Tag: BG 13.26

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SB 2.10.6 Notes – 2/11/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.10.6:

  • Reading or hearing of transcendental literatures helps one become liberated even in the conditional state of material existence. 
  • All the Vedic literatures aim at devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, and as soon as one is fixed upon this point, he at once becomes liberated from conditional life.
  • The material gross and subtle forms are simply due to the conditioned soul’s ignorance and as soon as he is fixed in the devotional service of the Lord, he becomes eligible to be freed from the conditioned state. 
  • This devotional service is transcendental attraction for the Supreme on account of His being the source of all pleasing humors. 
  • Everyone is after some pleasure of humor for enjoyment, but does not know the supreme source of all attraction (raso vai saḥ rasaṁ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati).
  • The Vedic hymns inform everyone about the supreme source of all pleasure: the unlimited fountainhead of all pleasure is the Personality of Godhead. And one who is fortunate enough to get this information through transcendental literatures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam becomes permanently liberated to occupy his proper place in the kingdom of God.
  • BG 13.26- Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.
  • As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, according to Lord Caitanya, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
  • It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything. The worship of the Supreme Lord will then undoubtedly take place.
  • Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning.
  • One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee.
  • Unless one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his material consciousness will oblige him to transfer from one body to another because he has material desires since time immemorial.
  • But he has to change that conception. That change can be effected only by hearing from authoritative sources. The best example is here: Arjuna is hearing the science of God from Kṛṣṇa.
  • The living entity, if he submits to this hearing process, will lose his long-cherished desire to dominate material nature, and gradually and proportionately, as he reduces his long desire to dominate, he comes to enjoy spiritual happiness.
  • BG 10.18 – O Janārdana, again please describe in detail the mystic power of Your opulences. I am never satiated in hearing about You, for the more I hear the more I want to taste the nectar of Your words.
  • “One can never be satiated even though one continuously hears the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by excellent prayers. Those who have entered into a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa relish at every step the descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord.”

SB 2.10.6 TRANSLATION:

The merging of the living entity, along with his conditional living tendency, with the mystic lying down of the Mahā-Viṣṇu is called the winding up of the cosmic manifestation. Liberation is the permanent situation of the form of the living entity after he gives up the changeable gross and subtle material bodies.

As we have discussed several times, there are two types of living entities. Most of them are ever liberated, or nitya-muktas, while some of them are ever conditioned. The ever-conditioned souls are apt to develop a mentality of lording over the material nature, and therefore the material cosmic creation is manifested to give the ever-conditioned souls two kinds of facilities. One facility is that the conditioned soul can act according to his tendency to lord it over the cosmic manifestation, and the other facility gives the conditioned soul a chance to come back to Godhead. So after the winding up of the cosmic manifestation, most of the conditioned souls merge into the existence of the Mahā-Viṣṇu Personality of Godhead, lying in His mystic slumber, to be created again in the next creation. But some of the conditioned souls, who follow the transcendental sound in the form of Vedic literatures and are thus able to go back to Godhead, attain spiritual and original bodies after quitting the conditional gross and subtle material bodies. The material conditional bodies develop out of the living entities’ forgetfulness of their relationship with Godhead, and during the course of the cosmic manifestation, the conditioned souls are given a chance to revive their original status of life with the help of revealed scriptures, so mercifully compiled by the Lord in His different incarnations. Reading or hearing of such transcendental literatures helps one become liberated even in the conditional state of material existence. All the Vedic literatures aim at devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, and as soon as one is fixed upon this point, he at once becomes liberated from conditional life. The material gross and subtle forms are simply due to the conditioned soul’s ignorance and as soon as he is fixed in the devotional service of the Lord, he becomes eligible to be freed from the conditioned state. This devotional service is transcendental attraction for the Supreme on account of His being the source of all pleasing humors. Everyone is after some pleasure of humor for enjoyment, but does not know the supreme source of all attraction (raso vai saḥ rasaṁ hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati). The Vedic hymns inform everyone about the supreme source of all pleasure: the unlimited fountainhead of all pleasure is the Personality of Godhead. And one who is fortunate enough to get this information through transcendental literatures like Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam becomes permanently liberated to occupy his proper place in the kingdom of God.

This is a wake up call from the slumber .. we have chance to put this off – cycle of birth and death..
Mood or state of mind of the most people – Sense gratification 

BG 13.26 

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

This verse is particularly applicable to modern society because in modern society there is practically no education in spiritual matters. Some of the people may appear to be atheistic or agnostic or philosophical, but actually there is no knowledge of philosophy. As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, according to Lord Caitanya, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything. The worship of the Supreme Lord will then undoubtedly take place. Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning. One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee. In this verse particularly, the process of hearing is strongly recommended, and this is very appropriate. Although the common man is often not as capable as so-called philosophers, faithful hearing from an authoritative person will help one transcend this material existence and go back to Godhead, back to home.

Philosophy – Darshana – How to see correctly

BG 13.22

How he is put into such different bodies is explained here. It is due to association with the different modes of nature. One has to rise, therefore, above the three material modes and become situated in the transcendental position. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Unless one is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his material consciousness will oblige him to transfer from one body to another because he has material desires since time immemorial. But he has to change that conception. That change can be effected only by hearing from authoritative sources. The best example is here: Arjuna is hearing the science of God from Kṛṣṇa. The living entity, if he submits to this hearing process, will lose his long-cherished desire to dominate material nature, and gradually and proportionately, as he reduces his long desire to dominate, he comes to enjoy spiritual happiness. In a Vedic mantra it is said that as he becomes learned in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he proportionately relishes his eternal blissful life.

Our goal is to get every family hear Sat and Sun, this should be mandated. Everyone should be here with their kids to prove that they are not sleeping.. 

BG 10.18 

O Janārdana, again please describe in detail the mystic power of Your opulences. I am never satiated in hearing about You, for the more I hear the more I want to taste the nectar of Your words.

