Tag: BG 2.69

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SB 2.9.36 – Part 3 – Notes – 1/24/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.36 – Part 3:

  • Even if a person is fully addicted to all sorts of sinful acts, if he happens to be engaged in the loving transcendental service of the Lord under proper guidance, he is to be considered the most perfect holy man without a doubt. 
  • And thus any person, whatsoever and whosoever he or she may be — even the fallen woman, the less intelligent laborer, the dull mercantile man, or even a man lower than all these — can attain the highest perfection of life by going back home, back to Godhead, provided he or she takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord in all earnestness. 
  • This sincere earnestness is the only qualification that can lead one to the highest perfectional stage of life, and unless and until such real earnestness is aroused, there is a difference between cleanliness or uncleanliness, learning or non learning, in the material estimation. 
  • “The pure devotees are convinced of attaining the association of the Personality of Godhead, and thus they are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.”
  • The Lord can be served by any ingredient, even the most common commodity — a flower, a leaf, a fruit or a little water, which are available in any part of the universe and without cost — and thus the Lord is served universally by the universal entities. 
  • He can be served simply by hearing, He can be served simply by chanting or reading about His activities, He can be served simply by adoring Him and accepting Him.
  • One can serve the Lord by offering the result of one’s own work; it does not matter what one does. Generally men may say that whatever they are doing is inspired by God, but that is not all. One should actually work on behalf of God as a servant of God
  • In other words, be a servant of God and live peacefully in that consciousness, ultimately returning home, back to Godhead.
  • SB 8.3.1 – In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • It is imperative, therefore, that all devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness practice chanting some mantra. Certainly one should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, which is the mahā-mantra, or great mantra, and also one should practice chanting cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu or the Nṛsiṁha strotra (ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ)
  • A devotee should try to perfect his Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this life, for simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa and His instructions, after giving up this body one can return home, back to Godhead. Even if there is some fall down, practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness never goes in vain.

SB 2.9.36 TRANSLATION:

A person who is searching after the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, must certainly search for it up to this, in all circumstances, in all space and time, and both directly and indirectly.

Therefore there is no need to seek properly qualified candidates for discharging devotional service to the Lord. Let them be either well-behaved or ill trained, let them be either learned or fools, let them be either grossly attached or in the renounced order of life, let them be liberated souls or desirous of salvation, let them be inexpert in the discharge of devotional service or expert in the same — all of them can be elevated to the supreme position by discharging devotional service under the proper guidance. This is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.30, 32) as follows:

Krsna is in the heart of every living entity as Paramatma.. Hence everyone all living entities are eligible for the discharge for devotional service. Vidya vinaya sampanne.. Pandita sama darshana.. It is open to everyone.. 

BG 18.61 – 

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

hṛd-deśe ’rjuna tiṣṭhati

bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni

yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.

BG 5.18 

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śva-pāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].

api cet sudurācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

māṁ hi pārtha vyapāśritya

ye ’pi syuḥ pāpa-yonayaḥ

striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās

te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim

Even if a person is fully addicted to all sorts of sinful acts, if he happens to be engaged in the loving transcendental service of the Lord under proper guidance, he is to be considered the most perfect holy man without a doubt. And thus any person, whatsoever and whosoever he or she may be — even the fallen woman, the less intelligent laborer, the dull mercantile man, or even a man lower than all these — can attain the highest perfection of life by going back home, back to Godhead, provided he or she takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord in all earnestness. This sincere earnestness is the only qualification that can lead one to the highest perfectional stage of life, and unless and until such real earnestness is aroused, there is a difference between cleanliness or uncleanliness, learning or non learning, in the material estimation. 

BG 2.69

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

Fire is always fire, and thus if someone touches the fire, knowingly or unknowingly, the fire will act in its own way without discrimination. The principle is: harir harati pāpāni duṣṭa-cittair api smṛtaḥ. The all-powerful Lord can purify the devotee of all sinful reactions, just as the sun can sterilize all sorts of infections by its powerful rays. “Attraction for material enjoyment cannot act upon a pure devotee of the Lord.” There are hundreds and thousands of aphorisms in the revealed scriptures. Ātmārāmāś ca munayaḥ: “Even the self-realized souls are also attracted by the transcendental loving service of the Lord.” Kecit kevalayā bhaktyā vāsudeva-parāyaṇāḥ: “Simply by hearing and chanting, one becomes a great devotee of Lord Vāsudeva.” Na calati bhagavat-padāravindāl lavanimiṣārdham api sa vaiṣṇavāgryaḥ: “A person who does not move from the lotus feet of the Lord even for a moment or a second is to be considered the greatest of all Vaiṣṇavas.” Bhagavat-pārṣadatāṁ prāpte mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te: “The pure devotees are convinced of attaining the association of the Personality of Godhead, and thus they are always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.” 

