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Bhakti Vriksha Lessons for

Members

Krsna Sadhak

Bhakti Vriksha Lessons for Members - Krsna Sadhak Level

1 | P a g e I S K C O N N e w R a j a p u r J a g a n n a t h a D h a m , B e n g a l u r u

Contents The Transcendental Gardeners ........................................................................................................... 2

Preface ................................................................................................................................................... 4

Lessons ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 23. Kali’s four legs ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 24. Reasons for sin and places of lust ...................................................................................................................................... 9 25. False ego ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 26. Mind, intelligence and soul .............................................................................................................................................. 13 27. Nature of the mind ........................................................................................................................................................... 15 28. Do we need to control the mind? .................................................................................................................................... 17 29. Yoga ................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 30. Vyuha 4 – Yoga ladder ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 31. Topmost yoga.................................................................................................................................................................... 24 32. Who begins? ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 33. Ferris wheel....................................................................................................................................................................... 29 34. Demigods .......................................................................................................................................................................... 31 35. Three modes of material nature ....................................................................................................................................... 36 36. Sublime way to cross the three modes ............................................................................................................................. 38 37. Vyuha 5 – Seminar on the three modes of material nature ............................................................................................ 40

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The Transcendental Gardeners Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says to all the people of the world

ekalä mäläkära ämi kähäì kähäì yäba ekalä vä kata phala päòiyä viläba (CC Adi lila 9.34)

ataeva ämi äjïä diluì sabäkäre yähäì tähäì prema-phala deha’ yäre täre (CC Adi lila 9.36)

ataeva saba phala deha’ yäre täre khäiyä ha-uk loka ajara amare (CC Adi lila 9.39)

“I am the only gardener. How many places can I go? How many fruits can I pick and distribute? Therefore I order every man within this universe to accept this Kåñëa consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere. Distribute this Kåñëa consciousness movement all over the world. Let people eat these fruits and ultimately become free from old age and death.”

Suno suno Nityananda, suno haridasa, Sarvatra amara ajna koroha prakasa, Prati ghare ghare giya koro ei bhiksa,

Bolo Krsna, bhaja Krsna, koro Krsna siksa (Caitanya Bhagavata Madhya-lila 13.8-9) “O hear Me, hear Me Nityananda! Hear Me Haridasa! Simply disseminate My order everywhere. Go from house to house and beg the residents as follows: Speak about Krsna, worship Krsna and teach others about Krsna.” In Sri Godruma-Kalpatavi, Bhakti Vinoda Thakura, one of the pioneering acaryas of our parampara, describes the structure of the Nama Hatta. The spirit of his endeavor exactly matched the mood of Lord Nityananda, who was personally ordered by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Thakura established over five-hundred Nama Hatta sangas (associations). Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati instructed his disciples to broadcast the glories of Sridham Mayapur and Navadvip parikrama, to print books and establish Nama Hatta. Of these three activities, brhad mridanga, or the massive distribution of books has been considered the primary method of expansion. But nowadays with ninety-eight percent or more of our devotees being congregational members, Nama Hatta is more relevant to ISKCON today than it was at the beginning of our movement. In a letter Srila Prabhupada appreciates home preaching, “Your home to home preaching is very good. The important thing is to make arrangements that they hear and chant. That will make your preaching successful. Once they begin chanting then automatically they will want to follow the rules and regulations, attend arati, take prasadam, etc.” (Letter to Tusta Krsna Maharaja, 9th January, 1976) In the introduction to the translation of Sri Godruma Kalpatavi HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja says that, “In this modern age it is most practical to apply the Nama Hatta form of preaching - cultivating people through small groups formed of the congregation. Nama Hatta groups can begin anywhere, without restrictions, whereas in a temple there are so many restrictions, not only spiritual but also material, in the sense that so many expenses must be met. Today we have different kinds of Nama Hatta programs, such as counsellor groups, Bhakti Vrikshas and various other groups, all of which are included in the broad category of the Nama Hatta.”

Implementation of Nama hatta for the present time in the form of Bhakti Vriksha was introduced by HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja. The Bhakti Vriksha program’s structure follows the same format as Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Nama Hatta organization, adapted for the current times. Inspired by Srila Prabhupada and HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja a team of devotees in ISKCON New Rajapur Jagannatha Dham (NRJD), Bengaluru have made an insignificant attempt in compiling these lessons for the benefit of the devotee community.



These lessons have been compiled to help the Bhakti Vriksha sevaks to help their members to systematically advance spiritually. Devotees who have any queries, suggestions or would like to seek any clarification on this Bhakti Vriksha Lessons for Members or congregational preaching may reach out to us on [email protected]. Your servants, Caitanya Avatari Das and Rasamayi Devi Dasi (On behalf of the Editorial team, ISKCON - NRJD, Bengaluru) P.S.: If you are interested in successfully implementing Bhakti Vriksha in your Yatra / area please contact the Congregational Development Ministry (phone: +91 (3472) 245619, email: [email protected])

mailto:[email protected]



Preface

In the introduction to the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srila Prabhupada writes tasmat sarveshu kaleshu

mam anusmara yudhya ca mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mam evaishyasy asamsayah

“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krsna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” (BG 8.7) “He (Krsna) does not advise Arjuna simply to remember Him and give up his occupation. No, the Lord never suggests anything impractical. In this material world, in order to maintain the body one has to work. Human society is divided, according to work, into four divisions of social order – brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and sudra. The brahmana class or intelligent class is working in one way, the kshatriya or administrative class is working in another way, and the mercantile class and the laborers are all tending to their specific duties. In the human society, whether one is a laborer, merchant, administrator or farmer, or even if one belongs to the highest class and is a literary man, a scientist or a theologian, he has to work in order to maintain his existence. The Lord therefore tells Arjuna that he need not give up his occupation, but while he is engaged in his occupation he should remember Krsna (mam anusmara) (BG 8.7). If he doesn’t practice remembering Krsna while he is struggling for existence, then it will not be possible for him to remember Krsna at the time of death. Lord Caitanya also advises this. Therefore we have to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty four hours a day, by chanting His names and moulding our life’s activities in such a way that we can remember Him always.” The commitment level to practice Krsna consciousness varies depending upon the involvement of the practioner and also the help/guidance given by the Bhakti Vriksha sevak /Bhakti Vriksha sector sevak. Whatever may be the level of commitment Krsna Himself promises in the Bhagavad Gita, “There is no loss or diminution in this endeavor and even a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most fearful type of danger.” (BG 2.40) In order to encourage the members to systematically advance spiritually, different shiksha-levels of commitment and standards of devotional service are recognized by ISKCON. These standards are prescribed for the devotees who are practicing Krsna consciousness from home . The shiksha program helps the congregational devotees to consolidate and increase their spiritual practises. The different shiksha-levels of commitment and standards prescribed are:

Shraddhavan Krsna / Gauranga Sevak Krsna / Gauranga Sadhak Srila Prabhupada Ashraya Sri Guru Charana Ashraya Diksha



Lessons

Introduction The Lessons along with ‘Sri Namamrta’ and ‘Preaching is the essence’ for Bhakti Vriksha sessions 23 to 37 are provided in this Chapter. The relevant lessons along with the ‘Sri Namamrta’ and ‘Preaching is the essence’ should be printed every week and shared with the participants during the weekly session. It is suggested that all the participants read through the lesson during the weekly program. Subsequent discussions and questions will be centered on the lesson. The Bhakti Vriksha sevak should moderate the discussions based on the lesson for the week and his advanced preparation.



23. Kali’s four legs

suta uvaca abhyarthitas tada tasmai / sthanani kalaye dadau dyutam panam striyah suna / yatradharmas catur-vidhah (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.17.38) TRANSLATION

Suta Gosvami said: Maharaja Parikshit, thus being petitioned by the personality of Kali, gave him permission to reside in places where gambling, drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter were performed.

PURPORT

The basic principles of irreligiosity, such as pride, prostitution, intoxication and falsehood, counteract the four principles of religion, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. The personality of Kali was given permission to live in four places particularly mentioned by the King, namely the place of gambling, the place of prostitution, the place of drinking and the place of animal slaughter.

"How a living entity becomes a victim of the material condition is lucidly explained in this verse. The beginning is to misidentify the body as one's self. Therefore Bhagavad-gita begins with the spiritual instruction that one is not the body, but is within the body. This consciousness can be possible only if one chants the holy name of Krsna, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, and always keeps oneself in the association of devotees. This is the secret of success. Therefore we stress that one should chant the holy name of the Lord and keep oneself free from the contaminations of this material world, especially the contaminations of lusty desires for illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling. With determination, one should vow to follow these principles and thus be saved from the miserable condition of material existence. The first necessity is to become freed from the bodily concept of life." (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.38 Purport)

"As mentioned before, there are four basic characteristics of an impure life--illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling. According to the Vedic principles, sex should not be indulged in outside of marriage. In human society there is therefore a system of marriage which distinguishes us from the cats and dogs. Whether we are Hindu, Moslem or Christian, we acknowledge the system of marriage. The purpose of this system is to avoid illicit sex. According to the Vedic system, intoxication is also discouraged; nor is meat-eating advocated, for human beings should be nonviolent. We have been given sufficient grains, fruits, milk, and vegetables, and there is no necessity to kill poor animals. Some people argue that if we do not eat meat we will be undernourished, but we can see that the students of this Krsna consciousness movement have given up meat and are very healthy, whereas people who are eating meat are still, despite their meat-eating, subject to so many diseases and unhealthy conditions. Gambling is also discouraged because it simply agitates the mind.

This then is the purificatory process by which one can become a brahmana. This path is open to everyone. A brahmana is one who is truthful and pure, tolerant and simple, full of knowledge and faith in God. He can control his mind and his senses also.

From the book Elevation to Krsna Consciousness, Chapter 3

"Therefore there is no difficulty in coming in contact with the Supreme Lord (ko 'ti-prayasah). On the other hand, going to hell requires great endeavor. If one wants to go to hell by illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication, he must acquire so many things. For illicit sex he must arrange for money for brothels, for meat-eating he must arrange for many slaughterhouses, for gambling he must arrange for casinos and hotels, and for intoxication he must open many breweries. Clearly, therefore, if one wants to go to hell he must endeavor very much, but if he wants to return home, back to Godhead, there is no difficult endeavor. To go back to Godhead, one may live alone anywhere, in any condition, and simply sit down, meditate upon the Supersoul and chant and hear about the Lord. Thus there is no difficulty in approaching the Lord. Adanta-gobhir visatam tamisram. Because of inability to control the senses, one must go through great endeavor to go to hell, but if one is sensible he can very easily obtain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Lord is always with him. By the simple method of sravanam kirtanam visnoh, the Lord is satisfied."

