Evening Class, 8 December 1998

	The next evening Srila Gurudeva told the whole story of how 
Krsna was bound to the grinding mortar by Yasoda and how he pulled 
down two arjuna trees by dragging the grinding mortar between them. 
After this he began to talk about the potency of hearing Krsna's 
name and pastimes.

	"Hearing the name and lilas of Krsna is not material. There 
is a very great difference between the mortal and immortal 
world. Even if one has a just a little sraddha, honor for these 
transcendental sounds, Krsna's name and lilas, then these words, 
which are Krsna Himself will come in the heart, clean it and make 
it pure, even though there may be so many anarthas and ignorance 
there. Gradually one's sraddha will become thick, all bad habits
and anarthas will disappear, and one will quickly develop his Krsna
consciousness, from nistha, ruci, bhava, asakti up to prema. If 
saints have come from far away, and those who could come to hear 
from them don't, then they're killers of their own souls.
                    nivrtta-tarsair upagiyamanad
                bhavausadhac chrotra-mano-'bhiramat
                     ka uttamasloka-gunanuvadat
                   puman virajyeta vina pasughnat
	[Glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is 
performed in the parampara system; that is, it is conveyed from 
spiritual master to disciple. Such glorification is relished by 
those no longer interested in the false, temporary glorification 
of this cosmic manifestation. Descriptions of the Lord are the right 
medicine for the conditioned soul undergoing repeated birth and 
death. Therefore, who will cease hearing such glorification of the 
Lord except a butcher or one who is killing his own self? (SB 10.1.4)]

	"To kill an animal or even to kill one's self is not really 
killing, but those who won't hear hari-katha are losing their lives 
for lakhs and lakhs of births. Quickly this hearing will make you 
pure, so don't neglect. Start bhajana from today, this evening- you 
don't know when you are going to die. Try to give up bad habits. 
There may be a rasagula, a very good Indian sweet, but if it is 
poisoned then mother will say, 'Don't take it!' So we are like this, 
you can have faith in me, we are like a mother and a doctor, you 
have can have faith in sadhus. Remain in your family life, no harm, 
do your job, any job, but don't cut fishes and animals. Follow the 
four regulative principles. This story I told is from Srimad 
Bhagavatam, it is not imagination, it is true, and if anyone will 
hear these words their heart will be changed. They will become 
blissful and happy, and they will go to Krsna. If any advanced 
bhakta hears, what happens? 'I want to become a mother like Yasoda, 
or a friend like Sridama, or beloved like the gopis, I want to serve 
like them.' There are so many mothers, fathers and friends of Krsna 
and so many gopis also. Among them all, the gopis are serving the 
best. Why them and not others? Because only they will give 
everything. Even their shame they will give, their whole bodies and 
senses. Parents will only give half of their love and time to Krsna, 
and the other half to their children. So by hearing all these 
lilas, some greed to follow the gopis will come, and that is why 
Srimad-Bhagavatam has been given. Especially the books by Srila 
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. But you cannot get any benefit without 
hearing. You may read but there will be no effect.

	"Krsna can give us anything. No one else can, not even 
Narayana. He cannot make you a palya-dasi(maidservant) of 
Srimati Radharani. If you pray to Her, then She can give you this. 
Her treasure is more. You must pray to Her to become Her dasi. Only 
ask Her for Vraja-prema, nothing else. If by some misfortune you do 
ask for moksa or wealth, oh, She will easily give it to you.

	"Once in Mathura there was low caste lady fruit seller. She 
would go to all the villages calling out, 'Mangos, oranges, guavas, 
bananas,' and everyone would come to buy from her. One day she 
heard the name 'Yasoda-nandana,' the very attractive and beautiful 
child of Yasoda. Someone had told her, 'Just by seeing Him, your 
mind will be taken, and it will never return.' Hearing this, the 
fruit seller lady became filled with desire to see Him. She crossed 
the Yamuna and went to Nandagaon, and, with her basket on her head 
she started calling out Krsna's names instead of the names of the 
fruit. After three days had passed with no success, she made a vow 
that she would not return from Nandagaon unless she saw Krsna. 
Because she was crying for Krsna so much, He could not resist but to 
come. Climbing from Yasoda's lap, He took two handfuls of grains and 
went to see her. When he at last reached her, she simply gazed and 
gazed at Him giving Him her whole heart. Krsna kept on asking her 
for fruits, and at last she came back to full consciousness. On the 
way to see her, although Krsna didn't realize it, all of the grains 
which He had been holding had gradually trickled from His hands, and 
so now He had nothing to pay with. Seeing this, the lady told Krsna 
that she would give Him fruits if He would sit on her lap, and call 
her 'Mother'. 

	"Krsna was worried at this, because she was from a 
low caste, and if He was seen doing this He might get into trouble. 
So, after looking left and right to make sure that no-one could see, 
He jumped onto her lap and said once, 'O mother,' and quickly jumped 
off again. The lady then gave Him all the fruits He could hold, 
after which Krsna happily left, dancing His way back into the house. 
When Yasoda saw the good quality fruit which He had brought she 
became very pleased and started to feed them to everyone. And yet the
original amount of fruit never diminished. Meanwhile that lady 
simply gazed vacantly in front of her and never moved, her heart and 
mind stolen away by Krsna. When at last she got up to leave, and 
she reached the Yamuna, she realized that her basket was very 
heavy. Taking it from her head and looking inside, she saw that it 
was full of priceless gems, each one worth more than all of Kamsa's 
wealth put together. But now she realized that they were all 
worthless, so she threw them into the Yamuna. Mad with love of 
Krsna, her heart melting she chanted the names of Krsna, 'Govinda 
Damodara Madhaveti,' along the bank of the Yamuna, never to return 
home. Some time after, her body was found by the bank of Yamuna and 
put into fire. Krsna had called her and in a very beautiful shape 
she went to Goloka Vrndavana. She is there now, eternally loving 
Krsna as a mother like Yasoda.

	"So if guru gives this you can never repay him. He wants to 
give you the same wealth that Krsna gave to that fruit seller lady, 
so don't waste your life, your body, and try to be like her, always 
singing 'Govinda Damodara Madhaveti.' How? Not like a song, a 
sangeet, but from the core of your hearts, and then Krsna will hear. 
But if you simply make music, then Krsna will not hear, He knows so 
much music, much more than you. From even His finger so much music 
will come. Inferior devotees can do so much music, but if you are 
hearing and chanting like the fruit seller lady then Krsna Himself 
will come.

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