KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.28 & 29:
- The Lord’s activities are always superhuman, and that distinguishes Him from the ordinary living being.
- Uprooting a gigantic banyan or arjuna tree and extinguishing a blazing forest fire simply by closing one’s eyes are certainly impossible by any kind of human endeavor.
- But not only are these activities amazing to hear, but in fact all other activities of the Lord, whatever He may do, are all superhuman.
- Whoever knows the superhuman activities of the Lord, due to their very transcendental nature, becomes eligible to enter the kingdom of Kṛṣṇa, and, as such, after quitting this present material body, the knower of the transcendental activities of the Lord goes back home, back to Godhead.
- One who can understand the truth of the appearance of the Personality of Godhead is already liberated from material bondage, and therefore he returns to the kingdom of God immediately after quitting this present material body.
- Such liberation of the living entity from material bondage is not at all easy. But the devotee, simply by understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of returning to this material world.
- Although there are many transcendental forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. One has to understand this fact with conviction.
- “The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in many, many transcendental forms in relationships with His unalloyed devotees.
- He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest perfectional stage of liberation
- Anyone who understands Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord, “You are the same Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead,” is certainly liberated instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental association of the Lord is guaranteed.
- Anyone who does not understand Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in the mode of ignorance and consequently he will not attain salvation simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey, or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gītā according to mundane scholarship.
- Such puffed-up mundane scholars have to wait for the causeless mercy of the devotee of the Lord. One should therefore cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness with faith and knowledge, and in this way attain perfection.
- BG 9.8 (Refutes the Darwin’s theory) – The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end.
- After creating different species of life, Lord has no connection with them. The creation takes place to accommodate the inclinations of the various living entities, and so the Lord does not become involved with it.
- Faith precedes knowledge
SB 2.7.28
Then also when the cowherd boys and their animals drank the poisoned water of the river Yamunā, and after the Lord [in His childhood] revived them by His merciful glance, just to purify the water of the river Yamunā He jumped into it as if playing and chastised the venomous Kāliya snake, which was lurking there, its tongue emitting waves of poison. Who can perform such herculean tasks but the Supreme Lord?
SB 2.7.29
On the very night of the day of the chastisement of the Kāliya snake, when the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi were sleeping carefreely, there was a forest fire ablaze due to dry leaves, and it appeared that all the inhabitants were sure to meet their death. But the Lord, along with Balarāma, saved them simply by closing His eyes. Such are the superhuman activities of the Lord.
Although in this verse the Lord’s activity has been described as superhuman, it should be noted thatthe Lord’s activities are always superhuman, and that distinguishes Him from the ordinary living being. Uprooting a gigantic banyan or arjuna tree and extinguishing a blazing forest fire simply by closing one’s eyes are certainly impossible by any kind of human endeavor. But not only are these activities amazing to hear, but in fact all other activities of the Lord, whatever He may do, are all superhuman, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.9). Whoever knows the superhuman activities of the Lord, due to their very transcendental nature, becomes eligible to enter the kingdom of Kṛṣṇa, and, as such, after quitting this present material body, the knower of the transcendental activities of the Lord goes back home, back to Godhead.
BG 4.9
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.
The Lord’s descent from His transcendental abode is already explained in the sixth verse. One who can understand the truth of the appearance of the Personality of Godhead is already liberated from material bondage, and therefore he returns to the kingdom of God immediately after quitting this present material body. Such liberation of the living entity from material bondage is not at all easy. The impersonalists and the yogīs attain liberation only after much trouble and many, many births. Even then, the liberation they achieve – merging into the impersonal brahma-jyotir of the Lord – is only partial, and there is the risk of returning to this material world. But the devotee, simply by understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of returning to this material world.
You do not have to be a scholar to go back to Godhead. You need to simply have faith in the words of the lord, devotees of the lord and the acharyas like Narada muni.. This faith is demonstrated by the uninterrupted devotional service, they never stop the devotional service. One may say that let;s go for vacation.. One should say no I cannot miss my service.
Example – Maharaj met the Caretaker of Ananta Alwar.. Who walked to Tirumala by walking with pregnant wife to serve Lord Balaji.. The caretaker was an old man. He has sons who are IT in the US.. they ask him to come.. He told Maharaj I dont want to leave my service and go.. Very dedicated! It is all material education.. Is there something wrong with staying back in tirupathi and serving the lord? No..
