Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.26-27 given on July 4, 2011 during the Padayatra in Slovenija.

SB 04.09.26-27 Accepting The Internal Vision Of The Scriptures 2011-07-04

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.25 given on July 3, 2011 during the Padayatra in Slovenija.

Lecture title is also known as “I should be god or least god should be my servant.”

SB 4.9.25

tato gantasi mat-sthanam
sarva-loka-namaskrtam
uparistad rsibhyas tvam
yato navartate gatah

Translation:

The Personality of Godhead continued: My dear Dhruva, after your material life in this body, you will go to My planet, which is always offered obeisances by the residents of all other planetary systems. It is situated above the planets of the seven rsis, and having gone there you will never have to come back again to this material world.

Purport:

In this verse the word navartate is very significant. The Lord says, “You will not come back to this material world, for you will reach mat-sthanam, My abode.” Therefore Dhruvaloka, or the polestar, is the abode of Lord Visnu within this material world. Upon it there is an ocean of milk, and within that ocean there is an island known as Svetadvipa. It is clearly indicated that this planet is situated above the seven planetary systems of the rsis, and because this planet is Visnuloka, it is worshiped by all other planetary systems. It may be questioned here what will happen to the planet known as Dhruvaloka at the time of the dissolution of this universe. The answer is simple: Dhruvaloka remains, like other Vaikunthalokas beyond this universe. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has commented in this connection that the very word navartate indicates that this planet is eternal.

SB 04.09.25 No Fear Of Maya And Afraid Of Krishna 2011-07-03

Bhagavad Gita 14.19 Seeing Reality, Seeing Krishna   12-08-2007 Moscow

I could not figure out how to embed this video, if anyone can help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.32 given on July 1, 2011 at the Croatian Summer Camp.

SB 1.5.32

etat samsucitam brahmams
tapa-traya-cikitsitam
yad isvare bhagavati
karma brahmani bhavitam

Translation:

O Brahmana Vyasadeva, it is decided by the learned that the best remedial measure for removing all troubles and miseries is to dedicate one’s activities to the service of the Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead [Sri Krsna].

Purport:

Sri Narada Muni personally experienced that the most feasible and practical way to open the path of salvation or get relief from all miseries of life is to hear submissively the transcendental activities of the Lord from the right and bona fide sources. This is the only remedial process. The entire material existence is full of miseries. Foolish people have manufactured, out of their tiny brains, many remedial measures for removing the threefold miseries pertaining to the body and mind, pertaining to the natural disturbances and in relation with other living beings. The whole world is struggling very hard to exist out of these miseries, but men do not know that without the sanction of the Lord no plan or no remedial measure can actually bring about the desired peace and tranquillity. The remedial measure to cure a patient by medical treatment is useless if it is not sanctioned by the Lord, the attempt to cross a river or the ocean by a suitable boat will fail if it is not sanctioned by the Lord, and parents’ attempt to protect their children cannot succeed if it is not sanctioned by the Lord. We should know for certain that the Lord is the ultimate sanctioning officer, and we must therefore dedicate our attempts to the mercy of the Lord for ultimate success or to get rid of the obstacles on the path of success. The Lord is all-pervading, all-powerful, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the ultimate sanctioning agent of all good or bad effects. We should, therefore, learn to dedicate our activities unto the mercy of the Lord and accept Him either as impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It does not matter what one is. One must dedicate everything in the service of the Lord. If one is a learned scholar, scientist, philosopher, poet, etc., then he should employ his learning to establish the supremacy of the Lord. Try to study the energy of the Lord in every sphere of life. Do not decry Him and try to become like Him or take His position simply by fragmental accumulation of knowledge. If one is an administrator, statesman, warrior, politician, etc., then one should try to establish the Lord’s supremacy in statesmanship. Fight for the cause of the Lord as Sri Arjuna did. In the beginning, Sri Arjuna, the great fighter, declined to fight, but when he was convinced by the Lord that the fighting was necessary,Sri Arjuna changed his decision and fought for His cause. Similarly, if one is a businessman, an industrialist, an agriculturist, etc., then one should spend his hard-earned money for the cause of the Lord. Think always that the money which is accumulated is the wealth of the Lord. Wealth is considered to be the goddess of fortune (Laksmi), and the Lord is Narayana, or the husband of Laksmi. Try to engage Laksmi in the service of Lord Narayana and be happy. That is the way to realize the Lord in every sphere of life. The best thing is, after all, to get relief from all material activities and engage oneself completely in hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. But in case of the absence of such an opportunity, one should try to engage in the service of the Lord everything for which one has specific attraction. That is the way of peace and prosperity, and that is the remedial measure for all the miseries of material existence. The word samsucitam in this stanza is also significant. One should not think for a moment that the realization of Narada was childish imagination only. It is not like that. It is so realized by the expert and erudite scholars, and that is the real import of the word samsucitam.

SB 01.05.32 No Distractions For Narada 2011-07-01

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.39 given on June 26, 2011 at the Croatian Summer Camp.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.39

yat-pada-pankaja-palasa-vilasa-bhaktya

karmasayam grathitam udgrathayanti santah

tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ‘pi ruddha-

sroto-ganas tam aranam bhaja vasudevam

TRANSLATION

The devotees, who are always engaged in the service of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, can very easily overcome hard-knotted desires for fruitive activities. Because this is very difficult, the nondevotees — the jnanis and yogis — although trying to stop the waves of sense gratification, cannot do so. Therefore you are advised to engage in the devotional service of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva.

PURPORT

There are three kinds of transcendentalists trying to overcome the influence of the modes of material nature — the jnanis, yogis and bhaktas. All of them attempt to overcome the influence of the senses, which is compared to the incessant waves of a river. The waves of a river flow incessantly, and it is very difficult to stop them. Similarly, the waves of desire for material enjoyment are so strong that they cannot be stopped by any process other than bhakti-yoga. The bhaktas, by their transcendental devotional service unto the lotus feet of the Lord, become so overwhelmed with transcendental bliss that automatically their desires for material enjoyment stop. The jnanis and yogis, who are not attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, simply struggle against the waves of desire. They are described in this verse as rikta-matayah, which means “devoid of devotional service.” In other words, the jnanis and yogis, although trying to be free from the desires of material activities, actually become more and more entangled in false philosophical speculation or strenuous attempts to stop the activities of the senses. As stated previously:

vasudeve bhagavati

bhakti-yogah prayojitah

janayaty asu vairagyam

jnanam ca yad ahaitukam

(Bhag. 1.2.7)

Here also the same point is stressed. Bhaja vasudevam indicates that one who is engaged in the loving service of Krishna, the son of Vasudeva, can very easily stop the waves of desires. As long as one continues to try to artificially stop the waves of desires, he will certainly be defeated. That is indicated in this verse. Desires for fruitive activities are strongly rooted, but the trees of desire can be uprooted completely by devotional service because devotional service employs superior desire. One can give up inferior desires when engaged in superior desires. To try to stop desires is impossible. One has to desire the Supreme in order not to be entangled in inferior desires. Jnanis maintain a desire to become one with the Supreme, but such desire is also considered to be kama, lust. Similarly, the yogis desire mystic power, and that is also kama. And the bhaktas, not being desirous of any sort of material enjoyment, become purified. There is no artificial attempt to stop desire. Desire becomes a source of spiritual enjoyment under the protection of the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord. It is stated herein by the Kumaras that the lotus feet of Lord Krishna are the ultimate reservoir of all pleasure. One should therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord instead of trying unsuccessfully to stop desires for material enjoyment. As long as one is unable to stop the desire for material enjoyment, there is no possibility of becoming liberated from the entanglement of material existence. It may be argued that the waves of a river are incessantly flowing and that they cannot be stopped, but the waves of the river flow toward the sea. When the tide comes over the river, it overwhelms the flowing of the river, and the river itself becomes overflooded, and the waves from the sea become more prominent than the waves from the river. Similarly, a devotee with intelligence plans so many things for the service of the Lord in Krishna consciousness that stagnant material desires become overflooded by the desire to serve the Lord. As confirmed by Yamunacarya, since he has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, there is always a current of newer and newer desires flowing to serve the Lord, so much so that the stagnant desire of sex life becomes very insignificant. Yamunacarya even says that he spits on such desires. Bhagavad-gita (2.59) also confirms: param drishtva nivartate. The conclusion is that by developing a loving desire for the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, we subdue all material desires for sense gratification.

