KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 2.1.12
- The easiest possible procedure to attain spiritual success is to chant the holy name of the Lord.
- From Viṣṇu-yāmala Tantra, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has proven that one can be liberated from the effects of all sins simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.
- By chanting the Lord’s holy name, one can derive all the stipulated energy synchronized from all sources.
- Offenses that should not be committed unto the feet of the holy name.
- One should neither hear nor allow vilification of a devotee of the Lord.
- One should not equalize the supreme holy name of the Lord with any other name.
- One who desires to utilize this transcendental potency of the holy name of the Lord in one’s sinister activities is the most degraded person in the world. Such persons are never excused by the Lord or by any agent of the Lord
- One should, therefore, utilize one’s life in glorifying the Lord by all means, without any offense.
- Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī asserted that there is no use in living hundreds of years without any knowledge of the problems of life — better to live for a moment with full consciousness of the supreme interest to be fulfilled.
- In the verse, BG 8.8 Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses the importance of remembering Him. One’s memory of Kṛṣṇa is revived by chanting the mahā-mantra
- The mind is fickle, and therefore it is necessary to engage the mind by force to think of Kṛṣṇa.
- If we constantly think of Kṛṣṇa, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Kṛṣṇa
- In this material world no one is satisfied in the dealings of society, friendship and love. Therefore if one wants to derive real pleasure within his heart, he must seek the lotus feet of Govinda.
- The pleasure derived from friendship, society and family life in the material world is like a drop of water, but our hearts desire pleasure like an ocean.
- Those who are actually very serious about devotional service do not differentiate between the form of the Lord made of clay, metal, stone or wood and the original form of the Lord.
- Even if one has not developed this consciousness, one should accept it theoretically from the instructions of the spiritual master and should worship the arcā-mūrti, or form of the Lord in the temple, as nondifferent from the Lord.
- The Padma Purāṇa specifically mentions that anyone who thinks the form of the Lord in the temple to be made of wood, stone or metal is certainly in a hellish condition. Examples – Impersonalists, Mayavadis, bhauma ijya-dhīḥs/.
SB 2.1.12
What is the value of a prolonged life which is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after his supreme interest.
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(SB 2.1.12) THERE IS NO USE IN LIVING HUNDREDS OF YEARS WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī asserted that there is no use in living hundreds of years without any knowledge of the problems of life — better to live for a moment with full consciousness of the supreme interest to be fulfilled.
We should know in perfect consciousness that human life is bestowed upon the conditioned soul to achieve spiritual success, and the easiest possible procedure to attain this end is to chant the holy name of the Lord.
From Viṣṇu-yāmala Tantra, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has proven that one can be liberated from the effects of all sins simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord.
(SB 2.1.12) DIFFERENT TYPES OF OFFENSES COMMITTED UNTO THE FEET OF THE HOLY NAME.
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhu has quoted many passages from authentic scriptures and has ably supported the statements in the matter of offenses at the feet of the holy name.
Quoting from the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Śrī Gosvāmījī says that one should
- neither blaspheme the devotee of the Lord nor indulge in hearing others who are engaged in belittling a devotee of the Lord. A devotee should try to restrict the vilifier by cutting out his tongue, and being unable to do so, one should commit suicide rather than hear the blaspheming of the devotee of the Lord.
- One should not equalize the supreme holy name of the Lord with any other name.
- One who desires to utilize this transcendental potency of the holy name of the Lord in one’s sinister activities is the most degraded person in the world. Such persons are never excused by the Lord or by any agent of the Lord.
One should, therefore, utilize one’s life in glorifying the Lord by all means, without any offense. Such activity of life, even for a moment, is never to be compared to a prolonged life of ignorance, like the lives of the tree and other living entities who may live for thousands of years without prosecuting spiritual advancement.
As far as distinguishing the Lord’s holy name from the names of the demigods, the revealed scriptures disclose (Bg. 10.41) that all extraordinarily powerful beings are but parts and parcels of the supreme energetic, Lord Kṛṣṇa
(BG 10.41) ANYTHING EXTRAORDINARILY OPULENT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED TO REPRESENT KṚṢṆA’S OPULENCE
Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.
Any glorious or beautiful existence should be understood to be but a fragmental manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s opulence, whether it be in the spiritual or material world. Anything extraordinarily opulent should be considered to represent Kṛṣṇa’s opulence
Krsna has six opulences in full. Anything opulent is his spark. No one is equal to or greater then Him. To understand this it is very hard. We are reluctant to accept that Krsna has everything in full is due to our envy.
