From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir
Date: February 11, 2017
Speaker: HG Vaisesika dasa
Subject: Srimad Bhagavatam 7.10.4
TEXT 4
nānyathā te ’khila-guro
ghaṭeta karuṇātmanaḥ
yas ta āśiṣa āśāste
na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik
Translation:Otherwise, O my Lord, O supreme instructor of the entire world, You are so kind to Your devotee that You could not induce him to do something unbeneficial for him. On the other hand, one who desires some material benefit in exchange for devotional service cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is no better than a merchant who wants profit in exchange for service.
Lecture:Low grade of material desire and ill benefits of it are clearly marked throughout Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam for the benefit of all living entities otherwise its not information in any other form, except in much abbreviated form without much carry through, for instance in Bhagavad Gita[5.22] Krishna says
ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā
duḥkha-yonaya eva te
ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya
na teṣu ramate budhaḥ
Striking metaphor in this verse is, He says what is born from material sense gratification ja means born,duhkha little baby named duhkh who starts running around and running your life. “ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya na teṣu ramate budhaḥ“ Krishna cleary instrtucts tha,t if one engages in material sense gratification then the result will be misery in one’s life. Furthermore, Prahlad Maharaj gives the psychology behind the material enjoyment in his teaching to his friends in school but he tells them as soon as even begins to meditate on the material desires, you don’t even have to try to enact them just have think about them, that’s when you start suffering. Its starts very beginning and ends even worse, and therefore in the first canto 5th chapter in Srimad Bhagavatam even in relationship with the compilation of Vedic literature, Srila Veda Vyas has put together an impressive array of scriptures, his spiritual master warns him be careful he said
[SB:1.5.12]
“naiṣkarmyam apy acyuta-bhāva-varjitaṁ
na śobhate jñānam alaṁ nirañjanam
kutaḥ punaḥ śaśvad abhadram īśvare
na cārpitaṁ karma yad apy akāraṇam
That even if you conceive on the path of self-realisation that is devoid of conception of pure devotional service, if you have self-realization but you don’t have love for or achutya bhav it is not beautiful and doesn’t look that good. Then he goes on by saying what to speak of mat desires that’s just for stupid people. My economics teachrt used to say, for the lottery, where people hope to quickly become rich to enjoy material enjoyment they say among economist lottery is called, “tax on the stupid”. The material world is very taxing in this way as soon as one wants to take one’s portion then there is inordinate reaction which becomes entangling. But this verse is pointing out, this is altogether benevolent because Krishna is perfect not only that He is an ocean of compassion and He wants every living entity to come back to Godhead and therefore within the design of the material world even within the reactions to sinful activities there is a reminder to the living entity to surrender to Him to come back home back to Godhead. And so even within devotional service that has some tinge of motivation generously, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura points out in one of his purports to Brahma Samhita, that if one is performing mixed devotional service consider that fact what is the mixture, there is something pure and something impure. But there is something pure, that is good and as being eluded in the purport the 4 kinds of people who approach Krishna,
BG:7.16
catur-vidha bhajante mam
janah sukrtino ‘rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi
jnani ca bharatarsabha
Krishna mentions these sukritis they have some inclination for Krishna that’s good that’s eternally good, that is the only thing which is good in this world. In the mixture of everything else in the Phantasmagoria of material desires. In this material world the only credibile thing the only valuable thing, the only that’s is lasting what so ever is that impetus to serve Krishna somehow or the other. So in the verse he mentions that materially motivated for wealth or alleviation of distress who approach Him He calls them Sukritis. Then he points out
BG:7.17
teṣāṁ jñānī nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir viśiṣyate
priyo hi jñānino ’tyartham
ahaṁ sa ca mama priyaḥ
Out of these people who approach me the one who is Jnani, Baladev Vidhya bhusan says this is the person has decided that material sense gratification is not a great idea therefore is able to fix her mind on Krishna. Therefore, Krishna says in that verse, that person is particularly dear to me but then Baladev Vidhabusan poses the question is that mean the others are not dear to you Krishna? Krishna says in His dialogue, no they are also dear, because for one reason or other they approach me even there is material motivation. This goes to verse in Srimad Bhagavatam second canto in which Sukadeva Goswami shows the great generosity of devotional service and opens the door for ankirtan movement.