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.38 Purport



Discovery

1. How many principles of religion are there? What are they?

2. What are the four characteristics of impure life?

3. Which are the four places where Kali resides?

4. What are the four regulative principles?

Understanding

1. Why do we need to follow the regulative principles?

2. What are the benefits we get by following them?

3. How can we save ourselves from the miserable condition of material existance?

4. Which do you think is simpler – Krsna consciousness process or material endeavour which binds us?

Application

1. What are the challenges you are facing or you think you may face in following the Krsna consciousness process?

2. How do you plan to follow the regulative principles?

SRI NAMAMRTA Whether pure or impure, one should begin the chanting process which elevates one to purity

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu further advised Subuddhi Raya: "Begin chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, and when your chanting is almost pure, all your sinful reactions will go away. After you chant perfectly, you will get shelter at the lotus feet of Krsna." (Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya 25.199)

PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE The Kåñëa consciousness movement can save the world

Kiräta, Hüëa, Ändhra, Pulinda, Pulkaça, Äbhéra, Çumbha, Yavana and the Khasa races and even others who are addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

The above-mentioned historical names are different nations of the world. Even those who are constantly engaged in sinful acts are all corrigible to the standard of perfect human beings if they take shelter of the devotees of the Lord. Jesus Christ and Hajrat Muhammad, two powerful devotees of the Lord, have done tremendous service on behalf of the Lord on the surface of the globe. And from the version of Çréla Çukadeva Gosvämé it appears that instead of running a godless civilization in the present context of the world situation, if the leadership of world affairs is entrusted to the devotees of the Lord, for which a worldwide organization under the name and style of the International Society for Krsna Consciousness has already been started, then by the grace of the Almighty Lord there can be a thorough change of heart in human beings all over the world because the devotees of the Lord are able authorities to effect such a change by purifying the dust-worn minds of the people in general. The politicians of the world may remain in their respective positions because the pure devotees of the Lord are not interested in.political leadership or diplomatic implications. The devotees are interested only in seeing that the people in general are not misguided by political propaganda and in seeing that the valuable life of a human being is not spoiled in following a type of civilization which is ultimately doomed. If the politicians would, therefore, be guided by the good counsel of the devotees, then certainly there would be a great change in the world situation by the purifying propaganda of the devotees, as shown by Lord Caitanya.

A person, though he be even the most sinful man, can at once be purified by systematic contact with a pure Vaiñëava.So by the order of Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the cult of Çrémad-Bhägavatam or the Bhagavad-gétä can be preached all over the world, reclaiming all persons willing to accept the transcendental cult. Such



cultural propaganda by the devotees will certainly be accepted by all persons who are reasonable and inquisitive, without any particular bias for the custom of the country..

(Srimad Bhagavatam 2.4.18)



24. Reasons for sin and places of lust

kāma eṣa krodha eṣa

rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ mahāśano mahā-pāpmā

viddhy enam iha vairiṇam(BG 3.37)

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.

PURPORT

When a living entity comes in contact with the material creation, his eternal love for Krsna is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. Or, in other words, the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust, as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt. Then again, when lust is unsatisfied, it turns into wrath; wrath is transformed into illusion, and illusion continues the material existence. Therefore, lust is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in the material world. Wrath is the manifestation of the mode of ignorance; these modes exhibit themselves as wrath and other corollaries. If, therefore, the mode of passion, instead of being degraded into the mode of ignorance, is elevated to the mode of goodness by the prescribed method of living and acting, then one can be saved from the degradation of wrath by spiritual attachment.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead expanded Himself into many for His ever-increasing spiritual bliss, and the living entities are parts and parcels of this spiritual bliss. They also have partial independence, but by misuse of their independence, when the service attitude is transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment, they come under the sway of lust. This material creation is created by the Lord to give facility to the conditioned souls to fulfill these lustful propensities, and when completely baffled by prolonged lustful activities, the living entities begin to inquire about their real position. indriyāṇi mano buddhir asyādhiṣṭhānam ucyate etair vimohayaty eṣa jñānam āvṛtya dehinam(BG 3.40)

TRANSLATION

The senses, the mind and the intelligence are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.

PURPORT

The enemy has captured different strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore Lord Krsna is giving hints of those places, so that one who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus when we hear about sense objects the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all ideas of sense gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit soul is very nicely explained in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.84.13): yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ

"A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like an ass or a cow.

http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/a/arjuna

http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/k/krsna




Discovery

1. How does lust arise and transform?

2. Do you think lust binds us to this world? Substantiate.

3. What are the sitting places of lust?

4. How does lust influence a conditioned soul?

Understanding

1. How does one identify himself with matter?

2. What are the consequences of this?

3. When do we begin to inquire about our real position and what is our real position?

Application

1. What are the ways in which we can dovetail the sitting places of lust in the Lord’s service?

SRI NAMAMRTA We must chant Hare Krsna in order to cleanse the heart of lust and greed

The whole world is revolving due to kama and lobha. Kama means "lusty desire," and lobha means "greed." People cannot have enough sex or money, and because of this, their hearts are filled with contaminations, which have to be cleansed by hearing, repeating and chanting. Human life is meant to get rid of anarthas, unwanted things, but where is the university or college where this science of purification is taught? The only institution is this Krsna consciousness society. Krsna is within the heart, and the contaminations are also there, but Krsna will help us cleanse them. Nasta−prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata−sevaya (S.B. 1.2.18). We must regularly hear Srimad−Bhagavatam and chant Hare Krsna; these are the two processes recommended by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. (Teachings of Lord Kapila, the Son of Devahuti, Chapter 9, text 16)

PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE

A Vaisëava shows compassion toward sinful, suffering entities

Prahläda Mahäräja is the topmost example of a Vaiñëava who is always compassionate toward sinful persons suffering a hellish life within this material world. Kåñëa is therefore known as para-duùkha-duùkhé kåpämbudhi, or one who is compassionate toward others’ suffering and who is an ocean of mercy. Like Prahläda Mahäräja, all pure devotees of the Lord come to this material world with full compassion to deliver the sinful. They undergo all kinds of tribulations, suffering them with tolerance, because that is another qualification of a Vaiñëava, who tries to deliver all sinful persons from the hellish conditions of material existence. Vaiñëavas are therefore offered the following prayer.

väïchä-kalpatarubhyaç ca / kåpä-sindhubhya eva ca patitänäà pävanebhyo / vaiñëavebhyo namo namaù

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiñëava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls.”

The chief concern of a Vaiñëava is to deliver the fallen souls.

(Srimad Bhagavatam 4.21.47)



25. False ego

prakrteh kriyamanani / gunaih karmani sarvasah ahankara-vimudhatma / kartaham iti manyate (BG 3.27)

TRANSLATION The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.

PURPORT Two persons, one in Krsna consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Krsna. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such his bodily and mental activities should be engaged in the service of Krsna, in Krsna consciousness. The ignorant man forgets that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is known as Hrsikesa, or the master of the senses of the material body, for due to his long misuse of the senses in sense gratification, he is factually bewildered by the false ego, which makes him forget his eternal relationship with Krsna. tattva-vit tu maha-baho / guna-karma-vibhagayoh guna gunesu vartanta / iti matva na sajjate (BG 3.28) TRANSLATION One who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and work for fruitive results. PURPORT The knower of the Absolute Truth is convinced of his awkward position in material association. He knows that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and that his position should not be in the material creation. He knows his real identity as part and parcel of the Supreme, who is eternal bliss and knowledge, and he realizes that somehow or other he is entrapped in the material conception of life. In his pure state of existence he is meant to dovetail his activities in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. He therefore engages himself in the activities of Krsna consciousness and becomes naturally unattached to the activities of the material senses, which are all circumstantial and temporary. He knows that his material condition of life is under the supreme control of the Lord; consequently he is not disturbed by all kinds of material reactions, which he considers to be the mercy of the Lord. According to Srimad-Bhagavatam, one who knows the Absolute Truth in three different features — namely Brahman, Paramatma, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead — is called tattva-vit, for he knows also his own factual position in relationship with the Supreme. Discovery 1. What are the 2 types of bodies? 2. What does a person with false ego think about himself? 3. What does a person free from false ego think about his position? 4. How does a person get bewildered by false ego? Understanding 1. How can we easily understand that we are not controllers? 2. How can we get free from false ego?



Application 1. How can we identify false ego in our daily activity. What steps do you plan to take to overcome false ego? SRI NAMAMRTA The effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from false egoism

The effect of chanting the holy name of the Lord is perceived by the chanter as liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is exhibited by thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for the enjoyment of one's self only. The whole materialistic world is moving under such false egoism of "I" and "mine," but the factual effect of chanting the holy name is to become free from such misconceptions. Srimad-Bhägavatam 2.1.11

Chanting Hare Krsna not only frees one from false ego, but elevates the soul to its eternal, constitutional position of pure devotional service

Simply understanding ahaìkära means no more than understanding the false identification. Simply understanding that I am not matter, I am soul, is not perfection. The impersonalist, the void philosopher, simply thinks of the negative, that I am not this matter, I am not this body. This will not stay. You have to not only realize that you are not matter, but you have to engage yourself in the spiritual world. And that spiritual world means to be working in Krsna Consciousness. That spiritual world, that functioning of real life, is Krsna Consciousness.... Chanting the mahä-mantra—Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare—is the process not merely of putting an end to this false conception of the self, but it goes beyond that, to the point where the pure spirit soul engages in his eternal, blissful, all-knowing activities in the loving service of God. This is the height of conscious development, the ultimate goal of all living entities now evolving through the cycles and species of material nature.

(Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System, Chapter 5)

PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Advanced devotees are compassionate and try to preach

When a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness or Kåsëa consciousness, he naturally becomes very sympathetic toward all living entities suffering in the material world. Naturally such an advanced person thinks of the suffering of the people in general.... If one is actually sympathetic to fallen, suffering humanity, he should try to elevate people from material consciousness to spiritual conscious.... By the grace of Kåñëa, we may raise a person to spiritual consciousness if we ourselves follow the rules and regulations. If we give up our own spiritual activities and simply become concerned with the bodily comforts of others, we will fall into a dangerous position.

