Hare Krsna,

In BG 4.6, Lord Krsna says, “Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.”

In BG 4.9, Lord Krsna declares to Arjuna, “One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.”

A devotee, simply by understanding the transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of returning to this material world. In the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.33) it is stated that the Lord has many, many forms and incarnations: advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam. Although there are many transcendental forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The point is that we must simply accept that all the forms of the Lord are transcendental. Lots of people have difficulty accept this tattva. The impersonalists do not accept the transcendental form of the Lord. On the contrary, they do not even attribute any form to the Supreme Lord. They claim that when the Supreme Lord appears on the planet, he acquires a temporary body like the jiva. Therefore devotees must accept that the Lord is always transcendental. We do not accept this blindly. We accept this on the basis of the Vedic scriptures. In Brahma Samhita, it is said isvarah paramah Krsna sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. The Supreme Lord is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

“He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest perfectional stage of liberation. Simply by accepting this truth on faith, one can, without a doubt, attain liberation.” (BG 4.9 P)

“The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body, as the common living entity changes from one body to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different body in the next birth. In the material world, the living entity has no fixed body but transmigrates from one body to another. The Lord, however, does not do so. Whenever He appears, He does so in the same original body, by His internal potency. In other words, Kṛṣṇa appears in this material world in His original eternal form, with two hands, holding a flute. He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world. Although He appears in the same transcendental body and is Lord of the universe, it still appears that He takes His birth like an ordinary living entity. And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth… Therefore, it is clear that in spite of His being in the material world, He is the same unborn, eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence.” (BG 4.6 P)

The Lord can take any form, be it a fish, hog, half-man, half-lion, human form, etc. But all His forms are transcendental. It may be inconceivable to understand how the body of a stool-eating hog can be transcendental. It is not difficult to understand this if we accept that the form belongs to the Supreme Lord. He is all-powerful; He can do anything. Then why is it not possible for Him to take the form of a hog? It is just His sweet pastime to deliver the earth from the depth of the ocean. He takes on different forms for different purposes and pastimes.

“We should always remember that although the body of a hog is material, the hog form of the Lord was not materially contaminated. It is not possible for an earthly hog to assume a gigantic form spreading throughout the sky, beginning from the Satyaloka. His body is always transcendental in all circumstances; therefore, the assumption of the form of a boar is only His pastime. His body is all Vedas, or transcendental. But since He had assumed the form of a boar, He began to search out the earth by smelling, just like a hog. The Lord can perfectly play the part of any living entity. The gigantic feature of the boar was certainly very fearful for all nondevotees, but to the pure devotees of the Lord He was not at all fearful; on the contrary, He was so pleasingly glancing upon His devotees that all of them felt transcendental happiness.” (SB 3.13.28 P)

Devotees are just pleased to see the Lord in innumerable forms. According to one’s level of surrender and devotion, the Lord reveals Himself in that eternal form.

“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 – Lord Brahmä to Supreme Personality of Godhead)

 All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

One special quality of bhakti-yoga is that hearing ABOUT pure devotees is as powerful as hearing FROM pure devotees.

“Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of the transcendental topics of the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees. In the absolute world there is no difference in quality between the Supreme Lord and His pure devotee. Therefore, hearing the topics of the Lord and hearing of the character and activities of the pure devotee have the same result, namely, the development of devotional service.” (SB 3.13.3)

Why is hearing about the activities of devotees of the Lord so powerful? This is explained beautifully by Srila Prabhupada.

“A pure devotee of the Lord cannot be separated from the lotus feet of the Lord for even a moment. Undoubtedly the Lord is always within the hearts of all living creatures, but they hardly know about it because they are deluded by the illusory material energy. The devotees, however, realize the presence of the Lord, and therefore they can always see the lotus feet of the Lord within their hearts. Such pure devotees of the Lord are as glorious as the Lord; they are, in fact, recommended by the Lord as more worshipable than He Himself. Worship of the devotee is more potent than worship of the Lord. It is therefore the duty of the transcendental students to hear of pure devotees, as explained by similar devotees of the Lord, because one cannot explain about the Lord or His devotee unless one happens to be a pure devotee himself.” (SB 3.13.5 P)

I personally relish hearing and reading about the pure devotees of the Lord. I enjoy reading their biographies, activities, and pastimes. Reading about Srila Prabhupada is a great way to deepen our relationship with him. I found my initiating spiritual master by first hearing about him, and later, hearing from him. Over the years, I have read some wonderful biographies of pure devotees. Some of my favorites are:

• Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta
• Servant of the Servant by HH Tamal Krishna Goswami
• When Good Fortune Arises, the Life and Teachings of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Maharaja. This book contains many little-known stories about HH Gour Govinda Swami, including his association with Srila Prabhupada.
• Ocean of Mercy by HH Bhakti Charu Swami
• The Journey Home by HH Radhanath Swami
• Six Goswamis of Vrindavana – HG Satyaraja Das
• Life and Teachings of Srila Narottama Das Thakura – HG Sitala Devi Dasi
• And many more

I love to collect various biographies about our acaryas and early disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Reading about them strengthens my faith in bhakti, enriches my soul, gives me deep philosophical understanding, gratitude for their immense contribution to our sampradaya, gives me taste for sravana and kirtanam, and helps me tide over the struggling days as a sadhaka.

Therefore, I enjoy studying Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya Caritamrta. These books are full of transcendental descriptions about the pastimes of the Lord and His pure devotees. I realize that simply trying to understand the Supreme Lord but ignoring to understand His pure devotees is neophyte thinking. It is also quite impersonalism.

There are three grades of devotees, as identified in the Nectar of Instruction (Texts 5,6) – the kanishtha adhikari, madhyama adhikari, and uttama adhikari or perfected devotee. The kanistha adhikari or neophyte is one who has developed faith in worshiping Krishna but has not yet developed proper regard for Krishna’s devotees, nor compassion for others. Therefore, unless we develop appreciation for the pure devotees of the Lord, we stay at kanistha level. We must make sincere endeavor to elevate ourselves to madhyama adhikari level.

To set the right example for us, we see that Vidura inquired about the activities of Svayambhuva Manu. He did not directly jump to asking questions about the Supreme Lord. His inquiries gradually moved from the subject of creation to the subject of pure devotees of the Lord. This is the proper way to inquire about the Supreme Lord. Vidura’s line of questioning has a great lesson for us – how to inquire submissively from the bonafide spiritual masters.

If we have not yet developed taste for hearing about the devotees of the Supreme Lord, we must understand that we haven’t made much spiritual progress in bhakti. We must remember that worship of the devotee is more potent than worship of the Lord.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In BG 14.3, Lord Krsna says: The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.

In the purport to the above verse, Srila Prabhupada explains that this combination of material nature and the living entity is made possible by the Supreme God Himself. The mahat-tattva is the total cause of the total cosmic manifestation; and that total substance of the material cause, in which there are three modes of nature, is sometimes called Brahman. The Supreme Personality impregnates that total substance, and thus innumerable universes become possible. This total material substance, the mahat-tattva, is described as Brahman in the Vedic literature (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.19): tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annaṁ ca jāyate. The Supreme Person impregnates that Brahman with the seeds of the living entities… Into material nature the superior nature is mixed by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thereafter all living entities are born of this material nature.

An example is given that the scorpion lays its eggs in piles of rice, and sometimes it is said that the scorpion is born out of rice. But the rice is not the cause of the scorpion. Actually, the eggs were laid by the mother. Similarly, material nature is not the cause of the birth of the living entities. The seed is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they only seem to come out as products of material nature. Thus every living entity, according to his past activities, has a different body, created by this material nature, so that the entity can enjoy or suffer according to his past deeds. The Lord is the cause of all the manifestations of living entities in this material world.

In the next verse (BG 14.4), Lord Krsna again reiterates: It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

This theme – that the Supreme Lord is the original creator and Lord Brahma is the secondar creator – is again touched upon in this lesson.

SB 3.12.57 Purport: The history of the creation of the population of the universe is given herewith. Brahmā is the original living creature in the universe, from whom were generated the Manu Svāyambhuva and his wife Śatarūpā. From Manu, two sons and three daughters were born, and from them all the population in different planets has sprung up until now. Therefore, Brahmā is known as the grandfather of everyone, and the Personality of Godhead, being the father of Brahmā, is known as the great-grandfather of all living beings. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (11.39) as follows:

vāyur yamo ’gnir varuṇaḥ śaśāṅkaḥ

prajāpatis tvaṁ prapitāmahaś ca

namo namas te ’stu sahasra-kṛtvaḥ

punaś ca bhūyo ’pi namo namas te

“You are the Lord of air, the supreme justice Yama, the fire, and the Lord of rains. You are the moon, and You are the great-grandfather. Therefore, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again.”

