Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
sadhavo hridayam mahyam
sadhunam hridayam tv aham
mad-anyat te na jananti
naham tebhyo manag api
Translation
The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
Since Durvasa Muni wanted to chastise Maharaja Ambarisha, it is to be understood that he wanted to give pain to the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the Lord says, sadhavo hridayam mahyam: “The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart.” The Lord’s feelings are like those of a father, who feels pain when his child is in pain. Therefore, offenses at the lotus feet of a devotee are serious. Caitanya Mahaprabhu has very strongly recommended that one not commit any offense at the lotus feet of a devotee. Such offenses are compared to a mad elephant because when a mad elephant enters a garden it causes devastation. Therefore one should be extremely careful not to commit offenses at the lotus feet of a pure devotee. Actually Maharaja Ambarisha was not at all at fault; Durvasa Muni unnecessarily wanted to chastise him on flimsy grounds. Maharaja Ambarisha wanted to complete the Ekadasi-parana as part of devotional service to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he drank a little water. But although Durvasa Muni was a great mystic brahmana, he did not know what is what. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a so-called learned scholar of Vedic knowledge. The devotees, being always situated in the core of the Lord’s heart, surely get all instructions directly from the Lord, as confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (10.11):
tesham evanukampartham
aham ajnana-jam tamah
nasayamy atma-bhavastho
jnana-dipena bhasvata
“Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.” The devotee does not do anything not sanctioned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As it is said, vaishnavera kriya mudra vijneha na bujhaya. Even the most learned or experienced person cannot understand the movements of a Vaishnava, a pure devotee. No one, therefore, should criticize a pure Vaishnava. A Vaishnava knows his own business; whatever he does is precisely right because he is always guided by the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Translation: The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.
Krishna can be captured only by devotional service
Of the ten offences to the holy name of the Lord, the first and most dangerous of all offences is to blaspheme those devotees who are dedicating their lives to spreading the glories of the holy name. This particular chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam very clearly shows the revelation of the inner feelings of the Lord’s heart that He is making known for all the world to see. Sometimes when we have a very confidential friend, we can disclose the secrets of our heart. Here Lord Sri Krsna is revealing one of the great secrets, the most intimate of the divine feelings of His heart. He is explaining that the pure devotee is always within the core of my heart and I am always in the heart of the pure devotees. My devotees do not know anything else but Me and I do not know anyone else but them. The Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as bhakta vatsala is always captured by the love of His devotees. Throughout the scriptures we find repeated evidence of this. Mother Yasoda, when she bound Krsna by the rope, it was rope used for holding the legs of cows. In His naughtiness, she was fearing that He may put Himself into a difficult situation that may cause Him pain. And therefore Yasoda Mayi decided to tie Him up. First of all she had to catch Him. Who can catch the Supreme Personality of Godhead? It is described that the gyanis with all their memorization and excellent analysis of all the scriptures can never ever catch the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the karma yogis even after performing the most elegant elaborate sacrifices they cannot catch the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And the mystic yogis even after life times of penance and tapasya in seclusion, keeping the back utterly erect, stopping the breathing process, fasting, accepting celibacy in a secluded place, enduring the winters, freezing cold, the summers, burning heat, with the inflictions of snakes, scorpions, tigers and all sorts of dangers all around them. Sometimes even for hundreds of years they exist only on prana, celestial breath. Through this process no one has ever captured the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But mother Yasoda who is simply a housewife in the home of Nanda Maharaj because of her innocent and pure love she was not only able to catch Krsna but she was able to bind Him with the rope of her devotion. Therefore Satyavrat Muni in his famous Damaodarastakam, he has offered obeisances to that rope which is the process of Bhakti or devotional service which is the exclusive means of understanding Krsna in truth.
bhaktya tu ananyaya sakya aham evam-vidho r’juna
jnatum drastum ca tattvena pravestum ca parantapa
Krsna says that only by devotion that I can be understood as I am. We can understand different aspects of the Lord by other processes of yoga or spirituality. But it is only by love that we can conquer the heart of God. And here He is explaining to Durvasa Muni because Durvasa Muni was actually a great, great gyani. He was the most brilliant scholar of Vedanta and the level of his austerities and the quality of his perfection in the mystic process was unparalleled in all the universe. But yet here we find that Lord Narayana, the Supreme Lord Himself explains that ‘I care nothing for your austerities, I care nothing for your tapasya, I care nothing for all the miracles you could perform, I care nothing for all your intellectualization. It is only the humility of a devotee’s heart that attract Me.’ And Ambarisha, he had none of these qualities manifested in his life but he was a humble devotee.
