KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.1.16
- To prepare oneself for the better next life, one must get out of one’s so-called home. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma, or sanātana-dharma, prescribes retirement from family encumbrances as early as possible after one has passed fifty years of age.
- In order to be saved from the danger of spoiling the human form of life and being attached to unreal things, one must take warning of death at the age of fifty, if not earlier.
- The holy places all over the world are meant for the residential purposes of retired persons getting ready for a better next life. One should not, however, become self-complacent simply by leaving home or by creating another home at the holy place, either lawfully or unlawfully.
- To live apart from family life means to become self-controlled in regard to all sense desires, especially sex desires. For a man desiring to improve the condition of his existence, sex indulgence is considered suicidal, or even worse.
- The whole process is to drag the mind from material engagements and fix it on the lotus feet of the Lord.
- Prahlad Maharaj, a pure devotee of the lord, even though he was very old, he did not leave the family. He was a praśānta,
- Even if a devotee remains in gṛhastha life and does not renounce material possessions, he should still be understood to be praśānta, sober, because of his pure devotion to the Lord. He is never disturbed by any conditions.
- As soon as you engage yourself in the devotional service of Vāsudeva under the direction of śāstra and spiritual master, then you attain the stage of Jnana and vairagya.
- So long you are in the subtle body and gross body, then you are suffering under the three modes of material nature.
- By karma-yoga you try to get out of this gross body. By jñāna-yoga you try to get out of this subtle body. But if you are situated in the devotional service of the Lord, you immediately become on the platform of Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā.
- So by being situated on the spiritual platform, automatically you achieve your original status, constitutional position, Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54]. Then you are able to enter into the kingdom of God or the spiritual world.
- Unless you enter the spiritual world with your spiritual body, there is no question of akuto-bhayam. (Fearlessness)
- If you want actually to be fearless and enter into the spiritual life, spiritual kingdom, back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to accept this bhakti-yoga process, and it is very easy, and then you become fearless, and your life is successful.
- Devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
- “Since the complete whole or the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, nothing can be independent of the body of the Absolute Truth.”
- Whatever happens to the body quickly becomes known to the embodied. Similarly, the creation is the body of the absolute whole. Therefore, the Absolute knows everything, directly and indirectly, that happens in the creation.
SB 2.1.16 TRANSLATION:
One should leave home and practice self-control. In a sacred place he should bathe regularly and sit down in a lonely place duly sanctified.
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 2.1.16)
To prepare oneself for the better next life, one must get out of one’s so-called home. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma, or sanātana-dharma, prescribes retirement from family encumbrances as early as possible after one has passed fifty years of age.
TO BE SAVED FROM THE DANGER OF SPOILING THE HUMAN FORM OF LIFE AND BEING ATTACHED TO UNREAL THINGS ONE MUST TAKE THE WARNING OF DEATH AT THE AGE OF FIFTY, IF NOT EARLIER.
Persons who are too much attached to family comforts are generally awarded lower species of life on account of sinful acts performed during a long duration of sinful life, and thus all the energy of the human life is spoiled. In order to be saved from the danger of spoiling the human form of life and being attached to unreal things, one must take warning of death at the age of fifty, if not earlier. At any stage of life one should prepare himself for a better next life.
THE HOLY PLACES ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE MEANT FOR THE RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES OF RETIRED PERSONS GETTING READY FOR A BETTER NEXT LIFE.
The system of the sanātana-dharma institution is so made that the follower is trained for the better next life without any chance that the human life will be spoiled. The holy places all over the world are meant for the residential purposes of retired persons getting ready for a better next life. Intelligent persons must go there at the end of life, and for that matter, after fifty years of age, to live a life of spiritual regeneration for the sake of being freed from family attachment, which is considered to be the shackle of material life.
ONE SHOULD NOT, HOWEVER, BECOME SELF-COMPLACENT SIMPLY BY LEAVING HOME OR BY CREATING ANOTHER HOME AT THE HOLY PLACE, EITHER LAWFULLY OR UNLAWFULLY.
For a man desiring to improve the condition of his existence, sex indulgence is considered suicidal, or even worse.
To live apart from family life means to become self-controlled in regard to all sense desires, especially sex desires. The method is that one should have a duly sanctified sitting place made of straw, deerskin and carpet, and thus sitting on it one should chant the holy name of the Lord without offense, as prescribed above. The whole process is to drag the mind from material engagements and fix it on the lotus feet of the Lord. This simple process alone will help one advance to the highest stage of spiritual success.
