when we start spiritual life, we feel the diminishing of the sufferings because of the nature of the discipline which we follow. But again, it's not a miraculous effect. It's not something which we should expect that miraculously all the sufferings will disappear. No, the karma goes on and it's our systematic endeavors to stop identifying with the body and the mind, which brings the real experience of happiness. And if we need in the beginning some sort of treatment to make our mind less painful, then we should take this treatment. You know, nowadays people are so messed up. Their psychology is so messed up. They didn't have proper loving relationship when they were children. Their parents mistreated them. And there is a lot of trauma. And when they come to spiritual life with all these traumas, it's very difficult for them to practice spiritual life properly because the mind is suffering too much. So if you need some preliminary cure from the diseases of your mind and your body, it's very much advisable to take all these preliminary cures to help you to distance yourself from the body and the mind. But until you do this, until you find your real happiness, and it's not so difficult actually because by nature we have this at least little tiny atom of happiness because by nature the soul is also Satchitananda. Yes, it's a very atomic particle of ananda and we only experience real ananda when we enter into relationship with the source of all ananda. But still, the ananda is there. And when our mind is peaceful, when we are not too much complicated in our mind and in in our external circumstances, we can feel this bliss. I am living here in Govardhan, and it's a poor environment, poor village, poor people, but sometimes they are so blissful, and you wonder how dare they be so blissful. It's just because it's just natural bliss which goes despite all these circumstances. Yes, I guess we should ask Kesheva Priyed because she is there and maybe Harinam Chiran and then we will stop this question and answer session because it's getting light. Yes. Yes, Hare Krishna. Maharaj, we are taking initiation from a Guru Maharaj and if we leave our body and we just continue our spiritual journey, will we meet the same Guru in our next lifetime or it is just a tattwa and will we be given support from some other... Because we say, when we take initiation to say, the Guru is a guru who will deliver us, till we leave this world, how to understand the statement, Morant. The Prabhupada said that, don't force your guru to come again to deliver you. Yes, that is pretty common. No, it's not necessarily the same guru. But the principle is the same. Guru Tattva is acting. It can be acting through different people. It is already acting through different people in our life. We can feel that the principle of Guru is manifested in our life. So it's not necessarily that we have to, you know, force our Guru to come again, to give us initiation again. And so it would be very unfair. At least I really hope that my answer is correct. The greeting initiation means you're getting coming to the parampara and just will be taken care of by the parampara. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much. Harinam Charan. That's the last question. Yes, Harinam Charan, Prabhu. Kishnanda, please, I say my humble abhishth is. I have one question that actually confused me a little bit in a couple of years. I, because of my practical service many years, I was always listening to lectures, a lot of lectures. I get them benefit and speaking with people. But a couple of years I feel whatever I listen, I do not remember actually. I don't know, it looks like my memories are gone a lot. Of course I get something inside confirming, so whatever I listen, it's interesting. But it gives me some difficulty when people ask me, to ask me to give class or something. I'm hesitating because when I sit there to speak, I feel it's, I do not have to speak. I mean, I don't have, how to say, just to acknowledge to give, I just give my experience, whatever I have experienced. I am not happy in this case. And also, when I read, I do not remember what I read. So what you're recommending, please? Once we went with one devotee to an Ayurvedic doctor, And the devotee started complaining to this Ayurvedic doctor, that I don't remember anything. My memory is very bad. And the doctor looked at him very strongly and sternly and said, do you remember Hare Krishna mantra? And the devotee said, yes, I do. So he said, what else do you need to remember? If your experience is based on Shastra, and if you at least try to be faithful to Shastra and to explain something from the Shastra, not from your own mind only, but if your experience is based on the instructions of the Shastra, then it's good enough. Regarding the technical memory, you know, sometimes people ask me some questions. Fifteen years back in one lecture you said this. And I ask you, did I say this? Of course, I don't remember everything which I said. And I don't remember all the technical details. Sometimes, sometimes I give some technical details and we may not remember this. That's not that necessary. What is necessary is to understand Siddhanta, the framework of Siddhanta, and having this precise but still quite general framework of Siddhanta but very precise who is God how he is the source of all energies how he is the source of rasa and relationship and what is living entity how the living entity relates to the Supreme Lord and what are the different statuses of living entities. If you know this Dasa Mula Tattva, the general kind of Siddhanta, that's what we should have. Details we may forget, but if the basic knowledge is there and if our practice is according to the instructions which we received, then we don't have to worry. And that's why he said, if you remember the Hare Krishna mantra, that's enough. At least one shloka you know, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Ram, Hare Ram, Ram, Ram, Hare Hare. That's enough to remember at the time of death. So I guess that's what it is. Thank you, Prabhupada. Thank you. I like Krishna. Okay. Okay, Prabhupada. Thank you so much for joining us today. So, yeah. He's calling us Shilapadhyam. That's why I'm a Raja Kiki. Shilaprabhupada. Thank you very much for all your time and attention, kindness. Thank you. Hare Krishna.