This statements conclusively prove how we are connected to both Brahma and the Supreme Lord. It is ludicrous to think that one is independent of the Supreme Lord, and he/she has nothing to do with Him. Even more ludicrous than this is the desire to be same one with the Supreme Lord. As devotees, we must be grateful that the Supreme Lord has expanded each one of us for His pleasure. When we engage in loving devotional service to Him, we also achieve unlimited pleasure. This is the topmost rasa that the Lord wants us to engage with Him. Therefore, our chanting of the mahamantra is just not mundane mechanical chanting but an expression of our love for the all-loving sweet Lord, gratitude for creating us, and expression of our prayer to Him to engage us in His loving service. Thank You, O Krsna, for creating me as Your part and parcel! May You always engage me in Your devotional service.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In the material world there is an attraction between woman and man. This is the arrangement of conditional life. A man and a woman attract each other, and in that way the scope of material activities, involving house, wealth, children and friendship, increases, and thus instead of decreasing one’s material demands, one becomes entangled in material enjoyment. This attraction between opposite genders is the dominance of the mode of passion.

“The grossest type of anartha which binds the conditioned soul in material existence is sex desire, and this sex desire gradually develops in the union of the male and female. When the male and female are united, the sex desire is further aggravated by the accumulation of buildings, children, friends, relatives and wealth. When all these are acquired, the conditioned soul becomes overwhelmed by such entanglements, and the false sense of egoism, or the sense of “myself” and “mine,” becomes prominent, and the sex desire expands to various political, social, altruistic, philanthropic and many other unwanted engagements, resembling the foam of the sea waves, which becomes very prominent at one time and at the next moment vanishes as quickly as a cloud in the sky.” (SB 2.2.12 Purport)

“The mode of passion is characterized by the attraction between man and woman. Woman has attraction for man, and man has attraction for woman. This is called the mode of passion. And when the mode of passion is increased, one develops the hankering for material enjoyment. He wants to enjoy sense gratification. For sense gratification, a man in the mode of passion wants some honor in society, or in the nation, and he wants to have a happy family, with nice children, wife and house. These are the products of the mode of passion. As long as one is hankering after these things, he has to work very hard. Therefore it is clearly stated here that he becomes associated with the fruits of his activities and thus becomes bound by such activities. In order to please his wife, children and society and to keep up his prestige, one has to work. Therefore, the whole material world is more or less in the mode of passion. Modern civilization is considered to be advanced in the standard of the mode of passion.” (BG 14.7 Purport)

The only remedy to get rid of this lower sexual urge is to develop a higher taste in devotional service to Lord Krsna.

“Bhakti-yoga leads to gradual evaporation of the sex desire, which is summarized in three headings, namely profit, adoration and distinction. All conditioned souls are mad after these different forms of sex desire, and one shall see for himself how much he has been freed from such material hankerings based primarily on the sex desire. As a person feels his hunger satisfied after eating each morsel of foodstuff, he must similarly be able to see the degree to which he has been freed from sex desire. The sex desire is diminished along with its various forms by the process of bhakti-yoga because bhakti-yoga automatically, by the grace of the Lord, effectively results in knowledge and renunciation, even if the devotee is not materially very well educated.” (SB 2.2.12 Purport)

There is a very famous quote from Yamunacarya.

yad-avadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāravinde

nava-nava-rasa-dhāmany udyataṁ rantum āsīt

tad-avadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne

bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭhu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca

“Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.”

Sexual desire can be stopped only when one is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, and not otherwise. As long as one has desires for sex, one must change his body and transmigrate from one body to another to enjoy sex in different species or forms. But although the forms may differ, the business of sex is the same. Therefore, it is said, punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām (SB 7.5.30).

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

To understand the concept of self-deception, it is important to take a few steps back and understand what caused this self-deception in the first place. The context is that unless a living entity forgets his real identity as the eternal servant of the Lord Krsna, it is impossible for him to live in material conditions of life. The miseries of the pure soul and the disruption of his self-identification are managed by the external energy of the Lord, which controls those mischievous living entities who want to go against the will of the Lord. Life after life the living entity falsely tries to lord it over material nature and become the lord of the material world, but there is no tangible result. At last, when frustrated, he gives up his material activities and tries to become one with the Lord and speculate with much jugglery of words, but without success.

So, Brahma created ignorance around self-identity as a matter of necessity. He created five features of ignorance.

SB 3.12.2: 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.

Subsequently in a conversation between Vidura and Maitreya Rsi, Vidura inquired about isvara and jiva. Vidura asked (a) how does the pure soul become engaged in nescience, and (b) why does the living entity suffer in spite of the Lord’s presence in his heart?

In response to these inquiries, Maitreya Rsi explained that the distress of the living entity is due to misidentification alone. There is no factual background to it just as one sees his head cut off in a dream. Just as the moon reflected on water appears to tremble, the self-associated with matter appears to be qualified in matter (SB 3.7.10-11).

