KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.8.1
- Devarṣi Nārada was directly instructed by Brahmājī, who was also directly instructed by the Supreme Lord; therefore the instructions imparted by Nārada to his various disciples are as good as those of the Supreme Lord.
- It comes down from the Lord by disciplic succession, and this transcendental knowledge is distributed to the world by this descending process.
- The disciplic succession which strictly follows the transcendental instruction is the bona fide chain of disciplic succession, and the test for such bona fide spiritual masters is that there should be no difference between the instruction of the Lord originally imparted to His devotee and that which is imparted by the authority in the line of disciplic succession.
- Attentive and revarant hearing is very important.
- To remain with family and children is no disqualification for spiritual advancement of life. That is not a disqualification, because after all, one has to take his birth from the father and mother. So all great ācāryas, great spiritual leaders, after all, they have come from father and mother.
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu said – “Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.”]
- gṛhamedhī means he has no higher ideas or higher understanding of spiritual life. Simply living with wife and children like cats and dogs, he is called gṛhamedhī.
- So there are volumes of literature, magazines, newspapers, they are hearing. But when you say, “Please come here. We are reciting Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Please hear,” they will not come. When you speak of God, then they are not ready to hear.
- “They do not know what is self-realization.” their vision is very poor. Why? They are thinking this body as self; therefore they are very poorly thoughtful.
- They cannot understand that they are not this body.
- So what is their business, those who are blind to the ātma-tattvam? Nidrayā, sleeping. They waste their life by sleeping. Or they waste their time in sex life.
- Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was quested by Yamarāja, “What is the most wonderful thing in this world? Can you say?” Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira immediately replied –
- “Every moment, every second, every day, every night, there are so many hundreds and thousands of living entities, they are going to the temple of death, or dying.” “But one who is living, he is thinking that ‘I will not die. I will live for good.’ That is the most wonderful thing in this world.”
- They are pramatta, they are mad after the struggle for existence, although they know nothing will exist; it has come just like a flash, and it will end like a flash. Then what is the actual platform of my life, my living condition, they do not inquire. They do not inquire. So gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām.
SB 2.8.1 TRANSLATION:
King Parīkṣit inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī: How did Nārada Muni, whose hearers are as fortunate as those instructed by Lord Brahmā, explain the transcendental qualities of the Lord, who is without material qualities, and before whom did he speak?
Devarṣi Nārada was directly instructed by Brahmājī, who was also directly instructed by the Supreme Lord; therefore the instructions imparted by Nārada to his various disciples are as good as those of the Supreme Lord. That is the way of understanding Vedic knowledge. It comes down from the Lord by disciplic succession, and this transcendental knowledge is distributed to the world by this descending process. There is no chance, however, to receive the Vedic knowledge from mental speculators. Therefore, wherever Nārada Muni goes, he represents himself as authorized by the Lord, and his appearance is as good as that of the Supreme Lord. Similarly, the disciplic succession which strictly follows the transcendental instruction is the bona fide chain of disciplic succession, and the test for such bona fide spiritual masters is that there should be no difference between the instruction of the Lord originally imparted to His devotee and that which is imparted by the authority in the line of disciplic succession. How Nārada Muni distributed the transcendental knowledge of the Lord will be explained in later cantos.
It will appear also that the Lord existed prior to the material creation, and therefore His transcendental name, quality, etc., do not represent any material quality. Whenever, therefore, the Lord is described as aguṇa, or without any quality, it does not mean that He has no quality, but that He has no material quality, such as the modes of goodness, passion or ignorance, as the conditioned souls have. He is transcendental to all material conceptions, and thus He is described as aguṇa.
False gurus say not to read any old books, they very cleverly discard the vedic literature. They give their own speculative theories as explanations to the vedic verses.. To support their own sense gratification. This is going on all over the place. Claiming to be a God and building followers. They say Believing in vedic literature is fantasy and believing science is the truth..
