Tag: Srimad Bhagavatham Canto 2

Srimad Bhagavatham Canto 2 notes for HH Harivilas Maharaj’s classes.

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SB 2.9.26 & 27 Notes – 12/25/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.26 & 27:

  • The whole manifestation is the Lord Himself by diffusion of His different energies only, namely the internal, external and marginal, just as the sunlight is the manifestation of the energy of the sun planet. 
  • Such energy is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, just as the sunshine is simultaneously one with and different from the sun planet. 
  • The energies are acting by combination and permutation by the indication of the Lord, and the acting agents, like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are also different incarnations of the Lord.
  • Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. 
  • Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. 
  • Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.
  • BG 14.19- When one properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My spiritual nature.
  • One can transcend all the activities of the modes of material nature simply by understanding them properly by learning from the proper souls. 
  • The real spiritual master is Kṛṣṇa, and He is imparting this spiritual knowledge to Arjuna.
  • Similarly, it is from those who are fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that one has to learn this science of activities in terms of the modes of nature. Otherwise, one’s life will be misdirected. 
  • Unless one has the help of spiritual authority, he cannot understand in what position he is actually situated.
  • A man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not controlled by the spell of the material modes of nature. 
  • Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. 
  • Devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.
  • BG 14.20 – When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
  • When one is conscious of the material body, he acts only for sense gratification, but when one transfers the consciousness to Kṛṣṇa, sense gratification automatically stops.
  • One does not need this material body, and he does not need to accept the dictations of the material body
  • He does not desire to enjoy the body, nor does he desire to get out of it. Thus transcendentally situated, the devotee becomes automatically free. 
  • He need not try to become free from the influence of the modes of material nature.
  • When one acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kṛṣṇa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. 
  • When one applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc. – whatever he may have within his possession – to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa.
  • He is one with Kṛṣṇa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
  • All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva.
  • A person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. 
  • All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. 
  • When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ …), one’s heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

SB 2.9.26 TRANSLATION

In spite of that, my Lord, I am praying to You to kindly fulfill my desire. May I please be informed how, in spite of Your transcendental form, You assume the mundane form, although You have no such form at all.

SB 2.9.27 TRANSLATION

And [please inform me] how You, by Your own Self, manifest different energies for annihilation, generation, acceptance and maintenance by combination and permutation.

The whole manifestation is the Lord Himself by diffusion of His different energies only, namely the internal, external and marginal, just as the sunlight is the manifestation of the energy of the sun planet. Such energy is simultaneously one with and different from the Lord, just as the sunshine is simultaneously one with and different from the sun planet. The energies are acting by combination and permutation by the indication of the Lord, and the acting agents, like Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva, are also different incarnations of the Lord. In other words, there is nothing but the Lord, and still the Lord is different from all such manifestive activities. How it is so will be explained later on.

SB 2.9.25 

The impersonalists recommend that one should become desireless, and others recommend banishing desires altogether. That is impossible; no one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together. Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

Understanding this point is the turning point in out life. 

BG 14.19 

When one properly sees that in all activities no other performer is at work than these modes of nature and he knows the Supreme Lord, who is transcendental to all these modes, he attains My spiritual nature.

Understand in the material life that we are forced to do things by the influence of the modes of the material nature. Krsna is above the modes of material nature. Mayavadis say that Krsna is also under the influence of the modes. 

One can transcend all the activities of the modes of material nature simply by understanding them properly by learning from the proper souls. The real spiritual master is Kṛṣṇa, and He is imparting this spiritual knowledge to Arjuna. Similarly, it is from those who are fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness that one has to learn this science of activities in terms of the modes of nature. Otherwise, one’s life will be misdirected. By the instruction of a bona fide spiritual master, a living entity can know of his spiritual position, his material body, his senses, how he is entrapped, and how he is under the spell of the material modes of nature. He is helpless, being in the grip of these modes, but when he can see his real position, then he can attain to the transcendental platform, having the scope for spiritual life. Actually, the living entity is not the performer of different activities. He is forced to act because he is situated in a particular type of body, conducted by some particular mode of material nature. Unless one has the help of spiritual authority, he cannot understand in what position he is actually situated. With the association of a bona fide spiritual master, he can see his real position, and by such an understanding he can become fixed in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not controlled by the spell of the material modes of nature. It has already been stated in the Seventh Chapter that one who has surrendered to Kṛṣṇa is relieved from the activities of material nature. For one who is able to see things as they are, the influence of material nature gradually ceases.

BG 14.20

When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.

How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means “embodied.” Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.

BG 14.21

Arjuna inquired: O my dear Lord, by which symptoms is one known who is transcendental to these three modes? What is his behavior? And how does he transcend the modes of nature?

the symptoms of such a transcendental person?

how he lives and what his activities are. Are they regulated or nonregulated? 

the means by which he can attain the transcendental nature?

Symptoms of a pure devotee – 

Reduce eating mating sleeping mating 

Will not waste even one second of their life. 

Gautama muni – 

Is always chanting. Narada muni asked him to build a hut so you can be protected from weather. He refused to because he did not want to even waste one second. Krishna has given different possibilities. You can sit under a tree and chant. 

Dictations of the mind – 

Beat your head a hundred times with an old show, as soon as you wake up. 

Work so hard in KC all day long so you forget everything and sleep as soon as you hit the bed. 

BG 14.22-25

How to identify a person who has transcended the modes

The qualities of a person who transcended the modes

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O son of Pāṇḍu, he who does not hate illumination, attachment and delusion when they are present or long for them when they disappear; who is unwavering and undisturbed through all these reactions of the material qualities, remaining neutral and transcendental, knowing that the modes alone are active; who is situated in the self and regards alike happiness and distress; who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; who is steady, situated equally well in praise and blame, honor and dishonor; who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities – such a person is said to have transcended the modes of nature.

Arjuna submitted three different questions, and the Lord answers them one after another. In these verses, Kṛṣṇa first indicates that a person transcendentally situated has no envy and does not hanker for anything. When a living entity stays in this material world embodied by the material body, it is to be understood that he is under the control of one of the three modes of material nature. When he is actually out of the body, then he is out of the clutches of the material modes of nature. But as long as he is not out of the material body, he should be neutral. He should engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord so that his identity with the material body will automatically be forgotten. When one is conscious of the material body, he acts only for sense gratification, but when one transfers the consciousness to Kṛṣṇa, sense gratification automatically stops. One does not need this material body, and he does not need to accept the dictations of the material body. The qualities of the material modes in the body will act, but as spirit soul the self is aloof from such activities. How does he become aloof? He does not desire to enjoy the body, nor does he desire to get out of it. Thus transcendentally situated, the devotee becomes automatically free. He need not try to become free from the influence of the modes of material nature.

The next question concerns the dealings of a transcendentally situated person. The materially situated person is affected by so-called honor and dishonor offered to the body, but the transcendentally situated person is 

  • not affected by such false honor and dishonor. He performs his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and does not mind whether a man honors or dishonors him. 
  • He accepts things that are favorable for his duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, otherwise he has no necessity of anything material, either a stone or gold. 
  • He takes everyone as his dear friend who helps him in his execution of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he does not hate his so-called enemy. 
  • He is equally disposed and sees everything on an equal level because he knows perfectly well that he has nothing to do with material existence. 
  • Social and political issues do not affect him, because he knows the situation of temporary upheavals and disturbances. 
  • He does not attempt anything for his own sake. He can attempt anything for Kṛṣṇa, but for his personal self he does not attempt anything. By such behavior one becomes actually transcendentally situated.

Two types of devotional service – by working for Krsna, or by offering the results of the work to Krsna. 

Kolavecha Sridhar 

BG 5.11

The yogīs, abandoning attachment, act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the purpose of purification.

When one acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kṛṣṇa, any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses, is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions resulting from the activities of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. Therefore purified activities, which are generally called sad-ācāra, can be easily performed by acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.187) describes this as follows:

īhā yasya harer dāsye

karmaṇā manasā girā

“A person acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kṛṣṇa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.” He has no false ego, for he does not believe that he is this material body, or that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Kṛṣṇa, and the body too belongs to Kṛṣṇa. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc. – whatever he may have within his possession – to Kṛṣṇa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kṛṣṇa. He is one with Kṛṣṇa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Identification with the  body is the source of false ego. 

Gopis think that their bodies belong to Krsna and not them,

CC ADI 4.181

Now, whatever affection we see the gopīs show for their own bodies, know it for certain to be only for the sake of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

The selfless love of Godhead exhibited by the gopīs cannot have any parallel. We should not, therefore, misunderstand the carefulness of the gopīs in their personal decoration. The gopīs dressed themselves as beautifully as possible just to make Kṛṣṇa happy by seeing them. They had no ulterior desires. They dedicated their bodies, and everything they possessed, to the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, taking it for granted that their bodies were meant for His enjoyment. They dressed themselves with the understanding that Kṛṣṇa would be happy by seeing and touching them.

CC ADI 4.182

[The gopīs think:] “I have offered this body to Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is its owner, and it brings Him enjoyment.

CC ADI 4.183

“Kṛṣṇa finds joy in seeing and touching this body.” It is for this reason that they cleanse and decorate their bodies.

SP one said – Why are women going topless and bottomless. They are inviting you to enjoy them.. 

CC ADI 4.184

“O Arjuna, there are no greater receptacles of deep love for Me than the gopīs, who cleanse and decorate their bodies because they consider them Mine.”

CC ADI 4.185

There is another wonderful feature of the emotion of the gopīs. Its power is beyond the comprehension of the intelligence.

CC ADI 4.186

When the gopīs see Lord Kṛṣṇa, they derive unbounded bliss, although they have no desire for such pleasure.

CC ADI 4.187

The gopīs taste a pleasure ten million times greater than the pleasure Lord Kṛṣṇa derives from seeing them.

