Srimad Bhagavatam 2.6.26 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Chennai | 5 October 2026
jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī
gopījana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī
yaśodā-nandana vraja-jana-rañjana
yamunā-tīra-vana-cārī
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Jaya Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Prabhupāda Jaya Prabhupāda
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya
nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe
jaya śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Reading from Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2 Chapter 6 Verse 26.
ŚB 2.6.26
नामधेयानि मन्त्राश्च दक्षिणाश्च व्रतानि च ।
देवतानुक्रम: कल्प: सङ्कल्पस्तन्त्रमेव च ॥ २६ ॥
nāma-dheyāni mantrāś ca
dakṣiṇāś ca vratāni ca
devatānukramaḥ kalpaḥ
saṅkalpas tantram eva ca
Synonyms
nāma-dheyāni — invoking the names of the demigods; mantrāḥ — specific hymns to offer to a particular demigod; ca — also; dakṣiṇāḥ — reward; ca — and; vratāni — vows; ca — and; devatā-anukramaḥ — one demigod after another; kalpaḥ — the specific scripture; saṅkalpaḥ — the specific purpose; tantram — a particular process; eva — as they are; ca — also.
Translation
Other necessities include invoking the different names of the demigods by specific hymns and vows of recompense, in accordance with the particular scripture, for specific purposes and by specific processes.
Purport
The whole process of offering sacrifice is under the category of fruitive action, and such activities are extremely scientific. They mainly depend on the process of vibrating sounds with a particular accent. It is a great science, and due to being out of proper use for more than four thousand years, for want of qualified brāhmaṇas such performances of sacrifice are no longer effective. Nor are they recommended in this fallen age. Any such sacrifice undertaken in this age as a matter of show may simply be a cheating process by the clever priestly order. But such a show of sacrifices cannot be effective at any stage. Fruitive action is being carried on by the help of material science and to a little extent by gross material help, but the materialists await a still more subtle advancement in the process of vibrating sounds on which the Vedic hymns are established. Gross material science cannot divert the real purpose of human life. It can only increase the artificial needs of life without any solution to the problems of life; therefore the way of materialistic life leads to the wrong type of human civilization. Since the ultimate aim of life is spiritual realization, the direct way of invoking the holy name of the Lord, as mentioned above, is precisely recommended by Lord Caitanya, and people of the modern age can easily take advantage of this simple process, which is tenable for the condition of the complicated social structure.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So, this verse is continuing the appearance of Yajna. And we know that Yajna is part of Karma-kanda, which is part of the Vedas. So, in that sense, it’s also essentially part of human existence. But as Srila Prabhupada points out in the first sentence of the purport, all this is fruitive activity. So, this is, of course, a very spiritualized form of fruitive activity, whereas modern science is a gross material form of advancement in fruitive activities. In either case, by emphasizing this, then we get distracted from our real purpose in life, which is spiritual. So, we should not get distracted by sacrifices.
However, we find even devotees get attracted to sacrifices. And nothing is really official unless we have a sacrifice. So, you get your diksha or whatever, and you have a sacrifice. So, that makes it important. But, as I pointed out yesterday, actually chanting the holy name is not dependent on diksha. And if it’s not dependent on diksha, it’s much less dependent upon fruitive sacrifices.
Of course, we have different types of yajna. And the main type, of course, is Karma-kanda. Of course, within that, then we have samskaras, which have sacrifices. And, of course, they’re also for giving prosperity in grhastha life. Nevertheless, because they are connected to the Vedas and they use Vedic mantras, household becomes purified by that. Of course, ultimately, all these yajnas and samskaras in household life are to create happy family life. And happy family life ultimately means material life. And after family life, then you have to renounce and take vanaprastha and sannyasa. So, you cancel everything out [Laughs]. Of course, then we can say that ultimately all of this is there to at least help purify household life and material life. And that is precisely what Karma Yoga is for. And it has a distant goal of spiritual life, but its immediate goal is not that.
