Tag: CC ADI 5.22

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SB 2.9.35 – Part 6 – Notes – 1/20/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.35 – Part 6 :

  • Although He is present in every atom, the Supreme Personality of Godhead may not be visible to the dry speculators; still the mystery is unfolded before the eyes of the pure devotees because their eyes are anointed with love of Godhead. 
  • And this love of Godhead can be attained only by the practice of transcendental loving service of the Lord, and nothing else. The vision of the devotees is not ordinary; it is purified by the process of devotional service.
  • The spiritually developed person is able to have the television of the kingdom of God always reflected within his heart. That is the mystery of knowledge of the Personality of Godhead.
  • BG 11.8 – But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence! (Krsna gives the eyes to see Him)
  • Those who are actually interested in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and who follow in the footsteps of Arjuna should understand that Kṛṣṇa not only theoretically presented Himself as the Supreme, but actually revealed Himself as the Supreme.
  • The Lord gave Arjuna the necessary power to see His universal form because He knew that Arjuna did not particularly want to see it.
  • BS 5.24  (Krsna give Brahma the the eyes to see Him) – Then the goddess of learning Sarasvatī, the divine consort of the Supreme Lord, said thus to Brahmā who saw nothing but gloom in all directions, “O Brahmā, this mantra, viz., klīṁ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopī-jana-vallabhāya svāhā, will assuredly fulfill your heart’s desire.”
  • BS 5.25 – “O Brahmā, do thou practice spiritual association by means of this mantra; then all your desires will be fulfilled.”
  • Kāma-gāyatrī is the highest of all the Gāyatrīs, because the meditation and prayer contained in it are full of the perfect transcendental sportive activities which are not to be found in any other Gāyatrī. 
  • Brahmā thought thus within himself, “By the recollection of kāma-gāyatrī it seems to me that I am the eternal maidservant of Kṛṣṇa.” Though the other mysteries in regard to the condition of the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa were not revealed to him,
  •  Brahmā, by dint of his searching self-consciousness, became well acquainted with the ocean of truth. All the truths of the Vedas were revealed to him and with the help of those essences of the Vedas he offered this hymn to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. 
  • Śrīmān Mahāprabhu has taught this hymn to His favorite disciples in as much as it fully contains all the transcendental truths regarding the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Readers are requested to study and try to enter into the spirit of his hymn with great care and attention, as a regular daily function.
  • In the beginning of Lord Brahmā’ self-realization he was shown a transcendental vision of the Vaikuṇṭha spheres by the grace of Nārāyaṇa. Later, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he was shown a transcendental vision of Kṛṣṇaloka. This transcendental vision is like the reception of television from the moon via a mechanical system for receiving modulated waves, but it is achieved by penance and meditation within oneself.
  • A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.
  • Such knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be achieved by a faithful person who believes firmly in Kṛṣṇa. One is called a faithful man who thinks that simply by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he can attain the highest perfection
  • Over and above this, one should control the senses. A person who is faithful to Kṛṣṇa and who controls the senses can easily attain perfection in the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness without delay.
  • But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.

SB 2.9.35 TRANSLATION:

O Brahmā, please know that the universal elements enter into the cosmos and at the same time do not enter into the cosmos; similarly, I Myself also exist within everything created, and at the same time I am outside of everything.

Therefore, although He is present in every atom, the Supreme Personality of Godhead may not be visible to the dry speculators; still the mystery is unfolded before the eyes of the pure devotees because their eyes are anointed with love of Godhead. And this love of Godhead can be attained only by the practice of transcendental loving service of the Lord, and nothing else. The vision of the devotees is not ordinary; it is purified by the process of devotional service. In other words, as the universal elements are both within and without, similarly the Lord’s name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage, etc., as they are described in the revealed scriptures or as performed in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, far, far beyond the material cosmic manifestation, are factually being televised in the heart of the devotee. The man with a poor fund of knowledge cannot understand, although by material science one can see things far away by means of television. Factually, the spiritually developed person is able to have the television of the kingdom of God always reflected within his heart. That is the mystery of knowledge of the Personality of Godhead.

BG 11.8 – Krishna gives the eyes to see Him (Arjuna)

But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence!

