KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.2.4
- The necessities of life for the protection and comfort of the body must not be unnecessarily increased. Human energy is spoiled in a vain search after such illusory happiness.
- Animals maintain healthy life even without the intelligence to build big houses & furniture.
- The reserve energy of human life, which is far superior to that of animals, should simply be utilized for self-realization.
- The advancement of human civilization must be towards the goal of establishing our lost relationship with God, which is not possible in any form of life other than the human.
- Self-complacence with a polished type of animal civilization geared to sense gratification is delusion, and such a “civilization” is not worthy of the name. In pursuit of such false activities, a human being is in the clutches of māyā, or illusion.
- Great sages and saints in the days of yore were not living in palatial buildings furnished with good furniture and so-called amenities of life. They used to live in huts and groves and sit on the flat ground, and yet they have left immense treasures of high knowledge with all perfection.
- Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī were high-ranking ministers of state, but they were able to leave behind them immense writings on transcendental knowledge while residing only for one night underneath one tree.
- So-called comforts of life are not actually helpful for progressive civilization; rather, they are detrimental to such progressive life.
- In the system of sanātana-dharma, of four divisions of social life and four orders of progressive realization, there are ample opportunities and sufficient directions for a happy termination of the progressive life, and the sincere followers are advised therein to accept a voluntary life of renunciation in order to achieve the desired goal of life
- If one is not accustomed to abiding by the life of renunciation and self-abnegation from the beginning, one should try to get into the habit at a later stage of life as recommended by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and that will help one to achieve the desired success. (Once the responsibilities in Grihastha Ashrama are done, one is strongly recommended to downsize)
- The transcendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will not budge even an inch from his stark determination.
- For a transcendentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the sense gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the ultimate gain of life.
SB 2.2.4 TRANSLATION:
When there are ample earthly flats to lie on, what is the necessity of cots and beds? When one can use his own arms, what is the necessity of a pillow? When one can use the palms of his hands, what is the necessity of varieties of utensils? When there is ample covering or the skins of trees, what is the necessity of clothing?
CLASS NOTES:
THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE FOR THE PROTECTION AND COMFORT OF THE BODY MUST NOT BE UNNECESSARILY INCREASED.Human energy is spoiled in a vain search after such illusory happiness.
ANIMALS MAINTAIN HEALTHY LIFE EVEN WITHOUT BEDS, BIG HOUSES & FURNITURE
If we make a study of the general life of the animals, we can see that they have no intelligence for building big houses, furniture, and other household paraphernalia, and yet they maintain a healthy life by lying down on the open land. They do not know how to cook or prepare foodstuff, yet they still live healthy lives more easily than human being.
THE RESERVE ENERGY OF HUMAN LIFE, WHICH IS FAR SUPERIOR TO THAT OF ANIMALS, SHOULD SIMPLY BE UTILIZED FOR SELF-REALIZATION.
This does not mean that human civilization should revert to animal life or that the human being should live naked in the jungles without any culture, education and sense of morality. An intelligent human cannot live the life of an animal; rather, man should try to utilize his intelligence in arts and science, poetry, and philosophy. In such a way he can further the progressive march of human civilization.
THE ADVANCEMENT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION MUST BE TOWARDS THE GOAL OF ESTABLISHING OUR LOST RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, WHICH IS NOT POSSIBLE IN ANY FORM OF LIFE OTHER THAN THE HUMAN.
One must realize the nullity of the material phenomenon, considering it a passing phantasmagoria, and must endeavor to make a solution to the miseries of life. Self-complacence with a polished type of animal civilization geared to sense gratification is delusion, and such a “civilization” is not worthy of the name. In pursuit of such false activities, a human being is in the clutches of māyā, or illusion.
I am this body, I am from North India, we beat our wife this is our culture… This is all illusion. Illusory false knowledge leads you to deluded stage. One time there was an announcement that water is changing on a particular date. Everyone drank the water and one guy did not. Every one became insane and except him. He is feeling lonely as he is left out. He also drinks water becomes insane and joins them. This is called peer pressure. This happens with the children in School. We are all living in a stage of phantasmagoria… just like a magician cuts a man and the man is split into two and he comes back as normal and jumps up and down.