(Srimad-Bhägavatam 5.8.9)



26. Mind, intelligence and soul

indriyani parany ahur / indriyebhyah param´ manah manasas tu para buddhir / yo buddheh paratas tu sah (BG 3.42) TRANSLATION The working senses are superior to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence. PURPORT The senses are different outlets for the activities of lust. Lust is reserved within the body, but it is given vent through the senses. Therefore, the senses are superior to the body as a whole. These outlets are not in use when there is superior consciousness, or Krsna consciousness. In Krsna consciousness the soul makes direct connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the hierarchy of bodily functions, as described here, ultimately ends in the Supreme Soul. Bodily action means the functions of the senses, and stopping the senses means stopping all bodily actions. But since the mind is active, then even though the body may be silent and at rest, the mind will act — as it does during dreaming. But above the mind is the determination of the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul proper. If, therefore, the soul is directly engaged with the Supreme, naturally all other subordinates, namely, the intelligence, mind and senses, will be automatically engaged. In the Katha Upanisad there is a similar passage, in which it is said that the objects of sense gratification are superior to the senses, and mind is superior to the sense objects. If, therefore, the mind is directly engaged in the service of the Lord constantly, then there is no chance that the senses will become engaged in other ways. This mental attitude has already been explained. param´ drstva nivartate. If the mind is engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord, there is no chance of its being engaged in the lower propensities. In the Katha Upanisad the soul has been described as mahan, the great. Therefore the soul is above all — namely, the sense objects, the senses, the mind and the intelligence. Therefore, directly understanding the constitutional position of the soul is the solution of the whole problem. With intelligence one has to seek out the constitutional position of the soul and then engage the mind always in Krsna consciousness. That solves the whole problem. A neophyte spiritualist is generally advised to keep aloof from the objects of the senses. But aside from that, one has to strengthen the mind by use of intelligence. If by intelligence one engages one's mind in Krsna consciousness, by complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then, automatically, the mind becomes stronger, and even though the senses are very strong, like serpents, they will be no more effective than serpents with broken fangs. But even though the soul is the master of intelligence and mind, and the senses also, still, unless it is strengthened by association with Krsna in Krsna consciousness, there is every chance of falling down due to the agitated mind. evam buddheh param buddhva / sam´stabhyatmanam atmana jahi satrum maha-baho / kama-rupam durasadam (BG 3.43) TRANSLATION Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Krsna consciousness] and thus — by spiritual strength — conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust. PURPORT This Third Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita is conclusively directive to Krsna consciousness by knowing oneself as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without considering impersonal voidness the ultimate end. In the material existence of life, one is certainly influenced by propensities for lust and desire for dominating the resources of material nature. Desire for overlording and for sense gratification is the greatest enemy of the conditioned soul; but by the strength of Krsna consciousness, one can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may not give up work and prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually developing Krsna consciousness, one can be situated in a transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses and the mind — by steady intelligence directed toward one's pure identity.



This is the sum total of this chapter. In the immature stage of material existence, philosophical speculations and artificial attempts to control the senses by the so-called practice of yogic postures can never help a man toward spiritual life. He must be trained in Krsna consciousness by higher intelligence. Discovery 1. Arrange in the order of increasing superiority a)soul b)senses c)mind d)intelligence 2. What are the two greatest enemies of the conditioned soul? 3. How can we avoid the mind and senses being engaged in lower propensity? 4. Is it a good idea to stop all activities to control the senses? What is the better alternative? Understanding 1. How does Krsna consciousness make the soul strong enough to avoid the influence of material nature?

Explain with an example. 2. What do you understand by ‘param drstva nivartate’? Application How can we be more focused in engaging our senses in devotional service? How do your plan to do that? SRI NAMAMRTA "I do not know how much nectar the two syllables 'Kåñ-ëa' have produced. When the holy name of Krsna is chanted, it appears to dance within the mouth. We then desire many, many mouths. When that name enters the holes of the ears, we desire many millions of ears. And when the holy name dances in the courtyard of the heart, it conquers the activities of the mind, and therefore all the senses become inert." (Vidagdha-mädhava (1.15), by Rüpa Gosvämé [cited: Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Antya-lélä 1.99]) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Preaching is the highest welfare activity

Preaching the knowledge of the living entity's spiritual existence is the highest welfare work.

... [the living entity] must preach this knowledge [of self-realization] after perfecting himself and understanding his own position as an eternal servant of Kåñëa. Preaching this is showing real mercy to living entities. Other types of humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual existence. As Caitanya Mahäprabhu says, jévera 'srarüpa' haya-kåñëera 'nitya-däsa.' "Every living entity is constitutionally a servant of Kåñëa." One should know this fact perfectly and should preach it to the mass of people.(Srimad-Bhägavatam 4.29.1b) Anyone ... who tries sincerely to present Bhagavad-gita as it is will advance in devotional activities and reach the pure devotional state of life. As a result of such pure devotion, he is sure to go back home, back to Godhead. (Bhagavad Gita. 18.68-69)



27. Nature of the mind

cancalam hi manah Krsna / pramathi balavad drdham tasyaham nigraham manye / vayor iva su-duskaram(Bg 6.34)

TRANSLATION For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.

PURPORT The mind is so strong and obstinate that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence, although the mind is supposed to be subservient to the intelligence. For a man in the practical world who has to fight so many opposing elements, it is certainly very difficult to control the mind. Artificially, one may establish a mental equilibrium toward both friend and enemy, but ultimately no worldly man can do so, for this is more difficult than controlling the raging wind. In the Vedic literature (Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-4) it is said:

atmanam rathinam viddhi / sariram ratham eva ca buddhim tu sarathim viddhi / manah pragraham eva ca indriyani hayan ahur /visayams tesu gocaran atmendriya-mano-yuktam / bhoktety ahur manisinah

"The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." Intelligence is supposed to direct the mind, but the mind is so strong and obstinate that it often overcomes even one's own intelligence, as an acute infection may surpass the efficacy of medicine. Such a strong mind is supposed to be controlled by the practice of yoga, but such practice is never practical for a worldly person like Arjuna. And what can we say of modern man? The simile used here is appropriate: one cannot capture the blowing wind. And it is even more difficult to capture the turbulent mind. The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Caitanya, is chanting "Hare Krsna," the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manah Krsna-padaravindayoh: one must engage one's mind fully in Krsna. Only then will there remain no other engagements to agitate the mind.

sri-bhagavan uvaca asamsayam maha-baho / mano durnigraham calam abhyasena tu kaunteya / vairagyena ca grhyate (Bg 6.35)

TRANSLATION Lord Sri Krsna said: O mighty-armed son of Kunti, it is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.

PURPORT The difficulty of controlling the obstinate mind, as expressed by Arjuna, is accepted by the Personality of Godhead. But at the same time He suggests that by practice and detachment it is possible. What is that practice? In the present age no one can observe the strict rules and regulations of placing oneself in a sacred place, focusing the mind on the Supersoul, restraining the senses and mind, observing celibacy, remaining alone, etc. By the practice of Krsna consciousness, however, one engages in nine types of devotional service to the Lord. The first and foremost of such devotional engagements is hearing about Krsna. This is a very powerful transcendental method for purging the mind of all misgivings. The more one hears about Krsna, the more one becomes enlightened and detached from everything that draws the mind away from Krsna. By detaching the mind from activities not devoted to the Lord, one can very easily learn vairagya. Vairagya means detachment from matter and engagement of the mind in spirit. Impersonal spiritual detachment is more difficult than attaching the mind to the activities of Krsna. This is practical because by hearing about Krsna one becomes automatically attached to the Supreme Spirit. This attachment is called paresanubhava, spiritual satisfaction. It is just like the feeling of satisfaction a hungry man has for every morsel of food he eats. The more one eats while hungry, the more one feels satisfaction and strength. Similarly, by discharge of devotional service one feels transcendental satisfaction as the mind becomes detached from material objectives. It is something like curing a disease by expert treatment and appropriate diet. Hearing of the transcendental



activities of Lord Krsna is therefore expert treatment for the mad mind, and eating the foodstuff offered to Krsna is the appropriate diet for the suffering patient. This treatment is the process of Krsna consciousness. Discovery 1. What is the analogy of the chariot? How does it connect to our understanding of the hierarchy of the

mind, intelligence and soul? 2. In the body what is the work of intelligence? 3. What does ‘paresanubhava’ mean? 4. What does ‘vairagya’ mean? Understanding 1. When one is angry, between the mind and intelligence which one is more active? 2. How do we strengthen the intelligence? 3. How can devotional service satisfy the mind? Application 1. In future how would you like to handle situations when you are angry, feeling stressed or tense? What is

your plan to handle it better? 2. What are the devotional services that you engage in? Do you think you can advance on this path? What is

your plan? SRI NAMAMRTA In Kali−yuga, constant chanting of the holy name is more effective than the yoga system for controlling the mind: The mind is caïcala, flickering, and it changes very strongly. Therefore Arjuna admitted that controlling the mind is not at all possible; this would be as difficult as controlling the wind. For example, if one were in a boat moving according to the wind on a river or the sea, and the wind were uncontrollable, the tilting boat would be very much disturbed and extremely difficult to control. It might even capsize. Therefore, in the bhava-samudra, the ocean of mental speculation and transmigration to different types of bodies, one must first control the mind.By regulative practice one can control the mind, and this is the purpose of the yoga system (abhyäsa-yoga-yuktena [Bg. 8.8]). But there is a chance of failure with the yoga system, especially in this age of Kali, because the yoga system uses artificial means. If the mind is engaged in bhakti-yoga, however, by the grace of Krsnaone can very easily control it. Therefore Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has recommended, harer näma harer näma harer nämaiva kevalam [Cc. Ädi 17.21]. One should chant the holy name of the Lord constantly, for the holy name of the Lord is nondifferent from Hari, the Supreme Person. By chanting the Hare Krsna mantra constantly, one can fix the mind on the lotus feet of Krsna(sa vai manaù kåñëa-padaravindayoù [SB 9.4.18]), and in this way achieve the perfection of yoga. Otherwise, the flickering mind will hover on the platform of mental speculation for sense enjoyment, and one will have to transmigrate from one type of body to another. (Srimad-Bhägavatam 10.1.42) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Distribution of Transcendental literature benefits human society There are so many unwanted literatures full of materialistic ideas of sense gratification.... The people in general want to read (that is a natural instinct), but because their minds are polluted they want such literatures. Under the circumstances, transcendental literature like Srimad-Bhägavatam will not only diminish the activities of the corrupt mind of the people in general, but also it will supply food for their hankering after reading some interesting literature. In the beginning they may not like it because one suffering from jaundice is reluctant to take sugar candy, but we should know that sugar candy is the only remedy for jaundice. Similarly, let there be systematic propaganda for popularizing reading of the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhägavatam, which will act like sugar candy for the jaundice like condition of sense gratification. When men have a taste for this literature, the other literatures, which are catering poison to society, will then automatically cease. (Srimad-Bhägavatam 1.5.11)



28. Do we need to control the mind?

uddhared atmanatmanam / natmanam avasadayet atmaiva hy atmano bandhur / atmaiva ripur atmanah (Bg 6.5) TRANSLATION One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. PURPORT The word atma denotes body, mind and soul — depending upon different circumstances. In the yoga system, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important. Since the mind is the central point of yoga practice, atma refers here to the mind. The purpose of the yoga system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects. It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience. In material existence one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because the mind is involved with the false ego, which desires to lord it over material nature. Therefore, the mind should be trained so that it will not be attracted by the glitter of material nature, and in this way the conditioned soul may be saved. One should not degrade oneself by attraction to sense objects. The more one is attracted by sense objects, the more one becomes entangled in material existence. The best way to disentangle oneself is to always engage the mind in Krsna consciousness. The word hi is used for emphasizing this point, i.e., that one must do this. It is also said: mana eva manushyanam / karanam bandha-mokshayoh bandhaya vishayasango / muktyai nirvishayam manah "For man, mind is the cause of bondage and mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation." (Amrita-bindu Upanishad 2) Therefore, the mind which is always engaged in Krsna consciousness is the cause of supreme liberation. bandhur atmatmanas tasya / yenatmaivatmana jitah anatmanas tu satrutve / vartetatmaiva satru-vat(Bg 6.6) TRANSLATION For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy. PURPORT The purpose of practicing eightfold yoga is to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga (for show) is simply a waste of time. One who cannot control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus his life and its mission are spoiled. The constitutional position of the living entity is to carry out the order of the superior. As long as one's mind remains an unconquered enemy, one has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion, etc. But when the mind is conquered, one voluntarily agrees to abide by the dictation of the Personality of Godhead, who is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramatma. Real yoga practice entails meeting the Paramatma within the heart and then following His dictation. For one who takes to Krsna consciousness directly, perfect surrender to the dictation of the Lord follows automatically. Discovery 1. What does the false ego want to do? 2. When is the mind our best friend and when is it our enemy? 3. By what symptoms can we understand that our mind is our enemy? 4. What is the purpose of the yoga system?