Purport

The wonderful characteristics of the gopīs are beyond imagination. They have no desire for personal satisfaction, yet when Kṛṣṇa is happy by seeing them, that happiness of Kṛṣṇa makes the gopīs a million times more happy than Kṛṣṇa Himself.

CC ADI 4.188

The gopīs have no inclination for their own enjoyment, and yet their joy increases. That is indeed a contradiction.

SB 5.18.12

All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord’s external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?

As explained in the next verse, Kṛṣṇa is the original source of all living entities. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.7), wherein Kṛṣṇa says:

mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” All living entities are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore when they revive their original Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they possess all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa in a small quantity. When one engages himself in the nine processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam), one’s heart becomes purified, and he immediately understands his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. He then revives his original quality of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

In the Ādi-līlā of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Chapter Eight, there is a description of some of the qualities of devotees. For example, Śrī Paṇḍita Haridāsa is described as being 

very well-behaved,  tolerant,  peaceful,  magnanimous and grave. he spoke very sweetly, his endeavors were very pleasing, he was always patient, he respected everyone, he always worked for everyone’s benefit, his mind was free of duplicity, and he was completely devoid of all malicious activities. These are all originally qualities of Kṛṣṇa, and when one becomes a devotee they automatically become manifest. Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, the author of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, says that all good qualities become manifest in the body of a Vaiṣṇava and that only by the presence of these good qualities can one distinguish a Vaiṣṇava from a non-Vaiṣṇava. 

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja lists the following twenty-six good qualities of a Vaiṣṇava: 

(1) He is very kind to everyone. (2) He does not make anyone his enemy. (3) He is truthful. (4) He is equal to everyone.  (5) No one can find any fault in him.  (6) He is magnanimous. (7) He is mild.  (8) He is always clean.  (9) He is without possessions.  (10) He works for everyone’s benefit. (11) He is very peaceful.  (12) He is always surrendered to Kṛṣṇa. (13) He has no material desires.  (14) He is very meek. (15) He is steady. (16) He controls his senses. (17) He does not eat more than required.  (18) He is not influenced by the Lord’s illusory energy. (19) He offers respect to everyone.  (20) He does not desire any respect for himself.  (21) He is very grave. (22) He is merciful.  (23) He is friendly.  (24) He is poetic. (25) He is expert. (26) He is silent.

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SB 2.9.25 Notes – 12/24/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.25:

  • The Bhagavad-gītā confirms that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as the witness, and as such He is the supreme director of sanction. 
  • The director is not the enjoyer of the fruits of action, for without the Lord’s sanction no one can enjoy. 
  • Each and every one of the living entities has something in his mind to enjoy, and everyone desires the fulfillment of his desires very strongly. 
  • The almighty Lord, being very kind to the living entity, as the father is kind to the son, fulfills the living entity’s desire for his childish satisfaction.
  •  With such desires in mind, the living entity does not actually enjoy, but he serves the bodily whims unnecessarily, without profit. 
  • A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical.
  • If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life.
  • A man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. 
  • But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. 
  • And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. 
  • The human life is especially meant for purifying one’s existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.
  • In human society, aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all falldowns. 
  • One has to raise himself at least to the mode of goodness before the path to understanding the Supreme Lord can be opened. 
  • Without raising oneself to the standard of the mode of goodness, one remains in ignorance and passion, which are the cause of demoniac life.
  • If one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one’s life becomes successful.
  • No one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together.
  • The Lord, as the Supersoul in the heart of every living being, knows what is in the mind of each living entity, and no one can do anything without the knowledge of the Lord within.
  • By His superior intelligence, the Lord gives everyone the chance to fulfill his desires to the fullest extent, and the resultant reaction is also awarded by the Lord.
  • “First deserve, then desire.”Why foolishly you desire something for which you do not deserve? That is your fault. That is misuse. Don’t desire something without being deserving. So these are the process given how to think, how to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. So practice it. Become qualified. Then you will see everything. Without being qualified, why you want to see?”
  • Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. 
  • Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

SB 2.9.5 TRANSLATION:

Lord Brahmā said: O Personality of Godhead, You are situated in every living entity’s heart as the supreme director, and therefore You are aware of all endeavors by Your superior intelligence, without any hindrance whatsoever.

The Bhagavad-gītā confirms that the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart as the witness, and as such He is the supreme director of sanction. The director is not the enjoyer of the fruits of action, for without the Lord’s sanction no one can enjoy. For example, in a prohibited area a habituated drunkard puts forward his application to the director of drinking, and the director, considering his case, sanctions only a certain amount of liquor for drinking. Similarly, the whole material world is full of many drunkards, in the sense that each and every one of the living entities has something in his mind to enjoy, and everyone desires the fulfillment of his desires very strongly. The almighty Lord, being very kind to the living entity, as the father is kind to the son, fulfills the living entity’s desire for his childish satisfaction. With such desires in mind, the living entity does not actually enjoy, but he serves the bodily whims unnecessarily, without profit. 

BG 16.23

[WHIMSICAL ACTIONS] 

He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

Whim – a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.

Example- a sanyasi in Paris went to confectionery shop and bought sweets and ate them even though they might have eggs, he wanted to take a chance and finally he fell down.. 

All grapes have Sulphur Dioxide on them. 

All croissants have egg

As described before, the śāstra-vidhi, or the direction of the śāstra, is given to the different castes and orders of human society. Everyone is expected to follow these rules and regulations. 

  • If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life.
  • In other words, a man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. 
  • In the human form of life, a living entity is expected to be sane and to follow the regulations given for elevating his life to the highest platform, but if he does not follow them, then he degrades himself. 
  • But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. 
  • And even if he accepts the existence of God, if he does not engage himself in the service of the Lord his attempts are spoiled. 

Therefore one should gradually raise himself to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service; it is then and there that he can attain the highest perfectional stage, not otherwise.

The word kāma-kārataḥ is very significant. A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, but still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical. Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme Lord. Such persons cannot have the perfection which is meant for the human life. The human life is especially meant for purifying one’s existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.

BG 16.24

[CAUSE OF ALL FALL DOWNS]

In human society, aversion to the principles of understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the cause of all falldowns. That is the greatest offense of human life. Therefore, māyā, the material energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always giving us trouble in the shape of the threefold miseries. This material energy is constituted of the three modes of material nature. One has to raise himself at least to the mode of goodness before the path to understanding the Supreme Lord can be opened. Without raising oneself to the standard of the mode of goodness, one remains in ignorance and passion, which are the cause of demoniac life. Those in the modes of passion and ignorance deride the scriptures, deride the holy man, and deride the proper understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They disobey the instructions of the spiritual master, and they do not care for the regulations of the scriptures. In spite of hearing the glories of devotional service, they are not attracted. Thus they manufacture their own way of elevation. These are some of the defects of human society which lead to the demoniac status of life. If, however, one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one’s life becomes successful.

In Europe many priests are drunkards. Original wine was grape juice and not alcohol. Famous monks made wine. 

“In vino veritas”  – in wine there is truth

BG 16.21

There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies, which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.

The drunkard does not derive any profit out of drinking, but because he has become a servant of the drinking habit and does not wish to get out of it, the merciful Lord gives him all facilities to fulfill such desires.

The impersonalists recommend that one should become desireless, and others recommend banishing desires (buddhists) altogether. That is impossible; no one can banish desires altogether because desiring is the living symptom. Without having desires a living entity would be dead, which he is not. Therefore, living conditions and desire go together.

Merging into brahman is a materialistic desire 

In Brahman there is no devotional service, no cit and no ananda.

Lecture

Seattle Sept. 30, 1968

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/680930le-seattle

In this way, there are many examples. That is greatness. What I… Just like the modern scientists, they are trying to fly some space machine in the good speed so that they can go to the moon planet. So many scientists of America, Russia and other countries, they are trying. But they cannot. Their sputnik is coming back. But just see God’s power. Millions of planets are floating just like swabs. This is greatness.

So any nonsense, if he says that “I am God,” he’s a rascal. God is great. You cannot compare yourself with God. There is no comparison. But the rascaldom is going on: “Everyone is God. I am God, you are God”—then who is dog? You show the power of God, then you say. “First deserve, then desire.” What power we have got? We’re all His dependent. So God is great, and we are dependent on God.

Seattle Sep 30

Lecture on SB 5.5,23

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/761110sbvrn/

So this is the way, brāhmaṇa. That brāhmaṇa, the India, the brāhmaṇas, their sons later on, later ages, taking advantage of the facility offered to the brāhmaṇas, so without qualification of brāhmaṇa, they wanted the facility for nothing, very cheap. Therefore the brahminical culture is failure now. They are… They should be real brāhmaṇas, śamo damo. But nobody is prepared to practice śamo damo titikṣa, but he wants the respect of a brāhmaṇa. This is the cause of India’s culture being failure at the present moment. They… “First deserve, then desire.” So without deserving, they desired. Therefore whole thing is…, it became false. So that is not the purpose. Even somebody says that “Without culture one can remain a brāhmaṇa,” but śāstra does not say that. Śāstra says culture is the first consideration.

Example – Sudama

Lecture on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.28.21

Type: Srimad-Bhagavatam, Date: Nov. 1, 1975, Location: Nairobi

https://vedabase.io/en/library/transcripts/751101sbnai/

Prabhupāda: Teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam [Bg. 10.10]. When Kṛṣṇa sees that “He is worshiping Me with faith and reverence and love,” then buddhi-yogam dadāmi tam. He’ll give you intelligence. He is within you. Therefore I was saying, “First of all become fit. First of all deserve. Then desire.” Why foolishly you desire something for which you do not deserve? That is your fault. That is misuse. Don’t desire something without being deserving. So these are the process given how to think, how to meditate upon Kṛṣṇa. So practice it. Become qualified. Then you will see everything. Without being qualified, why you want to see?

