KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 2.2.2:
- The conditioned soul is always engaged in laying out plans for happiness within the material world even up to the end of the universal limit.
- One thinks of a superior way of life in this country or that, or on this planet or another, but nowhere in the material world can he fulfill his real desire of life, namely eternal life, full intelligence and complete bliss.
- There are innumerable universes and also innumerable planets in each of them. But none of them is immune to the chief miseries of material existence – birth, death, old age and disease.
- Conditioned souls are strictly under the laws of fruitive activities, and as such they sometimes go up to Brahmaloka and again come down to Pātālaloka, as if they were unintelligent children on a merry-go-round
- The real happiness is in the kingdom of God, where no one has to undergo the pangs of material existence. Therefore, the Vedic ways of fruitive activities for the living entities are misleading.
- People, in general, are not very intelligent, and due to their ignorance, they are most attached to the fruitive activities recommended in the karma-kāṇḍa portions of the Vedas. They do not want anything more than sense gratificatory proposals for enjoying life in heaven, where wine and women are available and material opulence is very common.
- It is stated in Vedas that anyone desiring elevation to heavenly planets must perform sacrifices. Men with a poor fund of knowledge think that this is the whole purpose of Vedic wisdom (enjoying in heavenly planets). It is very difficult for such inexperienced persons to be situated in the determined action of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- They have no faith in liberation from material bondage, and they are very much attached to the pompous ceremonies of Vedic sacrifices.
- Happiness derived from a combination of the senses and the sense objects is always a cause of distress and should be avoided by all means. (BG 18.38)That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects is like nectar at first but poison at the end.
- (BG 5.16) When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
- (BG 18.46) By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
- The Supreme Lord is the beginning of life of every living entity. One should know that as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord one has his duty to render service unto the Supreme. In whatever occupation one may be engaged, if he serves the Supreme Lord he will achieve the highest perfection. The Supreme Lord Himself takes charge of delivering such a devotee.
- Everyone should be engaged in devotional service to the Lord in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms that Mahārāja Parīkṣit, in the last stage of life, should not desire to transfer himself to the so-called heavenly planets, but should prepare himself for going back home, back to Godhead.
SB 2.2.2 TRANSLATION:
The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.
CLASS NOTES:
THE CONDITIONED SOUL IS ALWAYS ENGAGED IN LAYING OUT PLANS FOR HAPPINESS WITHIN THE MATERIAL WORLD,
even up to the end of the universal limit. He is not even satisfied with available amenities (nice things for comfort) on this planet earth, where he has exploited the resources of nature to the best of his ability. He wants to go to the moon or the planet Venus to exploit resources there.
NONE OF THE MATERIAL PLANETS, NOR THE AMENITIES AVAILABLE THERE FOR LIVING CONDITIONS, IS EVERLASTING; THEREFORE ONE MUST HAVE A FACTUAL RELUCTANCE TO ENJOY SUCH TEMPORARY HAPPINESS AS THEY AFFORD.
There are innumerable universes and also innumerable planets in each of them. But none of them is immune to the chief miseries of material existence, namely the pangs of birth, the pangs of death, the pangs of old age and the pangs of disease.
Conditioned souls are strictly under the laws of fruitive activities, and as such they sometimes go up to Brahmaloka and again come down to Pātālaloka, as if they were unintelligent children on a merry-go-round
The real happiness is in the kingdom of God, where no one has to undergo the pangs of material existence. Therefore, the Vedic ways of fruitive activities for the living entities are misleading.
One thinks of a superior way of life in this country or that, or on this planet or another, but nowhere in the material world can he fulfill his real desire of life, namely eternal life, full intelligence, and complete bliss.
Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī affirms that Mahārāja Parīkṣit, in the last stage of life, should not desire to transfer himself to the so-called heavenly planets, but should prepare himself for going back home, back to Godhead.
When we talk about Sastra/ Vedas – “The way of presentation of the Vedic sounds is so bewildering that it directs the intelligence of the people to meaningless things like the heavenly kingdoms. The conditioned souls hover in dreams of such heavenly illusory pleasures, but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.” Then why those sections of vedas called Karma Kanda are offered for material benefits. It is to attract the people who are not interested in KC. The whole idea is to wean them off gross sense gratification and bring them to the regulated sense gratifications. Vedas are big tents and everyone can fit under it. Those enticements – you can do the sense gratification is a nobler way, at the same time get regulated and gradually become KC. But those ritual performances for regulated sense gratification is not the purpose of Vedas. There is high purpose. This verse is related to BG 2.40
When there is something too good to believe do not believe it.
People know that people want sense gratification and they cheat them for that. The sophisticated way of fleecing is through offering Vedic rituals for sense gratification without telling the ultimate purpose of the Vedas.
Everyone wants Vaikunta in the material world. But that is not possible.
