Hare Krsna!

“The supreme occupation (dharma) for all humanity is that by which man can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.” (SB 1.2.6)

This verse describes the perfect in the human form of life. Be to a pure devotee of Sri Krsna. To attain this goal, Srila Prabhupada provides three principles: (a) protecting the cow, (b) maintaining the Brahminical culture, and (c) become a pure devotee of the Lord.

There is a co-relation between all these three principles. They are all dependent on each other. This is how I see their co-relation. There is no doubt that we should all aspire to become a pure devotee of the Lord. Not even a pseudo-devotee. Just 100% pure devotee. This is the lofty standard that Srila Prabhupada has set for all of us. Our goal is not to go to heavenly planets or even Vaikuntha. Our goal is to go back to the supreme abode of Lord Krsna, Goloka Vrndavana. Goloka is the home of Godhead, our home. In order to become a pure devotee, we have to maintain our sadhana (devotional practice) very strictly. Ideal standard is to chant the holy name of the Lord constantly (kirtaniya sada harih).

In order to do so, we have to minimize our material entanglements and anxiety. There is to be presence of some element of peace to perform bhakti. A disturbed mind, disturbed body, and disturbed environment are not conducive to bhakti. This means we have to live in harmony with Mother Earth. All the natural disturbances that we face in today’s world is because we kill our motherly cows. Cows are the representative of motherhood and Mother Earth. When we kill the cows, we disturb Mother Earth and create imbalance. According to the ancient Vedic texts the cow is the representative of Mother Earth. And, when the cow and the bull are mistreated, Mother Earth withdraws her bounty. In chapter 3 (Canto 3), Srila Prabhupada explains that “according to Vedic economics, one is considered to be a rich man by the strength of his store of grains and cows. With only these two things, cows and grain, humanity can solve its eating problem. Human society needs only sufficient grain and sufficient cows to solve its economic problems. All other things but these two are artificial necessities created by man to kill his valuable life at the human level and waste his time in things which are not needed.” In order words, we need to reduce artificial necessities of life to have sufficient time and mental peace to perform our sadhana.

Next, maintaining Brahminical culture is important. We need qualified and bonafide teachers to guide human society. Human society should develop brahminical culture on the basis of protecting cows. The brahmana cannot take any other food except it is made of milk preparation.

“Human civilization will advance only on the basis of brahminical culture and cow protection. As soon as there is falldown from brahminical culture, and as soon as there is discrepancy in the protection of cows, there will be no more peace in the world. Therefore He specifically said, go-brahmana-hitaya ca. This Krsna consciousness movement is for the protection of brahminical culture and cows. Then automatically the peace of the world will come, if two things are done. This is Vedic literature. They pick up the essence of the things, and all other things follows. Just like meditation. Meditation means… Not meditation, the yoga system. Yoga indriya-samyamah. Yoga system means to control the senses. This is the primary factor of practicing yoga. Now the senses, we have got five senses acquiring knowledge and five working senses.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture Los Angeles, December 4, 1968)

Thus, we see there is a nice correlation between the three principles of cow protection, Brahminical culture, and becoming a pure devotee. However, a large part of the world does not know this. Hence ISKCON is the only institution that can teach these principles to the world. We can distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books, propagate these principles in our lectures and writings, live by these principles ourselves – all with the goal to make the whole world Krsna conscious. If we cannot preach directly, we can assist devotees preach directly.

“Without becoming a devotee of the Lord, one cannot perfect one’s human life. The perfection of human life is to be elevated to the spiritual world, where there is no birth, no death, no disease, and no old age. That is the highest perfectional aim of human life. Without this aim, any amount of material advancement in so-called comforts can only bring the defeat of the human form of life.” (SB 3.3.28 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

Krsna’s eternal pastimes, especially His appearance and disappearance, are very difficult to understand. “Kṛṣṇa appears and disappears in innumerable universes, just as the sun appears and disappears during the day. Although the sun appears to rise and set, it is continuously shining somewhere on the earth. Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes seem to appear and disappear, they are continuously existing in one brahmāṇḍa (universe) or another. Thus, all of Kṛṣṇa’s līlās are present simultaneously throughout the innumerable universes. By our limited senses we cannot appreciate this; therefore, Kṛṣṇa’s eternal pastimes are very difficult for us to understand.” (CC Madhya 20.397 P)

To someone who is not so well-versed with Krsna philosophy, it is really bewildering to understand His activities. His annihilation of the Yadu dynasty before His disappearance may sound cruel and merciless to a neophyte. His appearance in a prison cell in Mathura and His subsequent escape to Vrindavana in the middle of the night may put a question mark on His Godly qualities. However, to a person well-trained in sastra and who has been practicing devotional service for some time, he/she could see Krsna’s sweetness and love in all these pastimes. Things may look different at a superficial level, but there is a deeper meaning underneath. It’s like pealing an onion. There are layers and layers of meaning in Krsna’s pastimes and activities. Therefore, we need to hear Krsna’s pastimes from bona-fide sources. Otherwise, we would be bewildered. If we understand that Krsna and His devotees are not subjected to the laws of material nature, we would be able to appreciate His appearance and disappearance pastimes. Krsna does everything out of His sweet will and to give pleasure to His devotees. His going to Gokula after birth is to give pleasure to Vrajavasis and especially to Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja.

