KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.1.9
• The Lord is transcendental, as are His activities. He is neither inactive nor impersonal.
• By the grace of the Lord, an impersonalist is enlightened by the superior statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he is also converted into a transcendental devotee of the Personality of Godhead.
• A person like Śukadeva Gosvāmī cannot be attracted by any mundane activity, but when such a devotee is convinced by a superior method, he is certainly attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord.
• The whole universe is moving, being agitated by cupid’s arrow.
• Those who are in the path of salvation can become free from material attraction by the association of the devotees of the lord.
• The feminine attractive features which can conquer Cupid or even the super most tolerant Lord Śiva could not conquer the senses of the Lord.
• This is because the Lord is all-perfect ātmārāma, or self-sufficient. He does not require anyone’s extraneous help for His personal satisfaction.
• The queens could not satisfy the Lord by their feminine attractiveness, but they satisfied Him by their sincere affection and service
• Thus being satisfied by their unalloyed service only, the Lord reciprocated the service just like a devout husband. Otherwise, He had no business becoming the husband of so many wives.
• He is the husband of everyone, but to one who accepts Him as such, He reciprocates. This unalloyed affection for the Lord is never to be compared to mundane lust. It is purely transcendental
• The Lord appeared like a mundane husband, but factually His relation with His wives was transcendental, pure and unconditioned by the modes of material nature.
• The mental speculators compare everything from the standpoint of experimental knowledge of their own selves. Thus when the Lord is found to act like an ordinary person in matrimonial bondage, they consider Him to be like one of them, without considering that the Lord can at once marry sixteen thousand wives or more.
• Due to ignorance only they always think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as like themselves and make their own conclusions, which are absurd and unauthentic from the version of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
• This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead: He is not affected by the qualities of material nature, even though He is in contact with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities.
• The Divinity and His associates are on the same transcendental plane, and their glories are always sanctified by the action of yogamāyā, or the internal potency of the Lord.
• Such mahā-bhāgavatas, or first-grade devotees, although moving amongst men, are not contaminated by honor or insult, hunger or satisfaction, sleep or wakefulness, which are all resultant actions of the three modes of material nature. Similarly, some of them are engaged in worldly dealings, yet are unaffected. Unless these neutralities of life are there, one cannot be considered situated in transcendence. Example – Six Goswamis
SB 2.1.9 TRANSLATION:
O saintly King, I was certainly situated perfectly in transcendence, yet I was still attracted by the delineation of the pastimes of the Lord, who is described by enlightened verses
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 2.1.9) EVEN AN IMPERSONALIST IS ENLIGHTENED BY THE SUPERIOR STATEMENTS OF ŚRĪMAD-BHĀGAVATAM, HE IS ALSO CONVERTED INTO A TRANSCENDENTAL DEVOTEE OF THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD.
The Absolute Truth is realized at the first instance as the impersonal Brahman by philosophical speculation and later as the Supersoul by further progress of transcendental knowledge. But if, by the grace of the Lord, an impersonalist is enlightened by the superior statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, he is also converted into a transcendental devotee of the Personality of Godhead.
A person like Śukadeva Gosvāmī cannot be attracted by any mundane activity, but when such a devotee is convinced by a superior method, he is certainly attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord.
The Lord is transcendental, as are His activities. He is neither inactive nor impersonal.
Step by step understanding of the absolute truth is explained here. The obstacles in the progression in this path are many – One – Mayavadi philosophy, Karma kanda following vedic injuctions to get fruitive results, being enamored by vedic philosophy without understanding the goal, tremendous mystical powers, getting in trap of wanting to control material nature.
The Goal of all vedas is to understand Krsna and His relationship with His devotees. Many people who study vedas do not understand it.
For example Mahajans, Alwars, simple worshippers of Krsna who have no intention of becoming limelight, they are able to understand Krsna
(SB 1.11.36) THE FEMININE ATTRACTIVE FEATURES WHICH CAN CONQUER CUPID OR EVEN THE SUPER MOST TOLERANT LORD ŚIVA COULD NOT CONQUER THE SENSES OF THE LORD.
Although the queens’ beautiful smiles and furtive glances were all spotless and exciting, and although they could conquer Cupid himself by making him give up his bow in frustration, and although even the tolerant Śiva could fall victim to them, still, despite all their magical feats and attractions, they could not agitate the senses of the Lord
(SB 1.11.36) THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS MOVING, BEING AGITATED BY CUPID’S ARROW.
The activities of the world are being carried on by the central attraction of male and female.
