Srimad Bhavagavatham Class By HH HariVilas Maharaj

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2.9.32 Notes – 12/29/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.32 :

  • The secret of success in understanding the intricacies of knowledge of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the causeless mercy of the Lord.
  • The Lord is unlimited; no one can know Him completely, but one’s advancement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord can make one eligible to know the Lord.
  • Here we can see that the Lord is sufficiently pleased with Brahmājī, and therefore He offers His causeless mercy to him so that Brahmājī may have the factual realization of the Lord by His mercy only.
  • In the Vedas also it is said that a person cannot know the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead simply by dint of mundane education or intellectual gymnastics.
  • One can know the Supreme Truth if one has unflinching faith in the bona fide spiritual master as well as in the Lord.
  • The Supreme Lord has His qualities, form, pastimes and everything that a person has.
  • All these descriptions of the transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead are factual realizations by the devotee of the Lord, and by the causeless mercy of the Lord they are revealed to His pure devotee, and to no one else.
  • The Lord is the Lord eternally and one cannot become the Lord by meditation for millions of years or by mental speculation for billions of years.
  • BG 4.3 – That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.
  • The Lord selected Arjuna as the recipient of this great science owing to his being a devotee of the Lord, but for the demon it is not possible to understand this great mysterious science.
  • BG 9.1 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.
  • “The messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are full of potencies, and these potencies can be realized if topics regarding the Supreme Godhead are discussed amongst devotees.”
  • The devotees are constantly engaged in the Supreme Lord’s service. The Lord understands the mentality and sincerity of a particular living entity who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and gives him the intelligence to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa in the association of devotees.
  • Discussion of Kṛṣṇa is very potent, and if a fortunate person has such association and tries to assimilate the knowledge, then he will surely make advancement toward spiritual realization.
  • BG 10.1 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Listen again, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Because you are My dear friend, for your benefit I shall speak to you further, giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained.
  • The more one hears about the Supreme God, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. One should always hear about the Lord in the association of devotees; that will enhance one’s devotional service.
  • Surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in the best interest of the living entities. It is not for the interest of the Supreme. Before surrendering, one is free to deliberate on this subject as far as the intelligence goes; that is the best way to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such instruction comes also through the spiritual master, the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa.
  • Concentration of the mind on the form of Kṛṣṇa constitutes the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is disclosed to Arjuna because Arjuna is the most dear friend of Kṛṣṇa’s.
  • You will find mentioned in many Vedic scriptures that maha-mantra is especially recommended for understanding God in this age of Kali Yuga, such as Agni Purana, Kali-Santaram Upanisad, Brhan Naradiya Puranam, and many others.
  • Haridasa Thakura chanted 3 lakhs of names each day, that means 16 names in the mantra, 108×16 or 1,728 names in each round of mala, dividing 300,000 by 1,728 comes to roundabout 175 rounds on beads daily. And for us it is even difficult to chant 16 rounds! That is why Haridasa Thakura is “namacarya.”
  • We find in Caitanya Caritamrta information that both Lord Caitanya and Haridasa Thakura were constantly absorbed in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

SB 2.9.32 TRANSLATION:

All of Me, namely My actual eternal form and My transcendental existence, color, qualities and activities — let all be awakened within you by factual realization, out of My causeless mercy.

Without the mercy of Krsna there is no possibility of awakening of the knowledge of Krsna. Getting a degree in Bhakti Vaibhava does not mean that you have the knowledge of Krsna. The path to knowledge of Krsna is love and devotion. 

The secret of success in understanding the intricacies of knowledge of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the causeless mercy of the Lord. Even in the material world, the father of many sons discloses the secret of his position to the pet sons. The father discloses the confidence unto the son whom he thinks worthy. An important man in the social order can be known by his mercy only. Similarly, one must be very dear to the Lord in order to know the Lord. The Lord is unlimited; no one can know Him completely, but one’s advancement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord can make one eligible to know the Lord. Here we can see that the Lord is sufficiently pleased with Brahmājī, and therefore He offers His causeless mercy to him so that Brahmājī may have the factual realization of the Lord by His mercy only.

In the Vedas also it is said that a person cannot know the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead simply by dint of mundane education or intellectual gymnastics. One can know the Supreme Truth if one has unflinching faith in the bona fide spiritual master as well as in the Lord. Such a faithful person, even though illiterate in the mundane sense, can know the Lord automatically by the mercy of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā also, it is said that the Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone, and He keeps Himself concealed from the faithless by His yoga–māyā potency.

To the faithful the Lord reveals Himself in His form, quality and pastimes. The Lord is not formless, as wrongly conceived by the impersonalist, but His form is not like one that we have experienced. The Lord discloses His form, even to the extent of measurement, to His pure devotees, and that is the meaning of yāvān, as explained by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, the greatest scholar of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The Lord discloses the transcendental nature of His existence. The mundane wranglers make mundane conceptions of the form of the Lord. It is said in the revealed scriptures that the Lord has no mundane form; therefore persons with a poor fund of knowledge conclude that He must be formless. They cannot distinguish between the mundane form and the spiritual form. According to them, without a mundane form one must be formless. This conclusion is also mundane because formlessness is the opposite conception of form. Negation of the mundane conception does not establish a transcendental fact. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that the Lord has a transcendental form and that He can utilize any one of His senses for any purpose. For example, He can eat with His eyes, and He can see with His leg. In the mundane conception of form, one cannot eat with one’s eyes or see with his leg. That is the difference between the mundane body and the spiritual body of sac-cid-ānanda. A spiritual body is not formless; it is a different type of body, of which we cannot conceive with our present mundane senses. “Formless” therefore means devoid of mundane form, or possessing a spiritual body of which the nondevotee can have no conception by the speculative method.

The Lord discloses to the devotee His unlimited varieties of transcendental bodies, all identical with one another with different kinds of bodily features. Some of the transcendental bodies of the Lord are blackish, and some of them are whitish. Some of them are reddish, and some are yellowish. Some of them are four-handed and some of them two-handed. Some of them are like the fish, and some are like the lion. All these different transcendental bodies of the Lord, without any differential category, are disclosed to the devotees of the Lord by the mercy of the Lord, and thus the impersonalists’ false arguments claiming the formlessness of the Supreme Truth do not appeal to a devotee of the Lord, even though such a devotee may not be very advanced in devotional service.

The Lord has unlimited numbers of transcendental qualities, and one of them is His affection for His unalloyed devotee. In the history of the mundane world we can appreciate His transcendental qualities. The Lord incarnates Himself for the protection of His devotees and for the annihilation of the faithless. His activities are in relationship with His devotees. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of such activities of the Lord in relationship with His devotees, and the nondevotees have no knowledge of such pastimes. The Lord lifted the Govardhana Hill when He was only seven years old and protected His pure devotees at Vṛndāvana from the wrath of Indra, who was overflooding the place with rain. Now this lifting of the Govardhana Hill by a seven-year-old boy may be unbelievable for the faithless, but for the devotees it is absolutely believable. The devotee believes in the almighty potency of the Lord, while the faithless say that the Lord is almighty but do not believe it. Such men with a poor fund of knowledge do not know that the Lord is the Lord eternally and that one cannot become the Lord by meditation for millions of years or by mental speculation for billions of years.

The impersonal interpretation of the mundane wranglers is completely refuted in this verse because it is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord has His qualities, form, pastimes and everything that a person has. All these descriptions of the transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead are factual realizations by the devotee of the Lord, and by the causeless mercy of the Lord they are revealed to His pure devotee, and to no one else.

3 major qualifications to receive knowledge from Krsna – 

  • Friend
  • Not being envious of the lord
  • Devotee of the lord

BG 4.3

That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.

There are two classes of men, namely the devotee and the demon. The Lord selected Arjuna as the recipient of this great science owing to his being a devotee of the Lord, but for the demon it is not possible to understand this great mysterious science. There are a number of editions of this great book of knowledge. Some of them have commentaries by the devotees, and some of them have commentaries by the demons. Commentation by the devotees is real, whereas that of the demons is useless. Arjuna accepts Śrī Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and any commentary on the Gītā following in the footsteps of Arjuna is real devotional service to the cause of this great science. The demonic, however, do not accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is. Instead they concoct something about Kṛṣṇa and mislead general readers from the path of Kṛṣṇa’s instructions. Here is a warning about such misleading paths. One should try to follow the disciplic succession from Arjuna, and thus be benefited by this great science of Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā.

BG 9.1

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.

As a devotee hears more and more about the Supreme Lord, he becomes enlightened. This hearing process is recommended in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: “The messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are full of potencies, and these potencies can be realized if topics regarding the Supreme Godhead are discussed amongst devotees.” This cannot be achieved by the association of mental speculators or academic scholars, for it is realized knowledge.

The devotees are constantly engaged in the Supreme Lord’s service. The Lord understands the mentality and sincerity of a particular living entity who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and gives him the intelligence to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa in the association of devotees. Discussion of Kṛṣṇa is very potent, and if a fortunate person has such association and tries to assimilate the knowledge, then he will surely make advancement toward spiritual realization. Lord Kṛṣṇa, in order to encourage Arjuna to higher and higher elevation in His potent service, describes in this Ninth Chapter matters more confidential than any He has already disclosed.

BG 10.1

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Listen again, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Because you are My dear friend, for your benefit I shall speak to you further, giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained.

The more one hears about the Supreme God, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. One should always hear about the Lord in the association of devotees; that will enhance one’s devotional service. Discourses in the society of devotees can take place only among those who are really anxious to be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Others cannot take part in such discourses. The Lord clearly tells Arjuna that because Arjuna is very dear to Him, for his benefit such discourses are taking place.

One learns by hearing from the bonafide authority. 

BG 18.62

O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode.

A living entity should therefore surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone’s heart, and that will relieve him from all kinds of miseries of this material existence. By such surrender, not only will one be released from all miseries in this life, but at the end he will reach the Supreme God. The transcendental world is described in the Vedic literature (Ṛg Veda 1.22.20) as tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padam. Since all of creation is the kingdom of God, everything material is actually spiritual, but paramaṁ padam specifically refers to the eternal abode, which is called the spiritual sky or Vaikuṇṭha.

