Srimad Bhavagavatham Class By HH HariVilas Maharaj

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:35
• One can render better service to the family by becoming a devotee of the Lord.
• The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves non-devotees!
• Mahārāja Parīkṣit admits the patronage of Lord Kṛṣṇa because of his being the only grandson of the great Pāṇḍavas.
• Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime.
• The resolute purpose of a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is based on knowledge. If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied by one’s actions, then everyone will be satisfied.
• By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master, there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
• Distress is the same in anybody, whether you are in a man’s body or a dog’s body the feeling of the distress is the same.
• Death is Sarva-haraḥ. Sarva means “everything.” big bank balance and big house, big family, big motorcar. With death everything is finished. Krsna says in BG 10.34 that “I am death”
• Because you have got this material body, you have to tolerate
• The disease cannot be stopped
• those who are intelligent, they know it very well that this place is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam
• This distress is due to this body. A sane man’s duty is to stop the process of accepting this material body. The right conclusion is that I am not this body. I am eternal spirit soul.
• You cannot be zero as said in buddhist philosophy. You are eternal.
• Getting out of gross body and subtle body is called mukti
• The real knowledge of human beings is not to invent something for temporary happiness. Our business is self-realization, to get out of this bodily entanglement.
• The more we advance in so-called material happiness or material advancement, the more we forget our real identity. This is the result.
• Anything we are advancing in knowledge without self-realization as the goal is useless. Śrama eva hi kevalam
• Accept knowledge from perfect authority. We do not speculate. Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to know everything perfectly from the supreme authority, Kṛṣṇa.
• Vedas say that God is beyond the grasp of our knowledge. Avan-manasa-gocara: to understand the length and breadth of God is beyond the jurisdiction of our mental speculation

SB 1.19.35 TRANSLATION:
Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is very dear to the sons of King Pāṇḍu, has accepted me as one of those relatives just to please His great cousins and brothers.

CLASS NOTES:
(SB 1.19.35) ONE CAN RENDER BETTER SERVICE TO THE FAMILY BY BECOMING A DEVOTEE OF THE LORD.
A pure and exclusive devotee of the Lord serves his family interest more dexterously than others, who are attached to illusory family affairs.
The Lord gives special protection to the family members and descendants of a devotee, even though such members are themselves non-devotees! Ex: Mahārāja Prahlāda & Hiranyakasipu. The Lord is so kind that he gives all protection to the family members of His devotee, and thus the devotee has no need to bother about his family members, even if one leaves such family members aside to discharge devotional service.

Lord Caitanya married twice. He chanted gopi, gopi one day… people insulted Him. He took Sanyas left His old mother and young wife. If you really take care of your family you become a devotee. That does not mean you become a devotee for that reason and leave the family. Srila Prabhupada left home only after his children were old enough and got married. He left and got wounded by a bull. He later took sannyasa. He started the first center in Jhansi and it failed. He translated BG and 1st canto of SB translated. He became determined to go to the USA to follow his guru’s words. He goes on a cargo ship and suffers two heartaches. He was in Butler, he goes to Ney York. He goes to Dr.Misra’s ashram, he cooks there. With the few acquaintances in the
Mukunda Das and wife, wife shuts down the door…. Srila Prabhupada was let in by Mukunda das. Look at how determined SP was… He went through so much just to follow his guru maharaja’s instructions.

(BG 2.41) THE RESOLUTE PURPOSE OF A PERSON IN KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS IS BASED ON KNOWLEDGE.
Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime. When one is awake in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he needs no longer endeavor for good results in his activities. When one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all activities are on the absolute plane, for they are no longer subject to dualities like good and bad. The highest perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the renunciation of the material conception of life. This state is automatically achieved by progressive Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The resolute purpose of a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is based on knowledge. If Kṛṣṇa is satisfied by one’s actions, then everyone will be satisfied.
to be well versed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one has to act firmly and obey the representative of Kṛṣṇa, and one should accept the instruction of the bona fide spiritual master as one’s mission in life.

“By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master, there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I should, therefore, meditate and pray for his mercy three times a day, and offer my respectful obeisances unto him, my spiritual master.”
The whole process, however, depends on perfect knowledge of the soul beyond the conception of the body – not theoretically but practically.

Srila Prabhupada meditated on this verse throughout his life. This one is enough to lead us to the perfection of life

LECTURE ON 2.14 (HTTPS://VEDABASE.IO/EN/LIBRARY/TRANSCRIPTS/740623BGGER/?QUERY=COMMON+DISTRESS#BB291586)

DISTRESS IS THE SAME IN ANYBODY
Distress and happiness—according to the body. A very rich man is situated little comfortably. The common distress and unhappiness, er, happiness, that is common. What is that common? Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg. 13.9]. To take birth either as a dog or as a king, the distress is the same. There is no difference. Because the dog has to keep itself within the womb of the mother in an airtight condition for so many months, and the man, either he is king or anything, he has also undergo that tribulation. There is no excuse. Because you are taking birth in a king’s family, it does not mean that to remain compact within the mother’s womb the distress is less, and because he is taking birth in a dog’s mother’s womb, therefore his is great. No. That is the same. Similarly, at the time of death, the distress… At the time of death there is great distress. It is so strong that one has to leave this body. Just like when the distress becomes very strong, one commits suicide. He cannot tolerate = “Finish this body.”

WITH DEATH EVERYTHING IS FINISHED
So nobody wants to leave this body, but the distress is so strong that one is forced to leave this body. That is called death. In the Bhagavad-gītā you will find that mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś ca aham [Bg. 10.34]. Kṛṣṇa says that “I am death.” And what is the meaning of death? Death means “I take everything from him. Finished. I take his body, I take his association, I take his country, I take his society, I take his bank balance, and everything finished.” Sarva-haraḥ. Sarva means “everything.” Everyone is trying to accumulated big bank balance and big house, big family, big motorcar… But with the death, everything is finished. So that is great distress.

WE HAVE TO LEARN TO TOLERATE
We have to tolerate it. That is advised here, that “Because you have got this material body, you have to tolerate,” When you are a child you can speak and the mother understands your cry for something as something else. You want something and you are given something else.
So you study life. From the beginning of this body within the womb of the mother, it is simply troublesome. Against my will, so many distresses are there. So much distress there. Then as you grow, the distress grows, grow. Distress is not diminished.

DISEASE CANNOT BE STOPPED
You can manufacture so many high-class medicine to cure disease. That will not cure. Temporary relief. But no scientist has discovered any medicine that “You take this medicine and no more disease.” That is not possible. “You take this medicine, no more death.” That is not possible.

THIS PLACE IS DUḤKHĀLAYAM AŚĀŚVATAM
those who are intelligent, they know it very well that this place is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg. 8.15]. That is described in the Bhagavad-gītā. It is a place for distress. So long you remain here… But we are so fool, we cannot realize. We accept, “This life is very pleasant. Let me enjoy it.” It is not pleasant at all. Seasonal changes, always. This distress or that distress; this disease or that disease; this uncomfortable, this anxiety. There are three kinds of distresses = adhyātmika, adhibhautika, adhidaivika.

A SANE MAN’S DUTY IS HOW TO STOP THE PROCESS OF ACCEPTING THIS MATERIAL BODY. THESE DISTRESSES ARE DUE TO THIS BODY
Therefore a sane man’s duty is how to stop the process of accepting this material body. This is intelligence. He should realize that “I am always in distresses, and I am not this body, but I am put into this body. Therefore right conclusion is that I am not this body. If somehow or other I can live without this body, then my distresses are over.” This is common sense. That is possible. Therefore Kṛṣṇa comes. Therefore God comes, to give you the information that “You are not this body. You are the soul, spirit soul. And because you are within this body, you are suffering so many distresses.” Therefore Kṛṣṇa advises that “These distresses are due to this body.” Try to understand. Why you are feeling pains and pleasure? It is due to the body.

YOU CANNOT BE ZERO AS SAID IN BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY. YOU ARE ETERNAL.
This body is packed up with shirt and coat. So the coat is the gross body, and the shirt is the subtle body. So when this gross body is resting, the subtle body is working. The subtle body is there. The foolish men, they cannot understand that “I am compact in some body, either subtle body or gross body.”

GETTING OUT OF GROSS BODY AND SUBTLE BODY AND REMAINING IN YOUR ORIGINAL SPIRITUAL BODY IS CALLED MUKTI
I am there, either in the gross body or in the subtle body. So I am eternal. Now the problem is how to avoid this gross body and subtle body. That is problem. That means when you remain in your original body, means spiritual body, and do not come to this gross or subtle body, that is your eternal life. That is… We have to achieve. This human life is a gift by the nature or by God. Now you realize that you are changing your different condition, distress and happiness, being forced to accept some kind of gross and subtle body. That is the cause of your pains and pleasure. And if you get out of this gross and subtle body, remain in your original, spiritual body, then you are free from these pains and pleasure. That is called mukti. Mukti, there is a Sanskrit word. Mukti means liberation = no more gross body, no more subtle body, but you remain in your own original, spiritual body. This is called mukti.

THE REAL KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN BEINGS IS NOT TO INVENT SOMETHING FOR TEMPORARY HAPPINESS. OUR BUSINESS IS SELF-REALIZATION.
That is foolishness, wasting time. If we invent something for the comforts of this present body and I shall live very comfortably, but “You will not be allowed, sir, to live comfortably.” First of all you know it. Suppose a man is constructing very nice house, very strong house; it will never fall down in any circumstances. But that’s all right, but what you have done for yourself that you will never die so that you will enjoy this? “No. Let it be. Let me have a very strong-built house.” So house remains. You go there.The more we advance in so-called material happiness or material advancement, the more we forget our real identity. This is the result.

