Tag: Liberation

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SB 2.9.45 Notes – 2/6/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.45:

  • Nārada instructed the great sage Vyāsadeva as follows: “O greatly fortunate, pious philosopher, your name and fame are universal, and you are fixed in the Absolute Truth with spotless character and infallible vision. I ask you to meditate upon the activities of the Personality of Godhead, whose activities are unparalleled.”
  • Nārada advised meditation upon the transcendental activities of the Lord.
  • Impersonal Brahman has no activities, but the Personality of Godhead has many activities, and all such activities are transcendental, without any tinge of material quality. 
  • When Vyāsadeva fixed his mind in meditation, he did it in bhakti-yoga trance and actually saw the Supreme Person with māyā, the illusory energy, in contraposition. 
  • Perfection of meditation is realization of the Personality of Godhead along with His transcendental activities. Meditation on the impersonal Brahman is a troublesome business for the meditator, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5): kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām.
  • People in general have a taste for literatures by instinct. They want to hear and read from the authorities something about the unknown, but their taste is exploited by unfortunate literatures which are full of subject matter for satisfaction of the material senses.
  • There are thousands and thousands of literary men all over the world, and they have created many, many thousands of literary works for the information of the people in general for thousands and thousands of years. Unfortunately none of them have brought peace and tranquillity on the earth. 
  • This is due to a spiritual vacuum in those literatures; therefore the Vedic literatures, especially the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are specifically recommended to suffering humanity to bring about the desired effect of liberation from the pangs of material civilization, which is eating the vital part of human energy. 
  • The Bhagavad-gītā is the spoken message of the Lord Himself recorded by Vyāsadeva, and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the transcendental narration of the activities of the same Lord Kṛṣṇa, which alone can satisfy the hankering desires of the living being for eternal peace and liberation from miseries.
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, therefore, is meant for all the living beings all over the universe for total liberation from all kinds of material bondage. Such transcendental narrations of the pastimes of the Lord can be described only by liberated souls like Vyāsadeva and his bona fide representatives who are completely merged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. 
  • Only to such devotees do the pastimes of the Lord and their transcendental nature become automatically manifest by dint of devotional service. No one else can either know or describe the acts of the Lord, even if they speculate on the subject for many, many years. 
  • The descriptions of the Bhāgavatam are so precise and accurate that whatever has been predicted in this great literature about five thousand years ago is now exactly happening.Therefore, the vision of the author comprehends past, present and future.
  • Such liberated persons as Vyāsadeva are perfect not only by the power of vision and wisdom, but also in aural reception, in thinking, feeling and all other sense activities. 
  • A liberated person possesses perfect senses, and with perfect senses only can one serve the sense proprietor, Hṛṣīkeśa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Personality of Godhead. 
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, therefore, is the perfect description of the all-perfect Personality of Godhead by the all-perfect personality Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Vedas.
  • Śrīla Vyāsadeva and his representatives are pure in thought due to their spiritual enlightenment, fixed in their vows due to their devotional service, and determined to deliver the fallen souls rotting in material activities.
  • While chanting the holy name of the Lord, one should not desire the material advancements represented by religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately liberation from the material world. As stated by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the highest perfection in life is to develop one’s love for Kṛṣṇa 
  • When a devotee revives his loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it should be understood that he has been successful in achieving the desired goal of his life. At that time everything is automatically done by the mercy of the holy name, and the devotee automatically advances in his spiritual progress.

SB 2.9.45 TRANSLATION:

In succession, O King, the great sage Nārada instructed Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam unto the unlimitedly powerful Vyāsadeva, who meditated in devotional service upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, on the bank of the river Sarasvatī.

In the Fifth Chapter of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada instructed the great sage Vyāsadeva as follows:

atho mahā-bhāga bhavān amogha-dṛk

śuci-śravāḥ satya-rato dhṛta-vrataḥ

urukramasyākhila-bandha-muktaye

samādhinānusmara tad viceṣṭitam

“O greatly fortunate, pious philosopher, your name and fame are universal, and you are fixed in the Absolute Truth with spotless character and infallible vision. I ask you to meditate upon the activities of the Personality of Godhead, whose activities are unparalleled.”

SB 1.5.13

O Vyāsadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all material bondage.

