Gurudeva... Srila Narayana's topics - tribe.net

Could I have been wrong about Narayana Maharaja altogether?

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:45:59 GMT

My eyes are still welled up with tears after reading what I assume to be words spoken by Narayana Maharaja. He said the manjaris cannot console Srimati Radharani, only her sakhis can. I already thought like that, from what I have read in various literatures, that the manjaris just went along with her mood, but that her friends could intervene. But still doesn't that console her a little when the manjaris are in her same mood?
Anyway I was always very critical of Narayana Maharaja and was just trying to be nice to his disciples to try and bring the two groups together, Iskcon and the Math, but now I fear I may have committed a grave offense. Sure anyone can read a book and repeat what's inside, but to speak with realization that is another thing entirely.
So to be safe I must offer my obeisances to him. Even if he is just an ordinary sannyasi who is a granddisciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta he should be offered respects and what to speak of if he is a realized devotee.
vancha kalpa tarubhyas ca
krpa sindhu byeva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
vaishnava ebhy namo namah
Sorry Maharaja. My obeisances hundreds and thousands of times.

posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 14 replies

THE NECESSITY OF APPROACHING A SAD-GURU

George — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:11:41 GMT

THE NECESSITY OF APPROACHING A SAD-GURU
FOR ETERNAL AND TRANSCENDENTAL BENEFIT
And further Sri Krsna says:

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah
[Gita, 4.34]

"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."

For understanding the Supreme Absolute Reality, which is the topmost benefit of the jiva, one must approach a guru who has realized the truth. By offering him obeisances, inquiring submissively from him, and rendering service to him, you should please him. Thus pleased, he will bestow upon you knowledge of jiva-tattva (the pure constitutional nature of the self), para-tattva (the nature of Supreme Absolute Reality), and bhakti-tattva (the nature of devotion to Sri Krsna). After knowing all these truths, your human life will be successful.

It is clear that the tattva-darsi (self-realized) guru imparts knowledge of only bhagavata-tattva, bhakti-tattva, and atma-tattva. He has nothing to do with the fulfillment of one's temporary mundane desires.

It is said in the Upanisads:

tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham
[Mundaka Upanisad, 1.2.12]

"To learn the transcendental subject matter, one must approach a spiritual master. In doing so, he should carry fuel to burn in sacrifice. The symptom of such a spiritual master is that he is expert in understanding the Vedic conclusions, and therefore he constantly engages in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

For attaining vijnana (knowledge with prema-bhakti) of the supreme Absolute Entity, carrying samidha (wood for the sacrifice), which is considered to be representative of sublime faith, one must approach with complete surrender of body, mind, and words, a guru who knows the tattva of Krsna and the essence of the Vedas.

Furthermore it is said in Svetasvatara Upanisad (6.23):
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

"Only in the hearts of great saints, those who have transcendental devotion (para-bhakti) unto the Supreme Lord and also toward their Gurudeva, is the essence of all the Vedas revealed."

A similar statement is found in Srimad-Bhagavatam:

tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreya uttamam
sabde pare ca nisnatam
brahmany upasamasrayam
[Srimad-Bhagavatam: 11.3.21]

"Any person who seriously desires to achieve real happiness must seek out a bona fide spiritual master and take shelter of him by initiation. The qualification of the spiritual master is that he must have realized the conclusion of the scriptures by deliberation, and must be able to convince others of these conclusions. Such great personalities, who have taken shelter of the Supreme Godhead, leaving aside all material considerations, are to be understood as bona fide spiritual masters."

Bhakti, loving service to the lotus feet of Sri Krsna, is the only auspicious path for the jivas. To know this, the inquisitive sadhakas (practitioners) must take shelter of the lotus feet of a sad-guru. Only one who is very expert in the understanding of sabda-brahma (the conclusions of the Vedas), who has realized the Supreme Absolute Truth and who is never over-powered by mundane sense objects or miseries, is a sad-guru. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, this conclusion is also established:

brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
[Cc Madhya, 19.151]

"According to their karma, all living entities are wandering throughout the entire universe. Some of them are being elevated to the upper planetary systems, and some are going down into the lower planetary systems. Out of many millions of wandering living entities, one who is very fortunate gets an opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of Krsna. By the mercy of both Krsna and the spiritual master, such a person receives the seed of the creeper of devotional service."

tate krsna bhaje, kare gurura sevana
maya-jala chute, paya krsnera carana
[Cc Madhya, 22.25]

"If the conditioned soul engages in the service of the Lord and simultaneously carries out the orders of his spiritual master and serves him, he can get out of the clutches of maya and become eligible for shelter at Krsna's lotus feet."

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘GURU’ AND ‘RITVIK’
From the above scriptural evidences it is very clear that the relationship between guru and disciple is eternal and transcendental. Gurudeva is described as the manifestation of God, and therefore he must always be worshipped like Him. Only by his mercy can a jiva who is bound in the grips of maya be freed, and after being situated in his pure constitutional position, become engaged in the service of the Lord. Without the mercy of Sri Gurudeva, the supreme welfare of the jiva is impossible.

On the other hand, the relationship between the yajman (the person who undertakes a fire sacrifice in order to fulfill some material desire, and on whose behalf the priest, or ritvik, performs the fire sacrifice) and the ritvik is temporary and based on self-interest. It is for the fulfillment of mundane desires. Their relationship lasts for a short time only. Therefore, since time immemorial, the system of guru-parampara, which is also known as amnaya or sat-sampradaya, has been prevalent in the scriptures. The four lines of bona fide succession of spiritual masters have originated from the associates of the Lord, that is, Sri Laksmi, Sri Brahma, Sri Rudra and Sri Sanat-kumara. In the age of Kali, Sri Ramanujacarya, Sri Madhvacarya, Sri Visnusvami and Sri Nimbaditya respectively are the four acaryas famous as the followers of the above personalities. Guru-parampara (the bona fide succession of spiritual masters) is always prevalent in the amnaya line of these four acaryas. Even in the advaita-sampradaya (followers of Sankaracarya), the tradition of guru-parampara is well preserved.

'RITVIK-GURU', A CONTRADICTION OF TERMS
Param-pujyapada Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja has neither accepted nor mentioned the tradition of ritviks as gurus anywhere in his bona fide books. Nor did he support the tradition of ritviks in his personal letters. Whatever Srila Swami Maharaja arranged, it was most definitely not 'ritvik-guru', which is a contradiction of terms. To call it this is the cause of embarrassment for him among those who know the Vedic sastras.
As you can see, it is very important to consider the scriptural meaning of the word 'ritvik'. The term applies only when a yajman undertakes a yajna for fulfilling his material desires. Because he, the yajman, is himself ignorant of the Vedic rules for performing the yajna, he appoints, for the successful completion and achievement of desired results, the ritviks, who are virtuous and who know the Vedas.

'RITVIK-GURU', AN IMPRACTICAL CONCOCTION
WHICH IS AGAINST THE SCRIPTURAL CONCLUSIONS
In consideration of this principle, can it be conjectured that a guru, being ignorant of the diksa-mantras and their conceptions, will appoint a ritvik more qualified than himself, who in turn will give diksa to others, thus acting as the representative of the guru? Some people say that Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja appointed ritviks who were to give diksa to his disciples. If this statement is accepted as true, it means they are accusing Srila Swami Maharaja of being an unqualified guru, an ignorant yajman who, for the sake of fulfilling his material desires would have appointed ritviks more qualified than himself. No, it cannot be true; this is completely impossible. Therefore, on the path toward attaining the Supreme Absolute Reality, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this concocted ritvik conception is impractical and against the scriptural conclusions.

[Question:] How does a disciple relate with his guru once he has entered in aprakata-lila (the guru's entrance into the eternal pastimes of Krsna in the spiritual world)? Like Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's disciples, those who took initiation when he was still physically present. How can they relate with him since he is now in aprakata-lila?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] A disciple should think, "He is my Gurudeva. He is eternal. He is still here." When we pray for anything, he will inspire us. He is eternal, everywhere, and in our hearts also. He has not left his body. His body, his everything, is transcendental. So don't worry. Our relationship with him is the same as it was.

[Question:] Does the example of Sri Madhvacarya approaching Srila Vyasadeva show that an aspiring disciple can, so to speak, summon a departed acarya who has entered into aprakata-lila, and request initiation from him? Of course, Madhvacarya was in a special situation. He was an empowered expansion of the Lord. He was one of the four sampradaya acaryas.

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] Madhvacarya was a direct disciple of Srila Vyasadeva. When Madhvacarya was living, about 4000 years had passed since Vyasa had disappeared from the vision of this world. However, Madhvacarya knew that Vyasadeva was still alive and that he is eternal. So he prayed to him in Badrikasrama, beseeching him, "I want to take your darsana and to be initiated by you." When he was praying, Vyasadeva personally came there, and Madhvacarya presented his wish to him, that he would give Madhvacarya initiation. After that, Vyasa disappeared.

So guru is like this. However, those who do not understand the correct siddhanta (conclusive philosophical truths) and are not very learned, and who have not developed their bhakti to the level of madhyama-uttama-adhikari or uttama-adhikari, cannot realize all these truths. And certainly a kanistha-adhikari is not able to realize all these things. Such persons, being bewildered, may try to take help from the ritvik philosophy or some other ideology which is not our siddhanta.

Editorial advisors: Pujyapad Madhava Maharaja, Sripad Brajanath dasa, and Sri Prema Prayojana dasa
Assistant Editor: Hariballabha dasi
Editor: Syamarani dasi
Proof-reader: Krsna-kamini dasi
Paintings copyright Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with permission.

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posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 0 replies

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George — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:18:17 GMT

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posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 11 replies

...Swami Prabhupada dragged me......

George — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 19:47:59 GMT

I offer millions and millions of heartfelt dandavat pranati, obeisances, unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, nitya-lila-pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, and unto my siksa-guru, nitya-lila-pravista om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja.

