Hare Krsna,

The qualities of demoniac people (and kings) are perfectly enunciated by Lord Krsna in BG Chapter 16. The whole chapter deals with the divine and demoniac natures. In BG 16.13-15, Lord Krsna tells Arjuna,

“The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful, and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.” In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.”

This verse perfectly portrays the conditions and mentality of demoniac rulers today. Greed is their main driver. Let me take an example. The largest country in the world by size of land mass is Russia. It has 11% of the world land mass. Ukraine, on the other hand, has only 0.4% of the world landmass. But still the bigger country wants to annex the smaller country that is far less powerful and populated. What is the need? Just sheer greed. As Krsna says, “so much wealth I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes.” In this case, Russia is not happy being the largest country in the world; it wants more land. This greed arises from lack of God consciousness. Because these rulers do not believe in or accept God as the sole proprietor of everything, they want to be the controller and enjoyer of everything in this world. They want to fulfill their sinister desires by trampling on the dead bodies of innocent civilians.

On the other hand of the spectrum, Svayambhuva Manu perfectly exemplifies how a qualified king should rule. He believed and applied the principle of Yajnārtha-karma – that work should be done only for the satisfaction of Visnu. He acknowledged his kingdom and opulence to be gifts from the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus always engaged in devotional service. Svāyambhuva Manu created an atmosphere of complete Krsna consciousness in his kingdom. There is always chanting and hearing of the glories of Krsna.

“Emperor Svāyambhuva Manu enjoyed life with his wife and subjects and fulfilled his desires without being disturbed by unwanted principles contrary to the process of religion. Celestial musicians and their wives sang in chorus about the pure reputation of the Emperor, and early in the morning, every day, he used to listen to the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with a loving heart.” (SB 3.22.23)

There is a dire need of a qualified king and ruler in today’s society. That leader will not sprout from today’s society drowned in sheer sense gratification. The leader can only rise from a culture of pure God consciousness or Krsna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada had great hopes to see a Krsna conscious leader in the world. It has been more than 45 years that Srila Prabhupada left this mortal world. But we are still awaiting to see that day when a Krsna conscious leader will take charge. It does not matter what faith the leader belongs to. He/She may be a Vaisnava, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. Whoever he/she may be, he/she should strictly abide by the scriptures and rule according to those principles.

Any leader must always remember the “peace formula” given by Krsna in BG 5.29: “A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

By practicing and preaching the simple method of chanting the holy names of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare – let us hope to install a pure devotee of the Lord as the most qualified ruler of this age. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The conversation between Svayambhuva Manu and Kardama Muni is deep, profound, and full of instructive lessons for us. There are quite a few things that stood out for me.

“”My daughter is the sister of Priyavrata and Uttānapāda. She is seeking a suitable husband in terms of age, character, and good qualities.” (SB 3.22.9)

This is a very important guiding principle for anyone trying to find a suitable life partner. One should look at the age, character, and good qualities of one’s prospective partner. Unfortunately, in today’s misguided age, people only look at good looks and good bank balance. Their choice of partner is at a superficial level. The result is that marriages do not last very long nowadays. Unfortunately, even devotees do not always follow the above principle in choosing their partners. My spiritual master once narrated to me about his conversation with another big, famous, and respected sannyasi in ISKCON. I will not disclose his name because I do not have his permission. He told my spiritual master that many devotees do not strictly follow the four regulative principles. They follow three and a half regulative principles. I was curious which regulative principle is violated the most. The sannyasi said that the regulative principle is ‘no illicit sex’. I was left speechless after hearing this.

Traditionally in India, arranged marriages followed this principle of considering someone for marriage by age, character and good qualities. During my younger days whenever I heard of any marriage discussions in the family, the usual questions asked about the groom and bride used to be always, “Is the boy of good character? Does he have any bad habits or bad association? Does he respect his parents and elders? How is his relationship with everyone in the family? Is the girl shy, well-mannered and respectful to everyone? Is she religious and spiritual? Is she Goddess Lakshmi (means does she represent the good qualities of the Goddess)? Who are the parents of the boy (or girl)? Are they from respectable family?” As you can see, the whole line of inquiry is about character, family background, good qualities, culture, etc.

Unfortunately, nowadays the line of assessing a bride or groom goes like this: “How educated is the boy/girl? Where does he/she work? What is his/her monthly income? Where does the boy live and work? (Men who work abroad are rated highly) Does the boy have his own house, car, and maidservants? How many houses does he have? Has he paid off all the mortgages? Is he debt-free? Does he live with his parents or independently? (Men who live independently away from joint family system are preferred). Is the girl beautiful? Is she modern in her outlook and behavior? Is she ok to settle abroad with our boy?”

As you can see, how far our society has fallen down from the ideal principles set by Svayambhuva Manu and Kardama Muni!!

