KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.35 – 36 (5/2/22):
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the emblem of religion. When he was ruling his kingdom with the help of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, the opulence of his kingdom surpassed all imaginations of the opulence of the kingdom of heaven.
His actual arms were Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, and thus he surpassed everyone’s opulence. Duryodhana, being envious of this opulence, planned so many schemes to put Yudhiṣṭhira into difficulty, and at last the Battle of Kurukṣetra was brought about.
After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was again able to rule his legitimate kingdom, and he reinstated the principles of honor and respect for religion.
That is the beauty of a kingdom ruled by a pious king like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Raising children to be Krsna Consciousness. The most important years of their life has been discussed in the class today.
SB 3.1.35 TRANSLATION:
O sober one, others, such as Hṛdīka, Cārudeṣṇa, Gada and the son of Satyabhāmā, who accept Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the soul of the self and thus follow His path without deviation — are they well?
SB 3.1.36
Also let me inquire whether Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira is now maintaining the kingdom according to religious principles and with respect for the path of religion. Formerly Duryodhana was burning with envy because Yudhiṣṭhira was being protected by the arms of Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna as if they were his own arms.
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the emblem of religion. When he was ruling his kingdom with the help of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, the opulence of his kingdom surpassed all imaginations of the opulence of the kingdom of heaven. His actual arms were Lord Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, and thus he surpassed everyone’s opulence. Duryodhana, being envious of this opulence, planned so many schemes to put Yudhiṣṭhira into difficulty, and at last the Battle of Kurukṣetra was brought about. After the Battle of Kurukṣetra, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was again able to rule his legitimate kingdom, and he reinstated the principles of honor and respect for religion. That is the beauty of a kingdom ruled by a pious king like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Pitfall – very dangerous and precipitous – envy – hatred – violence – fall down
Disease of mind and affects the soul..
Soul – passenger in the chariot
Mind – driver of the chariot
Senses uncontrollable – mind uncontrollable, driver loses control and crashes..
Soul is neutral – passenger and has no control on the corrupted mind senses and intelligence….
Uncontrolled mind of Duryodhana – false ego, bad association of sakuni and karna, material attachment and weakness of Dhritarashtra – disaster of life..
We have to be careful about being parents – strictly with love and devotion – not compromising the essentuaks thinks of KC,if we dont maintain the standard we will be affected by it.. We have violated the mandate of teaching KC to children.. There is no reason to have children.. If we cannot do that then it affects pur KC and we suffer ,,,
Most Formative years -> 5 – 16
Most imp years in the life of a child -> 16 – 20
At 16 they wake up to million things in this material world, If they have not been trained between the age of 5 -16 then they will become bewildered with this material world and become karmis – who believe that sense gratification is the goal of life – earn money to have more sense gratification, sustained sense gratification have to make money..
Some kids sell marijuna, get into business and learn different trades to earn money… to buy gadgets, houses..
We only have only certain number of years where we can influence the child..
Up until 5 strict but not too strict..
From 5 – 12 yrs you have some measure of control..
From 12 yrs – desires from previous life become awaken child is overwhelmed because they have all these years..
At 16 – they have the freedom to explore all those desires..
Most imp – 16 -20 – fixed in determination to follow some path in their life..
Fall through the cracks of the society – addicted to drugs and sex
Other kids are very inspired to achive to material prosperity.. Work hard and want to pursue career it is all because they want to have sense gratification.. Nothing to do with KC..
5 – 16 yrs only you have the time window to influence ..if you are busy working then.. You cannot convince your child..
Don’t become a teacher, guru, parent unless you can convince your children to be KC..
Maharaja Yudhistra was the emblem of religion.. following principles of Varnashrama dharma.. And KC.. He was more on the Varnashrama system.. & dharma and not completely pure KC, therefore he was very hesitant to completely follow what Krsna said.. Especially when Krsna told him to mislead Dronacharya.. Aswathama athah kunjara.. He did not want to tell a lie.. He wanted to have a standard of always telling the truth.. Following Krishna’s instructions is the highest standard of morality than mundane morality..
We cant trick Krsna we can only trick ourselves and others..
If I dont get education I will be poor the rest of my life.. I will be a failure.. – THAT IS WRONG
If you have bad habits.. That is what hinders you from being successful.. If you surrender to Krsna you will be provided money and everything needed to spread the glories of the lord.
Simply by doing dev service – knowledge and renunciation follows ..
As long as we keep misconceptions in the mind… we may be successful in material life due to our karma in previous life.. We will be a failure in spiritual life..
Jeff bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates – Materially successful, Spiritually failures.. As far as KC..
All the failure people are glorified by materialists and not devotees.. Because they know that they are going to be born again..
Duryodhana was envious .. and his problem was he did not respect for Krsna and Arjuna.. And Yudhistra.. Original cause of difficulty in this world..
All of us are in the material world because we are envious of Krsna.. We somehow other wanted to be Krsna … and now we have 2 choices.. Either in a hopeless way emulate Krsna and get beaten by material laws of nature or go back to spiritual world by loving devotional service to Krsna..
Eventually there is war bet – families, countries, races,
Ravana wanted to destroy Rama
No battle in history where 330 million people died..
World war 2 – 50-60 m died
Kurukshetra – 640 million died.
Duryodhana – did not have respect for principles of honor and respect for religion.
Conversation with Sreshta about Black lives matter & modern education
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.32 :
When Akrūra came to Vṛndāvana in search of Kṛṣṇa, he saw the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grāma and at once fell on them in ecstasy of transcendental love. This ecstasy is possible for a devotee who is fully absorbed in incessant thoughts of Kṛṣṇa.
Such a pure devotee of the Lord is naturally faultless because he is always associated with the supremely pure Personality of Godhead.
Constant thought of the Lord is the antiseptic method for keeping oneself free from the infectious contamination of the material qualities.
BG 8.14 – For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.
A pure devotee does not desire promotion to heavenly planets, nor does he seek oneness with the brahma-jyotir or salvation or liberation from material entanglement. A pure devotee does not desire anything
Perfect peace belongs to him alone, not to them who strive for personal gain.
A perfect devotee has no desire other than to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
The Lord is merciful to all, but as we have already explained, He is especially inclined toward those who always serve Him without deviation. The Lord helps such devotees in various ways.
One who is fully surrendered and engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord can understand the Supreme Lord as He is.
The Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom.
A pure devotee cannot forget the Supreme Lord for a moment, and similarly the Supreme Lord cannot forget His pure devotee for a moment. This is the great blessing of the Kṛṣṇa conscious process of chanting the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
In search of the ultimate goal of life (book by Srila Prabhupada on the conversation between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramananda Raya was discussed- Real Varna and Asrama & Perverted Castes)
SB 3.1.32 TRANSLATION:
Please tell me whether Akrūra, the son of Śvaphalka, is doing well. He is a faultless soul surrendered unto the Personality of Godhead. He once lost his mental equilibrium due to his ecstasy of transcendental love and fell down on the dust of a road which was marked with the footprints of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
When Akrūra came to Vṛndāvana in search of Kṛṣṇa, he saw the footprints of the Lord on the dust of Nanda-grāma and at once fell on them in ecstasy of transcendental love. This ecstasy is possible for a devotee who is fully absorbed in incessant thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. Such a pure devotee of the Lord is naturally faultless because he is always associated with the supremely pure Personality of Godhead.Constant thought of the Lord is the antiseptic method for keeping oneself free from the infectious contamination of the material qualities. The pure devotee of the Lord is always in company with the Lord by thinking of Him. Yet, in the particular context of time and place, the transcendental emotions take a different turn, and this breaks the mental equilibrium of the devotee. Lord Caitanya displayed the typical example of transcendental ecstasy, as we can understand from the life of this incarnation of God.
Example of False Gurus during Krsna’s time –
Demoniac person – King of Benaras during times of Krsna.. He sent a letter to Krsna and told him to stop acting like his duplicate and that he is the original supreme personality of Godhead. Krishna reads the letter and challenges him and meets him in the battle field. Krishna was amused to him as he pasted two arms on his back to look like Narayana.. He was killed by Krsna and the son of that false God orders the demon Dakshini to Kill Krsna and burn Dwaraka..
Beginning of Brahma — Had some sons and few of them were homosexual and as soon as they were born they attached born.. This tendency is very demoniac and was existing the material world even from the beginning..
According to Lwas of nature we need to
surrender to the lord
Chant His names
Always remember Krsna
and remember krishna when death and go back to Godhead..
This is the plan to go back to Godhead.. Krishna does not want his parts and parcels to suffer.. In the material world..
But dues to modern education people believe that there is no God and thus engage in all kinds of sense enjoyment and get entrapped in this cycle of birth and death..
In BG Krsna says –
BG 8.14
ananya-cetāḥ satataṁ
yo māṁ smarati nityaśaḥ
tasyāhaṁ su-labhaḥ pārtha
nitya-yuktasya yoginaḥ
For one who always remembers Me without deviation, I am easy to obtain, O son of Pṛthā, because of his constant engagement in devotional service.
How to do this? Always be in devotional service under the tutelage of Spiritual master – easy way to remember to Krsna is to chant Hare Krsna.. Very and pleasurable, take prasadam, go to sankirtan, come to class hear Bg and SB, be regulated – take 3 baths a day.. Always think of doing good.. Give then
This verse especially describes the final destination attained by the unalloyed devotees who serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead in bhakti-yoga. Previous verses have mentioned four different kinds of devotees – the distressed, the inquisitive, those who seek material gain, and the speculative philosophers. Different processes of liberation have also been described: karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and haṭha-yoga. The principles of these yoga systems have some bhakti added, but this verse particularly mentions pure bhakti-yoga, without any mixture of jñāna, karma or haṭha. As indicated by the word ananya-cetāḥ, in pure bhakti-yoga the devotee desires nothing but Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee does not desire promotion to heavenly planets, nor does he seek oneness with the brahma-jyotir or salvation or liberation from material entanglement. A pure devotee does not desire anything. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the pure devotee is called niṣkāma, which means he has no desire for self-interest. Perfect peace belongs to him alone, not to them who strive for personal gain. Whereas a jñāna-yogī, karma-yogī or haṭha-yogī has his own selfish interests, a perfect devotee has no desire other than to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the Lord says that for anyone who is unflinchingly devoted to Him, He is easy to attain.
