Hare Krsna,

“While churning the butter, mother Yaśodā was singing about the childhood activities of Kṛṣṇa. It was formerly a custom that if one wanted to remember something constantly, he would transform it into poetry or have this done by a professional poet. It appears that mother Yaśodā did not want to forget Kṛṣṇa’s activities at any time. Therefore she poeticized all of Kṛṣṇa’s childhood activities, such as the killing of Pūtanā, Aghāsura, Śakaṭāsura and Tṛṇāvarta, and while churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form. This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Kṛṣṇa conscious twenty-four hours a day. This incident shows how Kṛṣṇa conscious mother Yaśodā was. To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons.” (SB 10.9.1-2 Purport)

The last line from the above purport by Srila Prabhupada “To stay in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should follow such persons” caught my attention. This reminds me of the eight instruction of Nectar of Instruction:

“The essence of all advice is that one should utilize one’s full time—twenty-four hours a day—in nicely chanting and remembering the Lord’s divine name, transcendental form, qualities and eternal pastimes, thereby gradually engaging one’s tongue and mind. In this way one should reside in Vraja [Goloka Vṛndāvana dhāma] and serve Kṛṣṇa under the guidance of devotees. One should follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s beloved devotees, who are deeply attached to His devotional service.”

The principle enunciated in above is that in the purified stage of development service, when a desire to serve Krsna like one of the Vraja-vasis has taken hold within a devotee’s heart, then that devotee should hear about that Vraja-vasis’s mood of devotion, their service to Krsna, their bodily features, and other excellences. In this regard, Srila Prabhupada quotes in NoI 8,

“A devotee should always reside in the transcendental realm of Vraja and always engage in kṛṣṇaṁ smaran janaṁ cāsya preṣṭham, the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His beloved associates. By following in the footsteps of such associates and by entering under their eternal guidance, one can acquire an intense desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Again Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295):

“In the transcendental realm of Vraja [Vraja-dhāma] one should serve the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with a feeling similar to that of His associates, and one should place himself under the direct guidance of a particular associate of Kṛṣṇa and should follow in his footsteps. This method is applicable both in the stage of sādhana [spiritual practices executed while in the stage of bondage] and in the stage of sādhya [God realization], when one is a siddha-puruṣa, or a spiritually perfect soul.”

The above instruction is quite far out for me. I still do not have any inkling of an idea whether I have the required qualification to follow in the footsteps of any particular Vraja-vasis. Nevertheless, this is a wonderful spiritual roadmap to have – especially when I chant the Holy Name of the Lord.

“Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises those who are neophytes to give up all kinds of motivated desires and simply engage in the regulative devotional service of the Lord according to the directions of scripture. In this way a neophyte can gradually develop attachment for Kṛṣṇa’s name, fame, form, qualities and so forth. When one has developed such attachment, he can spontaneously serve the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa even without following the regulative principles. This stage is called rāga-bhakti, or devotional service in spontaneous love. At that stage the devotee can follow in the footsteps of one of the eternal associates of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. This is called rāgānuga-bhakti.” (NoI 8 purport)

Long story short, it is better for a neophyte like me to sincerely continue with the  current sadhana practice of hearing, chanting and remembering Krsna while strictly following the four regulative principles.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It is so beautiful to hear about the narration of the good fortune of Drona and Dhara that the Supreme Lord Himself appeared as their child.

SB 10.8.49: Droṇa and Dharā said: Please permit us to be born on the planet earth so that after our appearance, the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, the supreme controller and master of all planets, will also appear and spread devotional service, the ultimate goal of life, so that those born in this material world may very easily be delivered from the miserable condition of materialistic life by accepting this devotional service.

SB 10.8.50: When Brahmā said, “Yes, let it be so,” the most fortune Droṇa, who was equal to Bhagavān, appeared in Vrajapura, Vṛndāvana, as the most famous Nanda Mahārāja, and his wife, Dharā, appeared as mother Yaśodā.

However, the philosophical question that plagued me is whether Nanda and Yasoda actually did become Lord Krsna’s parents by achieving the blessing of Brahma. No doubt, Nanda and Yasoda are more fortunate and exalted than the demigod Brahma. This is confirmed in the Ninth Chapter of the Tenth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam , where we find the description of the glories of mother Yasoda’s maternal love for Krsna, how Lord Krsna is completely under the control of Mother Yasoda, and how she bound Him with ropes. Mother Yasoda obtained greater mercy from Lord Krsna than even Brahma, Siva or Laksmi could even attained. This is described in the following verse, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.9.20:

“Neither Lord Brahmā, nor Lord Śiva, nor even the goddess of fortune, who is always the better half of the Supreme Lord, can obtain from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the deliverer from this material world, such mercy as received by mother Yaśodā.”

