KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.3.12
- The complete functional activities of a pure devotee are always engaged in the service of the Lord, and thus the pure devotees’ exchange feelings of ecstasy between themselves and relish transcendental bliss.
- This transcendental bliss is experienced even in the stage of devotional practice (sādhana-avasthā) if properly undertaken under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master.
- Thus bhakti-yoga, being the only means of God realization, is called kaivalya. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī quotes the Vedic version (eko nārāyaṇo devaḥ, parāvarāṇāṁ parama āste kaivalya-saṁjñitaḥ) in this connection and establishes that Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is known as kaivalya, and the means which enables one to approach the Lord is called the kaivalya-panthā, or the only means of attainment of Godhead.
- This kaivalya-panthā begins from śravaṇa, or hearing those topics that relate to the Personality of Godhead, and the natural consequence of hearing such hari-kathā is attainment of transcendental knowledge, which causes detachment from all mundane topics, for which a devotee has no taste at all.
- For a devotee, all mundane activities, social and political, become unattractive, and in the mature state such a devotee becomes uninterested even in his own body, and what to speak of bodily relatives. In such a state of affairs one is not agitated by the waves of the material modes.
- All mundane functions in which a common man is very much interested or in which he takes part become unattractive for the devotee. This state of affairs is described herein as pratinivṛtta-guṇormi, and it is possible by ātma-prasāda or complete self-satisfaction without any material connection.
- The first-class devotee of the Lord attains this stage by devotional service, but despite his loftiness, for the Lord’s satisfaction, he may play the voluntary part of a preacher of the Lord’s glory and dovetail all into devotional service, even mundane interest, just to give the neophytes a chance to transform mundane interest into transcendental bliss.
- Even mundane activities dovetailed with service to the Lord are also calculated to be transcendental or approved kaivalya affairs according to Srila Rupa Goswami.
- According to Patañjali, kaivalyam is an internal, or transcendental, potency by which the living entity becomes aware of his constitutional position.
- After nirvāṇa, or material cessation, there is the manifestation of spiritual activities, or devotional service to the Lord, known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- In the words of the Bhāgavatam, svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: this is the “real life of the living entity.” In the words of Patañjali – kaivalyaṁ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti. This citi-śakti, or transcendental pleasure, is real life. In Vedanta sutra – ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt – This natural transcendental pleasure is the ultimate goal of yoga and is easily achieved by the execution of devotional service or bhakti-yoga.
- The best practice of yoga in this age is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is not baffling. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is so happy in his occupation that he does not aspire after any other happiness.
- As long as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of the body, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person who is in pure bhakti-yoga, or in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, does not arouse the senses while meeting the demands of the body. Rather, he accepts the bare necessities of life, making the best use of a bad bargain, and enjoys transcendental happiness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- He is callous toward incidental occurrences – such as accidents, disease, scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative – but he is always alert to execute his duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or bhakti-yoga.
- Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. He endures all such incidental occurrences because he knows that they come and go and do not affect his duties. In this way he achieves the highest perfection in yoga practice.
There is an acceptance of transcendental pleasure through transcendental senses in the Patañjali system, but the monists do not accept this transcendental pleasure, out of fear of jeopardizing the theory of oneness.
SB 2.3.12 TRANSLATION:
Transcendental knowledge in relation with the Supreme Lord Hari is knowledge resulting in the complete suspension of the waves and whirlpools of the material modes. Such knowledge is self-satisfying due to its being free from material attachment, and being transcendental it is approved by authorities. Who could fail to be attracted?
PURE DEVOTEES ALWAYS ENGAGED IN SERVICE OF LORD EXPERIENCE TRANSCENDENTAL BLISS
According to Bhagavad-gītā (10.9) the characteristics of pure devotees are wonderful. The complete functional activities of a pure devotee are always engaged in the service of the Lord, and thus the pure devotees exchange feelings of ecstasy between themselves and relish transcendental bliss.
THIS TRANSCENDENTAL BLISS IS EXPERIENCED EVEN IN THE STAGE OF DEVOTIONAL PRACTICE (SĀDHANA-AVASTHĀ),
if properly undertaken under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. And in the mature stage the developed transcendental feeling culminates in realization of the particular relationship with the Lord by which a living entity is originally constituted (up to the relationship of conjugal love with the Lord, which is estimated to be the highest transcendental bliss).
A yogi has to 5 states of consciousness – Jagat, Swapna, Susukti, Turiya, Turiya titi, last stage is transcendental bliss. But whereas the devotee is experiencing transcendental bliss right in the first stage itself, sadhana bhakti… it only increases right until the point of realizing the transcendental relationship with the lord to the point of conjugal love.
