KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.3.13:
- To be able to advance in Krsna Consciousness, one has to take the shelter of the bonafide spiritual master and ask questions and take advice when making decisions related to devotional service/ spiritual way of life.
- Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective.
- The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord, therefore, advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself.
- No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple.
- No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders.
- One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige.
- Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life.
- One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.
- Both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. (culture of a guru disciple relationship)
- A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
- Even mundane activities dovetailed with service to the Lord are also calculated to be transcendental or approved kaivalya affairs.” Only a spiritual master (siksha & diksha gurus) can teach us how to dovetail everything in Krsna’s service.
- We do not accept that this world is false. There is sambandha. There is relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Anything material, made of earth, water, fire, air, they are Kṛṣṇa’s energies. Therefore there is direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And if Kṛṣṇa is reality, why His energy should be false? No. We must know how to utilize it.
- So if we remember that everything is manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, there is no question of materialism. It is all spiritual energy. So nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. So we have to use them for Kṛṣṇa.
- We should not be attached to things as there, but we should try to understand that there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, we shall properly utilize it. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as we understand that there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe…
- Everything can be utilized for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not a stereotyped, stagnant block. Kṛṣṇa is a dynamic force. Therefore everything can be dovetailed in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Simply one should learn the art under proper guidance how to utilize. Then that will be perfect form of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- A pure devotee of the Lord automatically develops all godly qualities such as: he is kind, peaceful, truthful, equable, faultless, magnanimous, mild, clean, nonpossessive, a well-wisher to all, satisfied, surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, without hankering, simple, fixed, self-controlled, a balanced eater, sane, mannerly, prideless, grave, sympathetic, friendly, poetic, expert and silent.
SB 2.3.13 TRANSLATION:
Śaunaka said: The son of Vyāsadeva, Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, was a highly learned sage and was able to describe things in a poetic manner. What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit again inquire from him after hearing all that he had said?
CLASS NOTES:
A pure devotee of the Lord automatically develops all godly qualities, and some of the prominent features of those qualities are as follows: he is kind, peaceful, truthful, equable, faultless, magnanimous, mild, clean, nonpossessive, a well-wisher to all, satisfied, surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, without hankering, simple, fixed, self-controlled, a balanced eater, sane, mannerly, prideless, grave, sympathetic, friendly, poetic, expert and silent. Out of these twenty-six prominent features of a devotee, as described by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja in his Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the qualification of being poetic is especially mentioned herein in relation to Śukadeva Gosvāmī. The presentation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by his recitation is the highest poetic contribution. He was a self-realized learned sage. In other words, he was a poet amongst the sages.
This proves that if one engages in pure devotional service under the tutelage of spiritual master, without any material motive.
(BG 4.31) INQUIRIES AND SUBMISSION CONSTITUTE THE PROPER COMBINATION FOR SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective.
One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.
The test of the spiritual master is to check if the disciple is taking advice from the spiritual master or not and following the advice…
In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. (culture of a guru disciple relationship) A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
We are in the material world because we rejected Krsna’s instruction. If we send these kids to these public schools, we are killing the desire of the child to become Krsna Consciousness. …
If the student is submissive, and performs service, the devotee develops all these qualities –
“he is kind, peaceful, truthful, equable, faultless, magnanimous, mild, clean, nonpossessive, a well-wisher to all, satisfied, surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, without hankering, simple, fixed, self-controlled, a balanced eater, sane, mannerly, prideless, grave, sympathetic, friendly, poetic, expert and silent.”
Whole spiritual life is dependent on Inquiries and submission. Inquiries by Parikshit maharaj & Sukh dev goswami, Sages of Naimisharanya and Suta goswami, Arjuna and Krsna… Questions and answers is the spiritual life. If you make decisions on your own, not asking whether it is right or wrong, then that is not spiritual life, that is demoniac life…
If we think we can get educated by reading the gender training, … our life becomes nonsense.. Kids are learning Harry Potter than Srimad Bhagavatam. This is the sad state of Iskcon and the world. Unless we become convinced by reading SP books, there is no hope.