SB 04.22.39 Don’t Skip Over Sravanam 2011-06-26

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.19 titled “Hairy Rishi’s Razor” given on 25 June, 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.19

kala-cakram bhrami tikshnam

sarvam nishkarshayaj jagat

svatantram abudhasyeha

kim asat-karmabhir bhavet

TRANSLATION

[Narada Muni had spoken of a physical object made of sharp blades and thunderbolts. The Haryasvas understood this allegory as follows.] Eternal time moves very sharply, as if made of razors and thunderbolts. Uninterrupted and fully independent, it drives the activities of the entire world. If one does not try to study the eternal element of time, what benefit can he derive from performing temporary material activities?

PURPORT

This verse explains the words kshaura-pavyam svayam bhrami, which especially refer to the orbit of eternal time. It is said that time and tide wait for no man. According to the moral instructions of the great politician Canakya Pandita:

ayushah kshana eko ‘pi

na labhyah svarna-kotibhih

na cen nirarthakam nitih

ka ca hanis tato ‘dhika

Even a moment of one’s lifetime could not be returned in exchange for millions of dollars. Therefore one should consider how much loss one suffers if he wastes even a moment of his life for nothing. Living like an animal, not understanding the goal of life, one foolishly thinks that there is no eternity and that his life span of fifty, sixty, or, at the most, one hundred years, is everything. This is the greatest foolishness. Time is eternal, and in the material world one passes through different phases of his eternal life. Time is compared herein to a sharp razor. A razor is meant to shave the hair from one’s face, but if not carefully handled, the razor will cause disaster. One is advised not to create a disaster by misusing his lifetime. One should be extremely careful to utilize the span of his life for spiritual realization, or Krishna consciousness.

SB 06.05.19 Hairy Rishi’s Razor 2011-06-25

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita 7.9 titled “Superficially Super Sized” given on June 24, 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.9

punyo gandhah prithivyam ca

tejas casmi vibhavasau

jivanam sarva-bhuteshu

tapas casmi tapasvishu

TRANSLATION

I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics.

PURPORT

Punya means that which is not decomposed; punya is original. Everything in the material world has a certain flavor or fragrance, as the flavor and fragrance in a flower, or in the earth, in water, in fire, in air, etc. The uncontaminated flavor, the original flavor, which permeates everything, is Krishna. Similarly, everything has a particular original taste, and this taste can be changed by the mixture of chemicals. So everything original has some smell, some fragrance, and some taste. Vibhavasu means fire. Without fire we cannot run factories, we cannot cook, etc., and that fire is Krishna. The heat in the fire is Krishna. According to Vedic medicine, indigestion is due to a low temperature in the belly. So even for digestion fire is needed. In Krishna consciousness we become aware that earth, water, fire, air and every active principle, all chemicals and all material elements are due to Krishna. The duration of man’s life is also due to Krishna. Therefore by the grace of Krishna, man can prolong his life or diminish it. So Krishna consciousness is active in every sphere.

BG 07.09 Superficially Super Sized 2011-06-24

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita 4.10 titled “I am not God” given on June 22, 2011 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.10

vita-raga-bhaya-krodha

man-maya mam upasritah

bahavo jnana-tapasa

puta mad-bhavam agatah

TRANSLATION

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me — and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.

PURPORT

As described above, it is very difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Generally, people who are attached to the bodily conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost impossible for them to understand how the Supreme can be a person. Such materialists cannot even imagine that there is a transcendental body which is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is supreme. Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of perfect knowledge of spiritual existence. Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life. Some people are too materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life, some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. One has to get rid of all three stages of attachment to the material world: negligence of spiritual life, fear of a spiritual personal identity, and the conception of void that arises from frustration in life. To get free from these three stages of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines and regulative principles of devotional life. The last stage of the devotional life is called bhava, or transcendental love of Godhead.

According to Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.4.15-16), the science of devotional service:

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-

sango ‘tha bhajana-kriya

tato ‘nartha-nivrittih syat

tato nishtha rucis tatah

athasaktis tato bhavas

tatah premabhyudancati

sadhakanam ayam premnah

pradurbhave bhavet kramah

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Krishna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.

BG 04.10 I Am Not God 2011-06-22

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.19 titled Maya’s Pinching given on June 23, 2011 in Belgrade, Serbia.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.19

tada rajas-tamo-bhavah

kama-lobhadayas ca ye

ceta etair anaviddham

sthitam sattve prasidati

TRANSLATION

As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.

PURPORT

A living being in his normal constitutional position is fully satisfied in spiritual bliss. This state of existence is called brahma-bhuta or atma-nandi, or the state of self-satisfaction. This self-satisfaction is not like the satisfaction of the inactive fool. The inactive fool is in the state of foolish ignorance, whereas the self-satisfied atmanandi is transcendental to the material state of existence. This stage of perfection is attained as soon as one is fixed in irrevocable devotional service. Devotional service is not inactivity, but the unalloyed activity of the soul.

The soul’s activity becomes adulterated in contact with matter, and as such the diseased activities are expressed in the form of lust, desire, hankering, inactivity, foolishness and sleep. The effect of devotional service becomes manifest by complete elimination of these effects of passion and ignorance. The devotee is fixed at once in the mode of goodness, and he makes further progress to rise to the position of Vasudeva, or the state of unmixed sattva, orsuddha-sattva. Only in this suddha-sattva state can one always see Krishna eye to eye by dint of pure affection for the Lord.

A devotee is always in the mode of unalloyed goodness; therefore he harms no one. But the nondevotee, however educated he may be, is always harmful. A devotee is neither foolish nor passionate. The harmful, foolish and passionate cannot be devotees of the Lord, however they may advertise themselves as devotees by outward dress. A devotee is always qualified with all the good qualities of God. Quantitatively such qualifications may be different, but qualitatively both the Lord and His devotee are one and the same.

SB 01.02.19 Maya’s Pinching 2011-06-23

Class on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.4 titled “Krishna is not bothered” given on June 19, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.4

pasyanty ado rupam adabhra-cakshusha

sahasra-padoru-bhujananadbhutam

sahasra-murdha-sravanakshi-nasikam

sahasra-mauly-ambara-kundalollasat

TRANSLATION

The devotees, with their perfect eyes, see the transcendental form of the purusha who has thousands of legs, thighs, arms and faces — all extraordinary. In that body there are thousands of heads, ears, eyes and noses. They are decorated with thousands of helmets and glowing earrings and are adorned with garlands.

PURPORT

With our present materialized senses we cannot perceive anything of the transcendental Lord. Our present senses are to be rectified by the process of devotional service, and then the Lord Himself becomes revealed to us. In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed that the transcendental Lord can be perceived only by pure devotional service. So it is confirmed in the Vedas that only devotional service can lead one to the side of the Lord and that only devotional service can reveal Him. In the Brahma-samhita also it is said that the Lord is always visible to the devotees whose eyes have been anointed with the tinge of devotional service. So we have to take information of the transcendental form of the Lord from persons who have actually seen Him with perfect eyes smeared with devotional service. In the material world also we do not always see things with our own eyes; we sometimes see through the experience of those who have actually seen or done things. If that is the process for experiencing a mundane object, it is more perfectly applicable in matters transcendental. So only with patience and perseverance can we realize the transcendental subject matter regarding the Absolute Truth and His different forms. He is formless to the neophytes, but He is in transcendental form to the expert servitor.

SB 01.03.04 Krishna Is Not Bothered 2011-06-19

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.3 titled “Happy Death Day, Happy Birth Day”given  on June 18, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.3

yasyavayava-samsthanaih

kalpito loka-vistarah

tad vai bhagavato rupam

visuddham sattvam urjitam

TRANSLATION

It is believed that all the universal planetary systems are situated on the extensive body of the purusha, but He has nothing to do with the created material ingredients. His body is eternally in spiritual existence par excellence.

PURPORT

The conception of the virat-rupa or visva-rupa of the Supreme Absolute Truth is especially meant for the neophyte who can hardly think of the transcendental form of the Personality of Godhead. To him a form means something of this material world, and therefore an opposite conception of the Absolute is necessary in the beginning to concentrate the mind on the power extension of the Lord. As stated above, the Lord extends His potency in the form of the mahat-tattva, which includes all material ingredients. The extension of power by the Lord and the Lord Himself personally are one in one sense, but at the same time the mahat-tattva is different from the Lord. Therefore the potency of the Lord and the Lord are simultaneously different and nondifferent. The conception of the virat-rupa, especially for the impersonalist, is thus nondifferent from the eternal form of the Lord. This eternal form of the Lord exists prior to the creation of the mahat-tattva, and it is stressed here that the eternal form of the Lord is par excellence spiritual or transcendental to the modes of material nature. The very same transcendental form of the Lord is manifested by His internal potency, and the formation of His multifarious manifestations of incarnations is always of the same transcendental quality, without any touch of the mahat-tattva.

