KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.3.16
- Once one properly hears about Lord in the association of the satām (pure devotees), certainly one senses the great potency and so automatically attains to the devotional stage of life.
- According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit were of the same category, settled long before, although one was playing the part of the master and the other the disciple.
- Although there were many others who assembled at the place where Mahārāja Parīkṣit was fasting, the natural conclusion is that there was no topic other than the glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa, because the principal speaker was Śukadeva Gosvāmī and the chief audience was Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
- So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as it was spoken and heard by two principal devotees of the Lord, is only for the glorification of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
- Although the common man is often not as capable as so-called philosophers, faithful hearing from an authoritative person will help one transcend this material existence and go back to Godhead, back to home.
- This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning.
- One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee.
- BG 11.36 – O master of the senses, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name, and thus everyone becomes attached to You. Although the perfected beings offer You their respectful homage, the demons are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is rightly done.
- Any narration or statement concerning Kṛṣṇa is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience. 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.
- BG 10.18 – “O Janārdana, again please describe in detail the mystic power of Your opulences. I am never satiated in hearing about You, for the more I hear the more I want to taste the nectar of Your words.” This explains the culture of a devotee
- One should know the distinction between the body, the owner of the body, and the Supersoul. One should recognize the process of liberation, as described in verses 8 through 12. Then one can go on to the supreme destination.
- A faithful person should at first have some good association to hear of God and thus gradually become enlightened. If one accepts a spiritual master, one can learn to distinguish between matter and spirit, and that becomes the stepping-stone for further spiritual realization. A spiritual master, by various instructions, teaches his students to get free from the material concept of life.
- One has to get rid of all three stages of attachment to the material world: 1)the negligence of spiritual life, 2)fear of spiritual personal identity, and the 3)concept of void that underlies the frustration of life. To get free of these three stages in the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the penances of disciplinary and regulative principles of devotional life.
- (BG 13.35) Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal.
ŚB 2.3.18
Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the son of Vyāsadeva, was also full in transcendental knowledge and was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, son of Vasudeva. So there must have been discussion of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by great philosophers and in the company of great devotees.
CLASS NOTES:
SATĀM MEANS THE PURE DEVOTEES
The word satām is very important in this verse. Satām means the pure devotees, who have no other desire than to serve the Lord.
ONLY IN THE ASSOCIATION OF SUCH DEVOTEES ARE THE TRANSCENDENTAL GLORIES OF LORD KṚṢṆA PROPERLY DISCUSSED.
It is said by the Lord that His topics are all full of spiritual significance, and once one properly hears about Him in the association of the satām, certainly one senses the great potency and so automatically attains to the devotional stage of life.
MAHARAJ PARIKSHIT AND SUKHADEV GOSWAMI ARE BOTH GREAT DEVOTEES OF LORD
As already described, Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a great devotee of the Lord from his very birth, and so was Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Both of them were on the same level, although it appeared that Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a great king accustomed to royal facilities whereas Śukadeva Gosvāmī was a typical renouncer of the world, so much so that he did not even put a cloth on his body. Superficially, Mahārāja Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī might seem to be opposites, but basically they were both unalloyed, pure devotees of the Lord.
WHEN SUCH DEVOTEES ARE ASSEMBLED TOGETHER, THERE CAN BE NO TOPICS SAVE DISCUSSIONS OF THE GLORIES OF THE LORD, OR BHAKTI-YOGA. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, when there were talks between the Lord and His devotee Arjuna, there could not be any topic other than bhakti-yoga, however the mundane scholars may speculate on it in their own ways. The use of the word ca after vaiyāsakiḥ suggests, according to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, that both Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit were of the same category, settled long before, although one was playing the part of the master and the other the disciple.