(BG 5.16) KNOWLEDGE OF KRSNA
When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
What is needed is Knowledge of Krsna and actively performing service to please Krsna.
(BG 18.46) IN WHATEVER OCCUPATION ONE MAY BE ENGAGED, IF HE SERVES THE SUPREME LORD HE WILL ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST PERFECTION.
By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.
Really important verse in BG.
The Supreme Lord is therefore the beginning of life of every living entity. Therefore one should worship the Supreme Lord with His energies. Generally, the Vaiṣṇava devotees worship the Supreme Lord with His internal energy. The Supreme Lord by the expansion of His plenary portion as Paramātmā is situated everywhere. He is the Supersoul of all demigods, all human beings, all animals, everywhere. One should therefore know that as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord one has his duty to render service unto the Supreme. Everyone should be engaged in devotional service to the Lord in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is recommended in this verse.
Everyone should think that he is engaged in a particular type of occupation by Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses. And by the result of the work in which one is engaged, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, should be worshiped. If one thinks always in this way, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then, by the grace of the Lord, he becomes fully aware of everything. That is the perfection of life. The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (12.7), teṣām ahaṁ samuddhartā. The Supreme Lord Himself takes charge of delivering such a devotee. That is the highest perfection of life.
(BG 2.42-43) MEN OF SMALL KNOWLEDGE ARE VERY MUCH ATTACHED TO THE FLOWERY WORDS OF THE VEDAS
Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this
This is pointing out the danger of becoming addicted to regulated sense gratification by the performance of rituals of karma kanda section of vedas. The purpose is to calm down the beast with regulation, but to eventually go towards, giving up the sense gratification and satisfying only Krsna’s senses.
People in general are not very intelligent, and due to their ignorance they are most attached to the fruitive activities recommended in the karma-kāṇḍa portions of the Vedas. They do not want anything more than sense gratificatory proposals for enjoying life in heaven, where wine and women are available and material opulence is very common.
It is stated in Vedas that anyone desiring elevation to heavenly planets must perform sacrifices.
men with a poor fund of knowledge think that this is the whole purpose of Vedic wisdom. It is very difficult for such inexperienced persons to be situated in the determined action of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As fools are attached to the flowers of poisonous trees without knowing the results of such attractions, unenlightened men are similarly attracted by such heavenly opulence and the sense enjoyment thereof.
This is due to the corrupted priests, no one tells the ultimate purpose of vedas and everyone propagates only sense gratifications. There are 2 themes in every religion –
Shreyas and Preyas – Immediate result and ultimate result.
In the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas it is said, apāma somam amṛtā abhūma and akṣayyaṁ ha vai cāturmāsya-yājinaḥ sukṛtaṁ bhavati. In other words, those who perform the four-month penances become eligible to drink the soma-rasa beverages to become immortal and happy forever.
Abraham bhuvana loka… everywhere from Brahma’s highest planet to the lowest planet patala loka are places of misery. There is no question of eternity and unabated happiness.
Even on this earth some are very eager to have soma-rasa to become strong and fit to enjoy sense gratifications.(Super foods, energy drinks, coffee , tea, … ). Such persons have no faith in liberation from material bondage, and they are very much attached to the pompous ceremonies of Vedic sacrifices
By performing vedic rituals people become attached to getting to heavenly planets and then dream of having sensual pleasures. “but actually they do not relish any tangible happiness in such places.” What starts as nectar ends as poison is in BG 18.38
(BG 18.38) WHAT STARTS AS NECTAR ENDS AS POISON
That happiness which is derived from contact of the senses with their objects and which appears like nectar at first but poison at the end is said to be of the nature of passion.
Happiness derived from a combination of the senses and the sense objects is always a cause of distress and should be avoided by all means.
ACTING OUT OF DUTY – GRIHASTA ASHRAMA
BG 1.31 Lecture – https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/730724bglon/
So gṛhastha means to live with wife and children, and cultivating spiritual life. That is called gṛhastha.It doesn’t matter, you live with your wife and children, or you live with brahmacārī, sannyāsī. Anything. It doesn’t matter. Therefore there are so many divisions of life. Whichever status of life is suitable for you, you can accept—brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha, sannyāsa āśrama. Āśrama. When the word is added, āśrama, that means it has got reference with the cultivation of spiritual life. So gṛhastha-āśrama. One can live at home with wife and children, but the business should be Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
We don’t accept the Māyāvādī sannyāsī, because there is no Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Simply by becoming sannyāsī… Brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: “This world is false. Brahman is truth. So I give up this world.” That kind of sannyāsī we do not accept. Either you become gṛhastha or sannyāsī or brahmacārī, there must be Kṛṣṇa. Then it will be called āśrama. Gṛhastha-āśrama, sannyāsa-āśrama, brahmacārī-āśrama. Therefore this word is added, āśrama.