We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Three: Pure Devotional Service, Text 17.
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
TEXT 17
ayur harati vai pumsam
udyann astam ca yann asau
tasyarte yat-ksano nita
uttama-sloka-vartaya
SYNONYMS
ayuh—duration of life; harati—decreases; vai—certainly; pumsam—of the people; udyan—rising; astam—setting; ca—also; yan—moving; asau—the sun; tasya—of one who glorifies the Lord; rte—except; yat—by whom; ksanah—time; nitah—utilized; uttama-sloka—the all-good Personality of Godhead; vartaya—in the topics of.
TRANSLATION
Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
This verse indirectly confirms the greater importance of utilizing the human form of life to realize our lost relationship with the Supreme Lord by acceleration of devotional service.
COMMENT by Giriraj Swami
We are all engaged in devotional service, but here Srila Prabhupada advises us to accelerate our devotional service, to step it up.
PURPORT (continued)
Time and tide wait for no man. So the time indicated by the sunrise and the sunset will be uselessly wasted if such time is not properly utilized for realizing identification of spiritual values. Even a fraction of the duration of life wasted cannot be compensated by any amount of gold.
COMMENT
Chanakya Pandita says that at the time of death we cannot extend our duration of life by even one moment, no matter how much money we are willing to spend.
PURPORT (continued)
Human life is awarded to a living entity (jiva) simply so that he can realize his spiritual identity and his permanent source of happiness. A living being, especially the human being, is seeking happiness because happiness is the natural situation of the living entity.
COMMENT
Who wants to be happy? We all want to be happy.
PURPORT (continued)
But he is vainly seeking happiness in the material atmosphere. A living being is constitutionally a spiritual spark of the complete whole, and his happiness can be perfectly perceived in spiritual activities. The Lord is the complete spirit whole, and His name, form, qualities, pastimes, entourage and personality are all identical with Him.
COMMENT
This is a very important point: the Lord is Absolute, Krishna is absolute, and His name, His form, His qualities, and His pastimes are all identical with Him.
PURPORT (continued)
Once a person comes into contact with any one of the above-mentioned energies of the Lord through the proper channel of devotional service, the door to perfection is immediately opened. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled.
COMMENT
Bhagavad-gita 2.40:
nehabhikrama-naso ’sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
TRANSLATION
In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
Activity in Krsna consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Krsna without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage.
COMMENT
Whatever devotional service we perform is a permanent asset, and even if we don’t complete the course of devotional service in our present life, we will continue in the next life from where we left off.
PURPORT (concluded)
Any work begun on the material plane has to be completed, otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in Krsna consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished. The performer of such work is therefore not at a loss even if his work in Krsna consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Krsna consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent, whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no profit. Ajamila performed his duty in some percentage of Krsna consciousness, but the result he enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord. There is a nice verse in this connection in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17):
tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer
bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhüd amusya kim
ko vartha apto ’bhajatam sva-dharmatah
“If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Krsna consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities perfectly?” Or, as the Christians say, “What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffer the loss of his eternal soul?”
Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in Krsna consciousness carries a person again to Krsna consciousness, even after the loss of the body. At least one is sure to have a chance in the next life of being born again as a human being, either in the family of a great cultured brahmana or in a rich aristocratic family that will give one a further chance for elevation. That is the unique quality of work done in Krsna consciousness.
COMMENT
Coming back to the purport of Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17:
PURPORT (continued)
In the Bhagavad-gita (2.40) the Lord has explained such contact in the following words: “Endeavors in devotional service are never baffled. Nor is there failure. Even a slight beginning of such activities is sufficient to deliver a person from the great ocean of material fears.” As a highly potent drug injected intravenously acts at once on the whole body, the transcendental topics of the Lord injected through the ear by the pure devotee of the Lord can act very efficiently. Aural realization of the transcendental messages implies total realization, just as fructification of one part of a tree implies fructification of all other parts. This realization for a moment in the association of pure devotees like Sukadeva Gosvami prepares one’s complete life for eternity. And thus the sun fails to rob the pure devotee of his duration of life, inasmuch as he is constantly busy in the devotional service of the Lord, purifying his existence. Death is a symptom of the material infection of the eternal living being; only due to material infection is the eternal living entity subjected to the law of birth, death, old age, and disease.
COMMENT
The thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita states, Janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-dukkha-dosanudarsanam.