So in the disciplic succession of the Brahma sampradāya, the practice of yoga meditation is not neglected. But because the devotees are bhakti-yogīs, they do not undertake the trouble to meditate upon the impersonal Brahman; as indicated here, they meditate on brahma paramam, or the Supreme Brahman. Brahman realization begins from the impersonal effulgence, but by further progress of such meditation, manifestation of the Supreme Soul, Paramātmā realization, takes place. And progressing further, realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is fixed. Śrī Nārada Muni, as the spiritual master of Vyāsadeva, knew very well the position of Vyāsadeva, and thus he certified the qualities of Śrīla Vyāsadeva as fixed in the Absolute Truth with great vow, etc. Nārada advised meditation upon the transcendental activities of the Lord. Impersonal Brahman has no activities, but the Personality of Godhead has many activities, and all such activities are transcendental, without any tinge of material quality. If the activities of the Supreme Brahman were material activities, then Nārada would not have advised Vyāsadeva to meditate upon them. And the paraṁ brahma is Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. In the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, when Arjuna realized the factual position of Lord Kṛṣṇa, he addressed Lord Kṛṣṇa in the following words:

paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma

pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān

puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam

ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum

āhus tvām ṛṣayaḥ sarve

devarṣir nāradas tathā

asito devalo vyāsaḥ

svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me

Arjuna summarized the purpose of the Bhagavad-gītā by his realization of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and thus said, “My dear Personality of Godhead, You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Original Person in the eternal form of bliss and knowledge, and this is confirmed by Nārada, Asita, Devala and Vyāsadeva, and, above all, Your personal self has also confirmed it.” (Bg. 10.12-13)

When Vyāsadeva fixed his mind in meditation, he did it in bhakti-yoga trance and actually saw the Supreme Person with māyā, the illusory energy, in contraposition. 

Without Krsna there cannot be maya.. 

As we have discussed before, the Lord’s māyā, or illusion, is also a representation because māyā has no existence without the Lord. Darkness is not independent of light. Without light, no one can experience the contraposition of darkness. However, this māyā, or illusion, cannot overcome the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but stands apart from Him (apāśrayam).

Therefore, perfection of meditation is realization of the Personality of Godhead along with His transcendental activities. Meditation on the impersonal Brahman is a troublesome business for the meditator, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.5): kleśo ’dhikataras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām.

Victim of worthless literature…

SB 1.5.13

O Vyāsadeva, your vision is completely perfect. Your good fame is spotless. You are firm in vow and situated in truthfulness. And thus you can think of the pastimes of the Lord in trance for the liberation of the people in general from all material bondage.

People in general have a taste for literatures by instinct. They want to hear and read from the authorities something about the unknown, but their taste is exploited by unfortunate literatures which are full of subject matter for satisfaction of the material senses. Such literatures contain different kinds of mundane poems and philosophical speculations, more or less under the influence of māyā, ending in sense gratification. These literatures, although worthless in the true sense of the term, are variously decorated to attract the attention of the less intelligent men. Thus the attracted living entities are more and more entangled in material bondage without hope of liberation for thousands and thousands of generations. Śrī Nārada Ṛṣi, being the best amongst the Vaiṣṇavas, is compassionate toward such unfortunate victims of worthless literatures, and thus he advises Śrī Vyāsadeva to compose transcendental literature which is not only attractive but can also actually bring liberation from all kinds of bondage. Śrīla Vyāsadeva or his representatives are qualified because they are rightly trained to see things in true perspective. Śrīla Vyāsadeva and his representatives are pure in thought due to their spiritual enlightenment, fixed in their vows due to their devotional service, and determined to deliver the fallen souls rotting in material activities. The fallen souls are very eager to receive novel informations every day, and the transcendentalists like Vyāsadeva or Nārada can supply such eager people in general with unlimited news from the spiritual world. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the material world is only a part of the whole creation and that this earth is only a fragment of the whole material world.