Example of Prahlad Maharaj who did not leave his family and hearth. Because everyone in his family was Krsna Conscious and Prahlad Mahara was acting as a guru for his grandson Bali Maharaj. Everything depends on Krsna Conscious whether it is forest or home. If the home is not conducive for Krsna Consciousness, then one must leave after finishing the duties. For whom the bell is ringing, death of the material body is awaiting. To be able to detach and fully be in Krsna consciousness and leave the body, requires preparation. We should understand that and plan our life.
0-25 – Education
25-50 – family life
50-death – detach from home and hearth and practice full-time Krsna Consciousness
(SB 8.19.2) PRAHLAD MAHARAJ IS AN EXAMPLE, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS VERY OLD, HE DID NOT LEAVE THE FAMILY. HE WAS A PRAŚĀNTA,
Prahlāda Mahārāja is a vivid example of a pure devotee. Someone might argue that since Prahlāda Mahārāja, even though very old, was attached to his family, and specifically to his grandson Bali Mahārāja, how could he be an ideal example? Therefore this verse uses the word praśāntaḥ. A devotee is always sober. He is never disturbed by any conditions. Even if a devotee remains in gṛhastha life and does not renounce material possessions, he should still be understood to be praśānta, sober, because of his pure devotion to the Lord.
The Key is to become KC and not be addicted to sense gratification. That can only happen if one is chanting, hearing, and taking prasadam.
If one engages in dev service one gets Gnana and Vairagya – whether it is brahmachari, grhasta or vanaprasta….
(Lecture on 3.25.43) https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/741211sbbom/
AS SOON AS YOU TAKE TO BHAKTI, IMMEDIATELY YOUR GROSS AND SUBTLE BODY IS DIGESTED. YOU WILL LIVE IN THE SPIRITUAL BODY.
by bhakti, you will automatically attain the stage of jñāna-vairāgya. Just like if you take one very nice digestive pill, so whatever you have eaten, even stone, it will be digested. It will be digested. Similarly, as soon as you take to bhakti, immediately your gross and subtle body is digested. You will live in the spiritual body.
We are already Brahman—ahaṁ brahmāsmi—but we are covered by the material body, the gross body – fire, water, earth, air, and the subtle body-mind, intelligence, and ego. This is our impediment. But the… By karma-yoga you try to get out of this gross body. By jñāna-yoga you try to get out of this subtle body. But bhakti-yoga—you directly you cross over this subtle body and gross body; you are immediately situated in the spiritual body. Jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān.
14.26 – mam ca yo avybhicharena…
One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman
SO LONG YOU ARE IN THE SUBTLE BODY AND GROSS BODY, THEN YOU ARE SUFFERING UNDER THE THREE MODES OF MATERIAL NATURE.
The body is created by the three modes of material nature according to… Kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo ‘sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu [Bg. 13.22]. We get different types of bodies on account of association with these material modes of nature, sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, Tamo-guṇa. But if you are situated in the devotional service of the Lord, you immediately become on the platform of Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā.
Book worms are theoretical. Devotees have practical knowledge because they are engaged in practical devotional service, Krsna gives them knowledge and renunciation. We are not theoretical, bhakti is practical. When you are performing Bhakti you are in the Brahman platform.
WHEN YOU ARE FREE FROM THIS MATERIAL CONTAMINATION AND ATTAIN PURE BHAKTI, THEN YOU PRAVIŚANTI IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
Knowledge is – When one understands what is Kṛṣṇa in truth.
When you are actually in devotional service, then that is practical. You are no more on the material platform. You are on the Brahman platform. So by being situated on the spiritual platform, automatically you achieve your original status, constitutional position, Brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā [Bg. 18.54]. Then you are able to enter into the kingdom of God or the spiritual world. So when you are free from this material contamination, then you praviśanti in the spiritual world. The praviśanti is there. In the material world, you are praviśanti from one body to another, and you are suffering.
UNLESS YOU ENTER IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD WITH YOUR SPIRITUAL BODY, THERE IS NO QUESTION OF AKUTO-BHAYAM. (FEARLESSNESS)
So long you get this body, you must suffer. Either you get the king’s body or the cobbler’s body or ant’s body or dog’s body—to accept material body means suffering. There cannot be akuto-bhayam. Unless you enter in the spiritual world with your spiritual body, there is no question of akuto-bhayam. (Fearlessness)So that akuto-bhayam is possible when you are practiced to bhakti-yogam.
