SB 3.9.11

Srimad Bhagavatam, third Canto, chapter nine ‘Brahma’s Prayers For Creative Energy’, text eleven.

tvam bhakti-yoga-paribhavita-hrit-saroja
asse srutekshita-patho nanu natha pumsam
yad-yad-dhiya ta urugaya vibhavayanti
tat-tad-vapuh pranayase sad-anugrahaya

Reading the translation straight away:
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.

Purport:
The statement here that the Lord manifests Himself before the devotee in the form in which the devotee likes to worship Him indicates that the Lord becomes subordinate to the desire of the devotee — so much so that He manifests His particular form as the devotee demands. This demand of the devotee is satisfied by the Lord because He is pliable in terms of the transcendental loving service of the devotee. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (4.11): ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham. We should note, however, that the Lord is never the order supplier of the devotee. Here in this verse it is particularly mentioned: tvam bhakti-yoga-paribhavita. This indicates the efficiency achieved through execution of matured devotional service, or prema, love of Godhead. This state of prema is achieved by the gradual process of development from faith to love. On faith one associates with bona fide devotees, and by such association one can become engaged in bona fide devotional service, which includes proper initiation and the execution of the primary devotional duties prescribed in the revealed scriptures. This is clearly indicated herein by the word srutekshita. The srutekshita path is to hear from bona fide devotees who are conversant with Vedic wisdom, free from mundane sentiment. By this bona fide hearing process, the neophyte devotee becomes cleansed of all material rubbish, and thus he becomes attached to one of the many transcendental forms of the Lord, as described in the Vedas.

This attachment of the devotee to a particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination. Each and every living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord. Lord Chaitanya says that the living entity is eternally a servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. Therefore, every living entity has a particular type of service relationship with the Lord, eternally. This particular attachment is invoked by practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord, and thus the devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who is already eternally attached. This attachment for a particular form of the Lord is called svarupa-siddhi. The Lord sits on the lotus heart of the devotee in the eternal form the pure devotee desires, and thus the Lord does not part from the devotee, as confirmed in the previous verse. The Lord, however, does not disclose Himself to a casual or unauthentic worshiper to be exploited. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (7.25): naham prakasah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavritah. Rather, by yoga-maya, the Lord remains concealed to the non-devotees or casual devotees who are serving their sense gratification. The Lord is never visible to the pseudo devotees who worship the demigods in charge of universal affairs. The conclusion is that the Lord cannot become the order supplier of a pseudo devotee, but He is always prepared to respond to the desires of a pure, unconditional devotee, who is free from all tinges of material infection.
[End of Purport]
(invocatory prayers)

tvam bhakti-yoga-paribhavita-hrit-saroja
asse srutekshita-patho nanu natha pumsam
yad-yad-dhiya ta urugaya vibhavayanti
tat-tad-vapuh pranayase sad-anugrahaya

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.

So, Maitreya Rishi is narrating Srimad Bhagavatam to Vidura. Vidura was instructed through Uddhava by Krishna that he should go to Maitreya Rishi and receive instructions from Maitreya Rishi, just before Krishna left the planet. So Vidura went to Maitreya Rishi and found Maitreya Rishi in the holy place on the bank of the Ganges, Haridwara. And there he sincerely inquired from him with some very relevant, spiritual questions. Maitreya Rishi started to respond, to reply to his questions. And then he told him that now he is going to answer these questions through narrating Srimad Bhagavatam.

This Bhagavatam has another parampara. This is a parampara that came from the four Kumaras, headed by Sanat Kumara, that he received from Sankarshana. Then Sanat Kumara narrated it to Sankhyayana Rishi. Sankhyayana Rishi narrated it to Parashara Muni and Parashara Muni gave it, imparted it to Maitreya Rishi. So at the beginning Maitreya Rishi told him that this is how the knowledge has come down to him. And we can see that both the Bhagavatam, what Maitreya Rishi told Vidura and the way Sukadeva Gosvami presented it to Parikshit Maharaja, there is no difference.

Maha Purana Bhagavatam has ten symptoms which begins from creation: sarga, then visarga, sthana, poshana, uthaya, manvantara, isanukatha, nirodha, mukti and then ultimately ashraya, which is even beyond mukti, even beyond liberation. That is the narration of Srimad Bhagavatam. That is the supremacy of Srimad Bhagavatam. This is a topic which is meant for liberated souls. The qualification to receive Srimad Bhagavatam has been described in the beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam: when one becomes completely free from envy and his heart becomes completely purified, paramo nirmatsaranam satam. [SB 1.1.2] Satam, when one becomes completely purified from all material contamination, his heart becomes free from envy, nirmatsaranam, then only he becomes qualified to hear Srimad Bhagavatam and understand Srimad-Bhagavatam.

So that same point has been narrated by Maitreya Rishi: the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vrindavana. Prabhupada described that that point, ashraya, the summum bonum, the ultimate conclusion, the ultimate achievement is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond liberation. Liberation is not desired by the devotees in the line of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Even other Vaishnava sampradayas may desire for liberation, mainly the four kinds of positive liberation: sarupya, samipya, salokya and sarsthi. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu pointed that out to the tattva-vadis when He met them in South India. Tattva-vadis in the line of Madhva sampradaya, they proposed that the ultimate goal of life is to attain liberation in Vaikuntha. So Mahaprabhu actually made a point to them, then if that is the case then why diyamanam na grihnanti vina mat-sevanam janah [CC Antya 3.189], that if liberation is offered to My devotees, not the negative liberation of sayujya but even the positive liberation (sarupya, samipya, salokya and sarsthi), diyamanam, even if it is offered, na grihnanti, they do not accept it. A pure devotee of Mine does not accept that.

Mahaprabhu made another point: muktir hitva anyatha rupam svarupena vyavasthitih. [SB 2.10.6] Like mukti actually means to become situated in one’s svarupa. So when one becomes situated in his svarupa then he doesn’t have to desire for liberation. And liberation, muktih mukulitanjalih sevate’sman [Bilvamangala Thakura]: with folded hands Mukti Devi is begging the devotees to be engaged in their service. Mukti Devi is begging for the service to the devotees of the Lord. Therefore, why should a devotee desire for liberation separately? So in this way Chaitanya Mahaprabhu pointed out that pure devotional service is beyond mukti and mukti or liberation is just a side effect. Just as, it has been pointed out, Haridasa Thakura when he was speaking in the house of Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s parents, he just made that point, that
koti-janma brahma-jnane yei mukti naya,
ei kahe,- namabhase sei mukti haya.
[CC Antya 3.194]
The liberation that one cannot achieve even after millions of lifetimes of Brahman realization, that liberation is achieved just by namabhasa, not even by pure names, just by namabhasa. Just the shadow or the reflection of the Holy Name gives mukti. So what Holy Name or pure devotional service offers is something that is way beyond liberation. What is that? That is prema. Mukti may take us to a situation of peace, but joy, anandam, is not achieved by mukti. Anandam is derived from the loving exchange between the lover and the beloved. So that is why that is the ultimate goal of life, and Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura summarized this gift of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in this way: prema pumartha mahan [Chaitanya-matta-majusa]. The ultimate goal of life, pumartha, purushartha is prema.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s gift, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings have been summarized in a very simple way, a very systematic way. What is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings? Aradhyo Bhagavan, the Supreme worshipable Personality of Godhead is the son of Nanda Maharaja. Not the son of Devaki and Vasudeva, not Vaasudeva Krishna, but Nandanandana Krishna specifically. And He is confirming that point, tad dhama Vrindavana, His abode is Vrindavana, not Mathura or Dwaraka. Krishna of Vrindavana is the Supreme worshipable Personality of Godhead. Aradhyo Bhagavan vrajesha-tanayas, the son of Nanda Maharaja. [Caitanya-matta-manjusa, by Srila Vishvanatha Cakravarti Thakura] And tad dhama Vrindavana, His abode, His dhama is Vrindavana Dhama. And ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena va kalpita, the way the vraja vadhus, the cowherd damsels worshipped Him that is the highest form of worship. Ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena va kalpita, and Srimad Bhagavatam pramanam amalam. The question may arise what’s the proof? How do you substantiate this statement of yours? The answer is: Srimad Bhagavatam, the amala purana, the spotless purana. Srimad Bhagavatam is the proof. Srimad Bhagavatam puranam amalam and prema pumartha mahan, to receive Krishna prema is the ultimate goal of life. Sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradarah na parah, this is the conclusion, these are the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam and tratradarah, just accept it, and na parah, there is no need to accept anything else. Everything can be rejected, just accept this. So this is the ultimate culmination of Srimad Bhagavatam which has been presented here by Maitreya Rishi, which has been presented by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, which has been presented by Srila Suta Gosvami and then finally the sum total, the crux and the essential understanding of Srimad Bhagavatam has been given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So here it is very interesting to note that Brahma is telling Narada Muni, Brahma is instructing Narada, Brahma is narrating his realization, how he appeared, how the creation began. At the end of the millennium, the devastation, the water of devastation put everyone to sleep so to speak. Death is kind of sleeping. The difference between death and sleep is, in sleep we wake up in the same body and in death we wake up in another body. So death is actually a prolonged, uninterrupted sleep. So at the time of annihilation everything is withdrawn actually. The Lord withdraws every living entity. Now, what’s the difference? The difference is that one can go back to the Lord in his spiritual form, receiving his spiritual identity, then when he goes back then he is situated with the Lord. But another kind of going back to the Lord, just as it happens after the annihilation that they go back but they remain in their subtle body. They remain in their subtle body and the total subtle substance then at the beginning of creation penetrates through the navel of the Lord. And the total subtle substance assumes the form of the lotus. That has been explained by Maitreya Rishi. And then Brahma finds himself, the first created being, finds himself in that lotus. Brahma’s situation is like, someone just wakes up and doesn’t have any recollection, doesn’t have any memory of his past. He completely forgot who he was, the past is completely blank and he just woke up and finds himself sitting on a lotus in a vast pool of water.

So Brahma began to wonder, “Who am I? And where did I come from? And what I am supposed to do here?”So Brahma thought that if he climbed down the stem of the lotus and reach the bottom of the lotus then he would find it. He thought that because he was situated on the top of the lotus, maybe the bottom of the lotus will provide him the answer. So Brahma climbed down through the stem of the lotus and it has been described that he came very close to the origin. He came very close to the navel of the Lord. That means he came very close to the Lord but he couldn’t see Him. Why? Because aprakrita vastu nahe prakrita-gocara [CC Madhya 9.194], the transcendental reality cannot be perceived with mundane senses. So Brahma’s senses were not purified at that time. Therefore although he came so close to the Lord, still he couldn’t perceive the Lord. Although he came directly from the Lord, in one sense it can be said that he is the son of the Lord, but still he could not see the Lord, couldn’t see Garbhodakasayi Vishnu.

So then Brahma came up and sat on top of the lotus and he began to wonder, “Now what am I going to do?” And the water of the Garbha ocean splashed against each other creating the sound ‘tapah, tapah’, and that sound vibration actually inspired Brahma from within that now you withdraw your senses from external projection and project them internally through austerity. That is the austerity, to withdraw the senses, tapah, or austerity is to withdraw the senses from the external projection and project it internally. And then Brahma received the mercy of the Lord. By playing the flute the Lord gave him Gayatri and meditating on the Gayatri the transcendental reality became manifest to Brahma. This aspect has been described in Brahma Samhita. And when Brahma saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead he began to offer his prayers. Just like this also, it’s actually Brahma’s prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead after he perceived Him, and Brahma Samhita is another version of Brahma’s prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead after he perceived Him.

And we can see, Brahma was actually seeing the Lord in the spiritual sky face to face. He saw the spiritual sky, what it is like. Cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha. [Brahma Samhita, 5.29] It’s a beautiful piece of land. That land is actually made of touchstones. All the buildings there, all the structures there are made of touchstones. Cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vriksha. It’s a forest but in that forest all the trees are desire trees. Surabhir abhipalayantam, and there the Supreme Personality of Godhead is tending His cows and all these cows are Surabhi cows. Now what is touchstone, cintamani? By coming in contact with a touchstone a base metal becomes gold, but that is the material aspect. That’s not a touchstone actually, that’s not cintamani. That is the reflection of touchstone in the material nature, parasmani, but touchstone, the characteristic is that it turns other substances into touchstone. And Surabhi, Surabhi has a daughter, called Nandini owned by Vashistha, and that can supply anything. So that is the quality of Surabhi cow. Like, that cow can even generate an army which defeated Vishvamitra’s army. Vishvamitra was a king and he wanted to forcefully take away Surabhi from Vashistha and when his soldiers were dragging Surabhi away, with tears in her eyes Surabhi appealed to Vashistha that, “Look, I am like your daughter. You are like my father, and see in front of your eyes these people are molesting me. So won’t you do anything?” Vashistha said, “Look, I am a brahmana. I can’t take to violence but if you want you can defend yourself.” Surabhi was just waiting for that command. She immediately generated an army and that army fought with Vishvamitra’s army and defeated his army and drove them away. And that is how Vishvamitra decided that, he realized that the brahminical power is superior to kshatriya power, so he wanted to become a brahmana from his kshatriya situation. So in this way we can see the potency of a Surabhi cow. The Surabhi cow can offer anything that one wants.

So that place Vrindavana is filled with Surabhi cows and the cows that Krishna is tending, they all are Surabhi cows. The forest of Vrindavana is made of desire trees, the forest of desire trees. And these desire trees also can fulfill any desire. So this is what is Vrindavana. And Lakshmi-sahasra-shata-sambhrama-sevyamanam, there Krishna is sporting with these cowherd damsels. But who are these cowherd damsels? There are hundreds and thousands of cowherd damsels. They all are Lakshmis. So this is how Brahma saw Vrindavana, and there he saw Krishna face to face.

alola-chandraka-lasad-vanamalya-vamshi-
ratnangadam pranaya-keli-kala-vilasam
shyamam tribhanga-lalitam niyata-prakasham
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
[Brahma Samhita, 3.31]

So Krishna’s beautiful form is bent in three places, tribhanga-lalitam. And His form has the complexion of a beautiful monsoon cloud, the color of a beautiful monsoon cloud, shyamam. Ghana Shyama. And there is a necklace hanging on His chest along with a flower garland, vanamalya, and vamshi, He is playing the flute. And He is very wonderfully playing, having his loving exchange, pranaya-keli-kala-vilasam. He is having a wonderful loving exchange with the damsels of Vrindavana and the residents of Vrindavana. So that is Brahma’s perception of Krishna in the spiritual sky.

This is how the spiritual perception actually takes place and that is the point that Brahma is making here. In this particular verse Brahma is saying that when one receives the transcendental sound vibration through his ears then he sees the transcendental reality. This is a different type of perception. This perception is not taking place through our eyes. This perception is taking place through our ears. The transcendental sound vibration is actually a mantra. Mantra is the sound that is coming from the spiritual sky. The sound coming from the spiritual sky means the sound that is actually describing the spiritual sky. The description or the sound form of spiritual substance is coming down in the form of mantra. And when that mantra is properly received and properly meditated upon then the mantra becomes manifest in the form of the transcendental reality.

