Srimad Bhavagavatham Class By HH HariVilas Maharaj

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.17 TODAY (09/23/21):

1. By giving everything to the cause of the Lord, one does not lose anything, but he gains everything that he could never otherwise expect.
2. Bali Mahārāja is the example of Atma Nivedanam. He gave all his material possessions, including himself to the Lord. 
3. When Bali Mahārāja was asked by Lord Vāmana for such small charity, Bali Mahārāja’s spiritual master, namely Śukrācārya, objected to this proposal because he knew that Vāmanadeva was Viṣṇu Himself, pretending to be a beggar.
4. Bali Mahārāja did not agree to abide by the order of his spiritual master when he understood that the beggar was Viṣṇu Himself, and he at once agreed to give Him in charity the land requested.
5. If the spiritual master violates the vedic knowledge, especially statements made by Krsna Himself. The disciple is not obliged to follow. Disciple has the right to reject if the Guru is not functioning as a guru and is violating the instructions of Acharyas and Krsna.
6. By this agreement Lord Vāmana covered all the lands of the universe with His first two steps and then asked Bali Mahārāja where to place the third step. 
7. Bali Mahārāja was very glad to receive the Lord’s remaining step upon his head, and thus Bali Mahārāja, instead of losing everything he possessed, was blessed by the Lord’s becoming his constant companion and doorman.
8. Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage.
9. “If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities perfectly?” 
10. Or, as the Christians say, “What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffers the loss of his eternal soul?”
11. Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness carries a person again to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even after the loss of the body. 
12. At least one is sure to have a chance in the next life of being born again as a human being, either in the family of a great cultured brāhmaṇa or in a rich aristocratic family that will give one a further chance for elevation. That is the unique quality of work done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 2.7.17 TRANSLATION:

The Lord, although transcendental to all material modes, still surpassed all the qualities of the sons of Aditi, known as the Ādityas. The Lord appeared as the youngest son of Aditi. And because He surpassed all the planets of the universe, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the pretense of asking for a measurement of three footsteps of land, He took away all the lands of Bali Mahārāja. He asked simply because without begging, no authority can take one’s rightful possession.

The history of Bali Mahārāja and his charity to Vāmanadeva is described in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bali Mahārāja conquered all the planets of the universe by rightful possession. A king can conquer other kings by strength, and such possession is considered to be rightful. So Bali Mahārāja possessed all the lands of the universe, and he happened to be charitably disposed toward the brāhmaṇas. The Lord therefore pretended to be a beggar brāhmaṇa, and He asked Bali Mahārāja for a measurement of three footsteps of land. The Lord, as the proprietor of everything, could take from Bali Mahārāja all the land he possessed, but he did not do so because Bali Mahārāja possessed all those lands by king’s rights. When Bali Mahārāja was asked by Lord Vāmana for such small charity, Bali Mahārāja’s spiritual master, namely Śukrācārya, objected to this proposal because he knew that Vāmanadeva was Viṣṇu Himself, pretending to be a beggar. Bali Mahārāja did not agree to abide by the order of his spiritual master when he understood that the beggar was Viṣṇu Himself, and he at once agreed to give Him in charity the land requested. By this agreement Lord Vāmana covered all the lands of the universe with His first two steps and then asked Bali Mahārāja where to place the third step. Bali Mahārāja was very glad to receive the Lord’s remaining step upon his head, and thus Bali Mahārāja, instead of losing everything he possessed, was blessed by the Lord’s becoming his constant companion and doorman.So, by giving everything to the cause of the Lord, one does not lose anything, but he gains everything that he could never otherwise expect.

Past time of Vamana dev – son of aditi and Kashyapa muni. Kasyapa muni married 9 daughters of Daksha.. With Aditi – DemiGod With Diti – Demon With Disha – Danavas

1. Bali Maharaj is an example of giving every possession to the Lord including himself. He is the example of Atma Nivedanam. Mind, Intelligence, senses, body.. When one gives something to the lord, he is not a loser, he wins that no one can ever expect, eternal body, bliss.. Bali maharaj attains an eternal planet and gets the eternal association of the lord.
2. Bali Mharaj rejects the spiritual master’s instructions. If the spiritual master violates the vedic knowledge, especially statements made by Krsna Himself. The disciple is not obliged to follow. Disciple has the right to reject if the Guru is not functioning as a guru and is violating the instructions of Acharyas and Krsna. 
3. Why did Sukracharya not want Bali to give any blessing to Vamana dev? He only asked 3 steps.. Because he understood that this dwarf is the Incarnation of the lord Himself and can take away everything that Bali has. Previously Sukra charya taught him that the enjoyer of all sacrifices is Krsna.. But now he is saying to not give.. This shows how one becomes denatured as soon as one has a material goal in spiritual life. 
4. Spiritual life should not have any material goal. One should have infinite spiritual goals. As long as one has a profit incentive, one cannot make any progress in Spirituality. Does that mean one cannot make any profit. No, you can earn all the money.. You only keep what is needed for you and give rest in the service of Krsna. No keeping to myself.. This is mine.. 
5. Dr. Patel – SP once said that there is a relationship with him from his previous life because they got along well. They used to go for walks.. Even though he was nonsense. He did respect SP and would argue on various topics. SP said he would like to give new dhotis, kurtas to all poor kids who are coming to the temple. Why dont you donate some money for this.. Patel said that I don’t have any money.. But SP said what do you mean,, he said that my wife has it all and I don’t make any decisions on that money.. We can see how profit incentives.. Lying, cheating, insulting even pure devotees and even Krsna.. We should be very careful in becoming contaminated with this profit incentive.. We should use every asset we have, in the service of Krsna and dovetail everything into Krsna’s service that is success of grihastha life
6. What is the meaning of Success. Our kids are falsely misled to think that Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Larry ellison.. Are successful people.. They are NOT, they are having all this money due to their previous karma. But they are doing things which will end them up in being born as Dog, animals.. 

BG 2.40  – 

nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti

pratyavāyo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya

trāyate mahato bhayāt

In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.

1. What is the dangerous type of fear – born as an animal, worm.. Insect… worm in a septic tank.. Imagine where you can end up. 

Activity in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Kṛṣṇa without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work begun on the material plane has to be completed, otherwise the whole attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has a permanent effect, even though not finished. The performer of such work is therefore not at a loss even if his work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is incomplete. One percent done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent, whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no profit. Ajāmila performed his duty in some percentage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but the result he enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord. There is a nice verse in this connection in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17):

“If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities perfectly?” Or, as the Christians say, “What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffer the loss of his eternal soul?”

Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in Kṛṣṇa consciousness carries a person again to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even after the loss of the body. At least one is sure to have a chance in the next life of being born again as a human being, either in the family of a great cultured brāhmaṇa or in a rich aristocratic family that will give one a further chance for elevation. That is the unique quality of work done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

This means that you CANNOT BE A LOSER IN KC. But you will definitely be a loser in the activities of sense gratification. SP uses nice phrase which we will learn tomorrow – 

Civilization of the mind, intellectual civilization, civilization of the spirit soul. Engaging in Bhakti yoga is civilization of the soul. One can only be a winner in that stage. Why should our children be duped to think – big money, big home, big car.. Big stool.. They should think small is good. We should not eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much.. We should be tempered in everything.. Anything acquired materially we will lose at the end when we die.. If we are KC in this life even if we get the animal body you will be able to remember the prayers like Gajendra. You will be a two time loser by following the culture of sense gratification. What Europe is, Russia is., AMerica is.. They are all civilization of sense gratification. 

To be honest, to be free of sinful activities, not be troubled by lust, anger greed, illusion, envy.. To be free of those things and to live an honest life and practice KC without any hesitation. 

BG 8.5 

And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

In this verse the importance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is stressed. Anyone who quits his body in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is at once transferred to the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the purest of the pure. Therefore anyone who is constantly Kṛṣṇa conscious is also the purest of the pure. The word smaran (“remembering”) is important. Remembrance of Kṛṣṇa is not possible for the impure soul who has not practiced Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service. Therefore one should practice Kṛṣṇa consciousness from the very beginning of life. If one wants to achieve success at the end of his life, the process of remembering Kṛṣṇa is essential. Therefore one should constantly, incessantly chant the mahā-mantra – Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Lord Caitanya has advised that one be as tolerant as a tree (taror api sahiṣṇunā). There may be so many impediments for a person who is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, tolerating all these impediments, one should continue to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, so that at the end of one’s life one can have the full benefit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Krsna is promising that you can go to Him if you chant Hare Krsna, honor prasadam and do timely devotional service. We should believe in Krsna and not the civilization of academia, civilization of intellectualism, we should be concerned with the civilization of the soul and spiritual life. What is the actual real success in life? Without understanding that we will be fooled by the numbers of people chasing after the rupees and dollars…

Haridas Thakur was never a loser even though he was beaten, treated unfairly by the brahmanas.. Lord Caitanya used to go to him after darshan of the lord and take him Jagannath Prasadam and feed him. He did not want to cause any social disruption.

I am not allowed in jagannath temple but I am not going to cause any riot or protest..

Gajendra is an example that you cannot be a loser in KC. 

https://youtu.be/TlSkrUTolag?t=4652

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.16:

1. The Lord resides in His Vaikuṇṭha planet. No one can estimate how far away this planet is situated. Anyone trying to reach that planet by airships or by mindships, traveling for millions of years, will find it still unknown.
2. Neither the airship nor the mindship has access to the kingdom of God in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, situated far beyond the material sky. 
3. How was it possible for the prayers of the elephant to be heard from such an unlimitedly distant place, and how could the Lord at once appear on the spot?
4. These things cannot be calculated by human imagination. All this was possible by the unlimited power of the Lord, and therefore the Lord is described here as aprameya, for not even the best human brain can estimate His powers and potencies by mathematical calculation. 
5. The Lord can hear from such a distant place, He can eat from there, and He can appear simultaneously in all places at a moment’s notice. Such is the omnipotency of the Lord.
6. Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life.
7. Even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
8. To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. 
9. It is imperative,  that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ). 
10. Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. 
11. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain. 
12. We should not forget the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra.
13. A devotee who engages in the service of the Supreme Lord and who constantly thinks of Him should never be considered to have a material body. It is therefore enjoined, guruṣu nara-matiḥ: one should stop thinking of the spiritual master as an ordinary human being with a material body
14. Atheists think that devotees foolishly worship a stone statue as God and an ordinary man as the guru. 
15. “Let us therefore offer our obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose mercy so-called material things also become spiritual when they are engaged in spiritual activity.” – This is the alternate translation of BG 4.24
16. The Absolute Truth covered by māyā is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality.
17. We Learnt  2 important things today – Even if one takes birth as an animal after being a devotee in human body.. It is possible to be able to remember the prayers one said previouslyIt is possible to transform material things into spirit by the process of engaging in devotional service.. These are the unique qualities attained by engaging in devotional service. Therefore it is impossible to be a loser in KC. 

SB 2.7.16 TRANSLATION:

​​The Personality of Godhead, after hearing the elephant’s plea, felt that the elephant needed His immediate help, for he was in great distress. Thus at once the Lord appeared there on the wings of the king of birds, Garuḍa, fully equipped with His weapon, the wheel [cakra]. With the wheel He cut to pieces the mouth of the crocodile to save the elephant, and He delivered the elephant by lifting him by his trunk.

The Lord resides in His Vaikuṇṭha planet. No one can estimate how far away this planet is situated. It is said, however, that anyone trying to reach that planet by airships or by mindships, traveling for millions of years, will find it still unknown. Modern scientists have invented airships which are material, and the yogīs make a still finer material attempt to travel by mindships. The yogīs can reach any distant place very quickly with the help of mindships. But neither the airship nor the mindship has access to the kingdom of God in the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, situated far beyond the material sky. Since this is the situation, how was it possible for the prayers of the elephant to be heard from such an unlimitedly distant place, and how could the Lord at once appear on the spot? These things cannot be calculated by human imagination. All this was possible by the unlimited power of the Lord, and therefore the Lord is described here as aprameya, for not even the best human brain can estimate His powers and potencies by mathematical calculation. The Lord can hear from such a distant place, He can eat from there, and He can appear simultaneously in all places at a moment’s notice. Such is the omnipotency of the Lord.

SB 8.3.1

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: Thereafter, the King of the elephants, Gajendra, fixed his mind in his heart with perfect intelligence and chanted a mantra which he had learned in his previous birth as Indradyumna and which he remembered by the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

SP says – Every devotee should function within his own element or function. Prabhu datta desh. For the elephant it is the land. Water is the prabhudatta desh of the crocodile. The longer the elephant fought in the water he became weak, the crocodile became stronger. Prabhupada we should find a situation that is comfortable and natural for us.. That way we develop strength.. If we put ourselves in difficult situations to practice KC then we should move away from there as our sustainable spiritual progress may hinder.. For example if we go to a place where all the wars happen it will be hard. One should stay in their element.  Just like people move closer to the temple to make it easier to participate in KC activities and progress. The idea is that everything is available easily if you are near the temple if you want it. Of Course there are people who are around the temple but never come to the temple except for Janmashtami.. 

We should live in a place where it is relatively easy to come to the temple – daily darshan,.. Classes.. 

In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained later, Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life. 

This is unbelievable, amazing.. This is the mercy of the lord.. Any progress made in KC is never lost even if the human body is not there.. 

Yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana. To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

You are never a loser when you are in KC.. 

BG 2.40

nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti

pratyavāyo na vidyate

sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya

trāyate mahato bhayāt

In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.

Most dangerous type of fear – losing human body and getting an animal body… 

Even though you are in the animal body, Krsna will help you remember who youwere and what you were .. 

There is this French philosopher.. Blaze Pascal.. A very smart guys… Belief in God is flipping a coin. He said if you dont believe in God then the chance that God exists is 50-50.. If you do not believe in God, then you live a life of sins.. then you are 2 time loser.. If there is God. 