Another point that stood out for me from this conversation between Svayambhuva Manu and Kardama Muni is this:

“The moment she heard from the sage Nārada of your noble character, learning, beautiful appearance, youth and other virtues, she fixed her mind upon you.” (SB 3.22.10)

Aren’t we all trying to apply this principle in our journey in Krsna bhakti? Don’t we all want to fall in love with Krsna and desire him intensely by hearing about His qualities, form, pastimes, etc.? Queen Rukmini fell in love with Krsna just by hearing about His glories. She did not even see Him once. But she decided to marry none other than Krsna. This shows how important is hearing from bonafide sources. Devahuti heard about Karadama Muni from Narada Muni.

“O my Lord, Your devotees can see You through the ears by the process of bona fide hearing, and thus their hearts become cleansed, and You take Your seat there. You are so merciful to Your devotees that You manifest Yourself in the particular eternal form of transcendence in which they always think of You.” (SB 3.9.11)

The last point that stood out for me is: “The highest authority for me is the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom this wonderful creation emanates and in whom its sustenance and dissolution rest. He is the origin of all Prajāpatis, the personalities meant to produce living entities in this world.” (SB 3.22.20)

This means that while I am busy engaged in fulfilling my family, societal, professional, and other responsibilities, I must remember that my ultimate goal is Krsna. He is my highest authority. Somehow or other I must always remember Him through the process of hearing and chanting His Holy Name. I must remind myself that Krsna is my life and soul. I belong to no one other than Him. This material world is not my real home. My real home is where Krsna lives eternally with His friends, family and associates. As we will see in later chapters, Kardama Muni, after fulfilling his family responsibilities, leaves home to attain self-realization in Krsna consciousness. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Work now, samadhi later.” Kardama Muni did just the same and became a wonderful example for all of us to follow.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

For me it is hard to say at what moment in my life association with a saintly person changed direction of my life. I grew up in a family of demigod worshippers. We would visit many temples and interact with many holy people. Who knew whether there was a pure saintly person in that midst of such holy people who blessed me? Who knew whether a very sincere and renounced devotee of Lord Siva, who our family is very attached to, blessed me to become a devotee of Krsna? Being a devotee of Krsna, surely he knew that Lord Siva is vaisnavanam yatha sambhu (Lord Siva is the greatest devotee of the Supreme Lord). Who knew whether it was a co-passenger from Mathura in my flight from India to London who kept talking to me non-stop about Krsna and blessed me secretly? Who knew whether it was a sankirtana devotee at my graduate school in Minneapolis who gave me a copy of Srimad Bhagavad Gita that changed my life? There is no doubt that association with saintly persons definitely changed the course of my life. Like the Avantika brahmana in Srimad Bhagavatam who considered both moving and non-living entities as his guru, I also consider all the different people who came into my life as arrangement by Lord Krsna to put me on the path of bhakti.

There is no doubt that association with Srila Prabhupada through his vani (his books and classes) played the most significant role in my devotional life. Whereas other saintly person may have blessed me to develop faith in the Lord, Srila Prabhupada really opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. As I mentioned in the previous post, I spent the last 8 days in New Vrindaban with advanced devotees. I was also very fortunate to associate with my dear spiritual master HH Varsana Swami Maharaja. Coming in contact with my spiritual master a few years ago gave me a new impetus to my bhakti life.

The amazing thing about bhakti is that our desire to associate with saintly persons increase every day. There is no satiation. Even a so-called new devotee in ISKCON is a saintly person because he/she is continue his/her Krsna consciousness from previous life. We should, therefore, not take association of saintly persons for granted. Rather we should develop the mood to hear from them, inquire about their realizations of bhakti, serve them, and seek their blessings. In one of my earlier trips to New Vrindavana during the summer this year, I met a wonderful small boy of 5-6 years old. His name is Om. My spiritual master met him a few months ago and was very impressed by the level of spiritual advancement of this young devotee. He recommended me to meet this boy whenever I get a chance. When I finally met him, I was so inspired. He is 100% Krsna conscious. His father told me that on his first day at school, he preached to the teachers and other students about the virtues of vegetarianism because the school was serving meat for lunch. He was not afraid to speak the truth and preach about Krsna conscious principles. He has so much potential that his mom (who is a doctor) gave up her profession so that she could take proper care of him and ensure that he turns out to be a great devotee. By associating with him, I realized that I do not possess even one percent of bhakti  and realization this young devotee has. I am sharing this story just to prove the point that saintly persons come from different cultures, different ages, and different places. We should not blind sight ourselves by thinking that saintly persons are there only in ISKCON. The Supreme Lord is all pervading; His energies are all pervading. Similarly His devotees also exist everywhere. We must be on the look out for such devotees and seek their association.