In the human form of life, I have got a separate business, self-realization, to get out of this bodily entanglement. And that is called knowledge.

ANYTHING WE ARE ADVANCING IN KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT SELF-REALIZATION AS THE GOAL IS USELESS. ŚRAMA EVA HI KEVALAM
[SB 1.2.8]. Śrama eva hi kevalam. Śrama eva hi kevalam means simply working uselessly and wasting time. You cannot check the nature’s law. Suppose in this life you are very big leader, prime minister, and everything. That’s all right, but according to your mentality, you are creating next life. So in this life you remain a prime minister, and in next life you become a dog.

WE ACCEPT KNOWLEDGE FROM PERFECT AUTHORITY, WE DON’T TRY TO SPECULATE
We accept knowledge from the perfect person. I may be fool, but the knowledge received from the perfect person is perfect. This is our process. We don’t try to speculate.
So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is to know everything perfectly from the supreme authority, Kṛṣṇa. This is the process. Tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum eva abhigacchet [MU 1.2.12]. In order to understand subject matter which is beyond our perception, you have to approach such authority who can inform you. Exactly in the same way = to understand who is my father is beyond my perception, beyond my speculation, but if I accept the authoritative statement of my mother, this is perfect knowledge.

AVAN-MANASA-GOCARA: TO UNDERSTAND THE LENGTH AND BREADTH OF GOD IS BEYOND THE JURISDICTION OF OUR MENTAL SPECULATION
Vedas say that God is beyond the grasp of our knowledge. Avan-manasa-gocara: to understand the length and breadth of God is beyond the jurisdiction of our mental speculation (https://vanisource.org/wiki/KB_87_(1996%2B))

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:34

1. Just as the atheist cannot remain in the presence of the Personality of Godhead, so also the invulnerable sins of a man are immediately vanquished in your presence, O saint! 
2. A ghost cannot remain as soon as the holy name of the Lord is chanted.
3. One is recommended to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence.
4. ‘Lusty desire’ refers to the desire to gratify one’s personal senses, and ‘transcendental desire’ refers to the desire for serving the senses of the Lord.”
5. The gopīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa is certainly not material lusty desire.
6. The gopīs, however, wanted nothing at all but to gratify the senses of the Lord.
7. Uddhava aspired to follow in the footsteps of Gopis.
8. Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught that there is no better method of worshiping Kṛṣṇa than that conceived by the gopīs.
9. The gopīs’ method of worshiping the Lord as if impelled by lusty desire was praised very highly even by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. 
10. Unless one is fully situated in the transcendental position, the relationship of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to understand.
11. Kubja’s desire for Kṛṣṇa was almost mundane, and so her love cannot be compared to the love of the gopīs.
12. The varṇāśrama institution is constructed to enable one to realize the Absolute Truth.
13. The highest aim of life or the highest perfection of the institution of the varṇāśrama-dharma is to cooperate jointly for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord.
14. Caitanya Maha Prabhu agrees with Ramananda Rai only with the process of abandoning all things and just Chanting the holy name and simply sitting and hearing the transcendental past times of the lord as the highest.  Srila Prabhupada said, in his last days that – that only half the work is done and the other half is establishing varnashrama system in this world. Is he contradicting Caitanya Maha Prabhu? Krishna himself established the varnashrama…. “Catur Varnam … maya sristham… “
15. In verse SB 1.2.13, Srila Prabhupada clearly writes about the Varnashrama and why it is needed

SB 1.19.34 TRANSLATION:

Just as the atheist cannot remain in the presence of the Personality of Godhead, so also the invulnerable sins of a man are immediately vanquished in your presence, O saint! O great mystic!

CLASS NOTES: 

(SB 1.19.34) ONE IS RECOMMENDED TO ASSOCIATE ONLY WITH SAINTLY DEVOTEES SO THAT WORLDLY DEMONS AND GHOSTS CANNOT EXERT THEIR SINISTER INFLUENCE.

The devotee of the Lord, because of manifesting godly qualities, is called a demigod, whereas the atheist is called a demon.  It is said that a ghost cannot remain as soon as the holy name of the Lord is chanted. The great saints and devotees of the Lord are in the list of His paraphernalia, and thus as soon as a saintly devotee is present, the ghostly sins are at once vanquished. That is the verdict of all Vedic literature. One is recommended, therefore, to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence.

Ghosts are put in the same level as demons. Ghosts are spirits which don’t have gross body. Someone becomes ghost if they commit suicide. The ghosts look for people who do not cut their nails, long hair, smoke marijuana, red chili, Whenever a person take drugs their desire to live weakens. They are vulnerable to ghosts. Once the ghost enters into the body, forces the living entity to what they are beckoning… whenever a person is walking and talking to himself, he is possessed.

Atheists are demons and they cannot stand God. Ex: Hiranyakasipu…The teachers at school at once dismiss the name of God. They say it is religion and nothing do with science.

In LA temple,  there was one guy… One day the satanic people came and when I chanted Hare Krsna they walked away… That person started coming to the temple every day and
Iranians are Vedic people who left the Vedic path they are very philosophical sometimes. They were following Zoroastrians…

List of his paraphernalia – how can a person be in the list of things. All the paraphernalia is the incarnation of Balaram. He is always assisting the lord in all his pastimes and incarnations… Anantasesha….. Devotees are the paraphernalia of the lord. Hence they are worshipped. “Tadiyanam samacaram…. )

One is recommended to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence. – This shows how important tit is o be a deovotee. “Cetodarpanam arjanam….” …. All the sins are removed and the tendency to sin is also removed.
Atat pumbhir… Samsidhir haritoshanam

SB 1.2.13
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā
varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one’s own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead

(NOD CH 15) THE GOPĪS’ LOVE FOR KṚṢṆA IS CERTAINLY NOT MATERIAL LUSTY DESIRE

‘Lusty desire’ refers to the desire to gratify one’s personal senses, and ‘transcendental desire’ refers to the desire for serving the senses of the Lord.”

The gopīs, however, wanted nothing at all but to gratify the senses of the Lord, and there is no instance of this in the material world

The gopīs’ love for Kṛṣṇa is certainly not material lusty desire. Otherwise, how could Uddhava aspire to follow in their footsteps? Another instance is Lord Caitanya Himself. After accepting the sannyāsa order of life, He was very, very strict about avoiding association with women, but still He taught that there is no better method of worshiping Kṛṣṇa than that conceived by the gopīs. Thus the gopīs’ method of worshiping the Lord as if impelled by lusty desire was praised very highly even by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This very fact means that although the attraction of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa appears to be lusty, it is not in the least bit material. Unless one is fully situated in the transcendental position, the relationship of the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa is very difficult to understand

Kubja’s desire for Kṛṣṇa was almost mundane, and so her love cannot be compared to the love of the gopīs.

The greatest devotees of the Lord are women. Even the personified Vedas wants to be like Gopis. What is considered to be mundane in a perverted world is transcendental. People misunderstand it to be misogyny when they hear that two things to avoid – association with women and worldly people. But it is about fallen women. 

Careful hearing and chanting are required to understand all these nuances and the differences.

VARNASHRAMA –

An advanced devotee gave a lecture on why the Varnashrama system is nonsense and it is not for devotees in the world wide forum.  It is very easy to deviate if you do not sit down and hear and read thoroughly the texts of Srila Prabhupada ….

Even though Caitanya Maha Prabhu said just sit down and regularly hear SB and chant the holy names of the Lord, Srila Prabhupada in his last days, said that only half the work is done and the other half is establishing varnashrama system in this world. Is he contradicting Caitanya Maha Prabhu? Krishna himself established the varnashrama…. “Catur Varnam … maya sristham… “

In the following verse Srila Prabhupada clearly writes about the Varnashrama and why it is needed….

(SB 1.2.13) THE HIGHEST AIM OF LIFE OR THE HIGHEST PERFECTION OF THE INSTITUTION OF THE VARṆĀŚRAMA-DHARMA IS TO COOPERATE JOINTLY FOR THE SATISFACTION OF THE SUPREME LORD. 