SB:2.3.10
akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param
Whatever condition one is in if you have all material desires or desire less or you desire liberation still you should approach Krishna to perform devotional service in whatever capacity you can. This is “tivrena bhakti-yogena” someone says it’s not a very high grade at the beginning point as its been pointed out in this purport that those who approach Krishna something in exchange are not considered to be high class devotees. Nonetheless as its brought out as word for word in this verse karnua atmana the supreme person is extremely kind to His devotees. So, He is Karuna and he is aware of one’s intention. In the story of Avanti Brahmana, who find that he had become a rich man, however, he became a miserly, closed heart, krpana, he didn’t give charity, he didn’t offer proper respects to the demigods who had bestowed wealth upon him and everyone starting resenting him and his wealth including the demigods, and gradually he lost everything. However, in his grahasta life the acharyas point out, that at one point he thought about liberation and so he made a small prayer to the Lord that contained smaller sliver of devotion. And after he lost everything due to his impiousness what remained in his heart was small sliver of intention to serve the Lord.
Krishna says In Bhagavad Gita “swalpam api yasya dharmas tratayate mahato bayat” even tiniest sliver of intention to serve Krishna is eternally effective this is the active principle just like when you get the bottle of medicine you notice it has one ingredient it says active ingredient and then there is list of 20 other things after that. These are added ingredients. So in one’s life we may have many added ingredients this is meaning of alloy so many things added in but there is one tiny principle added in , bhakti so much so that Rupa Goswami points out if one is devoid of all the quality is mentioned in sastra that demarcate a pure devotee and if one has this one quality , Shree Krishna suranam, I am surrendered to Krishna, even in minute quantity even a of molecule of that, so that person is so considered to be a devotee because devotional service is so powerful. So, those who take to the path of devotional service may feel deseiged by material desires that when will it end and so Krishna gives encouragement throughout to explain how he works in the devotees life. Even if the devotee is so immature in beginning he or she doesn’t know it, for instance in 5th canto of SB 5.19.27
satyaṁ diśaty arthitam arthito nṛṇāṁ
naivārthado yat punar arthitā yataḥ
svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām anicchatām
icchāpidhānaṁ nija-pāda-pallavam
This verse Krishna says satyam indeed satyam, “satyaṁ diśaty arthitam arthito nṛṇāṁ
athitam means which is desired or that which is offered and desired and arthita the person who is bestowing the desire so the person many approach Krishna and may ask for some material benediction, “naivārthado yat punar arthitā yataḥ”, and then after getting some material benediction from Krishna, can ask for it again. Please give me little more now please sir but then Krishna, “svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām anicchatām icchāpidhānaṁ nija-pāda-pallavam” Krishna says, Ok you get but you get in such a way you don’t want to ask for it again. Not onlhy that even if you don’t want it , I am going to give him my devotional service, my lotus feet. I’ll cover his material desire with devotional serverice. and why is that? “..svayaṁ vidhatte bhajatām”, Bhajatam that’s the word, because he did bhajan anything the tiniest thing he did and Krishna recognises that and this means
Krishna is the ocean of mercy if one gives even a molecule of attention to Krishna, then I am going to do some devotional service even in the stage of Ajnata he doesn’t even know he is doing it Krishna accepts it I will take it and therefore Krishna says that verse but even then the devotee may say, but still it is applicable to everybody else but not me because I am so full of material desires I will never come to the end of it. So then, Krishna gives a very soothing verse which Mahara kirtan prabhu told me this way, that a friend of his endeavouring in Krisha Consiousness said why didn’t they put this verse in the end of the Bhagavad Gita its 11th canto,
SB:11.20.27-28
jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu
nirviṇṇaḥ sarva-karmasu
veda duḥkhātmakān kāmān
parityāge ’py anīśvaraḥ
tato bhajeta māṁ prītaḥ
śraddhālur dṛḍha-niścayaḥ
juṣamāṇaś ca tān kāmān
duḥkhodarkāṁś ca garhayan