As Krsna says in BG 4.7-9: “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion – at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium. 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.“

Superficially Krsna appears to annihilate the demons and deliver the pious. But the truth is Krsna wants to reciprocate in loving exchange with His dear devotees. Before Krsna appeared, Lord Brahma heard an onem, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead would appear on the earth very soon along with His supreme powerful potencies, and as long as He remained on the earth planet to execute His mission of annihilating the demons and establishing the devotees, the demigods should also remain there to assist Him. They should all immediately take birth in the family of the Yadu dynasty, wherein the Lord would also appear in due course of time. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Kṛṣṇa, would personally appear as the son of Vasudeva. Before His appearance, all the demigods, along with their wives, should appear in different pious families in the world just to assist the Lord in executing His mission.” (Krsna Book 1)

Therefore, we need to understand that most (if not all) members of the Yadu dynasty are the demigods who appeared on Krsna’s order. Subsequently, when it was time for Krsna to wind up His pastimes, He had to return the demigods to their respective abodes and duties. Thus, He devised a make-show brawl of a fight among themselves, kill each other, and return to where they came from. The following purport sums up Krsna’s purpose.

SB 3.3.15 P: “The Lord and His associates appear and disappear by the will of the Lord. They are not subjected to the laws of material nature. No one was able to kill the family of the Lord, nor was there any possibility of their natural death by the laws of nature. The only means, therefore, for their disappearance was the make-show of a fight amongst themselves, as if brawling in intoxication due to drinking. That so-called fighting would also take place by the will of the Lord; otherwise there would be no cause for their fighting. Just as Arjuna was made to be illusioned by family affection and thus the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken, so the Yadu dynasty was made to be intoxicated by the will of the Lord, and nothing more. The devotees and associates of the Lord are completely surrendered souls. Thus they are transcendental instruments in the hands of the Lord and can be used in any way the Lord desires. The pure devotees also enjoy such pastimes of the Lord because they want to see Him happy. Devotees of the Lord never assert independent individuality; on the contrary, they utilize their individuality in pursuit of the desires of the Lord, and this cooperation of the devotees with the Lord makes a perfect scene of the Lord’s pastimes.”

SB 1.3.35 P: The Supreme has nothing to do, but because He is omnipotent, everything is performed by Him naturally, as if done automatically. As a matter of fact, the appearance and disappearance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His different activities are all confidential, even to the Vedic literatures. Yet they are displayed by the Lord to bestow mercy upon the conditioned souls. We should always take advantage of the narrations of the activities of the Lord, which are meditations on Brahman in the most convenient and palatable form.

SB 1.8.27 P: The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no direct connection with material activities. All His acts and deeds, which are exhibited even in this material world, are spiritual and without affection for the modes of material nature. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says that all His acts, even His appearance and disappearance in and out of the material world, are transcendental, and one who knows this perfectly shall not take his birth again in this material world, but will go back to Godhead.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

When we meditate on someone, we usually meditate because of that person’s good qualities such as kindness, love, compassion, mercy, beauty, gratitude, etc. These very qualities of the person make dear to someone. We do not prefer to meditate on someone’s bad qualities. In this lesson, Uddhava, being a great devotee he is, meditates on Lord Krsna by noting his contradictory behavior.

The subject of contradictions is really interesting. One aspect of life that we come across all the time is that of contradiction. For example, in society we want to balance the two opposing elements of individual freedom and societal order, yet one generally comes at the cost of the other. Some may argue that the need to balance out contradictory elements is an unnecessary one and that there is no utopian existence where opposing elements can co-exist together. We face similar difficulties when we deal with the relationship between God, material nature, and individual souls. Is there complete unity between all of them, or is there duality? This perennial question has been answered differently in different metaphysical traditions, some preferring dualism and some monism.

According to Gaudiya Vaishnavism, neither of the two concepts does complete justice to the nature of the Absolute. In Gaudiya philosophy, God is simultaneously one and different from his energies, including material nature and the individual soul. God has both transcendent and immanent features that co-exist together. The Gaudiya tradition proclaims that it is only by the inconceivable power of God, acintya-shakti, that these apparently contradictory attributes simultaneously exist in the Absolute.

Therefore, when we see Uddhava meditating on Krsna’s contradictory behavior, it should not bewilder us. Krsna is the Supreme Absolute Truth. He is the source of everything. Thus even apparent evil or wrong behavior should find its proper function in relation to him. All so-called dualities are accommodated and harmonized in Krsna, thus enhancing His beauty.

The so-called contradictory behavior that we see in Krsna is basically a manifestation of His sweet will to facilitate the exchange between Him and His devotees. Damodara lila is full of such contradictions. Krsna is feared by fear personified, but still He feared Mother Yasoda’s stick. Krsna cannot be bound (as He is all pervading), but still He chose to be bound by Mother Yasoda’s rope. Krsna is always self-satisfied but He developed a desire to drink Mother Yasoda’s breast milk. He is beyond the three material modes, but still He displayed transcendental anger when Mother Yasoda dropped Him down from her lap. Krsna is fully opulent (He is the husband of Goddess Laksmi) but still He steals butter. Krsna is unconquerable but still He is caught behind by Mother Yasoda. He gives liberation to others, but the very same Krsna cries for liberation from Mother Yasoda after He is bound to wooden grinding mortar. As Manvantara right quoted from Sri Damodarastakam, “those superexcellent pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s babyhood drowned the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy.”