The exalted demigod Brahma is the original spiritual master of the devotees of the Lord. This is confirmed in SB 2.9.5:

“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.”

Lord Siva is still more exalted. This is described in SB 12.13.16

“Just as the Gaṅgā is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Śambhu [Śiva] the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, so Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest of all Purāṇas.”

It is clear that Brahma and Siva are exalted demigods. So, the question is, did Drona and Dhara really become Krsna’s parents because of Brahma’s blessings? SB 10.9.20 (quoted above) clearly says that Brahma himself is not able to attain the good fortune obtained by Drona and Dhara. How can Brahma give as a gift what other great devotees and he himself are unable to attain? Brahma himself says this in the following prayer (SB 10.14.34):

“My dear Lord, I am therefore not interested in either material opulences or liberation. I am most humbly praying at Your lotus feet for You to please give me any sort of birth within this Vrndavana forest so that I may be able to be favored by the dust of the feet of some devotees of Vrndavana. Even if I am given the chance to grow just as the humble grass in this land, that will be a glorious birth for me. But if I am not so fortunate to take birth within the forest of Vrndavana, I beg to be allowed to take birth outside the immediate area of Vrndavana so that when the devotees go out they will walk over me. Even that would be a great fortune for me. I am just aspiring for a birth in which I will be smeared by the dust of the devotees’ feet.“

The truth is that Drona and Dhara are partial expansions (amsa-avatara) of Nanda and Yasoda, Krsna’s eternal parents in the spiritual world. They descended to this material world, just as the Lord Himself did in order to display His pastimes on earth. Srila Prabhupada confirms this as below:

“When Kṛṣṇa descends anywhere, He is accompanied by His own associates. These associates are not ordinary living beings. Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are eternal, and when He descends, He comes with His associates. Therefore Nanda and mother Yaśodā are the eternal father and mother of Kṛṣṇa. This means that whenever Kṛṣṇa descends, Nanda and Yaśodā, as well as Vasudeva and Devakī, also descend as the Lord’s father and mother. Their personalities are expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s personal body; they are not ordinary living beings.” (SB 10.8.48 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

This pastime of Krsna showing the universal form within His mouth to Mother Yasoda is both sweet and philosophically deep. Many questions arose as I was reading and re-reading this pastime. Why did Krsna interrupt Mother Yasoda’s vatsalya-bhava with this minor interruption (of showing the universal form)? Did He have a desire to be scolded by His mother to derive special happiness from her affection? Did Krsna actually eat dirt or pretended to eat dirt? Did Krsna show the universal form to distract Mother Yasoda from scolding Him? I am not sure. There are many angles to understand Krsna’s pastime from.

It becomes easier to understand the pastimes of Krsna through the eyes of a pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada. It is also important to keep Krsna at the center of everything -including analysis of this pastime. Also the paribhasa sutra of kṛṣṇa-lila is a great guidance in this context.

[Thank you, dear teachers, for including Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s commentary at the right places. This enhances our understanding.]

The paribhasa sutra of this lila is the verse:

The glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are studied through the three Vedas, the Upaniṣads, the literature of Sāṅkhya-yoga, and other Vaiṣṇava literature, yet mother Yaśodā considered that Supreme Person her ordinary child. (SB 10.8.45)

In Bhagavad Gita we have seen that Arjuna was overcome with fear after seeing Krsna’s universal form. He became disturbed and started offering eloquent prayers to the Lord.

O King, after hearing these words from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the trembling Arjuna offered obeisances with folded hands again and again. He fearfully spoke to Lord Kṛṣṇa in a faltering voice. (BG 11.35)

Contrast this with Mother Yasoda’s reaction. Initially she was also overwhelmed with Krsna’s aisvarya-sakti (awe and reference). But then her vatsalya-prema took over and she again thought of the Lord as her son. Srila Prabhupada explains beautifully that “Yasoda’s love remained unrestricted in spite of seeing Kṛṣṇa’s powers and hearing about the Lord’s powers from the scriptures such as the three Vedas which glorify Kṛṣṇa as the yajna purusa. Without regard for time or place, mother Yasoda considered the all-powerful Lord, who is glorified directly and indirectly in the scriptures, as an ordinary child.” (SB 10.8.45 P)