There are thousands and thousands of literary men all over the world, and they have created many, many thousands of literary works for the information of the people in general for thousands and thousands of years. Unfortunately none of them have brought peace and tranquillity on the earth. This is due to a spiritual vacuum in those literatures; therefore the Vedic literatures, especially the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are specifically recommended to suffering humanity to bring about the desired effect of liberation from the pangs of material civilization, which is eating the vital part of human energy. The Bhagavad-gītā is the spoken message of the Lord Himself recorded by Vyāsadeva, and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the transcendental narration of the activities of the same Lord Kṛṣṇa, which alone can satisfy the hankering desires of the living being for eternal peace and liberation from miseries. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, therefore, is meant for all the living beings all over the universe for total liberation from all kinds of material bondage. Such transcendental narrations of the pastimes of the Lord can be described only by liberated souls like Vyāsadeva and his bona fide representatives who are completely merged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Only to such devotees do the pastimes of the Lord and their transcendental nature become automatically manifest by dint of devotional service. No one else can either know or describe the acts of the Lord, even if they speculate on the subject for many, many years. The descriptions of the Bhāgavatam are so precise and accurate that whatever has been predicted in this great literature about five thousand years ago is now exactly happening. Therefore, the vision of the author comprehends past, present and future. Such liberated persons as Vyāsadeva are perfect not only by the power of vision and wisdom, but also in aural reception, in thinking, feeling and all other sense activities. A liberated person possesses perfect senses, and with perfect senses only can one serve the sense proprietor, Hṛṣīkeśa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, therefore, is the perfect description of the all-perfect Personality of Godhead by the all-perfect personality Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Vedas.

CC ADI 7.84

“ ‘Religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation are known as the four goals of life, but before love of Godhead, the fifth and highest goal, these appear as insignificant as straw in the street.

While chanting the holy name of the Lord, one should not desire the material advancements represented by religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and ultimately liberation from the material world. As stated by Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the highest perfection in life is to develop one’s love for Kṛṣṇa (premā pum-artho mahān śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhor matam idam). When we compare love of Godhead with religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, we can understand that these achievements may be desirable objectives for bubhukṣus, or those who desire to enjoy this material world, and mumukṣus, or those who desire liberation from it, but they are very insignificant in the eyes of a pure devotee who has developed bhāva, the preliminary stage of love of Godhead.

Dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kāma (sense gratification) and mokṣa (liberation) are the four principles of religion that pertain to the material world. Therefore in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is declared, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra: cheating religious systems in terms of these four material principles are completely discarded from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, for Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam teaches only how to develop one’s dormant love of God. 

 cheating religious systems in terms of these four material principles – current brahmanas who are making a living out of pujas… 

The Bhagavad-gītā is the preliminary study of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and therefore it ends with the words sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” (Bg. 18.66) To adopt this means, one should reject all ideas of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation and fully engage in the service of the Lord, which is transcendental to these four principles. Love of Godhead is the original function of the spirit soul, and it is as eternal as the soul and the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This eternity is called sanātana. When a devotee revives his loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it should be understood that he has been successful in achieving the desired goal of his life. At that time everything is automatically done by the mercy of the holy name, and the devotee automatically advances in his spiritual progress.

If you want to make spiritual progress you have to come to the standard that SP is insisting.

BG 2.42-43

Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is nothing more than this.

People in general are not very intelligent, and due to their ignorance they are most attached to the fruitive activities recommended in the karma-kāṇḍa portions of the Vedas. They do not want anything more than sense gratificatory proposals for enjoying life in heaven, where wine and women are available and material opulence is very common. In the Vedas many sacrifices are recommended for elevation to the heavenly planets, especially the Jyotiṣṭoma sacrifices. In fact, it is stated that anyone desiring elevation to heavenly planets must perform these sacrifices, and men with a poor fund of knowledge think that this is the whole purpose of Vedic wisdom. It is very difficult for such inexperienced persons to be situated in the determined action of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As fools are attached to the flowers of poisonous trees without knowing the results of such attractions, unenlightened men are similarly attracted by such heavenly opulence and the sense enjoyment thereof.

In the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas it is said, apāma somam amṛtā abhūma and akṣayyaṁ ha vai cāturmāsya-yājinaḥ sukṛtaṁ bhavati. In other words, those who perform the four-month penances become eligible to drink the soma-rasa beverages to become immortal and happy forever. Even on this earth some are very eager to have soma-rasa to become strong and fit to enjoy sense gratifications. Such persons have no faith in liberation from material bondage, and they are very much attached to the pompous ceremonies of Vedic sacrifices. They are generally sensual, and they do not want anything other than the heavenly pleasures of life. It is understood that there are gardens called Nandana-kānana in which there is good opportunity for association with angelic, beautiful women and having a profuse supply of soma-rasa wine. Such bodily happiness is certainly sensual; therefore there are those who are purely attached to such material, temporary happiness, as lords of the material world.

10 subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam

  1. Creation of universe
  2. Sub creation
  3. positioning of living entities in various planetary systems.
  4. Posanam: the Lord’s protection for the devotees.
  5. inclination to act.
  6. Change of manus
  7. Science of God
  8. Returning home back to godhead
  9. Liberation
  10. Summon Bonum

Karma yoga – They live piously, halfway house, do not want to surrender.. They rely on brahmanas.. 