My siksa-guru, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, forcibly dragged me to the Western countries. It is only by his mercy that I am going everywhere in the world. So many are hearing from me, only due to him. He especially ordered me, in his last days, to help his disciples and devotees, because he knew they would become very weak. He knew they would give up the mission and object of life that was preached by him.
-Srila Narayana

posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 7 replies

The Glory of Pure Love

George — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:27:10 GMT

Tuesday, 18 October 2005

Srila BV Narayana Maharaja
Srila Narayana Maharaja at Gopinath Bhavan, where the following lecture took place.

Vrndavana, India: October 18, 2005
Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja
[The following is a continuation of a lecture-course on Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's book, Prema-samput.]

The book Prema-samput is very exalted; the moods expressed in it cannot be understood by ordinary persons. I will therefore complete it quickly, and then I will begin discussing the book Madhurya-kadambini, which explains the process of gradual development in devotional service.

We have heard how Srimati Radhika is discussing the truth of prema-tattva to Sri Krsna, who has disguised Himself as a damsel from the heavenly planets.

Srimati Radhika told the demigoddess-disguised Krsna, "Prema is 'sva-samvedya dasa.' This means it can only be understood by that person who is experiencing it, and not by another. Prema cannot be described by words; it can be understood by realization and nothing else. Only one in whose heart prema has appeared can understand what it is. Another person cannot understand. Prema cannot be understood by much deliberation, nor can it be understood by an absence of deliberation. Either way, it cannot be understood. On the other hand, unless we deliberate and endeavor to please Krsna, prema will not come.

That desire or tendency – "How can I please Krsna?" – is the symptom of prema. We may understand that someone has achieved prema by looking at his or her various ecstatic emotions, like vyabicari, asta-sattvika-bhava and so on. These symptoms must be seen in the heart in which prema has appeared.

Srimati Radhika continued, "You have described Krsna as being a debauchee, but really, He is the topmost hero or lover (nayaka). He alone has the qualification to love many heroines or lady beloveds (nayikas). The moods seen in Krsna cannot be seen in any other great personality. Even when He performs apparently abominable pastimes such as going to Candravali and other beloveds, still, in that condition He only remembers the happiness that He experienced when He was with Me.

"When I weep in separation from Krsna, all the plants and animals of Vrndavana also weep. Krsna performs pastimes of being with other, rival gopis only to show the world what is prema. This is why Krsna leaves Me and goes to other heroines.

"When a beloved meets with Krsna, all the unlimited happiness of this world multiplied millions of times does not equal one drop of the happiness I experience in association with Krsna. Similarly, all the unhappiness of the world multiplied millions of times cannot be equal to one drop of the unhappiness I experience in His separation."

The qualities of Lord Sri Krsna can only be seen in Him; not in Rama or Narayana. They have the self-conception that, "I am God," and there is great opulence in their intrinsic nature, They come here to protect religion and to destroy irreligion. They have many duties, preoccupations and responsibilities. On the other hand, Sri Krsna has no responsibilities or duties. He only moves the cows from one place to another. He has no worries or responsibilities; He is completely carefree. Therefore, He alone can perform such activities with the gopis, and there is no fault with Him in this regard. It is His quality.

Even Sri Krsna in Dvaraka has many responsibilities, such as killing demons, whereas Krsna in Vrndavana never kills any demons. It is Lord Visnu situated within the body of Krsna who kills them.

As Krsna is unique, so the gopis of Vraja are also unique. Only they can have such unprecedented prema towards Krsna to be able to control Him as they do. Even the queens in Dvaraka cannot control Krsna completely, because they also have other responsibilities and duties, such as nourishing their children and taking care of household duties. The gopis, on the other hand, have left everything – all shyness, chastity, worldly responsibilities, fear of society and fear of scriptural injunctions. They have given up everything for the happiness of Krsna. They have no children – they have nothing but Krsna. They have husbands, but they have no responsibility or attachment towards those husbands.

Srimati Radhika continued speaking to Sri Krsna, who was disguised as a lady from a heavenly planet. She said, "If any gopi tells another, 'Let's go. Take me to meet Krsna. I want to see Him,' this is not lust – because everything they do is for the happiness of Krsna, not for their own happiness. *[See endnote 1] The attraction of the gopis towards Krsna is not lust; it is prema.

"Krsna is an ocean of prema. He has so many apparent disqualifications, such as restlessness, cruelty and thoughtlessness, and He is unreliable – but these are actually His good qualities. If He did not manifest these "disqualifications," the ever-increasingly new tastes of My loving relationship with Him (nava-nava rasa) would not have been able to reach their height. If anyone thinks Krsna's qualities are His faults, that person has no prema. The so-called faults of Krsna are not faults, but qualities."

One example of Srimati Radhika's statement is as follows: Krsna has arranged to meet with Her, but on the way He meets another gopi, like Candravali or Saibya. Srimati Radhika is waiting the entire night, lamenting for Krsna. Krsna comes to Her early in the morning, looking like Nila Rohit (a body of bluish color, with reddish marks everywhere) Mahadeva (Lord Siva) because His eyes are very red. Srimati Radhika asks Him, "Where have you been?" Lying, Krsna replies, "I came directly here, I have not come after being with anyone else." Srimati Radhika's unhappiness then increases, so much so that despite Her meeting with Krsna She feels more separation. She then enters the state of maan (transcendental sulky mood) and calls Him ill-names.

Srimati Radhika continued speaking to the disguised Krsna, explaining Her own mind, "I become angry thinking, 'Why did He go there?' I know that if He goes to any other gopi, He cannot experience the happiness He attains in My association. The anger I display is a manifestation of prema, because I know that He cannot experience full happiness when He goes to another gopi. Krsna then says to Me, 'Yes, yes, I also know that.'

"Krsna is self-satisfied and has no unfulfilled desires. He is never controlled by lusty desires. He is only controlled by pure prema. Only the gopis of Vrndavana can control Him – no one else can do so. When He is late in coming to meet Me due to some disturbance caused by other gopis, I become angry because I see His dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment. I become unhappy and angry that He hasn't tasted full happiness. My anger is only for His happiness.

"I tell Him, 'If You experienced so much happiness with that other gopi, then go back to her.'

"When Krsna comes to Me with marks on His body from associating with other gopis, I become angry and say to Him, 'You characterless person, get away from here and go back to that other gopi.' Then, in front of Me, Krsna admits all His faults.

"Why does He act the way He does? Prema is like a lamp, and it reveals the innermost intentions of both the hero and the heroine. Their hearts are revealed by the lamp of prema. If prema is spoken, that is, if the lover and beloved say, 'I love you,' then prema is lost. Prema can be compared with camphor. If camphor is placed near a window and the window is open, its aroma evaporates.

"Krsna tells the other gopis, 'You are My most beloved. Apart from you I do not love anyone else." Krsna does not say this to only one gopi, but to all the gopis, including Me. Why does He do this? This is not His fault. All the gopis have great attachment (anuraga) for Him. Each gopi has controlled Him up to the amount of anuraga she possesses. Krsna's meeting with them is not His fault, but His quality. Each gopi captures Him according to her bhakti.

"Another doubt may come. If prema is not spoken, then how is it that sometimes the gopis reveal their prema to Krsna?

yat te sujata-caranamburuham stanesu
bhitah sanaih priya dadhimahi karkasesu
tenatavim atasi tad vyathate na kim svit
kurpadibhir bhramati dhir bhavad-ayusam nah

["O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path." (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.31.19)]

"The gopis expressed themselves to Krsna, "Oh Krsna, we are not satisfied to meditate on Your lotus feet. Rather, we want You to place them on our breasts. Although we are fearful when Your feet come directly upon our breasts, because our breasts are very hard, at the same time we know that you are satisfied." The gopis expressed their prema, so is the prema of the gopis not being dissipated by expressing their heart? *[See endnote 2]

Srimati Radhika continued, "No, this is not a fault in the prema of the gopis. In their case it is simply a symptom of their prema. Their prema can never be diminished or destroyed.

"Listen; I'll give you an example from My own life. Krsna performed the rasa dance with the gopis, and left everyone for Me. Why? He is an ocean of prema. At that time all the gopis were thinking, 'We are the topmost.' Krsna did not want them to think like this, and therefore He took Me away. It is not a fault of Krsna that He took Me away from all the gopis and sat Me on the throne of greatness, giving Me so much honor and position.

"At that time We went to Srngara-vat, and there He personally decorated Me. At that time I was svadhina bhartrika (a heroine or beloved who has controlled Krsna completely). At that time Krsna had no consideration or thought of any other gopi whatsoever. As for Myself, however, I was thinking, 'My sakhis have given their life and soul for My service. How can I alone drink His nectarean association? How can I drink this ocean of prema alone, without My friends? I would be afflicted by the fault of ungratefulness.'

"I could not tolerate the idea of having this fault. I therefore told Krsna, 'I cannot walk anymore. You can carry Me wherever You like.'"

Srimati Radhika desired that all Her sakhis would be able to taste the happiness of Her association with Krsna.

Sri Krsna is Rasika-sekhara, the crest-jewel of heroes, and He could therefore understand the mind of Srimati Radhika. He thought, "Alone, Radhika cannot be happy with Me. She will be happy if Her sakhis can meet Me and Her there. But if all the other gopis find Me alone with Her, they will become envious and angry."

Sri Krsna was referring to the vipaksa and tatastha gopis (those gopis who are opposed and neutral to Srimati Radhika), and Radhika was referring to Her svapaksa sakhis (those gopis who are in Her party and who only desire Her happiness).

At that time He considered, "They will all return to their homes out of anger, and there will be no rasa dance. My desire will not be fulfilled, nor will the desire of Srimati Radhika or any other gopi; we will all be cheated of rasa-lila."

