Daksa curses lord Siva

July 27, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

28th July, 2015. Gurgaon.

Photobucket

I continue to hear the most amazing seminar given by HG Srimati Mataji on ‘demons in Krishna’s pastimes and the anarthas they represent’. four days back I heard a beautiful interactive discussion during the seminar with Srimati Mataji, HG Madhavananda Prabhuji and other very realised, and fortunate, devotees.

This particular discussion was part of ‘Krishna kills Kamsa’. The reference of pastime of Dakṣa and lord Siva came to discuss the anartha of pride, coming from karma and jnana.

Here is the relevant section from Srimad Bhagavatam to refresh that incident which led to Daksa cursing lord Siva.

When Daksa, the leader of the Prajäpatis, entered that assembly, his personal bodily luster as bright as the effulgence of the sun, the entire assembly was illuminated, and all the assembled personalities became insignificant in his presence. Influenced by his personal bodily luster, all the fire-gods and other participants in that great assembly, with the exceptions of Lord Brahmä and Lord Siva, gave up their own sitting places and stood in respect for Daksa.

Daksa was adequately welcomed by the president of the great assembly, Lord Brahmä. After offering Lord Brahmä respect, Daksa, by the order of Brahmä, properly took his seat.

Before taking his seat, however, Daksa was very much offended to see Lord Siva sitting and not showing him any respect. At that time, Daksa became greatly angry, and, his eyes glowing, he began to speak very strongly against Lord Siva. All sages, brahmanas and fire-gods present, please hear me with attention, for I speak about the manners of gentle persons. I do not speak out of ignorance or envy. Siva has spoiled the name and fame of the governors of the universe and has polluted the path of gentle manners. Because he is shameless, he does not know how to act. He has already accepted himself as my subordinate by marrying my daughter in the presence of fire and brahmanas. He has married my daughter, who is equal to Gäyatri, and has pretended to be just like an honest person. He has eyes like a monkey’s, yet he has married my daughter, whose eyes are just like those of a deer cub. Nevertheless he did not stand up to receive me, nor did he think it fit to welcome me with sweet words. I had no desire to give my daughter to this person, who has broken all rules of civility. Because of not observing the required rules and regulations, he is impure, but I was obliged to hand over my daughter to him just as one teaches the messages of the Vedas to a Sudra. He lives in filthy places like crematoriums, and his companions are the ghosts and demons. Naked like a madman, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying, he smears crematorium ashes all over his body. He does not bathe regularly, and he ornaments his body with a garland of skulls and bones. Therefore only in name is he Siva, or auspicious; actually, he is the most mad and inauspicious creature. Thus he is very dear to crazy beings in the gross mode of ignorance, and he is their leader. (SB 4.2.5-15)

“Daksa then cursed Lord Siva. Unable to tolerate this, Nandishvara, one of Lord Siva’s principal associate cursed Daksa and all the brahmanas present. Then, as a reaction the sage Bhrgu cursed the followers of Lord Siva.”

Brainstorm -1

The sage Maitreya said: When such cursing and counter cursing was going on between Lord Śiva’s followers and the parties of Dakṣa and Bhṛgu, Lord Śiva became very morose. Not saying anything, he left the arena of the sacrifice, followed by his disciples. (SB 4.2.33)

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport for the above verse : Here Lord Śiva’s excellent character is described. In spite of the cursing and counter cursing between the parties of Dakṣa and Śiva, because he is the greatest Vaiṣṇava he was so sober that he did not say anything. A Vaiṣṇava is always tolerant, and Lord Śiva is considered the topmost Vaiṣṇava, so his character, as shown in this scene, is excellent. He became morose because he knew that these people, both his men and Dakṣa’s, were unnecessarily cursing and counter cursing one another, without any interest in spiritual life. From his point of view, he did not see anyone as lower or higher, because he is a Vaiṣṇava. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18), paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: one who is perfectly learned does not see anyone as lesser or greater, because he sees everyone from the spiritual platform. Thus the only alternative left to Lord Śiva was to leave in order to stop his follower, Nandīśvara, as well as Bhṛgu Muni, from cursing and counter cursing in that way.

Brainstorm -2

People’s association with karma and jnana is the result of attachment born from the prejudices of one’s nature that are produced from past karma and jnana…Karmis and jnanis disrespect Vaishnavas only due to this attachment for prejudices…Offenses at the feet of sadhus is due to being proud of one’s karma and jnana…(Such) worldly attachment is contrary to acceptance of Krishna’s undisputed supremacy, and it therefore does not allow the unfortunate living entity to fully surrender to the Lord. (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Sri Bhaktyaloka, “Sanga-tyaga”)

Srimati Mataji then asked the devotees to share there realisation or understanding from the above hearing.

Devotee 1: She shared how when she read the same pastime in Harivamsa Purana there was no mention of how Sati gave up her body and how Siva was offended and how it is given in complete detail in Srimad Bhagavatam. And without these details one could miss the whole point from this pastime. So we are very fortunate to have Srimad Bhagavatam and Prabhupada commentaries.

Srimati Mataji then recounted the same day’s morning lecture which a Sanyasi, I couldn’t get the name, gave at the temple. Maharaj compared Srimad Bhagavatam to the other puranas. Maharaj stated that a major difference between other puranas and Bhagavata Purana is that the Bhagvata purana is concerned only with glorification of Krishna and His devotees. This is a very common thing which is happening throughout the Bhagavatam. Where as there are different emphasis in other puranas, they basically talk about God, they are not talking about Krishna and His associates. In Bhagavatam we get the essence of all things.

The devotee then shared how so many people who have read shastra they keep on arguing about what they read, how their own understanding is right, I know this and I have read that…. but it is only after reading Bhagavatam does one get complete understanding and knowledge.

Srimati mataji added that in the teachings of Lord Kapila Deva in SB 3.29, Lord Kapila states that devotional service is never contaminated but the people who perform are! And they can actually perform it in eighty one different ways, eighty one different modes. (SB 3.29.10). Mataji said this is where the quality of humility comes in.

Srimati Mataji said that these days humility is going out of the window, and we can see how it is going out. Mataji asked ‘Why in the Vedic times, in the gurukul, students would clean everything, they will clean the toilets, they will clean their ashram, wash their own clothes – didn’t send them to a Dhobi. Why ? Because if we want the knowledge to manifest in our heart in a pure and simple way then there has to be humility. And by doing those menial services we imbibe that mood. That we are not someone special. Not like everyone else can clean the ashram and I can read a book! not like that. Mataji said that’s how we see that the real sadhus in Vrindavan they don’t have cleaners. They do everything themselves, they wash their own clothes, they don’t have cooks. I am Thakurji’s servant… I am living here as a servant….servant does these things…servant cleans the house…servant cooks for Thakurji, this is the mood.

Devotee 2: She stated that her understanding from the above is that its Pride which leads one to his downfall. Daksa is expecting respect from Siva, similarly if we have this kind of expectation that people should respect me then it is a sure sign that we will fall down.

Srimati mataji : I really like the input given by Bhaktivinoda Thakura about this attachment to karma and jnana. Daksha was really like a karmi, a first class karmi! So his whole analysis of Siva is through those lenses, Siva doesn’t follow rules and regulations, doesn’t take his bath, and all this stuff. He is looking at him through karma yoga.

Devotee 1 : And Daksa may be he thinking that Siva is making his daughter fall down by not following all the rules, he is not taking bath and all, whereas Daksha had trained his daughter with such high standards!

Devotee 3: This devotee shared that she liked the first devotee’s point of Bhagavatam being so nice and we being so fortunate. She shared how in her initial days in ISKCON she had no ‘ruchi’ (taste) for reading Bhagavatam. Then one prabhuji told her that for increasing attachment, reading Bhagavatam, if we offer one Tulasi to Bhagavatam then Krishna becomes pleased because He is non different from Bhagavatam! And if you offer Tulasi every day then ‘ruchi’ will come. The devotee shared how she started doing it and she started getting taste. Within a short time she not only developed a ‘ruchi’ for bhagavatam but was also received association so many devotees who were all Bhagavatam lovers. Hari Bol !