If you believe in God.. then you live a pious life and when you die you are 2 times winner.. 

It is imperative, therefore, that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ). 

It is impossible to be a loser in KC.. 

Every devotee should practice in order to chant some mantra perfectly so that even though he may be imperfect in spiritual consciousness in this life, in his next life he will not forget Kṛṣṇa consciousness, even if he becomes an animal. Of course, a devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some falldown, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain. For example, Ajāmila, in his boyhood, practiced chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa under the direction of his father, but later, in his youth, he fell down and became a drunkard, woman-hunter, rogue and thief. Nonetheless, because of chanting the name of Nārāyaṇa for the purpose of calling his son, whom he had named Nārāyaṇa, he became advanced, even though he was involved in sinful activities. Therefore, we should not forget the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra.

We are so lucky to learn this today.. We need to celebrate today. We need to come to the class everyday to learn.. 

SB 8.3.2

The King of the elephants, Gajendra, said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person, Vāsudeva [oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya]. Because of Him this material body acts due to the presence of spirit, and He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahmā and Śiva, and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him.

In this verse the words etac cid-ātmakam are very important. The material body certainly consists only of material elements, but when one awakens to Kṛṣṇa conscious understanding, the body is no longer material but spiritual. The material body is meant for sense enjoyment, whereas the spiritual body engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Therefore, a devotee who engages in the service of the Supreme Lord and who constantly thinks of Him should never be considered to have a material body. It is therefore enjoined, guruṣu nara-matiḥ: one should stop thinking of the spiritual master as an ordinary human being with a material body. Arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīḥ: everyone knows that the Deity in the temple is made of stone, but to think that the Deity is merely stone is an offense. Similarly, to think that the body of the spiritual master consists of material ingredients is offensive. Atheists think that devotees foolishly worship a stone statue as God and an ordinary man as the guru. The fact is, however, that by the grace of Kṛṣṇa’s omnipotence, the so-called stone statue of the Deity is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the body of the spiritual master is directly spiritual. A pure devotee who is engaged in unalloyed devotional service should be understood to be situated on the transcendental platform (sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate). “Let us therefore offer our obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose mercy so-called material things also become spiritual when they are engaged in spiritual activity.” – This is a paraphrase of the BG4.24  “A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.”

If we do not read the purports we will not understand what KC is all about. Bonafide Guru – hearing the words spoken by Krsna, repeated by Acharyas and explained by the guru. 

BG 4.24 – The Lord is spiritual, and the rays of His transcendental body are called brahma-jyotir, His spiritual effulgence. Everything that exists is situated in that brahma-jyotir, but when the jyotir is covered by illusion (māyā) or sense gratification, it is called material. This material veil can be removed at once by Kṛṣṇa consciousness; thus the offering for the sake of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the consuming agent of such an offering or contribution, the process of consumption, the contributor and the result are – all combined together – Brahman, or the Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth covered by māyā is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme. When the mind is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it is said to be in samādhi, or trance. Anything done in such transcendental consciousness is called yajña, or sacrifice for the Absolute. In that condition of spiritual consciousness, the contributor, the contribution, the consumption, the performer or leader of the performance and the result or ultimate gain – everything – becomes one in the Absolute, the Supreme Brahman. That is the method of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The alternate translation of 4.24 – “Let us therefore offer our obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose mercy so-called material things also become spiritual when they are engaged in spiritual activity.” 

We Learnt  2 important things today – 

1. Even if one takes birth as an animal after being a devotee in human body.. It is possible to be able to remember the prayers one said previously
2. It is possible to transform material things into spirit by the process of engaging in devotional service.. 

These are the unique qualities attained by engaging in devotional service. Therefore it is impossible to be a loser in KC. 

Q – Be in a place where is comfortable or convenient to progress in KC. 

Example – One friend of Maharaj has a 7/11 store and said he realized it is a horrible thing, after listening to your lectures.. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.15:

1. Since the Lord is absolute knowledge, there is no difference between His holy name and the Personality of Godhead.
2. Because the elephant was a great devotee of the Lord in his previous birth, he was able to chant the holy name of the Lord by dint of his past good deeds. 
3. Every living entity is always distressed in this material world because this place is such that at every step one has to meet with some kind of distress. 
4. But one who is supported by his past good deeds engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord (BG 7.16)
5. Those who are supported by impious acts cannot be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, even though they are distressed (BG 7.15)
6. The Personality of Godhead Hari appeared at once on the back of His eternal bearer, Garuḍa, and delivered the elephant.
7. The elephant was conscious of his relation with the Supreme Lord. He addressed the Lord as ādi-puruṣa, or the original enjoyer. 
8. Both the Lord and the living beings are conscious and are therefore enjoyers, but the Lord is the original enjoyer because He is the creator of everything. 
9. In a family, both the father and his sons are undoubtedly enjoyers but the father is the original enjoyer, and the sons are subsequent enjoyers.
10. A pure devotee knows well that everything in the universe is the property of the Lord and that a living entity can enjoy a thing as ordained by the Lord.
11. A living being cannot even touch a thing which is not allotted to him.  One who knows this difference between the Lord and himself never accepts anything without first offering it to the Lord.
12. The elephant addressed the Lord as akhila-loka-nātha, or the Lord of the universe, who is therefore the Lord of the elephant also.
13. The elephant, being a pure devotee of the Lord, specifically deserved to be saved from the attack of the crocodile, and because it is a promise of the Lord that His devotee will never be vanquished, it was quite befitting that the elephant called upon the Lord to protect him, and the merciful Lord also at once responded.
14. The Lord is the protector of everyone, but He is the first protector of one who acknowledges the superiority of the Lord instead of being so falsely proud as to deny the superiority of the Lord or to claim to be equal to Him. He is ever superior.
15. A pure devotee is given first preference because of his full dependence, whereas the person who denies the existence of the Lord and declares himself the Lord is called asura, and as such, he is given protection by the strength of limited power subject to the sanction of the Lord.
16. One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. 
17. For a pure devotee, there is no need to go to the holy place of pilgrimage. He can be delivered from all sinful acts simply by remembering the Lord in earnestness.
18. The Lord’s holy name is called śravaṇa-maṅgala.This means that one receives everything auspicious simply by hearing the holy name. In another place in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, His holy name is described as puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana. It is a pious act simply to chant and hear all about the Lord.
19. Maharaj says that this is one of his favorite pastimes of the Lord. He says that we are all Gajendras. Every one of us has a crocodile biting our leg in the form of – 3 fold miseries, time, cycle, birth, death, old age and disease, lust, anger, envy, greed,… all these things are biting our leg and making us suffer like Gajendra.. But Gajendra being a pure devotee was able to remember the lord and pray to Him and the lord protected Him. We also need to pray to the Lord, call for the Lord everyday by chanting mahamantra and asking  Him to protect us from the crocodile so we can serve Him. If we sincerely chant the Maha Mantra, Krsna will deliver us from the crocodile..and protect us.. this protection is needed everyday.

SB 2.7.15 TRANSLATION:

The leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in a river by a crocodile of superior strength, was much aggrieved. Taking a lotus flower in his trunk, he addressed the Lord, saying, “O original enjoyer, Lord of the universe! O deliverer, as famous as a place of pilgrimage! All are purified simply by hearing Your holy name, which is worthy to be chanted.”

The history of delivering the leader of the elephants, whose leg was attacked in the river by the superior strength of a crocodile, is described in the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Since the Lord is absolute knowledge, there is no difference between His holy name and the Personality of Godhead. The leader of the elephants was much distressed when he was attacked by the crocodile. Although the elephant is always stronger than the crocodile, the latter is stronger than the elephant when it is in the water. And because the elephant was a great devotee of the Lord in his previous birth, he was able to chant the holy name of the Lord by dint of his past good deeds. Every living entity is always distressed in this material world because this place is such that at every step one has to meet with some kind of distress. But one who is supported by his past good deeds engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.16). Those who are supported by impious acts cannot be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, even though they are distressed. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15). The Personality of Godhead Hari appeared at once on the back of His eternal bearer, Garuḍa, and delivered the elephant.

The elephant was conscious of his relation with the Supreme Lord. He addressed the Lord as ādi-puruṣa, or the original enjoyer. Both the Lord and the living beings are conscious and are therefore enjoyers, but the Lord is the original enjoyer because He is the creator of everything. In a family, both the father and his sons are undoubtedly enjoyers but the father is the original enjoyer, and the sons are subsequent enjoyers. A pure devotee knows well that everything in the universe is the property of the Lord and that a living entity can enjoy a thing as ordained by the Lord. A living being cannot even touch a thing which is not allotted to him. This idea of the original enjoyer is explained very nicely in the Īśopaniṣad.

Lord is the primary isvara and we are the followers of the lord…

 One who knows this difference between the Lord and himself never accepts anything without first offering it to the Lord.

They don’t teach this in school.. They say that you are the enjoyer.. When they say goodbye they say enjoy.. Means you are the first enjoyer.. The false ego bathing happens in the school. The whole purpose is to reject the instructions of the lord.. 

The elephant addressed the Lord as akhila-loka-nātha, or the Lord of the universe, who is therefore the Lord of the elephant also. 

Today we did Annaprasanna… the reason you are doing this is to understand that we all subsist on grains… grains come through rains, rains come through yagnas, yagnas are produced by regulated activities by the pious person, the ultimate beneficiary of all the yagnas is Lord Krsna.. If you recognize this … we will use everything in the service of the lord. Krsna promises that one who recognizes Him as the supreme and always remembers Him… just understanding these two things and acting on them is enough to go back to Godhead…

The elephant, being a pure devotee of the Lord, specifically deserved to be saved from the attack of the crocodile, and because it is a promise of the Lord that His devotee will never be vanquished, it was quite befitting that the elephant called upon the Lord to protect him, and the merciful Lord also at once responded. 

If we call the lord every day sincerely he will protect us.. 

How do we know Gajendra is the devotee of the lord? CANTO 8.3

In this chapter, the prayers by Gajendra, the King of the elephants, are described. It appears that the King of the elephants was formerly a human being known as Indradyumna and that he learned a prayer to the Supreme Lord. Fortunately he remembered that prayer and began to chant it to himself. First he offered his respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because of his awkward position in having been attacked by the crocodile, he expressed his inability to recite prayers nicely. Nonetheless, he tried to chant the mantra and expressed himself in appropriate words as follows.

This is amazing,… he is human in previous life and now he is an elephant he was able to remember the prayer when the crocodile bit his leg 

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all causes, the original person from whom everything has emanated. He is the root cause of this cosmic manifestation, and the entire cosmos rests in Him, yet He is transcendental, for He does everything in relation to the material world through His external energy. He is eternally situated in the spiritual world — in Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka Vṛndāvana — where He engages in His eternal pastimes. The material world is a product of His external energy, or material nature, which works under His direction. It is thus that creation, maintenance and annihilation take place. The Lord exists at all times. This is extremely difficult for a nondevotee to understand. Although the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead is perceivable by everyone, only the pure devotees perceive His presence and activities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is completely free from material birth, death, old age and disease. Indeed, if anyone in this material world takes shelter of Him, he also becomes situated in that transcendental position. For the satisfaction of the devotee (paritrāṇāya sādhūnām), the Lord appears and exhibits His activities. His appearance, disappearance and other pastimes are not at all material. One who knows this secret can enter the kingdom of God. In the Lord, all opposing elements are adjusted. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. He is the controller of everything, He is the witness of all activities, and He is the original source of all living entities. Indeed, all living entities are parts of Him, for He is the origin of Mahā-Viṣṇu, who is the source of the living entities within this material world. The Lord can observe the activities of our senses, which can work and achieve material results because of His mercy. Although He is the original source of everything, He is untouched by any of His by-products. In this way He is like a gold mine, which is the source of gold in ornaments and yet is different from the ornaments themselves. The Lord is worshiped by the method prescribed in the Pañcarātras. He is the source of our knowledge, and He can give us liberation. Therefore it is our duty to understand Him according to the instructions of devotees, in particular the spiritual master. Although for us the mode of goodness is covered, by following the instructions of saintly persons and the spiritual master we can be freed from material clutches.

“The self-effulgent material form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is adored by nondevotees*, His impersonal form is adored by those advanced in spiritual knowledge, and His feature as the localized Supersoul is appreciated by yogīs. But His original form as a person is understood only by devotees. 

*Nondevotees-  that means Everyone is attracted to Krsna even though they are not a devotee. The first time I saw a poster of Krsna is in Beirut.. I went to a meat shop to buy a meat sandwich.. I saw a beautiful form with a cow, beautiful jewelry.. Afterwards I left.. That is such a nice poster.. Later on I found out that it was Krsna.. See even the non devotees are attracted.. Self effulgent material form – Deities, pictures.. 

That Supreme Personality of Godhead is competent to dissipate the darkness of the conditioned soul through His instructions in Bhagavad-gītā. He is the ocean of transcendental qualities and can be understood only by liberated persons freed from the bodily concept of life. By His causeless mercy, the Lord can rescue the conditioned soul from the material clutches and enable him to return home, back to Godhead, to become His personal associate. Nonetheless, a pure devotee does not aspire to go back to Godhead; 

This is the prayer Gajendra realized.. Every statement is a deep realization  and is going on and on…

he is simply satisfied with executing his service in this material world. A pure devotee does not ask anything from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His only prayer is to be freed from the material conception of life and to be engaged in the Lord’s transcendental loving service.”

In this way the King of the elephants, Gajendra, offered prayers directly to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without mistaking Him for one of the demigods. None of the demigods came to see him, not even Brahmā or Śiva. Rather, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, seated on Garuḍa, personally appeared before him. Gajendra, by lifting his trunk, offered obeisances to the Lord, and the Lord immediately pulled him from the water along with the crocodile who had captured his leg. Then the Lord killed the crocodile and thus rescued Gajendra.