So, of course, because many devotees become grhasthas, then they should follow samskaras. But even then, as Prabhupada mentions, all of these things are difficult to follow. And if you look at the devotee samskaras, they are much simplified from the normal samskaras. And if the devotees do the actual samskaras, if they chant the mantras and not chanting the mantras properly. So then what effect do these samskaras and yajnas have? Of course, then we have another type of yajna, that is a Vaishnava Pancharatrika Yajna. So that, of course, is more directly related to the Supreme Lord and not fruitive activity anymore. And, of course, yajna is there, but it is obviously not the main sadhana. Just as deity worship is not the main sadhana. So, what is the main sadhana? Nama Sankirtana. So, we can do yajnas, and more particularly we can do Pancharatrika Yajnas, but still, it is always very secondary. And our main sadhana, Nama Sankirtana, is not dependent on either of them. It is completely transcendental to everything else. Of course, we don’t reject Vedas, we don’t reject Smriti Sastras, we don’t reject Pancharatra, we don’t reject Puranas. But, nevertheless, our main emphasis is Nama Sankirtana. So, we should never fall into the illusion or trap that, if I don’t do yajna, my spiritual life is not perfect. So, therefore, we don’t reject anything, but at the same time, we should understand what is our main emphasis.
So, at the end of the previous purport, Prabhupada quoted harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. Just chant the holy name, nothing else. So, then, we find people may literally follow that, but we find most devotees don’t follow literally. So, along with chanting the holy name, we do have deity worship, Sravanam, Sadhu Sanga, so many elements of bhakti are there also. So this statement harer namaiva kevalam is very strong but we cannot take it literally, literally. But it means it is the independent process and it is the most efficient process. So, in relation to Nama Sankirtana, other Angas of bhakti also fall secondarily. So if that is so, then what to speak of angas of other systems like karma yoga, samskaras, jnana yoga, astanga yoga. They must be more distant from Harinama. And thus, to elevate them as equal to Harinama or slightly less, even that is a mistake. We have to be very careful how we practice all of these other things in relation to chanting the holy name.
So of course in reading scripture and even in reading Bhagavatam and even hearing the statements of Srila Prabhupada, devotees may become confused. Because Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, they praise everything [Laughs]. So accordingly, we can take one little section and we can institute that as the ultimate but it may not be. So Karma Yoga and Varnashrama may be praised, but that doesn’t mean that’s only what we practice or that’s most prominent process. Of course we see in terms of time, etc., originally the Vedas get the most emphasis. And within the Vedas, we have Karma Kanda, Jnana Kanda, etc. But then, as Kali Yuga approached, Veda Vyasa gave alternatives. So we have Smriti Sastras. These, of course, largely support the Vedic conclusions. Then, more suitable for the people of Kali Yuga, we have Pancharatra. And this elevates the Vaishnava to the highest status, because Pancharatra is only about Vaishnava activities. But its main Anga is deity worship, Archana. Still, as Vaishnavas, we give great emphasis to it. Therefore, it’s said everything [Not audible] Pancharatra Vidhi [Laughs]. And of course, many groups, like the followers of Ramanuja, quite strictly follow many aspects of the Pancharatra. But Lord Caitanya appeared, and Bhagavatam is there, and they don’t emphasize that also. Of course Bhakti is emphasized but within Bhakti, it is Nama Sankirtana.
So, as we progress from Vedas and Smriti to Pancharatra, we get some, let’s say, rejection of some of the previous elements as being too strict. And thus, Pancharatra doesn’t completely identify with Varnas, etc., as Vedas and Smriti does. So therefore, the Guru can give Diksha to a Sudra or a Mleccha or a woman or anybody, which would be contrary to Vedas [Laughs]. Still, the Pancharatra is very closely aligned with Varnas and birthright, etc. When we come to Bhagavatam, however, we see that Bhagavatam begins to go beyond that also. And it elevates chanting of the holy name to the highest level. And thus, though Pancharatra may say one thing, Bhagavatam will say another thing [Laughs].