A pure devotee does not like to see Kṛṣṇa in any form except His form with two hands; a devotee must see His universal form by His grace, not with the mind but with spiritual eyes. To see the universal form of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is told not to change his mind but his vision. The universal form of Kṛṣṇa is not very important; that will be clear in subsequent verses. Yet because Arjuna wanted to see it, the Lord gives him the particular vision required to see that universal form.

Devotees who are correctly situated in a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa are attracted by loving features, not by a godless display of opulences. The playmates of Kṛṣṇa, the friends of Kṛṣṇa and the parents of Kṛṣṇa never want Kṛṣṇa to show His opulences. They are so immersed in pure love that they do not even know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In their loving exchange they forget that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that the boys who play with Kṛṣṇa are all highly pious souls, and after many, many births they are able to play with Kṛṣṇa. Such boys do not know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They take Him as a personal friend. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī recites this verse:

itthaṁ satāṁ brahma-sukhānubhūtyā

dāsyaṁ gatānāṁ para-daivatena

māyāśritānāṁ nara-dārakeṇa

sākaṁ vijahruḥ kṛta-puṇya-puñjāḥ

“Here is the Supreme Person, who is considered the impersonal Brahman by great sages, the Supreme Personality of Godhead by devotees, and a product of material nature by ordinary men. Now these boys, who have performed many, many pious activities in their past lives, are playing with that Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.12.11)

The fact is that the devotee is not concerned with seeing the viśva-rūpa, the universal form, but Arjuna wanted to see it to substantiate Kṛṣṇa’s statements so that in the future people could understand that Kṛṣṇa not only theoretically or philosophically presented Himself as the Supreme but actually presented Himself as such to Arjuna. Arjuna must confirm this because Arjuna is the beginning of the paramparā system. Those who are actually interested in understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and who follow in the footsteps of Arjuna should understand that Kṛṣṇa not only theoretically presented Himself as the Supreme, but actually revealed Himself as the Supreme.

The Lord gave Arjuna the necessary power to see His universal form because He knew that Arjuna did not particularly want to see it, as we have already explained.

BS 5.24  (Krsna give Brahma the the eyes to see Him)

Then the goddess of learning Sarasvatī, the divine consort of the Supreme Lord, said thus to Brahmā who saw nothing but gloom in all directions, “O Brahmā, this mantra, viz., klīṁ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopī-jana-vallabhāya svāhā, will assuredly fulfill your heart’s desire.”

The mantra, consisting of the eighteen divine letters prefixed by the kāma-bīja, is alone superexcellent. It has a twofold aspect. One aspect is that it tends to make the pure soul run after all-attractive Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of Gokula and the divine milkmaids. This is the acme of the spiritual tendency of jīvas. When the devotee is free from all sorts of mundane desires and willing to serve the Lord he attains the fruition of his heart’s desire, viz., the love of Kṛṣṇa. But in the case of the devotee who is not of unmixed aptitude this superexcellent mantra fulfills his heart’s desire also. The transcendental kāma-bīja is inherent in the divine logos located in Goloka; and the kāma-bīja pervertedly reflected in the worldly affairs satisfies all sorts of desires of this mundane world.

BS 5.25 

“O Brahmā, do thou practice spiritual association by means of this mantra; then all your desires will be fulfilled.”

Brahmā, being desirous of satisfying Govinda, practiced the cultural acts for Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, Lord of Śvetadvīpa, for a long time. His meditation ran thus, “There exists a divine lotus of a thousand petals, augmented by millions of filaments, in the transcendental land of Goloka. On its whorl, there exists a great divine throne on which is seated Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the form of eternal effulgence of transcendental bliss, playing on His divine flute resonant with the divine sound, with His lotus mouth. He is worshiped by His amorous milkmaids with their respective subjective portions and extensions and also by His external energy [who stays outside] embodying all mundane qualities.”