Yasoda thought, “By the mercy of our powerful family deity Lord Narayana, who has been satisfied with the austerities and worship executed by Nanda and me, and who has been satisfied with the many austerities of Parjanya, I have been given this son, who the karmis glorify as the Absolute Truth propounded in the scriptures. People accept this because of Gargamuni’s statement that Kṛṣṇa is equal in quality to Narayana, and because of the stories of Kṛṣṇa’s killing gigantic demons like Putana and others. Therefore, everyone believes my son is Narayana. But actually He is just my child. If He does not see me for a moment, He becomes very disturbed. I also become disturbed when separated a moment from Him. Our experience is our proof.” (SB 10.8.45 P)

And this is exactly what Krsna desires. He wants His devotees to bind Him with their pure love without any tinge of awe and reverence of His opulence.

“By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbued with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great joy, I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.” (Damodarastaka 3)

Krsna, being a bhakta vatsalya, also reciprocates accordingly.

“Just as Kṛṣṇa gives results to the karmis who worship Him, He reciprocated with Yasoda’s maternal affection. But Kṛṣṇa could not respond fully to the amount of affection offered by Yasoda. Remaining a debtor, Kṛṣṇa was content to be dependent on Yasoda’s mercy and control and cry for her milk.” (SB 10.8.45 P)

Therefore, “the Lord’s quality of bhakta vatsalya is greater than any of His other spiritual qualities such as purity, mercy or truthfulness. As Kṛṣṇa’s telling a lie springs from this it is not a fault. Rather it is the crown jewel of all great qualities.” (SB 10.8.35 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Krsna and Balarama’s childhood pastimes are sweetest. They are the source of all transcendental bliss. I was counting the number of times Srila Prabhupada quoted ‘transcendental’ in his purports of this lesson (SB 10.8.21-31). It appears fourteen times. He mentions ‘transcendental happiness’, ‘transcendental bliss’, ‘transcendental happiness’, ‘ transcendental affection’, ‘ transcendental ecstasy’, ‘transcendental pastimes’, ‘transcendental world,’ ‘transcendental child,’ ‘transcendental loving affairs.’ No doubt, Srila Prabhupada was in transcendental bliss when writing his purports.

I was wondering how it would feel to actually experience transcendental bliss. Since I am still very much under the three modes of material nature, the flickering happiness that I experience in this conditioned world cannot be compared to the transcendental bliss that the cowherd men and women of Vraja experienced with little Krsna and Balarama. We, human beings, have a natural affection for small and sweet things – small babies, small pets and animals, etc. Even in this material world, parents derive great joy and bliss from the innocent activities of their babies. They enjoy seeing their babies crawl, uttering their first word, appearance of first teeth, trying to stand on their legs, and so on. How much more so is the transcendental bliss experienced by Mother Yasoda and Rohini who have as their child the sweetest babies of all of creation – Krsna and Balarama!

For me even to imagine how Krsna and Balarama must have crawled with their small hands and feet gives me great joy. What to speak of the joy experienced by the residents of Vraja who actually saw Krsna and Balarama crawl!! How sweet it would be to see Them running after the sounds of ankle bless! What a funny sight would it be to see Them catching the ends of the calves’ tails and being dragged everywhere! Can we even imagine how Krsna and Balarama must have looked with their bodies mixed with muddy earth, cow dung and urine?

I very much appreciate why the anonymous brahmana wrote:

śrutim apare smṛtim itare bhāratam anye bhajantu bhava-bhītāḥ
aham iha nandaṁ vande yasyālinde paraṁ brahma

“Let others, fearing material existence, worship the Vedas, the Vedic supplementary Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata, but I shall worship Nanda Mahārāja, in whose courtyard the Supreme Brahman is crawling.”

Krsna and Balarama’s childhood pastimes at Gokula are in particular very sweet, and more easily understood by the ordinary people in general. Their pastimes of stealing butter and yogurt from the houses of the cowherd ladies, and then feeding that same stolen butter and yogurt to Their friends and monkeys, or Them letting loose the gopis’ calves so they would drink all the cow’s milk, or They slaying so many demons, are just some of many childhood pastimes that can be appreciated by people of all ages. Just by hearing, narrating, and remembering these pastimes one can cross over the vast ocean of material nescience.