Perfection of desires may be achieved when one desires to serve the Lord, and the Lord also desires that every living entity banish all personal desires and cooperate with His desires. That is the last instruction of the Bhagavad-gītā. Brahmājī agreed to this proposal, and therefore he is given the responsible post of creating generations in the vacant universe. Oneness with the Lord therefore consists of dovetailing one’s desires with the desires of the Supreme Lord. That makes for the perfection of all desires.

The Lord, as the Supersoul in the heart of every living being, knows what is in the mind of each living entity, and no one can do anything without the knowledge of the Lord within. By His superior intelligence, the Lord gives everyone the chance to fulfill his desires to the fullest extent, and the resultant reaction is also awarded by the Lord.

Past Time of Ramanujacharya 

He had a friend named Dhanur Dasa. His friend was very attached to his wife’s beauty and not her soul. Ramunaja asked him if he wanted to see the real beauty. He took him and showed the deity of lord vishnu. He gets detached from his wife’s beauty after that.. 

Sanyasis’ clothes were mixed and they started arguing. They started fighting for a piece of cloth. 

Ramanuja asked a disciple to steal the jewels of Dhanurdasa’s  wife when he was not there. 

She turns over so the disciple can take the rest of the jewel. He runs away and waits for dhanurdasa to come and react. She tells him that we should help devotees, lookslike they need money for service of the lord and they are struggling..she said she turned so he can take the jewels on the other side.  Dhanuradasa was upset that instead of turning and scaring him she should have given all the jewels away to him. She agreed it was an offense due to her false pride and how they can advance.. 

Ramanuja taught by Example and precept – 

Wine – everyone drinks, even all the popes do . they do a ceremony or ritual called

Eu·cha·rist with the wine.

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SB 2.9.24 Notes – 12/23/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.24:

  • In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. 
  • Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. 
  • Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? 
  • An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. 
  • The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. 
  • The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance.
  • One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

SB 2.9.24 TRANSLATION:

I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.

In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

Painstaking – Great care and thoroughness in execution of their duties. 

There were times when devotees were against Srila Prabhupada at one point. They tried to get rid of Srila Prabhupada. They complained about him to immigration and he was not allowed to get into the US. He has to stay in Montreal for 1 year.. He was constantly harassed by his God brothers and few of his disciples.. Srila Prabhupada went through so much but never gave up.. 

SP was very painstaking and thorough in preparing himself for preaching to the western world. It took him 40 years.. To prepare well in executing his spiritual master’s instructions. 

Hit by a bull in Vrindavan

Suffered 2 heart attacks in the ship to US. 

We are talking about devotees who want to spread this movement. It is so hard to spread the message in this world where everyone wants to follow their own path and practice in isolation. 

Determination, purity, affection, complete surrender to his gurus’s instruction – he was able to do it.. Only he out of the 10000 disciples of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur was able to crack the formula of spreading this message. 

BG 6.24 

Success is guaranteed for a rigid practitioner.

Scientific spirituality

Explains the difference between spiritual science and religion. 

Spiritual science – Verifiable facts which are irrefutable

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SB 2.9.23 – Part 2 – Notes – 12/22/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.24:

  • In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only.
  • One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. 
  • Penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.
  • Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously, and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 
  • Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. 
  • This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.
  • CC M 8.66 – “Pure devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge is the essence of perfection.”
  • CC M 8.67 – Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “Lord Brahmā said, ‘My dear Lord, those devotees who have thrown away the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth and have therefore abandoned discussing empiric philosophical truths should hear from self-realized devotees about Your holy name, form, pastimes and qualities. They should completely follow the principles of devotional service and remain free from illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and animal slaughter. Surrendering themselves fully with body, words and mind, they can live in any āśrama or social status. Indeed, You are conquered by such persons, although You are always unconquerable.’ ”
  • Devotional activities, however, sometimes appear to be impure in the neophyte stage, but in the mature stage they are completely pure, or free from material activity. 
  • “One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

SB 2.9.24 – 12/22/21

I create this cosmos by such penance, I maintain it by the same energy, and I withdraw it all by the same energy. Therefore the potency is penance only.

In executing penance, one must be determined to return home, back to Godhead, and must decide to undergo all types of tribulations for that end. Even for material prosperity and name and fame one has to undergo severe types of penances, otherwise no one can become an important figure in this material world. Why, then, should there not be severe types of penances for the perfection of devotional service? An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together. The Lord is more clever than any living entity; therefore He wants to see how painstaking the devotee is in devotional service. The order is received from the Lord, either directly or through the bona fide spiritual master, and to execute that order, however painstaking, is the severe type of penance. One who follows the principle rigidly is sure to achieve success in attaining the Lord’s mercy.

SB 2.9.23

The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.

One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead. One who has no information of the transcendental bliss in the association of the Lord foolishly desires to enjoy this temporary material happiness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only. One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. The Lord favors such a foolish devotee by snatching all that he may possess in the material world. If such a foolish devotee of the Lord tries to recoup his position, then the merciful Lord again snatches away all that he may have possessed. By such repeated failures in material prosperity he becomes very unpopular with his family members and friends. In the material world the family members and friends honor persons who are very successful in accumulating wealth by any means. The foolish devotee of the Lord is thus put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.

One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only a person who is completely free from all reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.

BG 7.28 

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

Only those who have passed their lives in practicing the regulative principles of religion, who have acted piously, and who have conquered sinful reactions can accept devotional service and gradually rise to the pure knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, gradually, they can meditate in trance on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the process of being situated on the spiritual platform. This elevation is possible in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the association of pure devotees, for in the association of great devotees one can be delivered from delusion.

SB 10.88.8 

The Personality of Godhead said: If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another.

CC M 8.66 

After hearing this, the Lord, as usual, rejected it, considering it to be external devotional service. He again asked Rāmānanda Rāya to speak further, and Rāmānanda Rāya replied, “Pure devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge is the essence of perfection.”

CC M 8.67

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “Lord Brahmā said, ‘My dear Lord, those devotees who have thrown away the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth and have therefore abandoned discussing empiric philosophical truths should hear from self-realized devotees about Your holy name, form, pastimes and qualities. They should completely follow the principles of devotional service and remain free from illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and animal slaughter. Surrendering themselves fully with body, words and mind, they can live in any āśrama or social status. Indeed, You are conquered by such persons, although You are always unconquerable.’ ”

CC M 8.68 

At this point, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “This is all right, but still you can speak more on the subject.”

Rāmānanda Rāya then replied, “Ecstatic love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the essence of all perfection.”

In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura summarizes the conversation up to this point, where Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says to Rāmānanda Rāya, eho haya, āge kaha āra: “This is the process accepted in devotional service, but there is something more than this. Therefore please explain what is beyond.” Simply executing the duties of all varṇas and āśramas is not as good as offering all the results of one’s activities to the Lord. When one gives up all fruitive activity and fully surrenders to the Lord, he attains sva-dharma-tyāga, wherein he abandons the social order and takes to the renounced order. That is certainly better. However, better than the renounced order is cultivation of knowledge mixed with devotional service. Yet all these activities are external to the activities of the spiritual world. There is no touch of pure devotional service in them. Pure devotional service cannot be attained by empiric philosophy, nor can perfection be attained simply by good association. Devotional service by self-realization is a different subject matter. It is untouched by fruitive activity, for one surrenders the results of activities to the Lord, abandons prescribed duties and accepts the renounced order of life. Such devotional service is situated on a higher platform than that of empiric philosophical speculation with a mixture of bhakti. This is verified by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11):

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

“One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

Devotional activities, however, sometimes appear to be impure in the neophyte stage, but in the mature stage they are completely pure, or free from material activity. Therefore Rāmānanda Rāya replied after hearing the last statement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: prema-bhakti — sarva-sādhya-sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu actually accepted this verse (jñāne prayāsam) as the basic principle of perfection. One has to practice this principle in order to make further progress. When further progress is actually made, one comes to the platform of ecstatic loving service to the Lord. This first stage is technically called sādhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice. The result of sādhana-bhakti must be ecstatic love, attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is also called prema-bhakti. In the neophyte stage, sādhana-bhakti includes faith, association with devotees, and practicing devotional service. Thus one is freed from all unwanted things. One then becomes fixed in devotional service and increases his desire to act in devotional service. Thus one becomes attached to the Lord and His devotional service.

Knowledge +Love for Krsna = transcendental life 

BG 4.11 – stages of devotional service

ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-

saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā

tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt

tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ

athāsaktis tato bhāvas

tataḥ premābhyudañcati

sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ

prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ

“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 Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.

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SB 2.9.23 Notes -12/21/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.23:

  • The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. 
  • The penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.
  • One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead.
  • In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only.
  • The foolish devotee of the Lord is put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. 
  • Penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.
  • One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins.
  • Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result.
  • Only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead [svayaṁ bhagavān] taught Brahmā and made him self-realized. 
  • When Brahmā, initiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa by the sound vibration tapa, engaged himself in acts of austerity, by the pleasure of Viṣṇu he was able to visualize the transcendental world, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, through transcendental realization.
  • Refraining from sensual enjoyment, one should voluntarily accept all sorts of difficulties for spiritual realization. This is called tapasya.
  • Modern science can communicate using material discoveries such as radio, television and computers, but the science invoked by the austerities of Śrī Brahmā, the original father of mankind, was still more subtle. In time, material scientists may also know how we can communicate with the Vaikuṇṭha world. 
  • Transcendental knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge of not only His form and personality but also everything else related to Him. 
  • There is nothing in existence not related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a sense, there is nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and yet nothing is Śrī Kṛṣṇa save and except His primeval personality

SB 2.9.23 TRANSLATION

O sinless Brahmā, you may know from Me that it was I who first ordered you to undergo penance when you were perplexed in your duty. Such penance is My heart and soul, and therefore penance and I are nondifferent.