Understanding 1. How can the mind be the cause of bondage? 2. How can the mind be the cause of liberation? 3. Can we conquer the mind? How? What is the symptom of one who has conquered the mind? Application 1. Would you like to make your mind a friend? How will you make the mind your friend? 2. How can we increase our surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? How do you plan to do this

practically? SRI NAMAMRTA In the present age, chanting the Hare Krsna mantra is more effective than yogic breathing exercises for controlling the mind The process of Krsna Consciousness is to chant Hare Krsna and to hear the sound attentively so that the mind is fixed upon the transcendental vibration of Kåñëa's name, which is nondifferent from Krsna the personality. The real purpose of controlling the mind by the prescribed method of clearing the passage of the life air is achieved immediately if one fixes his mind directly on the lotus feet of Kåñëa. The haöha-yoga system, or breathing system, is especially recommended for those who are very absorbed in the concept of bodily existence, but one who can perform the simple process of chanting Hare Krsna can fix the mind more easily.... As stated in Bhagavad-gita, one's mind is his enemy, and one's mind is also his friend; its position varies according to the different dealings of the living entity. If we divert our mind to thoughts of material enjoyment, then our mind becomes an enemy, and if we concentrate our mind on the lotus feet of Kåñëa, then our mind is a friend.... In Bhagavad-gita (8.8) it is said that one must practice the breathing exercise (abhyäsa-yoga-yuktena). By virtue of these processes of control, the mind cannot wander to external thoughts (cetasä nänya-gäminä). Thus one can fix his mind constantly on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and can attain (yati) Him....(Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.9) This process of purifying the mind is also recommended by Lord Caitanya; He says that one should chant Hare Kåñëa. He says further, paraà vijayate: "All glories to Çré Krsnasaìkértana!" All glories are given to the chanting of the holy names of Krsna because as soon as one begins this process of chanting, the mind becomes purified. Ceto-darpaëa-märjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] by chanting the holy name of Krsna one is cleansed of the dirt that accumulates in the mind. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.28.10) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE The preachers approach everyone impartially ... vedänta-vädés, or the bhakti-vedäntas, are impartial in distributing the transcendental knowledge of devotional service. To them no one is enemy or friend; no one is educated or uneducated. No one is especially favorable, and no one is unfavorable. The bhakti-vedäntas see that the people in general are wasting time in false sensuous things. Their business is to get the ignorant mass of people to reestablish the lost relationship with the Personality of Godhead. By such endeavor, even the most forgotten soul is roused up to the sense of spiritual life, and thus being initiated by the bhakti-vedäntas, the people in general gradually progress on the path of transcendental realization. (Srimad Bhägavatam 1.5.24)



29. Yoga

yoga-sthah kuru karmāni sańgam tyaktvā dhananjaya siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhūtvā samatvam yoga ucyate (B.G 2.48)

TRANSLATION Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.

PURPORT Kr s na tells Arjuna that he should act in yoga. And what is that yoga? Yoga means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme by controlling the ever-disturbing senses. And who is the Supreme? The Supreme is the Lord. And because He Himself is telling Arjuna to fight, Arjuna has nothing to do with the results of the fight. Gain or victory are Krsn a's concern; Arjuna is simply advised to act according to the dictation of Krs na. The following of Krsna's dictation is real yoga, and this is practiced in the process called Krs na consciousness. By Krs na consciousness only can one give up the sense of proprietorship. One has to become the servant of Krs na, or the servant of the servant of Krs na. That is the right way to discharge duty in Krs na consciousness, which alone can help one to act in yoga. Yoga means to join. Now in our conditional state, although we are part and parcel of the Supreme, but we are now separated. The same example. This finger is part and parcel of your body, but if it is separated, amputated, it has no value. But so long it is joined with this body, it's value is millions of dollars or more than that. If there is any disease you can spend any amount to cure. Similarly we at the present moment in the conditioned state of material existence, we are separated from God. Therefore we are so much reluctant to speak of God, to understand about God, our relationship with God. We think it is simply waste of time. In this meeting, everyone knows, this temple, Krsna consciousness temple, is speaking of God. Or any church. People are not very much interested. They think it is a kind of, what is called, recreation, in the name of spiritual advancement, otherwise it is simply waste of time. Better this time could be used for earning some money. Or enjoying in a club or in a restaurant, sense enjoyment. So detraction from God means sense enjoyment. Those who are too much addicted to sense enjoyment, they are not, I mean to say, eligible for yoga system. Yoga system is not that, that you go on doing all nonsense in sense gratification and simply sit down meditation. This is simply colossal hoax. It has no meaning. Yoga system first is to sense, controlling the sense, yama, niyama. There are eight different stages of practicing yoga. Yama, niyama, asana, dhyana, dharana, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi. So in the beginning first of all we shall speak in this chapter, Lord Krsna will teach you what is yoga system. Therefore in the beginning Krsna says that no one can become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense gratification. (Bhagavad-gita 6.2-5 Lecture, Los Angeles, February 14, 1969) The yoga system as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita is different from the bogus yoga system which is going on in the West these days. The yoga systems which have been introduced into the West by so-called yogis are not bona fide. Yoga is difficult: the first thing is to control the senses. That is the position of the yogi: he is not allowed to indulge in sex life. If you indulge in intoxication, if you indulge in meat-eating, and if you indulge in gambling and sporting--all nonsense--you cannot at the same time become a yogi. I was astonished when a yogi came here, having advertised in India that you can be a yogi even though you may be addicted to drinking. This is not the yoga system. This is not standard. You can call it yoga, but it is not the standard yoga system. The yoga system is especially difficult for this age. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam we understand that yoga means to concentrate one's attention on the Superself, Visnu. He is situated in your heart. And, in order to concentrate your attention, you have to control the senses. The senses are working just like infuriated horses. If you cannot control the horses of your carriage, it will be dangerous. Just imagine that you are seated in a carriage and your horses are so furious that they are dragging you to hell. Then what is your position? The yoga system means to control these senses. The senses are also compared to serpents: The serpent does not know who is its friend and who is its enemy. It bites anyone. And, as soon as the serpent bites, the result is

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death. Similarly, if the uncontrolled senses work in their own way, then you should know that you are in a dangerous position. (Topmost Yoga System, Chapter 4) Therefore the highest perfectional yoga system is to control the mind. And you can control the mind very easily if you keep the lotus feet of Krsna within you, that's all. Simply think of Krsna and you are conqueror. You are victorious. You become topmost yogi. Because after all, the yoga system is, yoga indriya samyama. Yoga means to control the senses. And above the sense, the mind. So if you control the mind, the senses are controlled automatically. Your tongue wants to eat something nonsense, but if your mind is strong, mind says, "No. You cannot eat. You cannot eat anything except krshna-prasada." Then tongue is controlled. So senses are controlled by the mind. Indriyani parany ahur indriyebhyah param manah[Bg. 3.42]. My body means senses, my activities means sensual activities, that's all. But above the senses is the mind. Above the mind is the intelligence. And above the intelligence is the spirit soul. If one is on the spiritual platform, on the soul platform, then his intelligence is spiritualized, his mind is spiritualized, his senses are spiritualized, he is spiritualized. This is the process of Krsna consciousness. Because actually the spirit soul is working but he has given his power of attorney to this nonsense mind. He is sleeping. But when he's awakened, the master is awakened, the servant cannot do anything nonsense. Similarly if you are awakened in Krsna consciousness, your intelligence, your mind, or your senses cannot act nonsensically. They must according to that. That is spiritualization. That is called purification.(Bhagavad-gita 6.2-5 Lecture, Los Angeles, February 14, 1969)

Discovery

1) What is the meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga? 2) What is our relationship with God? 3) What is the basic standard expected of a yogi? 4) What is real yoga?

Understanding

1) Is it possible to control one’s senses? How do we control the senses? 2) Which yoga system is suitable for this age? 3) How does one attain perfection in yoga?

Application

Share your realization on bhakti yoga / chanting the holy name.How has it helped you? SRI NAMAMRTA In this Age, Chanting of the Holy Name Is the Supreme Form of Yoga. The chanting of the maha−mantra is the most practical form of yoga in the present age

The breathing exercises and meditational practices of yoga are very difficult in this age.They weredifficult even five thousand years ago, or else Arjuna would not have rejected the proposal of Krsna. This age of Kali is called a fallen age. At the present moment, people in general are short−living and very slow in understanding self−realization, or spiritual life. They are mostly unfortunate, and as such, if someone is a little bit interested inself−realization, he is misguided by so many frauds. The only actual way torealization ofthe perfect stage of yoga is to follow the principles of the Bhagavad−gita as they werepracticed by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the simplest and highest perfection of yogapractice.

Lord Caitanya practically demonstrated Krsna consciousness yoga simply by chanting theholy names of Krsna, as they are mentioned in the Vedanta, the Srimad−Bhagavatam, andmany important Puranas. The largest number of Indians follow this yoga practice, and inthe United States and other countries also it is gradually growing in many cities. It is veryeasy and practical for this age, especially for those who are serious about success in yoga.No other process can be successful in this age.

The meditational process in right earnest was possible in the Golden Age, Satya−yuga,because the people at that time lived for a hundred thousand years on the average.In the present age, however, if you want success in



practical yoga, take to the chanting ofHare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,Hare Hare, and feel for yourself how you are making progress.

(The Science of Self−Realization, Chapter 5)



PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE

A Krñna conscious preacher is the best friend of everyone

He is a perfect yogé who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna!