As long as there are material desires you cannot get out of this material world. Even one desire.. Unless Karma yogis surrender and get the guidance of a spiritual master one cannot go out… 


Hare Krsna Homework for next class- 

Read BG 12.5 Translation and Purport and explain why it is so difficult to obtain perfection by following the mayavadi process and at the same time explain why it is so easy in Krsna Consciousness to attain perfection by reading BG 12.6 & 7.

References – CC ADI chapter 7 , please research and find other references. 

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SB 2.9.35 – Part 5 – Notes – 1/19/22

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.35 – Part 5:

  • Although the Lord 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 Lord can award anyone and everyone liberation (mukti) from the bondage of material existence, yet He rarely awards the privilege of love of Godhead, as confirmed by Nārada (muktiṁ dadhāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam). 
  • Those engaged in getting the Lord’s favor attain liberation from the Lord very easily, but He does not very easily give the opportunity to render direct service unto Him. (SB 5.6.18)
  • Directly or indirectly, it is proved that bhakti-yoga is the basis for the supreme relationship with the Supreme Lord. It is far superior to liberation. For a pure devotee of the Lord, mukti is automatically attained.
  • This transcendental devotional service of the Lord is so wonderful that the occupation keeps the deserving devotee always rapt in psychological activities, without deviation from the absolute touch. 
  • As touchstone is rarely found, a pure devotee of the Lord is also rarely to be seen, even amongst millions of liberated souls (koṭiṣv api mahāmune). 
  • Unless the dirt within the core of one’s heart is cleansed away, one cannot become a pure devotee. Therefore the word su-durlabhaḥ (“very rarely found”) is used in this verse. Not only among hundreds and thousands, but among millions of perfectly liberated souls, a pure devotee is hardly ever found. Therefore the words koṭiṣv api are used herein.
  • Śrīla Madhvācārya gives the following quotations from the Tantra Bhāgavata: “There are ninety million demigods and seventy million sages, who are all called nārāyaṇāyana, devotees of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Among them, only a few are called nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa.”
  • “The difference between the siddhas and nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇas is that direct devotees are called nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇas whereas those who perform various types of mystic yoga are called siddhas.”
  • If one is fortunate enough to have received the knowledge in the transcendental disciplic succession, surely he will have the chance to understand the mystery of the Lord and that of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sound incarnation of the Lord.
  • [The Laws of Nature] We cannot be desireless. We cannot be silent. But our desires and our activities can be
    purified. That is real knowledge. We should desire only to serve Krsna. That is purification of desire. Instead of trying to be still and silent, we should dovetail our activities in Krsna’s service. As living entities, we have activities, desires, and a loving propensity, but they are being misdirected. If we direct them into Krsna’s service, that is the perfection of education.
  • [The Laws of Nature]  So education is required, but if it is simply materialistic–if it is devoid of Krsna consciousness–it is very, very dangerous. That is the teaching of the Isopanisad.

SB 2.9.35 – 1/19/22

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.

Last 2 paras – extremely imp to understand the goal of life. 

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.

The Lord can award anyone and everyone liberation (mukti) from the bondage of material existence, yet He rarely awards the privilege of love of Godhead, as confirmed by Nārada (muktiṁ dadhāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam). 

SB 5.6.18 

rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnāṁ

daivaṁ priyaḥ kula-patiḥ kva ca kiṅkaro vaḥ

astv evam aṅga bhagavān bhajatāṁ mukundo

muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the Supreme Person, Mukunda, is actually the maintainer of all the members of the Pāṇḍava and Yadu dynasties. He is your spiritual master, worshipable Deity, friend, and the director of your activities. To say nothing of this, He sometimes serves your family as a messenger or servant. This means He worked just as ordinary servants do. Those engaged in getting the Lord’s favor attain liberation from the Lord very easily, but He does not very easily give the opportunity to render direct service unto Him.

Someone may be a liberated soul, but they still might not have received the highest perfection of life.  

If one becomes void of all material desires.. Then they not only are liberated but they do they are given the opportunity to serve the lord.. 

