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Hari Bol, my dear vaisnavas,

We are here again, and the theme of today is: "The joy of seeing a vaisnava". Well, the vaisnavas are not easy to find. They are the ones who devote to Krishna from all their heart. Inclusive if they cannot do it 24 hours a day, to be as advanced as Hari Das Thakur, they are very important. There are certain special qualifications, extraordinary qualifications. For instance, a devotee who does not like to criticize others, who does not tolerate speculations about some devotee, he is very special. Another devotee, who knows that it exists a deficiency in another devotee, does not want to talk about this, except if that devotee asks him for help. That is an excellent devotee.

A devotee who make 8 hours of unselfish service for Krishna to support his spiritual master, and who is always kind and serving in a pleasant character, can be understood to be an advanced devotee. This kind of devotee is called lakhpatti, because he has an attitude that is as if he were chanting 64 rounds a day. The service is very important to give, and also the sadhana, the transformation which has happened in a person's life. Imagine when a devotee endeavour to serve the other devotees, this in a very nice symptom.

I refer to the kind of devotee who is always attentive when another devotee is visiting, who always long to see that the others have a nice seat, receives a glass of water and something to eat. I refer to the kind of devotee who offers a smile to you, even though you have not given the less reason for that, and this not because he wants to sell something to you or that he has another hidden reason. It is because he can see Krishna in your heart. He can see that Krishna sent you so that he can do some more service. This devotee, who executes the orders from the spiritual master within his possibilities and who has a natural battle against the laziness… Truly, nobody has to tell him anything, but with great pleasure he listens to the opinions of the other devotees. He is so advanced, that he is simply convinced that he still has not made any advancement at all. When somebody gets annoyed with him, he study very carefully where he could have failed to cause such annoyance to someone. He always goes quite annoyed… but only with his own mind. When he talks, it seems songs of Bhaktivinoda Tahakur, and at the same time he feels that he knows nothing.

Well, how much do we know, really? How many books do we have to read to understand something? How many tapasyas do we have to do to become advanced? Good questions, but there is no answer, because there is no manner to become advanced, gaining success by this style. It is only when the mercy from Sri Guru and Gauranga descend in a person, by pure mercy and by being kind to the utmost with the others, something like this manifests.

One who thinks he has merits to be considered an advanced devotee, forgets the most important: he forgets that the persistence of loving service is what will burn our impurities, and to respect the others without expecting any respect for oneself, is the great way that Lord Caitanya chose for us, so that in spite of kali yuga, we can attain something marvellous. Something so wonderful like, imagine... becoming a pure devotee in this world.

How do we recognize a devotee? Well, because he is very anxious; anxious to serve perfectly. Anxious to chant most profoundly the holy name of the Lord from the bottom of the heart. Anxious to attend the vaisnavas around, as often as he can. Anxious to adore and remember his Lord, his Istadev. Anxious to give a good example to everybody. Anxious to live in the holy land of Lord Krishna. Anxious to help all souls, who do not know anything about Krishna. Anxious means that he realizes what the vaisnavas preach in their classes. He understands what the spiritual master desires, inclusive what he has not clearly pronounced. There are priorities in vaisnavism, that can only be understood between devotees who have the mentioned anxiety; devotees who like to talk all night and all day about everything that brings them closer to Krishna, about everything that is good for understanding Radha dasyam. They know maya and her enchantments, but from the heart they are disgusted with that kind of consciousness. And they are much less interested in the field of stupid perishable conversations.

In the material world you will find that certain persons only have interest in talking of certain topics of conversation. If one would like to talk more philosophically, or another material topic inclusive, they are not disposed to accompany. When a young man is very much in love, he is not interested in any other girl. When you have a delicious banquette with prasadam in front of you on the plate, you no longer think of running to another place to eat delicious food. So, when the genuine spiritual longing manifests in your heart, you only want to serve better, better and better... and always better, because you think that you are still not serving well.