“Lord Caitanya says that one should always try to associate with saintly persons because if one establishes a proper association with a saintly person, even for a moment, one attains all perfection. Somehow or other, if one meets a saintly person and achieves his favor, then the entire mission of one’s human life is fulfilled…Thus it is actually a fact that if one meets a saintly person completely engaged in transcendental duties and achieves his favor, then one’s life mission becomes complete. What is not possible to achieve in thousands of lives can be achieved in one moment if there is an opportunity to meet a saintly person. It is therefore enjoined in Vedic literature that one should always try to associate with saintly persons and try to disassociate oneself from the common man, because by one word of a saintly person one can be liberated from material entanglement.” (SB 3.22.5 Purport)

‘sādhu-saṅga’, ‘sādhu-saṅga’—sarva-śāstre kaya

lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya

“The verdict of all revealed scriptures is that by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success.” (CC Madhya 22.54)

Only association with pure saintly devotees can give us the taste for chanting the Holy Name of the Lord.

“The chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord. When the mantra is chanted by a pure devotee of the Lord in love, it has the greatest efficacy on hearers, and as such this chanting should be heard from the lips of a pure devotee of the Lord, so that immediate effects can be achieved.” (The Science of Self Realization) All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

This forum topic is so timely. As I write this, I am in New Vrindavana (West Virginia) this week to spend the last few days of Kartika (Damodara) month in this beautiful country-side holy place. Yesterday as I was taking a japa walk and meditating on the varnasrama system, I saw an old time resident of New Vrindavana collecting fire wood for the winter. He is a disciple of HDG Srila Prabhupada and his name is Tapakunja prabhu. He has been living in New Vrindavana since 1974. During the course of our chitchat, he mentioned how it is important for everyone to get connected to the land. He said real varnasrama system starts from the land and cows (trade, cows and agriculture). He mentioned that Srila Prabhupada’s only regret was he could not set up the varnasrama system. I looked up to find the source of that conversation. I am pasting the excerpts of that conversation below:

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Here is Abhirāma prabhu’s direct encounter:

I was personally present on two occasions when Srila Prabhupada spoke about how important establishing varṇāśrama was to him. Both times were in the summer of 1977, in Prabhupada’s room in Vrindavan, before he left to go to London. At the time, Tamal Krishna Goswami was Srila Prabhupada’s personal secretary, and I his assistant. I was also Prabhupada’s nurse.

The first time, several devotees were there with Srila Prabhupada. We knew that his health was getting weaker. He was talking to the devotees about his imminent departure. “I have no lamentation,” Prabhupada said. He paused for a few seconds, and then he said, “No, I have one lamentation.” A devotee asked, “Because you have not finished translating the Srīmad Bhāgavatam?” Prabhupada replied, “No, that I have not established varṇāśrama.”

On the next occasion, some time later, I was with Srila Prabhupada in his room when he made the statement, “Fifty percent of my work is not complete because I have not established varṇāśrama.”

I remember one more quote from that summer. Prabhupada stated, “I want to establish varṇāśrama.” A devotee asked, “How will you do that, Srila Prabhupada?” and he replied, “I will go to Gīta Nāgari, I will sit down, and I will teach you to live off the land.” I personally consider that to be the bīja mantra [seed mantra] of varṇāśrama.

– Excerpt from Srila Prabhupada on Varnasrama (1999)

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My realization is that without a real varnasrama system we go through an ‘identity crisis.’ Let me explain. From a personal standpoint, I still am not sure what exactly are my ‘varna’ and ‘ashrama’. I am single. Therefore I am neither a grhastha (householder), vanaprastha (semi retired), or sannyasa (renounced order). I used to think I am a brahmacari. But one devotee told me that real brahmacaris are those who stay with their spiritual masters or in the temple full-time. This left me more confused about my ashrama. Looks like I am in the middle of nowhere. From a varna standpoint, I am not sure either. I think I fall under sudra category but I am not sure. All I know is that I am not happy with my work life and the work I am doing. Maybe my varna is meant for something else. This is what I meant by ‘identity crisis’. This identity crisis is prevalent in the whole world resulting in unhappiness, distress, and misery – all due to the lack of a proper varnasrama system. Even India has failed this system big time.

In the conversation between Lord Caitanya and Ramananda Raya, Lord Caitanya asked a question about the advancement of spiritual knowledge, the Lord Himself said, “Please quote some verses from scripture about the ultimate goal of human life.” Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya at once replied: “A person who is sincere in his occupational duty will gradually develop a sense of God consciousness.” He also quoted a verse from Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9) which states that the Supreme Lord is worshiped by one’s occupational duty and that there is no alternative for satisfying Him. The purport is that human life is meant for understanding one’s relationship with the Supreme Lord, and by acting in that way any human being can dovetail himself in the service of the Lord by discharging his prescribed duties. For this purpose human society is divided into four classes: the intellectuals (brāhmaṇas), the administrators (kṣatriyas), the merchants (vaiśyas), and the laborers (śūdras). After hearing Rāmānanda Rāya expound upon the proper execution of a regulated life, Lord Caitanya said that such regulations are simply external. Indirectly He asked Rāmānanda to expound on something superior to such an external exhibition. Formal execution of rituals and religion is useless unless it culminates in the perfection of devotional service. (Source: TLC 27)

In other words, Lord Caitanya rejected the varnasrama system as the ultimate goal of life.