While instructing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, Śukadeva Gosvāmī thought it wise to encourage the King because the King might be thinking of the glorious position of various royal dynasties. Especially glorious is the dynasty of Priyavrata, in which the Supreme Lord Ṛṣabhadeva incarnated. Similarly, the family of Uttānapāda Mahārāja, the father of Mahārāja Dhruva, is also glorious due to King Pṛthu’s taking birth in it. The dynasty of Mahārāja Raghu is glorified because Lord Rāmacandra appeared in that family. As far as the Yadu and Kuru dynasties are concerned, they existed simultaneously, but of the two, the Yadu dynasty was more glorious due to the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Mahārāja Parīkṣit might have been thinking that the Kuru dynasty was not as fortunate as the others because the Supreme Lord did not appear in that family, neither as Kṛṣṇa, Lord Rāmacandra, Lord Ṛṣabhadeva or Mahārāja Pṛthu. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja was encouraged by Śukadeva Gosvāmī in this particular verse.

The Kuru dynasty may be considered more glorious due to the presence of devotees like the five Pāṇḍavas, who rendered unalloyed devotional service. Although Lord Kṛṣṇa did not appear in the Kuru dynasty, He was so obligated to the Pāṇḍavas’ devotional service that He acted as a maintainer of the family and spiritual master of the Pāṇḍavas. Although He took birth in the Yadu dynasty, Lord Kṛṣṇa was more affectionate to the Pāṇḍavas. By His actions, Lord Kṛṣṇa proved that He was more inclined to the Kuru dynasty than the Yadu dynasty. Indeed, Lord Kṛṣṇa, indebted to the Pāṇḍavas’ devotional service, sometimes acted as their messenger, and He guided them through many dangerous situations. Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit should not have been saddened because Lord Kṛṣṇa did not appear in his family. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is always inclined toward His pure devotees, and by His action it is clear that liberation is not very important for the devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa easily gives one liberation, but He does not so easily give one the facility to become a devotee. Muktiṁ dadāti karhicit sma na bhakti-yogam. Directly or indirectly, it is proved that bhakti-yoga is the basis for the supreme relationship with the Supreme Lord. It is far superior to liberation. For a pure devotee of the Lord, mukti is automatically attained.

Confidential – it is not kept secret, but it is very hard to understand this. As long as one has even one material desire one cannot even understand this. 

There are millions and billions of jivas.. Billions of universes, vaikuntas,, in that gigantic number .. But only few get an opportunity to render direct service to the Lord… in Goloka.. 

This transcendental devotional service of the Lord is so wonderful that the occupation keeps the deserving devotee always rapt in psychological activities, without deviation from the absolute touch. 

That means what is going on in the mind. That means no material desires.. 

Thus love of Godhead, developed in the heart of the devotee, is a great mystery. Brahmājī previously told Nārada that the desires of Brahmājī are never unfulfilled because he is always absorbed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord; nor has he any desire in his heart save and except the transcendental service of the Lord. 

When one purifies the mind, purges the mind of all the material desires and fantasies and replaces that only with desires to please Krsna and actually engaging in unalloyed devotion only with the intention to please Krsna and Guru, at that time the spiritual television turns on. 

That is the beauty and mystery of the process of bhakti-yoga. As the Lord’s desire is infallible because He is acyuta, similarly the desires of the devotees in the transcendental service of the Lord are also acyuta, infallible. 

Increasing the chanting, hearing, prasadam distribution… only for pleasing Krsna and Guru.. all the desires of the devotee will become true there is no self interest.. There is only selfless service.. 

This is very difficult, however, for the layman to understand without knowledge of the mystery of devotional service, as it is very difficult to know the potency of touchstone. As touchstone is rarely found, a pure devotee of the Lord is also rarely to be seen, even amongst millions of liberated souls (koṭiṣv api mahāmune). 

A devotee like Srila Prabhupada is very rare.. He did it and he left it to his disciples to continue not being attached to it.. He went back to Krsna engaging in transcendental pastimes of the lord, with pure devotees desires to please Krsna and his guru. 

SB 6.14.5:

Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following purport to this verse. Simply desiring mukti, or liberation, is insufficient; one must become factually liberated. When one understands the futility of the materialistic way of life, one becomes advanced in knowledge, and therefore he situates himself in the vānaprastha order, unattached to family, wife and children. One should then further progress to the platform of sannyāsa, the actual renounced order, never to fall again and be afflicted by materialistic life. Even though one desires to be liberated, this does not mean he is liberated. Only rarely is someone liberated. Indeed, although many men take sannyāsa to become liberated, because of their imperfections they again become attached to women, material activities, social welfare work and so on.