Lot of emphasis on how to choose a bonafide spiritual master has been given in this purport.
When Gandhi wrote commentary on BG he said the real purpose of BG is Non violence. That shows he did not understand BG. BG is all about justifiable violence.
Krsna gives Arjuna the eyes to see the universal form. He knows that in future there will be many who claim that they are God. To dispose them the test is they should show the universal form and they should give the eyes to the disciple to give the eyes to see the form.
In BG 10.8 Krsna says they – He is the source of everything. But some Vaishnavas say that everything comes from Narayana. But that is not what Krsna says. It is also confirmed that Krsna is the source by Vyasdev and Sukhdev Goswami – who say “ Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya.. “
We can go through a gigantic list of people giving purport to BG.. which is mere speculation. It is a very rare thing to have a bonafide spiritual master. SP came and showed who was a bonafide spiritual master. SP presented everything as it is coming from disciplic succession. If we deviate and change even one word it is a mess.. It is a very serious mistake and will have a catastrophic consequence. Prabhupada would read his own books, and he said that I did not say that. Sometimes mistakes are made. How are the mistakes made, by not hearing attentively.
Prabhupada once said in Moscow that we should wake up at 4 o’clock and chant our rounds. The translator said that we should wake up at 4 o’ clock and chant our rounds in the shower. The translator made a mistake by not attentively hearing. Attentive and revarant hearing is very important. In college, if a student does not pay attention properly; those types of people usually fail their test. Because the questions are noit always from the books, but they will be from the classes. Students with straight A’s always listen attentively, and read their books, hence they do well. It is not just studying the book and passing the test.
If you want to be a bonafide devotee the information in this purport is very important. For bonafide spiritual masters, there should be no difference between the instructions of the Lord originally imparted through the disciplic succession. This is very important information if you want to become a bonafide spiritual master.
The Defect of Modern Civilization:
SP Lecture: SB 2.1.2-5 Montreal Oct 23, 1968
So to remain with family and children is no disqualification for spiritual advancement of life. That is not a disqualification, because after all, one has to take his birth from the father and mother. So all great ācāryas, great spiritual leaders, after all, they have come from father and mother.
So without combination of father and mother, even there is no possibility of begetting a great soul. There are many instances of great souls like Śaṅkarācārya, Lord Jesus Christ, Rāmānujācārya.Even they had no very high hereditary title, still, they came out from the gṛhasthas, father and mother.
So gṛhastha, or the householder life, is not disqualification. We should not think it that only the brahmacārīs or the sannyāsīs, they can elevate to the spiritual platform, whereas those who are living with wife and children, they cannot. No. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has clearly stated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta that,
kibā vipra, kibā śūdra, nyāsī kene naya
yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei ‘guru’ haya
[“Whether one is a brāhmaṇa, a sannyāsī or a śūdra—regardless of what he is—he can become a spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.”]
Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “It doesn’t matter whether a person is gṛhastha or a sannyāsī or a brāhmaṇa or not brāhmaṇa. It doesn’t matter. Simply if one is Kṛṣṇa conscious, if he is elevated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then he is just,” I mean to say, “eligible to become the spiritual master.” Yei kṛṣṇa-tattva-vettā sei guru haya [Cc. Madhya 8.128].
Tattva-vettā means one who knows about the science of Kṛṣṇa. That means fully Kṛṣṇa conscious. Sei guru haya. Sei means “he.” Guru means “spiritual master.” He doesn’t say that “One has to become a sannyāsī or a brahmacārī. Then he can…” No.
But here the word is used gṛhamedhī, not gṛhastha. Gṛhastha is not condemned. If one lives in regulative principle with wife and children, so that is not disqualification. But gṛhamedhī, gṛhamedhī means he has no higher ideas or higher understanding of spiritual life. Simply living with wife and children like cats and dogs, he is called gṛhamedhī. That is the difference between these two words, gṛhamedhī and gṛhastha.
So Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām. “One who does not know anything about this family life or sex life”—family life, they have taken it as sex life, that’s all—”so they have many things to hear.” Śrotavyādīni rājendra nṛṇāṁ santi sahasraśaḥ [SB 2.1.2].
[Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.]
Actually, you see. People are reading so many newspapers. In big country, big cities, there are big, big volumes of newspaper, magazines. They are very much eager to learn or to hear about the current news. So hearing means śrotavyādi.
So there are volumes of volumes’ literature, magazines, newspapers, they are hearing. But when you say, “Please come here. We are reciting Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Please hear,” they will not come. They will not come. This minus. When you speak of God, then they are not ready to hear.
But if you speak of dog, that “Here is a dog’s medicine. You can maintain a dog like this, and a dog can become fatty like this,” oh, it is very scientific [indistinct]. You see? So they are called gṛhamedhīs. So they have got many subject matter to hear, but they are not agreeable to hear only one thing—about God.
Why? Now, apaśyatām ātma-tattvam [SB 2.1.2]: “They do not know what is self-realization.” Apaśyatām, cannot see; their vision is very poor. Why? They are thinking this body as self; therefore they are very poorly thoughtful. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in another place, it is stated, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke [SB 10.84.13].
Every day we are experiencing that “I am not this body. The body is growing. I am still there.” There are so many instances. But we cannot understand that we are not this body. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvam. Ātmā means, the ātmā… There are various meanings of ātmā. Ātmā sometimes is meant indicating this body; ātmā is sometimes indicating this mind; ātmā is soul; and ātmā, Paramātmā, the Supreme Lord. Ātma-tattvam. Tattvam means truth, philosophy, or science.
So they do not know the science of ātmā, either take it body or mind. Generally, they take it as this body. So, so far body is concerned, there are so many departments: medical department and health department and… I do not remember. There are so many departments. All these departments of knowledge, they are practically on the basis of this body.
Then higher than this, ātmā, if you take it “mind,” there are psychological department, speculation department, philosophical department, so many departments, mind. Then intellectual department. But there is no department of the ātmā, of the soul. That is the defect of the modern civilization.
“They have no information of the real ātmā, of the real position, real background of all these activities. They do not see it.” Therefore they have got many subject matter to hear about this body, about this mind, about intellectual activities, and so many things.
But because they do not know that ātmā means the self—they do not know—therefore they have got many subject matter except this one, the soul, the subject matter of soul. Apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām [SB 2.1.2]. And why they are so much ignorant? “Because they have made home as the center of activities. They do not know; neither they are educated.
It is not their fault. The system of education is faulty. They do not give any education about the ātma-tattvam. They give education that about economic development, about technological understanding, about scientific understanding of the laws of nature, and so many other things, but there is no department of knowledge to understand what is soul.
Apaśyatām. Because they do not see, they do not know, therefore they are too much attached to this body, and this body means home. And home means wife. Wife means children. Children means money. Money means society. So many things. Yes.
First thing is that this material world is existing on sex attraction. And as soon as there is combination of sex, then the next attraction is for home, for land, for children, for society, for wealth, for bank balance, and so many things. Then extend it more, society to nationality, nationality to humanity, and go on increasing, but they are not ātma-tattvam. They are all gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām, extended selfishness.
Selfishness… Just like a dog. He knows simply about his body. He won’t allow another dog to come in his boundary. That is very poor selfishness. You extend it little more, human society. There is family, wife, children. That is also extended selfishness. Then you further extend it: you have got society or nationality, consciousness of nationality. That is also still further extended selfishness.
Similarly, you extend the same propensity humanity-wise. Because we are… There is a class of men, they are very much anxious to serve the human society. But they are not anxious to serve the animal society. The animal society may be killed for the satisfaction of the human society.