Although the object of meditation is fully transcendental, yet owing to her nature which is permeated with the quality of active mundane hankering, Māyā, the nonspiritual potency of Kṛṣṇa, embodying the principles of mixed sattva, rajas, and tamas, in the forms of Durgā, and other nonspiritual powers, meditated on the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa as the object of their worship. So long as there is any trace of mundane desire in one’s heart, it is the object of worship of Māyādevī (Durgā) who has to be worshiped by such a person; nevertheless the fulfillment of one’s heart’s desire results from the worship of the object of worship of Māyādevī, and not from the worship of Māyādevī herself. This is in accordance with the śloka, akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhiḥ / tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param [SB 2.3.10]. The meaning of this śloka of the Bhāgavatam is that though other gods, as distinct manifestations of the Supreme Lord, are bestowers of sundry specific boons, yet a sensible person should worship the all powerful Supreme Lord, giver of all good, with unalloyed devotion, without worshiping those mundane gift-giving deities. Accordingly, Brahmā meditated upon Kṛṣṇa in Goloka, the object of the worship, from a distance, of Māyādevī. True devotion is unalloyed devotional activity free from all mundane desire. The devotion of Brahmā, etc., is not unmixed devotion. But there is a stage of unmixed predilection even in devotion for the attainment of one’s selfish desire. This has been fully described in the concluding five ślokas of this work. That is the easiest method of divine service, prior to the attainment of self-realization, by fallen souls.

BS 5.27 

Then Gāyatrī, mother of the Vedas, being made manifest, i.e. imparted, by the divine sound of the flute of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, entered into the lotus mouth of Brahmā, born from himself, through his eight ear-holes. The lotus-born Brahmā having received the Gāyatrī, sprung from the flute-song of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, attained the status of the twice-born, having been initiated by the supreme primal preceptor, Godhead Himself.

The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute is the transcendental blissful sound; hence the archetype of all Veda, is present in it. The Gāyatrī is Vedic rhythm. It contains a brief meditation and prayer. Kāma-gāyatrī is the highest of all the Gāyatrīs, because the meditation and prayer contained in it are full of the perfect transcendental sportive activities which are not to be found in any other Gāyatrī. The Gāyatrī that is attained as the sequel of the eighteen-lettered mantra is kāma-gāyatrī which runs thus: klīṁ kāma-devāya vidmahe puṣpa-bāṇāya dhīmahi tan no ‘naṅgaḥ pracodayāt. In this Gāyatrī, the realization of the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Gopījana-vallabha after perfect meditation and the prayer for the attainment of the transcendental god of love are indicated. In the spiritual world there is no better mode of endeavor for securing the superexcellent rasa-bedewed love. As soon as that Gāyatrī entered into the ear-holes of Brahmā, he became the twice-born and began to chant the Gāyatrī. Whoever has received the same Gāyatrī in reality, has attained his spiritual rebirth. The status of a twice-born that is obtained in accordance with one’s worldly nature and lineage, by the fettered souls in this mundane world, is far inferior to that of the twice-born who obtains admission into the transcendental world; because the initiation or acquisition of transcendental birth as a result of spiritual initiation is the highest of glories in as much as the jīva is thereby enabled to attain to the transcendental realm.

SP is the most merciful and gave all these transcendental opportunities…

BS 5.28

Enlightened by the recollection of that Gāyatrī, embodying the three Vedas, Brahmā became acquainted with the expanse of the ocean of truth. Then he worshiped Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the essence of all Vedas, with this hymn.

Brahmā thought thus within himself, “By the recollection of kāma-gāyatrī it seems to me that I am the eternal maidservant of Kṛṣṇa.” Though the other mysteries in regard to the condition of the maidservant of Kṛṣṇa were not revealed to him, Brahmā, by dint of his searching self-consciousness, became well acquainted with the ocean of truth. All the truths of the Vedas were revealed to him and with the help of those essences of the Vedas he offered this hymn to the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmān Mahāprabhu has taught this hymn to His favorite disciples in as much as it fully contains all the transcendental truths regarding the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Readers are requested to study and try to enter into the spirit of his hymn with great care and attention, as a regular daily function.

CC M 5.22

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.”

This is a verse from the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29). This description of the abode of Kṛṣṇa gives us definite information of the transcendental place where not only is life eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, but there are ample vegetables, milk, jewels, and beautiful homes and gardens tended by lovely damsels who are all goddesses of fortune. Kṛṣṇaloka is the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, and below it are innumerable spheres, a description of which can be found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the beginning of Lord Brahmā’ self-realization he was shown a transcendental vision of the Vaikuṇṭha spheres by the grace of Nārāyaṇa. Later, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he was shown a transcendental vision of Kṛṣṇaloka. This transcendental vision is like the reception of television from the moon via a mechanical system for receiving modulated waves, but it is achieved by penance and meditation within oneself.