If we are lucky we can also pray like this. Explain everything about lord, your faith in Him,, absolute guaranteed assurance that lord will come and save you when you are in difficulty. This is the story of KC. we should meditate on Gajendra’s prayers everyday.. That way we are safe and sound in our determination of KC.. 

The Lord is the protector of everyone, but He is the first protector of one who acknowledges the superiority of the Lord instead of being so falsely proud as to deny the superiority of the Lord or to claim to be equal to Him. He is ever superior.

A pure devotee of the Lord knows this difference between the Lord and himself. Therefore a pure devotee is given first preference because of his full dependence, whereas the person who denies the existence of the Lord and declares himself the Lord is called asura, and as such, he is given protection by the strength of limited power subject to the sanction of the Lord. Since the Lord is superior to everyone, His perfection is also superior. No one can imagine it.

The elephant addressed the Lord as tīrtha-śravaḥ, or “as famous as a place of pilgrimage.” People go to places of pilgrimage in order to be delivered from the reactions of unknown sinful acts. But one can be freed from all sinful reactions simply by remembering His holy name. The Lord is therefore as good as the holy places of pilgrimage. One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. For a pure devotee, there is no need to go to the holy place of pilgrimage. He can be delivered from all sinful acts simply by remembering the Lord in earnestness. 

If a pure devotees commits sin unknowingly

A pure devotee of the Lord never commits any sinful acts, but because the whole world is full of the sinful atmosphere, even a pure devotee may commit a sin unconsciously, as a matter of course. One who commits sinful acts consciously cannot be worthy of being a devotee of the Lord, but a pure devotee who unconsciously does something sinful is certainly delivered by the Lord because a pure devotee remembers the Lord always.

The Lord’s holy name is called śravaṇa-maṅgala. 

This means that one receives everything auspicious simply by hearing the holy name. In another place in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, His holy name is described as puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtana. It is a pious act simply to chant and hear all about the Lord. The Lord descends to this earth and acts like others in connection with the activities of the world just to create subject matters for hearing about Him; otherwise the Lord has nothing to do in this world, nor has He any obligation to do anything. He comes out of His own causeless mercy and acts as He desires. The Vedas and Purāṇas are full of descriptions of His different activities so that people in general may naturally be eager to hear and read something about His activities. Generally, however, the modern fictions and novels of the world occupy a greater part of people’s valuable time. Such literatures cannot do good to anyone; on the contrary, they agitate the young mind unnecessarily and increase the modes of passion and ignorance, leading to increasing bondage to the material conditions. The same aptitude for hearing and reading is better utilized in hearing and reading of the Lord’s activities. This will give one all-around benefit.

It is concluded, therefore, that the holy name of the Lord and topics in relation with Him are always worth hearing, and therefore He is called here in this verse nāma-dheya, or one whose holy name is worth chanting.

This history of Gajendra is one of my favorite past times of the lord because, all of us are like gajendra.. We all have a crocodile holding on us and not letting us go. The crocodile is lust, greed and anger. It is so horrible to see this powerful animal biting us and not letting us go.. The good news is – there are 4 kinds of people who engage in service of come to Krsna – 

BG 7.16 

catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ

janāḥ su-kṛtino ’rjuna

ārto jijñāsur arthārthī

jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

O best among the Bhāratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.

None of these persons have a pure desire. But the last one is better than others. But when they meet a pure devotee and get trained in pure devotional service they can become pure devotees.

When these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service and are completely purified by the association of a pure devotee, they also become pure devotees. As far as the miscreants are concerned, for them devotional service is very difficult because their lives are selfish, irregular and without spiritual goals. But even some of them, by chance, when they come in contact with a pure devotee, also become pure devotees.

See how regulation is extremely important for one’s progress in spiritual life.. Inoculation against maya – sleeping early, waking up early, … the goal is to become a pure devotee to think of Krsna.. When the crocodile is biting the leg Gajendra is thinking of Krsna.. Everyone has a crocodile biting our leg in the form of – 3 fold miseries, time, cycle birth, death, old age and disease, lust, anger, envy, greed,… all these things are biting our leg and making it bleed and hurt us. The tree is able to suffer unbelievably as its consciousness is low. If our consciousness is low we will also suffer all the time.. When the person is suffering terribly… they are desperately seeking to end the suffering.. They take drugs… sometimes there is an induced coma.. If you are in constant pain you will be panicking… they induce comma and put a person in low consciousness they can suffer the pain without freaking out and disturbing the healing process.. Similarly people take drugs to lower the consciousness.. 

The elephant on the other hand is conscious of his relationship with the supreme lord.. He is still able to remember his relationship with the lord why? Because in his previous life he acted piously.. Even though he has an animal body he is able to remember some remnants from his previous life… That is why one is never a loser when engaged in devotional service.. You start from the point you left off.. 

Maharaj – how can we depend on the lord but at the same time not be lazy

If you engage in sense gratification … suffering is followed.. 

Sense gratification is the crocodile… 

We need to be saved everyday.. We call upon Him everyday.. So we chant our rounds.. 

Dear Krsna and Radha please protect me so I can always serve you.. 

That’s how powerful is mahamantra.. Lord protects us from the crocodile we are bitten by.. 

We have to hear everyday.. If we did anything lord supplied.. We have to hear everyday.. Our disease is forgetfulness. That is why I like this pastime.. Lot of deep philosophical understanding.. Gajendra has a bunch of wives.. King of the jungle he went to the water to bathe and enjoy.. All of a sudden this crocodile comes in and bites his legs.. On land gajendra is stronger than crocodile.. In the water crocodiles are stronger.. He starts praying.. The Lord is pleased and protects him. If we are not KC we will be eaten by crocodiles.. 

We should recite these prayers.. We do not need to make up prayers.. We have to glorify the lord.. We dont have to ask him.. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.14 – Part 5  TODAY (09/19/21):

1. SB 7.15.19 – Because of greed for the sake of the senses, the spiritual strength, education, austerity and reputation of a devotee or brāhmaṇa who is not self-satisfied dwindle, and his knowledge gradually vanishes.
2. SB 7.15.16 – One who is content and satisfied and who links his activities with the Supreme Personality of Godhead residing in everyone’s heart enjoys transcendental happiness without endeavoring for his livelihood. Where is such happiness for a materialistic man who is impelled by lust and greed and who therefore wanders in all directions with a desire to accumulate wealth?
3. SB 7.15.17 – For a person who has suitable shoes on his feet, there is no danger even when he walks on pebbles and thorns. For him, everything is auspicious. Similarly, for one who is always self-satisfied there is no distress; indeed, he feels happiness everywhere.
4. SB 7.15.18 – My dear King, a self-satisfied person can be happy even with only drinking water. However, one who is driven by the senses, especially by the tongue and genitals, must accept the position of a household dog to satisfy his senses.
5. SB 7.15.20 – The strong bodily desires and needs of a person disturbed by hunger and thirst are certainly satisfied when he eats. Similarly, if one becomes very angry, that anger is satisfied by chastisement and its reaction. But as for greed, even if a greedy person has conquered all the directions of the world or has enjoyed everything in the world, still he will not be satisfied.
6. When there is an increase in lobha, or greed, which is the greatest enemy caused by rajo-guṇa, the mode of passion, how can one advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
7. If one is very greedy to enhance his Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this is a great boon. Tatra laulyam ekalaṁ mūlam. This is the best path available.
8. For spiritual advancement, one should be materially satisfied, for if one is not materially satisfied, his greed for material development will result in the frustration of his spiritual advancement. 
9. There are two things that nullify all good qualities. One is poverty. Daridra-doṣo guṇa-rāśi-nāśī. If one is poverty-stricken, all his good qualities become null and void.
10. Similarly, if one becomes too greedy, his good qualifications are lost. Therefore the adjustment is that one should not be poverty-stricken, but one must try to be fully satisfied with the bare necessities of life and not be greedy. 
11. For a devotee to be satisfied with the bare necessities is therefore the best advice for spiritual advancement. 
12. SB 7.15.22 – By making plans with determination, one should give up lusty desires for sense gratification. Similarly, by giving up envy one should conquer anger, by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed, and by discussing the truth one should give up fear.
13.  If one is determined not to live with a woman, even while seeing a woman he will not become lusty. If one is determined not to have sex, he can automatically conquer lusty desires. 
14. Even if one is hungry, if on a particular day he is determined to observe fasting, he can naturally conquer the disturbances of hunger and thirst. 
15. If one is determined not to be envious of anyone, he can naturally conquer anger.
16. Similarly, one can give up the desire to accumulate wealth simply by considering how difficult it is to protect the money in one’s possession. 
17. If one keeps a large amount of cash with him, he is always anxious about keeping it properly. 
18. Thus if one discusses the disadvantages of accumulating wealth, he can naturally give up business without difficulty.
19. By discussing spiritual knowledge one can conquer lamentation and illusion, by serving a great devotee one can become prideless, by keeping silent one can avoid obstacles on the path of mystic yoga, and simply by stopping sense gratification one can conquer envy.

SB 2.7.14 – Part 5 

We are going to hear the real problem of human life, the one that most people cannot control. Very precious information, gives deep understanding of why people have difficulty controlling lust, greed and anger. How it contaminates everything they do and it is impossible for them to be KC. 

Unless they meet and serve a pure devotee, if they have the ability to be humble and allow them to be instructed.. It is very impossible and they are overwhelmed by the lust, greed and anger all the time. 

SB 7.15.19 

Because of greed for the sake of the senses, the spiritual strength, education, austerity and reputation of a devotee or brāhmaṇa who is not self-satisfied dwindle, and his knowledge gradually vanishes.

One is greedy for sense gratification. This happens during puberty.. All their desires from previous lives are awakened. They are overwhelmed. They become attracted to illicit activities in the form of music sense gratification and excitement and titillation of the senses and all these things… The key word here is SELF SATISFIED. It is discussed in the previous verses… 

SB 7.15.16 

One who is content and satisfied and who links his activities with the Supreme Personality of Godhead residing in everyone’s heart enjoys transcendental happiness without endeavoring for his livelihood. Where is such happiness for a materialistic man who is impelled by lust and greed and who therefore wanders in all directions with a desire to accumulate wealth?

SB 7.15.17 

For a person who has suitable shoes on his feet, there is no danger even when he walks on pebbles and thorns. For him, everything is auspicious. Similarly, for one who is always self-satisfied there is no distress; indeed, he feels happiness everywhere.

SB 7.15.18 

My dear King, a self-satisfied person can be happy even with only drinking water. However, one who is driven by the senses, especially by the tongue and genitals, must accept the position of a household dog to satisfy his senses.

Household dog refers to a person who is married very attached to family, attached to making money, maintain prestige, gadgets, vacations.. Unending greed for material sense gratification…

SB 7.15.20 

The strong bodily desires and needs of a person disturbed by hunger and thirst are certainly satisfied when he eats. Similarly, if one becomes very angry, that anger is satisfied by chastisement and its reaction. But as for greed, even if a greedy person has conquered all the directions of the world or has enjoyed everything in the world, still he will not be satisfied.

In Bhagavad-gītā (3.37) it is stated that lust, anger and greed are the causes of the conditioned soul’s bondage in this material world. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. When strong lusty desires for sense gratification are unfulfilled, one becomes angry. This anger can be satisfied when one chastises his enemy, but when there is an increase in lobha, or greed, which is the greatest enemy caused by rajo-guṇa, the mode of passion, how can one advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

If one is very greedy to enhance his Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this is a great boon. Tatra laulyam ekalaṁ mūlam. This is the best path available.

Greed can never be satisfied.. Anger can be satisfied… Story of 4 boys who are climbing the mountain.. Saw copper utensils.. at an elevation and one of the boy said I will collect copper things, go home and sell and make money,,.. Rest of the 3 kept going and to find more.. Next elevation has gold vessels.. One of them wants to take them home and make money.. Other one wants to see even better.. He kept going up and up to find even valuable things.. He sees a man with something on his head.. And the bird picked it and it dropped on his head… it was heavy.. The man said thank you for coming and taking my curse as I was too greedy. I got this greed wheel curse..  This final boy got stuck. 

Instead of becoming greedy for money, prestige.. We should become greedy for Krsna Consciousness.. 

SB 7.15.21

O King Yudhiṣṭhira, many persons with varied experience, many legal advisers, many learned scholars and many persons eligible to become presidents of learned assemblies fall down into hellish life because of not being satisfied with their positions.

For spiritual advancement, one should be materially satisfied, for if one is not materially satisfied, his greed for material development will result in the frustration of his spiritual advancement. 

There are two things that nullify all good qualities. 

One is poverty. Daridra-doṣo guṇa-rāśi-nāśī. If one is poverty-stricken, all his good qualities become null and void. 

Similarly, if one becomes too greedy, his good qualifications are lost. Therefore the adjustment is that one should not be poverty-stricken, but one must try to be fully satisfied with the bare necessities of life and not be greedy. For a devotee to be satisfied with the bare necessities is therefore the best advice for spiritual advancement. Learned authorities in devotional life consequently advise that one not endeavor to increase the number of temples and maṭhas. Such activities can be undertaken only by devotees experienced in propagating the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. All the ācāryas in South India, especially Śrī Rāmānujācārya, constructed many big temples, and in North India all the Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana constructed large temples. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura also constructed large centers, known as Gauḍīya Maṭhas. Therefore temple construction is not bad, provided proper care is taken for the propagation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Even if such endeavors are considered greedy, the greed is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, and therefore these are spiritual activities.

