KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 3.1.17:
- To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service.
- One cannot be one-hundred-percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin.
- Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord.
- Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization.
- One should not be satisfied merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord.
- Even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arcā-mūrtis in the temple.
- “The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.”
- Kṛṣṇa says that “You stop all this business. Simply you are migrating, or transmigrating, from one body to another or one planet to another. That will not make you happy.” Sarva-dharmān: “You just surrender unto Me. Because you are meant…, your original creation is meant for serving Me.”
- We are creating our next body in this life. If we become sinful, and act only sinful activities, then we get the next body a very lower class of body, even as the germ in the stool. And if we act nicely, piously, then we get a better body.
- We are manufacturing different bodies based on our desires, but our real sense is covered. So that transcendental sense can be discovered when we give up this material sense gratificatory process by creating different kinds of bodies.
- So the whole process is to rectify to purify our senses. And the purified sense means instead of using the senses for this so-called material happiness, one has to utilize the senses for happiness of Kṛṣṇa
- Lord Caitanya’s teaching, is to understand that we are eternal servant of God, and if we immediately engage our energy to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then immediately we are transferred to the spiritual platform. And if we stick to that activities on the spiritual platform, then, as assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, then, after leaving this body, we go back to Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana, go back to Godhead, back to home. That is our eternal, peaceful life. We should endeavor for that.
SB 3.1.17 – 4/19/22
By his piety, Vidura achieved the advantages of the pious Kauravas. After leaving Hastināpura, he took shelter of many places of pilgrimages, which are the Lord’s lotus feet. With a desire to gain a high order of pious life, he traveled to holy places where thousands of transcendental forms of the Lord are situated.
Vidura was undoubtedly a highly elevated and pious soul; otherwise he would not have taken his birth in the Kaurava family. To have high parentage, to possess wealth, to be highly learned and to have great personal beauty are all due to past pious acts. But such pious possessions are not sufficient for obtaining the grace of the Lord and being engaged in His transcendental loving service. Vidura considered himself less pious, and therefore he decided to travel to all the great places of pilgrimage in the world in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. At that time, Lord Kṛṣṇa was personally present in the world, and Vidura could have at once approached Him directly, but he did not do so because he was not sufficiently freed from sin. One cannot be one-hundred-percent devoted to the Lord unless and until he is completely free from all effects of sin. Vidura was conscious that by the association of the diplomatic Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana he had lost his piety and was therefore not fit to associate at once with the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.28) this is confirmed in the following verse:
yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
Persons who are sinful asuras like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha cannot think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Only those who are pure devotees, those who follow the regulative principles of religious life as prescribed in the scriptures, are able to engage themselves in karma-yoga and then jñāna-yoga and thereafter, by pure meditation, can understand pure consciousness. When God consciousness is developed, one can take advantage of the association of pure devotees. Syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt: one is able to associate with the Lord even during the existence of this life.
Places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization. One should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord. In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various transcendental forms.
These forms are called arcā-mūrtis, or forms of the Lord which can be easily appreciated by the common man. The Lord is transcendental to our mundane senses. He cannot be seen with our present eyes, nor can He be heard with our present ears. To the degree that we have entered into the service of the Lord or to the proportion that our lives are freed from sins, we can perceive the Lord. But even though we are not free from sins, the Lord is kind enough to allow us the facility of seeing Him in His arcā-mūrtis in the temple. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He is able to accept our service by presentation of His arcā form. No one, therefore, should foolishly think the arcā in the temple to be an idol. Such an arcā-mūrti is not an idol but the Lord Himself, and to the proportion that one is free from sins, he is able to know the significance of the arcā-mūrti. The guidance of a pure devotee is therefore always required.
In the land of Bhāratavarṣa there are many hundreds and thousands of places of pilgrimage distributed all over the country, and by traditional practice the common man visits such holy places during all seasons of the year. Some of the arcā representations of the Lord situated in different places of pilgrimage are mentioned herewith. The Lord is present at Mathurā (the birthplace of Lord Kṛṣṇa) as Ādi-keśava; the Lord is present at Purī (Orissa) as Lord Jagannātha (also known as Puruṣottama); He is present at Allahabad (Prayāga) as Bindu-mādhava; at Mandara Hill He is present as Madhusūdana. In the Ānandāraṇya, He is known as Vāsudeva, Padmanābha and Janārdana; at Viṣṇukāñcī, He is known as Viṣṇu; and at Māyāpura, He is known as Hari. There are millions and billions of such arcā forms of the Lord distributed all over the universe. All these arcā-mūrtis are summarized in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the following words:
sarvatra prakāśa tāṅra — bhakte sukha dite
jagatera adharma nāśi’ dharma sthāpite
“The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.”
Vidura’s past time is showing us the problems of associating with materialistic people –
Purification of the material concept of life
Association of materialists will teach us material concept of life
Material concept of life is like a disease that contaminates and spreads..