So, of course, Bhagavatam accepts all the scriptures, it accepts the Vedas, it accepts Smriti, it accepts Pancharatra and it also has its own emphasis in the Bhagavatam. And thus, though the Bhagavatam does explain in detail about Varnashrama and Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga and Astanga Yoga, ultimately it rejects everything. And Krishna Himself says, I am not interested in any of this Sankhya, Jnana, any of this Yoga, all of this. And instead, Bhakti alone is the interest of the Lord. And thus, in Nectar of Devotion, Rupa Goswami explicitly rejects all of Jnana, Yoga, Vairagya, Varnashrama as not part of Bhakti at all. And you can do it, but not as part of your Sadhana. And that’s why it says, it is, that should not cover the Bhakti, that should not act as an obstacle, Karma, Jnana etc should not cover the Bhakti.
So therefore, for Kali Yuga, ultimately, that we do have all the other Sastras, ultimately we have to rely on the final Sastra, which is Bhagavatam. So, in Bhagavatam, Bhakti is superior to all the other processes and they get rejected. And within Bhakti Yoga, Nama Sankirtana gets the highest position, and even the other Angas of Bhakti get rejected [Laughs]. Therefore he says harer namaiva kevalam. So, of course, as I said, we don’t reject any Anga of Bhakti, but the emphasis has to be on Nama Sankirtana, not on the other processes. And, if for some reason, we practice part of Jnana Yoga, Astanga Yoga, or Karma Yoga and Varnashrama, etc., we could do that, but it should never interfere with the Bhakti.
There is some glorification of the name. So, in that glorification, it’s the best Jnana, it’s the best Sankhya, it’s the best Karma Yoga, it’s the best of everything, it’s the best vrata, it’s superior to everything else, it includes all the goals, it goes beyond the goals of any other process.
So, at the beginning of Bhagavatam first canto, then there is one verse, which we call the Paribhasa Sutra [Laughs]. So, Paribhasa Sutra is part of Panini’s grammar and that means it’s a particular statement which must be connected to every other statement, to make sense of every other statement [Laughs]. So, the Paribhasa Sutra is kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam [ŚB 1.3.28]. And thus, though many other forms of the Lord are mentioned, and Brahman and Paramatma are also mentioned, and though other processes are mentioned, ultimately, the one statement, Krishna is supreme, that’s the statement that covers everything. So, Krishna is the ultimate figure, and how do we approach Him? Through Bhakti Yoga to Krishna. And within Bhakti Yoga, then, Nama Sankirtana takes the ultimate position. So, this is the conclusion that the followers of Lord Caitanya follow. And we call this Bhagavata Marga. And what does Bhagavata marga mean? It means Nama Sankirtana, chanting the holy name is the main process, that’s what Bhagavata marga is.
So, if we see some sadhu in Vrindavan just chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna then he’s following Bhagavata Marga. But we also trace another marga in our Sampradaya, that is Archana Marga, Pancharatrika Marga. But it’s not the main marga. And, of course, attached to Pancharatrika is Diksha. But as I said, the main marga is Bhagavata Marga according to Bhagavatam. And that does not depend on Diksha. So, yesterday one comment was there that we need the ritual and the formality of Diksha to advance. But scripture doesn’t say that [Laughs]. Everything depends on Bhagavata Marga, Harinama which does not depend on Diksha or the rituals of Diksha.
So then, why we have Diksha at all? Of course, we see Prabhupada took Diksha, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati took Diksha, Lord Caitanya took Diksha. But we see that ultimately they are not emphasizing Diksha. In His teachings, Lord Caitanya never mentions Diksha. And when Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati traces our parampara, it’s not Diksha. So therefore, to overemphasize the Diksha is a little bit beyond our tradition. And thus to depend on that for advancement also is beyond our tradition.