A materialist who wants to acquire many things, even opening temples, societies, but that is because of material greed. It is not a pure thing. On the other hand someone wants to build temples to train people in KC .. that type of greed is good. It fills the desire of Krsna.. That all living beings come back to him. The majority of them are in the spiritual world and a minority of them revolted and came here into this material world which has 3 types of miseries.. There is sex desire, greed, anger.. We are in bad position in this material world. We are harassed by material nature.. We cannot stop birth death old age and disease.. With alll themedicines and hospitals.. People are dying.. With all the contraceptives.. But people are still born,. Material nature works under the devas who work under Krsna.. It is inferior energy of Krsna and it is impossible to overcome.. Stupid people believes the nonsense that death, old age can be conquered..

Instead of trying to control the death , old age,, one should try to control the lust greed and anger.. 

SB 7.15.22

By making plans with determination, one should give up lusty desires for sense gratification. Similarly, by giving up envy one should conquer anger, by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed, and by discussing the truth one should give up fear.

Just like lets make a plan to chant 16 good rounds early in the morning every day. Lets make a plan to come to temple and listen to the class everyday,, this is the solution to stop the lusty desires.. 

People become angry because one is envious of someone or something.. Envy is you want something so badly, that you are only satisfied only when you get it and others dont get it…. Example – Staple food of Irish – potatoes.. British bought up all the potatoes and stoked them in military warehouses.. They destroyed the crop.. This caused tremendous famine.. Many irish people left Ireland and went to other countries.. They did the same thing in Bengal.. Technique of taking away things and keeping to oneself so no one else gets it.. The inflation.. All these are games played by the greedy people.. Ravana was lusty of Women and envious of men who have beautiful women.. Mandodari is very beautiful.. That is not enough.. 

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has suggested how one can conquer lusty desires for sense gratification. One cannot give up thinking of women, for thinking in this way is natural; even while walking on the street, one will see so many women. However, if one is determined not to live with a woman, even while seeing a woman he will not become lusty. If one is determined not to have sex, he can automatically conquer lusty desires.The example given in this regard is that even if one is hungry, if on a particular day he is determined to observe fasting, he can naturally conquer the disturbances of hunger and thirst. If one is determined not to be envious of anyone, he can naturally conquer anger. Similarly, one can give up the desire to accumulate wealth simply by considering how difficult it is to protect the money in one’s possession. If one keeps a large amount of cash with him, he is always anxious about keeping it properly. Thus if one discusses the disadvantages of accumulating wealth, he can naturally give up business without difficulty.

There was once a relatively poor Brahmana.. He lived near a Businessman.. He came to the Brahmanas house and said “ can I speak to you please? I don’t trust even my wife and kids.. I have a lot of money.. I am going on a long trip.. I want you to protect my money while I am gone.. “ Brahmana was not sure but agreed to help.. Late one night he hears soft knocking on the door.. He looks out the window and sees the business man came with a box of jewels.. And gives it to him and leaves. The wife of Brahmana sees and asks “who was that and what was that.. He said he does not trust anyone and he only trusts me.. “They are so worried of the money they are always watching it and protecting and miss mangala arti… and they dig a hole with hands to bury the box.. They feel there is so much trouble with money.. Finally the Brahmana said, I cant chant, cant eat, cant say mantras and I cant even pass stool.. He goes takes the box and gives to the wife of Business man and tells the truth and she is shocked.. He says never come to me you or your husband..

This is the problem greed causes… 

SB 7.15.23

By discussing spiritual knowledge one can conquer lamentation and illusion, by serving a great devotee one can become prideless, by keeping silent one can avoid obstacles on the path of mystic yoga, and simply by stopping sense gratification one can conquer envy.

Lust, anger, greed and envy.. Just destroy a person.. It is not simple as this.. One must accept a bonafide guru to overcome these kids of negative influences in life.. 

Greed comes in any form subtle form.. SATISFACTION is the key.. The  three boys were satisfied and the fourth one was not and look at what happened to him. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.14 – Part 4 TODAY (09/18/21):

1. Knowledge of devotional service can be neither inauspicious nor contrary to etiquette. To learn devotional service is the duty of everyone. Therefore the spontaneous education of Prahlāda Mahārāja is supported as auspicious and perfect.
2. Politicians, philosophers and scholars are interested in using Bhagavad-gītā as a vehicle for adjusting things materially, for them constant thought of Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is impossible (matir na kṛṣṇe).
3. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: only through devotional service can one understand Kṛṣṇa as He is.
4. Those who are gṛha-vrata, whose only aim is to live comfortably with the body in the material world, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. 
5. Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to know where Prahlāda had gotten this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Who had taught him? Prahlāda sarcastically replied, “My dear father, persons like you never understand Kṛṣṇa. One can understand Kṛṣṇa only by serving a mahat, a great soul. Those who try to adjust material conditions are said to be chewing the chewed. No one has been able to adjust material conditions, but life after life, generation after generation, people try and repeatedly fail. Unless one is properly trained by a mahat — a mahātmā, or unalloyed devotee of the Lord — there is no possibility of one’s understanding Kṛṣṇa and His devotional service.”
6. The word śukra means “semen,” and ācārya refers to a teacher or guru. Hereditary gurus, or spiritual masters, have been accepted everywhere since time immemorial, but Prahlāda Mahārāja declined to accept such a seminal guru or take instruction from him.
7. An actual guru is śrotriya, one who has heard or received perfect knowledge through paramparā, the disciplic succession. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja did not recognize a seminal spiritual master.
8. Unless one is a devotee of the Lord, one cannot understand the existence of the spiritual world. 
9. Gurus, teachers, who are simply interested in this material world are described as andha, blind. Such blind teachers, being interested in the external, material world, are always bound by the strong ropes of material nature.
10. The education that keeps the conditioned soul bound life after life is called materialistic education. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has explained that materialistic education expands the influence of māyā. Such an education induces the conditioned soul to be increasingly attracted to materialistic life and to stray further and further away from liberation from unwanted miseries.
11. One may ask why highly educated persons do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The reason is explained in this verse. Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide, fully Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Kṛṣṇa. 
12. The educators, scholars and big political leaders worshiped by millions of people cannot understand the goal of life and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for they have not accepted a bona fide spiritual master and the Vedas.
13. The only means is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And to become Kṛṣṇa conscious very easily, one must take shelter of a realized soul — a mahat, or mahātmā — whose only interest is to engage in the service of the Supreme Lord. 
14. “One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12)
15. “Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)
16. “The Lord is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3)
17. These are Vedic injunctions. One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, not a materially educated scholar or politician. One must take shelter of a niṣkiñcana, a person engaged in devotional service and free from material contamination. That is the way to return home, back to Godhead.

SB 2.7.14

The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king of the demons [Hiraṇyakaśipu], who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.

SB 7.5.29 

Śrī Nārada Muni continued: When Hiraṇyakaśipu received this reply from the teacher, he again addressed his son Prahlāda. Hiraṇyakaśipu said: You rascal, most fallen of our family, if you have not received this education from your teachers, where have you gotten it?

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that devotional service is actually bhadrā satī, not abhadra asatī. In other words, knowledge of devotional service can be neither inauspicious nor contrary to etiquette. To learn devotional service is the duty of everyone. Therefore the spontaneous education of Prahlāda Mahārāja is supported as auspicious and perfect.

SB 7.5.30

Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kṛṣṇa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.

In this verse the words matir na kṛṣṇe refer to devotional service rendered to Kṛṣṇa. So-called politicians, erudite scholars and philosophers who read Bhagavad-gītā try to twist some meaning from it to suit their material purposes, but their misunderstandings of Kṛṣṇa will not yield them any profit. Because such politicians, philosophers and scholars are interested in using Bhagavad-gītā as a vehicle for adjusting things materially, for them constant thought of Kṛṣṇa, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is impossible (matir na kṛṣṇe). As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti: only through devotional service can one understand Kṛṣṇa as He is. The so-called politicians and scholars think of Kṛṣṇa as fictitious. The politician says that his Kṛṣṇa is different from the Kṛṣṇa depicted in Bhagavad-gītā. Even though he accepts Kṛṣṇa and Rāma as the Supreme he thinks of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa as impersonal because he has no idea of service to Kṛṣṇa. Thus his only business is punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām — chewing the chewed again and again. The aim of such politicians and academic scholars is to enjoy this material world with their bodily senses. Therefore it is clearly stated here that those who are gṛha-vrata, whose only aim is to live comfortably with the body in the material world, cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. The two expressions gṛha-vrata and carvita-carvaṇānām indicate that a materialistic person tries to enjoy sense gratification in different bodily forms, life after life, but is still unsatisfied. In the name of personalism, this ism or that ism, such persons always remain attached to the materialistic way of life. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (2.44):

bhogaiśvarya-prasaktānāṁ

tayāpahṛta-cetasām

vyavasāyātmikā buddhiḥ

samādhau na vidhīyate

“In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.” Those who are attached to material enjoyment cannot be fixed in devotional service to the Lord. They cannot understand Bhagavān, Kṛṣṇa, or His instruction, Bhagavad-gītā. Adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisram: their path actually leads toward hellish life.

As confirmed by Ṛṣabhadeva, mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimukteḥ: one must try to understand Kṛṣṇa by serving a devotee. The word mahat refers to a devotee.

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha

daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ

bhajanty ananya-manaso

jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Bg. 9.13) A mahātmā is one who is constantly engaged in devotional service, twenty-four hours a day. As explained in the following verses, unless one adheres to such a great personality, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted to know where Prahlāda had gotten this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Who had taught him? Prahlāda sarcastically replied, “My dear father, persons like you never understand Kṛṣṇa. One can understand Kṛṣṇa only by serving a mahat, a great soul. Those who try to adjust material conditions are said to be chewing the chewed. No one has been able to adjust material conditions, but life after life, generation after generation, people try and repeatedly fail. Unless one is properly trained by a mahat — a mahātmā, or unalloyed devotee of the Lord — there is no possibility of one’s understanding Kṛṣṇa and His devotional service.”

Very powerful purport, very surcharged back and forth bet Prahlad and his father..

SB 7.5.31

V imp verse

Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to return home, back to Godhead, and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṇu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.

Since there must always be a difference of opinion between demons and devotees, Hiraṇyakaśipu, when criticized by his son Prahlāda Mahārāja, should not have been surprised that Prahlāda Mahārāja differed from his way of life. Nonetheless, Hiraṇyakaśipu was extremely angry and wanted to rebuke his son for deriding his teacher or spiritual master, who had been born in the brāhmaṇa family of the great ācārya Śukrācārya. The word śukra means “semen,” and ācārya refers to a teacher or guru. Hereditary gurus, or spiritual masters, have been accepted everywhere since time immemorial, but Prahlāda Mahārāja declined to accept such a seminal guru or take instruction from him. An actual guru is śrotriya, one who has heard or received perfect knowledge through paramparā, the disciplic succession. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja did not recognize a seminal spiritual master. Such spiritual masters are not at all interested in Viṣṇu. Indeed, they are hopeful of material success (bahir-artha-māninaḥ). The word bahiḥ means “external,” artha means “interest,” and mānina means “taking very seriously.”

EVERYONE IS UNAWARE OF SPIRITUAL WORLD

Generally speaking, practically everyone is unaware of the spiritual world. The knowledge of the materialists is restricted within the four-billion-mile limit of this material world, (diameter of the material world) which is in the dark portion of the creation; they do not know that beyond the material world is the spiritual world. Unless one is a devotee of the Lord, one cannot understand the existence of the spiritual world. Gurus, teachers, who are simply interested in this material world are described in this verse as andha, blind. Such blind men may lead many other blind followers without true knowledge of material conditions, but they are not accepted by devotees like Prahlāda Mahārāja. Such blind teachers, being interested in the external, material world, are always bound by the strong ropes of material nature.

SB 7.5.32

Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.

Wonderful verse and wonderful topic touched upon by SB

Becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious brings about anartha-apagamaḥ, the disappearance of all anarthas, the miserable conditions we have unnecessarily accepted. The material body is the basic principle of these unwanted miserable conditions. The entire Vedic civilization is meant to relieve one from these unwanted miseries, but persons bound by the laws of nature do not know the destination of life. As described in the previous verse, īśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ: they are conditioned by the three strong modes of material nature. 

MATERIALISTIC EDUCATION

The education that keeps the conditioned soul bound life after life is called materialistic education. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has explained that materialistic education expands the influence of māyā. Such an education induces the conditioned soul to be increasingly attracted to materialistic life and to stray further and further away from liberation from unwanted miseries.

One may ask why highly educated persons do not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The reason is explained in this verse. Unless one takes shelter of a bona fide, fully Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master, there is no chance of understanding Kṛṣṇa. The educators, scholars and big political leaders worshiped by millions of people cannot understand the goal of life and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for they have not accepted a bona fide spiritual master and the Vedas. Therefore in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.2.3) it is said, nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena: one cannot become self-realized simply by having an academic education, by presenting lectures in an erudite way (pravacanena labhyaḥ), or by being an intelligent scientist who discovers many wonderful things. One cannot understand Kṛṣṇa unless one is graced by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Only one who has surrendered to a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa and taken the dust of his lotus feet can understand Kṛṣṇa. First one must understand how to get out of the clutches of māyā. The only means is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. And to become Kṛṣṇa conscious very easily, one must take shelter of a realized soul — a mahat, or mahātmā — whose only interest is to engage in the service of the Supreme Lord. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):

He is clearly condemning modern education. All the plans to end suffering through education is a fiasco.. Three fold miseries come even if you get educated.Eventually one has to die.. Gour govind swami maharaj, Bhakti Charu Swami, Radhanath swami m, look how successful these people are.. Much more successful than if they have taken up IT, What is wrong if our son or daughter has become a devotee trained in BG and SB.. We joined KC and became devotees full time.. 

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha

daivīṁ prakṛtiṁ āśritāḥ

bhajanty ananya-manaso

jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” Therefore, to end the unwanted miseries of life, one must become a devotee.