Now at Her home in Yavat, Srimati Radharani continued speaking to Krsna disguised as a heavenly damsel, "What is the necessity of rasa-lila? Krsna desired it, and therefore He called all the gopis with His flute music. So He considered, 'I will leave Radharani for a moment. During that time, when all the other gopis come and see Her condition, they will weep and feel great sympathy for Her. Then, when I return there will be rasa-lila. My desire will be fulfilled, Radharani's desire will be fulfilled and everyone's desire will be fulfilled.' That is why Krsna's leaving Me during rasa-lila is not a fault of His, but a quality.

[At this time Srila Narayana Maharaja paused from speaking on Sri Prema-samput. He requested Sripad Muni Maharaja to sing a few verses from Sri Gita-govinda, and then he explained one of the verses as follows:] It was morning. Sri Krsna was late for His meeting with Srimati Radhika, and She had become sulky. She told Him with some sarcasm, "Oh Krsna, You are so beautiful. By Your sidelong glance You can take the hearts of all gopis. Oh Madhava, Oh Kesava, this is really so." She addressed Him by two of His names – Madhava and Kesava. [Madhava means Husband of the Goddess of Fortune. Kesava means one who has beautiful, wavy hair, or one who decorated the beautiful hair of Srimati Radhika.] She told Him, "Oh You who previously decorated My hair – that very Kesava. Oh Madhava, beloved of all – not only Laksmi. You should at once go away. Don't tell lies. I know everything, for Your body is telling everything. You should go to that gopi who can take away all Your disease of kama (transcendental lust). Why have You come to Me? Oh, I see that you have not slept the entire night. Your eyes tell this, because they are reddish. And You look somewhat drowsy."

[Srila Narayana Maharaja now resumed the topic of Sri Prema-samput:] You should hear this – that which you have never heard before in your life and that which you may never hear for the rest of your life. Hear this very patiently. Then, making this the object of your life, come down from there to sraddha (initial faith) and nistha (steadiness in the devotional process). Starting the day after tomorrow, I will tell you how to achieve this object.

Why did Krsna disappear from the rasa dance? He could understand that all the gopis had a false conception of themselves; thinking that they were as qualified and fortunate as Srimati Radhika. Srimati Radhika also had an angry mood – a sulky mood towards Krsna. She was thinking, "Why is He treating Me the same as the others?"

Therefore, in order to break the false pride of the other gopis, and to please Radhika and break Her sulky mood, Krsna left the rasa arena. He wanted to show the world that Radhika is the topmost gopi. If He had not disappeared, how would the world come to know this? Krsna showed that "among everyone, only Srimati Radhika can completely fulfill My desire."

Tomorrow we will go to Seva-kunja, the place where Lord Sri Krsna performed the pastime of breaking Radhika's sulky mood. Then we will go to Sringara-vata, where He pacified Her by decorating Her. Then finally, we will go to Dhira-samira, the place of rasa-lila.

Thus, as explained by Srimati Radhika, by Sri Krsna's pastime of disappearing, all the other gopis could understand that Her prema is the highest.

Now the disguised Krsna criticized Himself by saying, "Krsna is a very bad person. He killed a lady, He killed a cow, He killed a calf and He killed an innocent snake."

Srimati Radhika replied, "No, it is not like that. Aristasura looked like a bull, but he was not a bull; he was a demon in disguise. Bakasura was not a crane but a demon, and the snake Aghasura was Sin personified. Vatsasura was not an innocent calf, he was also a demon; and Putana was a man-eating witch. In order to protect saintly persons, Lord Visnu entered the body of Krsna and killed those demons. Krsna Himself never killed anyone.

Hearing this, the disguised Krsna became astonished and said, "Oh Radharani, the symptoms of prema described by You are present completely in You alone. I could not understand any of this before, but now I can understand. To the beloved, the faults of the lover are not faults; they are simply qualities."

Endnote 1:
atmendriya-priti-vancha--tare bali 'kama'
krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare 'prema' nama
["The desire to gratify one's own senses is kama , but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krsna is prema ." (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 4.165 – translation by Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja)]

Endnote 2:
Excerpt from Srila Narayana Maharaja's commentary on verse 19 of Gopi-gita (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.31.19):
The gopis weep while singing their very sweet songs. Yat te sujata-caranamburuham stanesu. "Oh, we very carefully and gently hold Your lotus feet on our heart."
"Why your heart?" Krsna asks.
"Because this is the best part of our entire body. If someone has something valuable, he wants to keep it on his heart."
Krsna is the life of their life. Dhrtasavas in the first sloka and bhavad-ayusam in the last means "You are our life. Every part of You is our life. Your feet are our life, Your face is our life, Your hands, head and everything about you is our life. We want to keep our life in our heart, and we want to serve it very gently.
"You run here and there on the rough paths in Vrndavana, full of pebbles, thorns and stone chips."
Srila Jiva Gosvami explains there is no need for anxiety because Vrnda-devi has arranged that there are actually no thorns or pebbles. Nothing is wrong. Vrndavana is not a desert or hilly place; it has very gentle terrain. However, it is the nature of any lover that out of concern for her beloved she does not acknowledge this.
Krsna may ask, "Why are you worried about My walking in the forest of Vrndavana?" The gopis reply, "Your lotus feet are so soft – more soft than any lotus. We have realization of this. We keep Your feet in our hands and take them on our very soft breasts. But when we compare the two, we see that Your lotus feet are a million times more gentle, sweet, and soft than our breasts. Our breasts are not rough and hard like the pebbles and thorns in the forest, yet in comparison to Your lotus feet they are not very soft. We therefore hold Your feet there very gently and carefully, so that You will have no pain."
Krsna says, "If you know that in comparison to My feet your breasts are rough, why do you try to keep them there?"
"Oh beloved, we know that if we keep them on our breast You will feel great bliss. We are unhappy to do this. However, knowing that You are receiving pleasure, we forget our suffering and we are also immersed in an ocean of happiness. If we see You get a little pleasure in our behavior or by anything else we do or say, we become filled with ever-increasing happiness."

Editorial Advisors: Sripad Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanatha dasa
Translator: Sripad Damodara Maharaja
Editor: Syamarani dasi
Transcriber: Vasanti dasi
Typist: Janaki dasi

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Experience An India Yoga Odyssey

Dennis — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:20:02 GMT

Experience a Transforming India YOGA Odyssey
(February 21 to March 6, 2008)

Just imagine your airplane touching down at the India airport of your choice – Mumbai or Ahmadabad – on Thursday, February 21, 2008. Awaiting you at the airport is your guide, who will escort you by rail or taxi to your hotel accommodations in Surat City, Gujarat State. You will have arrived just in time to take in the World Yoga Championships, either as a participant or as a spectator. If anyone wishes to participate in the Championships the necessary registration forms can be downloaded at www.lifemission.org. The Championships run from February 22 though February 24. (The Championships were primarily founded as a means for encouraging youth worldwide to engage themselves in the ageless science of yoga for the betterment of body, mind and spiritual development in similar fashion that society worldwide encourages youth to participate in common sporting events.)

Following the Championships, you will be escorted to Malav Ashram for a five night stay, which includes three days of “hands on” yogic training under the expert guidance of Acharya Yogendradev, who has taught in North America, Taiwan, and India

And now – the Tours – you will tour the historic spiritual pilgrimage site of Kayavarohan and visit the Brahmeshwar Temple of Lord Lakulish (the 28th incarnation of Lord Shiva). You will spend 5 nights at a beautiful oceanside resort near the city of Div, overlooking the Indian Ocean with its miles of sandy beaches, and visit surrounding points of interest including the renowned Somnath Temple; a lion wildlife reserve, an ayurvedic clinic of a renowned ayurvedic physician where you will be able to observe the natural preparation of ayurvedic medicines and receive a free medical check-up. You will also have the opportunity to visit the temple complex at Rajrajeshwardham, where Lord Lakulish materialized in his divine body on January 29, 2007. Then – another great grace awaits you – you will have the rare opportunity of having darshan with the highly advanced yogi, Swami Rajarshi Muni.*

Now your yoga trip is reaching its end – on March 6, you will be escorted by your guide to your departure airport for your trip home – to reflect on and absorb your many yoga experiences of the past 2 weeks; the multitudes of wondrous Indian sites you've seen; the unmatched hospitality of its people and the many lasting new friendships you've made.

The cost per participant is $ 695.00 USD. This price does not include your transportation costs to and from India, which is entirely your responsibility, as are any required passports, visas etc. This price does include designated tour accommodations and meals in India, and all ground transportation to the Championships and touring sites in India, as well as ground transportation to and from airports at Mumbai or Ahmedabad. Any profits after all costs have been met will be directed to projects for the poor, including schools and hospitals. For further information, go to www.lifemission.org, or email: Acharya Yogendradev, ggvaghela@yahoo.com; or Dennis Konchak, lifema@telus.net; or Hans Splinter, Hsplinter@cogeco.ca.

* Swami Rajarshi Muni is the author of a vast library of nearly 100 titles in four different languages, including ten books in English. Some of the English titles are: Classical Hatha Yoga, Divine Body Through Yoga; Tenets for the Spiritual Life; Infinite Grace (The Story of My Spiritual Lineage), Awakening the Life Force, and Light from Guru to Disciple. For more information, check the Life Mission website www.lifemission.org and www.amazon.com under Rajarshi Muni

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Lakulish Yogasan Championships 2008: Feb. 22; 23; & 24th, - City of Surat, Gujarat State, India

Dennis — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:00:08 GMT

For details and application forms, please refer to: http://www.lifemission.org/ and under "New" go to item #4 and click on "World Open Yogasan Championships".

Please note, to optimize your India trip and your experience of Lakulish Yoga you could attend or participate in the Yogasan Championships and also take in the 3 week Certificate Yoga Training Course being offered at Swami Rajarshi Muni's Malav Ashram from January 30 -February 20th. For details on the training go to http://www.lifemission.org/ and under "New" click on item # 5 " "Overseas Students Annual Yoga Certificate Training Program"

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New Vraja

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 05:56:15 GMT

is anyone on here involved in the new vraja festival planning, I am wanting to become involved as I love the festival but am concerned about the amount of waste that is produced.

posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 9 replies

Do you have a question about Gurudeva?

George — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:37:59 GMT

If so I will try and do my best to answer something. I am limited in my understanding but I have heard from Gurudeva enough that I might be able to give some basics about him, who lives and preaches in line with sastra.

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Live at Rath Jatra, Festival of Chariots at Puri

Syama_Das — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 10:03:54 GMT

Live at Rath Jatra, Festival of Chariots at Puri

http://rathjatra.nic.in/

I had to use Internet Explorer to watch (mozilla wouldn't work)

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Badger Festival with Srila Gurudeva

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:19:06 GMT

Hare Krsna,
My dandavat pranams to everyone! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga! All glories to Sri Sri Radha Govinda!
Our family has been living in the Badger area since 1996 and have had the fortune to be with Srila Gurudeva since his first US tour. The festivals in Badger are wonderful. How many of you have been or will be coming this year? It would be nice to meet you if you come up to the festival. If you don't have the information please go to Purebhakti.com for all the details
http://www.purebhakti.com/

Hope to see you there,
Aspiring to serve Sri Guru & the Vaisnavas
Govindarupini dd

posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 5 replies

WHO CAN YOU TRUST?

Syama_Das — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:51:16 GMT

In this world we trust various persons. In the transcendental world – in other words, regarding transcendental subject matters – whom should we trust? We cannot see the transcendental world by our eyes, and we cannot touch it with any of our senses. So how can we have an idea of the transcendental world, and how can we decide who the Supreme Personality of Godhead is? We have seen the body, but we have not seen the soul.

How can we trust that there is a God from whom this creation has come, and that is He controlling the entire world? We cannot control the world, and we cannot see our soul. Even though God is here in this world, we do not see Him.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained that all of our senses are imperfect. Therefore, we cannot believe the information given by our senses regarding anything we see before us. Our eyes cannot see our own eyes nor can they see what is inside our body. Our eyes cannot see the soul inside the body. Our material senses have some power, but they are limited. Therefore, especially regarding to transcendental subject matters, we cannot trust our senses.

We see that so many people take birth daily, and thousands upon thousands are dying daily. Who is controlling this? Sea waves are coming on time, the sun is rising at the exact time, and new days come regularly, on time. So, everything is controlled. We are not controlling this, so who is controlling?

God is called the Creator: G-generator, O – Operator, and D – destroyer of this world. We do not see Him, so what is the proof that there is a God? What is the proof that there are unlimited souls? These senses cannot help us regarding transcendental matters. Our seeing, our touching, and all of our sensory information are defective.

Srila Jiva Gosvami states that only transcendental words are to be trusted. They can show the real path and what they tell is the truth. These transcendental words have been discussed in the Vedas (the most ancient of all revealed scriptures), Upanisads, and especially the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Transcendental knowledge is present there, so we must trust the words of the Vedas.

Suppose a man says that we can trust what we can see. He may say, “We cannot believe anything that we cannot see.” But there are so many things we trust that are beyond our seeing power.

Once, when my Gurudeva was riding with me on a train, an officer approached and asked him, “Do you believe in God?”

Guru Maharaja replied, “Yes.”

The officer said, “Why? I don't believe in God because I don't see Him. I can only trust something if my eyes can see it.”

Gurudeva at once replied, “This is not true. You believe so many things that you have not seen. Can you say who your father is?”

The officer said, “Yes,” and the man told the name of his father.

Gurudeva asked, “How do you know that this person is your father? Do you have any proof?'

The officer began to look this way and that, realizing that he had no proof. At the time his father and mother were meeting, he had not taken birth, so he had not seen his father then. His mother had told him, “He is your father.” On this proof he could say, “He is my father.” If our mother tells a lie, we have no other recourse. We trust that our mother will not lie.

The words of the Vedas are more trustworthy than those of our mother, father or anyone else. A mother can tell a lie, but transcendental words cannot tell lies. Everything has been told in the Vedas, especially in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, so it is the supreme evidence.

Sometimes we can only speculate about what the eyes are seeing, but if the eyes see according to the Vedas – if they follow the words of the Vedas – then there may be some trust. Otherwise you cannot trust them.

For example, from a distant place we might see someone coming, and we think that person is our father. But then, as he comes closer, we may see that it is not actually our father, but a person who resembles him. So the eyes are not evidence. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the evidence, as well as the Vedas and Upanisads.

Then the officer asked, “Who is God?”

Gurudeva replied, “Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

The officer asked, “Why?”

Guru Maharaja replied, “Somewhere it is said that God has no form, no attributes, and no qualities; but the Vedas tell us that He has form and so many qualities.

If God has no form, then from where did this world come? The world is full with so many forms. ‘Something’ cannot come from ‘nothing’. Therefore God must have a form, and His form is the most beautiful. There is no one as beautiful as Him. Krsna has all varieties of good qualities. For example, He is so merciful. If God is not merciful, how can He know our difficulties, sorrows and sufferings and how can He help us? God is the embodiment of love and affection. If He were not so, then what is the use of such a God? If He cannot help us in our miseries and love us, then what is the use of that God? There would be no use. God can generate and regulate everything and destroy the whole world in a moment, and He can create millions of worlds, suns, and moons in a second. Therefore, He must be so powerful. We cannot do as He does.

Srila Jiva Gosvami tells us that: we are not this body, we are the soul inside the body. We are captured in a jail; in a cage. Although we do not want to become old and die, we are bound to become old – if we don’t die in youth. Our hair will be white, our eyesight will become weak, and the day will come when we are not able to walk without a stick. Then, one day we will have to give up this body.

Within this body there is a transcendental person who is never born and never becomes old or dies. He never becomes a child, a youth or an old person. He is the controller of the entire world and all other souls. He is God. He never dies. He never changes His position. He is almighty, He knows past, present and future. He is omniscient. He can do anything He likes, and He is also very merciful – causelessly merciful.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained that God is omnipotent. All powers or potencies are eternally invested in Him.

When He is with His supreme intrinsic internal potency (svarupa-sakti) – His power who lives within Him, He can create millions of worlds, He can play anywhere and He can do anything. That svarupa-sakti is also called antaranga-sakti (internal potency). By the arrangement of that svarupa-sakti and all His qualities, He manifests as plenary portions and parts of plenary portions of Himself, and those expansions are called svamsa. Svamsa means ‘plenary expansion’ and some examples of such plenary expansions or incarnations are Rama, Balarama, and Nrsingha.

When He is with His marginal energy (tatastha-sakti), that part of Him is called vibhinamsa-jiva, or the soul within us.

We are part and parcel of God, but now we have forgotten Him, and that is why another of His potencies, maya, has taken us to this world and has covered our souls. We have forgotten who we are and who is God, and we are now in an endless chain of birth, death, sorrow and suffering. Because of this forgetfulness, no one in this world is happy. We are not serving God or desiring His mercy, and we are not coming out of His deluding potency maya. That is why we are always suffering.

In this world you can scrutinize and see that even emperors, chief ministers and presidents are all suffering. Even if you have some happiness in youth, still there are so many problems. One day we will surely have to give up this body. Even if we are not able to say whether God is real or not, we can very easily say that death is true. No one can deny this – even people who do not believe in God. Everyone is bound to say, “Death is sure”. All sufferings are real, but we don't know why we are suffering. We are like animals – always quarreling, always eating, sleeping, mating and defending. We think that we will be happy by this, but we cannot.

Srila Jiva Gosvami tells us that all those in all species, such as humans, demigods, animals, birds, fish, trees, creepers – those who have sense of feeling sorrow and happiness – all are souls like us, although other species are somewhat more covered by the material modes of nature.

Among all these species, a human body has special qualities. If someone calls you, you hear and come. You can see your future. Animals don’t see their future. Or, they can see very little.

Some animals, like monkeys, donkeys, and cows, can see their very near future; not more. Suppose there are many cows or goats being taken to a slaughter house. As they are approaching the moment of death, if you give them grass, they will quarrel over it: “I will take it!” “No, I will take it!” They cannot understand that they are about to reach the slaughterhouse. In this human body, we can think about these things. We can think further into the future.

Thinking about the future, some humans make bombs. They think, “We will destroy others and control others, and then we will be happy.” Others are thinking, “No, this will not make us happy.” How can we become happy? Only by realizing who we are as spirit souls, where we have come from, and where we must go after death.

We may wonder why a person takes birth as a daughter or son of the prime minister of Australia and, at the next moment, another person is taking birth in a very poor family. Why is one born very beautiful and another is born lame? Why will a particular poor man later become a prime minister or president? A wise, intelligent man realizes the reasons, and thus the human form is supreme among all species. In this human body, if we are not thinking about topics such as: “Why am I suffering?” “Why am I moving toward death?” “Who am I,” and “Who is God?” then we are no better than a two-legged animal. In this case, there is no difference between an animal and a human birth.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained that all humans, trees, creepers, and animals have some sense of gratification, and they all have some love and affection. Suppose you sweetly call a dog. “Come on, come on,” and show him love, he will come, wagging his tail. If there is love in you and you show and feel that love, then even if a tiger or a lion comes, he will not be ferocious. Everywhere there is love and affection – even in trees. They also have feelings.

Our religion is love and affection, and God is the embodiment of love and affection. He is very merciful, and He has all kinds of powers. We are His parts and parcels. If you realize this fact, surely you will escape the chain of sorrow and suffering.

This is bhakti-yoga.

If you practice bhakti-yoga, the maintenance of your life and family will somehow automatically come, from previous births’ karma. Test it. If you sit in your room for seven or eight days, or one month, chanting, “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,” you will see that you are being maintained, even though you are not doing anything for it. Even after a hundred years, until death, all your necessities will come. We should trust in this principle. While we are in this human form of life, we should try to know who we really are.