Madhavanada Prabhuji : Srila Prabhupada writes that both his men and Dakṣa’s, were unnecessarily cursing and counter cursing one another, without any interest in spiritual life. Prabhuji quoted Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who stated that, when people cultivate ‘information-collection’, they cultivate ‘jnana’, they cultivate ‘karma’, some behavioral patterns, without cultivating service to the Vaishnavas, then what happens is that they think that’s spiritual life. And they think that they have become a judge of other people. Rather than they are trying to serve guru, it doesn’t mean that we should not read Bhagavatam- Prabhupada wanted every devotee to read it. But it is one thing to read Bhagavatam as a service to Prabhupada but many other people in the west, we used try to kind of ‘master’ a book. Prabhuji stressed that we can’t ‘master’ Bhagavatam, we can serve the Bhagavatam by serving ‘bhakt’ (devotee) Bhagavat, by preaching, by reading something and trying to help devotees with it.

Prabhuji cautioned that if we just read Bhagavatam only to gather some information, and not doing service, then the result is that we have something but what it turns into is pride! Prabhuji said that’s what it seemed to have happened here, Daksa was seeing that Siva is not auspicious, he wears skulls , doesn’t take bath and this and that. By some point of view of Shastra we can say that, the skulls are very inauspicious, not taking bath is very inauspicious and they have all this information. But because they are not doing service to the Vaishanavas they can’t understand it and they get involve in unnecessary quarrel!

Prabhuji said without service one may think that I am doing the same thing as this senior devotee. I am reading , he is reading, I am chanting, he is chanting but there is a difference in their mood. That devotees is doing it as a service to his guru. And if I am not doing it as a service then the result is I get very proud and then I start seeing faults in others, and feel that I have to correct others.

Devotee 4: This devotee said her that she felt inspired from the line ‘lord Siva felt morose and left the arena without saying any word to others or his disciples’. She shared that she thought that if we really know where we are, where do we want to go and what we want to cultivate then we should not get involve in such things. People can curse and counter curse and if they don’t have faith in you, obviously Daksa had no faith in lord Siva, then just don’t say anything, let them think what they wish to think and just leave.

Madhavanada Prabhuji shared how one acharya has explained that Krishna told the Vrajavasis to close their eyes in both the pastimes of forest fires. But the in the second forest time the next verse stated that the heat was very intense. Prabhuji shared that he thought it was very interesting that though Krishna told them to close their eyes they could still experience the pain and the fire. Prabhuji stated that in a Similar way we may close our eyes to all these arguments we are told to but sometime we still feel the ‘burning sensation’ but like Lord Siva we should just walk away. The ‘burning sensation’ may be there but we should just leave.

Prabhuji shared another gem that Fakir Mohan Prabhuji shared with him that `amanina manadena’ (one should offer all respects to others and expect nothing in return) this is the secret Mahāprabhu has given for our bhajan. Prabhuji said if we just tolerate when other people offend us and we offer them respect then they will leave us alone and ignore us. They won’t take us very seriously. Then we can chant peacefully. Others may think that O! he is not such a maha pandit we thought so, actually I am the maha Pandita. We don’t need a big titles or others to say that he is very knowledgeable to grow in bhakti.

Devotee 1: She shared how she heard in a lecture by HH Radha Govinda Maharaj that his (Siva’s) part (or share) in the sacrificial fire, lord Siva (in the above pastime), he really didn’t want it. Similarly at the time at the time of ‘churning of the milk ocean’ lord Siva didn’t come for drinking the Nectar. He is not interested.

Madhavanada Prabhuji added that when demigods first went to Krishna, how we are going to solve this problem- poison came out. Then Krishna said ‘go and ask lord Siva’. They approached lord Siva. Lord Siva told them why are you asking me ? You should ask Krishna. When demigods told him that Krishna told them to see him then lord Siva said Oh! I have service! He went with demigods and drank the poison instead of the nectar.

The devotee recounted how in the class HH Radha Govind maharaj exclaimed ‘What a nice person!’. He just drank poison for the benefit of everyone but for the nectar he didn’t come. He doesn’t need anything he has got the Amrit (holy name).

This whole discussion felt so nectarean to my ears that I heard it repeatedly. Every time I will hear it, I would catch something new. Then I felt inspired to share it with everyone. I am sorry that this blog went too long, I hope, somehow, I am able to funnel this nectar into my childish words and serve you all in a small way.

All glories to Srimad Bhagavatam.

All glories to lord Shiva.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Maya consciousness vs Krishna consciousness!

July 22, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

23rd July, 2015. Gurgaon

Srila Prabhupada on Krishna Consciousness Compared to Light
I am quoting some learning in Q&As format from Srimad Bhagavatam 3rd canto chapters 24 and 25.

Q: What is the distinction between maya consciousness and Krishna consciousness ?

Ans :

cetaḥ khalv asya bandhāya muktaye cātmano matam
guṇeṣu saktaṁ bandhāya rataṁ vā puṁsi muktaye (SB 3.25.15)

Translation

The stage in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation.

Srila Prabhupada expands in his purport that : There is a distinction here between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā consciousness. Guṇeṣu, or māyā consciousness, involves attachment to the three material modes of nature, under which one works sometimes in goodness and knowledge, sometimes in passion and sometimes in ignorance. These different qualitative activities, with the central attachment for material enjoyment, are the cause of one’s conditional life. When the same cetaḥ, or consciousness, is transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is on the path of liberation.

Q: Which is the best Yoga system and what is its purpose ?
Ans : The best yoga is bhakti Yoga and its purpose is spiritual realisation.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

yoga ādhyātmikaḥ puṁsāṁ mato niḥśreyasāya me
atyantoparatir yatra duḥkhasya ca sukhasya ca (SB 3.25.13)

Translation
The Personality of Godhead answered: The yoga system which relates to the Lord and the individual soul, which is meant for the ultimate benefit of the living entity, and which causes detachment from all happiness and distress in the material world, is the highest yoga system.
Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport : The yoga system, as here stated by the Lord, is meant to end all material happiness and material distress. The best yoga, as taught in Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṇa, is bhakti-yoga….the yoga system is the science of the spirit. One practices yoga in order to attain perfection on the spiritual platform.

Q: How can I free my senses from the material contamination ?

Ans: By Devotional service.

devahūtir uvāca

nirviṇṇā nitarāṁ bhūmann asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt
yena sambhāvyamānena prapannāndhaṁ tamaḥ prabho (SB 3.25.7)

Translation

Devahūti said: I am very sick of the disturbance caused by my material senses, for because of this sense disturbance, my Lord, I have fallen into the abyss of ignorance.

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport : Here the word asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt is significant. Asat means “impermanent,” “temporary,” and indriya means “senses.” Thus asad-indriya-tarṣaṇāt means “from being agitated by the temporarily manifest senses of the material body.” We are evolving through different statuses of material bodily existence — sometimes in a human body, sometimes in an animal body — and therefore the engagements of our material senses are also changing. Anything which changes is called temporary, or asat. We should know that beyond these temporary senses are our permanent senses, which are now covered by the material body. The permanent senses, being contaminated by matter, are not acting properly. Devotional service, therefore, involves freeing the senses from this contamination. When the contamination is completely removed and the senses act in the purity of unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we have reached sad-indriya, or eternal sensory activities. Eternal sensory activities are called devotional service, whereas temporary sensory activities are called sense gratification.

Q: What does it really mean when we read that God has no form? And then why does God has so many forms?
Ans : No form means no material form.

Kardama muni prays to Lord in SB 3.24.31 that

tāny eva te ’bhirūpāṇi rūpāṇi bhagavaṁs tava
yāni yāni ca rocante sva-janānām arūpiṇaḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, although You have no material form, You have Your own innumerable forms. They truly are Your transcendental forms, which are pleasing to Your devotees.
Srila Prabhupada adds in his Purport :

In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated that the Lord is one Absolute, but He has ananta, or innumerable, forms. Advaitam acyutam anādim ananta-rūpam [Bs 5.33]. The Lord is the original form, but still He has multiforms. Those multiforms are manifested by Him transcendentally, according to the tastes of His multidevotees. It is understood that once Hanumān, the great devotee of Lord Rāmacandra, said that he knew that Nārāyaṇa, the husband of Lakṣmī, and Rāma, the husband of Sītā, are one and the same, and that there is no difference between Lakṣmī and Sītā, but as for himself, he liked the form of Lord Rāma.

In a similar way, some devotees worship the original form of Kṛṣṇa. When we say “Kṛṣṇa” we refer to all forms of the Lord — not only Kṛṣṇa, but Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, Nārāyaṇa, etc. The varieties of transcendental forms exist simultaneously. That is also stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā: rāmādi-mūrtiṣu. .. nānāvatāram. He already exists in multiforms, but none of the forms are material. Śrīdhara Svāmī has commented that arūpiṇaḥ, “without form,” means without material form.