Lord Caitanya has given a very easy and happy method to overcome the material conception of life.
Govt says you must do it and if you do not do it then you have punishment
Day after Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā Lecture
Type: Lectures and Addresses
Date: March 5, 1969
Location: Hawaii
Audio file: audio/transcripts/1969/690305LE-HAWAII.mp3
What is the pure consciousness? Kṛṣṇa said that happiness can be achieved in pure consciousness, or when your senses are transcendental. He gave hint. Not only hint, He practically suggested also that “You simply surrender unto Me.”
So Lord Caitanya said the same thing. Lord Kṛṣṇa said… As the Supreme Lord, He commanded—He has got the commanding power because He is the Supreme God—that “You surrender unto Me.” Just like some superior, the teacher or father or king, says, “You must do it.” But there is force. The State says “You must do it,” but if you do not do it, then there is force. Just like this draft board. They are demanding that “You must join. If you don’t join, there will be force, and you will be forcibly joined after that.”
So here, in the Kṛṣṇa’s order, because He is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, there is no force. That voluntary. He says that “This is life: You surrender unto Me.” But He could force Arjuna to surrender, or anybody, because He is Supreme Lord. But that force He does not apply, because He has given us little independence. Therefore, if He forces, then His gift of independence is misused from His side. We are misusing our that gift of independence, but for that reason, Kṛṣṇa cannot withdraw your independence.
Just like you are independent citizen. You are… If somebody misuses that independence, he becomes a criminal, but still, the independence continues. You are criminal. You are punished. Again you are set free. That means you are given again independence. But again if you misuse, then again you are put into prison.
Similarly, if the state cannot withdraw your independence, then what is the meaning of this independent country? How God can withdraw the independence He has given to you? That He will not withdraw. It is up to you to use your independence properly. That proper use of independence is to surrender unto…
We are suffering, we are manufacturing so many philosophical ways, but actual position is—that is the statement of Bhagavad-gītā—that we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, God. We are not working according to our particular duty. Just like this finger is part and parcel of my body. It has got a particular duty: to serve the whole body. When it is unable to do it—it is painful—the physician or the surgeon says that “This finger should be amputated. Otherwise it will create disturbance to the whole body.”
Similarly, we are all part and parcel of the supreme whole, but not surrendering unto Him, misusing our independence, we are giving pain to the Supreme. Therefore He comes, that “You surrender. Don’t give Me pain. You just abide by My order. That will give Me pleasure. You will be happy.” That state of consciousness, to abide by the order of Kṛṣṇa, is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That’s all.
So Kṛṣṇa comes personally to canvass that “This is not your proper order of life. You are misusing your independence for sense gratification and wandering through various types of transmigration of bodies—sometimes human body, sometimes dog’s body, sometimes cat’s body, sometimes demigod’s body, sometimes rich body, sometimes poor body. So you stop this business,” Kṛṣṇa says. Sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66].
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
“You have manufactured so many duties. That duties means you are manufacturing so many bodies. That’s all.”
Why you have got different types of bodies? We have manufactured it. God has given us facility. I wanted to become such and such. He has given us facilities, “All right, you become such and such.” If I want to become a tiger, God will give me all the facilities to become a tiger. He will give me facilities, paws and nails and teeth, so that immediately I can capture any animal, and with the instruments which He has provided within my body, I can immediately scratch it into pieces and eat.
Similarly, you will find… You see the cranes. They have got big beaks. Why? Because they have to catch fish from within the water, so the beak must be very long. So there is facility. The hog has different mouth, because he has to eat stool. So a different kind of body.
So these bodies means we have manufactured according to our different mentality. Kṛṣṇa says that “You stop all this business. Simply you are migrating, or transmigrating, from one body to another or one planet to another. That will not make you happy.” Sarva-dharmān: “You just surrender unto Me. Because you are meant…, your original creation is meant for serving Me.” Just like this body.
When this body was made in the womb of my mother, it was just like a small pea, and from that pea, different holes came out, then hand came out, leg came out, the fingers came out. Why this finger was created? Because I require the service of the fingers. Suppose if I want to press something, if there was no nail, then I cannot press. It is so nicely manufactured. By my energy, by my desire, and nature supplying me ingredient, it is manufactured.
So you are manufacturing different bodies, but our real sense is covered. So that transcendental sense can be discovered when we give up this material sense gratificatory process by creating different kinds of bodies.
So that is the profit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So the people of modern civilization, they have no information about this, how this body is being created. That simply busy with the present problem. That’s all. Present problem is not problem. We are eternal. Our problem is eternal.
Therefore the modern age, the people are not very intelligent. They are advertising themselves that they are very much advanced. Actually, they are fools. And “It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss.” The whole world is full of ignorant. Therefore we are trying to preach this Kṛṣṇa consciousness—it is our folly. You see? It is our folly, “the cry in the wilderness.”