This verse means for a devotee who starts the practice of Bhakti and his faith is awakened in hearing and chanting in another words sadhu sanga visbaas ..”, he is convinced by doing this everything else will be done perfecltly way and he is also convinced, “nirviṇṇaḥ sarva-karmasu”, that all kind of material desires lead to misery, “veda duḥkhātmakān kāmān”, he knows this, however, everyone say however, however karma, he can’t do it, “parityāge ’py anīśvarah”, Ishwara means Supreme controller, one who controls something parithaye means he can’t give it up yet what does Krishna says, “bhajeta māṁ prītaḥ” know that you are very dear to me. “śraddhālur dṛḍha-niścayah” be very determined, and be very steady and be faithful, have this faith that if you go on as you are dear to me even though you are imperfect even though full of material desires, ” juṣamāṇaś ca tān kāmān” you may lament a little bit,but don’t become chronically depressed, because the power of devotional service is so great that if one continues the practice then from any position and I said that this opens the door to the sankritan movement, because Caintanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute love of God to the lowest type of people in the world.
Sukadeva Goswami said “…yanti tasmai prabhvishnave namah”, no matter what environment you come from, if you become connected to the pure devotees of Lord and this mood of surrender to Krishna then by that power you will be delivered no matter what background you come from. Therefore, the devotees empowered by Caitanya become eager to try this out. Let’s try this formula and see how it works so they go out here and there and everywhere to distribute all different forms of mercy to different people and then watch for themselves experiment what happens, when you just add one ingredient which is Krishna association, the holy name, the association of the devotees and its miraculous and that’s why who do this regularly who take a book and interrupt their flow of life, by the way have you heard of Krishna before, here,take a look at this and introduce Krishna Conscious to them those devotee see this meaning of this verse unfolding in their life. And how merciful is Krishna that He takes the even the smallest qualification of such a person who may seem otherwise disqualified, just as Uddahava mentions Putana,
SB:3.2.23
aho bakī yaṁ stana-kāla-kūṭaṁ
jighāṁsayāpāyayad apy asādhvī
lebhe gatiṁ dhātry-ucitāṁ tato ’nyaṁ
kaṁ vā dayāluṁ śaraṇaṁ vrajema
and said oh this is such a wonderful thing, who wouldn’t surrender to Krishna because., when Putna came Krishna accepted the fact that she had some intension to be his mother even though its pretence and he completely discounted the part where she was trying to kill Him. Same about the holy name “jaya nama-dheya muni-vrnda-geya he jana-ranjanaya paramaksarakrte tvam anadarad api manag udiritam nikhilogra-tapa-patalim vilumpasi”, Rupa Goswami says the holy name is so merciful even if someone says it derisively out of spite even then Krishna says yes I will take that. Even one time they do that, its ok I will accept that that’s your devotional service He is so kind He accepts it.
I wrote about a story, I wrote about an incident. No, I wrote a story about an incident in my book, “Family Business” that always stuck with me…We are in airport every day we lived in an airport I grew up in an airport. And every day going to Chicago airport we used to drop devotees off and Sarvabhauma, the great soul he used to go to vrtanga hardest place it used to snow there. He used to go there every day and work and every devotee has some experience to see for themselves how this mercy of Krishna work. Sarva told me his story, going to vrtanda every day to distribute Srila Prabhupada books, there is a man, who they call sky cap, they push around these wheel chairs to take people who are invalid, back and forth and this was an enormous man and Sarva was the humblest and may be skinniest of all devotees. may be shy there he was all by himself in vrtanda and the sky cop who hated his guts and he did everything he stood fro he didn’t know what he stood for by he hated him anyway. And sarva was out there distributing books, this sky cap will come by and he would flick pennies out of him, as a meaning, jesture saying that you are not worth anything, here is a penny, so he would hit him in his chest, some times in the side of his head, sometimes it will slide them across his foot. He did this when sarva was talking to people introducing books but sarvabauma I mentioned he is a great soul right, so everytime he would say excuse me one second and then he pick up the penny, thank you very much and put it in his pocket , this went on for months penny flinging and in one days an enormous grizzille bear of a man came upto tiny little sarava and gave him a huge hug , You know, I have changed my mind. You are al,right and from that day he cbecmae sarvas protector. Anyone who came near him and said you Hare Krishnas you bad, he will come over and say uhh bad yuh?