One who is Kåñëa conscious is a perfect yogé; he is aware of everyone’s happiness and distress by dint of his own personal experience. The cause of the distress of a living entity is forgetfulness of his relationship with God. And the cause of happiness is knowing Kåñëa to be the supreme enjoyer of all the activities of the human being. Kåñëa is the proprietor of all lands and planets. The perfect yogé is the sincerest friend of all living entities. He knows that the living being who is conditioned by the modes of material nature is subjected to the threefold material miseries due to forgetfulness of his relationship with Kåñëa. Because one in Kåñëa consciousness is happy, he tries to distribute the knowledge of Kåñëa everywhere. Since the perfect yogé tries to broadcast the importance of becoming Kåñëa conscious, he is the best philanthropist in the world, and he is the dearest servitor of the Lord. Na ca tasmän manuñyeñu kaçcin me priya-kåttamaù [Bg. 18.69]. In other words, a devotee of the Lord always looks to the welfare of all living entities, and in this way he is factually the friend of everyone. He is the best yogé because he does not desire perfection in yoga for his personal benefit, but tries for others also. He does not envy his fellow living entities. Here is a contrast between a pure devotee of the Lord and a yogé interested only in his personal elevation. The yogé who has withdrawn to a secluded place in order to meditate perfectly may not be as perfect as a devotee who is trying his best to turn every man toward Kåñëa consciousness.

(Bhagavad Gita 6.32)



30. Vyuha 4 – Yoga ladder



31. Topmost yoga yoginam api sarvesam´ / mad-gatenantar-atmana sraddhavan bhajate yo mam´ / sa me yuktatamo matah (Bhagavad-gita As It Is 6.47)

TRANSLATION

And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me — he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion.

PURPORT

The word bhajate is significant here. Bhajate has its root in the verb bhaj, which is used when there is need of service. The English word "worship" cannot be used in the same sense as bhaj. Worship means to adore, or to show respect and honor to the worthy one. But service with love and faith is especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can avoid worshiping a respectable man or a demigod and may be called discourteous, but one cannot avoid serving the Supreme Lord without being thoroughly condemned. Every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus every living entity is intended to serve the Supreme Lord by his own constitution. Failing to do this, he falls down. The Bhagavatam (11.5.3) confirms this as follows:

ya esham´ purusham´ sakshad / atma-prabhavam isvaram na bhajanty avajananti / sthanad bhrashtah patanty adhah

"Anyone who does not render service and neglects his duty unto the primeval Lord, who is the source of all living entities, will certainly fall down from his constitutional position."

In this verse also the word bhajanti is used. Therefore, bhajanti is applicable to the Supreme Lord only, whereas the word "worship" can be applied to demigods or to any other common living entity. The word avajananti, used in this verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam, is also found in the Bhagavad-gita. Avajananti mam´ mudhah: "Only the fools and rascals deride the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna." Such fools take it upon themselves to write commentaries on the Bhagavad-gita without an attitude of service to the Lord. Consequently they cannot properly distinguish between the word bhajanti and the word "worship."

The culmination of all kinds of yoga practices lies in bhakti yoga. All other yogas are but means to come to the point of bhakti in bhakti-yoga. Yoga actually means bhakti-yoga; all other yogas are progressions toward the destination of bhakti-yoga. From the beginning of karma-yoga to the end of bhakti-yoga is a long way to self-realization. Karma-yoga, without fruitive results, is the beginning of this path. When karma-yoga increases in knowledge and renunciation, the stage is called jnana-yoga. When jnana-yoga increases in meditation on the Supersoul by different physical processes, and the mind is on Him, it is called ashtanga-yoga. And when one surpasses the ashtanga-yoga and comes to the point of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna, it is called bhakti yoga, the culmination. Factually, bhakti-yoga is the ultimate goal, but to analyze bhakti-yoga minutely one has to understand these other yogas. The yogi who is progressive is therefore on the true path of eternal good fortune. One who sticks to a particular point and does not make further progress is called by that particular name: karma-yogi, jnana-yogi or dhyana-yogi, raja-yogi, hatha-yogi, etc. If one is fortunate enough to come to the point of bhakti-yoga, it is to be understood that he has surpassed all other yogas. Therefore, to become Krsna conscious is the highest stage of yoga, just as, when we speak of Himalayan, we refer to the world's highest mountains, of which the highest peak, Mount Everest, is considered to be the culmination. It is by great fortune that one comes to Krsna consciousness on the path of bhakti-yoga to become well situated according to the Vedic direction. The ideal yogi concentrates his attention on Krsna, who is called Syamasundara, who is as beautifully colored as a cloud, whose lotuslike face is as effulgent as the sun, whose dress is brilliant with jewels and whose body is flower-garlanded. Illuminating all sides is His gorgeous luster, which is called the brahmajyoti. He incarnates in different forms such as Rama, Nrsim´ha, Varaha and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He descends like a human being, as the son of mother Yasoda, and He is known as Krsna, Govinda and Vasudeva. He is the perfect child, husband, friend and master, and He is full with all opulences and transcendental qualities. If one remains fully conscious of these features of the Lord, he is called the highest yogi. This stage of highest perfection in yoga can be attained only by bhakti-yoga, as is confirmed in all Vedic literature:



yasya deve para bhaktir / yatha deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy arthah? / prakasante mahatmanah

"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed." [SU 6.23]

Bhaktir asya bhajanam´ tad ihamutropadhi-nairasyenamushmin manah-kalpanam, etad eva naishkarmyam. "Bhakti means devotional service to the Lord which is free from desire for material profit, either in this life or in the next. Devoid of such inclinations, one should fully absorb the mind in the Supreme. That is the purpose of naishkarmya." (Gopala-tapani Upanishad 1.15)

These are some of the means for performance of bhakti, or Krsna consciousness, the highest perfectional stage of the yoga system.

Discovery 1. What does ‘bhajate’ mean? 2. What is the difference between worship and ‘bhajate’? 3. Of the many types of yogis, who does Krsna consider to be the topmost? 4. To whom will all the imports of Vedic knowledge be automatically revealed? Understanding 1. Describe how bhaktiyoga is the culmination of all yogas? 2. What is the definition of bhakti given in Gopala-tapani Upanishad? How do we measure upto this

definition? 3. How does one who has attained the higest perfection of yoga perceive the Lord? Application What are the challenges you face in performing bhakti (devotional service)? How do you plan to overcome them? SRI NAMAMRTA The chanting of Hare Krsna is the elevator by which we can come immediately to the platform of bhakti yoga. By chanting the mahä-mantra, one achieves the results of karma, jïäna and yoga automatically: The importance of chanting Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare is very strongly stressed in the Second Canto, First Chapter, verse 11, of the Srimad-Bhägavatam in the following way: Çukadeva Gosvämé tells Mahäräja Parékñit: "My dear King, if one is spontaneously attached to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mahä-mantra, it is to be understood that he has attained the highest perfectional stage." It is specifically mentioned that the karmés who are aspiring after the fruitive results of their activities, the salvationists who are aspiring to become one with the Supreme Person, and the yogés who are aspiring after mystic perfections can achieve the results of all perfectional stages simply by chanting the mahä-mantra. Çukadeva uses the word nirëétam, which means "it is already decided." He was a liberated soul and therefore could not accept anything which was not conclusive. So Çukadeva Gosvämé especially stresses that it is already concluded that one who has come to the stage of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra with determination and steadiness must be considered as having already passed the trials of fruitive activities, mental speculation and mystic yoga. (The Nectar of Devotion) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE The highest act of philantropy is to engage everyone in preaching The highest perfectional project of philanthropic activities is to engage everyone in the act of preaching bhakti-yoga all over the world because that alone can save the people from the control of mäyä, or the material nature represented by käla, karma and guëa.... The Bhagavad-gita ... confirms this definitely. (SB 1.13.46) "Preaching is the best service to the Lord. The Lord will immediately be extremely satisfied with one who engages in this service of preaching Krsna Consciousness. This is confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gita (18.69). Na ca tasmän manuñyeñu kaçcin me priya-kåttamaù: 'There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.' If one sincerely tries his best to spread Krsna Consciousness by preaching the glories of the Lord and His supremacy, even if he is imperfectly educated, he becomes the dearmost servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is bhakti. As one performs this



service for humanity, without discrimination between friends and enemies, the Lord becomes satisfied, and the mission of one's life is fulfilled." (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.6.24)



32. Who begins?

catur-vidhä bhajante mäà / janäù sukåtino 'rjuna ärto jijïäsur arthärthé / jïäné ca bharatarñabha(BG 7.16) TRANSLATION O best among the Bhäratas, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute. PURPORT Unlike the miscreants, these are adherents of the regulative principles of the scriptures, and they are called sukåtinaù, or those who obey the rules and regulations of scriptures, the moral and social laws, and are, more or less, devoted to the Supreme Lord. Out of these there are four classes of men—those who are sometimes distressed, those who are in need of money, those who are sometimes inquisitive, and those who are sometimes searching after knowledge of the Absolute Truth. These persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service under different conditions. These are not pure devotees, because they have some aspiration to fulfill in exchange for devotional service. Pure devotional service is without aspiration and without desire for material profit. The Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu (1.1.11) defines pure devotion thus: anyäbhiläñitä-çünyaà / jïäna-karmädy-anävåtam änukülyena kåñëänu- / çélanaà bhaktir uttamä [Cc. Madhya 19.167] "One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Krsna favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." When these four kinds of persons come to the Supreme Lord for devotional service and are completely purified by the association of a pure devotee, they also become pure devotees. As far as the miscreants are concerned, for them devotional service is very difficult because their lives are selfish, irregular and without spiritual goals. But even some of them, by chance, when they come in contact with a pure devotee, also become pure devotees. Those who are always busy with fruitive activities come to the Lord in material distress and at that time associate with pure devotees and become, in their distress, devotees of the Lord. Those who are simply frustrated also come sometimes to associate with the pure devotees and become inquisitive to know about God. Similarly, when the dry philosophers are frustrated in every field of knowledge, they sometimes want to learn of God, and they come to the Supreme Lord to render devotional service and thus transcend knowledge of the impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramätmä and come to the personal conception of Godhead by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee. On the whole, when the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge, and those who are in need of money are free from all material desires, and when they fully understand that material remuneration has nothing to do with spiritual improvement, they become pure devotees. As long as such a purified stage is not attained, devotees in transcendental service to the Lord are tainted with fruitive activities, the search for mundane knowledge, etc. So one has to transcend all this before one can come to the stage of pure devotional service. Discovery 1. Who is called a ‘sukrtinah’? 2. What are the symptoms of pure devotional service? 3. What are the different conditions under which different people start rendering devotional service unto the

Supreme Lord? Understanding 4. What are the tendencies of the miscreants? 5. How does Krsna consciousness transform the ‘sukritinah’? Please give examples to illustrate this. 6. Why should devotion be untainted? Application 1. Do you feel practicing this Krsna consciousness process has helped you? How?



