KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.3.9
- Those who are conditioned by the material modes of external energy are captivated by different types of material enjoyment.
- The Lord has proclaimed that the materialists, who desire material enjoyment and who seek the favor of different demigods, are not in control of their senses and so give themselves to nonsense.
- The leaders of nonsensical persons are more nonsensical because they preach openly and foolishly that one can worship any form of demigod and get the same result. This sort of preaching is not only against the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā, or those of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but is also foolish, just as it is foolish to claim that with the purchase of any travel ticket one may reach the same destination.
- Persons impregnated with different desires have different modes of worship, but one who has no desire for material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. And this worshiping process is called devotional service.
- Pure devotional service means service to the Lord without any tinge of material desires, including the desire for fruitive activity and empiric speculation.
- For fulfillment of material desires, one may worship the Supreme Lord, but the result of such worship is different. Generally, the Lord does not fulfill anyone’s material desires for sense enjoyment, but He awards such benedictions to worshipers of the Lord, for they ultimately come to the point of not desiring material enjoyment.
- The conclusion is that one must minimize the desires for material enjoyment and for this one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described here as param, or beyond anything material.
- Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord’s mercy upon him. He thinks, “Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
- In the proper discharge of duty, one has to learn to tolerate nonpermanent appearances and disappearances of happiness and distress.
- One has to follow the prescribed rules and regulations of religious principles in order to rise up to the platform of knowledge, because by knowledge and devotion only can one liberate himself from the clutches of māyā (illusion).
- One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys his eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
- By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has created many material things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in which people need not die, take birth again, become old or suffer from disease.
- In material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration and finally death. No one can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one – whether demigod, man, animal or plant – can survive forever in the material world.
- According to these laws, even the Brahmās, of which there are millions in different universes, are all liable to death either today or tomorrow. Therefore the entire material universe is called Martyaloka, the place of death.
SB 2.3.9 TRANSLATION:
One who desires domination over a kingdom or an empire should worship the Manus. One who desires victory over an enemy should worship the demons, and one who desires sense gratification should worship the moon. But one who desires nothing of material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead
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CLASS NOTES:
THOSE WHO ARE CONDITIONED BY THE MATERIAL MODES OF EXTERNAL ENERGY ARE CAPTIVATED BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF MATERIAL ENJOYMENT.
The transcendentalist has no material desires to be fulfilled, whereas the materialist has all types of desires to be fulfilled. The Lord has proclaimed that the materialists, who desire material enjoyment and thus seek the favor of different demigods, as above mentioned, are not in control of their senses and so give themselves to nonsense. One should not desire any sort of material enjoyment, being sensible enough to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead
THE LEADERS OF NONSENSICAL PERSONS PREACH THE WORSHIP OF ANY DEMIGOD FOR THE SAME RESULT – WHICH IS LIKE ANY TRAVEL TICKET MAY TAKE YOU TO THE SAME DESTINATION
The leaders of nonsensical persons are still more nonsensical because they preach openly and foolishly that one can worship any form of demigod and get the same result. This sort of preaching is not only against the teachings of the Bhagavad-gītā, or those of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but is also foolish, just as it is foolish to claim that with the purchase of any travel ticket one may reach the same destination
WORSHIPPING KRSNA IS CALLED DEVOTIONAL SERVICE
persons impregnated with different desires have different modes of worship, but one who has no desire for material enjoyment should worship the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. And this worshiping process is called devotional service. Pure devotional service means service to the Lord without any tinge of material desires, including desire for fruitive activity and empiric speculation.
WORSHIPPING LORD KRSNA FOR THE FULFILLMENT OF MATERIAL DESIRES
For fulfillment of material desires one may worship the Supreme Lord, but the result of such worship is different, as will be explained in the next verse. Generally the Lord does not fulfill anyone’s material desires for sense enjoyment, but He awards such benedictions to worshipers of the Lord, for they ultimately come to the point of not desiring material enjoyment.
The conclusion is that one must minimize the desires for material enjoyment, and for this one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described here as param, or beyond anything material. Śrīpāda Śaṅkarācārya has also stated, nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt: the Supreme Lord is beyond the material encirclement.
This is very hard to understand by a gross materialist. Why? Because they have been convinced, belief in God is a fantasy, the spiritual world does not exist, there is only matter, in this material world prime thing is sustained sense gratification whether you do it as a hippie, capitalist, nationalist, ISIS they in the name of fanatic animals, wars, buy women exploit them. All wars are wars of sense gratification. Except for the battle of Kurukshetra, where Lord Krsna ordained Arjuna to fight without any personal motive to establish dharma. Most of the wars are for sense gratifications. This is explained in the 12th chapter –
(BG 12-13-14)TRANSCENDENTAL QUALIFICATIONS OF A PURE DEVOTEE – BETTER TO SUFFER THAN PROTEST
adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ
maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca
nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī
santuṣṭaḥ satataṁ yogī
yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir
yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me – such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me.
Prahlad maharaj, Dhruv maharaj, Ambareesh maharaj, Dhruva Maharaj, Draupadi, they all suffered but did not protest. They went back to godhead, There is a long list of devotees who did this.