SB 01.03.03 Happy Death Day Happy Birth Day 2011-06-18

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita verse 9.3 given on June 17, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 9.3

asraddadhanah purusha

dharmasyasya parantapa

aprapya mam nivartante

mrityu-samsara-vartmani

TRANSLATION

Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

PURPORT

The faithless cannot accomplish this process of devotional service; that is the purport of this verse. Faith is created by association with devotees. Unfortunate people, even after hearing all the evidence of Vedic literature from great personalities, still have no faith in God. They are hesitant and cannot stay fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. Thus faith is a most important factor for progress in Krishna consciousness. In the Caitanya-caritamrita it is said that faith is the complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, one can achieve all perfection. That is called real faith. As stated in theSrimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14),

yatha taror mula-nishecanena

tripyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah

pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam

tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

“By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.” Therefore, after reading Bhagavad-gita one should promptly come to the conclusion of Bhagavad-gita: one should give up all other engagements and adopt the service of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. If one is convinced of this philosophy of life, that is faith.

Now, the development of that faith is the process of Krishna consciousness. There are three divisions of Krishna conscious men. In the third class are those who have no faith. Even if they are officially engaged in devotional service, they cannot achieve the highest perfectional stage. Most probably they will slip, after some time. They may become engaged, but because they haven’t complete conviction and faith, it is very difficult for them to continue in Krishna consciousness. We have practical experience in discharging our missionary activity that some people come and apply themselves to Krishna consciousness with some hidden motive, and as soon as they are economically a little well situated they give up this process and take to their old ways again. It is only by faith that one can advance in Krishna consciousness. As far as the development of faith is concerned, one who is well versed in the literatures of devotional service and has attained the stage of firm faith is called a first-class person in Krishna consciousness. And in the second class are those who are not very advanced in understanding the devotional scriptures but who automatically have firm faith that krishna-bhakti, or service to Krishna, is the best course and so in good faith have taken it up. Thus they are superior to the third class, who have neither perfect knowledge of the scriptures nor good faith but by association and simplicity are trying to follow. The third-class person in Krishna consciousness may fall down, but when one is in the second class he does not fall down, and for the first-class person in Krishna consciousness there is no chance of falling down. One in the first class will surely make progress and achieve the result at the end. As far as the third-class person in Krishna consciousness is concerned, although he has faith in the conviction that devotional service to Krishna is very good, he has not yet gained adequate knowledge of Krishna through the scriptures like Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. Sometimes these third-class persons inKrishna consciousness have some tendency toward karma-yoga and jnana-yoga, and sometimes they are disturbed, but as soon as the infection of karma-yoga or jnana-yoga is vanquished, they become second-class or first-class persons in Krishna consciousness. Faith in Krishna is also divided into three stages and described in Srimad-Bhagavatam. First-class attachment, second-class attachment and third-class attachment are also explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam in the Eleventh Canto. Those who have no faith even after hearing about Krishna and the excellence of devotional service, who think that it is simply eulogy, find the path very difficult, even if they are supposedly engaged in devotional service. For them there is very little hope of gaining perfection. Thus faith is very important in the discharge of devotional service.

BG 09.03 Developments Of Faith 2011-06-17

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.2 titled “Not A Mickey Mouse Watch” given on June 17, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.
Maha Vishnu lies down in the Karana Ocean (causal ocean) and impregnates Parkriti (or nature).

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.2

yasyambhasi sayanasya

yoga-nidram vitanvatah

nabhi-hradambujad asid

brahma visva-srijam patih

TRANSLATION

A part of the purusha lies down within the water of the universe, from the navel lake of His body sprouts a lotus stem, and from the lotus flower atop this stem, Brahma, the master of all engineers in the universe, becomes manifest.

PURPORT

The first purusha is the Karanodakasayi Vishnu. From His skin holes innumerable universes have sprung up. In each and every universe, the purusha enters as the Garbhodakasayi Vishnu. He is lying within the half of the universe which is full with the water of His body. And from the navel of Garbhodakasayi Vishnuhas sprung the stem of the lotus flower, the birthplace of Brahma, who is the father of all living beings and the master of all the demigod engineers engaged in the perfect design and working of the universal order. Within the stem of the lotus there are fourteen divisions of planetary systems, and the earthly planets are situated in the middle. Upwards there are other, better planetary systems, and the topmost system is called Brahmaloka or Satyaloka. Downwards from the earthly planetary system there are seven lower planetary systems inhabited by the asuras and similar other materialistic living beings.

From Garbhodakasayi Vishnu there is expansion of the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, who is the collective Paramatma of all living beings. He is called Hari, and from Him all incarnations within the universe are expanded.

Therefore, the conclusion is that the purusha-avatara is manifested in three features — first the Karanodakasayi who creates aggregate material ingredients in the mahat-tattva, second the Garbhodakasayi who enters in each and every universe, and third the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu who is the Paramatma of every material object, organic or inorganic. One who knows these plenary features of the Personality of Godhead knows Godhead properly, and thus the knower becomes freed from the material conditions of birth, death, old age and disease, as it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, In this sloka the subject matter of Maha-Vishnu is summarized. The Maha-Vishnu lies down in some part of the spiritual sky by His own free will. Thus He lies on the ocean of karana, from where He glances over His material nature, and the mahat-tattva is at once created. Thus electrified by the power of the Lord, the material nature at once creates innumerable universes, just as in due course a tree decorates itself with innumerable grown fruits. The seed of the tree is sown by the cultivator, and the tree or creeper in due course becomes manifested with so many fruits. Nothing can take place without a cause. The Karana Ocean is therefore called the Causal Ocean. Karana means “causal.” We should not foolishly accept the atheistic theory of creation. The description of the atheists is given in the Bhagavad-gita. The atheist does not believe in the creator, but he cannot give a good theory to explain the creation. Material nature has no power to create without the power of the purusha, just as a prakriti, or woman, cannot produce a child without the connection of a purusha, or man. The purusha impregnates, and the prakriti delivers. We should not expect milk from the fleshy bags on the neck of a goat, although they look like breastly nipples. Similarly, we should not expect any creative power from the material ingredients; we must believe in the power of the purusha, who impregnates prakriti, or nature. Because the Lord wished to lie down in meditation, the material energy created innumerable universes at once, in each of them the Lord lay down, and thus all the planets and the different paraphernalia were created at once by the will of the Lord. The Lord has unlimited potencies, and thus He can act as He likes by perfect planning, although personally He has nothing to do. No one is greater than or equal to Him. That is the verdict of the Vedas.

SB 01.03.02 Not A Mickey Mouse Watch 2011-06-17

Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1 Chapter 3 verse 1 titled “Plastic Chapati Cook” given in Timisoara – Romania on the morning of June 16, 2011. The subject of the lecture is related to Lord Krishna’s incarnations, specifically the Purusa Avataras – (external pastimes)

Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.1

suta uvaca

jagrihe paurusham rupam

bhagavan mahad-adibhih

sambhutam shodasa-kalam

adau loka-sisrikshaya

TRANSLATION

Suta said: In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the purusha incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there was the creation of the sixteen principles of material action. This was for the purpose of creating the material universe.

PURPORT

The Bhagavad-gita states that the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna maintains these material universes by extending His plenary expansions. So thispurusha form is the confirmation of the same principle. The original Personality of Godhead Vasudeva, or Lord Krishna, who is famous as the son of KingVasudeva or King Nanda, is full with all opulences, all potencies, all fame, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. Part of His opulences are manifested as impersonal Brahman, and part of His opulences are manifested as Paramatma. This purusha feature of the same Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna is the original Paramatma manifestation of the Lord. There are three purusha features in the material creation, and this form, who is known as the KaranodakasayiVishnu, is the first of the three. The others are known as the Garbhodakasayi Vishnu and the Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, which we shall know one after another. The innumerable universes are generated from the skin holes of this Karanodakasayi Vishnu, and in each one of the universes the Lord enters as GarbhodakasayiVishnu.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is also mentioned that the material world is created at certain intervals and then again destroyed. This creation and destruction is done by the supreme will because of the conditioned souls, or the nitya-baddha living beings. The nitya-baddha, or the eternally conditioned souls, have the sense of individuality or ahankara, which dictates them sense enjoyment, which they are unable to have constitutionally. The Lord is the only enjoyer, and all others are enjoyed. The living beings are predominated enjoyers. But the eternally conditioned souls, forgetful of this constitutional position, have strong aspirations to enjoy. The chance to enjoy matter is given to the conditioned souls in the material world, and side by side they are given the chance to understand their real constitutional position. Those fortunate living entities who catch the truth and surrender unto the lotus feet of Vasudeva after many, many births in the material world join the eternally liberated souls and thus are allowed to enter into the kingdom of Godhead. After this, such fortunate living entities need not come again within the occasional material creation. But those who cannot catch the constitutional truth are again merged into the mahat-tattva at the time of the annihilation of the material creation. When the creation is again set up, this mahat-tattva is again let loose. This mahat-tattva contains all the ingredients of the material manifestations, including the conditioned souls. Primarily this mahat-tattva is divided into sixteen parts, namely the five gross material elements and the eleven working instruments or senses. It is like the cloud in the clear sky. In the spiritual sky, the effulgence of Brahman is spread all around, and the whole system is dazzling in spiritual light. The mahat-tattva is assembled in some corner of the vast, unlimited spiritual sky, and the part which is thus covered by the mahat-tattva is called the material sky. This part of the spiritual sky, called the mahat-tattva, is only an insignificant portion of the whole spiritual sky, and within this mahat-tattva there are innumerable universes. All these universes are collectively produced by the Karanodakasayi Vishnu, called also the Maha-Vishnu, who simply throws His glance to impregnate the material sky.

