KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:36:
- One can achieve the nucleus of the devotional service of the Lord by the mercy of the spiritual master and the Personality of Godhead.
- The spiritual master is the manifested representative of the Lord to help one achieve ultimate success.
- Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī is an authorized spiritual master, and thus he was inspired by the Lord to appear before Mahārāja Parīkṣit and instruct him in the teachings of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
- To get the assistance and help of a bona fide spiritual master means to receive the direct help of the Lord Himself.
- KC MOVEMENT IS TO SIMPLY UNDERSTAND KRSNA AND HIS ACTIVITIES. If you can understand Kṛṣṇa’s activities, then this is the last body.
- Just try to understand one book, Bhagavad-gītā, and you become liberated.
- SIMPLY HEAR, EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED
- You cannot realize God by your own effort. That is not possible. Things which are beyond your perception, don’t try to understand by this foolish argument and logic (mental speculation)
- How to Understand Krsna? When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.’
- The more you stick to this principle, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau: engage your tongue in two business, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam, your life will be perfect.
- MINDS DISEASE – REJECTING AND ACCEPTING
- Our real business is to get out of this body and if we are disturbed by these bodily pains and pleasures very much, then I forget my real business.
- If you want to get out of this body, you have to tolerate. The more one understands that “I am not this body.” Then one can tolerate.
- By being humbler than the grass and tolerant than the tree, we should keep our position in this material world and advance in spiritual consciousness. If we become disturbed, then we cannot make progress.
- We should be desiring to get out of this body. Desires cannot be stopped; we have to PURIFY THE DESIRES. How to serve Krsna, How to decorate Krsna, You have desire to eat nice foodstuffs, make the best preparations and offer to Krsna, etc.,
- f you become a perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then after giving up this body you will get a body like Kṛṣṇa, sac-CID-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1], and live an eternally blissful life of knowledge. That should be the aim of life.
SB 1.19.36 TRANSLATION
Otherwise [without being inspired by Lord Kṛṣṇa] how is it that you have voluntarily appeared here, though you are moving incognito to the common man and are not visible to us who are on the verge of death?
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 1.19.36) TO GET THE ASSISTANCE AND HELP OF A BONA FIDE SPIRITUAL MASTER MEANS TO RECEIVE THE DIRECT HELP OF THE LORD HIMSELF.
As soon as the Lord finds that a particular soul is very eager to go back to Godhead, the Lord at once sends His bona fide representative. The sincere devotee is thus assured by the Lord of going back to Godhead. The conclusion is that to get the assistance and help of a bona fide spiritual master means to receive the direct help of the Lord Himself.
How does the lord today authorize one to be a spiritual master. That is done through the representatives of the Lord. In Iskcon we have GBC Body. There are 32-35 members. It is the ultimate managing authority. We have deputed service of the founder acharya. SP acted follows the order of his guru. First 30 seconds of their meeting Siddhanta saraswati thakur said you are very educated preach this to the english speaking world. in 1922. Between 1922 to 1952 what happened, he was preparing himself. He raised his 5 children. When proper time came he gave up his family life. He took up his spiritual master’s instructions. Others also came but they were not successful.
Authorization of the lord comes from the representatives of the lord or the pure devotees of the lord. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, he did not appoint a successor after he left. He asked them to form a governing body. But they did not follow.
Srila Prabhpada formed GBC while he was there and is continuing after he left the body too. The idea is that one never forgets that SP is the founding acaraya and Krsna is the supreme personality of godhead. His books are the ultimate authority and no one cane become greater than him. Each member of GBC the oath of allegiance to uphold the teachings of SP. The gurus in Iskcon are not supreme authority they are under the purview of GBC. This collegial management of the movement is something unique. It existed time of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Six goswamis became the next predecessors.
They were humble, genuine sadhus and pure devotees. When someone is given a permission to initiate that does not mean they are God. Diksha has a very grave responsibility. The Diksha guru has to take the sins of the initiates. Rithvik is all about Only Prabhupada is the guru and all sins are dumped on Srila Prabhupada. That is not the vaishanva system. If someone is appointed as guru does that mean they are infallible. They are subject to GBC. Can the GBC come between guru and disciple, no, but if the Guru falls down and deviates they can. As soon as the guru think aham mameti, guru will fall down.
(LECTURE ON 2.14) KC MOVEMENT IS TO SIMPLY UNDERSTAND KRSNA AND HIS ACTIVITIES. IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND KṚṢṆA’S ACTIVITIES, THEN THIS IS THE LAST BODY.
This is our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Simply try to understand Kṛṣṇa, His activities. He is not impersonal. Janma karma me divyam. Karma means activities. He has activities. Why He is taking part in this world, activities? Why He comes? yadā yadā hi dharmasya
[Bg. 4.7]
He has got some purpose; He has got some mission. So try to understand Kṛṣṇa and His mission and His activities. They are described in a historical form. So where is the difficulty? We read so many things, history or the activities of some leader, some politician. The same thing, same energy, you apply for understanding Kṛṣṇa. Where is the difficulty? Kṛṣṇa, therefore, He manifests Himself with so many activities, because you can understand Kṛṣṇa’s activities. And if you can understand Kṛṣṇa’s activities, then this is the last body. As soon as you give it up you go to Kṛṣṇa. Why not accept this simple method?