There are persons in this world who know these things, who have realization of the soul and God, and who have some link with God. By their own practice they can show you this path, and by way of practice, you can also have some realization. Such a teacher is called acarya, guru, or holy spiritual master. Such a guru will never fall. We should try to associate with him.

Srila Jiva Gosvami’s spiritual master, Srila Rupa Gosvami, has written that we can thus reach perfection in this human body.

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-
sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat
tato nistha rucis tatah

athasaktis tato bhavas
tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah
pradurbhave bhavet kramah

["In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Krsna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life." (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.4.15-16)]

There is a God, we are parts and parcels of God, and we must serve Him. The desire or tendency to serve Him is called sraddha, and it comes by the association of a pure devotee. If we desire to serve Godhead, but after sometime we have no association with advanced devotees, that desire will dry up. This is going on nowadays. We see so many devotees who had sraddha, and after that came to take initiation and engage in devotional service (bhajana-kriya) and bhajana-sadhana (hearing, chanting about, and remembering the Supreme Lord). However, because there was no good association, their sraddha began to dry up. Although they were approaching the stage of the second-class or intermediate devotee (madhyama-adhikari), and they even entered brahmacarya and the renounced order – from there they began to fall. They can be likened to a tree or creeper; after the sprouts develop some leaves, due to not getting water they will die. Therefore, we should try to always be in good association.

No mundane society can give Truth. However, if in society there are some good preachers like Srila Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja or Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, we can associate with them. After they left the vision of this world, the disciplic line of spiritual preceptors was still there; but the so-called followers are not true followers. They are hankering after the three W’s – wealth, women, and wine – and they will surely fall down.

We should try to know all these principles of devotion and gradually practice bhakti-yoga. If we are not practicing bhakti-yoga, we are animals like hogs or asses. Now you see that throughout the world, leaders and others are quarreling with each other like animals. Animals fight with nails and teeth, but these two legged animals create atom bombs and destroy millions of lives. They are more cruel-hearted than animals. They cannot control their senses, but they want to control the entire world.

Somehow maintaining our lives, we should therefore try to follow the doctrines of Krsna Consciousness and be happy forever. We should try for this.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained that there are three realms. One is the transcendental world, one is the innumerable souls, and one is the millions of material worlds. Everything is beyond matter in the transcendental world. There is no birth, death or suffering there.

There are two kinds of souls. One kind pertains to those who are liberated and serve God in the transcendental world of Vaikuntha (the spiritual planets where there is no anxiety); and they are all happy there. The other kind pertains to those who have forgotten God, and they are called conditioned souls. We are all conditioned souls. Our souls are covered with worldly elements like earth, water, fire, air and ether. Our bodies consist of these five elements. When one dies, then by burning or putting one’s body in a grave, the five elements of one’s body return to their original forms. But the soul never dies or takes birth.

Souls are in some ways the same as, and in some ways different from, God. As God has a beautiful body and so many powers and He tastes and has so many good qualities, souls also have beautiful bodies and so many good qualities. The difference between God and the souls is that God is infinite whereas souls are infinitesimal. The tiny souls cannot create worlds and they cannot control, but God can control everything. He is the master of maya (the deluding energy of this world). We souls undergo so many changes, but the Supreme Lord and His various incarnations are beyond maya. They do not come under control of the deluding energy of maya and are never unhappy.

Conditioned souls, those who forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead and misuse their independence, come to this world thinking, “I am this body, I am the doer of all things, I am the controller, I am the taster.” This is the symptom of conditioned souls. This world is made of five elements; earth, air, fire, water and ether. All souls have come from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and this world has also emanated from His power.

There are two kinds of powers: svarupa sakti or Yogamaya; and Mahamaya. Durga and Kali are the personalities of Mahamaya. They can create this world, but they cannot create souls. Souls are eternal; they are like God in that way. Souls are eternal, but when they forget the Supreme Personality of Godhead and desire their own happiness, they think, “I can do this and that.” They do not admit that they need God, and at that time maya takes them. In this way, there is some difference and some non-difference between God and the souls.

This world has also emanated from His illusory maya, so it also has some difference and non-difference from Him. The ancient Vedic scriptures state: Sakti-saktimator abhedah – there is no difference between the potent and potency. This philospohy is called acintya-bhedabheda tattva, or ‘inconceivable, simultaneous difference and non-difference’.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained these principles very well. No other acarya, not even Ramanujacarya or Madhavacarya, were able to give such explanations. How did Jiva Gosvami realize these topics? He did so by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, in the form of a Guru in this world. Mahaprabhu explained these teachings to Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, and Srila Jiva Gosvami learned it from Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya’s disciple, Madhusudana Vacaspati He also studied various Vedic scriptures, after which he compiled Sat-Sandarbha. Therein he explained all philosophical truths. We cannot know these truths by reading books alone. We have to hear all these topics from pure devotees.

Srila Jiva Gosvami has also explained that we cannot know or realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead or our own soul by worldly knowledge, or by any knowledge, or by yoga such as astanga-yoga, or by austerities or by giving donations. Only by the practice of pure bhakti-yoga can we know.

You should understand that if God has no form, this world and all souls could not exist. It is told in the Bible – not only in Indian scriptures – that God created man after His own image. If God has no shape or form, then how can He create human bodies? It is not only stated in Indian scriptures and the Bible, but also in the Koran: “Inallah kalaka mein suratihi – Hoda (or Allah) has created human bodies similar to His own form.” If this were not so, then why has it been written in the Koran? God has a form and He is very merciful. We should try to trust Him.

We can become attached to God through bhakti-yoga, whereas we cannot do so by knowledge. We can understand this by an example: I may say, “By drinking water, we can quench our thirst.” If we do not drink water, our thirst will not leave simply by this knowledge. We must drink a glass of water, and then our thirst will go. Suppose you are hungry; you need food. I will tell you that by eating chapatis, rice, bread, butter, and some sweets, your hunger will go away. I am telling you this, but this knowledge alone will not give you foodstuffs. So, knowledge cannot do anything by itself. Bhakti is a practical activity, and by practicing it you will realize all knowledge.

What is bhakti? In its beginning it is called sadhana-bhakti, and then it becomes bhava-bhakti. Then, when it reaches its purest state, in its own constitutional form, it is called prema-bhakti.

We all have some affection and love in us. If a beautiful young girl and boy see each other, they will want to love each other. After that they are bound by marriage. Then, if after some time in marriage they quarrel, they will become divorced, and they will try to fulfill their desires again by taking another wife or husband.

If we are not happy in our householder life, we can have a dog. We say, “We can trust dogs.” Wives and husbands may divorce us, but dogs do not divorce. So we think we can trust in dogs.

Still, after some time, we see that the dog is dead. So there is nothing in this world that we can factually love. The only object of love is God. We are asraya, the abode of that love, but at present our love is impure and selfish. We love our very beautiful wife – if she serves and obeys us. If she has a bank account in her own name, if she is always quarreling, and if she is in love with another person, we will be upset.

In this body, our love and affection is not pure. It is amalgamated with selfishness. However, by chanting the name of Godhead, regularly hearing about Him and associating with realized Vaisnavas (devotees of Krsna), these devotees will tell you something about the process of bhakti-yoga and how you can develop this love and affection to Godhead. Vaisnavas are the only persons who are really happy. They know what this world is. They have no attachment to this body. Somehow maintaining their life, they always chant and remember and meditate on God.

The practice of bhakti-yoga is called sadhana. When some transcendental love and affection comes by such practices, but in a crude form, with the mind and intelligence in the mode of pure goodness (sattva), this is called bhava-bhakti. In bhava-bhakti, a soul can somewhat realize Krsna-prema, as well as the way in which he can serve Krsna. Then, after some time, prema will manifest.

Prema (pure love of God) in general is one, but it is divided in five sections: santa, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya. Santa means love and affection toward God without any speciality of service. In santa -rasa one thinks, “God is great and we are His tiny parts and parcels. We should offer obeisances to Him. He is so merciful.” Santa-rasa is present when there is no worldly attachment. If worldly desires are present then one cannot have santa-rasa. Santa-rasa may come after liberation as was the case with the four Kumaras, Sanak, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanata Kumara. They had no worldly attachment, but, they also had no special kind of love and affection for God.

Next is the mood of dasya -rasa, serving God as one’s master. A devotee in dasya-rasa thinks about Krsna thus: “You are my master. You are the root of the entire universe, its creation and destruction.” Moreover, in dasya-rasa there is service, as in the case of Hanuman, who is in the ‘servitor’ mood. We can serve God like this.

Next is the mood of sakhya-rasa, serving Krsna as a friend. A devotee in sakhya-rasa thinks thus: “God is my friend.” If you think like this, you can have God as a friend and serve Him as a friend. There are two kinds of friends; friends in Ayodhya (the abode of Sri Krsna’s expansion, Lord Rama) and friends in Vraja (the abode of Sri Krsna Himself). Friends in Ayodhya have friendship, but they have some awe and reverence thinking, “God is superior to me.” Lord Rama’s associates, like Sugriva, Laksmana, and Sita, are in this group. Sri Krsna has friends in Vraja, but these friends are bosom friends. Krsna and His friends always show affection for each other on an equal level. They can sleep on the same bed. They can eat and then share their food with Krsna, and Krsna also eats and then shares His remnants with them. They do not think that Krsna is God. This is a very sweet thing.

One can also think, “Krsna is my son.” “God is my son.” [In Vraja, Krsna’s parents do not know that God is God. They only know Him as their son.] This relationship (vatsalya-rasa) is superior to even the previous relationships I have described. If we see God as a father, that would not be the same, because it is the father who serves the son. The son does not serve the father. If we want to serve God in a parental mood, we can serve Him as His own parents. The father will take that son in his lap, embrace Him and give Him sweet things. Even if the father has become old, still he will serve his son.