PURPORT (continued)
The materialistic way of pious activities like charity is recommended in the smrti-sastras, as quoted by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Öhakura. Money given in charity to a suitable person is guaranteed bank balance in the next life. Such charity is recommended to be given to a brahmana. If the money is given in charity to a non-brahmana (without brahminical qualification) the money is returned in the next life in the same proportion. If it is given in charity to a half-educated brahmana, even then the money is returned double. If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brahmana, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times . . .
COMMENT
So, my dear devotees, if you are looking for a good investment, you can’t do better than this.
PURPORT (continued)
If the money is given in charity to a learned and fully qualified brahmana, the money is returned a hundred and a thousand times and if the money is given to a veda-paraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication.
COMMENT
“Unlimited multiplication” is not possible in the material world; it is possible only in the spiritual world. “If money is given to a veda-paraga (one who has factually realized the path of the Vedas), it is returned by unlimited multiplication,” indicating that one will be promoted to the spiritual world.
PURPORT (concluded)
The ultimate end of Vedic knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah [Gita 15.15]). There is a guarantee of money’s being returned if given in charity, regardless of the proportion. Similarly, a moment passed in the association of a pure devotee by hearing and chanting the transcendental messages of the Lord is a perfect guarantee for eternal life, for returning home, back to Godhead. Mad-dhama gatva punar janma na vidyate. In other words, a devotee of the Lord is guaranteed eternal life. A devotee’s old age or disease in the present life is but an impetus to such guaranteed eternal life.
COMMENT
Ordinarily we don’t like disease or old age, but disease or old age can serve as an impetus for us to progress in Krishna consciousness and thus attain eternal life with Krishna.
Hare Krishna.
So, my dear devotees, do you have any questions or comments?
Krsangi dasi: What does it mean to accelerate one’s spiritual service? Some people might take it to be physical devotional service. What actually does it mean?
Giriraj Swami: What does it mean to accelerate one’s devotional service? It means not to waste time. As Srila Prabhupada said in a talk in Los Angeles, “Don’t waste time. If you have got time, chant Hare Krishna. Don’t speak nonsense. Don’t waste time.” So, to accelerate our devotional service, we need to utilize every moment possible in Krishna consciousness.
Devotee (1): You mentioned that by doing these pious activities you can get acceleration in spiritual advancement. Will it bring you to Krishna or to Vaikuntha? Like in the case with Ajamila that was mentioned, he was given promotion to Vaikuntha. For us, we are more interested in going to Krishnaloka. So, in that case, it’s not just pious activities and sometimes material investments. It should be more than that. Is my understanding correct?
Giriraj Swami: Yes, correct. We should chant Hare Krishna with attention and serve the Vaishnavas with humility, and that will help us progress to Krishnaloka.
Tarini Radhika dasi: How can we deepen our japa? How can we make it better?
Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada said that one should hear oneself chanting sincerely. That’s a very relevant and powerful instruction: one should hear oneself chanting sincerely.
Tarini Radhika dasi: Are we supposed to meditate on some specific form of Krishna? I’m trying to get your mood. I’m trying to get into your meditation. I’m trying to be sincere, but I want to add something to that. I want to add something—your mood.
Giriraj Swami: Depending on where I am, I always look at a deity of Krishna or a picture of Krishna and I chant and hear. Of course, looking at the deity of Krishna or the picture of Krishna, you see His form. You can also remember His qualities and His pastimes, and that fills your mind with Krishna consciousness.
Isvari Sakhi dasi: In Bhagavad-gita, the verse that was mentioned, 2.40, says that in this endeavor there’s no diminution and that [even a ] little advancement on the path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear. What is this most dangerous type of fear?
Giriraj Swami: The most dangerous type of fear is that one will descend into a lower species of life and not get a human form. Even a little advancement in devotional service guarantees that one will get a human form of life in which one can continue one’s spiritual progress.
Devotee: I also had a similar question about our acceleration in spiritual practice. A lot of people think that when they get older they will start practicing spiritually, but does it mean they will still have enough time or it’s 100 percent guaranteed that they will not have enough time to get closer to Krishna and fill the time? How do you know if you have enough time? How do you know when you need to accelerate?
Giriraj Swami: Why not accelerate now? Why should you wait? We should accelerate now.
So, today, August 9, happens to be my mother’s birthday. She used to say that I inherited my father’s brains and I inherited her good looks.