Mother Saci begging forgiveness from Advaita Acharya
In the Chaitanya Charitamrta, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a special avatar because the innermost feeling of God are manifested through His life. Very clear and simple to understand for one who has open mind and a sincere desire for Krsna consciousness. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He was revealing the innermost feelings of Krsna’s heart. The love between Sri Sri Radha and Krsna. ‘Sri Krishna Chaitanya Radha Krishna nahi anya’. The most confidential aspect of the spiritual world was being revealed to this world in a way never done before and never again by Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And in His divine lila, what is most prominent is Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who is Krsna himself revealing the love for His devotees. Over and over again He is demonstrating. It is described than after he took the sannyas order of life He was very anxious to return to His most beloved land of Vrindaban dham. It is described that Lord Nitaynanda knowing the anguish of the heart of the devotees in Sridham Navadwipa, He devised a secret plan to arrange so that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would return there instead. And when He met His mother Saci Devi who had such love and devotion to Him, He fell at his mother’s feet. This is completely against all social conventions for a sannyasi to fall at his mother’s feet. And when she saw Him she began to cry. She was accustomed to seeing Him with beautiful flowing blackish hair that would conquer the mind even of cupid, with beautiful golden robes, jewelry and garlands. And now she was seeing Him in a drabbed saffron dress of a sannyasi. His beautiful hair is shaven away. She began to cry tears. Tears of spiritual transcendental pain thinking that my dear son what sort of austerities and troubles You have to undergo in the sannyas order of life. And as she was crying Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu allowed Himself to be placed on the very lap of His own mother. She began to embrace him and she was smothering Him again and again and again with her kisses of love right in public, in front of all His devotees. And as she was crying, He was crying. They were both having unbearable feelings of love for one another thinking of the imminent separation that would take place. And then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began to speak to His mother in the public. Not only in the public but it is in the pages of Shri Chaitanya Charitamrta so that all the world can see for the rest of time this sannyasi how He is speaking to His mother. He says, ‘My dear mother, I have no right to take this renounced order of life. It is complete madness. My body belongs to you. My life belongs to you. Therefore if you want I will stay home with you for the rest of my life. No problem. I will not go anywhere. I will give up everything.’ This is the reciprocation of the Lord’s love for His devotee. How dear Saci Mata was to Shri Chaitanya Mahaparabhu. And mother Saci devi, how dear the Lord was to her heart. Although there is nothing in the world or nothing in the universe that she wanted more than just having Nimai Pandit living beside her so she could see his beautiful moon-like face, hear the sweetness of His words, day after day as she was accustomed for 24 years. But because she knew that the people would criticize if a sannyasi simply living at home with mother. She said, ‘No, no. Go to Jagannath Puri. Krsna is in Jagannath Puri. It is non-different than Vrndavan. At least there I will get some news from time to time because Puri and Navadwipa dham are like two rooms in the same house. So based on loving request of His own mother He changed all of His plans and settled for the rest of His life in this world in Jagannath Puri.