2. Share a few instances when you performed pure bhakti and how did you feel? SRI NAMAMRTA Service to Krsna begins with chanting His holy name and tasting His prasäda With our material senses, we cannot see Kåñëa, nor can we even hear His name. We can begin to perceive Him when we advance in devotional service. That devotional service begins with the tongue, not the legs, eyes or ears. The tongue must be utilized to chant Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare and take Krsnaprasäda. Thus the tongue has a dual function, and by utilizing it in this way, we will realize Kåñëa. We cannot see Krsnawith our material eyes, nor hear about Him with material ears, nor touch Him with our hands; but if we engage our tongue in His service, He will reveal Himself, saying, "Here I am." (Elevation to Krsna Consciousness, Chapter 5) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE One who preaches the gospel of Bhagavad-gita is perfect in pure devotional service: Krsna wants everyone to surrender unto Him, and devotional service means preaching this gospel all over the world. The Lord says openly in Bhagavad-gita (18.69): na ca tasmän manuñyeñu kaçcin me priya-kåttamaù. One should preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gita for the benefit of all. Bhagavad-gita is spoken by the Lord so that human society can be perfectly organized from all angles of vision—politically, socially, economically, philosophically and religiously. From any point of view, human society can be reformed by the Krsna Consciousness movement; therefore one who spreads this philosophy of Krsna Consciousness for the benefit of all conditioned souls in the universe is perfect in pure devotional service. (Caitanya Caritamrita. Madhya 19.167)



33. Ferris wheel

ye 'py anya-devatä-bhaktä / yajante çraddhayänvitäù te 'pi mäm eva kaunteya / yajanty avidhi-pürvakam (BG 9.23) TRANSLATION Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunté, but they do so in a wrong way. PURPORT "Persons who are engaged in the worship of demigods are not very intelligent, although such worship is offered to Me indirectly," Krsna says. For example, when a man pours water on the leaves and branches of a tree without pouring water on the root, he does so without sufficient knowledge or without observing regulative principles. Similarly, the process of rendering service to different parts of the body is to supply food to the stomach. The demigods are, so to speak, different officers and directors in the government of the Supreme Lord. One has to follow the laws made by the government, not by the officers or directors. Similarly, everyone is to offer his worship to the Supreme Lord only. That will automatically satisfy the different officers and directors of the Lord. The officers and directors are engaged as representatives of the government, and to offer some bribe to the officers and directors is illegal. This is stated here as avidhi-pürvakam. In other words, Krsna does not approve the unnecessary worship of the demigods. te taà bhuktvä svarga-lokaà viçälaà / kñéëe puëye martya-lokaà viçanti evaà trayé-dharmam anuprapannä / gatägataà käma-kämä labhante (BG 9.21) TRANSLATION When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death. PURPORT One who is promoted to the higher planetary systems enjoys a longer duration of life and better facilities for sense enjoyment, yet one is not allowed to stay there forever. One is again sent back to this earth upon finishing the resultant fruits of pious activities. He who has not attained perfection of knowledge, as indicated in the Vedänta-sütra (janmädy asya yataù), or, in other words, he who fails to understand Kåñëa, the cause of all causes, becomes baffled about achieving the ultimate goal of life and is thus subjected to the routine of being promoted to the higher planets and then again coming down, as if situated on a Ferris wheel which sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down. The purport is that instead of being elevated to the spiritual world, from which there is no longer any possibility of coming down, one simply revolves in the cycle of birth and death on higher and lower planetary systems. One should better take to the spiritual world to enjoy an eternal life full of bliss and knowledge and never return to this miserable material existence. Discovery 1. What is Krsna’s opinion of people engaged in demigod worship? 2. What are the analogies used in the purport regarding demigod worship? Discuss. Understanding 1. What did you understand from the 2 analogies regarding demigod worship? 2. What do you understand from the analogy of the ferris wheel? 3. Which are the planets considered mortal planets? 4. Can a person permanently reside in the planet of his favourite demigod / devata? 5. What are the benefits of attaining the eternal kingdom? Application



1. Do you want to be on the Ferris wheel where the highest point implies the highest planetary system and lowest point indicates the lowest planetary system? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Or 2. What steps are you taking to get out of the Ferris wheel? SRI NAMAMRTA One should not equate the name of the Lord with those of the demigods By worshiping the Supreme Lord, one automatically serves all the demigods because they are parts and parcels of the whole. If one supplies water to the root of a tree, all the parts of the tree, such as the leaves and branches, are automatically satisfied, and if one supplies food to the stomach, all the limbs of the body—the hands, legs, fingers, etc.—are nourished. Thus by worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead one can satisfy all the demigods, but by worshiping all the demigods one does not completely worship the Supreme Lord. Therefore worship of the demigods is irregular, and it is disrespectful to the scriptural injunctions. In this age of Kali it is practically impossible to perform the deva-yajïa, or sacrifices to the demigods. As such, in this age Srimad-Bhägavatam recommends saìkértana-yajïa. Yajïaiù saìkértana-präyair yajanti hi sumedhasaù (Srimad-Bhägavatam 11.5.32). "In this age the intelligent person completes the performances of all kinds of yajïas simply by chanting Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare." Tasmin tuñöe jagat tuñöam: "When Lord Viñëu is satisfied, all the demigods, who are parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are satisfied." (Srimad-Bhägavatam 4.2.35) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Preaching activities satisfy the Lord The demigods are called sakäma devotees, or devotees with material desires in mind, while the pure devotees are called niñkäma devotees because they have no desires in their personal interests. The sakäma devotees are self-interested because they do not think of others, and therefore they are not able to satisfy the Lord perfectly, whereas the pure devotees take the missionary responsibility of turning nondevotees into devotees, and they are therefore able to satisfy the Lord more than the demigods.... Sometimes the Lord Himself descends for missionary activities, as He did in the form of Lord Caitanya, but mostly He sends His bona fide representatives, and thus He shows His causeless mercy towards the nondevotees. The Lord is so satisfied with His pure devotees that He wants to give them the credit of missionary success, although He could do the work personally. This is the sign of His satisfaction with His pure niñkäma devotees, compared to the sakäma devotees. (Srimad-Bhägavatam 3.9.12)



34. Demigods

yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah visnur mahan sa iha yasya kala-viseso govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami [Bs. 5.48] Krsna's first expansion, second expansion, the third expansion. The third expansion is Maha-Visnu. So Maha-Visnu's potency is described in the Brahma-samhita: yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya. Nisvasita-kala means the breathing period. Just abiding by the breathing period of that Maha-Visnu, jivanti loma-vilaja jagad-anda-nathah. Jagad-anda-nathah means the supreme creature, created, supreme created creature, Brahma. Brahma is the principal supreme creature in each, every universe. There are innumerable universes, and there are innumerable Brahmas also. You will find in Caitanya-caritamrta, it is quoted from Srimad-Bhagavatam that one sometimes... It is called lila, pastimes, that Brahma, when Krsna was here on this planet, so Brahma was very much proud that "Krsna is now in the earthly planet, and this earthly planet is one of the innumerable planets under my control." Brahma is the controller, is the primal, principal living entity in this universe, so he was little proud that "Krsna is within my control." So therefore Krsna, because He is Paramatma, He knows everything, what one thinks, what one does. So Krsna asked Brahma to come and see Him. So Brahma came. Brahma came. His doorman informed Krsna that... Doorman asked Brahma, "Who are you, please?" "Now, you say Krsna that I am Brahma. I have come to see Him." So when the doorman informed Krsna that in Dvaraka, when Krsna was there as king, so Krsna asked, "Oh, which Brahma? Which Brahma?" The doorman came back again and informed that "Which Brahma you are?" So Brahma became astonished: " 'Which Brahma?' I am the Brahma. I am the supreme creature within this universe, and 'Which Brahma?' " He was surprised, and he said, "Tell Krsna that four-headed Brahma." Brahma has four heads. So Krsna called him, "All right, come on." So he came, and he offered his obeisances, and Brahma asked Him, "Krsna, my Lord, may I ask You some question?" "What is that?" "Your doorman asked me, 'Which Brahma?' So does it mean there are other Brahmas also?" Krsna said, "Yes, there are innumerable Brahmas. You are only four-headed. There are eight-headed, there are sixteen-headed, thirty-headed, sixty-four-headed, hundred-twenty-eight-headed, and millions of headed. So all right, I am calling them all." So Krsna called all the Brahmas, and by His maya, Brahma could see them, but they could not see this four-headed Brahma, and each of them came and offered obeisances to Krsna, and they asked, "My Lord, what can I do for You? You have asked me?" "Yes. I have not seen you for so many times, so many days, so I have called you." So they came, thousands and millions of Brahmas came, and offered obeisances, and they went away. And this Brahma, four-headed Brahma, remained in the corner, "Oh, what is I am?" So this is Krsna's creation. So here it is stated that yasyaika-nisvasita-kalam athavalambya [Bs. 5.48]. "Only just abiding by the breathing period of Maha-Visnu" -- there are millions of Brahmas -- "they are living." And each Brahma's period... That you have read in the Bhagavad-gita: sahasra-yuga-paryantam arhad yad brahmano viduh [Bg. 8.17]. The Brahma's one day means 4,300,000's times 1000. That is Brahma's twelve hours. Similarly, twenty-four hours, one day. Now calculate one month, such one years, such hundred years. So that hundred years of Brahma is only a breathing period of Maha-Visnu, just like we are breathing, our inhalation and exhalation is going on. So during the breathing period, when the breathing is out, all these brahmandas become created, and when it is inhaled, all, they are closed, account closed. So this is going on. (From Audio Transcripts (of Srila Prabhupada) 1966 – 1977 – Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.281- 293, Ney York, Dec 18, 1966) Siva: There are three qualities in the material world: goodness, passion and ignorance. So each quality is controlled by the Supreme Lord Himself by His expansion of different incarnation. Brahma, visnu, siva -- tina guna avatara. Now on these three qualities, material modes of nature, the heads are Brahma-Brahma, the first living creature, Brahma -- and Visnu -- Visnu, God Himself -- and Siva, Lord Siva. Siva's position is between Brahma and Visnu. Visnu is God, and Brahma is living entity. Gradation. Living entities, they are also parts and parcels of God. Siva is also part and parcel of God. Visnu is also part and parcel of God. But there are degrees of



