Tag: BG 5.18

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SB 2/10/24 Notes – 2/27/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.10.24:

  • No one, therefore, can claim any proprietorship of the senses. The living entity is controlled by the senses, the senses are controlled by the demigods, and the demigods are the servants of the Supreme Lord. That is the arrangement in the system of creation.
  • The whole thing is controlled ultimately by the Supreme Lord, and there is no independence either of the material nature or of the living entity. 
  • The illusioned living entity who claims to be the lord of his senses is under the clutches of the external energy of the Lord. 
  • As long as a living entity continues to be puffed up by his tiny existence, he is to be understood to be under the stringent control of the external energy of the Lord, and there is no question of liberation from the clutches of illusion (māyā), however much one may declare himself a liberated soul.
  • BG 6.17 -He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.
  • BG 5.18 – 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].
  • BG 5.20 – A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.
  • A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure?
  • “My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.5.1)
  • Removal of ignorance involves the reestablishment of the eternal relationship between the worshiper and the worshipable and the consequent understanding of the difference between the part-and-parcel living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  •  The living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme Lord, as in the case of the master and the servant, or the teacher and the taught. 
  • Such clear knowledge is impossible to understand under the spell of ignorance, and to drive away such ignorance the Lord teaches the Bhagavad-gītā for the enlightenment of all living entities for all time.

SB 2.10.24 – 2/27/22

Thereafter when the Supreme Person desired to perform varieties of work, the two hands and their controlling strength, and Indra, the demigod in heaven, became manifested, as also the acts dependent on both the hands and the demigod.

In every item we can note with profit that the sense organs of the living entity are never independent at any stage. The Lord is known as the Lord of the senses (Hṛṣīkeśa). Thus the sense organs of the living entities are manifested by the will of the Lord, and each organ is controlled by a certain type of demigod. No one, therefore, can claim any proprietorship of the senses. The living entity is controlled by the senses, the senses are controlled by the demigods, and the demigods are the servants of the Supreme Lord. That is the arrangement in the system of creation. The whole thing is controlled ultimately by the Supreme Lord, and there is no independence either of the material nature or of the living entity. The illusioned living entity who claims to be the lord of his senses is under the clutches of the external energy of the Lord. As long as a living entity continues to be puffed up by his tiny existence, he is to be understood to be under the stringent control of the external energy of the Lord, and there is no question of liberation from the clutches of illusion (māyā), however much one may declare himself a liberated soul.

FACT : No one, therefore, can claim any proprietorship of the senses.

FICTION: We are the controllers

As long as you have one desire you are not in control 

The mystic yogi also has a desire – They want to develop yoga siddhis, when they develop1 or 2 siddhis they get satisfied. 

Viswamitra creates an alternate universe to elevate a sudra to his own heavenly planets..

Jnanis are attached to is development of knowledge. 

Einstein also went to India – but he did not meet Bhakti Siddhantha Saraswati Thakur. 

He met Ravindranath Tagore

As long as one does not have association of a pure devotee one remains completely incomplete. 

Everything depends on our desire. If we have spiritual desires there is no limit on how much Krsna can fulfill them. As long as we have material desires, we are only limited to our karma. 

Animals have no free will???

Humans have free will – whether to accept Krsna or Reject Krsna. 

He gives that free will because Love is voluntary. 

CIvilized human form – one has free will and that is nor forced. 

When we reject krsna we are completely under the control of Material nature

When we accept Krsna we are under the protection of Krsna. 

Laws of Material Nature – 

To go back to Godhead we need to know – 

  1. What we should not do 
  2. What we should do

What is spiritual life – Who is a civilized human being –  

BG 6.17

He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

BG 5.18

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].

He sees every living entity as a walking temple. 

BG 5.20 

A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science of God is already situated in transcendence.

The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

BG 5.22

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.

Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Purāṇa it is said:

ramante yogino ’nante

satyānande cid-ātmani

iti rāma-padenāsau

paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate

“The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rāma.”

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also (5.5.1) it is said:

nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke

kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye

tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ

śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam

“My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.”

Therefore, those who are true yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.

Everyone has a mixed bag of karma – positive and negative – pleasure and misery. So one does not need to work hard fpr pleasure. Rather one should work hard for the eternal 

If you please Krsna every other positive goal will be attained..

Laws of nature – 

  1. Birth, old age, disease and death
  2. Eat, sleep, mate and defend (only way to diminish them is through KC 
  3.  The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.
  4. The material desires are unsatiated they lead to anger, .. 
  5. Suffering of humanity is due to the forgetfulness of Krsna as the supreme enjoyer.. Proprietor and Supreme friend. 

“Bhoktaram.. Tajna tapasa 

BG 5.29 

bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ

sarva-loka-maheśvaram

suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ

jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati

A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.

Any type of penance which is for material – hurting body, and Krsna Consciousness – 

This type of penance is demoniac. 

Living a minimalist life

Krsna is the supreme best friend. Teaches how to get of the material body. 

Even in mode of goodness we are forced to do things. Only in transcendental goodness one is nor forced.. 

  1. False Attachment  to friendship, family & so called love based on sense gratification will just create anxieties.. 

Family – teach purpose of life is to become a Hare Krsna.. Work honestly to maintain the family.. Minimalism, life should be simple, thinking – how to please Krsna 

  1. Whatever is produced in the material world in the name of the economic development, supreme lord in the time factor destroys it.. 
  2. We should be concerned with things that are sat and not asat

BG 2.16 

This is the beginning of the instruction by the Lord to the living entities who are bewildered by the influence of ignorance. Removal of ignorance involves the reestablishment of the eternal relationship between the worshiper and the worshipable and the consequent understanding of the difference between the part-and-parcel living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can understand the nature of the Supreme by thorough study of oneself, the difference between oneself and the Supreme being understood as the relationship between the part and the whole. In the Vedānta-sūtras, as well as in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Supreme has been accepted as the origin of all emanations. Such emanations are experienced by superior and inferior natural sequences. The living entities belong to the superior nature, as it will be revealed in the Seventh Chapter. Although there is no difference between the energy and the energetic, the energetic is accepted as the Supreme, and the energy or nature is accepted as the subordinate. The living entities, therefore, are always subordinate to the Supreme Lord, as in the case of the master and the servant, or the teacher and the taught. Such clear knowledge is impossible to understand under the spell of ignorance, and to drive away such ignorance the Lord teaches the Bhagavad-gītā for the enlightenment of all living entities for all time.

We should be concerned by only the eternal.. For what is not eternal we should be using them in the service of the lord so we are not entangled 

Grihamedhi – 

Grihastha –

BG 9.4

By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them.

BG 9.5 

And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities and although I am everywhere, I am not a part of this cosmic manifestation, for My Self is the very source of creation.

BG 9.6 

Understand that as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, all created beings rest in Me.

BG 9.30 

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.

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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.