(LECTURE ON 2.14) JUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND ONE BOOK, BHAGAVAD-GĪTĀ, AND YOU BECOME LIBERATED.
Kṛṣṇa’s activities we are writing in eighty books. If you read one book, that is also sufficient. Just like this book, Bhagavad-gītā, if you read carefully everything is explained there = what is Kṛṣṇa, what is Kṛṣṇa’s activities. So you are reading so many books; just try to understand one book, Bhagavad-gītā, and you become liberated. So simple method.
(LECTURE ON 2.14) SIMPLY HEAR, EVERYTHING WILL BE REVEALED
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is a very serious movement for the welfare of human society. Just like you are hearing about Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s instruction, the Bhagavad-gītā. If you simply hear, everything will be revealed; everything will be revealed automatically.
(LECTURE ON 2.14) THINGS WHICH ARE BEYOND YOUR PERCEPTION, DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND BY THIS FOOLISH ARGUMENT AND LOGIC
You cannot realize God by your own effort. That is not possible.
This is Vedic instruction, that things which are beyond your perception, don’t try to understand by this foolish argument and logic. Don’t try to understand. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā. Acintyāḥ means beyond your conception. Cintyā means within your perception, and acintyā means beyond your perception. You cannot understand by this rascal logic and philosophy; that is not possible. Then how it is to be understood?
[CC. MADHYA 17.136] HOW TO UNDERSTAND KRSNA? WHEN YOU ENGAGE YOUR TONGUE IN THE SERVICE OF THE LORD, HE REVEALS.
ataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāmādi
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.’
That is said, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau [Cc. Madhya 17.136] = when you engage your tongue in the service of the Lord. Now this is also another peculiar thing, that to understand by the tongue, not by the mind. Tongue. Tongue means we have got two businesses we perform with the tongue = one is tasting foodstuff, and vibrating voice. So we use the tongue vibrating Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam. Bās. Then you understand Kṛṣṇa. You don’t understand, but He reveals
The more you stick to this principle, sevonmukhe hi jihvādau: engage your tongue in two business, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam, your life will be perfect.
MINDS DISEASE – REJECTING AND ACCEPTING
You are hearing Bhagavad-gītā, but your mind is somewhere else. So this is mind’s disease, rejecting and accepting. There is mind’s disease, there is bodily disease. That is called ādhyātmika.
The fact that you cannot focus your mind on KC is adhyatmika. Because of that you are suffering frustration, confusion, dualities. Therefore Caitanya mahaprabhu gave simple instructions – chant Hare Krsna…. When in doubt Chant, when bored Chant and when mind is deviating Chant. The mind accepts and rejects. The Intelligence is more careful in accepting and rejecting, it has to have valid reasons. Mind is very quick in accepting and rejecting. It is based on emotions and feelings. Our intelligence should be based on sastric evidence. People liked Hitler because of emotions.
HOW TO TOLERATE
Prabhupāda: The more he understands that “I am not this body.” Then he can tolerate. Yes. And if we become disturbed by the pains and pleasures of the body, then we shall forget our real business.
REAL BUSINESS – GET OUT OF THE BODY
Our real business is to get out. I am not this body, but this human body is a chance how to get out of this body. That is my real business. So if we are disturbed by these bodily pains and pleasures very much, then I forget my real business. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised taror api sahiṣṇunā.
Tṛṇād api sunīcena: just like grass. Everyone is trampling over the grass—the grass does not protest. Therefore humbler than the grass and tolerant than the tree. In this way we shall have to keep our position in this material world and advance in spiritual consciousness. If we become disturbed, then we cannot make progress. Suppose we are prohibiting so many things. Especially in the Western world this is very painful; but we have to tolerate. If you want to get out of this body, you have to tolerate. Actually it is not painful. If you are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then it is not difficult; it is very easy.
DESIRES CANNOT BE STOPPED; THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. PURIFY THE DESIRES.
Change the quality of the desire. Desire cannot be stopped; that is not possible.
- I want to eat very nice foodstuff = all right, eat remnants of foodstuff… We offer Kṛṣṇa the best food. That is the regulative principle.
- You have got the desire for driving a motorcar—just drive motorcar for preaching Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- How shall I push on?
- How shall I serve Kṛṣṇa?
- How shall I decorate…?
- Simply think of how to push on this movement. That desire and no other desire
Desireless means I am dead. No. Purified desire.
AIM OF LIFE
If you have got good faith and love for Kṛṣṇa, you become a body like Kṛṣṇa. Unless you have got the same type of body, how you can play with Kṛṣṇa, dance with Kṛṣṇa? Therefore when Kṛṣṇa says, tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma [Bg. 4.9]
If you become a perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa, then after giving up this body you will get a body like Kṛṣṇa, sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1], and live eternally blissful life of knowledge. That should be the aim of life.