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Vyāsa-pūjā 2025

Rāghava Kīrtana Dāsa (Chattagram-Bangladesh - Bangladesh)

Dear Guru Mahārāja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to you. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. All glories to Lord Caitanya.

It is of great good fortune, created by Śrīla Prabhupāda and previous ācāryas, that we have got your association in this life. In the present scenario of ISKCON, it is very difficult to get personal association and teachings from guru. But I feel blessed that every day morning I am getting your personal instruction. How? Through your lectures, especially the recorded lectures before your stroke. The lectures seem to me like a gold mine, and I try to dive into this mine every morning just after getting up. I collect the best gold-like instructions of you to decorate my devotional practices every day.

After getting encouragement from a devotee at the āśrama, I started this habit, and in the last 1.5 years, I have heard more than 135 English lectures of you on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is helping me to shape my sādhana, behavior, services, and outreach according to the principles of śāstra as shown by you and Śrīla Prabhupāda. Some of the ornaments prepared from your golden instructions are presented below.

Also, by your grace, we have completed my Bhakti-vaibhava course from Govardhan Eco Village, Mumbai, and His Holiness Rādhānātha Swami offered us certificates. The syllabus of Bhaktivedānta is also complete—only the thesis writing is in process. We are now studying Caitanya-caritāmṛta. You have set a live example in this regard by completing these courses at a very advanced age, surrounded by so many responsibilities and physical challenges.

Please bless me so that I can continue this nice habit of reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books and hearing your lectures, apply these instructions in my life, and dedicate this life in such a way that satisfies you. I try to share them with other devotees and newcomers, being inspired by your one instruction:

“If disciples are very expert in keeping their Godbrothers Kṛṣṇa conscious, that means that would enhance whatever capacity their spiritual master has for delivering more souls, by not overburdening. If he is overburdened, that means that with a few fallen disciples, whatever mercy he is getting from Kṛṣṇa is being expended.”
(0429 JPS SB 09-09-05 USA 1983-11-05_Importance of Dīkṣā.mp3)

Your servant,
Rāghava Kīrtana dāsa

Extracting Gold Mines
(Valuable Instructions of His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami)

Note: I have taken the essence from notes of 70 out of 135 lectures and divided them into 35 themes. Out of these, I have sent only 7 themes here. If it serves the devotees and godbrothers in some way, I can send the full list after refining.

(Valuable Instructions of HH Jayapataka Swami)

Valuable Instructions of His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami

Note: I have taken the essence from notes of 70 out of 135 lectures and divided into 35 themes. Out of these 35 themes, I have shared only 7 here. If it serves the devotees and godbrothers in some way, I can send the full list after refining.


1. Guru

a) Having a guru is like an assurance policy—one gets help in times of danger.
0503 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 08.24.53–56, Mauritius, 2007-08-06

b) Only a guru can open the lid of the honey bottle of prema. We may smell the aroma near the lid and think that's spiritual life, but that’s only a shadow.
0161 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 01.13.18, New Talavan, 1996-11-22

c) If we are diseased, it is not that we shall always remain diseased. Now we are diseased by material vision. Guru is like a doctor, senior devotees are like interns, who help us cure this disease.
0150 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 01.08.21, Zurich, 1995-09-13

d) When a soul is sincerely looking for the truth, though they have no clue, Kṛṣṇa sends the spiritual master.
0278 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 04.08.39, Toronto, 1983-06-04

e)

  • Bhakti is teamwork of dīkṣā and śikṣā gurus.

  • Guru is a substation and the caittya-guru is the main station. Since the signal from Paramātmā is subtle and the jīva cannot catch it clearly, a substation like the guru is required for clarity.

  • A śikṣā-guru should instruct in such a way that it does not disturb the disciple’s relationship with the dīkṣā-guru.
    0284 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 04.12.32, Peru, 1997-06-07

f)

  • Those going through tough times should be helped by offering special mercy from guru and senior devotees to bring them back to spiritual life.

  • Guru is always pulling us toward bhakti, but we may perceive it as if he is pushing us away.
    0384 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 07.05.05, Bangladesh, 1997-09-17

g)

  • Just like deities, one shouldn't associate too closely with the guru. Disciples would mention this to Śrīla Prabhupāda, and he would change the servants.