The Lord has form, otherwise how can it be stated here, tāny eva te ‘bhirūpāṇi rūpāṇi bhagavaṁs tava: “You have Your forms, but they are not material. Materially You have no form, but spiritually, transcendentally, You have multiforms”? Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand these transcendental forms of the Lord, and being disappointed, they say that the Supreme Lord is impersonal. But that is not a fact; whenever there is form there is a person. Many times in many Vedic literatures the Lord is described as puruṣa, which means “the original form, the original enjoyer.” The conclusion is that the Lord has no material form, and yet, according to the liking of different grades of devotees, He simultaneously exists in multiforms, such as Rāma, Nṛsiṁha, Varāha, Nārāyaṇa and Mukunda. There are many thousands and thousands of forms, but they are all viṣṇu-tattva, Kṛṣṇa.

All glories to Srimad Bhagavatam.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

How to easily overcome material miseries ?

July 8, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

9th July, 2015. Gurgaon

I was a preparing for a brief session on the second chapter of book `Essence of Bhagavad Gita’ last two days on material miseries, namely adhyaatmik, adibhautik and adidaivik kleshas. As I was preparing for the class I thought that this particular session is getting more heavy in negativity. Some times we also hear that we have no solution to them and the only way is to tolerate them. I wrote about these three miseries in my last blog on how one can attain peace. But some piece seemed to be missing in my heart.

Hence it was a great coincidence that yesterday morning I read some wonderful verses in Bhagavatam, SB 3.25.23, 24 & 25 and their enlightening purports by Srila Prabhupada on this very same topic. They showed how simple and easy the process to overcome material miseries really is. It is we who have no faith in it. This chapter is very aptly named `The Glories of Devotional Service’.

mad-āśrayāḥ kathā mṛṣṭāḥ śṛṇvanti kathayanti ca
tapanti vividhās tāpā naitān mad-gata-cetasaḥ (SB 2.25.23)

Translation:

Engaged constantly in chanting and hearing about Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the sādhus do not suffer from material miseries because they are always filled with thoughts of My pastimes and activities.

Who can overcome the three miseries of the material world.

Sadhus or devotees of the Lord to overcome three miseries of the material world.
Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that There are multifarious miseries in material existence — those pertaining to the body and the mind, those imposed by other living entities and those imposed by natural disturbances. But a sādhu is not disturbed by such miserable conditions because his mind is always filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he does not like to talk about anything but the activities of the Lord. Mahārāja Ambarīṣa did not speak of anything but the pastimes of the Lord. Vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane (Bhāg. 9.4.18). He engaged his words only in glorification of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sādhus are always interested in hearing about the activities of the Lord or His devotees. Since they are filled with Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are forgetful of the material miseries. Ordinary conditioned souls, being forgetful of the activities of the Lord, are always full of anxieties and material tribulations. On the other hand, since the devotees always engage in the topics of the Lord, they are forgetful of the miseries of material existence.

So what should we do to overcome these miseries ?

ta ete sādhavaḥ sādhvi sarva-saṅga-vivarjitāḥ
saṅgas teṣv atha te prārthyaḥ saṅga-doṣa-harā hi te (SB 3.25.24)

Translation
O My mother, O virtuous lady, these are the qualities of great devotees who are free from all attachment. You must seek attachment to such holy men, for this counteracts the pernicious effects of material attachment.

Prabhupada writes Kapila Muni herein advises His mother, Devahūti, that if she wants to be free from material attachment, she should increase her attachment for the sādhus, or devotees who are completely freed from all material attachment…… A person may be materially very rich, opulent or respectable, but if he at all wants to transfer himself to the spiritual kingdom, back home, back to Godhead, then he has to be freed from the puffed-up condition of material possessiveness, because that is a false position.

A pure soul who is prepared to be freed from this material entanglement must first of all be free from the association of the three modes of nature. Our consciousness at the present moment is polluted because of association with the three modes of nature; therefore in Bhagavad-gītā the same principle is stated. It is advised, jita-saṅga-doṣāḥ: one should be freed from the contaminated association of the three modes of material nature. Here also, in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, this is confirmed: a pure devotee, who is preparing to transfer himself to the spiritual kingdom, is also freed from the association of the three modes of material nature. We have to seek the association of such devotees.

Where to find such association?

Under ISKCON.

Prabhupada say ‘For this reason we have begun the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. There are many mercantile, scientific and other associations in human society to develop a particular type of education or consciousness, but there is no association which helps one to get free from all material association. If anyone has reached the stage where he must become free from this material contamination, then he has to seek the association of devotees, wherein Kṛṣṇa consciousness is exclusively cultured. One can thereby become freed from all material association’.

How is it possible? Give an example.

Prabhupada explains ‘Because a devotee is freed from all contaminated material association, he is not affected by the miseries of material existence. Even though he appears to be in the material world, he is not affected by the miseries of the material world. How is it possible? There is a very good example in the activities of the cat. The cat carries her kittens in her mouth, and when she kills a rat she also carries the booty in her mouth. Thus both are carried in the mouth of the cat, but they are in different conditions. The kitten feels comfort in the mouth of the mother, whereas when the rat is carried in the mouth of the cat, the rat feels the blows of death. Similarly, those who are sādhavaḥ, or devotees engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the transcendental service of the Lord, do not feel the contamination of material miseries, whereas those who are not devotees in Kṛṣṇa consciousness actually feel the miseries of material existence. One should therefore give up the association of materialistic persons and seek the association of persons engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and by such association he will benefit in spiritual advancement. By their words and instructions, he will be able to cut off his attachment to material existence’.

Just reading these verses and their nectarean purports filled my heart with a feeling of spiritual bliss and more faith that as we progress in our devotional journey and take shelter of the lotus of Lord and His devotees then all miseries of the world become the size of mustard seeds. We must continue to seek and serve such devotees of the Lord and make our life successful.

My little session too ended on a positive note last evening as I now know of an assured solution to these three seeming insurmountable problems.

All glories to Srimad Bhagavatam

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Peace, not so elusive!

July 2, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

2nd July, 2015. Gurgaon

I recently met an elderly mataji who excitedly shared how these days she is meditating on ‘om’ during her yoga sessions. When I asked her is it helping her, she replied that it is supposed to help her but nothing has happened yet.

Sometimes I also hear :

`beta, bhagawan to bahut duur hai, shanti mil jaye toh bahut hai’ (Son, God is very far, if I just get peace it is good enough for me!)

Few months ago I happen to meet mataji’s neighbour who, a little more openly, admitted that she has tried so many camps by various so-called spiritual organisations but peace seems to elude her, in fact she is becoming less peaceful by the passage of time! I asked her what was her experience during those meditation programs. She admitted that every single time she found it impossible to focus on ‘shunya’ (nothing) and her minds remained filled with all sorts of thoughts.

These days it has become very fashionable for new age gurus to focus and ‘teach’ general masses about peace. They employ various methods like meditation on formless god, meditate on ‘shunya’ (nothingness), try to see and meditate on ‘OM’ between the eye brows to imagining that we are sitting near a seashore, waves are coming, birds are flying…..we are a spirit soul and all is peaceful!

But we know from our own past experience that when we attend these so called ‘meditation camps’, or sessions, the relief, if any, is temporary at best. Once out of the such sessions, one is back to the square one, the placebo effects rubs off fast.

What does it show ?

1. People, in general, are NOT peaceful.

2. The trend of people not being peaceful is increasing.

What is the problem ?

Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 5.14.25, says

kvacic ca śīta-vātādy-anekādhidaivika-bhautikātmīyānāṁ daśānāṁ pratinivāraṇe ’kalpo duranta-cintayā viṣaṇṇa āste.

Translation:

Being unable to protect himself from the threefold miseries of material existence, the conditioned soul becomes very morose and lives a life of lamentation. These threefold miseries are miseries suffered by mental calamity at the hands of the demigods [such as freezing wind and scorching heat], miseries offered by other living entities, and miseries arising from the mind and body themselves.

Srila Prabhupada emphasises in his purport that ‘The so-called happy materialistic person is constantly having to endure the threefold miseries of life, called adhidaivika, adhyātmika and adhibhautika. Actually no one can counteract these threefold miseries. All three may assail one at one time, or one misery may be absent and the other present. Thus the living entity is full of anxiety, fearing misery from one side or the other. The conditioned soul must be disturbed by at least one of these three miseries. There is no escape.’