So that is why it has been described here that srauta panthah, or the expression that has been used here is srutekshita-patho. Sruta-ikshita, sruta means heard through ears and ikshita means seen. So it is a different kind of seeing: a seeing through the ears. That’s why this process is known as srauta panthah and this process has been described elaborately, or rather explained by Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada is explaining that none of our senses can perceive the spiritual reality. Spiritual reality is beyond our sense perception, therefore the spiritual reality is adhokshaja. Aksha means senses, akshaja means sense perception and adho-akshaja means beyond our sense perception. The spiritual reality is beyond our sense perception, so we cannot see the spiritual reality through our senses. We cannot perceive the spiritual reality through our mundane senses. With our senses we can only perceive the material objects, material nature, but the spiritual reality is beyond our sense perception. So the word adhokshaja literally means beyond sense perception.

Srila Prabhupada is pointing out that there is only one sense that can actually reach that reality. What is that? Our ears. How? The sound vibration that comes down from the spiritual reality, when it is received properly through our hearing then we become eligible to perceive the spiritual reality. So that is the process, srauta panthah. Sravanam kirtanam, first thing is sravanam, hearing. And how that hearing takes place? Satam prasangan mama virya samvido [SB 3.25.25], in the association of satam, in the association of devotees. Then mama virya samvido bhavanti hrit-karna rasayanah kathah. In the association of devotees we get to receive the very powerful narration of the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And when that enters through the path way of our ears into the region of our hearts, hrit-karna and rasayanah kathah, it creates an inconceivable emotion, churning all the mellows and taj-josanad asv apavarga-vartmani, and as a result of that we become free from apavarga, we become free from pavarga: the path of, or varga of the suffering condition in this material nature. Pavarga consists of five letters: pa, pfa, ba, bha, ma. Parishrama,[unclear],endeavor, struggle, hardship, parishrama. And as a result of that our mouth begins to foam, phena. Then we realize that all our endeavors have been futile, vyartha, and then as a result of that we become very fearful, bhaya, and then finally (ma) mrityu.

So this is the state of our existence in this material nature: a total waste of endeavor which will ultimately lead to death. But what Krishna consciousness does? Our hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His extremely wonderful qualities and activities immediately frees us from this material existence which is centered around birth and death or samsara, samsara chakra, which is starting with birth and ending with death, a cycle of birth and death. We are rotating in that cycle constantly. But when we become fortunate enough to hear the wonderful activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the mouth of a self realized pure devotee of the Lord, then immediately we become free from the cycle of birth and death. And then what happens? Shraddha ratir bhaktir anukramishati. And as a result of that we develop shraddha, faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the words of the devotees, the instructions of the devotees. And when we act according to that instruction, with the understanding that our constitutional position is that of the servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, when we become engaged in that loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead then shraddha gradually develops into rati and bhakti. Gradually of course it develops. There are other stages in between. From shraddha comes to bhajana kriya, bhajana kriya to anartha nivritti, anartha nivritti to nistha, then nistha it comes to rati. But here it has been pointed out gradually from shraddha it will take us to rati, and rati gradually to bhakti. And this bhakti is prema.

So that love is the ultimate goal of life. That has been pointed out time and time again in the Vedic scriptures, that love prema pumartha puman. We all want love. We all want to love somebody and we all want to be loved by somebody. In the material world everyone is actually endeavoring, whatever one does practically is for the sake of this to love of to be loved. But unfortunately we do not know whom to love. Love is there in our heart, which is actually a means, a power, an energy to unite us with Krishna. Love is actually an energy that is meant to unite a jiva with the Supreme Personality of Godhead but when we are forgetful of the Supreme Personality of Godhead then we repose that love, we offer that love to different other objects hoping to get that result and outcome of that love, that is joy. But no matter wherever we offer it, we do not become satisfied because we are offering it at a wrong place. Therefore the heart always remains discontent in all the love affairs in this material nature. But when that love is offered to the supreme object of our love, then that love becomes successful and then the heart automatically becomes satisfied. Not only it becomes satisfied, it becomes filled with joy.

So that is the prema leading to ananda. Ananda is synonymous to prema, or interlinked with prema. Prema will lead to ananda and ananda is the ultimate desirable object that every living entity is hankering for. And this love affair also is so wonderful, that here is somebody who already loves us, the problem is that we do not love Him. And that’s why the love is not complete. A loves B but B doesn’t respond, what happens? A is frustrated. A is so disappointed. But then one fine morning A receives a letter from B saying “I love you.” How does A feel? So that is the situation with Krishna. Krishna loves us. Prabhupada made that point that if He doesn’t love us then why is He following us wherever we are going? If He doesn’t love us, then why He is accepting all kinds of dirty situations that we are subjecting ourselves to? And then we consider Krishna’s mercy upon us. We can immediately see how much He must be loving us. All these wonderful arrangements that He made for us, why would He have done that, why would He have made those arrangements if He didn’t love us? So He loves us but we do not love Him. That’s the problem. But then if someday we just say, “Krishna, I love You,” then Krishna begins to dance in ecstasy. That is how wonderful the relationship is. And how do we say, “Krishna, I love You?” Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya! Gaura Premanande Hari Haribol!

SB – 7.3.17

Srimad-Bhagavatam Canto Seven, Chapter 3, Hiranyakasipu’s Plan to Become Immortal, Text number 17.

sri-brahmovaca
uttishthottishtha bhadram te
tapah-siddho ‘si kasyapa
varado ‘ham anuprapto
vriyatam ipsito varah

SYNONYMS

sri-brahma uvaca — Lord Brahma said; uttishtha — please get up; uttishtha — get up; bhadram — good fortune; te — unto you; tapah-siddhah — perfect in executing austerities; asi — you are; kasyapa — O son of Kasyapa; vara-dah — the giver of benediction; aham — I; anupraptah — arrived; vriyatam — let it be submitted; ipsitah — desired; varah — benediction.

Translation and purport by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Tridandi Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada. Jaya Srila Prabhupada, savior of the fallen souls.

Lord Brahma said: O son of Kasyapa Muni, please get up, please get up. All good fortune unto you. You are now perfect in the performance of your austerities, and therefore I may give you a benediction. You may now ask from me whatever you desire, and I shall try to fulfill your wish.

PURPORT

Srila Madhvacarya quotes from the Skanda Purana, which says that Hiranyakasipu, having become a devotee of Lord Brahma, who is known as Hiranyagarbha, and having undergone a severe austerity to please him, is also known as Hiranyaka. Rakshasas and demons worship various demigods, such as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, just to take the post of these demigods. This we have already explained in previous verses. [end of purport]

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

There is that one pastime. That one demon was worshiping Lord Siva. Such austerities he was doing. He was cutting off his flesh and throwing it in the fire. He wanted to invoke the presence of Siva to receive a boon from Lord Siva. Can you imagine? Tapasa brahmacaryena. You want to be a brahmacari and perform some austerities? Now cut off your flesh and throw it in the fire. Just imagine what austerities he was doing! Cutting his own flesh, putting it in the fire.

Still Lord Siva was not coming. He was so frustrated. Why is Siva not coming? Why is he not coming. Finally, I’ll just cut off my head and put it in the fire. Finally, Siva came and said, you nonsense. You fool. Why don’t you just offer some water? Alright, what do you want? He was thinking, Siva has such a beautiful wife, this Parvati is so beautiful. So beautiful. Let me kill Lord Siva, so I can enjoy his wife. You just give me the blessing that whoever’s head I will touch, his skull will crack immediately. Siva said granted.

Immediately, he wanted to occupy the post of Siva, by killing him. So, he could take Parvati as his consort. Siva has to go running running running because he has given the boon. He cannot withdraw it. He goes running running for his life. All over the universe, this demon is chasing him. Finally, they come to the Vaikuntha. Lord Visnu takes from the sky the form a little boy.

Come on. Do you think that Siva really has the power to give you such a boon? Are you a fool? Do you think Siva really has the power to give you a boon that anyone’s head you touch, their skull will crack? Are you dreaming? The demon got very bewildered. The Lord as a little child said, you have to test it to see if its really for real. Siva’s actually misleading you. Try it. Touch your head. So, pkeew! Finished. These are the sort of characters that worship the demigods. Simply rascals.

Hiranyakasipu, and this fellow who was worshiping Siva, they just want to take over the position Hiranyakasipu simply wanted to become the lord of the universe. That was his motive. A flatterer is your worst enemy. They’re flattering the demigod because they are actually envious. They want that position. Prabhupada also said that too much devoted, there is motive.

I remember, I was in my brahamacari days. We had one temple commander. Madan Mohan prabhu, in Gainesville. Some of the devotees came up to him and started glorifying him and he knew they had some motives. He said, ok. What do you want. He knew their was something up their sleeves. They weren’t just glorifying him for the sake of glorifying him.

This is the demoniac mentality. I have some motive, so I’m worshiping. In the material world someone gets a position in a corporation, they’re always flattering their supervisor. They don’t really like the person. Its just some game to move up corporate ladders. They might even hate his guts, but still, they play the game, to move up. This is demoniac mentality. Its all based on the desire for prominence. This desire for prominence is the greatest defect actually. It is this desire which brought us here, to begin with.

We were there in the spiritual world, serving Krishna in Goloka, and in the Vaikuntha world, every world, Krishna or Lord Visnu is prominent In Goloka Vrindavana, everyone’s talking about Krishna. The cowherd boys come home, all wide-eyed, they say Mata Mata! You know what happened today in the forest? This big demon came, and Krishna killed him! Krishna did it. Krishna Krishna. Everything is Krishna Krishna Krishna. Everyone’s talking about Krishna. Everyone’s thinking, when will I see Krishna. Everything is Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna.

If someone becomes infected with this, thinking well, why is Krishna prominent, why not me? Then, immediately they find they find themselves here in this place. This is the place for people who want to be the prominent center of everything. That is our disease. We have to understand what is our disease. We have the desire for prominence. We have to be careful when we enter even into a spiritual society like this wonderful iskcon that Prabhupada has founded, that we don’t bring that desire for prominence with us.

I didn’t make it in the material world, so, now I’ll become prominent in the spiritual movement. If you want prominence, then here’s the real way to become prominent. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Factually, for preaching, we want to be prominent, but it has to be a pure desire. Prabhupada after all, told us that we have to be so prominent that we manage the whole world. One tape I play every morning when I shave, Prabhupada is saying like this. He says the whole world is being managed by rogues and demons, now you make your life successful and you take the management. We manage the society. Iskcon is meant to be the prominent guiding institution on this planet.

We’re meant for prominence, but if we have the desire for personal prominence, for self-aggrandizement, then, we’re simply following the footsteps of Hiranyakasipu, which we must not do. We simply have to become humble servant of the servant of the servant of the servant. The more that we are in that position, then naturally we become prominent.

It never ceases to amaze me, one statement given by Srila Prabhupada, in the Caitanya-Caritamrta. It constantly amazes me. Prabhupada says in that purport that if a devotee can chant the holy name of the Lord without offense, completely free of all offenses, that devotee becomes jagat-guru. Spiritual master of the universe. Under his influence, the entire world takes up chanting Hare Krishna. He didn’t say it had to be a sannyasi, it had to be a GBC. He just said, if any devotee can purely chant the holy names of the Lord, that devotee will become jagat-guru and influence the entire planet to take up Krishna consciousness. So, just see how important it is when we chant our japa, to chant without offense, because just by pure chanting we can actually have an impact on the entire planet. Pure chanting even one iskcon member, out of all of our devotees on the planet, if even one iskcon member can purely chant the holy name, that one devotee can have the potency to completely push back the whole kali-yuga.

Pariksit Maharaja gave some place for Kali to reside. Didn’t he? But this Lord Caitanya’s movement can take away all of Kali’s hiding places. He has nowhere to go, nothing to do except shave up and put on tilak.

We have to make sure that we don’t have this mentality of Hiranyakasipu, a desire for prominence. We simply want to make Srila Prabhupada prominent, and make Krishna prominent. That should be our desire. The more that we have that mentality, then we naturally become prominent. We become influential to the extent that we want to see the Krishna consciousness shall become the guiding principle on this planet. All these other nonsense rascal things happening here, will be put to an end. The slaughterhouses, the brothels, the abortion clinics, the liquor shops, the porno websites, all this garbage, which is just destroying whatever tinge of decency is still left in the human society. These things have to be eradicated. We cant do it by brute force. We’re not powerful enough to do that. We’re not like Pariksit Maharaja that we can go out with a sword and say you close down this slaughterhouse or your finished. We don’t have the powerful prominence to do that. We’re not a military operation. We shouldn’t artificially try to do that.

This iskcon is actually the leading educational institution on the planet. That’s what its meant to be, and that’s what it is. To the extent that we actually fulfill the purposes of the society, in the way that we conduct ourselves as iskcon members, that will be our prominence. To be a preacher of Krishna consciousness is the position of brahmana. Prabhupada explains in his purport that brahmana means that he is the spiritual master of human society. To actually be a brahmana we give our second initiation ceremony to men and women both to live up to the real name of a brahmana.

I remember when I received my brahmana initiation in 1975. Satsvarupa Maharaja told me that now you have to actually be a brahmana. I took that seriously as a very poignant instruction. Its not just a ceremony that you know, here’s your thread and mantra. Now you’re a brahmana. No. Now you have to actually become a brahmana. Someone who knows the scripture, and lives the scripture, in all times all places and all circumstances in every thought every word and every deed, and teaches others the same thing. That is brahman. We’re all meant to be professors of Vedic wisdom: Brahmanas who can establish Krishna consciousness in every town and village throughout the world.

Prabhupada said, I do not want sit-down Vaisnavas. I want fighting Vaisnavas like Hanuman and Arjuna. We’re meant, actually, to create a revolution. That is the sloka. This Bhagavatam is meant for bringing about a revolution in the misdirected lives of this material civilization. We are meant to be revolutionaries. Just like Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja talks always in his Spiritual Warrior series. We are meant to be Spiritual Warriors who fight against the ignorance of this kali-yuga by preaching, by giving these wonderful books of Srila Prabhupada, by giving them the chance to hear the holy name, by giving them prasadam, by giving them loving kindness. Here’s someone who’s not trying to exploit me. Here is a devotee of the Lord who simply loves me. He’s not trying to cheat me or take something from me. He’s trying to give me the most precious thing that exists in all of reality. What is that? Krishna consciousness.

Krishna consciousness is the greatest treasure. There is no opulence possessed even by Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigods, which can come even close to an infinitesimal, insignificant fraction of the unparalleled, unfathomable unlimited opulence of Krishna consciousness. One pure utterance of Hare Krishna can bring so much nectar that you cannot measure it. Its immeasurable nectar.

If we’re not tasting unlimited nectar when we say Hare Krishna, then that means nama-aparadha. We’re chanting with offense. We have to really strive. Its very nice that everyday that you read from Sri Namamrta. This is a first-class program we have here in iskcon Denver, under Sriman Makatma prabhu . Your very blessed to have such nice Krishna conscious leadership here. Take advantage of this leadership. Don’t take it for granted.

Take the instruction, the inspiration, the blessings you’re receiving here and make your life perfect. Make your determination not to take birth again in this material world. Haven’t we suffered enough in this material world? Haven’t we had enough of this nonsense? Birth death old age and disease. Sometimes a demigod, sometimes Indra, sometimes indragopa, sometimes an elephant, sometimes an orangutan How about a baboon? Can you imagine that you were a baboon? You were a baboon! Why should we stay in this embarrassing position?