It was His base. And it is described that Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sometimes when He would be with His devotees, not sometimes, practically all of the times His greatest joy was glorifying His devotees. Saci Mata hardly ever saw Him again. It was a great sacrifice for her but it was a sacrifice of love. Thinking in terms of His pleasure she was willing to give up His association. And thinking in terms of her pleasure He was willing to give up all social respectability toward Himself. This is the sweetness of the intensity of the love between the Lord and His devotees. And Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He would send Saci Mata prasad regularly. And he would explain sometimes that my dear devotees when you bring her prasad please pacify her. She is in too much feelings of separation. Tell her that do you remember this particular date when you offered bhoga to the deities and you offered everything that I love to eat and when you cooked, I came there and ate everything and when you came back onto the altar of the holy deity of the Lord, there was nothing left in the plate and in ecstasy and in humility you began to cry thinking oh my god what an offence I have forgot to put anything on the plates. And then you fill up the plates again and offered. You should know my dear mother that I come whenever you cook; I personally come and eat what you cook. It is described that one time… Saci mata, understand how dear she was to the supreme Lord. How dear! And yet He couldn’t even tolerate when someone as dear as Saci mata committed an offence to another devotee. It is described that one time in the house of Advaita Acharya, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Saci Devi that you can never go back to Godhead and you can never attain the mercy of Krsna because you have committed an offence against Sri Advaita Acharya. In her mind! And she became very much frightful. She was a very simple, humble and innocent devotee. She understood that she had displeased the Lord and he explained to her that you have no hope of going back to Krsna because you have committed an offence against a Vasinava. How exalted she was and how He couldn’t even tolerate offence against a Vasinava from her. She said what have I done? He said that when your son, my older brother took sannyas, you were in your mind, although you didn’t say anything, you were in your mind blaming Advaita Acharya for influencing him to take sannyas. Because Viswarupa was always going to Advaita Acharya’s house and hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, and having kirtan. And due to this influence he became completely, completely detached from all material life. When he ran away and took sannyas you were thinking in your heart that this Advaita acharya, by his influence my beloved son has left. In this way in your mind you were committing offence to the lotus feet of Advaita acharya and therefore there is no hope for you to ever attain Krsna Consciousness. So then mother Saci devi, she said what do I have to do to atone for this offence. He said that the only way to atone for this offence is you must with your heart in a state of great humility, desiring true forgiveness, you must take the dust from the feet of Shri Advaita acharya. And Saci mata said but how is that possible? Advaita acharya, he worships me like his mother. Because I am your mother. He will never allow me to touch his feet. He is much bigger and stronger than me. How will I ever touch his feet? He said it is the only means. So in order to show the world how serious He takes the offence of a devotee, He made a plan. He said when Advaita acharya comes, I will manifest to him my super excellence. Then he will bow down to me. And when he is in his full prostration, you come up from the back and he will not see you and there you should take the dust from his lotus feet. So when Advaita acharya came, he offered his prostrated obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Gaurahari. And while he was laying there, immersed in divine love, Saci mata secretly from behind took the dust from his feet. And when he understood what had happened he became very much embarrassed. Why have you done like this? How could you do like this? Then she confessed that I have committed an offence at your lotus feet, my dear Advaita acharya. Please forgive me. And then Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained to Advaita how this was necessary for the purification of Saci mata and also to establish throughout the world that no one can be dear to Krsna if he is committing offences to the lotus feet of the devotees.
The offence of Gopala Chapala
Of course, we also read about the story of during the nocturnal kirtans of Srivasa Thakur, as they were having the night kirtans with the doors and windows closed, the neighboring people were too much complaining. Because Navadwipa at that time was full of karma kandis, atheists and mental speculative scholars of the Vedas. They couldn’t understand the devotional ecstasies of the Lord and His devotees. So they would criticize that why are they locking the doors, why are they singing all night? They are just a bunch of beggars. They are singing all night because they have no good food. Therefore it is all just stomach pains, howling. What do they do in there? We know what they are doing. They are having all sorts of illicit sexual affairs with women. They are probably gambling, eating meat and doing all abominable things. That’s why they do not want us, first class Vedic scholars to come in and expose them. Such sentimentalists! Rather than scrutinizingly analyzing the sastras like us, they are simply chanting and dancing like women and children. In this way they were spreading all bad rumors, horrible gossip about the devotees. Of course, this is something that will always be. So there was one Brahman. His name was Gopala Chapala. And he decided to disgrace Srivas Thakur because he was envious of him. Because he was getting so much recognition. So what he did is he put in front of the house of Srivas Thakur the paraphernalia for the worship of Durga which is done by those tantric mystics who are essentially in the mode of ignorance. He put the wine and the other Durga puja paraphernalia. So when Srivas Thakur arose in the morning he came outside and he saw what was done in his front yard. He called all the people of the town and told you see, I am worshiping goddess of Durga at night, secretly. Now you should all know that. Actually I am just a tamoguni and I really have no devotion to Krsna, otherwise I would not be doing these materialistic forms of tantricism. Of course, nobody believed it. Gopala Chapala within days came down with infectious severe case of leprosy. And he was forced out of his home and out of the village itself. He was living alone on the banks of the Ganges some distance away suffering horribly. And one day Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was passing by and Gopala Chapala came and began to beg the Lord, ‘Please, please I take shelter of You. Help me out of this horribly painful suffering condition of life. I surrender to you. I am now your devotee. Please save me.’ Then Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu looked at him with eyes like fire. He said because you have committed an offence to my dear devotee Srivas Thakur, I curse that for the next tens of millions of births you only suffer this type of pain. And then the Lord walked away, left this man alone drowning in his own offence. And then some time later, it was quite a while after, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was again passing that way and this time Gopala Chapala was actually humble. He fell at the feet of the Lord and he said, ‘I deserve much worse than what I have done to your devotee. How can I possibly atone for the offence I have committed to your devotee? I understand now how dear your devotee is to You.’ Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘I have no power to forgive you. Only My devotee has the power to forgive you.’ Gopala Chapala went to the hosue of Srivasa Thakur and with a sincere and truly repentant heart, he fell at his feet and begged him, ‘Please forgive me.’ Of course Srivas Thakur never accepted the offence in the first place. But the Lord does. Then, when Srivas Thakur simply gave his blessings, he was cured of his leprosy. Not only was he cured of his leprosy but he was cured of his envy for the devotees. He also became a great devotee of the Lord.