A similar statement was made to Sūta Gosvāmī by the ṛṣis of Naimiṣāraṇya, headed by Śaunaka. That statement is:

vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma

uttama-śloka-vikrame

yac chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ

svādu svādu pade pade

“One can never be satiated even though one continuously hears the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by excellent prayers. Those who have entered into a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa relish at every step the descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.19) Thus Arjuna is interested in hearing about Kṛṣṇa, and specifically how He remains as the all-pervading Supreme Lord.

Now as far as amṛtam, nectar, is concerned, any narration or statement concerning Kṛṣṇa is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience. Modern stories, fiction and histories are different from the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in that one will tire of hearing mundane stories but one never tires of hearing about Kṛṣṇa. It is for this reason only that the history of the whole universe is replete with references to the pastimes of the incarnations of Godhead. The Purāṇas are histories of bygone ages that relate the pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord. In this way the reading matter remains forever fresh, despite repeated readings.

Taittirīya Upaniṣad (2.7): raso vai saḥ. Within His personal essence, the Supreme Lord enjoys rasa, the reciprocation of the mellows of devotional service, and integral to the play of rasas is the participation of realized jīvas. Raso vai saḥ rasam hy evāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati: “He is the embodiment of rasa, and the jīva who realizes this rasa becomes fully ecstatic.” Or in the words of the personified Vedas praying in this verse, the Supersoul is ṛtam, which Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī interprets as here meaning “realized by great sages.”

Life comes from Life  – Getting the Eyes to See God – The Fifteenth Morning Walk:

December 7, 1973

Śrīla Prabhupāda is accompanied by Dr. Singh, Dr. W. H. Wolf-Rottkay and another student.

Student. For the last one hundred fifty years, one of the major problems of Western theologians has been the relationship between reason and faith. They have been seeking to understand faith through reason, but they have been unable to find the relationship between the reasoning abilities and faith. Some of them have faith in God, but their reason tells them there is no God. For instance, they would say that when we offer prasāda to the Lord, it is only faith to think that He accepts it, because we cannot see Him.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. They cannot see Him, but I can see Him. I see God, and therefore I offer prasāda to Him. Because they cannot see Him, they must come to me so I can open their eyes. They are blind—suffering from cataracts—so I shall operate, and they will see. That is our program.

BG 9.26 

And so in this instance, Kṛṣṇa’s hearing the devotee’s words of love in offering foodstuffs is wholly identical with His eating and actually tasting. This point should be emphasized: because of His absolute position, His hearing is wholly identical with His eating and tasting. Only the devotee, who accepts Kṛṣṇa as He describes Himself, without interpretation, can understand that the Supreme Absolute Truth can eat food and enjoy it.

BS Text 32

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, substantiality and is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each of the limbs of that transcendental figure possesses in Himself, the full-fledged functions of all the organs, and eternally sees, maintains and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane.

Student. Scientists say that their common ground of objectivity is what they can perceive with their senses.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Yes, they can perceive things with their senses, but very imperfectly. They perceive the sand with their senses, but can they see who has made the sand? Here is the sand, and here is the sea; they can be seen by direct perception. But how can one directly perceive the origin of the sand and the sea?

Student. The scientists say that if the sand and the sea were made by God, we would be able to see Him, just as we can see the sand and the sea themselves.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Yes, they can see God, but they must get the eyes to see Him. They are blind. Therefore they must first come to me for treatment. The śāstras say that one must go to a guru to be treated so that one can understand God. How can they see God with blind eyes?

Student. But seeing God is supramundane. Scientists only consider mundane vision.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Everything is supramundane. For instance, you may think there is nothing in the clear sky—that it is vacant—but your eyes are deficient. In the sky there are innumerable planets you cannot see because your eyes are limited. Therefore, because it is not in your power to perceive, you have to accept my word: “Yes, there are millions of stars out there.” Is space vacant because you cannot see the stars? No. Only the deficiency of your senses leads you to think so.

Student. The scientists will admit their ignorance of some things, but they say they cannot accept what they cannot see.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. If they’re ignorant, they have to accept knowledge from someone who knows the truth.

Student. But they say, “What if what we are told is wrong?”

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Then that is their misfortune. Because their imperfect senses cannot perceive God, they have to hear it from an authority. That is the process. If they don’t approach the authority—if they approach a cheater—that is their misfortune. But the process is that wherever your senses cannot act, you must approach an authority to learn the facts.

The Frustration of the Atheists

Dr. Singh. The difficulty is that in a group of atheists, you can’t prove the existence of God.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. The atheists are rascals. Let us teach the others—those who are reasonable. Everything has been made by someone: the sand has been made by someone, the water has been made by someone, and the sky has been made by someone. Kṛṣṇa consciousness means learning who that someone is.

Dr. Singh. The scientists will say, “Present that someone to me so I can see Him.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda. And I answer them, “I am presenting that someone to you, but you have to take the training as well.” You have to qualify your eyes to see that someone. If you are blind, but you do not want to go to the physician, how will you be cured of your blindness and see? You have to be treated; that is the injunction.

Student. That step requires faith.

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Yes, but not blind faith—practical faith. If you want to learn anything, you must go to an expert. That is not blind faith; it is practical faith. You cannot learn anything by yourself.

Student. If somebody is actually sincere, will he always meet a bona fide guru?

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Yes. Guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja. Kṛṣṇa is within you, and as soon as He sees that you are sincere, He will send you to the right person.

Student. And if you are not completely sincere, you will get a cheater for a teacher?

Śrīla Prabhupāda. Yes. If you want to be cheated, Kṛṣṇa will send you to a cheater. Kṛṣṇa is superintelligent. If you are a cheater, He will cheat you perfectly. But if you are actually sincere, then He will give you the right guidance. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” Kṛṣṇa speaks of both remembrance and forgetfulness. If you are a cheater, Kṛṣṇa will give you the intelligence to forget Him forever.

