Nectar of Instruction – Part 2 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | ISKCON Japan | 5 November 2025 |
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
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj:
So last week, Rupa Goswami mentioned some unfavorable attitudes and aspects of uncontrolled mind etc, and also he recommended certain positive things like enthusiasm and determination. And one of the elements was one should give up bad association and take good association. So taking association of devotees is one of the principal angas of bhakti. So how does one associate with a devotee? So of course, one thing is okay, we’re close to each other, we [Laughs] physically close, that’s association [Laughs]. Similarly, we avoid bad association, but of course, we cannot really avoid that because we’re living in the world and you may be working in the same office with someone who’s not very good association. So how do we avoid bad association?
So therefore, association is not just being close to a person, it’s actually how we interact with the person. And it’s this how we interact with the person which will have a big influence on us. So in verse 4, Rupa Goswami mentions six different activities of association with devotees. And they’re in pairs. They’re in groups of two [Laughs]. Two times three equals six which is shad vidha. So there’s five or six signs of affectionate relationship, that’s sadhu sanga. Of course, this does not just apply to devotees, it also applies in the material world. So the first two are giving and receiving. So we see that people, when they have a relationships, they give things to each other. And this is a sign of affection. So, we can give to the devotees or we receive from the devotees, in this way we establish affectionate relationship with devotees.
Of course, it also operates in the material world. So a sign of affection is giving something. Do they give gifts? The company gives gifts to the workers nowadays in Japan? So it’s supposed to be a sign of affection [Laughs]. The company gives you a gift [Laughs]. And I have heard among people who are workers, then if they go on a holiday, they have to come back and they have to give a gift to everybody in the office [Laughs]. So, of course, originally, this is an idea of showing affection for others by giving like this way. And of course, the other person is the same and they also have to start giving to you. So we have exchange in this way. In terms of devotees, among equals, then we give and receive. But in terms of superior, for instance, a Guru, then we’re not expecting the Guru to give us things, we should give to the Guru [Laughs]. Okay, so that’s one type of exchange, giving things.
But then the other is, of course, more important for devotees and that is, giving and receiving knowledge. So this is akhyati and prcchati, to explain and to ask [Laughs]. One of the qualities of a devotee is, he should be inquisitive and he should ask questions to someone who has knowledge. So, among equals, of course, we can exchange knowledge. For a superior, we ask the questions and we receive the knowledge. And for people who are less, that is kanishthas, or people public, then we give them knowledge. They ask questions and we give them knowledge. So this actually is the most important aspect. And this is what is emphasized in, when we accept a Guru, we are expecting to get knowledge.
The third pair is giving food and receiving food [Laughs]. So, in the material world, this is quite an important function. Yeah, and therefore, in business, they will feed the person and [Laughs] whatever, try to get a business deal and whatever like that. And in the material world, families, they invite each other over, for meals, etc. So, in the Vedic system, of course, feeding is considered a sacred act. For instance, when Nanda Maharaj celebrated Krishna’s birth, he invited everybody there and then he fed everybody [Laughs]. So giving and receiving food is another aspect of affection.
So, by these exchanges, then influence takes place. And that is because one establishes an affectionate relationship. We establish a affectionate relationship and therefore there can be influence. So this operates in the material world and also operates in spiritual life. So association with devotees, we get knowledge and we learn the process of bhakti yoga. So through the association, we can take up all these other angas of bhakti like hearing, chanting and worshiping, etc.
So of course, as I said, the important aspect is giving and receiving knowledge. Of course, in the beginning of ISKCON, actually prasadam was one of the main items. They didn’t appreciate the knowledge so much, but they liked prasadam [Laughs]. So, of course, prasadam is special because it’s actually spiritual, it’s also an anga of bhakti. So, it’s not just feeding and nourishing a person, we’re giving spiritual life to a person by prasadam [Laughs].
In the Nectar of Devotion there, Rupa Goswami gives the example of spatika or crystal. Nectar of Devotion. Crystal. Crystal has no color, it’s clear. But if crystal is near something black or blue, then the crystal turns blue. And if you put it near a red flower, it becomes red. So, people are like crystals, they go near a devotee, they become devotional, they go near a sinful person, they become sinful [Laughs]. But as I mentioned, the real association is not getting close to a person, but actually establishing affectionate relationship through these six exchanges. So we should associate with devotees with these six types of activities, and we should avoid these six activities with the asat people, materialistic people.
So, the next verse talks about a little bit more serious advancement. We should associate with devotees, but then there is different levels of devotees. So, the lowest devotee is called the kanishtha. The kanishtha accepts the Supreme Lord and worships Him, he may even chant the name of the Lord. But he is not basing his worship on scripture. He may just be doing it because family tradition, that’s all. So, one can pay mental respect to such people, we don’t disturb them.
Other devotees are more serious, they associate with devotees, they learn the scripture, they take initiation and they worship the Deity. So, they are more advanced. So, these are devotees practicing bhakti with scriptural knowledge. So, these are called the madhyama devotees. So, one should actually offer respects to such a person.