In this age of Kali Yuga, it is not possible to establish or follow real varnasrama system. The only activity recommended in this age is the chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

“For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.” (CC Adi 7.76)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Lord Kapiladeva is non-different from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is one of the plenary expansions of the Lord. The plenary expansions are also non-different from the Lord. Like a candle lit from the original candle as the same potency and brightness, there is no difference between the immediate expansion of the Lord and His secondary expansions. Since the Lord is absolute, His name, His form, His pastimes, His paraphernalia and His qualities all have the same potency. However, it must be noted that Lord Krsna is the source of all other incarnations (ete camas kalah pumsah, krsnas tu Bhagavan svayam – SB 1.3.28).

Lord Kapiladeva is the author of the philosophical system known as Sankhya. Sankhya is both a system of metaphysics, dealing with the elemental principles of the physical universe, and a system of spiritual knowledge, with its own methodology, culminating in full Krsna consciousness. Lord Kapiladeva appeared in this world as the son of Kardama Muni, a master of mystic yoga, and his wife, Devahuti.

I want to write a little bit about Sankhya philosophy. When I was very new to Krsna consciousness, I used to think that Sankhya philosophy has nothing to with bhakti. I may have been deceived by the concepts of godless Sankhya philosophy propounded by another Kapiladeva. Having read Srila Prabhupada’s books regularly, I now understand that Sankhya philosophy deals with the elemental categories or principles of the physical universe – what in the Western world is known as metaphysics. It enumerates principles of cosmic evolution by rational analysis. It also expounds analytical knowledge that enables one to distinguish between matter and spirit.

“According to Sankhya philosophy, the material cosmos is composed of twenty-four elements: the five gross material elements, the three subtle material elements, the five knowledge-acquiring senses, the five active senses, the five objects of sense pleasure, and the mahat-tattva (the total material energy).” (CC Adi 5.14 Purport)

This understanding culminates in bhakti, devotion for and service to the Supreme.

Lord Caitanya’s teachings are also very similar to the teachings of Lord Kapiladeva.

“Lord Caitanya’s teachings are identical to those given by Lord Kapila, the original propounder of sankhya-yoga, the sankhya system of philosophy. This authorized system of yoga teaches meditation on the transcendental form of the Lord. There is no question of meditating on something void or impersonal. When one can meditate on the transcendental form of Lord Viṣṇu even without practicing involved sitting postures, such meditation is called perfect samadhi. That this kind of meditation is perfect samadhi is confirmed at the end of the Sixth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, where Lord Kṛṣna says that of all yogis, the greatest is the one who constantly thinks of the Lord within the core of his heart with love and devotion.” (CC Preface)

In fact, Lord Caitanya gives a wonderful and most practical method to practice Sankhya-yoga meditation in this age.

“On the basis of the sankhya philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, which maintains that the Supreme Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation, Lord Caitanya taught that the most practical way for the mass of people to practice sankhya -yoga meditation is simply to chant the holy name of the Lord. He taught that the holy name of the Lord is the sound incarnation of the Lord and that since the Lord is the absolute whole, there is no difference between His holy name and His transcendental form. Thus by chanting the holy name of the Lord one can directly associate with the Supreme Lord by sound vibration.” (CC Preface)

It is amazing how Lord Caitanya connects everything to the Holy Name of the Lord. Therefore by chanting with the Holy Name of the Lord, we too can imbibe the teachings of Lord Kapiladeva just as Mother Devahuti did.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It is important to understand the concept of acintya-bhedabheda-tattva to understand the difference between personalist and impersonalist points of view. This theory of simultaneous oneness and difference between the individual soul and the Supersoul is propounded by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva. According to the acintya-bhedabheda principle, the living entity is eternal (nitya) like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the difference is that the Supreme Lord is the greatest, no one being equal to or greater than Him, whereas the living entity is sūkṣma, or extremely small.

A popular example is taken of the sun. the sunshine is not different from the sun itself, but it is simultaneously also different. One may be in the sunshine, but he is not on the sun itself. Similarly, the living entities are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord; they are same in quality but not in quantity. The living entities are infinitesimal parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord.

The Supreme Lord is one but His expansions are various. Ete camas kalah pumsah, Krsna tum Bhagavan svayam (SB 1.3.28). There are many expansions of the Supreme Lord but Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” (Sri Isopanisad 1)

The difference between the personalist and impersonalist point of view arises here. The impersonalists say that everything is one. Although so many emanations emanate from the Lord, they say that they are same as the Lord. Not everything is one. The trunk is not one with the leaf, but ultimately because the root is the cause, so there is no difference between the trunk and the leaf.