Student. But the atheists are in control. They have the dominance.

Better to be poor than rich …

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SB 2.9.34 – Part 3 – 1/12/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.34 – Part 3:

  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His plenary portions cannot be understood by mental speculation nor by the nondevotees.
  • He is not revealed to everyone. In the prayers of Kuntī in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.19) it is said that the Lord is covered by the curtain of yoga-māyā and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him.
  • Only one who is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service can understand what Kṛṣṇa is. University degrees are not helpful.
  • One who is fully conversant with the Kṛṣṇa science becomes eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the abode of Kṛṣṇa.
  • Because of his pure devotional service, a devotee can understand the transcendental qualities and the opulences of the Supreme Lord in truth. 
  • Liberation involves getting free from the concept of material life;
  • Perfection of human life is attained when one can understand that he is not the product of matter but is in fact spirit. And as soon as one understands that he has nothing to do with matter, he at once ceases his material hankerings and becomes enlivened as a spiritual being. 
  • After attainment of the brahma-bhūta stage of freedom from material conceptions, devotional service begins by one’s hearing about the Lord.
  • When one hears about the Supreme Lord, automatically the brahma-bhūta stage develops, and material contamination – greediness and lust for sense enjoyment – disappears.
  • As lust and desires disappear from the heart of a devotee, he becomes more attached to the service of the Lord, and by such attachment he becomes free from material contamination. In that state of life he can understand the Supreme Lord. 
  • After liberation the process of bhakti, or transcendental service, continues. 
  • BG 13.26 – Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death
  •  In modern society there is practically no education in spiritual matters
  • As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. 
  • Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, according to Lord Caitanya, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. 
  • It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything.
  • One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee
  • When a qualified brāhmaṇa factually becomes a Vaiṣṇava, in the enlivened state of liberation he can know what is actually the Personality of Godhead.

SB 2.9.34 TRANSLATION:

O Brahmā, whatever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. Know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.

Anything that appears as apparently not being “produced out of My energy” is called māyā. The conception that the living entity is formless or that the Supreme Lord is formless is also illusion. 

Misconceiving one thing for another thing is called illusion. For example, accepting a rope as a snake is illusion, but the rope is not false. The rope, as it exists in the front of the illusioned person, is not at all false, but the acceptance is illusory. Therefore the wrong conception of accepting this material manifestation as being divorced from the energy of the Lord is illusion, but it is not false. And this illusory conception is called the reflection of the reality in the darkness of ignorance.

Yesterday we discussed – Reflection in the darkness. 

Material example – Night time you are driving. If there are small lights in the car you will see your reflection in the dashboard window. 

Even if there is little light the reflection can be seen, as described in the above example.. 

You need darkness and little bit of light to see the reflection. 

reflection of the reality in the darkness of ignorance. – what does this mean?

  1. Anything that appears as apparently not being “produced out of My energy” is called māyā. 
    1. Everything we see is made from the energy of Krsna. Internal external and marginal energies and several energies.. All are energies of the lord. 
    2. Example – human energy is used to construct the pyramids. Carve the rocks and roll them on the trunks of the trees and pull them and assemble them to be pyramid. They had their techniques. Human energy to build the pyramids. Long and difficult process. It is a process.
    3. Energy of petroleum used in tractor to plow the soil.. .. 
    4. Energy is located in the soul. The soul is very very powerful. Even though it is microscopic. The soul has energy and it energizes the entire body. 
    5. Jiva is the energy of the lord. Jiva energy is so powerful.. Chandra, Indra, Brahma as they are purified, they can do tremendous things with the energy of the soul.. 
    6. We dont realize how much energy we have. 
  2. The Reflection is not the real thing. The real thing is the spiritual world. The reflection of the real  thing points that there is a real thing. The material world although looks real it disappears at one point. It is called avyakta stage. 

Material conception of life – 

They think that 

  1. Material nature is meant for their sense gratification 
  2. Do not accept that there is God
  3. Do not accept that God own everything. They think that they are proprietors. They own properties and establish ownership 
  4. Do not accept the existence of Karma
  5. They can control nature using Money science, logic can be used to control nature
  6. They reject the existence of a soul
  7. Believe that there is only matter
  8. Believe that the creation started with the big bang or some other material cause.

Very important to understand the material conception of life. If we understand that all these points are illusory and we begin to understand who we are and what is our relationship with Krsna. 

BG 18.55 

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti

yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā

viśate tad-anantaram

One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and His plenary portions cannot be understood by mental speculation nor by the nondevotees. If anyone wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has to take to pure devotional service under the guidance of a pure devotee. Otherwise, the truth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will always be hidden. As already stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.25), nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya: He is not revealed to everyone.

BG 7.25 

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.

Kṛṣṇa says that but for His pure devotees, all men consider Him to be like themselves. He was manifest only to His devotees as the reservoir of all pleasure. But to others, to unintelligent nondevotees, He was covered by His internal potency.

In the prayers of Kuntī in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.8.19) it is said that the Lord is covered by the curtain of yoga-māyā and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him. This yoga-māyā curtain is also confirmed in the Īśopaniṣad (Mantra 15), in which the devotee prays:

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

No one can understand God simply by erudite scholarship or mental speculation. Only one who is actually engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service can understand what Kṛṣṇa is. University degrees are not helpful.

One who is fully conversant with the Kṛṣṇa science becomes eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom, the abode of Kṛṣṇa. Becoming Brahman does not mean that one loses his identity. Devotional service is there, and as long as devotional service exists, there must be God, the devotee, and the process of devotional service. Such knowledge is never vanquished, even after liberation. Liberation involves getting free from the concept of material life; in spiritual life the same distinction is there, the same individuality is there, but in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One should not mistakenly think that the word viśate, “enters into Me,” supports the monist theory that one becomes homogeneous with the impersonal Brahman. No. Viśate means that one can enter into the abode of the Supreme Lord in one’s individuality to engage in His association and render service unto Him. For instance, a green bird enters a green tree not to become one with the tree but to enjoy the fruits of the tree. Impersonalists generally give the example of a river flowing into the ocean and merging. This may be a source of happiness for the impersonalist, but the personalist keeps his personal individuality like an aquatic in the ocean. We find so many living entities within the ocean, if we go deep. Surface acquaintance with the ocean is not sufficient; one must have complete knowledge of the aquatics living in the ocean depths.