power. That we have already discussed. Krsna is cent percent, Visnu is ninety-four percent, Siva is eighty-four percent, and we living entities, we are seventy-eight percent. So tri-guna angikari' kare srsty-adi-vyavahara. They have nothing to do with these material modes of nature. Just like a person in charge of the criminal department or jail department, but we should not think that he is also one of the prisoners because he is in charge of the jail department. No. Similarly, Siva, Lord Siva, he is in charge of the modes of ignorance, but he is not ignorant. He is the most enlightened devotee of Lord. He has got a parampara, disciplic succession, which is called Visnu Svami-sampradaya. There are four sampradayas of great devotees of Lord: one from Brahma, one from Siva, and one from Laksmi, and one from the Kumaras. So Lord Siva, although he is in charge of the department of the modes of ignorance, but he is not ignorant. You should not mistake that. (From Audio Transcripts (of Srila Prabhupada) 1966 – 1977 – Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.281- 293, Ney York, Dec 18, 1966) Durga: In the Brahma-samhita, it is said, srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44]. Durga-sakti, or external energy, Durga,... Durga means the superintendent of the fort. Durga. Durga means fort, where you cannot get out or cannot enter very easily. That is called durga. Dur-gamana. So Durga means the superintendent deity of this material world. So she is very powerful, Durga. How much powerful? Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktih. She can create, she can maintain, and she can destroy the whole material energy, whole material cosmic manifestation. She's so powerful. Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva [Bs. 5.44]. Still, she is working not independently. Chayeva. Just like chaya, or reflection, or shadow. Not independently. The material scientists who think that the material energy is working independently, they are mistaken. Material energy cannot work independently. We have got experience. However gorgeous a machine may be, unless there is touch of the spirit soul, the machine cannot work. Similarly, the big machine, cosmic manifestation, everything is going on very nicely, but it is being worked out by the plan of Krsna. That is stated by Krsna Himself, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10], and similarly it is confirmed by Brahma, srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga [Bs. 5.44], yasya hi... Srsti-sthiti-pralaya-sadhana-saktir eka chayeva yasya bhuvanani bibharti durga, icchanurupam api yasya ca cestate sa. Sa durga yasya icchanurupam api cestate. Now, not independent. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead desires, she works. (From Audio Transcripts (of Srila Prabhupada) 1966 -1977 – Janmashtami - Bhagavad Gita 7.5 – Vrindavan, Aug 11, 1974) Ganesha: 71-08-25 Letter: Sivananda: So far worshipping Ganesa is concerned, that is not necessary. Not that it should be done on a regular basis. If you like you can pray to Ganapati for removing all impediments on the path of Krsna Consciousness. That you can do if you like. 74-12-28 Letter: Sons : Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, chapter 18; sarva-dharman parityajya, mam ekam saranam vraja, aham tvam sarva-papebhyo, moksayisyami ma sucah. So why you want to worship someone else. Krsna, Himself, recommends mam ekam, he alone. Therefore we must do like that. If one wants to water the tree he waters the root. There is no necessity of watering the branches. The demigods are all different parts of the universal form of the Supreme Lord. But Krsna is even more than that whole complete universal form. He is the origin of that universal form. Therefore I do not encourage you to worship this demigod, Ganesa. It is not required, it is not necessary. Simply worship Krsna. Perform nice devotional service to Krsna. Then your lives will certainly become perfect. Of course if one has got some sentiment for achieving the blessings of Ganesa for accumulating large sums of money to serve Krsna, then he may perform this Ganesa worship, privately, not making a public show. But first of all he must give me $100,000 per month. Not a single farthing less. If he can supply this amount, $100,000 per month, then he will be allowed to do this Ganesa Puja. Otherwise he should not do it. It will not be good. That is my order. So all of you keep yourselves strong in Krsna Consciousness by following all of my basic principles. That is of the utmost importance. Do not fail to chant 16 rounds daily, rise early, come to mangala arati, come to classes and follow the 4 regulative principles. In this way your life will become free from all anxieties. Please try to distribute my books in huge quantities more and more. This is very much satisfying to me.

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Discovery 1. Who are the three principal agents controlling the three material modes? 2. What does devi-dhama consist of? Understanding 1. What is the role of goddess Durga Devi? 2. Does Shiva belong to jiva tattva? 3. What should be one’s mood while praying to Ganesa? Application How should we understand a demigod’s / devata’s position? SRI NAMAMRTA To taste the nectar of the holy name, great demigods and sages, and even Krsna Himself descended in human form During the incarnation of Lord Caitanya to inaugurate the Krsna consciousness movement, even such personalities as Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the four Kumaras took birth upon this earth, being allured by ecstatic love of Lord Krsna. All of them, including the great sage Narada and devotees like Prahlada, came here as if human beings, chanting the holy names of Lord Krsna together and dancing and floating in the inundation of love of Godhead. The goddess of fortune and others, allured by love of Krsna, also came down in the form of human beings and tasted the holy name of the Lord in love. What to speak of others, even Krsna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, personally descends to taste the nectar of love of Godhead in the form of the chanting of Hare Krsna. (Caitanya−caritamrta Antya−lila 3.262−65) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Devotees, out of compassion, are kind to the ignorant mass of people and therefore preach (and are blessed by the demigods Pure devotees, out of compassion for the fallen souls, are kåpälu, very kind to people in general; they distribute this Bhägavata knowledge all over the world. A kindhearted devotee is called déna-nätha, protector of the poor, ignorant mass of people. Lord Kåñëa is also known as déna-nätha or déna-bandhu, the master or actual friend of the poor living entities, and His pure devotee also takes the same position of déna-nätha. The déna-näthas, or devotees of Lord Kåñëa, who preach the path of devotional service, become favorites of the demigods.… the demigods are automatically pleased with him and offer all the blessings within their capacity. (Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.51)



Handout for Lesson 34 – Demigods

Prayers to be offered to the demigods In the Brahma-saṁhitā there are mantras offering obeisances to Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, the sun-god and Lord Gaṇeśa, as well as Lord Viṣṇu, all of whom are worshiped by the impersonalists as pañcopāsanā. In their temples impersonalists install deities of Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, the sun-god, goddess Durgā and sometimes Lord Brahmā also, and this system is continuing at present in India under the guise of the Hindu religion. Vaiṣṇavas can also worship all these demigods, but only on the principles of the Brahma-saṁhitā, which is recommended by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. We may note in this connection the mantras for worshiping Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, goddess Durgā, the sun-god and Gaṇeśa, as described in the Brahma-saṁhitā.

sṛṣṭi-sthiti-pralaya-sādhana-śaktir ekā

chāyeva yasya bhuvanāni bibharti durgā

icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “The external potency, māyā, who is of the nature of the shadow of the cit [spiritual] potency, is worshiped by all people as Durgā, the creating, preserving and destroying agency of this mundane world. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, in accordance with whose will Durgā conducts herself.” (Bs. 5.44)

kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt

sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ

yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “Milk is transformed into curd by the actions of acids, yet the effect, curd, is neither the same as nor different from its cause, viz., milk. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom the state of Śambhu is a similar transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.” (Bs. 5.45)

bhāsvān yathāśma-śakaleṣu nijeṣu tejaḥ

svīyaṁ kiyat prakaṭayaty api tadvad atra

rahmā ya eṣa jagad-aṇḍa-vidhāna-kartā

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, from whom the separated subjective portion Brahmā receives his power for the regulation of the mundane world, just as the sun manifests a portion of his own light in all the effulgent gems that bear such names as sūrya-kānta.” (Bs. 5.49)

yat-pāda-pallava-yugaṁ vinidhāya kumbha

dvandve praṇāma-samaye sa gaṇādhirājaḥ

vighnān vihantum alam asya jagat-trayasya

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda. Gaṇeśa always holds His lotus feet upon the pair of tumuli protruding from his elephant head in order to obtain power for his function of destroying all obstacles on the path of progress in the three worlds.” (Bs. 5.50)

yac cakṣur eṣa savitā sakala-grahāṇāṁ

rājā samasta-sura-mūrtir aśeṣa-tejāḥ

yasyājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi “The sun, full of infinite effulgence, who is the king of all the planets and the image of the good soul, is like the eye of this world. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, in pursuance of whose order the sun performs his journey, mounting the wheel of time.” (Bs. 5.52)



All the demigods are servants of Kṛṣṇa; they are not equal with Kṛṣṇa. Therefore even if one goes to a temple of the pañcopāsanā, as mentioned above, one should not accept the deities as they are accepted by the impersonalists. All of them are to be accepted as personal demigods, but they all serve the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śaṅkarācārya, for example, is understood to be an incarnation of Lord Śiva, as described in the Padma Purāṇa. He propagated the Māyāvāda philosophy under the order of the Supreme Lord. We have already discussed this point in text 114 of this chapter: tāṅra doṣa nāhi, teṅho ājñā-kārī dāsa. “Śaṅkarācārya is not at fault, for he has thus covered the real purport of the Vedas under the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Although Lord Śiva, in the form of a brāhmaṇa (Śaṅkarācārya), preached the false philosophy of Māyāvāda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu nevertheless said that since he did it on the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there was no fault on his part (tāṅra doṣa nāhi). We must offer proper respects to all the demigods. If one can offer respects even to an ant, why not to the demigods? One must always know, however, that no demigod is equal to or above the Supreme Lord. Ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya: “Only Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and all others, including the demigods such as Lord Śiva, Lord Brahmā, goddess Durgā and Ganeśa, are His servants.” Everyone serves the purpose of the Supreme Godhead, and what to speak of such small and insignificant living entities as ourselves? We are surely eternal servants of the Lord. The Māyāvāda philosophy maintains that the demigods, the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are all equal. It is therefore a most foolish misrepresentation of Vedic knowledge.



35. Three modes of material nature

The Isopanisad states that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is "perfect andcomplete." Part of the Lord's complete arrangement for this material world ishis process of creation, maintenance, and destruction. Every living being inthis material world has a fixed schedule of six changes: birth, growth,maintenance, the production of by-products, diminution, and destruction. This isthe law of material nature. A flower is born as a bud. It grows, remains freshfor two or three days, produces a seed, gradually withers, and then is finished.You cannot stop this by your so-called material science. To try to do so isavidya, ignorance.Sometimes people foolishly think that by scientific advancement man willbecome immortal. This is nonsense. You cannot stop the material laws. Thereforein the Bhagavad-gita (7.14) Lord Krsna says that the material energy isduratyaya, impossible to overcome by material means.

Material nature consists of three modes, or gunas: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, and tamo-guna, or the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Another meaningof guna is "rope." Rope is made by twisting fiber in a threefold process. Firstthe fiber is twisted in three small strands, then three of them are twistedtogether, then again three of those are twisted together. In this way the ropebecomes very strong. Similarly, the three modes of nature--goodness, passion,and ignorance--are mixed, after which they produce some by-product. Then theyare mixed again, and then again. Thus they are "twisted together" innumerabletimes.

In this way the material energy binds you more and more. By your own effortsyou cannot get out of this bondage, which is known as pavarga. Pa-varga is thefifth set of letters in the Sanskrit Devanagari alphabet. It contains theletters pa, pha, ba, bha, and ma. Pa stands for parisrama, "hard labor." Everyliving entity in this world is struggling very hard to maintain himself andsurvive. This is called the hard struggle for existence. Pha stands for phena,"foam." When a horse works very hard, foam comes out of its mouth. Similarly,when we are tired from working very hard, our tongue may become dry and somefoam forms in our mouth. Everyone is working very hard for sense gratification--so much so that foam is coming from their mouth. Ba represents bandha,"bondage." In spite of all our efforts, we remain bound up by the ropes of thematerial modes of nature. Bha stands for bhaya, "fear." In material life, one isalways in a blazing fire of fear, since no one knows what will happen next. Andma represents mrtyu, "death." All our hopes and plans for happiness and securityin this world are ended by death.So, Krsna consciousness nullifies this pavarga process. In other words, bytaking to Krsna consciousness one attains apavarga, where there is no hardstruggle for existence and no material bondage, fear, or death. Pavargasymptomizes this material world, but when you add the prefix "a" to pavarga,that means it is nullified. Our Krsna consciousness movement is the path ofapavarga.