The penance by which one can see the Personality of Godhead face to face is to be understood as devotional service to the Lord and nothing else because only by discharging devotional service in transcendental love can one approach the Lord. Such penance is the internal potency of the Lord and is nondifferent from Him. Such acts of internal potency are exhibited by nonattachment for material enjoyment. The living entities are encaged in the conditions of material bondage because of their propensity for overlordship. But by engagement in the devotional service of the Lord one becomes detached from this enjoying spirit. The devotees automatically become detached from worldly enjoyment, and this detachment is the result of perfect knowledge. Therefore the penance of devotional service includes knowledge and detachment, and that is the manifestation of the transcendental potency.

One cannot enjoy material, illusory prosperity if he desires to return home, back to Godhead. One who has no information of the transcendental bliss in the association of the Lord foolishly desires to enjoy this temporary material happiness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that if someone sincerely wants to see the Lord and at the same time wants to enjoy this material world, he is considered to be a fool only. One who wants to remain here in the material world for material enjoyment has no business entering into the eternal kingdom of God. The Lord favors such a foolish devotee by snatching all that he may possess in the material world. If such a foolish devotee of the Lord tries to recoup his position, then the merciful Lord again snatches away all that he may have possessed. By such repeated failures in material prosperity he becomes very unpopular with his family members and friends. In the material world the family members and friends honor persons who are very successful in accumulating wealth by any means. The foolish devotee of the Lord is thus put into forcible penance by the grace of the Lord, and at the end the devotee becomes perfectly happy, being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore penance in devotional service of the Lord, either by voluntary submission or by being forced by the Lord, is necessary for attaining perfection, and thus such penance is the internal potency of the Lord.

One cannot, however, be engaged in the penance of devotional service without being completely free from all sins.[ BG 7.28]

As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, only a person who is completely free from all reactions of sins can engage himself in the worship of the Lord. Brahmājī was sinless, and therefore he faithfully discharged the advice of the Lord, “tapa, tapa,” and the Lord, being satisfied with him, awarded him the desired result. Therefore only love and penance combined can please the Lord, and thus one is able to attain His complete mercy. He directs the sinless, and the sinless devotee attains the highest perfection of life.

Duties – Svadharma – Lower svadharma and higher svadharma.. 

4 ways of understanding 

Sins are the ones keeping us in this world – Sins – intoxication, gambling, illicit sex, meat eating.. 

Motto of life – being sinless.. 

CC ADI 1.50

The Supreme Personality of Godhead [svayaṁ bhagavān] taught Brahmā and made him self-realized.

The English maxim that God helps those who help themselves is also applicable in the transcendental realm. There are many instances in the revealed scriptures of the Personality of Godhead’s acting as the spiritual master from within. The Personality of Godhead was the spiritual master who instructed Brahmā, the original living being in the cosmic creation. When Brahmā was first created, he could not apply his creative energy to arrange the cosmic situation. At first there was only sound, vibrating the word tapa, which indicates the acceptance of hardships for spiritual realization. Refraining from sensual enjoyment, one should voluntarily accept all sorts of difficulties for spiritual realization. This is called tapasya. An enjoyer of the senses can never realize God, godliness or the science of theistic knowledge. Thus when Brahmā, initiated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa by the sound vibration tapa, engaged himself in acts of austerity, by the pleasure of Viṣṇu he was able to visualize the transcendental world, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, through transcendental realization. Modern science can communicate using material discoveries such as radio, television and computers, but the science invoked by the austerities of Śrī Brahmā, the original father of mankind, was still more subtle. In time, material scientists may also know how we can communicate with the Vaikuṇṭha world. Lord Brahmā inquired about the potency of the Supreme Lord, and the Personality of Godhead answered his inquiry in the following six consecutive statements. These instructions, which are reproduced from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.9.31-36), were imparted by the Personality of Godhead, acting as the supreme spiritual master.

BG 15.15 

The inter-internet is a revelation by the Lord situated in everyone’s heart. Sanjaya sitting many miles away from Kurukshetra was able to relay what was happening in the war.

CC ADI 1.51

“Please hear attentively what I shall speak to you, for transcendental knowledge about Me is not only scientific but also full of mysteries.

Transcendental knowledge of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman, for it includes knowledge of not only His form and personality but also everything else related to Him. There is nothing in existence not related to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a sense, there is nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and yet nothing is Śrī Kṛṣṇa save and except His primeval personality. This knowledge constitutes a complete transcendental science, and Viṣṇu wanted to give Brahmājī full knowledge about that science. The mystery of this knowledge culminates in personal attachment to the Lord, with a resulting effect of detachment from anything “non-Kṛṣṇa.” There are nine alternative transcendental means of attaining this stage: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping, praying, assisting, fraternizing with the Lord, and sacrificing everything for Him. These are different parts of the same devotional service, which is full of transcendental mystery. The Lord said to Brahmā that since He was pleased with him, by His grace the mystery was being revealed.

How can we accept the existence of God – 

Scientific spirituality – Verifiable facts which are irrefutable.. SB 2.2.35

Universe is expanding – it is true that Brahma Jyothi is expanding and all that is explained CC. 

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SB 2.9.19 Notes – 12/17/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.19:

  • Lord Brahmā has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.
  • Brahmā also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls.
  • The party is called the Brahma sampradāya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home.
  • The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā.
  • No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.
  • There are many renegades from the Brahma sampradāya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence.
  • Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.
  • Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma sampradāya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction.

SB 2.9.19 TRANSLATION:

And seeing Brahmā present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahmā and, slightly smiling, addressed him thus.

The creation of the material world is not blind or accidental. The living entities who are ever conditioned, or nitya-baddha, are thus given a chance for liberation under the guidance of His own representative like Brahmā. The Lord instructs Brahmā in Vedic knowledge in order to diffuse this knowledge to the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are forgetful souls in their relationship with the Lord, and thus a period of creation and the process of dissemination of Vedic knowledge are necessary activities of the Lord. Lord Brahmā has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.

Brahmā also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls. The party is called the Brahma sampradāya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home. The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.

There are many renegades from the Brahma sampradāya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence. Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.

Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma sampradāya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction

BG 18.68

For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

BG 18. 69 

There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

BG 18.71

And one who listens with faith and without envy becomes free from sinful reactions and attains to the auspicious planets where the pious dwell.

BG 18.72

O son of Pṛthā, O conqueror of wealth, have you heard this with an attentive mind? And are your ignorance and illusions now dispelled?

BG 18.73

Arjuna said: My dear Kṛṣṇa, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.

BG 18.5

Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify even the great souls.

CC MADHYA 8.60

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “ ‘My dear son of Kuntī, whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you perform, all the results of such activities should be offered to Me, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’ ”

Purport

The Lord has said that the varṇāśrama-dharma is not properly executed in this Age of Kali; therefore He ordered Rāmānanda Rāya to go further into the matter. Rāmānanda replied with this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (9.27), which instructs that while remaining in the system of varṇāśrama-dharma one may offer the results of his activities to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in loving service. Naturally Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was asking Rāmānanda Rāya about the execution of devotional service. Rāmānanda Rāya first enunciated the principle of varṇāśrama-dharma in consideration of materialistic people. However, this conception is not transcendental. As long as one is in the material world, he must follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma, but devotional service is transcendental. The system of varṇāśrama-dharma refers to the three modes of material nature, but transcendental devotional service is on the absolute platform.

All these activities should be performed without attachment or any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of duty, O son of Pṛthā. That is My final opinion.

BG 17.24

Therefore, transcendentalists undertaking performances of sacrifice, charity and penance in accordance with scriptural regulations begin always with oṁ, to attain the Supreme.

BG 17.25

Therefore, transcendentalists undertaking performances of sacrifice, charity and penance in accordance with scriptural regulations begin always with oṁ, to attain the Supreme.

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SB 2.9.10 Notes – 12/14/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.10:

  • God’s creations are always innumerable. 
  • All the millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord.
  • The kingdom of God, or the atmosphere of the Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes.
  • We can know, through the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of the nature and constitution of the transcendental world beyond the material sky.
  • In that sky the material qualities, especially the modes of ignorance and passion, are completely absent. 
  • The inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are all brahma-bhūta living entities, as distinguished from the mundane creatures who are all compact in hankering and lamentation. 
  • Goodness in the material world also at times becomes contaminated by touches of the modes of passion and ignorance. In the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, it is unalloyed goodness only.
  • In Vaikuṇṭhalokas, there is no ignorance, no passion, no illusion and no past and present. 
  • Nārada-pañcarātra states that the transcendental world or Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere is enriched with transcendental qualities. These transcendental qualities, as revealed through the devotional service of the Lord, are distinct from the mundane qualities of ignorance, passion and goodness. These qualities are described in SB 1.16.26-30
  • In Padma Purana it is stated that – The marginal line between the material manifestation and the spiritual manifestation is the Virajā River, and beyond the Virajā, which is a transcendental current flowing from the perspiration of the body of the Lord, there is the three-fourths manifestation of God’s creation. This part is eternal, everlasting, without deterioration, and unlimited, and it contains the highest perfectional stage of living conditions.
  •  All living entities there are eternally associated without any break, and the Lord is the chief and prime entity. 
  • The associated members there are free to go everywhere within the creation of the Lord, and there is no limit to such creation, particularly in the region of the three-fourths magnitude. Since the nature of that region is unlimited, there is no history of such association, nor is there end of it.
  • In the transcendental realm there is no creation and no destruction, and thus the duration of life is eternal unlimitedly. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time. 
  • The influence of time is conspicuous by its absence. The whole material existence is manifested by actions and reactions of elements which make the influence of time prominent in the matter of past, present and future. 
  • There are no such actions and reactions of cause and effects there, so the cycle of birth, growth, existence, transformations, deterioration and annihilation — the six material changes — are not existent there.
  • The whole Vaikuṇṭha existence proclaims that everyone there is a follower of the Lord. The Lord is the chief leader there, without any competition for leadership, and the people in general are all followers of the Lord.
  •  It is confirmed in the Vedas, therefore, that the Lord is the chief leader and all other living entities are subordinate to Him, for only the Lord satisfies all the needs of all other living entities.