Krsna is beyond all contradictions. By his own will, Krsna takes on a finite appearance to facilitate the exchange between the infinite Absolute and the finite soul. This finite form does not diminish his infinite nature, rather it enhances it, and the subsequent sweetness of the exchanges between Krsna and the individual souls enchant and captivate the hearts of many who come in touch with Krsna’s pastimes. The all-powerful, unconquerable Absolute becomes helpless in front of the selfless love of His devotee. This is indeed a beautiful contradiction. These very contradictory qualities make the Lord so dear to everyone.

As Srila Prabhupada writes in SB 3.2.20 Purport, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, appears in this world for two missionary purposes: to deliver the faithful and to annihilate the miscreants. But because the Lord is absolute, His two different kinds of actions, although apparently different, are ultimately one and the same. His annihilation of a person like Śiśupāla is as auspicious as His actions for the protection of the faithful.”

SB 3.2.22 Purport “Persons with a poor fund of knowledge belittle the Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, not knowing His exalted position as the Lord of everything. In Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has explained His position clearly, but the demoniac, atheistic student squeezes out an interpretation to suit his own purpose and misleads unfortunate followers into the same mentality. Such unfortunate persons merely pick up some slogans from the great book of knowledge but are unable to estimate the Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Pure devotees like Uddhava, however, are never misled by such atheistic opportunists.”

However, a pure devotee like Uddhava can see beyond these contradictions of Krsna and see His all-loving nature. In this way Uddhava manifests spontaneous loving symptoms.

SB 3.2.23 P: “The Lord accepts the least qualification of the living entity and awards him the highest reward. That is the standard of His character. Therefore, who but the Lord can be the ultimate shelter?”

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The forum  topic is ‘Uddhava’s spontaneous love’; I was meditating on the meaning of spontaneous love. There are two kinds of devotional service in practice (sadhana-bhakti) – vaidhi bhakti and raganuga bhakti. Vaidhi Bhakti means service according to regulative principles. Raganuga refers to the point at which, by following the regulative principles, one becomes a little more attached to Krsna and executes devotional service out of natural love. If one attains the stage of Raganuga bhakti, he cannot think of any other thing except Krsna.  That is why, the people of Vrindavana were always thinking of Krsna spontaneously. Thus in this lesson we see that Uddhava’s displayed spontaneous love by remembering the childhood pastimes of Krsna.

NOD 15: Examples of spontaneous devotional service can easily be seen in Kṛṣṇa’s direct associates in Vṛndāvana. The spontaneous dealings of the residents of Vṛndāvana in relationship with Kṛṣṇa are called rāgānugā. These beings don’t have to learn anything about devotional service; they are already perfect in all regulative principles and have achieved the spontaneous loving service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For example, the cowherd boys who are playing with Kṛṣṇa do not have to learn by austerities or penances or yogic practice how to play with Him. They have passed all tests of regulative principles in their previous lives, and as a result they are now elevated to the position of direct association with Kṛṣṇa as His dear friends. Their spontaneous attitude is called rāgānugā-bhakti.

To understand Kṛṣṇa means to understand Kṛṣṇa in His personal form with His internal energy, His external energy, His expansions and His incarnations. To meditate on Krsna means meditating on Krsna Himself, His form, qualities, pastimes, associates, abode, paraphernalia, etc. Because Krsna is the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between Krsna and His various aspects.

In this chapter, Uddhava displayed spontaneous love for Krsna by meditating on certain aspects of Krsna. There is a certain pattern in his meditation. In verses 12-14, he remembers the attractive beauty of the Lord. He remembered that the Lord’s form is the ornament of all ornaments. His beauty surpassed the dexterity of Brahma in creating beautiful objects. He also remembered the absorption of the gopis; he speaks this out of his own experience in Vraja, having seen their love. (SB 10-46-47)

In verses 15-24, Uddhava remembers Lord Krsna’s mercy and His bewildering activities such as His mercy to Sisupala and Putana. The bewildering acts of Krsna gave Uddhava distress. He remembers how Krsna, although unborn, took birth; He lived in Vraja out of fear of the enemy (even though He is feared by fear personified). Although all-powerful, He fled from Mathura. Although the Lord is all-powerful, He still submits before Ugrasena.

In verses 25-34, Udhava remembers the childhood pastimes of the Lord in Vraja.  Although there is no difference between the Lord’s pastimes of appearance and disappearance, devotees do not generallt discuss about His disappearance. Therefore, Uddhava began narrating the pastimes of Krsna from His birth, although Vidura inquired him about the Lord’s disappearance. (SB 3.2.25)

In this way, Uddhava taught us how to meditate on Krsna in spontaneous love. The key point to note is that the meditation atttitude must be favorable to bhakti. “

NOD 15: The attraction of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa and the affection of the members of the Yadu dynasty are both accepted as spontaneous, or rāgānugā. The attraction of Kaṁsa to Kṛṣṇa in fear and the attraction of Śiśupāla in envy are not accepted as devotional service, however, because their attitudes are not favorable. Devotional service should be executed only in a favorable frame of mind. Therefore, according to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, such attractions are not considered to be in devotional service. Again, he analyzes the affection of the Yadus. If it is on the platform of friendship, then it is spontaneous love, but if it is on the platform of regulative principles, then it is not. And only when affection comes to the platform of spontaneous love is it counted in the category of pure devotional service.

Uddhava’s meditation on Krsna childhood pastimes inspires me to study Krsna book regularly. It is amazing that Srila Prabhupada gave us the Krsna book first so that we can meditate on Krsna. By constantly meditating on Krsna and chanting His holy name, we become purified and qualified to return home, back to Godhead.

SB 2.1.6: The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The qualities of Uddhava are like an ocean. No amount of glorification and description will do justice to them.