  • A wife sees the husband, and a disciple sees the guru as a representative of God, though there may be apparent defects.

  • A sādhu or senior disciple helps us practically apply the guru’s and śāstra’s instructions.
    0390 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 07.08.17, New Talavan, 1981-07-06

h)

  • If Guru and Kṛṣṇa are in the same room, offer obeisances to Guru first—by his mercy we meet Kṛṣṇa.

  • When we render wonderful service, we should glorify Guru’s mercy, not ourselves.

  • Do not bite the hand of the Guru that feeds you nectar.

  • Spiritual advancement simply means following the spiritual master.

  • “I spit at your face if you say you can give more than what spiritual master gave.”

  • When babājīs asked His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura why he took sannyāsa and embraced varṇāśrama, he said: “Lord Caitanya is the Lord—He can enjoy at Gambhīrā, I can’t. I simply try to please Guru and Kṛṣṇa.”
    0393 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 07.09.28, Los Angeles, 1980-04-29

i) Guru is one—meaning all gurus have the same service attitude as servant of the servants.
0395 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 07.09.42, New Talavan, 1986-10-30

j) Sins are like weeds weakening the plant, but offense to guru is like uprooting the plant by a mad elephant.
0409 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 08.08.22, New Orleans, 1982-09-14

k) We should be fearful of becoming independent of the orders of the spiritual master.
0411 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 08.08.41, Culcutta, 1982-01-09

l) If the basics of devotion—faith in Guru and Kṛṣṇa—are weak, desire for higher bhakti will collapse like a building without a foundation.
0415 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 08.18.01, Māyāpur, 1992-09-08

m) Dīkṣā-guru is the ultimate shelter of the disciple. Without his recognition, one can't accept others as śikṣā-guru. Śrīla Prabhupāda said he was both dīkṣā and śikṣā-guru of his disciples.
0416 JPS, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 08.18.05, Lecture, 1982-05-29

2. Gṛhastha / Congregation

a) 0401 SB 07-12-11 LA 1986-05-02 Sex Life Under the Shelter of Guru.mp3

  • Gṛhasthas should indulge in sex only under the guidance of Guru.

  • These principles may seem very strict, but if one follows them, he will enjoy the same shelter of Guru as brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs enjoy.

  • One may be a devotee, but if he doesn't follow these rules, he will not go back to Godhead in this lifetime.

  • If you make something very rigid, the tendency is to give it up fully.

  • In Śaṅkara sampradāya, only a renunciate can get liberation, but in the Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, gṛhasthas are also accepted because Kṛṣṇa consciousness will replace sex attraction.

  • Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had fourteen children and gave them Kṛṣṇa conscious education, though not all took it seriously.

  • If garbhādhāna-saṁskāra is done, one can start Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the beginning of life; otherwise, so much time is wasted in nonsensical activities.

b) 0402 JPS SB 07-14-02 ATL 1987-06-13 Chipped Rice Festival, Wedding, Fire Sacrifice.mp3

  • Quarrels in gṛhastha life should be considered like quarrels of small children.

  • The best option for gṛhasthas is to live near a temple and join the morning and evening programs. In between, they may work in the office for eight hours.

  • Sacrifice means regulating activities for a higher purpose. Marriage is a sacrifice, but nowadays people don't like to be married.

c) 0404 JPS SB 07-14-39 DEN 1996-04-16 Deity Worship & Saṅkīrtana

  • If people are invited to the temple, they may not come, but if neighbors invite them, they are more likely to accept. The main tools of preaching are book distribution and congregational development.

  • If one congregation member brings another member every year, it will double each year—just like Nitāi's preaching.

  • Without developing the congregation, increasing temples means increasing unlimited headaches.

d) 0409 JPS SB 08-08-22 NO 1982-09-14

  • Creation and destruction are easy; maintenance is difficult. Marriage and divorce are easy, but maintaining relationships is difficult.


e) 0412 JPS SB 08-11-07 MAL 1995-07-26 What We Are Doing Now Will Affect Our Future.mp3

  • If a temple is without a congregation, they have to raise their own funds by selling different products. In this way, everyone in the temple turns into a seller instead of a preacher. But if the congregation takes care of funding, brahmacārīs and sannyāsīs can preach without thoughts of money.