A pure devotee always engages in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa in one of His various personal features. Kṛṣṇa has various plenary expansions and incarnations, such as Rāma and Nṛsiṁha, and a devotee can choose to fix his mind in loving service to any of these transcendental forms of the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee meets with none of the problems that plague the practitioners of other yogas. Bhakti-yoga is very simple and pure and easy to perform. One can begin simply by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. The Lord is merciful to all, but as we have already explained, He is especially inclined toward those who always serve Him without deviation. The Lord helps such devotees in various ways. As stated in the Vedas (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23), yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas/ tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanuṁ svām: one who is fully surrendered and engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord can understand the Supreme Lord as He is. And as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10), dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ tam: the Lord gives such a devotee sufficient intelligence so that ultimately the devotee can attain Him in His spiritual kingdom.
The special qualification of the pure devotee is that he is always thinking of Kṛṣṇa without deviation and without considering the time or place. There should be no impediments. He should be able to carry out his service anywhere and at any time. Some say that the devotee should remain in holy places like Vṛndāvana or some holy town where the Lord lived, but a pure devotee can live anywhere and create the atmosphere of Vṛndāvana by his devotional service.It was Śrī Advaita who told Lord Caitanya, “Wherever You are, O Lord – there is Vṛndāvana.”
As indicated by the words satatam and nityaśaḥ, which mean “always,” “regularly,” or “every day,” a pure devotee constantly remembers Kṛṣṇa and meditates upon Him. These are qualifications of the pure devotee, for whom the Lord is most easily attainable. Bhakti-yoga is the system that the Gītā recommends above all others. Generally, the bhakti-yogīs are engaged in five different ways: (1) śānta-bhakta, engaged in devotional service in neutrality; (2) dāsya-bhakta, engaged in devotional service as servant; (3) sakhya-bhakta, engaged as friend; (4) vātsalya-bhakta, engaged as parent; and (5) mādhurya-bhakta, engaged as conjugal lover of the Supreme Lord. In any of these ways, the pure devotee is always constantly engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord and cannot forget the Supreme Lord, and so for him the Lord is easily attained. A pure devotee cannot forget the Supreme Lord for a moment, and similarly the Supreme Lord cannot forget His pure devotee for a moment. This is the great blessing of the Kṛṣṇa conscious process of chanting the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
BG 8.15
After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.
Since this temporary material world is full of the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death, naturally he who achieves the highest perfection and attains the supreme planet, Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana, does not wish to return. The supreme planet is described in Vedic literature as avyakta and akṣara and paramā gati; in other words, that planet is beyond our material vision, and it is inexplicable, but it is the highest goal, the destination for the mahātmās (great souls). The mahātmās receive transcendental messages from the realized devotees and thus gradually develop devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and become so absorbed in transcendental service that they no longer desire elevation to any of the material planets, nor do they even want to be transferred to any spiritual planet. They only want Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s association, and nothing else. That is the highest perfection of life. This verse specifically mentions the personalist devotees of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. These devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness achieve the highest perfection of life. In other words, they are the supreme souls.
Do we Believe it or not believe it…
This book was discovered by a disciple who served SP in his room in Radha Damodar temple.. When he was cleaning the room he discovered a box in which he found that book.. He took that book and cherished it was hand written by Sp and he printed that book..
In search of the ultimate goal of life – Perverted Castes
SP was praying to Rupa goswami samadhi to help him fulfill the mission and instruction his guru maharaj gave…
Lord chaitanya asks ramananda raya – What is the best way to attain pure love of God…
Varnashrama became the perverted caste system..
In search of the ultimate goal of life – Real Varna and Asrama
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.30:
Lord Śiva, one of the three qualitative incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, is the plenary expansion of the Lord. Kārttikeya, born of him, is on the level of Pradyumna, another son of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descends into the material world, all His plenary portions also appear with Him to exhibit different functions of the Lord.
But for the pastimes at Vṛndāvana, all functions are performed by the Lord’s different plenary expansions.
Vāsudeva is a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa. When the Lord appeared as Vāsudeva before Devakī and Vasudeva, He appeared in His capacity as Nārāyaṇa. Similarly, all the demigods of the heavenly kingdom appeared as associates of the Lord in the forms of Pradyumna, Sāmba, Uddhava, etc.
It is learned here that Kāmadeva appeared as Pradyumna, Kārttikeya as Sāmba, and one of the Vasus as Uddhava. All of them served in their different capacities in order to enrich the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
It is said that Cupid, who is directly part and parcel of Lord Vāsudeva and who was formerly burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, took birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, begotten by Kṛṣṇa. This is Kāmadeva, a demigod of the heavenly planets especially capable of inducing lusty desires.
KB CH 55 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has many grades of parts and parcels, but the quadruple expansions of Kṛṣṇa – Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha – are directly in the Viṣṇu category. Kāma, or the Cupid demigod, who later took his birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, was also named Pradyumna, but he cannot be the Pradyumna of the Viṣṇu category. He belongs to the category of jīva-tattva, but for exhibiting special power in the category of demigods he was a part and parcel of the superprowess of Pradyumna. That is the verdict of the Gosvāmīs. Therefore, when Cupid was burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, he merged into the body of Vāsudeva, and to get his body again he was begotten in the womb of Rukmiṇī by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Thus he was born as the son of Kṛṣṇa and celebrated by the name Pradyumna. Because he was begotten by Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, his qualities were most similar to those of Kṛṣṇa.
KB CH 68 – When Sāmba forcibly took away Lakṣmaṇā, the elder members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength, however, they fought with him, and without respect for the regulations of fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Sāmba from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarāma came personally to settle the matter, and, as a powerful kṣatriya, He ordered them to free Sāmba immediately. The Kauravas were superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged Lord Balarāma’s power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Sāmba, and the whole matter was settled. Duryodhana, being affectionate toward his daughter Lakṣmaṇā, had her married to Sāmba in great pomp. For her dowry, he first gave 1,200 elephants, each at least sixty years old; then he gave 10,000 nice horses, 6,000 chariots, dazzling just like the sunshine, and 1,000 maidservants decorated with golden ornaments. Lord Balarāma, the most prominent member of the Yadu dynasty, acted as guardian of the bridegroom, Sāmba, and very pleasingly accepted the dowry. Balarāma was very satisfied after His great reception from the side of the Kurus, and accompanied by the newly married couple, He started toward His capital city of Dvārakā.
SB 3.1.30 – 4/27/22
O gentle one, does Sāmba fare well? He exactly resembles the son of the Personality of Godhead. In a previous birth he was born as Kārttikeya in the womb of the wife of Lord Śiva, and now he has been born in the womb of Jāmbavatī, the most enriched wife of Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Śiva, one of the three qualitative incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, is the plenary expansion of the Lord. Kārttikeya, born of him, is on the level of Pradyumna, another son of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descends into the material world, all His plenary portions also appear with Him to exhibit different functions of the Lord. But for the pastimes at Vṛndāvana, all functions are performed by the Lord’s different plenary expansions. Vāsudeva is a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa. When the Lord appeared as Vāsudeva before Devakī and Vasudeva, He appeared in His capacity as Nārāyaṇa. Similarly, all the demigods of the heavenly kingdom appeared as associates of the Lord in the forms of Pradyumna, Sāmba, Uddhava, etc. It is learned here that Kāmadeva appeared as Pradyumna, Kārttikeya as Sāmba, and one of the Vasus as Uddhava. All of them served in their different capacities in order to enrich the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
KB CH – 55
Pradyumna Born to Kṛṣṇa and Rukmiṇī
It is said that Cupid, who is directly part and parcel of Lord Vāsudeva and who was formerly burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, took birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, begotten by Kṛṣṇa. This is Kāmadeva, a demigod of the heavenly planets especially capable of inducing lusty desires. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has many grades of parts and parcels, but the quadruple expansions of Kṛṣṇa – Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha – are directly in the Viṣṇu category. Kāma, or the Cupid demigod, who later took his birth from the womb of Rukmiṇī, was also named Pradyumna, but he cannot be the Pradyumna of the Viṣṇu category. He belongs to the category of jīva-tattva, but for exhibiting special power in the category of demigods he was a part and parcel of the superprowess of Pradyumna. That is the verdict of the Gosvāmīs. Therefore, when Cupid was burned to ashes by the anger of Lord Śiva, he merged into the body of Vāsudeva, and to get his body again he was begotten in the womb of Rukmiṇī by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Thus he was born as the son of Kṛṣṇa and celebrated by the name Pradyumna. Because he was begotten by Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, his qualities were most similar to those of Kṛṣṇa.
KB CH – 68
For the most part it was the practice of the kṣatriya kings to inaugurate some kind of fighting between the parties of the bride and bridegroom before the marriage. When Sāmba forcibly took away Lakṣmaṇā, the elder members of the Kuru dynasty were pleased to see that he was actually the suitable match for her. In order to see his personal strength, however, they fought with him, and without respect for the regulations of fighting, they all arrested him. When the Yadu dynasty decided to release Sāmba from the confinement of the Kurus, Lord Balarāma came personally to settle the matter, and, as a powerful kṣatriya, He ordered them to free Sāmba immediately. The Kauravas were superficially insulted by this order, so they challenged Lord Balarāma’s power. They simply wanted to see Him exhibit His inconceivable strength. Thus with great pleasure they handed over their daughter to Sāmba, and the whole matter was settled. Duryodhana, being affectionate toward his daughter Lakṣmaṇā, had her married to Sāmba in great pomp. For her dowry, he first gave 1,200 elephants, each at least sixty years old; then he gave 10,000 nice horses, 6,000 chariots, dazzling just like the sunshine, and 1,000 maidservants decorated with golden ornaments. Lord Balarāma, the most prominent member of the Yadu dynasty, acted as guardian of the bridegroom, Sāmba, and very pleasingly accepted the dowry. Balarāma was very satisfied after His great reception from the side of the Kurus, and accompanied by the newly married couple, He started toward His capital city of Dvārakā.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.24 – 29:
The tract of land comprising about one hundred square miles from modern Delhi to the Mathurā district in Uttar Pradesh, including a portion of the Gurgaon district in Punjab (East India), is considered to be the topmost place of pilgrimage in all of India.
