KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:21 (02/10/21)
- When a great devotee of the Lord passes away, there is nothing to be lamented because the devotee is destined to enter into the kingdom of God.
- We need to respect the great devotee by witnessing the transcendental activities of the pure devotee right before they leave the world.
- As the Lord is rarely to be seen by our present eyes, so also are the great devotees
- Prahlad Maharaj says he is afraid of the material conditions
- Prahlad Maharaj says place me in touch with Your pure devotee and let me serve him as a sincere servant
- Creation of friends and enemies is a result of one’s bodily conception of life
- A thoughtful man must, learn to distinguish right from wrong, and thus attain the goal of life.
- For those who took shelter of Murari, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print.
- Pa Varga – 5 different stages of suffering
- APa Varga – Liberation
- If one does not utilize his human life for svarga or apavarga, he falls again to the degraded life of animals like dogs and hogs.
- Modern civilization is unaware of the laws of nature.
SB 1.19.21 TRANSLATION:
We shall all wait here until the foremost devotee of the Lord, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, returns to the supreme planet, which is completely free from all mundane contamination and all kinds of lamentation.
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 1.19.21) AS THE LORD IS RARELY TO BE SEEN BY OUR PRESENT EYES, SO ALSO ARE THE GREAT DEVOTEES
When a great devotee of the Lord passes away, there is nothing to be lamented because the devotee is destined to enter into the kingdom of God. But the sorry plight is that such great devotees leave our sight, and therefore there is every reason to be sorry. As the Lord is rarely to be seen by our present eyes, so also are the great devotees. The great ṛṣis, therefore, correctly decided to remain on the spot till the last moment.
Material life is summarized very nicely in SB as –
- Miserable
- Few moments of happiness are illusory because they are not eternal
- Eating sleeping mating and defending (fear)
- Birth, death, old age, disease.
- Adi Daivika, Adi Bhautika, Adyatmika
- Life of running after happiness outside the self where the happiness is within
- Pa varga – working hard, foaming, disappointment, fear, death
- Everyone is born crying
- Moment of death pretty much everyone is miserable
(SB 7.10.2) PRAHLAD MAHARAJ SAYS HE IS AFRAID OF THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS
Prahlāda Mahārāja said: My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead because I was born in an atheistic family I am naturally attached to material enjoyment. Therefore, kindly do not tempt me with these illusions. I am very much afraid of material conditions, and I desire to be liberated from materialistic life. It is for this reason that I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet.
(SB 7.9.24) PRAHLAD MAHARAJ SAYS PLACE ME IN TOUCH WITH YOUR PURE DEVOTEE AND LET ME SERVE HIM AS A SINCERE SERVANT
My dear Lord, now I have complete experience concerning the worldly opulence, mystic power, longevity and other material pleasures enjoyed by all living entities, from Lord Brahmā down to the ant. As powerful time, You destroy them all. Therefore, because of my experience, I do not wish to possess them. My dear Lord, I request You to place me in touch with Your pure devotee and let me serve him as a sincere servant.
(SB 7.1.24) CREATION OF FRIENDS AND ENEMIES IS A RESULT OF ONE’S BODILY CONCEPTION OF LIFE
Only when a conditioned soul accepts the body as himself does he feel the effects of chastisement or praise. Then he determines one person to be his enemy and another his friend and wants to chastise the enemy and welcome the friend. This creation of friends and enemies is a result of one’s bodily conception of life.
(SB 7.5.23 & 24)
Satyanarana puja even though it is an offering for Lord Vishnu, they say MAMA at the beginning, so the result of this sacrifice comes to the person who is performing the puja.
(SB 7.6.5) A THOUGHTFUL MAN MUST, LEARN TO DISTINGUISH RIGHT FROM WRONG, AND THUS ATTAIN THE GOAL OF LIFE.
The highest goal of life can be achieved as long as one’s body is stout and strong. We should therefore live in such a way that we keep ourselves always healthy and strong in mind and intelligence so that we can distinguish the goal of life from a life full of problems. A thoughtful man must act in this way, learning to distinguish right from wrong, and thus attain the goal of life.
Kids should be taught from very early what is right and what is wrong.
(SB 10.14.58) FOR THOSE WHO TOOK SHELTER OF MURARI, THE OCEAN OF THE MATERIAL WORLD IS LIKE THE WATER CONTAINED IN A CALF’S HOOF-PRINT.
For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf’s hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṇṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.
(SB 7.13.25) PAVARGA
Material life is called pavarga because here we are subject to five different states of suffering, represented by the letters pa, pha, ba, bha and ma.
Pa – very hard labor.
Pha – or foam from the mouth.
Ba – disappointment.
Bha – fear
ma – death.
(SB 7.13.25) APAVARGA OR LIBERATION
If one uses this human form of life properly, he can elevate himself to the higher planetary systems, where material happiness is many thousands of times better than on this planet, or one may cultivate knowledge by which to become free from the evolutionary process and be reinstated in one’s original spiritual life. This is called apavarga, or liberation. If one does not utilize his human life for svarga or apavarga, he falls again to the degraded life of animals like dogs and hogs.
(SB 7.13.25) (BG 13.22) MODERN CIVILIZATION IS UNAWARE OF THE LAWS OF NATURE.
According to one’s association with the material qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance in this life, in one’s next life one receives an appropriate body. Modern civilization does not know that because of varied association in material nature, the living entity, although eternal, is placed in different diseased conditions known as the many species of life. Modern civilization is unaware of the laws of nature.
Verses quoted –
18.55
Mamcayo avyabhucharena
No socati nakankshati
Sama sarevsu bhutesu
Iha yasye harer dasye
Mind, body intelligence – jivan mukta
Prakriti kriyamanani –
(SB 7.13.25)(BG. 3.27) EVERY LIVING ENTITY IS UNDER THE FULL CONTROL OF THE STRINGENT LAWS OF MATERIAL NATURE. BY SURRENDERING UNTO THE SUPREME LORD ONE IS IMMEDIATELY FREED FROM THE CONTROL OF EXTERNAL NATURE.
But rascals think of themselves as independent. Actually, however, they cannot be independent. This is foolishness
Behind the material laws is the supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa (mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram). Therefore if one surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa (mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te), one may immediately be freed from the control of external nature (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). This should be the aim of life.
Kids should be taught what the aim of life is and they need to be taught how to transcend the modes of material nature