In the Fifteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā it is stated, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ: the Lord is seated in everyone’s heart. So this recommendation that one should surrender unto the Supersoul sitting within means that one should surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa has already been accepted by Arjuna as the Supreme. He was accepted in the Tenth Chapter as paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma. Arjuna has accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the supreme abode of all living entities, not only because of his personal experience but also because of the evidence of great authorities like Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsa.

BG 18.63 – Krishna does not interfere in our freewill. 

Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

The Lord has already explained to Arjuna the knowledge of brahma-bhūta. One who is in the brahma-bhūta condition is joyful; he never laments, nor does he desire anything. That is due to confidential knowledge. Kṛṣṇa also discloses knowledge of the Supersoul. This is also Brahman knowledge, knowledge of Brahman, but it is superior.

Here the words yathecchasi tathā kuru – “As you like, you may act” – indicate that God does not interfere with the little independence of the living entity. In Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord has explained in all respects how one can elevate his living condition. The best advice imparted to Arjuna is to surrender unto the Supersoul seated within his heart. By right discrimination, one should agree to act according to the order of the Supersoul. That will help one become situated constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the highest perfectional stage of human life. Arjuna is being directly ordered by the Personality of Godhead to fight. Surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is in the best interest of the living entities. It is not for the interest of the Supreme. Before surrendering, one is free to deliberate on this subject as far as the intelligence goes; that is the best way to accept the instruction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such instruction comes also through the spiritual master, the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa.

BG 18.64

Because you are My very dear friend, I am speaking to you My supreme instruction, the most confidential knowledge of all. Hear this from Me, for it is for your benefit.

The Lord has given Arjuna knowledge that is confidential (knowledge of Brahman) and still more confidential (knowledge of the Supersoul within everyone’s heart), and now He is giving the most confidential part of knowledge: just surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the end of the Ninth Chapter He has said, man-manāḥ: “Just always think of Me.” The same instruction is repeated here to stress the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. This essence is not understood by a common man, but by one who is actually very dear to Kṛṣṇa, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. This is the most important instruction in all Vedic literature. What Kṛṣṇa is saying in this connection is the most essential part of knowledge, and it should be carried out not only by Arjuna but by all living entities.

Surrender unto the supreme personality of Godhead. -coming to the class everyday, eating prasadam, protecting cows, going on sankirtan, … 

BG 18.65

Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.

The most confidential part of knowledge is that one should become a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and always think of Him and act for Him. One should not become an official meditator. Life should be so molded that one will always have the chance to think of Kṛṣṇa. One should always act in such a way that all his daily activities are in connection with Kṛṣṇa. He should arrange his life in such a way that throughout the twenty-four hours he cannot but think of Kṛṣṇa. And the Lord’s promise is that anyone who is in such pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness will certainly return to the abode of Kṛṣṇa, where he will be engaged in the association of Kṛṣṇa face to face. This most confidential part of knowledge is spoken to Arjuna because he is the dear friend of Kṛṣṇa. Everyone who follows the path of Arjuna can become a dear friend to Kṛṣṇa and obtain the same perfection as Arjuna.

These words stress that one should concentrate his mind upon Kṛṣṇa – the very form with two hands carrying a flute, the bluish boy with a beautiful face and peacock feathers in His hair. There are descriptions of Kṛṣṇa found in the Brahma-saṁhitā and other literatures. One should fix his mind on this original form of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. One should not even divert his attention to other forms of the Lord. The Lord has multiforms as Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa, Rāma, Varāha, etc., but a devotee should concentrate his mind on the form that was present before Arjuna. Concentration of the mind on the form of Kṛṣṇa constitutes the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is disclosed to Arjuna because Arjuna is the most dear friend of Kṛṣṇa’s.

To be or not to be a devotee is the question? We need to get serious about hearing and chanting and doing service. We can get better and better at it. KC is always progressive. 

Letter to Yajneswara -https://vedabase.io/en/library/letters/letter-to-yajnesvara/ 

Regarding your questions, your first question was should the devotee always speak the truth to everyone in all circumstances? The answer is yes, one should always speak the truth, but qualified devotee will be able to speak the truth always very palatable to everyone so that it will sound pleasing even to his enemy, that is the art of speaking truth. It is certainly so that we must speak the truth to all people, but how you say it that is another thing: satyam bruyat, priyam briya. When you become yourself little more experienced in Krishna Consciousness by preaching work and if you are sincere and serious to make progress in spiritual understanding, you need not have to worry yourself further because the truth will always be spoken by you in the proper manner. Krishna will give you that intelligence, you need not be concerned for it. Simply try to please Him always by your sincere service and chanting, that’s all. Of course, for doing business with businessmen you have to lie business. Just like Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, sometimes He also had to also fabricate something in emergency situations. Although He made promise not to interfere in the Battle of Kuruksetra, He was forced to break His promise just to save His pure devotee. So there is no prohibition one shall never tell lie, because for business of carrying our propaganda work sometimes it may be necessary. Krishna Consciousness means practical living, not something utopian or idealistic and vague. We simply do the needful, whatever pleases Krishna most, that’s all. Gradually you will understand what it means to please Krishna and what it means to displease Krishna. That you will learn by studying our books and by yourself engaging in practical devotional service. In the material dealings there is always there is always something undesirable, but even so you cannot give up your occupation. Just like fire is very pure, still there is some smoke. You cannot avoid it. All these things can be rectified when the result is offered to Krishna. Otherwise even though you may do very honest business it has no utility whatsoever. Your question if a devotee has no appreciation for God but he has little appreciation for pure devotee, than what kind of devotee is this? If he has appreciation for pure devotee, then he must have appreciation for God. It is just like “Love me, love my dog.” If he simply loves the dog and not the master, then what kind of love is that? I have remarked that in your country when friends met, one friend has one dog beside him, the other friend always bends down to pat the dog first, then he is very much appreciated by the dog’s master and the friendly discussions can begin. It is something like that. Your next question was regarding the neophyte devotee who is unable to comprehend even the existence of God, how he shall ever become lover of God? Therefore he has to be engaged in deity worship, and gradually you will have that sense. It is obligatory for the neophyte devotees to be engaged in deity worship. Even if he has no love of God, by following the regulative principles and worshiping the deity he will awaken that dormant love, and if you have got some faith in your spiritual master, by engaging in serving your spiritual master you will also come to the point of love of God:

yasya prasadad bhagavata-prasadao

yasya prasadanna-gatih kuto ‘pi

dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas trisandhyam

vande guroh sri caranaravindam

If one has appreciation for the spiritual master then he must follow the instructions of the spiritual master, and that means he is supposed to worship the deity in a certain way, like that. It is not possible to love the spiritual master without loving God. Your next question was about the free will, whether we have it or not? If one is not intelligent enough for making for making decisions, then all decisions shall be sanctioned by the spiritual master. Neophyte means no independent decisions, no free will, that means surrender. But when he is trained up then automatically he gets his freedom. Just like a small child can only eat such things which are sanctioned by his parents, not by his own discretion. Free will is that when the controller says do this, you can use your free will to do it or not to do it. You have got the power to not do:

iti te jnanam akhyatam guhyad guhyataram maya

vimrsyaited asesena yathecchasi tatha kuru

[Bg. 18.63]

“Thus I have explained to you the most confidential of all knowledge. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.” [Bg. 18.65]

Krishna asks, “Have you decided to fight?” “Yes, I have decided to follow Your order.” This is free will.

You will find mentioned in many Vedic scriptures that maha-mantra is especially recommended for understanding God in this age of Kali Yuga, such as Agni Purana, Kali-Santaram Upanisad, Brhan Naradiya Puranam, and many others. Haridasa Thakura chanted 3 lakhs of names each day, that means 16 names in the mantra, 108×16 or 1,728 names in each round of mala, dividing 300,000 by 1,728 comes to roundabout 175 rounds on beads daily. And for us it is even difficult to chant 16 rounds! That is why Haridasa Thakura is “namacarya.” We find in Caitanya Caritamrta information that both Lord Caitanya and Haridasa Thakura were constantly absorbed in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

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SB 2.9.30 Notes – 12/28/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.30:

  • Every living being is eternally related with the Personality of Godhead in one of five different transcendental humors, namely śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya.
  • Brahmājī, although eternally related with the Lord in the transcendental humor of friendship, and although entrusted with the most exalted post of creating different grades of living entities, is still conscious of his position, that he is neither the Supreme Lord nor supremely powerful.
  • Sometimes the Lord gives extraordinary powers to His devotee, but the devotee knows always that the power belongs to the Personality of Godhead and that the devotee is only an instrument. 
  • The pure devotee is never puffed up like the nondevotee class of men who falsely think that they are God. 
  • A person who is being kicked by the laws of the Lord’s illusory energy wants to become Lord of the material world by accumulating wealth and power, but when he is frustrated in that attempt he wants to be one with the Lord.
  • However, the pure devotees of the Lord are surrendered souls, they are above the illusory snares of māyā. 
  • Because Lord Brahmā is a pure devotee, even though the first dominating deity in the material world and therefore able to do many wonderful things, he would never, like the nondevotee with a poor fund of knowledge, have the audacity to think of becoming one with the Lord. 
  • People with a poor fund of knowledge should take lessons from Brahmā when they are puffed up with the false notion of becoming God.
  • Factually Lord Brahmā does not create the living entities. In the beginning of the creation he is empowered to give different bodily shapes to the living entities according to their work during the last millennium. 
  • Brahmājī’s duty is just to wake the living entities from their slumber and to engage them in their proper duty. 
  • The different grades of living entities are not created by Brahmājī by his capricious whims, but he is entrusted with the task of giving the living entities different grades of body so that they can work accordingly. 
  • And still he is conscious that he is only instrumental, so that he may not think of himself as the Supreme Powerful Lord.
  • Devotees of the Lord are engaged in the specific duty offered by the Lord, and such duties are successfully carried out without hindrance because they are ordained by the Lord. 
  • The credit of success goes not to the doer but to the Lord. 
  • But persons with a poor fund of knowledge take the credit of success into their own accounts and give nothing to the credit of the Lord. That is the symptom of the nondevotee class of men.