Therefore in all continents, in all planets, in all universes, devotional service to the Lord, or bhakti-yoga, is current, and that is the statement of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and allied scriptures. “Everywhere” means in every part of the creation of the Lord. The Lord can be served by all the senses, or even simply by the mind. 

We can serve the lord even with our mind. Nothing stops us. 

Past Time : Maharaj and devotees were arrested and put in jail for a day for doing sankirtan. Devotees asked what should we do we? Maharaj said lets serve the lord.. We can do all our services mentally. Meditate on the service.. 

The South Indian brāhmaṇa who served the Lord simply on the strength of his mind also factually realized the Lord. Success is guaranteed for a devotee who fully engages any one of his senses in the mode of devotional service. The Lord can be served by any ingredient, even the most common commodity — a flower, a leaf, a fruit or a little water, which are available in any part of the universe and without cost — and thus the Lord is served universally by the universal entities. He can be served simply by hearing, He can be served simply by chanting or reading about His activities, He can be served simply by adoring Him and accepting Him.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that one can serve the Lord by offering the result of one’s own work; it does not matter what one does. Generally men may say that whatever they are doing is inspired by God, but that is not all. One should actually work on behalf of God as a servant of God. The Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27):

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi

yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteya

tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

Do whatever you like or whatever may be easier for you to do, eat whatever you may eat, sacrifice whatever you can sacrifice, give whatever you may give in charity, and do whatever you may undertake in penance, but everything must be done for Him only. If you do business or if you accept some employment, do so on behalf of the Lord. Whatever you may eat, you may offer the same to the Lord and be assured that He will return the food after eating it Himself. He is the complete whole, and therefore whatever He may eat as offered by the devotee is accepted because of the devotee’s love, but again it is returned as prasāda for the devotee so that he can be happy by eating. In other words, be a servant of God and live peacefully in that consciousness, ultimately returning home, back to Godhead.

Whatever you eat 

BG 17.10 

Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things is dear to those in the mode of darkness.

The purpose of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the mind and aid bodily strength. This is its only purpose. In the past, great authorities selected those foods that best aid health and increase life’s duration, such as milk products, sugar, rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables. These foods are very dear to those in the mode of goodness. Some other foods, such as baked corn and molasses, while not very palatable in themselves, can be made pleasant when mixed with milk or other foods. They are then in the mode of goodness. All these foods are pure by nature. They are quite distinct from untouchable things like meat and liquor. Fatty foods, as mentioned in the eighth verse, have no connection with animal fat obtained by slaughter. Animal fat is available in the form of milk, which is the most wonderful of all foods. Milk, butter, cheese and similar products give animal fat in a form which rules out any need for the killing of innocent creatures. It is only through brute mentality that this killing goes on. The civilized method of obtaining needed fat is by milk. Slaughter is the way of subhumans. Protein is amply available through split peas, dāl, whole wheat, etc.

They say 1percent milk.. Our goloka farm milk is 100 percent fat…

Teachings of Lord Kapila Dev – TEXT 15

The stage in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation.

There is a distinction here between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā consciousness. Guṇeṣu, or māyā consciousness, involves attachment to the three material modes of nature, under which one works sometimes in goodness and knowledge, sometimes in passion and sometimes in ignorance. These different qualitative activities, with the central attachment for material enjoyment, are the cause of one’s conditional life. When the same cetaḥ, or consciousness, is transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is on the path of liberation.

BG 7.12

ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā

rājasās tāmasāś ca ye

matta eveti tān viddhi

na tv ahaṁ teṣu te mayi

Know that all states of being – be they of goodness, passion or ignorance – are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything, but I am independent. I am not under the modes of material nature, for they, on the contrary, are within Me.

BG 7.13

tribhir guṇa-mayair bhāvair

ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat

mohitaṁ nābhijānāti

mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam

Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.

People who are nonchalant (who are not paying attention to details). Many people in KC also – when people are not meticulous about cleanliness.. They see the things that need to be done in the temple walk past by them.. That means they are selfish conscious and not Krsna  Conscious. Every part of the temple is sacred. Even the bathrooms, kitchen, sinks.. The more we become conscious about the cleanliness of the temple the more progress we make.. 

Most people are selfish.. What can I do to serve Krsna.. How can I serve? 

If we have to beg a person to do service their spiritual life is in danger.. 