We have the greatest opportunity now, in this human form of life. Let us not blow it by running after the opposite sex. You want to be married, that’s alright, you still cannot run after the opposite sex. You simply have to run after guru and Krishna. That’s what where are meant to run, not after the opposite sex. That running after the opposite sex keeps us here birth after birth after birth.

The Christians have the bumper sticker Yes. Born again and again and again and again Christian. We laugh, but we have to make sure we’re not born again and again and again Hare Krishnas also. Its easy to throw stones, but there’s an old saying, those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones. We’re actually meant to point out the fallacies, but we have to make sure that we’re pure. We’re meant to point out the fallacies. Prabhupada wants us to expose the nonsense, but we have to be very pure ourselves. Otherwise, we’re hypocrites and we wont be successful.

If we want to be successful in pulling off this world revolution that Prabhupada wants to pull off, then we have to be spotlessly pure. Spotlessly pure. Nothing sense gratification hidden in the corners of our life. I make a very good show, and when no one is looking, I go to the internet and check out a porn site. Nothing like that. We have to be spotlessly pure.

Everything we do is being witnessed. There are higher authorities who are seeing absolutely everything that we’re doing. Everything that we’re thinking also. You can’t hide anything from the higher authorities. We really have to become absolutely totally completely pure and just beg guru and Krishna to please drive all the impurities out of my heart, so I can become completely totally dedicated to your service. That is revolutionary. If there can be such persons on this planet, that will turn history upside down. Let us be such pure devotees. Let us make that our determination.

Prabhupada, when he gave some instruction, I remember, we got a letter when we were at the gurukula in the early days in Dallas, Prabhupada was saying that we should be revolutionary clean. That not only means external cleanliness, it means internal cleanliness also. We have to be revolutionary clean within and without. So clean that… Its revolutionary.

SB 7.3.15 and 16

na dadarsa praticchannam
valmika-trna-kicakaih
pipilikabhir acirnam
medas-tvan-mamsa-soditam

tapantam tapasa lokan
yathabhrapihitam ravim
vilaksya vismitah praha
hasams tam hamsa-vahanah

na—not; dadarsa—saw; praticchannam—covered; valmika—by an anthill; trna—grass; kicakaih—and bamboo sticks; pipilikabhih—by the ants; aciriam—eaten all around; medah—whose fat; tvak—skin; mamsa—the flesh; soditam—and blood; tapantam—heating; tapasa—by a severe type of penance; lokan—all the three worlds; yatha—just as; abhra—by clouds; apihitam—covered; ravim—the sun; vilaksya—seeing; vismitah—struck with wonder; praha—said; hasan—smiling; tam—to him; hamsa-vahanah—Lord Brahma, who rides a swan airplane.

Translation and Purport by Srila Prabhupada:

Lord Brahma, who is carried by a swan airplane, at first could not see where Hiranyakasipu was, for Hiranyakasipu’s body was covered by an anthill and by grass and bamboo sticks. Because Hiranyakasipu had been there for a long time, the ants had devoured his skin, fat, flesh and blood. Then Lord Brahma and the demigods spotted him, resembling a cloud—covered sun, heating all the world by his austerity. Struck with wonder, Lord Brahma began to smile and then addressed him as follows.

PURPORT

“The living entity can live merely by his own power, without the help of skin, marrow, bone, blood and so on, because it is said, asango’yam purusah—the living entity has nothing to do with the material covering. Hiranyakasipu performed a severe type of tapasya, austerity, for many long years. Indeed, it is said that he performed the tapasya for one hundred heavenly years. Since one day of the demigods equals six of our months, certainly this was a very long time. By nature’s own way, his body had been almost consumed by earthworms, ants and other parasites, and therefore even Brahma was at first unable to see him. Later, however, Brahma could ascertain where Hiranyakasipu was, and Brahma was struck with wonder to see Hiranyakasipu’s extraordinary power to execute tapasya. Anyone would conclude that Hiranyakasipu was dead because his body was covered in so many ways, but Lord Brahma, the supreme living being in this universe, could understand that Hiranyakasipu was alive but covered by material elements[.

It is also to be noted that although Hiranyakasipu performed this austerity for a long, long time, he was nonetheless known as a Daitya and Raksasa. It will be seen from verses to follow that even great saintly persons could not perform such a severe type of austerity. Why then was he called a Raksasa and Daitya? It is because whatever he did was for his own sense gratification. His son Prahlada Maharaja was only five years old, and so what could Prahlada do? Yet simply by performing a little devotional service according to the instructions of Narada Muni, Prahlada became so dear to the Lord that the Lord came to save him, whereas Hiranyakasipu, in spite of all his austerities, was killed. This is the difference between devotional service and all other methods of perfection. One who performs severe austerities for sense gratification is fearful to the entire world, whereas a devotee who performs even a slight amount of devotional service is a friend to everyone (suhrdam sarva-bhutanam [Bg. 5.29]). Since the Lord is the well-wisher of every living entity and since a devotee assumes the qualities of the Lord, a devotee also acts for everyone’s good fortune by performing devotional service. Thus although Hiranyakasipu performed such a severe austerity, he remained a Daitya and a Raksasa, whereas Prahlada Maharaja, although born of the same Daitya father, became the most exalted devotee and was personally protected by the Supreme Lord. Bhakti is therefore called sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam [Cc. Madhya 19.170], indicating that a devotee is freed from all material designations, and anyabhilasita-sunyam [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11], situated in a transcendental position, free from all material desires. ”

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

This verse excerpt, quoted by Srila Prabhupada describes Krishna: Su-hrdam sarva bhutanam. I am the best friend of all living beings. Now the devotee is also described as the best friend, because he is representing Krishna. That doesn’t mean that he is sarva-loka mahesvaram, or that he is bhoktaram yajna tapasam. We cannot concoct that, well, if this description is true for the Lord, and the devotee, because the devotee is assuming the qualities of the Lord, that doesn’t mean that the other two also apply to the devotee. This is why we need acaryas. We cannot speculate. There are three descriptions. I’m the supreme enjoyer, I am the supreme proprietor, I am the best friend of all living entities. Even though we understand from Srila Prabhupada that the third one also applies to the devotee, the devotee is also the best friend because he is giving Krishna consciousness wherever he goes, to whoever he meets,

yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa
amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa

We cannot assume that as with the third point, so with the second point and the first point, by mental speculation. Therefore, I’m the enjoyer of everything, and I’m the owner of everything. No way. We must follow in the pathway of the great acaryas.

mahajano yena gatah sa panthah

We cannot concoct our own pathway. That is a very popular system. You just concoct your own interpretation. Whatever suits your own sense gratification, you put forward some arguments to establish a philosophy which justifies it. That is not our Vaisnava system. We cannot concoct our own philosophy to suit our sense gratification. We have to simply submit ourselves at the lotus feet of Sri Guru and Krishna, hear what the acaryas are telling us, and then live and speak according to that guru-parampara system. Consider that Vaisnava song, Gurudeva! Your mercy is all I am made of. I have no good qualities. Whatever we are able to do nicely in Krishna’s service, that is the mercy of guru upon us. Not that I am some great qualified person. That is the way of Hiranyakasipu. He is thinking by his own power, he will accomplish something very great, but in spite of so much austerity, the whole thing was finished.

The society nowadays is Hiranyakasipu civilization. They’re doing so many penances and austerities. One penance, after another penance, after another penance, to try to make this material world the kingdom of God, but without God!That is a famous saying attributed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, that we want to have the kingdom of God, but not God. That is the Hiranyakasipu mentality. We want to have God’s kingdom, but God can take a walk, we don’t need Him here, we just want His kingdom. We want to enjoy Sita, but we don’t want to serve Rama. That doesn’t work.

Krishna may play with you, and give you the illusion that you’re getting away with being His competetor for some time. Krishna is simply playing with you, just like sometimes He’s fighting with some demon, and Krishna lets the demon get the upper hand sometimes in the fight, so the demon actually thinks he’s winning. It just makes Krishna’s final killing of the demon more enjoyable for Krishna. He watches the demon think he’s getting the upper hand, then He just completely destroys him. So, sometimes Krishna, through the agency of maya, lets the living entity think that he’s the controller, the enjoyer, but then, cruel death comes, and everything’s finished. Krishna always gets the last laugh. He who laughs last, laughs best.

They laugh at what they consider the foolish conception of God’s existence, but they are all struck down by the almighty power of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they begin another chapter according to their karma. But, the devotee, he’s very compassionate, he doesn’t want to see them suffer unnecessarily Why should they suffer? Somehow, let me bring them out of this suffering condition. That’s the devotee’s mood.

The devotee takes the anxiety of others upon himself, and therefore, he has no anxiety. I always remember a point that was made by Tamal Krishna Maharaja many years ago in Dallas. A sannyasi was the temple president there. I don’t want to mention his name because he’s no longer with us. When Tamal Krishna Maharaja first came to Dallas it was a very huge community. There were many managerial headaches to manage such a big community. I will never forget when Tamal Krishna Maharaja said that So-and-so Swami has no anxiety because he is taking all of your anxiety on himself. I thought that was a very profound statement. Goswami Maharaja always said many very profound statements on many different aspects of our Krishna consciousness movement. When the responsible devotee for the sake of the other devotees, to help them in their spiritual life, to facilitate them in their spiritual progress, he’s taking all of their anxieties on his own shoulders, into his own heart, he has no anxieties himself because he’s totally absorbed in serving the others. How can they be facilitated on their pathway back to home, back to Godhead?

This is the meaning of Su-hrdam sarva bhutanam. Anyone who takes up this preaching spirit, he’s feeling great pain and anguish and sorrow in his heart to see the suffering living entities all around him, driving up and down the street. Prabhupada was very moved sometimes. In Melbourne, they were walking in the early morning, in the park. All the commuters were coming into town, like a big highway of ants. Prabhupada actually became very sorrowful to see their situation. With no knowledge at all, they’re just struggling, day in and day out. Commutingin the morning with great endeavor, working hard all day in great anxiety of being layed off, or being cchastised or having their pay cut, then going through great austerities in traffic on the way home. Day in and day out, their whole life. He was feeling great sadness to see these poor Melbornites on their morning commute. It actually doesn’t make sense to struggle so hard in this material world. What is the sense of it?

I remember my freshman year of college, this is what I realized. What’s the point of all this struggle? Work hard in school so you can make good grades, so you can get a good job, so you can get a wife, get a house get kids, for what purpose? So you can get old, retire to St. Petersburg, and play shuffleboard with a bunch of senior citizens, and then be buried underground, have somebody put flowers on your grave until they forget about you. I was thinking, what is the point of all this? Why struggle so hard for this? It doesn’t make sense at all. I was simply wondering, what is the meaning of life? What is the purpose of my existence? I was hoping there would be a learned professor of philosophy class or somewhere who can answer my question. No one could. We had so many philosophical conversations in the dormitory, but none of my dorm buddies had any clue, my professors had no clue, the supposed great thinkers we studied, they had no clue, what is the point of our existence?

This is why a bona fide spiritual master is required, because he brings that knowledge to us, and brings that love also to us. He gives us that knowledge in such a way that we can understand it. Some people have the foolish idea that, the a message becomes more diluted, more diluted, more diluted, less potent, less potent and less potent the more its passed down in disciplic succession. But Prabhupada doesn’t accept that.

In the First Canto, Chapter 1 of Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is described how Sukadeva Goswami has heard the Bhagavatam from Srila Vyasadeva. We can just imagine how purely the Srimad-Bhagavatam was uttered by Vedavyasa. When you hear it from his mouth directly, how potent and pure it must be. Sukadeva heard it from his father, and he is repeating it for Maharaja Pariksit. Suta heard that and he repeated it to the sages of Naimisaranya. In this way it is coming down down down. The word suka means parrot. What is our normal conception of a parrot? Some dumb bird that you can teach to say something. The popular American thing is Polly wanna cracker. Polly wanna cracker, Polly wanna cracker. To make your friends laugh when they come to the house. Of course, he doesn’t know what Polly means or what cracker means. He just repeats it blindly, but every time he says it, they give him a cracker, so he keeps saying it again and again. Polly wanna cracker, Polly wanna cracker. It is not like that, simply blindly repeating. That’s not why he is called Sukadeva, because he was blindly repeating the Bhagavatam.

He is called Sukadeva because the beak of a parrot has a special quality. When it pierces the skin of a mango, that mango becomes more sweet. That’s why he’s called Sukadeva. By his repeating of the Bhagavatam, it became even more nectarian, then when Vyasadeva spoke it, and when Suta Goswami repeated it, it became even more nectarian. And when Prabhupada has presented it, it becomes even more nectarian. Prabhupada explains, because the acarya, the Bhagavatam preacher in proper disciplic succession, he speaks according to time, place and audience. Just like, you can go to a regular department store and get a suit, or you can go to a tailor, and you can have a suit which is tailor-made, just for you. Which suit looks better? Taylor-made: Its more expensive, but it feels better and looks better. Taylor-made is always better. When the acaryas present the Srimad-Bhagavatam, they tailor-fit it to the audience at that particular time, that particular place, and that particular situation. That’s because its always tailor-fitted to that particular situation. Why? Because in this way, the message can go in easier.

Let’s face it. We all have false ego problems. We have a certain degree of resistance. Sad but true. We suffering souls are trying to be Krishna conscious, but, we’re still battling it out with our minds, our false egos. There’s a certain amount of resistance we have to getting the injection of Bhagavatam into the heart. This is why the tailor-fitted presentation is very valuable and very potent. This makes it easier to ingest.

Another nice point is from text 15. This word mamsa, which means flesh, is actually a combination of 2 words mam and sa. Mam means me, and sa means he. Literally, its me-he. So, why is flesh called me-he? Its me eating he, and then in the next life it will be he eating me. It indicates that. In Sanskrit, this word mamsa has a very deep meaning. Its a little thing going on between me and he. I’m eating him, then he’ll be eating me. These fools and rascals think they’re getting off scot-free. They go for their Big Mac, but little do they realize the meaning of mamsa. They will have to be slaughtered in the slaughterhouse in their next lifetime. For every hair on the body of those cows they have taken, they will take a birth and be slaughtered. They’re so foolish that think that, we go to church, so we’re going to heaven. Then they go for their McDonald’s hamburger. That’s how foolish they are. Every Sunday, after church, they get a Mac Attack, and they have to go get their McDonald’s. They think that in heaven, there will also be a McDonald’s, but even in they were somehow able to get to the spiritual world, when they got their Mac Attack, they would have to be informed, my dear sir, you’ll have to go back down to Denver if you want a McDonald’s hamburger. We’re vegetarians here in the Kingdom of God. So, therefore, they will not go back to the Kingdom of God. As long as someone has a taste for eating meat, there’s no question of going back to the Kingdom of God. You wouldn’t be happy. Do you think that God will force you to come to His Kingdom where you’ll be miserable, because there’s no McDonald’s hamburgers. These simple points they don’t understand, but they think that so and so died, he went to heaven. They always say he went to heaven, he went to heaven. My father went to heaven, my mother went to heaven, I’m going to heaven. We’re all going to heaven. We’ll be back together again. The animals don’t have souls, except for the family dog. He will go to heaven. He’s the exception. This so-called religion is not science.