If we look in Bhagavatam, what is the relationship? It is teaching. Narada teaches Vedavyasa, doesn’t say he gives him Diksha. It just says he taught him. Sukadeva taught Parikshit Maharaj, no Diksha. Kapila teaches His mother, no Diksha. Krishna teaches Uddhava, no Diksha. So therefore, to overemphasize the Diksha is also not within the Bhagavatam or our Sampradaya. It certainly is there, but it’s not the emphasis. And of course that’s what Prabhupada is pointing out in the purport here, we have the yajnas and so many other things, we should not become distracted by that. Certainly everything has it’s place, but nevertheless our main sadhana is chanting the name. So Prabhupada says, if the ultimate aim of life is spiritual realization, the direct way of invoking the holy name is recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And this is for the modern people. So when we read scripture, we do have to also pick up the proper meaning and the proper emphasis.
Hare Krishna!
Q & A :
1.) Maharaj see, you are tracing from Srimad Bhagavatam regarding this Krishna teaching Uddhava, Sukadeva Goswami teaching Parikshit Maharaj and we see that although their parampara is siksha, but they have their own Guru. They have their own Guru and they also didn’t reject the initiation. They also do the initiation. They have a Gurukula system at that time. But right now that Gurukula system is not there.
Of course, when we talk about Diksha in one sense, yes, Veda Vyasa had a Diksha and whatever. But not necessarily our Diksha, maybe Vedic Diksha. They got Upanayanam. That was a Diksha. Krishna got Diksha. His father gave Him the mantra. It wasn’t Sandipani Muni. He was the Siksha.
Devotee: [Not audible].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: No, that was name only He got. So Diksha was through His father in Mathura. That’s Vedic Diksha. By which He became a Kshatriya. So at different times in different ages, when they talk about getting initiation or Diksha, it may mean something different even, not Vaishnava Diksha. So Vaishnava Diksha is distinguished because it’s nothing to do with Vedic mantras at all. Whereas Vedic Diksha is Brahma Gayatri and you’re qualified to study the Vedas. But Pancharatra Diksha has nothing to do with that. You get a Vaishnava mantra, which is not part of the Vedas and you’re qualified for worshipping the deity. So it’s different type of Diksha. So Lord Caitanya got two Dikshas. He got a Vedic Diksha because he got His Brahmana Samskar when he was five years old or whatever, study the Vedas. Then He got His Vaishnava Diksha in Gaya. Different mantras.
Devotee: But what Caitanya Mahaprabhu from Ishwara Puri, it is not mentioned what are the mantras actually.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Ten-syllable Krishna Mantra.
Devotee: That means you are saying that Gopala, Gopala like you are saying. Gopala like. Is that Gopala Mantra that you are saying?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, it’s the same one that Nityananda got, it’s the same one that Gopa Kumar got, which they keep secret, but it is a contraction of our 18-syllable Krishna Mantra that we get at Diksha. So, we don’t even know that mantra [Laughs]. It’s not in our parampara, even though Lord Caitanya got it [Laughs]. So, we can’t trace our parampara, Diksha parampara to Lord Caitanya [Laughs]. We don’t have that mantra. We have a different mantra [Laughs].
2.) In Caitanya Caritamrta, there is a statement also that, Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to take bath three times in Puri when he was… and He used to do sandhya vandana and everything. It’s mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrta.
Actually, of course, Lord Caitanya was born in a Brahmana family and He followed the rules more or less, then He took sannyasa also. But he took a Mayavada sannyasa. So, do Mayavada sannyasis give up the grhastha samskaras? Probably, they give them up. It says He did His noon duties but doesn’t specify what it was. So, it doesn’t say He was doing sandhya vandana or whatever because He also gave up His Brahmana thread as a, we call it, sannyasi. Gave up His Sikha.
Devotee: Same thing is done by Madhva also, you know.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Madhvas, like Paramahamsas, they just give up, but Ramanujas don’t. They keep the thread, they… whatever.
Devotee: Even Madhvas give up Brahmana thread also?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah.
Devotee: Nothing will remain?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: They say Paramahamsa sannyasa, which means give up all [Laughs]. So, in terms of sannyasa, it will depend on the tradition you are following, what they do. For Gaudiyas, it’s undefined because there was no sannyasa in the Gaudiya Sampradaya till Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati introduced it.