​​Jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs devoid of devotional service are called offenders. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī: one who thinks that everything is māyā instead of thinking that everything is Kṛṣṇa is called an aparādhī, or offender. Although the Māyāvādīs, impersonalists, are offenders at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they may nonetheless be counted among the siddhas, those who have realized the self. They may be considered nearer to spiritual perfection because at least they have realized what spiritual life is. If such a person becomes nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa, a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, he is better than a jīvan-mukta, one who is liberated or perfect. This requires higher intelligence.

There are two kinds of jñānīs. One is inclined to devotional service and the other to impersonal realization. Impersonalists generally undergo great endeavor for no tangible benefit, and therefore it is said that they are husking paddy that has no grain (sthūla-tuṣāvaghātinaḥ). The other class of jñānīs, whose jñāna is mixed with bhakti, are also of two kinds — those who are devoted to the so-called false form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and those who understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha, the actual spiritual form. The Māyāvādī devotees worship Nārāyaṇa or Viṣṇu with the idea that Viṣṇu has accepted a form of māyā and that the ultimate truth is actually impersonal. The pure devotee, however, never thinks that Viṣṇu has accepted a body of māyā; instead, he knows perfectly well that the original Absolute Truth is the Supreme Person. Such a devotee is actually situated in knowledge. He never merges in the Brahman effulgence:

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.2.32):

ye ’nye ’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas

tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ

āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ

patanty adho ’nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ

“O Lord, the intelligence of those who think themselves liberated but who have no devotion is impure. Even though they rise to the highest point of liberation by dint of severe penances and austerities, they are sure to fall down again into material existence, for they do not take shelter at Your lotus feet.” Evidence of this same point is also given in Bhagavad-gītā (9.11), wherein the Lord says:

avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā

mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam

paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto

mama bhūta-maheśvaram

“Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be.” When rascals (mūḍhas) see that Kṛṣṇa acts exactly like a human being, they deride the transcendental form of the Lord because they do not know the paraṁ bhāvam, His transcendental form and activities. Such persons are further described in Bhagavad-gītā (9.12) as follows:

moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo

mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ

rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva

prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ

“Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demoniac and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.” Such persons do not know that Kṛṣṇa’s body is not material. There is no distinction between Kṛṣṇa’s body and His soul, but because less intelligent men see Kṛṣṇa as a human being, they deride Him. They cannot imagine how a person like Kṛṣṇa could be the origin of everything (govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi). Such persons are described as moghāśāḥ, baffled in their hopes. Whatever they desire for the future will be baffled. Even if they apparently engage in devotional service, they are described as moghāśāḥ because they ultimately desire to merge into the Brahman effulgence.

Those who aspire to be elevated to the heavenly planets by devotional service will also be frustrated, because this is not the result of devotional service. However, they are also given a chance to engage in devotional service and be purified. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17):

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ

hṛdy antaḥ-stho hy abhadrāṇi

vidhunoti suhṛt satām

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

Unless the dirt within the core of one’s heart is cleansed away, one cannot become a pure devotee. Therefore the word su-durlabhaḥ (“very rarely found”) is used in this verse. Not only among hundreds and thousands, but among millions of perfectly liberated souls, a pure devotee is hardly ever found. Therefore the words koṭiṣv api are used herein. Śrīla Madhvācārya gives the following quotations from the Tantra Bhāgavata:

nava-koṭyas tu devānām

ṛṣayaḥ sapta-koṭayaḥ

nārāyaṇāyanāḥ sarve

ye kecit tat-parāyaṇāḥ

“There are ninety million demigods and seventy million sages, who are all called nārāyaṇāyana, devotees of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Among them, only a few are called nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa.”

nārāyaṇāyanā devā

ṛṣy-ādyās tat-parāyaṇāḥ

brahmādyāḥ kecanaiva syuḥ

siddho yogya-sukhaṁ labhan

The difference between the siddhas and nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇas is that direct devotees are called nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇas whereas those who perform various types of mystic yoga are called siddhas.

Out of all kinds of perfections attained by the process of knowledge, yoga perfection in devotional service is the highest of all and the most mysterious also, even more mysterious than the eight kinds of mystic perfection attained by the process of yogic performances. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.64) the Lord therefore advised Arjuna about this bhakti-yoga:

sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ

śṛṇu me paramaṁ vacaḥ

“Just hear from Me again about the most confidential part of the instructions in Bhagavad-gītā.” The same was confirmed by Brahmājī to Nārada in the following words:

idaṁ bhāgavataṁ nāma

yan me bhagavatoditam

saṅgraho ’yaṁ vibhūtīnāṁ

tvam etad vipulīkuru

Brahmājī said to Nārada, “Whatever I have spoken to you about the Bhāgavatam was explained to me by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and I am advising you to expand these topics nicely so that people may easily understand the mysterious bhakti-yoga by transcendental loving service to the Lord.” 