Let us also see why do we chant Om, shanti, shanti, shanti at the end of so many puja and prayers and why does the word ‘shanti’ is repeated thrice. The word shanti is repeated thrice because we are all disturbed by these three kinds of miseries :

1. Adhyatmika : miseries inflicted by the body and mind itself, examples are fever, stress etc.

2. Adhibhautika : miseries inflicted by other living entities, examples are mosquitoes, robbers, etc.

3. Adhidaivika: miseries inflicted by natural disturbances, examples are severe cold, earthquakes, droughts or other natural disasters.

So we repeat ‘shanti’ three times to get relief from each of the above three types of miseries.

What is missing ?

There is no mention of God in most of such discourses/solutions offered by these new age philosophers, gurus, etc. God, Krishna, is completely missing as each of the so-called guru tries to play or become God and/or they focus and impress upon the gullible people that they hold the power to bring peace in their lives, not God or His names or that the power lies in each one of us, anything but God.

What is the right way to get peace ?

Let’s read what Krishna says Bhagavad Gita 2.66

nāsti buddhir ayuktasya na cāyuktasya bhāvanā

na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Kṛṣṇa consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?

Srila Prabhupada boldly writes in his purport

Unless one is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Kṛṣṇa is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Kṛṣṇa is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace. Therefore, one who is engaged without a relationship with Kṛṣṇa is certainly always in distress and is without peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement in life. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Srimad Bhagavatam, verse 3.5.40, directly says

dhātar yad asmin bhava īśa jīvās tāpa-trayeṇābhihatā na śarma
ātman labhante bhagavaṁs tavāṅghri-cchāyāṁ sa-vidyām ata āśrayema

Translation

O Father, O Lord, O Personality of Godhead, the living entities in the material world can never have any happiness because they are overwhelmed by the three kinds of miseries. Therefore they take shelter of the shade of Your lotus feet, which are full of knowledge, and we also thus take shelter of them.

But then should only peace be the goal of a human life ?

In a conversation (London,1973) with a buddhist monk, Srila Prabhupada spoke:

Prabhupada: Sometimes we find that peaceful living is visible even in animal society. Just like the cows. They’re very peaceful. There are other animals, dogs and others. They fight. But hundreds and thousands of cows, they live very peacefully. Birds also… Just like the swans, they live very peacefully. So is that the highest goal of life, to live peacefully? Because that is also found in animal society. Is that the perfection of life?

Buddhist Monk (1): What we believe is that incomparable bliss and peace everlasting is the most perfect.

Prabhupada: That is… These are items. First of all you have to follow a perfect leader. Then whatever he says, that is perfect. So that peace, you have given a definition of peace. Krsna is giving definition of peace:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaram

suhrdam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim rcchati [Bg. 5.29]

“I am the proprietor of all the lokas,” sarva-loka-mahesvaram, suhrdam sarva-bhutanam. “I am the friend of everyone.” Bhoktaram yajna-tapasam. “And I am the enjoyer of all fruitive activities.” Jnatva mam. “When one knows Me like that, he gets santi.”
This is the santi formula given by Krsna. One has to accept Krsna as the Supreme Enjoyer. Because He’s the proprietor of everything; therefore He should be enjoyer. And because everything belongs to Him — we also belong to Him — so suhrdam sarva-bhutanam, He’s friend of everyone. So these three things, if you understand-Krsna, or God, is the supreme enjoyer. He is the supreme proprietor, and He is the supreme friend of everyone — then you get santi. If we understand these three things only, then there is santi. Otherwise there is no possibility of santi.

Srila Prabhupada on Message of Krishna Consciousness

In the `journey of self-discovery’, Srila Prabhupada concludes that

So, you should try to love Krishna, and you will see how much you are satisfied. There is no other way to become fully satisfied. Earning great amounts of money will never give you satisfaction. …….So my humble request to you all is that you try to understand this sublime benediction of life, Krishna consciousness. Simply by chanting Hare Krishna you will gradually develop a transcendental loving attitude for Krishna, and as soon as you begin to love Krishna, all your troubles will be eradicated and you will feel complete satisfaction.

Did it ever happened en masse?

Yes. Srila Prabhupada tells us in his purport of SB 44.25.13

‘Indeed, during the time of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira or Lord Rāmacandra, people were free from all anxieties. There was not even extreme cold or extreme heat. The three kinds of miserable conditions — adhyātmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika — were all absent during the reign of Lord Rāmacandra or Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.‘

The elderly mataji I mentioned in the beginning is happily reading Ramayana these days. She had some attraction for Lord Rama and I was somehow able to convince her to start reading Ramayana in the Purushottam month. She has also promised to read ISKCON Bhagavad Gita once Ramayana is over.

So we discovered that we can not become peaceful without taking shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna and that peace in itself is just a byproduct in the process of Krishna consciousness and it should not be the goal of our life.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why did Lord went with Bali Maharaj as his `gatekeeper’ ?

June 25, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

29th June, 2015. Gurgaon

Some days back, after a class describing Krishna’s appearance as Vamana Deva, I had an interesting discussion with Shyamsundar Prabhuji on how Lord was more favourable to Bali maharaj than Indra, for whose apparent and immediate help Lord came as Vamana Deva. In the past I also had questions like what prompted Lord to go with Bali maharaj as his ‘gatekeeper’ after this particular pastime, why does Krishna protects Indra even after so many offenses, what happens to the present Indra after Bali maharaj would take the post of Indra in the next manvantara and are there some other lessons from this sweet pastime. As the mystery unraveled I again saw how deep are Krishna’s unpredictable and wondrous pastimes.

The first clarity came due to the mercy of a senior Prabhuji, which I am sharing in brief.

First we read the two relevant verses from Srimad Bhagavatam.

tatra devāḥ sutapaso virajā amṛtaprabhāḥ

teṣāṁ virocana-suto balir indro bhaviṣyati ( SB 8.13.12)

Translation

In the period of the eighth Manu, among the demigods will be the Sutapās, the Virajas and the Amṛtaprabhas. The king of the demigods, Indra, will be Bali Mahārāja, the son of Virocana.

eṣa vipra-balodarkaḥ sampraty ūrjita-vikramaḥ

teṣām evāpamānena sānubandho vinaṅkṣyati (SB 8.15.31)

Translation
Bali Mahārāja has now become extremely powerful because of the benedictions given him by the brāhmaṇas, but when he later insults the brāhmaṇas, he will be vanquished, along with his friends and assistants.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that Bali Maharaja and Indra were enemies. Therefore, when Bṛhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, predicted that Bali Mahārāja would be vanquished when he insulted the brāhmaṇas by whose grace he had become so powerful, Bali Mahārāja’s enemies were naturally anxious to know when that opportune moment would come. To pacify King Indra, Bṛhaspati assured him that the time would certainly come, for Bṛhaspati could see that in the future Bali Mahārāja would defy the orders of Śukrācārya in order to pacify Lord Viṣṇu, Vāmanadeva. Of course, to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can take all risks. To please Vāmanadeva, Bali Mahārāja risked defying the orders of his spiritual master, Śukrācārya. Because of this, he would lose all his property, yet because of devotional service to the Lord, he would get more than he expected, and in the future, in the eighth manvantara, he would occupy the throne of Indra again.

Prabhuji explained that Bali Maharaj was banished to Sutala since he had disrespected his spiritual master, as predicted by Brahispatiji, and lost all his property and opulence which he had gained from Indra. However, since he had desire and he was under the shelter of the Supreme Lord, Lord promised to make him Indra. Present Indra is certainly sinful: there are so many references: disrespecting Brahispatiji, Supreme Lord etc. Therefore present Indra will be born in Asura family in next manvantara as Bali Maharaj and once he fully surrenders to Lord in next manvantara, he will go back to Godhead.

So why does Lord keep protecting Indra?

Prabhuji explained that Krishna keeps doing this to keep the sanctity of Indra as position not specifically Indra Deva who is very much falliable and as stated by Srila Prabhupada many times in his purports. Everybody has path to come back to Godhead and since he is serving Lord by doing his duties directed by Supreme Lord, it’s the mercy of Supreme Lord.

The conclusion of the above two verses is that Bali Maharaj will become Indra Deva (this doesn’t mean Bali Maharaj will be like current Indra, it means in next manvantara Indra’s position will be occupied by a pure devotee).

Prabhuji also cautioned us that while reading such pastimes we should not become disrespectful towards Indra, even though he is sinful, as he is surely more pure than us and Krishna consciousness teaches us to see everyone as part and parcel of Lord and take humble position. In heart we should not think anything negative about Indra Deva. We should state negatives only from learning perspective to others.