The offence of Devananda Pandit
There are many stories like this. In the Chaitanya Bhagavat it is explained that there was a devotee of the name of Devananda Pandit and he was a great scholar and he was teaching Srimad Bhagavatam. And in Srimad Bhagavatam, one time Srivas Thakur came to the class. When he heard one of the slokas, in transcendental ecstasy, he began to swoon and he fell unconscious. And Devananda Pandit and his disciples, they didn’t understand the sweetness of pure love of god. So they thought he was some sort of a pretender or that he was just some sort of a sickly person. So they picked him up and abusively brought him outside and left him outside. And it is described that for years and years and years Devananda Pandit was not allowed to become Krsna conscious but he had to suffer. Until at last because of his repentant forgiveness before the feet of Srivasa Thakur that Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu forgave him. So whoever we are do not think you are the above this principle. It is the most important principle for our spiritual advancement.
The mad elephant offence
Srila Prabhupada explains that offences against vaishnavas are mad elephant offences. Even if after years and years and years we develop so many spiritual qualities, they can all be vanquished if we seriously commit an offence to a devotee. Just as after years and years of growing a beautiful garden, if you allow a mad elephant into that garden, how long does it take to destroy everything? It is only a matter of seconds. This is why it is called mad elephant offence. Therefore within the shastra it is explained how extremely careful one must be not to commit offences to the devotees.
Destruction of the Yadu dynasty
And of course the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna, He very much also wanted to demonstrate this. The final lila of Sri Krsna, His last word in His life was practically to demonstrate this. The final, the end of Krsna’s lila was when He decided to send all the member of His infallible family, the Yadus, back to godhead. How to take them back to godhead? He decided that now it is the time for me to leave this world. After a hundred and twenty five years of performing His wonderful pastimes, I have completed My mission. Now if I leave this world then the Yadu dynasty remains, they will become so mad in separation, and they are such powerful kshatiryas, that in ecstasy I don’t know what they are going to do. So He decided they must go before me. But how will they go? No one can defeat them. The only people that can defeat them is if they fight amongst themselves. So Krsna, He is so transcendentally clever that He can fulfill so many purposes with one pastime. He also wanted to show a lesson to the world which was essential. What was that lesson? He bewildered the hearts of some of the members, the younger members of the Yadu dynasty, Samba, Pradyumna and others. And what they did is they disguised themselves. They disguised Samba as a lady, a young girl, put a saree on her and put some paddy in her stomach to make her look like he was pregnant. And they wanted to just have a good laugh at the sadhus. They were thinking we are kshyatriyas, the practical people in this world. Let’s have a good laugh at these sadhus. They are not very practical anyway. So they went to the sadhus, headed by Narada muni, Parvat muni. They said my dear maharajas you see this young girl, she is pregnant. We want to know because we know that you know the past, present and future. Will this be a boy or a girl? They were thinking either one they would just start laughing. Boy, girl… you see what foolish people they are, foolish scholars, foolish yogis you are. You don’t even know our tricks. Their intention was to insult and minimize the position of these great souls. So when they asked this question will it be boy or will it be girl? So the Lord in the heart of Narada muni wanted to show them a great lesson. And Narada muni announced with a tumultuous roaring voice that you rascals, she will give birth to a lump of iron which will be the cause of destruction of your entire dynasty. And immediately they took off her saree and there was a big lump of iron that had come out of his stomach. They were thinking what to do with this lump of iron. So they brought it back to King Ugrasena. And King Ugrasena said we have to destroy it somehow or other. What to do to destroy it? They