BHAKTI YOGA IS THE ONLY MEANS OF GOD REALIZATION AND IS CALLED KAILVALYA-PANTHA
Thus bhakti-yoga, being the only means of God realization, is called kaivalya. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī quotes the Vedic version (eko nārāyaṇo devaḥ, parāvarāṇāṁ parama āste kaivalya-saṁjñitaḥ) in this connection and establishes that Nārāyaṇa, the Personality of Godhead, is known as kaivalya, and the means which enables one to approach the Lord is called the kaivalya-panthā, or the only means of attainment of Godhead.
THIS KAIVALYA-PANTHĀ BEGINS FROM ŚRAVAṆA, WHICH CAUSES DETACHMENT FROM ALL MUNDANE TOPICS
or hearing those topics that relate to the Personality of Godhead, and the natural consequence of hearing such hari-kathā is attainment of transcendental knowledge, which causes detachment from all mundane topics, for which a devotee has no taste at all. For a devotee, all mundane activities, social and political, become unattractive, and in the mature state such a devotee becomes uninterested even in his own body, and what to speak of bodily relatives. In such a state of affairs one is not agitated by the waves of the material modes.
Don’t be afraid if you lose the attachment to mundane things if you come to the class everyday…
Not getting agitated by material modes – is an experience of a yogi in mechanical yoga system, now it is an experience of the devotee as well.
ĀTMA-PRASĀDA, OR COMPLETE SELF-SATISFACTION WITHOUT ANY MATERIAL CONNECTION IS ATTAINED
There are different modes of material nature, and all mundane functions in which a common man is very much interested or in which he takes part to become unattractive for the devotee. This state of affairs is described herein as pratinivṛtta-guṇormi, and it is possible by ātma-prasāda, or complete self-satisfaction without any material connection.
Harmonious transcendental stage –
A FIRST-CLASS DEVOTEE DOVETAILS ALL INTO DEVOTIONAL SERVICE, EVEN MUNDANE INTEREST TO SATISFY THE LORD, HE BECOMES A PREACHER.
The first-class devotee of the Lord attains this stage by devotional service, but despite his loftiness, for the Lord’s satisfaction, he may play the voluntary part of a preacher of the Lord’s glory and dovetail all into devotional service, even mundane interest, just to give the neophytes a chance to transform mundane interest into transcendental bliss.
A person who becomes a preacher experiences this.
Only detachment and uninvolvement is experienced in – mechanical process,
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described this action of a pure devotee as nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. Even mundane activities dovetailed with service to the Lord are also calculated to be transcendental or approved kaivalya affairs.
This verse and its purport prove the transcendental experience of KC as opposed to the mechanical process of spiritual elevation that yogis experience. There is no comparison between the two. Even in the beginning stages, one can experience transcendental ecstasy. As one progresses and becomes free from the attachments, the ecstasy keeps increasing. This is an extremely fascinating purport, it shows the extreme perfection a devotee can obtain by rather simply performing devotional service under the tutelage of the bonafide spiritual masters.
Video of Sankirtan party in West Bengal in a Muslim neighborhood and Muslims attacked the devotees. Police came and Devotees attacked the police. Is this the right thing to do.
Haridas Thakur was doing Sankirtan and he was beaten by the people of the king in 21 marketplaces. He was so much in transcendental ecstasy and did not fight back. The principle is HE DID NOT FIGHT BACK. He was beaten so severely that a normal person would have died. He was puzzled about how he was not suffering. Caitanya Mahaprabhu took all the beating on His back. When Chand Ghazi broke the mridangams they did not fight back. They did a protest with the mridangas. Principle- Do not fight back…
BG 6.20-23
In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by the practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the Self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the Self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.
BY PRACTICE OF YOGA ONE BECOMES GRADUALLY DETACHED FROM MATERIAL CONCEPTS.
This is the primary characteristic of the yoga principle. And after this, one becomes situated in trance, or samādhi, which means that the yogī realizes the Supersoul through transcendental mind and intelligence, without any of the misgivings of identifying the self with the Superself.
UNAUTHORIZED OR MISINTERPRETED PATANJALI VERSION – IDENTIFYING SELF WITH THE SUPER SELF
Yoga practice is more or less based on the principles of the Patañjali system. Some unauthorized commentators try to identify the individual soul with the Supersoul, and the monists think this to be liberation, but they do not understand the real purpose of the Patañjali system of yoga. There is an acceptance of transcendental pleasure in the Patañjali system, but the monists do not accept this transcendental pleasure, out of fear of jeopardizing the theory of oneness.