Of course, we give them some credit. As Bhaktivinoda Thakura points out, Vaisnava-dharma is actually the one Religion. Other systems are accepted insofar as they are in line with Vaisnava-dharma. Wherever we see certain aspects of Vaisnava-dharma existing in Christianity, in Judaism, in Mohammedanism, Sikhism, Jainism, to that extent it is bona-fide. It is authorized. To the extent that they are in line with Vaisnava-dharma, to that extent they are bona-fide. To the extent that they are not, they are bogus. Vaisnava-dharma is actually the one religion. Sanatana-dharma is our constitutional nature. The constitution of water is liquidity. Sometimes we see, here in Denver especially, snow and ice. That is not the constitutional position. That is a seasonal, temporary condition. When things go back to the normal condition, it becomes liquid again. The normal position of the living entity is to love God. To fully surrender oneself to the will of the Lord, is the normal position of the living being. Under artificial conditions, he may think that he’s the enjoyer, that he’s the controller. But, when we come back to the natural position, then we are lovers of God. So, that is the actual religion. Religion cannot be two; Religion is one. How many suns are there in the sky? There is only one sun. It may be called by different names. In English we call it the sun, in Spanish they call it el sol. How foolish would it be if we had a war between Texas and Mexico, over the name of the sun? Its the sun! No! Its el sol! No! Its the sun! This is what’s going on nowadays. Its a foolish thing. They’re arguing, Allah is God. No. Krishna. Of course, we don’t argue like that. We’re not so foolish. Hindus generally understand a higher principle. But Christians, Mohammedans, they have no conception of the science of God. They simply go on with this sectarian fighting nonsense. They ask, what is the name of God, thinking that He has only one name: Our name. How foolish!

Even an ordinary person’s wife calls him honey, his kids call him daddy, his parents call him Teddy, his friends at work call him Ted. An ordinary Denverite has so many names. So it is foolishness that God can only have one name. This is not scientific. Krishna consciousness is the science of God. We reject blind dogmatic following here. It is not allowed. This Bhagavatam is also called paramahamsa-samhita. It is a treatise for the most highly intelligent class of personalities in the universe. We are meant to very carefully consider these points, both from the point of scriptural evidence and from logic, nyaya. We are meant to very clearly understand this philosophy from all angles of vision, and see how this is the ultimate science. There is no science like this anywhere in the universe. This is the very science upon which this universe is existing at this minute. They’re proud that with their science, they can make a little mp3 player with 40 GB in it. But the science we are studying describes how we exist, how every thing exists, what is the relationship between the different aspects of reality, what is the source of reality, and the emanated reality, how those two coordinate in a perfectional relationship of loving service. Everything is here in this Krishna consciousness science.

The world is actually dying for this knowledge. We are very fortunate to be the ones who have somehow got this knowledge so we can disseminate it, so that these Hiranyakasipus can be transformed into Prahladas. Just like we were Hiranyakasipus, and we’ve been transformed into Prahladas. We have gotten the mercy, now we must spread the mercy. This is called love. This is called compassion. This is called kindness. This is called friendship.

The devotee of the Lord is truly the best friend of everyone. He has no enmity toward anyone. He truly loves everyone. If we don’t feel that, it means we’re kanistha-adhikari. We have to find devotees who are more highly advanced than ourselves and take shelter of their association. A kanistha doesn’t have that compassion. Madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari both have that compassion. We have to come, at least, to the madhyama platform, and from there, gradually we must come to the uttama platform. That’s what Prabhupada wants.

SB 7.3.14

iti vijnapito devair
bhagavan atmabhur nrpa
parito bhrgu-daksadyair
yayau daityesvarasramam

Translation and purport, by His Divine Grace, Srila Prabhupada.
“O King, being thus informed by the demigods, the most powerful Lord Brahma, accompanied by Bhrgu, Daksa and other great sages, immediately started for the place where Hiranyakasipu was performing his penances and austerities.”

Purport: Lord Brahma was waiting for the austerities performed by Hiranyakasipu to mature so that he could go there and offer benedictions according to Hiranyakasipu’s desire. Now, taking the opportunity of being accompanied by all the demigods and great saintly persons, Brahma went there to award him the benediction he desired.

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

sri-caitanya-mano-‘bhistam sthapitam yena bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam

So, it is stated that there are three types of persons, who should all approach Krishna to fulfill their desires. There are persons who desire kama, sense gratification. Sarva-kama, who have all lusty desires. There are those who have become frustrated with lusty desires, and who desire moksa, moksa-kamis. Sarva-kamis, moksa-kamis, those who desire moksa, and then, there are akamis. Those whose desire is to become free from all desire. Akamis, devotees. Scriptures tell us that all three groups, actually, should approach Krishna to fulfill their desires. So, obviously, Hiranyakasipu is not in the category of akami. He is sarva-kami. But, still, he is understanding to get higher authorities. He’s approaching higher authorities, doing penance, and austerities.

So, we always depend on higher authority. This concept, whether we approach a demigod, or we approach Krishna, still we are dependent on higher authorities. Of course, demigods, they are dependent on Krishna also. So, the intelligent person doesn’t go to demigods. This is for less intelligent people. Those who are hrta-jnana, who have lost their intelligence. But, still, there’s some idea of approaching higher authorities. A controlling deity. That is some degree of Vedic understanding, to do that. But it is incomplete. Even in ordinary material affairs, we see the example of Wal-Mart. This Sam Walton, he had a very good idea. Why should I go to some distributors to get my goods. I’ll just go straight to the manufacturers. In that way, I’ll have better business So, why should we go to some middle person? The demigods are simply distributors for the benedictions coming from Krishna. Why should we go to some middle person and not be so well situated? The demigod may give us some temporary boon, but still we are caught up in birth and death. Hiranyakasipu was a classic example of that. He is getting, what he thought was immortality, by some trick. Even though he was told, no, I cannot give immortality, but still he was thinking he was getting immortality. But of course, he did not get immortality. So, instead of going to some middle person, to Lord Brahma, to Lord Siva, to Indra, to Ganesa, to Sarasvati, we should go directly to Krishna. This is intelligence. We see that digvijaya pandita Kesava Kasmiri. He was a great devotee of Sarasvati. He was thinking he was very well situated. Now, no one can defeat me! Because I am so totally dedicated to goddess Sarasvati. But, he was defeated. So, those who take shelter of demigods, they may get some temporary benefit, but ultimately, they are defeated. Nowadays, they don’t even have that high of a conception. They want to take shelter of some politician Some athlete Some movie star. Some rock star. That’s who they want to take shelter of. They’re so crazy. But, those persons who actually take shelter of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, from whom all benedictions are coming, their situation is pakka. Its a very solid situation, absolutely solid. That person from whom everything is coming

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate

That person from whom everything is coming, who provides absolutely everything to everyone.

Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam
ko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman

That one supreme conscious eternal, amongst the plural conscious eternals. He is supplying everything for everyone. So, if we are actually intelligent, we will make our relationship with that Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is intelligence. That is actual advancement of knowledge. Not this 747, this microchip, so-called high-tech. This is low technology.

We are thinking we have come out of the dark ages, with our high technology. But actually we are in the dark, dark ages now. If you want to be high-tech, Bhagavatam, that is high-tech. Why? Because, the Bhagavatam will take us to the other side of reality. The impersonalists, the Buddhist’s they say that this world is unreality, but that is not at all true. This material world is not unreality. This is simply the inferior reality of the greater reality. There are two sides to reality: the superior side, and the inferior side. So, the Krishna consciousness process is how to go from this side, the inferior side of reality, to the superior side. Not by the mistaken means promoted by one rock and roll star. He had a song, break on through to the other side. You can’t gate-crash your way into the other side of reality, by some rocket ship, or by some LSD. You have to be invited. You have to have an invitation. You can’t just go on your own. Because I want to go there. You have to qualify yourself to enter that other reality, that superior reality.

So, that transcendental dimension, beyond time and space, that Vaikuntha-dhama the transcendental world is going on right now. Just like here in Denver, outside of this temple, there are so many activities. People are getting up. They’re driving to work. There are so many busy activities happening. The airport planes are coming in. Planes are taking off. The luggage is going around the luggage thing. So many things are going on. So, right now, at this very second, in Goloka Vrindavana, there are so many activities going on. Krishna has just gotten His lunch, packed by mother Yasoda. The cowherd boys also, they are all taking off, into the forest, with the calves, playing some games. One cowherd boy, he is stealing the lunch bag from another cowherd boy, and tossing it to someone else. In this way, they are having so many childhood pastimes. And the gopis are waiting, when dark will come, so they can again go to the forest with their beloved Syamasundara, and have so many wonderful, nocturnal forest pastimes. So, all of these things are going on at every minute. All of those pastimes are there. As Prabhupada points out in his Bhagavad-Gita introduction, there is what is called svarupa-siddhi.

We all actually have an identity in the spiritual world. We shouldn’t try to guess what it is, or go to someone who can tell us what it is, that is bogus. That is sahajiya. But we know that if we simply follow the wonderful instructions that Srila Prabhupada has given us, that that day will come when we will actually become reestablished in our eternal identity in the spiritual world, on the other side of reality. So, its there right now, waiting for us. Whats holding us back? Ahankara. False ego. We’re very very proud. We’re encrusted with layers and layers and layers of false ego. That’s our deplorable condition at this very second. So, how do we get out? We have to pray for the mercy. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. We have to pray for the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. Pray for the mercy of Guru. Because by this means, the combined mercy of Guru, and Krishna, we can escape this material world.

We can get to that other side of reality, which Hiranyakasipu, in spite of all his many many penances, and austerities, for such a long time, he was standing on his tip-toes, to try to make himself God, he was an utter failure. We don’t have to do such rigorous, rigorous austerities as Hiranyakasipu, going up into the Rocky Mountains and standing on our tip-toes through all types of weather. Sometimes people try to imitate these yogis. These people that do the austerities in the mountains thinking they’ll get great powers. Sadly, one boy who used to come to our center in Austin, he graduated from college, and thought, now I’ll become a great yogi. So, he went to the Rocky Mountains down there in New Mexico. He went up in the mountains and took all his clothes off to do meditation. A few days later, they found him dead. So, instead of trying to do some artificial austerities, if we will simply do this simple austerity, chant Hare Krishna, follow these principles, join in this wonderful, nectarian, sweet, ever-more-enlivening, transcendental festival known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This is the most exciting thing happening in the history of the world, this society that Prabhupada has created. There’s nothing more wonderful, more enlivening, more nectarian, then to be a participant in ISKCON at this time. Actually I can’t think of anything more exciting than to be a member of ISKCON. Its the greatest adventure. Isn’t it? There’s nothing more enlivening than this.

Just consider that Srila Prabhupada is truly the greatest spiritual master in the history of the universe, because he is doing, through his movement, what no one else in the history of the world has ever done. Taken the Vaisnava movement, and spread it all over the world. Even Caitanya Mahaprabhu only spread it within India. Prabhupada has told us that there will be a 10,000 year period, in which Krishna consciousness will inundate the entire world. This 10,000 year period began 500 years ago, when Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. So, it remained, in one sense, in a seed-like form within India. For, those five centuries, and Prabhupada has brought that seed, and he’s expanded it all over the world.

Now, we’re right on the verge of a paradigm shift, in which, as this movement expands, Prabhupada actually told us, this movement will go down in history as having saved the world in its darkest hour. So, the actual fact is that we’re sitting, this very second, in one of the most exciting moments in history. As a vast spiritual revolution, which is, you could say, a tremendously huge tsunami, getting ready to inundate the entire world, and we are the lucky persons who get to be an integral part of what’s happening. We’re so fortunate. We’re so unqualified, but somehow or other we were in the right place, at the right time, and we got attracted by Prabhupada’s mercy. So, now, we get to act, even though we’re most unqualified, (aside) wake up wake up, don’t sleep. Even though we are most disqualified persons, we can’t even stay awake in Bhagavatam class. But, still somehow or other we are engaged in this activity of assisting Prabhupada, and Prabhupada’s servants in pushing forward this movement. To give the greatest benediction to all the conditioned living entities in this material world, and simultaneously, bring the greatest benediction upon ourselves, of actually being able to, not break through, but be allowed through to that other side of reality. That’s the spiritual world.

Whatever austerities and penances we may be doing right now, its worth it. Its worth it. We have to suffer anyway in this material world. Suffering is inescapable. Don’t you have to suffer if you have to work a job? Isn’t there so much suffering getting old, getting sick and dying? There’s so much suffering we have to go through anyway, so why not do it in Krishna consciousness? Actually, when you are fixed in Krishna consciousness, its not even suffering anymore. Just consider a person whose stuck in a third-world country and a revolution breaks out. His house is broken into, its vandalized. He’s running for his life in total fear, complete anxiety, and there’s a bunch of U.S. citizens there in that country. The U.S. government sends in a big transport jet, to pick up all the U.S. citizens, and the word goes around, get to the airport. Somehow, or other, get to the airport, because the U.S. government has flown in a jet to fly everybody out. Get you and your family members, get there. So, you get to the airport, and you’re sitting on the plane, ready to take off. You’re still there in that country, where the revolution is happening. But, now, all your anxiety is gone because you’re on the airplane, and you’re going home. So, try to understand the analogy. We’re still in the material world. The horrible, hellish Kali-yuga is still going on all around us. But, we’re on the airplane. We’re not home yet, but we’re as good as home. Because we’re sitting here on the airplane, getting ready to take off for Goloka Vrindavana at any minute. So, we’re as good as home. The only thing is, whatever you do, don’t get off the airplane. Fly ISKCON Airlines, back to home, back to godhead. Prabhupada is the pilot, there’s wonderful prasadam. The best cuisine on any airline. There are wonderful in-flight movies of Krishna’s pastimes, Lord Caitanya’s lila. The most sublime in-flight movies you could ever expect. The most wonderful persons are on that plane. The ISKCON sadhus.

There are some advantages to traveling and preaching all over the world, on the ISKCON circuit. Its very graphic, you get to see the contrast between the ISKCON community, and the material community as you move from point A to point B. I remember, we were just preaching a few months ago in Riga, Latvia. Then, mataji and myself, we traveled into Amsterdam. In going through the whole scene there at the airport, I felt like I was in Aghasura’s mouth, and then one brahmacari, Radha Vallabha, a very nice disciple of Prahladananda Maharaja, he showed up at the airport to greet us and take us to the temple. Just seeing him, it was like Krishna coming into Aghasura, to rescue me, from being swallowed by Aghasura. So, actually any one devotee in ISKCON, who’s following the principles, chanting his or her rounds, that person is a great sadhu actually. It could be a big leader, a big name, or just a new devotee who’s sincerely trying to serve Prabhupada’s instructions. So, actually, any one member of ISKCON who’s trying to serve Prabhupada, they are a great sadhu. That is stated in the Caitanya-Caritamrta.

’sadhu-sanga’, ‘sadhu-sanga’—sarva-sastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya

All the scriptures declare that by having even one-eleventh of a second association with a sadhu, you can achieve all perfection.