SB 2.9.10 TRANSLATION:

In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region. Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees.

The kingdom of God, or the atmosphere of the Vaikuṇṭha nature, which is called the tripād-vibhūti, is three times bigger than the material universes and is described here, as also in the Bhagavad-gītā, in a nutshell. This universe, containing billions of stars and planets, is one of the billions of such universes clustered together within the compass of the mahat-tattva. And all these millions and billions of universes combined together constitute only one fourth of the magnitude of the whole creation of the Lord. There is the spiritual sky also; beyond this sky are the spiritual planets under the names of Vaikuṇṭha, and all of them constitute three fourths of the entire creation of the Lord. God’s creations are always innumerable. Even the leaves of a tree cannot be counted by a man, nor can the hairs on his head. However, foolish men are puffed up with the idea of becoming God Himself, though unable to create a hair of their own bodies. Man may discover so many wonderful vehicles of journey, but even if he reaches the moon by his much-advertised spacecraft, he cannot remain there. The sane man, therefore, without being puffed up, as if he were the God of the universe, abides by the instructions of the Vedic literature, the easiest way to acquire knowledge in transcendence. So let us know through the authority of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam of the nature and constitution of the transcendental world beyond the material sky. 

  • In that sky the material qualities, especially the modes of ignorance and passion, are completely absent. The mode of ignorance influences a living entity to the habit of lust and hankering, and this means that in the Vaikuṇṭhalokas the living entities are free from these two things. 
  • As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā, in the brahma-bhūta stage of life one becomes free from hankering and lamentation. Therefore the conclusion is that the inhabitants of the Vaikuṇṭha planets are all brahma-bhūta living entities, as distinguished from the mundane creatures who are all compact in hankering and lamentation. 
  • When one is not in the modes of ignorance and passion, one is supposed to be situated in the mode of goodness in the material world. Goodness in the material world also at times becomes contaminated by touches of the modes of passion and ignorance. In the Vaikuṇṭhaloka, it is unalloyed goodness only.

The whole situation there is one of freedom from the illusory manifestation of the external energy. Although illusory energy is also part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, illusory energy is differentiated from the Lord. The illusory energy is not, however, false, as claimed by the monist philosophers. The rope accepted as a snake may be an illusion to a particular person, but the rope is a fact, and the snake is also a fact. The illusion of water on the hot desert may be illusion for the ignorant animal searching for water in the desert, but the desert and water are actual facts. Therefore the material creation of the Lord may be an illusion to the nondevotee, but to a devotee even the material creation of the Lord is a fact, as the manifestation of His external energy. But this energy of the Lord is not all. The Lord has His internal energy also, which has another creation known to be the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, where there is no ignorance, no passion, no illusion and no past and present. With a poor fund of knowledge one may be unable to understand the existence of such things as the Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere, but that does not nullify its existence. That spacecraft cannot reach these planets does not mean that there are no such planets, for they are described in the revealed scriptures.

As quoted by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, we can know from the Nārada-pañcarātra that the transcendental world or Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere is enriched with transcendental qualities. These transcendental qualities, as revealed through the devotional service of the Lord, are distinct from the mundane qualities of ignorance, passion and goodness. Such qualities are not attainable by the nondevotee class of men. 

These transcendental qualities are described in the SB 1.16.26-30. 

SB 1.16.26-30

In Him reside (1) truthfulness, (2) cleanliness, (3) intolerance of another’s unhappiness, (4) the power to control anger, (5) self-satisfaction, (6) straightforwardness, (7) steadiness of mind, (8) control of the sense organs, (9) responsibility, (10) equality, (11) tolerance, (12) equanimity, (13) faithfulness, (14) knowledge, (15) absence of sense enjoyment, (16) leadership, (17) chivalry, (18) influence, (19) the power to make everything possible, (20) the discharge of proper duty, (21) complete independence, (22) dexterity, (23) fullness of all beauty, (24) serenity, (25) kindheartedness, (26) ingenuity, (27) gentility, (28) magnanimity, (29) determination, (30) perfection in all knowledge, (31) proper execution, (32) possession of all objects of enjoyment, (33) joyfulness, (34) immovability, (35) fidelity, (36) fame, (37) worship, (38) pridelessness, (39) being (as the Personality of Godhead), (40) eternity, and many other transcendental qualities which are eternally present and never to be separated from Him. That Personality of Godhead, the reservoir of all goodness and beauty, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has now closed His transcendental pastimes on the face of the earth. In His absence the Age of Kali has spread its influence everywhere, so I am sorry to see this condition of existence.

In the Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa, it is stated that beyond the one-fourth part of God’s creation is the three-fourths manifestation. The marginal line between the material manifestation and the spiritual manifestation is the Virajā River, and beyond the Virajā, which is a transcendental current flowing from the perspiration of the body of the Lord, there is the three-fourths manifestation of God’s creation. This part is eternal, everlasting, without deterioration, and unlimited, and it contains the highest perfectional stage of living conditions. 

In the Sāṅkhya-kaumudī it is stated that unalloyed goodness or transcendence is just opposite to the material modes. All living entities there are eternally associated without any break, and the Lord is the chief and prime entity. 

In the Āgama Purāṇas also, the transcendental abode is described as follows: The associated members there are free to go everywhere within the creation of the Lord, and there is no limit to such creation, particularly in the region of the three-fourths magnitude. Since the nature of that region is unlimited, there is no history of such association, nor is there end of it.

nowhere else are we going are you going to get such detailed information of the

difference between the spiritual world and the material world everything is mixed in the material world in the spiritual everything is pure but krishna encompasses everything material and spiritual  “Aham Saravsva prabhavo… “ so in other words he says i am the source of everything material and spiritual those persons who know this engage in my devotional service. BG 10.8

BG 10.8 

I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.

so this is the symptom of pure krishna consciousness And in in the execution of the devotional service all these good qualities Manifest all these good qualities manifest therefore it’s very important that we try to always be engaged in devotional service and to engage others in devotional service even the person who comes for the first time and sometimes i say hey can you help me sweep this floor oh yeah okay so now they’re sweeping the floor but this is krsna’s floor it’s not you know in some nightclub or a bar right

so they’re making spiritual advancement by by sweeping right and cleaning

The conclusion may be drawn that because of the complete absence of the mundane qualities of ignorance and passion, there is no question of creation nor of annihilation. In the material world everything is created, and everything is annihilated, and the duration of life between the creation and annihilation is temporary. In the transcendental realm there is no creation and no destruction, and thus the duration of life is eternal unlimitedly. In other words, everything in the transcendental world is everlasting, full of knowledge and bliss without deterioration. Since there is no deterioration, there is no past, present and future in the estimation of time. 

that’s what we should aim for that is our real nature that’s who we really are

we should not be prisoners of maya and following the crowds. 

we should not follow the crowd right we should follow the acharyas and ultimately krishna

It is clearly stated in this verse that the influence of time is conspicuous by its absence. The whole material existence is manifested by actions and reactions of elements which make the influence of time prominent in the matter of past, present and future. There are no such actions and reactions of cause and effects there, so the cycle of birth, growth, existence, transformations, deterioration and annihilation — the six material changes — are not existent there. It is the unalloyed manifestation of the energy of the Lord, without illusion as experienced here in the material world. T

in the spiritual world there’s the eternal presence and so they don’t feel the abs the lat the passing of time if anything they experience timeby its non-passage and but even that uh is sort of stunted because every minute things are increasing so they don’t they don’t know they’re not even noticing time because everything is so impelling the beauty of krishna and in relationships are so enthralling that

they’re not they’re not experiencing the passing of time

he whole Vaikuṇṭha existence proclaims that everyone there is a follower of the Lord. The Lord is the chief leader there, without any competition for leadership, and the people in general are all followers of the Lord. It is confirmed in the Vedas, therefore, that the Lord is the chief leader and all other living entities are subordinate to Him, for only the Lord satisfies all the needs of all other living entities.

Material world is full of competition. In spiritual world there is no competiton, if one wants to become Krsna.. They will immediately fall down.. 

kids are taught in ignorance in the schools a concomitant factor of that will be

lust and hankering all of us have gone through that experience by being educated

by materialistic demons we developed this lust and hankering and as long as we have lust and hankering we cannot understand anything about krishna and thus people who

are influenced in that way don’t take a very serious vow to take part in the regular morning Programs and evening programs in the temple they they have piecemeal

part participation but not steady participation that’s because they’re still influenced by lust and hankering which is a product of ignorance ignorance can be eliminated completely by regular hearing of the vedic scriptures and discussion and questions but if it’s not regular the immediately when we’re not paying attention or a little bit negligent maya comes in right away So uh it says that the mode of ignorance influences living energy to the habit of lust and hankering and this means that in the vikrant the locust the living entities are free from these two things because there’s ignorance they know krishna is the supreme personality of godhead they have no doubt about it and they’re engaged in ecstatic transcendental pastimes with the lord hearing chanting and remembering and serving the lotus feet and worshiping

Praying making friendship and completely surrendering to the lord so there they are

they are free of this ignorance and therefore they’re free of this mundane

Passion and or lust and and hankering so as confirmed in the bhagavad-gita stage of life one becomes free from hankering and lamentation so there’s no lamentation also

the devotees are not saying oh this thing happened it’s a terrible thing and what are we gonna do and and uh wish it didn’t happen my father died or my mother died or the child died or my my 401k died that’s even worse right so they’re always lamenting in the material world because they have hankering for so many things and they lose many things

You can know everything about illusory energy, as long as you keep a distance you are not affected. Illusory energy was created by Krsna. 