SB 01.03.01 Plastic Chapati Cook 2011-06-16

This is a lecture given on Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 verse 40 on the evening of June 16, 2011 in Timisoara, Romania.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 3.40

indriyani mano buddhir

asyadhishthanam ucyate

etair vimohayaty esha

jnanam avritya dehinam

TRANSLATION

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

PURPORT

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krishna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus when we hear about sense objects the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the Srimad-Bhagavatam(10.84.13):

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke

sva-dhih kalatradishu bhauma ijya-dhih

yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij

janeshv abhijneshu sa eva go-kharah

“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like an ass or a cow.

BG 03.40 Get Your Deluxe Carrot 2011-06-16

CAITANYA CARITAMRITA ADI LILA 4 VERSE 171 BY HH PRAHLADANANDA SWAMI from e-narayan on Vimeo.

Mp3 of this video can be found here http://wp.me/pJ4BL-11v at Bhaktivedanta Manor

Lecture on 9-12-2010 with Russian translation

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.42

O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, original spiritual master of the entire world, what is the difficulty for You, who manage the affairs of the universe, in delivering the fallen souls engaged in Your devotional service? You are the friend of all suffering humanity, and for great personalities it is necessary to show mercy to the foolish. Therefore I think that You will show Your causeless mercy to persons like us, who engage in Your service.

PURPORT

Here the words priya janan anusevatam nah indicate that the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is very favorable to devotees who act according to the instructions of His own pure devotee. In other words, one must become the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord. If one wants to become the servant of the Lord directly, this is not as fruitful as engaging in the service of the Lord’s servant. This is the direction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who shows us the way to become gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. One should not be proud of becoming directly the servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, one must seek a pure devotee, a servant of the Lord, and engage oneself in the service of such a servant. The more one becomes the servant of the servant, the more one becomes perfect in devotional service. This is also the injunction of Bhagavad-gita: evam parampara-praptamimam rajarshayo viduh [Bg. 4.2]. One can understand the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by the parampara system. In this regard, SrilaNarottama dasa Thakura says, tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vasa: “Let me serve the lotus feet of the devotees of the Lord, and let me live with devotees.” Janame janame haya, ei abhilasha. Following Narottama dasa Thakura, one should aspire to be a servant of the Lord’s servant, life after life. Srila BhaktivinodaThakura also sings, tumi ta‘ thakura, tomara kukura, baliya janaha more: “O my Lord, O Vaishnava, please consider me your dog.” One must become the dog of a Vaishnava, a pure devotee, for a pure devotee can deliver Krishna without difficulty. Krishna se tomara, krishna dite para. Krishna is the property of His pure devotee, and if we take shelter of a pure devotee, he can deliver Krishna very easily. Prahlada wants to engage in the service of a devotee, and therefore he prays to Krishna, “My dear Lord, kindly give me the shelter of Your very dear devotee so that I may engage in his service and You may then be pleased.” Mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika (Bhag. 11.19.21). The Lord says, “Engaging in the service of My devotee is better than trying to engage in My devotional service.”

Another significant point in this verse is that by devotional service Prahlada Maharaja does not want to benefit alone. Rather, he prays to the Lord that all of us fallen souls in this material world may, by the grace of the Lord, engage in the service of His servant and thus be delivered. The grace of the Lord is not at all difficult for the Lord to bestow, and thus Prahlada Maharaja wants to save the whole world by spreading Krishna consciousness.

Uploaded by NaraHari0016 on May 24, 2011

Initiation ceremony for Acyutananda das performed.

Dallas, TX
2010-07-11

Inititation Ceremony- Acyutananda Das 2010-07-11

Lecture – Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 1.35 The Story Of Brhad Bhagavatamrta 1999-04-18 Radhadesh

Lecture on Chaitanya Charitamrita,  Adi Lila, Chapter 4, Texts 21-22 titled “Do Something Practical” (External Pastimes)

Dallas, TX
2010-07-11

Adi-lila
Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 4.21-22

mora putra, mora sakha, mora prana-pati

ei-bhave yei more kare suddha-bhakti

apanake bada mane, amare sama-hina

sei bhave ha-i ami tahara adhina

TRANSLATION

“If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him.

PURPORT

In the Caitanya-caritamrita three kinds of devotional service are described — namely, bhakti (ordinary devotional service), suddha-bhakti (pure devotional service) and viddha-bhakti (mixed devotional service).

When devotional service is executed with some material purpose, involving fruitive activities, mental speculations or mystic yoga, it is called mixed or adulterated devotional service. Besides bhakti-yoga, the Bhagavad-gita also describes karma-yoga, jnana-yoga and dhyana-yoga. Yoga means linking with the Supreme Lord, which is possible only through devotion. Fruitive activities ending in devotional service, philosophical speculation ending in devotional service, and the practice of mysticism ending in devotional service are known respectively as karma-yoga, jnana-yoga and dhyana-yoga. But such devotional service is adulterated by the three kinds of material activities.

For those grossly engaged in identifying the body as the self, pious activity, or karma-yoga, is recommended. For those who identify the mind with the self, philosophical speculation, or jnana-yoga, is recommended. But devotees standing on the spiritual platform have no need of such material conceptions of adulterated devotion. Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim for love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Krishnaconsciousness, solely to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Those who are spontaneously devoted to the Lord and have no aims for material gain are called attracted devotees. They are spontaneously attracted to the service of the Lord, and they follow in the footsteps of self-realized souls. Their pure devotion (suddha-bhakti), manifested from pure love of Godhead, surpasses the regulative principles of the authoritative scriptures. Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regulative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Krishna is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service.

Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuntha planets. By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikunthaplanets. But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Krishnaloka alone.

CC Adi 04.021-22 Do Something Practical 2010-07-11

Lecture–Happiness Through Chanting 5.5.2011–Video at Vedic Culture Days Festival

5/5/2011

Happiness Though Chanting 2011-05-05

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 9, Chapter 13, Texts 4 & 5 titled “Vasistha vs. Vishvamitra”. Dallas, TX 2010-07-12

Srimad Bhagavatam 9.13.4

sishya-vyatikramam vikshya

tam nirvartyagato guruh

asapat patatad deho

nimeh pandita-maninah

TRANSLATION

After completing the sacrificial performance for King Indra, the spiritual master Vasishtha returned and found that his disciple Maharaja Nimi had disobeyed his instructions. Thus Vasishtha cursed him, saying, “May the material body of Nimi, who considers himself learned, immediately fall.”

Srimad Bhagavatam 9.13.5

nimih pratidadau sapam

gurave ‘dharma-vartine

tavapi patatad deho

lobhad dharmam ajanatah

TRANSLATION

For unnecessarily cursing him when he had committed no offense, Maharaja Nimi countercursed his spiritual master. “For the sake of getting contributions from the King of heaven,” he said, “you have lost your religious intelligence. Therefore I pronounce this curse: your body also will fall.”

PURPORT

The religious principle for a brahmana is that he should not be greedy at all. In this case, however, for the sake of more lucrative remunerations from the King of heaven, Vasishtha neglected Maharaja Nimi‘s request on this planet, and when Nimi performed the sacrifices with other priests, Vasishtha unnecessarily cursed him. When one is infected by contaminated activities, his power, material or spiritual, reduces. Although Vasishtha was the spiritual master of MaharajaNimi, because of his greed he became fallen.

SB 09.13.04-5 Vasistha Vs Vishvamitra 2010-07-12

HH Prahladananda Swami speaking at the conclusion of the reading of the entire Bhagavad Gita during Gita Jayanti.  He speaks on the Meaning of the Gita.

