KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 1:19:31
- Mahārāja Parīkṣit approached Sukhadev Goswami and politely inquired about the process of entering the kingdom of God.
- Śukadeva Gosvāmī learned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father, Vyāsadeva, but he had no chance to recite it. He recited it for Maharaj Parikshit and answered all his questions.
- Both the spiritual master and the disciple, namely Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit, attained perfection through the medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- One should humbly approach a spiritual master to understand the transcendental science. (BG 4.34)
- There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is in need of solving the problems of life.
- One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business seeing him.
- The duty of the bona fide guru is to connect the disciple to Kṛṣṇa.
- A scholar or meditator has no potency to connect another living being with Kṛṣṇa if that scholar or meditator himself is not connected with Kṛṣṇa
- The word of Kṛṣṇa is paramaṁ vacaḥ, the last word in knowledge.
- Yogananda claims that he saw Krsna in a hotel room in Mumbai in 1930.
- Devotees never claim that they saw Krsna, they are always executing devotional service in the mood of expecting to see the Lord. (Sadgosvami asktakam 8)
- Lord Caitanya taught us how to feel the separation of God. Lord Caitanya never taught us that He had seen God, but He felt the separation of God very severely.
- The advanced devotee sees everything mobile and immobile all as transformations of Krsna’s energy. A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees the only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life
- Worship of anything and anyone related to Krsna is greater than worshipping the Lord Himself. Example: King Pratarudra worships the chaddar of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees the only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life
- Seeing Krsna in everything is one, but seeing Radha and Krsna in the Vrndavan is transcendental. The devotee is always desiring to see Him in Vrndavan along with his associates
SB 1.19.31 TRANSLATION
The sage Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī sat perfectly pacified, intelligent and ready to answer any question without hesitation. The great devotee, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, approached him, offered his respects by bowing before him, and politely inquired with sweet words and folded hands
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 1.19.31) WHEN AND HOW A DISCIPLE MUST APPROACH A SPIRITUAL MASTER
The scriptural injunction is that one should humbly approach a spiritual master to understand the transcendental science. (BG 4.34) Mahārāja Parīkṣit was now prepared for meeting his death, and within the very short time of seven days, he was to know the process of entering the kingdom of God. In such important cases, one is required to approach a spiritual master. There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is in need of solving the problems of life. One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business seeing him.
(SB 1.19.31) BOTH THE SPIRITUAL MASTER AND THE DISCIPLE, ATTAINED PERFECTION THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF ŚRĪMAD-BHĀGAVATAM
Śukadeva Gosvāmī learned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father, Vyāsadeva, but he had no chance to recite it. Before Mahārāja Parīkṣit he recited Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and answered the questions of Mahārāja Parīkṣit unhesitatingly, and thus both the master and the disciple got salvation.
(SB 11.3.21) THE DUTY OF THE BONA FIDE GURU IS TO CONNECT THE DISCIPLE TO KṚṢṆA
Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.
A bona fide spiritual master is one who is expert in all of these subject matters, not by his personal imagination or speculation but by mature understanding of the authorized Vedic literatures, which are the literary manifestation of the causeless mercy of God.
The bona fide spiritual master awakens the sleeping soul and sends him to the gurukula, or the āśrama of the spiritual master, where he can be trained in perfect knowledge.
Any human being from any social or economic status can become a bona fide spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Only by the order and authority of the Supreme Lord one can become a spiritual master, not by one’s own so-called erudition.
The duty of the bona fide guru is to connect the disciple to Kṛṣṇa. A scholar or meditator has no potency to connect another living being with Kṛṣṇa if that scholar or meditator himself is not connected with Kṛṣṇa
The word of Kṛṣṇa is paramaṁ vacaḥ, the last word in knowledge.
If one does not become a lover of Kṛṣṇa, his connection with Kṛṣṇa takes place indirectly, through the illusory potency of the Lord. One who is connected to Kṛṣṇa through His external, illusory potency can serve only as a material master to connect his so-called disciples to the same illusory energy
YOGANANDA’S CLAIM OF SEEING KRSNA
In the book of “Autobiography of Yogi” Yogananda claims that he saw Krsna in a hotel room in 1930. Krishna appeared to him on the window sill of the hotel room. Many people read that book. We need to compare those kinds of statements with the statements of Vaishnava Acharyas to understand the contrast.
(ṢAḌ-GOSVĀMY-AṢṬAKA 8) THE DEVOTEES OF THE LORD ARE ALWAYS EXECUTING DEVOTIONAL SERVICE IN THE MOOD OF EXPECTING TO SEE THE LORD.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vrndavana, shouting, “Queen of Vrndavana, Radharani! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Maharaja! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhana, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? Where are you?” These were their moods in executing Krsna consciousness.
Lord Caitanya taught us how to feel separation of God. Lord Caitanya never taught us that He had seen God, but He felt the separation of God very severely. Similarly, His next disciples, the sad-gosvāmīs, also prosecuted their devotional service by separational feelings.
(CC M 8.274) ADVANCED DEVOTEE SEES EVERYTHING MOBILE AND IMMOBILE ALL AS TRANSFORMATIONS OF KRSNA’S ENERGY
“The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.
A saintly person, an advanced devotee, sees Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day and nothing else. A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life
(CC M 11.31) ANYTHING IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE LORD IS GREATER THAN WORSHIPPING THE LORD HIMSELF
ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ
viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
tasmāt parataraṁ devi
tadīyānāṁ samarcanam
“Lord Śiva told the goddess Durgā, ‘My dear Devī, although the Vedas recommend worship of demigods, the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is topmost. However, above the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the rendering of service to Vaiṣṇavas, who are related to Lord Viṣṇu.’
Example: Lord Caitanya gave his chaddar to King Prataparudra and he started worshipping the chaddar. This is “tadīyānāṁ samarcanam”
Lord Caitanya gave the chaddar to Gopala Bhatta Goswami in Sri Rangam. Lord Caitanya went to Srirangam in Chatur Masya in 1511. He stayed in Venkata Bhatta house for 4 months. Venkata Bhatta’s son is Gopala Bhatta. When Mahaprabhu was about to leave the boy fainted. To pacify him the Lord stayed for some more time and initiated the boy. When the Lord came to know that Gopala Bhatta came to Vrndavan, the Lord sent him a wooden sitting plank and chadar. Gopala Bhatta starts worshipping them. You can find them being worshipped in Radha Raman temple till today. Today you can visit the temple of Lord Chaitanya in Srirangam.
Gopala Bhatta Goswami Saligram Shilas in Gandaki river Nepal. Krsna’s Deity manifested in Saligrama Shila of Gopala Bhatta Goswami. The same deity is worshipped in Radha Raman temple.
Later on it, a piece of it was passed onto Viswambara swami. Viswambara swami, a member of Radha Raman temple. He came to Maharaj’s house and would do puja every day in the morning to Shaligram Shila and a cloth. He had a very very special picture of Lord Caitanya. He showed a little piece of cloth and said that is the only thing I own. That cloth was Lord Caitanya’s chaddar which was given to Gopala Bhatta Goswami.