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā

sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ

“One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12)

yasya deve parā bhaktir

yathā deve tathā gurau

tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ

prakāśante mahātmanaḥ

“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23)

yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas

tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām

“The Lord is obtained only by one whom He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.” (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3)

These are Vedic injunctions. One must take shelter of a self-realized spiritual master, not a materially educated scholar or politician. One must take shelter of a niṣkiñcana, a person engaged in devotional service and free from material contamination. That is the way to return home, back to Godhead.

What is interesting is this applies to Bhakti Charu Swami maharaj. He left his first year of college and he was not satisfied… He Realized that there is something more… 

The same thing happened with Gour Govind Swami Maharaj.. 

BHakti Charu meets SP in Kumbh mela… He was asked to translate Books into Bengali…write letters to SP. He was trained by SP. His higher education was SB. This should be enlightening… This takes them away from God, makes them lose faith.. 

This whole education is condemned by Bhakti Vinod thakur and Bhakti siddhanta Saraswati thakur. 

HOMEWORK : To look up the history of Bhakti Charu Maharaj, Gour Govind Swami, Radha nath Swami, Gopal Krsna… See what their training was? Map their epiphany and trajectory of their life ? At what point did they give it all up and take the shelter of SP and how the achieve all the success they did?

Real Success – Become a devotee

False success – Becoming a materialistic success

Most successful persons – Prahlad, Dhruv, Yudhister, it was a perpetual success… they all went back to Godhead.. 

Prabhupada says that there are 12 mahajans – Brahma, Janaka, Bhishma, Bali, Sukhdev Goswami… 

Modern mahatmas – 6 Goswamis they are more important than the earlier mahatmas…

Rupa, Sanatana, Bhatta….  they are extremely rich.. 

Raghunath Goswami – Extremely rich.. Gave it all up 

Ragahanth bhatta Goswami – Extremely rich.. Gave it all up 

Jiva goswami – 

You say that modern education is not good.. But you have to earn a living in this age so we should be educated.. 

They all became mendicants… they had simple loin cloth.. They had very bare clothing, hardly slept, hardly ate… they built these big temples.. Their lifestyle never changed.. We have to understand the life of great devotees, then we will not be fooled by modern education.. Leads people away from Krsna not towards Krsna.. 

The world will go on even without amazon, without microsoft, we can live 

Did you ever imagine you can work from home for 2 years

Did you ever imagine your kids can school from home.. 

Better to do the downsizing voluntarily.. You are forced to do it.. 

The world can be destroyed, what is your plan. He wanted Grihastas to live on farms.. 

And produce their own vegetables… 

If you are chanting Hare Krsna and practicing KC, you will save LA from drowning in the Pacific ocean.. 

People can live in a different way as they did before, society will function.. And you will be lot more happier and peaceful

It is a non question or a desperate attempt to keep the status quo. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.14 – Part 2 TODAY (09/16/21):

1. The actual form of life for the living entities is one of spiritual happiness, which is real happiness. This happiness can be achieved only when one stops all materialistic activities. Material sense enjoyment is simply an imagination. 
2. The Māyāvādī philosophers adhering to the slogan brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, want to refrain from false, materialistic activities. They want to stop all activities and merge in the Supreme Brahman. 
3. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy –  if one simply ceases from materialistic activity one cannot remain inactive for very long, and therefore everyone should engage himself in spiritual activities, which will solve the problem of suffering in this material world. 
4. By spiritual activities one becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead, and then enjoy blissful life eternally. 
5. Here, in the material world, everything is but a mental concoction that will never give us real happiness. The practical solution, therefore, is to cease from materialistic activities and engage in spiritual activities.
6. SB 7.5.22 – Hiraṇyakaśipu said: My dear Prahlāda, my dear son, O long-lived one, for so much time you have heard many things from your teachers. Now please repeat to me whatever you think is the best of that knowledge.
7. Prahlāda Mahārāja responded to the inquiry of his father with the instructions he had received from his spiritual master, Nārada. Whereas Hiraṇyakaśipu, expected to hear about the politics and diplomacy Prahlāda had learned from Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka.
8. Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. 
9. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.
10. Pada Sevanam –  One obtains the perfection of remembering when one constantly thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord. Being intensely attached to thinking of the Lord’s lotus feet is called pāda-sevanam.
11. Service to the Vaiṣṇava, Tulasī, Ganges and Yamunā are included in pāda-sevanam. All these processes of pāda-sevanam help one advance in spiritual life very quickly.
12. Archanam – If one is interested in the process of arcanam, one must positively take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and learn the process from him.
13. There are two systems of arcana — the bhāgavata system and pāñcarātrikī system. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is no recommendation of pāñcarātrikī worship because in this Kali-yuga, even without Deity worship, everything can be perfectly performed simply through hearing, chanting, remembering and worship of the lotus feet of the Lord. 
14. It is recommended that initiated devotees follow the principles of Nārada-pañcarātra by worshiping the Deity in the temple. Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions, the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended.
15. If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial. 
16. An opulent householder can collect luxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently for householder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory
17. The Deity worship in the temple should be performed especially by the householders. 
18. Gṛhastha devotees, however, are generally engaged in material activities, and therefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is positively assured. Deity worship means following the rules and regulations precisely. That will keep one steady in devotional service.
19. Any householder devotee circumstantially unable to worship the Deity must at least see the Deity worship, and in this way he may achieve success also. 
20. The special purpose of Deity worship is to keep oneself always pure and clean. Gṛhastha devotees should be actual examples of cleanliness.
21. In the process of worshiping the Deity it is sometimes enjoined that one worship the Deity within the mind. In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is stated by Lord Nārāyaṇa that worship of the Deity within the mind is called mānasa-pūjā.
22. One may worship the Deity by chanting all the mantras. Eight kinds of Deities are mentioned in the śāstra, and the mental Deity is one of them. 
23. One can become free from the four miseries by this method. Sometimes worship from the mind can be independently executed. Ex: Brahmana who achieved Samipya liberation due to his sincerity in Manas puja.
24. By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one can reach the platform of love of Godhead. One might ask, then what is the necessity of being initiated? The answer is that even though the chanting of the holy name is sufficient to enable one to progress in spiritual life to the standard of love of Godhead, one is nonetheless susceptible to contamination because of possessing a material body.
25.  “Parīkṣit Mahārāja attained salvation simply by hearing, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained salvation simply by chanting. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained salvation by remembering the Lord. The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, attained perfection by worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet. Pṛthu Mahārāja attained salvation by worshiping the Deity of the Lord. Akrūra attained salvation by offering prayers, Hanumān by rendering service, Arjuna by establishing friendship with the Lord, and Bali Mahārāja by offering everything to the service of the Lord.” All these great devotees served the Lord according to a particular process, but every one of them attained salvation and became eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

SB 2.7.14 Translation: 

The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king of the demons [Hiraṇyakaśipu], who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.

Discuss few things… there is a nice verse – 

SB 7.13.27 

The actual form of life for the living entities is one of spiritual happiness, which is real happiness. This happiness can be achieved only when one stops all materialistic activities. Material sense enjoyment is simply an imagination. Therefore, considering this subject matter, I have ceased from all material activities and am lying down here.

This is an amazing discussion between Prahlad and an avadhut yogi who is doing a severe penance..a person who is doing tapasya like a python. He stays in one place does not move and when the prey comes he eats it. Prahlas maharaj realizes that this yogi who is acting like a python. He approaches him and asks questions. He is perplexed to see the yogi very fat… he asks questions… This verse is told by the python yogi to Prahlad maharaj… 

The difference between the philosophy of the Māyāvādīs and that of the Vaiṣṇavas is explained herein. Both the Māyāvādīs and Vaiṣṇavas know that in materialistic activities there is no happiness. 

Mayavadi philosophy – 

The Māyāvādī philosophers, therefore, adhering to the slogan brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā, want to refrain from false, materialistic activities. They want to stop all activities and merge in the Supreme Brahman. 

Vaishnava philosophy  According to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, however, if one simply ceases from materialistic activity one cannot remain inactive for very long, and therefore everyone should engage himself in spiritual activities, which will solve the problem of suffering in this material world. 

It is said, therefore, that although the Māyāvādī philosophers strive to refrain from materialistic activities and merge in Brahman, and although they may actually merge in the Brahman existence, for want of activity they fall down again into materialistic activity (āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ patanty adhaḥ). Thus the so-called renouncer, unable to remain in meditation upon Brahman, returns to materialistic activities by opening hospitals and schools and so on. 

Therefore, simply cultivating knowledge that materialistic activities cannot give one happiness, and that one should consequently cease from such activities, is insufficient. One should cease from materialistic activities and take up spiritual activities. Then the solution to the problem will be achieved. Spiritual activities are activities performed according to the order of Kṛṣṇa (ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam). If one does whatever Kṛṣṇa says, his activities are not material. For example, when Arjuna fought in response to the order of Kṛṣṇa, his activities were not material. Fighting for sense gratification is a materialistic activity, but fighting by the order of Kṛṣṇa is spiritual. By spiritual activities one becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead, and then enjoy blissful life eternally. Here, in the material world, everything is but a mental concoction that will never give us real happiness. The practical solution, therefore, is to cease from materialistic activities and engage in spiritual activities. Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ). If one works for the sake of pleasing the Supreme Lord — Yajña, or Viṣṇu — one is in liberated life. If one fails to do so, however, he remains in a life of bondage.

Vaishnava solution is – give up all material activities and engage in spiritual activities.. 

That is very important point… 

When Hiranyakasipu asks his son what his teachers taught him – 

SB 7.5.22

Hiraṇyakaśipu said: My dear Prahlāda, my dear son, O long-lived one, for so much time you have heard many things from your teachers. Now please repeat to me whatever you think is the best of that knowledge.

In this verse, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquires from his son what he has learned from his guru. Prahlāda Mahārāja’s gurus were of two kinds — Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the sons of Śukrācārya in the seminal disciplic succession, were the gurus appointed by his father, but his other guru was the exalted Nārada Muni, who had instructed Prahlāda when Prahlāda was within the womb of his mother. Prahlāda Mahārāja responded to the inquiry of his father with the instructions he had received from his spiritual master, Nārada. Thus there was again a difference of opinion because Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to relate the best thing he had learned from his spiritual master, whereas Hiraṇyakaśipu expected to hear about the politics and diplomacy Prahlāda had learned from Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka. Now the dissension between the father and son became increasingly intense as Prahlāda Mahārāja began to say what he had learned from his guru Nārada Muni.

SB 7.5.23-24

Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one’s best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) — these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.

(4) Pāda-sevanam. According to one’s taste and strength, hearing, chanting and remembrance may be followed by pāda-sevanam. One obtains the perfection of remembering when one constantly thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord. Being intensely attached to thinking of the Lord’s lotus feet is called pāda-sevanam. When one is particularly adherent to the process of pāda-sevanam, this process gradually includes other processes, such as seeing the form of the Lord, touching the form of the Lord, circumambulating the form or temple of the Lord, visiting such places as Jagannātha Purī, Dvārakā and Mathurā to see the Lord’s form, and bathing in the Ganges or Yamunā. Bathing in the Ganges and serving a pure Vaiṣṇava are also known as tadīya-upāsanam. This is also pāda-sevanam. The word tadīya means “in relationship with the Lord.” Service to the Vaiṣṇava, Tulasī, Ganges and Yamunā are included in pāda-sevanam. All these processes of pāda-sevanam help one advance in spiritual life very quickly.

Being in relationship with the lord is also extended to service to Vaishnavas, service to tulsi, ganges and yamuna is all included in pada sevanam… all these help in advancement in one’s spiritual life. 

(5) Arcanam. After pāda-sevanam comes the process of arcanam, worship of the Deity. If one is interested in the process of arcanam, one must positively take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and learn the process from him. There are many books for arcana, especially Nārada-pañcarātra. In this age, the Pañcarātra system is particularly recommended for arcana, Deity worship. There are two systems of arcana — the bhāgavata system and pāñcarātrikī system. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there is no recommendation of pāñcarātrikī worship because in this Kali-yuga, even without Deity worship, everything can be perfectly performed simply through hearing, chanting, remembering and worship of the lotus feet of the Lord. Rūpa Gosvāmī states:

“Parīkṣit Mahārāja attained salvation simply by hearing, and Śukadeva Gosvāmī attained salvation simply by chanting. Prahlāda Mahārāja attained salvation by remembering the Lord. The goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, attained perfection by worshiping the Lord’s lotus feet. Pṛthu Mahārāja attained salvation by worshiping the Deity of the Lord. Akrūra attained salvation by offering prayers, Hanumān by rendering service, Arjuna by establishing friendship with the Lord, and Bali Mahārāja by offering everything to the service of the Lord.” All these great devotees served the Lord according to a particular process, but every one of them attained salvation and became eligible to return home, back to Godhead. This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

It is therefore recommended that initiated devotees follow the principles of Nārada-pañcarātra by worshiping the Deity in the temple. Especially for householder devotees who are opulent in material possessions, the path of Deity worship is strongly recommended. An opulent householder devotee who does not engage his hard-earned money in the service of the Lord is called a miser. One should not engage paid brāhmaṇas to worship the Deity. If one does not personally worship the Deity but engages paid servants instead, he is considered lazy, and his worship of the Deity is called artificial. An opulent householder can collect luxurious paraphernalia for Deity worship, and consequently for householder devotees the worship of the Deity is compulsory. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement there are brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs, but the Deity worship in the temple should be performed especially by the householders. The brahmacārīs can go with the sannyāsīs to preach, and the vānaprasthas should prepare themselves for the next status of renounced life, sannyāsa. Gṛhastha devotees, however, are generally engaged in material activities, and therefore if they do not take to Deity worship, their falling down is positively assured. Deity worship means following the rules and regulations precisely. That will keep one steady in devotional service. Generally householders have children, and then the wives of the householders should be engaged in caring for the children, just as women acting as teachers care for the children in a nursery school.