SB 2.9.30 TRANSLATION:

O my Lord, the unborn, You have shaken hands with me just as a friend does with a friend [as if equal in position]. I shall be engaged in the creation of different types of living entities, and I shall be occupied in Your service. I shall have no perturbation, but I pray that all this may not give rise to pride, as if I were the Supreme.

Lord Brahmā is definitely situated in the humor of friendship with the Lord. Every living being is eternally related with the Personality of Godhead in one of five different transcendental humors, namely śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya. We have already discussed these five kinds of humors in relationship with the Personality of Godhead. It is clearly exhibited herein that Lord Brahmā is related to the Personality of Godhead in the transcendental humor of friendship. A pure devotee may be related with the Lord in any one of the transcendental humors, even in the humor of parenthood, but the devotee of the Lord is always a transcendental servitor. No one is equal to or greater than the Lord. That is the version of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī, although eternally related with the Lord in the transcendental humor of friendship, and although entrusted with the most exalted post of creating different grades of living entities, is still conscious of his position, that he is neither the Supreme Lord nor supremely powerful. It is possible that some extremely powerful personality, within or without the universe, may sometimes show more power than the Lord Himself. Still the pure devotee knows that this power is a vibhūti delegated by the Lord, and such a delegated powerful living entity is never independent. Śrī Hanumānjī crossed the Indian Ocean by jumping over the sea, and Lord Śrī Rāmacandra engaged Himself in marching over the bridge, but this does not mean that Hanumānjī was more powerful than the Lord. Sometimes the Lord gives extraordinary powers to His devotee, but the devotee knows always that the power belongs to the Personality of Godhead and that the devotee is only an instrument. The pure devotee is never puffed up like the nondevotee class of men who falsely think that they are God. It is astonishing to see how a person who is being kicked by the laws of the Lord’s illusory energy at every step can falsely think of becoming one with the Lord. Such thinking is the last snare of the illusory energy offered to the conditioned soul. The first illusion is that he wants to become Lord of the material world by accumulating wealth and power, but when he is frustrated in that attempt he wants to be one with the Lord. So both becoming the most powerful man in the material world and desiring to become one with the Lord are different illusory snares. And because the pure devotees of the Lord are surrendered souls, they are above the illusory snares of māyā. Because Lord Brahmā is a pure devotee, even though the first dominating deity in the material world and therefore able to do many wonderful things, he would never, like the nondevotee with a poor fund of knowledge, have the audacity to think of becoming one with the Lord. People with a poor fund of knowledge should take lessons from Brahmā when they are puffed up with the false notion of becoming God.

KRSNA IS THE PRIMARY CREATOR, BRAHMA IS AN INSTRUMENT OF THE LORD WHO IS ENTITLED TO PUT THE DIFFERENT LIVING ENTITIES IN DIFFERENT BODIES AS PER THEIR KARMA…

Factually Lord Brahmā does not create the living entities. In the beginning of the creation he is empowered to give different bodily shapes to the living entities according to their work during the last millennium. Brahmājī’s duty is just to wake the living entities from their slumber and to engage them in their proper duty. The different grades of living entities are not created by Brahmājī by his capricious whims, but he is entrusted with the task of giving the living entities different grades of body so that they can work accordingly. And still he is conscious that he is only instrumental, so that he may not think of himself as the Supreme Powerful Lord.

Devotees of the Lord are engaged in the specific duty offered by the Lord, and such duties are successfully carried out without hindrance because they are ordained by the Lord. The credit of success goes not to the doer but to the Lord. But persons with a poor fund of knowledge take the credit of success into their own accounts and give nothing to the credit of the Lord. That is the symptom of the nondevotee class of men.

Very revealing purport.

BG 11.33

Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācī, can be but an instrument in the fight.

Life’s problems and solutions: (https://www.vedicculturalcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/flipbook/5/mobile/index.html#p=10)

Self Imposed ignorance – 

It happens with modern education.

Understanding the progressove and degressive process

Osho’s false theory – become sanyasi by intensely indulging in sense gratification all four dont’s an eventually give up ..

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SB 2.9.28 Notes – 12/26/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.28:

  • By the inconceivable energy of the Lord, every creative element has its own potencies, known as the potency of the element, potency of knowledge and potency of different actions and reactions.
  • By a combination of such potencies of the Lord there is the manifestation of creation, maintenance and annihilation in due course of time and by different agents like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara. 
  • Brahmā creates, Viṣṇu maintains, and Lord Śiva destroys. But all such agents and creative energies are emanations from the Lord, and as such, there is nothing except the Lord, or the one supreme source of different diversities. 
  • The exact example is the spider and spider’s web. The web is created by the spider, and it is maintained by the spider, and as soon as the spider likes, the whole thing is wound up within the spider. The spider is covered within the web.
  • If an insignificant spider is so powerful as to act according to its will, why can’t the Supreme Being act by His supreme will in the creation, maintenance and destruction of the cosmic manifestations? 
  • By the grace of the Lord, a devotee like Brahmā, or one in his chain of disciplic succession, can understand the almighty Personality of Godhead eternally engaged in His transcendental pastimes in the region of different energies.
  • Krsna has infallible determination. All the qualities of Krsna can be achieved by the devotee partially. Even having that determination partially will liberate us. 
  • There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam – hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.
  • Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity. 
  •  This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires.”
  • Meditation means stopping all nonsensical activities, at least for the time being. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities. 
  • Without enthusiasm, one cannot be successful. Even in the material world one has to be very enthusiastic in his particular field of activity in order to become successful. One has to be very enthusiastic in devotional service.
  • In all phases of life one has to perform devotional activities under the direction of the spiritual master in order to attain perfection in bhakti-yoga. It is not that one has to confine or narrow one’s activities. Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading. Therefore nothing is independent of Kṛṣṇa,
  • Under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one has to make everything favorable for Kṛṣṇa’s service. 
  • The devotee can understand that since nothing is independent of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, everything should be dovetailed in His service.

SB 2.9.28 – 12/26/21

O master of all energies, please tell me philosophically all about them. You play like a spider that covers itself by its own energy, and Your determination is infallible.

By the inconceivable energy of the Lord, every creative element has its own potencies, known as the potency of the element, potency of knowledge and potency of different actions and reactions. By a combination of such potencies of the Lord there is the manifestation of creation, maintenance and annihilation in due course of time and by different agents like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara. Brahmā creates, Viṣṇu maintains, and Lord Śiva destroys. But all such agents and creative energies are emanations from the Lord, and as such, there is nothing except the Lord, or the one supreme source of different diversities. The exact example is the spider and spider’s web. The web is created by the spider, and it is maintained by the spider, and as soon as the spider likes, the whole thing is wound up within the spider. The spider is covered within the web. If an insignificant spider is so powerful as to act according to its will, why can’t the Supreme Being act by His supreme will in the creation, maintenance and destruction of the cosmic manifestations? 

This is an example of Beginning with the known to understand the unknown… 

By the grace of the Lord, a devotee like Brahmā, or one in his chain of disciplic succession, can understand the almighty Personality of Godhead eternally engaged in His transcendental pastimes in the region of different energies.

Few fortunate people understand that everything is owned and controlled by the Lord. So everything should be used in the service of the lord. Lord is both the cause and the affect. He is never affected by the modes or any of the miseries. 

Krishna has infallible determination. All the qualities of Krsna can be achieved by the devotee partially. Even having that determination partially will liberate us. 

NOI 3 – FORMULA FOR COMPLETE SUCCESS IN LIFE

There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam – hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.

Many people think gratification or self-indulgence is the goal of life.. 

Ultimate guru for everyone in Iskcon and outside – Srila Prabhupada

Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11), has defined devotional service as follows:

“Uttamā bhakti, or unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involves the rendering of devotional service in a way that is favorable to the Lord. This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires.”

We are not talking about mixed devotion.. We are talking about pure devotion which is not contaminated by the lower forms of yoga. In karma yoga, jnana yoga and ashtanga yoga there is a motive of self indulgence.. 

“Uttamā bhakti, or unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involves the rendering of devotional service in a way that is favorable to the Lord. This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires.”

Bhakti is a sort of cultivation. As soon as we say “cultivation,” we must refer to activity. Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo yogīs teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service, and for this reason it is sometimes recommended as a way to check distracting materialistic activities. Meditation means stopping all nonsensical activities, at least for the time being. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends:

The nine processes of devotional service are as follows:

  1. hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead

  2. chanting His glories

  3. remembering the Lord

  4. serving the Lord’s feet

  5. worshiping the Deity

  6. offering obeisances unto the Lord

  7. acting as the Lord’s servant

  8. making friends with the Lord

  9. surrendering oneself fully to the Lord

Spiritual knowledge is by revelation.. Not through academic study.. 

BG 15.15

Tesam satata yuktanam.. 

Tad vidhi pranipatena.. BG 4.34

Manusyanam sahasresu

It is very very rare for a person to be interested in KC.. 

Śravaṇam, or hearing, is the first step in acquiring transcendental knowledge. One should not give aural reception to unauthorized persons, but should approach the proper person, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34):

tad viddhi praṇipātena

paripraśnena sevayā

upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ

jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“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.”

It is further recommended in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: “To understand that transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master.” Thus this method of submissively receiving transcendental confidential knowledge is not merely based on mental speculation. In this regard, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Rūpa Gosvāmī:

“In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahmā, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti-latā, the creeper of devotional service. This is all by the grace of guru and Kṛṣṇa.” (Cc. Madhya 19.151) The material world is a place of confinement for the living entities who are by nature ānanda-maya, pleasure-seeking. They actually want to be free from the confinement of this world of conditional happiness, but not knowing the process of liberation, they are bound to transmigrate from one species of life to another and from one planet to another. In this way the living entities are wandering throughout the material universe. When by good fortune one comes in contact with a pure devotee and hears from him patiently, one begins to follow the path of devotional service. Such an opportunity is offered to a person who is sincere. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is giving such a chance to humanity at large. If by fortune one takes advantage of this opportunity to engage in devotional service, the path of liberation immediately opens.