The third type of devotee is called the uttama. So, this devotee is more advanced, more skillful in worship, devoid of offenses and criticizing. So, one should associate with such a devotee, serve that devotee and get knowledge from that devotee. So, in other words, a devotee respects all devotees, but for those who are the kanishthas, he gives mental respect, those who are serious, then he actually gives proper respect, those who are very advanced, then he actually serves and he gets knowledge from them. And of course, he also avoids the materialistic people. So, by treating devotees in these different ways, he can advance nicely in devotional service.
So, in Caitanya Caritamrta also, Lord Caitanya defines that one devotee, he may chant the Lord’s name casually one time or whatever, maybe a little more, but not too seriously. So, he’s accepted as a Vaishnava. And one can respect him. In Bhagavatam, such a devotee is one who worships the Lord with faith, but does not associate with devotees. So, he’s called the kanishtha. So, the madhyama accepts the name of Krishna and he chants continuously, not just you know, casually, and he actually has knowledge. He avoids materialistic people. He teaches the innocent. He associates with devotees. And he gives respect to Guru and takes diksha. So, the third type of devotee is defined by Lord Caitanya as one who constantly chants, or this type of devotee, of course, one respects and worships his feet.
So, they talked about initiation there, diksha. And in Nectar of Instruction, then Prabhupada writes and he quotes this particular verse, divyam jnanam yato dadyat. So, we should actually understand what diksha means. So, the effect is we get divya jnanam, spiritual knowledge and destruction of sin. But then, how do we get the divya jnanam? How do we destroy the sin? So, in the ceremony of diksha, we get a mantra. And that mantra will give us the knowledge and consequently destroy our sin. So, in Bhakti Sandarbha, Jiva Goswami explains divya jnanam means knowledge of the form of the Lord, knowledge of one’s particular relationship with the Lord. And that knowledge is contained in that mantra. So, that’s the diksha mantra that you get. So, in that mantra, we understand who we are supposed to worship [Laughs].
So, Jiva Goswami says this is for, this diksha process mainly for rich householders doing deity worship. And the reason for this is that Lord Caitanya has taught us another method to get the divya jnanam [Laughs]. Instead of mantra, we simply have Krishna nama. So, Hare Krishna gives us knowledge of who to worship. It also gives our relationship with Krishna. And this does not require initiation. Yeah, so, the diksha process is one way in which we can get divya jnanam and destroy sin, but it’s not the only method. So, we have these two methods. One is diksha, we get a secret mantra. And then we destroy the sin and we get our transcendental knowledge and we do deity worship. But in Lord Caitanya’s movement, the more prominent way in which we advance in devotional service, know about Krishna, etc. and destroy sin is through chanting the holy name. This does not require diksha. We distribute and encourage everybody to chant the name. However, if we want to get prema through chanting the name, we do need knowledge.
In most cases, we still recommend taking diksha and doing deity worship because this way we can engage all of our senses. So, with Lord Caitanya’s movement, the diksha does not take such a prominent place. In other sampradayas, they don’t chant the holy name, so, therefore, diksha, deity worship and the mantra are more important. Previous to Caitanya Mahaprabhu, before Nama Sankirtana was introduced, then the Vaishnava sampradayas are basically following Pancharatra, taking diksha and worshipping deities. No Hare Krishna. So, therefore, the diksha is important in those sampradayas. However, in Lord Caitanya’s sampradaya, we have emphasis on the holy name. So, therefore, that diksha is not so important.
So, in the scriptures, they talk about the ceremony of Vaishnava diksha and it has five purificatory elements. So, one is to get Vaishnava tilak. Another is to be branded with the symbols of conch and chakra. The third is to get a name like Krishna Das or Nityananda Das etc. The fourth element is to get the mantra. And the fifth element is to do deity worship. So, there is another type of diksha that is vedic diksha. And we get a mantra, that is the Brahma Gayatri mantra. This qualifies you to study the vedas.
So, there is a specific samskara called upanayanam samskara. And using vedic mantras, there is also sacrifice, etc, and finally, you get the vedic Gayatri mantra. So, this is quite distinct from Vaishnava pancharatric diksha. However, in ISKCON and Gaudiya Math also, we tack that on to the second initiation [Laughs]. And the reason is not to make us into brahmanas, but to show we have surpassed brahmanas by being Vaishnava. Okay, so anyway, we have these different exchanges, which are very prominent in the madhyama devotee. Yeah, okay, so, the madhyama, of course, he gives great respect to the uttama or the superior, and receives knowledge. And he gives instructions to the kanishtha. And with other madhyamas on the same level, they exchange knowledge.