So, this is the great blessing that any sincere follower of ISKCON is able to give. They can give one of Prabhupada’s books. They can say chant Hare Krishna. They can say come to our ISKCON center. In this way, they can give you that seed which will bestow upon you all perfection. An invitation to the temple. A kind word. A merciful smile. So, these devotees of this movement, they are not at all ordinary. Its an amazing story, one of our God brothers was telling. He was sitting with Prabhupada in London. A number of the God brothers were there and Prabhupada was sitting there. He said, so, now we are all together again. He said, in your previous birth, you were Indian Brahmanas. Now we are together again. So, anyone who has come to this movement, they are not ordinary people. Each and every member of this society, they are very special in the eyes of Prabhupada, in the eyes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, even though we may sometimes have differences of opinion, sometimes disagreements, we have to always keep that sincere love and respect for all the wonderful devotees of this movement. That’s why we always offer our respects to them.

vanca kalpatarubhyas ca krpa sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Not mechanically. We should say that with feeling. Because these persons are very special because they have come to this movement. We should feel that I do not deserve to be in such exhalted company, as these ISKCON devotees. Somehow or other they’re tolerating my nonsense, and allowing me to stay here by their kindness. That’s how we should feel about ourselves. I don’t deserve to be here. I’m so lowly, so degraded, such a rascal. But somehow they’re allowing me to stay. They’re giving me this opportunity to get out of my demoniac state of consciousness. My Hiranyakasipu mentality. What is that Hiranyakasipu? Soft beds and money. Gold and soft beds.

Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2

Chapter One
The First Step in God Realization

INVOCATION TEXT
om namo bhagavate vasudevaya

SYNONYMS

om–O my Lord; namah–my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate– unto the Personality of Godhead; vasudevaya — unto Lord Krsna, the son of Vasudeva.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

Vasudevaya means “to Krsna, the son of Vasudeva.” Since by chanting the name of Krsna, Vasudeva, one can achieve all the good results of charity, austerity and penances, it is to be understood that by the chanting of this mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, the author or the speaker or any one of the readers of Srimad-Bhagavatam is offering respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, the reservoir of all pleasure. In the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the principles of creation are described, and thus the First Canto may be called “Creation.”
Similarly, in the Second Canto, the post-creation cosmic manifestation is described. The different planetary systems are described in the Second Canto as different parts of the universal body of the Lord. For this reason, the Second Canto may be called “The Cosmic Manifestation.” There are ten chapters in the Second Canto, and in these ten chapters the purpose of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the different symptoms of this purpose are narrated. The first chapter describes the glories of chanting, and it hints at the process by which the neophyte devotees may perform
meditation on the universal form of the Lord. In the first verse, Sukadeva Gosvami replies to the questions of Maharaja Pariksit, who asked him about one’s duties at the point of death. Maharaja Pariksit was glad to receive Sukadeva Gosvami, and he was proud of being a descendant of Arjuna, the intimate friend of Krsna. personally, he was very humble and meek, but he expressed his gladness that Lord Krsna was very kind to his grandfathers, the sons of Pandu, especially his own grandfather, Arjuna. And because Lord Krsna was always pleased with Maharaja Pariksit’s
family, at the verge of Maharaja Pariksit’s death Sukadeva Gosvami was sent to help him in the process of self-realization. Maharaja Pariksit was a devotee of Lord Krsna from his childhood, so he had natural affection for Krsna. Sukadeva Gosvami could understand his devotion. Therefore, he welcomed the questions about the King’s duty. Because the King hinted that worship of Lord Krsna is the ultimate function of every living entity, Sukadeva Gosvami welcomed the suggestion and said, “Because you have raised questions about Krsna, your question is most glorious.” The translation of the first verse is as follows.

TEXT 1

TEXT

sri-suka uvaca variyan esa te prasnah krto loka-hitam nrpa
atmavit-sammatah pumsam srotavyadisu yah parah

SYNONYMS

sri-sukah uvaca–Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; variyan–glorious; esah– this; te–your; prasnah–question; krtah–made by you; loka-hitam– beneficial for all men; nrpa–O King; atmavit–transcendentalist; sammatah–approved; pumsam–of all men; srotavya-adisu–in all kinds of hearing; yah–what is; parah–the supreme.

TRANSLATION

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said: My dear King, your question is glorious because it is very beneficial to all kinds of people. The answer to this question is the prime subject matter for hearing, and it is approved by all transcendentalists.

PURPORT

Even the very question is so nice that it is the best subject matter for hearing. Simply by such questioning and hearing, one can achieve the highest perfectional stage of life. Because Lord Krsna is the original Supreme Person, any question about Him is original and perfect. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that the highest perfection of life is to achieve the transcendental loving service of Krsna. Because questions and answers about Krsna elevate one to that transcendental position, the questions of Maharaja Pariksit about Krsna philosophy are greatly glorified. Maharaja Pariksit wanted to absorb his mind completely in Krsna, and such absorption can be effected simply by hearing about the uncommon activities of Krsna. For instance, in the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that simply by understanding the transcendental nature of Lord Krsna’s appearance, disappearance, and activities, one can immediately return home, back to Godhead, and never come back to this miserable condition of material existence. It is very auspicious, therefore, to hear always about Krsna. So Maharaja Pariksit requested Sukadeva Gosvami to narrate the activities of Krsna so that he could engage his mind in Krsna. The activities of Krsna are nondifferent from Krsna Himself. As long as one is engaged in hearing such transcendental activities of Krsna, he remains aloof from the conditional life of material existence. The topics of Lord Krsna are so auspicious that they purify the speaker, the hearer and the inquirer. They are compared to the Ganges waters, which flow from the toe of Lord Krsna. Wherever the Ganges waters go, they purify the land and the person who bathes in them. Similarly, krsna- katha, or the topics of Krsna, are so pure that wherever they are spoken, the place, the hearer, the inquirer, the speaker and all concerned become purified.

TEXT 2

TEXT

srotavyadini rajendra nrnam santi sahasrasah apasyatam atma-tattvam
grhesu grha-medhinam

SYNONYMS

srotavya-adini–subject matters for hearing; rajendra–O Emperor; nrnam–of human society; santi–there are; sahasrasah–hundreds and thousands; apasyatam–of the blind; atma-tattvam–knowledge of self, the ultimate truth; grhesu–at home; grha-medhinam–of persons too materially engrossed.

TRANSLATION

Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor.

PURPORT

In the revealed scriptures there are two nomenclatures for the householder’s life. One is grhastha, and the other is grhamedhi. The grhasthas are those who live together with wife and children but live transcendentally for realizing the ultimate truth. The grhamedhis, however, are those who live only for the benefit of the family members, extended or centralized, and thus are envious of others. The word medhi indicates jealousy of others. The grhamedhis, being interested in family affairs only, are certainly envious of others. Therefore, one grhamedhi is not on good terms with another grhamedhi, and in the extended form, one community, society or nation is not on good terms with another
counterpart of selfish interest. In the age of Kali, all the householders are jealous of one another because they are blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth. They have many subject matters for hearing–political, scientific, social, economic and so on–but due to a poor fund of knowledge, they set aside the question of the ultimate miseries of life, namely miseries of birth, death, old age and disease. Factually, the human life is meant for making an ultimate solution to birth, death, old age and disease, but the grhamedhis, being illusioned by the material nature, forget everything about self-realization. The ultimate solution to the problems of life is to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (8.16), the miseries of material existence– birth, death, old age and disease–are removed.
The process of going back home, back to Godhead, is to hear about the Supreme Lord and His name, form, attributes, pastimes, paraphernalia and variegatedness. Foolish people do not know this. They want to hear something about the name, form, etc., of everything temporary, and they do not know how to utilize this propensity of hearing for the ultimate good. Misguided as they are, they also create some false literatures about the name, form, attributes, etc., of the ultimate truth. One should not, therefore, become a grhamedhi simply to exist for envying others; one should become a real householder in terms of the scriptural injunctions.

TEXT 3

TEXT

nidraya hriyate naktam vyavayena ca va vayah diva carthehaya rajan
kutumba-bharanena va

SYNONYMS

nidraya–by sleeping; hriyate–wastes; naktam–night; vyavayena–sex indulgence; ca–also; va–either; vayah–duration of life; diva–days; ca–and; artha–economic; ihaya–development; rajan–O King; kutumba– family members; bharanena–maintaining; va–either.

TRANSLATION

The lifetime of such an envious householder is passed at night either in sleeping or in sex indulgence, and in the daytime either in making money or maintaining family members.

PURPORT

The present human civilization is primarily based on the principles of sleeping and sex indulgence at night and earning money in the day and spending the same for family maintenance. Such a form of human civilization is condemned by the Bhagavata school.
Because human life is a combination of matter and spirit soul, the whole process of Vedic knowledge is directed at liberating the spirit soul from the contamination of matter. The knowledge concerning this is called atma-tattva. Those men who are too materialistic are unaware of this knowledge and are more inclined to economic development for material enjoyment. Such materialistic men are called karmis, or fruitive laborers, and they are allowed regulated economic development or association of woman for sex indulgence. Those who are above the karmis, that is, the jnanis, yogis and devotees, are strictly prohibited from sex indulgence. The karmis are more or less devoid of atma-tattva knowledge, and as such, their life is spent without spiritual profit. The human life is not meant for hard labor for economic development, nor is it meant for sex indulgence like that of the dogs and hogs. It is specially meant for making a solution to the problems of material life and the miseries thereof. So the karmis waste their valuable human life by sleeping and sex indulgence at night, and by laboring hard in the daytime to accumulate wealth, and after doing so, they try to improve the standard of materialistic life. The materialistic way of life is described herein in a nutshell, and how foolishly men waste the boon of human life is described as follows.

TEXT 4

TEXT

dehapatya-kalatradisv atma-sainyesv asatsv api tesam pramatto nidhanam
pasyann api na pasyati

SYNONYMS

deha–body; apatya–children; kalatra–wife; adisu–and in everything in relation to them; atma–own; sainyesu–fighting soldiers; asatsu– fallible; api–in spite of; tesam–of all of them; pramattah–too attached; nidhanam–destruction; pasyan–having been experienced; api– although; na–does not; pasyati–see it.

TRANSLATION

Persons devoid of atma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.

PURPORT

This material world is called the world of death. Every living being, beginning from Brahma, whose duration of life is some thousands of millions of years, down to the germs who live for a few seconds only, is struggling for existence. Therefore, this life is a sort of fight with material nature, which imposes death upon all. In the human form of life, a living being is competent enough to come to an understanding of this great struggle for existence, but being too attached to family members, society, country, etc., he wants to win over the invincible material nature by the aid of bodily strength, children, wife, relatives, etc. Although he is sufficiently experienced in the matter by dint of past experience and previous examples of his deceased predecessors, he does not see that the so-called fighting soldiers like the children, relatives, society members and countrymen are all fallible in the great struggle. One should examine the fact that his father or his father’s father has already died, and that he himself is therefore also sure to die, and similarly, his children, who are the would be fathers of their children, will also die in due course. No one will survive in this struggle with material nature. The history of human society definitely proves it, yet the foolish people still suggest that in the future they will be able to live perpetually, with the help of material science. This poor fund of knowledge exhibited by human society is certainly misleading, and it is all due to ignoring the constitution of the living soul. This material world exists only as a dream, due to our attachment to it. Otherwise, the living soul is always different from the material nature. The great ocean of material nature is tossing with the waves of time, and the so-called living conditions are something like foaming bubbles, which appear before us as bodily self, wife, children, society, countrymen, etc. Due to a lack of knowledge of self, we become victimized by the force of ignorance and thus spoil the valuable energy of human life in a vain search after permanent living conditions, which are impossible in this material world.
Our friends, relatives and so-called wives and children are not only fallible, but also bewildered by the outward glamor of material existence. As such, they cannot save us. Still we think that we are safe within the orbit of family, society or country. The whole materialistic advancement of human civilization is like the decoration of a dead body. Everyone is a dead body flapping only for a few days, and yet all the energy of human life is being wasted in the decoration of this dead body. Sukadeva Gosvami is pointing out the duty of the human being after showing the actual position of bewildered human activities. Persons who are devoid of the knowledge of atma-tattva are misguided, but those who are devotees of the Lord and have perfect realization of transcendental knowledge are not bewildered.

TEXT 5

TEXT

tasmad bharata sarvatma bhagavan isvaro harih
srotavyah kirtitavyas ca smartavyas cecchatabhayam

SYNONYMS

tasmat–for this reason; bharata–O descendant of Bharata; sarvatma– the Supersoul; bhagavan–the Supreme Personality of Godhead; isvarah–the controller; harih–the Lord, who vanquishes all miseries; srotavyah–is
to be heard; kirtitavyah–to be glorified; ca–also; smartavyah–to be remembered; ca–and; icchata–of one who desires; abhayam–freedom.

TRANSLATION

O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.

PURPORT

In the previous verse, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life by sleeping, indulging in sex life, developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion. Being engaged in all these materialistic activities, the living soul entangles himself in the cycle of the law of fruitive actions. This entails the chain of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life: the aquatics, the vegetables, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, the uncivilized man, and then again the human form, which is the chance for getting out of the cycle of fruitive action. Therefore, if one desires freedom from this vicious circle, then one must cease to act as a karmi or enjoyer of the results of one’s own work, good or bad. One should not do anything,
either good or bad, on his own account, but must execute everything on behalf of the Supreme Lord, the ultimate proprietor of everything that be. This process of doing work is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (9.27) also, where instruction is given for working on the Lord’s account. Therefore, one should first of all hear about the Lord. When one has perfectly and scrutinizingly heard, one must glorify His acts and deeds, and thus it will become possible to remember constantly the transcendental nature of the Lord. Hearing about and glorifying the Lord are identical with the transcendental nature of the Lord, and by so doing, one will be always in the association of the Lord. This brings freedom from all sorts of fear. The Lord is the Supersoul (Paramatma) present in the hearts of all living beings, and thus by the above hearing and glorifying process, the Lord invites the association of all in His creation. This process of hearing about and glorifying the Lord is applicable for everyone, whoever he may be, and it will lead one to the ultimate success in everything in which one may be engaged by providence. There are many classes of human beings: the fruitive workers, the empiric philosophers, the mystic yogis, and ultimately, the unalloyed devotees. For all of them, one and the same process is applicable for achieving the desired success. Everyone wants to be free from all kinds of fear, and everyone wants the fullest extent of happiness in life. The perfect process for achieving this, here and now, is recommended in the Srimad- Bhagavatam, which is uttered by such a great authority as Srila Sukadeva Gosvami. By hearing about and glorifying the Lord, all a person’s activities become molded into spiritual activities, and thus all conceptions of material miseries become completely vanquished.

TEXT 6

TEXT

etavan sankhya-yogabhyam sva-dharma-parinisthaya
janma-labhah parah pumsam ante narayana-smrtih

SYNONYMS

etavan–all these; sankhya–complete knowledge of matter and spirit; yogabhyam–knowledge of mystic power; sva-dharma–particular occupational duty; parinisthaya–by full perception; janma–birth; labhah–gain;
parah–the supreme; pumsam–of a person; ante–at the end; narayana–the
Personality of Godhead; smrtih–remembrance.

TRANSLATION

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.