“Therefore Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lokasyājānato vidvāṁś cakre sātvata-saṁhitām (Bhāg. 1.7.6). Vyāsadeva compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, under the instruction of Nārada, so that anyone can take advantage of this literature, think of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and always be liberated.” (SB 10.8.21 Purport)

These sweet pastimes of Krsna make Him all-attractive.

“Kṛṣṇa is always pure, and He is always the Supreme Absolute Truth. Kṛṣṇa may do anything supposedly abominable in material life, yet still He is attractive. Therefore His name is Kṛṣṇa, meaning “all-attractive.” This is the platform on which transcendental loving affairs and service are exchanged. Because of the features of Kṛṣṇa’s face, the mothers were so attracted that they could not chastise Him. Instead of chastising Him, they smiled and enjoyed hearing of Kṛṣṇa’s activities. Thus the gopīs remained satisfied, and Kṛṣṇa enjoyed their happiness. Therefore another name of Kṛṣṇa is Gopī-jana-vallabha because He invented such activities to please the gopīs.” (SB 10.8.31 Purport)

Krsna’s Kaumara lila is what makes Damodarastakam so sweet to meditate upon during Kartik. After reading this lesson I can appreciate why Satyavrata Muni said,

“O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon [which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti]. O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrindavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?” (Damodarastakam 4)

May my conditioned and restless mind also get spontaneously attracted to the sweet childhood pastimes of Krsna and Balarama!!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The chronology of Lord Krsna’s appearance in each yuga is a bit perplexing.

Garga Muni told Nanda Maharaja: Your son Kṛṣṇa appears as an incarnation in every millennium. In the past, He assumed three different colors — white, red and yellow — and now He has appeared in a blackish color. [In another Dvāpara-yuga, He appeared (as Lord Rāmacandra) in the color of śuka, a parrot. All such incarnations have now assembled in Kṛṣṇa.] (SB 10.8.13)

Here is my confusion. This discussion between Garga Muni and Nanda Maharaja took place in Dvapara yuga when Lord Krsna actually appeared in His original form. Garga Muni said the Supreme Lord appeared as white, red and yellow in previous yugas. Can we assume that the Lord appeared as white in Satya-yuga and as red in Treta yuga? We know the Lord appeared as yellow in Kali-yuga (as Gauranga Mahaprabhu). Therefore, when Garga Muni said the Krsna already assumed yellow color in the past, how are we supposed to understand this? At the time when this discussion took place between Garga Muni and Nanda Maharaja, Kali Yuga had not yet appeared.

What is my source that Lord appeared as white in Satya-yuga and red in Treta-yuga? The Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes the incarnations for each yuga in chronological order. The Bhāgavatam says, kṛte śuklaś catur-bāhuḥ, tretāyāṁ rakta-varṇo’sau, dvāpare bhagavān śyāmaḥ and kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam.

SB 11.5.20: In each of the four yugas, or ages — Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali — Lord Keśava appears with various complexions, names and forms and is thus worshiped by various processes.

SB 11.5.21: In Satya-yuga the Lord is white and four-armed…

SB 11.5.24: In Tretā-yuga the Lord appears with a red complexion.

SB 11.5.27: In Dvāpara-yuga the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears with a dark blue complexion, wearing yellow garments.

Eleventh Canto does not mention to Krsna appearing as yellow before Kali-yuga. Therefore there seems to be a contradiction between Garga Muni’s statements and what is mentioned in the Eleventh canto.

In another place, Srila Prabhupada writes: “That is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by Garga Muni, who said that although the child Kṛṣṇa was blackish, He also appears in three other colors — red, white and yellow. He exhibited His white and red complexions in the Satya and Tretā ages respectively. He did not exhibit the remaining color, yellow-gold, until He appeared as Lord Caitanya, who is known as Gaurahari.” (SB 11.5.32)

Here also Srila Prabhupada indicates that Lord Krsna did not appear in yellow complexion until His appearance as Lord Caitanya. Therefore, Garga Muni’s explanation that Krsna appeared as yellow in previous yuga is perplexing.

