KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.2.24
- It is not possible for one to violate the conditions of nature. One is such a fool that one is conditioned in every step, and still thinks that he is free. This is called illusion.
- Two persons, one in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions.
- The person in material consciousness is convinced by the false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord.
- The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience.
- The ignorant man forgets that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Hṛṣīkeśa, or the master of the senses of the material body, for due to his long misuse of the senses in sense gratification, he is factually bewildered by the false ego, which makes him forget his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. (this is the root cause of all issues)
- The beginning point of spiritual knowledge – By his long use of the senses in serving Krsna, one becomes free of false ego, which makes him remember his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
- The body can tolerate any condition, provided you practice it. It is not that, you are under certain condition, and if you are changed, it becomes so intolerable that you cannot live.
- For God-realization formerly people used to undergo such severe type of penances, and at the present moment we are so fallen, we cannot tolerate these four principles? Is it very difficult?
- Tapa means painful condition. The Tapasya in Krsna Consciousness is “Don’t indulge in these things. No illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling.” These are the items of Tapasya for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the age is so fallen that even these primary tapasya we cannot execute.
- If you want to realize the Supreme, the Absolute, then you must agree to a certain type of Tapasya. Otherwise, it is not possible.
- Kṛṣṇa is so kind that He has appeared before us as we can see Him. Because we cannot see more than stone, wood, metal, therefore Kṛṣṇa has appeared as stone statue. But He is not a stone statue. That we have to understand.
- Without understanding Acintya-bhedābheda tattva, one cannot understand Krsna.
- Acintya-bhedābheda Tattva – “If the sunshine has entered my room, therefore sun has entered my room.” This is Māyāvādī philosophy. No. By the entrance of sunshine within your room, the sun has entered and has not entered. This is right philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda. Acintya, simultaneously one and different.
- Lord Kṛṣṇa is very eager to bestow His mercy upon the conditioned living beings, who are uselessly struggling with the Lord’s illusory energy, Māyā.
- The conditioned soul struggles for happiness through sense gratification and for knowledge through mental speculation. Both processes ultimately bring him to a morose and hopeless condition.
- If the conditioned soul surrenders to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and thus acquires even a trace of His causeless mercy, the whole situation is changed, and the living entity can begin his real life of bliss and knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB 2.2.24 TRANSLATION
O King, when such a mystic passes over the Milky Way by the illuminating Suṣumṇā to reach the highest planet, Brahmaloka, he goes first to Vaiśvānara, the planet of the deity of fire, wherein he becomes completely cleansed of all contaminations, and thereafter he still goes higher, to the circle of Śiśumāra, to relate with Lord Hari, the Personality of Godhead.
CLASS NOTES:
WAY TO BRAHMALOKA
The polar star of the universe and the circle thereof is called the Śiśumāra circle, and therein the local residential planet of the Personality of Godhead (Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu) is situated. Before reaching there, the mystic passes over the Milky Way to reach Brahmaloka, and while going there he first reaches Vaiśvānara-loka, where the demigod controls fire. On Vaiśvānara-loka the yogī becomes completely cleansed of all dirty sins acquired while in contact with the material world. The Milky Way in the sky is indicated herein as the way leading to Brahmaloka, the highest planet of the universe.
In the 5th canto of SB lots of details about the cosmology is explained. What is interesting is – what Srila Prabhupada was talking about earlier, to understand these things which are complicated, one has to undergo tapasya.
Are we prioritizing ourselves to dominate the forces of nature or do we prioritize uncontaminating ourselves? They are trying to violate the laws of God. Even if one does all pious things one is still in this material cycle, it is hard for people to understand this.
SB 3.12.19 (https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/750303sbdal/)
YOU CANNOT VIOLATE THE CONDITIONS OF NATURE.
That is not possible. But they are thinking they are free = they can do whatever they like. That is called ignorance, mūḍha, rascal. This rascal civilization do not admit this. They are so fool that they are conditioned in every step, and still they are thinking they are free. This is called illusion.
(BG 3.27) SPIRIT SOUL, BY THE INFLUENCE OF FALSE EGO THINKS HIMSELF THE DOER OF ACTIVITIES
The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
Two persons, one in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa, in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The ignorant man forgets that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Hṛṣīkeśa, or the master of the senses of the material body, for due to his long misuse of the senses in sense gratification, he is factually bewildered by the false ego, which makes him forget his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. (root cause of all issues)
We are forced to eat. sleep, to pass stool, to pass urine, to get old, to get sick, to die…. But still, people think they are independent. We do not know how we are making blood, the heart is beating without breaking down, … the body is forcing us to do things that we may or may not know. Krsna is controlling it all.