We got a glimpse of Uddhava’s exceptional nature in the first chapter (of Canto 3).

SB 3.1.25: Then, due to his great love and feeling, Vidura embraced him [Uddhava], who was a constant companion of Lord Kṛṣṇa and formerly a great student of Bṛhaspati’s. Vidura then asked him for news of the family of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead.

In Srila Prabhupada’s purport to this verse, two qualities stand out – Uddhava’s respectful demeanor, scholarly nature and companionship. He bowed down to when he met Vidura. Vidura was older than Uddhava, like a father, and therefore when the two met, Uddhava bowed down before Vidura, and Vidura embraced him because Uddhava was younger, like a son. Uddhava was a great scholar in logic, and he was known to be a son or disciple of Bṛhaspati, the greatly learned priest and spiritual master of the demigods. However his highest quality is that he was a constant companion of Lord Krsna.

The second chapter enumerates further on Uddhava’s qualities. He is a nitya-siddha. At 5 years old, he would be so absorbed in his service to Krsna that when called for breakfast by his mother, he would not come. (SB 3.2.2-3) Through this example, Srila Prabhupada is instructing us how we can engage in the service of the Supreme Lord from a very early age. We can have dolls of Krsna and serve by dressing, feeding and worshiping them; in this way we will develop attachment for the Lord.

Prahlāda Mahārāja said: One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life — in other words, from the tender age of childhood — to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection. (SB 7.6.1)

Uddhava’s life is a great example of Prahlada Maharaja’s quote above.

The other thing about Uddhava that touched me deeply is his bhava – ecstatic symptoms. This shows he is situated in pure love of Godhead. Any mention of Lord Krsna would bring him into ecstasy.

SB 2.1.4-5: For a moment he remained dead silent, and his body did not move. He became absorbed in the nectar of remembering the Lord’s lotus feet in devotional ecstasy, and he appeared to be going increasingly deeper into that ecstasy. It was so observed by Vidura that Uddhava had all the transcendental bodily changes due to total ecstasy, and he was trying to wipe away tears of separation from his eyes. Thus Vidura could understand that Uddhava had completely assimilated extensive love for the Lord.

“Feelings of ecstasy are displayed by highly advanced devotees of the Lord. There are eight kinds of transcendental changes in the body — tears, shivering of the body, perspiration, restlessness, throbbing, choking of the throat, etc. — and all were manifested by Uddhava in the presence of Vidura.” (SB 2.1.4 Purport)

It is stated in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu (1.2.187)

“Anyone who, by his actions, mind and words, lives only for the transcendental loving service of the Lord, is certainly a liberated soul, even though he may appear to be in a condition of material existence.”

One who is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead by going through the pages of the Vedas may take shelter of one of the Lord’s devotees, such as Uddhava, in order to advance further in knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Brahma-samhita says that it is very difficult to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the Vedas, but He is easily understood from a pure devotee like Uddhava. The Lord authorized Uddhava to speak on His behalf. Unless one has such authorization, one cannot understand or preach the devotional service of the Lord.

Uddhava was in such a transcendental position, and thus he was selected to be the factual representative of the Lord. Such a devotee of the Lord is never affected by material strength, intelligence or even renunciation. Such a devotee of the Lord can withstand all onslaughts of material nature, and therefore he is known as gosvami. Only such gosvamis can penetrate the mysteries of the Lord’s transcendental loving relationships.

The important takeway for me from this lesson is that we too can reach the platform as Uddhava is in. Srila Prabhupada and the acaryas have outlined the process.

“The nine different modes of devotional service, such as hearing, chanting and remembering, are the beginning of the process. By regular hearing of the glories and pastimes of the Lord, the impurities in the student’s heart begin to be washed off. The more one is cleansed of impurities, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. Gradually the activities take the forms of steadiness, firm faith, taste, realization and assimilation, one after another. These different stages of gradual development increase love of God to the highest stage, and in the highest stage there are still more symptoms, such as affection, anger and attachment, gradually rising in exceptional cases to the mahā-bhāva stage, which is generally not possible for the living entities. All these were manifested by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the personification of love of God.” (SB 3.2.6 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

The essence of this forum topic is sadhu-sanga. The whole point of going on a pilgrimage is to associate with sadhus. Association with a great personality is most important. In Caitanya-caritāmṛta Lord Caitanya says that sādhu-saṅga, the association of a great saintly person, is very important, because even if one is not advanced in knowledge, simply by association with a great saintly person one can immediately make considerable advancement in spiritual life.

In Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, we have seen Lord Caitanya going on a pilgrimage to South India and other parts of India. He did not just visit the holy places to take bath in the sacred rivers or visit the temples. He associated with advanced devotees such as Ramananda Raya, Venkata Bhatta, Paramananda Puri. The Lord even met met Lord Śiva and his wife Durgā in the dress of a brāhmaṇa and brāhmaṇī at Sri Saila-parvata. We have seen a similar example with Lord Nityananda. He left home with a sannyasi (who came to Hadai Pandit with a request that he allow his son to travel with him to all the holy places). Thus Lord Nityananda left home, wandering to the holy places by His own sweet will and ecstasy. Thus Mahaprabhu and showed us how to travel to holy places of pilgrimage and associate with the sadhus.