When there is transcendental service of the lord, there is no vacation. Nithyam bhagavata sevaya.. They never want to be separated from devotional service.. 

It is to be noted here that the mystery of bhakti-yoga was disclosed to Brahmājī by the Lord Himself. Brahmājī explained the same mystery to Nārada, Nārada explained it to Vyāsa, Vyāsa explained it to Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and that same knowledge is coming down in the unalloyed chain of disciplic succession. If one is fortunate enough to have received the knowledge in the transcendental disciplic succession, surely he will have the chance to understand the mystery of the Lord and that of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sound incarnation of the Lord.

Brahmaji was given the eyes by the lord to see Krsna.. To see the kingdom of the God. … 

ISO 9 

andhaṁ tamaḥ praviśanti

ye ’vidyām upāsate

tato bhūya iva te tamo

ya u vidyāyāḿ ratāḥ

Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.

Alternate translation of this verse is in The Laws of Nature Compilation – (http://files.krishna.com/en/pdf/e-books/Laws_of_Nature.pdf)

 The Isopanisad states, “Those who are engaged in the culture of nescience

shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. ” There are two kinds of

education, material and spiritual. Material education is called jada-vidya. Jada

means “that which cannot move,” or matter. Spirit can move. Our body is a

combination of spirit and matter. As long as the spirit is there, the body is

moving. For example, a man’s coat and pants move as long as the man wears them.

It appears that the coat and pants are moving on their own, but actually it is

the body that is moving them. Similarly, this body is moving because the spirit

soul is moving it. Another example is the motorcar. The motorcar is moving

because the driver is moving it. Only a fool thinks the motorcar is moving on

its own. In spite of a wonderful mechanical arrangement, the motorcar cannot

move on its own.

 Since they are given only jada-vidya, a materialistic education, people think

that this material nature is working, moving, and manifesting so many wonderful

things automatically. When we are at the seaside, we see the waves moving. But

the waves are not moving automatically. The air is moving them. And something

else is moving the air. In this way, if you go all the way back to the ultimate

cause, you will find Krsna, the cause of all causes. That is real education, to

search out the ultimate cause.

 So the Isopanisad says that those who are captivated by the external

movements of the material energy are worshiping nescience. In the modern

civilization there are big, big institutions for understanding technology, how a

motorcar or an airplane moves. They are studying how to manufacture so much

machinery. But there is no educational institution for investigating how the

spirit soul is moving. The actual mover is not being studied. Instead they are

studying the external movements of matter.

 When I lectured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I asked the

students, “Where is the technology to study the soul, the mover of the body?”

They had no such technology. They could not answer satisfactorily because their

education was simply jada-vidya. The Isopanisad says that those who engage in

the advancement of such materialistic education will go to the darkest region of

existence. Therefore the present civilization is in a very dangerous position

because there is no arrangement anywhere in the world for genuine spiritual

education. In this way human society is being pushed to the darkest region of

Existence.

 In a song, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has declared that materialistic

education is simply an expansion of maya. The more we advance in this

materialistic education, the more our ability to understand God will be

hampered. And at last we will declare, “God is dead.” This is all ignorance and

darkness.

So, the materialists are certainly being pushed into darkness. But there is

another class–the so-called philosophers, mental speculators, religionists, and

yogis–who are going into still greater darkness because they are defying Krsna.

They are pretending to cultivate spiritual knowledge, but because they have no

information of Krsna, or God, their teachings are even more dangerous than those

of the outright materialists. Why? Because they are misleading people into

thinking they are giving real spiritual knowledge. The so-called yoga system

they are teaching is misleading people: “Simply meditate, and you will

understand that you are God.” Krsna never meditated to become God. He was God from His very birth. When He was a three-month-old baby, the Putana demon

attacked Him–and Krsna sucked out her life air along with her breast milk. So

Krsna was God from the very beginning. That is God.

 The nonsense so-called yogis teach, “You become still and silent, and you

will become God.” How can I become silent? Is there any possibility of becoming

silent? No, there is no such possibility. “Become desireless and you will become

God.” How can I become desireless? These are all bluffs. We cannot be

desireless. We cannot be silent. But our desires and our activities can be

purified. That is real knowledge. We should desire only to serve Krsna. That is

purification of desire. Instead of trying to be still and silent, we should

dovetail our activities in Krsna’s service. As living entities, we have

activities, desires, and a loving propensity, but they are being misdirected. If

we direct them into Krsna’s service, that is the perfection of education.