Dallas, TX
2010-12-16

Gita Jayanti 2010-12-16

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 1, Text 23 titled “Entrances and Exits”.

Dallas, TX
2010-12-16

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.23

vasudeva-grihe sakshad

bhagavan purushah parah

janishyate tat-priyartham

sambhavantu sura-striyah

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, who has full potency, will personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Therefore all the wives of the demigods should also appear in order to satisfy Him.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (4.9) the Lord says, tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti: [Bg. 4.9] after giving up the material body, the devotee of the Lord returns home, back to Godhead. This means that the devotee is first transferred to the particular universe where the Lord is at that time staying to exhibit His pastimes. There are innumerable universes, and the Lord is appearing in one of these universes at every moment. Therefore His pastimes are called nitya-lila, eternal pastimes. The Lord’s appearance as a child in the house of Devaki takes place continuously in one universe after another. Therefore, the devotee is first transferred to that particular universe where the pastimes of the Lord are current. As stated in Bhagavad-gita, even if a devotee does not complete the course of devotional service, he enjoys the happiness of the heavenly planets, where the most pious people dwell, and then takes birth in the house of a suci or sriman, a pious brahmana or a wealthy vaisya (sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrashto ‘bhijayate). Thus a pure devotee, even if unable to execute devotional service completely, is transferred to the upper planetary system, where pious people reside. From there, if his devotional service is complete, such a devotee is transferred to the place where the Lord’s pastimes are going on. Herein it is said, sambhavantu sura-striyah. Sura-stri, the women of the heavenly planets, were thus ordered to appear in the Yadu dynasty in Vrindavana to enrich the pastimes of Lord Krishna. These sura-stri, when further trained to live with Krishna, would be transferred to the original Goloka Vrindavana. During Lord Krishna‘s pastimes within this world, the sura-stri were to appear in different ways in different families to give pleasure to the Lord, just so that they would be fully trained before going to the eternal Goloka Vrindavana. With the association of Lord Krishna, either at Dvaraka-puri, Mathura-puri or Vrindavana, they would certainly return home, back to Godhead. Among the sura-stri, the women of the heavenly planets, there are many devotees, such as the mother of the Upendra incarnation of Krishna. It was such devoted women who were called for in this connection.

SB 10.01.23 Entrances And Exits 2010-12-16

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.26

Dear King Dhruva, neither your forefathers nor anyone else before you ever achieved such a transcendental planet. The planet known as Vishnuloka, where Lord Vishnu personally resides, is the highest of all. It is worshipable by the inhabitants of all other planets within the universe. Please come with us and live there eternally.

PURPORT

When Dhruva Maharaja went to perform austerities, he was very determined to achieve a post never dreamed of by his forefathers. His father was Uttanapada, his grandfather was Manu, and his great-grandfather was Lord Brahma. So Dhruva wanted a kingdom even greater than Lord Brahma could achieve, and he requested Narada Muni to give him facility for achieving it. The associates of Lord Vishnu reminded him that not only his forefathers but everyone else before him was unable to attain Vishnuloka, the planet where Lord Vishnu resides. This is because everyone within this material world is either akarmi, a jnani or a yogi, but there are hardly any pure devotees. The transcendental planet known as Vishnuloka is especially meant for devotees, not for karmis, jnanis or yogis. Great rishis or demigods can hardly approach Brahmaloka, and as stated in Bhagavad-gita, Brahmaloka is not a permanent residence. Lord Brahma‘s duration of life is so long that it is difficult to estimate even the duration of one day in his life, and yet Lord Brahma also dies, as do the residents of his planet. Bhagavad-gita (8.16) says, abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ‘rjuna: except for those who go to Vishnuloka, everyone is subjected to the four principles of material life, namely birth, death, old age and disease. The Lord says, yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama: “The planet from which, once going, no one returns, is My supreme abode.” (Bg. 15.6) Dhruva Maharaja was reminded, “You are going in our company to that planet from which no one returns to this material world.” Material scientists are attempting to go to the moon and other planets, but they cannot imagine going to the topmost planet, Brahmaloka, for it is beyond their imagination. By material calculation, traveling at the speed of light it would take forty thousand light-years to reach the topmost planet. By mechanical processes we are unable to reach the topmost planet of this universe, but the process called bhakti-yoga, as executed byMaharaja Dhruva, can give one the facility not only to reach other planets within this universe, but also to reach beyond this universe to the Vishnuloka planets. We have outlined this in our small booklet Easy Journey to Other Planets.

Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.27

etad vimana-pravaram

uttamasloka-maulina

upasthapitam ayushmann

adhirodhum tvam arhasi

TRANSLATION

O immortal one, this unique airplane has been sent by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is worshiped by selected prayers and who is the chief of all living entities. You are quite worthy to board such a plane.

PURPORT

According to astronomical calculation, along with the polestar there is another star, which is called Sisumara, where Lord Vishnu, who is in charge of the maintenance of this material world, resides. Sisumara or Dhruvaloka can never be reached by anyone but the Vaishnavas, as will be described by the following slokas. The associates of Lord Vishnu brought the special airplane for Dhruva Maharaja and then informed him that Lord Vishnu had especially sent this airplane.

The Vaikuntha airplane does not move by mechanical arrangement. There are three processes for moving in outer space. One of the processes is known to the modern scientist. It is called ka-pota-vayu. Ka means “outer space,” and pota means “ship.” There is a second process also called kapota-vayu. Kapota means “pigeon.” One can train pigeons to carry one into outer space. The third process is very subtle. It is called akasa-patana. This akasa-patana system is also material. Just as the mind can fly anywhere one likes without mechanical arrangement, so the akasa-patana airplane can fly at the speed of mind. Beyond this akasa-patanasystem is the Vaikuntha process, which is completely spiritual. The airplane sent by Lord Vishnu to carry Dhruva Maharaja to Sisumara was a completely spiritual, transcendental airplane. Material scientists can neither see such vehicles nor imagine how they fly in the air. The material scientist has no information about the spiritual sky, although it is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita (paras tasmat tu bhavo ‘nyah [Bg. 8.20]).

HH Prahladananda Swami: We are in the forth canto right now and already it is way beyond my realization, practically speaking. Srila Prabhupada says, “Beyond even my imagination.” One time I was in Dallas, Texas and Srila Prabhupada came there. I had the good fortune of carrying the umbrella over his head while he was walking. Lord Krishna’s arrangement.

Then Srila Prabhupada gave a press interview. The reporters were asking Srila Prabhupada, “How did you come?” He explained there are different ways of travelling. Just like it is mentioned in this verse. He mentioned by travelling by airplane and travelling by pigeon. He said that you take a number of pigeons and you harness them together then they will enable you to fly into space. Then the reporters asked Srila Prabhupada, “So how did you come?” Srila Prabhupada said, “I came by airplane just to be one with you.”

In these two verses there are many things that are inconceivable to us and if we don’t recognize that they are inconceivable to us we won’t really examine them very carefully. In the Bhagavatam there are so many things that are beyond our conception, beyond our experience, but the Bhagavatam is not meant to bewilder us into thinking or dividing our faith into that which we can experience and that which seems we may never be able to experience in this body or we may be able to experience at some future time by the mercy of guru and Krishna. But one of the amazing things about Srila Prabhupada’s purports is that he tries to focus and emphasize what is actually essential. What is actually essential is that we understand ultimately as Krishna says,

yo mam evam asammudho, janati purusottamam sa sarva-vid bhajati mam, sarva-bhavena bharata [Bg 15.19]

“Anyone who knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is said to be the knower of everything and therefore engages himself in full devotional service.

iti guhyatamam sastram, idam uktam mayanagha etad buddhva buddhiman syat, krta-krtyas ca bharata [Bg 15.20]

This is the most confidential part of all the Vedic scriptures. Whoever knows this will become wise and his endeavors will know all perfection.

So whether there are vimanas flying in outer space, whether there are Vaikuntha airplanes transporting self realized souls back to Vaikuntha, these are not the most important things for us right now. What is important is that we understand theoretically and practically how to chant Hare Krishna, how to perform devotional service in such a way that we actually become conscious of Krishna.

Therefore harinam sankirtana, worshipping the deities, serving the devotees, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, living in a holy place or creating a holy place by our preaching, by our devotional service, these five very powerful activities are what’s recommended. And if we learn how to perform them in the proper mood and attitude then the result is that we will become conscious of Krishna.