Big achievers, the industrialists think that they achieved everything without Government. The government says they can’t achieve anything without the government providing the infrastructure. Both points of view are right and wrong. The actual controller, the maintainer is Krishna, the cause of all causes is Krsna. He is the one who is controlling and maintaining everything.
Everything is coming from Krsna they are not simply the fruits of the labor of people.
When we start understanding what we don’t know, then we will become knowledgeable.
It is very good to make a list of things that we don’t know, probably we will never know.
How the body is produced in the womb
How the body is functioning
How is the universe functioning in an orderly way
Misusing the senses in achieving things that are against the laws is the cause of the forgetfulness of Krsna.
The beginning point of spiritual knowledge
By his long use of the senses in serving Krsna, he becomes free of false ego, which makes him remember his eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
(SB 3.12.19) WITHOUT TAPASYA ONE CANNOT REALIZE GOD
Therefore, to get that freedom you have to work for it. Freedom does not come so automatically.
Mayavadis say abandon work…
Tapa means painful condition.
But we can be trained up to any kind of conditional life. That capacity we have got.
“This body is,” means, “it can tolerate any condition, provided you practice it.” It is not that, you are under certain condition, and if you are changed, it becomes so intolerable that you cannot live
For God-realization formerly people used to undergo such severe type of penances, and at the present moment we are so fallen, we cannot tolerate these four principles? Is it very difficult? We are imposing some Tapasya, that “Don’t indulge in these things. No illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling.” These are the items of Tapasya for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But the age is so fallen that even these primary tapasya we cannot execute. That is the difficulty.
Therefore yogis can live in himalayas even in winter.
We don’t realize what our body can do. Without tapasya you cannot achieve anything material or spiritual. Lord Chaitanya, made it easier by asking to follow 4 regs… But that is also hard for people to do it.
But if you want to realize God, as it is said here, tapasaiva, only by tapasya, only by penance one can realize. Otherwise, it is not possible. If you want to realize the Supreme, the Absolute, then you must agree to certain type of tapasya. Otherwise it is not possible
SO THE ARCĀ-VIGRAHA IS ALSO KṚṢṆA.
Therefore, adhokṣajam. Adhokṣajam, adhah-kṛtaṁ, akṣajaṁ jñānam. Our knowledge is what we see. We can see stone. We can see metal. We can see other material elements, wood. So Kṛṣṇa has appeared as we can see Him. Because we cannot see more than stone, wood, metal, therefore Kṛṣṇa has appeared as stone statue. But He is not stone statue. That we have to understand. He is Kṛṣṇa, but He is so kind that He has appeared before us as we can see Him.
ACINTYA-BHEDĀBHEDA TATTVA
“If the sunshine has entered my room, therefore sun has entered my room.” This is Māyāvādī philosophy. No. By the entrance of sunshine within your room, the sun has entered and has not entered. This is right philosophy. Acintya-bhedābheda. Acintya, simultaneously one and different.
We need to understand “Acinty a beda beda tattva… “ otherwise we cannot understand Krsna..
We should also understand that the deity is nondifferent from Krsna..
There are 64 offenses for the worship of the deity…
We should always see the presence of Him in the deity. Krishna is so kind that he is presenting Himself in the matter so we can see him.
(SB 10.14.29) ONLY ONE WHO IS FAVORED BY EVEN A SLIGHT TRACE OF THE MERCY OF THE LORD, CAN UNDERSTAND THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD
My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.
Lord Kṛṣṇa is very eager to bestow His mercy upon the conditioned living beings, who are uselessly struggling with the Lord’s illusory energy, Māyā. The conditioned soul struggles for happiness through sense gratification and for knowledge through mental speculation. Both processes ultimately bring him to a morose and hopeless condition. If the conditioned soul surrenders to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and thus acquires even a trace of His causeless mercy, the whole situation is changed, and the living entity can begin his real life of bliss and knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The complete opposite is taught in school to always speculate,,,
Many people have written speculative translations of BG, people are misled. Only when SP has written BG ASITIS people started becoming devotees. Simply follow acharyas, SP,
We can understand – what do we understand – Matta parataram BG 7.7
Otherwise through speculation we can go on for millions of years and not understand anything. Gandhi made a statement that I never know that if a person called Krsna existed. Even a little child can understand that Krsna is Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is called the following the authority of parampara system..
If we understand Krsna in this lifetime, then that is success. This is what needs to be taught to our children, otherwise they will spend all their lives chasing after the
If we simply follow the process of KC we will achieve the perfection of life.
64 offenses in the process of worshiping the deity..
64 arts that gopis have mastered are all explained in NOD and BS