I tried to refer to other acarya commentaries but couldn’t find a conclusive answer. My personal philosophy has been that whenever there are contradictions in the scriptures or something is not clearly explained, I take shelter of Srila Prabhupada’s explanation. In this case, Srila Prabhupada clears up the confusion in the purport. He says:

“To adjust all these statements, one should understand that although in some yugas some of the colors are prominent, in every yuga, whenever Kṛṣṇa appears, all the colors are present. Kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam: although Caitanya Mahāprabhu appears without kṛṣṇa, or a blackish color, He is understood to be Kṛṣṇa Himself. Idānīṁ kṛṣṇatāṁ gataḥ. The same original Kṛṣṇa who appears in different varṇas has now appeared. The word āsan indicates that He is always present. Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears in His full feature, He is understood to be kṛṣṇa-varṇam, although He appears in different colors. Prahlāda Mahārāja states that Caitanya Mahāprabhu is channa; that is, although He is Kṛṣṇa, He is covered by a yellow color. Thus the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas accept the conclusion that although Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in pīta color, He is Kṛṣṇa.”

Then I wondered why I need to get into all these perplexing details. It is more important to chantg the Holy Name of the Lord which is the top-most benediction for this age.

SB 11.5.32: In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.

It is, therefore, important to follow the teachings of Lord Caitanya and worship Him by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

“Therefore, to worship Lord Caitanya, everyone should together chant the mahā-mantra — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. To propagate worship in churches, temples or mosques is not possible because people have lost interest in that. But anywhere and everywhere, people can chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. Thus worshiping Lord Caitanya, they can perform the highest activity and fulfill the highest religious purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord.” (SB 11.5.32 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

One thing that caught my attention in this lesson is the art of asking the right questions to sadhus.

When Garga Muni had been properly received as a guest and was very comfortably seated, Nanda Mahārāja submitted with gentle and submissive words: Dear sir, because you are a devotee, you are full in everything. Yet my duty is to serve you. Kindly order me. What can I do for you? (SB 10.8.3)

In the purport, Srila Prabhupada writes, “Nanda Mahārāja could understand that Garga Muni had come for this purpose and that his own duty now was to act according to Garga Muni’s advice. Thus he said, “Please tell me what is my duty.” This should be the attitude of everyone, especially the householder.”

When Parīkṣit Maharaja was cursed to die within seven days and Sukadeva Goswami visited him, he asked Sukadeva Goswami, “You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die. Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and also what he should not do. Please explain all this to me.” (SB 1.19.37-38)

Sukadeva Goswami replied, “My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists.” (SB 2.1.1)

Suta Goswami, when narrating this conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit Maharaja, to the sages of Naimisranya also said something similar, “O sages, I have been justly questioned by you. Your questions are worthy because they relate to Lord Kṛṣṇa and so are of relevance to the world’s welfare. Only questions of this sort are capable of completely satisfying the self.” (SB 1.2.5)

Srila Prabhupada explains that simply by such questioning and hearing, one can achieve the highest perfectional stage of life. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Person, any question about Him is original and perfect. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that the highest perfection of life is to achieve the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa. Because questions and answers about Kṛṣṇa elevate one to that transcendental position, the questions of Mahārāja Parīkṣit about Kṛṣṇa philosophy are greatly glorified. (SB 2.1.1 Purport)

Srila Prabhupada explains very deeply about the art of questions and answers.

“The whole world is full of questions and answers. The birds, beasts and men are all busy in the matter of perpetual questions and answers. In the morning the birds in the nest become busy with questions and answers, and in the evening also the same birds come back and again become busy with questions and answers. The human being, unless he is fast asleep at night, is busy with questions and answers. The businessmen in the market are busy with questions and answers, and so also the lawyers in the court and the students in the schools and colleges. The legislators in the parliament are also busy with questions and answers, and the politicians and the press representatives are all busy with questions and answers. Although they go on making such questions and answers for their whole lives, they are not at all satisfied. Satisfaction of the soul can only be obtained by questions and answers on the subject of Krishna.

Krishna is our most intimate master, friend, father or son and object of conjugal love. Forgetting Krishna, we have created so many objects of questions and answers, but none of them are able to give us complete satisfaction. All things but Krishna give temporary satisfaction only, so if we are to have complete satisfaction we must take to the questions and answers about Krishna. We cannot live for a moment without being questioned or without giving answers. Because the Srimad-Bhagavatam deals with questions and answers that are related to Krishna, we can derive the highest satisfaction only by reading and hearing this transcendental literature. One should learn the Srimad-Bhagavatam and make an all- around solution to all problems pertaining to social, political or religious matters. Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krishna are the sum total of all things.” (SB 1.2.5 Purport)

Therefore the questions that we ask the speakers should be intelligent and beneficial to all listeners. Such questions and answers should help one advance on the spiritual path and should be practically applied in our day-to-day life.