So although these pastimes of Dhruva Maharaja is certainly very enlivening to hear, the essential part of it is his determination, at least the essential part of it for us is his great determination to perform the process of devotional service given to him by his spiritual master Srila Narada Muni. And because he executed the process give to him by his spiritual master with so much determination Lord Visnu appeared within his heart and ultimately appeared outside and blessed him with full knowledge and cognizance of Him and pure devotional service.

Our founder acarya His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada has also given us instructions. He has also given us a systematic process to realize those instructions. Part of that is how we will come to accept that not only Brahmaloka or in Dhruvaloka, in Jambudvip or wherever that there is a Krishna and Krishna is the owner of everything. If we somehow or another can meditate on that and as a result of that do something practical in Krishna’s service especially by trying to as Srila Prabhupada once wrote to me. He said in Buffalo while New York in just two weeks I have heard that they have distributed 3000 ‘Back To Godheads’ In Buffalo you are also distributing ‘Back to Godheads’ very nicely. So please continue in this way and you success in life is assured. As Krishna sees that if you are trying to help Lord Krishna’s other children back to the spiritual kingdom then He will bestow all His blessings upon you. Krishna is never ungrateful of our efforts to serve Him rest assured.

In other words there are so many conditioned souls starting with myself and every one of them has an eternal relation with Krishna. Now that relationship has been forgotten by the soul because the soul is in the illusion and in the misconception that he is the body. And that conception is born out of the desire to control material nature and try to enjoy it, forgetting that actually Krishna is controlling everything. All we can do is desire and if we desire in the right way we can go back to the spiritual world. We can begin the journey and eventually make progress step by step to the spiritual world.

If we are in the wrong association we will become caught up with Kali yuga and step by step we will be degraded to the lower species of life, all simply due to what we are desiring. In the association of devotees simply by hearing that there is a Krishna and hearing that if we chant His holy name, call out to Him with some devotion hoping that we can enter into the atmosphere of spiritual love and devotion, calling out to Srimati Radharani to engage us in Krishna’s service and simultaneously with that we take seriously Lord Krishna’s service in this age, to perform our saddhana, calling out to Srimati Radharani and Krishna and at the same time meditating how to use our energies beginning with our body, our minds, our words or whatever we have in our possession in the service of Krishna. In the service of meditating carefully, “Now I am in the situation. What can I do to serve Krishna? What can I do to become an instrument for Krishna that will help this jiva soul in front of me become a better servant of Krishna, awakening his relation with Krishna?

As one devotee Govinda dasi was saying Prabhupada called her over and pointed out a little slug. Everyone know what a slug is? It is a tiny insect that is very slow moving. Prabhupada pointed it out and said, “Look at this poor slug. Chant to him. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Of course this I am not recommending or saying that Prabhupada’s mission was to chant to slugs but Prabhupada was demonstration what to speak of the slugs, we have so much opportunities twenty four hours a day practically speaking of meditating on this idea that before me is not my husband, is not my wife, is not my children, is not my god brother, god sister or god nephew. This is the eternal servant of Krishna. Of course these things we cannot forget. How to serve Krishna has to be done appropriately but we should not forget when we see the difference, when we discriminate between men and women, black, white, Russian, American or whatever.

Whatever our discrimination may be if we forget that actually these designations are simply external, temporary not completely unimportant but simply temporary and the real essence is the soul within the body and with the soul is the Supersoul directing him to understand what the Supersoul wants us to do within our present capacity, to serve the soul before us or souls before us to help them revive their relationship with Krishna, to help them awaken their consciousness of Krishna. It is not that by our hearing philosophy that we are not this body then suddenly we become not the body and the rest of the day we are the body. Or as explained about the Supersoul how He sanctions our desire just like when we understand the smell of a flower by being near it and then Krishna understanding what our desires are and what we deserve manifesting the entire universe to fulfill the desires according to the merits of the individual living entities.

How wonderfully amazing the Supersoul is, the expansion of Krishna, how He can perfectly create a universe and maintain it moment to moment with perfect justice, perfect execution of plan either directly give the living entities an opportunity to become more conscious of Krishna or help them remain forgetful of Krishna suffer in separation from Krishna. The intelligent realize their suffering is due to their separation from Krishna.

Here in these verses Prabhupada is explaining very important things. The whole universe is temporary. Not only is the universe temporary but every moment in our existence here is changing. Someone may give a wonderful class. Someone may give a horrible class. We may chant our rounds. We may not chant our rounds but the fact is moment to moment to moment to moment our lives are changing and as it is changing material energy we have to catch hold of the lotus feet of the guru who comes in parampara that can actually give us the intelligence, the instructions by which we contact the Supersoul and remember very simple things, remember that Krishna is the proprietor of everything, that everything here is meant for Krishna’s pleasure and that pleasure is the seed that other living entities are coming back to the spiritual world.

There may be progress. There may be some entities on a very elevated platform such as the devotees in our society. Some may endeavor to chant their rounds better, to rise early in the morning, serve the devotees with more sensitivity, more cognizance of their actual needs both spiritual and material. And others may be completely in the mode of ignorance all the way down to that little slug and to that we may just have to chant Hare Krishna and give them a Tulasi leaf or a little bit of prasadam to eat. In any case with that meditation then we become nimitta-matram bhava savya-sacin [Bg
11.33]

After showing the whole universe, all the horrors of the universal form and not all the horrors of the universal form but most of them Arjuna was amazed. “What is this universe? You appear to be such a nice friend of mine and then suddenly Your mood has changed. Now You are displaying this universal form but it is a side of You I have never even dreamed could be. So what is Your mission/ Why have You come here? You are manifesting from Your mouth so much fire is coming. Your eyes are glowing in anger or rage, Your scents, so many different types of perfume, unlimited forms. This universe is everywhere. What is this all about?” Then Krishna says,

sri-bhagavan uvaca kalo ’smi loka-ksaya-krt pravrddho, lokan samahartum iha pravrttah rte ‘pi tvam na bhavisyanti sarve, ye ‘vasthitah pratyanikesu yodhah [Bg
11.32]

“Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to engage everyone.” That means ourselves also. “Except for you, the five Pandavas everyone here is going to be slain.” Not very good news! So it wasn’t some five thousand years ago some unfortunate soldiers on the battlefield of Kuruksetra were going to be killed but we are all devotees in Mayapur therefore our bodies are going to last forever. No. We have some bad news for you and we have some good news. The bad news is we are all going to die and the good news is that although the body is going to die the soul is going to live forever. And the souls can live forever in Krishna consciousness. And what is the formula?

tasmat tvam uttistha yaso labhasva, jitva satrun bhunksva rajyam samrddham mayaivaite nihatah purvam eva, nimitta-matram bhava savya-sacin [Bg 11.33]

“Just get up, (not right now,) but just get up and prepare to fight.” You have to wait to find out what kind of fight. “Just get up and fight and as you conquer your enemies enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They have been put to death by My arrangement and you are savya-sacin, can be an instrument in the fight.” Or in Srila Prabhupada’s words as he was mebntioning when he was on the Jaladutta. “I am coming to this western world. People are very much covered by the modes of ignorance and passion. They have created a world where everyone is imagining they are going to be happy in this world forever but actually they are just suffering. So please make my words so potent that they can enter the hearts of these conditioned souls and enlighten them and enliven them in the realm of Krishna consciousness. Actually who am I? I am simply a humble beggar. I really have no devotion. I really have no qualification to do this. I am simply coming as a servant of my spiritual master. So please make me a puppet in your hands. Let me dance, let me dance, let me dance.”

So we have to watch our progress, watch our perception. Am I am instrument right now in the hands of Srila Prabhupada and his representatives? Am I actually dancing as his instrument? Are my words actually penetrating even my own heart and enlivening and enlightening me in devotional service. Am I actually working to deliver Krishna’s other children back to the spiritual kingdom. And by doing so am I realizing that I am actually Krishna’s servant and nothing else other than that? Are my false perceptions of my own identity, my false conceptions to other identities, are they going away or am I re-enforcing my false ego? Am I feeling within my heart some appreciation for the devotees? Am I feeling some devotion towards Krishna and His pure devotees? Am I appreciating my position as a servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna? Am I seeing the innocent and realizing that I must somehow or the other help them as Krishna’s representative, make some progress? Am I avoiding those situations and those personalities in whose association I forget Krishna and become entangled and bewildered by my false ego and become influenced by other conceptions other than pure devotional service?

This takes intelligence. This is what we have to keep in mind not only for a few moments during the day but,

cetasa sarva-karmani, mayi sannyasya mat-parah buddhi-yogam upasritya, mac-cittah satatam bhava [Bg 18.57]

“In all activities depend upon Me.” Lord Krishna said. “Work always under my protection. In such devotional service try to be fully conscious of Me.” So far I can’t claim that throughout the day I am twenty four hours conscious of Krishna. If I could become conscious of Krishna even for a small amount during the day then I consider that day to be so much successful.