There exists a mystery where the mundane preoccupations vanish. This is very beautiful. Here is where nistha, spiritual steadfastness, establishes like an irrevocable fact, where the transcendental emotions start to overwhelm your heart, where your anxiety for hearing and chanting become more important than pizza... sorry! The nectarean food offered to Krishna.

To see a vaisnava who just has the signs of inclining this kind of attitude, is already marvellous. When a devotee is initiated, he becomes a member of the vaisnava family. All the doors are open for him. If he accomplishes the rules and does not offend other vaisnavas, there is nothing that can destroy him.

Srila Rupa Goswami said in his Upadesamrita that we should mentally respect any person who chants the holy name of the Lord, and it does not matter if he is initiated in the same spiritual family as you. And those who are initiated and accomplish to their vows, are a real pleasure to meet. Among them, I discern them who are initiated, good devotees, but who do not know my own spiritual connection, and because of that cannot make me very enthusiastic directly in my service and in my dedication to my spiritual master. So, I respect them more passively, while those vaisnavas who appreciate how the holy name has come to me, who perceive the mystery and the mercy that exist in my connection with my spiritual master, and who support me in my faith and in my surrender, they are the best friends that I can have. Inclusive if they in their own life have not been able to do everything as I am inducing myself to, it is not a reason to discriminate them. As always, it is the vaisnava principle to be very strict with oneself, but very merciful with the others. Anyhow, there are not many vaisnavas in this world, it does not exist many persons who take God seriously, people who, to take a decision, first consider if that act would be benefited or rejected by God.

It is very nice to be a Gaudiya Vaisnava, but we should not assume any arrogance before other people who search God in another tradition. Otherwise, we are not humble; we are not true representatives of the ideals of our parampara. As you can see, it is very precious to see a vaisnava, and our gurudeva Srila Prabhupada walked in the world with so much love, that he transformed everybody who took him seriously.

Vrindavan is very beautiful! If you could see with these eyes... So many rikseros here are devotees, and nice people from different sampradayas, their impressing tilakas and the children saying Radhe Radhe!! My friend Gopal Gosh, who each time when he begins to talk a topic about Krishna, he never can stop, and who is an encyclopaedia of all the Vrindavan history… and in the markets, where the very owners of the shops are sitting like yogis all day and who have their vrajavasi tradition much more profound than the recently initiated devotee with his new determinations. But they smile mercifully when they see the youngster with his new ideals, almost obsessed. And the different inspired pilgrims from different masters, temples and traditions… coming from far away; from Manipur, Rajastan, Bengal, Punjab or Guajarat, and among them - one or another stranger with his recently bought bead bag…. Those with giant turbans and their faces profoundly engraved, are the farmers from Rajastan… And suddenly you see one of them giving Dandavat parikrama. Fixed in his purpose, something quite necessary to besiege 22 kilometres giving dandavats after dandavats. And of course, fanatics are not missing, or let's say - those who want to conquer who knows what. They give 108 dandavats in each place. And this with a smile… although one or the other has brought a pillow or something, for the knees not to hurt too much. And when they come to the temples, they come well prepared, everybody have their flower and incense for the little offering, and they change the few rupies they have in the market of the street for mountains of small coins… and for what? Well, because on each altar one can give a little, and to each sadhu sitting in front of the door of each temple, one can also give something. And all with a happy face.

And we must not forget the bandaras, where it happens that some person might attain benedictions by feeding sadhus. Ooooh, if I talk about this, Praka and Pancatattwa are already running out of the door. They just ask where it is. And it is not because the prasadam of Vrinda Kunja is not excellent; it is because they like the atmosphere. Furthermore, the people become so happy when a devotee from the West come to their bandara - it is like their happiness is doubled immediately. But in the West, each visitor who is not specially invited, cause anxiety to the host. And have you once heard of the banderas in the West? In the West they only give you bear when someone wants to gain your vote.