Brahma was seeing Goloka  and hence he was able to share it with us.. Lord Caitanya asked His devotees to chant Brahma Smahita everyday… 

Television is achieved by penance and meditation. Meditation is on the super soul Krsna within us.. This can be achieved by everyone. We are dumbed down by modern education, scientific education.. Is this possible, absolutely, Brahma was a jiva like us.. He was able to follow the instructions of Krsna for a very long time and he was empowered by Krsna to see Him and His abode 

Our tapasaya – waking up early, taking bath, Mangal arti, tulsi puja, chanting, listen to class.. These are our short term goals.. Participating in morning program. 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Second Canto) states that in Vaikuṇṭhaloka the material modes of nature, represented by the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance, have no influence. In the material world the highest qualitative manifestation is goodness, which is characterized by truthfulness, mental equilibrium, cleanliness, control of the senses, simplicity, essential knowledge, faith in God, scientific knowledge and so on. Nevertheless, all these qualities are mixed with passion and imperfection. But the qualities in Vaikuṇṭha are a manifestation of God’s internal potency, and therefore they are purely spiritual and transcendental, with no trace of material infection. No material planet, even Satyaloka, is comparable in quality to the spiritual planets, where the five inherent qualities of the material world — namely ignorance, misery, egoism, anger and envy — are completely absent.

Brahma’s vision, Arjuna’s vision, Narada’s, Dhruv maharaj’s vision is in the material world. This transcendental vision is not a geographical thing. Even in the material world one can be blessed with the spiritual vision in the spiritual world. Another example is Sanjaya… We can believe this only if we have association with genuine devotees. 

You cannot be a devotee and not have faith.. Yasya deve para bhaktir.. 

One who has absolute faith in Krsna and spiritual master.. How do you get faith – by associating with people on a regular basis with pure devotees who have faith.. 

BG 4.26 

A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.

Such knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be achieved by a faithful person who believes firmly in Kṛṣṇa. One is called a faithful man who thinks that simply by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness he can attain the highest perfection. This faith is attained by the discharge of devotional service and by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, which cleanses one’s heart of all material dirt. Over and above this, one should control the senses. A person who is faithful to Kṛṣṇa and who controls the senses can easily attain perfection in the knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness without delay.

Always Chant Hare Krsna

Always Hear SB 

Associate with devotees

Engage in Deity worship 

Always stay in a holy place

Opposite to this is – BG 4.27 

BG 4.27 

But ignorant and faithless persons who doubt the revealed scriptures do not attain God consciousness; they fall down. For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next.

CC ADI 5.22

Yogīs, however, try to perfect their lives, and therefore the Bhagavad-gītā enjoins that everyone should become a yogī. Yoga is the system for linking the soul in the service of the Lord. Only under superior guidance can one practice such yoga in his life without changing his social position. As already described, a yogī can go anywhere he desires without mechanical help, for a yogī can place his mind and intelligence within the air circulating inside his body, and by practicing the art of breath control he can mix that air with the air that blows all over the universe outside his body. With the help of this universal air, a yogī can travel to any planet and get a body suitable for its atmosphere. We can understand this process by comparing it to the electronic transmission of radio messages. With radio transmitters, sound waves produced at a certain station can travel all over the earth in seconds. But sound is produced from the ethereal sky, and as already explained, subtler than the ethereal sky is the mind, and finer than the mind is the intelligence. Spirit is still finer than the intelligence, and by nature it is completely different from matter. Thus we can just imagine how quickly the spirit soul can travel through the universal atmosphere.

To come to the stage of manipulating finer elements like mind, intelligence and spirit, one needs appropriate training, an appropriate mode of life and appropriate association. Such training depends upon sincere prayers, devotional service, achievement of success in mystic perfection, and the successful merging of oneself in the activities of the soul and Supersoul. A gross materialist, whether he be an empiric philosopher, a scientist, a psychologist or whatever, cannot attain such success through blunt efforts and word jugglery.