The essence of this concept of self-deception is that due to the bodily consciousness, the living entity comes under distress. Srila Prabhupada reminds us repeatedly in all his books that we are not the material body but the spirit soul, and the constitutional position of the spirit soul is to render devotional service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. Arjuna was in distress in Bhagavad Gita because under false bodily consciousness he was lamenting about killing his friends, relatives, and relatives. Lord Krsna, through the message of Bhagavad Gita, explained to Arjuna that he should think beyond the body and work purely for the pleasure of Lord Krsna. Eternally a living entity is an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord. But due to our rebellious nature and desire to enjoy separately from the Lord, we fell to this material world and came under the influence of the three modes of material nature. By nature, an individual spirit soul is part and parcel of Krsna. Therefore, the nature of the individual soul is full of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. However due to forgetfulness of one’s true nature (that he is a spirit soul and servant of Krsna), he falls under distress.

“A living entity is eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord, and he has this knowledge with him, but, artificially, he thinks that he is God himself and that although he is God he has lost his knowledge due to māyā. This conception has no meaning, just as there is no meaning to seeing one’s head being cut off.” (SB 3.7.10)

Due to association with matter since time immemorial, the living entity thinks himself as a product of matter. As a result, he undergoes the three modes of material miseries. But as soon as he wakes up from the sleep of illusory energy of the Lord and realizes that the material distress, he undergoes under bodily consciousness is just like a dream, all his miseries can go away. An example is that when one is in deep sleep, he does not feel any sufferings related to the material body. Similarly, if one is deeply absorbed in Krsna consciousness, he will not feel the material distress. It is, therefore, important to have a deep understanding of this theoretical understanding. To explain this point, Srila Prabhupada provides several analogies in his purports.

• Just as a person in a dream sees his head cut off, although his head is still intact, the jiva’s apparent loss of self-identity is illusory, for he can never lose his constitutional knowledge and bliss. (3.7.10 P)
• Just as a school-teacher threatens an errant pupil that the pupil would see his head cut off and hanging on the wall, similarly maya controls mischievous jiva going against the will of the Lord, by placing them in a dream-like state where they perceive forgetfulness of their identity, and suffering (loss of bliss). (3.7.10 P)
• Just as the miseries perceived in a dream are vanquished in deep sleep, similarly the dream-like miseries of the material world are vanquished by complete absorption in the Lord, who attracts each of the senses of His devotees. (3.7.13 V)

Solution to get out of self-deception is bhakti yoga – devotional service to Lord Sri Krsna. “The conception of self-identity has no meaning, just as there is no meaning to seeing one’s head being cut off. This is the process by which knowledge is covered. And because this artificial rebellious condition of the living entity gives him all troubles, it is to be understood that he should take to his normal life as a devotee of the Lord and be relieved from the misconception of being God.” (SB 3.7.10 P)

The misconception of self-deception can be diminished by Lord Vasudeva’s mercy, by the process of devotional service in the mode of detachment. When the senses are engaged in serving Lord Hari, all miseries are vanquished. Hearing and chanting the Lord’s qualities vanquishes all material miseries (sadhana-bhakti). What to speak of those who attained attraction for serving the Lord’s lotus feet (bhava-bhakti)? (SB 3.7.12-14)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

While I was meditating on the times in the life of Brahma, I was reflecting upon the appearance of Lord Sri Krsna and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Their appearance is extremely rare.

A divya-yuga consists of the total duration of four yugas – Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. The four yugas multiplied by one thousand comprise one day on the planet of Brahmā. A similar period comprises a night of Brahmā, in which the creator of the universe goes to sleep. (SB 3.11.22)

The 24-hour day of Brahma is divided into day and night, only during the day do the one thousand Maha yugas exist. At night while Brahma sleeps there are no Maha yugas but rather a partial annihilation of the universe takes place.

Therefore 4,320,000,000 human years (4 billion 320 million years) equals the 12 hour “daytime period” of Brahma when all the 1000 Maha-yuga appear. Then another 4,320,000,000 (4 billion 320 million years) human years of Brahma’s “night-time period” that equals Brahma’s inactive night-time period when a partial annihilation of this material universe occurs.

A full 24-hour day of Brahma equals 8,640,000,000 human years. (8 billion 640 million human years).

A ”day-time” period made up of 1000 Maha yugas is called a kalpa, and a ”night-time” period of a partial annihilation of this universe (of Brahma’s day) with no Maha yugas, is also called a kalpa.

