KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.6:
- The Lord, being the source of everything that be, is the origin of all austerities and penances also. Great vows of austerity are undertaken by sages to achieve success in self-realization.
- Human life is meant for such tapasya, with the great vow of celibacy, or brahmacarya.
- The system of sanātana-dharma or the school of four castes and four orders of life, prescribes rigid dissociation from woman in three stages of life.
- If one wants to get freedom from the material bondage of conditional life, he must get free from the attraction for the form of woman. Woman, or the fair sex, is the enchanting principle for the living entities, and the male form, especially in the human being, is meant for self-realization.
- The whole world is moving under the spell of womanly attraction, and as soon as a man becomes united with a woman, he at once becomes a victim of material bondage under a tight knot.
- The desires for lording it over the material world, under the intoxication of a false sense of lordship, specifically begin just after the man’s unification with a woman.
- The desires for acquiring a house, possessing land, having children and becoming prominent in society, the affection for community and the place of birth, and the hankering for wealth, which are all like phantasmagoria or illusory dreams, encumber a human being, and he is thus impeded in his progress toward self-realization, the real aim of life.
- One’s life may be divided into four divisions — celibacy, household life, retirement and renunciation.
- Brahmacārī – During the first stage of life, up to twenty-five years of age, a man may be trained as a brahmacārī under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master just to understand that woman is the real binding force in material existence.
- The brahmacārī is then allowed to go home and enter householder life and get married to a suitable woman. But there are many brahmacārīs who do not go home to become householders but continue the life of naiṣṭhika-brahmacārīs, without any connection with women.
- Grihastha – The householder who associates with woman under scriptural restrictions, after a thorough training of brahmacarya, cannot be a householder like cats and dogs.
- vānaprastha – Such a householder, after fifty years of age, would retire from the association of woman as a vānaprastha to be trained to live alone without the association of woman.
- sannyāsī – When the practice is complete, the same retired householder becomes a sannyāsī, strictly separate from woman, even from his married wife.
- Studying the whole scheme of disassociation from women, it appears that a woman is a stumbling block for self-realization, and the Lord appeared as Nārāyaṇa to teach the principle of womanly disassociation with a vow in life.
- The demigods, being envious of the austere life of the rigid brahmacārīs, would try to cause them to break their vows by dispatching soldiers of Cupid.
- But in the case of the Lord, it became an unsuccessful attempt.The Lord, by His pleasure potency, can produce innumerable spiritual beauties and not be the least attracted by the false beauties of material creation.
- One who does not know alleges foolishly that Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed women in His rāsa-līlā in Vṛndāvana, or with His sixteen thousand married wives at Dvārakā.
- The sense of an existence separate from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā (mā – not, yā – this). Some think that we have nothing to do with Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is only a great historical personality and that the Absolute is the impersonal Brahman.
- Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. Even the millions of incarnations are only His different expansions. Similarly, the living entities are also expansions of Kṛṣṇa.
- SB 1.2.7 By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.
- BG 4.37 Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries.
SB 2.7.6 TRANSLATION:
To exhibit His personal way of austerity and penance, He appeared in twin forms as Nārāyaṇa and Nara in the womb of Mūrti, the wife of Dharma and the daughter of Dakṣa. Celestial beauties, the companions of Cupid, went to try to break His vows, but they were unsuccessful, for they saw that many beauties like them were emanating from Him, the Personality of Godhead.
TAPASYA
The Lord, being the source of everything that be, is the origin of all austerities and penances also. Great vows of austerity are undertaken by sages to achieve success in self-realization. Human life is meant for such tapasya, with the great vow of celibacy, or brahmacarya. In the rigid life of tapasya, there is no place for the association of women. And because human life is meant for tapasya, for self-realization, factual human civilization, as conceived by the system of sanātana-dharma or the school of four castes and four orders of life, prescribes rigid dissociation from woman in three stages of life. In the order of gradual cultural development, one’s life may be divided into four divisions — celibacy, household life, retirement and renunciation. During the first stage of life, up to twenty-five years of age, a man may be trained as a brahmacārī under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master just to understand that woman is the real binding force in material existence.
woman is the real binding force in material existence.