EXAMPLE – devotees mothers, kids are doing service in the farm.. 

FARM is an opportunity to go back to the original lifestyle that maintained people in hundreds and millions of years.. All people need is service and it is all based on Daivi Varnashram.. 

Walking past dust is a serious problem

QUESTION: 

Is Gajendra a pure devotee because he was praying to the lord to come out of pain and this material existence? 

Spiritually advanced people glorify the lord with choice prayers. Gajendra remembered 

The mantra he was saying in his previous life and started saying it.. 

SB 8.3.1

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

Here is an elephant who remembers the mantra from his previous life.. 

Such remembrance is described in Bhagavad-gītā (6.43-44):

tatra taṁ buddhi-saṁyogaṁ

labhate paurva-dehikam

yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ

saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana

pūrvābhyāsena tenaiva

hriyate hy avaśo ’pi saḥ

In these verses it is assured that even if a person engaged in devotional service falls down, he is not degraded, but is placed in a position in which he will in due course of time remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained later, Gajendra was formerly King Indradyumna, and somehow or other in his next life he became King of the elephants. Now Gajendra was in danger, and although he was in a body other than that of a human being, he remembered the stotra he had chanted in his previous life. Yatate ca tato bhūyaḥ saṁsiddhau kuru-nandana. To enable one to achieve perfection, Kṛṣṇa gives one the chance to remember Him again. This is proved here, for although the King of the elephants, Gajendra, was put in danger, this was a chance for him to remember his previous devotional activities so that he could immediately be rescued by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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

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SB 2.8.28, 29 Notes – 11/30/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.8.28 -29:

  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of the Personality of Godhead
  • To learn this science one should take shelter of the representative of Śrī Śukadeva and follow in the footsteps of Mahārāja Parīkṣit without foolishly attempting to interpret, thereby committing a great offense at the feet of the Lord. 
  • The dangerous ways of interpretations by the nondevotee class of men have played havoc in understanding the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the careful student should be always alert in this matter if he at all wants to learn the science of Godhead.
  • BG 11.54 – 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.
  • BG 8.22 – The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.
  • BG 18.55 – 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.
  • Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the best in the dynasty of the Pāṇḍus, and thus he was able to ask the right questions from the right person.
  • Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked many questions, some of them very curiously, to know things as they are, but it is not necessary for the master to answer them in the order of the disciple’s inquiries, one after the other. 
  • But Śukadeva Gosvāmī, the experienced teacher that he was, answered all the questions in a systematic way as they were received from the chain of disciplic succession. And he answered all of them without exception.
  • We can see that there is a sequence to the questions and answers in Bhagavad Gita too. It starts with the confusion of Arjuna and a bunch of questions, and the first instruction from Krsna starts with “you are not the body but the spirit soul”
  • Vedic system is all questions and answers. When one is with the spiritual master one should ask questions. 
  • Maharaj explains the question asked by Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj to Srila Prabhupada about Sad-Darshanas in this class. (Purva Mimamsa, Nyaya mimamsa, Vysesika mimamsa, Sankhya mimamsa, Yoga mimamsa, Uttara mimamsa)
  • Srila Prabhupada tells Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj that we are not here to defeat anyone, but we are here to help one to get the level of absolute truth even through their false interpretations of the Sad darshanas.. 

SB 2.8.28 – 11/30/21

He began to reply to the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit by saying that the science of the Personality of Godhead was spoken first by the Lord Himself to Brahmā when he was first born. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supplementary Vedic literature, and it is just in pursuance of the Vedas.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the science of the Personality of Godhead. The impersonalist always tries to misrepresent the personal feature of the Lord, not knowing the science of this great knowledge, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is in pursuance of the Vedas and scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. To learn this science one should take shelter of the representative of Śrī Śukadeva and follow in the footsteps of Mahārāja Parīkṣit without foolishly attempting to interpret, thereby committing a great offense at the feet of the Lord. The dangerous ways of interpretations by the nondevotee class of men have played havoc in understanding the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the careful student should be always alert in this matter if he at all wants to learn the science of Godhead.

SB & BG are the two most important and best literatures.. If we focus on these 2 we will understand the real purpose of vedas. 

Speculation is an offense in vedic tradition 

Everything has been researched and found one does not have to speculate. 

BG 15.15 

I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

Goal is to understand Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 

If you know what the goal is you will learn from BG and SB. 

If you do not know what the goal is you will waste your life times with speculation. 

In the beginning of SB – On namo bhagavate vasudevaya.. 

In BG 10.8 – Aham Sarvasya prabhavo.. 