A male is searching after a mate to his liking, and the female is looking after a suitable male. That is the way of material stimulus. And as soon as a male is combined with a female, the material bondage of the living being is at once tightly interlocked by sex relation, and as a result of this, both the male’s and female’s attraction for sweet home, motherland, bodily offspring, society and friendship and accumulation of wealth becomes the illusory field of activities, and thus a false but indefatigable attraction for the temporary material existence, which is full of miseries, is manifest.
Cupid throws his arrow upon the living beings to make them mad after the opposite sex, whether the party is actually beautiful or not. Cupid’s provocations are going on, even among beastly societies who are all ugly-looking in the estimation of the civilized nations. Thus Cupid’s influence is exerted even amongst the ugliest forms, and what to speak of the most perfect beauties. Lord Śiva, who is considered to be most tolerant, was also struck by Cupid’s arrow because he also became mad after the Mohinī incarnation of the Lord and acknowledged himself to be defeated. Cupid, however, was himself captivated by the grave and exciting dealings of the goddesses of fortune, and he voluntarily gave up his bow and arrow in a spirit of frustration.
(SB 1.11.36) THOSE WHO ARE IN THE PATH OF SALVATION CAN BECOME FREE FROM MATERIAL ATTRACTION BY THE ASSOCIATION OF THE DEVOTEES OF THE LORD.
Those who are, therefore, on the path of salvation for going back home, back to Godhead, are especially advised by all scriptural instruction to become free from such paraphernalia of material attraction. And that is possible only by the association of the devotees of the Lord, who are called the mahātmās.
(SB 1.11.36) THE PATH OF SALVATION OR THE PATH GOING BACK TO GODHEAD ALWAYS FORBIDS THE ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN, HOW THEN CAN ONE BE ACCEPTED AS THE SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD WHO IS ADDICTED TO MORE THAN SIXTEEN THOUSAND WIVES?
The path of salvation or the path going back to Godhead always forbids the association of women, and the complete sanātana-dharma or varṇāśrama-dharma scheme forbids or restricts association with women. How then can one be accepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is addicted to more than sixteen thousand wives? This question may be relevantly raised by inquisitive persons really anxious to know about the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord. And to answer such questions, the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya have discussed the transcendental character of the Lord in this and in following verses..
(SB 1.11.36) ONLY BECAUSE OF THEIR UNALLOYED SERVICE, THE LORD RECIPROCATED AND BECAME THE DEVOUT HUSBAND OF 16000 WIVES. OTHERWISE, HE HAD NO BUSINESS BECOMING HUSBAND OF SO MANY WIVES
Such was the beauty and attraction of the queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Yet they could not disturb the transcendental senses of the Lord. This is because the Lord is all-perfect ātmārāma, or self-sufficient. He does not require anyone’s extraneous help for His personal satisfaction. Therefore, the queens could not satisfy the Lord by their feminine attractiveness, but they satisfied Him by their sincere affection and service. Only by unalloyed transcendental loving service could they satisfy the Lord, and the Lord was pleased to treat them as wives in reciprocation. Thus being satisfied by their unalloyed service only, the Lord reciprocated the service just like a devout husband. Otherwise, He had no business becoming the husband of so many wives. He is the husband of everyone, but to one who accepts Him as such, He reciprocates. This unalloyed affection for the Lord is never to be compared to mundane lust. It is purely transcendental. And the grave dealings, which the queens displayed in natural feminine ways, were also transcendental because the feelings were expressed out of transcendental ecstasy. It is already explained in the previous verse that the Lord appeared like a mundane husband, but factually His relation with His wives was transcendental, pure and unconditioned by the modes of material nature.
It is impossible to understand this purport due to strong indulgence in sense gratification. Otherwise, it is just like if a person is in a dark room and stays there for a long time, if he comes out he cannot tolerate the sun. If someone who is involved in SG through out life, if they hear the transcendental activities they cannot bare it. Even the devotees understand it gradually
Lust is used for Gopis, Sexual attraction is used for Krsna and His queens, unless we hear from Srimad Bhagavatam carefully…
(SB 1.11.37) THE COMMON MATERIALISTIC CONDITIONED SOULS SPECULATE THAT THE LORD IS ONE OF THEM. OUT OF THEIR IGNORANCE, THEY THINK THAT THE LORD IS AFFECTED BY MATTER, ALTHOUGH HE IS UNATTACHED.
The word abudhaḥ is significant here. Due to ignorance only, the foolish mundane wranglers misunderstand the Supreme Lord and spread their foolish imaginations amongst innocent persons by propaganda. Only the foolish mundaners misunderstand Him, unaware of His eternal form of knowledge and bliss, which is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā and Upaniṣads. The mental speculators misunderstand Him as the Supreme Person, and they consider His impersonal features as inexplicable Brahman to be all.Such a conception is also the product of conditioned life because they cannot go beyond their own personal capacity.
Therefore, one who considers the Lord on the level of one’s limited potency is only a common man. cannot be convinced that the Personality of Godhead is always unaffected by the modes of material nature. cannot understand that the sun is always unaffected by infectious matter.
The mental speculators compare everything from the standpoint of experimental knowledge of their own selves. Thus when the Lord is found to act like an ordinary person in matrimonial bondage, they consider Him to be like one of them, without considering that the Lord can at once marry sixteen thousand wives or more. Due to a poor fund of knowledge they accept one side of the picture while disbelieving the other. This means that due to ignorance only they always think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as like themselves and make their own conclusions, which are absurd and unauthentic from the version of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
(SB 1.11.37)THE SUPREME LORD ŚRĪ KṚṢṆA IS THE ORIGINAL PRIMEVAL PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD
The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original primeval Personality of Godhead, and when He was personally present before the eyes of everyone, He displayed full-fledged divine potency in every field of activities. As we have already explained in the first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, He is completely independent to act however He likes, but all His actions are full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. His different potencies work in a perfect plan of natural sequence, and doing everything by the agency of His different potencies, He remains eternally the supreme independent. When He descends to the material world by His causeless mercy to different living beings, He does so by His own potency. He is not subject to any condition of the material modes of nature, and He descends as He is originally
Maharaj met the french translator or Aurobindo to convince him to meet Srila Prabhupada.
Balaram drinks euphemistically seemed like alcohol – Varuni. When you drink that you get intoxicated with the devotion of love of the Lord. In french, you always say something insulting to the other person in a joking way.
Harivilas Maharaj was made the president one week after initiation for the Paris temple. He did not know French. They made a pamphlet “Festival of Love” and translated it to French and women started calling.
This french guy gave a book and asked SP and SP did not even open the book and said there are many mistakes in the book. His ego was deflated….
Mundane people cannot understand the love of Gopis, queens for Krsna. Mayavadis are the worst insulters of the Lord.
ATMAVAN MANYATE JAGAT – Seeing the prism of your own limitation.
Ex: two fish watching the moon. One fish asked another what is that… the other fish said- it is a fish and why is it shining, it is a shining fish.
They explain that Krsna has material body like in his past times.
SB and BG is the primary reference and anything which deviates from what they say, they should not be accepted.
(SB 1.11.38) THIS IS THE DIVINITY OF THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD: HE IS NOT AFFECTED BY THE QUALITIES OF MATERIAL NATURE, EVEN THOUGH HE IS IN CONTACT WITH THEM
Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord do not become influenced by the material qualities.
(SB 1.11.38) ONE MAY ARGUE THAT HIS RELATION WITH THE GODDESSES OF FORTUNE MAY BE TRANSCENDENTAL, BUT WHAT ABOUT HIS RELATION WITH THE YADU DYNASTY, BEING BORN IN THAT FAMILY, OR HIS KILLING THE NONBELIEVERS LIKE JARĀSANDHA AND OTHER ASURAS DIRECTLY IN CONTACT WITH THE MODES OF MATERIAL NATURE?
The answer is that the divinity of the Personality of Godhead is never in contact with the qualities of material nature in any circumstances. Actually He is in contact with such qualities because He is the ultimate source of everything, yet He is above the actions of such qualities. He is known, therefore, as Yogeśvara, or the master of mystic power, or in other words the all-powerful.
(SB 1.11.38) THE DIVINITY AND HIS ASSOCIATES ARE ON THE SAME TRANSCENDENTAL PLANE, AND THEIR GLORIES ARE ALWAYS SANCTIFIED BY THE ACTION OF YOGAMĀYĀ, OR THE INTERNAL POTENCY OF THE LORD.
Even His learned devotees are not affected by the influence of the material modes. The great Six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana all came from greatly rich and aristocratic families, but when they adopted the life of mendicants at Vṛndāvana, superficially they appeared to be in wretched conditions of life, but factually they were the richest of all in spiritual values. Such mahā-bhāgavatas, or first-grade devotees, although moving amongst men, are not contaminated by honor or insult, hunger or satisfaction, sleep or wakefulness, which are all resultant actions of the three modes of material nature. Similarly, some of them are engaged in worldly dealings, yet are unaffected. Unless these neutralities of life are there, one cannot be considered situated in transcendence. The Divinity and His associates are on the same transcendental plane, and their glories are always sanctified by the action of yogamāyā, or the internal potency of the Lord. The devotees of the Lord are always transcendental, even if they are sometimes found to have fallen in their behavior.