One should accept this opportunity to return home, back to Godhead, very enthusiastically. Without enthusiasm, one cannot be successful. Even in the material world one has to be very enthusiastic in his particular field of activity in order to become successful. A student, businessman, artist or anyone else who wants success in his line must be enthusiastic. Similarly, one has to be very enthusiastic in devotional service. Enthusiasm means action, but action for whom? The answer is that one should always act for Kṛṣṇa – kṛṣṇārthākhila-ceṣṭā (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu).

In all phases of life one has to perform devotional activities under the direction of the spiritual master in order to attain perfection in bhakti-yoga. It is not that one has to confine or narrow one’s activities. Kṛṣṇa is all-pervading. Therefore nothing is independent of Kṛṣṇa, as Kṛṣṇa Himself states in Bhagavad-gītā (9.4):

mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ

jagad avyakta-mūrtinā

mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni

na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ

“By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.” Under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one has to make everything favorable for Kṛṣṇa’s service. For example, at present we are using a dictaphone. The materialist who invented this machine intended it for businessmen or writers of mundane subject matters. He certainly never thought of using the dictaphone in God’s service, but we are using this dictaphone to write Kṛṣṇa conscious literature. Of course, the manufacture of the dictaphone is wholly within the energy of Kṛṣṇa. All the parts of the instrument, including the electronic functions, are made from different combinations and interactions of the five basic types of material energy – namely, bhūmi, jala, agni, vāyu and ākāśa. The inventor used his brain to make this complicated machine, and his brain, as well as the ingredients, were supplied by Kṛṣṇa. According to the statement of Kṛṣṇa, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni: “Everything is depending on My energy.” Thus the devotee can understand that since nothing is independent of Kṛṣṇa’s energy, everything should be dovetailed in His service.

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SB 2.9.26 & 27 Notes – 12/25/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.26 & 27:

  • The whole manifestation is the Lord Himself by diffusion of His different energies only, namely the internal, external and marginal, just as the sunlight is the manifestation of the energy of the sun planet. 
  • Such energy is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, just as the sunshine is simultaneously one with and different from the sun planet. 
  • The energies are acting by combination and permutation by the indication of the Lord, and the acting agents, like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are also different incarnations of the Lord.
  • Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. 
  • Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. 
  • Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.
  • BG 14.19- When one properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My spiritual nature.
  • One can transcend all the activities of the modes of material nature simply by understanding them properly by learning from the proper souls. 
  • The real spiritual master is Kṛṣṇa, and He is imparting this spiritual knowledge to Arjuna.
  • Similarly, it is from those who are fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that one has to learn this science of activities in terms of the modes of nature. Otherwise, one’s life will be misdirected. 
  • Unless one has the help of spiritual authority, he cannot understand in what position he is actually situated.
  • A man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not controlled by the spell of the material modes of nature. 
  • Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. 
  • Devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.
  • BG 14.20 – When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
  • When one is conscious of the material body, he acts only for sense gratification, but when one transfers the consciousness to Kṛṣṇa, sense gratification automatically stops.
  • One does not need this material body, and he does not need to accept the dictations of the material body
  • He does not desire to enjoy the body, nor does he desire to get out of it. Thus transcendentally situated, the devotee becomes automatically free. 
  • He need not try to become free from the influence of the modes of material nature.
  • When one acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kṛṣṇa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. 
  • When one applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc. – whatever he may have within his possession – to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa.
  • He is one with Kṛṣṇa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  • All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva.
  • A person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. 
  • All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. 
  • When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ …), one’s heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 2.9.26 TRANSLATION

In spite of that, my Lord, I am praying to You to kindly fulfill my desire. May I please be informed how, in spite of Your transcendental form, You assume the mundane form, although You have no such form at all.

SB 2.9.27 TRANSLATION

And [please inform me] how You, by Your own Self, manifest different energies for annihilation, generation, acceptance and maintenance by combination and permutation.

The whole manifestation is the Lord Himself by diffusion of His different energies only, namely the internal, external and marginal, just as the sunlight is the manifestation of the energy of the sun planet. Such energy is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, just as the sunshine is simultaneously one with and different from the sun planet. The energies are acting by combination and permutation by the indication of the Lord, and the acting agents, like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are also different incarnations of the Lord. In other words, there is nothing but the Lord, and still the Lord is different from all such manifestive activities. How it is so will be explained later on.

SB 2.9.25 

The impersonalists recommend that one should become desireless, and others recommend banishing desires altogether. That is impossible; no one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together. Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

Understanding this point is the turning point in out life. 

BG 14.19 

When one properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My spiritual nature.

Understand in the material life that we are forced to do things by the influence of the modes of the material nature. Krsna is above the modes of material nature. Mayavadis say that Krsna is also under the influence of the modes. 

One can transcend all the activities of the modes of material nature simply by understanding them properly by learning from the proper souls. The real spiritual master is Kṛṣṇa, and He is imparting this spiritual knowledge to Arjuna. Similarly, it is from those who are fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that one has to learn this science of activities in terms of the modes of nature. Otherwise, one’s life will be misdirected. By the instruction of a bona fide spiritual master, a living entity can know of his spiritual position, his material body, his senses, how he is entrapped, and how he is under the spell of the material modes of nature. He is helpless, being in the grip of these modes, but when he can see his real position, then he can attain to the transcendental platform, having the scope for spiritual life. Actually, the living entity is not the performer of different activities. He is forced to act because he is situated in a particular type of body, conducted by some particular mode of material nature. Unless one has the help of spiritual authority, he cannot understand in what position he is actually situated. With the association of a bona fide spiritual master, he can see his real position, and by such an understanding he can become fixed in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not controlled by the spell of the material modes of nature. It has already been stated in the Seventh Chapter that one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa is relieved from the activities of material nature. For one who is able to see things as they are, the influence of material nature gradually ceases.

BG 14.20

When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.

How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means “embodied.” Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.

BG 14.21

Arjuna inquired: O my dear Lord, by which symptoms is one known who is transcendental to these three modes? What is his behavior? And how does he transcend the modes of nature?

the symptoms of such a transcendental person?

how he lives and what his activities are. Are they regulated or nonregulated? 

the means by which he can attain the transcendental nature?

Symptoms of a pure devotee – 

Reduce eating mating sleeping mating 

Will not waste even one second of their life. 

Gautama muni – 

Is always chanting. Narada muni asked him to build a hut so you can be protected from weather. He refused to because he did not want to even waste one second. Krishna has given different possibilities. You can sit under a tree and chant. 

Dictations of the mind – 

Beat your head a hundred times with an old show, as soon as you wake up. 

Work so hard in KC all day long so you forget everything and sleep as soon as you hit the bed. 

BG 14.22-25

How to identify a person who has transcended the modes

The qualities of a person who transcended the modes

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O son of Pāṇḍu, he who does not hate illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present or long for them when they disappear; who is unwavering and undisturbed through all these reactions of the material qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active; who is situated in the self and regards alike happiness and distress; who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities – such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.

Arjuna submitted three different questions, and the Lord answers them one after another. In these verses, Kṛṣṇa first indicates that a person transcendentally situated has no envy and does not hanker for anything. When a living entity stays in this material world embodied by the material body, it is to be understood that he is under the control of one of the three modes of material nature. When he is actually out of the body, then he is out of the clutches of the material modes of nature. But as long as he is not out of the material body, he should be neutral. He should engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord so that his identity with the material body will automatically be forgotten. When one is conscious of the material body, he acts only for sense gratification, but when one transfers the consciousness to Kṛṣṇa, sense gratification automatically stops. One does not need this material body, and he does not need to accept the dictations of the material body. The qualities of the material modes in the body will act, but as spirit soul the self is aloof from such activities. How does he become aloof? He does not desire to enjoy the body, nor does he desire to get out of it. Thus transcendentally situated, the devotee becomes automatically free. He need not try to become free from the influence of the modes of material nature.

The next question concerns the dealings of a transcendentally situated person. The materially situated person is affected by so-called honor and dishonor offered to the body, but the transcendentally situated person is 

  • not affected by such false honor and dishonor. He performs his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and does not mind whether a man honors or dishonors him. 
  • He accepts things that are favorable for his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise he has no necessity of anything material, either a stone or gold. 
  • He takes everyone as his dear friend who helps him in his execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he does not hate his so-called enemy. 
  • He is equally disposed and sees everything on an equal level because he knows perfectly well that he has nothing to do with material existence. 
  • Social and political issues do not affect him, because he knows the situation of temporary upheavals and disturbances. 
  • He does not attempt anything for his own sake. He can attempt anything for Kṛṣṇa, but for his personal self he does not attempt anything. By such behavior one becomes actually transcendentally situated.

Two types of devotional service – by working for Krsna, or by offering the results of the work to Krsna. 

Kolavecha Sridhar 

BG 5.11

The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.

When one acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kṛṣṇa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Therefore purified activities, which are generally called sad-ācāra, can be easily performed by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.187) describes this as follows:

īhā yasya harer dāsye

karmaṇā manasā girā

“A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kṛṣṇa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.” He has no false ego, for he does not believe that he is this material body, or that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and the body too belongs to Kṛṣṇa. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc. – whatever he may have within his possession – to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa. He is one with Kṛṣṇa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Identification with the  body is the source of false ego. 

Gopis think that their bodies belong to Krsna and not them,

CC ADI 4.181

Now, whatever affection we see the gopīs show for their own bodies, know it for certain to be only for the sake of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

The selfless love of Godhead exhibited by the gopīs cannot have any parallel. We should not, therefore, misunderstand the carefulness of the gopīs in their personal decoration. The gopīs dressed themselves as beautifully as possible just to make Kṛṣṇa happy by seeing them. They had no ulterior desires. They dedicated their bodies, and everything they possessed, to the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, taking it for granted that their bodies were meant for His enjoyment. They dressed themselves with the understanding that Kṛṣṇa would be happy by seeing and touching them.