Because of his pure devotional service, a devotee can understand the transcendental qualities and the opulences of the Supreme Lord in truth. As it is stated in the Eleventh Chapter, only by devotional service can one understand. The same is confirmed here; one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotional service and enter into His kingdom.

Attentively submissively with the desire to please krsna if we chant.. 

Krsna is understood through revelation not through academic knowledge.

BG 11.55  – only by dev service we can understand Krsna

mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo

mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ

nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu

yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.

After attainment of the brahma-bhūta stage of freedom from material conceptions, devotional service begins by one’s hearing about the Lord. When one hears about the Supreme Lord, automatically the brahma-bhūta stage develops, and material contamination – greediness and lust for sense enjoyment – disappears. As lust and desires disappear from the heart of a devotee, he becomes more attached to the service of the Lord, and by such attachment he becomes free from material contamination. In that state of life he can understand the Supreme Lord. This is the statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also. After liberation the process of bhakti, or transcendental service, continues. The Vedānta-sūtra (4.1.12) confirms this: ā-prāyaṇāt tatrāpi hi dṛṣṭam. This means that after liberation the process of devotional service continues. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, real devotional liberation is defined as the reinstatement of the living entity in his own identity, his own constitutional position. The constitutional position is already explained: every living entity is a part-and-parcel fragmental portion of the Supreme Lord. Therefore his constitutional position is to serve. After liberation, this service is never stopped. Actual liberation is getting free from misconceptions of life.

Everything depends on our voluntary desire to regularly hear BG, SB and repeat. 

Everything depends on regular hearing. Hearing is emphasized in the following verses. 

SB 1.2.20 

The very same thing is confirmed herein in the above words. No ordinary man, or even one who has attained success in human life, can know scientifically or perfectly the Personality of Godhead. Perfection of human life is attained when one can understand that he is not the product of matter but is in fact spirit. And as soon as one understands that he has nothing to do with matter, he at once ceases his material hankerings and becomes enlivened as a spiritual being. This attainment of success is possible when one is above the modes of passion and ignorance, or, in other words, when one is actually a brāhmaṇa by qualification. A brāhmaṇa is the symbol of sattva-guṇa, or the mode of goodness. And others, who are not in the mode of goodness, are either kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras or less than the śūdras. The brahminical stage is the highest stage of human life because of its good qualities. So one cannot be a devotee unless one at least qualifies as a brāhmaṇa. The devotee is already a brāhmaṇa by action. But that is not the end of it. As referred to above, such a brāhmaṇa has to become a Vaiṣṇava in fact to be actually in the transcendental stage. A pure Vaiṣṇava is a liberated soul and is transcendental even to the position of a brāhmaṇa. In the material stage even a brāhmaṇa is also a conditioned soul because although in the brahminical stage the conception of Brahman or transcendence is realized, scientific knowledge of the Supreme Lord is lacking. One has to surpass the brahminical stage and reach the vasudeva stage to understand the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. The science of the Personality of Godhead is the subject matter for study by the postgraduate students in the spiritual line. Foolish men, or men with a poor fund of knowledge, do not understand the Supreme Lord, and they interpret Kṛṣṇa according to their respective whims. The fact is, however, that one cannot understand the science of the Personality of Godhead unless one is freed from the contamination of the material modes, even up to the stage of a brāhmaṇa. When a qualified brāhmaṇa factually becomes a Vaiṣṇava, in the enlivened state of liberation he can know what is actually the Personality of Godhead.

BG 4.26 

Some [the unadulterated brahmacārīs] sacrifice the hearing process and the senses in the fire of mental control, and others [the regulated householders] sacrifice the objects of the senses in the fire of the senses.

The members of the four divisions of human life, namely the brahmacārī, the gṛhastha, the vānaprastha and the sannyāsī, are all meant to become perfect yogīs or transcendentalists. Since human life is not meant for our enjoying sense gratification like the animals, the four orders of human life are so arranged that one may become perfect in spiritual life. The brahmacārīs, or students under the care of a bona fide spiritual master, control the mind by abstaining from sense gratification. A brahmacārī hears only words concerning Kṛṣṇa consciousness; hearing is the basic principle for understanding, and therefore the pure brahmacārī engages fully in harer nāmānukīrtanam – chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. He restrains himself from the vibrations of material sounds, and his hearing is engaged in the transcendental sound vibration of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the householders, who have some license for sense gratification, perform such acts with great restraint.

Everyone is subjected to law of Karma. In the case of devotee by the mercy of Krsna the reaction is immediate. This happens if Krsna wants to show special mercy and wants to make the devotee realize that they did a mistake, violated akarma or vow of initiation or violated KC. This the devotee is made to see cause and effect. 

Only Krsna can change or eliminate our karma. Devotees want to be liberated even in the material world by avoiding all the things which are not KC. 

In the case of non devotees, sometimes Krsna will delay the reaction it can be several years or even life times. They become bewildered and they cannot know the cause and affect. 

BG 13.26 

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

This verse is particularly applicable to modern society because in modern society there is practically no education in spiritual matters. Some of the people may appear to be atheistic or agnostic or philosophical, but actually there is no knowledge of philosophy. As for the common man, if he is a good soul, then there is a chance for advancement by hearing. This hearing process is very important. Lord Caitanya, who preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the modern world, gave great stress to hearing because if the common man simply hears from authoritative sources he can progress, especially, according to Lord Caitanya, if he hears the transcendental vibration Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. It is stated, therefore, that all men should take advantage of hearing from realized souls and gradually become able to understand everything. The worship of the Supreme Lord will then undoubtedly take place. Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning. One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will be gradually elevated to the position of a pure devotee. In this verse particularly, the process of hearing is strongly recommended, and this is very appropriate. Although the common man is often not as capable as so-called philosophers, faithful hearing from an authoritative person will help one transcend this material existence and go back to Godhead, back to home.

