KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.1.18
- The ultimate state of prāṇāyāma system is to be fixed in trance, called, samādhi.Even the samādhi stage also fails to control the materially absorbed mind. Ex: Viswamitra.
- The mind, although ceasing to think of sensual activities at present, remembers past sensual activities from the subconscious status and thus disturbs one from cent-percent engagement in self-realization
- Sukhdev Goswami is recommending the surest path of progress, even for the disturbed mind – to fix one’s mind in the service of the Personality of Godhead. To engage oneself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord by different devotional activities of hearing, chanting, etc. under proper guidance.
- A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.
- Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way, the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness.
- Yamunacharya says – “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”
- SB (5.5.1) “My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.”
- A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. He is a liberated soul.
- By experiencing the higher taste the liberated souls restrict from false pleasures
- Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated.
- If one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.
- The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
- Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone.
- The act to revive Krsna consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme.
- A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.
SB 2.1.18 TRANSLATION:
Gradually, as the mind becomes progressively spiritualized, withdraw it from sense activities, and by intelligence the senses will be controlled. The mind too absorbed in material activities can be engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead and become fixed in full transcendental consciousness.
CLASS NOTES:
THE ULTIMATE STATE OF THIS PRĀṆĀYĀMA SYSTEM IS TO BE FIXED IN TRANCE, CALLED, SAMĀDHI.EVEN THE SAMĀDHI STAGE ALSO FAILS TO CONTROL THE MATERIALLY ABSORBED MIND.
The first process of spiritualizing the mind by mechanical chanting of the praṇava (oṁkāra) and by control of the breathing system is technically called the mystic or yogic process of prāṇāyāma, or fully controlling the breathing air. The ultimate state of this prāṇāyāma system is to be fixed in trance, technically called samādhi. But experience has proven that even the samādhi stage also fails to control the materially absorbed mind. For example, the great mystic Viśvāmitra Muni, even in the stage of samādhi, became a victim of the senses and cohabited with Menakā. History has already recorded this. The mind, although ceasing to think of sensual activities at present, remembers past sensual activities from the subconscious status and thus disturbs one from cent-percent engagement in self-realization
THE NEXT STEP OF ASSURED POLICY IS TO FIX ONE’S MIND IN THE SERVICE OF THE PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD
Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends the next step of assured policy, namely to fix one’s mind in the service of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, also recommends this direct process in the Bhagavad-gītā (6.47). Thus, the mind being spiritually cleansed, one should at once engage himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord by the different devotional activities of hearing, chanting, etc. If performed under proper guidance, that is the surest path of progress, even for the disturbed mind.
This is really very precious information. If we think that we are hearing the same thing over and over. Chant, hear, come to Mangal Arti, do Tulsi puja, eat prasadam. Actually one may say this is repetitive and boring. That is not the case.
It is very difficult to attain perfection through the process of meditation in this age of Kali. Even if you attain perfection you will fall down. Even if you attain perfection in the relative sense. Even if you go to the level of Bhava in devotional service you will still fall down. Example – Bharat maharaj.
Superiority of devotional service over the yogic process is described in the following verses –
(BG 5.20) SYMPTOMS OF A SELF REALIZED PERSON
A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.
The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein.
- The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence.
- He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul.
- This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān.
- He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects.
- This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Majority of the people – 99 percent cannot get to that first step. That’s how strong family attachment is, ethnicity is, …. Also they do not teach this in the schools. Kids are denied that knowledge. That is why you have so much varna sankara. Kids are fed ignorance and it is called knowledge.
We have 5 symptoms of self realized persons. When you get to 2,3,4,5, 100 percent of them are being eliminated.
(BG 5.21) A SELF REALIZED PERSON IS ENOYING THE PLEASURE WITHIN
Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.
Śrī Yāmunācārya (guru of Ramanujacharya), a great devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, said:
yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt
tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne
bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca
“Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” (This is internal pleasure)
A person in brahma-yoga, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul.
There are very few people who are fully satisfied by doing 24 hrs service. Does that mean you cannot? No, You can. Unless you know what perfection is, you will not try for it. That is why we are hearing. You have gymnastics, ice skaters, musicians, artists, they all require intense training to attain perfection. Yamucharya – all the Alwars, Sri Vaishnavas are all devotees of Krsna.
The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation – ME TOO movement is the proof.
(BG 5.22) AN INTELLIGENT PERSON DOES NOT TAKE PART IN THE SOURCES OF MISERY, WHICH ARE DUE TO CONTACT WITH THE MATERIAL SENSES.
An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.
Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure?
(BG 2.59) BY EXPERIENCING THE HIGHER TASTE THE LIBERATED SOUL RESTRICTS FROM FALSE PLEASURES
viṣayā vinivartante
nirāhārasya dehinaḥ
rasa-varjaṁ raso ’py asya
paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate
Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
Padma Purāṇa says:
“The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rāma.”
SB (5.5.1) HOW TO ATTAIN UNLIMITED TRANSCENDENTAL BLISS
“My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.”
Therefore, those who are true yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.
Your sense gratification and suffering is already predetermined. Rather you must undergo penances..
Law of nature –
- The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.
- Survival of the fittest and the struggle for existence. No one can avoid this.
- Law of subsistence. Big fish is going eat the small fish
- Law of goodsense (I am not going to be in the rat race) – Mentality of lording over material nature, is the root cause of conditioned life.
(BG 5.23) IF ONE IS ABLE TO TOLERATE THE URGES OF THE MATERIAL SENSES AND CHECK THE FORCE OF DESIRE AND ANGER, HE IS WELL SITUATED AND IS HAPPY IN THIS WORLD.
If one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. . Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated.
Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated.
People get angry because they are frustrated in not getting sense gratification through the deep seated material desires. They are become like a time bomb, waiting to explode. It is the straw that broke the back of the camel. If the person is frustrated with sense gratification day after day… Avalanche of Vitriol
A devotee is pleased with knowledge and self realization. Karmi wants money and sense gratification. To control desire and anger becomes easy if you have the higher taste.
(BG 5.24)ONE WHOSE HAPPINESS IS WITHIN, WHO IS ACTIVE AND REJOICES WITHIN, AND WHOSE AIM IS INWARD IS ACTUALLY THE PERFECT MYSTIC
One whose happiness is within, who is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.
Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhūta, attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.
We are aiming for this.
Savai pumso…
24 hours a day relishing Krsna. It is more than artificial stuff like disney land… it is all superficial and it is not real. It is all feign. Real thing is SAT. It is not going to disappear and everything is going to get better and better.
(BG 5.25) STATE OF DIVINE LOVE
Those who are beyond the dualities that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always busy working for the welfare of all living beings and who are free from all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.
Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.
A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one’s forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material tabernacle.
What is the highest welfare – giving Krsna Consciousness, in the form of prasadam, spending time, books.. We might have good intentions, unless we set aside the time to spread the message of Krsna.
Tabernacle – Where you spend lot of time – Body…
We are not aiming to go to heavenly planets, we are going way way above that, that is where Srila Prabhupada is taking us… Caitanya mahaprabhu is taking us…
Difference between the yoga system, meditation system and KC. There is no comparison. KC everyone can apply themselves by staying in good association.