f) 0424 SB 09-04-21 BEL 1996-01-09 Rādhādesh.mp3

  • Our vision is not to make small temples with a few devotees or big temples with massive amounts of devotees, but to turn every house into a temple

3. Sensitivity in Preaching / Dealing

a) 0161 JPS SB 01-13-18 NT 1996-11-22.mp3

  • The preacher should be a psychologist, and the preaching should be patient-oriented. If an operation is carried out on a person who has a weak heart, he may die on the operation table. Similarly, if we use strong words with people who can't accept them, they may never come back to us.

b) 0485 JPS SB 04-01-29 SYD 2008-05-27.mp3

  • My life became difficult due to some fanatic preachers who were strongly against deva-pūjā. In the Skanda Purāṇa it is said, “One who serves the demigods instead of Viṣṇu is serving a witch,” but I never use this quote in preaching.

c) 0390 JPS SB 07-08-17 NT 1981-07-06 One Has to Try to Be Kṛṣṇa Conscious With Great...

  • Devotees should not act in a way that causes others to offend them and be destroyed like Hiraṇyakaśipu. But if someone simply performs saṅkīrtana and preaching, and others become furious, what can he do?

d) 0405 JPS SB 07-15-74 MUN 1997-08-20.mp3

  • We have to create good impressions on people. Simply by appreciating Hare Kṛṣṇa devotees, even in a joking manner, people can accumulate sukṛti.

4. Saṅkīrtana / Preaching

a) 0150 SB 01-08-21 ZUR 1995-09-13.mp3

  • We must be merciful toward suffering living beings. Out of 5 billion people, how many are Kṛṣṇa conscious? Lord Caitanya postponed His journey to Vṛndāvana for 10–15 years to spread saṅkīrtana, although He was always longing for Vṛndāvana.

b) 0150 SB 01-08-21 ZUR 1995-09-13.mp3

  • Preaching is relished by realized devotees, and neophytes can assist preachers and become purified of anarthas.

c) 0278 JPS SB 04-08-39 TOR 1983-06-04 The Real Thing Is To Be A Devotee Of The Lord

  • The secret of being a good speaker is hearing carefully. Without hearing properly, one cannot realize or share anything. Lord Kṛṣṇa gave blessings to Arjuna in the form of instructions. Similarly, Lord Caitanya bestowed mercy through His instructions to preach saṅkīrtana.

d) 0282 JPS SB 04-12-25 IPH 1987-07-08.mp3

  • Philosophy alone cannot change people. The secret behind Śrīla Prabhupāda’s success was presenting realizations along with the original philosophy.

e) 0287 JPS SB 04-14-12 HYD 2008-08-20.mp3

  • I. Instead of killing bombs, we should explode love bombs of the holy name.

  • II. Lord Caitanya made animals dance in kīrtana—we should at least be able to make humans dance in kīrtana.

f) 0395 JPS SB 07-09-42 NT 1986-10-30 Servant of the Servant.mp3

  • I. A kaniṣṭha-adhikārī can also act as a guru if he repeats the words of a pure devotee—even if without realization.

g) 0396 JPS SB 07-09-43 NT 1986-10-31.mp3

  • I. A quality control manager in a match factory would use 15% of his salary to distribute books to his colleagues. They would reciprocate with some lakṣmī, which he’d again use to distribute books.

  • II. One publisher bought Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam but never read it. Once he opened a page with Prahlāda’s revolutionary teachings and became a fanatical Hare Kṛṣṇa devotee.

  • III. Mahārathīs could fight with 10,000 men by spiritual power. Similarly, empowered preachers can change demonic civilization by Kṛṣṇa's mercy.

  • IV. Lord Caitanya did not kill demons like Lord Narasiṁhadeva—He transformed their hearts.

h) 0398 JPS SB 07-10-09 AUC 1993-05-03 New Zealand – Devotees Enjoy Same Opulence as God

  • Saying “I am not a pure devotee” should not be used as an excuse. Having taken shelter of Guru, we are in the process of pure devotion. Mangoes and bananas are also collected when they are still green.

i) 0400 JPS SB 07-10-48 KL 1986-08-10.mp3

  • Often we think we need degrees or be established before preaching. But if we are sincere devotees, Lord Kṛṣṇa will provide all facilities. Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham.

j) 0404 SB 07-14-39 DEN 1996-04-16.mp3 Deity Worship & Saṅkīrtana

  • I. Pūjārīs in ISKCON are also in a preaching mood—purifying themselves and distributing mercy to the public.