Materialists who perform yajñas, or great sacrifices, are comparatively better than grosser materialists who do not know anything beyond laboratories and test tubes. The advanced materialists who perform such sacrifices can reach the planet called Vaiśvānara, a fiery planet similar to the sun. On this planet, which is situated on the way to Brahmaloka, the topmost planet in the universe, such an advanced materialist can free himself from all traces of vice and its effects. When such a materialist is purified, he can rise to the orbit of the pole star (Dhruvaloka). Within this orbit, which is called the Śiśumāra-cakra, are situated the Āditya-lokas and the Vaikuṇṭha planet within this universe.

A purified materialist who has performed many sacrifices, undergone severe penances and given the major portion of his wealth in charity can reach such planets as Dhruvaloka, and if he becomes still more qualified there, he can penetrate still higher orbits and pass through the navel of the universe to reach the planet Maharloka, where sages like Bhṛgu Muni live. In Maharloka one can live even to the time of the partial annihilation of the universe. This annihilation begins when Anantadeva, from the lowest position in the universe, produces a great blazing fire. The heat of this fire reaches even Maharloka, and then the residents of Maharloka travel to Brahmaloka, which exists for twice the duration of parārdha time.

In Brahmaloka there is an unlimited number of airplanes that are controlled not by yantra (machine) but by mantra (psychic action). Because of the existence of the mind and intelligence on Brahmaloka, its residents have feelings of happiness and distress, but there is no cause of lamentation from old age, death, fear or distress. They feel sympathy, however, for the suffering living beings who are consumed in the fire of annihilation. The residents of Brahmaloka do not have gross material bodies to change at death, but they transform their subtle bodies into spiritual bodies and thus enter the spiritual sky. The residents of Brahmaloka can attain perfection in three different ways. Virtuous persons who reach Brahmaloka by dint of their pious work become masters of various planets after the resurrection of Brahmā, those who have worshiped Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are liberated with Brahmā, and those who are pure devotees of the Personality of Godhead at once push through the covering of the universe and enter the spiritual sky.

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SB 2.9.5 Notes – 12/07/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.5:

  • The Supreme Absolute Truth exists in His own abode without any touch of the deluding energy.
  • The knowledge of the spiritual sky far above this material sky and its paraphernalia can be known only by dint of devotional service, or bhakti-yoga.
  • By bhakti-yoga one can know the Lord, and by knowing the Lord as the Supreme, one is able to know everything else. One who knows the Supreme knows everything else.
  • Even the first spiritual master of the universe (Brahmaji) was enlightened by the grace of the Lord, so who else can attain perfect knowledge of everything without the mercy of the Lord? 
  • If anyone desires to seek perfect knowledge of everything, he must seek the mercy of the Lord, and there is no other means. To seek knowledge on the strength of one’s personal attempt is a sheer waste of time.
  • Lord’s transcendental form is one-hundred-percent spiritual, and one can see Him only by spiritualized vision after proper discharge of tapasya or penance, in pure bhakti-yoga
  • Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29) gives the description of the abode of Kṛṣṇa. The transcendental place where not only is life eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, but there are ample vegetables, milk, jewels, and beautiful homes and gardens tended by lovely damsels who are all goddesses of fortune. 
  • Kṛṣṇaloka is the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, and below it are innumerable spheres, a description of which can be found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
  • In the beginning of Lord Brahmā’ self-realization he was shown a transcendental vision of the Vaikuṇṭha spheres by the grace of Nārāyaṇa. Later, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he was shown a transcendental vision of Kṛṣṇaloka.  
  • This transcendental vision is like the reception of television from the moon via a mechanical system for receiving modulated waves, but it is achieved by penance and meditation within oneself.
  • In Vaikuṇṭhaloka the material modes of nature, represented by the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance, have no influence.
  • The qualities in Vaikuṇṭha are a manifestation of God’s internal potency, and therefore they are purely spiritual and transcendental, with no trace of material infection. 
  • No material planet, even Satyaloka, is comparable in quality to the spiritual planets, where the five inherent qualities of the material world — namely ignorance, misery, egoism, anger and envy — are completely absent.
  •  in the spiritual world, because of the complete absence of the qualitative modes, everything is eternal, blissful and cognizant. 
  • In the spiritual sky there is no change because time has no influence. Consequently, the influence of māyā, the total external energy, which induces us to become more and more materialistic and forget our relationship with God, is also absent there.
  • The living beings in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are never forgetful of their identities: they are eternally cognizant of their relationship with God in their constitutional position of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord. 
  • Their senses are also transcendental, for one cannot serve the Lord with material senses. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭhaloka do not possess material senses with which to lord it over material nature.
  • The kingdom of God is not a myth but factually a different and transcendental sphere of planets known as the Vaikuṇṭhas.
  • The bestial civilization of eating, sleeping, fearing and sense-gratifying has misled modern man into forgetting how powerful a soul he has. The soul is a spiritual spark many, many times more illuminating, dazzling and powerful than the sun, moon or electricity. Human life is spoiled when man does not realize his real identity with his soul.