3.) Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj in Bhakti, the topmost is Nama Sankirtana. Is there any difference between Japa and Nama Sankirtana or Japa is included in Nama Sankirtana?
So, of course, as a general thing, we have Japa and Japa means silent chanting. That’s the general definition of Japa. And the general definition of Kirtan is loud chanting [Laughs]. However, we see that when we say that Nama Sankirtana is the Yuga Dharma, it actually includes Japa of the Nama and Kirtan of the Nama. And thus, the verse harer namaiva kevalam is the main thing, but it can take the form of the Japa or the Kirtan, either way. And how do we support that? because that’s what Lord Caitanya did. He did both [Laughs]. And then followers like Rupa Goswami did both [Laughs].
Devotee: Maharaj, Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur said that book distribution is also Sankirtana. How to understand this Maharaj?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So, of course, Kirtan means glorification. But we have Nama Kirtan where you just utter the name. But you can glorify the Lord in other ways. There is Rupa Kirtan, there is Lila Kirtan, all sorts of ways in which you can glorify the Lord. And thus when we do preaching work, it is also Kirtan in that sense, glorifying the Lord.
4.) They are doing the same on this. The difference between the Japa and Kirtan, see if you take the meaning of Kirtan means glorification. Okay. In the Japa also it is glorification.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. So in that sense, just included.
Devotee: They are both the same.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. Yeah.
Devotee: There is no difference.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. However, mantras have to be Japa. They cannot be loud. So you don’t reveal your Diksha mantra to anybody. But Nama can be silent or it can be public, doesn’t matter. So it can be Kirtan, loud Kirtan or it can be Japa also.
5.) Maharaj, see in ISKCON, we see during initiation program or any deity installation, we have some kind of Yajna and simultaneously we do Nama Sankirtana also. That also is Yajna. So because Kali Yuga and Sankirtan Yajna, so that means we are doing both things. Why ISKCON cannot come with the rules, let us concentrate on Nama Sankirtana Yajna only, because that is the Yuga Dharma. Whereas other things, you know, for other Yugas, Treta Yuga maybe.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So why?
Devotee: I am saying why ISKCON cannot come up with some system that, you know, let us consider Kali Yuga Dharma, that is Sankirtana Yajna. Why you have to do such kind of Yajna, although it is part of the Vedas?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah. So since Nama Sankirtana is the main Yajna or the main worship, everything else should be secondary. And the only way, places we do Yajnas generally are in Samskaras, which are public things or personal things anyway, and not directly spiritual. And then we have deity installations, which are part of Pancharatra. That would make it quite rare in one sense. But then we have introduced Yajna as part of our Diksha. So then Yajna becomes more common in ISKCON. But this is an ISKCON thing. Traditionally when they took Diksha and got the mantra, there was no sacrifice. Lord Caitanya didn’t get a sacrifice. Nityananda didn’t get a sacrifice. They didn’t bother. Of course in Pancharatra they are allowed to do that for Diksha, but generally Gaudiyas didn’t do that. They simply got the mantra and finished.
So with Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, in his system when you actually took Diksha and got your mantra, there was a sacrifice, but it was completely separate. And that was a sacrifice for Upanayanam. So because the persons got Vaishnava Diksha, they were qualified to do what a Brahmana can do. So therefore he also gave them Upanayanam Samskara with the Brahma Gayatri and the thread. So therefore there is a Yajna within that. It is actually a Samskara Yajna with particular mantras, Vedic mantras. However, in giving out names and giving out beads and all that, which we call Namadana, there was no Yajna. However, in ISKCON, for our first initiation, where we don’t get the mantra, we have a Yajna, but it is not Upanayanam. And we have a second one, sacrifice, that’s also not Upanayanam Yajna. So it is not Vedic Yajna and it is not Pancharatrika Yajna. It’s Hare Krishna Yajna [Laughs]. There is no particular rule for it in other words.
Devotee: The person who is getting second initiation, he might not take initiation with what’s called the Upanayanam before. But when he gets the second initiation, he gets it. He gets the thread and everything, he gets the mantra. So can he also take it as like Upanayanam?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: What’s that?