Suffering is a message sent to you by Krsna from Durga mata that you have done something wrong. 

Birth, death, old age and disease. Material world is a prison house. Durga is always punishing us because we are not doing what we are supposed to do.  We should not be even wasting a minute and always engage in KC. 

BG 10.8

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

Message today – If you are a child, up until the point you are independent. 12 years old, 26 yrs old, or 50 yrs old. 

If you are suffering sickness, stress, not going well, that means we are violating the instructions of the lord/ guru,  rules and regulations of KC. The way to remedy and avoid unnecessary suffering – to get rid of anarthas – staying late in the night, gossipping, not attending the class.. 

Coming to mangal aarti, attending class, chanting rounds must be done.. 

BG 13.8-12

Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth – all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

All modern education is considered ignorance.. All they are teaching is material conception of life.. Therefore young people should be trained to come to temple everyday for mangal aarti and then start their day. They should spend at least 2 hours before they start their day. It is very much possible. Unless this program is not followed then there is no next generation in our movement. 

Hearing and chanting is the most important thing.. That our children should participate in.. everyday.. 

Posted on

SB 2.8.7 Notes -11/16/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.8.7:

  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such, all questions that may arise in the mind of a serious student must be cleared by the statements of the authority.
  • A person on the path of devotional service may inquire from his spiritual master all about the spiritual position of God and the living beings. 
  • In the process of devotional service, the first step is to take shelter of the spiritual master and then inquire from the spiritual master all about the process. This inquiry is essential for immunity to all kinds of offenses on the path of devotional service. 
  • The spiritual master must also be well versed and learned so that he may be able to answer all these inquiries from the devotees.
  • One who is not well versed in the authorized scriptures and not able to answer all such relevant inquiries should not pose as a spiritual master for the matter of material gain. It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple.
  • Nitya-siddha means one who has no chance to forget Kṛṣṇa. 
  • Sādhana-siddha means one has forgotten Kṛṣṇa. That is the position of all materialistic men. Every one of us, forgotten. But even though forgotten, the thing is there. It has to be awakened only. And the awakening process is hearing.
  • Anyone who has forgotten Kṛṣṇa somehow or other—the cause may be so many—but if he is given chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa… Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ. As soon as somehow or other one begins to hear about Kṛṣṇa… Either by his natural inclination or by chance or any way, he comes to hear about Kṛṣṇa, attempts hearing about Kṛṣṇa, then, Kṛṣṇa is within everyone’s heart, Paramātmā, so Kṛṣṇa helps him immediately.
  • Bhajana means serving the Lord. So bhajatām, one who is engaged always, twenty-four hours he’s engaged, in that stage, Kṛṣṇa becomes is very pleased upon you = “No, now he has taken to My service. He’s engaged twenty-four hours. All right, let him give some instruction.”
  • So Kṛṣṇa is within you.One profit is, by hearing about Kṛṣṇa, he becomes gradually sinless, simply by hearing. Unless we are sinful, we don’t come into the material world.
  • So we have to become sinless before going back to home, back to Godhead. Because God is pure; the kingdom is pure. No impure living entity can enter there. So one has to become pure. 
  • So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that once he’s given chance to erase all the sinful activities and keeping himself intact—no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling—if we follow this regulation, then after initiation all my sins are washed off. And if I keep myself in that washed-off position, then where is the question of becoming sinful again?
  • Once washed off, now keep yourself in that washed-off condition. That is required.
    So that will be possible if you keep yourself constantly in touch with Kṛṣṇa by hearing about Him. That’s all. You have to remain uncontaminated. 
  • When one comes to the understanding that “I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, God, and my only business is to serve Him,” that is called mukti.
  • When we become engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this sense gratification business ceases.That is the test how you are becoming advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. 
  • The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the business of liberated soul, not for the conditioned soul. But even in our conditioned life we chant, we become gradually purified.Therefore it is recommended that everyone should chant.
  • Chanting the holy name of the medicine for the Bhava – Roga (means again and again taking birth) – cycle of birth and death. But the medicine is very pleasing. 
  • It is very easy, even children can take up chanting of the holy name of the lord. 
  • it is pleasing, even to the ordinary man..
  • For philosophers it is also pleasing
  • So either one is killing himself or killing animals, such a person cannot understand about the glories of the Lord.
  • BG 9.30, 31. 32  are the dispensation verses given by Krsna. These verses show how kind Krsna is, how merciful He is.. 
  • No one should take advantage of these verses and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. If he does not improve in his character by devotional service, then it is to be understood that he is not a high devotee.
  • We should not overestimate our achievements in life, we should always be humble and meek. 
  • The only qualification of a devotee is to be unflinchingly and exclusively engaged in devotional service.
  • Everyone is eligible for the supreme destination
  • Devotional service and the guidance of a pure devotee are so strong that there is no discrimination between the lower and higher classes of men; anyone can take to it. The most simple man taking shelter of the pure devotee can be purified by proper guidance.

SB 2.8.7 TRANSLATION:

O learned brāhmaṇa, the transcendental spirit soul is different from the material body. Does he acquire the body accidentally or by some cause? Will you kindly explain this, for it is known to you.

Mahārāja Parīkṣit, being a typical devotee, is not only satisfied by confirming the importance of hearing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from the representative of Brahmājī by disciplic succession, but he is still more anxious to establish the philosophical basis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such, all questions that may arise in the mind of a serious student must be cleared by the statements of the authority. A person on the path of devotional service may inquire from his spiritual master all about the spiritual position of God and the living beings. From the Bhagavad-gītā, as well as from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is known that qualitatively the Lord and the living beings are one. The living being in the conditioned state of material existence is subjected to many transmigrations by continuous changing of the material body. But what are the causes of the material embodiment of the part and parcel of the Lord? Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquires about this very important matter for the benefit of all classes of candidates on the path of self-realization and devotional service to the Lord.