In my book I wrote this chapter called penny principle. Because often times when we go on sankritan this happens. In one marathon 4 years ago, going to Haridwar there was new bhakta and we were telling him, be merciful give the book to everybody and give something. He was showing the book and the man said, “I am not going to give anything for this”. He said just give a penny for this? So, you just want a penny I will get you a penny so he goes back to back of his apartment ravaging through he wasn’t able to find a penny. His wife came out and said what are you doing because I am looking for a penny? Why you are looking for a penny? I got this in front door a monk guy and he said give me a donation and I am going to give him a penny and she said let me see the book. She starts looking through the book and said this is a nice book you are not giving him a penny. She marched him out there and made him give 50$.(Applause). Bhakta kumar came saying I asked for penny and I got this 50$, and this is the mood of devotees they ask everybody whether they are animal or human being or whatever it is , Krishna is so kind, if you just give a glance, see the ratha yatra cart or anything, even one prasadam lolly pop, the devotees’s heart dances in joy they know this, they know how merciful Krishna is. In their own life they are seeing it and they see it as the prime duty in life is to see the refection at smile on the face of people when they come in contact with holy names, with transcendental literatures, with prasadam. This is the heart of the sankirtan movement this mood of compassion, to remember how kind Krishna is, and to therefore voluntarily surrender to him and to give Krishna Conscious to others in tht mood of generosity. Now I will take few reflection, anything that you heard so far that stuck in the mind. Microphone is ready to go somewhere. We need a mic. People online can’t hear a word without the mic. Who’s got it? Do we have a technical person in the room sitting somewhere? Here comes.
Mahavisnu Swami: In Harinam Ruchi party, we don’t go in procession, as soon as we see someone tapping a foot or smiling or any sign of response, then we encourage them more to Try to get them to chant and then as you say we see light in their eyes, “Hare Krishna hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare” and then it encourage us to go more and more and more as you said and its amazing!
Speaker : Thank you for that reflection as I was always saying it’s the heart. Badrinarayan Swami is waiting here. This is seeing that the look on people’s face when they become mystified by hearing the holy name and that recognisable glow as you pointing out, thank you.
Badrinarayan Swami: Well, I don’t want to take us away from the very nice conclusion you have come to, so, may be someone else should go first, because my question is, that Krishna is so merciful even if we give a penny He sees that, ok then everything is cool I just be cozed on as I am and in due course Krishna will purify me and then I will become a pure devotee so why worry, why endeavour I just remain cozed it’s going to work anyway
Speaker: Yes
Badrinarayan Swami: Just see my cheating mentality?
Speaker: Yes, thank you very much, it’s a very good point. Of course, In the beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam “dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ”[SB:1.1.02] the whole mood of cheating kicked out. This is for sincere people, this is for people who are non-envious & sincere and for those who find their sincerity, they are very careful to identify material desires and to avoid them as much as possible because the they find them odious. For eg even Madavendra Puri, watching the sweet rice being offered to Gopinath he just for a second thought even a devotional thought, I can taste this for the service of Krishna, then I can make it, but he was so careful and thought I just thought of tasting Krishna bhoga and became so ashamed and walked away and went to the market place and hid back quickly. So, devotees who are progressive on the path of devotional service are extremely eager to identify material desires and to replace them with spiritual desires. There is easy way and the hard way. The hard way is, Krishna gives as Sridhara swami comments in “tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo”[SB:10.14.8], he gives what looks like karma although it is technically not karma, it is actually a reaction specifically designed for each devotee knowing that even though the devotee has surrendered, last vestiges of the enjoying mentality from previous life may be even this life. Therefore, Krishna custome makes these actions so that the devotee can give up the last vestiges of material desires. Sanatana goswami when he met Caitanya Mahaprabhu carrying a blanket, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu glanced at him and Sanatana Goswami being with spiritual intelligence understood He didn’t like the blanket. So he exchanged it for the old cloth.