Devotee: Second initiation, Upanayanam, because he didn’t get it before, that Upanayanam, that thread.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, that’s what they do in Gaudiya Math.
Devotee: That’s what. And I’m saying in ISKCON also, we also can consider that, you know, he’s getting…
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well, we get the thread without any ceremony in one sense.
Devotee: [Not audible].
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: You got what?
Devotee: We get the thread, that is second initiation we get. But that means there is a mantra also included, not only thread. Mantra also we get. With the thread we get the mantra also. So that means his Upanayanam as well as his Gayatri, both are there, both together it is.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So it is like an Upanayanam without the Upanayanam samskara. That’s what we do [Laughs]. Gaudiya Math, they actually do the Upanayanam samskara. However it becomes a little peculiar because you have old men who are married getting upanayanam samskara or whatever and what do you do with the women [Laughs]?
Devotee: Maharaj see, what are the rules mentioned in the Vedas for the Upanayanam ceremony. Even we didn’t follow a single one also. Because I had a lot of rules and regulations for the Upanayanam ceremony. But that is not there at all. So now, right now, see, in ISKCON, the thread when you get, this thread is part of Upanayanam or not. If it is not part of Upanayanam, then how can you chant the Gayatri Mantra than Brahma Gayatri?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, well, so as far as Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was concerned, he did the Upanayanam ceremony with the Vedic Mantras, etc., and the Deer skin and the Danda and everything. And they chanted all the Vedic Mantras as in Samskara Dipika. So then they got the thread and they got the mantra. So technically it was Upanayanam Samskara. But with Srila Prabhupada and us, we don’t do that at all. We just do a sacrifice which is non-Vedic and give the mantra along with the other mantras. So is it bona fide or not? That’s the question. So the answer is in the purpose of doing this. So why did Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur introduce this when it wasn’t there before? He did this to say that an initiated Vaishnava is superior to a Brahmana. He did not do it to say that all of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas should follow brahminical rules and do sandhya vandana and follow all those rules. No, he said actually we are superior because we are taking Vaishnava Diksha. So it is symbolic. So of course in the formal, getting Upanayanam then you are obliged to study the Vedas. You are obliged to do daily Homa in the morning, Agnihotra. You are obliged to do Sandhya Vandana three times a day following with the Vedic Mantras. So many Nitya Karmas are there that you are obliged to follow once you take your Vedic Diksha. But Bhakti Siddhanta never mentioned any of that. So obviously it was symbolic. It wasn’t actual. So before that time anyway they were just doing the same thing whether they got the Brahma Gayatri or not, with the people were doing the same activities as after Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur introduced. They didn’t change their conduct and become more Brahminical or anything. So in ISKCON then we follow, we get the thread etc. as with Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati but we don’t even do the Upanayanam samskara. So then again the symbolic value was there only. Of course the only question to ask is, is it really necessary at all? It was necessary in Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur’s time because the smarta Brahmanas would say you are not qualified unless you become a Brahmana. You can’t worship the deity. So many things they were saying. But today the voice of the smarta Brahmanas is not there at all. In fact everybody attacks them [Laughs]. So in other words you are qualified as a Vaishnava, you are qualified to worship the deity with the Vaishnava mantras. Doesn’t matter if you got the Brahma Gayatri or not. You are qualified to worship the deity and that’s how it was before. Bhaktisiddhanta gave the thread but not because you have to get the thread but simply to show that we are superior to the Brahmanas. That’s all.
Devotee: See Babajis, they also worship the deities but they don’t have Brahma Gayatri.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Well as I said it’s not important. In Pancharatra if you got your Diksha mantras you are qualified. If you are not even a Sudra, if you are a Mleccha and you get your Vaishnava mantras you are qualified to worship the deity. So it was only introduced to counter the smarta Brahmanas by saying that we are superior to the Brahmanas anyway as the Vaishnava. So we can do whatever you do. But if there is no smarta Brahmanas there it doesn’t really matter.
Devotees: Grantharaj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!!! HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!! Nitai Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!!!