Indirectly it is confirmed that the Supreme Being, the Lord, makes no such material changes of body. He is spiritually whole, with no difference between His body and His soul, unlike the conditioned soul. The liberated living beings, who associate with the Lord in person, are also exactly like the Lord. Only the conditioned souls awaiting liberation are subjected to change of bodies. How was the process first begun?

In the process of devotional service, the first step is to take shelter of the spiritual master and then inquire from the spiritual master all about the process. This inquiry is essential for immunity to all kinds of offenses on the path of devotional service. Even if one is fixed in devotional service like Mahārāja Parīkṣit, he must still inquire from the realized spiritual master all about this. In other words, the spiritual master must also be well versed and learned so that he may be able to answer all these inquiries from the devotees. Thus one who is not well versed in the authorized scriptures and not able to answer all such relevant inquiries should not pose as a spiritual master for the matter of material gain. It is illegal to become a spiritual master if one is unable to deliver the disciple.

This is very interesting. 

Someone asked – Prabhu is it really necessary to only read the bhagavatam? There are

so many other books there’s a mana shiksha and there’s nectar of devotions nectar of instruction and other devotees books? What is the story here? The story here is the sages of naimisharanya discussed  for 1000’s of years  what is the best for the people in Kali yuga and came to the conclusion that Regular hearing SB is the best way. We are not saying that anything is wrong with the other books. 

SB  is the panacea (all encompassing cure for sense gratification, illusion, misery) for all the people of kali yuga.. We are going to hear SB till the last day. 

LA June 1st 1972 (https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/720601sbla)

Prabhupāda: So this is the difference between sādhana-siddha and nitya-siddha.

So nitya-siddha means he has no chance to forget Kṛṣṇa. That is called nitya-siddha. And sādhana-siddha means by following the regulative principles, the rules and regulations, one revives his Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Both things are siddha, because you cannot revive Kṛṣṇa consciousness without being Kṛṣṇa conscious. It may be covered. So nitya-siddha means he does not get covered by the influence of material nature about his natural devotion tendency to serve Kṛṣṇa. He never becomes covered. This is the difference. Kṛṣṇa gives him chance to get birth in such a family, just like Parīkṣit Mahārāja, that he never gets the chance of forgetting Kṛṣṇa. So one who does not get the chance of forgetting Kṛṣṇa is called nitya-siddha. This is the difference.

And sādhana-siddha means one has forgotten Kṛṣṇa. That is the position of all materialistic men. Every one of us, forgotten. But even though forgotten, the thing is there. It has to be awakened only. And the awakening process is hearing.

This is also explained in Bg 13th chapter – 

BG 13.26 

Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

Just like you are out of your family touch for many years. Practically you have forgotten. Now, if somebody comes to you, some friend, “Do you remember your child, when he came out, he was such little, and now he is grown-up? Now he’s this, that, so on,” if for some days this topics of the family is…, then again he becomes attracted = “Let me go and see.” It is natural.

Similarly, anyone who has forgotten Kṛṣṇa somehow or other—the cause may be so many—but if he is given chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa… Śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ.

As soon as somehow or other one begins to hear about Kṛṣṇa… Either by his natural inclination or by chance or any way, he comes to hear about Kṛṣṇa, attempts hearing about Kṛṣṇa, then, Kṛṣṇa is within everyone’s heart, Paramātmā, so Kṛṣṇa helps him immediately. Kṛṣṇa helps both ways. If you want to forget Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will help you in that way, so that you will be able to forget Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, if you want to revive your lost relationship with Kṛṣṇa again, Kṛṣṇa will help you.

These things are stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānām. Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam [Bg. 10.10]. One who is engaged twenty-four hours in rendering service to the Lord with faith and devotion, bhajatām… Bhajatām, this word is used. Bhaja, sevā, service. Bhaja sevayā. Every verbal root has got particular meaning. When this bhajatām, bhajana… Just we call bhajana. Bhajana means serving the Lord. So bhajatām, one who is engaged always, teṣāṁ nitya, satata-yuktānām, twenty-four hours he’s engaged, in that stage, Kṛṣṇa is become…, Kṛṣṇa is very pleased upon you = “No, now he has taken to My service. He’s engaged twenty-four hours. All right, let him give some instruction.”

So Kṛṣṇa is within you. So śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ [SB 1.2.17]. One profit is, by hearing about Kṛṣṇa, he becomes gradually sinless, simply by hearing. Unless we are sinful, we don’t come into the material world. So we have to become sinless before going back to home, back to Godhead. Because kingdom of God… God is pure; the kingdom is pure. No impure living entity can enter there. So one has to become pure. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, yeṣām anta-gataṁ pāpam. “One who has completely been freed from all sinful reaction of his life,” yeṣāṁ anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām, “and always engaged in pious activities, no more sinful activities.”

So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that once he’s given chance to erase all the sinful activities and keeping himself intact—no illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling—if we follow this regulation, then after initiation all my sins are washed off. And if I keep myself in that washed-off position, then where is the question of becoming sinful again? But once washed-off… You take your bath and again take the dust and throw on your body—that process will not help. If you say, “I’ll take again wash and again throw,” then what is the use of washing? Wash off. Once washed off, now keep yourself in that washed-off condition. That is required.

So that will be possible if you keep yourself constantly in touch with Kṛṣṇa by hearing about Him. That’s all. You have to remain uncontaminated. And that is puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. If you hear about Kṛṣṇa, then puṇya, you will be always in pious position. Puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. Either you chant or… Therefore our recommendation is always chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. So we should be careful about our slipping down again into the sinful activities, and everyone should be careful and keep oneself in the chanting process. Then he’s all right.