PURPORT

Narayana is the transcendental Personality of Godhead beyond the material creation. Everything that is created, sustained, and at the end annihilated is within the compass of the mahat-tattva (material principle) and is known as the material world. The existence of Narayana, or the Personality of Godhead, is not within the jurisdiction of this mahat-tattva, and as such, the name, form, attributes, etc. of Narayana are beyond the jurisdiction of the material world. By the speculation of empiric philosophy, which discerns matter from spirit, or by cultivation of mystic powers, which ultimately helps the performer to reach any planet of the universe or beyond the universe, or by discharge of religious duties, one can achieve the highest perfection, provided one is able to reach the stage of narayana-smrti, or constant remembrance of the Personality of Godhead. This is possible only by the association of a
pure devotee, who can give a finishing touch to the transcendental activities of all jnanis, yogis, or karmis, in terms of prescribed duties defined in the scriptures. There are many historical instances of the achievement of spiritual perfection, such as that of the Sanakadi Rsis or the nine celebrated Yogendras, who attained perfection only after being situated in the devotional service of the Lord. None of the devotees of the Lord ever deviated from the path of devotional service by taking to other methods as adopted by the jnanis or yogis. Everyone is anxious to achieve the highest perfection of his particular activity, and it is indicated herein that such perfection is narayana-smrti, for which everyone must endeavor his best. In other words, life should be molded in such a manner that one is able to progressively remember the personality of Godhead in every step of life.

TEXT 7

TEXT

prayena munayo rajan nivrtta vidhi-sedhatah nairgunya-stha ramante sma
gunanukathane hareh

SYNONYMS

prayena–mainly; munayah–all sages; rajan–O King; nivrttah–above; vidhi–regulative principles; sedhatah–from restrictions; nairgunya- sthah–transcendentally situated; ramante–take pleasure in; sma– distinctly; guna-anukathane–describing the glories; hareh–of the Lord.

TRANSLATION

O King Pariksit, mainly the topmost transcendentalists, who are above the regulative principles and restrictions, take pleasure in describing the glories of the Lord.

PURPORT

The topmost transcendentalist is a liberated soul and is therefore not within the purview of the regulative principles. A neophyte, who is intended to be promoted to the spiritual plane, is guided by the
spiritual master under regulative principles. He may be compared to a patient who is treated by various restrictions under medical jurisdiction. Generally, liberated souls also take pleasure in describing the transcendental activities. As mentioned above, since Narayana, Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation, His form and attributes are not material. The topmost transcendentalists or the liberated souls realize Him by advanced experience of transcendental knowledge, and therefore they take pleasure in the discussion of the transcendental qualities of the Lord’s pastimes. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.9), the personality of Godhead declares that His appearance and activities are all divyam, or transcendental. The common man, who is under the spell of material energy, takes it for granted that the Lord is like one of us, and therefore he refuses to accept the transcendental nature of the Lord’s form, name, etc. The topmost transcendentalist is not interested in anything material, and his taking interest in the matter of the Lord’s activities is definite proof that the Lord is not like one of us in the material world. In the Vedic literatures also, it is confirmed that the Supreme Lord is one, but that He is engaged in His transcendental pastimes in the company of His unalloyed devotees and that simultaneously He is present as the Supersoul, an expansion of Baladeva, in the heart of all living entities. Therefore, the highest perfection of transcendental realization is to take pleasure in hearing and describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord and not in merging into His impersonal Brahman existence, for which the impersonalist monist aspires. Real transcendental pleasure is realized in the glorification of the transcendental Lord, and not in the feeling of being situated in His impersonal feature. But there are also others who are not the topmost transcendentalists but are in a lower status, and who do not take pleasure in describing the transcendental activities of the Lord. Rather, they discuss such activities of the Lord formally with the aim of merging into His existence.

TEXT 8

TEXT

idam bhagavatam nama puranam brahma-sammitam
adhitavan dvaparadau pitur dvaipayanad aham

SYNONYMS

idam–this; bhagavatam–Srimad-Bhagavatam; nama–of the name; puranam-
-Vedic supplement; brahma-sammitam–approved as the essence of the Vedas; adhitavan–studied; dvapara-adau–at the end of the Dvapara-yuga; pituh– from my father; dvaipayanat–Dvaipayana Vyasadeva; aham–myself.

TRANSLATION

At the end of the Dvapara-yuga, I studied this great supplement of Vedic literature named Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is equal to all the Vedas, from my father, Srila Dvaipayana Vyasadeva.

PURPORT

The statement made by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami that the topmost transcendentalist, who is beyond the jurisdiction of regulations and restrictions, mainly takes to the task of hearing about and glorifying the Personality of Godhead, is verified by his personal example. Sukadeva Gosvami, being a recognized liberated soul and the topmost transcendentalist, was accepted by all of the topmost sages present in the meeting during the last seven days of Maharaja Pariksit. He cites from the example of his life that he himself was attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord, and he studied Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Sri Dvaipayana Vyasadeva. Srimad-Bhagavatam, or, for that matter, any other scientific literature, cannot be studied at home by one’s own intellectual capacity. Medical books of anatomy or physiology are available in the market, but no one can become a qualified medical practitioner simply by reading such books at home. One has to be admitted to the medical college and study the books under the guidance of learned professors. Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the postgraduate study of the science of Godhead, can only be learned by studying it at the feet of a realized soul like Srila Vyasadeva. Although Sukadeva Gosvami was a liberated soul from the very day of his birth, he still had to take lessons of Srimad-Bhagavatam from his great father, Vyasadeva, who compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam under the instruction of another great soul, Sri Narada Muni. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed a learned brahmana to study Srimad-Bhagavatam from a personal bhagavata. Srimad- Bhagavatam is based on the transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, entourage and variegatedness of the Supreme Person, and it is spoken by the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, Srila Vyasadeva. Pastimes of the Lord are executed in cooperation with His pure devotees, and consequently historical incidences are mentioned in this great literature because they are related to Krsna. It is called brahma- sammitam because it is the sound representative of Lord Krsna–like the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is the sound incarnation of the Lord because it is spoken by the Supreme Lord, and Srimad-Bhagavatam is the sound representative of the Lord because it was spoken by the incarnation of the Lord about the activities of the Lord. As stated in the beginning of this book, it is the essence of the Vedic desire tree and the natural commentation on the Brahma-sutras, the topmost philosophical thesis on the subject matter of Brahman. Vyasadeva appeared at the end of Dvapara- yuga as the son of Satyavati, and therefore the word dvapara-adau, or “the beginning of Dvapara-yuga,” in this context means just prior to the beginning of the Kali-yuga. The logic of this statement, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami, is comparable to that of calling the upper portion of the tree the beginning. The root of the tree is the beginning of the tree, but in common knowledge the upper portion of the tree is first seen. In that way the end of the tree is accepted as its beginning.

TEXT 9

TEXT

parinisthito ‘pi nairgunya uttama-sloka-lilaya grhita-ceta rajarse
akhyanam yad adhitavan

SYNONYMS

parinisthitah–fully realized; api–in spite of; nairgunye–in transcendence; uttama–enlightened; sloka–verse; lilaya–by the pastimes; grhita–being attracted; cetah–attention; rajarse–O saintly King; akhyanam–delineation; yat–that; adhitavan–I have studied.

TRANSLATION

O saintly King, I was certainly situated perfectly in transcendence, yet I was still attracted by the delineation of the pastimes of the Lord, who is described by enlightened verses.

PURPORT

The Absolute Truth is realized as the impersonal Brahman at the first instance by philosophical speculation and later as the Supersoul by further progress of transcendental knowledge. But if, by the grace of the Lord, an impersonalist is enlightened by the superior statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam, he is also converted into a transcendental devotee of the Personality of Godhead. With a poor fund of knowledge, we cannot adjust to the idea of the personality of the Absolute Truth, and the personal activities of the Lord are deplored by the less intelligent impersonalists; but reasons and arguments together with the transcendental process of approaching the Absolute Truth help even the staunch impersonalist to become attracted by the personal activities of the Lord. A person like Sukadeva Gosvami cannot be attracted by any mundane activity, but when such a devotee is convinced by a superior method, he is certainly attracted by the transcendental activities of the Lord. The Lord is transcendental, as are His activities. He is neither inactive nor impersonal.

TEXT 10

TEXT

tad aham te ‘bhidhasyami maha-paurusiko bhavan yasya sraddadhatam asu
syan mukunde matih sati

SYNONYMS

tat–that; aham–I; te–unto you; abhidhasyami–shall recite; maha- paurusikah–the most sincere devotee of Lord Krsna; bhavan–your good self; yasya–of which; sraddadhatam–of one who gives full respect and attention; asu–very soon; syat–it so becomes; mukunde–unto the Lord, who awards salvation; matih–faith; sati–unflinching.

TRANSLATION

That very Srimad-Bhagavatam I shall recite before you because you are the most sincere devotee of Lord Krsna. One who gives full attention and

respect to hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam achieves unflinching faith in the
Supreme Lord, the giver of salvation.

PURPORT

Srimad-Bhagavatam is recognized Vedic wisdom, and the system of receiving Vedic knowledge is called avaroha-pantha, or the process of receiving transcendental knowledge through bona fide disciplic succession. For advancement of material knowledge there is a need for personal ability and researching aptitude, but in the case of spiritual knowledge, all progress depends more or less on the mercy of the spiritual master. The spiritual master must be satisfied with the disciple; only then is knowledge automatically manifest before the student of spiritual science. The process should not, however, be misunderstood to be something like magical feats whereby the spiritual master acts like a magician and injects spiritual knowledge into his disciple, as if surcharging him with an electrical current. The bona fide spiritual master reasonably explains everything to the disciple on the authorities of Vedic wisdom. The disciple can receive such teachings not exactly intellectually, but by submissive inquiries and a service attitude. The idea is that both the spiritual master and the disciple must be bona fide. In this case, the spiritual master, Sukadeva Gosvami, is ready to recite exactly what he has learned from his great father Srila Vyasadeva, and the disciple, Maharaja Pariksit, is a great devotee of Lord Krsna. A devotee of Lord Krsna is he who believes sincerely that by becoming a devotee of the Lord one becomes fully equipped with everything spiritual. This teaching is imparted by the Lord Himself in the pages of the Bhagavad-gita, in which it is clearly described that the Lord (Sri Krsna) is everything, and that to surrender unto Him solely and wholly makes one the most perfectly pious man. This unflinching faith in Lord Krsna prepares one to become a student of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and one who hears Srimad-Bhagavatam from a devotee like Sukadeva Gosvami is sure to attain salvation at the end, as Maharaja Pariksit did. The
professional reciter of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the pseudodevotees whose faith is based on one week’s hearing are different from Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit. Srila Vyasadeva explained Srimad-Bhagavatam unto Sukadeva Gosvami from the very beginning of the janmady asya verse, and so Sukadeva Gosvami also explained it to the Ding. Lord Krsna is described as the Mahapurusa in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (Canto Eleven) in His devotional feature as Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Lord Krsna Himself in His devotional attitude, descended on earth to bestow special favors upon the fallen souls of this age of Kali. There are two verses particularly suitable to offer as prayers to this Mahapurusa feature of Lord Krsna.

dhyeyam sada paribhava-ghnam abhista-doham tirthaspadam siva-virinci-nutam saranyam bhrtyarti-ham pranata-pala bhavabdhi-potam
vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam

tyaktva su-dustyaja-surepsita-rajya-laksmim dharmistha arya-vacasa yad agad aranyam
maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam anvadhavad vande maha-purusa te caranaravindam

(Bhag. 11.5.33-34)

In other words, purusa means the enjoyer, and mahapurusa means the supreme enjoyer, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. One who deserves to approach the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna is called the maha- paurusika. Anyone who hears Srimad-Bhagavatam attentively from its bona fide reciter is sure to become a sincere devotee of the Lord, who is able to award liberation. There was none so attentive as Maharaja Pariksit in the matter of hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, and there was none so qualified as Sukadeva Gosvami to recite the text of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Therefore, anyone who follows in the footsteps of either the ideal reciter or the ideal hearer, Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit respectively, will undoubtedly attain salvation like them. Maharaja Pariksit attained salvation by hearing only, and Sukadeva Gosvami attained salvation only by reciting. Recitation and hearing are two processes out of nine devotional activities, and by strenuously following the principles, either in all or by parts, one can attain the absolute plane. So the complete text of Srimad-Bhagavatam, beginning with the janmady asya verse up to the last one in the Twelfth Canto, was spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami for the attainment of salvation by Maharaja Pariksit. In the Padma Purana, it is mentioned that Gautama Muni advised Maharaja Ambarisa to hear regularly Srimad-Bhagavatam as it was recited by Sukadeva Gosvami, and herein it is confirmed that Maharaja Ambarisa heard Srimad-Bhagavatam from the very beginning to the end, as it was spoken by Sukadeva Gosvami. One who is actually interested in the Bhagavatam, therefore, must not play with it by reading or hearing a portion from here and a portion from there; one must follow in the footsteps of great kings like Maharaja Ambarisa or Maharaja Pariksit and hear it from a bona fide representative of Sukadeva Gosvami.

TEXT 11

TEXT

etan nirvidyamananam icchatam akuto-bhayam yoginam nrpa nirnitam harer namanukirtanam

SYNONYMS

etat–it is; nirvidyamananam–of those who are completely free from
all material desires; icchatam–of those who are desirous of all sorts of material enjoyment; akutah-bhayam–free from all doubts and fear;
yoginam–of all who are self-satisfied; nrpa–O King; nirnitam–decided truth; hareh–of the Lord, Sri Krsna; nama–holy name; anu–after someone, always; kirtanam–chanting.

TRANSLATION

O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who
are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self- satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.

PURPORT

In the previous verse, the great necessity for attaining attachment to Mukunda has been accredited. There are different types of persons who desire to attain success in different varieties of pursuits. Generally the persons are materialists who desire to enjoy the fullest extent of material gratification. Next to them are the transcendentalists, who have attained perfect knowledge about the nature of material enjoyment and thus are aloof from such an illusory way of life. More or less, they are satisfied in themselves by self-realization. Above them are the devotees of the Lord, who neither aspire to enjoy the material world nor desire to get out of it. They are after the satisfaction of the Lord, Sri Krsna. In other words, the devotees of the Lord do not want anything on their personal account. If the Lord desires, the devotees can accept all sorts of material facilities, and if the Lord does not desire this, the devotees can leave aside all sorts of facilities, even up to the limit of salvation. Nor are they self-satisfied, because they want the satisfaction of the Lord only. In this verse, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami recommends the transcendental chanting of the holy name of the Lord. By offenseless chanting and hearing of the holy name of the Lord, one becomes acquainted with the transcendental form of the Lord, and then with the attributes of the Lord, and then with the transcendental nature of His pastimes, etc. Here it is mentioned that one should constantly chant the holy name of the Lord after hearing it from authorities. This means that hearing from the authorities is the first essential. Hearing of the holy name gradually promotes one to the stage of hearing about His form, about His attributes, His pastimes and so on, and thus the necessity of the chanting of His glories develops successively. This process is recommended not only for the successful execution of devotional service, but also even for those who are materially attached. According to Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, this way of attaining success is an established fact, concluded not only by him, but also by all other previous acaryas. Therefore, there is no need of further evidence. The process is recommended not only for the progressive students in different departments of ideological success, but also for those who are already successful in their achievement as fruitive workers, as philosophers or as devotees of the Lord.
Srila Jiva Gosvami instructs that chanting of the holy name of the Lord should be loudly done, and it should be performed offenselessly as well, as recommended in the Padma Purana. One can deliver himself from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can deliver himself from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His holy name. But one cannot protect himself if one commits an offense at the feet of the holy name of the Lord. Such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purana as being ten in number. The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord. The second offense is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known in different places by different names, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation
to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities. The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized acaryas or spiritual masters. The fourth offense is to vilify scriptures or Vedic knowledge. The fifth offense is to define the holy name of the Lord in terms of one’s mundane calculation. The holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord Himself, and one should understand the holy name of the Lord to be nondifferent from Him. The sixth offense is to interpret the holy name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His holy name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His holy name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the holy name. The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of the holy name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental method and continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing the effects of sins by chanting the holy name of the Lord is the greatest offender at the feet of the holy name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any recommended method of purification. In other words, one may be a sinful man before chanting the holy name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the holy name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain oneself from committing sinful acts with a hope that his method of chanting the holy name will give him protection. The eighth offense is to consider the holy name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for material benefits, but the holy name and His chanting are not mere auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the holy name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such purposes. Since the holy name and the Lord are of one and the same identity, one should not try to bring the holy name into the service of mankind. The idea is that the Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier. Similarly, since the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the holy name for one’s personal service.
The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting the holy name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the holy name, if such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, the act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the holy name. The tenth offense is to become uninterested in the holy name of the Lord even after hearing of the transcendental nature of the holy name. The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one’s self only. The whole materialistic world is moving under such false egoism of “I” and “mine,” but the factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions.