Great sages and saints in the days of yore were not living in palatial buildings furnished with good furniture and so-called amenities of life. They used to live in huts and groves and sit on the flat ground, and yet they have left immense treasures of high knowledge with all perfectionŚrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī were high-ranking ministers of state, but they were able to leave behind them immense writings on transcendental knowledge while residing only for one night underneath one tree. They did not live even two nights under the same tree, and what to speak of well-furnished rooms with modern amenities. And still they were able to give us most important literatures of self-realization. So-called comforts of life are not actually helpful for progressive civilization; rather, they are detrimental to such progressive life.
In the system of sanātana-dharma, of four divisions of social life and four orders of progressive realization, there are ample opportunities and sufficient directions for a happy termination of the progressive life, and the sincere followers are advised therein to accept a voluntary life of renunciation in order to achieve the desired goal of life. If one is not accustomed to abiding by the life of renunciation and self-abnegation from the beginning, one should try to get into the habit at a later stage of life as recommended by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and that will help one to achieve the desired success.
This theme is coming back over and over again in this section of SB and BG and also in Canto 1 – That is “Simple living, Higher Thinking”. “complicated Living , lower thinking”. There was a video made in Matchless gifts shop, what is Krsna Consciousness – Although KC – sitting on floor, eating prasadam, sleeping on the floor, High level although living on the low level… Materialists they live on high level but they are living low level. Amenities complicate our life. They require maintenance. People are inspired to buy things that they do not need. The promise of improved or increased sense gratification convinces them to buy all these things.
SP had one chair, one table and on the table there was deity of Chaitanya. There are two rooms, one room he had books and sit on a mat to meet people and write stuff. Another room there was a cot one table and one chair. That is how simple he lived. Books, few clothes, plate, glass.. He set an example of how to live.
He gives the example of Sanatana Goswami and Rupa Goswami, they gave everything up and lived like paupers in Vrindavan, not even sleeping under one tree for more than couple days. They were sent to Vrindavan to excavate the places of past times and to write down the past times of the lord.
There is a philosophy in ancient Greece called stoicism – the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint. Patience forbearance, endurance, acceptance, perturbality, calmness, coolness, solidness, are some words related to Stoicism. Stoicism is a school of philosophy that hails from ancient Greece and Rome in the early parts of the 3rd century, BC. It is a philosophy of life that maximizes positive emotions, reduces negative emotions, and helps individuals to hone their virtues of character.
It talks about acceptance and patience and has elements of mundane goodness. But no mention of Krsna. It is a negative way of doing things.
Sridhara Kolavecha – Brahmana, associate of Caitanya MahaPrabhu. He would sell fruits, cups, and plates made from banana leaves. He hardly made 5 anas, half of what he made every day he would donate to worship Ganga Devi. The other half he would live with it. He had only one cloth. He would bathe every day and wear the washed dhoti. He had one broken iron pot and put water in it. Everyday Lord Caitanya would come to see him, he would steal from him and drink water from the pot. Every time he sees the sankirtan party of the lord he would jump and dance in ecstasy.
If you have a car and a big house and amenities, you need to use them in the service of Krsna under the guidance of the spiritual master – siksha and diksha gurus.
Maharaj started out as a Brahmacari – 22 yrs old. I was sleeping on the floor right infornt of the door of the toilet. I had one or 2 dotis, torn shirt, broken glasses string on one side. When I got married – car, apartment, pots and pans, second child – bigger apartment. To move in we could fit in everything in one car. 3rd child, moved in with a truck, 4th child came, bigger home, Company, Bigger home,
That is what material life is – we cannot detach. When kids grow big you can downsize and then sleep in one corner or in front of the bathroom. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom how to use knowledge for the positive effect. You do not get knowledge by accumulating facts. Unless you regularly hear from SB and BG and go out on sankirtan you cannot get wisdom.
SB 2.2.3
The transcendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will not budge even an inch from his stark determination. For a transcendentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the sense gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the ultimate gain of life.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī met Mahārāja Parīkṣit when the latter felt a necessity for such a meeting. It is the duty of a transcendentalist to help persons who desire real salvation and to support the cause of salvation. One might note that Śukadeva Gosvāmī never met Mahārāja Parīkṣit while he was ruling as a great king. For a transcendentalist, the mode of activities is explained in the next śloka.