CONTENTS:
- Questions and Answers with Guru Maharaja,
- Srila Prabhupada Appreciation; and
- Guru Maharaja’s instructions.
1. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH GURU MAHARAJA
Question unclear
A: You see in the Age of Kali, Caitanya Mahaprabhu arranged that nobody should resort to violence. That’s one point. The time has changed. The other thing is that a ksatriya may resort to violence but not the brahmanas, what to speak of devotees. Devotees, especially the followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will not. They are all very gentle and noble. So they don’t get into such ungentlemanly acts.
Q: Maharaja, is it at that time that the real Sita came back?
A: The actual thing is that when Ravana came to steal Sita, Sitadevi took shelter of Agni and Agnideva gave her the shelter. In place of Sita appeared a Maya Sita. After rescuing or the killing of Ravana, when Sita was rescued and she came back to Rama, then Maya Sita disappeared and Agnideva brought the real Sita.
Q: Lord Brahma, he is the leader of the Brahma Madhava Gaudiya sampradaya. So, it is not clear to me why so many demons are getting benedictions from him. As the creator of the future, does he understand the future, that these demons will use their powers?
A: There are two ways of looking at it. One way of looking at is, that, in the material nature everything happens according to guna and karma. Karma means action and resultant reaction. These resultant reactions are of two kinds of actions. Pious activity and sinful activity. So, pious activity automatically leads to certain reactions. So, these austerities that the demons perform is pious activity. And as a result of that they become entitled to certain reaction, which means their fulfillment of their desire. Brahma, the demigods, even up to Brahma, what they do, they actually neutrally make arrangements of things. They remain neutral. They are not at all affected or partial in that sense. So that is the reason, that’s the first consideration. And the second consideration is that, yes, Brahma knows past, present and future. And as a result of that, Brahma knows about the Lord’s pastimes also. So, if these arrangements were not made. Like the other day, I was discussing about a drama. A drama means conflict. Without conflict there cannot be a drama. Or rather, the bigger the conflict the better the drama. The Lord’s pastimes are like drama. Therefore there has to be conflict. Conflict between whom? Between the Lord and His antagonists. So, this is how the antagonists are set up. To create the conflict when the Lord comes to perform His pastimes.
Q: I like to ask also Sugriva first pounced on Ravana, and knocked off his helmet, and was fighting with him, then he realized that Ravana was using his mystic powers. So, how was it that the army was making progress? When Sugriva realized that Ravana was using all these mystic powers how was it that the monkey army was actually making progress against all these super powerful weapons and mantras when they did not have the same weapons really as the Ravana people?
A: Well, the monkeys also had the mystic power. These are not ordinary monkeys. These are all the demi-gods. Right? They have the mystic power. Like Hanuman or any other monkeys, they could transform into any form. They could expand themselves to any degree. His thing was it is not a fair fight now. His resorting to mystic power, it is not that he could not resort to mystic power, he could have. But that would have been unnecessary. And he felt that he would give vent to his anger. He told Rama. “When I saw that rascal, I could not restrain myself.” “When I saw that he is the one who has stolen Sita and has caused so much agony to you, so he could not restrain himself. Out of impulse he just acted the way he did. And after doing that he just came back.
Q: Maharaja, what happened to all the soldiers of Ravana and the monkeys who died on the battlefield? Did Rama liberate them?
A: Okay, very good point. asura, harina hata. When the demons are killed by the Lord; they also attain liberation. Yes, Ravana got liberation. But he got sayuja mukti. He merged into Brahma-jyoti and slept in brahma-jyoti. Or he remained in brahma jyoti until it was time to come as Sisupala. So then he came as Sisupala. Yes, another good point, the demons or rakshasas, they actually got some sort of benefit, like sayuja mukti. But after the battle Rama revived all the monkeys. All the monkeys came back to life and participated in Rama’s pastimes.
Q: When this type of battle happens, when the Lord Himself intervenes, all these demons they become good human beings? What happens to them?
A: It will depend, did Ravana become a good human being? In the next life he became Sisupala. But then, after that, yes, then he became Jagai. So, it was a gradual process of purification.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA APPRECIATION
I first met Srila Prabhupada in a dream. I got a book written by Srila Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion, and as I started to read it, from the very first page it occurred to me that this is what I was actually looking for. And the next night I had a dream of Srila Prabhupada. And I saw Srila Prabhupada was sitting on a majestic throne and those days I did not know what a vyasasana was, because in India the saintly people they sit on a rather simple seat, they don't sit on such a gorgeous throne, it looks rather like a throne. So I saw Srila Prabhupada sitting on a throne. And there was a brilliant light around Srila Prabhupada, as if the light was coming out of his body. And just the sight of Srila Prabhupada made me feel that finally I found my spiritual master.
(Excerpt from “Prabhupada Realisations” by HH Bhakti Charu Swami)
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
Ramachandra said something very, very wonderful, he said "On top of everything, if somebody comes to surrender to me and says that he is surrendering to Me, I accept him, even if he is not honest about his admission, even if one pretending to surrender comes to me, still I accept him." And then he said that "And I take care of him, not only throughout his entire life, I take care of him life after life.";
So that is the reward and the result of someone surrendering to Lord Ramachandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one approaches him with, even if his intention may not be that pure, but still if he comes with a mood of surrender, Lord accepts him. And by accepting him, the Lord purifies him, whatever he's lacking, He compensates for that. So in this way, Lord Ramachandra declared the reward for surrendering unto Him.
(The content of this E-magazine was based on a Ramayana Seminar given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in the North American Retreat Day 4)
(Compiled and edited by Hemavati Radhika Dasi)