began to grind it, grind it and grind it into powder. One piece remained like this. They couldn’t grind it down. So they took that piece and threw it in the ocean and they took all the other ground up powder and threw it in the ocean. All the powder washed up to the bank and began to grow, these iron like bamboo shoots. And that one piece simply remained in the forest. One hunter made an arrow head out of the piece. And by Krsna’s arrangement He sent all of His family members to a place called Prabhas Kshetra to perform some sacrifice. And while there, they got into some internal quarrel and they began to pick up these shoots that were growing, these iron shoots and began to hit each other and the whole Yadu dynasty was destroyed in that process. And that other arrow of course, the mausalya lila of Sri Krsna. A hunter by Krsna’s divine arrangement saw His beautiful foot and thought that it was a deer and he shot the foot of Krsna. And when he saw Krsna, he was apologizing like anything. And Krsna said to the hunter, ‘No, no, no. This is all my will. This is My lila to leave this world.’ Then His body simply ascended to the spiritual world and He left behind another body so that the atheists will have the facility to say, ‘Oh, he is an ordinary man.’
So this whole divine lila of how Krsna left this world was to show each and every person however exalted you are whether you are Saci mata or whether you are His own family members, who are Nitya Siddhas. His own family members, either they are associates of the spiritual world or they are the greatest, most celebrated demigods in the heavens, they have all descended as members of the Yadu dynasty. Even if you are his own personal children. Samba, Pradyumna, they were His children and grand children. Even if you are the directly empowered family members of Sri Krsna living in the same house as Him, if you commit offences to devotees, you and your whole dynasty will be vanquished.
Pleasing the Lord’s devotees
This is how much Krsna wanted to stress to us how to be very careful about this. And it is His mercy. Because it is the natural quality of His heart to love His devotees. And on the other hand, we were speaking of the negative side, but on the positive side if you pleased the Lord’s devotees, if you show affection, if you show respect to the Lord’s devotees, how much that will capture the Lord’s heart with gratitude and devotion to that sentiment of yours? Therefore it is said ‘Yasya prasadad bhagavat prasado yasya aprasadan na gati kutopi’. If you please the spiritual master, you get the complete mercy of Krsna within your life. But if you displease the guru, you cannot get the mercy of Krsna in your life. You can travel throughout all of creation, you will not find it. Durvasa muni travelled throughout all of the creation because he committed an offence to Ambarisha Maharaja. There was no where he can find the Lord’s mercy. No one had the power to give it to him. But if one pleases the Lord’s devotee, if one satisfies the Lord’s devotee, if one shows love and respect to His most beloved son, then nothing can vanquish you. Even the most powerful mystic who has created a bomb… Durvasa muni has created a weapon that is millions and trillions of time more powerful than any bomb made by man today. He created a fiery demon that could devour the entire earth within seconds. But it couldn’t harm even one hair on the head of Ambarisha Maharaja. Because Ambarisha Maharaj was always aspiring to please the Vaisnavas and to humbly put his head at the feet of the great devotees. So when we understand through the Lord’s various incarnations on this earth the relationship between Him and His devotees, then we can truly understand how to make real progress, undisturbed progress in devotional service. ‘Mad bhakta puja abhyadhika’. Sri Krsna tells Uddhava that worship of My devotee is more dear to Me than the worship of Me. Because I do not require anything but the love of My devotees. And those who respect and please those who love Me are infinitely and eternally dearmost within My heart. This is the divine word of God. Is there any questions?
‘The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.’
Question: Even in regular life we will have many mental and physical also sometimes we talk very abusively. Sometimes mentally too much we are committing offence every day. So how do you avoid this? Because in smaller things this happens very often.