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

The varṇāśrama institution is constructed to enable one to realize the Absolute Truth. It is not for artificial domination of one division over another. When the aim of life, i.e., realization of the Absolute Truth, is missed by too much attachment for indriya-prīti, or sense gratification, as already discussed hereinbefore, the institution of the varṇāśrama is utilized by selfish men to pose an artificial predominance over the weaker section. In the Kali-yuga, or in the age of quarrel, this artificial predominance is already current, but the saner section of the people know it well that the divisions of castes and orders of life are meant for smooth social intercourse and high-thinking self-realization and not for any other purpose.
Herein the statement of Bhāgavatam is that the highest aim of life or the highest perfection of the institution of the varṇāśrama-dharma is to cooperate jointly for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.13).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ow59bVTv3_LglVTP5Dt3kBknFUUyiGCj/view

KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 1:19:33

1. The importance of holy places of pilgrimage is due to the presence of great sages and saints
2. Holy places are to be visited not to take bath, it is to actually meet and associate with saintly persons. Even a minute association with a pure devotee will solve many things. 
3. The holy saints actually have no self-interest with the householders. The only aim of such saints is to sanctify the houses of the householders, and the householders therefore should feel grateful when such saints appear at their doors. 
4. Living beings are looking for happiness in the wrong platform and are encaged in this material world due to ignorance and thus lament
5. The real center of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord. This is the Oneness in the spiritual platform. Everyone has one goal of pleasing Krsna.
6. No one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. 
7. To get rid of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we must bring God into all our activities.
8. If one hears the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, from authorities, with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished.
9. The gopīs became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord by rendering loving service to the Lord
10. The Lord is satisfied more when His pure devotees are glorified
11. Demons are able to attain the same objective as the Yogis who attained with severe penances. The objective is God-consciousness
12. Personified Vedas wish to become like Gopis in Vraja
13. Personified Vedas ask the lord for benediction to become like cowherd women and the lord sanctions
14. Gayatri Mantra also became a gopi 
15. By remembering the lord one who is impure becomes pure. 
16. It is the Self which must be observed, heard about, thought of, and meditated upon with fixed concentration
17. To that person whom the Supreme Soul chooses, He becomes attainable. To that person the Supreme Soul reveals His personal form
18. O Lord, loving remembrance of Your lotus feet is very rarely achieved. Please, O Nṛhari, somehow arrange for me to have that remembrance day and night

SB 1.19.33 Translation:
Simply by our remembering you, our houses become instantly sanctified. And what to speak of seeing you, touching you, washing your holy feet, and offering you a seat in our home?
CLASS NOTES: (SB 1.19.33) The importance of holy places of pilgrimage is due to the presence of great sages and saints
It is said that sinful persons go to the holy places and leave their sins there to accumulate. But the presence of the great saints disinfects the accumulated sins, and thus the holy places continue to remain sanctified by the grace of the devotees and saints present there.

The great benediction of all yugas is that there are saintly persons who wander around the world and give association to the householders.  House holders are invariably engaged in sense gratification. Saintly people have no self-interest in visiting the houses of householders. They only visit houses for few mins to enlighten them with what their duty is as a householder. When they visit, they are generally healing the sick, giving spiritual instruction – lifestyle, and recommend dietary changes, giving a regulatory schedule, or giving some indication through astrology.Sinful persons go to holy places and leave their sins. Holy places are to be visited not to take bath, it is to actually meet and associate with saintly persons. Even a minute association with a pure devotee will solve many things. 
Saintly persons explain 2 big subjects to the people in general-
1. How the people are entrapped in this world
2. How they can get out of it. 

(IOS 7) Living beings are looking for happiness in the wrong platform and are encaged in this material world due to ignorance and thus lamentBy nature and constitution, every living being – including the Supreme Lord and each of His parts and parcels – is meant for eternal enjoyment. The living beings who are encaged in the material tabernacle are constantly seeking enjoyment, but they are seeking it on the wrong platform.  Apart from the material platform is the spiritual platform, where the Supreme Being enjoys Himself with His innumerable associates. On that platform there is never a clash over the object of enjoyment. Here in the material world there is always a clash between different individual beings because here the proper center of enjoyment is missed.

(ISO 7) The real center of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord. This is the Oneness in the spiritual platform. Everyone has one goal of pleasing Krsna.The real center of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord, who is the center of the sublime and spiritual rāsa dance. We are all meant to join Him and enjoy life with one transcendental interest and without any clash. That is the highest platform of spiritual interest, and as soon as one realizes this perfect form of oneness, there can be no question of illusion (moha) or lamentation (śoka).
(ISO 7)No one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. A godless civilization arises from illusion, and the result of such a civilization is lamentation. A godless civilization, such as that sponsored by modern politicians, is always full of anxieties because it may be crushed at any moment. That is the law of nature. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14), no one but those who surrender at the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord can surpass the stringent laws of nature. Thus if we wish to get rid of all sorts of illusion and anxiety and create unity out of all diverse interests, we must bring God into all our activities.
1.3.20, 1.18.31, 1.8.42. 1.8.43, 1.8.44(Krsna, Supreme Personality of Godhead) If one hears the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa with the gopīs, from authorities, with submission, then he will be promoted to the platform of transcendental loving service to the Lord, and the material disease of lust within his heart will be completely vanquished.The pleasure potency is called Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The attraction of loving affairs on the basis of sex feeling is the original feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and we, the conditioned souls, being part and parcel of the Supreme, have such feelings also, but they are experienced within a perverted, minute condition. 
Srila Prabhupada was very upset when someone started the Gopi Bhava club intended to just hear the rasa past times of Radha and Krsna.  He said – “If there is one thing you need to meditate on, meditate on Guru Mukha and Yasya Prasada… “
(SB 1.9.40) The gopīs became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord by rendering loving service to the LordBy intense ecstasy in loving service, the damsels of Vrajabhūmi attained the qualitative oneness with the Lord by dancing with Him on an equal level, embracing Him in nuptial love, smiling at Him in-joke and looking at Him with a loving attitude. 
The gopīs practically became one with the Lord by attainment of equal footing with the Lord. The gopīs’ equality with the Lord should never be misunderstood to be like the sāyujya liberation of the impersonalist. The equality is one of perfect ecstasy, where the differential conception is completely eradicated, for the interests of the lover and the beloved become identical.”

The Gopis attained oneness with Krsna because their only desire is to please Krsna, they did not have any other desire for sense gratification or did not expect anything from Krsna. They simply always want to give to Krsna. Materialists cannot understand this, because they are only working for their sense of gratification. It is like if Bill Gates says work for Microsoft, I am not giving any salary… 
(SB 1.9.40)The Lord is satisfied more when His pure devotees are glorifiedBhīṣma’s aspiration to remember the gopīs is a prayer to have their mercy also at the last stage of his life. The Lord is satisfied more when His pure devotees are glorified, and therefore Bhīṣmadeva has not only glorified the acts of Arjuna, his immediate object of attraction, but also he has remembered the gopīs, who were endowed with unrivalled opportunities by rendering loving service to the Lord. 

The yogis by doing severe penances they want to become one with Krsna. Whereas the devotees are able to control Krsna. 

(ŚB 10.87.23) Demons are able to attain the same objective as the Yogis who attained with severe penances. The objective is God-consciousness
Followers of the path of mystic yoga subdue their senses and minds by practicing breath control and severe austerities. If they succeed in thoroughly purifying themselves by this regimen, they may eventually begin to realize the Paramātmā, the personal form of Brahman within the heart. And if they continue this meditation without deviation for a long time, they may in the end come to the point of true God-consciousness. But the same objective achieved in this difficult and uncertain way was also attained by the demons who were killed by Lord Kṛṣṇa during His pastimes on the earth. Obsessed with enmity toward Him, demons like Kaṁsa and Śiśupāla quickly obtained the perfection of liberation simply by His killing them.

(SB 10.87.23) Personified Vedas wish to become like Gopis in Vrajathe personified Vedas here state that they would prefer to develop love of Godhead by learning to emulate the favorable surrender of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s confidential devotees, especially the young gopīs of Vraja. Though they appeared to be simple women attracted conjugally to the Lord’s physical beauty and strength, the goddesses of Vraja exhibited the highest perfection of meditation. The śrutis wish to become just like them.

(SB 10.87.23) Personified Vedas ask the lord for benediction to become like cowherd womenOnce, after the Vedas had elaborately praised Him, the Lord felt especially satisfied and spoke to them in a voice whose source remained invisible: ‘My dear sages, I am very satisfied with you. Please ask of Me some benediction that you secretly desire.’”
“The śrutis replied, ‘We have developed the desire to become like the cowherd women of the mortal world who, inspired by lust, worship You in the mood of a lover.’”
“The Lord then said, ‘This desire of Yours is difficult to fulfill. Indeed, it is almost impossible. But since I am sanctioning it, your wish must inevitably come true.’”
“‘When the next Brahmā takes birth to faithfully execute his duties of creation, and when the day of his life called the Sārasvata-Kalpa arrives, you will all appear in Vraja as gopīs.’”
“‘On the earth, in the land of Bhārata, in My own district of Mathurā, in the forest of Vṛndāvana, I will become your beloved in the circle of the rāsa dance.’”
“‘Thus obtaining Me as your paramour, you will all gain the most exalted and steadfast pure love for Me, and in this way, you will fulfill all your ambitions.’”
“Lord Brahmā said: After hearing these words, the śrutis meditated on the Personality of Godhead’s beauty for a long time. When the designated time ultimately arrived, they became gopīs and obtained the association of Kṛṣṇa.”

(SB 10.87.23) Gayatri Mantra also became a gopi A similar account can be found in the Sṛṣṭi-khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa, which describes how the Gāyatrī mantra also became a gopī.