CC ADI 4.182

[The gopīs think:] “I have offered this body to Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is its owner, and it brings Him enjoyment.

CC ADI 4.183

“Kṛṣṇa finds joy in seeing and touching this body.” It is for this reason that they cleanse and decorate their bodies.

SP one said – Why are women going topless and bottomless. They are inviting you to enjoy them.. 

CC ADI 4.184

“O Arjuna, there are no greater receptacles of deep love for Me than the gopīs, who cleanse and decorate their bodies because they consider them Mine.”

CC ADI 4.185

There is another wonderful feature of the emotion of the gopīs. Its power is beyond the comprehension of the intelligence.

CC ADI 4.186

When the gopīs see Lord Kṛṣṇa, they derive unbounded bliss, although they have no desire for such pleasure.

CC ADI 4.187

The gopīs taste a pleasure ten million times greater than the pleasure Lord Kṛṣṇa derives from seeing them.

Purport

The wonderful characteristics of the gopīs are beyond imagination. They have no desire for personal satisfaction, yet when Kṛṣṇa is happy by seeing them, that happiness of Kṛṣṇa makes the gopīs a million times more happy than Kṛṣṇa Himself.

CC ADI 4.188

The gopīs have no inclination for their own enjoyment, and yet their joy increases. That is indeed a contradiction.

SB 5.18.12

All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord’s external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?

As explained in the next verse, Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all living entities. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), wherein Kṛṣṇa says:

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam), one’s heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In the Ādi-līlā of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Chapter Eight, there is a description of some of the qualities of devotees. For example, Śrī Paṇḍita Haridāsa is described as being 

very well-behaved,  tolerant,  peaceful,  magnanimous and grave. he spoke very sweetly, his endeavors were very pleasing, he was always patient, he respected everyone, he always worked for everyone’s benefit, his mind was free of duplicity, and he was completely devoid of all malicious activities. These are all originally qualities of Kṛṣṇa, and when one becomes a devotee they automatically become manifest. Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, says that all good qualities become manifest in the body of a Vaiṣṇava and that only by the presence of these good qualities can one distinguish a Vaiṣṇava from a non-Vaiṣṇava. 

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja lists the following twenty-six good qualities of a Vaiṣṇava: 

(1) He is very kind to everyone. (2) He does not make anyone his enemy. (3) He is truthful. (4) He is equal to everyone.  (5) No one can find any fault in him.  (6) He is magnanimous. (7) He is mild.  (8) He is always clean.  (9) He is without possessions.  (10) He works for everyone’s benefit. (11) He is very peaceful.  (12) He is always surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. (13) He has no material desires.  (14) He is very meek. (15) He is steady. (16) He controls his senses. (17) He does not eat more than required.  (18) He is not influenced by the Lord’s illusory energy. (19) He offers respect to everyone.  (20) He does not desire any respect for himself.  (21) He is very grave. (22) He is merciful.  (23) He is friendly.  (24) He is poetic. (25) He is expert. (26) He is silent.

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SB 2.9.25 Notes – 12/24/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.25:

  • The Bhagavad-gītā confirms that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as the witness, and as such He is the supreme director of sanction. 
  • The director is not the enjoyer of the fruits of action, for without the Lord’s sanction no one can enjoy. 
  • Each and every one of the living entities has something in his mind to enjoy, and everyone desires the fulfillment of his desires very strongly. 
  • The almighty Lord, being very kind to the living entity, as the father is kind to the son, fulfills the living entity’s desire for his childish satisfaction.
  •  With such desires in mind, the living entity does not actually enjoy, but he serves the bodily whims unnecessarily, without profit. 
  • A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical.
  • If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life.
  • A man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. 
  • But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. 
  • And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. 
  • The human life is especially meant for purifying one’s existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.
  • In human society, aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all falldowns. 
  • One has to raise himself at least to the mode of goodness before the path to understanding the Supreme Lord can be opened. 
  • Without raising oneself to the standard of the mode of goodness, one remains in ignorance and passion, which are the cause of demoniac life.
  • If one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one’s life becomes successful.
  • No one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together.
  • The Lord, as the Supersoul in the heart of every living being, knows what is in the mind of each living entity, and no one can do anything without the knowledge of the Lord within.
  • By His superior intelligence, the Lord gives everyone the chance to fulfill his desires to the fullest extent, and the resultant reaction is also awarded by the Lord.
  • “First deserve, then desire.”Why foolishly you desire something for which you do not deserve? That is your fault. That is misuse. Don’t desire something without being deserving. So these are the process given how to think, how to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. So practice it. Become qualified. Then you will see everything. Without being qualified, why you want to see?”
  • Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. 
  • Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

SB 2.9.5 TRANSLATION:

Lord Brahmā said: O Personality of Godhead, You are situated in every living entity’s heart as the supreme director, and therefore You are aware of all endeavors by Your superior intelligence, without any hindrance whatsoever.

The Bhagavad-gītā confirms that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as the witness, and as such He is the supreme director of sanction. The director is not the enjoyer of the fruits of action, for without the Lord’s sanction no one can enjoy. For example, in a prohibited area a habituated drunkard puts forward his application to the director of drinking, and the director, considering his case, sanctions only a certain amount of liquor for drinking. Similarly, the whole material world is full of many drunkards, in the sense that each and every one of the living entities has something in his mind to enjoy, and everyone desires the fulfillment of his desires very strongly. The almighty Lord, being very kind to the living entity, as the father is kind to the son, fulfills the living entity’s desire for his childish satisfaction. With such desires in mind, the living entity does not actually enjoy, but he serves the bodily whims unnecessarily, without profit. 

BG 16.23

[WHIMSICAL ACTIONS] 

He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

Whim – a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.

Example- a sanyasi in Paris went to confectionery shop and bought sweets and ate them even though they might have eggs, he wanted to take a chance and finally he fell down.. 

All grapes have Sulphur Dioxide on them. 

All croissants have egg

As described before, the śāstra-vidhi, or the direction of the śāstra, is given to the different castes and orders of human society. Everyone is expected to follow these rules and regulations. 

  • If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life.
  • In other words, a man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. 
  • In the human form of life, a living entity is expected to be sane and to follow the regulations given for elevating his life to the highest platform, but if he does not follow them, then he degrades himself. 
  • But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. 
  • And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. 

Therefore one should gradually raise himself to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service; it is then and there that he can attain the highest perfectional stage, not otherwise.

The word kāma-kārataḥ is very significant. A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical. Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme Lord. Such persons cannot have the perfection which is meant for the human life. The human life is especially meant for purifying one’s existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.

BG 16.24

[CAUSE OF ALL FALL DOWNS]

In human society, aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all falldowns. That is the greatest offense of human life. Therefore, māyā, the material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always giving us trouble in the shape of the threefold miseries. This material energy is constituted of the three modes of material nature. One has to raise himself at least to the mode of goodness before the path to understanding the Supreme Lord can be opened. Without raising oneself to the standard of the mode of goodness, one remains in ignorance and passion, which are the cause of demoniac life. Those in the modes of passion and ignorance deride the scriptures, deride the holy man, and deride the proper understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They disobey the instructions of the spiritual master, and they do not care for the regulations of the scriptures. In spite of hearing the glories of devotional service, they are not attracted. Thus they manufacture their own way of elevation. These are some of the defects of human society which lead to the demoniac status of life. If, however, one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one’s life becomes successful.

In Europe many priests are drunkards. Original wine was grape juice and not alcohol. Famous monks made wine. 

“In vino veritas”  – in wine there is truth

BG 16.21

There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies, which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.

The drunkard does not derive any profit out of drinking, but because he has become a servant of the drinking habit and does not wish to get out of it, the merciful Lord gives him all facilities to fulfill such desires.

The impersonalists recommend that one should become desireless, and others recommend banishing desires (buddhists) altogether. That is impossible; no one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together.

Merging into brahman is a materialistic desire 

In Brahman there is no devotional service, no cit and no ananda.

Lecture

Seattle Sept. 30, 1968

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/680930le-seattle

In this way, there are many examples. That is greatness. What I… Just like the modern scientists, they are trying to fly some space machine in the good speed so that they can go to the moon planet. So many scientists of America, Russia and other countries, they are trying. But they cannot. Their sputnik is coming back. But just see God’s power. Millions of planets are floating just like swabs. This is greatness.

So any nonsense, if he says that “I am God,” he’s a rascal. God is great. You cannot compare yourself with God. There is no comparison. But the rascaldom is going on: “Everyone is God. I am God, you are God”—then who is dog? You show the power of God, then you say. “First deserve, then desire.” What power we have got? We’re all His dependent. So God is great, and we are dependent on God.

Seattle Sep 30

Lecture on SB 5.5,23

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/761110sbvrn/

So this is the way, brāhmaṇa. That brāhmaṇa, the India, the brāhmaṇas, their sons later on, later ages, taking advantage of the facility offered to the brāhmaṇas, so without qualification of brāhmaṇa, they wanted the facility for nothing, very cheap. Therefore the brahminical culture is failure now. They are… They should be real brāhmaṇas, śamo damo. But nobody is prepared to practice śamo damo titikṣa, but he wants the respect of a brāhmaṇa. This is the cause of India’s culture being failure at the present moment. They… “First deserve, then desire.” So without deserving, they desired. Therefore whole thing is…, it became false. So that is not the purpose. Even somebody says that “Without culture one can remain a brāhmaṇa,” but śāstra does not say that. Śāstra says culture is the first consideration.