This land is sacred because Lord Kṛṣṇa traveled through it many times. From the very beginning of His appearance, He was at Mathurā in the house of His maternal uncle Kaṁsa, and He was reared by His foster father Mahārāja Nanda at Vṛndāvana.
There are still many devotees of the Lord lingering there in ecstasy in search of Kṛṣṇa and His childhood associates, the gopīs.
It is not that such devotees meet Kṛṣṇa face to face in that tract of land, but a devotee’s eagerly searching after Kṛṣṇa is as good as his seeing Him personally.
Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Bṛhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods.
Without the grace of the Lord, no one can become happy and prosperous. Because the happiness of the family of the Lord’s devotees depends on the happiness of the Lord, Vidura first of all inquired about the well-being of the Lord.
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father, Vasudeva, had sixteen wives, and one of them, named Pauravī or Rohiṇī, the mother of Baladeva, was the sister of Vidura. Vasudeva, therefore, was the husband of Vidura’s sister, and thus they were brothers-in-law. Vasudeva’s sister Kuntī was the wife of Pāṇḍu, Vidura’s elder brother, and in that sense also, Vasudeva was brother-in-law to Vidura.
Kuntī was younger than Vasudeva, and it was the duty of the elder brother to treat younger sisters as daughters.
Vasudeva never dissatisfied his wives, and at the same time he supplied the objects desired by his sister. He had special attention for Kuntī because she became a widow at an early age.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Smara (Cupid, or Kāmadeva) is one of the eternal associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this very elaborately in his treatise Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha.
The pastimes at Vṛndāvana, all functions are performed by the Lord’s different plenary expansions. Vāsudeva is a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa. When the Lord appeared as Vāsudeva before Devakī and Vasudeva, He appeared in His capacity as Nārāyaṇa.
Similarly, all the demigods of the heavenly kingdom appeared as associates of the Lord in the forms of Pradyumna, Sāmba, Uddhava, etc. It is learned here that Kāmadeva appeared as Pradyumna, Kārttikeya as Sāmba, and one of the Vasus as Uddhava. All of them served in their different capacities in order to enrich the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
Saguṇa Brahman means we, the living entities, not Kṛṣṇa, or Bhagavān. He is not saguṇa; He is always nirguṇa. Etat īśasya īśanam. This is the supremacy of the Supreme Person, that although He comes within this material world, incarnates as incarnation, He is not affected by the material qualities
SB 3.1.24 TRANSLATION:
Thereafter he passed through very wealthy provinces like Surat, Sauvīra and Matsya and through western India, known as Kurujāṅgala. At last he reached the bank of the Yamunā, where he happened to meet Uddhava, the great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
The tract of land comprising about one hundred square miles from modern Delhi to the Mathurā district in Uttar Pradesh, including a portion of the Gurgaon district in Punjab (East India), is considered to be the topmost place of pilgrimage in all of India.This land is sacred because Lord Kṛṣṇa traveled through it many times. From the very beginning of His appearance, He was at Mathurā in the house of His maternal uncle Kaṁsa, and He was reared by His foster father Mahārāja Nanda at Vṛndāvana.There are still many devotees of the Lord lingering there in ecstasy in search of Kṛṣṇa and His childhood associates, the gopīs. It is not that such devotees meet Kṛṣṇa face to face in that tract of land, but a devotee’s eagerly searching after Kṛṣṇa is as good as his seeing Him personally. How this is so cannot be explained, but it is factually realized by those who are pure devotees of the Lord. Philosophically, one can understand that Lord Kṛṣṇa and His remembrance are on the absolute plane and that the very idea of searching for Him at Vṛndāvana in pure God consciousness gives more pleasure to the devotee than seeing Him face to face. Such devotees of the Lord see Him face to face at every moment, as confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38):
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
“Those who are in ecstasy of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śyāmasundara [Kṛṣṇa], see Him always in their hearts due to love and devotional service rendered to the Lord.” Both Vidura and Uddhava were such elevated devotees, and therefore they both came to the bank of the Yamunā and met each other.
SB 3.1.25
Then, due to his great love and feeling, Vidura embraced him [Uddhava], who was a constant companion of Lord Kṛṣṇa and formerly a great student of Bṛhaspati’s. Vidura then asked him for news of the family of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead.
Vidura was older than Uddhava, like a father, and therefore when the two met, Uddhava bowed down before Vidura, and Vidura embraced him because Uddhava was younger, like a son. Vidura’s brother Pāṇḍu was Lord Kṛṣṇa’s uncle, and Uddhava was a cousin to Lord Kṛṣṇa. According to social custom, therefore, Vidura was to be respected by Uddhava on the level of his father.Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Bṛhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods. Vidura asked Uddhava about the welfare of his relatives, although he already knew that they were no longer in the world. This inquiry appears to be very queer, but Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states that the news was shocking to Vidura, who therefore inquired again due to great curiosity. Thus his inquiry was psychological and not practical.
SB 3.1.26
[Please tell me] whether the original Personalities of Godhead, who incarnated Themselves at the request of Brahmā [who is born out of the lotus flower from the Lord] and who have increased the prosperity of the world by elevating everyone, are doing well in the house of Śūrasena.
Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are not two different Personalities of Godhead. God is one without a second, but He expands Himself in many forms without their being separate from one another. They are all plenary expansions. The immediate expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa is Baladeva, and Brahmā, born from the lotus flower from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, is an expansion of Baladeva. This indicates that Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are not subjected to the regulations of the universe; on the contrary, the whole universe is under Their subjugation. They appeared at the request of Brahmā to liberate the burden of the world, and They relieved the world by many superhuman activities so that everyone became happy and prosperous.Without the grace of the Lord, no one can become happy and prosperous.Because the happiness of the family of the Lord’s devotees depends on the happiness of the Lord, Vidura first of all inquired about the well-being of the Lord.
SB 3.1.27
[Please tell me] whether the best friend of the Kurus, our brother-in-law Vasudeva, is doing well. He is very munificent. He is like a father to his sisters, and he is always pleasing to his wives.
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father, Vasudeva, had sixteen wives, and one of them, named Pauravī or Rohiṇī, the mother of Baladeva, was the sister of Vidura. Vasudeva, therefore, was the husband of Vidura’s sister, and thus they were brothers-in-law. Vasudeva’s sister Kuntī was the wife of Pāṇḍu, Vidura’s elder brother, and in that sense also, Vasudeva was brother-in-law to Vidura. Kuntī was younger than Vasudeva, and it was the duty of the elder brother to treat younger sisters as daughters. Whenever anything was needed by Kuntī, it was munificently delivered by Vasudeva, due to his great love for his younger sister. Vasudeva never dissatisfied his wives, and at the same time he supplied the objects desired by his sister. He had special attention for Kuntī because she became a widow at an early age. While inquiring about Vasudeva’s welfare, Vidura remembered all about him and the family relationship.
SB 3.1.28
O Uddhava, please tell me, How is Pradyumna, the commander in chief of the Yadus, who was Cupid in a former life? Rukmiṇī bore him as her son from Lord Kṛṣṇa, by the grace of brāhmaṇas whom she pleased.
According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, Smara (Cupid, or Kāmadeva) is one of the eternal associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this very elaborately in his treatise Kṛṣṇa-sandarbha.
SB 3.1.29
O my friend, [tell me] whether Ugrasena, the King of the Sātvatas, Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas and Dāśārhas, is now doing well. He went far away from his kingdom, leaving aside all hopes of his royal throne, but Lord Kṛṣṇa again installed him.
SB 3.1.30
O gentle one, does Sāmba fare well? He exactly resembles the son of the Personality of Godhead. In a previous birth he was born as Kārttikeya in the womb of the wife of Lord Śiva, and now he has been born in the womb of Jāmbavatī, the most enriched wife of Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Śiva, one of the three qualitative incarnations of the Personality of Godhead, is the plenary expansion of the Lord. Kārttikeya, born of him, is on the level of Pradyumna, another son of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa descends into the material world, all His plenary portions also appear with Him to exhibit different functions of the Lord. But for the pastimes at Vṛndāvana, all functions are performed by the Lord’s different plenary expansions. Vāsudeva is a plenary expansion of Nārāyaṇa. When the Lord appeared as Vāsudeva before Devakī and Vasudeva, He appeared in His capacity as Nārāyaṇa. Similarly, all the demigods of the heavenly kingdom appeared as associates of the Lord in the forms of Pradyumna, Sāmba, Uddhava, etc. It is learned here that Kāmadeva appeared as Pradyumna, Kārttikeya as Sāmba, and one of the Vasus as Uddhava. All of them served in their different capacities in order to enrich the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
So the saguṇa Brahman means the living entities. Saguṇa Brahman does not mean the God, Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān. Because even if you become servant of God… Just like there are so many nice example, that if an ordinary man beats another man, slap, he immediately becomes criminal. Law is there, “You cannot do that.” But if policeman gives you a slap, it is not criminal. If you kill somebody, then you become criminal. But when a soldier kills hundreds of men, he is not criminal. The process is the same, but because one is acting on behalf of the supreme law-giver, he is immune. So that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā,
māṁ ca ‘vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
[Bg. 14.26]
“Anyone who is engaged in the service of the Lord, he becomes immediately nirguṇa.” Sa guṇān samatītya etān, plural number, etān guṇān, the sattva-rajas-tamo-guṇa, samatītya. Samyak-rūpeṇa atītya, atītya.
So if a devotee becomes nirguṇa immediately, as soon as he is engaged in devotional service of the Lord, how the Supreme Lord can become saguṇa? Just try to understand. Use your logic. If one becomes a devotee of the nirguṇa, he becomes nirguṇa. So why the nirguṇa God can be saguṇa? This Māyāvādī theory is not very logical, that when God comes He is saguṇa, He accepts this material body. No. That is not possible. Why He should accept material body? He is all-powerful. He can… He cannot be affected by the material laws. A man is suffering from some disease, infected. That does not mean when the physician comes to treat him he is also infected. He knows how to protect himself, disinfected.
