KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.3.15 TODAY
- In the Bhagavad-gītā (6.41) it is stated that even a person who has failed in the proper discharge of yoga practice is given a chance to take birth in the house of devout brāhmaṇas or in the houses of rich men like kṣatriya kings or rich merchants.
- But Mahārāja Parīkṣit was more than that because he had been a great devotee of the Lord since his previous birth, and as such he took his birth in an imperial family of the Kurus, and especially that of the Pāṇḍavas who are the devotees of the lord.
- So from the very beginning of his childhood he had the chance to know intimately the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa in his own family.
- Children who appear in such families fortunately generally imitate worship of the Deities, even in the way of childhood play.
- Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura took birth in Vaishnava families and got all inspiration from their respective fathers. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families.
- The life history of many such devotees is almost the same because there is always symmetry between the early lives of all great devotees of the Lord.
- Mahārāja Parīkṣit was naturally inclined to Lord Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood. He might have imitated deity worship or past times of the Lord, and all of them establish his great devotion from his very childhood, a symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata. Such mahā-bhāgavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from birth.
- But there are also others, who may not be liberated from birth but who develop a tendency for devotional service by association, and they are called sādhana-Siddhas. There is no difference between the two
- Everyone can become a sādhana-Siddha, a devotee of the Lord, simply by association with the pure devotees. The concrete example is our great spiritual master Śrī Nārada Muni
- Therefore, transcendental endeavors, or the practice of yoga, never go in vain. By the grace of the Lord the transcendentalist gets repeated opportunities for complete perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- As far as amṛtam, nectar, is concerned, any narration or statement concerning Kṛṣṇa is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience.
- Modern stories, fiction and histories are different from the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in that one will tire of hearing mundane stories, but one never tires of hearing about Kṛṣṇa.
- It is for this reason only that the history of the whole universe is replete with references to the pastimes of the incarnations of Godhead.
- The Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages that relate the pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord. In this way the reading matter remains forever fresh, despite repeated readings.
SB 2.3.15 TRANSLATION:
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the grandson of the Pāṇḍavas, was from his very childhood a great devotee of the Lord. Even while playing with dolls, he used to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating the worship of the family Deity.
CLASS NOTES:
ONE WHO HAS FAILED AS A YOGI
In the Bhagavad-gītā (6.41) it is stated that even a person who has failed in the proper discharge of yoga practice is given a chance to take birth in the house of devout brāhmaṇas or in the houses of rich men like kṣatriya kings or rich merchants.
MAHARAJ PARIKSHIT ‘S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
But Mahārāja Parīkṣit was more than that because he had been a great devotee of the Lord since his previous birth, and as such he took his birth in an imperial family of the Kurus, and especially that of the Pāṇḍavas. So from the very beginning of his childhood he had the chance to know intimately the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa in his own family. The Pāṇḍavas, all being devotees of the Lord, certainly venerated family Deities in the royal palace for worship. Children who appear in such families fortunately generally imitate such worship of the Deities, even in the way of childhood play.
SRILA PRABHUPADA’S BIRTH & SRILA BHAKTI SIDHANTA SARASWATI THAKUR’S BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
By the grace of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we had the chance of being born in a Vaiṣṇava family, and in our childhood we imitated the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating our father. Our father encouraged us in all respects to observe all functions such as the Ratha-yātrā and Dola-yātrā ceremonies, and he used to spend money liberally for distributing prasāda to us children and our friends. Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaiṣṇava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaiṣṇava father, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families. The celebrated Mīrā Bāī was a staunch devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the great lifter of Govardhana Hill.
NITYA SIDDHAS
The life history of many such devotees is almost the same because there is always symmetry between the early lives of all great devotees of the Lord. According to Jīva Gosvāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit must have heard about the childhood pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa at Vṛndāvana, for he used to imitate the pastimes with his young playmates. According to Śrīdhara Svāmī, Mahārāja Parīkṣit used to imitate the worship of the family Deity by elderly members. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī also confirms the viewpoint of Jīva Gosvāmī. So accepting either of them, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was naturally inclined to Lord Kṛṣṇa from his very childhood. He might have imitated either of the above-mentioned activities, and all of them establish his great devotion from his very childhood, a symptom of a mahā-bhāgavata. Such mahā-bhāgavatas are called nitya-siddhas, or souls liberated from birth.