We should not think that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is our father. This idea opposes our desire for loving service, because if God is father He would have to serve us. We tell our father, “Oh father, give me water, give me bread and butter.” On the other hand, if we think that God is our son, then we can serve Him. This mood is called vatsalya-bhava – fatherhood or motherhood. This is even sweeter than friendship.

Superior to vatsalya-rasa is madhurya-rasa (conjugal love). Madhurya-rasa is divided into two separate moods. Those ladies who are married to Krsna as a husband, by Vedic mantra and by law, are in svakiya-bhava. Examples of this relationship are Rukmini and Satyabhama. The ladies in the other mood, unwedded or paramour love (parakiya-bhava), have no cause for their loving relation other than love and affection itself. Their supreme stage of love does not depend on whether or not there is marriage. The gopis of Vraja are the example of this.

In this connection, there was much difference of opinion among the sampradaya acaryas such as Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnusvami, Nimbaditya and Vallabhacarya. They did not accept the love of the gopis of Vraja. They only accept the love of those who have married Krsna – the love of Rukmini and Satyabhama..

In Vraja, the gopis are not married to Krsna, but they always think of their love for Him in their parakiya mood. Externally married to someone else, from birth and forever the gopis are always thinking of Krsna as their beloved. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the pure devotees in His line, like Sri Madhavendra Puri, Sri Isvarapuri-pada and others like them, brought the knowledge of parakiya-rasa from Goloka Vrndavana. The other sampradaya acaryas do not accept this.

During Srila Jiva Gosvami’s time, he had two kinds of followers: those who wanted to follow the mood that God can be one’s beloved, and those in the other section who considered that only wedded love is okay. Those in the second section thought, “Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How can He transgress the rules of sastra (the scriptures). I cannot accept that. He would not do such a thing.”

These were Srila Jiva Gosvami’s two kinds of disciples.

Sri Krsna has come in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, having taken the beauty and intrinsic mood of Srimati Radhika. In that form He has preached in this world through kirtana, the chanting of God’s holy names: “Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ultimately came to teach the path of spontaneous devotion (raganuga-bhakti). For those disciples who were high-class Vaisnavas following raganuga-bhakti, Srila Jiva Gosvami wrote one type of literature, and for the other group he wrote another. He wanted to gradually bring those in the second group to the stage of understanding the paramour mood, the love between Krsna and the gopis.

After the disappearance of Jiva Goswami, there was a dispute among his disciples as to whether svakiya-bhava or parakiya-bhava was superior. They saw a difference between the two, although really there was no difference. Jiva Gosvami has taught svakiya mood from the angle of tattva (philosophical truth). By philosophical consideration, everything and everyone has come from Krsna, so there is no one who is parakiya (belonging to another). The gopis are manifestations of His svarupa-sakti, Srimati Radhika. They are not different from Srimati Radhika. So in that sense there is no parakiya – all are svakiya. *[See endnote 1]

Srila Visvantha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami accepted and explained parakiya by lila (pastimes) or by rasa-tattva, the consideration of transcendental mellows. So, both are right. Jiva Gosvami has accepted the statement from Srimad-Bhagavatam below, and this has also been explained by Rupa Gosvami:

pati-sutanvaya-bhratr-bandhavan
ativilanghya te ’nty acyutagataù
gati-vidas tavodgita-mohitah
kitava yositah kas tyajen nisi

[Dear Acyuta, You know very well why we have come here. Who but a cheater like You would abandon young women who come to see Him in the middle of the night, enchanted by the loud song of His flute? Just to see You, we have completely rejected our husbands, children, ancestors, brothers and other relatives. (Gopi-gita verse 16)]

na paraye 'ham niravadya-samyujam
sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah
ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah
samvrscya tad vah pratiyatu sadhuna

“I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are extremely difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.32.22)]

The mood of parakiya is very distinct and prominent in so many verses of Srimad-Bhagavatam. There must be parakiya in Goloka Vrndavana, otherwise how would it come to manifest in Krsna’s prakata-lila (those pastimes that are manifest in this world) in Vraja? There is only a difference of opinion in the thinking of some of Jiva Gosvami’s disciples, but actually there is no difference. There are so many things to explain, but now it is late.

We should adopt bhaki-yoga; it is very easy to do. You can chant the name of God in the day or in the night, whether you are Hindu, Muslim or Christian, or from any religion. Even animals can hear when you chant loudly, and they can also be liberated. You can chant the name of Hare Krsna if you are poor, and you can chant if you are rich. You can chant after bathing or without having had a bath at all, with or without meals, sitting or standing, or in any condition. There is no dependence on wealth or situation. The Hare Krsna Mantra is the essence of all Vedic scriptures. We should therefore try to chant, “Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

We have invented divisions thinking, “This is India, this is America, this is Australia,” and we make passports and visas. But God is one without a second. God is One, and we can chant to Him and pray to Him to be merciful to us. This chanting of the holy name is the supreme process for perfection of life, so we should try to practice chanting.

The End

[Endnote 1: “Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, in their commentaries on Sri Ujjvala-Nilamani, have presented detailed deliberations on svakiya and parakiya. Both conclusions are appropriate in their respective places. The only difference is their angle of vision. Srila Jiva Gosvami has favored svakiya from the perspective of tattva, whereas Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has supported parakiya-bhava from the viewpoint of lila.” (Raga-vartma-candrika, p 93-94)

“It is an established truth that the gopis are Krsna’s svarupa-sakti, extensions of His personal power; hence, they are Krsna’s svakiya, unquestionably His own. [sva means ‘own’, and para means ‘other’.] There is no possibility of their being anyone else’s wives. Still, we see that in prakiya-lila, the gopis do appear to be the wives of others, but this is only an implicit conviction created by Yogamaya.

There is a secret meaning in the statement of Sri Jiva Gosvami, which, if brought to light, will automatically dispel all types of doubts. The revered Sri Jiva Gosvami, the foremost follower of Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, is the tattvacarya of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. Furthermore, in Krsna-lila he is a manjari. Therefore, there is no secret truth that is unknown to him. Those who do not understand his esoteric intentions raise arguments accepting and rejecting his ideas by presenting their own concocted interpretations. According to Sri Rupa-Sanatana’s vision, there is no difference between parakiya- and svakiya pastimes – they are identical.” (Raga-vartma-candrika, p 95-96)]

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George — Wed, 16 May 2007 20:36:16 GMT

Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja
Pass Time in Pastimes
spoken: January 16, 2007: Kona, Hawaii

We discussed the birth of Sri Krsna, He who is certainly the son of Yasoda. He is partly the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, but fully the son of Yasoda. After He took birth, His father Nanda Baba went to Mathura to pay taxes to Kamsa, the King of Surasena-pradesh in Mathura. Then at night, after paying the tax, he went to meet Vasudeva.

Vasudeva told Nanda Baba, “I am happy that you have a son in your old age. Now go at once to Vraja. Don’t delay. There are many demons moving about, here and there, and anything dangerous may happen.”

Nanda Baba left very soon after that, and on the way to Vraja he prayed to Lord Narayana, “Please save my boy.”

When he reached his house he saw that a demoness was lying dead nearby. She was Putana, a friend of Kamsa who had had the power of ten thousand elephants, and who now looked like a very large hill.

On the advice of her friend Kamsa, Putana had been wondering here and there with the purpose of killing all the babies who had been born within the previous ten days.

You should know that wherever devotees are speaking hari-katha and glorifying hari-katha among each other, no ghost, witch, or demon can be present. Krsna only wanted to enjoy some sweet pastimes, and that is why Yogamaya, Sri Krsna’s desire potency, had arranged for Putana to come to Vrndavana. Although no demons can enter Vrndavana, still, Putana, Trnavarta, Sakatasura, Aghasura, Bakasura and many other demons were sent there. Why? In order to renew the love and affection of the gopis, Nanda Baba, Yasoda devi, and the other Vrajavasis for Krsna.

Thus, by the arrangement of Yogamaya, Putana had gone to Vrndavana at night, in a very beautiful form. Her waist was thin, and it seemed as if a Gandharva, or Laxmi or Sarasvati, had come to see Krsna. She went directly into the house of Mother Yasoda, where Yasoda and Rohini were lovingly caressing Krsna. They saw that very beautiful ‘devi’ and did not think to stop her. She at once approached Krsna, saying, “My darling little boy, my dear boy,” and she placed Him on her lap.

Krsna closed His eyes at this time. Why? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has explained five reasons. When a baby sits on the lap of his mother and drinks her breast milk, her lap becomes a very happy place for playing. Then, when an unknown person comes, the baby closes his eyes. Secondly, although Putana had come in a very beautiful form, she came to kill Krsna by giving Him poison. He therefore closed His eyes, thinking, “I don’t want to see this inauspicious lady.” She came to kill all the babies of the Vrajavasis and, by the potency of Yogamaya, she came first to the home of Nanda Baba. She had not yet gone to other places. Now she took Krsna in her lap, and Krsna saw this as inauspicious. Therefore, He closed His eyes.

If one is in Sri Krsna’s presence, no maya or hypocrisy can remain with that person. It will at once disappear. If Krsna had looked at Putana, maya would have disappeared. The gigantic form of Putana would have been disclosed, and Mother Yasoda and the Vrajavasis would have understood the true situation.

Because Putana came in the form of a mother, saying, “Oh my dear son, my dear darling boy,” Krsna did not want to give her pain and make her cry. He thought, “When I suck out her life and she begins to die, she will suffer tremendously. I cannot bear to do this.”

Putana said, “Oh darling baby, they are really not Your mothers. How could they have left You here alone?” She took Krsna in her arms and gave Him her breast-milk. Krsna closed His eyes and sucked out her poison, and with that He sucked out her life. Thus, Putana could no longer maintain her maya form. Krsna was holding her breasts tightly with His feet and mouth, and while he was sucking, she became twelve miles long.