  • II. There must be teamwork between pūjārīs and preachers. Preachers face sense gratification outside, but when they return and see the beautifully decorated Deities worshipped by the pūjārīs, they are purified.

k) 0411 JPS SB 08-08-41 CUL 1982-01-09 Vaiśiṣṭāṣṭaka Verse 8 – Devotional Service.mp3

  • I. A person with vast knowledge of scripture who doesn’t preach is a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī.

  • II. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s preaching is part of Lord Caitanya’s greater family.

l) 0424 JPS SB 09-04-21 BEL 1996-01-09 Rādhādeśa.mp3

  • We must first attract people to Lord Kṛṣṇa—yena kena prakāreṇa. If we begin with the four regulative principles, people will become fearful.

m) 0162 SB 01-13-21 BAN 1980-11-05 Lord Kṛṣṇa: The Ultimate Controller.mp3

  • A preacher’s responsibility is to transfer the accurate message of paramparā. If someone sins after dīkṣā, the dīkṣā-guru is responsible. However, if someone becomes degraded by following incorrect instructions from a preacher, then the preacher is accountable.

 5.      Envy vs. Team Spirit

a)       0150 Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 01.08.21 – Zurich – 1995-09-13

I.        Envy can't be employed in the service of Kṛṣṇa.
II.       Material world means struggle of worms in the stool to come up.
III.      If one feels envious of someone, one should serve him. By serving, one gets rid of enviousness.
IV.      Rādhārāṇī: "I want to serve even my competitor if they make Kṛṣṇa happy."
V.       If you push someone up, Kṛṣṇa will push you up. Guru is trying to pull up others—we shouldn't try to pull down Guru, rather help Guru.
VI.      The more you show good qualities to help others, Kṛṣṇa helps you.
VII.     We shouldn't compromise our Kṛṣṇa consciousness for something material.
VIII.    We can reveal to the Deity, "I don't know Brahmabandhu's mind, but I know my Kali-yuga mind. It is full of all nonsense ideas—please help me to get out of this nonsense mind."

b)      0397 JPS SB 07.09.54 – Nuvasa – 1986-02-12

I.        If someone is doing more services to Kṛṣṇa, we should be happy, not envious—like kicking another cyclist in a race.
II.       Someone doing good means he is creating a new target to be achieved.

c)       0405 JPS SB 07.15.74 – Munich – 1997-08-20

I.        Team spirit of football team—whoever scores the goal, everyone becomes happy.

d)      0413 JPS SB 08.11.08 – Calcutta – 1982-03-12 – Vaiṣṇava Ke Verses 7–9

I.        When we desire false prestige, we don't recognize the service given by our juniors and complain, "Why is he made saṅkīrtana leader though he is my junior?"
II.       Cream of milk will naturally come to the top—a junior devotee may also come to the top by his sincerity. We should be happy about that.
III.      When something good happens, we should give credit to Guru and Gaurāṅga, but other devotees should give credit to that devotee.

e)      0416 JPS SB 08.18.05 – Lecture – 1982-05-29

I.        In kīrtana, coordination is required among instruments. In bṛhat-kīrtana, coordination among devotees is also required.
II.       We have to be satisfied playing our parts—just as in kīrtana one plays mṛdaṅga, another karatālas, etc., and also the lead changes after a certain time period.


6.      Service

a)       0151 JPS SB 01.08.27 – Dhāma – 1998-05-20
Kṛṣṇa remembers even the slightest service. We never lose by serving Him. An aboriginal woman gave fruits to Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lakṣmī became happy.

b)      0157 JPS SB 01.11.13 – New Raman Reti – 1992-06-19
Devotional service should be spontaneous. For example, a king named Bhagavān Siṅgha passed a resolution to do Tulasī ārati instead of sending preachers to convince about its importance. But such a resolution doesn’t work.