Example – Sudama

Lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.28.21

Type: Srimad-Bhagavatam, Date: Nov. 1, 1975, Location: Nairobi

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/751101sbnai/

Prabhupāda: Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam [Bg. 10.10]. When Kṛṣṇa sees that “He is worshiping Me with faith and reverence and love,” then buddhi-yogam dadāmi tam. He’ll give you intelligence. He is within you. Therefore I was saying, “First of all become fit. First of all deserve. Then desire.” Why foolishly you desire something for which you do not deserve? That is your fault. That is misuse. Don’t desire something without being deserving. So these are the process given how to think, how to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. So practice it. Become qualified. Then you will see everything. Without being qualified, why you want to see?

Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

The Lord, as the Supersoul in the heart of every living being, knows what is in the mind of each living entity, and no one can do anything without the knowledge of the Lord within. By His superior intelligence, the Lord gives everyone the chance to fulfill his desires to the fullest extent, and the resultant reaction is also awarded by the Lord.

Past Time of Ramanujacharya 

He had a friend named Dhanur Dasa. His friend was very attached to his wife’s beauty and not her soul. Ramunaja asked him if he wanted to see the real beauty. He took him and showed the deity of lord vishnu. He gets detached from his wife’s beauty after that.. 

Sanyasis’ clothes were mixed and they started arguing. They started fighting for a piece of cloth. 

Ramanuja asked a disciple to steal the jewels of Dhanurdasa’s  wife when he was not there. 

She turns over so the disciple can take the rest of the jewel. He runs away and waits for dhanurdasa to come and react. She tells him that we should help devotees, lookslike they need money for service of the lord and they are struggling..she said she turned so he can take the jewels on the other side.  Dhanuradasa was upset that instead of turning and scaring him she should have given all the jewels away to him. She agreed it was an offense due to her false pride and how they can advance.. 

Ramanuja taught by Example and precept – 

Wine – everyone drinks, even all the popes do . they do a ceremony or ritual called

Eu·cha·rist with the wine.

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SB 2.9.24 Notes – 12/23/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.24:

  • In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. 
  • Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. 
  • Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? 
  • An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. 
  • The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. 
  • The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance.
  • One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

SB 2.9.24 TRANSLATION:

I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.

In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

Painstaking – Great care and thoroughness in execution of their duties. 

There were times when devotees were against Srila Prabhupada at one point. They tried to get rid of Srila Prabhupada. They complained about him to immigration and he was not allowed to get into the US. He has to stay in Montreal for 1 year.. He was constantly harassed by his God brothers and few of his disciples.. Srila Prabhupada went through so much but never gave up.. 

SP was very painstaking and thorough in preparing himself for preaching to the western world. It took him 40 years.. To prepare well in executing his spiritual master’s instructions. 

Hit by a bull in Vrindavan

Suffered 2 heart attacks in the ship to US. 

We are talking about devotees who want to spread this movement. It is so hard to spread the message in this world where everyone wants to follow their own path and practice in isolation. 

Determination, purity, affection, complete surrender to his gurus’s instruction – he was able to do it.. Only he out of the 10000 disciples of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was able to crack the formula of spreading this message. 

BG 6.24 

Success is guaranteed for a rigid practitioner.

Scientific spirituality

Explains the difference between spiritual science and religion. 

Spiritual science – Verifiable facts which are irrefutable

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SB 2.9.23 – Part 2 – Notes – 12/22/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.24:

  • In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only.
  • One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. 
  • Penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.
  • Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously, and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
  • Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. 
  • This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.
  • CC M 8.66 – “Pure devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge is the essence of perfection.”
  • CC M 8.67 – Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “Lord Brahmā said, ‘My dear Lord, those devotees who have thrown away the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth and have therefore abandoned discussing empiric philosophical truths should hear from self-realized devotees about Your holy name, form, pastimes and qualities. They should completely follow the principles of devotional service and remain free from illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and animal slaughter. Surrendering themselves fully with body, words and mind, they can live in any āśrama or social status. Indeed, You are conquered by such persons, although You are always unconquerable.’ ”
  • Devotional activities, however, sometimes appear to be impure in the neophyte stage, but in the mature stage they are completely pure, or free from material activity. 
  • “One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

SB 2.9.24 – 12/22/21

I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.

In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

SB 2.9.23

The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.

One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead. One who has no information of the transcendental bliss in the association of the Lord foolishly desires to enjoy this temporary material happiness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only. One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. The Lord favors such a foolish devotee by snatching all that he may possess in the material world. If such a foolish devotee of the Lord tries to recoup his position, then the merciful Lord again snatches away all that he may have possessed. By such repeated failures in material prosperity he becomes very unpopular with his family members and friends. In the material world the family members and friends honor persons who are very successful in accumulating wealth by any means. The foolish devotee of the Lord is thus put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.

One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only a person who is completely free from all reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.

BG 7.28 

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously, and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.

SB 10.88.8 

The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another.

CC M 8.66 

After hearing this, the Lord, as usual, rejected it, considering it to be external devotional service. He again asked Rāmānanda Rāya to speak further, and Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “Pure devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge is the essence of perfection.”

CC M 8.67

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “Lord Brahmā said, ‘My dear Lord, those devotees who have thrown away the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth and have therefore abandoned discussing empiric philosophical truths should hear from self-realized devotees about Your holy name, form, pastimes and qualities. They should completely follow the principles of devotional service and remain free from illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and animal slaughter. Surrendering themselves fully with body, words and mind, they can live in any āśrama or social status. Indeed, You are conquered by such persons, although You are always unconquerable.’ ”

CC M 8.68 

At this point, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “This is all right, but still you can speak more on the subject.”

Rāmānanda Rāya then replied, “Ecstatic love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the essence of all perfection.”

In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura summarizes the conversation up to this point, where Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says to Rāmānanda Rāya, eho haya, āge kaha āra: “This is the process accepted in devotional service, but there is something more than this. Therefore please explain what is beyond.” Simply executing the duties of all varṇas and āśramas is not as good as offering all the results of one’s activities to the Lord. When one gives up all fruitive activity and fully surrenders to the Lord, he attains sva-dharma-tyāga, wherein he abandons the social order and takes to the renounced order. That is certainly better. However, better than the renounced order is cultivation of knowledge mixed with devotional service. Yet all these activities are external to the activities of the spiritual world. There is no touch of pure devotional service in them. Pure devotional service cannot be attained by empiric philosophy, nor can perfection be attained simply by good association. Devotional service by self-realization is a different subject matter. It is untouched by fruitive activity, for one surrenders the results of activities to the Lord, abandons prescribed duties and accepts the renounced order of life. Such devotional service is situated on a higher platform than that of empiric philosophical speculation with a mixture of bhakti. This is verified by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11):

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

Devotional activities, however, sometimes appear to be impure in the neophyte stage, but in the mature stage they are completely pure, or free from material activity. Therefore Rāmānanda Rāya replied after hearing the last statement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: prema-bhakti — sarva-sādhya-sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu actually accepted this verse (jñāne prayāsam) as the basic principle of perfection. One has to practice this principle in order to make further progress. When further progress is actually made, one comes to the platform of ecstatic loving service to the Lord. This first stage is technically called sādhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice. The result of sādhana-bhakti must be ecstatic love, attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is also called prema-bhakti. In the neophyte stage, sādhana-bhakti includes faith, association with devotees, and practicing devotional service. Thus one is freed from all unwanted things. One then becomes fixed in devotional service and increases his desire to act in devotional service. Thus one becomes attached to the Lord and His devotional service.

Knowledge +Love for Krsna = transcendental life 

BG 4.11 – stages of devotional service

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-

saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā

tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt

tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas

tataḥ premābhyudañcati

sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ

prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.

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SB 2.9.23 Notes -12/21/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.23:

  • The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. 
  • The penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.
  • One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead.
  • In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only.
  • The foolish devotee of the Lord is put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. 
  • Penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.
  • One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins.
  • Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result.
  • Only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead [svayaṁ bhagavān] taught Brahmā and made him self-realized. 
  • When Brahmā, initiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa by the sound vibration tapa, engaged himself in acts of austerity, by the pleasure of Viṣṇu he was able to visualize the transcendental world, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, through transcendental realization.
  • Refraining from sensual enjoyment, one should voluntarily accept all sorts of difficulties for spiritual realization. This is called tapasya.
  • Modern science can communicate using material discoveries such as radio, television and computers, but the science invoked by the austerities of Śrī Brahmā, the original father of mankind, was still more subtle. In time, material scientists may also know how we can communicate with the Vaikuṇṭha world. 
  • Transcendental knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge of not only His form and personality but also everything else related to Him. 
  • There is nothing in existence not related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a sense, there is nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and yet nothing is Śrī Kṛṣṇa save and except His primeval personality

SB 2.9.23 TRANSLATION

O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.

The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.

One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead. One who has no information of the transcendental bliss in the association of the Lord foolishly desires to enjoy this temporary material happiness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only. One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. The Lord favors such a foolish devotee by snatching all that he may possess in the material world. If such a foolish devotee of the Lord tries to recoup his position, then the merciful Lord again snatches away all that he may have possessed. By such repeated failures in material prosperity he becomes very unpopular with his family members and friends. In the material world the family members and friends honor persons who are very successful in accumulating wealth by any means. The foolish devotee of the Lord is thus put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.

One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins.[ BG 7.28]

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only a person who is completely free from all reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.

Duties – Svadharma – Lower svadharma and higher svadharma.. 

4 ways of understanding 

Sins are the ones keeping us in this world – Sins – intoxication, gambling, illicit sex, meat eating.. 

Motto of life – being sinless.. 

CC ADI 1.50

The Supreme Personality of Godhead [svayaṁ bhagavān] taught Brahmā and made him self-realized.