Srila Prabhupada explains beautifully that “places of pilgrimages are meant for eradicating the sins of the pilgrims, and they are distributed all over the universe just to give facility to all concerned for attaining pure existence and God realization. One should not be satisfied, however, merely by visiting the places of pilgrimage and performing one’s prescribed duties; he should be eager to meet the great souls who are already there, engaged in the service of the Lord. In each and every place of pilgrimage, the Lord is present in His various transcendental forms.”

It is not to be concluded that a holy place has no potency. It definitely has. A tīrtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage, they were all purified by visit of pure devotees. Many people go to these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they are counteracted by the visit of great personalities like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His strict followers. Places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the sinners who go there, but when a personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visits such a place, all contaminations vanish. (CC Madhya 9.4)

However the pure devotees of the Supreme Lord have greater purifying power than the holy places themselves. Even Mother Ganges waits for pure devotees to bathe in her waters so that all the accumulated sins in her water are eradicated by their touch.

O Sūta, those great sages who have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord can at once sanctify those who come in touch with them, whereas the waters of the Ganges can sanctify only after prolonged use. (SB 1.1.15)

Dear Lord, Your personal associates, devotees, wander all over the world to purify even the holy places of pilgrimage. Is not such activity pleasing to those who are actually afraid of material existence? (SB 4.30.37)

Pure devotees of the Lord are more powerful than the waters of the sacred river Ganges. One can derive spiritual benefit out of prolonged use of the Ganges waters. But one can be sanctified at once by the mercy of a pure devotee of the Lord. (SB 1.1.15 P)

When a pure devotee goes to a place of pilgrimage, he desires to purify that holy place of pilgrimage. Many sinful men bathe in the holy waters of the places of pilgrimage. They take their baths in the waters of the Ganges and Yamunā at places such as Prayāga, Vṛndāvana and Mathurā. In this way the sinful men are purified, but their sinful actions and reactions remain at the holy places of pilgrimage. When a devotee comes to take his bath at those places of pilgrimage, the sinful reactions left by the sinful men are neutralized by the devotee. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadā-bhṛtā (Bhāg. 1.13.10). Because the devotee always carries the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, wherever he goes becomes a place of pilgrimage, a holy place for understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is therefore the duty of everyone to associate with a pure devotee and thus attain freedom from material contamination. Everyone should take advantage of the wandering devotees, whose only business is to deliver conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā.

In the case of Vidura, he travelled to the holy places to purify himself in order to achieve greater piety and advance nearer to the Lord. A hidden meaning could be that the places of pilgrimage themselves got purified by Vidura’s visits. Thus there is a nice reciprocation between the pure devotee and the places they visit. A pure devotee’s visit makes a place holier.

Thanks to Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, we now have ISKCON temples in all the major cities of the world. Thus there is no dearth of holy places and holy name. Just by visiting an ISKCON temple, attending the morning program (and hearing Srimad Bhagavatam), and partaking prasadam, one will obtain million times more benefit than by merely following the ritual of visiting a holy place but not associating with the sadhus.

arvatra prakāśa tāṅra — bhakte sukha dite

jagatera adharma nāśi’ dharma sthāpite

“The Lord has so distributed Himself all over the universe just to give pleasure to the devotees, to give the common man facility to eradicate his sins, and to establish religious principles in the world.” (CC Madhya 20.219)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

From the study of verses SB 3.1.1-16, several unique features in Vidura’s character stand out.

1. His inquisitiveness to learn from his spiritual master: Throughout the study in this month, we have seen how significant a role a bonafide spiritual master makes in the life of a sincere disciple. The whole first chapter on Sri Caitanya Caritamrta focused on the need of instructing and initiating spiritual masters in one’s life. Here also we see that Vidura was very eager to enquire from Uddhava and Maitreya Rsi. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one is advised to approach a bona fide spiritual master when one is actually inclined to question from an elevated level of spiritual understanding.

• Boldness: Vidura displayed the exceptional qualities of a bold preacher. Despite knowing that Dhrtarastra and Duryodhana will not accept his good counsel, Vidura still instructed Dhrtarastra to return the kingdom to the Pandavas. A preacher almost always faces some opposition to his preaching but he still continue to preach boldly. We have seen this quality in Srila Prabhupada too; he boldly took on the Mayavadis and their impersonal philosophy.

“Vidura gave Dhṛtarāṣṭra very good counsel regarding political alliance with the sons of Pṛthā, the Pāṇḍavas… Vidura wanted to impress upon his elder brother that fighting with the Pāṇḍavas was fraught with many dangers because they were supported by Lord Kṛṣṇa, who had conquered, even in His childhood, demons like Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha and demigods like Brahmā and Indra. Therefore all universal power was behind the Pāṇḍavas.” (SB 3.1.12 P)

Vidura also advised Dhrtarastra to get rid of his elder son Duryodhana who was offense-personified.

“Duryodhana was exactly like blind, troubling eyes; he would be a source of great trouble to the family of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, as foreseen by Vidura. Vidura therefore rightly advised his eldest brother to get rid of this source of trouble. Dhṛtarāṣṭra was wrongly maintaining such personified offense under the mistaken impression that Duryodhana was a good son, able to liberate his father.” (SB 3.1.13 P)

• Quality of Vidura’s inquiries: Saint Vidura was a great and pure devotee of the Lord, and therefore his questions to His Grace Ṛṣi Maitreya must have been very purposeful, on the highest level, and approved by learned circles. (SB 3.1.4)

• Humility: Vidura displayed humility by accepting spiritual knowledge from a younger person like Uddhava.