Answer: Through hearing. You have to understand the gravity of the situation. When we do not understand the gravity and the severeness of offences to devotees then we take it lightly. ‘I can get away with it. After all I am a good soul. I am basically very sincere and very Krsna conscious. This is practical. It is what must be done according to time and circumstance. I must do like this.’ If you are a great acharya and you understand and this is actually what must be done at this time, then you can do. But if you are not being directly guided by Guru and Krsna in this way, then my God! You are playing with fire. Not just fire but the deadliest fire. If you understand the gravity, you will be careful in this regard. But, unfortunately people do not understand the gravity. They take it for granted. They take it lightly. They take examples of the scriptures to be symbolic but they do not take it seriously. This is very dangerous. Throughout the Bhagavatam, thoughout the Chaitanya Charitamrta, even the Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita – All these books are explaining so strongly ‘Do not offend the Lord’s devotees.’ The whole battle of Kurukshetra was staged simply because of offences against the devotees. And the Lord arranged everyone to be destroyed. What was the offence? Many offences but one is to Draupadi. Draupadi was a woman. In those days women were considered great goddesses. They were considered hundreds of times more respected than they are today. Today women want liberation because they are being misused, they are exploited. But in Vedic culture, a woman is considered a very, very high in spiritual position if they are spiritual. And Drapuadi, although she was in such an exalted spiritual position, she was dragged by the hair into the assembly hall. And Duryodhana and Duhsasana were trying to strip her naked in front of everyone to embarrass her. The Lord could not tolerate this offence. So the reaction to this offence is, ‘Oh! You have undone Drapudi’s hair! Therefore all of your family, all women will undo their hair.’ Because in those days when your husband or relatives die, a woman would undo her hair. So because of undoing Draupadi’s hair … (not clear). Still we don’t take it seriously.
We are still whimsical. We still like to gossip and do rumors and all these things. But of course we should be very, very careful not to commit offences. But if the he offences are not based on the principle of envy, or if they are not based on the principles of trying to take a devotee down to a lower position, if they are just slight and Krsna will not take them very seriously. We should try to guard against them also. But Krsna will not take them seriously. But if we actually have a plan or a plot to take a devotee to disgrace him before others or put him lower before others, that offence will not be tolerated by Krsna. But at some times we get angry and say something this that, that is not actually from our heart, that is just the reaction due to our conditioning. So, those offences will be easily overlooked by Krsna if we are sincerely trying to serve the devotees. But these examples are given in the scriptures so that even the thought of offence against devotee should frighten us so much that we think ‘My God Krsna please forgive me.’ This is not a state of paranoia. This is a state where our heart is actually a fertile field for the seed of love to grow. So, through hearing and through understanding, we must recondition ourselves against whimsical talk and against envious motives within our heart. If we feel envy or if we feel threatened by the position of a particular devotee we must understand that my God, if I am wrong I am finished. If I am right Krsna will resolve it otherwise. But if I am wrong, and therefore we should pray in that situation and we should pray ‘Krsna please purify my heart.’ Even if these desires are in your heart, if you respond according to those desires, then you commit offence. But if you pray to Krsna to nullify those desires. The desire is there. What can you do? The problem is not that the desire is there. The problem is what you do in response. If you pray to Krsna in that situation please help me, please purify me, please let me become his servant. May be I do not understand. But this is in higher powers hands. Let me go on with my service and let me respect all Vaisnavas. If that is your prayer then you will very quickly be purified. That is what you can do. Narottamdas Thakur prays that my dear Lord if someone commits an offence to You, by chanting the holy name he is forgiven. But if someone offends Your devotee, there is no salvation. The only salvation is to very, very deep sincere desire for forgiveness. So we should pray for that state of consciousness, where we see the good qualities in others. A honey bee finds the nectar of each flower and the fly is very anxious to taste stool and infections that come from soars on your body. You never see a fly going from flower to flower to tasting the sweet essence of the honey, the nectar. The fly loves infections, stool, urine, puss. So we all have this fly-like tendency .We love to ponder upon the stool of the faults of others. We have to take to the process of Krsna consciousness. Through performing the austerity of humbly serving the devotees and with a genuine and sincere heart praying to Krsna to make your heart pure, then by His grace we can overcome our fly-like tendencies and we can become like a honeybee always hovering over His lotus feet tasting the sweetness of His love.
Is there any other questions?
I would like to thank all of you very much.
Vancha kalpa tarubhyascha, krupa sindhubhya eva cha,
patitanam pavanebhyo, vaishnavebhyo namo namaha