The English maxim that God helps those who help themselves is also applicable in the transcendental realm. There are many instances in the revealed scriptures of the Personality of Godhead’s acting as the spiritual master from within. The Personality of Godhead was the spiritual master who instructed Brahmā, the original living being in the cosmic creation. When Brahmā was first created, he could not apply his creative energy to arrange the cosmic situation. At first there was only sound, vibrating the word tapa, which indicates the acceptance of hardships for spiritual realization. Refraining from sensual enjoyment, one should voluntarily accept all sorts of difficulties for spiritual realization. This is called tapasya. An enjoyer of the senses can never realize God, godliness or the science of theistic knowledge. Thus when Brahmā, initiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa by the sound vibration tapa, engaged himself in acts of austerity, by the pleasure of Viṣṇu he was able to visualize the transcendental world, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, through transcendental realization. Modern science can communicate using material discoveries such as radio, television and computers, but the science invoked by the austerities of Śrī Brahmā, the original father of mankind, was still more subtle. In time, material scientists may also know how we can communicate with the Vaikuṇṭha world. Lord Brahmā inquired about the potency of the Supreme Lord, and the Personality of Godhead answered his inquiry in the following six consecutive statements. These instructions, which are reproduced from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.31-36), were imparted by the Personality of Godhead, acting as the supreme spiritual master.

BG 15.15 

The inter-internet is a revelation by the Lord situated in everyone’s heart. Sanjaya sitting many miles away from Kurukshetra was able to relay what was happening in the war.

CC ADI 1.51

“Please hear attentively what I shall speak to you, for transcendental knowledge about Me is not only scientific but also full of mysteries.

Transcendental knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge of not only His form and personality but also everything else related to Him. There is nothing in existence not related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a sense, there is nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and yet nothing is Śrī Kṛṣṇa save and except His primeval personality. This knowledge constitutes a complete transcendental science, and Viṣṇu wanted to give Brahmājī full knowledge about that science. The mystery of this knowledge culminates in personal attachment to the Lord, with a resulting effect of detachment from anything “non-Kṛṣṇa.” There are nine alternative transcendental means of attaining this stage: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping, praying, assisting, fraternizing with the Lord, and sacrificing everything for Him. These are different parts of the same devotional service, which is full of transcendental mystery. The Lord said to Brahmā that since He was pleased with him, by His grace the mystery was being revealed.

How can we accept the existence of God – 

Scientific spirituality – Verifiable facts which are irrefutable.. SB 2.2.35

Universe is expanding – it is true that Brahma Jyothi is expanding and all that is explained CC. 

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SB 2.9.19 Notes – 12/17/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.19:

  • Lord Brahmā has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.
  • Brahmā also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls.
  • The party is called the Brahma sampradāya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home.
  • The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
  • No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.
  • There are many renegades from the Brahma sampradāya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence.
  • Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.
  • Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma sampradāya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction.

SB 2.9.19 TRANSLATION:

And seeing Brahmā present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahmā and, slightly smiling, addressed him thus.

The creation of the material world is not blind or accidental. The living entities who are ever conditioned, or nitya-baddha, are thus given a chance for liberation under the guidance of His own representative like Brahmā. The Lord instructs Brahmā in Vedic knowledge in order to diffuse this knowledge to the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are forgetful souls in their relationship with the Lord, and thus a period of creation and the process of dissemination of Vedic knowledge are necessary activities of the Lord. Lord Brahmā has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.

Brahmā also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls. The party is called the Brahma sampradāya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home. The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.

There are many renegades from the Brahma sampradāya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence. Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.

Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma sampradāya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction

BG 18.68

For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

BG 18. 69 

There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

BG 18.71

And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.

BG 18.72

O son of Pṛthā, O conqueror of wealth, have you heard this with an attentive mind? And are your ignorance and illusions now dispelled?

BG 18.73

Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.

BG 18.5

Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.

CC MADHYA 8.60

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “ ‘My dear son of Kuntī, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you perform, all the results of such activities should be offered to Me, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ ”

Purport

The Lord has said that the varṇāśrama-dharma is not properly executed in this Age of Kali; therefore He ordered Rāmānanda Rāya to go further into the matter. Rāmānanda replied with this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27), which instructs that while remaining in the system of varṇāśrama-dharma one may offer the results of his activities to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in loving service. Naturally Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking Rāmānanda Rāya about the execution of devotional service. Rāmānanda Rāya first enunciated the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma in consideration of materialistic people. However, this conception is not transcendental. As long as one is in the material world, he must follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, but devotional service is transcendental. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma refers to the three modes of material nature, but transcendental devotional service is on the absolute platform.

All these activities should be performed without attachment or any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of duty, O son of Pṛthā. That is My final opinion.

BG 17.24

Therefore, transcendentalists undertaking performances of sacrifice, charity and penance in accordance with scriptural regulations begin always with oṁ, to attain the Supreme.

BG 17.25

Therefore, transcendentalists undertaking performances of sacrifice, charity and penance in accordance with scriptural regulations begin always with oṁ, to attain the Supreme.

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SB 2.9.18 Notes – 12/16/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.18:

  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for the paramahaṁsas.
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for persons completely free from malice.
  • Unfortunately, persons with impious backgrounds do not believe in the Personality of Godhead, and everyone wants to become God himself without any qualification. 
  • This malicious nature in the conditioned soul continues even up to the stage when a person wants to be one with the Lord, and thus even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahaṁsa because the malicious mind is there.
  • The paramahaṁsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga. 
  • This bhakti-yoga begins if a person has the firm conviction that simply discharging devotional service to the Lord in full transcendental love can elevate him to the highest perfectional stage of life. (BG 4.39)
  •  Brahmājī believed in this art of bhakti-yoga; he believed in the instruction of the Lord to execute tapa, and he discharged the function with great penance and thus achieved the great success of seeing the Vaikuṇṭhalokas and the Lord also by personal experience.
  •  One can reach the abode of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas simply by following the process of bhakti-yoga because the Lord can be realized only through the bhakti-yoga process.
  • Following in the footsteps of Lord Brahmā, any person, even up to this day, can attain perfect success in life by following the path of the paramahaṁsa as recommended herein.
  • Lord Caitanya also approved of this method of self-realization for men in this age. 
  • One should first, with all conviction, believe in the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and without making efforts to realize Him by speculative philosophy,
  • One should prefer to hear about Him from the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and later from the text of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. 
  • One should hear such discourses from a person Bhāgavatam and not from the professional man, or from the karmī, jñānī or yogī. That is the secret of learning the science. 
  • One does not need to be in the renounced order of life; he can remain in his present condition of life, but he must search out the association of a bona fide devotee of the Lord and hear from him the transcendental message of the Lord with faith and conviction.
  • That is the path of the paramahaṁsas, which was personally followed by Lord Brahmā and later recommended by him for attaining perfect success in life.
  • Amongst various holy names of the Lord, He is also called ajita, or one who can never be conquered by anyone else. Yet He can be conquered by the paramahaṁsa path, as practically realized and shown by the great spiritual master Lord Brahmā. 
  • Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Rāmānanda Rāya, “Recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life.
  • Rāmānanda replied, “If one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original Kṛṣṇa consciousness
  • Śrī Rāmānujācārya states in the Vedārtha-saṅgraha that devotional service is naturally very dear to the living entity. Indeed, it is life’s goal. 
  • This devotional service is supreme knowledge, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and it brings detachment from all material activity. 
  • In the transcendental position, a living being can perfectly acknowledge the superiority of serving the Supreme Lord. 
  • The devotees attain the Supreme Lord only by devotional service. Having such knowledge, one engages in his occupational duty, and that is called bhakti-yoga.
  • By performing bhakti-yoga, one can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.
  • The Lord replied, “This is external. You had better tell Me of some other means.”
    Rāmānanda replied, “To offer the results of one’s activities to Kṛṣṇa is the essence of all perfection.”
  • Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “ ‘My dear son of Kuntī, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you perform, all the results of such activities should be offered to Me, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ ”

SB 2.9.18 TRANSLATION:

Lord Brahmā, thus seeing the Personality of Godhead in His fullness, was overwhelmed with joy within his heart, and thus in full transcendental love and ecstasy, his eyes filled with tears of love. He thus bowed down before the Lord. That is the way of the highest perfection for the living being [paramahaṁsa].

In the beginning of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that this great literature is meant for the paramahaṁsas. Paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satām, i.e., the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is meant for persons completely free from malice. In the conditioned life the malicious life begins from the top, namely bearing malice against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Personality of Godhead is an established fact in all the revealed scriptures, and in the Bhagavad-gītā the personal feature of the Supreme Lord is especially mentioned, so much so that the last portion of the great literature has emphatically stressed that one should surrender unto the Personality of Godhead to be saved from the miseries of life. Unfortunately, persons with impious backgrounds do not believe in the Personality of Godhead, and everyone wants to become God himself without any qualification. This malicious nature in the conditioned soul continues even up to the stage when a person wants to be one with the Lord, and thus even the greatest of the empiric philosophers speculating on becoming one with the Supreme Lord cannot become a paramahaṁsa because the malicious mind is there. Therefore the paramahaṁsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga. This bhakti-yoga begins if a person has the firm conviction that simply discharging devotional service to the Lord in full transcendental love can elevate him to the highest perfectional stage of life. 

BG 4.39 

A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.

Such knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be achieved by a faithful person who believes firmly in Kṛṣṇa. One is called a faithful man who thinks that simply by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he can attain the highest perfection. This faith is attained by the discharge of devotional service and by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, which cleanses one’s heart of all material dirt. Over and above this, one should control the senses. A person who is faithful to Kṛṣṇa and who controls the senses can easily attain perfection in the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness without delay.

Brahmājī believed in this art of bhakti-yoga; he believed in the instruction of the Lord to execute tapa, and he discharged the function with great penance and thus achieved the great success of seeing the Vaikuṇṭhalokas and the Lord also by personal experience. No one can reach the abode of the Supreme Lord by any mechanical means of the mind or machine, but one can reach the abode of the Vaikuṇṭhalokas simply by following the process of bhakti-yoga because the Lord can be realized only through the bhakti-yoga process. Lord Brahmājī was actually sitting on his lotus seat, and from there, by executing the process of bhakti-yoga in great seriousness, he could see the Vaikuṇṭhalokas with all variegatedness as well as the Lord in person and His associates.

Malice – evil and aggressive..