“Vidura was anxious to know from Uddhava that confidential knowledge known as paramāṁ sthitim, in which the Lord is known by His transcendental pastimes. Although Vidura was older than Uddhava, he was anxious to become a servant of Uddhava in the transcendental relationship. This formula of transcendental disciplic succession is taught by Lord Caitanya also. Lord Caitanya advises that one receive transcendental knowledge from anyone — whether a brāhmaṇa or a śūdra, a householder or a sannyāsī — provided that the person is factually conversant with the science of Kṛṣṇa. A person who knows the science of Kṛṣṇa is factually a bona fide spiritual master.” (Sb 3.4.25 P)

• Optimist: Vidura used the insult of Duryodhana for cultivating higher spiritual realization. He quit the house of Dhrtarastra and took the opportunity to meet Ṛṣi Maitreya and discuss transcendental knowledge. For a saintly person like Vidura, any disturbance due to worldly affairs is insignificant. Such disturbances, however, are sometimes favorable for higher realization, and therefore Vidura took advantage of a family misunderstanding in order to meet Maitreya Ṛṣi. (SB 3.1.2 P)

• Renounced: Being a pure devotee of the Lord, Vidura was totally renounced and transcendental to material disappointments such as insults, ridicule, etc. He could see everything as the Supreme Lord’s plan. In spite of being very strongly insulted by Duryodhana’s words, Vidura could see that Duryodhana, under the influence of māyā, the external energy, was making progress on the path toward his own ruination. He therefore considered the acts of the external energy to be supreme, yet he also saw how the internal energy of the Lord helped him in that particular situation. Vidura was never attracted by the royal palace of his brother. He was always ready to leave the place and devote himself completely to the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Now he got the opportunity by the grace of Duryodhana, and instead of being sorry at the strong words of insult, he thanked him from within because it gave him the chance to live alone in a holy place and fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. (SB 3.1.16 P)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

In my recent readings of the scriptures, coincidentally I have come across detailed descriptions of the kinds of ignorance a conditioned living entity is subjected to. In our current lesson (CC Adi Chapter 1), 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.

In SB Third Canto Chapter 12 (which we are going to study in the near future), Lord Brahma first created the various kinds of nescience. They are mainly:

1. Self-deception
2. The sense of death
3. Anger after frustration
4. The sense of false ownership, and
5. The illusory bodily conception, or forgetfulness of one’s real identity.

The reason is that 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. And by forgetting one’s real identity, one is sure to be afraid of death, although a pure living soul is deathless and birthless. This false identification with material nature is the cause of false ownership of things which are offered by the arrangement of superior control. All material resources are offered to the living entity for his peaceful living and for the discharge of the duties of self-realization in conditioned life. But due to false identification, the conditioned soul becomes entrapped by the sense of false ownership of the property of the Supreme Lord. It is evident from this verse that Brahmā himself is a creation of the Supreme Lord, and the five kinds of nescience which condition the living entities in material existence are creations of Brahmā. (SB 3.12.2)

Furthermore, the living entity, as part and parcel of the Lord, is partially independent because he partially possesses all the qualities of the Lord. Anyone who has some independence may sometimes misuse it due to ignorance. When the living entity prefers to misuse his independence and glide down towards nescience, the all-merciful Lord first of all tries to protect him from the trap, but when the living entity persists in gliding down to hell, the Lord helps him to forget his real position. The Lord helps the falling living entity glide down to the lowest point, just to give him the chance to see if he is happy by misusing his independence. Almost all the conditioned souls who are rotting in the material world are misusing their independence, and therefore five kinds of nescience are imposed upon them. (SB 3.12.3)

Based on above verses, my understanding is that main reason for being in ignorance is our deliberate choice to be in forgetfulness of our relationship with the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna.  Because we made a choice to enjoy independently from the Lord, He had to put us in this conditioned material world. Thus we are subjected to the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance).

The solution to dissipate the darkness of ignorance lies in the execution of bhakti yoga – to revive our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord. “The process of religion described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, however, is able to give its followers permanent relief from the threefold miseries. The Bhāgavatam describes the highest religious form — reinstatement of the living entity in his original position of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord, which is free from the infections of desires for sense gratification, fruitive work, and the culture of knowledge with the aim of merging into the Absolute to become one with the Supreme Lord… The real form of religion is spontaneous loving service to Godhead. This relationship of the living being with the Absolute Personality of Godhead in service is eternal. By contact with material nature the living entities exhibit varied symptoms of the disease of material consciousness. To cure this material disease is the supreme object of human life. The process that treats this disease is called bhāgavata-dharma, or sanātana-dharma — real religion. This is described in the pages of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore anyone who, because of his background of pious activities in previous lives, is anxious to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam immediately realizes the presence of the Supreme Lord within his heart and fulfills the mission of his life.” (CC Adi 1.90)

It is exactly this process of religion that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda appeared to teach us. Our goal is to revive our dormant Krsna consciousness and achieve love of Godhead which is achieved hrough congregational chanting of the holy name.

CC Ādi 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.”

CC Ādi 1.88-89 — As the sun and moon drive away darkness by their appearance and reveal the nature of everything, these two brothers dissipate the darkness of ignorance covering the living beings and enlighten them with knowledge of the Absolute Truth.

CC Ādi 1.90 — The darkness of ignorance is called kaitava, the way of cheating, which begins with religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation.

CC Ādi 1.97-98 — The sun and moon dissipate the darkness of the external world and thus reveal external material objects like pots and plates. But these two brothers [Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda] dissipate the darkness of the inner core of the heart, and thus They help one meet the two kinds of bhāgavatas [persons or things in relationship with the Personality of Godhead].