This gives a lot of information. 

Gṛhastha devotees must adopt the arcana-vidhi, or Deity worship according to the suitable arrangements and directions given by the spiritual master. Regarding those unable to take to the Deity worship in the temple, there is the following statement in the Agni Purāṇa. Any householder devotee circumstantially unable to worship the Deity must at least see the Deity worship, and in this way he may achieve success also. The special purpose of Deity worship is to keep oneself always pure and clean. Gṛhastha devotees should be actual examples of cleanliness.

Deity worship should be continued along with hearing and chanting. Therefore every mantra is preceded by the word namaḥ. In all the mantras there are specific potencies, of which the gṛhastha devotees must take advantage. There are many mantras preceded by the word namaḥ, but if one chants the holy name of the Lord, he receives the result of chanting namaḥ many times. By chanting the holy name of the Lord, one can reach the platform of love of Godhead. One might ask, then what is the necessity of being initiated? The answer is that even though the chanting of the holy name is sufficient to enable one to progress in spiritual life to the standard of love of Godhead, one is nonetheless susceptible to contamination because of possessing a material body. Consequently, special stress is given to the arcana-vidhi. One should therefore regularly take advantage of both the bhāgavata process and pāñcarātrikī process.

Deity worship has two divisions, namely pure and mixed with fruitive activities. For one who is steady, Deity worship is compulsory. Observing the various types of festivals, such as Śrī Janmāṣṭamī, Rāma-navamī and Nṛsiṁha-caturdaśī, is also included in the process of Deity worship. In other words, it is compulsory for householder devotees to observe these festivals.

Now let us discuss the offenses in Deity worship. The following are offenses: 

(a) to enter the temple with shoes or being carried on a palanquin, 

(b) not to observe the prescribed festivals,

(c) to avoid offering obeisances in front of the Deity, 

(d) to offer prayers in an unclean state, not having washed one’s hands after eating, 

(e) to offer obeisances with one hand, 

(f) to circumambulate directly in front of the Deity, 

(g) to spread one’s legs before the Deity, 

(h) to sit before the Deity while holding one’s ankles with one’s hands, 

(i) to lie down before the Deity, 

(j) to eat before the Deity, 

(k) to speak lies before the Deity,

 (l) to address someone loudly before the Deity, 

(m) to talk nonsense before the Deity, 

(n) to cry before the Deity, 

(o) to argue before the Deity, 

(p) to chastise someone before the Deity, 

(q) to show someone favor before the Deity, 

(r) to use harsh words before the Deity, 

(s) to wear a woolen blanket before the Deity, 

(t) to blaspheme someone before the Deity, 

(u) to worship someone else before the Deity, 

(v) to use vulgar language before the Deity, 

(w) to pass air before the Deity, 

(x) to avoid very opulent worship of the Deity, even though one is able to perform it, 

(y) to eat something not offered to the Deity, 

(z) to avoid offering fresh fruits to the Deity according to the season, 

(aa) to offer food to the Deity which has already been used or from which has first been given to others (in other words, food should not be distributed to anyone else until it has been offered to the Deity), 

(bb) to sit with one’s back toward the Deity, 

(cc) to offer obeisances to someone else in front of the Deity, 

(dd) not to chant proper prayers when offering obeisances to the spiritual master, 

(ee) to praise oneself before the Deity, and 

(ff) to blaspheme the demigods. 

In the worship of the Deity, these thirty-two offenses should be avoided.

In the Varāha Purāṇa the following offenses are mentioned: (a) to eat in the house of a rich man, (b) to enter the Deity’s room in the dark, (c) to worship the Deity without following the regulative principles, (d) to enter the temple without vibrating any sound, (e) to collect food that has been seen by a dog, (f) to break silence while offering worship to the Deity, (g) to go to the toilet during the time of worshiping the Deity, (h) to offer incense without offering flowers, (i) to worship the Deity with forbidden flowers, (j) to begin worship without having washed one’s teeth, (k) to begin worship after sex, (l) to touch a lamp, dead body or a woman during her menstrual period, or to put on red or bluish clothing, unwashed clothing, the clothing of others or soiled clothing. Other offenses are to worship the Deity after seeing a dead body, to pass air before the Deity, to show anger before the Deity, and to worship the Deity just after returning from a crematorium. After eating, one should not worship the Deity until one has digested his food, nor should one touch the Deity or engage in any Deity worship after eating safflower oil or hing. These are also offenses.

In other places, the following offenses are listed: (a) to be against the scriptural injunctions of the Vedic literature or to disrespect within one’s heart the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam while externally falsely accepting its principles, (b) to introduce differing śāstras, (c) to chew pan and betel before the Deity, (d) to keep flowers for worship on the leaf of a castor oil plant, (e) to worship the Deity in the afternoon, (f) to sit on the altar or to sit on the floor to worship the Deity (without a seat), (g) to touch the Deity with the left hand while bathing the Deity, (h) to worship the Deity with a stale or used flower, (i) to spit while worshiping the Deity, (j) to advertise one’s glory while worshiping the Deity, (k) to apply tilaka to one’s forehead in a curved way, (l) to enter the temple without having washed one’s feet, (m) to offer the Deity food cooked by an uninitiated person, (n) to worship the Deity and offer bhoga to the Deity within the vision of an uninitiated person or non-Vaiṣṇava, (o) to offer worship to the Deity without worshiping Vaikuṇṭha deities like Gaṇeśa, (p) to worship the Deity while perspiring, (q) to refuse flowers offered to the Deity, (r) to take a vow or oath in the holy name of the Lord.

If one commits any of the above offenses, one must read at least one chapter of Bhagavad-gītā. This is confirmed in the Skanda-Purāṇa, Avantī-khaṇḍa. Similarly, there is another injunction, stating that one who reads the thousand names of Viṣṇu can be released from all offenses. In the same Skanda-Purāṇa, Revā-khaṇḍa, it is said that one who recites prayers to tulasī or sows a tulasī seed is also freed from all offenses. Similarly, one who worships the śālagrāma-śilā can also be relieved of offenses. In the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa it is said that one who worships Lord Viṣṇu, whose four hands bear a conchshell, disc, lotus flower and club, can be relieved from the above offenses. In the Ādi-varāha Purāṇa it is said that a worshiper who has committed offenses may fast for one day at the holy place known as Śaukarava and then bathe in the Ganges.

In the process of worshiping the Deity it is sometimes enjoined that one worship the Deity within the mind. In the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, it is said, “All persons can generally worship within the mind.” The Gautamīya Tantra states, “For a sannyāsī who has no home, worship of the Deity within the mind is recommended.” In the Nārada-pañcarātra it is stated by Lord Nārāyaṇa that worship of the Deity within the mind is called mānasa-pūjā. One can become free from the four miseries by this method. Sometimes worship from the mind can be independently executed. According to the instruction of Āvirhotra Muni, one of the nava-yogendras, as mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one may worship the Deity by chanting all the mantras. Eight kinds of Deities are mentioned in the śāstra, and the mental Deity is one of them. In this regard, the following description is given in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa.

Manasa puja – Brahmana who achieved Samipya liberation due to his sincerity in Manas puja

In the city of Pratiṣṭhāna-pura, long ago, there resided a brāhmaṇa who was poverty-stricken but innocent and not dissatisfied. One day he heard a discourse in an assembly of brāhmaṇas concerning how to worship the Deity in the temple. In that meeting, he also heard that the Deity may be worshiped within the mind. After this incident, the brāhmaṇa, having bathed in the Godāvarī River, began mentally worshiping the Deity. He would wash the temple within his mind, and then in his imagination he would bring water from all the sacred rivers in golden and silver waterpots. He collected all kinds of valuable paraphernalia for worship, and he worshiped the Deity very gorgeously, beginning from bathing the Deity and ending with offering ārati. Thus he felt great happiness. After many years had passed in this way, one day within his mind he cooked nice sweet rice with ghee to worship the Deity. He placed the sweet rice on a golden dish and offered it to Lord Kṛṣṇa, but he felt that the sweet rice was very hot, and therefore he touched it with his finger. He immediately felt that his finger had been burned by the hot sweet rice, and thus he began to lament. While the brāhmaṇa was in pain, Lord Viṣṇu in Vaikuṇṭha began smiling, and the goddess of fortune inquired from the Lord why He was smiling. Lord Viṣṇu then ordered His associates to bring the brāhmaṇa to Vaikuṇṭha. Thus the brāhmaṇa attained the liberation of sāmīpya, the facility of living near the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Grishastas have a huge responsibility if they follow it correctly 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.14:

1. The literal meaning of Hiraṇyakaśipu is one who is after gold and soft bedding, the ultimate aim of all materialistic men. Such demonic men, who have no relationship with God, gradually become puffed up by material acquisitions and begin to challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord and torture those who are devotees of the Lord.
2. The Lord assumed the incarnation of half-man and half-lion, which was beyond the imagination of a materialistic demon like Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus, keeping pace with the benediction of Brahmājī, the Lord killed him.
3. Materialistic plans of godless demons are always frustrated by the all-powerful Lord.
4. Prahlāda Mahārāja never liked the idea of discriminating between one’s friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone.
5. Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from his son what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.
6. When the teachers inquired from Prahlāda Mahārāja why he was going against their teachings, Prahlāda Mahārāja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viṣṇu
7. Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from Prahlāda where he had learned viṣṇu-bhakti. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed.
8. Any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering.
9. Those who are attached to the bodily conception of life and who thus stick to life as a gṛhastha, or householder, on the platform of material sense enjoyment, cannot see the welfare of the eternal soul.
10. Prahlāda explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and thus become eligible to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
11. The sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, began teaching Prahlāda in their own way, but Prahlāda Mahārāja did not accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahlāda Mahārāja began to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the school, and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like him.
12. A devotee sees that every living being is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ). Therefore a devotee treats friends and enemies equally by trying to educate them both in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
13. In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati: if one properly understands God, he can understand any subject matter very nicely.
14. Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in the core of everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, dissipates all the ignorance from the heart of a devotee. As a special favor, He enlightens the devotee with all knowledge by putting before him the torch of light.
15. Prahlāda Mahārāja, knew the best of knowledge, and when his father inquired from him, Prahlāda gave him that knowledge. Prahlāda Mahārāja was able to solve the most difficult parts of problems because of his advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness
16. “One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods. However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord.
17. By the mercy of the Lord, a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. Kṣema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life.
    
    

SB 2.7.14 TRANSLATION:

The Personality of Godhead assumed the incarnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva in order to vanquish the great fears of the demigods. He killed the king of the demons [Hiraṇyakaśipu], who challenged the Lord with a club in his hand, by placing the demon on His thighs and piercing him with His nails, rolling His eyebrows in anger and showing His fearful teeth and mouth.

The history of Hiraṇyakaśipu and his great devotee-son Prahlāda Mahārāja is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Hiraṇyakaśipu became very powerful by material achievements and thought himself to be immortal by the grace of Brahmājī. Brahmājī declined to award him the benediction of immortality because he himself is not an immortal being. But Hiraṇyakaśipu derived Brahmājī’s benediction in a roundabout way, almost equal to becoming an immortal being. Hiraṇyakaśipu was sure that he would not be killed by any man or demigod or by any kind of known weapon, nor would he die in day or night. The Lord, however, assumed the incarnation of half-man and half-lion, which was beyond the imagination of a materialistic demon like Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus, keeping pace with the benediction of Brahmājī, the Lord killed him. He killed him on His lap, so that he was killed neither on the land nor on the water nor in the sky. The demon was pierced by Nṛsiṁha’s nails, which were beyond the human weapons imaginable by Hiraṇyakaśipu. The literal meaning of Hiraṇyakaśipu is one who is after gold and soft bedding, the ultimate aim of all materialistic men. Such demonic men, who have no relationship with God, gradually become puffed up by material acquisitions and begin to challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord and torture those who are devotees of the Lord. Prahlāda Mahārāja happened to be the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu, and because the boy was a great devotee, his father tortured him to the best of his ability. In this extreme situation, the Lord assumed the incarnation of Nṛsiṁhadeva, and just to finish the enemy of the demigods, the Lord killed Hiraṇyakaśipu in a manner beyond the demon’s imagination. Materialistic plans of godless demons are always frustrated by the all-powerful Lord.

Prahlad maharaj was educated by narada muni in the womb of his mother. This is an example of prenatal education. People do not believe that there is life in the womb they end up with aborting the foeteses and they create hollocast of genocide of millions of babies, mothers also join this.. Without having to get prosecuted. This is a very unfortunate situation. 

SB 7.5

Prahlāda Mahārāja did not carry out the orders of his teachers, for he was always engaged in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu. As described in this chapter, Hiraṇyakaśipu tried to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja, even by having a snake bite him and by putting him under the feet of elephants, yet he was unsuccessful.

His teachers taught him to become a demon just like modern education teachers teach the students about the same.

Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, had two sons named Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, to whom Prahlāda Mahārāja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahlāda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahlāda Mahārāja never liked the idea of discriminating between one’s friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone. (Symptom of a devotee)

He sees people as eternal servant of Krsna he sees them as a soul and not a body.. 

Politicians see the friends and enemies..

Once upon a time, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from his son what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.

When Hiraṇyakaśipu heard from his son about devotional service, he decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in school. Thus he advised the teachers to take care of the boy so that he would not become a Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee. However, when the teachers inquired from Prahlāda Mahārāja why he was going against their teachings, Prahlāda Mahārāja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. The teachers, being very angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and then brought him before his father.