THERE WAS NO TOPIC OTHER THAN THE GLORIFICATION OF LORD KṚṢṆA
Since Lord Kṛṣṇa is the center of the topics, the word vāsudeva-parāyaṇaḥ, or “devotee of Vāsudeva,” suggests devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the common aim. Although there were many others who assembled at the place where Mahārāja Parīkṣit was fasting, the natural conclusion is that there was no topic other than the glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa, because the principal speaker was Śukadeva Gosvāmī and the chief audience was Mahārāja Parīkṣit. So Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as it was spoken and heard by two principal devotees of the Lord, is only for the glorification of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
It emphasizes the main themes presented in this chapter which is Hearing from pure devotees. One cannot make any spiritual advancement unless one has association of pure devotees and hears from them.
(BG 13.26) WORSHIP OF THE SUPREME PERSON BEGINS UPON HEARING ABOUT HIM FROM OTHERS.
anye tv evam ajānantaḥ
śrutvānyebhya upāsate
te ’pi cātitaranty eva
mṛtyuṁ śruti-parāyaṇāḥ
Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.
Interview of number one athiest Richard Dawkins. He is the intelligencia of the athiests. Meyers, philosopher, wrote a great book on the validity of the intelligent design.. Interviewer is convincing Dawkins to have a debate with Meyers. He said he is not a scientist and if I agree to debate then it gives validity to him. Dawkins is the most arrogant person…
Once a person asked a question “lets assume there is no God” and was about to ask a question, Srila Prabhupada asked him to stop, because it is like “lets assume there is no father for a child”… Srila Prabhupada stopping that person from asking illegitimate or illogical question is different from Dawkins stopping to be debated with Meyers.. Prabhupada was stopping him from speculating..
This verse is particularly applicable to modern society because in modern society there is practically no education in spiritual matters. Some of the people may appear to be atheistic or agnostic or philosophical, but actually there is no knowledge of philosophy.
Philosophy – The word philosophy is derived from Greek words – Pholos and Sophia. Philos means love and Sophia means wisdom. • Thus philosophy means love of wisdom.
the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
They claim there is no GOD and matter is the only reality… academic – question everything. They are starting from illogical reality claiming to be authority…
HEARING PROCESS IS VERY IMPORTANT
As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, according to Lord Caitanya, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything. The worship of the Supreme Lord will then undoubtedly take place.
We are hearing from speculators in schools, colleges… etc., who say religion is the opium of people.
Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning. One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee. In this verse particularly, the process of hearing is strongly recommended, and this is very appropriate. Although the common man is often not as capable as so-called philosophers, faithful hearing from an authoritative person will help one transcend this material existence and go back to Godhead, back to home.
This is the problem today, people are accepting these fools speculators as authority, refusing to hear from the real authority. The strategy is to denounce belittle anybody who has different presentation…
Mr.Dawkins is the number one representative of cancel culture…
(BG 11.36) THE WORLD BECOMES JOYFUL UPON HEARING YOUR NAME, AND THUS EVERYONE BECOMES ATTACHED TO YOU
Arjuna said: O master of the senses, the world becomes joyful upon hearing Your name, and thus everyone becomes attached to You. Although the perfected beings offer You their respectful homage, the demons are afraid, and they flee here and there. All this is rightly done.
BG 10.14
O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the demigods nor the demons, O Lord, can understand Your personality.
Arjuna, after hearing from Kṛṣṇa about the outcome of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, became enlightened, and as a great devotee and friend of the Supreme Personality of Godhead he said that everything done by Kṛṣṇa is quite fit.
When Arjuna saw the universal form of the Lord, the demigods took pleasure in it, but others, who were demons and atheists, could not stand it when the Lord was praised. Out of their natural fear of the devastating form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they fled. Kṛṣṇa’s treatment of the devotees and the atheists is praised by Arjuna. In all cases a devotee glorifies the Lord because he knows that whatever He does is good for all.
(BG 10.18) CULTURE OF DEVOTEES – THE MORE I HEAR THE MORE I WANT TO TASTE THE NECTAR OF YOUR WORDS.
O Janārdana, again please describe in detail the mystic power of Your opulences. I am never satiated in hearing about You, for the more I hear the more I want to taste the nectar of Your words.
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.
What is Knowledge, reality and existence – you have to read 13th chapter
(BG 13.35)
Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal.