The whole thing leads to – I should render service to Sri Krsna who is the supreme personality of Godhead.. 

Therefore Krsna says – 

BG 11.54

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.

BG 8.22 – Krishna is greater than all

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.

BG 18.55

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.

Krishna is repeating the same thing 3 times.. When something is repeated then it is of utmost importance.. 

SB 2.8.29 

He also prepared himself to reply to all that King Parīkṣit had inquired from him. Mahārāja Parīkṣit was the best in the dynasty of the Pāṇḍus, and thus he was able to ask the right questions from the right person.

Mahārāja Parīkṣit asked many questions, some of them very curiously, to know things as they are, but it is not necessary for the master to answer them in the order of the disciple’s inquiries, one after the other. But Śukadeva Gosvāmī, experienced teacher that he was, answered all the questions in a systematic way as they were received from the chain of disciplic succession. And he answered all of them without exception.

Vedic technique – Questions and answers, When you ask questions and study things from all different angles, then you will learn the science of Krsna.. 

BG has a sequence…of questions and a sequence of answers. 

The instruction begins with understanding the difference between body and soul. If you want to know how to preach to the people who are atheists or not KC you start with the teaching of you are not the body you are spirit soul.. In the process of explaining, Parasadam, tulsi leaf, ganges water, opportunity for service.. In most cases that breaks down their animosity to be KC. Little by little the false ego is chipped away they will realize there is whole bunch of knowledge I have been rejecting.. And they become receptive to listen.. 

Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj – 

Sad darshana

Devotional service 

Ask questions when you are with the guru

Maharaj was with Srila Prabhupada in a car.. And he asked a question on BG 2.69

SP only heard time of awakening and he said – 4 am is when we need to wake up 

SP said after clarifying about the questions  – When we go out and chant and dance they are laughing, when we see non devotees running in distress to the office we laugh… our laugh is better.. 

In Satya Yuga nobody built big buildings.. They did not want to waste time in building them. They wanted to chant and hear scriptures.. They lived in mud huts.. Ideal place to live.. 

BG 2.69 

What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage

There are two classes of intelligent men. One is intelligent in material activities for sense gratification, and the other is introspective and awake to the cultivation of self-realization. Activities of the introspective sage, or thoughtful man, are night for persons materially absorbed. Materialistic persons remain asleep in such a night due to their ignorance of self-realization. The introspective sage remains alert in the “night” of the materialistic men. The sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his sleeping condition. The introspective man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions.

He who laughs last laughs best.. 

Why should we study Sad Darshanas if 5 of 6 are atheistic. Even the last one of tainted and not perfect.. 

Our business is not to defeat others but to establish that Krsna is the supreme personality of Godhead and He is the supreme object of worship and render service to Him.. 

 Even the false interpretation is progressive. The six branches are the six steps towards DS. 

Purva Mimamsa – karma 

Nyaya mimamsa

Vysesika mimamsa

Sankhya mimamsa

Yoga mimamsa

Uttara mimamsa.. 

If you study them without understanding their relationship to Krsna they are atheistic.. 

They are rungs in the ladder.. 

Don’t study them individually, they are part of a sequence leading to the devotion to Krsna… even if they are misinterpreted…  

Goal has to be understood from the beginning.. 

Vedas – 

Karma – how to enjoy , right action – enjoyment, wrong action – suffering, law of Karma

When one starts suffering even after acting piously, one starts questioning .. one comes to Jnana.. The four branches  (nyaya, vysesika, sankya, yoga) answer the question even though they are falsely interpreted.. 

Material body is a wonderful instrument to receive pain. 

What appears to our senses as real is not real.. When you come to the atomic level things are moving, but does not move… temporary existence.. Eventually everything breaks down into atoms. 

Tanmantras – functions of the senses.. 

Jnana –  

Nyaya – Logic 

Vysesika – Atomic

Sankhya – (analytical study of the 24 elements of material nature)  Entire material nature has been analysed and the soul cannot be analyzed and one can understand that the soul comes from another reality, the spiritual reality, the supreme soul.. Even the false sankhya philosophy brings you to that understanding you are not the body and the spirit soul..

Yoga – One will realize the soul 

Uttara mimasa/ Vedanta – soul’s relationship with paramatma.. 

Even the false explanation is progressive path of bhakti.. Bahunam janma namanthe… 

This is how you preach to highly intellectual people. Completely rational and scientific. You are not ready to defeat anyone.. You are ready to help them progress even with the false interpretations to the absolute truth.. It is brilliant what SP explained.. 
YHS, JayaSri Devi Dasi