(SB 10.87.23) By Remembering the lord one who is impure becomes pure. Regarding the development of bhakti, Lord Kṛṣṇa further states in the Gopāla-tāpanī Upaniṣad (Uttara 4) “By remembering Me, one who is impure becomes pure. one who follows no vows becomes a strict follower of vows. one who is desireless develops desires [to serve Me]. one who has studied no Vedic mantras becomes an expert knower of the Vedas.”
(SB 10.87.23)It is the Self that must be observed, heard about, thought of, and meditated upon with fixed concentration. The gradual steps in the process of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious are:  
The Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad (4.5.6) refers to the gradual steps in the process of becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious:  “It is the Self which must be observed, heard about, thought of, and meditated upon with fixed concentration.” The idea here is that one should realize the Supreme Self as directly visible in His full personality by the following means: 

1. First, one should hear the instructions of a qualified representative of the Paramātmā and take the words of such a spiritual master into one’s heart by offering him humble service and striving in all ways to please him.
2. One should then ponder the divine message of the spiritual master continuously, with the aim of dispelling all one’s doubts and misconceptions.
3. Then one can proceed to meditate on the Supreme Lord’s lotus feet with total conviction and determination

(SB 10.87.23) To that person whom the Supreme Soul chooses, He becomes attainable. To that person, the Supreme Soul reveals His personal form
All honest Vaiṣṇavas, however, join in adhering to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, always meditating with pleasure on His infinitely wonderful, variegated spiritual qualities. In the words of the śruti-mantras, yam evaiṣa vṛṇute tena labhyas/ tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanūṁ svām: “To that person whom the Supreme Soul chooses, He becomes attainable. To that person the Supreme Soul reveals His personal form.” (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.2.23 and Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.3)

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī concludes with the prayer,
“O Lord, loving remembrance of Your lotus feet is very rarely achieved. Please, O Nṛhari, somehow arrange for me to have that remembrance day and night.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:32:

1. The presence of the great saint turns any place into a place of pilgrimage.
2. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was greatly encouraged by the presence of Śukadeva Gosvāmī. He felt sanctified by Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s presence. 
3. For a devotee who desires to go back to Godhead, two things are strictly prohibited: worldly enjoyers and women.
4. All Indians should execute the Supreme Lord’s commands. One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people.
5. Indians must fearlessly preach the glories of the Lord far and wide.
6. One who surrenders to the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, can easily face all dangers in the effort to propagate His message.
7. By the Lord’s will and by the mercy of His pure devotee, this knowledge will again spread everywhere. The sages and self-realized souls come forward to benefit the world through missionary activities as per the will of the Lord. 
8. Kali-yuga is very special because Lord Caitanya appears in this age and propagates the science of pure love of Godhead. The present Kali-yuga is very auspicious, for in this age one can attain the treasure of devotional service to the Lord that He Himself propagated.
9. Although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.
10. If one takes up devotional service sincerely,  one can experience the bliss and tranquillity of the Satya-yuga
11. The promulgation of the Bhagavad-gītā’s knowledge on a world-wide scale will establish a foundation upon which the edifice of the science of love of God will be constructed. 
12. When knowledge of the Gītā spreads, then everyone will easily be able to attain the platform of yoga.
13. Srila Prabhupada asks “If Arjuna found time to hear the Bhagavad-gītā in the middle of a battlefield at Kuruksetra, then what urgent business is stopping us from hearing the Gītā?”
14. Therefore, Indians should now take shelter of their saintly preceptors, the pure devotees, and unitedly propagate the glorification of Kṛṣṇa via the medium of the Bhagavad-gītā. In this way, the world will become prosperous and perfect. 

SB 1.19.32 TRANSLATION: 

The fortunate King Parīkṣit said: O brāhmaṇa, by your mercy only, you have sanctified us, making us like unto places of pilgrimage, all by your presence here as my guest. By your mercy, we, who are but unworthy royalty, become eligible to serve the devotee.

CLASS NOTES: 

(SB 1.19.32) FOR A DEVOTEE WHO DESIRES TO GO BACK TO GODHEAD, TWO THINGS ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED: WORLDLY ENJOYERS AND WOMEN. 

Devotees of the standard of Śukadeva Gosvāmī are never interested in seeing kings. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was, of course, a different case. He was a great devotee, although a king, and therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī came to see him in his last stage of life.

TADĪYĀNĀṀ SAMARCANAM (ABOVE THE WORSHIP OF LORD VIṢṆU IS THE RENDERING OF SERVICE TO VAIṢṆAVAS OR THINGS RELATED LORD VIṢṆU)

When the Lord Caitanya came to know that Gopala Bhatta came to Vrndavan, the Lord sent him a wooden sitting plank and chadar.  Gopala Bhatta starts worshipping them. (tadīyānāṁ samarcanam). You can find the same plank and chaddar being worshipped in the Radha Raman temple till today. Today you can visit the temple of Lord Chaitanya in Srirangam. </p>

(https://gaudiyahistory.iskcondesiretree.com/tag/gopala-bhatta-goswami/) (https://gaudiyahistory.iskcondesiretree.com/gopala-bhatta-goswami-biography/)

(CC ĀDI 9.41) ALL INDIANS SHOULD EXECUTE THE SUPREME LORD’S COMMANDS. ONE WHO HAS TAKEN HIS BIRTH AS A HUMAN BEING IN THE LAND OF INDIA [BHĀRATA-VARṢA] SHOULD MAKE HIS LIFE SUCCESSFUL AND WORK FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL OTHER PEOPLE.

It is indeed true that Indians are especially able to benefit others world-wide. But if the Indians do not meet this responsibility and instead get enticed and bedazzled by the illusory energy as it is manifest in the West in such variegated forms, then they will become known as misers and end their lives in disgrace. . Indians must fearlessly preach the glories of the Lord far and wide

(RTW 5.1) EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF THE LORD DESIRES. AND THUS IF THE LORD DESIRES, EVERYONE CAN DEVELOP A LOVING MOOD OF SURRENDER TO HIM.

By the Lord’s will and by the mercy of His pure devotee, this knowledge will again spread everywhere.

When knowledge of the Absolute Truth, which is on the platform of pure goodness, is suppressed by the rampant influence of ignorance and passion, the sages and self-realized souls come forward to benefit the world through missionary activities as per the will of the Lord. 

(SB 6.17.28) ONE WHO SURRENDERS TO THE SUPREME LORD, NĀRĀYAṆA, CAN EASILY FACE ALL DANGERS IN THE EFFORT TO PROPAGATE HIS MESSAGE

Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation, and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.

(RTW 5.1) ALL THE PASTIMES OF THE SUPREME LORD IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD ARE ETERNAL

As the Caitanya-bhāgavata states, “Even at this very moment Lord Gaurāṅga is enacting His eternal, transcendental pastimes, but only the most fortunate souls can see them.” When the sun sets, it goes out of our sight, but it continues to shine somewhere on this globe. Similarly, when the Lord winds up His earthly pastimes, He continues to manifest them in one or more of the uncountable millions of planets in the universe. 

(RTW 5.1) KALI-YUGA IS VERY SPECIAL BECAUSE LORD CAITANYA APPEARS IN THIS AGE AND PROPAGATES THE SCIENCE OF PURE LOVE OF GODHEAD.

This Kali-yuga is very special, however, because Lord Caitanya appears in this age in His original form and propagates the esoteric science of pure love of Godhead. We have great expectations that this science of pure love of Godhead will be propagated worldwide in the immediate future. 

There is no reason to despise this age, for the most munificent incarnation of Godhead, Lord Caitanya, has appeared in Kali-yuga to shower His kindness upon the afflicted souls. The extent of the Supreme Lord’s mercy is decidedly more generous in this age than in any other.

May that Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacīdevī be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has descended in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant spiritual knowledge of the mellow taste of His service.

The present Kali-yuga is therefore very auspicious, for in this age one can attain the treasure of devotional service to the Lord that He Himself propagated.  Our hope rests fully with the Lord’s surrendered devotees, who are endowed with perfect knowledge of how to disseminate this transcendental science.

(RTW 5.1) IF ONE TAKES UP DEVOTIONAL SERVICE SINCERELY,  ONE CAN EXPERIENCE THE BLISS AND TRANQUILITY OF THE SATYA-YUGA

During the Satya-yuga the mode of goodness is in abundance. Or one can say that when the quality of goodness increases in a person to the extent that he becomes situated in his original constitutional identity as a servant of the Lord, thus making his human life a complete success, at that time he enjoys the bliss and tranquility of the Satya-yuga

(ŚB 12.3.51-52) ALTHOUGH KALI-YUGA IS AN OCEAN OF FAULTS, THERE IS STILL ONE GOOD QUALITY: SIMPLY BY CHANTING THE HARE KṚṢṆA MAHĀ-MANTRA, ONE CAN BECOME FREE FROM MATERIAL BONDAGE AND BE PROMOTED TO THE TRANSCENDENTAL KINGDOM.

My dear king, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā-yuga by performing sacrifices, and Dvāpara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in the Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

(RTW 5.1) THE PROMULGATION OF THE BHAGAVAD-GĪTĀ’S KNOWLEDGE ON A WORLD-WIDE SCALE WILL ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION UPON WHICH THE EDIFICE OF THE SCIENCE OF LOVE OF GOD WILL BE CONSTRUCTED. 

The word hari-kīrtana used in these verses, which means “singing or chanting the glories of Kṛṣṇa,” could very well apply to the Bhagavad-gītā, the song sung by God Himself. The promulgation of the Bhagavad-gītā’s knowledge on a world-wide scale will establish a foundation upon which the edifice of the science of love of God will be constructed. This edifice will be the repository of the sublime treasure of devotional service as taught by Lord Caitanya in Kali-yuga, and it will serve as a shining monument to the transcendental endeavors of the Lord’s pure devotees

(RTW 5.1)WHEN KNOWLEDGE OF THE GĪTĀ SPREADS, THEN EVERYONE WILL EASILY BE ABLE TO ATTAIN THE PLATFORM OF YOGA.

The essence of all Vedic knowledge is available in the Gītopaniṣad, popularly known as the Bhagavad-gītā. Lord Kṛṣṇa milked the cow of the Upaniṣads, and Arjuna drank the milk thus obtained – the Bhagavad-gītā. If Arjuna found time to hear the Bhagavad-gītā in the middle of a battlefield at Kuruksetra, then what urgent business is stopping us from hearing the Gītā? When knowledge of the Gītā spreads, then everyone will easily be able to attain the platform of yoga.