SB 2.9.5 TRANSLATION:

Lord Brahmā, the first spiritual master, supreme in the universe, could not trace out the source of his lotus seat, and while thinking of creating the material world, he could not understand the proper direction for such creative work, nor could he find out the process for such creation.

This verse is the prelude for explaining the transcendental nature of the form and the abode of the Lord. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it has already been said that the Supreme Absolute Truth exists in His own abode without any touch of the deluding energy. Therefore the kingdom of God is not a myth but factually a different and transcendental sphere of planets known as the Vaikuṇṭhas. This will also be explained in this chapter.

Such knowledge of the spiritual sky far above this material sky and its paraphernalia can be known only by dint of devotional service, or bhakti-yoga. The power of creation by Lord Brahmā was also achieved by bhakti-yoga. Brahmājī was bewildered in the matter of creation, and he could not even trace out the source of his own existence. But all this knowledge was fully achieved by him through the medium of bhakti-yoga. By bhakti-yoga one can know the Lord, and by knowing the Lord as the Supreme, one is able to know everything else. One who knows the Supreme knows everything else. That is the version of all Vedas. Even the first spiritual master of the universe was enlightened by the grace of the Lord, so who else can attain perfect knowledge of everything without the mercy of the Lord? If anyone desires to seek perfect knowledge of everything, he must seek the mercy of the Lord, and there is no other means. To seek knowledge on the strength of one’s personal attempt is a sheer waste of time.

SB 2.9.4 

In the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that only by bhakti-yoga can one know Him perfectly, and then one can enter into the science of God.  (BG 18.56, 8.26, 11.54) Brahmājī undertook great penance in performing bhakti-yoga, and thus he was able to see the transcendental form of the Lord.  His transcendental form is one-hundred-percent spiritual, and one can see Him only by spiritualized vision after proper discharge of tapasya or penance, in pure bhakti-yoga. 

Tapasya – Voluntary punishment as in outward expression for repentance for having done wrong

Brahma does not know his origin and he has a feeling that he has to create the material universe. He heard the two syllables – Tha, Pa

Because of his thapa Krsna reveled to him and showed vaikuntha and goloka. 

Spiritualized vision is explained in CC ADI 5.22

CC ADI 5.22 – Spiritualized vision of the spiritual world

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.”

This is a verse from the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29). This description of the abode of Kṛṣṇa gives us definite information of the transcendental place where not only is life eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, but there are ample vegetables, milk, jewels, and beautiful homes and gardens tended by lovely damsels who are all goddesses of fortune. Kṛṣṇaloka is the topmost planet in the spiritual sky, and below it are innumerable spheres, a description of which can be found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In the beginning of Lord Brahmā’ self-realization he was shown a transcendental vision of the Vaikuṇṭha spheres by the grace of Nārāyaṇa. Later, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, he was shown a transcendental vision of Kṛṣṇaloka. This transcendental vision is like the reception of television from the moon via a mechanical system for receiving modulated waves, but it is achieved by penance and meditation within oneself.

Krishna consciousness is a revelation science. If we surrender to Krsna everything gets revealed. If we are surrendered to cell phones and computers we get nothing. 

Astrology – So and so is an astrologer – he is making an honest living by astrology. 