Thinking, “My brother can save me,” she wanted to return to Kamsa, but Krsna did not allow that. He told her, “I cannot give you up. Since you came to Me in Vraja, how can I give you up?”

putana loka-bala-ghni
raksasi rudhirasana
jighamsayapi haraye
stanam dattvapa sad-gatim

[“Putana was always hankering for the blood of human children, and with that desire she came to kill Krsna; but because she offered her breast to the Lord, she achieved the greatest attainment.” (SB 10.6.35)]

Putana then fell down – not on any cow or Vrajavasi, but on the trees of Kamsa’s garden nearby, where beautiful mangos were growing – and everything there was crushed. All the Vrajavasis had followed her, and now they came near and saw that Krsna was saved and still playing on her breast. They took Him to Mother Yasoda, who called all the brahmanas.

Then, with a black cow’s urine and dung, they began to bathe (abhiseka) Krsna. Holding and placing the tail of the cow on different parts of Krsna’s body, they uttered special mantras for His protection.

avyad ajo ’nghri manimams tava janv athoru
yajno ’cyutah kati-tatam jatharam hayasyah
hrt kesavas tvad-ura isa inas tu kantham
visnur bhujam mukham urukrama isvarah kam
cakry agratah saha-gado harir astu pascat
tvat-parsvayor dhanur-asi madhu-hajanas ca
konesu sankha urugaya upary upendras
tarksyah ksitau haladharah purusah samantat

[Sukadeva Gosvami informed Maharaja Pariksit that the gopis, following the proper system, protected Krsna, their child, with this mantra: May Aja protect Your legs, may Maniman protect Your knees, Yajna Your thighs, Acyuta the upper part of Your waist, and Hayagriva Your abdomen. May Kesava protect Your heart, Isa Your chest, the sun-god Your neck, Visnu Your arms, Urukrama Your face, and Isvara Your head. May Cakri protect You from the front; may Sri Hari, Gadadhari, the carrier of the club, protect You from the back; and may the carrier of the bow, who is known as the enemy of Madhu, and Lord Ajana, the carrier of the sword, protect Your two sides. May Lord Urugaya, the carrier of the conchshell, protect You from all corners; may Upendra protect You from above; may Garuda protect You on the ground; and may Lord Haladhara, the Supreme Person, protect You on all sides. (SB 10.6.22-23)

indriyani hrsikesah
pranan narayano ’vatu
svetadvipa-patis cittam
mano yogesvaro ’vatu

May Hrsikesa protect Your senses, and Narayana Your life air. May the master of Svetadvipa protect the core of Your heart, and may Lord Yogesvara protect Your mind. (SB 10.6. 24)

prsnigarbhas tu te buddhim
atmanam bhagavan parah
kridantam patu govindah
sayanam patu madhavah
vrajantam avyad vaikuntha
asinam tvam sriyah patih
bhunjanam yajnabhuk patu
sarva-graha-bhayankarah

May Lord Prsnigarbha protect Your intelligence, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead Your soul. While You are playing, may Govinda protect You, and while You are sleeping may Madhava protect You. May Lord Vaikuntha protect You while You are walking, and may Lord Narayana, the husband of the goddess of fortune, protect You while You are sitting. Similarly, may Lord Yajnabhuk, the fearful enemy of all evil planets, always protect You while You enjoy life. (SB 10.6.25-26)

Mother Yasoda then began to caress Krsna.

Where devotees are reciting these beautiful pastimes, singing, dancing and glorifying Hari or any form of Krsna, or Krsna Himself, no demon or witch can come. Why, then, was Putana able to come? She came so that Krsna could play His beautiful, sweet pastimes. These narrations would then be sung everywhere in the world, and all calamities of life – the endless pain of birth and death – would disappear for the hearers. For this reason, Krsna’s Yogamaya inspired demons like her and took them to Vraja. In this way, Krsna is performing so many pastimes.

Now I want to tell you about King Puranjana, from the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. It is a very beautiful and inspiring story that Narada told to King Pracinabarhi, which reveals the nature of this world. Hearing this story will act like a powerful injection. I want this injection to be given to you all.

[Sripad Padmanabha Maharaja tells the allegorical history of King Puranjana, beginning from Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.10; and then Srila Narayana Maharaja speaks:]

When King Puranjana returned home after hunting and killing many animals, he saw that his wife was angry and not speaking to him. Then he pacified her and she told him, “You should not go anywhere without my permission. You should always be controlled by me.” Thus, time passed, and King Puranjana became one hundred years old. At that time Chandavega [*See Endnote 1], Time or Death Personified, with his entire army of thousands of diseases, attacked and defeated King Puranjana and took his life. Meditating on his wife, Puranjana became a lady in his next life.

King Puranjana had been fully absorbed in family life for many lives, and in each life Personified Time had come and ended his life. Narada Muni told King Pracinabarhisat, “Do not live your life in like way. You have enjoyed your life with wives and children in so many lives. You have been a pig, hog, and so many animal species, and you have never been satisfied. You can never be satisfied by this. This human life is very precious. Don’t lose this opportunity and don’t always be entangled in material enjoyment.”

I have told this especially to Prema-prayojana prabhu. He is my dear one. In his previous lives he has been a hog, pig, dog, etc.

All Vedas, sastras, guru-parampara, I myself, and all others will be happy if you give up all these things, come in this line, and preach my mission. The devotees want this. Come in my line and preach my mission. Our guru-parampara and Sri Sri Radha and Krsna will be happy.

You should especially remember this verse:

yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto’pi
dhyayam stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam
vande guroh sri caranaravindam

[“Only by the mercy of Sri Gurudeva can one receive the mercy of Krsna; without his grace the living entities cannot make any advancement nor be delivered. Meditating three times a day on the glories of Sri Gurudeva and reciting stava-stuti, I offer prayers unto his lotus feet.” (Sri Guruvastakam, verse 8)]

What is the meaning? If Krsna is angry, Guru can save you, but if Gurudeva is angry, Krsna cannot save you. If I am Guru, then for my satisfaction you should come again and preach, otherwise you will have to suffer and no one will be able to save you. I will not be able to save you.

[Moreover, I want to tell you something. When Sankaracharya was only seven or eight years old, he wanted to take sannyasa. He was an only child, and his mother was very attached to him. She did not want to give him permission to take sannyasa, and she made him promise not to do so. Then, with the help of mystical power, Sankaracharya arranged that a crocodile attacked him when he was bathing in the river. As the crocodile was about to swallow him, he raised his arm, looking at his mother who was standing on the shore in utter despair. He asked his mother “Please allow me to take sannyasa just now, so that I will be liberated and my life will be successful.” His mother, thinking that there was no more hope to rescue his life, agreed and gave her permission for him to take sannyasa. As soon as she gave her permission, the crocodile vanished, and Sankaracharya at once come out of the water and prepared to leave his mother. She cried, but Sankaracharya never again considered her condition. He left at once and took sannyasa. The sacred order of sannyasa is the most auspicious position, and it allows one to obtain gopi-bhava. To give up sannyasa and become entangled in household life is the most inauspicious thing that can happen to a person. (This bracketed paragraph was personally added by Srila Narayana Maharaja after this lecture was spoken. He requested that it be inserted here, for the benefit of all the readers worldwide.)]

[Srila Narayana Maharaja now resumed his discussion of Sri Krsna’s pastimes in Vraja:] Krsna began to play very sweet pastimes. After a few months, when He was a little grown, all the Vrajavasis became very happy and held many festivals. When He was about 2 ½ years old, He was bound by the rope of Mother Yasoda. I have told this pastime many times during the Kartika festival, and I also told the history of the fruit-seller many times.

After Krsna’s next birthday celebration, Nanda Baba, Abhinanda, Upananda and other elderly cowherd men held a meeting and decided. “So many demons are coming, and the grass for the cows is not growing as well as before. We should go to Vrndavana.”

Then, all the Vrajavasis crossed the Yamuna River and went to Cattikara in Vrndavana with all their cows. After they arrived, Krsna wanted to know about the residents there. He asked His mother, “Mother, who is that person who is trembling? Who is he?” Mother Yasoda replied, “This is the Pippal.tree.” [The leaves of the Pippal tree tremble –ed.] “And who is he with those long, long hairs?” “Oh, this is the banyan tree.” “And who are they who are laughing and running?” “These are deer.” In this way Krsna was learning many new things.

In order to protect their new land, the cowherd men placed their bullock carts together in a circle. They also placed many thorn bushes around the carts and all this created a protective wall.
.
Krsna was bigger now, and along with His sakhas He began to take out thousands upon thousands of calves to graze. After some time, He came to Talavana, and there Baladeva Prabhu killed the ass-demon Dhenakusara. Dhenakasura, the demon who was in the form of a donkey, represents ignorance. Dhenakasura was a foolish donkey and he was killed by Baladeva Prabhu. As Guru, Baladeva Prabhu killed ignorance.

The donkey is repeatedly kicked by the hind-legs of the she-donkey as he follows behind her. Still, even though his face is full of blood, he never give up following, Donkeys are very lusty and also very foolish.

During the summer season in India, when all grasses are dry, the donkeys graze. They walk for one or two miles, but get nothing to eat. Because they don’t see any grass, they think, “I have grazed so much.” In the rainy season, on the other hand, when there is so much grass, they walk a little forward and their stomachs are filled by that lush grass. Yet, those donkeys think, “I have hardly eaten anything.”

One thing more: the donkey carries beautiful cloths, sugar, and so many items up hills and here and there, but he cannot enjoy any of it himself.

What is ignorance? Although one knows, “Without bhakti to Krsna, I cannot be happy,” still, controlled by maya, one is engaged in sense gratification. This is ignorance. Gurudeva’s association and powerful speaking is like a sword. By that sword, Gurudeva cuts that ignorant person’s attachment to all worldly things and makes him a self-realized devotee. Not only that; Gurudeva gives that person an attainment as high as radha-dasyam, service to the lotus feet of Srimati Radhika. How fortunate you are; so don’t waste your time.