There are “two kalpas” in a “day and night” (24-hour period) of Brahma which together equals 8 billion 640 million human years.

Lord Krishna, in His original Form, appears at the end of just “one” Dvapara-yuga out of every 1000.

Lord Caitanya appears near the beginning of just “one” Kali-yuga with His Sankirtan Movement; He also appears just once out of every 1000 Kali-yugas.                      

SB 3.11.27: In each and every change of Manu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appears by manifesting His internal potency in different incarnations, as Manu and others. Thus He maintains the universe by discovered power.

Lord Caitanya and Lord Krishna ‘s appearance is very, very rare.

They both only come “once” over that enormous period of time as Prabhupada has explained.

CC Adi 3.10: At the end of the Dvāpara-yuga of the twenty-eighth divya-yuga, Lord Kṛṣṇa appears on earth with the full paraphernalia of His eternal Vraja-dhāma.

“Now is the term of Vaivasvata Manu, during which Lord Caitanya appears. First Lord Kṛṣṇa appears at the close of the Dvāpara-yuga of the twenty-eighth divya-yuga, and then Lord Caitanya appears in the Kali-yuga of the same divya-yuga. Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Caitanya appear once in each day of Brahmā, or once in fourteen manv-antaras, each of seventy-one divya-yugas in duration.” (SP Purport to CC Adi 3.10)

“From the beginning of Brahmā’s day of 4,320,000,000 years, six Manus appear and disappear before Lord Kṛṣṇa appears. Thus 1,975,320,000 years of the day of Brahmā elapse before the appearance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is an astronomical calculation according to solar years.” (SP Purport to CC Adi 3.10)

In another conversation, Lord Prabhupada explained:

Devotee – “Śrīla Prabhupāda, does Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu also appear every day of Brahma?”

Srila Prabhupāda – “Yes, following Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa comes in the Dvāpara-yuga. There are four periods of each yuga: Satva, Tretā, Dvāpara, Kali. So Kṛṣṇa comes at the end of Dvāpara-yuga, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu comes in the Kali-yuga”. (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 6 Chapter 1 Text 3 – Melbourne, May 22, 1975)

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Krishna’s appearance in this world is very, very rare.

We must consider ourselves very fortunate that we are living in that particular day of Brahma where Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan mission is going on. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, we are able to participate in this divine mission. Unless we take full advantage of this rarest of rare opportunity where we can achieve love of Godhead simply by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, our human life is wasted.

“A human being who does not develop a sense of responsibility before he dies is no better than the madman who tries to enjoy material life very happily without concern for the future. It is necessary that every human being be responsible in preparing himself for the next life, even if he has a duration of life like that of Brahmā, the greatest of all living creatures within the universe.” (SB 3.11. 33 P)

What is even more amazing is that this sankirtan movement will not exist for a long time.

Srila Prabhupada remarked in CC Antya 3.50 Purport: It is said that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement will be prominent within the next ten thousand years, but after that people will all become mlecchas and yavanas. Thus at the end of the yuga, Kṛṣṇa will appear as the Kalki avatāra and kill them without consideration.

“Rather, this movement, as I have now began with my disciples, European, American boys, they’re… They are not very satisfied, the present politicians. They are not very satisfied. They don’t want. Everywhere this, more or less the same mentality, but it is our duty on behalf of Krsna to push on this movement. So we are doing, and we are getting response. It is not without response. It will increase. That is also stated, that for ten thousand years Krsna consciousness movement will increase. Yes.

Syamasundara: Ten thousand years.

Prabhupada: Within ten thousand years, if they become Krsna conscious, then life is successful. After ten thousand years, the gloomy picture of Kali-yuga will come. Still there is time. Ten thousand years is not small period. So we have passed five thousand years. So still ten thousand. We have got to the fifteen thousand years. Kali-yuga’s duration of life is four hundred thousand, four hundred and twenty-seven thousand.”

 [S.P. Room Conversation, July 22, 1973, London]

Therefore, we should not waste our short human life in frivolous matters. We must utilize the time to chant the holy name of the Lord as much as possible. We should engage all our time in hearing, chanting, and remembering the Supreme Lord. From Lord Brahma’s perspective, the duration of human life is just the blink of an eye.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

I am amazed by the chain of questions and answers going between Maitreya Rsi and Vidura. Maitreya Rsi’s explanation of the various categories of information related to the universal creation is actually in response to Vidura’s two questions below:

SB 3.10.1: Śrī Vidura said: O great sage, please let me know how Brahmā, the grandfather of the planetary inhabitants, created the bodies of the living entities from his own body and mind after the disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB 3.10.10: Vidura inquired from Maitreya: O my lord, O greatly learned sage, kindly describe eternal time, which is another form of the Supreme Lord, the wonderful actor. What are the symptoms of that eternal time? Please describe them to us in detail.