It is not that maya is just some ordinary personality. She is as powerful as Krishna but by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and his representatives we can understand our helpless position, how much we have to depend upon guru and Krishna, how much we have to depend upon the instructions coming from Krishna in disciplic succession then from that moment our lives become better, becomes closer to Krishna.

If somehow or the other we become a little bewildered into thinking that, “Now I am safe, now I have made a little advancement I can relax, now is the time to have a little fun.” How much difficulty we can cause in our own life and in the lives of others! Maya is not some little insignificant personality. She is empowered.

daivi hy esa guna-mayi, mama maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyante, mayam etam taranti te

“This divine energy of mine is very difficult to overcome but those who take shelter of Me can easily cross beyond it.” [Bg 7.14]

During the day if we do not take shelter of Lord Krishna sufficiently and if there is some mistake certainly we should lament but after properly lamenting then we have to realize that this was an opportunity to humble us so we can realize how helpless we are without Krishna, how much we have to read these books, assimilate Srila Prabhupada’s philosophy, the philosophy coming from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that Srila Prabhupada has given us, how much we have to take shelter of the devotees within the society, how much we have to pray to the deities, the Supersoul, how we have to take shelter of Krishna in every conceivable way possible so that whatever causes us to stray can be eliminated from our heart and will not be repeated again. It is not possible to understand the depth of our conditioning all at once but when Lord Krishna reveals something to us at least that we have to take seriously.

Pariksit Maharaj, such a great personality that Lord Krishna appeared within the womb that he was inhabiting and saved him. How great this personality is beyond my conception but still Lord Krishna arranged that somehow or the other he put a garland of a dead snake over the head of Samika Rsi. From one point of view Prabhupada said this garlanding of Samika Rsi by Pariksit Maharaj, it is not a very important thing. He was thirsty after all. He was travelling for a long distance. He was very hungry. He entered this hermitage. As he came he expected that the rsi would at least properly greet him. He became momentarily a little disturbed and put the garland of a snake over his head.

The news spread to Srngi that his father was insulted by Pariksit Maharaj and therefore he became very angry, completely out of proportion of the reality of the situation – at least from Prabhupada’s point of view in the Bhagavatam and he cursed Pariksit Maharaj to die within seven days.

Samika Rsi when he learnt about this he . he was even to embarrassed to approach Pariksit Maharaj with the news. Pariksit Maharaj thought that “I have done wrong” even after he had gone and put the snake around Samika Rsis neck. He thought, “I have done wrong. Please Lord Krishna if there is some reaction let the reaction come upon my head so that I won’t commit this mistake again and please not that my relatives will have to suffer for this mistake I have made.

News came to him that due to this offense he was to die within seven days. Prabhupada said he didn’t try to counteract the curse. He did not try to go and beg from Srngi or Samika Rsi. He accepted the curse – whatever Krishna wants there must be some plan behind this and again he took the opportunity to go to the Ganges and hear from Sukadev Goswami for seven days the Srimad-Bhagavatam and in this way benedicting the entire universe.

Therefore sometimes it is not possible to understand how Krishna works. All we can do is smile a little bit or cry a little bit sometimes but ultimately we have to appreciate that Krishna is a wonderful personality and that whatever He arranges is ultimately for our purification. Therefore,

tat te ‘nukampam su-samiksamano, bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam [SB 10.14.8]

If we can see that and at the same time use our intelligence o enter deeper into Krishna consciousness and in this way make our life more and more perfect. We may commit mistakes. We should repent for them and at the same time we should try to learn from them so we don’t commit them again and whatever reaction Krishna wants for us, not that we don’t use our Krishna conscious intelligence to become a better servant of Krishna even at that moment but ultimately we leave things in the hands of Krishna. In that way we won’t make that mistake again. That is our main mistake. We don’t think carefully enough what Krishna wants us to do under these circumstances. We are not absorbed intensely in that desire to become a better servant as Srila Prabhupada was, as Srimati Radharani is.

One time in Boston Srila Prabhupada came. This was in 1969 and the devotees greeted him at the airport. He came to the temple. They had just recently purchased the temple on Beacon Street. His servant came, at that time it was Purushottama and he said Prabhupada when he came and was trying to take rest he sat on the edge of his bed and he very gracefully fell onto the bed and rolled over and said, “I pray to my spiritual master and Krishna every night to please protect me from maya.

So this is the platform that we have to come to just to make progress. And the more we get sincerely into that mood of taking shelter of Krishna then we gradually come from sraddha to sadhu sanga, bhajanakriya and we make progress, progress, progress. Devotional service becomes more enlivening and enlivening.

Soon as we forget that, as soon as we try to take a little credit for our own selves, as soon as we forget that it is a team effort, as soon as we forget the mercy we are receiving from Krishna and his representatives, as soon as we want to take a little independent credit then so much problems can come about for ourselves and others. And even if we sincerely try and there is some problem we have to understand that sometimes as in the case of Pariksit Maharaj who was a completely pure devotee, sometimes Krishna arranges things just for our own purification. What to speak of Pariksit Maharaj, the purification of the entire universe.

Within our individual hearts we should always feel that, “I am nothing but the insignificant servant of Krishna’s servant and if there is some mistake as Srila Prabhupada said,

duhkhesv anudvigna-manah, sukhesu vigata-sprhah vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah, sthita-dhir munir ucyate

“One who is not disturbed by the three fold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness and is free from attachment, fear and anger is known to be a sage of steady intelligence.” [Bg 2.56]

So when we get some difficult situation we should understand that this is due to our past activities and that instead of giving us the electric chair Krishna is simply giving us a little pinprick. If everything is going very nicely in our lives we should understand that Krishna is simply giving us the opportunity To serve Him better, to spread the sankirtana movement and become a better instrument to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His transcendental servants hands.

Thank you for you kind attention. Any questions or comments?

Prabhu: You stated quite rightly so that we know if we make some mistake or some fault in our devotional service we should be thoughtful, we should pray that Krishna will help us remove it. What if we pray and it doesn’t go away?

HH Prahladananda Swami: I think I mentioned that also but maybe not so clearly. Thank you. If it doesn’t go away we keep on praying for the intelligence and we hope. Sometimes Krishna maybe trying to tell us something or trying to tell other people something. We may even get the message. We may be just an instrument in Krishna’s hands and we have to accept that. What can we do?

We look for instance at the pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. There are many devotes, there is Krishnadasa. He fell a victim to . Caitanya Mahaprabhu took him by his hair, dragged him, saved him and then rejected him. Krishnadasa is one of the eternal associates of Lord Caitanya. So Lord Caitanya’s arrangement that this particular pastime is for our own education
- not that Krishnadasa ultimately became purified but we have to become purified.

So it is not so easy sometimes to understand Krishna’s plan. In any case we should pray to Krishna and make sure we are doing the right thing and if Krishna continues on in the particular reaction or whatever it is then we don’t become disappointed that Krishna hasn’t helped us. We keep on praying and praying, “Yes Krishna. This is Your will. I must accept it but please make me a better servant.” And ultimately Krishna will reveal everything.

Ekalavya Prabhu: Hare Krishna Maharaj. Maharaj I have some doubts that I am hoping that you can clear up.

HH Prahladananda Swami: Just let me add one more thing. While that pastime is going on we should be very careful not to unnecessarily criticize the Vaisnavas. If we start to see a Vaisnava in a difficult situation we should understand that he is actually getting the mercy of his guru and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and with should be compassionate to him and try to assist him in his service – not think that he is simply getting a reaction. He deserves it. If we start thinking like that we may find ourselves in a very similar situation very shortly.

Ekalavya Prabhu: Maharaj I have some doubts. I can accept most things about devotional service and Bhagavatam that by chanting and hearing and remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead we can advance. I accept that. Sometimes I have some doubts. Like today we hear about the pigeons flying in outer space. If you go to the Himalayas you see there is less oxygen there. People have trouble breathing and we hear that in outer space there is no air at all so how can the pigeons breathe and how can they flap their wings. So I have some doubts. What is my status/ Am I okay or what’s going on?