“The true understanding is that the differences are manifested by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The seed is manifested as a tree, which displays varieties in its trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits.” (SB 7.9.31 P)

In the 10^th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krsna gives several examples how everything is His energy. He says that of all the Adityas He is Visnu; of the Maruts he is Marici; of all the Rudras he is Lord Siva; of priests He is Brhaspati, and so on. This does not mean that Visnu, Marici, Rudras, Siva,etc., are same as the Supreme Lord Krsna Himself. It simply means that Krsna is the source of everything and everyone; but He retains His supreme position always. Even when He comes to this material world, He is always Krsna – the Supreme Lord. The baby form of Krsna is still Bhagavan. Krsna does not lose His “Godhood” just because He appears in various forms and incarnations in this material world. He is like the sun that can never be covered by the clouds. The clouds can obstruct out vision of the sun momentarily; but can never cover the sun. Similarly, when the Supreme Lord appears in this material world, He can never be covered by maya. Otherwise why would Krsna say that by simply surrendering unto Him, we can overcome maya (daivi hy esa gunamayi – BG 7.14).

Therefore the impersonalists’ view that the Supreme Absolute Truth, transforming Himself into the universe, loses His separate existence is wrong. Rather than considering everything in the world to be Lord, we must see everything as the property of the Lord.

“Everything, whatever we see, is the manifestation of the Supreme Lord; therefore, everything should be engaged in the service of the Lord. This is oneness. The difference between the impersonalist and the personalist is that the impersonalist does not accept the separate existence of the Lord, but the personalist accepts the Lord; he understands that although He distributes Himself in so many ways, He has His separate personal existence…There is a nice example regarding the sun and the sunshine. The sun, by its sunshine, is spread all over the universe, and all the planets rest on the sunshine. But all the planets are different from the sun planet; one cannot say that because the planets are resting on the sunshine, these planets are also the sun. Similarly, the impersonal or pantheistic view that everything is God is not a very intelligent proposal. The real position, as explained by the Lord Himself, is that although nothing can exist without Him, it is not a fact that everything is Him. He is different from everything. So here also the Lord says, “You will see everything in the world to be nondifferent from Me.” This means that everything should be considered a product of the Lord’s energy, and therefore everything should be employed in the service of the Lord. One’s energy should be utilized for one’s self-interest. That is the perfection of the energy.” (SB 3.21.31 P)

The personalist devotees properly understand the isavasyam principle that everything is owned and controlled by the Lord. They understand the subtle oneness and difference of the Supreme Lord and His various energies. Sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. Everything is an expansion of Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet everything is not the Supreme Godhead, and He is not everywhere. Everything rests upon Him and yet does not rest upon Him.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

It is important to understand that Krsna has given living entities a limited amount of independence and free will to decide what they want to do. He lets them act as they like and be responsible for their activities. In one sense, although the material world is created by Him, He did not do so for His own pleasure. He created it for our sense gratification and so-called illusory pleasure.

Constitutionally every individual soul is part and parcel of Krsna and a servant of Krsna.

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’
kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā–śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’

“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. (CC Madhya 20.108-109)

However due to the free will, some revolting souls want to be happy independently from God. Instead of being servants of the Lord, they want to be the master of the world. They want to lord it over the material nature. Instead of surrendering to Him and serving Him they are trying to get others to surrender to them and serve them. Constitutionally God is always God and servants are always servants of God. Servants cannot become God.

It is mentioned in the scriptures that at some point in the past, we were all in the spiritual world. Because we wanted to enjoy separately from Krsna, we fell down to this material world. We have a little independence and if we choose to try and be happy separate from Krsna there has to be somewhere for us to go. There is no question of being separate from Krsna in the spiritual world. Therefore, Krsna has created this material kingdom so we can become the false God here.

An often-cited example is a small girl who wants to imitate her mother in cooking. Because she is not mature enough to handle fire and cooking, the mother creates an imitation kitchen for her so that she can fulfill her desires. But that fake kitchen cannot give the girl any happiness and satisfaction because she cannot cook any real food. To satisfy her hunger, she has to go to her mother who has the real food. Similarly, Krsna has created this material world to enable us to fulfill our desire to “play God.” So, this material world is created by our desire, not Krsna’s desire.

We cannot be happy separate from Krsna. Our constitutional natural position is to serve Krsna. So even though there seems to be so many pleasurable things in the material world, none of them are truly satisfying. This is because we are spiritual by nature; therefore, no material pleasure can actually satisfy us.

Krsna is a very smart creator. In order to keep reminding the souls that this material world is illusory in nature and cannot give everlasting pleasure, he artificially added ‘defects’ in this material world. The defects are birth, death, old age, and disease. Krsna hopes that one day we will become so frustrated dealing with this defective material world that we will turn to Him and desire to return back to our real home.