Therefore, unless you come to the point of ātmā, whatever extended selfishness there is, it is selfishness. There is no, I mean to say, broadmindedness. And broadmindedness, when you come to the platform of ātmā. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Īśo mantra 1]
When you come to the point of God, then you see, “Oh, everything belongs to God. Everything belongs to God. Here is an animal. Here is an animal; he also as good as I am, because he is also soul.” So ātma-tattvam to be discussed, but they are not prepared. Therefore gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām.
So what is their business, those who are blind to the ātma-tattvam? So that business is described in the next verse:
So their business is very nicely explained. What is that? Nidrayā, sleeping. Sleeping. Hriyate. They waste their life by sleeping. When? At night. Nidrayā hriyate naktam. Or they waste their time in sex life. At night there are two things.
One who has no advantage of sex life, he sleeps alone. And if he has got advantage of sex life, he enjoys. So at night they waste their life in this way. Nidrayā hriyate naktaṁ vyavāyena ca vā vayaḥ [SB 2.1.3]. In this way their life is being wasted.
I don’t wish to get birth again, or I want to stop birth. Janma-mṛtyu. I want to stop death. I want to stop disease. And I want to stop old age. These are the activities, material activities, struggling against. And I am thinking that “These soldiers, or this my body or my wife, my children, will protect me,” dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api, although I am experiencing every day that they are asat, they will not exist.
What is the most wonderful thing in this world ?
Just like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was quested by Yamarāja, “What is the most wonderful thing in this world? Can you say?” Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira immediately replied. What is that? Ahany ahani lokānī gacchantīha yamālayam [Mahābhārata, Vana-parva 313.116]:
[Every day, hundreds and millions of living entities go to the kingdom of death. Still, those who are remaining aspire for a permanent situation. What could be more astonishing than this?]
“Every moment, every second, every day, every night, there are so many hundreds and thousands of living entities, they are going to the temple of death, or dying.” Ahany ahani lokānī gacchantīha yamālayaṁ śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti. “But one who is living, he is thinking that ‘I will not die. I will live for good.’ That is the most wonderful thing in this world.”
Brahma Jignasa –
Nobody is taking experience that “I will have to meet death. And what is next after death? What I was before my birth? Why I am here? Why I am struggling so hard? I want to be happy. I want to be peaceful. Why there is no peace? Why there is no happiness? Why these things? Why I am put into this…?”
These are called ātma-tattvam. These are called brahma-jijñāsā. If a man is not enlightened to this point of inquiring of this “What? What I am? Wherefore I am come? What is this world? What is this body? Why I am getting old? Why I am getting diseased?” So many “whys” there are. This is called brahma-jijñāsā.
But they are pramatta, they are mad after the struggle for existence, although they know nothing will exist; it has come just like a flash, and it will end like a flash. Then what is the actual platform of my life, my living condition, they do not inquire. They do not inquire. So gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām.
No one can speak like this..only pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada can talk like this. Lemming Syndrome. HIgh school students, most of them are like zombies.. Nonsense, mundane knowledge…. Is getting into them everyday..
What can we do – first we have to cross the bridge and we have to convinced that this is the most important thing. Have to understand atma tattva. How do we get Atma tattva? We get atma tattva by coming to the class everyday.
BG 13.8-12
the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease;
Why are we forced? It is not a normal thing it is an evil. Atheists say that it is part of life. There is nothing after death. They push you go to after sense gratification.
They are forced to repeat birth, death, old age and disease.
The way to free yourself is to hear everyday..
People are committing suicide – Body, panic attacks, paranoid, drugs, It is a vicious cycle. Unless we understand that it is evil.. We will not try to come out of it/. Atheists says live to the fullest as there is only one life.
“I did not say about Education, SP says and Bhakti Vinod Thakur said it.. I did not invent anything new.. “ Everyday there is something new and we are not making up. Prabhupada has written so much for deeper understanding of realization of this philosophy of krishna consciousness
did you ever notice the word evil in this verse?