Hence once one become Lord’s pure devotee, Lord protects him from everything and is with him all the time. Brahaspatiji is very dear to Lord so He had to go to Sutala to protect Bali maharaj from all asuras and malefic of being in Sutala. Lord had committed to Bali Maharaj after his surrender, He will be always with him. Prabhuji mentioned that in one of the lecture HH Bhakti Charu swami had stated that Bali Maharaj had never taken Lord as gatekeeper of Sutala but as his protector as he was now aware that he is susceptible to falling and since he is now completely dependent on Krishna. Lord is protecting Bali Maharaj and would then take him to Godhead after his next avatara as Indra.

In one of the `Back to Godhead’ article, Sept/Oct 2008 issue, on the same topic, HG Aja Govinda Prabhuji wrote:

‘We also learn from this pastime that the highest compassion of the Lord is His depriving His devotee of all material defenses so that the devotee can surrender unto Him unconditionally. The Lord does this to increase the devotees’ loving reliance upon Him, freeing them from dependence on their fleeting worldly powers.’

Prabhuji wrote at the end of his above mentioned article that ‘ The Lord often acts in unpredictably wondrous ways, but His pastimes always set the true dharma for the benefit of everyone. Vamanadeva’s recovering the heavens from Bali and delivering them to the demigods benefited both Indra and Bali. They both obtained their kingdoms, but also something of much higher value: deep trust and love for Vamanadeva, who fulfilled double roles as Indra’s younger brother and Bali’s protector.

This pastime also glorifies Bali Maharaja’s unwavering resolve to fulfill his vow in any circumstance. Bali Maharaja is one of the twelve great personalities (mahajanas) revered for their exclusive devotion to the Lord even in the most trying situations.’

Prabhuji wrote the entire pastime with all the back ground of how Prahlada maharaj renounced his throne and then how his son Virochana became the king and then why did his son, Bali maharaj, started fighting with demigods? It is all very interesting but too long to write it in this blog, but it’s a must read. Kindly read the same by clicking here.

This pastime also corroborate what we read in the last blog that Krishna’s actions are good for everyone, that Krishna always treat everyone equally and all His acts convey auspiciousness, with no malice towards anyone.

So simply due to a chance ‘discussion’ with a sincere devotee so many wonderful learning got unraveled.

All glories to the glorious pastimes of Vamana Deva.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Prayers of Nāgapatnīs

June 23, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

23rd June, 2015. Gurgaon

Since last few weeks I am hearing a most nectarean seminar on `demons in Krishna’s pastimes’ and what anarthas they represent with in us by HG Srimati Mataji. This seminar is very different, and way sweeter, than anything I have ever heard on this wonderful topic. I was particularly stuck by the prayers of Nāgapatnīs, wives of serpent Kaliya. Their prayers teach us in what mood to pray to Krishna in difficulty and we know the result of such prayers to Him.

Kaliya daman

The below content is from Srila Kavi-Karnpura’s Ananda Vrindavana Champu, which is very similar to the same pastime mentioned in Krishna book, and in the end are some comments from HG Srimati Mataji.

The ruthless steps of Vanamali Krishna’s tandava dance devastated the serpent. Blood streamed from Kaliya’s mouths, his eyes popped out, and his hoods completely collapsed. Seeing their husband vanquished and heart broken, the Nagapatnis felt sorry for him and cried piteously. Out of affection for him they thought, “Our husband will not survive unless he attains the mercy of the Lord.” Abandoning all fear and shyness, the Nagapatnis put their children on their laps and approached Krishna to petition Him on behalf of their husband.

The Nagapatnis offered prayers to Shri Krishna with sweet voices: “O Lord, all glories unto You! O crest-jewel on the head of the demigods! Who other than You can be the Supreme Brahman? Brahma and Siva constantly glorify You, the unlimited ocean of transcendental qualities. The yogis and paramahamsas happily praise and meditate upon Your lotus feet, which are forever massaged by the auspicious lotus hands of Goddess Laksmi. As a swan extracts milk from a watery mixture, the paramahamsas reject the four desirable goals of human life to immerse themselves in the bliss of Your service. “O Lord, extolled throughout the Vedas! Please hear our prayer. O Lord, You are the personification of eternity, bliss and knowledge! You assume a transcendental body to annihilate all the demons! You are the oldest, the origin of everything, and yet You are an ever-fresh youth. You are the fountainhead of all the Vishnu expansions! O Supreme Personality of Godhead! Please give up Your anger and show us Your mercy!

“O Vasudeva, You are the life-giving Lord of all! O Sankarsana, You remove all the miseries of the universe! O Pradyumna, You are the treasure of love for all the Vrajavasis! O Aniruddha, Your Yogamaya potency prevents ordinary people from perceiving You! You are the Supersoul of all the demigods! Ah! You are the life and soul of the Vrajavasis. Be pleased with our prayers, O Lord, for the life of our husband is about to depart.

“Your lotus feet which delight the atmaramas, remove all mental anxieties, and are rarely achieved even in samadhi now stand on the hoods of our husband. O Lord, we have no idea how Kaliya has attained such a rare fortune. This wicked snake deserves to be punished. Only by Your mercy can one give up his wickedness and follow the righteous path. It is impossible for a living entity to do this on his own.

“O Lord! You alone maintain the entire universe created by the three modes of material nature by the mode of goodness, which purifies the mind. You create the world with passion and by ignorance, which is darker than night, You destroy the creation. O mighty armed! It is by name only that Vishnu, who rides on Garuda, is called the maintainer, and that Brahma, who sits upon a lotus, is the creator, and that Siva, who sits atop Nandi, is called the destroyer.

“O one who is dear to those who have nothing! Living entities appear by different combinations of the modes of nature. Being born in the mode of ignorance, it is natural for a snake like Kaliya to be crooked. As it is impossible to see a flower creeper in the sky, it also impossible to find gentle behavior or good manners in him. He does nothing good for anyone, and he has no power to overcome Your maya. This is the nature of one who lives in hole.

“His actions cannot be considered offensive because that is his very nature. So how can You, who are eternally liberated, the ocean of mercy, and full of all opulence, deny him Your mercy? You always treat everyone equally and all Your acts convey auspiciousness. Therefore, please quickly show Your mercy to our afflicted husband. It does not befit You to kill such a lowly living entity.

“Even Siva, Brahma, Laksmi, and the sannyasis who perform sadhana, meditation, and attentive service cannot understand You. Hence, how can Kaliya, who is bewildered by pride and ignorance, know You? Your playful kicks and dancing on his heads have practically killed him. Although he is a very powerful serpent, he is so weakened that only his life air remains. Indeed he is cruel and ill behaved, but nevertheless he is one of Your living entities. Alas! We hope he will not die. Please forgive his offense and return our husband so that we will not become widows.” The gentle beautiful Nagapatnis petitioned the Lord with piteous choked voices.

Krishna responded compassionately by dissipating His anger and reducing the punishment. Smiling sweetly, Krishna replied to the wives of Kaliya, “Do not fear. Although I am very angry, your sweet appeal has satisfied Me. As a monsoon shower extinguishes a forest fire, your pleasing prayers have removed My intense anger. As a result I will spare his life. Now I request you to take your husband and return to your original abode. Since your husband’s heads are now decorated with My bliss-giving lotus footprints, Garuda will feel blessed to see them. From now on you need not fear him.”His false pride broken like a person bent over from carrying a heavy mass of iron, Kaliya felt relieved and happy by the Lord’s assurance of protection. With fear, devotion, and submission Kaliya said, “O Lord! With all Your opulence You appear in this world to crush the demons and award the treasure of prema to Your devotees. As long as the sun and the moon remain, Your beautiful pastimes will give joy to the minds of Your devotees. You always bring immediate auspiciousness to the unfortunate. O abode of compassion!

“The River Yamuna is the ideal place for Your pastimes. Therefore You have rightly punished me for my offense of poisoning her waters. Who could have shown me more mercy than You? Your dancing has decorated my hoods with the splendid marks of Your lotus feet. Now my life has become completely auspicious. O younger brother of Baladeva! By Your order I will now return to Ramanaka Island. O Supreme Lord of all the demigods! Due to some misfortune I have offended You. O You who wear makara kunddla earrings! Please forgive me for my offensive behavior.”

Concluding his prayer, Kaliya took out some special jewels from his collection and presented a valuable ruby and pearl necklace to Krishna as a ‘gift. Then he and his family offered obeisances to the Lord and left the Yamuna. Immediately the water transformed into the sweetest nectar. After Kaliya left, the prince of Vraja, who ever enacts fresh and effulgent playful pastimes, climbed up on the bank of the Yamuna. The golden bangles on His lotus hands glistened attractively and His shimmering dhoti defeated the brightness of lightning.

HG Srimati Mataji : “It’s a wonderful way the wives of Kalilya deal with the situation. Important thing to remember here is that they are not approaching Krishna for their own benefit, they are approaching Krishna for somebody else. It’s interesting what they do, first they access the situation, without losing any time they approach Krishna. In a respectful and cultured way they offer their obeisances and surrender to Krishna. Their only desire was to save Kaliya by pleasing Krishna with their prayers. They didn’t cry, argue, lament or chastise Krishna. They admitted that Krishna’s punishment of Kaliya was exactly the right thing. They understood and said that Krishna’s mercy and punishment were non different. That everything Krishna does is for our good! Do we think like that ? They praised Kaliya’s good fortune, having Krishna’s lotus feet dance on his head. That although he was such a lowly creature, he received the highest mercy. Pleading for Krishna’s mercy upon them they beseech Krishna to kindly excuse Kaliya’s offenses because after all he is also one of His offspring! They acknowledge that they were his eternal servants and they offered their loving service. In Krishna Book Nagapatnis plead:

” Our dear Lord, we are offering our loving service unto You because we are all eternal servitors of Your Lordship. You can order us to do whatever You please. Every living being can be relieved from all kinds of despair if he agrees to abide by Your orders.”

Very amazing statement ! What they are basically saying here is that even if you decide to kill Kaliya, that’s Your prerogative, even if You do that we understand that its the best thing. How could Krishna not hear such prayers! Nagapatnis showed no malice towards Him or towards Kaliya and they prayed in full surrender to Krishna.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura tell us that the reason Krishna forgave Kaliya’s very sever offense to Garuda and to the Vrajavasis was because of the prayers of his wives. He also tells us that this pastime clearly shows that Krishna’s activities benefit both the victims of violence and those who inflict such violence, certainly there is no malice in our Krishna. Not that Krishna just looked after the wives and didn’t look after Kaliya. Both, those who commit the violence and those who suffer it, Krishna takes care of both. He deals with them differently but he deals with both. Krishna has no malice towards anybody.”

It was simply pure nectar to hear the above pastime, mentioned in various scriptures, which ran into more that 1.5hours. But the part which stuck me most were these amazing prayers of Nagapatnis and how they touch Krishna’s heart. I also learnt how Krishna’s mercy and punishment are both good for us. Of course, it is a different experience when we hear such pastimes from pure devotees of Lord, the way Mataji explained this whole mood of being surrendered in detail was definitely an eye opener for a neophyte like myself. We can read about this complete pastime in chapter 16 of Krishna Book.

Today, I sincerely believe that being in ISKCON, and always remaining under the shelter of Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet, our good fortune knows no bounds.

All glories to the wonderful pastimes of Krishna.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Aligning ourselves with the will of Krishna.

June 8, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

8th June, 2015. Gurgaon.

Last few days whatever I have been hearing, reading or even receiving from other devotees, there is one common thread: We should not desire any change in our karmic reaction from Krishna. As the coincidences built up I took them as a clue to share them with everyone.

It is not very uncommon to see that when we fall into difficult situations, we earnestly pray to Lord to remove it. It could be a simple cold to a serious illness or some other difficult situations. While this may be acceptable as a neophyte but as aspiring devotees we must endeavor to progress upwards from that level.

We are aware that almost all of our current circumstances have resulted from our past actions. But we should remember another very important point that nothing happens by chance, specially in the life of a devotee. We should have the firm faith that since Krishna is in control so whatever is happening in my life is for my own good.

HG Damodar Prabhu sent me the below two SMSs yesterday.

Sharanagati (surrender) is accomplished only when one can see the grace of the Supreme Lord in every situation -V.V.imp verse from SB below

“One who, in the hope of achieving Your grace, goes on enduring the inauspicious fruit of his own karma, and passes his days practicing devotion unto You in every thought, word, and deed- such a person is heir to the land of freedom: he attains to the plane of positive immortality.”(spiritual world)- Lord Brahma (SB10.14.8)

Few weeks back HG Padmalochan Prabhuji sent me the below verse from Mukunda Mala Strota

O my Lord! I have no attachment for religiosity, or for accumulating wealth, or for enjoying sense gratification. Let these come as they inevitably must, in accordance with my past deeds. But I do pray for this most cherished boon: birth after birth, let me render unflinching devotional service unto Your two lotus feet. (MM 5)

Then two days back I was hearing a lecture by HG Srimati Mataji where mataji quoted Srimad Bhagavatam on how devotional service could be in the mode of ignorance, passion & goodness, and finally above the modes of nature, which should be our target. Here are the verses:

Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness. (SB 3.29.8)

The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion. (SB 3.29.9)

When a devotee worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offers the results of his activities in order to free himself from the inebrieties of fruitive activities, his devotion is in the mode of goodness. (SB 3.29.10)

The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord. (SB 3.29.11-12)

Srimad Bhagavatam is calling the devotees in the mode of ignorance and passion as separatists, which we all know is not such a nice quality to possess.

So who is a separatist ?

Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport of SB3.29 that A separatist is one who sees his interest as separate from that of the Supreme Lord. Mixed devotees, or devotees in the modes of passion and ignorance, think that the interest of the Supreme Lord is supplying the orders of the devotee; the interest of such devotees is to draw from the Lord as much as possible for their sense gratification. This is the separatist mentality.

The mind of the Supreme Lord and the mind of the devotee should be dovetailed. A devotee should not wish anything but to execute the desire of the Supreme. That is oneness. When the devotee has an interest or will different from the interest of the Supreme Lord, his mentality is that of a separatist…The devotee has no interest but to fulfill the transcendental desire of the Supreme Lord.

We should note that Lord Caitanya also teaches us in Siksastakam verse 4:

“O Lord, I do not wish to gain from You any wealth, nor do I wish to have a beautiful wife, nor do I wish to have many followers. All I want from You is that in life after life I may remain a pure devotee at Your lotus feet.”

Srila Prabhupada writes: there is a similarity between the prayers of Lord Caitanya and the statements of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Lord Caitanya prays, “in life after life,” indicating that a devotee does not even desire the cessation of birth and death. The yogīs and empiric philosophers desire cessation of the process of birth and death, but a devotee is satisfied to remain even in this material world and execute devotional service.

By practicing Krishna Bhakti, or Krishna consciousness, we get aligned with Krishna. The firmer the faith we have in trusting Krishna to be my best well wisher, the sharper will be our realisation that everything that is happening in my life is designed for my spiritual progress.

Once Srimati mataji asked HG Jananivas Prabhuji `how does he manages to remain so much in Krishna consciousness despite so many ups and downs in Mayapur?’ Prabhuji replied that for any such `event’ he considers that this particular situation is best suited for my own spiritual progress, at my current stage !

Sometimes we see events, in our own or other devotee’s lives, which we may bewilder us but we should have firm faith that Krishna is doing something which is best for that devotee. The reasons could vary from fast forwarding some of our balance karmic reactions so we can quickly come back to Him or to show other devotees, by example, how to respond when calamities fall on us or it may be to complete our detachment from the material world or something else, we are too miniscule to comprehend the thought process of Supreme Lord but we must know that He is our best well wisher.

I remember during a workshop, two years back, HH Bhakti Brhat Bhagavat Maharaja asked devotees to first write down few `bad things’ that have happened in our life and then Maharaj asked us to think what message was Krishna trying to give us through that `event’. It was a wonderful experience as each devotee wrote and shared his realisation. An old devotee wrote how he felt very pained when his only child left him for a posting abroad and he now realise that it was Krishna’s arrangement to get prabhuji more attached to Him. Prabhuji now does a lot of service in the temple and is very happy internally!

So under such circumstances it helps a lot to pray to Krishna to please let me know what are You trying to convey or teach me in my current situation.

While writing this blog I also remember an earlier blog where HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji said how we have `half faith’ in Krishna. We believe in Krishna’s power but in our own intelligence, instead, we should have full faith in Krishna’s power as well His intelligence.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Why does Laxmi Devi bestows her favour upon impious persons ?

May 26, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.
26th May, 2015. Vrindavan

I had written in an earlier blog about a wonderful purport that I heard in Vrindavan and that I would write about it separately, the verse is SB5.18.22

mat-prāptaye ‘jeśa-surāsurādayas

tapyanta ugraṁ tapa aindriye dhiyaḥ

ṛte bhavat-pāda-parāyaṇān na māṁ

vindanty ahaṁ tvad-dhṛdayā yato ‘jita

Translation

O supreme unconquerable Lord, when they become absorbed in thoughts of material enjoyment, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, as well as other demigods and demons, undergo severe penances and austerities to receive my benedictions. But I do not favor anyone, however great he may be; unless he is always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet. Because I always keep You within my heart, I cannot favor anyone but a devotee.

This verse is being spoken by Laxmi ji. It is fairly simple verse yet a little puzzling as we hear so many times that Laxmi Devi doesn’t bestows her mercy on a materialistic person, or she goes where Lord Narayana is worshiped, yet today we see so many impious, forget even materialistic, people enjoying great material wealth. This bewilders me sometimes and I would reconcile myself with the thought that they are reaping piety from their past birth, until this purport. This purport was a eye opener for me. Srila Prabhupada writes :

In this verse the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmīdevī, clearly states that she does not bestow her favor on any materialistic person. Although sometimes a materialist becomes very opulent in the eyes of another materialist, such opulence is bestowed upon him by the goddess Durgādevī, a material expansion of the goddess of fortune, not by Lakṣmīdevī herself. Those who desire material wealth worship Durgādevī with the following mantra: dhanaḿ dehi rūpaḿ dehi rūpa-pati-bhājaḿ dehi. “O worshipable mother Durgādevī, please give me wealth, strength, fame, a good wife and so on.” By pleasing goddess Durgā one can obtain such benefits, but since they are temporary, they result only in māyā-sukha (illusory happiness). As stated by Prahlāda Mahārāja, māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān: [SB 7.9.43] those who work very hard for material benefits are vimūḍhas, foolish rascals, because such happiness will not endure. On the other hand, devotees like Prahlāda and Dhruva Mahārāja achieved extraordinary material opulences, but such opulences were not māyā-sukha. When a devotee acquires unparalleled opulences, they are the direct gifts of the goddess of fortune, who resides in the heart of Nārāyaṇa.

The material opulences a person obtains by offering prayers to the goddess Durgā are temporary. As described in Bhagavad-gītā (7.23), antavat tu phalaḿ teṣāḿ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: men of meager intelligence desire temporary happiness. We have actually seen that one of the disciples of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted to enjoy the property of his spiritual master, and the spiritual master, being merciful toward him, gave him the temporary property, but not the power to preach the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world. That special mercy of the power to preach is given to a devotee who does not want anything material from his spiritual master but wants only to serve him. The story of the demon Rāvaṇa illustrates this point. Although Rāvaṇa tried to abduct the goddess of fortune Sītādevī from the custody of Lord Rāmacandra, he could not possibly do so. The Sītādevī he forcibly took with him was not the original Sītādevī, but an expansion of māyā, or Durgādevī. As a result, instead of winning the favor of the real goddess of fortune, Rāvaṇa and his whole family were vanquished by the power of Durgādevī (sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā [Bs. 5.44]).

This clears so much air and confusion in my head. It is so true that we see so many people becoming Godless and earning so much money yet we see them without any happiness or contentment, because such wealth is not bestowed by Laxmi Devi. Hence people are suffering despite having so much wealth at their disposal. We can also see the example of Ravana and what happened to him in the end where all the opulence he had was destroyed.

I searched and found some more verses where scriptures elaborates this point further

Srila Prabhupada writes in the purport of CC Madhya 21.53 that `Because he wants to enjoy the material energy, the conditioned soul is allowed to reside in Devī-dhāma, the external energy, where goddess Durgā carries out the orders of the Supreme Lord as His maidservant. The material energy is called jagal-lakṣmī because she protects the bewildered conditioned souls.. For material facilities, the conditioned soul tries to please goddess Durgā, and mother Durgā supplies all kinds of material facilities. Because of this, the conditioned souls are allured and do not wish to leave the external energy.’

Lord Śiva, the most powerful demigod, second only to Lord Viṣṇu, is self-sufficient. Although he has nothing to aspire for in the material world, for the benefit of those in the material world he is always busily engaged everywhere and is accompanied by his dangerous energies like the goddess Kālī and the goddess Durgā. ( SB 4.24.18)

This verse was spoken by Vidura while he was asking Maitreya Rishi about `Pracetas’ and how they met Lord Shiva. Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to the above verse that ‘Asuras try to pacify the goddess Kālī, or Durgā, by worshiping her in material opulence, but when the asuras become too intolerable, the goddess Kālī does not discriminate in killing them wholesale. Asuras do not know the secret of the energy of Lord Śiva, and they prefer to worship the goddess Kālī or Durgā or Lord Śiva for material benefit……Lord Śiva’s duty is very dangerous because he has to employ the energy of the goddess Kālī, or Durgā. In another popular picture the goddess Kālī is sometimes seen standing on the prostrate body of Lord Śiva, which indicates that sometimes Lord Śiva has to fall down flat in order to stop the goddess Kālī from killing the asuras. Since Lord Śiva controls the great material energy (the goddess Durgā), worshipers of Lord Śiva attain very opulent positions within this material world. Under Lord Śiva’s direction, a worshiper of Lord Śiva gets all kinds of material facilities.’

My lord, surely I have been solidly cheated by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for in spite of having obtained your association, which gives liberation from material bondage, I did not seek such liberation. (SB 3.23.57)

This verse was spoken by Devahuti to her husband Kardama Muni, feeling unsatisfied and distressed in her heart, despite all the opulence her husband had recently showered upon her. Srila Prabhupada warns in his purport that ‘People do not know what they are doing when they worship the material energy in the form of goddess Kālī or Durgā for material boons. They ask, “Mother, give me great riches, give me a good wife, give me fame, give me victory.” But such devotees of the goddess Māyā, or Durgā, do not know that they are being cheated by that goddess. Material achievement is actually no achievement because as soon as one is illusioned by the material gifts, he becomes more and more entangled, and there is no question of liberation. One should be intelligent enough to know how to utilize material assets for the purpose of spiritual realization. That is called karma-yoga or jñāna-yoga. Whatever we have we should use as service to the Supreme Person.’

So we learn that most of the material wealth people acquire is mostly bestowed by Durga devi and not by Laxmi devi. What is bestowed by Laxmi devi is permanent and auspicious, brings relief from the bondage of birth and death, examples are Prahlada, Dhruva Maharaj, etc.) where as what is bestowed by Durga devi is just the opposite and is called māyā-sukha (illusory happiness), prime example is Ravana. That is how today we see many people who have attained so much wealth but they have no happiness or even peace in their lives.

We also notice that whenever devotees are bestowed with wealth they generally do not get bewildered by it and use it in the service of Lord and His devotees. Our handling of wealth should not be that of an enjoyer of wealth rather than that of a caretaker who has been chosen by Lord to use it in the service of His devotees. We have examples of so many flourishing businessmen, HG Radheshyam Prabhu, from Gurgaon, comes immediately to my mind , whom we see that they are completely detached from money and they are using whatever wealth they have in the service of Lord. And we see Laxmiji bestowing more wealth on such devotees, as they utilise it for the right purpose.

On the other hand we see so many impious people hoarding money and trying to enjoy it. We increasingly hear how the richest comedian in USA commits suicide or a rich businessmen family is fighting over his vast wealth in India, or rich person’s son `plotting’ against his own father and so on. We also read how the number of bankruptcies have risen exponentially in last few decades, that too mostly in the rich countries. Similarly the less said about the money in shares/ESOPs the better, material energy continues to punish all such people. Whatever they have is temporary, even by the fickle standards of this material world. Forget liberation from the cycle of birth and death, even attainment of peace is very far for such people, inner happiness is further distant.

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to SB 4.24.18 that : In contrast, a Vaiṣṇava, or worshiper of Lord Viṣṇu, gradually becomes poorer in material possessions because Lord Viṣṇu does not trick His devotees into becoming materially entangled by possessions. Lord Viṣṇu gives His devotees intelligence from within, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam
dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Thus Lord Viṣṇu gives intelligence to His devotee so that the devotee can make progress on the path back home, back to Godhead. Since a devotee has nothing to do with any kind of material possession, he does not come under the control of the goddess Kālī, or the goddess Durgā.

All glories to the transcendental purports by Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Sadhu

May 13, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

14th May, 2015. Gurgaon.

A very Krishna conscious ekadasi to everyone!

Yesterday I read a wonderful verse and its purport where Srila Prabhupada explains what is the real meaning of the word sadhu. I am copying the same for the pleasure of all the devotees.

Should a person seeking a spiritual path practice only detachment ? If No, then whom should one be attached to ?

Srimad Bhagavatam recommends that our attachment should be transferred to the self-realized devotees, the sādhus.

prasaṅgam ajaraṁ pāśam ātmanaḥ kavayo viduḥ
sa eva sādhuṣu kṛto mokṣa-dvāram apāvṛtam

Translation
Every learned man knows very well that attachment for the material is the greatest entanglement of the spirit soul. But that same attachment, when applied to the self-realized devotees, opens the door of liberation. (SB 3.25.20)

Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport that
Here it is clearly stated that attachment for one thing is the cause of bondage in conditioned life, and the same attachment, when applied to something else, opens the door of liberation. Attachment cannot be killed; it has simply to be transferred. Attachment for material things is called material consciousness, and attachment for Kṛṣṇa or His devotee is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Consciousness, therefore, is the platform of attachment. It is clearly stated here that when we simply purify the consciousness from material consciousness to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we attain liberation. Despite the statement that one should give up attachment, desirelessness is not possible for a living entity. A living entity, by constitution, has the propensity to be attached to something. We see that if someone has no object of attachment, if he has no children, then he transfers his attachment to cats and dogs. This indicates that the propensity for attachment cannot be stopped; it must be utilized for the best purpose. Our attachment for material things perpetuates our conditional state, but the same attachment, when transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His devotee, is the source of liberation.

What is the benefit of having attachment to a Sadhu ?

Ans : Prabhupada says that it leads one to the royal road of liberation as the sadhu will teach us how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord.

Silra Prabhupada explains it in the same purport that

Mahātmā is a synonym of sādhu. It is said that service to a mahātmā, or elevated devotee of the Lord, is dvāram āhur vimukteḥ, the royal road of liberation. Mahat-sevāṁ dvāram āhur vimuktes tamo-dvāraṁ yoṣitāṁ saṅgi-saṅgam (Bhāg. 5.5.2). Rendering service to the materialists has the opposite effect. If anyone offers service to a gross materialist, or a person engaged only in sense enjoyment, then by association with such a person the door to hell is opened. The same principle is confirmed here. Attachment to a devotee is attachment to the service of the Lord because if one associates with a sādhu, the result will be that the sādhu will teach him how to become a devotee, a worshiper and a sincere servitor of the Lord. These are the gifts of a sādhu.

And who is a sadhu ?

Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport:

A sādhu is not just an ordinary man with a saffron robe or long beard. A sādhu is described in Bhagavad-gītā as one who unflinchingly engages in devotional service. Even though one is found not to be following the strict rules and regulations of devotional service, if one simply has unflinching faith in Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person, he is understood to be a sādhu. Sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ [Bg. 9.30]. A sādhu is a strict follower of devotional service.

Should one seek material benedictions from such a sadhu ?

One should not. Srila Prabhupada adds :

These are the gifts of a sādhu. If we want to associate with a sādhu, we cannot expect him to give us instructions on how to improve our material condition, but he will give us instructions on how to cut the knot of the contamination of material attraction and how to elevate ourselves in devotional service.

Isn’t is amazing that how in just one purport, and in such simple language, Prabhupada explains us about a Sadhu, what are benefits of associating with him and what should we seek from him.

All glories to nectarean purports of Srila Prabhupada.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

What is the difference between mind and `citta’ ?

May 7, 2015 by Giriraj dasa

Hare Krishna.

11th May, 2015, Gurgaon

Last week Shyamsundar Prabhuji asked me `Does mind means our desires?’ I replied in negative and as we started talking about `Cit’, mind and consciousness, I realised that I could not explain this topic to prabhuji properly. I looked at my notes and found an excellent explanation by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji. As usual prabhuji clears the air with a laser sharp clarity. Because I had kept this knowledge to myself so I had forgotten it!

In summary we can understand at first the difference between mind and consciousness.

1. Consciousness being energy of the soul is spiritual, whereas mind is material, being one of the constituents of the subtle material body.
2. The mind is like the screen of the TV whereas the soul is the person watching the TV and consciousness is like the vision of the person that is focused on the TV.

What is the relationship between the `citta. and the mind?

Prabhuji explained that in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna sometimes uses these two words equivalently.

At one level Krishna says man-manā bhava mad-bhakto (BG 18.65) He says that think of Me, fix your mind on Me.

In BG 10.9 Krishna says mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā, He says, the consciousness of my devotees is fixed on me.

Prabhuji explained that in a functional sense we can say that mind and consciousness are similar but in a technical sense there is a difference.

The word citta is different from cit.

Prabhuji explained that the soul is sat-cit-ananda. As sat-cit-ananda, cit or consciousness is the original faculty of the soul. Soul’s consciousness is currently caught in the body and routed through the body to the outer world. So I am identifying with my body and from there I am thinking I am looking at you, you are looking at me. This identification is happening. In this identification the conditioned consciousness of the soul that is routed into the body is called as `citta’. Cit is the original unconditioned consciousness and citta is the consciousness that is routed through the body.

For example, suppose a person is watching a movie. When a person goes into the theater to watch the movie, at that time the person can see everything. He may see the movie screen. He may see the neighbors sitting next to him. He may see the floor. He may see the fans, lights. Once the movie starts the movie screen is so captivating that the person consciousness gets locked on the screen. Then whatever is happening on the movie screen that’s where the consciousness goes and through that there all kinds of emotions, of excitement, horror, suspense, all the different emotions come.

Prabhuji explained that like that original soul is conscious and is capable of being conscious of spiritual reality also. Just like a person watching a movie can see the person sitting next to him, like that super-soul is right next to us and we have the capacity to perceive super-soul.

There is also the example of two birds. Two birds are close to each other but one bird is busy in eating the fruits. Like that the soul is currently next to the super-soul. Soul has the capacity to see the super-soul, but the soul is caught in material illusion. The capacity of the soul to see everything, including spiritual reality, that is cit and the consciousness that is routed on to the movie screen and after that whatever is perceived that is called as citta.

So conditioned consciousness is citta and the original consciousness is cit.

Now coming to the mind, the movie screen is like the mind. The movie screen is where whatever is depicted in the movie that is being displayed. So that is the mind. Krishna says man mana bhava.., at one level He is saying on the screen of your mind you bring impressions about Me. That means you remember the Deity, you remember the holy name, you remember the verses. The screen of the mind bring the impressions about Me. Secondly what also it means is that your citta, your energy of consciousness, you focus on Me. So by this what will happen? Because Krishna is spiritual, by focusing on Him as spiritual reality, our spiritual awareness will awaken. Jiva jago, Jiva jago, we sing. What is that? The soul’s spiritual faculty awakens. And once that awakens it can see that the super- soul is right next to me. So Krishna is right next to me, I will be able to perceive.

Suppose there is a person who is watching a movie. But now assume that between the face of the person and the movie screen there is a sort of subtle covering or a pipe. So that vision goes straight to the screen and the vision cannot go anywhere else. That means the person has the capacity to see other things but because of that pipe line the person’s vision is fixed on the movie screen only. So that pipe line which fixes the vision on the movie screen that is the false ego. So because of our false ego we can’t perceive other things.

For example, somebody very passionately identifies with, say there is a war on Iran and Iraq. Somebody passionately identifies with Iran then person cannot think of Iraqi perspective. ‘No, we could not have done anything wrong, they are only wrong. Why? Because the vision is locked like that.’

In our case the screen on which we perceive the world that is mind and the conditioned vision or the conditioned consciousness with which we perceive that is citta.

For example, if I have to look out of a window, if the window is red color then there are two things involved in my perception.

One is my eyes looking at the window.

Secondly there is the screen of the window.

If screen is reddish then what will happen? Whatever I see is reddish. But if screen is transparent I will be able to see transparent.

Cheto darpan marjanam, so clean the citta.

So from functional point of view both the mind and the citta are basically the means by which we perceive in this material world.

We can Krishnaize it. When we Krishnaize it then our spiritual faculty will be awaken.

So citta is the conditioned consciousness and mind is the screen on which that conditioned consciousness perceives.

To hear the audio of the answer by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji please click here

All glories to HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhuji.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

For the Pleasure of Lord Krishna

vandanā korite mui kato shakti dhori; tamo-buddhi-doshe mui dambha mātra kori

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