HH Prahladananda Swami: You are okay. [Laughter] I know nothing about pigeons. [Laughter] but the Bhagavatam if it says this is true I accept it but I have no realization. So when I see pigeons I don’t expect them to fly into outer space. If there are pigeons that can do that, personally I have to chant my rounds. I have no interest in finding any pigeon that can fly in outer space. I just hope that I have enough money to pay for my ticket by airplane. We have to end now but these things are not very important for our devotional service. We can chant Hare Krishna happily, devotionally we will become Krishna conscious and many more important things will be revealed to us and maybe that will be revealed to us also. I can’t really say. Thank you very much! Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam Ki! Jai. Srila Prabhupada Ki! Jai. Gaura-premanande! Hari-haribol! [Applause]

SB 04.12.26-27 What Can I Do To Serve Krishna & Jivas 2011-03-04

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17, Texts 17-19 titled “The Top Then Brahmas”.

Dallas, TX
2010-12-15

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 17.17

sraddhaya paraya taptam

tapas tat tri-vidham naraih

aphalakankshibhir yuktaih

sattvikam paricakshate

TRANSLATION

This threefold austerity, performed with transcendental faith by men not expecting material benefits but engaged only for the sake of the Supreme, is called austerity in goodness.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 17.18

satkara-mana-pujartham

tapo dambhena caiva yat

kriyate tad iha proktam

rajasam calam adhruvam

TRANSLATION

Penance performed out of pride and for the sake of gaining respect, honor and worship is said to be in the mode of passion. It is neither stable nor permanent.

PURPORT

Sometimes penance and austerity are executed to attract people and receive honor, respect and worship from others. Persons in the mode of passion arrange to be worshiped by subordinates and let them wash their feet and offer riches. Such arrangements artificially made by the performance of penances are considered to be in the mode of passion. The results are temporary; they can be continued for some time, but they are not permanent.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 17.19

mudha-grahenatmano yat

pidaya kriyate tapah

parasyotsadanartham va

tat tamasam udahritam

TRANSLATION

Penance performed out of foolishness, with self-torture or to destroy or injure others, is said to be in the mode of ignorance.

PURPORT

There are instances of foolish penance undertaken by demons like Hiranyakasipu, who performed austere penances to become immortal and kill the demigods. He prayed to Brahma for such things, but ultimately he was killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To undergo penances for something which is impossible is certainly in the mode of ignorance.

BG 17.17-19 The Top Ten Brahmas 2010-12-15

Dallas, TX
2010-07-14

Srimad Bhagavatam 9.13.7

gandha-vastushu tad-deham

nidhaya muni-sattamah

samapte satra-yage ca

devan ucuh samagatan

TRANSLATION

During the performance of the yajna, the body relinquished by Maharaja Nimi was preserved in fragrant substances, and at the end of the Satra-yaga the great saints and brahmanas made the following request to all the demigods assembled there.

Srimad Bhagavatam 9.13.8

rajno jivatu deho ‘yam

prasannah prabhavo yadi

tathety ukte nimih praha

ma bhun me deha-bandhanam

TRANSLATION

“If you are satisfied with this sacrifice and if you are actually able to do so, kindly bring Maharaja Nimi back to life in this body.” The demigods said yes to this request by the sages, but Maharaja Nimi said, “Please do not imprison me again in a material body.”

PURPORT

The demigods are in a position many times higher than that of human beings. Therefore, although the great saints and sages were also powerful brahmanas, they requested the demigods to revive Maharaja Nimi‘s body, which had been preserved in various perfumed balms. One should not think that the demigods are powerful only in enjoying the senses; they are also powerful in such deeds as bringing life back to a dead body. There are many similar instances in the Vedic literature. For example, according to the history of Savitri and Satyavan, Satyavan died and was being taken away by Yamaraja, but on the request of his wife,Savitri, Satyavan was revived in the same body. This is an important fact about the power of the demigods.

Srimad Bhagavatam 9.13.9

yasya yogam na vanchanti

viyoga-bhaya-katarah

bhajanti caranambhojam

munayo hari-medhasah

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Nimi continued: Mayavadis generally want freedom from accepting a material body because they fear having to give it up again. But devotees whose intelligence is always filled with the service of the Lord are unafraid. Indeed, they take advantage of the body to render transcendental loving service.

PURPORT

Maharaja Nimi did not want to accept a material body, which would be a cause of bondage; because he was a devotee, he wanted a body by which he could render devotional service to the Lord. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura sings:

janmaobi more iccha yadi tora

bhakta-grihe jani janma ha-u mora

kita-janma ha-u yatha tuya dasa

“My Lord, if You want me to take birth and accept a material body again, kindly do me this favor: allow me to take birth in the home of Your servant, Your devotee. I do not mind being born there even as an insignificant creature like an insect.” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also said:

na dhanam na janam na sundarim

kavitam va jagadisa kamaye

mama janmani janmanisvare

bhavatad bhaktir ahaitukyi tvayi

“O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service to You.” (Sikshashtaka 4) By saying “life after life” (janmani janmani), the Lord referred not to an ordinary birth but a birth in which to remember the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a body is desirable. A devotee does not think like yogis and jnanis, who want to refuse a material body and become one with the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee does not like this idea. On the contrary, he will accept any body, material or spiritual, for he wants to serve the Lord. This is real liberation.

If one has a strong desire to serve the Lord, even if he accepts a material body, there is no cause of anxiety, since a devotee, even in a material body, is a liberated soul. This is confirmed by Srila Rupa Gosvami:

iha yasya harer dasye

karmana manasa gira

nikhilasv apy avasthasu

jivan-muktah sa ucyate

“A person acting in Krishna consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Krishna) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.” The desire to serve the Lord establishes one as liberated in any condition of life, whether in a spiritual body or a material body. In a spiritual body the devotee becomes a direct associate of the Lord, but even though a devotee may superficially appear to be in a material body, he is always liberated and is engaged in the same duties of service to the Lord as a devotee in Vaikunthaloka. There is no distinction. It is said, sadhur jivo va maro va. Whether a devotee is alive or dead, his only concern is to serve the Lord. Tyaktvadeham punar janma naiti mam eti [Bg. 4.9]. When he gives up his body, he goes directly to become an associate of the Lord and serve Him, although he does the same thing even in a material body in the material world.

For a devotee there is no pain, pleasure or material perfection. One may argue that at the time of death a devotee also suffers because of giving up his material body. But in this connection the example may be given that a cat carries a mouse in its mouth and also carries a kitten in its mouth. Both the mouse and the kitten are carried in the same mouth, but the perception of the mouse is different from that of the kitten. When a devotee gives up his body (tyaktvadeham), he is ready to go back home, back to Godhead. Thus his perception is certainly different from that of a person being taken away by Yamaraja for punishment. A person whose intelligence is always concentrated upon the service of the Lord is unafraid of accepting a material body, whereas a nondevotee, having no engagement in the service of the Lord, is very much afraid of accepting a material body or giving up his present one. Therefore, we should follow the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu: mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi. It doesn’t matter whether we accept a material body or a spiritual body; our only ambition should be to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 09.13.07-9 Maya, An Equal Opportunity Employer 2010-07-14

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 1, Text 22 titled “Unclean and Lying”.

Dallas, TX
2010-12-15

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.22

puraiva pumsavadhrito dhara-jvaro

bhavadbhir amsair yadushupajanyatam

sa yavad urvya bharam isvaresvarah

sva-kala-saktya kshapayams cared bhuvi

TRANSLATION

Lord Brahma informed the demigods: Before we submitted our petition to the Lord, He was already aware of the distress on earth. Consequently, for as long as the Lord moves on earth to diminish its burden by His own potency in the form of time, all of you demigods should appear through plenary portions as sons and grandsons in the family of the Yadus.

PURPORT

As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39):

ramadi-murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan

nanavataram akarod bhuvaneshu kintu

krishnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo

govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who is always situated in various incarnations such as Rama, Nrisimha and many sub-incarnations as well, but who is the original personality of Godhead, known as Krishna, and who incarnates personally also.”

In this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam we find the words puraiva pumsavadhrito dhara jvarah. The word pumsa refers to Krishna, who was already aware of how the whole world was suffering because of the increase of demons. Without reference to the supreme power of the Personality of Godhead, demons assert themselves to be independent kings and presidents, and thus they create a disturbance by increasing their military power. When such disturbances are very prominent, Krishna appears. At present also, various demoniac states all over the world are increasing their military power in many ways, and the whole situation has become distressful. Therefore Krishna has appeared by His name, in the Hare Krishna movement, which will certainly diminish the burden of the world. Philosophers, religionists, and people in general must take to this movement very seriously, for man-made plans and devices will not help bring peace on earth. The transcendental sound Hare Krishna is not different from the person Krishna.

nama cintamanih krishnas

caitanya-rasa-vigrahah

purnah suddho nitya-mukto

‘bhinnatvan nama-naminoh

(Padma Purana)

There is no difference between the sound Hare Krishna and Krishna the person.

SB 10.01.22 Unclean & Lying 2010-12-15