If the sages of Naimisaranya or Pariksit Maharaja had not asked such practical questions we wouldn’t have had this opportunity to cherish this transcendental scripture of Srimad Bhagavatam.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It is mentioned by our acaryas that Trnāvarta represents the false pride produced by useless scholarship, which gives rise to wrangling debates and arguments, dry reasoning, and dry logical indulgences in the association of people who are attached to such things.

While meditating on this anartha, I could see a connection to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastime. Before Mahaprabhu took shelter of Srila Ishvara Puri, He engaged in debates and arguments with other scholars. Navadvipa was a hotbed of philosophical debates during that time. Mahaprabhu liked to show off His scholarship to others. He even defeated Keshava Kashmiri who had been traveling to centers of learning all over India, debating the Sanskrit Vedic literatures with scholars. In spite of Mahaprabhu’s reputation as a scholar, Ishvara Puri, His spiritual master, chastised Him:

“You are a fool. You are not qualified to study Vedānta philosophy, and therefore You must always chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. This is the essence of all mantras, or Vedic hymns.

Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa one can obtain freedom from material existence. Indeed, simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra one will be able to see the lotus feet of the Lord.

In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.”

(CC Adi 7.72-74)

Receiving this order from His spiritual master, Lord Caitanya immediately exhibited ecstatic symptoms of love of God by chanting the Holy Name of Krsna and gave up dry scholarship and debates.

Through this pastime, Mahaprabhu is teaching us that we need to kill the Trnavarta within our heart if we want to get a taste for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in Sri Krishna Samhita: “Persons who are on the path of attachment should avoid the first obstacle, accepting a bogus guru, by discussing Putana’s arrival in Vraja in the guise of a nurse. The second obstacle is false arguments. It is difficult for one’s ecstatic emotion to be awakened until Trnavarta, in the form of a whirlwind, is killed in Vraja. In the form of Trnavarta, the arguments of philosophers, Buddhists, and logicians are all obstacles to the ecstatic emotion of Vraja.”

As sadhakas, it is important that we endeavor to remove these various anarthas that are stumbling blocks on our path to attain pure devotional service to Krsna. Some of these anarthas could be eliminated by our own endeavor and purity, and others can be destroyed by the mercy of Krsna.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It’s good to be back with our regular study of Srimad Bhagavatam in the association of like-minded devotees.

For this forum post, I would like to focus on the 1^st and 2^nd verse which talks mainly about the benefits of hearing topics about Krsna.

SB 10.7.1-2: King Parīkṣit said: My lord, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, all the various activities exhibited by the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are certainly pleasing to the ear and to the mind. Simply by one’s hearing of these activities, the dirty things in one’s mind immediately vanish. Generally we are reluctant to hear about the activities of the Lord, but Kṛṣṇa’s childhood activities are so attractive that they are automatically pleasing to the mind and ear. Thus one’s attachment for hearing about material things, which is the root cause of material existence, vanishes, and one gradually develops devotional service to the Supreme Lord, attachment for Him, and friendship with devotees who give us the contribution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If you think it fit, kindly speak about those activities of the Lord.

Srila Prabhupada, in his purport to these verses, succinctly captures the essence of Krsna consciousness movement. He says that the root cause of all our suffering is due to our various material desires. However, this root cause of suffering can be removed by revival of our original Krsna consciousness. This revival fundamentally begins with hearing and chanting about Krsna. Therefore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vedic literatures exist simply to give us a chance to hear about Kṛṣṇa.

Unfortunately, we have no attraction for hearing about Krsna, and this is the root cause of our suffering. The first two verses of this chapter highlight five main benefits of hearing Krsna-katha. It says that by repeatedly hearing Krsna-katha, two things disappear and three things appear.

The two things that DISAPPEAR are (1) our distaste for hearing and chanting, and (2) our ending material desires. Hari indicates the Lord who takes away all our suffering and faults. Isvara indicates the Lord who attracts our internal and external senses. The mind has no inclination to hearing about Krsna, and even if it has, there are various other desires. But hearing about Krsna vanquishes both disinclination and material desires.