Hiraṇyakaśipu affectionately took his son Prahlāda on his lap and then inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. As usual, Prahlāda Mahārāja began praising the nine processes of devotional service, such as śravaṇam and kīrtanam. Thus the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, being extremely angry, chastised the teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, for having wrongly trained Prahlāda Mahārāja. The so-called teachers informed the King that Prahlāda Mahārāja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to their instructions. When they proved themselves innocent, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from Prahlāda where he had learned viṣṇu-bhakti. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. Prahlāda explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and thus become eligible to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Enraged at this answer, Hiraṇyakaśipu threw Prahlāda Mahārāja from his lap. Since Prahlāda was so treacherous that he had become a devotee of Viṣṇu, who had killed his uncle Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his assistants to kill him. The assistants of Hiraṇyakaśipu struck Prahlāda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. Hiraṇyakaśipu therefore became increasingly afraid of his son Prahlāda Mahārāja and arrested him. The sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, began teaching Prahlāda in their own way, but Prahlāda Mahārāja did not accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahlāda Mahārāja began to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the school, and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like him.

I wish that our kids are like Prahlad maharaj.. Not being afraid of being KC and being sincere. 

SB 7.5.1 

The great saint Nārada Muni said: The demons, headed by Hiraṇyakaśipu, accepted Śukrācārya as their priest for ritualistic ceremonies. Śukrācārya’s two sons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, lived near Hiraṇyakaśipu’s palace.

The beginning of the life story of Prahlāda is recounted as follows. Śukrācārya became the priest of the atheists, especially Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus his two sons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, resided near Hiraṇyakaśipu’s residence. Śukrācārya should not have become the priest of Hiraṇyakaśipu because Hiraṇyakaśipu and his followers were all atheists. A brāhmaṇa should become the priest of a person interested in the advancement of spiritual culture. The very name Śukrācārya, however, indicates a person interested in obtaining benefits for his sons and descendants, regardless of how the money comes. A real brāhmaṇa would not become a priest for atheistic men.

SB 7.5.2

Prahlāda Mahārāja was already educated in devotional life, but when his father sent him to those two sons of Śukrācārya to be educated, they accepted him at their school along with the other sons of the asuras.

SB 7.5.3

Prahlāda certainly heard and recited the topics of politics and economics taught by the teachers, but he understood that political philosophy involves considering someone a friend and someone else an enemy, and thus he did not like it.

Politics involves accepting one group of men as enemies and another group as friends. Everything in politics is based on this philosophy, and the entire world, especially at the present, is engrossed in it. The public is concerned with friendly countries and friendly groups or enemy countries and enemy groups, but as stated in Bhagavad-gītā, a learned person does not make distinctions between enemies and friends. Devotees, especially, do not create friends and enemies. A devotee sees that every living being is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ). Therefore a devotee treats friends and enemies equally by trying to educate them both in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, atheistic men do not follow the instructions of pure devotees, but instead consider a devotee their enemy. A devotee, however, never creates a situation of friendship and enmity. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was obliged to hear the instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, he did not like the philosophy of friends and enemies, which forms the basis of politics. He was not interested in this philosophy.

Right from the beginning we see that atheistic philosophy of life is eat, drink be merry dont care about death. We all started accidentally, eventually we came from monkeys.. Everything is over when we die.. This is the description of the people today.. Associating with people like that is very dangerous for one’s spiritual life. Today when they teach gender equality, black lives matter, this party that party… equity… they are teaching all these they are creating friends and enemies. This is all politics and it creates enmity, hatred, fear. 

SB 7.5.4

My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, once upon a time the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, took his son Prahlāda on his lap and very affectionately inquired: My dear son, please let me know what you think is the best of all the subjects you have studied from your teachers.

Hiraṇyakaśipu did not ask his young son anything that would be very difficult for him to answer; instead, he gave the boy a chance to speak plainly about whatever he thought might be best. Prahlāda Mahārāja, of course, being a perfect devotee, knew everything and could say what the best part of life is. In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte sarvam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati: if one properly understands God, he can understand any subject matter very nicely. Sometimes we have to challenge big scientists and philosophers, but by the grace of Kṛṣṇa we emerge successful. It is impossible, practically speaking, for ordinary men to challenge scientists or philosophers concerning genuine knowledge, but a devotee can challenge them because the best of everything is known to a devotee by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.11):

Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in the core of everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, dissipates all the ignorance from the heart of a devotee. As a special favor, He enlightens the devotee with all knowledge by putting before him the torch of light. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, knew the best of knowledge, and when his father inquired from him, Prahlāda gave him that knowledge. Prahlāda Mahārāja was able to solve the most difficult parts of problems because of his advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore he replied as follows.

If you want your child to be educated. Krishna is the supreme no one equal or greater than him and is subordinate to Him. One’s purpose of life is to serve Krsna. One should be nice to everyone devotee and non devotees and help the non devotees to learn about Krsna and go back to godhead. 

SB 7.5.5

Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: O best of the asuras, King of the demons, as far as I have learned from my spiritual master, any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering. One should give up this position and go to the forest [vana]. More clearly, one should go to Vṛndāvana, where only Kṛṣṇa consciousness is prevalent, and should thus take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

When people are getting married their suffering starts from the moment they say I do. It is the beginning of the suffering not the end of suffering. 

Hiraṇyakaśipu thought that Prahlāda, being nothing but a small boy with no actual experience, might reply with something pleasing but nothing practical. Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, being an exalted devotee, had acquired all the qualities of education.

“One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods. However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12) So-called educated philosophers and scientists who are simply on the mental platform cannot distinguish between what is actually sat, eternal, and what is asat, temporary. The Vedic injunction is asato mā jyotir gama: everyone should give up the platform of temporary existence and approach the eternal platform. The soul is eternal, and topics concerning the eternal soul are actually knowledge. Elsewhere it is said, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām: those who are attached to the bodily conception of life and who thus stick to life as a gṛhastha, or householder, on the platform of material sense enjoyment, cannot see the welfare of the eternal soul. 

IF ONE WANTS SUCCESS IN LIFE 

Prahlāda Mahārāja confirmed this by saying that if one wants success in life, he should immediately understand from the right sources what his self-interest is and how he should mold his life in spiritual consciousness. One should understand himself to be part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and thus completely take shelter of His lotus feet for guaranteed spiritual success. Everyone in the material world is in the bodily conception, struggling hard for existence, life after life. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore recommended that to stop this material condition of repeated birth and death, one should go to the forest (vana).

Grihasta – Understand I am not this body, I am a soul,,, I gave up Krsna and got entangled in this material world. This body is temporary… 

I have kids my duty is to teach them about Krsna to be KC… not teach them to get into IT… What is wrong in kids becoming pujaris, according to material view Prahlada was not a success.. How will he get a job.. Not by science, technology, reason and logic… 

He will get a job… as Krsna will protect the devotee… 

BG 9.22

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ

ye janāḥ paryupāsate

teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ

yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham

But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have.

Lower understanding of this verse – 

Krishna will protect my bank balance, my children, my wealth… my business. 

Higher understanding of this verse is – 

Yoga – He will make KC easily available 

Ksemam – He will protect the devotee from falling down… 

Therefore if we believe this we do not need to worry… 

I had to give up everything.. Material when I joined KC… small place to sleep, eat lit prasadam and go for sankirtan and come back.. I was advised to get married. I had to have a place to live, had to have a job,.. I had given up my academic life… only solution is to work for someone else… or do business. I wanted to do business, Krishna helped me in every step… It is a gigantic struggle I put up with it because it was my duty. Having children was evry stressful. One problem after another never ended.. Still ending.. We have to understand the value of developing KC. Even SP went through 30 – 40 years of married life. Once kids are married and independent. Husband and wife should become vanaprasthas and become sanyasis.. If it is our desire to become pure like that Krsna will help in every step.. 

One who is unable to live for a moment without Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot but think of Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, being engaged in devotional service by hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, rendering other services, cultivating friendship and surrendering fully to the Lord. Such activities are all auspicious and full of spiritual potencies, which make the devotee perfect in self-realization, so that his only desire is to achieve the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a devotee undoubtedly approaches the Lord without difficulty. This is called yoga. By the mercy of the Lord, such a devotee never comes back to this material condition of life. Kṣema refers to the merciful protection of the Lord. The Lord helps the devotee to achieve Kṛṣṇa consciousness by yoga, and when he becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious the Lord protects him from falling down to a miserable conditioned life.

In KC they join like brahmacharis… they get married, they have children and they get divorced… they get married again… leave KC.. I am not endorsing any more marriages SP said that … He was very disgusted with this type of nonsense. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.13 (Part3) TODAY (09/14/21):

1. SB 8.12.8 – My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.
2. Living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy.
3. The body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord. 
4. Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything.
5. Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The Māyāvādīs’ differentiation between Brahman and māyā is only due to ignorance.
6. the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
7. There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is.
8. There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is. 
9. The Vaiśeṣika philosophers, however, because of their Māyāvāda conception, create differences. They say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: The Absolute Truth is real, and the cosmic manifestation is false.” But why should the jagat be considered mithyā? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat is also truth.
10. “Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one’s renunciation is called yuktaṁ vairāgyam
11. The truth is realized when everything is engaged in the service of the Lord.
12. Actually, everything is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature
13. Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
14. Without the sanction of the Lord no one could inflict trouble upon them. According to the Padma Purāṇa, our present trouble is due to the fructifying of seedling sins, but even those seedling sins also gradually fade away by execution of pure devotional service. Thus even if the devotees see the mischief-mongers, they do not accuse them for the sufferings inflicted. They take it for granted that the mischief-monger is made to act by some indirect cause, and therefore they tolerate the sufferings, thinking them to be God-given in small doses, for otherwise the sufferings should have been greater.

SB 2.7.13 TRANSLATION

The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.

This is an amazing past time. The tortoise incarnation is 800,000 miles, imagine how big the mountain and milk ocean. There is a statement made in SB 8.12.8 

SB 8.12.8  (Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect)

My dear Lord, Your Lordship alone is the cause and the effect. Therefore, although You appear to be two, You are the absolute one. As there is no difference between the gold of a golden ornament and the gold in a mine, there is no difference between cause and effect; both of them are the same. Only because of ignorance do people concoct differences and dualities. You are free from material contamination, and since the entire cosmos is caused by You and cannot exist without You, it is an effect of Your transcendental qualities. Thus the conception that Brahman is true and the world false cannot be maintained.

Vaishnavas say Brahman is real and the lord can be understood in three stages- Brahman, paramatma and Bhagavan. Material world is real as it emanates from the lord. Even though it sometimes manifests and sometimes does not manifest, it is still real. Even the unmanifest stage exists. We cannot accept what mayavadis say – material world is an illusion. What makes us understand that because material energy is also Krsna’s energy, it is expansion of one of His energies. Therefore Krsna is cause and the effect.In the purport to this verse it is explained – 

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says that the living entities are representations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s marginal potency whereas the various bodies accepted by the living entities are products of the material energy. Thus the body is considered material, and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5):

bhūmir āpo ’nalo vāyuḥ

khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca

ahaṅkāra itīyaṁ me

bhinnā prakṛtir aṣṭadhā

apareyam itas tv anyāṁ

prakṛtiṁ viddhi me parām

jīva-bhūtāṁ mahā-bāho

yayedaṁ dhāryate jagat

Both material and the living entities come from Krsna. Krishna is both the cause and the effect.

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego — all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Thus both matter and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord. Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the material and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic, the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is everything. 

Krishna is everything. But everything is not Krsna. 

In this regard, the example may be given of gold that has not been molded and gold that has been molded into various ornaments. A gold earring and the gold in a mine are different only as cause and effect; otherwise they are the same. The Vedānta-sūtra describes that Brahman is the cause of everything. Janmādy asya yataḥ. Everything is born of the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different energies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The Māyāvādīs’ differentiation between Brahman and māyā is only due to ignorance.

Śrīmad Vīrarāghava Ācārya, in his Bhāgavata-candra-candrikā, describes the Vaiṣṇava philosophy as follows. The cosmic manifestation is described as sat and asat, as cit and acit. Matter is acit, and the living force is cit, but their origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in whom there is no difference between matter and spirit. According to this conception, the cosmic manifestation, consisting of both matter and spirit, is not different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaraḥ: “This cosmic manifestation is also the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although it appears different from Him.” In Bhagavad-gītā (9.4) the Lord says:

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.” Thus although someone may say that the Supreme Person is different from the cosmic manifestation, actually He is not. The Lord says, mayā tatam idaṁ sarvam: “In My impersonal feature I am spread throughout the world.” Therefore, this world is not different from Him. The difference is a difference in names. For example, whether we speak of gold earrings, gold bangles or gold necklaces, ultimately they are all gold. In a similar way, all the different manifestations of matter and spirit are ultimately one in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ekam evādvitīyaṁ brahma. This is the Vedic version (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.2.1). There is oneness because everything emanates from the Supreme Brahman. The example already given is that there is no difference between a golden earring and the gold mine as it is. The Vaiśeṣika philosophers, however, because of their Māyāvāda conception, create differences. They say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: “The Absolute Truth is real, and the cosmic manifestation is false.” But why should the jagat be considered mithyā? The jagat is an emanation from Brahman. Therefore the jagat is also truth.