So saguṇa, this word… The Māyāvādī theory is saguṇa worship and nirguṇa worship. Saguṇa worship means when you worship a deity, in form, that is called saguṇa worship. And when you meditate upon impersonal, that is nirguṇa. That is their theory. But meditation is not possible unless there is form. Without form, meditation means… That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām [Bg. 12.5] = “One who is trying to meditate upon the impersonal Brahman,” kleśaḥ, “it is very troublesome,” because we are not accustomed to concentrate our mind, meditate upon anything which is impersonal. That is not possible. We simply try to do that under labor, under trouble, kleśaḥ adhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām, whereas devotee, he immediately sees Kṛṣṇa in the temple = “Here is Kṛṣṇa. Here is Rādhārāṇī.” Arcā-vigraha. Kṛṣṇa has appeared to be visible. We cannot see Kṛṣṇa, or God, by these material eyes, but as we can be seeing, as we can appreciate, as we can touch, Kṛṣṇa has accepted the form to be touched by us, to be seen by us, to be served by us. This is called arcā-vigraha. It is not idol worship. The Māyāvādī says it is imagination. No, not it is imagination. Arcā-vigraha. Vigraha. Kṛṣṇa is vigraha, sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ [Bs. 5.1], His form.
So we should always remember, when we speak of saguṇa, saguṇa means saguṇa Brahman. Saguṇa Brahman means we, the living entities, not Kṛṣṇa, or Bhagavān. He is not saguṇa; He is always nirguṇa. Etat īśasya īśanam. This is the supremacy of the Supreme Person, that although He comes within this material world, incarnates as incarnation, He is not affected by the material qualities. That is īśanam. Otherwise how He is īśvara? Īśvara means controller. If, when He comes in the material world, if He becomes controlled by the material nature, then how He is controller? Huh? He is not controller. Then He becomes controlled. We are controlled. Kṛṣṇa is never controller…, er, controlled. He is always the controller. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. Īśvara means controller. So He is the supreme controller. He is the controller of these energies also, māyā. So how He can be under māyā? This is mistaken theory. Kṛṣṇa is always supreme, Adhokṣaja. Kṛṣṇa’s another name is Adhokṣaja.
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yenātmā samprasīdati
[SB 1.2.6]
Adhokṣaja means beyond, avan manasa-gocaraḥ, beyond the reach of our thinking, speculation.
So Kṛṣṇa is always nirguṇa in any condition, any circumstances. But those who are mūḍhas, avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam [Bg. 9.11]. But because Kṛṣṇa incarnates, or comes, tadātmānaṁ sṛjāmy aham, He comes, we think, because we are foolish person, mūḍha, we think that “Kṛṣṇa is also one of us.” That is not the fact. Saguṇa Brahman, nirguṇa Brahman, we should distinguish, that Kṛṣṇa is always nirguṇa Brahman, but we are saguṇa Brahman. We are Brahman, but because we are not Para-brahman, or Supreme Brahman, we are subjected, we are prone to be covered by these material qualities. Therefore our business is again to recover ourself from these twenty-five elements, material elements. And that is only possible, as it is prescribed by Kṛṣṇa, sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. What is that? Māṁ ca yo ‘vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate [Bg. 14.26]. You just engage yourself in bhakti-yoga process, mām avyabhicāreṇa, without any mixture, without any deviation. And how it can be, deviation? Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam [Brs. 1.1.11, Cc. Madhya 19.167], without any material desire, without any motive; jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam, not mixed up with fruitive activities or speculative knowledge—pure, simple.
BG 12.5
The worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature that worship may be saguṇa or nirguṇa – of the Supreme possessing or not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṇa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.23 :
The sages, or persons who completely devoted themselves to the spiritual upliftment of the entire human society, were known as dvija-deva, the best amongst the twice-born.
The denizens of superior planets, from the moon planet and upwards, were known as devas.
Both the dvija-devas and the devas always establish temples of Lord Viṣṇu in His various forms, such as Govinda, Madhusūdana, Nṛsiṁha, Mādhava, Keśava, Nārāyaṇa, Padmanābha, Pārtha-sārathi and many others.
The foolish propaganda by atheists that temples were constructed only in later days is refuted here because Vidura visited these temples at least five thousand years ago, and the temples of Viṣṇu were in existence long, long before Vidura visited them.
The great sages and demigods never established statues of men or demigods, but they established temples of Viṣṇu for the benefit of common men, to raise them to the platform of God consciousness.
One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige.
Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding.
Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective.
One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding.
In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries.
A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
Stories of Ekalavya, Karna, Vali, Ravana and how people are misled to believe them as heroes was discussed in the class. Hindu Atheism was also discussed.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswathi Thakura’s write up on Ekalavya – https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/srila-bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati-thakura-s-commentary-on-the-story
SB 3.1.23 TRANSLATION:
There were also many other temples of various forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu, established by great sages and demigods. These temples were marked with the chief emblems of the Lord, and they reminded one always of the original Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Human society is divided into four social orders of life and four spiritual divisions, applying to each and every individual person. This system is called varṇāśrama-dharma and has already been discussed in many places in this great literature. The sages, or persons who completely devoted themselves to the spiritual upliftment of the entire human society, were known as dvija-deva, the best amongst the twice-born. The denizens of superior planets, from the moon planet and upwards, were known as devas. Both the dvija-devas and the devas always establish temples of Lord Viṣṇu in His various forms, such as Govinda, Madhusūdana, Nṛsiṁha, Mādhava, Keśava, Nārāyaṇa, Padmanābha, Pārtha-sārathi and many others. The Lord expands Himself in innumerable forms, but all of them are nondifferent from one another. Lord Viṣṇu has four hands, and each hand holds a particular item — either a conchshell, wheel, club or lotus flower. Of these four emblems, the cakra, or wheel, is the chief. Lord Kṛṣṇa, being the original Viṣṇu form, has only one emblem, namely the wheel, and therefore He is sometimes called the Cakrī. The Lord’s cakra is the symbol of the power by which the Lord controls the whole manifestation. The tops of Viṣṇu temples are marked with the symbol of the wheel so that people may have the chance to see the symbol from a very long distance and at once remember Lord Kṛṣṇa. The purpose of building very high temples is to give people a chance to see them from a distant place. This system is carried on in India whenever a new temple is constructed, and it appears that it is coming down from a time before recorded history. The foolish propaganda by atheists that temples were constructed only in later days is refuted here because Vidura visited these temples at least five thousand years ago, and the temples of Viṣṇu were in existence long, long before Vidura visited them. The great sages and demigods never established statues of men or demigods, but they established temples of Viṣṇu for the benefit of common men, to raise them to the platform of God consciousness.
DemiGods are offered all respect because they are agents of Lord Krsna
Dvija Deva – is special – one who is interested in making all Krsna Consciousness
Pure spirituality – does not do identity politics
Sri Vaishnavas – Bonafide sampradaya – If they teach only their children then they are not Vaishnavas.. Ramanuja Charya accepted everyone irrespective of bodily identity.. Anyone is an expert in KC can be accepted as a Guru not based on gender, race, religion.. How much do you know about Krsna and are you living according to what you know. If you are then you are bonafide and includes being Property initiated..
Ekalavya was not properly initiated.. What he thought of guru puja was not actual guru puja.. He became more expert than Arjuna.. He cuts of his finger as guru dakshina to the guru.. Actually he insulted guru.. Not asked for initiation, and instruction.. One must go through proper process of initiation. Constantly take instruction and
Lord Caiatnya – ex of proper disciple – Accepted Madhavendra Puri and always referred to him..
BG 4.34
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Actually, his main intention was to learn Dhanur Veda and become great. In this way he wanted to satisfy his own senses. He did not want to sacrifice himself to the will of his guru. That was not his honest desire.
Misconceptions –
Dana Veera Sura Karna
Karna the hero of Maha Bharatha
Actually Karna was envious of Arjuna.. He wanted to marry Darupadi.. He was born of bad karma.. He was thrown away after he was born and the chariot driver raises him.. He went to the swayamvar of Draupadi and he was not allowed.. To be in the race..
As long as you are not on the dharma side then you will lose..
The founders of Hindutva are themselves atheists..
Muslims are more on Krsna’s side than the Hindu atheists..
Hindu nationalists atheist
Leaders who themselves are not Hindus..
Hindu Atheism –
Hindu atheism or non-theism, which is known as Nirīśvaravāda (Sanskrit: निरीश्वरवाद, nir-īśvara-vāda, lit. “Disbelief in Ishvara”) has been a historically propounded viewpoint in many of the Astika (Orthodox) streams of Hindu philosophy.[1] Hindu spiritual atheists or Non-theists who affirms Vedas and Brahman or those who follow astika (orthodox) philosophies but reject personal god(s) are also called Dharmic atheist, Vedic Atheist or Sanatani atheist
RSS – they will fail as they are on the wrong side..
SP said – If we ever do take over a country.. We should have a minister of religions -should make sure people have to follow their religion correctly.. There are moral rules in each religion.. Minister should be responsible to make sure that the religious rules are authentic
religions of tribes – Their rules like having – Drugs, having marijuana..then it becomes hard .. to manage it.. Some of these rules are violating the regulative principles..
Vali – is another example.. Rama kills anyone who kidnaps other’s wife.. It tests our ability to accept Krsna Consciousness. These types of events..
Why is Rama hiding behind the tree, it is unfair, he is a good guy..
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.20-21:
Both the Kauravas and the Yādavas were relatives of Vidura, and Vidura heard of their extinction due to fratricidal war.
In the greater forest of worldly transaction, the fire of war takes place because of the violent passion of the conditioned souls illusioned by the external energy.
Such a worldly fire can be extinguished only by the water of the mercy cloud of saints, just as a forest fire can be extinguished only by rains falling from a cloud.
What it means to be in the mode of goodness. 16 points for mode of goodness – Control of the mind and the senses, Tolerance, Discrimination, Sticking to one’s prescribed duty, Truthfulness, Mercy, Careful study of past and future (BG & SB& CC & NOD – all the understanding of vedanta sutra, mahabharata, puranas and the four vedas), Truthfulness and Mercy, Satisfaction in any condition, Generosity, Renunciation of sense gratification, Faith in spiritual masters (Siksha and Diksha guru), Charity, Simplicity, Humility.