Yesterday we learnt the most important thing –
“Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described this action of a pure devotee as nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. EVEN MUNDANE ACTIVITIES DOVETAILED WITH SERVICE TO THE LORD ARE ALSO CALCULATED TO BE TRANSCENDENTAL OR APPROVED KAIVALYA AFFAIRS.”
BG 1.4-5 Lecture July 10th London
https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/730710bglon
NIRBANDHAḤ KṚṢṆA-SAMBANDHE.
Kṛṣṇa’s this fighting līlā, pastimes, and the rāsa-līlā pastime, they are all the same, because Kṛṣṇa is the center. Kṛṣṇa being center, whatever in connection with Kṛṣṇa is there, that becomes also Kṛṣṇa. This is the idea.
anāsaktasya viṣayān
yathārham upayuñjataḥ
nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe
yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate
[Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255]
This is the instruction of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
So just like we, in propagating Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have to deal with money or persons who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious, outsider. We have to deal with them. But when we go to outsider or when we deal with money, there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa-sambandha. So Rūpa Gosvāmī has distinguished the…
prāpañcikatayā buddhyā
hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ
mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo
phalgu vairāgyaṁ kathyate
[Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.256]
Prāpañcika means material. So prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ. Everything has got connection with Kṛṣṇa because ultimately everything is Kṛṣṇa’s energy.
Service to the lord – Is following instructions of Shiksha and Diksha guru. You know what the service to the lord is only through the gurus. You know how to dovetail everything in Krsna’s service only through the guru.
material energy is Kṛṣṇa’s energy. But when you become covered by this material energy, you do not see Kṛṣṇa. This is the position.
We do not accept that this world is false. Mayavadis say so…
We can say, “It is temporary manifestation.” But it is not false. Why it is false? We are living in this house. If somebody, some rascal, says, “It is false,” why false? We are utilizing this house. We are utilizing this microphone. We are utilizing the Dictaphone. Why it is false? There is sambandha. There is relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Anything material, made of earth, water, fire, air, they are Kṛṣṇa’s energies. Therefore there is direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa. And if Kṛṣṇa is reality, why His energy should be false? No. We must know how to utilize it.
So if we remember that everything is manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, there is no question of materialism. It is all spiritual energy. So nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe. So we have to use them for Kṛṣṇa.
They teach in the school how to use everything in their sense gratification. After going years to these schools, they learn how to work like asses and make money for their sense gratification…
BOTH DESTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION ARE KRSNA’S ACTIVITIES
As one side, paritrāṇāya sādhūnām, to give protection to the devotees, the other side is to vanquish all the demons. Just like if you want to grow paddy on the field, so first of all you have to destroy all the unwanted weeds. Then you grow the seeds, it will come out nicely. So these two things are required = destruction and construction. Both the things are Kṛṣṇa’s activities or different energies. So you cannot accept one thing, giving up the other side. We have to understand that both sides, they are working as different manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy.
Just like here also, when we do something, we require varieties of energies to make that thing perfect. So everything Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s, this material world or spiritual world, everything is working in order, under different energies
WE SHOULD NOT BE ATTACHED TO THINGS AS THERE, BUT WE SHOULD TRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS RELATIONSHIP WITH KṚṢṆA. And as soon as there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, we shall properly utilize it. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As soon as we understand that there is relationship with Kṛṣṇa, nirbandhe kṛṣṇa-sambandhe…
Mundane academia – It is all false and misleading education….
Can you use big bang, darwinism, gender neutrality in service of Krsna…? You cannot.
Everything can be utilized for Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is not a stereotyped, stagnant block. Kṛṣṇa is a dynamic force. Therefore everything can be dovetailed in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Simply one should learn the art under proper guidance how to utilize. Then that will be perfect form of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Question – about decision, we cannot ask all the time to senior devotees. We cannot disturb them…
Answer – That is nonsense.
Opening the door for being disobedient
What are absurd inquires – inquiries nothing to do with devotional service.
Dont assume anything.
Caitanya MahaPrabhu said – my guru said I am an idiot..
If you don’t know if your question is absurd ask your guru…
We should never think that we know everything…
We have to make decisions everyday some of those decisions you don’t know whether right or wrong.