Prabhupda gives the example of two men are talking about the judge. If someone is envious of anyone they dont give them any credit at all. 99 percent of gurus in India are envious Krsna. Lot of them claim that they are God. Paundraka sent a message to Krsna, saying why are you imitating me, I am the supreme. When Krnsa got this message he laughed and sent a message back and said I will cut your head. Paundraka came with his army to cut the head of Krnsa. Krsna laughed looking at him. He pasted two arms too look like Vi
shnu. Krishna cuts the head of Paundraka and He also goes to Benaras and rolls the head of Paundraka. These are all envious people. Paundraka, King of Kasi. Today there are thousands of people like that, they are all trying to cut off the head of Krsna. All mayavadis write books saying impersonal brahman is the ultimate and vaikunta, goloka are all fantasy. They are worse than the atheists. They reject Him. They think that Krsna has material body when He comes to earth.
one should neither hear nor allow vilification of a devotee of the Lord.
Similarly one should not hear the blasphemy of Krsna. Belittling the devotee is more offensive than belittling the lord Himself.
We have to fix our mind on When we are misled we waste our life. Not fixing our mind on making money, becoming successful in the material sense, (more sense gratification). Today the concept of success is- highest grades, best college, highly educated, make money, family, many accolades, prestigious awards
Actual Success is if one is – Honest, clean self control, engaged in devotional service, married, nice family, both husband and wife are devotees and always performing devotional service and helping others to connect to Krsna.
Krishna explains success –
Tastmat sarvesu kalesu, ….
Abhayasa yoga yuktena, paramam …
(BG 8.8) THE SUCCESS OF LIFE IS ALWAYS REMEMBERING KRSNA
He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Pārtha, is sure to reach Me.
In this verse Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses the importance of remembering Him. One’s memory of Kṛṣṇa is revived by chanting the mahā-mantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord.
The devotee can constantly think of the object of worship, the Supreme Lord, in any of His features – Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, etc. – by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. This practice will purify him, and at the end of his life, due to his constant chanting, he will be transferred to the kingdom of God. The mind is fickle, and therefore it is necessary to engage the mind by force to think of Kṛṣṇa. If we constantly think of Kṛṣṇa, it is certain that at the end of our lives we shall have the same bodily constitution as Kṛṣṇa
Success is being able to fix our minds of Krsna. Unless we know what success is we will mislead our children, family…
60 men and women are appointed in the American government. Is that success???
Real success is the people whom you do not hear about them. They are humble. They try to help others learn about Krsna’s consciousness.
We need to understand what really Success is.
Ultimate success – Savai pumso….. ahaituki apratihati
The highest perfection of life – Love of God.
YOGAMAYA AND MAHAMAYA
(CC ADI 4.30) COVERED BY YOGAMAYA BOTH LORD ŚRĪ KṚṢṆA AND THE DAMSELS OF VRAJA FORGET THEMSELVES IN SPIRITUAL RAPTURE
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 the 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.
(BG 7.25)
I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them, I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.
People say I don’t want to hear about Krsna, He is not moral. I want to hear about Rama. This is because they do not hear from the devotee. They hear from Mayavadis.
The Lord is so merciful that He Himself descends to take the fallen souls back home to the kingdom of Godhead, where the erotic principles of Godhead are eternally relished in their real form, distinct from the perverted sexual love so much adored and indulged in by the fallen souls in their diseased condition.
The reason the Lord displays the rāsa-līlā is essentially to induce all the fallen souls to give up their diseased morality and religiosity, and to attract them to the kingdom of God to enjoy the reality. A person who actually understands what the rāsa-līlā is will certainly hate to indulge in mundane sex life. For the realized soul, hearing the Lord’s rāsa-līlā through the proper channel will result in complete abstinence from material sexual pleasure.
SB is the chronicle of everything He has done. This is the mercy of the Lord so they can have the pure love of God.
One must follow the sadhana bhakti to sincerely get to Raganuga bhakti. KC is the highest perfection of life. We need serious people who can take it seriously as acharyas have given.
(CC ADI 4.31) WHEN LOVE FOR KṚṢṆA IS AWAKENED, THE DESIGNATIVE POSITIONS ARE OVERCOME.
“Pure attachment will unite us even at the expense of moral and religious duties [dharma]. Destiny will sometimes bring us together and sometimes separate us.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has accordingly composed a nice verse (see Ādi 5.224) that describes the beautiful boy called Govinda standing by the bank of the Yamunā with His flute to His lips in the shining moonlight.