What is destroying culture (Sanatana Dhrama) today – Due to the Modern education, Social media, Television, Advertisement, the following are promoted – There is no God, Nothing after death, There is no absolute – everything is relative, Sense gratification is the purpose of life, Abortion – death with dignity, aid in dying, physician assited death, Gender neutrality… fluidity, LGBTQ & Transgender, Discussion in elementary schools about – sex orientation & sex education, Acceptance around the world – of planned parenthood – abortion – promoted by Margaret Sanger, False science – Big bang, Darwinism, Freud, Marx – socialism, communism, Atheism, Pornography made public, Feminism – Mixing and perverting the roles of gender – Amiya Srinivasan.. The right to sex, Internet and social media for social engineering and cultural change, Race bading in politics to divide the races – unfair use of statements of race to divide, Easy divorce – women in workforce, politics, me too, public approval, full blown women’s movement, activism, Me too movement.. Impersonalism – Ex: Hindutva by Deena Dayal Bandhu
Materialistic Conception of life – The highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is renunciation of the material conception of life. This state is automatically achieved by progressive Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB 3.1.20 TRANSLATION:
Thus, when he was in the land of Bhāratavarṣa traveling to all the places of pilgrimage, he visited Prabhāsakṣetra. At that time Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was the emperor and held the world under one military strength and one flag.
SB 3.1.21 TRANSLATION:
At the place of pilgrimage at Prabhāsa, it came to his knowledge that all his relatives had died due to violent passion, just as an entire forest burns due to fire produced by the friction of bamboos. After this he proceeded west, where the river Sarasvatī flows.
More than five thousand years ago, while Saint Vidura was traveling the earth as a pilgrim, India was known as Bhāratavarṣa, as it is known even today. The history of the world cannot give any systematic account for more than three thousand years into the past, but before that the whole world was under the flag and military strength of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who was the emperor of the world. At present there are hundreds and thousands of flags flapping in the United Nations, but during the time of Vidura there was, by the grace of Ajita, Lord Kṛṣṇa, only one flag. The nations of the world are very eager to again have one state under one flag, but for this they must seek the favor of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who alone can help us become one worldwide nation.
SB 3.1.21 TRANSLATION:
At the place of pilgrimage at Prabhāsa, it came to his knowledge that all his relatives had died due to violent passion, just as an entire forest burns due to fire produced by the friction of bamboos. After this he proceeded west, where the river Sarasvatī flows.
Both the Kauravas and the Yādavas were relatives of Vidura, and Vidura heard of their extinction due to fratricidal war. The comparison of the friction of forest bamboos to that of passionate human societies is appropriate. The whole world is compared to a forest. At any moment there may be a flare-up of fire in the forest due to friction. No one goes to the forest to set it on fire, but due only to friction between bamboos, fire takes place and burns an entire forest. Similarly, in the greater forest of worldly transaction, the fire of war takes place because of the violent passion of the conditioned souls illusioned by the external energy. Such a worldly fire can be extinguished only by the water of the mercy cloud of saints, just as a forest fire can be extinguished only by rains falling from a cloud.
Vidura was very happy in his heart that Duryodhana insulted him. He left them and visited the holy places to purify himself from the contamination he had due to associating with people like Duryodhana..
We cannot become KC by having an easy laid back life..
Engaging in practical regular devotional service
Orienting all activities to Krsna Consciousness
Trained the people in cities to become KC
No obstacles to become Krsna Conscious today if one is willing to follow the process.
It requires – Lifestyle adjustment, initiation, regularly engaged in devotional service, being trained constantly in more and more skills of KC, like deity worship, sankirtan, preaching,
Four principles given by Srila Prabhupada –
Books are the basis, Preaching is the essence,,utility is the principle, purity is the force
path of least resistance,
How do we preach to muslims? – preach KC as you heard it,, if person is not willing to listen.. Then what do you do, spend more time with people who want to listen.. Than who are not willing to listen..
How do we become pure – strictly following regulative principles, chanting and gearing everyday..
The more you follow strictly the more you will be happy and peaceful
VOCAB – Segway
What it means to be in the mode of goodness. 16 points for mode of goodness
Control of the mind and the senses
Tolerance
Discrimination
Sticking to one’s prescribed duty
Truthfulness
Mercy
Careful study of past and future (BG & SB& CC & NOD – all the understanding of vedanta sutra, mahabharata, puranas and the four vedas)
Truthfulness and mercy
Satisfaction in any condition
Generosity
Renunciation of sense gratification
Faith in spiritual masters
Charity
Simplicity
Humility
Satisfaction in oneself
What is destroying culture (Sanatana Dhrama) today –
Modern education, Social media, Television, Advertisement, the following are promoted –
There is no God
Nothing after death
There is no absolute everything is relative
Sense gratification is the purpose of life
Abortion – death with dignity, aid in dying, physician assited death,
Gender neutrality… fluidity, LGBTQ & Transgender
Discussion in elementary schools about – sex orientation & sex education,
Acceptance around the world – of planned parenthood – abortion – promoted by Margaret Sanger
Feminism – Mixing and perverting the roles of gender – Amiya Srinivasan.. The right to sex
Internet and social media for social engineering and cultural change
Race bading in politics to divide the races??? – unfair use of statement of race to divide
Easy divorce – women in workforce, politics, me too, public approval, full blown women’s movement, activism, Me too movement..
Impersonalism – worse of the worse.. Ex: Hindutva
Vow of marriage is the basis and social peace and equilibriu…. Children of divorced parents.. Are not trained and raised well and they create a havoc in the society.. Varna sankara…
Hindutva – Integral humanism..
Integral humanism was a set of concepts drafted by Deendayal Upadhyaya as a political program and adopted in 1965 as the official doctrine of the Jan Sangh and later BJP.[1] Upadhyaya borrowed the Gandhian principles such as sarvodaya (progress of all), swadeshi (domestic), and Gram Swaraj (village self rule) and these principles were appropriated selectively to give more importance to cultural-national values.[2]
Philosophy
It is opposed to both western capitalist individualism and Marxist socialism, though welcoming to western science.[4] It seeks a middle ground between capitalism and socialism, evaluating both systems on their respective merits, while being critical of their excesses and alienness.[5]
Four objectives of humankind
Humankind, according to Upadhyaya, had four hierarchically organized attributes of body, mind, intellect and soul which corresponded to the four universal objectives of dharma (moral duties), artha (wealth), kama (desire or satisfaction), and moksha (total liberation or ‘salvation’). While none could be ignored, dharma is the ‘basic’, and moksha the ‘ultimate’ objective of humankind and society. He claimed that the problem with both capitalist and socialist ideologies is that they only consider the needs of body and mind, and were hence based on the materialist objectives of desire and wealth.[6]
Rejection of individualism
Upadhyaya rejected social systems in which individualism ‘reigned supreme’. He also rejected communism in which individualism was ‘crushed’ as part of a ‘large heartless machine’. Society, according to Upadhyaya, rather than arising from a social contract between individuals, was fully born at its inception itself as a natural living organism with a definitive ‘national soul’ or ‘ethos’ and its needs of the social organism paralleled those of the individual.[6]
Origins
Advaita Vedanta
Upadhyaya was of the opinion that Integral Humanism followed the tradition of advaita developed by Adi Sankara. Non-dualism represented the unifying principle of every object in the universe, and of which humankind was a part. This, claimed Upadhyaya, was the essence and contribution of Indian culture.[7]
Mahatma Gandhi
Integral humanism is almost an exact paraphrase of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a future India. Both seek a distinctive path for India, both reject the materialism of socialism and capitalism alike, both reject the individualism of modern society in favor of a holistic, varna-dharma based community, both insist upon an infusion of religious and moral values in politics, and both seek a culturally authentic mode of modernization that preserves Hindu values.[8]
Integral humanism contains visions organized around two themes: morality in politics and swadeshi, and small-scale industrialization in economies, all Gandhian in their general thematic but distinctly Hindu nationalist. These notions revolve around the basic themes of harmony, primacy of cultural-national values, and discipline.[3][9]
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.22 :
One night while in Govardhana, Mādhavendra Purī dreamed that the Gopāla Deity was within the forest. The next morning he invited his neighborhood friends to accompany him to excavate the Deity from the jungle. He then established the Deity of Śrī Gopālajī on top of Govardhana Hill with great pomp. Gopāla was worshiped, and the Annakūṭa festival was observed. This festival was known everywhere, and many people from the neighboring villages came to join. One night the Gopāla Deity again appeared to Mādhavendra Purī in a dream and asked him to go to Jagannātha Purī to collect some sandalwood pulp and smear it on the body of the Deity. Having received this order, Mādhavendra Purī immediately started for Orissa. Traveling through Bengal, he reached Remuṇā village and there received a pot of condensed milk (kṣīra) offered to the Deity of Gopīnāthajī. This pot of condensed milk was stolen by Gopīnātha and delivered to Mādhavendra Purī. Since then, the Gopīnātha Deity has been known as Kṣīra-corā-gopīnātha, the Deity who stole the pot of condensed milk. After reaching Jagannātha Purī, Mādhavendra Purī received permission from the King to take out one maund of sandalwood and twenty tolas of camphor. Aided by two men, he brought these things to Remuṇā. Again he saw in a dream that Gopāla at Govardhana Hill desired that very sandalwood to be turned into pulp mixed with camphor and smeared over the body of Gopīnāthajī. Understanding that that would satisfy the Gopāla Deity at Govardhana, Mādhavendra Purī executed the order and returned to Jagannātha Purī.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu narrated this story for Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and other devotees and praised the pure devotional service of Mādhavendra Purī. When He recited some verses composed by Mādhavendra Purī, He went into an ecstatic mood. But when He saw that many people were assembled, He checked Himself and ate some sweet rice prasādam. Thus He passed that night, and the next morning He again started for Jagannātha Purī.
SB 3.1.22 TRANSLATION:
On the bank of the river Sarasvatī there were eleven places of pilgrimage, namely (1) Trita, (2) Uśanā, (3) Manu, (4) Pṛthu, (5) Agni, (6) Asita, (7) Vāyu, (8) Sudāsa, (9) Go, (10) Guha and (11) Śrāddhadeva. Vidura visited all of them and duly performed rituals. This is misleading people to believe that the goal of life is sense gratification
No God
Nothing after death
There is only relative truth and no absolute truth
Beginning of the creation theories
Real Value is –
Eating Meat
Not suppressing sex
Billions of dollars to keep the body alive – Life prolongation, achieving immortality, space travel,
CC Madhya 4.15 – 82
When the Deity’s helmet fell upon His head, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very pleased, and thus He chanted and danced in various ways with His devotees.