Krishna confirms in the Bhagavad-gita (8.16) that this world is a place of misery where repeated birth and death are going on:

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah

punar avartino ‘rjuna

mam upetya tu kaunteya

punar janma na vidyate

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.”

Therefore, this material world, created to enable us to fulfill our desire to be “happy” separate from Krsna, is actually a place of misery where repeated birth and death take place. There is no happiness here. Happiness in this material world is illusory in nature. It is like a mirage in a desert. It seems there is water but there is no water to quench our thirst. Real happiness is in the spiritual world where everyone is engaged in their natural constitutional position as a servant of Krsna.

“My dear Lord, although it is not Your desire, You manifest this creation of gross and subtle elements just for our sensual satisfaction. Let Your causeless mercy be upon us, for You have appeared before us in Your eternal form, adorned with a splendid wreath of tulasī leaves.” (SB 3.21.20)

“It is clearly stated here that the material world is not created by the personal will of the Supreme Lord; it is created by His external energy because the living entities want to enjoy it. This material world is not created for those who do not want to enjoy sense gratification, who constantly remain in transcendental loving service and who are eternally Kṛṣṇa conscious. For them, the spiritual world is eternally existing, and they enjoy there…” (SB 3.21.20 P)

Krsna is so kind that from time to time He sends His bonafide representatives, and sometimes He Himself appears, to remind us that we are not meant to suffer in this material world. Our real home is in the abode of Krsna. Srila Prabhupada often write, “Back home, Back to Godhead.” This statement, although it sounds so simple, is very profound. He reminds us, “This is not your true home. Your real home is in the spiritual world where Krsna lives.”

“The Lord unwillingly creates this material world, but He descends in His personal form or sends one of His reliable sons or a servant or a reliable author like Vyāsadeva to give instruction. He Himself also instructs in His speeches of Bhagavad-gītā. This propaganda work goes on side by side with the creation to convince the misguided living entities who are rotting in this material world to come back to Him and surrender unto Him. Therefore the last instruction of Bhagavad-gītā is this: “Give up all your manufactured engagements in the material world and just surrender unto Me. I shall protect you from all sinful reactions.” (SB 3.21.20 P)

The easiest process to return back home, back to Godhead is to, somehow or other, think of Krsna at the time of death.

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam

tyajaty ante kalevaram

tam tam evaiti kaunteya

sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.” (BG 8.6)

The easiest way to remember Krishna at the time of death is to organize our life in such a way that we can remember Krsna all the time. In this age the process particularly recommended is chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

From a purely material standpoint, the following two prayers of Kardama Muni may seem to express conflicting sentiments. In the first prayer, he says that the less intelligent people worship the lotus feet of the Lord to achieve cheap material things.

“Your lotus feet are the true vessel to take one across the ocean of mundane nescience. Only persons deprived of their intelligence by the spell of the deluding energy will worship those feet with a view to attain the trivial and momentary pleasures of the senses, which even persons rotting in hell can attain. However, O my Lord, You are so kind that You bestow mercy even upon them.” (SB 3.21.14)

However in the second prayer, he specifically prays to the Lord for a benediction to marry a girl of like disposition.

“Therefore, desiring to marry a girl of like disposition who may prove to be a veritable cow of plenty in my married life, to satisfy my lustful desire I too have sought the shelter of Your lotus feet, which are the source of everything, for You are like a desire tree.” (SB 3.21.15)

Therefore, from a material perspective it may seem that Kardama Muni, although aware that asking the Lord for material benediction is against the principles of pure devotional service, still prays to the Lord for a suitable wife, and thus contradicts what he previously prayed for.

Lord Caitanya, in His siksastaka prayers, instructs us that we should not pray to the Lord for wealth, women, fame, etc.

“O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service, birth after birth.” (Siksastaka 3)

From a pure devotional standpoint, Kardama Muni’s prayers are not conflicting with each other. Kardama Muni worshipped Lord Visnu by performing austerities for ten thousand years, with a desire to get a suitable wife. His desire wasn’t for his sense enjoyment, but to fulfill the instruction of Brahma to create progeny, which was in turn a service to Lord Visnu.

“Commanded by Lord Brahmā to beget children in the worlds, the worshipful Kardama Muni practiced penance on the bank of the river Sarasvatī for a period of ten thousand years.” (SB 3.21.6)

“Kardama Muni wanted to have a wife of like disposition because a wife is necessary to assist in spiritual and material advancement. It is said that a wife yields the fulfillment of all desires in religion, economic development and sense gratification. If one has a nice wife, he is to be considered a most fortunate man.” (SB 3.21.15 P)

An advanced devotee may also circumstantially desire a temporary object, but it is only for a specific service for the Lord’s satisfaction.

In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krsna tells Arjuna that sex life is not contrary to religious principles.