We go to the Shoreline to feed the drug addicts from meth clinic who come there. They really appreciate prasadam. We give socks, tooth paste, brushes, … they appreciate it. They are beginning to ask questions.. Few of them one lady is addicted for 16 years… She started asking some questions… Maharaj gave higher taste book and chanting book. If you chant this mantra it will help you develop patience and the discipline to wean off.. You should be meditating on child and how to get her back. You dont need to go to palm reader to know present past and future. You can tell what your past is based on what your present it and you can tell your future based on what your present actions are.
If we apply yourself, engage yourself in bhakti-yoga, then janayaty āśu vairāgyam, cause and effect. As soon as you engage yourself in devotional service of Vāsudeva under the direction of śāstra and spiritual master, then janayaty āśu vairāgyam. And you are practically experiencing that since you have come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement you have no more interest material activities. No more interest. That is vairāgya. You are simply meant for service of Kṛṣṇa. That is jñāna.
In this way, if you want actually to be fearless and enter into the spiritual life, or spiritual kingdom, back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to accept this bhakti-yoga process, and it is very easy, and then you become fearless, and your life is successful.
We are in this material world, we are bombarded with false knowledge. Material knowledge poisons the mind and the body. Vacuum cleaner rep throws dirt in the house and barges into the house, cleans the house with vacuum and sells the vacuum. They make covid in the lab and throw it in in the world, make the vaccine in the lab and sell it to everyone in the world. KC is the purification of body, mind, intelligence, and coming back to a spiritual platform.
There is nothing after death. Go take a vacation, go here and go there and some downtime. Don’t listen to what Harivilas says about this festival that festival running here and running there. Why do you need a vacation when you are in bliss by performing dev service?
(BG 1.2.6) THERE IS NO BREAK OR VACATION FOR DEVOTIONAL SERVICE
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
(SB 1.1.1) WHATEVER HAPPENS TO THE BODY QUICKLY BECOMES KNOWN TO THE EMBODIED.
Conditioned souls, beginning from Brahmā, who engineers the entire universe, down to the insignificant ant, are all creating, but none of them is independent of the Supreme Lord. The materialist wrongly thinks that there is no creator other than his own self. This is called māyā, or illusion.
Material nature is itself the cause and affect of everything. We will understand why scientists think like that –
Because of his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses, and thus he thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape without the aid of superior intelligence. This is refuted in this śloka by Śrīla Vyāsadeva: “Since the complete whole or the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, nothing can be independent of the body of the Absolute Truth.” Whatever happens to the body quickly becomes known to the embodied. Similarly, the creation is the body of the absolute whole. Therefore, the Absolute knows everything, directly and indirectly, that happens in the creation. In the śruti-mantra, it is also stated that the absolute whole or Brahman is the ultimate source of everything. Everything emanates from Him, and everything is maintained by Him. And at the end, everything enters into Him. That is the law of nature.
Just like you know when you get pain in your body. Krishna knows what is happening in his Body which is His creation.
The answer to every question is in SB 1.1.1. Even if you read SB 1.1.1, you did not understand everything. We need to go back and reexamine it. `
Key points –
Just like you know when you get pain in your body. Krishna knows what is happening in his Body which is His creation.
You can know your past and future based on your present. (SB 6th canto)
Q&A
when you are vanaprastha, husband and wife go and visit holy places. Once you are fully situated in KC, the husband can go to take sanyasi and the wife can decide to live in Dham or at her son’s place.
Second initiation – only for worshipping deities.
Diff ways of understanding the progress –
Constant engagement in chanting and service,
Knowledge in sastra and the ability to convince others
Kanishtadhikari – no idea of sastra, cannot convince anyone about the philosophy
Madhyamadhikari – service +Sastra
Uttamadhikari – looking at him, meeting him people become convinced
Let’s say you have no intelligence to Study Sastra, but, if you are convinced that you are never going to leave KC, Krishna is absolute, Krsna is the cause of everything, Service to Please Krsna is your duty, you are peaceful, you have the knowledge, you are renounced… That is also fine. They convince them by their example.