One night while in Govardhana, Mādhavendra Purī dreamed that the Gopāla Deity was within the forest. The next morning he invited his neighborhood friends to accompany him to excavate the Deity from the jungle. He then established the Deity of Śrī Gopālajī on top of Govardhana Hill with great pomp. Gopāla was worshiped, and the Annakūṭa festival was observed. This festival was known everywhere, and many people from the neighboring villages came to join. One night the Gopāla Deity again appeared to Mādhavendra Purī in a dream and asked him to go to Jagannātha Purī to collect some sandalwood pulp and smear it on the body of the Deity. Having received this order, Mādhavendra Purī immediately started for Orissa. Traveling through Bengal, he reached Remuṇā village and there received a pot of condensed milk (kṣīra) offered to the Deity of Gopīnāthajī. This pot of condensed milk was stolen by Gopīnātha and delivered to Mādhavendra Purī. Since then, the Gopīnātha Deity has been known as Kṣīra-corā-gopīnātha, the Deity who stole the pot of condensed milk. After reaching Jagannātha Purī, Mādhavendra Purī received permission from the King to take out one maund of sandalwood and twenty tolas of camphor. Aided by two men, he brought these things to Remuṇā. Again he saw in a dream that Gopāla at Govardhana Hill desired that very sandalwood to be turned into pulp mixed with camphor and smeared over the body of Gopīnāthajī. Understanding that that would satisfy the Gopāla Deity at Govardhana, Mādhavendra Purī executed the order and returned to Jagannātha Purī.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu narrated this story for Lord Nityānanda Prabhu and other devotees and praised the pure devotional service of Mādhavendra Purī. When He recited some verses composed by Mādhavendra Purī, He went into an ecstatic mood. But when He saw that many people were assembled, He checked Himself and ate some sweet rice prasādam. Thus He passed that night, and the next morning He again started for Jagannātha Purī.
VOCAB – Cop out
VOCAB – Imbibed, Scrupulously
Srila Prabhupada went through normal life of a grihasta
Got initiated at 37 and sanyasa – 59
Married, Business, 5 children
Academic knowledge & revelation knowledge
Purify by following reg principles, regularly hearing and speaking SB – Empowers you to do wonderful things
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.19:
The first and foremost duty of a pilgrim is to satisfy the Supreme Lord Hari. One should remain always absorbed in the function of pleasing the Lord.
Thus sanctified by thought and action, one is able to realize the Supreme Lord by the process of a pilgrim’s journey.
So we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is our constitutional position to live with Kṛṣṇa.
Take any example, any machine, the screw in the machine, a very insignificant part, but so long it is attached with the whole machine, it has got value. If one screw is lost, if you have to purchase from the market, you will have to pay some value. But the same screw, if it is not attached to the machine, it has no value.
We are very insignificant spiritual spark. We are, by quality, the same because we are spirit, eternal. So we also do not die, we do not take birth. And Kṛṣṇa is also aja; we are also aja.
But He is the Supreme. He is the chief leader of all living entities.
We require a leader. Any field of activities, we require a leader. So if we follow Kṛṣṇa, the supreme leader, then our life is successful. And if we do not follow… Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, “You rascal, you fool, mūḍha, you just follow Me. [Bg. 18.66]. This is the whole story of spiritual life.
So energy is controlled by the energetic.
Suppose if you have got some energy, you can control it. Suppose if you have got very good energy to kill anyone or to hurt one or to beat anyone, good strength, but that strength is not beyond you. The strength is under your control. When you like, you can use it; when you do not like, you cannot use it, you do not use it.
Kṛṣṇa is not māyā’s, but māyā is Kṛṣṇa’s.
We have to understand that way, not that Kṛṣṇa becomes enveloped or overpowered by māyā. That is wrong theory. The Māyāvādī theory is like that, that “I am Kṛṣṇa. I am God. Now I am overpowered by māyā, and as soon as I become free from māyā, again I become Kṛṣṇa.” But the question is that “If you are Kṛṣṇa, if you are God, then why you became under the control of māyā? What kind of God you are?”
Just like in the English Constitution it is said that “The king can do no wrong.” So you cannot bring king under any law. Others will come—even if he is minister, he will come under the law—but the king cannot come under the law. This is the English Constitution. Similarly, God cannot be under māyā.
SB 3.1.19 TRANSLATION:
While so traversing the earth, he simply performed duties to please the Supreme Lord Hari. His occupation was pure and independent. He was constantly sanctified by taking his bath in holy places, although he was in the dress of a mendicant and had no hair dressing nor a bed on which to lie. Thus he was always unseen by his various relatives.
The first and foremost duty of a pilgrim is to satisfy the Supreme Lord Hari. While traveling as a pilgrim, one should not be worried about pleasing society. There is no need to depend on social formalities or occupation or dress. One should remain always absorbed in the function of pleasing the Lord. Thus sanctified by thought and action, one is able to realize the Supreme Lord by the process of a pilgrim’s journey.
One has to disassociate oneself from the social problems, family problems, worldly problemset.c., once has to be on the platform of KC all the time.
What we are prepared here is – Ideal lifestyle of Vidura.. He tried helping his family.. And when there were going crazy he left them all and
Anyone who does not believe in God is crazy.. Disney movies, starting from Kindergarten..
You cannot trust anybody.. Even Disney is becoming family adverse.. Trying to destroy the purity of the children.. In having cartoons.. Socially engineer the next generation of people..
To become friendly to perversity..
SB 3.26.15
Bombay, December 24, 1974
So we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is our constitutional position to live with Kṛṣṇa. Just like the part and parcel of my body, this finger. Finger is the part and parcel of my body. It must live with the body; then it is active. And if you cut the finger and throw on the ground, you may call, “It is finger,” but it is useless. Unless it is in contact with the body, acting with the body… Then it is valuable. Take any example, any machine, the screw in the machine, a very insignificant part, but so long it is attached with the whole machine, it has got value. If one screw is lost, if you have to purchase from the market, you will have to pay some value. But the same screw, if it is not attached to the machine, it has no value.
People are cutting themselves off from Krsna.. In India there are so many atheists..
We are useless if we are not acting as the part and parcel of Krsna.. serving Krsna… We will have perverted ideas..
If we have to make an agreement with someone we have to write it down, notarized.. Legally.
People are walking around preaching atheism.. If we follow them we become useless..
This war in Ukraine.. Is completely a waste.. The USA is mandating Ukraine through Nato.
Crazy idea is to expand Nato right upto the border of Russia.
The US took advantage when the Soviet Union collapsed. The USA was the only superpower.. The US started mandating things..
You want to know what someone is like – give them power.
When SP left the planet – They started acting as acharyas, divided the world into 11 parts and started initiating ppl in those areas and they were not bother each other – 1977 – 1986, They engaged in illicit sex, head cut off… obviously it looked like a disaster..
They imitated SP and did not follow him..
A clerk in Po can make you wait for a long time..
There is more bribery in the US than in India too.. It happens in the higher level
HIllary is engaging in Treason and still is getting away..
CHEATING RELIGIONS –
Body oriented churches — Armenian church in black neighborhood..
A black guy walked into the church.. They said it is not for you.. You should go to your church.. That is so race oriented.
Russian orthodox church, Black muslims, ppl are willing to fight till the last minute.
Similarly, we are very insignificant spiritual spark. We are, by quality, the same because we are spirit, eternal. Na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre [Bg. 2.20]. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. So we also do not die, we do not take birth. And Kṛṣṇa is also: ajo ‘pi sann avyayātmā bhūtānām īśvaro ‘pi san. He is also aja; we are also aja. But He is bhūtānām īśvaraḥ. Bhūtānām, all the living entities, He is the Supreme. Nityo nityānām. Nityo nityānām. He is the chief, leader.
We require a leader. Any field of activities, we require a leader. Suppose for getting independence, we had to follow one leader, Mahatma Gandhi. Therefore for guidance we require a leader. And the supreme leader is Kṛṣṇa. So if we follow Kṛṣṇa, the supreme leader, then our life is successful. And if we do not follow… Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, “You rascal, you fool, mūḍha, you just follow Me.” Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]. This is the whole story of spiritual life. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme leader. He is also a living being, He is also person like you and me, but He is ṣaḍ-aiśvarya-pūrṇa. Therefore He is called Bhagavān. We cannot be called Bhagavān because our power is very limited, not pūrṇa. Therefore we become saguṇa. Kṛṣṇa does not become saguṇa. The Māyāvāda theory, that God, when He incarnates, He becomes saguṇa, that is wrong theory. Here it is said that brahmaṇaḥ saguṇasya ha. Saguṇasya brahmaṇaḥ, these twenty-five elements, they cover him, that means the living entity who has come in this material world. But Kapiladeva or Kṛṣṇa, Bhagavān, He is not saguṇa; He is always nirguṇa. Nirguṇa guṇa ca. In… The Bhagavān says in the Bhagavad-gītā, “Although He is nirguṇa, but He is the controller of the guṇas.” Kṛṣṇa is not controlled. Mama māyā guṇamayī. Kṛṣṇa says, daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā [Bg. 7.14]. Mama māyā: “This māyā, this energy, is My energy.” So energy is controlled by the energetic. Suppose if you have got some energy, you can control it.Suppose if you have got very good energy to kill anyone or to hurt one or to beat anyone, good strength, but that strength is not beyond you. The strength is under your control. When you like, you can use it; when you do not like, you cannot use it, you do not use it.
Saguna Brahman – Living entity
Nirguna Brahman – Krishna
When SP preaches is talking about the philosophy..
Lord – Supreme energetic
Living entity – Subordinate energetic
Pyramids were made with people alone.. No machines
BG 4.6
Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.