The three things that APPEAR from hearing hari-katha are:

• Sattvam (Purity): The heart becomes purified by hearing about Krsna. Lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, illusion and madness disappear from the heart. Instead qualities such as sense of selflessness, tolerance, compassion and humility start to arise. All that we talk about, hear about, desire and aspire about gradually arise in the heart. When the heart becomes pure because of destruction of impure desires, it becomes capable of comprehending rasa. This purification happens quickly by hearing all the pastimes of Krsna, but more slowly in the case of hearing the pastimes of the avataras.
• Bhakti: By hearing about Krsna, actual devotion unto Krsna arises in our heart.
• Friendship with devotees develops.  By hearing, bhakti or prema to the Lord, who attracts the devotees, appears and friendship with devotees also develops.

“The pastimes of Kṛṣṇa can be properly received from devotees. If one has developed a little bit of Kṛṣṇa consciousness by hearing from Vaiṣṇavas about the activities of Kṛṣṇa, one becomes attached to Vaiṣṇavas who are interested only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” (SB 10.7.1-2 Purport)

Therefore Pariksit Maharaja, in these two verses, welcomes the narrations of the unlimited pastimes of Krsna. With great eagerness, he requests Sukadeva Goswami to continue with more stories about Krsna.

SB 10.7.3: Please describe other pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality, who appeared on this planet earth, imitating a human child and performing wonderful activities like killing Pūtanā.

SB 3.25.25: In the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

(Reference cited: Brhad Vaisanava Tosani by Srila Sanatana Goswami)

Hare Krsna,

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna is known as bhava-grahi janardana because He takes only the essence of a devotee’s attitude. If a devotee sincerely surrenders unto Him, the Lord, as the Supersoul in everyone’s heart, immediately understands this. Thus, even though, externally, a devotee may not render full service, if he is internally sincere and serious the Lord welcomes his service nonetheless. Thus, the Lord is known as bhava-grahi janardana because He takes the essence of one’s devotional mentality.

This means Krsna sees our intentions and not our actions. If our intentions are pure and without any material motives and executed even if faultily, Krsna accepts it. One beautiful example in this regard is of Vidura’s wife. Vidura’s wife was totally lost in her intense devotion for the Lord. Once when Krsna walked into her house and seated Himself comfortably on an asana, He told her that He was hungry. She immediately ran into the kitchen. She had not cooked anything. When she looked around she saw a bunch of bananas lying there. She brought them and sat down below His asana. She picked up a banana, peeled the skin and instead of giving the fruit to Krsna, she gave the banana peel to Krsna to eat and threw away the fruit. She was totally beyond her body consciousness and the surroundings. Krsna, who accepts anything offered with love and devotion, very happily accepted the peel and ate it relishing it all the time. She continued to give the Lord peel after peel and the Lord continued partaking it.

Therefore, Krsna says in BG 9.26: “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”

The pastime of Putana is very interesting because in this case, Krsna, instead of considering her evil intention, saw her action and mercifully accepted it. Even though she came with the intention of killing Him by feeding her breastmilk, Krsna took her motherly act into consideration and ignored her demoniac intention. Not only that, He even granted her a position of a nurse in the spiritual world. Remembering this Uddhava went into ecstasy and narrated this merciful nature to Vidura.

SB 3.2.23: Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Pūtanā] although she was unfaithful, and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?

In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that this is an example of the extreme mercy of the Lord, even to His enemy. Lord Kṛṣṇa accepted the motherhood of Pūtanā because she pretended to be an affectionate mother, allowing Kṛṣṇa to suck her breast. The Lord accepts the least qualification of the living entity and awards him the highest reward. That is the standard of His character. Therefore, who but the Lord can be the ultimate shelter?

Another similar example is that of Ajamila. Even though He cried out the name of his youngest son, Narayana, at the time of his death, the all-merciful Lord immediately sent His Visnudhutas to rescue him from the agents of Yamaraja. This is another instance of the Lord taking into account the action of Ajamila even though his intention was not really to call out the Lord but his son.

This pastime of Putana therefore gives me tremendous hope. The hope that just by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord even though impurely or somewhat offensively or even inattentively, Krsna will accept our chanting and bestow on us the right benedictions. This is why Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is considered the most merciful incarnation.

namo mahā-vadānyāya | kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te

kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-nāmne | gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.” (CC Madhya 19.53)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