From Maitreya’s explanation, it is fascinating to see how the process of creation begins from purely spiritual platform to subtle creation and then to gross creation. Maha Visnu’s glance is purely transcendental and spiritual. His glance agitates the sum total of material energy thus manifesting various elements such as earth, water, fire, air, and ether. These elements are gross in nature. There are also subtle elements of creation such a mind, intelligence, and false ego.

This chapter (3.10) talks about ten different kinds of creation. The first six creations are called Prakrta Sarga – Primary Creation. They are mainly:

1. Mahat-tattva
2. Ahankara – false ego
3. Sense perceptions
4. Working and Knowledge acquiring senses
5. Demigods and mind
6. Ignorance

The next four creations are called Visarga or Vaikrta Sarga – Secondary creations:

• Immovable entities such as plants
• Lower species of life such as animals
• Human Beings
• Demigods

Maitreya Rsi’s explanation of time is quite interesting. Finding the nature of subtle time difficult to describe, he starts with by describing the divisions of matter such as atom. The understanding of time needs a good understanding of atoms. This is because time is measured in terms of it’s covering a certain space of atoms by the movement of the sun (3.11.4 P)

“The time covered by the sun in passing over an atom is calculated as atomic time. The greatest time of all covers the entire existence of the nondual manifestation… The complete calculation of the time of creation, maintenance and dissolution, measured in terms of the circulation of the total planetary systems until the end of creation, is known as the supreme kāla.” (SB 3.11.4 P)

In the previous chapter (3.10.11-13), Maitreya Rsi described the various characteristics of time:

• Source of the interactions of the modes
• Lacks attributes and hence is imperceptible
• Limitless – without beginning or end
• As an instrumental cause, it separates the material energy from the Lord
• Divides the universe into various planetary systems
• Unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Lord
• Objective manifestation or representative of the Lord
• Causes the universe to appear alike in the present, as it was in the past and shall be in the future.

Just as the Supreme Lord is inconceivable, the time factor is inconceivable. It is all pervading. Time pervades and control every aspect of our daily life. It is also instrumental in the overall cosmic creation as it is the source of the interactions of the modes. Time is the potency of the almighty Personality of Godhead, Hari, who controls all physical movement although He is not visible in the physical world. (SB 3.11.3) Influential stars, planets, luminaries and atoms all over the universe are rotating in their respective orbits under the direction of the Supreme, represented by eternal kāla. (SB 3.11.13)

“In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that the sun is the eye of the Supreme and it rotates in its particular orbit of time. Similarly, beginning from the sun down to the atom, all bodies are under the influence of the kāla-cakra, or the orbit of eternal time, and each of them has a scheduled orbital time of one saṁvatsara.” (SB 3.11.3 P)

It is therefore important that we acknowledge and respect the role of time in our lives as it is an impersonal feature of the Lord.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In BG 14.4, Lord Krsna proclaims: It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

In this verse, it is clearly explained that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the original father of all living entities. All the appearances of living entities and various planetary systems are due to the mother, material nature, and Krsna’s seed-giving process. The living entities are combinations of the spiritual nature (Krsna as the father) and the material nature (as the mother).

Even in SB 3.10.7, Srila Prabhupada explains that the seeds of all the planets in the universe were impregnated in the lotus on which Brahmā was situated. All the planets were already generated by the Lord, and all the living entities were also born in Brahmā. The material world and the living entities were all already generated in seedling forms by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and Brahmā was to disseminate the same seedlings all over the universe.

Therefore, the real creation (Sarga) is done by the Supreme Lord in the seedling forms. Lord Brahma spreads the same seedlings all over the universe for full manifestation (visarga). An example can be taken of a farmer spreading the seeds on his cultivable land. We usually attribute the growth of food to the farmers. We call him the grower. This is true. We call him grower but not creator of food. The creator of the food is the Supreme Lord who provides the seeds for various foods, living entities, etc. The farmer just takes them and sows them on his field and thus the crops grow. Thus in this example, the Supreme Lord is the primary creator and this primary creation is called sarga. The farmer is the secondary creator and this secondary creation is called visarga. Similarly in the matter of creation of the universe, the real creation by the Supreme Lord is called sarga, and, later on, the manifestation by Brahmā is called visarga.