So, the sixth text talks about how to avoid offense, Vaishnava aparadha [Laughs]. The devotees should not see other devotees in terms of material qualities. Just as Ganga is spiritual water, and even if we got mud or bubbles in the water, it still doesn’t change the nature of Ganga [Laughs]. So, in other words, we respect the devotee because he is delivering the message of Krishna. And we are not looking at his material body. By giving that proper respect, we are able to receive the knowledge properly. If we disrespect the Vaishnava, we cannot get knowledge, we cannot get mercy [Laughs]. So, we cannot advance in devotional service. So, we should not see the devotee in terms of physical defects. We don’t see the devotee in terms of his birth or his varna. We do not consider his bad conduct before he became a devotee. If there is some trace of fault even at present, we also don’t criticize. And even if he commits a sinful activity, but he corrects himself now, we don’t criticize.
So, the next verse, this is verse 7, talks about taste [Laughs]. So, the name is non-different from Krishna, and it is very sweet. But, if we are very materialistic, we have a lot of anarthas, we cannot taste the sweetness. So, a person with jaundice cannot taste the sweetness of sugar. However, if we continue to chant, even if we don’t taste the sweetness, eventually we get cured of the disease and we can taste the sweetness. So, by chanting the name and then following all these instructions given in these different verses [Laughs], including avoiding Vaishnava aparadha, we can develop this taste.
So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura also says, Devotees performing sadhana bhakti should always be attentive to the condition of the devotion perceived in the state yesterday and improvement made today. You can read it on the screen. And if he perceives no progress is being made, then he has to infer some offense. So we should find out what the offense is, give up the offense and then associate with devotees. So these are the methods by which we can cultivate this bhakti creeper.
Hare Krishna.
Q & A:
1.) In that NOI fourth text, it’s said that we should give and receive gifts. So, does it come under act of charity? Also if giving and receiving is an act, isn’t it karma bound? So, in other end, we are always, it’s like, we say it’s an affection of when you give and receive. So, affection can also lead to attraction and how to avoid that attraction also. Can you help on that?
So in the material world, giving charity or dana is a pious activity and you get good karma. However, when we give and receive the devotees, this is called Vaishnava seva [Laughs]. So, this is part of bhakti and it destroys all karma. Now of course, we establish affectionate relationships. So, of course, we could have material affection and of course, that is a cause of bondage.
So, of course, we say that you should develop affection for Krishna and that also cannot be material [Laughs]. If it is based on material affection obviously, then it is not bhakti [Laughs]. So, as we have affection for the Lord in bhakti, we can also have affection for the devotees, it’s also spiritual not material. However, because we are impure in our relationships, we may have material elements of affection also. So, we have to be careful in those relationships that, it is spiritual not material.
Devotee: Maharaj ji, I have a one follow-up question on this. Like here you can consider about the gift. So like we used to give gifts according to our conveniences. So this can increase the attraction towards material activities also right. Is that mentioned regarding the gifts that we should give is related to the scriptures or any books to a devotee?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: So as far as giving gifts for devotees, obviously we want to give things favorable for bhakti, not things unfavorable for bhakti [Laughs].
2.) If a devotee is serving his Guru Maharaj but he didn’t receive yet the diksha mantra, can he get prema?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: If he doesn’t receive the vedic Gayatri mantra he is saying?
Devotee: I think he indicated ISKCON second initiation Guru Maharaj.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Which mantra are you talking about? All mantras?
Devotee: He’s talking about the Brahmana Gayatri diksha that we get from ISKCON Gurus.
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Okay, well anyway that’s all secondary. That was introduced by Bhaktisiddhanta. Before that diksha didn’t even have that. That was all separate. Upanayanam was separate [Laughs]. So it’s not really connected with prema. But the other mantras, the Krishna mantra and diksha that we get, that can give prema. It’s directly about Krishna.
Devotee: Maharaj, you talked about the Krishna pranama mantra or some mantra we get from Gurudev during the brahmana initiation?
HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj: Yeah, the diksha. However, chanting Hare Krishna is more powerful to give us prema. But as I mentioned, to get prema from chanting Hare Krishna, we also need some knowledge.
3.) Maharaj, you explained about kanishtha, madhyama and uttama bhakta, so is it like based on our own personal judgement how we see other devotees as kanishtha, uttama and madhyama?
Well, the kanishtha worships the deity, doesn’t associate with devotees, has no knowledge. So, if we read scripture like Bhagavad Gita, we associate with devotees, we know the difference between mixed bhakti and pure bhakti, then we’re madhyama. And then we should make these distinctions between materialist, kanishtha and madhyama and uttama. Because by those distinctions, we know how to treat them and we treat them differently.
4.) So he’s asking Maharaj like, he feels that his mind is controlled for a few days, but then again, his mind becomes uncontrolled. So what would be the reason for that?
So, of course, Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna asked the question, he said, well, you have to practice. Now in that practice, as I said, we are like crystals and we get easily influenced [Laughs]. So if we get too much association with materialistic people, then our steadiness in bhakti may become weak. So we should try to be regular in our sadhana and have association of devotees. And we avoid aparadhas. And this should create steadiness.
Hare Krishna.
Devotees: HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj ki jai!!! Srila Prabhupada ki jai!!!