If one wants to get freedom from the material bondage of conditional life, he must get free from the attraction for the form of woman. Woman, or the fair sex, is the enchanting principle for the living entities, and the male form, especially in the human being, is meant for self-realization. The whole world is moving under the spell of womanly attraction, and as soon as a man becomes united with a woman, he at once becomes a victim of material bondage under a tight knot. The desires for lording it over the material world, under the intoxication of a false sense of lordship, specifically begin just after the man’s unification with a woman. The desires for acquiring a house, possessing land, having children and becoming prominent in society, the affection for community and the place of birth, and the hankering for wealth, which are all like phantasmagoria or illusory dreams, encumber a human being, and he is thus impeded in his progress toward self-realization, the real aim of life.
BRAHMACARI
The brahmacārī, or a boy from the age of five years, especially from the higher castes, namely from the scholarly parents (the brāhmaṇas), the administrative parents (the kṣatriyas), or the mercantile or productive parents (the vaiśyas), is trained until twenty-five years of age under the care of a bona fide guru or teacher, and under strict observance of discipline he comes to understand the values of life along with taking specific training for a livelihood. The brahmacārī is then allowed to go home and enter householder life and get married to a suitable woman. But there are many brahmacārīs who do not go home to become householders but continue the life of naiṣṭhika-brahmacārīs, without any connection with women. They accept the order of sannyāsa, or the renounced order of life, knowing well that combination with women is an unnecessary burden that checks self-realization. Since sex desire is very strong at a certain stage of life, the guru may allow the brahmacārī to marry; this license is given to a brahmacārī who is unable to continue the way of naiṣṭhika-brahmacarya, and such discriminations are possible for the bona fide guru.
HOUSEHOLDER
A program of so-called family planning is needed. The householder who associates with woman under scriptural restrictions, after a thorough training of brahmacarya, cannot be a householder like cats and dogs.
VANAPRASTHA
Such a householder, after fifty years of age, would retire from the association of woman as a vānaprastha to be trained to live alone without the association of woman.
SANYASI
When the practice is complete, the same retired householder becomes a sannyāsī, strictly separate from woman, even from his married wife.
LORD NARAYANA APPEAR TO TEACH WOMANLY DISSOCIATION
Studying the whole scheme of disassociation from women, it appears that a woman is a stumbling block for self-realization, and the Lord appeared as Nārāyaṇa to teach the principle of womanly disassociation with a vow in life. The demigods, being envious of the austere life of the rigid brahmacārīs, would try to cause them to break their vows by dispatching soldiers of Cupid. But in the case of the Lord, it became an unsuccessful attempt when the celestial beauties saw that the Lord can produce innumerable such beauties by His mystic internal potency and that there was consequently no need to be attracted by others externally.
There is a common proverb that a confectioner is never attracted by sweetmeats. The confectioner, who is always manufacturing sweetmeats, has very little desire to eat them; similarly, the Lord, by His pleasure potency, can produce innumerable spiritual beauties and not be the least attracted by the false beauties of material creation. One who does not know alleges foolishly that Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoyed women in His rāsa-līlā in Vṛndāvana, or with His sixteen thousand married wives at Dvārakā.
This purport explains the reality of material world. Men are put into illusion with the form of women and women are put into illusion with the form of men. If you go 1/8th inch below the skin of the body everything is horrible. (Blood, bones…) Beauty is only skin deep. Even though people know this they are still put into illusion. Does that mean one should not get married. One should not be enamored by material body. This is incomprehensible for materialists. How will humanity continue they may say. It will in the purified state. It is possible. Whole spiritual world is carried in the purified state. What is incomprehensible to people is very easy to understand and execute for the devotees.