c)       0384 JPS SB 07.05.05 – Bāngladesh – 1997-09-17

I.        Everyone should think, “How can I serve Śrīla Prabhupāda?”
II.       We should not think how much service I have offered and how much facility I deserve. Rather, I should think how I can serve more.
III.      If we expect respect from others and get it, we will be puffed up, and if we don’t get it, we will be frustrated. So better not to expect any facility from others—then we can be blissful in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

d)      It is more enjoyable to serve than to be served. Appreciating others is more enjoyable than being appreciated. Lord Caitanya came to enjoy this.
(Same as 0384 JPS SB 07.05.05 – Bāngladesh – 1997-09-17)

e)      0394 JPS SB 07.09.38 – Miami – 1995-06-10
To experience bhakti-yoga, we must begin serving the Lord directly.

f)        0395 JPS SB 07.09.42 – Nuvasa – 1986-10-30 – Servant of the Servant

I.        Any devotee, regardless of his position, is a servant of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas.
II.       Controlling others is also a service, but if we don’t have the proper service attitude, we may deviate—just like the devatās became overwhelmed by seeing Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and Brahmā stole the gopas.

g)       0396 JPS SB 07.09.43 – Nuvasa – 1986-10-31
Service is the only thing that keeps us away from Māyā. If we are not serving Kṛṣṇa, we are serving Māyā.

h)      0189 JPS SB 02.02.08 – New Orleans – 1987-06-16

In bhakti, all the opposite qualities become coordinated.
The most blissful moments of my life were when I was in peak anxiety for the service of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his mission. Yaśodā will never leave service of Kṛṣṇa though the whole day she is in anxiety. Hanumān lifted a whole mountain for the service of Lord Rāma.

7.      Sincerity

a)      Kṛṣṇa's mercy is for everyone, just like rainwater, but individuals' capacity to hold it makes the difference in how His mercy is received. Those who remain part-time Kṛṣṇa conscious are partially receiving mercy. Those who are more Kṛṣṇa conscious are receiving more mercy. Those who are fully Kṛṣṇa conscious are receiving His full mercy.
0152 JPS SB 01.08.39 LEC 1982-12-20 – Teachings of Queen Kuntī, Chapter 22

b)      "You be hot or cold, if you are lukewarm, I spit you out." — Jesus.
0158 JPS SB 01.11.30 NO 1986-10-02

c)      One couple wrote a letter from the West to Śrīla Prabhupāda: "We want to be your disciples, but in some cases we are not able to follow the principles. We depend on your mercy to come out of it." Śrīla Prabhupāda shed tears, saying, “How sincerely they are trying.”
0292 JPS SB 04.18 USA 2008-06-17 – Prabhupāda Village

d)      One should not only reside in the temple physically, but also mentally and spiritually.

e)      It's not only our desire to go to the spiritual world that is enough, but our activities and behavior in alignment with that desire are what take us back to Godhead.
0387 JPS SB 07.07.40 NO 1985-04-28 – Vyāsa-pūjā Lecture

f)       If we perform conditional devotional service (desiring for a good environment, etc.), we may end up in heavenly planets and miss this nice chance given by Lord Caitanya.

g)      Simply saying “I want to go to Goloka” is not all in all. We have to prepare our desires in the same direction.

  • Drinking the water underwater will not help us.

  • Bhakti-yoga doesn’t involve externally tough austerities, but internally we have to purify the desires, which is very difficult for Māyāvādīs.

  • In the name of preaching, we can't be careless. If no prasāda is available, we should search for the best option—salad or milk products, not cooked grains.

  • We should always be fearful of material nature.
    0397 JPS SB 07.09.54 NT 1986-02-12

h)      One may be a devotee, but if he doesn't follow these rules, he will not go back to Godhead in this lifetime.
0401 JPS SB 07.12.11 LA 1986-05-02 – Sex Life Under the Shelter of Guru

i)       If we want to go back home in this lifetime, we have to check each thought that comes to our mind, each word we speak, and each work we do. We don't need newspapers and media for this—Kṛṣṇa is always seeing in the heart.
0399 JPS SB 07.10.31 ATL 1991-10-28 – Overcome Demoniac Nature

j)       Where is our anchor? If it is in the material world, our external show of devotional service will not be fruitful.
0413 JPS SB 08.11.08 CUL 1982-03-12 – Vaiṣṇava Ke? 7-9

k)      Purification is not only gross—i.e., the four regulations—we should be purified internally.
0168 SB 01.16.22 LEC 1982-01-21 – Clarification Not Alteration