After Baladeva killed Kamsa’s associate Dhenakasura, Kamsa sent Aghasura in the form of an eight mile-long snake. Aghasura stretched his mouth open just like a mountain cave. Desiring to swallow all the boys at once, including Krsna and Balarama, he sat on the path. The demon in the shape of a large serpent expanded his jaws from land to sky; his lower lip touching the ground and his upper lip touching the clouds. His jaws appeared like a big mountain cave, without limitation, his teeth appeared just like mountain summits, and his tongue appeared to be a broad traffic-way.

The cowherd boys were thinking, “Krsna is behind and we are now here. This looks like a snake, but it is not a snake. It might be a cave. We should go inside and see what happens. Even if it is a demon, Krsna will surely save us.”

Krsna was about to warn His friends, “Don’t go, don’t go,” but they had already gone in with their calves. Aghasura wanted to swallow Krsna also, so he waited with his mouth open.

Krsna thought, “All the boys have gone inside. I must go there to save them. He then entered, and then Aghasura closed his mouth. When Krsna reached the throat of that demon, He expanded Himself and thus became very big and hot, and in this way the demon’s breath was stopped.

The demons eyes popped from his head like rasagullas. A dazzling light burst out from a hole in his skull and, flashing, went into the sky. In the meantime, Krsna came out of the demon’s mouth with all of His friends, for by His nectarean glance He had brought them all back to life. That effulgent light then entered His lotus feet, and this was seen by the demigods.

Especially Brahma saw this, and he thought, “Aghasura attained mukti, which is very rare to attain. Those who are always thinking, ‘aham brahmasmi, I am that spirit whole,’ must perform severe austerities. But Aghasura easily attained mukti.”

Brahma wanted to see more sweet pastimes of Krsna, but he thought that he could create Krsna’s pastimes himself, by his own power. He thought, “I should steal the cowherd boys and calves, and then I will see what happens.” Brahma used his own intelligence. If he would have prayed to Krsna, “Please allow me to see Your pastimes,” it would have been okay. But he did something wrong, and therefore Krsna’s Yogamaya potency covered his intelligence.

Krsna considered, “All the cows want Me to be their calves, all the elderly gopis want Me to be their sons, and the Vraja gopis want Me to be Their most beloved.” So He accomplished many tasks by this one pastime.

What did Brahma do?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja called on Prema-prayojana dasa to relate this history, and then he himself spoke again:]

You have heard the sweet pastimes of Krsna and Brahma. Baladeva wondered what had happened.*[See endnote 2] He thought, “Whose maya is this? Is this a demon’s maya? No, it cannot be so, because material maya cannot cover Me. He then asked Krsna, “What is going on?”

Krsna began to laugh and said, “Brahma wanted to see My pastimes, and also I desired to be the son of the gopis and the calves of the cows. I wanted to perform a miracle like this.”

Gargacarya had foretold, “This year is very auspicious. All fathers and mothers should marry their sons and daughters in this year.” Thus, the Vrajavasis married even those children who were in the womb. They promised each other, “If my child is a girl and your child is a boy, they will be married.” Thus, all the Vrajavasis married their daughters and sons.

But the gopas were Krsna. In this way, all the gopis were married to Krsna, a miracle that was created by Yogamaya.

Nanda Baba and Mother Yasoda-devi wanted that Srimati Radhika marry their son Krsna, and Vrsabhanu Maharaja and Kirtida-devi also wanted this. Vrsabhanu Maharaja thought, “My daughter should be married to the son of Nanda, Krsna, because there is no one more beautiful and qualified than He.”

Yogamaya saw that Krsna’s desire would not be fulfilled if He were to be married to Srimati Radhika. In marriage, a wife becomes like a servant; she is controlled by her husband. So by trick, Yogamaya changed the minds of Radha’s and Krsna’s parents’ mind, and now they thought that if Srimati Radhika would marry Krsna, there might be some problems. They now thought it would be better that She marry into a good family like that of Abhimanyu, the son of Goal-gopa and Jatila.

That marriage was performed with a shadow of Radhika, not actually with Radhika. Yogamaya created that shadow, and then Abhimanyu thought, “I am the husband of Radhika.” But he could never be so. He was a eunuch.

In this way, by the arrangement of Yogamaya, all the gopis, like Lalita and Visakha, were married to gopas in Yavat. Vrsabhanu Maharaja could not marry his daughter to Krsna, and in this way Sri Sri Radha and Krsna could remain beloveds. This is parakiya-rasa (the mood of paramour).

It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.31.16):

pati-sutanvaya-bhratr-bandhavan
ativilanghya te `nty acyutagatah
gati-vidas tavodgita-mohitah
kitava yositah kas tyajen nisi

[“Dear Krsna, we gopis have neglected the order of our husbands, sons, family, brothers and friends and have left their company to come to You. You know everything about our desires. We have come only because we are attracted by the supreme music of Your flute. But You are a great cheater, for who else would give up the company of young girls like us in the dead of night?”]

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna Himself with the beauty and intrinsic mood of Srimati Radhika. Krsna came as the son of Srimati Saci-devi and declared that the paramour mood of the gopis is the highest devotion to Sri Krsna. Paramours are banned from meeting each other, and this makes their relationship more interesting. Rukmini and Satyabhama cannot fully satisfy Krsna. They are like servants. Krsna can tell Satyabhama, “Oh, I will send you out of My palace.” In fact [as stated in Brhad-Bhagavatamrta], He told her this once in New Vrndavana.

Can He say this to Srimati Radhika? She had never taken any garments, meals, ornaments or anything else from Him. She was not supplied anything by Him. Krsna is simply controlled by Her love and affection, and that is why He told Her and the other gopis,

na paraye 'ham niravadya-samyujam
sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah
ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah
samvrscya tad vah pratiyatu sadhuna

[“I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahma. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.32.22)]

Sri Uddhava has prayed, “I want to be a blade of grass, and take the lotus dust of the gopis on my head.

vande nanda-vraja-strinam
pada-renum abhiksnasah
yasam hari-kathodgitam
punati bhuvana-trayam

[“I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the feet of the women of Nanda Maharaja's cowherd village. When these gopis loudly chant the glories of Sri Krsna, the vibration purifies the three worlds. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.47.63)]

[Question:] Why did Brahma see the cowherd boys’ expansions of Krsna in Vraja as four-armed forms of Lord Narayana?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] Brahma always worships Lord Narayana. To show that, “I am the same Narayana,” Krsna appeared in the form of Narayana, one of His vaibhava-prakasa manifestations. After that, He again assumed His original form as a cowherd boy, at which time Brahma realized, “Krsna is really the Supreme Lord.”

[Question:] What did the cowherd boys do for one year?

[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] Brahma is not able to kidnap Krsna’s cowherd boys. Krsna desired it, and Yogamaya arranged it. It was not by Brahma’s maya, but by Yogamaya, that they slept. The calves also slept. After that, when Brahma returned and Krsna gave him darsana, the boys thought, “We just fell asleep a moment ago. Where is Krsna?” Similarly Krsna was searching for them: “Oh Sridama, Oh Subala, where are you?”

[*Endnote 1: “Time is figuratively described here as Candavega. Since time and tide wait for no man, time is herein called Candavega, which means "very swiftly passing away." As time passes, it is calculated in terms of years. One year contains 360 days, and the soldiers of Candavega herein mentioned represent these days. Time passes swiftly; Candavega's powerful soldiers of Gandharvaloka very swiftly carry away all the days of our life. As the sun rises and sets, it snatches away the balance of our life-span. Thus as each day passes, each one of us loses some of life's duration. It is therefore said that the duration of one's life cannot be saved. But if one is engaged in devotional service, his time cannot be taken away by the sun. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.3.17), ayur harati vai pumsam udyann astam ca yann asau. The conclusion is that if one wants to make oneself immortal, he should give up sense gratification. By engaging oneself in devotional serv ice, one can gradually enter into the eternal kingdom of God. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.27.13 purport by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]

[*Endnote 2] Taken from Krsna , Ch. 14:
When Balarama saw this extraordinary exchange of affection between the cows and their calves and between the fathers and their children – when neither the calves nor the children needed so much care –He began to wonder why this extraordinary thing had happened. He was astonished to see all the residents of Vrndavana so affectionate to their own children, exactly as they had been to Krsna. Similarly, the cows had grown affectionate to their calves – as much as to Krsna.

Balarama therefore concluded that the extraordinary show of affection was something mystical, either performed by the demigods or by some powerful man. Otherwise, how could this wonderful change take place? He concluded that this mystical change must have been caused by Krsna, whom Balarama considered His worshipable Personality of Godhead. He thought, “It was arranged by Krsna, and even I could not check its mystic power.” Thus Balarama understood that all those boys and calves were only expansions of Krsna. Balarama inquired from Krsna about the actual situation.

He said, “My dear Krsna, in the beginning I thought that all these calves and cowherd boys were either great sages and saintly persons or demigods, but at present it appears that they are actually Your expansions. They are all You; You Yourself are playing as the calves and boys. What is the mystery of this situation? Where have those other calves and boys gone? And why are You expanding Yourself as the calves and boys? Will You kindly tell Me what is the cause?” At the request of Balarama, Krsna briefly explained the whole situation: how the calves and boys were stolen by Brahma and how He was concealing the incident by expanding Himself so people would not know that the original calves and boys were missing.]

Editorial Advisors: Sripad Madhava Maharaja and Sripad Brajanath dasa
Editor: Syamarani dasi
Transcriber and typist: Vasanti dasi
Proofreader: Krsna-kamini dasi

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posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 0 replies

Enlightenment?

sahajo — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:31:01 GMT

Is it possible for someone who is not enlightened to know for sure whether someone else is enlightened?

posted in Gurudeva... Srila Narayana - 2 replies