 We don’t say that you should not become advanced in material education. You

may, but at the same time you should become Krsna conscious. That is our

message. We don’t say that you shouldn’t manufacture motorcars. No. We say, “All right, you have manufactured these motorcars. Now employ them in Krsna’s

service.” That is our proposal.

 So education is required, but if it is simply materialistic–if it is devoid

of Krsna consciousness–it is very, very dangerous. That is the teaching of the Isopanisad.

ISO 9 Purport

This mantra offers a comparative study of vidyā and avidyā. Avidyā, or ignorance, is undoubtedly dangerous, but vidyā, or knowledge, is even more dangerous when mistaken or misguided. This mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad is more applicable today than at any time in the past. Modern civilization has advanced considerably in the field of mass education, but the result is that people are more unhappy than ever before because of the stress placed on material advancement to the exclusion of the most important part of life, the spiritual aspect.

As far as vidyā is concerned, the first mantra has explained very clearly that the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of everything and that forgetfulness of this fact is ignorance. The more a man forgets this fact of life, the more he is in darkness. In view of this, a godless civilization directed toward the so-called advancement of education is more dangerous than a civilization in which the masses of people are less “educated.”

Of the different classes of men – karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs – the karmīs are those who are engaged in the activities of sense gratification. In the modern civilization, 99.9 percent of the people are engaged in the activities of sense gratification under the flags of industrialism, economic development, altruism, political activism, and so on. All these activities are more or less based on satisfaction of the senses, to the exclusion of the kind of God consciousness described in the first mantra.

In the language of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.15), people who are engaged in gross sense gratification are mūḍhas – asses. The ass is a symbol of stupidity. Those who simply engage in the profitless pursuit of sense gratification are worshiping avidyā, according to Śrī Īśopaniṣad. And those who play the role of helping this sort of civilization in the name of educational advancement are actually doing more harm than those who are on the platform of gross sense gratification. The advancement of learning by a godless people is as dangerous as a valuable jewel on the hood of a cobra. A cobra decorated with a valuable jewel is more dangerous than one not decorated. In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11.12), the advancement of education by a godless people is compared to decorations on a dead body. In India, as in many other countries, some people follow the custom of leading a procession with a decorated dead body for the pleasure of the lamenting relatives. In the same way, modern civilization is a patchwork of activities meant to cover the perpetual miseries of material existence. All such activities are aimed toward sense gratification. But above the senses is the mind, and above the mind is the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul. Thus the aim of real education should be self-realization, realization of the spiritual values of the soul. Any education which does not lead to such realization must be considered avidyā, or nescience. And to culture such nescience means to go down to the darkest region of ignorance.

According to the Bhagavad-gītā (2.42, 7.15), mistaken mundane educators are known as veda-vāda-rata and māyayāpahṛta-jñāna. They may also be atheistic demons, the lowest of men. Those who are veda-vāda-rata pose themselves as very learned in the Vedic literature, but unfortunately they are completely diverted from the purpose of the Vedas. In the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) it is said that the purpose of the Vedas is to know the Personality of Godhead, but these veda-vāda-rata men are not at all interested in the Personality of Godhead. On the contrary, they are fascinated by such fruitive results as the attainment of heaven.

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SB 2.9.34 – Part 3 – 1/12/22

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

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

SB 2.9.34 TRANSLATION:

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

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

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

Yesterday we discussed – Reflection in the darkness. 

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

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

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

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

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

Material conception of life – 

They think that 

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

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

BG 18.55 

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti

yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ

tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā

viśate tad-anantaram

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

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

BG 7.25 

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My internal potency, and therefore they do not know that I am unborn and infallible.

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

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

hiraṇmayena pātreṇa

satyasyāpihitaṁ mukham

tat tvaṁ pūṣann apāvṛṇu

satya-dharmāya dṛṣṭaye

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

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

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

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

Krsna is understood through revelation not through academic knowledge.

BG 11.55  – only by dev service we can understand Krsna

mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo

mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ

nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu

yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava

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

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

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

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

SB 1.2.20 

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

BG 4.26 

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

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

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

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

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

BG 13.26 

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

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

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

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

BG 10.8

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

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

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

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

BG 13.8-12

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

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

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