That does not mean he is a devotee and follows whatever he says. If you are a sincere devotee of the lord and follow the instructions of the lord you need not consult an astrologer. But if you are not then you have to follow an astrologer. 

Example – A devotee did not want to marry another devotee women due to astrologers reading, but he married and both continued to be devotees. 

Brahma engaged in thapa for a thousand celestial years and then attained self realization. He ultimately understood his relationship with Krsna and Krsna is the supreme personality of Godhead. 

Unless we accept penance Thapa we will be stuck in the mire. We make lot of big mistakes, we get stuck in the perpetual cycle of birth and death.. 

Example – Teen kills 4 others in the high school with gun given by parents. Shows how dangerous the social media is. 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Second Canto) states that in Vaikuṇṭhaloka the material modes of nature, represented by the qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance, have no influence. In the material world the highest qualitative manifestation is goodness, which is characterized by truthfulness, mental equilibrium, cleanliness, control of the senses, simplicity, essential knowledge, faith in God, scientific knowledge and so on. Nevertheless, all these qualities are mixed with passion and imperfection. But the qualities in Vaikuṇṭha are a manifestation of God’s internal potency, and therefore they are purely spiritual and transcendental, with no trace of material infection. No material planet, even Satyaloka, is comparable in quality to the spiritual planets, where the five inherent qualities of the material world — namely ignorance, misery, egoism, anger and envy — are completely absent.

In the material world, everything is a creation. Anything we can think of within our experience, including even our own bodies and minds, was created. This process of creation began with the life of Brahmā, and the creative principle is prevalent all over the material universe because of the quality of passion. But since the quality of passion is conspicuous by its absence in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, nothing there is created; everything there is eternally existent. And because there is no mode of ignorance, there is also no question of annihilation or destruction. In the material world one may try to make everything permanent by developing the above-mentioned qualities of goodness, but because the goodness in the material world is mixed with passion and ignorance, nothing here can exist permanently, despite all the good plans of the best scientific brains. Therefore in the material world we have no experience of eternity, bliss and fullness of knowledge. But in the spiritual world, because of the complete absence of the qualitative modes, everything is eternal, blissful and cognizant. Everything can speak, everything can move, everything can hear, and everything can see in fully blessed existence for eternity. The situation being so, naturally space and time, in the forms of past, present and future, have no influence there. In the spiritual sky there is no change because time has no influence. Consequently, the influence of māyā, the total external energy, which induces us to become more and more materialistic and forget our relationship with God, is also absent there.

As spiritual sparks of the beams emanating from the transcendental body of the Lord, we are all permanently related with Him and equal to Him in quality. The material energy is a covering of the spiritual spark, but in the absence of that material covering, the living beings in Vaikuṇṭhaloka are never forgetful of their identities: they are eternally cognizant of their relationship with God in their constitutional position of rendering transcendental loving service to the Lord. Because they constantly engage in the transcendental service of the Lord, it is natural to conclude that their senses are also transcendental, for one cannot serve the Lord with material senses. The inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭhaloka do not possess material senses with which to lord it over material nature.

SOUL IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE SUN: 

The bestial civilization of eating, sleeping, fearing and sense-gratifying has misled modern man into forgetting how powerful a soul he has. As we have already described, the soul is a spiritual spark many, many times more illuminating, dazzling and powerful than the sun, moon or electricity. Human life is spoiled when man does not realize his real identity with his soul. Lord Caitanya appeared with Lord Nityānanda to save man from this type of misleading civilization.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also describes how yogīs can travel to all the planets in the universe. When the vital force is lifted to the cerebellum, there is every chance that this force will burst out from the eyes, nose, ears, etc., as these are places that are known as the seventh orbit of the vital force. But the yogīs can block these holes by complete suspension of air. The yogī then concentrates the vital force in the middle position, that is, between the eyebrows. At this position, the yogī can think of the planet to which he wants to go after leaving the body. He can then decide whether he wants to go to the abode of Kṛṣṇa in the transcendental Vaikuṇṭhas, from which he will not be required to descend into the material world, or to travel to higher planets in the material universe. The perfect yogī is at liberty to do either.

For the perfect yogī who has attained success in the method of leaving his body in perfect consciousness, transferring from one planet to another is as easy as an ordinary man’s walking to the grocery store.