But we cannot stop this business. You see? They may think that “Why you are, nonsense people, you have given up everything, you are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? You are all fools. You are not enjoying life.” They may say like that, but our…, because we have nothing to do with them, our business is to satisfy the Supreme. That is my real sense gratification. I have got my senses. As soon as I use it for my satisfaction, it is material. And as soon as I use them for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, it is spiritual. That’s all.
Try to understand the distinction between material and spiritual. Material means I have to act. Acting means I have to act with my senses, with my desires, with my thinking, feeling, willing, so many things, because that is original. You cannot stop your thinking, feeling, willing, working, because that is your original nature. You are living entity. If you have no thinking, feeling, willing, desire or working, then what is the difference between you and the stone? You are not stone. Some philosopher are trying to make you stone, but that is not possible. You cannot become stone.
So the whole process is to rectify, to purify your senses. And the purified sense means instead of using the senses for this so-called material happiness, one has to utilize the senses for happiness of Kṛṣṇa. That is purified sense. The example, the vivid example, is Arjuna. Arjuna was not willing to fight to satisfy his senses. He thought that “If I do not kill my brother or nephews or my grandfather or my teacher, the other side, that will make me happy. If they are killed, then where is my happiness?”
This is material calculation, because he was giving more importance to the material body, what is his brother, what is his grandfather or teacher. He was seeing the material. Just like what is our calculation? I am thinking somebody my friend and another body as my enemy. Why? Because I make distinction on the bodily platform. I say, “American? Oh, they are my friends.
Russians? They are my enemies.” Why? What is the platform of this distinction? The platform is body. Because one has got the Russian body by some way or other, another bod…, has got American body, I am making distinction. So this distinction is on the material platform. And the spiritual platform, there is no such distinction because it is simply spirit.
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne
brāhmaṇe gavi hastini
śuni caiva śvapāke ca
paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
[Bg. 5.18]
[The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]]
One who is paṇḍita—paṇḍita means learned—he does not make any distinction between a learned brāhmaṇa or a dog or a cat or a cow, because he sees the spirit.
So we have come to that spiritual platform. We have to give up our this sense gratification process, and that is the teaching of Lord Caitanya. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu practically demonstrated how to adopt that life of pure sense gratification, or pure utilization of the senses. He said, jīvera svarūpa haya nitya kṛṣṇa-dāsa [Cc. Madhya 20.108].
[“It is the living entity’s constitutional position to be an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa because he is the marginal energy of Kṛṣṇa and a manifestation simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, like a molecular particle of sunshine or fire. Kṛṣṇa has three varieties of energy.]
We have to respect all living entities.
Jīvera svarūpa haya means the real nature of the living entity is eternal servitor, eternal servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The same thing what Kṛṣṇa taught in the Bhagavad-gītā, Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught also in His…, this Bhāgavata-dharma teaching, and practically He showed how to do it. That is His specially.
Lord Kṛṣṇa said, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]:
[Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.]
“You give up all your material engagements. Simply just surrender unto Me. I shall give you all protection from all reaction of your past sinful activities.” Because we are creating our next body in this life. So if we become sinful, or if we act only sinful activities, then we get next body a very lower class of body, even as the germ in the stool. You see? There are so many varieties of bodies. And if we act nicely, piously, then we get better body. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthāḥ.
Those who are acting, those who are situated on the platform of goodness, they are promoting their existentional status in higher planets. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasaḥ [Bg. 14.18]:
[Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.]
And those who are in the modes of passion, they will remain here. And jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: and those who are very addicted to all abominable habits, they are clearing their way to hellish life. So to abominable life is these four principles. That we are trying to avoid.
So Lord Caitanya’s teaching, the sum and substance of His teaching, is to understand that we are eternal servant of God, and if we immediately engage our energy to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, then immediately we are transferred to the spiritual platform. And if we stick to that activities on the spiritual platform, then, as assured by Lord Kṛṣṇa, then, after leaving this body, we go back to Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana, go back to Godhead, back to home. That is our peaceful…, eternal, peaceful life. We should endeavor for that.
Thank you very much. [devotees offer obeisances] [break]
Pandit Ravi Shankar’s explanation of soul – not complete Soul is not just energy, soul is a person.
Stories, jokes, cute sayings, innuendos, I love you …
Innuendo – intention of having a negative meaning.. Delivered in a diff than you would expect..
Oblique – Coming fom different angle
Pique – stimulate, arouse, provoke
BG 8.28
The beauty of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is that by one stroke, by engaging in devotional service, one can surpass all the rituals of the different orders of life.
One does not need to go through Gnana, Karma, Dhyana yogas and can come directly to Bhakti yoga. One cannot directly go to Raganuga bhakti, but one can go directly to Sadhana Bhakti..
If one associates with materialists too much even an advanced devotee, one has to purify himself.. Hence Vidura even though an advanced devotee is going to holy places and meet sadhus to purify his material contamination by associating with materialists like duryodhana etc.,
We are understanding the uniqueness of Lord Caitanya mahaprabhu’s teachings.