Lord Krsna has provided all the basic ingredients such as pradhana (material nature), mahat-tattva, and time element. In SB 2.5, we studied that the Supreme Lord’s glance on the sum total of material energy (maya) infuses it with time (kala), and destiny (karma) and nature (svabhava) of all the jivas, thereby agitating it. The agitated equilibrium state (pradhana) then produces mahat-tattva, a state which although has all the three modes, is predominantly of goodness and passion due to jnanan and kriya-saktis. This state further transforms into ahankara,  which is predominantly in tamas, ignorance. This state produces 3 energies, called jnana-sakti, kriya-sakti and dravya-sakti. The dravya-sakti has the capacity to produce five gross elements. Kriya-sakti produces the senses. Jnana-sakti produces the sense devatas. At each level of transformation, the Lord’s energy in the form of time produces the subsequent state of transformation. In this way, the Supreme Lord engages in the process of sarga (primary creation).

I find the concept of time quite difficult to understand. In BG 11.32, Lord Krsna declares that He is mighty Time, the source of destruction that comes forth to annihilate the worlds. Time not only controls every aspect of our material existence, it also controls the material nature.

“The controlling time has different dimensions in relation to particular physical embodiments. There is a time for atomic dissolution and a time for the universal dissolution. There is a time for the annihilation of the body of the human being, and there is a time for the annihilation of the universal body. Also, growth, development and resultant actions all depend on the time factor. Vidura wanted to know in detail the different physical manifestations and their times of annihilation.”

In the material world everything is created, and everything is annihilated, and the duration of life between the creation and annihilation is temporary. The whole material existence is manifested by actions and reactions of elements which make the influence of time prominent in the matter of past, present and future. On the contrary, time is conspicuous by its absence in the spiritual world. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time. (based on SB 2.9.10 P)

But this same time is under the control of the Supreme Lord in His form of kala, or eternal time. Therefore, the only way we can be free from the clutches of inconceivable, incontrollable, and sometimes cruel, time factor is by fully surrendering unto the Supreme Lord Krsna.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

There is no doubt that no one can offer prayers to the Lord without His causeless mercy. When a living entity desires to serve the Lord in transcendental loving service, the Lord helps the devotee in so many ways as the caitya-guru, or the spiritual master within, and thus the devotee can perform many wonderful activities beyond material estimation. By the mercy of the Lord even a layman can compose prayers of the highest spiritual perfection. Such spiritual perfection is not limited by material qualifications but is developed by dint of one’s sincere endeavor to render transcendental service. Voluntary endeavor is the only qualification for spiritual perfection. Material acquisitions of wealth or education are not considered. (SB 3.9.38 P)

But this does not mean that one should not compose prayers in glorification of the Lord. If we are sincere in our desire and endeavor, the Supreme Lord will help us. The best example is Dhruva Maharaja. He was a young boy of five years. He did not know how to worship Lord Visnu. But seeing His determination and endeavor, the Lord instructed Narada Muni to guide and teach young Dhruva Maharaja. By following the instructions of Narada Muni, Dhruva Maharaja performed intense austerity and penance for many months. Pleased with his efforts, the Supreme Lord appeared in front of Him. The Lord touched Dhruva Maharaja with His conchshell. Immediately Dhruva Maharaja became completely self-realized and started to compose beautiful prayers to the Lord. This shows that only by the mercy of the Lord can one compose prayers.

There is a beautiful purport by Srila Prabhupada on this topic of offering prayers to the Supreme Lord.

SB 4.7.24: Although the mental scope of even demigods like Brahmā was unable to comprehend the unlimited glories of the Supreme Lord, they were all able to perceive the transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His grace. Only by such grace could they offer their respectful prayers according to their different capacities.

Purport: It is not possible for any ordinary living entity to understand or to glorify the unlimited Personality of Godhead, but one can offer prayers or service to the Lord according to one’s particular capacity. This capacity is increased by the service spirit. Sevonmukhe hi jihvādau means that the service of the Lord begins with the tongue. This refers to chanting. By chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, one begins the service of the Lord. Another function of the tongue is to taste and accept the Lord’s prasāda. We have to begin our service to the Unlimited with the tongue and become perfect in chanting, and accepting the Lord’s prasāda. To accept the Lord’s prasāda means to control the entire set of senses. The tongue is considered to be the most uncontrollable sense because it hankers for so many unwholesome eatables, thereby forcing the living entity into the dungeon of material conditional life. As the living entity transmigrates from one form of life to another, he has to eat so many abominable foodstuffs that finally there is no limit. The tongue should be engaged in chanting and in eating the Lord’s prasāda so that the other senses will be controlled. Chanting is the medicine, and prasāda is the diet. With these processes one can begin his service, and as the service increases, the Lord reveals more and more to the devotee. But there is no limit to His glories, and there is no limit to engaging oneself in the service of the Lord.