CC Ādi 1.99-100 — One of the bhāgavatas is the great scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and the other is the pure devotee absorbed in the mellows of loving devotion. Through the actions of these two bhāgavatas the Lord instills the mellows of transcendental loving service into the heart of a living being, and thus the Lord, in the heart of His devotee, comes under the control of the devotee’s love.

CC Ādi 1.101-102 — The first wonder is that both brothers appear simultaneously, and the other is that They illuminate the innermost depths of the heart. These two, the sun and moon, are very kind to the people of the world. Thus for the good fortune of all, They have appeared on the horizon of Bengal.

“The material miseries of the living entity, which are superfluous to him, can be directly mitigated by the linking process of devotional service. But the mass of people do not know this, and therefore the learned Vyāsadeva compiled this Vedic literature, which is in relation to the Supreme Truth.” (SB 1.7.6)

Therefore if we sincerely follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada, who is teaching the same messages coming down from Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda), the darkness of ignorance can be dissipated. The two main processes for this age are chanting the holy name of the Lord, and hearing about the Lord.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Hare Krsna,

[Note: This forum post will be academic in nature because I am trying to understand the concepts of incarnations, plenary portions and energies of the Lord better]

As Srila Prabhupada mentioned in his lecture, clearly understanding the difference between incarnations, plenary portions and energies of the Lord is complicated.

“So it is a very complicated idea, which of them is vaibhava, which of them is prābhava, which of them is vilāsa, which of them is tad-ekātmā, āveśa…” (Lecture on CC Madhya 20.164-173).

In this lesson we studied about prakasa and vilasa expansions of the Lord. Srila Prabhupada’s lecture focused on prabhava and vaibhava expansions of the Lord. I had some difficult reconciling these various expansion types. In order to understand these concepts better, I referred CC Madhya Chapter 20 (Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Instructs Sanatana Goswami in the Science of the Absolute Truth). I am quoting some of the key verses here:

CC Madhya 20.165: The Supreme Personality of Godhead exists in three principal forms — svayaṁ-rūpa, tad-ekātma-rūpa and āveśa-rūpa.

CC Madhya 20.166: The original form of the Lord [svayaṁ-rūpa] is exhibited in two forms — svayaṁ-rūpa and svayaṁ-prakāśa. In His original form as svayaṁ-rūpa, Kṛṣṇa is observed as a cowherd boy in Vṛndāvana.

CC Madhya 20.167: In His original form, Kṛṣṇa manifests Himself in two features — prābhava and vaibhava. He expands His one original form into many, as He did during the rāsa-līlā dance.

CC Madhya 20.168: When the Lord married 16,108 wives at Dvārakā, He expanded Himself into many forms. These expansions and the expansions at the rāsa dance are called prābhava-prakāśa, according to the directions of revealed scriptures.

CC Madhya 20.171: If one form or feature is differently manifested according to different emotional features, it is called vaibhava-prakāśa.

CC Madhya 20.172: When the Lord expands Himself in innumerable forms, there is no difference in the forms, but due to different features, bodily colors and weapons, the names are different.

CC Madhya 20.174: The first manifestation of the vaibhava feature of Kṛṣṇa is Śrī Balarāmajī. Śrī Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa have different bodily colors, but otherwise Śrī Balarāma is equal to Kṛṣṇa in all respects.

CC Madhya 20.175: An example of vaibhava-prakāśa is the son of Devakī. He sometimes has two hands and sometimes four hands.

CC Madhya 20.176: When the Lord is two-handed He is called vaibhava-prakāśa, and when He is four-handed He is called prābhava-prakāśa.

CC Madhya 20.183: When that body is a little differently manifested and its features are a little different in transcendental emotion and form, it is called tad-ekātma.

CC Madhya 20.184: In the tad-ekātma-rūpa there are pastime expansions [vilāsa] and personal expansions [svāṁśa]. Consequently there are two divisions. According to pastime and personal expansion, there are various differences.

CC Madhya 20.185: Again the vilāsa forms are divided into twofold categories — prābhava and vaibhava. Again the pastimes of these forms are of unlimited variety.

CC Madhya 20.186: The chief quadruple expansions are named Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. These are called prābhava-vilāsa.

CC Madhya 20.188: Śrī Balarāma is a vaibhava-prakāśa manifestation of Kṛṣṇa. He is also manifested in the original quadruple expansions of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. These are prābhava-vilāsa expansions with different emotions.

CC Madhya 20.191: From the original quadruple expansions, twenty-four forms are manifested. They differ according to the placement of the weapons in Their four hands. They are called vaibhava-vilāsa.

CC Madhya 20.207-208: All these twenty-four forms constitute the chief prābhava-vilāsa pastime forms of the Lord. They are named differently according to the position of the weapons in Their hands. Of all these, the forms that differ in dress and features are distinguished as vaibhava-vilāsa.

It is bit confusing to remember all these different incarnations and plenary portions of the Lord. Hence, I have attached a pictorial view that describes them better. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

The energies of the Lord are relatively easier to understand.

CC Ādi 1.79-80 — The energies [consorts] of the Supreme Lord are of three kinds: the Lakṣmīs in Vaikuṇṭha, the queens in Dvārakā and the gopīs in Vṛndāvana. The gopīs are the best of all, for they have the privilege of serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the primeval Lord, the son of the King of Vraja.

These energies of the Lord are the sakti-tattvas, internal energies of the Lord.