(RTW 5.1) INDIANS SHOULD NOW TAKE SHELTER OF THEIR SAINTLY PRECEPTORS, THE PURE DEVOTEES, AND UNITEDLY PROPAGATE THE GLORIFICATION OF KṚṢṆA VIA THE MEDIUM OF THE BHAGAVAD-GĪTĀ. 

And as the pure devotees of the Lord become successful in their efforts to use their spiritual intelligence in the Lord’s service, then the science of love of God taught by Lord Caitanya, the most magnanimous incarnation of Godhead will be distributed everywhere. Judging from all the symptoms, the time is now ripe. Indians should now take shelter of their saintly preceptors, the pure devotees, and unitedly propagate the glorification of Kṛṣṇa via the medium of the Bhagavad-gītā. In this way, the world will become prosperous and perfect. 

(RTW 5.1) LORD CAITANYA’S TEACHINGS ON THE PROCESS OF LOVING DEVOTIONAL SERVICE WILL EASILY HARMONIZE ALL CONFLICTING CONCEPTS.

The present age has seen interest in spiritual matters markedly increase. The present age has seen interest in spiritual matters markedly increase. Yoga and meditation societies have mushroomed expressly to transmit the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā, but how this will be accomplished is still a question. We are confident that Lord Caitanya’s teachings on the process of loving devotional service will easily harmonize all conflicting concepts.

Thus Srila Prabhupada was able to conceptualize the prophecy of Lord Caitanya and Bhakti Vinod Thakur before he actually did what he did.

(SB 6.3.29) YAMARAJ IS SAYING PLEASE BRING TO ME ONLY THOSE SINFUL PERSONS WHO DO NOT USE THEIR TONGUES TO CHANT THE HOLY NAME AND QUALITIES OF KṚṢṆA.
My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persons who do not use their tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Kṛṣṇa, whose hearts do not remember the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa even once, and whose heads do not bow down even once before Lord Kṛṣṇa. Send me those who do not perform their duties toward Viṣṇu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such fools and rascals.

KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 1:19:31

1. Mahārāja Parīkṣit approached Sukhadev Goswami and politely inquired about the process of entering the kingdom of God.
2. Śukadeva Gosvāmī learned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father, Vyāsadeva, but he had no chance to recite it. He recited it for Maharaj Parikshit and answered all his questions.
3. Both the spiritual master and the disciple, namely Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit, attained perfection through the medium of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
4. One should humbly approach a spiritual master to understand the transcendental science. (BG 4.34)
5. There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is in need of solving the problems of life.
6. One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business seeing him.
7. The duty of the bona fide guru is to connect the disciple to Kṛṣṇa.
8. A scholar or meditator has no potency to connect another living being with Kṛṣṇa if that scholar or meditator himself is not connected with Kṛṣṇa
9. The word of Kṛṣṇa is paramaṁ vacaḥ, the last word in knowledge.
10. Yogananda claims that he saw Krsna in a hotel room in Mumbai in 1930.
11. Devotees never claim that they saw Krsna, they are always executing devotional service in the mood of expecting to see the Lord. (Sadgosvami asktakam 8)
12. Lord Caitanya taught us how to feel the separation of God. Lord Caitanya never taught us that He had seen God, but He felt the separation of God very severely.
13. The advanced devotee sees everything mobile and immobile all as transformations of Krsna’s energy. A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees the only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life
14. Worship of anything and anyone related to Krsna is greater than worshipping the Lord Himself. Example: King Pratarudra worships the chaddar of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
15. A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees the only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life
16. Seeing Krsna in everything is one, but seeing Radha and Krsna in the Vrndavan is transcendental. The devotee is always desiring to see Him in Vrndavan along with his associates

SB 1.19.31 TRANSLATION

The sage Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī sat perfectly pacified, intelligent and ready to answer any question without hesitation. The great devotee, Mahārāja Parīkṣit, approached him, offered his respects by bowing before him, and politely inquired with sweet words and folded hands

CLASS NOTES: 

(SB 1.19.31) WHEN AND HOW A DISCIPLE MUST APPROACH A SPIRITUAL MASTER

The scriptural injunction is that one should humbly approach a spiritual master to understand the transcendental science. (BG 4.34) Mahārāja Parīkṣit was now prepared for meeting his death, and within the very short time of seven days, he was to know the process of entering the kingdom of God. In such important cases, one is required to approach a spiritual master. There is no necessity of approaching a spiritual master unless one is in need of solving the problems of life. One who does not know how to put questions before the spiritual master has no business seeing him. 

(SB 1.19.31) BOTH THE SPIRITUAL MASTER AND THE DISCIPLE, ATTAINED PERFECTION THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF ŚRĪMAD-BHĀGAVATAM

Śukadeva Gosvāmī learned Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from his father, Vyāsadeva, but he had no chance to recite it. Before Mahārāja Parīkṣit he recited Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and answered the questions of Mahārāja Parīkṣit unhesitatingly, and thus both the master and the disciple got salvation.

(SB 11.3.21) THE DUTY OF THE BONA FIDE GURU IS TO CONNECT THE DISCIPLE TO KṚṢṆA

Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.

A bona fide spiritual master is one who is expert in all of these subject matters, not by his personal imagination or speculation but by mature understanding of the authorized Vedic literatures, which are the literary manifestation of the causeless mercy of God.
The bona fide spiritual master awakens the sleeping soul and sends him to the gurukula, or the āśrama of the spiritual master, where he can be trained in perfect knowledge.
Any human being from any social or economic status can become a bona fide spiritual master if he knows the science of Kṛṣṇa.
Only by the order and authority of the Supreme Lord one can become a spiritual master, not by one’s own so-called erudition.
The duty of the bona fide guru is to connect the disciple to Kṛṣṇa. A scholar or meditator has no potency to connect another living being with Kṛṣṇa if that scholar or meditator himself is not connected with Kṛṣṇa

The word of Kṛṣṇa is paramaṁ vacaḥ, the last word in knowledge.

If one does not become a lover of Kṛṣṇa, his connection with Kṛṣṇa takes place indirectly, through the illusory potency of the Lord. One who is connected to Kṛṣṇa through His external, illusory potency can serve only as a material master to connect his so-called disciples to the same illusory energy

YOGANANDA’S CLAIM OF SEEING KRSNA

In the book of “Autobiography of Yogi”  Yogananda claims that he saw Krsna in a hotel room in 1930. Krishna appeared to him on the window sill of the hotel room.  Many people read that book. We need to compare those kinds of statements with the statements of Vaishnava Acharyas to understand the contrast. 

(ṢAḌ-GOSVĀMY-AṢṬAKA 8) THE DEVOTEES OF THE LORD ARE ALWAYS EXECUTING DEVOTIONAL SERVICE IN THE MOOD OF EXPECTING TO SEE THE LORD. 

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vrndavana, shouting, “Queen of Vrndavana, Radharani! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Maharaja! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhana, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? Where are you?” These were their moods in executing Krsna consciousness.

Lord Caitanya taught us how to feel separation of God. Lord Caitanya never taught us that He had seen God, but He felt the separation of God very severely. Similarly, His next disciples, the sad-gosvāmīs, also prosecuted their devotional service by separational feelings.

(CC M 8.274) ADVANCED DEVOTEE SEES EVERYTHING MOBILE AND IMMOBILE ALL AS TRANSFORMATIONS OF KRSNA’S ENERGY

“The mahā-bhāgavata, the advanced devotee, certainly sees everything mobile and immobile, but he does not exactly see their forms. Rather, everywhere he immediately sees manifest the form of the Supreme Lord.

A saintly person, an advanced devotee, sees Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day and nothing else. A devotee who has purified his existence through devotional service sees only Kṛṣṇa in every step of life

(CC M 11.31) ANYTHING IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE LORD IS GREATER THAN WORSHIPPING THE LORD HIMSELF

ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ
viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param
tasmāt parataraṁ devi
tadīyānāṁ samarcanam

“Lord Śiva told the goddess Durgā, ‘My dear Devī, although the Vedas recommend worship of demigods, the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is topmost. However, above the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the rendering of service to Vaiṣṇavas, who are related to Lord Viṣṇu.’

Example: Lord Caitanya gave his chaddar to King Prataparudra and he started worshipping the chaddar. This is “tadīyānāṁ samarcanam”
Lord Caitanya gave the chaddar to Gopala Bhatta Goswami in Sri Rangam. Lord Caitanya went to Srirangam in Chatur Masya in 1511. He stayed in Venkata Bhatta house for 4 months. Venkata Bhatta’s son is Gopala Bhatta. When Mahaprabhu was about to leave the boy fainted. To pacify him the Lord stayed for some more time and initiated the boy. When the Lord came to know that Gopala Bhatta came to Vrndavan, the Lord sent him a wooden sitting plank and chadar. Gopala Bhatta starts worshipping them. You can find them being worshipped in Radha Raman temple till today. Today you can visit the temple of Lord Chaitanya in Srirangam.

Gopala Bhatta Goswami Saligram Shilas in Gandaki river Nepal. Krsna’s Deity manifested in Saligrama Shila of Gopala Bhatta Goswami. The same deity is worshipped in Radha Raman temple.
Later on it, a piece of it was passed onto Viswambara swami. Viswambara swami, a member of Radha Raman temple. He came to Maharaj’s house and would do puja every day in the morning to Shaligram Shila and a cloth. He had a very very special picture of Lord Caitanya. He showed a little piece of cloth and said that is the only thing I own. That cloth was Lord Caitanya’s chaddar which was given to Gopala Bhatta Goswami.

KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 1:19:29

1. To recognize a genuine devotee is difficult for some people. Especially someone who is engaged in sense gratification and frivolous activities.
2. Sukhdev Goswami is completely self-satisfied. He is so enamored with Krsna that nothing disturbed him, even when the silly women and boys were throwing stones and spitting on him. 
3. That is the position of a self-satisfied devotee. Nothing can make them waiver from the strong determination to serve Krsna and spread the glories of the Lord. 
4. If one follows Bhakti yoga with great determination, the Lord will surely help. God helps those who help themselves.
5. One should think of no pleasure aside from the pleasure of the Supreme Self. This state is easily attained by directly practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
6. Serving Kṛṣṇa with purified senses is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the way of bringing the senses under full control.
7. One cannot remain in the quality of Brahman, the Absolute, until one’s mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord
8. Self-realization means knowing one’s constitutional position in relationship to the Supreme. 
9. Equality and Neutrality 
10. Lord Kṛṣṇa never disappears from the sight of the devotee, nor does the devotee ever lose sight of the Lord. (pure devotee who realized the Love of Krsna)
11. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the development of love of Kṛṣṇa – a position transcendental even to material liberation.
12. There is no difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious person always engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa and a perfect yogī engaged in meditation on the Supersoul. 
13. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest stage of trance in yoga practice. 
14. Śrīla Prabhupāda claimed that all of his disciples who were strictly following the intense program of Kṛṣṇa consciousness were in fact sudurlabha-mahātmās who were seeing vāsudevaḥ sarvam

SB 1.19.29 Translation

Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who is also known as Viṣṇurāta [one who is always protected by Viṣṇu], bowed his head to receive the chief guest, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. At that time all the ignorant women and boys ceased following Śrīla Śukadeva. Receiving respect from all, Śukadeva Gosvāmī took his exalted seat.

CLASS NOTES: 

Sukhdev Goswami is completely self-satisfied. Even though the silly women and boys were teasing him and throwing stones and spitting on him, he was not disturbed by it, He was so enamored with Krsna. Nothing can disturb his meditation on the Lord. He walks and comes and sits on the stage to speak SB for Maharaj Parikshit. That is the position of a self-satisfied devotee. Nothing can make them waiver from the strong determination to serve Krsna and spread the glories of the Lord. 

We can learn more about a self-satisfied soul in the following verses. BG 6.24 -6.31, BG 7.19 & SB 11.2.45,

(BG 6.24) IF ONE FOLLOWS BHAKTI YOGA WITH GREAT DETERMINATION, THE LORD WILL SURELY HELP. GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES.

The yoga practitioner should be determined and should patiently prosecute the practice without deviation. One should be sure of success at the end and pursue this course with great perseverance, not becoming discouraged if there is any delay in the attainment of success. Success is sure for the rigid practitioner. 

Similarly, the practice of yoga, especially bhakti-yoga in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, may appear to be a very difficult job. But if anyone follows the principles with great determination, the Lord will surely help, for God helps those who help themselves.

(BG 6.25) ONE SHOULD THINK OF NO PLEASURE ASIDE FROM THE PLEASURE OF THE SUPREME SELF. THIS STATE IS EASILY ATTAINED BY DIRECTLY PRACTICING KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS.

The mind, being controlled by conviction, meditation and cessation from the senses, should be situated in trance, or samādhi. At that time there is no longer any danger of becoming engaged in the material conception of life. In other words, although one is involved with matter as long as the material body exists, one should not think about sense gratification. One should think of no pleasure aside from the pleasure of the Supreme Self. This state is easily attained by directly practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

(BG 6.26) SERVING KṚṢṆA WITH PURIFIED SENSES IS CALLED KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS. THAT IS THE WAY OF BRINGING THE SENSES UNDER FULL CONTROL.

One who controls the mind (and therefore the senses as well) is called gosvāmī, or svāmī, and one who is controlled by the mind is called go-dāsa, or the servant of the senses. A gosvāmī knows the standard of sense happiness. In transcendental sense happiness, the senses are engaged in the service of Hṛṣīkeśa, or the supreme owner of the senses – Kṛṣṇa. Serving Kṛṣṇa with purified senses is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the way of bringing the senses under full control. What is more, that is the highest perfection of yoga practice.

(BG 6.27) ONE CANNOT REMAIN IN THE QUALITY OF BRAHMAN, THE ABSOLUTE, UNTIL ONE’S MIND IS FIXED ON THE LOTUS FEET OF THE LORD

Brahma-bhūta is the state of being free from material contamination and situated in the transcendental service of the Lord. Mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (Bg. 18.54). One cannot remain in the quality of Brahman, the Absolute, until one’s mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ. To be always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, or to remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is to be factually liberated from the mode of passion and all material contamination

(BG 6.28)SELF-REALIZATION MEANS KNOWING ONE’S CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE SUPREME. 

Self-realization means knowing one’s constitutional position in relationship to the Supreme. The individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme, and his position is to render transcendental service to the Lord. This transcendental contact with the Supreme is called brahma-saṁsparśa..

(BG 6.29) Equality and Neutrality 

Equality: A Kṛṣṇa conscious yogī is the perfect seer because

1. he sees Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, situated in everyone’s heart as Supersoul (Paramātmā)
2. can see Kṛṣṇa in the heart of both the believer and the nonbeliever
3. sees equally because he sees that all living entities, although in different situations according to the results of fruitive work, in all circumstances remain the servants of God.
4. While in the material energy, the living entity serves the material senses; and while in the spiritual energy, he serves the Supreme Lord directly. In either case the living entity is the servant of God. This vision of equality is perfect in a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

THE SUPREME NEUTRALITY OF THE LORD. 

The Lord in His Paramātmā feature is situated within both the heart of the dog and that of a brāhmaṇa. The perfect yogī knows that the Lord is eternally transcendental and is not materially affected by His presence in either a dog or a brāhmaṇa. The Lord, being the source of all beings, is like the mother and the maintainer. As the mother is neutral to all different kinds of children, the supreme father (or mother) is also. Consequently, the Supersoul is always in every living being.

(BG 6.30) LORD KṚṢṆA NEVER DISAPPEARS FROM THE SIGHT OF THE DEVOTEE, NOR DOES THE DEVOTEE EVER LOSE SIGHT OF THE LORD. (PURE DEVOTEE WHO REALIZED THE LOVE OF KRSNA)

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.

Nothing can exist without Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of everything – this is the basic principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the development of love of Kṛṣṇa – a position transcendental even to material liberation. At this stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, beyond self-realization, the devotee becomes one with Kṛṣṇa in the sense that Kṛṣṇa becomes everything for the devotee and the devotee becomes full in loving Kṛṣṇa. An intimate relationship between the Lord and the devotee then exists. In that stage, the living entity can never be annihilated, nor is the Personality of Godhead ever out of the sight of the devotee.

At this stage, Lord Kṛṣṇa never disappears from the sight of the devotee, nor does the devotee ever lose sight of the Lord. In the case of a yogī who sees the Lord as Paramātmā within the heart, the same applies. Such a yogī turns into a pure devotee and cannot bear to live for a moment without seeing the Lord within himself.

(BG 6.31) THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUS PERSON ALWAYS ENGAGED IN THE TRANSCENDENTAL LOVING SERVICE OF KṚṢṆA AND A PERFECT YOGĪ ENGAGED IN MEDITATION ON THE SUPERSOUL. 

Such a yogī, who engages in the worshipful service of the Supersoul, knowing that I and the Supersoul are one, remains always in Me in all circumstances.

There is no difference between a Kṛṣṇa conscious person always engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa and a perfect yogī engaged in meditation on the Supersoul. The yogī in Kṛṣṇa consciousness – even though he may be engaged in various activities while in material existence – remains always situated in Kṛṣṇa.

Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest stage of trance in yoga practice. 

(ŚB 11.2.45) ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA CLAIMED THAT ALL OF HIS DISCIPLES WHO WERE STRICTLY FOLLOWING THE INTENSE PROGRAM OF KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS WERE IN FACT SUDURLABHA-MAHĀTMĀS WHO WERE SEEING VĀSUDEVAḤ SARVAM

Śrī Havir said: The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, he sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord.