This means that if we continue to engage in devotional service to the Lord through the main processes of hearing and chanting, we will be able to compose prayers to the Lord just as Lord Brahma did.

From my personal example, I could see that the forum posts that I write are nothing but mercy of the Lord. I have personal realizations that there are days when I struggle to meditate and write on a particular forum topic. I chant my japa not meditating on the topic but praying to the Lord to help me write something. When I do so and start typing in the mood that the Lord will help me from within, I see that thoughts begin to flow spontaneously and these thoughts beautifully get transformed into words. I have written many forum posts in this way. This clearly shows that without Lord’s mercy and empowerment, we cannot write anything.

Therefore Lord Brahma’s prayers are not mere prayers. They are a manifestation of Lord’s sweet mercy being pleased with Brahma’s many years of meditation, penance, and austerity.

The prayers offered by Brahma cannot be chanted by anyone who desires to fulfill his own sense gratification. Such prayers can be selected only by a person who wants to satisfy the Lord in His service. The Lord certainly fulfills all desires in regard to transcendental loving service, but He cannot fulfill the whims of non-devotees, even when such casual devotees offer Him the best of prayers. (SB 3.9.40)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Penance and perseverance are important qualities for spiritual realization. The mercy the Lord bestows upon a particular person engaged in executing the responsible work entrusted unto him is beyond imagination. But His mercy is received due to our penance and perseverance in executing devotional service.

SB 3.9.30: O Brahmā, situate yourself in penance and meditation and follow the principles of knowledge to receive My favor. By these actions you will be able to understand everything from within your heart.

In Canto 2, Chapter 9 Lord Krsna repeats the same instructions that he gave to Lord Brahma after underwent penance for 1000 celestial years by the calculations of the demigods. The Personality of Godhead, being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahmā, was pleased to manifest His personal abode, Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory existence. Then Lord Krsna said:

SB 2.9.20: The beautiful Personality of Godhead addressed Lord Brahmā: O Brahmā, impregnated with the Vedas, I am very much pleased with your long-accumulated penance with the desire for creation. Hardly am I pleased with the pseudo mystics.

SB 2.9.21: I wish you good luck. O Brahmā, you may ask from Me, the giver of all benediction, all that you may desire. You may know that the ultimate benediction, as the result of all penances, is to see Me by realization.

SB 2.9.22: The highest perfectional ingenuity is the personal perception of My abodes, and this has been possible because of your submissive attitude in the performance of severe penance according to My order.

SB 2.9.23: O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.

SB 2.9.24: I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.

SB 2.9.31: Knowledge about Me as described in the scriptures is very confidential, and it has to be realized in conjunction with devotional service. The necessary paraphernalia for that process is being explained by Me. You may take it up carefully.

In essence, if a devotee is sincere in executing devotional service to the Supreme Lord but do not know how to engage in the process, the directions come from within… from the Paramatma. When Dhruva Maharaja went to the forest at the young age of five to attain Visnu, he did not know how to perform tapasya (penance and austerities). The Supreme Lord then directed his dear disciple Narada to go to Dhruva Maharaja to teach him the necessary process.

BG 10.10: To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

BG 15.15: I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

The Supreme Lord is situated as Paramātmā in everyone’s heart, and it is from Him that all activities are initiated. Brahmā’s enlightenment in knowledge was due to the Lord sitting within his heart. After being created, Brahmā could not ascertain the source of his appearance, but after penance and mental concentration he could see the source of his birth, and thus he became enlightened through his heart. The spiritual master outside and the spiritual master within are both representations of the Lord.

The Supreme Lord can be experienced only by His causeless mercy, not by mental speculation or with the help of the material senses. Such mercy is bestowed upon the Lord’s pure devotees like Brahma and those in his disciplic succession. Any person authorized by either the Lord or by His bona fide representative is already blessed, as is the work entrusted to him. Of course, the person entrusted with such a responsibility should always be aware of his incapability and must always look for the mercy of the Lord for the successful execution of his duty. One should not be puffed up because he is entrusted with certain executive work.

The conclusion of my understanding is that the degree of instructions we received from the Lord in our heart is proportional to the degree of our surrender to the Lord, and penance and austerity performed to please the Lord.

ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham

BG 4.11: All of them—as they surrender unto Me—I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.

The best penance and austerity we can perform in this age is waking up very early in the morning (brahma-muhurta) and chanting our stipulated 16 rounds of the Hare Krsna maha mantra. This is the special mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!