Therefore this māyā, this material world, saguṇa, that is also Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā [Bg. 7.14]. Kṛṣṇa is not māyā’s, but māyā is Kṛṣṇa’s.We have to understand that way, not that Kṛṣṇa becomes enveloped or overpowered by māyā. That is wrong theory. The Māyāvādī theory is like that, that “I am Kṛṣṇa. I am God. Now I am overpowered by māyā, and as soon as I become free from māyā, again I become Kṛṣṇa.” But the question is that “If you are Kṛṣṇa, if you are God, then why you became under the control of māyā? What kind of God you are?” Just like in the English Constitution it is said that “The king can do no wrong.” So you cannot bring king under any law. Others will come—even if he is minister, he will come under the law—but the king cannot come under the law. This is the English Constitution. Similarly, God cannot be under māyā. Others, everyone under the…
BG 7.14 – is the solution to all problems
BG 18.66 – Surrender unto me abandon all cheating religions..
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.18 Notes:
The worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship.
Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṇa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord.
God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form.
The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful; therefore, by His incarnation as arcā-vigraha He can accept the services of the devotee, just to make it convenient for the man in conditioned life.
The process of being in direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is natural for the embodied soul.
A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily.
If one wants to ignore this devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism.
There is no doubt that the impersonalists are unnecessarily taking a troublesome path with the risk of not realizing the Absolute Truth at the ultimate end. But the personalist, without any risk, trouble or difficulty, approaches the Supreme Personality directly.
Thus the process of centering attention on the unmanifested, the inconceivable, which is beyond the approach of the senses, as already expressed in this verse, should never be encouraged at any time, especially in this age. It is not advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
There is no difference between the potencies of the arcā and those of the personal forms of the Lord.
The arcā-mūrti can also deliver the same unlimited potency of the Lord as when He is personally present. Vidura, therefore, could see nothing but Kṛṣṇa in the different arcā forms, and ultimately he was able to realize Kṛṣṇa alone and nothing else.
SB 3.1.18 TRANSLATION:
He began to travel alone, thinking only of Kṛṣṇa, through various holy places like Ayodhyā, Dvārakā and Mathurā. He traveled where the grove, hill, orchard, river and lake are all pure and sinless and where the forms of the Unlimited decorate the temples. Thus he performed the pilgrim’s progress.
These arcā forms of the Lord may be considered idols by the atheists, but that does not matter for persons like Vidura or His many other servants. The forms of the Lord are mentioned here as ananta-liṅga. Such forms of the Lord have unlimited potency, the same as that of the Lord Himself. There is no difference between the potencies of the arcā and those of the personal forms of the Lord. The example of the postbox and post office may be applied here. The little postboxes distributed all over the city have the same potency as the postal system in general. The duty of the post office is to carry letters from one place to another. If one puts letters in postboxes authorized by the general post office, the function of carrying letters is performed without a doubt. Similarly, the arcā-mūrti can also deliver the same unlimited potency of the Lord as when He is personally present. Vidura, therefore, could see nothing but Kṛṣṇa in the different arcā forms, and ultimately he was able to realize Kṛṣṇa alone and nothing else.
BG 12.5
For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.
The group of transcendentalists who follow the path of the inconceivable, unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme Lord are called jñāna-yogīs, and persons who are in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service to the Lord, are called bhakti-yogīs. Now, here the difference between jñāna-yoga and bhakti-yoga is definitely expressed. The process of jñāna-yoga, although ultimately bringing one to the same goal, is very troublesome, whereas the path of bhakti-yoga,the process of being in direct service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is easier and is natural for the embodied soul. The individual soul is embodied since time immemorial. It is very difficult for him to simply theoretically understand that he is not the body. Therefore, the bhakti-yogī accepts the Deity of Kṛṣṇa as worshipable because there is some bodily conception fixed in the mind, which can thus be applied. Of course, worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form within the temple is not idol worship. There is evidence in the Vedic literature that worship may be saguṇa or nirguṇa – of the Supreme possessing or not possessing attributes. Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguṇa worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord.
A crude example may be given here. We may find some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an imitation which we may find somewhere but which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arcā-vigraha. This arcā-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form. The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful; therefore, by His incarnation as arcā-vigraha He can accept the services of the devotee, just to make it convenient for the man in conditioned life.
So for a devotee there is no difficulty in approaching the Supreme immediately and directly, but for those who are following the impersonal way to spiritual realization the path is difficult. They have to understand the unmanifested representation of the Supreme through such Vedic literatures as the Upaniṣads, and they have to learn the language, understand the nonperceptual feelings, and realize all these processes. This is not very easy for a common man.A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, engaged in devotional service, simply by the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily.There is no doubt that the impersonalists are unnecessarily taking a troublesome path with the risk of not realizing the Absolute Truth at the ultimate end. But the personalist, without any risk, trouble or difficulty, approaches the Supreme Personality directly. A similar passage appears in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. It is stated there that if one ultimately has to surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead (this surrendering process is called bhakti), but instead takes the trouble to understand what is Brahman and what is not Brahman and spends his whole life in that way, the result is simply troublesome. Therefore it is advised here that one should not take up this troublesome path of self-realization, because there is uncertainty in the ultimate result.
A living entity is eternally an individual soul, and if he wants to merge into the spiritual whole, he may accomplish the realization of the eternal and knowledgeable aspects of his original nature, but the blissful portion is not realized. By the grace of some devotee, such a transcendentalist, highly learned in the process of jñāna-yoga, may come to the point of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. At that time, long practice in impersonalism also becomes a source of trouble, because he cannot give up the idea. Therefore an embodied soul is always in difficulty with the unmanifest, both at the time of practice and at the time of realization.Every living soul is partially independent, and one should know for certain that this unmanifested realization is against the nature of his spiritual, blissful self.One should not take up this process. For every individual living entity the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which entails full engagement in devotional service, is the best way.If one wants to ignore this devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism. Thus the process of centering attention on the unmanifested, the inconceivable, which is beyond the approach of the senses, as already expressed in this verse, should never be encouraged at any time, especially in this age. It is not advised by Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Example – Moses and ten commandments
Muslims think deities as idols.. They say God has no form.
Jews and Muslims are all from abrahamic tradition
Educated Muslims say they do not know if God has form or not they do not have information in the quran.
How do they know what Jesus looks like ? They claim that they have the shroud of Jesus which had his image.
Vocab – SHROUD – a length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.
Muslim king asked Vivekananda there is no reason to worship deities.. Make a painting of King and asked soldiers to spit on the painting and they refused to.. As it was king’s painting. It is the same..
Quran cannot be taken to the Toilet.. Why because it is holy.. Even though it is made of paper, glue etc., which is all material.
Inorder to preach – one has to ecstatically chant and dance.
We have to understand Lord Caitanya’s Harinaam Sankirtan movement.
Vocab – Parochial – Very limited and narrow understanding
A temple is successful – when devotees have consensus..
All emphasis should be on SUNDAY EVENING FESTIVAL – Joyful unity, dancing and chanting..
The real feast is the Harinaam .. chanting and dancing ecstatically
If you want to increase the movement – Go out on Sankirtan and Sunday feast..
Kids parents having transcendental feeling expressing for the pleasure of the devotees,
BG 12.6-7
As stated before, the Supreme Lord can be appreciated only by devotional service. Therefore, one should be fully devoted. One should fix his mind fully on Kṛṣṇa in order to achieve Him. One should work only for Kṛṣṇa. It does not matter in what kind of work one engages, but that work should be done only for Kṛṣṇa. That is the standard of devotional service. The devotee does not desire any achievement other than pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His life’s mission is to please Kṛṣṇa, and he can sacrifice everything for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, just as Arjuna did in the Battle of Kurukṣetra. The process is very simple: one can devote himself in his occupation and engage at the same time in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Such transcendental chanting attracts the devotee to the Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord herein promises that without delay He will deliver a pure devotee thus engaged from the ocean of material existence.
When we chant Hare Krsna we become attracted to Krsna.. When people see our attraction to Krsna it becomes infectious.. That joy and unity is what people will be attracted to and that is how they come to the movement.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.17:
To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service.
One cannot be one-hundred-percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin.
Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord.
Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization.
One should not be satisfied merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord.
Even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arcā-mūrtis in the temple.
“The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.”
Kṛṣṇa says that “You stop all this business. Simply you are migrating, or transmigrating, from one body to another or one planet to another. That will not make you happy.” Sarva-dharmān: “You just surrender unto Me. Because you are meant…, your original creation is meant for serving Me.”
We are creating our next body in this life. If we become sinful, and act only sinful activities, then we get the next body a very lower class of body, even as the germ in the stool. And if we act nicely, piously, then we get a better body.
We are manufacturing different bodies based on our desires, but our real sense is covered. So that transcendental sense can be discovered when we give up this material sense gratificatory process by creating different kinds of bodies.
So the whole process is to rectify to purify our senses. And the purified sense means instead of using the senses for this so-called material happiness, one has to utilize the senses for happiness of Kṛṣṇa
Lord Caitanya’s teaching, is to understand that we are eternal servant of God, and if we immediately engage our energy to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then immediately we are transferred to the spiritual platform. And if we stick to that activities on the spiritual platform, then, as assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, then, after leaving this body, we go back to Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana, go back to Godhead, back to home. That is our eternal, peaceful life. We should endeavor for that.
SB 3.1.17 – 4/19/22
By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious Kauravas. After leaving Hastināpura, he took shelter of many places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord’s lotus feet. With a desire to gain a high order of pious life, he traveled to holy places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord are situated.
Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul; otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one-hundred-percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
Persons who are sinful asuras like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha cannot think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow the regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in karma-yoga and then jñāna-yoga and thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure consciousness. When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of pure devotees. Syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt: one is able to associate with the Lord even during the existence of this life.
Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization. One should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord. In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various transcendental forms.
These forms are called arcā-mūrtis, or forms of the Lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man. The Lord is transcendental to our mundane senses. He cannot be seen with our present eyes, nor can He be heard with our present ears. To the degree that we have entered into the service of the Lord or to the proportion that our lives are freed from sins, we can perceive the Lord. But even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arcā-mūrtis in the temple. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He is able to accept our service by presentation of His arcā form. No one, therefore, should foolishly think the arcā in the temple to be an idol. Such an arcā-mūrti is not an idol but the Lord Himself, and to the proportion that one is free from sins, he is able to know the significance of the arcā-mūrti. The guidance of a pure devotee is therefore always required.