Vaiṣṇavas, therefore, do not consider the jagat to be mithyā; rather, they regard everything as reality in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

anāsaktasya viṣayān

yathārham upayuñjataḥ

nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe

yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate

prāpañcikatayā buddhyā

hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ

mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo

vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate

“Things should be accepted for the Lord’s service and not for one’s personal sense gratification. If one accepts something without attachment and accepts it because it is related to Kṛṣṇa, one’s renunciation is called yuktaṁ vairāgyam. Whatever is favorable for the rendering of service to the Lord should be accepted and should not be rejected as a material thing.” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.255-256) The jagat should not be rejected as mithyā. It is truth, and the truth is realized when everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. A flower accepted for one’s sense gratification is material, but when the same flower is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead by a devotee, it is spiritual. Food taken and cooked for oneself is material, but food cooked for the Supreme Lord is spiritual prasāda. This is a question of realization. Actually, everything is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore everything is spiritual, but those who are not advanced in proper knowledge make distinctions because of the interactions of the three modes of material nature. In this regard, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that although the sun is the only light, the sunshine, which is exhibited in seven colors, and darkness, which is the absence of sunshine, are not different from the sun, for without the existence of the sun such differentiations cannot exist. There may be varied nomenclature because of different conditions, but they are all the sun. The Purāṇas therefore say:

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner

jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā

parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis

tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Just as the illumination of a fire, which is situated in one place, is spread all over, the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Parabrahman, are spread all over this universe.” (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 1.22.53) Materially, we can directly perceive the sunshine spreading itself according to different names and activities, but ultimately the sun is one. Similarly, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is an expansion of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, the Supreme Lord is everything, and He is one without differentiation. There is no existence separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

This is a brilliant explanation of acintya abeda beda tattva. If we understand this nothing is foreign to us. If we see everything as the energy of Krsna, we understand that matter is also spiritual except that it manifests and unmanifests. Therefore devotees see everything in relation to the lord and  use everything in the service of the lord and they see oneness everywhere. 

ISO Mantra 6 

He who systematically sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.

ISO Mantra 7

One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?

Oneness reconciles all the differences that we are seeing now. This is also discussed in 

SB 1.17.18 

O greatest among human beings, it is very difficult to ascertain the particular miscreant who has caused our sufferings, because we are bewildered by all the different opinions of theoretical philosophers.

There are many theoretical philosophers in the world who put forward their own theories of cause and effect especially about the cause of suffering and its effect on different living beings. Generally there are six great philosophers: Kaṇāda, the author of Vaiśeṣika philosophy; Gautama, the author of logic; Patañjali, the author of mystic yoga; Kapila, the author of Sāṅkhya philosophy; Jaimini, the author of Karma-mīmāṁsā; and Vyāsadeva, the author of Vedānta-darśana.

Although the bull, or the personality of religion, and the cow, the personality of the earth, knew perfectly well that the personality of Kali was the direct cause of their sufferings, still, as devotees of the Lord, they knew well also that without the sanction of the Lord no one could inflict trouble upon them. According to the Padma Purāṇa, our present trouble is due to the fructifying of seedling sins, but even those seedling sins also gradually fade away by execution of pure devotional service. Thus even if the devotees see the mischief-mongers, they do not accuse them for the sufferings inflicted. They take it for granted that the mischief-monger is made to act by some indirect cause, and therefore they tolerate the sufferings, thinking them to be God-given in small doses, for otherwise the sufferings should have been greater.

Shows how people are confused as there are so many speculations, because they do not have absu=olute truth presented by pure devotees, they are taken away from Krsna as opposed to bring them closer to Krsna. Maharaj was confused to read so many books in the Indian library..they are very confusing. When hearing from a devotee about BG it all made sense. Krishna is the cause and affect. There is no conflict then. Everywhere there is controversies.. Even in Iskcon.. This is due to lack of oneness.. 

Mahārāja Parīkṣit wanted to get a statement of accusation against the direct mischief-monger, but they declined to give it on the above-mentioned grounds. Speculative philosophers, however, do not recognize the sanction of the Lord; they try to find out the cause of sufferings in their own way, as will be described in the following verses. According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, such speculators are themselves bewildered, and thus they cannot know that the ultimate cause of all causes is the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead.

SB 8.12.9 

Those who are known as the impersonalist Vedāntists regard You as the impersonal Brahman. Others, known as the Mīmāṁsaka philosophers, regard You as religion. The Sāṅkhya philosophers regard You as the transcendental person who is beyond prakṛti and puruṣa and who is the controller of even the demigods. The followers of the codes of devotional service known as the Pañcarātras regard You as being endowed with nine different potencies. And the Patañjala philosophers, the followers of Patañjali Muni, regard You as the supreme independent Personality of Godhead, who has no equal or superior.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.7.13 TODAY (09/11/21):

1. Although it is not in our experience, there is a milk ocean within this universe.
2. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives much information which may not tally with our present experience.
3. As far as Indian sages are concerned, knowledge is received from the Vedic literatures, and the authorities accept without any hesitation.
4. The Vedic process is to follow in the footsteps of great authorities, and that is the only process for knowing that which is beyond our imagination.
5. The primeval Lord, being all-powerful, can do whatever He likes, and therefore His assuming the incarnation of a tortoise or a fish for serving a particular purpose is not at all astonishing.
6. Therefore we should not have any hesitation whatsoever in accepting the statements of the authentic scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
7. The gigantic work of churning the Milk Ocean by the combined effort of the demigods and the demons required a gigantic resting ground or pivot for the gigantic Mandara Hill.
8. Thus to help the attempt of the demigods the primeval Lord assumed the incarnation of a gigantic tortoise swimming in the Ocean of Milk.
9. At the same time, the mountain scratched His backbone as He was partially sleeping and thus relieved His itching sensation.
10. Daityas must always do the opposite of the demigods. That is their nature.
11. We have actually seen this in relation to our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are advocating cow protection and encouraging people to drink more milk and eat palatable preparations made of milk, but the demons, just to protest such proposals, they say that according to their scientific way, they have discovered that milk is dangerous and that the beef obtained by killing cows is very nutritious.
12. This difference of opinion between the daityas and demigods will always continue. Indeed, it has existed since days of yore. Millions of years ago, there was the same competition.
13. One may be very well educated, but if he has no sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no obedience to the Supreme Lord, he is a demon. 
14. Bhagavad-gītā clearly consists of transcendental instructions imparted directly by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
15. But asuras, instead of accepting these instructions directly, make commentaries according to their own whimsical ways and mislead everyone, without profit even for themselves.
16. One should therefore be very careful of demoniac, godless persons. According to the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa, even if a godless demon is very well educated, he must be considered a mūḍha, narādhama and māyayāpahṛta jñāna.
17. Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme controller of everything.
18. Hindrances are imposed upon us by the supreme power. Devotees endure hindrances, accepting them to be caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regarding them as benedictions. Demons, however, being unable to understand the supreme controller, regard such hindrances as accidental.
19. It was by His will that there were hindrances, and by His will those hindrances were removed.

SB 2.7.13 TRANSLATION:

The primeval Lord then assumed the tortoise incarnation in order to serve as a resting place [pivot] for the Mandara Mountain, which was acting as a churning rod. The demigods and demons were churning the Ocean of Milk with the Mandara Mountain in order to extract nectar. The mountain moved back and forth, scratching the back of Lord Tortoise, who, while partially sleeping, was experiencing an itching sensation.

EXISTENCE OF MILK OCEAN

Although it is not in our experience, there is a milk ocean within this universe. Even the modern scientist accepts that there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of planets hovering over our heads, and each of them has different kinds of climatic conditions. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives much information which may not tally with our present experience. But as far as Indian sages are concerned, knowledge is received from the Vedic literatures, and the authorities accept without any hesitation that we should look through the pages of authentic books of knowledge (śāstra-cakṣurvat). So we cannot deny the existence of the Ocean of Milk as stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam unless and until we have experimentally seen all the planets hovering in space. Since such an experiment is not possible, naturally we have to accept the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as it is because it is so accepted by spiritual leaders like Śrīdhara Svāmī, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī and others. The Vedic process is to follow in the footsteps of great authorities, and that is the only process for knowing that which is beyond our imagination.

The primeval Lord, being all-powerful, can do whatever He likes, and therefore His assuming the incarnation of a tortoise or a fish for serving a particular purpose is not at all astonishing. Therefore we should not have any hesitation whatsoever in accepting the statements of the authentic scriptures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

The gigantic work of churning the Milk Ocean by the combined effort of the demigods and the demons required a gigantic resting ground or pivot for the gigantic Mandara Hill. Thus to help the attempt of the demigods the primeval Lord assumed the incarnation of a gigantic tortoise swimming in the Ocean of Milk. At the same time, the mountain scratched His backbone as He was partially sleeping and thus relieved His itching sensation.

The whole past time is given in SB canto 8 chapter 7 

SB 8.7.1: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O best of the Kurus, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the demigods and demons summoned Vāsuki, king of the serpents, requesting him to come and promising to give him a share of the nectar. They coiled Vāsuki around Mandara Mountain as a churning rope, and with great pleasure they endeavored to produce nectar by churning the Ocean of Milk.

SB 8.7.2: The Personality of Godhead, Ajita, grasped the front portion of the snake, and then the demigods followed.

SB 8.7.3: The leaders of the demons thought it unwise to hold the tail, the inauspicious portion of the snake. Instead, they wanted to hold the front, which had been taken by the Personality of Godhead and the demigods, because that portion was auspicious and glorious. Thus the demons, on the plea that they were all highly advanced students of Vedic knowledge and were all famous for their birth and activities, protested that they wanted to hold the front of the snake.

The demons thought that the front of the snake was auspicious and that catching hold of that portion would be more chivalrous. Moreover, Daityas must always do the opposite of the demigods. That is their nature. We have actually seen this in relation to our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We are advocating cow protection and encouraging people to drink more milk and eat palatable preparations made of milk, but the demons, just to protest such proposals, are claiming that they are advanced in scientific knowledge, as described here by the words svādhyāya-śruta-sampannāḥ. They say that according to their scientific way, they have discovered that milk is dangerous and that the beef obtained by killing cows is very nutritious. This difference of opinion will always continue. Indeed, it has existed since days of yore. Millions of years ago, there was the same competition. The demons, as a result of their so-called Vedic study, preferred to hold the side of the snake near the mouth. The Supreme Personality of Godhead thought it wise to catch hold of the dangerous part of the snake and allow the demons to hold the tail, which was not dangerous, but because of a competitive desire, the demons thought it wise to hold the snake near the mouth. If the demigods were going to drink poison, the demons would resolve, “Why should we not share the poison and die gloriously by drinking it?”

Srila Prabhupada did not himself stop drinking milk, he wanted our own farms and never kill the cow and always protect the cow. There is this Veganism – they dont even drink milk. 

In regard to the words svādhyāya-śruta-sampannāḥ prakhyātā janma-karmabhiḥ, another question may be raised. If one is actually educated in Vedic knowledge, is famous for performing prescribed activities and has been born in a great aristocratic family, why should he be called a demon? The answer is that one may be highly educated and may have been born in an aristocratic family, but if he is godless, if he does not listen to the instructions of God, then he is a demon. There are many examples in history of men like Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa and Kaṁsa who were well educated, who were born in aristocratic families and who were very powerful and chivalrous in fighting, but who, because of deriding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, were called Rākṣasas, or demons. One may be very well educated, but if he has no sense of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, no obedience to the Supreme Lord, he is a demon. That is described by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (7.15):

4 kinds of people that never surrender to Krsna. Due to modern education many are becoming athiestic… they are only interested in animalistic activities… 

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ

prapadyante narādhamāḥ

māyayāpahṛta-jñānā

āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ

People who use logic and reasoning, 

“Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.” Āsuraṁ bhāvam refers to not accepting the existence of God or the transcendental instructions of the Personality of Godhead. Bhagavad-gītā clearly consists of transcendental instructions imparted directly by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But asuras, instead of accepting these instructions directly, make commentaries according to their own whimsical ways and mislead everyone, without profit even for themselves. One should therefore be very careful of demoniac, godless persons. According to the words of Lord Kṛṣṇa, even if a godless demon is very well educated, he must be considered a mūḍha, narādhama and māyayāpahṛta jñāna.

SB 8.7.4: Thus the demons remained silent, opposing the desire of the demigods. Seeing the demons and understanding their motive, the Personality of Godhead smiled. Without discussion, He immediately accepted their proposal by grasping the tail of the snake, and the demigods followed Him.

SB 8.7.5: After thus adjusting how the snake was to be held, the sons of Kaśyapa, both demigods and demons, began their activities, desiring to get nectar by churning the Ocean of Milk.

SB 8.7.6: O son of the Pāṇḍu dynasty, when Mandara Mountain was thus being used as a churning rod in the Ocean of Milk, it had no support, and therefore although held by the strong hands of the demigods and demons, it sank into the water.

SB 8.7.7: Because the mountain had been sunk by the strength of providence, the demigods and demons were disappointed, and their faces seemed to shrivel.

SB 8.7.8: Seeing the situation that had been created by the will of the Supreme, the unlimitedly powerful Lord, whose determination is infallible, took the wonderful shape of a tortoise, entered the water, and lifted the great Mandara Mountain.

Here is evidence that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme controller of everything. As we have previously described, there are two classes of men — the demons and the demigods — but neither of them are supremely powerful. Everyone has experienced that hindrances are imposed upon us by the supreme power. The demons regard these hindrances as mere accidents or chance, but devotees accept them to be acts of the supreme ruler. When faced with hindrances, therefore, devotees pray to the Lord. Tat te ’nukampāṁ susamīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam. Devotees endure hindrances, accepting them to be caused by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and regarding them as benedictions. Demons, however, being unable to understand the supreme controller, regard such hindrances as accidental. Here, of course, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present personally. It was by His will that there were hindrances, and by His will those hindrances were removed. The Lord appeared as a tortoise to support the great mountain. Kṣitir iha vipulatare tava tiṣṭhati pṛṣṭhe. The Lord held the great mountain on His back. Keśava dhṛta-kūrma-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare. Dangers can be created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they can also be removed by Him. This is known to devotees, but demons cannot understand it.

SB 8.7.9: When the demigods and demons saw that Mandara Mountain had been lifted, they were enlivened and encouraged to begin churning again. The mountain rested on the back of the great tortoise, which extended for eight hundred thousand miles like a large island.

SB 8.7.10: O King, when the demigods and demons, by the strength of their arms, rotated Mandara Mountain on the back of the extraordinary tortoise, the tortoise accepted the rolling of the mountain as a means of scratching His body, and thus He felt a pleasing sensation.