SĀDHANA-SIDDHAS
But there are also others, who may not be liberated from birth but who develop a tendency for devotional service by association, and they are called sādhana-Siddhas. There is no difference between the two in the ultimate issue, and so the conclusion is that everyone can become a sādhana-Siddha, a devotee of the Lord, simply by association with the pure devotees. The concrete example is our great spiritual master Śrī Nārada Muni. In his previous life he was simply a boy of a maidservant, but through association with great devotees, he became a devotee of the Lord of his own standard, unique in the history of devotional service.
That opens a possibility for any of us to attain the highest perfection if we associate with pure devotees.
Prabhupada wrote Krsna Book, so one can experience the past times of the Lord without having to jump to the 10th canto.
When we hear from SP purports we are hearing from Pure devotee. The more we hear, the more we learn and we discover. This is special we cannot miss this, we will not get this in any university. The desire to hear is the most important thing in a devotee’s life. It takes some time to develop some talent. If you use that talent in Krsna’s service in this lifetime and actually engage in practical devotional service then you become enlivened. Dynamic process, never static. Mayavadis think that by stopping activity they become perfect. That is not the case. Goswamis were awake 23 hours a day. They were eating very less and sleeping very less and immersed in serving the Lord. This can not be attained artificially. SP gives example of Napoleon so excited about conquering he would not sleep at all. One who gets excited materially is able to do that. Imagine if you get that excitement in KC, what you can do is the position of Nithya Siddha.
(BG 6.41) THE UNSUCCESSFUL YOGĪ IS BORN INTO A FAMILY OF RICH ARISTOCRACY
The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.
The unsuccessful yogīs are divided into two classes: one is fallen after very little progress, and one is fallen after long practice of yoga. The yogī who falls after a short period of practice goes to the higher planets, where pious living entities are allowed to enter. After prolonged life there, one is sent back again to this planet, to take birth in the family of a righteous brāhmaṇa Vaiṣṇava or of aristocratic merchants.
Those who are born in such families may take advantage of the facilities and try to elevate themselves to full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
(BG 6.42) OR HE TAKES HIS BIRTH IN A FAMILY OF TRANSCENDENTALISTS WHO ARE SURELY GREAT IN WISDOM
Or [if unsuccessful after long practice of yoga] he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world.
Birth in a family of yogīs or transcendentalists – those with great wisdom – is praised herein because the child born in such a family receives a spiritual impetus from the very beginning of his life. It is especially the case in the ācārya or gosvāmī families. Such families are very learned and devoted by tradition and training, and thus they become spiritual masters.
Fortunately, both our spiritual master, Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja, and our humble self had the opportunity to take birth in such families, by the grace of the Lord, and both of us were trained in the devotional service of the Lord from the very beginning of our lives.
Great opportunity – human form of life, to realize Krsna and go back to Him. If you fail nothing is lost you go to higher planets and come back in good families and go back…
Transcendental endeavors never go in vain.
(BG 6.43)
On taking such a birth, he revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he again tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.
Example – Bharat Maharaj
transcendental endeavors, or the practice of yoga, never go in vain. By the grace of the Lord the transcendentalist gets repeated opportunities for complete perfection in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
(BG 2.40) IN THIS ENDEAVOR THERE IS NO LOSS OR DIMINUTION
In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
This is good news for all of us. Lord never forgets what we have done.
From very childhood is trained by parents to celebrate and imitate the past times of the lord.
In Krsna Book Chapter 30) it is explained how Gopis imitated the past times of the lord –
Being absorbed in thought of Him, they experienced loss of memory, and with dampened eyes they began to see the very pastimes of Kṛṣṇa – His beautiful talks with them, His embracing, kissing and other activities. Being so attracted to Kṛṣṇa, they imitated His dancing, His walking and His smiling, as if they themselves were Kṛṣṇa.
The only way the gopis can feel the presence of Krsna is by enacting His past times.
BG 10.18
Now as far as amṛtam, nectar, is concerned, any narration or statement concerning Kṛṣṇa is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience. Modern stories, fiction and histories are different from the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in that one will tire of hearing mundane stories but one never tires of hearing about Kṛṣṇa. It is for this reason only that the history of the whole universe is replete with references to the pastimes of the incarnations of Godhead. The Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages that relate the pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord. In this way the reading matter remains forever fresh, despite repeated readings.