The purport of this Thirteenth Chapter is that one should know the distinction between the body, the owner of the body, and the Supersoul. One should recognize the process of liberation, as described in verses 8 through 12. Then one can go on to the supreme destination.
- Body – material
- Owner of the body – Jiva (temp owner) Paramatma (real owner)
- Supersoul – Paramatma
- Process of liberation (18 points of knowledge)
- Supreme destination
A faithful person should at first have some good association to hear of God and thus gradually become enlightened. If one accepts a spiritual master, one can learn to distinguish between matter and spirit, and that becomes the stepping-stone for further spiritual realization. A spiritual master, by various instructions, teaches his students to get free from the material concept of life. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā we find Kṛṣṇa instructing Arjuna to free him from materialistic considerations.
- Good association to hear of God
- Hear what is matter and spirit (2nd chapter)
- Free from material concept of life (Spiritual master is teaching)
- One can understand that
- body is matter, gross manifestation (24 elements) 5 great elements, 5 knowledge acquiring senses, 5 objects of senses, 5 working senses
- Subtle manifestation – mind, intelligence, false ego
- Soul and super soul
- Desire, happiness, distress, hatred – Interactions of the 5 great elements
- Consciousness and convictions – Living symptoms
One can understand that this body is matter; it can be analyzed with its twenty-four elements.
The body is the gross manifestation. And the subtle manifestation is the mind and psychological effects. And the symptoms of life are the interaction of these features. But over and above this, there is the soul, and there is also the Supersoul. The soul and the Supersoul are two. This material world is working by the conjunction of the soul and the twenty-four material elements. One who can see the constitution of the whole material manifestation as this combination of the soul and material elements and can also see the situation of the Supreme Soul becomes eligible for transfer to the spiritual world. These things are meant for contemplation and for realization, and one should have a complete understanding of this chapter with the help of the spiritual master.
(BG 13.6 -7) 24 ELEMENTS
First there are earth, water, fire, air and ether. These are the five great elements (mahā-bhūta). Then there are false ego, intelligence and the unmanifested stage of the three modes of nature. Then there are five senses for acquiring knowledge: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Then five working senses: voice, legs, hands, anus and genitals. Then, above the senses, there is the mind, which is within and which can be called the sense within. Therefore, including the mind, there are eleven senses altogether. Then there are the five objects of the senses: smell, taste, form, touch and sound. Now the aggregate of these twenty-four elements is called the field of activity. If one makes an analytical study of these twenty-four subjects, then he can very well understand the field of activity. Then there are desire, hatred, happiness and distress, which are interactions, representations of the five great elements in the gross body. The living symptoms, represented by consciousness, and convictions are the manifestation of the subtle body – mind, ego and intelligence. These subtle elements are included within the field of activities.
The five great elements are a gross representation of the false ego, which in turn represents the primal stage of false ego technically called the materialistic conception, or tāmasa-buddhi, intelligence in ignorance. This, further, represents the unmanifested stage of the three modes of material nature. The unmanifested modes of material nature are called pradhāna.
One who desires to know the twenty-four elements in detail along with their interactions should study the philosophy in more detail. In Bhagavad-gītā, a summary only is given.
The body is the representation of all these factors, and there are changes of the body, which are six in number: the body is born, it grows, it stays, it produces by-products, then it begins to decay, and at the last stage it vanishes. Therefore the field is a nonpermanent material thing. However, the kṣetra-jña, the knower of the field, its proprietor, is different.
Dawkins is intelligence in ignorance (Tamasa budhi) . He is teaching material conception of life .
WHAT IS MATERIAL CONCEPTION OF LIFE –
Metaphysical Questions of life.
Pages 35-38
https://www.vedicculturalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/flipbook/42/mobile/index.html#p=36
3 stages of material conception of life
“One has to get rid of all three stages of attachment to the material world:
- the negligence of spiritual life,
- fear of spiritual personal identity, and the
- concept of void that underlies the frustration of life.
To get free of these three stages in the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the penances of disciplinary and regulative principles of devotional life.