Krishna Kirtan dasa: Can you share some of the qualities of your mother in relation to how you appreciate her? The first time I heard you speak about your parents was when you were in some kind of therapy in Houston. When the therapist asked you to speak about your parents, you said something about your mother.
Giriraj Swami: I will read about the last part of my mother’s life from Life’s Final Exam: “My Father and Mother—Realizing Their Good Fortune”:
This last period was quite a happy time for my mother. I felt gratified that after being away from her for more than thirty years, mainly in India, I could spend some time with her and in whatever little way I could, encourage her to come closer to God.
Initially, my mother would come once a week to my place for dinner (prasada) and then a video. Together we would watch something from my library. First we saw all the videos about Srila Prabhupada, for whom her admiration and respect kept increasing. After those, I tried a religious movie from India, but that was too foreign to her. Then we rented videos with religious themes, beginning with The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur. And when we’d exhausted those, we watched good, wholesome movies, especially from the forties and fifties. Two of her favorites were The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music. As her condition declined and she became weaker, I spent time with her at my sister’s house, first once a week, then twice a week, and toward the end, as often and for as long each time as practical.
. . .
During those last three weeks, things changed. . . . I searched the Bhaktivedanta VedaBase for references to her and came across a conversation on Juhu Beach that I had forgotten:
Giriraja: My parents telephoned last week, and at first they couldn’t recognize my voice. They couldn’t believe that it was me.
Prabhupada: Then?
Giriraja: Krishna consciousness has changed the . . .
Prabhupada: So your father said that “I could not . . .”
Giriraja: Yes. He said, “Are you sure it’s you?”
Prabhupada: (laughs) Just like a lawyer. Hare Krishna. . . . Mother is also very nice. Unless father and mother is nice . . . I told your mother also.
I sent e-mails out to disciples and friends, informing them of my mother’s condition and asking them to pray for her, and I gained much encouragement from their support and prayers. Sangita dasi posted a prayer for her on the Vaisnavas C.A.R.E. website. By early June, devotees all over the world were praying for my mother.
. . .
My sister, who seemed to know just what to say to our mother at this stage, had told me, “Our mother gave everything to her family; her family was her life. You should tell her how much you appreciate all that she did for the family, and what a wonderful mother she was. Tell her that we all will be fine after she leaves, that we all will be together and take care of each other, and that she has nothing to worry about. She is free to leave now. She can go peacefully to her next destination.”
Still, our mother was staying. She was giving us more precious moments of her association. And it seemed that she was waiting.
. . .
On the last day, I felt we should have the rabbi and the cantor come. The rabbi was out of town, but the cantor came and sang the Jewish liturgy in a most beautiful and moving way. All the family members were gathered at her bedside—my sister, her husband, the cousins, their wives, the children, and me.
. . .
That Friday, June 11, I tried repeatedly to speak with Radhanath Swami at the Brooklyn temple. He was in New York for the five-day Ratha-yatra celebrations, and it was very hard to reach him. In the end, I just left a message for him saying that my mother’s departure was imminent and that he should pray for her—and hoped he would get the message.
Later I learned that he had gone into the temple room, packed with devotees who had come for the festival—it was also Srivasa Pandita’s disappearance day—and had announced that Giriraj Swami’s devoted mother was leaving her body and that the kirtan was being dedicated to her. And he had requested all the devotees to pray for her.
Radhanath Swami had been leading kirtan and praying for my mother at the exact time that she departed, and I felt that even though he and the other devotees had not been physically present in her room to chant Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, by some transcendental arrangement they had been chanting for her, and she had received benefit. Twenty minutes after he had made the announcement, she left.
. . .
After she left, I informed my disciples and asked them to continue to pray for her and to hold memorial programs for her in different places.
I also informed my dear godsister Yamuna-devi, who first met my parents when they came to Vrindavan in 1971. She had accompanied them through the village of Vrindavan and then to Mathura and Agra, where they saw the Taj Mahal. She wrote back, “I remember when Dina and I visited you in your house in Vrindavan. We asked you one question, and you took three hours to answer it: ‘How has your relationship with Srila Prabhupada changed since his departure?’ The departure of loved ones helps us to change, to go deeper. Surely this will happen with your beloved mother’s departure.”
Thank you all for listening so patiently and attentively.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17, August 9, 2026 Moorpark, CA]
Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/accelerating-devotional-service
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