In terms of offering respects to the different energies of the Lord, I always refer to the beautiful verse that Srila Krsnadas Kaviraja Goswami cited in Adi-lila 7.6.

CC Adi 7.6:

pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ

bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam

bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ

namāmi bhakta-śaktikam

Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who has manifested Himself in five as a devotee, expansion of a devotee, incarnation of a devotee, pure devotee and devotional energy.

Purport: Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is the immediate expansion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as His brother. He is the personified spiritual bliss of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha. His body is transcendental and full of ecstasy in devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore called bhakta-rūpa (the form of a devotee), and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is called bhakta-svarūpa (the expansion of a devotee). Śrī Advaita Prabhu, the incarnation of a devotee, is viṣṇu-tattva and belongs to the same category. There are also different types of bhaktas, or devotees, on the platforms of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parenthood and conjugal love. Devotees like Śrī Dāmodara, Śrī Gadādhara and Śrī Rāmānanda are different energies. This confirms the Vedic sūtra parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate. All these bhakta subjects taken together constitute Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

The internal energies of the Lord such as the Laksmis in Vaikuntha, queens in Dvaraka, and gopis in Vrndavana fall under the category of bhakti-saktiman.

This single verse accommodates all the different manifestations of the Lord, and it a wonderful prayer to pray to all aspects of the Supreme Lord.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

• 

Hare Krsna,

In this lesson, the following paragraph caught my attention.

“As one advances in devotional activities, the process becomes progressively clearer and more encouraging. Unless one gets this spiritual encouragement by following the instructions of the spiritual master, it is not possible to make advancement. Therefore, one’s development of a taste for executing these instructions is the test of one’s devotional service.” (CC Adi 1.60 purport)

I can share my personal realizations. For years I have been trying to find an initiating spiritual master. Right from the beginning of my Krsna consciousness journey, I was sure that I wanted to be initiated. However, I had two challenges – a) Am I qualified enough to seek shelter of an initiating spiritual master? and b) Who do I seek shelter from? This is where the instructing spiritual masters are of immense help. It is important that we share our spiritual desires with like-minded senior devotees who will guide and nurture us. I am fortunate to have such instructing spiritual masters.

There are a couple of important instructions that I received from my instructing spiritual masters. Firstly, I should be patient and not rush into it. The relation between an initiating spiritual master and a disciple is a life-long commitment. One should take time to find such a spiritual master, examine him, and determine if he/she is the right spiritual master. In one of his lectures, Srila Prabhupada said, “But the principle is this, that before accepting a spiritual master you can examine him, you can scrutinize him, but not after him, after accepting.” (Initiation Lecture — Los Angeles, July 13, 1971)

The journey of finding an initiating spiritual master is not easy. We may go through our doubts, fears, inhibitions, challenges, anxieties, and so on. The major fear is, “Am I ready to seriously follow the demands of initiation such as following the four regulative principles?” Life post-initiation is serious business. Therefore, I found Srila Prabhupada’s instruction very assuring – As one advances in devotional activities, the process becomes progressively clearer and more encouraging.

On that note, the second instruction from my instructing spiritual master is that our initiating spiritual master will be revealed to us when we are ready. It is true. As we continue with bhakti and advance in devotional service, the process becomes clearer. Krsna is the Paramatma seating in our hearts. He knows our desires and sincerity. He knows whether we are ready for initiation or not. If we surrender unto Him and sincerely follow the process of bhakti, Krsna makes the path clearer. He brings us to the right instructing spiritual masters who further guides us to our initiating spiritual master.

“Kṛṣṇa is situated in everyone’s heart as the caittya-guru, the spiritual master within. When He is kind to some fortunate conditioned soul, He personally gives him lessons so he can progress in devotional service, instructing the person as the Supersoul within and the spiritual master without.” (CC Madhya 22.47)

“Only out of His immense compassion does the Personality of Godhead reveal Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an ācārya there are no activities but those of transcendental loving service to the Lord. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. It is worthwhile to take shelter of such a steady devotee, who is called āśraya-vigraha, or the manifestation or form of the Lord of whom one must take shelter.” (CC Adi 1.60 purport)

The relationship between a disciple and his/her spiritual masters are reciprocal. As the initiating spiritual master accepts a disciple and guides him/her, the disciple must also do his/her duty.

“The human body, which can award all benefit in life, is automatically obtained by the laws of nature, although it is a very rare achievement. This human body can be compared to a perfectly constructed boat having the spiritual master as the captain and the instructions of the Personality of Godhead as favorable winds impelling it on its course. Considering all these advantages, a human being who does not utilize his human life to cross the ocean of material existence must be considered the killer of his own soul.” (SB 11.20.17)

Therefore, in order to make advancement in spiritual life we must endeavor to follow the instructions of the spiritual master with our heart and soul. “Unless one gets this spiritual encouragement by following the instructions of the spiritual master, it is not possible to make advancement. Therefore, one’s development of a taste for executing these instructions is the test of one’s devotional service.” (CC Adi 1.60 Purport)

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo |yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi | dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ | vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam

“By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master, there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I should, therefore, meditate and pray for his mercy three times a day, and offer my respectful obeisances unto him, my spiritual master.” (Sri Guru-astaka 8)

“Service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is, however, best practiced under the able guidance of a spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa, who knows the nature of the student and who can guide him to act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As such, to be well versed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one has to act firmly and obey the representative of Kṛṣṇa, and one should accept the instruction of the bona fide spiritual master as one’s mission in life.” (BG 2.41 Purport)

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!