I would like to share Putana’s past life so that we have a context why she behaved the way she did. Brahma-vaivarta Purana mentions that in her last life Putana was Ratnamala, the younger sister of Bali Maharaja. However, Garga Samhita mentions that she was the daughter of Bali Maharaja. At the time when Bali Maharaja was visited by Lord Vamanadeva she also witnessed His arrival. As soon as Ratnamala had set her eyes on the Lord, she desired that He might become her son wishing to suckle Him out of maternal affection. The Supreme Lord, feeling obliged to Bali Maharaja, His pure devotee, and understanding her heart, addressed Ratnamala, promising that whatever desire she was cherishing at that moment would be fulfilled. However, when Ratnamala saw how Lord Vamanadeva tricked her father/brother and tied him up like a vagabond, she became angry and bitter. Looking at the Lord she thought maliciously: “If you become my son then not only will I feed you, but I will also kill you!” According to the original benediction that Lord Vamanadeva had offered, Ratnamala would have the opportunity to suckle Him as her child. However, because her sentiments had now swung so violently to the opposite extreme, by exercise of His unlimited intelligence, Lord Vamanadeva ingeniously supplied the solution by smoothly incorporating the suitable reactions to both diverse desires in a single pastime. Thus at the end of Dvapara-yuga she became known as Putana and fulfilled her desires. Then, by Lord Krishna’s touch, she attained liberation too.

Another interesting point that our acaryas comment upon is why Krsna closed His eyes.

SB 10.6.8: Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the all-pervading Supersoul, lying on the bed, understood that Pūtanā, a witch who was expert in killing small children, had come to kill Him. Therefore, as if afraid of her, Kṛṣṇa closed His eyes. Thus Pūtanā took upon her lap Him who was to be her own annihilation, just as an unintelligent person places a sleeping snake on his lap, thinking the snake to be a rope.

Srila Visvanatha Chakravarty Thakura comments that Krsna closed His eyes – (a) to show His fearfulness as a small child; (b) to avoid seeing such an inauspicious person; (c) to avoid making the violence auspicious by the touch of His auspicious glance; (d) to avoid the shame of killing a woman posing as a mother, and (e) to avoid seeing the inauspiciousness of Pütanä’s death.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura compared Putana to false guru or pseudo guru. Putana appeared as a loving mother externally, but she was a dangerous demon internally. Thus, Putana represents a pseudo guru, or a so called teacher who seems to be genuine, but actually unauthentic and deviant. A pseudo guru may appear in multiple forms. A fake guru is one who teaches one’s students sense gratification or liberation or both.

Being greedy, foolish people desire excessive material wealth and undue enjoyment, and seek so-called gurus who suggest them shortcuts that appear religious. These fake gurus often seek wealth and enjoyment for themselves from and through the ignorant masses who approach them for the same. These materialistic gurus misdirect such people with some mantras or rituals to attain material wealth, fame, influence and so on. However, ultimately all material prosperity is temporary and is lost at any moment.

There are other people who are frustrated with sense gratification and thus develop some spiritual inclinations. Unfortunately, they sometimes approach gurus who direct them towards impersonal liberation. These gurus teach detachment from material enjoyment, and emphasize that liberation (moksha), i.e., merging in the effulgence of God (Brahman) as all in all. However, detachment from material enjoyment has to be accompanied by attachment to spiritual enjoyment. And the ultimate spiritual enjoyment of the soul is in the eternal activity of loving and serving (bhakti) Krsna, and not just merge in His effulgence to be inactive. Thus, the gurus who direct people towards liberation are cheating and depriving people of their real fortune of loving company of God in His eternal abode.

Sometimes one’s materially contaminated mind also acts like a pseudo guru. The mind carries millions of material impressions from past lives and is the storehouse of unlimited material desires for selfish enjoyment. Such mind inwardly presents mundane reasoning and manifests as a so-called spiritual guide. Trusting the deviant and distracted mind, a spiritual seeker gives into its desires and obsessions. The right course of action recommended for a devotee, however, is to sharpen one’s intelligence with spiritual knowledge presented in the scriptures. With deliberate spiritual intelligence one must control the fickle mind and make it focus on one’s spiritual practices and come closer to Krsna.

Therefore, a sincere spiritual seeker has to diligently protect oneself from falling into the clutches of pseudo gurus who manifest outwardly (fake gurus) and inwardly (fickle mind). And one must seek shelter of the real gurus who appear inwardly as the Supersoul and outwardly as a pure devotee like Srila Prabhupada. If we are sincere in seeking shelter of Krsna, He will divert us from fake gurus and direct us towards authentic gurus of bhakti. Under the guidance of such gurus, we can easily attain the lotus feet of Krsna in His eternal abode.

Putana pastime is so deep and enriching!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada and acaryas for bringing out the sublime nectar and teachings from the Putana lila!