And gradually, as you go on hearing about Kṛṣṇa, the all the dirty things within the heart will be cleansed. The dirty things are that “I am a material body.” “I am American,” “I am Indian,” “I am Hindu,” “I am Muslim,” “I am this,” “I am that.” These are all different types of covering of the soul. The uncovered soul is fully conscious that “I am eternal servant of God.” That’s all. One has no other identification. That is called mukti. When one comes to the understanding that “I am eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, God, and my only business is to serve Him,” that is called mukti.

Mukti does not mean that you will have another two hands, another two legs. No. The same thing, simply it is cleansed. Just like a man is suffering from fever. The symptoms are so many, but as soon as the fever is not there, then all the symptoms gone. So our this fever in this material world is sense gratification. Sense gratification. This is the fever. So when we become engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, this sense gratification business ceases. That is the difference. That is the test how you are becoming advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Bhaktiḥ pareśānubhavo viraktir anyatra syāt [SB 11.2.42]. That is the test.

So… Because this disease is called bhava-roga… Bhava-roga means again and again taking birth. Bhava-roga. But if we take the medicine, bhavauṣadhi… Everything is there in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Bhava-roga, the disease of repeated birth and death in the material world, and the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is bhavauṣadhi, the medicine to cure this bhava-roga. Bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-‘bhirāmāt, ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt virajyeta pumān vinā paśughnāt [SB 10.1.4]. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt. There are very nice verses in Bhāgavatam. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānāt. This chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, or God, is possible by a person who is disgusted with all these material activities. They can actually chant. That means mukta-puruṣa, liberated soul. It is… The chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is the business of liberated soul, not for the conditioned soul. But even in our conditioned life we chant, we become gradually purified.Therefore it is recommended that everyone should chant. 

Never mind, nama oṁ apavitraḥ pavitro vā yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣam. Anyone who remembers the Puṇḍarīkākṣa… By chanting, you’ll remember. So nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhi. It is the medicine for our this bhava-roga, repeated birth and death. Such a nice thing. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhi chrotra-mano-‘bhirāmāt. Not only it is medicine… Medicine is always bitter. But it is not bitter. Mano ‘bhirāmāt: it is very pleasing to the mind, to the senses. Otherwise, how we become ecstatic in chanting unless it is pleasing? It is medicine, but pleasing medicine. Other medicines, they are very bitter. If you practice yoga, oh, you have to take so much labor. And that, you do not know whether you’ll be successful or not, haṭha-yoga. And if you take to jñāna, that also requires much education, much understanding of philosophy.

So they actually, although they are medicine, but they are bitter medicine. Not very palatable. Neither everyone can take it. A child cannot become a jñānī. A child cannot become a yogī. But a child can become a bhakta. Therefore this is the easiest process. Pleasing. Everyone is pleased to execute this process. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhi chrotra-mano-‘bhirāmāt [SB 10.1.4]. Mano-‘bhirāmāt. Even for ordinary men who wants to hear about conjugal love… They read therefore so many novel, fiction, dramas. What is that? The love affairs between one young man, one young girl. But that is also there, Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In that sense also, it is pleasing, even to the ordinary man.

So, mano ‘bhirāmāt, it is very pleasing. Nivṛtta-tarṣaiḥ… For philosophers it is also pleasing. We are talking all of philosophy in Bhāgavata. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhi chrotra-mano-‘bhirāmāt. Ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt. Uttamaśloka is Kṛṣṇa, who is worshiped by offering nice, selected ślokas, authorized. Just like we offer prayer, cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa… [Bs. 5.29]. Each line is full of poetry, poetic and literary character, grammar. Anything you take, they’re all full. All Bhāgavata, all Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. You cannot produce such literature in this days, such meaningful. Because Vyāsadeva was incarnation, he could produce. Therefore it is uttamaśloka: by the best selected verses, Kṛṣṇa is described.

So who can be away from such activities, to hear about Uttamaśloka through nice verses, philosophy? Who can be bereft? Vinā paśughnāt [SB 10.1.4] = only the animal-hunter or the animal-killer. The animal-killer cannot understand. Therefore it is prohibited = no meat-eating, no flesh-eating. This is the greatest disqualification for understanding. One cannot understand. The animal-killer cannot understand. Therefore it has to be stopped. Vinā paśughnāt. Paśughnāt means… Ghna means killer, and paśu means animal. And another meaning is, paśu means oneself, living entity—ghna. So either one is killing himself or killing animals, such person cannot understand about the glories of the Lord. It is not possible. Parīkṣit Mahārāja said that, ka uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt virajyeta vinā paśughnāt. Only the animal-killer.

So, have kīrtana.

SB 2.1.5

tasmād bhārata sarvātmā

bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ

śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca

smartavyaś cecchatābhayam

O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.

Only books about Krsna – BG & SB, transcendental pastimes of Krsna and His devotees. 

Help people understand – Krishna gives special dispensation. (Exemption of the rule, giving a loop hole)

Krishna has given Hari naam sankirtan.. 

If you want victory in this age – just chant Hare Krsna maha mantra.. 

Greatest quality of Kali Yuga.. just by chanting sincerely you can go back to Godhead.. 

  • Even thinking good you get the result 
  • Even if you think bad there is no affect, until you act bad
  • Even if you do not get initiated and chant the holy name you get delivered. The holy name is so powerful..  Not to say that you should not get initiated.. we’re all coming from low backgrounds

Krsna is giving dispensation so that his devotees can go back to Him easily. But if one does not hear SB regularly, he does not even want to go back to Him. 

These 4 verses – Krishna is giving the dispensations – loop holes 

BG 9.30

shows how kind Krsna is

Even if one falls down if he is engages in DS he is 

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.

One should not misuse this dispensation. Three strikes and you are out. NOT premeditated fall down, but only accidental fall downs.. 