The sound of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s flute is so sweet that it has made the gopīs forget all about their relationships with their kinsmen and flee to Kṛṣṇa in the dead of night. By leaving home in that way, the gopīs transgressed the Vedic regulations of household life. This indicates that when natural feelings of love for Kṛṣṇa become fully manifest, a devotee can neglect conventional social rules and regulations.
Those who want to enjoy life in the materialistic way of society, friendship and love should not go to the Yamunā to see the form of Govinda.
In the material world, we are situated in designative positions only, but pure devotional service begins when one is freed from all designations. When love for Kṛṣṇa is awakened, the designative positions are overcome.
(CC ADI 5.224)IN THIS MATERIAL WORLD NO ONE IS SATISFIED IN THE DEALINGS OF SOCIETY, FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. THEREFORE IF ONE WANTS TO DERIVE REAL PLEASURE WITHIN HIS HEART, HE MUST SEEK THE LOTUS FEET OF GOVINDA.
“My dear friend, if you are indeed attached to your worldly friends, do not look at the smiling face of Lord Govinda as He stands on the bank of the Yamunā at Keśīghāṭa. Casting sidelong glances, He places His flute to His lips, which seem like newly blossomed twigs. His transcendental body, bending in three places, appears very bright in the moonlight.”
Vidyāpati, a great and learned poet of Mithilā, has said that the pleasure derived from friendship, society and family life in the material world is like a drop of water, but our hearts desire pleasure like an ocean.
Rūpa Gosvāmī indicates that if one wants to be satisfied in the pleasure of society, friendship and love, he need not seek shelter at the lotus feet of Govinda, for if one takes shelter under His lotus feet he will forget that minute quantity of so-called pleasure. One who is not satisfied with that so-called pleasure may seek the lotus feet of Govinda, who stands on the shore of the Yamunā at Keśītīrtha, or Keśīghāṭa, in Vṛndāvana and attracts all the gopīs to His transcendental loving service.
Krishna is still there in Kesi Ghat and we cannot see Him. We need to develop the greed to see Him.
(CC ADI 5.226) ONLY FOOLS CONSIDER LORD AS A STATUE
Without a doubt, He is directly the son of the King of Vraja. Only a fool considers Him a statue.
(CC ADI 5.227) DIETY FORM OF THE LORD IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE LORD
For that offense, he cannot be liberated. Rather, he will fall into a terrible hellish condition. What more should I say?
Those who are actually very serious about devotional service do not differentiate between the form of the Lord made of clay, metal, stone or wood and the original form of the Lord. In the material world a person and his photograph, picture or statue are different. But the statue of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are not different, because the Lord is absolute.
No one can separate the sunshine energy from the energetic sun. Therefore material energy may appear separate from the Lord, but transcendentally it is nondifferent from the Lord.
We should therefore understand whatever we see to be the energy of the Supreme Lord and should not differentiate between the Lord and His arcā form made from clay, metal, wood or paint. Even if one has not developed this consciousness, one should accept it theoretically from the instructions of the spiritual master and should worship the arcā-mūrti, or form of the Lord in the temple, as nondifferent from the Lord.
(CC ADI 5.227) THOSE WHO DO NOT ACCEPT THE DEITY FORM OF THE LORD ARE OFFENDERS
The Padma Purāṇa specifically mentions that anyone who thinks the form of the Lord in the temple to be made of wood, stone or metal is certainly in a hellish condition.
- Impersonalists are against the worship of the Lord’s form in the temple,
- a group of people who pass as Hindus but condemn such worship. (Arya Samaj) Their so-called acceptance of the Vedas has no meaning
- Māyāvādīs admit that worship of the Lord’s form is required in the beginning, but they think that in the end everything is impersonal. Therefore, since they are ultimately against worship of the Lord’s form, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has described them as offenders.
- bhauma ijya-dhīḥ – worshippers of land of their birth (RSS), and condemn the worship of the form of the lord (Arya Samajis)
(CC ADI 5.227) EVEN SANKARACHARYA RECOMMENDS PANCOPASANA WORSHIP OF FIVE FORMS
even the impersonal Śaṅkarācārya, have recommended the worship of the transcendental form of the Lord. Impersonalists like Śaṅkarācārya recommend the worship of five forms, known as pañcopāsanā, which include Lord Viṣṇu. Vaiṣṇavas, however, worship the forms of Lord Viṣṇu in His varied manifestations, such as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, Sītā-Rāma and Rukmiṇī-Kṛṣṇa.