You cannot understand Krsna as long as you are in three modes – Ignorance, passion and goodness. Even the mode of goodness in material world is affected by the modes of ignorance and passion. 

BG 14.26 

One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.

so you cannot come to the level of brahman or we cannot come to the level of

brahman as long as we are influenced by uh any of the modes of material nature

we have to be completely free from them.

BG 7.28

Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.

so one has to become free of all previous sinful actions or or

their reactions right and you have to be free of the influence of the modes of

material nature then you can engage in devotional service on the transcendental plane

BG 14.20 

When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes associated with the material body, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.

How one can stay in the transcendental position, even in this body, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is explained in this verse. The Sanskrit word dehī means “embodied.” Although one is within this material body, by his advancement in spiritual knowledge he can be free from the influence of the modes of nature. He can enjoy the happiness of spiritual life even in this body because, after leaving this body, he is certainly going to the spiritual sky. But even in /this body he can enjoy spiritual happiness. In other words, devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the sign of liberation from material entanglement, and this will be explained in the Eighteenth Chapter. When one is freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, he enters into devotional service.

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SB 2.9.9 Notes – 12/12/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.9:

  • There is no profit in executing troublesome penances other than bhakti-yoga for self-realization.
  • The personal abodes of the Lord, known as Vaikuṇṭhas, are neither mythical nor material, as conceived by the impersonalists.
  • But realization of the transcendental abodes of the Lord is possible only through devotional service, and thus the devotees enter into such abodes. There is undoubtedly trouble in executing penance.
  • But the trouble accepted in executing bhakti-yoga is transcendental happiness from the very beginning, whereas the trouble of penance in other processes of self-realization (jñāna-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, etc.), without any Vaikuṇṭha realization, ends in trouble only and nothing more.
  • One who has actually realized his self realizes the transcendental form of one’s self.
  • The Personality of Godhead and the personalities of devotees of the Lord are all transcendental; they do not have material bodies.
  • The material body is overcast with five kinds of miserable conditions, namely ignorance, material conception, attachment, hatred and absorption.
  • As long as one is overwhelmed by these five kinds of material miseries, there is no question of entering into the Vaikuṇṭhalokas.
  • Brahmājī also described the highest planet of the Vaikuṇṭhaloka as Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the Lord resides as a cowherd boy keeping transcendental surabhi cows and surrounded by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. (BS 5.29)
  • As soon as personal motivation comes in it is not possible for one to understand our Krishna Consciousness philosophy.
  • BG 11.54 – My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.
  • BG 11.55 – Essence of BhagavadGita – My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.
  • Anyone who wants to approach the supreme of all the Personalities of Godhead, on the Kṛṣṇaloka planet in the spiritual sky, and be intimately connected with the Supreme Personality, Kṛṣṇa, must take this formula, as stated by the Supreme Himself. 
  • The process by which one can attain success in his spiritual activity is devotional service.
  • No work should be done by any man except in relationship to Kṛṣṇa. This is called kṛṣṇa-karma. One may be engaged in various activities, but one should not be attached to the result of his work; the result should be done only for Him.
  • one who considers the association of Kṛṣṇa in His supreme abode to be the highest perfection of life. Such a person does not wish to be elevated to the higher planets such as the moon or sun or heavenly planets, or even the highest planet of this universe, Brahmaloka. He has no attraction for that.
  • He is only attracted to being transferred to the spiritual sky. And even in the spiritual sky he is not satisfied with merging into the glowing brahma-jyotir effulgence, for he wants to enter the highest spiritual planet, namely Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana. He has full knowledge of that planet, and therefore he is not interested in any other.
  • He is only attracted to being transferred to the spiritual sky. And even in the spiritual sky he is not satisfied with merging into the glowing brahma-jyotir effulgence, for he wants to enter the highest spiritual planet, namely Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana.
  • He has full knowledge of that planet, and therefore he is not interested in any other.
  • He fully engages in devotional service, specifically in the nine processes of devotional engagement: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord, making friends with Him, and surrendering everything to Him.
  • One can engage in all nine devotional processes, or eight, or seven, or at least in one, and that will surely make one perfect.

SB 2.9.9 – 12/12/21

The Personality of Godhead, being thus very much satisfied with the penance of Lord Brahmā, was pleased to manifest His personal abode, Vaikuṇṭha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory existence.

The troubles of penance accepted by Lord Brahmā were certainly in the line of devotional service (bhakti). Otherwise there was no chance that Vaikuṇṭha or svalokam, the Lord’s personal abodes, would become visible to Brahmājī. The personal abodes of the Lord, known as Vaikuṇṭhas, are neither mythical nor material, as conceived by the impersonalists. But realization of the transcendental abodes of the Lord is possible only through devotional service, and thus the devotees enter into such abodes. There is undoubtedly trouble in executing penance. But the trouble accepted in executing bhakti-yoga is transcendental happiness from the very beginning, whereas the trouble of penance in other processes of self-realization (jñāna-yoga, dhyāna-yoga, etc.), without any Vaikuṇṭha realization, ends in trouble only and nothing more. There is no profit in beating husks without grains. Similarly, there is no profit in executing troublesome penances other than bhakti-yoga for self-realization.

Executing bhakti-yoga is exactly like sitting on the lotus sprouted out of the abdomen of the transcendental Personality of Godhead, for Lord Brahmā was seated there. Brahmājī was able to please the Lord, and the Lord was also pleased to show Brahmājī His personal abode. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in the comments of his Krama-sandarbha annotation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, cites quotations from the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, Vedic evidence. It is said that Yājñavalkya described the transcendental abode of the Lord to Gārgī, and that the abode of the Lord is situated above the highest planet of the universe, namely Brahmaloka. This abode of the Lord, although described in revealed scriptures like the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, remains only a myth for the less intelligent class of men with a poor fund of knowledge. Herein the word sva-dṛṣṭavadbhiḥ is very significant. One who has actually realized his self realizes the transcendental form of one’s self. Impersonal realization of self and the Supreme is not complete, because it is just an opposite conception of material personalities. The Personality of Godhead and the personalities of devotees of the Lord are all transcendental; they do not have material bodies. The material body is overcast with five kinds of miserable conditions, namely ignorance, material conception, attachment, hatred and absorption. As long as one is overwhelmed by these five kinds of material miseries, there is no question of entering into the Vaikuṇṭhalokas. The impersonal conception of one’s self is just the negation of material personality and is far from the positive existence of personal form. The personal forms of the transcendental abode will be explained in the following verses. Brahmājī also described the highest planet of the Vaikuṇṭhaloka as Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the Lord resides as a cowherd boy keeping transcendental surabhi cows and surrounded by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.

cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpavṛkṣa-

lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam

lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

(Brahma-saṁhitā 5.29)

The statement of the Bhagavad-gītā, yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama, is also confirmed herewith. Param means transcendental Brahman. Therefore, the abode of the Lord is also Brahman, nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is known as Vaikuṇṭha, and His abode is also known as Vaikuṇṭha. Such Vaikuṇṭha realization and worship can be made possible by transcendental form and sense.

How the material world is created is explained in the second canto 9th chapter step by step.. 

Voluntary acceptance of discomfort for spiritual advancement – Tapasya

Voluntary acceptance of discomfort for atoning for a mistake done – Penance

Brahma – had a material desire he wanted to be a Brahma and to create a universe. Hence was doing penance. 

One desire is enough to keep us in the material world. 

Letters written in 1970 – https://vedabase.io/en/library/letters/letter-to-isana-vibhavati-2/

As soon as personal motivation comes in it is not possible for one to understand our Krishna Consciousness philosophy.

Brahma was initiated in one of the gayatri mantras . He chose to use that mantra to dovetail his desire in the service of the lord. 

SB teaches pure devotional service. 

BG 11.54

My dear Arjuna, only by undivided devotional service can I be understood as I am, standing before you, and can thus be seen directly. Only in this way can you enter into the mysteries of My understanding.

This verse speaks the  Position of Brahma – where he is not 100 percent pure.. 

BG 11.55 – Essence of BhagavadGita

My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being – he certainly comes to Me.

This verse is an explanation of pure devotional service

One who has no material desires, but has millions of desires to please Krsna..

Anyone who wants to approach the supreme of all the Personalities of Godhead, on the Kṛṣṇaloka planet in the spiritual sky, and be intimately connected with the Supreme Personality, Kṛṣṇa, must take this formula, as stated by the Supreme Himself. Therefore, this verse is considered to be the essence of Bhagavad-gītā. The Bhagavad-gītā is a book directed to the conditioned souls, who are engaged in the material world with the purpose of lording it over nature and who do not know of the real, spiritual life. The Bhagavad-gītā is meant to show how one can understand his spiritual existence and his eternal relationship with the supreme spiritual personality and to teach one how to go back home, back to Godhead. Now here is the verse which clearly explains the process by which one can attain success in his spiritual activity: devotional service.