“I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bhāratas [Arjuna].” (BG 7.11)

“The strong man’s strength should be applied to protect the weak, not for personal aggression. Similarly, sex life, according to religious principles (dharma), should be for the propagation of children, not otherwise. The responsibility of parents is then to make their offspring Kṛṣṇa conscious.” (BG 7.11 P)

As will be revealed later in the third canto, Kardama Muni and Devahuti actually begot a son – Lord Kapiladeva – who is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, Kardama Muni’s prayers to the Lord asking for a girl of like disposition is not against religious principles. He is praying for a wife to fulfill his superior (Lord Brahma’s) order to create progeny. Eventually after having created sufficient progeny, Kardama Muni would retire from active family life and dedicate himself completely to bhakti.

The lesson I take away from this is that exalted devotees like Kardama Muni prioritize spiritual life above all although they attend to the social and family duties very responsibly.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Stepping back a little bit into the beginning of the study of the Third canto, we see that the humble Vidura’s inquiries to Maitreya begin with the topics relevant to the common man who is suffering in this world, yet he also expressed his exclusive interest in hearing Krsna-katha. In the first chapter of the Third canto, Vidura asked a series of questions to Maitreya Rsi. Vidura inquired about the purusa-avataras, how the Lord expands into many forms during the time of creation, the Lord’s various pastimes that produce auspiciousness for brahmanas, cows and devatas. Vidura also inquired how the Lord created different planets along with their rulers where living entities are situated in different modes. He also asked how the Lord (as Brahma) creates the natures, activities, forms, features, and names of the different living creatures.

In response, Maitreya Rsi describes the magnificent creation of the universe originating from Maha-Visnu, His expansion into it as Garbhodakasayi Visnu and the manifestation of the virat-rupa, but ultimate he humbly declares his inability to describe the Lord’s unlimited glories (SB 3.5-6).

Vidura’s profound questions in SB 3.7 about various topics are similar to the questions of Pariksit Maharaja in SB 2.8, and the answers to these questions are found throughout the entire Srimad Bhagavatam. One of the many questions asked by Vidura is:

“O learned brāhmaṇa, please describe how the leader of all the demigods, namely the Prajāpati, Brahmā, decided to establish the various Manus, the heads of the ages. Please describe the Manus also, and please describe the descendants of those Manus.” (SB 3.7.25)

This line of questions by Vidura forms the prelude to how Maitreya is building the story of populating the universe, focusing on the generation by Svāyambhuva Manu and his descendants because they were great devotees of the Lord.

From SB 3.8, Maitreya describes the fascinating events of Brahma’s life: his birth, search for the Absolute Truth, meditation, and the beautiful darsana he had of Garbhodakasayi Visnu. Brahma’s prayers and the Lord’s response reveal the glory of the combination of a devotee’s service attitude and the Lord’s empowerment.

An important realization that stands out for me from this lesson is that a sincere devotee like Vidura does not jump directly into hearing the intimate pastimes and activities of the Supreme Lord as described in the tenth Canto. It is recommended that whenever we take darsana of the Deity form of the Lord, we first start by seeing His lotus feet, and eventually go up to His beautiful face. Similarly, the twelve cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam correspond to the different limbs of the Supreme Lord. According to the Padma Purana, the first two cantos correspond to the Lord’s lotus feet. The Third and the Fourth Cantos correspond to His thighs.

I am sure Vidura kept this in mind when he put forth his questions to Maitreya Rsi. He may have felt unqualified to ask about the confidential pastimes of the Lord. Therefore he wanted to understand the Lord’s creative potency first.

“In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are ten divisions of statements regarding the following: the creation of the universe, subcreation, planetary systems, protection by the Lord, the creative impetus, the change of Manus, the science of God, returning home, back to Godhead, liberation, and the summum bonum. To isolate the transcendence of the summum bonum, the symptoms of the rest are described sometimes by Vedic inference, sometimes by direct explanation, and sometimes by summary explanations given by the great sages.” (SB 2.10.1-2)

Therefore, when we study Srimad Bhagavatam, we should gradually progress from the first canto to the next canto. This way we will be able to understand the Supreme Lord’s greatness.

One must first understand the Supreme Lord’s greatness before understanding His sweetness.

Vidura’s line of questioning and Maitreya’s response reveal to us an important principle of how to advance slowly and progressively in the study of scriptures (and especially Srimad Bhagavatam). For a sincere devotee, the Lord’s pastimes about the creation of the universe and the descriptions of the various planetary systems are as purifying and enlightening as the Lord’s confidential pastimes. This is because the Supreme Lord Krsna is the Absolute Truth. Everything related to Him including His pure devotees such as Lord Brahma and Svayambhuva Manu are also absolute and transcendental in nature. It is important to understand the family lineage of Svayambhuva Manu because the rest of Srimad Bhagavatam describes the various descendants of Svayambhuva Manu.