On the other hand, one should not misunderstand that a devotee in transcendental devotional service can act in all kinds of abominable ways; this verse only refers to an accident due to the strong power of material connections. Devotional service is more or less a declaration of war against the illusory energy. As long as one is not strong enough to fight the illusory energy, there may be accidental falldowns. But when one is strong enough, he is no longer subjected to such falldowns, as previously explained. No one should take advantage of this verse and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. If he does not improve in his character by devotional service, then it is to be understood that he is not a high devotee.

Example – Devotee who smoked marijuna to preach.. In Amsterdam.. 

Material energy is very powerful. 

One devotee who was always reading SP books.. Went to a mayavadi philosopher class and he converted to mayavadi philosophy.. Blown away by their quoting of BG verses.. 

We should not overestimate our achievements in life we should always be

humble and meek. 

And but preach yes we should preach but not think that we can conquer the whole

World – first we have to conquer our desire to have sense gratification that could take

a very very long time and once you do conquer that then still you would not go to places where people are openly violating the four regulative principles because

just witnessing such a thing makes you fallen already. 

Example – One devotee murdered another devotee. He was caught and was convicted and has been in jail for 40 years.. But he is a devotee, he is chanting nicely.. He is preaching nicely.. He got the just punishment he can never get out of Jail.. there is no reason to criticize him. 

Therefore a person who is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is engaged with determination in the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be considered to be in the transcendental position, even if by chance or accident he is found to have fallen. The words sādhur eva, “he is saintly,” are very emphatic. They are a warning to the nondevotees that because of an accidental falldown a devotee should not be derided; he should still be considered saintly even if he has accidentally fallen down. And the word mantavyaḥ is still more emphatic. If one does not follow this rule, and derides a devotee for his accidental falldown, then one is disobeying the order of the Supreme Lord. The only qualification of a devotee is to be unflinchingly and exclusively engaged in devotional service.

BG 9.31

Even if a devotee accidentally falls he will quickly become righteous due to the cleansing process.. 

He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kuntī, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.

This should not be misunderstood. In the Seventh Chapter the Lord says that one who is engaged in mischievous activities cannot become a devotee of the Lord. One who is not a devotee of the Lord has no good qualifications whatsoever. The question remains, then, How can a person engaged in abominable activities – either by accident or by intention – be a pure devotee? This question may justly be raised. The miscreants, as stated in the Seventh Chapter, who never come to the devotional service of the Lord, have no good qualifications, as is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Generally, a devotee who is engaged in the nine kinds of devotional activities is engaged in the process of cleansing all material contamination from the heart. He puts the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, and all sinful contaminations are naturally washed away. Continuous thinking of the Supreme Lord makes him pure by nature. According to the Vedas, there is a certain regulation that if one falls down from his exalted position he has to undergo certain ritualistic processes to purify himself. But here there is no such condition, because the purifying process is already there in the heart of the devotee, due to his remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead constantly. Therefore, the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be continued without stoppage. This will protect a devotee from all accidental falldowns. He will thus remain perpetually free from all material contaminations.

i can show you where prabhupada says even if one is committing offenses one

should not stop chanting but one should correct the offenses by getting help

from a senior devotee and continue chanting under no circumstances so one give up chanting but they should get help to chant purely

BG 9.32 

Everyone is eligible for the supreme destination

O son of Pṛthā, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth – women, vaiśyas [merchants] and śūdras [workers] – can attain the supreme destination.

Everyone is eligible for the supreme destination. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.4.18) it is stated that even the lowest, who are called caṇḍālas (dog-eaters), can be purified by association with a pure devotee. Therefore devotional service and the guidance of a pure devotee are so strong that there is no discrimination between the lower and higher classes of men; anyone can take to it. The most simple man taking shelter of the pure devotee can be purified by proper guidance. 

so here’s a formula for success for all types of people people who are following

krishna consciousness people who were following but fell down and human

people who are not following if you simply become humble and take instruction and what is that instruction –  it’s hearing srimad-bhagavatam every day from genuine devotee or devotees and then of course = “engage your mind always in thinking of Me become My devotee offer obeisances to unto Me and worship me being completely absorbed in me surely you will come to me” 

if we just stick to the four regulative principles you’ll never have a problem if you rationalize well this is for preaching just like there was one sannyasi in ISKCON whenever he would see someone who could become his disciple he would give him a picture of his feet a photo of his feet put this on the altar and worshiped it you know so there was one girl that was doing that and she said maharaj i’ve been worshiping your feet every day it’s so wonderful it’s giving me so much spiritual advancement but i would like to actually massage your feet you know because i’m meditating on them all so he said okay so eventually he fell down how can a sanyasi accept that a girl can massage his feet?  but it was the feet first then the ankle this is all crazy stuff right by the way why is he giving a picture of his feet you know well is that going to help the girl you know it’s better she meditated on Srila Prabhupad right anyway here we see how one thing leads to another thing leads to another thing eventually they fall down so we should not play games with maya maya is stronger than us we just stick to the regulative principles and chanting hare krishna and hearing regularly and doing service then there won’t be any problem. That he overestimated

That devotee who smoked marijuna –  he overestimated his abilities

yeah he figured he was puffed up because he always chanting chanting  Hare Krsna everybody’s face all the time right you say something  like that he wouldn’t even answer you this is uh dangerous oh my god that’s called being puffed up now we should always be lower than the straw on the street then we won’t have a problem of what everybody has that krsna’s in the heart and we’re all originally with krishna go ahead Yes no they never fall down well they they come here because krsna sends them to spread krishna consciousness, the nithya siddhas have never fallen Down but sometimes one can be sent here to do special preaching to help those fallen Souls like arjuna arjuna never goes back to godhead it’s always in a material world with krishna preaching and teaching others how to be Krsna Conscious so some people they’re always liberated in the material world and some people Are liberating the spiritual world arjun is a very special devotee so anytime krishna appears anywhere in the material world he’s with him okay good.