One can fall down from Brahma Jyothi, Vaikuntha and one does not fall from Goloka..
In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) it is stated that the Lord has many, many forms and incarnations: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Although there are many transcendental forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. One has to understand this fact with conviction, although it is incomprehensible to mundane scholars and empiric philosophers.
They always find differences between Krsna, Vishnu, Narayana.. But they do not understand that it is all one supreme lord expanding into infinite forms.. Yogis can only expand into 10 forms which can do identical activities., Anyone who claims to be Krsna is a nonsense or a rascal.. There are plenary expansions of the Lord, individual jivas.. Who receives a specific power from the lord. Example – Vyasadeva, …Shakti Avesha avataras.. Non devotees do not hear on a regular basis.. They cannot understand the subtleties..
As stated in the Vedas (Puruṣa-bodhinī Upaniṣad):
eko devo nitya-līlānurakto
bhakta-vyāpī hṛdy antar-ātmā
“The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in many, many transcendental forms in relationships with His unalloyed devotees.” This Vedic version is confirmed in this verse of the Gītā personally by the Lord. He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest perfectional stage of liberation. Simply by accepting this truth on faith, one can, without a doubt, attain liberation. The Vedic version tat tvam asi is actually applied in this case. Anyone who understands Lord Kṛṣṇa to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord, “You are the same Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead,” is certainly liberated instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental association of the Lord is guaranteed. In other words, such a faithful devotee of the Lord attains perfection, and this is confirmed by the following Vedic assertion:
tam eva viditvāti mṛtyum eti
nānyaḥ panthā vidyate ’yanāya
“One can attain the perfect stage of liberation from birth and death simply by knowing the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and there is no other way to achieve this perfection.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.8) That there is no alternative means that anyone who does not understand Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in the mode of ignorance and consequently he will not attain salvation simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey, or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gītā according to mundane scholarship. Such empiric philosophers may assume very important roles in the material world, but they are not necessarily eligible for liberation. Such puffed-up mundane scholars have to wait for the causeless mercy of the devotee of the Lord. One should therefore cultivate Kṛṣṇa consciousness with faith and knowledge, and in this way attain perfection.
Faith precedes Knowledge. Example – If you go buy a ticket to fly from Seattle to Mumbai.,. Do you have the knowledge that you will actually reach mumbai.. NO. Then why did you buy the ticket.. Because you have the faith that it will reach Mumbai..you buy the ticket.. Of Course you have to have knowledge to strengthen your faith. But it always starts with faith. The most complicated and evolved human being is Brahma.. All the draminism and we evolve from monkeys is not true.. To understand the truth you have to reach BG.
In Bg 8th chapter all the species were created in the beginning of creation. Who do you believe? Do you believe what is taught in school or what is said by the lord in Bhagavadgita. We believe what Krsna says.. They do not believe what Krsna Says.. they believe in scientists. Therefore people get confused. Even devotees get confused.. Who should we believe that is a fundamental question in life.. SP says – We should believe in Krsna. SP is a genuine pure devotee of Krsna.. We follow what Sp says..
BG 9.8 – AMAZING REFUTATION OF DARWINISM
The whole cosmic order is under Me. Under My will it is automatically manifested again and again, and under My will it is annihilated at the end.
Now, as far as the living entities are concerned, they are impregnated into this material nature, and as a result of their past deeds they take different positions. Thus the activities of this material world begin. The activities of the different species of living beings begin from the very moment of creation. It is not that all is evolved. The different species of life are created immediately along with the universe. Men, animals, beasts, birds – everything is simultaneously created, because whatever desires the living entities had at the last annihilation are again manifested. It is clearly indicated here by the word avaśam that the living entities have nothing to do with this process. The state of being in their past life in the past creation is simply manifested again, and all this is done simply by His will. This is the inconceivable potency of the Supreme Personality of God. And after creating different species of life, He has no connection with them. The creation takes place to accommodate the inclinations of the various living entities, and so the Lord does not become involved with it.
We have faith in SP and Krsna.. Therefore it says – Prakritam..
We have real vested interest in what Krsna Says. He promises that we have a chance to Go back to Godhead if we believe what He says.
If we says someone that Lord appeared with 4 hands.. They will not believe it and say that we are crazy. Just having that faith in that one point you go back to Godhead.