TEXT 12

TEXT

kim pramattasya bahubhih paroksair hayanair iha varam muhurtam viditam ghatate sreyase yatah

SYNONYMS

kim–what is; pramattasya–of the bewildered; bahubhih–by many; paroksaih–inexperienced; hayanaih–years; iha–in this world; varam– better; muhurtam–a moment; viditam–conscious; ghatate–one can try for; sreyase–in the matter of the supreme interest; yatah–by that.

TRANSLATION

What is the value of a prolonged life which is wasted, inexperienced by years in this world? Better a moment of full consciousness, because that gives one a start in searching after his supreme interest.

PURPORT

Srila Sukadeva Gosvami instructed Maharaja Pariksit about the importance of the chanting of the holy name of the Lord by every progressive gentleman. In order to encourage the Ding, who had only seven remaining days of life, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami asserted that there is no use in living hundreds of years without any knowledge of the problems of life–better to live for a moment with full consciousness of the supreme interest to be fulfilled. The supreme interest of life is eternal, with full knowledge and bliss. Those who are bewildered by the external features of the material world and are engaged in the animal propensities of the eat-drink-and-be-merry type of life are simply wasting their lives by the unseen passing away of valuable years. We should know in perfect consciousness that human life is bestowed upon the conditioned soul to achieve spiritual success, and the easiest possible procedure to attain this end is to chant the holy name of the Lord. In the previous verse, we have discussed this point to a certain extent, and we may further be enlightened on the different types of offenses committed unto the feet of the holy name. Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhu has quoted many passages from authentic scriptures and has ably supported the statements in the matter of offenses at the feet of the holy name. From Visnu-yamala Tantra, Srila Jiva Gosvami has proven that one can be liberated from the effects of all sins simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Quoting from the Markandeya purana, Sri Gosvamiji says that one should neither blaspheme the devotee of the Lord nor indulge in hearing others who are engaged in belittling a devotee of the Lord. A devotee should try to restrict the vilifier by cutting out his tongue, and being unable to do so, one should commit suicide rather than hear the blaspheming of the devotee of the Lord. The conclusion is that one should neither hear nor allow vilification of a devotee of the Lord. As far as distinguishing the Lord’s holy name from the names of the demigods, the revealed scriptures disclose (Bg. 10.41) that all extraordinarily powerful beings are but parts and parcels of the supreme energetic, Lord Krsna. Except for the Lord Himself, everyone is subordinate; no one is independent of the Lord. Since no one is more powerful than or equal to the energy of the Supreme Lord, no one’s name can be as powerful as that of the Lord. By chanting the Lord’s holy name, one can derive all the stipulated energy synchronized from all sources. Therefore, one should not equalize the supreme holy name of the Lord with any other name. Brahma, Siva or any other powerful god can never be equal to the Supreme Lord Visnu. The powerful holy name of the Lord can certainly deliver one from sinful effects, but one who desires to utilize this transcendental potency of the holy name of the Lord in one’s sinister activities is the most degraded person in the world. Such persons are never excused by the Lord or by any agent of the Lord. One should, therefore, utilize one’s life in glorifying the Lord by all means, without any offense. Such activity of life, even for a moment, is never to be compared to a prolonged life of ignorance, like the lives of the tree and other living entities who may live for thousands of years without prosecuting spiritual advancement.

khatvango nama rajarsir jnatveyattam ihayusah muhurtat sarvam utsrjya gatavan abhayam harim

SYNONYMS

khatvangah–King Khatvanga; nama–name; raja-rsih–saintly king; jnatva–by knowing; iyattam–duration; iha–in this world; ayusah–of one’s life; muhurtat–within only a moment; sarvam–everything; utsrjya– leaving aside; gatavan–had undergone; abhayam–fully safe; harim–the Personality of Godhead.

TRANSLATION

The saintly King Khatvanga, after being informed that the duration of his life would be only a moment more, at once freed himself from all material activities and took shelter of the supreme safety, the Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

A fully responsible man should always be conscious of the prime duty of the present human form of life. The activities to meet the immediate necessities of material life are not everything. One should always be alert in his duty for attainment of the best situation in the next life. Human life is meant for preparing ourselves for that prime duty. Maharaja Khatvanga is mentioned herein as a saintly king because even within the responsibility of the state management, he was not at all forgetful of the prime duty of life. Such was the case with other rajarsis (saintly kings), like Maharaja Yudhisthira and Maharaja Pariksit. They were all exemplary personalities on account of their being alert in discharging their prime duty. Maharaja Khatvanga was invited by the demigods in the higher planets to fight demons, and as a king he fought the battles to the full satisfaction of the demigods. The demigods, being fully satisfied with him, wanted to give him some benediction for material enjoyment, but Maharaja Khatvanga, being very much alert to his prime duty, inquired from the demigods about his remaining duration of life. This means that he was not as anxious to accumulate some material benediction from the demigods as he was to prepare himself for the next life. He was informed by the demigods, however, that his life would last only a moment longer. The king at once left the heavenly kingdom, which is always full of material enjoyment of the highest standard, and coming down to this earth, took ultimate shelter of the all-safe Personality of Godhead. He was successful in his great attempt and achieved liberation. This attempt, even for a moment, by the saintly king, was successful because he was always alert to his prime duty. Maharaja Pariksit was thus encouraged by the great Sukadeva Gosvami, even though he had only seven days left in his life to execute the prime duty of hearing the glories of the Lord in the form of Srimad-Bhagavatam. By the will of the Lord, Maharaja Pariksit instantly met the great Sukadeva Gosvami, and thus the great treasure of spiritual success left by him is nicely mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

tavapy etarhi kauravya saptaham jivitavadhih upakalpaya tat sarvam tavad yat samparayikam

SYNONYMS

tava–your; api–also; etarhi–therefore; kauravya–O one born in the family of Kuru; saptaham–seven days; jivita–duration of life; avadhih– up to the limit of; upakalpaya–get them performed; tat–those; sarvam– all; tavat–so long; yat–which are; samparayikam–rituals for the next life.

TRANSLATION

Maharaja Pariksit, now your duration of life is limited to seven more days, so during this time you can perform all those rituals which are needed for the best purpose of your next life.

PURPORT

Sukadeva Gosvami, after citing the example of Maharaja Khatvanga, who prepared himself for the next life within a very short time, encouraged Maharaja Pariksit by saying that since he still had seven days at his disposal, he could easily take advantage of the time to prepare himself for the next life. Indirectly, the Gosvami told Maharaja Pariksit that be should take shelter of the sound representation of the Lord for the seven days still remaining in the duration of his life and thus get himself liberated. In other words, everyone can best prepare himself for the next life simply by hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, as it was recited by Sukadeva Gosvami to Maharaja Pariksit. The rituals are not formal, but there are also some favorable conditions, which are required to be carried out, as instructed hereafter.

TEXT 15

TEXT

anta-kale tu purusa agate gata-sadhvasah
chindyad asanga-sastrena sprham dehe ‘nu ye ca tam

SYNONYMS

anta-kale–at the last stage of life; tu–but; purusah–a person; agate–having arrived; gata-sadhvasah–without any fear of death; chindyat–must cut off; asanga–nonattachment; sastrena–by the weapon of; sprham–all desires; dehe–in the matter of the material tabernacle; anu–pertaining; ye–all that; ca–also; tam–them.

TRANSLATION

At the last stage of one’s life, one should be bold enough not to be afraid of death. But one must cut off all attachment to the material body and everything pertaining to it and all desires thereof.

PURPORT

The foolishness of gross materialism is that people think of making a permanent settlement in this world, although it is a settled fact that one has to give up everything here that has been created by valuable human energy. Great statesmen, scientists, philosophers, etc., who are foolish, without any information of the spirit soul, think that this life of a few years only is all in all and that there is nothing more after death. This poor fund of knowledge, even in the so-called learned circles of the world, is killing the vitality of human energy, and the awful result is being keenly felt. And yet the foolish materialistic men do not care about what is going to happen in the next life. The preliminary instruction in the Bhagavad-gita is that one should know that the identity of the individual living entity is not lost even after the end of this present body, which is nothing but an outward dress only. As one changes an old garment, so the individual living being also changes his body, and this change of body is called death. Death is therefore a process of changing the body at the end of the duration of the present life. An intelligent person must be prepared for this and must try to have the best type of body in the next life. The best type of body is a spiritual body, which is obtained by those who go back to the kingdom of God or enter the realm of Brahman. In the second chapter of this canto, this matter will be broadly discussed, but as far as the change of body is concerned, one must prepare now for the next life. Foolish people attach more importance to the present temporary life, and thus the foolish leaders make appeals to the body and the bodily relations. The bodily relations extend not only to this body but also to the family members, wife, children, society, country and so many other things which end at the end of life. After death one forgets everything about the present bodily relations; we have a little experience of this at night when we go to sleep. While sleeping, we forget everything about this body and bodily relations, although this forgetfulness is a temporary situation for only a few hours. Death is nothing but sleeping for a few months in order to develop another term of bodily encagement, which we are awarded by the law of nature according to our aspiration. Therefore, one has only to change the aspiration during the course of this present body, and for this there is need of training in the current duration of human life. This training can be begun at any stage of life, or even a few seconds before death, but the usual procedure is for one to get the training from very early life, from the stage of brahmacarya, and gradually progress to the grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa orders of life. The institution which gives such training is called varnasrama- dharma, or the system of sanatana-dharma, the best procedure for making the human life perfect. One is therefore required to give up the attachment to family or social or political life just at the age of fifty years, if not earlier, and the training in the vanaprastha and sannyasa- asramas is given for preparation of the next life. Foolish materialists, in the garb of leaders of the people in general, stick to family affairs without attempting to cut off relations with them, and thus they become victims of nature’s law and get gross bodies again, according to their work. Such foolish leaders may have some respect from the people at the end of life, but that does not mean that such leaders will be immune to the natural laws under which everyone is tightly bound by the hands and feet. The best thing is, therefore, that everyone voluntarily give up family relations by transferring attachment from family, society, country, and everything thereof to the devotional service of the Lord. It is stated herein that one should give up all desires of family attachment. One must have a chance for better desires; otherwise there is no chance of giving up such morbid desires. Desire is the concomitant factor of the living entity. The living entity is eternal, and therefore his desires, which are natural for a living being, are also eternal. One cannot, therefore, stop desiring, but the subject matter for desires can be changed. So one must develop the desires for returning back home, back to Godhead, and automatically the desires for material gain, material honor and material popularity will diminish in proportion to the development of devotional service. A living being is meant for service activities, and his desires are centered around such a service attitude. Beginning from the top executive head of the state down to the insignificant pauper in the street, all are rendering some sort of service to others. The perfection of such a service attitude is only attained simply by transferring the desire of service from matter to spirit, or from Satan to God.

Nectar of Devotion

Relief from Material Distress

In Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says that one should surrender unto Him, giving up all other engagements. The Lord also gives His word there that He will protect surrendered souls from the reactions of all sinful activities. Srila Rupa
Gosvami says that the distresses from sinful activities are due both to the sins themselves and to sins committed in our past lives. Generally, one commits sinful activities due to ignorance. But ignorance is no excuse for evading the reaction–sinful activities. Sinful activities are of two kinds: those which are mature and those which are not mature. The sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment are called mature. The many sinful activities stored within us for which we have not yet suffered are considered immature. For example, a man may have committed criminal acts, but not yet been arrested for them. Now, as soon as he is detected, arrest is awaiting him. Similarly, for some of our sinful activities we are awaiting distresses in the future, and for others, which are mature, we are suffering at the present moment.
In this way there is a chain of sinful activities and their concomitant distresses, and the conditioned soul is suffering life after life due to these sins. He is suffering in the present life the results of sinful activities from his past life, and he is meanwhile creating further sufferings for his future life. Mature sinful activities are exhibited if one is suffering from some chronic disease, if one is suffering from some legal implication, if one is born in a low and degraded family or if one is uneducated or very ugly.
There are many results of past sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment, and we may be suffering in the future due to our present sinful activities. But all of these reactions to sinful deeds can immediately be stopped if we take to Krsna consciousness. As evidence for this, Rupa Gosvami quotes from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Eleventh Canto, Fourteenth Chapter, verse 19.
This verse is in connection with Lord Krsna’s instruction to Uddhava, where He says, “My dear Uddhava, devotional service unto Me is just like a blazing fire which can burn into ashes unlimited fuel supplied to it.” The purport is that as the blazing fire can burn any amount of fuel to ashes, so devotional service to the Lord in Krsna Consciousness can burn up all the fuel of sinful activities. For example, in the Gita Arjuna thought that fighting was a sinful activity, but Krsna engaged him on the battlefield under His order, and so the fighting became devotional service. Therefore, Arjuna was not subjected to any sinful reaction.
Srila Rupa Gosvami quotes another verse from the Third Canto of Srimad- Bhagavatam, Thirty-third Chapter, verse 6, in which Devahuti addresses her son, Kapiladeva, and says, “My dear Lord, there are nine different kinds of devotional service, beginning from hearing and chanting. Anyone who hears about Your pastimes, who chants about Your glories, who offers You obeisances, who thinks of You and, in this way, executes any of the nine kinds of devotional service–even if he is born in a family of dog-eaters [the lowest grade of mankind]–becomes immediately qualified to perform sacrifices.” As such, how is it possible that anyone actually engaged in devotional service in full Krsna
consciousness has not become purified? It is not possible. One who is engaged in Krsna consciousness and devotional service has without doubt become freed from all contaminations of material sinful activities. Devotional service therefore has the power to actually nullify all kinds of reactions to sinful deeds. A devotee is nevertheless always alert not to commit any sinful activities; this is his specific qualification as a devotee. Thus Srimad-Bhagavatam states that by performing devotional service a person who was born even in a family of dog- eaters may become eligible to take part in the performance of the ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. It is implicit in this statement that a person born into a family of dog-eaters is generally not fit for performing yajna, or sacrifice. The priestly caste in charge of performing these ritualistic ceremonies recommended in the Vedas is called the brahmana order. Unless one is a brahmana, he cannot perform these ceremonies.
A person is born in a brahmana family or in a family of dog-eaters due to his past activities. If a person is born in a family of dog-eaters it means that his past activities were all sinful. But if even such a person takes to the path of devotional service and begins to chant the holy names of the Lord–Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare– he is at once fit to perform the ritualistic ceremonies. This means that his sinful reactions have immediately become neutralized.
It is stated in the padma Purana that there are four kinds of effects due to sinful activities, which are listed as follows: (1) the effect which is not yet fructified, (2) the effect which is lying as seed, (3) the effect which is already mature and (4) the effect which is almost mature. It is also stated that all these four effects become immediately vanquished for those who surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, and become engaged in His devotional service in full Krsna consciousness.