Oh, dear Vrindavan!!! Let us at least create a similar atmosphere in our temple communities! It will not be easy; one has to delete all memory and re-record the whole cassette, or as they say 'format the hard disc' with the 108 version system updated in our naughty mind.. Of course, if one wants to find something to criticize beside oneself, it will never be missing. But as one boy told us , when he recently came from London: I love the garbage of Vrindavan, the dogs, the pigs and the monkeys who steal what they want, and I even love the rikseros who want to charge too much. I promise that I will no more criticize anybody, so that Radharani will not kick me out of here. "I was in London", he said. "They even gave me a golden Mercedez, imagine! And all I felt was sadness so far away from Vrindavan. There everything is clean, and if someone put a paper on the ground, he is liable to a fine, but inside everything is dirty, so false".

Well, for me Vrindavan is in our istagosthis. Prabhus, this is not a joke. I am not making fun of anybody, because in the istagosthis I am together with those vaisnavas who truly want to serve. They are my Vrajavasis. Not by name, nor by theory, they are true Vrajavasis, with a notebook in hand, searching what more they have to do to transform the land of illusion to the land of dedication.

So, I spend my days here in Vrindavan, thinking of all of you, of your istagosthis, of your projects, of the Vrajavasis of our family. So is the great plan of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He wouldn't like to confine the maximum mercy to a piece of land. Therefore He put all His power and His mercy in the Holy Name, He didn't put it in rituals, and He didn't put it in the holy land or in the holy water, He didn't put it n the Holy Books, neither in sacrifices nor austerities. These Vrajavasis who chant these holy names from the bottom of their hearts, who try to serve Srila Prabhupada's cause, they are dignified from all points of view. They can bless us. They can occupy us in transcendental service. And I could with great pleasure from my soul stay in Lima in the Trulys, in Varsana with Bharati Maharaja, in Santa Marta with Prabhu Kirtan Rasa, in Mexico with Bhagavatamrita and his new son Nanda Dulal, in Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, in big temple, small temple, and serve there, with all my effort to make success, what Lord Caitanya is planning there. And since I physically is not able to do that, you are so kindly representing me there, developing new programs, being austere pioneers, suffering terrible governments, hard climates, like Germany, Hungria, Sweden, without losing inspiration, and even more inspiring new devotees.

Therefore, seeing such a devotee, for me is reason to dance and jump, and even here, at this very chat, I feel the same. I give you a cyber embrace! Of course, it would be nice if I were there, but it doesn't matter. Nowadays, wherever I may be, I will always be connected with the others via this marvellous media. In my time of bramacary, hearing some news from Srila Prabhupada was our enticement, a new class from Prabhupada that came in the paper in US, or even better, new cassettes from his latest classes. Only if one loves the devotees properly, distinguish well, do not become too familiar to more advanced devotees to the point to begin to offend them, one can remain quite enthusiastic.

To love the devotees, means to remember the transcendental position that they have as representatives of the ideal, representatives of our spiritual master, as well as the commitment that every initiated devotee has. What diverse spiritual consciousness from the material consciousness is, that one doesn't need to have neither jealousy not envy when one sees another devotee who is more capable than one. So this is a mercy, it is like a doctor who has not been able to save the life of a patient, because some kind of knowledge was missing, and now he meets another doctor, an expert in exactly this field of knowledge that was missing. He feels ecstatic and starts to study with the other. Like this one should feel when meeting an advanced devotee, a more expert, a more successful devotee. The vaisnavas are intimate with Radha and Krishna. To minimize someone will not be liked by our protectors.

Well, I could go on talking about this for much more time, but it is 8.30 here, and I will open a while for attending private messages. The theme of next Sunday will be about Srila Harijan Maharaj. Really, the chat today was about him, when we talk about the advanced devotee, but next Sunday we will give examples of his work.

Information: If some devotee is seriously ill, please, send your phone number to my Emergency Communication Office. Furthermore, I would like that in that office all phone numbers to temples and devotees are available, so that I can have this facility to communicate with someone.

Always your well-wisher,
Swami B. A. Paramadvaiti