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.8) it is stated: tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam. Whenever a devotee is in distress or has fallen into difficulty, he thinks that it is the Lord’s mercy upon him. He thinks, “Thanks to my past misdeeds I should suffer far, far greater than I am suffering now. So it is by the mercy of the Supreme Lord that I am not getting all the punishment I am due. I am just getting a little, by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”
This is extremely important lesson for us to learn. In US there is protest all over the place, that means they are not going back to Godhead. It is better to suffer than protest, Does it mean that you are a coward if you do not protest. No, that means you are courageous and you know that this body is temporary, they know through sastra chakshu, “Matra sparsas tu kaunteya… “We always know things through Sastra. Sastra cakshu. Not through one’s false ego.
(BG 2.14) ONE HAS TO LEARN TO TOLERATE NONPERMANENT APPEARANCES AND DISAPPEARANCES OF HAPPINESS AND DISTRESS.
mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya
śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās
tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata
O son of Kuntī, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.
This is the real knowledge, You completely depend on the mercy of Krsna. Let’s say someone insults you, cheats you, lies to you, this rule to be practiced – better to suffer than protest, If someone cheats or insults SP, devotees, you need to help them, you try to help them by commiserating with them, try to explain sastra to them… One must tolerate them without being disturbed. Suffering does not mean you are destitute. Suffering means that you can completely depend on Krsna and take the shelter of the holy name. Nothing lasts forever in this material world. These disturbances cannot last forever, you will come out stronger spiritually.
In the proper discharge of duty, one has to learn to tolerate nonpermanent appearances and disappearances of happiness and distress. According to Vedic injunction, one has to take his bath early in the morning even during the month of Māgha (January-February). It is very cold at that time, but in spite of that a man who abides by the religious principles does not hesitate to take his bath. Similarly, a woman does not hesitate to cook in the kitchen in the months of May and June, the hottest part of the summer season. One has to execute his duty in spite of climatic inconveniences. Similarly, to fight is the religious principle of the kṣatriyas, and although one has to fight with some friend or relative, one should not deviate from his prescribed duty. One has to follow the prescribed rules and regulations of religious principles in order to rise up to the platform of knowledge, because by knowledge and devotion only can one liberate himself from the clutches of māyā (illusion).
What happens when we accept this real knowledge, it is explained in IOS mantra 14, extremely profound verse and purport, explained by Srila Prabhupada.
(ISO -14 ) ONE SHOULD KNOW PERFECTLY THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD ŚRĪ KṚṢṆA
sambhūtiṁ ca vināśaṁ ca
yas tad vedobhayaḿ saha
vināśena mṛtyuṁ tīrtvā
sambhūtyāmṛtam aśnute
One should know perfectly the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes, as well as the temporary material creation with its temporary demigods, men and animals. When one knows these, he surpasses death and the ephemeral cosmic manifestation with it, and in the eternal kingdom of God he enjoys his eternal life of bliss and knowledge.
This is the same meaning as BG 4.9. There is more detail in ISO mantra – 14.
janma karma ca me divyam
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so ’rjuna
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
By its so-called advancement of knowledge, human civilization has created many material things, including spaceships and atomic energy. Yet it has failed to create a situation in which people need not die, take birth again, become old or suffer from disease. Whenever an intelligent man raises the question of these miseries before a so-called scientist, the scientist very cleverly replies that material science is progressing and that ultimately it will be possible to render man deathless, ageless and diseaseless. Such answers prove the scientists’ gross ignorance of material nature. In material nature, everyone is under the stringent laws of matter and must pass through six stages of existence: birth, growth, maintenance, production of by-products, deterioration and finally death. No one in contact with material nature can be beyond these six laws of transformation; therefore no one – whether demigod, man, animal or plant – can survive forever in the material world.
Ray Kurzweil should know this and all the other pseudo scientists who are giving hope to the hopeless. – Ray is saying that they can stop aging and death. They die before they find the panaecea of death.
The duration of life varies according to species. Lord Brahmā, the chief living being within this material universe, lives for millions and millions of years, while a minute germ lives for some hours only. But no one in the material world can survive eternally. Things are born or created under certain conditions, they stay for some time, and, if they continue to live, they grow, procreate, gradually dwindle and finally vanish. According to these laws, even the Brahmās, of which there are millions in different universes, are all liable to death either today or tomorrow. Therefore the entire material universe is called Martyaloka, the place of death.
Ray is saying that they are going to make deathless. This has been going on for ages. Ponce de León – searched for fountain of youth. He went from Italy to Florida looking for it. There is no question of being immortal in this material world. They are chasing after something which is impossible and wasting their lives. If we believe in Krsna the absolute truth, we will not waste out time in chasing after illusory windmills. In histroy Don Quixote from a distance thought windmills as enemiies and would charge them. Chasing after phantoms of once imagination. All these phonies are promising something which is impossible and against the lasw of nature. No one can overcome material nature and the laws. Daivehesa guna mayi mama maya duratyya….
Bezos spent 500 million dollars on a yacht. How much time will they spend in the boat. He wants to go to an island and be safe when there is revolt. They want to escape in the yacht, when there is a revolt in the US. Look at what a devotee can do with that money… Devotee does not become anxious. These people are like, go to lion, open mouth, stick the head into the mouth of a devotee.
We should use our intelligence and our spare time to learn about Krsna, the more you learn about Krsna the more you come out of the cycle of birth and death.