Śrīla Prabhupāda claimed that all of his disciples who were strictly following the intense program of Kṛṣṇa consciousness were in fact sudurlabha-mahātmās who were seeing vāsudevaḥ sarvam. In other words, if one is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness with an intense desire to please the Lord and one day gain His association, it is to be understood that in one’s life there is nothing but Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has warned us, however, that a mere theoretical or academic understanding that Kṛṣṇa is everything does not qualify one as a first-class devotee. One must actually have developed love for Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it can be practically understood that anyone who enthusiastically adopts the Kṛṣṇa consciousness program and eagerly participates in the preaching activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is acting on the platform of a madhyama-adhikārī devotee. When such a devotee becomes overwhelmed by his desire to serve Kṛṣṇa and associate with the Lord, so much so that he is not attracted to anything else within the universe, he should be understood to be an uttama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava, as mentioned in this verse. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS from HH Harivilas Maharaj’s Morning Bhagavatam class on SB 1:19:25

1. Sukhdev Goswami was disinterested in the affairs of this material world and self-satisfied by the great achievements of the devotional service. 
2. Śukadeva Gosvāmī never accepted any formal spiritual master. His father, Vyāsadeva, was his natural spiritual master because Śukadeva Gosvāmī heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from him. After this, he became completely self-satisfied
3. Krsna says He cannot be seen simply studying vedas or performing penances
4. Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete. 
5. If one does not develop his love for Kṛṣṇa, these other processes are simply a waste of time.
6. The test of perfection is one’s unalloyed devotion to the Lord
7. One can very intelligently conclude that without devotional service, without becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, one cannot be happy. 
8. The transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord cannot be understood by foolish people who deride the Lord.
9. For Vedic philosophers Krsna is a problem
10. Unitelligent think that Krsna was impersonal before and later assumed the personal form
11. Gnanis think that the absolute truth is not a person
12. Krsna is the master of Yoga maya potency. To see Him two Mayas have to be  uncovered (Mahamaya and Yogamaya)
13. Only by one to whom He reveals Himself can He be seen.
14. Krsna Consciousness is revelation theology, it is not based on following formularies. Based on sincere devotion of the lord.
15. Any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation 
16. A bonafide spiritual master must be deeply experienced in scriptural knowledge and practical realization of the Personality of Godhead, to be able to dissipate the doubts of his disciples and eexecute the function of bringing the sincere student back home, back to Godhead.

SB 1.19.25 Translation

At that moment there appeared the powerful son of Vyāsadeva, who traveled over the earth disinterested and satisfied with himself. He did not manifest any symptoms of belonging to any social order or status of life. He was surrounded with women and children, and he dressed as if others had neglected him.

CLASS NOTES: 

(SB 1.19.25) Śukadeva Gosvāmī never accepted any formal spiritual master

Śukadeva Gosvāmī never accepted any formal spiritual master, nor did he undergo any formal reformatory performances. His father, Vyāsadeva, was his natural spiritual master because Śukadeva Gosvāmī heard Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from him. After this, he became completely self-satisfied. Thus he was not dependent on any formal process. The formal processes are necessary for those who are expected to reach the stage of complete liberation, but Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī was already in that status by the grace of his father.

Becoming a devotee is not a simple thing for many. Although the process is simple and easy to do. Many people do not understand the goal of the process is and get side tracked by rituals, becoming a demigod, becoming a great saint. They can be very far away from 

(BG 11.53) Krsna says He cannot be seen simply studying vedas or performing penances
The form you are seeing with your transcendental eyes cannot be understood simply by studying the Vedas, nor by undergoing serious penances, nor by charity, nor by worship. It is not by these means that one can see Me as I am.

(SB 7.7.51 -52) Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete. 
My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brāhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.

Prahlāda Mahārāja concludes that one can become perfect by serving the Supreme Lord sincerely by all means. Material elevation to life as a brāhmaṇa, demigod, ṛṣi and so on are not causes for developing love of Godhead, but if one sincerely engages in the service of the Lord, his Kṛṣṇa consciousness is complete. 

(BG 9.30) If one does not develop his love for Kṛṣṇa, these other processes are simply a waste of time.

“Even if one commits the most abominable actions, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated.” To develop unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of life. Other processes may be helpful, but if one does not develop his love for Kṛṣṇa, these other processes are simply a waste of time.

Other processes – Study of vedas, charity, severe penances, etc., 

(SB 1.2.8) The test of perfection is one’s unalloyed devotion to the Lord

The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.

(SB 7.7.53) One can very intelligently conclude that without devotional service, without becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, one cannot be happy. 

My dear friends, O sons of the demons, in the same favorable way that one sees himself and takes care of himself, take to devotional service to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present everywhere as the Supersoul of all living entities.

The word ātmaupamyena refers to thinking others to be like oneself. One can very intelligently conclude that without devotional service, without becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious, one cannot be happy. Therefore the duty of all devotees is to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere all over the world, because all living entities without Kṛṣṇa consciousness are suffering the pangs of material existence.

(ŚB 1.2.6) The real Goal of Krsna Consciousness

The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.

Devotion for lord cannot be pretended or feigned. It is something absolutely genuine. A mother’s love for the child is genuine. She is ready to sacrifice for the child. 

(BG 9.11) The transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord cannot be understood by foolish people who deride the Lord.

Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

Krishna is Sat chit Ananda Vigraha. People insult Krsna by saying he is an extra ordinary human being with some powers. He was elected to be a God.  Modern philosophers like Radha Krsna wrote books insulting Krsna making speculative claims about Krsna. From impersonal form He attains a personal form. Ultimate truth is impersonal.

(BG 11.52) For Vedic philosophers Krsna is a problem

 But for some who make a study of Kṛṣṇa by reading Bhagavad-gītā or similar Vedic scriptures, Kṛṣṇa is a problem. For one using a material process, Kṛṣṇa is considered to be a great historical personality and very learned philosopher, but He is an ordinary man, and even though He was so powerful He had to accept a material body. Ultimately they think that the Absolute Truth is impersonal; therefore they think that from His impersonal feature He assumed a personal feature attached to material nature. 

(BG 7.24) Unitelligent think that Krsna was impersonal before and later assumed the personal form.
Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.

(BG 11.52) Gnanis think that the absolute truth is not a person

Those who are in search of knowledge also speculate on Kṛṣṇa and consider Him to be less important than the universal form of the Supreme. Thus some think that the universal form of Kṛṣṇa which was manifested to Arjuna is more important than His personal form. According to them, the personal form of the Supreme is something imaginary. They believe that in the ultimate issue, the Absolute Truth is not a person.

(BG 7.25) Krsna is the master of Yoga maya potency. To see Him two Mayas have to be  uncovered (Mahamaya and Yogamaya)
I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

To overcome the covering of maya on ourselves is impossible. It is very very impossible to uncover the yogamaya of Krsna and see Him as is. So therefore it is very difficult to become pure devotee and see Krsna as He is.  Only by one to whom He reveals Hilself He can besson.

(BG 11.54) Only by one to whom He reveals Himself can He be seen.

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.

(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 6.23) Krsna Consciousness is revelation theology, it is not based on following formularies. Based on sincere devotion of the lord.

One who has unflinching devotion for the Supreme Lord and is directed by the spiritual master, in whom he has similar unflinching faith, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead by revelation. One cannot understand Kṛṣṇa by mental speculation. For one who does not take personal training under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, it is impossible to even begin to understand Kṛṣṇa. The word tu is specifically used here to indicate that no other process can be used, can be recommended, or can be successful in understanding Kṛṣṇa.

Nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na bahunā śrutena…. 

Most people ignore these things. Therefore they become entangled by the maya. 

(SB 11.3.21) Any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation

Therefore any person who seriously desires real happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the bona fide guru is that he has realized the conclusions of the scriptures by deliberation and is able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, should be understood to be bona fide spiritual masters.

Srila Prabhupada was the transparent via media. One cannot be a transparent via media even if they have one material desire. A Guru is a transparent via media. 

It is very important take shelter of the bonafide spiritual master who is dedicated Srila Prabhupada. 

Guru must be expert enough to dissipate the doubts of a disciple. Doubts, fears, anxiety. There are many layers of coverings. 

Example – one is teaching BG AS IT IS. He is teaching mam ekam sharanam vraja. He change mam to me (himself).  Adida 

Lord chaitanya wanted everyone to become guru. 

Guru must be expert enough to dissipate the doubts of a disciple. Doubts, fears, anxiety. There are many layers of coverings

(SB 11.3.21) A bonafide spiritual master must be deeply experienced in scriptural knowledge and practical realization of the Personality of Godhead

The bona fide spiritual master must be niṣṇātam, deeply experienced in authorized Vedic literatures and in practical understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Without scriptural knowledge and practical realization of the Personality of Godhead, a so-called guru will be unable to dissipate the doubts of his disciples and therefore unable to execute the function of bringing the sincere student back home, back to Godhead. The symptom of realized understanding of the Vedas and Kṛṣṇa is upaśamāśrayam. In other words, the bona fide spiritual master is one who has retired from the glittering illusions of materialistic society, friendship and love.

(SB 11.3.21) The preliminary understanding of one’s identity as consciousness is called self-realization.

The preliminary understanding of one’s identity as consciousness is called self-realization. But beyond this elementary knowledge is the elaborate subject matter of how the soul came to exist within the cycle of 8,400,000 material species of life. And if the living entity is not the material body but consciousness, he must ultimately have an original status on a higher platform.

We fell down because of the idea of becoming a GOD. It keeps them in the material world. It is explained in BG 4.4 “Purusah prakriti sthohi… bhunkte… “  By associating with 3 modes of material nature. … Maya’s purpose is to attract the living entity to have sense gratification. Once they get attracted to those things they become entangled. To be able to get Krnsa we have to do unalloyed DS. Constant association of devotees, eating prasadam, then we have higher taste.
We have to strive to come to this platform to become active preacher. SP said it takes 100 gallon of blood to make one devotee. To make one drop of blood it takes about 2-4 pounds of. Food to make one drop of blood. No one can make blood in this world in a lab. There are some mysterious things that only Krsna can do. We should not imitate to do them. Rather we use the facilities Krsna has give us to serve Krsna. We have to serve Krsna and not maya.

BG 2.59
Though the embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.

Q&A – Does that mean there is maya in spiritual world? Question by Pankaj.

It is like – You see tesla you get attracted and try to work hard save and buy it. Thinking, feeling and willing. 

BG 13.22
The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.