“”Vidura was not interested in hearing the history of persons who merely engaged in sex life, but he was interested in the progeny of Svāyambhuva Manu because in that dynasty good devotee kings appeared who protected their subjects very carefully with spiritual knowledge. By hearing the history of their activities, therefore, one becomes more enlightened. An important word used in this connection is parama-sammataḥ, which indicates that the progeny created by Svāyambhuva Manu and his sons was approved of by great authorities. In other words, sex life for creating exemplary population is acceptable to all sages and authorities of Vedic scripture.” (SB 3.21.1 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

“First of all, Brahmā created from his shadow the coverings of ignorance of the conditioned souls. They are five in number and are called tāmisra, andha-tāmisra, tamas, moha and mahā-moha.” (SB 3.20.18)

A similar verse is also given in SB 3.12.2 that we studied earlier in the summer.

“Brahmā first created the nescient engagements like self-deception, the sense of death, anger after frustration, the sense of false ownership, and the illusory bodily conception, or forgetfulness of one’s real identity.” (SB 3.12.2)

We understand from scriptures that the conditioned living entities (like myself) are struggling for existence in this material world due to their revolt against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is believed that that we wanted to enjoy separately from the Lord. Since there is only one Purusa (Supreme Enjoyer) in the whole creation, we cannot be factually the enjoyers – and especially in the spiritual world. Just like a loving mother creates a dummy kitchen for her child to play, the Lord created this material world for the revolting souls to enjoy. In order to enjoy in this temporary world, we must forget our real identity. Our real identity is that we all are servants of Krsna.

“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.”  (CC Madhya 20.108-109)

Therefore Lord Brahma is first entrusted with the task to create the conditions under which a living being in the material world has to live. Unless a living entity forgets his real identity, it is impossible for him to live in the material conditions of life. Therefore the first condition of material existence is forgetfulness of one’s real identity. This is called tamas.

“The condition of not knowing anything about the spirit soul is called tamas. This material world is also generally called tamas because ninety-nine percent of its living entities are ignorant of their identity as soul.” (SB 3.20.18 P)

Once we forget our real spiritual identity, we develop illusory bodily concept of life. Guided by this misconception, we start to think in terms of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ (aham mameti). We start thinking in terms of my body, my wife, my children, my property, my country, my society, my relatives, etc. This is called moha.

Gradually this attachment to bodily platform extends to things and objects of this world. Due to false identification, the conditioned soul becomes entrapped by the sense of false ownership of the property of the Supreme Lord, thereby violating the isavasyam idam sarvam principle.  We develop possessiveness of enjoyable objects. We become mad after material enjoyment and burn with the intense greed to acquire more and more to the point of exploiting nature, people, and resources. This state is called maha-moha.

When the conditioned soul is not able to attain the objects of his material desire, intense frustration and anger develops in him. This condition is called tamisra. The forgetfulness of his constitutional position is due to this anger or envy.

“The living entity, being eternally a part-and-parcel servitor of the Supreme Lord, can never, by constitution, be an equal enjoyer with the Lord. When he forgets this, however, and tries to be one with Him, his condition is called tāmisra. Even in the field of spiritual realization, this tāmisra mentality of the living entity is hard to overcome. In trying to get out of the entanglement of material life, there are many who want to be one with the Supreme. Even in their transcendental activities, this lower-grade mentality of tāmisra continues.” (SB 3.20.18 P)

Finally, one reaches the ultimate condition of fear of death. When the conditioned soul realizes that his lifetime is not enough to enjoy everything and he still have material desires to fulfill, he wants to live longer to fulfill his desires. This naturally leads to a sense of fear of death. This condition is called andha-tamisra.

“The atheists generally think that the body is the self and that everything is therefore ended with the end of the body. Thus, they want to enjoy material life as far as possible during the existence of the body…This atheistic conception of life is killing human civilization, for it is without knowledge of the continuation of eternal life.” (SB 3.20.18 P)

Therefore, what is the remedy to get free from these five kinds of ignorance?

The remedy is provided by our very dear Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. There is a very beautiful prayer glorifying the two Lords.

CC Adi 1.84

vande śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nityānandau sahoditau
gauḍodaye puṣpavantau
citrau śan-dau tamo-nudau

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.”

“Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu drive away the five kinds of ignorance of the conditioned souls. In the Mahābhārata, Udyoga-parva, Forty-third Chapter, these five kinds of ignorance are described. They are (1) accepting the body to be the self, (2) making material sense gratification one’s standard of enjoyment, (3) being anxious due to material identification, (4) lamenting and (5) thinking that there is anything beyond the Absolute Truth. The teachings of Lord Caitanya eradicate these five kinds of ignorance. Whatever one sees or otherwise experiences one should know to be simply an exhibition of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s energy. Everything is a manifestation of Kṛṣṇa.” (CC Adi 1.103 P)

Therefore, simply by following the instructions of Lord Caitanya – the chief among which is chanting the Holy Name of Krsna – one will gradually come out of the five kinds of nescience or ignorance.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!