What does it say the form of woman. It is something not attractive but appears attractive like an envelope.. We have gigantic sewer (intestines) in the body. What is that attractive… an illusory concept of the body.. By working out, pastic surgery, taking pills, by artificial means to become attractive… unless we disassociate ourselves from this type of false attraction, we remain in this world. If you want to go hiking you need to know the map… knowledge is absolutely important. It is acquired through hearing and repeating and engaging in devotionals service and fixing the knowledge. People were able to hear once and remember… that is because there was no illicit sex, TV, …
Sanjaya did not need TV he was able to see and hear from thousands of miles.. They had such powers. SP his memory was so sharp, energetic, travelling the world 14 times, sleeping little, eating very little in that age. How is that possible – because of spiritual enlightenment. The body is a temp thing, the soul is not subjected to the same thing as the body due to age. The soul is independent of the body. The area of false ego.. Is where we suffer. The whole process of KC is to remove the attachment from the body of man and body of woman and get attached to the body of Krsna., This can be achieved by hearing from the Vaishnava acharyas great personalities.
MAHAJANA YENA GATA
The truth is hidden in the heart of pure devotee therefore the only solution is to follow the path chalked by the mahajans. Follow their example of devotional service. There are so many tapes, video of SP. All this is for us to get the association of pure devotees. Lust angry greed illusion.. Diff type sof conditionings under the modes of material nature all these are impediments to make progress in self realization..
BG 7.14
Daivy hesya guna mayi ..
This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.
One who surrenders unto Krsna for them it is easy to cross this material world. Most people do not get to the surrender they are covered with the illusion that they are the body and they are trying to squeeze the juice of the material body.. Sex life is chewing the chewed.. It is never satisfying… What begins like nectar ends up like poison.
When you accept the spriritual master… he will test if you are sincere.. Then onwards you will make progress.
BG 4.34 –
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from himsubmissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
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. 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. 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.
BG 4.35 (Extremely important)
Having obtained real knowledge from a self-realized soul, you will never fall again into such illusion, for by this knowledge you will see that all living beings are but part of the Supreme, or, in other words, that they are Mine.
How can you say that science is nonsense – you use cars aeroplanes… phones.. It is nonsense because it is all temporary and it is all going to disappear with time.. That is material life, ( Tennessee floods — no more house, no more body) It is very precarious and tenuous. Therefore it says …
THE ONLY SAFETY OR INSURANCE WE NEED TO HAVE IS TO SURRENDER TO KRSNA.
Draupadi she is destined to be stripped… how can she fight karna and Dussasena.. Krishna protected her.. Pandavas… went through so much struggle.. Krsna protected.. If you believe it, Krishna says na me bhaktya.. My devotee is never perished…
Ramanujacharya – many times people tried killing but Krsna protected him. The curse of modern education – You believe what is not true and you disbelieve what is true.
The result of receiving knowledge from a self-realized soul, or one who knows things as they are, is learning that all living beings are parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The sense of an existence separate from Kṛṣṇa is called māyā (mā – not, yā – this). Some think that we have nothing to do with Kṛṣṇa, that Kṛṣṇa is only a great historical personality and that the Absolute is the impersonal Brahman. Factually, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, this impersonal Brahman is the personal effulgence of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the cause of everything. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is clearly stated that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. Even the millions of incarnations are only His different expansions. Similarly, the living entities are also expansions of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādī philosophers wrongly think that Kṛṣṇa loses His own separate existence in His many expansions. This thought is material in nature. We have experience in the material world that a thing, when fragmentally distributed, loses its own original identity. But the Māyāvādī philosophers fail to understand that absolute means that one plus one is equal to one, and that one minus one is also equal to one. This is the case in the absolute world.
ISO Invocation
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.
Simply reading is not enough… have to engage in devotional service under the tutelage of a bonafide spiritual master.. To understand the real knowledge.
Passing tests is not education.. People still engage in sense gratification and are subjected to negative effects and cause self destruction and also others..
Even though you are the greatest businessman, scientist, there is no guarantee that you can control the mind.
SB 1.2.7
vāsudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty āśu vairāgyaṁ
jñānaṁ ca yad ahaitukam
By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.
BG 4.37
Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries.