KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.1.11
- Constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all
- Devotees of the lord –
- Neither aspires to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it.
- They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
- The devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal accounts. If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation.
- They are not self-satisfied, because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only.
- One should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that hearing from the authorities is the first essential.
- Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, His attributes, His pastimes, and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively.
- This process of chanting the holy name is recommended for everyone, philosophers, furtive workers, materialists, and devotees. Everyone should be chanting the holy name.
- Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa
- One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name.
- But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet of the holy name of the Lord. Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa as being ten in number.
- There is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.
- Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier.
- Similarly, since the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the holy name for one’s personal service.
- The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism.
- “Whoever is protected by Kṛṣṇa, no one can kill, and whoever is destined to be killed by Kṛṣṇa, no one can protect.”
- Those who eat meat and fish are generally called demons and Rākṣasas. (Krsna Book Chapter 55)
- A chaste wife develops mystic powers, can endow her husband with the power to do wonderful things in Krsna Consciousness. Ex: Mayavati & Praydyumna in Chapter 55 of Krsna Book.
SB 2.1.11
O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.
CLASS NOTES:
(SB 2.1.11) DIFFERENT TYPES OF PERSONS WHO DESIRE TO ATTAIN SUCCESS IN DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF PURSUITS.
In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to Mukunda has been accredited. There are different types of persons who desire to attain success in different varieties of pursuits.
- Generally, the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification.
- Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization.
- Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
(SB 2.1.11) DEVOTEES ARE NOT SELF-SATISFIED, BECAUSE THEY WANT THE SATISFACTION OF THE LORD ONLY.
The devotees of the Lord,
- neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it.
- They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
- The devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal accounts.
- If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation.
- They are not self-satisfied, because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only.
(SB 2.1.11) ONE SHOULD CONSTANTLY CHANT THE HOLY NAME OF THE LORD AFTER HEARING IT FROM AUTHORITIES. THIS PROCESS IS RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE!
By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc.
Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, His attributes, His pastimes, and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively.
The process is recommended not only for the progressive students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as philosophers or as devotees of the Lord. (Everybody should be chanting)
(SB 2.1.11) CHANTING SHOULD BE DONE LOUDLY AND OFFENSELESSLY
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa. One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name.
When you enter the temple you should be chanting, you should not be silent. If you are silent then there is some hesitation. When you go to Tirumala in the darshan line are all reciting all mantras glorifying the lord. When we enter the temple we should be chanting. The holy name should always be on our lips. One should be constantly chanting. That is the defining quality of a sincere devotee. You always say Hare Krsna – when saying hello, when talking on phone… people will catch on after a while.
There are Dham Aparadah, Naam Aparadh, Vaishnava Aparadh
(SB 2.1.11) THE TEN OFFENSES
But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet of the holy name of the Lord. Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa as being ten in number.
- The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord.
- The second offense is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known in different places by different names, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.
- The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized ācāryas or spiritual masters.
- The fourth offense is to vilify scriptures or Vedic knowledge.
- The fifth offense is to define the holy name of the Lord in terms of one’s mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord Himself, and one should understand the holy name of the Lord to be nondifferent from Him.
- The sixth offense is to interpret the holy name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His holy name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the holy name.
- The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental method and continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing the effects of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender at the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a sinful man before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain oneself from committing sinful acts with a hope that his method of chanting the holy name will give him protection. That is the elephant offense
- The eighth offense is to consider the holy name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier. Similarly, since the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the holy name for one’s personal service.Let’s do 24 hr kirtan to get the permit to build the temple, lets chant 24 hr because someone is dying, let’s chant so there is a surgery. This is not proper. Chanting is to glorify the Lord. Fasting is to increase chanting. Chanting should not be used for some material benefit.
- The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the holy name. If such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, the act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name.
- The tenth offense is to become uninterested in the holy name of the Lord even after hearing of the transcendental nature of the holy name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one’s self only. The whole materialistic world is moving under such false egoism of “I” and “mine,” but the factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.
Bhaktas (Devotees) –
No desire to satisfy their own senses
They are seeking to please Krsna
One who does not know devotional service, when they see the devotees they think that devotee is doing the same as anyone else – Going to bank, office, dropping kids in school…
There is a difference, as much as gold and iron.
When one identifies himself as body and when one identifies himself as soul which is part and parcel of the Lord.
The person in the spiritual platform gradually detached from society, friends. That does not mean they do not have any friends. They do not have friends who are not sense gratifiers… When we have a selfish desire through the process of devotion, then that is not devotional service.
A devotee is always thinking of how to please Guru and Krishna. They are spending their time on devotional activities and giving part of their income. The senses are pleased in devotional life – prasadam, taking shower, clean clothes, hearing SB, in all cases Krsna is the first enjoyer and you are the second enjoyer. In terms of Materialists they are the first enjoyers and not anyone.
The devotee makes spiritual advancement gradually and steadily.
(CC ADI 4.30) MAHAMAYA AND YOGAMAYA
Yogamāyā creates a situation in which the devotee is prepared to transgress all regulative principles simply to love Kṛṣṇa. A devotee naturally does not like to transgress the laws of reverence for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but by the influence of yogamāyā he is prepared to do anything to love the Supreme Lord better.
Those under the spell of the material energy cannot at all appreciate the activities of yogamāyā, for a conditioned soul can hardly understand the pure reciprocation between the Lord and His devotee. But by executing devotional service under the regulative principles, one can become very highly elevated and then begin to appreciate the dealings of pure love under the management of yogamāyā.
In the spiritual loving sentiment induced by the yogamāyā potency, both Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the damsels of Vraja forget themselves in spiritual rapture. By the influence of such forgetfulness, the attractive beauty of the gopīs plays a prominent part in the transcendental satisfaction of the Lord, who has nothing to do with mundane sex. Because spiritual love of Godhead is above everything mundane, the gopīs superficially seem to transgress the codes of mundane morality. This perpetually puzzles mundane moralists. Therefore yogamāyā acts to cover the Lord and His pastimes from the eyes of mundaners, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.25), where the Lord says that He reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone.
Yogamaya is managing the dealings of the pure love.
We start with following Sadhana Bhakti and we are trained to see Krsna in everything and to serve Krishna through everything we do. Just like a person who starts learning, Violin starts with scratcher doodle.
Cupid in Sanskrit literature is a demigod called Kama Deva. All demigods ask Kamadeva to shoot his arrows at lord Shiva. Lord Shiva burns Kamadeva with the third eye.
KRSNA BOOK CHAPTER 55 (PRADYUMNA BORN TO KṚṢṆA AND RUKMIṆĪ)
It is said that Cupid, who is directly part and parcel of Lord Vāsudeva and who was formerly burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, took birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, begotten by Kṛṣṇa. This is Kāmadeva, a demigod of the heavenly planets especially capable of inducing lusty desires. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has many grades of parts and parcels, but the quadruple expansions of Kṛṣṇa – Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha – are directly in the Viṣṇu category. Kāma, or the Cupid demigod, who later took his birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, was also named Pradyumna, but he cannot be the Pradyumna of the Viṣṇu category. He belongs to the category of jīva-tattva, but for exhibiting special power in the category of demigods he was a part and parcel of the super prowess of Pradyumna. That is the verdict of the Gosvāmīs. Therefore, when Cupid was burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, he merged into the body of Vāsudeva, and to get his body again he was begotten in the womb of Rukmiṇī by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Thus he was born as the son of Kṛṣṇa and celebrated by the name Pradyumna. Because he was begotten by Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, his qualities were most similar to those of Kṛṣṇa.
“Whoever is protected by Kṛṣṇa, no one can kill, and whoever is destined to be killed by Kṛṣṇa, no one can protect.”
and those who eat meat and fish are generally called demons and Rākṣasas.
Miraculously, the baby swiftly grew up, and within a very short period, he became a beautiful young man. His eyes were just like the petals of lotus flowers, and his arms were long, reaching down to his knees; any woman who happened to see him was captivated by his bodily beauty.
Māyāvatī had mystic knowledge of supernatural powers. Supernatural powers are generally known as māyā, and to surpass all such powers there is another supernatural power, called mahā-māyā. Māyāvatī had the knowledge of the mystic power of mahā-māyā, and she delivered to Pradyumna this specific energetic power in order to defeat the mystic powers of the Śambara demon.
A chaste wife develops mystic powers, can endow her husband with the power to do wonderful things in Krsna Consciousness. Therefore the relationship of devotees is misunderstood by most people and also sometimes by the devotees. If husband and wife practice KC seriously, then wonderful wonderful things happen. Everything negative about the man & woman relationship we are hearing in the scriptures of Prabhupada is nullified. One becomes a Vaikunta couple rather than an asuric couple. The Vaikuntha couple can perform wonderful acts of devotional service and help each other to go back to Godhead. This should be our goal to sanctify the relationships, through purified acts of Devotional Service, purified Chanting, purified mind, purified intelligence, purified senses, and so forth. This should be our goal. Then it does not matter whether you are in the material world or the spiritual world.