Those effects described as “almost mature” refer to the distress from which one is suffering at present, and the effects “lying as seed” are in the core of the heart, where there is a certain stock of sinful desires which are like seeds. The Sanskrit word kutam means that they are almost ready to produce the seed, or the effect of the seed. “An immature effect” refers to the case where the seedling has not begun. From this statement of padma Purana it is understood that material contamination is very subtle. Its beginning, its fruition and results, and how one suffers such results in the form of distress, are part of a great chain. When one catches some disease, it is often very difficult to ascertain the cause of the disease, where it originated and how it is maturing. The suffering of a disease, however, does not appear all of a sudden. It actually takes time. And as in the medical field, for precaution’s sake, the doctor injects a vaccination to prevent the growing of contamination, the practical injection to stop all the fructifications of the seeds of our sinful activities is simply engagement in Krsna consciousness.
In this connection, Sukadeva Gosvami speaks in the Sixth Canto of Srimad- Bhagavatam, Second Chapter, verse 17, about the story of Ajamila, who began life as a fine and dutiful brahmana, but in his young manhood became wholly corrupted by a prostitute. At the end of his wicked life, just by calling the name “Narayana [Krsna],” he was saved despite so much sin. Sukadeva points out that austerity, charity and the performance of ritualistic ceremonies for counteracting sinful activities are recommended processes, but that by performing them one cannot remove the sinful desire-seed from the heart, as was the case with Ajamila in his youth. This sinful desire-seed can be removed only by achieving Krsna consciousness. And this can be accomplished very easily by chanting the maha-mantra, or Hare Krsna mantra, as recommended by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In other words, unless one adopts the path of devotional service, he cannot be one-hundred-percent clean from all the reactions of sinful activities.
By performing Vedic ritualistic activities, by giving money in charity and by undergoing austerity, one can temporarily become free from the reactions of sinful activities, but at the next moment he must again become engaged in sinful activities. For example, a person suffering from venereal disease on account of excessive indulgence in sex life has to undergo some severe pain in medical treatment, and he is then cured for the time being. But because he has not been able to remove the sex desire from his heart, he must again indulge in the same thing and become a victim of the same disease. So medical treatment may give temporary relief from the distress of such venereal disease, but unless one is trained to understand that sex life is abominable, it is impossible to be saved from such repeated distress. Similarly, the ritualistic performances, charity and austerity which are recommended in the Vedas may temporarily stop one from acting in sinful ways, but as long as the heart is not clear, one will have to repeat sinful activities again and again.
Another example given in Srimad-Bhagavatam concerns the elephant who enters into a lake and takes a bath very seriously, cleansing his body thoroughly. Then as soon as he comes onto shore he again takes some dust from the earth and throws it over his body. Similarly, a person who is not trained in Krsna consciousness cannot become completely free from the desire for sinful activities. Neither the yoga process nor philosophical speculations nor fruitive activities can save one from the seeds of sinful desires. Only by being engaged in devotional service can this be done.
There is another evidence in the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Twenty- second Chapter, verse 39, wherein Sanat-kumara says, “My dear King, the false ego of a human being is so strong that it keeps him in material existence as if tied up by a strong rope. Only the devotees can cut off the knot of this strong
rope very easily, by engaging themselves in Krsna consciousness. Others, who are not in Krsna consciousness but are trying to become great mystics or great ritual performers, cannot advance like the devotees. Therefore, it is the duty of everyone to engage himself in the activities of Krsna consciousness in order to be freed from the tight knot of false ego and engagement in material activities.”
This tight knot of false ego is due to ignorance. As long as one is ignorant about his identity, he is sure to act wrongly and thereby become entangled in material contamination. This ignorance of factual knowledge can also be dissipated by Krsna consciousness, as is confirmed in the Padma Purana as follows: “Pure devotional service in Krsna consciousness is the highest enlightenment, and when such enlightenment is there, it is just like a blazing forest fire, killing all the inauspicious snakes of desire.” The example is being given in this connection that when there is a forest fire the extensive blazing automatically kills all the snakes in the forest. There are many, many snakes on the ground of the forest, and when a fire takes place, it burns the dried foliage, and the snakes are immediately attacked. Animals who have four legs can flee from the fire or can at least try to flee, but the snakes are immediately killed. Similarly, the blazing fire of Krsna consciousness is so strong that the snakes of ignorance are immediately killed.

Krsna Consciousness Is All-auspicious

Srila Rupa Gosvami has given a definition of auspiciousness. He says that actual auspiciousness means welfare activities for all the people of the world. At the present moment groups of people are engaged in welfare activities in terms of society, community or nation. There is even an attempt in the form of the United Nations for world-help activity. But due to the shortcomings of limited national activities, such a general mass welfare program for the whole world is not practically possible. The Krsna consciousness movement, however, is so nice that it can render the highest benefit to the entire human race.
Everyone can be attracted by this movement, and everyone can feel the result. Therefore, Rupa Gosvami and other learned scholars agree that a broad propaganda program for the Krsna consciousness movement of devotional service all over the world is the highest humanitarian welfare activity.
How the Krsna consciousness movement can attract the attention of the whole world and how each and every man can feel pleasure in this Krsna consciousness is stated in the Padma Purana as follows: “A person who is engaged in devotional service in full Krsna consciousness is to be understood to be doing the best service to the whole world and to be pleasing everyone in the world. In addition to human society, he is pleasing even the trees and animals, because they also become attracted by such a movement.” A practical example of this was shown by Lord Caitanya when He was traveling through the forests of Jharikhanda in central India for spreading His sankirtana movement. The tigers, the elephants, the deer and all the other wild animals joined Him and were participating, in their own ways, by dancing and chanting Hare Krsna.
Furthermore, a person engaged in Krsna consciousness, acting in devotional service, can develop all the good qualities that are generally found in the demigods. It is said by Sukadeva Gosvami in the Fifth Canto of Srimad- Bhagavatam, Eighteenth Chapter, verse 12, “My dear King, persons who have unflinching faith in Krsna and are without any duplicity can develop all the good qualities of the demigods. On account of a devotee’s high grade of Krsna consciousness, even the demigods like to live with him, and therefore it can be understood that the qualities of the demigods have developed within his body.”
On the other hand, a person who is not in Krsna consciousness has no good qualities. He may be highly educated from the academic point of view, but in the actual field of his activities he can be seen to be baser than the animals. Even though a person is highly educated academically, if he cannot go beyond the sphere of mental activities then he is sure to perform only material activities and thus remain impure. There are so many persons in the modern world who have been highly educated in the materialistic universities, but it is seen that they cannot take up the movement of Krsna consciousness and develop the high qualities of the demigods.
For example, a Krsna conscious boy, even if he is not very well educated by the university standard, can immediately give up all illicit sex life, gambling, meat-eating and intoxication, whereas those who are not in Krsna consciousness, although very highly educated, are often drunkards, meat-eaters, sexmongers and gamblers. These are practical proofs of how a Krsna conscious person becomes highly developed in good qualities, whereas a person who is not in Krsna consciousness cannot do so. We experience that even a young boy in Krsna consciousness is unattached to cinemas, nightclubs, naked dance shows, restaurants, liquor shops, etc. He becomes completely freed. He saves his valuable time from being extravagantly spent in the way of smoking, drinking, attending the theater and dancing.
One who is not in Krsna consciousness usually cannot sit silently even for half an hour. The yoga system teaches that if you become silent you will realize that you are God. This system may be all right for materialistic persons, but
how long will they be able to keep themselves silent? Artificially, they may sit down for so-called meditation, but immediately after their yogic performance they will engage themselves again in such activities as illicit sex life, gambling, meat-eating and many other nonsensical things. But a Krsna conscious person gradually elevates himself without endeavoring for this so-called silent meditation. Simply because he is engaged in Krsna consciousness he automatically gives up all this nonsense and develops a high character. One develops the highest character by becoming a pure devotee of Krsna. The conclusion is that no one can truly have any good qualities if he is lacking Krsna consciousness.

Happiness in Krsna Consciousness

Srila Rupa Gosvami has analyzed the different sources of happiness. He has divided happiness into three categories, which are (1) happiness derived from material enjoyment, (2) happiness derived by identifying oneself with the Supreme Brahman and (3) happiness derived from Krsna consciousness.
In the tantra-sastra Lord Siva speaks to his wife, Sati, in this way: “My dear wife, a person who has surrendered himself at the lotus feet of Govinda and who has thus developed pure Krsna consciousness can be very easily awarded all the perfections desired by the impersonalists; and beyond this, he can enjoy the happiness achieved by the pure devotees.”
Happiness derived from pure devotional service is the highest, because it is eternal. The happiness derived from material perfection or understanding oneself to be Brahman is inferior because it is temporary. There is no preventing one’s falling down from material happiness, and there is even every chance of falling down from the spiritual happiness derived out of identifying oneself with the impersonal Brahman.
It has been seen that great Mayavadi (impersonalist) sannyasis–very highly educated and almost realized souls–may sometimes take to political activities or to social welfare activities. The reason is that they actually do not derive any ultimate transcendental happiness in the impersonal understanding and therefore must come down to the material platform and take to such mundane affairs. There are many instances, especially in India, where these Mayavadi sannyasis descend to the material platform again. But a person who is fully in Krsna consciousness will never return to any sort of material platform. However alluring and attracting they may be, he always knows that no material welfare activities can compare to the spiritual activity of Krsna consciousness.
The mystic perfections achieved by actually successful yogis are eight in number. Anima-siddhi refers to the power by which one can become so small that he can enter into a stone. Modern scientific improvements also enable us to enter into stone, because they provide for excavating so many subways, penetrating the hills, etc. So anima-siddhi, the mystic perfection of trying to enter into stone, has also been achieved by material science. Similarly, all of the yoga-siddhis, or perfections, are material arts. For example, in one yoga- siddhi there is development of the power to become so light that one can float in the air or on water. That is also being performed by modern scientists. They are flying in the air, they are floating on the surface of the water, and they are traveling under the water.
After comparing all these mystic yoga-siddhis to materialistic perfections, we find that the materialistic scientists try for the same perfections. So actually there is no difference between mystic perfection and materialistic perfection. A German scholar once said that the so-called yoga perfections had already been achieved by the modern scientists, and so he was not concerned with them. He intelligently went to India to learn how he could understand his
eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord by means of bhakti-yoga, devotional service.
Of course, in the categories of mystic perfection there are certain processes which the material scientists have not yet been able to develop. For instance, a mystic yogi can enter into the sun planet simply by using the rays of the sunshine. This perfection is called laghima. Similarly, a yogi can touch the
moon with his finger. Though the modern astronauts go to the moon with the help of spaceships, they undergo many difficulties, whereas a person with mystic perfection can extend his hand and touch the moon with his finger. This siddhi is called prapti, or acquisition. With this prapti-siddhi, not only can the perfect mystic yogi touch the moon planet, but he can extend his hand anywhere and take whatever he likes. He may be sitting thousands of miles away from a certain place, and if he likes he can take fruit from a garden there. This is prapti-siddhi.
The modern scientists have manufactured nuclear weapons with which they can destroy an insignificant part of this planet, but by the yoga-siddhi known as isita one can create and destroy an entire planet simply at will. Another perfection is called vasita, and by this perfection one can bring anyone under his control. This is a kind of hypnotism which is almost irresistible. Sometimes it is found that a yogi who may have attained a little perfection in this vasita mystic power comes out among the people and speaks all sorts of nonsense, controls their minds, exploits them, takes their money and then goes away.
There is another mystic perfection, which is known as prakamya (magic). By this prakamya power one can achieve anything he likes. For example, one can make water enter into his eye and then again come out from within the eye. Simply by his will he can perform such wonderful activities.
The highest perfection of mystic power is called kamavasayita. This is also magic, but whereas the prakamya power acts to create wonderful effects within the scope of nature, kamavasayita permits one to contradict nature–in other words, to do the impossible. Of course, one can derive great amounts of temporary happiness by achieving such yogic materialistic perfections.
Foolishly, people who are enamored of the glimmer of modern materialistic advancement are thinking that the Krsna consciousness movement is for less intelligent men. “I am better off being busy with my material comforts– maintaining a nice apartment, family and sex life.” These people do not know that at any moment they can be kicked out of their material situation. Due to ignorance, they do not know that real life is eternal. The temporary comforts of the body are not the goal of life, and it is due only to darkest ignorance that people become enamored of the glimmering advancement of material comforts. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has therefore said that the advancement of material knowledge renders a person more foolish, because it causes one to forget his real identity by its glimmer. This is doom for him, because this human form of life is meant for getting out of material contamination. By the advancement of material knowledge, people are becoming more and more entangled in material existence. They have no hope of being liberated from this catastrophe.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it is stated that Prahlada Maharaja, a great devotee of the Lord, prayed to Nrsimhadeva (the half-lion, half-man incarnation) as follows: “My dear Lord, I repeatedly pray unto Your lotus feet that I may simply be stronger in devotional service. I simply pray that my Krsna consciousness may be more strong and steady, because happiness derived out of Krsna consciousness and devotional service is so powerful that with it one can have all the other perfections of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and even the attainment of liberation from material existence.”
Actually, a pure devotee does not aspire after any of these perfections, because the happiness derived from devotional service in Krsna consciousness is so transcendental and so unlimited that no other happiness can compare to it. It is said that even one drop of happiness in Krsna consciousness stands beyond comparison with an ocean of happiness derived from any other activity. Thus, any person who has developed even a little quantity of pure devotional service can very easily kick out all the other kinds of happiness derived from
religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation.
There was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya known as Kholaveca Sridhara, who was a very poor man. He was doing a small business selling cups made from the leaves of plantain trees, and his income was almost nothing. Still, he was spending fifty percent of his small income on the worship of the Ganges, and with the other fifty percent he was somehow living. Lord Caitanya once revealed Himself to this confidential devotee, Kholaveca Sridhara, and offered him any opulence he liked. But Sridhara informed the Lord that he did not want any
material opulence. He was quite happy in his present position and wanted only to gain unflinching faith and devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. That is the position of pure devotees. If they can be engaged twenty-four hours each day in devotional service they do not want anything else, not even the happiness of liberation or of becoming one with the Supreme.
In the Narada-pancaratra it is also said that any person who has developed even a small amount of devotional service doesn’t care a fig for any kind of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification or the five kinds of liberation. Any kind of happiness derived from religiousness, economic development, liberation or sense gratification cannot even dare to enter into the heart of a pure devotee. It is stated that as the personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Krsna, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee’s asking.