It is mentioned that a doctor will not let the last vestige of the disease stay within the body of the person, so Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krishna are vigilant to weed out the last vestiges in the devotee and the devotee is cooperating the hard way is to drag one’s legs. The easy way is we call VLCs , the Voluntary Life Changers . we see it coming, we see there is an opportunity so rather than wait until its done to you so you are force to surrender.
Giriraj Maharaj told a story. There was a translator in Bombay, he was a young man and he went with his father to Prabhupada for advice of translation for a book in Marati. The father of young man had a habit of smoking. He admitted that to Srila Prabhpada, he came back few times. He mentioned it to Srila Prabhupada I have this problem, & it won’t go away, I need your special mercy. Prabhupada said Krishna can give you special mercy, means that He will make it will so miserable and you have to give it up. Giriraj maharaj said then he asked would you like that special mercy, No , No thankyou .
So, devotees are, I use the word proactive they are always moving ahead, when material desire may come out and they look in and see they make sure they organise their life and they sign a little sheet, there is a little sheet you can sign, I surrender to Krishna. I give up my right for material desires, I completely surrender and check the box off, that’s it, I quit. The devotees who do that are vigilant always to avoid those material desires creep into their life. As the verse says gadayan, even if they do, the devotee goes on with devotional service but laments the fact that I was sinful in past so they are coming and he doesn’t slow down in devotional service because of them and I said as we servants of Srila Prabhupada said in the purport, does not become chronically depressed because of them.
It is an important subject to discuss so that the psychology is correct once practicing devotional service and not overly depressed because of material desires and at the same time not cheating and just thinking it doesn’t matter because Krishna is merciful so it’s a fine line.
Keshava Bharati Maharaj: Thank you so much for that class Vaish , it was wonderful from beg to end it was ecstatic, I kno, but whatever he said so far was like that what can I say? I wanted to make a point about the point just you made about intention & how Krishna feels about it. You know there is verse, I don’t remember the Sanskrit unfortunately, old man but Lord Ramacandra speaks the verse, and He says someone once says to me, sincerely, that from this day I’m yours, then from that moment the Lord actually takes charge of the person and makes all all these arrangements and gives as you say, the medicine. And another point is, which is very consistent with your class, is that Vishnavanath Cakravarti Thakur, his commentary in the Bhagavad Gita takes the form of a parallel dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. When Krishna came to the point, where he spoke,
[BG:9.30]
api cet su-durācāro
bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ
samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
Even if one doing the abominable things if he is fixed in his determination then he is sadhu not even sadhu but samyat complete sadhu. So in Vishvanath’s commentary Arjun says well, “Certainly you must mean, you know, special mercy or something because he is not completely pure you mean and then in the commentary Krishna yells at Arjuna NO na me bhakta prasasyati , “My devotee will never perish”.
Speaker: Hare Krishna. Rajendranandana prabh, did you raise your hand?
Thank you very much, You were asking for refection and really appreciated at the point when you came to the atmarama verse, you were saying this opens up the door for sankirtan devotees. This verse very easy could be taken in the direction of how unfortunate one is to have material desires and how exhausted the pure devotional service is but the compassion of the sankritan devotees, they see in the light that whatever little that we get, we take in the light that we fan the fire .