No work should be done by any man except in relationship to Kṛṣṇa. This is called kṛṣṇa-karma. One may be engaged in various activities, but one should not be attached to the result of his work; the result should be done only for Him. For example, one may be engaged in business, but to transform that activity into Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to do business for Kṛṣṇa. If Kṛṣṇa is the proprietor of the business, then Kṛṣṇa should enjoy the profit of the business. If a businessman is in possession of thousands and thousands of dollars, and if he has to offer all this to Kṛṣṇa, he can do it. This is work for Kṛṣṇa. Instead of constructing a big building for his sense gratification, he can construct a nice temple for Kṛṣṇa, and he can install the Deity of Kṛṣṇa and arrange for the Deity’s service, as is outlined in the authorized books of devotional service. This is all kṛṣṇa-karma. One should not be attached to the result of his work, but the result should be offered to Kṛṣṇa, and one should accept as prasādam the remnants of offerings to Kṛṣṇa. If one constructs a very big building for Kṛṣṇa and installs the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, one is not prohibited from living there, but it is understood that the proprietor of the building is Kṛṣṇa. That is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If, however, one is not able to construct a temple for Kṛṣṇa, one can engage himself in cleansing the temple of Kṛṣṇa; that is also kṛṣṇa-karma. One can cultivate a garden. Anyone who has land – in India, at least, any poor man has a certain amount of land – can utilize that for Kṛṣṇa by growing flowers to offer Him. One can sow tulasī plants, because tulasī leaves are very important and Kṛṣṇa has recommended this in Bhagavad-gītā. Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyam. Kṛṣṇa desires that one offer Him either a leaf, or a flower, or fruit, or a little water – and by such an offering He is satisfied. This leaf especially refers to the tulasī. So one can sow tulasī and pour water on the plant. Thus, even the poorest man can engage in the service of Kṛṣṇa. These are some of the examples of how one can engage in working for Kṛṣṇa.

The word mat-paramaḥ refers to one who considers the association of Kṛṣṇa in His supreme abode to be the highest perfection of life. Such a person does not wish to be elevated to the higher planets such as the moon or sun or heavenly planets, or even the highest planet of this universe, Brahmaloka. He has no attraction for that. He is only attracted to being transferred to the spiritual sky. And even in the spiritual sky he is not satisfied with merging into the glowing brahma-jyotir effulgence, for he wants to enter the highest spiritual planet, namely Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana. He has full knowledge of that planet, and therefore he is not interested in any other. As indicated by the word mad-bhaktaḥ, he fully engages in devotional service, specifically in the nine processes of devotional engagement: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord, making friends with Him, and surrendering everything to Him. One can engage in all nine devotional processes, or eight, or seven, or at least in one, and that will surely make one perfect.

To know about goloka vrindavan one needs to hear Srimad Bhagavatam. 

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SB 2.9.8 Part 2 Notes – 12/11/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.8 – Part 2:

  • Brahma Samhitha 5.62 – “Listen, O Vidhi, I am the seed, i.e., the fundamental principle, of this world of animate and inanimate objects. I am pradhāna [the substance of matter], I am prakṛti [material cause] and I am puruṣa [efficient cause]. This fiery energy that belongs specially to the Brahman, that inheres in you, has also been conferred by Me. It is by bearing this fiery energy that you regulate this phenomenal world of animate and inanimate objects.”
  • From the purport of BS 5.62 – By discarding all the speculations, you and your bona fide community should adopt the ultimate principle identical with the doctrine of acintya-bhedābheda (inconceivable simultaneous distinction and nondifference). This will make you eligible for being a true devotee.
  • The basic principle is that this animate world is made up of jīvas and the inanimate world is constituted of matter. Of these all the jīvas have been manifested by My supreme (parā) potency and this phenomenal world has been manifested by My secondary (aparā) potency. I am the cause of all causes. 
  • In other words, I regulate all of them by the power of My will although I am not a different entity from the marginal and material (taṭasthā and acit) potencies
  • This simultaneous distinction and nondifference has also sprung from My inconceivable power. 
  • So let the attainment of love for Kṛṣṇa by the practice of pure devotion through the knowledge of their mutual true relationship that subsists between the jīva, the jaḍa (matter) and Kṛṣṇa based on the principle of inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-difference, be My instruction for being handed down in the order of spiritual preceptional succession in your community (Śrī Brahma-sampradāya).
  • If one is having trouble chanting Hare Krsna Maha Mantra that means that they are cursed by yamaraj. 
  • Hence one needs to wake up Jiva Jago.. 
  • When one wakes up and becomes Krsna Conscious, one is very eager to chant and hear the Maha mantra. 
  • If one is not Krsna Conscious – you don’t like to chant hare krishna and you don’t like to follow krishna consciousness strictly, then you become a separatists. And the separatist  is number one failure in life they’ll fail in all their relationships
    they’ll fail in everything they dol 
  • Failure means at the moment of death you cannot remember krishna so you have to start all over again and there’s no guarantee what the next birth is going to be.
  • Krishna consciousness is very important to accept as young as possible
  • one should not waste any time – uh why becausewe don’t know how much time we have someone who’s 14 and who’s going to die when they’re 18 is already old person
    and someone who’s 70 but yet is going to live to be a hundred they’re still a young person so we don’t know when we’re going to die
  • If one is intelligent – one always thinks i could die in the next minute
  • Maharaja pariksit understood that he was going to die in seven days he asked the  question now that i know i’m going to die what should be my duty
    right away Sukhdev goswami came i    t was clearly understood that
  • The duty of everyone is to hear srimad-bhagavatam every day and bhagavad-gita
  • hear it every day because our disease is forgetfulness.
  • Our disease is forgetfulness – due to forgetfulness and first negligence and then forgetfulness of krishna uh as soon as we become negligent in following the regulative principles
  • There’s eight principles – and the positive principles are
    • regularly hearing bhagavad-gita bhagavatam 
    • taking only prashadam
    • associating with devotees
    • doing devotional service 
    • visiting the temple regularly and doing devotional service
    • avoid the negative things – meat eating, gambling illicit activities and intoxication
  • It’s very easy to be krishna conscious it’s very hard to be a karmi – because you have to deal with stress you have to have difficult relationships you have to work hard you have to get sick a lot and have problems with the body and the
    mind also so it’s very hard to be a karmi it’s very easy to be a devotee
    but most people don’t understand that so they unnecessarily suffer in life they
    unnecessarily are in stress they unnecessarily have difficulties in their relationships and and then they’re trying to relieve themselves by taking sleeping
    pills and intoxicating and all these different things

SB 2.9.8 TRANSLATION: Lord Brahmā underwent penances for one thousand years by the calculations of the demigods. He heard this transcendental vibration from the sky, and he accepted it as divine. Thus he controlled his mind and senses, and the penances he executed were a great lesson for the living entities. Thus he is known as the greatest of all ascetics.

Lord Brahmā heard the occult sound tapa, but he did not see the person who vibrated the sound. And still he accepted the instruction as beneficial for him, and therefore he engaged himself in meditation for one thousand celestial years. One celestial year is equal to 6 × 30 × 12 × 1000 of our years. (2 trllion 160 billion years) His acceptance of the sound was due to his pure vision of the absolute nature of the Lord. And due to his correct vision, he made no distinction between the Lord and the Lord’s instruction. There is no difference between the Lord and sound vibration coming from Him, even though He is not personally present. The best way of understanding is to accept such divine instruction, and Brahmā, the prime spiritual master of everyone, is the living example of this process of receiving transcendental knowledge. The potency of transcendental sound is never minimized because the vibrator is apparently absent. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency.

If you want to see God, do something exceptional He will appear. Follow the example of Brahma, he took the sound as the instruction of the lord and performed tapa.. 

One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and, as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. The disciple, however, must be ready to execute the order of the bona fide spiritual master as Lord Brahmā executed the instruction of his spiritual master, the Lord Himself. Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the only duty of the disciple, and this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the secret of success.

The secret of success is in SB 2.9.6,7,8 – Brahma is an example of the secret of success. 

The most successful people in this universe – Brahma, Narada, Kumaras, Prahlada.  

If you are materially successful you are dealing with problems everyday and eventually you are so stressed out.. 

Nobody can have problems like pandavas.. Yet they are happy due to being Krsna Conscious.

Senses – sense perception and sense objects.. 

We have to control the senses otherwise they will control us. 

Lord Brahmā controlled his two grades of senses by means of sense perception and sense organs because he had to engage such senses in the execution of the order of the Lord. Therefore controlling the senses means engaging them in the transcendental service of the Lord. The Lord’s order descends in disciplic succession through the bona fide spiritual master, and thus execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is factual control of the senses. Such execution of penance in full faith and sincerity made Brahmājī so powerful that he became the creator of the universe. And because he was able to attain such power, he is called the best amongst all the tapasvīs.

Most of the brahmanas are  karma kandis. 98 precent of hindus are karma kandis. They perform sacrifices for material benefit. 

BS 5.62

“Listen, O Vidhi, I am the seed, i.e., the fundamental principle, of this world of animate and inanimate objects. I am pradhāna [the substance of matter], I am prakṛti [material cause] and I am puruṣa [efficient cause]. This fiery energy that belongs specially to the Brahman, that inheres in you, has also been conferred by Me. It is by bearing this fiery energy that you regulate this phenomenal world of animate and inanimate objects.”

Certain thinkers conclude that the nondifferentiated Brahman is the ultimate entity and by undergoing self-delusion (vivarta) exhibits the consciousness of differentiation; or, the limiting principle itself (Māyā), when it is limited, is the phenomenal world and is itself the Brahman, in its unlimited position; or, the Brahman is the substance and this phenomenal world is the reflection; or, everything is an illusion of the jīva. Some think that Godhead is evidently a separate entity. Jīva is another different entity. and the phenomenal world, although it is a singular principle, exists separately as an eternally independent entity; or, Godhead, is the substantive entity and all other entities, as cit and a-cit attributes, are one in principle. Some suppose that by the force of inconceivable potency sometimes the monistic and sometimes the dualistic principle is realized as the truth. Some again arrive at the conclusion that the theory of the nondual minus all potency is meaningless; whence the Brahman is the one eternally unalloyed entity vested with the pure potency.

These speculations have originated from Veda relying on the support of the Vedānta-sutra. In these speculations although there is no truth that holds good in all positions, there is yet a certain measure of truth. Not to speak of the anti-Vedic speculations Sāṅkhya, Patañjala, Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika, nor even of Pūrva-mīmāṁsā which is fond of exclusive fruitive activity in conformity with the teaching of one portion of the Veda, the bodies of opinions detailed above have also come into existence by relying outwardly on the Vedānta itself. By discarding all these speculations, you and your bona fide community should adopt the ultimate principle identical with the doctrine of acintya-bhedābheda (inconceivable simultaneous distinction and nondifference). This will make you eligible for being a true devotee. The basic principle is that this animate world is made up of jīvas and the inanimate world is constituted of matter. Of these all the jīvas have been manifested by My supreme (parā) potency and this phenomenal world has been manifested by My secondary (aparā) potency. I am the cause of all causes. In other words, I regulate all of them by the power of My will although I am not a different entity from the marginal and material (taṭasthā and acit) potencies. By the transformation of those distinct potencies pradhāna (substantive material principle), prakṛti (material cause) and puruṣa (efficient cause) have been produced. Hence although as regards the subjective nature of all potency I am pradhāna, prakṛti and puruṣa, yet as the possessor of power I am eternally distinct from all those potencies. This simultaneous distinction and nondifference has also sprung from My inconceivable power. So let the attainment of love for Kṛṣṇa by the practice of pure devotion through the knowledge of their mutual true relationship that subsists between the jīva, the jaḍa (matter) and Kṛṣṇa based on the principle of inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-difference, be My instruction for being handed down in the order of spiritual preceptional succession in your community (Śrī Brahma-sampradāya).

All the speculations going on around the world about Jiva, God, Universe..they all arise from the Vedas. – Jaimini, Patanjali, 

Acintya beda abeda tattva is the unified field theory. 

The entire conception of material life is based on the false foundations of I and mine. 

The real I is I am the cooperator of Krsna. 

Homework for next week – 

Read Brahma Samhitha 5.61 translation and purport. Explain what this paragraph means in detail: “Brahmā cherishes the desire for creation in his heart. If that creative desire is practiced by conjoining the same with the meditation of obeying therein the command of the Supreme Lord, then it will be a subsidiary spiritual function (gauṇa-dharma) being helpful for the growth of the disposition for the service of the Divinity by reason of its characteristic of seeking the protection of Godhead.” 

Hint: The “command of the Supreme Lord” is explained in BG 18.65. 

Chanting-

  • If one is having trouble chanting Hare Krsna Maha Mantra that means that they are cursed by yamaraj. 
  • Hence one needs to wake up Jiva Jago.. 
  • When one wakes up and becomes Krsna Conscious, one is very eager to chant and hear the Maha mantra. 
  • If one is not Krsna Conscious – you don’t like to chant hare krishna and you don’t like to follow krishna consciousness strictly, then you become a separatists. And the separatist  is number one failure in life they’ll fail in all their relationships
    they’ll fail in everything they dol 
  • Failure means at the moment of death you cannot remember krishna so you have to start all over again and there’s no guarantee what the next birth is going to be.
  • Krishna consciousness is very important to accept as young as possible
  • one should not waste any time – uh why becausewe don’t know how much time we have someone who’s 14 and who’s going to die when they’re 18 is already old person
    and someone who’s 70 but yet is going to live to be a hundred they’re still a young person so we don’t know when we’re going to die
  • If one is intelligent – one always thinks i could die in the next minute
  • maharaja pariksit understood that he was going to die in seven days he asked the  question now that i know i’m going to die what should be my duty
    right away Sukhdev goswami came i    t was clearly understood that
  • the duty of everyone is to hear srimad-bhagavatam every day and bhagavad-gita
  • hear it every day because our disease is forgetfulness.
  • Our disease is forgetfulness – due to forgetfulness and first negligence and then forgetfulness of krishna uh as soon as we become negligent in following the regulative principles
  • there’s eight principles – and the positive principles are
    • regularly hearing bhagavad-gita bhagavatam 
    • taking only prashadam
    • associating with devotees
    • doing devotional service 
    • visiting the temple regularly and doing devotional service
    • avoid the negative things – meat eating, gambling illicit activities and intoxication
  • it’s very easy to be krishna conscious it’s very hard to be a karmi – because you have to deal with stress you have to have difficult relationships you have to work hard you have to get sick a lot and have problems with the body and the
    mind also so it’s very hard to be a karmi it’s very easy to be a devotee
    but most people don’t understand that so they unnecessarily suffer in life they
    unnecessarily are in stress they unnecessarily have difficulties in their relationships and and then they’re trying to relieve themselves by taking sleeping
    pills and intoxicating and all these different things
Posted on

SB 2.9.8 Notes – 12/10/21

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HH HARIVILAS MAHARAJ’S MORNING BHAGAVATAM CLASS ON SB 2.9.8:

  • Lord Brahmā heard the occult sound tapa, but he did not see the person who vibrated the sound. And still he accepted the instruction as beneficial for him, and therefore he engaged himself in meditation for one thousand celestial years.
  • His acceptance of the sound was due to his pure vision of the absolute nature of the Lord. And due to his correct vision, he made no distinction between the Lord and the Lord’s instruction.
  • There is no difference between the Lord and sound vibration coming from Him, even though He is not personally present. 
  • The best way of understanding is to accept such divine instruction, and Brahmā, the prime spiritual master of everyone, is the living example of this process of receiving transcendental knowledge
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency.
  • One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation.
  • The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. 
  • Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and, as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. 
  • One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. 
  • The disciple, however, must be ready to execute the order of the bona fide spiritual master as Lord Brahmā executed the instruction of his spiritual master, the Lord Himself.
  • Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the only duty of the disciple, and this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the secret of success.
  • Controlling the senses means engaging them in the transcendental service of the Lord.
  • Execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is factual control of the senses.
  • Such execution of penance in full faith and sincerity made Brahmājī so powerful that he became the creator of the universe. And because he was able to attain such power, he is called the best amongst all the tapasvīs.

SB 2.9.8 TRANSLATION:

Lord Brahmā underwent penances for one thousand years by the calculations of the demigods. He heard this transcendental vibration from the sky, and he accepted it as divine. Thus he controlled his mind and senses, and the penances he executed were a great lesson for the living entities. Thus he is known as the greatest of all ascetics.

Purport

Lord Brahmā heard the occult sound tapa, but he did not see the person who vibrated the sound. And still he accepted the instruction as beneficial for him, and therefore he engaged himself in meditation for one thousand celestial years. One celestial year is equal to 6 × 30 × 12 × 1000 of our years. His acceptance of the sound was due to his pure vision of the absolute nature of the Lord. And due to his correct vision, he made no distinction between the Lord and the Lord’s instruction. There is no difference between the Lord and sound vibration coming from Him, even though He is not personally present. The best way of understanding is to accept such divine instruction, and Brahmā, the prime spiritual master of everyone, is the living example of this process of receiving transcendental knowledge. The potency of transcendental sound is never minimized because the vibrator is apparently absent. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā or any revealed scripture in the world is never to be accepted as an ordinary mundane sound without transcendental potency.

One has to receive the transcendental sound from the right source, accept it as a reality and prosecute the direction without hesitation. The secret of success is to receive the sound from the right source of a bona fide spiritual master. Mundane manufactured sound has no potency, and, as such, seemingly transcendental sound received from an unauthorized person also has no potency. One should be qualified enough to discern such transcendental potency, and either by discriminating or by fortunate chance if one is able to receive the transcendental sound from the bona fide spiritual master, his path of liberation is guaranteed. The disciple, however, must be ready to execute the order of the bona fide spiritual master as Lord Brahmā executed the instruction of his spiritual master, the Lord Himself. Following the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the only duty of the disciple, and this completely faithful execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is the secret of success.

Lord Brahmā controlled his two grades of senses by means of sense perception and sense organs because he had to engage such senses in the execution of the order of the Lord. Therefore controlling the senses means engaging them in the transcendental service of the Lord. The Lord’s order descends in disciplic succession through the bona fide spiritual master, and thus execution of the order of the bona fide spiritual master is factual control of the senses. Such execution of penance in full faith and sincerity made Brahmājī so powerful that he became the creator of the universe. And because he was able to attain such power, he is called the best amongst all the tapasvīs.

SB 2.9.6, 7, 8 – are about how to achieve real success in life. This is about the creation, the most intelligent person in this material world.. This is the real story.

Austerity – Waking up early in the morning Brahma muhurta, taking shower, Chanting rounds, attending mangala arti, Tulsi Arti, Hearing class, eating prasadam, getting ready to go to work. 

Everyone has to work, even the thief has to work, that is the law of the nature. 

Example – In one of the famous plat in the theater they chanted Hare Krsna and no one became devotees. But devotees who were chanting outside, hearing that,  people became devotees. 

Srila Prabhupada – Tamal Krishna maharaj was in northern California in a place where all hippies were living in woods like monkeys naked smoking marijuana.. He heard from a person who met SP and he got interested and then became one of the prominent disciples of SP who has hundreds and thousands of devotees. 

BS 5.26

But there is a stage of unmixed predilection even in devotion for the attainment of one’s selfish desire. This has been fully described in the concluding five ślokas of this work. That is the easiest method of divine service, prior to the attainment of self-realization, by fallen souls.

ISO 2

kurvann eveha karmāṇi

jijīviṣec chataḿ samāḥ

evaṁ tvayi nānyatheto ’sti

na karma lipyate nare

One may aspire to live for hundreds of years if he continuously goes on working in that way, for that sort of work will not bind him to the law of karma. There is no alternative to this way for man.

ISO 1 & 2 – Accept only the minimum things you need and use everything else in the service of Krsna,, that sort of work will not bind one in Karma.. 

Why did SP not  translate ISO and not other upanishads? 

It is the best and the short and the whole ISO 18mantras explain the whole KC.

If we can dovetail all our desires in the service of KC and we become purified and then we can engage in purified devotional service.

Must follow the instructions of Krsna. Demi Gods are just supply agents, the real manufacturer is Krsna. They are given certain things to give to people who are qualified to receive them. 

A kshatriya cannot receive anything for free he needs to fight to get stuff..