Unfortunately, people do not know of these things, and therefore they arewasting their lives. This modern civilization is a soul-killing civilization;people are killing themselves because they do not know what real life is. Theyare simply living like animals. The animal does not know what life is, so hesimply works under the laws of nature, undergoing gradual evolution. But whenyou get this human form of life, you have a responsibility to live in adifferent way. Here is a chance for you to become Krsna conscious and solve allproblems. But if you don't--if you continue to act like animals--you will againhave to enter the cycle of birth and death and transmigrate through 8,400,000species of life. It will take many, many millions of years to come back to thehuman form of life. For example, the sunshine you are seeing now you will notsee again until after twenty-four hours. Everything in nature moves in a cycle.So if you lose this opportunity of elevating yourself, then again you must enterthe cycle of transmigration. Nature's law is very strong. Therefore we areopening so many centers so that people may take advantage of this InternationalSociety for Krsna Consciousness and elevate themselves.It is important to take to Krsna consciousness immediately, because we do notknow how much time is left before death. When your time in this body expires, noone can stop your death. The arrangement of material nature is so strong. Youcannot say, "Let me remain." Actually, people sometimes request like that. WhenI was in Allahabad, an old friend who was very rich was dying. At that time hebegged the doctor, "Can't you give me at least four more years to live? I havesome plans which I could not finish." You see. This is foolishness. Everyonethinks, "Oh, I have to do this. I have to do that." No. Neither the doctors northe scientists can check death: "Oh, no, sir. Not four years, not even fourminutes. You have to go immediately." This is the law. So before that momentcomes, one should be very careful to become realized in Krsna consciousness. Youshould realize Krsna consciousness very quickly. Before your next death comes,you must finish your business. That is intelligence. Otherwise you will sufferdefeat.



The Isopanisad states that whatever emanates from the complete whole—theSupreme Lord--is also complete in itself. Therefore if you want to takeadvantage of your life and become Krsna conscious, there is complete facility.But you have to come to the point of taking up the practice. Krsna consciousnessis not theoretical; it is practical. All experiments have already beenperformed. So, as indicated in the Isopanisad, there is a complete facility forthe small complete units--ourselves--to realize the supreme complete, Krsna. Weare complete units, but we are small. For example, in a big machine there is asmall screw, and the perfection of that small screw is to be fitted in itsproper place. Then it has value. But if it becomes unscrewed from the machineand falls down on the floor, it has no value. Similarly, we are perfect as longas we are attached to Krsna; otherwise we are useless.

To realize the complete means to realize what our relationship with thecomplete is. And all forms of incompleteness are experienced only on account ofincomplete knowledge of the complete. We are thinking, "I am equal to God. I amGod." This is incomplete knowledge. But if you know, "I am part and parcel ofGod, and therefore I am equal to God in quality," that is complete knowledge.The human form of life is a chance to revive the complete manifestation of theconsciousness of the living being. You can revive this complete consciousness bythe process of Krsna consciousness. But if you don't take advantage of thiscomplete facility, you are killing yourself, committing suicide. As it is said in the Isopanisad, "The killer of the soul, whoever he may be, must enter intothe planets known as the worlds of the faithless, full of darkness andignorance. " So don't be the killer of your soul. Utilize the complete facilityof your human life to become Krsna conscious. That is your only business.

(Extract from ‘Laws of Nature’ Chapter 1 – God and the Law of Karma)

Discovery 1. What are the six changes that occur to all material things? Please give an example? 2. Name the 3 modes of material nature? Understanding 1. What are the 3 modes compared to and why? 2. How are we bound to this material world? 3. How do the modes bind us? 4. What is the only way to get freed from the control of material nature? Application What regular service can you do to help you overcome the stringent laws of material nature and make spiritual progress? SRI NAMAMRTA Unless one is extremely advanced in Krsna Consciousness, one will be influenced by the modes of nature if one tries to chant in a solitary place There are many who like to chant the Hare Krsna mantra in a silent, solitary place, but if one is not interested in preaching, talking constantly to the nondevotees, the influence of the modes of nature is very difficult to surpass. Therefore unless one is extremely advanced in Krsna Consciousness, one should not imitate Haridäsa Öhäkura, who had no other business than chanting the holy name always, twenty-four hours a day. Prahläda Mahäräja does not condemn such a process; he accepts it, but without active service to the Lord, simply by such methods one generally cannot attain liberation. One cannot attain liberation simply by false pride. (Srimad-Bhägavatam 7.9.46) PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE Understanding the purpose of the Lord, the devotee preaches: Bewildered by the modes of material nature, the ignorant fully engage themselves in material activities and become attached. But the wise should not unsettle them, although these duties are inferior due to the performers' lack of knowledge.Men who are ignorant cannot appreciate activities in Krsna Consciousness, and therefore Lord Krsna advises us not to disturb them and simply waste valuable time. But the devotees of the Lord are more kind than the Lord because they understand the purpose of the Lord. Consequently they undertake all kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching ignorant men to try to engage them in the acts of Krsna Consciousness, which are absolutely necessary for the human being. (Bhagavad Gita. 3.29)



36. Sublime way to cross the three modes

daivé hy eñä guëa-mayé mama mäyä duratyayä mäm eva ye prapadyante mäyäm etäà taranti te(BG 7.14) TRANSLATION This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it. PURPORT The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable energies, and all these energies are divine. Although the living entities are part of His energies and are therefore divine, due to contact with material energy their original superior power is covered. Being thus covered by material energy, one cannot possibly overcome its influence. As previously stated, both the material and spiritual natures, being emanations from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are eternal. The living entities belong to the eternal superior nature of the Lord, but due to contamination by the inferior nature, matter, their illusion is also eternal. The conditioned soul is therefore called nitya-baddha, or eternally conditioned. No one can trace out the history of his becoming conditioned at a certain date in material history. Consequently, his release from the clutches of material nature is very difficult, even though that material nature is an inferior energy, because material energy is ultimately conducted by the supreme will, which the living entity cannot overcome. Inferior, material nature is defined herein as divine nature due to its divine connection and movement by the divine will. Being conducted by divine will, material nature, although inferior, acts so wonderfully in the construction and destruction of the cosmic manifestation. The Vedas confirm this as follows: mäyäà tu prakåtià vidyän mäyinaà tu maheçvaram. "Although mäyä [illusion] is false or temporary, the background of mäyä is the supreme magician, the Personality of Godhead, who is Maheçvara, the supreme controller." (Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 4.10) Another meaning of guëa is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself—he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kåñëa, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Kåñëa consciousness, can help one gain such release. Kåñëa, being the Lord of the illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity, who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature. The words mäm eva are also significant. Mäm means unto Kåñëa (Viñëu) only, and not Brahmä or Çiva. Although Brahmä and Çiva are greatly elevated and are almost on the level of Viñëu, it is not possible for such incarnations of rajo-guëa (passion) and tamo-guëa (ignorance) to release the conditioned soul from the clutches of mäyä. In other words, both Brahmä and Çiva are also under the influence of mäyä. Only Viñëu is the master of mäyä; therefore He alone can give release to the conditioned soul. The Vedas (Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 3.8) confirm this in the phrase tam eva viditvä, or "Freedom is possible only by understanding Kåñëa." Even Lord Çiva affirms that liberation can be achieved only by the mercy of Viñëu. Lord Çiva says, mukti-pradätä sarveñäà viñëur eva na saàçayaù: "There is no doubt that Viñëu is the deliverer of liberation for everyone." Discovery 1. What are the different energies of the Lord? 2. What nature does the living being (soul) belong to? 3. Which energy of the Lord controls the construction and destruction? Understanding 1. What do you understand from the verse ‘mäyäà tu prakåtià vidyän mäyinaà tu maheçvaram’ from the

Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 4.10? 2. How can we get free from the clutches of the material nature?



3. What is the significance of the word ‘maam eva’? 4. According to Siva who is the only one who can give liberation? Application Now we understand about the various energies of the Lord after going through different lessons in the last few weeks. What are the three steps that you would take to get free from the clutches of material nature?

SRI NAMAMRTA Regardless of social position, one should chant the holy name to overcome the spell of mäyä and attain the transcendental platform

Following the orders of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Govinda, His personal servant, called for all the poor beggars, who were unhappy due to their poverty, and fed them sumptuously. Observing the beggars eating prasäda, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu chanted, "Hari bol!" and instructed them to chant the holy name. As soon as the beggars chanted the holy name, "Hari bol," they were immediately absorbed in ecstatic love of Godhead. In this way Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu performed wonderful pastimes.

Kåñëa conducts the material world under the three modes of material nature, and consequently there are three platforms of life—higher, middle and lower. On whatever platform one may be situated, one is tossed by the waves of material nature. Someone may be rich, someone may be middle class, and someone may be a poor beggar—it doesn't matter. As long as one is under the spell of the three modes of material nature, he must continue to experience these divisions.

Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu therefore advised the beggars to chant "Hari bol!" while taking prasäda. Chanting means accepting one's self as the eternal servant of Kåñëa. This is the only solution, regardless of social position. Everyone is suffering under the spell of mäyä; therefore the best course is to learn how to get out of the clutches of mäyä....

One can overcome the spell of mäyä and attain the transcendental platform by agreeing to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Devotional service begins with çravaëaà kértanam; [SB 7.5.23] therefore Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu advised the beggars to chant the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra for elevation to the transcendental position. On the transcendental platform, there is no distinction between the rich, the middle class and the poor.

(Caitanya-caritämåta Madhya-lélä 14.44-46)

PREACHING IS THE ESSENCE To establish ourselves on the spiritual platform, beyond the modes of nature, we must chant the mahä-mantra

Çré Kåñëa encourages us to transcend the bodily conception of existence and attain to our actual spiritual life.

guëän etän atétya trén dehé deha-samudbhavän janma-måtyu-jarä-duùkhair vimukto 'måtam açnute

"When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes [goodness, passion, and ignorance], he can become free from birth, death, old age, and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life." (Bg. 14.20)

To establish ourselves on the pure brahma-bhüta spiritual platform, above the three modes, we must take up the method of Kåñëa consciousness. The gift of Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the chanting of the names of Kåñëa—Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare—facilitates this process. This method is called bhakti-yoga or mantra-yoga, and it is employed by the highest transcendentalists. (Beyond Birth and Death)



37. Vyuha 5 – Seminar on the three modes of material nature

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