Ya look carefully this verse, first I was thinking the other way then I started looking at it and considering, that it went this way, I wanted to say that we just came from Jagannath Puri we went there for yatra and decided we call it Sankirtan yatra and if we add Sankirtan to anything and just put it on the front whatever the title is, it becomes better. We went there armed with thousands of books, prasadam and Jagannath Stickers and things like. that all the devotees were there in one week in Jagannath Puri and they distributed 4,460 book Oriya, Bengali and Hindi
Audience: Haribol
They collected 118,193 Rupees they distributed 5000 Prasadam lolly pops they small small thing it is not one person on earth, we find or a monkey which doesn’t like lolly pop and candy on the stick. It really gets people and when it gets offered to Krishna the flat out winner there is no reason not to carry around prasadam wherever you go and also give Jagannath Stickers. I tell you, when I was there, when we were leaving Jagannath Puri and when we were distributing in train station and I was going around with all the other devotees. There is a sight to behold, there were Chinese and Japanese devotees Europeans and everyone all over the world. But the Chinese devotees didn’t speak any English or Oriya or Bengali and they were culming the train station and presenting books that were Bengali, Oriya and people were shocked and people were taking the book.
I met one couple, they were young couple but they were obviously very poor, their whole business consists of bicycle with plastic bags tied on and they were selling something out of that. Looked like very wretched condition and next to some riksaw wala, they were kind of hanging on. When we were walking by, there was Nagara kirtan and we discovered the secret of selling books. Then, we kick out our shoes off because its respectful, whatever you are exchanging anything spiritual, you take your shoes off. So, we learnt that very quickly and we kicked off the shows and started presenting prasadam stickers, books, like that. So, this one young couple, they kicked the shoes off when they saw us handing the books off and the man takes some water he washes his hand, and pours water on his head and reaches out to take the book.
We were talking yesterday with Chinese devotees, who were saying it’s so hard to distribute books in China. But now they were empowered because to the oriya people and the dham and everyone takes a book and they can see the confidence, when the people of the dham taking up books and they can see this is actually the purified state, “I want this”. So they were telling us last night that they want to go back to China and then Japan and distribute books very enthusiastically, having seen this in the dham.
Speaker:I am so sorry I’m overtime and we end with one more question.
Sauri Das: Since I am skinnier than Sarvabauma, I will tell a similar story. You grew up in airport, I grew up and distribute books for 14 years and one day, I was out there.his happened many times over the years but this particular day I was out there and a big Hawaian person came behind me and put his arms around me and pinned my hands I couldn’t move them and another Hawaian punched me in the face and put his hands in my pocket and took out my money and they went on their way. So, to make the long story short later after the whole drama, I pointed out these people to police and they arrested them and then I was out there the next day and I was out there and he comes to me, he gotten out of jail and I was OOh!!! Was about to run and he said Wait, Wait, ohoh, 260 pound Hawaian can definitely beat me up, so he said “Drop the charges”. And I go, I will try, I said, you didn’t steal my money you stole temple’s money I will try to convince them, I really will. So, they were coming up to me every day and they don’t want to drop the charges on you. You know there is something bad. Finally, I don’t know they have some connection with the police, I don’t know, an undercover police men came up and said, Listen, If you drop the charges, we will put a restraining order on them and if he does anything to you every again then he will suffer for the thing he did to you recently and the one for something he did again. I said, Fine then I signed the paper dropped the charges & he is my best friend from that time on. Anytime anyone bothered me I would say, Hey! Charlie this guy, can you help me out and he take care of it. Hare Krishna!
Devotee: We have printing of “Family business”. This is a book written by vaisesika prabhu with 40 years of his experience in Sankirtan movement. Only few copies left, anybody likes to take, outside of Pancatattva we have a stall and prabhu can also sign it. Just Rs250 today only. Rs250 only.
Speaker: Also, I have a small gift for everybody there is a new application called “be a sage” page by page you can get it on you iphone or android it tells you how many pages of Srila Prabhupada’s books you have to read in order to finish each one at particular time there will be a lot of upgrades to it in the next few months so I recommend you get it. And there is a little card you can get information and place where you can find that application for those of you anyway that’s the gift. If you like this little card, you can come up afterwards and thank you very much for your association today.
vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca kripa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo vaishnavebhyo namo namah
Gour premande !! Nitai Goura Hari bol, Haribol Haribol Nitai Gaura Haribol
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