That is the original reason why we came to this world. We wanted to be God. 

ŚB 11.26.27
My devotees fix their minds on Me and do not depend upon anything material. They are always peaceful, endowed with equal vision, and free from possessiveness, false ego, duality and greed.


As long as we have the desire to possess things for sense gratification and exploit others for attaining those possesions, we are trapped.  How can we free ourselves from that possessiveness? 

If we understand. why we got trapped and how we are kept trapped by Maya and then you can see that Krsna has made that process to come out of it. Sing, Chant and Dance. The process is simple, our attachment is so strong that we cannot let go. 

If we attain peace, happiness, knowledge and realization and put all that to practical application in spreading the movement then you will feel greater joy. You wont feel that you lost anything by becoming KC. You feel you gained something that is so precious and there is nothing comparable to it in the material world.  At that time Krsna starts revealing to you. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 1:19:24

1. Maharaj Parikshit asked Sukhdev Goswami the following questions- 
   • what is the duty of everyone in all circumstances?
   • what is the specific duty of one who is to die very shortly?
2. Everyone is a dying man, the duty of a dying man is very important
3. The whole of SB from 2nd Canto till 12th canto deal with these 2 questions
4. The conclusion is that devotional service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is everyone’s permanent duty in life.
5. Nothing can exist without Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of everything – this is the basic principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
6. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the development of love of Kṛṣṇa – a position transcendental even to material liberation.
7. The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa
8. He sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord and understands that everything that exists is eternally situated within the Lord.
9. There are three kinds of devotees – kanishtadhikari, madhyamadhikari, uttamadhikari
10. Advancing from Kanishta to madhyama, and then to uttama stages of bhakti  becomes easy by simply chanting the holy name of the Lord sincerely. 

SB 1.19.24 TRANSLATION
O trustworthy brāhmaṇas, I now ask you about my immediate duty. Please, after proper deliberation, tell me of the unalloyed duty of everyone in all circumstances, and specifically of those who are just about to die.

CLASS NOTES:

(SB 1.19.24) EVERYONE IS A DYING MAN, THE DUTY OF A DYING MAN IS VERY IMPORTANT.

Maharaj Parikshit is asking Sukhadev Goswami and all the sage who arrived about – 

1. what is the duty of everyone in all circumstances?
2. what is the specific duty of one who is to die very shortly?

The question relating to the dying man is most important because everyone is a dying man, either very shortly or after one hundred years. The duration of life is immaterial, but the duty of a dying man is very important.  

(SB 1.19.24) THE WHOLE OF SB FROM 2ND CANTO TILL 12TH CANTO DEAL WITH THESE 2 QUESTIONS

The whole of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, beginning from the Second Canto up to the last, the Twelfth Canto, deals with these two questions.  The conclusion arrived at thereof is that devotional service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as it is confirmed by the Lord Himself in the last phases of the Bhagavad-gītā, is the last word in relation to everyone’s permanent duty in life. One should give up all other methods and surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord and thus be saved from all sins and their reactions.

The last words in BG for everyone’s permanent duty in life is described in the following verses 

(BG 18.65) ALWAYS THINK OF THE LORD AND WORSHIP HIM

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

(BG 18.66) SURRENDER UNTO LORD KRSNA

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.

(BG. 18.64) SUPREME INSTRUCTION OF THE LORD – SURRENDER UNTO HIM

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

This essence is not understood by a common man, but by one who is actually very dear to Kṛṣṇa, a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. This is the most important instruction in all Vedic literature. What Kṛṣṇa is saying in this connection is the most essential part of knowledge, and it should be carried out not only by Arjuna but by all living entities.

(SB 11.2.45) VISION OF DEVOTEE

Śrī Havir said: The most advanced devotee sees within everything the soul of all souls, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Consequently, he sees everything in relation to the Supreme

(SB 11.2.45) UTTAMADHIKARI 

A pure devotee – 

1. Is completely free from the tendency to enjoy things separately from the Lord’s service. 
2. He does not see anything in the universe as unfavorable, because he sees everything as the expanded potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
3. His purpose in existing is to give pleasure somehow or other to the Supreme Lord. 
4. Thus everything that a pure devotee experiences, moment by moment, increases his ecstatic loving desire to satisfy the transcendental senses of the Lord.

(SB 11.2.45) KANISHTADHIKARI 

A kaniṣṭha-adhikārī engages in the worship of the Supreme Lord, especially in the temple, but is indifferent to the Lord’s devotees.

(SB 11.2.45) MADHYAMADHIKARI 

In the madhyama stage the Vaiṣṇava sees 

1. the Lord as the cause of all causes and the chief goal of everyone’s loving propensity. 
2. he sees the Vaiṣṇavas as his only friends and is eager to bring innocent people within the shelter of Vaiṣṇava society. 
3. strictly avoids associating with the self-proclaimed enemies of God
4. when such an intermediate qualification becomes mature, the concept of supreme qualification begins to present itself; that is, one comes to the stage of uttama-adhikārī.

(BG 6.30) NOTHING CAN EXIST WITHOUT KṚṢṆA, AND KṚṢṆA IS THE LORD OF EVERYTHING – THIS IS THE BASIC PRINCIPLE OF KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS.

For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.

A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness certainly sees Lord Kṛṣṇa everywhere, and he sees everything in Kṛṣṇa. Such a person may appear to see all separate manifestations of the material nature, but in each and every instance he is conscious of Kṛṣṇa, knowing that everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa’s energy. Nothing can exist without Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the Lord of everything – this is the basic principle of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

(BG 6.30) KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOVE OF KṚṢṆA – A POSITION TRANSCENDENTAL EVEN TO MATERIAL LIBERATION.

At this stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, beyond self-realization, the devotee becomes one with Kṛṣṇa in the sense that Kṛṣṇa becomes everything for the devotee and the devotee becomes full in loving Kṛṣṇa. An intimate relationship between the Lord and the devotee then exists. In that stage, the living entity can never be annihilated, nor is the Personality of Godhead ever out of the sight of the devotee. To merge in Kṛṣṇa is spiritual annihilation.

SB 6.3.24 (ADVANCING FROM KANISHTA TO MADHYAMA, AND THEN TO UTTAMA STAGE OF BHAKTI  BECOMES EASY BY SIMPLY CHANTING THE HOLY NAME)

“If one always chants the holy name of the Lord with great devotion in the evening and in the morning, one can become free from all material miseries.”

“One should always chant and hear about the extraordinarily wonderful activities of the Lord, one should meditate upon these activities, and one should endeavor to please the Lord.” (Bhāg. 11.3.27)

“One can become free from all sinful reactions simply by remembering the lotus feet of the Lord day and night [ahar-niśam].”

It should be understood that one is easily relieved from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of the Lord and chanting of His qualities and activities. This is the only process recommended for relief from sinful reactions. Even if one chants the holy name of the Lord with improper pronunciation, he will achieve relief from material bondage if he chants without offenses. Ajāmila, for example, was extremely sinful, but while dying he merely chanted the holy name, and although calling his son, he achieved complete liberation because he remembered the name of Nārāyaṇa.

EXPLAINATIONS, Q&A:

What is our occupational duty?
Two svadharmas –
Lower duties – perform for the maintenance of the body and the extensions of the body, plants, animals, planet (Dharma, artha, kama, moksha)
Moksha is relative moksha. There is still birth death old age disease in higher planets. There is relative eternity and real eternity. Everything is relative in material world and they are relative to Krsna. Krishna is absolute truth. Nothing is independent of Him.
Higher duties – for the soul and its relationship with the Lord.

When a person is dying he should be remembering Lord Krsna
When you hold your knowledge you will die – just like when you hold your breath you will die. As soon as you get spiritual knowledge you need to share it.
The last word in BG for everyone’s permanent duty in life is
BG 18.65 “Man mana bhava mad bhakto… “
BG 18.66 – “Sarva Dharman parityaja… “
Becoming dear to Krsna
How to attain complete liberation
The way we become misfortune is when we believe thing that are not true, one becomes overwhelmed by ignorance, they become entangled and they do not know how to get out of it. It is like a trapped mouse. They hold on to that false knowledge and they become more and more entangled.

Ignorances –Andha tamisra, tamas, moha, maha moha

Surrender – Following regulative principles sincerely and chanting the hari naam sincerely. Ahar nisam day and night chanting. We will go back to Godhead. We can purely attain Krsna Consciousness.

Other methods – Meditation, doing good, good karma equals to good result. They say the law is giving. It is Krsna who gives. The law maker is the one giving. Karma Mimamsa.
Both good and bad are not good. Karma, Akarma and vikarma. You might be promoted from third class sufferer to first class sufferer. If I go to svarga, i will be liberated. Even in brahma loka there is birth, death, old age and disease.

If we are mechanically doing the service to the lord then there is no reciprocation from Krsna. Only when we do the service with love and devotion, the lord reciprocates.

Atma nivedhanam – Bali Maharaj, He had to give everything including himself.
A businessman who earns lots of money and gives it to Krsna’s activities is not enough.
it is on the right progressive path but not full.
A poor man giving everything he had and the rich man gave Lil money and feeling proud
Giving everything we have in the service to the lord.
What is a secret if it is not kept a secret? Confidential – Open secret. You can only understand it if you are free of sinful reactions. Only a few can understand, therefore it is confidential. But everyone has a chance. If you follow the regulative principles, chant Hare Krishna… you will be freed from Sinful. It all depends on how willing you are to get trained in DS.