Following in the footsteps of Lord Brahmā, any person, even up to this day, can attain the same perfection by following the path of the paramahaṁsa as recommended herein. Lord Caitanya also approved of this method of self-realization for men in this age. One should first, with all conviction, believe in the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and without making efforts to realize Him by speculative philosophy, one should prefer to hear about Him from the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and later from the text of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One should hear such discourses from a person Bhāgavatam and not from the professional man, or from the karmī, jñānī or yogī. That is the secret of learning the science. One does not need to be in the renounced order of life; he can remain in his present condition of life, but he must search out the association of a bona fide devotee of the Lord and hear from him the transcendental message of the Lord with faith and conviction. That is the path of the paramahaṁsa recommended herein. 

Amongst various holy names of the Lord, He is also called ajita, or one who can never be conquered by anyone else. Yet He can be conquered by the paramahaṁsa path, as practically realized and shown by the great spiritual master Lord Brahmā. Lord Brahmā has personally recommended this paramahaṁsa-panthāḥ in his own words as follows:

jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva

jīvanti sanmukharitāṁ bhavadīya vārtām

sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir

ye prāyaśo ’jita jito ’py asi tais trilokyām

PATH FOR ATTAINING PERFECT SUCCESS – 

Lord Brahmā said, “O my Lord Kṛṣṇa, a devotee who abandons the path of empiric philosophical speculation aimed at merging in the existence of the Supreme and engages himself in hearing Your glories and activities from a bona fide sādhu, or saint, and who lives an honest life in the occupational engagement of his social life, can conquer Your sympathy and mercy even though You are ajita, or unconquerable.” (Bhāg. 10.14.3) That is the path of the paramahaṁsas, which was personally followed by Lord Brahmā and later recommended by him for attaining perfect success in life.

Failure  – at the death failing to remember Krsna. Most people are remembering their girl friend or boy friend, house, children, work , this that are other than Krsna and end up taking birth again. Sleeping, eating ,mating and defending, This is a very sad state. Close to 99 percent are in this condition. Simply die, not remember krsna, come back again and not knowing what body they will have.. Based on the last thoughts when they die.. 

Lord Caitanya never preached about  Radha and Krsna in public he actively engaged in Sankirtan yagna in the public chanting Hare Krsna,.. 

With genuine devotees He would discuss the past times of Radha and Krsna. Krsnadas Kaviraj Goswami although confidential revealed the private discussions with Ramanadarai, .. etc., 

Ramananda Rai was governor of south India.. Right next to King Prataparudra.. He was the Gopi Visakha. Visakha is one of most intimate servants of Srimati Radha Rani. 

CC MADHYA 8.21

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then inquired whether he was Rāmānanda Rāya, and he replied, “Yes, I am Your very low servant, and I belong to the śūdra community.”

CC MADHYA 8.22

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya very firmly. Indeed, both the master and the servant almost lost consciousness due to ecstatic love.

CC MADHYA 8.23

Their natural love for each other was awakened in them both, and they embraced and fell to the ground.

Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya was an incarnation of the gopī Viśākhā. Since Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, there was naturally an awakening of love between Viśākhā and Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the combination of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa, and the gopī Viśākhā is a principal gopī assisting Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Thus the natural love between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu awakened and they embraced.

CC MADHYA 8.24

When they embraced each other, ecstatic symptoms — paralysis, perspiration, tears, shivering, paleness and standing up of the bodily hairs — appeared. The word “Kṛṣṇa” came from their mouths falteringly.

CC MADHYA 8.25

When the stereotyped, ritualistic brāhmaṇas who were following the Vedic principles saw this ecstatic manifestation of love, they were struck with wonder. All these brāhmaṇas began to reflect as follows.

CC MADHYA 8.26

The brāhmaṇas thought, “We can see that this sannyāsī has a luster like the effulgence of Brahman, but how is it He is crying upon embracing a śūdra, a member of the fourth caste in the social order?”

CC MADHYA 8.27

They thought, “This Rāmānanda Rāya is the Governor of Madras, a highly learned and grave person, a mahā-paṇḍita, but upon touching this sannyāsī he has become restless like a madman.”

CC MADHYA 8.28

While the brāhmaṇas were thinking in this way about the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw those outsiders and restrained His transcendental emotions.

Rāmānanda Rāya was intimately related to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; therefore he can be accepted as a sajātīya, a person within the intimate circle of the Lord. The brāhmaṇas, however, were followers of the Vedic rituals and were not able to have an intimate connection with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Consequently they are called vijātīya-loka. In other words, they were not pure devotees. One may be a highly learned brāhmaṇa, but if he is not a pure devotee he is a vijātīya, an outcaste, one outside devotional service — in other words, a nondevotee. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya were embracing in ecstasy, the Lord restrained His transcendental emotions upon seeing the outsider brāhmaṇas.

 CC MADHYA 8.29

When they regained their sanity, they both sat down, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled and began to speak as follows.

CC MADHYA 8.29

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Rāmānanda Rāya, “Recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life.”

Rāmānanda replied, “If one executes the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In this connection, Śrī Rāmānujācārya states in the Vedārtha-saṅgraha that devotional service is naturally very dear to the living entity. Indeed, it is life’s goal. This devotional service is supreme knowledge, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and it brings detachment from all material activity. In the transcendental position, a living being can perfectly acknowledge the superiority of serving the Supreme Lord. The devotees attain the Supreme Lord only by devotional service. Having such knowledge, one engages in his occupational duty, and that is called bhakti-yoga. By performing bhakti-yoga, one can rise to the platform of pure devotional service.

A great saint, the father of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, Parāśara Muni, has specifically mentioned that devotional service to the Lord can ultimately be awakened in human society by the discharge of duties in accordance with the varṇāśrama system. The Supreme Personality of Godhead instituted varṇāśrama-dharma to give human beings a chance to return home, back to Godhead. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is known in the Bhagavad-gītā as Puruṣottama — the greatest of all personalities — personally came and declared that the institution of varṇāśrama-dharma was founded by Him. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13):

cātur-varṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ

tasya kartāram api māṁ viddhy akartāram avyayam

Elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.45-46) the Lord says:

sve sve karmaṇy abhirataḥ saṁsiddhiṁ labhate naraḥ

sva-karma-nirataḥ siddhiṁ yathā vindati tac chṛṇu

yataḥ pravṛttir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarcya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ

Human society should be divided into four divisions — brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra — and everyone should always engage in his occupational duty. The Lord says that those engaged in their occupational duty can attain perfection simply by rendering loving devotional service to the Lord while executing their particular duty. Actually the modern ideal of a classless society can be introduced only by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Let men perform their occupational duty, and let them give their profits to the service of the Lord. In other words, one can attain the perfection of life by discharging one’s occupational duty and employing the results in the service of the Lord. This method is confirmed by great personalities like Bodhāyana, Taṅka, Dramiḍa, Guhadeva, Kapardi and Bhāruci. It is also confirmed by the Vedānta-sūtra.

Occupational duty – plumber, artists, musician, engineer, husband, son, wife, daughter, brother.. 

Sanata Dharma – eternally engaging in the devotional service of the lord. 

If one executes devotional service under the guidance of the pure devotee even though a sudra or chandla.. They can go back to Godhead. 

Varnashrama dharma is meant to elevate people to devotional service.. But it is not happening these days. 

Daivi Varnashrama – Varanashrama with Krsna as the center. . “Let men perform their occupational duty, and let them give their profits to the service of the Lord. “ Modern workable varnashram.. one can attain the perfection of life by discharging one’s occupational duty and employing the results in the service of the Lord

According to Goswamis one (grihasta) has to give 50 percent of the income for spreading Krsna Consciousness while he is still married and having children.  At least some percent has to be given to Krsna’s activities.. They are also devotees. 

3 of the ashrams are celibates. Those 3 have to be completely renounced. Not accepting anything which is not needed. Should be completely renounced. They cannot be fat cats, they have to be thin cats, eat minimally, sleep minimally, remain celebate, not interested in bodybuilding. 

Grihastas should support the other 3 ashrams, 

CC MADHYA 8.58

“ ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṇa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṇas and āśramas.’

This is a quotation from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9). As stated by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, “The purport is that one can realize life’s perfection simply by satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.13):

ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ

sv-anuṣṭhitasya dharmasya saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam

“O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.”

In this temple we perform Daivi Varnashrama – we engage everyone in devotionals service… whatever varna or ashrama they are on.. 

Every man should perform his occupational duty in the light of his particular tendency. According to his abilities, one should accept a position in the varṇāśrama institution. The divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra are natural divisions within society. Indeed, everyone has a prescribed duty according to the varṇāśrama-dharma. Those who properly execute their prescribed duties live peacefully and are not disturbed by material conditions. The spiritual orders — brahmacarya, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa — are called āśramas. If one executes his prescribed duty in both the social and spiritual orders, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is satisfied. If one neglects his duties, however, he becomes a transgressor and a candidate for a hellish condition. Actually we see that different people are engaged in different ways; therefore there must be divisions according to work. To attain perfection, one must make devotional service the center of life. In this way one can awaken his natural instincts by work, association and education. One should accept the varṇāśrama divisions by qualification, not by birth. Unless this system is introduced, human activities cannot be systematically executed.

The brāhmaṇas are the intellectuals who can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are always engaged in the cultivation of knowledge. It does not matter whether one is born in India or outside India. Those who are naturally very heroic and who tend to rule over others are called kṣatriyas. Those who tend to produce food by agricultural methods, protect cows and other animals and engage in trade are called vaiśyas, or merchants. Those who are not sufficiently intelligent to be brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas or vaiśyas are required to serve a master and are called śūdras. Thus everyone can engage in the service of the Lord and awaken his natural Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If a society does not function according to such natural divisions, the social orders become degraded. The conclusion is that the scientific method of varṇāśrama-dharma should be adopted by society.

CC MADHYA 8.59

The Lord replied, “This is external. You had better tell Me of some other means.”

Rāmānanda replied, “To offer the results of one’s activities to Kṛṣṇa is the essence of all perfection.”

CC MADHYA 8.60

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “ ‘My dear son of Kuntī, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you perform, all the results of such activities should be offered to Me, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ ”