Meaning of Guru-relationship

f Shree Caitanya-caritämrita Ädi-leelä 1.45

According to the deliberate opinion of all revealed scriptures,
the spiritual master is non-different from Krishna.
Lord Krishna in the form of the spiritual master delivers His devotees.
PURPORT

The relationship of a disciple with his spiritual master is as good as his relationship with the Supreme Lord. A spiritual master always represents himself as the humblest servitor of the Personality of Godhead, but the disciple must look upon him as the manifested representation of Godhead.

How to Actually See GOD

f SB 4.28.51

The appearance of an old friend in the form of a brähmana is very significant. In His Paramätmä feature, Krishna is the old friend of everyone. According to Vedic injunction, Krishna is sitting with the living entity side by side. According to the shruti-mantra (dvä suparnä sayujä sakhäyäh), the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suhrit, the best friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him/her all chances to enjoy him/herself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn his/her face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him.

When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction of the spiritual master. This is technically called vänee-sevä.

Shreela Vishvanätha Cakravartee Thäkura states in his Bhagavad-geetä commentary on the verse vyavasäyätmikä buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana (Bg. 2.41) that one should serve the words of the spiritual master. The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual master orders. Simply by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Krishna's Powerful Crawling

ƒ SB 10.26.7

Once, His mother tied Him with ropes to a mortar because she had caught Him stealing butter. Then, crawling on His hands, He dragged the mortar between a pair of arjuna trees and pulled them down.

ƒ SB 2.7.27 purport

So at the age of only three months He killed the Shakatäsura, who had remained hidden behind a cart in the house of Yashodämayee. And when He was crawling and was disturbing His mother from doing household affairs, the mother tied Him with a grinding pestle, but the naughty child dragged the pestle up to a pair of very high arjuna trees in the yard of Yashodämayee, and when the pestle was stuck between the pair of trees, they fell down with a horrible sound. When Yashodämayee came to see the happenings, she thought that her child had been saved from the falling trees by the mercy of the Lord, without knowing that the Lord Himself, crawling in her yard, had wreaked the havoc. So that is the way of reciprocation of love affairs between the Lord and His devotees. Yashodämayee wanted to have the Lord as her child, and the Lord played exactly like a child in her lap, but at the same time played the part of the Almighty Lord whenever it was so required. The beauty of such pastimes was that the Lord fulfilled everyone's desire. In the case of felling the gigantic arjuna trees, the Lord's mission was to deliver the two sons of Kuvera, who were condemned to become trees by the curse of Närada, as well as to play like a crawling child in the yard of Yashodä, who took transcendental pleasure in seeing such activities of the Lord in the very yard of her home.

The Super-Excellent Gopees

Lord Krishna said:

"the inhabitants of vrindävana, including the gopees, cows, un-moving creatures such as the twin arjuna trees, animals, living entities with stunted consciousness such as bushes and thickets, and snakes such as käliya, all achieved the perfection of life by unalloyed love for Me and thus very easily achieved Me.
even though one engages with great endeavor in the mystic-yoga system, philosophical speculation, charity, vows, penances, ritualistic sacrifices, teaching of vedic mantras to others, personal study of the vedas, or the renounced order of life, still one cannot achieve Me.
the residents of vrindävana, headed by the gopees, were always completely attached to Me with deepest love. therefore, when my uncle akroora brought My brother Balaräma and Me to the city of mathurä, the residents of vrindävana suffered extreme mental distress because of separation from Me and could not find any other source of happiness.
dear uddhava, all of those nights in the land of vrindävana that the gopees spent with Me, their most dearly beloved, seemed to them to pass in less than a moment. bereft of My association, however, the gopees felt that those same nights dragged on forever, as if each night were equal to a day of brahmä.
my dear uddhava, just as great sages in yoga-trance merge into self-realization, like rivers merging into the ocean, and are thus not aware of material names and forms, similarly, the gopees of vrindävana were so completely attached to Me within their minds that they could not think of their own bodies, or of this world, or of their future lives. their entire consciousness was simply bound up in Me.
all those hundreds of thousands of gopees, understanding Me to be their most charming lover and ardently desiring Me in that way, were un-aware of My actual position. yet by intimately associating with Me, the gopees attained Me, the Supreme Absolute Truth."

How to Conquer the Sense Objects

shree-bhagavän uväca
na rodhayati mäng yogo
na sänkhyang dharma eva ca
na svädhyäyas tapas tyägo
neshtä-poortang na dakshinä

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna said:

My dear uddhava, by associating with My pure devotees one can destroy one's attachment for all objects of material sense gratification. such purifying association brings Me under the control of My devotee.

An Explanation of Bg 7.14 & 18.66

präyena bhakti-yogena
sat-sangena vinoddhava
nopäyo vidyate samyak
präyanang hi satäm aham

Lord Krishna said:

My dear uddhava, I am personally the ultimate shelter and way of life for saintly liberated persons, and thus if one does not engage in My loving devotional service, which is made possible by associating with My devotees, then for all practical purposes, one possesses no effective means for escaping from material existence.

this verse establishs without any doubt that Krishna is the original personality of Godhead

kireetinang gadinang cakra-hastam
icchämi tväng drashtum ahang tathaiva
tenaiva roopena catur-bhujena
sahasra-bäho bhava vishva-moorte

shreela prabhupäda says:

in the brahma-sanghitä (5.39) it is stated, rämädi-moortishu kalä-niyamena tishthan: the Lord is eternally situated in hundreds and thousands of forms, and the main forms are those like Räma, Nrisingha, Näräyana, etc. there are innumerable forms. but arjuna knew that Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead assuming His temporary Universal-form. he is now asking to see the form of Näräyana, a spiritual form. this verse

"O Universal form, O thousand-armed Lord, I wish to see You in Your four-armed form, with helmeted head and with club, wheel, conch and lotus flower in Your hands. I long to see You in that form."

establishs without any doubt the statement of the shreemad-bhägavatam that Krishna is the original personality of Godhead and all other features originate from Him. He is not different from His plenary expansions, and He is god in any of His innumerable forms. in all of these forms He is fresh like a young man. that is the constant feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. one who knows Krishna becomes free at once from all contamination of the material world.

what it means to be initiated

some time ago i sent you some quotes of Prahbupada´s regarding this very important question
i have not heard back from you
so since i am here in Chile
i feel i should answer your questions directly

yes, one should get initiated formally or as you say "officially"
Prabhupada did that himself, he himself got "officially initiated"
in one sense it is a formality, but the relationship is not
association with spiritual master is in two ways
physically and by instruction
the association with the spiritual master physically is not there so much
but association by sound, through message, through instruction
that is the real associaltion
Prabhupada himself said that his spiritual master initiated him because he liked to hear from Shreela Bhaktisiddhanta
even sometimes he could not understand what he was saying,
still he liked to hear him speak
i have said this many times in lectures over the years
you know who is your spiritual master because you love to hear from him
spiritual master can be householder, sannyasi, brahmacari... it does not matter
Lord Caitanya instructed Ramananda Raya
that the spiritual master is one who is expert in the science of Krishna consciousness
in order to be expert in that science one has to not only have the knowledge,
but has to "walk the walk" and "talk the talk"
so here is another test of who is bona fide spiritual master
¿is he someone who practices what they preach ?
Lord Caitanya also told Ramananda Raya
that anyone, from any social, material position, can be guru
in Iskcon we have several grihastha-gurus, not just sannyasis
and besides,
you always have me as your guardian angel to protect you at all times
i am acting as shiksha-guru for many people who are initiated by my Godbrothers
so you will always have me in your life, as long as you want me around
be happy in Krishna consciousness and do not let anything disturb your mind
hari bol

answering Mark's question about becoming guru

yes, there are several reasons why i decided over 15 years ago not to initiate any disciples.
1) my wife does not want me to, she says i would become too puffed up and she would not be able to live with me in such a crazy condition
2) my wife does not want me to, because she doesn´t want to become a "guru-mata" and all the disciples treat her differently than they would normally. she wants to live her devotee-life very normally
3) Krishna in my heart and Shreela Prabhupada are both NOT telling me to do so
4) however, both Krishna in my heart and Shreela Prabhupada ARE confirming that they like what i have been doing now for the past 18 years, that is... simply preaching
5) i am already shiksha-guru or advising guru for so many devotees around the world, so all my desires and aspirations as a guru are already being taken care of
6) if i were to become an official initiating guru in ISKCON, they would impose so many restrictions and rules on me that it would stifle my preaching style. they would certainly demand that i stop this "rock n roll" preaching that i do because they would tell me it is not good for the "guru-profile". i know one grihastha guru right now who would immediately object and insist that i stop all this "rock n roll" preaching.
7) my wife has stipulated that she allows me to travel all over and preach without restriction, but i must never become a guru

so there you have it. 7 reasons why it is never going to happen
i will always be available to you as an advising or instructing spiritual master as long as i live
sorry to be disappointing to you
since 1994 so many people approached me to initiate them and i gave them one or more of the above reasons why i had to say "no"
hari bol
may Krishna bless you and protect you

8) reason number 8 i just now remember. i could not be so open and available to so many people around the world because my disicples would demand so much of my time and attention. my not becoming a guru means i am available to a broader clientele. i am non-sectarian in my preaching

hari bol

the fameous ätmäräma verse from Shreemad-Bhägavatam

soota uväca
ätmärämäsh ca munayo
nirgranthä apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukeeng bhaktim
ittham-bhoota-guno harih

those who take pleasure in the Sself
also sages
in spite of being freed from all bondage
do un-alloyed devotional service unto the great Adventurer
because there is such wonderful qualities of the Lord

all different varieties of persons who take pleasure in ätmä, or spirit-self, especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead. this means that the Lord possesses transcendental qualities and therefore can attract everyone, including liberated souls.

reflections on preaching trip to North Carolina (february 21-28)

an old devotee-friend from New Dvärakä in the '80s, whom i hadn't seen since then, found out i was going to preach in Präbhupäda Village in November of last year. Anädi-Krishna däsa made the necessary arrangements for me to come to the other temple in North Carolina at Hillsboro so that i could speak at the Govardhana Poojä festival. when i got back home he decided to set up a 24 hour radio station for me with my music, which is now on my website and also on mayapur.tv as well. over the past few months we planned that i would spend a week preaching here in Hillsboro, and so he bought the ticket and set up a full week of preaching engagements.

beginning with the Apperance of Bhaktisiddhänta on Tuesday (22) i gave an explanation of the 4 mantras associated with him, and an analysis of his final message to his disciples. on Wednesday we visited Vidura däsa, who is in a special school for gifted children. Vidra loves my music, and so his father arranged a performance at his school. after singing 4 songs, it ended on a very high note with all the teachers and children singing the chorus "You're One of God's Beautiful Children. in the evening i did a guitar concert in the temple room. Thursday i went to Winston-Salem to do another guitar-concert at the preaching center of my Godbrother, Dulal-candra däsa, and that was a most mystical and magical performance. the audience was with me on every song, participating and singing with fervor and attention. they want'd me to go on, but after 90 minutes i was exhausted. Friday morning i gave Bhägavatam class at Prabhupäda Village, and then in the evening did another guitar concert at the devotee gathering of Rädhänuga dd's house in Hillsboro. this time the audience was all young devotee couples and their children, and they also particpated with nice percussion and singing. Saturday morning i gave Bhägavatam class in New Golokänanda Dhäma, and in the evening we drove to Apex for a NämaHatta program at the home of Mädhava däsa, disciple of HH Gopäl Krishna Goswami.

He said to his guests that i preached to him back in 1980-81 when i began my preaching, soon after marrying Väruni dd in Montreal. that was in Vancouver when i used to host a dinner program every night. Mädhava däsa would come regularly. it was there that i introduced my style of preaching by singing my songs with the guitar.

for his program on Saturday i did my classic version of "Bhaja Hunre Mana" which was inspired by HH Acyutänanda Swami back in 1979 when he visited NY temple after leaving India. a few years ago, HH Jayapatäka Swami was amazed when he heard from one of his disciples that i had given an hour lecture on this song and so he mentioned it at a lunch he was having with HH Giriräja Swami and HH Rädhänätha Swami in New Dvärakä (that was truly a shining moment of my life to get such recognition).

Sunday capped the week's preaching with my explanation of "the 7 principles of ISKCON". and so with singing, speaking, joking and guitaring i spent my time fully enaged in Krishna-consciousness. next month i will attempt to do the same when my wife accompanies me to Santaigo, Chile for Gaura-poonimä week. oh happy day!

some guru qualifications

the whole material existence has sprung up because of sense gratification, desires based principally on the sex desire, and the result is that in spite of all advancement of knowledge, the final goal of all the activities of the living entities is sense gratification. but here is the real goal of life, and everyone should know it by inquiries put before a bona fide spiritual master expert in the science of bhakti-yoga, or from a living personality of bhägavatam-life. everyone is engaged in various kinds of scriptural inquiries, but the shreemad-bhägavatam gives answers to all of the various students of self-realization: this ultimate objective of life is not to be searched out without great labor or perseverance. one who is imbued with such sincere inquiries must ask the bona fide spiritual master in the disciplic succession from brahmäjee, and that is the direction given here. because the mystery was disclosed before brahmäjee by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the mystery of all such inquiries regarding self-realization must be put before such a spiritual master, who is directly the representative of the Lord, acknowledged in that disciplic succession. such a bona fide spiritual master is able to clear up the whole thing by evidence from the revealed scriptures, both direct and indirect. although everyone is free to consult the revealed scriptures in this connection, one still requires the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, and that is the direction in this verse. the bona fide spiritual master is the most confidential representative of the Lord, and one must receive direction from the spiritual master in the same spirit that brahmäjee received it from the Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. the bona fide spiritual master in that bona fide chain of disciplic succession never claims to be the Lord himself, although such a spiritual master is greater than the Lord in the sense that he can deliver the Lord by his personally realized experience. the Lord is not to be found simply by education or by a good fertile brain, but surely He can be found by the sincere student through the transparent medium of the bona fide spiritual master.

acyuta

brahmäjee previously told närada that the desires of brahmäjee are never un-fulfilled because he is always absorbed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord; nor has he any desire in his heart save and except the transcendental service of the Lord. that is the beauty and mystery of the process of bhakti-yoga. as the Lord's desire is infallible because He is acyuta, similarly the desires of the devotees in the transcendental service of the Lord are also acyuta, infallible. this is very difficult, however, for the layman to understand without knowledge of the mystery of devotional service, as it is very difficult to know the potency of touchstone. as touchstone is rarely found, a pure devotee of the Lord is also rarely to be seen, even amongst millions of liberated souls (kotishv api mahämune). out of all kinds of perfections attained by the process of knowledge, yoga perfection in devotional service is the highest of all and the most mysterious also, even more mysterious than the eight kinds of mystic perfection attained by the process of yogic performances.

love of Godhead can be attained only this way

although He is present in every atom, the Supreme Personality of Godhead may not be visible to the dry speculators; still the mystery is unfolded before the eyes of the pure devotees because their eyes are anointed with love of Godhead. and this love of Godhead can be attained only by the practice of transcendental loving service of the Lord, and nothing else. the vision of the devotees is not ordinary; it is purified by the process of devotional service. in other words, as the universal elements are both within and without, similarly the Lord's name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage, etc., as they are described in the revealed scriptures or as performed in the vaikuntha-lokas, far, far beyond the material cosmic manifestation, are factually being televised in the heart of the devotee. the man with a poor fund of knowledge cannot understand, although by material science one can see things far away by means of television. factually, the spiritually developed person is able to have the television of the kingdom of God always reflected within his/her heart. that is the mystery of knowledge of the Personality of Godhead.

the mystery of GOD

the impersonalists can imagine or even perceive that the Supreme Brahman is all-pervading, and therefore they conclude that there is no possibility of His personal form. herein lies the mystery of His transcendental knowledge. this mystery is transcendental love of Godhead, and one who is surcharged with such transcendental love of Godhead can without difficulty see the Personality of Godhead in every atom and every movable or im-movable object. and at the same time he/she can see the Personality of Godhead in His own abode, goloka, enjoying eternal pastimes with His eternal associates, who are also expansions of His transcendental existence. this vision is the real mystery of spiritual knowledge, as stated by the Lord in the beginning (sarahasyang tad-angang ca). this mystery is the most confidential part of the knowledge of the Supreme, and it is impossible for the mental speculators to discover by dint of intellectual gymnastics. the mystery can be revealed through the process recommended by brahmäjee in his brahma-sanghitä (5.38) as follows:

premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santah sadaiva hridayeshu vilokayanti
yang shyämasundaram acintya-guna-svaroopang
govindam ädi-purushang tam ahang bhajämi

"i worship the original Personality of Godhead, Govinda, whom the pure devotees, their eyes smeared with the ointment of love of Godhead, always observe within their hearts. this Govinda, the original Personality of Godhead, is Shyämasundara with all transcendental qualities."

the Original Light & His reflections

in the medical science of the ancient sages, known as the äyur-veda, there is definite acceptance of the Lord's supremacy. there is one Supreme Person who is the progenitor of this cosmic manifestation and Whose energy acts as prakriti, or the material nature, dazzling like a reflection. by such illusory action of prakriti, even dead matter is caused to move by the cooperation of living energy of the Lord, and the material world appears like a dramatic performance to the ignorant eyes. the ignorant person, therefore, may even be a scientist or physiologist in the drama of prakriti, while the sane person knows prakriti as the illusory energy of the Lord. by such a conclusion, as confirmed by the bhagavad-geetä, it is clear that the living entities are also a display of the Lord's superior energy (parä prakriti), just as the material world is a display of the Lord's inferior energy (aparä prakriti). the superior energy of the Lord cannot be as good as the Lord, although there is very little difference between the energy and the possessor of the energy, or the fire and the heat. fire is possessed of heat, but heat is not fire. this simple thing is not understood by the man with a poor fund of knowledge who falsely claims that the fire and heat are the same. this energy of the fire (namely heat) is explained here as a reflection, and not directly fire. therefore the living energy represented by the living entities is the reflection of the Lord, and never the Lord Himself. being the reflection of the Lord, the existence of the living entity is dependent on the Supreme Lord, who is the original light. this material energy may be compared to darkness, as actually it is darkness, and the activities of the living entities in the darkness are reflections of the original light. the Lord should be understood by the context of this verse. non-dependence of both the energies of the Lord is explained as mäyä, or illusion. no one can make a solution of the darkness of ignorance simply by the reflection of light. similarly, no one can come out of material existence simply by the reflected light of the common man; one has to receive the light from the Original Light Himself. the reflection of sunlight in the darkness is unable to drive out the darkness, but the sunlight outside the reflection can drive out the darkness completely. in darkness no one can see the things in a room. therefore a person in the dark is afraid of snakes and scorpions, although there may not be such things. but in the light the things in the room can be clearly seen, and the fear of snakes and scorpions is at once removed. therefore one has to take shelter of the light of the Lord, as in the bhagavad-geetä or the shreemad-bhägavatam, and not the reflective personalities who have no touch with the Lord.

the covering influence and the throwing influence

the illusory energy has two phases of existence, namely the covering influence and the throwing influence. By the throwing influence the illusory energy throws the living entities into the darkness of ignorance, and by the covering influence she covers the eyes of men with a poor fund of knowledge about the existence of the Supreme Person Who enlightened the supreme individual living being, Brahmä

not real independence

the independence of the individual living entity is not real independence, but is just the reflection of the real independence existing in the Supreme Being, the Lord. the false claim of supreme independence by the conditioned souls is illusion, and this conclusion is admitted in this verse.

both the mäyäs also have connections with the Lord because...

GOD said:

“o brahmä, what-ever appears to be of any value, if it is without relation to Me, has no reality. know it as My illusory energy, that reflection which appears to be in darkness.”

shreela prabhupäda says:

in any stage of the cosmic manifestation—its appearance, its sustenance, its growth, its inter-actions of different energies, its deterioration and its disappearance—all has its basic relation with the existence of the Personality of Godhead. and as such, when-ever there is forgetfulness of this prime relation with the Lord, and when-ever things are accepted as real without being related to the Lord, that conception is called a product of the illusory energy of the Lord. because nothing can exist without the Lord, it should be known that the illusory energy is also an energy of the Lord. the right conclusion of dove-tailing everything in relationship with the Lord is called yoga-mäyä, or the energy of union, and the wrong conception of detaching a thing from its relationship with the Lord is called the Lord's daivee-mäyä, or mahä-mäyä. both the mäyäs also have connections with the Lord because nothing can exist without being related to Him. as such, the wrong conception of detaching relationships from the Lord is not false but illusory.

GOD is materially impersonal

in some of the vedas it is also said that in the beginning only the impersonal brahman existed. however, according to this verse, the impersonal brahman, which is the glowing effulgence of the body of the Supreme Lord, may be called the ‘immediate cause’, but the cause of all causes, or the ‘remote cause’, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. the Lord's impersonal feature is existent in the material world because by material senses or material eyes the Lord cannot be seen or perceived. one has to spiritualize the senses before one can expect to see or perceive the Supreme Lord. but He is always engaged in His personal capacity, and He is eternally visible to the inhabitants of vaikuntha-loka, eye to eye. therefore He is materially impersonal, just as the executive head of the state may be impersonal in the government offices, although he is not impersonal in the government house. similarly, the Lord is not impersonal in His abode, which is always nirasta-kuhakam, as stated in the very beginning of the bhägavatam. therefore both the impersonal and personal features of the Lord are acceptable, as mentioned in the revealed scriptures. this Personality of Godhead is very emphatically explained in the bhagavad-geetä in connection with the verse brahmano hi pratishthäham (bg. 14.27). therefore in all ways the confidential part of spiritual knowledge is realization of the Personality of Godhead, and not His impersonal brahman feature. one should therefore have his/her ultimate aim of realization not in the impersonal feature but in the personal feature of the Absolute Truth.

why GOD may sometimes be called ‘form-less’

the Personality of Godhead is never form-less. in the material world He may not be visible in His personal form to the less intelligent class of men, and therefore He may sometimes be called ‘form-less’. but actually He is always in His eternal form in His vaikuntha planets as well as in other planets of the universes as different Incarnations. the example of the sun is very appropriate in this connection. the sun in the night may not be visible to the eyes of men in the darkness, but the sun is visible wherever it has risen. that the sun is not visible to the eyes of the inhabitants of a particular part of the earth does not mean that the sun has no form.

the existence of a king implies the existence of a kingdom

the Kingdom of Godhead is not void as conceived by the im-personalists. the vaikuntha-planets are full of transcendental variegatedness, including the four-handed residents of those planets, with great opulence of wealth and prosperity, and there are even airplanes and other amenities required for high-grade personalities. therefore the Personality of Godhead exists before the creation, and He exists with all transcendental variegatedness in the vaikuntha-lokas. the vaikuntha-lokas, also accepted in the bhagavad-geetä as being of the sanätana nature, are not annihilated even after the annihilation of the manifested cosmos. those transcendental planets are of a different nature altogether, and that nature is not subjected to the rules and regulations of material creation, maintenance or annihilation. the existence of the Personality of Godhead implies the existence of the vaikuntha-lokas, as the existence of a king implies the existence of a kingdom.

the faithFull & the faithLESS

the Lord has unlimited numbers of transcendental qualities, and one of them is His affection for His un-alloyed devotee. in the history of the mundane world we can appreciate His transcendental qualities. the Lord incarnates Himself for the protection of His devotees and for the annihilation of the faithless. His activities are in relationship with His devotees. shreemad-bhägavatam is full of such activities of the Lord in relationship with His devotees, and the non-devotees have no knowledge of such pastimes. the Lord lifted the govardhana hill when He was only seven years old and protected His pure devotees at vrindävana from the wrath of indra, who was over-flooding the place with rain. now this lifting of the govardhana hill by a seven-year-old boy may be un-believable for the faithless, but for the devotees it is absolutely believable. the devotee believes in the almighty potency of the Lord, while the faithless say that the Lord is almighty but do not believe it. such men with a poor fund of knowledge do not know that the Lord is the Lord eternally and that one cannot become the Lord by meditation for millions of years or by mental speculation for billions of years.

the impersonal interpretation of the mundane wranglers is completely refuted in this verse because it is clearly stated here that the Supreme Lord has His qualities, form, pastimes and everything that a person has. all these descriptions of the transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead are factual realizations by the devotee of the Lord, and by the causeless mercy of the Lord they are revealed to His pure devotee, and to no one else.

why people think GOD is formless

to the faithful the Lord reveals Himself in His form, quality and pastimes. the Lord is not formless, as wrongly conceived by the impersonalist, but His form is not like one that we have experienced. the Lord discloses His form, even to the extent of measurement, to His pure devotees, and that is the meaning of yävän, as explained by shreela jeeva gosvämee, the greatest scholar of shreemad-bhägavatam. the Lord discloses the transcendental nature of His existence. the mundane wranglers make mundane conceptions of the form of the Lord. it is said in the revealed scriptures that the Lord has no mundane form; therefore persons with a poor fund of knowledge conclude that He must be formless. they cannot distinguish between the mundane form and the spiritual form. according to them, without a mundane form one must be formless. this conclusion is also mundane because formlessness is the opposite conception of form. negation of the mundane conception does not establish a transcendental fact. in the brahma-sanghitä it is said that the Lord has a transcendental form and that He can utilize any one of His senses for any purpose. for example, He can eat with His eyes, and He can see with His leg. in the mundane conception of form, one cannot eat with one's eyes or see with one's leg. that is the difference between the mundane body and the spiritual body of sac-cid-änanda . a spiritual body is not formless; it is a different type of body, of which we cannot conceive with our present mundane senses. formless therefore means devoid of mundane form, or possessing a spiritual body of which the non-devotee can have no conception by the speculative method.

how to know GOd

in the vedas also it is said that a person cannot know the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead simply by dint of mundane education or intellectual gymnastics. one can know the Supreme Truth if one has unflinching faith in the bona fide spiritual master as well as in the Lord. such a faithful person, even though illiterate in the mundane sense, can know the Lord automatically by the mercy of the Lord. in the bhagavad-geetä also, it is said that the Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone, and He keeps Himself concealed from the faithless by His yoga-mäyä potency.

the secret of success

the secret of success in understanding the intricacies of knowledge of the Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the causeless mercy of the Lord. even in the material world, the father of many sons discloses the secret of his position to the pet sons. the father discloses the confidence unto the son whom he thinks worthy. an important man in the social order can be known by his mercy only. similarly, one must be very dear to the Lord in order to know the Lord. the Lord is unlimited; no one can know Him completely, but one's advancement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord can make one eligible to know the Lord. here we can see that the Lord is sufficiently pleased with brahmäjee, and therefore He offers His causeless mercy to him so that brahmäjee may have the factual realization of the Lord by His mercy only.

spiritual evolution, not darwinian

when Shree Krishna by His own internal pleasure appears on earth, He does so by the agency of His internal potency. the attractive features of his transcendental body are desired in all the three worlds, namely the upper, middle and lower planetary systems. nowhere in the universe are there such beautiful bodily features as those of Lord Krishna. therefore His transcendental body has nothing to do with anything materially created.

arjuna is described here as the conqueror, and Krishna is described as his intimate friend. bheeshmadeva, on his bed of arrows after the battle of kurukshetra, is remembering the particular dress of Lord Krishna which He put on as the driver of arjuna's chariot. while fighting was going on between arjuna and bheeshma, bheeshma's attraction was drawn by the glittering dress of Krishna, and indirectly he admired his so-called enemy arjuna for possessing the Lord as his friend. arjuna was always a conqueror because the Lord was his friend. bheeshmadeva takes this opportunity to address the Lord as vijaya-sakhe (friend of arjuna) because the Lord is pleased when He is addressed conjointly with His devotees, who are related with Him in different transcendental humors.

while Krishna was the charioteer of arjuna, sun rays glittered on the dress of the Lord, and the beautiful hue created by the reflection of such rays was never forgotten by bheeshmadeva. as a great fighter he was relishing the relation of Krishna in the chivalrous humor. transcendental relation with the Lord in any one of the different rasas (humors) is relishable by the respective devotees in the highest ecstasy. less intelligent mundaners who want to make a show of being transcendentally related with the Lord artificially jump at once to the relation of conjugal love, imitating the damsels of vraja-dhäma. such a cheap relation with the Lord exhibits only the base mentality of the mundaner because one who has relished conjugal humor with the Lord cannot be attached to worldly conjugal rasa, which is condemned even by mundane ethics. the eternal relation of a particular soul with the Lord is evolved. a genuine relation of the living being with the Supreme Lord can take any form out of the five principal rasas, and it does not make any difference in transcendental degree to the genuine devotee. bheeshmadeva is a concrete example of this, and it should be carefully observed how the great general is transcendentally related with the Lord.

sweetest class

Hare Krishna, Nirantara Dasa,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Please forgive any offenses in my correspondence. It has been a very long time since I have written to a devotee of our Lord.

I had the opportunity to see and hear on LALive your Lecture on 110216-000_Khoda_Nitai(NewDvaraka) It was amazing and filled me up so much. I have received some of Krsna's mercy recently as has happened over the past five years or so since I left the Temple in LA. At least two to three times a year, even though I have fallen so far down into the material world, Krsna calls to me and I cannot deny the attraction. I read again, chant again, but only temporary and cannot sustain.

You are such a kind and sincere devotee. I always loved your lectures as you easily made me understand Krsna and my purpose in this life. Now that Krsna has led me to LALive I can see the Lord again and be filled up with the beautiful sound of the Holy Names! Ki Jaya!

Once again please forgive any offenses.
Your servant,
Guy

how to understand the vedas

incidents mentioned in the vedic literatures, such as the puränas, mahäbhärata and rämäyana are factual historical narrations that took place sometime in the past, although not in any chronological order. such historical facts, being instructive for ordinary men, were assorted without chronological reference. besides that, they happen on different planets, nay, in different universes, and thus the description of the narrations is sometimes measured by three dimensions. we are simply concerned with the instructive lessons of such incidents, even though they are not in order by our limited range of understanding.

why GOD puts a devotee into trouble

Tribulations imposed upon the devotees by the Lord constitute another exchange of transcendental bhäva between the Lord and the devotees. The Lord says "I put My devotee into difficulty, and thus the devotee becomes more purified in exchanging transcendental bhäva with Me." Placing the devotee into material troubles necessitates delivering him/her from the illusory material relations. The material relations are based on reciprocation of material enjoyment, which depends mainly on material resources. Therefore, when material resources are withdrawn by the Lord, the devotee is cent percent attracted toward the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Thus the Lord snatches the fallen soul from the mire of material existence. Tribulations offered by the Lord to His devotee are different from the tribulations resulting from vicious action.

a devotee's duty

shreela prabhupäda says:

the popular saying is that a house-wife teachs the daughter-in-law by teaching the daughter. similarly, the Lord teaches the world by teaching the devotee. the devotee does not have to learn anything new from the Lord because the Lord teaches the sincere devotee always from within. when-ever, therefore, a show is made to teach the devotee, as in the case of the teachings of bhagavad-geetä, it is for teaching the less intelligent men. a devotee's duty, therefore, is to un-grudgingly accept tribulations from the Lord as a benediction.

the pändavas were advised by bheeshmadeva to accept the responsibility of administration without hesitation. the poor subjects were without protection due to the battle of kurukshetra, and they were awaiting the assumption of power by mahäräja yudhishthira. a pure devotee of the Lord accepts tribulations as favors from the Lord. since the Lord is absolute, there is no mundane difference between the two.

the best policy

na hy asya karhicid räjan
pumän veda vidhitsitam
yad vijigyäsayä yuktä
muhyanti kavayo 'pi hi

bheeshmadeva told yudhishthira

o king, no one can know the plan of the Lord [Shree Krishna]. even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered.

shreela prabhupäda says:

the bewilderment of mahäräja yudhishthira over his past sinful acts and the resultant sufferings, etc., is completely negated by the great authority bheeshma (one of the twelve authorized persons). bheeshma wanted to impress upon mahäräja yudhishthira that since time immemorial no one, including such demigods as shiva and brahmä, could ascertain the real plan of the Lord. so what can we understand about it? it is useless also to inquire about it. even the exhaustive philosophical inquiries of sages cannot ascertain the plan of the Lord. the best policy is simply to abide by the orders of the Lord without argument.

the sufferings of the pändavas were never due to their past deeds. the Lord had to execute the plan of establishing the kingdom of virtue, and therefore his own devotees suffered temporarily in order to establish the conquest of virtue. bheeshmadeva was certainly satisfied by seeing the triumph of virtue, and he was glad to see king yudhishthira on the throne, although he himself fought against him. even a great fighter like bheeshma could not win the battle of kurukshetra because the Lord wanted to show that vice cannot conquer virtue, regardless of who tries to execute it. bheeshmadeva was a great devotee of the Lord, but he chose to fight against the pändavas by the will of the Lord because the Lord wanted to show that a fighter like bheeshma cannot win on the wrong side.

why the pändavas suffered so many practical reverses

yatra dharma-suto räjä
gadä-pänir vrikodarah
krishno 'stree gändivang cäpang
suhrit krishnas tato vipat

bheeshmadeva said to yudhishthira

¡o how wonderful is the influence of inevitable Time! it is irreversible-otherwise, ¿how can there be reverses in the presence of king yudhishthira, the son of the demigod controlling religion; bheema, the great fighter with a club; the great bowman arjuna with his mighty weapon gändeeva; and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the pändavas?

shreela prabhupäda says

as far as the material or spiritual resources were required, there was no scarcity in the case of the pändavas. materially they were well equipped because two great warriors, namely bheema and arjuna, were there. spiritually the king himself was the symbol of religion, and above all of them the Personality of Godhead, Lord Shree Krishna, was personally concerned with their affairs as the well-wisher. and yet there were so many reverses on the side of the pändavas. despite the power of pious acts, the power of personalities, the power of expert management and the power of weapons under the direct supervision of Lord Krishna, the pändavas suffered so many practical reverses, which can only be explained as due to the influence of käla, inevitable Time. käla is identical with the Lord Himself, and therefore the influence of käla indicates the inexplicable wish of the Lord Himself. there is nothing to be lamented when a matter is beyond the control of any human being.

why bad things happen to "good people"

sarvang käla-kritang manye
bhavatäng ca yad-apriyam
sapälo yad-vashe loko
väyor iva ghanävalih

bheeshmadeva told yudhishthira

in my opinion, this is all due to inevitable Time, under whose control everyone in every planet is carried, just as the clouds are carried by the wind.

shreela prabhupäda says

there is control by Time all over the space within the universe, as there is control by Time all over the planets. all the big gigantic planets, including the sun, are being controlled by the force of air, as the clouds are carried by the force of air. similarly, the inevitable käla, or Time, controls even the action of the air and other elements. everything, therefore, is controlled by the supreme käla, a forceful representative of the Lord within the material world.

thus yudhishthira should not be sorry for the inconceivable action of Time. everyone has to bear the actions and reactions of Time as long as one is within the conditions of the material world. yudhishthira should not think that he had committed sins in his previous birth and is suffering the consequence. even the most pious has to suffer the condition of material nature. but a pious man is faithful to the Lord, for he is guided by the bona fide brähmana and vaishnava following the religious principles. these three guiding principles should be the aim of life. one should not be disturbed by the tricks of eternal Time. even the great controller of the universe, brahmäjee, is also under the control of that Time; therefore, one should not grudge being thus controlled by Time despite being a true follower of religious principles.

comment by my producer

Hare Krishna
I have been wanting to tell you this but keep forgetting, so here it is. Your presentation is spiritual and transcendental. I have watched them so many times and each time I get new realizations and see pictures in new ways.

Haribol
Kamlesh Patel

this is called ‘His causeless mercy’

the words tato 'si bhagavän prabhuh mean: "therefore You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone". the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all six opulences in full, and more-over He is extremely kind to His devotee. although He is full in Himself, He none-the-less wants all the living entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service. thus He becomes satisfied. although He is full in Himself, He none-the-less becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patrang pushpang phalang toyam [bg. 9.26]—a leaf, flower, fruit or water—in devotion.

some-times the Lord, as the child of mother yashodä, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry. some-times He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are now very old and that He can-not enjoy them very nicely. thus He requests the devotee to repair them. some-times He is buried in the earth, and as if un-able to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. some-times He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task.

even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees. therefore the relationship of the Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential. only the devotee can perceive how the Lord, although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some particular work. this is explained in Bhagavad-geetä (11.33), where the Lord tells arjuna, nimitta-mätrang bhava savyasäcin: "o arjuna, merely be an instrument in the fight." Lord Krishna had the competence to win the battle of kurukshetra, but none-the-less He induced His devotee arjuna to fight and become the cause of victory. Shree Caitanya Mahäprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work.

considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord's self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. this is called ‘His causeless mercy’. the devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant.

Q:How Do I Percieve Mäyä's Influence?

unless we are actively engaged in direct Krishna conscious activitys, such as hearing, chanting, praying, remembering, worshiping Krishna, etc, then it is to be assumed at that time we are under the influence of the material energy. as Prabhupäda once told his disciple: "no, you are always in mäyä, but sometimes you fall into Krishna!" in order to perceive this you have to become expert at seeing the shästras at all times. in other words, you have to know Bhagavad-geetä, Shreemad-Bhägavatam, Nectar of Instruction, etc. so well, that at every moment you are remembering and 'seeing' these books in action moment to moment. that is why you always hear me say "study Prabhupäda's books as much as you can every day and chant incessantly". that is how to get out of mäyä. there is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way.

nirantara radio comment

I am very happy with the launch of Nirantara Radio. Let us awake the world, good work Prabhu. Let all of us serve Srila Prabhupada.

Srila Prabhupada ki Jaya.

Sunil From Holland

email response to one of my secretarys

although i cannot remember the quotes you are referring to, i still agree with your analysis. actually we are just trying to please Shreela Prabhupäda by our service. we do not know anything about what pleases Krishna; all we know is what Prabhupäda has given us. so does Prabhupäda accept my preaching? does Prabhupäda approve of my methods? who can say? nobody can say "i know for certain that Prabhupäda approves or disapproves". somehow or other i have gotten to this point, and practically, all i can go by is that there are some nice, sincere devotees who like what i am doing. therefore i am preaching only for those who like what i am doing. as soon as there are no more devotees on line listening, then the webcast will no longer exist. but if there is ONE soul out there who wants to listen and hear from me, i will spend whatever time and energy it takes to do these webcasts.

appreciation

Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to our Beloved Srila Prabhupada.

Ever since I bought your Bhagavad-gita DVD from Krishna.com two years ago, I wondered about you, who you were, where you were and what you were doing. Somehow I was attracted to you. In the mean time, I went to India for seven months then came back to the US.

Then I heard someone singing a beautiful bhajan during sayana aroti on at New Dwaraka on LAlive.us, but I couldn't see who it was because you were on the preaching asana and the camera was focused on the altar and Deities. But afterwards, when I saw it was you who had been singing, I was so surprised. Then you gave a wonderful class. Since then, about the past five months, I've been very happy to get to "know" you in this way. hearing your bhajans and classes on LAlive. And then Padyavali mataji, who is my good friend from the LA chat and on Facebook, encouraged me to see your shows on Mayapur.tv. I have for some time, but just recently I finally got a log in, so I was able to be there in the chat on your show tonight. It was great. I had been feeling somewhat low in spirits today, but when I joined your show I became very happy. Thank you so much.

Will you please put me on your mailing list? I'd be very grateful.

I think the service you're doing is fantastict. The more ways we can preach Krishna consciousness the better. So many different kinds of people are in this world, lost in the illusion of thinking this world is the all-and-all, so in whatever way we can save them it is a great service to Srila Prabhupada and Lord Sri Krishna!

Jaya! All glories!

yhs,
Lelihana dd

GOD's special mercy

the demi-gods pray:

in india [bhärata-varsha], there are many worshipers of the demigods, the various officials appointed by the Supreme Lord, such as indra, candra and soorya, all of whom are worshiped differently. the worshipers offer the demigods their oblations, considering the demigods part and parcel of the whole, the Supreme Lord. therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts these offerings and gradually raises the worshipers to the real standard of devotional service by fulfilling their desires and aspirations. because the Lord is complete, He offers the worshipers the benedictions they desire even if they worship only part of His transcendental body.

the Supreme Personality of Godhead fulfills the material desires of a devotee who approaches Him with such motives, but He does not bestow benedictions upon the devotee that will cause him/her to demand more benedictions again. however, the Lord willingly gives the devotee shelter at His own lotus feet, even though such a person does not aspire for it, and that shelter satisfies all one's desires. that is the Supreme Personality's special mercy.

the demi-gods approve of sankeertana-yagya

the demi-gods pray:

an intelligent person does not take interest in a place, even in the topmost planetary system, if the pure ganges of topics concerning the Supreme Lord's activities does not flow there, if there are not devotees engaged in service on the banks of such a river of piety, or if there are no festivals of sankeertana-yagya to satisfy the Lord [especially since sankeertana-yagya is recommended in this age].

bhärata-varsha offers the proper land and circumstances in which to execute devotional service, which can free one from the results of gyäna and karma. if one obtains a human body in the land of bhärata-varsha, with clear sensory organs with which to execute the sankeertana-yagya, but in spite of this opportunity one does not take to devotional service, he/she is certainly like liberated forest animals and birds that are careless and are therefore again bound by a hunter.

why demi-gods would rather be human beings

shukadeva gosvämee says:

since the human form of life is the sublime position for spiritual realization, all the demigods in heaven speak in this way:

how wonderful it is for these human beings to have been born in the land of bhärata-varsha. they must have executed pious acts of austerity in the past, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself must have been pleased with them. otherwise, ¿how could they engage in devotional service in so many ways? we demigods can only aspire to achieve human births in bhärata-varsha to execute devotional service, but these human beings are already engaged there.

after performing the very difficult tasks of executing vedic ritualistic sacrifices, undergoing austerities, observing vows and giving charity, we have achieved this position as inhabitants of the heavenly planets. but what is the value of this achievement? here we are certainly very engaged in material sense gratification, and therefore we can hardly remember the lotus feet of Lord Näräyana. indeed, because of our excessive sense gratification, we have almost forgotten His lotus feet.

a short life in the land of bharata-varsha is preferable to a life achieved in brahma-loka for millions and billions of years because even if one is elevated to brahma-loka, he/she must return to repeated birth and death. although life in bhärata-varsha, in a lower planetary system, is very short, one who lives there can elevate himself to full Krishna-consciousness and achieve the highest perfection, even in this short life, by fully surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Lord. thus one attains vaikuntha-loka, where there is neither anxiety nor repeated birth in a material body.

the real path of liberation

shukadeva gosvämee says:

after many, many births, when the results of one's pious activities mature, one gets an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. then one is able to cut the knot of bondage to ignorance, which bound one because of varied fruitive activities. as a result of associating with devotees, one gradually renders service to Lord Väsudeva, who is transcendental, free from attachment to the material world, beyond the mind and words, and independent of everything else. that bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Lord Väsudeva, is the real path of liberation.

the beauty of Forgiveness

rudra uväca
tava varada varänghräv äshishehäkhilärthe
hy api munibhir asaktair ädarenärhaneeye
yadi racita-dhiyang mävidya-loko 'paviddhang
japati na ganaye tat tvat-paränugrahena

lord shiva said:

"my dear Lord, my mind and consciousness are always fixed on Your lotus feet, which, as the source of all benediction and the fulfillment of all desires, are worshiped by all liberated great sages because Your lotus feet are worthy of worship. with my mind fixed on Your lotus feet,

i am no longer disturbed by persons who blaspheme me, claiming that my activities are not purified. i do not mind their accusations, and i excuse them out of compassion, just as You exhibit compassion toward all living entities.

shreela prabhupäda says:

lord shiva expresses herein his regret at having been angry and having disturbed the sacrificial activities of daksha. king daksha had insulted him in many ways, and thus he had become angry and had frustrated the entire sacrificial ceremony. later, when he was pleased, the yagya-performances were re-instituted, and therefore he regretted his activities. now he says that because his mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, he is no longer disturbed by the ordinary critics of his way of life.

from this statement by lord shiva it is understood that as long as one is on the material platform one is affected by the three modes of material nature. as soon as one is in Krishna-consciousness, however, one is no longer affected by such material activities. one should therefore always be fixed in Krishna-consciousness, busy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. it is guaranteed that such a devotee will never be affected by the actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature.
this fact is also corroborated in bhagavad-geetä: anyone who is fixed in the transcendental service of the Lord has surpassed all the material qualities and is situated in the status of Brahman-realization, in which one is not afflicted by hankering for material objects.
the recommendation of the shreemad-bhägavatam is that one should always be Krishna-conscious and should never forget one's transcendental relationship with the Lord.
this program has to be followed strictly by every-one. from the statement of lord shiva it is understood that he was always in Krishna-consciousness, and thus he remained free from material affliction. the only remedy, therefore, is to continue Krishna-consciousness rigidly, in order to get out of the contamination of the material modes.

Don't Be Puffed-up

the power and energy which were bestowed upon arjuna were required for fulfillment of the mission of the Lord, but when His mission was fulfilled, the emergency powers were withdrawn from arjuna because the astounding powers of arjuna, which were astonishing even to the denizens of heaven, were no longer required, and they were not meant for going back home, back to Godhead. if endowment of powers and withdrawal of powers by the Lord are possible even for a great devotee like arjuna, or even the demigods in heaven, then what to speak of the ordinary living beings who are but figs compared to such great souls.

the lesson is, therefore, that no one should be puffed up for his/her powers borrowed from the Lord. the sane man should rather feel obliged to the Lord for such benefactions and must utilize such power for the service of the Lord. such power can be withdrawn at any time by the Lord, so the best use of such power and opulence is to engage them in the service of the Lord.

Feedback from Geetä-yagya 2010

i think you did an outstanding job as usual. i need to improve my end. We did not have enough chairs set up and the tent needed to be put up ahead of time. i am writing my own notes to remember these details for next year.
_Pävaka devee däsee(Los Angeles, USA)

Thank you very much. You must have put a lot of thought into writing that [sub-titles for each section within each chapter]. I am going to print it out and put the copy in my Geetä, maybe even write it in at the various places with a pencil.It will help me to study better.
I liked the recitation very much. I have to confess I have not recited the entire text in about eight years or so. This time I did and I could feel the shakti of it all day long today. Your choice of commentary was classic Shreela Prabhupäda. I would only like to suggest that when you start out on chapter one perhaps you could be a little more personal in order to help people feel like they can handle the austerity of it.We are a team trying to accomplish the recitation together. I felt a little bewildered and rebellious at first as to whether or not I could stick it out. I also felt embarrassed that I could not chant so fast or pronounce everything so quickly. So how people who are fairly new to the Geetä must feel? So maybe you could explain to the devotees that you don't have to be perfect, that at least someone in the crowd is getting it right at any given time, so Krishna accepts our group effort, our sankeertana. Sorry I love to opine.
_Karuna Dhärinee däsee (Los Angeles, USA)

I was online for about an hour for the Geetä-yagya... the audio quality wasn't very good... there was a lot of background noise. Wanted to stay online longer but had to go out so couldn't..... It was a nice rock n roll look you had with your head covered and dark glasses. Your web page too has a new look... nice :)
_Sannam Kaajal Manghnani Sammohinee (Santiago, Chile)

Next year we need to pay attention to your background. At least some kind of cloth, or maybe a poster or painting, rather than an open mailbox... I just saw a very nice display of Arjuna/Krishna on a chariot with horses in Sura's office. It would be perfect next to your computer.
_Mäyäpur-shashee däsa (Los Angeles, USA)

Thank you very much for your kind words and encouragement. Your recitation of Bhagavad-geetä was most impressive. You were speaking the shlokas better than I could read English! I"m so fallen that I have difficulty pronouncing many words in Sanskrit. Therefore, I decided to just hear. I missed chapters 7-10 for lunch.
_Mahesh Soni (Orange, USA

You did a great job! I like your format of reading relevant quotes at the beginning and end of each chapter. A few people did say that they wanted the recitation to be a little slower but I think your speed choice was good and correct. It forces one to concentrate more. And since you ended just on time slower wouldn't have worked!
_Arcita däsa

when Krishna returned to vrindävana

shreela vishvanätha cakravartee gives the following elaborate commentary on this section of shreemad-bhägavatam 10.78.16:

concerning the killing of dantavakra, the uttara-khanda (279) of the padma puräna contains further details in the following passage:

"then, hearing that shishupäla had been killed, dantavakra went to mathurä to fight against Krishna. when Krishna, more-over, heard of this, He mounted His chariot and went to mathurä. between the two of them—dantavakra and Lord Väsudeva—there then began a battle at the gate of mathurä that lasted all day and night. finally Krishna struck dantavakra with His club, at which point dantavakra fell life-less to the ground, all his limbs smashed like a mountain shattered by a lightning bolt. dantavakra achieved the liberation of gaining a form equal to the Lord's, and thus he also achieved the Lord's eternal, supreme abode, attainable by perfect yogees, which bestows the happiness of everlasting spiritual bliss. so it was that jaya and vijaya—apparently because of being cursed by sanaka and his brothers but actually to facilitate the Supreme Lord's pastimes—descended to this material world and in three consecutive life-times were killed by the Lord Himself. then, at the completion of these three life-times, they attained liberation.
"and after killing vidooratha, Krishna crossed the yamunä and went to the cowherd village of nanda, where He honored and consoled His aggrieved parents. they drenched Him with tears and embraced Him, and then the Lord offered obeisances to the elder cowherd men and gratified all the residents with abundant gifts of clothing, ornaments and so on. Lord Keshava sported continuously with the cowherd women on the kälindee's charming bank, which was filled with pious trees. thus the Supreme Lord, assuming the appearance of a cowherd, resided there for two months, enjoying the pleasure of intimate pastimes in various moods of loving reciprocation. then, by Lord Väsudeva's grace, nanda and all the other residents of that place, together with their children and wives, assumed their eternal, spiritual forms, boarded a celestial airplane and ascended to the supreme vaikuntha planet [goloka vrindävana]. Lord Krishna, however, after bestowing on nanda gopa and all the other inhabitants of vraja His own transcendental abode, which is free of all disease, traveled through the sky and returned to dvärakä as demigods chanted His praises."

this is the secret of devotional service

shreela prabhupäda says:

Lord Krishna told king yudhishthira that He is conquered by the love of one who has conquered his/her senses. one who has not conquered the senses can-not conquer the Supreme Personality of Godhead. this is the secret of devotional service. to conquer the senses means to engage them constantly in the service of the Lord. the specific qualification of all the pändava brothers was that they always engaged their senses in the Lord’s service. one who thus engages his/her senses becomes purified, and with purified senses the devotee can actually render transcendental loving service to the Lord and conquer Him.

A Glimpse Into Krishna's Mind

shreela krishnadäsa kaviräja gosvämee says:

the scriptures proclaim that Lord Krishna previously descended to take away the burden of the earth. to take away this burden, however, is not the work of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. the maintainer, Lord Vishnu, is the one who protects the universe. but the time to lift the burden of the world mixed with the time for Lord Krishna's incarnation. when the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, all other incarnations of the Lord meet together within Him. Lord Näräyana, the four primary expansions [Väsudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna & Aniruddha], Matsya and the other leelä-incarnations, the yuga-avatäras, the manvantara-incarnations and as many other incarnations as there are_all descend in the body of Lord Krishna. in this way the complete Supreme Godhead, Lord Krishna Himself, appears. at that time, therefore, Lord Vishnu is present in the body of Lord Krishna, and Lord Krishna kills the demons through Him.

shreela krishnadäsa kaviräja gosvämee continues:

thus the killing of the demons is but secondary work. i shall now speak of the main reason for the Lord's incarnation. the Lord's desire to appear was born from two reasons: 1) the Lord wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and 2) He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction. thus He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all.

[Lord Krishna thought:]

"all the universe is filled with the conception of My majesty, but love weakened by that sense of majesty does not satisfy Me. if one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and him/herself as a subordinate, I do not become subservient to one's love, nor can it control Me. in what-ever transcendental mellow My devotee worships Me, I reciprocate with him/her. that is My natural behavior.

'in what-ever way My devotees surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. everyone follows My path in all respects, o son of prithä.' [bg 4.11]

"if one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as one's son, friend or beloved, regarding him/herself as great and considering Me one's equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him/her.

'devotional service rendered to Me by the living beings revives their eternal life. o My dear damsels of vraja, your affection for Me is your good fortune, for it is the only means by which you have obtained My favor.' [10.82.44]

"mother some-times binds Me as her son. she nourishes and protects Me, thinking Me utterly helpless. My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship, saying, 'what kind of big man are You? You and i are equal.' if My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind from the reverent hymns of the vedas. taking these pure devotees with Me, I shall descend and sport in various wonderful ways, un-known even in vaikuntha. I shall broadcast such pastimes by which even I am amazed. the influence of yogamäyä will inspire the gopees with the sentiment that I am their paramour. neither the gopees nor I shall notice this, for our minds will always be entranced by one another's beauty and qualities. pure attachment will unite us even at the expense of moral and religious duties [dharma]. destiny will some-times bring us together and some-times separate us. i shall taste the essence of all these rasas, and in this way I shall favor all the devotees. then, by hearing about the pure love of the residents of vraja, devotees will worship Me on the path of spontaneous love, abandoning all rituals of religiosity and fruitive activity."

Surrender

shreela prabhupäda says:

Lord Krishna here confirms that the conditioned soul can reach the highest perfectional stage by surrendering to Him. One must give up all other responsibilities. This complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the most auspicious path for the conditioned soul because the Supreme Lord is the supreme objective of love. Everyone is loving his/her self according to the advancement of one's knowledge. Ultimately, when a person comes to understand that his/her self is the spirit soul and that the spirit soul is nothing but a part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, one recognizes the Supreme Lord as the ultimate goal of love and then surrenders unto Him. This surrender is considered auspicious for the conditioned soul. Our life, property, home, wife, children, house, country, society and all paraphernalia which are very dear to us are expansions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the central object of love because He gives us all bliss, expanding Himself in so many ways according to our different situations, namely bodily, mental or spiritual.

On the Road Report

the month of kärtika ended on Sunday, November 21 for me here in Panama City, the capital of the country known as Panama. the Dada Vaswani group held a festival at a university to promote vegetarianism on the occasion of the founder's birthday. my band consisted of Durmada-damana däsa, disciple of H.H. GuruPrasädaSwami, and the guitar player, Jesus Almenas, is a friend of ISKCON and has played with me every-time i go to Panama. with myself on bass guitar and vocals, and Durmada also singing, we performed 6 songs on stage. "My Sweet Lord", "Lord Gauränga", "All Across the World" and the featured "Have Mercy on the Animals" were very warmly received by the audience consisting of local Panamanians and landed Indians.

Durmada-damana däsa spent over 12 hours in three days to learn each song perfectly on drums, as well as sing key portions of each song. his sacrifice was great because my music is not his own style of drumming, so he had to learn a completely new methodology. yet by show-time he had not only perfected the rhythms, but exceeded my expectations. bravo for a job well-done! Jesus had played most of the songs before, as he always accompanies me when i play in the temple room here in Panama whenever i come. But he did have to learn two new songs in one rehearsal and of course, he mastered it within one or two "takes".

on stage the band shined. the voices could be heard loud and clear, and the instruments blended as if in a studio mixed for final mastering. Durmada is quite the networking-preacher. the sound-technician for the venue was known to him, so we got the best possible mix for the occasion. also, another acquaintance of his recorded most of the songs. i will be waiting for a finished cd sometime next month. Jesus is what i call "guitar-avatära": he can play any style of music, he can play it masterfully, and he has no false-ego. during the two hour rehearsal on Saturday night, i was emotionally moved to offer obeisances after each and every song. he knows exactly how and what to play for each song of mine, and he knows just when to give it the proper accentuation and fortissimo. he is the best musician i have ever played with.

my prayer is that i could someday bring these two here to Los Angeles for Ratha-yäträ. that would be the perfection of service i have done for so many years. but Durmada-damana gets all of the credit as he put it all together for me; even to the extent of shelling out almost $100 of his own money for equipment and rehearsal renting, what to speak of driving me here, there and everywhere. may Krishna bless him more and more in his pursuit of pure Krishna-consciousness.

this was the best music i have performed in a live venue ever in my life. i am so happy. i feel i have died and gone to heaven. in fact, i do not want to do anything now except play with these two musicians for the rest of my life. but don't worry, i am coming back to preach on Tuesday in SoCal as promised. hari bol

This Letter Made Me Cry

Dear Nirantara Prabhu,
My name is Acyuta Gopi. I was born in the movement as Acyutapriya to two old school New York devotees, Adideva Das and Antaranga Devi Dasi ,who took initiation from HH Gour Govinda Swami after lamenting their great misfortune and praying for many years, due to not having taken shelter of Srila Prabhupada formally when he was here on the planet after joining the movement in 1974. In 2007 I took initiation from HH Radhanath Swami and have been trying before as well as ever since to continue to stay inspired within my Krsna-consciousness and to develop firm, unflinching faith in the Holy Name and the most munificent Sri Nama Prabhu.

Yesterday evening I was returning from work and my husband was listening to a series of lectures from an online streaming radio website. We came across one lecture that you gave on the poem that Srila Prabhupada wrote upon arriving in Boston. Unfortunately on the website it did not list the speaker of the lecture and so we had to go on a little bit of a search to find out who you were. That lecture has been added to the favorites that I have heard over the years. It was wonderful to hear Prabhupada Katha spoken so nicely and sweetly. I really appreciated that lecture and the way you were able to give me yet another connection to appreciate and learn from my spiritual grandfather. For about seven or eight years I have been trying to go deeper into Srila Prabhupada's books and try to know him better. He is my savior, the savior of my parents, the savior of my beloved spiritual master and I felt that I really needed to connect with him and to ask him for his blessings and his encouragement within my spiritual life.

Since then I have been learning so much and your class really added to it. Thank you so much. Sometimes the second generation doesn't exactly express the sentiment they feel when they hear a lecture or their appreciation of the first generation devotees so I knew I needed to write you and express my gratitude. I've been listening to a few of the other classes that you have given and I really enjoy your style of lecturing. I've been to LA many times for Ratha Yatra and I have also been once for the Prabhupada festival and I'm just amazed that somehow I didn't get to meet you when I was there.

At any rate, I'm glad that you're so accessible and that you are open to letters. Thank you again for enlivening my kartik month and really connecting me once again with my grandfather who I love and owe my life to.

All Glories to your service.
I pray that beautiful Sri Sri Radha Govinda here in NY and merciful
Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadish there in LA keep you always in their service and continue to give you all blessings.

Yours in the service of the Holy Name,
Acyuta Gopi DD