In the land of Bhāratavarṣa there are many hundreds and thousands of places of pilgrimage distributed all over the country, and by traditional practice the common man visits such holy places during all seasons of the year. Some of the arcā representations of the Lord situated in different places of pilgrimage are mentioned herewith. The Lord is present at Mathurā (the birthplace of Lord Kṛṣṇa) as Ādi-keśava; the Lord is present at Purī (Orissa) as Lord Jagannātha (also known as Puruṣottama); He is present at Allahabad (Prayāga) as Bindu-mādhava; at Mandara Hill He is present as Madhusūdana. In the Ānandāraṇya, He is known as Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana; at Viṣṇukāñcī, He is known as Viṣṇu; and at Māyāpura, He is known as Hari. There are millions and billions of such arcā forms of the Lord distributed all over the universe. All these arcā-mūrtis are summarized in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the following words:
sarvatra prakāśa tāṅra — bhakte sukha dite
jagatera adharma nāśi’ dharma sthāpite
“The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.”
Vidura’s past time is showing us the problems of associating with materialistic people –
Purification of the material concept of life
Association of materialists will teach us material concept of life
Material concept of life is like a disease that contaminates and spreads..
Lord Caitanya has given a very easy and happy method to overcome the material conception of life.
Govt says you must do it and if you do not do it then you have punishment
What is the pure consciousness? Kṛṣṇa said that happiness can be achieved in pure consciousness, or when your senses are transcendental. He gave hint. Not only hint, He practically suggested also that “You simply surrender unto Me.”
So Lord Caitanya said the same thing. Lord Kṛṣṇa said… As the Supreme Lord, He commanded—He has got the commanding power because He is the Supreme God—that “You surrender unto Me.” Just like some superior, the teacher or father or king, says, “You must do it.” But there is force. The State says “You must do it,” but if you do not do it, then there is force. Just like this draft board. They are demanding that “You must join. If you don’t join, there will be force, and you will be forcibly joined after that.”
So here, in the Kṛṣṇa’s order, because He is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, there is no force. That voluntary. He says that “This is life: You surrender unto Me.” But He could force Arjuna to surrender, or anybody, because He is Supreme Lord. But that force He does not apply, because He has given us little independence. Therefore, if He forces, then His gift of independence is misused from His side. We are misusing our that gift of independence, but for that reason, Kṛṣṇa cannot withdraw your independence.
Just like you are independent citizen. You are… If somebody misuses that independence, he becomes a criminal, but still, the independence continues. You are criminal. You are punished. Again you are set free. That means you are given again independence. But again if you misuse, then again you are put into prison.
Similarly, if the state cannot withdraw your independence, then what is the meaning of this independent country? How God can withdraw the independence He has given to you? That He will not withdraw. It is up to you to use your independence properly. That proper use of independence is to surrender unto…
We are suffering, we are manufacturing so many philosophical ways, but actual position is—that is the statement of Bhagavad-gītā—that we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, God. We are not working according to our particular duty. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. It has got a particular duty: to serve the whole body. When it is unable to do it—it is painful—the physician or the surgeon says that “This finger should be amputated. Otherwise it will create disturbance to the whole body.”
Similarly, we are all part and parcel of the supreme whole, but not surrendering unto Him, misusing our independence, we are giving pain to the Supreme. Therefore He comes, that “You surrender. Don’t give Me pain. You just abide by My order. That will give Me pleasure. You will be happy.” That state of consciousness, to abide by the order of Kṛṣṇa, is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That’s all.
So Kṛṣṇa comes personally to canvass that “This is not your proper order of life. You are misusing your independence for sense gratification and wandering through various types of transmigration of bodies—sometimes human body, sometimes dog’s body, sometimes cat’s body, sometimes demigod’s body, sometimes rich body, sometimes poor body. So you stop this business,” Kṛṣṇa says. Sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66].
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
“You have manufactured so many duties. That duties means you are manufacturing so many bodies. That’s all.”
Why you have got different types of bodies? We have manufactured it. God has given us facility. I wanted to become such and such. He has given us facilities, “All right, you become such and such.” If I want to become a tiger, God will give me all the facilities to become a tiger. He will give me facilities, paws and nails and teeth, so that immediately I can capture any animal, and with the instruments which He has provided within my body, I can immediately scratch it into pieces and eat.
Similarly, you will find… You see the cranes. They have got big beaks. Why? Because they have to catch fish from within the water, so the beak must be very long. So there is facility. The hog has different mouth, because he has to eat stool. So a different kind of body.
So these bodies means we have manufactured according to our different mentality. Kṛṣṇa says that “You stop all this business. Simply you are migrating, or transmigrating, from one body to another or one planet to another. That will not make you happy.” Sarva-dharmān: “You just surrender unto Me. Because you are meant…, your original creation is meant for serving Me.” Just like this body.
When this body was made in the womb of my mother, it was just like a small pea, and from that pea, different holes came out, then hand came out, leg came out, the fingers came out. Why this finger was created? Because I require the service of the fingers. Suppose if I want to press something, if there was no nail, then I cannot press. It is so nicely manufactured. By my energy, by my desire, and nature supplying me ingredient, it is manufactured.
So you are manufacturing different bodies, but our real sense is covered. So that transcendental sense can be discovered when we give up this material sense gratificatory process by creating different kinds of bodies.
So that is the profit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So the people of modern civilization, they have no information about this, how this body is being created. That simply busy with the present problem. That’s all. Present problem is not problem. We are eternal. Our problem is eternal.
Therefore the modern age, the people are not very intelligent. They are advertising themselves that they are very much advanced. Actually, they are fools. And “It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss.” The whole world is full of ignorant. Therefore we are trying to preach this Kṛṣṇa consciousness—it is our folly. You see? It is our folly, “the cry in the wilderness.”
But we cannot stop this business. You see? They may think that “Why you are, nonsense people, you have given up everything, you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? You are all fools. You are not enjoying life.” They may say like that, but our…, because we have nothing to do with them, our business is to satisfy the Supreme. That is my real sense gratification. I have got my senses. As soon as I use it for my satisfaction, it is material. And as soon as I use them for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, it is spiritual. That’s all.
Try to understand the distinction between material and spiritual. Material means I have to act. Acting means I have to act with my senses, with my desires, with my thinking, feeling, willing, so many things, because that is original. You cannot stop your thinking, feeling, willing, working, because that is your original nature. You are living entity. If you have no thinking, feeling, willing, desire or working, then what is the difference between you and the stone? You are not stone. Some philosopher are trying to make you stone, but that is not possible. You cannot become stone.
So the whole process is to rectify, to purify your senses. And the purified sense means instead of using the senses for this so-called material happiness, one has to utilize the senses for happiness of Kṛṣṇa. That is purified sense. The example, the vivid example, is Arjuna. Arjuna was not willing to fight to satisfy his senses. He thought that “If I do not kill my brother or nephews or my grandfather or my teacher, the other side, that will make me happy. If they are killed, then where is my happiness?”
This is material calculation, because he was giving more importance to the material body, what is his brother, what is his grandfather or teacher. He was seeing the material. Just like what is our calculation? I am thinking somebody my friend and another body as my enemy. Why? Because I make distinction on the bodily platform. I say, “American? Oh, they are my friends.
Russians? They are my enemies.” Why? What is the platform of this distinction? The platform is body. Because one has got the Russian body by some way or other, another bod…, has got American body, I am making distinction. So this distinction is on the material platform. And the spiritual platform, there is no such distinction because it is simply spirit.
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śvapāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
[Bg. 5.18]
[The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]]
One who is paṇḍita—paṇḍita means learned—he does not make any distinction between a learned brāhmaṇa or a dog or a cat or a cow, because he sees the spirit.
So we have come to that spiritual platform. We have to give up our this sense gratification process, and that is the teaching of Lord Caitanya. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu practically demonstrated how to adopt that life of pure sense gratification, or pure utilization of the senses. He said, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa [Cc. Madhya 20.108].
[“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.]
We have to respect all living entities.
Jīvera svarūpa haya means the real nature of the living entity is eternal servitor, eternal servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The same thing what Kṛṣṇa taught in the Bhagavad-gītā, Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught also in His…, this Bhāgavata-dharma teaching, and practically He showed how to do it. That is His specially.
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
“You give up all your material engagements. Simply just surrender unto Me. I shall give you all protection from all reaction of your past sinful activities.” Because we are creating our next body in this life. So if we become sinful, or if we act only sinful activities, then we get next body a very lower class of body, even as the germ in the stool. You see? There are so many varieties of bodies. And if we act nicely, piously, then we get better body. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ.
Those who are acting, those who are situated on the platform of goodness, they are promoting their existentional status in higher planets. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasaḥ [Bg. 14.18]:
[Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.]
And those who are in the modes of passion, they will remain here. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: and those who are very addicted to all abominable habits, they are clearing their way to hellish life. So to abominable life is these four principles. That we are trying to avoid.
So Lord Caitanya’s teaching, the sum and substance of His teaching, is to understand that we are eternal servant of God, and if we immediately engage our energy to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then immediately we are transferred to the spiritual platform. And if we stick to that activities on the spiritual platform, then, as assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, then, after leaving this body, we go back to Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana, go back to Godhead, back to home. That is our peaceful…, eternal, peaceful life. We should endeavor for that.
Thank you very much. [devotees offer obeisances] [break]
Pandit Ravi Shankar’s explanation of soul – not complete Soul is not just energy, soul is a person.
Stories, jokes, cute sayings, innuendos, I love you …
Innuendo – intention of having a negative meaning.. Delivered in a diff than you would expect..
Oblique – Coming fom different angle
Pique – stimulate, arouse, provoke
BG 8.28
The beauty of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is that by one stroke, by engaging in devotional service, one can surpass all the rituals of the different orders of life.
One does not need to go through Gnana, Karma, Dhyana yogas and can come directly to Bhakti yoga. One cannot directly go to Raganuga bhakti, but one can go directly to Sadhana Bhakti..
If one associates with materialists too much even an advanced devotee, one has to purify himself.. Hence Vidura even though an advanced devotee is going to holy places and meet sadhus to purify his material contamination by associating with materialists like duryodhana etc.,
We are understanding the uniqueness of Lord Caitanya mahaprabhu’s teachings.