The duality of knowledge and knower is not accepted by the nondualist, but in this verse transcendental pleasure – realized through transcendental senses – is accepted. And this is corroborated by Patañjali Muni, the famous exponent of the yoga system. The great sage declares in his Yoga-sūtras (4.33): puruṣārtha-śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti.
THIS CITI-ŚAKTI, OR INTERNAL POTENCY, IS TRANSCENDENTAL.
Puruṣārtha means material religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and, at the end, the attempt to become one with the Supreme. This “oneness with the Supreme” is called kaivalyam by the monist. But according to Patañjali, this kaivalyam is an internal, or transcendental, potency by which the living entity becomes aware of his constitutional position.
LORD CAITANYA
In the words of Lord Caitanya, this state of affairs is called ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam, or clearance of the impure mirror of the mind. This “clearance” is actually liberation, or bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam. The theory of nirvāṇa – also preliminary – corresponds with this principle. In the Bhāgavatam (2.10.6) this is called svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ. The Bhagavad-gītā also confirms this situation in this verse.
AFTER MATERIAL CESSATION THERE IS DEVOTIONAL SERVICE. THIS CITI-ŚAKTI, OR TRANSCENDENTAL PLEASURE, IS REAL LIFE.
After nirvāṇa, or material cessation, there is the manifestation of spiritual activities, or devotional service to the Lord, known as Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the words of the Bhāgavatam, svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ: this is the “real life of the living entity.” Māyā, or illusion, is the condition of spiritual life contaminated by material infection. Liberation from this material infection does not mean destruction of the original eternal position of the living entity. Patañjali also accepts this by his words kaivalyaṁ svarūpa-pratiṣṭhā vā citi-śaktir iti. This citi-śakti, or transcendental pleasure, is real life. (Devotee can experience the bliss right from the beginning. Mayavadis have to go through terrible austerities and most of them do not achieve this)
This is confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.12) as ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. This natural transcendental pleasure is the ultimate goal of yoga and is easily achieved by the execution of devotional service or bhakti-yoga. Bhakti-yoga will be vividly described in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā.
Bhakti yoga needs the lover and beloved. Mayavadis reject and they never experience bliss. Their bliss is negative, an annulment of misery..
TWO KINDS OF SAMADHI
In the yoga system, as described in this chapter, there are two kinds of samādhi, called samprajñāta-samādhi and asamprajñāta-samādhi.
Samprajñāta-samādhi
When one becomes situated in the transcendental position by various philosophical researches, he is said to have achieved samprajñāta-samādhi.
Asamprajñāta-samādhi
In the asamprajñāta-samādhi there is no longer any connection with mundane pleasure, for one is then transcendental to all sorts of happiness derived from the senses. When the yogī is once situated in that transcendental position, he is never shaken from it. Unless the yogī is able to reach this position, he is unsuccessful.
TODAY’S SO-CALLED YOGA PRACTICE, WHICH INVOLVES VARIOUS SENSE PLEASURES, IS CONTRADICTORY.
A yogī indulging in sex and intoxication is a mockery. Even those yogīs who are attracted by the siddhis (perfections) in the process of yoga are not perfectly situated. If yogīs are attracted by the by-products of yoga, then they cannot attain the stage of perfection, as is stated in this verse. (by-products are detachment… not getting affected by material modes, they are not the goal) Persons, therefore, indulging in the make-show practice of gymnastic feats or siddhis should know that the aim of yoga is lost in that way.
THE BEST PRACTICE OF YOGA IN THIS AGE IS KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS, WHICH IS NOT BAFFLING.
A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is so happy in his occupation that he does not aspire after any other happiness. There are many impediments, especially in this age of hypocrisy, to practicing haṭha-yoga, dhyāna-yoga and jñāna-yoga, but there is no such problem in executing karma-yoga or bhakti-yoga.
As long as the material body exists, one has to meet the demands of the body, namely eating, sleeping, defending and mating. But a person who is in pure bhakti-yoga, or in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, does not arouse the senses while meeting the demands of the body. Rather, he accepts the bare necessities of life, making the best use of a bad bargain, and enjoys transcendental happiness in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He is callous toward incidental occurrences – such as accidents, disease, scarcity and even the death of a most dear relative – but he is always alert to execute his duties in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or bhakti-yoga. Accidents never deviate him from his duty. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.14), āgamāpāyino ’nityās tāṁs titikṣasva bhārata. He endures all such incidental occurrences because he knows that they come and go and do not affect his duties. In this way he achieves the highest perfection in yoga practice.
By reading this we can analyze the devotees who fought back, if there was a leader, he should have said, let’s walk back and we can go some other place and some other time. Fighting back is a question, is this the right thing to do? Especially in Sankirtan party.